1st week in Singapore

The first week of school is complete!  It is hard to say if the boys had a good week or not because they are so worried about getting to the pool or getting ice cream that I can barely get any information out of them after school.  Lino seems to still like his teacher but I am worried that this is not going to work out well.  Only time will tell with this teacher situation but my gut tells me it is going to be a long semester.  The good thing is that Lino has made a few friends already…as expected.  Actually it was funny because on Thursday when we were getting off of the train one of his classmates was getting off at the same time and she was screaming after him!!!  They walked all the way to school together which was nice but then just before we got to the gate Lino tripped and fell.  He scrapped his elbow and his forehead!  I was actually pretty impressed because he didn’t scream as loud as he normally does…you know…like someone is trying to pull his eyeballs out!!!  He was crying but not screaming and that was impressive.  His friend’s mom gave him a band-aid but we ended up going to the school nurse anyway to make sure it was cleaned off properly and that the band-aid was big enough.  After he got all patched up he went off to his class and I finally realized what happen…he was embarrassed about falling in front of his girl friend so that is why he didn’t scream like he normally does.  I am pretty sure that was it but I could be wrong.  But normally he either says it didn’t hurt/I’m fine or he only cries a little like he did when he is in front of his friends but for us he goes all out.  Too funny…I asked him what his friends name was before he went to class and he had no idea.  That is typical.  Either he couldn’t understand or remember her name or he didn’t ask…either way she made a point to remember his.  As for Shaun, he seems a little in a daze about his Chinese class which is to be expected but the real question is is it to much for him?   Otherwise he really likes it.  He doesn’t give us to much information about his day other than he takes a nap or what kind of snack he had which is funny.  There only seems to be good reports except for the day he got in trouble for spitting…I couldn’t tell exactly what happen but apparently he got in trouble for spitting in class and his teacher was very very not happy with him.  I was impressed that he even told me…otherwise it has been all good.  It is actually going to be more challenging for us because he will need some supplemental Chinese at home in order to really re-enforce the stuff that he is doing in class.  On Wednesday he came home with a library book in Chinese and he asked me to read it to him!!!!  Thank God that we live in the 21^st century and for google translate!  I had to move quick to download the app but it was well worth it.  I’m sure the translation is 100% but it is close enough and it at least let me read the book to him.  We were doing all of this at the bus stop which is crazy…If I would have just checked his bag after school I would have been more prepared.  I guess you live and learn. 

Shaun is also making friends at school and when we were leaving school on Friday he was running around and exercising with one of them.  I asked him what his friends name was and he was like “I don’t know” with his matter of fact Shauny shoulder shrug…that kid.  The great thing about their school is that I can pop in and out pretty much whenever I please which is nice.  The bad thing about the school is that it is so big there is always something going on.  There are daily announcements sent out on the schools apps along with blog post from the teachers then more communications posted at the school.  It is like information overload sometimes and I am not use to all of it so I feel like I am missing stuff here and there which I’m sure I am.  I mean it’s the first week of school and the boys haven’t put on their PE uniforms that we had to purchase…why didn’t they put them on?  Well because I didn’t get the memo about their timetable.  Eventually I found it on the app but I still wasn’t sure so I had to check with both teachers to confirm.  Next week we will be more on track I hope.  And speaking of being off track apparently I forgot to order poor Lino a lunch one day so he went without.  I felt so bad and asked why he didn’t tell the teacher and he said that it was to late to ask when he realized he didn’t have a lunch.  Now I felt bad.  The funny part is that I have intentionally sent him to school before without a lunch because he was complaining so much about what I packed him and that was his punishment and I didn’t feel bad at all but the day that I actually forgot to get him a lunch (which I am pretty sure I ordered but I guess I never confirmed the order so it didn’t go through or some jazz like that) I am feeling like the worst mom ever.  Thankfully he wasn’t to upset which helped.  He probably wouldn’t have eaten much of the lunch anyway so it wasn’t much of a waste.  Bad mommy.  On a good note, Lino had a fieldtrip on Friday and he said it was a lot of fun.  The ironic part is that he went to see the Gruffalo live at the theatre which is the first show that we saw when we moved to Ireland.  Maybe that is a sign…maybe it is just coincidence…maybe it’s nothing…either way it’s pretty ironic.  He was happy to tell us all about his bus ride there on a double decker bus and how he got to pick whatever seat he wanted to sit in.  It is the simple things that really make a difference.  All in all this week has seemed to work out for both of them.  There is still a lot to figure out and get use to but we are getting there and they seem to, for the most part, enjoy school (not the commute). 

The boys in the swimming pool during the rain...they are the little dots by the side of the pool.

 

To sort of celebrate the end of the week and to try and keep some of our tradition we decided to have pizza for dinner.  There was no homework for Lino other than a little practice work on his subtractions (that he hated) so they went to the pool and I tried or order pizza.   Something simple like ordering pizza you would not expect to be so complicated but I guess I forgot where I was.  We normally don’t get pizza from places like Pizza Hut because I know that there are other places that are better and not chains.  I figured there would be a delivery charge but didn’t think it would be too much but what I found out was that the delivery was free but the pizza’s were outrageously priced.  I don’t know why I didn’t expect that but I didn’t so I wasn’t prepared to pay $55 for 2 medium sized pizzas!!!  So by the time I realized that the non-chain places were going to be crazy priced and got over ordering from a chain the rain started to come.  When I went to place the order it told me that it would be at least 90min longer for the delivery due to the heavy rain in our area.  Now you wouldn’t be able to tell it was heavy rain because the boys were still in the pool with Cesar swimming like it was all so normal.  There were swimming lessons going on in the big pool as well so I guess this is just normal.  I mean I thought that coming from Ireland we were use to the rain but this is on a whole new level.  Its kind of crazy because if people are walking and it starts raining they have to find shelter or they won’t go out in it but if you are in the pool and it starts raining you just carry on?  Too funny…anyway so I hesitated to order and Mike & I were going back and forth about what to do and we had kind of decided to go to the mall for dinner because it would be “easier” and “faster” but the boys had heard pizza so they were not giving up on it.  In the end we got the pizza and he was delivered in 30min which wasn’t bad.  I basically had to drag the boys out of the pool when the pizza arrived…that was the only way we were getting them out of there.  So instead of $55 for 2 medium pizzas we spent about the same for 2 almost large pizzas and 6 wings…that is just high way robbery.  We are slowly getting use to the prices but it is still a killer right now…slowly it will go away…slowly.  Another thing is that poor Shaun is breaking out in some sort of rash. 

I was trying to get him into the doctor on Friday and I had submitted his information on some site to make an appointment for the morning but I didn’t hear back from them so we just sent him to school anyway.  After the pool his rash was getting worse so I was getting worried.  After thinking about it for a while I figured it was just heat rash because it was just around his neck & shoulders and in a V shape down his chest to this belly. We decided to turn on the AC in their room to try and make sure that he can cool off at night and see if it helped.   I also got to talk to my friend Nicole who I haven't seen in like 3 years...it was a nice treat!   Our boys use to spend a lot of time together but now I am not sure if they will remember each other if/when we meet up again.  I hope they remember or if they don't I hope it is like old times anyway.  Maybe one day soon...

For the weekend we had a few things to take care of but we tried to relax as much as possible.  On Saturday morning we had our normal lie in and the boys got their ipad time then after breakfast we headed out to one of the wet markets to meet up with one of Mike’s HR manager.  We went to the Tiong Bahru Market which is supposed to be one of the top 5 in Singapore.  It was pretty nice and the prices for the fruits/veggies was much better than the super markets.  I was excited to do a little shopping but the boys were over the heat and were not interested so we split up…they went to sit in the hawker center while I shopped.  I was a little overwhelmed but after a quick scan of the place it wasn’t to bad.  I ended up getting a bunch of fruit and some veggies for a pretty reasonable price.  Then I ended up getting talked into buying this huge melon that I have no idea what it is and I know that the boys won’t eat it so now I have to eat 5lbs of melon on my own…great.  The only thing I couldn’t bring myself to do was to buy meat there.  I should have got some because that was the place to get it but I didn’t have a plan in my head for dinner and  I didn’t want to just have meat in the fridge with no plan so I will have to come back another day for that.  Even without getting meat it was a very successful trip and now I feel like I am more comfortable with shopping at the wet markets.  They are basically farmers markets but with a bunch of stuff you have never seen before.  It was actually really cool and I am going to enjoy shopping there regularly.  I even found some sort of prickly cooling powder that was supposed to help with cooling off the body and heat rashes which is probably what Shaun needs…it was only $1 so even if it doesn’t work it wasn’t to much of a waste.  After that we got some lunch for the boys and decided to head back to the house to drop off our stuff before finishing our errands.  We had to go to the furniture store to get stuff for the apartment because we will not have everything we need with our shipment from Ireland. 

the boys were so tired they fell asleep in the taxi on the way there...that could have been bad but they needed the pick me up.  So we got to pick out our sofa’s and tables and a few other things which was not fun for me.  I am so bad at decorating I just can’t stand it and I don’t ever think that the stuff that I pick out matches so I am always upset with myself after a purchase.  Like the sofa that we picked out…I picked some crazy fabric because it was different but now I am thinking it wasn’t very practical and thinking I should change it but then another part of me thinks to be a little more exotic and just go with it.  Well it is done now so I will have to live with it for the time being.  The boys had a good time while we were picking out fabric and colors and all this crazy crap…they got watch movies and eat crap which was nice for them.  After that I got a call from my girl Michelle and we had a nice chat too.  Its been too long since I've talked to her...we use to talk almost every day and now its been over a month so it was way over due.  She needs to get her phone figured out so we can chat more often.  I enjoy hearing her stories and miss those a lot.  While I was talking to her I knew we were pretty much done with our day which took longer than we expected so we just decided to keep it easy for the evening.  The boys have got into this battle ship game lately so we have it downloaded on both phones so they were happy to play games and didn’t really look for much else to do which was good.  The only request they had was to have mac & cheese for dinner which Mike & I both were not feeling.  But in the end that is what they got because we needed to get some more cream for Shaun and the easiest place to get it was the mall.  The crazy thing was that you don’t really need a prescription for all of the medications.  Most of them can be dispensed by the pharmacist which is kind of crazy to me.  The nice part was that I was able to explain the issue with Shaun and the pharmacist recommended a cream for me which was handy.  I kept saying I was going to make him an appointment to see the Dr but never did so I was happy that I could at least talk to the pharmacist about the issue and not just treat him based on what I saw on WebMD.  So I got a cream for Shaun and they had their mac & cheese at some British restaurant and all was good.  Before we got home I got a call from my boss Pat in Ireland and had a nice chat with him.  It was a nice reminder that I need to get my act together and start doing my networking.  I know we have only been here for a week but there is no reason to delay it.  There is a lot to do since I am not working but I think I want to get back into it sooner than later.  Anyway, it was good to talk to him and it will be nice to see him in June when he comes to visit.

Sunday we ended up having breakfast at Sentosa because I didn’t have any cooking ingredients to make pancake or waffles or anything like that so we just decided to go have pancakes instead.  We had saw this cool place near the aquarium so we went to check it out.  It was actually pretty cool because you have a griddle in front of you for you to make your own pancakes.  The boy’s thought it was great so it was a nice way to start off the morning.  Then since we were there we ended up going to the aquarium.  But because I wasn’t prepared we had to go through all these hoops in order to get temporary passes for the day.  They needed my residency number or something like that in order to pull up our passes…that is just the strangest thing to me.  They use this residency number and passport numbers for everything!!!  Who has their passport with them all the time or has the number memorized?  Maybe this other number they are asking me about is the equivalent to a social security number but there are not social benefits here that I know of so that wouldn’t make much sense either.  Anyway, I didn’t have either number so I had to do a jig in order to get the temp passes…I won’t forget them next time.  We expected to be in and out of the aquarium in less than 2 hours like the last time but that did not happen.  Mr Lino had a bit of a melt down and we ended up sitting at the large exhibition tank for like 2hrs waiting on him to compose himself.  That kids is a piece of work.  Him & Shaun fight about who is going to be first for everything…who is first to scan their train ticket, who is first to get onto the bus, who is first to push the button to cross the street who is first to get out of the tub, who is first to get to the touch screen…EVERYTHING.  So this time they were pushing and fighting over the touch screen and I asked Lino to move over and he refused because apparently he was there first.  Now I love my Lino but he is a very big liar so it is hard to believe him most of the time so I told him I didn’t believe him and I didn’t care I just wanted him to move over.  He again refused to…as expected.  So I had to move him over myself and he had to sit down with daddy while I looked at the fish with Shaun.  Now at this point I don’t even remember if I was going to let him have the screen first or not…I just wanted him to move over (Shaun had already moved) then I was going to assess the situation.  But that was all out of the window now…he was in a fit and there was no coming back.  He was losing it fast and I was losing my patience just as fast…so I had to take him to the side and try to talk him down but he refused to calm down.  So we ended up sitting along the wall for a while waiting for him to calm down.  I don’t even think he knows what he was upset about but he knew that he didn’t want to give in so he didn’t.  So I didn’t either.  I feel like it’s a game of cat & mouse with him sometimes.  So after sitting there for over 40min I ended up telling Shaun and daddy to go ahead and keep walking and I would stay with Lino.  That really set Lino off…now he was upset because he wanted to go.  So he was fussing and kicking up a storm about wanting to go and I kept telling him to just take a breath and calm down and then we could go.  He told me he was calm (which he wasn’t) and when I told him he wasn’t and that he had an attitude too he got even more upset.  At some point he got so upset with me that he decided to tell me he didn’t like me and wasn’t ever going to listen to me and that he was going to do whatever he wanted to do or something like that.  And I told him that was great and I hope that he enjoys his self but that he wasn’t going to be able to get up and do any of that until he calmed down!  Eruption time!!!  He didn’t like that.  In order for me to stay calm and not kill him I had to distract myself from him otherwise I was going to be to focused on how loud he was and what he was saying so I started to read and I think he was shocked that I wasn’t paying him any attention so he finally calmed down!  So after about 30min he mustard up some peace and calmly told me that he wanted to go.  I said no problem we can go but you know that you are not getting any ice cream because you lost it with all of this caring on. And…explosion #2!!!  This time I almost didn’t contain myself but somehow found a little reserve patience and was able to start reading again while he went on his tirade again.   While he was going on and on I had to remind him of the deal that we made about the ice cream and that it was his choice to keep going on like he was.  I tried to tell him about his choices but he wasn’t listening so there was no reason to keep going.  So we sat and waited.  I didn’t think it was going to ever end and the people were looking at him in a mix of pity and understanding.  I only got 1 look of disgust which is pretty good since we were sitting there for almost 2 hours!!!!  At this point we had sat there so long that it was only another 1 hour before the big fish tank feeding so Mike & I worked it out with Shaun that we would stay to watch the feeding.  When Lino saw me texting he must have got distracted about his crying and he eventually calmed down…wow…impressive.  So we talked a little about what happened but there was no reason to go into any major details because he was exhausted from his tantrum so after we confirmed that there was no ice cream for him and that we were going to stay at the tank to watch the feeding he was ok…man!  That took everything out of me.  So unbelievable the amount of stamina, determination and bull headedness that kid has and he is only 7!  I can’t imagine how he will be when he is a teenager or an adult!  God bless us all…it is either going to go really well for him or he is going to have a tough life.  I fear it will be the latter but only time will tell.  The only good part about this delay was that we got to see the feeding in the big tank which was really cool.  The boys loved it and it ate up a big chunk of our day and we were inside so Shaun’s rash wasn’t getting worse so it kind of worked out.  After all that drama we had to treat ourselves a little so we ended up getting donuts for the boys at Krispy Kream

 and then they found the water fountain area where the kids were playing in the water and they decided to join.  We were going to go to the pool at the apartment but after they started to get wet it wasn’t worth it to make them come out so we just let them keep playing in the water.  It was pretty cute and funny and weird all at the same time.  Of course we were not prepared for them to play in the water so we had to get creative which meant that we took off their shirt and shorts and let them play in the water in their underwear.  This seemed perfectly normal when we decided to do it but after looking at them and the other kids we realized that maybe that wasn’t normal here.  The boys were the only ones in their underwear all the other kids had on shorts or a thin tank top…but not our boys.  Then to make matters more awkward they were standing over the spraying water and trying to get the water to spray on their butts!  They thought it was great fun and I was starting to get a little mortified think that the other parents must think those kids were raised by animals. 

Eventually I got over it and just told them that it wasn’t very nice to do that with the water and let them go.  They had a ball and while they were playing we had their clothes drying on the bench…it was hot enough to pretty much dry them off after about 15 min.  Just before we had enough of their water show I realized that Lino was the oldest kid in the water…maybe it was just by chance or maybe it was something else.  I wonder if it’s not acceptable for a kid his age to be doing stuff like that?  I really don’t know but I know he is still a kid so it is OK for me. 

We ended our weekend going to some outdoor food court…not a hawker center exactly and not a mall food court but something in between…it was nice but it was closed except 2 places.  Apparently Mike has been here before and there is live music played and lots of people there so we will have to go back again.   It probably wasn’t the best idea to go there because it took so long to get our food but you don’t know how it’s going to go until you try it out.  The boys were super exhausted so they crashed pretty quick after getting home.  Since we don’t have our internet set up yet we didn’t have much to do but I realized that I could use my unlimited weekend data to stream us a few shows to watch.  So that is what we did and it was pretty awesome!!!!  The speed of the phones Bluetooth is crazy…it so much faster than the service we had in Ireland.  We can’t wait to get our internet set up in the house!!!!

Well that is week 1 Singapore down in the books.  It went pretty good and no one died of heat stroke which was great!