Beach Bums Return to the Beach

Bangkok is hot and humid. Fresh air at the beach beckons. We just couldn't resist.  

Result: Another unplanned trip to the beach!

Because we were at the beach just two weeks ago, and because there wasn’t time to make any hotel reservations, we decided to make it a day trip.  To the nearest beach just for the day. Never mind that it’s usually crowded there. Never mind that the beach there is not that nice. We just want the fresh air. And Roo just wants the sand.

Bangsaen beach is about an hour’s drive from Bangkok. The last time we came, Roo was about four months old. That's way, way back.  Too long ago for him to remember.  So when I asked if he would like to see the fishies at the aquarium, he said "Yes!"  right away.



Bangsaen aquariums is part of Bangsaen Marine Institute.  It's located about two hundred meters away from the beach.  The fish and other underwater creature collection is quite large and varied, even better than the ones at Underwater World in Pattaya where you pay three hundred baht to get in.  Entrance fee is here is just Bht.30 (used to be twenty baht).  







Because my memory is shorter than Dory's, I can only tell you that this fish is the lion fish.  The other two, I'll have to ask Roo.  I completely forgot.



And that's the grumpy old grouper who coughed right in front of Roo and scared him so much that we had to cut our visit short and head for the beach to help him forget the nasty-looking fish.



And Roo started his hungry strike. So happy that he can finally be in the sand, he politely refused our invitations to eat lunch with us. While we enjoyed tinolang manok, chicken barbeque, somtum and spicy mango salad, Roo scooped shovel after shovel of sand into his bucket.



This is what happens when you play with ice on the sand: a cold and dripping sand wonder for our little explorer.



Lucky for him, his photo-hungry daddy couldn't resist taking some pictures on the beach.  First chance he got, he followed daddy right into the midday heat and enjoyed the few minutes he had playing with the water.

A Day at Chokchai Farm

We left Bangkok prepared for another scorching summer day.  Surprisingly, Saraburi was enjoying rainshowers that day, making our visit at the farm pleasantly cool :D



First stop:  Cow-milking!  They showed us both the traditional and modern methods of milking cows.  



Here's Uncle Nimit trying his hand on the old fashioned way of cow-milking...



This carriage was our ride around the farm.  



I want to ride the horse Dodo!



Boy, these deer sure eat fast!  



Whoah!  This calf is ravenous! I'm having a hard time holding the bottle!



Mommy, the camels are very bbbaaa-hoooo!



Baby Roo wants to hold the little lamb



Like Mary's lamb, its fleece was white as snow.



This is what we mostly go back to Chokchai Farm for!  Yummy steak burgers!



What better way to end of the day at the farm than to sit down and enjoy a cup of chocolatey fresh cow's milk!  Ummm, milk!

Sleepless but Happy

I'm counting down.  Alone (huhuhu).  Blame it on a severe case of insomnia.  My boys are fast asleep, snoring their way to dreamland.  I can't sleep.  Not only because ten pm is not bedtime for me yet, but also because in about an hour's time, we're supposed to pick up my mom and dad at the airport!  Yaaaay!  

This afternoon, while Roo was biking around our tiny living room, he noticed that I was extraordinarily happy.  So he asked, "Mommy, why are you happy?"

I told him I'm happy because my mommy and daddy are coming!  He beamed me a smile that said he understood the feeling, then said, "I'm happy too mommy, that your mommy and daddy are coming."

That's an understatement.  The last time my mom and dad were here, he didn't even eat for many days because he got too excited!  This time I didn't even want to start a countdown with him, for fear that all his physiological processes and schedules will get skewed again.  But nothing can stop him from planning what he'll do with his "dodo and doda" when they arrive.  He knew that they were coming in April, and for more than three months, I had to put up with "Mommy, is it April already?" just about everyday.  He claimed one of our desk calendars as his own, asked me to show him where April was, then proceeded to inform us what he would do with dodo and doda on this "number" and that "number," pointing to the dates, as if he really knew what he was talking about.  His dad and I could only smile in amusement.
 
The next twenty days with dodo and doda will surely be busy for Roo.  He has lots of stories to tell, many new songs to sing for them, and he's excited to show them how to do puppet shows! He also can't wait to show them that he can now ride the bike that they gave him as a present for his 2nd birthday.  He's going to a farm with them, watch traditional and modern cow-milking with them, learn how to make ice cream with them.  For Songkran, he's going to the beach with them!  Of course, he doesn't forget to add, "And with mommy and daddy too!"

Exciting days ahead for me too!  Since I will have very willing babysitters, it means I can go out on a date with MY man (finally! It's hard to even have a meaningful conversation these days).  I also need to finish my med transcription course, catch up with my reading, take up a short cooking class, and hopefully, do a lot of blog-hopping, if not blogging :D

What Was That, Again?

I have a Roo story. But it’s hush-hush okay, because Roo gets embarrassed when I tell Roo stories to people. So promise me you won’t laugh out loud.

Roo likes animals, especially cats and dogs. Whenever he sees them, whether on the street, or at the park, he will always stop and say hello. When he goes too close, his dad would say, “Now, Roo, you don’t know the cat (or dog) okay, and they don’t know you, so you cannot pet or touch them.” So the rule is, if he doesn’t know the animal, or vice versa, he’d better not touch them. Because those animals might bite, scratch or hurt him.

One afternoon, I was in the kitchen, when my hated of all pests, a cockroach, walked down the wall right in front of me. See, I can tolerate mice, any kind of lizard, or even snakes. But cockroach, no. I get all frantic and jumpy when I see them. Roo stopped playing when he heard me shriek, “Cock-roooooach!” Immediately, he came to the kitchen gate and asked, “Are you okay, mommy?”

After things quieted down, or rather, I calmed down, I sat at the table to eat mangoes with Roo. He was all questions.

“Mommy, why are you scared of the cockroach?”

“Mommy, is daddy scared of the cockroach too?”

I explained that I’m not really scared, like frightened, of a cockroach. I just find them disgusting. I don’t want to see them in the house. And that, no, his daddy is not scared of the cockroach.

Roo was quiet for a moment, as if processing everything I said. After a while, he looked up and asked so innocently,

“Mommy, why is daddy not scared of the cockroach?  Does daddy know the cockroach?”

Like Father, Like Son

Like his daddy E, Roo is into photography. We bought him his own toy camera, but he always wants the real thing. One night, at a party, while his daddy E was busy taking pictures of everything and everybody, Roo got hold of our point and shoot and like his daddy E, clicked the evening away.

Do you think Roo can be hired for commercial photography?



                   Hatari Electric Fan



                  Canon EOS 400D



                      Pizza Company

He also tried his hand on food photography: 



                  Juice and soft drinks



                   New flavor yata 'to



                  Steamed tabtim fish



                               Pasta



   Sharon's famous strawberry cheesecake



                       Fresh oranges

Pictures of cacti:





Now for his collection of abstract photogaphy:








Finally, his self-portrait:

Eyes and Fears

About a couple weeks ago, daddy E had a dinner date with his childhood friends. Roo woke up from his late afternoon nap, and insisted that he wants to meet his daddy’s friends too. So we tagged along.

We were a little late.  J and her family were already in the restaurant when we arrived. Introductions began, and J was exclaiming over how cute Roo was, when without warning, he burst out crying! The loud kind of bawling, like he’s really scared!

He’s like that, my Roo. There are people who make him cry for reasons even he doesn’t know. We also can’t figure out what it is, but it happens only with certain people and only when these certain strangers give him too much attention.

Anyways, so daddy E had to take him out and talk to him. When they came back, he was calm, but the moment J’s husband looked at him, he burst into tears again! Okay, so J’s husband is rather huge, and he's sporting a beard, but it still can’t be the reason. There were other big strangers with beards who approached him before, and he warmed up to them right away. Carried on a conversation with them without any fuss.

Daddy E had no choice but to carry the frightened boy out again, and calm him down.

The next time they came in, Roo had his eyes tightly shut. Poor boy. Apparently, he told his daddy that he was afraid of them friends, so his dad suggested that he close his eyes and not look at them. And the little Roo took his daddy’s advice to heart. He made sure he had his back on daddy’s friends, and he desperately tried to keep his eyes close. Even when I was feeding him, he opened his mouth dutifully to eat the food, but his eyes remained shut.

In many ways, I am so like Roo—keeping my eyes close because I’m afraid of something or someone. Enduring the dark because I don’t want to face whatever it is I’m scared of. Missing out on a lot of fun because I can’t look at my fear in the face and tell it off. Like driving for instance. It has been more than three years since I got rear-ended while driving, but I still can’t get myself to drive again. More so after Roo was born. I’m terrified of driving alone with my precious son, scared of what can happen on the road. So most of the time, we either stay at home til daddy E is available to drive us around, or we take a taxi.

If only I can get enough courage to face my fears and get behind the steering wheel again…

I should learn.  Like Roo.  He eventually got over his fear, and opened his eyes, albeit slowly and with great caution. Before the evening was over, he was playing with Kaila, J’s daughter, and was dodging his huge uncle’s tickles.

Let's Play Pretend

Daddy E came home sick yesterday. It could be the flu, he’s has body ache, feet ache, and shoulder pains. Or it could be from playing basketball the other day—he hasn’t played ball for quite a long time. Anyways, as soon as he got in the door, he announced that he wasn’t feeling well, searched the med bag for paracetamol, then went to bed.

Roo, quite disappointed that daddy E couldn’t play with him, entertained himself because mommy K was busy cooking. Right after dinner, mommy K started sneezing, and sneezing, and whatever it was that was causing it, couldn’t be washed away so mommy K had to take antihistamine to stop it. Feeling rather drowsy after a few minutes, mommy K lay down on the bed to rest.

Roo: Mommy, are you okay?

Mommy K: I’m not feeling well.

Roo: I’ll take care of you, okay, mommy. Wait here okay, I’ll get petamo for you. (Roo runs out of the bedroom)

Mommy K: What’s that you’re getting mommy, Roo?

Roo: (coming back in) I’m getting petamo for you, mommy.

Mommy K: What’s petamo?

Roo: (Very slowly) Pe-ta-mo.

Mommy K: Hmm, I don’t know what that is.

Roo: (Louder this time and even more slowly) PE – TA – MO!

Mommy K: Pe-ta-mo. I’m sorry but I don’t know what that is, anak.

Roo: (starting to get exasperated) PE – TA – MO! Like daddy, mommy, I want you to feel better!

Mommy K: Oh! You mean, pa-ra-ce-ta-mol! You are so thoughtful, anak! Thank you, but mommy already took medicine, I don’t need paracetamol.

Roo: (disappointed) Oh. Then…(brightens up) just pretend petamo, okay, mommy?  I'll get pretend petamo for you!

----------------------------------------------------------

Roo: Daddy, can we play school?

Daddy: (still feeling rather sick) I don’t really know how to play school, Roo. Daddy is a doctor, I’m not a teacher like mommy.

Roo: (in his most convincing voice) Pretend, daddy! You can pretend to be a teacher, daddy!