Ramtree's Runabouts II

Saturdays are so busy

ramthree — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 04:31:07 +0000

The kids have Enopi enrichment math classes, golf lessons after lunch. Then Amelia and Justin have swimming classes later at 5:30pm. Saturdays are more hectic than regular school days. We are always rushing out of the house after breakfast. While the kids are at Enopi, I do my grocery shopping or little errands. This tuition is near the Chinese school and there are so many other tuitions over there. The parking spaces are so jammed pack. People double parking everywhere. Added with Saturday traffic when everyone ease is out doing errands, it’s a very big headache for me. Usually, I don’t have time to make lunch, so I buy back. After lunch, dh drives the children to golf lessons if he’s not overseas or not busy. He loves to be at he golf course or driving range anyway. That gives me a little personal time or get dinner prepared. Once they get home from golf, the younger 2 have an hour before swimming lessons. I usually do the driving. It’s quite near our house, so I would drop them off then come back to cook dinner, then get them later. Sometimes we go out to dinner with the grandmothers, so that helps. I don’t have to rush so much.

Long time…

ramthree — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 05:36:49 +0000

..no update. Been very busy. Had no maid for almost 3 months. Then kids had end of year school holidays. Didn’t do much. Put Justin in an intensive Mandarin reading class. It’s helped him tremendously in opening him up and talking aloud in class. Had short holiday in BKK-went to my niece’s wedding. Great seeing some of my family. Then new school year started. Been very hectic ever since. Alyssa started secondary school at Tenby World School in Setia Eco Park. She was quite emotional. Hated the school at first. Wanted to go to public school like most of her friends. Missed being around familiar faces, I guess. She’s turning 13 this June and acting very hormonal. Now, she likes her new school. Tenby has lots to offer and she’s very happy with the extracurricular activites. Amelia and Justin hate their main classroom teachers. Justin has been beaten on the hands almost every week(corporal punishment is acceptable in Chinese schools). I wrote a letter to the teacher not to punish him too much. I cry for this boy. He’s having a tough time. Every little thing(forget to pack a book, didn’t finish homework, mommy didn’t sign assighment notebook), he gets a ”pak” on this hands. I told the teacher this is unacceptable. Amelia was missing a lot of school. She was sick with flu, then had UTI. Had a call from the teacher. I sent a letter from her doc saying Amelia should be allowed to go to the bathroom when she needs to bc of reoccuring UTI. The teacher sounded like a bit!!. Amelia finally caught up with her homework and everything’s been handed in. Can’t wait for my kids to be finished with this Chinese school. We are all stress out . Everything is so darn disorganized even though it’s a top performing school and a cluster school. My husband said that’s bc they kissed the government’s ass. I know Mandarin is very important, but good gracious, I hate the way it’s run. Always last minute changes. Teachers are not available or approachable. And they use corporal punishment as a discipline. Can’t wait for the younger two to join Alyssa at Tenby. This is the last week of spring break for my youngest 2. Aly has no break until 2nd of April. She’s on the international school timeline. Hence, we couldn’t go on any holidays. Had a very short weekend in Kuatan since it coincided with dh’s Masonic meeting. Came back early bc not much to do there. The Hyatt Hotel was very below our standards. Used to getting suite upgrades from Starwood hotels. Oh well, the kids enjoyed the day on the beach. Today was a perfect Sunday. Made pancakes and sausages for breakfast. Later we are going out to Desa Waterfront Park with Ruby so she can run around. Kids have been wanting to go there for a while. They love that we can bring Ruby along to the restaurants. Enjoying this Sunday. Then back to the grind-driving kids to school.

Tough times

ramthree — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 16:23:54 +0000

…since Siti, our maid, has been gone. And she’s not coming back. Naturally the kids missed her and were sad. She was with us for 4.5 years and we were all spoiled by having most of everything done for us. I offereD to pay her more but she refused. She did’t say it to me but mentioned to the kids and mil’s maid that she wanted Rm800. And she complained that it was too much to do working for us. She will try to get another job in HK, SG, Taiwan or Saudia Arabia. I guess good luck to her. All my friends said she had it good and that I didn’t give her enough to do and was too lenient. I never scolded when she did somthing wrong.
These past 2 weeks w/out any domestic help were difficult in the beginning. The kids were home from schl holidays and dh has been around everyday. We couldn’t book any beach hols that we wanted to go to. Too last minute. I had laundry up to ny neck. The kids have been changing clothes like crazy. I told them jeans that are not dirty can be worn 2-3 times. Towels can be used for 3-4 days. I’m not spending 1/2 my days ironing. Now,I’ve gotten the routine down and managing the ironing and the house is very clean. Kids make their own beds and pick up their own messes. They bring their dirty plates to the sink and I do the dishes. Proud to say I’ve only used the dishwasher twice and have not taken any t clothes to the dry cleaners yet. Been eating out more. That helps a lot. Cleaning up the kitchen is a big chore.

Hectic days

ramthree — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:58:54 +0000

Dh has been back from his European and Usa trip for 1.5 weeks and was a sick boy. He had a busy few days after arriving home. That didn’t help when I was very busy with the kids. He’s such a baby when not well. Thank goodness his partner is here for 3 days from SG and I don’t have to be at his beck and call this week.
I changed Justin’s tuition. Totally pulled him out of the tuition place he was in from kindergarten and placed him at another one. His Chinese and BM were not improving and seemed to get worse. Dh said something’s gotta be done. I said I don’t know what to do. I’m trying a real tuition ctr not just a kindergarten giving tuition. Friends said this might be better. I’m so frustrated. The girls struggled w/Chinese and BM but did ok later. This boy just refuses to speak in Chinese and BM. He’s told us he wants to go to a real school were people speak English. Oh lord. His teacher said he’s having a hard time in Mandarin class. Now he has tuition on W, F, and S mornings. That means he’s out of the house with school uniform and then I take him to lunch and then straight to school. I cry for my boy. He just turned 8 and to have so much pressure. I feel so helpless. Dh is adamant his children go to a Chinese school. Justin will have to stick to this schedule until he improves. He’s starting real golf lessons this week. Dh said he’ll take care of that to show him daddy also wants him to do what he likes. My maid is leaving end of next week. My agency said no maids are available right now except one Cambodian and some Philippinos. I would settle for a Cambodian, but was advised against it by the agency. I really can’t justify getting Philippino maid. And I don’t want to pay RM1200. That’s way too much for someone to do your onlybthe hse

chores. I do everything else. We were told no Indonesians maids are available until maybe after the Raya holidays. the 2 counties of MY and Ind has not agreed on a suitible salary for maids. I was considering Vietnameseand then was told I would have to pay RM900. that’s quite steep too. Dh said we can afford it, but I would have to give her more chores. I like to do a lot of things myself. I don’t know. We will try not having a maid for a couple of months and I said everyone will have to step up and have to be more efficient and manage their time better. we’ll see how this works out.

Aly’s busy year…

ramthree — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:02:31 +0000

…and it’s only August. Her Chinese school is so kiasu(wanting to be first), std 6 has tuition(tutoring) M-S. Most schls only have compulsory tuition 3 times a week. All these tuitions(extra classes are for the std 6 UPSR exams). Students in Malaysia in std 6 all take this national test before they enter secondary school. Besides that, dh and I put her in private tuition for Mandarin, Math and Bahasa Melayu. I know, poor girl. In the beginning of the year, I really didn’t know how she would coup with 12+hrs of schl. She seems to be adjusting quite well. In order not to overwhelm her so much,we had to suspend her piano lessons until after the UPSR. There was no way to fit it in on Saturdays. The weekdays are schl, schl tuition, and private tuition. She was home before dark only on Tuesday at 4:30pm. I couldn’t possibly drive to PJ and back on a weeknight. She didn’t want to give up swimming classes on the weekends or Chinese orchestra, so had to cut piano until she was less busy. Now, she’s good enough to join the swim team and she has to practice 3 out of 5 days. I’m never going to get any rest either. The thing is, we don’t wnat to discourage her. She’s really fast in the pool and she’s a very competitive person. She has to bear with this schedule until the UPSR is over. At the end of September, she’ll have lots of free time. After those exams, the school doesn’t really give them any class work. From my friends who has older kids, they said it’s quite relaxed. Some kids take games and gadgits to school and some don’t even show up at all. For Alyssa, she’ll go back to piano and maybe some enrichment classes. We’ll see. She got accepted into Tenby after taking the assessment test. We will check if she needs to prepare for any courses that maybe was not offered in a Chinese school. She might need a little help in geography or other subjects.

Just a little sad…

ramthree — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:25:32 +0000

…dh has gone to Europe and after that the US. He’s combining business with pleasure. The man is travelling by first class on SQ. He wouldn’t pay full price. He paid a little and used redeemption points. Of course, if I went along, we would’ve travelled by business class only. If kids are traveling along, we travel economy. Ha ha. I was really looking forward to this trip to Paris and to the wedding in Chateau de Veuil and walking around the surrounding village. Even bought 3 very nice dresses for this occasion. Oh well, kids are still in school and have exams. Plus, Aly has to take the assessment test to get into the international school. We didn’t know the dates for the exams ahead and thought mil can babysit again. Found out the dates for the exams were exactly starting the week we were supposed to leave for Europe. I have to be around. Can’t ask mil to stay and take care of them. She had a tough time in March while Dh and I were in Sri Lanka. Alyssa was sick and mil had to drive kids to tuition and she got lost a few times. Dh said better not ask her again. Oh well, he’s going with his business partners and the other wives couldn’t go either. I would’ve enjoyed going around by myself exploring the museums in Paris while he had business meetings. I could practice my French. Lol. Had to take that as my foreign language in college. It was so long ago. My French is definitely better than my Chinese. Dh said we’ll take a trip just by ourselves in the future.

School break…

ramthree — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:23:01 +0000

…for 2 weeks. This is actually the 2nd week already. Not going anywhere. Justin asked when we are going to the beach. nOt this break, babe. Alyssa had to go to a music competition last weekend and dh is very busy getting things ready for the welcoming meeting ofthe new master of his lodge this Sat. All 3 kids had tuition last week. This week we are just relaxing at home. Kids are getting on my nerves already. They are going to spend 2 nights at grandmama’s Thu and Fri nite. This will give me a little break.

We’ve also been busy with our new puppy, a Sheltland Sheepdog named Ruby. She is an excellent dog for our family. The kids adore her so much. She is a lot of work. Her potty training is not going so well. She refuses to go on the grass. Tomorrow, we are sending her for grooming. Should be fun.

Daddy duty

ramthree — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:22:20 +0000

Dh drives the kids to Sunday schl when he’s home. And he also drives whne Amelia has MOn night tuition. When he’s away on business trips, I’m the driver. He totally understands I need a break. That’s not asking too much. I actually thinks he likes sending them to Sunday schl. He either goes for a reflexoly 1.5 hrs session or does his gadget browsing in KL. Once in a while he loves to go to Cortina Watch in Starhill. He took his IWC Portuguese to fix and someone offered to buy it for quite alot. He sold it. That was my fave of his collections. He’s got his eye on the new IWC Portuguese and it’s not as classy in my opinion.

The kids love it when he drives on Sundays. He knows the best places to take them out for lunch. I join them if it’s in PJ. I love it that I have a little time to do whatevver I want for a few hours.

More schools to look at

ramthree — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:27:15 +0000

I thought we would have chosen a secondary school for Alyssa by now. Back to square one. Wesley Mothodist, the #1 on our list is out. We went to visit the school and talked to the principal for 1 hr. It’s not what we thought it would be. The guy had great ideas and everything, but it’s not up to it’s main school in KL. The school is so small and have no grounds at all. It needs so much upgrading work. There was a nice computer and science lab. I didn’t see a library or music room or auditorium. The bad smell from the restrooms we passed turned me off 1st thing. For a private schl, we expected better facilities. I’m sorry to say, it looked like a school that one would find in a poor rural area with no amenities. I have to admit, it really bothered me. I could overlook it, but when the principal talked abt the school, he admitted they were not on par with the one in KL. They are quite behind in terms of academics and competitiveness. The same syllabus is offered here, but the exams are not the same. I’m sure the teachers are good, but the children have to take a much less challenging test than the main school. That was a red flag for us. Children can also take the same exams as the main schl to see how they are compared to the students from the more competitive KL branch. I’ve always said that the state of a school’s facilities doesn’t bother me, as long as the curriculum was good. I changed my mind. If we were going to pay a lot of $$ for a private education for our kids, I expect a little more from a schl. I was so counting on this school, now it’s off our list.

We might have to settle for Tenby International in Setia Alam. Dh likes Sri Cempaka-another very good private schl, but it’s in Damansara Heights. The school has a good reputation and the scores to prove it. I can’t drive everyday to KL. Nightmare traffic. The other international schoosl in KL, we don’t even want to consider, unless we move back to PJ. I’m doing some research on Sri Cahaya-R.E. A. L. international school near us. Another one I’ll look at is Sri KL in Subang. Don’t know anything abt it. I hate Subang traffic too in the mornings. I just hate Subang, period. If these don’t work out, we will have to send the kids to Tenby. Tenby has the most excellent facilities. It’s 2 years old. I really love it. The thing is-it ‘s nearby and they have a bus transport for BJ. I know the kids will love it. Dh is very hesitant bc it’s also living off the reputation of the Tenby from Ipoh which has been around for 40+ years. The new Tenby has no academic record and dh is scared abt that. Our hesitation with international schls are that it has gone down academically. From what we heard, they are 2 years behind in maths and science for the same age kids. Especially kids coming in from a Chinese schl. An average student from a Chinese primary schl can be atop student in international schls bc of that. Their IGCSL test to get into university is really simple. We heard this from the horses mouth.

A very last resort would be boarding schl in SG. We asked Aly how she would react-it was a resounding NO. “Please mommy, NO.” Poor girl, she’s very attached to her family. We have relatives in Sg. Of course, it’s not the same as your own real family.

Happy Mother’s Day

ramthree — Sun, 09 May 2010 12:14:25 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. It’s been almost 13 years since my mom passed away. I still miss her terrribly.

NO special meals out today. Dh had to send his mom and ku mah to Sg. Ku mah has her check up at Glen Eagles on Monday. Dh is staying in Sg ujtil Wed. He has a couple of business meetings next week. I made a special dinner Sat night for our 13th anniversary and early mom’s day dinner. The kids gave me cards they made. Jsutin made a heart from paper and wrote “I love you” all over it. Amelia made a heart pencil holder from schl. Alyssa wrote me a nice message.

A Beloved Mother

When you’re a child she walks before you,

To set an example.

When you’re a teenager, she walks behind you,

To be there when you need her.

Wheny ou’re an adult she walks beside you,

So that as two friends, you can enjoy life together.

My mother, my friend so dear,

throughout my life you’re always near.

A tender smile to guide my way,

You’re the sunshine to light my day.

Mommy, you’re number 1!