(2008/07) July 2008

[jogwyn]

Doubledee: I've been there, it's nice. Relax and slow paced , not like Singapore.

Ya, watching musical is a must and I think Cellow already planned that. With such good pounds and euros rates, can consider!

Dustee: ya ya ya... Some schools do that! I didn't think of it, my friend's kid is in the same situation. Apparently, her's was too few N1 to start the class so they merged. But after a term, they separated them cos there's enough to form a class.

 

[jogwyn]

Dustee: you mean one plastic bowl costs $16? Could it be melamine- can be put in dishwasher and microwave kind?
Better care off promfret somewhere, it will be messy to move with a kid around.

 

[cellow]

jo,
watcha doing awake so early in the morning?
trunki - bad reviews as luggage, good as toy only... http://www.expatsingapore.com/forum/index.php?topic=42913.0.... do you agree or are these pple just being sour grapes?

great! i plan to stop in at boots anyway. they have lovely lip balms.
question is now... how to pump while on the go.... lug my trusty freesyle and a scarf

dustee,
watever. he and pomfret eat fm plastic (you can suan him that he needs non breakable plates too), then you eat from your lovely corelle set.

 

[pinkbunny]

Cellow
Boots, boots, boots! I love books! Lots and lots of snacks for C2 at boots!

Dustee
For someone who doesn't talk to his mum and is hardly home, mr dustee seems to have fond memories from his life at home that he'd like to bring to his new home

Good luck with the dining set issue

 

[jogwyn]

Cellow: I also don't know but I think it's a toy box. Very cute lah!

me ah, ever since #2 came along, my day starts this early!

i wake up to pump, have some me time, cook and get ready for the day! But I'm happy lah.

 

[cellow]

jo,
i understand. if it were me doing the SAHM stint, i would also crave out me time, and tis likely to be in the morning too

i used to be a morning person, ready to go in the mornings. now. getting out of the house in the mornings w one todd and one baby, w my own hair combed and own face washed is an achievement. the depths i have sunk to.

quickly need to scoot to office toilet to moisturise and slap on some powder b4 anyone even sees my face in the office.

 

[pinkbunny]

Does anyone know if primary school kids still study "social studies"? Or is that a defunct subject now? I looked at the lower secondary books and man, I think if I were a modern day child, I would be failing everything! It was really much easier when we were kids

 

[1stlittlestar]

Mummies, I recall someone went to desaru before? which hotel is nice?

 

[pinkbunny]

jace
bbp and i (and our families) stayed at lotus desaru. food at the restaurant is great (with decent kids menu and entertainment for kids), and beach is reasonably clean. if you want to know more, see here: http://gingerbreadmum.blogspot.com/2011/01/desaru-days-toasted-roasted-and-soak-ed.html

 

[youpi]

Cellow
LOL on rushing to your office toilet to moisturise and slap on powder. My London loves: Shows, Tate Modern and the other museums, Globe Theatre (where you can watch a Shakespearean play a la the Bard's time, ie. standing in the pit with fellow riff-raff and hurling abuse at the cast), Hakkasan (http://w3.hakkasan.com/hanway-place -- seriously decadently delicious).

 

[pinkbunny]

Post office mummies
Qing+Barbie
Jo+Gwyn
Cin+Soph
Dustee+Pomfret

I've confirmed our outing on 24 May (next Tues) at paya Lebar post office. The big one at Singpost bldg, 5 min from Paya Lebar mrt station. Shall we meet at the entrance of the post office at 4pm?

Singpost will be sending me an email with things to look out for. Will then forward to you ladies. (Jo, can you PM me your email addy please?) The singpost lady also suggested we can do things like let the kids purchase stamps and post their letters. Hehe. So cute. I can't wait!

 

[dusty_gecko]

jo
next time if you go robinsons or tangs, you can see their home dept, all these colourful melamine (yeah sorry, i meant melamine, but brain couldn't handle 3-syllable word) plates and bowls etc. one soup bowl really costs $16!!! plates all double-digit prices.

pb
i'm also not sure why mr dustee has this hang-up about breakable tableware.

cin
i spent an hour admiring my corelle plates. hahaha. i marvel so at their lightness i was contemplating spinning one on my finger... but, not the safest thing to do right.

youpi
envious. mr youpi got to interview suede. envious.

post office outing
i will try to find the post office in the building (should be easy right?) i only know the macdonalds there. likely i'll be there before the outing. hehe. no surprises there.

 

[pinkbunny]

dustee
post office is on ground floor i think. mac's is in basement.

 

[pinkbunny]

cool events coming up!
http://www.whatshappening.sg/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=50571&year=2011&month=05
http://events.insing.com/event/sands-skypark-opens-/id-08310000
http://events.insing.com/event/bunny-wonderland-stamp-exhibition/id-18450000

 

[youpi]

Corelle
The ILs gave us a set when we got married and we are still using them, erm, 10 years later. I want to get new ones but they are so hardy and lasting they still look brand new. No chance to buy new stuff.

Dustee
Hah, he only got Mat Osman. I had the whole band during the Bernard Butler *drool* days heheh. Do you also like James and JMC? Our kids are going to be brought up on the same playlists hor?

Oh you can get cheap plastic flatware at some of those HDB shops. But they are like what you eat off at hawker centres and food courts.

Cellow
If Mr C is a Beatles fan you can go to Abbey Road and take a photo. If either of you are Sherlock Holmes fans you can visit the SH museum at 221b baker st. Greenwich to stand on both sides of time. Kew Gardens for plants. Are you bringing your boys? There is a transport museum in town and a railway museum out of.

Post Office excursion
PB, sorry can't make it as planned to do Children's Season that day. Just to add to the fun: in HK there is a post office on The Peak that lets you use a special Peak chop to stamp the postcard. S did that a couple of years ago

 

[jogwyn]

PB: thanks! You've got mail!

Dustee: Wahahaha... I know what you mean! It happened to me too. There was once my friends and I were talking about short getaway, I wanted to say Bangkok, Thailand but Thaikok came out instead!

I love corelle too! I have a set, nice and durable!

next time i go, I'll check out the melamine bowl; didn't realize they are so ex, always think they are the cheapest range!
Cellow: your description really made me laugh! Same, I prayed for good hair day everyday so I don't have to blow!

by the time I get my kids ready, my make-up already melted!

sometimes, I do mine in the car!

 

[dee2dou]

Dunno abt bbG but i would have loved to come along for post office visit, but can't take too many days off as I just got back, work's piled up n I'm taking another week off in Jun cos my family's visiting!

Water tank lady: yucks! And yeah quite near! Read abt it on the plane back home! Did u girls read abt the baby buried Alive some months back too?

 

[jogwyn]

Doubledee: ya, read about it. Wonder if bb is by an underaged mum. Some uncles rescued her from the soil.

 

[pinkbunny]

Sigh. Govt doesn't want to share too much on the venues these underaged/single mums can go to for help for fear of "encouraging" this group to grow. But then when they don't know what to do we get cases of babies in rubbish chutes and stuff. Sigh.

Youpi
How fun! I hope the kids will be allowed to do the stamping themselves. That'd be fun

oooo children's season is on our list too! But possibly only the free stuff cos our kids are too young for the other programmes I think.

Plates and stuff
Mine are ikea hehe. And the cheena kind with roosters!

Clocks
Any recommendations on where to buy clocks below $50? Not ikea hehe

 

[cellow]

bb buried in soil was the son of a maid. poor thing la, the bb.

today i m in office!

anyone wanna meet for lunch at/near liang court?

 

[sychua79]

cellow
she told me that her boy is very behind. n that the current sch's principal apparently has reputation for not taking feedback. and that her younger son had 3 episodes of HFMD at the school! when i went to visit the sch, i remembered the principal told me they had no cases for the past 2 years. how can that be? anyway i will be checking out some schools nearby. hope can find one that i like and the kids like. the only thing is that jx's teachers really love her and vice versa so again it makes it harder for me to change sch

one good thing though is that i made the right decision when i chose jh's first sch! for those staying in the east, do check it out. a sch that i called just now told me that she needs to assess jh etc to see where is his level and what he can do. the minute i mentioned his previous sch great beginnings, the principal said she has no issue then cos she knows the high standards set by the principal of great beginnings. and i have to agree cos i can see the difference btwn the 2 kids.

re tableware
melamine can break hor..and it's not cheap. so if really wan those cannot break one, get the ikea plastic kind.

PB
my kids dun sleep on weekends most of the time. they can be energized from 8am to 10pm!!

 

[smiggleprincess]

Dustee
All my kitchen ware comes from Chinatown..
Think it's at temple st, visit sia huat or hoy kee..
They sell to ppl from the industry so just tell them u are buying them for your cooking stall or starting a business and they give u a discount..
I bought everything from them and cost only 200 plus..
That is if u don mind have the same design as some caves and hotels or even kopitiam.

Cellow
Visit the museums and enjoy their high tea...
Think there is Burberry outlet and aldo outlet there too..
U still have your maid right? Does she not help with the kiddos?

 

[pinkbunny]

smiggle
CAVES? cafes si bo? lol!!!!! i imagine cavemen eating with their stylo milo cutlery sets hehe

cellow
now i very gian and want to go to london too haha. the last time we only spent about 8 hours there i think, just enough time to get out of plane, stretch legs, hang around london bridge, then hop back on plane to continue flight :S

post office mummies
you've got mail!

 

[cellow]

smiggle,
you are referring to my morning routine (or lack of ah). yes the maid helps but really scoffing down bfast, washing my own face, combing my own hair and getting changed, plus cajoling C1 to change into uniform / eat / wear socks and shoes, plus latching C2, are not tasks that can be outsourced to the maid. especially since C1 only wants mama and papa to help him in the mornings.

i *should* wake up earlier. but. tis difficult. the bed has a magical magnetic force that keeps me there until 7am la.

 

[dee2dou]

SmiggleP: sorry I missed ur question on the nebuliser. Didn't see what brand it was, just got whatever my PD had. Let me go back n check for u. Kayden still uses it a lot? Wonder how PDs pick between inhaler n nebuliser

 

[youpi]

Cellow
More London (memories resurfacing in slow-mo bit by bit each day): Seven floors of toys at Hamleys Regent St, Harvey Nichols - if there is a sale, must go. I got Ferragamos and Pradas quite cheaply...

 

[dee2dou]

smiggleP: think it's this one
http://webup.flaemnuova.it/pagineDettaglio/DET-ar.inc?WTX_CODICE=Y224P00&FAM=C1

 

[cellow]

morning!

youpi, come those slow surfacing london memories coming

 

[smiggleprincess]

DD
Erm, I can't open your link lei...

Mummies,
Can u rem your newborns eye color?
Kasper has greyish blue iris.. Will it change color still?

 

[sdchick]

Dustee
Plastic tableware - it's the melamine type? Not microwaveable and not suitable for steaming, and overtime it can become yellow. I used corelle - it's great cuz it hardly breaks (I dropped them a couple of times and they didn't even chip), microwaveable and can use them for steaming. corelle has 1 year warranty so if it breaks, chips etc you'll get a free replacement. Dunno why they only give 1 year in Asia. In USA, it's lifetime warranty.

But I agree with you - those melamine tableware in Robinsons are indeed very colorful and very tempting! The prints are so beautiful.

PB
Yes they still have social studies. The subjects thaught in school is more and more difficult. Sometimes I don't even know how to solve a math problem using "model" concept.I didn't learn that in school. ppffft

 

[batgirl]

smiggleP,

My ah girl's one was like dat. But she out grew them..now black liao...

 

[teddyhope]

Dustee
Can just dun care n buy 1 set of corelle??
Then when your hbby fusses when using then tell him u like to use the same set as him then it looks nice like a family hehehe then he insist his plastic then tell him u are still trying to find a nice n decent set keke
I dun like melamine now( used to like it) cos D has a kids bowl that has disappearing prints!! My other plates the prints r also disappearing. How scary is that. So I'm planning to get those steel kids bowls from Korea for the kids but they r ex.

We use different chopsticks at home. I use the steel ones but my hubby needs to use the wooden ones with grooves else he won't be able to pickup anything hahaha
I dun like the wooden ones cos over time it will wear off n I dun want to think I am eating any dirt stuck on or coming off the wood.

 

[sdchick]

Dordor
Yep Agree with you on the print thingy. They fade!!
Chopsticks, yes I like to use the steel ones, but if it's a longer period my fingers hurt hahaha. I dun like the normal chopsticks cuz they got paint, so I bought bamboo ones. A little bulky, but ok.

 

[sychua79]

cellow
hee my morning is also like that. mad rush!!! i also wake up at 7 but sometiems can't help but steal 5 more min. wake up, brush teeth, change put make up then wake the kids and then hurry them to eat and change and get into the car! it takes us about an hour to get out of the house.

re iherb
all the stuff here liao...

fast hor. give me some nights to sort it out. then see what we can do to meet up.

mummies
hb goign to malaysia for a few days so it will be just me and the kids!!

 

[sychua79]

cellow
hee my morning is also like that. mad rush!!! i also wake up at 7 but sometiems can't help but steal 5 more min. wake up, brush teeth, change put make up then wake the kids and then hurry them to eat and change and get into the car! it takes us about an hour to get out of the house.

re iherb
all the stuff here liao...

fast hor. give me some nights to sort it out. then see what we can do to meet up.

mummies
hb goign to malaysia for a few days so it will be just me and the kids!!

 

[dusty_gecko]

post office mummies
sorry i won't be joining tomorrow. very apologetic, esp since i requested for it to be on tuesday. but turns out pomfret will still have school even though it's excursion day (and normally excursion day means no afternoon classes). and so mr dustee is quite adamant about pomfret attending school.

paya lebar PO should still be big and exciting for the kiddos even though it's not a back office tour!

dor
i already bought a set of corelle. hehe. it's just that he seems to still want to be looking for plastic ones. whereas i feel we should just expand on the corelle.

anyway, while i'm here trying to plan, pack, clean, the MAN is just inventorising his CD collection. nothing is going to happen for him till he finished planning how he's going to arrange his cds.

 

[jogwyn]

Dustee: don't feel bad, it's ok, can always go another time. The post office will still be there.

hope you are done with packing.

SY: iherb is a US website right? The orders are responded so promptly. Same same... Me too, hb out of town. Don't worry, you will survive with the kids alone.

 

[sychua79]

Jo
yup iherb is US website. if use DHL the orders will reach very fast. if using international shipping it takes about a week or 2.

how long is your hb out of town? mine only for 3 days but recently jx has been testing my limits! every day will quarrel with jh. can u imagine what she said this morning? when we were trying to wake jh up for school, she asked me why is her brother so whiny? and in the car, she will quarrel with him and they will argue about not being frens with each other and she will insist the brother cannot be frens with me as well! headache listenting to them everyday.....

 

[michelletan]

anyone free to lunch today?

 

[cellow]

Why is it that daddies expect things to fall into place automatically in the mornings? Mad man Mr C was part of the problem this morning. While I was dashing around like headless chicken getting c1 dressed fed while latching c2 and instructing maid to prep brekkie for me.

I need a break from the mad man

 

[cellow]

If you are not part of the solution, at least do not b part of the problem. I wish I can send myself to the room and leave him to deal w screaming kids. Hmmmmmph

 

[sdchick]

Cellow,
Tell me about it. Same with Mr. SD. He complained about Emma's toys scattering around.. right after I send Emma to bed. I told him if you didn't like to see them lying around, then help me pick them up la.. he said: I'm tired from work. He is not the only one who works mah.. So I told him, if you don't want to help out, don't complain and just turn a blind eye. If not, do something about it straight away, rather than finding the time to point out the things to me.

 

[pinkbunny]

it's the same for me. BB has kind of gotten back to almost FT work regime and i think he thinks that it automatically means that the house, and all the responsibilities that come with it, fall under my care.

i like the 'oh i'm so tired' excuse. last night we were in bed, me working (sick with burning eyes and coughing away) and him doing i dunno what. then he said 'oh i'm so tired' and fell asleep. and i had to shut down, clear the sink, boil water etc etc, and just as i was about to pee and flop into bed....

"mama..... i don't want to sleep by self...."

a mum's job doesn't stop even when she's sick

 

[pinkbunny]

dustee
lol on cd categorising.

 

[sychua79]

cellow
yeah but we can't bear to send ourselves to the room and leave our hb to deal with them right? hee i get this kind of feeling all the time. there was one weekend when my hb said he was sick and i brought them out alone on sat, sun and even public hol tue! but no point complaning...focus focus focus...our kids will be close to us and we wan the best for them!

PB
oh dear u get well soon! so BB working almost FT now? the funny thing abt guys is that they think they can handle a lot of things when they can only handle a fraction of what we do!

that day the newspaper had this article about this dad who took on the mother's role when his wife fell into a coma. i was tempted to ask my hb whether he can do that if any thing happen to me but decide to save myself the answer....but really wonder lor. i always tell my hb to be more involved in case one day if anything happens to me, he dun even know simple things like what vitamins to give!

 

[sychua79]

mummies
today very happy cos my boss commended me on my performance. but actually i m not ambitious. just wan to have flexibility in terms of timing and some work from home and i m happy. of cos a pay rise would be best.

he did say that he had spoken to my big boss and hinted on adjusting my pay so hope for good news.

 

[cellow]

SY,
YAY! tis nice to be recognised.
actually i can bear (to send myself to room and leave HB to deal with children). if push me up the wall. Mr C can be a rock climber with all the walls he drives me up.

SD,
LOL at your response - if you don't want to help out, don't complain and just turn a blind eye. If not, do something about it straight away, rather than finding the time to point out the things to me
so true!!

PB,
get well soon! next time, you sleep first. that's what i did last night when i was really exhausted

did mich find anyone to lunch with today? pity i m not in office today

 

[pinkbunny]

SY
"the funny thing abt guys is that they think they can handle a lot of things when they can only handle a fraction of what we do! "

true and untrue. i think men think for themselves and women think for the family and household. like when i got a FT job i thought 'so when will we do laundry, and who will cook dinner'. i doubt men think of such 'trival' matters.

but if women don't, then who will?

 

[cin_bunny]

SY - good for you! iherb loot - good excuse to meet for lunch next week?

would tuesday work? I could do novena, GWC, Vivo, Ikea

SD - heehee..i say the same to my hubby..if u cannot take the mess, u clean it then..otherwise, live with it and dont complain. hmmph

PInkB - hope u feeling better. take care u.

 

[jogwyn]

Sy: hb will be out of town the entire week! I take it as my slimming sessions!

hooray! Congrats! I think it's good for a boss to recognize the works of his employee, and you must have done well.

PB: oh dear, hope you are feeling better?

SD: I like your response.

nowadays I'm quite slow to response to such comments from hb! Not sure if this is good but I just stare at him!

Cellow: how old is your c2? How long do you intend to bf?