Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Product Reviews

One advice from the PD I won’t be following (yet)

May 28, 2014

During my last visit to the PD two weeks ago, she asked if I’m taking off Nat’s diapers already and getting him used to not wearing any at home.

She gave me the same advice for the older two kids when it was time to begin their toilet training: take off their diapers in the day when they are at home, get them used to their private parts not being covered up by a diaper, and lead them to the toilet every two to three hours to help them do a wee.

As it appears, it’s now time to begin toilet training the littlest. How time flies. With three kids so close in age, I lose track of the timing for all these milestone developments, especially for the last child. In fact, I was there at her clinic for his MMR vaccincation which was due 8 months ago.

Nat is now 26 months old, and I’m really thinking hard about how I could start toilet-training him. He’s active and up to mischief ALL THE TIME, and running around in his diaper pants since wearing it at 11 months that it’s become an extended part of him.

Little Nat in his new Drypers Drypantz which is like an extended part of him

That plus his mother is way too lazy to be doing this toilet-training thing for the third time. Haven’t I already told the world that I’m so happy to have finally found a good brand of diapers that fits the untrained ones snugly in the butt, hold pee (and poo) in well, which gives me such a peace of mind?

And even more so now with the new improved Drypers keeping him so comfortable throughout the day, I’m not just about to take his Drypers Drypantz off and fret about having to clean up puddles of pee when I can let him roam and run with this extended piece of him.

No, no, I’m so NOT about to do that. Haven’t you heard my recent complaint about this boy?

[Sung to the tune of ‘Three Blind Mice’]

One active Nat, one active Nat, see how he runs, see how he runs;

He’s gonna run after Ben and Becks, climb monkey bars and have fun to the max;

He’s not ready to pee at the urinal yet;

This is one active Nat.

This is Nat, who take every opportunity to climb, run and get in trouble

This is Nat, who takes every opportunity to climb, run and get in trouble

I’m telling you, once a mother finds a diaper that fits her child snugly, provides many hours of dryness, and gives him the skin comfort he needs, she’s not about to follow anybody’s advice when it comes to taking off his diaper and leading him to the trainer urinal to do a wee, like what, 10 times a day?

We’ve gone for a couple of hours straight recently when we were maid-less and I was out with all three kids and found the new Drypantz more amazing than it used to be. The garter waistband was firm enough to hold so much of Nat’s pee and didn’t drop at all, although the boy soon realized that it became difficult to run around (hurhurhur – so cute, that diaper butt!).

Plus, the material the diaper-pants is made of is soooooo soft (smooth and cloth-like cover on the outside, as well as absorbent within, with aloe vera, chamomile, olive extracts and Vitamin E), I hardly need to worry about diaper rash or the diaper giving him a scratchy wedgie.

So, no, Dr PD. When I smiled at you sheepishly, it was really because I was extremely reluctant to do as you suggested.

Toilet-training can wait a while more, I suppose. This active kid’s happy to be in his new improved Drypers Drypantz anyway.

Happy Nat and his new improved Drypers Drypantz

This post is brought to you by Drypers. We’ve been regular users of Drypers Drypantz and Wee Wee Dry since 2012. We’re recommending this because we really like what we’re using and have not been disappointed once by the premium quality we’ve experienced. While Drypers Drypantz can deliver many hours of lasting comfort which my incidental experiment of being out with the kids and not having the time to change Nat’s diaper has proven, I do not recommend that you keep diapers on a kid for that long! Experts say a child’s diapers need to be changed 2 to 3 hours regularly.

~~~

Make the change to ultimate comfort with the newly improved Drypers Wee Wee Dry Newborn, Drypers Wee Wee Dry and Drypers Drypantz! Drypers is a partner in every parent’s parenting journey, helping you magnify little moments of magic, for life.

For the month of June 2014, with every purchase of 2 packs of Drypers Wee Wee Dry or Drypers Drypantz, Motherkao’s readers can receive a $10 FairPrice voucher when they send in a scanned or snapped photo of the receipt (as proof of purchase), along with personal particulars (name, address, contact no., child’s name and DOB) to sg.contest@sca.com with subject title [Motherkao].

Promotion not applicable to Drypers Drypantz M-4pcs, L-3pcs, XL-3pcs, XXL-3pcs. The promotion of the $10 voucher is valid from 1 June – 30 June 2014.

Disclosure: This post is part of a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Drypers. All opinions here are my own.

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(Self) Examination Family life as we know it Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days

My kids don’t think I’m great anymore

May 20, 2014

A few days ago, I hit an all-time low in my SAHM-hood. I was inconsolable (and still am now) and had to mope around for a couple of days before bracing myself to write this post.

It all started with this book:

I’ve read this book to the kids like what, more than 10 times at least, since we had it and the children enjoy the pictures and the heartwarming story in this book by Giles Andreae about all the reasons why the little boy loves his mummy.

The book ends with this, and usually, we’d end our reading of this story with a big group hug and the kids telling me how much they love me:

Until a few nights ago when the kids told me, after the story ended, (and I quote Ben and Becks) that their mummy “is not that great” because “she canes us and shouts at us” and that their mummy is more “lousy” than the mummy in the book who is “so fun” to play with.

When I asked them to explain further and asked if their mommy caned and scolded them for no reason (I spoke as the third person), they said, “Our mummy cane us because we are naughty. But why must she do that? Just tell us nicely lah!”

And even after explaining that it’s a mummy’s role to discipline her children – and even the Bible says that sometimes we need to use the rod to chase foolishness away from a child – they still believed that kind of mummy is “not a good mummy”, not like the one in the book we read so often.

After being exasperated for a while, instead of breaking down as I should with tears already welling up in my eyes, I threw a big adult tantrum, told them to go to bed and to find another mummy. I hinted that I may go back to full-time work afterall, because it seemed like my being around them was not appreciated.

Both of them looked at me, with their eyes wide open, and asked me where they can buy a new mummy. Becks also asked if I could go back to work and hire more aunties to take care of them instead.

***

Quite a blow for the stay-home mum ego, isn’t it? Needless to say, I was horribly shaken by what the kids talked about, and what they could conceive in their minds – that they actually wanted to buy a new mum or even entertained the thought of getting others to replace their mum. At that moment I felt that my two years of sacrifice of staying home has all been for nought. Clearly, they are taking the mum presence for granted; they are seeing me around too much to be actually feeling some tinges of contempt that come with familiarity. I mean, if I were working full time, we’d probably treasure those few hours of seeing one another after a day’s work a lot more. I’ll probably scold them less, let them get away with a lot more things, and make the helper clean up after them more often than not.

Because of the fact that I’ve stayed home, and the recent episode of being maid-less for almost three weeks, they’re witnessing before their eyes how their own mother handles stress and adjusts to the unpredictable situations that life throws our way (which isn’t the best, of course); plus the fact that they are at the age where child-training has to take place so that they learn to be independent, I also tend to do more nagging and scolding than praising and encouraging (which is entirely the way I’ve been wired).

And have you seen the way the kids just complete ignore me whenever I give instructions like “Pack up your toys”, “Don’t litter Lego blocks on the floor”, “Please wear your shoes and get ready to go” and I get at least a whole ten minutes of lag time? Which is TOTALLY ANNOYING. I don’t know what else to do but to raise my voice and holler so that I can get things going.

So the kids think this is totally uncool and that Mama is lousy compared to the storybook mum who probably never yells at her kiddo and always smothers him with cuddles.

***

So, as I was saying, I moped around for some time before finally sitting down to write this. I did a lot of thinking after hearing what the kids said to me. It’s true, motherhood really sometimes brings out the worst in me. I scare myself on those days when I lose it; and I probably would never know this awful side of me if I hadn’t stayed home. It makes me wonder if this is all worth it. I could take the easy way out, spoil them silly and just leave the care-giving to full-day daycare. I mean, that is SO doable. I tell you, working (where I previously came from) is definitely much easier than being home with three young children. Why am I doing this, having to show my worst to the kids on crazy days where there’s chores to be done, disobedient children screaming the house down, tantrums to handle, crayons littering the floor, urine stains on the toilet bowl and toilet paper stuffed in every visible corner in the house?

What’s the point?

Of course, it is also silly to take the things that a five-year-old and four-year-old say too seriously. Why, they are children, and they’d say the darndest anyway. The adult at the receiving end should be bigger, in every sense of the word, and be the bigger, better person in handling the “feedback” and be tough enough to soldier on. Afterall, these are the things a mother has to bear.

***

The kids have assured me that they still love me, and Ben has, through tears, told me that he wants me to stay home still. He seems to fear that I might chuck him in childcare and never caring for him ever again; and I am mindful not to say things that would scar him. Becks still wants me to go back to work, because that to her will solve the “Mama has no money” problem, and so she says, which means I can buy her lots of things to eat and stuffed toys to play with, something which her present thrifty stay-home mother does not indulge her in.

I guess it’s still onward with this stay-home journey, albeit with a little discouragement. I’m choosing to believe that I can try to be a nicer person when stress gets in my way and that the kids were probably stressed out too the past three weeks of us being without live-help such that they don’t like the mother that has become the horrible-always-barking-Mom-maid that they are seeing.

It must have been also tough for them to have to put up with me the past weeks.

At least, I am still loved. Even though I am horrible.

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Happy days The real supermom

What’s your bragging right?

May 10, 2014

Are you a mother? If you are, you’ve definitely earned your right to brag. To celebrate motherhood this Mother’s Day, I’m featuring some of the most awesome mothers I know who’s got every entitlement to boast about the person they’ve become and the things they have accomplished ever since becoming moms.

And because it’s Mother’s Day, let’s give it up for these wonderful women who tirelessly labour to love their children and who’s taken on this challenging role of nurturing relationships within their families… *APPLAUSE PLEASE!*

~~~

1. Adeline Oon – blogs at The Accidental Mom Blogger, mother of two, aged 14 and 12

“I used to be rather meek before I had children, you wouldn’t have possibly known that I can amplify my voice ten times more when I lost sight of my kids at the mall, when they were much younger.”

2. Joey Wong – blogs at Joey Craftworkz and mother of two kids, aged 4 and 1

“I used to be timid and shy in crowded places and hardly spoke out loud. After I became a mom, my skin ‘thickened’ so much more and I’m not embarrassed when the kids cry out loud. I am also able to nurse publicly with a nursing cover inside train.”

3. Mabel Lee – blogs at Amazingly Still and mother of two kids, aged 3 years and 17 months

“I used to be very dependent on external help, but certain things and people can be very unreliable. So when push came to shove, I realized I can do just about anything, as long as I want to. My motto ever since I became a mother is ‘Cannot also must can!’ Even when it means surviving on 1-2 hours of sleep (should it be called naps instead?) or on instant food daily in the earlier stages of motherhood.

Oh, and… I didn’t know I have super human strength until I brought both kids to the park on my own, and had to carry both home by the end of it. And that was just the start of carrying them both on my own while we’re out cos’ Blake says, ‘Mommy so strong. Carry!’ “

3. Alicia – blogs at Beanie N Us and mom to 5.5 year-old Dumpling

“Ever since becoming a mom, I realised that I have quite a few super powers. I can multi-task: cook up a storm while shouting over my shoulder, listening to and correcting the kiddo while she practises on her violin. I am also a world-class nag and a full-time working homeschooling mum who teaches the little one English, Math and Science, in the evenings, while revising Chinese with her whenever we can.”

4. Klessis, mom behind The J Babies and mother to two beautiful girls

“For a period of three years when my first daughter was three months old till she was three, I would push her in a stroller to my office (where her nursery was). I would take a 15-minute walk from home to MRT station, take a 50-minute train ride then walk another 15 minutes to reach office everyday. The walking journey to office covers a total of 6 escalators and the escalators were often faulty! My arms became very muscular during that period of time from carrying the strollers up and down the stairs! That was the most tedious thing I’ve done since I became a mom.”

5. Janice, mom blogger at Mish.Mash.Mess and mom to 2.5 year-old Little K

“Being a mom made me realise my potential hidden in the abyss which I wouldn’t have known if not for this role. The extent to which I can go for the kid – breastfeeding, sleepless nights, preparing homeschooling materials till past midnight and waking up early next day, cook lunch, chauffeur kid to school before heading to work… all this made even more difficult with a bun in the oven and very little help around. It’s exhausting but rewarding.”

6. Dominique – blogs at Dominique’s Desk and mom of three kids, aged 10, 7 and 3

“I’ve developed many wonder powers since becoming a mom and they multiply each time a kid is born. I can cook a five-course meal within an hour while at the same time supervising the kids while they are doing their homework in the hall.”

7. Connie, mom of two, aged 7 and 2 (plus one more on the way!), blogs at RayConnieBaby

“My threshold for pain… I chose to give birth to my two kids without epidural and what’s more, gave birth to my daughter without medical help right in the hospital!”

8. Waiwai, mom behind Peipei.Haohao, and mom to the two kids her blog is named after, aged 4 and 5

“Prepare a meal, guide my daughter to revise for spelling test, build a Lego house for my son, go to toilet to do ‘big business’. All done in 30 minutes.”

9. Li-Mei – blogs at Finally Mama and mom to a two-and-a-half year-old boy

“After miscarriages and setbacks, I am a happy mama to a 2.5 year-old boy, a 1.5 year-old company called ‘The Whiz Times’ and praying for baby number two to come soon!”

10. Ling Siew, mom behind The View from Mama’s Desk and mom to two active boys aged 3 and 4.5

“Ever since I became a mom, I became better at multi-tasking: I can cook lunch, arbitrate fights, listen to two separate conversations, supervise homework, get the washing machine going all at the same time; and getting lunch on the table in under 20 minutes.”

11. Cen-Lin Ting, mom of two boys, aged 1 and 4.5 years old and blogs at Miracule

“Many cannot believe I can be a SAHM and even family members are worried if I can cope, but here I am, a mom of two, and I single-handedly manage the household chores on my own too! I also took up gardening at the community garden! I am proud to tell others I am the week-day driver, cook, maid, mom, educator and farmer!”

12. Mrs Kam, mom behind The Kam Family and mother of two, aged 4.5 and 6

“One of the many things that I embark on to achieve healthy living, is that my children go medicine-free. Both of them have been medicine-free for almost four years – no fever medicine, no cough medicine and antibiotics – they fight all the bugs naturally and recover very fast.”

13. Jenn, mother of a 7.5 year-old boy and blogger at Mylilbookworm

“Being career-minded, I never knew I could give up my promising job for a baby. I enjoy my current lifestyle so much that, after 7 years, I wouldn’t want to go back working in the corporate world anymore.”

14. Serene, mom blogger at Xavvylicious and mother of two, aged 6 years old and 9 months old

“Given my ‘cannot sit still’ character, I hated to stay in a place the whole day, not to mention staying at home! Even jobs that I used to have had me running on the ground. I have never imagined myself as an SAHM and am proud to tell everyone I DID IT! From things which I have never done in the first 26 years in my life to being able to perform it well with minimal help – cooking, homeschooling, crafting, baking, blogging, breastfeeding anytime, anywhere and being always out andabout with a pram and a diaper bag, with two kids!”

15. Elizabeth Soh-Teo, blogger at The Little Bow Girl and mother to 6-week-old Sophie Rose

“Less than two months ago before my baby arrived I was a different person – very vain and also very awkward about making friends. After becoming a mom (albeit a super new one) I can tolerate milk, vomit, spit, poo all over my new clothes without blinking an eyelid and give my baby a kiss instead. I now dare to make friends everywhere I go, from nursing rooms to baby clothes departments. Since being the grateful recipient of a disposable diaper from a stranger (we had packed too few), I try to pass on the favour and offer diapers/wipes/ a helping hand whenever I see that other changing room mummies have run out or struggling with an extra child. It’s a whole new world.”

16. Cherie, full-time working mom of two boys aged 3 and 1, and blogs at Cherieladie

“I never liked kids. I cannot bring myself to coo at any baby, or carry them and I would try to stay as far away as possible whenever I can. But I knew that I would definitely want my own kids some day. Now, with two kids. I guess I somewhat “survived” but I still cannot stand the noise they make.”

17. Hui Ing, mom behind Ingspirations, and mother of three, aged 8, 6 and 3

“I was a clean freak until I became a mom. Now, wiping poo, cleaning up vomit, even catching vomit with my bare hands is no big deal. On a less gross note, I discovered my multi-tasking powers which I never knew existed!”

18. Angie S, mom to Dana, aged 6 and blogger behind Princess Dana Diaries

“Being a mom has helped me become more aware of my own inadequacies and character flaws. It amplified my need to become less self-reliant and more dependent on God’s grace, wisdom and favour to parent this daughter whom He has blessed us with. It has made me a better person. From someone who was independent all her life since primary school, it’s been a great ride and I can say with all my heart that I would never trade being a mom for anything in the world.”

19. Amie, full-time working mother of three kids and blogger at Mamamie’s Thots

“Before I became a mum, I dislike driving and I’m very bad at remembering those road names or places I’ve been to. Ever since these three kids came into my life, I have to learn how to overcome my problem by being their full-time chauffeur and fetch them to and from school and enrichment classes.”

20. Jiahui, full-time working mom of three kids, aged 9, 7 and 6 and mom blogger behind Mum’s the Word

“The last nine years taught me that there is really power in my words. Everything I say is caught by the kids, my words taken ransom, my promises brought to remembrance, my theories stripped apart. I learnt to use my words to speak life into my kids, speak blessings and hope. They taught me to slow down and think before I speak. They showed me that words can shape lives.”

21. Jac, blogs at The Little Mom and mother of two

“I never knew I can smell someone’s butt in public or “study” someone else’s poo. Or striking a conversation with another stranger to share some tips. Or worst sharing my ice-cream with not one but two persons until I became a mom!”

22. Edlyn, mother of three and blogger behind Mummy Ed

“I have not slept in six years.”

23. And last, but not least… Motherkao, mother of three kids aged 5, 4 and 2 and blogger behind this blog you’re now reading

“I did three kids in four years and my body has never really gotten any rest since 2009. I chauffeur, cook and clean. I’m totally hands-on. I left my job to be there for them every minute of their lives. I am now with them 24/7 (almost!) and have never once missed a single tuck-in. No, not even one night.”

~~~

What about you? What’s your bragging right? Go on, I’ll let you brag – share them with me in the comments below!

“If I had no children, my house would be clean and my wallet would be full; but then my heart would be empty.”

Picture credit: comicbookschool.com

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Close encounters with the maid kind Family life as we know it I ♥ lists The Kao Kids The real supermom Thunderstorm days

3 lists, 30 things, 7 days

May 6, 2014

It’s Day 7 since I sent the helper back to the agency after she demonstrated how weak-willed and unwilling to work she was. It’s the longest I’ve ever been without a helper since I’ve had three kids, and it’s going to be this way a while more at least.

There’s just one word to describe it all.

EXHAUSTING.

On the brighter side of things, I now have a list of 10 things I never really say but now say so very often, 10 things I’ve discovered since maid-less, and 10 things I am eternally grateful for. I’m exhausted, but that ain’t gonna stop me from making lists, and more lists.

~~~

10 things I never really say, but say so often now:

1. “I’m ONLY ONE person now, kids. So please (fill in the blanks).” Usually it’s “cooperate”, “do it yourself”, “help me out here” or “follow instructions quickly”.

2. “Do I look like I’ve got an extra pair of hands or legs?” This is usually in response to the kids making requests like finding a lost toy or picking a book off a shelf they can’t reach – and always at a time when I am unavailable to help. I now make them solve their problems – by taking a stool, using a torch, and getting help from the other siblings.

3. “My back is breaking.” Self-explanatory. Said whenever I feel my back is breaking. Which is very often.

4. “Seriously. Like seriously.” Said whenever the kids start fighting for my attention or squabble amongst themselves whenever I am at my busiest.

5. “Sorry I can’t sayang / hug / cuddle / kiss you now. My hands are full of soap.” The kids always seem to have a boo-boo for me to kiss whenever I am washing the dishes.

6. “Can you please wait? I can only do one thing at a time.” I can’t dry three wet kids at the same time but it’s always the same time they want to get out of the bath. And they get really upset who gets to be towel-dried first.

7. “Want to watch TV?” I usually never offer much but ever since we became maid-less… It was something that had to be so that I can cook / hang the laundry / do the dishes / wash the toilets. SIGH.

8. “Aunties are a privilege. Now no Aunty so please do it yourself.” Said to the kids whenever they revert to suddenly not being able to do what they can do on their own and asking for help, like wearing their socks and shoes and bringing things back to the kitchen.

9. “Too bad! No Aunty!” Said as a taunt after #8 and when a tantrum is thrown for not getting help.

10. “Are you going to give me problems? Are you seriously going to give me problems now?!” This can be said in an exasperated tone, in a furious manner or in a totally resigned style when the kids start to act up or refuse to do the things as they are told.

~~~

10 things I discovered, since going maid-less:

1. If children don’t test boundaries, they won’t be children.

2. If children don’t make a mess, they won’t be children.

3. If children can learn instinctively how to clean up, sort and organise, they won’t be children.

4. That children CAN be taught to clean up, sort and organise, and they HAVE TO BE taught; and this ability comes with age and a sense of responsibility.

5. That Ben is as OCD as I am, and I can always count on him to pack in the OCD way I’ve trained him to.

6. That going on all fours to mop to the house with a cloth and a pail of water is faster than using the vacuum cleaner and then the mop.

7. That it’s OK to wash the children’s laundry together with ours.

8. That if I told the children I’m gonna be turning into a monster they would do as quickly as they are told.

9. That the children can watch Frozen or Lego Star Wars: The Movie again and again, and be completely engaged even if it’s their 18th time watching it because they are really watching it to repeat the lines after each character.

Although I don't agree with the "No right, no wrong, no rules for me - Let it go" and some other parts of the lyrics of the song, the kids love, love, love this movie. Especially Becks.

Although I don’t agree with the “No right, no wrong, no rules for me – Let it go!” and some other parts of the lyrics, the kids love, love, love this movie and the theme song. Especially Becks.

10. That even if Frozen or Lego Star Wars: The Movie is on, the littlest will still come and hug my legs and not give me a break; either that or he will be up to some mischief somewhere in the house, like wetting tissue papers at the basin, flipping his (cloth) “roti prata” up the ceiling or colouring the switches in the house with crayons. Why am I not surprised. The most he can sit through is the ‘Let It Go’ song.

~~~

10 things I am eternally grateful for…

1. Forgiving and accepting children, whom I can always count on to remind me not to yell.

2. Helpful children who will try to help out as much as they can.

There’s clean clothes to fold every single day, and on most days the kids are enthusiastic

3. The husband, who’s a solid rock for the family and me, and who would gamely whip up a three-course dinner in a stuffy kitchen complete with jazz music and a glass of red, and then help to clean up and put the kitchen back in order.

The photo on the left had 113 likes after I shared how this man would cook a meal, do everything and still smile at the camera. I would've bitten everyone's head off if they stepped into the kitchen if it were me.

The photo on the left had 113 likes on FB after I shared how this man would cook a meal, do everything and still smile for the camera. I would’ve bitten everyone’s head off if they stepped into the kitchen if it were me.

4. Kitchen appliances that help automate processes and simplify things. I officially love our bread machine, washing machine, Espresso machine, microwave and Philips Airfryer on a whole new level now.

5. This contraption from Tupperware (whoever who gave me this gift, bless your soul!) that allows me to dice my garlic and shallots in 30 seconds which I can store and keep in the fridge for later use. You know how troublesome it is with Chinese cooking, with all the garlic, shallots, ginger and all.

It’s a spinning dicer of sorts and it’s small, handy and easy to clean!

6. Supplements that give me a little extra ounce of energy and makes me feel more recharged every morning.

I used to never take any supplements but now I’m liking what I’m taking (from L to R): I’m getting sponsored to try out Forever Living’s Arctic Sea; Focus Point (by Root King) from my MIL who insists that I take these for my brain and cholesterol; Longevity from YL which lets me swallow Frankincense, Clove & Orange oil in a capsule; and a multivitamin from Nature’s Way which the husband makes me take

7. This wonderful invention called the jigsaw puzzle which keeps the kids engaged for at least 10 minutes. A few minutes of silence is always a good thing.

Thank God for jigsaws!

8. Educational resources like these which I use to keep kids occupied and improvise for our homelearning (no time to create and make new things!): flashcards, magnetic word and shape strips, counters and activity books with colouring, mazes and word search.

I buy at a sale and keep these in my stash. Very handy indeed.

And these 3 for $10 activity books are great value-for-money and lets the kids go gadget-free while waiting for their food outside

And these 3 for $10 activity books are great value-for-money and let the kids go gadget-free while waiting for their food outside

9. Community libraries all over Singapore. We can always pop in one of those in the day to escape from the sweltering heat, nestle into one of those comfy couches and read away.

Hanging out at the library

10. Young Living’s ‘Peace and Calming’ Essential Oil. This blend magically calms me down and helps me unwind. At first it smelled really strange. But then I grew to like it so much I need it to help me sleep. And I sleep very well because of it.

Also linking up with Mum in the Making‘s Thankful Tuesdays:

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The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days What to Expect... As a Mother

The day has already ended for me

April 29, 2014

Dammit.

It’s 9 am that I’m writing this and the day has already gone downhill. I am angry and exasperated. My blood’s reached boiling point and I am so ready to call it a day, curl up in bed and wake up the next morning.

So I thought I should start waking up consistently earlier a few days a week to get some work done. I’ve been following this blog and getting inspired to make some small changes in my life. I’ve been waking up with the kids (I sleep with them in their room) or sometimes later than them (if I stayed up to catch up on Running Man which I am currently addicted to) ever since Fatherkao started making the huge sacrifice of taking public transport and letting me sleep in instead of having me send him to work. I used to wake up at 6.30am to send him to work and every time I did that, the kids would also be up by 7 am bawling their eyes out. Don’t ask me why. It’s probably because they can’t find their mother and can’t go back to sleep without her. But if I slept till 9 am with them, they would usually all wake up fresh, happy and contented.

Waking up together with them has guaranteed me well-settled kids for the good part of the morning, except that now that I work from home, I’ve essentially gotten zero work done on most days. I try to stay up to do my planning and writing but I usually get so exhausted I just want to tune out, watch something on my iPad to wind down and go to sleep. It’s been a real challenge trying to find time to work while being constantly there for the kids and sometimes this becomes impossible.

Like today.

I got up at 7, saw that everyone in the room was sound asleep and crept stealthily out of bed to shower and get ready. There was editing to do, programme write-ups to think about and blog posts to plan for and I am all ready to lock myself in the study for an hour of productive work.

Then I got out of the shower and saw the little girl sprawled in front of me, awake but groggy and wanting all my attention. She whined and refused to get on with the routine for brushing teeth and having breakfast. Worse still, Nat also sensed the mom absence in the room and woke up upset and clingy. They both hung around the study, threw crayons and colour pencils (and whined some more while at that) and started squabbling. The new helper was completely helpless and totally incompetent in handling children (more on her soon in another post) and had no ability whatsoever to get the kids to listen to her.

Recipe for an explosive outburst from me there, I say.

At the breakfast table which I made everyone sit, they were making faces at the bread I bought from Crystal Jade last night and whining non stop for me. I tried two rounds of calm, patient talking and told the kids that they needed to eat and I would need to get some work done but MORE whining ensued, complete with legs kicking, chairs falling and hissy fits. Before I knew it, I morphed into my monster self, screamed at Nat and Becks for their poor behaviour and the maid for just sitting there not being able to handle the situation.

I only needed one hour. One hour to be productive. And it can’t even happen.

And then Ben woke up from all this commotion and things started happening on an even bigger scale. So after Mom’s outburst they were all suddenly cooperative and eating their breakfast and then decided that they wanted to play together. For a total of 5 minutes before the eldest started to complain about everyone else, namely his sister for eating into his space and his brother for throwing things and then more fighting ensued as they started to snatch toys and push one another. Now I have three kids fully awake, giving each other dagger stares and exasperating me to the point I want to scream in their faces and tell them all to go back to bed.

I only needed one hour. One hour to be productive. And it can’t even happen.

It’s extremely annoying that these kids can’t continue to sleep without the mother presence. It’s even more annoying that they can’t seem to share and play together peacefully and happily ever after. In days like these, I often question if I’ve gone all wrong with the way I parent them; if I made the wrong decision to have more than one kid (one kid = nobody to fight with = peace in the house); if I made the wrong move to do three kids back to back; if I had done the stupidest thing to co-sleep; if I had pursued the wrong cause of wanting to start something of my own; if they are like this because I stayed home.

I only needed one hour. One hour to be productive. And it can’t even happen.

And I’m the one all ready to bawl my eyes out now.

Ecard credit: thelaughingstork.com

What about you? Do you have days like these? Misery loves company, so hit the comment button and share your misery with me!

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Becks Kao Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up

A post (finally!) on girls and dolls [Part 2]

March 12, 2014

So I gave in and bought my daughter her first Barbie doll, and this is the post to explain why.

Last week we were invited by Mattel to celebrate 55 years of imaginative play with Barbie®, the world’s most popular fashion doll.

When I got the invite, I did the to-go-or-not-to-go in my head for a long time. Going would mean that Becks, at three-half, would enter into the dream world of fashion and style; afterall, Barbie’s the original fashion icon that’s played muse to designers all over the world and inspired fashionistas worldwide.

In other words, tis’ the start down the road of vanity.

But not going would mean that the Barbie fan in this Mama would miss out on the celebration. I go a long way back with Miss Barbara since the age of 5, having spent much of my childhood pretend playing with her, her on-off boyfriend and her friends at the beach, by the poolside and at her pretty home. Back then my aunt would buy me dolls whenever she returned from the States, and my godfather would buy me houses, accessories and various scenario sets. Those were fun times I’ve had with myself, my sister, and our imaginary friends.

In other words, I was the one itching to go lah.

And so we went. On a mother-daughter date on a Saturday morning to United Square, to join other girls and their moms in the “With Barbie®, Anything is Possible” Roadshow.

All dressed in pink!

Even the drink was pink

We participated in 3 out of the 4 activities lined up for us at the celebration. First, Becks went to the Barbie Style Icon Photobooth and played dress up:

At the Photobooth

Then, we designed our very own Barbie dress with fabric markers, glitter stickers and stencils. This was our favourite activity!

Becks designing a dress

We also tried the Style Icon Dream Closet Augmented Reality Experience where Becks got to play “digital dress up”. She wanted to be a princess – oh who wouldn’t – but somehow became a vet instead.

A veterinarian’s a good career choice, my dear. Better than princess, any time!

The activity which we skipped was the catwalk and runway experience. I’m keeping that away from her for as long as I can. No, make that forever.

I did wish that the celebration (which was of course, in an overdose of pink) would engage girls in more pretend play than dressing up. Like having a few scenario sets out (bring out the vet clinic, the Malibu Dreamhouse, the fashion wardrobe with all the clothes and shoes to change, and the Glam Pool Set, I say!) in a little play corner for the girls, like how there would always be a corner with plenty of blocks and bricks at any Lego Roadshow. Already the poor doll’s been parodied and criticised enough for her unrealistic idea of a body image and her lifestyle choices – so shouldn’t we play down on the dressing up and vanity bit and emphasise more on a doll’s role in inspiring creativity through pretend play through scenarios and adventures?

Which brings me to the reason why I bought my daughter her first ever Barbie doll. We chose a mermaid together, and I wanted her to enter the world of imaginative play with it since she’s already into the princess-happily-ever-after phase anyway. I’m happy to be paying $27.90 for something which can be part of her mythical pretend play of all the whatever that’s Under the Sea – mermaids, mermen and what-nots.

I also told her that she’s got to hold on to this doll for a long, long time and that some day, she should show her little girl how her love for dolls began, beginning with this Barbie mermaid from her Mama.

Her first Barbie doll from Mama!

***

Join Barbie® as she celebrates 55 years of imaginative play at United Square with Toys ‘R’ Us from 6 – 23 March 2014 from 11am to 9pm daily! To participate, obtain 1 stamp from every SGD$30 spent at Toys ‘R’ Us for an opportunity to take part in 1 of 4 activities.

Disclosure: We were invited to the celebration and received a gift bag with a Barbie doll in it. No monetary compensation was received and opinions here are all mine.

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Close encounters with the maid kind Family life as we know it The Kao Kids What to Expect... As a Mother

MITKH v.1

October 16, 2013

While most of my friends were busy candy crushing and completing their heist missions in GTA V, I was busy accomplishing the missions in MITKH* v.1 the last 5 days.

* MITKH : Maidless in the Kao Household

There were many levels to complete in MITKH v.1 and all of them came with challenges which had to be completed mostly in single player mode. Like any RPG, the player has to take responsibility for acting out roles within a narrative through a process of structured decision-making and character development.

Here are some of the challenges I completed in MITKH v.1 in ascending order according to the level of difficulty:

Challenge Take Care of Daily Needs of Three Children ON YOUR OWN

Level of difficulty 1.5/5

In this challenge, you double up as mom and maid. With one pair of eyes, hands and legs, you feed, bathe, dress and tuck in three kids aged 4, 3 and 20 months simultaneously. With practise, the children learn to wait their turn and you get better and faster such that you don’t get too flustered by the tasks any more. Sometimes, unexpected things happen, such as one of the kids falls and hurts himself, spills food on the floor, poops at meal times and throws a tantrum.

Cheat trick: Take deep breaths, ignore if you can so you can focus on mission, ensure that the older ones follow instructions to the letter. Enlist the help of Mr Cane if you have to to ensure order and discipline so mission gets accomplished with minimal yelling and nagging.

* Bonus points if you accomplish tasks with minimal yelling and nagging.

Challenge Mind the House that has NO Window Grilles with Three Kids

Level of difficulty 2/5

In this challenge, you face bored kids with mischief up their sleeves and no grilles in your confines. The kids unexpectedly throw ball, shoot Nerf guns, jump up and down sofa, tables, waist-level shelves and beds.

Cheat trick: Locate books and scatter them everywhere in the hope that kids will see them and start reading. Shut windows if needed. Enlist the help of Mr Cane if you have to to ensure order and discipline so mission gets accomplished with minimal yelling and nagging.

* Bonus points if you’re able to get grilles installed in time.

Challenge Bathe, Poop and Pee with Nobody Watching Three Kids

Level of difficulty 2.5/5

In this challenge, you need to do the above real quick. Unfortunately, all kids are awake and needing your attention. You do not have the option of skipping this challenge as you smell like a stink bomb.

Cheat trick: Usher kids into the master bedroom. Shut windows and doors. Turn on the air conditioning. Get them to sit in a circle. Tell the kids that you are going to play a game and you will emerge in a few minutes looking all gorgeous and get them to imagine what a sight it will be. Ask them to close their eyes and guess what colour of clothes you’ll be putting on / what t-shirt you would wear / whether you would appear wearing a skirt or a pair of shorts. Throw as many questions to them as possible and run into toilet to accomplish mission.

* Bonus points if kids don’t start banging on your door after one minute.

Challenge Do Laundry: Fold, Wash, Hang with Baby Holding on to Your Legs

Level of difficulty: 3/5

In this challenge, the laundry bags are filling up faster that you can say ‘laundry bags’. There are clothes on the bamboo poles which require keeping, dirty laundry not washed and baskets of laundry unfolded. Plus there’s a baby perpetually grabbing your legs everywhere you go.

Cheat trick: Ask older kids to help you and be specific – pair up the socks, fold your own underwear, bring these to the washing machine, give me 5 pegs for this pole – and remember to ask nicely. Make it sound like it’s the most important job they could do in the whole world.

Little trooper following instructions to hold clean and folded laundry this way and to keep them in the cupboard

* Bonus points if kids don’t walk out of their job halfway and decide to do something else and if you do not abort tasks in this challenge with baby grabbing legs.

Challenge Prepare Fried Rice for Lunch with Baby Holding on to Your Legs

Level of Difficulty 3.5/5

In this challenge, you’re alone and kids are starving. It’s too far, too hot, too troublesome (plus too embarrassing since you smell like a stink bomb and haven’t brushed your teeth) to walk out to buy lunch. You need to cook something quick with what you have in the fridge.

Cheat trick: Mince garlic with food processor. Mince frozen prawns with food processor. Ensure there’s eggs and leftover rice in the fridge. Give baby empty containers with caps that he can screw and unscrew to keep him occupied while you prep and cook.

* Bonus points if kids don’t faint from hunger and you’re able to wash all plates, bowls and wok, and clean kitchen up before dinner.

Challenge Clean House Thoroughly

Level of difficulty 4/5

In this challenge, there’s hair everywhere (yours). Plus dust, dirt, grime, food bits and booger. Every step you take makes your feet feel icky and the baby is starting to pick food bits up to ingest. Some cleaning is in order.

Cheat trick: Use lots of Magic Kleen cleaner and wiper sheets. Better still, enlist the help of older children if they are willing. Close both eyes if you need and imagine the mess and dirt is not there. Ask children and husband to do the same.

Little trooper helping to mop the house

* Bonus points if you can vacuum and mop (not just use Magic Kleen!) with all kids sitting still on the sofa and not come down from it at all.

Challenge Prep Lesson Materials for Two Older Kids AND (actually) Teach Them Something While Baby is Awake

Level of Difficulty 5/5

In this challenge, you have to continue your home teaching endeavours and follow through with lesson planning and delivery. Kids need to trace their letters, read their readers (both English and Chinese), practise their addition and sequencing, draw, do craft, go on field trips and listen to stories.

Cheat trick: Not known.

* Bonus points if you can do all the above and not lose your cool at any point in time.

I didn’t manage to start on the last challenge. It was all too difficult and exhausting by the time I reached that. I’m hoping I never need to clear that level nor play another version. EVER. AGAIN.

Just for the record, I don’t like this game. At all. Cos’ IT WAS FOR REAL! (Sorry, need to vent.) It gave a whole new meaning to the words “bone tired” of which I am experiencing right now.

P/S: The reason for MITKH v.1 was because the helper requested for home leave to visit her gravely ill mother. Initially she asked for two weeks. I said no. She asked for one week, and I said no again. 5 days is my limit. We had a deal, and I am glad she honoured her word and returned.

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I can't categorise such entries

The day I almost fainted by the kerbside (with a baby and two bags of groceries)

September 30, 2013

Today started as it always did on a Monday. Kids woke up, had breakfast, left for kindy. I did what I always do too: had breakfast, chatted with the kids for a bit, prepped them for school, and bused all three of them there. For many months now, I have been taking Nat along; we spend time together walking in the mall and learning at the supermarket, pet shop and departmental store at Nex for a good fifteen minutes every day before we head home for a nap and lunch.

So Nat and I headed to the supermarket today because I wanted to make aglio olio and chicken soup for dinner. There was nothing left in the fridge, so I grabbed a pack of celery, baby carrots, chicken, wild rocket, some tomatoes and two packets of instant spaghetti. On my way to the bus stop, I grabbed lunch for the maid, Nat and myself at Food Republic.

We hopped on the bus after waiting for 5 minutes and this was when it started: an excruciatingly stabbing-belly-aching-knotted-feeling kind of pain that told me I needed to find a toilet immediately or else. Nat had just fallen asleep on the Beco and I was carrying close to 3kg worth of groceries in weight, plus two styrofoam packs of hot food.

I got down the bus (couldn’t sit anyway) and decided I needed to flag a taxi that could blast me home quick. I was writhing in pain and perspiring profusely. I felt the knees go weak and the ankles on the brink of giving way.

There was no cab in sight; it was lunch time. I waited and waited and waited, all the while feeling like I was going to faint from the pain. It was either that or be totally humiliated by the kerbside sh**ting in my pants with a baby and two bags of groceries. No way were these options options, so I prayed and prayed that a taxi would appear right before my eyes.

When it finally did after God-knows-how-bloody-long, I was all pale and weak (I caught a glimpse of myself on the rearview mirror, yes I did). The taxi zoomed us home and I literally threw everything down (except Nat, of course) and found my place of relief.

Thank God.

This is my most embarrassing post yet. But this needs to be up, nonetheless. Oh, the things I go through for the kids.

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Holidays! I ♥ lists Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids The real supermom

10 tips to survive Hongkong with small children

September 19, 2013

Now that I’ve gone to Hong Kong and back, and have survived a holiday with three kids, I guess I am somewhat qualified to write this post. I learned some stuff the hard way, and these lessons involved some sweat, a lot of tears, and even blood. If you’re heading to Hong Kong with toddlers or young children, you might want to keep some of these in mind.

1. Get the Octopus at the airport instead of the MTR station when you arrive

We had originally planned to buy our Octopus cards on the second day at the MTR station nearest to our hotel but I was really glad we purchased them together with our Airport Express tickets at the Airport Express Counter at Terminal 1 after touching down. We arrived in HK on a Saturday evening and the second day for us was a Sunday – which means everyone, I mean, everyone, was out on the streets. I think there were at least a few thousand Filipino domestic workers out that Sunday we were there, as well as hordes of tourists from Mainland China and HK’s own people, who love visiting the malls on Sundays.

So boy was I glad to have gotten the cards at the counter at the airport where there was no queue and zero jostling.

Octopus is accepted all over Hong Kong and can be used for transportation (we used it for the MTR, Star Ferry and the tram) and parking, at retail outlets and self-service machines. You can pay for stuff you buy from 7-11 with the card, which is really convenient.

2. When the menu in HK restaurants reads ‘steamed rice’, the rice is really steamed

When we arrived in HK on Saturday evening, the first thing we did was to travel by Airport Express to Kowloon to catch the free shuttle service to our hotel at Yau Ma Tei. That took close to an hour, including the 15 minute wait for the shuttle bus, but it saved us quite a bit of money (taking a taxi would have cost 3 times as much). By the time we checked in at The Cityview, a four-star hotel in Kowloon, we were famished. Three starving children is never a good thing, so we headed to The Balcony, a restaurant at the hotel, for our dinner. We ordered the set dinner and asked for the rice to be served first.

Who would have thought asking for rice first to feed my very hungry children would be our most frustrating wait ever.

The dishes came, one after another, but the rice didn’t, and the children remained hungry and whiny. 18-month-old Nat needed rice as his staple but the rice which was part of the set wasn’t served together with the dishes! We waited close to 20 minutes, only to realize that when the piping hot bowls of rice appeared on our table, they were not rice scooped from the rice cooker. The rice was steamed, bowl by bowl! Every grain was fragrant and steamed to perfection, and well, it was a case of better late than never for us.

So my advice to you if you’ve got really hungry kids: order fried rice or noodles or something that they can cook up quick to tide them over the hunger pangs. Steamed rice is really steamed in Hong Kong.

Rice is here! Can’t wait!

3) People give up seats on public transportation, so learn to say thank you in Cantonese

Sunday was horrendously crowded in Hong Kong and people were packed closer than sardines in tins on their MTRs and trams (Star Ferry was less crowded). Despite that, it was amazing to see men and women giving up their seats for me, who was wearing the baby, and the two older kids. Despite the jostling and shuffling, there’s a whole lot of civility and consideration on public transport.

I made a mental note to myself that I need to teach Ben, Becks and Nat to say thank you in Cantonese the next time we’re there.

4) Don’t drink the soup

My children are soup kids. They love ban mian, which they call ‘ikan bilis noodles soup’ and all the soup versions of noodles we eat here in Singapore, like sliced fish soup, wanton mee and ba chor mee. For breakfast on the second day, we gave up waiting for a table at Lin Heung Kui and headed to one of those eateries along the street for some wanton noodles (wan tan min in Cantonese). When the noodles were served, I dished out three portions of noodles, complete with soup, for the kids.

Which was a big mistake.

Turns out that humble eateries like these don’t make broth. Their ‘soup’ is just yucky lye water (alkaline salts, or what we call kee in Hokkien) and horrible! And they don’t have wanton noodles in version dry: chilli with tomato sauce, tyvm, the way I like mine, which was a bummer.

So unless it’s a restaurant and the noodles are cooked in broth, don’t drink the lye water when you eat your yu dan min or wan tan min. Just give the kids the noodles and the dumplings.

5) Bring along children’s cutlery and food scissors, and always go to a restaurant that can strap your baby in on a baby chair

It’s impossible to get eateries and restaurants in Hong Kong to provide you with children’s cutlery and plastic plates and bowls, unless it’s Disneyland. I was well-prepared for this and brought along many kiddy spoons (the ones for soup too) and forks. My kids are 4 and 3 and 19 months and the tablespoon, soup spoon and table fork are still a tad big for them. I also brought two pairs of food scissors to cut the noodles, veggies and meat (ooh, love the char siew there!), as well as hand-and-mouth wipes (Pigeon’s wipes contain 100% food grade ingredients, so I feel at ease cleaning the scissors and cutlery with those wipes).

A note on the food scissors: remember to leave them in your check-in luggage, else they would be confiscated at the security check at the airport.

What I didn’t brace myself for, was that some restaurants don’t even have a decent baby chair to strap an active toddler in! Ben can sit still and wait for food, and so can Becks, if we make sure she’s got stuff to do, like scribble on serviettes (I always have pens in my bag), eat peanuts or play scissors-paper-stone with someone. But to make Nat wait even a minute without strapping him on a baby chair at a table with breakable ceramic and child-unfriendly everything (think sharp table corners, hot teapots, musty carpets and peanuts) is to ask for trouble.

And ask for trouble we did, on the second night.

This restaurant apparently serves great shabu shabu and yakitori grill but it was a huge mistake taking the kids there. Even if we had asked that the grilling be done for us in the kitchen. They had absolutely zero baby chair. So when I took my eyes off Nat for a few minutes (I need a vision break too, yes?), he cut his lip and chin while playing peek-a-boo with himself with the mirror behind the bench he was seated.

I almost fainted from seeing so much blood coming out from inside his mouth and the area around his chin. There was a cut (it looked like a cm long) that was gaping and for the moment there I thought he might need stitching. His lip was swelling and his teeth started turning red with blood mixed with saliva. Thank God the two cuts closed quickly with prayer and an ice cube.

So yes, this lesson was learned with blood.

If you have an active toddler, remember to ask the restaurant if they have a baby chair for his safety.

Nat’s a tough one, this boy: smiling even after a fall

6) Check the weather, and leave those raincoats at home in September

Download the app MyObservatory. My good friend who lived a year in Hong Kong told me that she referred to it every day before she headed out. The app provides personalized weather services, and users can get the latest weather information specific to their locations and an overview of a week’s forecast of HK’s weather.

I should have trusted the info on the app and left the raincoats at home. What was I thinking, bringing the raincoats and windbreakers and jackets! It didn’t rained a single bit while we were there. In fact, it was scorching hot and humid in September!

7) When at Disney, be prepared to be a slave

We spent close to 10 hours in Disneyland and I’m sure the kids were very glad they did minimal walking. They only stood when we had to queue and that was all the walking they did. You can rent strollers for HKD 90 at Main Street in Disneyland – and we rented three of them. Unfortunately, the strollers cannot be remote-controlled and the poor exhausted adults had to push these kiddos everywhere we went.

It was also HOT, HOT, HOT and there was very little shade. Bring a brolly and slather sunblock generously. I’m telling you, SPF 25 is NOT enough. I got sunburnt still. Go for SPF 50 and more. I slabbed copious amounts of that for the kids and they were saved. Oh, plus the fact they sat on strollers that had a little canopy that covered their heads.

Slavery begins at Disney

8) Not everything you see in the gift shops can be found in Main Street. Or at the hotels. Or at the airport.

So I read from some blogs that you can get souvenirs from Disney almost anywhere. There are souvenir shops in the two Disney hotels and one huge one at the airport. And they say whatever you see in those little souvenir corners, shops and carts in all the various lands in Disney you can be sure to see the same stuff at the mega huge shop at Main Street.

Nope, sorree‘!

See this Pluto stuffed toy here?

This Pluto is special cos' it's lying on its tummy!

This Pluto is special cos’ it’s terrycloth material and Pluto’s lying on its tummy!

Ben fell in love with it when he saw it in Fantasyland. I told him, naa, we can buy it at the hotel, I’m not gonna lug this all the way and it’s like what, only 5pm, and I’m here to announce to you that we searched high and low for it after we left Fantasyland and couldn’t find it anywhere else. Nope, not even at the airport! In the end, I had to go to the Disney Store at Nex back in Singapore, and even then the Pluto we got in Singapore looked different.

A word of advice: never ever leave the buying of souvenirs to the end of the day before the park closes (after the fireworks, that is). Buy them if you want them when you see them. At the corners. From the carts. At those themed stores after your rides. Whenever. Wherever. The stores at Main Street after the fireworks suddenly turned into the all-so-familiar scenes of frantic buying and grabbing as if an apocalypse was going to wipe Mickey and Friends out from the face of the earth forever. There was way too much pushing and shoving (I tried to go find Pluto) in the souvenir shops; and it took me a long while to jostle my way out.

9) Bubble tea is not everywhere – when you see it, tapao!

I’m a hopeless addict to bubble tea. I have it without the bubble though; I need the tea to function normally on a daily basis. So there was no *Share Tea or Drink Tea or Koi where I went. I did see a ComeBuy, and I was ecstatic. Just minutes ago before seeing ComeBuy, I was at a cha chan teng trying to psycho myself that HK milk tea could somehow remotely taste like bubble tea. Good thing I didn’t down the nai cha. I couldn’t be happier to be sipping my ComeBuy Milk Tea.

I also found a Gong Cha near the hotel we stayed. Should have tapaoed one and kept it in the fridge. Needless to say, I was zombiefied at Disneyland because there was no bubble tea.

(*Share Tea, Drink Tea, Koi, ComeBuy and Gong Cha are the names of bubble tea shops. My favourite has to be Drink Tea!)

10) Toilets are hard to find. Forget pull-up pants.

One of the things that was extremely difficult to locate, besides bubble tea, was the toilet! We could hardly find public toilets and even despite asking so many people at the MTR station where the toilet was, we couldn’t find one in the station or near it to help Ben answer nature’s call. At Ladies’ Market and Electrical Appliance Street, we searched for toilets everywhere and there was none in the malls! I kept having to tell Ben to hold his pee in and even wanted to put on the diaper for him at one point, because it was just all too frustrating to be searching for a toilet for a boy needing to pee A LOT.

Of course, clean toilets are aplenty if you hang out at the more upmarket malls in Hongkong Island. Where we were at Kowloon, we always needed to get a drink at a cha chan teng or wait till meal times at restaurants to use the toilet.

Fortunately, Becks and Nat had diapers on the whole time. I’m not about to put myself in a situation where I have to bring three kids to pee. At different times. All the time.

On hindsight, I should have made them wear the Velcro ones instead of pull ups. Pull-ups are supposedly convenient to remove (just tear sides – easy if it’s not soiled) but difficult to put on. Especially when the kids are wearing jeans and socks and shoes. To pull up the pull-up, they’ve got to remove their shoes and socks and take off their jeans. Very tricky if the toilet floors are wet and dirty. If I’d brought along Velcro ones, they’d be easier to remove (just unfasten Velcro). And to wear them, all I need to do is to get them to remove their pants to knee level without taking their legs out and fasten the diaper with them in a semi-squat position (it takes skill to wear it for them standing up, but then again, I’m a mom of three!).

So just for the record, I need to say that it was hell changing Nat’s poopy diaper on the plane. He refused to lie down on the changing table. He was wearing a pull-up. He stood while I removed a diaper bomb of yesterday’s dinner. There was some turbulence. He refused to stay still while I cleaned. Let’s just say shit happened. If he had worn a Velcro one, it would have been much easier to remove, roll up and dispose. This tearing-a-pull-up’s-sides business always leaves you with a mess especially in a confined space.

And of course, may I also add Tip#11 for mums like me who have three young children? Don’t be a hero. Bring your maid. Bring a troop of babysitters. You need all the help you can get.

You’re most welcome for these tips.

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Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

The Kaos go travelling – Hong Kong!

September 14, 2013

Finally I have a tag and category that says Holidays! on the blog.

It comes with an exclamation mark though.

So, we just returned from Hong Kong after spending 4 days and 3 nights there, with me doubling up as maid. Yes, you heard that right. In my infinite wisdom, I had made the call to travel 1600 miles away without my domestic help. Fatherkao was away for a week in Sweden and I’d thought ah well, my parents and sister, who came along on our trip would make excellent babysitters. They were, don’t get me wrong about that; they perfected their skill of distracting my kids so I can get things done / eat / poop / catch a 3-minute shut eye to a master shifu level they deserve another holiday just to unwind from this holiday. My sister commented that she’s never worked harder and never felt more tired than all of her worst days at work put together. Isn’t that master shifu level already, for someone with no kids?

But I was the one who had to handle the never-ending packing + feeding at mealtimes + making milk + washing bottles + cleaning poopy backsides + bathing and drying + brushing teeth + tucking in SINGLEHANDEDLY. For all three of them, thanks to the absence of my tag team partner, also known as the maid. Not to mention the miscellaneous motherly duties like holding hands, beco-ing the not-so-baby-anymore baby, disciplining the kids when they misbehave, capturing holidaying moments with my Olympus Pen, and answering the questions that come fast and furious from being in a foreign land and experiencing new sights and sounds every single day.

Still, I’m appreciative of the fact that my dad had sponsored our vacation so that I could finally go somewhere after staying home for six months, and the kids would be on their first plane ride ever. I was also missing the husband so bad that heading out was a good distraction for me. Paradoxically, I stayed sane from missing Fatherkao in the midst of all the insanity tending to the three kids.

The kids had fun. The highlight of their trip was being in the hotel room where tv and bath tub water was free flow, and of course, Disneyland! I had fun seeing them having fun, and thoroughly enjoyed soaking in, breathing and eating Hong Kong. I’d spent my whole life devouring TVB serials and it was magical for me to be listening to Cantonese (and trying to speak in it, haha!) and savouring everything Hong Kong about Hong Kong – the dim sum, the cha chan teng, the MTR, the crowd, the wet market, the congested roads, the hilly slopes and cobbled streets, the night markets, the street performances, everything!

So yes, there are plenty of reasons why the category Holidays on my blog gets an exclamation.

All three kids took turns to poop when I was about to have my in-flight meal on our way there! I walked carrying the 11kg not-so-baby-anymore baby for hours and the back didn’t break! The left ankle (which was injured some months ago) didn’t give way! The ko yo (medicated plaster) from HK was fantastic! I had roast goose! We got lost after taking the tram – yay! We explored with kids in tow from Kowloon to Central to Wan Chai! The kids kept asking when they could return to the hotel to hibernate – argh! Nat jumped around on the second day at a restaurant that had no baby chair and fell! He cut his lip and chin and bled for a good five minutes! I almost fainted at that from trying not to panic! I survived 10 hours in Disneyland in 31°C weather with three kids! Without my maid! Nat couldn’t keep still on the plane on the flight back, thanks to the big cup of bubble tea I had!

We had a holiday! Still !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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