The curious incident of the water bottles

I realised I didn't write about this. Probably busy then and forgot. 

Kai lost - and found - three water bottles in P5. First was on Thursday, 19 Oct 2023. He took a sip during maths and put it back in the side pocket of his bag. Then when he wanted his bottle again during the same maths lesson, it was gone.

Second was the next day, when he brought Yu's spare bottle. He came back from recess to find it gone from his bag. He didn’t bring it out for recess. He looked for his bottle in the general office and even under almost every desk in his classroom but to no avail. I wrote to the form teachers that day but didn't hear back from them.

Someone must have taken this bottles. So we told him to keep his next bottle in the main compartment of his bag. No problem for a few days until Friday, 27 October, when it was stolen again - when he returned from recess, his zipped bag was open and the bottle gone. His classmate E told him that he knew where the bottles were hidden but later said he knew nothing.

This time, I cc-ed the principal when I emailed his form teachers. This was clearly theft born out of mischief or bullying. It was water bottles today and it could be other things like his notes tomorrow. One of the teachers replied early the next day that they would investigate.

On 31 October, Kai said that a form teacher addressed the theft that morning. He also said L told him where his bottles were and he retrieved them. Apparently, the culprit told L about it.

On 1 November, a form teacher emailed to say that the teachers had addressed the issue at the class level, and had also identified and spoken to one of the students involved. Besides getting the students involved to apologise to Kai, the school would also mete out consequences.

We heard similar from Kai when he came home from CCA that day. So, S took the first two bottles coz Kai had annoyed him! S owned up to the teachers after the form teacher addressed the class.

We had already discussed with Kai about possible reasons for the theft, and agreed that if he had annoyed his classmate to such as extent, he should apologise to him as well. 

So that day, those two boys apologised to each other.

There was no closure at all on the third bottle. No reason for S to admit to two and not three so it was probably another kid. Probably a copycat coz it was hidden together with the first two bottles. We were just happy to get the bottles back.

Even better, this incident had a good learning point for Kai (hopefully be less annoying?!) and a good outcome for both boys - they became good friends, haha! They eventually went to different Sec 1 classes in the same school, and still met online and virtually to play chess.

Really a case of 不打不相识！

我要做回锅肉！

For some two years now, I have been saying bye bye to Kai at the door when he goes to school.

I think it was the week before LNY when I finally stopped sending Yang and Yu to the bus stop. Now, I wave bye bye to them at the door. Except if it rains - Mama will still hold the brolly for them as they go up the bus so that they don't have to carry a wet brolly for the next eight hours.

So I have developed a bad habit - going back to bed after the kids are gone!

There's a term for this in Chinese. But for the life of me, I just couldn't remember what it was! I kept thinking about 回锅肉 *.*

Eventually, I googled for it: 回笼觉

Too late. Now every day, I tell Sito I'm back to 做回锅肉 :p 

Actually, I don't think I ever went back to sleep. I just lie down, scroll Facebook, read news, or chat a bit with Sito if he's up. This 回锅肉 is "fully cooked" and ready to start the day when the sun comes up. 

Rise and shine indeed!

Valentine's Day

When was the last time I posted on about V Day?

In the past week whenever I turned on the radio, the DJs were going on and on about V Day and what presents to give or not to give. Is this a young people thing? For sure, very commercialised. I couldn't identify with presents coz I'm just not a presents person.

Every day is V Day with my hub anyway, haha! ✌️ 

But on Tuesday, Sito came back with Yang after his tuition, with a giant sunflower! So cheerful!

First spicy kimchi noodles after ulcer, made even happier with the sunflower :)

We had to cut half the stem to fit it into an empty nuts container. It's on the dining table so it's very visible and brings much cheer whenever I see it.

And the man taking the picture with two of his pups :)))

I love to see him 奶爸-ing! 💕 

Then on V Day, I went out with two girlfriends :p Breakfast with JY until lunchtime (!), and packed beehoon for Sito's lunch. KTV with CY and packed a brownie to share with him.

Coz, as we told the kids, V Day is also Friendship Day :)

Welcome to 蛇-plus year!

I really like all the cute 蛇 terms :p

LNY is always my fave festival - new clothes, lots of food, spring cleaning etc. What's not to like about it?

Well, this year, I developed an ulcer two weeks before LNY. It took a few days for the thing to erupt and hurt madly. 

I think someone up there played a nasty joke on me. The cut on my tongue tip made me look like I had a forked tongue! Snake year eh?? Sito said I would have a luscious lock of hair for horse year!!

Anyway, Jiejie managed to convince Mum not to cook reunion dinner. We went out on Monday for dinner at Yan Palace instead - couldn't get a spot on Tuesday. So old-school. Nice feelings. Yummy food. Ulcer diary: a crushed peanut from the yusheng hurt me badly :(

Yu discovered funny reflections in the train on the way home

Found those new tees while clearing drawers :p And I suddenly remember they still have more new clothes! Better bring out to let them wear next week....

Kai was wearing a mask as he started coughing after returning from his camp. In fact, he had to skip his school LNY celebrations due to his cough.

Just these two wearing red to school

Yu said he wasn't a dragon so he shouldn't wear this dragon shirt *.* Yang was wearing a generic red shirt - which he will wear for National Day too, yeah!

On Tuesday, we had dinner at Mother's. It was some years since we went there for reunion dinner so I was really looking forward to it. And there were curry and fried prawns! Ulcer diary: a bit of rice and prawn hurt me badly :(

Kids eating on coffee table :p

Happy Snake Year!

The kids 拜年 at home and then we set off for Mother's place. I couldn't have any of the snacks :( In fact, Sito had been having snacks at night and I could only watch :(

Next was lunch at AhYee's. There were fried prawns too! I could only have one. And I didn't have any yusheng. Ulcer diary: that one prawn hurt me badly :(

In fact, Wednesday was a super painful day. If I were at home, I'd tuck myself under the sheets and sleep it off... But it was LNY day 1. I should be thankful I could talk ok. And my arms were ok too coz I carried a new baby of the family!

Baby girls are just softer :))

Last on the itinerary for day 1 was dinner at Mum's. In the end, she cooked what she wanted to cook for reunion dinner, haha! Ulcer diary: nothing sharp, yeah!

Day 2 was spent at home. The original plan for hotpot didn't materialise due to my ulcer. But the ulcer seemed to feel better until after a porridge dinner. Hurt again, sighs. But it got better from there. On day 5, I finally managed to eat whatever I like :)

But there were only fewer than five pineapple tarts in the box!! Luckily I have two more boxes :p

Yes, I now have competitors!!! But very happy to see the kids eating all these traditional LNY snacks :)

We had hotpot finally on the Saturday after Yang returned from his camp. It was the usual food except for the noodles - I made them myself! 

See the plate with the dough?

Pull it long, and divide it along the pre-depressed line

Kai also had a go at it!

But the kids didn't like the noodles. Standard. Sito and I found it so yummy though!

On Sunday, Mum prepared a feast in celebration of the 15th day of LNY - in advance... So much for not cooking, haha! I finally had as much yusheng as I liked though :p And the big pot of poon choy... Too excited to eat so no proper picture...

For the actual 15th day on Wednesday, I made meat dumplings instead of glutinous rice dumplings. Had wanted to involve the kids but it just so happened that Yang and Yu had CCA and Kai had VIA - values in action - so they came back when I was already wrapping the dumplings.

26 dumplings - two not on the baking paper - with some 350g mince+cabbage

Dumplings with mee sua

So happy that Yang and Yu liked the dumplings! Kai said taste ok but he didn't like it *.* Somehow, Yang and Yu can never finish mee sua! Actually we didn't know this was mee sua coz it just said noodles on the packaging! Bought from Scarlett supermarket - I really like their stuff :)

That wraps up our LNY. We still feel it from all the snacks though, haha! It's now routine for Sito and me to snack on a variety while watching drama at night :)

Yang goes camping!

My Yang Yang went camping last week!

Before he went, he said he didn't like it coz of what he heard from Kai - dirty toilets and milo which was like water with brown colouring *.*

We told him to go with an open mind. After all, Kai also enjoyed his P5 camp in the end. And be safe - listen to the teachers and instructors!

But a week or so before the camp, we got bad news from the school - due to higher levels of bacteria in the waters where they were supposed to go kayaking, this batch would not have kayaking :(

I still pack his wet shoes in case his old shoes - from last year and worn to Japan! - gave up during the camp. These wet shoes were from the grands who bought the wrong size or something. 

Ready for camp with his barang barang on Wednesday

The week or so before LNY, I stopped sending Yang and Yu to the bus stop. So when I realised it was raining, I changed quickly and chased after these two. I always shelter them up the bus if it rains. More important this time in case Yang gets wet and falls ill during the camp!

Yu was sad to see him go to camp, awww... Missed this sweet boy, especially at night...

Sito had to fetch Yu on Wednesday and Thursday as Kai would be late. And Kai helped send Yu to school on Thursday - he usually leaves before his brothers but this time, he was so patient and even asked me where he should drop him off! It was HBL for Yu on Friday so no ferry duty.

I kept checking the parents' chat group near noon as they were supposed to return from camp to school by noon. Happy to see that his class was one of the first two classes to go back! He reached home about 12.45 pm, coming in all smiley with a cap on his head - super cute but I didn't have free hands to grab the camera..

So yes, the toilets were gross. He said he held his poop but thankfully, he managed to poop a lot that day and the next couple of days! Guess the school made them guzzle lots of water...

But the milo was great! He even told Kai that it wasn't water with brown colouring haha! But his fave was the breakfast - char kway teow one day and bee hoon the next. He couldn't have a second serving for the former but he had three servings of the latter! He also brought back a lot of banana-flavoured cake and Khong Guan biscuits. 

A funny thing - I found a pack of Khong Guan biscuits in the washing machine after washing his bag. Oops, must have missed that... But it was still crunchy! Fantastic packaging, I say!

Anyway, he also enjoyed the campfire. He said he was shy but he put on his cap to overcome his shyness and managed to do the campfire dance. The campfire was top of his list :)

He also happened to be in the same tent as his BFF ET, for which he was very happy. At one point, there was some mix-up in the sleeping bag coz one kid kept pulling other bags somehow - the kids probably all had the same one from Decathlon! But luckily he brought the right one home. The second night was spent on a bed in a dormitory.

There was also outdoor cooking, amazing race and low element activities. But they were not allowed to eat their pizza, and for good measure, I guess - who knows how hygiene the process had been?! :p

So even though his first response to me was that the camp was meh, it seemed like he had a good time :)

But he seemed to have caught a bug from the camp, just like Kai who had to miss LNY celebrations in school due to a cough. 

On Saturday, he didn't feel well after lunch - which happened to be hotpot like for Kai's P5 camp. We were supposed to go to Macs for dinner, his choice as Kai chose Macs when he returned from his S1 camp. But they returned from the playground just as we were about to go pick them up, and Yang looked pale and felt dizzy.

In the end, Sito brought Kai and Yu for dinner downstairs while I stayed home with Yang. I brought him to wash hands and sat him down in front of the basin while I went to change out of my street clothes.

I regret not handing him the vomit pail. I heard him puke as I went back to him. Sighs... Let him vomit it out on the floor ba... When he felt better, he took a shower while I cleaned up the mess. I used up a lot of old cloths and a mid-sized bag. Gross. But I managed to clean up before he came out of the shower. 

But before he managed to pull on his pyjamas pants, he had to puke. This time, he got to the toilet in time, yeah! And this time, he really felt better coz he agreed to having some food. Sito packed ban mian for him - this boy likes it after having it a couple of times during the recent raining weekends.

When we were at AhMa's place the next day, he declined Ferrero Rocher coz he thought he might have eaten too many on Saturday before he puked - he had six. These kids had no control over snacks if we turned our head...

He didn't go to school ytd coz he said his tummy still felt weird after breakfast and he was afraid he might vomit on his way into school like last time - can't remember when though. So Sito and I took turns to go through all his subjects. At the end of the day, he said it was worse than going to school haha!

Today, he said his tummy felt worse. But he didn't say he would stay home. I gave him a bigger pair of pants coz his old ones were pressing on his belly, and a plastic bag. So far, no phone call. So ok, I guess he's fine!

Hope my sweet boy gets well soon!

Update on the new school year

After a week plus of orientation, Kai's lessons finally started on 13 January. How pleasantly surprised we were to hear that he likes secondary school! Coz the teacher taught fast and the classmates didn't talk all the time. Hmmm...

Unlike in primary school, he seems to have more homework these days. He's quite independent and can do his own work until he faces difficulties. Then it's "Papa! Papa!" or "Mama! Mama!" from his room, regardless of where we are...

His first major assignment was a writeup for LNY, in preparation for Chinese WA. It was a nightmare in general knowledge, organisation and expression. Told him he couldn't just copy whole passages from his research. So he translated that into English, and back-translated into Chinese instead of using his own words! Must applaud his ingenuity but please, really work on expressing yourself in Chinese!

Kai also started having English tuition after a trial on Saturday, 11 January. It was at Bishan Central but in the end, we chose the Monday evening slot at the Junction 8 branch instead. It turned out that we had to change to Saturdays for two weeks in January due to his camp and a reunion dinner...

Happy with a kabab roll from pasar malam after tuition

The brothers had their usual "Care Week" and started lessons same day as Kai. But I think they started on some lessons here and there before that...

This year, they come home on their own Monday to Wednesday as Kai's day ends at 2.30 pm for those days. So I also cook less lunch coz Kai would have lunch in school at 2.30 pm. I wonder why they don't give a lunch break and end school later. The lunch timing is really bad... In fact, with such a late lunch and with recess also late at 11 am, I started making breakfast for Kai. Then his brothers wanted breakfast too so I think I end up cooking way more *.*

They sent me a photo taken with the smart watch while waiting for the bus home one day

We started drilling working with Yang every day after school. Sito would go through all subjects except Chinese, to reinforce what he has learnt that day. I was pleasantly surprised that he took all this in his stride. I mean, he complained a great deal last year when doing papers... But for the past few weeks, he has been listening to Papa and doing his work. 

As for Chinese, he really doesn't like it... But no choice, especially when he just came back yesterday with 10/40 for a compo! We went through the relevant topic and he even told me the whole story based on the pictures one day before the class assignment. But he hardly wrote beyond the first two pictures in the end. He said he was thinking what to write until he ran out of time. 

Sito told him to describe each picture again before doing his correction, which was to copy out a model compo. Wasn't well done. I think he didn't know how to write the words and couldn't express himself properly in the language... He's away at camp now. Will work with him later...

Yang also started English tuition yesterday evening. After our experience with Kai, we decided to take the plunge and start Yang early. Hope this can help improve his English - he still has a spelling issue but at least need to nail his grammar and S&T and compre etc.

Sito sent him and waited for him there. The tutor said he was very active in class! When I asked him about it, he said he couldn't sit for two hours, Jialat! But this social butterfly had already spoken with all six or seven boys, but not the two girls... So free in class?! 

Good big brother to his only DiDi

As for Yu, he had his first HCL extra class on 9 January. Then he regretted taking HCL coz more time in school, haha! Too late, my dear. Must take whole year before I allow you to drop!

As we focus more on Yang, Yu hasn't had much to do so far. Anyway, he is more like Kai, can do his work independently. So when he has nothing to do, he sleeps or plays with soft toys or helps me with housework.

Bia-ing homework at AhMa's place on Sunday coz he forgot to do earlier

Washing grapes

They all need to choose their CCA. More on Kai's separately as trials are still ongoing...

Yang wanted to join badminton again so that he could be with his best friend but we knew from his P3 experience that it was too crowded so we dissuaded him. He wanted art then but we had then learnt more about secondary school CCAs so we encouraged / persuaded / psycho-ed / convinced him to pick something that he could continue in secondary school. 

But we let art be his second choice, after track and field. Next two choices are basketball and robotics but art would definitely have a slot if he didn't get into track. When we received notification that he got into track and told him, he wasn't happy. He said he chose it coz of us :( Just try and see how...

During our recent fortnightly Sunday visits, Yang and Yu played badminton with AhYe downstairs. So Yu also wanted badminton. But too late :p And for the same crowdedness reason, we rather he didn't. He put robotics as his first choice. As a P3 CCA first timer, he had a good chance to get in. Next are track, chess and art. Indeed, he got into his first choice and was very happy to hear about it.

Both Yang and Yu will start their CCA next Wednesday. All the best!

Navigating Singapore's health sector

Apart from giving birth and the many A&E trips (see list in annex :p), I have not used our health services much, thankfully, until lately.

As a kid, we mostly went to a GP for common childhood fevers, colds and coughs. The middle age doc nearby who gave bright green strange tasting syrup, the old Yoda-lookalike doc near Grams who wore a tie and gave bitter powder, and from my teens onwards, the two pretty docs nearer Yan's place (but still near me) who gave me much comfort.

We went to the polyclinic too. All I could remember was waiting, waiting and waiting! Probably went there for baby wellness coz YQ's childhood glaucoma was first diagnosed there.

So I never went back to polyclinic as an adult. It was always GP.

But now the polyclinics are so good. Ok, I don't know about Singhealth or NHG but my area is under NUHS, and all I need to do is to click a few buttons to make an appointment, check in for my visit, check number of patients before me, check where to go next, pay and retrieve bills and reports. The wait time is very acceptable and sometimes surprisingly short.

How do I know? How do I know indeed!

We started using the polyclinic coz a new one opened in Bukit Panjang, but more for injuries etc, in case need referrals for further treatment. Like Yang fell and hurt his shin in school. I think we still went to Raffles at the mall downstairs for regular illnesses and to grab MC for work purpose. 

But I never found a GP I'm comfortable with while staying at BP. The doctors at Raffles are all on rotation. Once I even had one who spilled my blood on the floor when drawing blood, goodness! So I went back to Dr Gill at HV for health checkup and PAP - not having a random doctor for the latter!

Guess it's good that we're making home at HV again?!

Anyway, polyclinic. We went to the polyclinic even more after moving to HV. Sito cut his toe on the metal gate and went for a tetanus shot. I also had a tetanus shot given my frequent brushes with the kitchen knife...! I had a skin issue on a toe - forgot the name - and had to go burn it off with silver nitrate. Yang had a rash on his face and got a referral to the Skin Centre. And of course my intestinal issue.

This intestinal issues opened my eyes to our healthcare sector. Here are some thoughts:

First - how do things work?

Hint: Not everything is automated

I was referred to a specialist at Alexander Hospital who sent me for a CT scan and then scopes. I paid for the CT scan using Medisave and cash.

But I have been paying for an Integrated Shield Plan (ISP) with Great Eastern (GE) since 2014/2015. Even if Medishield doesn't cover outpatient CT scans, wouldn't the GE portion cover? 

I asked the staff at the CT scan. They said only Medisave, and were not sure about the ISP. So I went back to ask my agent. He advised me to ask the hospital staff to do e-file at my next visit since I was going back for more stuff.

However, the financial counsellor for my scopes said over the phone that she couldn't do e-file for CT scan. I tried again at my next physical visit to the hospital, which was for the gynae consultation. The registration counter said they did not do e-file there and told me to pay first and then claim from insurance.

*.*

After my first scopes in June, I still had to pay using Medisave due to deductible and co-payment. There was no ISP payout as I hadn't met the deductible. After my second scope in September, Medishield kicked in and I paid a little for the co-payment using Medisave. The GE portion did not kick in.

I wondered why so I did some digging - coz I forgot details told to me when I signed up! - and found that:

• Medishield does not cover pre- and post-hospitalisation. So the CT scan and all the consultations were outpatient, not hospitalisation = not covered.
• GE (or whatever insurer you have) kicks in only when the hospitalisation exceeds Medishield limits and when Medishield does not cover the specific procedure.
• GE also covers pre and post relating to the hospitalisation. So I found out how to claim pre- and post-hospitalisation bills. 

After my final visit in October, I put together all my receipts and relevant reports from the hospital, and sent them in. I was pleasantly surprised that I got $1,259 in claims within two weeks, largely cash and some Medisave, from the GE portion of the ISP. 

Recently, I put together all the expenses in an Excel sheet, with details from CPF statement, hospital bills and GE statements. Of my total bill of $3,675, I paid $1,798 using Medisave and $56 using cash, the remainder of $1,820 was covered by the ISP, of which only $560 was via auto e-file at the hospital. 

The amount is more than what I had paid for the GE portion in the past 10 years ✌ Later, I discovered I should have included the polyclinic bills too but too late, gone from the system + much smaller amount.

Point is - now imagine if someone less savvy didn't know about pre and post claims. That's good money out of pocket!

Next - time:

When we talk healthcare, we often think money. But there's also time. By the time I was done with my final consultation with the gastro specialist, it was almost a year since I went to the polyclinic. 

There was a lot of time between appointments. I think it was because I opted for subsidised treatment and I didn't have a nasty prognosis.

Now that's scary if I had something nasty! 

But while researching the ISPs recently, we found that in the case of critical illnesses, the wait time for subsidised treatment should not kill you, haha! Indeed, a friend went to polyclinic which told her to go straight to A&E as they suspected meningitis. It was ruled out at A&E but she had a blood culture taken. Next thing she knew, the hospital called her back to be warded immediately for a bacteria infection.

Third - of course, finances:

Cost of healthcare depends on the individual, e.g. type of ward, public or private hospital. But it also depends on the healthcare provider.

I have already chosen subsidised care to minimise my costs as covered in my first point. But does the healthcare provider think about minimising cost to patients as well, besides providing financial counselling?

I recall in previous conversations with XY, she mentioned over treatment in the US. I don't think it's an issue here. Or at least I have not witnessed it. Our polyclinics also kind of make sure that we get a referral to a specialist only if they can't handle - I mean, I went to the polyclinic twice before I got referred to gastro! Same for Yang's rash.

But I have this other issue - over the years, I get prescribed the same types of medicine for my colds etc. Those little packs accumulate in the medicine cabinet and expire, some nearly untouched. After clearing up my medicine cabinet one day some years ago, I've learnt to say no to the usual paracetamol and lozenges. But it is usually at the point of getting medicine, just before paying. 

I remember only one instance where the GP told me exactly what he would prescribe for me - I was surprised but very happy as I was able to ask questions and say no to some before they started packing the medicine. Other times, I was probably too ill to think until the medicine was placed in front of me.

For other ailments, the doctors would generally say this cream or that coz must explain how to apply etc. Anyway, for Yang's recent pus-in-toe (not ingrown in the end), I brought along my own antibiotic cream to ask the doctor if he could use that coz those tend to accumulate too!

Knowing my medicines, I save money and clutter and waste.

But this may not be the case for other patients, especially those with very good insurance coverage - insurance will pay, so just consume max. And this begs the question of whether healthcare providers think the same - insurance will pay so just provide/charge max.

Raffles and even my old GP in later years would ask at the point of registration if the fees would be covered by insurance. And my delivery fees went from $2k for Kai to $4k for Yang - for Yang, I had to ask the doctor to sign some documents for Sito's company insurance. I changed to another OBGYN for Yu.

So....

Years back, I wrote about healthcare costs in SG vs. Evanston. I don't know with all this insurance business, whether our healthcare costs will remain affordable in the long run. 

Fourth - healthcare for all

I only had three points until I learnt of an incident lately which got me wondering... This is not my personal experience but I thought I should highlight it too.

I mentioned above that a friend was admitted for a bacteria infection. She was supposed to stay for five days for IV antibiotics. Due to bed crunch, the hospital wanted to send her home before the five days were up, for home care for 14 days, during which she would not be allowed to leave home. 

When she wanted to just stay in hospital for 14 days instead, the hospital changed its mind and discharged her anyway but she had to return daily for four days of IV and then take seven days of oral antibiotics. 

Maths tells me that the number of IV + oral antibiotics days has been reduced. Was her healthcare compromised? At the end of it, she did recover. But the process, to me at least, wasn't very pleasant.

I understand the need to cater to everyone. All the talk about our ageing population taking a toll on the healthcare system isn't just talk. It is understandable to ask less critical cases - or cases that are no longer critical - to make way for critical cases. But it should be done with finesse, no? I think bedside manner is just about as important as the treatment itself, if only to seek greater understanding from patients and their family.

Aftermath

Anyway, after going through the bills and GE statements, Sito and I dug deeper into ISPs. So besides what I mentioned above, our A/B1-type ISP was meant for (a) non-subsidised components such as choosing a doctor, and (b) A/B1 ward stays with less/no subsidies.

Now that Medishield has increased its coverage, and we are going for subsidised treatments and ward stays, we figured there was no need for our A/B1-type ISP. So we downgraded our ISP to the standard one, covering B2 and below ward stays - we are ok with no aircon.

The delta in premiums between these two is not much at this point, as the bulk is still Medishield itself. But with age, the GE part will increase a lot. So it makes sense for us to just switch based on our needs. Seriously, I also don't know why we took the more expensive plan last time - Sito's was from eons ago whereas mine was a copycat of his. Ya I know, I didn't do my research...

But it's never too late!

And we just got ISPs for the kids as well, since we're already paying for Medishield. They're young and the premiums are low. The Medisave interest will take care of everything.

*** *** ***

Annex

Sep 2005: my tummy

Jan 2007: my thumb

Jan 2013: Kai's fever

Feb 2013: Kai's fever

Jun 2013: Kai's HFMD

Jul 2013: Kai's fever

(Ya, first-time parents... No more A&E for fevers for the brothers!)

Jul 2015: Yang's fall

Jan 2016: Yang's febrile fit 1

Jun 2016: Yang's febrile fit 2

Jul 2016: Yang's febrile fit 3

Nov 2016: Sito's tummy

Mar 2019: Yu's eye

Apr 2019: Sito's ribs

May 2019: Yu's scalp

Aug 2021: Yang's tummy

Jan 2022: my head

Feb 2023: Yang's tummy

Yang's rash

It started in late 2023. Small bumps developed under Yang's left eye and the bit between his nose, upper lip and cheeks, but mostly under the eye. 

Think it was a couple of weeks after Sito's birthday dinner at Famous Treasure. The restaurant was very cold. Yang and Yu shared a scarf provided by the restaurant. As kids go, this boy buried his face with the scarf and goodness knows how clean - or not! - the scarf was! Right after dinner, we saw that his left eye was red and got him some eye lotion which helped.

It was super unlucky for him - and lucky for Yu who didn't have any issue.

The rash didn't go away. At one point, it looked like it was dry and peeling in bits. It was a weekend so we got some cream from the pharmacy. It didn't help. Managed to get an appointment at the polyclinic the next working day, 2 Jan 2024.

The doctor gave him some cream, which didn't work. At the review on 24 February, the doctor referred him to the in-house dermatologist. 

We managed to see the derm on 4 April. She took pictures and sent to National Skin Centre; I'm not sure why but I remember thinking they should have referred us there directly!

Anyway, that was our next destination..

So on 12 Jun 2024, six months after our first polyclinic visit, we met a dermatologist at the NSC. She seemed like a newbie but brought in her consultant to look at Yang. In the end, we scrapped a bit of the rash off the cheek part to test for molluscum, but it was negative. We agreed to a retinol treatment to slough off the bumps gently.

Yang's skin turned red after applying the retinol, an expected side effect. But the rash wasn't getting better; the bumps were still there.

At the review on 4 September, the doctor said it would be safe to continue with the retinol which would take time to show effect, but he asked us to apply a moisturiser 20min after applying the retinol to help the redness.

I decided to alternate the retinol and the moisturiser - Cerave, not my regular! - until our Japan trip. I was afraid the winter weather would make his skin even drier so I skipped the retinol totally and gave him only the Cerave. I didn't resume the retinol since then.

All this while, Yang's rash looked ok some days and less so others. But the skin was red though the redness has diminished a bit since we stopped the retinol. He also kept saying he was fine with the bumps, no need to treat. Think he was tired of all the nightly applications... 

We had another review on 14 January. To be honest, I didn't want to go back after September coz I found it all useless, and Yang was ok with the rash. But I was glad we did coz this doctor was the clearest of them all. 

He said that even though the molluscum test was negative, it could have been a false negative due to sampling. However, the retinol would have killed off any active virus. He suspected what we're seeing now is scarring, which would take time to heal. So we are to continue with Cerave, and avoid sun exposure. If there are new bumps, we can use the retinol.

Wa, I like this doctor. So clear, so willing to share his thoughts on this without just relying on tests or telling me ok la, just continue the cream... 

So now, we just put the moisturiser on the dots. To be honest, there were nights I forgot. But the dots look better, and Yang has no issue with his looks. We will just do our best and hopefully the dots will diminish more as he grows...

Congrats to Yu!

It is Yu's turn to get an Edusave award :)

He was very pleased with it. He said he wants to get awards again! Jia you!

Five of us though the online registration form catered for up to four :p

We were not alone. Some families brought grandparents along too. Sure, share in the joy haha!

This time, they provided biscuits in small packs instead of catered food. More kid-friendly. There was also a big table of books from a recent book collection - free for people to take. 

Our kids were of course more interested in the one game

And then Yu chose dinner - Little Pond. And so off we went for an early dinner. Everyone was happy!

The milk ice cream was very good!

Yang wonders how he could get an award. I told him if he improved from last year, he would get it like how Kai did. So fingers crossed...

Kai went camping

This was his second camp, first being the P5 camp. This time, it was for four days and three nights. Again, we got everything from Decathlon :)

Have fun, Kai!

Ya, he refused to turn around for a picture... Anyway, that was last Monday. I wouldn't have known what they were doing if not for the very active WhatsApp group chat among the parents. Many were worried about the escaped crocodiles from Batam but the kayaking went on anyway!

His absence was keenly felt. It was very quiet. Haha! Yang and Yu were happy to be on their own and were quite quiet in the day. We felt it more at night. Usually he would nua on our bed at 9.30 pm after finishing his chess games. On Monday night, nothing...

By Wednesday night, I was ready to have my Kai home!

On Thursday, Sito and I went to school for Kai's badge ceremony. So, the teacher told us, the kids would get a badge at the end of every milestone programme. For Sec 1, it was this Camp Discovery.

The boys reached school after we were seated. Thankfully, they didn't smell. Haha! But his bag smelled really bad coz he just dumped all wet stuff inside from day 1, yucks!

The kids were just loitering outside the classroom, staring in at the parents and just chatting, until a couple came in. Then I waved to Kai to get him in. The first thing he said was "act normal" - eh, ok...??? :p

One of the peer leaders addressed everyone before the start of the badge ceremony. Then the teachers got them out by registration number. It was very informal and everyone looked happy.

Kai didn't look happy but I think he was happy to leave the camp!

Their class happened to be the best class overall in the camp, for cheers and class flag etc, so there was a big pack of chips. Kai got two bags of chips which he devoured on the spot. Too hungry. We grabbed more food at 7-11 before going home.

Made him carry his own stuff :p

When he got home, he cried "home sweet home!" :p

That night, Sito and I sat on his bed while he put his head on Sito's leg and told us all about his camp. Briefly, kayaking on day 1, Sungei Buloh on day 2 and high elements on day 3. He was upset that he only managed to kayak for 30 min instead of three hours, coz the instructor claimed they were noisy. The wetlands were boring to him, but he enjoyed rock climbing, less so for abseiling.

It was very nice to hear him :)

The next day was wellness day, for them to rest at home after the camp. Sito brought Kai to Fong Sheng Hao for breakfast.

The pork and egg sandwich was yummy!

But he still preferred kaya butter toast. Ok we'll go for kaya butter toast after my ulcer is done!

Protecting my tongue

I am given to consider two everyday objects lately, not in part due to yet another tongue ulcer, which will, in all likelihood, prevent my enjoyment of the LNY festivities, largely comprising eating and drinking, and more eating and more drinking.

(That was written just as I finished reading Pride and Prejudice, which was a wonderful distraction from the pain. This is already mild. Did they really speak like that?? Anyway...)

So I was - still am - nursing said ulcer and cleaning the vanity basin the other day. As I removed a floss stick, I deeply regretted using my tongue instead of a floss stick to dislodge a bit of peanut stuck between my teeth, as I ended up causing the ulcer to form. And one thought led to another - now that's what the toothpicks on the tables of Chinese restaurants are for!

In public, I had more than once discreetly covered my mouth with a tissue or fancy napkin if available while using my fingers over a bit of tissue to dislodge food. But I think I might end up poking the delicate insides of my mouth if I were to use a toothpick. I'll stick to the tissue. Or bear with it until I get home to use a floss stick in front of the mirror.

Just, never my tongue. Never again.

Halfway there...

Probably more, coz DOS says life expectancy is 85 for women :p

It was busier than past years coz Kai started secondary school. Due to recess being at 11am, we decided he must have more breakfast than a cup of milk. So a lot of meal prep for me. Then there were endless messages on WhatsApp.

I was also not feeling particularly well. The cough from Japan was gone, but the nose was drippy here and there. Sito found a Japanese omelette place at Bugis but we had to skip that as I wasn't feeling up to it on Tuesday.

Luckily, I was well enough on Wednesday to do all the things I wanted!

First, breakfast date with Sito :)

Fong Sheng Hao was good! The regular stuff isn't cheap but I really do like my pork floss sandwich with condensed milk. Sito ordered the value set of pork and egg sandwich which cost only $6 with a cup of teh - that is cheaper than Yakun or Toast Box, and super filling!

So good we went back to try other things the next day before a school event!

Sito ordered another value set - bacon and cheese which was even yummier! Also ordered an egg pancake with pork floss - yes, I like that - and a scallion pancake. So good.

Back to my birthday...

Karaoke on my own!

I really really felt the need to sing properly and a lot, haha! It was only two hours but it was fulfilling. Sang a lot of songs by male singers coz Youtube cannot adjust key, you know... Ended with Mayday, 一个人也 high 到不行！

Came home in time to welcome the boys home! Kai came back with them as it was still orientation for him; else his lessons end at 2.30 pm on Monday to Wednesday. They had hotdog buns for lunch as I didn't have time to cook :p

Happy 45th to me!

Nothing beats having my fave four persons in the world with me on my birthday, never mind that the small ones only remembered to say HB to me on Papa's prompts!

Sito surprised me with a two-tier cake! My only other tier cake was our wedding cake, and this one looked somewhat like that, with the lovely cream flowers :)

And the cream on top was that this cake was also yummy! Even Kai decided to have a slice - the boy who doesn't like cake?! We were very happy to see him eat cake :) We finished the last two slices at supper that night, yummmm...

The next celebration was on Sunday. We had a lovely chendol cake - AhYee always manages to find interesting cakes from different places! But of course, the kids would have none of it *.*

I'm sitting down! Haha!

Dinner was at the new Cantonese restaurant at One Holland Village. It was so good, especially the cabbage and the fish! I think Cantonese, Hokkien/Teochew food suits our palate the most. The boys had rice on top of fried noodles. We have been ordering fried yee mee separately for them for the longest time whenever we eat out at such places. Now that they're big enough, this was probably the last time we ordered noodles just for them.

Ok, time for the countdown... to the end, haha!

Budgeting for kids

Some time in 2023, we started giving Kai his allowance on a weekly instead of daily basis. Wanted him to budget for himself. I thought I would start that for Yang in P5 as well but as it turned out, I ran out of change some time last year so I started him on weekly allowance too :p

Yu wanted a weekly allowance too but this boy... Maybe later..

So far so good, no one ran out of money for food during recess. But it's also quite clear who spends the most when I got them to count their savings since P1 - as at end 2024:

• Kai: $250
• Yang: $150
• Yu: $150

Yang enjoys buying things from the bookshop - notebooks, pens, country erasers, picture cards etc *.* So he's maybe $50 short after four years, averaging $13 on random bits from the bookshop each year.

Oh well, he's happy. So be it. 

Now these boys are always complaining about my food. Since we eat out more during the school holidays, I thought we could give them a say in what we eat for the last two weeks in November. It's also a budgeting exercise, not with individual weekly allowance but two weeks' worth of dinner budget for a family of five.

Based on past years' expenditure* in the last two weeks of November, we gave them a budget of $378. Of the 14 days, we spent a day with the grands so that saved them some money. Then, they played with the options on Google Sheets. 

* We keep track of our expenditure. Im fact, I have records all the way to uni! All on MS Excel and more recently, Google Sheets.

At first, they maximised eating out. Then, Sito asked them why they didn't include BBQ buffet which they liked. Somehow that led to Japanese buffet. So they changed their options to include more home-cooked food and coffeeshop meals so that they could have a buffet.

And this was how we ended up at Kiseki again! 

What are they conspiring...

Kai's hair was so long that he looked like ah beng :p

Yang and Yu came over to our side; Kai declined

At the end of all accounting, they had a surplus of $9.50, woohoo!