The Bub in the Belly

Swimming on Sunday was a little uncomfortable - the water was warmer than usual which made it feel heavier. The chlorine content was higher than usual, I could smell it coming off the water and Ryan was rubbing his eyes after each time he went under. I could still smell the chlorine on my skin after the post-class shower. Hope they'll adjust it back to normal next week.

This week, Ryan needed no coaxing at sticker time - he willingly left the pool to collect his reward stickers at the end of the class. Usually he lingers at the poolside and I have to get out of the pool and lead him to it.

After swimming, we swung by Liang Court for lunch and a short session at Royce Kid's Gym. We tried to go last week but our timing was off - they were just about to do a clean-up - so we thought that we'd try again this week. We weren't much earlier this week but they offered to let us in for about 30 mins, so we said yes. We haven't visited the place since we signed Ryan up and they will be increasing their rates starting April 2011 so we thought we try to squeeze as much value out of his membership! Anyway, as it turned out, 30 minutes was enough for Ryan. He was perfectly happy to leave when his session expired. I think he hadn't had enough sleep/rest and was a little tired. We visited the Meidi-ya Supermarket at the basement and then took a short walk along Clarke Quay to clock in some outdoor time. We headed home after that.

There was no Shichida class as Ryan's sensei was on leave so, after a nap, we joined some friends at Marina Barrage for a picnic, some kite flying and some games for the children (mainly involving bubbles). It was quite cloudy and the wind was down (hardly any kites were up) so I didn't bother to take any photos. When the wind finally picked up, it was already dark but we were so excited that we went ahead and got our kites up anyway! The kites flew pretty easily and it was good fun until it started drizzling and we had to pack up and leave. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable outing and we had a nice time catching up with everyone.

Ryan didn't last long upon our return home. He fell asleep before 10 pm. All in all, I think he had a good weekend.

Today, like yesterday, was spent recuperating from the past few weeks of non-stop action. After the last two months of renovations, Tiger's bout with kidney infection, packing, the Big Move, the unpacking, the various charity initiatives, Christmas celebrations, New Year's celebrations, not to mention the usual stuff at work and at home, Richard and I are just puffed. I think we've been tired for a while, we were running on adrenaline and sheer willpower over the last few weeks. Now that everything is done and dusted, we are feeling every bit of the tiredness as the energy drains away.

Despite the tiredness I feel right now, I'm looking forward to starting the new year. In many ways, 2010 was the close of a chapter and I'm itching to see what the next chapter holds. I've also got a few things that I want to put in motion this year and I'm raring to get going.

Before that, I still have today - one last day of relaxing to enjoy. We woke up at noon again today, courtesy of another late night. We went to Liang Court for a simple lunch at the food court, then we popped in at Royce Kid's Gym for an hour. We had to literally tear Ryan away when the hour was up, he was having so much fun.