mornings with lu

Weekday mornings I spend with Lu.

Not every day - not when I have work - but at least three mornings a week.

She loves it, I love it.

After the hustle and bustle of dropping Big Two in school, it’s just Our Time.

For a good hour or two, before I pass her on to Gina who will put her to sleep, we go to places.

It’s always the same food-and-fun combi.

In any given week we’d probably head down to:

The Bedok Market where she and I share a bowl of Wong’s pork porridge with an egg. During Jo’s time, this was also her favourite.

If it’s not too hot I bring Lu to the playground where she heads – not to the kiddy slides – but to the exercise corner for the senior ctiizens where she does funny things with the equipment.


* Here, she is riding a horse. Yes I know it's terribly unhygienic for her to sit where people have stepped.

The 168 Coffeeshop, where she and I share a good-value plate of sausage, ham, eggs, toast and beans. She slurps up all my beans. She hates egg.


* That's her posed smile.

The roti prata coffeeshop across the road, where we share a prata kosong or with egg. Recently she started dipping her prata into the curry. Good for you, spice girl!

The Milo, she settles in between her legs and slurps up in one continuous sitting. She loves that ultra-sweet stuff with the condensed milk.



Then she goes running up and down the steps in the estate, and makes her way to another playground which is next to a cemetery.

Sheng Siong supermarket, which is her favourite and my favourite because it’s always empty when I go, and I always get the carpark lot next to the lift landing meaning I can push my trolley right next to the car booth and I don’t have to carry the bags over any distance.



She loves it because there is an aquarium there. It’s a live seafood section with heaps of clams, crabs, eels, lobsters, prawns and even turtles.



I walk her through the aisles and tell her this and that about the goods. She picks my fruits for me and occasionally steals fruits. (like a singular cherry or grape)



After payment, it’s to Bedok Reservoir which is at the doorstep of Sheng Siong, and a lovely tree-shaded playground where Lu once found an enormous grasshoper the length of my finger. She never forgot the grasshopper because she always goes back to look for it.





There is a certain sentimentality about these precious mornings.

First kid, second kid, and now third kid, these were always the times I enjoyed most.

Just me and one kid, chilling out.

And not just at any age. A kid aged two to three years old.

Any older and it’s different. The sheen of innocence, a burgeoning pleasure in things never seen before, is lost.

Cynicism and expectation sets in and while there is a different sort of pleasure in being alone with a four or six-year-old, it's not as pure as being with a two-year-old.

And so, I treasure, these magical times with a kid at a magical age, for the last time.

(Yes I just have to keep stressing the point that everything with Lu is The Last)

their report cards

In a nutshell: The teachers have nothing much to say.

They are problem-free, fuss-free, easy-peasy kids.

The funny part was when Alexis told me “Your son is God’s gift to a teacher.”

I nearly choked.

What it essentially means, after she went through all the performance indicators, is that Day is sufficiently smart without being too smart to the point of rebelliousness, and obedient.

As for Jo, teacher says - and I agree - that she has made a great leap forward this year.

She actually uses the toilet – without complaining that it’s wet and dirty, plays in the playground – without complaining that she is hot and sweaty, and talks to the teachers without any fear.

She also has such beautiful handwriting the teacher thought it worthy of mention.

girls at the beach

A stiff breeze, cool air, a ride in the car, sand play. A perfect day.

formula milk

The blog is mine, I can write anything.

And this is what I want to write about: Formula milk.

Specifically, the penchant to feed our kids formula milk when they have stopped breastfeeding.

It’s a huge thing in Singapore. Every mother I know (limited circle I know) feed their pre-schoolers formula milk. Every. Single. One.

I don’t mean when they are little babies under the age of 1, but older.

Conscientious breast-feeding mums who, when their kids are weaned off breast milk at the age of 1 ½ or 2, or 3, then conscientiously give them formula milk, and who continue giving it to them when they are 6, 7, even 8.

I have never given my trio formula milk.

Often, I wonder if I am wrong. (Remember, everyone around me is giving their kids formula)

I wonder if my kids will grow up lacking something which all the big robust kids around me are getting. Day and Lu are remarkably skinny.

And I have tried. To let them have a sip of formula milk when I am at my friends’ places. Often they hate it. Once, Jo and Lu seemed to like Grow or Gain.

But I still don’t give them formula milk.

One, it’s expensive and sickly sweet.

Two, Choon has always maintained, in exasperation: Kids, over the age of 1, do not need formula milk.

In Australia (not that I think they are always right), formula milk is not found on supermarket shelves.

There's a code, derived from World Health Organization guidelines, which states:

"Manufacturers and importers of infant formulas should not advertise or in any other way promote infant formulas to the general public." (Hello Zoe Tay!)

"Manufacturers and importers of infant formulas should not provide samples of infant formulas to the general public, pregnant women, parents or members of their families."

Who amongst us has not received free samples?

Choon says: Mums breastfeed their children and after that they are supposed to get their nutrients from real food. They eat widely.

I like that.

But I still have nagging twinges, whether I will regret this, if they grow up skinny, sickly runts.

The real reason why I am writing this post is because often, I find myself writing compelling advertorials to tell mothers why they NEED to feed their kids special milk powders / cereals packed with power DHA, taurine, probiotics, prebiotics etc.

They NEED to protect their children’s immature intestinal systems, they NEED to make sure their children get all the goodness of simulated breast milk (particularly if child has stopped breastfeeding from a young age), they NEED to make sure their kids are protected.

What I produce and what the mums read, is what gets them scrambling to the formula shelves, padding up the pockets of the baby corporations.

Essentially, I am betraying my conscience.

Which is nothing new for a writer except that in this case, it is something I feel strongly about because I am not sure mums are apprised of all the facts, particularly in Singapore where the parenting media is very much pro-corporation.

There is no way in hell an article debunking the myth of formula milk will ever see the light of day in a local parenting mag.

(Actually I don't mean debunking because formula milk could truly be all the greatness people like me are paid to make it out to be. Just a little balance is what I am asking for)

And as I was thinking, I realized there was no place where I could write a piece to balance out the “follow-up-formula-is-necessary” rhetoric except here.

So there. Conscience assuaged.

* Please don't take my word for it. What do I know? It's personal (and one Aussie-based dietitian's) opinion.

father's day

I didn’t mastermind anything.

So which of the three genuinely, spontaneously, sincerely remembered Father’s Day just past?

JO!

Sunday, she kept sidling up to KK, showering him with kisses, hugging him and telling him: “I love you papa. Happy Father’s Day!”

She’s (at the moment) such a sweetheart!

darwin 105: time at home

My Darwin closer.

This is the part the kids will remember most.

Not the going out, but the chilling out.

Ask Jo what she likes about Darwin and she says: “I like Kaofu Choon’s house.”

My brother lives in a big very empty three-bedroom apartment with three toilets and a balcony.

Because his tenant had just moved out, we had run of the place.

Home activities:

MOVIES

The kids discovered a DVD lying around and this is where they discovered the wonderful world of Ratatouille. They watched the damn thing every DAY, at least once if not twice, usually after we returned from our morning outings.

Jo and Day would randomly recite the lines and laugh themselves silly. They loved the short villainous cook.



Day had his Ben 10 DVD, which he borrowed from Video Ezy the Tuesday after we arrived (all rentals A$1 on Tuesday!)

KK had his World Cup matches.

Me? I re-read the Da Vinci Code. (it was the only interesting book lying around)

SWIMMING

After the movie, and before our evening outings, they’d go swimming in Choon’s apartment pool. Every single day.



This was something me and KK hated.

Despite the grilling sun, the water in the pool was chilly. It took me a good five minutes to get in, inch by painful inch starting from my toes.

But for some reason the kids loved it (maybe because there was never anyone else? We always had the entire pool to ourselves)

Day would jump into the pool, emerge with teeth clattering, jump in again.



Jo got the hang of using Choon’s camping mat as a substitute float, and would kick her way around the pool. (she was never cold)



Lu would copy Jo, but I or KK had to lead her meaning WE are cold.


Lu in her Mindil Beach acquisition: Her beloved “bundle-bee” suit! (it includes a yellow and black swimcap with FEELERS!)

FOOD

We cooked a lot at home.

We didn’t have enough money to keep eating out (average A$50-60 per meal) and the kids are not good with strange cuisine anyway. Once I cooked chicken porridge for Lu, she ate like there was no tomorrow.

Most of the time, Choon cooked for us. I don’t think he could endure my cooking. (he took one look at the porridge and said, “Poor kids”)

He cooked stuff like beehoon soup, stir-friend macaroni, pork ribs with oven-grilled vegetables and mushroom sauce.



And breakfasts like these.



It was sort of like eating at a hotel only the chef was free...

Choon also did his usual cooking tutorials with the kids.

He home-made potato chips (potatoes sliced thinly and chucked in the oven with oil and salt. Singapore potatoes won’t do: They’re not nice)



And baked chocolate chip cookies.



Actually a big reason why we enjoyed ourselves so much in Darwin was because of my bro.

Thanks, Choon!

And to end it all off, here’s the cute little green frog which lives on Choon’s balcony.



NOTE: I suddenly realize I appear in a total of two photos. The curse of being the designated family photog.

darwin 104: man-made stuff

We come to the man-made attractions, of which Darwin doesn’t have much of.

MARKETS

Darwin is chock-full of markets. Pasar-malam type shops selling international food (a lot of Viet, Thai, Chinese, Greek etc) and cutesy Australian knick-knacks. Prices: Same as the rest of Australia. Expensive.

The markets are fun, though not quite our thing because we don’t like crowds and we don’t buy anything.

Our favourite was the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, which happens every Thursday and Sunday night.



Why it’s nice: Food is good (although Choon, past the novelty, only buys the Indonesian rice), there are loads of good free shows like fire eaters (kids loved this) and a kick-ass didgerigoo / drum and bass combo called Emdee, it’s by a fabulous beach with powder-fine brown sand which turns chocolate ice-cream-like when wet and its sunsets draw heaps of fans.


* Sunset lovers behind Jo


* Jo, to my surprise, happily getting wet and dirty


* Lu in a state of bliss on the soft cool sand

CROCODILES

There are two crocodile parks in Darwin. A touristy one in the city called Crocosaurus Cove (with glass tanks which you can swim in to get “up close and personal” with the crocs), and a smellier authentic one further out called Crocodylus Park.

No prizes for guessing which one we went to.




Baby crocodiles at Crocodylus Park

Highlight: Crocodile feeding.

The Steve Irwin-lookalikes who run the park (tanned rangy fellers in safari gear) dangle chicken heads above the huge 3, 4, 5 metre crocs designated for breeding.

The crocs watch, wait, vertically thrust themselves out of the water and crunch their jaws around the bait.

What was scary was the sound when the croc clamps its jaws shut. Its a resounding slightly hollow but very final POP, sort of like when you pop a champagne cork but it’s hell of a lot louder and deeper.

Essentially, if the croc gets you, you’re dead. Lu was terrified. She would have fit just nicely inside the giant’s jaws.



Jo kept complaining: “The crocodiles smell very ugly. I don’t like them.”

Other animals in the park included very lively ostriches, monkeys and a pair of gorgeous baboons with pendulous backsides. The kids loved it because there was (again) no one else around, we had run of the park, and the animals were all DOING things.

The monkey was choosing its food (yes to corn and apples, no to broccoli which gets thrown to the ground), more monkeys were swinging and playing in a basket, the baboons were building things with rocks.

MUSEUM

It’s a simple free museum with a long name (Museums and Art Galleries of theNorthern Territories) and loads of aboriginal art.

Where we loitered the longest was the children’s area (of course).



Carpeted with throw cushions, dress-up clothes like capes and scarves (seriously), toys and scientific stuff like microscopes and corals for touching, it was fun for all of us.



Best of all: There was no one else! We had run of the place! No one fought with Day for the microscope which actually worked!


Bug-eyed. He was looking at bugs.

FISH FEEDING

Aquascene was one of Lu’s favourites.



Basically you pay a ransom (A$11 per adult, A$7 per child) to feed bread to real(!) big(!) fish from the sea.



Not farmed! But real fish!

You can also wade into the water to stroke the slimy fish.


* Day and my feet

I am suspecting we didn’t like it as much because there were a lot of people there. Which sort of makes me realize we will forever have to stay AWAY from the usual tourist spots anytime we travel.

PLAYGROUNDS

We sought out nice playgrounds and we actually went back to some of them to spend time.

It’s not the usual sort of thing to do when travelling, but the kids love playgrounds. And Aussie playgrounds are always nice because of the cool dry air.

Faves: Alexander Lake playground, a sheltered oasis which seems very much a local haunt.





And the Botanic Garden playground, which is essentially a three-storey metallic treehouse curving around a giant tree.

darwin 103: people

Speaking as a layperson, Darwin is probably the most aboriginal part of Australia I have been to.

There are many of Australia’s dark-skinned native people walking around, lying on the benches, singing at the beach for coin.

In our year in Sydney, I don’t recall seeing a single one.

And their gorgeous artworks – based on very precise dotting - are everywhere in Darwin.

I would have loved to talk to an aborigine.

Too often, people go on holiday, eat the local food, visit the local sights, buy the local produce and then look right through the people. Or maybe take a photo of them if they are exotic.

To be fair, unless you’re a backpacker, I suppose that’s all we can do on a short trip.

So one of the highlights, for me really, was when we got to watch a pair of Aborigine artist sisters at work.

The pair regularly sit outside an art and aboriginal book shop called Indigenuous Creations, dotting away.

Choon pulled me aside and whispered: “That lady is a very big artist here. Her works sell for thousands of dollars.”

I whispered back: “And she’s sitting on the ground in public doing her painting?”

Well, on second thoughts, why not? (then again, Lu nearly stepped on her canvas)

The lady in question is Sonda Turner Nampijinpa, a well-known woman Aboriginal painter whose art hangs in the National Gallery of Australia and Parliament House.



Her dots are incredibly minute and incredibly precise.

Day was curious, for a while. He had “studied” aboriginal art in school and had did his own interpretation of aboriginal art.



Jo, however, was drawn to Sonda’s sister, who was dotting a bright cheery picture of grubs and honey ants.



Jo refused to move.



Lu joined Jo and started singing. The ladies were tickled. They said they liked Lu’s singing.



Eventually I had to drag Jo away. I think she just likes to watch people doing things.

Post-Darwin, the kids have been liberally dotting the glass wall. Jo says she was inspired by the ladies.

darwin 102: camping

The best time to visit Darwin is in June.

When the rains don’t fall for six months, the sky is blue and cloudless, and the hot dry air has a slight chilly bite to it at night so the skinny might need a jacket but certainly nothing extra for the fat.


* Jo enjoying the dry breeze on Day 1

Darwin, at the top end of Australia, is hot all year round. When the rains fall for the next six months it’s humid and torrential – cars float – and its lightning shows all day.

Domestic tourists stream in from the colder south, but looking at the empty streets you wouldn’t know it.

Nearly every tourist attraction is just us and nobody else. Which we love because this family hates crowds and queues.

(We think the domestic tourists just want to drink beer and sit on the beach soaking in the sun so we don’t see them much)

Landscape: Flat and brown.

Buildings: Uninspiring boxes, very few high-rises of which quite a number of sea-fronting condominiums which are apparently appreciating in value every year.

Beach: Glorious blue.

What really sets Darwin apart - from the little I know – is nature. Not nice green grass pretty flowers Swedish-type nature, but dirty wild blistering hot nature.

Where crocodiles the size of canoes thrive in the muddy billabongs, and which are routinely caught and thrown into the crocodile parks for our gaping pleasure.

We had to go camping.

That’s all I wanted to do in Darwin, really.

Original plans for a two-night 300 km drive down to Katherine Gorge were whittled down to a simple one-nighter at the nearer Litchfield National Park.

I mean, the poor girl is two.

We stopped at Florence Falls for lunch.



It’s a waterfall-forest playground for inebriated locals drinking Coronas while swimming in the water.


* Choon: Drinking and swimming don't mix.


* The happy families

We had a picnic in the forest (Jo loves picnics with a passion).




* Ham, cheese, cucumber and tomato sandwiches! I ate my ham and cheese on cucumber. I hate bread.

I swam to the base of the waterfall (croc-free, we are assured), the kids gaped and Day fell in between two big rocks while trying to climb over them.



Day tried his valiant best but the water was too cold for him. He just managed to duck his head under water to see the big swimming fishes. Which gave me the shudders (I can never scuba dive) but I braved the fish to reach the falls.

Post-Florence, we drove on to the Wangi Falls campsite. We set up camp under a tree. One big tent for three adults and three kids.




* Nutty girls were having a pillow fight (we brought four) in the tent

It’s an incredibly clean and friendly camp ground. Our car was 10 metres away (we could have blasted the radio if we wanted to) and the squeaky-clean toilets, 20 metres. Only cold water, though.



Choon whipped out his portable gas stove and four cans of gas, cooked dinner of vegetable beehoon and pan-fried sausage (KK’s odd request)...


* Grumps KK had just woken up



... magicked up bars of Twix for dessert then boiled Milo for everyone when the stars came out.

The kids enthusiastically helped out with chopping.

Did I say Choon is (still) single?

The stars, like a handful of diamond dust strewn into the night, were magic. The kids, sipping on their Milos, were fascinated. Jo slept looking at the stars through our translucent tent.

Lu had some difficulty. She spent the night, hyper and way past her bedtime, prattling to Jo about stars and nonsense.

Day, slightly sick with a cough and cold, slept straight away.

The next morning, a hungry wallaby eyed our breakfast. Fascination turned to hesitation when we saw its sharp black claws up close and my brother said: Don’t feed it. It can get aggressive.

Camping remains Day’s favourite experience of the entire Darwin trip. Mine too.

KK says: I don’t think Lu was ready for camping.

Well there’s hope yet for Katherine Gorge or the very authentic Kakadu National Park when they are older.