Kai is 12?!

Kai is so big now. At this height, it's getting difficult for me to put my arms around his shoulders; soon it'll be him putting his arms over my shoulders..

Happy birthday, my dear Kai Kai!

Yes, we stuck a candle into a pint of cookies and cream ice cream coz the boy still wouldn't have cake! I found photos of him and his last cake in 2020. From 2021, it's always doughnuts or ice cream. But this is the first time we just put a tub of ice cream there :p

Must have his hour of phone games

His birthday fell on a Friday this year. We usually have Japanese curry on Fridays so we had curry mee sua! I diluted it a little and used enoki and more carrots instead of broccoli.

Doesn't look like much but it was yummy!

As usual, we went to Swensen's. But this time, we had lunch instead of dinner so that Yang could be with us and also go to his classmate's birthday party.

The kids had their usual fish and chips x2 and spaghetti. Sito and I had nasi lemak since we were at Clementi; Bishan doesn't have this menu. We were so full we couldn't have dinner - Sito ate Yu's leftover pizza while I had a slice of castella cake. 

大鼻孔 smile!

Yang and Yu had ice cream at Macs later. Nowadays, the system does not allow us to redeem the usual kiddy sundae along with birthday treats... Bought some cakes and snacks before leaving in two groups - I brought Yang to his friend's place (and clocking 14k steps that day!) and the rest home. 

On Sunday morning, when he heard me move, Kai came into our room and onto our bed to wake Papa - he wanted him to go through a paper with him! Somehow he got Sito to play phone games instead *.*

Watching Papa play games

He still likes to squeeze with us in bed, just like those weekends when he was a baby - we used to nap together. But look at him, he's almost my size!!!

Lunch with the grands on Sunday was at Ju Xing Home, a new Cantonese restaurant in Taka. Again, the kids were more interested in playing the grands' phone. But I was glad to see Kai see multiple servings of the fried noodles and hear from Yang later that he wanted to eat there again.

More ice cream!

Think Kai had two tubs of BR and one cone. I closed two eyes - it was to celebrate his birthday anyway.

But until now, he could not tell us what he wants for his birthday present! He got Nintendo games from the grands already but from us, ??? We shall wait and see...

Yang is a decade old!

When I said he has entered double-digit age, Yang said he is now a decade old :)

How time flies! I kept getting reminders of his baby time from Facebook memories - so tiny! And now, he's a big boy of 10.

Yet, he is still such a baby, even more so than Yu. He is just cute without trying to be cute. And he's a very sweet boy who would hug me for no reason :)

Happy birthday, my dear Yang Yang!

He decided on this chocolate cake from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf a few weeks before. I collected it on Wednesday after a doctor's appointment, just nice for his celebration on Thursday. It had just enough space for 10 candles - Yang and Yu enjoyed placing the candles on the cake but they got concerned about wax dripping down when I was lighting the candles!

He decided to cut the cake himself

But it was rather stiff! Finally, we each had a slice, except for Kai of course. Yang had the largest slice but as expected, he couldn't finish. Yu didn't like the cake so Sito and I ended up having a lot of cake!

Birthday boy was allowed an hour of phone games

We decided to restart the whole birthday mee sua thing. Yang said he prefers fried eggs to ajitsuke eggs and he wanted two! So I cooked everything separately and assembled each bowl when the soup was done.

Then he fell asleep *.*

Didn't have the heart to berate him on his birthday. Eventually he woke and finished his dinner. The rest of us had the same food, except for Sito and Kai who did not have eggs.

That night, I asked Yang about his birthday wish. This bad Mama now cannot remember what he said exactly! But I think he at first wished for more phone games. I told him if he made an unrealistic wish, it would not come true. So he said he should have wished for better results instead. Now that could come true with effort! 

"But I don't want to work hard!"

Wa liao...

Yang decided he wouldn't have the firehouse ice cream which Swensen's gifts to birthday kids on the actual day. So we went to Swensen's only on Saturday after Bishan library.

Somehow he enjoys serving drinks to us :)

(Yu also wanted to serve drinks, hence the look!)

Three different expressions - staring into space, kaypoh, concentrating

Kai had finished his ice cream while it was nice and cold - think he has learned to wait properly while the rest finish.. On the other hand, his brothers let their ice cream melt and drink it *.* They were discussing their melted ice cream as they drank...

On the morning of Yang's birthday, we headed out for breakfast. Our doting Papa Sito then tried to find Mr Beast chocolate as Yang said his friend told him it was yummy. We saw it in the nearby supermarket before but couldn't find it this time. Later in the morning, Sito tried two candy stores nearby to no avail...

Finally, we found it at the supermarket at Junction 8. It was expensive for the size. On the way home when we passed by Cold Storage downstairs, Sito pointed out the cost for Cadbury chocolate which was 4-5 times cheaper by weight!

But this boy was very happy :)

They tried the chocolate - just like any milk chocolate. On Sunday, we bought the Cadbury and let them try both side by side on Monday which was a school holiday for Youth Day. Sito also tried. Same taste except that the Cadbury was thicker and hence harder fresh out of the fridge.

Anyway, we bought the Mr Beast bar to let them try since Yang's classmate recommended. But we would not buy again. Hope the kids learn about VFM through this...

Back to birthday... Sunday was celebration with the grands. No cake since the kids don't really eat cake. But they had doughnuts for tea. And presents of course. 

Happy with his doughnut!

The kids also had a lot of snacks as usual. Didn't think they were terribly hungry when we went out for a roast dinner. And they were all way too keen to play games on the grands' phones. But with some cajoling, we managed to give them a decent amount of food. Kai was most resistant. Yang and Yu managed to eat more while playing - AhYee and I stuffed food into their mouths haha!

Happy with his presents too!

Yang's presents - including Sito's toy soldiers which arrived ytd - are now sitting on the TV cabinet. I threw out their old Beyblades last night but I think I really need to sort out their toys over there else the TV is blocked :p

So just like this, Yang's birthday is over. He's officially 10. And I shall continue my quest to fatten this boy up!

如何保持苗条、健康？

一整年都有大吃大喝的时候！

一月：新的一年，新的学年，先吃个开心！Auntie 我生日，吃蛋糕，吃大餐！

二月：农历新年通常这时候，可能吃上三顿团圆饭！就算是一月，十五的元宵火锅也一定在二月，吃吧！

三月：第一学期结束，吃大餐庆祝加慰劳一下！还有过年的黄梨挞等零食，可以吃上几个月！

四月：都说了，黄梨挞……晚上看剧时吃最爽！

五月：孩子他们爷爷奶奶生日，吃蛋糕，吃大餐！第二学期结束，吃大餐庆祝加慰劳一下！

六月：端午节通常这时候，吃粽子！扬生日， 吃蛋糕，吃大餐！

七月：铠生日，没有蛋糕可大餐少不了！

八月：国庆日，过去通常打包炸鸡，今年可能换家常，八月没有大吃！👍

九月：第三学期结束，吃大餐庆祝加慰劳一下！中秋节通常这时候，吃月饼！

十月：宇生日，他外婆生日，吃蛋糕，吃大餐！

十一月：老公生日，吃蛋糕，吃大餐！学年结束，吃大餐庆祝加慰劳一下！

十二月：圣诞，跨年，吃大餐庆祝庆祝！

中间也少不了和老公两个一起到处吃吃喝喝，或兴起煮上十个八个馅饼、烘上几个蛋糕的。也有嘴馋时，非要买点豆沙饼什么的。

所以，回答问题：如何保持苗条、健康？还是适量吃吧！

（最近觉得有点肉，有感而发。）

A thought about plastic bags

It has been almost a year since July 2023 when the supermarkets began charging for plastic carriers.

I remember having a huge store of plastic bags from supermarkets when we had a helper. After we axed the helper, the store dwindled down to a very manageable number - always enough for rubbish with no more than a few extras just in case. 

I suspect it's the packing. Helper paid at a manned counter. The cashier probably double-bagged the milk, and we bought four to five of those 2L bottles every week. When I went to the supermarket, I packed as much as possible into one bag and I never double-bagged the milk. Sometimes, I didn't even take a bag if I bought only one bottle.

Still, when I heard the news, I felt sian, coz I would have to spend money on what had been free, to line my rubbish bins. As it turns out, I realise I don't need to spend a lot on plastic bags. Almost a year on, I'm maybe into my second or third pack of 30-a-pack plastic bags. 

In the old house, the rubbish chute was next to the lift. I only wanted to go out max once a day to throw rubbish coz I was fearful of the small (heng!) cockroaches which were often around the chute. Once, I opened the chute to find it filled with a big item that didn't go down and I had to spend more time there to push it down - didn't know which neighbour, grrrr...

Also, there was an ant nest somewhere in the kitchen and they came very quickly if I left food out. So I always put the clear bag* of food waste from food preparation into the rubbish bin. This means the rubbish bin definitely filled up by the end of the day. On days I didn't cook, the bin might not fill up but if there was any food scraps like biscuits, I would also throw out the bag.

* These are the rolled bags in supermarkets used to contain loose items of vege and fruits. I also use them to contain meat packs in case meat juices leak out. Still free in supermarkets but they seem thinner these days...

So I used at least one bag per day for rubbish in the old house. On Fridays when I empty the vacuum, it's plus one. Now, I throw out one bag every two to four days. No, not gross at all.

The chute is now right next to my sink. After preparing food, I tie up the clear bag (or ziplock bags that come with my frozen meat, a new favourite) and throw it into the chute immediately. In the evening, I also throw out a small bag of wet food scraps - could be as small as those bags for individual buns, or as big as a clear bag if I have to throw out soup scraps. A little torn? No problem - tape the hole with masking tape. 

So my rubbish bin only gets tissue, snack wraps and dry food scraps. There were ants at first but they were due to snack crumbs dropped on the floor near the bin. I cleaned out the bin a couple of times. Eventually, after applying insecticide at all entry points, I can afford to leave some food scraps in the bin for some time. The exception is banana skins which attract fruit flies easily. 

With Yang having a banana every morning, I now have a secondary bin in the fridge, to store food waste to throw later, when the rubbish bin is relatively full. These are from individually wrapped oranges, strawberry boxes, and even ice cream pint tubs - when we finish a tub of ice cream at night, we don't throw it in the bin coz it may attract ants, or down the chute coz it's not tight enough AND we don't want some nocturnal thing flying out of the chute at us! So we leave the tub in the fridge, perfect as my little food rubbish bin. 

Big empty cake boxes with cake stains can stay in the fridge too until I'm ready to bring to the bin downstairs - no point wasting a bag to bag it and it may be too large to go smoothly into the chute anyway.

Then there are bags that don't fit our rubbish bin:

• Small carrier bags, e.g. bakery, Old Chang Kee, clinic - perfect for the vacuum dust box or barley from our weekly boil. They get tied and fed directly to the chute.
• Big carrier bags, e.g. Daiso - store recycleable stuff until it's full enough to bring to the blue bin downstairs. This also helps to protect the recycleables from contaminants.
• "Untieable" bags, e.g. Watsons - I don't take them but Sito sometimes blur blur brings one home. Tie with rubber bands if I have any, or use it for recycleables.

Sometimes, we get supermarket-size plastic bags too - forget to bring our reusable bag, buying more than our bag can take, shop doesn't charge for bags :p So each pack of 30 plastic bags can last a long time. But actually, these are only slightly cheaper than the 5cents at supermarkets.

There are two side effects of charging for plastic carriers.

1) Excessive number of reusable bags!

Been around for some time. In fact, I wrote about it before. I think reusable bags are sturdier than plastic bags when it comes to heavy stuff. Nowadays, we buy six 1L cartons of milk from Cold Storage and one plastic bag would not be able to take it due to the stiff edges of the cartons. 

Usually, one bag is sufficient for me. But a few times when we went to Sheng Siong, we bought too much for our bag. I don't always remember to bring a second bag so I would buy a plastic bag.

Why don't I buy a reusable bag? Coz honestly, I have a lot of reusable bags. And I much prefer fabric bags and not the plasticky type sold at supermarkets. It's inevitable that some meat juice or vege soil will dirty the bag. I find it's better to throw it into the washing machine to wash than to just wipe with a wet cloth.

2) Dirtier chutes?

One of the first thought I had when I heard about the charging of plastic bags was whether more people would just throw rubbish directly into the chute without bagging them *.* I hope not... I'm glad we're on a high floor so less chance of unbagged rubbish hitting our chute. It's very gross lor!

I'm all for being environmentally friendlier but let's be honest, we do need plastic bags to hold some shopping and to contain rubbish. While it is possible to bring a reusable box for your next bakery run, it is not always feasible. And rubbish - if it's not contained, we will end up with smelly environments thanks to decomposing food in this hot climate!

In summary:

1. Give all the plastic bags you receive from shopping a second chance - these may be carrier bags, supermarket clear bags or bakery bun bags. Keep the big ones for lining the bin and use the small ones for peskier rubbish. Other shapes and sizes can be use to contain recycleables.
2. Fill up each bin bag so there's no wasted space - separating your waste can extend the lifespan of the bigger bin bags until they're full. Just throw peskier waste in smaller bags or keeping them in the fridge until you're ready to empty the bin.

Fathers' Day game

Yu decided on his present for Papa the Friday before Fathers' Day. He hid it and planned a treasure hunt for Papa to find. And wait, that wasn't enough - he pitted me against Papa to find the present! 

In the end, I found it and gave it to Sito :)

That's why there are two sets of clues :)

As for Kai and Yang, well, no school means no preparation!!

The third boy is really after Papa's heart :)))

First NAPFA tests

Kai and Yang had their first NAPFA tests in May. I seem to remember it being an annual event during my time, starting from P4. But now, it's for P4 and P6; I shall learn about secondary school later...

Due to COVID, Kai missed his P6 NAPFA. So the two brothers "practised" for the test - jumping across the tiles, and pulling out Sito's unused exercise mats for sit-ups.

Plus pull-ups near AhMa's place

That was taken back in September last year actually, coz they have been playing with those bars for ages. So nice to see three of them wearing the same design and standing in line with Papa :)

Kai even went jogging with Papa

But just once :p Btw, he wore Papa's shoes! Sito's current pair has a tighter fit. He wore his old pair instead.

So they passed every NAPFA item except Kai's shuttle run. Very good - Mama only passed shuttle run haha!

Gastro-intestinal issues

On 1 November last year, I had a shock when I went to pee. My pantyliner was yellow with - what?! Then I saw oil floating in the toilet bowl. It looked black but the toilet paper showed yellow so should be it.

It turned out that I leaked oil when I, um, flatulated. Such a polite word. I should just say "farted".

I continued to leak oil in the next three mornings. I don't know why there was nothing in the afternoons. After that, nothing until 9 March when I had oily poop. I continued to have oily poop for the next three days but only one episode of leaking oil when farting.

I went to the polyclinic on 2 November coz this was such an inconvenient bodily malfunction! Imagine if I were in the office?! Did an amylase test but all was fine. When I went back for a review one week later, I was referred to a gastro specialist at Alexander Hospital.

During the specialist appointment on 13 February, I brought up four issues - might as well!

1. Oily gas and poop
2. Cramps just before passing gas/poop sometimes - first instance after delivering Kai
3. Tummy ache with cold water
4. Gastric pain despite eating

Doc sent me for a CT scan and recommended gastroscopy and colonoscopy.

Had my CT scan on 20 March. Was injected with dye via an IV line. Nothing complicated. Doc called me two days later to say things look fine but my womb looked swollen so she would refer me to a gynae. I told her I decided to proceed with the scopes so she arranged those for me (I tried calling but the wait!) and postponed consultation until after that.

And now, I'm going to give a detailed breakdown of having the scopes. I hope someone who is anxious about getting these procedures may find it helpful...

So I finally had the scopes done on Friday, 7 June. Right after our anniversary lunch on 3 June, I had to stick to a restricted diet - from 4 June, I could not have vege and fruits, milk and soy products and red meat. I was given a brochure with the list of oks and not-oks when I went to collect the laxative - oh yeah, laxative, keep reading...

The diet was torturous!

Now, I'm not such a foodie. But I felt awful that I couldn't have the usual things. It's one thing if I decide to not eat. But you know, when you tell me to not think of a lizard, I'll keep thinking of a lizard *.*

So I had bread with butter, chicken noodle soup without vege, kosong instant noodles, mee hoon kway, hardboiled eggs and chicken rice. For drinks, I had only water and plain tea. I'm glad I like my tea kosong. I can't have my usual coffee without milk. Everything else, I feasted with my eyes by watching short reels on cooking...

Actually 6 June was pretty sad. I wanted chicken rice like for 5 June but the stall was closed! Luckily I had kosong instant noodles in the pantry and hardboiled eggs in the fridge. Must eat by 5 pm that day coz I had to clear my bowels from 7 pm. How?

With these!

I was supposed to finish four packs of the Fortrans with four litres of water from 7 pm to 11 pm. I had to "save" water from the afternoon so that the water could all be at room temperature - this was the only time I thought a water filter would be useful, no need to keep boiling water!

I also had to dissolve the Fortrans laxative in batches in my 500ml measuring jug as it was tricky pouring the white powder directly into the tall flask with its small mouth. These Ikea flasks have 1L capacity so just nice for one pack of Fortrans.

But four litres are really a lot of water to drink in such a short time. I'm not used to drinking even two litres throughout the day! The drink tasted like flat 100 plus but less sweet so not terribly nice too. Worse, from 8.20 pm, I started pooping madly, like every 10 min for the next hour before the frequency began to reduce, partly coz I was lagging behind in drinking...

By 9.30 pm, I was seriously falling behind in drinking. Eventually, I finished 3.5 litres by 11.30 pm. JY told me she skipped one whole pack of Fortrans. And I figured my bowels looked clear by 9 plus anyway. I'm not sure if water going through the intestine would just look yellow or if it was the Fortrans - but later when I wiped the table, I found that the wet powder was a little yellow on the cloth.

I managed to go to sleep at midnight, but woke to poop a few times. Even in the morning, I had to poop before I left the house. By then, I had poop some 20 times! Really 屁股开花 already... 

Btw, I had no anxiety. The desire to eat what I wanted filled my every braincell. No more cells to consider the risks, which are minimal anyway. That and the poop made me just want to get it over and done with.

My appointment was 10.30 am but I had to arrive at 9.30 am for preps. I changed into a kimono covering a surgical gown in a handicapped toilet - I wish they had a proper changing room... I was given a big plastic bag to keep my clothes and bag. I read an e-book until the nurse came to get me and cable-tied my bag, leaving me with only my reading glasses and slippers. My hair remained tied up, no hair cover.

Then they gave me Fliumicil to clear bubbled in my stomach, and inserted a straw in my right hand which would be where they gave me the sedative later. But the nurse warned me - my blood pressure was too low to be given the full sedative so I might not be knocked out!

Indeed, I couldn't be knocked out.

My plastic bag and slippers went under my trolley bed. A nurse removed my disposable underwear and another sprayed a numbing solution at my throat. I was to keep it there and swallowed only when told - bitter. I'm connected to a blood pressure reading machine. A mouth guard kept my mouth open while I lay down on my left. A nurse held my head still. 

We started with the stomach scope. The scope was a black tube of maybe 1.5cm diameter. I felt it a little but it wasn't painful. But as it moved, I could feel it going through to the stomach. 

And I could see the inside of my stomach! At one point, I saw lots of folds. Gosh, I could eat a lot and the stomach could take it :p Then I saw a thin orange tube going into the black scope. It emerged again on the screen and I saw the metal clip at the end. It pulled at a cute little blob in my stomach. 

Next, my bed was turned 180 degrees as my bum would now face the machine with the scope. I couldn't see but I trusted that they changed the scope? Haha!

Doctor said she would apply some gel first. I didn't really feel it. Also didn't feel the scope until she started pumping air inside to open up the colon. That was painful! It was like the cramps I feel sometimes when I need to poop/fart but this time, I couldn't!

The doctor had told me to just fart before she pumped the gas but I couldn't. Had to bear with the pain. A nurse held my belly to help manipulate the scope from the outside. Another nurse came to pat pat me and encouraged me to fart. 

But finally, it was over. No more gas. Doctor sprayed in water instead to remove remnant poop (I could see on the screen - yellow mucousy stuff) so that she could see better. No pain. 

Then the nurse put back my underwear and led me out to the resting area. As I was wheeled out, I could see a big cylinder of yellow solution - probably sucked out when doctor was spraying water inside.

At the resting area, I saw the uncle before him sipping Milo and eating biscuits. Strangely, I wasn't hungry at that time. When my drip finally finished, the nurse sat me up and gave me the same food. So nice to sip on hot Milo coz it was so cold there! 

The nurse went through the scopes with me and showed me photos taken. So I had a polyp in the stomach - yes, the cute little blob - from which the doctor had removed tissue for testing. There was also an inflamed part. Colon all ok. Then I could go.

But I had to make a trip to the toilet - last watery poop! But I continued to feel the peristalsis of the colon until the night...

At the follow-up visit this morning, I recorded 56/48 blood pressure - crazy auto machine! Anyway, doctor said the histology of the polyp had not come back but at the size of 1 cm, she recommended removing it regardless of the result. She couldn't remove it that day coz it would take more time, with a slightly higher chance of bleeding given the size, and I wasn't knocked out.

While waiting for her to schedule the scope to remove the polyp, the histology report came back - ok but may not be representative of the polyp given the small sample. I was reading that a small % of stomach polyps may become cancerous so ya, better to remove.

Waited a while more and got a date - subject to changes as they had to coordinate with an anaesthetist as well coz must put me under. Asked them to avoid PSLE dates :p

Now to tie back to the original reason for seeing the doctor? No conclusion, sighs... Everything looks fine except for the polyp. Maybe it's destined for the polyp to be discovered like this? Hope I don't get the oily farts/poop anymore...

端午节吃粽子

It's 端午节 today :)

Yesterday, we all went to Mother's place to (watch me) wrap rice dumplings. But we were very late - Yang finished his breakfast late, it rained, we went to the market to pack brunch for parents and lunch for kids.

So Mother had started wrapping some. She made them quite big as the leaves were big and complained about longer cooking time. Somehow, she couldn't manipulate the size. Nvm, mf to the rescue! Made the rest a little cuter :) Coz I like to eat two at one go so they cannot be too big :p

Yu had the patience to watch me wrap just one

Kai and Yang already watched me wrap dumplings two years ago. The kids watched a lot of Netflix while I wrapped dumplings and waited for the dumplings to cook and cool down. Sito and I had our brunch on arrival while the kids had their lunch around noon.

This time, I took way under an hour to finish up the rice. In all, there were fewer than 40 rice dumplings. We brought 19 home :)

Swung by AMK Hub to walk walk and cool down, scoring some Krispy Kreme doughtnuts along the way. Then we ended up at One HV - one receipt for milk let the three play the dragon bouncy castle while Sito brought all the food home. 

Our kids were a menace to themselves and other kids *.* Luckily, Sito came back quickly enough and I got them out of the bouncy castle...

Dinner was at Little Pond - this time, we didn't order the vege and ordered more shabu beef instead. The ice cream selection was different from last time - chocolate and green tea and surprisingly, Kai liked the green tea more! Sito and I enjoyed their hot tea :) We plan to come back to eat their skewers (with yummy Chinese spices) and enjoy free flow tea at some point :)

Anyway, this morning, we had doughtnuts for breakfast. Even though Yang enjoyed the rice dumplings two years ago, he didn't like this time! I let him have a bite of mine and he decided to have ham and cheese sandwich instead. Kai, Yu and I had two each while Sito had one. Now we're left with only 12! :(

15 :)

Been late posting in recent years :p It happens coz kids...

Mango pudding on vanilla ice cream for us :)

With our anniversary in June, it is fated that we would celebrate with kids in tow for some years at least. So we tossed some ideas about where to eat that the kids would enjoy too - steak? BBQ? Eventually we landed on...

Kiseki!

Love their expressions in that photo :) I brought them to wash hands and take photo while Sito stayed in the reservation queue. Kai was charged as adult given his height.

They had not had Japanese buffet before. Japanese BBQ buffet yes but that is different. At Kiseki, they had tempura, karaage, yakitori, mini sausages, tamago sushi, ramen, shabu beef, ice cream and jelly! But actually, they were pretty selective about what they ate. So most items were only at tasting portions. But for those they like, gosh...

Yang had 12 tamago sushi!

Kai had 10. The two of them disappeared after we put down our stuff at the table. I found them emptying out the - thankfully not big - tamago sushi tray *.* Told them to stop and try other food before going back for more...

Kai had 11 of these mini jelly cups and six tubs of ice cream!

He didn't really eat much apart from tamago sushi and sweets. He also had one yakitori (too lazy to wash hands after handing the stick with sauce), a couple of karaage (not so nice), and some noodles with beef shabu (not so nice), and tried a slice of salmon sashimi (not nice).

Yu had nine mini jelly cups and five tubs of ice cream!

In the picture, he only had eight mini jelly cups; the ninth one was later... He must have eaten the most among the kids though. While waiting to start on sweets, he just picked at the plate of beef shabu and finished it! Kai and Yang didn't really like it. 

Later, when I told him to rest after four tubs of ice cream, he discovered the mini sausages and had maybe six?! Actually I wanted him to stop eating! And of course, he also discovered the mini jelly cups. He also had prawn tempura, yakitori and some noodles. Pretty scary...

Yang decided to wait on his brothers and brought them many mini jelly cups :)

He had one and didn't enjoy it. He also had only one tub of ice cream coz it was too cold. I think he was full from the tamago sushi... Oh but he had some seven mini chocolate tarts. He didn't eat much of the others, maybe a karaage and some noodles which he didn't like.

Happily posing with all the mini jelly cups :)

It was the uncle who was clearing our plates who gave them the idea. I asked him not to clear the cups and he said sure, many customers stacked them up, some as high as 20! 

Sito and I each had our own poison. He had a hotpot going so there were the usual suspects. But we didn't have any beef shabu coz Yu finished it all and we just didn't take more. I'm the only one who enjoy sashimi so I had my fill of that, plus leftover karaage, leftover yakitori, and some tempura. We also had some of their desserts - quite nice :)

So overall, it was a very successful trip. Everyone enjoyed the food, never mind that some had more desserts than proper mains... The free flow drinks were also popular with the kids. Sito and I had quite a bit of tea at the end to wash off the grease of the food.

Happy boys :)

And so happy parents :)

Aiyoh so sweet :)

We took a walk to Plaza Sing to buy bah kwa. The salesperson was very friendly, and was happy to show me what 500g of bah kwa looked like coz I had not bought this shape for a while... Also bought tau sar piah - buy 10 get two free! But I couldn't eat them yet - more on this later...

Happening at Plaza Sing - we'll probably watch it later this month

Sito and I couldn't have dinner but we had some dessert with drama :p The kids surprised us. Actually, Yu surprised us - he was the first to say he was hungry at 6 plus. I asked the brothers - both ok to eat. So I made a simple meal - prata with ham and cheese. They were gone very quickly. Growing boys indeed!

And with that, we embarked on our 16th together as Mr and Mrs Sito :)

End of term 2!

Usually, the last week of term 2 is a short week as there is early dismissal on Thursday and no school on Friday for PTMs. This time, it's shorter due to Vesak Day falling on Wednesday.

We had a bad start to Vesak Day - Kai was injured on the escalator up from Bishan MRT platform. I was behind Sito and didn't see it happen. Only heard a loud noise and peeked from behind Sito to see Kai fallen on Yu and Yu fallen on Sito! 

I realised I couldn't help Kai up unless the woman who fell on him got up so I pushed her up with the help of another passenger. The first thing she said was, "Where's my phone?" Wa, pissed off man..

When we got off the escalator, we stopped a bit ahead to examine Kai's leg. There was one streak of blood but it wasn't flowing. The woman came over to say sorry and that she lost her balance. She sounded like a foreign domestic worker. I didn't want to look at her at all. She left. On retrospect, we should have asked her to stay until we got things sorted out in case we needed to make a report.

An MRT staff came over very quickly and brought us to the first aid room. By then, Kai's abrasion was more visible - besides the streak, there was a patch of redness around it. The staff kindly cleaned up the area. I took the leftover to clean up Yu who had a slight abrasion but no blood. We rejected plasters as the area was too big for the plasters; the tape might hurt the abrasion instead.

Kai's abrasion

Poor Kai. But he was quite collected throughout the incident. Thankfully, he's big enough else that woman might have caused more damage.

Later, I learnt from Yang who was standing in front of Kai, that she also knocked into him. But he managed to steady himself and dodge her full weight. He couldn't remember but he probably was holding on to the handrail. 

So the first lesson, when we got down to a debrief, was that we must always hold on to the handrail on escalators. We may be standing well but other people may fall. We can minimise injury to ourselves if we hold on tight. Rather be the domino that breaks the fall than a fallen domino.

And the second lesson started with questioning why the woman fell. Yang guessed that she was probably looking at her phone and hence lost her balance coz she was looking for her phone after that. Yes, my dear boy! We must not stare at our phones when walking, much less on a moving escalator! Yang said very wisely that the best place to play phone games was at home :)

We made it to Ah Yee's place, thinking we were late. Turned out we were not the latest! But lunch was delayed. The boys played with Sito's phone while waiting. But after lunch, no more phone - they played hide-and-seek etc and were very noisy. Papa took up the job of managing them while I chatted with the extended family, oops...

Discovering the joy of speaking into a fan :)

All on Papa!!

Lunch was yummy! But the kids didn't like or eat much except for chicken cutlet and siew mai. I sneaked in some fried sweet potato coz the beehoon this time was spicy tom yum. 

Left with Mother's png kueh, lots of biscuits that Ah Yee bought for the praying session (I think she just wanted to give the kids :)) and some leftover tau sar piah. But we didn't go home straight away.

Strolling in Toa Payoh

Wa, Kai is so handsome!!!

Ok, distracted... Yang and Yu went to TPY for one of their social studies learning journeys in P2. Kai probably missed out due to his P2 being COVID outbreak year. So we asked the two to show us where they'd been. They remembered only bits and pieces. So we just anyhow walked.

Yu was hungry so bought him a char siew bun. After the stroll, we went to Macs for an early dinner. Settled down early as the next day was still a school day.

We managed to score PTM slots on Thursday so Friday could be freed up totally. Anyway, PTM has changed to PCTC - Parent-Child-Teacher Conference. The format is for the child to share his review of the year with us. 

But first, lunch at Subway

Yu couldn't finish his drink and gave it to Papa. Yang wanted it so Yu told him that he had slobbered all over it! Then he gave it to Papa?! Poor Papa!

Kai decided to start on his holiday homework. He continued to do his work while waiting for his turn in school. So conscientious - I like!

Waiting for Yang's turn outside his classroom

Yang was first. It was clear that the form teachers - science and maths - did not prepare the kids for the session. They were also not terribly good at prompting Yang. Yang also didn't answer questions very well - we have to work on this. We asked about his academics, and the teachers said we could ask the subject teachers any time during the year - which was fine but this session was not going anywhere. The teachers even said this was MOE directive. What rubbish.

But we learnt that Yang talks the same way at home and in school. That isn't the case for his brothers...

Yu was next. This time, it was clear that the teachers prepared the kids - Yu's first line was, "I like Founders' Day because it lets me learn more about ACS." He even spread out his arms as he finished this line, hilarious! But that was all. The rest of the time, he just answered his teachers' questions, and quite well. When a teacher paraphrased wrongly, he corrected her - so cute. 

But the cutest was how he spoke. So soft-spoken, so unlike at home! His teachers also said he was soft-spoken but he would participate in class. It was clear that his teacher know him well, even the one who takes him for only FTGP; the other takes him for English and maths as well.

Now Kai. He was very... 敷衍 about it. Everything was oh ya, yes yes yes. His teachers - Chinese and FTGP - were two chill guys who would prompt Kai. Quite different from Yu's but it was also clear that they know Kai well. Chinese teacher reassured us his Chinese was ok. The other knew him since P3 and that he doesn't like to read after all these years, and advised him to pick up reading! Both also shared they got their kids to write 300-500 Chinese words a day! *.*

Sito said if he were the HOD, he would also assign the weakest teachers to P3 and P4. Sighs. But it also depends on the individual teachers. Yang's P3 form teacher who also took Kai for P3, was very good and could share a lot about both of them at PTM.

Since we scored the PCTC sessions on Thursday, Friday was totally free, yeah! We went to the Science Centre. But this time, we were there less than four hours. Yang and Yu were hungry despite Macs breakfast, which was more than their usual toast. And my nose was dripping madly - not sure if it was the heat from Thursday or the rain on the way to Science Centre - so just as well that we left early.

A rare moment that Kai and Yu smiled at each other :)

Fascinated by dry ice, especially Yang

These two went for the laser maze; Yu didn't want to be alone in the dark

I had always thought it was like laser tag. But it was more like, avoid the laser beams. Each player gets two rounds for $5. Yang tried easy and expert while Kai chose expert twice. Seemed quite fun and a good replacement for the free escape room on level 2 which was "closed until further notice".

Our planned early dinner became a late lunch. We had our usual at Ikea. Sito left us once he was done to go to the bank for the second time that day. The bank refused to waive his credit card fee as he had spent on the card after the fee was issued - what nonsense?! 

Also ridiculous is that the bank couldn't waive or even cancel his card on his first trip. They called later to ask him to go to the bank again to do it. So Sito spent time waiting quite a bit that day but as he put it - waiting at the bank is less painful than having his leg kicked (by Kai), being sung to (Punjabi song by Kai) and having his ears pulled (by Yu) at the same time, as had happened at Macs that morning!!!

What about Yang? He couldn't decide what to have when he was still not full after his egg McMuffin. But that was fine and Sito couldn't nag him coz that was just like him, haha!

Anyway, we packed hotdog buns home for their light dinner. Sito caught up with us when we were going to Donki. Bought some snacks and stocked up on curry roux and mayonnaise. 

I went to sleep while Sito settled their dinner and packed soup noodles for me. The boys enjoyed their Friday TV and snacks before going to bed. And that's it - end of term 2.

Today, we started holiday schedule - school work after breakfast, reading, lunch, news on TV, Nintendo and phone games, dinner. Last four months for Kai and last five months for Yang before exams! Yu has to do work too - no escape, heh!

Kai's obsession - the good and the bad

It's an obsession indeed. For weeks now, he has been playing a song on YouTube, and has learnt how to sing it. This would have been great! I mean, I love listening to songs and singing too!

BUT!

1) He plays and/or sings the song waaay too much. And often, he came to terrorise us all the time, suddenly bursting into song at our ears. That quickly went from cute to irritating. 

2) It's a blangrah song. Yes, blangrah. So no one in this family understands a word. If anyone is interested, the song is "Mundian To Bach Ke", apparently quite a big hit. 

When I finally listened to the song myself, I also found that my son is no singer. Or at least, no singer of Punjabi lyrics. That did not stop him from singing the song in school though. 

Then he started playing the song - maybe just the chorus; I'm not familiar with the song - in Garage Band on the iPad, which eventually led to him playing the song on the piano in the school canteen!

I really give it to him. This boy has not learnt music outside of music class in school. But he 敢敢 played on a public piano anyway.

Apparently, some students joined him, and some told him to just stop. One Indian boy also told him he sang the lyrics wrongly.

But nothing deters him. No, not this boy. He continues to play and sing his current favourite song.

He can be so full of confidence sometimes. Whether it's real or misplaced can be subject :p But ok, go ahead, my boy, and have fun!

Just don't sing too much to Papa and Mama. And, can we have English or Mandarin songs next time, please? :)

Things they say

I think I haven't recorded the darn things that come out of the kids' mouths for a while... It gets better as they grow...! Here are some, mostly from a single, long convo one night:

1) The devil is in the details

Bedtime talk

Mama: What did you have for recess today?

Yang: Waffle, even though I was supposed to have chicken rice. The smart buddy system broke down so we could only order the set and I was afraid I didn't like the set.

Mama: But you use cash so should be fine?

Yu: Yes, can use cash.

Yang: What? I didn't know. They never told me the details.

2) Kids do not know the value of money - Part 1

This continues from the chicken rice talk.

Mama: Do many boys use the smart buddy watch?

Both: Yes, many! So easy, just beep.

Mama: We want you to use cash else you may not know the value of money... If you use the watch, you just beep without knowing how much money you have before and after, and..

Yu: But you can see the balance...

Mama: Ok but the point is, it's always topped up. But with cash, the money goes out of your hands, and you FEEL it!

Yu: If you forget to give us pocket money, we can use student card.

Mama: Yes, only then.

3) Kids do not know the value of money - Part 2

Continued from #2

Mama: How long do you have to work to earn $100?

Both: ??

Mama: Let's say you do a holiday job at McDonald's. You have to work maybe 10 hours for $10/h (I plucked numbers from the air)...

Both: O.O (yes, big eyes and ohhh...)

Mama: And you will not bring home $100 coz you have to take bus or train...

Yu: But we can walk there!

Mama: If this McDonald's isn't busy, the boss may ask you to go elsewhere like Clementi. And 10 hours - you must have lunch right?

Yu: But it's still a lot of money right?

If you say so

4) Yang is very contented

Mama: When Mama was a relief teacher, I earned about $1,000 a month.

Both: That's a lot of money!

Mama: After I graduated, I earned more than $2,000 a month.

Both: !!!!

Mama: If I had better grades, I could have earned $3,000 a month.

Both: !!!!!!

And we started talking about education and qualifications.

Yang: I don't need to earn too much.

Mama: Meaning?

Yang: I don't want to be poor but I don't need to earn a lot, just enough to support my family.

I need to take this up further with Yang as I'm worried that he thinks he's not getting good grades and so moderates his own expectations...

5) Yu see me no up

On the bus as I sent Yu to school when Yang was ill.

Yu: Oh ya, Papa is a science teacher...

Mama: Yes..

Yu: ... He's a real teacher. You're only relief.

Mama: ...

6) Yu see me very up

Mama: Guess how much I'll earn if I go back to work now.

Both: ??

Mama: $XXX a day

Both: What?!!!

Yu: Then you should go back to work.

Mama: But then I won't be with you...

Yu: But Papa is here...

Si gin nah

7) 金玉良言

One evening when I was having a tummy ache, Yu lay in bed with me to sayang me. I told him my tummy ache could be due to the spicy noodles I had earlier. 

Yu: Then don't eat spicy noodles.

Mama: But I like...

Yu: But health is better than yummy right?

Yes, you are absolutely right :)

*** *** ***

Kai did not say anything like his brothers. Coz he has been singing...

Mothers' Day surprises

Two Sundays ago on our way back from breakfast, Yu suddenly asked me when Mothers' Day was. He said he would “make a love letter” for me. Awww, so sweet...

That week, he instructed me not to remove the pack of rice on his desk until Sunday… Ok, baby, I won’t coz I ran out of pantry space :p I even purposely looked away whenever I was in his room to open the window for ventilation.

To my surprise, Kai gave me a card on Tuesday after tuition. He looked kind of embarrassed about it haha so cute! But he must draw my attention to the words he scratched out.

Mama: Ok, then I won't take care of you anymore!

Kai: Nonono!

:p

Last night, I was very pleased when he asked me to 陪陪 him - he hasn't asked me to for some weeks coz he was busy playing chess online. I delegated Yang's eczema cream to Sito and went to Kai happily :)

In Chinese coz the card was from Chinese tuition

Fast forward to Sunday. I woke to see the boys on the floor in Yu's room, playing the pop pirate barrel toy. As I went about my morning preparing things, Yu came to find me with a note and present. He must like my belly very much to mention it!!

The toy was in the red packet - I told him he could borrow it to play anytime

Then, he asked me when I would remove the rice pack from his desk. Eh, let me put there a while more...

When Yang saw what Yu did, he asked me when Mothers' Day was. The look on his face was "GASP" when I told him, haha! He quickly drew a picture and wrote a note for me.

Paypay = 陪陪 :)

But that wasn't all. Yesterday, he came back from art club to say he bought me a present! He took it out at dinner time after showering - it was a scented rose!

Rose from sweet boy

But I think he spent his lunch money on the rose; he had a slice of honeydew for lunch, sighs... This rose is now safely in my box of presents. Must keep forever...

Thank you, my lovely boys. I’ll 陪陪 you for as long as you want me to :)