2019

 

And.... it's 2019! Where did time go? In a blink of an eye my little babies have morphed into these mini adults with personalities of their own.

The parenting conundrum... what to do when Google, other parents, FOMO get to you?

Trust your instincts!

It's taken me 10 years to finally BEGIN to feel confident in my own skin, as a parent, a business owner, employer and spouse.

So what's happening in our hood?

Madison is a quiet, sweet 11 year old now, she has this seriousness and dream-like quality to her. She loves to boss her siblings and cousins around, and she takes this job very seriously. In fact I barely have to discipline Liam anymore- Madison has naturally taken that over. She is good at what she puts her mind to, which includes golf, drawing, playing the piano, playing computer games, writing and reading.

Annika is a boisterous 9 year old, who competes incessantly with her sister and brother. She is the obstinate one, the one who wants to get things right. She is also sometimes the mediator or the instigator of fights. She, however, has a heart of gold, and would be the one with the soft spot for the brother - when he gets into Madison's bad books. She is good at everything she tries at - tennis, golf, swimming, gym. It's difficult because sometimes we don't have time to focus on her- it's mostly spent on number one! She unfortunately does not like to read as much, her attention span can resemble that of a gnat.

Liam is finishing up at Pat's Schoolhouse ( thank goodness, the fees are killing us!) and will be performing at the annual graduation ceremony. He loves to sing and dance. He is the lawyer of the family. Liam has this way of weaseling out of doing things, and getting stuff that he wants. Developmentally he is not at the same pace as his sisters but that's ok! I know it's just a question of when he's ready.

Take reading for example.

Liam was not reading well up to just recently. He would not want to try reading books by himself.

My good friend, and colleague Caroline Lee suggested motivational instruments such as stickers or stars.

We upped the game and included a dollar value to the stars.

He got very excited and promptly started shopping online (!) for his Lego stuff. He found a Lego police station ( that was over $100) but I refused to buy it until he got his requisite stars. Liam got it in his head to start stock checking EVERYDAY! And it actually sold out.

So he found another Lego boat ( $115!) and tracked stock too. When he told me it was down to 2 I caved in.

The bright side is that he can suddenly read Mr Men books. Incredible. He even started Geronimo Stilton books because I told him each book was worth 10 stars.

Chris has entered the realm of private practice. It's been a bit nerve wracking but very exciting nonetheless.

The tumultuous baby years are over. Onward and upwards to the next phase of life!

New School year

2016 has begun

Madison starts Primary 2 at SCGS this year. Where does time go! She was just in Primary 1! This year things get a little bit more serious, with year end streaming. She was very fortunate to have had her P1 form teacher continue teaching her English this year.

Annika is finishing up at Pat's Schoolhouse. Unbelievable. I still remember Madison in K2, preparing for her year end concert, Chris being away in Germany etc. Now it's Annika's turn! She's so excited to be the big girl at school. She has had the most impressive changes over the past 4 years. I still remember the days of her tantrums, whining, refusing to eat etc. Now she's ready for school nice and early, there's barely a struggle with breakfast, getting ready etc. She's doing well with her reading ( phew !) . I think she's looking forward to starting primary school!

Liam started Playgroup at Pat's Schoolhouse just a week ago. Things couldn't have gone better. At the end of last year I started to bring him along to school when I dropped Annika off, and let him hang around, to play with the toys, in the playground at school. I think it helped and he understood that he was going to school with her. For the first 3 days, Chris' mum accompanied him to school ( and took tons of pictures!). Then this week it was solo time. I couldn't be more proud of him! I drove Annika and him to the entrance, took him up the stairs and he willingly went over to the teacher, and waved 'bye-bye' to me! Not a tear! The teachers have reported that he's doing ok in class, and hasn't had any major problems so far.

Now that all 3 are in school, things have simplified tremendously! My 2 helpers have tons of time in the morning to tidy up/ iron/ cook etc, then bus over to school to pick the 2 younger ones up. That saves me from rushing around at lunch time trying to make pick up. Madison still goes to school via schoolbus, but I'm considering letting one helper take her to school by public transport. Schoolbus is $140 one way per month! Public transport for one child is $12 a month! Add the cost for an adult at $30 and it's still about 1/3 that for schoolbus! The only thing is schoolbus is door to door so very hassle free.

Tennis lessons have come to a bit of a stall. The lessons with Weber haven't continued because he is too busy, so we are left with Saturday sessions with Hashim. Which is fine. I'm encouraging Chris to spend more time coaching and playing with the girls because that'll probably make the most difference in the long run. Golf is still at Marina bay for Annika and Madison is going to try the school at Tanah Merah Golf course. The girls have forgotten about art lessons for now, and I don't think we will re start for the moment.

Hopefully we will have a nice peaceful year at school... I'm a bit nervous with the curriculum advancing, but it's what it is. Cheers to a new year!

Hard Rock Hotel Penang, December holidays

We've finally taken a family vacation away with Liam!

With the drop in the Malaysian ringgit, we decided to go to Penang for a short trip with the extended family. Chris' mum and Anthony joined us during our stay at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Chris and I have seen the hotel previously when we stay at the Rasa Sayang near by. The pool is really something.

So this time we chose it because of it's pool.

Completely fantastic experience. Going to the Penang Hard Rock Hotel is a great choice for families with small kids.

First of all it's a breeze getting into Penang from Singapore. The flight is 60minutes long, the airport has been renovated and fairly easy to navigate and to clear immigration. Just outside of the arrival gates we had easy access to large taxis that took us straight to the hotel in 30 minutes.

The hotel isn't big so it's great for small kids. We didn't have to navigate around grounds to get to food/pool/room. They have 2 main restaurants and the Hard Rock cafe. We booked 2 standard rooms and a Roxity family suite. The suite was a hit with the kids, but my grouse is that one bathroom for 5 people is not good on holiday. Especially with pool + sand = muddy floors and insufficient towels !

The kids had a ball! We were up early, had breakfast at the main hall ( which was of reasonable standard ) , then they hit up the pool. There is direct access to Batu Ferringhi beach as well, and for those keen there are boat operators willing to take passengers for 30 minute joy rides, jet skis for hire and banana boat rides as well.

When it got too hot out, it was usually time for a shower, lunch and then nap for Liam while the girls hung out at the playroom. The playroom was amazing! It's only a small space, but what makes it work are the facilitators and the hourly programmes. They had a 'cooking' lesson, face painting, story telling and apparently they could also participate in pool games !

We did manage to do a short tour of Georgetown during our stay. Penang has cleaned up alot since the last time we visited, and there are now tourists abound taking photos of the street art. Georgetown achieved Unesco Heritage status and no wonder. The main area is so quaint, and now filled with bustling new cafes and shops.

I had a spa day with my girls ( they are old enough to enjoy this! )-- booked us in at the Rock spa for a body scrub and manicures. To be honest, it was my first ever experience with manicures myself
( paronychia alert!!!)

All in.. a great family break.. we arrived back in Singapore in time for Christmas eve dinner with the rest of the family!

Busy weekend: Happy Willow, Tin Hill Social parties, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activities. It felt like a blur of time.

Chris was away for 4 nights starting Wednesday in Myanmar helping out with a surgical mission.

Of course this coincided with a weekend of back to back events.

I started the weekend with a morning of appointments to clear.

At 11 am, Liam had his baby music class at Mandeville. I wasn't able to go so my helpers took him
( and the older 2 ) by bus. His teacher( also their piano teacher) actually asked the older two to be 'assistants' in his class but they declined!

They were done by 1230 so I drove over to pick them up.

At 1pm I took the older 2 to art class at CANVASS while Liam had his afternoon nap.

When they were done, we picked Liam up and headed over to Montebleu to find our friends and go for a dip in the pool. Of course 5 minutes into the pool and thunder, lightning and dark clouds rolled in. Fortunately our friendly neighbours were home and the kids went over to play. Dinner was a simple affair at home, and we were done for the day ( at least I was )

Sunday was a day of social engagements ( kids ). Since we were going to be out for most of the day, breakfast was at home. French toast, maple syrup and iced chocolate.

We started with Annika's usual golf lesson at 11am. We got there 30 minutes early, and got to do some practice shots before their lesson without too much grumbling. The driving range was very busy! Annika's class was a full class so Madison and I had to go to a different level to find an empty bay to practise. After 30 minutes the coach took the class to the putting green to practice. Of course I headed to the pro shop to have a look-see!

Fortunately I only had 30 minutes to shop. We left with 3 caps ( 2 Hello Kitty ones for the girls ; super cute! ) and an Underarmour one for me. And matchy matchy golf/tennis tops for Madison and me.

We had lunch at the Canopy cafe, then it was off to the start of the parties.

First up: Happy Willow at One KM. Madison was invited by a classmate, and the party started at 130pm. One KM is a new mall located strategically at Tanjong Katong Road, at the corner of a VERY BUSY intersection. I used Google maps to get there, and the traffic was quite bad on a Sunday! The carpark entry isn't very obvious and I missed it twice ! Trying to make a U-turn to get back was quite horrible too. Once in parking was terrible too. The shopping centre has only a single level of parking and it was constantly full.

Happy Willow is an indoor playground, with a small cafe for the parents to hang out. I think the kids played games and probably ran amok with each other.

I did the 'terrible mum' thing. I dropped and ran. Completely forgot to bring my socks so I couldn't accompany her in to say 'hi' to the mum.. Of course during the hour that I was away she managed to scrape her previously scraped and scabbed elbow causing some bleeding. That another mother had to clean up and dress for her. Oops. When I guiltily came back to pick her up ( to go to our next party! ) she was ok but the 'eyes' from the other mothers! Anyway.. I stand by my decision. It's Madison's friend's party not mine. She had heaps of fun at the party, and she learned to look after herself. The organizing mother did a fantastic job with supervising the kids, organizing food and loot bags!

So.. at 3pm I picked her up, profusely thanking my way out and headed straight for Tin Hill Social at Turf City. This second party was organised by Madison's classmate from Pat's Schoolhouse so it was a gathering of familiar faces. We always have a good time when we meet up. It's so easy with these women, partly because we have know each other since the kids were 4. The hostess was very generous: kids were catered for separately from the parents! We had our beer, ice strawberry or lemon tea and food: thin crust pizza, calamari rings, sweet potato chips to name a few dishes. The food was very good. Service was smooth, prompt and subtle. They kept feeding us, replenishing drinks and clearing used plates and utensils. Plenty of napkins, plates and cutlery for us as well.

The kids were well entertained: pony rides, pony and bunny feeding followed by a magician show. Actually to be honest I have no idea what the kids were doing. We were safely ensconced in the air conditioned bar area while they did their thing! It was fabulous. I had a really great time catching up with old friends, and we were so sad to leave! The party was supposed to end at 530 but it was nearly 6pm when we reluctantly got off our butts when we realized no one was left in the cafe !

Straight from Tin Hill Social we were off to Sentosa to meet up with the rest of our family gang at the Hard Rock Hotel. Geok is staying 2 nights in Sentosa for a work thing, so we thought it would be nice to let the kids play in the HRH pool.

It's an amazing pool. Half of it is covered in sand and the other half in tiles. It was crowded but I think had we come earlier in the day it would have been packed. The kids had an absolute ball. The water wasn't cold but it was very choppy from all the kids in the pool. No issue for the older ones but Liam! He was drinking in the sandy pool water like a fish.

Of course by the time we got out of the pool he had a belly full of disgusting pool water. I got him out just as he started to look green and made it to the sandy 'beach' just in time for him to projectile all the water. Nice.

To end off the day we had dinner together at the Starz cafe. It's a buffet restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel. Perfect for kids actually. A little bit of chaos, a little bit of noise but good service overall and food quality was not bad.

So that was the whirlwind of the weekend!

Keeping the faith in Pat's Schoolhouse

There has been trouble a brewing at Annika's preschool, Pat's Schoolhouse.

When Madison joined the preschool, it was run by the owner Patricia Koh and headed by the principal Elsie.

After a few years, it was sold to Knowledge Universe, then 2 years ago the principal was changed to the current principal Serene.

For some reason , it just felt like Annika got the short end of the stick when it came to teachers. Madison had a fantastic run of teachers; 4 years of the same Chinese teacher, and continuity in her English/Math teachers. She had a great K2 year, which culminated in the year end concert.

When it came to Annika, for some reason her teacher didn't stay. She's had new teachers almost every year, and the calibre was not as good as what Madison had. Her last English teacher seemed quite confused and disorganised at times, and left midway through the year. Fortunately her replacement seems better; at least now I know Annika is getting her reading sessions in.

Now more trouble is a brewing. There are news of teachers leaving, teachers changing branches, kids leaving etc. None of that is completely unusual except that the timing seems to all coincide with having a change in principal and perhaps management.

But...after much thought and look see/ 'research' online, I think sometimes changing preschools is a bit like jumping from one hot soup to another.  Ultimately the preschool business is a business, it needs to stay profitable to survive.

Pat's Schoolhouse is now a part of the portfolio of the Busybees group, which include the highly regarded Odyssey preschools, Brighton Montessori, Learning Vision and Learning horizon Schools. I imagine they would have a large pool of resources and people to work with. Perhaps that might be safer than placing your bet with a smaller franchise? I am hoping they will see the need to maintain a reasonable and consistent standard in their schools?

The fees at Pat's Schoolhouse at Buckley is another sticking point. When Madison started it was $850 a month for a half day session. Next year it will be $1550 a month for the same session. But to be fair, there aren't any privately owned preschools that have maintained their fees. Schools in the same area as Buckley are all charging similar quantums, with the international schools charging closer to $2000. Want anything less? The child would have to travel to the school via schoolbus.

So I guess that's the premium we are paying for being located centrally. I'm not sure switching schools will make a difference in the long run? So it's going to be a question of finances ultimately.

I hope the school will be able to replace the teachers it has lost this year. New doesn't necessarily mean bad or worse. Healthcare institutions face the same challenge year in and out. Experienced doctors leave for private practice leaving the green horns behind. But that doesn't mean the standards drop. There are protocols for training, and the young ones are guided and taught well enough so that they are able to cope.

I guess I will have to decide by next year if I will be proven right or wrong. Otherwise I guess I will have to seriously be hunting for a new preschool for Liam!

Heal Medical Centre & Dental Clinic

My clinic has a new name!

Actually it's only because we are relocation the premises so I had no choice but to find a new clinic name.

Although it's just a physical move, the Ministry of Health (MOH) requires us to apply for a brand new license.  And they require us to separate the medical and dental licences.

So right now we are in the process of renovation and outfitting the new space. It's 2 bus - stops from where we currently are, and its on the 4th floor. Which means we still have the problem with visibility and location but I think that can be overcome with some advertising.

Who knew that clinic renovation could be so exhausting! I had to get the floor plans drawn up, submit them to MOH along with a few other licensing documents. When that was approved we had to submit more documents for renovation permits etc.

With the renovation underway, we had to decide quickly on finishings, colour and fittings. It was exhausting, looking at different shades of colours and having to decide on size, shape and design sinks! I initially requested for an interior decorator for a quotation, but seriously, I couldn't justify a $9000 consultation and design fee.

This is truly my first real work project, and I'm very excited about it. I finally get to specify the design based on what we do! Of course I hope it'll turn out looking ok.

Here's to the future! Heal Medical Centre, Heal Dental Clinic!

Finishing Primary 1

In the blink of an eye the year is drawing to an end!

After all that excitement about starting Primary School, the first year is well and truly over.
Madison had her last day of class on the 13th November.

There was a bit of excitement towards the end: she had to try out for the tennis developmental team in school. I took an afternoon off to take her there. It felt like a culmination of all the lessons she's had in the past 4 years. It didn't go well. It wasn't just that she wasn't selected to do the extra curricular activity for next year, it was just that she lacked the style and technique/ basics that she should have.

The result: I've stopped her at the Singapore Swimming Club tennis and private lessons that she's been doing for the past 2 years. I got the contact of coach Weber and his Alfo group at the Raffles Institution from one of Madison's classmate's mum. Coach Weber was very kind to allow the girls to try out at his group session the very next Saturday. Within that hour, he was able to show us that Madison did in fact have a nice swing.  I was sold.

So for the time being we are doing private lessons with him. I think of it as being 2 hours with the club coach squeezed into 1 of Weber's.

Annika is finishing up with K1 at Pat's Schoolhouse and there's been some upheaval at the school. It started with a change in principal from Ms Elsie to Ms Serene, and I guess with any change in management there is bound to be some disgruntlement until the dust settles. There has been a movement in teachers within the school-- not all necessarily bad, but it did unsettle the parents. Annika had a change in her English/Math teacher, but since then her reading has improved. I guess one of the concerns is if the new group of teachers will be able to maintain the standards at the school. School fees are also increasing year on year so that's a concern too.

Liam is a work in progress. He's getting into the difficult twos/threes stage and still not eating well. I suppose with that is also his speech is still not the best but we are starting to hear clearer words and sentences from him. I'm hoping that its a transitional stage... it's a distant memory now of Annika being a fussy eater-- she's so much better now, to the point I am able to take her and Madison out for meals on my own without feeling stressed. I've signed and paid for him to start Pat's Schoolhouse for 2016.

The other thing that's troubling me is the question of after school tuition.

I've heard so much from other mum's with older kids that it's pretty much inevitable from the end of Primary 2 if you want to avoid the whole screaming at the kids type thing. Perhaps tuition isn't as it was in the past. And the reality is that the classroom is 40 kids to 1 teacher. The kids don't get enough attention from the teacher. I think perhaps we should re-frame it to being more like university? Time is school is like going for lectures. Then home/centre based tuition is the tutorials for more individual attention and time to work on weak areas?

We went and did a trial / diagnostic test at a centre called Eye Level just yesterday. The guy running it seemed like a patient person, and his strengths are probably in English and Math( primary ).  The diagnostic test did show us the kids weaknesses and starting point. So maybe not a bad idea. The girls seemed to find him ok, but I guess only time will tell. I think of it more as individual attention for the kids outside of school?

It's so hard to know what to do! I don't want to do too much, but it's also unfair if all the other kids are getting the extra help and your child is the only one to struggle on her own, right?

London with Madison 2015

London trip September 2015

I survived the London trip with Madison and actually had mostly a very good time.

Chris went ahead of us for his medical conference 2 days ahead ( of course he had an excellent time on his flight by my standards-- you get to drink alcohol, watch countless movies, eat and sleep at your whims )

Actually our flight there was quite pleasant. Madison is quite a good traveler. She had her meals, watched a few movies and then went straight to sleep on the flight. Can't really complain. Of course I had difficulty really sleeping because as we all know cattle class is really like a huge flying public bus. We were also stuck between 2 nice gentlemen in the middle row all because we weren't able to check in and secure seats online before departure.

Anyhow... the biggest boo boo was that I FORGOT TO BRING MY CREDIT CARDS to London. What kind of idiot does that??? I realized this 2 steps AFTER we cleared immigration. I was so preoccupied with the voting for Singapore Elections on the day we returned I forgot to pack my credit cards. I spent the first 30 minutes after immigration rummaging for cash and getting whatever SGD I had changed into pounds. That was major shopping right out of the window.

We arrived bright and early in Heathrow and made our way into town. With the Heathrow express service it was simple and seamless! There was wifi on the train, plenty of clean seats and in 15 minutes we were in Paddington station. An excellent service.

We took the train to Oxford circus station by underground and then I had to navigate to the hotel without Google maps ( no internet yet ). I was a little bit disorientated but eventually did find the hotel. We stayed at The Marylebone Hotel on Welbeck street. It's a smallish hotel off the main Oxford street, well located and cosy. Service was unobstrusive and quite good.

The first day it was just Madison and me. Since it was Saturday we visited Borough market first, then Buckingham Palace. Borough market was excellent and fortunately wasn't too crowded. The produce was first class. We shared some sausages , had a chocolate brownie and some fruit.

We ended the day with a spot of shopping and met Chris for dinner. Madison barely made it through dinner and we were done for the day.

The next morning we rocked up bright and early at The Riding house cafe. Didn't even realize it was a popular place requiring reservations. We had pancakes, eggs Benedict and some pork and beans. All excellent. If we didn't have to correct for currency it was good value as well.

After breakfast we collected our London passes and did a bit of sightseeing. To be honest I think overall Madison was happier chasing the pigeons around in the park with her scooter than walking around the sights. She did enjoy visiting the Westminister Abbey because she got her audio tour handset and we took a bit more time with it.

So the days went like that: breakfast, see 1-2 sights, lunch then shopping. We visited Hamley's twice during our trip! Hamley's is a massive toy shop. 5 levels of toys and paraphernalia for kids.

On Wednesday afternoon we saw The Lion King musical. The theatre was just off Covent garden. I think the show was full! On a weekday matinee! Our tickets weren't cheap either. 90 pounds for Madison's and 70 pounds each for Chris and mine. But it was an excellent performance, worth the effort and money spent.

Thursday was our last day and we spent it on the London Eye, and of course more shopping.

Overall the trip was excellent. I really enjoyed the trip, and am looking forward to more visits to London in the near future. I'd probably choose a warmer month so we don't need to pack warm clothing. The 13 hour flight to London is a bit challenging so that'll be what will deter me from going back sooner!

Annika's 5th @ Fidgets

Annika's 5th birthday


I gave Annika the option of having a party in school or at Fidgets for her classmates.

She chose Fidgets and I am ever so glad she did!



I booked the party just a month ahead of time one afternoon when we took the kids there to play. The booking process was quick and efficient, and they took a 10% deposit to confirm the date.

We chose a Saturday morning ( 10am-12pm) for the party. Fidgets opens at 9am and they allow party guests to come at opening to start playing! The package included food and drinks for 20 kids as well as 2 hours use of the party room with 2 party hostesses. I added on food for 10 adults.


One week before the actual party Ms Hidayah called me to confirm numbers and to get a guest list. She also emailed me the food menu with the items we had chosen earlier.

And that was it! All I had to do was to prepare the birthday cake and goody bags ( if I wanted ). They also allowed us to buy helium balloons but we didn't get around to doing that.


Annika is very specific about what she wants. She told me " rainbow cake" , theme was to be "Frozen" ( again! ). No negotiations about the theme. 

So we had a rainbow cake with a " Frozen-esque" theme: basically Frozen- blue fondant, Elsa and Anna figurines, ( at least I made a fondant Olaf lookalike), and stuck some fondant snowflakes, marshmellows dipped in rainbow sprinkles and scattered mini marshmellows all over. So simple! And Annika declared " it ( was ) the best cake ever !"


The party was a breeze! We turned up at 930 am, and they had the room all ready for us to use. The room was large too, and comfortably fit the 20 kids and over just slightly over 10 adults. They gave me the party itinerary so that we knew what would happen when. Everything was very well executed. They entertained the kids with party games, then got them to sit down and have lunch--they even served the kids individually! That was new-- I've been to Fidgets parties in the past ( before they renovated ) and that didn't happen. There was plenty of ice water for everyone -- a really nice touch! I'm always thirsty at parties and there never seems to be any cold water around.


The 2 hours went by really quickly and at 12noon it was basically over. Fidgets allows the party guests to continue playing till 6pm when they close! A few of the guests stayed back to play, and I think most kids left by 2pm. We left just after 130pm.

The bill came up to just over $1k, and in the overall scheme I was happy. Doing it ourselves wouldn't have been any less, plus the stress of having to entertain and cater. Fidgets also has themed parties, baking parties so yes, I would most definitely have another kids party there again !

June holidays 2015

The month went by too quickly as usual.

This year was the first time we had 'June' holidays in our household.

Madison had the entire month off from school so it was a reprieve from early mornings for her.

Week 1:

As soon as the holidays started she fell ill with a viral fever. That took a week to get over. Of course that viral fever hit all 3 kids so we had a house full of sick, grumpy and fighting kids. That was memorable.

Fortunately she recovered in time for a planned playdate with Nadine, whose mum was so kind as to take a day off work to entertain her and another friend. She got to visit Pat's schoolhouse, make pizza then hang out at their pool for the day. Lucky gal.

The 2 girls got to try out an art session at the Singapore Pinacotheque de Paris, a new art museum at Fort Canning Park. We were invited by the art director and the girls had a wonderful morning session there. They were starving by lunch too, so the 3 of us had a nice lunch at the cafe at Hotel Fort Canning afterwards, and the girls proclaimed the chicken rice there the 'best' ever!

Week 2:

I signed Madison up for 3 days at Abrakadoodle's holiday art camp. This was a 3 day canvass workshop, so she got to draw and paint with acrylics. At the end of the camp she had to present her work in front of parents and the other kids, and that was a bit of a shock to her. Public speaking isn't really a strength in our genes. ( I can sympathise with this one )

The afternoons were spent hanging out with the cousins at grandparent's house. Being holidays most of their afternoon activities were suspended so I'm not exactly sure what the kids were doing all afternoon.

On the Saturday ( 13th June ) Chris and I went to meet Annika's school teachers for an update. Turns out we have a few mild issues on hand with her enthusiasm in school. I think it's probably because she's not motivated and not challenged enough. I told her teacher it is her responsibility to teach Annika to read, because when she can read she would have more control and ability to do things for herself. ( like her sister ! whom she probably compares herself to )

Week 3:

Madison got to go to another 3 day art camp at Abrakadoodle with 2 other friends. This week was a "Camp Build it" so they got to make stuff at the sessions. On Monday afternoon we had a playdate with Lilian and her kids. It was my birthday gift to Isabelle so I treated them to an afternoon at Fidgets then dinner at Turf city. Actually what happened was that the adult cousins ( Chris, me, Lilian, Geok and MunHon ) got to chill out at Pasarbella while the kid cousins hung out at Fidgets. This was with thanks to my helpers who kindly supervised the kids.

Tuesday morning was art camp with Mia and Jiaen, then after lunch I dropped her off at a classmate's house for a playdate. I'm so grateful to these mothers that actually take time off to organise these things during holidays!

On Thursday ( 18th June ) Madison, Annika, Elizabeth and Victoria were treated to 2 days at Legoland! Chris, Munhon and Pa drove over to JB and they stayed over night in one of the suites.

Saturday 20th June we had a little party at Timor to celebrate Liam's 2nd birthday. He's quite terrified of large crowds and mascots, so it was just us and the cousins ( with Mia and Issy ).  I hired a small bouncy castle for the kids ( which was pretty crap if you ask me but it was $200 ) but the kids had a ball! We brought out the inflatable pools and were blessed with incredibly hot and dry weather for the afternoon.

Week 4:

This was the week that both kids were off school. I signed them both up for a tennis camp organised by Savitar, at the UWCSEA Dover Road campus. Of course logistically it was a nightmare having to drive back and forth from Dover Road. But it was worth it. The camp runs from 9 am to 1pm with the lunch option. 3 hours of tennis and games, then 1 hour lunch afterwards. It was very well organised and the coaches are excellent. I was seriously contemplating changing their regular tennis sessions over to UWCSEA but the thought of driving to Dover every week at 730 am on a Saturday morning was very daunting. And the picking up after is almost logistically impossible unless I stop Saturday morning clinics!

On Wednesday (24th June) Liam had HIS parent teacher meeting at Bibinogs. I had to pick the girls up from Dover road, send the 2 helpers to pick Liam up and take him home while Chris and I attended the meeting. It was quite cute. The meeting was 100% Mandarin, which meant Chris probably had no idea what went on. Of course the teachers told us stuff we kind of knew, like how his language was just starting to progress and that he was just starting to talk etc etc.

The final hurrah of the holidays was a playdate at an ex Pat's schoolhouse classmate's condo. We had a potluck dinner with a few kids. It was a nice way to end the holidays.

It feels a bit sad that her first June holidays is over. Primary 1 is halfway over for her and it means she's growing up real fast! In a few years time Madison will be a teenager already... its too quick!

June holidays 2015, Bibinogs update for Liam

This is the first time I've ever had to face an entire June holidays as a parent.

The past 4 years while Madison was in preschool they didn't have a month off. They simply had a week off at the end of June to while away and that wasn't so long.

This year however, Madison is in Primary one so she gets to have the entire month of June off!

I've yet to see what homework her teachers are going to set her.

As for the home front, I've been wondering what to do with her.

Initially I started planning activities for her. Speech and drama? Chinese speech and drama? Art camp? Tennis camp? Creative writing ? English or Chinese?

Then I stopped. And I realized I didn't even consult Madison in the planning process.

When I asked Madison what she wanted to do she said art class. So that's the main thing that I've organised for her this holiday. 2 sessions of art camp ( one with a friend ). And one tennis camp with Annika at the end of the month. All her afternoons are free. ( tennis teacher is away, music teacher is away and no Chinese class for the first 2 weeks )

I think the school holidays should also be a time for her to chill out, to just hang out at home by herself to do whatever she wants, and to get bored! Her days are starting to get so filled out by activities it's good for her to have nothing to do.

As for Liam, he's grown to absolutely love Bibinogs! He can't wait to go there on the days he's scheduled, and when class is done he asks to go back in!

Initially I couldn't believe it nor figure out why he would love it so much.

Then I got a few e-newsletters from the school. There were pictures of the kids at class and I saw a few of him doing art and craft! He looked so serious and focussed. No wonder he loves his 'ba lo bo' class ( that's what he calls his school !)

He came down with another round of fever again and missed one day of school this week. Hopefully he'll stay well enough to not miss too many days. I still think it's the SSC pool. Every time he goes for a swim he comes down with another bug.

Half the year is over. The march of time is relentless!

Meet the teachers -- Primary one SCGS

Today was the very first meet-the-teacher session at SCGS for Madison.

What a world of difference from preschool.

First we had to book the session with the teacher online. First come first served type thing.

Madison was also expected to tag along.

Being a weekday, I left work early to make it in time for the session at 430pm. Chris made it as well so that was nice.

We met the form teacher first. Mrs See is also her English teacher, and apparently a very well loved teacher. ( Nothing but praises for her whenever I tell anyone who Madison's teacher is! )

Mrs See was very encouraging towards Madison, and her main assessment was that while Madison is bright she had a tendency to be dreamy and seemingly not pay attention. ( we knew that since preschool-- a recurrent comment from her teachers! ) She also got along with most girls, and apart from that first incident at the start of the school year she has adapted somewhat to the big girls school.

Madison had to say a short spiel about what she liked doing in school and how she could improve herself. ( apparently a new thing they were trying out for the primary 1 and 2s )

After we collected her portfolio folder we went upstairs to the main hall to wait for our turn to see the Chinese teacher.

Seems like the Chinese teachers were hot property. There were queues at every station waiting to see the Chinese teachers.

We found Madison's teacher and sat down to await our turn. It was a one hour wait. We were booked to see her at 510pm but only got to see her just after 6pm!

But honestly, it was worth the wait. I was so tempted to just leave without seeing the Chinese teacher but I'm glad I waited. It was a good thing Chris was around too so he could take Madison home first for dinner while I waited. By the time he got back it was just in time to meet her. ( not that he really understood what she was saying!!)

She gave a very useful assessment of Madison, and gave me some suggestions to help improve her understanding and use of the language. She made me see that in order for Madison to improve she has to have an innate understanding of the language and that came by listening and reading more. Of course I knew all that but when she reinforced it and reassured that if we could do that Madison MIGHT not need more outsourced help ( IE more tuition -- arghhh ) I was really concerned that the level of Mandarin that the kids were facing would be completely out of my reach but Ms Ng ( the teacher ) was very reassuring. I guess we'll find out next year! Or maybe even before that!

All in, I had a good feeling as I left the school, and I'm very happy and proud that my daughter is now studying in my alma mater. It's truly awesome that she gets to spend her childhood years in this environment, that she gets to call herself an SCGS girl!

My first parent volunteer experience; meeting old friends

I finally did my first parent volunteer job!

When Madison started school, I was so pumped and full of excitement; to be 'part' of the school spirit, to support her in her next stage of education etc etc.

And then life got in the way.

I don't know why life is just so unbelievably busy. Why does night fall come so quickly and so predictably every day?

As it is I barely have enough of me to spread amongst the 3 kids, my husband, my family, work and the house. All house related things have come to an absolute last in priority. We basically go home to sleep and that's about it. There isn't time anymore to potter around the house, or to do any homemaker type activity like bake/sew/cook.

SO.. I was so psyched to do parent volunteering, but when the crunch came, I just couldn't spare any more time. Doing any volunteering means more time off work, at a time when the clinic is finally picking up and starting to do well. I already take time off work to attend any compulsory kid related event so anything more is too much. Poor Liam wasn't allowed to go to his first Bibinogs excursion because I REALLY could not justify another morning off to accompany him to Jacob Ballas Kids Garden!

Anyway, almost half the year goes by without anything and then fortunately 2 friends with kids in primary one cajole me to join them for Recess mum duty. They both work, so they get the time commitment thing.

It was fortunate that I managed to get the same time slot as them, so today I took the morning off to do Recess Mum duty. Wasn't too bad, except that the weather was horribly hot and humid and we had to stand around policing the kids for just over an hour. I got to see Madison for all of 5 minutes before she went off with her friends. ( which is a good thing ! )

After we finished our duty we FINALLY got to sit down and have drinks! Then the BIG girls came out for recess and my goodness! I cannot imagine the day when my little girls get to THEIR size. We sat at the first table nearest the food stalls and that was a huge mistake. Within minutes we were surrounded by swarms of HUGE girls queuing up to buy food!

Since I had the rest of the day off I also made plans to meet up with my old girlfriend from SCGS who is now a dentist. She works near Great World City so we met there for a quick lunch.

It's really nice meeting up with people from the past and still connect in that special way!

New friends!

I have new friends!

Never thought that after all this time I could still make new friends!

It started off with tennis lessons at the club for Madison. Her coach suggested private lessons which we did, and that led to her sharing some sessions with another boy one year younger.

I bumped into his mother several times over the year, and we both signed the kids up for the JTT mini tennis tournament at United World College earlier this year. Her son actually got champion and runner's up for both sessions!

At the second tournament she mentioned that she just started tennis sessions with another mother at the club, and asked if I would like to join them.

To be honest I was quite nervous, but I thought 'what the heck! Give it a shot and if I don't like it I can stop! '

Turns out the 2 women are really nice people! We had a session with all 3 of us, but then the weather was unfavourable for the next 2 weeks. Last week we finally had good weather, but the one who organized it got a back injury. We still continued with the lesson( just 2 of us) and we had fun.

In support of our injured buddy we will go and swim with her after the tennis session on Tuesdays.  (Tuesday is tennis day for us)

I think friends motivate us. I was starting to dread tennis lessons alone and now it feels like the pressure is off. I think that was why I gave up on French lessons. The subject material was quite interesting, but not having or knowing anyone at the lessons made me lose my motivation to attend the lessons. It just seemed that at those lessons the participants seemed to change every class!

We are social animals. I think in life it is the relationships that make life worthwhile and satisfying!

Adjusting to life in Primary one, adjusting my expectations

The year is almost half way through and time isn't slowing down!

Madison is settling down to life in primary school. We've had our hiccups and I'm also trying to find my way around the education system.

It's quite scary when you talk to other parents and their kids seem eons ahead with multiple tuition lessons. And the mothers ( usually stay at home ones ) have all their lesson plans set, with the entire year mapped out.

But I got a reality check when I realized Madison gets stressed, and she doesn't even tell us about it.

She had that one episode earlier in the year when she did that weird crying and walking around her room at midnight thing because she was stressed about being bullied in school.

After that was resolved she was fine.

Then just last week she did that crying and walking around thing again! She initially denied it when I asked her the next day, then finally admitted that she was nervous and scared about an oral presentation. ( which went fine the next day )

And at work, one of my patients came back after not seeing me for 5 years, and told me that her young sibling had passed away. It was most probably self inflicted and it is terribly sad.

So I realized: it cannot be about the grades and trying to just score marks in school. It is more important to be adjusted, to have friends and be happy. Of course it doesn't mean not even trying, but if the kids have done their work, tried their best then the mark is simply to demonstrate where they could learn more. I was speaking to a mum and she told me her husband lost one week's worth of sleep because he was upset his kid scored 95% instead of 100% because she made some silly mistakes.



I think I want my kids to understand that the mark they get from a test should be just an indication of where they could improve on, but ultimately I must also realize that even adults still make mistakes and forget stuff on tests! Given an open book test adults STILL make mistakes! How much more a kid?


It's a work in progress, and I have to remind myself of the BIG picture, of what's important in the long run!

Hong Kong Disneyland March 2015

When I discovered last year that Madison could no longer travel whenever we wanted, we quickly decided and booked a short getaway for her March holidays to Disneyland in Hong Kong.

Travelling with kids always makes me nervous.



First of all I worry if we will actually MAKE the trip. Would the kids fall sick just before?

Of course Liam runs a low grade temperature and pukes the day before we were supposed to fly. Fortunately he was afebrile the morning of the flight and we did get on the plane.

The flight was quite hilarious. It was his 'first' flight and he was terrified everytime they made an announcement on the PA system. And whenever the air stewardesses came he would wave them away with a 'bye bye'.


We made it to Hong Kong in about 4 hours, and checked into the HK Disneyland resort. The place was fabulous! Service was attentive, the grounds were huge and very child friendly. We had 2 rooms booked and they provided a cot for Liam. They also had kid sized bathrobes and slippers!


We spent 1.5 days at Disneyland and the kids had a really good time. The rides are small kid friendly so they could ride on almost all of them. We caught a few shows too which were very well put together. Plenty of retail therapy as well; who could resist shopping in the Disney shops?

The kids were really sad to check out of the resort, but we had planned to go visit the Science and space museum in Mongkok.

The second hotel we checked into was horrible. It was recommended by a friend who thought it was a full service apartment, but when we got there it was no where near any standard of service. I spent the night camping on the floor because we couldn't get a spare mattress. Basically there was no number that we could even call for any help!

First thing next morning I called up the Langham place hotel ( where our friends were staying ) and got us rooms. It was a 1000% upgrade. We also upgraded to 2 family rooms, so in effect we wound up with 4 rooms ( 2 sets of 2 interconnecting rooms ). There was an inhouse spa, sky pool and gym on the 41st floor of the hotel. It was in the middle of Mongkok so we were right smack next to shops and food. The kids were well looked after too-- the staff were attentive, and they had bathrobes/slippers for the kids too!

After we moved over to the Langham place hotel the rest of the stay was fabulous. We managed to go see the Science museum, watch an Omnimax show ( which I fell asleep in -- chair was pretty comfortable!) and have a few good Yum cha meals. The kids enjoyed the pool at the hotel, and I got to use the onsen in the restroom.

Too soon it was time to go home and the kids were really sad to have to leave Hong Kong. We've had some bad experiences in Hong Kong so this was a really good experience for us. I think we probably would be back to enjoy the DisneyLand resort soon in the future.

Update post hospitalisation, NORMAL life

It really is a relief to go back to normality.

On the 6th of April I took Liam for his cardiac appointment ( this was post - hospitalization when the paediatrician picked up a cardiac murmur ).

Liam did very well! He was a seasoned 'patient': no fuss when the cardiologist listened to his heart, and he also allowed a trainee cardiologist have a listen as well. When he had to have the echocardiogram he stayed still long enough for the radiographer to scan his heart. ( I had him on me and I lay on the examination couch ).

When the radiographer was done she called the doctor in to have a check and that really scared me! We all know they only ever call the doctors in to review the scans if something is wrong! Fortunately that wasn't the case and Liam was discharged with a normal echo.

So that leaves us with one more paediatrician review in June to repeat his blood count ( he's also mildly anaemic! )

We've been laying low the past few days: I really wanted everything to go back to normal. So, tennis/swim on Tuesday, Chinese class Wednesday , music class Thursday and swim class again on Friday.

On Sunday Madison had to go for round 2 of the JTT mini tennis tournament.

It was a scorching day! She did really well, no complaining throughout the 2+ hours of tennis ! Her tennis partner Ravin got the runners' up trophy: he was short of winning by 1 point!

The only bugbear of this tournament was seriously the 'hovering' dad syndrome that 2 fathers' had.
( by the way-- their sons won the trophies partly because they did that!) Parents were given specific instructions that the point of the tournament was for the kids to learn to play competitively and learn the spirit of the game. Parents were to stay off and let the kids pick their own balls and count points. However there were at least 2 dads who found it exceedingly difficult to do so and hovered around their sons, picked balls up and basically umpired the matches for them. I didn't realize it at the point, but as the game was counted purely on the number of points the child could score in the games, they obviously scored the most points because their dads were handing them balls to hit continuously!

After the game we drove to Marina Bay golf course to meet up with Annika and we had lunch together. Chris left for his golf game ( that took 6 hours! IE the rest of Sunday !). I had a really nice lunch with the girls --it's much easier now that they are more independent and eat fairly well. Eating out is now less of a hassle; in fact eating in is harder !

We got home and the girls did a bit of homework at home, then since Chris was still at golf I packed everyone up in the car and we headed for Gardens By the Bay. The annual membership is awesome. I paid entry for the 2 helpers and we visited Cloud Forest Dome.

After a quick dinner at home ( it was VERY tempting to just eat out again at the Gardens ! ) we popped over to a neighbour's home to play. A totally relaxing way to end the weekend and I was very sad for Monday to come again. ( Kind of, although it also means the kids are meaningfully occupied!)

Admission to KKH

What a shocker of a weekend.

After a blissful trip to Hong Kong ( which NEARLY didn't happen for him ), Liam came back and was promptly sick !

It was all rather sudden. One day he was fine and the next he had this raging fever that wouldn't go away despite all the antipyretics he was given.

Chris and I were supposed to have flown to Seoul on Friday night, but seeing that his fever was 41 degrees Celcius we took him to KKH emergency department to have some tests done.

It was really fortunate that Dr Arif was on duty and when he heard the history he advised admission. He told me that he'd seen a few cases of kids with viraemic 'shock' and that it was better that he was in hospital in case it happened.




Chris continued with his trip while I stayed back with Liam. It was so fortunate that it being Friday the older 2 could stay over with the grandparents!

Liam was thoroughly miserable and clingy on admission. By midnight the on call registrar came in and advised that he was put on an IV drip as he was likely dehydrated. By golly. That was stressful. The first guy that came in was obviously inexperienced and couldn't get it in over 2 tries. I asked for his registrar to come and do it. Fortunately she got it in, otherwise I'd have asked for a paediatric anaesthetist to come in.


The next few days were terrible. Liam was cranky, refusing to eat or drink anything and was really clingy. His temperatures were still high and only broke after day 5. He started having diarrhoea as well and it was such a hassle to change his diapers everytime as his IV plug was on his foot.


Chris did come back Monday at 3 am so I got to go home and have my first sleep then.

Thankfully Liam's fever finally broke on Monday afternoon, Monday night he had a low grade temperature and by Tuesday he was finally afebrile.

Of course to complicate matters he was found to have a cardiac murmur AND a low haemoglobin.

So now we have an appointment to see the cardiologist on Monday next week and a follow up appointment with the paediatrician in 3 months.

Liam was discharged Tuesday morning, and he's never been so happy to be home! The other kids were also nicer to him for a little while before the fighting started again.

All the lab tests came back negative and so he was diagnosed with the usual 'viral fever'. It was seriously a traumatic experience, but I have nothing but a really good experience with the ward nurses and the paediatrician. ( My only complaint would be the MOs on call in the ward that night -- really poor attitude and poor communication skills!)

Bullying in school

When does having fun cross over to bullying?

I really dread that I now have to face this but I suppose it's something that was probably a matter of time.

For the past week or so Madison has been having these really weird night terrors.

She would go to sleep fine, then at 1130 pm or midnight she would suddenly start playing on the slide in her room by herself! It is really creepy.

When we go up and ask her what she was doing she would start crying inconsolably until I told her to stop it.

The next day she says she doesn't remember crying or doing any of those things.

I asked her if she was feeling sad and she said a little bit. She then told me that there are 3 girls in her class who wanted to use her markers despite her saying 'no'. They then started to ?pinch her on her arm. She told them to stop or she would tell the teacher. They continued to do it so she did tell the teacher and the girls were told off. Subsequently they didn't want to be her friend or something to that effect.

I talked to Madison and said what she did was right, and that she could also give them a warning the next time before going to the teacher.

For some reason the pinching occurred again today! I asked Madison if she wanted me to speak with her teacher and she did.

So I've called the school up and spoken to the counsellor. And I've dropped an email to her form teacher. I'm waiting to see what comes out of it but am wondering how far I should escalate this matter!

I just don't understand why some children can just be so mean and hurtful. Is it a parenting thing? Are these children spoilt? Do they need more attention? When does being playful cross over to bullying? I think if it starts to hurt the other party it can constitute bullying?

Starting school 2015

This is a momentous year!

All 3 kids are attending some form of education/school!

Madison:

She started Primary one at Singapore Chinese Girls' School this year. My alma mater! I cannot believe I have a daughter who attends the same school as I did. First day of school was on the 2nd of January ( same day Chris and I arrived back from our trip! ). Madison did very well! There were no tears, just smiles all around. What a change from primary school 30 years ago.

Annika:

She moves up to Kindergarten 1 and for the first time she will be attending preschool by herself. For the past 2 years she has always had Madison to lead and comfort her. I under estimated the effect this would have on her. All my efforts and concerns were on Madison being able to cope with Primary school.

I think she was a little overwhelmed initially but bit by bit she seems to be coping. I think she now appreciates the fact that I have alone time with her every morning when I drop her off at school. I think this separation is good for her; to allow her to develop her personality and self esteem.

Liam:

My little toddler started at Cherie Hearts at Whampoa on the 5th of January. I've always had the kids do something once they turned 18 months or so; the older 2 attended Bibinogs at Serene Centre. Unfortunately logistics and sense prevail: I simply do not have the time to do a further commute so Liam is going to a local child care centre.

Day one was as expected: lots of tears, crying and culminated with my dear boy fast asleep on a mattress when it was time to go home ( at 1130am! ).

Since then he seems to have adjusted somewhat: a few tears but otherwise I bet he is wreaking havoc at school. Although I think 3 half days ( 0830- 1130am ) a week is plenty at his age, I might reconsider as he progresses. He is getting bored at home when his sisters are at school: he keeps wanting to go out!

So that's where its at !