Worst Parents of the Year Award?

After breakfast we "went for a drive." During our December visit to Disney, Tess and I bought annual passes that we've never used. The overcast weather made us think the crowd's would be light and that a quick 3 – 4 hour visit would be ideal. As we approached Disney's general vicinity, the kids were still trying to guess our destination: Ursula's…? Colleen's…? Crossing the bridge to the airport Carys asked if we were flying to Canada. Finally with some clues Seb figured it out: DISNEY! The kids were wild with excitement.

We were one of the first in the gates and the first "guests" (as Disney calls customers) to Space Mountain. Our 3 – 4 visit started with everyone agreeing to give this ride a try. But as we approached the turnstile Jasper got cold feet. I quickly told Tess we'd wait outside. She went in with the others. Jasper and I got a Coke Zero. Just as we sat down at the Space Mountain exit Jasper pointed to the entrance. Sela and Carys walked out in tears. I hastened over and assured the troop of Disney-employees-now-gathering-into-lost-child-mode I was their father. As we walked back to Jasper, Sela explained (with a tone insinuating "big, bad, mean Seb") how Seb scared her terribly as he described the fast ride. This caused both her and Carys to chicken out and exit the entrance with crocodile tears. Oh boy.

Next we all did the Buzz Lightyear ride. I didn't have the heart to tell my wife I scored 85,000 points for fear she'd burst into tears, too. Then we did "Small World" that Seb found boring. The girls did a 2nd round while us boys looked for another ride. Everyone was able to pick one ride, Jasper picked Dumbo: this is about a one minute ride after a 20 minute wait. Once the girls saw us about to get on Dumbo the day really took a turn for the worse – lots of pouting and kicking because Sela and Carys wanted to go on Dumbo (which by now had a huge line-up and doesn't do 'Fastpass') after they'd snuck a ride on the Merry Go Round.

We tried to sort the girls out, including cautioning the kids that the privilege of being at Disney could be revoked. Four kids needed a nap! Then Tess voted for "The Golden Mickeys" show as her ride of choice. This was probably the highlight of the visit, reminding us all about the wonderful and magical world of Disney. Afterwards we managed to pose with Donald Duck during which the kids needed constant prompting not to pull his beak. As you can see, the kids were having a challenging day ~ the fruits of the spirit were taking a break!

And so a few minutes later as we contemplated eating lunch by Space Mountain or Neverland, Sela and Seb got into a scuffle. Sela lost her temper, Sebastian got wound up, Tess and I said, "THAT's IT!"

We revoked Disney and went home. We told the kids if they couldn't appreciate the privilege of Disney – by bickering and pouting – then they didn't get to stay. Needless to say they were besides themselves in anguish. We explained we had annual passes and could always go back another day – it was up to them. It's not as though we'd trekked around the world to see Disney… it sits on our back doorstep.

Did we do the right thing or did we just win "Worst Parents of the Year Award?"

Breakfast at ABC on Saturday

We hadn’t had breakfast at ABC for quite a long time. The kids lodged a formal complaint a few weeks ago. So, we opted to start our Saturday with an ABC breakfast. The club is fantastic in the morning: it’s not too busy, the water is often very still, and the breakfast prices ideal. The kids all ordered Belgian waffles – waffles that come with whip cream, maple syrup and chocolate. The kids didn’t know about our plan for after breakfast!

Unusually Impressive: “Om”

The warmer weather in Hong Kong allowed us to dive into swimming season at the Aberdeen Boat Club today. Next to the ABC are lots of large power boats and sail boats. There are often boats docked to at the ABC, too. Today there was a unusually impressive impressive yacht docked. I watched it for a while and afterwards felt a jolt of reality. It's too easy to lose track of one's previous world.

Unusually Impressive 2

Tooth results finally in…

Alas, here are the results of the tooth experiment: what happens when a tooth is left in a jar of coke? Three kids predicted the tooth would disappear, except for Sela, who said it would remain the same. Predictions were posted next to the jar, which was placed on the kitchen windowsill. Technically, neither were correct. Sebastian was bereft that his prediction was less than prophetic. We never posted original pictures of the tooth, but it was an old, white… okay beige, tooth at the start of the experiment.

In total, the tooth remained in the jar for about 6 – 8 weeks. (We were busy and life happened.) Eventually the day came to remove the tooth. While the tooth never dissolved, it still looked thoroughly disgusting. Parts of the tooth where there was sold oft tissue had been cleaned out quite effectively. My theory: the moistened tissue was dissolved by the sugar. The rest of the tooth was cola brown all the way through. Yes, the cola stained the entire tooth through to the centre. Using a hard knife we attempted  to scrape off the tooth's surface only to find the tooth stained underneath. The attached pictures pretty much tell the whole story. (Sorry that the 2nd one is a bit fuzzy.) At first this turned the boys off colas, but now they've forgotten unless we remind them. The girls never liked soft drinks – they prefer water and/or juice.

Rugby @ Football Club

We had a very successful rugby tournament today at the Hong Kong
Football Club. (Above: the kids watch a U6 game at the start of the day.) I was coaching Sebastian's team, the U9 Sandy Bay Lions (white shirts.)
We won our first game against the Sai Kung Stingrays (2-0); tied our
second game against Valley Fort (0-0); and won our third game against
DEA Tigers (3-0). Not until after the tournament did I realise that the
Lions didn't allow one try against them for the whole tournament. In
the picture below, Sebastian is in the clump of four in the middle (he
is the Hooker) and that's me in the blue shirt on the left.

The U6's also had a good set of games with Jasper scoring three tries
in three games. On the pitch Carys and her best friend, Ella, held
hands… of course!

Wooden knives

Here's something I saw for the first time in Hong Kong, and elsewhere for that matter. Right up there with the enviro-friendly theme, Pizza Express in Hong Kong stopped using plastic utensils for delivery/take-out food. Instead they use wooden utensils. I learned this while attending an ICM Retreat a few weeks ago where Pizza Express delivered the lunch. Sebastian was thrilled but of course, wanted me to bring home a handful so he could build something!

Old tooth in glass of Coke

What happens when an old tooth is placed in a glass of coke for a week? The kids started this experiment today in a doubly desperate (a term they often use to describe how badly they need to go to the bathroom) attempt to justify that they can still drink copious amounts of Coke. Yes, the tooth is mine – a wisdom tooth yanked out by my dentist several years ago. It might be a rock now and nothing will dissolve it but we'll see. Check back in a week for the results. Rumour has it this is a myth, however, my friend swears he dissolved his daughter's tooth but the tooth fairy still paid up.

Eight weeks later, you can find the results of the experiment here.

Our kids are TOO loud!

It's more than official, family weighed in and our kids are TOO loud. The other day Sebastian accidentally stapled his finger while working on a "project." The staple was long enough it probably went through and pierced the underside of his thumb nail… the underside, i.e. right through the bottom of his thumb, through the flesh into his thumbnail bed. He went ballistic with pain. Amidst all the drama the triplets made plenty of noise. Said family member (on the phone) commented that someday we'd realise how loud are our kids. This shocked me because Tess and I have been trying FOREVER to quieten them down.

We know our kids are loud… on hikes you can hear them from very far away. On the playground we can hear them from our flat on the 4th floor. In the morning when they get up they often make a huge amount of noise, waking up their siblings. (Although they are getting better at this.)

Last weekend they were so loud that, despite repeated requests to be quiet, Tess had to separate the triplets. Carys was assigned to the living room, Jasper his room and Sela her room. I was out at the doctor with Sebastian. Tess texted me with what she'd had to do. Tess had a shower and while Carys fell asleep on the sofa, Sela snuck across the hall into the boys' room to see Jasper. Well, she soon forgot that she was on a secret mission. Sela was busted when, with her and Jasper operating at 100+ decibels, I walked in. We know our kids are loud and we have tried endless ways to quieten them down.

FOR EXAMPLE:

We have explained to them over and over and over that there are inside voices (quiet), resort voices (louder but not loud enough to bother other people) and outside voices (full on volume!) We have explained this to them over and over and over.

We have tried discipline such as revoking privileges when the kids are too loud.

We have tried discipline such as putting toys in The Thinking Box when the kids are too loud.

We have tried time-outs when the kids are too loud.

We have tried warnings before discipline. We have tried zero-tolerance and gone straight discipline.

We have tried rewards, praise, encouragement. We have tried responding to appropriate voices and when talked to in loud voices not responding, or explaining that we'll respond to a request when we hear it in an appropriate voice. We have tried only talking to them in soft voices so they know what a quiet, normal inside voice sounds like. We've asked them to repeat things to us in a quieter voice upon which we listen attentively followed up with praise. Did I mention we have tried rewards, praise, encouragement

We've had conversations with them about being too loud and asked them why they think they're so loud.

We have analysed if they are loud because they crave attention or feel they are competing with each other. We've asked ourselves, does insisting they're quiet stifle creativity? We've analysed the situation until we're blue in the face. We've analysed our own childhoods: Tess was a model child who rescued small animals and made no noise – even when she broke her arm while roller-skating. I was SILENT, a peculiar thing that my family could never figure out.

Yes, we know our kids are loud. I'm discouraged and I'm embarrassed and I'm open to suggestions. Meanwhile, pictured below are Sebastian and Sela, recently doing homework in the morning before breakfast.

How many brooms?

Walking on our hike today we found a patch of brooms… stored here by the workers who sweep the paths every morning. How many brooms can you see in the picture?