No longer airing my dirty laundry

Technically, I used to air washed laundry :p

Having a dryer is a wonderful thing. Really. All the time I used to spend hanging up laundry, shifting the drying racks depending on the weather and checking for dryness was such a waste! 

In our first home, our dryer was stacked on top of the washer. We didn't have a stacking rack, just placed a tailored plank from carpenter on top of the washer, and put the dryer on. But it was impossible to clean the floor under the combo coz it was too heavy to move. When we had to change the washer, it was a nightmare. When we had to repair the dryer, it was also a nightmare.

So for our home now, I decided I want my washer and dryer together. The downside is that our selected dryer model does not allow us to install the door such that it opens in the opposite way as the washer. 

But I already have two Ikea Samla 45L boxes for clean laundry. So I just use a box to hold the west laundry, and pull the box over to the dryer to throw in the clothes. As I like to shake out each item instead of letting each be crumply wet, this setup is much better than the stacked setup where I would have to bend up and down 50 times! Yes, that's roughly the number of clothing items every full load!

These Ikea boxes are really good. Just the right size of a full load of laundry. I bought only one lid though. I put clothes for ironing in a covered box as I don't iron every day now. The box without a lid stacks nicely on the covered box. When I need to mop, the stack of two goes on top of my dryer.

They are also easy to carry. I have to carry Sito's and my clothes for folding to our room to fold. We didn't install the common counter over washer/dryer in our laundry room as I thought it silly to make the machines less accessible for maintenance AND collect dust on the machine!

Yes, we have a dedicated laundry room!

That was the scene after ironing one day. This room gets the afternoon sun so it's perfect, though the direction of the sun alternates every six months.

But when the autumn solstice came this year, I decided that it was too hot when I wasn't drying anything so I put up an extendable rod and hung up an unused shower curtain to protect the machines and my Robot-kun charger.

Come come, let me introduce my favourite room :p

The basin is the biggest, good-looking basin we could find. It's for washing stains off before throwing into the washer. I also wash shoes and Robot-kun parts there. Basically the mud sink. But you know the usual mud sinks look horrible :p Various cloths are hung near or on it - for drying hands, wiping machines, toilet rags etc.

There's a thin movable rack between the washer the wall under the window, where I store detergent, laundry sanitiser, stain removers, bleach for cleaning the washer etc.

The washer looks lower than the dryer coz the roller stands can't take the washer drum vibrations! I can still clean around the washer but at some point, I would need to shift it to clean under it.

The wall rack was useful for me to hang up ironed clothes and also various items to be hung dry, like Sito's jogging clothes (too small a load for the dryer), Kai's school tie, schoolbags and shoes. I can turn the arms so that they go outside the window - great for things that drip and/or need more sun!

The ironing board and iron go into the cabinet on the right edge of the photo, along with other cleaning materials and stores of various stuff which I don't even know where to start describing so I shan't :p The side wall is great to hang up my Magiclean sweeper.

The three baskets in the foreground are for the kids' clean clothes. Each kid will bring his own clothes back to fold. I still hang other clothes for them - that may change if they become more gentle in future, else I fear for my wall rack!

Oh, the small stool is for me to sit on while I move clothes into and out of the machines. And to clean Robot-kun. 

Think this is also the first house tour for our home. Hope to get down to more :)

The boys get cooking

We finally signed the boys up for a cooking class after a round of cooking at home last year.

We were not sure if they were keen, and we were quite sure they would not eat most of the menu on offer. So we signed them for one day at the Tomato Cooking School on Monday, at $137 per pax, inclusive of lunch and snacks.

As it turned out, we were so right - they didn't like it coz they watched more than they actually did cooking. Maybe the safety concern overrides providing a good experience... And of course they ate only one of five items they each brought home *.*

But Kai somehow managed to play chess with someone and they were talking about the kids there. So looks like there was some socialising. I think my boys sometimes talk among themselves too much so it's good that they interact with other people too.

Obviously not keen on his soba :p

Making mochi balls but nope, he didn't have any

Making black sesame cookies which he didn't try at all

A sample - soba with sweet potato tempura, panda character bento with drumlet and egg roll, miso soup, mochi balls with sweet potato filling, cookies

Sito and I had a foot massage just before fetching them :p And also bought some underwear for Yu and 10 (!) bags of crisps at Giant coz it was 20% cheaper than at Cold Storage. Some more, both outlets of Cold Storage near us ran out of original flavour, which is the only flavour Yang would eat. 

Anyway, after the cooking class, Kai went straight to an English tuition trial, and had KFC for dinner with Papa. Yang and Yu wanted their panda bento for dinner but I decided it wasn't enough so I went down to get some beef fried rice. My ulcer was finally better so I had some leftover fried rice.

The next day, Kai had his panda bento at lunch (I also cooked coz bento too small!) and Sito turned the soba into yakisoba for his lunch!

We tried the mochi balls on the day itself. So soft but the taste was weird, a bit artificial.. Maybe it was the colouring? The cookies really tasted like black sesame which was great, except that it was devoid of sugar apart from the sprinkling of icing on top *.*

Ok, no chance of having them cook for us in the short term!

老娘很忙

I've been nursing ulcers on my tongue since early November - two in total, in succession, and they hurt until I wanted to die. DIE! Seriously tmd.

Today, the damn thing looks like it's getting better. I binged on bread and butter at lunch just now, and shall skip dinner totally. It was so painful after cai fan dinner yesterday and I didn't even have my fave curry vege =( When I'm hungry later (and I'll surely be), I'll have coffee with milk, which feels so soothing, and the fizzy H-TWO-O, which seems to help me get better overnight.

With our family trip coming up, and also ever so desperate to feel like a proper age-dying person again instead of an undead-with-ulcer, I went out in a drizzle yesterday - I hate rain - to get vitamin B12 after reading that taking B12 sublingually could help. I'm still keeping up with lysine supplements. I even thought of gargling with thieves oil last night but my oil is rather old. So I put some under my chin before bed - near my mouth right? - so hopefully it helps...

Ya, so desperate.

For three weeks, all I want to do was, in order of preference: (1) DIE, (2) lie in bed, and (3) sit here to read or type. Very unproductive and this is a busy period.

I usually get the house ready for a relaxing term bread before the end of the school year. But I didn't clean the aircon coz painful and no mood - and honestly, the filters looked ok when I checked. I didn't steam the floor coz painful and no mood - and I think I can do that when I shift Yu's bed later in December (more on this later). I didn't clean the counter-top behind the foyer or the dusty bookshelves and the Lego sets on top - but not so important right?

On days when the pain felt manageable, I did what I had to do to keep the house from being over-run by kiddy mess. 

This year, the boys brought back their stuff not in one major haul from their school cabinets but in bits over weeks. So I managed to throw out their worksheets etc over weeks as well. And also sorted out their textbooks - to keep, to donate, to recycle. I'm pleased that I don't have a whole stack of dead wood sitting on a desk this time, waiting for their turn to be lugged to the blue bin.

But their school bags and shoes were languishing in disgusting agony for a while as it kept raining! The last day of school was a wet day so everything was wet. They remained wet and had to take turns to be washed and sunned coz there was sun for maybe 10 min a day *.*

The most stressful thing to do of all, is preparing for our trip. Nine days - will Sito and I survive the kids' boundless energy? How much clothes do I need to pack? Can I wash there? Will the clothes dry in time? What else to buy?? When will this darn ulcer go away?!!!

I borrowed some cold gear from JY and bought more only to now realise that it wouldn't be so cold after all. But it is to be the boys' first winter so better be safe than sorry. Also dug out cold gear for Sito and me. Just threw some into the washer coz they haven't seen light for maybe 12 years?!

In the midst of all this, we also have Yang continue doing his practice papers coz he didn't do well in his exams. And Yu also needs to finish up his assessment books coz he was reluctant to do them consistently during the school year. 

Today, it seems that I have finished all the major chores. For the next week, I'll focus on packing and preparing the house against humidity and pests! It has been some years since we took a long trip so kind of gan cheong...

Breathe, mf, breathe.

And out, damned ulcer!

Happy 44!

Sito's birthday is always at the end of the school year. We usually celebrate end of the school year separately so there's always plenty of food! But this year, I had an ulcer since early November. It's only starting to heal as I type... So we cancelled our steakhouse reservation, sighs... 

Ok, less fat? :p

The first celebration was with the grands. We had a nice gula melaka cake which the kids didn't eat - more for the adults yeah! 

With his pups around him :)

AhYe sorted out some old photos and we had fun browsing them. The kids, especially Yang and Yu, kept pointing to familiar faces in these 30yo photos.

Who's this? Or was it, this is xxx?

We headed out for dinner at Spring Court, an old name in the Chinese restaurant scene. Food was good but the kids didn't eat much as usual coz they had too much snacks after lunch! Ya, they don't eat cake but they eat a lot of chips, jelly, chocolate and ice cream. I close two eyes on their fortnightly bingeing. 

Actually, I also had my own fortnightly bingeing in childhood. Every other Sunday, we went to Grams's place, starting at the provision shop they ran. I would eat my fave spicy crackers and only that. I don't know why but I just loved it. No candy or ice cream. Unfair - coz I got fat while my kids don't?! Haha!

Anyway, the kids were shocked to know that the cost of the dinner was their entire budget for these two weeks :p We gave them a budget based on past expenditure during this time, and asked them to decide on dinner - they could choose home-cooked food which is "free" or eat out with their budget. More on this later...

Happy birthday, Sito! 

Made a cake on Monday morning and chilled it coz this tea cake is better chilled than warm. Yang and Yu had a lot of the cake! Kai had one piece for breakfast today and he didn't like it *.*

Dinner was Le Shrimp - we all like it! As usual, Yang couldn't finish his food. Kai took some noodles from Yang. Yu just had his own share. Sito and I ate our own plus all their sides! Always a very full meal...

Christmas at Star Vista is the best :)

These two had fun at the exhibits; Kai went home on his own first

On Tuesday, we journeyed to the east - Swensen's Unlimited at the airport!!! It was very far... But the food was so good. I'm just sad I didn't have enough ice cream...

Kai sitting with Papa

Enjoying unlimited ice cream

But they didn't eat a lot. Maybe six scoops the max for Kai?

I like the mao shan wang and ondeh ondeh ice cream - so good! Sito offered $1 to whoever was willing to eat a spoonful of mao shan wang. Yang spitted it out. Kai ate it but his face, haha! Yu didn't dare to try at all.

We were so full we had to walk around, and we walked a lot! Went from T2 to T3 and explored the various Sanrio exhibits and the arcade. Wanted to go to Jewel but Kai kept wanting to go home to poop and play Nintendo...

My Melody

Passed by the waterfall in the Skytrain

Super big kitty!

Told them to make faces but Yu laughed hard at Kai's face

They had fun on Sito's phone on the train home. Parents rested and maybe napped... Sito reminded me that this was a prelude to our holiday... NOOOOOO! Maybe that's why people take tour packages - no need to think... We shall see...

For now, I shall enjoy the two months when Sito and I are the same age! :p

Looking beyond grades

Today, Kai got his PSLE results. Sito and I went to the concert hall for some videos of the past six years and results analysis while he went to a designated classroom to get his results to share with us.

English: AL 5

Chinese: AL 3

Maths: AL 3

Science: AL 4

Total: 15

I'll be lying if I say we're not disappointed. He has fallen short for maths and science. We're pleasantly surprised at his Chinese though - a 3 and better than English?! He had regular tuition for Chinese, and clash courses for English and Science.

Kai said he has put in his best effort. While he was expecting 12-14, he is happy with 15 coz "it's just 3 points lower". And it's better than prelims.

But he did not beat Sito or me - we would love nothing better than to be beaten by our own kids! 

Sito also did some research and figured 15 put him at about the top 30th percentile, which means he would barely make it to the big three local universities if he continued on this trajectory. 

So we have to look beyond grades - to secondary school tuition!!!

I'm being practical here. He needs help so we should give him help. I'm being honest too - we recognise his English really needs help. Like, really.

I recall one bewildering moment in my youth when I, with my bulging waist straining my top and pants, heard this girl say to my face that she was fat, with her slim silhouette and not a hair out of place.

Similarly, some parents think their kids' results are dismal. AL 2 instead of AL 1? Please...

Of course there are poorer grades but seriously, I wouldn't harp on it if my kids are already at AL2 level. 

Anyway, I always believe in looking forward. No need to brood on the past. Learn from the past, but look forward. 

We have always known that his English has much room for improvement. He doesn't read much since young. In the past year, we made him read proper novels suitable for his age. He reads at the rate of one book every three to six weeks. As comparison, I finished the seven books in the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer in 13 days in April; maybe double that time if I were a student.

Language takes time to master. Tuition has the power to give short-term gains, but for long-term gains, he really needs to read more. 

We made it clear to him that his best now put him at an average level. As we believe that he has the potential to do better, we will help him to prepare for the next milestone - yes, by sending him for tuition :p

This afternoon, we submitted secondary school choices already. Only filled in four of the six options as there are no other nearby schools for his grades. 

He won't have chess as CCA as (1) few schools offer this apparently, and (2) he couldn't get in those schools. So we've got him to start looking at other CCAs, and we'll probably look at how to continue his interest in chess outside the school.

We have already celebrated his efforts with Captain Kim BBQ right after PSLE; we try to focus on the efforts rather than the results. He really did put in effort, a tad last minute and perhaps not enough, but he did his best already. When he was working hard, his brothers were also inspired to do work, however unwillingly.

He had a graduation party in school on the last Tuesday of the term - parents not invited. Don't think there's a separate graduation ceremony. We're also not celebrating graduation in particular but his primary school graduating / secondary school entry gift will be a new phone with a SIM card - to be gifted later in December.

For now, here's one for the memories

I"m glad he chose to wear his shirt instead of the yellow tee for this last time of wearing his primary school uniform. So handsome!

Act cute not cute?

No leh, still cute. But I'm not telling him! :p

So I have one manly, one sweet, one cute :) Let's see how they change in the next few years or even months...

Yu likes to act like a baby. Maybe coz he's the youngest. Or the smallest in size - he roots for 周深 in the Chinese Running Man coz he has the smallest built of them all :)

He likes to sit on me, nua on me, nibble on my elbows and arms. I have to admit it can be irritating when I'm trying to read or watch TV but it's also super heartwarming! Somehow he likes to nibble on me. he said coz I'm fluffy...??! 

During our spelling practices, I always ask him to explain the word or use it. This is how he does it:

1. I feel *great* because I ate mama. (And he’ll try to bite my arm. )
2. I’m *ready* to eat mama. (“)
3. I *nodded* bacause someone asked if I wanted to eat mama. (“)
4. I have a *project* and it’s about eating mama. (“)

You get the idea... This happens for every spelling practice. He can always spin some tale about me as his food.

In fact, he can always tell stories. Once at bedtime, he gave a long long story after I asked him something about school, and it ended with the end of the world, and his point was that I shouldn’t ask that question *.* I tried another question and it similarly ended in some apocalypse with the same moral of the story…

While his brothers seldom say cute things anymore, he still says some funny things.. Some time in October, Yang and Yu had Papa tell them stories at bedtime. One was about Robin Hood who robbed the rich to help the poor. Yu’s immediate response: that’s good, and not so good. How insightful!

Actually, Yu is more than cute. Of the three, he's the one who sometimes thinks quite a bit...

Sito went to fetch Yu on 30 Sep as Kai came home early from PSLE and Yang had HBL. On the bus home, Yu suddenly told Papa that it was so easy to make friends in kindy but so hard in primary school.

Concerned, I probed him for more during bedtime. I think it was more about being able to play more with his friends in kindy. After morning lessons, they usually spent the whole afternoon playing or doing various activities together. Plenty of talking and laughing and even running about.

But in primary school, they have to sit at their desks. Seats are assigned so you don't get to talk to more than a couple of friends. Recess is too short - must eat before they could play. 

Sometimes, it's nice to sit next to him and look at his double chin him

Coz he likes to eat the fatty parts of his usual steak, he says :p

Anyway...

Then last Saturday, he asked me while walking in Bishan MRT station, why he was the odd one out. When I probed, he said he's left-handed but wants to be like the rest of us. Awww... Well, it's true no one else in the family and even extended family (as far as we know) is left-handed. So I told him maybe one of our ancestors... But that being quite far off, I tried JY instead - she and her eldest son are both left-handed. He looked happier.

Yu can also be quite a go-getter. 

Last week, we received news via Parents Gateway that he has been offered higher Chinese. I clarified with his teacher that he was recommended for it, i.e. the message was not a blast to all given that MOE is now more relaxed about higher mother tongue entry requirements.

To be honest, I'm not super keen. Our kids aren't superb in Chinese, nor do they have strong interest in the language/culture. And they don't need higher Chinese coz no need to apply to SAP school! But we decided to let Yu choose for himself.

We informed him of this invitation over lunch. He thought for a short while and decided he would go for it. His reason? So he would do well in Chinese, get better grades and ask Papa to buy him Robux.

!!!

I made it very clear to him that although there is no assessment in P3, he would have to attend one hour of class every Thursday afternoon and eventually have a fifth subject at PSLE. His eyes opened wider at the latter but he still decided he would do it. Ok then, the agreement is that once he starts, he would have to stick with it for the whole P3. At the end, he could decide if he wants to continue in P4. Deal.

Well, I'm quite pleased actually that he wants to do more and better. 

I wonder if he wants to do more things. Yesterday morning, he asked me if the awards on Friday - Honours Day - were for things like swimming and chess. He knew two friends were receiving awards, one of which was for his achievements in chess. 

I haven't got down to asking him if he wanted any awards yet - no time yesterday and I've been plagued by an ulcer so no mood to talk. But he came home yesterday with six iHOPEFUL - his school values system - awards and a certificate for being an iHOPEFUL leader - happy for him :)

No award for this quick achievement - building Lego 

Today is the last day of school, and next he goes to school, he will be in P3! Hope he will still climb into our bed to snuggle on weekends for some time more, like he did last week - he was in my arms and he said, "You smell so sweet, like candy. Why?"

Awww...

Stalking the kids

Recently, I rely less on the smart watch to stalk the kids.

Kai and Yang started coming home from school on their own from January 2022. I was anxious, not least because they had to cross roads near the school. So I bought a GPS watch to stalk them. They already started going to school on their own since April 2021. But I was more anxious for the returning journey, maybe coz Kai slept past the bus stop before??

With Yu going to primary school, we started the sending and fetching again, before letting them go on their own from January this year, and return on their own from March. So the watch had a break before resuming service.

And then, in September, student concession cards could finally onboard Simply Go! So happy! Now I can get instant updates when they alight and when their balance falls below $5. 

Even though student cards allow them to board with balance as low as $1, I'd rather be safe as I've had a few close brushes already. Once, the boys went to Stevens MRT to change but Yang couldn't get through coz the bus ride to Stevens put him at below $1. His brothers had to exit the MRT and waited for the direct bus home, with Yang paying cash.

But the instant updates are the best. I know when they get to school. I know that they alight at the right bus stop - Yang and Yu had fallen asleep / stoned on the way to bus and alighted only two stops later *.* I know whether they are taking the direct bus home or changing to MRT when coming home. 

The limitation is that I would get the notification only when they tap out of the bus/MRT. If the train stalls, I would not know until I start to worry about the long time they take to get home! 

And this happened to Kai before - he was coming home from his penultimate Chinese tuition class when the train stalled. I was so worried coz he was late. It took me a while to think of checking the trains. What a relief when I saw that there was a train fault! But then I got worried again - is he ok, scared, tired? Luckily, the aircon in the train was working, and he had a seat and was doing homework while waiting. He could have borrowed a phone to inform me though *.*

So I'd still have the smart watch ready. They can use it to call me. Now it's one for all to share. Next year, Kai will have his own phone.

Sito and I were talking about going to and from school. We thought it was great that our kids can take public transport by themselves. In fact, they themselves learnt to take the train instead of the direct bus home; they don't like to wait long long at the bus stop so would hop on the first bus. And depending on the bus, they may change at Stevens or Botanic Gardens. 

Once when I fetched Yang and Yu home, I purposely let them lead the way. We were on the upper deck and these kids kept talking and talking but remembered to press the bell to alight at Botanic Gardens. To be honest, I would need to look and look to be sure it's the right bus stop!

And on Thursday, after dinner at Mother's place, Kai suggested taking the bus from just downstairs to Bishan instead of walking to AMK MRT to take the train to Bishan. He remembers that route and decides it's a better one - I agree!

Don't think I was so good with public transport in primary school. But then, I never had to take public transport with my school just across the road, and also, bus stops now have the route details... I'm glad the boys know how to make use of the information and remembers the route to take.

Only the Mama is worried about them crossing roads. I have a whole lesson on crossing road ready for them!

Hello my sweetie pie!

I say Yang inherited sweet genes from Sito :)

He's a really sweet boy.

On the rare mornings that he woke early before his alarm went off, he came out with a smile on his face and hugged me :) When he goes to pee before he sleeps, he would give Papa and/or Mama - whoever is waiting for him to be done - a hug before going back to bed.

And he wants me to live to 100yo and lie down with him at bedtime every day until I die. Then when I die, he wants to keep my ashes at home so that he can talk to me. I thought that was very sweet of him.

Helping me pull thread through a needle

He didn't manage it in the end but I appreciate that he tried when he saw me struggling to see even with glasses.

But I'm not a sweet mama. I'm always scolding him for eating slowly, and for being sleepy or dozing off when doing work.

The worst though, was when he was very young... 

English PSLE day, I watched a reel of a CCTV where a mother was shouting at her infant who kept waking up at night. It was about postpartum depression. I never thought I had any such depression but I was very upset once.

That night at bedtime, I told Yang how I was so upset one day when he kept refusing to sleep that I just threw him on our bed - not like throwing a ball but roughly dropped him from a carrying position. He cried harder. I felt - and still feel - so guilty.

I said sorry to him and he said, "But I don't remember." Of course, you were only a few months old, I said. Now that I think about it, he was over one year old coz it was our second helper by then - she took him away and let me calm down. But still, I was rough with him.

I told him I'll sayang him more to make up for it. And we continued our bedtime hug.

Sito also thinks that Yang is the most 有心 boy, versus Kai who is quite whatever and Yu who is heartless haha!

Papa and pup meditating

The meditation lasted only a few days back in April. Think we wanted to help him get to a better state to study but he found it boring very quickly.

Well, he did study some for his exams. Some. Somehow, he had this confidence that he could get AL 9 in total. Sito delved deeper with him and he figured out that 9 wasn't possible. Maybe he has a rather wide range of what he considers good - after his maths teacher told the class that two scored 100, three or four scored 80-90 and the rest below, he told us he thought he did well for maths and could get maybe 80 plus or 70 plus - that's like AL 2 going down to AL 4 *.*

Anyway, he still hoped for below 15 - his grades last year. As it turned out, he got a 17. He was a little disappointed but he said he wanted to improve, which is great! He even came to me with two line charts showing "life" - one shows no work now and hard work later in life; one shows hard work now and a better life later. 

Actually, after we went through his papers, we thought it was ok. His English compo was clear with way fewer spelling errors than I feared! In fact, English was his best subject. Maths was plenty of carelessness so gotta work on that. And Sito said the science paper was tough with no half marks awarded at all - I trust that Sito can build him up! As for Chinese, I'm sad, haha! But ok I can build him up!

This boy tends to get distracted when his brothers are playing. And he feels tired easily when he is doing work. But with his latest results, he has agreed he needs to build up his foundation to prepare for P5. So we shall see how much work we can do during year end break, amid all the fun we're going to have!

A common sight

But must stay healthy... He came down with a running nose after his exams. Luckily it wasn't serious. After some Zyrtec, it became a blocked nose. So Papa applied Vicks on his chest one night.

I love such hub and pup moments

Playdates and parties

Last month, Yang and Yu were invited to a birthday party and a playdate respectively. Yang's classmate stays near Beauty World - sounds near but it's a long walk from the bus stop. Yu's classmate is at East Coast - very far but is right behind a bus stop.

I wasn't particularly keen on Yang's invitation as it wasn't a good friend. I think he wanted to go coz he had good experiences at birthday parties. But he also said he didn't want the classmate to feel alone. Awww... So I agreed to the invitation.

Yu was keen to play with his classmates. I agreed to the playdate before I knew the location. But had I known it beforehand, I think I would still agree.

I try to let them go whenever possible coz I had childhood trauma. I can't remember whether I heard it from the horse's mouth or through a mutual friend, but this primary school classmate said she didn't invite me to her birthday party coz I always needed to ask my mother who would always say no.

Maybe it was an excuse since we weren't close anyway. But still, it was a fact that Mother always said no to such things. She even said no to the post-PSLE trip to the beach organised by the more street smart kids. I told CY sadly that I couldn't go and her mum kindly called Mother to persuade her to let me go.

Anyway, so yesterday when school was out for 2025 P1 orientation, I brought Yu to the East Coast - bus 106 to Napier, TEL to Marine Parade, bus to the house; bus to Marine Parade, TEL to Caldecott, Circle Line back home. It took over an hour each way. So tiring. But Yu had so much fun that I found it worth the effort :) I also took the chance to get a foot massage while waiting for him :p

On the train to Marine Parade

Next Sunday, we'll go to Yang's birthday party. The duration is shorter so maybe just grab some coffee?

Anyway 1 - their classmates are from all over Singapore! Kai had a playdate somewhere near Paya Lebar. I organised a playdate with Kai's classmates, one of whom came from Bedok. Yang's best friend stays in Sengkang. And now Yu's friend in East Coast. I guess they probably entered the school under alumni phase. Unlike me who entered a primary school right across the road, and all my classmates live around the school - very easy to go to each other's house.

Interestingly, I've met mummies from four countries already - local for sure, then PRC, Korean and even Ukrainian!

Anyway 2 - it's interesting that these days, playdates and parties are arranged through the parents. Back in our day, it was all by ourselves - discussed playdates with friends in school or be invited in school, went home to seek permission, RSVP-ed with friends in school. In fact, some classmates just showed up at my place after dropping off their bags in school - afternoon session - coz I was just right across from the school!

Now, the kids get party invites directly from friends. Then they come home to seek permission, and I RSVP to the parent through WhatsApp. As for playdates, it's so far been parent to parent. In this case, technology seems to have robbed our kids of some form of independence and self initiation, though it probably eases parents of some anxiety...