A Typical Saturday

After breakfast, the kids will be asking for games. They usually play Wii games because nowadays I minimise their time on the computer. Want them to avoid staring at the computer for too long. That reminds me, I've to bring them for a follow-up eye examination. During the check-up in end December '09, didi's right eye is weaker than his left. So the ophthalmologist suggested that I bring him back after 6 months coz he was only 3+ years old then. As for jie jie, she has slight shortsightedness and mild astigmatism. Have to ensure that her condition didn't get worse.

Before they get to play games, I made them do some "work". Didi doesn't have any homework from kindy. It'll start next year. I bought some writing books for him but I don't really make him practise. He does them whenever he wants to. So he hardly does any writing exercise on weekdays.

I asked him to write the alphabets and numbers, from 1 to 10. But he said there's still space so he continued till 30+. Then he wanted to erase the numbers from 22 onwards. Don't know why, maybe they don't look nice. hehehe But I stopped him from erasing further as I wanted to record it down.

~ didi's alphabets and numbers ~

As for jie jie, she was exempted today. Yeah, some Saturdays, they are lucky that they get to play games straight away without having to "earn" it. :-) Usually, I'll do revision with her. And if we're not revising school work, I'll prepare some Maths questions for her to do.

Then it's time for games. They played for 1+ hours, stopped coz lunch was ready. After a short rest, time for nap. On Saturdays when jie jie has swimming lessons, she'd skip her nap. They ate fruits for tea-time and then went out to play at the porch. I'm so excited coz didi finally succeeded in pedalling the bicycle with training wheels. I was starting to get worried because he couldn't get it when I taught him months earlier. And he wasn't really interested in cycling or learning to pedal. Mind you, he's already 4 years old and this kind of motor skill should've been mastered at age 2. Moreover he's a boy, I thought this kind of activity should come more naturally? So it was a big relief when he "suddenly" know how to pedal on his own.

We had noodles for dinner as PaPa wasn't home. Usually we'll eat out on Sat nights. I prefer to eat out on weekends as I'm tired to think of what to ask Kakak to cook. :p Sometimes PaPa will pack food back so we don't have to bring the whole gang out.

This is how our typical Saturday goes. How do you spend your Saturdays?

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One-week Break

Huh? School holiday's not here yet. Well, it's CE who's having a "break". He's been skipping school this whole week. He was suspected of having HFMD. It started on Saturday morning. He woke up with a fever of 38+ºC. Brought him to see the paediatrician. He's got ear infection (left ear) and slight red throat. Doctor prescribed antibiotics, ear drop and flu medicine (Peace syrup -- anti-histamine and decongestant). His fever was very high (most of the time above 38ºC) on Sat and Sun. And came back very fast too, I had to give him paracetamol every 4 hours. Luckily the fever subsided on Sun night.

Brought him to see the doctor again on Mon afternoon because since Sun, he complained of pain when he eats and drinks. Doctor said there are some ulcers in his throat and some dots on the sides, near the throat. They look like HFMD but he can't be sure. Asked me to monitor him for the next 2 days. Apart from his throat ulcers, there are no rashes on his hands and legs. I checked with the kindy, there are no reported cases of HFMD. So, I'm not sure if it's really HFMD. But to be on the safe side, I kept him at home for the whole week. The pain in his mouth is finally gone today. Before this, I relied on the throat drop (pain killer) to make his meal times more pleasant.

I'm so glad he's almost fully recovered now. And he can go back to school next week. At least I can have some peace of mind in the mornings. When both the kids are together, they play rough, laugh loudly and quarrel too. Sometimes I pity them as they don't get to spend much time together on weekdays. Can only play together after jie jie's back from school and weekends. But sometimes I think, it's good also -- good for my sanity. hahaha

Genting Trip Jul '10

We went to Genting Highlands last Saturday for a 1-night stay. It was one of the birthday surprises for XY. She didn't know we're going till that morning itself -- when she saw the stack of clothes (hers and didi's) on the bed. We were contemplating if we should go ahead with the plan coz it was MyFM's 12th Anniversary Concert that night. I'm sure the place would be crowded. But surprisingly, it was quite alright. There are many vehicles in Genting but the crowd in the outdoor theme park and restaurants were better compared to school holidays. However, there was a jam on our way there (on MRR2) and we reached the peak at 3+.

Check-in at Theme Park Hotel was a breeze. Maybe because it was quite late already. I didn't manage to book the Family Room (2 queen beds). So I booked the Deluxe Room (1 queen and 1 single bed) coz the room size, according to Genting website, is bigger than the Superior Quad, which has 2 queen beds. For now, the 3 of us (2 kids and I) can still fit in the queen bed. I requested for a room away from the noise so we were given the KL view. The theme park view would be noisy because of the concert.

~ deluxe room ~

If you don't like the idea of using 3-in-1 soap for washing your hair
and body, remember to bring your own shampoo and body soap. :-)

~ view from the room ~

Next, we had tea-break at Hainan Express (something like Toast Box), near the hotel lobby. This is the kids' second trip to Genting. Their first was in June '08. That time, we only went to the indoor theme park and the pool. So this trip, we skipped the indoor one and went for the outdoor theme park (the entrance is just next to the hotel). By then, it was already 5pm.

The kids had only about 2 hours of fun coz it rained. :-( We only rode in 3 rides, kids had some fun at the playground and they played 2 rounds of the Junior bumper car (had to leave coz the electricity for that section was suddenly cut off). When we were checking out the game stalls, a guy won a big dragon soft toy and was very kind to give it to XY. We think he must be a high level staff or he won't be able to win anymore soft toys as every customer is limited to winning 3 big prizes only.

~ back home, XY with her dragon ~

It was very cold as it was night time and raining. The rain was getting heavier so we left the theme park and went for dinner at First World Plaza. After that, back to the hotel to prepare the kids for bedtime. Then hubby went to make "donations" at the casino. hahaha

The next morning, the kids and I had breakfast in the room as hubby was still asleep. Ate the bread and biscuits I brought from home. The kids just can't wait to go to the pool. The Rainforest Splash Pool is located near First World Indoor Theme Park. With the cool weather, it's really nice to soak in the heated pool. The water level is only at the knee so you've to sort of lie down to "soak" in it. There's a mini playground in it (refer to picture) and 2 big water slides that adults can play too. Remember to bring along your hotel passbook to entitle free entry for 4 pax. With First World Hotel passbooks, you're entitled for some discounts.

~ mini playground in the pool ~

We spent less than an hour at the pool then went back to the hotel to check-out. After a simple lunch of fried rice and noodles at the hotel's Chinese restaurant, we headed home. Initially, we wanted to stop by the strawberry farm on our way downhill but looking at the tired kids (didi already fell asleep before we reached Gohtong Jaya), we skipped that. All in all, we spent less than 24 hours in Genting but the kids sure had a great time.