Monster Curry

It is so rare that Daddy Lim and I get to have lunch together without the kids. We saw this Monster Curry restaurant in JP a long time back but didn't have the chance to try. We saw people being served a huge plate of Japanese Curry Rice.

It was a crowded weekday afternoon. Daddy Lim suggested trying out the curry place. Yeah, finally.

We ordered the Mountain Curry at $25 for 2 and we excitedly waited to be served. Here comes the giant plate.

Huge right? The diameter of the plate is longer than Daddy Lim's hands put together and he has huge hands.

It does look like a lot but the portion was just nice for 2 people.. ok, 2 very hungry people.

Yum. It was good by the standard of non-foodies. Daddy Lim and I then rolled out of the restaurant. Lol.

Mummy Lim

Child Labor

We walked past the Diggersite roadshow on the way to ice skating on Saturday. Lil Shauna was immediately captivated by the miniature machines but she is at the age that she wouldn't bug for such childish play.

The story is of course different when we spotted the same roadshow with 2 kids in tow. Lil Isaac couldn't take his eyes off and pleaded for a trial. When Lil Isaac gets it, the law of fairness will come into play and so must Lil Shauna.

It is freaking expensive. It is $7 per ride. We can upgrade to a membership package at 10 rides for $50 subsequently. The child gets a token to slot into the machine and each ride is only 5 mins. It is basically a huge and expensive kiddy ride. During my times, it was only 20 cents! To make it attractive, the kids get to don bright construction vest and helmets. It was funny seeing how excited the kids were to become construction workers. Zzzz..

Lil Shauna picked a machine with a claw. She was like playing a huge soft toy catching machine.

Lil Isaac opted for a sand digging machine.

Five minutes passed so quickly. They barely figured out how to operate the machines and they stopped. Lil Isaac whined and complained. Did we upgrade to the package? The promoter encouraging told us that the rides help to improve eye and hand coordination.

Of course not. It was a good experience. If they need to improve some eye and hand coordination, maybe they can go play some basketball or bowling. Whatever…

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 50

Two years, 4 levels of core group lessons and 50 individual lessons. That is how far we had come for ice skating. Wow, I am impressed and hear how much kacheng $$$ the rink has earned from us.

Lil Shauna had been feeling very emo about life. Yes, all for a 8 yo girl. They matured so much faster nowadays, don't they? Or it could be the effect of the ending school holidays. Lol.

She is upset that school is starting tomorrow and she has to go back to the student care. She has also been telling me that she wanted to stop ice skating and was reluctant to go for lesson.

On Saturday morning, we had a long chat before we headed out for lesson. I found out that she hated the student care bcos she gets scolded with the other kids when it was none of her fault. She found this hard to swallow being the model student who had on 2 occasions been recongnised by the school. I had no solution but lent a sympathetic ear. She accepted the fact (for now) that student care is here to stay and hopefully things would be better when Lil Isaac joined her next year. I am not sure how the little boy provides comfort to her; I didn't realise that they are such close siblings. I guessed she probably feel better knowing that didi joined her in her "suffering" so that it is "fair". Or she would shine in student care as the good sibling in comparison to the naughty one. Lol.

As for ice skating, it seems like her ego is in the way. She thinks that she is trying hard (enough) but not as good as her peers. Her off ice training peers are really good in their physical! But I think she didn't see how much more hard work they also put in as compared. I heard one of them went for lessons 4 times per week during the school holiday and some gymnastic camp to improve flexibility! My 1st thought was what rich parents. Lol.

Lil Shauna seems glad that we are going to slow down moving on. We will put her on less lessons but more time to skate on her own and probably find friends on the ice. She has no intention for now to compete. We are just going to take things slowly and see if it helps her to find back that interest. Her jumps are really more and more difficult now.

Bcos of the long chat, we were late. Lol. And had to rush like mad. There was lesser time to practice before class but she wasn't very interested anyway. I reminded myself to let her have fun. Class was focused on spins this week. She spun and spun and spun and complained how dizzy it was at the end. Lol. If you asked me, she is improving. Slowly but surely. Even Teacher Raymond said so. Let's take this approach for now. Slow and steady and plenty of encouragement tof stroke the girl's ego. She must have taken after Daddy Lim in this aspect. Haha!

Mummy Lim

Silly Call from HSBC Insurance

Update: We have just collected a huge stack of mails from the old place and amongst, was a letter from HSBC Insurance, informing that the address change was successful. What the....



I received a silly call from HSBC.

Caller: Hello, may I speak to Tan E L pls.
Me: Yes, this is Dawn speaking.
Caller: Hi Ms Tan, I am from HSBC Insurance. May I check if your address is still xxx, our mails had been returned.
Me: Oh, we have shifted.
Caller: We would need you to complete the address change form and mail it back to us.
Me: (remembered that I had done so) I think I had done so. Can I check who is my agent (temporarily unable to remember my agent's name).
Caller: Sure but I would have to verify some information.
Me: What? (you call me leh?!!!) OK.

I couldn't answer most of the questions. I probably receive the bill once a year and have no recollection how much was the premium or how I would usually pay the bill.

Caller: Sorry Ms Tan, as the verification failed, I am unable to reveal more information to you.
Me: What? But you called me, so you must know that I am me, right? (I know the sentence sounded really weird.)
Me: (suddenly remembered my agent's name) Is my agent Jxxxx?
Caller: Sorry, I am unable to reveal. Perhaps you could complete the address change form first.
Me: (feeling defeated and unwillingly to further argue with a human machine) OK.

I hung up feeling really amused. I didn't call HSBC leh. You called me and must have know that I am me, right? If you did not make sure that I am real Tan E L, then wouldn't you have violated your policy by revealing Tan E L's address to a Tan E L whom you aren't 100% sure is the real Tan E L? Lol. Anyway, I checked and confirmed that I had completed the change address form previously. But I have been defeated and had to do so again bcos I have no idea where did the form go to. Maybe to the other Tan E L. Lol.

Mummy Lim

Another Tooth?

Lil Isaac dropped one of his three wriggly teeth a few days ago. On Saturday, he was enjoying a popsicle with jiejie and the cousins. We were heading to the hotel from the 7-11. Amid all the fun and laughter, we suddenly hard him yelled in pain and started crying loudly... very loudly and we were getting a lot of stares.

While crying with his mouth opened and silva thick with chocolate ice cream dripping from his mouth, we saw blood oozing from the bottom wriggly tooth. He must had forgotten about the ice cream stick and bit hard right into the wriggly tooth.

He was obviously in a lot of pain and too scared to close his mouth. It was messy with tears, saliva, chocolate ice cream and blood. Best part? I didn't have tissue with me. Duh!

I have to wipe whatever that he refused to swallow with my hands until I could coax and lug the crying boy to the toilet. If we weren't in Sentosa, I would have asked him to spit into bushes or grass patches. Lol.

It wasn't that bad. He was just being overly dramatic. His tooth was still there, just extra shaky... until the next morning. I was helping him brush his teeth bcos I forgot to bring the kids' toothpaste and had to help him brush his teeth in record speed with the adult toothpaste. I being extra careful to not hurt the wriggly tooth and left him to rinse after that.

The moment he was out of the toilet, we found that the tooth fairy had took the other tooth! It was again no where to be found. Did he swallow another tooth?!

Anyway, he is Lim-double-bo-geh now. Hehe. I love it that his no-longer-there shaky teeth doesn't give his trouble anymore.

Mummy Lim

Tak Match + Ice Skating 49

We headed back to the rink after missing it for a week due to the Thailand holiday.  The holiday was way too shiokadalic and we have all grown lazy. Still, pay $$ already.

In the afternoon, Popo has gotten and gift us a free room at RWS. Daddy Lim had to work late and we had to make our own way to Sentosa after classes. To not lug extra pair of slippers, I insisted that Lil Shauna wore slippers to her ice skating class.

This very much upset the girl who insisted that the slippers tak match her ice skating outfit.

Ok, I have to admit that she looked a little weird but it would just be the journey  from home to the ice skating rink. She would change out of her attire after that. Lil Shauna didn't buy that and sulked all the way from home to JE. She outwardly showed her displeasure by being barefooted when we were standing. Zzzzz. Wings hard already.

She only gave in and enjoyed her bfast when I told her that we would change into her skates at McDonalds and she walked in her skates to the rink. She rather waddled in her skates than be in her slippers. Faint.

Ice skating class was far from ideal. I don't know if she was still recovering from the holiday but was complaining so much about being tired and pain all over her body - it was arm pain to feet pain to neck pain. She even told me that maybe she should give up ice skating bcos it is too much hard work. Haiz.

Class was worse. I think I felt better if I don't look. She looked totally lethargic and was so slow. I think 80 yo granny could walk faster than her on skates! It isnt that she couldn't do it, she managed all the jumps but just didn't look like a figure skater. Bcos she could do the jumps that had been taught and just needed more practice on her own, Teacher Raymond taught her a new jump - loop jump. It looks really complicated and I haven't figured out how it works. We will have to YouTube some.

On the other hand, I had signed Lil Isaac up for Core 1 group classes. He had been asking to go ice skating but is always so dangerous on ice. Equipping him with the basics give me a peace of mind. Given so, we have cut down Lil Shauna's July classes to 3 times instead of weekly; it is tough to look after Lil Isaac and prep Lil Shauna for lesson. In addition, Lil Shauna's classes have increased in price. I think it is just the perfect time to cut down. Moving on, we will just do more practice on our own and less classes. Anyway, the girl isn't keen to compete. I supposed it is better for her to take it in her pace and enjoy the sports.

Mummy Lim

Too Bad, Not Real

Lil Isaac has 3 shaky front teeth, 1 on top and 2 below. They have gotten quite bad, such that he has to bite using the side and he complained in pain when he some times forgot. Fever and painful teeth became his perfect excuse to cut down on food intake during the holiday and he definitely lost weight.

I am handicapped when it comes to shaky teeth. I wouldn't dare try to extract them. I am more scare than the kids.

2 days back, I had a call from him while I was in the office. He excitedly exclaimed that one of his bottom shaky tooth has dropped! But, he has no idea when and where it dropped. Popo said that the tooth went missing after brushing teeth. Maybe he has swallowed it?! Lol. Anyway, it is so small and wouldn't hurt him.

He was glad about it. Then he regrettably said that "too bad, tooth fairy isn't real, right?". Haha, Lil Shauna got $10 from the tooth fairy when she dropped her 1st tooth. It was a wrong choice bcos we subsequently realised that she has a mouthful of teeth to drop and we had to tell her that mummy was the tooth fairy. Lol.

Nevertheless, mummy played tooth fairy again even though the magic spell has been broken.

The boy excitedly exclaimed that he has a gift from the tooth fairy this morning. It doesn't matter if tooth fairy is real... the gift is real.

Mummy Lim

Bangkok Day 7 - Kidzania and Home Sweet Home

Did I make it to the morning market? Of course I did, at 6am on the last day in Bangkok with my SIL. Many shops were not opened or opening when we arrived and we launched into operation A – don't think too hard, just buy.

We were in the market for about an hour and had a decent haul. I like shopping with like-minded people. We were like influencing each other to buy and I felt justified to spend money bcos my SIL was also shopping like there was no tomorrow. I like; she's perfectly living my principle. Lol.

Comparatively, I like shopping in Platinum Mall this trip. It is air-conditioned, more organized and the clothes appeared to be higher quality. What caused the difference? Must be the kids. Lol. The last trip, I was on my own, shopping in peace in the morning market but lugging 2 kids in Platinum mall and we barely made it through 2 levels. This time, Platinum mall was so enjoyable with Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna. I can't wait for the little girl to grow up and go shopping with me.

After the morning market, I even sheepishly asked to sneak a trip to Platinum mall again. The 2 skirts that I bought yesterday was so good and fitting. I just had to get more. Lil Shauna was my perfect shield and I persuaded her to go back to the mall with me on pretext of getting more T-shirts for her. It worked perfectly. I did buy 2 extra T-shirts for her but found the skirt shop and bought 5 more skirts for myself. Come on, they were dirt cheap, barely S$8a piece!

Our last attraction of our trip was Kidzania. We checked out and took a cab to Siam Paragon, which is super huge. The father and son playing afool. Aiyo.

Finally, Kidzania.

Fionne opted to go shopping with SIL instead. She is all grown up already. Only my brother and I tagged along with the kids. The rest R&R some corner. Shiok ah!

This was our 1st time to Kidzania. We had been to similar concept joints in Taiwan and Vietnam but never Kidzania. They operate about the same way and it wasn't hard to figure out. The 1st thing was to encash the 50 kidzo cheque given to every kid.

Then to be a vet looking after soft toy animals. Lol.

Green tea making; sorting the tea leaves.

Peanut snack making. I was slightly worried about Lil Isaac'started allergy. Nothing turn up. After sorting tea leaves, sort peanuts. Lol.

Police man. This particular job was interesting.  The kids went on patrol to look for a criminal via a given poster and was chasing the suspect around the park. The kids said that it was the best job.

Fireman - the must do job for every Kidzania and similar joint. They get to sit in a fire engine and put out a "fire".

The last stop was to the learn some magic and the kids each bought a magic trick. Final picture before we bid Kidzania goodbye.

We attempted to exchange gifts with the money earned but it wasn't enough to get something for each kid. Money is so difficult to earn. We ended up buying the money back instead.

The next hour past quickly, shuffling back to hotel and taxi to the airport. We had a simple dinner and the kids self entertained more. It was some song performance that even comes with an ending pose. Lol.

We boarded the plane and took off on time. All the kids concussed. We touched down at about 12.40am and as usual, a sleeping Lil Isaac. Gosh, I love this luggage, just the right size.

Even Lil Shauna was half awake and they continued sleeping in the cab and back home.

I slept at 3am after all the unpacking. It was a trip with very little sleep. Lol. However, it was a great family trip. We had a good combination of adults and kids activities, such that everybody had something that suits them. The kids had good companion and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Most of their games though noisy were tame taht dont involved a lot of running and we need not fear losing any kid. Lil Shauna and Lil Isaac definitely had a lot more fun bcos of the 3Fs. I think they would miss the companion in our next solo trip. Yes, next one even though I don't know where yet. Lol. Lil Shauna and Felicia were particularly close this trip, doing everything together.

Let's start planning for the next trip. Yeah.

Mummy Lim

Bangkok Day 6 Part 2 - Shopping and Nanta

Having taken the nap, we were all fresh by the time we arrived back at the hotel. Leaving the 2 youngest to be hawked by the oldest, the rest of us headed to the Platinum mall across the street. We did not discriminate hor; they preferred to stay in the air con room to watch TV then tagged along with boring shopping. I couldn't stop grinning, my beloved shopping, you have waited too long for me and here I come. We all bought something and I of course had the biggest haul, I had to stick to my newly found Bangkok principle – when in doubt, just buy. Lol. The clothes were way too cheap. I rather buy and decide what to do with unsuitable clothing then to return to Singapore and regret and sulk.

When having a good time, time flies. Even Lil Shauna is starting to appreciate shopping on mummy’s sponsorship. We headed back to the hotel, had dinner before we headed to the Nanta show. Yes, Nanta show is in Bangkok. We missed it when we went to Seoul but caught it in Bangkok instead. Ironical isn’t it?

The last time we caught a Nanta show was 3 years back. Lil Shauna totally enjoyed it then while I had to exit the theatre midway with a crying boy. The boy was still feeling apprehensive despite plenty of encouragements from jiejie.

The show was so good. Lil Shauna enjoyed it thoroughly and could follow the storyline better now that she is older. She could still remember snippets of it from 3 years back. Lil Isaac started laughing midway too. I bet the best part for him is when the actors started throwing little balls to the audiences. He caught a few and we brought those back to the hotel.

We had some problem trying to get back to the hotel. The show was held in some remote place and we walked quite a while before we got cabs to get back to the night market near the hotel. Yes, more shopping but not extensive lah. It had been a long day. We went to bed but not after slight supper from our best friend’s place.

Our loot so far.. ok, these represented about 80% of our loot. Not bad huh.

Mummy Lim

Bangkok Day 6 Part 1 - Floating and Railway Market

By day 6, I was very shopping deprived. We were in the shopping paradise but I had yet the time to do shopping. It is not right and I must make it right. Despite only slept less than 4 hours the day before, I attempted to go to morning market. Who needs sleep when shopping is calling? Moreover, it was not normal shopping but shopping without a care and without 2 little monkies whining away. I just had to do it and had the alarm set at 5.15am. My attempt failed miserably; I didn't hear a single thing. Lol.

I jumped out of bed to bright sky. It was 6am. All hopes of the morning market melted bcos we were to meet the tour guide for a half day tour to the floating market and railway market at 7am. The markets were 1.5 hr drive away and we had to be early to avoid the crowd.

We had bfast from my best friend's place aka the 7-11. The kids barely eat; it was way too early. I should be laughing that there were even awake.

The van and guide were already waiting for us at the lobby and we set off for the long ride but in good spirit.

Nobody got killed despite the long ride. Most of the time, the kids self-entertained or stared into gadget. The guide attempted to tell us the history about Bangkok, the canels, the origin of the floating market and was constantly fighting to be louder than the kids. The kids were playing a noisy singing game that lasted a long time. But I had inner peace, so long as nobody fights or whines. Or maybe I got it easier bcos I was in the front row. Lol. Heng ah. I think the guide also gave up after a while. She was no match for the kids and no where near when it comes to stamina.

We finally arrived at floating market. The first thing was to hit the toilet, which wasnt that bad. We had seen worse. There were old school rides and the kids hopped on even if only a few minutes.

The 1st impression was good. Even Popo was excited bcos there were plenty of food. As we were really early, it wasnt crowded. Our tour at THB 700 for 10 came with the authentic manual boat steered and rowed manually. There were many other motorised boats but the guide said that authentic is the right way. The kids were all excited.

A little bit of history of what I could hear and remembered. Long, long time ago, over 200 canels were dug in Bangkok and people travelled around on boats and settlements sprung wherever such waterways were. This was until they realised the efficiency of motorcars. All the canels were filled to make roads except this one that was eventually turned into a floating market.

There were still people staying along the canel, however largely old folks.

There were so much yummy food from the boat vendors. We were told that the old aunties and uncles are the authentic ones with great food. Usually the younger vendors focused on souvenir with cut throat prices. I got very excited buying and eating food while on the boat. We had bbq chicken wings, bbq chicken, mango sticky rice, coconut ice cream, pad thai and alot more. They were seriously delicious. It was so interesting how the vendors would find their way to our boat when we indicated interest to buy.

Towards the end of our ride, the canels started to get crowded. It was indeed a great choice to start early. The weather was cool and breezy as well. The overall experience was great.

We considered concluded the floating market with more shopping; there were plenty of shops along the canel. Then the kids saw this vendor with this baby slow lorries and they went crazy bugging to hold and take picture with the animal. It cost THB 100 just to do so. I know that we were
Fueling illegal wildlife but it was way too cute!

We continued with Part 2 of the tour – railway market. It feels very much like Taiwan’s Shi Fen but more to the extreme. Vendors spread their products along the train track and shoppers walked on the track. It was crowded and I was more worried about losing a child or 2. At specific timings, the train would come and the vendors would clear whatever that would be knocked down by the train while leaving neatly stack products that could go UNDERNEATH the train.

The guide brought us to the end of the market, which is supposed to be a good spot to take in the sight. Just nice, a shaded tent to wait for the train.

Here comes the train. See how all the shelters were drawn.

The moment it moved past the stall, the vendors put back their product and the shelter and all these took place within seconds. The next moment, all traces of a live train moving past disappeared.

We went "wahhhhhh" at the sight but right after that, we dived for ice cream and ice coffee for survival before heading back to the hotel. Lol. The ride back was perfectly quiet. The kids had an early morning and we needed them to survive a late night. We played the “everybody keep quiet for 10 minutes” game. Of course it worked. After 10 mins of silence, almost everybody was in lala land.

Mummy Lim