On the long Break

On the Long Break

Its been over a year since I last blogged. Many things had transpired during this time. My dad passed away, we sold our flat and went house-hunting, my son went to a Primary school, shifted house, took a 6-month break from work to look after kids after our helper went back home and many more. I should have had more time to blog but that wasn't the case. I was bogged down with many things and was by the end of the day too tired or too lazy to write anything.

One of the biggest change was the move to our new home. Thankfully the transition was smooth for the kids and I and we simply love the new place with the swimming pool and gym and playground right at our doorstep. The view is awesome and I love being home each day and looking after the place and kids (and of course, my hubby). I had the chance to experiment in the kitchen and put my culinary skills to the test again. Thankfully there were no complaints and a few dishes even made to the top of the kids' food list (I pity my hubby though for having to put up with kiddy food). I stoically did all the housework everyday for the first few months when my helper went back until I suffered from lots of 'injuries'. I had thought that it would be a breeze as the house is not very big and my interior design is done in such a way as to minimise cleaning but I was so wrong. Housework finally took its toll on me and it finally sank in that my body is not used to such work anymore when I had to spent about $40-$60 per week on massages just to ease the aches and pains. I then decided that the money could be spent elsewhere, like hiring someone else to do the chores on my behalf. So 2 months before my helper returned, I succumb to employing a part-time cleaning lady... and it was bliss once more...no more cleaning toilets, ironing and moping. I happily cooked for the kids and send them to school with their friends (btw, we chauffer 6 kids to 2 schools every morning, 4 to Cedar and 2 to Ascension) with my hubby as the driver every morning, then have couple- breakfast together or do marketing. On some afternoons, I will practice my driving by ferrying the kids back from school or go to the library.

The kids routine also changed slightly especially since Kyle is now in Primary school. They do not need to nap on most afternoons except on days when we have activities in the evening, like badminton or music lessons. The kids will do their work in the afternoons, play with their toys and then after dinner, do some reading before they hit the bed at between 7.30-8 pm. In the mornings, they wake up at 615 and get ready for school. During the weekends, they go for their Abacus classes and Chinese lesson for Kyle. This year, the kids classes also included swimming on Tuesdays (resumed with their old coach), Meryl's music lessons on Monday evenings and the latest is Aikido lessons at the HQ just 5 mins walk from our place on Sunday. We had decided that Aikido is the most 'non-violent' art compared to Taekwando and Wushu and it is good in teaching them self-defence. What's more, the kids love it! They also get to meet their old friends from Sengkang every Wednesdays when we go down for badminton at the CC.

In the last year, my kids have also grown. Although my girl is still as short and cute ( she is still the shortest in class), her reading has improved by leaps and bounds for both her English and Mandarin. I was overjoyed! Just last year I was lamenting how slow she was compared to her brother who started reading before 4 on his own and could recognise many words. She also had problems differentiating her alphabets and numbers, often mistaking 'b' for 'd' and writing her numbers inverted. I was worried that she could be dyslexic but now I know my worries were unfounded. She comes back from school with 100% for all her reading list and can confidently read to me the story books norrowed from school. The biggest surprise was one evening when she read one whole 'Berenstain Bear' book for me and it runs into 20-30 pages with at least 2 paragraphs per page. Her interest in drawing has waned but she is showing more excitement in learning how to spell or write in Chinese. She has also become better at expressing herself and can talk tens to the dozen and sometimes there is no stopping her!

As for Kyle, he has adjusted very well in school with his old and new friends. He comes home with tales of the games he plays with friends during recess time and stories of what happened in the classroom except what he needs to do for homework. Everyday I will ask him if he has work to do and the answer is always no. Then I realised that he does his work very quickly in school so that he can play. He has little problem coping with his new schedule and demands as his kindergarten had prepared him very well. His performance in school is so far satisfactory and he is conscientious about his work especially passing spellings and doing well for tests. His dad has promised monetary rewards to help 'motivate' him. So far he has been 'earning' money with his recent biggest taking of the year being $50 for scoring full marks for his Math test. He also came in 1st in his class for his English during SA1 and 2nd for the whole level. The only subject he needs to improve on is Mandarin as he finds it too much work. He has also developed a voracious reading appetite during this past year. He has 'devoured' the whole series of 'Tin Tin', 'Berenstain bear' and a few of 'Geronimo Stilton'. I also got him hooked on 'The Wishing Chair' series and he started on 'Secret Seven' and 'Enchanted Wood' series recently. During the holidays he 'discovered' my 'Calvins and Hobbes' comics and enjoyed 'Garfield' as well. Our trips to Toa Payoh library involves a plastic, square trolley which is used to lug the 24 books that we borrow on each trips.

This past year also included many BBQs, playdates and outings with kids' friends, zoo outing (yes, again), many movies and trips in and outside Singapore. The kids had a great time during March holidays at Celestial resort in Ubin and in June we flew to Redang where the kids snorkelled twice everyday for 3 days. In between we also had some 'staycation' in Grand Waterfront Copthorne and Swissotel. All these will be sweet memories for the kids and also for us as we teach them and watch them grow and learn through exposure rather than classroom teaching. The next big thing I need to plan now is my girl' birthday bash which she is counting down EVERYDAY. She has already made plans on her own on Where she wants it and Who she is inviting!! (headache) Luckily for her, her birthday falls in December.

As for me, life has returned to normal after my helper came back in June ( she was almost stranded in Philipines due to improper documentation). Now we get to enjoy more variety of home-cooked meals and of course, her bakings. She has since learnt to make bread and has perfected the art of chocolate muffins. My son and daughter will request for their favorite meals and it will be served. As for me, I have decided to leave the whole kitchen to her and now I hardly ever wash a single dish...phew!!