Children Art: Sylveon Pokemon

萱萱 drew one of her favourite Pokemon in school today. It was a brilliant effort and I love how she decorated it.

Another Baby In The House

I think by this date Evelyn has already been to our place for a few weeks? She's my niece and great to see that Meimei is reliving the job of a little baby. That baby smell is addictive and its even better when you only need to play with her and not worry about the feeding or poopoo schedule.

I'm happy to have another baby in the house. Everyone is so excited to have a young one grace our place again. It is also good for 萱萱 and 阳阳 to understand they are no longer babies of the family.

Enjoying Durian

It's so satisfying to watch 阳阳 lick up the durian on his fingers. Kinda surprised he enjoyed it so much. 萱萱 didn't like it because of the skin and she would only suck the inside. But 阳阳 cleans out the entire seed till it was bare like how adults do it. Will definitely buy more for the kiddo.

Building A Lego Fire Truck

This Lego set is meant for 5+. I'm glad to see that 阳阳 can work on it on his own without assistance. Its important milestone that he can follow the instructions in the booklet and piece all the lego together. I like how he is very focused and determined to get it done.

Hearing Aids

Post the nonsense meeting where I got bamboozled by the SGH doctors, I'm back at the hospital to tryout the hearing aids. I was reluctant to come because it means I'm paying them more fees for the session but I needed to find out what options I had so here I am. The lady seemed to be surprised to see me. 95% of the folks at this wing are old folks who naturally have hearing problems because of old age. I felt out of place but hey there is nothing to be ashamed of to have a hearing condition.

Anyways, the lady showed me a variety of hearing aids. They run from $1000 for the most basic of models to $5-6000 for the high end ones. I tried a range of them and all had an artificial robotic sound coming through. It also doesn't take away all the sound from Tinnitus so I was cautious to commit to such an expensive buy. The lady did recommend that I go to a private clinic to have it fitted. Since I'm below 60 years old, I don't qualify for government subsidies. So I have to pay full at the hospital whereas I might be able to chance on a deal at a private clinic.

Makes sense. So I asked all the questions I needed and thank her for her time. This session set me back $70 but I supposed I'm more informed now. There is no miracle pill to fix my condition so the sooner I learn to live with it the better.

Kiddo Talk & Pic Aug 2022

 Don't go Primary school

After fighting over whose face is bigger on zoom screen….

阳阳: I don’t want to go primary school

Meimei: why?

阳阳: because if go primary sch already will act like jiejie not nice I don’t want to act like jiejie so I don’t want to go primary school

Wah Lau eh

萱萱: why no songs 

Meimei: because you two are talking too much 

阳阳: Wah Lau eh

Meimei: 😑

阳阳: what? I learn from papa one

Drink Cold Water

阳阳: mama mama mama mama mama

Meimei: WHAT!?!?? 😡

阳阳: this is not a complain ah 

Meimei: what? 

阳阳: why adults can drink cold water so much but children cannot

Elloven Monitor Stand

Was at Ikea recently and chanced on a new monitor stand. I had been using old textbooks to prop up the monitor at work so decided to replace it with something more proper and presentable. 

Faulty Lights Again

It was just 6 months ago that I went to service the car and repair the faulty lights on the right. It costed $530 to replace it. Now it looks like I have to spend another sum to replace the left one. Sigh ....

Andiamo @Detroit Metro Airport

Just got off a flight from Cincinnati to Detroit. Left a few days earlier than the rest of the team since I've come here a week earlier. Happen to chance on this Italian restaurant near my gate so sat down at the bar for a beer and a Tortellini alla Panna which is a pasta stuffed with beef, pork and veal and coupled with wild mushroom, basil and a mascarpone cream. It was a hearty dish, a little heavy for lunch but I wanted a proper hot meal before getting on the long haul flight to Incheon.

Asiana Restaurant @West Chester OH

This has to be one of those under-rated gem finds. When I drove up to the place I was worried we were going to have some sub par Korean. The place is like a hole in the wall joint on a small strip mall and looked very old and tired on the outside. 

Thankfully the food is another thing all together. It was authentic and flavourful with the right amount of spiciness. There were several groups of Chinese and Koreans so you know you are in the right place. I was most impressed by the Octopus hotpot.

A definite must come again.

萱萱's Swimsafer Test Day

萱萱's having her first swimming test today. I was still in Cincinnati so Meimei took lots of photos and videos to share. You can see the stress and tension on her face before the start of the test. But once the test starts she looks very confident in the water.

Meimei rewarded her with a waffle ice-cream treat at Bedok Mall. 萱萱 definitely deserves it!

Red Lobster @Cincinnati OH

Another one of those on the team list of to-go's. 

Children Art: On The MRT

Simple drawing but the process is far more interesting. 

Glad that the teachers shared the process with us. Happy to see the kids learning basic drawing techniques and not simply drawing on a whim.

Minimal Shopping @Premium Outlets OH

When you come to Cincinnati, you have to buy chocolates as gifts for the office and home. It's almost obligatory ... well at least right now since this is the first trip in the last 2 years. I'll probably tone down the gifts once I start travelling more. I got some chocolates for Nyaong and a Tory Birch purse for Meimei, even though she didn't want anything. She's having it tough at home, having to manage the two kids, so anything I can do to give her a perk-me-up helps.

The kids are older now so its very hard to buy clothes for them. Plus a lot of the clothes here are for the colder climate. Makes more sense to buy from Uniqlo in Singapore.

Cock & Bull Public House @Gendale OH

Jeanne and I were here for dinner before the game last Saturday. I was really impressed by the fish and chips so I'm back here again today for seconds. The rest of the team broke into different groups for the weekend so I came alone. But that's just as well since it's probably hard to get a table for a big group.