Back To School

Just into the 2nd week of school, didi had to skip class due to health reason. Sigh... He was the stronger one during the school holidays. Apart from having mild running nose, he was overall quite healthy. On the other hand, jie jie got sick (with fever) twice in December. But last Thursday, his eyes were swollen when I picked him up from kindy. Brought him to see the paediatrician in the evening as his condition got worse. Doctor suspected that he was bitten by some insect and was having some kind of allergy reaction. So I let him skip school the next day to rest at home as he was also having running nose and cough. Then red patches/dots (non-bulging) started to appear on his ears, hands and neck, then body and legs. But the funny thing is, the patches/dots will appear, then disappear a few hours later. And reappear again. The cycle kept repeating. It was like that throughout the weekend. When the swelling around the eyes subsided a bit, it was replaced with big red circles. He looked like he was punched in the eyes.

~ look terrible hor? picture taken on Thursday, 5:21pm ~

Then yesterday evening, he developed fever after we came back from lunch. Luckily it subsided after a dose of paracetamol. That's why I let him attend school today. The red patches/dots are gone. I'm praying hard the kids will recover fully for CNY. Yup, jie jie's also having a flu. :-( With all the "nice" food and travelling, it's going to be tough if they're not in tip-top condition.

As for the back-to-school routine, didi adjusted to it very well. He didn't have any problems waking up in the mornings. Anyway, he rarely had such problems previously. On the first day of school, I brought him to the gate, waved him goodbye and he walked in himself. This is his 3rd year in that kindy and I would expect him to be independent. When I picked him up, his teacher said he was well-behaved. She was worried at first as his cousin brother (who was his companion there last year) has graduated from kindy.

As for jie jie, I find that her honeymoon years are over. Now that she's in Std 3, there are more homework, but I'm sure nothing compared to those from Chinese schools. I was so surprised when she got her timetable on the first day of school. I remember they took about 2 weeks to give out the timetable when she was in Std 1.

She's been selected to be a prefect. I think they are on probation now before they officially become one next year. She'll still wear the same uniform but will be given a badge and tie. Some of her duties are to "take care" of the students in the classroom during the teacher's absence and before school starts, when they line up to go to their respective classes. She'll have an earlier break coz she has duties when the others are having their break. That means she'll have less time to finish up her work in school and I hope she won't miss any lessons.

CNY is just around the corner. Here's wishing you a prosperous, healthy and happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai and happy holidays! If you're travelling during the festive season, have a safe journey!

Goodbye 2011

How time flies! 2011 zoomed by so fast without us realising it. I wonder why time seemed to crawl slower when we're younger. Is it because we can't wait to grow up but we seriously don't look forward to grow old? hehehe I'm very thankful it's been a good year for us. As long as nothing bad happened and everything's smooth sailing, it's indeed a good year. I hope we'll be blessed with another good year in 2012 and thereafter.

~ the kids with MV's Christmas decoration ~

Here are some updates for the month of December :

4th (Sunday) ~ Went to watch Puss In Boots in 3D. This time, CE was okay wearing the 3D glasses. And I think he enjoyed the show as much as the popcorn. Coz he didn't come and disturb me after he's finished his popcorn. :D

After we reached home, XY complained of stomachache in the evening. It got worse the next day. She also had fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Brought her to see the paediatrician and he suspected viral infection, not food poisoning. Since she couldn't really take solid food and she's been vomiting, I made the Oral Dehydration Salts water for her. And she really hated it, both the original and orange flavour. I tried a packet myself, it tasted fine. It was really difficult to get her to finish a cup (in a day) and I had to bribe and force. Luckily she got much better after a day and her appetite was back to normal 2 days later.

8th (Thursday) ~ I won 2 tickets to watch Jacky Cheung's concert via an sms contest. SIL was very kind to offer to babysit the kids so hubby and I can go. This is the 2nd time we went for his concert. The 1st was more than 10 years ago, I think. I took the train to meet up with hubby at the stadium. It was an awesome performance with great dance moves. Jacky can dance and sing fast songs 2 to 3 songs continuously. Very good stamina (for his age hehehe). I sat next to 2 ladies (in late 20s or early 30s) and we acted like teenagers -- shouted his name out loud and moved the blinking wands to the rhythm of his songs. *giggle giggle* He sang for 3 hours with minimal rest in between. The concert ended before 11:30pm. We were stuck in traffic for quite some time after exiting the parking lot and it was already past 12 midnight when we picked the kids up. Many thanks to SIL for the opportunity to go 'pak thor' with hubby. Ever since XY's arrival, we've not been on a proper date.

~ inside the stadium ~

11th (Sunday) ~ We finally decided to get a second-hand piano for XY. As we do not know how long her interest will last, we didn't want to invest heavily on a new one. She chose the piano herself. She prefer Kawai over Yamaha, maybe because she's been playing on a Kawai (CH's) all this while. We got her a Kawai BL-31, about 32 years old. It was delivered on the 13th. Her teacher was asking if we'd like to register her for the Grade 1 practical exam next year (between June and August). After getting her teacher's feedback on her progress, I've decided to let her take the next one in March 2013. By then, she would've learnt for 2 years. There's no rush, better give her more time, less stress for her (and me).

21st (Wednesday) ~ After the pest control service, we went to Tesco for sundry shopping. Then lunch at McD and the kids played at the indoor playground. Since Giant is just nearby, we continued 'shopping' again as I couldn't get all the things I wanted from Tesco.

26th (Monday) ~ I had a gathering with 3 of my secondary schoolmates. We had dinner at my place. So nice of them to come all the way (1 from Seremban, 2 from KL) to my ulu town. It was really great catching up with old friends over good food. I haven't met L since she left school after Form 5. We had BBQ marmite crabs (*yummy yum yum* which A brought from Seremban), satay and home-cooked fried bihun. XY was very excited that night and kept my friends entertained. Actually, she was over-excited till she got out of control thus getting a good scolding from me the next day. The girls commented that she's totally opposite from me as I'm a very quiet person. The funny thing is, PaPa's also a very quiet person. So where did she get this outgoing trait from? hmmmm...

28th (Wednesday) ~ Brought the kids for a haircut. School will reopen soon and it should still look neat enough for Chinese New Year. XY agreed to cut her hair short (not tie-able anymore). Wanted to get a new school bag (without trolley) for XY as her classroom is located on the 1st floor next year. There wasn't much choice and she didn't like the ones we saw. So didn't manage to get the bag yet. To split the weight, I got her a sling bag too.

XY fell sick (again) the next day -- fever and runny nose. Luckily her fever only lasted a day. Actually, CE and I are also recovering from runny nose. Hopefully everyone will be fully recovered before school starts.

Retail Therapy

How invigorating! I was given a day off to go shopping for CNY clothes. Most of the time when we go to the malls, I don’t really have the mood to buy my own clothes. When PaPa’s not there to control them, the kids like to play hide and seek among the rows of clothes. Or play catching. Or just run around, making a lot of noise. *shake head* So I can’t look at my stuff in peace.

As Christmas is just round the corner, the malls are packed with people doing last minute shopping. After walking around (from MV to The Gardens) for 4 hours, I’m quite satisfied with my loots. Nothing fancy, mainly casual wear coz I’m a ‘si lai’ mah, don’t need fancy attires. :D

I also took the opportunity to meet up with my ol’ pal (we’ve been friends since primary school). She came all the way from Seremban with her 11 year-old daughter. I’m so glad she could make it coz I only buzzed her yesterday night. We’ve not seen each other for many many years already, but we’ve been keeping in touch. We had an early dinner at Yuzu Japanese Restaurant at The Gardens. Food was really good! And as usual, sorry ah, no pictures coz slavemom is NOT a professional blogger. hahaha

I came back with bribes for the kids – lollipops from Starbucks, doughnuts and a book for XY. So no complaints from them that I was out almost the whole day. Thank you, PaPa for taking care of the kids. I really enjoyed my day off. Errr... can we do this more often? :p

Proud Moments

So fast 2 weeks of school holidays have passed. The kids have been fully occupied so far. They attended a Science Camp organised by CE's kindy last week (for 3 days). Their grandparents were here for a week, just went back on Wednesday. During their visit, the kids have been playing at their cousin's place from morning till night, with a break during naptime.

Now for some backdated events, CE had his Annual Concert cum Graduation Night on 12th Nov. He participated in 2 performances -- percussion and dance. It was a big relief that he didn't play a fool on the stage (remember his teacher's complaint during practice?). In fact, he was very serious with his dance moves -- very serious in shaking his bum bum. hahaha He seemed to be really enjoying himself on stage. It was also CH's (my nephew) graduation night. He was chosen to give a speech in Bahasa Malaysia. And he did it fluently and clearly. *clap clap clap*

* shake shake shake *

On 19th Nov, we went to XY's school for the Excellence Awards Ceremony. She got first in class and also a prize for Best Subject: English. She had to be in school by 7:30am so PaPa sent her to school first. Last year, all of us went at the same time and wasted time waiting for the VIPs to arrive. Then we had to endure the boring speeches. So this time, I thought we could skip all that and reach just before the prize-giving event starts. Unfortunately, they were ahead of schedule. By the time we reached the venue, she was about to go for her second round. I was just in time to take her picture. *phew* Just like last year, she received a certificate and a RM20 cash voucher for each of the award.

~ just in time to capture this ~

Singapore Trip Oct '11 (Part II)

Day 2 ~ 25th Oct

Had breakfast at the hotel as our package came with buffet breakfast for 2 adults. So we had to pay for the kids' buffet. Food was alright. Not too much variety but good enough for eating 2 days straight. I read a lot of reviews about very long queues, waiting for a table in the mornings. But we didn't face such problems, probably because it was off peak season.

We reached USS entrance at about 10am, its opening time. Saw that the 'candy tree' area was empty. Quickly brought the kids there for some photo shots. The day was so hot although the weather forecast said thunderstorm. But better be hot than raining, right? I brought along the kids' caps and a folded umbrella. But silly me, forgot to check the umbrella as it's been sitting in the cupboard, unopened, for years. It was a bit faulty, with a broken rib and I had difficulty closing it. So we didn't use it. Woah... we were being baked under the hot sun. Came back a few shades darker. :-( Although we went on a weekday, it's still very crowded. A lot of Indian tourists. But luckily the queues are still manageable. Nothing exceeding 30 minutes, mostly 5-10 minutes. If you're going during peak season, I'd suggest you buy the express pass to avoid spending all your time queuing.

~ under the 'candy tree' ~

~ Universal Studios Singapore ~

There are 7 zones in USS. As compared to Hong Kong Disneyland, the place is not very big and the rides are of a smaller version. We covered all those rides that we CAN ride, except the extreme roller coaster rides at Sci-Fi City. I can still accompany XY for the milder ones like Enchanted Airways and Canopy Flyer. While riding the Revenge of the Mummy, I almost freaked out. Just can't wait for the ride to be over. But XY really enjoyed it. What a daredevil she is. She wanted to go for second round but no one can accompany her. Coz I give up! Getting old lah. And don't count on PaPa, he's worse than me. hahaha We skipped Donkey Live show and missed Monster Rock due to the timing. Transformers The Ride will be opening in December 2011.

Some of the interesting shows are WaterWorld (the explosive and thrilling death-defying stunts water show), Shrek 4-D Adventure (with water spray and sensory effects) and Lights, Camera, Action! (special effects stage show).

We had dinner at Din Tai Fung. Had siew lung bao, noodle soup and fried rice. We enjoyed this much more than our meal at HRC. So cinapek hor. hahaha

Day 3 ~ 26th Oct

After our buffet breakfast, we went to check out Hard Rock Hotel's pool. As a hotel guest in the Resort, you're allowed to use any of the hotel's pool. I thought the kids would be thrilled with the man-made beach but they weren't interested to play with sand that morning. They went for the slide first but got bored with it quite fast. CE kept getting stuck in the middle of the slide, probably coz it wasn't steep enough. But I don't know why XY didn't have such problems. I don't really like the feel of sand in the pool so we moved to the shallow pool (without sand). Tried the jacuzzi, the pressure was so strong I had a hard time sitting still. :D

We didn't spend much time there. Headed back to the room to shower and pack and got ready to check out. We managed to get a late check-out at 1pm. Left our luggage at the reception and went for a light lunch at Toast Box as we're still quite full from breakfast.

Next on the itinerary is Underwater World. Although we've been there in '07, XY wanted to go again. And I thought CE would be able to appreciate it more now that he's older. The kids really enjoyed looking at the sea creatures and they are actually familiar with some special types of crabs/fish as they've seen them in Octonauts. hehehe Since it's our second time there, I don't find it interesting, except for the seals and dolphins show. They are really adorable, well-trained and entertaining.

~ Underwater World Singapore ~

~ interesting performance by the seals and dolphins ~

There was still time to kill so had a tea break at a restaurant there. Then we went back to The Forum and had a drink at Coffee Bean, to wait for dinner time. Ate at Din Tai Fung again. This time we ordered noodle soup for the kids and snacks for ourselves.

We were really frustrated when we found out our flight was delayed for 2 hours. The only good thing that came out of this is that I finally found the Faber-Castell finger printing art pads. Have been searching for a very long time already. Couldn't find this in their outlets in KL/Selangor. Due to the delay, I had time to check out the book store. Sooooo happy when I saw the art pads. There are 4 or 5 sets of different colours but I only bought one -- quite expensive leh after conversion. :p Also bought Crayola washable markers since I didn't get any souvenirs for the kids from USS. The welcome pack (consisted of a hand puppet, toothbrush, rubik's cube and plastic inflatable noise-maker) they got when we checked in at Festive Hotel doesn't count, right? :D Oh oh, got one souvenir from USS -- the popcorn bowl. Their cheapskate Mommy kept the bowl after they finished the popcorn. hahaha

Singapore Trip Oct '11 (Part I)

Day 1 ~ 24th Oct

We reached Festive Hotel in Resorts World Sentosa at about 12 noon. I've requested for an early check-in but it's subject to availability. As our room was not ready yet, we were asked to come back at 2+. So we registered ourselves and left our baggage with reception. Went for lunch at The Forum. It's less than 10 minutes walk from the hotel. We had hainanese chicken rice, hokkien mee and fish and chips at Lunar Cafe (serves local and western food). Food was ok, up to standard.

After we've filled our stomach, we took the Sentosa bus to Imbiah Lookout. Bus service within Sentosa is free. The bus stop is located at the carpark, about 15 minutes walk from the hotel. It's quite stuffy at the carpark. The buses are rather frequent, wait time less than 10 minutes.

We tried the Skyline Luge. I rode with CE coz he's too young to ride on his own. XY was on her own. PaPa was following her closely. She crashed at the curb once coz she let go of one hand to wipe her sweaty palm. hehehe No worries, she wasn't hurt. Pulled the cart back on track and she continued her ride. It was really fun. But it'd be more fun if we could go faster. PaPa had to slow down to accompany XY and I had a "passenger" with me. :D After the Luge, we took the Skyride back to the platform. XY, CE and I went 2 rounds as we bought the Family Deal (4 rides). Had to top up 1 person's fare to accompany XY.


Back to the hotel to check-in at 3+. As expected, the first thing the kids did was to check out the bunk bed. Like what the reviews said, the room is smaller than the pictures shown in their website. Although there's a sofa bed that can open up to be a queen size bed, we didn't use that. On the first night, XY slept on the bunk bed. It's actually big enough for both of them but I didn't allow CE to sleep there as I was afraid he'd have problems (blur blur/half-awake) climbing down in the middle of the night to pee. The second night, PaPa had to sleep there (yeah, it's long enough for him) coz XY doesn't want to be "alone" anymore. hahaha The hotel is very generous with bottled drinking water. There're 3 bottles of 500ml drinking water in the room. Every time you make a request to housekeeping, they'd send up 3 bottles. I actually requested for a pool view room. But during check-in, being near to the lift was priority to us coz I dread walking a long way to our room after a tiring day. So we got a room VERY near to the lift but the view was terrible, overlooking a construction site. :-(

~ Deluxe Family King room @ Festive Hotel ~

We didn't waste time and went to the pool for water play. Didn't spend very long there as we need to rush to go out again to watch Songs of the Sea. We missed that during our last trip to Singapore in '07 so this is on my must-do list. But unfortunately, in my personal opinion, it wasn't that spectacular.

We went back to the resort for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Ordered mushroom burger and I ate less than half. I didn't have any appetite, probably coz I was too tired. PaPa had BBQ ribs -- nice, not as jelak as my burger. The kids shared cheesy mac.

~ dinner at Hard Rock Cafe ~

The kids fell asleep quite fast when we're back in the room. It was a long day for them and they know they need to recharge for another long day the following day.

2nd Semester Progress Report

At the Parent-Teacher's Day in CE's kindy, we discussed about his progress in the 2nd semester. His class teacher has just resigned so we spoke to her assistant, Ms V. She said he's good in class, no complaints. Gets along well with his friends and teachers. He did well in the 2nd semester exams. He scored full marks for English, BM and Mathematics. And got above 90% for Science and Mandarin.

Some of the things Ms V highlighted :

1) He likes to help his friends by giving them the answers. Although the teacher has specifically told the class not to help others, he'll still tell his classmate and show him the page (where the answer is). Sometimes when he's so "helpful", the teacher will ask him to teach his friends, but he'll just give them the answers directly, instead of telling them how to get it.

2) He sometimes daydreams during lessons. But surprisingly, he can catch up and respond to his teacher's questions.

3) Ms V noticed that recently he's always having a troubled look on his face, like he's very stressed. I've asked him before, but couldn't find out what's bothering him.

4) As the school concert is drawing near, Ms V is worried about his dance coz at times, he doesn't cooperate during practice. Earlier this week, he was punished by another teacher for not dancing properly when it was his turn but was dancing at the back when another class was doing theirs. Hope he won't be so playful on the actual day.

5) We agreed that his chattiness depends on his mood. If he's in a good mood, he'll talk a lot. But when he's not in the mood, he doesn't communicate much and it's like he's living in his own world.

6) He didn't seem to grow much in half a year. His height remained the same and his weight increased only by 1kg. Hope to see better growth next year as he's taking Pediasure now.

7) His coloring has improved a lot (not so much out of the lines) and the principal complimented on his handwriting. Yeah, he can write very nicely if he puts his heart into it.

~ This is part of his Science paper. Quite neat and
nice hor his handwriting? *hehehe syiok sendiri* ~

I also spoke to his Mandarin (extra class) teacher, Ms L.
* He's very quiet in class and doesn't mix much with his friends. He'll talk to them if they approach him but most of the time, he prefers to be alone. It's probably due to the language barrier as he's more comfortable conversing in English. At the beginning, he speaks to Ms L in English but now he tries to speak more in Mandarin.
* He sometimes doesn't want to read out loud together (as a group) although he knows how to read the passage/book. Yup, that's my stubborn boy.
* A bit slow in his work. He's quite fussy with his Chinese writing. When it's not very nice, he'll rub it off and write again.

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE interacts more with his peers now. He is a fast learner, catch up things fast, especially in phonics. With more practice and encouragement may help him to converse better in Mandarin!