No memorable conversations recorded on WhatsApp or notepad this month. As the kids get older it's more of the frustrating teenager attitude from 萱萱. And that usually triggers 阳阳 as well into a meltdown of sorts. Meimei gets the brunt of it and I'm constantly amazed and glad she takes it in stride and continues to try and educate 萱萱 on the right way of things. Many parents would have just gave up and ignored 萱萱 with what she is dishing out.
Every tile except the floor ones goes. The old tiles were still available at Hafary but our ID didn't want us to use the same again. Although he mentions that the tile popping are not due to the tiles but rather the cement mix that was used back in the day. But out of an abundance of caution ... and mostly pan-tang on his part, he advised us against it. So we made several trips to Hafary to pick out the kitchen and toilet tiles. Hopefully the tiler does a better job this time.
The tiler made quick work of the tiles and managed to hack and clean up in just 2 days. We start tiling next week and then probably start carpentry measurements the week after. So exciting!
We had the fridge, washer and dryer moved to the living room so they can start working on the kitchen. To prevent the rest of the house being covered in construction dust, Meimei had a plastic sheet stuck on the beam to protect the dining area and rest of the rooms on the other end.
This is our reality for the next month while the kitchen and common toilet receives an overhaul. Hopefully the renovation can be completed quickly. We purposely chose this period as it's the school holidays for 萱萱.
We started the renovation proper yesterday. They tear down all the carpentry so the hackers can come in to take off the rest of the wall tiles. Once the cupboards came down, you can start to see cockroaches resting on the walls that was originally covered. They don't seem to notice that the cupboards are now gone and they are exposed. Which is a good thing because I went after them and managed to kill 8 of them on the first go. Their carcasses littered the floor and it gave me immense joy to clear them out. 2 of them got away though by darting into the wall tiles. I'll get them over the next few days ... there is very little place they can hide now. We need to exterminate as many as we can before cupboards go up again.
It's unfortunate that our carpentry has been the comfy home the roaches have found and nested in. This explains why we've always had a cockroach problem in our kitchen. Would the new cupboards solve it? Probably not. But for now I can take 'revenge' on them and they have no where to run!
萱萱 qualified for a Education Merit Award this year. It's a small award of vouchers but it helps to motivate students to work harder. So we were at HeartBeat today to collect the award. It was quite a wait for everyone to take their turn to get on stage for the presentation. I guess it's part and parcel of the experience of the kid's schooling years.
The kids were given a box and it's amazing the creative use they came up with. This is exactly how kids should play. They could do better with proper cleanup after building the helmet though but that's asking too much when they are so excited with the helmet.
Meimei has been busy planning on the design and usage of new cupboard we are building in the living room and dining area. It has been stressful for her but I'm glad she is up to it. I would never had plan to such detail. It helps that she has her iPad to doodle and mark all the designs on. Sharing them to show off all the hard work Meimei is putting into our renovation.
It's a joy seeing the kids play and sing together. We all appreciate that YeeYee and XY makes the effort to come over every evening. It gives our kids the chance to interact with XY and basically learn to be big sister and brother.
My parents never have us play with our cousins. On my dad's side it's mostly because my uncles don't get along with each other and that includes my dad. So that follows down to my generation where we are not close at all. I see my cousins maybe once a year at best during Chinese New Year. In some cases, not at all.
Thankfully we are breaking that cycle with our kids. We try to meet my nephews when we go to my parents' place but it's hard to meet up together unless we deliberately plan it. It's always hard when we live 30-40 minutes apart.
The kitchen has been needing fixes for almost a year. The tiles have cracked in some place, some are in danger of falling off the beam and held up with duct tape and other places are starting to show wear and tear. I've been holding out on doing anything drastic and opting to just stick with it.
But it is time. A good bonus this year helps on the decision to invest in a tidy sum for the renovation. Meimei chipped in too to fund the renovation. So instead of making small upgrades, we went for a total overhaul of the kitchen and common toilet. Plus we threw in carpentry for the living room too since we are at it.
We were at Songcho yesterday to look at the kitchen racks and then we went to see sample slaps of Caesarstone at Suntec today. Meimei has always dislike the dark tabletop so we are going with a light one this time. It's fun to run around to shop for stuff.
The things kids do when they are terribly bored. Lol ... I was minding my own business at the dining table when I caught them doing the silly waddle chant and going around mimicking the animals they are singing. Started with the penguin then a duck and they even did a polar bear. It's just so cute to see them do these silly things. They grow so fast, these moments are just so precious.
萱萱长大了
Meimei: 萱萱长大了..
She was going to toilet to 💩
Then I see her U-turn march out again
“What are you doing”
“I want to keep my cards from the sofa first else later Aunty Siti scold”
No anger. Just an understanding of how things work in this context
It is very weird that I cannot find any photos of the kids for this month. What have we been doing?!
Funny how things happens. How is it 萱萱 turns out to be Perfect material?! Especially when Meimei and I were not the most obedient nor compliant kid in school. Anyways I'm happy that 萱萱 is achieving some recognition at school. This can only help her in getting to a better Secondary school. My only concern is whether this role makes her stand out and get teased by other classmates. We'll be watching her closely so she doesn't get impacted by any negative abuse.
Special treat for the kids today with a trip to Heartbeat swimming pool right across the street. We had not brought the kids here in a long long time because we were afraid they fall sick. But they are older now so it's time we put in the effort to give them more time outside of home.
They were definitely thrilled and had so much fun at the pool. And when we finish I gave them a treat at Burger King. I repeated that the treat is a one off and they cannot expect to come for ice cream and fries every time. I'm not sure they heard it but oh well. I'm just happy I gave them the time.
We have been discussing this for the longest time and finally we are getting to it. It's very hard to buy a treadmill without trying so today we went on a trying spree. We were at Aibi Marina Parade to try the T420 and while we like that it was slim and compact, the short length was of a little concern. Meimei was worried that I might miss a step on my back foot and fall. Well, it would definitely be better if it was longer but the spot we intend to place the treadmill doesn't allow for it. The guy helping us was knowledgable and wasn't pushy. We told him that we were going to several stores to try before deciding on one to buy. He asked for my number to call us later when he checks with his management if he can offer us a better deal than the list price on it. He called while we were driving to our next location and offered us $800 off the list price which really made it attractive.
Next we were at Homegym at Kitchener Complex. They had a wide range of treadmills but I was there mainly to try the Shua E9 and Reebok Jet 100. They were larger, wider machine which makes for comfortable running. Meimei didn't seem impressed though with the size.
I think the call back had caught our attention. The detour to Homegym was simply that ... a trip to see something else to make our purchase not seem like an impulse buy. But with a $800 discount to put the cost of the T420 at $1.2K did the trick and we went back right after and paid for the treadmill.
