Happy Merdeka Day!

Pic taken after school yesterday.  He somehow lost the matching tie in school. :(

Awana Genting - The Heated Pool

We took the shuttle bus back to the hotel after having spent 4 hours at Genting Indoor Theme Park.  The journey back to the hotel took 15-20minutes.  Wasting no time, upon entering the hotel room, my boy changed into his swimming suit and both father and son went to have a dip in the heated pool while mommy was busy clicking away with her camera.

Warming up....

The jacuzzi pool

Enjoying himself in the not really warm but lukewarm pool

Pool facing hotel rooms with each room having a balcony by itself which I likey..

Yes, flowers :P

Both father and son hit the pool again the next morning before check-out.  The slide that my boy so eagerly checking out was closed the day before but reopened in the morning.  Here you go...

Slid....ing  Down...

Splish... Splash!!

There's another rectangular shaped pool on the far left but everyone seems to enjoy the kids pool more.

Injured - one of his feet landed on some rocks while kicking water. Ouch!!

Awana Genting Highlands - The Room

We truly enjoyed our one night's stay at Awana Genting!  This was my first time staying in a Genting room equipped with an air-conditioner. Hahaha...  My memory flashed back to 20 years ago when I called-in to reserve a hotel room in Genting for the first time.  I asked if an air-conditioner was available in each room.  At that time, I was referring to those Group of Genting Hotels situated 6,000 feet above sea level and yet still demanded for air-cond.. What a joke, Huh..  :P

At 3,000 feet above the sea level, the atmosphere at the hotel was cool and refreshing and a jacket was not needed even when donned in a singlet and shorts.

We reached the hotel at 11am and managed to have an early check-in.  We went up to the room and refreshed ourselves before going out to catch a free shuttle ride up to the hilltop at 12.30pm.

Two double beds that can sleep 4

That's my boy on the bed. :P

The far left is the attached balcony

Bathroom - a bit small

The room - a bit messy :P

The lift lobby

Antique lighting at the lobby

View from our balcony around noon time:

These are units owned by private owners

Pics taken in the evening around 7pm:

Pics taken the next morning around 7.30am:

Something To Ponder

As usual, while on our way back home from school, my boy would start updating me on what had happened in school.  Some of the days, I would be told that he got reprimanded for talking too much or simply being too busy body and once in a while for not bringing his book. *slaps head*   Today, two "bad news" (in his own words) were broadcasted to me.

Bad News No. 1

The class was supposed to have their "Ting Xie" test today and prior to that, this Malay girl in his class had secretly written down the "Ting Xie" characters on her desk and copied from there during the test.  She was caught red-handed by the teacher and was reprimanded.  The teacher made her do ear-squats 90 times. 

I know the girl's mother and we exchanged contact numbers during the orientation day.  We would have some small chats while waiting to claim our kids from the school compound.  A working mother, she drops her girl off at tuition center before going to work every morning and her homework, lunch, transport to school are being taken care of by the tuition center.  She paid RM480 per month for the service.  She confesses that despite attending tuition, her Chinese subjects are still within marginal passes only.  She sounds frustrated for not being able to coach her personally.

Things To Ponder

What makes a  7 years old cheat in a bi-weekly test and it's not even an official exam? Pressure from the teacher?  I ask my boy if the teacher reprimands should they get the writing wrong and he tells me no.  Could it be pressure from the parents? Hmmm....

Bad News No. 2

This boy in my boy's class refused to look at the teacher in her eyes when talking.  The teacher then questioned him and insisted on eye contact.  Still, he stubbornly said No.  Of course, he was reprimanded.  He was made to sit on the walkway outside the class and continue with his writing on the floor.  After a while the teacher then asked him to look her in the eyes which he again refused, this time he was made to sit beside the rubbish bin. Gosh...

This boy's parents both run their own business. Hahaha.. By now you would probably ask how come I know most if not all of the parents?  No larr..  This one, so happen my boy was invited to their boy's birthday party few months ago.

Thing To Ponder

Why would the boy behave the way he did?  Could it be that he dislikes the teacher and thus avoiding eye contact?  Coming back to his stubborness to obey even when made to sit next to the rubbish bin? Hmm....

Bata Warehouse Sale (26 Aug to 31 Aug 2010)

Note: This is not a sponsored post, just find it worth sharing with fellow bloggers.

Bata warehouse sale is back, starting tomorrow until 31 August 2010.  I went to their previous one and got my boy two pairs of sandals for only RM5 each.   I initially wanted to get him a pair of school shoes there but couldn't find any decent ones, they were either too old fashioned or with stains.  I will definitely go and grab some cheap stuff again tomorrow. :)

Other than Bata brand, brands such as North Star, Power, Weinbrenner, Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Puma are also available.

Pic taken during their previous warehouse sale in June.

This pair has worn out after 3 months but for only RM5 each, it's still value for money..

He lost this pair at Sunday school, apparently someone wore them home

thinking that it was theirs. *slaps head*

A beautifully landscaped garden tucked among the buildings

And a very nice cafe located in the garden

The high rise office buildings

Location:  (Tel: 016 296 7748)

Opens: 10am - 10pm

Menara Mustapha Kamal
8 Jalan PJU 8/8A
Bandar Damansara Perdana
47820 Petaling Jaya
Malaysia

Please click on the map for larger image

A Trip Sponsored By Genting

We are going for our Genting trip with my parents in-law this coming Friday in conjunction with Nuzul Al Quran, a state public holiday for Selangor and few other states.  I had booked two rooms at Awana Genting two months back with Genting Shareholder's coupons courtesy of my parents in-law.  On top of that, we get RM250 worth of cash cards to spend on  dining and entertainment.  To sum up, it's a trip sponsored by Genting! :)

This will be our first time staying at Awana Genting.  We had stayed at some of their group of hotels, namely First World, Resort and Theme Park Hotel but I couldn't recall ever stayed at Genting Hotel and Highland Hotel back then.  I have to admit that my memory is failing me as I age though I still vividly remember that I have never stayed at Maxims as their room rates are way beyond what we can afford! :P 

We plan to make a trip to the Strawberry Farm again as the old folks have not been there before and it's not far from where we will be staying this time.  We have to plan ahead when travelling with old folks especially with my mother in-law having osteoarthritis.  The last time we went with her to Genting, we loaned a wheelchair, a free service available at the hotel counter to spare her from all the walking. 

Below are some photos during our previous stay at Resort Hotel  in December last year.  Guess what, I have totally forgotten to blog about the trip until now. *slaps head*  

My little model

Trying out Mah Mah's loaned wheelchair

The washroom

The room

View from our hotel room

Another room view

Guess how tall I am

Before checking out....

Let's have a dip in the heated indoor pool.

NERF

A birthday gift from his "Biu Gu" (hubby's cousin sister)

Are your kids into NERF guns too?

When Mommy Is Sick...

Both my boy and I were down with flu last week but had since recovered from it after paying a visit to the doctor.  Unfortunately, as though not enough being sick, my monthly menstrual cycle that followed made me a sick woman yet again. I still get severe menstrual cramps (Dysmenorrhea) due to the presence of several fibroids (uterine fibroids) within my uterus. It has been a year since my last medical check-up and I am due for another check-up to monitor if there's any growth in the fibroids and  whether a surgical treatment is required.

Due to my poor health condition lately, I have skipped the morning exercise routine with my boy for two weeks now.  Being a very active kid that he is, he hardly gets enough exercise and to make things worse, the Tuesday PE classes in school too, always get cancelled due to the raining season.   Haiz..

The other day while I was nursing the menstrual cramps in bed in my room, my boy came in :

Ian: Mommy, how are you feeling?  You need some water or not?

Mommy: Yes, please, boy.

Ian: (Runs to get my cup from the kitchen and fills it up with water).  Mommy, your cup of water. (Again, dashes off)

Mommy:.......

Ian: (Comes back with a damp towel in his hand). Lie down, mommy..

Mommy:  Ok.  (I tell ya, I am so touched by his little caring gesture)..

Ian: (Presses the folded damp towel on my forehead) Are you feeling any better now?

Mommy: (Just to please him for being so thoughtful).. O, yes, feeling a lot better now.

Ian: Then, can we go to the park later?

Mommy: *_*

Poor boy, I took him to the park in our condo last evening after school but it drizzled not long after.  This morning when I woke up to a bright sky, I quickly got him to change into his swimming suit and off we went down to the pool.  He had so much fun!

Breathe A Sigh Of Relief

My boy's school returned all of the exam papers last week.  He scored 95% and above in all papers except Chinese which he got 92%, losing marks to missing strokes here and there. *slaps head*  I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to score full mark in his BM paper, not a single careless and writing mistake this time.  Way to go, boy! 

I can see that he is starting to take his exams more seriously and making some effort to check his work though he still lost 3 marks in his English paper, supposedly the easiest paper  to careless mistakes such as small letters being written as capital letters and vice versa.

We are proud of him for doing well in the exams despite not going to any tuition except Han Yu Pin Yin class.  There's only one and only reason as to why we send him to a Chinese school.  We want him to be able to read, write and converse in Mandarin.  Simple right, thus we don't set high expectations that he must be a high achiever in school though it will be a bonus if he does.  He is only expected to pull himself through with reasonably  good grades throughout his 6 years of primary education.   We sent him to an English medium kindy and it would only be fair not to set too high expectation in the first place, furthermore, none in the family speak Mandarin except the mommy who speaks "cacat" Mandarin. :)

After three exams, I can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that he will survive in a Chinese school .  The rest of the family members, my father in-law in particular, who initially doubted my decision and worried sick that his only grandson would eventually drop out and have to transfer to a kebangsaan school  can now breathe a sigh of relief.. There's a reputable kebangsaan school within walking distance from where we live but I'd rather send him to a Chinese school  which is 10-15 minutes drive away for obvious reasons.

Both hubby and I went to Kebangsaan school and hubby was sent to Mandarin tuition but things did not work out.  As for myself, I can read Chinese papers and novels without much problems but when it comes to conversing and writing, I still get the sound and sequence of strokes messed up. :( Instead of saying I coach my son in his Chinese subject, I think it's more appropriate to say that we learn Chinese together, hand in hand. :P

Our Homecooked Dinner On A Weekend

Hubby is a western food lover but I am the total opposite who likes only Chinese food though I don't mind having western food once in a while. He had a craving for Swedish meatballs at Ikea Restaurant and suggested that we had our dinner there last evening but I reminded him of the expected Buka Puasa crowd. Not wanting to join the crowd, I decided to cook though I hardly cook during weekends.

These are the dishes that I managed to churn out in less than an hour's time.  A simple yet satisfying dinner, I would say.

Pan fried cod fish

Onion omelette

Stir fried round cabbage with fish fillet and luncheon meat

Chinese cabbage soup