Tomorrow morning we have to get up very very early!
We - as in Ms Lollipop and me.
Because guess what:
Ms Lollipop has to be dropped off at school no later than 7.30am...
A bus will collect them and they will leave 7.45am sharp!
They will drive about an hour (or less...) to arrive at the way East end of Singapore. Singapore is not such a big island so it is really far, far away!
They go all that way to get amazingly dirty, giggle extensively, sleep way too little 2 nights in a row, bond extremely with class friends, compete in silly games, laugh to tears with each others jokes and have extremely and utterly intensly fun!
Yes, you guessed it, Ms Lollipop is going on her very first school excursion!
We've had many school trips before, but we always left in the morning and came home in the evening.
We stayed at different places before, like at grandma's and grandpa's, auntie's and uncle's, or even BFF's places.
This is the very first time however, that Ms Lollipop is going on a schooltrip for 3 days/2nights.
She is looking forward to this event, from the day she knew!
Which is exactly 6 weeks ago when she was transferred to grade4.
Somehow this incredible event has stayed in the back of our minds for all this time.
I know, I cannot believe it myself.
It must have been the cheer joy of Easter holiday...
Today however was the day to pack and to answer ALL her questions (and mine)
The packing list was clear:
4 shorts
4 T-shirts
4 pair of socks (I like the way they put an emphasis on "pair")
4 undergarment (translation: underwear)
1 track pant (translation: long trouser -needed for the 'games in the ropes')
1 pair of running shoes
1 pair of closed shoes that can become wet (for the raft-building game)
1 swim suit (for the water games)
a cap
bathtowel
handtowel
soap/shampoo
tootbrush/shampoo
1 comforter (a bear, a blanket ... Mr Monster has the honor to accompany Ms Lollipop, a self made and self stuffed animal)
1 book ("Avontuur op het eiland Zeekraai" - Adventure on the island "Seacrow" - Astrid Lindgren )
I could manage this ... piece of cake.
sunscreen
insect repellent
mosquito patches (translation- stickers you put on your clothing to chase mosquitos -mostly blue or yellow)
A bit harder already as I realised we were out of sunscreen,
out of mosquito patches and almost out of insect repellent.
An extra trip to the shops was necessary ...
1 fork
1 spoon
1 plate
1 mug
all of these in metal or plastic , and non-disposable
ok - now I panicked
I am one of those silly parents that don't like the plastic stuff.
We might have started with plastic stuff when Ms Lollipop was a baby,
and we probably continued a while in her toddler 'I want to do this myself' age.
But at a certain point in her young life, she was eating off a normal plate with a normal knife, fork and spoon.
Yes, they were too big for her little hands and mouth. But it didn't stop her from eating though.
She even drank from a glass.Yes, she has broken some.
But don't we all?
I desperately disappeared into my cupboards and came back with these suggestions:
We - as in Ms Lollipop and me.
Because guess what:
Ms Lollipop has to be dropped off at school no later than 7.30am...
A bus will collect them and they will leave 7.45am sharp!
They will drive about an hour (or less...) to arrive at the way East end of Singapore. Singapore is not such a big island so it is really far, far away!
They go all that way to get amazingly dirty, giggle extensively, sleep way too little 2 nights in a row, bond extremely with class friends, compete in silly games, laugh to tears with each others jokes and have extremely and utterly intensly fun!
Yes, you guessed it, Ms Lollipop is going on her very first school excursion!
We've had many school trips before, but we always left in the morning and came home in the evening.
We stayed at different places before, like at grandma's and grandpa's, auntie's and uncle's, or even BFF's places.
This is the very first time however, that Ms Lollipop is going on a schooltrip for 3 days/2nights.
She is looking forward to this event, from the day she knew!
Which is exactly 6 weeks ago when she was transferred to grade4.
Somehow this incredible event has stayed in the back of our minds for all this time.
I know, I cannot believe it myself.
It must have been the cheer joy of Easter holiday...
Today however was the day to pack and to answer ALL her questions (and mine)
The packing list was clear:
4 shorts
4 T-shirts
4 pair of socks (I like the way they put an emphasis on "pair")
4 undergarment (translation: underwear)
1 track pant (translation: long trouser -needed for the 'games in the ropes')
1 pair of running shoes
1 pair of closed shoes that can become wet (for the raft-building game)
1 swim suit (for the water games)
a cap
bathtowel
handtowel
soap/shampoo
tootbrush/shampoo
1 comforter (a bear, a blanket ... Mr Monster has the honor to accompany Ms Lollipop, a self made and self stuffed animal)
1 book ("Avontuur op het eiland Zeekraai" - Adventure on the island "Seacrow" - Astrid Lindgren )
I could manage this ... piece of cake.
sunscreen
insect repellent
mosquito patches (translation- stickers you put on your clothing to chase mosquitos -mostly blue or yellow)
A bit harder already as I realised we were out of sunscreen,
out of mosquito patches and almost out of insect repellent.
An extra trip to the shops was necessary ...
1 fork
1 spoon
1 plate
1 mug
all of these in metal or plastic , and non-disposable
ok - now I panicked
I am one of those silly parents that don't like the plastic stuff.
We might have started with plastic stuff when Ms Lollipop was a baby,
and we probably continued a while in her toddler 'I want to do this myself' age.
But at a certain point in her young life, she was eating off a normal plate with a normal knife, fork and spoon.
Yes, they were too big for her little hands and mouth. But it didn't stop her from eating though.
She even drank from a glass.Yes, she has broken some.
But don't we all?
I desperately disappeared into my cupboards and came back with these suggestions:
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The first one is actually a metal bowl. It is a souvenir from South Africa. I love the cheer joy it reflects, and I love the memories it has installed in that holiday, but it is not a plate nor a mug and as you can see is the (probably leaded) paint chipping off. Not really a healthy choice ...
The second one then.
The look Ms Lollipop gave me was very clear.
I guess we have grown out of pink, purple and princesses. Sigh...
The third one?
It is a left over from the initially 4 plastic Ikea plates all families seem to have in their house.
I believe they even come with matching mugs, now where have I left those ??
Ms Lollipop points out to me that the plate is so small it would only hold her portion of rice and nothing else.
Point taken, I do not want to be held responsible for 'I could not eat enough because my plate was too small' drama's.
In utter panick mode I had to search for something new!
And I found this!
The second one then.
The look Ms Lollipop gave me was very clear.
I guess we have grown out of pink, purple and princesses. Sigh...
The third one?
It is a left over from the initially 4 plastic Ikea plates all families seem to have in their house.
I believe they even come with matching mugs, now where have I left those ??
Ms Lollipop points out to me that the plate is so small it would only hold her portion of rice and nothing else.
Point taken, I do not want to be held responsible for 'I could not eat enough because my plate was too small' drama's.
In utter panick mode I had to search for something new!
And I found this!
It is not plastic, it is not metal, it is melamine and it comes from Denmark
and I LOVE IT!
It's called RICE.
It is fresh, it is fun and the colours are great!
I am actually quite proud now to have found this in cheer last minute mode, and Ms Lollipop gave me a big hug for this 'grown up' set.
and I LOVE IT!
It's called RICE.
It is fresh, it is fun and the colours are great!
I am actually quite proud now to have found this in cheer last minute mode, and Ms Lollipop gave me a big hug for this 'grown up' set.
Packing her suitcase I added an extra pair of underwear, an extra T-shirt, an extra pair of socks, some sweeties -totally forbidden to bring any toys or sweets-but hey, aren't we supposed to 'bend' the rules??
Ms Lollipop had no questions for me. They were all asked and answered in the class today.
She told me one girl had a "will there be..." list, from her mum to ask the teacher:
a fan - yes
a bed with a mattress - yes
a pillow - yes
sweets - no
toys - no
I was giggling by now
insects - no/yes (of course!)
food - yes
Ok I am laughing now
aircon - yes
you gotta be kidding me! Tears running over my cheeks.
And then I said the words I dreaded as a child, the words I promised myself I would never ever say to my children.
"In my days .... we went on camp without aircon"
"You were in Belgium, mum, you don't need aircon there."
Thank you, Ms Lollipop for this very clear vision of differences between Belgium and Singapore.
But come to think of it, in my days, I think the first time I went anywhere with the school for more than 1 day was our excursion to Paris when I was 15 years old! I was in boarding school from when I was 12, maybe that counts too.
But Ms Lollipop is only 8 years old (Ok - 9 next month) and she will be the youngest of all! My poor baby, my poor child!
"Mum!"
It is 10.30pm now, Ms Lollipop is still not sleeping ... neither am I....
I am not sure if I will sleep these next few days, neither am I sure Ms Lollipop will.
I love you sweetheart, have fun!
Your very proud mummy
Evelyn
ps Ms Lollipop won the school's Art contest! Her design will make this year's year book front cover!!
Sorry - I am bragging...
I just love that child!
Ms Lollipop had no questions for me. They were all asked and answered in the class today.
She told me one girl had a "will there be..." list, from her mum to ask the teacher:
a fan - yes
a bed with a mattress - yes
a pillow - yes
sweets - no
toys - no
I was giggling by now
insects - no/yes (of course!)
food - yes
Ok I am laughing now
aircon - yes
you gotta be kidding me! Tears running over my cheeks.
And then I said the words I dreaded as a child, the words I promised myself I would never ever say to my children.
"In my days .... we went on camp without aircon"
"You were in Belgium, mum, you don't need aircon there."
Thank you, Ms Lollipop for this very clear vision of differences between Belgium and Singapore.
But come to think of it, in my days, I think the first time I went anywhere with the school for more than 1 day was our excursion to Paris when I was 15 years old! I was in boarding school from when I was 12, maybe that counts too.
But Ms Lollipop is only 8 years old (Ok - 9 next month) and she will be the youngest of all! My poor baby, my poor child!
"Mum!"
It is 10.30pm now, Ms Lollipop is still not sleeping ... neither am I....
I am not sure if I will sleep these next few days, neither am I sure Ms Lollipop will.
I love you sweetheart, have fun!
Your very proud mummy
Evelyn
ps Ms Lollipop won the school's Art contest! Her design will make this year's year book front cover!!
Sorry - I am bragging...
I just love that child!
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