Brokenhearted

Was reading Tarzan story to RaeAnne, a bedtime staple since we came back from HK Disneyland. When I read that Kala was brokenhearted that Tarzan spend more and more time with the humans and less and less time with his gorilla family, RaeAnne said, "Mummy, I also brokenhearted because I go school, 我等很久你都没有带我回家。

Sigh, felt so guilty and brokenhearted when I heard that. Looks like it's almost 2 weeks but she still doesn't like full day CC. Every morning, she is still crying and whining that she doesn't want to go to school, she doesn't want to sleep in school, want me to bring her home, want Nai Nai to bring her home. But her cc teachers said she is fine, as in she sleeps in school n does not cry after I leave so maybe she is trying her luck.

Sending her to full day CC is the cheapest and easiest solution for us as adults since the maid refused to come back from home leave, Nai Nai cannot handle 2 young tots at home and I am going to get busy once I get my agent license, but is it the best solution for her? Even when I reminded her that she's the one who asked me to go to work when I said I got no $ to buy toys for her, even when I promised to earn $ & bring her on hotel room stays or buy a bathtub for her, she still say she doesn't want me to work.

Sigh... The dilemma of a SAHM going back to work. Will the extra $ (assuming that I do make $ as an agent) be worth putting her to full day CC though she is unwilling & the sacrifice of less time with the gals esp weekends? I don't know...

Professional Photo Shoot...... For Mummy ;)

Today is an easier day for me cos hubby asked MIL to come over and help in the morning. She was supposed to come at 8am so that I can bring RA to CC but I waited and waited but she didn't come. I called their house but no answer so had to assume she's not coming after all. End up I have to wake RL so that I can prepare her and go to RA CC together. Then MIL turned up. Poor Mei Mei was grouchy cos she got woken up from her beauty sleep, and because MIL suddenly came, I had to leave RL in her care and bring RA to school instead. Poor Mei mei cried and cried so I had to pacify her for another 10 mins until she calmed down. By the time, I left the house with RA, it was 830am. Late again, sigh. :P

But at least, arranged for MIL to bring RL back from school cos I need to go to Suntec and get my prof ERA photo taken. Bad hair, and bad complexion, so I decided to pay $50 for make up service. End up taking extra passport photos as well since already done the make up. After 2 years of no make up, frazzled hair, casual clothes of tees and bermudas, I finally look like a professional again. Haha. Even got convinced to take up their family photo promotion (up to 8 pax) for additional $69 (hard copies photo: 2 4R, 2 5R & 1 8R, soft copy at $8 each incl touch up) They have another studio at United Sq and that one have more toys for kids. Total damage: $200. :P


Rushed the photo down to ERA so that I can get my registration and sign contract with ERA. Paid more than $1000 today (OUCH!) cos need to pay registration, name cards, indemnity insurance & the ERA sales course too. :( Decided to go for the day course cos the evening course is too dragged out over 1 mth. Want to get the paperwork done asap so that I can apply to RA's CC for the subsidy. Wanted an employment letter but they can't give me that until I get my CEA license no. Oh well, so I asked for a duplicate contract instead. Will show it to the CC principal and hope it works.

Spent a long time at ERA office so I only reached home close to 7pm after taking a taxi. Couldn't pick RA in time so asked hubby to pick her up instead. She said I 'cheated' her cos I didn't go to pick her. Whenever she complained that she doesn't want to sleep in CC and ask why I am late to pick her up. I'll remind her that she's the one who asked me to go and work when I told her I have no $. ;P

Hubby and I didn't buy dinner for ourselves so after RA's dinner, showered her and we went to TM for dinner. Wanted to eat at Old Malaya Cafe but RA insisted that we go to MacDonalds. So, ended up eating fillet o fish instead. Rushed back to pick Mei Mei at 9pm. She actually fell asleep but was woken up by RA. :P

Just now while trying to make both of them sleep in the big bed, RA bit me so hard on my upper arm that she left a swelling on my arm. Dun know why she did it cos it was unprovoked. Furious with her so I beat her mouth and asked hubby to bring her out of the bedroom. She must learn that biting pp have serious consequences. No use saying sorry if you bite pp first, then say sorry when they get mad. :/

A Hectic Day....

RaeAnne is 1 month away from being 3.5 yrs old and today is my first day of trying out, looking after 2 kids esp in the morning since I'm now maidless. Poor hubby hide in the balcony while I got both gals ready to go for school. Mei Mei woke up first at 730am cos she is hungry so wash her face, brush teeth n changed to school uniform first. Went to wake RA in the morning n she refused to wake up. Threatened to leave her alone at home cos Mei Mei is all changed. While trying to clean RA, found out Mei Mei poo poo Liao so drop everything n wipe n wash her buttocks first. halfwaty through, RA said she also wants to poo. -_- while trying to wipe her bottom, Mei Mei went into the still wet toilet floor n slipped n cried. changed RA then finally left the house at 830am. :p thank goodness I bought a second hand buggy board so can push both kids. But got to push further to RA CC first then come back n drop off Mei Mei. :p

After quick bf with hubby, he went to work while I came back to prepare n cook lunch. Very tired cos Mei Mei woke up at 4+am then 7+am to drink milk (I have to attend to her cos as usual hubby KO) but i dun have time to nap.

Finish cooking porridge, steam fish with wolfberries & ginger, stir fry spinach with mushroom then rush to pick RL. Came back, tried to feed her but she refused to eat after 2 mouthfuls. Bo Bian change to cupcake but she ate less than half. Let her watch cartoon while I eat my lunch, was the dishes then bathe her. Feed milk she doesn't want to drink. 1pm, put her to bed but she refused to nap. Finally 2.15pm, feed milk again n 230pm, saw her sucking her thumb. Pull out her thumb n pat her n she finally slept. -_-

Start to prepare ingredients for dinner and cooked curry veg, already 4pm. Still tired so power nap with RL while waiting for hubby to come home. Started cooking again at 530pm. This time, cooked bah ku teh soup and steamed fish with RA's fav soy sauce. Luckily this time, both kids ate well so I'm not as 'qi keh'. :P

This morning, I just got my RES results online n I passed my exam. Yeah, can burn those notes liao. :) But the next ERA internal course is evening class for 1 month (starting 28 Jun, every Tues & Fri, 7-10pm) n I am not keen cos waste the whole day plus the course ends so late. By the time, I come home, it'll be 11pm liao. Definitely won't get to see the kids awake. But if it's 5 day day course then must wait until end July. But the sooner i finish the course, the faster i can get my cc subsidy. Dilemma. :p

Maidless

After being maidless for more than 2 weeks since 2 June 2011, must say it's really not easy. When my maid went back, RA peed on her queen size bed twice in a row though she hasn't had accidents for months. Even waterproof mattress protector didn't help.

Then ILs' place having renovation so we cannot bring the kids over even when my hubby has tuition. Have to ask my mum to come over and help me out for a while.Every night after putting the gals to sleep, hubby and I are busy washing clothes, bottles, tidying up the house when we used to surf net. Nowadays we are free at 12+am earliest, hardly have time to surf net, watch dvds or stone so we need to stay up late to have 'me' time.

Raeanne vomited from coughing last night, after catching a cold last Thurs. Maybe not used to sleeping in CC aircon. Raelynn also started a runny nose today. When the kids are sick, an extra pair of hands is useful esp when feeding med. :P

Now, at least hubby is having hols so can help out. If it's me again, dun know how I'll cope esp the morning rush to get 2 kids ready for school. Once in a while, the thought of having a maid again does cross my mind but I'll try to 'dong' as long as I can. Cos for now, I love having my house back. I can buy all the exp household or pots I like without worrying that the maid will spoil it. PT cleaners are good too except it's sometimes hard to fit them into our schedule.

But mainly, I love the closer family bonding without a 3rd party in the house. RL is getting more attached to me everyday though she still refuses to call Mummy. -_- she cries the moment I step into the shower and refuse to go out with hubby if I'm home. It's hard to cook or wash with a koala bear hugging my legs all the time, and asking me to 抱抱,抱抱 though. :P

First kiss ...

Got my first kiss from Raelynn. It was a funny incident actually. I was trying to put both gals to sleep lying on the sofa bed. Raelynn was either jumping around or sitting on my tummy trying to ride me like a horse. She bounced on my stomach hard and I yelped in pain. So, I started to scold her when she suddenly bent forward and kiss me on the lips. Of course, I had no heart to scold her after that.

Recently, she has been much more attached to me. Keep wanting me to carry or hold her hand while she walks. Even Daddy cannot take over. When hubby tried to put her on the stroller to go 'gai gai' to Nai Nai's house, she cried and cried until we abandoned plan.

Tonight, I can't even shower in peace cos she will cry and whine when she sees me entering the shower stall. I have already showered for her but I think she still wants a second go. I think she has shifted her reliance on the maid to me. I wonder what happened to my independent and fiesty little gal. :P

Raelynn's first day at school

Due to the maid issues, I went to ask RaeAnne's old PG school at Blk 702, n we r lucky cos we can enrol RL immediately, no need to wait as they have 2 kids dropping out after end June. There are 14 kids now but after June, should be 12.

Previously, i was thinking of sending RL to playgroup but didn't do it cos of the extra cost and logistics issues of 2 kids starting & finishing school at different timings ie. RA, 830am - 12pm & RL 9-11am, plus i didn't want the maid to be so free at home while I'm out. But since we have no maid anymore, decided to do it n enrol her for some social interaction n learning. Cos if i start course/work n we put her at ILs house the whole day, she won't learn anything except messing up the toys n pouring water everywhere. :p

So, yesterday, we dressed her up in Cheh cheh's old school uniform n brought her down at 945am n left at 10am when the kids were having tea break. She was curious n observed quietly. I am glad she didn't cry nor cling to me like a koala bear compared to RaeAnne. When the teacher/children sang songs, she started clapping. So cute. Today, we brought her down at 10am during the tea break n left at 10.15am when she was halfway through her stick biscuits, n went to run errands at NTUC n buy lunch before fetching her. No time to cook cos pt cleaner coming at 11am.

She was carried by Teacher Chris and crying when we came. Teacher Chris said she didn't cry at all when we left. She only started crying when another little gal snatched her piece of paper. Will let her start officially Tom since it's 16th n easier to calculate half month school fees. Will bring her down at 9am n hope she does equally well Tom.

Hk holiday n maid issues

This is an backdated post cos I am so busy these few days.

Good news first, we came back from hk. It was a good trip, not as bad as I thought traveling with 2 kids under 4 without maid or grandparents support. Even the flight was quite ok. We flew via tiger airways, super early morning flight at 6+am so we are really lucky that my bro gave us a lift and even my mum came to send us off. But cos it's budget airline, I got to entertain my kids myself, no inflight entertainment unlike SQ or CP.

RL continued to sleep in my bro's car but RA woke up and was alert after seeing me with the luggage bag cos she knows it's finally the day to go to her HK Disneyland Hotel. RL woke up when we were checking in.

When the plane took off, she was restless on the flight cos she doesn't like to be strapped to the infant seat belt. But luckily she can be distracted by food n her sister's toys. RaeAnne kept asking me why does it take so long to go to HK. :P

RaeAnne loves Disneyland, I am amazed that she is not afraid of the moving rides at all. In sg, she can't even stand motorized car rides in the malls. But she loves her hotel room n bath tub best, refuse to go out of her room to eat or shop. :p to avoid stressing ourselves n cos we were on holiday, we let the gals try pretty much anything, from cotton candy to ice cream to hk food from restaurants n chachanteng.

On the flight back, we had to order super exp airplane food cos it was a 11.15am flight and all of us didn't have lunch. Let the kids try instant noodles (no soup)for the first time cos the selection of food was so bad. Either jap curry rice or black pepper chicken rice (both spicy).

Then RL was awake while Raeanne slept shortly after lunch cos it was her afternoon nap time. :) Had a bad experience waiting for our luggage at the Budget terminal on our way back though, more than half an hour. Next time better fly Air Asia or jetstar cos they fly out from T1. :p But all in all, i think it was good family trip for our special bonding time w/o the maid and it also prepared us for what was ahead.

On fri night at 9+pm while we were trying to make RA sleep after we came back from hk, I got a call from Carine. As we suspected, Filamie changed her mind and is not coming back from her home leave. Carine said she wanted more pay, $600 n refused to listen to her filipino agent nor her.

Already have a standby solution before sending her off so we will be switching RaeAnne to full day cc wef tom, started Raelynn on RC playgroup n get MIL to look after RaeLynn n dun hire any more maids. Started looking for pt cleaner n got a few recommendations. Tried out the first one today, she is an experienced Filipino, fast but some parts not so clean cos I was too busy with the kids to tell her exactly what I want her to do.

Told Carine that I wanted to talk to Filamie personally cos I want closure before canceling her work permit n throwing away her things. N today the Filipino agent called me when I was going to fetch RaeAnne back from school. She said she was sorry but she can't go out n work anymore cos she needs to look after her son though she has no $ left. She cried when she talked to me n it has been a few days after n we have already adjusted our lives so I was quite calm. I asked her why she broke her promise but she just kept saying sorry. She also passed my kids photos back to Susy as I requested and even offered to give me a xerox copy of her work permit (which Carine had already done so).

In the end, I still wished her well cos she did take good care of Raelynn from birth to 18 mths. That's that, glad I am a SAHM so at least the impact on the kids r minimized. Even Mei mei adjusted after 2 nights of calling 'aunty aunty' while trying to sleep. Luckily, she only looks for her at night.

Just now, I typed a letter to MOM to cancel her work permit. Even though Carine said I can write that she cannot be trusted, wasted my $ and ask for her to be blacklisted and not allowed to return to Sg. But in the end, I didn't do it. I only stated the facts that she cannot be trusted but didn't want to ruin her livelihood in case she really wants to come back to SG. If she had stolen my money or ill treated my kids, I'll definitely be more harsh and blacklist. But since she did treat my children with a sincere heart, I also don't want to be so hard hearted on Raelynn's '干妈' for the last 18 mths. :P

A long week of flu, a super hectic day!

I have been having a very bad bout of flu since Sunday, saw dr on tues pm but the fever struck every 4-5 hrs like clockwork. So unlucky, tues is also the day that we got to send back the maid for her 2 weeks home leave so i am really miserable. Tues, 2 June, is also the day little Raelynn turned 18 mths, not so little anymore. she has a temper to match her sis n started throwing things n fun. She lost wt though, only 10.1kg after the last bout of coughing. Ht is 78cm, not much gain. :(

As I was sick, Hubby had to bring one kid over to ILs house on most days. Only started feeling slightly better on sun morning. Lost nearly a whole week of studying for my RES exams so had to spend Sunday mugging away until wee hrs of morning.

Today, went around panicking cos the luggages r barely packed but many things r missing at home so got to buy. Dun even have ink cartridge to print my airtic n hotel bookings. Luckily my mum came over to help these 2 days to help me cook, seeing that I am maidless n sick. All thanks to her, we got to zip out for a short while to grab last min items.

Less than 5 hrs before I need to wake up to go to airport for our short 4d3n holiday to Hong Kong With 1 night at Disney Hollywood Hotel with the two gals. I will be bringing my RES notes along cos exam is on the next day after I fly back, sigh. But hope it will still be a smooth n memorable family trip for us. :)