Today is math, which is something Maylin loves and Téa dreads. At least today, after getting a tractor yesterday (yes yes, I say tractor, they say “protractor”), Téa is able to proceed in her math book! She’s been skipping her math homework for the last couple of days because she needs to measure angles, which is not easy without a tractor. And then suddenly – “measure the length of each side in this triangle”, and we have no rulers! Onto the shopping list it goes…
After school work, we catch a Grab taxi over to Market Village for some lunch and a ruler. Téa and I have an appointment, and I have a “honey do” list for Joe and Maylin while Téa and I are busy.
Téa has long said her wishlist for her birthday is to get her nails done professionally. At home, I’ll paint the girls’ nails while they watch a movie, and they’re under strict instructions not to move for an hour. For her birthday, we’re visiting an actual nail place, and having a professional do it for us (also because I didn’t bring any nail polishes on this trip, so I can’t do it for her).
Téa has long desperately wanted all the beautiful nail art that she sees when we browse nail polish ideas, like cutesy Christmas scenes, trees, Santas and strands of lights, but no matter how many nail salons we ask, they won’t do it unless it’s in gel polish. Unfortunately, I think I’m allergic to the stuff (my nails burn and hurt so bad every time they put me under the light), and I also think Téa’s too young for gel nails. It’s really damaging to the nail, and hers are so thin, so for now, regular polish it is.
We had an appointment agreed (the lady was happy to just tell us to come back at 2pm today, when we asked for appointments yesterday, but took no names or numbers, just nodded and said “2 people at 2pm, see you then”… ) at one nail place, but when we showed up, they were of course all busy with customers, and then she said she could only do one of us. We had to leave and go elsewhere, and asked a few places, but nobody could do both at the same time. I didn’t really want to go back to where I had my pedicure done, because she charged me more than the advertised price, but that’s where we ended up!
Téa was so nervous. She’s never had anyone but me do her nails, and I had to tell her they would be pushing on her cuticles, so she was afraid it would hurt. The nail artist who did Téa’s nails was so sweet! She did a great job, and even though they usually don’t use stickers unless it’s gel polish, she went ahead and gave her holiday themed stickers on all 10 nails! Téa was so happy, and not scarred by her first professional manicure.
While we are busy getting pampered, Joe and Maylin are picking up some most important supplies for tomorrow’s big 10th celebration for Téa. When we emerge from our appointment, I see a message from Joe saying he and Maylin have left the mall for home already. The only thing we can possibly do, seeing as Téa has to be careful with her nails for the next half hour or so, is to go have a snack (read: treat).
We head up to the very top floor and try a café called Marzipan. I’ve been seeing this place a couple of times in passing, with a delicious looking cake counter. Marzipan is a major component in my favourite Norwegian birthday cake, but here the name is misleading… No marzipan in sight, but we find treats to love nonetheless!
After our treats, we head back to the condo for swimming and showers. Because I’m not always a great blogger and because I sometimes forget to take pictures, the blog would have ended here, but I have daughters. Daughters who love grabbing mom’s camera and having some fun!
While the girls and I shower, Joe ducks out to get dinner from “somewhere”. I didn’t LOVE the takeout he found the time he visited the locals’ restaurant by the side of the road, so I am hoping he’s finding other alternatives today. He comes back with what looks like a tower of food, four boxes on top of each other, and fruit from the fruit lady down the street. He went down to a restaurant further down the street, and came home with spicy prawns for him and I, grilled octopus for us all, and fried rice for the girls. I have no pictures, but it was a delicious meal all around!
Tomorrow we have a busy day scheduled for Téa’s 10th birthday, and the workers are coming to fix the girls’ bathroom, finally. (They were scheduled for last week, but the leader of the crew had an accident and didn’t communicate that he wouldn’t be coming.) We get to bed early to rest up for a day full of fun!