Family Time

Last night we took the Kiddo out for a night of fun and she was going to get to roller-skate with both J and myself there.  She was thrilled.  Family time!!!!  And roller skating.  And Ice Cream.  And the Tuk.  What a great night.

First, however, we (Kiddo and I) had important things to do.  See, Ratchet got the flu and it was bad.  Throwing up.  Juicy toots.  Fever!  Dr. Fix-It-Up was on the case with a whole contingent of nurses, as you can see.  Poor Ratchet also was lasered by Dr. Nefarious so he was also already in casts.  It was a BAD diagnosis.  Thankfully, the nursing staff all had their flu shots and they all were in their Personal Protection Gear.

It had sprinkled a bit, so we needed to bring the umbrella with and, obviously, Kiddo needed to be the one to hold it.  Her only regret is that she couldn’t splash in all the puddles on the way.

The plan was to go to Tops Club (local version of CostCo, they even have some Kirkland brand items) and Kiddo wanted to get a hotdog there.  Much like CostCo in the States, they have deals on that.  90 baht for a 16oz hotdog and a soda is a good price and Kiddo loves hotdogs, so we had a plan.  Sadly, when we got to Tops Club, they were sold out of hotdogs.  

After a brief meltdown of 6 year old proportions, we pulled it together and went across the street to the mall and got McDonalds instead.  Burger and fries instead of hotdog was a fair enough exchange for Kiddo.  :)

Roller skating can get busy, so before walking to pick up Kiddo yesterday, I popped in and scheduled her for an 18:00 time slot.  After dinner, we killed time with some errands.  J needed/wanted some stickers for her classroom and so we swung into Muji Muji for that and a few other little things.  Kiddo got some oil paint crayons and those promise to be a big hit later today when Kiddo gets on a craft kick.  

She skated and had a blast.  She’s getting good, but she’s still a little hesitant to fall or lose her balance.  I get that.  It’s scary to fall.  But, she is starting to get the balance right and she’s gliding and turning with a bit more confidence.  Besides that, the look and smile of her; before, during, and after, is just about enough to melt my heart.  

After that, she wanted an ice cream and we did that and then headed home.  It was a great family night.  I did manage to get a few snaps of Kiddo on the Tuk heading home.  It's one of her happy places and she always loves the Tuk ride.  Oh, and Pork Chop Piggy was the friend of the night.

Speaking of family, however, Kiddo made us smile with family the other night.  She was doing her homework with J and I was doing dishes and clean up from dinner when Kiddo told us that she had some Thai homework this week.  That’s fine, we can help.  Or, maybe you can ask Nanny Beer to help.  

“Oh!  That’s a great idea.  Beer’s the only one in the family who can speak Thai.”

Beer is the only one in the family….

The fact that they have that bond and the Kiddo trusts her that much and sees her not as a nanny or plaything or something like that, but as family just makes us smile.  J was a nanny for some families in college and I know she had that kind of bond with her girls (and a big hello to SJC, Roars, Toni-Tone, and Peachers if they are reading) both during her time as nanny and since.  If, in a dozen years, Kiddo and Beer are still in touch, I wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed.  Beer IS family.  She is part of raising Kiddo and J and I trust her and her actions, treatments, and choices for Kiddo in our absence.  She is a combination teacher, mom, dad, sister, friend, confidant, and playmate on top of any and everything else that she is to our home.

Let’s go, Kiddo… It’s a weekend and you and mumma are currently climbing, but we will have fun, have love, and have smiles and laughs all weekend.  Thanks for being our best thing and our bravest one.  Thanks for reminding us that family is who you love, not where you were born.  We love you!