Recovering well...

31 March 2011 (Thurs):

Thanks for all concern. Rachel is recovering very well. In fact, the blister on her tongue has subside faster than expected & her mild rashes are also disappearing fast. Comes tomorrow, i will bring her to the doctor for a review & also to get a letter from the doc to certify she has recover & is able to resume classes.


Some photos taken of Rachel at home. She has been a good girl who entertains herself from reading her books, watching TV shows to playing her toys. Of cos occasionally she wants a big bear hug too. :)

HFMD

27 March 2011 (Sun):

Yes, u read the title of this post correctly....HFMD.... :(

And who has the honor..... Rachel.

She complained of toothache 2 days ago but we suspected ucler. A trip to the doctor 1 hour ago confirmed its a case of HFMD. She got 2 big uclers on her tongue & some rashes on her palms & her soles.

Prescribed medication consists of paracetoml for fever, oracort E for oral application & calamine lotion for the rashes in case she complains of itch.

So now its a period of isolation from the outside world.

Transportation

26 March 2011 (Sat):

Was talking to M a few days ago about our kids' enrichment classes. I told her i have enrolled L into phonics enrichment at 927 & then we discussed about having to ferry L up & down classes.

All of a sudden, she said i could have her bike for a minimal price since she also used that to ferry her gal up & down for enrichment classes as well. She mentioned having a bike would make things easier & i do not have to waste time & $$. I agreed.

But before i agree to buy over from her, i decided to have it for a trial run first. She has a child seat attached front & back of the bike as she too has 2 kids. She told me R can sit in front while L rides behind.

Thanks M for the bike. Will bring it along for trial runs first. ** consider giving it to me rather than sell lah **

** Updates on 27 March 2011 (Sun): Indeed, having to balance 2 kids on the same bike is no easy feat. Luckily the trip in only once every Sunday. I'll take it as a form of exercise. ** pant **

Withdrawal & Enrolment

20 March 2011 (Sun):

This morning, i bought Lionel for an assessment @ Read In A Week, a new centre within krtc at Yishun. Teacher Yvonne was the assessor & she finds Lionel okay. Okay meaning he can read, blend, spell & pronounce simple words. She assured me within the 3rd lesson, most students would be able to read short stories. I was a little skeptical abt this but we shall see how. So i enrolled him along with some P1s, scheduled to begin lesson next Sun, 27 March 2011. Classes are from 930am - 11am.

As for Rachel, she went along & was also assessed & deemed excellent. She will be joining the nursery grp (if i were to enrol her) but the nursery classes are only conducted on Sat afternoons. Teacher Yvonne said she will checked & see if the students who were transferring over from the Sembawang branch can form a class on Sunday morning, around the same timing as Lionel. She will let me know soon.

I went down to Seimpi Hougang & did an immediate withdrawal for Rachel as well. She's practically not keen anymore on piano lessons. We'll see in future she would like piano, or other form of musical instruments.

So for now, Lionel has one academic enrichment - Read In A Week & one non academic - Wushu. For Rachel, currently none till i sign her up for ballet which should be next week. I'm intending to sign her up for a fresh term, April - June.

Read In A Week : $120/term of 4 lessons ( $30 per lesson)
Ballet: $180/term of 3 mths ( $60 per term of 4 lessons)

Disney on Ice 2011 - Part 2

19 March 2011 (Sat):

Disney World on Ice 2011. Part 2 of today's outing. We're finished with the Gazillion Bubble & it was raining heavily outside. And to add on, the time was already 4pm. The suggestion was to take a cab straight to Kallang Lesiure Park where the Indoor Stadium is, settle our post lunch, pre dinner meals & then walked slowly over to our next destination.

As most of the time, the performancers were on the move, so its best if i only upload the videos. However, there are still slightly better photos taken so i have uploaded those as well. The rest...well...they were blurred while on the move. Sorry to say i only have a pocket camera of not so perfect quality.(cannot afford those Nikon or Canon DSLRs lah - its time i invest in a new toy)

Erm... even the videos were blurred at some point of time. And if the performancers were wearing white costumes, there goes.... u will only see ghostly figures moving about due to the strong reflection of lights. My apologies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UV8OlFCJLE

Mickey, Minnie & the Disney gang making their appearance & intro...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxOcQuKqNj4



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-J6oBxa1m4

Racing cars up next...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY4BVrgorKU

The Little Mermaid...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpJJkpSIWPU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Xa4zoJwFE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsdcbNgutqI

Lion King...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjpUj_dnIas


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XSmFsl19fk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCub60l916c

Grand Finale.

** The last story was on TinkerBelle & Friends but the i did not upload the video here as the figure skater was wearing white & the lights reflection was just too strong so all u see is a ghostly figure floating around. At the same time, Rachel had fallen asleep against my arms & i was unable to move forward to get a better picture even after TinkerBelle changed into green :P

Fan Yang's Gazillion Bubble Show - Part 1

19 March 2011 (Sat):

We left home for Downtown East @ 12 noon but waited quite long for the bus. End up, we arrived Pasir Ris Downtown East only at 1345hrs, some 15 mins before show time. Nonetheless, we still got abit of time for photo taking, toilet stop & snacks. All in all, we had a great time & the kids having super duper fun with all the bubbles. :)

** Just wondering what kind of chemicals/gas/ozone they used to make the bubbles opaque..**

I was sooo very obedient when the ushers & annoucer said that no photography or video photography of any kind allowed. That was soooo very stupid of me. Only during the 2nd half of the show, i was like oh what the heck.... everybody was taking pictures & video... if i do not take any, i wldnt have any memories captured. So there, you have some pics & videos to enjoy too. But its only a little here & there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbdE0iJXaFQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJWSsGWlwbA

Lazer lights with bubbles.... The shimmering little white spots u see floating around were obviously bubbles...hehe. And if u see bigger shadowery bubbles coming towards u, those were the opague bubbles i mentioned about.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X9xQZFe4Ao



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGEOqUuo4yg

Lazer light performance by Fan Yang's son...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oLUKtHbMCk

Lazer light shows with bubbles.....again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0qoxpFYlI

Finale...millions of bubble all around.

Quickly, we moved out of D'Marquee, only to find ourselves caught in the heavy rain. I was debating, to eat first or head on to our next destination. Looking at the clock, we better hurry along. Part 2 of the post - Disney on Ice 2011.

Rachel's Term 1 Progress Report

18 March 2011 (Fri):

Rachel got back her term 1 progress report as follows:

Her portfolio page. Her pose looks cute.

She got mostly 1s & 2s for her motor skills, both gross & fine, sensory & thinking skills & also her language & social skills.

Language Arts: Rachel enjoys participating during circle time and is able to express herself clearly. She enjoys group activities and practice turn taking when playing. She loves listening to storytelling and singing songs & rhymes.

Maths Concept: Rachel understands the concepts of long/short, big/small and more/less. She is able to make comparison of objects using the said concepts. Good job!

Chinese Language: 在第一学期的学习中，她喜欢和同学一起朗读课本，唐诗和三字经，老师布置的作业能按时交，上课时有时能回答老师的提问， 能和同学友好相处，只是上课时注意力不够集中， 要和同学讲话，老师希望你能慢慢改善自己不好的习惯，可以吗？

Top

Rachel take pride in her work. However, she needs to focus to complete them on time. You can do it girl!

Bottom

谢佳璇：她能够指认，认读家庭成员名称，但是在讲自己家庭时不够大胆，声音很小，多加油哦！

Paul & Nelly's Wedding

13 March 2011 (Sun):

We waited for 10 over years for this event. Paul & Nelly, u sure played the game well. Tonight is the night, finally....

The wedding of Paul & Nelly @ Marriotts. Here's presenting to u the most special couple:

Their wedding photo shots.

Paul & Nelly on the actual evening.

Here's wishing the couple eternal bliss & happiness.

Diaperless Updates

13 March 2011 (Sun):

Its almost a month since Rachel started gg to bed in the nights without her diapers on. I happy to say, save for a few incidents here & there, she is dry most of the nights.

I will make it a habit for her to visit the bathroom before bed & about 1 -2 times in the middle of the night. Yes, i dun deny its very tiring on me. Whenever i woke up, the 1st thing i do is to feel the bedsheet. Good. Its dry. Next, her pyjamas. Yup. Dry too.

But whenever i felt wetness, i would slapped my forehead & reluctantly force her to wake up to change into dry clothings. Then i will grumble at her, yes grumble at her for not waking up to pee, making the bed wet, having to change her in the middle of the night, etc... Haha.

But these 2 days while she's having diarrhoea, i decided to put on her diapers. Not knowing when her tummy may decide to be funny, its best for all of us.

School Excursions

12 March 2011 (Sat):

I received 2 consent forms, one from each of the kid about some outings the school's going to organise. They wanted me to sign the foms immediately. Haha.

For the K2s, they will be visiting the Nature Farm where they will be able to smell, touch & taste different kinds of fruits, veggies, herbs & spices.

For the N2s, they will be visiting the Yakult Factory where they will learn more about the power of bacteria & how Yakult is made. Of course, the kids would also enjoy the tasting of freshly made Yakult.

Nature Farm: 24 March 2011
0930hrs-1300hrs

Yakult Factory: 28 March 2011
0930hrs-1200hrs

Ugly Blisters

09 March 2011 (Wed):

Rachel got an ugly blister on her soles near her toes since Sat. But it did not hinder her walking. We pricked the blister, washed & dried it, applied some ointment & put a plaster over it. But unfortunately for her, another 3 more blisters broke out on Monday morning. Question marks were forming in our heads. Where on earth or how on earth she got those blisters?

That evening, we bought her to see a doc who told her its just an infection. She must have stepped on something dirty. He assured us that the infections would cleared up after 3 days. He prescribed us a P P wash, an antibiotic & some cream to apply on Rachel's wounds.

Rachel having her feet dipped into the P P wash.

Curam is the antibiotic given to Rachel to be taken internally. Altargo is the medicated cream to be applied externally.

This is the PP wash - wash once per day.

This is the infection on Rachel's feet. Do not be taken aback by the looks of it. The slimy tranparent stuff is actually the cream which my mil applied very sparingly, according to the doctor's instructions. Then of cos the redness you see is the infected wound. There are a total 3 wounds u see & another 1 more near her toes. Not seen here.

Nothing better to do but to take a pic of Lionel as well. Not intended as part of the post though. Heh.

Yesterday after work, i went over to my ils place to look at Rachel's feet. My mil was cleansing & applying the cream on her. Back at home, she was crying out for me, telling me her feet is in pain. Tears rolled down her cheeks. I really dunno how to ease her pain, feeling so heartbroken. I carried her up & tried to distract her. God helped that she saw her Seimpi music books & we went thru every single page of activities together. That helped alot & she did not whimper or cried out loud.

Then i remembered that paracetomol also acts as a painkiller so i fed her a little, hoping to ease her pain, if any. She even jumped up & down on the bed when Daddy returns. I think she has forgotten about her injuiry. She slept thru the night which is a blessing.

Pls pray she recovers soon.

Piano or Ballet

8 months have passed since Rachel started music @ Seimpi. There were discussions about her withdrawal from lessons since she has clearly showed lesser & lesser interest in class. Daddy was shocked to learn we still need to give 1 month notice & i told him yeah if we wanted back our deposit.

At the same time, i brought Rachel for a trial class at this dance school offering ballet classes. Its very conveniently located @ Yishun, just across the road from my block. They offer & do both RAD ( Royal Academy of Dance) & CSTD (Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing) syllabus

i stole a few peeks from outside her classroom & i can see that she clearly enjoys herself. Its a new environment with new friends & teacher but she shows no signs of fear. After her class, i asked if she likes ballet & she replied yes. So i told her i will bring her next Sat to sign up & buy her tutu as well. She was so excited.

** Updates: Some frens have told me since Rachel will be finishing her course @ Seimpi soon ( about another 3 more months), why not continue & finish up? I have found out that The Grassroots Club over at YCK also offers this music course & i have written to them to see if it is possible for Rachel to continue her lessons there iso Hougang. Its more convenient for me & perhaps a new environment may help Rachel to rekinder her interest. Let's see how.

Random Cartoons' Video

05 Mar 2011 (Sat):

I was surfing YouTube when i came across some cartoons that brought back memories. These cartoons are those i watched as a kid & up till now, i still do remember them.

小甜甜



湯姆歷險記



靈犬雪麗



無敵鐵金剛

Happy Birthday Daddy

02 Mar 2011 (Sun):

Today is Daddy's birthday. The kids shared & bought a cake for Daddy which i did not know. I've also bought one for Daddy, so Daddy has 2 cakes.

The kids were more excited than Daddy & they rushed to put the candles on the cake, blow out the candles, cut the cake & lastly, went around distributing the pieces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n66IuCN1lVE

" Happy Birthday To You "... in English, Chinese & even Malay version. Haha!

UFO sightings?

27 February 2011 (Sun):

After Rachel's music class, we went over to Jurong Point for dinner & shopping, giving the kids a chance to run about.

What we saw up above in the sky were colourful twinkling lights & the kids went wow. Those were actually kites with LED lights attached. It has become a norm with kite flying lovers. Some of those designs were really wonderful & i guessed it does not come cheap. Cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsTjvYjQRbI

Twinkling UFOs...hehe