Brotherhood - When there's only Love

K gave me a scare the other day when he dashed into the lift on his own without us. He will always run to the lift and wait for us when he alight from the school bus. But this time, he didn't realize that we stopped to help Y with his water bottle and he went in thinking we are close behind. I couldn't catch the lift in time. I knew he would press our level and I quickly rang my mum who is at my home to go out to the lift but she took very long to pick up the phone and it was too late. When I went up, I saw the lift went down to level 1. I asked my mum to take care of Y while I go look for K. When Y saw K went in the lift alone, he was very worried. He kept asking me "Where is K?" and he was close to tears.

I took the lift down to the ground floor and thankfully K was there but I don't know why he was walking towards the direction of the activity area. I shouted out to him and he quickly ran back to me and hugged me. He wasn't crying but looked a little startled. After he hugged me, he looked at me with a worried face, and asked, "Mummy, where is Y?" It touched me so much that they were on each other's mind when a "mini emergency" like this happened.

When we went up to our level, Y was still outside, my mum said he refused to go in and wanted to wait for K. The brother started their usual cuddling fight (more like squashing) when reunited and all was well. It didn't take long for them to enter a fight but I'm so happy that they care so much about each other.  
  

$2 fun - Slime Sensory Play

What can you get with $2?

- a tub of slime

Which will in turn give you

- a peaceful dinner
- priceless laughter from your kids

Qianhu Fish Farm

It's a lazy Saturday morning and we wanted something "easy" for an outing. So, off we went to the Qianhu Fish Farm. It's very accessible by public transport and weather proof. They offer a shuttle bus every half hourly to the farm. The bus schedule can be found here.

They even have their own lane at the berth.

The boys trying hard to balance on the railing.

Getting on the shuttle bus.
They were very happy with this bus as the door opens differently from the other buses they rode.

There were a few fish gallery where you can see all sorts of beautiful ornamental fish but today they were only interested in the Koi pond.

Because they love feeding the fishes.

Some old kiddy rides near the pond brighten their day too.

There's another pond where you can do some Long Kang fishing. K was very interested to "scoop water" but I didn't allow him. I need to think it over myself if this is right and how I can explain to him we shouldn't be doing it.   

There's a tortise pond there too but there's lots of mosquitos there! Y&K had some nasty bites.  

Y at the Fish Spa pond.

Rest your feet, grab a drink or snack while waiting for the shuttle bus.

All these photos were taken by Instagram. I'm so so hooked.   

Glittery Bottles

Y was in the middle of a meltdown when I carried him to my study room and while he was struggling, he hit the mouse and this page appeared on my screen.

It was god sent.

Me: hey, look at this, let’s make a glitter bottle!
Y: Glitter bottle?

starts to wipe his tears and slowly calming down.

Y: Mummy… what’s a glitter bottle?
Me: Oh! Hrm… It’s a bottle… with glitter! Let’s get some glitter!

As I rummage through my craft shelf, ops…. no glitter. I think we have used it all up during our last messy painting session. 

Me: Oh… we have run out of glitter.
Y: I want glitter bottle.
Me: There’s no more glitter, let’s do other activities…
Y (starting to cry again): I WANT GLITTER BOTTLE!!!!

BIG OPS.

Me: Oh I know! It’s not going to be a glitter bottle, it’s a glittery bottle!
Y: I want a glittery bottle.

Great.. So I went round the house to look for something for our glittery bottle and thankfully he waited patiently. Here’s what I found. 



What You Need:
Glittery paper/ribbons cut into small pieces
Empty bottles (I used mineral water bottle)
Beads
Paint
Water
Oil
Masking Tape/Duct Tape (to tape the bottle cap)

Method:
Just pour everything in and add water and oil. The water and oil ratio can vary. I find that 1/3 water and 2/3 oil is great. So you get the lava lamp effect. Don’t let your kids mix too much paint. The boys wanted so many colors and we just got ugly brown bottles. 

Luckily I remember I have some shimmering ribbons for the bottle. This add a nice effect to the bottle.

They can practice their pouring for fine motor skills too.

Y, exploring his glitter bottle. He wanted to make more but we don't have any more empty plastic bottle.

First Trip to the Post Office

We received a surprise present via mail from their friend one day. The boys were very excited to receive the present and the boys wanted to send a mail back. I got a coloring book and a stationery set for them to post. I thought it's a great opportunity to let them learn about Mails and Postman.

Y drawing "something" for his friend.

K said he drew a Singapore Flyer.

K putting his gift and card into the envelope.

Y too.

Y jumped into his bed and told me he is ready for his nap after I said I will only bring him to the post office if he takes his nap. He had been skipping naps. 

Boys with their $2 note and their parcels.

In the queue to buy stamps.

I just can't help laughing when I see the serious look on K's face.

Y said to the lady at the counter very clearly, "I want to buy stamp!"

K was hilarious. He was so nervous, he threw the parcel and the money on the table.

 

Boys with their parcels, getting ready to drop into the mailbox.

It was a happy day after posting the parcels to their friend. They had a better understanding of how to mail a letter or parcel.

No Ordinary Soya Bean drink

This is no ordinary soya bean drink. Y ordered it all by himself. 

Brotherhood, a Love Hate Relationship

While reading to K this evening without Y (he slept early as he skipped his nap) a book about families, K suddenly said "I don't like Y." I looked at him but he changed the topic quickly about his fears for Elmo. I didn't pursue further.

After our stories time and our goodnight hug and kiss, I told him,

"We are family. Y is your brother. Sometimes we fight....."

 Before I could even finish my sentence, he said,

"Sometimes you don't snatch the roller brush away when I'm playing with it."

I was very stunned with his response. I wasn't expecting this from a barely 3 years old. I realized he was still angry with his brother over the brush fighting incident earlier in the afternoon. I continued,

Me: "are you angry with Y for snatching your roller brush this afternoon?"
K: "Yes"
Me: "Will you forgive him"

He looked away.

Me: "Y was wrong to snatch your brush. He should have asked for your permission first. We all make mistakes, will you forgive him?"

He finally nodded his head and I tucked him in for bed.

I'm happy K was able to express his feelings to me but I feel I'm a bad mediator. I wonder how I'm going to handle such expressions of strong feelings in future. One second hatred and bites, the next moment love and hugs, a lot more to come.