Ace Gor Gor

 We are back in Singapore.. FINALLY! :) THis is what we saw when we first arrived in Singapore.. Ae asked me what is it.. I told him it is xiang si dou.. it is red seed tat people collect to make beads and do art...

Ace was really happy to be back in Popo's house... Because he can play with his cousin C :)

 He enjoys playing with C so much that he will ask me to wake him a little earlier so that he can play with C before C goes to infant care:)

Ace also kept wanting to carry C... but as C is very strong and heavy now, we only allow Ace to carry him when he is sitting down..

That's C smiling happily when he saw the goodies that we bought for him...

It feels good to be home again :)

I think Ace is very pleased to be a gor gor :) haha...

PRevious Post: Ace's Birthday Present

Ace's Birthday Present

Some two weeks after Ace's birthday, we finally FOUND and BOUGHT his birthday present!

We took so much time and effort... because... IT WAS ALL MAX'S FAULT! Hahaha Cos he go and mess with Ace's brain.....

Initially, Ace wrote a list.. and LASER PEGS was the top of his list.. and then just when we about to buy, Max go and tell Ace... You sure you dun want to save your money for something else that you really want??

Ace think think think.. and said.. OK then he wanted a PS Vita...

And then we went to do our sums, do our research about what shops sell at what price...

Two days later, the dad go and mess with his head again...  while playing with a Kindle Fire HD, he asked Ace, "Why you dun buy this instead.. about same price as PS Vita and so much more useful.. so many functions..."

"Ya, more practical!" Ace agreed and decided instead that he wanted a Kindle Fire...

And then leh, they came home and researched and found out Kindle Fire has many restrictions if we are not in UK or US... so started to research OTHER tablets like ipad, Nabi 2, Nabi XD... Everytime we see something new.. Ace says he wants that instead...

But during this period, Ace also fucked up. He was suppose to do errands and complete tasks for his money to buy what he wanted. He never. And then on top of that, he lost this, lost that.. and lost so many things... I started to think that maybe he is not ready to take care of an expensive item like a tablet.. PLUS.. I already have an ipad that i lend him for his homework and to play games sometimes.. why would he need another tablet right??

And because he never bother to do his chores that will help him earn money, I also start to think that he is just saying that he wants it but it is not something he really really really wants as well...

And then Max and I decided we are NOT going to buy him a tablet.. but still will have to buy him a present right?

Ace went to his friend's house for a play date and they had  great time playing with nerf guns and so suddenly, he said that he actually forgot to add that he wanted a Nerf gun in his birthday list... and Max told him OK since he prefered Ace to play with toys and real people than play with computer games... And Ace agreed it is better to play with real people too... And so, they started researching on my ipad for the BEST nerf gun to buy..

Next day, we went to a shopping mall with three toy shops. Had to go each toy shop at least 2 rtimes.. before Ace finally decided on two nerf guns that he wanted. The one he researched on was not available here in the UAE I think..  He kept asking me to help him and offer advice, I told him my advice is dun buy guns.. already so many guns at home! If I counted.. he has total 7 guns at home already lor!

That is Ace meditating over which toy gun to buy... does he buy the "auty" (automatic) or does he buy the one that can have loading action one...

He chose the auty in the end.. which is good.. cos his godma bought him two big packs of bullets at the recommendation of a lousy salesman but the bullets could not be used in his other guns.. but they are all good for this gun :)

 He came home.. and took picture with the gun and spent the rest of the whole day playing with his gun...

 Then he said he I have to take picture of him shooting target in the bedroom... and then declared to me that "THis is the best birthday present EVER!"


We found this red duffle bag and Max gave it to him as his GUN STORAGE BAG.

Max says that Ace has enough guns to rob a bank and that is Max trying to look like a menancing robber who robs banks! Wahahahaa.. we posted this photo on FB and the feedback was that Max forgot to wear stockings on his head! wahahahahha.. Someone even mentioned that Max looked like he wearing a red du dou! :) hahaha

Anyway, Ace keeps playing with his guns.. and when we ask him to keep.. he reminds us that he has to play with them more because we are going back to Singapore soon (and he wouldnt be able to see them or play with them for the next two months.

I am just glad we fulfilled the present obligation and that he loves his present lah:)

Previous Post: Terok Chinese Pt 2

Terok Chinese Pt 2

We went to a Chinese Restaurant to eat dinner the other day and the ＰＲＣ　waitress saw Ace and came over to talk to him..

Waitress: 小朋友，你好帅哦。你几岁啊？
Ace: Errrr....
Me: 我今年八岁...
Ace: *GRINS*

After the waitresses were gone, I asked him why he did not answer the jie jie.. he said he couldnt remember...  Not that he couldnt remember his age but he couldnt remember how to say EIGHT in mandarin! FAINTZ!

So leh, today while we were travelling in a car, i decided to test him a little and train him a little for when we go back to Singapore...
Me: 你叫什么名？
Ace:我叫蔡严锋
Me:你姓什么？
Ace:我姓．．．．锋！

At this point I cannot help it but burst out laughing.. wahahha.. my son thought his LAST NAME or SURNAME is the last word in his name like his ang moh frens.. wah lau eh... Max say this son 白养了...

So I had to explain to Ace that for chinese, our surname is the first word... but to ang moh, the family name is the last name... it is different...

Me: 你是哪里人？
Ace:我是新加坡人！
(I was impressed he made effort to pronounce properly)

Me: 你今年念几年级？
Ace:我今年念三级....

Me and Max laugh and laugh and laugh... Ace was just scratching his head and thinking that his parents had gone crazy.

So I explained to him that he should say, "我今年念四年级....“ because when we come back, he will start year 4... or he could say ”我刚念完三年级“ as he had just completed year 3.

And then I explained to Ace that "三级" refers to pornography... meaning like those movies with naked people who show off their breasts and penis. (Ok, actually to be accurate, 三级 dun show men's private parts most of the time..)

When Ace heard that, he laughed and laughed and laughed... and exclaimed.. "So I study boobies and peanuts!" And that just made me laugh harder!

I had to remind him though that it is not polite to keep talking about that... in case he goes and tell the whole world he studies "三级" and studies "boobies" and "peanuts".

Previous Post: Terok Chinese Pt 1

Terok Chinese Pt 1

I have been trying to let Ace keep up with his Chinese learning here in Dubai. I try to get him to read his chinese textbooks, do chinese homework, read chinese story books but alas, I don't always have the chance to consistently drill him on all these items.. plus.. I still tend to speak english to him and we still prefers to watch ang moh cartoons and shows...

So while I know that his chinese is not too good, I had no idea how bad it was UNTIL I tried to test him the other day by having a game with him.

First, we played the "Name The Item In English" game.. where I will name an item in mandarin and Ace has to name it in English. He didn't do too badly in this but I realize that he is still not quite able to express himself and since he tends to think he english first, I decided to play another game with him... the "Name the item in CHINESE" game...

In this new game, I now name an item in ENGLISH and Ace had to name it in MANDARIN. Boy, it was then I realized that his deng lang is dam terok lor! He couldnt even name simple things like windows and even everyday items like TV or handphone.. he could only name them after thinking for more than 10 seconds!

As a result, I decided to speak to him in Chinese more often and also play this game with him more often.

The other day, we were in the car with Max and started playing this game. Because Ace was starting to get tired of it, Max decided to spice it up by offering to match item for item in hokkien since his hokkien sucks...

The theme I decided upon was COLOURS... And so our test started...

Me: Red
Ace: 红色
Max：Ang sek
Me: Black!
Ace:黑色
Max: Orh Sek
Me: Brown!
Ace: erm... erm... I dunno
Max: erm.. erm... erm... Sai sek!
Me: Like that also can???

But as I also did not know what is brown in hokkien, I let it pass.. and explained to Ace that brown is 褐色..


Me: Orange
Ace: Errr... 我不懂
Max：Errrrr... Oleng!
Me: FAINTZ!

Ace took more than seconds to tell me what is yellow, green and blue... And he totally CMI when it came to gold and silver. Not that Max could name those colours in hokkien as well :) wahahahah...  It dawned on me that my son's chinese is really terok and he is going to have a hard time learning mandarin when we do go back to Singapore....

So I made an effort to speak to Ace more in Mandarin.. and he also very 配合and try his best to speak to me in mandarin whenever possible because I told him language is a matter of practice... I hope our two months back in SGP will also help him catch up a little since he will be exposed to channel 8 programmes and will be forced to speak mandarin to his grandparents... :)

PS: That was posted when I was still in Dubai. Today finally have TIME to post it up... hehehe.. I am happy to say tat after some weeks in Singapore, his response is much faster.. meaning all the chinese programs that he has been watching and all the conversations he is having with his grandparents is helping! :)

Previous Post: Master Of Self Entertainment

Master Of Self Entertainment

Sometimes I am very grateful that my son is a master of self entertainment... and that he is actually a relatively cheap child to rear...

Birthday party, just buy snacks and small presents and let them do whatever they like and he says it is the best birthday party ever liao.. hahahhaa..

If he very bored, you just need to give him a notebook and a pen.. or some stones... or boxes.. and he can entertain himself for half a day..

THe other day, while I was bz working... my son happily played with some glass pebbles for a good hour.. I dunno wat he was doing but there was alot of self dialogue going on.. wahahahaha

One thing.. being only child makes Ace mumble and talk to himself alot.. he is always talking..non stop! And always playing and talking to himself... talking when he is playing.. talking and singing when he is doing homework.. talking when he is bathing! Only time I think he never talk is when he is zzzzing.. wahahhaha

But I am grateful he can entertain himself.. the other day, I was very tired.. so i went to zzzzz...  two hours of bliss... as me and Max nap in peace. No one to bug us or anything... and when we woke up, Ace showed us his PROJECT for the past two hours.. he used his engineering set to build a military helicopter!:)

Swee boh?

Previous Post: Master Chef Junior Dubai AGAIN

Master Chef Junior Dubai AGAIN

Ace had a week in Dubai with no school before leaving for Singapore...Perhaps it is the fact that he has just turned 8 or perhaps he is just excited to start his holiday..

First day of his holiday after the weekend, he woke up and declared that "I will make my own breakfast!"

And then he started fiddling around in the kitchen....

First he took out all the things he will need to make the breakfast of his choice- scrambled eggs!

Breaking the egg....

Beating the egg after adding all the condiments...

Scrambling the egg...

And our good fren topped it up with donuts and muffins.. wahahahha...

His scrambled egg tasted not bad leh:) wahahah.. considering that I only open my mouth to give suggestions every now and then and he did everything from start to finish... PASS!

Lunch time he also said he wanted to make his own lunch. He was afraid to use a real knife and came up with the brilliant idea of cutting mushrooms with a BUTTER KNIFE:) faintz!

Chef making Korean Noodles with cheese!

I encouraged him to try cutting the carrots using a proper knife.. and he was very nervous about it..

The carrots were cut very thickly and uneven size.. but for a first try.. not bad... this is him shaking his hand afterward because "My hands are so tired!"

Time to add the foods into the water to boil...

Looks good, Chef!

Quite decent :) Only thing is that it was a little spicy and it took him a long long long long time to finish the soup:)

After he did lunch, he told me, "Cooking is so hard, mummy..." I told him he only cooked two meals and only for one day leh...

So he came over and hugged me and told me, "Now I know how you feel.. thank you so much for cooking for us everyday..."

Hahahaha.. wait till i tell him to WASH AFTER HE COOKS AND EATS.. then he know wat is hard! Wahahahaha

Max saw the pictures and says he also wants to eat Ace's cooking. Ace promised he will make a japanese pizza for Max...

That aside though, our little chef drove me crazy throughout the week.. ask him to do homework..he will sit there, play with his trousers...

Or stare into space...

From 10am.. do homework till now.. still havent finish.. sigh...

Cant wait to return to Singapore.. so that I can leave him at my mum's place and I go out and enjoy! wahahahahahha:)

Previous Post: Year 6 Production

Year 6 Production

Ace came home the other day and said that Year 3s have been chosen as the back up singers for the Year 6 production.. and because it is optional.. Ace says he wants to take part.. and so I signed him up for it lor... But I did not know what is the production about...

And then a few days later, he came home and said that they have to practice the songs they are singing daily.. and so I asked him for the song so that I can load the youtube video for him to practice..

To my surprise, the songs are:

• Tragedy by the BEE GEES
• Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
• Love Story by Taylor Swift
• some lullaby written by his music teacher

So strange right.. why would a primary school production feature a song like TRAGEDY... and the lyrics go like this somemore...

"Here I lie
In a lost and lonely part of town
Held in time
In a world of tears I slowly drown
Goinhome
I just can't take it all alone
I really should be holding you
Holding you
Loving you loving you

Tragedy
When the feelings gone and you can't go on
Its tragedy
When the morning cries and you don't know why
Its hard to bear
With no-one to love you youre
Goin nowhere"

so very unsuitable for children lor!

And then when I went to watch the performance.. I finally understood why...

 

Apparently, all the three year 6 classes will do one play they have rewritten based on a story by William Shakespeare... One of the classes did Mac Beth.. so that is why they chose this song.. for it is a huge tragedy...

The love song by taylor swift was for the Midsummer Night's Dream... and as for lady gaga.. i think tat is just a time filler when they change sets between the first and second play :)

 

 Choir boy waiting for the play to start..

 The amazing Mr M who is talented both as a musician and a teacher too.. from wat i observed, he is one of the most popular teachers in school.. cos he is fun... and also of cos the whole school goes only to him for music lessons and so everyone knows him..

Captured a nice picture of Ms R, Ace's teacher :)

After the production ended, they actually had some sort of mini graduation ceremony... firstly, they showed pictures of all the chidlren who were with the school since kindergarten.. and they showed their little kid pictures and the children had to guess who is who...

And then they had a portion where a few children from each class were chosen to read out something about what they have learnt from Horizon School and what are their aspirations when they go into secondary school. I dunno why.. even though I am the parent of the Year 3s, I was really very very touched at this juncture.

I wondered if I will be able to let Ace complete his year 6 here in horizon before we leave to go back to Singapore. The chances of that happening, I am afraid to say.. is very high.. given tat all seems to be dependent on Max's career... But that will mean we will be here for at least another 3 years...:(

But it would be nice... Ace did not have a chance to properly graduate from his Kindergarten... I will be very happy if he gets a chance to properly graduate from primary school.. Plus i actually think it would be much better if he could complete his primary school education here as i still prefer the curriculum in an intl school compared to Singapore's pressure cooker system...

PS: On the last day of school, Ace decided to make a card for Ms R to thank her.

 I find it amusing always.. that whenever Ace writes cards, he will wish people good luck. Even more amusing to me is when I read him all the well wishes he received for his birthday, he dictated a message for me to type back to them and he actually wished them PEACE.. such a strange thing to say, coming from a child, right?

Previous Post: Ace's Results