All In Good Shape

We are OK.

Sorry for the long silence.

Mil is here for a couple of weeks, so while everyone is a sleep, I am blogging in the study*.

It's like we were just thrown into a mixer and then pressed into a mold and now being baked in an oven... Considering the weather, these days, it literally does feel like an oven.

We only had a few days of rest when we got here on 29 December 2009, and then the boys started school on 3 January 2010. The first 2 weeks was tough moving around in public transport with 3 kids in tow, getting to know what's where in our neighbourhood and trying to work out caring for 3 young boys (and a big one) and keeping them happy, while doing the cooking and keeping the place clean (notice I didn't say 'neat') and safe.

BUT I am so so thankful for my older sis who is here. She is really my life-saver, a float, whole being thrown into the deep blue sea. She had already helped earlier in getting my boys into the same kindy as her girl, so registration and adjusting to their system (for me) has been fairly painless. Also, she is always reminding me of new things to look out for, i.e. Water play on certain Fridays means we must remember to put in the slippers and a towel for the kids, apart from their usual change of PE clothes.

Now we have a car, about 3 weeks ago, and so moving around is fairly less stressful. It's now Myron's turn to adjust. You see, while we were moving about in cabs, busses and trains, Myron had been safe and snug in a baby carrier, always snug close to Mommy. Now he is being strapped into a car seat and Mommy's not within his reach. So poor baby is in "carseat-bootcamp".

Where we stay is a rather new but very nice community area. There are lots of open fields and almost everyday there are some people flying kites, even night kites with blinking lights. On weekends there could easily be about a 100 of them in a field that is across the community center alone. There are quite a few more wide open fields surrounding our apartment.

Our place is actually at a pretty good locale: 10 minutes' walk to the public pool, 10 minutes' walk to the shopping mall/train station and 8 minutes' walk to the market. We are just 10 minutes drive from my sister's place which is an older and more established community area, so it's also pretty convenient when wanting more choices of eateries and shopping for household needs.

We are also glad to announce that we have a guest room that is available at any time, so if you are ever coming over to Singapore, please don't hesitate to ask, if you need a place to stay. Having said that, let me say that Availability is, of course, on a first-come-first-serve basis, unless you don't mind crashing in our living room, which has a nice couch in front of a huge plasma TV. :D

More stories to come...

* Yes, we have a study, pretty nice one, here at our new place, but I like to be close to my sleeping boys in the middle of the night, so the computer being in another room was also keeping me away from blogging, apart from the fact that my days usually ends after midnight with chores (laundry and mopping floors) and by then I'm just too tired to want to sit in front of the computer. Today, Mil had done the laundry and the dishes while I spent quality 'bedtime' time with Micah and Myron (Max had crashed in front of the TV while watching Speed Racer). I really appreciate her care and thoughtfulness.

Deep Roots

I am so no good at change.
I am so happy with my happy routines of hanging out with my kids and my family, doing the same ole, same ole.
My kind of happy unhappening day....

Now I am struggling.
Mental preoccupation would be scenes of all sorts of what-if's:

How to get to school with 3 boys, baby in tow, before we get our car?
What to cook for breakfast everyday? Dinner? Lunch could be simple...
How much time should I spend with my sister and her kids before we hit "familiarity breeds contempt"?
How much mess can I cope with on a daily basis if the boys are left with less adult supervision (while I attend to the baby)?
How often can I take them out on my own... will I be brave enough even just to go down to the park near our block without yelling at them to stay close to me...and have no accidents.
Will I still have time and energy left to blog?
Doctor for the kids and ourselves?

Then there's the packing...
(I'll spare you...)

Then there are certain issues with the government, i.e. getting a change/transfer of driving license, green card, etc.

I am afraid to start packing because I feel like if I were to start putting things in boxes, I will still have to fish some things out before the move...
making a list mentally...
But will be more certain after we check out the place for real this coming trip.

Official move, when gadget-daddy rents a car/van to transport the stuff:
After Christmas.

Mean time we'll be doing a bit of a shuttling up and down the highway, and across the Causeway.

In Limbo and Feeling It

Tomorrow we will be saying good-bye to our faithful Honda City which has been with us since we started the journey of expecting baby no.1 and has seen us through the last 6 years.

It has brought home our 3 babies from the hospital when they arrived in this world.
It has brought us home safe from the many trips we made out station to Taiping, Penang, Singapore, Melacca, Port Dickson, Johor and Kuantan.

It has made a run for us every day, be it for an errand near by, or to school and back, or a trip out station.

We will have to cope with one car, borrow in-law's car, for the next 7 weeks or so.
Then, when we are more settled in Singapore, we will be getting a car there (have some procedures to go through). Just can't do without wheels after being so used to having them.

Plus it's just too crazy to be taking public transport with 3 kids, who at any time might...
A) want to go to the bathroom,
B) fall asleep on the journey,
C) need a snack on the way
D) is sick or cranky or both.

I can't imagine also to be

D) watching all 3 getting on-off the bus/train/cab,
E) + need to carry some stuff, i.e. stroller/ shopping/ groceries/picnic basket;
F) + pay the fares;
G) + deal with the crowd and their stares, rude comments, etc.

You can imagine all the possible crazy combination of scenarios of the above,
so we are getting a car.
Besides all the possible madness of the above, the waiting for public transport, standing at bus stops, cab stands and train stations is just to dangerous for 3 little monkeys with just one mama gorilla.

So, today, when Gadget-daddy was driving us to have dinner with Ah Ma and Ee-ee, we felt nostalgic.
Another phase of our lives is coming to pass and we can already the start of the change of scenes.
It started with getting the boys registered for school just a few days back, but more clearly now, with the giving up of our car.

I am feeling it's all so surreal.
Part of me is feeling anxious about adjusting to the changes, and the the things need to be done.
The other part, the self-defense part, is blocking out feelings of uncertainties, not imagining worse-case-scenarios, not imagining ...

I feel like I'm in those old movies where there's not much CGI and the character in a falling motion but the background is a warped black-and-white spinning wheel.

School is almost out for the boys.
Then we'll just be hanging around for a while, with some plans for travelling up to Penang for my brother's baby's Fullmoon, and maybe one down to Singapore when we get the key to our place. Must go check our the place and then plan the stuff/ how much stuff to bring down...

So we are moving.
For Real!
Eeek!

State Of Mind

Was writing this in an e-mail to a friend, and thought of you, my blog buddies and visitors, and thought you should be in this loop...


As you know, we will be moving to Singapore soon.
Seems like too soon... But I'm sorta not* thinking about it.

It's not that I'm that busy preparing for the move, not yet for now, but that I am trying to give more time to the three boys while I can.
I think when we are down in Singapore on our own, I'd really have a lot less time, and maybe less patience due to lack of sleep and a lot less 'me' time.

So in the day time I am either nursing Myron, or carrying him and playing with him.
Or I'd be playing with the two boys, or attending to their basic needs like getting snacks or getting them cleaned.
I also try to get them to do something 'productive' like some crafts or reading or some games that will enrich them one way or another. So all these need Mommy to be present.
Occasionally I take a snooze with Myron, when I can't keep my eyes peeled. He seems to sleep better smelling Mommy beside him. :D

In the night, when they are asleep, my Gadget-daddy is usually doing something on the computer, or we will try to catch a movie together (rent on-line from i-tunes).
Yeah, we are also trying to have a bit of "we" time before he heads down south first.

There are a few things that I am anxious about:
I am not sure if we can register the boys in time for school next year, even if it is just kindy, but it seems they are very serious about placement there.

I am also worried for Micah if he can catch up with the other kids there. Not meaning to sound "kiasu", but I know I don't want him to feel lost in class and being teased by other kids for being slow or "stupid", which of course he is not.
I know.. I know.. I am just imagining the worst.
Hahaha... but that's what I'm worried about.

Max will still be in kindy K1 so not too stressed, as it's the year they start learning to read and write etc.
Just that he might have adjustment problems about a new place and no koh-koh in the class with him.
Max is quite reserve when it comes to meeting other kids. Most of the time he is quite ok with adults.

Personally, I think I will move into D-gear.
Denial!
I already know in a time of stress my first reaction is to try to be practical and run like a robot, not daring to feel.
Because I know I will feel lost and scared of being lost (literally) and wonder if I can fix 3 meals for everyone while I still have to attend to the boys.
And to do all that and keep calm, not be in a frenzy and yelling all the time. Eeek!!

I know they will adjust faster than I, and will do fine.
Just that right now, with 2 more adults in the house, they really get a lot of things done for them, and things get done properly.
So if they were to do a bit more for themselves, as I know they would have to, I may have to cope with crazy shower time, tolerate not-so-well brushed-teeth and keep my cool while I'm uncertain if they will clean themselves properly in the toilet after a 'big' one.

The 'biggest' thing that we will have to change, I think, is that the boys will have to feed themselves.
Yes, I am talking about the 2 big boys. Right now, at home, grandpa feeds them at breakfast and Mommy feeds them at dinner.
Yes, we adults are to be blamed, because we want no mess to clean up, and we want them to eat faster and make sure the eat a substantial amount.
So when we are on our own, in a sense I know they will actually adjust, because there will be no extra hands to pamper them.

I feel like we are heading for an earthquake.
*getting goosebumps*
*nibbling my nails*



* On my mental list:
kitchen ware
dining ware
bedding
books
toys
DVDs
playpen,
clothes
bath stuff
Housekeeping - buckets, mats, washclothes,