Cycling with Zaky

Daddy Lim has stopped cycling for a long time. I think since post Covid confinement period. I don’t know why. I think he got bored and went into aggro skating instead. There are still occasions that he does leisure rides but on his gravel bike instead. His expensive Specialised is now part of the home decor. He did try several months ago to join one of the WWF rides. But cycling is a sports afterall and the months of not cycling tells….

For many months, he asked if we should sell his Specialised. The bike is about 5 YO and he will go into his speech of how bikes’ value depreciates. I get it but I am more worried about him asking to buy a new roadie not long after he sells this one. It happens…it always happen. 

We did try and posted on Carousell, asking for less than half the original price. We got several lowball offers that we rejected. 

Zaky is now slightly shorter than Daddy Lim but tall enough to fit the Specialised. He also started riding, though infrequently, with some of his classmates on his lousy Decathlon hybrid bike. We thought…. 

We got the tires, seat post, pedals and saddle changed, costing us almost $300, which I supposed would be $$ well spent if he utilises the bicycle. We got him to try riding a couple of rounds in the carpark and he seems fine. 

Last Sunday, he was gamed to go cycling with me. To avoid the traffic, we were on the road by 7am. It was a good timing as the sky was brightening too. Oh yes, we cycled on the road the entire way and he was riding behind me most of the time. We would ride abreast only if the road is empty. Zaky was very excited at how fast the bike can go with the same effort that he used on his hybrid. We were rolling at 26 to 28km/hr and he easily kept up. 年轻就是本钱. At times, he was free spinning; I was too slow for him ah. 

We didn’t go very far and stopped at WCP for MacD bfast. That was about 10km from our home.

I asked if he wanted to go further and he rejected me flat. Lol. We headed home after bfast, taking exactly the same route, but the opposite way, clocking about 23km in total. 

I am not sure how often Zaky would use the bike. With his speed, he should be able to keep up with WWF, but I am not sure about his endurance. Maybe one day..

Other than spending $$ on repairing the roadie, I also had to replace my cycling shoes. The cleats needed to be replaced (when I thought it was the pedals and had wasted $$ on new pedals) but the screws had rounded and cannot be removed. Sob. This was my 1st pair of cycling shoes and I got them in June 2020, though only started to use them much later. They are worn out anyway. 

My only criteria for the new pair? No need to be too expensive lah. Hoho. $125! 

I already tried them yday and they are good! 

My cycling computer went a little bonkers last week too and I couldn’t charge it. I got it barely a year ago! Just when I was sad that I had to spend $$ to replace it, it charged again! I am happy! Cycling is an expensive sports.

Mummy Lim

End of School Year

One of my favourite things to do at the end of every school year is to donate the kids’ old textbooks and throw the workbooks, worksheets and old notes into the recycle bin. The kids love this symbolic act and it was particularly satisfying after they had completed their PSLE. 

As the kids grow older, they can now do a lot of this packing themselves. I told the kids to sort the stuff into 3 piles - (1) the textbooks and assessment books to be donated, (2) the worksheets to be recycled and (3) the textbooks and assessment books to be handed down to Zaky. Their reward is $10 but they have to give me $10 if the task is not done or done shabbily. 

Nana was enthusiastic and I came home to this. 

It is a super big stack of papers to be thrown into the recycle bin. She said that she wanted to be part of the “throwing”. Zaky’s pile is a lot smaller and they are already in the bin. Happy. 

The reason for doing this now is also bcos Zaky needed to buy books for sec 3 and we needed to know what Nana can pass down to him. He has just obtained his subject combination result (EL, CL, A, E Maths, Chemistry, Physics, SS/Geo and Electronics), as per what he had opted for. While Nana had taken almost the same subjects, there is no guaranteed that her textbooks are still intact. The kids constantly lose their books, forgetting them in lockers, under their table, wherever.

After the kids had dug out all the books, it is time to sort into which to donate and which to keep (for Zaky). 

I was so surprised to find sec 1 textbooks still lurking around in the house. Why did I keep them ah? Many years back, I have already come to the realisation that only Chinese books need to be kept. Thankfully, I was able to pass the sec 1 books to my colleague, whose son is turning 13 next year. I did have to lug the books to the office. Zaky’s sec 2 textbooks are going to QQ. I have already warned Auntie TL that they are not the best condition, especially if they have gone through Zaky’s hands. If they are good, it only means that SST didn’t use those textbooks. 

In the end, we only have to buy a couple of books for Zaky. SST is also well known to rely on their own teaching material than on textbooks; some of Zaky’s textbooks are so new. While delivery service is available at a few, I am making Zaky go to school to collect the books. Hohoho. 

New year, new books, new uniform. 

Mummy Lim

Nana’s Graduation Ceremony

I think we are quite chilled parents when it comes to school related activities. Remembered Zaky’s OLE trip to BKK? T, who lives in Tampines, actually went to the airport to send him off and told Auntie S that so many parents were there, except Zaky’s, and he had to go to the airport on his own. Haha. #没有人要的小孩 

Nana mentioned that we didn’t attend most of her school investiture ceremonies. Lol. So when we were invited for her school’s graduation ceremony, we took leave to attend. Last chance le. 

The parent chatgroup was active with NH bear and bouquet preorders. Stress siol. 

I figured out that we (and Nana) cannot lose out as well. She didn’t want fresh flowers or a crochet flower bouquet and I decided to do something special and unique for her. Surprise!

The ceremony took place on Wednesday. From the Parent Gateway, I saw that the parents were to be seated at 8.15am and the ceremony will start at 8.30am. Daddy Lim had originally said that we should leave the house at 7.15am and Nana commented that it was too early. Heeding her advice, we decided to leave the house at 7.30am instead. 

We were almost ready at 7.30am when Nana’s classmate called to ask her whereabout. It was then that she realised that the students were to report at 7.30am. We were still at home. Lol. It was then a mad rush and then super bad traffic. The morning peak hour traffic didn’t give chance and Google map was showing red almost the entire way.

Nana, who hates being late, was super gancheong. She even muttered under her breath, to will an old man, who was hobbling across the zebra crossing with a walking stick to walk faster. Lol. We comforted her that the teacher can’t discipline her anyway on her last day of “school”. At about 8.20am, we dropped her off at the school gate, saw her running into the school compound before heading off to park. 

Daddy Lim and I only settled in the school hall at 8.30am and were probably one of the latest. Nana then whatsapped that she ran all the way and made it just in time to join her class in marching into the school hall. Did her teacher scold her. No ah. I think the teacher also wanted to save some energy. Lol. 

The ceremony started with some speeches, then a class video before the class headed up to the stage to receive their certificate. For a moment, I cannot remember which class Nana was in. Luckily, she messaged and reminded - 404. I thought it was something like that. Hoho. 

Can you spot her? 

We only pay attention when it was her class video and then her turn to go onto the stage. 

Nana said that she really likes the current Principal. He takes time to engage and remember the students’ name, CCA, etc. When receiving her certificate, the Principal asked her not to break her leg again. Lol.

We weren’t not the only ones who only pay attention when needed. All the other parents were playing games, scrolling their phone, checking emails… I even brought a book to read. Other than the class videos and speeches, there was a dance performance, a song performance and the staff also sang. The students were a lot more entertained than the parents. 

Finally, part 1 of the ceremony was completed and we were invited to view the ceremonial walk. 

This was quite symbolical. When the students were in sec 1, they had their ceremonial walk into the school. Now that they are graduating, they ceremonially walk out of the school. Nana said that she had always wanted to be one of those flag bearers and got her chance last year, during her seniors’ graduation ceremony.

I saw how messy some of the girls’ French/ Dutch braids were. Lol. 

A final cohort picture before the ceremony finally ended. 

With this, the students went back to their class for class party. In a sea of white uniform and braided hair, we lost Nana. Luckily we found her in her class bcos we needed to pass her the graduation “bouquet”. Tadah! 

The customary shots. 

She had wanted a new cup (after I broke hers) and thought that she could share those sweets and chocolates with her friends. Ended up, she brought everything home bcos she forgot about it and was busy receiving gifts and giving out her homemade cookies. 

The school made the students write letters to their parents and Nana wrote me a very endearing one. Awwww… my heart melted. 

With the end of the O levels and the graduation ceremony, secondary school life has really come to an end for Nana. She has been looking forward to the school holidays and has hundreds of to do’s (such as going thrifting with Boo) and camps lined up. Who has time for holiday work? 

Nana has worked hard for O levels and deserves her break. Let’s look forward to the next path God has lined up for her. 

Mummy Lim

3rd.Time’s a Charm?

I was very excited when I finally bought the bread machine and imagined fresh bread smell flooding the house. Ok, the bread does smell really good when freshly baked but to fill the house would probably need many, many loaves of bread. Lol. 

The instructions were easy to follow and I proudly shared to the ladies when my 1st loaf was done. 

Like I mentioned, it tasted very dense and I thought that maybe machine made bread is like that one, until Auntie H told me that the bread didn’t rise enough. She went on to show me how her loaf looks like. 

Wah! Her one really rise very tall ah. That was when I was educated about the importance of making sure that the ingredients don’t touch each other, except for the flour, and so, I have to put them in different corners, even when they would be mixed together in the next mins. 

I tried doing so the 2nd round and it still didn’t work. I duno why. 

Nevertheless, I am thankful for the family who still love the bread and finished the loaf, regardless of whether it had risen properly or not. 

There could be so many reasons why the bread didn’t rise properly - too little yeast, too much salt, not enough water, too much flour… despite it being machine made, it is important to have precise measurements of the different ingredients. I thought I had already measured very accurately le. Hmmmm….

Auntie H made sandwiches for the beach picnic with the bread maker bread. It tasted very soft, and very different from my 1st 2 loaves. She then shared with me her recipe and I was about to try out only to realise that the program timing is different by an hour and there is too much risk. If a little difference in the ingredients can make the bread taste so different, what’s more in a difference of over an hour processing time. 

Last night, I decided to attempt my 3rd loaf. This time, I added a little more yeast, and changed a different brand of flour that I bought from RedMan. It is more expensive and it should mean better, right? I baked the honey milk bread instead of the usual white bread. This time, there is honey, olive oil, milk and egg. I thought that there was a lot of liquid and was worried.

This is what I woke up to this morning. 

It has definitely risen more than the last 2 loaves. I told the aunties that I also sang the national anthem in my heart. Hohoho. The bread smelled very nicely of honey when I took it out this morning. While I can taste the honey sweetness, I cannot really taste the honey. 

I took 2 small slices to work. They were very soft, much softer than the last 2 loaves. 

Or maybe I should say that they are fluffier. 

Most of the loaf were finished by the kids.i shall eat the rest tomorrow. Hoho. No wastage. 

Mummy Lim

After O Levels and To the Beach

After a long break of more than a week, Nana finally took her last 2 papers on Friday. She had Chemistry P1 in the morning, another long break and finally her Physics P1 at 2.30pm. She is officially a free bird! 

The night before, she proudly showed me her empty Chemistry 10-year series. She has completed all 10 past year papers. 

Right after her papers, she headed off to Sentosa with her classmates in celebration. They were at the beach until dark and didn’t reach home until 11ish. It is ok, school holiday has finally started for her. 

I have to post about my Saturday morning ride bcos the pictures were so nicely taken. White stairways and blue sky background. So nice! 

The kids were still in lala land when I reached home. Nana was beat from the whole afternoon at the beach. Zaky only touched down at 11.30pm from BKK and continued gaming until 4am after Daddy Lim picked him up and home. 

We had booked the kids way in advance for Saturday afternoon. We had dated a few families to spend the late afternoon/ evening at the Sentosa beach. Nana didn’t mind despite being on the same beach the day before. It had been a long while for this many kids to come together during our gathering. Now that the teenagers planned their own meetup, usually only the little ones tagged along. 

While the morning weather was great for the WWF ride, it was pouring everywhere in the afternoon. The nea weather forecast said that the thundery showers were only to last until the early afternoon. Daddy Lim was very skeptical. We pressed ahead with Auntie H’s encouraging words that we will then have cloudy sky and cool weather on beach day. 

I was also doubtful when it was still pouring near Labrador Park and was praying hard for the rain to stop. There was no turning back anyway as we were all on our way and arriving very soon. Thankfully, the rain turned to a drizzle as we entered Sentosa. Despite the rain, Sentosa was crowded and there were so many other crazy beach goers like us. Lol. 

The drizzle was very light when we found a place to spread the mats. Nothing a few caps and umbrellas cannot handle. 

The kids didn’t mind anyway. The little ones were busy digging sand and carrying water. The older ones were playing frisbee and volleyball. 

The aunties were happily chit chatting on the mat and having picnic. I think we ate most of the food we brought. Lol. 

We stayed at the beach for 3 hours. At one point, some of the bigger boys were also in the sea. 

Whatever it was, they had a lot of fun while we had a lot of food. Hoho. 

We adjourned for dinner at Haborfront. While the aunties had already stuffed themselves silly, the kids and uncles were hungry and needed dinner. Finally, we had MacD ice cream to wrap up the day. 

It had been such a long time since the teenagers came along and we are so blessed to have our kids still as close as before. Next one - Christmas gathering.

Mummy Lim

Zaky’s OLE to Bangkok, Part 2

Zaky is up and done with bfast early, usually by 7.30am BKK time. We had to remind him to take pictures and to send to us. 

Other than knowing that they would be doing plenty of sightseeing and museum, I don’t remember the details of the tour. Zaky would send us a couple of photos every now and then, and I would scout the school sharing portal every now and then too. 

I am sure he is having fun. I would too if I am to spend 5 days with my besties. In a wink, Zaky is due to fly back this evening, touching down at 11.30pm. Daddy Lim would be picking him up; I will be sleeping, in prep of my Saturday WWF morning ride. Hoho. 

When I travel for work, the kids rarely messaged me and I didn’t quite miss them too. Now that Zaky is away for 5 days on his own, I realised that I do miss him and worry when he doesn’t respond to texts. Is that how I would feel whenever the kids travel on their own in the future!? Don’t want lah. 

As the kids grow, I grow too as a parent. Hmmm… 

Mummy Lim