Forest Adventure

We went to the Forest Adventure on Sunday afternoon. This is the exciting activity that I had been talking about. Forest Adventure is located at Bedok Reservoir, where I used to live. Going back to the reservoir brought back so much memories. The reservoir is definitely brighter and more crowded as compared to 20 years ago. Yes, 20 years!

There is a distance between the carpark and the actual site. It didn't help that the boy had just dozed off in the car minutes ago. Daddy Lim and I took turns to carry him to the site. He was of course up and jumping the moment we arrived. 

The kids attempted the kids’ course. The minimum height requirement is 1.1m and Lil Isaac is 2cm taller than the requirement. Hehe. The kids waited excitedly while the staff geared them up.

They listened attentively to the instructions. Then, they were hooked up to this wire cable through this special metal-roller thing that they were holding in their hands. The wire cable runs along and throughout the obstacles course.

After posing for some pictures, they started their adventure.

In the 1st round, Boo led the way and Lil Shauna was the last girl. They took some time to navigate their way and started really slowly, especially Lil Isaac. His legs and hands are just long enough and some of the obstacles were indeed a little challenging for him but he did great. We often have to yell at Lil Shauna to slow down.

While the pictures looked like it was an easy task, the kids were at least 4m off the ground.     

Some of the obstacles, especially those that require them to leap (ok, I exaggerated) from one solid surface to another and those with shaky surface were tougher. Still, the kids handled them like champs.

The course ended with a flying fox into a big heap of sand to break their descend. The kids love the flying fox but hated the sand. Lil Shauna said that they should change the sand into some bouncing platform. Lol. At some points, the kids looked pretty stressed up and I was wondering out loud if the kids were really enjoying themselves or we subjected them to unnecessary stress. Lol. Lil Isaac said that he was so scare at some of the obstacles and he almost cried but he was so proud that he didn't.  

We spent $32 for each kid with 1 hour of course time. The kids were allowed as many rounds as possible within the hour and any additional rounds thereafter are at $10 per round. The kids were excitedly to go for a 2nd round and did so much better and faster this time. I supposed this mean that they enjoyed themselves and not their crazy mother forced them into the course?! Haha. In the 2nd round, Lil Shauna and Lil Isaac swopped places. The girls were so much ahead of Lil Isaac but eventually had to slow down bcos there was a “traffic jam”. They occasionally met kids who were extremely fearful of a particular obstacle and jammed up the flow. There was this girl who cried so pitifully bcos she could overcome her fear to leap over to the other structure. Another girl was stuck in one of the obstacles even after we left the course. Another boy started screaming very early in the course and the daddy had to accompany him. The boy eventually screamed his way down the flying fox. In cases where the child took forever to overcome or super slow, the staff would help to put the stuck child aside and allowed the rest of the kids to proceed. The staff would also help the stuck kid to continue. While waiting for the crying girl, the kids happily posed for me, 4m above ground. 

The course is designed in such a way that the kids had to complete the course and take the flying fox to end the course. There didn't seem to be a way to exit the course midway. I am quite sure there is an emergency plan though. 

Bcos of the slow start and the jam, the kids only managed to do 2 rounds. Typically, 3 rounds are manageable within 1 hour. We would have like to pay for an additional round but it was already the closing time. They close at 6pm. We then slowly made our way back to the car with 3 very sweaty kids. 

In the porch in front of the carpark, there were 2 golden retrievers and the kids had so much fun patting, hugging the dogs.

The owner was super nice and even agreed to walk the dog with the kids. This was like a bonus round after the exciting obstacle course.

We would come back again, probably after some time. Right beside the kids’ course, there is a grand course with a height requirement of 1.4m. Daddy Lim said that he would love to try that some day. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Weekday Nights

On some nights, there isn't much homework to tackle. After we are all done, the night is still too early for bed. So, we improvised our own game in the kids' bedroom.

A couple of weeks back, we had a balloon competition, basically about who can keep the balloon in the air for the longest fun. Then last week, we upgraded and had a badminton game using balloon. The kids had so much fun.

Yday, we had a snowball competition using recycled papers. The rule is to throw as many "snowballs" to the other group's territory as possible in a minute. It was crazily fun. We kept the "snowballs" to be recycled again another day.

We are so creative, right? Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Investment Paying Off

About a few weeks back, there were announcements in the portal that Lil Shauna’s teacher used to communicate with the parents, about upcoming tests. Lil Shauna recorded the dates and test items in her school diary too. Additionally, the kids also lugged back the various workbooks to “study” for the tests. Errr… I thought no exams until P3? Auntie S reminded me that though no exams, there are still tests. Chey…

I didn't revise with Lil Shauna. I don't know what to. Moreover, she has been independent in doing her school homework. Most of the time, I see that she had already learned those in her enrichment classes. I was comforted when she said that she could do most of the tests. Then her test papers came back and she did well for her English and surprisingly Chinese. There were a few careless mistakes in her Maths paper, though she did fairly well for Maths too. She also palm-face over those careless mistakes. Too funny. At the back of my mind, I was wondering if everyone did as well as her. I remembered an ex-colleague told me that his girls scored over 80 marks for all subjects but ended up in the bottom 25 percentile in their cohort and it was too a neighborhood school.

Lil Shauna brought back her report book yday for parent’s acknowledgement. When put in perspective, she indeed did well as compared to her peers. The report card provided the mean scores of her class and standard. She is above average. I was really proud of her and it highlighted one thing – our investments in building her foundation paid off. We are finally seeing results.

This morning, I was sharing with Daddy Lim that in the watsapp chat that I shared with 6 other classmates’ mummies, 2 of them commented that their kid didn't do well overall. The other 2 mentioned about not doing too well in Maths specifically. One of them is usually silent. I kept quiet too. Daddy Lim and I both agreed that Lil Shauna had a good start. Most of her peers had just started getting used to the P1 syllabus and are learning what she had learnt. However, that competitive advantage would likely diminish as the other kids get more familiar with primary school life and start catching up. 

Then, Daddy Lim reminded me that it is not Lil Shauna that we should be worry about but wait till we received Lil Isaac’s report book! That is also why I am skipping the Parent-Teacher Meeting for Lil Shauna and heading for Lil Isaac’s one this term. Hohoho.

By the way, I borrowed 2 of Roald Dahl’s thin paperback books for Lil Shauna from the library last weekend – The Enormous Crocodile and Esio Trot. I wasn't sure if Lil Shauna was ready for his books bcos I read his books only when I was much older. To my surprise, she loves them and understood the stories. I think we can start venturing into Roald Dahl’s books. Before I return the 2 books, I think I should also read them. Hehe.

Mummy Lim  

Insecurity Round 3

The Sunday School 2 Sundays back (and in fact the last few too) wasn't too pleasant. I was told that Lil Isaac went into a crying fit despite the fact that Popo was in the school with him. When I went to pick him up, one of the Sunday School aunties even asked me when would I be using the cane on him. They think that I am over-protective. Am I? I am seriously not sure but I don't think I am. 

Sunday School had been a struggle. He would promise when I could leave the class and when it is time, he will turn all whinny complete with tears. There was a time that he wasn't so bad and I could start leaving him alone in class. I don't know what happen. Recently, it became so bad and he would be inconsolable. 

We pressed on with Sunday School despite the struggle. I am thankful that Lil Shauna loves attending Sunday School, which gave me the extra push. Yday, we had an exciting event in the pm and I made Lil Isaac promised in the morning before we head for church, for mummy to leave after bible story. He only needed to be alone only for snack and craft time. I told him that I needed to see how brave he is, in order to prove that he would be able to partake in the afternoon event. Of course he agreed.

Daddy Lim was off on Sunday and drove us to church. In the car, I reminded Lil Isaac about his promise. He remembered and even said that it is not considered as crying if he only has water in his eyes. Even if the water dropped out of his eyes and onto his face, it is ok so long as he didn't cry out loud. Awww… poor boy. We agreed on the definition and headed off to church.

He was fantastic; he played with his friends and stood right in front during worship. He participated wholeheartedly during worship. I was so proud of him. Come story time, he started off great but came running to me shortly. He had of course started to change his mind and was pleading for me to stay with him throughout Sunday School. He was even willing to miss snack to cling on to me. 

There was a lot of persuasion and reminding him how fast it would be before I would be back. I kept assuring that I would definitely be back and my bag was still in the room. I also reminded him about his promise. Unfortunately, nothing works. Then I had to turn to threats about how he could not go for the pm event if he breaks his promise. There were pleads and tears but I stood my ground. I eventually managed to leave him and promised that I would magically appear the moment he finished craft work.

I bet he cried the moment I left. I went to the worship hall and went back to peep at him every now and then. I saw him diligently working on his craft work and at least he wasn't crying hysterically. One of the aunties made eye contact with me and signaled that he cried. He was alone for probably 20 mins max. He didn't spot me when I went back to the classroom and was still diligently at his craft. When he finally looked up and saw me, it was obvious that he cried. He had red eyes and all. He was upset and said that I wasn't back when he had finished his craft. He probably completed it in top speed. I corrected him that he was still coloring when I came back and reminded that I was back for him, just like I promised. 

I wonder if he has Separation Anxiety. I read up a little from the internet. If he has, then it must be selective bcos he is totally fine for activities that he loves. I guess we just have to persevere and hope that he would one day grow out of it.

Yday night, I went back to sleep in my room. Soon, I realized that the boy has come along. To lure him back to his room, I told him that I would go back but he didn't stir. This morning, he was sleeping peacefully beside Daddy Lim. It only proves that it is not that he needed mummy to sleep with him. He just needed an adult. How to overcome that insecurity? I don't know. We would keep trying and hopefully he would one day grow out of it.

Mummy Lim

Dentist Visit

Lil Isaac complained of pains at times while eating. I thought I saw a black spot on one of the upper molars but wasn't sure. I also couldn't tell if he really had a toothache or faking one to avoid eating more. I used to pull that trick when I was little. Lol. Nevertheless, we arranged for a visit to the dentist. When was our last visit? It should have been at least a few months.

Lil Isaac is not at all afraid of the dentist, so unlike me. He marched into the clinic and was happily helping himself to a drink at the water dispenser machine. When his name was called, he ran into the room happily and climbed onto the dentist chair enthusiastically. He even chose a movie that he would like to watch while treatment!

We last visited the dentist about 6 months back. The dentist checked and announced that Lil Isaac has 2 cavities, excluding the one on upper his front teeth. Additionally, he has 2 more that would potentially turned into cavities on his molars if not well taken care of. Zzzzzz. 2 cavities in 6 months.

The dentist mended the 2 cavities. The one on his front teeth would be left as it is as they are usually the 1st few teeth to fall. In fact, one of them is already shaky, probably part natural and part aided by his constant bumping. The dentist also cleaned his teeth.

He handled the visit so well. He was more focus on the movie and was even laughing at times. At the end of the visit, he received his sticker for being so brave. Mummy ended up freaking $245 poorer. I couldn't be more glad that Lil Shauna can now visit the school dentist and help us save some money. Lol. Let's hope Lil Isaac could hold on to the next visit beyond 6 months. I must be more diligent to help him brush teeth.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating Practice

I felt bad for Lil Shauna last week. She barely practice before she headed for her class and I couldn't even tell what she had learnt during class. So this week, we decided that we would go without the boy.  Lil Shauna had no class but she definitely needed the practice.

Lil Isaac was up before we left the house. He was willing to stay at home at the promise of Taekwando class next Saturday and of course also with Mr iPad's companion. I have signed him up for Taekwando trial class! Although I have managed to bring both kids ice skating on several occasions, it is super tiring and Lil Shauna didn't get the attention that she deserved. Lose-lost situation, which made me rethink if I should sign Lil Isaac up for ice skating classes. Maybe later.

So we had the usual nice Mac bfast.

And were 1st in e q at the rink. We needed to be early as the various promos are still on.

Lil Shauna had quite some practice yday. We didn't practice the new moves though bcos we all couldn't remember what exactly it was. Zzzzz. She was tired towards the end of 1.5hr and the rink was crowded. Otherwise, we could have done more. Fortunately, she got the opportunity to meet up with her ice skating friends and had fun skating with them.

She also had fun skating with her then party hosts who were on crew duty. She has class next week. I do hope that she would continue to progress.

Mummy Lim

Mosquitoes + Bad Skin = Trouble

Lil Isaac went to an excursion on Thursday morning. He went to a farm with his class. I thought it was an animal farm. He brought along an empty yakult bottle as instructed.

When I saw him in the evening, he told me excitedly about the plant that he planted in the bottle. He said that it was a vegetable farm. He seemed to have a great time.

Only when we were home and settled down and had shower, Daddy Lim spotted the numerous mosquito bites. We counted and there were like 19 of them! We should have applied insect repellent before we sent him to school. Boo! We applied 青草油 and was glad that there was no broken skin.

Apparently, the oil many didn't help too much and he has bad skin. When we saw him this evening, he had scratched himself so badly in the night and had broke his skin at numerous spots. Poor boy. There were plenty of screams when we applied the oilment.

We asked him why didn't he try to kill the mosquitoes and he replied that the farm uncle said that the mosquitoes are part of the farm and not meant to be killed! What?! I wonder did he go to a vegetable farm or a mosquito farm! When we counted properly, there were at least 27 bites! The mosquitoes must be really happy. Buffet! I heard them said.

Mummy Lim

SkyHigh Trampoline Park

The kids have outgrown indoor playgrounds and they often grew bored shortly after we started. We haven’t been to one for a while. On weekends late afternoon where we have no program, I would always think of bringing them to a trampoline park but never manage to get a last minute booking. We finally did so on Sunday. Boo joined us last minute.

SkyHigh (SH) is located in some ulu part in AMK. We were almost an hour early and had desserts before we entered the park. I think the aircon broke down. Otherwise, it would be a lot more comfortable. Auntie H, who had visited other trampoline parks with Boo shared that the other parks are much bigger. That probably explains why slots were still available when I booked on the same day morning. 

The kids were thrilled and waited eagerly for their session to start at 5pm. While waiting, the kids posted for a picture. Lil Shauna has this “grabbing people” stun recently. Boo and Lil Isaac were posing very nicely for the picture when Lil Shauna suddenly grabbed both of them. Too funny. 

There was a simple briefing on what to and not to do when their session started. Adults could sit on the walking path to accompany small kids but would have to pay for jumping. The moment the kids could start, they were bouncing all over. Lil Shauna was not too adventurous and opted to jump safely with Boo. 

Lil Isaac loves the basketball loop. 

There is also this yellow wall that the kids were allowed to attempt to climb. I suppose the right way is to bounce off the trampoline and climb up the wall. However, Lil Isaac climbed up using the green slope the 1st time. The 2nd time, the staff saw him climbing and helped to throw him up instead. The little boy was very pleased. In this case, the little boy's hearing was perfect. When I asked him why he climbed, he answered that the gorgor (staff) said that he can climb it. 

The jumping must be really tiring. I also saw this mummy with her kid. Her kid looked ok but she was perspiring so much. I saw her sweat flew as she bounced up and down. Our kids resting in the foam pit and were off bouncing somewhere after the picture. Haha.

I was worried that Lil Isaac would injure himself. In the end, it was Lil Shauna was probably twisted (slightly I think) her ankle. She complained of pain shortly after the session started. There was no swelling and I asked her to rest. She could walk and was back jumping after a while. More than half an hour into the session, she came back and said that she didn't land properly again and her ankle was even more painful. By then, she already had a great work out and took the remaining time slowly. Yes they were all that sweaty. Yikes!

Time passed so quickly and an hour was up very fast. The kids, though pouring sweat asked if they could continue jumping. We would try again and I would love to bounce with them the next time. Haha. More exciting stuff coming up next weekend and we need good weather. 

Mummy Lim

Insecurity Round 2

Last night, I spoke to Lil Isaac before bed. We talked about how God protects our house and would send angels to protect us while we sleep. The angels would chase away the monsters. I then reminded him that it is ok that mummy is not sleeping beside him bcos there is also jiejie in the room. He need not wake up the instant he sensed me away from him. He seemed to understand but still asked me to protect him when he was trying to sleep.

I didn't manage to wake up to return to my room last night and found myself sleeping beside the boy at 7am. I left his side in hope of a quiet coffee before the hectic day. Within minutes, he was up in search of me. I tucked him back to bed and he slept for another 45 mins on his own. Good job.

We headed to the church this morning and he was great worshipping God. Unfortunately, he turned all whinny when it was about the time that we agreed I would leave him on his own. Popo then came to take over and I left the room without telling the boy.

I so needed the time alone with God. For reasons that I haven't figured out, I am totally exhausted and burdened. When I went back to get the boy, I found him along the corridor wity Popo, munching donut. Apparently, he cried so much and disturbed the rest when he realised that mummy had been switched with mummy. Popo had to bring him outside of the class and then he was ok. Haiz. Insecurity 2, mummy 0.

He is in gym class now and had agreed that I could leave to buy a coffee like I usually would but cannot also visit the toilet bcos that would take too long. Is it really insecurity? But he is totally fine with wandering to duno where when we are at the mall. Haiz. It is ok, we will start to assure him again and again. It will take time. Jia you.

Mummy Lim

Started with Insecurity + Ice Skating Lesson 11

I woke up at 7am and had intended to escape the house with Lil Shauna. She has ice skating class today. To better make sure that Lil Isaac would sleep in, we intentionally delayed bedtime last night. We were still chatting at 10.30pm. That tactic failed and this morning Lil Isaac woke up in search of mummy barely 5 mins after I left his side. Haiz. 

It was way too early for him to be awake! I put him on the sofa and attempted to pat him back to dreamland. I had left the ipad for him too, knowing that it could be quite boring without a play companion for the morning.

In no time, he dozed off and I went about preparing. Unfortunately, he was yelling for me after about 15 mins. While Lil Shauna got ready, I was trying again to send him back to dreamland. He dozed off again and I continued with where I left off. I was almost ready when I heard him yelled for me again. Zzzz. I attempted to do the same thing but was chased away by a black faced Popo. She was upset that the boy was awake so early and she couldn't get her housework done. She said that even if I had managed to tuck the boy back to sleep again, he would still wake up within minutes after we leave the house. Since she insisted to take over, I let him only to hear her scolding the boy and blaming him for upsetting her routine. I felt so bad for the boy. The next moment, he was handed the ipad and was watching YouTube - at barely 8 am in the morning. 

I don't mind Lil Isaac using the ipad. I was the one who intentionally left it out for him. I was upset that Popo's crazy routine hinders a loving environment for the kids. I was so pissed and with the accumulated grievances over the months, I told her that I would take care of the kids myself. We would stay home with Lil Isaac for a couple more hours and would bring him along for ice skating. She then got upset with me and claimed that I was throwing a tantrum at her. Hello, who started it 1st? I was fuming mad.

In the end, I did bring both kids to ice skating. Lil Shauna wasn't very cooperative. Lil Isaac was just very monkey like usual.

It didn't help that there were so many people taking advantage of the rink's promotion. It was crowded. Luckily, there were some kids who are Lil Isaac's age and I got them to skate together. 

That allowed me pockets of time to practice with Lil Shauna but I was impatient, worrying that the boy would soon come back to disturb us. We both didn't enjoy the session. I then felt so bad for the little girl. 

Lil Isaac left the ice at 12 noon and I gave him snacks so that he would stay still by my side while I watched Lil Shauna go through her lesson. I even had to pass him my hp to make him sit still but still I couldn't really concentrate on Lil Shauna. She learnt something new but I didn't quite know what or how and didn't get the chance to film it like I usually would bcos my hp was with the boy. 

We left the rink and headed for lunch. Lunch was lousy - the food was lousy and the boy was cranky having slept so late last night and woke up so early this morning. We turned up early at LCentral and Lil Shauna entertained herself with a book while the boy squirmed and whined until it was time for jiejie's class. He finally felt asleep at Starbucks after we sent jiejie for class. I was exhausted and Daddy Lim could only joined us at about 3.20pm. I complained to ah yee and was so glad that she was responding to me. 

I am so tired. I had been trying my best to tolerate and had been taking the avoidance route. This few years, my relationship with Popo had been so bad and I duno how else to salvage the relationship. 

I was actually feeling depressed when it was time to go home a couple of hours back. Popo wasn't home when we came back. On one hand, I was worried about her safety. On the other hand, I was glad that I didn't have to face her. What can I do? Haiz. 

Mummy Lim