First Overseas Trip after nearly 3 years

 Its been about 2.5 years since we last went overseas to Perth. Its been a trip we have been looking forward for quite sometime. Josiah, as usual, are good in counting down days towards this date.

14th December is the day we went Korea. We were so lucky to be able to see and play with snow on the very first day we reached Korea. They were crazy about it and kept rolling and throwing snow at each other. Felin and I were in fact so annoyed that they kept throwing snow that wet their jackets and glove.

On Day 1, we went to the Solg-Wol Dong Fairy Tale Village, Chinatown Jiajiangmyeon Museum and then to the premium outlet for shopping which ended up was their best snow fighting day. We checked in hotel in mid afternoon and they still managed to play in bath tub for a good 45 minutes. Think they will not enjoy such bath tub play in 1 or 2 more years times. Still remember how much they enjoyed while they are in Perth.

On Day 2, we went Strawberries picking and honestly, I never thought Korean strawberries can actually so sweet and juicy. We then went for Coffee at the Gubongsan Mountain Observatory. Cold Weather-Coffee-Nice scenery-Great family bond... What else can I ask for. We then proceeded to Seorak Hanwha Resort to stay for the night where the floor are all heated and Josiah slept on the floor soundly.

Our Day 3 was to Seoraksan National Park where we took the cable car for a breathtaking view of the mountains before we going back down to the Shinheungsa Temple for a walk. The highlight for Day 3 is the Hotspring waterpark where we ran half naked under -4 degrees Celsius at the outdoor area. The boys are strange and they don't complain the cold at all when they have the fun. We adults really need to run with them throughout the 4 hours in the waterpark.

Day 4 is our skiing day and I really don't enjoy at all. The boys refused to carry their own ski up the slope and need me to constantly carry them when they fall and put on their ski whenever it drop or when they take it out. They fell every few meters and I need to keep going to them. Fed up with their stubborness in not carrying the ski when obviously they do have the strength to do so. Where is their spirit of perseverance???

Luckily we still have the Alpaca farm visit which all the kids in the group enjoyed. They love the animals and yet fear them, hence making so much laughters and fun. Surely more relaxing than the ski.

Day 5, we departed PyeongChang Ski Resort and back to Seoul. My 4th time to the GyeongBokGung and I always learn something new there. We then ate the Ginseng chicken, then to Lotte Tower before the highlight of the LotteWorld! Its really for the kids. They are fearful of the big rides and hence the children rides aren't that long queue. So overall, they played relatively well and enjoyed. btw, the little girl that went with us is Jamie and the 3 of them are like best friends forever during the whole trip. Kept singing Blackpink songs and talk about anything under the sky. Jamie also convinced them to buy Lotty and I bought it as their Christmas Present for 2022. See how many years these soft-toys will last. lol...

Day 6 and 7 are more of shopping days. We went GwangJang Market for lunch, shopping in Sinchon, DongDaeMun and MyeongDong. We also went to the Seaweed factory and experience Hanbok dressing, etc... We were also very fortunate to see snow again on our last day where I allow the kids to throw snow unlike more restriction on Day 1.

Overall, I think we had a good trip. I think this trip do set a high standard which will not be easy to make it more enjoyable for them in future. I always thought to make their early trips simplier so that future trips can only be better but this trip, its so good that its going to be hard to make it better. I'm glad to see Felin and the boys enjoyed themselves.

The worst part is the washing and packing after coming back home. There are so many clothes to wash and keep. The new winter wears are really taking up space in my house. Think I should use them for another year and go another Winter place next December holidays. Am considering Hokkaido for now... Its another year. Hope all of us will be good health for our next trip... God bless...

 

End of Primary 1 Journey

 Its been a while I last update here. I was always busy with something else that I kept procrastinating my writings. Finally took the effort to spare that precious 1.5 hours to think and write.

Josiah is now 1.26m and 26.6kg. Joshua is 1.15m and 21.6kg. Joshua is small but agile. He generally is more focus and better awareness of people and situation around him. Can occasionally pick a book to read. However he can lacks motivation when it comes to learning at times. Asking him to do homework can somethings be frustrating. Was told by teacher that he is a tab too quiet but is an independent learner.

Josiah is bigger and looks more matures. He can be well mannered and well loved especially when he is outside. Mum and Felin always comment that he looks handsome. Very curious and kept asking questions which I'm not that patient to keep answering because I simply feel that many questions are too broad and senseless to answer. The worrying part of him is his lack of self control on his temperament. He can quite easily meltdown for the smallest things that I felt ridiculous and when he wants somethings, he just wants it "NOW". Well... A lot of things to teach indeed like breathing exercise and self-talk etc... Also a need to teach him proper way to express his disappointment or anger.

For now, both boys love watching "Unspeakable" playing his minecraft game on Youtube. They can watch for an hour or 2 but will complain when I made them watch my Mandarin documentaries that shows the world and humanity even for 15 minutes. They are super reluctant to speak Mandarin and do not like expressing their thoughts and views when asked to. They love listening to Black Pink songs and the Black Pink girls are now our common topic, which I think Mum don't know as much as us. Lol...

They enjoy playing with Zi Qing and Jun Min for now. Jun Min is not in same school as them but they seem to play well together. We even went to their house for dinner recently. As for Zi Qing, Peter recently bought the Miniforce T-Shirt for them and they kept saying they are the best Miniforce team. We brought Zi Qing to church quite often but I'm not good in handling her as she is highly independent and not the type who can listen and follow instruction without a good reason and motivation. I'm just not that patient to teach her.

They picked up 3 sports this year namely Swimming, Badminton and Basketball. They had completed 1 year of swimming and about 9 months of badminton. I think they can at least swim a fair bit and won't drown in a swimming pool if accidentally fell into it. Had passed 2 mini tests so far.

For Badminton, still not what I hope they can do. Josiah still struggle with serving the ball and his ball sense is not that good yet. Joshua seems better but somehow just inconsistent. They are learning from OBA but I'm not satisfied with their attitude in learning at times. In Basketball, Joshua is sharper too and Josiah is just a kind and gentle boy that don't really try steal the ball from others.

Ok Ok! I know I expecting too much from them! They are average and not out of ordinary but I just need to accept that they are who they are. Don't compare them with other children and envy other parents whose children can play the piano, dance, good in sports, etc...

Its finally the end of their Primary 1 journey and is a teaser of what are to come in years ahead. Joshua surprised me with a Sportsman Award and he even went on stage to collect his award during an awards ceremony with Felin. I have never done that myself and he did it in Primary 1. It must be memorable for him. I have no idea how he was chosen but am proud of him and its something really unexpected.

 As for Josiah, we dug out his Koobit medal and took picture of him with it. He was really disciplined to do all his Koobits tasks during the 2nd quarter of the year and was ranked no. 1 in school to get that award. Proud of him too but he stopped with Koobit entirely after the award and sad that he was just trying to win the award but not so much of wanting to learn.

With school holiday, I'm more involved with their daily work as they refused to go Student Care. I'm aware that I'm spending lesser time at work and tension been building up with Felin as I tends to go back late without adequately reporting to her. Been trying hard to be a good Father, good Husband and at the same time trying to find sales, especially now that sale is really down for me.

Just hope one day the boys will see the effort from us and will take more conscious effort to be wanting to do well in life. Only God knows their destiny. We are just steward and do our best. 

The boys first Pets - Wild Guppies!!!

The boys had a blast last weekend as they spent nearly 4 hours doing Long Kang Fishing at ORTO with Lucas and Lewis. They caught so many guppies that there was severe overcrowding in the little fish tank that they were given. We spent $14 for each of them but it was super worth the value as they had so much fun that if they are given another 4 hours, I think they will just continue to catch as many fish as possible. We adults will surely get backache or neck strain after 1 hour of bending and running around. The kids are really amazingly energetic.

I got to quickly buy fish pump and food and find a bigger container at home to house their new pets. I just don't want to buy a fish tank as I really have no idea how many days these fish will survive.

At point of writing this, less than half the fish are left and amazingly about 8-9 baby fish were spawn during the period. I ended up I have to reserve one of the pump for a nursery to grow these baby fish and the other pump for the entire school of fish, which again caused severe overcrowding.

The boys were excited every morning and they will sit at the balcony to stare at the fish for long period after school. They feel sad to see dead fish everyday but will keep looking out if there are more babies coming. They learnt about nature and I can see they do value lives and have some love for these little creatures. 

Lucas and Lewis fish were already dead in their tortoises' tummies. Heard Lewis didn't even bothered about the fish while Lucas was really angry that they were thrown into the tortoise pond. I think my boys will be emotionally affected if their fish are to end up dead like their friend's. At least I managed to impart some positive values to them about loving, caring and being responsible towards lives of these little guppies.

Will see how long more before the last guppy die. Perhaps it will be time they go back for fishing again which they love.

Okay some throwback to early Mid July when we sent Gabrielle to Australia for her University Studies. Time really flies that she is now already going University when I was still seeing her as a baby and toddler like my boys today. Still can't see how long it takes to see them enter University. They made a card for Gabrielle and purchased a Pikachu at Pokemon Centre at Jewel.

Well. Hope Pikachu will be well taken care of in Australia and they the boys will maintain good relationship when Belle returns. The boys will be quite big by the time she is back in Singapore for good after University.

How a bit of update on their development. The boys are now 7 and a half years old. Josiah is 124cm tall and 25kg heavy and Joshua is 113cm tall and 20.9kg heavy. Joshua had been identified below the normal percentile for height and was referred to the Health Promotion Board for a routine check in November. Still struggling with his inability to hold his bladder into the night and we are still tolerating the urine pants and bedsheet everyday. Felin does not want me to wake him up for nightly wee as she was concerned about poor sleep quality that might be affecting his growth.

As for school work, they aren't the hardworking type. Need a lot of pushing or they will just waste their time away. I felt that their student care time was already wasted and when they reach home do nothing again, its more time wasted. Will need review if to continue with this student care arrangement. It does not help that Felin and I were struggling with our own work commitment that we were left lessor time to monitor their work or to send them around for enrichment classes.

Alright. Till here for now and glad I managed to set aside time to write this blog today. 

When will they ever be serious enough to learn something by themselves?

This is the question that I always ask myself how to make them be more motivated to learn something without us instructing them? I'm probably guilty in comparing them with other children of their age that I'd observed. Example I always see young kids playing the piano, practicing their abacus, showing off their Art pieces, horning their soccer, badminton skills, able to write stories in English and Mandarin, etc... and wonder when can I ever see that they learn a skill or seriously learning a skills or knowledge?

What I hope to see in them is their perseverance in learning and seeing them in seriously learning mode. They are currently attending Swimming, Badminton classes for months and Chinese Classes for years but they always complain having to learn Chinese and they don't seems serious when they are in their sports classes. I also don't see the type of seriousness when they are doing their homework or when I'm teaching them. Everything to them is just play and leisure. 

It will bring me joy if I can see them in serious learning mode rather than the usual bickering, lamenting and whining mode.

Well, I know they are just primary 1 but I just can't stop having some aspirations about them. We are still in a challenging stage to always see them fight for the slightly issues everyday and yielding for attention by doing the silliest things to each other, etc... Sometimes wondered if I should be more strict or being more disciplined with their time, etc...

Okay, just to update some recent photos where we went Sembawang Hot Spring, Stella Restaurant at East Coast to celebrate me and Felin's anniversary as well as a photo of our usual Saturday Badminton Class...

Happy Mother's Day 2022

Happy Mother's Day to Mummy of Joshua and Josiah.

Boys, do you know that all these years, Mummy sacrificed her sleep, freedom and even all the nicest food for both of you to ensure you always get the best.

Joshua, do you know that you need to hold her hands to sleep daily, we have to wake you up to toliet in the middle of the night and changing the bedsheet when you pee on the mattress, if we are slow by that few minutes. These little physical needs are drain our energy quite a lot when we need to work early next morning.

Josiah, do you know that we are always so worried about your frequent burst of temper and you avoiding learning things that you do not know. We need to be very patient with you because Daddy and Mummy does not want to give you a quick answer but encouraging you think. It is important to think.

Do both of you know that Mummy always give you all the fish and nutrient stuffs and left that little bit for herself when both of you still commented that they are not nice and refuses to eat? She will feel heartache, right?

Mummy's work is packed and busy but she ensures sufficient time must be spent nurturing both of you with quality learning and playing. She seems to nag more but she is trying to keep the strict timeline on what time you eat, play, do homework, bible stories and sleep, etc...

Today on Mother's Day, little Joshua insisted that he must make a card and get flowers for Mummy and Josiah suggested a cake. Mummy told them if they bought these, they won't have pocket money for the next 2 days and they returned with a resounding "Okay"! Seeing how happy everyone is, Daddy top up with a Peach wine to sweeten her day.

My day is full seeing how happy Felin is and grateful to see the kids understand about sacrificial giving for their mummy on this special day.

Thank you my dearest Sweetheart and Happy Mother's Day to you.

Back to Malaysia after 2 years and 2 months

We were finally back to Malaysia after a long 2 years 2 months of Covid-19 wait during the long Labour Day - Hari Raya Puasa holiday weekend. Traffic was smoother than I expect, which in the past will be terrible. The Covid situation is stabilizing for now and there are lesser restrictions in term of travelling. Good that we had got Covid last month and we in fact felt safer travelling out of the country for now, till the next Covid variant comes.

It was wonderful to see Felin's family again after so long especially the growth of Charlotte and Jayden whom is the first time we met since he was born. Jayden is really cute and he don't mind me carrying him the whole time and the boys played well with Charlotte even though she was so quiet. I noticed that My little Josiah is able to use his eyes to talk to her and they can easily laugh at each other. Think that's the secret ability of his. Think I'll not too worried he won't have a girlfriend next time. lol...

Throughout the 3 days that we stayed there, they don't feel jealous at all when Daddy spent more time with Jayden and they have shown capabilities in taking care of a younger boy. We even had an early Mother's Day celebration during the trip. They are also able to mingle well with their much older cousins and uncle/aunties. I'm really proud of the 2 boys for their good behavior all these times. 👍

Covid-19 finally caught up with us

Just to put a record of our Covid-19 experience here. It finally caught up with us despite we have been very careful over the years like never to put our hands on lift and escalator railings, cleaning every tables and chairs we sit, keep washing hands, etc...

The first case happened to Dad's on 23rd Mar (Wed) and Mum on 25th Mar. Ann felt unwell on 25th and officially diagnosed on 26th because she visited Mum's place on the 23rd itself. Luckily Mum's and Dad's symptoms were quite mild. That was a relief to me as I'm specially worried for Dad initially due to his medical conditions.

We immediate isolate Ann in her room but she has to assess the common toliet. Joshua kept forgetting our instruction not to use the toliet and probably got infected on the 27th Mar night. I was actually shocked to see a double line as I had never seen that before after so many tests over the past months and he was totally normal.

We decided not to send Josiah to School on the 28th and there's where the challenges arise. Both of them are super active despite being down with Covid and yet Ann is not around to help. Felin was super busy with her quarterly close. I was frustrated that I need to handle quite a fair bit of housework and planning to ensure the kids stay occupied throughout the day. Honestly, I really loses my patience over the week. Felin did a lot too like cooking and fair bit of housework too.

I quickly went borrow lots of books from Library and prepare coconut water, medicine over the period. I became the day time tutor for them once again while spending half baked time at work too.

Then on the 30th, Felin started feeling unwell and the rest of us got it on the 1st April. The first day is still okay but I started to have headache and stuffy nose on day 2. Then a fair bit of throat discomfort and cough on Day 3. I'm entering Day 4 while typing this and I'm having difficulty to sleep due to the blocked nose.

Despite the tiredness and discomfort, the boys are not sparing us with their relentless energies. I posted my complain on Facebook and was reprimanded by Felin as she don't like others to see the challenged part of us. Quite Typical of a Type 3 Enneagram character.  The boys are driving us crazy with their daily nonsenses to the point we wonder why we have them in our life? Just the 2 of us are better, isn't it?

Then on today, something happened with regards to Ann too and we are most likely going to see her leaving us within the next 2-3 months. I really don't know what lies ahead now without a helper and at times when I'm facing work challenges. I only know I need to accept this life challenges without a helper very soon. Felin will be promoted to a new role at work on 1st May which she is expected to be busier than before. 

Cloudy times ahead and I'm worried about my sales. Its either I improve my productivity, up my ability to do bigger cases or I will just risk getting lower sales production in months ahead.

Well... For now, Joshua going back to school tomorrow and Josiah going to stay home with us for another week till he crossed 7 days with negative results. Hopefully 1 boy is easier to manage than when Joshua is around and all of us will recover very soon. No more cough, tiredness and blocked/runny nose please!!!