Covid-19 HBL with M&M S#2 Day 16 - 23

Motivated by the guilt of overripe banana staring at me, baking strikes again. Seriously, these days, everything and anything guilt trips me.

The days when collecting stamps exist alongside catching spiders in matchboxes. I generously share my books of (hopefully treasure) with M&M, giving them a history lesson on how to paste stamps, where to write names and addresses on an envelope.

Megan is a polite listener but Morgan to my surprise, is extremely fascinated. Especially the stamp licking part... yum! MORGAN LOHHHH!!! You licked my 1983 stamps onto WHERE???

Megan explores morse code...
LEARN MORSE CODE from a MEMORY CHAMP (in 15 minutes)
This is such an awesome easy way to memorise morse code. For what? For the fun of knowing.

You only make friendship bands for true friends because... what a pain it is to make... Mess it up somewhere in the middle and the fastest way to fix it is to insert a ladybug button and all mistakes are out of sight, out of mind.

Megi explains her crooked creation in a better way - it's not a mistake, it's meant to be more contemporary.... wah... I like. Girl will go far.

"Is this beehoon?" is testament that our second batch of hide-in-the-cupboard bean sprouts is snow white and (almost) as thick as bee hoon. Mr Morg is getting pro at plucking bean sprouts while Megan winces and winces. In other news, Megan's bean plant has expired hence harvested.

None of us know the rules of Mancala until karkar steps in... All indonesians are experts at this, I reckon. I realise during this CB that Megan calculates her moves for every single game played - Oshi, chess, now mancala... she is counting her options ahead non stop. She is serious with her games!!!

Slamwich is quite fun to play. Instead of saying double-decker or slamwich, we keep saying chicken wings and sardines.

Ultra awesome game that Ken started to teach Morgi - Scissors Paper Stone! Genius. Pepsi cola 123 next?

Old games die hard.

Ken and his daughter continue to laugh at my chess moves.
Morgi is huge on monopoly. Play to Win, he says everyday... no problem adding up the numbers on both dice. I should have known that gambling is the way to learn maths. That is how I learn how to count when I was young too! Dice and poker cards.

Apparently, I snap up library books from the same shelf and they are all about plants, animals and evolution. Set Megan a task to draw an evolution chart for future humans. I am thinking bigger butts since we sit more and move less (visual evidence is apparent now in the household).

Interestingly, her chart states "1m years later: taller with good style (what they think)"... "6.5m years later : chlorophyll detected". Seriously? Why will I photosynthesis when I can have ba chor mee..... ohhhh.... haven't seen the BCM uncle open his stall for the entire CB... maybe this is the end of hawker food and my BCM???

Both kids have fallen into their own quiet routine of entertaining themselves. Megi draws little booklets. Morgi continues his many versions of planets and the milky way.

Modern slavery is well and about. Or shall we call this love?

Worksheets achieved:

Covid-19 HBL with M&M S#2 Day 10 - 15

Easing of circuit breaker means skating!!!! Kenneth tries to bring M&M out for daily skate time. Morgi looks at the closed pool (which is turning green) and asks if he can add chlorine to kill the bacteria. New cartoon or youtube is doing him well!

Talking about the things he learns online. I ask Morgi what he is drawing and he replies : Series B, Eblm, Trapis 1, Bosama Centuary (from left to right)... Hahahah... come again? Megan says Sirius B, Sirius B... its a star you dunno ah! 

How will I know? Morgi is drawing so many planets and stars these days I cannot keep up. 

A friend introduces me to this term "flat lay robot". It literally means getting the kids to find anything in the house to create a 2D robot image on the floor. Mr Morg insists the first robot is done by him.

Love how Megan defines robot. How can a robot not have movable parts? Girl is setting out her own parameters... Awesome.

Mimi has been sustaining on her home grown parsley, spring onions and bean sprouts. This lockdown has made everyone an urban farmer and chef. Morgi says we want to try.

Day One Morgi : Wow, seeds, are they going to grow into sprouty?
Day Two Morgi : Are these buds? Where are the flowers? (hmm, identifying plant parts in books vs a real growing plant is so different. Morgi thinks the de-shelled beans are buds)

Day Three Harvest Day
Me        : Mimi, why my bean sprouts are so green and thin and yours look so fat and white?
KarKar : I think PoPo use bigger beans. Our beans so small...
Megi     : What? You want to eat them? You are so cruel, they are also living things you know?

Morgi   : Pluck the roots and the heads off! Are we eating for lunch?

Remember the Singapore identity mind map? So that has an end purpose... which is to draw the icons of Singapore identity on this pathetic piece of cloth to make into a drawstring poach. This is Megi's school Art homework by the way.

We have no sewing machine and to stitch a piece of cloth into a poach is hard. This is sec one Home Econs disguised as P4 Art. But it is done! You should be extremely proud of yourself, Megan.

PE homework is also completed. Poster promoting drug free lifestyle. Is she being sarcastic or? 

Children! Put down that remote control and it's Lego time... Can you build a house?
Maybe I have very low expectations of Morgi because other than that watermelon, I have never seen him play with Lego. He totally surprises me with a very de stijl house. It looks bold and stunning! But, as Lx says.... let's not encourage him.

Megan's house cannot be more different. Traditional and homely pitched roof house with a yard. There is even a hand sewn felt sofa inside the house.

Snap! Balancing penguins and monopoly are in... Didi's first monopoly game and he is no pushover. Buys every property he lands and he gets a kick out of handing hundreds of dollars.

One of my distinct memories of school was 校长 giving all the girls a balloon during assembly and asking us to blow. She said this exercise is good for strengthening of the lungs. Immediately chomp the last package of balloons in the supermarket and M&M are sooooo excited. Shortly, I heard Kenneth tell the kids, don't blow, you will burst a vein, go fetch a pump... well... kiddos have fun throwing the balloons around. 

Cleaning out the top cabinet and discover a long lost hobby. Gather the kids for 阿公讲古 of my good old darkroom days- Ilford paper, Kodak films, negatives, test prints, physical photographs!!!! All the things they were gone before they were born!!! Morgi is more interested in the black and whites and slides. Boy has taste. 

Worksheets achieved:

Covid-19 HBL with M&M S#2 Day 5 - 9

The grocery store is open! Again! 

We have taken safety precaution for the last few weeks and now our grocery stall is back in business! Take away only. Fresh strawberries and mangosteens are in season. Come buy!

Morgi has been practicing with coins and I feel it is a good time to engage in some buying and selling for the betterment of the economy. I buy 10 strawberries and he charges me two 10c coins... Duh.... I want 2 cookies and he asks for a 50 cent coin... OK, boy STILL cannot count. This is harder than I thought... 

On the other side, Megi weights the fish at 28kg and charges me $28. Dishonest merchant, the fish is obviously 2.8kg at best. Grocery drama to be continued. 

Yeah... the long sufferable cross stitch project is done! According to historical records, Megi started this in late Nov 2019... The bygone good old era ... sob sob sob... anyway I digress... persist with one thread a day during lock down and it will be finished... Awesome.... now what do we do with this? Frame it? Make into another bag?

Growing older means projects gets more complex and takes longer to finish. One project down, the next one starts. Hey, we have to fill up those free time right? Super impressed with myself that I have 4 sets of paint by numbers canvas in the cabinet (yes I stock crafts and games that may one day become useful... who knows if there is a sudden birthday coming and I need instant gifts?!).

I approve of Mr Morg's new cartoon. Storybots is teaching him all about music! Timbre, melody, harmony, rhythm and intensity!!! Singing non stop... Enter artwork because it is easy to get Mr Morg to draw things he is interested in....

Learning Chinese chess has always been my wish. Now with WFH HBL, I literally have no excuse to delay learning so I humbly beg Megan to please teach me while I secretly watch Yi Fan Lao Shi youtube videos to get ahead of her.

Full of theory and with zero practical experience, Megi beats me three days in a row. Ken too killed me flat out. Embarrassing but I have thick skin. I just see Megan write in her Chinese compo that mummy is lousy at chess... Do not speak too soon. I will come out of this lockdown, a master...

Do you want to arrange the dominos Morgi? No...
Do you want to make patterns? Yes!

Ever since waistlines become taboo topics, a measuring tape's life becomes meaningless. I feel responsible for its sad state since I own it. Bestow the measuring tape to Morgan for new lease of life! Go measure everything in the house....

Similar to teachers, a mother's job tend go totally unappreciated. People just expect teachers and mothers to get their job done. People who thinks a teacher or a mothers' job is nothing, welcome to covid-19 HBL. But we all do what we do because of the smiles on our kids' face.

Twelve origami balls is no walk in the park for Morgi. Factory production style is more suited to this humongous quantity. Panic everyone!!! How to sustain beyond the second ball!!! Morgi is in charge of step 1, 2 and 4. He cries when he cannot inflate the balls (told you he leaks air), so must sayang and teach him blowing slowly... A

An extremely happy Morgi at bedtime... I get so much hugs and kisses I cried. Boy loves me.... CRYYYYY....

Most significant event this week is karkar's birthday. Since cakes are not easy to come by, we decide to bake one. Due to our pretty much inedible cake baking skills, we opt for the safe blueberry and chocolate tarts and pie. Boy keeps saying it is so beautiful! We need to do more toppings and a layer of frosting... Feel like shoving a photo of Phoon Huat's queue situation in his face. No more toppings! Work with the limited resources we have!

It is delicious! Yum Yum.

Zero reading done. But Morgi is on the ball for worksheets. Asks me for worksheets every morning.

Covid-19 HBL with M&M S#2 Day 1 - 4

Spring Home frozen Prata should have done their 10 ways of eating prata advert earlier! Chef Morg dishes out his new prata twist. Bake for another 5 mins and it will become a biscuit churro to dunk into chocolate...

We play Doctor Doctor!!! It is quite funny. Do you want to be a doctor Morgi? 

No! I have a cough. I have a cold! I am dying! (in hindsight, he is right, medical professionals these days have it the hardest... change change...) 

But then kind Megan steps in... 

Megan: Are you ok, Morgan? 

Morgan: I like to put medicine on my leg (pointing to his knee)

Megan puts gauze and medical tape on Morgan's knee.

Morgan: I want a cold patch! I want clutches!

After some medication (milk for calcium), Morgi leaves the clinic with clutches. 

Dr Megan wants an Xray taken during the next check up. She examines his Xrays for possible broken limbs. Wait a minute, Megan says, he broke his knee, why are we reviewing his neck, feet and chest? Well technically, he did not break his knee, he says he wants medicine on his knee and you put a gauze on it... and we do not have a knee Xray.... This whole story does not even make sense!

But... oh oh... is that a wisdom tooth in my Xray?

We proceed to watch Diagnosis on Netflix.

We play out the different seasons and weather... HAHAHAHA.... who am I kidding. I just want to dress my handsome boy in different clothes to go Woooo Ahhhhhh...

Wah... the things one can dig out from the storeroom. Daddy declines to help in the assembly so the kids have to piece this thing together without any reference. Total failure but exhaust one hour of their time. Mission accomplished.

If there is anything we have in abundance, it will be Lego. Didi is relatively new to Lego. So may need a bit of guidance. Time to bring out the Legos...

I was thinking cars and houses but I see the kiddos eating manmade watermelons !!! This is unexpected creativity. When Morgi sees the lighter green inner skin that Megan has, he immediately make changes to his as well. Copycat is doing well.

I bought a lot of these last Xmas for the staff who had to sit through long boring Singapore client meetings... Six left over which makes good computer break time games, now that jigsaw puzzle is completed. Hell No!! Stupidest idea ever. They are irritating, frustrating URGHHHHH the silver BALLS REFUSE TO GET IN PLACE!!!! I am way more stressed than before.

Really. You cannot trust everything you see online. Some sites claim that you can see a rainbow reflected on the inside of the CD. Liar!!!!

Blow painting... Morgi's blowing skills is so so... Leak air one.

We use white board markers to draw swimming tapoles in the sink! It works!
Making jumping frog origami is too difficult for Morgi. Cut up his blow art to make a base of toxic landscape. Jump your frog to land on the eggs or the pond and win. Land on the toxic landscape and you die. Quite fun.

Worksheet to test Morgi's understanding of frogs... He draws a froggie life cycle instead... nice!

I am training Megan to become an expert five stone player. But her hands are small and at best, she can play 3 stones at one go... Morgi's five stones means aim and throw. This boy cannot aim to save his life.

Its 8pm and boy is not sleeping. This is not good. Mummy's Korean Netflix drama cannot start... This demands immediate intervention!! One more activity and off to bed. Take out the torch and we look at what makes Day and Night on Earth.

Morgi's reading list:

Worksheets achieved:

Funny answer: