The Menu

A sms message from Janice got us hooked up at the yahoo messenger last night, but it was a pretty discruptive chat as Jerome kept waking up and we made a casual pact to meet up today.

At past 10am this morning, I onfirmed with her to meet up at Compass Point as I needed to get an extra pillow and toothbrush(for use at the CC). Renee was pretty excited and was still, even when she learnt that Jerome won't be joining us but she did falter for a second and asked "school has re-opened?". I was wondering what to tell her but thought the truth to be the best. Initially, she said "I want to go to school!" but when I told her that she will only begin 'school' at the Kinderland CCC about 2 weeks later and she smiled.

With the short time frame I decided against cooking her meal and since she had wanted char siew rice, I thought to go for her favourite food. However, on our way there, she said she's still not hungry and we changed our mind and met up with Janice at Mac instead, :D.

I provided Janice with whatever info I could remember about our CC search and when I told her what the extra bit Mrs Teoh had told me earlier over the phone this morning - that there will be the teaching of '3 zi jin' and even the fundamentals of 'bi hua' has already began, she exclaimed "Oh, that's very good". In fact, I had once brought this '3 zi jin' enrichment to her before and she had seemed keen except that the enrichment school only accept older children(min 5 yrs old). I then showed her the menu and was surprised that she found it of 'better quality'(what with rice + sweet and sour fish + stirfried cauliflower + eggs - which Renee can't take..., fried beehoon with diced chicken cubes, fish cake and chye sim, etc - so far, I've seen only 2 diff sets of weekly menu) though it's less varied. Snacks like cereals, sandwiches are all served with milo, something which Renee doesn't like, so I'd have to ask them to replace it simply with milk(I'd have to pack milk powder over) or just water.

On the other hand, Kinderland Preschool replied that though they could adhere to our proposed schedule of 3 days attendance per week, they're unable to pro-rate which in this case, I find there's no need for their 'approval' right? lolz. Anyway, even 'this proposed schedule' had deemed non-feasible, thus their reply had no impact to us other than just make us feel even better for not adopting this 'waste of school fees' and yet highly troublesome schedule.

Janice and I had a short but nice chat and hopefully, we might have the chance to meet up again next week if my pressence is still not required at the office yet.

Back home, Renee had an hour of 'independant' play before her practice during which I promised to do an artwork with her tonight and when I highlighted it to her, she was very excited, :D. Daddy saw the artwork and told her to do it nicely as he'd like to frame and put it up in his office if its nicely done, :).

No Play Day?

We had wanted to bring Renee back to the E!hub Downtown East for a ride at the Ferris Wheel but she would sure want to go to the ExplorerKid and daddy said that it's best to still avoid these places for the time being in view of the H1N1.

So, we ended up shopping in town, not a very wise alternative still but it's to keep her from making noise for couping up at home on a family day(esp. when she sees her daddy full day at home, she gets even more restless, lolz).

Viewing Day

There was no urgent need for us to go to the office today but it was the MMI CCC's open house and we were supposed to be registrating with them today(waiver of registration fee which cost S$107-regn fees are usually non-refundable). When we were near our office, we passed by Pat's schoolhouse again and I told daddy why don't we go take a look as I would personally prefer Pat's if compared to MMI although it might cost more. And thanks to this detour, we also passed by a Kinderland CCC which was just a few 'houses'(they are all standalone semi-D type) away from Pat's.

Pat's schoolhouse was closed today and sighting the chains around the gate, daddy just drove away from Pat's and stopped outside Kinderland and when we realised that it was also closed, I took down the number indicated on the signboard(which indicated that it's a Franchise branch and operated by Uni-3 Montessori) and decided to phone them up, in case there were indeed people in the centre. However, it was really closed for cleaning(non operative on Saturdays anyway - daddy said 'ok what') and we left. Daddy said I should have just find out more instead so I rang her(owner/Principal) up when we got to the office.

Mrs Teoh was nice and patient to answer my queries and since we were keen and stay far from its premise, she deliberately arranged for us to go back at 12:30pm to view the place. It wasn't as big a set up as compared to Kinderland Preschool Serangoon and there's only 1 class for each level(1-preN, 1-N, 1-K1, 1-K2) and each class size is of a maximum intake of only 12 students. Unlike Kinderland Preschool, they only have 1 teacher in the class though but what I like is that they're non-airconditioned(except for during nap time and it's better 'cos the kids will be there for the whole day) and they also cater in optional enrichment classes. They used to be a montessori set up and I'm not sure of its reason, they converted to a Kinderland CCC but Mrs Teoh advised that there will still be a little bit of Montessori method incorporated in the curriculum but when I viewed its time table, I think it's very minimal, :). Teachers are all diploma holders and if they're not trained by Kinderland teachers training school, they will still have to under-go a re-training. So for this point, I feel better 'cos it would lessen the changes/confusion Renee would have to face(whether or not we resume school with Kinderland Preschool later). Although I know we really can't expect much from a CC set up, but the least I can hope for is to have the minimum changes for her.

In terms of fees, even after the government's subsidy, it cost the same or just slightly more than what we have been paying the preschool if we take up the enrichments, so that actually makes the preschool expensive, but at least Kinderland Preschool's food menu has got alot more varieties(I think so far no school I've been to/checked out has a menu that could beat theirs, even PX whom has worked with various CCC said so). However, it's still pretty good(though alot of chicken and eggs used - they will avoid eggs for Renee then) as compared to those PCF's and neighbourhood's schools/CCC which I've been to, during my earlier search/kaypohing around, heee.

Although theirs is a franchise branch, Mrs Teoh also allows waiver of their registration fee(and Kinderland schools don't collect deposit which I feel is very good as it shows that they're very confident about their schools. Besides, why pressure parents on deposits - one would have to consider the welfare of their children during the 1 month notice and also, how long will the refund take) and since we'd be only bringing Renee over later, say around 9am(woah, that means we have to leave home by 8am everyday!), she will also request for her teachers to move/change the 'play/outdoor' curriculum to suit hers so that she won't miss the 1st part of I-LAP/MAP/ programmes. I really appreciate her accomodative suggestions, cos that means Renee will only miss only the assembly and some 'not so important' curriculum.

At the same time, I gave Pat's schoolhouse a call but they were unwilling to let us view the premise that day and from the lady & its web, I found out that they're using Letterland for phonics - so that's another different programme(which in my opinion, is only useful to draw really young kids' attention, I've seen the adverse effect zoo phonics have on Renee, so I'm not keen on such specialised programmes at all).

Back home, after daddy's left to meet his client for dinner cum drinking(now), Renee didn't take to her practice well - she didn't want her papa to go... And since she was hungry, I told her to continue later and have her dinner first but I'm not sure if it's due to her knowing that I'm ordering pizza for my dinner, she didn't finish her dinner again. If u said that her tummy's still not well and doesn't have the apetite, she had insisted on eating 3-4 pizza crusts ok!

Vicky had asked me to go over her place but by the time I was done with the altering of her new dresses, it was already close to 9pm, and thus we just chatted over the phone.

When I was going for my shower, I teased her that she has to practice on her own but I've never thought that she would 'cos I've gone in without fixing up the violin/bow for her. As I was just about to wash my hair, there I heard, the sounds of violin, hahaha. I guessed this is also what she's managed to do, when her dua pek asked her to play for him the other day when daddy and me left for lunch(she wanted to stay in the office with dua pek).

By the time we're both settled down, it was around 10:30pm and Renee said that she's hungry but we do not have any milk bread left at home, so she asked me to cook something up for her! I thought of mee sua - something which she had loved a couple of years ago and perhaps she was really very hungry, she kept saying 'hmmm, ya, very yummy', hahaha. I've only cooked one 'lot' of the mee sua for her as I wasn't sure if she'd really eat it but she claimed that it wasn't enough and asked me to cook more, geez. It's already too late so I told her that I'll cook it for her again tomorrow if she really loves it but it's not good to eat so much at nite(ya ya, who's talking, lolz).

We still havn't heard from the school, they're probably very busy due to the H1N1 situation - they've been calling all parents to follow up, paper declarations from them, blah blah. And although we might not be returning to the school so soon, I guess I would still have to give them a call on Monday to tell them our decision(which we have to make soon).

Difficult Notes Reading Song

We finally had her violin lesson today and she might have gotten 2 star passes today had I not been guiding her the wrong way on the lastest song, lolz(well, actually daddy worsened it, cos he's been telling her to play 'staccato' even shorter than what I've already told her to, and it wasn't correct!).

I had thought that we could perhaps be getting the new set of violin today but the shipment hasn't arrived yet. Well, good in a way, 'cos I'm not sure if I'd have time to guide her on her practices when she entered the CC system, needless to say to guide her on a new violin even! haiz... Even her violin teacher was afraid of that when I told her that we'd be putting Renee in a CC(citing the exam is nearing soon, but I din say I'm letting her take the exam leh...). Anyway, I'll try my best.

Today's new piece 'Perpetual Motion' in A major, though is easier to play, but the notes are more and close to each other(esp. tougher 'cos violin notes are smaller) and I foresee more hard work on both of us again... Meantime, violin lessons have been scheduled back to the 11:30am Sunday slots til further notice, :(.

After the lesson, we met up with Eileen at hougang mall as I had initially needed to use her discount voucher to get some supplies for the office but it turned out that we don't even need the voucher, aiyoh! Eileen had gone home first as I wanted to browse for something at the mall but we still ended up at her place(for a short while) thereafter. Didn't stay long there, not sure if it's due to the 'tummy problem' or the thought of Renee going to CC soon, but I didn't quite have the mood...

Tomorrow is the CC centre's open house and we'll be going down to the office and perhaps, we'd be making our registration then, :(.

Will update again....

A Terrible Tummyache

Indeed, I've caught the bug. Yesterday had been a terrible day for me...(good thing we've cancelled our playdates for today and tomorrow).

The night before(Tues), I had sudden intestinal cramp and diarrhoea-ed at midnight and more came in the morning when I woke. Renee had been a gem, she hadn't known that I was unwell and yet she didn't wake me up when she did and just took her toys, sat beside me on the bed and played by herself. She only finally woke me up when she couldn't withhold her thirst and needed water. Thereafter, I dragged myself up, make sure my hands are properly disinfected and prepared Renee's lunch but she couldn't finished the meal, :(.

Not sure if it was due to this but I've forgotten to bring her medicine to the office the day before and her condition also came back and thus, her loss of 'apetite'. I then cooked myself a bowl of instant beehoon and took off to bed after taking a dose of the pre-concocted medicine powder mixture(a pre-bottled powder concoction also by the Physician we always consulted) and she had also left me to that...

I'm not expecting miracle healing with such non-prescriptive ch medication and after my nap, I felt worser till I vomitted and diarrhoea-ed which made me feel alot better. That gave me enough energy to trim Renee's nails and even her hair! - her hair is getting 'heavy' and it doesn't look good/tidy when it's so, so I can't resist, heee. But well, she looked alot better now and when tied up, it's cute pony tails without sacrificing the original length though it still kinda look shorter due to the 'curl'(at the bottom).

Then, as my symptoms were coming back, I had to go help daddy at the seminar. I can see the 'dilemna' on his face - to let me rest at home or otherwise. I didn't voice out as I knew he needed the help but I guess this had also somehow affected his speech 'cos he ended the seminar earlier last night. The minute we got home after picking Renee up from Eileen's, I collapsed immediately on our bed, unchanged and still with my makeup on, I napped, almost instantly! I woke up half an hour later, feeling cold but still dragged myself up for a shower and did my laundry(after daddy's done his) as PX's coming today.

Then 2nd dose of the medication before sleep last night seemed to do the trick and though I can't say that I've fully recovered, but I'm no longer that lethargic and the cramp lessened alot. However, I wouldn't say the same for Renee 'cos she's woken at 3am and diarrhoea-ed and had been asking for water. Then, from late morning til early afternoon, she had been in and out of naps - I was just so lethargic myself too yesterday, poor girl...And when she told me that her tummy still hurts(when I asked her), I decided to fix an appointment with the physician. But both of us had seemed better and I wasn't sure if I should actually carry on with the consultation til daddy said to better go, so we went. The physician confirmed mine's stomach flu but was puzzled that Renee's still unwell when she's taken more than 1/2 bottle of the medication, so he prescribed something else.

When PX learnt of our 'might be' decision to place Renee in the CCC, she shared the same sentiments - heartache... 'cos she said that she's 'seen the results of my taking care of her personally' but what can I say to that? If the choice's to be, then we also have no choice, well, all I can hope for is that this is only for the time being...

PX stayed and played with Renee for a while despite of her own hunger, :) and good thing was, Renee didn't throw tanthrums of having such a short play with her, :D.

Renee's now tucked in bed(after I've read her a new story - 'Rumpelstilskin') and though she did try her luck once by coming out to seek her daddy's company, she did go back on her own thereafer... I really hope she'd be able to cut off this 'papa, sleep with me' habit soon...

Still in Consideration

Decided to follow up with the school with a formal letter on our request so that it'd be easier for the principal to take the matter up with the HQ.

Right now, it's just waiting time as we need their confirmation to plan our adjustment.

Mail for Renee!

As expected, there's mail for Renee when we opened up the mailbox today!

The big white envelope contained these stickers which PX had gotten but forgotten to pass to her(no wonder she had earlier asked Renee to write our address down on an envelope, hahaha):

Unknowing to her, Renee had guessed correctly who the sender was when we handed her the mail, :).

The ChildCare Centre

Although I've woken up earlier, we still didn't manage to arrive at the physcician's on time. Renee had woken up a few times complaining about 'dry throat'(thirst) and asked for water - for a change, daddy tended to her requests, ;).

I had not planned to cook her lunch to the office today but since her tummy's not well, I thought it's best that I still do so.

True enough, she's got gastric flu! Oh man... I've been taking her un-finished food!

At the office, she was bored 'cos I didn't pack alot of her stuffs along 'cos we have to bring our filtered water over. Daddy had complained about the taste of the water at the office(even though I've given the air pot a good wash every day) and I couldn't agree more - probably it's due to our tastebuds being used to drinking filtered water(no chlorine taste, etc) now. We don't have bigger containers, so from tomorrow onwards, if I'm going to be there, we would be bringing 2 bottles(cool) and 1 small jar(hot) of the water to the office, heee.

The fatique has finally got to Renee when her dua pek left and she requested for me to carry her so that she could sleep on my arms(I didn't bring my mat along 'cos she had been so positive about not going to sleep in the office, but I still brought her smaller bolster, lolz). She fell asleep almost instantly and had quite a good nap til the chatter of daddy and his visitors at his office next door. And guess what she did? - she went to sit on the floor in daddy's room! lolz. It wasn't very nice so to get her out of the office, I told her to follow me down to the childcare centre to have a look, which was unplanned at all. Hmmm, the centre is pretty spacious and some of its curriculum seems pretty ok to me but when the teacher explained to me, I'm not sure if she'd be confused later when it comes to phonics since Montessori is using their own method(when we resumed school with Kinderland or another preschool). Other pointers to note :

- most activities are conducted within the half hour range(except for Montessori activity- which is 1 hr and nap time - 2 hrs allocated). Montessori lessons are not based on an overall general teaching but according to each individual child's 'standard'. There's pros and cons here, good in the sense that if your child is learning faster, he/she can progress and learn more without being 'held back', bad thing is, our formal schooling system is not adopting this method, so he/she might be too advance for his/her own good in a way OR even perhaps, unable to re-adapt back

- individual work(which I think it's good for personal concentration) and group projects

- yoga and speech & drama as part of their curriculum

- the children were hving their speech & drama enrichment when we arrived and some kids were seen walking outside the particular room? Kids of various age(1-2, 2-3 and so forth) were all seen gathered together in the same room when we were invited to view the 'activity' but it had ended and it had seem quite 'messy' - maybe it's due to school bus fetching time.

- mandarin also only half hour

- I asked how different they're from Montessori and was told that they're infact the authentic Montessori although many people are confused as they have the foreword 'Modern'.

- 3 sets of uniform needed to be purchased for full day care students but they'd be changed out of it to home clothes at noon right after the shower so I don't really see the need for 3 sets, especially when they're usually in the air-con room.

When back at the admin office, Renee was led by the N2 teacher to the earlier room where they were doing some free drawing but the asst teachers were merely doing their own doodling and the kids were doing theirs 'cos I think it's activity time(til 7pm when the actual pick up time for CC). Personally, I feel a little involvement/guidance from the teachers would be better but I wasn't there to observe further, so can't really tell much. However, I guess I really shouldn't expect too much of this when it comes to a C.C. set up... Arrrggggh, such dilemna! I hadn forgotten to ask about the food menu and the 'bath' method - maybe it was because my heart wasn't 'in it'. On the other hand, Renee, as usual, had enjoyed her moment there and hadn't want to follow me back to the office til we told her that she's to tell her daddy that she likes it there and wanted to go there.

I shared with daddy what I've observed and during our discussion, Renee fussed about going back there, aiyoh! Ya lah, what she saw was the classroom props, children's work and participated in the free drawing, surely she'd love to go, :D. But I still have my reservations, so we'll see..., besides I'm waiting for a favourable reply from principal of Kinderland.

Father's Day

It's Father's day but Renee's tummy wasn't that well - felt bloated. We didn't go to ExplorerKid @ E!hub Downtown East as planned as I needed to get some 'divine' advices(I know I know, Buddhists are not encouraged or even supposed? to do this but I really needed guidance...) and so we went to the Kwan Yin Temple at waterloo street. I've also asked Renee to pray for a 'better' tummy, though I'm not sure if she really did that when she clasped her hands together in respect, :). But as I was praying for 'advice' lots, she had vomitted alittle but felt better.

We decided to go back to Dian Xiao Er restaurant at Marina Square(yes again, 'cos we went there to check something out y/day after office) so Renee could at least have the soup there but she also ended up eating some rice + duck as well, :). Before dinner starts, I brought out her surprise for daddy - something which we've gotten during our last minute outing to the mall last thursday(paid with her own 'cow' band money :>) and she quickly told him that there'd be another 'surprise' for him back but soon let out that it was a card she's done for him, lolz. Daddy's pleased, :D.

Back home, she had diarrhoea after milk(milk does have this effect when u have a tummy upset) and even soiled her pyjamas shorts when she let out 'gas', lolz... However, she fell asleep almost immediately which is good as we have to wake up early to go to the chinese physician 'cos we suspect that it could be gastric/stomach flu she's got... poor girl, :<(oh no, I've been taking her unfinished food!).

Unexpected/Unpredicted Changes

Since the terminating the service of the 'sleeping' staff, I've been helping out at the office(Sat, Mon, Tues, with no change to the tending of Seminars on a day from Wed to Fri) but now that the school holidays are ending soon, we've yet to find a suitable candidate(geez, out of the 80 over applications we've received, 60+ were sent by Phillipinos - yet Singaporeans are complaining about foreigners taking over their job opportunities?). Currently, we're also not sure if we have enough administrative work for the new person since most of the work are still very much tended by daddy personally andor/my BIL(some by me), we certainly do not wish to pay for a person to do nothing but personal stuffs at the office. With this in view, I had thought to perhaps help daddy out for the next few months, til such time when the volumn of admin work gets higher, then the paid help should come in. However, that would mean several changes :

For the next few months :-

1) Take to the initial plan of changing Renee's school to the morning session(this was considered earlier, not based on me helping daddy but to help her change to sleeping earlier routine) and I'll bring her over to the office after school

- With this option, needless to say, I'll be damn tired as I'd have to wake up very early to send her to school which starts at 8 for the morning session, tend to the work(worser when the volumn's coming in) and Renee & her practice/play, not forgetting that she might even get cranky due to the change and I'd still have to tend to the housechores when back home. However, this would be more feasible when it comes to the 'seminar' nights but it would also mean for renee to sleep over at my sis' and I'd have to go over in the early morning next day, to prepare her and send her to school - This would bring on another series of preparation/packing work for me and I'm not even sure if my sis would agree. One thing for sure though, if this is the option, then there, I'll be a walking zombie, :).

2) The above, but put her on half day CC at the Modern Monterssori Childcare Preschool(MCP) after school at Kinderland, just below the office

- This option would allow me better concentration with the work but it's still tiring/tedious

- Troublesome when it comes to the 'seminar' nights

3) Full day CC at the MCP

- This option seems to be most feasible, based on the situation but matters like, having to sell my car would have to be tackled too(it'd be wasteful to put my car in the carpark for the period of time right?)

- Heartache, :(

4) #1 but get a maid to tend to Renee in the office

- Ermmm, not really our choice

*Well, that's about all I could remember off-hand as I'm too 'heavy' headed to think anymore now...

Earlier, it was the thought of 'which' primary school that's giving me a big headache but now it is this(not mentioning the heartache if we have to put her in the C.C.C.). Anyhow, whichever case it is, her violin practices will be compromised...

I've spoken to a few friends on this and though a couple were supportive, citing the inevitability given the situation but a few weren't and that I must admit, added stress. However, I have to tell myself that it's still our call, to make good the situation with of cos, not without taking in the consideration of our child's welfare. Thereby, nothing's confirmed yet and I need to discuss this matter further with daddy again before we could conclude. Meantime, it's mind struggling period for me...

A Day Out, No 'Dora' Tour...

Having stayed home on Wednesday('cos Renee would be going to my sis' in the evening, so bringing her to the office might be too tiring for her), she was restless for 'play' when she saw PX yesterday. That however, had gotten her distracted and it affected her practice that I had to reprimand her. She cried, looked for her daddy and sobbed through her explanation even, when her aunty Eileen phoned, :).

I've not met up with my gf, Vicky since her wedding last Nov(well, not counting the day she came up our place, a very short while, to pass me things, just before CNY) and we finally met up today, for our get-together meal(for her coming birthday. After so many yrs, we've both ran out of ideas of what to buy for each other and thus, hv made a pact to give a each other a treat on our birthdays and stick to X'mas gift exchange, :D). Again, Renee's violin teacher's unwell(apparently caught the flu bug from 1 of her students), so with today's lesson postponed, I rang Vic up to bring forward our meeting time. We didn't go far and since we have gone to Vicky's place to pick her up earlier(this is the 1st time I went to pick her up for our outings, it was always the other way round in the past), we ended up at the newly revamped Sembawang Shopping Centre. Woah, many retailers are resorting to this form of attraction - 'Renovation/Revamp' and it really helped. The minute Renee saw the 'jumping playground', she had insisted on going on board it but hving just eaten, we forbid her but she still came around it later, which I had to disssuade her with bribe of ice-cream, lolz.

There's also a Daiso there and I had almost ended up with more than my today's purchases of >S$30 had I not been reminded that there would soon be one branch near my home, hahaha. Amongst the stuffs I've got for the office, I spotted some colourful stamp pads and I couldn't resist, so, heee. Here're the stuffs(so are the items really cheap at S$2? Hmmm, Not for all I would say) :

By the way, we'd be forgoing the 'Tour with Dora & Boots' next Tuesday, at T3. With the recent uprise of the H1N1 cases in Singapore, due to the recent home-coming holiday travellers, daddy had said "better not", so I've told Vicky that we'd not be taking up the tour which her friend had earlier registered, :(.

Artwork(finger print) Display

These are what we've done at the office last Saturday :

Renee's, nice right? :D

mommy's, heee

PaPa's Office - 3rd Day

Renee began her violin practice shortly after we've got to the office today, as I wanted to avoid her crankiness in the afternoon when she'd be more tired. Daddy had initially put off an appointment as he had mistakenly thought that I'd be brining Renee to the DORA tour(which my gf, Vicky has kindly gotten the registered tour from her friend) today but I told him otherwise. So, from 11am to 4pm, both Renee and I would be on our own in the office, :).

Not long after daddy's gone for his appointment, Renee's dua pek came and she even played him a couple of tunes with her violin! I'm surprised, hahaha. Anyway, he didn't stay in the office for long either and when he left, Renee was counting down to his return(even more as compared to her papa's, lolz). At around 3pm, dua pek finally came back to the office, followed by daddy a while later who witnessed the both of them playing(that's why she was so reluctant when it was time to go back with me).

Yesterday, it was only when we were already on the road that Daddy told me that I'd be driving home myself today 'cos he has to conduct training in the evening. Oh man, I was sooo sleepy then that I did not pay attention to the routes and I'd have to totally rely on my GPS to guide me home(minusing the time when there's no satelite reception in the tunnel, so there'd no direction -he likes to use this route cos of less jam but it can make the driver very sleepy due to the speed limit)... Thankfully, we got home smoothly(with a few minor 'almost' hiccups when I had wanted to turn to divided routes that Daddy had not taken into considerations/bother to remind me, luckily not...) as we left abit earlier to avoid the jam. We did detour to Compass Point though, to pack our dinner and return/get a new book from library(of cos our dear girl made noise when she couldn't spend more time at the Kiddy Palace, lolz).

Not sure if that's the stacctao tempo(duno how to describe in musical term, lolz) the teacher wanted for her to be given a pass by this Friday's lesson(that'd be 1 wk's practice by then), she still hasn't played the 'Ritard' very well... Oh, daddy tied her hair today, :D
'Allegro'

Drinking her milk since she didn't have her 'morning boost' yesterday morning

Look what she's done with the chairs from the 2 rooms, first it was the trolley, now the chairs

Still misses her corner desk, came right to it the min we got home just now, :D

Oh ya, whilst she was having her lunch, she said she's a leafy-vorous when she was eating her vege, hahaha. She had converted that from the word 'herbivorous' which daddy had taught her during our recent trip to the zoo.

PaPa's Office - 2nd day

It's our 2nd 'official' day at the office and there I was, clad in my dress and heels, vaccuming the floor! Then it was tidying up the office pantry(work stations are more or less done) and getting the air pot and the cups washed, etc. By the time I was done with these, the back of my dress was already soaked... how unglam! lolz.

Next task - to scan through the desktop of the 'fired' staff and delete whatever non-work related nor required programmes, namely the MSN, Yahoo Messanger, Skype, personal photos, songs! Boy, this mother of 6(5 yrs younger than us, for the info) sure have alot of 'junks' in our office computer! Geez, with so much things un-done and nonsense personal work in the office, she had to be so glad that she's had the job for these few months(no one can help her if she doesn't 'help' herself).

After our lunch, Renee began her violin practice(yes, we took her violin along so she won't miss her practice), before she had her nap on my exercise mat(which I didn't get to use tonight, lolz), :D. Her nap was rather short though and thus, she was abit cranky thereafter.

Renee was hoping to go to the mall but we were both tired(especially me!) and we packed our dinner home where we had a little 15mins nap. That was indeed a power nap 'cos it got me packing up the wardrobe after digging up some new apparels for Renee. After the removing and stacking up of the boxes, I decided I've had enough 'exercise' for the day, lolz...

Lately, Renee has taken a stronger liking(than before) to my leg warmers, the pink stripes pair and had requested to wear them. Since we've been hving the airconditioner on at night and her wearing the short pyjamas set, these leg warmers should really be 'useful', :).

Papa sleep with Me!

Renee's sleeping routine had been constantly disrupted by her over-indulging daddy. When she was younger, she had wanted me to be with her on bedtime, just me staying beside her, she wouldn't let me pat her though(she found it distracting, lolz)... And to get a break at times, I'd requested daddy to 'help out' in this area(though initially I still heard her crying for me inside...) and being the man that he is, he fell asleep with her on our bed! *tsk tsk tsk*. Well, to him it's easier this way, but never did it occur to him that this actually made her even more dependant during bedtime! Then he got busy and would come home late almost every night(and when he's back early, he had to tackle paper work til late) and it was during those times, I had to 'suffer' and re-train her.

Recently, just as she was about to be independant, her dear dear papa have to go and 're-kindle' this habit in her! Geez! There goes my efforts, again, haiz... not mentioning that it's not very good as sometimes he's not willing to go in with her til much later(men, most of them, usually no sense of discipline in these areas) and it gets me mad.

Hoping to put her back on track on bedtime independancy, I reminded her just now during her shower, that her star reward accumulation is not limited to only her violin practices but the stars can also be awarded to her for good behaviour and, for example...sleeping on her own, through the night, :D. BUT, if she misbehaves, throws tanthrums, she'll get 1 star 'checked-off'(no star reward if she asks daddy to sleep beside her, even if the request was made in the middle of the 'night').

On top of that, she'll get to exchange for a new toy with 20stars, but that means she'd have to forego the usual 5stars for a lolly, for the accumulation(inspired by the recent disney princess doll aquisition). Well, we shall see how this goes or rather, leave that 'decision' to her, :D.

So far so good, I've just read her a story and tucked her in and she's only came out once citing her fear of being alone in the room but was soon soothed, we'll see... *crossing fingers* :)

ExplorerKid

A lazy Sunday(and I still havn't got enough sleep...) but we still got our butts outta home and went to check the talked about the ExplorerKid @ E!hub Downtown East. I believe this had been around for a while now, just that it was recently, WS's mommy had been asking me to go there with them and our timing just couldn't 'match', so I decided to check the place out ourselves.

Nearing the place, we saw the brightly lighted Ferris Wheel and asked Renee if she'd like to try it later but she had thought that it'll be very faster than 'The Flyer' and said no, :).

We toured around the whole place(almost) and finally, we went back to the ExplorerKid as Renee wanted to go to the playground. We signed up for its membership and I even have to pay for a new pair of socks('cos I didn't have any on) and in we went. I brought Renee through 'The Cave' with big cute mushrooms, straight to the ball pools. Liking colours, she headed straight to the one filled with colourful balls and was very happy there til I had to get her to go to the playground for more fun. However, the kids there were pretty rough and a few times, she was almost knocked down by them if I wasn't there to hold/'save' her. She managed to give some parts of it a try on my urging and to encourage her, I even looked for easier 'paths' for her to go on her own. For the 1st time, I accompanied her til half way through and got her to try out the rest on her own but the 2nd time I left her, she cried out and I had to assure her that I'd be going over to the other end for her like earlier, haha.

Then, she decided she wanted to go back to the ball pools and after a while at the colourful one again(which is actually for 3 yrs and below), I finally persuaded her to go to the Lit Ball Pool, which is for older kids.

To be honest, for the price, it wasn't that fantastic to me(perhaps it'd be more fun if she goes there with her friend(s) or maybe she's too young) and their time limit of 1 hour is more than enough, although Renee had not wanted to leave, hahaha. And before & after our dinner, Renee wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel but we hadn't got our camera along today and had already missed out those shots at the ExplorerKid, so we told her we'll come and let her try it the next time, :D.

When we got home, I set about packing more stuffs for daddy's office - oh man, when can I have a good rest?... :D

Papa's Office

Woke up early today as it marks the 1st day of my(and also Renee's) being at daddy's office for the coming weeks(but only Sat, Mon and Tues, Wed - Seminar). Good thing daddy had suggested having breakfast outside whilst I was preparing Renee's lunch, so that at least make 1 task lesser for me... No milk for Renee this morning(for fear of her needing the toilet on the way to the office, lolz) and she had her slice of ham sandwich whilst we were hving our mee rebus, :)

At the office, Renee and I began to do the fingerprint artwork(tending to the 'work' now and then) and not just her, but I too, took an instant liking to this artwork! It's easy and makes nice 'drawings' and it kept us going for a good few hours, :). After Renee's had her lunch(she couldn't wait, even though she's had some milk from tbe bottled Pediasure), we went down to the Jack's Place downstairs and she still ate some of our food...

We left the office at around half past 2pm and headed to the Zoo(wanted to go to the Bird Park but felt it might be boring for Renee, heee) but we didn't stay too long there as we were all already sweaty, even by just walking slowly around some parts of it and also, it was showing signs of a downpour - luckily we left early, 'cos it really rained not long after we left the place.

I requested to go to the mall as I've earlier jotted down the items which we'd need for the office but instead of the stationeries, we got a new vaccum cleaner for the home, so we could bring the current one to the office. Back home, we had our LJS dinner whilst waiting for Renee's meal to be cooked, and she practiced her violin - daddy said it's good ambience for him to have his dinner, lolz.

Thereafter, although I was very sleepy, I went on to set up the new vaccum, put the old one back to the box, packed the necessities for the office, whilst daddy's having his nap!(hey, I'm the one who's not having enough sleep here!) and guess what? I even tried our new purchase out after he's awoke, haiz...(pai mia, hahaha).

And now, I'm super tired, sleepy and what have you, I'm still here blogging away... geez :D

Finger Print Art, Violin & Doll

Remembering the finger print art demo today, I decided to bring Renee over to the mall after her violin lesson. Last week, I've requested for her lessons to be on Fridays, even when school re-opens but that needed further confirmation, meantime, it's also Fridays, but at 11:30am. Yesterday, Ms Mok informed me of a situation at her end that required the lesson time to be changed to 12:30pm for today. Yet, before I even got ready to go over this morning, she text again that her next student couldn't make it and we could go over at 2pm if we like. I took the later slot but perhaps, due to the changes, I later mistook the time to be 2:30pm! Good thing we still managed a 'full' lesson despite being late even, and we also got a little chat on Renee's progress til my tummy growled and we had to leave, lolz.

Today's lesson embarked on 2 'things'. 1, is to begin on the 'hearing' training - 'Tonalization' which is to be done each time before she begins her practices and the other, a new song - 'Allegro'. The latter entails even more dynamics with new ones like Staccato = 'Detached' playing; Dolce = play Sweetly; Ritard(Rit) = Slow Down, a Temp = Back to Original Tempo; 'Drag'...

Since the songs had gotten tougher & tougher, Renee has been getting her passes from the 2nd week of practices recently unlike 1 for the earlier songs(hmmm, maybe I should push her further? Nah...I'll just vomit more blood if I do so, hahaha). With this song, Ms Mok said that it should take a longer time 'to get a pass' as it's not easy, especially for a young kid - oh no, this is just the beginning to the even tougher ones, oh man, what have I gotten myself into! :}

After our snacks at Mac, we headed to the bookstore for the demo. It was rather quiet at the demonstration stall and I'd almost missed it! However it was also good this way 'cos Renee got to try the stamp art a short while, guided, :). It seems interesting and with already an intention to get the stamp set to try, I took this pack instead, heee.

Then, as usual, I was led towards Kiddy Palace and there, I remembered daddy's words when I told him about our girl wanting a barbie doll and how I don't like barbie dolls, lolz... He had said "it's her who wanted it, not you, why don't you just get her?". Well, well, this is the same man who told me that times(economy) are bad everywhere and there...

Anyway, I had initially thought that perhaps a small japanese made one will be good enough to please her but she had claimed it to be too small, :p. I then showed her another doll(with eyes that could move) and she took a liking to it! But I have my eyes on the disney princess dolls, which are slightly bigger in size compared to the one she was holding and better manageable(not part cloth made) and I asked her to choose her 'princess'. I even bring down a few of the princesses in barbie doll style-made(skinny dolls, but still clad in their princess outfits instead of the fashion ones) and mind you, I even brought her to the barbie dolls section for her to decide(*crossing my fingers* though, lolz), but she finally made her choice on Cinderella in blue, :). The princesses also come in bigger sized sets, with mini mirror, brushes, etc and a press on their hands bring on a song and their jewels lighting up. However, unlike the last time we were there, they were now placed on the highest racks(maybe to avoid kids/customers pressing on the hands and damaging the dolls) and with no salesgirls in sight despite waiting for a while, I gave up and decided since she like this one then why bother to try and get a more costly one, times are bad afterall, lolz.

Earlier, when we were passing the dolls section, there was a family nearby and the mommy nursing her baby discreetly(thankfully she had a cape to cover) remarked that Renee's cute. Then as Renee was walking away to whatever she's looking for, I tried to call her back and asked if she'd like to have the princess doll and here's what took place :

Me : "Renee, come take a look, do you want this doll?"

Renee : (looking back) "Ok"
Me : "Are you sure?"
Renee : (pausing) "Ermmm, mayb I don't want"
Me : "....."
Renee : (looking back again) "I full of nonsense?". At this point, the mommy couldn't help but burst out laughing and she said "She is sooo cute" - ya, she hasn't seen the naughty side of her yet, hahaha.

When I was queing up to pay for the doll, I passed my mobile phone to Renee and asked her to get her papa's permission to buy the doll but guess what? She asked : "papa, we are at Kiddy Palace", "what time you coming back?" and she began to walk away...After I've paid, I walked to her and asked her if she's got her daddy's permission and she asked "papa, I want a Cinderella doll, can we buy it? Mommy already paid" - so much for asking...

Back home, Renee even forego her favourite apple 'cos I told her that she could only unbox the doll after she's had her shower and eating the apple will delay that, so..... And whilst waiting for her shower time, she kept going around the boxed doll, lolz.

Finally, it was unboxed and boy, just look at her :) :

Playdate at the 3D Movie!

Finally, after a few months 'break', Renee met up with Wae Shuen today!

We've arranged to meet @ Orchard Cineleisure at noon and mommy Sharmaine offered to get the tickets in advance for us(whilst she's waiting for shuen's class at Berries to end). The last time we've gone to a movie was during my eye surgeon's anniversary celebration(din go for the 2nd one cos it's 'the eye' and dun think Renee would like it hahaha)and it was private screening, so we've no idea about the current cost of tickets til today... S$20 just for 2 tickets, geez!

The minute WS caught sight of us, she came running : "Renee, Renee!". It's sooo nice to see friendship in our young kids bonded in such a way, :).

We were the first to get into the cinema and we had thought to be the only ones. In any case, it wasn't even half filled in the end... Only a few other mommies brought their kids to the movie as well - that's 1 of the reasons why the tickets are priced expensive, daddy said, hahaha.

It was so cute to see the children in their 3D 'spectacles' - Renee even almost looked like a 2yr old! lolz...

After the movie, we went for ice cream at Takashimaya before heading over to the paragon where we mommies catched up abit whilst the girls played at the playground. There was even free popcorn at the site!(well, as usual, Renee din finish hers - doesn't really like it).

Due to the lack of sleep(I only slept after 4am, thks to the caffaine), I couldn't stay any longer and we parted at around 4:30pm. Renee, again, wanted her friend to come back with us to continue their play but we thought another day would be better(she seems to love having her friends to play with her at our home...). We popped over to the Tanglin Supermarket to get our favourite brand of ham and as daddy wouldn't be back early to have dinner with us, I decided to go to Punggol Plaza as well, to get her milk powder and more groceries. As expected, Renee fell asleep in the car...

At PP, instead of her initial request of home-cooked food, Renee wanted to eat the sliced fish noodles(without the fried fish though, 'cos it's not codfish! aiyoh...) and she declined to partake my dessert of Ice-Kachang(packed another box of iced red ruby home, haha), citing that she's had enough 'heaty' food already(she actually meant 'junk' I think hahaha), lolz.

On the short route back home, Renee said "mommy, I'm thinking about wae shuen already...", hahaha.

I was sooo exhausted that after I've got Renee's 2 slices of ham sandwiches ready(she wasn't full with the half bowl of noodles), I told her I needed a short nap and she did leave me to that, for a good 15mins. Good thing for the nap, else I could have fallen asleep showering her later, lolz.

Mommy sharmaine text me later that WS had enjoyed the day very much as well and had gone to bed at 9pm+...Only my girl is still wide awake at 11pm playing with her papa, :(.

Mommy's car's back!

BIL Chuan returned my car this morning and Renee went "Hurray!". Of cos I was also happy as this girl's been bugging at me at home! :D.

Needless to say, as per her request, we went to her favourite mall but just before we left home, daddy phoned to say that BIL would be coming over to collect the projector set for the training tonight. BIL managed to arrive at the mall just after we've finished our food at KFC and when we parted, Renee asked "Why dua pek didn't come to compass point with us?", I teased her "why u ask that? do you want him to come shopping with us?" and surprisingly she nodded! Oh man, I can't imagine if that really happened! lolz...

New Bags, New Screen...

PX came in the afternoon today, which is a good thing, 'cos I couldn't sleep last night til 4am!(but was woken up at 6am by my BIL phoning daddy) and she passed this to Renee(telling her that she's forgotten to bring the stickers she's already bought for her, to thank her for the lovely 'wand' she's given her last week):

Flipping through the fairy things book, I chanced upon the self-made bags and decided to give it a try today. Renee gave 2 to PX, can u guess which one she kept for herself?:

Then, Renee noted that the cut cardboard co-incidentally has the shape of a crown and requested to glitter it up, lolz :

And whilst we were in the midst of our artwork activity, PX reminded me that we'd like to change the stickers on our shower screen but as I'm not able to do it then, I told her to just remove the Winnie Pooh & Gang ones(in fear of my failing memory, I've asked Renee to remind me on this but for 2 wks now, she's also forgotten about it! hahaha). Then before Renee's shower, we both did up the 'decor', hahaha. Renee had wanted the sea creatures + pufferfish designs but later decided to try on the Keropi ones :D :

Just now, when daddy was in the shower, my BIL rang daddy's hp, I don't usually pick up his mobile calls, and when our house phone rang, I asked Renee to answer it as I was busy with chores. She recognise the ID, said "Dua Pek" and began to speak to him on the phone. Then... suddenly I heard her "Dua Pek, why you take our car?", hahahahaha.

Kite Adventure + A Late Night Saturday

No gathering at my mom's today and since the arrangement to go to Li's was unsuccessful, our family went to take a nap after our lunch, hahaha. I woke up first, at close to 5pm and remembering daddy's suggestion to go kite flying, I quickly got up to prepare Renee's dinner and got myself ready.

I had thought that we could perhaps finally go to Bliss for our dinner this evening but daddy suggested buying chilli crabs home instead... So, instead of going to Punggol Park, we headed to the open field just downstairs, for Renee's first kite flying adventure, :D.

Bored, whilst waiting....

and looking around for the 'touch-me-not' plants...

One of the failed attempts...

Finally, it took off!...

Oh, here comes our kite Launcher cum Retriever, hahaha...

Though Renee didn't really fly the kite, she had enjoyed the activity and didn't want to go back even when it was getting dark and so instead, she followed her papa to go buy dinner. And because of this, she also had her dinner late like us, at 8pm! She was so hungry that she finished up her food pretty fast, :D with an extra helping of milk bread...

I came out of my shower to the 2 of them watching the 'Penguins' on Okto channel. The Penguins were braving the snow storm and 1 of the baby penguins didn't survive the storm and died. The mommy penguin cried over it and tried to 'wake' him up in vain and it was at this point, Renee cried! Later, another scene depicts the albatross attacking the baby penguins and she got upset again...

Then, daddy switched the air-conditioner on and the 3 of us watched the 'Men In Black II'(we've watched this before already actually) on Mio TV til now and as U can see from my post timing, it's past 1am already, thanks to our earlier naps! hahaha.

*PS : I took out the other half of last night's durian after my lunch and surprisingly, Renee came to join me, indicating that she wants to eat and not only she wanted one seed, she even asked for the 2nd! However, with the weather being so hot and afraid that it might be too heaty for her, daddy said that she's only to eat one...(good thing I've boiled barley water today!)

Home Visit Lesson

At noon today, Ms Mok phoned and told me that she'd be doing a on-site lesson with us today instead of us going over(reason : no one's home to look after her dog and it barks alot unattended, :D). Happy as we were, we quickly text Janice and asked if it's still possible for her to come over after the lesson since we'd still have some time as it's gonna be a 'home lesson'. However, we were abit late and she's already out for shopping. Renee even phoned to speak to her direct, lolz...

Renee's violin teacher finally got to see, well, not entirely, the playful side of Renee and she even "wow, she's really playful huh", hahaha.

Some remarks/progress noted by teacher:

1) Musically inclined

2) Shocked that she could practice on her own, independantly, especially even when she's just started on the sight-reading play

3) Tend to play too fast

4) Will try to do 'mock test' for her before exam(seems to be pushing her to exam again) to build up her 'stage'/performer's confidence

5) Teacher's late, so I went look at her videos and when she came, I just showed her 1 of it that shows Renee synchronise played with the online music and she remarked : "she's really not bad"(heee, happy me... : D)

6) We were talking about Gifted Programmes and out of curiousity, I asked her on how to tell if a child's gifted in something 'cos I've seen some kids on youtube and the way some of them played was like 'wow' but instead, the teacher said : "actually she can be considered gifted but lazy", "but most kids usually need pushing til they've reached teenage". This comment took my off-guard...Lazy, oh yes, she really can be, hahaha and much earlier, she'd said that she's talented, that I think I can agree but Gifted? Hmmm... it's not that I'm not confident about my child, it's that 'Gifted' seems like a strong description. However, looking up the dictionary, the word 'gift' = natural talent, superficially, it had sounded pretty 'wow', get wat I mean, heee. Anyway, whichever it is, I merely wanted music to be her alternative outlet of stress relief when she grows up, so for now, I'm not going to be 'bothered' about it, :).

7) Her bowing's alot better now but when changed to the new bigger sized violin, there's gonna be another period of adjustment again. But that's inevitable since she needs to change size more often...

Today's new song 'Long Long Ago' entails more dymnamics(loud/soft, etc...-yeah, I heard the teacher saying it today, and finally I got the word for it!) and a new key 'low E'(on the 'D' string) but since she's just started on the 'sight-reading' play, I'm going to let her go slow - 1 at a time...

No star for the piece 'May Song' though, 'cos although she managed to play it pretty well, there was a couple of hiccups due to no assistance of the alphabets, so Ms Mok said to only give her the pass when she's more confident.

In the midst of the lesson, daddy phoned and told me that my BIL would be borrowing my car for a couple of days as his was sent to the workshop and he's already near our place as we speak...Aiyoh, why didn't he inform me early?! It's a good thing I've not arranged to meet with anyone, else what's gonna happen? In any case, what can I say? This BIL has helped us sooo many times, so it's only natural that we lent our help when he needed it, I only wished I could be informed earlier, I guess they see it not necessary for me to have the car...*ok la ok la, sell it off!* lolz

Today's lesson lasted a little longer than the 1/2 hour range(our previous one lasted 1 hr) as we chatted abit now & then, during the lesson. And at the end of the session, Renee was upset when she learnt that my car's being borrowed and naturally, she fretted. She even phoned her papa to complain about it and asked him to come home to send us to the mall, hahaha.

My plan to dine out with Renee was crushed since I don't have the use of my car and I decided to order pizza. Much to my surprise, our dear girl has volunteered to eat up 'everything' - meaning that she'd eat the pizza on the 'whole' when she usually only eats the crust! Well, she tried, liked and disliked, but she managed to finish at least the whole of 1 slice + a few crusts, :D.

Daddy came home at 9pm when we've expected him to be late and guess what, he bought my favourite fruit - Durian! but Renee, after tasting that tiny bit, had exclaimed "yucks!" and rushed to get her water, :D. We didn't finish up the whole durian and so, I guess our refrigerator's gonna smell tomorrow! lolz

Lesson Postponed... Again

As I've anticipated Renee's violin lesson might be postponed today, I've told Janice that I can only confirm our Friday playdate with them today. True to my guts feeling, her lesson was indeed..... postponed(a last minute callback to AiTong Pri for a meeting). However, it's a good thing that the teacher managed to slot her in tomorrow but since it'd be in the mid afternoon, our playdate's off...Janice said to meet up next week then but I'm not sure, hopefully we'd be able to find time(and hers too) but next week's possible, then perhaps we'd try again during the last week(that's if I'm not needed at daddy's office still by then).

Actually, it's not really a bad thing for the lesson to be postponed 'cos I've yet to photocopy the 1st few pages of the new music scores book that the teacher has passed to me, heee..

So, with nothing much to do for the day, I told Renee that I'd need a nap before her lunch('cos woke up early by daddy and my BIL moving the last cabinet to the office and couldn't really resume slp as I've to fetch Eileen from the market) but we still went out to the mall-where I borrowed another book at the library and read her some stories there, :D.

Another Busy Day

Had slept late again last night but Renee had woken up early(she told me 'to play' when asked why so early, hahaha), so I dragged myself up and took Renee out for brunch again(we were supposed to join Sharmaine and WS at Downtown East but I've to help daddy in the evening, so...).

After a good >2hours at the R/Mall, we headed home with a few bags-ful of stuffs and Renee fell asleep in the car even though the journey was super short. This showed how tired she was from waking up early. Luckily, she didn't fuss when I woke her up and after another fix of honey baked ham sandwich, she began her violin practice whilst I went about repacking her toys into the new boxes and some stuffs in the store. She still hasn't got used to sight-reading play yet, or rather, I felt, hasn't put her heart into it yet(how could she play well if she kept telling herself she can't do it? as her mom, I know what she's thinking...), so I took a moment to speak to her. I reminded her on how well she had been playing those songs which she had earlier said that she couldn't. Then, noticing that she had some pauses, I told her to simply stop playing to do sight-reading again before she resumes. Indeed, I could hear her from the kitchen, not only repeating the song automatically(I used to have to 'shout' to her : "Ok, one more time") and I could also 'hear' her pausing - to read the notes, :).

To further encourage her, I told her that I'd love to give her the lollies but she would need to get the 'star' from the teacher before I could do that and I don't wish to wait too long to let her have them. She even replied "mommy, are you waiting to let me have the lollipop?", hahaha. Well, what can I say to that? YES, of cos! lolz. But that seems to do the trick 'cos she did improve after that, *phew* but I don't think it'd be good enough to warrant a star from the teacher since she's only began playing on the 'loud/soft, etc'(what u name this?) during the last 2 times... Anyway, it's been only less than a week and she's began on a new training, so I don't want to push her too much.

After her shower, she began packing her toys into her backpack whilst I get her dinner ready. Tonight's the first time she's asked me to stay with her at Eileen's and I wonder why...(I guess I know why later though) but when we finally went to pick her up, she was still enjoying herself there, :).

The new toys corner, :D

Outdoor

Daddy took my car for its due service and being 'stranded' at home, lolz, I decided to bring Renee for a ride downstairs but almost changed my mind when she took sooo long(more than an hr) to finish her lunch today(dunno what's got into her, she hasn't done this for quite a while now), hahaha.

Her practice today wasn't very good 'cos I've erased off the musical decodes of A, B, C... from the last 2 songs + the new one, so unlike yesterday, she didn't play very well today. It was only after a few reminders for her to do sight-reading before she play(as she's afraid of making mistakes), then she played abit better. We'd be having her next lesson this thursday but I doubt this time she'd be able to get her star as soon as before since she has to play purely by the musical notes now. Even she said "huh, thursday? so fast?", hahaha. Well, I guess I'd just have to give her abit more time on this, hopefully she won't slack in her practice and get her star by the next, :).

Not wanting to crush her 'happiness', we finally went downstairs after her practice, both cladded in 1 of our 'mother & daughter's' tops, lolz. When she was riding around the 'open park' downstairs, she spotted a girl playing bubbles with her grandma but she didn't dare to make the move to join in and yet, she didn't want to come back to me. So, she just sat there, on her tricyle and looked at them, lolz, and when she finally came to me, she told me that she'd like to join them and asked me to look after her tricyle, hahana and indeed, she went to them. I stayed where I was for a while but have no choice but to go to them when I realised she wasn't going to come back to me as soon as I've anticipated - yes, she's joined them in the fun, lolz.

It was close to 6pm and as expected, she didnt' want to follow me home and in her sobs, she said 'Bye' and 'Thank you' when I told her to, awww... To soothe her, I have to carry her and I told her that we'd bring her bubble wands down to play one day but she made her daddy, whom had came home early today, to go down with her. She even volunteered to play her violin downstairs!('cos we saw a few girls at the pavilion near the carpark one day, and one of them was playing her trumpet), hahaha.

First Day of School Holiday

Although I've promised Renee last night that if she goes to bed without fuss, I'd bring her out for breakfast('cos PX will come over in the afternoon). I had also thought that we could perhaps still sleep til 10am, heee but having woke up at 9am+, I decided to just go out earlier but the little princess' still sleeping, which was 'perfect' also, so she won't be too hungry whilst waiting for me. By the time I got the soup ingredients ready, it was already about 10:15am and she finally woke up, :). She was very happy that she'd be having her breakfast outside, even though it's still her milk and milk bread, hahaha.

PX called whilst we were still out and asked if she could come earlier, which suits me better too. So we quickly got some of our groceries and rushed home.

Back home, Renee began her violin practice and as the teacher has instructed for Renee to start playing on sight reading now, I erased off all the 'decodes = A, B, C, F, ^A, ^F, etc...' and the good thing is, although she takes a longer time to play the whole song, but she managed to play them on tune, yeah! Shall see how it goes tomorrow onwards since we only practiced a short while today, :).

After her practice, Renee requested for me to do some artwork with her and without referring to the book, I decided to just make some 'wands' with the paper cupboards that I've been keeping earlier, for fun.

She even gave 1 of them to PX, :D. And as usual, since this 'artwork' didn't take long to be completed, she wasn't satisfied and asked for more but I have to prepare her dinner, and so I gave her the 2 booklets of Upper and Lower case alphabets for tracing/writing practice and colouring, lolz...

I've been thinking of getting her the 3M non-reflective children lamp but til then, I brought the stand lamp I've got for my work purposes over to her table side and she's been flicking it on so every now and then, :D.