Quiet time

Even if it lasted just 15 minutes, at least I was able to sit down with them and breathe. Until Saffron decided to taste the paint and throw a fit when I didn't let her.

They can't really play together well yet. Hopefully in half a year's time things will be better. For now, I hear a lot of "no mei mei!"and plenty of screaming.

Sunday

We had a good day last Sunday. We did quite a bit of stuff and it was a mainly drama free, meltdown free day despite a pretty jam packed day.

We had Brunch in Loysel's Toy cafe. I didn't see any toys and I don't know why it is named a toy cafe. But they have damn bloody good coffee!

The cafe is by the river, we had a little walk after brunch. As much as Saffron can't really walk steadily yet, she just loves to walk! She  loves to follow Violet around. I should remind myself that I must share her enthusiasm for walking now because there will come a point when the novelty of walking wears off and she will want us to carry her all the time.

We went for an exhibit after that. It was at the old railway station. We had to queue for a while but the girls were alright. They were busy walking and running around. i did reward Violet with a ice pop after that. There were a few pop up cafes around the station, but mighty expensive. I realised that the popicle was $5 each and we bought two. No wonder they call it Popaganda. But the lemon olive oil one is good on a hot Sunday afternoon. We went home to change into our swim suits and went off for a dip! It was greast fun, splashing around, laughing. Nothing beats cooling off in a pool. If only I can have that lemon olive oil ice pop in the pool at the same time.

I was hoping that the girls nap well after the dip. No, Saffron has other plans. She didn't nap at all, much to my displeasure. I was hoping to rest a little too, but nope she was up all the way til we head out for dinner with the grandparents. She snoozed all the way in the car til almost after dinner. Then they went on the kiddy rides that Violet spotted while having dinner. Why ah, why are kids programmed to spot playgrounds and rides a mile away? Why aren't parents programmed to spot them before the kids do??!!!!!!

That isn't the end of the day yet. We went over to the grandparents' and they play some more. When they finally sleep, it was close to midnight. But it had been a good day.

My Favourite Time of the day

Is when they are both sleeping or napping. The peace and quiet is almost deafening

Activities

Toddlers are a restless bunch with short attention spans. Violet is just like that. Apart from watching tv, being on a playground and eating chocolate ice cream, there isn't a lot that will keep her occupied more than 10 minutes. Wait, she takes less than 10 minutes to polish off her scoop of ice cream and she is off wandering around the ice cream parlor.
So I am really glad that she is able to spend that amount of time on this colour sorting activity. Amazing what a hundred magnets can do.

Baby Led Weaning

Saffron is still refusing being spoon fed, much to my displeasure. I have all these images of me happily feeding my babies home made purées and them smiling and lapping it up. I suppose that will never happen.

She has decided to follow in her sister's footsteps and go the messy way. The consolation is that she eats way better, is more enthusiastic about food and takes in more. It is quite a joy watching her eat and mess with her food.

Current favorites are kiwi and carrots. She loves broccoli and French beans too. Rice, pasta, corn and yoghurt are agreeable. Tomatoes seem to give her a rash although she likes them. We tried chicken and that is a hit or miss. I'm thinking of getting some beef next week.

How I feel sometimes

Cleaning a house with children is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos.

School

Violet just started school. It seems like she is late by singapore's standards. Makes me feel like an errant mother.

I spent a bit of time scouting for a school, preferably nearby. Most schools are child care centers, and there was a PCF within walking distance. None appealed to us, so I widen my search. By chance I came across Canossian convent kindergarten which is not too far away. It has huge grounds which we like. Plenty of space to play in. It offers quite a variety of after school activities too, like ballet, speech and drama and also
Gym classes. LIKE! Actually we were sold when we saw the huge grounds already.

She starts at this school next year. In the meantime, we had her in another school not too far away, thrice weekly. I would have waited until next year to start her, but she has been telling us about wanting to attend school on a daily basis. Also, it would be good to ease her into school life slowly.

She is starting to enjoy school a lot more now than when she first started more than a month ago. She would cry when we left her there, cry when we pick her up. She would cling to her Chinese teacher the entire time she is there. She would not participate in any singing or dancing. I expected her to be like that, given that she is shy and reserved around strangers. Also no surprise to me that she loved arts and crafts time in school. Great that there is a session every time she goes.

She has since stopped the crying, although she still wears a worried look on her face when the dad drops her off at school. She seems happy, is even taking part in the song and dance sessions now. I thought she would take a bit more time to warm up. She still cling to her teachers, but overall I'm happy she seems happy.

Can't wait til the younger goes off to school too. Then we can sneak off some mornings for some peaceful coffee.