Posted by Papa Lim

Heart-to-Heart with the Bub

As I was showering the Bub yesterday, I asked him if he would help to care for me when I got old. Immediately, this precious little boy started crying and said that he did not want me to grow old.

I hugged him and told him that everyone would grow old, and it is just another phase of life. I asked him why he didn’t want me to grow old and he replied by saying that if Mama Lim and I were to grow old, we would die and then he would not be able to see the both of us. The thought of not having us around is a really scary thought for him and it is too much for a 4-year-old boy to bear.

He said that if we were to die and go to Happyland*, we will be able to see him, but he cannot see us. And that upsets him terribly.

It warms my heart that my little Bub loves us so much and I hope one day he will read this and know that we love him as much as he loves us! 🙂

*We told Bub that Happyland is a place where all people go to when they pass away.

Why Can’t the Bub Eat Chocolate? T_T

Like most children, the Bub loves eating chocolate. But just like his unfortunate Papa Lim, he suffers the side effects when he has too much of this yummy goodness. The both of us gets ‘heaty’ really easily when we take chocolate and more often than not, we will get a terrible sore throat and cough for the next couple of days.

CHOCOLATE MAKES US SICK! HOW SAD IS THAT? T___T

To make it even worse, both the Bub and I will get unreasonably high for a short period of time before we descend into an extended state of crankiness. That really sucks but that is how it is and I guess we will have to roll with it. 🙁

The Bub gets into a fight!

A few weeks back, I saw a familiar number appear on the screen of my phone while I was at work. It was the number of Bub’s childcare centre. My heart sank as I knew it was probably bad news if the childcare centre had to make a call to me in the middle of the day. Bub’s form teacher started apologising to me the instant I picked up the phone. She stated that the Bub got into a fight with his classmate and he suffered a bite mark on his chest as a result.

I was upset that he was hurt but I understood that the Bub could be at fault himself as he has a pretty short fuse just like me. We don’t really blow up, but if provoked, the both of us have a really shitty temper that cannot be quelled easily. I told his teacher that as long as the Bub is fine, I got no worries regarding the matter. I thanked her for informing me and I told her that I would pick him up from the centre at the usual time.

On my way to pick up the bub, I asked myself to find the best possible way to approach this incident with the Bub. Due to my tiny build, I have been an easy target for attacks from bullies and crazy folks in the past. Was somebody picking on him in school or was he the one dishing out the bullying instead? For selfish reasons, I hoped that he was the bully instead of the victim as I didn’t want him to be too badly hurt. But at the same time, I would not want another child to be on the receiving of my child’s bad manners.

As I walked up the driveway leading to the entrance of his centre, I heard his teacher call out his name and saw his little silhouette scurry quickly from the holding area to the entrance of the centre. When I got to the entrance, all I saw was my little baby boy looking at me with the most pitiful eyes. His hair was messy and his uniform was scrunched up. As I bent over to give him a hug, he started whining about the fight that he got into earlier in the day.

Here’s an excerpt of our conversation.

Me: What happened? Who did you get into a fight with?
Bub: It was J!
Me: What? I thought he was your best friend?
Bub: Yeah! But I was trying to sleep and he took his pillow and hit me many times!
Me: So did you tell the teacher?
Bub: No! He hit me many times with the pillow! So I was angry and I punched him!
Me: OMG…(I can’t believe he actually threw the first punch!)
Bub: After I punched him, he bit me on my body!!! So I bit him back also lor!
Me: Speechless…

So that’s how Bub’s first official childcare scrap went. I guess it ended up in a draw as both of them suffered bite marks on their chests!

I told the Bub that it was not right to punch his friends just because they were hitting him. Two wrongs do not make a right and I warned him that I would be very upset if he were to be throwing punches at anyone at school again, even if he was provoked. I told him that the best way to end any conflict is to walk away from the attacker and inform the teachers in charge.

I told him to make sure he apologises to J the next day and made him promise that he would not fight with his friends anymore.

That said, this incident made me consider sending the tiny Bub for self defense lessons so that he can learn discipline and some ways to defend himself from the bigger, badder kids in school.

The Limmies goes to Tai Cheong Bakery!

WE LOVE TO EAT. Mama Lim is a glutton, Papa Lim is also a glutton, so the Bub naturally inherited our gluttony genes by default. So on days that we have a little bit of free time, Mama Lim would usually scheme to hatch her next destination to feast in gluttony. This time, she has decided that we should head to Tai Cheong Bakery @ Holland Village for breakfast.

We were fortunate that Grandpa Tan and Uncle Ming were cool with to go along with Mama Lim’s suggestion to try out Tai Cheong Bakery and they gladly drove all of us there on a rainy Wednesday morning.  We managed to get there at about 1015am and we were expecting a huge crowd to form at the store but the rain seemed to discourage some of the other foodies and we were lucky to get a cushy table indoors!

We managed to beat the crowd… but there was already a queue forming after we got there!

 

Hohoho~ We are the Lucky Limmies! We managed to get a nice comfy indoor seat! 🙂

We loved the way the place was decorated and its classy decor was complimented with the little-assorted items that remind us of the store’s rich Hong Kong history and heritage. I particularly loved the old school tiles as they reminded me of the tiles on the floor of my grandma’s kitchen. I was expecting to smell like pastry the moment I stepped into the bakery but to my surprise, the place was very well ventilated and airy!

Doorway to the indoor seating area of the bakery.

 

Loved the pretty and intricate “old-school” tiles.

 

The interior of the bakery is well decorated and ventilated.

 

Decorative items were displayed under the glass table tops in the bakery.

 

Mahjong anyone?

 

Laser cut letters mounted onto the vintage wooden laminates. Do you spot the missing piece?

 

The crew working hard at prepping food for the customers.

Mama Lim was looking forward to trying out most of their famous fare but was kind of disappointed that the majority of the menu would only be available after 11 am. Undeterred, we quickly made do with the breakfast menu and ordered their Egg Tarts, Char Siew Polo Buns and a set of Scrambled Eggs w. Toast/Bolo Bun + Spam Fries.

Service was prompt and breakfast was served swiftly to our table within minutes of submitting our orders. I personally loved the Char Siew Polo Buns as it was full of yummy Char Siew fillings. Close friends would know that I love Char Siew and yeap… this Char Siew Polo Bun is DAEEEEBAKKK!!! The traditional and Pandan Egg Tarts were pretty delicious too and the Bub gobbled up his egg tarts in the blink of an eye. The only gripe we had was that the Spam fries were a little too salty. But then again, it’s spam so it was probably going to be salty to begin anyway.

Char Siew Polo Bun! It’s a must try!!! Recommended by Papa Lim!!!

 

Char Siew Polo Bun full of yummy Char Siews!

 

Mama Lim’s Polo Bun Set w Scrambled Eggs & Spam Fries.

 

Traditional Egg Tarts for everyone!

 

The Pandan Egg Tarts were simply irresistible! I want more!

The total damage amounted to about $60++ and I guess that is pretty ok for a satisfying breakfast for an entire family. We will be back again to sample the main menu and I bet it will be as good or even better than the breakfast menu! 🙂

*PS: This is not a sponsored post… just sharing own opinions of our food adventures. 😛

The Bub is a Potato No More!

 

The little Bub has always been most comfortable speaking in English, and there were many times that he expressed his disdain for Mandarin. He used to tell us that he is an “English people” and not a “Chinese people” to both our shock and amusement.

At first, we thought that it was a phase, but we started getting very very worried when he was continuously rejecting all forms of communication in Mandarin. We tried exposing him to Mandarin songs to pique his interest in the language but to no avail. We made it a point to speak Mandarin to him every day but he just was not receptive to the language and he made a conscious choice to reply to us in English. We were somewhat relieved that he understood Mandarin, but we just could not make him speak it.

Then out of the blue, the little fella shocked both Mama Lim and I, by randomly spewing phrases in Mandarin. AND he UPPED THE ANTE BY SINGING MANDARIN NURSERY RHYMES!!! (O_O) We were both happy and relieved that he was finally able to embrace speaking his mother tongue. Lots of credit has to be given to his nursery teacher, Ms. Zhao for instilling the interest in Bub and we are thankful for her efforts. 🙂

Yay!!! The Bub is a Potato no more! 😀