HESS–Holiday Program Dec 2012

I previously blogged about HESS here. I did enrol Christian for 3 weeks at Hess after all, partly for my parent’s benefit (so they’d get some peace at home and only have to concentrate on Calista) and also for Christian’s benefit (I’m certain he’d have a better time learning something at the school, then monkeying around aimlessly at home.)

The teachers and school more than met my expectations..i was pleasantly surprised by the weekly report they provided and photos they took which were available for download. He took part in the English and Mandarin program which meant that his time there was rather long, from 10am – 3pm, with an hour lunch break in between.  I was initially worried about pushing his nap time back so much, but figured it’s good preparation for his change in school timing next year, which will be from 1130am to 430pm.

They had a good mix of story-telling, art, drama and writing..It wasn’t cheap and cost more than his regular school ($1011 for 3 weeks) but at about $17 per hour, it was one of the most value-for-money holiday programs around. I love that the teachers are all so warm and attentive and that they have native teachers conducting the programs. Christian looked like he had so much fun thanks to the varied activities, and seeing those pictures made me very glad that I didn’t stinge and decided to send him there after all.

Would definitely consider signing him up again next year, if his own school doesn’t have a holiday program.

Lest the readers of this blog (including my own son in future) think i’m such a slave-driver mum, let it be known that he is having 2 full weeks of monkeying-around and doing nothing at all at home.. Pushing all his ECAs (music, gym) to the weekdays so our weekends will be free. Yippee for holidays!

Getaways

We watched Jersey Boys at Marina Bay Sands Theatre the other day, courtesy of a colleague. ^_^

I was scheduled for a hair perm that day but decided to give up my $48 groupon voucher for this instead…P gamely accompanied me since we are a lover of musicals. Felt rather guilty abandoning the kids to the MIL, even though they were going to nap and wouldn’t really notice our absence for the most part.

Jersey Boys was highly entertaining and we really enjoyed the great performance put up. P was so impressed with the lead singer (who apparently wasn’t THE lead singer since the understudy takes the lead during the weekend matinees) that he asked “How did they find this guy??” Such power and pristine crisp voices.

We left the Theatre buoyant and refreshed from the experience, even as we walked briskly hand-in-hand to rush home to the kids. It was a great date, and a precious time away from the children.

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I saw that Rurouni Kenshin had finally been made into a movie and opened in Singapore last weekend. Was determined to catch it and P really indulged me. We didn’t manage to get any tickets for Saturday night, and so we went on Sunday afternoon instead. The whole guilt-trip started all over again as we left the children at the MIL’s =7 We hadn’t caught a movie in the theatre in eons, though I suppose once you are a parent you should stop thinking about things like that or get too caught up on what you are missing out on.

It was an enjoyable movie which brought me back to the days when I was a undergrad who had the time to catch 90+ episodes of the Kenshin anime. =7

Grateful for all these little dates that we have, which somehow make me miss and treasure my kids even more.

 

Hectic weekends

Weekends. They are so precious precisely because they are so fleeting. Sigh.  

A description of a typical, hectic weekend is as follows:

Saturday

7am: Calista and Christian wake up. P entertains them while I sleep.

8am: I wake up, we all finish breakfast, change them, take care of all their toileting needs, pack the diaper bag and we race out of the house by 8.45am.

9.15am: We finish trying to find a parking lot at the horrendous HDB carpark near parkway and run with Christian to his piano class.

9.15 – 10am: We catch a breather and try to put Calista to sleep while we walk around..attempt to feed Calista some breakfast (She’s usually fussy and refuses to eat until we bring her out)

10am: Christian’s piano class ends, we drive over to Big Splash, play at the beach or let Christian practice pedaling a trike.

12 – 1pm: Gym class at Big Splash! Calista would have fallen asleep while slung by P in the Baby Bjorn..

1.30pm: Lunch at Nansuttei, Millenia Walk. P loves the ramen and chemical-free pork, Christian likes the fried rice.

3pm: We collapse out of Millenia Walk and head home for a nap.

3.45pm: Christian finally naps, Calista might still be awake and alert thanks to her earlier nap..Either P or I stay awake to entertain her.

6pm: Our only truly free slot of the weekend where we can plan outings or meetups. (Last weekend, we were at XJ’s bridal studio trying on Christian’s pageboy suit, the week before that, we were at cell group..)

We find someplace to have dinner and get home by 9pm to put the children to bed.

Sunday

7am: Calista and Christian wake up. P entertains them while I sleep. (Muahaha. This sounds terrible of me, but I wake up thrice a night to pacify Ms Wang.)

8am: I wake up, we wolf down our breakfast and change them, etc to race out of the house by 8.45am.

9.15: Drive to church and bring Christian to Sunday class.

9.30 – 11am: I am in the baby cry room while P paces up and down putting Calista to sleep in the Baby Bjorn carrier.

11 – 12pm: We find lunch, and go back home. Sometimes we head to the MIL’s instead, if P and I have something on (went to watch Jersey Boys last Sunday, and caught Rurouni Kenshin this Sunday.)

1 – 3pm: Have lunch, shower the children and put them to nap.

3 – 5pm: We take turns napping..

5pm: Off to MIL’s for dinner.

5 – 8pm: Spend time feeding the baby, and showering the two children at MIL’s before driving home..

9pm: Bed time for the children and finally a little time for P and I to discuss big issues like housing, schools, etc, or do mundane stuff like pay bills.

 

Sigh. My children bring me much joy but I can also fully understand why some people choose not to have children =7 P and I have been thinking about making our weekends less hectic so we spend less time rushing from one place to another and packing them all in a car all the time. He thinks we should get down to the basics and spend time with them to mould their character. This was especially after the parent-teacher conference where we heard some disturbing stories about Christian’s behaviour..and after two episodes where Christian tried to bite me while throwing tantrums. Sigh. I suppose P is right that we should focus on building the relationship while we can, and spend time relaxing and talking to them instead of being a harried parent constantly rushing about.

The problem is, what do we give up? We had long debates over what was essential.. and eventually I gave in. We’ll probably stop music class even though I think music learning should start young. He thinks gym class is essential for fostering’s Christian’s psycho-motor skills and confidence, and I agree that is somewhat lacking in Christian right now. P is also in favour of stopping Sunday school. I really struggled with that, but agree that the long drive to Upp Bt Timah just eats up precious time. It will get even worse next year, cos his Chinese class (currently on Thursday evenings) will be pushed to the weekend starting next year, cos his main school timing will change to 11.30am – 4.30pm from next year and it’ll just be too tiring for him to attend Berries at 5pm on a Thursday.

Sometimes I really do miss the carefree couple P and I used to be, where we could do nothing but lounge at Arab St all day, eating ice cream, wandering about and reading..I miss the me time I had, to explore my interests and the world. But I am reminded of the Biblical concept - “different seasons, different things”.. I suppose when this season passes, I will be wistful for those days when every waking moment was spent on my children too. =7

Starhub Family Time–Christian’s 1st TVC

I previously blogged about Christian attending a casting call for a commercial, and about his experience during the TVC. Well the commercial is finally out and I finally talk about it with no confidentiality restrictions!

It took place on the 5th of November. We were a little puzzled as to the storyline, but he was to be part of a family with a sister, father and mother. The stereotypical happy family. I explained to him that he would be acting, that it is so that a director can take a video with a big camera, and that he would see the video on television. (He seldom watches TV so has little idea what an advertisement is.)

Before the shooting of the TVC proper, we had to attend a fitting session. Christian met his “family” for the first time during fitting, and he warmed up to his “sister” Christabel then. I was quite surprised by how good natured he was about changing in and out of 15 outfits, but i’m glad he took everything well.

P took leave cos I am still on probation and unable to take leave. I so wished that I could have been there, but P was kind enough to send me a running commentary and live feed of pictures so I could witness events as they developed.

They started the day at Labrador Park, where they had to shout from a slide, at the “Father” who pretended to be busy with his phone. They then progressed to cycling. Christian had to do most of the work cos the other child model was younger than him and couldn’t cycle. It was hard work and took a looong time.. they progressed to a scene where Christian had some solo shots with the “Father”. The director took to tickling Christian from behind the bench they were sitting, to capture Christian’s unbridled laughter.

After lunch, the crew moved to a beautiful house..Christian pretended to play hide and seek and had to count to 20 at least 40 times. The director / producer kept asking him to repeat the count cos he looked in the wrong direction at the end of counting, or cos it was too fast, too slow, etc. My heart ached for him, cos he must have been tired, but he was so game to just do it without complaint or whining.

Think he had most fun at the flour scene, when he was asked to throw flour at the “parents” while they pretended to bake together. To make a mess without being scolded for it must be a refreshing first for him.

All in, it was a good experience for Christian. We think he enjoyed the attention and pampering (one of the producers was fanning him cos he was in the sun during the baking scene). It was also good to see behind the scenes, how much work goes into a few-second commercial. Free speech and drama training! He even asked me whether we were going back the next day..and was a little sad to know that he wouldn’t be seeing the rest again.

The producers were quite nice..they brought little toy vehicles to coax him into following their direction. They also sent us the video file (instead of merely a link). He appears for only a few seconds, and it’s kinda blink-and-you-miss-him but like my cousin pointed out, it ends on a great note with “Home is where the [insert Christian’s smiling face within a heart] is”-

http://familytime.starhub.com/

The grandparents’ (and I will admit, P’s and mine too) hearts were bursting with pride when they first caught the commercial on Channelnewsasia. ^_^

Jesus is God!

We were having lunch and P was as usual piling his own food onto Christian’s plate.

Christian asked “Why do you love me so much, Daddy?”

P’s reply: “Well, because you are my only son..just like Jesus is God’s only son and that’s why God loves Jesus so much…”

Christian gave a slight frown and said in a patient tone: “Noooo…Jesus is God…. God loves Himseeelf….”

P and I exchanged looks and burst out laughing. ^_^

Christian’s N2 class

His class only has 6 students this year..it will expand to 10 next year, but that’s the maximum intake for his class.

i love that his school is small and cosy.

Here’s a photo of this year’s N2 class, for Christian’s reference in future. (i wonder if he will remember his good friends Andrew and Daryl, or that he once said “i like Nicole a lot, when she wears her ballet dress, she’s very pretty..” Hah.