(2009/10) October 2009 MTBs

Hi everyone!!!

Famela! Nice to see you here! Hey I like your style! I was thinking of sending the girls to school only at 4 because I actually thought this is how things go until I spoke to my aunty who has a 3 YO. she was 'educating' me that if I don't send them to pre-nursery, I will have problem looking for good nursery schools for them because these schools would give priority to their pre-nursery kids and that triggered me to start my research. Hahahha....peer pressure!

Glass: I like the way you describe Elgin and his ball obsession! Reminds me of the video you posted hahah...eh! The height bit don't worry lah. He should be short. You are pretty tall. And boys will shoot up only when they are in Sec school. You should know better
happy.gif


76: Hmmm i probably missed your earlier posts. So, you are a teacher too! Are you on leave or have left the service?

Sotong: Hey nice to 'see' you here too! Hmm thanks for the info on hypy! I seriously think I am in the sec sch system for too long. Totally lost on what is going on at primary school level. Apparently I am very laid back in my occupation too hahaha..But it's ridiculous to start hypy so early! I only learnt when I was in P4 or 5 i think!

Potty Training:
I actually thought I can start now too! But after reading the GF book on potty training and some internet info, it's essential that the bubs must be able to indicate to you, either verbally or through gestures, before or after they pee or poop. Only then you know they are ready. So, obviously, the book has been thrown aside until much later. Or another tell tale sign I picked up is, if you realise that your child is having a not so wet diaper after the night's sleep, it also means that he/she has developed some control over their bladder. So, that could be a sign to prepare for potty training.
 


Glass: correction! It's he should not be short! Wanted to type he shld be tall! Fingers n brain cannot coordinate! Sorry! :p
 
Tien
i am a teacher..but took half yr NPL to be withthe kids..and after my NPL, i took 1 year study leave to do my Masters (purpose: bond with my kids),wch will end SOON..meaning waitng to be postedback to school...sianz.
 
I am so glad it's the weekend! I am honestly going completely nuts trying to cope with work/home/kid/self…so glad, so happy but am going to be so terrified when Sunday comes..sigh sigh sigh.
sad.gif


ilovemaxmax > Haha..we parents ah…we "complain" either way! But i suppose, active, reserved, happy or even grumpy - they are all observing everything around them and learning as much as they can.
happy.gif


PY > yah, kiasuparents..I go there to really roll over and laugh at chiefkiasu's language! but no, never participate in the forums there cos I am unkiasu *straightface*..btw, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! Still can celebrate, cos u are still young. :p

tien > hmm..so u wanna Q for Nanyang Kindy? i don't think the Tien i know would do that..heh…Won't mention names here, but I went to check out a church preschool and they told me, "we are so popular..our registrations open in (month) and if you want, you can try to Q. First come first served hor!"…needless to say, i struck them out of my (short)list when I heard the word Q. i don't believe in queuing for food so i won't believe in queuing for a preschool. it's either there's a space there for us (destiny) or there isn't. Oh and there's one thing. If the place u put your kid in has childcare, that means they come under MCYS - you can use your BB Bonus to pay for the fees and claim a subsidy of $300 for a working mum - take it like a 50% discount on the fees with a subsidy (sup sup sui!). If it's purely a kindergarten facility, i.e. no childcare, it's under the purview of MOE. In which case, you don't get to use your BB Bonus. Recently also, in Nov 2010, MOE has started to implement an accreditation framework. Possibly have to wait up to a year to see if this is any way one can gauge the quality of teaching/centre. http://moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/spark/. BTW, there is a helpful link to "kindergarten profiles" under the same page, RH ("For Parents")..take note that this does not "cover" the MCYS childcare/pre-nursery places..but if you wanna take a long shot all the way to K1..good idea to work backwards.

funzee > carefree and singapore is an anomaly. sad but the truth. however, and i say this by really straining myself...we could always work towards drawing them out of the shell (like my little snail here), making sure we nurture their individual talents and being there for them. think the last bit is the part that requires the largest amt of sacrifice. SF said it well that the more we try to pretend that we don't live in a stressful bubble..the less helpful we would be when one day, we wake up to the sordid reality of pressure. instead, learn to dwell and triumph in our given environment. so slow cooker it is and hopefully the taste of it all would be better. this is the nihilistic me speaking.

76 > when we hired the helper, MOM was so good at this..they asked us to complete this employer orientation thing. i forgot what it is called. and that was when i became crystal clear why we needed a maid. it was not to be second mum - but help to the mum. therefore, although my present maid loves Dre a lot and has asked to do things for her e.g. change her diaper or bathe her for us, we have resisted all that. she only handles the cooking and cleaning - and that's very essential to keeping my sanity in check since i do work quite a fair bit now and i cannot karang kabut with the washing of my delicate work wear/ironing etc. but no matter how tired i am, i would still do the diaper changes, the meal planning for Dre and so on so forth..btw, i was looking at your nickname - don't be dejected always k! u are one of the most positive mums i see around here!
happy.gif


gal > the web is a good tool..after i make all these "home-made" toys…and she has played with them till she is bored stiff - i feel sayang to throw these away. hahaha, idea idea..anyone here wanna exchange home-made toys? i've quite a lot of hand-made puppets that go along with the story books / sorting, alphabet, number stuff..forget melissa & doug!…(but i warn u the quality is worse than Made in China)…bwahahahaha…as for the tearing bit, live with it..just a phase as with a lot of other things.

famela > once the two As are much bigger (like Sarah's Elgin)..they can all help you mark MCQs… :p

sotong_mum > i don't wanna go dotty over the potty. anyway, i've been so baby-led on so many things..i will just wait for the day she says the word/sentence/gibberish whatever and hopefully, that would be painless as your experience with 1R!
happy.gif
 
xoxolight
I Where got positive? can tell meh?hahahah
Agree with you on maid issue..when we got maid, our rationale was help out in housework. So, she doesnt bathe or feed the babies solid food(or rather in their 18mths of lives,she has never done it). She does the housework and cooking..worse case is when i have to go study, she and mum will play with babies and feed milk. Even when going out, we will deposit her at my IL hse wch is nearby before 4 of us go out as a family.Coz to me, she is not part of our family and i dunwan my boys to think she is. In fact, sorry for being mean here, i never teach my boys to address her in any way, not even auntie. I just call her name and they would probably learn from there.My hubby and I would just manage ourselves with the boys.but i have to admit that we havent eaten outside with boys ourselves coz i wonder if we really get to eat. So, if we go restaurant, we take mum along...if there is a need, then at least we can take turns. But so far, seems ok. Today, we are going to fly kite and blow bubbles....Tmr going hort park..woohoo...maid? Go IL house and relax.
 
76 > yep, u can be the MCYS mascot for the happy family image!
happy.gif
your perky, fun activities are really heartwarming...i shall endeavour to be half as good as u are!

in fact, i wish i could do those outdoorsy things u do more often! prb is, my polar cub and her equally polar-iced dad can't tolerate it much. my maid, well, i prefer to use the term helper - doesn't call me ma'am and doesn't address my hb as sir. just calls us by our names. and we call her by hers. Dre is taught to call her as auntie (name). must greet her good morning, say good night and wave goodbye when she makes her exit at the door etc. etc.

i work as a PR consultant for various food/lifestyle brands.
 
xoxo: That's early! Hahah you know me lah! Q? Same as you lah...Q for food I can black face from start till end of meal. I find shortcut hahahah... Nanyang is very very tempting because of the focus on chinese. So, if I have some connection, I will sure enroll Kay there. But then, I am just an unknown, so I figure my chinese should be powerful enough to teach her. I shall save that thousand bucks a month and do more shopping online.

So, after all the hoo haa, I have shortlisted 4! The one opposite my mum, if its curriculum for pre-school is not good, then it's learning vision, to be classmate with Min, then it will be Discovery Kidz! Still not happy, then I will skip the baby bonus and go to PCF!! Hahahha...I figure my sister attended the same nearby PCF branch before and ends up an almost graduate (a couple of months to go), my Ks will do fine. This certainly works best logistically and financially. And if financially, we are ok, will enroll her in enrichment classes. I guess that's the plan for them for now.
 
Anyway, guess what, after going through the info and contacting a couple of CC, I am soooooooo tempted to franchise one myself! Hahahah...*paging hippo, the investor*. I certainly don't mind being a principal of a centre...immediate promotion leh!
 
Glass:
Oh u refering to the one at bishan? Theb i have no idea:p

Gal:
U intend to go for the fair?

Xoxo:
Some kindy also can use baby bonus but do gOvt subsidy.
Every parent also ks just tt whether they show, comment n share haha if not they will have enroll their kid in the nearest centre n mostly be pcf

Tien:
Seriously I'm not gog to q too. My 1st choice kindy registration is coming tue if din manage to get then really pcf too.
Haha had checked out tt( my fil proposed:p)
To be principal u need to have deg or dip in early childhood education haha, n I told him maybe he need sponsor my deg too if into collaboration.
 
tien,
hahaha... now you know what i mean right? too bad LV doesn't franchise. neither does Eton. these are the only 2 i like. i dont wanna franchise cherie hearts only cos the CBP one i went to like sai like that. seriously. i think my maid better than their fat, lazy looking teachers. :p

[XOXO, i'm only talking about the CBP branch ah. don't get sensitive. hahahaha...
happy.gif
]
 
nanyang kindergarten.
hahaha... seriously, are they for real??? i won't go and queue that's for sure. won't even queue for good food let alone this kind of sikit atas brand names. :p no offense to anyone here that's intending to slug it out in the queue... hehe...

i mean, like i said, i'm trying very hard not to be over the top when it comes to being kiasu lah. eh, during our time, did we have any of these? NO. and i think i turned out pretty alright. ok, a bit twisted and cynical, but i survived the system didn't i?
happy.gif


still prefer to relak one corner first lah. hehe... you guys tell me what's good. oh but i do want her to learn swimming asap. but that's to satisfy my own ego. hehe...
happy.gif


night ladies!
 
hippo : *blink* are you gg to conduct the swimming class ? :D can we join??? :D :D

anyone started swimming lessons for their kids already?

xoxo / nlimm : thanks for sharing on the kindy.

xoxo : share pics? what did you make :D :D

nlimm : bb fair. hrmm.. not sure yet. maybe the taka one.

76 : agree with xoxo. ur activities with the kids are so fun!
happy.gif

I'm going to try the taugeh soon. You used cotton bud as base or?
 
gal
thanks thanks...shy** i did wat i was taught during my pri sch yrs...used cotton as base..haha, then now transfer to pot of soil along the corridor..they aare v tall now..abt 20+cm..the boys water everyday...and now we are into planting spring onion, it has also started to spring up. Today, we are going kite flying again and blow bubbles.
 
tien > if u are doing a CC..lemme know!!!

hippo > no worries!
happy.gif


gal > made story books and some puppets..no pics of these. getting lazier and lazier in taking pics/recording vids etc - my hp's mem is full and i'm having prbs downloading. procrastinating...

76 > in time to come, yours would be an impressive science corner!
happy.gif
 
76 > good morning to you too! hahaha, i think #2 or #3 in some cases are already all on the way! the oct thread is flourishing! :D
 
i am still languishing in oct 2009 so what do u think? wahahahaha.....

btw, i am the que sera sera, whatever will be will be- type. i don't go abt my life planning every zit.
happy.gif
 
<font color="0000ff">Not for me too... I need to keep my sanity in check. So <font color="ff0000">76</font> I seriously do not know how you handle
happy.gif
My helper will be leaving soon.. n i kinda dread the days where I will have to do everything myself, all over again</font>
 
Hi Mommies! I have been reading through the threads fervently and boy! A number of them to go through. Its certainly that time when we are all talking about education for our little ones and about teaching philosophies! To be honest, I feel a little handicapped in this, as I remembered in my good old days, schooling just happens....I don't remember planning, working backwards from primary school enrolment, etc. Gosh! All the pressure!

I'm the three minute mommy. When peer pressure starts, I get worried and started round the neighbourhood call ups on school admissions...then things get very complicated on school appliations, phase 1, Phase 2B, etc and I fizzled out....no more energy...

So Tien, if you're really going for a CC grand opening, I will put my little one on your wait list!!

xoxo : I enjoyed reading your activities with your darlings. They are so engaging! I'm so inspired! :))

Hi gal > I started swim class for my little one...total number of sessions 8, grand total attended 3. HAHAHAH...He was down with cold couple of times and I didn't get him to the pool. I think at this age, its more about developing their water confidence. The parent who goes into the pool with the little ones come out totally exhausted. Some little ones screamed throughout the session. My little one manage to submerge his head underneath the water for maybe like 3 times. WAHAHAHAH.. Totally hilarious. I just count myself lucky I'm not the one who goes into the pool with him, my husband does it. Now, my husband tells me, can we get him into land sports instead...

I've got to share my anxiety about my little one's education. Its entirely our doing. He does not hold a Singaporean passport, and its deliberate. HOwever, that means that he will not be considered until Phase 2B during allocation time...I wonder what I will do then...maybe go knock on every school's doors and see where I come up at.....or maybe start my volunteering now? :)) Or perhaps go for the coveted passport in the end.
 
babymax > 76 is the one with the inspirational activities! not me..i've the same boring schedule day in and day out. oooh, avoiding the coveted passport = NS issue on your mind?
 
babymax : which swimming school did u enroll for your lil one?
happy.gif

hehe.. i don't even bring him to a pool! =.=. v bad. need to make effort to plan my weekends.

#2 hrmm.
ask me a few months later. over the weekend I carried my boy (coz he refuse to sit in the pram) a lot. both my wrists are in pain now
sad.gif
. hope with minimal movement it will cure and i'm back to normal tomorrow. else..anyone got chiropractor to recommend?
 
xoxo : Both of you are my inspirations! I enjoyed reading about what you do on weekends, and day to day. Simple yet very engaging. Passport issue? Yeah lor. All about the grand NS.

Gal : its a swim school in HK though...Like you, I just wanted something to do with him on weekends, otherwise will always end up in malls. I had a HK friend who also have a 17 month old baby enrolled in this swim school, and the baby can sit on the ledge of the swim pool, the mum stands like a metre away, the baby jumps into the pool, swim to her underneath the water...I just look on...drooling......back to reality...my little one?? hiahhhh....head shaking...daddy is going to throw in the white towel soon. But the pool is heated and the swimming centre is heated which is nice for my little one. Like a big bath tub...and they have loads of baby bath toys to encourage them to kick and swim, but of couse he does not appreciate it.

Apologies...actually meant to say that my little one will not even be considered under Phase 2B due to passport....
 
gal
my wrist was already painful before their first birthday and i went for a series of tuina and acupunture and it healed. Of coz i also went Changi hospital and got a wrist guard moulded, wch din help much... thats why went for acup...now into their 2nd yr, my writs pain is back, but at the other side of the wrist, so have just started acupuncture again..was told there is this injection that doc can inject, but maximize only 2x in a lifetime, after that, the nerves get weakened..i have not tried that tho...
 
Ilovemaxmax
My helper is leaving in Oct too. that leaves us with mum only. Since i will be putting the boys in half day cc, think that shld solve part of the problems? She needs to dong till i come back at around 5pm. Or maybe can get my IL to pop by to help..I also quite anti maid. But bo pian...v expensive now to hire maid..worse come to worse, i will extend this current maid for another 6mths till things stabilise. See how lah...
 
76:
Errrmm u seriously want a nos3? But if u planning one now u be back to work in may then if really strike, u gotta be on leave again, is ur boss ok with it?Mine shd be yr of snake if wanna, dragon yr too stress for me n my hopefully princess

Babymax:
Dun really get the passport cum phrase 2B part for ur tot. I thought phrase1A till2C all for Singaporean ye( if I din get it wrong, not too sure nvr check out on this) since ur tot holding a non-sing passport= non-Singaporean I think is under other phrase.
By the way do u have any gd sch to recommend in hk? One of m's classmate gog to shift to hk, his mum looking for presch for him.

Gal:
The chiro I went to during my pregnancy is at paragon but pretty ex wo, then 10 mins w them cost me100+, let me know if u keen but personally I find it ex though is effective, I only went once (refer by my Gynae)
 
gal > try the ergo carrier...that's a godsend for me! hope your wrists recover soon...

76 > sure u can!!! so..ganbate! with alot of fine examples around..hope to hear your good news v soon abt the little dragon k? :D
 
#2
wah, from the sounds of it, seems like a few oct mums are already having their #2. I don't think I want to have #2 so quickly. Please let the rest of us know when you can announce your pregnancies.

Planning to give birth in Jan 2013, so I have some time to settle my work, and also still catch dragon tail baby without him/her fighting with the other dragons. Yeah, and hopefully girl.
 
76 : acupuncture. i tried it before on my jaw last time. The feeling while having the needles in was 'sour'. But if it worked for you, *deep breath* alright, i'll go see that acupuncturist again if it doesn't get better.

xoxo : he wants to walk then bao bao. cannot ergo/sling/etc.

nlimm : 10 mins 100+? I'm in a wrong profession! did you only have to go one time?
 
glass > good planning...all the best with that plan!

gal > i found that if u dump the screaming/squirmy babe in the ergo and just run...the whoosh would make them happy enough to let u be. Dre resisted it but eventually came to enjoy e ergo. my wrist/hip/back etc etc etc..are all in constant pain...though probably not as bad as what u are experiencing. take care!
 
76:
Mine sama as u. &amp; I appeal n file complaint against my direct boss coz based on black n white my performance n contribution she have to renew my contract. So it's up to the very top management n tts where u c how they work. But again if ur direct bosses r pei-family tt be safe coz mine 1 is a 2-headed new coward everything dun know boss n another a 50 yr old old spinster boss. So I won n given back my contract but I requested that spinster boss to recommend me to another sch, so now I'm happily working for again 3 female bosses but very pro-family
happy.gif
but I think urs be fine since she/he aldy allow ur ml,npl &amp; study leave mine then only clearing my 2 wks of annual leave fr2008(which be forfeited if I dun)&amp;my ml.


Gal:
Ya ex hor but very detailed she will explain with a bone chart of which bone causes the prob etc but I still find it ex, then is no choice coz 7 mths preggy n no gd to just go to a tui na outside. I only go once n she taught me a few strokes to do it everyday at home then n wanted me to return a mth later but I nvr. Ya wrong profession shd be Gynae too just got chopped6K+ for tt op. Or the one my Hb always go to is at Owen , he said gd but not gd on me. It's might be just those normal strain to ur nerve due to prolong carrying of e, which I got it often but gone after a few days to a wk.

Glass:
Haha sama here Jan 2013 (hopefully)&amp; during my birthday &amp; a princess ( haha demand so much :p guessed a healthy baby be fine)
 
nlimm: coz we have boys now. if we get a girl in 2 years, then they will go uni at the same time. expensive! so if 4 year difference, hopefully a little better
 
glass
aiyah, regarding uni, you think you need that 2 years to plan the $$ for the fees meh? I am sure you would start saving now for their fees...so even if the girl and boy go uni together, it dun matter coz i am sure you would have prepared for it..hahahaha...
 
Glass,
WAH!!! You can think abt uni somemore?! I think nlimm can tell u childcare she already peng san! Just saw her FB on the queue to register for N1. Hehe...
One day i would like to examine your brain. You think abt the most interesting things!
happy.gif
 
Happy , finally done w reg
happy.gif
m's education path till pri6 all done iff no changes for hb's job( no relocation)

Glass/jaz:
Glass wahhh I nvr think so far yet. I only try to avoid dragon yr for my#2 if there is to avoid all the queues:p
Jaz, haha fortunately have seat there, breathless even to talk aiyo
 
Hi all!! Wah!! You mommies are fantastic! Long term planners! Very organised.

Hi nlimm : There are a couple of pre-nursery schools here which are very popular among expats. Woodlands Montessori, Victoria School, Tutortime. They are IB curriculum, and have kindergarden streams as well which are easy if you want a straightline school. HK kindies start at 3 years old. The SIS (Singapore International School) kindie start at 4 years old. Some expat parents put their kids into Chekiang Kiangsu International School for the Putonghua curriculum. Similar to Nanyang Kindie, this is 100% taught in Putonghua until year 3 I think. Best wishes to your friend! Many of these schools have wait lists, so start early.

An interesting talk show I watched last night. Taiwanese programme. Asking views from mommies who gave birth when in their late 30s and the challenges they face. I'm in this category so can totally relate. Exhaustion (I think even more so than the younger counterparts because to be honest, our body is just not as before), expectations, and balance with careers. In late 30s, the careers of these women are just starting to peak, so the pressures of a young baby versus work pressures, means that many of them have to take a very hard look at where to focus their energies. No correct answer, different mommies gave different flavors of what they choose.

I've not started to think of number 2 yet...very scared of the exhaustion...so kudos to mommies who are on track!!
 
Babymax
agree that it is v stressful, i am halfway there in terms of age. also v stressed..but i decided some time ago that something's got to give. i.e. my career. I just want to maintain the salary i am getting, i am satisfied..not that i earn a lot..but i am happy and contented. Just want to raise happy kids. families will be the ones with me forever, not my career. Even if they turn out to be wayward teens in future, at least i tell myself, i have chosen to give birth, and i have done my best to nurture them... whatever the outcome, is already my personal best.I will have no regrets.I dun wan to give birth and then leave them there ...mother's love are supreme and unmatchable. nobody can take over. Even if my mum is caring for my boys, they are ultimately mine. dunno why suddnely got this outflow of thoughts
 
Thanks 76 for sharing. Yes, am in full agreement. Oh yeah! Just remembered this. This Taiwanese talk show quite funny. One of the mommies had to be rushed to the hospital because of a cyst and had to undergo operation. She said her 6 month old girl cried buckets at her bedside until the mommy also felt she is going to die soon. But then of course did not lah. But the mommy said she is 44 and her daughter is 6., imagine when she is 50, her daughter is only 12.

Joyce! My best wishes for you and your little one! Hope it goes well tomorrow!
 
76: judging how expensive schooling will get, 2 years make a lot of difference. If my children can't get into local uni, then need even more money. Anyway, this one is someone told me long time ago. Before I was even married. Can't even remember where I heard from.

I think my friend told me that. Her brother is two years older than her, but they entered uni at the same time. It's a strain on their finances.
hippo: hahaha. uni think only. childcare need to take action. that one I haven't done anything. not really worried about it. I no need to send my child to super good kindergarten. as long as it is convenient and not super ex can already

nlimm: ya, think of queues, I sian already.

joyce: all the best!

babymax: that's why I also don't want to wait too long. hard to lose weight and not much energy to chase after them.
 


glass
maybe by then policies change and girls need to go army liao. This talk abt girls going army has been ongoing for a long time. Who knows someone up there may make it a ruling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Am I pregnant or overthinking?
Replies
3
Views
2K
carebearrocks
C
vinnie
ZARA SPREE by VIN
Replies
20
Views
3K
vinnie
vinnie
P
Strained In-law Relationship Since Pregnant
Replies
0
Views
2K
Pokymummy
P
B
Support group for prediabetes & high BP during pregnancy
Replies
1
Views
2K
sharkles
S
E
Advice Needed. Embryo stopped growing
Replies
5
Views
5K
Jesmin0918
J

Back
Top