It turns out that fever of Jasmin's was/is actually measles...
So our Christmas break began a little early as we weren't welcome at the office any more (less vaccination done here, so more vulnerable people)...
And we quickly arranged for a quiet at home family Christmas as we can't visit anyone; don't want to give the gift of measles! - especially the girls' friend Shinji whose mother is pregnant...
Thankfully, it is a mild case and she is already feeling better and playing more with Grace again....
Unfortunately, Grace crawled into our bed this morning saying, "I feel sick"....
What's the chances it isn't measles?
Happy Christmas!

Christmas Holiday Bits n Pieces
part three

This last week has been rather a muddle for us. A full week at work with most of the directorate team in town. A full week at school for Christmas production practices. Well, we made it as far as Wednesday. Wednesday night Jasmin came crying into our bed with a burning fever and headache. This tends to happen with her when "everything is too much" for her. So she spent a quite day at home Thursday (except for a family lunch invitation) and most of Friday so she could still take part in the production Fri afternoon/evening. She did manage that okay, but now she is again curled up in bed with fever.

Friday was a busy day for Mommy and Daddy as they had the office party 11-3:30 and then the school production 4-6!

The school's productions tend to be rather chaotic as everything is done in one small meeting room with no real stage... so there are extra kids wandering across the stage at random intervals, kids testing mics and greeting parents... and when the kids preform, a wall of parents with cameras crowds in until it is impossible to see anything unless you join them. I find it remarkable that the kids keep their poise and sing, dance, speak as rehearsed!
Despite all this, we did manage to get a few pictures...
The production was a self-written "musical" that attempted to string together famous Christmas song and stories. Perhaps if we were able to hear what was said by the characters, we'd have a better idea of how Rudolph the red nosed reindeer (Jasmin's class dance) and the little match girl (Grace's part in the play) fit together...

Grace also sang a song at the end of it that we recorded bits of - only bits because... well, you'll see when I finally get it cleaned up enough to post!

By the end, things were rather....
chaos or a finale dance?
We are really proud of what our girls accomplished in their short time in this school so far. They have grown a lot!

And for the gift exchange, what did they want and receive? Of course, two more additions to the Hu menagerie!

Christmas Holiday Bits n Pieces

continued

Our mall adventure also included a wait to take pictures in the castle. A free service with the option of funny hats. Grace was quite sure she wanted to do this, but by the time it was our turn, Jasmin wasn't so sure...

A holiday birthday at the office brought in a fabulous decadent cake - the thing was shaped like a hat box, iced with white chocolate, and decorated with icing ribbons and exquisite flowers. The girls weren't sure at first whether they could believe Daddy when he told them they could eat these flowers!

Christmas Holiday Bits n Pieces

Last weekend we went to the mall to check out the advertised light and sound show. It was not at all what we had expected, but we did find lots of sound and lights :o) The beginning to our outing was promising:

The stage set in the event center was a castle complete with angels, snowmen, elves, and a ballerina.

The angel of lights at the top of the castle trumped the ballerina for Jasmin, but as she insisted on taking the pictures, we don't have one that you can tell what it is :)
About 1/2 an hour late, the "show" started. The lights began flashing in patterns and various parts moved. The music was what surprised us - it was advertising jingles! The first part ended with fake snow being blown down over the crowd, which the girls were thrilled about. The second part we didn't stay to watch because it began with a very adult dance promoting a local company!

We went mall strolling to find some other lights. We liked this example of Manila Christmas tree decorating:

No tinsel or garland, only fake fruit and plants spray painted gold or silver. And of course lots of lights and ornaments. These trees are green, but often the trees themselves are silver, red, or even blue. Takes a different artistic flair to decorate a tree this way.

And, on our way home, we passed 2 giant trees that lit up just as we passed.
But Mommy's favorite lights are the hanging icicles of lights from all the trees
and this that we can see from our bedroom:
Grace likes watching this as she goes to sleep too, and every night she comments that now she knows where Bethlehem is :o)

We tried for family pictures last Sunday. The girls were so excited that they were posing for the camera long before we were all ready.

Thing is, it didn't last, so many of our picture attempts had girls looking like this:

We did get a few good ones though, as well as this gem:

The results of watching cake-decorating videos on Youtube....

Jasmin's very own block cake with sprinkles :o)