Here comes the BOOM! First days of school

The time has almost come for the boys to start school...they are both really excited which is good.  Today we have to go to the school for Lino to do his assessment but we also have our temporary furniture being delivered at the same time.  We tried to rescheduled the furniture delivery but it wasn't possible so now we are rescheduling the assessment.  Of course I feel like we have a lot of time to do stuff but the reality is that we don't but I don't want to rush the boys to much either.  Mike got up to go to work today (first day back in a while) and we have to take the rest of the stuff from the hotel to the apartment...but after breakfast!  The boys are excited to move into our place but I am still pretty nervous about the windows and balcony's.  I know this sort of thing is common but they are just not use to it so I worry that the novelty and excitement of it will make them even more reckless than normal...God please don't let someone get the idea to jump!   So after our free breakfast (that was a very nice treat) we didn't really have enough time to take the trains to the apartment so we just got a cab over.  The boys love the cab.  We actually had a really good talk in the cab.  Lino was asking me why do people die.  A very random question.  But I told him that people die because they get to old and weak and then die.  

Lino - but why do they have to die?  Why can't we just live forever?

Me - Well, we have to die because that is the way God has decided for it to be like

Lino - but why?

Me - That is a good question, and it is kind of complicated...but basically people are bad and a long long time ago man (that is all people) were killing each other and not being kind to one another and not doing as God would have wanted.  So one day God decided that the world needed to start all over again so he kind of cleaned the world of people and only kept a few (remember Noah's Arc?) and when he did that people changed and started to not live as long as they use to.

Lino - So you are talking about that guy Amon?? And E...something?

Me - Yes, Adam and Eve

Lino - Right, Adam and Eve were the first ones right and they were bad?

Me - Well they were not bad but they didn't listen to God and then they kind of changed the way people are.

Lino - What do you mean they didn't listen to God?  He isn't their boss??

Me - Well he kind of is...remember that God created them so he is technically their father. So  they should listen to him because he wants them to be safe & happy.

Lino - So he is like the boss and parent of them and they didn't listen so they got in trouble?

Me - Yes

Lino - But they were told to eat the fruit by that bad angle so its not their fault.  If that bad angle didn't tell them to do it and if that E...eve girl didn't make Adam eat too then everything would be ok.  

Me - Well kind of but not really...they were tempted but they knew right from wrong.  God let them have everything and he only asked 1 thing of them...not to eat from that tree.  So its the same as what me & daddy say to you guys.  You can do all these things but there are only a few things you can't do and the reason for that is because we want to keep you safe.  So if you listen to us and not do the things we ask you not to do then you can have a lot more fun.  That is what God told them and if they would have listened then maybe they would have never died.

Lino - So you are telling me that they could have lived until today?

Me - Maybe...if that is what God wanted

Lino - That is crazy!  

-- There was a long long pause here...a lot of processing and thinking I'm guessing.  During which time Shaun chimes in and tells me he does't want me to die...so sweet 

Lino - So, since they were bad a long long time ago now we have to die?  That doesn't make sense.

Me - Well its kind of like the roads...someone a long time ago created these roads and now we use them to get to different places.  If they made the roads a different way we would go a different way today.  We kind of say "they paved the way".  You know what I mean?

Lino - Yeah, I guess...

It was such a sweet but deep conversation.  I hope I never forget it and I hope that I explained it well enough for him.  I tried to include the part about him listening to us to see if I could encourage some extra listening skills from him but I don't think he took the bait...hahaha.

So we made it to the apartment and the furniture people were just getting there a few minutes after us so it was perfect that we took a taxi.  After we got our temp stuff we had to race out to make it to Lino's assessment.  I decided to use public transportation because that is what we are going to do with the boys for the next few weeks until we can get them on the school bus.  When Mike & I tested out the route it took us about 45 min to get there...with the boys it was almost 1hr!  The whole time we were going Shaun was complaining about having to walk and why we couldn't take a taxi and that his leg was hurting and on and on and on...that boy has perfected the art of complaining.  Eventually we made it there and they were both so excited about seeing their school!  I really hope that they like it.  So as we get closer to the school and I remind Lino about the test he starts to get nervous…I rarely see Lino nervous about anything but I can tell he is off.  So I ask whats up and he says he doesn’t want to go to 2^nd grade…I was a little shocked but not sure how to deal with it so I just tell him that he is super smart and can do anything so don’t worry about what grade you are in just do your best and that is all that matters and I tell him just to do what he can in the test.  That seemed to be enough for the moment but then I was starting to get nervous.  We were a little late because it took longer than I had planned but they took Lino to do the assessment.  The lady said it would take about 1hr to 1.5hr depending on the kid which was longer than I expected but not long enough to do anything really so I took Shaun up to the library.  He was sad that he didn’t have to do a test but I told him that he should be happy that he doesn’t have to do a test.  I don’t think he cared…he just wanted to do what Lino was doing.  But then he was all sad because he wanted to be in school already and I told him he would be there tomorrow but he was completely devastated and had huge crocodile tears to go with it.  Finally when we got to the library and I started to distract him enough that he finally calmed down.  We looked around for a little then found some books to read.  It was actually nice because there are not many times that I get to spend just reading with him and not rushing to do something else so I was happy for this time.  I could tell he was getting tired so I told him to take a rest while I finished the book and he was out cold in only a few sec.  I let him sleep for a while because I thought I had at least an hour before Lino was finished…then I was thinking maybe I should have told the people at the desk that I was going to be in the library in case Lino was done sooner but it was to late for that.  So after about 1hr I lugged Shaun downstairs and poor Lino was sitting there…apparently for a while…now I felt bad.  But he didn’t seem to be to upset…he just seemed to be nervous…again.  I had a talk with the assessment coordinator and basically she said he was in between 1^st and 2^nd grade which is what we had expected.  He did fine in his reading but wouldn’t even entertain her in doing subtractions.  So the math would be the part that he was most behind in.  So we talked a little about it and basically they have to decide what is best for him.  At this school the kids in in grade are based on the year they were born so technically he is in the middle of the age range for 2^nd grade so he should be in 2^nd grade.  Unlike in the US where he would be at the low end of his age but still would be able to be in 2^nd grade.  There we would have definitely kept him in 1^st grade because there would have been plenty of other kids who had birthdays around that time too so he would be in the average.  Here if we kept him in 1^st grade he would be 6mo-1yr older than all the other kids which would not have been good for him.  It is such a balance with him…if we challenge him to much he will shut down because he doesn’t want to fail or to not know something so we don’t want to do that but if he is to board he will cause a lot of trouble in the class which is not good for him or the class.  Who ever knew that this sort of thing would be so complicated…well we will see.  I could tell that Lino was a little upset after the assessment and he basically said that he didn’t want to be in 2^nd grade.  I hope he doesn’t syke his self out before he even gets started.

After the assessment we went to the mall so that they could do a little playing, have lunch and I could do some shopping.  I'm starting to get use to the trains so that is good.  The play area was pretty cool in the mall and apparently in the summer months its a wet play area so the boys will really enjoy that.  We ended up staying longer than expected so by the time we got back to the apartment it was getting late and I wanted them to try and get to bed early so that they would be fresh for their first day of school.  I was not prepared to make dinner with all that was going on so we just walked down the road to a hawker center to get something.  Shaun does not like the idea of walking everywhere which is kind of funny but not funny because I am over hearing him complain about walking.  Dinner was quick because Lino was not interested in Pad Thai noodles but Shaun was enjoying it as expected.  Daddy made it home just in time to brush their teeth and read them a story…eventually they passed out and we were not to far off from following.  First day in our new place…it was exhausting…

First day of school!!!!!

The boys were actually up early which was good and we tried to put some sort of breakfast together for them.  I had milk and cereal so that is what they had.   The whole uniform thing was funny because we didn’t know if they were supposed to be in their PE uniform or regular…so regular uniform it is!  Daddy left before us and I wanted to make sure we had enough time to make it there so we left 1hr before school started.  Of course Shaun was on about having to walk but he was also excited about his first day so the complaining didn’t last to long…well that was until we saw our first bus pass us as we left the complex!!  The busses are not as frequent as the trains as expected but they are frequent enough which is good but since it was our first day of school I was a little nervous that we missed it.  Thankfully the next one was only about 8min behind the previous one so it wasn’t that much of a delay.  So after a walk, wait, bus, train and walk we made it to school in perfect time.  Lino was placed in 2^nd grade and he was super quite the whole trip to school.  I tried to be encouraging and let him know that we would do what we can to help him but we knew he would be ok too…I don’t think he cared to much about that.  So the assistant walked us to the principle’s office and she took us to their classes…Shaun first.  Lino of course was envying Shaun’s area because of all the stuff to play with and he kept saying that he wanted to be in Shaun’s class because of the toys.  When Shaun got to his class he ran off without even saying goodbye!  I had to go and get him to say goodbye…that kid loves school or at least the social part of it.  Next was Lino and when we made it to his class I could tell right away we were going to be in a little trouble…well at least I think we will.  His teacher is new and she seems to be very calm but in a condescending way.  Maybe it was just my perception but I just didn’t get a good feeling from her.  I mean not that she isn’t nice because I could tell she was nice it was just that she was way to calm…that sounds bad I know but there was just something about her.  I mean when she was talking to the kids is was very deliberate and very slow and very patranizing (at least to me it was) maybe it’s a good thing maybe not.  So after talking to Mrs Brooks for a while and getting the update I find out that Lino has a field trip on Friday!  So soon.  I have to fill out all of this stuff and return money the same day so a lot to do in the morning.  I asked the teacher about lunch for Lino and wanted to see what I could do to order food for him today and she told me now to stress about lunches and maybe to just prepare his lunch for the next few days because it would be easier.  I told her I had 4 items in my refrigerator so there was no food to make him lunch so ordering lunch from school would be the easiest.  After 5 min round and round discussion with her about how I should just do what was easiest for me I realized she was not going to be of any help at all….so I told her I would let her know what I figured out for his lunch and would come back.  Useless!!!!  Next stop was lunch…I had no lunch prepared for them because I knew there was a canteen on campus.  I tried ordering lunch in the morning but I didn’t really know what I was doing and it took me too long to figure it out and by the time I did it was too late to order food for today so I went to the canteen to get it sorted for them.  They sent me to the student assistant desk and they sent me back to the classroom.  I wasn’t ready to see Mrs Brooks just yet and I needed to get cash to pay for Lino’s field trip so I took a stroll around the area to find an ATM and maybe get something to eat.  Finding the ATM wasn’t too hard but finding food was a little more difficult.  I wanted a small breakfast or sandwich but that is not the kind of food you get at the hawkers centers so I had a hard time…after a while I just needed to get something so that I wold have the correct change for the trip.  It seemed like it took me forever to do that which it did…it was almost 10 am by the time I got back to the school.  I got Shaun set up first because his meals were easy being in Kindergarten they always have extra lunches so it wasn’t an issue.  I got his forms filled out and had a quick chat with the teacher who I really liked and then went up to Lino’s class.  He was just getting back from his first break and he seemed to have made a friend so that was great.  I was able to instruct Mrs Brooks on how to order a lunch for Lino and got him all situated for his field trip!  Man what a busy morning…and I still haven’t had any breakfast yet!!!!!

Next stop was to the mall to eat and maybe do some shopping.  I had my 3^rd experience at the grocery store and I felt a little more confident about it.  I was trying to decide if I was going to make dinner or eat out again.  It is crazy but eating out is actually cheaper than cooking and I can see why.  I thought that maybe I would make something simple like taco’s or spaghetti since I only had the basic cooking utensils so the first thing I needed to get was meat…and man was that a shocker!!!  Ground beef was $2.80/100g which means my 400g of

meat was like $11!!!  11 bucks for ground beef…that is crazy…and I was at the cheaper place…Fair Price…that was not a fair price.  But at this point I was committed so I continued on my shopping and was shocked yet again by the price of salt and pepper.  Would you believe that salt & pepper grinders would cost $15 for the pair!  I had no idea it was so crazy expensive.  And when I decided that I didn’t need pepper I had a hard time finding cheap salt.  What the heck is the deal with this?  Why would salt & pepper be so freaking expensive?  Do they not use salt & pepper all over the world?  I mean I could understand why the jar of skippy peanut butter would be $7 here when its only $2 in the US because that is a specialty item and its shipped from all the way across the world but for salt and pepper to be so much that is just beyond my level of comprehension.  I left that isle and looked for a few other things before returning and finally finding a small bag of salt that wasn’t an arm and a leg.  Time to get out of this place!!!!  I didn’t have a lot of time but I should have had enough time to get back to the apartment and make dinner so that it was ready but I didn’t account for getting loss on the bus.  How I got loss on the bus I don’t know.  I don’t know if I got on the bus going in the wrong direction…I am pretty sure I didn’t or if I took the right bus but missed my stop?  Either way when I realized I had been on the bus longer than I should have I started looking for landmarks or street signs to see if I knew where I was.  I saw eventually saw a sign for the shopping center close to the apartment so I decided to get off…what a bad decision that was.  I walked for a little while but I had 2 bags of food and it is hot and there was no way I was going to make it to anywhere in a timely fashion. 

So I tried to google where I was and it looked like I was on the opposite side of our apartment…there is a park in front of the complex and I was on the other side of it…so not far but definitely not close enough!  So taxi time it was…the taxi driver got a big kick out of my story and thankfully he was pretty nice.  He was trying to tell me what I did wrong but I don’t think anyone knows what I did wrong except God…anyway that little delay really didn’t help so I barely had time to get my expensive beef into the fridge before I had to head back out to get the boys!  I really have to work on my time management…I am normally bad but adding public transportation to the mix doesn’t help at all. 

Back to the school for pick up just in time to peek in on both of them before they let out.  I got Lino first and you could tell he was in shock or exhausted…he didn’t talk much at first and his teacher stopped me to give me some more forms and to tell me to have a talk with him about his behavior and listening.  1^st day of school and Lino already has a note from the teacher!  I know he can be a little difficult but man I didn’t expect the teacher to send a note home on the first day.  I knew I wasn’t going to like this lady and this is just confirmation of that…God please help Lino to survive her and for this to be a good experience.  I hope she doesn’t nit-pick about every little thing because if she does it is really not going to be enjoyable for anyone.  I didn’t pry too much into it with her since Lino was there so we just went to get Shaun and he was waiting for us…oops.  I guess I need to get him first which would make since.  Anyway he was super excited and his teacher said he did good.   On our walk home I got a brief update about their day….Shaun basically was excited about taking a nap at school and about going to the playground.  Lino said his teacher was nice and he liked her (I was completely shocked) and that he liked the kids in his class.  He said he had made friends but didn’t know their names…typical.  He also was a little upset because they were learning multiplication and divisions and he had no idea what that was.  I was shocked again…isn’t that a little early for that???  Man we have a lot to catch him up on… After a quick stop to get ice cream we made it back to the apartment.  The boys wanted to go swimming and we were waiting for Cesar to arrive so we I let them swim and I was on the lookout for him.  They were so excited to get into the water!!  They are going to love it here.  After a while they got out, we got Cesar and went to have dinner...dinner out!  I got the boys chicken rice and they devoured it.  I had to order more but unfortunately the lady was out so I got a different dish from another place.  I know that Lino is going to be hungry because it is a long day at school but I don’t know if he is eating his lunch or not so it makes it hard to decide how much food they will eat for dinner.  I know that Shaun is eating his lunch so that isn’t a problem…Lino says he is eating but who knows if that is true, half true or false…anyway they filled up for dinner.  On the way back to the apartment we ran into daddy so we all went home together. Day 1 of school is done and they are both pooped!!

Second day of school was a lot smoother.  Shaun was in our bed for half of the night because he has some aches in his foot.  I was to tired to fight with him so just let him stay with us.  Lino was up early and ready for his 2 bowls of oatmeal!  Shaun slept until the last minute because he was so exhausted.  I can’t imagine what he would be like if he didn’t have a nap at school.  Lino was so jealous of his nap but I told him that if he had a nap in his class he probably wouldn’t go to sleep anyway so what is there to be jealous of??  That kid.  So day 2 transit went pretty good and we made it to school on time again.  I am happy about that.  And the boys are getting up early enough that we are not rushing too much.  I thought that this commute would be too much for them but it hasn’t been too bad.  After drop offs we headed to VivoCity to get Cesar a sim card but most of the shops don’t open until 10:30 or 11 so I had time to chat with TT for a bit while he looked around.  We realized that he needed his passport to get a sim so we had to go back to the apartment.  I wanted to do some shopping but decided to go back with him instead.  Eventually we made it back and got him situated.  I tried to find the cheaper shop to get some stuff for Mike but they didn’t have it here so we just had lunch and I decided to do my shopping after school.  When we went to pick up the boys they were both still excited about their day.  Shaun had Chinese today and I tried to find out what he learned in Chinese but he couldn’t tell me or maybe he did but I don’t know enough Chinese to understand him.  I realized quickly that I need to start learning a little Chinese in order to help him practice.  I know it’s a hard language but I should be able to learn the basics like greeting…right?  Lino was a deer in head lights again but after we left the school he seemed to come out of it.  Maybe his teacher is making him calmer or maybe it is just the initial shock.  Either way this is a side of him I rarely see. Once he got over his coma he said his day was good and that he didn’t have any math today so that was good.  There wasn’t any complaints about his teacher and he was excited because he got to meet his Vice Principal so that was good.  I tried to negotiate with the boys to go to the play area in the mall so that I could do some shopping but no one really wanted to do my plan so I had to make them.  I had to get some stuff done…I have just been too inefficient.  So we they got their ice cream at burger king and I did my shopping and we made it home in enough time that I could make my expensive spaghetti and they could go for a swim.  I actually had time to do a little cleaning and put stuff away which was good because the place was starting to get really messy.  Making this spaghetti was more complicated than it needed to be because I didn’t have any cooking utensils but it worked out and actually came out pretty good. There was a storm coming in so Mike took a taxi home which was good because otherwise he would have missed them completely.  He is going to have a lot of late nights for a while until he gets settled which I understand but the boys keep asking me where is daddy.  Anyway we are getting settled and things are starting to come together.  The next issue is figuring out where to shop for food so that I don’t have to send an arm and leg and working in time to exercise…eventually it will all come together.