third day of school

On the third day of school, Joel cried when we reached and he clung onto Daddy. He looked so sad... Before that (while we were walking), he was still happy and said that he's going to "teacher school".

When Mommy went to fetch him home at 4pm, the teacher said they're having an "extra" lesson and asked me to join them in class. I felt that Joel look "lost in his own world" with the teachers speaking in Mandarin. Here's some photos...

second day of school

Even before we walked into the school, we could hear some kids crying. Joel was rather unfazed until he changed into his indoor shoes. (But maybe he's blur blur as usual lah) The crying boys beside him made him want to cry too! The teacher had to carry him away from us. I was a little sad to see my poor baby sob...

When Mommy Jo went to fetch Joel home, the teacher said he's (still) good, eat well, slept well. Hmmm... I wonder if they say this to ALL parents! Haha! But he does look better than yesterday. No runny nose, no puffy eyes. (Elvis & i figured that Joel probably had puffy eyes from crying the whole day followed by napping)

Joel also wanted to hold onto my hand while Ahyi pushed the stroller home. On the way to school, he will hold onto Daddy's hand. So fair, huh! We love you, Joel! Hope you'll enjoy school soon. ;)

Whenever Joel reaches home, he'll go and find his soft toys first. Usually, it's his favourite Bear Bear which we bring everywhere but i didnt pack it into his schoolbag. He likes to call to his "gang" - Bear Bear, Mickey, Goofy and Panda - and hugs all of them into the room whenever he wants to drink his milk or go to sleep. He walks straight into our bedroom without telling us and slams the door. Lately, he's added another member to the group. Giraffe. He can barely see where he's going when he grabs the whole bunch. Sometimes, Joel will carry Bear Bear & Mickey, then ask Mommy to help him with the rest. It's kinda cute to watch him with the 5 soft toys. I hope doesnt rope in more soft toys...

P.S. The school has a LIVE online video which we can watch from our homes. But there's a specific timing for each of the class (Mondays to Thurdays only). I'll see how we can download the software and catch a glimpse of how our little one is doing in school. Good or bad, happy or sad...we'll know. ;p

joel's first day of school

Today is Joel's first day at school!

Mommy Jo, Daddy Elvis & Ahyi walked him to school but we had to turn our backs and leave him with the teacher as soon as he changed into his indoor shoes for school. We were barely past the gate, at the shoe racks area. I bought a cheap Mickey Mouse grey "crocs" for him and realized that there were at least 2 other kids with the same colour! (The kids will have to leave their own shoes on the racks and change into them before they go home)

Joel is in the 月亮/Moon Class. When his class teacher led him inside the school, he said ByeBye but i think he didnt realize that he was actually saying ByeBye to us instead. It all happened too quickly - even for us. As we walked away, i heard something that sounded like a cry... My poor Joel must have felt a little confused... :(

When it was time to come home (at 4pm), Mommy Jo & Ahyi was very kiasu and went there earlier to wait. I thought that i could bring him home earlier but the guard said have to wait till 4pm. The teachers brought the younger kids out one-by-one. Soon, i saw Joel carrying his backpack. He had runny nose and looked like he had just woke up. Immediately, i gave him a big hug. He asked me to take out his bag. Haha... Joel has never liked carrying any bags - except smaller shopping bags which he will drag along the floor.

The teacher said that he was very good throughout. Ate well and slept well. I asked her if he scratched her elbow before he fell asleep...and she said YES! O no... I quickly apologized to her. I also told her that he doesnt know his Chinese name. She said no wonder no response when they called him 周泽.

On the way home, Joel wanted to hold my hand while Ahyi pushed his stroller. He kept saying, "Go home." When we reached home, i asked him what did he do in school today. He replied "Drawing." When i asked him how many teachers were there, he said 10. And there were 10 boys and 10 girls too! HAHAHA... ;)

thunderstorm warnings

The first day of school has been postponed due to typhoon/thunderstorm warnings last night. Nursery to high school have been affected. However, there's only slight rain in the afternoon. Not considered heavy rain at all. Not windy either. It's sunny most time of the day too. Hmm...

Joel has been coughing very badly since last night and i was a little worried about him. So the thunderstorm warnings came quite "timely".

Mommy Jo is also sick! Having flu and sore throat... :(

32 weeks pregnant

Yesterday, we went to the gynae together with Joel. He was pretty excited about meeting his "meimei" - even if it's on the TV screen. I was surprised he remembers there's a playroom at the clinic. Everything was done pretty quickly (within 10-15 minutes) so we sat down and watched Joel play after the checkup.

Joel's little sis is only 1.7kg at 32 weeks whereas Mommy Jo has put on about 12-13kg. From the scan, Elvis says she looks very much like Joel when he was born - the nose and mouth. (See side view close-up below)

From now, i'll have to go for my checkups every 2 weeks. She has been moving A LOT. My very huge and very round belly is always distorted and swaying from side-to-side.

I also felt a little "cheated" paying such exorbitant prices becoz no scan was done during the 2 previous checkups. They only used a measuring tape to measure the "curve" of my tummy! How weird! I also had to pay for the glucose blood tests (and some other tests) which wasnt included in the expensive prenatal package.

more tasks

Lately, there seems to be endless tasks to be done. Mainly around the house... I dont enjoy being pregnant... So being this heavily-pregnant and dealing with all these just made it worse.

Firstly, there's the Ahyi problems which i'm hoping this 2nd Ahyi will prove herself to be capable and adapt well into our family and lifestyle. So far, i dont have any problems with her character except that she favours cooking/eating vegetables - which i dont like to eat. And since Elvis is hardly home to eat, it's just me & her.

Then, our bathroom ceiling leaked during one of the heavy rain! The condo technician confirmed it's got something to do with the aircon "pipes" which can only be fixed from the OUTSIDE of the building. So, they needed to get someone from outside to scale the wall... BUT, we have to pay for the service and i had to go and buy the "supply" they needed to use. Soooo stupid!!!

Then, Elvis kept rushing me to bring Joel to the body checkup for his nursery enrollment. (He was supposed to start schooling in August but he has been sick since we came back from Singapore and i didnt want him to do the tests.) Finally, we went last Tuesday with the new Ahyi. It wasnt complete until they test his urine. After countless unsuccessful attempts to make him pee into the small cup, i decided to let him go without his diapers on Thursday morning. We sat on the (cold) marble window/balcony until i collected his pee! So i rushed down to the clinic with his carefully-wrapped urine. The school also called to say he should start 1 September. So i have to go down to the school these few days (likely tomorrow) to pay the fees and find out what else we need to prepare.

We went down to a furniture mall on Saturday to look for Joel's pullout bed (i didnt like the IKEA ones). Found only 2 shops that sells similar to what i have in mind. Decided on the "better quality" pine wood which i dont like the colour...but we havent got much of a choice... So i will go down again to pay the deposit next week. It takes minimum 25 days to deliver it to our house becoz we wanted to paint it WHITE. Hope it'll be ready before i deliver to the new baby...and the confinement lady comes in... Target: End-Sep.

Other smaller tasks that needs to be settled...
- Moving the phone line (in Joel's room) to the living room that requires getting the guy to come and do some connection. Before that, i had to go down to the office to put in the request. Cannot be done over the phone. So silly! (DONE!)
- Buying a cordless phone (DONE!)
- Ahyi "spoilt" the microwave which was a little faulty but still can use after on/off the switch. Bought new one. (DONE!)
- Our landlord finally gave the green light to seal the balcony (after weeks/months of emailing pictures & quotes. He's paying for it - 100%.)...so i have to contact the balcony glass guy again, pay him deposit etc...and he should get it fixed up in less than 2 weeks. Target: Mid-Sep. (NOTE: 1 of the glass panel on our balcony which covered the "exterior aircon" was already "missing" since we moved in in April. I've always been very paranoid. Elvis, on the other hand, doesnt worry much about it!)
- Getting wireless internet and dont know who to go to... The internet company doesnt do it.
- Fixing a date for our baby's arrival via c-section (likely mid-Oct, 7-10 days before my EDD). Elvis' dad will "calculate" the auspicious date/time from the Chinese "tong shu". As a Christian, i dont like the idea but (as usual) i dont have much of a choice...

I believe i'm pretty exhausted.

vegetarian

Lunch, 25 Aug 2010

Thank goodness i ordered a McDonald's fish burger for breakfast...then i kinda didnt have time to eat it... So i had it for my tea-break. The fish patty was soooo super yummy!!!!

32 months

The official school term in China is 1 September. Hence, we decided to go ahead to bring Joel for the body checkup today although he still has slight cough and cold. Mommy went there with my Baby Joel and the new Ahyi.

He wasnt very cooperative in almost all the tests and he cried the loudest when they pricked his little finger to take the blood sample. Mommy also very heartache lah. Tomorrow, we still have to go to the clinic (w/o Joel) to bring his urine sample back. Becoz our little one is still not toilet-trained. ;p

We got a little booklet to show to the school nursery - similar to Singapore's Health Book.

Here's some of the statistics from his booklet:
Weight: 12.5kg
Height: 89.9cm
Head Circumference: 47.9cm
Chest: 47.5cm
Fats underneath skin (???): 0.9cm (???)

Conclusion? Not tall, head not very big and not fat.

new live-in ahyi found

Good news!

We found a fulltime live-in Ahyi through an agency and she's starting work on Monday! It's 6-days work week, 1 day off (flexible) which she'll sleep out too. Hope she's good and Joel likes her.

surprises from new ahyi

The new Ahyi gives me surprises everyday!

Let's start from the day after her interview on the last Sunday of July which we immediately agreed that she will start work 1 week later on a Monday. 2nd week of August. (Becoz my previous part-time Ahyi was supposed to leave end-July but since the other fulltime Ahyi played us out, she agreed to extend working for me until i find another fulltime Ahyi...and so i wanted to give her 1 week notice too.) BUT the very NEXT DAY (Monday morning), i get a knock on my door. It's her sis who works for the family downstairs! Surprise! Surprise! She said that she wanted to clarify with me what i told her sis yesterday, about the salary etc. Then she said that becoz the other family (whom her sis turned down before she came to us) wanted to employ her now and they want her to start immediately on Tuesday! And she doesnt wish to wait till the following Monday to work for us becoz it meant she had to feed herself for one week without a job! She mentioned that her sis stayed at home yesterday and had to cook herself. How ridiculous does that sound to you??? But she prefers to work for us becoz the other family has a kid and a granny. So...i told her to talk to her sis again and let me know immediately IF she wants to work for us OR them. She came up again to tell me later that her sis will wait a few more days and work for us. It's good but i think we've already lost some faith in her.

Then...
1. On her first day of work, she told me that she woke up at 4+am becoz she took on another job in the morning 5-7am cleaning an office with a group of Ahyis. How is she going to keep that morning job when she start living with us??? Leave our house at 4am and come back to attend to my kids at 8am??? (She's supposed to be our Mon-Sat fulltime live-in helper whenever we needed. We told her she can stay out if she wish to now, but she'll have to start living-in after the new baby is born. Most likely after my confinement since Elvis can handle Joel while the confinement lady & myself will handle the new baby. Otherwise, her work hours start from 8am to bring Joel to school till 10pm.)

2. Since Joel doesnt "need" her to play/feed him (and she has that morning job), i let her leave earlier at 8pm on the first day of work. Since then, she has been thinking that she leaves at 8pm everyday. She rushes me/Joel to bathe/eat at 7pm so that she can go off at 8pm sharp!

3. She said she's planning to find a bigger rented room with her sis. That means she wont live with us in the future???

4. She said at the most, she'll leave later at night after we have the 2nd kid.

5. She said her husband visits her in Shanghai every now and then and if she live-in, she wont be able to see him at night. (Note: She gets Sundays off and Saturdays she gets to leave earlier since we're mostly out anyway - at least before the new baby arrives.)

6. She cooks almost vegetarian dishes for me everyday. Lunch is probably 1 stir-fry vegetables and 1 vegetable OR tomato soup (w/o any meat). Dinner, add 1 more vegetable dish. IF Elvis comes back to eat, she will cook another meat dish. I've since told her to add some meat (and salt) inside the soup for more flavour. So now, it tastes much better. I also have to remind her every now and then that I LOVE MEAT & SEAFOOD!!!

7. One day, lunch was a cabbage that tasted a little spicy (but doesnt look like there's any chilli inside). I thought that perhaps it's the garlic or ginger. For dinner, she cooked another brocolli that also tasted the same - spicy! So when i asked her, she said she added chilli sauce inside. Since i couldnt see any chilli bits, my guess is she used the bottle of garlic chilli sauce. (That's probably why i miss my fast food meat patties and fries.)

8. Ok...hygiene! I'm not fussy about her cleaning around the house (even though she is absent-minded and always forgets what i tell her to do). But i got a shock this week when i realized that my toilet looked like a public toilet! She dumped her blood-stained tissue paper inside the dustbin inside the toilet like what Chinese people did. (FYI, same goes for shit) YUCKS!!! SO GROSS!!! So, i told her that in Singapore, we dont have that practice. I told her to flush the toilet paper and she can throw her sanitary pads in the kitchen dustbin. So those are out of sight on Day 2. Phew~

9. She said the sensor door card is spoilt. (My previous Ahyi had no problem using that same card for 2years+. Before that, we have been using the card.) Then i saw it and realized it's becoz she punched a HOLE on it and looped the key there! She kept saying that her sis' card also has a hole and it works fine. The management office confirmed that it's becoz of that hole and i had to pay to get it replaced. After that, i made sure to remove the handwritten block & unit number on the card since she keeps the card & key together (which also includes the property name).

10. For the first few days, i realized that she doesnt lock the door whenever she goes to the market or when she goes out to throw the rubbish. Throw rubbish very fast, so it's ok lah. But i told her that when she leaves to go out, she has to lock the door. Then she said that most doors lock automatically when it's closed!!! (Why then didnt she open the door again with her key???)

AHHHHH...

UPDATE!
She was supposed to tell me her "decision" today whether she will stay-in OR continue to rent a (bigger) room with her sis. (FYI, she has been complaining that her sis' rented room is very small and very warm. They also have to bathe on the rooftop with just a curtain. No aircon, no heater, no water heater. So, i told her that she can bathe here before she goes home during winter.)

When i asked her in the morning, she said that she did not get the chance to discuss with her sis last night or this morning. I said before & during the interview, we already said we wanted a full-time live-in Ahyi. She act blur... Then she said that she can stay till 10pm no problem. 

In the afternoon, she broached the subject herself and said that she can quit her 5-7am job after 1 month (when she get her salary). Then she can live-in with us. I asked her how does she expect me to trust that she will not just leave us after my baby is born or when someone else offers her a little more money? Besides, she started giving me problems the day after interview! She said, "I wont lah". I said, "Say, ¥100 more?" (Approx S$20) She kept quiet. She continued to defend herself and said that it's the other family who backed out on their words so many times and she's afraid too.

At that point, i had already decided to let her go and find a replacement from an agency. I just didnt know how to tell her she's given the sack!

Later in the afternoon, she asked me again if i thinks she's not trustworthy. I said, "YES!" I told her she has so many versions! And since her first day of work she said cannot stay-in, wanna stay with sis, dont wanna give up part-time job, can stay later till 10pm, cannot stay-in coz wanna see husband at night, can stay-in coz husband only visits occasionally, can start stay-in after i give birth... I'm not sure if she even knows what she's saying!!!

So, yes! I said it! YOU WILL WORK TILL THIS SATURDAY! END OF 2 WEEKS.
(We had intended to pay her a full month's salary for her 3 weeks of work this month - to make her happier and hopefully more committed to her job. I dont know who is out of luck? She or us?!)

2nd week with new ahyi

I feel that Joel still doesnt like the new Ahyi. Hmm... Maybe she doesnt look too friendly either. ;p

I noticed that whenever Joel is reading or watching his DVDs and the Ahyi tries to repeat something (after him) or even when she opens her mouth, Joel will hit her on her arms to stop her!!! Dont worry, he's not abusing the Ahyi...it's lightly...but still not nice lah. I have to tell him many times a day not to hit her.

Headache...

the new ahyi

The new Ahyi started work on Monday. It's been a busy week for me. Busier than ever.

I told Joel that we're changing to a new Ahyi and he seemed to understand that. He did not ask me if the previous Ahyi is coming (something that he will say to me everyday... "Ahyi coming?" and "Ahyi go home").

Somehow, he doesnt seem to like this current Ahyi as much. He doesnt want her to feed him or to play with him. So, i have to do all that. I've been bathing for Joel (mornings & evenings) everyday and was hoping that with the new fulltime Ahyi, she can help me with it especially since i'm heavily pregnant now. After the new baby comes along, i'll be doing my confinement and all...

So far, she comes in at 8am and leaves at 8pm. During the interview, she said she wont stay later than 10pm. (She prefers not to live-in becoz her sister has a rented room nearby. Live-in Ahyis also mean on stand-by 24 hours.)

On her third day, Joel reluctantly allowed her to bathe for him in the evening but i had to stand beside him and hold onto his hand. But he still wants me to dry him and dress for him after the bath. He still doesnt want her to feed him. It also meant i cannot go out at all! (Previously, i could go out after the Ahyi comes in as long as i get home before she leaves at 7pm. If i'll be home later, i can also inform her. She does any OT willingly.)

The only good thing is that the new Ahyi cooks and i dont need to order delivery food. Mealtimes are always a headache for me and i tend to order fast food on most days. Her cooking is not yummy but edible. After just 2 days of her home-cooked food, i saw the McDonalds TVC on curly fries and decided to order it for lunch on Wednesday! HAHA!

Hope Joel gets used to her soon and her cooking will improve too. ;)

mommy

Joel formed the words Mommy! (1 of the 'M' is actually a 'W')

I'm so touched! I love you, Joel.

weekends

7 & 8 August 2010

Joel refused to leave his Gymboree class after it ended (he cried) so the teacher got him to stay back to help keep the blocks. Clever move! Earlier in the morning, we also went to his MiKids class (which had moved to another location near IKEA). He seemed to enjoy the class very much that day. He sang loudly and did all the actions for 'I'm a Little Teapot' which he normally wouldnt do.

My cute baby playing hand puppets with Daddy at home...

Joel sang 'Old Macdonald' on the way home after dinner and the taxi driver was so impressed!

first bruise

Joel had a bump at home on Sunday night and got his FIRST bruise on his left cheek. Mommy & Daddy very heartache...but he's still chubby nonetheless.

in the closet

Sometimes, there's sound coming from our bedroom closet...

It's Joel!

He LOVES to go inside, close the sliding door, then sits or stands at the corner - in the dark. Our closet is a like a mini "walk-in wardrobe" (probably about the size of a super-single bed). There's light when you slide open the door. I dont know why my little one is not afraid of the dark...

He also likes to lick (YES! LICK!!!) the frosted panel of the door...and sometimes uses his crayons to draw on it. I hope the closet door still looks ok when we move out of this rented apartment. ;p

joel's playroom

Finally, Joel's room is more than just a playroom! (cum Mommy's computer room from the uncomfortable sofabed/couch with at least 3 cushions behind my back and the Mac placed on a tiny 40cm square "table". This is where i've been sitting most of the time - watching Joel play - becoz we dont have wireless internet yet.)

SAT - A quick trip to IKEA to check out the new TROFAST toys storage system. We ended up buying the new STUVA too as wardrobes for Joel & baby sister. But still havent found an ideal "pull-out" bed...
SUN - IKEA delivers the packages. (We actually used the legal IKEA delivery service! HA!)
MON - Installation!
MON & TUE - Pack, pack, pack...

We're pretty happy with the new storage space. The bulkier toys are still on the floor opposite the wardrobe/shelves. We'll think of where to place them when we get Joel's bed. The wardrobes are completely full now (with the 2 kids' clothes) and i've also placed Joel's photoframes on top. ;)

lilacs, greens and white

So many people said that the flowers are very pretty indeed.
Here's a more realistic colour of the pretty flowers... ;)

13 years

This day, we've been together for 13 years. The man bought me flowers too! Thank you for being so wonderful.

Elvis said the meaning of those purple flowers is 'forever'...and i had thought they were just prettier carnations. CARNATIONS!!! HAHA! ;p

congratulations

It's official. Elvis has been promoted from Senior CD to ECD of JWT Shanghai.

I dont know if we should be happy becoz you're going to be even busier than what you already are. But, this is good news after all...and it's a 双喜喜 Double Happiness too! So, congratulations to our Extremely Caring Daddy!

Elvis started his career with JWT Singapore in 1999. And he moved on to JWT’s Bangkok office, winning over a hundred creative awards along the way He picked up awards in shows such as Cannes, Clio, London International, Adfest, Media Spikes, as well as Thailand and Singapore Creative Circle Awards.

In 2006, Elvis joined TBWA Shanghai as creative director on adidas, creating great success for adidas in the Chinese market with his Olympics campaign. The campaign was also internationally acclaimed in awards shows all over the world, bringing home the first gold lion for China in Cannes.

In 2008, Elvis joined JWT Shanghai to work on Ford.

Some of the key clients he worked with include Ford, adidas, Unilever, Unif President, Asia-Pacific Brewery and Standard Chartered

* Taken from here.