Trinity can say...
This! (usually when pointing to my breast)
Dig! (usually when watching me play Granny)
No! (when the kids try to grab something she has)
Fish! (when she sees fish in a tank lah!)
Shoe (when she wants to go out)
Me! (when she wants me to carry her)
Drink (obvious)
One, two, three, four, five... (usually looking out the car window)
That's it. The grand total of 12 words in her vocabulary. Which is a big leap, I have to say, from a few months back. Still no sign of 'mummy', 'mama', 'papa' etc though.
But she can now point to her basic body parts: nose, mouth (she opens really wide), ears (pulls them real hard), hands, legs. We'll try to teach her 'hair' and 'tummy' soon.
She understands things well enough. Like...
Kiss! (this depends on her mood. When she really gets into the mood, she'll hold my face and give me wet kisses all over my mouth, chin etc. When she's not in the mood, she'll do the chi-chi thing and air-kiss, cheek-to-cheek)
Give me (yes she will obediently hand over whatever she has. Unless she wants it real bad and then we have a tantrum on our hands)
Throw in the bin (still gets it a bit mixed up with the laundry basket. Needs more work)
When I scold her, she looks down, pouts a bit, lower lip jutting out. Then she will ignore all stern commands to "Look at me when I'm talking to you young lady!" She won't cry - she'll just sulk in silence. Oh yeah, she knows when she's in the doghouse.
And as for me, I need to learn a few things too. First, the ability to keep a straight face when I am scolding cute little people like Trin or Owain. Inevitably, the sight of the cute face, the big eyes and I have to stifle the urgent need to howl with laughter. Its all got to do with my Fatal Tendency - to laugh during very inappropriate moments - that's why most funerals see me trying to stifle my giggles. It's terrible...
I need to perfect this art fast - before my kids realise what I've been trying to hide for so long - that they can pretty much yank my chain and get away with it, not all the time, but too darn often!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Estate Upgrading
PM Lee spoke of private estates who would be getting some upgrading in his National Day Rally speech. Barely a week after that, the grassroots leader rang our bell, passing us a letter inviting us to a neighbourhood gathering where the MP would make this important announcement.
So on Saturday evening, at 5.30pm, we made our way to the neighbourhood playground. A tent was set up, buffet tables at the ready and a sound system that works (we know because Celine Dion had been wailing away since 3pm earlier). We saw our neighbours, said hi, chatted here and there. The kids queued up for balloons, burst them and promptly queued up again.
Finally at 5.45pm, there was a flurry of activity. Two buses pulled up, the path into the playground was flanked by yellow-shirted grassroots activists and helpers. The speakers whined and someone announced the arrival of Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, then Lim Hwee Hua, MOS for Finance... and finally our MP! I murmured to KH: That's why the press is here - they've brought out the big guns...
The powers-that-be wended their way through the crowd, shaking hands along the way. And for some unknown reason, went to the back of the playground where everyone seemed to be pointing at and discussing the tiny long-kang! Then a whine of the speakers again as the entourage made their way back to the main space and our MP started to speak.
He spoke for about 10min but I believe the gist of what he said could be summed up in one line: We are getting estate upgrading.
Whoopie. For this I interruped a game of Granny??
No details about what was to be done, when work was commencing, when it was targetted to end, no storyboards, no models, no artists' impressions of the finished product etc. It was supposed to cost about $5million I think.
We looked around the estate - what kind of upgrading could they do? There was talk about sealing the drains - but I prefer my drains left uncovered thank you very much! The stonework is pretty and the gleam of green-gold everytime the sun hits the mossy banks of the drains is really lovely. I guess they could replace the lamp-posts, but these looked and functioned well, so why? Maybe they could upgrade the playground? Add a wading pool?? Put up a tall net next to the Nasty Aunty's wall so that kids can play a round or two of football in peace? Now that would be money well-spent!
Finally, as at all good Singaporean events, the ministers gave their sound-bites surrounded by tape recorders and the scribes, flanked by an outer ring of solemn, perpetually nodding grassroots leaders. The rest of us just headed for the buffet table. Well, we just got a drink or two of the usual sweet punch and then headed home.
Later that night, we caught the event on the news and had a lot of fun pointing out to each other - hey, that's uncle! hey mom I think I saw me on tv!! Ooh there's Jack from across the road! Is that Isaac right there?? There! That flash in green. You didn't catch it? alamak, over so fast!
So since the ministers and the MP did not tell us what we really really wanted to know, we just have to wait for the letter to arrive in the post, the story to be unveiled on page 1 of The Straits Times or for the workmen to arrive. Or all of the above.
PM Lee spoke of private estates who would be getting some upgrading in his National Day Rally speech. Barely a week after that, the grassroots leader rang our bell, passing us a letter inviting us to a neighbourhood gathering where the MP would make this important announcement.
So on Saturday evening, at 5.30pm, we made our way to the neighbourhood playground. A tent was set up, buffet tables at the ready and a sound system that works (we know because Celine Dion had been wailing away since 3pm earlier). We saw our neighbours, said hi, chatted here and there. The kids queued up for balloons, burst them and promptly queued up again.
Finally at 5.45pm, there was a flurry of activity. Two buses pulled up, the path into the playground was flanked by yellow-shirted grassroots activists and helpers. The speakers whined and someone announced the arrival of Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, then Lim Hwee Hua, MOS for Finance... and finally our MP! I murmured to KH: That's why the press is here - they've brought out the big guns...
The powers-that-be wended their way through the crowd, shaking hands along the way. And for some unknown reason, went to the back of the playground where everyone seemed to be pointing at and discussing the tiny long-kang! Then a whine of the speakers again as the entourage made their way back to the main space and our MP started to speak.
He spoke for about 10min but I believe the gist of what he said could be summed up in one line: We are getting estate upgrading.
Whoopie. For this I interruped a game of Granny??
No details about what was to be done, when work was commencing, when it was targetted to end, no storyboards, no models, no artists' impressions of the finished product etc. It was supposed to cost about $5million I think.
We looked around the estate - what kind of upgrading could they do? There was talk about sealing the drains - but I prefer my drains left uncovered thank you very much! The stonework is pretty and the gleam of green-gold everytime the sun hits the mossy banks of the drains is really lovely. I guess they could replace the lamp-posts, but these looked and functioned well, so why? Maybe they could upgrade the playground? Add a wading pool?? Put up a tall net next to the Nasty Aunty's wall so that kids can play a round or two of football in peace? Now that would be money well-spent!
Finally, as at all good Singaporean events, the ministers gave their sound-bites surrounded by tape recorders and the scribes, flanked by an outer ring of solemn, perpetually nodding grassroots leaders. The rest of us just headed for the buffet table. Well, we just got a drink or two of the usual sweet punch and then headed home.
Later that night, we caught the event on the news and had a lot of fun pointing out to each other - hey, that's uncle! hey mom I think I saw me on tv!! Ooh there's Jack from across the road! Is that Isaac right there?? There! That flash in green. You didn't catch it? alamak, over so fast!
So since the ministers and the MP did not tell us what we really really wanted to know, we just have to wait for the letter to arrive in the post, the story to be unveiled on page 1 of The Straits Times or for the workmen to arrive. Or all of the above.
"Stay calm in a crisis!"
Wise words from a son who missed the bus, got lost, walked the better part of 5km home, got hugged by a stranger and yes, who stayed calm through it all.
Isaac, so tired after CCAs, took the bus home (bus number 153) and fell asleep. He missed the stop, (which was supposed to be just after the CTE, at Braddell Heights) and went all the way to the fringes of Hougang (just after the Tampines Road/Kovan junction) before he woke up and realised what had happened. He dropped off at the bus-stop near those food stalls that sold durians and the famous Ponggol Nasi Lemak. So it was quite a distance to walk!
The boy got off the bus, but didn't have a phone (long story here) and all polite requests to strangers to use their phones were refused. I'm pretty indignant here because we've taught him to ask nicely on the belief that most would help a lost, young boy, well at least I would, but looks like my faith in Singaporeans are a bit misplaced.
So since he could not call, he decided to walk home. Luckily he had been paying attention everytime we drove to Aunty Rita's house. He recognised the Tampines Road junction and trudged on. It was a straight road down to all the way to Serangoon Central and there was nothing for it but to walk. Down he went, past Kovan, past the Helping Hand, past the OCBC Bank, past the famous 711 durian stall and on.
Somewhere near the Boundary Road junction, a man pounced on him and grabbed from the back in a shoulder-lock and mumbled something in dialect. Now I would have just screamed my lungs out. Or struggled or kicked hard where it matters. But my son just said politely, in his inimitable way, remaining still, "Er excuse me. Could you please let go of me?" He said he had to repeat it a few times before the man decided to let him go. Clearly, he told me, that man was not quite right in the head, but gut feel said he didn't mean any harm.
I was horrified. Yes the man should be in a mental hospital for grabbing young boys on the street. But I was also impressed by the boy's calm. When I asked him why he didn't shout for help, he said, "What's the point of screaming and shouting? Better to remain calm in a crisis!" This from a boy who always hems and haws whenever we ask him to ask for extra ketchup at the McDonalds counter!
Finally, the man let him go. Once released, off he went again, past Serangoon Central, past Serangoon MRT, under my mom's apartment block. It never occured to him to stop and ask Mama or Grandad for help - he said he was so near already he might as well just continue walking home. So he did. Tired and sweaty after walking so far. Quite an adventure.
I'm just so glad he made it. In one piece!
Wise words from a son who missed the bus, got lost, walked the better part of 5km home, got hugged by a stranger and yes, who stayed calm through it all.
Isaac, so tired after CCAs, took the bus home (bus number 153) and fell asleep. He missed the stop, (which was supposed to be just after the CTE, at Braddell Heights) and went all the way to the fringes of Hougang (just after the Tampines Road/Kovan junction) before he woke up and realised what had happened. He dropped off at the bus-stop near those food stalls that sold durians and the famous Ponggol Nasi Lemak. So it was quite a distance to walk!
The boy got off the bus, but didn't have a phone (long story here) and all polite requests to strangers to use their phones were refused. I'm pretty indignant here because we've taught him to ask nicely on the belief that most would help a lost, young boy, well at least I would, but looks like my faith in Singaporeans are a bit misplaced.
So since he could not call, he decided to walk home. Luckily he had been paying attention everytime we drove to Aunty Rita's house. He recognised the Tampines Road junction and trudged on. It was a straight road down to all the way to Serangoon Central and there was nothing for it but to walk. Down he went, past Kovan, past the Helping Hand, past the OCBC Bank, past the famous 711 durian stall and on.
Somewhere near the Boundary Road junction, a man pounced on him and grabbed from the back in a shoulder-lock and mumbled something in dialect. Now I would have just screamed my lungs out. Or struggled or kicked hard where it matters. But my son just said politely, in his inimitable way, remaining still, "Er excuse me. Could you please let go of me?" He said he had to repeat it a few times before the man decided to let him go. Clearly, he told me, that man was not quite right in the head, but gut feel said he didn't mean any harm.
I was horrified. Yes the man should be in a mental hospital for grabbing young boys on the street. But I was also impressed by the boy's calm. When I asked him why he didn't shout for help, he said, "What's the point of screaming and shouting? Better to remain calm in a crisis!" This from a boy who always hems and haws whenever we ask him to ask for extra ketchup at the McDonalds counter!
Finally, the man let him go. Once released, off he went again, past Serangoon Central, past Serangoon MRT, under my mom's apartment block. It never occured to him to stop and ask Mama or Grandad for help - he said he was so near already he might as well just continue walking home. So he did. Tired and sweaty after walking so far. Quite an adventure.
I'm just so glad he made it. In one piece!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Back from Malacca
After suffering Malacca and KL withdrawal symptoms for most of the year, we finally made a trip up north over the ND holiday- our first this year!
While it felt good to be back, the trip came with a teeny bit of drama. At the Tuas checkpoint, we discovered that Isaac's passport only had 2 months left before expiry. The usual requirement for travel is a 6 month allowance of validity. But we were all packed, the car was loaded as usual with kids, luggage, sweets, comforters, pillows etc so turning back felt like such a boo-boo. Luckily Malaysian immigration didn't detect this and waved us through.
Then the next day we headed up to KL. Spent a day at the Times Square theme park which was nice and empty, so no queues for the rides. Ended the day at my sister's place checking out her three dogs - canine cousins to my kids. Magz, the Shih-Tzu she saved, no longer had the maggoty hole in the head - its healed very nicely. And he was so manja and sweet-natured, always toddling off after her, letting the kids stroke his head and body, no nipping/snapping etc. Wolfie, apparently the Alpha male in the house, was more aggressive and barked at the kids a couple of times. Have to hand it to the kids - no one wailed, screamed when Wolfie barked in their faces (and yes it was loud!). When he barked in her face, Trin just looked taken aback and coolly walked away and Owain just scrambled on the sofa when Wolfie got a bit loud. Poppet, dog number 1 that my sister adopted, looked forlorn most of the time. I felt a bit sorry for him - he was head honcho until Wolfie came along. According to Viv, Wolf is now numero uno in the doggie hierarchy at home, and having taken Magz under his wing, Magz is now number 2 and poor Pops has been relegated to the back of the ranks. Luckily he's still quite the ladies' man and very popular with all the girl-dogs he meets!
Had dinner in a small restaurant in a quiet residential estate - the food was good. Isaac was running a very high fever. No children's paracet so he had to chew down one adult tablet - very ugh. After that we drove back to Malacca.
Next day we had dinner with my SIL and BIL who happened to be in Malacca for a couple-only weekend, sans kids. After dinner at Bei Zhan restaurant (whose food was not so good that night and service a tad snotty), we all piled into our car - 5 kids + 4 adults! It was a short ride so I had Owain with me on my lap. Driving back to Jonker, we were pulled over by a policeman. When KH tried to get out of the car, the policeman waved him back in and said, no need to get out just wind down window. He asked to see KH's licence. Then he said KH and I were not wearing our seat belts and wanted to fine us RM200 each!! Well, we all knew what was coming. KH asked delicately, could we erm, settle this here instead of paying the fine at the border. Policeman said, ok, how do you want to settle it? KH said, I'll settle with RM50. Oh RM50! said the policeman, rolling his eyes, so little! The fine is RM400 total you know... But despite the theatrics, the guy finally said, okay lah. Money changed hands so quickly even I could not tell what happened. Sleight of hand. Next thing I knew he gave a parting grin and a wave and drove off on his bike. Malaysia boleh!!
Last time this happened to us was on the Kota Tinggi Road in Johor. At the height of the MM row when he mouthed off about JB being a hotbed of crime etc - that sparked off a pretty nasty diplomatic spat. So when we, and another Singaporean car, were pulled over, the policemen there did not bother entertaining any suggestion of 'settling it' - they hauled both cars off to the nearest police station where we had to pay a RM300 fine. This was long before Badawi and his crusade for cleanliness in the force. It was unusual because back then it was common knowledge that being pulled over was (1) normal for Singaporean vehicles to be targetted and (2) it was a sideline for easy kopi money. No doubt a long dormant sense of patriotism must have been awakened due to the spat and they were not taking any kopi money for this.
Now I'm not going to stand on my soapbox and give a moving speech about integrity and honesty etc. Yes, it was a form of bribery/corruption and was less than honest. But it was also something that, to me, makes part of the charm that makes Malaysia what it is. The revelation of a bit of an underbelly, an almost entrepreneural reading between the lines of the law. Yes in contrast Singapore is efficient, honest blah blah blah... but I think we lack that teensy defiant lick of unsavoury sleazy charm that makes a country that bit more interesting and 'human'. So Happy National Day! Maybe with the IRs coming up we can see more of the Danny Ocean emerging in the average Singaporean.
Meanwhile, Isaac and KH were both down with high fever. But fever or not, we still went swimming in the condo pool, hit the pasar malam at Jonker, had the ubiquitous chendol and mee siam at Donald & Lily's, shopped at Mahkota, the kids blew RM20 on arcade games and kiddie rides, found a new bootleg DVD place with honest pirates (they told us honestly which DVD movie was still 'bu qing' ie not clear yet and 'not master copy'!). And we drove home on Saturday satisfied for the time being. And incidentally, even though Secret Recipe in Malaysia is cheaper than Singapore by about 50% (thanks to the currency differences), I boycotted it when I realised that they too, like their Singaporean counterparts, now charge for a glass of water! In the menu, they charged for tap water and they also charged for RO water! Please lah, the water in Singapore and Malaysia is potable - turning on the tap does not equate to a RM0.50sen charge. It's not the money, as KH loves to say, its the principle! So bye-bye Chocolate Banana cake!
We came home late on Saturday. On Sunday, Gillian took and passed her Gold survival swimming test. So no more swimming lessons for her! One down, four to go! She can now officially tread water while making a float out of clothes, swim 1 kim in under 3min and swim the side stroke, the back stroke, the front crawl. The family celebrated (we celebrate at the slightest excuse!) with dinner at Marutama Ramen which the kids enjoyed, and Hokkaido ice-cream after.
After suffering Malacca and KL withdrawal symptoms for most of the year, we finally made a trip up north over the ND holiday- our first this year!
While it felt good to be back, the trip came with a teeny bit of drama. At the Tuas checkpoint, we discovered that Isaac's passport only had 2 months left before expiry. The usual requirement for travel is a 6 month allowance of validity. But we were all packed, the car was loaded as usual with kids, luggage, sweets, comforters, pillows etc so turning back felt like such a boo-boo. Luckily Malaysian immigration didn't detect this and waved us through.
Then the next day we headed up to KL. Spent a day at the Times Square theme park which was nice and empty, so no queues for the rides. Ended the day at my sister's place checking out her three dogs - canine cousins to my kids. Magz, the Shih-Tzu she saved, no longer had the maggoty hole in the head - its healed very nicely. And he was so manja and sweet-natured, always toddling off after her, letting the kids stroke his head and body, no nipping/snapping etc. Wolfie, apparently the Alpha male in the house, was more aggressive and barked at the kids a couple of times. Have to hand it to the kids - no one wailed, screamed when Wolfie barked in their faces (and yes it was loud!). When he barked in her face, Trin just looked taken aback and coolly walked away and Owain just scrambled on the sofa when Wolfie got a bit loud. Poppet, dog number 1 that my sister adopted, looked forlorn most of the time. I felt a bit sorry for him - he was head honcho until Wolfie came along. According to Viv, Wolf is now numero uno in the doggie hierarchy at home, and having taken Magz under his wing, Magz is now number 2 and poor Pops has been relegated to the back of the ranks. Luckily he's still quite the ladies' man and very popular with all the girl-dogs he meets!
Had dinner in a small restaurant in a quiet residential estate - the food was good. Isaac was running a very high fever. No children's paracet so he had to chew down one adult tablet - very ugh. After that we drove back to Malacca.
Next day we had dinner with my SIL and BIL who happened to be in Malacca for a couple-only weekend, sans kids. After dinner at Bei Zhan restaurant (whose food was not so good that night and service a tad snotty), we all piled into our car - 5 kids + 4 adults! It was a short ride so I had Owain with me on my lap. Driving back to Jonker, we were pulled over by a policeman. When KH tried to get out of the car, the policeman waved him back in and said, no need to get out just wind down window. He asked to see KH's licence. Then he said KH and I were not wearing our seat belts and wanted to fine us RM200 each!! Well, we all knew what was coming. KH asked delicately, could we erm, settle this here instead of paying the fine at the border. Policeman said, ok, how do you want to settle it? KH said, I'll settle with RM50. Oh RM50! said the policeman, rolling his eyes, so little! The fine is RM400 total you know... But despite the theatrics, the guy finally said, okay lah. Money changed hands so quickly even I could not tell what happened. Sleight of hand. Next thing I knew he gave a parting grin and a wave and drove off on his bike. Malaysia boleh!!
Last time this happened to us was on the Kota Tinggi Road in Johor. At the height of the MM row when he mouthed off about JB being a hotbed of crime etc - that sparked off a pretty nasty diplomatic spat. So when we, and another Singaporean car, were pulled over, the policemen there did not bother entertaining any suggestion of 'settling it' - they hauled both cars off to the nearest police station where we had to pay a RM300 fine. This was long before Badawi and his crusade for cleanliness in the force. It was unusual because back then it was common knowledge that being pulled over was (1) normal for Singaporean vehicles to be targetted and (2) it was a sideline for easy kopi money. No doubt a long dormant sense of patriotism must have been awakened due to the spat and they were not taking any kopi money for this.
Now I'm not going to stand on my soapbox and give a moving speech about integrity and honesty etc. Yes, it was a form of bribery/corruption and was less than honest. But it was also something that, to me, makes part of the charm that makes Malaysia what it is. The revelation of a bit of an underbelly, an almost entrepreneural reading between the lines of the law. Yes in contrast Singapore is efficient, honest blah blah blah... but I think we lack that teensy defiant lick of unsavoury sleazy charm that makes a country that bit more interesting and 'human'. So Happy National Day! Maybe with the IRs coming up we can see more of the Danny Ocean emerging in the average Singaporean.
Meanwhile, Isaac and KH were both down with high fever. But fever or not, we still went swimming in the condo pool, hit the pasar malam at Jonker, had the ubiquitous chendol and mee siam at Donald & Lily's, shopped at Mahkota, the kids blew RM20 on arcade games and kiddie rides, found a new bootleg DVD place with honest pirates (they told us honestly which DVD movie was still 'bu qing' ie not clear yet and 'not master copy'!). And we drove home on Saturday satisfied for the time being. And incidentally, even though Secret Recipe in Malaysia is cheaper than Singapore by about 50% (thanks to the currency differences), I boycotted it when I realised that they too, like their Singaporean counterparts, now charge for a glass of water! In the menu, they charged for tap water and they also charged for RO water! Please lah, the water in Singapore and Malaysia is potable - turning on the tap does not equate to a RM0.50sen charge. It's not the money, as KH loves to say, its the principle! So bye-bye Chocolate Banana cake!
We came home late on Saturday. On Sunday, Gillian took and passed her Gold survival swimming test. So no more swimming lessons for her! One down, four to go! She can now officially tread water while making a float out of clothes, swim 1 kim in under 3min and swim the side stroke, the back stroke, the front crawl. The family celebrated (we celebrate at the slightest excuse!) with dinner at Marutama Ramen which the kids enjoyed, and Hokkaido ice-cream after.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Selling?
We have been inundated with fliers from real estate agents who dangle eye-popping prices of houses they have sold in our neighbourhood. Usually, the fliers end up in the trash.
But recently, we learnt that our immediate neighbour, Uncle Chan, has sold his house. For slightly over a million. His house is the same size as ours, also a corner terrace, but in original condition. Well-kept but original in its 40-year-old look. KH figures that our house can probably fetch a higher price considering that it has been 'renovated'.
Well, I don't want to sell. I'm not ready to think about selling now - especially now that the roof is no longer leaking!
I'm very happy with my little 'yellow' (now vanilla) house. Yeah, with 5 kids the space might be a little tight, but it is still cozy and comfortable. The kids too, enjoy the house. They love that they get a bit of a garden to run around in, they have made many firm friends among the neighbourhood kids. I like it also because Mum lives so nearby (we love popping in and out of each other's houses and sending/bringing food over). I also like the location very much - centrally located but quiet, Toa Payoh and Bishan just a couple of bus-stops away, 20min from the MRT, CTE/PIE around the corner. I've settled in here so well.
Just the thought of selling my little house makes me sad. Can't imagine if or when we actually sell and have to move! Think I'll howl...
But I also acknowledge that if the market keeps rising, then it makes good financial sense to sell at a good price, move to a HDB flat (which is affordable), stay liquid or invest the rest of the money wisely for 'retirement'. This is what we've always said we wanted to do when we got the house at such a good price 9 years ago. Back then I did make a mental note to not get too attached to the place because I knew this would happen someday. But the market stayed down for a long time and selling was not a good option. Along the way, the house became not just an investment cow waiting to be fattened and slaughtered, but a real home we loved.
I've brought three babies back to this house. Celebrated countless birthdays. Seen my babies toddle around the place. Some day, it would be nice to have wedding tea ceremonies here. The very thought of selling seems like a betrayal of this dear little house!
So when KH mentions the idea of selling these days, I say a quick 'no'. But I don't know how long we, or he, can wait. If the market keeps going up, it looks like it will be a 'sooner', rather than a 'never'.
We have been inundated with fliers from real estate agents who dangle eye-popping prices of houses they have sold in our neighbourhood. Usually, the fliers end up in the trash.
But recently, we learnt that our immediate neighbour, Uncle Chan, has sold his house. For slightly over a million. His house is the same size as ours, also a corner terrace, but in original condition. Well-kept but original in its 40-year-old look. KH figures that our house can probably fetch a higher price considering that it has been 'renovated'.
Well, I don't want to sell. I'm not ready to think about selling now - especially now that the roof is no longer leaking!
I'm very happy with my little 'yellow' (now vanilla) house. Yeah, with 5 kids the space might be a little tight, but it is still cozy and comfortable. The kids too, enjoy the house. They love that they get a bit of a garden to run around in, they have made many firm friends among the neighbourhood kids. I like it also because Mum lives so nearby (we love popping in and out of each other's houses and sending/bringing food over). I also like the location very much - centrally located but quiet, Toa Payoh and Bishan just a couple of bus-stops away, 20min from the MRT, CTE/PIE around the corner. I've settled in here so well.
Just the thought of selling my little house makes me sad. Can't imagine if or when we actually sell and have to move! Think I'll howl...
But I also acknowledge that if the market keeps rising, then it makes good financial sense to sell at a good price, move to a HDB flat (which is affordable), stay liquid or invest the rest of the money wisely for 'retirement'. This is what we've always said we wanted to do when we got the house at such a good price 9 years ago. Back then I did make a mental note to not get too attached to the place because I knew this would happen someday. But the market stayed down for a long time and selling was not a good option. Along the way, the house became not just an investment cow waiting to be fattened and slaughtered, but a real home we loved.
I've brought three babies back to this house. Celebrated countless birthdays. Seen my babies toddle around the place. Some day, it would be nice to have wedding tea ceremonies here. The very thought of selling seems like a betrayal of this dear little house!
So when KH mentions the idea of selling these days, I say a quick 'no'. But I don't know how long we, or he, can wait. If the market keeps going up, it looks like it will be a 'sooner', rather than a 'never'.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Beautiful weekend
It was one of those unexpectedly blissful weekends. Started on Friday evening when KH came home unexpectedly early at 5pm because 'Tua Pek Kong' was moving temple near his workplace - road closures were expected, so the company did the wise thing and let everyone off early.
With this 'bonus', we packed the kids in the car and drove to Sentosa. Had dinner outdoors at the Koufu food court. The food was not great, but we all had a good time. There's something to be said about eating in the balmy sea air, sand beneath your feet. The kids played on the big net, we crossed the suspension bridge to the 'southernmost point of continental asia' (roll eyes here!) and checked out the islands and the ships in the distance. It was dusk, so all the lights were on and in the half-light, they looked like twinkly Christmas lights far away. Back on shore, the kids and KH did their usual stunts like "Who can climb this coconut tree?" So one by one, they inched up - yes including big buffalo honcho daddy KH - and literally hugged the tree at one point before jumping off. And of course, KH dusted off the usual "when I was young and living in a kampong in Malaysia..." stories for the kids!
We closed the night with an ice-cream treat at our favourite ice-cream joint - Island Creamery. Yum! And I finally found and bought my bottle of Port - so now I can finetune/rehearse the foie gras recipe before actually trying it out. Isaac is already licking his lips in anticipation. Also discovered La Petite Cuisine at Serene Centre - the menu sounds interesting. Nothing fancy or experimental, just plain ol' good straightforward French cooking. Confit de Canard and Foie Gras, Escargot in pastry. I like! Made a mental note to come back here one of these nights.
On Saturday morning, we watched Evan Almighty at Lido. OK, not cinema art in its finest moments. But Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman are always worth watching. The kids loved it. Interesting line that came out of the movie: When you pray for patience, does God give you patience or the opportunities to seek patience? Ah, read the fine print!! heh. I found that to be SO true.
On the not-so-good side, I saw someone I know doing something I'd rather not have seen. Was hanging about the cinema lobby when KH hissed at me to come over. He nodded towards a man standing nearby. We both know him. It was my friend's husband. He had his arm around a woman - NOT my friend. They were kissing and looking very lovey-dovey. I know this guy too - our families have met, interacted and his wife is pretty close to me. I know things were not good between them. And I know they have amicably agreed to lead separate lives while remaining married. But seeing this really brings it home to me. I find it quite pathetic and sad. And I was angry for my friend. There was no attempt to be discreet. I think he saw me. And took pains to sit far away from me in the cinema. Ah well. I wish the old days (where I could go up and whack him on the head with a heavy handbag) were alive and well! I won't tell my friend. What's the point? She already knows what a jerk he is.
The rest of Saturday progressed well - kids went for classes, I went to the Loft to meet some mummy-friends. Dinner was with the ILs - and surprisingly, it was a pleasant gathering I quite enjoyed. As usual, everyone left me alone so I came with my books/notes to plan Operation Japan. But towards the end, we still had some interesting conversation so the night was not a total boring loss after all.
Sunday, Gillian spent two hours with Granddad. Ah it brought back memories. :-) My dad used to drill me in Maths just before the PSLE too. At that time, I was hopeless in Maths. I remember him chain-smoking and agitatedly stubbing out cigarette after cigarette. I was working in a haze of cigarette smoke (passive smoking at its worst!) . And Dad was going on in exasperation: You GORBLOCK!! You STILL don't understand??? How many times must I explain this to you!!
Haha, oh that sounds SO familiar! This time, my dad had lovingly bought stacks of those school test papers for Gillian to work on. Never mind that Gillian was in EM3 and NOT EM2 as those papers were. Never mind she had the attention span of a gnat. Never mind that her reasoning/logic skills were so way off that we're stuck at Pri 4 maths! I warned Dad but Dad just waved it all off airily. So I was in some trepidation, wondering if Dad would explode or Gillian would still be in one piece by the time 'tuition' ended. I wondered how many times Dad would call Gillian Gorblock.
Not even once.
I went up to the house when it was done (the coward KH bailed out and chose to wait downstairs), to find both in good spirits. Dad waving his cigarette around (some things never change), a magnifying glass on the table (Dad not getting any younger) and Gillian grinning away. She's poor in ratio, he said. Work on it with her. Next week, he continued, Uncle Paul will take over. I gaped and then laughed. Geez, so my brother is getting roped into the action too eh? My daughter is sitting for the PSLE and my WHOLE family scrambles into action. Later Gillian told me that Uncle Paul said if she passed, he would give her money (!!) and Mama said that if she passed, she would bring her on a cruise (!!) . Mental note - speak to Mum and Paul about NOT giving bribes like this! I'm just waiting to see what carrot my sister will dangle from KL!
So in good spirits, we go to the Zoo, check out the new Orang Utan boardwalk and new Sea Safari show. Ah Meng has a new home - spiffy new glass enclosure. But poor lady sure looks lonely there.
The night and the weekend ended with a push-pull visit through the crowded aisles of the NTUC hypermart in AMK. Ugh, never again on a weekend. And the hungry tribe chomped down black peppar crayfish and wine chicken for dinner. Sheer bliss. That was a lovely weekend.
It was one of those unexpectedly blissful weekends. Started on Friday evening when KH came home unexpectedly early at 5pm because 'Tua Pek Kong' was moving temple near his workplace - road closures were expected, so the company did the wise thing and let everyone off early.
With this 'bonus', we packed the kids in the car and drove to Sentosa. Had dinner outdoors at the Koufu food court. The food was not great, but we all had a good time. There's something to be said about eating in the balmy sea air, sand beneath your feet. The kids played on the big net, we crossed the suspension bridge to the 'southernmost point of continental asia' (roll eyes here!) and checked out the islands and the ships in the distance. It was dusk, so all the lights were on and in the half-light, they looked like twinkly Christmas lights far away. Back on shore, the kids and KH did their usual stunts like "Who can climb this coconut tree?" So one by one, they inched up - yes including big buffalo honcho daddy KH - and literally hugged the tree at one point before jumping off. And of course, KH dusted off the usual "when I was young and living in a kampong in Malaysia..." stories for the kids!
We closed the night with an ice-cream treat at our favourite ice-cream joint - Island Creamery. Yum! And I finally found and bought my bottle of Port - so now I can finetune/rehearse the foie gras recipe before actually trying it out. Isaac is already licking his lips in anticipation. Also discovered La Petite Cuisine at Serene Centre - the menu sounds interesting. Nothing fancy or experimental, just plain ol' good straightforward French cooking. Confit de Canard and Foie Gras, Escargot in pastry. I like! Made a mental note to come back here one of these nights.
On Saturday morning, we watched Evan Almighty at Lido. OK, not cinema art in its finest moments. But Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman are always worth watching. The kids loved it. Interesting line that came out of the movie: When you pray for patience, does God give you patience or the opportunities to seek patience? Ah, read the fine print!! heh. I found that to be SO true.
On the not-so-good side, I saw someone I know doing something I'd rather not have seen. Was hanging about the cinema lobby when KH hissed at me to come over. He nodded towards a man standing nearby. We both know him. It was my friend's husband. He had his arm around a woman - NOT my friend. They were kissing and looking very lovey-dovey. I know this guy too - our families have met, interacted and his wife is pretty close to me. I know things were not good between them. And I know they have amicably agreed to lead separate lives while remaining married. But seeing this really brings it home to me. I find it quite pathetic and sad. And I was angry for my friend. There was no attempt to be discreet. I think he saw me. And took pains to sit far away from me in the cinema. Ah well. I wish the old days (where I could go up and whack him on the head with a heavy handbag) were alive and well! I won't tell my friend. What's the point? She already knows what a jerk he is.
The rest of Saturday progressed well - kids went for classes, I went to the Loft to meet some mummy-friends. Dinner was with the ILs - and surprisingly, it was a pleasant gathering I quite enjoyed. As usual, everyone left me alone so I came with my books/notes to plan Operation Japan. But towards the end, we still had some interesting conversation so the night was not a total boring loss after all.
Sunday, Gillian spent two hours with Granddad. Ah it brought back memories. :-) My dad used to drill me in Maths just before the PSLE too. At that time, I was hopeless in Maths. I remember him chain-smoking and agitatedly stubbing out cigarette after cigarette. I was working in a haze of cigarette smoke (passive smoking at its worst!) . And Dad was going on in exasperation: You GORBLOCK!! You STILL don't understand??? How many times must I explain this to you!!
Haha, oh that sounds SO familiar! This time, my dad had lovingly bought stacks of those school test papers for Gillian to work on. Never mind that Gillian was in EM3 and NOT EM2 as those papers were. Never mind she had the attention span of a gnat. Never mind that her reasoning/logic skills were so way off that we're stuck at Pri 4 maths! I warned Dad but Dad just waved it all off airily. So I was in some trepidation, wondering if Dad would explode or Gillian would still be in one piece by the time 'tuition' ended. I wondered how many times Dad would call Gillian Gorblock.
Not even once.
I went up to the house when it was done (the coward KH bailed out and chose to wait downstairs), to find both in good spirits. Dad waving his cigarette around (some things never change), a magnifying glass on the table (Dad not getting any younger) and Gillian grinning away. She's poor in ratio, he said. Work on it with her. Next week, he continued, Uncle Paul will take over. I gaped and then laughed. Geez, so my brother is getting roped into the action too eh? My daughter is sitting for the PSLE and my WHOLE family scrambles into action. Later Gillian told me that Uncle Paul said if she passed, he would give her money (!!) and Mama said that if she passed, she would bring her on a cruise (!!) . Mental note - speak to Mum and Paul about NOT giving bribes like this! I'm just waiting to see what carrot my sister will dangle from KL!
So in good spirits, we go to the Zoo, check out the new Orang Utan boardwalk and new Sea Safari show. Ah Meng has a new home - spiffy new glass enclosure. But poor lady sure looks lonely there.
The night and the weekend ended with a push-pull visit through the crowded aisles of the NTUC hypermart in AMK. Ugh, never again on a weekend. And the hungry tribe chomped down black peppar crayfish and wine chicken for dinner. Sheer bliss. That was a lovely weekend.
Operation Japan - no turning back now!
All done! I bought all the air tickets already and made all my SQ frequent flier redemptions. So Gillian and Trin will come with me and KH will take the rest. All our flight arrangements come with some penalty or the other if we cancel or change dates etc. So there will be no turning back now. KH and I have already booked our leave for the week.
I'm so excited I could just burst!!
Still thinking of whether to go to Kyoto or not. But I'll have to make up my mind fast because I will need to start making room reservations very, very soon.
Pros of going to Kyoto:
Autumn colours - the autumn foliage is better at Kyoto than Tokyo
Lovely gardens + serene temples
Less frenzied than Tokyo
A trip on the Romantic Sagano railway at Arashiyama
Visit the whale shark at the Osaka Aquarium
Riding on the shinkansen
The kids get to see an alternative side to Japan. If Tokyo is the capital of pop culture and Japanese kitsch, then Kyoto is the cultured, more contemplative end.
A glimpse into old Japan - unlike Tokyo which was bombed to bits during WW2, Kyoto was spared heavy bombing. So a lot of old neighbourhoods with atmospheric narrow lanes, wooden houses etc are still present today.
Cons of going to Kyoto:
More costly. We will either have to buy a JR Pass (28,300Y per adult and half price for children. Gillian is counted as an adult) or purchase a JTB Free and Easy plan which includes return shinkansen tickets and accomodation for a night (extensions are possible). The JTB plan will cost about (26,000Y if we stay an extra night, per adult)
Also, with a large brood I think it can be exhausting (for us!) to move about too much. Might be saner to stay put in ONE hotel/hostel for the duration of the trip instead of hopping around.
While the kids will enjoy the Sagano ride, and the whale shark, or even the ninja architecture of Nijo castle, I think bamboo groves, moss gardens, Zen gardens and autumn foliage will leave them bored? I can always argue that I've given them 2 days in Disney already so they better just 'kuai-kuai' follow me around Kyoto without complaining too much! I think Gillian, who is fascinated by the geishas in the very corny "Memoirs of A Geisha" movie (think the book is miles better!) might just be on my side of the camp, especially if I tell her that walking down Pontocho at dusk might reveal a maiko or two!
Or maybe we should just 'do' Tokyo this time and skip Kyoto - I could always come back alone sans kids and husband next time. Somehow I always get the feeling that there is a sense of solitaryness about Tokyo/Kyoto. In Tokyo, there always seems to be a rush of people, a lot of energy and purpose. But yet I just seem to sense, perhaps gut feel, that the place is made for lonely people. People who can dive into the big oceans of humanity there and just disappear. Lost in anonymity. Maybe it comes from reading about those lone Japanese who die at their desks without anyone noticing. Maybe all big cities are really lonely places - a contradiction in terms, but there's no better place to quietly fade into the wall-paper than a big city. And Tokyo, with 28million people, is a mega-city. As for Kyoto - ah, made for contemplative walks, solitude and reflection. Perfect for a solo travellers and lonely people I think. Everything that I've read about the places and the people so far leave me with the impression that can be lonely and yet, happy in one's loneliness in a place like Japan.
But of course, going with a noisy tribe of 1 unimpressed and bored KH and 5 kids - I don't think I will be in the right spirit to contemplate or explore any forms of these impressions I am getting. An exploration of loneliness will have to wait.
All done! I bought all the air tickets already and made all my SQ frequent flier redemptions. So Gillian and Trin will come with me and KH will take the rest. All our flight arrangements come with some penalty or the other if we cancel or change dates etc. So there will be no turning back now. KH and I have already booked our leave for the week.
I'm so excited I could just burst!!
Still thinking of whether to go to Kyoto or not. But I'll have to make up my mind fast because I will need to start making room reservations very, very soon.
Pros of going to Kyoto:
Autumn colours - the autumn foliage is better at Kyoto than Tokyo
Lovely gardens + serene temples
Less frenzied than Tokyo
A trip on the Romantic Sagano railway at Arashiyama
Visit the whale shark at the Osaka Aquarium
Riding on the shinkansen
The kids get to see an alternative side to Japan. If Tokyo is the capital of pop culture and Japanese kitsch, then Kyoto is the cultured, more contemplative end.
A glimpse into old Japan - unlike Tokyo which was bombed to bits during WW2, Kyoto was spared heavy bombing. So a lot of old neighbourhoods with atmospheric narrow lanes, wooden houses etc are still present today.
Cons of going to Kyoto:
More costly. We will either have to buy a JR Pass (28,300Y per adult and half price for children. Gillian is counted as an adult) or purchase a JTB Free and Easy plan which includes return shinkansen tickets and accomodation for a night (extensions are possible). The JTB plan will cost about (26,000Y if we stay an extra night, per adult)
Also, with a large brood I think it can be exhausting (for us!) to move about too much. Might be saner to stay put in ONE hotel/hostel for the duration of the trip instead of hopping around.
While the kids will enjoy the Sagano ride, and the whale shark, or even the ninja architecture of Nijo castle, I think bamboo groves, moss gardens, Zen gardens and autumn foliage will leave them bored? I can always argue that I've given them 2 days in Disney already so they better just 'kuai-kuai' follow me around Kyoto without complaining too much! I think Gillian, who is fascinated by the geishas in the very corny "Memoirs of A Geisha" movie (think the book is miles better!) might just be on my side of the camp, especially if I tell her that walking down Pontocho at dusk might reveal a maiko or two!
Or maybe we should just 'do' Tokyo this time and skip Kyoto - I could always come back alone sans kids and husband next time. Somehow I always get the feeling that there is a sense of solitaryness about Tokyo/Kyoto. In Tokyo, there always seems to be a rush of people, a lot of energy and purpose. But yet I just seem to sense, perhaps gut feel, that the place is made for lonely people. People who can dive into the big oceans of humanity there and just disappear. Lost in anonymity. Maybe it comes from reading about those lone Japanese who die at their desks without anyone noticing. Maybe all big cities are really lonely places - a contradiction in terms, but there's no better place to quietly fade into the wall-paper than a big city. And Tokyo, with 28million people, is a mega-city. As for Kyoto - ah, made for contemplative walks, solitude and reflection. Perfect for a solo travellers and lonely people I think. Everything that I've read about the places and the people so far leave me with the impression that can be lonely and yet, happy in one's loneliness in a place like Japan.
But of course, going with a noisy tribe of 1 unimpressed and bored KH and 5 kids - I don't think I will be in the right spirit to contemplate or explore any forms of these impressions I am getting. An exploration of loneliness will have to wait.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Weaning off night feeds
Last night marked the second night in a row that Trin did not nurse at night. She nursed to sleep but did not nurse in the night. When she stirred, I just cuddled her close and said 'mummy's here. No nen-nen okay?' and she would just continue sleeping. No protests.
Could be that I did the unthinkable three nights ago. I let her cry it out for 10 - 15min. Coming from me, always so adamantly against any form of CIO. Irony huh?
The eczema was flaring up again badly. My left nipple had three open fissures and everytime she nursed, it was plain agony. It didn't help that her latch was poor and shallow. Plus she had the habit of kicking off and pulling the nipple along. Also didn't help that she was clingier than usual over the past 2 weeks thanks to a combination of normal runny nose flu and gastric flu (all the kids came down with that - Owain threw up 5 times in a 24hr period, twice between 3am to 5am + an asthma attack which saw us heading to KKH Children's Emergency. Isaac was diarrhea-ing too etc. Trin did not come off too badly but had watery explosive poos once or twice.) So as a result of all that, she was nursing even more than ever. Thanks to the constant, non-stop nursing, I actually saw her stools revert back to newborn patterns - soft, mustardy yellow with rice-like bits.
Things came to a head that night when I had it. I was in constant pain from her nursing, plus the eczema never seemed to get any better at all. So we were in all in bed when I snapped. No more nen-nen. I unlatched her and turned away. She howled and screamed. KH tried to carry her, comfort her - no use. She only wanted me and nen-nen. Finally, I took her but told her sternly: Mummy's nen-nen hurts a lot. No nen-nen tonight. Let's sleep now! Poor girl took one look at me and meekly went to sleep, hiccuping away.
So since then, she has not nursed at night. She nurses like a champ in the day of course - every spare minute she can get. Whenever I'm at the PC, she's on me - nursing away. She'll stop to take a break - playing with the phone, the keyboard, mouse etc, but after 10min (15min if I'm lucky!) she'll be back at work on the breast.
She's 21 months and if this is end of night feeds, I feel a bit bad that it has to happen this way. But at the same time, I'm glad that my breasts can at least have a 'night break' and have some time to recover (well, the left one at least). I am happy though that it does not spell the end of nursing for us - just nursing at night. After all, I don't want Trin to wean off totally and permanently. Perhaps her day-time marathon sessions with me are to make up for the loss of night nursing. And with Owain still nursing thru day AND night, I think we'll probably still have some form of a nursing relationship going on for some time more.
As I write, the fissures on the left nipple (Trin's side) seem to healing. But it's now Owain's side to act up - after a day or so of 'good behavior', it's now itching with a vengeance, flaking away and weepy on the areola. Sigh. Never ending story.
Last night marked the second night in a row that Trin did not nurse at night. She nursed to sleep but did not nurse in the night. When she stirred, I just cuddled her close and said 'mummy's here. No nen-nen okay?' and she would just continue sleeping. No protests.
Could be that I did the unthinkable three nights ago. I let her cry it out for 10 - 15min. Coming from me, always so adamantly against any form of CIO. Irony huh?
The eczema was flaring up again badly. My left nipple had three open fissures and everytime she nursed, it was plain agony. It didn't help that her latch was poor and shallow. Plus she had the habit of kicking off and pulling the nipple along. Also didn't help that she was clingier than usual over the past 2 weeks thanks to a combination of normal runny nose flu and gastric flu (all the kids came down with that - Owain threw up 5 times in a 24hr period, twice between 3am to 5am + an asthma attack which saw us heading to KKH Children's Emergency. Isaac was diarrhea-ing too etc. Trin did not come off too badly but had watery explosive poos once or twice.) So as a result of all that, she was nursing even more than ever. Thanks to the constant, non-stop nursing, I actually saw her stools revert back to newborn patterns - soft, mustardy yellow with rice-like bits.
Things came to a head that night when I had it. I was in constant pain from her nursing, plus the eczema never seemed to get any better at all. So we were in all in bed when I snapped. No more nen-nen. I unlatched her and turned away. She howled and screamed. KH tried to carry her, comfort her - no use. She only wanted me and nen-nen. Finally, I took her but told her sternly: Mummy's nen-nen hurts a lot. No nen-nen tonight. Let's sleep now! Poor girl took one look at me and meekly went to sleep, hiccuping away.
So since then, she has not nursed at night. She nurses like a champ in the day of course - every spare minute she can get. Whenever I'm at the PC, she's on me - nursing away. She'll stop to take a break - playing with the phone, the keyboard, mouse etc, but after 10min (15min if I'm lucky!) she'll be back at work on the breast.
She's 21 months and if this is end of night feeds, I feel a bit bad that it has to happen this way. But at the same time, I'm glad that my breasts can at least have a 'night break' and have some time to recover (well, the left one at least). I am happy though that it does not spell the end of nursing for us - just nursing at night. After all, I don't want Trin to wean off totally and permanently. Perhaps her day-time marathon sessions with me are to make up for the loss of night nursing. And with Owain still nursing thru day AND night, I think we'll probably still have some form of a nursing relationship going on for some time more.
As I write, the fissures on the left nipple (Trin's side) seem to healing. But it's now Owain's side to act up - after a day or so of 'good behavior', it's now itching with a vengeance, flaking away and weepy on the areola. Sigh. Never ending story.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Visiting Dr Dentist
It was Owain's and Caitlin's maiden visit to the good dentist. Prior to the visit, I did nothing to prime them, to prepare them. Just told them that I was making an appointment to go. The kids were agreeable, excited and looking forward to it. Weird kids I have.
So today, we visited Dr Ben Lim of Hosanna Dental. Lovely man. He said I have lovely kids. Well, thank you doctor. You're a lovely guy yourself. :-) But seriously, we've always taken our kids to see him and he's always been very friendly and very funny, not alarmist (my kinda doctor) and not trigger-happy. And he's not expensive either.
His fluorescent-lit clinic is a no-frills set-up right in the heart of Toa Payoh, his chair is faded and a bit worn round the edges, there is no fancy plasma tv on the ceiling playing Disney cartoons or Winx Club, no one blows bubbles to distract children, there are no toys etc. He's not your posh pediatric dentist. The only concession to any 'decor' is a wall lined with children's drawings - his patients. But the man, who has three boys of his own, has heart and knows how to work children the right way. He jokes, puts on accents, teases and that's how he gets the job done. In between his teasing running commentary, he would interject a line like: okay, mummy look over here and see.... This is a bit of decay here...
So what was the damage 'literally'? Well, Owain has the start of decay on his two front teeth, which are set so close together, it was a no-brainer for food bits to get lodged and for decay to set in. Dr Lim mentioned Sam's son Timmy as a similar case. I remember Timmy's case, and Dr Lim and I discussed whether we should put in fillings. We decided not to because first, it would need drilling and I really want to keep the first visit trauma-free/pain-free, and secondly, the filling would be dislodged pretty easily within a couple of months. So no point. He just polished Owain's teeth, and told me to floss the two front upper teeth once every two days or so. If the decay got worse and chipped off, and a sharp edge was left, he would just file it down.
Caitlin had two cavities and Dr Lim filled those up nicely and quickly. Looking at them, you can't even tell that they are fillings. She also had her teeth polished.
The session ended with each kid getting a balloon for being so co-operative. Yes, the good doctor has learnt a few new tricks since the last time we met - he is now able to deftly blow (dental equipment sure comes in handy here - they ought to teach this in dentistry school!) and twist balloons - so Cait got a lovely pink heart on a stand and Owain had a yellow sabre.
Dr Lim said the kids were great. I agree. They were very co-operative, no wailing, no screaming or struggling etc. He said I 'trained' them well. Yes, I told him, my whip and the ball and chains do come in handy.
I asked the kids what they thought about the visit to the dentist and both said it was fun and they wanted to go again!! Lovely kids - but weird... :-)
It was Owain's and Caitlin's maiden visit to the good dentist. Prior to the visit, I did nothing to prime them, to prepare them. Just told them that I was making an appointment to go. The kids were agreeable, excited and looking forward to it. Weird kids I have.
So today, we visited Dr Ben Lim of Hosanna Dental. Lovely man. He said I have lovely kids. Well, thank you doctor. You're a lovely guy yourself. :-) But seriously, we've always taken our kids to see him and he's always been very friendly and very funny, not alarmist (my kinda doctor) and not trigger-happy. And he's not expensive either.
His fluorescent-lit clinic is a no-frills set-up right in the heart of Toa Payoh, his chair is faded and a bit worn round the edges, there is no fancy plasma tv on the ceiling playing Disney cartoons or Winx Club, no one blows bubbles to distract children, there are no toys etc. He's not your posh pediatric dentist. The only concession to any 'decor' is a wall lined with children's drawings - his patients. But the man, who has three boys of his own, has heart and knows how to work children the right way. He jokes, puts on accents, teases and that's how he gets the job done. In between his teasing running commentary, he would interject a line like: okay, mummy look over here and see.... This is a bit of decay here...
So what was the damage 'literally'? Well, Owain has the start of decay on his two front teeth, which are set so close together, it was a no-brainer for food bits to get lodged and for decay to set in. Dr Lim mentioned Sam's son Timmy as a similar case. I remember Timmy's case, and Dr Lim and I discussed whether we should put in fillings. We decided not to because first, it would need drilling and I really want to keep the first visit trauma-free/pain-free, and secondly, the filling would be dislodged pretty easily within a couple of months. So no point. He just polished Owain's teeth, and told me to floss the two front upper teeth once every two days or so. If the decay got worse and chipped off, and a sharp edge was left, he would just file it down.
Caitlin had two cavities and Dr Lim filled those up nicely and quickly. Looking at them, you can't even tell that they are fillings. She also had her teeth polished.
The session ended with each kid getting a balloon for being so co-operative. Yes, the good doctor has learnt a few new tricks since the last time we met - he is now able to deftly blow (dental equipment sure comes in handy here - they ought to teach this in dentistry school!) and twist balloons - so Cait got a lovely pink heart on a stand and Owain had a yellow sabre.
Dr Lim said the kids were great. I agree. They were very co-operative, no wailing, no screaming or struggling etc. He said I 'trained' them well. Yes, I told him, my whip and the ball and chains do come in handy.
I asked the kids what they thought about the visit to the dentist and both said it was fun and they wanted to go again!! Lovely kids - but weird... :-)
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