Weekday Schedules

Our schedules undoubtedly revolve around the kids.  They change as the kids grow into and out of different phases.

Hi, we are Jo Ern and Su Ern

I found this old post on JE's routine as a 1.5yo.  And this one about my schedule with JE as a toddler and SE as a baby - this was pretty crazy!  I didn't post about our schedule when JE was in kindy and SE not schooling, so here it is:

Mon-Fri
7.00  Wake up, wash up and have breakfast.  Prepare breakfast for JE.
8.00  Wake JE
8.30  Send JE to kindy 5mins away

SE was handled by hubby/maid.  Hubby picked JE up around 1230 and drove kids/maid over to my parents for lunch.  I went over for dinner after work.

10.00  Get home
11.00+ Bedtime

On Thursdays hubby picked them up instead and I hit the pool for my weekly exercise.

Weekends were completely free and easy.

We love spending time with each other

Now with JE in the afternoon session of P1 and SE in kindy:
Mon-Fri
6.00  Wake up, wash up. Maid prepares juice for the kids.
7.00  Wake kids
7.30  Leave house
8.00+ Arrive at SE's kindy and then send JE to  my parents' house.

My dad and SIL takes care of chaffeuring JE and SE to/from school (thanks!).

I go over for dinner after work.

9.30  Get home
10.00 Bedtime

Sat
11.00 Take kids for gymrama and wait there
1.30 Get home

Sunday is the only free and easy day in the week.

With this new schedule:
1. Hubby gets off scot-free
2. For me, Mon-Sats are pretty rigid and I have little time at home.  School and public holidays are now completely precious.

And holidays with Papa and Mummy!

Kids and screens

What's with kids and screens... If it's not iPad time, they will ask to watch TV.  Or look through the memory file in the camera.  They'd take my phone too if I let them... which I normally don't since there is a high chance of actually calling someone (JE "called" my client at 11pm before, luckily she was an understanding person!  Also "messaged" another client while I was brushing my teeth and I had to apologise that it was just my kid pressing buttons on the phone).

To distract them from screens, we take them out!  Errr....

Press press press

At lunch...

I want to press!  No, ME!

The nuisance smaller one had to be forcibly removed from the scene haha.  Her fingers are fast and all over the place when it comes to this kind of things.  By the time you decide what to eat, she'd have "ordered" a dozen things already if you don't stop her.

Noooo

Second movie

This is only their second time at the cinema.  And it's in March again because that's when we get free birthday tickets hehehe.  

While it's nice being in the cinema, there's the stress of being on time and trying to make sure nobody needs to go pee in the middle of the movie.  On balance I'd rather watch a disc at home.  The kids also like to watch the same movie many, many times.  So even though we go to the cinema, we'd still need to buy the disc for the repeat screenings.

JE:  I liked the movie!

SE:  Me too (but I also really liked the coke)

To me, Lego Batman was just "meh".  The kids liked it though.

Short picnic

We always drive past this little park.  Last weekend while hubby was away I decided to make the trip there.  With a picnic.  Too bad it was a VERY sunny day!  I reasoned that we might as well take the chance to go without hubby around to complain about the heat haha.

Well it was very, very hot!  It's a relatively new park so the trees weren't big yet.

Love to everyone!

We brought our picnic mat but sat at a picnic table instead.  Food was simple:  Fried rice, biscuits, cold jelly and soft drinks.  These kids are always more interested in play than food, no point preparing a feast.

Lunch is served

Mummy koala and Baby koala

I'm roasting, I'm melting

SE tried to make a go of it.  She went on the swings, the see-saw, the slide and climbed the structures.

I want to PLAY!

We only spent about an hour there.  Oh well, at least it was a different setting for lunch.

Chicken pox girl

JE is in solitary confinement when at Ah Mah-Ah Kong's house haha.  On the bright side, she has no school for a week and is allowed to play iPad the whole day.

She has had the chicken pox vaccination so the symptoms are very mild.  There aren't many spots and only ONE has fluid inside.  It's on her hand so it wouldn't matter much if it leaves a scar.  JE was initially scratching but stopped by the 2nd day or so.  This is nothing like my own bout with chicken pox at 20+... I had spots everywhere, which left unsightly marks that took years to fade.  This vaccination is really worth it!  

Dinner for the patient

Didn't bother isolating her from SE at home.  We couldn't go out for fear of infecting others (feel rather like pariahs!).  I took them out to the playground for fresh air... no kids were harmed during the outing as nobody else was there.  :D

Making special soup, stirred with twig

Going to...

Swinggg!

It has been a week so far and surprisingly no other kids have shown symptoms of chicken pox.

Jo Ern is 7!

And she has chicken pox haha.

Her birthday fell on a Thursday and the celebration was to be on Saturday.  Friday morning, she showed me a spot that was itchy.  Then we noticed she had spots all over.  Oh dear!  Doctor confirmed it was chicken pox.

What to do, had to postpone her birthday dinner.

But we celebrated at home for her... she chose a Pokeball cake.

Happy 7th birthday to me!

With my naughty little sister

All together now!

We asked her many times what she would like to eat for her birthday - Pizza? BBQ? Steamboat? This girl... she just isn't much interested in food. She'd wanted everyone to come to our house for her birthday, but had never specified the menu. The little sis tried her luck when JE didn't give any answer:  "PIZZA!  I also like."  Eventually I suggested something I knew she would like...

McDonald's!

\

YESS! (Actually she was more interested in the toy haha)

Takeaway since JE isn't supposed to be out spreading chickenpox.  For dinner, she said she wanted SALAD.  Now, how to eat salad as a meal??  In the end, I made pumpkin rice and hubby directed maid on the salad.   Managed to cobble together enough ingredients from the fridge!  *pat ourselves on backs*  We didn't go shopping since JE wouldn't have been able to come along.

Salad! Mummy said I also have to finish my rice

Overall, a pretty successful celebration given the circumstances.  Happy birthday to my precious girl!

Men are from Mars

When I snack, I normally have things like pastries, pies, buns, tarts or cake. Hubby by contrast wouldn't touch those things. His snacks would probably be roast meat, sausage, ham or cheese.

The other weekend I was having a cream puff at the dining table.  Hubby was there tucking into a herbal double-boiled soup.  I was thinking to myself, now this is circumstantial evidence that men are from Mars and women are from Venus... even the diet is different.

Then JE came by.

She looked at my puff.  Then at hubby dipping the meat from his soup into soy sauce.

And went "YUCK!"

Where is this one from, Pluto??  Haha.

Mars and Venus

And Pluto! Hehehe.

We will clean up

I knew the kids were awake, but left them to their own devices a while.  When I went upstairs, found a disaster zone.  They said they will clean up.

We will clean up!

And later when I went up again...

All done

Not bad, actually!