(2008/02) Feb 2008 MTBs


leila, use china barley, wash n then boil for about 2 min. Add some rock sugar just before boiling point. After that discard the grain.
 
bkkgal, garfield, try the cuppage outlet if you may want to sign up for post natal massage. Ask for my consultant Venus, tell her you are recommended by Pauline and 'negotiate' for better deals. Let me know what deals you got ya. ;) If better than mine, I'll go 'por loh soh' her for more stuff. ;P

Gar, me also grouchy in the morning. I'm a night bird. I'm also a light sleeper. Hubby sleeps at the foot of the bed but I'm still squashed cos RaeAnne likes to either squeeze tight next to me and touch my tummy or roll about in all directions with invisible shadow kicks. Either way, I'll wake up. :p
 
eliaw
hi hi!! i thought u quit your job already? i also v sian. think at the end of the month will talk to my bosses abt working part time or not at all...

bkk
i saw that etonhouse is like $1.4k!!! wah liao!
 
oh ya, bkkgal, the tiger 3 tier lunch jar was on promotion yesterday at $59 plus a free Endo thermal mug but I find the previous promo better cos the free gift was Tiger thermos flask. Can use hot water to make FM. :p
 
clover, tong tong,
ya, i tried china barley but doesn't seem to wk. so today m try g the ling yang. Jus boiled it wid dried winter melon. Hope he likes the taste n gulp it down as fast as he gulps his barley water
happy.gif


btw, green bean soup, what do u boil it wid??

iso,
wow!!! etonhouse so ex!!! hmmm....i wonder how much r the teachers r being paid there then???


bkkgal,
cannot try now lah, if really jun jun strike, i will so "faint".


bkk, gar,
why don't u ladies engage the masseaur to come to ur home instead?
 
aw shucks! wld've liked the 3tier one. i already have 3 thermos flasks, foc for my breadmachine.

Gar
cuppage convenient for u? i can't find the 1-for-1 promo on FB anymore. I think it's those pop-up banners that come and go. But the Rustic N. website is promoting a $68 Maternal Bliss retreat (pre or post-natal massage) for 1st time customers. We can go for that together and see if Pauline's consultant can give good deals.

Iso
1.4K per month or per term???? wowsers!
 
i didn't know etonhouse is like so huge in Spore until I became a mom. I met the founder CEO of Etonhouse at a function in Bangkok before. She came across as quite auntie ah-soh type and gave me her namecard, said it's a nursery for kids. So I was like ho-hum. wah, i didn't know it's like premier, high-so, expat kinda nursery. ignoramus me! :p

leila
u got recommendations for masseur to come to the home?
 
bkkgal, The 2 tier tiger one that I bought yesterday was even more exp, only 10% off $65 and no free gift. And it was the LAST piece. So heart pain. Actually my mum has a 2 tier but she like 'bu she de' to give me. She said she bought it cos it looks so cute. Then she said I should use 3 tier cos it can store more food. But I'm anticipating with 2 kids, I'll have too much stuff to carry in the diaper bag. The smaller the food container the better eg. if I'm not bringing soup for her.

Should have ordered from Thermos BP last time cos their 3 tier is more compact cos 1 container is hidden at the top opening. But I don't dare to buy without seeing sample. Scared the food leak from the top opening. Instead I bought a foogo sippy bottle and a smaller thermos flask from the Thermos BP. :p

As for free gift, I don't trust Endo lar cos I bought their thermos flask before for just $10. Used in office, before lunch time, water already not hot. :p
 
hello all...me actively reading but no time to post...

ETONHOUSE!! I was considering UNTIL i saw the fee structure. I nearly faint! Cuz my friend is teaching there so I thought will be nice but 14k a year is erm.....s-c-a-r-y.

i think if i were earning (MUCH) more...it wouldn't be a big deal? i have no idea. I was telling my mum how i feel i'm 'shortchanging' Ruth since I never send her anywhere at all. Just a few random trials here and there.

But yet, I also hold on to beliefs that you are only young and carefree once in your life. Sigh. I mean, don't we all wish we were more carefree and etc at times when the burdens of the world descend on u?

oh well...see how. perhaps i'll send her to GYmboree. It seems fun
happy.gif
 
bkk,
alamak, shd have rub shoulders more wid the ceo n now u wld have gotten big disc + priority placement :p

masseur, ur post natal masseur lady doesn't do pre natal as well? mine does n she's not too bad i thot. If u want her contact to try her out, i can txt u the no. but later tonight ok? cos i gotto go look for it n L has jus woken up fm his nap. gtg
 
yalor Leila, didn't know better then, no kids mah..or else, who knows?

Also met Nanyang Primary School Principal and had dinner once - again, was told this school damn popular, long waiting list, balloting v difficult, blah blah...the principal very sweet lady, she said they encourage parent participation. Of cos that time didn't know like how competitive enrolment can be. When i had K and started reading abt schools, then i realise WOW, parents doing ECA for schools really big business man!

Lezy
Gymboree is fun! Go for teacher Steph's class - she's enthusiastic, sings well and genuinely cares for the kids.
 
lezy
i've been meaning to go to gymboree, maybe we should sync up?
happy.gif
but i know what you mean. at the end of the day, i think our love and guidance will be worth more than any enrichment classes. especially if we pressure and stress them in the classes. EQ is more impt!

Bkk
sorry i think i meant $14k! Just went to the website again and checked:

Pre-Nursery and Kindergarten Two: Annual School Fees
Full Day Programme S$14,124.00
Half Day Programme S$14,124.00

http://www.etonhouse.com.sg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=79

Siao right?! Maybe if i earn $140k a year i dun mind spending $14k, but then, if i have more than 1 kid, not sure what to do liao.. hahah.
 
tong,
C is rojak. and she speaks according to her mood.
she can learn 1 word after repeating to her a few times. yet she can't call mummy after repeating to her for months... hai.. let her be.


gar,
*hug hug* it's over now.
happy.gif

i believe tummy should be more obvios for the 2nd one. your parents really not observant ho?


nag,
i am like leila, have a drawer for her to play with plastic bowls and spoon.
she will still go and explore other compartments out of curiosity.
if i have the time, sometimes she will listen to go back her own drawer. when she ignores me, it's time for her to be out of the kitchen.

so fast going to deliver liao. time flies...




re: school
tute,
thanks. browsed the 2 links you gave.
seems that those CC near my place not much comments.

eliaw,
etonhouse ah. 1.4k is per term? per month?
it's a university tuition fee leh.

am interested to find a place to let her learn phonics too.
any recommendation?


re: sleeping arrangement
i now shifted C to matteress on the floor. need me/hb sleep together with her or else she will wake up and find us on the bed.



btw, my gal become naughtier and naughtier.
nowadays doesn't want to sit in her booster seat. stands on dining chair when having her meals.
at the same time, she will take spoon to scoop dish 1 into the plate of dish 2 and vice versa.
if tried to remove her from the table, she will protest and cry pitifully.. how ah?


any kids scared of darkness? it somehow happens suddenly.
she has been sleep in total darkness since birth but now she will protest if she heard that we are going to switch off the lights and cry if we really off the light.
don't know why she suddenly like that. what's she imaginating?
i somehow relate it to the 7th month. find that she wakes up more often in the past 1 month.
 
for primary school, anyone knows how the alumni thing works?
heard that need to go and register to join the alumni club at least 2 years before registration. is that so?
and how to go about it?
 
Iso
14K regardless of full or half day is more expensive than my university tuition fees. And the thing is, if you give #1 the best, then must be fair and provide the same to #2, and #3 and so on.
 
ETONHOUSE:
actually...i was re-thinking it...14k isn't that much if you consider that you pay about $1.2k per month.

It's just a couple hundreds more per month compared to normal child care.

The teacher-to-student ratio is 1:4, which i think is pretty good. my only grib is no half-day fees so it's out for me.

GYMBOREE:
ok..iso...this time i will 'organize'. heh.

TALKING:
Ruth doesn't talk much. BUt i know she understand what we say. SOmetimes she will listen (come give mummy a big hug..she will come. come sayang, she will come near and SLOWLY extend her cheek - become we kiss her instead of she kiss us.)

But sometimes when we tell her not to do something, she will look at us, and her hand will still slowly stretch to the plug/whatever. You can see that some thought process is going through her head - but i just dunno how to 'alter' that thought process to "ok i won't touch it" instead of "but istill want to touch it!"

Sigh.

MUMMY?
she still never call me mummy...but she will shout "DEHDEHDEHDEH" to call her daddy.

HIGH CHAIR?
dun even dream about it. She's too active to sit in a high chair. we still try when we go restaurants (more rare nowadays) and etc...but it is really easier to strike toto than to get ruth to sit in a high chair for a meal.

Meals are running all over the place, trying to stuff food into her mouth.

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENT:
EVer since dunno how young, it's my hubby who get dethroned....partly cuz:

1. he scared he will squash RUth
2. Ruth rolls EVERYWHERE so no space.
3. He lazy to attend to her
4. Mattress is placed against 2 walls..so hubby sleep on another mattress on one of the sides, and i sleep on the other side to prevent her from rolling off.

yeah.
 
saying no or don't

i can't remember which book i read this from. at this age, our toddlers do not understand the meaning of "don't". so when you say "don't touch that", they ignore the word "don't" and understand it as "touch that"

hubby and i have experimented...whenever we say "don't do something" arielle will do it. but if we phrase it differently - eg. don't come into the toilet said as please stay outside the toilet, she will comply; or don't put that into your mouth said as please put the food down.

so i think the book may be true. if you don't want baby to do something, say it in a positive sense instead of using the word "don't"

give it a try!
 
Xiaoyun
kiasuparent.com is a good resource - it explains in <font color="ff0000">great</font> detail the primary school enrolment process.
 
re singapore education system...now i understand why i have friends who migrate to "give their children a proper childhood"

sigh....
 
hahahahahaha.

Gar, i also read that somewhere - that they do not comprehend no/don't. I try as much as possible to do what you wrote - but sometimes it's damn super instinctive lor.

i admire those who can plan years in advance what to do for their child.

my hb and i....wanna plan for a weekend also difficult sometimes. I've given up cuz everytime i wanna discuss, he is not 'in the mood' and distracted - will always end up talking about other things.

when i try to take things into my hands, everything he can pick at and complain (this cannot, that one no good, don't feel likoe doing this/that).

Sometimes i wonder who is the woman...
 
lezy,
same here. my first instinct is to say "don't xxxx", then i will recall what i read and then change it to the positive sense. not so natural for me also. when i'm gan cheong...i will scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" hehe
 
Gar
that's interesting. will try it out.

We always exclaim (loudly) "NO" and she will imitate our "NO" with a little frown on her face and stop whatever she's going/about to do. Better still the other day, she touched my laptop, she also said "no" and used her left hand to beat her right hand and said "beat".
 
garfield,
i read the similar articles you had.
tried and it works but forgotten to practice that. will try to do it again..


bkk,
that's informative website.
for Phase 2A2
For a child whose parent or sibling has studied in the school of choice; or whose parent is a staff member of the school of choice.
This phase is really where we NSIPs (Not-So-Important-People) begin to get some chance of getting some priority for our children. Finally, you understand the true reason for keeping your mouldy old Primary School Report Card and your PSLE certificate. It's so that your child can carry on your alma mater's tradition, assuming that you have not been too traumatized by your own stay there. What's that? No... we have no idea why you are still keeping your old primary school uniform.
Of course, it doesn't help if you are now staying on the other side of the island from your kampong school. But if you don't mind that long obstacle course past all the ERP gantries between your home and the school, the school will still welcome you even if you stay in Timbuktu.

no need to join the alumni club also ok?
 
hello,

i'm still at home on 2 day mc... so can browse in few times... first time i feel so sick in a long time... and I think C showing sign of runny nose... oh dear, i don't mind being sick, but i hate to pass it to C
sad.gif


xy,
LOL... quite funny how you say ur hb will say "oi"... heheh...

bkkgal,
for lunch jar, usually have some BP either for Thermos or Zojirushi... i got one from Zojirushi, cost about $50... quite compact i find and good
happy.gif


gar,
sleeping arrangement... why don't you sleep with A and kick hb to sleep on mattress ? :p

re:etonhouse,
wah... damn expensive... more expensive than my school, definitely out of budget for me... plus all the branches are out of the way for me... so definitely not going there.. i was still thinking if should try pat's schoolhouse, it's at serangoon, along the way to work.. but i think my hb give a distinct no no... and i agree, dun want C to wake up so early to go to school everyday...
 
garfield
finally can congrats you officially
happy.gif
[yday don't know what happened, can't post in morning and after that too busy to post liao]

wish all 2nd time mummies a smooth and happy pregnancy.


iso
feel that half day cc bo hua. might as well put in playgroup. cos:
1) much more ex than playgroup
2) actual interaction time abt same as playgroup.

tute
any reason why you don't like the centre to be located at void deck?

xiaoyun/tongtong
i also find it hard to speak to kids in only one language. cos it's a habit to switch language when talking.

xiaoyun
shawn is the same as c. he likes to scoop from 1 dish to another. sometimes scoop gravy/soup and pour into my rice bowl. also sits on dining table. bang san
shawn will also protest if i switch off the light. think he wants to play instead of sleep. is that the case for c or is she really frightened? if i bring him to the bed with lights off, then he won't protest though sometimes will point to the switch asking me to turn on the light.
yes, need to join the alumni 2 years before registration. my hubby joined liao. which school are you referring to? my hubby is from nanyang pri and they have a website for us to download the form.

bkkgal
haha...k so cute.
 
XY, LOL when I read "at the same time, she will take spoon to scoop dish 1 into the plate of dish 2 and vice versa." RaeAnne has been doing that, she waters plate 1 and bowl 2 with her bowl of soup. Sometimes, she holds out the spoon full of soup and tries to feed me.

By the way, I found that she handles the miniature version of chinese soup spoon quite well (the type of spoon that traditional coffee shops use to 'la' kopi)

My primary school merged and merged then disappeared liao so my gal is disadventaged. Can I complain to MOE? Haha.
 
garfield, bx, sweetpea, qingling,congrats!!!

garfield, to think i saw u couple of weeks back at marina sq!!!

xiaoyun, so fast on primary school?
heehee.. think most prob, Carrie n Gervaise will be schoolmates next time... unless u decided not to enroll her there.

kitsune, u r still entitled to the phrase 2A2 even though yr primary school is no longer there.
just eed to bring yr old report book to prove to them that you r old gals.
 
stephie, dor,
thanks!

primary schools,
hubby and i also discussed briefly - either kong hwa which is 200m away or maha bodhi which is my alma mater. i think probably send to kong hwa....so near, don't need to fetch her to/fro and no need to take school bus.
 
Garfield, u r from maha bodhi?
heehee... Germaine is studying there now. so Gervaise will auto go in.. So if Ariel going maha bodhi, then they will be classmates.

Kitsune,
oh. heehee.. bring to the new school... thats what happen to my primary school. i called up MOE n that is what they told me
 
dor,
good for you! it's a good school =) ya i was from maha bodhi. hubby not keen to drive there leh cos we will need to use paya lebar road which is always very jammed in the morning...
 
stephie,

few reasons (based on friends' feedback):
- the void deck one tend to have one big area only block by partition whereas a bungalow usually have proper classrooms etc
- common playarea (i don't mind so much for this), so you don't know if they mix around with the other neighbourhood kids... this particular reason i don't mind too much actually... in fact one of the shortlisted CC i have is on void deck...

gar,
thanks !

dor,
mahabodhi quite a good school..

how soon must we do volunteer for the primary school so that we can get our kids in... the school that i'm eyeing on is >1km from my place, and knowing SK area... hmm... the q will be rather long..
sad.gif
 
xiaoyun,
Talking abt Alumni. My hb called up his primary school. Just need 1 year before enrolment, good enough. But the fee is like one time payment for life, so must well join early if you are forgetful. They will keep you updated on activities. You dun need to join their activities all the times.

Ya... Any playdate, particularly tmr?

Garfield,
Buy a bigger bed and let your hb sleep in the middle. In that case, A won't disturb your sleep.
Me bad mama. I co-sleep with channet eversince she is 1 yo when she will cry in the middle of the night. She will kick my tummy sometimes, I also sleep like dead log.

Mummy,
I just wondering how many of you still breastfeeding when you are pregnant now?
 
Dor, wa really, I didn't know.
happy.gif
Does it work if I'm applying to a popular school like St Hilda's? Can go straight to Phase 2A2 instead of waiting for ballot?

Wa, just 1 day and I got to update the list again. Congrats! Snowbelle! ;)

1. Crystal (popped already)
2. Esther (popped already)
3. Nagsterak (edd 8 Nov 09)
4. blueginger (edd 27 Nov 09)
5. Pauline (edd 8 Dec 09)
6. June or princessgx (edd 14 Dec 09)
7. Garfield (edd Feb 10)
8. bkkgal (edd 9 Feb 10)
9. sweetpea (edd tba)
10. Qingling (edd Apr/May 10?)
11. Bx (edd May 10)
12. Snowbelle (edd May 10)

<font size="+2"><font color="ff0000">Spot open for no. 13 instead!
happy.gif
</font></font>
 
pauline, unless yr primary school merge with st hilda then u can...can try poi ching also

my advise dun try st hilda cos they are also link with the church..

tute, i veri kaisu cos Germaine(yr 2000) is a M baby plus dragon... that yr there are lots of bbs. i made enquires when she was 3..so u need to do yr homework if you want to go to popular school esp if yr bb is borned in the dragon...

crystal, heeheee.. my gal is in the school band...she told me next year they going hongkong to perform...

snowbelle!!!! congrats!!!so many may bb!!!i want a may bb too!!
tempting....

bluegin, i got colleagues who still bf when they r preggie
 
Huh? Dor, my primary school Alexandra Estate Primary School merged with Jervois West Primary School then disappeared. The entire old estate has been demolished, now only a few condos there. Like that, cannot use old report card to apply in Phase 2A2 after all lar. :p

Yup, poi ching I'm within 1 km, heard that over the years also no need to ballot so I'm not that worried. I only hope that discipline at that school will improve by the time RaeAnne turns 7yrs old. :p
 
thanks mummies for your well wishes!

congrats snowbelle!

re: primary school
talking about this really stress me. dunno where to send ashlynn. primary school is very impt. as i teach in sec sch, i can tell that there is big diff between students who come from tops sch vs the more normal sch. they are more confident and speak well. of coz there are some who came from normal sch but excel. still, if possible, we shouldgive our kids a good headstart. my 2 cents worth.
 
snowbelle,
congrats! wah... dr. wong's business very good.. heheh... you going back to dr. wong too?

dor,
thanks for the tips... i think i'll need to do that... probably need to join other volunteer work earlier as well...

re: primary schools,
wah.. thinking about this makes me quite stress liao... heard that some schools would reject parent volunteering if the parents are full time working... *scratch head* haiz... i must really think about this carefully...
sad.gif
 


re: meal time behavior
well, now i know that C is not the only naughty one. :p
so what you all do when she scoop here and there? soup got rice, vege go soup. headache..

pauline,
C still uses the crooked spoon bought from babymallonline.



re: primary schoool
stephie,
i went to the website, never see the form leh.

dor,
hb wants her to go taonan. it's a bit far from my place.
he's not interested with maha bodhi as he loves taonan more..
so, probably i will buy a car by then..

bluegin,
so it's a one time payment. well check it out from the school and see how.



re: playdate
i am interested in for the long weekend.
anyone on?



re: #2
snowbelle, congrates!!
you, qingling, sweetpea, bx all same month leh. so good!!
 

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