Unplanned Holly!

Last Wednesday right through to Friday saw the kids taking time off from school as HFMD made its foray into Dayen's class and the school instructed for us to keep both boys away. So, true to what I said in the previous post, we went out for some fun!

As we had to collect Dallen's new passport at the ICA, we decided to visit the Central Library. There was a nice corner set aside for young children and its decoration really does attract and both boys were excited! Had we been there on a weekend, there's even storytelling sessions scheduled. 

But I personally was a little disappointed with the collection of books available. As compared to what we have at the Bedok branch, the variety of books here paled quite significantly. I'll still prefer to go back to our neighbourhood library. 

The very next day, the hubs and I were thinking of where to bring the boys. On a whim, we decided to cross the causeway and drive into our neighboring country. Since we've been to Legoland before, we made our way to Puteri Harbour. The area wasn't big and retail outlets were limited as the establishment is really new and the shops are not open for business yet. But what it lacked in variety and size, it made up with rides and shows that the children could indulge in. Since we went on a school day, there was hardly any crowd and we were able to take the rides (repeatedly) with hardly any queue. There's also a big play area that promises to tire the parents more than the kids! 

At the end of the day, both boys were exhausted. So were the parents!

If your kids are big fans of the hit series "Thomas and Friends", this is one place you must go! As adults, you won't be impressed. But if you think on the level of the children, this is one place where you'll be having hours of fun! 

HFMD Strikes

The boys returned to school after a long Easter holiday weekend and at the end of the school day, we were informed that they are several cases of HFMD in Dayen's class and 1 of them has been hospitalised. The school sent home 3 children this morning and classes have been suspended for Dayen. Dallen has also been told to stay home.

Looks like we'll be going to the library, beach, etc. I'm only glad that the hubs is around. This may be his last few chances to spend time with them during the weekdays. 

When There's No Schedule

Life's great when you have no schedule to keep to! 

The kids get an extra day off school after Easter and since it's not a scheduled school holiday, then we're not expecting Sentosa to be crowded. Moreover, it'll be quite nice to drive around the island top down. So we made our way to Sentosa. As they say, man proposes, God disposes. It started to rain on our way there and we had to ditch our "topless" plan. Nevertheless, we carried on and after a quick breakfast, made our way to Port of Lost Wonder. 

It was much smaller than I expected it to be but the kids had a splashing good time and that's good enough for me. Moreover, we got a 20% discount on my Passion card and the adults get to go in for free. So we spent about 2 hours in the water and made our way to our fave bistro on the island for lunch. 

The bistro is on the beach so that allowed the kids to continue having fun - on the beach. 

So it's sun (not much), sand and sea Monday for us. We're waiting out the rain (which came again while we were having lunch) and letting Dayen recharge while we're at it. 

And I'm ever so thankful for my trusted sling. It brought comfort to both my sons and continue to do so. 

We had a great start to the week and hope you are blessed as we are! 

Port of Lost Wonder charges $10 per kid (12 years and below) from Monday to Friday & $12 for weekends and P.H. NTUC and Passion cardholders are entitled to 20% discount while the Islander Pass holders get 10% off. Adults enter with compliments. 

All Good Things Must Come To An End

I'm feeling a little nostalgic as I drive today. Our Vitara has served us well and today, perhaps knowing that our relationship is soon coming to an end, is extra responsive. We've decided to let it go while it's still got some value and get us a younger car so as to prolong our usage. It's so expensive to get a car in Singapore now. Better to get a change while we still have the financial ability to do so and the Vitara still has some value. For a while, we were considering keeping the Vitara in addition to the new car. But we did our Math and can't afford to do that. 

A couple more days before we say our goodbyes. We'll definitely miss you, old guy! 

Let's Karaoke Together!

Let's sing the same song....in parenthood, that is. 

A friend was sharing that she felt totally demoralized when her kids were observed and evaluated by a teaching professional and the feedback came back all negative. 

She has a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old. The elder girl is very well-behaved. However, she lacks self-confidence and dare not question when in doubt. 

The younger son is the more challenging of the pair. He's active, can't sit still and acts like the king when his grandparents are around. In a nutshell, he's spoilt. But this behaviour is usually not displayed at home when he's with only his parents. At most, he takes his frustration out on his sister. 

A point to note here. My friend is not one to overindulge in her children. The crux of the problem is, she has in-laws who do and when she disciplines her kids, SHE gets scolded by her in-laws IN FRONT OF her kids. When she politely declined her in-laws' unnecessary presents (e.g. an iPad or a new handheld game console) for her son (because she feels it's not suitable for her son and may distract him too much), they overrode her decisions, on more than one occasion. 

It doesn't help that when things go wrong, she's the first (and one and only) to get the blame and her kids ended up being compared to other children. 

My friend has already communicated to her in-laws several times not to spoil her kids and she doesn't want to appear rude by opposing her in-laws directly. 

My take on this? Her husband should have spoken to his parents and if this doesn't help, then the elders will have to be told point blank that they CANNOT and SHOULD NOT interfere in the children's upbringing. If they cannot adhere to the parents' rules, then contact will have to be kept to a minimum. I told her very firmly, her role as a mother is much more important than her role as a daughter-in-law. She's shaping her kids' personalities and the kind of people they will become. If she has to offend certain people to get this responsibility fulfilled, then so be it. Maybe I'm a more vocal person. I do tell my in-laws off (in a nice way) when they try to intervene and thankfully, they take my word seriously. As a parent, when we have to put our foot down, we just have to put it down. Firmly. If everybody is singing a different tune of discipline, guess who the child(ren) will defer to? And then what's going to be the consequences of that? 

To end off, let me share this from the book 'A Little Child Shall Lead Them' by Johann Christoph Arnold: "To other grandparents, let me say this: don't forget that raising your grandchildren is your children's responsibility first and foremost -not yours- and that their ideas may be different from yours..... Though grandparents should feel free to advise, they should never interfere." 

And The Washing Continues

Woke up this morning to the sound of Dallen retching and vomiting. By the time I dashed into his room, he has already soiled his bedsheets and woken his brother. So there we were, the hubs and I, doing the clean-up at 4ish this morning. By the time I loaded the washing machine and returned to bed, the second wave came and Dallen was, once again, vomiting. At least, he managed to vomit into the pail we left by his bedside and I didn't have to do another change of bedsheet. 

By the time I managed to tune out the hubs' thunderous snoring and fell asleep again, my alarm rang. I was so tired I switched it off, intending to snooze for just another 15 minutes. The next I opened my eyes, it was an hour later and we're running late for school! Fortunately, we managed to reach school just as the bell rang. 

O, what a way to start the day! 

Burned Out

Here I am. Feeling exhausted, bored with life and really, quite unhappy. I know I need a break, a holiday, and I'm not getting one anytime soon. Having returned to live in (expensive) Singapore means I can't indulge in good food or go for staycations like we used to. 

The few years we spent in Indonesia has by and large shaped how we live our lives. We could spend quite comfortably and indulge in ways that is beyond us now. And I'm really feeling the differences. Every purchase has to go through an internal scanner now before I bring it to the counter. Eateries are evaluated based on prices before a decision is made on whether to dine there or not. Frankly, it's getting a little tiresome. 

I love to eat and who wouldn't enjoy a little pampering at the hotel? But to bring the whole family for a decent buffet is going to cost us an arm and a leg and I'm not about to indulge like this when there are bills to be paid and money to be spent every which way we turn. A staycation or vacation is, of course, no longer an option now (we used to go *snap fingers* just like that!).  

So now, as I wait for the laundry to be done after Dayen vomited twice on his bed (which means I have 2 sets of bed covers in the machine and it's now close to 1 in the morning), feeling very hungry and kinda sorry for myself, I have decided that I need a good breakfast tomorrow. Oh, but wait! The lease for our storage is expiring soon and we need to bring our stuff back home and clear the space. So, no time for good breakfast as we raced against time to travel to the west (in peak hour timing) and then back east to pick up the kids from school. Back to the humdrum we go and I'm looking forward to my next pampering. But when's that gonna be?