End of 3rd and start of 4th

The title pretty much summed up September. It's the month which marks the start of the end of the year. And it's more obvious now with school-going kids.

Term 3 ended pretty uneventfully with Teachers' Day. Kai and Yang wrote little notes to their form teachers on a website while Yu made cards for his teachers.

Copying text for the card to Ma Laoshi

The finished work

They had a party in school on Monday, trying out various food with the healthy choice symbol on it. I couldn't find regular snacks with that sign :p Only nuts but I'm not sure if the kids would eat them so I packed three packets of Milo with less sugar for him. 

Some time in the late morning, I received a call from the school to say that Yu had a swollen, itchy eye. The only new thing he ate that morning was a walnut. He had had cashews and peanuts before, but google says it's possible to be allergic to one nut. But Yu was doing fine otherwise so I picked him up from the sick bay after work.

Looks like a poor boy :( but still a ball of energy when I saw him *.*

I think he probably had a case of bad nose allergy that day.. Anyway, I ordered a small pack of walnuts and will let him try!

They suddenly wanted chicken feet again!

As school holidays started, Sito left for KL once more. The kids wanted to sleep with me - still babies! I had to wake early to go to the office on Tuesday so only let them come in on Tuesday night - and never again!

Coz they took up the whole bed

I had to shift Yu so I could lie down

Didn't sleep well as all three moved quite a bit. Kai even woke at one point and made a lot of noise cracking his knuckles! And lucky I had the good sense to grab Yang's small blanket along to cover my upper body coz by morning, the entire queen duvet was on Kai alone. Yang and Yu were wearing longs but my arms were exposed!

I took only one day of leave during this term break. Got JY over for a 5-hour play date for the older kids - left the K1s in school :p They mostly played on their own - Game of Life! - while the mummies chatted. I even made pasta for lunch and went downstairs with JY to grab her lunch as she doesn't eat pasta. Forgot to take pictures - next play date!

We left about 3 pm. They went to get cake while we went to get Yu. We were going for an early dinner! Learnt from JY about 40% at Paradise Dynasty from 3 pm to 5 pm, and had been wanting to bring them. 

So happy that Kai and Yang tried xiaolongbao and liked it! We finished 20 xlb, eight dumplings, two plain noodles and all the pork cutlet on the fried rice. Just nice, leftover pasta and fried rice for the two the next day - gave Kai $5 to buy chicken balls from downstairs on his own as his fried rice lunch was meatless.

Kai asked for this fried rice which he had the last time we were here in December

Yang showing off his noodles - he finished almost everything

Yu had mostly xlb and dumplings, plus some noodles

Slurping up the soup!

Went to buy new shoes for them. Yang and Yu were fickle but finally decided on what they wanted. Kai decided fast enough but they didn't have his size! Big boy already, no more kiddy brands for him. Will bring him to another place another day.

Next was doughnuts! The lady was so nice to give each of them a hat. They were so cute posing with the hats, especially Kai with his thumbs up! But the younger two continued to wear their hats almost all the way home, um...

All ready to eat! But we ate at home and only Kai finished his.

Monkeying around after pretending to sell me various foodstuff - super noisy but couldn't make them quieten down

We started our second set of four swimming lessons during the term break. The coach said he would get them to swim on their own this set. I didn't realise it was the first lesson of the set. It was 9 Sep so I was busy shopping online during their lesson :p Only looked up towards the end and to my surprise, I saw this tiny boy swimming on his own across the width of the pool! His coach was walking next to him. 

I commended Yu when he climbed up and he told me he drank some water *.* That night, he clarified that he only drank water during the practice. The coach also told me that all three did it, and he would get them to do the length the next week and progress to no goggles next. Cool!

Debrief at the end of the lesson

Little did we know that we wouldn't have lessons for a long while after that, sighs... Darn you, COVID-19!

Green bean soup popsicle made by AhMa!

Those are way too big for you, my dear...

Yummy ear!

JY's self reader books are more interesting than ours - and in English!

Yang's hardboiled egg baby!

Kai got a Dog Man bag when buying Dog Man!

For some reason, I didn't remember to do things for Mid-Autumn Festival this year. Maybe coz no Taka mooncake fest again :( Forgot to shop for mooncakes; only bought some yam ones when I happened to see a flash sell on Shopee! 

My very sad half mooncake with tea; kids had munchkins - another round thing :p

Forgot to let the kids play with lanterns over the weekend too. So on the day itself, I brought them downstairs after dinner. Lucky we still had enough paper lanterns from last year and some bulbs. Brought along a candle too in case anyone was adventurous...

But sparklers first!

Then we walked one full round around the estate. Their lanterns dropped N times. Yang's bulb went dead. Well, the bulbs were all very old anyway. So he gamely tried the candle but dropped it of course. Luckily, it didn't catch fire. But after that, guess who was still carrying a lantern? No one. Coz I carried THREE!

Posing next to our block

The candle one was so bright!

Might as well play a bit...

Meanwhile, Sito took bites off his mooncake at his SHN hotel :p

This is a milestone month as Kai had his first exams! He had Chinese and English oral exams on 23 and 24 Sep. Yang had early dismissal so I told Kai to come home on his own - big boy now. He was home earlier for English as they started from the last registration number. He told me Chinese was easy, but he didn't think he scored too well. Huh? As for English... "Why should I tell you?" Eh!

Can my Ironman boy make you tell me?! :p

And on Friday, 24 Sep, the news broke - dining in would be for max two from following Monday! I was so upset!! That means we could not go out for dinner on weekends, i.e. the boys would take ages to eat at home even on weekends! That means we can't bring the boys out far coz there would be nowhere to sit down for a bite! Can't even go to visit the grands together! Planned birthday celebrations were also cancelled! Argh!

I've not felt like that for a long time, so I bought two dinners for myself

I ranted at the dining dinner when I saw the news. I didn't think they heard me until I mentioned that their swimming lessons would likely be affected. Kai who was doing some homework after dinner, shook his head and went, "COVID-19 has gone too far..." Hear hear!

Interestingly, the boys had a pretty quiet Saturday afternoon after their usual Nintendo. Kai and Yang were drawing. Yu was reading and then watching his brothers for a while... It was cloudy so not too hot, perfect for the playground! We headed there to play before our last meal out together for a long time.... 

Drawing Dog Man; Yang was pottering around waiting for the same book

Reading Plants and Zombies comic - in Chinese?!

Kai wanted steak. After being reminded of what steak was, Yu wanted it too. Yang still wanted spaghetti. So we went to Andes. But when the porterhouse arrived, Yang also wanted some steak... I also had steak - the leftovers, haha! But I wasn't hungry. I took the creamy mushroom soup that came with the steak.

Happy ending at Macs!

Kai adjusting the seat when we were at the J10 junction

The last time we went to Mum's place, Kai took Sito's place next to me. The car was quieter when the three of them were not seated together behind! So this time, I asked him to sit in front too. He was adjusting the seat last time as well but this time, he asked about the memory function. 

Notice that he was holding the bag too. He has to help dish out water bottles if his brothers need water. He also helped to call Mum twice coz I kept forgetting until I started driving. We needed someone to fetch them from the porch coz I don't trust them to stay close at the busy carpark.

And then, HBL started. This is less sian than dining in for max two. And I know the drill already - tray for books, snack box, water bottle, machines fully charged. I even made them commit to the same breakfast so that we could save time asking in the morning!

What I didn't know was that they were also familiar already. Yang even blurred his background in Zoom! Overall, things were smooth except for two things - unsteady internet this week and "what can I do now?" when they were done. But helpdesk tickets were few and swiftly closed. And I just opened up Nintendo :p

Ah Beng didn't tuck in his shirt despite reminders; reading timetable

I hope this dreamer was focusing...

Yang had a his second follow-up at NUH Kids yesterday. After his first, he was given one packet of Forlax a day, with instructions to eat more vege and fruits and drink more water. Avoid refined carbs! He didn't poop every day even with the daily Forlax. We were told to continue for a few more months. Review in two months.

I also asked the doctor about the redness on his upper lip. Last time, he suggested cloth masks in case the paper masks were irritating him. But one month on, his upper lip was still red! Sighs... I've been putting paw paw on him nightly to no avail... Maybe get Vaseline already...

Anyway, our visit was super smooth - I registered on the app just as we entered NUH Kids. Waited maybe two minutes to get to triage. We went to level six and the nurse told us to walk straight in to the doctor. Lucky! We were out so quickly with medicine and payment! Ended up spending more time snacking downstairs - he couldn't resist a bun (refined carbs!!) and I also had a bite.

How long more would you be this small for??

Yu with a big picture of himself as a vege seller!

Sell vege to your XiaoGeGe, please :p

This poor boy fell just now. I was standing, talking to Kai on the upper bunk. Yang and Yu both got up too. I told Yu who was nearer the ladder to get down. He got down halfway, turned and tried to manoeuvre something to get to his lower bunk, but missed and fell! I saw him land on the floor just under Yang's bed!

I grabbed the crying boy and checked his head. No bump but there was a redness on the centre back. So poor thing! And Kai made me so angry I cried. He said, "Maybe he'll die tonight..." Goodness! He got a bad scolding from me! If you've got nothing good to say, keep your mouth shut! :(

As Yu settled, I reminded him of rule number 1 - safety. And told him not to do that thing he did again. Else it would be painful all over again. He asked for more hugs tonight :(

And Yang the sweet boy helped to turn on the light and grabbed tissue paper. He also stared into my face and gave me a toothy smile - that's what I think his way of checking in on me :)

Tomorrow is Friday, 1 Oct. In my childhood, 1 Oct was Children's Day. Now it's the first Friday of October. But not tomorrow coz it's in the midst of PSLE so... In any case, I'll try to remember to give them a treat tomorrow - to celebrate the end of one week of HBL! One more to go!

Phonics for Yang + a play date

After months of suffering spelling and hanyu pinyin with Yang, I finally did something drastic about it - outsource!

JY's kids went to this teacher at Bibinogs in Serene Centre and linked me up with her. So Yang went for a trial on 7 August. 

As we passed through Botanic Gardens MRT, Yang remembered that that was the way to AhMa's house. So after the lesson, we packed a cake to surprise her! He chose a healthy cake for her, hoho! Also packed a croissant for his lunch along the way.

Grandma and grandson posing with the cake

The next Saturday, we sat down for lunch. It was a pretty expensive lunch for a sour dough egg tart and a scone *.* And he was so hungry by dinner time! So we decided we should just quickly go home for lunch next time.

He wanted to pose

Understanding the bend in the train

So yup, we continued after the trial. The class was actually at K2 level but it helped his basics. By his second lesson, I could see improvements! So I gave notice just in time to end by the end of this term. No need to waste time and money to continue anymore, yeah!

It's really not easy for parents to send kids for enrichment. Last time Yamaha was fine as I sat in with him. Now, I have to wait 1.5H for him *.* Already went to JY's place twice as it's quite near and they drive. Tried to go to Ion once to run an errand but realised at the bus stop that I wouldn't make it back in time so I went back to wait and ended up doing a 30-min back massage. Fourth lesson, I had a haircut. Fifth and sixth, I had brunch at Killiney with JY and was super full until dinner.

The final lesson took place yesterday - it was PSLE listening comprehension, i.e. no school for the rest, so we changed the class to Friday instead. Arranged a play date with JY too - second time! First time in Sep update planned for end of month, heh :p

Yu was so funny - willingly let JY hold his hand as we left the building! Ok, bye! :p We took the bus over and the boys made themselves at home. We all had porridge for lunch at some point before I went to fetch Yang and K3. Apparently, while I was gone, Yu was happily playing on his own while Kai and K2 were chatting about chess. K1 was having listening comprehension and came home after the three of us.

The teacher said K3 told her that he was scared to go home with a stranger. She assured him that she would call his mummy. But he let me hold his hand anyway. Along the way, the two boys chatted. K3 also warmed up to me after a while - Auntie mf, Auntie mf! But he seemed a bit nervous - his arm was stiff as he let him hold his hand, awww...

Yang and K3 had lunch too. To my surprise, Yang also had a plain prata! Kai had an onion prata while Yu was absorbed in play. But after a while, he came out to ask, "Where's my prata?" Oops, we thought he had forgotten... To save the trouble of frying another one, I cut some butter cake for him - happened to have baked one and brought a third to JY.

Later, Kai said JY's porridge was much better than kakak's; Yang said he didn't like it; Yu said he was ok. I say Yang really gave face then, coz he ate everything and quite quickly!

Anyway, the kids kept playing while the mummies attempted to chat. A lot less relaxed than the first play date coz we were more involved with the kids *.*

Then it was playground time!

Catching before setting boundaries to the playground

Deciding who to be the catcher

Decided!

Run!

Yu was rocking as he counted when he was the catcher - no time to do video

Wait a minute - why must they cover their eyes when playing catching? :p

Soon, more children came and it was time for us to go too. I had wanted to go to AMK Hub, but gosh, I was too tired by then so we went straight to Mother's place.  Let the kids watch cartoons while I vegetated by the side.

And then dinner was ready!

Where are my prawn fritters?! Very sad, no prawn fritters for a long time already. Coz the kids don't eat them; they eat nuggets. I shall request for prawn fritters next time!

The salmon was not present in 30 years of living in AMK. Neither were eggs cooked this way - this was legacy from Kai's toddlerhood. The soup is now in a slow cooker - gave some to the kids who drank for the carrot that is old-school chocolate eyewear. 

I had my own dessert - a mooncake-shaped chocolate. I mistakenly thought they were chocolate mooncake, i.e. snowskin with chocolate filling. No, these were chocolate with some filling. It was very filling!

Kids also dozed off on the taxi home. We were all tired! They still wanted some phone video so I let them end the day happy too. And I dozed off right after saying goodnight to them!

And, notice something? We started with AhMa and ended with WaiPo, hoho!

Major decision

Back in 2019, we decided that I should quit for my personal well-being. I ended up being convinced to do part-time instead. I applied for part-time for one year - the max but I could renew it for up to a total of three years of part-time. After a few months, I couldn't see myself going back to full-time work anymore. So the plan was to do this for three years and say bye bye. By then, Yu would be going to primary school so I really shouldn't be going back to full-time.

But things changed along the way. 

My entire team changed. My new manager and new executive were way less experienced and familiar with our work, so I ended up clearing a lot of work over WhatsApp during off hours since the start of 2021. 

Sito also got posted to KL. He went there only once so far coz the COVID situation didn't allow him to stay long or return. KL is near so there is no intention for us to relocate with him, even without COVID. 

Can't remember now but one or both of the above could be why we wanted to bring forward my exit plans to March or April 2022.

Then the last straw - the helper. No way I would renew her. I found on MOM website that I could extend her for up to two months without renewing her. So I would do that and have her gone by the time I quit after getting year end bonus.

But I have too many days of leave. After discussing with HR a couple of months ago, I decided to take NPL instead of quitting out right. That way, I would get performance bonus for this year too, woohoo!

I also decided to revert to full-time work after this year of part-time expires in November. Make it easier to count leave as I must clear all my leave before NPL. So I would be working no more than half time from 1 Dec, and my last physical day of work should be 7 Jan, which is a full day as I need to go back to office to clear stuff and go to HQ to return laptop. Then it's leave all the way until end Feb.

My new DD discussed with me about returning - so soon!! Haha! HR said I would get a year after the two years to find a posting. If I don't find one, I would need to quit. To be honest, I really don't see myself going back to full-time work. At my grade, it would probably be difficult to get a part-time position that works. I'd rather be with the kids when they're back from school, as in totally present. 

As it stands, even though I'm technically working part-time now, work is omnipresent, no thanks to WhatsApp. I'm often clearing work over WhatsApp in the afternoon with the kids around. Work doesn't stop at night too - I often dream about work. I had formed a full submission in a dream, thought of how to work out projections in another, and there was a recent one where I had to consider issues in three ways and arrived at a decision. Couldn't rest even in sleep!

Thinking about it now, I realise that I'm more like a part-time mother. I don't need to worry about the kids when they're in school and I'm working. But when they're home, I can't be with them fully coz there's always work stuff to be cleared via WhatsApp.

When I was working full-time, I was with them fully when I was with them, coz it was only three hours over dinner and bedtime, and of course, coz I logged on after that. Now that I'm working part-time, I don't log on again but instead, I feel compelled to clear work outside my working hours. 

It sucks. I enjoy my work - the nature, the industry, the impact, and even the spreadsheets. But it really, really sucks to have work eat into family time. 

It was not difficult to make this decision when I look at the kids. But when I look at Sito, it's different. He works such long hours. While some people see their family more coz of WFH, this is not true for him. We're lucky if he manages the rare dinner during our usual time. Usually, he doesn't end work until past 9 pm. Latest I saw him climb into bed was past 4 am :(

Friday, 2 July at dinner, I asked him if he felt stressed that I wouldn't have an income next year. He said no. That was a relief.

Then being the worrier that I am, I wonder what it would be like to lose financial independence. So I started to do some research on things I could do. Also asked fellow mum of three boys, RI, what she did when she was a SAHM. Maybe more on that next time...

I have started making plans for next year so that I can focus on the kids when they're home and keep the house in order when they're in school. The current task list for helper has been modified; I have collected recipes and tips for dinner to reduce active time spent in the kitchen when they're home; it is also time to revisit some learning projects I started a year ago to teach them non-academic stuff. And with Kai's first exams looming, I've also started collecting tips to help him revise. The tiger mum is rearing her ugly head!

Still, I think I will miss this desk of mine...

Lost boy incidents

On Thursday, Yu became a lost boy, and I a lost mama...

Yu has been exerting his independence these days. He likes to ride the escalator on his own and walk on his own. He also likes to hide near the staircase of the train station and wait to pounce on me.

But that day, he ran too far ahead of me and refused to wait when I called out to him. I saw him run to the escalator, turn to smile at me, and disappear. By the time I got there, he was nowhere to be seen. From the escalator, I could see the lift landing but no kid. The escalator was on energy-saving mode but he also likes to take the stairs so I headed down. 

But I crossed the station and couldn't find him at the staircase! So I ran back up and saw this poor boy standing outside the escalator landing, next to the bus stop, looking around with a hand to his eyes...

I had over-estimated him. I had also forgot how he liked to hide at the lift landing, which was what he did. Gave him a hug and told him not to run away ever again. He hugged my hand on and off all the way home, awww...

Poor thing look - though this picture is from this morning when he had an itchy left eye in school

That night when we were all in bed in the same room as Friday was a school holiday, I talked about the various lost boy incidents.

Kai

• Lost near Macs soon after we moved in in 2018. We were heading for dinner or something on a weekend. Sito spotted him soon after we discovered him gone. He just walked off a bit and couldn't see us.
• This scary time in P1.

Yang

• Was it in 2018? Kai and Yang went into the poo poo shop ahead of Yu and me, and got separated. Think Yang couldn't see Kai and left the shop. Kai couldn't find Yang in the shop and headed home. I think I found Kai talking to the security uncle asking if he had seen his brother, awww! Found Yang crying but forgot where :p
• Last year, told Yang to go home on his own one day as he needed to pee. Think I was trying to settle Yu's dinner at the food court or something. But he was not there when I got home! I rushed down to look for him - shouted into the gents right downstairs. Then I thought he might have popped into the L2 toilet coz urgent so I headed up... and found him watching cartoons in front of the TV there!
• Last year, I told Yang and Yu to play at the kiddy rides while I checked out the bakery right behind. Yu chased after me. Yang couldn't find us and headed home. I brought Yu back to the kiddy ride and couldn't find Yang. Found him at the top of the escalator towards home. He knew the way home but was crying coz he couldn't find me, awww...

Yu

• Some time pre-COVID, we were preparing to go to the pool when Yu went into the lift on his own. His brothers alerted us. Goodness, he was so small! It was decided quickly that Sito would run down the stairs while we waited for the next lift. I alighted at L5 while his brothers went to L1. So he came out at L1, still impish and happy *.*
• This Thursday one...

We had a good laugh about these. But gosh, when it happened, it was scary! Told them please please please don't be lost again!

Teachers' Day weekend!

Teachers' Day means no school for all the kids! I was thinking about a museum trip again... But I don't know if Yu would have the attention span... And it was a sunny day! So to the great outdoors we went!

Ok, not very great nor adventurous. Just Botanic Gardens :p

Must squeeze into two seats on the train

Looking at tortoises. Or are they turtles?

I was wondering why there were so many families on the grass patch near Jacob Ballas. When we got there, I realised why - there was a queue :( I scanned in and we waited near the entrance instead of going to the grass patch outside. The kids entertained themselves with the digital displays there. Kai kept asking when our turn was; Yu kept saying he wanted to go to the playground now; Yang managed to be fully occupied on his own.

I don't know why but I love this!

We were told the wait could be one to two hours but they would try to admit as quickly as possible. The SMS showed a 600-min wait *.* But thankfully, we got in after 30 min.

We saw a sand pit first but I told them to head for the tree house instead. And they had fun sliding down the tree house for over 30 min. I took pictures, watched them and did some work standing around.

The older boys decided to go so we left. But not before chasing butterflies! We saw a beautiful black one with a white flower on each wing. Then there was an orange and white one that stayed around a small patch of plants.

Yang and Yu were chasing the butterfly around this small patch

At first we wanted to go back to Macs downstairs but looking at the time, I asked them if they wanted pasta instead. Yes! So we ate right outside Jacob Ballas. Yu changed to fish and chips when I read out the kids menu.

Yang said it was the best day ever!

Of course, slides, pasta, and I gave up two rashes of bacon to Kai and Yang, and shared my sole sausage with Kai and Yu :p

Watching a jungle fowl

Not as pretty as the one we saw going into the Gardens but we still stood around for a while. 

Also spotted a cute little squirrel on the tree

One last picture before we left - tiny Yu with a big sleeping tree!

We had ice cream at Macs downstairs. Or rather, they had ice cream; I had a cappuccino. And I learnt to use the Macs app and got a stamp for my McCafe, yeah!

I meant to exhaust them with the slides but I think I was more tired at the end of the day *.* Keeping these kids together the whole time, having three calling for me at the same time, trying to address everyone and not ignore anyone... So it was great my fave teacher (at heart for now) and I ended the day with a foot massage and dim sum :)

The weekend continued normally. When we came back from phonics, I saw that Sito was napping *.* Later, he told me that Kai laid him down to rest to ensure we could go to Ikea, hoho! Coz the last Saturday, Sito had a headache and we aborted Ikea plans.

Went to the Ikea at Jurong this time. Easy to get to! And there's a queue system at the restaurant similar to that at Jacob Ballas except that it does not SMS me upfront with a link to check queue length. It was better than standing in queue as we could hang around the kitchens where the kids checked out the drawers and goods, and pretended to buy and cook :p

Quietly having his two chicken wings

Love this enthu boy!

This big one has four wings! Or effectively 3.5 coz he didn't clean the bones :p

Sito and I had the rest - we finished 12 wings! And 20 meatballs, two servings of fries, a plate of pasta and two spring rolls :p

We went to explore the rest of Ikea. These kids really like to play in the showrooms! But we had to go soon.... It started raining already and bed was beckoning...

Papa bear and Mama bear...

Brought along our three baby bears...

Who had chicken (not porridge) for dinner, sat on chairs (without breaking any) and lay on beds (without really sleeping) - no room for Goldilocks here! :p

Sunday was also regular. I made a pizza. Had wanted to do some Lego while they played Nintendo but I was sleepy :p Then five of us nua-ed/played in our room for a long time until we had to go for dinner.

While Yang and Yu did colouring, Sito and I had a chat with Kai about his weighted assessments and upcoming exams. Suffice to say this boy needs to aim higher! 

His exam schedule is out. When I saw that, I felt something I hadn't felt for a while - stress. I don't get stressed at work; things would eventually work out, just a matter of time, and there was no reason or indication that my project would be halted. 

So, what am I stressed about? Hard to pinpoint. I don't know if Kai realises what an exam is all about. I don't know if he would treat it seriously. He can be competitive. I don't think he would like it if he doesn't do good enough. But then again, his "good enough" is like 12/20 based on his latest weighted assessment *.* 

Anyway, I've prepared more test papers for him this coming school holidays! Time to work harder!