Someone asked me why I had to skip my lunch...

Someone asked me why I had to skip my lunch for the entire week. 

Me: "I overspent on cab fare. I took cab 3 times in a week and had to save by skipping my lunch."

Her: "Why you so stupid! How much is your cab fare?" 

Me: "About $25 each trip because surcharge of $3 boarding at CBD, peak hours and ERP."

Her: Take MRT LAH!! Maximum $2.50 only what!" 

Me: "All I was thinking about, was to reach home in time to kiss my son good night." 

THIS IS AN IMAGINARY CONVERSATION I HAD WITH... MYSELF

What was the truth? 

Did I skip lunch? 

Yes. I skipped lunch so that I could do less OT and spend that LESS THAN 1 HOUR of time with my son everyday. 

Did I take cab? 

Yes. So that I could reach home as soon as I could.

This is the plight of a working mum. The plight of some/many Singaporeans. Something which the "high high up there" CANNOT understand and seriously DONT BOTHER TO UNDERSTAND. 

They said that Singaporeans are complaining too much and "Netizens are making too much noise" about EVERYTHING. Is it really too much to ask to survive with a decent living?

http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/-Train-disruptions-yahoofinancesgwp-4224888186.html

The local MRT system broke down pretty often recently. So much so that people are taking it as a norm. Even if there is no break down, there are many cases of delay. I count it a blessing that I stay in Seng Kang as NE line breakdown happens less frequent compared to the NS/EW/C line. 

Just yesterday, I saw online that SMRT is giving out excuse chit for workers and students who reach work late due to the breakdown. To me, this means that we will have to expect more breakdowns coming our way. Otherwise, why would they implement something like that? This, as a result, created an outcry on the internet.

"What's the big deal?? If MRT delay 2 hours, you have 2 hours less of work to do!" 

Let me tell you why it is the big deal. 

When I reach office 2 hours late, the likelihood is that I will need to stay in office for 2 hours more in order to complete my work to knock off. That also  means I will not get to spend time with my son, and have less time with my husband. 

THAT'S A VERY BIG DEAL TO ME! It's such a big deal that I'd rather give up my lunch in order to complete my responsibilities ASAP! 

I heard from some working parents who really want to knock off on the dot everyday. They want to spend time with their kids because they are noticing that the children are closer to the maid and there are nothing they can do about it. They work like horses in office just to earn that bit of money to support the family. What do they get? 

Children running to the maid when they got injuried...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH LOH.

Life is getting tougher

I think I am considered fortunate. I usually reach home latest by 8.30PM. My son sleeps at 9PM. Travelling time on MRT is about 1 hour (inclusive of walking from office to mrt and mrt to home).

It will save me 30min if I take cab, but that will cost me approx $25 due to $3 CBD charge, peak hour charge and the most hated ERP. The return is that I won't be as tired standing for an hour in a sardine-packed train, and I get that 30min with my son. I am not a high flyer who earn $10k-$20k a month. My family is currently surviving on a single income. $25 is a BIG THING.

Once awhile, I still choose to spend it because my priority is my family. I can refrain from shopping, no travelling, stop watching movies, don't buy my long awaited Galaxy Note, but I need to spend time with my family. 

Our daily expenses have increased by a lot in the recent years.

Transport fees: approx $150 ($5/day/person)
Food: $400 (3 meals a day plus a drink/person) 
This mean approx $1100 for 2 person.
This is considered a lower-than-average calculation.
What's more?
Utility bill/phone bill/internet bill ++++++
How about the kid? Just the diapers, milk powder and children clothes will cost a bomb.

There is nothing left to save. I am not exaggerating. If our expenses continue to rise, even the middle income people earning $2500 or more will find it hard to just survive.

Till then, I will really be skipping lunch because I have no money left for my meals.

Disheartened,
Mama Kaye

What made my Elric Cry?!?!

Elric's grandma bought a picture book about fruits and vegetables for him. He was very thrilled to see the pictures in it.

The only problem he had was that this book doesn't open the way his other books do. It is secured by a brad fastener so the book opens up like a fan. Elric hasn't learnt that and instinctively tried to flip the pages REPEATEDLY.

Attempt number 1

He tried really hard to read his book but he couldnt.

He started whinning...

Attempt number 2

Elric got all tensed up and upset that he couldn't flip the book the way he usually do.

Attempt number 3

Elric got really frustrated and started crying.

I know that's bad but Mama Kaye laughed at Elric which made it worse.

:P Sorry Elric! Mama will teach u how to deal with this book very soon!

:X

Love Love,
Mama Kaye

Here's the rhymn which I believe is quite well known.
It is one of the first rhymns I learnt and it left a deep impression on me. The Moon was written by Robert Louis Stevenson, from the book A Child's Garden of Verses.

I love the imageries formed whenever I read the poem.
Hope you and your child like it too.

THE MOON

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;

She shines on thieves o the garden wall,

On the streets and fields and harbour quays,

And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,

The howling dog by the door of the house,

The bat that lies in the bed at noon,

All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day,

Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;

And flowers and children close their eyes,

Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Reading Rhymns to my son

I strongly believe that children should kick start their reading habits early.
It helps to strengthen their language skills and they can better express themselves when they are older.

I didn't have that when I was younger. In fact, my Chinese had always been my stronger language. I even competed in Chinese story telling competitions from primary 1 to secondary school. That's because my parents communicated to me in mandarin and my mum often read Chinese story books to me.

I didn't enjoy reading english books. When I picked up them up, I would flip through the pictures and doze off after reading a few pages. Why??? Because my English was SO WEAK THAT I COULDN"T UNDERSTAND!

I hated comprehension passages because I couldn't understand what the passage was about even after reading it for 3-4 times. I even fell asleep during an english examination. YES!!! I was THAT BAD!!!!

 I can't remember which year, but I had a good English teacher. She asked me to read rhymes and short stories because she knew that my had short attention span when I read. She also asked me to keep a diary and make sure I write at least a few sentences a day. :))

I failed my English during my O'Level and got a D7. I passed my English only the year after when I took the paper again. I worked REALLY HARD for that.

Until now, my English is no where near to good. My vocabulary is still weak. I make lots of grammatical mistakes.
So I know very well the need to start young. It's not about sending your child to language courses and tuitions. There are 1001 types of courses out there promising you good results for a 2-3 year old toddler (duhhhh...) but I still think your child prefers you to read to him/her.

I started reading rhymns to my son recently. Different from the picture books I read to him while showing him the pictures, I read the rhymns while he play his toys. I believe this will help improve his listening skills. Shall share with you when I spot some nice ones! :)

Cheers,
Kaye