Bishan Skatepark

Daddy Lim and Zaky had been wanting to try this skatepark in Bishan park. They eventually did on a weekday evening with me tagging along to feed the mosquitoes.

The skatepark is huge considering how tiny the Bishan park is. The 1st thing that greeted us is this big dish bowl.

While the boys geared up, so did I with mosquito patch and repellent. Spray.... Spray.... Spray.

The boys attempted the bowl and I caught up with my work. There isn't much for me to do; no big fancy tracks nor things to explore. 

Daddy Lim conquered the bowl! 

Besides the big bowl, there are slopes and grinding bars on the other side of the skatepark. The boys (more Zaky) tried those as well before coming back to the bowl. By then, I guessed most energy expended and they both got "stuck" in the bowl. LoL. 

Once stuck and exhausted, it is like mission impossible to get out. I saw the boys doing all sorts to try to get out - pumping all and down, going round in circles to gain elevation, crab walk, side walk... It was actually quite hilarious seeing them attempting, failing and rolling to the bottom of the bowl and then trying again. Hohoho. 

I bet it was super embarrassing for them bcos there were other people waiting to use the bowl and they had to get out 1st. Hahaha. 

The boys obviously had a great time and workout. I also got no mosquito bites, just totally smelling like lemon grass. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 250: Finally Caught her Foot

Lil Shauna had been learning her program for the past many lessons. While she has completely learnt the entire program, I have yet to see her do it with music and I am so looking forward to it. 

She wouldn't be taking the test in October. Given the restrictions, I don't know when would be the next test date. I think it is good that she has more time to work on the program and gain a lot more confidence. 

The lessons are often more than just the program. I had wanted to say that she would have gotten so sick of the program after repeating it so many times only to recognize that some of the more advance skaters skate to the same music like thousands of times until it is muscle memory. Anyway, the gist is she does do other stuff during lesson. 

Lil Shauna has always been more of a jumper than a spinner. Her double sal needed more consistency though and I am still waiting for her to suddenly land her double toe one day, like how she suddenly got her axel and double sal. 

Coach worked on her camel spins in the last few mins of the lesson. Yes, we needed a lot more consistency to her camel spin too. Haiz. Coach then asked her to catch her free foot, something that she has never been managed to do. She said that she cannot find her foot and doesn't know when it is when spinning. Zzzzzz. Then suddenly, she caught it. 终于找到了!

Her posture when she is trying to catch her foot didn't look ideal. Her spinning speed also drastically drops while trying to find and catch her foot. Ideally, she needs to be able to spin another 3 more rounds in that position to be considered as successfully completed the spin. She has a lot to work do. Hoho. But she finally found her foot! So 感动. I always enjoy watching her on ice.

Mummy Lim

Night Cycling with the Kids

Daddy Lim had to work on Saturday morning and I went on the join the WWFs on my own. 

It was a short ride of less than 40km but I earned a nice bfast at Tiong Bahru Bakery. Oooo... I like bread.

This would be a last group ride for a while until the restrictions eased up again. Haiz. 

It had been a long time since we had gone for a family ride. The last one was just Zaky and myself and without going far, somebody asked to turn back bcos he was tired. Zzzzz. Out of the blue, Lil Shauna said that we should go for a night ride. Sure! 

Just that cycling as a family is hard work bcos we first have to charge the extra lights and pump the kids' bikes' tires. They have gone flat after the prolong non-usage. Zaky's chain has started to rust and we had to degrease and lub them too. I took the chance to do the same for my bike. It had been a while.... too long a while. 

We finally headed out and intended to cycle to Vivocity. Lil Shauna actually suggested Barrage but I think it is too challenge given the long break from cycling. 

The route was a combination of road cycling and PCN. We hit the road right at the start, crossed the spiral bridge and continued on road along WCP. I was worried that Zaky couldn't keep up but he wasn't too bad. We were rolling about 20kmh but there were several impatient drivers who either honked loudly at us or drive very close to us. Haiz. 

We went on the pavement somewhere around Lab Park when Zaky needed a rest. We slowed down and rode on the pavement all the way to Seah Im for the much desired dinner. 

See, see, cable cars! LoL. The lousy phototaking skill. 

Then, we found our way and rode across the Sentosa Broadwalk. 

Finally, it was time to head home. We cut into Lab Park.

Hit the road again after exiting Lab Park, all the way until Jurong Town Hall where we continued the rest of the way via PNC and pavements. 

The roads were a lot less busy in the night and cycling on the roads with the kids were a lot more enjoyable. At a traffic junction while waiting for the light to turn green, Zaky even turned and waved to the driver behind, who nicely reciprocated. So nice of the driver, who slightly compensated for the impatient drivers' experiences earlier on. 

We made it home safely. It was 9ish and Zaky declared that it was bedtime after shower. Exercising is hard work. Lol.

It was a nice experience overall. I do wish that the drivers can be more educated about cyclists on the road. I am sure we obeyed the traffic rules throughout the ride but that didn't stop motorists from honking at us, believing that we are in the wrong to ride 2 abreast on a 2 or more lanes roads. I also lost count of cars that sped closely past us probably intentionally trying to intimidate us. Unless there is a minimum speed or age for cyclists on the road? I don't think so. 

The kids had a great time though. They were very well-protected by their parents and cycling on the road is such thrilling experience. They did learn to watch the traffic alot more this time. We will now have to wait for the restrictions to be lifted before we do this again. 

Mummy Lim

The Newest Addition

Daddy Lim is no stranger to owning more than 1 bike at the same time. We were on mountain bikes when we 1st started riding before we finally surrendered and got the roadies. 

We didn't get rid of the mountain bikes immediately. Of course we didn't have time or the energy to ride them. Once we moved on to roadies, coming back to ride mountain bikes feels like trying to climb Mount Faber every ride. At least I attempted to pass down my mountain bike to Lil Shauna. Daddy Lim just kept his and go for trail ride literally like once in a blue moon. 

He finally sold his mountain bike when we were selling mine as well as Zaky's old kiddy Trek mountain bike. Should sell lor, where got so much time to ride so many bikes? 

I am wrong obviously. I don't think the crux here is about having enough time to ride, it is about owning more than 1 bike. Daddy Lim had been researching on gravel bikes. I roll eyes at him at his any attempts to broach about buying another bike. Why? Where got time? 

Like I say, no time, no issue. He eventually ordered a gravel bike online without informing me. Zzzzzzz. Some of the cycling kakis got to know earlier than I did. Rooooaaarrrr.... He probably didn't intend to tell me if it wasnt bcos one of the cycling kakis had a slip of tongue in our group chat. My eyes rolled until they almost didn't make it back.

Then, the bike was delayed for many months bcos of covid. It was so delayed that Daddy Lim almost wanted to cancel the order. I was secretly pleased and hoping for that to happen. Bo leh. Hiaz. 

I already said that he has no time lor. It was a couple of weeks after he had collected the bike that he finally installed the bottle cage and pedal and finally brought it for a spin. The spin was only from our house to the end of Jurong Lake, 6km in all. LoL. 

Well, at least 开张了.

I think I look good posing with the bike. Haha. 

Mummy Lim

ART

With the number of covid cases increasing and the primary school kids unvaccinated, the Govt has issued ART kits to primary school students for self-testing. 

Zaky received his kits early last week. I didn't follow up on the news but the parents' chat group was buzzing with updates. What I understood was that the parents are to assist the kids to use the ART once by the end of last week so that they would be able to do it themselves (in school?) subsequently. Ok, didn't sound that difficult. 

We procrastinated literally until the end of the week. The instructions were easy to understand. Zaky did his own swab followed by a series of sneezes. Dunk the swab stick into some solution and squeezed the solution onto the test kit. Easy breezy.

You probably heard about it - yes, the ART test kit looks so similar to the preggy test kit. Hohoho. Deja Vu.

Maybe they should create one with the smiley face icon when the test is negative. Hohoho. Anyway, we have a negative result. All good to go. 

Mummy Lim

Up Mount Faber 2x

It had been a good 3 over years since I started cycling. Have I improved? I am very sure I did. Am I very fast or very good? No. 

I realized that it is almost impossible to improve tremendously in cycling by simply cycling. Many of us went on to do different forms of exercise and as a result improved in cycling due to better physics. I am one of those and covid helps in my case, making me exercise so much more and building up my form, aiding my cycling. Nevertheless, I am not very fast nor can climb very well. I don't know what else I need to do to improve but whatever it is, it sounded like hard work. No thanks. Hoho. 

The only pro about cycling is that it is difficult to "give up" once we set out. Some way or another, one must still cycle home. 

Climbing is not my forte. I roll eyes whenever the WWF plans to roll NTU, NUS or likewise. When I heard that we were going to do Mount Faber and 2x some more on Saturday, my eyes rolled until.... It was nearing the ride that I heard that we would go up from 2 difficult sides, the Telok Blangah side and the usual side that we always attempt. I have never tried ascending from Telok Blangah side and cyclists were telling me how bloody difficult it is. Die. One of them said that there are 3 parts to it, the 1st is a warm up, the 2nd is a struggle and the 3rd is testing your will power to not to give up. Wah...

The route to Mount Faber is a familiar one, which I have done many times. This time, it felt very gloomy, like I was some pigs or cows on the way to the slaughter house. Sob. We stopped for a picture 1st before the climb. It was an absolute right choice in case I can no longer smile for pictures at the top.

Then we started the climb - to each his own. Fighting. 

The 1st climb was really not too bad like a warm up. The gradient was manageable. Right after the turn, that was when the nightmare started. I really did struggle. Soon, I was at the easiest gear but it didn't at all feel easy. I was going at like 6 to 8kmh, pedaling super hard and huffing and puffing away. The climb was half the agony. The other half was the fact that I could see no end and cannot tell when the climb would come to an end. It was bad, so bad. 

Once the 2nd part is over, I thought the 3rd was very doable. I did make it to the top. Hohoho. 

Daddy Lim did it too!

Once we have conquered the difficult slope, the usual side really did feel so much easier. The easier side is punctuated with some flats in between allowing for breather before one attempts the next segment of climb. I conquered both, had an adrenaline rush and felt like I could climb the 3rd time. Of course I didn't bcos I wasn't crazy enough. Hoho. 

I did feel super mega proud of myself though. I did wonder if I had to stop or to push my bike up. Hoho. Yay! Another new climb conquered. 

Mummy Lim

Back to School

My routine got messed up a little bcos of the cruise. On Friday afternoon, I missed booking Sunday ice time for Lil Shauna. On Saturday morning, I turned off the alarm (instead of the snooze button) ending up oversleeping and missed the Saturday morning ride. At times like that, I am really grateful for the gym so that I don't have to do another HIIT or jog. #overdose

Bcos I missed booking ice time on Sunday, we decided to skip off ice as well, earning me a day of no planned activity, which was much desired for the needed rest. 

We did attempt to head out to Joo Koon for dinner but ended up tabaoing bcos I forgot to bring my hp. In today's times, there are 2 things that must not be forgotten whenever one steps out of the house - the mask and the hp. Without my hp, I wasn't able to show my vaccination status. The kids rather we tabao than to go to the foodcourt. I tried retrieving my vaccination status via Healthhub but Singpass is needed and an OTP will be sent via SMS to my HP. 算了

Despite not doing much the entire Sunday, Zaky and I were tired, turning in at 9ish in prep of the new week. I is old. I think I was tired from the activity-packed cruise. 

Monday morning was a mess. While having bfast, Zaky realised that he had forgotten to pack his English file. Lil Shauna and I ended up helping him to punch holes and sort papers. This delayed the other preparations for school. They ended up getting out if the house later than usual and that got Lil Shauna rushing Zaky no end, who rushed out of the house with recycled bags in hands carrying his stuff.

Right when they got into the lift, I saw Zaky's wallet on the table. Zzzzz. I attempted to call Daddy Lim in the lift. The message wasn't clear bcos I did get the wallet down to Daddy Lim at the carpark but missed Zaky who went up home in search of his wallet. I finally caught the super frustrated Zaky getting out of the house still with the recycled bags in toil. It was probably too much for a Monday morning and the boy started sobbing and muttering "I need my wallet, I need my wallet" and sobbed in the lift all the way down to the carpark. LoL.it was very comical actually. 

He calmed down when we arrived back in the carpark and climbed into the car to finally start his Monday back in school. Hohoho. 

Back to life's routine. Fighting!

Mummy Lim 

Not Enough

The boys had so much fun boogie boarding on the cruise. Despite the hours that they spent boogie boarding (and the poor mummies waiting in the sun), they didn't get enough. So much so that they asked to continue part 2 with the Stingray @ Kallang when we are back. 

Zaky tried the Stingray 3 times. The 1st was a lesson and the next 2 were supposedly public sessions. However, he was the only one to sign up for the public sessions both times and the staff ended up giving him some sort of one to one private lesson. 赚到.

Booking was made for y'day bcos we fast hands, fast legs. Zaky and I headed down to the Kallang Wave mall after his Maths class and he started with a session at the skatepark. 

He got bored faster than usual bcos of the lack of companion. Me? I was sitting far, far away under the shade. Hoho. Fortunately, it was soon for the Stingray session and Zaky didn't bug me too much. 

I didn't think that there would be people as crazy as us but there were and 2 adults joined the same Stingray session. The instructor/ staff went very much by the book this time, starting with an off water briefing session that took a good 15 mins. 

Finally it was time to start the action. At least we were not baking under the sun. 

Despite being experienced, Zaky was made to start with the basis with the others. This basically means the superman position. Unlike the boogie boarding, the surfing is largely controlled by the body tiling and hands, which also means that it is much more tiring. Imagine keeping to the superman position all the time and then have somebody constantly splashing water into your face. Hoho. 

It was T's 1st experience with the Stingray but he picked up very quickly. He too mentioned that it is more difficult than the boogie boarding. 

The 4 of them had to take turns. About 45 mins into the session, they each had 2 go in that superman position. There was so much waiting and the boys were glad to have companion.

Then, they were all made to re-assemble for another briefing on how to kneel on the board. Yawnz... 

There was only enough time to do the kneeling position once. 

This position is so much relaxing and easier to steer. With that, the session came to an end. 

Was it fun? The boys all like the boogie boarding better bcos this session was so structured (aka boring). They got to do a lot more "patterns" with the boogie boarding. I think it has to do with the "crowd" and instructor. Zaky enjoyed alot more the last few times when he was the only one and was taught interesting wheel barrow and even tried the standing surfing. Aiyo. 

Would we book again? I am not sure but I hope better luck next time. 

Mummy Lim

Another Quantum of the Sea: Day 4, Home Sweet Home

It was the day of disembarkation. 

The last cruise, Auntie S and kids were scheduled to disembark at 7am while we were at 8am. This time, we were at 8am and 9am respectively. 

We were probably somewhere in Indonesia the day before and my mobile phone time was one hour behind. Taking the time difference into consideration, I set the alarm accordingly only for it to go off at 5am. Back to Singapore time lah. Duh! 

No more morning exercise and we got to sleep in a little more. Lil Shauna enthusiastically jumped out of the bed when reminded that we were back in Singapore and her phone had come alive. In minutes, she was in the balcony with her phone. The phone never left her hand ever since. 

We dated for a final bfast. Don't waste.

We had time and went back to the cabin for some rest before our turn for disembarkation. I did the final packing; the kids were just glued to their gadgets. Zzzzzz..

The sequence for disembarkation was according to the luggage tag number distributed. The numbers were clearly announced or updated on tv channel 23. Though scheduled at 9.15am, our number was called slightly before 9am. 

Hello Thursday.

Goodbye Cruise.

The entire disembarkation and immigration process was smooth and efficient. Before long, we were on the Gojek home. 

Home sweet home.

Did we enjoy the cruise more this time? There are some wins and some losses. The cruise felt a little more crowded this time and we couldn't make it to some of the intended activities bcos they were full by the time we turned up. It was upsetting to be able to book the bumper car only once bcos we were all looking forward to that. There was only one show that we caught but we thoroughly enjoyed that. We missed the iFly again.

On the good side, we are all cruise experts already. We snatched the earliest checkin time and got to do all the dance classes even though the kids were not keen to accompany us. The splitting ways method works great for all of us and we got to take part in some activities that we didn't the last time. The kids are very comfortable with a cruise holiday now and were able to stay alone in the cabin or participate in activities without us, leaving us more freedom to ourselves. The boys absolutely enjoyed the boogie boarding. Lil Shauna enjoyed the food and the table soccer. I enjoyed the break from life routine and to be able to spend time with my love ones. ❤️❤️❤️

Auntie T is heading for the same cruise in December. She had asked for tips on what activities to do etc. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what activities, just do whatever that Is enjoyable or looks like would be enjoyable. Don't stress too much and all will be good. 

Is that the December school holiday calling? Hoho.

Mummy Lim

Another Quantum of the Sea: Day 3

The girls and I agreed that we would workout in the morning. Auntie S and T were also keen to join. To entice Zaky, I told him that he would earn $1 for every round around the tracks and each incremental round would earn him $0.50 more. Lil Shauna's job was to encourage him and she would get whatever he earned, like an one for one deal. The money can then be used for arcade onboard. 

While waiting for Zaky to bite the carrot, I happily posed on the balcony. 

It took a while for Zaky to finally decide that he would join us. It was a tough choice bcos the bed was so comfy. 

Hello to Wednesday!

The sun was peeping. 

Start-to!

The girls and I attempted to jog but it was freaky windy. Approaching the turn at the front of the ship, we had to brave the wind that was pushing us back like a pair of invisible hands. While negotiating the turn, the wind attempted to slam us against the wall before finally pushing us roughly away right after the turn. It was scary and I gave up after 3 laps, completed just in time for the glorious sun rise.

The girls stopped for their 脚步 and so did I for some HIIT. 

But not forgetting to torture some bugs 1st. We were in the middle of the sea, where did these bugs come from?

The boys managed to clocked 3 rounds too. Zaky earned $7! 

We left the deck when Zaky started screaming bloody murder from the lack of bfast. 

After tummies were filled, we headed different ways. The girls wanted to hibernate in the cabins, the boys decided to go swimming, I insisted to go for the dancing class, dragging Auntie S along. The boys were old enough to head for swimming on their own. 

It had been difficult to get a slot at the dancing classes. We turned up earlier only to realize that there were a handful for the class. I didn't mind the extra space. Hoho. 

It was very enjoyable mini workout session. Auntie S and I went on to take 2 other dancing classes for the day. As the day progressed, it got more and more difficult to remember the steps though. Haha. 

After the dancing class at 9am, we started the "split way" routine. Auntie S took the 1st shift with the boys at the boogie boarding while I took the girls to go play sudoku. Then we swopped. We were so efficient at it.

My turn with the boys. 

They waited pathetically under the sun for their turn, so did I.

The boys were willing to leave when it was nearing noon. Zaky had been eyeing the Harry Potter quiz. He had been mesmerized by the series recently and is currently at book 5. 

I thought we would flop at the quiz. Although I had completed all the books, I seriously remember nuts about it. The rest of the gang didn't even catch all the movie sequence, let alone read the books. 

I was pleasantly surprised - Zaky got 12 out of the 20 questions right. The questions were on trival facts like "what plant is used to make the potion to save somebody that was petrified", "what animal is on the Ravenclaw logo" and "what is Dumbledore's full name". Siao ah? How would I know? Apparently, Zaky does. I am so impressed. I wish he studied for his exams as well as he "learnt" from the Harry Potter books. 

Lunch was a simple affair when we had that heavy a bfast. We dumped the kids back at the cabin for another dance and I left a "piece" of me on the cruise. 

The various activities/ quizzes went on for the remaining afternoon. The girls coincidentally bought and brought twinning outfit. 

The last activity before a long break was the table soccer. Each family could book a 20 mins slot. For some reason, the kids got to play for 45 mins before the next family came. 

Lil Shauna said that it was the most interesting activity on the cruise. Win already. 

We went back to the room for a long rest. The boys took a nap in prep for the final night boogie boarding session at 8pm. 

We had to trade dinner for the session bcos the only sit down dinner starts at 7.15pm and usually dragged to 8.30pm. The boys opted for pizza so that we can go Q early for a slot. 

Auntie S brought the 2 ladies for proper dinner. 

Obviously the boys didn't mind. I had too much food and plenty to burn from the last few days and volunteered to bring the boys. 

The night session was great. The Q was much shorter and best of all, no sun for me. 

The boys had to savor every single minute of the last session and stayed until the very end of the 1.5hr slot. T was last in line and I got to take this wonderful shot of the boys with the fantastic background. 

The night scene was so pretty under the lights. 

But after the long day's activities, we didn't have any more energy to enjoy. Haha. 

Good night to our very last night. 

Mummy Lim