I recently read an article that struck home. It says:
"75% of the time you'll ever get to spend with your kids is over by the time they turn 12. 90% of your time with them is gone by the time they're 18."
Yup, a little shocking but I guess the truth can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Having been a stay-at-home mum for nearly one and a half decades, there are days when I question my choice and wonder if there is more to life for me, and I ponder about what lies ahead as the kids grow up. Yet whenever I think about how this is the time when I can be by their side every day, when I can be the one they can depend on, when I can witness their every milestone, I know I can't give this opportunity up for anything in the whole wide world.
I mean, I blinked and my firstborn is now turning 15. My youngest is now three and before I know it, all of my four kids would have grown their wings, learnt to soar and would be leaving our nest. That is why I still maintain my stance, I still want to be a full-time mum and I still deeply cherish every single day that I get to be with my kids.
In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about making the most and cherishing the time that we get to be together.
My kids still love water play so we were very happy and thankful to get the chance to visit Splashtopia in Sentosa. They enjoyed themselves playing on the floats, see-saws and paddle boats. Ariel and Asher loved this long, slippery blue slide that let them whizz down at fast speeds and slide all the way into a small pool at the end.
We also went on carnival rides and I took the boys on this mini ferris wheel. Every time I do this, I wonder how many times I would be able to do it before the kids are all too grown up for kiddy rides. So nope, I do not think it is a waste of time, I do not find it childish nor do I hope time will pass by faster so that the ride will end sooner. More than anything, I treasure such opportunities for us to spend quality time together and make memories that will stay in our hearts.
As of now, I only have one kid left for me to go on school excursions with and he is also the one who will hold my hand when we are on the bus, lean on my shoulder and sleep on my lap when he gets tired. Honestly, I find the excursions a little costly and him being in school for only three hours a day means that school trips are very short and might not be worth the money, time and hassle.
Nonetheless, I have not missed a single excursion so far because I really, really cherish each and every opportunity that I get to go on such learning journeys with him and let him know just how much I love him. We visited KidsSTOP with his teachers and school mates and he had lots of fun digging for fossils, picking up balls, seeing small critters and going down slides - he is still a bit afraid of tall slides so he would ask me to go down with him so he could sit on my lap. Well, no reason to reject, right?
I know this phase is not going to last much more and I also know jolly well that I will miss it lots, just like how I will miss breastfeeding now that I am trying to wean this lastborn of mine.
The boys would also cut their hair together and having the older siblings around makes the toddler feel so much more at ease. He is a pro at sitting still nowadays and doesn't fidget much, making the job easier for the hairdresser. And you know what excites him most? He gets a sweet every time when he is done!
Back at home, things are still more or less the same. The house is still very messy as usual, we still try to have home cooked meals from time to time, and the kids and I eat together every night since the hubby doesn't come home till wee hours. Sometimes we would watch TV shows like Wheel of Fortune and LEGO Masters, sometimes we would chat about school or anything under the sun, One day, the kids will be all grown up and I will be eating by myself, and that is when I will really miss moments like this and can't wait for weekends where the kids will come home for family reunions.
The highlight of March for us was our LEGOLAND trip with my parents. Yes, we made our way there for a good 4D3N again since my parents still had their annual passes from the previous visit. This time, the hubby could hardly join us as a relative had passed away and he had to help out at the wake. So it was mostly just me, the kids and my parents most of the time.
Apart from LEGOLAND, the kids love to visit these small arcade shops called FunkieZon and Fun Max which have kiddy rides, claw machines, shooting games, basketball and more. They always run here excitedly and would be over the moon whenever they got any tokens. I'm not sure how long more this would last but seeing how the firstborn still enjoys coming to these places, I think we still have a good, long way to go and every visit will be a cherished one.
Among my four babies, the middle children are the water babies and they love swimming and splashing around. So when they asked if we could go for a swim after our visit to the water park, I had to do it and I asked the parents to take the other kids up to the apartment first. Even if I can't always fork out time for one-on-one dates, having two kids is a refreshing change too and I enjoy such one-on-two sessions too where we get to talk, play and bond.
At night, the hubby came over to join us and took us out for dinner at Chua Kee. It's one of the places we will always visit because the food is delicious, the seafood is fresh and the prices are affordable. After dinner, we would go back to the apartment and have a movie night because it is one of the must-do things on a vacation. Well, actually the hubby was tired so he rested, likewise for my mum, and for my Dad, we helped him to turn on the TV and find a movie he liked and gave him his peaceful me-time. That means it was just me and the kids over at our apartment but I guess I wouldn't have had it any other way too. This time, we watched 'The Lost City' starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum and it was such an entertaining movie that we all enjoyed.
There is this open space outside LEGOLAND where there will usually be kiddy car rides and these cars are so huge that they can fit one or even two adults. So when the younger kids said they wanted to ride, my mum gamely said to count her in too and it was nice seeing her smile and how she enjoyed being with the grandkids.
In LEGOLAND, the good thing was the rides were not that crowded and we managed to cover quite a lot of them. We took photos with the Master Wu mascot because the kids have been watching lot of Ninjago cartoons at home. It was also my parent's first time going on the LEGOLAND Express because it was closed the previous time and it was just nice to be able to sit in the train together as we choo-chooed through the park.
Even though my parents said that they can't take some of the more thrilling rides like VR Ride and The Dragon Roller Coast for fear that their hearts couldn't take the excitement, they did take as many as they could and honestly, it was quite a handful already. So kudos to you, Daddy and Mummy! I hope that I get such opportunities when I am a grandma too, haha. For now, I really treasure these outings that we have and the memories we created are jut priceless.
My mum loves the water so it was nice that she got to go for a dip in the water theme park. I also love seeing how my parents each sat on an aeroplane and used the joystick to fly upwards and downwards at LEGO City Airport. It was a treasured opportunity for me to see them acting like kids and feeling young all over again and I was glad I got to do that with them on this trip.
Before we headed for home sweet home, we made our way to AEON Mall to get dinner, snacks, frozen yoghurt as well as let the kids play on the kiddy rides. I think that was the last time Ariel was willing to get into a kiddy car because come next year, she will become a teenager too. Yup, two teen girls in the house who are no longer into princesses, unicorns, fairies, dresses or anything girly and cute. I guess the dynamics of every household changes as we grow - kids get bigger and adults get older - but that is also the beauty of life as we await for all the joy, blessings and challenges that every stage of our lives bring.
So that's all for this post of "Happiness is...", yup, I know I still have months of posts to catch up on and I'll get there slowly but surely. If you've been reading our posts and keeping up with our stories and updates, thank you for being so ever patient. Till the next time!