First Formal Art Lesson

Yes, finally! It's our darling Renee's first art lesson today!

Renee had really been looking forward to today's class but when we got there, she decided to be manja about us(mainly Me la of cos) leaving the classroom, hahaha.

The phrase that says we're living in a small world has proven its stand today when I found out that her art class teacher happened to be 1 of my ex-colleagues! She used to be the 'artist' in the jeans brand company that I had worked for(a short while when I tried to venture into the garment industry but later realised it's really for me) and she also remembered me! Really a small world... Even her daugher and son(both are alot older of cos) are helping her out in the class.

As you may have noted from my previous post that we've chosen the class at Nafa Kindergarten instead of the Nafa at bencoolen street('cos hubby said that it's alot nearer to us via the KPE) and we got to view the school for the first time today(we had actually tot of switching her to this kindy at 1st). It has a very nice, clean outlook and we were very tempted to change her to this school! hahaha.

This is the school's 'Arts Room' which, naturally is used also for their art class

I like their toilets

This is the are Renee had set her eyes upon happily the moment she got down the car, lolz. However we have to tell her that the playground is only meant for the Kindergarten students, heee

Renee was all smiles when we came to pick her but when we asked if she's enjoyed the lesson, she complained that it's been too short, hahaha.

Dilemma

After hubby's taken my suggestion to put up an advertisment online, he's finally closed the deal to the sale of his Audi A6 today. I was just chatting about it with Janice, Jerome's mom, over coffee this morning and then I came home in the evening, to this piece of good news(good as he's been talking, thinking and talking about selling it for the past 1 year!) but it also leaves me in a state of dilemma.

2 years ago, due to the need of convenience when it comes to ferrying Renee to and from school, we've acquired an additional car. Now that Renee is older and is able to take the longer distance walk, the thought of doing away with my car had crossed my mind a few times. To be honest, this 2nd car is alittle under-used but for the times that I need to run errands and/or buy groceries/stuffs, it had come in really handy, especially since I always have to bring Renee along(what else can I do? lolz). On the other hand, as most of you would have known, I'm not exactly 'route minder' and thus, many a times, when I'm 'forced' to travel to a 'new' place, I secretly wished(many times) that I do not drive at all! So now, with the sale of hubby's car, we're considering if we should get another and for the last reason I've cited earlier, I seriously do not mind at all, whether I have the car. The only down point would be when it comes to rainy days and the difficulty of hailing a taxi from our place(we have to walk out and thus will be caught in the rain and as most taxis prefer to go to the city, there're not many taxis that come to this area so it's quite hard).

After a brief discussion and especially without any good valued vehicles on sale at the moment, we've decided to do with just one car for now(can save money too! heee) and see how it works for us, :).

A Running Up & Down Day :)

Arrived at the school earlier as usual to pick Renee(had to be even earlier 'cos there seem to be MORE cars now, haiz...) and bought another piece of uniform whilst waiting for class release. A 'L' size this time and so we'll see her some days in 'fitting' uniform and some days in a looser fit one, lolz.

I've packed buttered and plain bread for Renee to eat on the way to her violin lesson but as I've seemed to have estimated the time wrongly, I took her home instead, to change her clothes and eat her bread(shld hv cooked, :D). And 'cos I've not prepared a proper meal for Renee, we managed to leave home early but as we've got to Ms Mok's, our ringing of the door bell was only greeted by the barking of her dog.

I should have listened to my 'inner voice' and gave her a call prior to going down 'cos when I finally did, outside her flat, she apologised for hving forgotten to inform me that she's stills stucked in the school, Oh man! She asked if I could wait for her to rush back in half an hour's time but before I could answer her, she quickly suggested that to come over to ours instead. That would be alot better for us(I don't have to waste another parking coupon lolz) and we arranged for her to be @ our place at 5 so I could run my errands. On our way back to the carpark, Renee's already complaining of being tired and to be honest, I was feeling kinda too.

It's not very often that I go to SK hub's Post office and we had to walk up and down 'cos I've got to the wrong section initially. The que at the post office was not very long but as the staff are rather slow as usual, we were made to wait quite a while. However, luckily for me, a staff dispensing a parcel to another customer saw the notice on my hand and as mine didn't look like the usual one, she signalled for me to show it to her. That saved me from queing further and we quickly rushed to put the parcel into the car, before Walking back up to the mall to get 1 of her art class materials exchanged and the rest of the errands run.

We managed to get home before Ms Mok did and Renee was already very tired(had even fallen asleep on e way...) and that caused her to be a little cranky during the lesson but other than that, she managed to get a pass from her teacher, phew...

Found these little storybooks at the Popular bookfair @ only S$1.70ea

Settling Down

It's the 2nd day of school and in Renee's schoolbag, I found these(blw pic), plus a note on the uniform schedule. Unlike the Pre-N and N years, there will only be a Kinderfit/outdoor activity day from now on and that means, we have 'excess' T-shirts/shorts but need an extra dress uniform...

First Day of K1

Finally, our darling girl is attending K1 this year, how time flies(just found out that all her new 'bigger' shoes are getting to be just nice now and I've to dig for thinner socks in order for her to wear her new pair of shoes to sch tmrw)...

She had been looking forward to returning to school(oh why not, it's been 4 mths afterall, incl the nov/dec sch hols) and for the past couple of days, she's been waking up early that I 'warned' her not to do that on her 1st day of school, least she'd be too tired to enjoy it, :). And whenever I mentioned 'today' to her, she'd tell me "mommy, don't tell me, it's supposed to be a surprise for me on Monday", hahaha.

Last night, being excited I supposed, she couldn't fall asleep despite being quite tired already. That however, helped in a way, 'cos she didn't wake up til 9:32am this morning and when she heard me in the toilet, she got up, said to me outside the toilet door "mommy, I woke up already, 'cos I looked at the clock and it's 9:32am". Why she said that? - it's becos I've told her not to wake up before 9:30am, hahaha.

She tried to contain her excitement whilst at home getting ready and today, being the 1st day, I've anticipated 'car jam' at the compound and had asked hubby to take us there. The moment I brought her to the hall, she quickly asked to have her wondeeeeerful trolley bag and sat immediately down beside Vanessa to share with her what she's brought along. However, Vanessa didn't respond(like she did when we went back just before we joined the CC) and luckily I did not really detect any sadness from my girl's expression which means she's still ok, not hurt and is willing to 'wait', :).

In the classroom, whilst the host teacher, Mrs Ong(same as last year-they usually try to let the existing host teacher to take them onto the next level as familarity helps the children to concentrate on learning better) and the new(not new as in new with the school) Chinese language teacher tried to settle them down, I looked on, outside the classroom. Mrs Ong caught sight of me and waved and then, after a little 'discussion' with Renee, she came out to seek my opinion on which table to place Renee at - 'cos the one Renee wanted('cos her fav Van's at that table! lolz) is in the direction of the air-con blower and would be too cold for Renee. I of 'cos chose the one which Mrs Ong had intended for her and Renee pouted for a second at the decision, hahaha.

As hubby didn't go out early and I wasn't feeling quite well, he said he'd pick her up from school but as I felt better after a nap, I went along with him. Wanted to lunch out but as I've already prepared Renee's lunch, he went for his and I cooked my share back home. Renee took a long time to finish her lunch and she said that she's still quite full from the 4 bowls of fried mee tai mak she took at school, hahaha. The bowls are small but I'm very happy that she still likes the food this school prepares(which she actually took a couple of weeks to get to used in the beginning as well).

When she 1st saw me at the school door, she had quickly told me Mrs Ong's instruction that I'd have to write her name/class # on the Teacher Parent Communication Book(she must hv been afraid of forgetting the instruction, lolz.). On the way home, she recalled her 1st day excitedly and I felt so glad that her 'old feelings' are back. I really hope there would not be any more changes in this area for her liao...

Hubby suggested again that I should take the A6 instead, to send/fetch Renee to/from school as I don't travel alot and the mileage would not add on to the car as much as he might if he were the one to drive it to work, but I'm super afraid of its acceleration and also my fear of scratching it deter me from taking it on, so he's left with no choice but to take it, heeee. Haiz, the most I don't drive lor, what's the big deal - I could do with the weight loss from taking the train/walk anyway, :D.

Our Violin Experiences for the Past 1 Year

After the whinny display of unwillingness to play the violin infront of her aunts during the NY's eve gathering at our home, we've finally sorta talked her round to willingness. Today, at my mom's, it's the 2nd time she's done it(it was practicing when we gathered at Sis' on NY's day) and she even danced(yeah, finally, not without some promptings but, she did it, :D) to everyone's delight.

Thinking back, she used to resent practicing whenever it came to a new song. As analysed by her paediatrician and even her pre-school teachers, she's one perfectionist who doesn't enjoy doing something when she's not very sure for fear of making mistakes - she'll only do it when she knows she could do it well. So, during her earlier violin learning days, the first 1-2 days of her learning a new piece had always been rather rough but she turned receptive to the practices the minute she got the full song right on tune. Thereafter, there had even been times when she took up practices on her own, without me asking her to! Arrrggggh, how I wish such days would return and stay.....

Those 'good days' hadn't been long and the tough ones came back 1.5x, since I've agreed to let her go for the grading exam. Practices had been most tedious and I must admit, there had been times when I almost wanted to give up and just stopped her from learning even as she cried and told me that she wants to continue(even though learning violin isn't exactly her most passionate choice). Those were the times when this question will pop up - Do I give up for the sake of my sanity, enjoyment of peace and time(bearing in mind tt I don't have a helper at home to help with the cooking, washing, etc and I have to attend the lessons with her to learn myself, to guide her)? What happens when children whine about their studies in the future?

Yes, I'm not a person with great patience and I do get angry, very angry even at times, especially when she threw tanthrums and cried during her practices and when we urged her to play infront of my family. However, the teacher's comments and her(not forgetting mine!)hard work/efforts made me feel that I should try my very best to persevere least I'd be ripping her off from a special opportunity(I believe not everyone is given the same kind of chance to learn something). I can't say for now, how long I could upkeep my seemed-to-be running out patience but, alot had told me that most children need much persuasions(not forgetting parental involvement) at this age, afterall, how many children are there who are born with an utmost passion for a particular instrument? Besides, Renee had started quite young, when she's at the age when her level at 'school' has not even taught ABC yet.

Anyway, for now, all I can hope for is that she'd put aside her fears and distracted thoughts of play, to focus on her violin learning and even her studies in time to come...

The New Year

A new year has finally begun today and with so many things happening in the year before, I hope things will be well for all in this new and many more years ahead. Most importantly, I wish good health for everyone.

CHEERS, everyone!

The New Year's Eve

Luckily we haven't a big group this gathering and with the help of sis and li, we managed to provide a spread of varieties for our dinner - Sis : Rice('cos I don't use rice cooker, so can't cook enough rice for more than 3 persons lolz), stewed pork cubes and she came with dessert as well, lolz, Li : fried tanghoon and fried wantons, myself - Jap curry chicken wings, egg+potato salad and stir-fry vege with prawns and button mushrooms. Again, we've prepared too much and we've still left with quite abit of curry for ourselves even after mostly have been 'tapao-ed' to various homes, lolz.

Sis had earlier mentioned about getting champagne for the countdown but knowing that mostly wouldn't enjoy this drink, I suggested sparkling juice but then... I forgot to get them! In any case, they didn't stay long enough for the countdown and luckily again, I managed to shower myself on time to view the fireworks! Yes, again!

It seems like this year's year-end gathering has the pattern of our CNY's - lotsa gatherings, and it's another session at Li's/Sis' tomorrow, lolz...

*Have taken video of the fireworks(this yr's much longer than the preious years!) but not sure how to trsf the files to computer, this camera's using a different programme(though same brand as the one I had before)...

Festive Greeting!

Happy New Year, Everyone!