Life Goes to the Movies

Imagine you're at a state fair. Every single thing you eat is on a stick and most of it is fried. I know because CBS once sent me to the state fair with a family and our job was to eat everything there. No wonder I miss that job. It rocked - in a disgusting sort of way.

The Asian version might be Old Chang Kee, a local chain that displays a couple of dozen different fried foods on a stick in the window. I got the kids fish and gyoza as well as these curried chicken pot pie pocket things and a weird little apple pie like desserts called Yam Feel'in. The filling is sweet and purple - and I guess yam. 

Hudson gobbled it up. He seriously couldn't get enough of it. Maybe he's a gourmand and has simply been bored with my very plain, slap-it-on-the-table cooking. Then again, what child doesn't like fried food?! Maisie ate her fair share, too.

Thank God Hudson is back to his happy self. I think he's been getting his two-year-old molars. My mother-in-law says I always blame his teeth when he's cranky, but I'm usually right. He's had an off-and-on runny nose and has had his fingers in his mouth for days. Today, no runny nose. No deep throating his hand. Happy boy. Happy mommy. Unhappy sister. I can't win!

I'm kind of bit blue, too, though I'm not sure why. I'm sharing Cheryl today and will do so for the next few weeks. Another friend of Typhaine is staying in their apartment - the one in which they actually live. So Cheryl has to divide her time between them and us. I am back to being a regular Westchester mommy, only in Singapore. I had to cook breakfast and dinner! Oh! My! God! The horror! :-) 

I don't think the helper-sharing is the culprit. Rather, I think my funk stems from feeling like things are getting more normal and mundane - less exotic and fun. That's what it means to live some place, right? Plus, it's getting harder and harder to entertain two toddlers without school and outside classes to help. I'm letting them watch too much TV, I fear. I feel lazy. Worst of all? I feel fat today. Lazy and fat. Ha. Nice combo.

Amazingly enough, the weather was actually lovely this morning thanks to a nice breeze. It was the coolest day yet! 

To eat up some time, I took them to see "Ice Age 4" today. Going to a movie here was a little bit of an adventure. I read online that Golden Village Cinemas are the nicest and indeed the theater was beautiful. It was situated on the top floor of a mall called Plaza Singapura. The ticket booth and concession stand were on one side of the atrium while theaters 1-6 were on one end and theaters 7-10 were on the other end - up some hellish stairs (the ticket-taker helped me carry the stroller!)

We got three tickets for US $12 for - get this - assigned seats (though it seems nobody stays in their assigned seats when the theater is mostly empty like it was today). I went to get popcorn. The guy behind the counter said, "Sweet?" I said yes then asked him what he meant. Turns out, they sell caramel corn or salted popcorn. The last thing my kids needed was sugar in the movie!

Maisie was TERRIFIED of the film and wanted to leave the whole time. Hudson was very excited about having his own seat which made him a total wiggle-kid. Odd because Maisie saw "Brave" which was far scarier to me and she absolutely loved it. Go figure.

To cheer her up, I let her have a StickHouse treat while Hudson napped in the stroller. They're basically popsicles sold in these storefront windows. They're all natural and yummy. There are a million things you can buy to eat walking down the street here and all of them are beyond tasty.

I think she stayed up too late last night. They re-telecast the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I was thrilled because the live broadcast was on - literally - in the middle of the night here. Maisie loved them and asked all sorts of questions about the Industrial Revolution. I was thrilled, but in retrospect, maybe that lost of hour of sleep was a mistake. Her brain is full. Her fuse is short. Live and learn. 

Time for their bath! It's an on time bedtime tonight!