May: a month where Mothers worldwide celebrate.

May is a busy month for me - Adam is turning 4, Andy & I are going on a fishing trip on the Vesak Day weekend, and also, Mother's Day is coming! 

 

What does it mean when someone describes herself as a "Full-time" mum?

A Stay-at-home-mum (SAHM) yes, but a Full-time Mum? On the contrary, is there also such a thing as a Part-time Mum?

Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for women who give up their careers and cushy paychecks for the sake of family. They scrub and wash and cook and do a laundry list of things which cannot be measured by any key performance index.

First and foremost, let me describe a little about myself. I am a Mum to 2 kids, sometimes 3, and I work full-time. However, I have never considered myself to be a Part-time Mum. A Full-time-working-mum (FTWM) Yes, but a Part-time Mum, No.

A mum is a mum is a mum. Once you're signed on as a Mother, it's full-time for the rest of your life.

In our household, I'm always the last to sleep and the first to wake (besides my helper). I have to tuck my kids to bed and I have to wake up way before they do to prepare for the start of another brand new day.

I wake up several times throughout the night to make sure the blankets goes back to where they were before being kicked off. I also have to feed Ashton his milk at some rather un-Godly hours.

I work during the day while Adam is at school and while Ashton is being cared for by my MIL with the help of my maid.

I'm extremely thankful to be part of an organization which treasures its employees and promotes work-life balance. Everyone goes off on the dot without being pressurized to stay back and pretend to be hardworking.

Once I'm home, my world takes on a completely different turn. I learned that not all days are the same, some will be chaotic and out of "schedule", while others may be a walk in the park and everyone's happy.

I see that the kids are fed dinner, bathed and cleaned. I check on the kids to make sure they do not develop any change in skin condition (nappy rash / heat rash/ suspicious wounds), and that they are well and happy. I coach Adam on his worksheets.

I have to feed myself and I also have to bathe.

I have to sort out my mail and bills.

I have to keep in mind when the next appointment to the Paediatrician/ dentist/ etc for each respective child's checkup/ vaccination/ etc is.

I hardly rest at all. I can't simply "sleep when the baby sleeps" because I am working. By 10:30pm, I'm usually ready to hit the sack. If there's a way to describe my boring routine, it's something like transiting from one destination to the next and trying to keep the transition as seamless and smooth as possible but feeling like nobody really gives a shit what goes on behind the scenes.

Why doesn't my maid take care of my kids?

Well, why should she? I'm their Mummy, my maid is not. She helps out with the kids when I require but that's not her main jobscope. She takes care of the housework and keeps tabs of the perishables in the household. She makes sure our home is clean and tidy so I do not have to fret about such things and can instead, focus on my babies.

Mothering, to me anyway, has never been Part-time. Unlike my job, I cannot resign from my kids just because they are terrors and I am tempted to run away from them. I cannot call in sick to my kids anytime I feel like sleeping in late and just call it a day. I cannot "don't bring your work home" because my kids and my family are my home. They are my life.

All Mums are FULL-TIME Mums. It's universal, and we should all be united, and not pit ourselves against one another.

Happy Mother's Day to all my lovely Mummy friends and wonderful mothers out there :)

** P.S. I will be doing a write-up review of a Mothercare event we've been invited to, and am excited to share with fellow Mums out there. Stay tuned!

*** P. P. S. And in case you haven't heard of LolliBox subscription activity boxes, it's high time you check them out! Read my reviews of them HERE (Smartkids Asia expo 2013) and HERE (Adam's LolliBox craft).

 

 

Have you ordered your (limited edition) Mother's Day LolliBox yet?
I hope LolliBox makes them in Father's Day edition too!

I'm excited and can hardly wait to see Adam's reaction when he sees a parcel addressed to his name!

 

 

Kids day out to River Safari: Panda overload

 If you are born in the 80s like me, you'd have grown up knowing Ah Meng the Orangutan, and Xin Xing and An An the 2 pandas whom China loaned to us for a mere 100 days.

This time, Kai Kai and Jia Jia will be here for 10 years as part of forging political ties between Singapore and China.

The boys: Adam and Morgan are born just weeks apart and get on fabulously. Most of the time anyway. Heh.

Do you know what are the Rivers of the world?

Mississippi River: home to the beaver, spatula-snouted Mississippi paddlefish and the alligator gar (a prehistoric river monster that's been around for 100 million years).

 

Prehistoric fish: alligator gar.

 

 

Mekong River: pictured below are the Mekong giant catfish (the largest freshwater fish), and the giant freshwater stingray.







Yangtze river: China's longest river is home to some of the world's most critically endangered wildlife.
Catch sight of the world's largest amphibian, the Chinese Giant Salamander, as well as the rarely seen Yangtze alligator.

Yangtze alligator.



Then we went to the much-raved about Panda enclosure, the Giant Panda Forest!

Adam's Chinese namesake! Panda Kai Kai is 2 years older than Adam.

Red panda

Can't tell Kai Kai and Jia Jia apart. Can you??

Top: Zebra tank from Bugis Village
Shorts: Salmon pink scallop shorts from Love Bonito
Bag: Louis Vuitton Trevi PM
Slippers: Tory Burch

My very own cuddly Kai Kai

We were lucky that we managed to catch both Kai Kai and Jia Jia because I heard they sometimes go into hiding.

All that walking is making everyone hungry. Let's go to Mama Panda Kitchen!

Panda overload

Fancy a Panda pao?

Morgan's panda lunch set

Adam's set - Panda pao, ice-cream and almond jelly.

Hubby's panda cuppa.

Sat on panda chairs somemore.

After lunch, we walked on to the Amazon Flooded Forest, showcasing the annual flooding of the Amazon Forest. 

Piranha!

Next up: at the Squirrel monkey forest

Very tame monkeys that were not afraid to come up close and personal

Manatees feeding on cabbage

An arapaima came face to face with Adam

Otters

Pandassador at the souvenir shop

On our way out, back to the car, we came across a pair of Peacocks, with the male showing off to the female. So pretty!

 

 

 Other rivers of the world:

Ganges River in India, with the Indian Gharial, a fish-eating crocodile, and the Goonch catfish which is a maneater.

 

River Nile: the lifeblood of ancient Egyptian civilisation is a habitat for creatures both spectacular and savage. Brace yourself for the razor-sharp teeth of the tigerfish and monstrous appetite of the Nile Perch.

 

Congo river: look out for schools of rainbow-colored fishes like Congo tetra, kribernsis and jewel cichlid.

 

Murray River: featuring the Murray cod, Australia's largest freshwater fish, and the Australian Lungfish, a rare living fossil with ancestors older than the dinosaurs!

 

 

Charmaine's birthday lunch: Irodori Jap restaurant

 

 

 

My pretty gal pal turned 28 recently and we had a belated celebration with her today at Irodori Jap Restaurant, Riverview Hotel.

 

Dearest Charm, I wish you good health and tremendous joy in your life, and may all good things fill up your days so you will not feel dejection or unhappiness ever and always!

We have known one another for sooooo many years already, when you were still studying and when Royce was still a puppy, till now we are all married and became lao Aunty.. And even bought apartments in the same estate so we can be neighbours and peep at each other from balcony. Muahahaha.

Appreciate that even though you don't have (human) kids yet, but you always make effort to talk about our kids.

Enjoy our nonsense in Whatsapp always gossiping and sharing dirty jokes which never fail to brighten up a boring day at work.

Love you so much Sweetheart!

 

Love, XOXO,

[Review] Adam's swimming lessons

Adam has been attending swimming lessons for 6 weeks now (not taking into account missed lessons due to bad weather).

 

Part I - Adam's beginning journey in swim lessons, is HERE.

 

 

Here's what the kids think about swim lessons with Dolphin Swim School!

 

 

 

After lesson sure go to the water playground, then eat and sleep like a pig thereafter.

 

I was first introduced to coach Desmond from my friend.

After having engaged a bogus swim instructor from Happy Fish, which I would not wish upon any parent or child, I'm really glad I was introduced to Desmond because he is truly passionate about coaching children and very patient, which is key when it comes to working with kids.

Adam is very naughty but Desmond has his ways with him to make him listen.

Even my MIL, who comes with us to babysit Ashton, has nothing but praise for Desmond and commented that he is way much better.

Children gain water confidence which is very important to prevent drowning and develop self-esteem.

Dolphin Swim School's  schedules  are as follows:

Pasir Ris Swimming Complex

Thursday

5.00pm ~ beginner Class

6.00pm ~ Advance Class

Pasir Ris Swimming Complex Friday

3.00pm ~ beginner Class

5.00pm ~ beginner Class

6.00pm ~ Advance Class

7.00pm ~ beginner Class (Commence Soon!!!)

Pasir Ris Swimming Complex Saturday

3.00pm ~ Intermediate Class

4.00pm ~ Advance Class

5.00pm ~ Advance Class

6.00pm ~ Advance Class

7.00pm ~ Intermediate Class

Pasir Ris Swimming Complex

Sunday

8.00am ~ beginner Class

9.00am ~ Advance Class

10.00am ~ Advance Class

11.00am ~ beginner Class

Delta Swimming Complex

Tuesday

5.00pm ~ Beginner Class

6.00pm ~ Beginner Class

7.00pm ~ Advance Class

Delta Swimming Complex

Saturday

8.00am ~ Beginner Class

9.00am ~ Advance Class

10.00am ~ Advance Class

11.00am ~ Beginner Class

12.00pm ~ Advance Class

Delta Swimming Complex

Sunday

3.00pm ~ Advance Class

4.00pm ~ Beginner Class

5.00pm ~ Advance Class

6.00pm ~ Intermediate Class

 If his venues and timings suit you, you can call/SMS/Whatsapp Desmond at 96613608 or 96613609.
**Like Dolphin Swim School on Facebook!**

Say that you are referred to by Veron or Adam's Mummy :)