No School day...

Renee's not going to school today...
After her milk, she was touching her forehead and when I asked her why, she replied that "something's wrong"... I asked her if its painful and she said yes. Reckon that she might be having a fever that causes the headache, I took her temperature and indeed... she's running abit of temperature so we decided to let her stay home today. Must be due to her sleeping late last night haiz. She complained about being sleepy when we were returning home from the wedding dinner but refused to go to bed when we got back till 12am!
Then I remembered that the school would commencing their extra precautionary checks in full today onwards, thus, it's just as well that we don't bring her there 'cos am sure even with this temperature, she'd be sent back as well hahaha.
She's perspiring whilst playing with her toys now, so hopefully her fever will go down very soon...

HMFD again?

Heard from Eileen yesteday that one boy from my nephew's school has HMFD! Geez, secondary school also? That means HMFD is really on the rise... I believe so, otherwise, the MOH wouldn't have taken action to inform schools.
Though Renee's school has closed one eye on most parents/grandparents who still chose to stand right outside the classroom for a nice peak, they have now sent notes(in our kids' bags of cos hahaha) informing us this shall be prevented from coming Monday onwards - guess it's just as well, it can also help to set as a stern precedent too...(as it can be rather distracting for the children too).

Audios

Here's some more for your listening pleasures...

The 'longer' but still alot of 'dunno' lyrics version of Xiao Bai Tu Zhen Ke Ai

The Goodbye Song

Cough?

Brought Renee to the chinese physician yesterday before gg to my mom's and it turned out that her cough was not a 'residue' of the earlier flu she's caught. It was due to her nose sensitivity. I remembered she was diagnosed as having sensitive nose when she was an infant by both the Paediatrician and this physician. She once had this cough when she was younger too.
My hairstylist heard her coughing when she was napping in the salon and though it was a light cough, she felt heartache and told her staff to go to Eu Yan San to buy a box of Hou Ning and asked me to give it to her But she later took it back (she gives her girls this) when I wanted to pay her hahaha. This box cost S$50+(after member's discount), so how can I just take it for free? Not my style... I went to the shop later to check the stuffs out and was sooo confused 'cos there're other cheaper ones that target more specifically the 'problem'. In the end, I decided it would perhaps better to consult the physician for a prescription.
So, luckily for my 'non greediness' and confusion at the shop hee, I've not given her the 'Hou Ning' or "Hou Zao' yet(anyway, I've always believe that it's better to let a physician check you up(more so when u're unsure) and give u a prescription base on your body condition at the moment) - but since quite a few had mentioned that this EYS's product is good, I shall keep it in mind :)

A new chat box for all readers!

Been wanting to put up this choxbox(u can see/use on the left) when I first saw it in one of our friends'(Jen & Jeannieve) blog. I remembered it was a long time ago when I first used it to chat with my friends and I thought, since many of our loyal readers :), though they pop into our blog faithfully, they tend not to leave comments here but rather, email or sms-ed me about it hahah. Perhaps, some readers may find this more useful for theirs or especially those non-post related comments :)

So, now that I have a little bit of time, I decided to put it up, to see if it would help our readers to finally pop some words though comments under its respective posts are preferred :)
Anyway, let's chat away! - just key in yr name and type into the 'message' column :)

*shall remove it if it's not popular/used either lolz

A bonding shower :)

Suddenly remembered yesterday that we have a wedding dinner(daddy's client's 'somebody', haiz...) to attend this sunday! Good thing I've bought a dress and a pair of shoes on thursday so I now have more choices as to which and what to wear tomorrow heehee

Last night, a friend suggested showering with my girl for further bonding . Actually, I've read long ago that it's a very good bonding 'acitivity' but I was quite shy about it so I've not done it even when Renee was much younger. However, like what she said, if we don't do it now, it'll be no time when they grow alot older and we won't be able to do it anymore plus I usually took a shower after hers so, I might as well try it and, soon hahaha.
I was thinking - Hmmm, I have nothing else to hide anymore since that night she cried and I let her in whilst I took my shower, so I guess it might be worth the try! Afterall, she's already had her fair share of questions when she saw me changed clothes. So this noon, I plucked up the courage and told Renee that we'll be having a shower TOGETHER(her fav family word hahaha) and she was delighted with the idea! She was sooo thrilled when we got into the shower room and she just can't stop grinning hahahahaha. However, as I've already answered some of her 'queries' many months back when she first caught me changing and thus, there weren't much questions today :) so, it turned out that we had a good time bonding with each other and Renee obviously had greatly enjoyed our showering together.
Thanks for the great idea/suggestion, Karen! ;D
*though I'm not sure when will the next one be, hahaha*

A day at the hair salon, chicken drumstick and a new laptop

Due to Renee's allergy, I was supposed to prepare food for Renee to eat in school whenever the menu pops something that contains egg. However, though it's yellow noodles today, daddy said to just let her have a try, so I didn't cook her meal. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from Mrs Jacob that though no extra helpings requested, she finished her bowl of noodles! There were no rashes found on her when I went to pick her up but I guess we still shouldn't take it for granted since it was only one small bowl...

Today's the first time I tried having Renee stayed with me at the hair salon whilst I have my haircut. I've pre-warned her of what's gonna 'happen' and that she has to stay fuss-less lolz. She was given 2 books to read whilst seated in her stroller and about half an hour later, she fell asleep... *phew*

With her napping away, I decided to proceed with my plan of having a few 'top bundle strands' of my hair highlighted but the stylist did more - perhaps she had thought of giving me some perks but it turned out that I'm one customer who didn't want more!(as what she commented later lolz)
So, for an easy job of having a just abit hair coloured, I have to sit through from 3:35pm to 6:20pm! 'Cos she had to 'cover up the extra strands' that I didn't want...
I was also in for a little shock when I was billed S$55.65(after my pkg 20% discount) for the tiny bit of highlighting and '1 visit' was also deducted from my pkg for my cut :(
I'm wondering if she couldn't give me a lower fee for the highlighting due to the extra work they have to do? But then again, it was their fault and not mine rite? haiz... Anyway, since she's trimmed Renee's fringe so nicely(it was alot alot nicer than what the stylist at Junior League had done for her!), forget it lah lolz.

So now, with my new haircut, Renee said there're 2 'Dora's in our home, hahaha. Yes, my hair's cut short again, though mine's of a longer fringe lah - I just can't seem to be able to keep long hair since the time I had my hair chopped really short after Renee's birth. The stylist tried many times, with the last being a mth ago when I went for a 'straight comb' hairdo, to keep my hair longer but I just couldn't...especially when the weather's getting hotter now :(
For dinner, Renee asked for chicken drumstick! hahaha.... though this is a nice change for the non eating of most outside food but not very much desired either, for a little girl who gets heaty easily... *dilemma*

Saw daddy carrying a box on our way home, then I realised that he's finally bought his laptop :)

Supper - chicken wings

Does this post's title make u hungry? hehehe.
Had text daddy ard 9pm to get satay back for supper but when I peaked into the bag that he's brought home(at 10pm), it wasn't wat I've 'ordered' :(
Renee, following me behind also took a peak but what she saw delighted her and she happily exclaimed : "mommy, it's chicken wings u know. I like I like" hahaha, oh no....
Daddy bought 3pcs, 2 for me, 1 for himself... Renee took alot from mine and still aimed at her daddy's lolz.
Oh, received a note cum survey form in our letterbox today. Hmmm, guess it's one of the perks of staying in a premium flat? 'Cos besides hving a 'nicer' surrounding environment, we now get to choose the colour theme hahaha...

Sales and sales

We were both out the whole afternoon yesterday! Well, at least Renee got to nap which I didn't hv the luxury to... :(
Daddy finally met up with us after 6pm and we went to the Robinsons closed-door members' sales after our dinner at Noodle Place. The congee daddy had was delicious but our dear Renee just didn't fancy it, haiz...
I had thought we could catch some really good buys but it turned out that it wasn't one of the rare 'great robinsons sales' and the things that I needed are all out of stock! Now I've to go back on non-sales day to try my luck again arrgghh.
However, we got this 'Dora' magnetic puzzle(below pic) for Renee. There were also other educational puzzles which are similar to what I've ordered from USA earlier via some online sprees(only just abt to arrive!). Had these been available in Singapore earlier, I would have not joined the sprees and get them here/now especially when these, with the 'Dora' and friends character imprint would certainly entice her or even any kid alot more).

Today, I went to Tangs members sales alone(same 2 days of sales as Robinsons!) and managed to get some of the stuffs that I needed(why the things that I need all ran out of 'supply' at the same timing?) but the main items that I didn't get at Rob, remain unavailable at Tangs or Takashimaya Dept Store :(

Rushed to pick Renee up from school and as I've decided not to request SingPost for another re-delivery of my parcel, I took her for her favourite cup corn and went to SengKang hub to collect it. Geez, it was about to rain when we were crossing over to the hub and after collecting the parcel, I thought to perhaps 'try my luck' to dash for home with the LRT - can't catch a cab 'cos tooo many stuffs and with a child sleeping on the stroller? -tough, arrrghhh.
However, luck wasn't with me hahaha, it started to pour when the LRT train got to the next station. At 'our' station, I had to cover sleeping Renee with her new raincoat(instead of her wearing it lolz) and made a 1/2 walk, 1/2 run dash to the cluster of blocks. Renee woke up and started to rant about going home! I told her sternly not to fuss as it's raining and I'm trying with difficulty to rush 'us' over... she co-operated :D *phew*.
Midway, the rain got alot heavier and we were stucked...Waited for a few minutes and decided to make another dash - so she can rest at home and there I was, one hand holding the umbrella and the other trying to push the stroller with our PRINCESS and the shopping bags. What made it worse was the 'curvy' path that I had to go thru! I guess it would have been quite a funny sight to anyone watching, to see me juggling or rather, STRUGGLING especially when I even had to 'clamp' the umbrella with my head and neck whilst crossing the 'currrvvy' path in order to steady the stroller and keep it going in one direction hahahahaha....
Geez, it was a day I seriously, seriously wished that I was 'brave' enough to drive!

Daddy's working late again tonight and Renee, having only a short nap, is now still awake... if she doesnt go to bed soon, I'll have to let her wake up abit later tmrw morning.

*Shan't put up the items I've bought these 2 days, else I'll be accused of having too many shoppings heeeee

Missed parcel again.../ HMFD

It was cloudy when I left home to pick Renee up and began to rain when I got to her school.
She complained about being tired and asked for the stroller(which she steadily declined of hving it brought to school yesterday) so we took a cab home. Thus, no luck of trying the new raincoat today...even if we had taken the trains(MRT + LRT), it wasn't raining at SengKang! hahaha

When we arrived near our block, we passed by a van with the Singpost logo and I thought oh no, don't tell me I'm missing my parcel again! True enough, the delivery note's at my door :( I called them up but as usual, they weren't helpful and not willing to contact the postman for me so I rushed down with Renee, hoping to catch him on time. Met the usual post-lady but she said it's with the van not her(diff delivery), but when we hurried over to the spot where we saw the van earlier, it was gone... Aiyoh, I'm back early today yet I still missed it! They are very silly, to redeliver around the same timing - usually they'd follow up with a different timing.
Now I'm wondering if I should try and find time to go collect from the Post office or ask for another re-delivery... arrrghhh :(

To the 2nd part of this post's title...Last night, a friend whom had read our blog, talked to me about HMFD and she raised this question :
Since there's an incubation period of about 10 days for it to show its first symptoms, so, if we were to return to the school and found children in the same class/school being diagnosed as hving HMFD, should we still bring our kid(s) to the school or stay at home since they wld have already come into contact with those kids whom had been diagnosed as hving it???

Hmmm, a thought for me... so parents, if u're reading this and have encountered similiar situation, do contribute ya :)

Audios

She was singing this song last week but only this sentence and she'll repeat it over n over and tell you that she doesn't remember the rest lolz

Ni Wa Wa - another one which she's learnt last wk but can't do the whole version yet lolz(but I find this song abit too sad for young kids though...)

A compassionate/kind-hearted little girl?

Whilst waiting for daddy to come home after her dinner, we both sat on the sofa and was watching a programme about sea seals on the National Geographic channel. Actually, Renee was playing in the study/play room and I called her out to watch it. When a baby seal was attacked at the neck by a fox, she cried and asked frustratedly : "why? why no mommy seal?!" - meaning why there's no mommy seal there to protect the baby seal... Actually, the mommy seal had gone into the sea for her feed to build up her milk supply and had to leave her pulps behind by 'no choice'. She was very disturbed by the attack scene and I quickly hugged her tight and tried to explain to her the situation as best as I could.
Geez, I had not expected such strong reaction from her and I must admit I was stunned but I had to recover fast so as to comfort her. I had contemplated switching channel but I thought it might be good for her to 'know'...so I did not. Then, a short while later, the scene whereby humans came to attack the smaller pulps(the 10mths old ones) and beat them to death for their newly grown fur. She reacted very aggitatedly again and scolded "bad uncles, bad uncles!". I switched channel...

When daddy was on his way home, I told him about it over the phone and he too, was surprised by her reaction...

Kinderland Preschool Newsletter

As I needed to get groceries, we went out early today for our b/fast, shopping before sending Renee to school.

When I picked her up after school, she told me that she finished her food again and had asked for a 2nd helping. Then I remembered, oh yes, it's chicken macaroni soup on the menu today. No wonder... hahaha

My intuition tells me to look into Renee's bag today and indeed, I found their Term 2 Newsletter clamped in btwn the communication book :)

It talked about health issues and urged parents not to bring the children to school at the first sign of a runny nose. This concern was brought up by some parents, probably due to the recent HongKong influenza outbreak. It also urged us to inform the school via phone or the communication book, if we've travelled to HK during the holidays and they will monitor the child in school. Initially I thought, oh no, I've allowed Renee to continue with school when she had runny nose few wks ago... but then again, although it'd be a wastage of S$25 per missed session hahaha, we would still adhere if they told us not to bring Renee down.. That was why I've asked Mrs Jacob not just once, but on a few occasions if it's ok but she had replied on all occasions that Renee's ok to attend still. So I'm safe, hehehe :D

Another pointer from the Principal, extracted from the newsletter :
"I have also received a letter from MOH informing schools that while there has not been an increase in influenza cases in Singapore, HMFD is on the rise. We have been advised to take the necessary precautions and to maintain high hygiene standards.

We will conduct health checks in the classroom and to prevent spread of any viruses we will cancel assembly til we receive further advice."

Indeed, I've read from somewhere recently also, that HFMD seems to be on the rise, again, why ar? - hope there won't be any more new cases...

(As usual, click onto page to view )
Newsletter main page

Page 2

Page 3

Audios

More songs... :)
It seems like the school doesn't teach them all the songs in the CD(or perhaps later? cos I only hear her singing a couple of songs from the CD ...). We've both heard/learnt this song from the CD and I personally like it :)

'Walking, Walking'

Daddy like this song which she's learnt from school :)

'Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light'

New apron

The previous 'Dora' apron I've got for her faded badly after just 1 wash! Even some of the thread started to frill, so gotta replace. Have joined a spree online and ordered one with long sleeves(for her future school use on water colouring, as can't find it locally. It hasn't arrived yet). These are the aprons from the online merchant:

Saw this yesterday and since it's bright, cute and CHEAP, I got it for her as a replacement for the Dora's :D :

Artwork Display(Kinderland PN)

When Renee had just started her first few sessions with Kinderland PN, she was complaining that she hadn't been able to bring her artwork home(unlike when she's with GUG). I've told her(though I wasn't sure hehehe) that the teachers will collate and she'll have them back when school year ends.
And yesterday, as we were very early, I saw many children carrying the school paper bag and in them contained the children's portfolio(can view pics of it in earlier posts). I was thinking that perhaps Renee might not get hers since she's only a few weeks with them but when I went to pick her up, I saw her carrying the bag!
When we finally settled down last night, I suddenly remembered about it and quickly took it out! We see nothing under the first few sections and were beginning to feel disappointed when I saw some under the 'photos' section - click onto the pics for enlarged view to read the teacher's writing:

The pics must hv been taken during e 1st wk cos they showed her hair before the cut - can u tell which is her ? :)

And these are her work under the 'artwork samples' section :

And these under the 'special programmes'(chinese language, nothing under music yet) section:

From the looks of these artwork, they're to teach them e shapes in Chinese language, but don't think Renee remembers hahaha

When daddy saw the portfolio, he went : "the teachers/school really put in efforts huh" - cos despite this, they will also put info in the teacher/parents communications book if need be. Moreover, there is already a regular teacher and parents meet up day. This I agreed and told him that it's money well spent then :) Well, at least my efforts in the 'school search' is not wasted :D

A everyone is 'sooo nice' day :)

We were very early at the school-10:35am! Zhou laoshi saw us accompanying Renee, came and told me that I could leave her there and there'll be people watching over her if I need to go off. I told her we're fine to stay with her :) - daddy wanted to accompany her till she gets into the classroom hahaha

After daddy's left to meet clients, I took the stroller from his car and went to pick her up as I'd planned a day out with Renee(since there's no school tmrw cos it's a PH), so the stroller will be handy if she needed a rest/nap.

I gave Renee milk right after her class and she told me she wanted to go gai gai hahaha. I brought her to Plaza Singapura where we had my lunch and her snack at KFC :) I was served by a Chinese and probably I looked abit shocked initially(I've not expected to be served by yet another Chinese at these fastfood chains) and so, the store manager stood by and also, to guide her. Later, the senior was so nice, she told me that they'd help me carry my tray of food to the table! That's nice... and when I tried to get back to the counter to collect the omitted extra order of popcorn chicken, the cleaning lady(who spoke pretty good english) quickly offered to help me get it and asked if I needed any other sauce! Woah, very good service :D

Then, come dinner time, we were further 'welcome' by an over zealous manager at Swensons hahaha. He gave Renee not 1 but 3 sculpted balloons and 3 pcs of colouring worksheets + 1 box of colour pencils(all for her keep). They even obliged a half cup filling when I asked for another serving of the corn that comes with Renee's kiddy meal(I was prepared to pay for it though). Good thing my sis came to meet us and with the order of her meal, I don't feel sooo paiseh hehehe.

We headed to Spotlight after dinner whilst waiting for daddy to come pick us. Saw some table placing mats and chose a 'Dora' one for Renee but she said she wanted the 'Princesses' one, alamak! I dun quite like the idea of her getting those 'princesses' stuffs(if it's just printed with the crowns I'd still be fine, but not the pictures la! So, as long as I can 'control' it, I'll try to stop her hahaha) and told her that only big big jie jie uses them. She obediently put it back and said she'd like the 'Dora' one, kekeke :

Refresher course

After the day daddy got me to practice my driving at the carpark, I was slowly losing 'interest' but encouraged by a nice friend recently, I finally plucked up my courage and went to sign up for my driver refresher course today!

I left home early today and dropped by at the Kovan CDC for my enrolment. I stopped for a couple of seconds and had almost backout when I saw the male instructors at the centre but I quickly told myself that it's silly to have such fears, since most driving instructors are male kekeke. So, to avoid further procrastination, I pushed myself to walk into the office and voila! - my registration's done and even the lessons' dates are picked and paid for. However, as I've specific timings to go for, the earliest date I could get is in mid April... by then our Alfa would have been sold liao hahaha, so any self practice will be on the other car, stress... Nevermind, I must tell daddy to buy a 'smaller' car for me hehehe - Anyway, I hope, with or without 'my car', I would be able to upkeep my driving skills after this refresher, else the fees for this course + the time spent would be wasted. Geez, it's so much more expensive now, it cost me S$331.70 just for 4 sessions + the registration fees(S$32.10)! I remember it was only S$22/hr when I was learning then.

It started to rain as I was reaching Renee's school and when her class finally ended, the rain was already quite heavy! I told Renee that we'll try to dash out and catch a taxi home but this naughty girl wanted to go gai gai, in her stroller! So we had to stay and whilst waiting, I gave her bread to eat...
The rain was still as heavy even at half an hour later and so we were still stucked there. The principal was very kind to offer me coffee and milo for Renee, though I declined as I certainly hope we don't have to stay there for too long hahaha.
At that moment, I was really glad that I've signed up for the refresher man! heeeee

As the rain began to lessen a little, I quickly get Renee to put on the poncho we've got from Pediasure quite some time ago(we used to mix Pediasure to her milk) but she looked pathetic - couldn't really move her hands abt 'cos I've forgotten that there are buttons on the sides to make the 'sleeves'! hahaha. So, with that 'difficulty' in mind, I headed to Kiddy Palace and bought her a pink raincoat which we had failed to get earlier. Got her the M size though the S fit her nicely but I wanted a length that could cover her legs hahaha(so she'd have to fold the sleeves)

Almost got the weather shield for the stroller too, but decided against it as they do not provide much ventilation and I thought, if I were to really drive, then I don't think we'll need the stroller's cover, right? However, when I got back home, I had an idea! - I cut off the poncho's hood, put it over the stroller and guess what, It fit perfectly!!! So I saved $ for not having to get a stroller cover and not wasting the poncho too hehehe.

Renee ate a total of 2 pcs of milk bread before we arrived at Mcdonald's again for her cup of corn(initally she cldn't decide on whether to have her mashed potato at KFC or the cup corn but we went for the latter cos KFC was surprisingly more crowded this time). She even had 1/2 pc of chicken nugget(she was too full to finish it up lolz). It was pretty close to 4pm when we got to Kiddy palace and I insisted that she naps in the stroller else we'll have to go home then and there. Fearing that I won't bring her to the library, she fell asleep after the 3rd 'scolding' hahaha. However, daddy told me over the mobile that he might not be able to pick us up early, so I decided to bring her home instead. I left her to continue sleeping in the stroller even when we were home and not too long later, daddy called to ask where we were... alamak, what a good timing, always!(It was still raining when I called him and he must hv been afraid that his darling would be caught in e rain...)
When Renee woke up, found herself in the stroller, she wailed : "I want to go to library!..." hahaha
Hopefully, I wld be able to take her there tomorrow...

*Bop Bop*

Arhhh, this is the sound Renee has been making with her hands whenever she washes her hands since a few weeks ago! Recently, I asked her on how did she come about doing it and who taught her to and she told me nobody did and she just do what the squeaky ducky does(those rubber ducks that''ll squeak when u squeeze them). It's just so amazing how kids can think of doing such stuffs on their own(does all do that?)...

Oh ya, finally went for my first facial with Leonard Drake today and compared to Elements Spa @ Orchard hotel, I would say that they're better equipped, offered extras(e.g. hand messages...) and so far, no hard-selling nor did I feel any as yet... It was a free treat cos the first visit comes FOC with the package, yeah! I shan't go into today's facial procedure here in case some people might feel too tempted with its pampering hahah, but just email me if anyone is keen to know :)

Hmmm, Renee's school is pretty informative! On Monday, I found another note in the book again - informing parents of about this Fri, a public holiday :)

School Re-opens!

School resumes today! After the 1 week of school holidays, Renee was more than eager to return to school -chased me to change her to her uniform this morning. And whilst on the way, when her school came into sight, she smiled brightly in the car :) Good thing she didn't ask her daddy to stop then n there like the previous time hahaha.

Found a note in btwn the teacher/communication book when I was tidying up her bag(geez, n the note's been there since a wk ago! hahaha) and it's a notice on the sibling priority registration to Kinderland's pre-school classes(til K1) next year and it's to be done from 17-18 March 2008, after which, the registration will be opened to public - pity, Renee has got no siblings leh lolz

Finally, went to buy the antibac2K magic ball mini today! Been putting it off till the essence diffuser we're using no longer works as well recently(must have been dropped a few times by the previous cleaners).
However, this magic ball is alot better! - it filters, disinfects, deodorises and its aromatherapy effects' an added advantage. It has been independantly laboratory tested to effectively inhibit micro organisms, malodors and pollutants. Best of all, it's not that expensive, just slightly more than our diffuser(probably due to it being the mini version) and it's very compact and look nice! hehehe
Here it is(the switch will light up when it's on)...

The web that explains its technology and all - : http://www.antibac2k.com/

After I've got this from Isetan scotts, I met up with an old friend(actually someone whom I've known from the motherhood forum but hasnt met yet!) finally... Funny thing is that we've never got to meet up with each other till now, after she's moved out of SengKang to Bukit Timah hahaha. Just so happened that she's also got some spare time till her elder daughter's class ends at 2:30pm, so we made a last minute arrangement to meet up :D. Another fantastic mom - took a bus with her baby and stroller(though she wld easily be excused for being late had she continued waiting for the cab).

We had a short but nice chat over our nibbling at McDonald's(I saved the corn cup for Renee hehe) and time flies when u have a nice time...soon we both have to part, to pick our darlings up from school.

Arrived early at the school again and this time, I stood outside her class(near the stairs to the upper level) and watched out for her, from a distance hahaha. Initially, I had thought she was sitting on the floor but suddenly I saw a girl sitting on the chinese teacher's(Zhou lao shi)lap and realised from the colour of the sweater that it's my Renee! hahaha. She then came down and returned to her teacher's lap in a jiff and when I asked her about it just now, she told us that she did that 'cos they were singing something about birds/butterflies(can't rem which hehe). And when the song's ended, I saw her sitting besides Mrs Jacob and she was looking at her teacher. Then, Mrs Jacob saw her and stroked her hair lovingly twice to *sayang* her. Ooh, how nice...

Set up of our new TV

Finally, daddy went to get the wall bracket in the afternoon but he came back only ard 5pm, so it's home-staying day for us this Saturday(as no one went down to our mom's for our wkly gathering since both of my elder sisters were busy with their flea market sales). Daddy tried to put up the bracket but it didn't seem to 'work'... so he had to remove its 'stand' and fixed it up to hold the TV on the 'wall' and it worked!

But because of this, I am sooooo tired now! I ended up having to do a mini spring-cleaning man! 'Cos now that the back cupboard is free of our old tv's back, I had to revamp our study abit... Thrown away alot of stuffs again.

By the time the TV's put up, it was already past 11pm and since it's not entirely 'complete', I shall take a pic of it later, to show you guys.

Whilst daddy was busy with the setting up, Renee, being a busybody, picked up a screw and said : "this looks like a mushroom BUT it's not..." She just simply loves to use this 'this looks like _ _ _but it's not' phrase very much these days hahaha. To keep her away from daddy working at the TV, I reminded her of the sticker she's chosen but instead, she remembered about another alphabet + train toy set she wanted me to get for her at the Popular Bookstore(which I didn't) rather than the sticker....However, she still got excited all over it when I showed it to her and began to paste them over to her sticker book. When she realised that I was looking at her 'artwork', she quickly explained that she's trying to make it look like a necklace, that's why it's like that... OIC!

Watching her deep in concentration with her artwork always please me at heart(always look sooo lovable during such quiet moments ^-^) and out of affection just now, I told her that I wanted to kiss her but this cheeky girl answered me : "later mommy, I'm busy ..." and when she's done putting the sticker she's had on her finger down to the book, she bestowed me with a kiss instead :)

Post Lasik Follow-up Eye Check

Went for my post lasik check-up 'yesterday' and 'cos my appointment was a last minute 'slot-in', I had to wait especially when the surgeon was still having a meeting with some caucasians when I arrived. By the time I'm done at the clinic, it was past 1pm and I rushed to have a quick lunch at the cafe as both myself and Renee were very hungry already(not sure abt Renee as she's been eating the biscuits there hahaha).

Ended up at Orchard Road again as our princess didn't want to go home for her nap hahaha. Luckily we did, 'cos I finally found the Crayola's 64 pcs non-toxic crayons(that comes with a built-in sharpener) at Isetan Scotts and at a price not too far from what I wld have to pay if my order placed via the forum's overseas sprees went through!(I placed some orders but this particular item was OOS at the time my order was taken...). Then bought some drawing paper board and stickers-she had selected 2 from the racks but I told her that she can only have 1 and she chose this:

3D pop-up stickers(think this is what it's called) and best of all, it's non-toxic too

and the crayons...

We headed back to Compass Pt as I wanted to do an exchange on an extra pillow case that I've bought too quickly the other day and I ended up buying more drawing board for Renee! Had our dinner at Jack's place again(2nd time this week) and took a cab back 'cos I simply can't carry the load, and take the train back with Renee as daddy was still busy with work outside then(8pm).

She's sooo cute. When we got home, she remembered I've told her abt the new box of crayons and said she wanted to do her colouring first. I told her to bring me her box of crayons so I can 'change' them and she quickly took out the broken ones and told me 'these spoilt' and placed them on our desk hahaha.

Another rainy day...

It's raining again and there goes our outing plans, yes again.....

Just now, I was flipping through the Ikea catalogue and Renee saw the pages on those children beds and asked me to buy them hahaha. Then I suddenly remembered that we've got a pure silk quilt custom-made for her which we've not used yet. Told daddy abt it and he agreed that since the weather has been cold lately, we should take it out and Renee was sooo happy. She used to look sooo comfortable going under the quilt on those children beds on display at the Ikea stores and she simply loooved to play with our quilt on our bed. But when it comes to 'real sleeping', she tends to kick the cover off and that was why we've put off letting use hers. Hopefully she'll not start kicking off hers as well...

Luckily for us, when we first bought the quilt cover set (supposedly meant to be used on her mattress as a cover-all bedsheet) but cos her aunt Lili had 0ver-estimated its measurement, we're now able to use it as its quilt cover - perfect size even! With the excess cut and made into matching pillow and bolster cases too!

Hmmm, now I'm wondering if we'll be able to get 'extra' covers for her quilt....

Getting lazy...

Geez, I woke up at 10am today and it's after Renee's calling for milk even! Oh no, it seems like with her new routine, I'm feeling but hopefully not turning lazy!
Though I slept late at 3am this morning, I don't think that's an good excuse to sleep til this late especially when u have a young child to look after... bad bad bad. Must buck-up liao! Ok ok, thank goodness I've brought forward my post lasik check-up from next Tuesday(cos I've forgotten about it and fix an appt for my 1st facial with Leonard Drake salon) to Tomorrow. So, that should help 'prevent' me from falling into this waking up late habit, before school resumes next Monday...

Few days ago, an old friend, Elizabeth sms-ed me to enquire about Renee's current school and when the topic came to the term fees, I went in search of the notes I've jotted down on other schools(like JG, Chiltern House which I've 'aimed' earlier) and I found a note with info on nearby/void-deck schools too.
Upon comparison, geez, their fees were only a fraction of what we're paying, even for Kinderland pre-school(which is about 3-4 times more!) makes me wonder how and what these schools are surviving on, as those on my notes are also non-govt ones. I almost forgot about my main goal(when I started the school research) and wondered if we've paid too much for a pre-school especially when it's just pre-nursery level - mainly just play and song-singing...
Then a telephone conversation with another friend cleared my silly thoughts. She commented : "Hey, everything in this world works this way - you pay for what you get. Wake-up, go recall your blog's old posts and read what u've written hahaha. U shld be glad that U guys are able to afford Renee a good start", then I woke up from my dream hahaha.
And yes, I seriously hope that we'll be able to continue giving her good education all the way...

Eliz, if u're reading this, don't feel paiseh to tell me what info you need for your grandniece's pre-school ya, as I know u're equally concerned for her and I'll be most glad to pass you any info I've gathered/experienced during my earlier research... :)

Milk, Milk and more milk...

This girl can really make demands! Her daddy was home late and at 9pm, she asked for milk. She wasn't quite happy when I told her to wait till I've had my shower('cos do not want her to have her milk too early n wake up for milk in the early morning-like a baby haha). She was still fussing about it when I went to hang up her laundry. I chided her and she went sobbing : "nobody make milk milk for me already..." and kept repeating it, aiyoh!!! So, though I've hoped to give her the milk after my shower, I had no choice but to do it after tackling the laundry and when I was mixing the milk, I felt that I must peak at her and true to my intuition(she must have heard me preparing her milk), there she was, lying on the sofa/cushion with her head turned back-wards, grinning at me! Geez...

When daddy got back with my dinner cum supper, she asked for bread and took 1 slice. I'm secretly glad, hehehe.

Earlier in the evening, we were both watching tv-Life's funniest moments? after I've fed her dinner and there's this video of a dog biting at a shoe and she went : "what you doing, naughty doggy? Eat the shoes? Yeeeeek. Wait, gor gor scold you..." Somehow, she's got the idea that the shoe must have belonged to a boy(probably becos it's a 'big' shoe) hahaha

Audios

New songs, learnt from Kinderland Pre-school :

Clap clap, clap your hands

'Hao Le Mei You'

Pizza...

Daddy has told me that he might be back late so I decided to order pizza as I was feeling very hungry(but end up he came back not that late...)

Pizza arrived half hour earlier(was told it'll take an hour but our place is not far from the nearest branch, so I guess that's why we've been getting our orders pretty fast).

I've already fed Renee her dinner(lazy to self-feed again) and she was so funny - I had already cleared her bowl away when she asked me where's her porridge hahaha. I told her "U've already finished your porridge, so I've washed the bowl, why? U still hungry?" and she complained : "I want my porridge, I still not bao bao", so I told her that she can have the pizza later and she's very happy. However, when the pizza's finally arrived, she took a bite and decided not to eat anymore, so
I asked her : "renee, why don't you want the pizza? Remember papa went work work far far away, you ate pizza with mommy and you ate alot?"
Renee : "one day I like, one day I don't want anymore"

My new bag, finally!

Our new cleaner came yesterday and though she worked rather slowwwly, she managed to finish in 4 hours! To my liking, she worked almost 'soundless' and the place looks clean(like it would if I were to do it myself), even daddy commented so. However, it was just her first day, so we'll still have to monitor and see if she'll slack like most cleaners do... hahaha.

After she's left, I quickly rushed to cook Renee's dinner and we went to Takashimay S.C. to look for my bag. Spent a good hour at the boutique 'cos it was sooo hard to decide. Those that I like are out of stock and I have to look around for alternatives. Saw the full Neverfull range there - seen alot of people carrying this range of bags(probably becos it's more affordable). Thus, it's become too 'common' and I don't wanna join the crowd kekeke.
In the end, I bought this - a good medium size bag that can be handheld or slinged(can't save the pic from their web, so gotta make do with my own) :

Kiddy premiums from airline

Didn't realise that we can still ask for the premiums even though we're not travelling with our kid. It was during the later part of last year that I asked for kiddy souvenirs and they gave me, then I knew we could. I guess we were given plainly becos of the flights' timing, midnight flights as we wanna be there early morning - not many people/kids on board, but daddy didn't get as lucky with the gifts the recent trips as most of his flights were taken in the early morning hours.

As we've made quite a few trips even thereafter, we've got extra pcs of some items and have passed them to Renee's friends or children of my friends - forgotten to take pics on some of the stuffs but here's some of them:

Renee's 'trains'

These are the trains she's created this morning, with her toy blocks : )

IT Fair

Before we went out, I was having a little 'argument' with daddy and Renee asked "why"(aiyoh, always why why why hahaha). I told her "tell papa don't make mommy angry" and she really did hahaha. She ran to him "papa, don't make mommy angry ok?..." and he replied her "papa scold mommy, if u're naughty, papa will also scold u". She answered him "No... hmmm papa, go say sorry to mommy" and papa "....." hahaha.

As planned, we went to the IT fair at Suntec City yesterday(I had assumed that it was held at Expo!). We headed straight there after our lunch at Tony Romas(yes, again hahaha). Renee really loves the french loaf with the garlic spread they've provided as a starter and she ate them instead of the porridge I've cooked for her. She even held on to her 2nd plate of serving and told the waiter "Don't clear..." when he was clearing our table hahaha. She looked sooo 'ke lian' that the guy laughed and told her "ok ok don't worry, I won't clear yours".

It was madness at the fair! Sooo crowded and it's not easy to move about, especially with Renee. Luckily we've brought the lightweight stroller along, otherwise we'd have to carry her all the time, to avoid her being knocked by people or even got lost in the midst of a human traffic jam...

Our main purpose of going there was to look for a new laptop but we ended up grabbing the SONY Bravia LCD 32" HD TV, heeee. It was a really good bargain though, and we were lucky to be there on time to get it as they claimed limited stocks for this offer(true or not, dunno). However, we didn't make it for the free wall bracket but each cash & carry deal gets a free trolley haha. Actually, we had wanted to get a new TV before CNY but we hadn't got the time to do it - a blessing in disguise :) I was surprised that our car is able to take in the tv package!

Sony took up almost the whole level and I saw many people holding an air-blown surfing board and I thought to get one for Renee as it would serve as a very good float for her to lie on if we bring her for a swim. So, I took the 'risk' and went in search of it whilst daddy went to put the TV package in the car, but mission failed. I can't find the location where the 'surf boards' were being distributed, so I pushed her in the stroller, back to the spot where I was supposed to be waiting for daddy...

As we walked abit more there, we saw more special deals upstairs. Daddy wanted to buy the Exilim 10mega pixel digital camera which was a real steal at only S$399! After some thoughts, I told daddy that our current 6mp camera is good enough and we don't really need another one now(and we've even stopped using our digital video camera! - due to laziness haha). Besides, the technology will always get better and more advanced and soon, there will be cameras with more than 10mp on the racks. So, it'll be better to wait till we needed another before we buy, to ensure a more 'up-to-date' gadget.

We didn't manage to get the laptop nor even my MP3 'cos it was simply tooo impossible to carry on with the crowd, so we went to my mom's.

Oh, good news, my niece Pearlyn has got her A levels results and it's 4 As with 3 Bs - Well done!

It's 1st Term School Holidays!

After 3 weeks of school, Renee is going to stay home for the whole of next week - it's our local school Term 1 holidays! So, unless your kid is attending enrichment/holiday programme(which there's none for pre-nursery level at Kinderland - no need to overstress young kids) or childcare service, otherwise, he/she can laze around at home hahaha.
When I went to pick Renee up earlier, it suddenly occurred to me to just 'remind' her about it so what I did was, I asked her if Mrs Jacob has told her that she doeesn't need to go to school next week and she said YES! So I asked her "then school closed, how? u cannot go to school, what are you going to do" and she said "I orh orh, yi chiang(wake up), mum mum, do artwork at home, drink milk milk..." hahaha geez, sometimes u think they don't understand, but somehow they do...

Our IBook broke down as it's seldom used, and to have it repaired, it's gonna cost us S$1000+. Aiyoh, might as well get a new one. So, since daddy claimed that he needed one for his work (well, just for that few times maybe), he suggested going to the IT fair in the evening but I felt that it'll be better for us to go on Sat as we'll need to spend time looking around at the gadgets and might come back too late for Renee's shower.
Then I wanted to go to Ngnee Ann city to get my bag, but later decided to go on Sun and brought Renee down to Compass Pt instead. And becos I've planned to let her stay out till dinnertime, I've brought milk to school and she drank it whilst we were on our way to the train station :). Then again, she asked for Mcdonald's corn cup and since she's behaving well, to 'reward her', we went there again after I've done my banking.

She then asked to go to the library but I wanted her to take a nap first, so I told her the librarian uncle said she hasn't napped, thus the library is closed hehehe but she looked up and said "mommy, neh, library's there, got light, let's go". I repeated the same 'reason' to her and so, after I've redeemed the products with my package's S$390 voucher(yeah yeah, redeem products before I've even started my very first facial with them), I brought her to Metro to get some 'homewear' shorts and she fell asleep there :)
Then I went to the library(supposed to bring her there, but end up I borrowed a book whilst she's napping hahaha) and bought her a new pillow from Kiddy Palace. Wah, shopping today was a breeze man, with our princess sleeping in her stroller hahaha.

Daddy has gone out at ard 9pm+ to meet his client's business associates, and Renee fell asleep on my lap again at ard 11pm. He's now on his way back home, poor daddy...

Adult pop songs? Cold war?

Renee just simply loves music. She not only sings children songs, cite children rhythms, she also sings/hums adult songs hahaha. We were watching 1 MTV last evening, I think it's on the song 'She will be loved'? by Moroon 5. And she went with it "And she will... be loved. And she will... be lovvved" and then turned to grin at me lolz.

Oh yes, a cold war, between me and Renee. She made me soo angry lately and each time I scolded her, she'll cry, got angry and will soon forget about it. In the shower earlier, I chided her for something and she started to cry and apologise : "mommy, sorry mommy, I make sure I won't do it again" but this time, I was so tired and decided to ignore her.(haiz, to think that I even detoured to Punggol plaza earlier, to get her a 'Dora' bowl[cos 'Dora' stuffs are not always 'complete' at all stores] before I go to pick her from school)

As usual, she came to me right after I've had my shower but I still gave her the cold shoulder and she went to her daddy to 'complain'. He told her that it's because she was disobedient, thus I'm not talking to her and she told him "But I want to say sorry to mommy". I almost soften down but I controlled myself, else she'll take it lightly again.
Children are just sooo good in testing waters.
Later as I was watching tv, she came to sit beside me, trying to catch my attention but failed, so she lied down on the sofa. Then when daddy came out from the shower, she happily called out to him : "papa, come come, together, family" and he told her "but mommy is still angry". She started to apologise to me again, and even pulled me by the neck to her. I still didn't give in though I don't give her the hard look anymore.
I began to tell daddy what she had done recently and he got angry. He also chided her but she said to him : "I say sorry to mommy, I won't do it again". At this, daddy told her she must mean it otherwise apologies are nothing.
At one point, she pulled a stunt, I laughed out and I got a scolding from daddy myself too. So, I have to resume my angry state, for her good....

Later, when it was bed time, she requested her daddy to read her favourite book to her and he took the opportunity to ask "are you a good girl then?" and she quickly said "I said sorry to mommy".
After he's read the book, I think a little 'conversation' took place cos she later cried asking for me.

Not easy to be parents...

A rainy but still a school day...

It's been raining since early morning, so we decided to let Renee put on the knee length socks so as not to expose her too much to the 'cold' in case the rashes return - the plain ones I've got for her previously frm Shanghai, cos the pretty ones my sis got for her are just too big for her :( and here's how she look :

A jap kid? hahaha

Yeah yeah, I know it's a very tiny & blurry pic... but that fit in the 'safety criteria' of this blog mah hehehe

Oh ya, she dreamt about spider again this morning and called for her daddy, so she end up sleeping in between us hahaha. And as I was about to wake her up just now, I was sitting beside her when I heard her sleep-talk. She was actually 'crying' about something, so I asked her(since I'm waking her up) what happened and she kept on mumbling in the midst of her sobbings... Then finally it got clearer, and she said "nothing for me to eat".

Then suddenly it dawned on me that, could this be due to her not wanting the food in the school? Oh geez, sooo poor thing - sim tia leh... Well, anyway, I've told Mrs Jacob last week that I'll persevere with this 'training' for a while more, perhaps another term and if no real improvement at all, then perhaps, I'll prepare food for her...

I recalled the casual conversation I had with the school's Principal that day and I remembered asking her if there will always be an English and a Chinese language teacher + an aunty in the class, she said 'yes' till the K1 level...

Rashes - a false alarm...

Renee woke up this morning at 2:40am, wanting to spit out her phelgm and then she requested to sleep with me. Luckily, I've asked her to go pee first as she showed me the mosquito-bite like rash on her thighs. I had thought they were merely mosquito bites since there were only a couple of them but they later spread to the lower thighs and a few even appeared around the ankle area! I got so worried and comtemplated many times if I should phone my eldest or 2nd sis about it. However, as Renee is still very alert and no added/unusual reactions, I tried to stay calm and not phone to disturb them.

Meanwhile, I put some prickly heat powder onto the affected area and rubbed on them gently. Renee even told me that she felt better already... Then a short while later, another small patch will appear at another spot. I began to think that it might be urticaria(hives, some call it feng mok in cantonese) but if so, then the rash should be 'bigger' than those on Renee's legs. After a while later, at ard 3:30am, the rashes started to subside and I told Renee to go back to sleep which she did but I couldn't...

I finally dozed off later and the moment I woke up at 9am, I quickly checked on her but the spots were all gone. I conversed with both of my elder sisters and they told me to let Renee stay home and observe her first.
I also asked if feng mok is blood related issue(obviously wrong target but I was just too kancheong liao) 'cos I've accidently knocked Renee's right thigh against the coffee table when I carried her up too quickly in a hurry to go to school yesterday and actually, the very first patch of this rash had appeared around the bruise area then but disppeared very qucikly so I didn't put it to heart.

I let her sleep longer and only woke her for her milk at 10am. She told me that she wanted to go to school and I planned to stay there with her if so. However, a small patch of the rash came back on her left thigh and I decided to bring her to the chinese doc instead(since there's 'something' to show the doc now). I even took a picture of the rash with my camera(in case the rash should disappear quickly again) and luckily I did, cos they really disappeared not long later...
As I'm not sure of the route, I dare not risk driving and hailed for a cab, but it was such a looong wait and even trying to book a cab over the telephone was so difficult!!! A full 45 mins later, a taxi finally stopped for us(got onto one translink taxi earlier but he was sooo rude and asked me how, how to get to the place in a very rude tone/way, so I got out).

In the cab, I tried calling the school again, to inform them of Renee's non-attendance today and so happened that the Principal answered. I told her I needed to bring Renee down for a checkup due to some allergy thingy(urticaria is commonly known in the western field to be triggered by 'allergies') and she asked about the rash. I was surprised to hear from her that it's nothing to be worried about as usually kids tend to break out in these 'hives' when the weather turned cold... But nonetheless, bringing her to the doc is a good way to set our mind at ease.
When we finally get to consult the physician, he said that these are merely rash as her body's still very heaty and the weather is too cold now and he also confirmed that the rashes would appear 'bigger' if it's feng mok(I even showed him the pic on my camera hehehe).
I guess I might be guilty too, as I found her taking a longer time to recover this time, so I cooked the china barley abit too often for her... :( I boiled it almost everyday for the past few days(abt 3 days) and when I asked him if it's ok to do so, he said "No lah, once or twice a week is good enough already". Hopefully all these nonsense will be all gone after this new prescription.

That seconded my thoughts on checking with the experts on such herbal adminstrations, even if it's known to be the 'mild' or over the counter type, as anything can go wrong if we don't do it properly, especially to a young child...

*Phew*, luckily it was all a false alarm but I'm just super glad that this is just a small body reaction and also... I didn't alarm my sisters in the wee hours lolz.

Here's the info t I've extracted from the web(and the last part answered to our situation):
Urticaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Urticaria(or hives) is a skin condition, commonly caused by an allergic reaction, that is characterized by raised red skin welts. It is also known as nettle rash or uredo. Welts from hives can appear anywhere on the body, including the face, lips, tongue, throat, and ears. Welts may vary in size from about 5 mm (0.2 inches) in diameter to the size of a dinner plate; they typically itch severely, sting, or burn, and often have a pale border. Urticaria is generally caused by direct contact with an allergenic substance, or an immune response to food or some other allergen, but can also appear for other reasons, notably emotional stress. The rash can be triggered by quite innocent events, such as mere rubbing or exposure to cold.

After the doc's, we took a cab to Compass Pt, with the intention of bringing her to the library for a while after our lunch(good thing I remembered to pack some milk bread with me before I dashed out of home, cos she's not interested in the food at Jack's place this time...) and it's a good thing I've forgotten to go get a big gift box for my SIL's baby gift, cos it started to rain sooo heavily just minutes after we've reached home.

Daddy will be back tonight and it's back to school tomorrow, before the school holiday begins next week...

Part II...

After our dinner, I told Renee that her daddy will be coming back 'tomorrow night' and I pretended to ask if she still wanna go to the airport to meet him, she said "YES!" and
I told her : "but no one to fetch us there..."
Renee :"Have! It's aunty vicky's car..."
Mommy : "But aunty vicky's working"
Renee : " Never mind, I drive and I por por(honk)"
hahahahaha

Then, whilst playing together, I cleaned her nose but I've accidentally brushed the tissue up and she went : "Hey, now I dirty..." hahaha. I proceeded to apologise and she scolded the tissue 'naughty tissue' and grin back, instead of blaming me :D

Just now, I told Renee that she cannot sleep on my lap anymore tonight and she has to go to her bed, she said ok and when she finally did, I told her not to call for me and she also replied ok. I've gone to peak at her a couple of times earlier but she still hasn't fallen asleep but true to her words, she hasn't called for me since she went to her bed an hour ago :)

Daddy just phoned but Renee missed the call :( Anyway, he'll be back tonight(flight's arrival ard 7:40pm) so I didn't wake her up to answer the phone....

Oh, I've almost forgotten about these!

Bought them yesterday when I went to Robinsons 'cos noted that though she prefers to drink warm water, she must have found the Thermos' bottle abit too heavy(for her) to handle, plus it doesn't have any 'nice' pictures on it, so she wasn't 'enticed' to go drink water from it. Besides, the 2nd Baby Strawberry Shortcake's bottle I've let her used for the past 2 days, also leaked! aiyoh...

She was very happy when I showed them to her after her class. The Principal came to us when she saw Renee being led by Mrs Jacob to me and seeing this, she teased Renee and asked her to hug and thank me, which Renee did :)

(only remembered to write her name on the tumbler this aftrn when we got back - in case another kid might carry the same as her again next time heeee).

She liked both items but she seemed to take to the cup(with lid) alot more cos she still drank alot of water from it after she's taken her 300ml+ milk!!!

And it was same just now too! She told me she wants to have bread(at 9pm) but I told her she'll be drinking milk soon, so better not. Then at 9:30pm, she said she's hungry and asked for her milk bread again, so I made milk for her. She followed me to the kitchen and told me not to make too much milk and guess what?... she asked for bread after her milk! I didn't give her the bread immediately and told her to wait a while first 'cos even though I did not give her as much milk, it was still a good 280ml. Shortly later, she pestered me again and when I went to get her the bread, she said she wants a full slice(minus the edges) and when finished, she drank water from the cup and asked for another half slice...

Oh ya, usually their water bottle will be packed into their schoolbag/backpack when they're to be dismissed from class but as she loves to role-play the scenes from the Dora and/or Barney VCDs, she had asked to carry this new water bottle across her body. Then as we were walking out, she started to 'drum' on it and sing hahaha. Thinking it was some music thingy they did in school, I asked who taught her this and she said she's 'Dora the explorer' (and I later realised this came from one part of the new 'Dora' VCD hahaha)

Eating more or...?

Last night, I was watching CSI(on hallmark channel) and when the crime scene appeared, Renee saw the victim in blood and asked : "what's going on, what's going on?". Then came the picture of the blood splattered wall and she went : "look mommy, blood spots! Yeeeee" hahaha.

It was raining this morning when we were about to go leave home for school and though it was only drizzling, we took a cab there as I did not want her to 'touch' any rain water. Geez, it cost S$10.90(incl. booking fee) just for that less than 15mins ride! I must really buck up and go for the refresher course(sooo lazy...).

Mrs Jacob told me that "Renee's alot better today" 'cos she ate 2 bowls of macaroni but what she didn't know is that actually macaroni is her favourite food and I don't cook as often of it as before anymore, since the time she's willing to eat rice and porridge hahaha. Hope she'll react the same way for the rest of the menu soon...
And unlike last week, she'll complain of being tired and wanted to be carried when we're reaching home but today, when we arrived at the 'open garden', she ran(more like jogging cos I was holding on to her hahaha) and I teased her "woah, Renee is so strong today?" and she said : "Oh yes, because I ate alot in school, so I very strong!" hahaha.

I've arrived early at the school today(at 10mins to 2pm) to pick her up and saw that one of her classmates' mother had been standing outside the classroom since the session had began, I took the opportunity to take a peak too, heeee.

Neither the Principal, teachers nor the adminstrator will stop you if you just look in occasionally, as they also know that parents are concerned about their precious children. However, it is our duty to do it discreetly to avoid any disturbance to the session. It will be good for one to see for him/herself how his/her kid reacts/responses in the class and also how the teachers fare(this I'm sure the school is very confident about as their classrooms are all windowed for open viewing. They only told the parents not to stay around outside the class after the orientation period as it might reallybe a big 'problem' if all concernign parents were to stand outside to peak hahaha).
I"m glad I took the peak yesterday 'cos I saw Renee sitting at the back of the 'circle' and luckily the Lao Shi was sitting next to her, cos a boy, sitting right infront of her, kept pushing himself back to knock on her and Lao Shi was quick enough to gently pull Renee back a little...I saw Renee making the 'purrr purrr' mouth(tu tu mouth) at the boy but in juz a matter of seconds, she turned to face the back but I noticed from her lips movement that she was still singing along, so that's still ok. During that short 1 min I was watching, it was quite funny as I have to try and stay clear of her vision, so as not to distract her and the class. The mother saw me doing that and I think she got paiseh and walked away hee hee.
This got me thinking...I've always told her not to become a bully and not to be angry with friends, just let them be if they snatch anything(e.g. toys/books) from her 'cos she still have her own toys and books at home. I want her to be a forgiving person, 'cos when one is forgiving, then will one's life be 'easier'... I know that some parents might even be proud that their kids would fight back but I personally would rather not, especially at this age, Unless the bully is too much...

Teacher's assessment

I finally dozed off, right after our dinner, when Renee asked me to lie on the sofa(with the intention to play) but she didn't disturb me at all the whole time, till I woke up on my own abt 20-30mins later... :D

I've noted that the teacher/parent communication book was not in her bag when I sent her to school on Friday morning. Then when asked, Renee told me that her Teacher took it.

When I picked her up that day, I briefly flipped 'thru the book but didn't notice any notes so I just put the book back to the back.

And just now, as I was packing her bag(washed it over the wkend due to water spill) and I thought to look through the book again. Luckily I did, 'cos there're actually some ticks on the assessment column for the month of February. Though Renee has been there for only 2 wks, they are still able to assess based on her behaviour, responses I guess...

Here they are :

As usual, u can click onto the pic(s) for a more readable version and from the position of the 'leaves' , I think the bigger ones represent 'yes' and the smaller ones 'no'. Only 1 'no' here but it's on the positive side :)

Actually, she's already able to do all the above for quite some time liao, hehehe but I guess they're just ticking whatever's stated in the book :D

Sleepless...

Feeling tired, I went off to bed at about 1am this morning but was awaken by Renee's persistent cough(from ard 3am+). So, though my eyes felt heavy, I can't resume my sleep and am here blogging(with a stiff neck). Daddy has just left about 1/2 hour ago and I guess he must have also gone with a heavy heart...

Poor girl, since the time she had the viral fever/diarrhoea when she was much younger, this would be the 2nd time her 'sickness' take so long to recover. She caught a cold during her birthday celebration but had soon recovered then but it now came back with a vengence after she's started school. Usually with the 1st bottle of the chinese medicine, she'd soon be on her road to recovery but this time round, it doesn't seem so. Our partime cleaner told me that it usually takes a longer time for them to recover when they're attending school, geez... She had lost weight, due to her not eating much/finishing the food in school and also her loss of apetite these few days. Really hurt us to see her like this.

We went out late afternoon yesterday, with the main purpose to sign the indemnity form at the SQ office(as I've booked the tickets with my credit card and I'm not going along on the trip), but we were late and the office closes at 6 so we end up having dinner and buying some stuffs from Centrepoint. We proceeded to the airport thereafter and by the time we got home, it was already 9:30pm.

The first time when I didn't go along with Daddy on the trip, I had felt kinda relieved, as I usually have to do alot packing and washing work before and after the trips. And we're not just talking about our own stuffs, Renee's too! But since Renee had felt her daddy's absence quite strongly the last trip, I'm now beginning to feel the same too. So, on the way home last night, I asked Daddy how does he feel about going on the trips alone and I'm surprised to hear him replying that it's very 'sian'. I had thought his answer would more likely be 'like that lor, what to do, gotta go make money'. So I told him we felt the same too...

Oh, at 7:12am now, Renee finally woke up asking to spit out her phelgm(why finally? 'cos I've been comtemplating since 5am if I shld ask her to get up to do it) and glad that she did, as it seems like that itching cough of hers has lessen :)
She's sooo cute, she started with "mommy, I want to spit out" when she woke and though the study room's light on, I still switched on the common toilet light but she insisted that I switch it off hahaha. And after she had spat the phelgm out, she requested : "mommy, I want to orh orh some more". I hurriedly carried her back to her bed and she even asked me "mommy, why can orh orh still?" hahaha, I controlled my laugh and told her "sure you can, u're my precious darling" and she went back to sleep lolz...

I really hope that she'll get well very soon and I'm now considering to let her go to school the next few days but if I don't, then it'll be Term 1 school holidays already and she'll be bored...

Another piece of 'sian' news is that our partime cleaner has found another job and due to the switch, she won't be able to take on cleaning jobs, well at least not on such regular basis and thus I'm to look for an alternative. We had for that moment, thought of hiring a maid but later dismissed the idea again as we felt that it's still not necessary(or maybe even more troublesome) currently. My sis Eileen is helping us to check with another cleaner and if this one's ok, we'll take her on but if not, then we'll just have to settle for professional cleaning help, so sian...

Oh no, I'm still not able to go to sleep! Hope I'll have the energy to tend to Renee's needs later(well, I still have to even if I don't...)