Multiparenting Cayen & Cayson

Today, we went for the school concert. I was both excited and apprehensive all at the same time. Last year this time, he ran off the stage for the first performance and was distracted for most of the remaining. Hence, this year , though I had done some prep work , I was still not sure if he would be able to do it.  My worries were proven unfounded as he burst into all the right actions from the first song on. While he may not be as animated and natural as his performances at home , it was still a big improvement versus last year. When asked, he said he was feeling shy as there's so many people. But I was glad most of all that he at least tried (instead of escaping) and he was able to go through with all the song and dance.  So I guess these are good things to prepare the kids ahead of the performance if you know they are a bit shy on the stage: - ask him to practise at home, standing on a "stage"/higher ground , and sing for the family  - filming him at home and letting h...

Today, Cayen did the unusual. He was super fast in all the steps in the morning ritual - from breakfast to changing to brushing his teeth. Usually this would take a lot of persuasion and hurrying as he's trying to wake up from his blurry state and will drag his feet.  Pleasantly surprised, Ah Pa asked him why he was so good and fast today. He promptly replied it's because it's holiday today and tomorrow and hence, he's getting ready quickly to watch cartoons on Okto .  Ah Pa told him that it's a school day today but he didn't believe. He said, "we were at the pool just now and I overheard someone say it's public holiday today and tomorrow!"  Haha, he was actually dreaming , literally. There's no poolside conversation - he just woke up.  Perhaps this is a result of the long weekend. What one must applaud is the power of motivation and the power of the dream. 

Recently, we received notice that our usual sports lesson for Cayen every Sunday morning will be discontinued at the current Offsite Venue. Next 2 alternatives are further away and it may mean that we may not continue.  Nonetheless, this is empty space under flyover and I'm not sure what other better alternatives can they come up with . As such, being the activist that I am , I have written on Reach Singapore's Facebook and also dropped LTA a note. Hope I can get some clarity on exactly what they intend to do with that space.  Anyway here's how my note reads:  ------ Hi, I am a concerned parent who's enquiring on the fate of this facility for people to do sports. I understand that it has been now designated as a non recreational area and has been transferred from SLA to LTA for infrastructure purposes. May I know what is it exactly for?  I am asking because my kid alongside other kids have been attending sports lessons there every week as part of an attempt to practi...

Cayson is all about mimicking actions now.  Every day he is now wielding a cloth and wiping the floor and the tables . After wiping, he will go to the dustbin in the kitchen , open the cloth and "shake" out the dust , just like Ah Po.  Every day, whenever he feels like going out, he will bring Ah Gong to the shoes corner and beckon Ah Gong to help him wear  his shoes . This happens multiple times a day .. so he's known throughout the block by neighbours and security as he's always hanging outside. Recently , he will try to take a bag (of random things) before heading  out , just like us. In the picture, he had randomly grabbed a bag containing a floor mat.   His most notable Achievement now is to be able to shake his head to indicate that he doesn't want to . I don't know why they program kids to know how to say no before yes. But thankfully he mastered the signal for yes soon after. As he can't really nod, he kind of rocks his whole body to and fro to ind...

Today, he told me he wanted to marry his special friend again. So I asked him what is the meaning of marry ? And here's the whole exchange:  C: after you marry, you have a baby.  Me: so give me an example of who's married ? C: you and ah pa!  Me: ok .. then tell me who's my baby? C: Cayson . You pop Cayson,  Me: that's right. Then who pop you?  C: Ah Po  Me: huh??? You are not Ah Po's baby. What gave you that idea? C: I thought one mummy can only have one baby.  Me: No, both of you are my babies. You are big baby and Cayson is small baby.  C: no, I am not a baby anymore.  Me: ok, let's try this. So who's Ah Po's babies?  C: hmm .. Me: who calls her mama? C: you! Me: correct. Who else? C: erm ... don't know Me: let me give you a clue .. who comes every week?  C: cleaning auntie !!  Me: no !! Guess again. Who looks like me? Who calls Ah Po mama ? And then he went on to guess 5-7 things including Ah Pa,  Ah Gong, Nai Nai (奶奶）...

It started with Da getting a high fever on Thursday night. So we canned the usual Friday night plans and had dinner home. I also took Cayen to Jerome's 100 days party on my own. Cayen had a good time as Marilyn and Marcus had prepared some nostalgic old school snacks for the kids and his highlight was the bubbles that entertained him for a long time.  As Da was sick at home, I decided to bring him on a bus adventure where we randomly boarded the first double decker bus that came. It was so random that I didn't even know the bus number after I was comfortably seated. I had to ask my fellow passengers who might think I'm quite strange . I soon figured out that we are heading towards Boon Lay interchange , with the bird park and science centre in between. As I didn't have my membership card with me, I managed to convince Cayen to alight at the science centre instead,  We then spent the next 2-3 hours at KidsSTOP which was funny and educational. As we didn't have to rus...

2017 marks Nanyang's 100 years' anniversary and hence, a few of us decided to go back to visit the new campus that we didn't have chance to study in , and also to watch the movie premiere. It was surprisingly professional , from the cinematography to the children's acting and good spoken Mandarin. I hope it will be screened publicly for many more people to see.  In the movie, there's quite a few interviews with past students, teachers and principals and most of them echoed the same sentiments that character and grit building were important aspects of education there, including the need to contribute to society & be a useful person. They have already emphasised all these since the start of time , way before all these concepts of Grit & Growth Mindset become hot topics in recent parenting/educational culture. And it was quite touching to see how girls didn't always have the chance for education in early Singapore and I think we should be grateful for the o...