Desaru Fun! (Dated 3 July)

It was out of the blue that hubby and me decided to head up to Desaru! Friday morning we talked bout it, and Saturday, the whole family headed out to Desaru! Yes.. That's almost how impromptu our trips are!!

Us on our way there.. 

Arrived!! Finally.. After the 2.5 hours drive.. 

Hubby and me in the van at the Fruit farm.. Picture taken by Grace.. Not bad hor!

The fruits at the farm..

The Koi pond in the farm..

The mini zoo in the farm!

Us at the Ostrich farm.

Happy 45th Birthday Singapore!

It's still a bit early, since it's neither Singapore's Birthday nor Nick's Birthday yet! But well, by chance, some unknown Mr Nice sms-ed me by mistake telling his friend he has some 2 tickets for the preview for him. :P I asked if i could have them since none of the monkies had watched the NDP live before!  And he offered the tickets to us instead..  Not only did he offer the tickets to us, he offered us 4 tickets!! :) Of cos, he made my day and he made me so thrilled that i simply forgotten i needed 5 tickets instead of 4.. Haha.. How could i ever be so BLUR!! 

Nevertheless, while we were leaving home to catch the parade preview, Grace cried buckets when she came to know that she will be left behind.. After much pleading and crying, we decided to try our luck at the door. 

Count us damn lucky!!  Luck didn't only strike us once, but TWICE!! At the entrance, we were told that only 4 could enter the parade preview since we only had 4 tickets and another hunk saved our day.. He had 2 tickets but he only needed 1 to enter.. So we gotten the extra ticket from him and head into the padang for the preview.. :P 

* In the pictures, you see both Nick and Grace opening their mouths so big cos they were screaming at the top of their voices when the hear National Day songs that they knew how to sing! Machiam so proud being part of the parade!!

* In the last picture, you see Grace taking the flag and cover her face, that's because she was so scared by the fighter planes and mummy was too busy telling Nick to watch, taking pictures that i didn't get the chance to hear her telling me she's scared!  So in order to prevent herself from crying, she took the flag and cover her eyes hoping that by not seeing them = not scared! Made us laughed till our tears rolled up while we were looking thru all the pictures!

 

Dilemma..

The family wants to head up to Genting.. Gramps wants to do KL/Genting from a Friday to a Tuesday.

It's tough to convince myself that a short trip with the monkies means "pon-tang" school for Sam who is already attending Primary School.

I know Sam badly wants to tag along with Gramps and, Gramps aren't visiting Genting over the weekends..

It's a really tough decision isn't it..

Toys, Toys and more Toys!

My home have always been cluttered with the kids stuffs..

Boxes and boxes of all sort or toys, from the hot wheel cars to fast track ones, from clipo to mega building bricks, you name them, I should have them somewhere..

The study room has 2 long tables of train track since the Thomas craze, we have bought sets and sets of the wooden train tracks from 'the Better Toy Store' and ikea, a multi-store car park converted into tracks for thomas to go up and down some 'mountains' ..

The kitchen has a set of kids kitchen set for Grace to cook for her babies, and her babies sit in a part of the living room near the dollhouse and a doll tea table set for them to enjoy afternoon tea..

In the most recent toy craze, Nick has a whole table at the other end of the hall,with his whole collection of Lego set that builds from a construction site with a petrol kiosk, an aircraft and even an airport control tower!!

Apart from that, the kids have to find time to play with their iPhones, the wii and their psp..

Perhaps I should be selling off some of th toys soon.. It's taking up too much space at home and they barely have time for them.. :(

Spoilt for Choices or No Choice?

Life is full of choices.. Be it a big choice or a small one, it definate makes an impact somewhere,somehow and sometime..

I recently choose to return to the workforce as I find staying at home very much a waste of time.. Period.. After my return, I continued to stubbornly cook dinner every morning so that the kids have their homecooked meal on the table when they are home in the evening..

I been insisting of packing the house on my own since I couldn't quite find an up to my standard part-time cleaner.. And because of me being such a perfectionist, my husband suffers.. When I work late, he takes care of the 3 monkies and help out with the kids even after a long and tiring day at work.. To add to that, since I returned to the workforce, the children's enrichment class have been pushed to the evenings. On top of that, I signed Nick for 'i can read' and all 3 for Berries.

Now that it's been coming to 3 months since I went back to work, we are all exhausted! Very much exhausted..

We visited the maid agency, hopefully the approval and maid will be here in a week's time.. For that choice I made not to keep the previous maid, and I have no regrets. The monkies are for sure much more independent that what they used to be, closer to us.. Sam on the bright side has even took up the responsibility of folding his own clothes, ironing his uniform and washing his own school shoes.. Nick has learned to keep his own stuffs after using them and take responsibility of his own stuffs.. Grace also learned how to keep herself entertained, brushed her teeth on her own change her clothes and climb to bed without us informing her of the time!

Great achievement since the maid left!

I am so inlove with my monkies!!!!!

Sam On The Public Transport...

This morning, he pulled me aside and asked if he can take the public transport home on his own again after school.. He says he likes looking out for the bus, board the bus with his friends, pay his own fare like an adult, choose his favorite seat and look out of the windows to look at things. He likes to take charge of pressing the bell and alighting the bus on his own.. He wants to learn take care of himself.. 

I agreed, but i mention that if he's too tired, please take the school bus home since we have already paid for it. Not to play or run while crossing the roads. Wait for the green man when crossing the road even if there are no cars. Don't play on the stairs while on the bus. And call when when he's leaving school and reached home.. 

As much as i couldn't stop worrying, i know i have to give him space and time to grow up.. 

I also fear the day will that Nick and Grace will ask me the same thing. How many more years can i hold on to their hands before they tell me to stop cos they are afraid their friends will laugh at them. How long more will it be before they tell me to drop them off 2 bus stops before school so that they can be seen as going to school on their own. How many more precious years is it going to be before they stops flashing that award winning smile, run and hug me when they see me picking them up after classes.. :(

I know i will have to deal with it soon, but not too soon i hope.. 

He's Growing UP!

Sam called from school 20 mins back.  Asking for permission to take the public transport home with his friends instead of the school bus!

I wasn't surprise. I gave him an "okay" and checked with him if he knew which bus to take and he said yes. So, i just told him to be careful and call me when he reaches home. 

Hubby would flip if i told him about it.. As it is, when Sam told hubby to drop him 1 bus stop away from school yesterday, hubby feels that Sam wanted to "act" macho infront of his friends.. I tried to explain to hubby that it's natural that children of his age will feels shy when the daddy and mummy holds their hands, or bring them to school and things like that, but hubby just didn't seems to get it.. :P

So now if i were to tell hubby that Sam wants to take the public transport home from school on his own, i think Sam will get his shit squeezed out when hubby gets home tonight..  But, oh well, I think we just need to give this young man some leeway on learning how to take care of himself and grow up..  Maybe some "limited" freedom might also do him so good.. 

Hope Sam reaches home real soon so that i can stop worrying..  :)

Cost of Rearing Kids A Year..

Some friends have asked me on the estimate amount i need for each kid in a year.. The figures are based on what i can remember, some of the enrichment classes are not necessary..  Others like lunch and dinner are taken at home or with us, so didn't add them in. This is just as a guide. 

Samuel - Primary 4

School Bus : $120 x 12 months = $1440

School Books : $230 

School Uniform (2 sets of uniform + 3 sets of PE attire + 5 pairs of school socks) = $120

School Shoes (2 pairs) : $36

Pocket Money for recess = $4 x 25 days x 10+ months = $1000

School Fees / Misc Fee : $11 x 12 months = $132 

School ECA - Takwando = $25 x 4 terms = $100

ECA Test / Accessories = Est $70 a year 

Assessment / Enrichment Book = $50 a year

Piano Lessons : $220 x 12 months = $2640

Violin Lessons : $180 x 12 months = $$2160

Misc for music books / exam fees = Est $400 to $500 a year

Tution : $0

Total : $7978 a year / equivalent to $665 a month

 

Nicholas - K1

PAP School Books : $96 

PAP School Uniform (2 sets of uniform) = $46

School Fees : $140 x 12 months = $1680

Childcare uniform (3 sets) = $73

Childcare fees after subsidy : $320 X 12 months = $3840

Music Class : $220 x 4 terms = $880

Kumon English + Maths : $240 x 12 months = $$2880

MPM Math = $460 x 4 terms = $1840

Enopi : $140 x 12 months = $1680

Art Class : $320 x 4 terms = $1280

Total : $14295 a year / equivalent to $1192 a month

Grace - N1

Shichida School Uniform (3 sets of uniform) = $99

School Fees : $800 x 12 months = $9600

School Bus from Shichida to childcare (1 way) = $115 x 12 months = $1380 

Childcare uniform (3 sets) = $73 

Childcare fees after subsidy : $320 X 12 months = $3840

Ballet Class : $260 x 4 terms = $1040

Ballet Costume / Accessories : Est $200 a year

Art Class : $320 x 4 terms = $1280

Total : $17512 a year / equivalent to $1460 a month

All these while, i have never quite put the figures down into a book and tabulate it.. But looking at the total i spend in a year on the 3 monkies, i now understand as to why many Singaporeans choose not to have kids.. 3 kids made me $40k poorer in a year and items such as food, doctor visits, insurance etc have not been taken into consideration yet!

No wonder my friends been holidaying in Europe and USA while we are always doing trips within Asia only.. :(

PSLE Results - 2009

Quoted on Channel News Asia website : "For home-schooled children, 37 took the examinations this year. Seventeen, or 46 per cent, did not meet the benchmark."

  

I am considering to home-school my children.. Perhaps i should reconsider... 

  

Quoted from Channel News Asia website : "The fact that seven of the 13 best students this year came from neighbourhood schools. This is a surprising change from the last year’s result where only two students from these schools topped the exams."

  

Perhaps neighbourhood schools are not that bad afterall...

  

BTW, Sam got into Tao Nan School under the GEP selection test.. He took and passed the GEP (Gifted Education Program) test last year, but we did not transfer him and move him up to P4 this year as we felt that P3 was very important since it's the year where they introduce Science as a subject.  Also, there was much debates on the Singapore GEP program aren't very tailor-made for gifted children.. 

  

So, why decided on the GEP now? 

- He will get into Tao Nan School which grants Nick and Grace admission at Primary 1 without me having to do voluntary work (yes, for my selfish reasons). 

- It grants him a higher chance of going into Dunman High School (my dream school) since they are one of the 7 schools in Singapore that offers SBGP (School-Based Gifted Program) + IP (Integrated Program). In fact, i am so desperate for Sam to enter Dunman High School that i have signed him up for violin, piano and now electone (because he saw Nick practicing, so he wanted to learn too) since he was 4yo, so in the event he is a few points shy of getting into Dunman High School, he will still get in thru the music elective course. 

  

Oh course, my father had reminded me that Dunman High School may not be the best option since they are on the IP (integrated program). That means, the child will not be sitting for the GCE 'O' Levels exam, and will do a 6 year program in secondary school, and only doing the GCE 'A" Levels at the end of 6 year.. Incase he fails he GCE 'A' Levels at the end of 6 years and doesn't wants to retake, then he highest education level reflected on his job application will stand only at PSLE (ie. Primary 6)!

Kite Flying (Part 2)

Daddy promised we would go kite flying again real soon, but, we didn't expect the real soon to be the next day!

  

Daddy and Sam trying to fly the 1st kite..

Grace admiring her own kite that daddy helped her to make and she pasted her favourite Dora stickers on it. 

The 1st kite is up. Nick following after daddy hoping he doesn't gives the kite string to Sam or Grace.

Now it's Grace turn to be beside daddy hoping daddy will pass the kite to her after it has gone up.. 

The special kite that daddy made for Grace to stick her Dora stickers on as we couldn't find any Dora kite available for sale..

This is a new way how to fly a kite without holding it with your hands.. :P  I suppose it should be called kite handsfree.. 

Kite Flying

Daddy picked us up from the Science Centre at almost 5.30pm, only to realize that mummy forgotten to feed the kids LUNCH!

  

So, off we went for our so called Lunch and Dinner.. And, out of the blue, mummy came out with this super idea that the platoon wants to fly kite.. So, rush to buy 2 kites and we off to the empty plot of land near Compass Point.. 

  

When we arrived, was close to 7pm and it was drizzling.. Mummy got sian cos Grace just recovered from fever, cough and flu.. Didn't want to take the risk of her falling ill again.. But, the boys just refuse to leave, so mummy came out with a bright idea since she's too lazy to walk back to the car and bring out the umbrella.. 

Sam trying to fly his kite.. But it just refuse to go up..

  

Daddy with Nick and Grace trying to fly the other kite..

Sam's kite.. It went up for a while, and came down again..

Daddy's kite is up, up and in the sky already!!

Nick gets a chance to hold on to the kite..

Grace monkie-ing around since she don't have any.. 

  

Nick as usual, being nice.. Offered her his kite for a while..

  

She took it and refuse to return.. 

 

Nick is about to cry.. Look at Grace's face.. BO HEW him!

And suddenly, a heavy downpour came that we ended up fleeing to the car!

  

Daddy promise we will be back to fly the kite again real soon!

A Trip to the Singapore Science Centre

Nick was going on and on and on about wanting to visit the Science Centre again after the childcare centre brought him there 2 months back.. And so, since daddy was working that Saturday, and he was heading to Jurong, we "tompang" his car to to the Science Centre.. 

I was extremely blur that morning. Alighted from the car and happily brought the platoon to McDonald's for breakfast, only to realize that i left my little bag consisting of the wallet and the mobile phone in daddy's car.. Lucky this helpful McDonald's manager allowed us to have our meal first while he lent me his phone so that i could call daddy to drive back and pass me the bag.. 

Nick's best friend for now. He insisted he wanted to take this picture on his own.. 

Sam.. I also dunno where did his body went.. 

The elongated Nick.. 

Little Pink Riding Hood in her little "cottage"

Close the door,

and pointing to me she has opened the windows in the cottage..

The kids rolling the marbles off the "ramp?"

 

As usual, they both bullied Grace and made her collect the marbles and bring it to them while they rolled them down..

Little Pink Riding Hood is hard at work..

 

Nick is too, but somehow, no water came out..

 

That wasn't all what we did on Saturday. Stay tune for more updates on where we went after daddy picked us up.. 

Polliwogs, Polliwogs and Still Polliwogs!

Lately, mummy gone gaga over Polliwogs!  It's the 3rd time we are there in just 1 week!  Well, maybe expected since it's the latest and newest indoor playground in town, and it's near HOME!  :)  

  

The kids had a great time running around like monkies while mummy had a nice time out session as the playground is just of the right size, not too high or huge that mummy can sit at the lounge and enjoy coffee while surfing the net and still see us from there!

Grace monkeying around while waiting for Kor-kors to get ready!

Nick in the barrel with Grace and Daddy rolling him all around :)

Grace and the big kid in the ball pit.. :)

Sam was somewhere around, but was busy playing with other older kids and only reappeared when there was a closing announcement.. :)

  

It is indeed a fun place for the kids, but i hope they will bring the charges down otherwise, we might not be able to visit them as often as we wish..  :P

********************************************

The Polliwogs
1020 East Coast Parkway, #01-02 

5 minutes walk from McDonald’s at Marine Cove (Former Singapore Tennis Centre, beside Waraku Restaurant)

Tel: 6442 2805

Opening Times:
Weekdays 10am-7pm
Weekends 10am-8pm

Entrance Fees:
Weekdays-
Children above 2 yrs old, $16 for unlimited play
Children below 2 yrs old, $8 for unlimited play

Weekends-
Children above 2 yrs old, $18 for first 90 minutes and $8 for each additional half hour
Children below 2 yrs old, $8 for first 90 minutes and $4 for each additional half hour

Additional charges for Polliwobly (outdoor bouncy castle) $2 for weekdays and $4 for weekends.