Yesterday was a pretty special day as I went to Frunty's school for lunch with the principal, Mrs. Wong, and the other EXCO PSG members. I knew that I had become a Parent Support Group member as I bought the t-shirt. What I did not know was that during the ceremony, Mrs. Wong would call my name out as the Vice President!! I went up on stage and the school went wild with clapping and cheering. Honestly, it was so touching. In the sea of faces, there was Frunty looking pretty proud!
(It brought back so many memories of living/working in Japan.)
I don't know exactly how it came to pass that I would become the Vice President. A woman called me and I thought I agreed to heading an English programme at TPS which includes helping students with reading and playing games. Anyway, as long as no one expects me to do anything on Tuesdays (my one day off from both kids!), then fine. I am already volunteering on Thursdays with my English programme and taking the kids swimming on Fridays.
(I have also volunteered to take temperatures/check throats at Pit's school when needed.)
The reason I have Tuesdays off is because Frunty stays all day at school as does Pit. On Tuesdays, Pit has signed up for a special science class. He never seems to want to go even though "uncle" (he calls his teacher, Patrick) is very kind. Afterwards though, he loves showing us his experiments. Like last night before bed, we made time to do The Self-Inflating Balloon which meant fewer stories read before bed but that was okay.
The Self-Inflating Balloon:
Fill a small bottle half full with acetic acid. (vinegar) Fill the balloon with some baking powder. Cap balloon over the mouth of the small bottle. Lift the balloon up to allow the baking powder fall into the acetic acid. The balloon will inflate!
What fun!! Pit was so proud of his work and being able to show us how to do the experiment. We read our shark stories and then off to bed they went.
Today Frunty will continue his training for his first run at the Singapore Zoo this Saturday. Yesterday after the ceremony, we went to the mall and found him a pair of New Balance. (yeah, Grampa!) Blue, white and red. Really nice. With his red, Saucony shirt and a new pair of black, running shorts, he looks really sharp. Pit has been training with him a bit but is too young to register for the race this time.
Must get Pit. We are going shopping to look for dinosaur stickers to finish his room. We still have a lot of jobs in the house but it is coming along. We finalize the paper work with a maid agency and that means that soon, we'll have our very own helper. I am grateful for all of the above, let me tell you!
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Swensen's
Saturday, 30 January 2010
My Awesome Athletes
We are a family of athletes, I just realized. We don't talk about it but part of each day goes to swimming, playing badminton or frisbee, skate boarding, riding our bikes and walking through the fields looking for treasures. We also don't talk about the healthy eating we do to sustain our bodies. We just do it.
Yesterday Daddy and Frunty signed up for the Singapore Zoo run. I could not be prouder of the two of them as I was this morning when after their warm-up swim, they headed out the door in their matching, red, race shirts to do their 3 km. You should see them. All brown, 100% toned, all muscle. They looked awesome. This may all sound like bragging and perhaps it is. But why can't I take some credit for helping to live an active lifestyle in which we eat like kings? It means living in a conscientous manner and that is not always easy with all the temptations around us like television and junk food. But we don't succumb...we succeed and even if my guys come in the very last place at the zoo, I know they are already winners just for signing up!
Now for homework with Pit! He has to practise his Chinese characters! Bless him, he needs extra attention at school being the only foreigner but does not complain at all. Just practises over and over again, those complicated characters. With his little brown hand. How adorable can you get!?
Yesterday Daddy and Frunty signed up for the Singapore Zoo run. I could not be prouder of the two of them as I was this morning when after their warm-up swim, they headed out the door in their matching, red, race shirts to do their 3 km. You should see them. All brown, 100% toned, all muscle. They looked awesome. This may all sound like bragging and perhaps it is. But why can't I take some credit for helping to live an active lifestyle in which we eat like kings? It means living in a conscientous manner and that is not always easy with all the temptations around us like television and junk food. But we don't succumb...we succeed and even if my guys come in the very last place at the zoo, I know they are already winners just for signing up!
Now for homework with Pit! He has to practise his Chinese characters! Bless him, he needs extra attention at school being the only foreigner but does not complain at all. Just practises over and over again, those complicated characters. With his little brown hand. How adorable can you get!?
Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival described as one of the most spectacular festivals on the Singaporean calendar of events. Our babysitter arrived and the Mommy and I took public transport to the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India to see what all the fuss was about. It certainly did not disappoint. Even though we missed most of the festivities and saw only the tail end of the parade, it was more than enough to gain a sense of the spiritual devotion of the celebrants.
Hindus from all walks of life will spend anywhere from hours to days to weeks to spiritually cleanse their bodies by fasting and abstinence. The culmination of this preparation is Thaipusam, when they carry a kavadi, literally a cage, 4 km from one temple to another. What makes this procession incredible is that they carry the kavadi by hooks and spears piercing their body. Oranges and limes, symbols of protection, hang from the devotees skin on large hooks. Skewers pierce through their cheeks, lips, tongue and nose. One kavadi was actually a cart being towed by a man with half a dozen huge hooks embedded into the skin of his back. Surprisingly, there was no blood and gore but simply many happy celebrants chanting, singing and dancing as the devotees parading their spirtual burden down Serangoon Road.
The Mommy and I didn't spend too much time admiring the procession since another cultural pastime was calling us. We promptly forgot what we saw in the street as we scanned the menu of Sitara Tandoori Restaurant. Probably some of the most delicious Indian food we've had and certainly the tastiest naan considering the cook was making them fresh where all could see.
The Mommy and I didn't spend too much time admiring the procession since another cultural pastime was calling us. We promptly forgot what we saw in the street as we scanned the menu of Sitara Tandoori Restaurant. Probably some of the most delicious Indian food we've had and certainly the tastiest naan considering the cook was making them fresh where all could see.
A Close Shave
This morning had a lazy slow start. We didn't have anything specific planned for the day. The boys did some homework while eating their breakfast and eventually they were told to get ready for the day. So they came to my bathroom to shave. Wet the face. Squeeze a little foam on the hand. Apply evenly on their tiny chinnie chin chins. Use the bladeless razor to remove the foam. Very cute.
Friday, 29 January 2010
Korean BBQ
A perfect day. Watching Frunty and the other P2 students go swimming for the first time at the Tampines Swim Complex (remember in Brussels, parents were not invited to attend any school activities, in fact, we were downright refused and unwelcomed?..."we want to make your children more independent. You'll distract them."), picking up Pit from school without the bike and walking slowly home, buying a huge Pomello on the way and crossing a field where we found a golfball and a "bunny cage", swimming with my boys before taking a taxi to Parkway Parade mall to meet Hyun-Jee and her son, Song One, from Korea, having foot reflexology together before heading over to a Korean BBQ restaurant where Daddy met us for a truly, delicious feast...
A perfect day.
A perfect day.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Swim to Shore
Pit and I were in the pool today after lunch. It was great because the water has warmed up a little more with the past few days of exceptionally hot, sunny weather. Not that the water was previously too cold to swim in, but just that it's possible to stay in the pool for hours. And, Pit certainly would if he could. He and I play different types of games mostly involving climbing on my shoulders. Pit loves to swim "deep, deep, deep, deep" and dives straight down 3 feet to touch the bottom of the pool. He also tries to talk underwater "without opening his mouth" and another game is to stand on my shoulders and do a big leap into the water. One favourite game is to pretend I'm a water horse: he wraps his arms around my neck pressed against my back while I dive underwater, swim a short way and then resurface. For me, I feel like I have a ramora fish stuck to me while I'm swimming. When Pit needs a rest, he points to the pool side and says, "swim to that shore, papa.", and off we go.
