The month of exams

It was a very busy month, with Children's Day, Yu's birthday, rehearsals for kindy graduation concert, two trips to the polyclinic, revision and exams!

Started the month with volcano ramen. New experience for the kids. Noodles are usually very acceptable to them. Strangely, only Kai liked the karaage chicken... But Yang and Yu had hardboiled eggs. They all liked the hour glass too much *.*

Kai eating his chicken while his brothers looked at the steam

Kai having another piece of chicken just before we tucked into the ramen haha!

Lovely Children's Day setup outside the door

Happy Children's Day with their fave breakfast!

The kids came home with so much goodies from their teachers! Little toys and mini snacks. They finished the snacks very quickly. They also stopped playing with those toys very quickly *.*

Kai and Yang had extra treats - games while I had foot massage after their haircut :p

We had another pasar malam downstairs! Third since COVID restrictions were eased. And the fried chicken went from $5 to $5.50 to $6. I didn't buy it this time. But I bought lekor and tako balls, which Yu likes! He's always asking me to buy this and that on the way home from school...

First try of tako balls

He's very happy that he's tall enough to do this *.*

But he still hangs on to Papa like a baby!

Every October, primary school kids get four consecutive days of rest in the third week due to PSLE marking. As I wanted to focus on Kai's revision, I had to give Yang something to do. So we returned our library books earlier this time to get new books for those days! But these kids were so excited that they finished reading them very quickly!

Yu started right after showering

Same with Yang - he found a series he likes

Kai decided to read too but chose his own comics

And so it was that he did eight papers in four days! Which meant I marked and went through eight papers in four days too. Teachers get to teach English or Chinese or Maths or Science. I get to teach ALL FOUR. What do I say... 

He did another set after this, each on the day before the exam. I don't know if it was luck or the earlier practice, he did better in all except Maths. Actually, he knows his maths but he was very careless! Anyway, hope the last set boosted his confidence.

While Kai was very cooperative in doing his revision, Yang was also cooperative - he did his own things, be it reading or watching TV. No complaints from him. I wonder how it would be like a year from now, with Yu in the picture...!

Yang cut the grass off the grass head thingy that Yu got from his teacher or friend

To reward Kai and Yang (and Yu for going to school while his brothers were home!), we had prata on the following Monday which was Deepavali! It was supposed to be brunch since I always had to nag at them to have breakfast. Then I can save energy for two meals :p But they got hungry so we went down at 9.30 am or so, and waited a long time for food even though the eatery wasn't full. 

Even Papa came back from his jog already!

Supplemented with chicken balls later when Papa went to get lunch for himself. Must always give these boys some protein coz I hope they would grow some meat haha!

We continued watching the escape room Chinese game show that we started on Friday. It was very fun to watch! But my not-so-hidden agenda is to expose them to more Chinese...

Yu was scared and just put his face on me the whole time - excuse for hugs? :p

This boy is still small enough to sit on me and look up at me. So dear coz this stage will be over for us very soon, sobs!

On Sunday morning, he sat on my lap facing me and mumbled his usual rubbish words with a cute face. I told him to do the same to Papa - cutify him! But Papa was lying down so:

Awww!

XBB0 and XBB3. Not the COVID variant but Xiao Bao Bei 小宝贝 haha! I named the kids XBB1, XBB2 and XBB3. Then I asked them who XBB0 was - so easy right? :p

Last weekend, they drew with Arts for Kids Hub

Then Yu discovered a series of Pokemon - he drew a lot!

All three can now climb from one end to the other without touching the ground!

We prefer the playground across the road with slides and merry-go-round compared to the one in our estate which is only a climbing structure. And when we go there, we often eat at the coffeeshop. This time, the kids didn't complain about going there - coz they now know they can get a drink!

Kai bought a coke on his own. Yang chose his usual berry juice which tastes like Ribena which he doesn't like *.* Yu chose chrysanthemum but it was Polka and not Yeo's which he prefers, But he was very funny:

"I get brain freeze!"

So glad I captured this moment!!! He says the funniest things and more.

This morning, I met LN at Yakun and brought him along. While I was queueing up, the two of them chatted. He told LN about his graduation concert and our upcoming cruise and Legoland trip, including the age groups for kids' clubs on the cruise, how Yang would move to a different age group from him next year (!), and how he's not a baby anymore and could take more rides at Legoland!  LN and I were impressed, haha!

Yang was very funny last night. He saw the TV advert on a cruise and asked excitedly if that was OUR cruise. Yes! I love his enthusiasm! On the other hand, Kai said it was boring... Goodness, have we got a teenager on our hands already??

Anyway, it's Kai's last paper today - Chinese. I try not to ask about his exams. Instead, I let him volunteer info. So today, he said it was tough. Ah well, we still went to celebrate the end of exams with a BBQ and hotpot dinner!

These two had a lot of sliced beef and rice

Kai would have instant noodles even in the kimchi soup but he found it troublesome to cook; rather cook beef and put on rice!

Yu watching Papa cut egg tofu but he doesn't eat it *.*

Yu preferred the bulgogi. He MUST poop before the end of dinner so I brought him home first. He really had a lot of poop haha! 

And that was the month of exams! Kai said he would start getting his papers back tomorrow. I shall wait for him to tell me :)

Lord of the (two) rings

Back in 2009, it was just the two of us when we went to Chinatown to shop for our wedding rings. Fast forward to 2022, we brought three kids along to shop for wedding rings :)

Keeping them occupied with games among the shiny

When Sito was leaving for KL on Monday, 10 Oct, he couldn't find his ring next to his wallet. While he was away, I searched the whole living room as I dusted everything. Nothing. If it had dropped onto the floor, it might have been eaten up by our robot vacuum mop. He came back the previous Thursday and that Friday when I was cleaning out the robot vacuum-mop, I happened to NOT check the content of the dust box that time :(

So that Saturday, we went to get a replacement. But they no longer carry that design. So we got new rings. Who knows, maybe his ring would show up one day?

While waiting for the staff to check on availability of Sito's size, we wondered if we should then buy from another place. We went back to Poh Heng coz we wanted to find a replacement at first. I also wondered if we could find a pair from Mum's store but Sito said he lost it so he should get it. In any case, we spent some time choosing the rings which were simple and nice so we went through with the purchase.

They informed us that the engraving was done by the following Friday. As Yu had a playdate on Saturday, we went on Sunday, leaving the kids with their grands. We didn't put on our new rings immediately. We wanted to find an auspicious day to have a little ceremony, and maybe have the kids be our ringbearers :)

Then, on Wednesday, 26 Oct, after sending Kai and Yang to the bus stop, I found his ring! I was collecting laundry and turning out his berms when something dropped with a clink. I saw a small thing spinning in the dark morning and immediately knew what it was. 

So.... The ring was with us the day we collected the new rings *.*

Sito doesn't remember when or why he took out his ring and kept it in his pocket *.* I was surprised it survived two washes in the machine. I even ironed it before! But I always sweep the pockets to the sides when I iron pants so I would never have found out...

So now, we have two pairs of wedding rings! And my lord of two rings didn't dare to remove it when he wore it to KL that Wednesday until he got back on Thursday night :p

Oh btw, I'm reading LOTR now - volume three already!

As for me, somehow, I started wearing my ring 24/7 after we got the new rings. Maybe I felt that I did not wear it much in the past few years with WFH and wanted to wear it more before switching to the new ones. I took it off briefly after I found Sito's ring but I decided I want to wear it 24/7. I'm now used to it and won't scratch pots and stuff with it anymore.

We're still planning to switch over but no rush now since he has a ring to wear now. Let me go show the kids our wedding photos first to psych them into becoming our ringbearers :)

A new (old) kitchen gadget

When we moved to BP in 2018, Mum gave us the airfryer she bought to toast peanuts back in 2012 or so coz she used it that one time and never again. We used it on and off to cook nuggets and fried chicken for the kids.

When I took over the kitchen after we gave up the helper, I wanted to use it more but I realised the airfryer was very gross. No matter how I soaked and washed it, I couldn't get the grease off. And the mesh tray was all discoloured, bent and sticky. I could no longer bring myself to use it.

Then I remembered Mother got one too back in 2016 or something. Think she had some voucher and between an airfryer and a hoover, she went for the former. But she used it once and never again. So I asked her to bring over when she came for the BBQ.

The greasy Philips was probably one of the first generations of airfryers, with a mesh cooking tray and a drip tray with grooves, both hard to keep clean. It was also very heavy to lift out of the bottom shelf - we have no other spot to keep this appliance. I brought it to the cleaning/recycling area with a big sticker saying it's still working. 

The new(er) Powerpac is also pretty old, with a small capacity than the Philips but it's enough for us. Most importantly, it's easy to clean! The cooking tray is not mesh and the drip tray has an even surface. I use grease paper to line the tray so can just wipe after light use and wash only after major cooking.

But the Powerpac feels less sturdy than the Philips - it can slide on the counter and the closing of the tray is not as smooth. Still, it's so light and easy to clean that I have used the Powerpac airfryer more times in the past three weeks than I used the Philips in four years!

First use was prata sausage rolls for the kids' after-school lunch - so easy and they love it. Then I made a sandwich for myself - I can do this in the toaster oven but the heat is more even in the airfryer. Also fried chicken thighs to top spaghetti, beef patties for burgers and Korea pancakes for supper. Will try to fry fish next - reduce fishy smell in the kitchen!

Kids enjoying prata sausage rolls

A staple in the thumb!

Wednesday evening, I was wiping the table after dinner when I heard a short cry. Then it escalated and Yu who was doing something at the sofa came crying to me.

I happened to glance at the sofa and saw a stapler and some paper. Could it be...

Yes. He stapled his left thumb. I calmly pulled it out with my nails as he cried. It came straight out, and then some blood came out. I pressed on the wound with a piece of tissue and held him, letting him cry.

I pressed his thumb starting from the base to see where the pain was. He was able to stop crying and speak. But otherwise, he kept crying. So I popped a skittle into his mouth to shut him up :p

Kai and Yang weren't happy. Yang said he hurt his knee and didn't get a treat. Kai just hurt his arm and bum that afternoon and didn't get a treat. After I showered, I explained to them, with Yu in earshot and they laughed!

Anyway, the thing came out whole. I checked the staples - not rusty. But they're the coloured type, which means they're from my primary school days *.* Yes, I still have a box of staples from then! I got a few coloured ones from ML and I used markers to paint on my own plain ones.

But the staple went all the way in. That's a good 5mm? One end was near the middle of his thumb and the other is just before the edge of the nail, away from the nail bed. And his thumb is so tiny and thin! I didn't know if the staple could have hurt his bone. I was concerned as that's his writing hand. It was very hard to get info online about this so I decided to bring him to the polyclinic the next day.

Let him sleep with me since he was hurt and Sito was away

Trying to sun the duvet so we had only the duvet cover :p Ok without aircon. But it was a windy night so he pulled it up to his neck, very cute :)

Anyway... We couldn't get an early appointment so I sent him to school and fetched him at 10.30 am. It was an agonising 1.5-hour wait! We ended up being the only people in the waiting area for that cluster. 

There were only four people in front of us according to the app. At some point, the app showed the actual room number instead of the cluster. The room called for a number which never appeared. But there was no repeat call or a call for the next number. I asked the triage and finally the room called for us. 

I don't know if it's the system or the doctor. Probably the latter. This was my fifth time there this year - PAP, dentist, Yang's leg, my sinusitis and now this. Previously, I didn't need to wait long at all.

By then, I was quite convinced he was ok. Indeed, he pressed his thumb very hard when the doctor asked him where the pain was *.* She said no need to take tetanus shot as his booster was still valid. Just monitor. So I quickly sent him back to school for his lunch. He said he 饿扁了！

Now, when we were going to school that morning, he almost walked into the path of a bicycle and I scolded him for it. He cried coz I scolded him, not coz of the danger that he was unaware of. So on the way to school for the second time, I asked him why he cried so much - was it the pain or the fear? He said pain and fear. 

Next time a boy gets hurt, I will be sure to ask this question! 

Coz I had a staple in my finger before and I certainly didn't cry like this! Granted, it didn't go all in. But I was probably around this age, and I was all alone in the kitchen fiddling with Mother's stuff. The others were probably napping - I often didn't nap. I remember being shocked - didn't know what a stapler was then - and I just pulled the thing out and put the stapler back. Nothing to see, nothing to see....

No mention of his thumb ytd when we came home. No mention this morning. I think incident can be closed now *.*

Yu turned six!

I just realised I totally forgot to write this - my baby Yu is six!

The Friday before his birthday, Kai, Yang and I went to fetch him from school for his birthday dinner. Then we went back and had his first cake. But no one ate - too full *.*

He promised to eat most of the kiddy meal and I guess he did!

Must play Pokemon on birthdays now - the hat was a craft from school

Sito and I formed a halo just above Yu!

Oh, I got a new toy - a selfie stick with tripod! No more helper and it's just troublesome to find something to put the phone against so - self help!

So that's his first cake - Jurassic World Dominion. I think he had maybe one slice of this cake over the weekend. In general, the kids didn't have much cake *.*

On Saturday, we got WaiPo et al over for a BBQ. This time, we had chicken burger as they don't eat beef. Got frozen marinated chicken thighs and they were great on the grill and in the airfryer! 

Kai playing Chinese chess with JiuJiu

They didn't want to change or put on their shirts after swimming coz they wanted to go in again. So they went shirtless! All 排骨! Later, he played with AhYee. We have since arranged to go to JiuJiu's place after exams to play Nintendo and Chinese chess (and their rabbit).

Sweet boy heated up satay for Papa

We celebrated the birthdays of the oldest and the youngest in the extended family

Playing games on Papa's phone on his birthday - very happy :)

Third cake at AhMa's place - he ordered chocolate but hardly ate it *.*

Playing games after dinner

I think Yang was still eating during this time. We ordered a basket of XLB for each of them. Yu couldn't finish. Think he was distracted with the thought of playing games *.* Kai didn't ask for more. Yang asked for a lot more!

We had a little celebration in school on Monday with Optimus Prime on the cake. And it being a public holiday in Malaysia or something, Papa was available, yeah! But he didn't wait to bring Yu home coz he had a flight to catch...

Smiling widely with mantou in his cheeks!

We also took photos with his classmates - first the girls, then the boys. Then he made the first cut and Ma Laoshi expertly cut up the cake while Yu served his friends, starting with those who had finished their mantou. 

I realised for K2, their tea time is quite late at 3.30 pm. And that day, they had mantou and cake. Some had multiple servings of cake! I must say Yu's appetite is pretty good then, since our dinner starts by latest 6 pm usually.

So there, Yu's sixth birthday was concluded! Two weeks ago :p

Happy birthday to our last! Looking forward to new milestones :)

Sinusitis struck again!

I still remember that summer in 2003. I had this terrible headache no matter how I turned my head. It was accompanied by super thick and green mucous that was never ending. I could honk whole day long and keep getting such mucous! 

When I called the doctor, I was told that the earliest appointment would be one week later. Well, this was NHS. I insisted on seeing a doctor that very day and they slotted me in with another doctor. He diagnosed sinusitis and gave me antibiotics. So relieved.

Two Sundays ago, I caught a little chill after taking a nap at Mum's place. Then I started getting a headache on Wednesday. It only started in the evening. Panadol and Anarex didn't work so I had to sleep early - I don't feel the pain when I sleep :p Somehow the pain wasn't there when I woke after 11 pm. 

I also had a little bit of yellow phlegm, maybe once a day. This got me thinking about sinusitis. I don't know why I didn't see a doctor early. Maybe the small amount of coloured mucous - compared to 20 years ago - threw me off. And the headache wasn't omnipresent.

By Monday, I felt like the pain started appearing in the day as well. I caught another cold on Sunday night due to the aircon. Clear mucous. When it started going away Monday night, well, the headache and yellow phlegm returned. I finally made an appointment at the polyclinic on Tuesday. 

I was given antibiotics. That was really all I needed. But somehow, the doctor gave me a whole host of other drugs. I told him Anarex didn't work. He said he would give me other meds. He mentioned ibruprofen which I rejected as I had that. 

Then I went to do ART - think protocol coz I reported runny nose on Monday night when I made the appointment. The swab was much more chop than we do at home! I shall not tell the kids :p better swab more at home to be sure!

Next was the pharmacy. I don't know why but I didn't hear all the drug names. But I caught Zrytec and asked the pharmacist to cancel that since it doesn't work on me. I saw yellow tablets which are useful so I kept those. Actually, I told the doc I no longer had a runny nose... I was also given lozenges when I didn't mention any sore throat. But I took it since it was cheap and good to keep for future use. 

When I got home, I found paracetamol. Didn't I say Anarex - which contains paracetamol - didn't work?! Much later that night, I realised the yellow tablets aren't the usual ones for runny nose but are cough medicine. I didn't even mention I had cough!!

A friend commented on Facebook that the doctor was on autopilot mode. How true!!

I kind of miss going to a regular GP like I did before we moved to BP. I have seen so many different doctors here - Raffles mostly where the doctors can change, a couple of other clinics. Just couldn't find a regular one I'm comfortable with so I still did my health screening with the doctor in HV. And recently, I discovered the polyclinic nearby. So convenient and cheap so I go there for everything including dental checks. 

Anyway, the headache finally lessened last night, though I felt it when I bent over to pick up stuff *.* Also stopped expelling green mucous. I'm on the mend!

Kiddy discussion over a picture

Yu came home with a folder on Monday. The next day, I sorted out his work and found this gem:

Why Kai and not Yang? I left it on the table to ask Yu. But before that, Yang discovered it when he came home and asked the same question! 

When Yu came home, we asked him, and the following conversation ensued:

Yang: Why is it Gege and not me?

Yu: Oh, because this picture is very ugly. Gege is more ugly!

Kai: *laughs*

Mama: But Yu, you look like Gege!

Yu: No, only when I was small. Now I don't look like Gege.

Yang: I think it looks like me - only I have the spiky hair...

Yu: No, it's Gege..

Should I be worried that Yu thinks his eldest brother is ugly?!!

Yang is watching me type this and he said, "Yes!" 😂 "Coz Gege is not ugly - to you."

I just asked Kai what he felt about Yu thinking he's ugly. He laughed and said coz he has a lot of moles, ugly. I assured him he is not ugly! But he is still asking for his moles to be removed, sighs. Sito and I have discussed - let them be. Hopefully, he can, like me, learn to accept his skin one day...

The start of the final term!

Yang's shin scrape aside, September was off to a good start.

Now, I have been watching lots of short reels on Facebook lately. Short funny clips from PRC and Malaysia, food, renovation, kids and pets. Recently, I started getting clips of a psychologist sharing on parenting. I couldn't get enough! I think some points rubbed off on me in ways that Triple P Online couldn't. Maybe it was all in Mandarin and these days, we have a new rule that we must use Mandarin whenever I'm in the same room. I have been very happy to be able to apply those parenting tips!

On Teachers' Day, we had Yakun for breakfast. Yu asked to go to the Pokemon machines and gave me a cute pouty face. Light bulb moment - tell them something nice. I told them that I find it hard to say no whenever they are cute and 乖 :) How do I know this works? Kai laughed. He can be very cynical but he laughed. And he rallied his brothers to be cute so ok, let's go to the Pokemon machines!

Honestly though, I didn't expect many people to be there given the hour. But it was a school holiday! Alas, the machines were out of disks so no one was there. Interestingly, no complaints. I let them walk around the machines for a while and asked them to go to the supermarket with me. COMPLIANT!

As usual, Kai helped with the basket. Yang and Yu put vegetables and milk into the basket. Yu even pulled in a second bottle of milk coz "you always buy two right?" So cute. We stood in front of the fish for a while before getting our last item and paying. They took turns to scan the items, with Kai scanning twice coz he helped with the basket. His brothers agreed! And, no one requested to buy snacks!

Made a collage for the morning :)

MOE distributed a bottle of insect repellant to all kids lately. Yu got his first. Then Kai added his bottle on the shelf. Yang made a space in between for his, which took a long time to reach him. He was so pleased to finally get it!

Yang often holds his repellant in his hands!!!

But such sprays aren't very kid-friendly. One day, Yu tried to spray on his arms and ended up spraying some into his eyes! Yang was with him and brought him to the kitchen sink coz - thankfully - he had read the small print on what to do should some get into eyes! We helped Yu wash his eyes like crazy. Poor boy.

Suddenly, Yu is big enough to reach the "bell" in the playground downstairs?!

Let them run about in the playground and scoot about for a while before we left for our first mid autumn festival activity this year.

Kai discovered Beyblade marks and rallied his brothers to clean up - thanks!

So he got very hungry? Emptied his beef udon and finished up much of Yu's curry rice!

And September holidays started, woohoo! But this also meant the start of revision for Kai... We had a good mix of studying and fun, I think...

We went out on only two days. On Tuesday, we watched a movie - Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank. Yang chose it coz we saw the trailer back in June. We went past AhMa's place to pass her some mooncakes. Kai got his 9-cube before we went to Lido. Maybe coz it was a morning show, we were the only three in the theatre!

Popcorn is a must

Solved that very evening

He was just sitting there quietly working the cube. This boy can stay still and quiet if he wishes to, which isn't often!! *.*

Ended the day with Home Alone 2 so Yu got a movie in as well!

Self check-in available!

Papers for them, book for me

I minimised housework to the necessary during school holidays, i.e. bathrooms, floors and laundry. Which means dusty bookshelves and tabletops etc *.*

On Friday, we went to the Singapo 人 exhibition. I had wanted to go in June but couldn't fit it in somehow. Must go for anything Chinese!!

First, pizza for lunch - two for Kai and one for Yang

These kids really 走马看花 *.* Had to grab them and hold them still if I wanted to show them anything!! I like this place. Lots to read and play. And the IT here is very fun! 

Game like Cooking Mama but is more like kopi boy, you know...

This huge touchpad is very fun and interactive! Kai was just playing though *.*

The disk collected info on us as we answered quizzes along the way - I was an observer; the kids - not accurate :p

There was an exhibition on dialects upstairs so we went there too. It was very fun! Again, I was the only one reading *.*

But Yang posed for me :)

I love this!

Lay leo! Haha!

We went to Maxwell hawker centre for a promised drink. CDC vouchers paid for their apple juice while I had rojak all by myself. The best rojak ever! Why did I never discover this when working in the area years back??!

It was way past 5 pm when we finally got Yu. Went to Shilifang for dinner. The kids saw my stamp card and asked if they could get a toy. The lady was very nice - she checked the stamps, said we could get two but she gave us three and asked us to return soon!

My sweet Kai holding his Ultraman

These two monkeying around too

With that, we said bye to the holidays and hi to the last term of the year, woohoo! Exam term, cry... I cry, not Kai...!

This is also the beginning of the end for child care. I'll be glad though! Been in the child care system since Dec 2012 and this is the first time I heard of herpangina. Like HFMD but in the mouth only. What a name! And painful ulcers sounds horrid. 

Fancy attire to school for activities, via the recycling bin :p

Crackers soaked in Milo? Definitely my boy!

But he needs to eat more!! How about ribs? :p

Every day when they come home, it's loud, messy, playful, sometimes funny

Sito and I have been overeating since the week before Mid Autumn Festival - New Ubin Seafood, then Beng Hiang, then Oppa BBQ, i.e. three consecutive weeks! Oppa BBQ happened after the Science Centre.

Yu's turn to like this :)

Fortune telling which direction to go

Yang was the first to do the fortune telling thing but I didn't manage to capture a shot. He let go of the section of pool noodle and.... it stood upright! Hilarious!!!!

The four who give me grief in real toilets, cleaning fake toilets

Kai: You are not scared, you just want to be carried right???

He was scared la... =(

Later, we had to convince him to watch a show on engineering coz he was afraid it would be scary. Sweetie pie - come let brave Papa carry!

Testing reaction time - Sito said it was siong!

We spent three hours at the Science Centre. Very tiring for the parents. The kids were energetic and running about. Time for some Oppa BBQ!

They experienced hotel buffet breakfast before where they got their own food but that was too long ago, pre-COVID. So this was like their first time at a buffet where they really helped themselves to the juices! Every so often, one or more boys would bring a cup to get more juice. Or they would follow Papa to get more meat. I showed Kai that there was rice and he took some for himself. They had so much fun! In particular, Kai was smiling so much :)

Cooking prawns which they did not eat *.*

They all tried their hands at cooking one meat or another. Kai and Yang also wolfed down quite a bit of meat. 

Happy boys!

Kai's new creation - very carb heavy!

What are they chatting about?

I love to see them walk together :)

Sito and I had to massage our legs when we got back. I whipped out the portable machine from JY - so shiok... The kids also dropped off to dreamland very quickly...

The next day saw us get back late as well - went to Ikea and walked through all the rooms! Kai broke a container in a bathroom so we waited a while for the staff to attend to it. Sito talked to them about this in the car on our way home. Don't know how much went in...

Yang was posing :p

He told me to take again, with another book :)

The three of them wanted to carry the mattress pad *.*

Unrolled it that very night to slot under the covers for the upper bunk bed to make it more comfortable. Kai said it helped, yay!

September did not end too well, with four of us down with flu. After Kai and Yang went back to school, Yu stayed home until Friday to nurse his cough. That's after spending one week home to avoid herpangina (what a name!) which is similar to HFMD. A mild fever returned on Wednesday and Thursday, and he was quite lethargic. He even came over to sleep with me on Thursday night, as he felt unwell. Poor thing. 

He didn't eat well for days. On Friday, when I was very stressed, I snapped when he refused his lunch after two bites again. He sobbed silently :( Later, I apologised when he was playing games on the iPad. He continued to look down but I saw him wipe a tear off! I also wanted to cry with him! 

Playing with book bugs cards on his own

He also borrowed ebooks on the iPad to read. Always the same few read-along books but he likes them. This week, the kids have been reading more coz we got two new Real Pigeons books last weekend! They even pulled out the old books to read.

Arranging his babies nicely

Ninja! He said :)

That was a 10yo piece of cloth, I think. One of those square towels from Ikea that I bought when Kai was an infant. Thanks to the auntie at the mixed rice stall, I started pulling a towel between the crook of my arm and my baby's neck so any sweat was quickly drawn away, keeping us dry and comfortable. 

I kept them aside once Yu stopped breastfeeding but brought them out again when the school changed from showering to wiping down after Covid appeared in our lives. Now it's used for the occasional wipe-down at home when they're feverish or sweaty.

Playing simplified mastermind

Oh ya, he was in PJs past few days when he was lethargic. Great for nua-ing on sofa! Changed him out yesterday evening as we went out for dinner. He was also sweaty after a nap. Anyway, he finally ate more! Had Torigo downstairs. I think the regular staff remembers us now - the family with kids who want apple juice. We took two of their last three cans yesterday! Kai now wants coke *.*

So September is gone now. Kai has gone through oral exams. The next month will be the remaining papers. All viruses, stay away!