Jake gets into an accident

It was lunch time, and just as I was about to get lunch, I received a call from home. What I heard made my heart skip a beat. J had hurt himself. There was crying (him) and my helper was trying to explain to me what happened; and the gist I heard was that he had a cut on his head. That made me scared. Thankfully, I was able to leave work and after some harried phone calls to the helper and husband, we all met at the clinic. Was so glad that both the husband and I were able to take off from work at such instant notice.

The original pic that we received from the helper

It was a wasted exercise though, because the clinic GP couldn't help much. She recommended that we head to KK Hospital A&E department for more applicable treatment. We took her referral letter and made our way to Mount A instead, as it was closer.

We registered and thankfully, the clinic was not super crowded. We waited for our turn, and by this time, the boy was behaving normally with no hint of discomfort at all. Time didn't seem to pass too slowly; perhaps it was because we were walking about, watching some TV, fiddling with something/nothing and making idle chat with a set of neighbours that were also at the hospital with their child. Soon, our number rang and we headed to the first station.

First stop - a filter check by a nurse

A doctor saw to the boy soon after, and gave a quick prescription of an X-ray and possible stitching after was likely necessary. We were famished by this time (past 1pm) and we made do with takeaway sandwiches from subway. The X-ray results took about an hour to be ready and thankfully, nothing seems to be alarming from the X-ray and so we were referred to a room where the doctor came in to provide some follow-up attendance to stitch J's head.

Waiting for the doctor

While the husband sat on the bed to hold the boy down (in case he fidgeted majorly during the administration of the local anaesthetic - which by the way, the boy was a SUPER STAR, he barely flinched), I made myself nearly sweat with stress just by being in the same room. I stood at the end of the bed holding my breath unknowingly, fidgeting non-stop as I worried of the procedure.

My poor baby, look at his face :(

Truly, both the boys performed amazing. In his usual calm and steady fashion, the husband distracted the boy by chatting to him of random subject matters, and the boy responded in a quiet way, whilst receiving treatment. Besides his super solemn expression, the boy truly just laid on the bed with no outburst, no tears, no extreme reaction. I was so proud of him. He was so calm, that his eyes started to close...

And he fell asleep.

Of course, it was way past his naptime at this point (3pm) but to watch him rest so peacefully truly made my heart burst with relief.

Resting

It had been an anxious day with this accident taking place and it really made me thankful that (1) the boy seems fine. Yes he had stitches to his head, yes he made us so worried but he really seems fine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that no complications arise after. (2) The husband - as always, he is the pillar of calm in emergencies and to have him there, to watch him steadily assure and be with the boy, made me so relieved that I have such an amazing partner. (3) The relatively painless experience at the hospital - I know, it's not as if I was the one injured and in pain, but being a parent who has to bear with the child's agony, any other parent will be able to empathise that the experience is not one that any will envy. Plus, the whole waiting/treatment experience was bearable this afternoon and I am so grateful for that.


It's now nearly bedtime and the boy is receiving a proper head-wash under the assistance/supervision from the husband. It's tricky because his wound should not touch water but this boy is a sweat factory so we gotta find a way to ensure that there is some level of cleanliness involved. He has also been in good spirits the whole afternoon so I hope he will sleep through the night and be as fit as a fiddle tomorrow too.


Oh and the cause of his injury? An act of mischief where he was (probably) jumping about on the bed/window ledge and slipped - self-inflicted accident. Boo.


What. A. Day.

Pleased as punch

Someone received a badge yesterday! This is akin to a 'promotion'.
K has been sharing how her friends received badges for additional responsibilities at school; and this has been a subject that the husband and I had discussed over several occasions. We are aware that she yearns for the accolade, but we are also aware that she may be facing some challenges in coping at school which was why she had not received any additional responsibilities.


It makes our heart ache to observe her disappointment, yet it is such indeed reality and we can only encourage her to do better. This is a real slice of hard parenting that sometimes, we need to step back and allow things to settle/pan out for themselves.


Things took a turn yesterday when this little one bubbled with happiness when she received a badge!

The confidence booster in the shape of a rectangle badge

It's heartening to see that she knows that she now has more responsibility, plus she is also definitely enjoying the role (obvious from how she proudly displays the badge!). It also made me happy to hear her say 'I'm going to do well so that I can continue to be AV monitress until next year!' - she understands the concept that the badge/duties will be taken away if she does not perform well.


A short exchange with her school teacher reinforced what we had observed for ourselves; that her progress in school has improved and thus, it's the right time to give her more responsibility.


Dear Kate, it is more painful for us to see your disappointment than you can imagine.


Such is life, and I hope you learn this tough lesson that you need to work hard for what you want and in this case, I'm so happy that you are progressing well at school to be able to slowly, in your own pace, do more.


It may not be as quick as you desire, given your impatient nature, but it's taken you three quarters of the year for school and routine to become more settled and balanced; so let's not rush too much into everything. Doing small/some things well is way better than doing more and underperform.


It truly pleases me to no end that you achieved this badge of small honour and I know you will do better, once you settle in even better at school.


Loving you forever and always supportive no matter what,
Mommy

Sunday brunch date

Last Sunday morning, the husband surprised me by suggesting that we 'go out for brunch'. Considering how lazy we had been (the furthest we go is, uh, across the road, usually) - this suggestion from him was truly pleasant. (To the husband: perhaps that explained my lack of reaction. Too stunned.)


We made a random choice to the neighbouring hood where I knew housed some coffee homes; but the final decision of where to eat was picked by the husband - we had two choices - and it was such an excellent decision!


Hello, Pacamara!


It was a white-washed space and semi-filled with diners. The vibe was relaxed and the air-conditioning was working very well, perfectly suited for the hot & sunny day. The staff were friendly and kind, very smiley and made the entire experience very good. The coffee was not bad, and the food was pretty tasty - all in, a win for sure!


Just 3 random sharings:
1) I ordered a salmon mentaiko which was super tasty and I liked; I would have loved it if it was served hotter. The eggs were probably left standing for a while and it was - sadly - not hot. The waitress heard me lamenting this to the husband and offered, unprompted 'will you like me to take it back?' I decided to give it a shot and because the whole dish was still edible, plus the super service of initiative made me thankful enough that I merely gave feedback on the dish's temperature, and proceeded to gobble the entire plate up.
The adorable waitress gave feedback to the kitchen and came back to apologise, adding that I could have a complimentary drink. I really appreciated the gesture and service recovery. I did not redeem my drink but they did redeem themselves on the whole and I do want to go back again to try other dishes.


2) The husband had -  at a point - three pepper shakers at our table because none of them seemed to work. It was funny.


3) Their toilets are a bit too dim but the overall deco of the place was lovely.

Beer o'clock (who cares that it was only 10am?! Not us, obviously)

That morning was filled with so much love, and the experience of having brunch out in a new place felt so novel, I felt so happy. In fact, I cannot stop smiling as I recall our time spent together. Super love!

Saturday funday

I made some changes to our Saturday schedule, so that our afternoons are now freed up. This makes our day a lot more relaxed, as there is no need to rush from Point A to home for a nap, to rush to Point B. It sounds a lot more tiring and energy-sapping than it sounds, and for those who need to shuttle children, will truly understand.
<Special mention to my beloved Dad who plays a major role in this change!>


So, with this change, I have time to just let it be with no need to rush. So last Saturday, the boy could pick his preferred lunch venue and off we went after his class. Thankfully, there was no queue, and it was a nice, albeit indulgent, lunch for us both.



小笼包王子

For the record, he had some noodles (I had most of it), and EIGHT 小笼包s. He really, really loves them! After lunch, we took public transport back home and had time to laze about. I had to attend a run in the evening, and decided to bring the kids along for play because it was at a right time slot.


The husband dropped us off at the Sports Hub and off we went. We spent some time gathered while I met with my colleagues, whom I was doing the run with. I was really a substitute runner, and honestly, despite my initial reluctance, the run turned out to be pretty fun. While I went off to prepare and run, the children were with good company.

New friends + water play

They also met superdog

Team LEGO runners!

So the way the run works, is that it's relay style with a team of 4 and each runner completes 10.3km to finish a full marathon collectively.


A colleague snapped the below pic and it looks so beautiful. It was definitely way hotter than what this looked like when I was actually running, between 6-7pm, but I made it. Phew.

Magical hour

I'll share more of my run achievements in a separate post, but it was my best time clocked for 10km, so a Personal Best for me - hooray! The children joined me in the stadium after my run and I spent an hour or so hanging out at the event site engaging in activities with them.

But first, let's take a picture.

We met Ironman on stilts

This looked more fun than it was - because the children did not meet the
minimum height criteria to join it

Thankfully, we found an activity that the children could partake in. This is a circuit where they
had to hop, do push-ups, jump over hurdles, do sit-ups then dash to the finish line.

JUMP!

It was about 8pm after we were done mucking around, and by this point, I was so ready to sit down (I was literally bouncing around having fun with them). I settled easily on fast food (it was not crowded) and after re-fuelling, we took the MRT back home. It turned out to be less painless than expected as the trains were swift and I did not have to stress about road closures/locating taxis at that hour. We made it home within an hour, so it worked out very well.


That night, the children collapsed to bed pretty quickly after all that fanfare. It was a super fruitful Saturday!

#jaketales

Facebook flashed up some adorable pictures of my not-so-little-baby boy, and these pics are so amazing I have to re-share them again here.

When J was only 6 months old. That was his original face, with
lack-of expressions. Serious much.

Then this pic shows how the husband always dreamt he will dress his mini-me up - in exactly the same way he dresses himself.

Stylo-milo

To finish off this random post of ah boy, here's sharing a conversation he had with my mom. They see each other every weekday morning, as my parents help to drop him off at school. On this particular morning...

J: Nainai, I have a mosquito bite.
Nainai: is it bad?
J: No. Don't worry, it is not ZIKA mosquito, because it never fly to AMK.


Haha! TGIF!

LEGO art

Sighted in the office pantry

LEGO by M and K

At the last visit to the office, K had a friend (M, who is a year older) who accompanied her for the afternoon. They played together, and also did some drawings and posted their art proudly in the pantry for all to see.

'Seeing' my child at work makes me happy :)

Kate turns 7

We had been planning this day for weeks. This little one knew that she wanted a party with some friends and the husband and I obliged by arranging for a playdate with a small group of friends. The night before, she was happily reminding us that 'it is 17 September tomorrow!'
The day rolled along and in our half-asleep state (while the kids were already bouncing off the walls, as usual), we hugged our firstborn and wished her HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Our morning routine was business as usual, and we all met at home after lunch. K was visibly excited and couldn't wait to head to the club to meet her friends.

Waiting for her guests to arrive

She was impatient (obviously, minutes felt wayyyy too long) and started bouncing off the walls, asking every few moments 'what time is it?' Finally, after half hour, we gathered most of the children and started to play.

Most of the little ones

The sister and I deliberated if we ought to play some games, and I think despite our lukewarm efforts, we didn't have to worry too much as the children were not too focused on quality it seems. They gamely played along, and we cut our losses by cutting down the number of games played - especially since I was barely audible with my croaky voice.

Simple games



Simple games - special mention to the sister for getting these balloons!
(In hindsight, we could have just used the damn balls at the gym!)

Playing catch

The highlight - water play!

JUMP!

Party food

Happy Birthday K

My beautiful child

With her little friends

It was past 7 by the time most of her little friends left, and I am thankful for the patience for my family who came by to just hang around. Family support is so helpful when there are situations, or just to shower love and I am extremely thankful because my family is truly super awesome. As my kids continue to grow up, I must say we are looking forward to more mini ones - looks to the brother and sister!

With the loving grandparents

Missing the busyB

PRECIOUS

Dear baby K,


No matter how old you become, you will always be my special baby. A parent will truly understand this statement, regardless of how cliché it sounds. A firstborn will always be a firstborn as you introduce so may 'firsts'.


You have brought change to my life (and your Papa's), teaching us responsibility, growing pains, laughter, unconditional love. You brought awareness of many matters - observing traditions, leading through behaviour, sensitivity... the list of lessons is endless. This year has been pretty significant, with the start of primary school and I know that you have struggled through as much as I have; but we shall not give up because this is just another phase of life that we will soldier on and we shall become stronger and better as we do so side-by-side.


You have matured and laugh at jokes that your little brother makes alongside us adults, as you understand that he is the baby now and is less aware. You become more territorial as you begin to treasure your own space. You are growing up and learning to deal with responsibility that comes with school in terms of managing money, making new friends, learning new routines and cope with the awe that comes with the 'big world' as you are the littlest in this 'big children school'. I only hope that you learn within these hopefully safe environment, as the school we have picked for you is one that will allow you to thrive.


There are so many wishes I have for you, and I hope that we will always be able to talk to each other about things big and small, so that I never stop adding to this list of wishes I have for you and I, as we both learn on this journey. This year, you become the bogay child with your toothy, dimpled grin and I marvel at how beautiful you are, how mischievous and sensitive you are, and how blessed I am that you are my baby.


Happy birthday, my child. I love you beyond purple balloons, to the US of A and right back to your little bogay smile.

May you continue to soar to greatness

Spending time with my firstborn

K had no school on Friday and as a treat, so that she and I can spend more time together, I brought her with me to work. It's nothing too exciting, nothing over the top, but having her with me the whole day gave me a nice, warm feeling as we could have lunch together, and while she had pockets of time where she was not by my side, it was still nice as I had intended for her to just be with me, so that we can just well, hang together-ish.

My plan of ending work earlier did not truly happen, and it was already 5 by the time I was ready to go. We spent some time having ice-cream though, and lunch was also her choice (ugh, horrid McDonalds!) and I guess the day was pretty successful as she was with me, through the day, and it was a nice change from her daily routine of school/being at home.

A yoghurt all to herself

Look at her, all limbs and such an adorable child. She is growing up, as she should be, and I still marvel at how this girl is my child. There is so much to learn on this parenting journey, and while I struggle to be patient, I do hope that she knows that she is loved beyond the moon and back. I do not expect her to be a genius, but I wish her to have a heart of kindness. I do not expect her to be a millionaire, but I wish her to be sensible to ascertain right from wrong. I do not expect her to be perfect, and I always tell her that I will always love her, no matter what, even if I am mad/frustrated  with her - because no one is perfect and I hope she knows that I am imperfect because I get frustrated and snappy with her; yet she will always be perfect in her special way, in my eyes.

Ah, this crazy thing called love!

Buying a bike

After the husband's ironman feat, it's sparked off the children's interest in bicycles (seeing the husband's borrowed bike taking centrestage in our living room, LIVING ROOM). After weeks of badgering, questioning, asking, pleading... the husband conceded and then after several chances of co-ordination, we made it to actually buying a bike yesterday.

Cycling

Cycling

Cycling

Regaining my running mojo - about my exercise regime

With our new morning routine that started in July, my exercise regime has gone awry. My free window period that used to take place every morning (between 0545-0700) has changed. I realise that I crave routine and with the changes, it is slightly disconcerting.


The result of the consistent exercising every day from Jan - May this year, is that I became super toned, and also super thin. I had not realised that, until the regime broke and now that I am 3-4kg heavier.


What's new, is how I am exercising now. My options are:
1) Ending work early and going back for a workout.
While this has happened on a few occasions, where I fit in a run before dinner, the act of rushing home just to work out then rush the night routine (of putting the kids to sleep) - is sometimes daunting (also known as, I get lazy). It is also a challenge to slip out of home once I see the munchkins as they start talking to me etc etc...


2) Fitting in a workout before work
By the time I send K to school and come to the office, it is about 0745. I have tried to Kayla to finish the workout by 0830, in time to wash-up and be ready for work by 0900. In that same time, I can practise yoga.


3) Running to the office
This works brilliant as it combines me working out and making my way to work. It works best when I pre-plan my wardrobe and have an outfit to change into when at work, and it is great for days that I need to start my day earlier. The route is a nice, easy one cutting through Orchard Road and works great in the early hours of the morning.


4) Running home from the office
I have tried this on a handful of occasions from my previous offices, and yesterday, I did it for the first time from this premise. It felt pretty good honestly, and though my body is protesting slightly at the long run (been so slack), it is still an effective way in using my time, fitting in a workout and forcing me to go the distance.

11.9km

5) Exercising on the weekend
I try to work out at least once on the weekend, whether at home, out for a run, or at the gym. So far, so good - except that my routine on Saturday (my regular visits to the gym) is going to change soon. So let's see how that unfolds.


The husband made a comment recently that it is not only applicable to specific people who may be required to be fit in their role at work. Exercising regularly is a lifestyle and I believe that if we make some effort, it should be something that we do for ourselves - whatever your motivation is. It has been several years since I started my lifestyle of exercising regularly and it's amazing how much it impacts my daily life. I get grumpy when I don't exercise, I feel sluggish when I am not active. I feel not as happy with myself (and my body) even if there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. The benefits of exercising totally outweighs any reason to not exercise and I am glad that the husband is a constant motivation for me to keep active, not forgetting us wanting to play lead examples to the children.


I'm definitely in good spirits today after the run yesterday, and now if I can control my gluttony more... I can be even healthier than what I am right now :P

Lantern-making with Godpa

It has become a tradition where the Godpa owns an annual event with the children. It started two years ago, when I handed him the task of working on a lantern-making craft project with K. Last year, I requested that he helps - not one, both two kids - because both of them were in the same school, and so he did. (Sadly, I could not find any pics that documented the lantern of 2015).


This year, the end result is definitely the best - you know what they say, practise makes perfect!

Minions!

Lit-up minions

It's nice to have something for the children to have, even if it's this one project every year. They get to spend time together, and this year, I ended up taking a nap while they were working at this craft - ahhh, how nice!

Throwback - 4 years ago

I absolutely adore the (relatively) new feature that FB launched. It prompts you of memories on the same date x-years ago, and I make it a point to flick through memories daily.


It reminds me of what I did (I usually have a clear flashback - proof of memory still not failing entirely), of how the kids looked before (this is totally endearing yet scary - they always look adorable but how quickly they have grown!), and it's always nice to have a chuckle. 

This popped up on my feed today

Look at my little baby princess... she's so much more grown up now. She has lost her baby fat (no more YY), and her arms and face are so much more adult-like now than 4 years ago. Her hair is a constant though - messy!


Feeling all warm and fuzzy as I think back of all her baby-like antics, and also looking forward to celebrating her 7th birthday very soon.

Cebu, 11 Aug, coming home

Our flight home was at 4pm, which means that we had the whole morning, until lunch to finish off the holiday. The morning was a repeat of our last few days, where we had breakfast - headed to the pool - then washed up. Our request for late check out was approved, which made things easy for us to have a spot to shower and all.

Checked out, and waiting for our ride

We arrived at the airport - no drama there - but we did spend some time trying to check in. Turns out, due to our separate flights into Cebu, there was some mix-up and the counter staff took a while to locate the seats for J and I. After some long moments, we got our tickets - phew.  What was amusing was, during this time that we were waiting, J was self-entertaining by pretending that he was in the Ironman race! He was playing pretend by swimming, cycling and running - just like his Dad. I cannot express how thrilled I am at this positive influence!


Our flight was slightly delayed, but besides being called out on the public announcement 'calling for passengers Seah C..C... and Foo C...Y...' - oops (the husband was eating and I had to do a pee stop for J), we made it.


The seats were apart, and J asked to sit with me while the husband got some alone time. The flight back wasn't too bad... and I even managed to eat my meal in peace while J slept. He had his meal after me, upon waking up so the timing worked out pretty well.

Game time

The highlight of the flight was probably when we got invited to go to the cockpit! How thrilling! It started with J wanting to say goodbye to the pilots, and we were fortunate to have 2 very friendly pilots who invited him inside to take a look. They were warm and super nice, even encouraging J to sit on the pilot's seat!

In awe - so many buttons!

Rare visit

We finished off our visit in the airport by playing with this gadget that I had noticed previously. We spent some moments snapping our pics, seeing it pixelated - pretty cool!

Captain J

Us

We purchased duty free items, picked up our luggage, caught 2 cabs (big luggages much!) and made our way home.


It was nice to be home, and still being on holiday mode, we headed out for a late dinner. It was very nice to have an 'extended break' to not need to think about heading back to work/reality the very next day. Love it!


And so, this marked the end of our holiday to Cebu. All the days captured here: Day one, two, three, four, five , six and seven.