Tuesday, 3 August 2010

Survived!!

We survived!! Yes we managed to pull through the two weeks without Ani! Although it was a little challenging but I am proud to announce that everyone got by without any major problem.

One of my earlier concerns was how Isaac will react to Ani missing. Will he be asking for her constantly? As he sleeps with Ani every night will he cry for her for the whole two weeks? In the end I am pleased that all my concerns and worries were unfounded. Not only did Isaac adapt excellently, he never once asks for Ani during bedtime.

There were a couple of occasions when he would ask where was Ani and he seemed satisfied with our reply that Ani went home. We are not sure if he understands by ‘home’ we meant her own home in Indonesia or he thought she was at our home waiting for him. Sometimes he will forget that Ani is not around and he will run out of our room calling out to her for sweets, biscuits or Milo. He never kick up any fuss when we said she went home so long as we got what he wanted for him.

As for the twins they are too young to really notice her missing. Perhaps they are only too happy to be seeing their dad more each day for this dad showered them each morning. Naturally I like to think that was the case.

These two weeks would not have been so smooth if we did not get the support from my parents and my sister’s maid. All of them chipped in whenever they could and since the Mrs and I could not be there all the time we are really grateful for that.

Here is a picture of all the kids having their milk around 5pm.


In the morning I need help feeding the twins and putting them to sleep for I had to run out to pick Isaac from school. We will have the Mrs back each afternoon which was great for the most challenging part of the day was between 3 to 8pm. This period is when all 3 of them will be up and about and they are really a handful.

After this experience we truly appreciate Ani more for we now understand much better what she has to go through on a daily basis.

Take a look at my bruises (different legs) from handling the kids.




Not only that I actually developed sore throat towards the end of the two weeks from the constant screaming and shouting at the kids. So much so that Isaac can mimick after me now. Some of my favourite phases are:

Don’t run!

Too near! (when the kids stood right in front of the TV)

Children come! (this is what Isaac will say these days whenever he calls for his siblings)

Come in! (whenever he ventured out to the balcony and play with the broom and pebbles)

We actually asked Ani to make sure she drinks honey water regularly since her return. God knows she needs it.

Another challenging aspect of caring for the kids are the 2 weekends. We cannot stay at home for we will certainly be driven mad so we need to plan outings that included my parents. Thankfully being the doting grandparents that they are they gracefully accepted overtime ‘work’ and went out with us.

Below are videos and pictures that we captured during our outings which include Marina Square, West Coast Park and Terminal 3.
Here is a video of Hayley smelling a flower which was given to her. One fine day we brought the twins to the Botanic Gardens for a morning picnic after dropping Isaac off in school. A nice lady taking a liking to the twins gave Hayley a flower and she surprised us all by holding it to her nose and took a sniff at it. Who taught her that?!?!?!


Here is a video of Luke falling asleep at Marina Square and we were trying very hard to prevent him from sleeping. The reason was because it was almost 7pm and we were worried if he slept then he will not be able to sleep when we got home.

For the record we failed and he had a good nap in the car but thankfully it was only a rather short one which did not really disrupt his bedtime when we got home.
Below are pictures that we took of Isaac having fun at West Coast Park. Unfortunately his siblings could not join him for they are too young and more importantly Hayley’s dislike of the sand.



This was taken at Terminal 3. See how small Isaac is standing next to the XC60.

Notice how Hayley will spread her legs to prevent from touching the sand?

After these two weeks the Mrs really felt sorry for what Ani has to go through each day and in all fairness she did not sign up for this in the beginning so we are now considering employing another maid but that is a topic I will save for later.

20 comments:

Cynthia said...

Kudos to you and your Mrs for surviving the 2 weeks without Ani. Hard work, but I bet the kids LOVED the extra time mummy and daddy got to spend with them! What a bonus!!!

I love your posts by the way (just started following since I stumbled upon it, plus I'm a newbie), it is so refreshing to hear it from the man's point of view!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cynthia,

Wow! I'm still getting new readers now?!?! I'm flattered. Just when I thought no one is following this blog anymore. Certainly most of the former regulars have left.

My latest post should be rather close to your heart since you are a SAHM and with 3 kids!!! Hats off to you! After my recent experience I know you how hard it must be for you! Keep it up!

Hopefully I can keep the momentum up and continue to post more regularly. See you around!

Cheers

Cynthia said...

Yes you should (post regularly!)..women like to hear it from the man's point of view ..that and all other dads out there will thank you (for doing their job!).
Newbie in blogging - have blogged before years ago but it never took off. A few years on I'm still blogging about nothing but at least I'm aiming to be consistent!
Your kids are beautiful!!
Keep posting, ya???

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cynthia,

Thanks for your compliment on my kids.

As for blogging more regularly I will certainly try but I feel that since readership has probably dropped drastically so there is really no hurry in keeping up.

You know I can’t really see the difference between my blog and most of the mummies blogs out there. I thought parenting blogs are more or less the same no?

Wei Ling said...

Hi hi...

wow glad to know u guys survived.. i can fully understand esp all 3 are now toddlers!!!

i just had a baby 4 mths ago, and together with a 3yr old monster, i can truly understand your concern.. haha.

your kids are really pretty and cute!!

Nicole said...

Hey Dylan,

Congrtas on surviving! Haha!

Never easy taking care of kids and I'm damn pleased someone other than myself scream and shout at the kids till sore throat. Haha!

Have you successfully toilet trained Isaac?? Cleo has officially wean off diapers altogether . All by herself no less. The school part however....* shakes head*

You take care ya

Cynthia said...

No I happen to think that your blog differs somewhat from other mummy blogs, simply because you're the man!! LOL. Please don't take offence. I think its great!...Keep it up! I'm still reading your old posts!!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Wei Ling,

Ya you said it, 3 toddlers! I still refer to them as babies so we were handling 3 babies which weren’t easy.

Congrats on being a mum the second time round!

Thanks for your compliments on my children. We actually took some family portraits not too long ago and I will be putting up the pictures in Facebook soon so stay tuned!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nicole,

Now I understand what you have to go through on a daily basis. All these shouting and screaming and running after them is really not easy. Hats off to you!

Isaac is still not ready for toilet training yet. We’re still working on it. It’s great that Cleo is diapers free now. I wish my kids will be diapers free soon too for God knows how much money it’ll save us. School wise Isaac is enjoying himself.

You take care too! See you around!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cynthia,

I noticed you post really late at night especially if you’re in Perth!

Hmmmm... Think I need to read more blogs to perhaps notice the difference between dads and mum’s blogs.

So you are reading backwards huh?

roanne said...

hello dylan,

just to let you know that this former regular is still hanging around. *haha* the twins are growing up so fast!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Roanne,

Thanks for hanging around still!

The kids are indeed growing up too fast and I wish I can slow it down somehow.

What about you? How are you coping? Must not be easy for you also!

Take care and see you around!

Cynthia said...

Eh how come no more new posts?

Perth is in the same time zone as Singapore sooo..not so late but yes I know I should be in bed!

Yes enjoying reading back now!...

The Bimbo said...

Congrats for surviving!! How could I have missed this post!! A few bruises are probably a teeny price to pay for how successful you guys were. :) Luke is VERY adorable trying to NOT fall asleep! and Hayley is so smart at avoiding the sand... hehehe! Kudos to you two for surviving!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi dylan....

I am a silent follower of yr blog and was very happy for you and yr wife tat u have 3 cute children now.As i have been TTC nearly 2 yrs so can i check with u is yr wife gynae Dr Nair suresh from mount E?
Thanks.

GS

Pamela said...

Yes, you should update your blog more often. There ARE still people reading it! :) Would love to hear on stuff about the twins too!

Celine said...

Hello there Dylan,
I have been reading your blog from nearly day 1 - silently and without commenting - but why have been no updates since Aug 2010? Pls continue to blog.

Celine

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