New year resolutions

I haven't done this for years. But two pictures over the festive season shook me.

The first was from S - a picture of me carrying baby Kai at dinner downstairs. It made me sad coz I was smiling like a hyena and gosh, my arms were slim! Can't bear to see it again... The second was from Siok, taken probably in 2006 at Sakae Sushi at TPY Hub.

Notice the slim arms?

I can't even rebond my hair anymore else not PONG enough to cover my massive arms. (I also prefer a more natural look now :p)

我极&急需要瘦手！

Took my first dip in months in the hot afternoon of 1 Jan - could this help??

I also recall what my GP said about me needing cardio... I need to more than 瘦手!!

That's one.

Two is perhaps the more important one.

I recall an article CY shared on Facebook. It talked about building and maintaining relationships as an important new year resolution. Yes, indeed. Gonna work on that this year. And just got some parenting tips drilled into me in the first two days of P1 too. The individual time with Yang for his music lessons will be good. Need to work on individual time with Kai and Yu. Well, I have 50 days of leave this year, woohoo!

But can't help feeling that I'm being pulled by time here. Losing weight and building relationships take time. For some three months, I tried to exercise but couldn't spend as much time for bedtime routine with Kai and Yang. I have no other time to borrow from. I'm going to try for part-time again later, when my new boss gets in.

So it will be slow, but I certainly hope I can make good my resolutions within the year!

Yang starts music lessons

My dear Yang had his first music lesson today, and he was, in his own words, shy...

Happily driving on the upper deck of bus

Welfie while waiting for class to start

He kept asking about the various buttons and I could only ask him to wait for the teacher

Yang is in primary 1 too - for music!

And he was quite pleased about that. In fact, while Kai had no homework, Yang had some! We came home to trace his hands and number the fingers.

Back to class.. He didn't sing the first song so I pasted the sticker myself. That made him slightly more participative in subsequent singing. We even practised a little back home. At the end, he said that he enjoyed it :)

The HDB shopping centre looks like a regular neighbourhood shopping area. I found two old-school confectionary shops and popped into one for mini muffins and spotted pineapple tarts! No testing so I bought three for $1 :p Their buns are really cheap too. Sito said we have not lived in a real HDB neighbourhood yet, what with Holland being Holland and now with a mall below selling things at mall prices.

Having a little fun before leaving for the bus stop

Why is this so fun??

Spotted mangoes at the bus stop opposite his child care!

We went to NTUC to grab some groceries before going home. I left the bag there and went to pack lunch. When I got back, Yang had opened up his percussion pack and magnetic board to play. I also learnt that the kids had two of the pineapple tarts :( I meant for Sito and me to try them so we could decide whether to buy in bulk :( Anyway, not terribly nice.

Be spending individual time like this with Yang every week from now. He has been a joy today. Though very sticky. Hope he will warm up soon! :)

Kai goes to Primary 1!

In the past many months, we often received second looks from passers-by on our way to school, likely coz of the three in the same uniform, and all of them boys! Going home was less obvious coz Yu often had to wear home clothes.

Me and my preschool babies

(That was taken the day we returned to school after Taiwan. Luckily I didn't wait for the last day 31 Dec coz there was a meltdown!) 

Wednesday, 2 Jan

No more such thing now coz Kai started Primary 1 yesterday! And truth be told, the parents also started primary 1 yesterday...!

Kai, all ready to go

During the New Year break, Kai said a few times that he was scared of going to school coz he was afraid of homework, he thought he might be lousy; he doesn't really get that he has to work hard!

But the night before, he asked me to set the alarm. He even went to bed early on his own, covering his eyes while his brothers played with the light on. And at 2.45 am, I heard a cough in the living - with the two younger in my bed, I knew who gave that cough. He said he wanted to wake up already coz he wanted to be in time - silly boy! :)

N woke him at 5.10 am. Goodness knows why when I said 5.30 am before! Anyway, Kai came to find me before 5.30 am, breakfast taken and all dressed up. I had to shoo him away while I got ready.

We were supposed to be 5 min early but we got there with barely 2 min to spare coz I forgot to get him to wear shoes while I downed my vitamins!

Waiting for the school bus

I sent him up the school bus - he was the first! - and watched him buckle up and greet the driver in that order (haha!) before I left to take public bus to school. My ride was under 30 min but his was 50 min! Some kids had already arrived at 6.30 am though I was pretty sure mine hadn't. I waited at the transport centre until 脖子都长了 coz so many buses started arriving and discharging kids of various sizes!

The bus bay before peak period

Take a selfie while waiting :p

Had nothing to wear except for office clothes coz the long weekend exhausted my other clothes...

Brought a backpack for solidarity with my baby!

I finally spotted him! I walked over just as the driver was asking the other boys in the bus to send him up, so the boys walked off. Kai said they didn't speak with him. Oh well, they were much older.

Sent Kai to his classroom - 1E

Then I went for breakfast at the canteen and checked out the prices - $2 would suffice except for some angmoh food stuff, and the form teacher affirmed that in class. I also realised that he wouldn't recognise much of the food on sale coz he doesn't eat them - mixed rice, Japanese don, wantan noodles, fishball noodles. He'll only know pizza!! *.*

Then I regretted sending him to class so early! After the disgusting coffee, I went back to look at him. A boy just got seated next to him and I saw Kai pointing to the boy's watch. Oh ya, we gave Kai a Casio watch as his graduation gift, just nice for primary school :)

At 7.30 am, the teachers and aides lined the kids up in twos, holding hands, to go for assembly. So weird to see them hold hands - I haven't seen in current child care but in previous one, they put hands on the shoulders of the kid in front.

我儿子的背影

The first briefing was on admin and Character and Citizenship Education (CCE). Then we were released to the canteen which had part of the primary area barricaded against the parents. Another long bout of waiting... No sight of Kai even after I checked out the long queue at the bookshop. His class was among the last to come out.

A parent asked me if I had joined the whatsapp group. Apparently it was up for months! I went in as #19 of 30. Another parent next to me was anxiously calling out to her son - have you eaten? Where is your buddy? And still no sign of Kai!

I finally spotted the boy - at a 1D table!! He had finished his bun by then, He said he had no idea who his buddy was! Gosh... He told me there was no learning, no writing :p Then he mumbled something about where the food was and dashed off to buy food! I followed him to the stalls. He was queueing at the drinks stall for Milo. I left him to get his last textbook which was out of stock earlier. Lucky for me, the bookshop queue was gone and I could get back to Kai very quickly.

And I found that he didn't buy anything! When I met him at the end of the school day, he told me he was afraid he didn't have enough money or he wanted to save the dollar. I gave him $4 *.*

I told him to go tell a teacher he didn't have a buddy but he refused. So I went to a teacher aide to inform her so she looked out for him. Later, as everyone was preparing to go back to class, another kid's buddy ushered him along with his own buddy - what a good kid!

Poor boy with no buddy

Parents had a second round of subject briefings - PE, English, Maths, Aesthetics, Mother Tongue. Then we were released for lunch at 11 am before going to their class at noon. I wasn't hungry so went around looking at notice boards, and eventually chatted up a mother who was sending her third boy to P1 - lucky me got to download tips! Then it was time for our first Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM).

Sat at Kai's desk - but later he told he was reassigned 23 =\

Glad to hear that plenty of stuff would be left in school. Glad to hear many blur parents like me. Glad to eventually reach the end of the day! They were really on time - briefing took almost exactly an hour. I waited a little at the transport centre with a whole legion of school buses, expecting the kids to show up only at 1.30 pm but they came earlier. And there was a chorus of "they're coming" from the drivers!

And the shirt was now tucked out...

Happy boy with grouchy face

Checked in with the driver and waited a little before he boarded the bus. While waiting, he complained that he had no outdoor! Oops, forgot to tell him that he wouldn't get outdoor every day like in child care...

I left him at 1.25 pm. Driver said he had 13 kids and would depart at 1.45 pm. I took the bus home, passing by a legion of helpers and parents waiting at the school gates. I was told to expect him at 2.10 pm but he showed up at 2.30 pm, and from the mall entrance! Turned out that he asked the driver to drop him off there! I texted the driver to confirm that he would come to the residence side instead. Silly boy!

I thought of going to buy his house tank top but I was afraid he would be tired and/or hungry so I guess the shopping could wait. We dropped our bags and he peed - he didn't pee the whole time in school!! - before heading out for a late lunch. Turned out that he wasn't tired or hungry!

At one of his fave places, doing silly things

Yes, he ate them after this!

Saw games at the atrium so he had a go at it and won some stickers :)

It was so hard getting him to pack his school bag for the next day! After that and going through some paperwork, I took a call from office before sending him downstairs to cycle as promised - outdoor time :) And then it was time to get his brothers! They were asking for him in the morning coz we left before they woke, awww...

When I got back with Yang and Yu, I found that Kai had finished his dinner and showered - not bad! I was afraid he might be too full for dinner! Phew! He was still very active after that though he was the first to knock out. And that was his first day of formal school!

Thursday, 3 Jan

I woke at 4 am on the second day, no thanks to Yu who just had to have milk AND sleep on me. He eventually fell asleep on the bed in the living room - took it out of Yang's room for parquet work - so we had to work in semi-darkness when it was time for Kai to wake!

Hopped across the road for 7-11 coffee and got back to the transport centre a few minutes before his bus came in - it was almost 10 min earlier than yesterday. I saw the bus drive away and kids walking my way. I picked up my bag and coffee and walked towards them. But no Kai *.* We must have missed each other when I turned my eye to my stuff! Called the driver and he said he saw Kai alight.

I eventually found him in his classroom emptying his bag!! He said someone helped him get there. Seemed like he asked. I couldn't get a straight answer out of this boy. I wanted to bring him to the canteen but he was hesitant until the teacher agreed with me that it was still early and he could go.

He wasn't pleased to be led back to the transport centre. I had wanted to show him how to get to his classroom by himself coz I couldn't be there tomorrow anymore!

Then I got him to the drinks stall so that he could get his beloved Milo on his own, and that he did willingly though he didn't bother about how much it cost - he just handed over the $2 without thinking about change until the uncle passed it to him! I hope he gets his buddy tomorrow. I'm packing buns just in case...

Sent him back to class where he started chatting up the teacher and then the boy next to him. He couldn't stop talking! About what, I had no idea though.. I also started chatting with two sets of parents outside before we were chased away so that the teachers could prep the kids to go for assembly.

I went up to the assembly too. Found Kai there looking bored throughout the announcements and prayers. He sang the anthem though, and just now I learnt that he could say a bit of the pledge.

When the kids were gone, we headed over to the auditorium for a talk on parenting, of which I heard only half coz I was on the phone and text for work. And then the kids came in to join us. First we built a class tree, then we had a picnic in the hall before a mini amazing race.

Sounds good? It was rough!! This boy seemed to be trying to hit all my buttons! First, he refused to pee despite the big cup of Milo in the morning; I had to force him to go. Then, he kept putting his weight on me, standing or sitting, despite me wincing in pain from all 23kg of him. And the things he said were atrocious too.

Before it went downhill

Building the tree - tearing up paper after releasing the air of his balloon multiple times

Leaning on me and whining that he wanted to go out, go to the bus, etc

Finally happy when there was a competition going on

He can be very competitive...

We were supposed to take welfies around the campus but it started pouring and we were running late so we ended the thing. Just as well, I was so tired by then, mentally and physically. Met and chatted with more parents during this segment though. One particular chat after the kids left was about buying and using canes, haha!

The last segment was talk on social emotional skills. Certainly need to do something about that with Kai...

Waited for Kai at the transport centre and sent him up the bus. Today, he got back earlier at 2.15 pm. I learnt that he did not have his little bites and he still wasn't hungry! We had some Pontian noodles coz his misbehaviour had deprived him of his fave udon - he had half a bowl and I had 1.5 :( For tomorrow, I told N to cook something small for his lunch and continue with regular dinner.

We were packing his bag for tomorrow when we found an extra eraser in his pencil case. Seemed like he took it mistakenly. I told him to return to the boy but he couldn't remember who. I told him to pass it to the teacher but he was afraid of being scolded and he cried! Poor boy thought he had stolen the eraser! After a while, he told me it was probably the boy on his left. Can he just put it on his desk before the boy gets there? No - just pass it to him properly, you did not steal it! Gosh...

Kind of anxious about tomorrow when he will be on his own, especially when his ride home would be different coz the driver would be on leave! Kai told me the bus number. I double checked with the driver who gave me a totally different number! Best.... But like the CCE HOD said yesterday, I should let go. He will learn. The incident this morning was proof.

Breathe well, Mama, breathe well...

Bye bye 2018!

Second consecutive long weekend for us! We started this last weekend in 2018 by sending the boys to school, oops! Had wanted to bring them to a fire station open house but since we just did Harry Potter, we decided to postpone the trip and went to IMM to settle Sito's mobile. In the end, we only managed to transfer his line over to my corporate plan but not re-contract coz that was a busy queue - system sucks...

And then it was our regular Saturday programming, i.e. napped :p But we had a little activity after nap time - we went to a nearby nursery to look at plants! Wanted to buy a few pots but with the kids, it was not possible. Yang and Yu also scrapped their knees so it was a short visit. But not before they chased some chickens near the nursery!!

Playing quidditch before bedtime

Sunday morning, I dug up materials saved from our Taiwan trip to make windmills :)

Kai and Yang had their regular swimming lesson while Sito and I tried to re-contract at the M1 at BPP. But there was a queue before it opened so we didn't think we could make it before the end of the lesson. So it ended up being a trip for Yu who enjoyed a Milo and playing at a toy sale at the BPP atrium!

We had exciting plans for the afternoon - animal resort! The boys enjoy feeding animals but we didn't realise that the animals would be full by 4.30 pm - too many visitors *.*

The pond where Yang's friend fell in!

Only the horse could still eat

Yu was telling me his fave animal was the horse. But when he saw the horse, he said he was scared and did not want to feed it!

He ran off to sit on a swing instead

The rabbits were full too!

They just threw in all the food, oh well!

"More!"

It started to drizzle just as we left. We were walking to the car when the rain grew heavier - we could hear the rain front moving due to the many zinc roofs around the area! Had to head back to the animal resort carpark and seek shelter under a tree while Sito ran to the car with our trusty diaper bag as umbrella - poor Sito!

As I waited there with the boys, Yu in my arms, I could feel Yu getting wet on one arm. Yang and Kai's hair started to look wet too. When Sito got back, I quickly grabbed the brolly - the real one from the car! - and ran to the car to fetch them. As we departed the farm area, the rain kind of disappeared...

Sito dried the kids in the car as we drove on to Mother's place. Kai asked me to show him how I got my baby self locked up in the room and how my parents rescued me by passing me a hammer through the window. True story. And I told him that coz he loves hearing stories from all of our childhood.

And going into the rooms, I realised that we hadn't been over for about a year?! But then I just realised I got it wrong - YQ didn't move out right after his wedding in October; he moved only a few months ago just before the steamboat at his place. So anyway, Mother has moved into YQ's old room and MZ has replaced the old bed in my old room. The kids were disappointed to find no fish in the house.

Yu playing with a toy slide for... cars?!

Playing SNAP! with Old Maid cards

I liked dinner that day - haven't had lo bah for a long time! Gave the boys a good mix of that, salmon chicken, vege and eggs so they got some real food after our pizza lunch haha! Was telling Sito how we grew up eating a lot at one sitting, resulting in our big size hoho!

The boys had school today. Last day of school for the year, last day of child care for Kai! Sobs! I had to linger in the mall with some you tiao after I fetched them so that N could clean up after some parquet works in Yang's room.

And then it was regular programming, with fruits for tea and packed food for dinner - there was a mini meltdown coz they wanted char siew noodles instead of duck noodles, which I bought on a whim. But Kai and Yu liked it upon trying it. I took a lot of effort before Yang would try and eventually ate a lot of it. It was very good!

Love those miniso forks - great for fruits!

I heard "I want to poo poo!" and found him sitting there already!

So was this a poop pose or a jump pose?? :p

I sang a little for them at bedtime. Kai objected to the singing (!), Yang fell asleep from the singing, Yu decided to sing another song... But they all slept pretty soon. I managed to shower before Sito got back from work - ya, so late on NYE, so sad...

Heard the countdown from the block across the road - happy youngsters! And saw fireworks too! Google Maps told me it was probable Legoland coz it showed nothing in Singapore in that direction.

And then Yu came in to find me n times before I eventually let him sleep on our bed and typed this in the dark...

So I guess this marks the end of 2018... Happy new year! :)

I solemnly swear I'm up to no good

Today, we journeyed to the east for the Harry Potter setup at the airport!

Hogsmeade at T3!

Above is also a game of "can you spot Kai and Yang?" :p They ran forward ahead of us.

There they are!

And us!

Staring at Hogwarts LEGO castle

Staring at merchandise - the shop wasn't opened yet when we first got there

We were lucky to be there early coz there was no need to take selfies and post on social media etc - just show our IC! With two adults, we could choose two of three things - we chose the two activities instead of the gift. The staff was really nice - he told the boys there would be only one gift but there were two of them!

Quidditch time!

The kids didn't get any quaffle in but I made them sit on the broom to pose :p

I was so happy!!!

Sito got on with a quaffle, all ready to throw!

Next was to fight for their side to tilt over first

In the end, the lady's mistake made the thing tilt over to the kids' side and they won! I had no idea what character this was until I saw that they had fantastic beasts as well.

Then we went on to wands and spells!

They had to say the right spell and flick the wands correctly to make a sound and the screen light up

Though the staff told me by the side that the light was controlled by him :p But Kai remembered that scene where Ron mocked Hermione for how she corrected others' way of saying wingardium leviosa so he was quite excited about it!

With robes next!

Doesn't Yang look like a baby Harry Potter?! Kai looks studious in glasses, and the parents look like anything but students!

Yang had a meltdown after that coz he wanted to do the activities again. But one adult could only gain access once a day. I even got a staff to tell him that but he kept tugging at me and crying. Eventually, Sito found him a naughty corner while I brought Kai away. We loitered near the merchandise area until Sito and Yang joined us.

Staring at rotating blades along the way to lunch

We had lunch at the basement area and hit the slide on the same floor. Kai could go on easily but we let Yang join the queue only after we saw the lady let in a girl who was not quite at the minimum height. Kai wanted to try the longer slide but that had a much higher minimum height.

Kai in the queue

Yang in the queue

Kai playing TTT with a random boy at the playground opposite the slide

Think we went back to the shop for a while. Told the boys in advance we were only looking, not buying. They always wanted to buy everything but not everything was something they really wanted.

The kinetic rain structure at T1 was fascinating!

Next was the Whomping Willow at T2 - a bit underwhelming...

Had some Krispy Kreme!

Found the amazing clock!

By then Kai started whining big time. So we hit Marine Cove! But after we took a side trip to Still Road coz I missed a left turn :p

It might not look like it but it was very hot!

Kai had no issue climbing all the way up

Yang took a longer way

We were there for less than 30 min coz it was so hot. The boys fell asleep on the way home. Just as well coz I took yet another wrong turn, oops :p

You might notice that Yu was not with us. Yup, we left him in school!! He doesn't appreciate Harry Potter much and it would be so difficult to chase after him that we would probably be home in two hours :p Anyway, we had to carry both Kai and Yang out of the car. Can't imagine having to carry three!!

The boys woke on the way up and were sent to the shower before they opened their Christmas present from their grandparents who left it in the car before they went to Nepal - it was a quidditch LEGO set! The boys were asking us to buy at the shop - lucky we didn't!

Holding on to precious while looking at the words on the wrapper

Told them to open it and work on it tomorrow but when we checked the camera during our foot massage, we found them on the floor. Couldn't see what they were doing but it was definitely LEGO! Confirmed when we got back with baby Yu...

There could only be one thing that they were doing on the floor, heads bent over...

And baby Yu had a nice goodie bag from his friend! 

"Oooh, no, that can't be eaten..."

Everyone's happy! Mischief managed :p