How is it that November is close to an end?
November started with anticipation:
Chris came back on the 6th for 10 days so I had reprieve for those days. After being a solo parent for the past 4 months it really seems a breeze to have a partner! Actually, to be honest it also means having 2 opinions (which also takes getting used to again!) I think Chris had to adjust to disturbed sleep and being endlessly busy with the minutiae of life with kids!
While he was back we managed to go out with friends for an adults dinner at Mikuni ( the old Inagiku at Raffles City ), he got to play 2 rounds of 18-hole golf with different friends on 2 Sundays.
We also had another visitor, my cousin WY from KL who was here on a 2 week work assignment. She spent the first week at a hotel and stayed with us for the 2nd week. Her request : to see the Night Safari. I offered to take the other 2 kids with us as well so we had 4 kids between us 3. I think the kids really enjoyed the safari but the biggest draw was the hunky fire-dancing hunks at the entrance of the Safari!
After Chris went back to Germany, it was straight back into life. We had the orientation to primary school for Madison- that took an entire afternoon. After trying on multiple uniforms I decided to tailor make the school uniforms: I remember suffering through uncomfortable poorly fitting uniforms so for the moment Madison will get nicely fitting ones. We got her books for the entire year EXCEPT for the Chinese curriculum which apparently only come out sometime in December ( of course.. just to give me more errands to run, and hopefully before I leave for Europe!) Signed up to find out more about the school bus, which OF COURSE also only becomes available sometime in December.
On the 22nd I took Madison to see Monkey Goes West, a musical production by a local theatre company called Wild Rice. It was surprisingly good! I was quite glad I didn't take Annika along, it was over 2 hours long!
This week I've got tickets to Disney's Three enchanted Fairy tales at the MBS : Annika's turn. She asked that we bring Madison along so I guess Madison gets to see 2 musicals! It's also Madison's graduation this Saturday and I've promised to take Annika as my companion.
In other news: of course I got dropped another bomb. W, my longstanding helper of almost-6 years told me she didn't want to renew her contract next year, and would like to be transferred out. I immediately called the employment agency and was told that in order to avoid going through the chaos of work permit application I would have to replace her 60 days before her permit expired. Which means January 2015. Which means I have to start looking ASAP. Of course. When Chris gets back from Germany everything will have been sorted out and life would be fine and dandy!
Well... its a good experience.. I'm learning and becoming more resilient. Actually, once I started embracing the fact that I can't get everything perfect, and more accepting of the way each kid is, I found that they started behaving better. Of course I'm referring to Annika, and I have to say she has vastly improved over the past few weeks. In a way it's probably good that W is transferring out.. Annika has been having severe tantrums with her and I think it's also partly because of the way that W interacts with her. I'm trying to actively spend more time with her, and also with each of the other children. It's been hard, but I think it works.
One step at a time...
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Swim meet at SSC and Annika can read!
Firstly:
Madison did as promised.
She participated in her 2nd swim meet and did what she was supposed to do: dive into the pool, start swimming straightaway and touch the time pad at the end.
It wasn't about speed or position. It was just about learning what competition is all about and participating.
They had a warm up session prior to the meet and she had fun with her other friends who were also in the meet. After all the kids had their turn they all got to collect a participation certificate and a pin.
I'll let her decide if she wants to participate in any other meets in future.
Next:
Annika is slowly learning to read! I thought initially she was just reciting the words from memory, but I realized last night that she can identify and ?sound out simple words. She's not yet consistent and cannot sit through an entire small book (eg Peter and Jane series) but she's getting there. I think it helps that she is competitive and when I started doing it with Elizabeth around she tries harder.
Liam:
He was quite unwell the past week. He suddenly started having a fever on a Sunday afternoon and didn't shake the fever for close to a week. I was on the verge of taking him to the emergency department to get some blood tests done but he responded to antibiotics. I figured it could possibly be a mycoplasma infection as Eli has been coughing and febrile just prior. (bad doctor mummy)
ANYWAY... he did get better.. and that's all I want.
He's still drooling like a tank, and STILL not chewing properly. He still has this bad habit of spitting food out, but I guess it's mostly because he's not a big eater and starts doing that when he doesn't really like something. He still has an overactive gag and will gag if he accidentally swallows something firmer. I wonder how long he's going to take to outgrow that!
It's November and this month we have visitors! My cousin is here on a work attachment for 3 weeks and another one is coming midweek for a short holiday. And of course Chris is back for a short visit as well.
Not forgetting the primary school orientation in another 2 weeks. I will have to sort out uniforms and textbooks!
Madison did as promised.
She participated in her 2nd swim meet and did what she was supposed to do: dive into the pool, start swimming straightaway and touch the time pad at the end.
It wasn't about speed or position. It was just about learning what competition is all about and participating.
They had a warm up session prior to the meet and she had fun with her other friends who were also in the meet. After all the kids had their turn they all got to collect a participation certificate and a pin.
I'll let her decide if she wants to participate in any other meets in future.
Next:
Annika is slowly learning to read! I thought initially she was just reciting the words from memory, but I realized last night that she can identify and ?sound out simple words. She's not yet consistent and cannot sit through an entire small book (eg Peter and Jane series) but she's getting there. I think it helps that she is competitive and when I started doing it with Elizabeth around she tries harder.
Liam:
He was quite unwell the past week. He suddenly started having a fever on a Sunday afternoon and didn't shake the fever for close to a week. I was on the verge of taking him to the emergency department to get some blood tests done but he responded to antibiotics. I figured it could possibly be a mycoplasma infection as Eli has been coughing and febrile just prior. (bad doctor mummy)
ANYWAY... he did get better.. and that's all I want.
He's still drooling like a tank, and STILL not chewing properly. He still has this bad habit of spitting food out, but I guess it's mostly because he's not a big eater and starts doing that when he doesn't really like something. He still has an overactive gag and will gag if he accidentally swallows something firmer. I wonder how long he's going to take to outgrow that!
It's November and this month we have visitors! My cousin is here on a work attachment for 3 weeks and another one is coming midweek for a short holiday. And of course Chris is back for a short visit as well.
Not forgetting the primary school orientation in another 2 weeks. I will have to sort out uniforms and textbooks!
Monday, October 20, 2014
October update
In the blink of the eye the month is almost over. My dear boy Liam is 16 months tomorrow.
It's been a busy month. At the start Anthony was here to visit, so that was a good distraction for us. I'm so grateful he came for the 2 weeks to be with the kids, and we spent the weekends at East Coast Park. Madison got to use her 2 wheeler during those 2 weekends, and so I'm hoping that once she can cycle she will not forget! I think we went cycling once after but it was seriously a major hassle getting the bikes on and off the bike rack on the car!
Madison has been busy with rehearsals in school for her K2 graduation ceremony. She's had 2 rehearsals at the Jubilee Hall at Raffles Hotel already! Because of that I've had to reschedule music classes for the past few weeks and and spending alot of time at United Square ( where Mandeville Music School is located).
Here's what our week looks like:
Monday: Bazgym for Annika and Vicky at 3pm. Madison goes at 5pm.
Tuesday: Swim class for Annika at 4, Madison has tennis for an hour at the same time. Once a month she has her golf course lesson with coach Shareen.
Wednesday: Berries Chinese class at 3-445pm at Regency House
Thursday: Music class at 1pm for the 2 girls
Friday: Swim class for Annika at 4pm and Madison at 6pm
Saturday: Tennis with Eli at 730am
Sunday : Tennis for Madison 3-5pm
So it's not that bad. And we don't do any other forms of enrichment/academic lessons. They get their mandatory hour of activity and sunshine at least once a day most days.
This month I've been trying hard to be a better parent. I realize that recently I've been really grumpy and impatient with the kids, partly because I'm tired, and partly because I'm a little sick of being 'the' parent around responsible for them. Then I came across this positive parenting thing, and reading articles online about positive parenting techniques made me feel guilty about how I've been doing things. So the past 2 weeks I've been trying hard to be more patient, to respond to the kids with more empathy. And I think it kinda works. Annika especially seems to respond better and she has fewer (? no more!) tantrums. I'm trying harder to explain why I want certain things done, and to make my expectations clearer to her.
My next challenge will be Liam. He's starting to throw tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants
( which is of course most of the time!) and it doesn't help that his speech is nowhere near where the girls were at the same age ( I think!). He's not the best sleeper either but he seems to get that he's supposed to be sleeping. So after an hour of being up at say 4 or 5am he will eventually go back down to sleep with some rocking or shushing. No more feeding at night. (also because he's a poor eater! )
I also don't know why he's got this habit of spitting food out. He's just starting to chew his food but still chooses to spit solids out. He's the only kid that at almost 16 months still needs his food chopped up finely. His older sisters were onto table food in pieces by a year old. Obviously it leads to a leaner 'scrawnier' kid.
I got the letter for Madison's orientation to SCGS. I'm not sure what we'll do next year logistically. I don't fancy driving to school every morning nor do I really want her to have to take the bus at 6am in the morning. Public bus is the other option. That and the other kids schedules! Then the same thing in the after noon at school pick up.
I've signed Madison up for the next mini swim meet at the club. I told her it was for her to practise at it, to show herself that she can do it right this time round. She's been ok. I think it's a good opportunity to build up her courage to do things.
It's been a busy month. At the start Anthony was here to visit, so that was a good distraction for us. I'm so grateful he came for the 2 weeks to be with the kids, and we spent the weekends at East Coast Park. Madison got to use her 2 wheeler during those 2 weekends, and so I'm hoping that once she can cycle she will not forget! I think we went cycling once after but it was seriously a major hassle getting the bikes on and off the bike rack on the car!
Madison has been busy with rehearsals in school for her K2 graduation ceremony. She's had 2 rehearsals at the Jubilee Hall at Raffles Hotel already! Because of that I've had to reschedule music classes for the past few weeks and and spending alot of time at United Square ( where Mandeville Music School is located).
Here's what our week looks like:
Monday: Bazgym for Annika and Vicky at 3pm. Madison goes at 5pm.
Tuesday: Swim class for Annika at 4, Madison has tennis for an hour at the same time. Once a month she has her golf course lesson with coach Shareen.
Wednesday: Berries Chinese class at 3-445pm at Regency House
Thursday: Music class at 1pm for the 2 girls
Friday: Swim class for Annika at 4pm and Madison at 6pm
Saturday: Tennis with Eli at 730am
Sunday : Tennis for Madison 3-5pm
So it's not that bad. And we don't do any other forms of enrichment/academic lessons. They get their mandatory hour of activity and sunshine at least once a day most days.
This month I've been trying hard to be a better parent. I realize that recently I've been really grumpy and impatient with the kids, partly because I'm tired, and partly because I'm a little sick of being 'the' parent around responsible for them. Then I came across this positive parenting thing, and reading articles online about positive parenting techniques made me feel guilty about how I've been doing things. So the past 2 weeks I've been trying hard to be more patient, to respond to the kids with more empathy. And I think it kinda works. Annika especially seems to respond better and she has fewer (? no more!) tantrums. I'm trying harder to explain why I want certain things done, and to make my expectations clearer to her.
My next challenge will be Liam. He's starting to throw tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants
( which is of course most of the time!) and it doesn't help that his speech is nowhere near where the girls were at the same age ( I think!). He's not the best sleeper either but he seems to get that he's supposed to be sleeping. So after an hour of being up at say 4 or 5am he will eventually go back down to sleep with some rocking or shushing. No more feeding at night. (also because he's a poor eater! )
I also don't know why he's got this habit of spitting food out. He's just starting to chew his food but still chooses to spit solids out. He's the only kid that at almost 16 months still needs his food chopped up finely. His older sisters were onto table food in pieces by a year old. Obviously it leads to a leaner 'scrawnier' kid.
I got the letter for Madison's orientation to SCGS. I'm not sure what we'll do next year logistically. I don't fancy driving to school every morning nor do I really want her to have to take the bus at 6am in the morning. Public bus is the other option. That and the other kids schedules! Then the same thing in the after noon at school pick up.
I've signed Madison up for the next mini swim meet at the club. I told her it was for her to practise at it, to show herself that she can do it right this time round. She's been ok. I think it's a good opportunity to build up her courage to do things.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
School woes
Evidently, as the kids grow older the issues change from sleep/eat/toileting problems to school problems!
Madison
Fortunately she's crossed the hurdle of securing a spot in SCGS. So that's a huge relief to me and my bank account. Singapore schools are practically free to citizens so I'll start saving some cash once she leaves Pat's Schoolhouse.
Unfortunately we start school at an ungodly hour of 0720-0730h. Apparently she has to be in school by 0715-0720. And I've heard the traffic to school is legendary.
So transport choices are:
1. Self drive : face traffic, but travel in relative comfort of own vehicle
2. Car pool : as above, but less frequency, but with the issue of dealing with other parents. What is the protocol on sick days? Travel?
3. Public bus : cheap and good, but is it predictable? Someone has to take her there and come back. Apparently the ride is 30-40 minutes long! ( this is for a distance <3km br="">4. School bus: more cost, early start -- apparently pick up is anytime from 0600-0630h! But then she can go unaccompanied and the pressure to get her to school is off me.
5. Other : ?cycle to school Is that even worth considering? Probably not.
Annika
She will be in K1 next year at Pat's, and we've just been kindly advised that school fees are undergoing an upward revision. Of course. Next year's revision will bring half day (AM) fees to $1455 and full day ( till 530pm ) $1733 per month. When we started at Pat's, the half day fees were $850 per month. Thank goodness next year we have a bit of a reprieve because Madison is leaving and Liam doesn't join till 2016.
I looked around on the internet and found that most preschools in this vicinity are charging close to those fees. I presume it's the rental charges that's driving the price increase. I'm not keen on changing schools because Annika loves her friends and teachers, so I guess Chris will have to work harder!!
As for transport, I'm also not sure if I'll still take her or if she will take the bus to school?
Liam
The baby is signed up for Cherie Hearts at Whampoa for next year. I decided to forego Bibinogs for him, partly because of the logistics, partly because of cost ( it has gone up to ridiculous amounts too ) and partly because I feel it doesn't really seem to have made a really significant impact on their Mandarin ability. Berries has done much more. The price is under $600 per month for half day sessions, and I will probably get him to go 2-3 times a week initially. I think Cherie Hearts is probably good at playgroup level, but further on I'm not so convinced. We'll see how it goes.
Thankfully Cherie Hearts is within walking distance so one of the helpers can stroller him across.. (PHEW)
And I still have to figure out primary school for him at some stage...
Madison
Fortunately she's crossed the hurdle of securing a spot in SCGS. So that's a huge relief to me and my bank account. Singapore schools are practically free to citizens so I'll start saving some cash once she leaves Pat's Schoolhouse.
Unfortunately we start school at an ungodly hour of 0720-0730h. Apparently she has to be in school by 0715-0720. And I've heard the traffic to school is legendary.
So transport choices are:
1. Self drive : face traffic, but travel in relative comfort of own vehicle
2. Car pool : as above, but less frequency, but with the issue of dealing with other parents. What is the protocol on sick days? Travel?
3. Public bus : cheap and good, but is it predictable? Someone has to take her there and come back. Apparently the ride is 30-40 minutes long! ( this is for a distance <3km br="">4. School bus: more cost, early start -- apparently pick up is anytime from 0600-0630h! But then she can go unaccompanied and the pressure to get her to school is off me.
5. Other : ?cycle to school Is that even worth considering? Probably not.
Annika
She will be in K1 next year at Pat's, and we've just been kindly advised that school fees are undergoing an upward revision. Of course. Next year's revision will bring half day (AM) fees to $1455 and full day ( till 530pm ) $1733 per month. When we started at Pat's, the half day fees were $850 per month. Thank goodness next year we have a bit of a reprieve because Madison is leaving and Liam doesn't join till 2016.
I looked around on the internet and found that most preschools in this vicinity are charging close to those fees. I presume it's the rental charges that's driving the price increase. I'm not keen on changing schools because Annika loves her friends and teachers, so I guess Chris will have to work harder!!
As for transport, I'm also not sure if I'll still take her or if she will take the bus to school?
Liam
The baby is signed up for Cherie Hearts at Whampoa for next year. I decided to forego Bibinogs for him, partly because of the logistics, partly because of cost ( it has gone up to ridiculous amounts too ) and partly because I feel it doesn't really seem to have made a really significant impact on their Mandarin ability. Berries has done much more. The price is under $600 per month for half day sessions, and I will probably get him to go 2-3 times a week initially. I think Cherie Hearts is probably good at playgroup level, but further on I'm not so convinced. We'll see how it goes.
Thankfully Cherie Hearts is within walking distance so one of the helpers can stroller him across.. (PHEW)
And I still have to figure out primary school for him at some stage...
September thus far...
Month 3 of Chris being away
Chris came back at the start of the month for a week and it was a welcome relief to have another person responsible for the kids.
It was quite funny though, initially. I think we had kind of adjusted to being without him and when he came back it was a little bit weird, to be honest.
Liam has been sleeping with me the past 2 months ( and on the master bed too!) and he's definitely gotten used to it.
The first night when Chris came back Liam was gobsmacked when he came to the bed and found Chris there. I think it was a mutual shock. It was hilarious.
I think the girls were definitely relieved to have a parent not yelling at them all the time.
The rest of the week flew past. We met up with friends to have gigantic Sri Lankan crabs, drinks and dinner with other friends and the rest of the time was spent with the kids.
Madison had her confidence camp at school on the 19th. She was so excited and started packing 2 weeks earlier. She didn't have class during the day, and Pa took her to the opthalmologist for an eye check. ( which she passed, just took the better of 2 hours to do!) He dropped her off at 5pm at school, and spent the night there. The teacher was so kind to post pictures of them going to bed at midnight.
Annika is still the child that gives me grief.. Not a day goes by that she doesn't get in trouble. From the first thing in the morning-- taking forever to get ready, dawdling instead of eating breakfast, to bedtime not going to bed etc. She is a highly intelligent and driven child and is actually more aware than Madison. She has a memory of an elephant and can recall better than her sister. But yet she chooses to do things that she knows will make me angry!
As for the baby, well.. he's the baby. He finally got his first haircut yesterday ( 24/9/2014) at the hairdresser. I'd been trimming it periodically at home but it's getting way too shaggy. Too many people have commented that he's a 'beautiful girl'. Actually all 3 kids needed a trim. Liam is still not really talking yet, but he is really good at indicating what he wants ( my handbag most of the time !) and what he doesn't want ( shakes head vigorously-- most things). He's very good at walking now, which is amazing .. for a minute I thought he was going to be delayed walking.
Anthony is here for a 2 week holiday, and I'm so grateful that he's chosen to give up his time to be with the kids. It's such a relief to have another adult to help spend time with them!
Chris came back at the start of the month for a week and it was a welcome relief to have another person responsible for the kids.
It was quite funny though, initially. I think we had kind of adjusted to being without him and when he came back it was a little bit weird, to be honest.
Liam has been sleeping with me the past 2 months ( and on the master bed too!) and he's definitely gotten used to it.
The first night when Chris came back Liam was gobsmacked when he came to the bed and found Chris there. I think it was a mutual shock. It was hilarious.
I think the girls were definitely relieved to have a parent not yelling at them all the time.
The rest of the week flew past. We met up with friends to have gigantic Sri Lankan crabs, drinks and dinner with other friends and the rest of the time was spent with the kids.
Madison had her confidence camp at school on the 19th. She was so excited and started packing 2 weeks earlier. She didn't have class during the day, and Pa took her to the opthalmologist for an eye check. ( which she passed, just took the better of 2 hours to do!) He dropped her off at 5pm at school, and spent the night there. The teacher was so kind to post pictures of them going to bed at midnight.
Annika is still the child that gives me grief.. Not a day goes by that she doesn't get in trouble. From the first thing in the morning-- taking forever to get ready, dawdling instead of eating breakfast, to bedtime not going to bed etc. She is a highly intelligent and driven child and is actually more aware than Madison. She has a memory of an elephant and can recall better than her sister. But yet she chooses to do things that she knows will make me angry!
As for the baby, well.. he's the baby. He finally got his first haircut yesterday ( 24/9/2014) at the hairdresser. I'd been trimming it periodically at home but it's getting way too shaggy. Too many people have commented that he's a 'beautiful girl'. Actually all 3 kids needed a trim. Liam is still not really talking yet, but he is really good at indicating what he wants ( my handbag most of the time !) and what he doesn't want ( shakes head vigorously-- most things). He's very good at walking now, which is amazing .. for a minute I thought he was going to be delayed walking.
Anthony is here for a 2 week holiday, and I'm so grateful that he's chosen to give up his time to be with the kids. It's such a relief to have another adult to help spend time with them!
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Feeling spoiled!!
I feel really grateful for good friends and family.
Chris is away this year during my birthday and I wasn't expecting to do anything special this year.
But my friends and family have more than made it up.
I'm feeling rather spoiled actually.
A group of neighbours got together and organised a birthday dinner last night. Wagyu steak, Kurobuta pork and lots of good wine, beer and whiskey. Who could say no to that! On top of dinner they got me a cake from Paul's and a few kids got to blow out candles with me. I even got presents. Totally unexpected. We had dinner till 10pm, and only called it quits so that the kids would be forced to go to bed!
And my family have organised dinner with the extended family: cousin ( who has recented made a move to Singapore with her parents-my dad's brother ), my dad's brothers and cousins! I'm looking forward to that.
In kid related news, Annika was struck by a gastro bug over the weekend and I'm quite relieved that she's older so can use the toilet reasonably well now. She got to skip school yesterday and of course Madison was hinting that she 'might' be having a 'fever' as well.
Liam got another pouty lip by falling and hitting himself against the metal railing of the sofa bed. He was so lucky to have missed his eye/brain. But of course that doesn't stop him from climbing all over the place though.
Onwards towards the end of August ! ( already )
Chris is away this year during my birthday and I wasn't expecting to do anything special this year.
But my friends and family have more than made it up.
I'm feeling rather spoiled actually.
A group of neighbours got together and organised a birthday dinner last night. Wagyu steak, Kurobuta pork and lots of good wine, beer and whiskey. Who could say no to that! On top of dinner they got me a cake from Paul's and a few kids got to blow out candles with me. I even got presents. Totally unexpected. We had dinner till 10pm, and only called it quits so that the kids would be forced to go to bed!
And my family have organised dinner with the extended family: cousin ( who has recented made a move to Singapore with her parents-my dad's brother ), my dad's brothers and cousins! I'm looking forward to that.
In kid related news, Annika was struck by a gastro bug over the weekend and I'm quite relieved that she's older so can use the toilet reasonably well now. She got to skip school yesterday and of course Madison was hinting that she 'might' be having a 'fever' as well.
Liam got another pouty lip by falling and hitting himself against the metal railing of the sofa bed. He was so lucky to have missed his eye/brain. But of course that doesn't stop him from climbing all over the place though.
Onwards towards the end of August ! ( already )
Monday, August 11, 2014
Madison's dental woes
I cannot fathom how Madison got so many cavities!
This is really shocking because till today I've yet to have a filling in my mouth. I may have fractured teeth from chewing ice but no fillings.
Madison's seen my uncle the dentist since she was 3. She gets her teeth cleaned professionally at least once a year. I've bought her her first electric toothbrush when she was 2 or 3.
Yet... she had to have her first filling at 4. The second at 5ish.
Just 2 weeks ago she suddenly showed the helpers that she had her first permanent tooth poking out behind her milk tooth. I panicked and took her the very next day to the National Dental Centre's walk in clinic, where we waited TWO hours to be seen. The dentist took some xrays and then extracted the errant milk tooth. He then showed me the xrays and told me the BAD news. She had MORE cavities under her existing filling. Huge ones which potentially needed a root canal!! She also had another cavity behind her front incisor.
A friend then told me to go get a second opinion about her root canal, so I visited his friend who is a dentist.
He removed the filling and cleaned the cavity out, and put a new filling in. And told me to watch her sugar intake and start flossing her teeth everyday. I still have to go back to get her other tooth cleaned out and filled.
And take Annika to get HER teeth checked too!
This is really shocking because till today I've yet to have a filling in my mouth. I may have fractured teeth from chewing ice but no fillings.
Madison's seen my uncle the dentist since she was 3. She gets her teeth cleaned professionally at least once a year. I've bought her her first electric toothbrush when she was 2 or 3.
Yet... she had to have her first filling at 4. The second at 5ish.
Just 2 weeks ago she suddenly showed the helpers that she had her first permanent tooth poking out behind her milk tooth. I panicked and took her the very next day to the National Dental Centre's walk in clinic, where we waited TWO hours to be seen. The dentist took some xrays and then extracted the errant milk tooth. He then showed me the xrays and told me the BAD news. She had MORE cavities under her existing filling. Huge ones which potentially needed a root canal!! She also had another cavity behind her front incisor.
A friend then told me to go get a second opinion about her root canal, so I visited his friend who is a dentist.
He removed the filling and cleaned the cavity out, and put a new filling in. And told me to watch her sugar intake and start flossing her teeth everyday. I still have to go back to get her other tooth cleaned out and filled.
And take Annika to get HER teeth checked too!
Girls' night out
I've finally been to an all girls night out for the first time in a long time!
I guess one of the upsides of Chris being away is that now I try harder to socialize and spend time with friends.
Friday night out was a spur of the moment thing with 3 girlfriends. Being typical moms we decided to go out after the kids were down for the night. We booked a table at Kilo, one of the 'fashionable' plates kind of place for dinner and drinks.
Of course we had to take a group shot at the start, then we had our drinks and food. Surprisingly we didn't wind up drunk and we did havedessert before we left. The only downside to the place was that it wasn't air conditioned! Wasn't nice to start sweating just 15 minutes into a meal.
Saturday was a public holiday here because it was the National Day. Hence a day off! No work, no schedules.. Elizabeth and Vicky came over bright and early, Geok was out cycling and Munhon was at work. Good thing I did pancakes for breakfast so there was plenty extra. The kids headed out to the Montebleu pool after breakfast and played with a neighbour's kid the entire morning.
We were very lucky to get invited to a neighbour's place for wine and cheese after dinner and we saw the National Day fireworks very clearly from her apartment.
Sunday was girls day out! I took Madison and Annika shopping at Takashimaya and we had lunch at Coffee Bean bistro after wards! Was a success and I'm thrilled that I can finally do this with the girls! They are finally old enough to go out and eat with decorum! Sunday evening was tennis for Madison and pool time for the younger 2. We finished off with dinner and a free kids' magician show at the club. All in... a great day in my books! I cannot believe the weekend is over and a new week is about to begin AGAIN.
I guess one of the upsides of Chris being away is that now I try harder to socialize and spend time with friends.
Friday night out was a spur of the moment thing with 3 girlfriends. Being typical moms we decided to go out after the kids were down for the night. We booked a table at Kilo, one of the 'fashionable' plates kind of place for dinner and drinks.
Of course we had to take a group shot at the start, then we had our drinks and food. Surprisingly we didn't wind up drunk and we did havedessert before we left. The only downside to the place was that it wasn't air conditioned! Wasn't nice to start sweating just 15 minutes into a meal.
Saturday was a public holiday here because it was the National Day. Hence a day off! No work, no schedules.. Elizabeth and Vicky came over bright and early, Geok was out cycling and Munhon was at work. Good thing I did pancakes for breakfast so there was plenty extra. The kids headed out to the Montebleu pool after breakfast and played with a neighbour's kid the entire morning.
We were very lucky to get invited to a neighbour's place for wine and cheese after dinner and we saw the National Day fireworks very clearly from her apartment.
Sunday was girls day out! I took Madison and Annika shopping at Takashimaya and we had lunch at Coffee Bean bistro after wards! Was a success and I'm thrilled that I can finally do this with the girls! They are finally old enough to go out and eat with decorum! Sunday evening was tennis for Madison and pool time for the younger 2. We finished off with dinner and a free kids' magician show at the club. All in... a great day in my books! I cannot believe the weekend is over and a new week is about to begin AGAIN.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Getting settled
It's been 3 weeks since Chris left and I think we are finally starting to settle down.
Today Liam is exactly 13 months.. and I am so glad we are over the first year. For some reason I always find month 8-12 the toughest few months in the 1st year.. the weaning, their mobility and the start of fussing.
Annika turns 4 tomorrow and she's really excited. We've already celebrated her birthday when Chris was here 1 month ago so tomorrow will be cake in school and maybe cake at home. She also asked for a pinata for school so I've got to do that today. I've been bribing her with the pinata.. so everytime she refuses to do something ( practise piano/eat breakfast/ sit down etc ) I use the pinata as ransom. For now it works.. I've got to think of something else once her birthday is over!
I had some trouble getting the apartment rented out but its mostly sorted out now so I hope I don't have to deal with it for a few months. There's just a few minor dismantling works that's still to be done but it shouldn't be too complicated.
I think the house is also FINALLY settling down.. the roof was still leaking and the roofing people came in again to fix it, and we are waiting for another downpour to test it out. Our architect came in over the weekend to inspect the house, and I'm so glad he did that. He took pictures of the various minor defects and I hope those will get corrected at some stage. The wardrobe guy also came in on Saturday to install our bathroom mirrors and cabinets so we now have mirrors in the house! I'm actually happy that we're getting things done in stages so that every little thing feels like an improvement, and the helpers aren't overwhelmed with work at the very start.
This week is looking busy for the kids.
Monday: kids have 'racial harmony day' at school and Madison had her Mandarin show and tell. She brought some kueh buluh to show. We practised a little at home and I hope that 2 minute speech is enough!
Tuesday: Annika is 4! Cake and Pinata at school. Madison has her first on-course golf lesson so I have to take her to the driving range prior and then leave her for the lesson. Lesson starts at530pm.
Wednesday: Berries as usual
Thursday: Music class day- Madison has a double: a replacement music class at 1pm and then CMC class at 6pm. Tennis session for the first time for me and a few neighbours
Friday: Swim class as usual
Saturday : I signed Madison up for a swim meet as encouraged by her swim teacher. Of course to express my support I also indicated I would help out as a volunteer.. let's see how that pans out. In the evening we have a potluck dinner at a friend's house. I still haven't decided what to make!
No wonder I was getting anxiety nerves this morning....
Today Liam is exactly 13 months.. and I am so glad we are over the first year. For some reason I always find month 8-12 the toughest few months in the 1st year.. the weaning, their mobility and the start of fussing.
Annika turns 4 tomorrow and she's really excited. We've already celebrated her birthday when Chris was here 1 month ago so tomorrow will be cake in school and maybe cake at home. She also asked for a pinata for school so I've got to do that today. I've been bribing her with the pinata.. so everytime she refuses to do something ( practise piano/eat breakfast/ sit down etc ) I use the pinata as ransom. For now it works.. I've got to think of something else once her birthday is over!
I had some trouble getting the apartment rented out but its mostly sorted out now so I hope I don't have to deal with it for a few months. There's just a few minor dismantling works that's still to be done but it shouldn't be too complicated.
I think the house is also FINALLY settling down.. the roof was still leaking and the roofing people came in again to fix it, and we are waiting for another downpour to test it out. Our architect came in over the weekend to inspect the house, and I'm so glad he did that. He took pictures of the various minor defects and I hope those will get corrected at some stage. The wardrobe guy also came in on Saturday to install our bathroom mirrors and cabinets so we now have mirrors in the house! I'm actually happy that we're getting things done in stages so that every little thing feels like an improvement, and the helpers aren't overwhelmed with work at the very start.
This week is looking busy for the kids.
Monday: kids have 'racial harmony day' at school and Madison had her Mandarin show and tell. She brought some kueh buluh to show. We practised a little at home and I hope that 2 minute speech is enough!
Tuesday: Annika is 4! Cake and Pinata at school. Madison has her first on-course golf lesson so I have to take her to the driving range prior and then leave her for the lesson. Lesson starts at530pm.
Wednesday: Berries as usual
Thursday: Music class day- Madison has a double: a replacement music class at 1pm and then CMC class at 6pm. Tennis session for the first time for me and a few neighbours
Friday: Swim class as usual
Saturday : I signed Madison up for a swim meet as encouraged by her swim teacher. Of course to express my support I also indicated I would help out as a volunteer.. let's see how that pans out. In the evening we have a potluck dinner at a friend's house. I still haven't decided what to make!
No wonder I was getting anxiety nerves this morning....
Friday, July 11, 2014
July 2014
I think I should never forget this month
1. New house
We finally moved in on June 23rd and obviously had to spend the night there once the beds were moved over. It was a crazy nightmare having to move and look after 3 kids. When we moved from Papillon to Montebleu I don't remember having any major issues, so I assumed it would be the same this time.
It was bad!
We were firstly under prepared. I was recommended Helping Hands as a moving company. They employ ex-convicts to do the job and are reasonably priced as they are partly a social enterprise. The boxes they sent us were too small and even though we paid for more (20 more) boxes they were insufficient. We had stuff still unpacked when the movers came. Fortunately they brought a huge empty box for us to use.
We had so much stuff! They needed 2 trips to bring all our things over, and when they got to the new house the first thing they said " there are stairs!" They were NOT happy. Fortunately they were nice enough to oblige ( at an additional cost ) and I brought drinks and my banana cake for them.
It took the rest of the day just to vaguely unpack and get the bedrooms reasonably ready for the night. There were still workers trying to finish up the details in the house so it was terribly dusty and noisy.
2. Chris leaving for Germany
He left on the 29th of June, on the same day that Anthony arrived (fortunately!) His flight was at midnight, so we had time to have dinner with the extended family. I drove him to the airport with Anthony and his mum.
3. Endless house repairs
When we got the new house, it wasn't completely finished so the workers were still working everyday. Floors had to be finished, painting wasn't completed and the timber screen on the staircase had to be finished.
Then at the end of the first week the heavy rain started. The attic roof started to leak!
The first time round the roofers blamed the neighbour's tarpaulin on their roof flooding our roof with their water.Anthony and I sorted that out by getting their roofers fold the tarp onto itself.
Then it rained again and our roof STILL leaked. The second time the roofers came back, took out some part of the gutter and then replaced it. I was seriously doubtful that it would work.. but we had to give it a try.
Of course when it rained it leaked AGAIN. The third time I think they replaced something else and we are still waiting for another heavy downpour.
Next came the toilets. The first floor WC seat was chipped when they handed over to us, and 3 weeks later we are still waiting for it to be replaced.
The second floor guest WC started leaking soon after. The first time the plumber came back they said it was the inlet water gasket that moved, so they manipulated it and said it was fixed. Obviously it leaked again the very night. So they had to come back again another day to do a better job.
Once they finished that , the master bedroom WC started leaking. Just unbelievable. I'm still waiting for that to be rectified.
Finally the wood floors. There were patches of unfinished floor that they had missed, so they had to come back and re do them. They wound up redoing most of the floor and that took close to a week to complete. When they finally finished the 3rd floor, the plumber went and walked on the wet varnish! So now there are foot prints on a few steps and staircase landing which is still due for a redo!
What next!
4. Primary one registration
It was like a day of doom! I've been so anxious over this with the competition to get into school these days.
I thought I'd got all the documents ready so I drove over to register first thing after dropping the girls off at school. Only after I sat down to fill out the form I realized I'd forgotten the most important document: Madison's birth certificate!
It was a miracle I managed to drive home safely and get the rest of the process completed.
Turns out there were 100 spots and 50 applicants so technically we should be safe. I'm still waiting for the final confirmation slip to be mailed out to us.
5. Getting Montebleu rented out
We decided we're probably keeping Montebleu for the forseeable future for now, but obviously need to rent it out. After we moved out, I paid another contractor close to $6000 to do minor repair and cleaning work in the apartment. It was quite dirty and messy. I had to go back and do a scrub down of the stove and oven as well.
We had a few viewings by potential tenants, and now they want ALL the built in furniture removed! This means more work on the apartment and touch up paint and floor work. But I guess we don't really have a choice; it's either this or no tenant.
Hopefully that'll be all for now....
1. New house
We finally moved in on June 23rd and obviously had to spend the night there once the beds were moved over. It was a crazy nightmare having to move and look after 3 kids. When we moved from Papillon to Montebleu I don't remember having any major issues, so I assumed it would be the same this time.
It was bad!
We were firstly under prepared. I was recommended Helping Hands as a moving company. They employ ex-convicts to do the job and are reasonably priced as they are partly a social enterprise. The boxes they sent us were too small and even though we paid for more (20 more) boxes they were insufficient. We had stuff still unpacked when the movers came. Fortunately they brought a huge empty box for us to use.
We had so much stuff! They needed 2 trips to bring all our things over, and when they got to the new house the first thing they said " there are stairs!" They were NOT happy. Fortunately they were nice enough to oblige ( at an additional cost ) and I brought drinks and my banana cake for them.
It took the rest of the day just to vaguely unpack and get the bedrooms reasonably ready for the night. There were still workers trying to finish up the details in the house so it was terribly dusty and noisy.
2. Chris leaving for Germany
He left on the 29th of June, on the same day that Anthony arrived (fortunately!) His flight was at midnight, so we had time to have dinner with the extended family. I drove him to the airport with Anthony and his mum.
3. Endless house repairs
When we got the new house, it wasn't completely finished so the workers were still working everyday. Floors had to be finished, painting wasn't completed and the timber screen on the staircase had to be finished.
Then at the end of the first week the heavy rain started. The attic roof started to leak!
The first time round the roofers blamed the neighbour's tarpaulin on their roof flooding our roof with their water.Anthony and I sorted that out by getting their roofers fold the tarp onto itself.
Then it rained again and our roof STILL leaked. The second time the roofers came back, took out some part of the gutter and then replaced it. I was seriously doubtful that it would work.. but we had to give it a try.
Of course when it rained it leaked AGAIN. The third time I think they replaced something else and we are still waiting for another heavy downpour.
Next came the toilets. The first floor WC seat was chipped when they handed over to us, and 3 weeks later we are still waiting for it to be replaced.
The second floor guest WC started leaking soon after. The first time the plumber came back they said it was the inlet water gasket that moved, so they manipulated it and said it was fixed. Obviously it leaked again the very night. So they had to come back again another day to do a better job.
Once they finished that , the master bedroom WC started leaking. Just unbelievable. I'm still waiting for that to be rectified.
Finally the wood floors. There were patches of unfinished floor that they had missed, so they had to come back and re do them. They wound up redoing most of the floor and that took close to a week to complete. When they finally finished the 3rd floor, the plumber went and walked on the wet varnish! So now there are foot prints on a few steps and staircase landing which is still due for a redo!
What next!
4. Primary one registration
It was like a day of doom! I've been so anxious over this with the competition to get into school these days.
I thought I'd got all the documents ready so I drove over to register first thing after dropping the girls off at school. Only after I sat down to fill out the form I realized I'd forgotten the most important document: Madison's birth certificate!
It was a miracle I managed to drive home safely and get the rest of the process completed.
Turns out there were 100 spots and 50 applicants so technically we should be safe. I'm still waiting for the final confirmation slip to be mailed out to us.
5. Getting Montebleu rented out
We decided we're probably keeping Montebleu for the forseeable future for now, but obviously need to rent it out. After we moved out, I paid another contractor close to $6000 to do minor repair and cleaning work in the apartment. It was quite dirty and messy. I had to go back and do a scrub down of the stove and oven as well.
We had a few viewings by potential tenants, and now they want ALL the built in furniture removed! This means more work on the apartment and touch up paint and floor work. But I guess we don't really have a choice; it's either this or no tenant.
Hopefully that'll be all for now....
Liam's ONE!
This post is so overdue!
Liam turned one on June 21st, and we had a party for him and Annika before Chris left for Germany.
I wanted it to be a simple affair, but alas, no.. Annika made it explicitly clear she wanted her bouncy castle for her friends. We had her party one month early so that I wouldn't have to organise a party while Chris was away.
So.. we had the bouncy castle, we had catered food from Currywok and a few families over to celebrate the 2 birthdays. Of course like everyone else with a girl we just had to have a Frozen themed party. I googled it as a theme and there were plenty of suggestions. We wound up having a Frozen themed cake/dessert table which the kids absolutely loved. I was so blessed to have generous people help : my clinic nurse made blue coloured jelly for the table as well as a huge pot of curry chicken. My mother-in-law and my mum's maid helped with setting up the Frozen themed table. I was quite hesitant about getting a bouncy castle after last year's debacle with heavy rain but Annika was lucky. The day was dry and weather cool. Of course I had to make the cake, a rainbow cake with frosting decorated with Queen Elsa, Anna and Olaf.
This time we didn't organise any games, there were no face painters or balloon twisters. The kids were just as happy running around and playing with each other. We set up a mat on the floor with paints and a few handicraft things which they did use for a little while.
It's bittersweet that my baby is one, but it's also a relief. It means he is able to be more independent of me, it means he doesn't have food restrictions anymore (hooray!) but it also means the babyhood is gone... I suppose it's been a gradual transition but Liam is definitely becoming a demanding toddler now!
Liam turned one on June 21st, and we had a party for him and Annika before Chris left for Germany.
I wanted it to be a simple affair, but alas, no.. Annika made it explicitly clear she wanted her bouncy castle for her friends. We had her party one month early so that I wouldn't have to organise a party while Chris was away.
So.. we had the bouncy castle, we had catered food from Currywok and a few families over to celebrate the 2 birthdays. Of course like everyone else with a girl we just had to have a Frozen themed party. I googled it as a theme and there were plenty of suggestions. We wound up having a Frozen themed cake/dessert table which the kids absolutely loved. I was so blessed to have generous people help : my clinic nurse made blue coloured jelly for the table as well as a huge pot of curry chicken. My mother-in-law and my mum's maid helped with setting up the Frozen themed table. I was quite hesitant about getting a bouncy castle after last year's debacle with heavy rain but Annika was lucky. The day was dry and weather cool. Of course I had to make the cake, a rainbow cake with frosting decorated with Queen Elsa, Anna and Olaf.
This time we didn't organise any games, there were no face painters or balloon twisters. The kids were just as happy running around and playing with each other. We set up a mat on the floor with paints and a few handicraft things which they did use for a little while.
It's bittersweet that my baby is one, but it's also a relief. It means he is able to be more independent of me, it means he doesn't have food restrictions anymore (hooray!) but it also means the babyhood is gone... I suppose it's been a gradual transition but Liam is definitely becoming a demanding toddler now!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Almost 1!
In the blink of an eye Liam is almost 1.
When Madison was born I had relatively more time and wrote in the blog frequently. When I look back at the old entries it's quite nostalgic and of course it seems all too easy then! One child to many adults... She is the lucky one.
By the time Annika came, the time crush started. Days began to become more stressful. It was hard trying to balance work, Madison's preschool schedule and finding time to spend with Annika. And as time passed, it actually got harder, because Madison took on more activities, and we got busy with work.
For a long time, I felt really guilty and sad towards Annika. I felt like I was shortchanging her, but honestly I didn't know how to relate to her. She was ( and is ) the most challenging of them and really brought the monster out in me. I try not to compare the 2 girls, but it's difficult. Where Madison is calm, composed and easy to look after, Annika is loud, messy, attention seeking and fussy.
I started reading up articles online about middle child syndrome, and got even more anxious and paranoid. Was I damaging her spirit and self esteem?
Then I thought more about it. And read somewhere that we shouldn't make the middle child syndrome a big deal. There are many successful middle children, and the challenges that they face as a child make them stronger and more independent people.
Annika had a parent-teacher conference just last weekend. And she had a glowing report! I was quite amazed. Her teachers were very pleased with her progress--socially and developmentally. She is apparently quite an independent child in school and is able to socialize with most kids in class.
So I should focus on the positives and try to work on my relationship with her. I have to work on my patience and have trust and faith that things will be ok.
Liam is truly the baby of the family. He is progressing in leaps and bounds, and is starting to walk already... Warni and Mylene are encouraging him to walk... and I'm saying "no, no it's ok... he doesn't have to walk so quickly!!" He really gets the benefit of being the last child, so will enjoy the most relaxed parenting compared to his sisters.
We are going to have a birthday party for Liam and Annika on the 21st of June. Again... poor Annika has to share her birthday with Liam because I want to get the party over with before Chris leaves for Germany. I don't think I would have the motivation or energy to host a party while he is away.
Finally... our new house is almost ready. There is a final inspection on the 11th of June and bearing any complications we should receive our TOP ( temporary occupation permit). I also want to complete our move before Chris leaves because I think I would go mad trying to move by myself!
Oh.. one last thing... Primary one registration is set to be on 8th of July for Madison...
When Madison was born I had relatively more time and wrote in the blog frequently. When I look back at the old entries it's quite nostalgic and of course it seems all too easy then! One child to many adults... She is the lucky one.
By the time Annika came, the time crush started. Days began to become more stressful. It was hard trying to balance work, Madison's preschool schedule and finding time to spend with Annika. And as time passed, it actually got harder, because Madison took on more activities, and we got busy with work.
For a long time, I felt really guilty and sad towards Annika. I felt like I was shortchanging her, but honestly I didn't know how to relate to her. She was ( and is ) the most challenging of them and really brought the monster out in me. I try not to compare the 2 girls, but it's difficult. Where Madison is calm, composed and easy to look after, Annika is loud, messy, attention seeking and fussy.
I started reading up articles online about middle child syndrome, and got even more anxious and paranoid. Was I damaging her spirit and self esteem?
Then I thought more about it. And read somewhere that we shouldn't make the middle child syndrome a big deal. There are many successful middle children, and the challenges that they face as a child make them stronger and more independent people.
Annika had a parent-teacher conference just last weekend. And she had a glowing report! I was quite amazed. Her teachers were very pleased with her progress--socially and developmentally. She is apparently quite an independent child in school and is able to socialize with most kids in class.
So I should focus on the positives and try to work on my relationship with her. I have to work on my patience and have trust and faith that things will be ok.
Liam is truly the baby of the family. He is progressing in leaps and bounds, and is starting to walk already... Warni and Mylene are encouraging him to walk... and I'm saying "no, no it's ok... he doesn't have to walk so quickly!!" He really gets the benefit of being the last child, so will enjoy the most relaxed parenting compared to his sisters.
We are going to have a birthday party for Liam and Annika on the 21st of June. Again... poor Annika has to share her birthday with Liam because I want to get the party over with before Chris leaves for Germany. I don't think I would have the motivation or energy to host a party while he is away.
Finally... our new house is almost ready. There is a final inspection on the 11th of June and bearing any complications we should receive our TOP ( temporary occupation permit). I also want to complete our move before Chris leaves because I think I would go mad trying to move by myself!
Oh.. one last thing... Primary one registration is set to be on 8th of July for Madison...
Monday, April 14, 2014
April
This year is going by too quickly!
It's already mid April and I feel like I haven't really accomplished anything this year.
In another 3 months Chris will be headed to Germany for his fellowship. I can't even begin to imagine how I'm going to survive the weekends!
I decided yesterday that while he is away that the kids should cut down on weekend classes. I think we'll stop Madison's golf lessons for the 6 months he is away to start with. I'll probably still continue with tennis on Sunday evenings for now since that's a drop off lesson. Thankfully Annika is done with her Saturday afternoon music classes.
Liam is growing up too quickly! He'll be 1 in another 2 months... It's bittersweet but the baby stage isn't easy. He still doesn't like his solids very much but hopefully he'll grow out of that. I've decided not to stress over it because I know that if I do it'll make things worse and he'll wind up hating food. (Which is a disaster because I like to cook!)
The weekend that just passed was crazy. More so for Chris than me. Saturday the girls had tennis, then went for a swim, had lunch then Chris took them to golf. After golf he had to attend a wedding so he took the girls along. 2 hours later we had to go for a playdate at a friend's place. After the playdate he had to go off to a hospital dinner!
Anthony has just arrived for a week's visit and the kids are stoked. He's a really good uncle to them and doesn't mind spending time with them.
Finally.. the house is coming up nicely... I'm hoping it'll get done in the next month or so and we can move in before Chris goes away. It will be a nightmare if I have to do all the moving by myself and then get Montebleu done up and ready for rental!
It's already mid April and I feel like I haven't really accomplished anything this year.
In another 3 months Chris will be headed to Germany for his fellowship. I can't even begin to imagine how I'm going to survive the weekends!
I decided yesterday that while he is away that the kids should cut down on weekend classes. I think we'll stop Madison's golf lessons for the 6 months he is away to start with. I'll probably still continue with tennis on Sunday evenings for now since that's a drop off lesson. Thankfully Annika is done with her Saturday afternoon music classes.
Liam is growing up too quickly! He'll be 1 in another 2 months... It's bittersweet but the baby stage isn't easy. He still doesn't like his solids very much but hopefully he'll grow out of that. I've decided not to stress over it because I know that if I do it'll make things worse and he'll wind up hating food. (Which is a disaster because I like to cook!)
The weekend that just passed was crazy. More so for Chris than me. Saturday the girls had tennis, then went for a swim, had lunch then Chris took them to golf. After golf he had to attend a wedding so he took the girls along. 2 hours later we had to go for a playdate at a friend's place. After the playdate he had to go off to a hospital dinner!
Anthony has just arrived for a week's visit and the kids are stoked. He's a really good uncle to them and doesn't mind spending time with them.
Finally.. the house is coming up nicely... I'm hoping it'll get done in the next month or so and we can move in before Chris goes away. It will be a nightmare if I have to do all the moving by myself and then get Montebleu done up and ready for rental!
Monday, March 24, 2014
9 months old!
Liam has reached 9 months!
3 more months and he is officially a toddler. My little baby is a toddler!
He is entering the 'difficult' stage. Eating is a problem right now. Sigh. Why are my kids like that??
We started solids when he turned 6 months. Till today he doesn't really like them! Of the 3 he is definitely the worst.
I'm at my wits end at the moment and am trying hard not to freak out about it. Of course it doesn't help that he hasn't gained a single gram since the end of December. How is it he can put on weight so easily for the first 6 months of his life and then struggle to even gain 100g in the next 6? It's bloody ridiculous. I had a lot of internal struggle as to whether he needs more milk? More solids? being a breastfed baby I felt a lot of responsibility -- maybe my supply sucks?? Maybe my milk is too watery or something?? Should he start some formula?
Anyway.. I trawled the internet for more information and the message is mixed. Obviously the pro-breastfeeding people say that milk is all they need for the first year and solids is 'just for fun', and other sites say that they need the solids more towards the end of the first year.
I think I'm probably going to try and encourage him to eat more, but it's really tough. Patience is probably what we need. Hopefully one day he will come to like food. Annika is finally mostly over this phase. At 3.5! Sigh.
Work is also a source of stress.. the clinic feels like it's another kid!
We've completed the clinic renovations and the place looks much nicer, but I guess it'll take awhile for people to start coming back. And also, I probably need to spend more hours sitting at the clinic... which is another reason why Liam has to eat more and drink less.
For all these reasons I'm quite sure Liam is our last kid. After Annika I entertained the thought of having 4, but I'm definitely not a chilled out/relaxed sort of mamma. I'm really tired of being stressed out over the kids and stressing out over feeding/napping issues. The older kids are at a good stage now, and I'm looking forward to being able to do more stuff like ski and travel with them all. The clinic would suffice as my 4th!
Moving forward: Liam, please start eating better so I can worry less about you, Clinic, please pick up so that I can also worry less about you! Annika and Madison: Enjoy your pre school days... they are running out fast!
3 more months and he is officially a toddler. My little baby is a toddler!
He is entering the 'difficult' stage. Eating is a problem right now. Sigh. Why are my kids like that??
We started solids when he turned 6 months. Till today he doesn't really like them! Of the 3 he is definitely the worst.
I'm at my wits end at the moment and am trying hard not to freak out about it. Of course it doesn't help that he hasn't gained a single gram since the end of December. How is it he can put on weight so easily for the first 6 months of his life and then struggle to even gain 100g in the next 6? It's bloody ridiculous. I had a lot of internal struggle as to whether he needs more milk? More solids? being a breastfed baby I felt a lot of responsibility -- maybe my supply sucks?? Maybe my milk is too watery or something?? Should he start some formula?
Anyway.. I trawled the internet for more information and the message is mixed. Obviously the pro-breastfeeding people say that milk is all they need for the first year and solids is 'just for fun', and other sites say that they need the solids more towards the end of the first year.
I think I'm probably going to try and encourage him to eat more, but it's really tough. Patience is probably what we need. Hopefully one day he will come to like food. Annika is finally mostly over this phase. At 3.5! Sigh.
Work is also a source of stress.. the clinic feels like it's another kid!
We've completed the clinic renovations and the place looks much nicer, but I guess it'll take awhile for people to start coming back. And also, I probably need to spend more hours sitting at the clinic... which is another reason why Liam has to eat more and drink less.
For all these reasons I'm quite sure Liam is our last kid. After Annika I entertained the thought of having 4, but I'm definitely not a chilled out/relaxed sort of mamma. I'm really tired of being stressed out over the kids and stressing out over feeding/napping issues. The older kids are at a good stage now, and I'm looking forward to being able to do more stuff like ski and travel with them all. The clinic would suffice as my 4th!
Moving forward: Liam, please start eating better so I can worry less about you, Clinic, please pick up so that I can also worry less about you! Annika and Madison: Enjoy your pre school days... they are running out fast!
Monday, March 10, 2014
Madison's 6th
I'm really happy to say that the money spent on face painting and balloon twisting was well worth it!
Alicia Lye, the solo artiste who came and entertained the kids with her art is quite good. She has a company called Happier.Sg and she specializes in face painting. I've seen a few face paintings done by other artistes and she is by far the best. The only downside is that she operates on her own, so if its a big group she might have difficulty painting all the kids. I think the adults also wanted their faces painted by her!!
I wanted to keep the party small and simple this time, but have great food and wine. Chris and I did steak taste testing over the past few weeks, and I finally decided to order chilled barley fed USDA rib eye from MMM at Square 2. It was a tough decision!
But the steaks turned out great. We had them almost an inch thick and the marbling was fantastic. I bought 2 cast iron grill Le Cruset pans to cook the steaks in. We cooked it over the BBQ fire, but the pans took a really long time to pre heat. I was so lucky.. our new neighbour on the 5th floor lent me his cast iron flat grill and that heated up more quickly. He was so nice to come and help us grill the first 10 steaks!
I think we had 5 bottles of wine amongst us all, as well as some beer and soda. The kids had pan fried ribeye and chicken nuggets.
Oh.. the only hitch in the day? The kids.
I asked Madison if she would like to have her hair done before the party and she said 'yes'. So I took both girls to Monsoon at Novena Square for a haircut and for me to get my hair treated.
After we spent a good hour getting our hair done, we went home to prepare the food for the party.
The girls were amazingly well behaved at home.. no fights, no screaming and no tears. Of course that also meant they were probably up to no good.
They were sitting in the balcony and Madison was GIVING Annika another hair cut. She lopped her sister's fringe off so annika now has no more fringe.
Unbelievable. 2 hours from the party just freshly back from a professional haircut and they did this to their hair. Why not do it YESTERDAY! To say the least I was fuming mad.
.. it was lucky Warni spotted hair on the balcony floor and stopped them before more damage was done.
I'm glad the party is over and that it was a success... everyone enjoyed the meat so that was the point of it all...
One more party for school and I'm done for another 3 months!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Moo cow
I'm so lazy!
It's been ages since I've uploaded any pictures of the kiddos.
This was taken just this Sunday that passed. We went out to Marche at Vivocity for lunch. It's actually quite fun taking the kids out for meals now that Liam takes the bottle fine and the girls enjoy their meals outside. The only thing is that logistically things seem to take awhile to do so we wind up just having the meal then leaving pretty much soon after ( naptime for baby ).
The girls wanted to sit on the poor cow and I said 'no' initially, but another little girl got to do it so then they asked why they couldn't!
Of course their daddy obliged. They did make a cute photo though!
We are now in the month of March and Madison's birthday is coming up. We are having a little party this year with a few neighbours and their kids. I wasn't going to do anything for the kids but then I thought it was rather bad to focus entirely on the food only. So I've lined up a balloon twister and face painter for 2 hours.
I'm making the cake as usual but fortunately Madison has agreed to a simple cake decorated with flowers. Annika is getting excited and has started planning her party, but she has requested for a bouncy castle and a face painter. I think she also wants some complicated cake design.
More updates closer to the day! ( or perhaps after the party?? )
Friday, February 28, 2014
New beginnings
It's been a while old blog... I've seriously neglected writing in this blog for the past few months!
My fault... time just seems to tick by, the days blend into each other and before I know it two months have passed already.
KIDS:
Madison is almost 6! My dear sweet firstborn, the reason I started writing in this blog has passed the half decade mark...
I started seriously freaking out at the start of this year because she is finishing preschool and will start Primary one next year. I've heard so many horror stories of primary school in Singapore to be stressed. I hope she will be able to cope with the schoolwork, with the independence that is expected from a primary school kid-- having to buy her meals, being in a larger class, finding new friends and dealing with relationships with other kids.
I can't even begin to imagine what next year will be like: Madison will need to be in school by 0715h, Annika will still be in preschool which starts at 0900h and Liam should also be doing something at least three times a week somewhere ( which I haven't decided as yet ). Someone needs to send the kids to their destination every morning, and then pick them all up when they are done!
Other than that... I must say I am enjoying the age that Madison is at. She is finally past the eating/sleeping/ diapering problem stage, and is such a pleasure to be around. I can actually do things with her, like take her out for meals, go shopping etc. Not that we have alot of time to do that anyway.
Annika is also slowly getting there... she is still my stubborn little child, the 'difficult' one that drives my blood pressure up every morning ( it's slowly improving ). She's the feisty, rebellious and noisy one, but is also the most thoughtful one of the three( at the moment ) . I still have difficulty getting her to finish her breakfast quickly so that we can leave at a decent time in the morning.
She's also progressing well.. she finished her Baby graduate music classes just last weekend, and will start individual piano classes next week with Madison. Annika's also started tennis on Saturday mornings with Elizabeth and Madison. She really enjoys her tennis sessions, although I suspect the three of them spend more court time fooling around rather than hitting balls. Vicky and Annika also started gymnastics this year, at the same place as the 2 older girls.
Since I freaked out about primary school and Mandarin skills, I caved in and enrolled the 2 girls at Berries.
Actually Madison has been asking me to allow her to attend Berries. I think most of her classmates at Pat's go to Berries. I've been doubtful, but I figured it was worth a try. And I think it's not bad. Group classes must work. The kids don't mind going for the 1hour 45 minute sessions once a week, and they revise their work during the week.
Finally.. Liam.. my little baby, who is still a baby. He's 8 months already.. I cannot believe it's been 8 months since he was born. He's my little cutie pie, the cuddly one for now.
But the chubbiness is going away (sob). I know it's normal, but I was really hoping he could be as chubby and cute as Madison. I think I failed with Annika.. she was so skinny by 1 year old. I really cannot remember what I did right with Madison. Liam is getting so active and fidgety now, I think he must burn all his food calories everyday. He hasn't gained any weight for the past 2 months and that is freaking me out ( as usual ) .
We've started solids with him and to my dismay he doesn't really like it. Sigh. It must run in the genes. Must be Chris' side. Elizabeth and Vicky had no trouble taking solids. I'm stubbornly trying everything I can.. Annabel Karmel recipes, different produce, new blender etc. I can't figure out if he needs more milk or more solids. Trouble with milk feeds is that he refuses solids after milk. I'm trying to give solids before milk for now to see if it helps.
WORK
We've finally renovated the Heal Balestier Clinic. Reason being IPSS is moving in to join us since their lease is up.
The renovations took just over 3 weeks to complete and it's finally ready. The new clinic has a brighter and lighter feel, and we've created more procedure rooms.
Obviously the clinic load took a hit during the renovations, so I'm anxiously waiting for the caseload to pick up again. Hopefully it won't take too long....
HOUSE
5 Martaban is coming up! I'm really excited for the increase in space that we will have. I'll miss being close to our neighbours and our carpark, but having more living space trumps that. The kids' stuff is EVERYWHERE in our little apartment and it really looks messy. And I'm really excited about a larger kitchen! We've got a kitchen specialist so hopefully they do a good job with creating my dream kitchen. ( or close to that ) ( actually more space is already quite good )
Because of the house and it's accompanying renovations our cash flow is super tight. I hate feeling like we ?might/probably be short of money( I don't dare do the math) but I know it's temporary. The kids' school fees are EXHORBITANT, but looking at Madison I think it's probably worth it. I keep asking Chris if we should downgrade or switch to a cheaper preschool but he doesn't think it's worth it. So difficult to know what to do! So.. for the time being.. no holidays, no expensive meals out ( that is is arbitrary.. normal meals out with the kids and helpers start at $100 a pop )
I think I get stressed over all these things on a daily basis, but I'm also aware how quickly these things go by. How very soon Chris and I will be old and think back of the days when the kids were so little and life was so full and fast. I know I shouldn't wish for the days to go by quickly, because I will regret it later, but when life gets a little much and I'm rushing around trying to accomplish all these little errands it does get to me sometimes.
One step at a time..
My fault... time just seems to tick by, the days blend into each other and before I know it two months have passed already.
KIDS:
Madison is almost 6! My dear sweet firstborn, the reason I started writing in this blog has passed the half decade mark...
I started seriously freaking out at the start of this year because she is finishing preschool and will start Primary one next year. I've heard so many horror stories of primary school in Singapore to be stressed. I hope she will be able to cope with the schoolwork, with the independence that is expected from a primary school kid-- having to buy her meals, being in a larger class, finding new friends and dealing with relationships with other kids.
I can't even begin to imagine what next year will be like: Madison will need to be in school by 0715h, Annika will still be in preschool which starts at 0900h and Liam should also be doing something at least three times a week somewhere ( which I haven't decided as yet ). Someone needs to send the kids to their destination every morning, and then pick them all up when they are done!
Other than that... I must say I am enjoying the age that Madison is at. She is finally past the eating/sleeping/ diapering problem stage, and is such a pleasure to be around. I can actually do things with her, like take her out for meals, go shopping etc. Not that we have alot of time to do that anyway.
Annika is also slowly getting there... she is still my stubborn little child, the 'difficult' one that drives my blood pressure up every morning ( it's slowly improving ). She's the feisty, rebellious and noisy one, but is also the most thoughtful one of the three( at the moment ) . I still have difficulty getting her to finish her breakfast quickly so that we can leave at a decent time in the morning.
She's also progressing well.. she finished her Baby graduate music classes just last weekend, and will start individual piano classes next week with Madison. Annika's also started tennis on Saturday mornings with Elizabeth and Madison. She really enjoys her tennis sessions, although I suspect the three of them spend more court time fooling around rather than hitting balls. Vicky and Annika also started gymnastics this year, at the same place as the 2 older girls.
Since I freaked out about primary school and Mandarin skills, I caved in and enrolled the 2 girls at Berries.
Actually Madison has been asking me to allow her to attend Berries. I think most of her classmates at Pat's go to Berries. I've been doubtful, but I figured it was worth a try. And I think it's not bad. Group classes must work. The kids don't mind going for the 1hour 45 minute sessions once a week, and they revise their work during the week.
Finally.. Liam.. my little baby, who is still a baby. He's 8 months already.. I cannot believe it's been 8 months since he was born. He's my little cutie pie, the cuddly one for now.
But the chubbiness is going away (sob). I know it's normal, but I was really hoping he could be as chubby and cute as Madison. I think I failed with Annika.. she was so skinny by 1 year old. I really cannot remember what I did right with Madison. Liam is getting so active and fidgety now, I think he must burn all his food calories everyday. He hasn't gained any weight for the past 2 months and that is freaking me out ( as usual ) .
We've started solids with him and to my dismay he doesn't really like it. Sigh. It must run in the genes. Must be Chris' side. Elizabeth and Vicky had no trouble taking solids. I'm stubbornly trying everything I can.. Annabel Karmel recipes, different produce, new blender etc. I can't figure out if he needs more milk or more solids. Trouble with milk feeds is that he refuses solids after milk. I'm trying to give solids before milk for now to see if it helps.
WORK
We've finally renovated the Heal Balestier Clinic. Reason being IPSS is moving in to join us since their lease is up.
The renovations took just over 3 weeks to complete and it's finally ready. The new clinic has a brighter and lighter feel, and we've created more procedure rooms.
Obviously the clinic load took a hit during the renovations, so I'm anxiously waiting for the caseload to pick up again. Hopefully it won't take too long....
HOUSE
5 Martaban is coming up! I'm really excited for the increase in space that we will have. I'll miss being close to our neighbours and our carpark, but having more living space trumps that. The kids' stuff is EVERYWHERE in our little apartment and it really looks messy. And I'm really excited about a larger kitchen! We've got a kitchen specialist so hopefully they do a good job with creating my dream kitchen. ( or close to that ) ( actually more space is already quite good )
Because of the house and it's accompanying renovations our cash flow is super tight. I hate feeling like we ?might/probably be short of money( I don't dare do the math) but I know it's temporary. The kids' school fees are EXHORBITANT, but looking at Madison I think it's probably worth it. I keep asking Chris if we should downgrade or switch to a cheaper preschool but he doesn't think it's worth it. So difficult to know what to do! So.. for the time being.. no holidays, no expensive meals out ( that is is arbitrary.. normal meals out with the kids and helpers start at $100 a pop )
I think I get stressed over all these things on a daily basis, but I'm also aware how quickly these things go by. How very soon Chris and I will be old and think back of the days when the kids were so little and life was so full and fast. I know I shouldn't wish for the days to go by quickly, because I will regret it later, but when life gets a little much and I'm rushing around trying to accomplish all these little errands it does get to me sometimes.
One step at a time..
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