Boardwalk@Lower Pierce

Poxy Boy and Poxy girl

7/03/08

Spots was found on Kyle's body. Immediately suspected it being chicken pox as there was an outbreak in Kyle's school and on the school bus. What was disturbing was that he had no fever. Consulted with some friends and started to worry if it could be HFMD. No signs of rash or mouth ulcers. And super hyperactive for a 'sick' boy. His pox count on day 3 was only 15. Finally on Monday sent him to the Dr's. Confirmed chicken-pox. No school for one week and grounded from playground.

28/03

Meryl started sprouting some spots on her neck, not unlike her brother's. Again no onset of fever. Still active like her brother. No loss of appetite, no fatigue syndrome. Her number of pox was 13. Compared to her brother's, hers was smaller. No need for doctor this time round. Quarantined at home for a week. She was begging to go to school by Thursday but otherwise having a fruitful time doing her writing and painting at home.

Postmortem: Luckily they were both immunised or else it could have been worst!

4 friends @ Pierce

A hectic morning spent at AVCC with Raine and Meryl at their ballet class and moi at my fusionrobics. Immediately after, we took B's cars and went back to pick up the hubby and Kyle to Causuarina Rd for prata. This was where we went after lunch.

Pierce Reservoir. We wanted to take the boardwalk but could not find it. We ended up here instead. The kids loved it and ran freely.

They played at the waters, which was clear and shallow....it was only a matter of time before....

my son decided to do something.......

which he usually does after he gets bored with the ordinary stuff...

like throwing stones into the reservoir.....

and ending up in the water..shuns his pants.... and getting his backside wet....and then his sister following in his footstep....and then Raine too ........

Unfortunately for them, the water fun did not last..... it started to pour without warning (sky was still bright AND blue!) So into the shelter we ran. There Kyle entertained us with his version of Meryl's graduation song 'Little Sunny Walker' (or something like that) half naked!! (see video below)

The big squeeze at the back of B's MPV on route to our next destination; Giant@Tampines.

We had altogether 4 trolleys; 2 for carting the children and 2 for the groceries. By the end of the shopping, it was down to 1 trolley for children and 3 for food!! (only 1 belongs to me)

It was a full load....but we still managed to squeeze about $350 worth of groceries into the car!

It was indeed a FRUITFUL day!

At the Wake 18-19/03

The hubby's 2nd uncle passed away and we were down for 2 nights together with Meryl. Her brother was quarantined at home due to his chicken pox but he was happy as he got to watch his Tom and Jerry.

The passing on of the uncle was a matter of time as he was already seriously ill for a long time. Nonetheless, the grief felt by the family was very real and from what I've heard, he was a good man who cares for his family, a lot.

At the wake, Meryl and her dad had fun with the peanuts hanging all over their faces. After that was fun with the dog. feeding it and bringing it for walks. In contrast to the sad demise of a man, she was the epitome of life.

Picnic at home 04/03

One evening after dinner, the kids started to drag their blankets out and spread it on the living

Badminton at Eunos 10/3 Tues

The daddy volunteered to come back home to pick us all up for badminton today. So by 7.30, we were all ready but had to wait for him instead.

We reached Eunos CC at about 8.30pm and the kids went on stage to play their own game. When they got bored, they started to cheer for the players, their daddy and I. Meryl was not very interested in the game but Kyle was keen to learn more and even played with his daddy on the court.

Kyle's Dental visit and Meryl piercing ears 14/3

Prelude to the dental visit : The appointment was fixed at 2.30pm so the 2 of us went for lunch at Sakae and then visited library

Went home to deposit the books and brought Meryl along.

We get to go almost immediately once we reached there and I got my teethe scaled and polished first as I wanted Kyle to know what to expect.

When it was his turn, he didn't flinch or show any fear. Dentist announced that he has 2 little holes and suggested coming back to do the filling as he was afraid that Kyle might not be able to sit still for too long. I told him to go ahead and he did. Kyle was most cooperative and heeded the dentist's instructions obediently. Meryl witnessed the whole process. She did not want her turn at the dentist but agreed to pierce her ears again instead. (see video below)

Visit to T3 11/03

After a good rest from the zoo trip, the kids were all geared upto go out again...to T3. Tagu came, picked us up and off we went. We toured the place while waiting for the hubby and yeye. we went up to the viewing gallery and see what was available. Jay requested for Sakae Sushi but there was only teppanyaki available. Finally we settled for the Kopitiam foodcourt where Kyle had his favorite, cold zaru soba.

After dinner, we went window shopping then took the skytrain to and fro for the kids' sake. As usual Kyle got a lot of scolding for monkeying around and not observing safety. It was almost 10 when we left. Jay did not get the go ahead to stay with Kyle and was very sad.

Horton the movie

It was a mad rush as usual in the morning if we have plans to go out.The kids rushed through their breakkie, rushed through their shower, changed, packed and off we went to ctach Horton at Vivocity at 10.35am. Halfway, I asked Kyle if he prefers to go Plaza Singapura to watch but he insisted on going to Vivovity. It turned out to be a big mistake!!!

We managed to reach ther intime but to my disappointment, the 1035 show for for GV Goldwhich was $25 per ticket!!! Had no choice but to watch the next show at 12pm.

So the kids and I went for a stroll outside Vivo and enjoyed their snack meant for the movie. Then we went to Pageone and had a good time browsing through books and I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of Kiterunner. Meryl and I played a game whereby she is the 'mommy' and I am the 'baby'. It was pretty hilarious as we exchanged roles. She was a pretty good 'mommy' too.

The kids enjoyed the movie , even Meryl. We took train and bus back. Meryl was knocked in the train but woke up again before we reached home.

Firemen to the rescue 12/03

The whole morning was spent playing 'Firemen to the rescue'. First I hide the 7 toys in various places and then called for the firmen to come and 'resuce' them. The 2 of them got better and better at finding the toys and finally we exchanged places and I became the fireman and they hide the toys.

March Holiday Zoo Trip 11/03

Holiday time and its time to hit the zoo again. Jo packed their breakfast and the hubby gave us a lift to the zoo. The kids ate their breakkie at the otter enclosure while waiting for belle and joel to arrive. We took the tram around the zoo and then alighted at the Splash theatre to watch the sealion show. We almost couldn't get a place but in the end managed to squeeze at the 1st row. The kids enjoyed the show.

The next program was the pony rides which all the kids had a go for $4 per ride which is only 1 miserly round around the small compound. There goes my $8 and although I felt that it was not money well-spent, the kids had fun and hopefully happy memories.

We then walked to the baboon enclosure where the kids played chasing. It rained heavily after that and we stayed till the rain stopped. Belle and Joel had to leave 1st cos they needed to eat their lunch whilst we wait out the rain.

After about 15 minutes, the rain dwindled to a drizzle and we slowly walked to KFC for our lunch. Their friends were still there and we feasted on chicken, fries and pizzas together. It was almost 2.30 when we left the place in a cab.

Opening of Anchorvale CC

Arrived at the new CC early to meet my students. Meryl only joined me at abot 9.30 and was all geared up to cheer for us. The brother did not arrive, until I had finished my competition with his Tagu and Yeye as he stayed over the previous night. The place was jam-packed with people and we had a tough time trying to keep track of each other especially since I was running around.

I wanted to bring Kyle down to kayak but the timing was bad as my students were due at the same time to collect their token of appreciation. He was so disappointed! JO then queued up to take our food and goodie bag and by the time they got it, settled down to eat, it was almost 12ish. Yeye was so hungry as he did not have breakfast and Tagu announced that this was the last time she was coming for such activities..hehe..

My students who took part in the dragon boat competition.

Naomi 1st Birthday

It was a hectic day as we rushed back from a fun-filled morning at the new Anchorvale CC opening, showered and changed before we rushed out again to Naomi's birthday party. By the time we arrived, it was already after 1. Nonetheless, the kids hit straight for the toys (esp Kyle) while at the same time eat their lunch. I was frankly speaking, too tired to eat or do anything.

Meryl and friend got to meet up again barely after a week and they had fun, needless to say. Whenit came to cake cutting, my kids were the most eager. Meryl was requesting even before the cake was cut which portion she wnated and then to my amazement, proceeded to finish the whole cake...and then asked me for more!!!! I just had to stop her. Even on our way back, she was also asking for more cordial.

Downtown East Fiasco 8/03/08

Hubby drove us down to Downtown East as I wanted the kids to have a go at the Escape Theme park before our membership card which gives us free entry expires. Unfortunately for us, the park was closed for a Family Day and we had to change our plans.

We walked to the beach which was also full of people as there was a secondary school having their cross country!! Sigh... We ended up strolling and watching a man laser sail then the kids raced each other before Meryl declared that she wanted to eat chicken rice. We proceeded back to the foodcourt to eat the famous 'Chatterbox' chicken rice..yum yum.

After we finished, the hubby came and picked us up.

Hoi Sing's 4th Birthday 02/03

Hoi Sing celebrated his 4th Birthday at home. The kids played and played as they had not seen each other for a while.

Meryl with her 2 good friends, Zachary and Cheryl.

Meryl's dragonboat outing 24/02

Meryl with the dragonboat coxswain Sharon, an undergrad from NUS.

Kyle stayed overnight at Ta gu's place and went to climb Bukit Timah Hill in the morning, so I brought Meryl with me on my dragonboat training at Kallang. She wanted to go into the boat and after getting permission, she was off together with us, squeezed in-between another guy and me. She was enjoying herself so much that she expended all her energy and half an hour into the training, she told me she wanted to sleep and within 5 minutes, she fell asleep. I was out of action for 15 mins! She woke up after we landed on a deserted beach to take a rest. I think she was disoriented for a while. After we got back to the sports centre, her father was there waiting with her lunch from Mac'donald. She followed her daddy back and slept from 3 to 6 in the afternoon.

Jay's 1st Sleepover 09/02

Jay got permission to stay over and the 2 boys were overjoyed!! Even Meryl refused to sleep with me and insisted on sleeping with 'kor kor Jay Jay'. In the end, it was decided that Jay sleep with Kyle on the bunkbed and Meryl was sooooo sad.

Today for the 1st time, Kyle drank his milk super fast...following his cousin's example. Then they went to brush their teeth together and peed together (see picture below). Meryl was feeling left out all these while and threw a mini tantrum,insisting on 'Little Mermaid' story to be played instead of 'Pinochio'. It took quite a while for the kids to settle down before they finally dozed off.

The next morning, the kids woke up early to play with the toys. We all went for lunch at the new Anchorvale Community Club where the kids were treated to a session of Lion Dance and then buffet lunch. Jay went back home after that.

3rd day of CNY 09/02

10.30 am : Depart for Kwang Wai Shiu Hospital

11 am : visited Gong Gong

11.30 am : Lunch at Bendemeer market

12.00 am : Went to Tua Pek gong's house to pai nian, ate lots of kwe zhi

2 pm : Went to Yeye's house, kids napped and adults played MJ

6pm : Dinner buffet of Nasi padang, lontong, beehoon and samosas

7-11pm : MJ

At Pek Gong's house where Kyle had a sudden stomachache. He's enjoying all the attention that he's getting from his cousins.

Meryl and Jon dancing again. See them in this clip.

1st day of CNY 07/02

9am : Woke up, eat and get changed
10 am : Meryl and Kyle 'delivers' their greetings to parents
1030 am : Ta jiu's place to pai nian
11.30 am : Lunch at yeye's place ( vegetarian noodles)
12 pm : Depart for Ah Chor's place in 3 cars, Meryl napped
1.30pm : Depart for 1st Grandaunt's house in Jurong
2-3 pm: Kyle slept in the car
4-6 pm : Free and easy
6pm : Arrival of relatives in batches, mahjung.
7pm : Tim went to pick Ah Chor
8pm : Celebrated Pansy's birthday
9pm : Dinner
9-11.30 : MJ
The cousins at Ah chor's place: Top left to right- Neal, Kyle and Jay
Bottom left to right- Keene, Meryl and Jon

Ah Chor giving out ang pows to the great-grand children

The cousins singing Gong Xi Gong Xi for their Ah Chor (great grandma).

Our New Year's birthday girl!!!

Reunion Dinner 06/02

We were all back to help prepare for reunion dinner which was the usual steamboat. The 6 cousins met and played to their hearts' content.

The cousins singing Chinese New Year songs on Ta gu's bed

Flowers for CNY 03/02

Wanna see how the Indian workers auction their flowers. Click on the above clip.

The lunar new year was fast approaching but the festive mood was stillnot quite there. So that Sunday, after dinner, we dropped by the nurseries to buy some plants for the new year; pussy willows and some lily bulbs. The kids, as usual, had their own set of fun as they played chasing, London Bridge etc.