The Implant Part 1

I had an upper cracked molar back in February 2021. The dentist put a band around it and the band is usually effective for 12 months but mine lasted for 4 grateful years. I finally had it extracted in June 2025 when it started hurting again. Cracked tooth pain is a different level. 

It is no good to leave empty gaps from missing teeth. The remaining teeth get lonely and start moving around. The dentist would usually recommend implants. Back in June 2025, after the trauma tooth extraction, there was no way that I would remotely consider doing an implant. 

Time flies and I lived in harmony with the missing tooth. I know I should get my implant, which required a substantial bone mass and bone mass is likely to decrease with age. Of course I procrastinated, until I was motivated by Auntie S, who did 2 implants at one go. I must clap for her. 

I made it my 2026 resolution to have my implant done. I went for my yearly check up and told the dentist that I have decided to proceed, even when I am not ready. I had an xray and the dentist assessed that I have enough bone for the implant. He had wanted to share the implant procedure with me but I declined. Whatever he says would just scare off whatever little determination that I had. 

The appointment was scheduled for a later date and then pushed back at the last minute bcos the dentist was on urgent leave. Alamak. My poor heart. 

Finally, I went to the dentist this afternoon. Ignorance is bliss and I totally didn’t try to find out what the procedure entails. Before I left the house, Nana asked me and I totally didn’t want to think about it. I cycled to the clinic at Boon Keng. I had my ear pod and Nana’s stress ball, hoping that these would tide me through the ordeal. Nana generously offered me one of her better stress balls. 

The dentist had to explain the procedure and I finally listened. Knowing gives some assurance too. 1st an injection (or injections), then cut open the gum, drill through the bone, fit in the screw and see if firm. Give it 3 months to heal and rest, before coming back for part 2. The dentist gave me a “jack” to help me keep my mouth open. Yes, very much needed and very helpful. 

Surprisingly, the injections were very tolerable. For most part, I barely feel them. I got more jabs after I told the dentist that I still could feel the his pokes. Once numbed and the procedure started, I could “feel” the scrapping, which I figured out eventually that it was the cutting of gum. Then, the drilling started. That went on for a while, before the screw was fitted in. A screwdriver was used to tighten the screw and I could hear the clicking. I almost died. 

I was sent for another xray, to make sure that the screw was properly set in place. Thankfully it was and the dentist said that the screw was firm in the bone. If is isn’t, part 2 of the implant procedure would entail another mini surgery. Nooooooo…. Then the stitches and this part also went on forever. I can imagine how tough it was given the limited space (that is my mouth’s opening) for the dentist to work with. Finally, a safety cap was put on until the appointment a few months later. When the dentist removed the “jack”, my jaw was so sore.

My next appointment was a week later to remove the stitches. I was finally sent home with antibiotics and painkiller. I can feel the stitches. Eeeeewwwwkkk. 

The pain wasn’t too bad, even when the anaesthetic was wearing off. I could continue with my 5pm meeting and didn’t talk funny. I went dinner with Nana and all I could manage was dessert. I couldn’t open my mouth too wide and definitely didn’t dare to chew on my right side. I had to comfort myself with a Luckin coffee. Hoho. 

Am I hungry now? Yes! But I wouldn’t risk eating. Let’s hope that I would feel much better tomorrow. I was given strong painkillers. The pain isn’t too bad, just a dull ache but I think Panadol would help with better sleep. 

By the way, the stress ball and music were totally the right choice. 

Mummy Lim

Everybody needs New Glasses

It was Nana who triggered and said that she needed new glasses bcos her current pair is so scratched. The kids do wear contact lenses but Nana is on her glasses more often than Zaky. 

They had been on Hoya myopic control lenses since they were in Primary school. The lenses are really expensive and each pair of their glasses used to cost $400, then inflated to $550 along the years. I hated it when they made remarks like “I can’t see clearly”, bcos that could mean $500+ flying away. The fortunate thing is that the Hoya lenses really helped and their eyesight had been stable for many years. If there is a need to change glasses, it is usually bcos the lenses are scratched, then they grew bored of the “look” and wanted new look. Checking back the blog posts, I think the last time the kids changed their glasses was back in March 2024. 

It had been 2.5 years. Nana had been bugging for new glasses. She said that her lenses are so scratched. Instead of the usual Hoya and JP optical shop, I thought maybe we can now do the Lenskart type. They are already in their late teens/ early adulthood, their eyes should be stable right? I took the chance to change out my old flower glasses lenses too. I think my eyes have deteriorated. My glasses are also from Lenskart and changing lenses only cost $20. I am officially moving to +150. #oldpeopleproblem Cannot see means cannot see, don’t try to fight and pretend. Lol. 

Nana was happily selecting her frame and there is a one-for-one promo, so Zaky got interested too. 

Buy lah, buy lah. 

Both their eyesight got worse. I duno if it is bcos it is a different optical shop and have different testing standards or they are both going blind(er). 

Zaky’s.

Nana’s.

Nana has a really bad eye. A problem that we knew since she was little and thankfully Hoya lenses managed to keep the eyesight stable. In the future, she shall earn $$ and hopefully get lasik. 

Eventually, they went slightly lower in power. I asked the optician if that damages that eyesight but she said that it really depends on how comfortable the users are before deciding what degrees for the lenses. 

The optician also said that eyesigh only stablises in the 20s and advised us to also get the myopic control lenses. We had to pay $270 more for the lenses. At least 2 pair of glasses now cost $470, cheaper than a single pair of Hoya. I really hope that the Lenskart glasses and so called myopic lenses don’t spoil their eyes. 

Mummy Lim

Sporty Kids

We have sporty kids and we are an outdoor, sports family since the kids were young. Rollerblading, ice skating,  cycling, scooting, swimming, you name it. 

As the kids grew, we continue to encourage them to be active. Nana is now in canoeing and the team captain while Zaky is playing basketball and the school’s house captain. 

NSG is starting very soon. Zaky had been saying that his team is considering a buzz cut for NSG. That is a big sacrifice for some and thus some pushbacks. Yday night, he came home looking like this. 

A few of them went to this premium India barber at Pasir Panjang for the cut. This head cost $25 ah. 

I’m am not sure how the buzz cut helps with playing basketball. Maybe he can aim better now that no hair blocks his vision? Hoho. Anyhow, he had been telling us the whole morning about how cool his head now feels. 

Daddy Lim and Zaky now look much more alike. Lol. 

Nana had a canoeing event this morning at Kallang. She was up at 5.30am and out shortly. The event, some marathon canoeing thing, starts at 7.40am and would last 2 hours. They are supposed to do 3 big rounds in the Kallang waters. Nana had been asking for us to go watch her and said that we will be able to see her 3x bcos she would do 3 rounds. That is a lot of time to wait to see her 3x.

Anyhow, Daddy Lim and I did go to Kallang to support her. We cycled down, bcos Kallang is very near to our place and it would be easier to find the event venue on bike than on foot. 

It wasn’t difficult to spot the event bcos there were so many paddlers in the water. The challenge is how to spot Nana when there were so many of them and they were all very far away from the viewing point. Nana said that she would be in a double canoe and she would be wearing the ACJC jersey. As if that helps. 

I must be very lucky, bcos just as we parked ourselves, Nana was right in front of us! I yelled “Shauna, Shauna” and waved dramatically. I saw the 2 heads turned and the canoe lost their rhythm for a few seconds. Must be her, right? 

My phone camera obviously cannot capture this kind of distant. 

We waited for Nana to appear again but she didn’t even after a good 30 mins wait. I started doubting if I did spot her earlier. Maybe I had yelled at some strangers instead. Lol. We were about to leave at 9.30am when I decided to walk to the starting point for a peek. Nana and her mates were there. She had completed her rounds and didn’t come tell us. Zzzzzz. 

Luckily I thought to walk over and check. Nana was going out with her mates after the event and happily passed me her life vest to bring home. I ended up cycling home with a life vest strapped on. I feel so safe and not at all worried if I ever ramp over any of the railings and fall into the many canals on the way home. Hoho. 

Nana also confirmed that it was her whom I saw. She said that she was distracted for a moment and almost capsized. That would be quite funny. Haha. 

Mummy Lim

Happy Mother’s Day to Me 2025

I have to dedicate a post to this Mother’s Day bcos Zaky gave me such a nice surprise. 

On Mother’s Day, I always get reminded of Nana’s dramatic and grand entrance to earth. It is always such a crazy birth story to share. This Mother’s Day, I not only got my own kids but also Boo and T in my house, wishing me Happy Mother’s Day. We didn’t do anything special though bcos the kids were not here for me but for Nana. Zzzzz. I got to enjoy a little of the kids’ Wings Stop feast.

I asked for my Mother’s Day gift and got hugs and “I love you”s. So clever. Then Zaky mentioned that I would get my surprise the next day, which happens to be a PH. I didn’t think too hard about it. 

I woke up at 6ish the next morning bcos Mochi was meowing for his bfast. I am quite sure he kept his watch hidden somewhere and knows how to read time. Since I was up, I was deciding if I should go to the gym or a jog at the PCN. Eventually, it was rollerblading. 

The kids were all bunking in Nana’s room and when I was just about to get ready to leave the house, I heard one of the kids’ alarm went off. Somebody must have forgotten to turn off his/ her alarm. 

When I was almost done with my session, I saw this in the family chat. Daddy Lim said that my and Nana’s bfast were ready and he was going to tabao his bfast. Huh? 

I eventually realised that Zaky woke up early and that alarm was intentionally set, to make bfast for jiejie and I. So touch! 

When I arrived home, Zaky was eating cup noodles. I had my 爱心早餐. He left the home shortly for some rock climbing activity with some of his youth. 

He said that he found the recipe from internet and it turns out ok. Jiejie was very touched too. 

We didn’t see Zaky for the rest of the day. Daddy Lim and I were snacking at the dining table when he came home with flowers! Wow! Add points! 

He gave a bunch to jiejie too. 

It was really a very pleasant surprise. Other than the cards and handicraft that the kids brought home from school/ church, I don’t quite remember receiving such gifts from the kids. Good job, Zaky! Keep up the good work and keep this practice going, do include your sister too. Hoho. 

Happy Mother’s Day to me. 

Mummy Lim

Not so Stress

Nana is almost a free soul! She has completed majority of her papers yday!

The O level paper planning is so bad. She has 2 more paper 1s (chemistry and physics) to go and those are taking place next Friday. I duno why the long break. In between, there are papers for Chinese, higher Chinese, higher Arts.. yada, yada… Why can’t they just let the mainstream students complete the papers 1st? They should suffer together as a cohort? 

Anyway, Nana has already tasted freedom. She was busy scrolling yday and into the late night. She has downloaded tik tok and seems bend to catch up on lost social media time. I was so tempted to invite her for supper simply for celebration but I withheld bcos we both needed to watch the waistline. She then drew her curtains and proclaimed that she will sleep in this morning. While she said that she would continue doing practices in prep of her last 2 papers, what I heard this morning and afternoon was the TV and the videos on her phone. Lol. She does deserved a rest. 

Zaky is even less stressed. He has started his school holiday last Friday. He said that he wanted to sleep in on the 1st day of school holiday but eventually went for his Aggro skating class and had such a spectacular fall while attempting a 540 jump. 

From the pictures, he did a great leap, aided by the slope and his speed, then lost focus of what he wanted to do while mid air, did some crazy gibberish before falling at great height and landed on his butt. The impact was so great that he was stunned (and so were the people who witnessed his fall) and he took a while to recover. Other than a blue black on his butt, the impact hurt his leg and he had trouble walking for a couple of days. Luckily he wasn’t otherwise too badly hurt and had been very much enjoying his holidays. 

Mochi seems to be better too. The doctor had suggested Feliway, which is supposed to help calm cats. At 1st, we were very skeptical about Mochi being stressed. With what ah? Whenever we tried applying the cream on his bald spots, he would start licking those exact spots and we can only pray that the cream doesn’t kill him. We ended up giving him catnip to sooth and distract him. 

A very high Mochi. 

We finally bought Feliway and it really improved the situation. He started hiding less, walk calmly around the house more and do his usual “flop anywhere as and when he likes”. More importantly, he started rubbing our legs again and purring more. The old Mochi is back! 

We also tried to give him boxes to hide. He isn’t the biggest fan though. 

He is still grooming, like all cats do and did look like it is slightly better. The big nasty bald spot at his tummy seems to be recovering. At least he isn’t licking it as much. Just now, we saw new spots on his leg. Zzzzz.. it will take time; he will get better. 

As to why he is stressed, the only suggestion is the his favourite person was very stressed over O levels. Now that she is better, he should too. Lol.

Mummy Lim

The Kids

Updates on Nana’s prelim scare:

She said that the school had moderated the grades for her A, E maths and Chemistry bcos everybody did so poorly and she has 1 grade up for both subjects. Her L1R5 now is at 14. That is so decent for NH. Hey, I got 15 for prelim (I think). However, in her times, 14 can only get into the lousiest JC. Hoho. 

Prelim score: 

EL B4, CL A2 (actual), AMaths A2, E Maths B3, Geo A1, Chem B3

I don’t know how come A Maths is better than E Maths. Zzzz

I have no idea why the school bothers to moderate the prelim grades. There is no longer the system to use the prelim score to get into JC for the 1st 3 months. I heard it can be used to appeal when the actual O level results are less than ideal. But 15 can’t do much of an appeal. Hahaha. 

Seriously, I had expected her to do much worse for prelims, like 20s. So, she just have to keep the same momentum. Nana said that prelim shown her one thing - how some of her friends, who did very badly, ate very screwed. lol

***********

Nana has finished her prelims and had been dropping a whole lot of hair. I think it is stress. I had encouraged her to chop off and do a stylish cut for the rest of the school year. She refused, saying that she has plans to go for a perm after O levels. Hmmm.. at the rate that her hair is dropping, I wonder if she has much left to perm then. Haha. The good thing? She is young and healthy. I think the hair will grow back when the O level stress is over. 

How did she do for her prelims? If we take advantage of the A2 in Chinese, it should be about 17 points for L1R5. Not all the papers are back yet. If she keeps at the same rate, I think she will do decent for O levels. Decent enough to get into an OK JC. NH sets hard prelim papers, probably using the prelims to whack the still sleeping sec 4 students awake. 

O Levels start in mid October. Nana has another 1 month to go and has gotten into the studying momentum. The school’s night study has resumed after prelims, where students are provided with dinner and snacks and different subject teachers standby on different days to help students. This was the dinner provided one of the nights. Looks not bad. 

Her tuition center is also super helpful. Other than the usual lessons, the tutors are offering “consult” sessions for students to ask questions and be coached 1 to 1. 

The funniest thing about O levels now is how Nana is now a Chinese O level pro after obtaining her A2. Every now and then, I hear her dishes out her advice on Chinese O levels. Lol. 

I don’t know how Zaky is doing academically. SST is afterall not as academically driven as NH. He is generally getting his Bs and Cs for SAs. I am not sure if that is supposed to be OK or not. He will be opting for his Sec 3 subject combi in October. Like Nana, the choices are quite limited since A Maths and Chemistry are compulsory. What he gets to choose, is whether SS combined geography or history and an applied subject. There is no triple Science combi in SST. 

SST has an Integrated Development Program (IDP) with Ngee Ann Poly. It allows the selected students to directly take their diploma after sec 4, without having to take the O levels. Zaky said that he is not interested and thinks that he wants to go to a JC for now. 

Separately, Daddy Lim and I received an email from Zaky’s form teacher yday late morning. When I saw the email in my inbox, I was thinking what s**T problems did he land in school again. It turned out to be an email to commend him. He saw a Secondary 1 student in distress during recess and initiated to stay with the boy until he calmed down and the teacher came. Awwwww…. so sweet of him. 

Mummy Lim

1st May

Who doesn’t like an extra off day? I don’t quite care what PH it is but a short week always sound nice. 

Nana said that she wanted to exercise. Daddy Lim and I woke her up at 6ish, intending to rollerblade at JLG. She eventually waved us off bcos sleep is more important. Chey. 

Daddy Lim and I went in search of a good bfast instead on our own, in the familiar old neighbourhood and then a good walk in the park. While Nana slept in, the many monitor lizards were out for some suntanning. 

We walked a good 7km, and Daddy Lim complained that his knee hurts. #oldpeopleproblem

We saw rainbow too. How nice….

The rest of the day was spent lazing around. Walking 7km is hard work leh. We had dinner at IMM, at a chicken rice and hotpot place. I know that the combo is weird but Nana approved the place. I needed to order this. 有妈妈的味道.

But in actual fact, the sweet and sour gravy is a little overpowering. 

That marks the end of our mid week break. On a different note, the helper auntie came on Thursday morning and we have such a nicely made bed for 1 day. I saw Nana looked at our bed with envy and then at her messy bed. Hoho.

Mochi doesn’t quite care about nice beds but had a long nap at one of his favourite spots after the helper left. His morning was very disturbed by the helper’s presence and the vacuuming, mopping and wiping.

Zaky was having HBL. I don’t quite understand what HBLs are for. My kids just seem to have an extra off day. Zaky was busy learning Bruno Mars’ Locked Out of Heaven the whole morning. 

I had thought that Zaky would ask to learn guitar after this but he isnt interested. Heng ah. I save $$. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Big and Small Kids

4 years ago, Nana took her PSLE. Zaky went through the same pain 2 years ago. Once they entered secondary school, I happily relinquished my “part time tutor” role. Not that I don’t want to but I seriously can’t help unless I start studying the subjects myself. No! 

I have 2 very different kids. Nana had asked to have maths tuition in Sec 1 and then moved on to A Maths tuition in Sec 3. In that same year, we started her on Physics as well. This year, she is taking her O levels and the Chinese paper is as early as May. Yes, she started Chinese tuition as well. We moved several tutors/ tuition centers. We had to when there is no result. She is now taking Chinese tuition from 2 different tutors bcos she cannot decide on which one. Zzzzzz. Then she wanted to switch her Physics tuition and then tell me that she thinks she needed help for Chemistry too. Zzzzzzz. 

I don’t think Nana is so weak academically. Her panic button has been pressed and she thinks that she needed help in everything now. However, school work is hectic and so is her social life. She simply doesn’t have time. One late Sunday night, we sat down to strategise and she now soon has to make a decision if she is to concentrate on A Maths, Physics or Chemistry. She after all only needed 6 subjects for O levels and to go to JC. This is provided that she does well for her Chinese in May. 

Her recent new Chinese tutor asked for her Chinese 10-year series and she drew blank. Nana said that her school didn’t ask her to buy. It is unbelievable, for NH, a SAP school that focuses so much on Chinese to not ask their students to buy the Chinese 10-year series. Zzzzz. I wouldn’t be surprised that it is sitting somewhere at home or in school.

I didn’t expect that I have to help her study for O levels but my mummy gear kicked in. The day after, I got her the 10-year series. 

Fortunately, Chinese is the only subject that I am able to still help. Our resolution is to finish the 10-year series paper 2s before her paper in May. I don’t know how do-able that is but we will try. As for paper 1, we will try to run through ideas but the actual coaching will have to come from the tutor(s). So far, we have accomplished 1 paper and we deserved a pat on our back. 

Zaky is totally opposite from Nana. He had been waving me off whenever I offered him tuition help. So far, he is not acing his papers but at least not flunking big time too. He is into many non-academic crazy stuff. Last months, he was trying to make $$ through dropshipping. Unfortunately, his idea that $$ can be made easily by buying and selling didn’t quite work. After realising how much administration, logistics and challenges, he gave up. He then started talking about trading in shares. Zzzzz. 2 weeks back, he went to interview at MacD and then did a 4 hour training session in MacD, earning $25 allowance. MacD eventually didn’t call him up. I think MacD has plenty of people who wanted to work than him who can only do Sunday afternoon shifts. 

Was he upset? Not exactly but the training was a good experience for him. He is also very proud to tell me how the McaD system works whenever we go to one. Hoho. What is surprising is that MacD paid $10.5 per hour now! In my times, it was like $4?!

Last Sunday, he said that he needed me to bring him for Muay Thai trial class. 

It was fun and he enjoyed it.

Then I realised why I had to bring him. Well, he is underaged and does need a parent/ guardian to sign the indemnity but more importantly, it was Evolve MMA, an atas brand and is very expensive. For $400 per month with a 1-year commitment, there is no limit to the classes that he can take. Bcos it is so much financial commitment, that is why you need the parent. 

Did we sign up? Of course not. It is even more expensive than my gym and I go about 3x a week. I bet there are many more Muay Thai lessons out there. 

Last but not least, the Mochi fur kid. Ever since we shifted, we had to make sure that we are home to feed Mochi his meals, which takes place in the morning and evening. On days that I go to the office, I would be worried that Mochi would be hungry, which I know he totally can do with a late dinner or even no dinner for a day.

I finally set up the automatic feeder. Hohoho. I attempted it when I was in the office. Got camera and mic some more.

I think it took him a while to figure out what was going on but food is food. Soon, the kibbles were gone.

While he would still need his wet food. This will definitely tahan him for a while.

Mummy Lim

No Kids

The kids are off to Nana's church youth camp. They left on Thursday morning and wouldn't be home until Saturday. I don't even know what time their camp would end. 

Last night, Daddy Lim and I enjoyed ice cream and hot chocolate without the kids. 

We didn't hesitate to flex to the kids. Hoho.

It took them a while to respond with this. 

They have no access to their mobile in the day and finally got their phone back in the night. They simply said that camp was fun. 

Must be dead tired. Lol. 

Mummy Lim

USS After a Long Time

I haven't gone to USS even since our season passes ended in the midst of covid. The USS tickets are so expensive and without the season or annual passes, it really doesn't make economical senses. I had been checking the USS website regularly and the season/ annual passes hadn't resumed. On top of that, the park closes at 6pm. Double whammy. 

The kids had on several occasions went to USS with their friends. Of course I made them bear part of the cost. Ya, they no longer need their parents to take/ accompany them to theme parks. 

Bcos Ah Yee and Athena are in town, I thought it was a good reason to visit USS. We left Daddy Lim at home since he was never much of a theme park guy. 

Zaky had aggro skating classes in the morning and Daddy Lim sent him to Resort World. We made our way via MRT.

We were very shocked at the Q for the sky tram. It probably implied that USS would be crowded and indeed it was. I am glad that Zaky only needs a Child ticket until he turns 13 in October, saving me a couple of bucks. 

Hello, USS!

USS was crowded, very, very crowded. Almost all rides had long Q. Ah Yee taught us to download the USS app and we ran to the Mummy ride. It was supposed to be a 10 mins wait but we were stuck inside for an least 30 mins. We stupidly left our bags and all our hp with ah yee. Ah yee and Athena completed the Treasure Hunter ride and we were still in the ride. They thought that they had lost us. It was so fortunate that we found each other and I made a mental note for one of us to hold on to a phone. 

The next ride was the Water Rapid bcos it was supposed to be 20 mins. The kids started queuing while I kept the bags. The lockers used to be free but now cost $1 for an hour. My cheapo self refused to pay and asked the kids to go ahead with the ride w/o me. Again, they had no phone. Zzzzz. 

Ah yee and Athena went for the ferries wheel while I waited for the kids and I waited a very, very long time. It was 40 min at least. I thought I lost the kids. I believed that they came out, missed me and ran off to another ride. I decided to meet up with ah yee at the restaurant and went back to check one last time. Thankfully, the kids were just there! They just finished the ride! The 20 mins was totally rubbish. 

We had expensive fried chicken for lunch, complete with ice cream. Then the Shrek show. 

Every single of these rides brought back so much memory. Right after the ride, there was some performance. Don't waste. 

Water World! This never get old. Even Athena enjoyed herself. 

The kids ran off to the Cyclon while we went for the Elmo ride. It turned out that there was no Q to Cyclon and when they came back for us, we were still in the Q, and the kids sneaked in to join us. 

Once upon a tune, we rode the Elmo ride so frequently that we started looking at the ride's technical details. Lol.

This was our last ride. 

The kids caught the Mummy ride one last time, declaring that there was no Q at all. 

That marked the end of our USS trip. The kids had fun and I got to reminisce the old times. How fast they have grown! Just awhile ago, they were just as old and tiny as Athena but so big now. 

Would I come back to USS? Maybe, when they introduce the season passes again or when the park resumes their operating hours and put back their parade and fireworks. Meanwhile, I am sure the kids would create plenty of theme park memories with their friends. 

Mummy Lim