CNL Boot camp

This is the 3rd year that the church kindergarten that the kids attend(ing/ed) is holding a children boot camp. We missed the 1st 2 years bcos we were overseas. This year, we could finally made it and both kids are old enough! The camp takes in kids from 5 to 12 yo. It was held on Thursday, Friday and today. Many classmates/ ex-classmates attended the boot camp. Felicia was  there too.

For Thursday and Friday, Popo sent the kids to the church at 8.30am and picked them at 5.30pm. The kids had a blast and Popo probably had a lot of rest and peace. It was super cute to see the kids practicing their team cheer and claps in the night at home. Felicia even stayed over on Thursday night but she complained that she didn't sleep well bcos both Lil Shauna and Lil Isaac kicked her. I am not surprised. They do that to me so very often. Felicia was curled up in a corner on Friday morning when I checked on the sleeping kids. Poor thing. The kids were in all different groups but they didn't mind at all.

On Saturday morning, I sent the kids to church and was drooling at the thought that I have the whole freaking day to myself!!!!! Only to find out that parents were invited to the kids' performance at 2pm. Zzzzzz. I still rest nevertheless. I went home to do some housekeeping, got to watch 1 episode of the K drama and even sneaked in 1 hour of shopping in JP. I hope there are holiday camps every weekend! Lol.

The kids' performance turned out to be great. Additionally, we got to see what the kids really do during the camp. There were plenty of cheers, claps, worships, dances, games and lessons incorporating magic. No wonder the kids had a blast.

Lil Shauna's group was performing Daniel and the lion den.

The Lions didn't get to eat Daniel and was hungry. It settled for a ham roll later.

I was reminded of the Navteen camp. There was so much energy. I think the camp will continue next year.  I must make sure that we are in Singapore for the camp next year. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Yellow Belt

Lil Isaac took his 2nd grading test on 8 Nov, the day right after I went clubbing with the auntie gang. Woohoo! Perfect timing. Lol. To make sure that I wake up on time, I set 3 alarms in my mobile phone but I still didn't hear a single alarm. Thankfully, Lil Shauna woke me up, asking for permission to use the iPad. For once, I didn't mind. 

It was a mad rush. Lil Isaac was dragged out of bed but washed up and changed automatically when the magic words “late for grading test” were yelled a crossed the room. Lil Shauna insisted to tag along. I didn't have the time, energy or mental capability to convince her otherwise. Suddenly, I was so grateful for the wise choices to stick to coke and orange juices the night before.  Imagine being plagued by hangover on top of the dead rush… phew.

We also managed to get a cab and arrived at the center right on time.

The setting was the same. The parents watch the kids’ performance at the cafe outside of the center via a projector screen. 

This time, I didn't get the chance to really recognize Lil Isaac and he was done. I think it was him, the 1st boy in the front row. Lil Isaac said that it is him too after the test.

The school had arranged for professional photographer to take the kids’ picture and the pictures are also for sales. I opted for the cheapest package that comes with a print and the soft copy. The more expensive packages come with nice wooden frame. I asked the person in charge if they would do this again in the future. I will definitely opt for the big frame if Lil Isaac is more advanced. For now, a small picture will work for his yellow tip belt. Lol.

He was confident that he would pass the test. It wasn’t difficult, just some kicks and the school had long prepared the kids for the big day. We then take a cab to fill the hungry tummies, followed by desserts before we headed to church. Yes, ice cream at 10am in the morning bcos mummy’s brain not functioning. Lol. 

Last week, the photo place watsapp me the picture that I would be receiving. Chey, not cute de. Lol.

The grading test result was also released last week. Of course the little boy obtained his yellow belt. Can you tell how pleased and proud he is? Totally inflated and could have floated away.

On the same day class, he was taught yellow belt stuff. The real TWD stuff seems to start now. There are some sequences to be learned. Being the only yellow belt in class last week, he was asked to practice on his own at some point and he did.. but with his own free style. Lol. The boy is definitely enjoying his classes and looking forward to learning more moves plus earning his belts.

Mummy Lim

Cycling

I cant remember when did we teach Lil Shauna to ride. But I do remember that it was super easy. We bought her a bigger bicycle, threw her on it and she started riding. Haha, OK, I am exaggerating. It basically took us about 1 setting and she could ride independently. Maybe it was the right age, maybe she has good balance. Unfortunately, we only rode for a couple of times before the bicycle was permanent chained outside our gate. Bcos it is boring to ride by herself and bcos the bicycle is so freaking big (even though it is a kid’s size bike) and suddenly it looks like we needed a car with bigger boot space. No, I refused to go that way, not even think about it.

Sunday was a typical what-should-we-do-after-kids’-classes day.  The only saving grace was that Daddy Lim had his one-in-a-million-year off day. We had to start the day right and that of course means a good bfast. Look at that smile! Lil Shauna must have taken after Daddy Lim when it comes to the food department.

It had been a while since we did outdoorsy stuff bcos of the haze. The haze cleared up but the rain came. It was a lovely Sunday, all bright and sunny. We thought that we would head outdoor if the weather held. I was hoping even though the weather forecast gave a rainy cloud over the West part of Singapore. And boy it did hold. Mr Sun was working hard and we headed home to rescue the bicycles before we could bring them to the park.

Lil Shauna’s bicycle needed air and it was good to go. She has grown taller and now her feet could touch the ground and boost her confidence. We had to remove the training wheels off Lil Isaac’s bicycle. Yes, we were going to train him to ride, like a big boy! He was so cute when Daddy Lim ordered him to throw away the training wheels. He walked to the rubbish chute and came back with them, suggesting that maybe we should keep them for a little while longer. Lol. His bicycle was so tiny. Daddy Lim had wanted to raise the seat but the bolt and nut were all fused and we had to make do. We set off after his tiny bicycles’ wheels were pumped.

At the Jurong park, Lil Shauna needed some revision to jolt her memory. Soon she was peddling though she needed help to start and was wobbly but at least cycling. I had expected Lil Isaac to take off like jiejie. Afterall, how difficult is cycling?

It must be really difficult bcos we so struggled. His bike was so tiny and I was holding to the back of his seat to help him to balance while he peddles. He needed speed and so his poor not-so-young mother was running behind him, half bending in an awkward position. Soon, I found Mr Sun to be working too hard. We had little success and I was panting, huffing and pouring sweat while he was upset that mummy had to stop and rest every now and then and he couldn't catch up with Jiejie. I think I ran up and down the park 4x and definitely had a better workout than any one of them.

We left the park with him still not knowing how to cycle. The park must be too crowded. Otherwise, the lane is too narrow or the bicycle too tiny. Maybe he is too young. It cannot be me – my training methodology is foolproof! I did manage to let go for 2 secs at times but anyway, I was ready to give up. What we needed was a good dinner and we headed to the Korean BBQ place. Daddy Lim was thrilled with good food. The kids were happy that there is a mini place area in the restaurant. I was happy that the place was air conditioned and could rest while the kids were too busy AWAY (from me) playing in the play area. 

Interesting, I found renewed energy to practice a little more at our house’s void deck. It must be the good food. Lil Shauna was getting better and practiced how to start off on her own and she succeeded. Lil Isaac did much better too. After a few times up and down the open space, I could let go for much longer. He crashed quite a few times but escaped unhurt. We concluded that our void deck was better for practice bcos the ground was smooth and it was a big open space – Lil Isaac did not have to fear getting outside of the track like when he was in the park.

It was a nice way to end the day. The kids were happy and Lil Isaac was really proud of himself for learning (almost) how to cycle. The kids are looking forward to the next training session. We needed a bigger bike for him. Daddy Lim got all excited and rattled expensive names. Zzzzz. When he really learned how to cycle, I want a bike too and we can all go cycling. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 32

I realised that the ice skating posts are beginning to stink. Most of the time, the class is uneventful and there is nothing much to blog about but I think they will form part of precious memory. So, I am going to press on.

And so, the class on Saturday was uneventful. Lil Shauna was tired. I can’t tell if the week of morning classes had drained her or she simply wasn't in the mood. Practice gets hard when she’s not in the form bcos she couldn't do what she has to and so we have to keep trying. The more she tries, the more tired she is and the worse it gets. It basically heads towards a downward spiral that gets us all upset. At one point, she complains that her foot is painful. Why? It is a mystery. Maybe it is time to change her skates to the white professional ones. Well, at least her spiral is slowly improving… yes, very slowly.

Teacher Raymond concentrated on her jumps this week. He seems to alternate weeks between jumps and spins. Bcos she wasn't on top, her jumps weren’t great except of a few waltz jumps that still look quite decent. At the end of the class, Teacher Raymond joking asked me to feed her frog legs so that she can jump better. 

I didn't push Lil Shauna as she was visibly tired. Looking back, the most difficult point may have passed for her current skill set. There was this period that I struggled so much and even contemplated stopping her classes. Then suddenly, she improved and went beyond that stage. For now I am good. Most importantly, I am happy that Lil Shauna is proud that she can skates proficiently and enjoys ice skating.

Mummy Lim 

"Lucky" Day

Lucky pennies are a big thing to the kids. Even if it is picking up a 5-cent coin could make their day and those are usually the kind of domination that they picked up.

On Saturday morning, Lil Shauna was so excited when she found her lucky penny - a 20-cent coin. She proudly declared that she had accumulated a total of $1.20 worth of lucky pennies picked. Don't play, play, it takes years to accumulate $1.20 hor.

Then on the shuttle bus from West Coast Plaza to Clementi MRT, Lil Isaac exclaimed excitedly that he too had found a lucky penny. It is quite hard to match up to their excitement given the 5 cents, 10 cents that they usually picked up. He then flashed me this.

Serious! The $5 note must have dropped out of some commuter's pocket.  I was surprised that Lil Isaac even recognised that as money to begin with. Of course he doesn't understand the value of that rectangular piece of paper. He asked me if it is Singapore money and whether it is more than jiejie's 20 cents coin. He wasn't very impress when I told him that he could buy a bowl of noodles with that $5. He looked more interested when I said that it can buy him 1 hotwheel car. Lol.

Daddy Lim said that we should buy 4D with the serial number. Don't ask me if we strike. I didn't buy. Lol. And don't tell me if the number really open hor. I want to remain ignorant.

Mummy Lim

Finally the End of School

We almost skipped school this morning bcos Popo wanted to bring the kids and the 3Fs to the Science Center. Lil Shauna went to school eventually bcos the model student was worried when I said that I had to inform her form teacher. 

Last night, Lil Shauna only arrived home at 9ish after her maths class and I caught her watching TV when she was supposed to be in bed. She was tired and fell asleep witgin minutes of hitting the sack. Lil Isaac is just as tired this week. Without jiejie sleeping by his side, he had been waking up early too. He was asleep even before Lil Shauna came home.

This morning was tough. Lil Shauna complained that she was tired when we dragged her out of bed. Being dragged out of bed is already a routine but this is the 1st time that she said that she was tired. Poor thing. We were right on the dot for the bus, luckily Murphy's law didn't kick in this time and the bus was still late by 5 mins. Chey. 

It really takes coordinated efforts to be on time. This morning, in her half awake state, she was eating her bfast and I was trying her hair. Realising that we were behind schedule, I asked Daddy Lim to help her wear her socks and shoes. Haha. 

While waiting for the school bus, she exclaimed that she will take an afternoon nap when she's home. She must be really tired. I bet the nap never take place. The kids always come alive when school is over. Lol. Of course she was thrilled that school closes from tomorrow and she didn't have to be dragged out of the bed at 5.40am. 

The early hours are also taking a toil on the parents. We had been sleeping as early as the kids. Lol. I hope the pickup time is kinder next year or hopefully when we will get use to the unearthly hours with more practice.  Yawns. I could do with an afternoon nap too.

Mummy Lim

Student Care Center Update

Last week, we handed in the registration form for the new student care center that is going to be set up in the school compound next year. There are limited vacancies - 30 for P1s and another 30 for P2s. The center will look at expanding the following year and will then take in upper primary students. In the application form, it asked if Lil Shauna has alternative care giver arrangement. I was truthful and hoping for the best. Since then, I had been checking my emails and Lil Shauna's bag, hoping to receive good news.

I was worried that we wouldn't be given a space bcos we don't have sob stories family background.  The student care centers that I had visited now are packed and miserable, including the one that I had shortlisted. If it is not the school student care center, it will be the miserable one that I have shortlisted.

I vaguely remember that the results will be revealed today. Last night, I was looking for the pamphlet but it was nowhere to be found. I half suspect that the kids had recycled the paper for paper ball fight. I see quite some paper balls rolling around recently. Gasp!

I enrolled my mummies' chat group for help. One of the mummies provided me the contact information. Resourceful leh. The kiasu-ism in me gets activated and within minutes, I was on the phone with the in-charge.

Lil Shauna is on the list!!!! Registration will take place on coming Monday in the school canteen. I don't know if Lil Shauna got in bcos there aren't many applications but who cares! The only and all important question that I asked was whether the student care center is going to be air conditioned. Yes! Lil Shauna is going to be thrilled. So am I. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

School Updates

Lil Shauna says that she likes taking the school bus to school as compared to Daddy Lim sending her. Though she is still the 1st in her class to arrive in school, she's not overly early and there are other lower primary kids in her bus.

We caught the bus again this morning. It is the same old story - we were early and the bus therefore must be late. We will decide if school bus is the way to go when school reopens. Alternatively, we will all have bfast at home and slightly delay the time to leave the house for school, which isn't significantly late either. New term, new routine.

Lil Shauna came home yday and declared unhappily that she had been selected to join the choir. Her outburst was quite comical. I was told that I needed to sign a form and saw that there are options. Lil Shauna was happy to be able to opt out. I don't think it is a big loss. I was in the choir too in primary school and I don't think I particularly love singing, at least not now. Lol. I think any person can be in the choir so long as they are not tone deaf. It was pretty boring if you asked me, especially ever since I started vball in secondary school.

I don't know how the system works.  I don't know if it is compulsory for all kids to have some kind of CCA. I supposed the school will let us know in due time. I briefly looked at the school website previously and didn't find any very interesting CCAs. Let's see how things turn out.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 31

I love most Saturday mornings with Lil Shauna. She is so super easy. While on the MRT ride to JE, I even have the option to just stone! I perceived this as a luxury. Lol. Signs of a deprived mum.

The practice before class was uneventful. We went through the drills and struggled a little with the jumps. Her jumps are forever so tiny and I am not sure if the technics are wrong or she simple has no strength to jump. Her Salchow jumps are still so mini that it is almost non-existence. I hope practice will help. We worked a little on her spins and her almost-but-never-seem-to-reach-there spiral. She is just so super inflexible despite being just 7 YO.

Teacher Raymond taught her to spin on one foot during class and some fanciful spins. I tried to Google on how to spin longer – practice. Chey! At her best, she could do 4 revolutions on 2 feet but her technic is getting there. We just have to do a lot more practices. We tried practicing on the skate spinner last night. She fell and cried so pitifully. I am sure the fall was painful but bcos she has paper-thin threshold, she ended up sobbing for a good 5 minutes. Aiyo.

I managed to capture these 2 beautiful pictures. 

On a totally different topic, I bought her big-girl mini skirt and she totally hearts it.

Mummy Lim 

Getting Ready for the Morning Session

This is the last week of school. The kids are thrilled. Lil Shauna will be in the morning session next year. To help getting the kids ready, this week's classes will all be in the morning.

On the few occasions that school starts in the morning, we didn't manage to get the school bus at 6.10am. It was seriously crazily early. I don't know if we are looking at the same pick up time next year but I was determined to let Lil Shauna try this morning. We could send her actually, but she said that she was super early the last few times and felt a little scared to be the only P1 among the big boys and girls. It also took a while before the rest of the younger kids arrived.

She went to bed at 9.15pm last night in preparation of the early morning.  However, nothing can prep the need to wake up at 5.40am. She got dragged (almost literally) out of her bed and flopped onto ours when she walked into our bedroom. It takes coordinated efforts to get us and her both ready and on time.

We finally made it this morning after plenty of clock watching. We arrived at the pickup point at 6.05am. Murphy's law kicks right in - we were on time for the bus the last time and it was early and left without us. Today, we were early and the bus was 5 mins late. Zzzzz.

Lil Shauna was chatty while waiting for the school bus. She didn't have much bfast. Who has a crazy appetite so early in the morning... Other than Daddy Lim? Haha. Her half eaten bun is in her bag and I hope she wouldn't need to starve.

We might have to rethink this whole school bus saga if pickup remains at the same unearthly time next year. We have already paid for Jan and Jun's fee next year, as per the school-bus SOP and would probably let Lil Shauna try for a month. The stress is not only about waking up so early but also the constant hurry to be on time for the bus. We would still need one-way back and the price wouldn't be much different; what we saved is the heartache to chase the morning bus. The heartache will be doubled when Lil Isaac joined jiejie in another year. The pain is definitely magnified many times when you have somebody who absolutely doesn't adore school.

Mummy Lim

Daiso @ Jcube!

Yday, while sending Lil Shauna to ice skating class, I saw a sign indicating that there is a new Daiso store in Jcube! It is a small branch. I took a peep this afternoon and nobody leaves Daiso empty handed. Hehe.

The store was busy, but not busy enough to form qs at the 2 cashiers. But busy is good. The J Avenue didnt appear too successful.  Many of the small Far East alike shops couldn't make it. Fortunately, Jcube seems to be making effort to bring in new shops and cheap and good restaurants like Aston.

I need JCube to survive. It houses one of the two ice skating rinks in Singapore. If it fails, we would have to travel to Kallang for ice skating! What an awful and nightmarish thought!

JCube, JCube, JCube!

Mummy Lim

Happy Bday Popo

Popo turns 59 YO yday. I am thankful that she’s healthy. Though she drives me crazy on so many occasions and I know many more to come, I am grateful that she looks after the kids when I am at work. She is also a great help in ferrying the kids to classes, since cloning myself is impossible. I am looking forward to Lil Isaac attending primary school and after school care. Though healthy, age is catching up and I am sure she appreciates the extra rest. The kids, especially Lil Isaac definitely zaps her of her energy, like totally. 

On Deepavali, we had a family meal together. It was a simple Hi-Tea at the Ramada hotel. The spread wasn't fanciful and it wasn't vegetarian but I could see how secretly please she is. Brownie points.

Yday, I was in Orchard for a half-day seminar. I had wanted to get a cake for Popo to celebrate her big day. I was struggling about buying a cake from Orchard. I wasn't sure if I could protect the cake while jostling with the peak hour MRT crowd. I am afterall an amateur peak-hour-MRT-rider. I contemplated alighting at JP on the way home. At the eleventh hour, I saw Twelve Cupcakes and bought half a dozen of pretty cupcakes. They even have candles to offer. Yeah! I also bought Gerett popcorns, Popo loves that.

It was the right choice. The peak hour crowd is no joke. I could join a circus if I could handle my bag, laptop, high heels and protect a cake. The jerky ride added on the woes of my darn high heels. I have one hand clinging to the bar for my dear life, yet I insisted on swiping my mobile like all of rest of the commuters with my other hand. I was pretty worried that I would fall and crush somebody but figured out that it was almost impossible to fall in that sardine packed cabin. 

Buying the cupcakes at Orchard was a fantastic choice. By the time the train was pulling into Jurong East station, I had angry my feet. I was so glad that I was able to walk in them and arrived home safely. 

Lil Isaac didn't get to see the pretty cupcakes bcos he had to go for his phonics class. Popo refused to use the candles and there was no cake cutting or picture taking ceremony too. However, I am quite sure Popo was pleased bcos I saw a missing cupcake after shower and saw her munching on the popcorns. Double brownie points for me. Additionally, I have a late night call and she didn't give me any hell despite disrupting her routine. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

Once Again...

How long has it been since we last set foot into a club? Long enough for me not to remember the last occasion. Of course, old age must have played a part too. There are too many things to accomplish on weekends to risk spending a night painting the town. Nevertheless, when the time is right, the aunty clubbers strike.

This time round, J joined us. Bcos we party so infrequently, we struggled with the question of “where”. Where is popular enough to have a crowd and not just any crowd but one that is matured enough so that we don't get singled out? We sought Google help and even contemplated asking FB for advice. Eventually, it was decided that we would hit Velvet Underground. It is iconic, there were guest DJs spinning and most importantly, a minimum age requirement to keep the little children out. Hehe. It is also a good opportunity to leave our footprint before Zouk shifts. Selfie when I still looked fresh and good. 

We met only at 11pm having learnt previously that clubs are ghost towns before midnight. It was quite embarrassing when we arrived. I have visited Zouk only 2x in my entire life. I have no recollection of where is the entrance or the configuration. The rest of the aunties weren’t any better. We stood around awkwardly, trying to figure out where to get the tickets yet refusing to ask. J must had panicked. She had thought that we are season clubbers. Lol.

Hopefully without looking too stupid, we finally found the sign that says Zouk still works the same way, i.e., one entrance fee to all the 3 clubs – Zouk, Velvet and Phuture. We also followed some other clubbers and bought our ticket to Velvet. 1st sense of accomplishment. Lol. Come to think of it, we should have just pretended to be some foreigners and asked. I think we can pass off as Taiwaneses, Hong Kongers or Filipinos? 

As expected, it was a ghost town when we entered the club at 11pm. We took time to tour the club and headed for Velvet to discover that it is a smaller and cozier room as compared to Zouk. We are so mountain tortoise. I totally felt comfortable at Velvet bcos there were 2 other tables of matured people. They were obviously much more matured than we are. Lol. I love matured crowd. When they clubbed, it is not to impress others but truly to enjoy themselves. I must be speaking for myself. Haha. It must be 1am before we saw different groups of young clubbers come and go. They are probably into club hopping. I wonder again why do youngsters only start clubbing after 12mn now. They took a nap before that? We used to start at 8pm. Haha. Times are so different now.

The dance floor was also shared with different clutters of matured people. I like. A crowd of 4 other males shared our table and started befriending us and eventually treating us to some drinks. Apparently we still have our charms leh. I wasn't too concern with drinks. As I aged, I enjoy clubbing sober so that I can people watch too. Ended up, J and I exchanged our drink coupons for cokes and orange juices – aren’t they expensive?

Velvet played a variety of hip hop remix. After a while, I did get bored. People dance about the same way and my feet were killing me. I started envying those who came clubbing with flats. If we have another opportunity to hit Velvet, I must be sure to dress comfortable. Unlike some of the other clubs that we been, not many dress to kill in Velvet. I double like. 

We left at 2.30am. The girls get to share a cab home and I was a lone ranger. The con of staying far, far away. My feet hurt so badly that I walked home barefooted after getting off the cab. I made it to bed at 3.15am and set 3 alarms so that I can wake up at 8am the next morning to bring the little boy for his TWD grading test. 

Coffee was my best friend the next day. My second cup.

I was fairly zombified the whole day and boy, it did take me many more nights to recover. Still, it was worth it. When is the next round? Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 30

I am always looking forward to Lil Shauna’s ice skating class and I am probably more enthusiastic than the little girl. Maybe I should really sign up for the core lessons and invest in a proper pair of skates. New year resolution 2016 it shall be. 

After 2 weeks, we went back to the same ice skating lesson routine. We practice the usual. Lil Shauna is definitely getting better but her jumps are still so very tiny. I haven’t figured out if she didn't have the strength to jump, not using the right technic or simple scared. We have knee pads and padded pants at home but she simply refused to wear them bcos they are not pretty. Win already, scare of falling yet not wanted to be protected. Zzzz…. We spent some time on her spiral as well and it seems like she’s almost there when I am by her side rooting for her.

She didn't learn new moves during class but had the chance to show off her salchow jump. I am super proud of that one. It is supposed to be one of the easiest edge jumps (according to one of the youtube videos) but it looked so super complicated to me and Lil Shauna got it. She demonstrated her spiral too but didn't do as well. Maybe I should go to class with her. Zzzzz.

Mummy Lim

Holidays

School holidays are 2 weeks away. I have an emotion struggle with the holidays now. It is scary to have to return home to kids who had been cooped up the whole day - imagine chickens running freely and wildly. But the school holidays also mean the coming of our sweet winter holidays in Korea. In my head, I can already see the perfect picture of us all bundled up and standing in the snow now, exactly like how it looked like on one of those travel agency posters promoting winter holidays. Hohoho. Would there be Korean- actor-lookalike Santa Clause running on the streets? I wish.

I have touched base again with the travel agency who would be bringing us around for 3 out of the 9 days. The drafted itinerary was drafted up after many changes, requested by yours truly. But it again didn't seem quite right now. I think I will constantly be in this mode until after we are back from Korea. I pity the guide who is working on our itinerary. 

For the past few months, I had been happily shopping for winter clothing and accessories. Taobao definitely helped me to save a lot but I didn't stop at just online shopping. It is always the case that a particular piece here seems particularly good for winter and another piece will appear at another time and another time. It never stops. When I had the opportunity to gather all the loots, I am surprised at the pile. I will not attempt to compile the $$ spent lest I suffer a heart attack. It is even more amazing that when I attempted to put a stop to this crazy winter shopping, every other winter clothing shop is waving big discounts at me. Not that they are any cheaper than what I got from Taobao, but a sales is a sale. By the way, let me try and let you know if heat-tech really works.

The kids are excited too. We had been talking about this Korea holiday so frequently, especially when I am too lazy to engage the kids, I launched into this “let-me-tell-you-our-Korea-itinerary” topic. Hohoho. While gathering the loot the other day, Lil Shauna became my model, all in our tiny bedroom and 30 degrees. She was screaming hot after a while and I asked her to stand in front of the fan. Haha.

I am so excited.

Mummy Lim   

Search Again

Daddy Lim and I were on leave on Wednesday. He was idling at the Joo Koon mall and even enjoyed a message before picking me from work at lunch time. He sure knows how to enjoy. Lol. Well, hard work started thereafter. We had so much on our list to accomplish.

1st, we headed to the student care centers in GWPS’ vicinity. Last year, we visited 3 and found Dstar to be the most apt. None were fantastic and Dstar was slightly better than the others. We eventually decided to keep Lil Shauna at home bcos P1s are in the afternoon session. There is no point dragging her out of bed early to send her to the center for a couple of hours. Next year, Lil Shauna will be in the morning session and we needed to better utilize her time in the afternoon. Keeping her at home would probably mean hours and hours of TV. 

On Wednesday, we visited 4 centers including Dstar. They are all located in some basement bomb shelter and have about the same configuration – classrooms, eating area in the basement and bathrooms on the 1st floor. The fees are all about $300 per month and they have about the same program structure. This year, it is the same situation. Dstar isn't fantastic but the rest are worse. The 1st one seems to have a case of overcrowding. I have the feeling that the center is trying to pack in as many children and classrooms as possible. There is a narrow walkway connecting to the lunch area and bathrooms. Overall – very bad. 

The 2nd one is comparable to Dstar. In fact, their bathrooms are clean and bright. The center also invested in the bathroom area floor to make it non-slip. However, it is a little far from the school, about 5 mins walk and there is a big road between the center and the school.

The last one is in the midst of being set up. There are now 2 students on the list. The center doubled up as a tuition center in the evening. This is a stone throw from the school. However, there aren’t other furniture other than the classrooms, tables and chairs and we cannot tell how the eventual center would look like. Too risky.

Dstar is located 2 blocks from the school. The in charge is pleasant and we saw her interacting with the kids coming into the center. She just earned brownie points. I didn't quite like the bathrooms though. They are a little dark and smell funny. Well, at least shower is optional. It looks like Dstar is the one. We have told Lil Shauna yday evening when we picked her up from school. Let me sit on the idea for a few more days.

Yday, Lil Shauna brought home a notice from school to inform that a new student care center would be operational wef 2 Jan 16. As a start, they would be taking in 30 P1 kids and 30 P2 kids. Eligible students will receive separate notice. I wonder what does that mean. I would be super keen to enroll Lil Shauna in the in house student center. It is newly set up, so I supposed the facilities would definitely be better than the ones that we saw. The kiasu-ism in me just well up. I shall email her form teacher for more details than to wait.

We left the vicinity at 2ish and headed to JP, hoping to catch a movie. I had been dying to watch Our Times. 

It is totally my kind of movie even though I know that the storyline is totally predicable. If I wasn't able to catch it on the big screen, I was intending to buy the DVD or hoping catch it on the flight to Korea. Daddy Lim was super accommodating, probably also bcos there weren’t interesting movies at that time slot. Lol. I had big smiles. Happiness!

It was a great movie. I love it as I expected myself to. Thankfully, Daddy Lim enjoyed the movie too. He found it comical. The movie was set in the 80s and it brought back sweet memories of the growing up years. Thank you bb for catching the movie with me. Happy, happy, happy!

Mummy Lim

Practice

Bcos Lil Shauna didn't get the chance to practice on Saturday, we headed to the rink on Sunday. The timing was just perfect – it was the last day of her student pass (before expiry), the last weekend that I had to utilize the Groupon vouchers and Lil Isaac was away for his TWD make-up class. Lil Isaac gladly let Daddy Lim sent him to class bcos he had to take the public transport if Mummy was to send him. Clever choice.

Apparently the rink’s compressor was still down. The rink was closed for maintenance from 2.45pm to 4pm. We exchanged for our tickets very early to avoid the q and also tickets selling out. Good move bcos it was indeed super crowded at 4pm. Qs were formed not only to purchase tickets but also to enter the rink and then we had to q again to rent the skates. I had been harboring the thought of buying a pair of skates but dread the idea of having to lug the skates everywhere on Saturdays when I ferry the kids for classes. 

We had the opportunity to practice the jumps and spin before the crowd built up. Lil Shauna is getting so much better with her Waltz jumps. Practice really makes perfect. Her spin is improving too. I saw 3.5 revolutions at one point. We also practice on her Salchow jump and I was very pleasantly surprised that she could do it! Her Salchow jumps were super mini but she jumped nevertheless. She said that the Youtube video helped and she followed the steps that she saw on the video. Youtube is indeed our best friend when it comes to ice skating. Lol.

We couldn't do much when the crowd started building up and there were really so many people. The ice becomes super wet and we saw plenty of fallen skaters gliding on the wet ice. We left the rink about an hour later but it was a good practice. I am so excited for her to show off her Salchow jump to Teacher Raymond on coming Saturday. Haha.

Did I tell you how much I like it when she wears her ice skating pants? She looks super pro in them and it shows off her long and skinny legs. 
Hehe.
Mummy Lim 

Graduation Concert

We went to Lil Isaac’s graduation concert on Saturday. It was kind of rush and fortunately for the Halloween event, I was made to book Lil Shauna’s lesson way in the morning or we had been stuck. Popo helped sent Lil Isaac to school. Lil Shauna went for her ice skating lesson, which ended at 9am and we took a cab down. We ended up at the very last row but just in time for the concert. Anyway, this is already my 5th CNL graduation concert. The performances are captured on CD eventually. Our presence is to show our support to the little boy after all the hard work and a broken head. He fell when returning to class after practicing in the hall. Lol.

Lil Isaac appeared right at the opening of the concert! He was asked to present flowers to the VIP with a girl classmate. I was surprised and fumbled for my phone to take picture. We were too far away for my lousy phone to take a good picture. It was super funny that after the concert, Lil Isaac asked me why he had to give flowers to that auntie. Lol. The VIP is only an auntie in his eyes. At least he was smiling nicely during the flowers presentation.

We had to wait for a long time before he came back on stage. His 1st performance was for the Chinese Enrichment class. He was so cute shaking his backside on stage.

Not long after, it was his performance for the Music and Movement enrichment class. He was partner with this K2 girl and I saw him being dragged around at some point. Haha. I must remind him not to date or marry an older girl in the future. Lol.

The last performance was with his class. He looked super smart.

Lil Shauna saw a few of her ex-classmates too. They were all there, like her, to support their siblings. She took pictures with one of her favorite ex-classmates. And had plenty of hugs with her ex-teachers as well.

The little boy was so well dressed for the event that I had to ask him to post for a proper picture after the concert. Cheeky boy. Somebody must have taught him to tug at the suspender when taking pictures.

I asked him to keep his hands in his pocket and he ended up looking so cool. Aiyo, he just stole my heart. Lol. He looked so much like Daddy Lim, no wonder I am in love with his father. Hehe. 

Mummy Lim