Adventures of the Trial and Error Mum

Going MIA..

2011-05-10T19:11:00.002+08:00

To be MIA is not by choice.. Been busy.. haha.. what's new anyway.. :P

Anyways.. I've recently changed jobs, not really a new job, still in a sister company but totally different boss..

This time round, i have a much brighter boss, infact, very bright.. Not like my previous boss who is absolutely empty up there.. :D And, since i have a much brighter boss, i have more things to do and more responsibilities to take, which is good.. But i miss the monkies badly.

My day to day, i leave home around 7am, reaches office by 8am and the day only ends around 10-11pm..

G misses me loads!! She's been begging me to bring her to work or even quit working altogether.. But seriously, it's tough..

With the lifestyle we want, the things we expect in life, and all those.. I guess continue working is my only option.. *sigh*

Well.. Till my next post ..

Grace Dislikes School..

2011-04-13T12:26:00.003+08:00

She's going through a phase where she dislikes school..

Every morning, she will not fail to try her luck.

- My teacher say today is a school holiday..

- My teacher say today no need to go to school..

- Today my stomach is pain, can i don't go to school?

- Can i go to work with you today?

- Can i don't go to school today because i love you mummy..

When asked why she doesn't likes school, she always tells me they do boring stuffs in school like learn to write A, I, O, P, 1, 2, 3 (ok, maybe is my fault.. But she attended 2 years of pre-school prior to this, so she already is all done with those alphabets and numbers.. She's now into doing additions, mind games and challenging puzzles etc at home when the rest of her classmates are still stuck at ABC and 123, so maybe it explains why she finds school boring and slow.. )

Half of me wants to pull her out of school because i fear she will end up hating school if i don't.

Another part of me feels that there has to be a routine for her because when she heads to P1, she has to go thru school even thou she may not like it.

Another reason is also because she cannot be stuck at home the whole day wasting time.. She needs to go school and mix around with other kids of her age and play with them..

So what do you think i should do?

I do know of some parents whose kids to skip pre-school altogether and only attends enrichment programs. But i am not a SAHM where i have the luxury of coaching her the whole day.. I will have to return to work next week and may even have to work late on weekdays, so she might end up being all alone at home if i take her out of school completely..

Ok.. Am in dilemma.. Throw suggestions at me please!!.. :D

Me, Myself and I

2011-04-08T13:10:00.000+08:00

Gosh.. Been busy of late!! The blog has again been a neglected victim of my "BUSY-ness".. *giggles*

Am now on a 2 weeks break.. And, well.. I AM even BUSY-ier..

Before my break, i was busy with work (what's new anyway), monitoring Nick on his work, dropping the kids at the enrichment classes blah blah blah..

Now that i am on my break.. I am lagee busy!!

Mornings, I try to spend my time with little missy.. Without fail, the 1st thing she does when she opens her eyes is to say "mummy, today you not going to work hor?? You are staying at home with me right?" And since i am at home, she will insist i bathe for her and not the maid.. :( After that, we will either stroll to the MacDonalds or market for breakfast, then return home to do some "studying" before she heads to school for 3 hours.. When the maid fetches her home, the first thing she asks is "WHERE IS MY MUMMY??" and she will run into the study to check if i had "escaped" out while she's at school. :P

Usually in the afternoons when the 3 kids are home..

Some days, i bring Sam out alone without the 2 younger ones because since the arrival of the 2 younger ones, we haven't really spent a lot of time alone.. Other days, i bring Nick and Grace out to the playground.. And just yesterday, because Sam doesn't have to go to school (means no homework for the day), they 3 monkies and me caught a movie together..

On some of the afternoons when i manage to escape out without the kids, i would be in bookshops, spending my afternoons shopping for books.. Or in art shops looking around for scrapbook papers, attending scrapbooking / altered art / stamping and coloring classes etc.. It's really a bliss to be able to spend some time learning a hobby. Nevertheless, hubby's been complaining.. haha.. It's a really very expensive hobby. Each 2 hours lesson will range between 75-90 bucks, after that, i will shop and buy some other stuffs home.. And a simple chop, will cost around 30 bucks, the markers, stamp pads etc also cost an arm and a leg..

* my new mimi chop collection!!

I originally had big plans of bringing Nick to Cameron Highlands to pluck strawberries, but fear that Grace will end up crying buckets, i aborted the big plan (daddy couldn't take leave, so i had to bring them alone if i wanted to go)..

Well, another week before heading back to work.. I sure have to fully utilize my time with the kids since not too sure when will the next long break be. :)

Life at 6yo..

2011-04-08T12:29:00.006+08:00

Sometimes, it makes me wonder why do they need to make kids at 6yo learn the spelling and "ting xie" of long and complicated words..

Nick's spelling words for this coming Tuesday..

1. Water cycle

2. Evaporation

3. Condensation

4. Precipitation

5. Collection

Ting Xie for the next few Thursdays.. 6 words a week.. This coming Thursday, it will be the 5 words on the 1st row..

*Poor mummy has to ask papa how to read them and write the Han Yu Pin Ying on top of the words.. :(

Crazy Over Angry Bird..

2011-04-06T13:00:00.001+08:00

Hubby was so sweet.. He came home with a set of small plush toys.. :) Made my day :)

Angry!!

2011-04-05T18:00:00.002+08:00

It's 3 days since the incident and i am still mad!! Really!! It's not me to get mad for so long and over such people especially i don't even know that person!

We were at Jusco in JB.. Nick has a habit of making us buy him books from the Harris bookshop everytime we try to convince him to go JB.. Anyway, there's really nothing bad about buying books.. But i hate it when they have the so-call book fair at the reading area where the kids reads and some sales people trying to make you buy some so called very good and cannot live without encyclopedias!..

And, being 95% English speaking, my kids don't probably speak mandarin as much as most local children do and they also won't be able to understand what those salesman are talking half the time!!.

Anyways, what made me hopping mad was.. This idiotic salesman, walked up to Nick, spoke to him in chinese while Nick was busy reading his Ben 10 story book. Nick didn't even answered or looked at him (well, mummy say DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS right?), then the next instant, the salesman started verbally abusing the Nick loudly saying he is "STUPID" and "RUDE"!! The best part was, daddy was seated next to Nick, was too SHOCK to react!!..

I was 2 bookshelf away, and i heard that person using those words, so i walked out to make sure that Grace and Nick were near their father only to realized that it was my son that the person was scolding!.

I walked up straight to the salesman, and told him loudly to mind his language he used on my kids and that my son isn't STUPID!! And why did he say that my son was RUDE to him??

He told me that he spoke to the boy and he completely ignored him! So i asked him loudly (weirdly, i was mad and yet calm enuff not to slap him).. "Did your parents not teach you NOT TALK TO STRANGERS?? "

Well, he didn't apologize!! He actually "proceed" to sell me his set of RM2000, reduced to RM900 encyclopedias!

I simply walked away with probably a lot of steam coming out of my nostral and ears!..

And i guess the reason for me to be hopping mad up to now is because i haven't given him a piece of my mind!!..!!

And!!. Hubby later told me he actually did that to 2 other parents and they bought the set of books from him because he said that their child was STUPID!!

Such an IDIOT!!! ARGH!!!

The Sentosa Luge

2011-03-20T18:27:00.006+08:00

It's been some time since we last visited Sentosa Luge.

Us getting ready for the ride! Even Nick and Grace were so excited..

But hor, the mummy is having cold feet!!

Nick was just so excited and cannot wait to get onto the Luge.. :P

After Q-ing for some time, well.. Here we come.. :)

While mummy was busy pulling the handle to slow down the Luge, Grace was helping me to push it forward so that it can go faster. She just kept shouting "mummy go faster, go faster.. Must win papa.. Cannot let papa reach first..!!" It was so fast that her helmet almost flew off!

Selfish Mummy..

2011-03-16T13:30:00.002+08:00

Last week, before the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan, Nick came out with a big plan to help the children in South Africa.. He wanted to sell off his toys that are in good condition and buy food, cook them and send them to Africa for the children. When we told him it's not going to work because the food will be ROTTEN by then, he was rather disappointed. We tell him he could send cash and the charity organization will send the money across on his behalf, but he was very certain that we cannot send money as it may not reach the children at the end of the day.. :( We wondered all week where he learnt that from..

Last Sunday, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan made the young man pounder again. This time, he wanted to be there for the children, babysit them while their parents rebuild their home.. Such a small boy, with such a BIG ambition. :)

Then, the nuclear plant exploded, leaving the already troubled country in a bigger mess.. Seeing the chaotic situation in Japan, many of us would have wanted to stay away from it as far as possible, but it made him more determine to help those people in Japan.. When asked, he would say he wants to help them to rebuild their homes, look after and play with the children while their parents get busy with all the other things, he wants to pack his toys for the children to play etc.. And he said "i want to join the army when i am older so that i can be there to help them.. ".

I supposed i have to feel very proud of my son because he's only 5yo and he has such a HUGE heart to walk out of his comfort zone and help others.. But, i am still a mum.. If i can choose, i want to keep him in Singapore, safe from all the dangers around.. :(

The Little Miss PIGGY..

2011-02-25T22:44:00.006+08:00

Nick's a homework addict.. He will remind me to give him homework every day..

A few pages of work after each meal (i.e. after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner). It's a good habit and i don't mind going thru bookshops every weekends to find work books for him.

Well, Missy Piggy has started BEGGING for homework everyday.. (i say begging because apart from her normal homework, she has started asking for more more more until i have no more books or worksheets for her..) She has almost reach a point where i have fear of giving to her my books! If that book has 25 pages, she would complete the whole book in 1 sitting. If the book has 60 pages, she will also complete all 60 pages in 1 sitting.. Scary right!!! It makes me worried because, i am afraid this will burn her interest in books in future..

Today, i gave Nick a Maths worksheet.. And when i got home this evening, guess who i saw who doing it??

Missy PIGGY.. and little Missy "how lian" still has the cheek to tell me easy peasy when Nick still gets it wrong at times.. And for a 3yr 7mth, it's way too early for her to start!! Tsk tsk..

Missy Piggy, give mummy a break okie.. Gimme 2 more years to build Nick's foundation before i teach you when you are 6yo okies.....

The Boy and his Mad Love with the Dinosaurs and Volcanos...

2011-02-25T21:23:00.016+08:00

Sometimes, we have absolutely no idea where did the love for all these come from.

Just like for dinosaurs and volcano, it just comes out of the blue, when he starts reciting all the names of the dinosaurs and telling us the dinosaurs all died because all the volcano decided to "EXPLODE" (he meant erupt) at the same time, the hot lava (yes, he used the word LAVA which i have no idea where he learnt that from) burn them all.. And they died.. :(

Well, it just started that way.. And he can spend hours and hours flipping Sam's encyclopedia even though he could barely read them.

Last Sunday, we found this at Toysrus.. Feel that it was rather reasonably priced so we bought it for him..

Back home, daddy gave him instructions on how to break the hard sand brick to "extract" the dinosaurs out..

See some huge piece that came off? The small plastic hammer that nick is using is not capable of that.. Daddy played cheat after a while and used the real hammer to break the brick as it was taking too long for nick to break the sand block.

My young Paleontology and his assistant (i.e. daddy) at work.

Finally, can u see the dinosaurs? It's is like after 2 hours of hammering did Nick finally see them.

Then.. 1 came out..

Then 2 dinosaurs..

Then 3rd one joined in.

And not long later, all 6 came out.

*Mummy too excited, forgot to take pictures.. :P

After the dinosaurs appeared, Nick went on to prepare the plaster mix to make the volcano..

Then poured it onto the mould.. Smoothen the base of the volcano.. Then, wait for it to dry. :)

This weekend, we will be painting the volcano.. Stay tune!.. :)

Headache..

2011-02-25T21:13:00.003+08:00

The helper just broke the news..

She won't be returning back here after this Hari Raya home leave.. :(

Am feeling sad cos she's like our 4th child at home, but also understand her wish of staying close to mama after working here for so long..

Tsk tsk.. Need to look for a new helper in July which will be tough cos, it's Hari Raya season, and it can be hard to find 1.

Wish me luck..

Home 家 ..

2011-02-25T16:09:00.005+08:00

This song never fails to touch my heart whenever it's on television.. The kids will also run into the room and sing along to it.

This is HOME truly!! And indeed, is a place i never be alone! :)

Honeymoon Or Family Holiday

2011-02-25T15:05:00.001+08:00

Lately, been feeling tired, restless and fustrated..

Knowing i have to bring the kids out and play, yet because we have a P5 child who is having loads of homework and tests, and so we are trying to be as fair as possible.. When he stays at home to complete his homework or study for tests, we too not bring the younger ones out to play (the ikea trip is still on the outstanding list)..

Hubby and me really need a break soon, but the holidays are approaching, and it's also fair to bring the small ones out to play as they also have been very understand on the fact that their brother is having some test and exams, that they are not to turn on the tv or go out and play on weekday evenings..

NATAS fair is on this weekend.. Am thinking if we should go on a family vacation (which means hb and me will have no break), or a honeymoon trip to some beach resort so that our poor ears, brain, and bones can take a break..

It's so tough to decide.. :(

Books Vs Play..

2011-02-23T14:32:00.006+08:00

I've been wanting to bring the kids over to Ikea.. It's only a mere 10mins drive from home..

Sadly.. Every evening, i battle between "STUDY or PLAY".. And lagee sadly, study always wins.. :(

The kids have been waiting for a meal at Ikea and PLAYGROUND..

Maybe.. Maybe i should make that wish come true tonight.. :)

The K2 Kids of Today..

2011-02-20T14:41:00.003+08:00

It never fail to make me wonder what am i doing to my son's life! Am i helping him or ruining his childhood..

The K2 boy came home with 3 pages of writing for the weekend. Mind you, 5yo going on to 6.. It's 3 pages of a total 10 words. He tried to negotiate with the helper.. Of 3 pages, 1 for Friday, 1 for Saturday, 1 for Sunday. The helper reminded him he has English and Math at Kumon on Saturday morning and we usually bring them out to play after class. He has Chinese classes on Sunday morning which we would be home till like 2pm and he has to nap and then try to squeeze in time for the wii or psp and tv after nap.

I thought that i am a modern parent. I thought by sending my son for enrichment classes and from there, learning is fun. He will be able to learn what he needs to earlier in a fun way, before his peers and thus breeze thru Kindergarten, Primary school etc. With strong foundation, that should also help him to finish his secondary school with no sweat.

Boy, looking at it now.. I think i am so WRONG.

Every afternoon, son will call me at work.. Telling me he has 2-3 pages of homework and needs my help to complete. Asking me to come home after work and help him.

I knock off at 6pm sharp, rush home. By 6.15pm, i am at home, son sits beside me with his homework while i "swallow" my dinner. After completing his school homework, he usually takes his English/Chinese revision books and sit down asking me to complete a few pages with him. By 9pm, i will chase him to bed. This routine goes on every Monday - Friday except on evenings where he attends Kumon or his music classes.

In K2, he's reading words that i probably learned at P3 or P4. Chinese is sometimes way too difficult for me that i have to have the dictionary with me. Math, they are learning Mass, measurements, graphs etc. And at 5yo, they also have Sudoku to do..

It's tough being a child today. It's also harder being a parent don't you think so?

2 Little Monkies = 1 Big Plan

2011-02-15T14:19:00.004+08:00

Something big is brewing..

If you don't cooperate with me.. I'll kiss you till you do!!

*Bleh* How?? U going to change your mind?? :P

About Nick..

2011-02-15T13:12:00.008+08:00

Nick is going to Primary 1 next year and i am having a nervious breakdown soon! And, i am wondering if i the only one facing this..

Over CNY, i spoke to a friend whose daughter is in P1 this year. She told me that her girl is coping fine in school. No tution, just PCF then now P1.

I called a P1 Prep Class and the teacher told me a child is ready for P1 when they can read "I, You, He, Her, Is, Are, The, This, That". Is sufficient.. (i am more than certain that Sam could read those at K1 and a whole proper book at K2!!)

Am i really Kiasu?? Nick for sure can read more words than just those few, but still, i find him a slow reader.. *rofl*

Catching Up With Plays!!

2011-02-11T13:40:00.012+08:00

Am so so excited!!.. I have just managed to buy the tickets for front rows for the 2 shows this weekend!!

So, the 2 younger monkies and me are going to have a great time tomorrow!!

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo is a mouse. The story of the mouse's walk through the woods unfolds in two phases; in both, the mouse uses cunning to evade danger.

On his way the mouse encounters several dangerous animals (a fox, an owl, and a snake). Each of these animals, clearly intent on eating the mouse, invites him back to their home for a meal. The cunning mouse declines each offer. To dissuade further advances, he tells each animal that he has plans to dine with his friend, a gruffalo, whose favorite food happens to be the relevant animal, and describes the features of the gruffalo's monstrous anatomy. Frightened that the gruffalo might eat it, each animal flees. Knowing the gruffalo to be fictional, the mouse gloats, thusly:

Silly old fox/owl/snake, doesn't he know?
there's no such thing as a gruffalo!

After being quit of the last animal, the mouse is shocked to encounter a real gruffalo – with all the frightening features the mouse thought that he was inventing. The gruffalo threatens to eat the mouse, but again the mouse is cunning: he tells the gruffalo that he, the mouse, is the scariest animal in the forest. Laughing, the gruffalo agrees to follow the mouse as he demonstrates how feared he is. The two walk through the forest, encountering in turn the animals that had earlier menaced the mouse. Each is terrified by the sight of the pair and runs off – and each time the gruffalo becomes more impressed with the mouse's apparent toughness. Exploiting this, the mouse threatens to eat the gruffalo, which flees.

The Gruffalo's Child
The story is about the Gruffalo's daughter who, despite her father's stories, sets off into the woods to discover the 'big bad mouse', which is the only thing her father is afraid of.

Throughout her journey, she encounters the snake, the owl, and the fox from The Gruffalo, each of whom tell her where she can find the big bad mouse. Eventually, believing she has been tricked, she gives up, saying that she doesn't believe in the 'big bad mouse'. When it finally appears, she realises it isn't big and bad as her father described.

In order to avoid being eaten, the mouse invites the Gruffalo's daughter to meet the big bad mouse. It then tricks the Gruffalo's daughter by standing on a tree branch to use the moonlight to enlarge its shadow. The Gruffalo's daughter flees, believing the shadow to belong to the real 'big bad mouse'.

It is a typical 'brains over brawn' plot and follows a storyline and rhyming pattern similar to its predecessor, The Gruffalo. It utilizes a Winter setting in order to make use of animal tracks in the snow, allowing the Gruffalo's daughter to encounter the other animals.

Happy New Year!!

2011-02-07T13:41:00.002+08:00

It's been a great great New Year!!

We had gatherings at home on Day 1, travelled to the town with the most water (water = money..) on Day 2 and followed by hotel stay and swimming in water (more more money again) all day on Day 3 and 4!!

Huat arh.. :)

Will be back to update soon!! Till then, enjoy your New Year!!

Peng Chai

2010-12-22T20:09:00.003+08:00

Was googling for restaurants to have CNY dinner with dad, mum, sisters, hb and the monkies. Saw that peng chai is on the menu.. Curious, cos normally it's a super expensive dish, so tried to google the recipe. Found this on the web, thus tried cooking it over the weekend since it looked rather simple...

Serves 4 persons
Ingredients
8 pcs preserved chinese mushrooms(superior quality)
8 pcs dried oysters(soften in water)
1 large piece of fried bean curd sheet(cut into oblong shapes)
1 bunch of sea moss(soften in water)
2 pcs of fresh King oyster mushrooms(cut into slices)
50g Chinese cured ham(if not, use pork skin)
4 pcs of dried squid tentacles

Seasonings
300ml rich chicken stock
4 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

Starch
1.5 tbsp potato starch
3 tbsp water

Method
1. In a large casserole, add stock to boil. When it boils, add the mushrooms to cook first.
2. Cook for 15 mins till the soup turns black. Remove the mushrooms, cut off the stems and discard the stems. Set aside.
3. Next add the rest of the ingredients and seasonings except sea moss and bean curd sheet to cook.
4. Lower heat and cover the claypot to simmer for 50 mins.
5. Remove all the ingredients in the claypot.
6. Using another claypot, start to layer the food starting from the bottom.
7. First layer is squid, then pork, then mushrooms, oysters.
8. Next put the bean curd sheet into the hot pot to cook briefly for 10 mins till soften.
9. Remove and arrange on the pot.
10. Lastly, using a pair of chopsticks, pick up soften sea moss and dip into hot soup to cook for 5 mins. And arrange it the poon choy pot.
11. Add starch mixture to the soup, stir till it thickens. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the poon choy.

Serve immediately with rice.

Using pork skin
If you want to use pork skin, you need to change the process of cooking.

1. Heat up claypot with a little oil and saute 2 slices of ginger till fragrant.
2. Add pork skin to fry till its slightly burnt and cooked.
3. Then follow the steps above.

Notes
I didn't add salt cos the dried foodstuff I use are already salted.

If you can, add more mushrooms to make more stock.

She's Growing Up Way Too Soon!!

2010-12-22T17:05:00.006+08:00

My baby is growing up too FAST!!

Her at 3.5 years old..

Ranting..

2010-12-22T13:59:00.008+08:00

What does being a parent mean to you?

To me.. It simply means taking full reponsibility of our kids. Providing they with all they need (in terms of love, education and joy / fun) and teaching them the values and their reponsibilities, and the list is endless..

Lately.. A girlfriend who is selling some health products told me that i should start taking them to "maintain" myself.

Honestly, i don't spend lots on myself (maybe except for my collection of my not too expensive bags). Perhaps 10 suits and 3-5 pairs of heels for work, 5 tees and a couple of bottoms for going out on weekends.. That's about all i can think off.

Yesterday an idiot told me everything in my life revolves my family, my kids.. I should just be a housewife.. After my family, comes my friends.. Where does work comes in?

WTF!! I got so pissed!

As a wife, i have to be there for my husband..

As a mother, i have to be there for my kids when they need me.

As a parent, i have the responsibility to provide for them..

As a child to my parents, i have to provide for them should they retire..

If life is not about my family, then why should i be working to provide them with better education, better life.

Then again.. Who is that he to tell me what i am better off in being?

If my life isn't about my kids and my spouse, i shouldn't even be married!!

If my life isn't about my parents, then i am not even worthy being their child!!

If my life is about all he said, family and friends... Then, why on earth am i stuck in office in the month of DEC clearing work when my monkies at at home waiting for me to bring them out??

It's for work! PERIOD!

ARGH..

And here i am feeling guilty because i am at work and not with my kids... And then an idiot pop out and made such a tackless comment!

Monkies and their Master Pieces

2010-12-22T13:17:00.006+08:00

Since i isn't able to bring the monkies out on most days, so bought some art pieces for them to keep them busy.. Howeve, Nick isn't very patient, nor interested in crafts, so Grace end up doing almost everything.

Nick with his froggie photo frame.

Grace with her car photo frame.
Grace with her cat sitting on her head. She did it at the art class..
Grace and her little lamb which she did at art class too!!

Grace painted the Santa..

She also do up the foam crafts..

She did this cute paper bag puppet..

While Nick did this "crossed eyed" lion..

That perhaps summaries what kept them busy this whole school holiday.. :)

The Strawberry Shortcake Show @ Centrepoint

2010-12-22T12:29:00.009+08:00

The 2 younger monkies been stuck at home almost all school holiday cos mummy is so so busy with work.

Finally, was able to apply leave last Friday at the 11th hour to bring Grace to catch the Strawberry Shortcake show at centrepoint!

The "important" sticker that we had to start Q-ing from 11am. Show only starts at 1pm. :P For the 2 hours in the Q, Grace never stop asking me what time is the Strawberry Shortcake coming out.
The happy monkie with her "precious" sticker..
Here she is with that 1 precious photo with Strawberry Shortcake.

His Christmas Wish..

2010-12-07T16:33:00.009+08:00

I told Nick to think what he wants for X'mas.. Then we can go and buy together.

Today he called me at work..

"Mummy, i know what i want for Christmas already.. I want to play snow!!"

Darns.. Where has snow and is cheap??

Shit.. I got myself into trouble again.. :(

Maybe... Maybe... I'll bring him to snow city at Science Centre.. :P

Oh Mr Sun!! We LOVE U!!

2010-12-04T22:18:00.005+08:00

Finally after weekends and weekends of hiding at home cos it's always raining when we want to go out, Mr Sun is finally out, although not for long!!

Nevertheless, we manage to make a trip to play..

In case you are wondering, why do i only capture Grace on the scooter and not her brothers.. Well.. Grace is half riding, half pushing.. So, she's slow enough for me to take pictures. *slow-pok*

As for her brothers, they zoom and were gone in a flash before i could take pictures.. :(

I Am In Need Of A Break..

2010-12-04T22:05:00.004+08:00

I am seeing the signs.. It's telling me i am in need of a break..

I am losing myself and it's scary.

I'm working for the sake of working, i am not motivated.. I am just merely doing what i have to do and what needs to be done. When it's over, i head straight home.. Plant myself infront of the TV till it's time for bed and the same cycle repeats itself again the next day.

On weekends, i don't have any clue on what i want to do or where i want to go.. I go because i need to be there, or the kids need to be there.. Then home again to laze my weekends away..

My whole December this year is filled with work and i am planning to apply leave on the week of 27th. And hopefully, i can go on a proper break without much disturbance.

Bz, Bz plus LAZY!!!

2010-11-14T23:05:00.004+08:00

*Yawn* This is a super duper busy month..

Work has been extremely plentiful, barely enough time for the kids even on weekends, hubby's traveling was much more compared to the last couple of months which left me to manage the kids alone on weekends.

I have loads to update, yet dunno where to begin..

Too lazy to turn on the MacBook and get stuck to the desk as the battery has decided it's time is up, his brains are also getting a lil' retarded perhaps due to age (or izzit me getting too impatient these days).

These days I end up replying SMS or what's App while in the loo and surfing the Internet while waiting for the kids to finish lessons (which is a mere 45 minutes a week!!! Darn pathetic!!!)

To all friends who have smsed or emailed or what's app-ed me if alls ok since it's not too often I go missing.. Thank you!! Me am good.. Just busy and too tired after the long day at work that's why I didn't log on to msn, or blogged or SMS.

To all my kids playmates who I've been replying "sorry, we cannot make it (for the play date)" I hope u all had fun and we look forward to the next playdate soon!!!

To all friends who have asked why am I sleeping the moment I reach home and been putting on weight and if am pregnant.. Well.. NO, am not.. Just tired and maybe the constant munching when brains are tired, so perhaps that's why growing fat...

As for the school holidays, no holidays in plan yet.. And we think we cannot make it for any trip this school holiday since hb's December is packed with traveling.

Hope I will find some time to upload this kid's photos soon.. Nites!!!

Btw, can someone teach me to upload pix from the camera to iPad?? :P

Am NUTS!

2010-10-13T21:14:00.003+08:00

Coach and Kate Spade should just bane my I.P. address! ARGH..

I've just bought 3 Kate Spades and another 5 Coach wristlets online..

Or i should just snap my card..

Argh..

Now i have plenty of things to hide from hubby..

The loots and the credit card bills.. ARGH!! It's driving me NUTS!!!!

10 Truths..

2010-10-12T11:21:00.009+08:00

A friend left this in my facebook inbox.. Asking me to name '10 Truth about Yourself that No One Knows.."

Ok.. Here i go..

1. I suck my tummy in when i see my bosses ..

2. I have over 30 Coach and Kate Spade bags hidden everywhere around my home which i dare not let my hb find out, yet i always feel i don't have enough bags for all occations.

3. Apart from the 9 pairs of black heels i have at home for office wear, i have another 6 pairs in office i dare not bring home to show my husband..

4. I hate Grace's awful curls and i am so tempted to bring her for rebonding!

5. I don't want to go Korea with my husband but am so tempted to tag along with Irene to USA..

6. I am not long-winded..

7. I want to try being drunk yet i am afraid i wake up the next day, beside some stranger..

8. I like to day-dreaming.. Dream i married a rich and handsome looking man, lives in a huge house with 10 maids and i have 5 kids, and my job is to just send the kids around, go for high tea and wait for husband to come home for work..

9. My hobby is digging my nose and dig Grace's ears.

10. After being in the marriage for 12 years, I still cannot stand my husband's CS habbits.. :P

Okies.. Am done with 10! Phew..

P.S. : Despite my hb's CS habbits, i still love him very much!.. :)

F1 Fever!!

2010-09-27T09:35:00.004+08:00

Did you caught the fever too??

It's the 3rd year in a row we caught the bug! And guess what?? Am half deaf today!! Hahahaha..

Year 1, we purchased the throat cutting F1 tix for the race day, brought Sam and Nick to catch the race (and Nick, then 3yo, can still remember!!!)

Year 2, we were given 2 GrandStand tix, so hubby and me went to watched the race!

Year 3 (i.e. this year), we were invited to a private suite were there was air-con, TV screen and cocktails provided!! Darn nice! :)

Till i load and sort out the pix.. :P

Poor Nick.. : ..(

2010-09-24T22:04:00.005+08:00

He's got itchy hand..

He went to touch the iron..

He got burnt at his palm..

He cried buckets..

Yet, he went to school without the maid or teacher informing us.

He kept quiet and hide his hand when we got home at 8ish..

The maid finally opened her mouth and spoke up on the accident at 8.30pm and we rushed him to the doctor..

It was a huge open wound that needs cleaning up and hopefully prevent an infection since it's been left unattended for almost 12 hours!

Then, the doctor informed us that there is something weird about the wound.. It had some whitish thing around and in the wound. And much questioning, Nick told us he had PUT GLUE on the palm, attempting to stick his skin back! *ARGH* How naive can a 5yo kid be.. I am guessing it must be darn painful!..

After doctor clean up the wound, he also wrapped a thick bandage on his palm and instruct us to keep the bandage dry and go back daily for the next 2 weeks to clean and dress the wound..

And the damage, S$160 (for the 1st visit only!!)... *ARGH*

* Update : Visit 2 for cleaning up costed $45..

** Nick, am counting so that i can claim this back from you when you grow up!.. *evil grin*

Shrink Art With Grand-Auntie Jeanne

2010-09-24T20:29:00.007+08:00

Grand-Auntie texted me a day before we went to her home "I teaching the kids to do shrink art, so bring your colour pencils." That sms left me puzzled, so i replied with " What is shrink art?" and the reply came back as "I will BAKE THE PAPER after they colour loh."

I didn't thought much about it since i assumed she was pulling my legs, nevertheless, i brought the colour pencils to her home..

The first pix shows the size of the shrink art paper against the hand phone holder. Then the next few pictures shows the piece of paper shrinking and curling up and with a frying ladle, we smack the piece of paper flat! When flatten, it's like a hard plastic and u can hang a key ring and make it into a key chain. Cool right?

Grace with her shrink art end product! :)

Thank you Grand-Auntie Jeanne for having us at your home!! :)

Kite Flying @ Marina Barrage

2010-09-22T22:41:00.001+08:00

By chance, we saw some pretty lights flying in the sky.. We stopped by to check only to realize that those were KITES!

So, the very next day, we decided to knock off at 4pm, just to bring the monkies to the Marina Barrage to fly kites. Since it was a weekday, we did not expect the place to be so CROWDED!!!

Look at the number of people on a weekday.. Don't they need to go school or work??

See the amount of kites in the sky?

Nick's kite.. Up, up and into the sky..

We had a great time later that day playing with sparklers, bubbles and led lights!!

We sure will be back for more fun soon!!

Grace and Her Tutu..

2010-09-22T11:05:00.003+08:00

Finally.. My notti princess is willing to put on the tutu, but only for a mere 5 mins..

Never Mind, that 5 mins is enough to send me flying over the moon!!!

Am Still Procastinating..

2010-09-22T10:37:00.002+08:00

I've got plenty of photos still sitting in the memory cards of the cameras..

Hubby had proposed to get new memory cards instead of waiting for me to load them into my macbook..

Am just too lazy to even turn that macbook on.. So am resorting to surf the internet via my ipad..

Argh.. What is wrong with me??

Am Not So Looking Forward..

2010-09-21T15:29:00.005+08:00

You know what..

I am think am getting a little sick of traveling.. Haha..

Bimbo huh?

One minute am saying i need a holiday, am looking forward to holidays. Now am saying this.. Haiz..

Don't get me wrong.. I still love to travel, but the thoughts of leaving Nick and Grace to be taken care of by the helper makes me worry!.. Not that she ill-treats them, but, even as parents, we sometimes need a break from our own children, what more we are talking about a helper?

Kuala Lumpur this Friday, Bangkok 2 weekends later, Korea end of October..

Next, coming up, Taiwan with the entire platoon..! I think worse.. I will be dead beat after the trip..

Hmm..

The Hand-Made Tutu

2010-09-21T14:30:00.003+08:00

Who ever says all princesses likes tutu?? Tsk tsk..

Mine, for sure, is one who hates it.. Who cares even if mummy made a trip down to spotlight and buy the stuffs then, stay up till 5am just to complete it.. *sob sob*

See her look when i forced her to put it on??

Article for Married Couples...

2010-09-21T09:24:00.000+08:00

A friend who's marriage broke down shared this..

A very true and good article to serve as a wake up call for us to remove all distractions that do not belong to our lives.

**********************************************************************************

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, 'How do I know if I married the right person?' I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, 'It depends. Is that your husband?' In all seriousness, she answered 'How do you know?'

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.

Here's the answer. EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse / partner . You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies (unconventional behavior/habit) .. Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called 'falling' in love... Because it's happening TO YOU.

People in love sometimes say, 'I was swept off my feet.' Think about the imagery of that __expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU. Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria (excitement) of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, 'Did I marry the right person?' And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON;

IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

Children Learn What They Live

2010-09-20T12:25:00.009+08:00

Here's a poem i read since i was very young, but didn't truly understood it till i took care of my own kids!..

Something we should always stop and reflect while we handle our little ones..

If a child lives with criticism,

he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility,

he learns to fight.

If a child lives with fear,

he learns to be apprehensive.

If a child lives with pity,

he learns to feel sorry for himself.

If a child lives with ridicule,

he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with jealousy,

he learns what envy is.

If a child lives with shame,

he learns to feel guilty.

BUT

If a child lives with encouragement,

he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with tolerance,

he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with praise,

he learns to be appreciative.

If a child lives with acceptance,

he learns to love.

If a child lives with approval,

he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with recognition,

he learns that it is good to have a goal.

If a child lives with sharing,

he learns about generosity.

If a child lives with honesty and fairness,

he learns what truth and justice are.

If a child lives with security,

he learns to have faith in himself and in those about him.

If a child lives with friendliness,

he learns that the world is a nice place in which to live.

If you live with serenity,

your child will live with peace of mind.

With what is your child living?

by Dorothy Law Nolte

Busy Lazy Busy!!

2010-09-16T09:52:00.003+08:00

It's been a busy, busy and lazy month!

Oh!! It's such a ME month! And LAZY is my middle name! hahaha..

Been clearing leave for almost half the month, somehow, out of the house every other day, trying to maximize the precious few days leave i have with the kids..

Gone for a couple of movies, caught a couple of skits with the monkies, made a few impromptu holiday trips with my family, caught up with old friends, etc!!

So much pictures to upload and both my camera memory cards are FULL! Yet, i am still procastinating on doing it.. Haha..

OK, soon soon i will do that.. Hope i will do that this weekend otherwise i seriously have to consider buying memory cards for the next trip .. Till then..

Shopping, Shopping and Shopping

2010-09-16T08:41:00.005+08:00

Been superly-duperly busy lately.. With what leh?

Online shopping loh!!!

Infact, gone so nuts over it until i think i need to chop off my fingers and cut away my cards!

Just over the weekend while we were away in Hua Hin, i spent slightly over 1k USD on online shopping! 2 Kate Spade bags, 1 wallet, 1 coach, 7 pcs of Ralph Lauren and some Pumpkin Patch for Grace!

Darn!

Now am patiently waiting for the loots to arrive *excited* and not too looking forward to the credit card bill *shake head*..

The Big Bully is a Scary-Cat too!!

2010-08-12T13:29:00.006+08:00

We watched the NDP live at the padang again! And, this time, she didn't use the flag and cover her head / eyes anymore..

She just simply burst out into tears and tried to cry louder than the fighter planes.. After the first one that flew by, she insist i have to carry her and help her to cover her ears while she hugged her head.

After the segment, i asked her about her fears and she says it was so loud and near her that she was afraid that the will drop on her head!

Kids.. Simply adorable!!

Our Busy National Day Weekend..

2010-08-11T22:10:00.011+08:00

It's National Day on Monday, as such, we had an extremely long weekend..

Initial plans to go Genting, Macau, Cameron Highlands and Marina Bay Sands wasn't successful.. :(

Since my long weekend started on Thursday and didn't end till Monday, the monkies definately had loads of activities lined up for them!

Friday.. Nick celebrated his birthday in school..

Sunday, the monkies joined in the flame celebration at ITE East!

On National Day, the monkies had a quick meal at McDonalds and rushed of to join the Q to get into Padang for the National Day Parade.

No pictures taken at the NDP this time round cos, well, mummy forgot to charge both of the digital camera and her handphone battery also.. :(

Unspeakable Fears..

2010-08-11T21:30:00.005+08:00

Of late, i've been wondering..

A cousin joined gangsterism.. He started to verbally abuse his parents on facebook. He went almost extreme, and added "Born to a failure, born to be irritating and annoying."

A friend asked, how are you going to protect your daughter and teach her what are rights and wrongs, can do or cannot do..

Sam's been making plenty of excuses for things he shouldn't have done, or for things he should do yet, not done. How do i tell him to wake up because life isn't about looking for excuses.

We have seen people bringing up fine, polite and brilliant kids who makes contributions to the society, yet, the nurturing process, we don't quite see or hear.. Have their mums been SAHMs for the kids while they are growing up? Is it really in the blood? How?

I know my hubby dotes on me, and am really a princess in his eyes.. But, when it comes to the kids, he doesn't really gives me any clues on how to go about it..

Sometimes i wish hubby could speak to the boys like friends, but more often than not, i hear him screaming at them. I know it's not the he doesn't care, but, somehow, the method is just so wrong..

I fear he hits the kids cos he might use too much strength.. I fear the kids may think that hitting as a way of expressing they are angry.. I fear the kids will learn to shout at the other party like he does when they get mad. I fear they may think that by being louder than others means they have won the battle.. i fear i don't do enough for them.. i fear i teach them the wrong things. I fear something i subconsciously do today might have a negative effect on the kids 10-20 years down the road. i fear...

Till i have a conclusion..

This School, That School..

2010-07-21T00:06:00.005+08:00

You perhaps cannot understand how can i ever be so impressed with a Kindergarten.

I took what Grace learnt in school for granted.. I felt that since we are paying arms and legs for Shichida Kindergarten, the amount they have taught to her was value for money. She's usually ahead of her peers in childcare be it her speech or her motor skills.

Since the previous childcare Nick and Grace was in was dirt cheap, i thought that they would at least do some good job in teaching sufficient stuffs if not more.

Well, it isn't so.

At first i thought the childcare was facing shortage of teachers problem, so i sent Nick for enrichment classes. The other reason i thought was, Nick is a slow learner.

Well, now am thinking otherwise.. I think the childcare has short changed the kids!!

It's week 4 since Nick started this current kindergarten, and,

1. Instead of like the childcare had said, 1-20.. This kindergarten is doing 1-100.

2. Nick is spelling words, reading and writing! And not just going on and on with phonics sounds only!

3. He's reading and writing chinese words unlike in the childcare, he never knew how to read and write a single word!

Damns, what have they been doing in childcare all these while? How much more is he supposed to know but dunno because they aren't taught to him in childcare? DARNS!

I am not Kiasu! So Not Kiasu!! Just ranting!!

The Craze Continues.. The RSAF Museum

2010-07-18T18:50:00.006+08:00

The mad fighter plane craze continues!!

Bright Saturday morning, we headed out to the RSAF Museum. We wasn't even sure if they are open since the website was last updated in 2009!

We made rounds around that area, until we spotted the building with "The Air Force Museum". Hubby and me let out some signs of relieve! Boy, we dare not think if we couldn't find that place or if it's closed, how disappointed the monkies would be!

After parking, as we were walking in. hubby commented "maybe the museum is only made up of these few exhibits" as that place was absolutely deserted!!

Well, in a way, hubby was pretty right.. The exhibits were a little disappointing since the kids cannot get into any of them, or there wasn't even much explanation on the model, what can the fighter planes do or how fast they could get!! So, we just loiter around and let the Nick took some pictures..

Grace for some reasons got super scared of that place.. She refused to let go of my hand and kept insisting i have to carry her. If i put her down, she end up hugging my leg like a koala, and me having to drag my foot around to MOVE her.. That also perhaps explains why she's only in 1 of the many pictures we took!

Inside the museum, Nick posted in a few pictures. The place was pretty eery since we were the only people there with the weird old machines and statues. Again, there wasn't much explanations, so whatever questions Nick had for me, answers were based on my limited knowledge or some bullshit answers!..

Nick on the only stimulator which he pretend that he was a pilot. Grace finally got off from hugging my leg, stood there and watched for a while.

After that, the monkies watched some video fighter plane demo which made Nick so excited that he reminded me again that he wants to pilot a fighter plane when he grows up!. *Am keeping my fingers and toes crossed he doesn't changes his mind!*

Nick here with the "fake man" in uniform.. He claims he likes the one in green better.

Some other smaller fighter planes that was "tied" to the ceiling on the way out.

*pictures taken by Nick*

While we were leaving, a staff approached us and asked if we are interested to see a 5 mins video screening on the air force. It wasn't was informative as i have expected it to be, nevertheless, it didn't fail Nick since he wanted to see the planes.

Not a bad place if you have time, and is looking for a quiet place..

Location:

RSAF Museum

400 Airport Road

Singapore 534234

Opening Hours:

Tuesday to Sunday

8.30am to 5.00pm

(Closed on Monday & Public Holidays)

Buses:

SBS 90 and 94

(SBS 94 not available on Sunday)

Free Admission

Desaru Fun! (Dated 3 July)

2010-07-14T20:09:00.000+08:00

It was out of the blue that hubby and me decided to head up to Desaru! Friday morning we talked bout it, and Saturday, the whole family headed out to Desaru! Yes.. That's almost how impromptu our trips are!!

Us on our way there..

Arrived!! Finally.. After the 2.5 hours drive..

Hubby and me in the van at the Fruit farm.. Picture taken by Grace.. Not bad hor!

The fruits at the farm..

The Koi pond in the farm..

The mini zoo in the farm!

Us at the Ostrich farm.

Parents are Silly creatures, aren't they?

2010-07-13T10:46:00.004+08:00

And i am one of the silly one too!

While Nick going "gila" over his fighter planes, so is his mummy going "siao" over his new found ambitions!

As much as i know children's ambitions are "2 days wind and 3 days rain", i somehow hope i can help him to realise his 1st big ambition.. :P

Already, Nick had made me scan all the pictures from the NDP newsletter, enlarge them so that he can paste them on his wall. He went 1 step further by comparing the newspaper and the scanned pictures, identfying which models they are and scrubble them on the paper as well.. He asked for extra copies of the printouts so that he can learn to draw them. He's asked to go to borders to look for books on fighter planes and air force uniforms..

And me, been sitting beside him seeing him do all these silly activities. I have promised to bring him to the library tonight to look for books on fighter planes.. I have gone to the extend of contacting the air force on how can Nick join the air force in future and also checked with them if he can still join the airforce if he has flat foot and according to his doctor, he will be only doing clerical jobs only.. Good news is, Nick still has a chance of joining the airforce! And, the helpful staff was so nice to even tell me when he turns 17yo, with good O levels results, he can apply to join the airforce. Hope the policy, by then, will not change yet!

This weekend, we will visit the air force mesuem so that he can learn more bout them.. :)

Small Fellow, Big Dreams!

2010-07-12T13:28:00.005+08:00

Nick has 2 ambitions after the NPD preview..

1. He wants to join the air force pilots the fighter plane..

2. He wants to be the President of Singapore..

I wish the 1st ambition can come true at least.. :P The 2nd ambition is kind of tough and far, but not impossible..

Jia you Nicholas!! :)

Happy 45th Birthday Singapore!

2010-07-11T15:34:00.004+08:00

It's still a bit early, since it's neither Singapore's Birthday nor Nick's Birthday yet! But well, by chance, some unknown Mr Nice sms-ed me by mistake telling his friend he has some 2 tickets for the preview for him. :P I asked if i could have them since none of the monkies had watched the NDP live before! And he offered the tickets to us instead.. Not only did he offer the tickets to us, he offered us 4 tickets!! :) Of cos, he made my day and he made me so thrilled that i simply forgotten i needed 5 tickets instead of 4.. Haha.. How could i ever be so BLUR!!

Nevertheless, while we were leaving home to catch the parade preview, Grace cried buckets when she came to know that she will be left behind.. After much pleading and crying, we decided to try our luck at the door.

Count us damn lucky!! Luck didn't only strike us once, but TWICE!! At the entrance, we were told that only 4 could enter the parade preview since we only had 4 tickets and another hunk saved our day.. He had 2 tickets but he only needed 1 to enter.. So we gotten the extra ticket from him and head into the padang for the preview.. :P

* In the pictures, you see both Nick and Grace opening their mouths so big cos they were screaming at the top of their voices when the hear National Day songs that they knew how to sing! Machiam so proud being part of the parade!!

* In the last picture, you see Grace taking the flag and cover her face, that's because she was so scared by the fighter planes and mummy was too busy telling Nick to watch, taking pictures that i didn't get the chance to hear her telling me she's scared! So in order to prevent herself from crying, she took the flag and cover her eyes hoping that by not seeing them = not scared! Made us laughed till our tears rolled up while we were looking thru all the pictures!

Dilemma..

2010-07-05T10:43:00.007+08:00

The family wants to head up to Genting.. Gramps wants to do KL/Genting from a Friday to a Tuesday.

It's tough to convince myself that a short trip with the monkies means "pon-tang" school for Sam who is already attending Primary School.

I know Sam badly wants to tag along with Gramps and, Gramps aren't visiting Genting over the weekends..

It's a really tough decision isn't it..

Backlogs

2010-07-05T02:17:00.002+08:00

Oh gosh.. It's 2 am now, and i am still not done with clearing my May/June backlogs..

Have a been too lazy or did we go out too much??

But it's really easier and more convenient to post them on Facebook then blogging bout them.. :P

Sob sob..

Stay tune for more updates for what we did in May and June and well, July.. :)

A Baking cum Movie Date with Best Friends and Kids!

2010-07-05T01:44:00.008+08:00

It first started with a movie date.. i 'chio-ed' a few girlfriends with kids to catch Toy Story 3. Then, auntie Irene came out with this idea of meeting up before the movie for a little baking session with the kids..

So, this came about..

Grace mixing her nutella into her cup-cake..

Nick and Ernice..

Hiroshi..

It was supposed to be a kid's baking session, not too sure why auntie Xtine was busy "digging" the nutella..

Auntie Irene, our baking "instructor"..

Then, auntie Xtine busy writing her name on the cupcakes..

Auntie Jen and Jake were also busy filling their cuppies..

Our cuppies are almost ready to go into the oven..

While waiting to put the cuppies into the oven, Nick and Grace were busy taking pictures of each other..

The cuppies are BAKED!! The "fruits" of their labour!!

After that was the movie date which we had forgotten to take pictures cos it was super chaotic.. Never in my life had i gone to the movies with over 20 people.. :P

The date was fun.. We should do this again real soon!!.. :)

An Impromptu Trip to KL (Dated June 2010)

2010-07-05T00:17:00.010+08:00

It was a normal weekend when we pop by JB so that the monkies could play with their cousins and a family dinner with the in-laws..

Grace on the swing

Grace on her get-around-scooter..

After dinner, the monkies refuse to go home. They claimed that it was a long long time since they stayed at a hotel.. And, it didn't take long for daddy to decide that we are heading to KL for a short weekend trip! With no clean clothes in tow (except the monkies PJ since we had plans to deposit them with in-laws so that hb and me could catch a movie), we had to pop by a local mall to get what we needed before heading up to KL.

A 4 hour drive up, we arrived around 11ish, ate supper and pop into the hotel for check-in without a reservation. The only thing we could do was keep our fingers and toes crossed, hoping they have rooms, otherwise, we will be hotel hopping around the town, looking for a room.. :P

After check-in, the monkies instantly dozed off after changing into their PJ..

The next morning, lil monkie woke up, EXCITED!!

Then, they declare they wanted to go for a SWIM, but it was too early. The pool wasn't opened yet, and even if it did, the water would be too freaking COLD!

So, the 2 monkies ended up "swimming" in the bath tub..

So cute hor.. I heart this picture.. Nick's head here look double the size of mei-mei's one..

Children Little Museum

2010-06-27T22:59:00.007+08:00

Cannot remember how did we come to know about this place, been wanting to visit it for ages with the monkies.. Finally found time to bring them there this weekend..

At the entrance.. Little monkie playing with the styrofoam airplane.. Even the packing is the same as those i played when i was young!

The report cards Grandpa and Grandmama used to receive..

The readers that grandpa and grandmama used while they were in school..

The hawker stalls of yester-years.. I think it's also my grandpa and grandmama days.. Not mine..

The tok-kong machine used to make ice-kachang. They use the hand to turn the big wheel, unlike ours now just press the button.. :P

The bicycles the grandpa and grandmama used to ride..

The weird looking "steamer" machine.. Grandmama says sometimes it catches fire too!! Scary!!

This.. is from my time.. See the alphabet erasers? I was so excited when i saw them!! Finally something from my era! hahahaha

Little monkie in "school". See that school bag (school-box)? Grandpa said the case never spoil!! Only the locks on top do.. and when it does, the teacher will use some metal thingy to try and help them "pry" open the school-box..

Towards the End of Term 3 at Yamaha JMC

2010-06-27T22:45:00.005+08:00

It’s towards the end of 3rd term in Yamaha JMC and Nick is beginning to show signs that he's a little bored with the program. Usually he will look forward to attending classes, but lately, he's looking forward to Sundays more than Wednesdays because he will learn to dance like MJ in a dance studio!

Should i insist that he finishes his 2 years at JMC or allow him to stop after term 4? Stop after term 4, no certificate leh!

Grace's Birthday Party..

2010-06-27T21:41:00.019+08:00

We had a mini celebratation for little monkie at McDonald's.. Her little friends were invited together, we all celebrated her 3rd Birthday!

The birthday room..

The Birthday Girl!!

Some of her little friends

While they were playing games..

Then it was time for Happy Meal.. The kids choose to sit with their best friends...

Then it was time for the cake..

The Birthday song..

A family picture..

And some photo session with friends..

And after the party ended, we realized we forgot to take a group photo.. haha.. Never mind, there is always a next time.. :)

School Holidays is ALMOST Over!!

2010-06-27T21:28:00.004+08:00

And, you cannot imagine how glad i am!! Hahahaha..

Yes.. I am so happy it's almost over.. Sam's heading back to school.. Nick is heading to a new Kindergarten to continue his 2nd part of K1 and Grace is quitting childcare!

Am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that he will have more responsible and interested teachers in this new school. His current childcare is still stuck on doing phonics sounds while others are in the midst of learning to read and write in sentences. Our hard work to send him for phonics classes and to read to him every night is beginning to pay off so i hope he can catch up with his peers.

As for Grace, since there is a maid at home, i don't see a point to send her to childcare since she is constantly protesting. She's staying at SM for now, we will see how it goes since she's been insisting she wants to attend the "church school" with Nicholas.. If the school bus drops her home and she's able to catch Nick's school bus timing, i might consider letting her attend the 2nd Kindergarten. As to why are we not pulling her out of SM, i guess i am too comfortable with her learning pace and is not too willing to make changes.

Is She All GROWN UP?

2010-06-22T22:52:00.002+08:00

Some little conversations with Grace these couple of days that made us laughed till our jaws ached!!.

Nick to Grace "Quick finish your food ok! It is going to rain already!"

Grace reply : "Huh? But the house got roof what!" ..

******************************************************

Today daddy asked Grace..

Daddy : Grace love daddy or mummy more?

Grace : Love mummy more..

Daddy : Why?

Grace : Cos mummy go out and work so she earn more money to buy things for me then can bring me go out and play mah.

Daddy : But daddy also go out and work very hard to earn money so that Grace can buy things and go out and play also..

Grace : But daddy never earn a lot, a lot of money, then mummy can don't go to work and stay at home and play with me and bring me go out kai kai every day mah..

Signs that my BABY isn't a BABY anymore..

2010-06-22T22:31:00.006+08:00

Baby monkie is growing a little too fast! Perhaps, too soon for me..

She now ..

no longer on diaper;
no longer needs my help to do lots of stuffs like pouring water to drink;
no longer need me to escort her to the toilet to pee or poo... She visits the loo herself, takes off her bottoms, pee and puts them on, flashes the toilet and walks out.. ;
carries a stack of 20+ books to my bedroom every night and demands that i finish reading all of them to her;
requests for homework when she sees Nick has homework to do;
does mazes like a pro;
quietly hides in the study and draws pictures of things she sees or thinks ;
and others!!

This is the worksheet she did today.. As much as i am happy she can sit down and complete homework like Nick, am still a bit "bu ser de" for her to grow up that soon... :( I still want my daily hugs and cuddles, kisses and "i love you so so so so much, mummy" from her.. Oh, silly me..

Growing his ARTY-FARTY Genes..

2010-06-13T16:16:00.006+08:00

Nick can be very creative when it comes to building his own "town" with his railway tracks, Lego buildings and making his thomas trains go "up the hills and down the tracks"..

But when it comes to drawing and coloring, he really cannot make it. I've been trying to convince him to attend art classes, however, the run-of-the-mill classes offered at community club aren't really tailored for kids of his age plus, i somehow feel that they are "out-dated".. :P

Couple of weeks back, we came across this art school that offers Art for kids as young as 1.5yo, and it seems rather interesting. Best, they don't quite do "drawing" and "coloring". And needless to say, such schools comes with a hefty price-tag.. Community club has art classes at slightly below $50 a term for a 3 hour class per week whereas, this charges $324 per term for a 60 min lesson.

Nevertheless, signed the boy up for the next 4 lessons, hoping to see if he likes it before we decide if we will continue with the whole term in July.

This month, they are doing canvas painting. On lesson 1, he learnt to use the brush and paint the bigger areas on the canvas. Today (i.e. lesson 2), the learn how to use the ear buds and tap onto the smaller areas. The look of it after lesson 2.

Looks like not bad hor! :P

Nick's and His String of Requests!

2010-06-13T15:50:00.005+08:00

There is something that's been bugging me for some time.. Nick is a slow learner, but a very diligent one. Since we recognize that he's a slow learner, we naturally spend more time trying to send him on enrichment programs hoping it will help him in one way or another.

Problem is, after we start certain classes, Nick seems to enjoy learning as he picks up the skills and progress with confidence. By right, i should be glad. But the thing is, i dunno when is the right time to stop these classes especially when he enjoys going for them. Now, he's (perhaps is me and daddy) swamped with enrichment classes till we sometimes end up trying to think which he has on that day..

From Phonics - i can read, to Maths - MPM and Kumon (we manage to stop Enopi), Chinese - Berries, Music with Yamaha, Montessori with Mrs Yap.. We think it's a little too much we can manage.. Not to mention, both Sam and Grace also has their fair share of classes!

Lately, Nick's been asking for more.. He wants to pick up fencing, hip hop and Takwando. And seriously, i think we have over-spent on this boy!.

Nevertheless, given that he is only 4 turning 5 years old this year, we manage to convince Nick that fencing and Takwando will have to wait! As much as they enforce discipline in a child, we think that Nick still is too young to understand that such skills are meant for exercising and self-protection rather than to FIGHT. Last thing we need is for him to "practice" it on his little sister!

Ok, so for now, we started him on art classes and perhaps trying to look around for hip hop classes.. I hope his string of request stop growing longer, but on the other hand, am glad he's taken interest in them too. :)

OH.. What's New?

2010-05-26T14:35:00.007+08:00

Brain seems to be procrastinating!

OH MAN!!

Am sitted at my work desk, half dreaming half planning..

Planning for : What dates should i apply my leave..

Goggling : Next Destination?? Redang? Kota Kinabalu? Penang again? Or maybe blue mountains skiing(evil grin) or Europe?

With : Hubby only? or with the monkies? Or with monkies and Gramps?

Oh manz.. I better start working.. :P

We Ran the City!

2010-05-24T18:16:00.009+08:00

It's an exciting day for the kids!! It's the Cold Storage Run 2010.. And, the 2 younger monkies are particpating together with their little friends, Waden, Eurnice and Gabriel.

Sam couldn't make it as he had camps at the Buddhist Library that day.

Nick getting ready. Daddy with the monkies..
Nick and Grace "test run" the first 10m..
Cute hor..
The Starting Point..
Grace and me at the "run".. Me am so "gung-ho" hor.. The ELEPHANT foot was wrapped up and squeezed into the shoes.. The kind of things a moron mum will do for the kids!
*After taking out the shoes, the blue-black marks got WORSE!!

Grace was sulking at most parts of the 800m "run" cos Nick was in another "race" for kids of his age with daddy. The only motivation for her was there's a bottle of milk at the finishing line and she so badly wanted that bottle of milk.. :P
Eurnice and Waden with their medals after the race.. :)
Nick and Grace's with theirs.. So happy hor..
So happy that they have to even KISS the medals!
Group photo.. As usual.. It's just never possible to have all the kids to smile and look at the same direction at the same time..
(From left to right : Waden, Eurnice, Nick, Grace and Gabriel)

Take 1 :
Take 2 :
Oh.. and this mummy who walked 800m also wants to have her photo taken.. :P

Grace here thinks that her medal is a whistle..
Just my lil girl.. :)

Well, verdict.. There were more mummies and daddies in the "run" (most people had 1 kid walking and the mum, the dad, the maid and the elder siblings going along). Overall.. "run" was good, and the kids had lots of fun!.

We will do it again soon i hope.. Perhaps, Standard Chartered Run for kids at the end of this year!! :)

On Becoming Elephant..

2010-05-24T11:20:00.004+08:00

An elephant flew down a flight of stairs last Friday..

She was supposed to be unwell, but cos she had a very important meeting and a super duper important report to submit before 11am that morning, so she struggled to get to work.

She had it all planned.. After the meeting and the reports, she was going to the doctor to get her nose, headache and fever problems solved, but.. Before she could even get to the first meeting, she flew down the stairs with a loud "THUN"!. And another hippo colleague who was with her, instead of helping her up, instead made a dash down the remaining steps for her iphone to check if it was still working. (sob sob.. The phone was more precious than the elephant.. :P)

And, she ended up with some hairline cracks at the ankle and the elephant is now limping around.. :P

Oh well, if it wasn't for the fall, the blog will be still sleeping.. :)

Phuket Sweet + Honey = Over the Moon!!

2010-05-23T16:26:00.022+08:00

It was supposed to be a honeymoon, but it didn't begin was happy as it was planned.. First was the MIL issue, then the SIL issue, and then, the delayed flight.. But then again, after all those, the entire trip was FUN!! We sure want to make it a yearly honeymoon as far as possible.. :)

Our flight.. Was suppose to depart at 8am, but there was a flight delay, and we only left SG at 11.35am.

See that "bo song" look?

After some 5 hours of waiting at the airport, we finally see our destination..
Thank god arrival and check in to the hotel was smooth.. Hb and me were greeted by our first name upon arrival.. Was quite a surprise!
And, the first thing he did when he got into the room was to strip and zzz for 2 hours..

So me went around to take some pix of the room. Our see-thru from the room bedroom cum toilet (at the other corner).

The full length mirror which i tried to take pix..
* Take one, suck tummy in.. But forgot to smile..

* Take 2, smiled!! But forgot to suck the tummy in... WTH!

OK, finally the man is awake and is ready to go jalan jalan... He's eating rockk melon with some weird sauce that is a bit salty yet spicy.. NICE!

This.. Some road side store that serves some nice beef ball glass noodles and seafood glass noodles. Hb quite like the noodles there that he made me walk 30mins under the hot sun on the last day of our trip just to eat it again. Not to mention we rode there on both Saturday and Sunday only to find the store closed on those days.

While eating, there was this group of "hunks" who walked pass the food store in just swimming trunks. According to one of the guys who offered us a bottle of beer, they were supposed to walk around Patong in this for a day.. :P

Well, Day 1 was pretty boring, since we spend half the time walking and walking, and eventually, we found a store that sells yummylicious fresh live prawns, so we bought 6 pieces, and they cooked and we "tapao-ed" back to the hotel.. 6 huge prawns for just THB138. That's approx to 6 bucks!

And some 10 fried small fishes for just THB29. That's approx S$1.50After finishing, we were somewhat not satisfied. Greedy people :P.. Cheap u see.. So had to head back and "tapao" more back to eat..

Since the time we returned was a super duper busy time for dinner, no one seems to "hew" us.. So we got sick of waiting, and hb helped himself with the "catching" of prawns and fish job.. Happy and satisfied, we headed to Carrefour to buy half a dozen of beer back too.. :)

Day 2 : Breakfast at the hotel.. Only remembered to take pix of this, and, the rest was gone before i could remember that there is sure a thing call CAMERA.. :P

A quick pix at the lobby before heading out for a dive. (No pix on diving since we didn't have a waterproof camera with us.)

Day 2 was 2 dives, so by the time we got back to the room, was tired and only had energy to get prawns and fishes for dinner before we made a dive for the bed.. :P

Day 3 morning, we had 1 dive and in the afternoon, we rented a motorbike and head out to Karon beach. :P

Us at Karon Beach.

Hubby in the sea..

Some pix i took from the beach.

After a while, he got up and we head off to Phuket town. Stop by a petrol kiosk to top-up petrol.. Poor man didn't bring along a towel so he was still dripping water when pumping petrol. He's still in his swimming trunk.

After petrol, we headed up to Viewpoint with some directions offered by the pump attendent.. Nice place that was pretty high up in the mountains..

And we headed to Phuket town after that..

At Central Mall, our dinner..

After dinner, we headed back for a bath.. My hunk is as cooked as the lobster even after me slapping so much suntan lotion on him.

Shortly after the bath, we were ready to head down to Phuket weekend market and, a surprise came from the hotel. A little piece of cake for hubby!

Day 4 : After breakfash, hubby wanted to nap.. So i walked to the mall which was attached to the hotel, had my nails painted (pedicure was a mere THB200 that was less than S$10 and medicure + spa was only THB500 = S$25). Went for facial for THB250 (that was less than S$15).

Afterthat, i treat myself to Swensens and a nice cup of coffee while burying myself in a book.. :)

Check out the price of the ice-cream there. If only the prices of the ice-cream at Swensens were the same in SG, i think it will be super crowded.

Grace's Version of "U Are the One Singapore"

2010-05-23T12:43:00.004+08:00

As usual, monkies see, monkies do.. So, after hearing the YOG song over the tv and radio, Grace decided to sing it in the car (together with the actions). Of cos, we don't expect the little monkie to be able to sing the entire song, just that we couldn't stop laughing when we hear what she tried to subsitute she words she couldn't catch with..

The original version..
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah hey!
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah ho!
You are the one Singapore,
Now is the time here we go go yeah..

Grace's version..
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah hey!
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah ho!
Tu tu tu tu tu Singapore..
Tu tu tu time we go go yeah..

And her song goes non-stop all the way from Bedok to JB!!

The date with Shrek Forever After..

2010-05-22T22:00:00.002+08:00

It was a boring Saturday since mummy monkie flew down a flight of stairs at work.. And the monkie ankle of hers grew into a big fat elephant foot that progressed into a Dino's foot!!

Well.. If it wasn't that, I guessed the monkies won't get a chance to catch a movie on a weekend since it's expensive and boring!!

Anyways, we made our way thru the customs onto JB to catch Shrek! U must be wondering why all the way there to catch a movie.. Well, movies are at a mere RM13 for adults and RM7 for kids! Dirt Cheap and the poor heart wouldn't ache if any of the monkies were to zzz thru the entire show which always happens!!

Of cos, going to JB for movies isn't the main thing on mummy sleeves! She had other plans to 'trick' daddy since we are going JB!! Not for the sake of cheap petrol, but of cos for lok loks!! She got us so influenced that even us ckeekie monkies will out if the blue request for lok loks for supper!!

And, I bet u cannot imagine how much lok loks can fit into our small tummies.. Our small family of 2 grown up monkies and 3 small monkies can stuff in over a hundred sticks of lok loks!! According to daddy, the lok lok uncle only needs 1 family who eats like us everyday and he can go home and zzz liao!!!!

And as usually, after the monkies get the tummy filled up, we will be snoring our way home. Mummy included, leaving poor daddy to use the lok lok sticks to keep his eyes open to drive us all home .. :p

Word World Blues..

2010-05-20T00:19:00.010+08:00

Ms super lay-chay monkie is making my head spin!!

She wants a word world cake that after asking a string of bakers, only 1 agree to attempt.. And, wants to charge me $350 for it..

Damns.. I am going crazy.. She's nagging everyday she wants a word world party and the cake with a "PIG" on top!!

I have ordered something else, but seems like she's so persistant that daddy asking me swop the ordered cake for cuppies and order the $350 word world cake..

NUTS!...

So, if you see it on my blog by end of the month, then i must have really gone bonkers to even order it for her... !! :P

Am Home!!

2010-05-18T21:37:00.002+08:00

Am HOME!!

And boy, it's tiring!! My legs are aching like crazy!!

Gimme a while to sort out the pixs and I will post it up.. :)

Blogging on a Different Device..

2010-05-11T10:56:00.003+08:00

Gosh.. It's so much more convenient to blog these days! On the car, in the toilet, at lunch... Yet, hmm..

Can somemore tell me how to post pictures from the iphone to the blog?

Nick can REALLY READ!!!

2010-05-08T15:40:00.003+08:00

Couple of months back, I brought Nick for trial classes at "I can read".. I hesitated if I wanted to enrol him for classes afterall, I didn't want him to be too stressed out since we enrolled him for "Berries" at almost the same time. Another reason was, we have 3 kids so we have to make sure we spend almost fairly on all 3 kids.

I thought and convinced myself tha little boy has to at least know how to join the words and I was worried since at that point in time he didn't have an English and Math teacher for 2 months, and his chinese teacher was on a month's leave! So, I just thought I sign him up till all's stable in school and we will see what's next.

Few months after attending classes, I have to say I am impressed!! He could read, and not only small word, but long words too!! He now enjoys reading the story books on his own and can even summarize the story to me. Of cos, there are some words where he could read but cannot understand the meaning, so he will come and ask.. Yesterday, I bought 2 books from the bookshop and he read it to me!! Wow!

Well, now that he can already read, I wonder if I should still continue his classes, especially he seems to enjoy it very much.. :)

The Busy May..

2010-05-06T20:44:00.003+08:00

Well, if my May wasn't busy enuff, Nick is down with some high fever with some weird huge rashes!!

And if that isn't enough, he's now hospitalized.. Argh..

Thank god for good friends who offered to help us pick up the run kits for the kids this weekend..

I hope Nick will recover soon :)

How Do You Eat your Bread?

2010-05-06T08:24:00.003+08:00

How do u eat your bread? I bite from the top to the bottom.. The smaller part of the retangle and downwards!

I thought the way Grace bites her little bread is pretty cute.. She eats from the longer part of the retangle and bits it like the way we eat the watermelon!!

cid:5D2B6E09-9841-4164-8B48-A242B3B21EDA/photo.jpg

The Incident on the MRT

2010-05-06T07:52:00.003+08:00

I seldom take the public transport.. 4 months back when i started working, I topped up 3 ezlink cards with a total of $60 bucks and the value is very much intact till today :p

Yesterday, Nick came down with extremely high fever that was hovering at 39.8 to 40.8 degrees celcius so daddy took leave and stayed at home with his son, and me tried to be independent, suggested I take the train home on my own.

Am not sure if it's because I haven't taken the train in a long while, I now realise that the doors shut a bit too soon. The passengers barely had time to alight from the train!! And like me, wanting to board the train almost got pinned by the doors! Or perhaps it's just me.. Never mind, boarded the train and found a place to seat..

2 stations later, a freak accident happened!! While people were pushing and struggling to get in and out of the train, a little boy (I think he's only 2 yo) got his foot caught in the gap, and got caught inbetween the inner and outed doors of the train!! The mum screamed and tears rolled down her cheeks instantly. The dad turned around and started running to the door in an attempt to pulled the son out of the gap and hand out of the door! The people in and outside they train also tried to pull open the inner and outer doors to free the boy before the train move off!! Someone made a dash for the button to communicate with the train driver.. Thank god that someone did that and that prevented the train from moving off and the little boy was pulled out of the train gap in the nick of time.. The whole freak accident happened in lesser than 10 seconds!! Thank god the boy was very much unhurt except for the little bruise from trying to free his hand..

Well, it did scare the shit out of me.. I imagined if it was Grace, I could have just died there!!! I thought the train doors had sensor!! Why did it not detect that little hand there? Why was the train driver in such a hurry to rush off? It was a peak hour, shouldn't they have the doors open for a little longer especially at such busy stations? How could such a freak accident happen in Singapore? We have a world class transport system!! Gosh!!

Busy May..

2010-04-29T20:18:00.004+08:00

I am so not looking forward to May.. Haiz ..

Beginning of the month, I am stuck with all my reports. As it is, on 1st and 2nd of the month, I will be working .. And this "report" period don't quite end till the 20th.. But for this month, I will have to complete my 20 days worth of reports in half the time!!

Afterthat, will be going on a trip with hb. The trip should be pretty ok except for the fact I haven't done anything except booking the tix and hotel. Our diving gear and stuffs needs to be dug out from the storeroom, need to get a new camera as the old one was swiped away hy the currents the last diving trip, perhaps need to buy other stuffs as well.. And I have yet to look for any diving companies there that can do our dives for us.. Hubby is also expected me to surprise him with a chartered yatch so that he can fish which I hope he will drop the idea since that will cost me an arm and a leg.. And I have yet to read up bout where to go and what to do there..

Then 2 days after we get back from the "honeymoon", we will be heading to genting with the kids and my parents !

I think we will be so tired after the 2 trips.!!

Hello Antz

2010-04-27T18:58:00.004+08:00

Grace is getting cuter and cuter by the day!!

Last week, she started naming all the ants she see, tell me their names are Anthony, Jia Wei, Hui Sze etc (the names of her classmates!)

Today, lagee best!! She alighted from the car this morning, started looking at the floor and saw some ants! And she excitely say "hey Anthony, why you follow me to school! Hui Sze, you also!! Why you all come to school with me? You also want to study and become clever?"

Gosh! Haha.. Small monkie made our day! Hubby and me was laughing and taking bout the ants in the whole car journey!

The Missing Toy !!

2010-04-18T14:34:00.006+08:00

Grace must have made someone's day.. But not her parents nor herself..

Her favourate toy is missing.. And it seems like it's gone for good! And, gone with it are all her games and her shows and her songs!

Ya, am referring to her iPhone.. :(

She must have left it at the food court after having her meal the other day or, someone could have taken it away while she was eating and wasn't paying attention..

Poor girl been looking high and low for it, begging her brothers to lend theirs to her and been asking for it every other night.. The other day in her dreams I actually heard 'quarreling' with Nick that the iPhone is hers!

She's also been dragging me into phone shops asking me to get her a new iPhone..

Daady's been tellin me to give her my 32gb iPod touch since I barely use it now.. But what if she loses it again? Haiz..

Pissed!!

2010-04-15T22:47:00.001+08:00

Hubby just had a fierce quarrel with MIL.. And me am damn pissed!!

I almost never like to book budget airlines since these flights need to be pre-booked way in advance to get a real cheap deal!

However, this time round,I booked.. Since it's hubby's birthday and there is no way I can 'escape' by not applying for leave, i booked the tix since early Jan this year so we only pay 100 bucks for the flights to and fro Phuket! And before I confirm the seats, I got hubby to confirm with MIL that she could come her and look after the monkies!!

Well, hubby just called MIL to remind her that she has to come and help us to look after the monkies, and she can actually tell hubby that she forgotten about it and she agreed to help SIL to look after her kids! WTF!! She can actually suggest we cancel our trip since we cannot trust the new maid to look after them!

Why on earth can't she ask SIL to cancel their trip or ask her to bring her kids along? Why does she always puts my hubby in 2nd place? Is my hubby not her son too? Or his monkies aren't her grand children?

Never mind!! The next time round they ask for money, we will know how to manage the situation!

Toys, Toys and more Toys!

2010-04-12T00:07:00.003+08:00

My home have always been cluttered with the kids stuffs..

Boxes and boxes of all sort or toys, from the hot wheel cars to fast track ones, from clipo to mega building bricks, you name them, I should have them somewhere..

The study room has 2 long tables of train track since the Thomas craze, we have bought sets and sets of the wooden train tracks from 'the Better Toy Store' and ikea, a multi-store car park converted into tracks for thomas to go up and down some 'mountains' ..

The kitchen has a set of kids kitchen set for Grace to cook for her babies, and her babies sit in a part of the living room near the dollhouse and a doll tea table set for them to enjoy afternoon tea..

In the most recent toy craze, Nick has a whole table at the other end of the hall,with his whole collection of Lego set that builds from a construction site with a petrol kiosk, an aircraft and even an airport control tower!!

Apart from that, the kids have to find time to play with their iPhones, the wii and their psp..

Perhaps I should be selling off some of th toys soon.. It's taking up too much space at home and they barely have time for them.. :(

Spoilt for Choices or No Choice?

2010-04-11T19:10:00.005+08:00

Life is full of choices.. Be it a big choice or a small one, it definate makes an impact somewhere,somehow and sometime..

I recently choose to return to the workforce as I find staying at home very much a waste of time.. Period.. After my return, I continued to stubbornly cook dinner every morning so that the kids have their homecooked meal on the table when they are home in the evening..

I been insisting of packing the house on my own since I couldn't quite find an up to my standard part-time cleaner.. And because of me being such a perfectionist, my husband suffers.. When I work late, he takes care of the 3 monkies and help out with the kids even after a long and tiring day at work.. To add to that, since I returned to the workforce, the children's enrichment class have been pushed to the evenings. On top of that, I signed Nick for 'i can read' and all 3 for Berries.

Now that it's been coming to 3 months since I went back to work, we are all exhausted! Very much exhausted..

We visited the maid agency, hopefully the approval and maid will be here in a week's time.. For that choice I made not to keep the previous maid, and I have no regrets. The monkies are for sure much more independent that what they used to be, closer to us.. Sam on the bright side has even took up the responsibility of folding his own clothes, ironing his uniform and washing his own school shoes.. Nick has learned to keep his own stuffs after using them and take responsibility of his own stuffs.. Grace also learned how to keep herself entertained, brushed her teeth on her own change her clothes and climb to bed without us informing her of the time!

Great achievement since the maid left!

I am so inlove with my monkies!!!!!

School is BLACK!

2010-03-30T19:07:00.001+08:00

Grace could be telling us something recently..

In her most recent colouring, she coloured school BLACK!

Not that black is her favourite colour, infact, pink is! Her pigs are pink, her home is pink (b'cos piggy's BARN in wordworld is pink), and the parks in her pictures are pink.. So to us, that symbolizes "happy things"

We are still wondering why is school BLACK, and this morning, on the way to Shichida Kindergarten, we asked her is it that she didn't enjoy school? Her reply was "meimei like toa payoh school, meimei don't like the other school!" I suspect the other school refers to the childcare she goes to after kindergarten. She recently cry buckets when we drop her off there, refusing to go to school, clinging on to my legs, screaming at the top of her voice when i walk away. The childcare teacher have also been telling me she's been falling asleep in class when she's sitting on the chair or floor way before nap time and she sleeps longer than others during nap time..

I wonder why is this happening.. I checked with Shichida this morning, and her teacher there actually told me otherwise.. She's usually happy, hopping around, chatting with the teachers and classmates etc! She also participarts a lot in class when teacher teaches!

So.. Perhaps we need to apply for leave and spot-check what usually happens in childcare centre!

Cold Storage Kids Run 2010

2010-03-23T14:53:00.001+08:00

The monkies will be heading for the Cold Storage Kids Run this 23 May!!

Mummy is so so excited! hehe.. Cannot wait..

But for now, we will need to bring them for "training" at the beach every weekend..

Praying for no rain please.. :)

Have u registered for your slot yet? Register here to join us there!