Sick for a Long Time

It should have been about 4 weeks back. Lil Isaac developed this chesty cough. He was still very much active and went about his classes and daily activities. However, you can hear like huge amount of phlegm when he coughed. Unfortunately, he hasn't mastered the art of ah-pui and swallowed whatever that he coughed up. He soon passed the virus to Lil Shauna, who recovered in less than a week given that she spitted like a master. Lol.

The chesty cough was reduced to a dry cough and he coughed like a broken down car, especially in the night. I bet his throat must itch like hell. There were even nights that he coughed so much that he vomited. Things seemed to have turned for the better. Then he came down with a mild fever for a few days last week. We gave him paracetamol and the fever went away. I would like to think that his body was fighting against the virus, thus the fever. And when the fever broke, I had expected that he would finally rise above the virus and be healthy. I was right… for a while.

He seemed better… but appeared to have caught a flu a few days back! He started sniffling, sneezing and his little nose was choked. The mucus probably back flow when he lay down and triggered coughing fits during bedtime. It didn't help that Lil Isaac loves to exaggerate and often made the cough sounded worse than it probably was. Sleep was also often interrupted by a few episodes of coughing in the night. His little nose and cough would act up in the morning and evenings to night. 

Yday, we were in the car and on the way to town to pick up Daddy Lim’s new toy. Lil Isaac’s little nose started acting up, which irritated his throat and he kept coughing. As he has been sick and coughing since like forever, we got worried and finally decided to send him to a doctor instead of relying on over the counter medicine.

He did cough like a “champion” in the clinic for the doctor to hear. The doctor affirmed that it is nothing serious – his lungs are cleared. We were told to bring him back to the clinic for antibiotics if things don’t improve in 3 to 5 days and we were given drugs that could be easily purchased over the counter, some of which we already have at home. I think we came to the doctor and literally paid to have a piece of mind. 

To make it feels like we have done right to send Lil Isaac to the doctor, I would like to think that the medicine works better than what we used to give him. He seemed to cough less intensely last night and was knocked out fairly quickly. I love drowsy medicine. I think he stirred less last night too. Otherwise, it must be the case that he was way too tired or I am and couldn't hear a thing. Lol.

Pls get well soon.

Mummy Lim

Christmas Gathering

We had the usual mega SHSS girls’ Christmas celebration on Saturday. Auntie SR organized a brunch at District 10 located at UE Square. District 10 is somewhat like a pub and eating place. It is a marvelous venue given that there wasn't much crowd and the restaurant had set up a bouncing castle on weekends, specifically to lure families with kids for brunches. We opted for the outdoor seating area, right next to the bouncing castle, so that we could watch over the kids while they go crazy in the castle. It was almost just us in the bouncing castle throughout.

Daddy Lim had to work and we took a cab to District 10. We also had a peaceful morning given that Popo headed off to the casino the night before. There was no intense washing, wiping, yelling at the kids to stay still or to or not to do this or that. We made simple sandwiches using bread mould and the kids were thrilled. 

We were the 1st to arrive at the restaurant and as expected, the kids automatically checked out the bouncing castle. The rest joined us shortly.

The timing was perfect. The kids had a blast while the adults took some time to catch up and ordered lunch. There were plenty of we-fies taken. We almost had full strength less Auntie H, who had to b confined at home and Auntie J, who had to other commitments.

The kids obediently returned to the table for lunch when the food was served. It was then that the other patrons’ kids dare ventured into the bouncing castle; our kids were just too rowdy. That didn't last long too bcos lunch was over fairly quickly and our kids returned for round 2. By then, the kids were also growing bored, especially Lil Isaac who couldn't wait to receive his Christmas presents.

We lined the presents on the table and there were so many presents. 

Soon, the kids started gathering around the table. There was so much excitement.

The kids were made to line up in order of height and they went down the table collecting their presents. This made me realised how tall our kids are. Each kid received 7 gifts and they had to go around with a bag to carry everything. It was quite comical. I went for the gathering with a paper bag, thinking that I would come home easier after the gathering but ended up with 2 bags of gifts! 

Lil Isaac was all smiley. He loves receiving presents and he was so happy to received so many presents, big and small. 

The gathering ended at 2ish and we headed over to Auntie H’s place to pick up a guitar that Daddy Lim has loaned from Uncle C. The intention was to pick up and go. I still think that Auntie H needed her rest but the whole world thinks that we should stay, except for Lollipop who didn't really say much bcos she was mostly sleeping, nursing and pooing during our time there. Then it had to rain and we had to forgo our intention to go to the park. In the end, we stayed until after dinner. Auntie H’s mummy cooked us a very delicious dinner. 

It was a great gathering. Auntie P also helped to put together past year Christmas gathering pictures. Awsome!

Mummy Lim

Dreams Fulfilled... Almost

I have always looked forward to the day where we would go rollerblading as a family at the park. It took some time before Lil Shauna masters how to rollerblade. Then it was Lil Isaac’s turn. Unlike jiejie who started later, he ended up with plenty of knocks and falls in his learning journey. Furthermore, he is so impatient and is always looking at performing tricks when he can barely skate proficiently. Faint. But finally, we are almost there.

For Christmas, Daddy Lim and I bought rollerblades for each other. We could have skated together if it hadn’t been so rainy recently. It rained every weekend afternoon. ZZZZZZzzzz. We finally got our chance on Sunday. We dated my brother’s family to WCP and finally got the change to rollerblade as a family. Unfortunately, Lil Isaac was lured by the playground and didn't last very long. He also didn't have the stamina to go far. He fell a couple of times but was considered as doing really well as compared to when he first started.

Lil Shauna did so much better. She rollerblade really well and was fast enuff to catch up with Daddy Lim and myself when we did a round without Lil Isaac. This was remarkable given that our skates were much better than hers and our wheels were bigger too. It was definitely a great work-out for her. Lol.

So, I am looking for many more such opportunities in the future. It is a dream almost fulfilled. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Christmas Day

What can be happier on Christmas Day than opening presents? 

Mummy “opened” her Christmas present too. I finally donned on my new skate from Daddy Lim. We were rollerblading at the void deck while waiting for Daddy Lim to fetch us for our afternoon program. Lil Shauna opted to learn new tricks on her Heelys. My rollerblades were bought a couple of weeks back but we never get down to rollerblading bcos it had been raining every single weekend late afternoon. Daddy Lim said that the rollerblades must have been doing rain dance in our storeroom. Lol.

We met C and T at Suntec Polliwogs. The kids spent the afternoon jumping and running and climbing away while the parents attempted to hide at the table until we were dragged to go play or do something with the kids. I think they will soon outgrow indoor playground. 

We had dinner and Suntec, following by delicious ice cream to end our Christmas! We had thought about going to the park with C and T but it was just unfortunate that we live in 2 different ends of Singapore. The sky would be dark by the time we travel to a central park. We parted ways after ice cream. Daddy Lim contemplated of going to the Jurong central park for rollerblading on our way home but it is no wonder that thunder clouds were on our heel. Of course Singapore has to rain on Christmas day given that we have no snow. 

We went home and took turns playing Lil Isaac’s new table soccer. At the violent rate that we are playing, his table soccer that is largely made of plastic, wouldn’t last very long. Lol.

Mummy Lim 

Happy Christmas Eve

We had a busy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
On Christmas Eve, I have a half work day and dated my brother's family to JBP in the afternoon. We have to fully utilise our annual pass. The weather was lovely - it was sunny but not unbearably hot.

We toured JBP and fed the lory birds. I was actually worried bcos Daddy Lim was still at work and hadn't joined us but Lil Shauna was so brave despite the birds that seem to be dashing everywhere.

We also caught a show. The park wasn't crowded and Lil Shauna volunteered when they asked for one. Nope, she wasn't overly brave but knew exactly what she had to do, having caught the exact same show about a week back. Lil Isaac wanted to volunteer too but he was way too little to be involved in any of the acts.

After the show, we headed to the kids' favorite part - the water playground. It must be super nice to dip in the cool water after a hot day.

Daddy Lim joined us after work and so did the dark clouds. We left the playground and JBP when we were threatened by thunder storm clouds.

After dinner, my brother's family came over to our place. It was so nice. It had been a long time since we had visitors. The last time was Uncle C, which was 1 year ago. We haven't hosted since our last maid went away. Popo needs to clean and sanitise our entire house if we ever have guests. Haiz. We had a great time bonding over kinect.  Oopsy for the backside shot. Haha.

Merry Christmas!

Mummy Lim

Bye Bye 2014

I cant believe that Christmas is 2 days away and year 2014 will be over in like 8 days time. I cant even remember what I have achieved this year other than travelled overseas every quarter. Muahahaha. This would be a record that is hard to keep up given that our princess starts Primary school next year. 

When I looked at my year 2014 resolutions, none of them can be proudly ticked off. Sob. I do have some that are semi-completed though. Self-comforting. This makes setting New Year resolutions very easy – I only have to port the year 2014 resolutions to year 2015.Hmmm.. sound familiar..

Most of Christmas presents have been bought and wrapped up. The kids have got their wish list too. Lil Shauna’s present is so expensive and she understands that she cannot ask for any other big items until her bday. 

Lil Isaac bought a table soccer toy. He fell in love with it after playing it at QQ’s house. He can only open his present on Christmas day. Talking about toys, I just threw 5 bags on toys into the recycle bins yday, most of them are still in good condition just that the kids had outgrew those toys. The toys had been sitting on our toy shelf for like forever and gathering dust. 

I like Christmas. I like the festive mood. I like to give and receive presents. My environmentally wrapped presents for my colleagues and the colourfully wrapped presents that I received.

Merry Christmas people. Happy New Year too.

Mummy Lim

My Little Gym

Lil Isaac really adores his gym class and he loves his teachers. When Lil Shauna was attending My Little Gym class, she didn't show as much enthusiasm as Lil Isaac. Lil Isaac's eyes shone when we talk about his classes. Like today, he was napping on the way to gym class but jumped out of the stroller and straight into his class when he saw Teacher Richie in the class. I didn't even have to cajole him like we usually need to. 

He looked like he had plenty of fun in class.

Today is the last of his class and I am wonder if I should continue. The classes are really expensive and they don't really learn a specific skills basically just coordination. I do like how Lil Isaac learns how to climb and jump safely in class and to wait for his turn. There isn't much otherwise. 

Maybe we would stop for a term. Hmmm.. let's see.

Mummy Lim

Core 4 Lesson 5

Lil Shauna had the last of her core lessons. Today is also test day and it seems like every single student cleared the test. I think Teacher Sally was really lenient with the students. In fact, I think all the teachers are. So long as the students are able to do somewhat of what is really required, they would be passed. Teacher Sally did remark that Lil Shauna has to practice more on her cross-over. Oh boy, those cross-overs are so difficult, they are like impossible.

The 3 mummies were busy discussing the available options. We managed to speak to a teenager who is taking private classes and gained plenty of useful insights such as what ice skates to buy and where, how often the classes should be, etc.

Daddy Lim and I have also decided to sign Lil Shauna up for private lessons with Teacher Raymond. For January, he is only available on the 3rd and 17th Jan. Two 30 mins lesson cost us almost $130. We also have to buy the rink's entrance tickets for Lil Shauna to take the classes.

The same teenager was telling us that the instructors will almost start from basic upon switching to private classes so that they can correct all the wrong techniques. It seemed like it would be a while more before Lil Shauna can really start learning figure skating strokes. It is also ok for classes to be once every 2 weeks especially if a difficult move was taught so that there is more practice time. She also shared how she switched from Teacher Sally to her current younger teacher, who could teach her through demonstration especially the twirls and jumps.

For now, we would stick to Teacher Raymond since Lil Shauna really likes him. If we do progress to such an advance stage, we could explore again. I am excited to see Lil Shauna starts her private classes. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Sleepover

Lil Shauna slept over at ah kim’s house again on Thursday night. This is the 3rd time she has done so and I think she totally enjoyed herself.

We were at my brother’s place for steamboat dinner (ah, my favorite!) and to pick the kids up when Lil Shauna asked if she could stay over. Well, we have no objections so long as she’s not a nuisance to my brother’s family. I think she’s a pretty easy girl and doesn't need much supervision so my brother and SIL seem pretty cool with the idea.

Lil Isaac did ask if he could stay over too but he is a real scaredy cat. He was easily persuaded to go home with mummy. However, he did ask for jiejie when he was home. Apparently the boy loved his jiejie’s companionship more than the other way round. I am quite sure Lil Shauna didn't miss Lil Isaac too much.

My SIL shared nice pictures on fb. The girls definitely had fun playing and talking late into the night.

Oh ya, before we left my brother’s place, Lil Shauna went to Daddy Lim and told him that the real reason why she wanted to stay over was bcos they were going to have popsicle. She told Daddy Lim not to tell didi. Wah, win already.

Mummy Lim

Core 4 Lesson 4

Lesson 4 went fine and Lil Shauna did great. They don't seem to learn new moves or maybe Core 4 is just refining what they had learnt in Core 3. Lil Shauna appeared so much more skillful in balancing on one leg and criss-crossing. I think she’s already better than me. 

I also didn't have to go down to the rink bcos Lil Shauna was happy to skate with her friends and there was no need for mummy. There were times that she didn't want to play “catching” with the girls bcos she wasn't fast enuff but otherwise, she was fine. I did my homework too while the girls were in the rink, busy networking with the mummies. The 8-year old (XY) girl’s mummy joined in the networking this time. I even got their numbers. Hard work leh.

The main discussion circled around what’s next for the kids. They have completed all the Core classes and could progress to the figure skating classes. P mummy said that they would take a short break bcos P will be in Primary 4 next year and there is a need to see how to spread precious time resources between school work, CCAs and enrichment classes. XY mummy is keen on private classes given that there will be one-to-one attention and the kid can definitely progress faster. I was torn.

Lil Shauna is keen to take on figure skating but in a private class setting. I think it is bcos she can choose her instructor and she finds it difficult to learn when there is a big group with people of different age. She likes Teacher Raymond – the hooligan look-alike coach. He has 18 years of experience and brought kids out for competition. Teacher Sally, who is coaching Lil Shauna now, is even more impressive. Her students had won in some overseas competition previously. I am good with both teachers but feel a little uneasy about a male teacher in a sport with certain body contact. If we choose teacher Raymond, I will hawk over Lil Shauna during class in the future. Hoho.

Now, back to how the classes work. The group figure skating consists of 4 levels and each level consists of 5 classes, just like how the Core classes work. I was told that each class probably has 5 to 7 students, which is a big group given the skills that they now have to learn. The syllabus is fixed and they have to complete all 5 lessons to progress to the next level. After the 4 levels, there will be more advance jumps and twirls and whatever to learn. The classes cost $241 for 5 lessons.

Private classes will be one to one and the students will definitely progress faster. We get to pick our instructor and I supposed we will stick to them for a good period of time. There isn’t a fix syllabus, so the coach will teach according to the student’s pace. The lessons come in 15 mins block for $32.10 per block and the students are encouraged to take at least a 30 mins block each time. On top of that, the cost does not include skating time and the students have to purchase a student pass at $100 per 3 months for entrance. The student passes also give them unlimited access to the rink during the 3 months. All in all, the investment will be almost double for private classes.  My heart just bled.

 There isn’t exactly an end point when it comes to the ice skating lessons. Most of the students started off recreationally before turning to recreation-competitive and then they will start taking part in competitions. The very good ones can then start to compete nationally and internationally and get into national teams. 

I am not thinking that far. I am just glad that Lil Shauna likes the sport and has not given up unlike the other non-academic ones that she had taken previously. I don't need her to speed up in her progression and once thought that it could be good for her to stick to group classes. However, it is also very true that students picked up bad habits during group classes due to lack of attention.

When I checked with Teacher Sally after class on Saturday, she said that Lil Shauna is OK to move on to figure skating class. This coming Saturday will be her last lesson and we should be making a decision soon. Figure skating is indeed for rich people. Other than the classes, the equipment costs a bomb too. Lil Shauna will soon need proper gear and new skates when she grows out of her current ones. Scary. Yet on the other hand, I couldn't wait to see our little girl fly on ice. And I wonder, are there secondary schools that has ice skating under their DSA program? Hehe.

Mummy Lim

More of Christmas!

At the department Christmas gathering, we each made one of these.

I seriously have no green fingers but am pretty pleased with the end product. It looks so seriously cute. Lol. This will be kept in my office bcos we wouldn't want broken glasses at home. Most importantly, I was told that the terrarium needs minimal maintenance and that works wonderfully well with me. I left it in a plastic bag and in the car boot over the weekend and it is still alive this morning.  I like hardy plants. Lol.

We met boo for a short while on Saturday evening and headed over to Tanglin Mall for the snow.  Unfortunately it was an impromptu decision and we were not prepared. The kids could only stand by the side to watch the snow so that they wouldn't get too messy.

Merry Christmas!
All the office gifts are wrapped! Yeah!

Mummy Lim

Happy Bday Daddy Lim

Daddy Lim turns 37 years old yday! Happy Bday bb!

I made an effort to get him a gift. It was tough given that we already have the financial power to buy what we needed without having to wait. Still, I thought it would be nice to receive something. Hehe.

I don't think he specifically likes what I bought him but he was so nice to say that he likes it very much. Haha. One main important thing to learn for all hubby to be.

We met the kids at Vivocity last night - Popo brought them to Sentosa. We had sushi for dinner and then we bought him a mini black forest cake, which disappeared very quickly with the kids' help.

Lil Isaac helped to blow the candle but more than just wind came out. Lol.

Although it was a really simple celebration, I bet Daddy Lim is happy to have us spending it with him.

Bb, stay healthy so that we can enjoy life together for a long time. Hehehe. Love you. Muaks.

Mummy Lim