We made a short trip back to Singapore to celebrate Chinese New Year with our families. C and N had to skip work/school for two days, since Friday was the only public holiday here in Jakarta. We left on Wednesday evening, after C and N went to work/school for half a day, and thankfully, traffic to the airport wasn’t that bad. The kids were all really excited, and ran around at the airport quite a bit while waiting for our flight. I was down with a fever, so I was pretty miserable the whole time, not like the kids noticed. #lifeofamum
Yay! We are going back to Singapore!
Thankfully, my parents were waiting at our place for us, which meant that the house was clean, there was food and water ready, and most importantly, I had help with the kids. My parents fed the twins their dinner, then my mum bathed and changed the twins, while I rested. She even stayed overnight, and slept in the other room with N. I think they both really enjoy these sleepovers, and it’s sweet seeing N being so close to my mum, even though they don’t get to spend much time together now.
We spent the morning of CNY eve at the PD, because all three kids were sick. The original plan was to get them vaccinated, but the twins had been having diarrhoea, runny noses, and coughs for almost two weeks before we got back, and N was also down with the flu. Our PD referred Meimei to an ENT specialist, Dr Andrew Loy, because she has a history of having ENT issues, and the poor girl screamed so much when Dr Loy did a nasal endoscopy for her. He found quite a bit of pus at the back of her nose, and it was flowing down to her throat, which explained her super phlegmy cough. Her sinus infection required antibiotics, but it’s a good thing that we got her checked in Singapore, where healthcare is a lot better.
That evening, we had our reunion dinner at C’s brother’s place, and N was very happy to be reunited with his cousin again. The boys hugged each other so tightly when they met, and played non-stop. What amused me was that they built a playground, then N suddenly destroyed it, saying that there was an earthquake. Guess the earthquake that we experienced in Jakarta really left an impact on him!
The aftermath of the earthquake
Time to lohei
Since the kids were unwell, we kept our schedule super simple for this trip. We visited C’s brother in the morning on the first day of CNY, then spent the rest of the day at my parents’ place. My dad cooked lunch and dinner, so we basically pigged out while we were there.
I had been suffering from blocked ducts since we arrived in Singapore, but my regular massage therapist wasn’t available due to the CNY break. In my desperation, I asked for recommendations on my IG Stories, and quite a few people sent me DMs with their massage therapists’ contacts. The power of social media! I managed to contact Lynn Mummy Care on Facebook, and her daughter, Siti Tingting, came to my parents’ place to help me clear my blocked ducts. It was pricier ($150) than my usual lady ($100), but she came with an electric heat pad for my boobs, a Guasha tool, needles to burst my blisters, and even wore a head torchlight so she could see my blisters more clearly. The massage wasn’t very painful, and more importantly, she managed to clear my blocked ducts. She was really sweet and gave my three kids angpows too!
This year, I got a few matching outfits for the kids, because CNY is the best time to be all matchy-matchy, right?
We went with a blue batik theme on the first day, and all our outfits were purchased in Jakarta. I also purchased some dog angpows made of felt from a charity organisation in Jakarta, because they were too cute to resist!
We visited my godma on the second day of CNY, and got the kids to give her oranges and do the “gong xi gong xi” action.
She cooked a yummy lunch for us, and we had so many helpings of it! Even though we have homecooked food in Jakarta, it’s just not the same.
The kids were in matching Sea Apple outfits, which I purchased online long ago. The dress was a tad big for Meimei, but I think they looked quite spiffy in their outfits. I wore a matching white dress, and the last time I wore it was for the DIY maternity photoshoot that C did for me. The babies have grown so much since then!
On our last full day in Singapore, we visited my eldest uncle, and met up with most of my mum’s siblings there. I loved their Neko cat matching outfits that I got from The Thievery! So cute la! The twins need to work on smiling for the camera though.
I brought N out on a shopping and dinner date after that, and it was nice to have some quality time alone with him. He asked to take the double-decker bus, and was thrilled to sit in the front row of the upper deck. We went to Popular because he wanted to buy some books, and it was such a joy watching him pick out books by himself. Truly a boy after my own heart!
On the bus
At the bookstore
My mum stayed over again that night, so that she could help with the kids in the morning, while I packed.
When it was time for us to head to the airport, Didi cried because he wanted to be with my dad, instead of us! It’s really odd how attached he is to my dad, because my dad doesn’t really play with them, but Grandpa has been Didi’s favourite since he was maybe a few months old? Anyway, he stopped crying even before our cab left the carpark, and was very busy “helping” me to push our trolley at the airport.
N insisted on checking out the sunflower garden at Terminal 2’s transit lounge, then complained it was too sunny. *roll eyes*
It was a really short trip back to Singapore, but at least we got to spend CNY with our family. The kids are STILL sick, and it’s been almost two weeks since we came back , which means they’ve been unwell for about a month. Praying that they will recover soon, and remain healthy for a much longer time!
PS. We also had a simple CNY gathering in Jakarta with our friends, and it was a great evening filled with good and conversation. Thank God for friends who are like family, especially in a foreign country.
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