Writer’s Workshop – Rekindling the Love

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts alpha thursday, mama kat's writers workshop, two questions

Our last stay in a hotel was during our trip last month to Taichung, Taiwan. It was to be a couple trip but since Tiger girl is still too little to be left with the grandparents we let her tag along.  The holiday was my valentine’s day treat and I was having it in advance before R gets too busy with his work schedule and starts flying off on his business trips all over Asia.

It had been a long time since I’ve been on a trip with R. The last trip back to Hong Kong with the three kids doesn’t count as we were so busy handling the kids that there was little time to interact with each other.

This trip to Taiwan was more relaxing as we planned to visit only a few places. We would go off on day trips and return back to the hotel at night.  I wasn’t interested in shopping and visiting the city area as with a toddler in tow shopping is something really difficult to do. We opted to visit the scenic places of interest  like Sun Moon Lake  and went to view the Dragons at the Lukang Lantern Festival.

I also indulged in some yummy foods which are not commonly eaten here in Singapore and had fun tasting the different drinks just to keep warm as the temperature dipped to a chilly 12 degrees while we were in Taiwan.

It was great to be able to stroll hand in hand with R instead of having our hands full holding on to the 3 kids whenever we go out.  We were also able to talk about anything under the sun without having the older kids eavesdropping on us and starting a session of 101 questions. It really felt like we were back to the days when it was just us as a couple starting off with only 1 kid in tow.

When was the last time you went on a holiday with your partner/spouse?

Do you plan for vacations in advance?

Writer’s Workshop: Questioning the Magic of Disney

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts alpha thursday, mama kat's writers workshop, two questions

The first time I’ve step into Disneyland was back in 2008 when we brought the boys to Hong Kong Disneyland. The theme park was newly opened and  the kids were excited to have a chance to go to Disneyland and stay at the Disney hotel.

Growing up with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the gang I have been really excited as a kid to step into the magical world which they call Disneyland.  I have always enjoyed watching Disney cartoons and movies on the television and love the fairy tales which they have created.

The boys are not really that into Disney and couldn’t name or identify most of the characters on display when we were there. They were thrilled to go on the rides and see the various decorations. We were lucky that we did not need to queue for a long time to get on the rides and the boys were able to go on all rides which they wanted.

They couldn’t really care about taking photographs with the dolled up characters unless I insisted on taking photographs so that we will be able to remember our time in Disneyland.

The magic of Disney also fell flat for me after entering through their gates.  It was no long as captivating to me as and adult then it was to me as a child to visit Disneyland. The place felt so commercialized to me and a real good marketing strategy which has lasted for more then 50 years. The person who came up with the idea of Disneyland and open theme parks based on it all over the world was a real genius. It has been a real good money making idea with the franchising and patents.

I guess that Disney is a bit “dated” for me and my kids and we are more into Japanese anime/ cartoons then western characters.

Hello kitty still entices me and I’ll definitely visit the Hello Kitty Kingdom when we go to Japan. Even the boys love this cute cat with no mouth.

Are your kids still captured by the Magic of Disney?

Which characters are they into ? ( Disney or non Disney)