(2007/09) September 2007 MTBs

[peapod]

Hi mummies

Congrats to Pillow! Pass me some baby dust leh

I was also previously from ACJ clinic but with Caroline Khi. The doctors are very nice but the parking in TMC is terrible

Back from my Perth trip. Tiring but quite fun lar. Good bonding time between the in-laws too

We didn't get to see much stuff as we are on a RELAXED mode so just wandered around Perth and MR.

I took the chicken way out and booked the night flight so that Caelen would zzz throughout the flight ;p But unfortunately the adults couldn't sleep so the next day he was wide awake and active while the rest of us were zombified.

I have a question, out of curiosity. Wondering if any of the mummies here know. In-flight meals - how do airlines plan them? Many times we couldn't guess when the mealtime would be and either ended up eating before the flight and too full or not eating and starving. For example, the flights in and out of Perth are both at 1am and reaching at 6am but the S'pore-Perth flight have breakfast at about 5am, while the Perth-S'pore flight have supper at 3am (when we are half asleep). Very confused! Thought that this information would be useful for planning next time

 

[magoo]

Florence,
Ya, I understand.
Very difficult to hv good sleep when asthma attacked. Hv u tried rubbing some VICK on his chest? It may help to soothe..

 

[keithnhazel]

magoo : he is a pro. hehe he will rub on his chest , foot and nose.

 

[magoo]

Florence,
Wow.. Keith so pro!! Better than me huh!!

 

[voice_0229]

Sam also down with flu, every other month he kenna 'bug'! This sat we going to Thomas & Friends Musical, anyone else going?

 

[magoo]

Voice,
Me wanted to bring Ayden for the musical as he loves Thomas so much.. but too bad it crashed with our trip.. so sad..Enjoy ur show..

 

[wiselyn]

This sat is going to be an important day for Clara...first time performing for year end concert...

 

[mummyfaith]

hi wiselyn,

Wow! Clara is going to perform? Thats fantastic

I didn't expect that toddler's class will be involved in year end concert too, so exciting!

 

[highvolt]

angel,
you are going to be SAHM with helper? your hubby will be outstationed during this time? will you be overseas too? I have yet to have a strict routine cos johan is still adapting to his napping/feeding time. if you remember, I am not tat strict with routines lah, so hehe, can't advise much on tat. but I have many activities and workbooks which are readily avail when i see there is an opportunity for one.

And what's more, I also need to cook for them, clean them up, tidy the mess blah blah blah. so if you have a helper a routine can easily be feasible.

anyway, there is no such thing as "nothing to do". hehehe, you will have so much to do and so little time and energy. read up on homeschooling - they sometimes feature interesting activities for your kids.

you choosing to be a sahm is impt turning point for both your family and yourself. so enjoy!

 

[pillow]

thanks thanks all.

lbs, can i ask roughly how long is usually the waiting time for Dr Heng?

seriously thinking of another gynae in the east if the queue is 1-2 hour type

 

[angel2baby]

Wise,
Jade also performing in her year end concert this sat!

Think she is quite stressed up from rehearsals...she has been having nightmares these few days.

Justme,
Yeah you're my inspiration! SAHM with 2 kids and no helper, and got to cook, clean, etc. I dunno how you do it! Yes I'm going to be stationed overseas with hubby. I'll be home with the 2 kids. Haven't decided whether to let Jade attend the international school there.

 

[keithnhazel]

Hey mummies ,

any of your darling is in GUG or berries world now? any feedbacks?

 

[magoo]

Florence,
What is berries world??
R u refering to the chinese enrichment class??

 

[keithnhazel]

magoo : yes yes ... hehe

 

[angel2baby]

Florence,
We just signed Jade up for Berries class to start in January. They only take in from the year your child turns 3.

 

[peapod]

Morning mummies! TGIF!

Hi Florence, did you do a CNY clothes BP last year? If yes, are you planning to do so this year?

 

[keithnhazel]

angel (angel2baby) : which branch is jade going? we sign up for a trial at hougang mall. wahaha

Peapod : I am selling the cny clothing at the carboot flea this coming sat and sun before starting a spree here.

Has a few flea market and small counters this year , so might not be so active in the bulk purchase here. hehe

 

[peapod]

Hi florence, where is the carboot sale? Do you have any korean style clothes for boys?

 

[keithnhazel]

peapod : no korean , only cny clothing leh. some used clothings and new girl's clothings and shoes

 

[magoo]

Florence,Angel,
I signed up Ayden at Berries @ bishan.
Time slot same as Mayvis. On sunday..

 

[keithnhazel]

magoo (magoo) : so shiok , keith is a different timeslot as hazel.

 

[angel2baby]

Florence,
Jade going to the orchard branch palais renaissance...Mummy can go shopping while she's there hehe. Time slot is 10am on Saturdays.

Magoo,
So convenient your two kids in same time slot!

 

[magoo]

Florence, Angel,
Ya lor.. happened to see the same time slot, then quickly registered them.. Hubby felt that I very kiasu to send Ayden for class!!

 

[arisz]

pardon ah....i curious, why need to send our kiddo to berries to learn chinese ah?

 

[pillow]

haha arisz, you asked the qn that came to my mind. you took the exact words right off me

 

[akena]

hi mummies !!

congrats pillow

vv happy to hear your good news.

I've been away for so long..busy with work and handling the 2 gals. Nynke will be going child care wef 21 dec. she'll follow her sister to MMI sengkang for the last 2 wks of dec and most likely i'll place her there for 2-3 months on half day basis. My elder one will start P1 next yr and somehow I can't help feeling sad about it. She's grown up..and gone will be the days to travel during the non-school holidays.

we went for a japan trip with the gals in Nov. spent 10 days in tokyo and kyoto. Nynke simply loved the time at disneyland and we had to visit there 2x. Her fav ride is 'teacup' ride that spins round and round. Made me giddy but she kept laughing laughing. It's a great family trip and we really enjoy the time with the gals.

angel, wow, will be a great challenge for you but i bet you'll love every min of it

xmas is round the corner..and i wish all mummies and kids a Merry Xmas

cheers

 

[angel2baby]

Hi Arisz, Pillow,
Apparently the best time for children to learn a second language is during their first 3 to 4 years of life. Berries has a chinese enrichment program which teaches mandarin in a fun way for kids. For me, I struggled with mandarin my whole life...hopefully by giving Jade an early start will help!!

 

[magoo]

Arisz, Pillow,

For me, is more of convenient.. haha..
Same time slot with Mayvis, so decided to let Ayden learns some mandrain..and also to create some "couple time" for me n hubby ma!! haha...

 

[arisz]

heh Pillow, great minds think alike! Haha

Oh, angel, mag, coz i always have the idea that chinese can be learn at home from grandparents. Probably coz hubby and me come from chinese speaking background. We try to speak english to tristan while his grandparents speak mandarin to him. So I nvr have the thought to send him for any chinese enrichment class at this age.

 

[highvolt]

wow, now that you all keep on talking abt mandarin class, I too am getting anxious over sarah's second language. Malay although to many, looks easy - it is not. and to make things worse, it is not the common language often used at home for sarah. die ah....and there isn't many classes/books out there which help much...hmm..maybe i should start a business on this. but am not sure if many Malay mummies will want to spend much on education.

 

[cookie_monster]

congrats pillow!

When i saw your post on your blog, i was really happy for you and start to think about myself. hee hee... but we are overseas now, so probably not going to have number 2 so soon. congrats again!

Hi Angel,
Routine, i think its good for Angel to go to school and interact with the other children. I bought lots of books for natalie and we spend a lot of time reading. I also brought along colour pencils, colour paper, drawing paper, scissors, etc so that natalie can do some "art" work. Hmm... oh, i bought cartoon DVDs as well. Come in handy esp during winter. Enjoy your time with Jade and Ryan.

 

[atinarin]

Hi mummies!

My school holiday has finally begun after having had to go for meetings/workshops the past 2 weeks.

I am worried about my girl's mother tongue when she starts Pri 1.

I studied Malay and I am illiterate in my own Mother Tongue which isn't offered in schools. SO how?

Thought of Mandarin cos many of my cousins studied that but i think it will be quite a challenge.

As for childcare, i am not in favour of it yet.

 

[atinarin]

Oh and congrats PILLOW!

Boy am i out of touch with this thread

 

[pillow]

heehee thanks thanks

on chinese, i have to admit it has never cross my mind to be worried or anxious. otherwise i have too many things to worry about. but well, i am more worried about myself when i have difficulty reading off the chinese books for 1 YEAR OLD and up. HAHAhaha My hubby (who is even worse) is going to start learning chinese so that we can walk the talk.

 

[atinarin]

i must admit if the norm is to send our kids for enrichment, im not int he norm

 

[voice_0229]

atinarin, ur mother tongue is what?

We long decided(even before marriage), that our offspring is going to pick up mandarin! Am also required to brush up my mandarin...and guilty of not speaking mandarin to Samuel on a regular basis.

 

[atinarin]

mine is NTIL - non indian tamil language cos im nrth indian but nobody to teach my girl also leh, only my mum but later stages will be tough.

Mandarin makes mroe sense cos its more economically viable but not sure also...

 

[angel2baby]

Arisz,
Does tristan speak mandarin to his grandparents? For Jade, she goes to childcare and has mandarin lessons everyday, but when we speak mandarin to her she does not respond, or sometimes she will answer in English, which shows she knows what we are saying but somehow refuse to speak mandarin leh.

Hi Atinarin,
Wow I'm surprised that you're a northern indian leh...coz I remember seeing pics of your girl when she was a few months old and she looked very chinese! Or is my memory failing me? What race is your hubby?

Cookie Monster,
Thanks for your advice! Yeah I'm gonna have to buy lots of books to bring over there. Jade and I will miss the national library here!

 

[angel2baby]

Pillow,
I am also trying to learn mandarin again...really have difficulty reading the mandarin books! Even simple words also cannot read. Don't know how I'm gonna help Jade learn the language next time haha...she will learn rubbish from me.

Voice,
So is samuel gonna learn malay or mandarin as 2nd language in school next time?

 

[highvolt]

re: mother tongue
shame to all of us then...=P

 

[arisz]

Angel, tristan is just like jade according to my PILs.

But tristan seems to like chinese as well. He can recite 1-10 in chinese and will do it as and when he likes. He also likes the song 拔萝卜 and will sing when he feels like it.

To be honest, tristan speaks more english than mandarin and we are thinking of asking my PILs to speak more mandarin to him. I guess we are not so worried coz actually hubby and I communicate in mandarin most of the time and our chinese is actually still quite ok.

 

[pillow]

my PILs try to speak mandarin to shawn but often he looks at them and speaks in english. but am sure with time, he will master both eloquently.

recently i bought some chinese story books, to jumpstart shawn's interest with the language.
http://www.dolphinmedia.cn/book_show.asp?bookid=2670
the good abt these books is they come with hanyu pinyin, life savior which makes me sound like a chinese expert

am starting this alternate nights or at least twice a week, let him get used to hearing chinese stories, let him be familiar with the sounds. he's will sit still and listen intently to my chinese stories although he start describing the characters to me in english. no sweat, just to let him be comfortable in due course

 

[atinarin]

angel: yes your memory is failing you my dear cos i never posted any pics of my girl haha not even on facebook. And yes my hubby is northern indian too, different type of north from me but also illiterate in his mother tongue. Aiya should have married a chinese guy hahaha

 

[voice_0229]

atinarin, wow..so unique ur race!

angel, samuel is going to learn mandarin as his 2nd language in school next time!

 

[atinarin]

voice: not unique lah just a minority so most pple think we all are INDIANS so we all HAVE TO speak TAMIL. Not true at all.

 

[angel2baby]

Arisz,
Wah tristan so clever can recite 1-10 in chinese! I tried to get Jade to do it a few times, she will run away :/ But in school her chinese teacher says she knows. So I dunno why she is like that!

pillow,
Thanks for the link! BUT everything in chinese!!! I dunno how to read and navigate the site hahaha. Think I'll go library and borrow some books.

Atinarin,
Hahaha oh no I must have mixed you up with someone else sorry!

Hmmm now I wonder whose girl is that.

 

[angel2baby]

Voice,
I didn't know that was allowed...I thought Malays must learn Malay and Chinese must learn Mandarin, etc hahaha...

 

[pillow]

angel, i got those books from this bookstore, Maha Yuyi in bras basah.

 

[voice_0229]

Angel, your statement prompted me to call up MOE to confirm if samuel can take up chinese as a mother tongue language! The customer service officer cannot confirm that question and i called up my old school to check and they confirm they have malay students opting for chinese as 1st language.

I might enroll Sam for Berries next year as well, he definitely would need the additional coaching if he is going to take chinese as 1st language. Sounds KS right...but reality is cruel.

 

[arisz]

Angel, tristan is the same la, depends on his mood also. I can't get him to say it if he is not in the mood also.

Voice, I think is not a problem, my school also have students taking 2nd languages not according to their races.