Sunday, 15 September 2019

Legoland again woohoo!

Nowadays, we can go to Legoland only during school holidays. I tried to check against Malaysian and Johor public and school holidays, but this round, we bumped into Mid Autumn Festival unknowingly! Not sure if that was the reason but Legoland was more crowded this time, even on Saturday without school groups.

Wednesday, 11 Sep

Kai and Yang woke before 6 am! Kai was understandably anxious about whether he could go to Legoland. The previous night, he disobeyed me multiple times and despite warnings. So I told him I would have to discuss with Papa whether he should be allowed to go to Legoland. He was rather upset and started tearing. He said Papa would always say no. Well, we discussed and decided that we would let him go but if he didn’t cherish this last chance, we would come back and delete his Candy Crush - he would have to restart his levels wahahaha!

Anyway, I still had to pack the last minute stuff. When I was done, I checked my phone and found that we went to Legoland exactly a year ago! That trip, we didn’t bring Yu coz he was in the stroller most of the time anyway. But we started bringing him again in June and he was running around happily. This time, he was a lot more manageable :)

"Don't stand there; it might fall on you!"


Us with Kai holding our hands :)


We started with the VR. Yu could only follow and wait - VR, small roller coaster, big roller coaster, pull-up ride. We did the observation tower and the city playground together. Finally, when we were at Ninjago, I decided to split the group and bring Yu to the aeroplane.

Drama baby at the big roller coaster


The dizzifying Merlin train


Yu kept talking about a merry-go-round. The Merlin train ride was the closest to one but he was too small for it. I showed him pictures of the one at Universal Studios and he confirmed that he wanted that. Wrong theme park, my baby!

Poser Kai in front of Yang and some spinning game which we didn't p(l)ay of course!


We did the pull-up ride. Sito went with Kai and I went with Yang, coz I definitely could not pull Kai up. It was a parent-torture disguised as a kiddy ride. When I ran out of strength, Yang said I was lazy, sobs!

My hands were all red pulling this ungrateful chap up!


Kai pondering big questions of life on the observation tower??


4D show on police chase was fun!


Yu didn't want to watch any show as usual. So he was hanging out with N outside. When we came out, he said he was hungry. Poor boy!

But must play first


The brothers got cozy


Papa found this first!


Yu and his lunch next to the volcano ride as usual - this is his put-together smile :)


Love that smile!


Kai looks so baby-ish at times :)


Photo with Master Wu before we left Kai and Yang for another dizzifying ride


How could he do this three or four times so soon after lunch?!!


Gummy bear in mouth - thanks ah...


Naughty face, this one!


So glad this boy will now pose for the camera :)


Managed to coax Yu onto the train after the aeroplane - he was a little sleepy but didn't sleep. When we came out, Papa and the brothers came over, and so we took the train again, this time with gummy bears. Gummy bears are now associated with the big train.

Boat ride time!


Only Yang drove this time


By then, Kai was tired. We went to the shop and got a box of Lego for Yu as his birthday is coming! Then they decided to go for VR again...

Dizzy game - lucky it wasn't me! :p


My hub and pup :)


Think it was around this time when Yu fell and scraped his elbow. Poor boy. I cleaned it with a wet wipe and covered it with a plaster.

Went for ice cream after that. The plan was for them to go to Sea Life while I prepared the apartment. But I barely unpacked their PJs when they came up - Kai was too tired.

The Star Wars apartment at Afiniti


One of the Light Sabres worked!


Sofa beds in the living room, on top of two double beds and two mattresses in the two bedrooms


Not white linen hoho!


Showered the kids and rested a little with PS4 and phone games


Sito got dinner from the Chicken Rice shop for them all. After they were quite well settled, we said bye bye and went for our dinner :)

We reached Tian Lai when it was still daylight!


This time, we left Legoland early plus they had dinner back in the apartment, which meant a lot less fuss too coz they were not tired little souls confined to a small dining table. We could repeat this. And coz they all did not nap, Yu dozed off on the sofa before 8 pm. The older boys took a while more to fall asleep...

So we had black pepper crab for dinner :) And Sito had the bright idea of packing for lunch the next day! We did not do this last time but that was our first time in a serviced apartment instead of Legoland hotel. It turned out to be such a good choice!

We got to AEON early enough to walk about buy some instant coffee and beer at AEON haha! And grab bubble tea before going for foot massage.

Two of my favourite things together!


Alas, that was at another outlet... We had a good time though - 90 minutes of bliss! And it was still early enough to not be too tired. But I still felt sleepy while sipping Black Ball drink while Sito was showering...

Thursday, 12 Sep

Water Park, yeah! This time, Yu dared to take the slides on his own. And he did that many many times. But he also fell once on the shallow, rough pool and cut his palm. I brought him to the first aid room and got him a little plaster.

Brave little Yu


Yang also did the red slide more times than usual - I find it very fast at my weight haha!


Papa did a belly bubble - the boys had fun "bursting" it hoho!


Kai relaxing! (I don't know what was in the way of the camera!)


Big boys hanging out


Yu was an  unwilling passenger - I made him go twice :p


Yang hid a water fountain under his shirt!


Racing time!


He was rather fierce when pushing off his boat


Yang cheated by starting his boat halfway!


There was an irritating girl at the racing area. She kept holding on to the lever. Other kids came and waited for their turn, only to be shouted at by the girl - just let go! A boy really just let go and the girl pushed the lever to release his boat.

My little Yu waited at the side as other kids came and go without a chance at the lever. That was already his last race as we were leaving. So I asked the girl to let him have his turn. She released the level after a second but when Yu placed his boat on the line and put his little hand on the lever, she grabbed it over his hand and pushed it. I was so pissed that I broke a rule of mine - should have told her parents - and told the girl off for stealing his turn. Then we left.

Lunch was fried rice, fried bee hoon and sweet and sour pork from Tian Lai! It was a popular option :) And then we all went for a nap...

This time, we didn't oversleep! My alarm sounded when we were in the car to Paradigm where we shopped and played and had dinner. But Yang was angry with me the whole ride coz we did not go back to the theme park. All that anger disappeared when he saw a bouncy castle in the mall! A kind stranger gave us tickets so we just needed socks.

While getting socks for Kai and Yang


Photo by N coz I was busy shopping haha!


I picked out PJs and t-shirts for the boys. Got Sito to pick out a shirt too coz two for RM69 yeah!

Poser Yu!


Clan Sito on holiday!


Found a off-work train while we were looking for BK...


They were pleased :)


BK was closed so we had Macs! So much for bringing the kids out for dinner! But at least it was a relatively easy meal. Plus, there was ice cream! Oh, Kai had two burgers coz Yu didn't want his!!

Only boys had ice cream


First to finish


I helped by licking off some!


Then we found an arcade when they had some fun while I grabbed some bread for the next day


We packed a prata pancake thing and bubble tea from the basement before going home. While waiting for the car, I forgot to let them play with their lanterns! :( But Kai taught me a funny game and I took a video of it - he stood a distance away while I "held" him with my fingers; then he stooped and stood as I moved my fingers closer or further!! It was hilarious!

It was 1o pm before I said goodnight to the kids. They guai guai went to bed...

mf had beer while Sito worked at night


And that was a good end to the day!

Friday, 13 Sep

Last full day at Legoland!

Yang was happy to be back!


Only he would pose with the Lego characters


This time, we went the other way coz the VR route was closed. Too early, perhaps. But we still split at Ninjago. Sito and I arranged to meet up at noon outside the theatre to catch the show where a spider dropped out and scared Yang into tears a couple of years back. But along the way, I realised that was a 4D show, not a theatre show. Oh well!

Boat ride again - this time with excitement...


Sito alerted me that his boat was tilted to one side!


The excitement was - Yu and Mama overtook Papa and Yang!


When we reviewed this photo, Yu said, "I do this.." and showed me how he pointed in the above picture.

Mini flying fox time!


The most manageable weight


This one is hard!


Strong Papa!


Boys just played


Found a kitten in the middle of the ride!


A round of aeroplane for all


Hello from the other side!


Before I knew it, Yu went up the ride with his brothers! Kai was comforting his scared baby brother, awww...


Ninjago June and September!


Kai and Yang wanted to go for the VR so we split from Ninjago. I brought Yu to the observation tower.

First in line!


What's with the face, baby?


Coz there wasn't much time left, we hurried to the theatre. But Papa they all were nowhere to be seen. We rested outside the nearby restaurant for a while. When a big school group gathered outside the restaurant, I decided it was time to eat. So I got lunch for Yu and N, and continued to look out for them.

Finally, I saw them walking away from the theatre. So it turned out that they went in to watch the show! Anyway, Kai and Yang wanted to go for the VR coz they didn't get to do it due to the queue. So off they went again...

Yu dozed off after a light lunch


When they finally came back and had lunch, Yu also woke, and one of the best rides after lunch was the big train!

Yeah!


Then it was time for some aircon - Sea Life! We like this place. The kids like it too though their goal was not the fish but colouring fish...

Only Yu had a go at the starfish - and he was so cute!


Who is taller??


Trying to open a box which was for show only


Yup, their fave, which now comes with little stools


Ice cream again!


Hilarious shot of Yang!


This time, Kai insisted on me accompanying them for VR. So Papa took Yu to the observation tower... I did not realise then that that was a treacherous route...

The VR took about 30 minutes. I thought gosh, Papa they all had been waiting for so long so we'd better go quickly. But we must go watch the Star Wars show. Only Yang was keen but he wouldn't budge so Kai gave in.

We barely made it in so there weren't enough seats left. I asked a European-sounding boy to shift a little for Yang but he told me in halting English that there was no seat. But a boy a couple of seats down heard me and shifted for Yang - so nice, I thanked him and so did his mum :)

There was a crying episode coz Kai pressed a green button on one of the stuctures before Yang could do it. Deep breaths, Mama... And when we got out, we must go past the small roller coaster - and take it; we must go past the big roller coaster - and take it; we must go for the horse ride too!

Us at the big roller coaster


This was over by the time we got there!


Called Sito and learnt that he was at the aeroplane. But I had to put Kai and Yang in the small train before we could leave so lost more time...

Papa was working on his nth ride with Yu!


We went one last round and that was it! Sito had taken the aeroplane for like 10 times by then!

The ship playground was a good end to the day for the kids. Like before, we went back to the apartment for their dinner - BK finally!

And Sito and I went for Korean food! It was Singapore prices but it was good value for money! And we were seated upstairs on floors but with our legs dangling below - adds to the flavour? :p We would come back!

Us on what would have been our regular date night


The spread before the meat came, with Sito working or playing games...


Forgot to take pictures of the galbi but this is the 梅花肉


Headed back to AEON and shopped at DAISO! :p Then we grabbed a drink and went for our foot massage - made the appointment on Wednesday coz this was a Friday...

Hazy full moon on Mid Autumn's night


I didn't nap during the foot massage. Watched the big TV though and found a couple of shows thatI might watch later.. But I dozed off while Sito was in the shower... And I didn't wake until 5 plus when Yu came in.

Saturday, 14 Sep

We checked out and headed to Legoland hotel. Thought we would play there before the theme parked opened but a guard was at the door chasing people away! We only got in coz I got a coffee at the cafe.

Yu made little structures


The bigger boys made bigger structures


And then we went to the theme park! It was drizzling so the boys put on their raincoat and we headed to the aeroplane indoor ride. And then while Kai and Yang went for Ninjago, Yu went for the boat ride - no more rain but crowded!

Yu was quite patient :)


Then we went to the city area - playground and at least three trips on the observation tower!

Wheeee down the slides!


He spotted the roller coasters, volcano ride and water park


And he kept asking about age. How old for big roller coaster? Six - and he held out one hand and a thumb, so cute :)

Sayang the poor triceratops


Then we bumped into the rest near the train station - nice timing! Time for lunch at the same place eating about the same thing haha!

Then we took the train. When we alighted, Yu dashed out of sight! N spotted him near the playground - he was walking back from the playground and crying! Oh poor baby!

Yang pointed to bamboo, "Food for the polar bear!" Wrong bear!


Papa comforting the lost boy


Yang took Yu by the hand after that, so protective! :)


Yu peek-a-boo while waiting for our ride home


Quite pissed coz they changed our ride but did not inform us. I didn't know until I messaged the driver at the appointed time. Sito asked the guy waiting outside for the last 20-30 minutes and found our ride. He couldn't contact my number somehow. It was a cheaper ride this trip but not organised :(

Yu dozed off very early in the ride


Yang was next - all curled up


And finally Kai


I thought that meant no cranky kids later but Yu was quite cranky. He was loitering outside my bathroom when he was done showering. I came out to find him sobbing. Kept him close for a while. Maybe the boy was thinking about his lost boy minute. Maybe he needed more sleep coz the ride via Tuas took only about an hour.

That night, we slept rather soundly :)

And we have now confirmed the dates for our next trip - yeah!!

Sunday, 8 September 2019

Happy times amid difficult times

Was so busy I forgot to write about our happy times with the boys.

Yang had a show-and-tell on 22 August. He wanted me to go so I did. And I was glad I did! He did so well! I was wondering whether he would be soft and shy, or loud as usual, whether he would need his teachers to help him along by the side, and whether he would speak English or Mandarin.

English show-and-tell, loud and clear, no help from anyone and with a drumstick on his head!


Yu joined us too!


Yang's grape sandwich


Picture and voice message from N on the way home: Mama, nice or not??


Very nice and handsome, my dear baby!

I still don't understand why kids like to play with those standing boards things when there are slides and swings right nearby


Cute motorist riding about at home


Watching his brothers play chess with their own rules


Yu looks like such a big boy here! But I like to zoom into the mouth haha!


Yu said he drew a monster - and I could tell it was a monster!


Yu requested for Papa to lie down with him at nap time :)


Yu looked ridiculous with that big helmet!


Kai posed, hands free - and he wanted a picture


Oh, Yu fell! Looks like a 小球球 on the ground!


Boys on the roof!


Last Sunday, we did some painting at home. It was more like playing with paint!


Copying his brothers


We also did a play - three little pigs! The boys took turns playing the big bad wolf - so happy!


Cramped both my heart and my tongue in my mouth while Sito told Kai that he used to do this too!!


Hawker centre wasn't too crowded on Friday, Teachers' Day


Yup, Yu was too busy drinking his milo to look up... We took a different route to the hawker centre this time - the boys went on their scooter! I almost gave up and stopped at Bukit Panjang Plaza but Heavenly Wang was too warm so we carried on...

I had to chase after Yu for the first 30% of the way - coz after that he was too tired to continue *.* Kai stopped after 80% - coz it was a new, heavier scooter. Only Yang gamely rode the whole way, and still wanted to ride back! But no way, bus please!

Continued having fun downstairs after breakfast :)


Funny faces during a rest stop


Went to Mother's place for dinner. Took the LRT-MRT-bus route. Yu was surprisingly quiet along the way, sitting still next to me. Only his brothers were messing around the whole time.

Poker face throughout


Thumb game, with Pepsi-Cola 123


Very happy at the playground before dinner


Love seeing them like this :)


They were spinning around at the playground and said they felt like puking. But luckily, Kai ate everything, Yang ate most of his while Yu chose to eat fried wantan instead of rice!!!

Yu picked his nth fried wantan; Yang happened to be standing there :p


After our "road trip" yesterday, Yu could ride with his leg upright and turn as well!


Boys on the Papa Express, zooming through the water!


As I was picking out the kids' clothes for our upcoming Legoland trip, I realised that they haven't worn their nicer clothes for a while now that we don't go out much. Every Saturday, they wear their usual matching home gear, and after Yu's nap, we go out without changing into nicer clothes coz we're just heading downstairs... Time to dump stuff at the next stay-at-home weekend.

They must knock before AhMa can open the door


Finally got his hands on fishing after his nap!


Yu lined up the chairs and stools for a train ride!


And he put his suitcases under the seat in front of him, ok... He remembers a lot from our outings. Sometimes, he would carry the suitcase and say he's going to work. Ok, byebye, baby! :p

Lantern time!


I think Yang was most pleased with it coz he was with me when I got them from NTUC after music lesson yesterday. Yu found it fun enough. Kai didn't seem to care much about it. We'll be in Legoland on the actual day itself - will probably bring the lanterns along!

Tired days

Had a bad moment on Thursday.

As usual, the kids wanted to go up the stairs after crossing the road so I told Yang to watch Yu and pushed the strolled up the slope quickly to meet them on the other side. But as I dashed up on this slope for the nth time, somehow I fell. I recall trying to hold on to the stroller but it slipped and fell on its back, just out of my reach as I landed on the ground.

It hurt. I was stunned by how much it hurt. I was also stunned by how defeated I felt, which had nothing to do with the fall. I didn't want to get up.

It took another second to realise that the boys were still waiting for me between the lift and the escalators, so I pushed myself up with great effort and pushed the stroller up again.

Yu was just coming down the slope to find me. When Yang learnt that I was hurt, he passed his sticker to his brother so that his hands were free to help me push the stroller. Thank goodness for them so I could continue.

Scrapes and bruises all over the left leg and some on the right


That evening at bedtime, I was sitting on Yu's bed, watching them play. There was no school the next day, Teachers' Day, so Kai was in the same room too. So things were bound to get rowdy. But it went too rowdy. When they started throwing all 30+ loose items - soft toys, pillows, blankets - at one another, I lost it.

It took a few hits to my face before Kai noticed something was wrong. He came over to ask me what was wrong. I told him I was very tired and needed to rest, and shifted to the window corner as I sobbed. Somehow, the boys thought it would help to put pillows around me - it was sweet of them. When one of the Y's - can't remember which! - talked about continuing to play, Kai rallied them to pick up the toys and rest.

It has been a very tiring period at work. I start at about 7.45 am after sending Kai to school. I have breakfast while clearing overnight emails - I have colleagues who start work after midnight. No lunch coz breakfast is big. I end at 5.30 pm so that I can pick the kids up. When the kids are down, I boot up the laptop by 9.30 pm, and don't stop until 11.30 pm or midnight.

A typical breakfast - rice, egg, meat, and sometimes a fourth item


This happens every Monday to Thursday. I didn't use to work on Friday evenings but since I don't know when, I have been leaving the kids to YouTube Kids after dinner and doing work while waiting for Sito to go for date night, and continuing after getting home.

Perhaps I should consider myself fortunate that I don't have to work weekends unless absolutely necessary. That happened a few times in July-August. Once, on a Sunday when Sito had brought Kai and Yang to the pool, Yu refused to go without me and was wailing on the floor while I tried to do something on my laptop.

I don't even remember what that piece of work was. But I remember my baby crying.

The kids don't get much of me on weekdays. So weekends are precious. Tiring, yes. But precious.

Anyway, this all adds up to a very tired mf.

I have started to dread Mondays. I have been dreading 9.00 pm - the hour when I get back to work even though there are many other things I'd much rather be doing, like continuing to sleep with the kids. I dread meetings - they either lead to more work or nowhere. I dread being unable to finish my work. I dread the feeling of being tired and not able to do anything about it. I dread dread.

Since late last year, Sito told me on more than one occasion that I could quit. But I have been holding on - perhaps I just need to get through this busy period, perhaps the light at the end of the tunnel will show itself soon. But one busy period merged into another. And I soon found that I was going deeper into a cave, not a tunnel.

And what was I going to do if I quit? Seriously no idea what I could do outside civil service. I also don't want to stay at home and watch my face turn yellow into the proverbial 黄脸婆! Though I can think of so many things I will do - sorting out the house, cooking, gardening, reading and writing.

But late August, after a double bout of cold, I was ready to tender. But somehow I thought of going to the temple so I did one morning after dropping Kai. And I drew a bad lot. Sito and I read various interpretations. I also asked Mum to help decipher. But it seemed to tell me to stay put and take steps to change my situation.

Obviously not successful going by the Thursday incident.

I worked quite late to finish up stuff on Thursday. On Friday, I logged on to clear stuff while Yu was napping. I wonder how tomorrow will be - already received text messages on work. I have two more working days before Legoland. It's probably going to be some serious payback before and after that. That just might be last straw, bad lot or not.

Sunday, 18 August 2019

Cute boys say cute things

These kids are just cute - in looks and in words.

Just now, we were happily playing at bedtime when suddenly, Yu exclaimed that his pee pee was coming out! But he sounded more upset than urgent - oops, he had already leaked! He looked down in dismay.. I told him to keep holding it and go to the toilet. He asked to change when removing his pants. So poor thing.. But I was so glad he managed to control himself!

Happy during our art and craft activity this afternoon


I've been meaning to do this activity ever since Kai and I saw a girl play with a colour wheel on the bus one morning. Finally we did it! But it turned out that our wheels are not stiff enough. Or this mama just isn't very crafty!! Anyway, it couldn't be spun really well so the boys, led by Kai, repurposed it and swung in all around instead!

Yesterday, Yang did very well at music class. He guai guai played his pieces and tried his best. So he got to play ball game!

And he won 20 tickets!


I didn't know that having a ball in each hole could give so many tickets. I thought it was better to have all in one hole. Perhaps both work?? Anyway, he was super happy coz he knew the tickets could be exchanged for little toys - we once exchanged some for a mini tube of bubbles and he played with that while we waited for the rain to ease up.

So how did he do that?? "Coz I use my mind," he said. I was holding it. "And the balls like me, right?" Haha! yes, indeed the balls liked him! Have to explain what a fluke is next time...

Later in the evening after dinner at Macs


The kiddy ride wasn't moving, as usual :p

And they played "chess"!


Kai was inspired by KS during the Cameron Highlands trip where he learnt that he was good at chess. Sito and I will get him checkers to start with :)

Kai is quite funny. These days, he said he's cute but naughty. Yes, my boy, you are!

Saturday, 17 August 2019

Bye, DuaGu! And thank you...

While we were having hi-tea at Cameron Highlands, I received news that DuaGu had passed away peacefully that afternoon. He was suffering from cancer.

I was worried whether I would make it for the funeral and was glad that I would. Sito and I settled the kids when we got home, and went over to pay our last respects. The next day, we brought the kids over after nap time as well - I told them beforehand who DuaGu, or 大舅公 to them, was, and how he had supported my family. I don't think they understood but hopefully, they would remember this trip when they are older, and know why I wanted them to pay their last respects too.

DuaGu was a rather quiet man. I knew him as an avid badminton player - there was a badminton setup near his coffin. My first memory of him was at the second floor of the shophouse where he laid out newspapers on the floor for me to poop on coz I couldn't use the squat toilet yet!! My adult memory of him was of a doting husband who brought his wife out to pak tor until he could no longer do it.

When my parents divorced and I went for my studies, this kind uncle of mine lent a hand financially as Mother couldn't rely on irregular alimony; I was independent with the scholarship but MZ and YQ were still in school. He continued to do so even when Mother got a job at a coffeeshop and when MZ started working. I think Mother had to tell him to stop after I came back for good. I will not forget this.

Yet, I had never thanked DuaGu properly. I only managed to do so for the first time at his altar on Monday night. I had the chance to do so again during the rites on Wednesday morning, before the cremation. Hope that counts..

Mother was saying that he probably chose the moment to go, when only ML and her husband were around. ML said it was perhaps Grams' wish as well, to go only when everyone was there. I recall a conversation with ML over messenger about our extended family, where I learnt a great deal about DuaGu as well. I can understand why Mother said that; it's probably true.


As we followed the hearse out to the main road, I happened to look up. I saw the familiar grilles along the corridors of the block. These grilles saw four generations of our family, who grew up there, had children there and whose children had children to continue dashing by those grilles.


Source: ML

So familiar and so distant at the same time. Another reminder that all I have left are memories, memories that will stay with me and be passed on to the next generation, even though the older generations start to leave...