Time flies again!!!

Time flies again. I can't believe that my last post was nearly 8 months ago. I was swamped with 101 things to do daily, and writing this blog post is always like a last priority. I always have things to write, but whenever I hesitate, I will forget about them altogether, and time passes away again. 

I shared this post with 2 of my client's children, who are teenagers now. They were like telling me never to tell this blog to my boys as they don't want their friends to know so much about them. I pondered on their remarks and think I got to agree and be more mindful of what I posted and what the objectives are. The more I think, the more I hesitate to pen any post. Hence such a long wait too.

One very recent event is my experience of bringing Joshua and Josiah's class to Pasir Ris Park. They really persistently pestered me to be the parent volunteer for the event. I was happy about it because it showed they still liked my presence in their life at this stage.

They are growing well. Still the daily bickering with each other. I was always worried about their lack of motivation to read and study. I can't emphasize enough that studying is for their own knowledge and not for Daddy or Mummy. They still enjoyed Blackpink songs now, with occasionally IVE, New Jeans and Fifty Fifty. I'm learning K-pop with them.

To record things for my future reference or when I'm not around anymore for some sudden accidents, I hope it is able to bring some messages across to them.

My boys are pretty sociable, and they make friends quite easily. They enjoyed the friendships with their classmates.

This is just a photo to remind me that the boys still love my presence with their friends.

Just a little picture to show our new house, which God had blessed me and Felin

Though mummy is the stricter parent when it comes to parenting, they love her to the moon and depend on her when it comes to brushing teeth and bedtime. I was so busy lately that mummy took up more of their schooling issues, including homework. 

They enjoy going back to Malaysia because they will have a chance to play with their cousins and are able to watch TV for hours without restrictions.

They still love the cute, cute things and will ask me to help with photos for them.

They enjoyed riding the bicycle. Joshua is still riding the really baby-size one and complains about being too slow. Hope he grows fast and is able to handle a bigger one soon...

Both boys love little animals like cats, dogs or rabbits. Joshua always says he likes Shiba Inu, and Josiah is quite random though.

I told them I liked the long-haired dog, and after some checks on Google, they found that it's one of the least intelligent dogs, and they joked with me that I like St***d dog. Haizzz...

Happy 8th Birthday Boy!!!

The boys went to school as usual on their birthday. I packed lunch for them and prepared a day of surprises. They first had their lunch at the void deck near their school before I drove them to the Science Centre, which they were not aware of. A few days prior to their Birthday, I asked them where they wanted to go and what they wanted to eat on their Birthday; they could only tell me "MacDonalds". I told them that their Birthday Present will be their new room, which I have been busy preparing them for... They were just so sweet to accept it and did not complain that they wouldn't have a present.

I'd planned for them to visit the Mirror and Laser Maze, Omni Theatre at Science Centre. Imagine the whole theatre belongs to us and we can sit anywhere we like that day. They also had fun with all the exhibits, including the Probia, Cyclone and Earthquake experience, etc... I also allowed them $12 each to buy their own gift at the Science Centre shop. Thereafter, we had soda and milkshakes at the cafe while they opened their newly bought toys before the long journey back home for Dinner with Felin.

We had a simple Yakiniku dinner at Whitesand, which they loved too, and Felin allowed them another $6 to buy another toy. They did not have any birthday cake this year but used Birthday ice cream instead, which they enjoyed too. We sang birthday songs as usual, and I surprised them with my presents, which they totally didn't expect.

Okay. 8 years had passed. Another 8 years will be their O' Levels, and another 8 years will be their full independence. 1/3 of the journey had passed!!! Jia You Jia You!!!

It was a simple birthday celebration for them this year, but I'm glad that they enjoyed it. I would like to present their new room, which they officially migrated on 13th Jan. They simply love their new room and are happy with their new personal space. Looks simple, but I spent quite a bit of time racking ideas from double-decked beds, pulled-out beds, etc.... I am glad that God implanted me with a simple, moveable platform which they can use to store their books, stationaries and toys. I also spent time talking with the electrician about installing the track lighting, and I personally repainted the room white to brighten up their space.

Currently, we are still in the midst of buying another table and installing an Ikea book cabinet, but for now, it's definitely good enough for them to move in first. Felin and I finally had gotten our space back together after 7 years. Praise God for this day... 

First Post of 2023 - Happy New Year!!!

Its my first post of 2023 and I'm pretty late to update. Been busy with work, preparing the kids Primary 2 journey like reviewing and wrapping their school books, designing their new room to prepare their migration and planning for their birthday, etc... over the past 2 weeks.

Let me journal their 2023 celebration and what I wish to say for today first.

New year eve was celebrated at Pasir Ris Park with Tracy, her mother, Peter and Zi Qing. I'd suggested a BBQ and it really materialized within 3 days after my suggestion. Both me and Felin were busy with work but we still managed to get the job done about 2 hours before setting off at 4pm that day.

We were blessed with great weather. The kids had lots of fun with the sand, BBQing marshmallows and playing with sparkling sticks. They were tired when we reached home but Josiah requested us to wake him up to see the fireworks which he missed every year. The fireworks comes from Tampines Hub which we can partially view but its probably our final year that we can view it because the new BTO flats from Tampines North will surely block us next year onwards.

On 7th January, we went back Malaysia for a very early Reunion Dinner. Its too difficult to travel back as the kids need go back to school this time unlike preschool days. We also do not wish to brave the bad traffic and Felin will be very busy during their period too anyway.

They had more fun with their cousins in Malaysia compared to cousins in Singapore because the age gap between them are much closer for them to do silly things together. They kept laughing and can't stop running around whenever they are together. The kids always love me to be around too as I'm the less busy one who are willing spend time playing and doing silly things with them.

May 2023 be a wonderful year for all of us. Wish that everyone stay in good health, be happy and able to achieve new milestone in their career and personal lives.

Okay. Now a few sentences to jot down what I'm currently feel in my parenting journey...

Sometimes I can't stopping feeling that my boys are simply not those intelligent kids. A bit acceptance that they are not likely those who can do exceptionally well in school. Whenever I'm teaching them, they can't really seems to remember things, careless with their work, don't exhibit seriousness or resilience in their learning. Maybe due to their age, they don't really care for me and Felin and let us feel a sense of gratefulness from them.

I frequently will doubt on my own parenting abilities. I'm probably not creative enough to encourage them in their learning journey, had not set up a more conducive environment that they will be motivated to learn or I did not make best use of their early childhood to "Open Up" their brains, etc... Am I spending too much time at work? Had they simply had inherit my genes, which I know I'm not a smarty too.

I know I should not compare them with any other children and to love them unconditionally. Every kid is different and have different talents. I cannot be so fast to judge how they will turn out to be one day. My expectations will just give them pressure and I want them to grow just to be themselves and be confident with life. I also know that I shouldn't compare myself with other parents too and to remind myself that I'd tried hard enough. Just got to remember that God is the one in control and I need to continue trust him while we do our best to help them achieve their full potential and be useful people in the society one day. I'm learning to be good parent while I'm teaching them to be good children too. Long journey but I'm positive I can still do better... 

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.