New Cycling Route

Daddy Lim used to ask me if I was bored of the same PCN cycling route bcos he was. I confidently told him that I wasnt. I spoke too fast bcos after 5 months of cycling (yes, it had been 5 months already), I am indeed sick of the usual routes, which include the usual road rides  in addition to the PCN route.

On Sunday morning, Daddy Lim suggested that we head to WCP but from the opposite direction and take a slightly longer route. It was a great change from the usual scene and I was happily taking in the new scenery. It was mainly on the road with minimal up and down slope, which made it an easy ride. We even clocked a higher than usual average speed.

Before we reached WCP, we came to the Pandan reservoir, which we would have explored the last ride if not for Daddy Lim's spectacular fall. Lol. Given that nobody fell this time, we did so. It was gravel tracks.

Daddy Lim enthusiatically suggested for us to go around the reservoir and surveyed it before bringing the kids the next time. After googling and saw that it was 6.1km, I was gamed to complete the round. However, the gravel path was right next to the drop into the reservoir that has warning sign of "deep waters" all around and my poor mother's heart tells me never to bring the boy here. Lol.

No sweat and we completed the round easily. It was nice and relaxing to be cycling right next to a huge reservoir of water.

We didn't head to WCP after clocking the extra 6km but turned back, taking the road most of the time. Overall, we clocked 30km. On the way back, fatigue started to hit me and my legs felt very jellyish. We made it home nevertheless. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

I Had a Dream...

Last night, I had a dream. In my dream, I was carrying this huge bottle of water on my back. I don't know how much water there was but it was heavy. The bottle of water was so heavy such that my back hurts. In the dream, I tried adjusting the weight and position of the water bottle but regardless of how I tried, it hurts my back. Ouch.

Then I woke up and found myself sleeping on my tummy. Indeed my back was hurting like hell bcos.... Zaky was using my back as his personal pillow. Zzzzzzzzzzz... apparently his heavy head was the water bottle. My poor back.

In the morning, I told him about the dream and he said that he knew he was sleeping on my back but it was just too comfortable. Zzzz.. what are pillows for?

Mummy Lim

Not so Successful Prawning Experience

It was the typical "oops, we forgot to plan program for weekend" late afternoon. Once the kids were out of Maths class, they were eager to find out what "exciting things" we would be doing. Sorry kids. We rattled off a few possibilities, including cycling, swimming, WCP, etc. Something that would burn off a couple of hours before dinner.

We eventually settled for Prawning. There is this Prawning place beside Jurong Bird Park and we been there once a few years ago.

The shop offers a package of 3 hours for $36 and we could split that into 2 visits. Since the intention was to burn time more than anything else, we took that and 1 rod for all of us to share.

The last time we were there, we were lucky and got our 1st prawn in minutes. This time, luck ran out and we sat for a long time without catching anything. The other patrons were really nice. The man on out right gifted us our 1st prawn for luck. Lol. To further increase our chance, we spent $2 on a live worm.

Of course Daddy Lim had the honor to slice the poor worm as bait. The cut off part would still be wriggling while he attempted to put it on the hook.

Then the uncle on our left offered to help us check if our line was long enough. There is a scale on the wall to do so. Bcos the prawns were all on the floor, there wouldn't be a chance to anything if the line is too short. Just then, the staff took over and while checking he told us that our line had no hook! What we thought was the hook was in fact the clip to hold the line and the hook. Lol. No wonder we didn't get any prawn.

After all the saga, Zaky finally caught our 1st prawn! The rest of us didn't catch anything at all. Lol. There were quite some near misses though, sometimes we felt the little tugs and other times, we found the empty hook. We couldn't tell what was wrong - the bait? The line? The way we prawn? Lol.

Lil Shauna was very disappointed to not catch anything at all. Daddy Lim was initially talking about BBQing our catch; it didn't make sense to set up fire for 2 prawns. Lol. We didn't bring the 2 prawns home but gave it to the uncle who helped us alot, along with half the worm left. He added the 2 little prawns to his net full of prawns. Lol.

We spent 1.5 hrs and intended to spend the rest the next visit. The staff felt so bad for us (for catching only 1 prawn) and offered us some frozen prawns to bring home. Lol.  We didn't take up their offer bcos we were there to burn time afterall.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 109

Zaky watched some pizza making video on YouTube and declared that he would make pizza on my bday. A few days later, he said that he couldn't wait until my bday and so we had pizza for bfast. Haha.

Proudly present to you: the bare-chested chef. Lol.

It wasnt too bad. Only crumbs were left in mins. Thereafter, Lil Shauna and I headed to the rink for lesson.

Practice was easy despite the crowded rink bcos A was back! Lil Shauna found out that she was on SISA ice time for a while, which happens either super early weekend mornings or in the evenings. Lil Shauna was happily chatting and was motivated to practice without having me to hawk or nag her. I like...

We had been doing one-legged squats at home to train up for her sit spin. We had been fairly constantly last week than the previous one and I thought that her off ice squats are improving. She could now hold longer and could do them.easier. The squats are paying off bcos she managed to do a couple of sit spins and standing up eventully. Hehehe.

Class was all about jumps this week. Coach Raymond had to correct some of the techniques of the "long time ago" jumps (toe loop, salchow). Her loop jumps looked ok but she still didn't manage the entire round for flip jump.

While Lil Shauna didn't realise, she went faster (than usual class pace) for her jumps. Hohoho, the times that I pushed her to skate faster to jump are paying off! It has become intuitive! I was so pleased that I didn't insist for her to skate more after ice resurfacing and she was glad that she was let off. Overall, it was a good session.

Mummy Lim

A Day All for Myself

The grey hair hasn't been too obedient. Since CNY is right around the corner, I thought I should have a pampering day. Yeah! I like being pampered. Hohoho.

I took a day's leave and it was fully utilised. I faithfully did my treadmill in the morning after sending the kids off. Then, took a rest before heading to the library and got some books for the kids as well as a trashy novel for myself. I am still feeling empty and lost from the end of the Harry Potter series.

This was followed by a nice cup of koi bubble milk tea that will accompany me for the next few hours at the salon. Life should be like this everyday.

I had been toying with the idea of highlighting my hair in addition to the usual colouring. The only thing that puts me off is the extra time needed. Finally, I got down to doing it and spent 4 hours flattening my butt.

Tadah!

I had 15 mins to spare and to use the restroom before rushing for my facial appointment. Aha! Pampering session no. 2. The next 2 hours were pure bliss.

I would love to do this often. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

The Sun is Out...

So are the bicycles...

I would love for that gloomy, cloudy and chilly weather to continue in Singapore forever. The only con is the lack of outdoor activities bcos it was constantly wet. The bicycle rides had to take a break and I was starting to miss them.

Finally, the sun is coming out and we got to ride again. After the long break, Daddy Lim and I decided to ride to WCP and to take the dusty road back, along side big trunks and lorries. I even bought a cheap yellow pair of safety glasses from Decathlone to shield my poor eyes from the dust. I wore my fashionable sunglasses the last trip only to be told that I looked funny. Haha.

The ride started well until we past JE MRT and were on the way to the next PCN. Daddy Lim decided that he wanted to ride on the dirt while I continued on the concrete path. He had done that many times. Then suddenly, I saw him hit the dust dramatically. It was very spectacular and fortunately for his ego, the only other person who saw his fall was the security guard. He had lacerations on several parts but was anxious to move on to save his poor ego from further bruises. Haha. Luckily the scratches weren't too bad. Why did he fall? No idea...

He must be in shock from the fall bcos he suggested for us to take a shorter way home. I didn't mind, I was very much worried as well. Other than the scratches, he was much fine. We didn't ride on Sunday morning bcos he needed a rest to nurse his poor soul.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the kids asked to go cycling after the classes. It had been a long while for them such that their tires were flattened from the prolong non-usage. So we went.

We rode all the way to the foot of the circular bridge across AYE. Daddy Lim tried to nudge the kids to go further but their hungry tummies disagreed violently. They saw some pebble tracks and started their little so-called "trail".

We then headed back and stopped for dinner at Tradehub 21, Sakae sushi. The kids suggested for us to do this every Sunday evening so that we could have Sakae sushi every time. Zzzzzz.

We had to rush back bcos the sun was setting; we didn't put lights on the kids' bike for the ride. The ride home was uneventful.

I had thought that it was a short ride and was surprised to see that Strava had clocked 18.4km. It was probably bcos we went at a leisure pace, with a long dinner break in between and thus it wasn't tiring for the adults. To the kids, it was a different story. Lil Shauna felt like she had rode 40km. Lol.

It was for the reason of riding as a family that we upgraded the kids' bike. Long distance is still an issue and we look forward to the day that we can go 30km with the kids (still 10km short of what Lil Shauna expected, lol). We hope by then, Daddy Lim and I are still capable of riding. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Trackers

I was on a mission to hunt for fitbit charge 2 strap after I was given a free fitbit replacement for the failed heart rate function. Interestingly, the fitbit website refers me to the Lazada website and there are all kinds of straps to shop for. My 1st experience with Lazada wasn't too bad and Lil Shauna's pink fitbit strap arrived in about a week. While the strap wasn't the original, the fit was almost perfect. Though it was 2nd hand and there is no heart rate function, Lil Shauna was thrilled to own her own fitbit.

At the same time, I had signed up for the Corporate Step challenge under HPB and was given a free basic tracker. This was passed to Zaky, who was happy to receive a basic counter. I wouldn't consider giving him any more expensive trackers given how often he loses his stuff.

With that, we are completed. Trackers, all in.

Though the kids didn't always clock 10k steps a day, they aren't far behind and did so easily. They didn't have to walk around our tiny living room like me to clock the steps. It only goes to show how one gets lazier as age catches up. The kids' trackers are not sync to any of the apps; they are just happy to see and compare how many steps they managed to clock per day.

On a different note, my Sony mp3 died on me. I couldn't tell if it is the charger or the player that failed. I couldn't turn on the player and couldn't charge it. The only option was to get a new one and I wasted no time doing so bcos exercising without music is just too sad.

I opted for the Sony mp3 again bcos it actually has quite good reviews for being waterproof. I also read that it has a powerful quick charge function where a short 3-min charge can allow 1 hour of play time! I needed that. I had many experiences where the battery died out bcos I didn't switch the player off properly, only to realised the dead battery when I needed to use it.

Happy gadgets. Yeah!

Mummy Lim

All Done

I blogged about how I started reading the Harry Potter series despite not being a fan. I didn't even catch all the movies. However, the moment I started, I couldn't stop.

Book 1, 2 and 3 was loaned from one of the girls. I bought Book 4, 5 and 6 bcos the lure was just too great. Book 6 was a Christmas present for myself and I finished the book easily.

It was finally down to the last book that I loaned from the Chan family.

It was a love-hate relationship. On one hand, I was trying to read slowly bcos I wanted the books to last for a long time. On the other hand, I needed to finish the Harry Potter books so that I can move on to my other non-friction books.

Finally, I chomped the last book in like 5 days. I am finally done. It is kind of strange to realise that my understanding of Harry Potter was incorrect all these times. Harry Potter wasn't an extremely outstanding wizard but survived to book 7 simply bcos there were so many people helping him, plus the fact that he was so lucky. While Harry Potter was the lead in the story, the real mastermind throughout was Professor Dumbledore. I was blown away.

Now that I am finally done, I felt emptiness, like I do sometimes after a great K drama. Haha. The next step would probably be to watch the 5 to 7 Harry Potter movie.

Mummy Lim

Rescue Mission... Never Again

There had been many occasions where we turned up at the school to pick up sick kids. There had been even more occasions where I picked up calls made by the kids from the school's coin phone, pleading that we help them deliver forgotten stuff. We had never once accede to their requests, simply bcos we were already on the way to work.

While it may be scary in the kids' perspectives to face the teacher having forgotten their book or whatever, it is tested and proven that teachers do not kill. More importantly, it helps the kids to be more responsible for their stuff or they can go face the music.

We had gotten fine so far. Lil Shauna had been diligently packing her bag every weekday evening and double checking the next morning before school bcos she wakes up way too early. Zaky on the other hand couldnt care less and it was usually the same books anyway for P1; no much packing required.

However, this year didn't start off too well. The kids are now busy with their gadgets on most weekdays evening before bed. They didn't have much free time after school, student care and dinner. I had been nice (maybe too nice) and didn't want to cramp them since the year just started. Bcos they are so "busy", Lil Shauna stopped packing her bag. Then, she sleeps in later bcos the weather is just too darn nice and didn't have time to check her bag in the morning.

Yday, I had kids yelling about forgotten art stuff right after we stepped out of the house.  They should be grateful that I was willing to backtrack to grab the needful. Ended up, Daddy Lim and I were slightly earlier than usual.

After bfast and I saw the familiar number... it was Lil Shauna. Apparently the school time table has changed and she had forgotten to check and was in the wrong attire. She was pleading for us to rescue her.

I didn't know what got into my head (probablu bcos we were early) and I actually agreed but regretted the moment we hung up. We made our way home and then to school. It didn't help that it was drizzling and the road started crowding. I was swearing.

When I finally reached the General Office, no staff was in sight but a large sign reminded parents not to "rescue" their kids so that they would learn RESPONSIBILITY. I was so tempted to turn back  it eventually left the bag with a note.

Back in the car, I immediatelt watsapp Lil Shauna, who would not see the message until evening, to sternly remind her that it is the final time that we do this for her. I had myself to blame too and I must not relent in the future....

Mummy Lim

更上一层楼

When Lil Shauna started P2, I attempted to start her reading chinese story books. I know that it would help with the language but it was a real pain. She could easily polished off English story books without me having to bug her but Chinese is literally like a foreign language. I gave up soon after.

I attempted again when Lil Shauna was in P3 and Zaky in P1. Instead of getting easier, it became double the pain. The efforts were also abandoned soon after it was attempted. It was way too painful. 

This year, I didn't thought about starting the Chinese story books despite us heading to the library every week, until the school started pushing for it. It is now compulsory for all kids to bring and read chinese story books during Thu and Fri's assembly. I give it 2 thumbs up for the effort. The kids now have no excuses of not reading chinese story books. Hehehe. At least I was merciful and always make it a point to find books with hanyu pinying for them.

The P4 chinese seems to be a huge jump in difficulty as compared to the P3. Lil Shauna has dropped to the 2nd chinese class, which I think works better for her. In the 1st week of school, she came home from enrichment and school totally deflated, exclaiming that she would absolutely fail chinese this year bcos it is so difficult. She said that she can't even half understand what the teacher was talking about.

In addition to the usual 听写 and 默写, she is now given 成语 and sentences to memorize. Some examples are 自信满满, 苦口婆心, 热锅上的蚂蚁, 见此情形, etc. These are suppose to help with her 作文 but she can't remember most of them and doesn't know what they meant at all. I had to translate and help to explain in English. I hope that at least she can 1st memorize them and we shall slowly see how we can introduce these to her compo. I hope we will get there. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 108: Spinning Machine

It had become a mad rush for almost all our ice skating classes. Haha. One moment ago, we were still taking our sweet time eating bfast and getting ready bcos it looked like we have ample time. The next moment, we were getting late and rushing like mad to try to get maximum time to practice before class.

The rink has become crowded again after last week's 1st week of school luxury. Lil Shauna couldn't do much before it was time to hop over to the 1/3 ice. She did a couple of spins before that and complained that she was dizzy. I had suspected that it was spin day given that the last few sessions were all jumps.

Since she complained of dizziness, I asked her to jump while going at faster speed. She seems to be getting used to the idea and did much better than when we 1st started. Yeah!

I was so right about class. After some footwork, it was back spin. Lil Shauna is still working on her back spin; she has yet to achieve 3 revolutions required. Next comes the change leg spin, which effectively is front to back to front spin again. That is her killer and each spin leaves her dizzy. The last ones were the sit spins. By then, she had practically given up trying to stand up; every sit spin ended up with her sitting on the ice.

I am quite sure that she was stalling for time towards the end bcos every time she fell, she was in slow motion to get up. Haha.

After class, we took a break while the ice was resurfaced. Lil Shauna wanted to stay on bcos she heard that some of the classmates coming to the ice at 1pm. She was hoping to say "hi" and she willingly go back to the ice after ice resurfacing while I was ready to let her go after all the spinning. Her classmates didn't turn upbut we had to leave and she did quite some jumps in that 15 mins. Hehe.

By the way, the rink is stopping their student pass scheme. I heard it would be replaced by some loyalty program instead. How come I get the feeling that we would end up paying more with the "loyalty" program? Haiz.

Mummy Lim

Jokers

Shower

One day, I was "supervising" Zaky in the showers. I saw him put a pump of shampoo and a pump of shower foam onto his little hand. Then he mixed the 2 together and use the mixture both for his hair and body. Zzzz.

He said that it would be "faster" this way. Maybe that is how the 2-in-1 shampoo comes about. Haha.

Homework

The kids asked to skip student care on a Monday afternoon where they have no swimming class. I agreed on the account that they had to complete "mummy's homework" bcos I didn't want they do spend the entire afternoon staring into the screens. Lil Shauna argued.

LS: What if we have school homework too?
ML: You can do my homework after the school homework.
LS: But it would take me the entire 3 hours to do my school homework!
Z: It takes you 3 hours to do homework? It only takes me 30 mins.
LS: Yah, it takes you 30 mins if it is easy but 3 hours too if it is difficult bcos you have to cry 1st.
ML: Hahahaha.

Lil Shauna was so right. Zaky used to cry and throw tantrum when I made him do his chinese 听写 and difficult homework.

Mummy Lim

Swimming Lesson @ JW Complex

The kids started learning swimming when they were little bcos there are too many swimming pools in Singapore and water survival is crucial. I still have this pic of baby Zaky in his googles during one of his many lessons, pinned up on my office wall. So cute!

They took swimming lessons at Centris for at least a year with Uncle Shawn. His lessons were really cheap at $20 each. However, with a class size of 6 to 8 toddlers and pre-schoolers who could barely sit still, let alone take instructions, progress was slow. Then again, at that age, it was more about water confidence than really swimming. Zaky did gain so much confidence that he would jump into any pool of water despite only learnt the doggy paddle style. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

We stopped for a long time after my brother's family shifted out. Lil Shauna could do the front crawl and self taught the breast stroke. Zaky was largely contented with doggy paddle style that would allow him to waddle back to the pool side after jumping in.

I started the kids back on swimming lessons soon after we moved into Centris. The kids' schedule was too pack to do weekend lessons with Uncle Shawn and we found Coach Alex instead. It had been coming to 17 months since they started with Coach Alex and another of Lil Shauna's classmate.

The kids' progress is very obvious. Lil Shauna is now a strong swimmer; she can now swim faster than me. Then again, I am the ultimate lousy swimmer in the family. As for Zaky, Coach Alex said that he can swim better than the girls "when he wants to". Lol.

The only down about private swimming lessons is the lack of structured certification. After 17 months, we have no idea how competent they really are and started bugging Coach Alex for progress report.

It was probably timely bcos Coach Alex was planning for the kids to take the Gold test in March before the syllabus is revised to become more difficult. He said that the revision will be done on 15 Mar and we must take the test before that. I do agree that the syllabus is way outdated; one of the test itmes is for the kids to swim in those long sleeves buttoned up PJs with long pants! How many kids still wear those to bed now!? I even had a hard time hunting for those and managed to find them in one of the old-school shops in Gek Poh.

To prep the kids for the test, we had to take some swimming classes in the JW Complex pool. I guessed that is where the test would take place and familiarity helps. More importantly, the Centris pool is much shorter and shallower; the kids need to experience the real thing and also learn how to tread water in the deep pool.

We headed to the pool earlier bcos the kids were eager to play in the lazy river. Then, they enthusiastically played in the big pool while waiting for Coach Alex to turn up and start the lesson.

Lesson started proper soon after. Coach Alex gave instructions for the kids to start swimming.

The kids started with 2 laps of breaststroke, followed by 2 laps of back stroke. I wasn't worried about Lil Shauna who had experienced swimming laps in the same pool when she did her swim safer program with the school last year. My eyes were fixed on Zaky, who never really tried swimming laps. He started with the girls and soon was 1/4 lap behind, then half and finally 1 full lap behind. I was worried that he would drown actually but he proved to be a more competent swimmer than I thought he would be. Coach Alex said that they have to swim a total of 8 laps in 4 different strokes for the test. 8 laps!!!!!

Bcos he was so slow, the girls went for an extra lap of front crawl without him. Maybe that was his plan. Haha. After the laps, it was swimming in PJs, taking them off while swimming, wearing and taking off life vest and of course water treading.

The kids complained that the lesson was much tiring than usual. Haha. Nevertheless, they found strength to jump into and float in the lazy river after class.

Coach Alex said that the kids needed another 4 lessons at the complex before the kids would be ready for the test.

Mummy Lim

The Prefect

Lil Shauna was selected as the class monitoress when she was in P2. I was surprised bcos she is so quiet but not that surprised too bcos she is probably one of those really cooperative and well-behaved students that teachers like.

Lil Shauna was also selected again as the class monitoress when she was in P3. That wasn't surprising anymore. The greater surprise was when Zaky came home and said that he too was elected as the class monitor. What??!! My guess was: it was the teacher's plot to appoint one of the naughtier ones, so that they would attempt to behave and end up with having 1 less to discipline. Haha.

During the last PTM, I was pleasantly surprised when I learnt from Zaky's form teacher that she saw how responsible he was when assigned with tasks. Additionally, he was doing well academically in comparison to his peers. Putting everything together, she decided that he would make the right choice. Of course the appointement didnt change the fact that he was overly active and boisterous most times and the teacher had to very often remind him that he was the class monitor. Haha. I was very impressed by the teacher's good words and knew the side of Zaky that I didn't see at home.

On one of the evenings last week, while we were packing bags, Zaky excitedly told us that he was appointed as the Jnr Prefect and was to attend a training session! I think they will be appointed as full fledge prefect only in P3. Daddy Lim and I were super impressed but we had a very upset princess, who insisted that it wasn't fair bcos she too had dreamt about wanting to be a prefect since she was in P1 but why wasn't she selected?! Maybe she is too quiet? Anyway, there was no way to talk sense into her and she was almost close to implying that the school must be blind to select Zaky. That very night, I had a long chat with the princess before bedtime assuring her that she has other gifts and talents that God has bestowed upon her for other purposes.

The saga dragged on till today. On one hand, we have a very proud boy who could barely contain his pride and is frequently boasting about his new appointment and the other, an upset girl who couldn't bare to hear another word about her brother's new role and constantly dwelling in the unfairness of this world. Zzzzzz.. We foresee this to go on for a very long time; until Lil Shauna has become numb with the fact. Haha.

This morning, Zaky is all geared up with his Jnr Prefect uniform, which is an extra vest. I thought it was troublesome for the younger kids to wear a vest while the full fledge older ones wear a tie. I kept reminding Zaky to take care of his vest especially when he has to take it off for PE classes; he is so absent-minded and has already lost his watch and wallet in school just within the 1st week.

See how mega proud he is.

I didn't quite dare to ask for jiejie to pose with him in case I upset her further but she seemed fine.

Let's hope that the additional responsibility will indeed make Zaky a better boy both in school and at home. I am quite sure they can take away the appointment if he is not up to the mark. Haha.

By the way, while Lil Shauna is anything but proud of Zaky, Zaky is always super proud of his sister. I heard about how he cheered so ever loudly when Lil Shauna went up the stage to collect the model student award during assembly and making sure to let people around him knows that Lil Shauna is her sister.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 107

Poor Lil Shauna had to face a mummy, whose patience was super thin. After she rejected a few of my requests for this jump and that spin, I flared and told her to do the needful then. I rather read my book and play with my phone, occasionally stealing glances at her. There wasn't much time before class anyway. 

By the way, she lost her scratch spin. Don't ask me what happened or why. Zzzzz.

I didn't pay much attention to what she did in class. On days that I am short fuse, I think I m better off leaving her on her own. I saw her working on her sit spins and then flip jumps. There was 1 attempt where she was able to stand up after her sit spin but she had to use her hands to push on her lap to stand up. Nevertheless, it is a "stand up"!

After class, she said that coach Raymond said that she is almost getting her flip jump; she is almost doing a full round jump. I told her that she had to go back to ice after ice resurfacing and she knew better to argue with an irritated mummy. 

She was back on the ice for another 30 mins and the session was much better than before class. She couldn't do another full sit spin but she managed to do her loop jumps at a faster speed; something that she didn't accomplish last week. Once she got her loop jump, her confidence soared and she gave me a few more nice loop jumps. Hehe. 

We headed back to the ice this afternoon for a mere 40 mins. The practice was good. She found her scratch spins! She did a few sit spins but she had to push herself up. Nevertheless, they were sit spins! I am not sure if those extra pushes were allowed and hopefully she would get rid of them as her leg gets stronger. I was told that I should make her do squats at home. Haiz, I need a button that would push Lil Shauna to do the needful when pressed. 

Mummy Lim

My Fitbit

I brought the Fitbit in April last year as one of the many bday/ anniversary gifts for myself. I was trying to maintain my exercise regime and it only makes sense to be able to track it and further motivate myself.

The fitbit was put to good use, especially the step counter and I pushed myself to accomplish my daily 10k steps. I even walked around our small living room in the night when I fall short. I felt a little like a dog chasing its own tail; I even get dizzy sometimes bcos our living room is so tiny. Lol. But the satisfaction of the seeing fireworks going off on the fitbit is enough to compensate for the pain.

I never care much about the heart rate (HR) function and I seldom wear my Fitbit to bed. The  HR function is crucial for tracking sleep patterns. However, I realised that I had started checking my HR frequently while on the treadmill. That is largely to comfort myself that my heart is beating at the acceptable rate whenever I felt like I would drop dead on the treadmill.

Then, in December, the HR function suddenly failed. It had since become a habit to check my HR and be assured that I would remain alive on the treadmill. The lost of the HR function turned my treadmill regime upside down and it was plain frustrating. I couldn't remember if I had registered for the warranty (probably not given how lazy I was) and I turned online in attempt to find a solution. There is a huge fitbit support community out there and I realised that the lost of HR function was a common issue with the model that I was using. I also easily found suggestions to reboot the Fitbit. After everything failed, I sent an email to Fitbit to ask for advice.

I read about how some of the users got a Fitbit replacement and I was harbouring some hope. Then again, I am in far far Singapore and wondered if Fitbit would extend the same kind of service to me. The Fitbit support team did response to my email. They are not the most prompt but I had to give them some leeway since there is probably much time difference from where they are replying from.

The 1st few replies were focused on ascertaining what I can/ cannot see on my Fitbit as well as to make sure that I had done the necessary steps to restart/ resync the Fitbit. When all else failed and I was able to provide evidence of my date of purchase, Fitbit promised a replacement! Hehehe.

I was kept updated of the status of the replacement and I was looking forward to the delivery of my new Fitbit! The replacement was delivered to my home on the day that they promised. Super cool. I had thought the replacement comes complete with straps and was a little disappointed that it doesn't, I had to remind myself that it is good enough to get a replacement of the crucial component. Tadah!

I had just sync the replacement Fitbit recently and it works perfectly, including the HR function. The old Fitbit still works fine and I am intending to pass it on to Lil Shauna but I had to find the straps online 1st. The Harvey Norman and Courts don't carry the straps.

I am very impressed.... for now. I hope that the replacement is not another lemon and the HR function wouldnt disppear in a few months. For now, I am a satisfied Fitbit customer. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Celebrations!

Our social life had been very packed since we were back from Taiwan. It was a wonderful way to end the year with family and the girls, who are already like family.

We met up with Daddy Lim's extended family on Christmas Day. Yes, that morning, we just touched down from Taiwan. I am glad that we made it. It always gives me a warm fizzy feeling when we met up with them.

Dinner was pot-lucked style. The aunties showed off their culinary skills. For us, we bought sushi bcos we didn't want to put anybody in the hospital. Lol. Look, home-made ah mah steam cake.

Lil Shauna managed to squeezed in a couple of sleepovers in the last week of holidays. She would probably shift to the 3Fs' house permanently if she has a choice. Felicia and her made a pact, to live together on their own 10 years later. Haha.

On Saturday, Daddy Lim and I went for our long overdue cycling regime. We didn't dare to push too hard after the long break. Woohoo! It felt good to be cycling again.

We had a surprised high tea gathering in view of Auntie J's upcoming extended stayacation in the Trump land. I can't remember when was the last time we met up without the kids! No little people at all. It must be heaven. We were eating in peace. See, it was heaven. 

The time machine took us back to years before and reduced us to a group of giggling girls.

We wrote card of affirmations and blessings for one another. How long has that been since we turned to emails and ecards? 

As I re-lived my teenager years with the girls who are like family, my kids were having a blast at the Chan's home and utilising their last bit of the holiday. The kids had so much fun, like they always do when meeting up with the girls' kids. Zaky knocked out on the way home. By the way, the kids are surviving very well without the car entertainment system and we are likely to keep it that way.

I ended off my year 2017 with a final workout before the usual Sunday's routine kicks in. Yes, I am obsessed with my sweat; to prove that I had worked hard. Haha.

We hosted Felicia in the night for a sleepover. The 2 girls had plenty of activities to do together. They even stayed up just to do a countdown and only going to bed at 1.30am. I counted down with the girls; Daddy Lim and Zaky slept past the year. Zaky asked to be awaken for the countdown but it was mission impossible.

Daddy Lim and I had planned for a morning ride to usher in the new year. Unfortunately, the sky didnt concur with our plans and poured the whole morning. Part 2 of the plan went fine though; we had my brother's family over for New Year's lunch and finally to exchange the long overdue Christmas presents. Look at the steamboat! Ah yee must be drooling 7 hours away.

It had been an eventful last week of the year 2017. There are so many blessings to give thanks for and a wonderful start to the new year. Hello 2018, here we come!

P.S - my Christmas present to myself. Hehe, book 6!

Mummy Lim