Finna's PINK Blog

Yesterday evening, Phebe asked "Mummy, can I have ice cream please?"

I replied, "No, you just recovered from your cough and flu. Rest another day and tomorrow I will give you some.

Phebe answered, "OK"

This morning when I sent her to school, Phebe asked, "Mummy, is today 'Tomorrow'?"

I knew what she was referring to, so I replied smilingly, "Yes, today IS yesterday?s tomorrow and you shall have some ice cream tonight."

Phebe, "YEAH!!!"

Yesterday, Phebe and I were in the kitchen and I asked Phebe to pass me the table cloth.

And this was what she said, "Am I your maid?"

Imagine my shock!!! Of course, she didn't get away with that .....

Phebe and I were in the car, and I was driving behind a van.

Suddenly Phebe asked, "Mummy, who punched the van?"

I laughed out loud, the dent on the van really looked like it had been 'punched'

For the longest time, I have been showering with Phebe. I thought, as a mother, the least I should do, after sending her to full day child care with 2 showers and 3 meals daily, is to shower her clean thoroughly and feed her well over the weekends.

But recently, she has been asking to shower on her own. So, initially, I stood inside the bathroom observing her, then I stood outside of the bathroom and gradually able to relax and let her take her own showers. But I will still nag and give her a thorough rinse, especially when she has long hair.

She is growing up fast ... almost going to be 5 years soon

First, some pin and spring came off .... checked .... seemed to be still safe to skate, cos what came off belonged to the foldable portion. Then the wheels came off, realised one of the nut was loose and all that needs to be done was ensemble the wheels back, but still not quite perfect.

Therefore, decided to upgrade Phebe's skate scooter to a 2-wheeler, slightly bigger wheels, bigger standing board, higher ... actually I can ride it too Oh .. plus the wheels spin with blinking lights.

She adapted to the new skate scooter pretty fast, except for slopes, another learning curve to conquer.

I have been encouraging her to play with her toys, she hardly open her cupboard to take her toys out to play. She loves to draw and write and play with her keyboard ...

Recently, she took the puzzles out and played with them again. And in one sitting, she completed 3 puzzles, ranging from 40 to 80 to 108 pieces (108 pieces with my help).

I will get her to play other stuff too .... before she outgrow them and I start giving them away again ....

Welcome

Instead of jumping into the usual welcoming, Mummy Elaine got the kids to write (& draw & colour) what they would like to do first, before proceeding to the action. Phebe chose to 'HOP & SPIN'.... wow tricky isn't it?!




Introduction

Then, she introduced the session's topic: Cooking, with several video clips comprising of different cooking methods: Frying, Steaming, Boiling, Stewing, Stir-Fry etc. Then she gave out some worksheets with pictures of food and the kids were to discuss with their mummies what they think the cooking methods were. I find it tricky; especially between boiling and stewing ... can be both especially for soup and porridge ... so we wrote both down.



Looking at all the pictures of the food, really made the kids (and some mummies) hungry .... so the natural break for snack, introduced as part of Food Experiments.

Experiment 1: Milo

Sachets of milo mixtures were distributed together with cups and spoons. To each cup, tepid water was added to the milo powder and the kids were asked to stir the mixture, observe and give feedback. Obviously, lumps of milo mixtures were floating in the cups.

They were asked to pour the mixture away and pour in new milo powder. This time, warm water was given and again the kids were asked to stir, observe and give feedback. This time, all the milo powder dissolved neatly and it tasted good.

The kids were not satisfied with just milo as snacks, they were complaining of hunger, so .... making of fruits salad was next.

Experiment 2: Fruits Salad

Mummy Elaine distributed plates, plastic cake knives and various kind of fruits (apples, grapes, star fruits, pears) and topped it up with yogurt.

The kids ate to their hearts content

This year's concert theme was 虫虫的梦想 and Phebe's role was a Spring Fairy.

I am always so touch seeing the little children giving speeches and performing on stage, I started crying when the K2 graduates walked down the aisle onto the stage. Just like before, each graduate gave their few mins 'Thank you' speech, some spoke really well in both English and mandarin, while some others fumbled a little, but all perfect in the eyes of parents. Then they went on to receive their certificates from the principal. (I kept wondering how it would be like next year when it is Phebe's turn ... oh, don?t think I can sit still).

This year's concert was performed in mandarin. The scenes were slightly too draggy, perhaps they followed really closely to the music. Some of the younger ones (I think Playgroup) were crying when they came on stage, but continued to performed, so adorable.

Phebe's in the last scene ... yeah waited extremely long to see her, our little 'dumpling' came bouncing with the music, just as she has rehearsed so many times, at home

That was it, the much anticipated concert was over in no time ... until next year ....

I called up one of the mummies to check on something and one thing led to another, we arranged to meet at HortPark on Deepavali. I was pretty surprised when so told me she has 3 girls now, oldest being Phebe's age, really amazing.

I planned my route, via KPE, and got there in time despite the holiday crowd and one tiny little mistake on the road, good thing I planned in buffer time.

It was pretty warm by the time we started walking, and HortPark was like a really big garden with lots of greens and open space. With little children literally stuck at the playgrounds (there are 3 playgrounds), there was little time to walk the entire place. Phebe brought her scooter and there was ample space to skate around.

In no time, we proceeded for lunch. Thanks to Irene who prepared the main course while I topped up with fruits, we had a pretty hearty meal. The children played a little (with millipedes crawling on the floor) while we chatted. Soon we left for the children's afternoon nap. We said goodbyes and planned to meet again soon

About HortPark

HortPark is a one-stop gardening hub that brings together gardening-related, recreational, educational, research and retail activities under one big canopy in a park setting. It is a knowledge hub for plants and gardening and provides the platform for the industry to share best practices and showcase garden designs, products and services. This 23-hectare regional park in South-Western Singapore is also a park connector, connecting Telok Blangah Hill Park to Kent Ridge Park.

As a gardening hub, HortPark aspires to nurture a gardening culture by focusing on 3 key areas of:

1. Learning and education;
2. Industry partnership and collaboration;
3. Events and activities.

HortPark has interactive and fun-filled programmes for learning and education. There is also a calendar of events and activities to generate and sustain long-term interest, enhance awareness and encourage industry partners to seek out new concepts, products and technologies.

Received an sms from my brother asking my availability to attend Phebe's maternal great grandma's birthday celebration. I knew it was an important event and I have to show my face, but just shuffled and confirmed my weekend schedule with Wild Idea, Phebe's weekend classes (Yamaha, Chinese, swimming), PT helper, Sat dinners at grandma's etc before receiving this sms ... and now I may have to change it again?!?!

Managed to re-shuffle just a little more and managed to squeeze in time to attend the birthday celebration but skipping dinner to attend Phebe's swimming lesson (which was settled for sun evening after much communications with the swimming coach and other kids, would not be nice if I backed out on them.

Again, I have asked Phebe to made her maternal great grandma a birthday card, and she readily did so. However, we are a little distance from this side of my family thus she was slightly intimidated upon arrival, seeing such a huge crowd, hall packed with total strangers. Good thing my brother came down to meet us and carried Phebe up, and her cousin Zenn came out to bring her into the room full of kids. She played with them happily but shy away from the rest.

I personally felt out of place too, the usual hi and how are you, still working in the same place, etc - words of politeness, but no content. We stayed for individual family photos, somehow the 'official' photographer's camera's battery went flat and mine was put in use. And guess who's the next 'official' photographer - no one else but PHEBE !!!!!

We could not stay any longer (would be wonderful if we could stay till cake cutting), running late, so we said our rounds of goodbyes and took our leave.

Felt kind of sad to leave just like that, my maternal grandma is really getting old, health deteriorating ... thinking I used to be so close to her. She really have my respect, she is tactful and understanding. Don?t remember being scolded by her nor did she ever raised her voice, but yet her words are powerful when communicated.

I hope to visit her again soon ... something I have been telling myself to do so, yet keep procrastinating...

Preparation - Day 1 & 2:









Final Work:

Inspired by "The Rainbow Fish", we did our very own, yellow fish with sparkling scales. Plus 2 pink prawns and a star fish


Phebe said this is the reflection of the moon (top left corner). The zig zag lines represented movement in the water. [I was so impressed when I heard it]



This was really adorable, Phebe's version of a diver.


A grey sunken ship with a blue shark and 2 pink stingrays.






Phebe's baby octopus - cute, right?


Seaweeds and carols as background, printed pictures of sea urchins, stingrays, sea cucumbers and a clown fish added to create living creatures in the deep ocean.




Presentation Day:









Couple of the kids are still pretty shy and were relectant to present. But generally the session proceeded though not as well prepared as I would like them to be. Perhaps mummies are too busy, especially those with more than 1, or perhaps the child is really not interested. Got to think about how to improve this segment....

Ben - he went through the water cycle in Lesson 1, and proceeded with some interesting findings on some underwater creatures. All these were captured in a DIY paper file with several pockets. Well done, he has so much to tell but we hae limited time.

Phebe - she explained her drawings/pictures.

Xin Yee - She shared a story aobut the beach.

Adriel - He showed us his sand tools, explained their functions and how he would play with them.

For birthdays that I am aware, I would get Phebe to draw a card for the person.

Here's one for Jay Kai, who was not able to join us for Wild Idea but managed to find some time to drop by at his place.

Happy Birthday, Jay Kai

My cousin Joanne and my niece Eileen, joined Phebe and I to watch The Wizard of Oz at Drama Centre.

The entire show lasted closed to 2.5hrs including interval. Phebe was able to sit still on her own and completed the performance. Joanne was kind enough to explain details to her while I was doing pretty much the same with Eileen.

Pretty impressed with the props and their vocal, that was good enough for me.

Synopsis
The story of Dorothy and her friends, and their struggle to find what they feel is missing in their lives will touch a chord for many people. As you watch, their journey through Oz reveals the true characters of Dorothy?s companions - Tin Woodman, the most tender and emotional; Scarecrow, the wisest, and Cowardly Lion, the bravest. However, Dorothy?s desire to escape from the hopeless monotony of Kansas brings her only trouble and leads her through many dangers, until she too realises that what she is seeking is only a heartbeat - or a click of the heels away. In this magical journey through Oz I Theatre seeks to address our insecurities and reaffirm the uniqueness and value of every individual.

Featuring unforgettable songs ?Somewhere Over the Rainbow?, ?Follow the Yellow Brick Road? and ?We?re Off to See the Wizard?, this will be a rare opportunity to experience this spell-binding musical live on stage! With such a huge classic brought to life in Singapore, there?s no need to look Over The Rainbow for a fabulous time of family fun!

Original Story written by: L. Frank Baum

Music & Lyrics by: Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg

Adapted by: John Kane for Royal Shakespeare Company

Directed by: Brian Seward

Cast:
Mariel Reyes, Timothy Nga, Dwayne Lau, Robert Jenkin, Josephine Tan, Rayann Condy, Gene Sharudyn, Eleanor Tan, Trey Ho, Audrey Luo, Daphne Ong, Hang Qian Chou, Geraldine Yeoh, Tay Keng Lim, Pamela Chong, Sirfan Sulami & Toto.

Phebe told me on Thu evening that his classmate threw up over lunch and dinner. I asked if it was because he was jumping around during mealtime resulting in vomiting and she said 'Yes' and said the he was naughty. So I brushed the matter aside. Later that night, she complained of stomach ache, I applied some ailment and sent her off to bed. I have applied leave for the next day to bring her to eXplorer Kids, so I thought we could sleep in a little. Minutes after I turned off the lights, she told me she felt like vomiting, before I could turn the lights on, she vomited on the bed. When she was done, I comforted her, tried to clean her up but decided to take a shower instead. Then changed the bed sheet and all and she became tired and tried to sleep. Feeling not quite right, I smsed CE asking if Adriel has the same symptoms. She replied pretty fast, saying Adriel also vomited, 4 times!!! Doctor diagnosed him with stomach flu.

Just as I replied her sms, Phebe woke up and vomited again, this time on the floor and splattered onto the wall. Again, changed her and get her back to bed while I cleaned up the mess. The whole room smell of her dinner - some herbal wolfberries soup with rice!!!

The next day, CE messaged telling me Adriel had developed fever, and so did Phebe. So, took her to the clinic and returned home, she slept the entire day, not even drink nor eat.

Finally I could not bear it anymore, woke her up to give her some drink, she woke up and requested to go to eXplorer Kids, I rejected her request saying she needed to rest. Suggested some in-door games instead, and she happily played them for a little while, before falling asleep again.

For dinner, prepared some 'sick food' for the both of us - rats? tails with silver fish, tofu and fish balls.

After almost 3 days of rest, she recovered but coughs and flu followed....

I usually have my cup of 'wake up call' in the office.

Last Mon, I was sleepily preparing to wash my cup and fill my pot with hot water when something I saw totally disgusted me.

In my cup, laid a dead cockroach floating in my leftover drink, it was a big one, fits the diameter of my cup ... yucks!!! I covered my cup with the pot (in case it might be still alive) and dump my cup in the bin. I know I should have washed my cup before I leave for the day, but no time.

On Tue, i brought in a new cup and over the weekend, I bought a cover for my new cup. When I was trying out the new cover on Mon, AGAIN, I saw another cockroach, just as big, in the cup!!!! Almost fainted, and I have to dump the cup away yet again!!!

Drinking coffee after what happened has lost its effectiveness, instead more to calm my nerves

Now, I need to get another cup