(2008/06) June 2008

[zuen]

Re: Positive Tots
One more question hor. During the class, the teacher keep saying about setting boundaries, getting the toddlers to listen to instructions and obey, is that the right thing to teach?
I didnt sign up for Lil Neuro Tree after trial bcos I think Lil ZuEn is still too young to really understand instruction. Furthermore, it is very taxing on both of us to have to make her sit still and listen to instructions. I also prefer her to run and roam when she wants to. For most of those playgym that I brought her to, if she doesnt want to participate, follow what the rest are doing, I usually dun force her.

 

[newbbi79]

zuen,
got 11 huh? Cos yest onli me, u,poky,feiling,eve,buttercup lor..hmm... i find e class abit stuffy lor..

 

[poky]

leng,
the school stil got vacancies?? which sch ah?? mayb i can sent my gal over to be teached.. hahahah

feifei,
i think there were 11kids listed that day. but can only recall 6mommies in the forum. 2 preschoolers, the other 3, duno who... =p

ZuEn,
oic.... hopefully, my dosent go even more haywired than now... =p

ya lor.. testin ovulation strips daily is also tirin n stressfulll...

personal tots on boundaries.. i do believe in it also... although it good that the kids can roam n experiment, explore everywhere. but sometimes, there certain places/actions they hv to teach to learn that we do not allow them to cross over.. but i feel it only on certain n specifically areas to be use. if too often n any how, the meanin will b lost to the child also.

 

[poky]

Re: postive tots class
juz spoke to Has. she confirmed that there were 11kids in the class the other day. but some mommies didnt make it.. so it was not full class.

i originally tot the place was lease til end feb, abt the time when our lesson will end also. But to my mistake, it actually end jan.

due to the schedule n stuffs, Has can only at most arrange our 23 Jan class at sq2. the rest will still b at tanglin center.

so mommies, stil want that 23jan lesson at sq2 or all classes at tanglin? we hv to give her an ans by this comin class.

 

[regg]

deleted

 

[tanlengleng]

poky,
Lutheran Child Care Center,
265 Tampines st21,
was even better before the ex-principal retired.

 

[eve~]

Feifei,Poky,buttercup,zuen,feiling,

Nice meeting all of you and your cute little ones!
Personally i like the lesson, but then seems that my boy who doesnt really like classes.. haiz..so going for the 2nd trial.
I envy your todlers, so guai leh.
me super tired after the class...like fighting a battle with him for the whole 1 hr session.n didnt even get the chance to attend the 15mins phonics. flashcards, am i right?
my boy immeditely KO in the car till 8pm loh. think he cried too much liao. then slp at 11pm .

Im too bz with my "Battle", didn’t have time to
recog each of u

Let me recall..
Feifei’s char the fair looking girl
Poky’s Xuan the brave girl who really enjoys the class
Zuen’s Shauna the pretty girl
Buttercup’s Randall the shy cool boy
Feling’s son wow the courageous active boy.
Correct me if im wrong. Hehe =)

 

[eve~]

Poky,
If i am signing up (which i hope so, and that depends if my son is willing to cooperate in the coming lesson ), i will also prefer sq2. =)

 

[poky]

leng,
tampines, hmm.. that fall within our "area"... can ask how much is the rate? timin??

eve,
xuan start lao gei toward the end of class liao.. same as the rest of the kids.. gettin tired.... cos not enuf slp n food...

u didnt put ur boy in the list
Eve's Spencer, the boy with the shy smile for all. =)

with rgds to the class. as posted earlier.. my mistake in misunderstandin that the lease is til end feb.. but they movin in early feb.. so no way our lessons can b shift back to sq2. all she can offer is to hv another lesson at sq2 for 23jan lesson. the rest of the lesson, stil to be at tanglin... =(

 

[zuen]

Poky,
If it is only in Sq2 for the next lessob, then back to Tanglin, I would prefer Tanglin. Hb and I are using the "rush home immediately after class" tactic the next time round and see if it is better. Cannot let my girl nap after class lah, then we will end up having to entertain her until late night. Haha.

Just to check, on weekends, that is the only timing is it? Super sucky if I have to try to stop my girl from sleeping every Sat evening lah. Hoho.

Eve,
Your description so nice. Hehe.
Char is the wow-ing girl. Hehe.

 

[poky]

ZuEn,
oki, no prb.
I no prb with either options. since it only 1 lesson difference... sigh...

ha.. u using the rush home tactic, we using let her slp early tactic.... =p

yep.. only one timin..... hv asked has on the timin.. but she say cannot change....

hey, ur gal can hv another nick.. Litle ZuEn, the gal with the pantene hair!!! =)

 

[tanlengleng]

poky,
$450 a month b4 subsidy,
5.5 days a week, 7am-7pm, 7am-1.30pm

Leng Leng

 

[zuen]

Poky,
Let her sleep? Her usual nap time is from 12nn for 1 to 2+ hours. Then she will go to bed at 9.30pm +/-. I dun want to push back her bedtime bcos of the class leh. Her sleeping at 9.30pm will also give her old parents some rest and peace. Lol!
What time does Xuan go to bed after her nap?

 

[poky]

lengleng
subsidy is $300 for full day care rite?? where to apply for it??

any other "hidden costs"?? food, clothes, etc??

ZuEn
for xuan, her usual timmin is:
7.30am - wake up for milk time
9.30am - mornin nap (but usually, she fall alsp back ard 10-10.30am)
noon - wake up for lunch.
1.30-2pm - bath
2.30 - 3.30/4pm - afternoo nap
5.30pm - dinner
9.30pm - slp

last wk, we tried to take off the mornin nap, so that she can hv her afternoo nap earlier n longer. But in the end, she was alrdy tired n lao gei during lunch. so also didnt eat much.. v fast slept when we put her to nap. but think she used to slp only couple of hrs for nap.. so she wake up automatically after 2hrs, bcomes not enuf slp when we bring her to the class... then the class lesson v near to her dinner time... she bcomes tired n hungry at the same time after the class...

so for the next round, we b lettin her slp her mornin nap for an hr only, then hopefully, she stil b wantin to slp fast for the afternoo nap.

yea.. agree.. dun push back her night slpin time. cos for only 1day in the wk, affect the whole wk, v bo hua!!!! kids slp early, parents can rest more.... hahah

 

[poky]

Re: Positive Tots - 23 Jan

I wont b attendin the class on 23 Jan, cos got a weddin lunch to attend that day.. dun wana tired out my gal. =p

so i no need to choose between sq2 or tanglin for that day lesson liao...

 

[crystal~07]

<font color="aa00aa">Mag,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I m so so happy for u!!! the hubby sent his CONGRATS to u &amp; yur hb as well.

Bet Athan must be real happy to have a younger sibling now!!!

</font>

 

[zuen]

Poky,
Xuan still takes 2 naps a day? Lil ZuEn switch to one nap long, long time ago..
-.o"

Crystal,
How's your pregnancy getting along?

 

[poky]

ZuEn,
yep.. cos we "force" her slp.. we make her lie down on the bed.. her daddy want to go back n slp, her mommy want to slp or watch drama... hahaha but only for wkend when we take care of her full day.

but if at my inlaws during wkdays. sometimes she skip. then she take longer afternoo nap. my mil dosent force her to nap even when xuan is obviously tired.. If she want to play, she juz have to cry.... n they will let her continue to play... sigh....

 

[ellysia]

My boy sometimes sleep 1 nap, sometimes sleep 2 nap. If 1 nap is long enough like 2 hrs, then he dun need the 2nd nap. sometimes if the 1st nap is disrupted he need a 2nd nap.

On weekdays he has a different routine as weekend, and as he woke up v early during weekdays n thus more tired, he will sleep 2 naps during weekdays usu.

 

[zuen]

Poky,
Ah, weekends 2 naps and weekdays 1 nap ah.
Lil ZuEn only 1 nap but will sleep earlier (sometimes 8+pm) on weekends and wake up later.
She is an early bird, usually 6+am, she will wake up. On weekends, max, 7+am.

 

[crystal~07]

<font color="aa00aa">hi ZuEn,

#2 getting along fine although tougher than #1. thanks! now 15weeks liao. Gwen is getting a meimei...

so now i get to save $$ on clothes &amp; shoes since gwen has so much brand new hand-me-downs, some of which are still unworn!

RE: Naps
gwen naps only once a day b/w 1-2hrs on wkdays. wkends she usually skip her mid-day nap or if not take a dozer of 30mins. could be coz usually she goes bed ard 7+/8pm &amp; wakes up 7+am... keeping my fingers cross on being able to keep #2 to tis same schedule the next time. need lots of lucks!</font>

 

[crystal~07]

<font color="aa00aa">hi felicia,

RE: Cost of Maid
current my maid cost me as follows on per mth basis:-
salary - $340
tax - $170
food - $6 per day on lunch &amp; dinner; breakkie usually she takes a few slices of bread or some biscuits with coffee or milo
shampoo / shower foam / toothpaste / pads, etc - 1st 8 mths get for her, subsequently when she gets her full mths pay, she buy them out of her own pay cheque
utility / electricity - intangible but definitely higher usage as compared to previously without maid around
medical - if sick, goes doc, per visit around $30 at neighbourhood GP
medical examination - every 6mths, cost around $50 per visit at neighbourhood GP

btw, think cost of maid will increase moving forward cos increase in their insurance premium coverage per govt regulation + higher entry barriers on english lvl std, etc etc....</font>

 

[teragram]

ZuEn,
Same here, my boy has dropped his morning nap a long time back. But the difference is that my boy's a late riser. He usu wakes up after 9.

Now that he's going cc, I have no choice but to wake him up earlier cos if not he will not sleep at the cc. My biggest challenge is making him sleep early at night. He usu sleeps around 11 plus, sometimes 12. Sigh. I see some of ur babies sleep at 8 or 9 plus I super envy.

 

[ellysia]

My boy slept at 9plus/10pm and he wake up at 6am/7am (weekday/weekend) so i guess he will need 2 naps or 1 long nap.

 

[teragram]

Crystal,
sweet, gwen's gonna have a mei mei. Bet she'll be as bubbly and cute as jie jie. so fast, 15 weeks already!

 

[fei_ling]

Poky,
Sorry for the late reply. I was busy with work yesterday. Since only one class at Sq 2. I think will prefer at Tanglin. As it nearer to my home also.

Nice to meet you all on last saturday. (feifei, Poky, Zuen, Buttercup and Eve)

My son seem very much enjoy on the class, at night he still did some of the exercise during the class. Yesterday my maid told me during day time he cross his hand to hug himself.

 

[zuen]

Crystal,
Can dress up pretty, pretty again. Hehe.
Are you aiming for no. 3? Hehe.

Looking at your breakdown, the cost of maid probably about $700 to $800 per month ah. I tot need $800 to $900. Yours is a PHL? Can I check initailly, how much she get per month and for how long?
The agency that I checked, only pocket $$ of $20 per monthf or the 1st 7 months.

Tera,
Good and bad. I haven been able to sleep in for the longest time even on weekends and PHs. But she sleeps early, which leave me some time to watch TV. Hehe. Are you intending to change his bedtime? My colleague is facing the same problem.

Huiling,
My girl holds her feet to clap her feet after the class. And she's super addicted to the aeroplane game, where we "fly" them on their tummy. But I am not too keen, very tiring on the mummy. Hohoho.

 

[fei_ling]

Zuen,
I ask my hubby to fly him as well. He keep wanted to play and play again. I think my son very playful...
I like to look at your girl, she look like a doll very pretty and cute. Her hair also very silkly and smooth.

 

[crystal~07]

<font color="aa00aa">tera,
meimei is very active even in tummy. UScan shows her kicking &amp; flinging her arms all over the place all the time. *pengz* so unlike gwen previously, guai guai sleep all the way. of cos the gwen now is like a monkey, climbing all over as u can c...
Wonder how is MLP getting on wif her #2...hmmmm....

Zuen,
nah, close shop liao wif #2. no $$ for #3 ley...
send u lots &amp; lots of bb vibes...&amp; hope to hear great news from u soon. been a while since i last saw shauna.
No, mine is an Indonesia. initial 8mths she get oni $10 as allw, then 9th mth onward, she gets her full pay.</font>

 

[teragram]

crystal,
oh please, gwen not like monkey lah. she is just very bubbly and cheerful! very cutez! >.<

hehe, i also wonder how MLP is doing...

zuen,
post ur blog link again can? wanna see shauna!

i know what u mean abt sleeping in. cos i do get to sleep in quite a bit but sometimes on weekends, wanna go out early for breakfast also difficult cos he wakes up real late like last sun, he woke up only at 11am! luckily, hubby and i did not wait for him and we went on our own. came back and found he was still sleeping.

and yes, we are trying to change his bedtime schedule. that's a BIG challenge to me. boo hoo.

 

[ellysia]

crystal

Last time when i preggy with yu zhe, he is also v active, hands keep waving etc.. even in middle of night. even when he is born and now, he is still v active type, can't sit still. as young as infant before 6mths he is ored like tat too.

 

[zuen]

Crystal,
Ya lor. Hehe.
Ahh.. Your maid only $10 allowance...
Thanks for the bb dust, we stopped for 1 month bcos hb on night shift.. Starting our engines again.

Tera,
Sleep until 11am!!! My turn to be super envy!
On weekends, when my girl wakes up and ask for milk, I always pretend not to hear her until I buay tahan her plead just bcos I want to sleep another 5 mins. Lol!

MLP is also with no. 2? Wow, seems like many mummies are having their no. 2.

http://shauna-our-baby.blogspot.com/
But my blog very wordy recently bcos home computer down. Will work hard to post some pix soon. Hoho.

 

[teragram]

ZuEn,
Sorry, i know i shld be fousing on shauna but...
$3K for christmas gift?!!! I am SUPER ENVIOUS!!

 

[crystal~07]

<font color="aa00aa">tera,
wow, gwen would be bursting, go back i will tell her auntie tera compliment her, LOL!
yur lucas very handsome boy hor.
i also super envy yur lucas can sleep till 11+am. like Zuen, i long time nvr get to sleep in on wkends liao cos by 7+am gwen is up asking for milk &amp; play. i can recite to u all the kids programs/cartoons tat starts at 9am on wkends liao, wanna hear them? hahahhahaha....

ellysia,
yurs is boy, active is ok.

Zuen,
Jia You! Jia You! Jia You!
MLP's #2 Edd is just a wk before my #2's edd.

ps: wow! $3K xmas pressie. i envious too!!!</font>

 

[teragram]

ZuEn,
okok, back to shauna, hehe. Upload some close-up pics soon ok? Want to see more of her face and silky hair. Hee hee.
And yay, I think HK Disneyland is great place to go! I liked it myself. Have fun!!

So she still doing ok in her PG? I just saw my fren’s FB msg that her girl suddenly rejected school after a week of enjoying it, leaving her wondering why.

Crystal,
Yeah, go on and tell Gwen, give her a hug too on behalf of me!

still rem how she fed lucas raisin, so adorable.
LOL! So u know all the cartoons by heart now yeah? Thanks for the compliment on Lucas, hehe, not pai-seh.

 

[newparentsurvey]

USA Grad Student Research with Singapore Parents - Quick Survey

Thank you to those who have completed my survey - I have already received 12 responses!! I am hoping to get 18 more in the next week so I can do my comparison study. Can you share this with other parents you know? I really appreciate the help and am so excited about studying in your country! Here are the details...

I am a graduate student at the University of St. Thomas in the United States (Minnesota), currently participating in a study abroad course in Singapore at the National Institute of Education.

* Have you had your first (and only) child in the past six months to 24 months?
* Do you live with the co-parent?
* Is it the first child for both partners?
* Do you want to share information that could help other couples transition into parenthood?

If you answered YES to these questions, and are 18 years of age or older, you are eligible to participate in this parenting research study. It only takes 5-10 minutes to complete. To start the survey, please click the link below or copy and paste it into your Internet browser.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=odvEJo1BPt_2bCF3hlE7BK7g_3d_3d

Participation in this survey is completely voluntary, anonymous, and confidential.

Regards,
Robyn Maley

 

[bonjovi]

Helloooo...mag,crystal,mlp

Congratulations to all!How's the pregnancy coming along. Haha...dun mind passing on some baby dust to me.

Lengleng,
hope yr hubby is recovering well.

Tera,
sounds like yr boy is settling well in the childcare. That's good.

Zuen,
what do they do in the playgroup? There is 1 just opposite my mum's flat and she was asking if i wanna enrol kyler.

 

[zuen]

Tera, Crystal,
Got motive de. Hb says that it is to reward me for all the hard work (towards taking care of him &amp; baby) for the year. He is basically trying to bribe me with $$, so that I will nag him less and let him play more game. Lol!

Tera,
Lil ZuEn is settling well in PG now. I heard from my mum that she will dash for class.

No tears too. Glad that she's taking it well. She's OK with kids but she's still super shy with adults. Took awhile for her to warm up during the positive tots class and was clingy most of the time. Brought her to wedding dinner last Sun and for people who didnt look properly, they tot I brought a koala bear instead. -.o"

Crystal,
I can sing almost all the songs on Lil ZuEn's High 5 CD. ;p

Bonjovi,
Long tiem no hear! Suddenly so many mummies popped out. Hehe.
Are you trying for no. 2 too?
My girl's PG is an hour session for the 1st 2 weeks before extending to 2 hours session. They sing, play toys, jump around, eat biscuits, drink water and draw. I think that is about all.

 

[buttercup08]

poky,
sad that you won't be coming to class on 23 jan...den won't be able to see Randall and Xuan Xuan put on the same 'ready get set go' post liao....

hee hee, i still remember MLP from that time we went to the JWT trial class...she is also with no. 2? wow! congrats!!!
bonjovi, i also remember you and kyler... =)

 

[mylittleprince]

Hey all! MLP reporting!

I'm 15weeks now...EDD 4-July. doc says probably a baby gal this time round. Going for detail scan on CNY's eve. hehe... this pregnancy is tougher than #1. MS just started. sianz... can only eat like a rabbit. small but many many meals.

Christine, Gwen will definitely be a good jiejie. She's like a da-jie at the last gathering.

Super excited to hear Mag's preggie! Congrats gal!

 

[zuen]

Hi MLP,
You can hear us calling out to you ah.

Jia you, jia you.

 

[newbbi79]

Morning ladies..

Eve,
Nice meeting you on sat...Ur boy likes to play ball also hor... Actually initially char also like ur boy when she first attended class at Kindermusik, took her about 4 lessons to get used to it and now she is quite ok even though sometimes cranky lor... SO u joining us for sat? yeah!..

zuen,
well-said, wowing ger..hehe..
I also using the sleep earlier tactic leh...I let char nap at about 11am+, by the tiem she really fall asleep is abt 12pm, so nap about 2hrs before attending class..

Poky,
Its okie lah, no worries ya...Since no choice, then we stick to tanglin lor =)..

MLP,
Wow, CONGRATS to you!..Can form a hao word leh..I always envy mummies that can form a "hao" word lor =)..hehe..cos can close factory liao...hehe...Do bear with it lor cos i rem when i was expecting charlotte, my appetite was ok but my feets start swelling when I was in e 5th month, so painful..hia..

Crystal,
Wow, gwen will be so happy to know that she has a meimei coming soon =)...

 

[iamsnow]

morning everyone!

so long never drop by already... have been really busy with my newborn.... with all the pumping, feels like a cow all over again!

Mag, Crystal, MLP, congrats!!!! so happy to hear much good news... hee.. when's EDD?

 

[crystal~07]

<font color="aa00aa">morning ladies,

bonjonvi,
*armful of bb dust over to u*

Zuen,
at least got reward/bribe, i ve neither *sob sob*
shauna is so great - to take to sch like fish to water, i dread to think when gwen's turn comes along...wish me luck then...
wuahhahaha, then u win hands-down liao cos the oni barney song i can remember is the one tat goes "i love u, u love me....." LOL

MLP,
great to hear u are doing well wif #2. i just had my OSCAR done last wk. CNY eve going for the usual scan. Congrats on bb ger, u got yur wish

does jayden knows he is getting a meimei?

feifei,
yes, she is excited wif the mthly visits to gynae cos she gets sweets from my gynae. hahahahhaha....
btw, although i dun get to form the "hao" word but closing factory too after #2. i like to think tat good things comes in pair?

iamsnow,
thanks! my edd is 12-Jul though may bring forward to mid/end jun cos going for c-sec again.</font>

 

[zuen]

Crystal,
Try watching the High 5 VCD about 1x every other day + 2x every Sat/ Sun &amp; PH, I bet it will take you one week to memorise. Lol!
And surprising, the songs and dance steps are all quite catchy. I can even do their dance steps now (*shy*). Now I noe why kids are crazy over High 5.

Crystal,
My hb says if we have a 2nd one and it is a boy, then we get more "variety". Duno what kind of reasoning is that. But deep inside, I can tell that it thrills him no end when Lil ZuEn "tieh" with him. So I dun think he minds a 2nd girl. To me, I think 2 kids of teh same sex can bond better But I am just worried that I passed all my infertility and preggy complications to my girl (s). Sad. Biy or girl, health can liao!

 

[bonjovi]

Zuen,

trying but no good news. think very hard with my age. sob....will keep praying

for god's gift.

my mum brought kyler to the playgroup yesterday. he screamed the moment my mum left the room. mum also not impressed with the playgroup teacher. so, i guess i have to source around first.

buttercup,
hello!! how have u been?

MLP,
jiayou jiayou. eat small meal never mind. then can have variety right? hehz

Crystal,
thank u soooo much. Grabbing with both arms

try for number 3. thinks its gonna fun.although 2 gals also super sweet.

 

[newbbi79]

All,

Anyone going for the Disney on ice show? I just booked my tickets..hee..

https://www.sistic.com.sg/portal/dt?dt.isPortletRequest=true&amp;dt.action=process&amp;dt.provider=PortletWindowProcessChannel&amp;dt.windowProvider.targetPortletChannel=JSPTabContainer/sEventsCalendar/Event&amp;dt.containerName=JSPTabContainer/sEventsCalendar&amp;dt.windowProvider.currentChannelMode=VIEW&amp;dt.window.portletAction=RENDER&amp;contentCode=doi0310

 

[newbbi79]

crystal,
yup, good things come in pair..hehe =)...
Hang on ya..

bonjovi,
hihi...dun stress urself ya...=)

 

[teragram]

Morning ladies!

Wah, suddenly like what ZuEn said, all the "old" mummies are appearing - crystal, bonjovi, iamsnow and MLP!

MLP,
congrats once again!

ZuEn,
like what crystal said, $3K is very good motivation wor! hehe.

lol on shauna clinging to u during wedding dinner. koala bear with pantene hair??

anyway, i brought lucas once to a wedding dinner last sep and regretted big time. he refused to sit down and then jsut at the moment when the bride and groom was abt to march in (and the room was rather quiet), he decided to start crying. then yum seng he also cry again.

oh u know high-5 lyrics? hehe. for me, i know wheels on the bus very well. my hubby said if there's ever an exam on that, i will ace it. *faint*

crystal,
same lah, me also no reward. *hug hug* give me some babydust too ok?

bonjovi,
hello! how have u been? i think lucas is slowly adapting to cc. this morning he was very keen to take his school bag and water bottle and then proceed to the door. hmm, hopefully that's a sign that he's starting to like school. but as usual, he whined abit when we handed him over to the teacher.

u'll be starting playgroup for kyler soon yah?

ZuEn, Bonjovi,
Jia you on #2!

 

[ellysia]

wah.. so many mummies are preggy with no 2. So envy..

won't be able to go for no 2.. probably not going to have ored. cos hb say not enuff money, then my MIL may not be able to help take care no 2.