Finally it is DONE!
We've completed the move, the Papillon apartment is looking all sad and forlorn..
Now for the settling in... Chris and I settled RIGHT in... simply LOVE the new place! It's great having a room to ourselves again, this time complete with a TV, walk in robe (small one though) and a bigger bathroom.( which leaked but that is another story!)
Madison has had a harder time. I didn't realize a kid so small could actually form an attachment to her old room. The first few nights were tough. Madison was crying and refusing to go to sleep, then during the night would wander around the apartment. Thank goodness Anthony is staying with us and he helps us deal with her when she comes into the living room (since he's bunking on the sofa bed there!). Because she doesn't get enough sleep she is fussy and clingy going to school and has been refusing to go to school. Initially I was worried something bad was happening at school but her teachers have said that she is GREAT during school hours! ( Well, she IS happy after school when I pick her up!) Then she kept saying she wanted to go back to the OLD apartment, to her OLD room...argh...
BUT... we had ONE good night last night. We came back early to the apartment, let BOTH girls go for a dip in our freezing COLD pool ( surprisingly Annika tolerated the cold for awhile! ), then when I put Annika down for the night Chris took Madison out to pick some pizza up for dinner ( for the adults! ). She got her small scoop of Tillamook ice-cream, then went to bed without too much fuss. AND SLEPT ALL NIGHT WITHOUT TEARS!! HOORAY! I'm hoping this signals a turn for the better?!!
Annika took a few nights to settle in too, but being younger I think she tolerated the move better. It's just that her room seems a bit of a hike from mine now, when previously we were practically 'next door'. Unfortunately she seems to have lost her ability to settle and go to sleep on her own!! Partly my fault... she has had to go to bed later ( at nap and night time ) because of Madison.. so she falls right asleep when nursing. Previously she would be up for a little while after a feed then I would put her to bed WITHOUT nursing. Oh well... I figure it's temporary... she won't nurse forever and she will drop all naps except for post-lunch in another few months! And I'm hoping somehow as she grows older she'll just follow her sister and go to bed on her own!
It's CNY next week already! The girls have all their New Year stuff but I have yet to get anything new to wear... probably shopping time this weekend?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Moving house
We finally did it!
The moving company was available only on the 20th January, so that's when we moved. Took it in a few steps; once the packing boxes were given to us we started packing up some of the kids' stuff and moved it across to the new apartment so that the kids would have their stuff available.
Once that was done, the real packing began and took close to a week! It was horrible, living next to dust and boxes for the week. Everyone was sneezing.
When the big day arrived, we were all pretty excited. And it was quite amazing. There was a team of guys that came in, swooped into every room and glad-wrapped, taped and dismantled furniture. It was really quite organized. And so QUICK! In less than 2 hours they managed to pack up our lives and load it into a 24 footer truck ( it occupied less than 1 truck!) In contrast to us packing for the best of the last week!!
I then drove my MIL and myself over to the new apartment to let the movers in. In another half an hour or so everything was unpacked and there must have been over 30 boxes sitting in the living room. Unpacking was ( and still is!) a nightmare. It's incredible how much STUFF we accumulate with time. And SO hard to throw anything out.
But still, by sheer grit and sweat most things were unpacked and stacked in various nooks and crannies. We're still slowly sorting things out but it definetly is in living condition now.
How did the kids take it so far? Daytime is great. Madison loves the new place, she likes the extra space and we've helped her decorate her room with wall stickers and new linen. But come nightfall....OMG. The first 2 nights she went wandering in the apartment at 2 am, then had 1 good night, and then has been crying for us AGAIN a few times in the night. Annika is doing the usual night waking, so between the 2 of them neither of us is getting that much sleep! But like everything else, it's TEMPORARY, right?
We've still had odds and ends to sort out. First the audio-visual stuff had to be mounted, and cables organized, then we found out that the bath tub was leaking so that had to be sorted out. Finally we're getting the phone line and internet come in, and the packing boxes removed today.
The MIL has been great in helping us with the move, bugging the movers and nagging various service people for us. It was a little stressful but we've all coped.
Annika had her 6 month birthday too! My little baby is halfway to 1! She's super cute and cuddly right now, and so fun. She hardly cries unless she needs something, and charms the pants off anyone who looks at her. I've started some solids for her, and so far she's quite good with egg yolk, avocado and banana. I was giving her some cereal, but then I'm a little skeptical about the nutritional benefits of cereal, so if she can take proper food I think I'll probably just give her that. Today I managed to make chicken puree and I'm freezing some to see how they do. Found the recipe off wholesomebaby food's website.
Anyhow... it's all good... I am so happy to have a proper room and bed to sleep in again! It's been 5 months since we've had a decent sleep. And now the plasma screen is in our bedroom too!
Next up... CNY.... groan... we're supposed to go visit relatives...
The moving company was available only on the 20th January, so that's when we moved. Took it in a few steps; once the packing boxes were given to us we started packing up some of the kids' stuff and moved it across to the new apartment so that the kids would have their stuff available.
Once that was done, the real packing began and took close to a week! It was horrible, living next to dust and boxes for the week. Everyone was sneezing.
When the big day arrived, we were all pretty excited. And it was quite amazing. There was a team of guys that came in, swooped into every room and glad-wrapped, taped and dismantled furniture. It was really quite organized. And so QUICK! In less than 2 hours they managed to pack up our lives and load it into a 24 footer truck ( it occupied less than 1 truck!) In contrast to us packing for the best of the last week!!
I then drove my MIL and myself over to the new apartment to let the movers in. In another half an hour or so everything was unpacked and there must have been over 30 boxes sitting in the living room. Unpacking was ( and still is!) a nightmare. It's incredible how much STUFF we accumulate with time. And SO hard to throw anything out.
But still, by sheer grit and sweat most things were unpacked and stacked in various nooks and crannies. We're still slowly sorting things out but it definetly is in living condition now.
How did the kids take it so far? Daytime is great. Madison loves the new place, she likes the extra space and we've helped her decorate her room with wall stickers and new linen. But come nightfall....OMG. The first 2 nights she went wandering in the apartment at 2 am, then had 1 good night, and then has been crying for us AGAIN a few times in the night. Annika is doing the usual night waking, so between the 2 of them neither of us is getting that much sleep! But like everything else, it's TEMPORARY, right?
We've still had odds and ends to sort out. First the audio-visual stuff had to be mounted, and cables organized, then we found out that the bath tub was leaking so that had to be sorted out. Finally we're getting the phone line and internet come in, and the packing boxes removed today.
The MIL has been great in helping us with the move, bugging the movers and nagging various service people for us. It was a little stressful but we've all coped.
Annika had her 6 month birthday too! My little baby is halfway to 1! She's super cute and cuddly right now, and so fun. She hardly cries unless she needs something, and charms the pants off anyone who looks at her. I've started some solids for her, and so far she's quite good with egg yolk, avocado and banana. I was giving her some cereal, but then I'm a little skeptical about the nutritional benefits of cereal, so if she can take proper food I think I'll probably just give her that. Today I managed to make chicken puree and I'm freezing some to see how they do. Found the recipe off wholesomebaby food's website.
Anyhow... it's all good... I am so happy to have a proper room and bed to sleep in again! It's been 5 months since we've had a decent sleep. And now the plasma screen is in our bedroom too!
Next up... CNY.... groan... we're supposed to go visit relatives...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bad luck day?
Yesterday certainly felt like a bad luck day.
It started off innocuously enough like any other day. Madison to school in the morning, then back to the clinic to see a patient.
I then got called about a patient with complications from a treatment I had administered. Spoke to her over the phone and she seemed fine. Still, I had my misgivings so drove over to TTSH to see her personally. After a short consult, we were both reassured. Driving back to the clinic I was then interrupted by the movers who wanted to turn up early to drop empty boxes off. Maybe that disturbed my train of thought?
Lunch time I picked Madison up from school, put Annika down for her afternoon nap, then had to find lunch before going back to work. I couldn't decide: walk across the road or drive to Whampoa market. For some strange reason I had a bad feeling about driving out but I still proceeded to do so. Bad choice.
After a quick meal I drove back LEISURELY, thinking I would go back to the clinic for awhile then head home to start doing some packing. Halfway there, I got hit by a delivery van trying to do a right turn from the left lane! AAAH! It wasn't even his vehicle so he had to call his boss about it. I spoke to his boss and we initially agreed to go over to the mechanic and see how much it would cost to repair. So then I had to drive over to the mechanics' with him tailing me. Of course it had to start to rain just then.
When the mechanic came up with the quote, the delivery man's boss decided that it was too costly and wanted to let insurance settle the claim. SO THEN I had to drive over to ANOTHER location to report the accident. IN the rain, in the BAD TRAFFIC! And I hadn't pumped yet. Of course to top it off I get a call from the clinic informing me that there were patients waiting to be seen! ARRGHHH!!!! Well... I had to send them off.
I'm really hoping the claim will go through... it's always a case of 'he said, she said' so it's up to the assessors to decide. And now I have a rental car that has an excess of $3000!!!! OMG. I think I should seriously minimize travel this week.
Is this a case of bad Karma?
It started off innocuously enough like any other day. Madison to school in the morning, then back to the clinic to see a patient.
I then got called about a patient with complications from a treatment I had administered. Spoke to her over the phone and she seemed fine. Still, I had my misgivings so drove over to TTSH to see her personally. After a short consult, we were both reassured. Driving back to the clinic I was then interrupted by the movers who wanted to turn up early to drop empty boxes off. Maybe that disturbed my train of thought?
Lunch time I picked Madison up from school, put Annika down for her afternoon nap, then had to find lunch before going back to work. I couldn't decide: walk across the road or drive to Whampoa market. For some strange reason I had a bad feeling about driving out but I still proceeded to do so. Bad choice.
After a quick meal I drove back LEISURELY, thinking I would go back to the clinic for awhile then head home to start doing some packing. Halfway there, I got hit by a delivery van trying to do a right turn from the left lane! AAAH! It wasn't even his vehicle so he had to call his boss about it. I spoke to his boss and we initially agreed to go over to the mechanic and see how much it would cost to repair. So then I had to drive over to the mechanics' with him tailing me. Of course it had to start to rain just then.
When the mechanic came up with the quote, the delivery man's boss decided that it was too costly and wanted to let insurance settle the claim. SO THEN I had to drive over to ANOTHER location to report the accident. IN the rain, in the BAD TRAFFIC! And I hadn't pumped yet. Of course to top it off I get a call from the clinic informing me that there were patients waiting to be seen! ARRGHHH!!!! Well... I had to send them off.
I'm really hoping the claim will go through... it's always a case of 'he said, she said' so it's up to the assessors to decide. And now I have a rental car that has an excess of $3000!!!! OMG. I think I should seriously minimize travel this week.
Is this a case of bad Karma?
Friday, January 7, 2011
Sleep needs
I find it amazing that some kids can sleep from 7 pm to 7 am the next day!
For some reason, I think my kids must have lower sleep needs or something. I used to put Annika to bed for the night at 630 pm, but over the past few months it has gradually been pushed past 7 pm. She refuses to feed or go down before that, unless she has not been given any more naps after her afternoon one. And even then, she would wake up to feed early if put down before 7.
Now we try to put her down before 8pm, and she would wake at 7. Recently though, she's been waking for the day at 630am! Even though I try and feed her quietly in the hope that she would go back to sleep, she protests and refuses to fall back asleep! Argh! I only hope she doesn't wake at 6 am!
BUT! Annika is super cute right now. She babbles so much, we think she is actually talking already! I stopped giving her solids regularly now, since I think she was getting indigestion and waking at 3am from it. Poor baby though, she looks so frustrated when she watches us all have breakfast every morning. Sometimes I give her scrapings of banana and she gobbles it up so quickly!
I still cannot believe Madison was heavier than Annika at the same age. Guess all kids eat differently. Annika is slightly longer though.
Well, we are off to Bintan tomorrow. We still haven't sorted out the mess with MH yet, so I don't know how things are going to be. Sigh.
For some reason, I think my kids must have lower sleep needs or something. I used to put Annika to bed for the night at 630 pm, but over the past few months it has gradually been pushed past 7 pm. She refuses to feed or go down before that, unless she has not been given any more naps after her afternoon one. And even then, she would wake up to feed early if put down before 7.
Now we try to put her down before 8pm, and she would wake at 7. Recently though, she's been waking for the day at 630am! Even though I try and feed her quietly in the hope that she would go back to sleep, she protests and refuses to fall back asleep! Argh! I only hope she doesn't wake at 6 am!
BUT! Annika is super cute right now. She babbles so much, we think she is actually talking already! I stopped giving her solids regularly now, since I think she was getting indigestion and waking at 3am from it. Poor baby though, she looks so frustrated when she watches us all have breakfast every morning. Sometimes I give her scrapings of banana and she gobbles it up so quickly!
I still cannot believe Madison was heavier than Annika at the same age. Guess all kids eat differently. Annika is slightly longer though.
Well, we are off to Bintan tomorrow. We still haven't sorted out the mess with MH yet, so I don't know how things are going to be. Sigh.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
First day at preschool
5th January 2011:
1. Our 10th year wedding anniversary
2. Madison's first day at Pat's Schoolhouse
10 years makes us sound like an old couple! But yes, it's really been 10 years since we've been married. It's weird though, doesn't feel like a single day has passed. Yes, even though we've got 2 kids!
We didn't really do anything special today, being a work day and all. Chris did present me with his gift though.. a beautiful sparkly diamond pendant from TIFFANY'S!!! Right up my alley. His gift? 2 kids!
Today I did take his mum to the spa though. I wanted to go to SpaBotanica at Sentosa resort but it was fully booked. So the next best was the Aramsa spa at Bishan Park. Am I glad we went there instead! It was really quite nice! I think the most important aspect of the spa experience is the staff and environment, and Aramsa spa scored on both counts. I invited Chai and HanTing along as well, so I had 2 couple suites booked. We opted to have the Aramsa touch massage.
It turned out to be 60 minutes of bliss! No wonder people do these things regularly! We had a nice cup of ginger tea to start, then a short foot soak before undressing for the actual massage. The masseurs were very professional and private. I actually fell asleep during the massage, even though parts of it were a little ?ticklish!
When the massage was done, we got to sit in the lounge and have more tea and biscuits. After that we went over to their cafe for a small bite before we all headed home. Even the cafe served pretty good food!
Madison had her first day at preschool today. This week is orientation week. Classes start at half time (11 am) and end at 1pm. She gets to be accompanied for this week. Madison was quite anxious and hesitant at the start, but towards the end she warmed up and for a moment didn't even want to go home! We were brought around the school for a tour, given a briefing on their daily activity. It's really quite good. She gets to do different things everyday, and there are 2 teachers to the 11 kids in the class. It's bilingual so 1 teacher in English and another in Mandarin. The music teacher is a different person and she conducts the sessions in a dedicated music room. Breakfast and lunch is provided, although breakfast is optional.
I'm just a little worried about drop off and pick up; would it be crowded and jammed full of cars? I guess I'll be finding out soon enough. I also have to work out the sequence of events; what time I actually want to drop Madison off, and then come back to Annika, or feed Annika first then drop Madison off?
Hopefully Madison will settle into her new school with as little tears as possible next week. It's a good bridge to primary school. I cannot imagine how kids who don't go to preschool cope with real school!
1. Our 10th year wedding anniversary
2. Madison's first day at Pat's Schoolhouse
10 years makes us sound like an old couple! But yes, it's really been 10 years since we've been married. It's weird though, doesn't feel like a single day has passed. Yes, even though we've got 2 kids!
We didn't really do anything special today, being a work day and all. Chris did present me with his gift though.. a beautiful sparkly diamond pendant from TIFFANY'S!!! Right up my alley. His gift? 2 kids!
Today I did take his mum to the spa though. I wanted to go to SpaBotanica at Sentosa resort but it was fully booked. So the next best was the Aramsa spa at Bishan Park. Am I glad we went there instead! It was really quite nice! I think the most important aspect of the spa experience is the staff and environment, and Aramsa spa scored on both counts. I invited Chai and HanTing along as well, so I had 2 couple suites booked. We opted to have the Aramsa touch massage.
It turned out to be 60 minutes of bliss! No wonder people do these things regularly! We had a nice cup of ginger tea to start, then a short foot soak before undressing for the actual massage. The masseurs were very professional and private. I actually fell asleep during the massage, even though parts of it were a little ?ticklish!
When the massage was done, we got to sit in the lounge and have more tea and biscuits. After that we went over to their cafe for a small bite before we all headed home. Even the cafe served pretty good food!
Madison had her first day at preschool today. This week is orientation week. Classes start at half time (11 am) and end at 1pm. She gets to be accompanied for this week. Madison was quite anxious and hesitant at the start, but towards the end she warmed up and for a moment didn't even want to go home! We were brought around the school for a tour, given a briefing on their daily activity. It's really quite good. She gets to do different things everyday, and there are 2 teachers to the 11 kids in the class. It's bilingual so 1 teacher in English and another in Mandarin. The music teacher is a different person and she conducts the sessions in a dedicated music room. Breakfast and lunch is provided, although breakfast is optional.
I'm just a little worried about drop off and pick up; would it be crowded and jammed full of cars? I guess I'll be finding out soon enough. I also have to work out the sequence of events; what time I actually want to drop Madison off, and then come back to Annika, or feed Annika first then drop Madison off?
Hopefully Madison will settle into her new school with as little tears as possible next week. It's a good bridge to primary school. I cannot imagine how kids who don't go to preschool cope with real school!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Discipline war part 2
So.... my sister came back from work last night and sat down to discuss the issues at hand.
I think we had already decided on time out/naughty chair as an impartial way of refereeing the kids when they play together, and we were merely waiting for MH to sit down with us all and agree on it.
After yesterday afternoon, Geok told us that it was almost impossible that he would be able to do that ( ? Pride/ego ) --what a child! So... he basically left it to her to thrash it out with us ( which was what I anticipated ANYWAY! ) So... we decided that the kids would be given time-outs if they attacked the other kid, bit/shoved/clobbered the other child. 1 minute per year of age, they had to sit there the entire time and then apologise when it was over. They would then get a hug and it would end the timeout.
THE CAVEAT??!! MH expects to be CONSULTED when Elizabeth was the one getting the timeout! How ridiculous is that? Especially since he refuses to partake in the discussion relating to it! Why should we CONSULT him if he did not witness the event?
Anyway, I don't trust his ability to administer the timeout appropriately. My solution? I will keep my kids away from his. Until he goes back to work properly. Right now he is in a temporary rotation away from his usual orthopaedic training so he spends inordinate amounts of time AT NOVENA.
It was great having an adult conversation with Geok though. She's a more temperate person, and seems quite even minded when it comes to these issues.
It's a pity that things had to deteroriate to this level, but if MH had the simple courtesy and frame of mind to be respectful when dealing with people other than himself it wouldn't have happened at all! I did what had to be done and I really don't care if I seem like the nasty one.
Anyhow, Madison starts school tomorrow so things will be different. Hopefully our new apartment will be ready to move into SOON. It would be nice to have more space for the kids and for US!
I think we had already decided on time out/naughty chair as an impartial way of refereeing the kids when they play together, and we were merely waiting for MH to sit down with us all and agree on it.
After yesterday afternoon, Geok told us that it was almost impossible that he would be able to do that ( ? Pride/ego ) --what a child! So... he basically left it to her to thrash it out with us ( which was what I anticipated ANYWAY! ) So... we decided that the kids would be given time-outs if they attacked the other kid, bit/shoved/clobbered the other child. 1 minute per year of age, they had to sit there the entire time and then apologise when it was over. They would then get a hug and it would end the timeout.
THE CAVEAT??!! MH expects to be CONSULTED when Elizabeth was the one getting the timeout! How ridiculous is that? Especially since he refuses to partake in the discussion relating to it! Why should we CONSULT him if he did not witness the event?
Anyway, I don't trust his ability to administer the timeout appropriately. My solution? I will keep my kids away from his. Until he goes back to work properly. Right now he is in a temporary rotation away from his usual orthopaedic training so he spends inordinate amounts of time AT NOVENA.
It was great having an adult conversation with Geok though. She's a more temperate person, and seems quite even minded when it comes to these issues.
It's a pity that things had to deteroriate to this level, but if MH had the simple courtesy and frame of mind to be respectful when dealing with people other than himself it wouldn't have happened at all! I did what had to be done and I really don't care if I seem like the nasty one.
Anyhow, Madison starts school tomorrow so things will be different. Hopefully our new apartment will be ready to move into SOON. It would be nice to have more space for the kids and for US!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Show down with the BIL
I'm sorry but I really need to vent...!
It's been 5 days since the start of this cold war and apart from the first showdown, I've also approached Geok about resolving this issue of discipline for the kids. Geok has been unable to resolve it, stating that she is waiting for MUNHON to decide.
So... the answer for the moment is to keep the kids relatively separate so that they DON'T get into any serious fights.Not ideal or easy but we have no choice until they get off their butt and sit down for a discussion. ( WHICH MUNHON REFUSES TO!)
Today, I took Madison and Annika over to the Novena house at lunch time. Munhon drove Elizabeth over after school. Elizabeth was whiny and throwing tantrums at the lunch table as usual, but I just ignored it. Told Madison to leave Elizabeth alone. I made sure my kids were well away from Elizabeth. Gave Madison several warnings to stay away.
After Elizabeth finished her lunch, she wandered over to where Annika was playing. Madison came over, and said something like "don't do that " or something. Didn't even touch or come close to her. Elizabeth went over to Madison and whacked a little bowl right out of Madison's hands. Of course Madison started crying. Munhon, was slouched in front of the TV as usual, doing nothing amidst the crying.
So then, I told Munhon to come and resolve this. His action? Carried Elizabeth up and said it was "ok"!!!! ?? OK? To hit another child?? The GALL! OMG! I took a deep breath, tried hard to stay calm, and asked him what we were going to do to resolve this issue of kids fighting. And what did he do? Like a child, he ignored me and WALKED AWAY! HOW RUDE WAS THAT!
I refused to be treated rudely and disrespectfully like that. I walked up to him, and told him flat out that I would not be treated as such. Then I asked if, that if he wasn't going to discipline his child, did he expect me to do it? He just gawked at me, and kind of waited to see what I would do!! I asked him TWICE.. and since his answer was the same, I took it as affirmative. So I told Elizabeth NOT TO HIT MADISON. She of course, responded by crying.
Anyway, it ended with him leaving and me telling him to get lost. He deserves it. MEGA PISSED ME OFF. Never had to invoke my powers of being first child EVER, but I did it then.
Still, the good thing was that it finally got him off his butt and before I knew it, the phones were ringing off the hook for Pa and Chai! It was quite funny really. At least I have the satisfaction of being EFFECTIVE. If I have to be the BAD GUY, I DON'T CARE. I WILL DO IT. Especially since he CROSSED my lines and my CHILDREN were attacked. Seems like his answer is to leave it to his wife to resolve it!! WHAT AN ASS. He really has no gumption and conviction. No courage to face dispute and resolve it head on. I pity him.
I still don't think he'd be able to effectively carry out any form of discipline that we decide anyway. But hopefully we get to sort this out. Let's see what happens tonight.
It's been 5 days since the start of this cold war and apart from the first showdown, I've also approached Geok about resolving this issue of discipline for the kids. Geok has been unable to resolve it, stating that she is waiting for MUNHON to decide.
So... the answer for the moment is to keep the kids relatively separate so that they DON'T get into any serious fights.Not ideal or easy but we have no choice until they get off their butt and sit down for a discussion. ( WHICH MUNHON REFUSES TO!)
Today, I took Madison and Annika over to the Novena house at lunch time. Munhon drove Elizabeth over after school. Elizabeth was whiny and throwing tantrums at the lunch table as usual, but I just ignored it. Told Madison to leave Elizabeth alone. I made sure my kids were well away from Elizabeth. Gave Madison several warnings to stay away.
After Elizabeth finished her lunch, she wandered over to where Annika was playing. Madison came over, and said something like "don't do that " or something. Didn't even touch or come close to her. Elizabeth went over to Madison and whacked a little bowl right out of Madison's hands. Of course Madison started crying. Munhon, was slouched in front of the TV as usual, doing nothing amidst the crying.
So then, I told Munhon to come and resolve this. His action? Carried Elizabeth up and said it was "ok"!!!! ?? OK? To hit another child?? The GALL! OMG! I took a deep breath, tried hard to stay calm, and asked him what we were going to do to resolve this issue of kids fighting. And what did he do? Like a child, he ignored me and WALKED AWAY! HOW RUDE WAS THAT!
I refused to be treated rudely and disrespectfully like that. I walked up to him, and told him flat out that I would not be treated as such. Then I asked if, that if he wasn't going to discipline his child, did he expect me to do it? He just gawked at me, and kind of waited to see what I would do!! I asked him TWICE.. and since his answer was the same, I took it as affirmative. So I told Elizabeth NOT TO HIT MADISON. She of course, responded by crying.
Anyway, it ended with him leaving and me telling him to get lost. He deserves it. MEGA PISSED ME OFF. Never had to invoke my powers of being first child EVER, but I did it then.
Still, the good thing was that it finally got him off his butt and before I knew it, the phones were ringing off the hook for Pa and Chai! It was quite funny really. At least I have the satisfaction of being EFFECTIVE. If I have to be the BAD GUY, I DON'T CARE. I WILL DO IT. Especially since he CROSSED my lines and my CHILDREN were attacked. Seems like his answer is to leave it to his wife to resolve it!! WHAT AN ASS. He really has no gumption and conviction. No courage to face dispute and resolve it head on. I pity him.
I still don't think he'd be able to effectively carry out any form of discipline that we decide anyway. But hopefully we get to sort this out. Let's see what happens tonight.
Happy 2011!
Another fantastic weekend!
New Year's eve :
The weekend started off with a half day at work( woo hoo!). In the afternoon we attended a 2 year old birthday party. The birthday girl incidentally will be starting school with Madison this year. The evening was spent at Novena with the grandparents, who organised a small house party to countdown to the new year.
We didn't make it to midnight though. Chris was on call. Madison, had ice cream at lunch, ice cream and chocolate cake at the party. Guess what ? Post party sugar slump. She fell asleep in the car on the 10 minute ride home, then woke up grumpy and whiny. She finally recovered late in the evening when the guests started arriving, and then was revved up for the night. I think she overate, and ended up spewing a little at the end. Gross.
Just in time to end the year, we've had a minor tiff in the family. Of course it's partly because of the kids. Madison and Elizabeth swing between being best friends and worst enemies, but lately Elizabeth has taken to biting. Madison has had several bite marks to show for that, and Elizabeth does not get disciplined for it. In our opinion Geok and Munhon have chosen a rather lackadaisical attitude towards rules and discipline when it comes to their offspring; she is frequently whiny, throwing tantrums and crying whenever she doesn't get what she wants.It is so annoying. Madison's behaviour deteroriates whenever she is with Elizabeth; to be fair, she sees how much Elizabeth gets away with so she tries her luck too.
Anyway, it started because Elizabeth bit Madison AGAIN. Chris took it upon himself to tell her off, but I don't think Elizabeth even understood. She smiled throughout it, thinking it was all a joke. The very next day I left Madison behind while I took Annika home to sleep, and as usual the 2 girls got into a tiff. Geok then took it upon herself to give Madison a shelling, and that's where it started. We thought it would be best to sit down calmly and discuss the issue of discipline, but then within a minute of starting, Munhon was up in arms, left the table and was saying he refused to participate in the discussion. But even though he said he wanted to leave the discussion, he continued to make remarks and comments across the room to us. That really pissed Chris off and he basically told Mun hon to either come and sit down and talk to us civilly or else shut his trap. Mun Hon then got angry and I think if it weren't for Pa's intervention we might have had a fist fight on hand???!!!
Argh... since then it's been semi cold war, I think the kids shouldn't play together until some resolution has been acheived. Since Mun Hon was the one who refused to partake in the discussion, I'm not initiating another one. He can do it.
New Year's Day:
We didn't join them for breakfast so we had a nice break. Usually we end up whittling the day away after breakfast when we're there but this time we managed to skype Anthony in Melbourne, then pop over to the shop next door to do curtain shopping for our new apartment. It rained cats and dogs in the afternoon so we were stuck indoors for the rest of the day. In the end we did wind up in the Novena house for dinner, but it was a quick one and we came home again early in the night. Dinner was civil, but you could tell things weren't right.
Yesterday we spent completely away from them, instead we had a field trip to the Sky tower at Marina Bay Sands. It was pretty cool! Of course we had to pay the silly entry fee, but we got to go up and check out the bikini babes ( and non babes ) hanging out by the infinity pool on the sky deck. Took plenty of pictures too. We had lunch at the food court after perusing the various restaurants at Sands. Mostly too posh to bring a toddler and an infant. In any case, the restaurants were empty. Ended the meal with dessert at a cafe called Darcis.
In the evening we left the 2 kids at home and took Chris' mum out to dinner at Prive. We were lucky that we arrived when we did; soon after we were seated people suddenly started appearing and the cafe was FULL! Had a relaxing dinner then back to reality.... the start of a new working year....groan....
Happy 2011!
New Year's eve :
The weekend started off with a half day at work( woo hoo!). In the afternoon we attended a 2 year old birthday party. The birthday girl incidentally will be starting school with Madison this year. The evening was spent at Novena with the grandparents, who organised a small house party to countdown to the new year.
We didn't make it to midnight though. Chris was on call. Madison, had ice cream at lunch, ice cream and chocolate cake at the party. Guess what ? Post party sugar slump. She fell asleep in the car on the 10 minute ride home, then woke up grumpy and whiny. She finally recovered late in the evening when the guests started arriving, and then was revved up for the night. I think she overate, and ended up spewing a little at the end. Gross.
Just in time to end the year, we've had a minor tiff in the family. Of course it's partly because of the kids. Madison and Elizabeth swing between being best friends and worst enemies, but lately Elizabeth has taken to biting. Madison has had several bite marks to show for that, and Elizabeth does not get disciplined for it. In our opinion Geok and Munhon have chosen a rather lackadaisical attitude towards rules and discipline when it comes to their offspring; she is frequently whiny, throwing tantrums and crying whenever she doesn't get what she wants.It is so annoying. Madison's behaviour deteroriates whenever she is with Elizabeth; to be fair, she sees how much Elizabeth gets away with so she tries her luck too.
Anyway, it started because Elizabeth bit Madison AGAIN. Chris took it upon himself to tell her off, but I don't think Elizabeth even understood. She smiled throughout it, thinking it was all a joke. The very next day I left Madison behind while I took Annika home to sleep, and as usual the 2 girls got into a tiff. Geok then took it upon herself to give Madison a shelling, and that's where it started. We thought it would be best to sit down calmly and discuss the issue of discipline, but then within a minute of starting, Munhon was up in arms, left the table and was saying he refused to participate in the discussion. But even though he said he wanted to leave the discussion, he continued to make remarks and comments across the room to us. That really pissed Chris off and he basically told Mun hon to either come and sit down and talk to us civilly or else shut his trap. Mun Hon then got angry and I think if it weren't for Pa's intervention we might have had a fist fight on hand???!!!
Argh... since then it's been semi cold war, I think the kids shouldn't play together until some resolution has been acheived. Since Mun Hon was the one who refused to partake in the discussion, I'm not initiating another one. He can do it.
New Year's Day:
We didn't join them for breakfast so we had a nice break. Usually we end up whittling the day away after breakfast when we're there but this time we managed to skype Anthony in Melbourne, then pop over to the shop next door to do curtain shopping for our new apartment. It rained cats and dogs in the afternoon so we were stuck indoors for the rest of the day. In the end we did wind up in the Novena house for dinner, but it was a quick one and we came home again early in the night. Dinner was civil, but you could tell things weren't right.
Yesterday we spent completely away from them, instead we had a field trip to the Sky tower at Marina Bay Sands. It was pretty cool! Of course we had to pay the silly entry fee, but we got to go up and check out the bikini babes ( and non babes ) hanging out by the infinity pool on the sky deck. Took plenty of pictures too. We had lunch at the food court after perusing the various restaurants at Sands. Mostly too posh to bring a toddler and an infant. In any case, the restaurants were empty. Ended the meal with dessert at a cafe called Darcis.
In the evening we left the 2 kids at home and took Chris' mum out to dinner at Prive. We were lucky that we arrived when we did; soon after we were seated people suddenly started appearing and the cafe was FULL! Had a relaxing dinner then back to reality.... the start of a new working year....groan....
Happy 2011!
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