Learn how to ride a bicycle with Byke Now

As parents, we all agree that other than the academic achievements our children have, we also hope they can attain certain skills set. It may not be an age defining skill as this certainly cannot be apply to me. 

Cycling is always what I wanted to learn but obviously I didn't. But I hope my kids dont miss this opportunity like I did. So I sent them for cycling class. Some may say, "no need to teach.. can teach yourself." The problem is: I cant cycle, how to teach? Ray papa can cycle but his schedule is always very tight so.. I prefer to set aside some budget for this skill set.

According to the bike coach: during the first lesson, Isa was the more cautious one. He didn't really dare to pedal that much and was more wary of falling. 

60 minutes passed quickly.

Then on the second lesson, not even 20 minutes into the lesson, someone surprised us.

This is also Dora on her 2nd lesson. I would not say she had fully accomplished her skill but the bike coach says she had the hang of things but had focus her pressure too much on her hands. 

Well it is ok. We will let her try again soon!

Someone with his newly acquired skill. Really yaya papaya.. 

So how had your September school holidays been?

What to learn cycling? Contact Byke Now

Learning 听写 the visual way..

I'm writing this post with a heavy heart. Because my eldest had just made me very upset. Long story about that. Then with a very upset mind, I had to teach Dora Chinese spelling. And seriously I had to flare at her. Whether she is the one who triggered or not, it does not matter anymore. Anyway today I'm sharing a method for #teacherconnieactivities #visuallearners as it helped Dora in tackling her Chinese spelling with more confidence. 

I'm serious. This is Chinese spelling for Pri 1 kids. 

They have 8 words in total, some 汉子，some mixture of hypy and 汉子. And my daughter usually score 20-50 marks only. I’m not saying this is not good but i find it too complexing for a 7yo to handle. Don't tell me the "it's always like that" theory Cos I don't buy that story. But whatever the outcome is, always and also look at the process of learning. This is our first week using this square and line method for Dora. Hope this will help her find a easier way out to differentiate and learn her Chinese spelling better! Have fun trying!

Sent from Connie's iPhone 

Dora’s preschool years..

Year 2014:

Dora and Eason.

Here buddy for school and her first self proclaim "boyfriend".

Really interesting to see how assertive she is from young. 

Year 2015:

Still so good with Eason.

Can see how close they are by their body language. And Eason seems quite happy too.

Year 2018:

Seem like they grew quite a bit and she is more shy. Dunno why.

Year 2013 VS 2018.

In a blink of an eye, Dora ended her preschool years just like that. 

Count down to Pri 1.. ??

Hello.. we have been MIA for sometime for now as Mama Connie has been real busy. All mums are busy, its only a matter of time on how we manage and prioritize our duties in every single day. I am not giving up on this blog as I am so proud to say that this blog is turning 12 this year! Oh well.. here we are..

It just seemed like ystday that Isadore just started Pri 1 and come next year.. my little fatty turned skinny little girl is going to be Pri 1! Since when??

Here is a glimpse of her growing up..

8 mths old

 11mths old..

2 yrs old..

3 yrs old..

4 yrs old..

5 yrs old

6 yrs old..

Ok I’m sure Dora is all grown up and ready. But Mama Connie is not! You cannot imagine how fast this girl grow and how soon she is going to embark on this primary school journey.

I guess she is lucky as Isa can still accompany her to school as he will be in Pri 6 next year. But I reckon this Ms Gung-ho will not need much help.

So if your child is stil in preschool years and you are shouting help...? I think you really look into a lot more possible situations that are happening in primary school life. Children asking for stationeries, children asking for money.. or even children bullying your child.. And if you think Primary One is all about academic expectations.. think again. In another post, I will also be sharing with you on what you can / should prepare your child for Primary 1. And it will NOT academics we  are looking at. I bet you are not surprised.

In the meantime.. I still cannot believe my Dora is going to be Primary ONE!!

One last minute surprise for the kids.. Legoland Malaysia..

It was a rather hasty and last minute decision between 3 mummies that all (almost) their kids ended up with a good surprise to Legoland!

And in order to save the hassle of driving, we booked a Malaysia MPV to come fetch us at 745am (yawnnn) as we were worried of the holidays-anticipated-jam along the causeway.

And so after an hour of jam and after breakfast, we reached Legoland at 10.30am!

Us!!

Isa very enthusiastic about car rides this time.

 Isa in action! Here we go!

We waited an average of 30 minutes for the ride. But I would say you would need enough manpower and some strategies to go Q for a ride.

This is like the best souvenir for the kiddos.

And anyone knows what is class D?

Dora in da shark.

Mei mei.. you must learn how to dramatise more like Papa..

Dora and I in the boat ride!

See the tomato face?

Love our similar haircut :D

And someone is tall enough for MANY rides..

Liked I always say.. I will never save on this rental for strollers.

We rented one despite bringing one of our own.

And here it is, the single one will cost you RM$40 for a single and you are required to pay a deposit of another RM$40.

Doubles would cost RM$80 and deposit as followed.

And spinning cups make the children so happy!

And one of our strategies is when we have enough manpower, not all adults have to be on the rides?

At the entrance of some dungeons.

And dont ask me why Isa is posing such.

Dora is just into posing into a muscle girl.

And post lunch rain made me whip out raincoat.

And so another strategy is to bring raincoats for the kids as umbrellas are heavy to carry.

Isa was trying to swallow the mist from the fans nearby.

And so Dora followed korkor "swallowing" the mist.

But mei.. there is no mist.

Love the miniland section of Legoland.

And we literally combed only half of it as we only had about 5 hours for it as our transport came and picked up at 4pm and this includes lunch.

I would say quite a achievement for us.

Till the next round for more updated pictures.

Birthdays of these the two January kiddos..

Eldest: turned 9 on the 24th

Middle: turned 4 on the 31st

Birthdays in our family is a big event. And especially when the 2 older ones' birthdays are just a week apart. We had our first small celebration with our neighbours' kiddos on Isa's actual day. 

With credits to Petite Joy Bakes

Simplicity and tasty was just what we wanted this year. Thank you Petite Joy Bakes for taking my last minute order. Many raves about this triple layer multi flavoured cake.

Then we had another celebration for Dora in her school on Friday.

And see how much all of these children grown from Dora's 2nd birthday in school.

Aww... where did all the babies gone?

And the last and final celebration for these January duo on Dora's actual day..

Loving matchy outfit from my parents. 

Dora's first performance on the big stage..

Recently it seemed like it is the concert period for many preschools. Well here was our experience with Dora's. It was with such anticipation when we went attend Dora's concert performance last Friday.

Here are the few videos of her. I especially love the Soldier theme song.

"Mother Earth"

see if you can spot her.

"Soldier song"

There are a few hilarious parts.

 

Finale

"What makes you beautiful"

The funniest part is still this.

post concert activity.

We dressed up lil I in Dora's costume.

Same same but different.

LOL...

How to make a no bake cheese cake..

I am such a noob at baking cakes. My success stories are only banana cake and the batik cake, dont mention that hokkaido chiffon cake that I made with profession guidance. Ok maybe that is all.

So one day, I decided to explore more. And as usual, my lil assistant was so keen on helping me that he was pestering me the whole day long...

Here we go..

Receipe adapted from here.

I was inspired to make a cheesecake because of the condensed milk!

Isa crushing the biscuits while I mixed the cream cheese and condensed milk together.

Isa spooning the well mixed crumbs (already mixed with butter) onto the tins.

My favourite cream cheese!

Mixing these parts together require time so please be patient.

Last step: Adding the lemon juice.

Ta dah!

And my cake critics who gave me thumbs up!

Yay!

And till the next baking post...

June holidays is here!

The long weekend and the beginning of the school hols also means that we get to spend more time with the kiddos! Yay!

We had to kick off a great Sunday with a good brunch.

I love cafes who pay details to children. Little toys like this always never fails to make my lil girl happy.

 Followed up was a final show of The BFG by The Players Theatre.

This was a surprise treat to my son as he had done relatively well for his mid year exams. First time at the play for Dora and she loves it!

Well done my son. Thank you Carina and crew, you guys had done very well for the show.

And hey, guess who we saw before heading home!

So how did you kick start your holidays?

Reflections, thoughts and becoming a mum of 3..

Just that day, I had parents of my students asking me: so how are you coping with 3 kids? I felt a lump in the throat but I didn't hesitate to say,"Good!"

Time flies. It has been about 4 and half months since I became a mum of 3. *gasp*

Well if you were to ask me if it's easy? I sure say no.

And I really wonder how you all brave mothers of a brood do it all!

I am not a good planner for sure but this time round, Ray papa and I had try to make lots of plan way ahead as we knew for sure things are definitely not going to turn out as it is going to be. 

Many moons ago.. Here were the few options we could thought of:

• Hiring extra help
• Putting Lil I in infantcare
• Putting Isa in student care
• I work half days
• Stop working

Option 1:

was the easy way out but thinking of having an extra person in our downsized flat is not the ideal choice. Plus it will definitely bring up the overall costs in the household as we would be having an extra mouth to feed. But those friends out there with 2 helpers, is it really easier? I am still tempted really.

Option 2:

Good option but as I was doing full breastfeeding, I would rather stick this lil fellow to my chest and not let him go off so soon. Already so heartpain to know that I went back to work when he was only 2.5 months, I guess this was not the preferred choice. Anyway there isnt any vacancies in the infantcare with the area I stay. It is how interesting God has plan for me.

Option 3:

It is a "I would if I could" choice but alas the student care in Isa's P school was not willing to accept him as they only take in children without extra help (aka no helper, no grandparents staying with them kind). Unfortunately, I belong to both categories. I did scout around for other choices of student care but they just didn't appeal to me at all. Ah Xiu yee yee, why your student care so far....? Keeping my options open still. 

Option 4: 

A very big sacrifice indeed as I will suffer a paycut (read huge) but I knew this will be in return for quality time with the kids. I'm still pondering over this still.

Option 5: 

This was the last and the quite impossible choice I would make unless circumstances force me to. I would love to but guess I can only opt for this provided that I have to let go of my helper maybe. I guess not possible for the time being and Ray papa and I made a pact: we will choose to have a stay in helper until Lil I is big enough to take care of himself (mayb when he is 8-10?). We don't know either. 

No prizes to win for guessing correctly which option I take. 

My cheeky kids.. Oh such a love and hate affair.

As for now, we only have one stay in helper, no extra tuition for Isa and no enrichment for Dora either as our strings are really tight but guess nothing beats having a home you call your own. 

Amazing sight at sunrise from my estate

Calming moment for sunset from my estate.

And oh, I do have special arrangements from work that I work only half days on Mondays, with full days on other days. Yes it comes with a pay cut but I know I am contented.

And for whatever I have, I still have the Lord to thank for.

Patriotic Singaporean.. toddler version

That is.. if you can make out what she says.

and yes I consider it a big milestone for my baby who is one month short of 3 years old.

source

The National Pledge is:
We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

我们是新加坡公民，
誓愿不分种族、言语、宗教，
团结一致，
建设公正平等的民主社会，
并为实现国家之幸福、繁荣与进步，
共同努力。

How has September been for you?

As we move quickly into the last quarter of the year, I do realized that it has been a quiet month over here.. Well please pardon me while I spend more time slacking on the bed, or even taking naps on weekends as walking around with a 2kg and growing-even-tummy with 2 kids in toil is really not a joke at times.

Nah I am not admitting I am getting old but just that energy level has been really different as compared to previously. And I can't wait to pop! But I have another official 8 weeks to go. As such, u mean we only have 3 months left for this year?

But here are some eventful moments so far for Sept for us.

4 Sept 

Ray papa's birthday with the lil ones at home

A very low key celebration this year and poor papa had to buy his own birthday cake! :D

And we are really thankful for such blissful moments in our lives.

5 Sept

Teacher's Day gifts for the kiddos' teachers.

I am so proud of creating my own wrapper using the mundane brown paper.

All you need is patience and creativity.

Not forgetting the right tools!

6 Sept

virigin and failed attempt at baking bread.

I think I need a bread machine.

*Hint: giving house warming gifts ideas = electrical appliances or vouchers are all acceptable. Hiak

10 Sept

#cheapthrill way of #screenfree moments for Dora.

Guilty as charged. I don't deny moments when we allow the kiddos to use gadgets but I am only glad that we are also trying our best to create these simple screen free moments for them as well.

And all you need is a old bathtub with your desirable amount of water, some underutilised sandplay/waterplay toys and voila!

One happy child.

Disclaimer: Adult supervision is required.

11 Sept

Trial art class for Isa at HeART studio doing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canvas.

Amazing place with amazing people.

Our new target for Isa's next holiday program. :)

12 Sept

Movie: Planes 2 - Fire and Rescue

A must-do during the school holidays with Isa!

Simply loves it as it was bonding time between the pop and the son.

13 Sept

Our weekly grocery session jus seemed more fun with Dora and my helper around. 

And so fast half a month of September is gone. How has September been for you?