My Babies are Back!

The church that the kids attend seems to do this annual overseas church camp after Covid restrictions eased. Their church is very small and one of those where everybody knows everybody and attended by the entire family for many, many years. Last year, they asked to go to the camp but I didn’t allow. The thought of the kids going overseas with people whom I barely know is difficult to tolerate. They were disappointed to miss out on all the fun and fellowship and kept asking to join this year’s. 

I did get the chance to know some of the youths better over the year. After much deliberations, we finally allowed the kids to join this year’s church camp, which took place last weekend. There was quite some logistics and 2 families stepped in to help take care of the kids. We had originally thought that Daddy Lim and I would travel with the kids to KL and do a little holiday while the kids attend the camp but annual leave is such a limited resource that I simple couldn’t afford. 

The families booked private cars for the long KL trip. Nana went with family A and Zaky with family B bcos there wasn’t enough space in the same car. The camp started on Friday but they made arrangements to drive in on Thursday pre dawn, thus the kids went for a sleepover on Wednesday night. 

Did the kids have fun? Obviously! At least they kept their promise to WhatsApp us and kept in contact over the last 5 days. Throughout the 5 days, the kids sent various video note but just that few pictures. Zzzzz.

Finally, they made their long journey back from KL yday afternoon. For sure, it was a long drive. They had originally estimated that they would be home at 9ish. But by 9ish, they were still crawling towards the immigration. 

Why is the custom so jam on both links and both ways on a late Monday night? 

By the time they were finally home, it was already 10pm. Then, I made them unpacked to do the 1st laundry load. Hoho. The kids missed me as much as I missed them. It is not the same traveling overseas with your friends vs with your friends but they also had their parents to take care of them. Zaky said that he took care of jiejie a lot and when their friends had their parents to look after them, they missed me 5x more. Lol. 

They had a lot to tell me about the church camp and despite how tired we all were, we chatted until 11ish. They definitely had fun and a lot of good food too, and even then, still whack supper every night. Lol. 

It did feel so weird over the last 5 days when it was just Daddy Lim and I. I kept thinking that this is what life would be if we have no kids or in a few more years’ time when the kids leave the nest. The house was not messy, there was little laundry and dishes to do and we did our meals separately. I am so glad that we have 2 kids. Hoho. Otherwise, we probably need to have more pets! 

Mummy Lim

The Boys' Turn

The boys were so jealous when Boo invited the jiejies for the sleepover. Though they had yummy food, escape ro and all of their mummies' attention, they whined that life is so unfair and that they didn't have a sleepover.

The chance came in the form of T's 11th bday. His bday party was to have a sleepover only for the boys. That sounded like a fantastic idea except that Auntie S' house is far far away in Tampines. Sob. I checked, taxi one way is about $30, that is like going to the airport! Wait, their house is indeed near the airport. Zzzzz. 

The plan was to send Zaky there on Friday night and then picked him up on Saturday noon for Maths. Unfortunately Daddy Lim had to work on Saturday morning and it would cost a lot of $$ (or a lot of time) to travel from LV to Tampines and back to JE for Maths. Ended up, I earned a sleepover as well, one that I wasn't very keen about. Lol. 

It was already 8pm by the time we arrived at T's house but the party had just started. Hoho. The boys were soon on their gadgets. C and AN challenged the aunties to nerds and the cards started flying. We were so engrossed that Auntie S wasn't able to move us and decided to just do the candle blowing and cake cutting with the boys. We stopped for yummy cake.  

The nerds then continued and didn't stop until nearing midnight. My eyes, my back, my legs! Lol. Auntie J finally left with AN and the room was set up for the boys. 

Despite so, the chatting didn't stop. The boys were still laughing and chatting and finally died down at about 1.30am. I had the sofa this time and it was an improvement as compared to the skinny yoga mat during the last "camping sleepover" at LV. I was trying to get into a comfortable position and missed my bed dearly. 

The night was rough. I woke up whenever I needed to change position, then it was to the lizard's calling. The lizard must be mocking me. Then it was the photoframe on the wall dropping and falling on me. That was a rude shock and it was 2x. Aiyo! Finally, the boys were up and started chatting again at 6.45am. At least the rough night was over. 

We had pratas for bfast. Before long, the boys were yelling that they were bored. We were so nice to bring them down. Auntie S must love me alot for sleeping over and helping out. Lol. 

Then adjourning to the playground for more fun. It was a fantastic way to expell the boys' energy. 

Nothing taste better than a sweet ice cream after a hot session at the playground.

With that, we headed home for shower and lunch. 

We had to leave at 1.15pm bcos it was a long drive to JE. The grab was almost $30. Zzzzz. I made Zaky nap in the car and I stole a much needed cat nap too. I am quite sure he managed to survive Maths bcos of the nap.

I hope that the next sleepover doesn't require me. It is so tiring. Hahahah. 

Mummy Lim

Contact Lenses

The Hoya lenses are ready, much to our surprise. We were told that they could take up to 6 weeks but we got ours in 1. We collected the new glasses and at the same time, have Lil Shauna learn how to wear contact lenses. Yes, we bought her contact lenses, largely to wear during ice skating.

The lenses on the glasses had visible "honeycomb" patterns. Lil Shauna said that the initial sensation is weird. The honeycomb design causes sharp and blur vision. I am not sure how that helps but we will know if they work after 6 months. The optician said that these glasses are not meant for sports and the kids should change back to their single vision glasses like during PE. So 麻烦 right? The kids didn't believe me when I told them that wearing glasses is troublesome. Mummy knows best!

Lil Shauna doesn't wear her glasses on ice despite being very blind in 1 eye. The glasses would probably fly when she spins and jumps on the ice. When we asked if she would like to try contact lenses instead, she jumped at the opportunity.

We were told that the "learning" would take about half an hour. We headed down on Sunday morning in hope that she would be able to wear the trial pair for ice skating.

She took longer than 30 mins. The 1st attempt was tough. She kept thinking that she would poke herself blind. Zzzzzzz. The left eye was easier. She attempted to wear it for 3x and removed them twice during the session. Throughout, the optician patiently helped her to clean and reclean the lenses and put them in position (on her finger). Who would help her do that next time? She also killed 1 pair, dropping them onto the floor.

The contact lenses gave her headache in the beginning but she persisted. She wore them to ice skating and for the 1st time in a long time, she was skating with clear vision. What is more comforting is that she still remembers her Axel jump. Hohoho.
We also took time to try to be graceful and dramatic to her competition routine and I have to say that we are making progress.

She wanted to remove the contact and fortunately successfully did so. If she didn't, I wouldn't be able to help and would have to bring her back to the optical shop.

She said that it was easier to take them out than to wear them.

Her new glasses look.

I am glad that she didn't react adversely to the contact lenses. Lil Shauna said that she has classmates who started contact lenses since last year. The kids really do start young now.

Mummy Lim

More and More Expensive Bats

Don't worry, the post isn't about real bats. I am talking about the the 2 going-to-be-blind mice at home.

In July last year, we started the kids on the Crizal myopia control lenses bcos their myopia is progressing too rapidly. The lenses are seriously expensive and cost $360 per pair. Now, let the pain hit 2x. We would told that the lenses would help to slow down/ control myopic if used properly. Generally, the users have to use the center of the lenses to look farway and the outer part of the lenses to look near distant. The lenses are designed in such a way that the outer part has a lower degree power and therefore less stressful on the eyes.

Though it had been statistically proven that the lenses control myopic progression, we were still advised to bring the kids back for review in 6 months' time.

We brought the kids back for checks in December. Did the lenses help? Haiz. Lil Shauna's right eye remained at 175 but her left went up by 50 to 400... Blind already or not. Zaky is worse. His right went up by 50 to 225 and his left increased by 25 to 200. No wonder he had complained that his vision has blurred despite the glasses.

The optician then introduced the lastest myopia controlled lenses by Hoya. The Hoya lenses can control myopic up to 65% of the cases and it is designed such that there isn't a need for specific usage. Anyhow see also can.

Whether the Hoya lenses are as good as promoted is a question mark. What remains true is that new and supposedly "better" products always come with a price tag. Ouch. We were quoted $470 per pair if we buy 2 pairs.

I hestitated big time. Maybe we should use back the Crizal lenses or we could delay the change. Maybe I should just let the kids be legi blind bats.....

We didn't go back to the optical shop until last Sunday. I was thrilled to find out that my new company medical insurance includes a $400 Wellness claim per family member. Hoya lenses, here we come.

I didn't know that the degree can go down as well. Lil Shauna was eventually at R 200 and L 375. While not ideal, her progression appeared a lot more well controlled. Zaky is at R 250 and L 225. His eyes deteriorated more from December. Roaaarrr...

The Hoya lenses can take up to 6 weeks to be ready. Meanwhile, the kids were given a free pair of single vision lenses. We used the kids' old frames for the new lenses. Yes, we have so many pair of glasses lying around at home.

Mummy Lim

The Expensive Blind Bats

Lil Shauna started wearing glasses in June 2017 and Zaky joined her in April 2018. In the short 2 years' span, we changed like 2-3 pairs of glasses bcos their eyesight had gotten worse. Wait, the last complaint was the frame getting too tight only to discover that their eyesight had deteriorated too. Anyway, it meant new glasses and changing 2 pairs of glasses at 1 time is no joke to the pocket.

In December 2019, we changed their glasses and I was mega upset that Lil Shauna's left eyesight deteriorated so badly. In a short 6-month period, her left eye went up from 200 to 275. At this rate, I am worried that she would soon go blind.

Our kids aren't the only victims to myopic. Many of the SHSS gang kids are wearing glasses too and myopic became a hot topic bcos we are all so worried about our blind bats becoming more blind. Zaky was just complaining that he cant see properly in his glasses. Zzzz. That was when I heard about the lenses that can help to control myopic in kids. We started asking around and found that the prices of the lenses to be much controlled and ended up in one of the spectacle shops at Boon Lay MRT.

After testing, their eyesight has again detoriated. Haiz, I am not surprised anymore. Lil Shauna is at R: 175 (from 150) and L: 350 (from 275). Zaky went up to 175 both sides (from 125). Yes, all in the short span of 7 months. Boo. At this rate, I am really worried that they would go blind.

There are apparently a few brands of such lenses. We were recommended the ZEISS eventually. Total damage: $660 for 2 pair of glasses. My heart just bled. It used to be just Daddy Lim, changing his glasses once a year. Now x3 and 2 of them at half yearly rate.

The idea was to have full power lenses at the center of the lenses and reduced power on the surrounding. To be able to control myopic, the kids needed to learn how to use the surrounding lenses when reading/ looking at something near. By using the reduced power lenses for looking things that are near will help them not to stain the eyes. Is it guaranteed that their myopic will be controlled? Of course not. It goes back to proper eyecare and usage of the glasses.

Funnily, the kids opted for similar style of frames. Lil Shauna is still into her big Harry Potter frame. I asked if the glasses were any difference. No leh.

The optician suggested for us to return in December for another round of testing. Sob.. I hope our $660 investments will help to slow down their progression.

Mummy Lim

The Little Blind Bats

Long, long time ago, there was only Daddy Lim who complained that his glasses were too loose/ scratched/ tight/ heavy/ whatever and that he needed new glasses. Bcos he is so blind and plus his atas taste, his glasses are rarely cheap. Zzzzzz.

Lil Shauna and Zaky joined the ranks in the last 2 years. The house is now full of blind bats. Particularly Lil Shauna, her eyesight deteriorated rapidly. She started wearing glasses in June 2017 and it was like 75 and 100 degrees. In less than a year, she had her lenses changed bcos she complained that she cant see even with her glasses. In February 2018, it was 125 and 200. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. Zaky joined them in April 2018. Haiz. Why like that?

The kids complained that the glasses were too tight. Too tight? Their heads grow so fast meh? I have no idea how it works. Anyway, they had been bugging for new glasses. I lost and the kids had their new glasses. Haiz.

We were back in Owndays. The kids chose their frame and got their eyes tested.

Verdict:
Lil Shauna is now 150 and 275! Arrrggghhhh..
Zaky is 125 each side. Zzzzzzzz.

Lil Shauna really need to start wearing her glasses to control the aggravation. By the way, she chose a very "in" set of frame. So cute! So Harry Potter.

Mummy Lim

Another Firsts

I had been toying with the idea of piecing jigsaw puzzles with the kids, particularly with Lil Shauna. I am not great with jigsaw but remembered vividly the 郭富城 jigsaw puzzle that I once did with ah yee but never complete bcos he was wearing this long sleeve red sweater in the picture and the jigsaw was just this endless sea of red. Lol. Ah yee didnt remember anything. Zzzzz. Now that I blog about it, I can still remember his side parting and side profile pose in that jigsaw puzzle. Lol. Like that, like that.

It took me a while to find the jigsaw puzzle. I wanted a 500 one for a start, figuring that it would be managable and one with a cute picture. There are so many on Eiffel tower and hot air balloon and duno what famous building. 

Finally, in a jigsaw specialised shop, I found the 500 pieces cute picture jigsaw puzzle. The selection was really limited for 500 pieces. There were some seriously cute Disney 1,000 or more pieces ones. The sales said that the 500 puzzle that I bought is fairly easy. Sounds good. Hohoho. 

The kids opened the puzzle while I was at work. Ah yee guided them to sort the pieces by color. In the same evening that I was home, the kids were exclaiming about how difficult the puzzle was and they didnt at all manage to piece anything. I offered to do it together with them but they obviously prefer to use their gadget. In that same night, after the kids turned in, I started slowly and painfully to further sort the pieces by color and to start the puzzle. I was pleasantly surprise at the quality of the pieces; it was some sort of plastic instead of those cardboard that we used to play with. I managed to find the piece with the copyright wording and it turned out to be a good start. From there, I found and slowly built the border. 

I dont know how long I spent on the puzzle but it must be some good time. My eyes were sore, so were my back and neck. This was what I finally achieved before I turned in for bed. 

There were so many more pieces to go. 

The kids were very impressed bcos they thought that it was mission impossible. 

It was many more nights later that we continued with the jigsaw puzzle and I can tell you that it is addictive. This time the kids joined in. Zaky found a few pieces but got bored shortly and bugged to go to bed. I sneaked out to continue after the kids slept and completed the border. 

Not only was I addicted; Lil Shauna was also hooked. Once the border was done, the progress was faster. The next time, we spent even more time putting the pieces together. Zaky cant be bother though.

As we progressed, it got easier and easier. The 4th time we were at the puzzle, even Daddy Lim joined us. We must looked like we were having fun. Bcos there were more eyes and hands, we made progress rapidly. 

Lil Shauna was really funny, at times using force to squeeze in pieces and yelling in fustration. The pieces are not identified, so forcing does help. However, it allows us to find the "piece" through trial and error sometimes. Towards the end, when she couldnt find "the piece", she would suggest that maybe we had missing pieces. Choy. I had to stop her from counting the empty slots and left over pieces bcos it would be so demoralising if there were indeed missing pieces. I was keeping my finger crossed. 

I had to stop bocs Zaky was bugging me to tuck him while Lil Shauna perseverance on alone. I came back to help her after Zaky had turned in. 

Finally! The last 2nd piece.

We had to do that "piece" the last bcos I had been looking for that piece for a long time. Lil Shauna had the honor to put in the last 2 pieces. See! No missing pieces lah. Phew. 

The immersed sense of achievement and joy was overwhelming. 

Yeah! We can finally go to bed!

I have not decided on what to do with the completed puzzle. Lil Shauna said that we should frame it but we dont have so much free space at home. I wanted to just keep it and then to destroy and rebuilt it again after some time. Did you hear the girl protesting? Lol. 

It had been a great time working on the puzzle, particularly with Lil Shauna. The sales was right that it wasnt that tough. It was really a joyous occasion when somebody found "that piece". We had planty of hi-5 moments, even with Zaky. 

I told Daddy Lim that I wanted to buy another puzzle. This time, it will be a 1,000 pieces one. Hohoho. Daddy Lim suggested that we try our luck in Japan. Yeah! Japan!

I am so addicted.

Mummy Lim

The Little Fishes

Our fishes didnt last very long in the previous longkang fishing trips. There were even occasions that we "fed" them.... I mean put them directly into the Centris koi pond after the trip. At least the kois were happy to have companion... the kois kept them very safe in the tummies. Haha.

This trip, we didnt intend to keep the fishes too but Zaky pleaded to do so for just 1 day. Ok lor. We did that on one of the previous occasion too and the fishes died after a fee days. 

Zaky gave the fishes human bread that very night and the water soon turned all murky. It was damned gross and I just had to change the water. We left a tankful of tap water overnight to let the cholrine evaporate.

On Saturday morning, Zaky was helpful and did most of the water changing. He even told me about the need to transfer some of the "old" water to the new tank and getting the fishes used to the new water (temperature?) for 30 mins before completing the transfer. I think Daddy Lim taught him that. 

The fishes appeared to adapt well to the new water, which turned murky too bcos of the bread food. Zzzzz.

Bcos it was too tedious to be leaving tankful of water out every night and changing water every day, we did a small investment and bought some anti-cholrine solution (or whatever it is called) and proper fish food from the pet shop. Daddy Lim and Zaky even took the initiative to change the water on Sunday. The water is now so much clearer even after feeds. Hehehe. 

So far, the fishes looked really healthy.  We are left with 7 since day 2 and all 7 are still looking alive on day 4. Please stay alive for a while more bcos we still have a lot of fish food and solution.

So here... the kids' official pets. Surprisingly, Zaky had been a lot more enthusiatic than Jiejie since we got the fishes. So is Daddy Lim... he wanted so much to feed the fishes this morning and relunctantly agreed when I asked him to let the kids do it instead. Zaky did and then Daddy Lim insisted that it wasnt enough and fed more. Zzzzz. Hahaha. 

Mummy Lim

Academic Awards

I often see parents posting on fb of their kids receiving awards on stage. I drool. I also want.

I always thought that Lil Shauna is strong academically and found it strange that she wasnt qualified for any awards so far. This is especially so when she did exceptionally well in P2. If Lil Shauna's results are still deemed not good enough, I have even lesser hope about the boy.

Ok, to be fair, she did recieve the Edusave Good Progress award for her P2 results. I was so hoping that they would invite us to some award ceremony so that I could take some pictures of her onstage and sooth my mummy's ego. Bo leh! I remembered eventually receiving the certificate and some cheque via snail mail. Chey. I want to take photo.

About a month back, we recieved a letter to inform that Zaky is given the Edusave Merit award for his good results in P1. My eyes almost dropped out. Though I knew that he did better (than jiejie) when I compared their report book side by side, it was a fact that didnt quite sink in. Haha.

Some days later, Lil Shauna had the same letter for doing well in P3. She was overjoyed and shared that she was actually secretly disappointed when she thought she didnt recieve the award (and didi did). It is probably  sibling rivalry thing. She masked it so well that we couldnt tell.

I was so excited. It is my big fat chance to see the kids on stage and to snap some pictures! Of course we had to attend the ceremony. Shake hand and take picture with Cedric Foo leh.

We opted to attend the ceremony and pushed away ice skating class to do so. The ceremony took place last Saturday, right at the cc across the road.

There was a huge crowd in the hall when we arrived and it was free seating. Cedric Foo finally arrived after some waiting and gave a speech on budget; why GST has to be increased.. taking every chance apparently. I was wondering how the award presentation would take place if everybody is seated so haphazardly. Then we were dismissed after the speech and were supposed to go collect the certificate at the different "booths".

After collecting the certificate and $80 Popular gift vouchers, we can then join this super long q (literally circling the entire hall) to take picture and shake hand with Cedric Foo. Faint. Daddy Lim and the kids objected violently to the idea.

What we did was to try to "include" Cedric Foo in our picture. Can you see him? Haha.

We ended up taking more picture with C, Lil Shauna's classmate, whom was also receiving the award.

The Q wasnt any shorter when we left the hall for a hearty lunch. The kids didnt feel any more special after the award and not mind not shaking Mr Foo's hand at all. Lol.

I think we can skip the award ceremony if there is the next one. Haha. Meanwhile, the kids can go to Popular to spend their vouchers.

Mummy Lim

Swimming Test - Gold Stage

It was finally D day after all the hard work. We didnt want the kids to tire out before the test and arrived just slightly earlier. Even with just minutes to spare, they were soon waddling in the lazy river until we fished them out for the test.

Coach Alex arrived and got the kids ready for the test. They had to use a swimming cap for easy identification.

They dived into the pool and did 2 laps of front crawl, followed by 2 laps of breaststroke, then backstroke and finally 2 laps of survival backstroke. Coach Alex said that the laps have to be continuous. While it probably sounded like chicken feet to us, it isnt for the kids, considering that they are half our size.

Lil Shauna and C were definitely much stronger swimmers than Zaky. Despite him starting off 1st, the jiejies soon caught up and were ahead of him in no time. Then the 1st boo boo came. Zaky was in a hurry to continue with his 3rd lap and had forgotten to switch to breaststroke. Zzzzzz. I was worried that he would need to do an extra lap but he wasnt ask to.

I was more anxious than the kids while watching them swim, unlike Daddy Lim, who was totally cool about it. Finally, they were done with the 8 laps, which I think was the most difficult task in the test. I asked the kids if they were tired, which Zaky replied no, but his head was itching so badly bcos of the swimming cap. Lol.

Part 2 of the swimming test was to don the PJs, swim a lap and then attempt to remove them while treading water. Then to put on the life vest and swim for another lap. By then, the kids were really exhausted and took a breather, hanging on their life vest before swimming in it. Even Lil Shauna said that she was tired.

The last part of the test was to save a drowning person using a float. They took turns to pretend to drown. The life saving part came with a dialogue and it was so funny.

Drowning person (DP): Help!
Lifeguard (LG): Hello, hello, do you need help?
DP: Yes.
LG: Don't worry, I will come and save you.

Then the "lifeguard" will take his/ her own sweet time and sit on the edge of the pool and swim out with the kick board to save the drowning person. If it is reality, the chances of the drowning person surviving would be so slim. Haha. By this part of the test, the kids were starting to play and laugh; all the earlier anxiousness had disappeared.

Zaky did fine too for the final part but just that he had to "save" jiejie and complained that she was too heavy. Lol. With that, the test was finally completed.

The results? They all PASSED!! Woohoo!

The kids would be resuming the swimming lessons this afternoon. Hahaha. We could have stopped but the kids had wanted to learn butterfly stroke. We agreed to continue so long as C is continuing.

Coach Alex was very encouraging and sent a congratulating message in the evening. He mentioned that Zaky is his youngest student to pass the gold stage and how the kids always had so much fun and laughter during swimming classes. Well, he had to bcos there is a huge possibility that we would stop the classes. Then again, the kids love him.

After all the classes for the day, we headed to Decathelone to purchase a few items for the upcoming Bintan trip - snorkelling masks. The kids had the full face masks and were eager to test out once we were home. Passed!

Mummy Lim