Busy Bodies in The Polliwogs

Yes! We went and we conquered. The children had a swell of a time. The whole place rocked as the little bodies move. The blogger mommies (and some fathers) met on Monday, 7 June 2010 at about 1.30 p.m. in The Polliwogs. It was our date arranged almost a month ago. Reuben went straight after his lesson in Little Learners. There was no time to change. He charged in the minute his foot stepped into Polliwogs. For Phoebe, we paid $16 for unlimited play which included a coffee/tea for the parent. They were kind enough to charge only $8 for Reuben as he was little ($8 is supposed to be for children under two years old). We stayed there for about four hours. The children were totally deflated that they fell asleep in the car.

Escape Theme Park

We wanted to go to the Wild Wild Wet on Vesak Day (Friday) so we headed down to Downtown East. While waiting for our friend's spouse to arrive (from a separate destination), we decided to visit the Escape Theme Park. We were pleasantly surprise to find out that the entrance fee was free for all and that the children only needed to pay $7 for Union members for unlimited ride. Reuben was under 3, so he did not have to pay too. Hence, I bought a ticket for Phoebe. Papa used Reuben's wrist tag since Reuben did not want to take any ride. He accompanied Phoebe for the rides. Phoebe was not exactly an adventurous sort of girl. Fast and plunging rides were no-no for her. The park was not crowded because I thought many people were not aware of the promotion. The weather was not very sunny but it was humid. After hanging around for about two hours, we left the place feeling sticky and hungry. Time for lunch before Wild Wild Wet! :)

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Look at the men reminiscing their childhood : Phoebe enjoying her train ride

Tien Xia Language School

26 May 2010 was the last session of Chinese class for Phoebe. She has been having 2 terms of chinese lessons in Tien Xia Language School. We decided to pull her out of the school not because the school or the programme was no good. It was a combination of several reasons.

Phoebe did not want to go for the Chinese class. She cried before going for each class. The syllabus was too difficult for her. She could not do the exercises (written work) and she was too shy and afraid to ask the teacher. She didn't feel good to always have to tap her classmates' shoulders to ask them for the answers. She told me that, "Mommy, I want to be clever." I reflected upon her remark and realised that, the Chinese class had affected her self-esteem. She felt lousy not knowing how to complete her work and that had shakened her self-confidence. I thought that if I would carry on putting her in the Chinese class, she would probably be even more timid in class or maybe develop a fear or hatred for the Chinese Language. Hence, after discussing with her papa, we decided to drop her from the class.

We also did not like the fact that there were too many children in the class - 9 children to 1 teacher. Some of the boys in the class were also very mischievous and playful. The teacher has to spend some time disciplining them. The syllabus was good, but it was too difficult for Phoebe. In fact, I thought that the nursery Chinese was more suitable for her level of Chinese competency.

At the end of Term 2, the children in each class had to perform a few poems for the parents. It was like a mini concert to showcase what the children had learnt. I thought it was a good idea for the children to perform in front of a small audience but this would be Phoebe's last Chinese performance. Nevertheless, she has tried hard to be a good and attentive pupil and I'm happy with her effort :)

SKMCC Mini YOG Sports Day

SKMCC Mini YOG Sports Day - Another well-organised event by Phoebe's school. It was held on the 25 May, Tuesday, the last day of school for the children for Term 2. It's a pity that this would be Phoebe's first and last sports day in SKMCC because this event was only organised bi-annually. I was impressed with the logistics and the running of the events. Although the hall was sheltered, I wished that the location could be air-conditioned. The principal and teachers' dedication were marvellous! All of them were perspiring profusely and they were very clear of their role and responsibility. Every member of the school came to help - even the auntie who cooks for the children were there to help out!

The children had fun and as a parent, I was, and still is, very proud of my girl. She completed her event well, slow but steady and fair. Eventually, her team came in first! I like the values that the teachers had subtly taught the children and that is, you play fairly. For example, if you drop your ball at Spot A, you'll run after the ball, pick it up and go back to Spot A to carry on with your journey. You do not cheat and go a few steps further then you should.

Phoebe and I took part in a Parent-and-child event. Although we did not win, we enjoyed each other's company. Papa also specially took leave to witness this event. I hope that we will be able to be a source of support to Phoebe in any event of her life! Love her so much! :)

Slow and steady wins the race! Go Phoebe go!

Reuben's Pineapple

Reuben's pineapple. Made in Little Learners. An ingenious idea from his teachers!

Papa's Animal Game

I must commend my hubby for being a wonderful playmate to our children. He may seem quite dull and boring sometimes but he is able to come up with fun and educational "games" for the children at times. On a particular day, there was a moment of staleness as Reuben played with his usual animal figurines. His papa decided to take out the animal flash cards from the shelf and got him to match the animals figurines to the pictures in the flash cards. Learning points for Reuben:

1) Training Reuben's eyes to search amidst of all the many figurines

2) Recalling the animal names

3) Verbalising animal names

4) Eye and fingers coordination during matching

5) Scrutinising animal features (esp. for animals that have almost similar features e.g. donkey and horse, gorilla and monkey)

Well done, papa. Play more with the children! (^_^)b

Reuben is a neat boy. After playing, he will keep his toys. He is saying "bye bye" and "see you tomorrow" to his animals while putting them back into the container :)

MOE Family Day

It was the first time we took part in MOE Family Day. The event was held in the Singapore Zoo on 22 May 2010. As our zoo membership had expired since November last year, I thought it was a good opportunity to take the children to the zoo again since the tickets were heavily subsidised. We paid only $6 for Phoebe's ticket and $10 for adult's. Reuben was below 3, so he could enter FOC. The tickets also came with goody bags, KFC lunch, ice cream, games. It was a good deal! We met up with Jess' family in the zoo. Our spirits were not dampened by the heavy rain at noon. Though it poured during lunch time, we managed to get our KFC lunch (thanks to papa) and ate our lunch happily in the Rainforest Amphitheatre while waiting for the rain to stop. We spent about six hours in the zoo. I wished someone could give me a foot massage after all the walking!

A very short clip of the sloth eating its fruit. Catch it quick!


Round and round the children went, giggly laughter in the air...

Thank God for Good Health

Health is something that we should not take for granted for. Every night before I sleep, I always pray for good health for the children, that they will not catch any virus or other children illness. So far, I must give glory to God that Reuben and Phoebe's health is good, all in the mercy of God. He is faithful and just and when we ask of Him, He will not forsake us.

Everyday, I am grateful to God for his tender love upon my children and family members. Many do know that Phoebe is born with single kidney and my mom has just had a battle with the evil cancer in 2008. But God is a loving God and He hears the cries of us. Phoebe single kidney is growing well. Every time when she passes urine, or even wet the bed (when she was younger), I give thanks to God because I always take it as a sign from God that her kidney is functioning well.

My mom, though is not a believer of God yet, is also recovering well from her disease. She has had many checkups and all of them gave very good reports of her health condition. I believe that when I pray to God on her behalf, He does cover my mom with His hands. Just last week, my mom has caught the virus from the children after babysitting them. This morning when I saw her, she was well and active again though her voice was still a little nasal. I know that my prayer is again answered. All this little prayers answered give me encouragement and I feel safe that to know that I do have a strong pillar to rely on and that my God is indeed a true and living God who hears my every single prayer.

Thank you God for His faithfulness and I just have to proclaim that all glory be unto Him! I pray that God will give me and my hubby wisdom in bringing the children up into people of faith, compassion, wisdom and stature. Amen!

Down Down Down

Last week was a horrible week! The children were sick. It started off with me having sorethroat, then the germs spreaded to Auntie Nia who developed a cough and then went to Reuben who had a cough too and along the way, Mr. Flu stuck with Reuben too and then, suddenly, he had fever for a day. The next victim was Phoebe, who suddenly developed fever and the fever lasted for 5 days, flunctuating temperature, highest was 40.2 degree celsius and then it kept hovering around 38.5 - 39.2 degree celcius. It was frustrating. We kept alternating between Paracetamol and Brufen. When her fever went up to 40.2 degree celsius, we brought her to the doctor again and took 2 suppository pills for backup. We inserted one into her anus. Within an hour or so, her temperature went down. The suppository was supposed to last for 12 hours.

From this episode, we learnt that a fever caused by a viral attack will usually take 4-5 days to subside. We were thankful that despite the fact that they children were unwell, they remained active. We are also very thankful that my parents came over to our place to watch over the children for the whole week instead of us sending the children over because my parents said that it's easier for them to come over then to bring 2 sick children to their place. How thoughtful of them! But poor grandma was the last victim to this saga. She fell sick on the third day of babysitting so my dad had to take over the role of a babysitter. Poor grandma!

Now the children are well and they'll be going back to school again. It so great to see them well and running about! :) Glory to God for restoring the health of my children so quickly! :) Will pray for grandma too! :)

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Reuben hates to eat his medicine but he likes to take his temperature :)

Peter and Blue's Forest Adventure

In Singapore, I seldom come across ballet performance for children, especially one that comes with a storyline. Hence when we chance upon one by the Singapore Dance Theatre, we decided to take Phoebe to the performance on 8 May 2010, which also coincided with Mothers' Day weekend. It was called "Peter and Blue's Forest Adventure". It had a simple story line. Although I thought a few of the dancers needed a little more practising, the performance was overall very entertaining. Phoebe enjoyed the show very much. At the end of the performance, there was a Meet-and-Greet session with some of the casts, Phoebe was very shy to take a picture with them. We managed to take one shot with them :)

A mock-up stage with crew


The Meet-and-Greet session

The Synopsis:
Created by Artistic Director Janek Schergen, Peter and Blue’s Forest Adventure is a new one-hour children ballet blending elements of a fairy-tale with a meaningful moral.

The story unveils on a sunny midsummer morning, when Peter, together with his dog, Blue, and cat, Calico, venture into the enchanted forest to search for treats to surprise his mother on her birthday.

In the woods, Peter and Blue meet the forest guardians, the Blueberry Boys, who lead them into the most secluded and magical part of the forest. On their journey, they meet many new friends - Mister and Missus Strawberry, the Apple Blossom Girls, the trouble-making trio, Thistle, Thorn, and Acorn, and the tantalizing triplets Lilac, Rose, and Snapdragon. Each generously gives Peter special treasures to add to his mother’s birthday basket. After sending Peter and Blue home, all of them happily share the joy by the window as Peter presents his mother with the forest goodies for her birthday!