Christmas in Changi Airport T3

Since Sam's childcare centre was closed yesterday & today while the teachers prepare for the new school year, I decided to bring Sam to explore Changi's T3 today. Partly cos I've never been to the new terminal before & hubby wasn't keen to go. Partly also cos of the various X'mas stuff that's going on in T3, so this seems like a good time to go explore.

Sam was excited on the way to the airport. Asked me when the train stopped at every single MRT station if that was our stop! I'm surprised at my own good temper for not blowing up after the 45 min trip!

Once in the airport Sam went wild. After all, it's not often there's a non-crowded 'shopping centre' with such a large compound for him to run & push the pram around. Soon into T3 we found the bouncing castle, but Sam was only interested in the small playground next to it.

Had lunch in the 3Top area, where Sam interestedly watched the planes land & taxi along. After which he commented: "This place good for Sam." which I took it to mean he likes the airport. ;)

He was surprisingly well behaved (as in, only whined once) when I asked him to leave the toy shop, even if it was after his naptime. I wonder if it was because I had let him played to his heart's content earlier, or because I was the only one with him & thus he knew his tantrums won't help.

Only when we were leaving the airport did we manage to catch the Musical Ball in action. Sam loved the music coming from it - sat down at the steps & listened quietly while munching his biscuit (left pic). So when the performance was over he was calmly told me he wants to wait for the music to come again (right pic). Since the next performance would be half hour later & we were WAY past his nap time, I didn't agree.



But I managed to get 2 sweets from the treats that the Musical Ball sprewed out, & Sam was satisfied to move on to sit in the train. He fell asleep in the train as I expected, but woke after we got off, so tonight I'll have to put him to bed a trifle earlier.

All in all, an enjoyable trip to the airport for both of us!

Sam Taking the Bus

Today got Sam to board the bus by himself, ie. he held my hand as we went up the bus, then paid for his own fare with his Child EZ-link card, and chose his own seat. He was excited by his new-found independence, I was relieved not having to carry him + 3 bags up a bus, and even got to shop for his Thomas card holder! ;)

Dressing Up & Funny Faces

Another overdued post: Sam during a family dinner on 11 Oct 2009, got it into his head to wear my shawl & necklace, then began posing for my camera with plenty of funny faces!

Sam's Cauliflower

Yes, haven't felt like being a good mummy for a long, long while.

Here's a back-dated posting I told myself I mustn't forget:

An enrichment school at Safra Jurong has this poster, which one day - 6 Nov 09 according to my photo - Sam pointed to and told me seriously: "cauliflower"

I can only say that I was doubly glad my Sam had finally showed some kind of imagination that did NOT involve cars!

Sam as Hairy Potter

Obviously with my long absence from this blog I haven't been in a mothering mood. But this is too funny, a must-share - a Harry Potter spoof made on 9 Oct 2009 as part of Funky Friday's activities, starring my very own Sam as male 'lead':

http://www.mediafire.com/?xmmmmaz2mwm

Kudos to Teacher Drizzle for coming up with the movie, after the children decided Sam looked like Harry Potter with his toy spectacles.

My 1st Evening Out

This evening was the 1st time in 3 years I got to spend the evening out, without Sam. In order to make it for my company's Social Nite - Tiger Brewery tour, followed by food & free-flow beer - hubby had agreed to try to make it back home earlier. In-laws also agreed to help fetch Sam from school & feed him dinner. I had planned to be back home by 8:30pm latest, so that I could put Sam to bed for the night. So everything seems well planned & easy, right???

I didn't realise I had been unconsciously stressed out. Last night, I actually had a nightmare: dreamt that Sam caught stomach flu again........my right arm was holding Sam over the bathroom basin, where he was vomitting into, my left cradling the phone, informing the office I couldn't make it for the brewery tour after all.

Isn't it pathetic that I can't even go out to enjoy myself in peace?????? The nightmare had left a bad taste in my mouth: I spent my day checking my hp in case the school called to ask me to bring Sam home for whatever kind of emergency my imagination could come up with.

Still, I'm so glad I did manage to go. It was irritating to have to wolf down 10 finger food sized sandwiches & down half a mug of beer in 20 min, so that I could go off without a hungry stomach, but it was nice to be able to go for the tour & enjoy the company of fellow colleagues. They're such a fun bunch. I can't wait for the Malacca holiday.........assuming Sam would stay healthy, of course!

Sam's 1st Field Trip - To the Zoo

Sam had his 1st school field trip on Friday. Teacher Drizzle had planned the trip for the children to see the polar bears & sun bears she's been teaching in her class, and the trip on 25th Sept 2009 involved many parents/grandparents/caregivers. I was pleasantly surprised to find the teacher had prepared a detailed itinerary:


There was also a mini workbook for the children to complete over the weekend, to emphasie the trip to the kids, I guess. I still couldn't manage to get Sam to colour in the pictures of the bears, he kept wanting to draw on the back of the pieces of paper instead!

But the trip turned out quite smoothly, for Sam & me at least. Sam was being quite a good boy, staying close to me most of the time. He had a whale of a time at break time (while waiting for the Splash Safari show to start), eating jelly & biscuits shared by fellow classmates & their friendly parents, ignoring the healthy sandwiches & apple juice the teachers prepared:

Lunchtime was at the KFC in the Kids Rainforest. I let Sam indulge in a scoop of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, cos I was so hot by that time & needed the treat myself! ;P Since he had been quite well behaved, I also allowed him my fries, which he finished together with the Popcorn Chicken that was part of his Chicky Meal.

The bears, the reason for the trip, weren't particularly exciting for Sam that day, who found the stingrays in the Fragile Forest more exciting, goodness knows why. But frankly, I myself also found the Fragile Forest more interesting that day, seeing clearly in daylight bats & sloths feeding, and monitor lizards moving actively & scaring the ducks. Sam saw only 2 butterflies, the purpose for the trip to the Fragile Forest, near the exit.

Sam managed to stay awake on the bus on the way back to school, having a lot of fun playing with Megan, a very cute little girl. That was also when I discovered Teacher Drizzle had introduced the song "Nobody" by the Korean group Wondergirls to the class, and Sam could actually jiggle (I wouldn't call his moves 'dance') to the music!!

Photos taken by Teacher Drizzle during the trip: http://www.slide.com/r/Ki7L-8ii4D8zjR--1AQCRqYm0Tct9uTM?previous_view=lt_embedded_url.

Conversation On the Toilet Bowl

Was trying to encourage Sam to poop on the toilet bowl, and somehow the conversation ended up like this:

Me: "erh-eeeerrrrmmmm"

Sam: "poo-poo inside."

Hubby: "Yes, so must erh-erm the poo-poo out."

Sam: "poo-poo sleeping." (complete with hand-on-ear gesture, head tilted to one side.)

*Me broke up in laughter. Hubby impressed with Sam's 1st original thought.*

Hubby: "what if poo-poo wake up later when Sam is sleeping???!!!"

*Sam laughed sheepishly.*


Anyway, the usual promise reward of a sweet resulted in yet another successful toilet training attempt.

Over-Controlling Mum?

I got a shock yesterday when I went to pick up Sam from childcare & found him munching on - of all things - a prawn cracker. I was so stunned, I didn't dare ask the teacher why Sam was eating such an unhealthy snack. I was afraid I would have sounded too harsh & unreasonable, and should that offering be from a parent, instead of the teacher, it would have been rather embarassing.

So by this morning when I'm able to blog about this topic sensibly, I was thinking more along the lines of "am I being too paranoid?" instead of "how to stop my son from eating unhealthy foods?". After all, I'm an avid snacker myself. Though only God knows the lengths I've gone to to prevent my son seeing me eat potato chips, chocolates & potato chips.

So why on earth should I try stopping my son from eating all the 'interesting' foods???? I might as well enjoy sharing the snacks with him, right, just as my own mother does with me. The thing is, my mummy didn't start fighting with me over bags of potato chips till I was in adulthood, earning sufficiently to support our eating habits.

Sam is only 3 years old, and usually refuses to eat vegetables & fruits. I've a hard enough time trying to get him eat balanced meals so that I won't have to resort to popping more health supplements into him (already he's eating Vit C tablets). I don't want to affect his appetite with all these junk foods. Already I'm compromising by reducing his dinner portions (by 2 spoonfuls) so that he could eat his fav biscuits or ice cream as a reward for completing the meal.

And for that matter, surely there're healthier snacks than prawn crackers????? I'm not even talking about raisins (believe me I've tried, but Sam just spat out the raisins after giving them a good chew), or similarly healthy snacks all the magazines I read agree to be good for children. I'm talking about snacks with some kind of nutrients inside them: flavoured breakfast cereals such as CoCo-Crunch, chocolate-flavoured oatmeal balls (from Quaker), Hi-iron/calcium biscuits, candy laced with vit C & made with fruit juices. With such choices in the market, why do people like my in-laws still want to buy gummies with nothing in them except sugar & artificial flavourings??????

Am I being too uptight over a minor matter??????????

Sam at the Hairdresser's

This is a back-dated posting. Was clearing the photos in my handphone & realised I haven't posted this.

Brought Sam to the barber's at my mum's place on 1 Sept 09, when his childcare centre was closed for the Teacher's Day holiday. Turned out plenty of parents had the same idea too, cos the cheap hairdresser (S$3.80 per haircut) had a long queue. So we went along to his 1st hairdresser.

My mum actually want to wait, cos it's more expensive there. But at $6, it's dirt cheap considering what the shop at Pioneer Mall wants to charge me - $20 - when they couldn't even get Sam seated on the chair! And Sam had steadfastedly refused to even enter the EC House ($10) at Jurong Point........

Anyway, Sam spent his waiting time (there was one other customer before us) taking photos with my camera phone, and the results are so pretty I've posted them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109816&id=682608180&l=509a7fa178

And Sam was such a good boy that day, sitting still throughout the haircut. So I had no need of the extra set of clothes I brought for both of us! The barber rewarded him with a lollipop before I could stop him, and Sam polished off the sweet before we even reached home.

Hopefully all his future trips would be this good........

Short Trip to Botanical Gardens

Brought Sam to the Singapore Botanical Gardens for the 2nd time yesterday afternoon. Lucky the sun wasn't too hot. Thought Sam would enjoy feeding the swans & fishes, and he sure did!!!!


Basically, he not only fed the swans all the bread we brought for the trip (2 slices), he also ransacked the diaper bag & fed the hungry birds his own biscuits! I had to stop him from feeding the cup of cereals I prepared for him as a snack, despite his moans & cries of disappointment.

It was a good thing I did so too, cos he was ravenous after all the excitement, and finished the entire cup of peanut butter & chocolate cereal balls. Turns out the tap of the child-sized basin in the toilet was loose enough for Sam to press himself, and I had to stop him from pressing the tap just for the fun of it! And the water cooler tap was easy for him to press too (unlike the new one in MacRitchie Reservoir), so Sam drank a LOT of water from there:


We didn't do much else at the park. Tried to get Sam to enjoy nature by touching the low tree branch of the Heritage Tree (that's featured on our 5-dollar note), but he wasn't interested. Couldn't even get him to sit on the branch long enough for a photo shoot - he was afraid he'll fall down!

Sam in School - Sept 09 (updated)

I've been trying to think of a sensible way to showcase the photographs the teachers took of Sam (& fellow classmates) in school. And this is about the best I can come up with at this time.

So I'll post 1 every month containing all the links to photos taken by his teachers during school hours, then I'll put up the link to this post in the "Photos Galore" in the sidebar. The downside to this method is I'll end up updating the same post several times a month (if I'm hardworking & update every time I get the email from his teachers), and hence the post will be re-posted several times a month. But I can't think of a better way, so here it goes..............


11th Sept 09: http://www.slide.com/r/KFaXHVR67T-15q7tFEcN0YuR0mxTjxoA?previous_view=lt_embedded_url and http://www.slide.com/r/Tsx4eNqi3T-U_ZMeeh-x4Rlt9fY_ofv4?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original (巧克力水果串)

10th Sept 2009 : http://www.slide.com/r/E2_J1CA_4D9ETHsRMXiEKDqTWQfh6jJz?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (indoor play)

9th Sept 2009 : http://www.slide.com/r/kqIQ9nRp1T_6TeY0PNPi59Pg95sWBp5B?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (outdoor walk)

8th Sept 2009 : http://www.slide.com/r/Ult4DQ_l0z-_IHNfSPj-kf44QvNy6WlO?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (water play, bubble play)

7th Sept 2009 : http://www.slide.com/r/VOUymVYF4j-Y8gzKkp1vXl5p2-iEkd1c?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (bubble play)

Week of 11 Sept 09 : http://www.slide.com/r/7lnNBkUk5D9WJWgyWE9jraLbaDEItBPH?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original (巧克力水果串，坐火车)


4th Sept 09: http://www.slide.com/r/jp1GJvgD6z_JBJNwVpVA0Q628x1V6J7R?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (sandbox play, cookie-making)

3rd Sept 09: http://www.slide.com/r/2PkjNrrctj_UhHbKyH9225-vdiAqrp7A?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (sponging teddy bear, tricycle play, bubble play, Darrien's birthday)

2nd Sept 09: http://www.slide.com/r/8EVtjUFS5j_GCNLL8sfZYVWyB8HwJRhy?previous_view=lt_embedded_url (Kids Amaze play)

A Funeral Wake

Maternal grandmother passed away on Wed night. Today was the funeral wake. And it was so bloody difficult to feel sad properly when half of me was constantly worried about Sam shrieking in the middle of the funeral. Why can't the boy keep still for an instant???? If I had known he was going to be so difficult I wouldn't have brought him along on Sat night. Then maybe he wouldn't be overtired and be easier to control this morning. Men are so useless when it comes to babysitting, can't even keep the little bugger from running around in the funeral.

CCC Closed!

Turns out that Sam's childcare centre would be closed today, cos as many as 28 students and 5 teachers are down with stomach flu!!!!!! So they're closing for disinfection. So Sam can't go to school today after all.................I was still contemplating yesterday night on letting go in the afternoon for the cookie baking. Well, that's totally out to the question now.

Furthermore, I now would have to bring Sam back to the doctor for a follow-up, to obtain a certificate stating Sam is fit for returning to school, cos of the spread of the stomach flu in the CCC. Sigh!!! I do dislike going to the family clinic, cos there's always a risk of infection there. Oh well, what to do???

Am getting sick & tired of facing Sam at home. Luckily I had a store of library books from last week's visit, and had just found a new Korean drama - style - to watch, so am managing to amuse myself when Sam is napping.

Still, Sam is getting ridiculously rude to his grandparents when he spends so much time at home. I'm really at a loss of how to get him to learn good manners. After facing him for the past 2 days I'm now just trying to spend as much time away from him as possible. If I have to play cars with him again I'll probably blow up again! Can't wait for tomorrow to go shopping with hubby!!!!!

Sam Down Again - Stomach Flu This Time

I knew life's too good to be true. After my post on Tuesday, Sam vomited when I went to fetch him from the childcare centre that very evening.

By 7 pm, just after the doctor diagnosed him with stomach flu, Sam threw up again for the 4th time. By this time it was pure fluid.......whatever water he had drank for the past half hour, plus some bile, I'm pretty sure. He's already emptied his system of his lunch, which I could tell from the wholesome grains of rice & barley, that he barely chewed through his meal that day. So I guess that got him susceptible to whatever caused the stomach flu.

Anyway, doctor gave him 3 days of MC, plus medicine for vomiting, wind, and diarrhea, which I requested for, just in case. Sam threw up again at 8pm, which got me worried, cos I thought the suppository the doc gave was supposed to stop the vomiting. Again I prepared my bags in case I had to get Sam to the A&E for dehydration.

Fortunately, Sam stopped vomiting in the night, even though he didn't sleep well, complaining frequently of stomachache and had started running a temperature of 38degC. By morning I was pretty sure the 'stomachache' was partly due to his hunger, cos he actually asked to eat biscuits.

Though he soon dosed off at 10 am, a mere 2 hrs after he got up, he was soon up & bouncing by the afternoon. He got hold of the stickers given by the doctor the evening before, and instead of sticking them somewhere else, placed them on his tummy, then proudly displayed his creation to me & the camera!

After a 2.5 hrs nap at 3pm, he woke up asking for food. I took that to be a good sign. He finished a whole bowl of noodle soup for dinner!

Well, this morning he polished off 3/4 slices of bread & 1.5 pcs of biscuits, in 2 batches. He seemed quite his usual self. I'm now wondering how I can tahan facing him at home tomorrow, and if he seems so okay, if I should send him to school tomorrow..........

Sam Finally Sits on Musical Train

Finally, Sam is no longer afraid to sit on a moving musical car. Or in this case, the Thomas & Friends train. Definitely a milestone to be recorded, this having occurred on 22nd August 2009, in Jurong Point's new wing on Basement 1.

Updates

Realised I haven't updated this blog for some time. Well, the fact is, I didn't really wanna be a mother for the past few weeks, so was definitely not in the mood to talk about my son anywhere. :P

What happened was, barely one week after Sam recovered from HFMD, he came down with flu, this time, with a sudden onset of fever of 39degC. Both his Dr Ong & I agreed Tamiflu wasn't necessary, so Sam just got the normal course of antibiotics, but his fever took several days to subside.

At one point, his fever refused to come down even after taking Paracetemol. I got so worried, I cancelled my assignment at the last minute & actually packed my bags in case we had to rush Sam down to the hospital in the middle of the night.

Fortunately that wasn't necessary. And Sam's fever finally stayed away on the 4th day of the antibiotics course. And he recovered just in time for our holiday to KL...........it was a close call, we were contemplating cancelling the holiday, in fact.

Anyway, last week Sam made it back to school for the entire week without falling sick. I've been dosing him with Vit C & herbal teas.........if by next week he's still strong & healthy, he would have passed a milestone, ie. 2 weeks in school without falling ill. So me keeping my fingers crossed..........

Sam's Cleared!

Yes! Sam is cleared of HFMD and can go to school tomorrow!!!! Hip hip hoorah!!!!!!!

Me have been planning what to do tomorrow since yesterday. Can't wait for Sam to go to childcare tomorrow, then I'll be free to go eat my fav pork cutlet at Tonkichi in Ngee Ann City, buy hubby's fav tomato bread, and perhaps visit the new Ion!

Ah! It's been a torturous week............esp. last Thurs night when Sam's fever peaked just below 39 degC, and Friday when his whole mouth was painful from the ulcers & couldn't eat and needed to be persuaded to drink his milk.

I'm only grateful this time he caught a mild strain, and thus didn't have full blown ulcers on his hands, feet & diaper area, just a few red spots. Oh, please don't ever let Sam catch HFMD again!!!!

Things Sam are Afraid Of

I never quite understand why Sam is afraid of certain things.

Initially was the green monster in the toilet. I dunno where on earth he got this idea, but it was bloody difficult to convince him to shower in those days.

Then he would insist on closing the windows when we're wiping him at night, cos of the cockroaches that would fly in if the windows are open. No, we've never had cockroaches flying in through the bedroom window yet.

Recently he got this crazy fear of the Mona Lisa. No, I'm not joking. He's already recognized the Mona Lisa from his Little Einsteins TV shows, and for some strange reason he's got scared of it. Now he refused to watch that particular episode, and he's forced us to turn our Magic Cube (souvenir from Paris, shows various famous artwork in the Louvre on different sides of the cube) around so that the picture of the Mona Lisa wouldn't be visible.

Then surprisingly, when we saw a TV advert yesterday night regarding the Da Vinci exhibition in the Science Centre, he willingly wanted to go and see the 'big' Mona Lisa. Now I wonder how long this mood of his will last, and if we should pay to bring him to go see the exhibition.............

Hanging On......

I'm gonna lose my sanity if this goes on. Already I've lost my temper at Sam yesterday night, after trying the whole day to get him to drink water. I've cajoled, coaxed, threatened (with scoldings, toys, & pain) and scolded him, and with exception to the last method, each time he would only take ONE sip of water.

I know it's painful for him to even drink water, but I can't possibly risk him getting dehydrated right???? Esp. if his fever just subsided! And it was with promises of ice cream (which in the end he only ate half a scoop) did he finish his regular sized mashed potato from KFC.

Later I'm gonna get more of the mashed potato, and also some baby food. Think that's all he can tahan to eat now, since it doesn't require chewing & hence less likely to trigger the pain in various parts of his mouth, though no matter what, it'll be painfuil for him the moment he swallows.

Irritating thing is, though Sam finds it difficult to swallow, he certainly has no problem screaming. Now he even cuts back on his speech & goes moaning all day long, but when things don't go his way, he still finds it okay to scream shrilly. And now he'll cry (complete with tears, red nose, & mucus) at the drop of the pin. It's driving me nuts!!!!!!

Getting Worse.......

Sam's fever got higher today. Refused to go down past the 38 degC mark. If it gets higher than 39 degC I'm gonna call the doc, cos he did assure me yesterday that only a mild fever is to be expected.

In the morning Sam was still quite okay: finished a whole piece of bread with egg mayo at 10 am, and willingly ate 5 cocktail sausages while waiting for his noodles. The problem came after his nap, his ulcers spread to his tongue and the side of his mouth (probably cos of his thumb sucking). By dinnertime he found it painful to eat solid foods, and I spent half an hour cajoling him to eat one slice of potato with his fav Yakult.

Can only hope now that this is the worst that he would be facing, cos I don't want him to find it painful to even drink. At least now he's willing to drink his "Ding Dang" & Ribena. Me considering making him banana milkshake tomorrow.......perhaps letting him try KFC's mashed potato.......anything to fill his little tummy!

Hand Foot & Mouth Disease

I almost instinctively started to type the title of this post as "Sam is Sick". Then I realised I've already had previous posts of the same titles, so I came up with this boring, and also accurate, one instead.

Yep, Sam's got HFMD. This morning I still didn't know, sent him up the school bus after he happily finished half a slice of peanut butter sandwich.

So imagine my surprise when I got a call from the childcare centre 20 min later, telling me they found ulcers in Sam's mouth, so can I please fetch him to the doctor's.

Fortunately my tour today is in the afternoon, so I managed to get Sam to the doctor's & back before going off for my assignment. And the doctor confirmed Sam did catch HFMD, and now has to be quarantined at home for 1 week before going back to the doctor for follow-up. Only after he's been cleared next Wed can he go back to school.

Luckily for Sam, he's got a mild strain of the HFMD, so not likely to have ulcers on his hands. Actually, it had seemed a bit silly to trot Sam to the doctor when he's not having a fever, not feeling unwell, basically still his naughty self, except for some white spots inside the cheeks of his mouth.

In fact, when I received the call from the childcare centre this morning, we had thought Sam was too heaty from the ONE durian he ate yesterday, and my MIL even cooked barley water while we were at the doctor.

But, well, no amount of heatiness would induce normal ulcers to grow in the cheeks, I think. And by this evening, Sam had started to feel a bit of discomfort when eating dinner, so I gave him his oral drops. Which, by the way, he was fascinated with.....went babbling to his granny about this new medicine and the new method of drinking it (drops directly into the mouth, instead of drinking from syringe or cup or spoon).

And luckily I checked his temperature just before bedtime, cos he was running a slight fever by then, 37.8 degC.

So now I'll be stuck with the little bugger for one entire week............in addition to making sure we don't share food with him, have to think of ways to occupy him for 6 more days without him stepping out of the house. Sigh!! Why can't Sam be those super-healthy boys who never fall sick??????? I should never have thrown away the used syringes after he recovered from his phlegm 5 days ago!

1st Funky Friday

Every Friday, Sam's childcare centre will have Funky Friday, where the children do something special in accordance to a pre-decided theme.

Last week was their 1st Funky Friday, and Sam's class had a picnic. Yes, the picnic that caused his slight stomach upset I complained about in the earlier post. After discussion with his teacher we decided it was probably due to the 2 glasses of orange juice Sam drank during the picnic, since he wasn't used to such large amounts of juice at one go.

Anyway, the photos to Sam's exciting picnic can be viewed here: http://www.slide.com/r/l70eKXDy6z98j9dQ2RRvx3OxgSoDV3eK?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original.

Will try to attach the links to the photos of last week later, after I've survived this stressful work week.

Why So Much Junk Food?????

I don't understand why on earth Singaporean parents like to give their children junk food to bring to school. I never had such problems when Sam was in KL with all the expatraite parents of various nationalities.

My complaint? Sam had a 'picnic' in school the Friday past. We parents were told we can pack some snacks for the picnic, for the children to eat in addition to their usual teabreak food prepared by the school.

Well, I packed some Ritz biscuits, which were not totally consumed by the kids, cos they have more interesting goodies, including Oreos and jelly. I only know of these 2 items cos Sam had Oreo crumbs on his mouth when I came to fetch him, and his classmates were still popping the jelly directly from the containers.

Thanks to the apparently totally unhealthy picnic, Sam lost his appetite for dinner that night. At night he complained of a slight stomachache, and continued to have bloated stomach all of next day, ie. yesterday. By nighttime I realised he had a low fever, which fortunately subsided after 1 dose of medicine at night and doesn't not appear to be the onset of the HMFD that's spreading in his school.

Really, why must Singaporean parents give such unhealthy foods for snacks??? Admittedly, my Ritzs weren't terribly healthy either, but at least I try not to give Sam all-chocolate biscuits, and the jelly I buy for him are the Japanese konnyaku ones that claim to contain fibre & real fruit juice. I myself even cut down on my fav potato chips in an attempt not to let him eat so much of the titbits.

That's not the only example of unhealthy snacking. For my Friday's tour, the primary school specifically asked not to have the break in MacDonald's, and the students are to bring their own snacks.

Well, the teacher-in-charge boarded the bus with a large plastic bag full of Mamee, which he distributed out to the students even before we reach the destination! So during breaktime, the students ended up buying & eating Pocky and potato chips. What's the point of not going to MacDonald's then???????

Really, why can't the children of today snack on buns, cakes & sandwiches like I used to when I was their age??? I'm not even asking for healthier choices like apples & other fruits. Even if we mums are too busy to pack a cooked lunch for our children like what they do in other countries, there're always healthier snacks available.

I now recall a boy from another tour - also Primary 4 - where he chose to eat the peanut butter sandwich his mother packed for him, & exchanged part of his meal with a friend who was packed CoCo Crunch. And get this, they were having their break in MacDonald's, where his classmate ate 2 Fillet 'o' Fish in the 20 min break! Now I can only hope that I can manage to bring Sam up to like the healthy foods too when he's older!!!

More Photos of Sam in School

After staying at home for 4 days, Sam finally went back to school last Friday, where he apparently enjoyed a variety of activities, judging from the photos received from the teacher - bless her for working on a Sunday - yesterday night:

http://www.slide.com/r/f3MDgOLk4T_4acKvVuNiMEmrEePWgyWG?previous_view=lt_embedded_url

On a sadder note, there's now a 2nd confirmed case of HFMD in the childcare centre, fortunately not in Sam's class. Still, I'm letting Sam take one tablet of Vit C every morning, just to help boost his immunity system. Keeping my fingers crossed........

My Wordpress Blog

Haven't had any posts with the label "Finally a Woman" for a long while, cos had started a new blog (yes, another one) in Wordpress. That one will mainly focus on my work-related posts, and also some of my random thoughts on current affairs. So if you're interested in me, myself, you're welcome to http://tanhui2.wordpress.com. ;)

Would Sam Catch HFMD?

Had been near impossible to blog with Sam around the house. Yesterday had finally sent him back to childcare after 4 days at home, mainly cos I had to work in the afternoon.

Otherwise, the teacher had actually advised keeping Sam at home till he doesn't require any medication, cos the centre had confirmed its 1st case of Hand Foot Mouth Disease on Monday, and children with weakened immunity system are thus encouraged to refrain from going to school.

So now I'm starting to behave like a paranoid mum, checking Sam constantly for any signs of fever, trying to guess if his refusal to finish his breakfast is a sign of impending illness, or if he's just being difficult.

Most irritating is that his phlegm still hasn't cleared after 5 days of medication. Fortunately it seems to be thinning. I don't want to have to bring Sam to the doctor again for antibiotics, though I'm sorely tempted to do so, just so that he would recover faster and I wouldn't have to worry like that.

And I know my worries are in part on behalf of myself, cos if Sam gets HFMD and can't go to school, I'll have trouble going to work, which is all the more important to me in the next 2 weeks as I have 3 assignments & also training for the HeritageFest tour. My in-laws can't be relied on taking care of troublesome Sam for an entire day, my mum just recovered from flu herself, and there's always the danger of passing the HFMD to Tiffany, who fell sick earlier this week too.

Maybe tomorrow I should go temple to 拜拜, just for ease of mind & to pray for patience to stop myself going paranoid!

Sick..........Again!

Yes, Sam is ordered home rest, yet again!!!!!!!

Yesterday Sam started coughing. Could hear the phelgm all stuck in his throat. And we were both kept awake at night by his coughing. So this morning I whisked him off to Dr Ong again.

And now I'm to keep Sam homebound for the rest of the week. Upon hearing my groan, Dr Ong agreed Sam could go back to school if his cough stops.

So now, I'm stuck with Sam for the next 2 days. Keeping my fingers crossed that he'll recover sufficiently to go back to childcare by Thursday, cos I don't think I'll be able to tahan having him home all day for so long!!! Besides, I still have my MINDEF tour this Friday to prepare for...............provided that didn't get cancelled in the last minute again!

On a lighter note, hubby has finally succumbed and bought his MacBook, so now I have this Acer all to myself. ;) Planning to rip out all my fav songs so that can listen from the hp. Also have to clear out all the old photos & videos of Sam from my hp & upload onto the net. Plenty to do while catching up on my fav dramas!! ;)

To Go Or Not To Go

This H1N1 flu pandemic is starting to drive me crazy. All simply because Sam is due for his 2nd Hep B vaccine shot..........last Wednesday. I forgot to bring him for the shot over the weekend, and had planned to do so tomorrow, fetching him earlier from childcare.

Now, I'm starting to worry if it's a good idea to expose Sam to the dangers of the family clinic. What if he caught a flu bug there while waiting to take the vaccine??????

Considering the option of bringing him all the way to the paediatrician for the shot. At least there he won't be exposed to sick adults.

Hubby wondering if the 2nd shot can be delayed. But with the H1N1 spreading locally, I doubt if the booster shot can wait for another 6 months.

Equally irritating is the fact that Sam seems to be having a sensitive nose. He's been waking up in the morning with a slight blocked nose, which goes down his throat and causes him to cough - 2 ~ 3 times - after he wakes up. If it's because of the aircon, then why does he appear to be fine in the airconditioned childcare centre or in the shopping centres???? Past few days had given him the running nose medicine, now not sure if that's a good idea. Sigh! if Sam is having running nose & not sensitive nose then maybe he should not be taking the booster shot now.

UUURRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

Sam Tries to Catch a Bird

Whenever Sam sees a bird, be it a sparrow or a mynah, he would try to catch it, like this:

Usually the bird would have flown away upon his noisy approach (since he sometimes run towards the bird). And I really don't see how he can hope to catch anything living bird with his single small hands!

But he doesn't understand my explanations, and since he enjoys it, oh well, I'll just let him enjoy himself now. ;)

Thumbs Up, Sam!

Everybody knows when we want to indicate "good", we stick out one of our thumbs.

Well, Sam tried to do so, when commenting on his fries:

No use trying to correct him.............after he saw the way we laughed at his gesture, he happily insisted on sticking up his forefinger every single time ever since.

I'm only glad he didn't stick up the middle finger! ;P

When Sam is An Angel.......

I must blog this, so that in future when I'm in any doubt, or when Sam behaves like a devil (again), I have something to remind me that there ARE times when he behaves like an angel instead..............

Sam's been very sticky to me this week. As hubby said, he's always gotten very sticky to me when he just started school.

There's been frequent declarations of affections to me from Sam recently, one of my fav being: "Mummy happy, Sam happy!" which I choose to intepret as "when mummy is happy, Sam will be happy too!"

But today Sam surpassed himself. We were on our way home from childcare when I pointed out a Toyota Corolla Altis to him.

Sam: Sam earn money, Sam buy Toyota Corolla.

Me: Good.

Sam: Mummy buy Corolla.

Me (with fake frown): Mummy don't earn enough money, Mummy cannot buy big car.

Sam: Sam earn money, Sam buy big car Mummy.

Oh, I was so happy to hear this!!!!!!

I wonder if he would still remember this when he grows up. ;P

Sam the Sushi King!

Sam obviously hadn't ate his fill at the childcare centre for the past 2 days. Goodness knows why: the food there is pretty okay (since I myself ate there during his 1st 3 days of school), the teachers are giving him attention during mealtimes, but he still didn't finish his teatime snack, nor ask for 2nd servings during lunch.

Anyway, yesterday I brought him to eat sushi at the IshiMura Japanese foodcourt in Safra Jurong after I fetched him from school. And apparently he enjoyed the experience, cos today 1st thing he said upon leaving the childcare centre was "sushi!".

So I have no choice but to keep the swiss roll his grandparents bought for him, and the hot dog puff I got for him, and catch up with the little fellow outside the restaurant, where he was waiting for me after a joyous run down the slight slope.

So here's the clip of Sam enjoying the sushi all by himself:



And yes, he finished the whole plate of 6 pcs of crabstick sushi by 5:30pm. Then it was followed by a packet of his fav "Ding Dang" yogurt drink.

I wonder how many more days of sushi would it take before the novelty wears off......

Plasters, Band-aids, whatever

Today saw another advert for cute cartoony plasters. Everytime I see one of these ads, or see the actual product on the shelves, I can't help but pause & seriously consider buying a box.

But I dare not.

I read somewhere that a mummy would bring such a box on long plane journeys to entertain her young children. How I wish I have the courage to try this trick.

Reason????

Cos Sam already loves plasters. The plain brown ones, the tranparent waterproof ones, he actually enjoys having one stuck on his little body.

Whenever he has a cut, or had scratched a mosquitoe bite till the skin broke, I would put a plaster over the wound, changing it daily.

And Sam would always eagerly stick out his arm or leg or whichever part that requires the attention, pointing out the wound, telling me to be careful. He would try to help remove the packaging from the plaster itself, ask to stick on the plaster (which I don't allow of course), and happily help throw away the resulting rubbish.

On the day I proclaim the wound healed and the services of the plaster not required further, Sam would cry & lament & kick up a fuss, insisting a new plaster be placed. I sometimes find it more traumatic to stop putting the plaster than dealing with the wound!!!!

Hence I definitely do not dare buy the cute & fanciful plasters that tug at my heart. It is difficult enough resisting Sam's attraction to the plain drabby ones already!

Sam's Preferred Sticker Locations

As Sam is homebound for so many days, desparate-to-try-to-teach Mummy, ie. me, tried to get Sam to do some craftwork, so that he would be spending all day watching TV.

Since Sunday is Father's Day, I thought it would be simple for him to make a card for hubby, using the craft kit from last month's Charlie & Lola magazine. (Yes, I'm crazy enough to buy that even though it's still a tad too complicated for Sam.)

It's supposed to be an easy project: choose a picture, choose a coloured card, stick the picture on the card, decorate with stickers, and volia! A handmade card!

Well, Sam chose to stick 2 pictures of bottles on a blue card. He managed the glue stick well enough with my help (at least nothing got onto the table), and stuck the pictures securely enough on the card.

The stickers, 20 3D jewels sparkling on a small card, were then removed one-by-one by Sam. At first he stuck each sticker in a line on the card. Then he began to be more interested in removing the stickers from its base, not caring which part of the card his flick of the finger landed the sticker on.

Halfway through the 20 stickers, he began sticking them on his cheeks. Then his feet. Soon he removed the stickers from the card & stuck them on his hands.


Now his card has only 2 stickers on them, which I managed to rescue while Sam was distracted when busy fixing the not-so-sticky-by-now stickers on his body.

I wonder what hubby would say about the pathetic looking card????

Blog Diary 2008 Update

24 December 08
Moved all "Drama Mama" & "Music to My Ears" posts to The Drama Mama Diaries blog.

23 November 08
Added Feedburner subscriptions options.

13 September 08
Renamed "Blog Archive" as "Previous Posts".
Added new gadget "Followers".

29 August 08
Removed clock.
Added Recent Comments widget.

27 August 08
Removed Facebook badge.
Adding list of links to my Facebook photo albums.

Stuck at Home. Again!

Sigh!!! After a mere one week in childcare, Sam has been ordered to stay at home by his doctor, to make sure his 2-wk long running nose gets a chance to fully recover.

So now I'm also stuck at home with the playful little bugger. :(

There goes my plans to meet friend today. To go shopping tomorrow.

Worse still, I'm also having flu myself. :(

Sigh! Can't wait for Sam to go back to school next week!!!!!!

Sam in Childcare

Finally have time to blog about Sam in childcare.

Me have spent the 1st 3 days of this week in & near the childcare centre, going back frequently to check on his progress. Today is the 1st day I'm letting Sam spend the whole day there, from taking the school bus there in the morning, till abt 5 pm later.

Actually I also dunno why I'm so worried. Guess it was because of the not-so-good experiences in the past.

Cos turns out that Sam LOVES the new place. In particularly the toys.

He may leave me crying, but it takes a lot of persuasion to get him to agree to go home in the last 2 days, when I went to fetch him at 5pm.

Here's a video to share, of Sam playing with his fav toy, the tricycle, on the very 1st day of school on Monday. He spent >1hr on the tricycle, refusing the enticement of other toys.



I guess I'm lucky that Sam took to the teachers there well too. I was rather surprised, & very pleased, that he allowed the teachers to bathe & feed him, and also put him to nap. So now I'm not really worried about his time in the childcare centre.

Well, now only worrying about how much he's eating there, cos he seems to want to spend all his time playing & is being so picky about his food.

Still, at this rate, I may remain hopeful about him going to school in the morning in a willing & happy mood very soon, instead of the teary farewells I've come to dread.

Starting Full Day Childcare Tomorrow

In a dramatic turn of events, I received a phone call in the middle of our shoe-shopping, informing me that the childcare centre has finally received their permit & hence can start operations tomorrow.

So instead of spending my time planning my week ahead, I ended up spending my afternoon putting Sam's school bag together. And since Sam loves to peel off stickers, I crazily stuck stickers ALL over his bag, plastic bags, toothbrush, mug etc.

Hubby commented it was lucky we've just found a new pair of shoes for Sam this morning, JIT for his school. Truely, it's almost a miracle Sam was in a shoe-buying mood, and a covered-toe version to boot. Oh, it's a bit irritating that his version of Crocs actually costs more than mine, but well, I was gratified he could actually put it on & off all by himself, and seems to enjoy wearing it so much. Hubby was simply pleased he doesn't have to see a 4th incarnation of the Clarks sandals Sam was so fond of.

Now, I'm trying to rest & relax as much as it's motherly possible with Sam in the house, cos the next few days are gonna be tough. For me! Already I'm trying to imagine how it's possible for me to go off for a decent lunch...........

One Week of School Holidays to Bear

Sigh!!! Just as I was starting to panic about not being able to find the spare pillow for Sam's childcare nap next week, I received one of my worst phone calls of the month: the centre is not ready to start next Monday as planned!!!!!!

Now I'll have one week of childcare-centre-less time to spend with Sam. To entertain him, hopefully teaching him something useful in the meantime & not just that shopping is fun.

Urgh!!!!! And to think that I've rejected an assignment last month in anticipation of next week's Sam-entering-new-school-ruckus!!!!! What a waste of my chance!!!!!

Let's see..........a visit to the library, & then artwork painting. That ought to do the trick for 1 of the 5 weekdays.

Now what should I do for the other 4??????????????

Dunno if I have the energy to bring Sam to the Birdpark on my own........the water playground would be fun for him, provided he doesn't get sunburnt.

Haa! Might as well bring Sam to see the doctor if his nose is still running next week! That's keep him occupied for another morning!

What else......................Help!!!!!!!!!

Sam's Registration Photo

Tada!!!! My handsome Sam posing especially for his registration photo in his new childcare centre. Isn't he lovely?? ;)

The Kind of Things U Get in a Birthday Goodie Bag

I know all the enthusiatics mothers who took the trouble to prepare gift packs for their children's classmates in school meant well. But why can't they just include more healthy snacks & less junk?????

Today Sam received yet another elaborately decorated birthday goodie bag from a fellow classmate in his playgroup. Except for the box of Coco Crunch, which is at least a healthy cereal despite of the chocolate intensiveness, there's also a marshmellow sweet, a TimeOut chocolate bar & some savoury biscuits. And a whistle.

Now, I'll rather have more of those party whistles & toys than figure out how to hide the TimeOut chocolate bar from my son, cos I don't usually allow him such titbits. I'm still trying to find a way to get rid of the packet of Twisties from another goodie bag 3 weeks ago. Think I'll just eat that myself & get hubby to devour the TimeOut. The marshmellow sweet I'm reserving to use as a rewarding treat when Sam behaves well.

Don't understand why Singaporean parents tend to give such titbits in the goodies bags. When we were in KL, the expat group of mothers tend to put more party toys in the bags. The snacks they used were healthier too. Sam once received a packet of orange juice even!

Can't wait for Sam to start in the new childcare. At least over there, the centre has guidelines & recommendations for parents to use healthy snacks eg. raisins in the goodie bags.

Sam's New School

Today went to visit Sam's future childcare centre: The Little Skoolhouse By-The-Treehouse at Safra Jurong. It seems great! They can go to the water playground & the indoor playground once a week, and there's actually a courtyard for them to play ball games & ride the tricycles!

Now hoping very hard Sam would take well to the new whole-day curriculum. He seemed to like the new place when we went today, especialy after he saw the tricycles. ;) 1st June, can't wait for it to arrive!

1st Visit to the Zoo

Yesterday finally managed to get into the Zoo. Had planned for the trip on Good Friday, only to find the carpark already full & roadside parking all the way down to the Orchid Garden at 10:50am.

So was rather glad it wasn't so crowded on a 'normal' Sunday at 9:50am (yes, we made the effort to go earlier this time round). Sam still refused to put on sunblock, but after the distastrous Birdpark experience I covered him in the white cream despite all his protests and cries. And am I glad I did!!!! Look how red he was that night after a mere 3 hrs in the Zoo! (and half that time in the shade too!)
Fortunately most of the red-ness faded this morning. Now, only the area around his neck is still itchy from the sunburn.

Talking about the trip to the Zoo, Sam's reactions to it really burns me up! Oh, he did seem to enjoy seeing the hippos & the otters & one crocodile sleeping in the water. But while I was excited we managed to catch the feeding of the mousedeer etc at the Rainforest, Sam was actually frightened by the sight of feeding gibbons. Goodness knows why??

And when hubby excitedly pointed out the white tigers to the little bugger, he found the exhibit of the tiger sounds more interesting than the sleeping big cats. Okay, to be fair, it would really be more fun pressing the buttons to hear the tiger's roar than to watch them sleep............

But not to be interested in the Elephants of Asia show????? The animal show is only 30 min, we had a clear view of the magnificent beasts, and Sam spent the 1st 15 min snacking & drinking (ok, so he was hungry). Then, hunger satisfied, he started sucking his thumb and cuddling up to me, and after another 5 min, told me: "Mummy, no zoo, go 'gai gai'!"

I nearly went up in smoke!!!! He rather go shopping than visit the zoo!!!! What more can I do???????

Getting Sam to Drink Water

Sam hasn't been drinking water during his playgroup since last week. He may have finished his biscuits, but his water bottle would remain full when I fetched him from 'school' 2 hours later. Bugging him about it only got him to take small sips.

So yesterday I went on a shopping spree in NTUC Xtra (yes, I know, of all places, but that's the only place open in Jurong Point at 9:45am in the morning) and bought 3 new bottles: a 250ml Rubbermaid, one tall Bob the Builder with shoulder strap, and a very tall bottle with racing cars pictures.

Well, Sam didn't touch his biscuits today, but he finished the whole bottle of Rubbermaid! Talk about the appeal of a new item!!!

So now I'm keeping his Pigeon bottle for home use. Plan to use the small Rubbermaid one for his playgroup. The Bob the Builder one for when my mum fetches him after school, so that there'll be extra water for the journey to his grandmother's place. And the ultra tall racing car version for weekends when we go out, then won't have to worry about running out of water.

Hopefully this will be enough to keep his interest in drinking water...........

Teaching Good Friday

Once in a while I'll get into those crazy highly enthusiastic mothering moods that die down as quickly as it came. 2 weeks ago I bought 2 different toys - a 10-piece jigsaw puzzle & a counting puzzle - for Sam in an attempt to improve Sam's concentration & reduce his TV time. Needless to say, I gave up after 2 days and I myself went back to doing my own stuff while he watches TV quietly.

Today was buying Polar curry puffs for hubby when the salesgirl started her sales talk for their cross buns: "very nice, only made for this festive season!". I ended up buying one @ $1.20, thinking no harm letting Sam (& myself) try something new.

By the time I reached home, I'm contemplating how to introduce the Good Friday & Easter holiday to Sam. After all, he's already participated in the Chinese New Year & Deepavali celebrations in the school when we were in KL. Since the current playgroup doesn't do such activities, I thought: why not do it myself?

There comes the problem: I'm no good in teaching kids. Least of all my own son. And I know nuts about Good Friday. And Easter.

Just now I actually went to Wiki up Good Friday, hot cross buns, and Easter. After all the reading, I can only conclude: since we ourselves are not Christians and don't celebrate these holidays usually, I'll just leave it as that.

The most I think I can manage is teaching Sam to eat hot cross buns on Good Friday and chocolate Easter eggs on Easter Sunday. Not exactly the right thing to do, I know, but then I'm not expecting much from my yet-to-be three year old either. I mean, I haven't even yet figure out how to explain a 'holiday' to him, you know what I mean????

Sam Sick Again

Me quite fed up, Sam fell sick again!

Think this time hubby passed the germs to Sam: he got the flu last week, and Sam started having phlegm on Monday. Tuesday night he was coughing through the night, so I brought him to the doctor on Wednesday morning.

Dr Ong said to monitor Sam's temperature, cos a lot of kids recently developed chest infection. That got me worried, so followed doctor's advice to a tee - plenty of rest, no trips to the playground, plenty of water, no citrus fruits, etc etc.

Already had to forgo the planned trip to the Science Centre with my sister & her daughter on Wednesday cos of the doctor's visit. Had thought if Sam's illness was not serious, could go the next day. Instead, now I can't even bring him to Jurong Point for the Thomas & Friends show on Friday as planned.

Sigh! And now, me also stuck at home because of him. :(

A Toilet Training Attempt

Today had the sudden brainwave of letting Sam trying wearing underwear instead of diapers. Thought he would understand the need to go toilet to pee better when he's not wearing diapers.

Well, what happened was, he enjoyed wearing his underwear - hand-me-downs from his cousin, Thomas & Friends print - but he didn't quite get the concept of having to inform me to go to toilet!

1st time he peed onto the floor, he was quite surprised, and a trifle scared. I guess he was afraid I would scold him. But then I didn't, explained the process to him again, then, let him try another underwear again.

1 hour later, during dinner, he started to position himself funnily in his Ikea chair, ramping himself all the way to the front. Yes, he's trying to stop himself peeing! So after cleaning up the mess I gave up and put diapers on him again.

Half hour before bedtime, he informed his grandfather he poo-poo. We rushed to the bedroom, plastic bag, wipes & diaper all in tow, only to find he's only peed in the diaper. Luckily I had the sense to ask him:"Sam wants to poo-poo huh?"

He said Yes! So a quick rush to put his training seat on the toilet bowl, plonked him on, promised him plenty of toilet paper to throw into the bowl should he succeed, and 2 min later, he did poo-poo into the toilet bowl!!!!

Ooooooh! was soooo glad he did, cos it was such a smelly affair!!! ;) Hope Sam would learn to do his 'big' business in the toilet bowl regularly, then I wouldn't have to clean him up!!!

School Holiday Planning

Sam has gotten to the stage where I've now joined the group of mothers worldwide on planning how to entertain our children during their school holidays!!!!!!

Yes! Sam's playgroup follows the schooling calendar, which means in one week's time, I'll be having Sam at home for a whole week! Oh, can't wait for him to get into the childcare centre so that I won't have this problem!!!

Anyway, now already on the lookout of all the different possibilities to keep him entertained & keeping myself sane. Already planning to meet friend on Monday, now thinking where's the best place to go.

Tuesday got training, so that'll be a day off for me.

Friday thinking of bringing Sam to see the Thomas & Friends show at Jurong Point. Now only wondering if I should try to get him for the 1pm or the 4 pm show. Both timings are very bad since they coincide with Sam's naptime.

Wed or Thurs I'm thinking of brining Sam to the Science Centre. It seems to be one of the few places where there'll be exhibits suitable for Sam to play & learn at the same time.

Or maybe can bring Sam to the Jurong Birdpark to play in the water playground. Now that hubby bought the 3-park membership, it won't be a heartache to go to the Birdpark for just a few hours.

Just remembered - 14 & 15 March supposed to have open house of Supreme Court. Must check that out if possible: I've never been inside the court before!

Important reminder to self: don't bring Sam out every single day, else he'll have a hard time adjusting back to school schedule again!!!

Very Naughty Sam

Very very very angry with Sam: he's bullied another classmate in school today!

This time, he went after an older boy - took his biscuits, hit him, bit him, and when the teacher punished him to sit in a corner, he still went and took a 2nd bite on the boy when the teacher's back was turned!!!!

And when the teacher told me about this and I glared at Sam, he still had the cheek to pretend to cry!!!!! He was all red-eyed & tears dropping on the floor with his head bowed, but the moment I told him to stop crying he stopped!!!!!

I was so angry I didn't carry him as usual, and walked him all the way to the bus interchange instead, scolding him all the way.

Was still angry when giving him the shower. Was still angry giving him his lunch, so much so my in-laws are the ones feeding him now to make sure he's fully fed. I'm in the mood to just let him sit in his high chair and eat as much as he wants, and if he gets hungry later that's his bloody problem!!!

A Rainbow

A rainbow contrasting the still-grey sky after an afternoon of rain.

1st instinct upon seeing this from our study room window: take out handphone and snap a pic.

2nd instinct: call Sam to come & see this. And surprisingly today he came running at my 1st call (if only he's so 乖 everytime!) and was thus held up high to see the rainbow.

He seemed more puzzled than excited at the sight. But at least he caught a view of the phenomenon........


Apparently there's a 2nd rainbow above this one, just faintly visible in my photo. I only knew about the 2nd one after reading someone else's blog........

Free Visit to Peranakan Musuem

Went all the way to Clarke Quay today only to find the free 2009 tickets for the Singapore Bumboat rides had been given out already. So made our way to the Peranakan Museum instead, which was given free admission this weekend (21 & 22 Feb 09), thus saving us $8/adult.

Most importantly, are the activities available for children, including free clay modeling, stencil-making & Chinese calligraphy, and also featuring Chinese Orchestra performances and cooking demonstrations! I expected the activities to be targeted at older children (I was right, designed for ages 5 ~ 10 yrs), but thought Sam may be able to handle the clay modelling, since it would be similar to the Play-doh he enjoys, then I'll have a chance to catch the "Serenity in Stone: The Qingzhou Discovery" exhibition.

The Old Tao-Nan School campus seem flooded by people today, partly because it's so small, I think. The children activities were hosted in the Lecture Room on the ground floor. Sam was way too young for the stencilling, but fortunately for me, the clay modelling was done on Ikea tables & chairs, just the right size for Sam. So hubby & I took turns to visit the exhibits, while the other watched over Sam.

Sam is really too young to make full use of the materials to make the intended lotus flower on the cardboard, which can then be placed in the provided photo frame. He also poured glue into the tealight, which was meant for sticking the clay petals around to form a tealight holder. But he made his clay balls & generally got occupied, so that was enough for me. ;)

The exhibits of Serenity in Stone are mightily impressive. It's amazing how the colours on the stone sculptures got preserved all these years, all the way from the 6th century!! True, as hubby commented, the similar-looking Buddha statues bored us non-artists after 2 full rooms of exhibits, but I still find it interesting to note the different art styles used in the 2 different periods the sculptures were made.

I made a quick dash through the Peranakan wedding exhibition rooms on the 2nd level, and found several stations designed for children (about Primary school level, I guess. There's an area designed for school programs) to participate in, including embossing Peranakan designs on a specially designed paper provided at the ticket counter. The lady there kindly provided one for me upon inquiry, but the colouring picture on the other side of the paper is way too advanced for young Sam, esp. since he seemed to have inherited my lousy artisitic talents, or rather, non-talents.

Sam hadn't torn down the roof when I returned 20 min later, but he's pooped! Fortunately there's a diaper changing fold-down station in the toilet for the disabled on the ground floor.

Meanwhile hubby had found out the Asian Civilisations Museum would be hosting a new exhibition from mid-March, featuring artefacts from Emperor Kang Xi's period. So now he's looking forward to our next visit to that museum, while I'm praying the ACM would be a more toddler-friendly museum than the National History Museum. Perhaps if I'm lucky, the ACM would be holding some kind of open-house next month too................

New Measures at Playschool

Took nearly 10min to get Sam into the playschool today, and he was only the 5th in queue. All because of the new measures the playgroup adopted against outbreak of Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease.

Apparently there's been an outbreak of such cases in the area recently, and the principal of Talent Plus group came to inspect the branch here yesterday, and was astonished our branch washed the toddlers' hands with water instead of the anti-bacterial lotion used in other branches.

So today all parents were not allowed into the main room of the RC. Each child was supposed to be seated just inside the entrance of the doorway, where the teacher would inspect the mouth, hands & feet of the toddler with gloved hands, before squirting some anti-bacterial lotion on the hands for cleaning purposes.

Well, after 1.5 mths of the old routine parents/grandparents/maids accompanying the toddlers all the way into the small classroom & taking their shoes off & washing their hands, most of the toddlers were appalled at having someone else trying to do it for them. The 3rd girl in the queue started crying & refused to sit down on the chair for inspection, clinging on to her grandfather. That started the rest of the children in the queue, including my Sam, crying too.

The assistant teacher resorted to letting the adults into the doorway of the main room to help take of the children's shoes, and the poor teacher had to peer into the screaming toddlers' mouth for the inspection, raising the soles of feet dangling in the air while hands were tightly clasped around the parents' necks.

Really, starting a new routine at this time is like starting a new school term all over again. Good luck to the teachers! And I'm expecting an unsettled Sam over the next few days to school again........

How to Enjoy The National Museum with a Toddler

Don't bring the toddler along!!!


No, seriously, there was no way I could enjoy the exhibits in the Singapore National Museum properly with 2-year-9-month-old Sam turning the whole place into his own personal playground.

About the only time I had him under my control was when we were descending the stairs, hand in hand. The other times, he was running around the Film & Wayang exhibition room, touching every exhibit he could get his hands on & sending shrills of terror down my spine. The swinging pendulum art installation only held his attention for several minutes.

In the Singapore History Archives, I couldn't concentrate on my own audio guide, not when Sam was running ahead in the dark room, and then running back demanding to be brought out to the light where it was more interesting. I only made it as far as Raffles discovering Singapore before I gave up & left the room.

Hubby & in-laws all agreed the museum was worth the trip, esp. since we got in free, thanks to the 2009 sms initiative by the Tourism Board. And thank goodness I didn't have to pay for the ticket, cos it was a total waste of my time trying to entertain Sam in the big, empty, building (hubby was right - the Museum was about the only tourist attraction left of the 5 that would still have free tickets on Sunday).

After a mere half hour in the Museum, I gave up & brought Sam outside to the museum grounds, in a desparate attempt to keep him entertained & perhaps see the art installations outside. Well, it turned out to be a hot & sunny noon, I found only the "Seeds" installation after touring half the grounds, and Sam was entertained not by the garden/grass/flowers, but by the water cooler at the bottom of the escalator leading up to Fort Canning.

We must have spent nearly 10 min out there in the heat, while I drank water, then Sam pressed the button for me to drink water, I pressed for Sam to drink water, then Sam pressed for me to drink water, and so on and so on and so on.

I've never found a 45 min visit to a Museum so physically tiring! The Singapore National Museum is definitely not a place to bring toddlers!!!!!

Sam Learning in School

Sam's been attending the playgroup for about 1 month now, and today I realised how much that had affected him:

For one thing, when we were out today, he started going for the girls of his same age group. ;)
In the past, he usually went after the older girls, all the big 'jie-jie'. But today, the little girl he approached at Changi Beach & the little gal he was actively trying to engage in play (unfortunately for him, the gal was actively eating satay) were barely taller than him.
So I guess he must have gotten used to playing with people of similar ages in the playgroup.

He's also obviously learnt something in school, even though he always replies 'no, no, no' whenever I asked him what he did in school. During our dinner in Newton Circus just now, he started clapping his hands when he heard a song being played. Then, he asked us to clap too! I felt rather silly clapping to the music in the hawker centre. ;P

And tonight, he actually said the word "teacher", and demonstrated to me how the teacher blew bubbles in school!

Wow! Am I glad I took the trouble to send him to the 2-hr playgroup! Can't wait for him to get into the childcare centre and learn independance!!!!!!

My New Job

Just realised I haven't blogged about my new job yet, so here it is:

Me got a part-time job as Tour Faciliator with this company Singapore History Consultants. It's like a tour guide, only I'm not licensed so can only take on groups for Singaporeans. Right now training for a Military Defence tour, to introduce Singapore's WWII history to our NS men. Next 2 months will continue to be trained for other tour, including a Kampong Glam tour to introduce our school children to the rich Malay culture. Read the company's website to understand more.......

Me rather excited about this job. A lot of training involved at this stage, but at least I find the job meaningful, and it's gratifying to know the company is putting in so much effort to train us: 4 days/2 weeks, trained personally by our big boss himself, the 2nd in command, & the head of research no less.

So even I myself am surprised at the readiness at which I dwell into WWII history, which wasn't one of my favourite topics in schooling days. But now I find a point to the stories, and a reason to relate them in these peace times, so I guess I got myself a suitable job in that sense. ;)

Oh, if you have any foreign friends visiting S'pore, you may want them to check out our island in a totally different perspective, thro' historical & cultural walks by our sister company, Journeys. ;)

P.S. In case anyone asking, I have to sign a 2 yr bond with the company, and I'm paid in cash only, no CPF or any medical benefits.

Sam the Biter

Sam went back to school after a 2.5 week long break. Today brought in-laws when sending him to the playgroup, since next week they'll have to send Sam when I go to work.

As we leave Sam started crying, as expected. Actually, I had thought the teacher would have to pry him from my shoulders, but surprisingly Sam understood he's supposed to go to school, he just didn't want to. Hence he cried all the way when he got down from my arms and walked into the classroom himself, by which time I've left hurriedly since the crying really got to me.

So when I went to fetch Sam 2 hrs later, I was half expecting the teacher to tell me Sam's cried for 2 hrs non-stop.

Instead, I got my 1st complaint: Sam had bitten another classmate in school!!!!!

Apparently, he was playing amiciably with another girl in class. Next moment the teacher knew, the poor girl was crying loudly, as Sam had bitten her on the stomach! Apparently the teeth marks were painfully clear, & the bitten area was a bit blue-black. So the girl's parents were notified who rushed her to the doctor before the end of class.

So now I'm kinda dreading sending Sam to school tomorrow. Possibly the parents of the poor girl would ask us to pay for the doctor's bill (I have no doubt the injury was not serious, since hubby got several such bites), and I'll have to apologise profusely, all the time knowing that while we've repeatedly told Sam not to bite - for fun or in anger - there's no way I can actually control his behaviour in school.

Sam will probably be on the teacher's black list from now on.........well, I suppose the extra attention would do him no harm......... ;P

Sam' Animal Impersonation

I don't know where Sam learnt to do this, but I watch with glee as he pretends to be a frog, a dog, a tortoise & a cat in turn, complete with barks & meows, specially for the camera-phone:

After this recording, then Sam show his latest impersonation - a rabbit! Must try to capture that on video some day........

Sam Still Sick

Brought Sam to the paediatrician again this morning, cos his fever is still recurring (every 12 hrs on average), his nose is still running (greenish mucus now), and he's still coughing to clear the phlegm in his throat. Dr Ong prescribed a whole new batch of medicine plus antibiotics, since Sam's already been down for a week already. Hopefully he'll get better by CNY..........

This means Sam can't go to playgroup this week! And I'll be stuck at home too!!!!!!! Urgh!!!!!!

But hee, since I don't have the number to Sam's playgroup yet, I'm planning to drop over (without Sam, of course) tomorrow to inform the teachers of Sam's condition. Hopefully I'll have a bit of time to shop for 2 more tops for CNY & a new pencil case for my new job.

Yes, I've got a job! It's a part time job, as a 'tour faciliator'. Basically, it's like being a tour guide, but only to upper primary & lower secondary school students, introducing them to cultural & historical tours. This Thurs will be starting my 1st training........a lot of training to be done before can conduct the tours. Thank goodness Mummy can help me out!!!!!

Looking forward to this Thurs, already gotten my file & paper & bag ready, the 1st 2 batches of training on WWII, not my fav, but can't wait for the sculpture tours in March & April........

Now Sam can't go to school, it's a real pain in the neck, hopefully Mummy can handle him & all the medicine feeding..........

Recent Update

Haven't blogged for ages......had been a rather terrible start to the year 2009.

Brought our 1st maid home on the 2nd. Now she still can't speak much English, me communicating by sign language & my English-Indonesian dictionary. Luckily MIL trained her quite well, so now I only have to think of how to occupy her afternoons in my MIL's absence.

I kena stomach flu on the 4th. Threw up all the hot chocolate from Max & diaherra some more. Now have stopped medication, but my digestive system still delicate, can only finish half a bowl of rice at dinner now, eating noodles makes me feel bloated, so still avoiding all things with milk, oily food, sour & spicy food too. And I only lost a little weight!!!!

Had to go for a job interview on the 5th after a purely liquid diet on the 4th. Survived the morning on a continuous flow of sweets!

Then, still weak, had to bring Sam for his 1st day at playgroup on the 6th. We parents had to leave our crying children in the hands of the teachers for an hr from the 7th onwards. Sam seemed to have adjusted well, by Fri he was greeting me with smiles even though he left me crying.

Only to find him starting running nose that very night. By Sat night he had fever, by Sun morn he burned up to 39 degC. Couldn't manage to get an appointment with his regular pediatrician over the weekend, and ended up making 3 trips to our family doctor, one of which was wasted cos the morning registration was full already!

Now hoping Sam's fever will stay down over the night, then tomorrow I only have to worry about the phlegm that seemed to have settled in his throat causing him to cough...............