Mum in the making: August 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Wander: Tioman with kids

It's been a month since our Tioman trip, and I've yet to get down to blogging about it, since everyone has been taking turns to be sick! I'm so glad that the boys are more or less recovered, and my cough is slowly clearing up. The boys have been talking about Tioman since the trip, and sometimes play pretend games where they sail to Tioman during a flood. They say that they enjoyed themselves, and would like to go back again.

We planned this trip with two other homeschooling families (we had seven kids between us all), and stayed for three nights at the Berjaya Tioman Resort (which is one of the more popular resorts over on the island). There are quite a few options for accommodation when it comes to Tioman, from the no frills to luxurious, but we decided on something more comfortable since we had the kids with us, and wouldn't be wandering too much from the resort during our trip.

The resort consists of chalets spread across the rather extensive hotel grounds, and there was a playground, as well as rather nice children's pool, complete with a few slides. However, the kids spent most of their time at the beach just next to the pool, and my boys said that was the highlight of their trip: digging sand, and splashing in the crystal clear water while trying to spot fish. They all busied themselves digging a big hole for Baby J, and decided that it would be a tub for him, so they spent half an hour running up and down collecting water to fill the tub. It was such a delight watching them play together!

Time at the beach aside, Tioman is known as a good location for diving and snorkelling. The kids were too young to manage the snorkel masks that we brought along (from Decathlon), but they managed an island-hopping trip which took up the most of one day. You can book these trips via your hotel, and the trip took them to four islands, where they got to bob about in the sea and feed fish. If you go on such a trip, make sure you bring the sunscreen and slather it on! Most of the group went and had a good time, however, I opted to stay back and laze at the resort, as Baby J needed his afternoon nap, and the nausea from pregnancy meant I got easily seasick. Junior J ended up hanging out with me, since he too gets seasick.

You can also go trekking in Tioman, and there are waterfalls to visit. However, we skipped that since we had little ones and I just didn't feel up to it with all that pregnancy exhaustion. I found out that there is also a turtle sanctuary you can visit, where you also can do volunteer work for a couple of days. The hotel also helps to arrange for visits to the sanctuary, but each trip takes over 2 hours, as the turtle sanctuary is on the other side of the island, and also includes a trip to look for mousedeer. We didn't manage to visit this round, but we would definitely include this for our next trip.

Since we took it easy for this trip, we ended up having most of our meals in the hotel, which has two restaurants. The food wasn't anything to shout about, but the portions were generous (the spaghetti bolognese was so large that my three kids shared it and couldn't finish!), and meals were relatively cheap by hotel standards.

Anyway, if you're intending to pay Tioman a visit with kids, here are some things to take note:

:: Pack light:
Tioman is a little troublesome to get to, since you have to get a ride up to the Mersing Jetty, and then you have to take a ferry ride across. A friend who frequently visits advised us to pack light, since the ferry can get crowded, so I packed really light this time round. We had one cabin luggage (with all the diapers and clothes, as well as some food and the electric lunchbox for cooking the toddler's meals) between us all, backpacks for the adults and the older 2, and a big tote with their beach toys. (You can read about our travel packing guide here.)

:: Useful things to bring:

The beach is littered with coral, which can be really painful to walk on, so pool shoes (like these Poolzies) can be really useful for little feet. Beach toys are great, sunscreen is essential, water bottles are useful, even if the hotel provides bottled water (I always find it's never enough!). I brought laundry detergent, which came in really handy, since the boys chose to wet their one and only jammies (I packed light remember?) two days in a row. The chalets all have a balcony/verandah which came in really handy for sunning their clothes, so we survived!

:: Watch out for sandflies:

It's best to dress the kids in long-sleeved rashguards/suits when at the beach, since sandflies are a problem. Strange thing was, while there were days the kids were in short-sleeves at the beach, they didn't get bitten, but all the grown-ups did. At the end of the trip, we all had small red pimple-like bumps that itched like crazy, and they took ages to clear up. The hubs had 20 over, while I had 10 plus bites... but we were just glad the kids were spared. We read that the main way to avoid bites would be to cover up, so for the guys, you can keep your T-shirts on (Pack those dri-fit types. I forgot and hubby's T-shirts took ages to dry!), and for ladies, this isn't the place for bikinis, unless you want a spotty mid-riff to show off post-trip. The hotel gift shop apparently was supposed to sell a local concoction that worked as a sandfly repellant (regular insect repellant doesn't work), but they weren't selling it when we were there.

:: If you are staying in Berjaya:

If you have little kids, and opt to stay in Berjaya, ask for a room on the ground floor. The chalets are double-storied, and have wooden floors, so kids running and jumping around would really create a din if you are staying upstairs! The resort only has Wifi in the hotel lobby and the restaurant, and that sometimes doesn't work, so leave the laptops at home.

We might make another visit down when the kids are older, since they enjoyed their visit so much. I'll share more about how to get to Tioman next week, since it's quite an adventure in itself! Have a blessed weekend!

Monday, August 24, 2015

Thankful Tuesday: A question to ponder

Good morning! I know it's not Tuesday yet, but I figured it was time to share a blessing that has been on our minds for the past few months. To give you a clue, here's a Math question for you (it has to do with birthdays, but no, there are no Cheryl's in it, and it is a lot easier to solve):

Got the answer yet?

It's the reason why I've been rather quiet on the blog and FB for the past two months, the reason why I've been finding it hard to find time to reply comments/messages/emails, the reason why I've not been doing much crafting or interesting projects with the kids. I think this round has been the hardest one of all, probably due to me being older, as well as the tiredness of having to care for three little boys. The nausea was a lot worse this round, and each day I was either feeling sick or hungry, or sick again. The exhaustion meant I was sleeping with the kids at nine plus, and yet I had difficulty crawling out of bed before the kids woke up. I walked around in a daze most days, and I had to ask hubby to buy dinner many times, as I just didn't feel up to cooking and could only summon enough energy to cook the toddler's meals. I had dizzy spells and headaches, and homeschool slowed to a crawl, as I only could manage to sit with the oldest as he read to me and practiced his math. The laundry piled up like crazy, and the boys even got used to heading to the dryer to rummage for clothes since I couldn't keep up with the folding.

It was the toughest when the kids fell sick. All I could do was to focus on getting everyone alive through each day, never mind that the house was a terrible mess, or that my to-do list was getting longer and yet nothing was getting done.

But now, at almost 16 weeks, I must say things are looking up. The older two and I have caught the mycoplasma bug from Baby J, but my energy levels seem to be higher, so I'm back to cooking dinner (Junior J was starting to complain about why we kept eating the same things over and over again!). I'm still struggling with keeping on top of the chores and sorting out our exemption forms, but I'm so glad the nausea seems to be slowly going away.

There is so much to be thankful for: The hubby who chipped in more during this period when I couldn't cope, and made honey lemon drinks for me everyday so that my dinner wouldn't end up in the toilet. The boys, who tried to help out at home with the chores and cleaning up. Our part-time cleaner, who quietly helped to tidy up the huge messes. My parents, who helped to babysit the kids on certain days, especially when I was sick and couldn't get out of bed. Our friends, who kept us in prayer, and helped in the little ways they could.

And of course, we are so thankful for this little one, whom we'll be seeing in early Feb next year:

Many have asked us if we hope for a girl. I guess a girl would be nice, but a little boy would be welcome too, since we believe all children are blessings from God. And no, we didn't have #4 because we were trying for a girl, we've always wanted four kids!

PS: One more thing to be thankful for: the policy changes announced yesterday during the National Day Rally. I'm so glad for the increased paternity leave!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Baby J's guide to choosing a good diaper (Advertorial)

Hello! It's Baby J here today checking in. Mama has been pretty tired of late, and asked me to share about something I wear every single day: diapers. According to her, and my Ah Kong and Ah Ma, I am the squirmiest baby amongst the three of us boys. I guess I love giving them a challenge, so I'm usually up and crawling/running once my diaper is off! Because of that, they had to switch to pull-up/walker pants instead of the regular tape diapers, since walker pants are a lot easier to wear with one hand (so that the other hand can be free to grab me as I try to make a quick getaway). Also, I enjoy peeling off the tapes on the tape diapers, so my parents figured pants diapers would stay on better!

My parents have tried a few brands of pull-up diapers for me, and recently, I got to try the Merries Walker Pants again when Merries kindly sent some over. After all my rigorous testing, here are some tips for choosing a good diaper:

:: Softer is better, no plasticky bits please:

Softer diapers usually are more comfortable. I tried some tape diapers where the tapes were plasticky, and I didn't like them because sometimes the tapes cut me. Also, some diapers have gathers that are rather rough too, and those caused abrasions for my brothers when they wore them. The Merries Walker Pants had nice soft gathers, so I was comfortable, and was all the more able to run away to hide when Mama was looking for me!

:: A good fit is important, but you'll only know if you try them:

How the diaper fits is important, because a good fit means less friction/abrasions, and also reduces the chance of leaks. (You should see Mama yell when my diaper leaks after a poop. Someone should tell her to lighten up. After all, it's only poop right? Everyone needs to do it right?) Also, it's helpful if the diaper has the front and back clearly labelled, especially in the case of pull-ups, and grandparents (who have worn my diaper wrongly before because the pants didn't have labels).

In the case of Merries Walker Pants, I've yet to have any leaks (phew!), and no rashes or abrasions too, even though I'm always climbing everywhere and getting into trouble. The pants have various features to ensure a good fit: soft gathers around the waist, small diagonal cuts in the crotch area to allow for a better fit and flexibility, and a flexi-fit "W" shape. (Sorry, all these adult terms are confusing for me, but I can tell you they fit well. Even the adults think so, because Merries was awarded a "Good Design Award" for the fit of their diapers.) The front is clearly labelled as such, so Kong Kong won't get confused if he has to change my diaper.

It's hard to tell about how well diapers fit by just looking at them though, so its always good to ask for samples so you can test them out (if you want Merries Walker Pants samples, go here!).

:: You'll want something breathable. Or you'll be stinky, or rash up:
If you're sitting in something that holds your pee for a couple of hours, you'll want it to be breathable. Especially if you live in sunny Singapore, where you're usually sweating buckets when you head outdoors. The Merries Walker Pants are designed to allow air to flow freely between the diaper and the skin, and allows moisture and heat to escape, so it means no diaper rash for me. Yay!

:: Wetness indicators can be useful. Otherwise just do the patting and smell test:

Merries Walker Pants have a wetness indicator which turns from yellow to green, which indicates that it's time to grab the baby and give him a change. Mama tells me that these are pretty useful for first-time parents, who aren't too sure about when to change a diaper. She says that she and Papa usually do what seasoned parents do: they just pat my diaper to see if they need to haul me away for a change. For poop, they do the "pull-or-smell" test: if my diaper is accessible they pull it to take a peek, and if I'm in an overall or onesie they do the sniff test! Works every time.

This is another feature of the walker pants that Mama really loves: the tape at the back of the diaper, which you can use to wrap around the diaper when you're done with it! For tape diapers, you can use the tapes to secure the dirty diaper closed, so that you don't get runaway poop. You can't do that for walker pants, so the tape is a really useful feature!

Here's something else that I liked: these limited edition Merries Japanese dolls! For the month of August, you can redeem a pair of these really cute Japanese dolls with a minimum purchase of $50 worth of Merries diapers in a single receipt. Just visit this page, and submit your details along with a scanned copy of the receipt of your purchase. (Terms and conditions apply, and there are only 2000 pairs available for redemption!)

These dolls are now my friends at parties, and love eating the food I cook for them. At least I think they do. Thank you Merries!

[This post was sponsored by Merries, and Mama was also sent 3 packs of walker pants for me to try. For more information, please visit their website and FB page. All opinions are my and my Mama's own.]

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Thankful Tuesday: We can only do so much

After more than a week of nights of coughing, crying and puke, I'm glad to say that this little boy is more or less on the road to recovery. We brought the kid to the PD as he was coughing for more than a week, and she diagnosed him as having mycoplasma. After a course of antibiotics, he's much better now and his appetite is slowly picking up. I'm really so thankful for our PD: her diagnoses are usually spot on, and the kids usually start improving after a visit to her clinic.

One more thing that we are thankful for would be this sudden change in the relationship between the younger two boys. Previously, Lil J had been constantly expressing his dislike for Baby J, probably due to sibling rivalry. He would say that he didn't like him, and after reading in the Bible about Joseph, he decided that he wanted to sell Baby J away! We did everything we could: we tried to spend one on one time with him, we reassured him we loved him, we kept talking to him about loving his brothers. Nothing seemed to get through, and knowing how strong-willed Lil J was we steeled ourselves that this phase was going to be a long, long one.

However, for the past week, this little boy's heart seems to have softened. He now says he loves his brother, he sometimes pats him, and is now willing to share some of his toys with him and include him in games. With this comes a growing pride, as I see them all playing nicely together, and a sense of relief that hopefully, this difficult phase has passed.

I'd been praying so hard for the relationships between the three of them. Sometimes, I wonder if all this conflict and fighting is a result of our parenting, and many a times you wonder where you've gone wrong. Times like these are a good reminder that there is only so much we can do, and that God is the one that can change our childrens' hearts. With so much parenting "self-help" articles going around these days, it is tempting to think that our children will grow up well, so long if we were to follow all of these guides. We forget that our kids too are flawed and fallen, and that they too need God to transform them into new creations.

This little change in Lil J's heart has been such an encouragement to me during this period, and I am thankful for the reminder to keep trusting and hoping in God, who has our children in His loving hands.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Thankful Tuesday: Going forward

It has been quite some week! I came down with some bug after our trip, and spent two days in bed. The chills and aches were so bad I couldn't walk, and I had to take Paracetamol in order to get out of bed, or even try to sleep. Thankfully the hubby managed to take leave to help out at home, and my dad also helped with the kids, so I managed to get some rest, and am now more or less recovered. Now it's time to play catch up, and I've been just trying to ease myself back into our usual routines and trying to get on top of the chores.

Anyway, this is old news, but we were awarded the "Top 10 Most Popular Blogs" award at the Singapore Blog Awards! It came as a surprise to me, since this blog doesn't boast a huge readership unlike some of the other blogs that were in the finals. But whatever the case, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you out there who voted for us. This is certainly an encouragement to me to keep writing and sharing about the things close to our hearts.

There's going to be major changes up ahead (I'll share in time to come!), so I'm going to take this month to focus on sorting out homeschool matters and our application for exemption, as well as continue our decluttering and organizing efforts at home. There will probably be less posts over here in August, since I really need time to sort things out at home, but you can still find more updates over on our Instagram and Facebook accounts. Meanwhile, I'm still thankful: for this season in life for sorting and slowing down, for times with my three little boys, for friends and family. Here's wishing everyone a blessed August ahead!