Batam Day 1

The kids woke up at 8am and started chatting excitedly about Batam! It wasn't difficult to get them ready and we headed to bfast before the long journey to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

My brother's family arrived shortly before us. As expected, the ferry terminal was so crowded. We aren't the only Singaporeans who took advantage of the long weekend.

It was a long wait before it was finally time to board. The ferry was delayed probably bcos there were too many people heading to Batam. We had plenty of pictures while waiting.

The sea was rough but Daddy Lim had a good nap. He looked totally comfortable. He really can sleep anywhere. Look at his position! It started raining and the boat was rocking but Daddy Lim wasn't at all affected.  Steady lah.

Finally we have arrived!

The boat journey was supposed to take 40 mins. The kids had been warned to be really quiet upon arrival. I don't know if the custom still turns people back for being too noisy but we didn't want to try. The kids, even Lil Isaac were really well behaved and we cleared the custom smoothly. I was so glad that the q was cleared really quickly.

There was hotel provided transfer. We didn't have to wait very long for the bus. I was surprised that everything went so smooth and so fast. They were much efficient than I thoight they would. Well, until we arrived at the hotel....

The checking in took a long time even though there werent that many in the q. Finally, we got our room. I asked Daddy Lim to pose and he was definitely at ease.

It was lunch time and we headed to the only restaurant in the hotel for lunch. We waited like forever but didn't get served. The staff were running around without getting much done. They apparently cant take stress. Blehh. Eventually, we headed back to the hotel for cup noodles instead. Haha, our 1st meal in Batam. Well, the kids appeared to be happier to play toys while eating cup noodles then sit in the boring restaurant, waiting for somebody to serve us.

The rain came on and off. The kids were bored and so we threw them into the pool! There is either no safety standard or it was safe to swim bcos there was no thunder storm. It drizzle on and off but people were still swimming. The rain became heavier we turned back to the hotel. The kids swop to dip in bath tub instead. More soaking. It must be a competition to see who turn into a prune 1st. Lol.

The weather was kinder in the late afternoon and we went to explore the tiny beach right beside the hotel. Though tiny, it was decent and  we spent a good 1 hr. Kids were picking sea shells.

The beach cat!

We brought Lil Isaac to explore the water breaker.

We then walked to the kelong for dinner and had to wait 1 Jr before the restaurant starts operation. The jetty was beside the restaurant and there were 2 uncles fishing. One of them was super good. He caught so many fishes in that 1 hr we were there. The kids were very well entertained by the dying fishes. So sadist.

More pictures.

We headed back to the restaurant when it almost time for dinner. Lil Isaac ran, fell and hurt himself. Faint. Luckily it wasn't that bad.

Dinner was good especially when we were all so hungry. Midway through dinner, the little boy fell asleep. It was 7ish Singapore time and Batam  is 1 hr behind. Let's see what time he wakes up tomorrow. Duh! We all had an early night.

Mummy Lim

Irritating Bus Auntie

Lil Shauna takes school bus to school. Other than the bus driver, there is a bus auntie that looks after the kids. She is super irritating.

My 1st encounter with her over the phone was very early into the school year when we 1st picked Lil Shauna from school without informing the auntie. It was my fault. I had thought that Popo would have told her. So I take it when I had that bus auntie yelling over the phone. Fine.

The next time I spoke to her, Lil Shauna was slightly late for the school bus. She called me and complained that Lil Shauna was late. When I managed to reach Popo, I understood that Lil Shauna had managed to board the school bus. The 3rd occasion, I was busy at work and she called to complain again the same thing. In her irritating “I-am-right” tone, she complained that Lil Shauna wasn't at the pickup point and she cannot wait bcos she has other kids to pick. It was obvious that her intention was to inform that the bus cannot wait but I cannot understand why she had to use that demeaning tone. I couldn't be bothered to plead with her and ask her to go ahead since she cant wait. I also thought that Popo should be taught a lesson to be punctual. Popo ended up sending the girl to school instead.

Yday was the National Day celebration in school. All the kids were to report to school at 7.30am. The school bus would be picking Lil Shauna at 6.15am. It was super early. We could actually send Lil Shauna to school ourselves but figured that she would arrived very early and worried that she would have to wait alone in school. So, we still opted for the school bus.

It was a mad rush in the morning trying to get myself and the little girl ready. We ran to the bus pick up point and I was very sure that we were on the dot. The bus was nowhere in sight. We waited and still didn't see the bus nor her school mates. It is ok if we did miss the bus, we could send her to school ourselves.

I called the bus auntie to check. In her irritating voice, she said that the bus has left bcos we were late. I replied that we weren’t late but on the dot. I was still calm bcos there was an alternative of sending Lil Shauna to school ourselves. It was only when she retaliated that we have to be 5 mins early, as always the case with school bus pickup that I flared. It is Ok for the bus to leave without Lil Shauna bcos we were not at the pickup point. However, the bus auntie made it sounded that it is our fault when we were on time. She didn't even have the decency to call to check. Moreover, it is 6.15am in the morning. A 5 mins is a lot of difference at 6.15am as compared to 11am (her usual pick up time).  Pui!

We packed Lil Shauna into the car and arrived in school in less than 10 mins. I was airing my displease to Daddy Lim the moment I boarded the car about the auntie’s attitude. Happily, Lil Shauna chirped in, “ya, that auntie attitude.” Haha. She then complained how the auntie doesn't watch time herself on some other occasions. 

At least Lil Shauna gets to school safe and sound and you can tell how happy she was to travel to school in the comfort of Pappy’s car. I was also glad to know that there were other kids in school when we arrived. At least she wouldn't be alone. Daddy Lim even encouraged her to explore the school before the sun comes up. Seeing the school in a new way, as he said it. Zzzzz.

Mummy Lim 

Trap

Daddy Lim mentioned that he had a department gathering in WCP on Saturday. I had envisioned it to be a BBQ in the quieter part of WCP where the BBQ pits are located. I don't know why I had that perception. I even asked him to prep the kids and my rollebrblade, thinking that we could do some rollerblading while he socialized with his colleagues.

Come Saturday, while driving to WCP, I realized that I am in my own dream world. He corrected that he had never mentioned that it would be a BBQ. Buffet was catered. I had somehow forgotten that his department is mainly foreign workers and there are too many of them (and very hungry) to have a proper BBQ. Daddy Lim said that there could be easily 100 of them.

The meeting place was the pavilion right in front of the big field. The kids were super excited, not that they had wanted to meet Daddy Lim’s colleagues but they couldn't wait to go to the playground. Well, at least the kids were well-entertained for a good hour while Daddy Lim performed his “duties”. It also never fails to amaze me how kids can be so happy and spend so much time playing in the playground. Moreover, we had been to the WCP playground countless times. Well, I am happy so long as they are. 

At certain point, we found some shallow holes dug in the sand by some other kids. Ill-prepared for sand play, I decided to reap on somebody’s labor and taught the kids how to build a “trap” using the ready dug holes. The kids had fun and spent time gathering sticks and leaves to camouflage their trap. I sat nearby, happily giving instructions and eye powering them. Not bad. Haha.

The trap turned out really well. Then we destroyed in by pretending to fall for the trap. Haha. It reminds me of my childhood actually.

It was dinner time. We joined Daddy Lim and watched his colleagues complete in a game of tug of war. Lil Shauna so wanted to join one of the teams and “help” the colleagues. I refused. I can already imagine big men falling over her. Sorry baby. I decided to bring the kids to MacDonalds for dinner instead of the buffet dinner. I think Daddy Lim’s colleagues would be super hungry and can imagine the crowd and mess. It turned out to be a fantastic choice bcos the buffet dinner was some nasi bryani and plenty of curry. We had an easy dinner of burgers in the air con and finished off with ice cream. Yum.

The gathering didn't turn out the way that I thought that it would. Nevertheless, mission accomplished and the kids had fun. 

Mummy Lim

Almost There

I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. I had been looking forward to the trips and suddenly, we are heading to Batam this WEEKEND! The bag is almost packed. I just have to throw in a few more things and we are done. I am looking forward to doing nothing much in Batam. I know that Batam isn’t the ideal holiday destination but I am just happy to be on a holiday. The kids are happy to be able to spend time with their cousins too. Lil Shauna told us that she would want to sleep in the hotel room with the cousins and the room will be out of bounds to adults. Ha!

I am not sure what we would be doing in Batam. We booked the accommodation fairly late and had to settle for a hotel without a kids’ club. I guess there will just be a lot of swimming and I hope that the hotel will at least have a decent pool. It would be fantastic if Daddy Lim and I could have the opportunity to sneak in a massage. Muahahahaha.

At the end of the month, I am heading to Geneva for my annual business trip. Oh gosh, it will be happening so soon! I am guilty to say that I am actually looking forward to the trip! Oops, sorry kids. The 1st time that I was in Geneva without the kids was 2 years back. I miss them so much initially and attempted to skype with them but they couldn't be bothered to talk to me. Towards the end of the trip, I even enjoyed the time away from the kids. Haha. Maybe bcos the kids are older and more independent now, I am quite sure that they would do fantastic without me. I am drawing up a detail chart of what is supposed to happen when during my absence, so that Daddy Lim would remember to send the kids to their enrichment classes and the kids would be able to hand in their homework on time. Lol. 

I am super looking forward to seeing ah yee. We last met in February and it had been half a year. We will have an almost full day to spend together on Sunday and she will bunk in with me until Thursday. I am hoping that there would be free evenings during the week where I would get to at least have dinners with her. I had initially thought of visiting her in Paris before or after the business trip but time just doesn't permit.

Ah yee, quick, tell me what else you need me to bring over!

Mummy Lim

  

Improvements

After the 20 mins meltdown during previous Saturday’s Taekwondo class, I was sure to prepare the little tiger for last Saturday class. 1st of all, he had plenty of sleep and was still in lala land when I left the house with the princess for ice skating. Checked.

When I took him over from Popo, I reminded him so many times that I have to wait for him outside of the class. If he cries and fusses, Master Kim (teachers are known as masters) would ask me to hide. The class turns out well. He was clingy at 1st, opting for a spot near to the glass door where I was standing. Then one of the masters urged him to move to the front and that was the last time that he bothered to look at me. Zzzzz. I managed to take proper pictures of him. He looked super smart. 

His masters are all Koreans. They could all be brothers bcos they are all Master Kim. Then again, “Kim” is such a common surname in Korea. There are usually 4 Master Kims in class. This particular young Master Kim is super handsome, typical handsome Korean look. Woohoo! I happened to show Lil Shauna a video of the handsome Master Kim teaching Lil Isaac. Even Lil Shauna agreed that he is handsome and she would want such a handsome boyfriend in the future. Haha. Let me steal a picture of him the next lesson. Lol.

Sorry for digressing, couldn't help it. ;p
Lil Isaac’s favourite has to be play time. The lessons incorporate some play time for the little ones each lesson, helping them to hone motor skills and teamwork. The masters are innovative and the kids always had fun.

There are times that the kids are made to sit still and wait for their turns. I supposed this is when they learn patience?

I was glad that there were no tears. Hopefully, he would get less clingy over time. 

On Sunday, we headed down to church. Lil Isaac managed to stay alone in Sunday school for a while for snacks and craft time and I had wanted to leave midway of bible story on Sunday. I was worried that I couldn't bcos we skipped church last Sunday - I was way too exhausted after Daddy Lim’s late Saturday night poly gathering. He was initially clingy but the auntie leading worship was very energetic and Lil Isaac enjoyed worship very much, jumping around with the other kids. Then bible story time was super interesting too. He whined when I told him that I was leaving but decided that it wasn't such a big deal and went back to join his friends for the bible story. Yeah! Another milestone. I did peep on him midway and saw him watching the cartoon of Jonah very intently. When I went back for him at the end of Sunday school, he was happy with his craft work. No tears! Ah, I am so joyful. I hope there will be a time that I can finally leave him alone in Sunday class. Yes, we will get there one day. 

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 19

I love rainy mornings. We managed to sneak out of the house while the boy continued to snooze bcos it was so nice to sleep in. Haha. Though I didnt get to snuggle in bed, at least I don't have to struggle with Popo in the morning and get all upset.

August is here and all Secondary School kids skate for free this month. I expected the rink to be crowded. To make things worse, Yuhua cc some youth outreach had an excursion to the rink in celebration of SG50. Yes, it was crowded but it wasn't as bad as when it was free entry for Poly students in May. Lil Shauna managed to practice what she needed before class. Did you see the sea of red?

Before class, we met Teach Raymond and he mentioned that there is a competition taking place "here" on 1st & 2nd September.  He wanted Lil Shauna to take part if we could meet the time schedule. He would be emailing me the details. Isn't that school days? Lil Shauna was all shy and said that she didn't want to join a competition.  We will see how it goes after I receive the details. I didn't expect her to win anything but I think it would be a great experience for her.

Lil Shauna went for her class as usual and did fairly well. She was still looking down many times and her arms aren't perfect. But to laugh it off for me makes life easier for both of us. Teacher Raymond practice some of the front and back crossovers with her and I have to say that she looks great, putting effort to hold her posture in place. How I wish all lessons were this good. Haha.

She didn't learn new moves but Teacher Raymond combine this Mohawk with that twist, this hop with that ccrossovers and tadah! No wonder Lil Shauna felt that she learnt something new every lesson.

After class, we met XY's mum. She commented that Lil Shauna improved a lot. Really? Maybe.... u made sure that I conveyed the message to LIL Shauna. I thought Lil Shauna pushed more too. Her strokes are a little stronger and in place. As to whether bcos of that harsh session with her or she just suddenly get it, I don't know. I am just happy that she is improving.

Mummy Lim

School

Lil Shauna came back with this on Thursday. Popo said that she was super proud and happily declared her achievement.

Lil Shauna said that there is one winner per class per month. I wasn't surprised that Lil Shauna received the award. I would be surprised if she doesn't. Her kindy teachers were all singing her praises when I went for Lil Isaac's PTM last term. She's usually quiet in class, well-behaved and cooperative - the kind of students that teachers would love bcos they seldom make troubles. Haha.

Today, Lil Shauna didn't have to go to school. I think the P6 were having some prelims. The school should just give these kids a holiday.  Instead, they were supposed to log on to a website to do assignments! They were even given a time table to follow.

I taught Lil Shauna how to login to the website last night. It wasn't alien, she had done so severe times in school. However, Daddy Lim's gaming mouse is super irritating, racing across the screen. Even when I adjusted it to the lowest sensitivity, it was still dancing everywhere on the screen. Arrggghhh. I wasn't sure how successful Lil Shauna would be in logging in but she was given until Sunday night to complete her assignments despite the timetable.  The school probably know that many kids would have problem logging the totally user unfriendly platform if they have working parents, like us. Even I had some trouble navigating the site.

I called Lil Shauna in the afternoon and she said that she managed to login and finished her assignments. I was secretly hoping that it was true. Unfortunately, almost nothing was done when I checked just now. Lil Shauna must be hallucinating. Popo said that she was on the computer for barely 10 mins and claimed that she had enuff. Win already.

The mouse and keyboard proved to be a big challenge for her. In the end, she read out the answers and I either helped her to click on the answers or type them in. Otherwise, she will probably be in front of the computer for the whole night. She takes painfully long to move the cursor to the right place and find the letters on the keyboard.

I don't quite understand the school's enthusiasm in introducing the computer to the kids. As they grow a little older, I am quite sure that we would have trouble trying to pull them away from the computer screen. So, why rush?

Mummy Lim

Holiday

Did you see this? 

Did you see me dancing around with joy! Daebak! I am so waiting to see this headline.

It is still a long way to go before our Korea holiday. How prepared are we?
Itinerary – almost done
Air ticket – booked!
Hotel – booked!
What is left is basically to pack the bags and also to bring lots of $$ to spend in Korea! Muahahaha.

Actually, we didn't have much in our wardrobe for a winter holiday except what we bought 3 years back, also for Korea. The kids have grown out of most of the clothes. They will need new clothes, shoes and winter accessories to withstand the winter cold. We would be traveling on our own this time and it would be super important to make sure that they are warm, so that they can walk. I am buying some winter apt clothes as and when I see them on sale so that the hole in our pocket doesn't suddenly hit us so hard. I seriously wouldnt want to spend so much on winter clothing. They rarely wore what we bought for them the last time. I think the winter jacket was worn only once. Luckily those were 2nd hand, bought at $10. Thus, pls let me know if there are any aunties who have thick clothes to loan the kids or me. We dont need the outer jackets, got those for the kids from our Ho Chi Minh trip. Hehehe.

Korea, annyeonghaseyo!

Meanwhile, let me keep my sight on the upcoming Bali trip. Hohoho. I hope the volcano activity would quickly die down. I have just bought our travel insurance that covers cancellation fees incurred due to natural disasters. Let’s hope that we wouldn't need to claim anything at all. We would be booking for our accommodation really soon. Woohoo!

Mummy Lim  

Homework

Ever since Lil Isaac starts K1, we make sure that we set aside some time for homework almost everyday. He only receives his school homework at the end of the week and we try to complete those on Friday night itself so that we need not worry about homework over the weekend. His homework is generally writing and sometimes I had to coax him so much to do the boring writing. The school has also started the K1 kids on spelling and 听写.

On other days, Lil Isaac works on the work (generally phonics and writing related work) that we gave him. Now that he has been promoted to Liftoff, he has plenty of sight words and passages to read.

Mummy is generally able to manage all kind of homework with Lil Isaac except for phonics passages reading. He would whine and bargain and bully me. Reading becomes so painful and so I outsourced that to Daddy Lim. Haha. Lil Isaac's nonsense generally diminished in front of Daddy Lim.

Lil Shauna is usually very independent with her homework and only need easy guidance. All is generally well except for Maths enrichment homework. She is learning multiplications now and can sometimes squirm everywhere before she finally completes 1 page of sums.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 18

We still couldn't escape Lil Isaac who woke up bright and early. He didn't fuss but Lil Shauna and I tried as best as we could to run out of the house. As a result, I forgot her student pass and my jacket. Luckily we weren’t asked for her pass and she was still granted free entry. I had to buy a new jacket though, from the only fashion shop that was opened at 10am in JCube for $40. I opted for one thick jacket, so that I could bring it to Korea at the end of the year. Hehehe.

After 2 weeks of agony, I decided to switch tactic. This week, I opted to be extra nice to LIL Shauna and encouraged her plenty. Interestingly, she performed better. Apparently our princess doesn't work with the stick. Bleh.. I took some videos of her practice too so that she can better visualize what were wrong and tried to correct. She still has plenty of little mistakes but I guess those really have to correct slowly and with plenty of practice. Did she hold her head and arms up constantly? Of course not. Her head was held up when I reminded her but her arms were still everywhere. 

Then again, when I do compare her to months back, she really did improve so much. She could now glide very effortless on the ice front and backwards and whatever. She went for her class and did fairly well. I saw Teacher Raymond correcting her arms and head so many times and chose to laugh it off. That way, it becomes more bearable for me too. She learnt a new jump during the last class!

After class, Teacher Raymond commented that it is so tough to even hear a single word from her! He also said that her Waltz jump (so that is what it is called) is better. At least she is now stable after she landed. He said that she still needed to work on her speed. Otherwise, she would not have the speed to execute the moves. Zzzzzz. 

Well, it looks like I have to be the one to change my expectation. In that way, ice skating more enjoyable for both of us. 

In the afternoon, I brought Lil Isaac to his Taekwondo class and it was a mini disaster. He woke up too early and Popo brought him out at 9ish bcos he was too noisy at home. Ended up, he was tired and became super cranky. He refused to let me to leave the room when the walls are glass and he can see me standing right outside! The teacher insisted that I leave and in fact away from his sight, which resulted in a mega melt down. Fortunately, he did calm down when the real kicking and punching started and was able to join his class after 20 mins of crying. He was super tired after his class and had like a 45 mins nap, a much needed nap to sustain him for the rest of the long afternoon and night at Daddy Lim’s poly gathering. The kids had a blast at the gathering. 

So, all went well but we were all so very tired.

Mummy Lim