Selfish Mummy..

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.. :(

Home 家 ..

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

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..

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..

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? 

His Christmas Wish..

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

Article for Married Couples...

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.

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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.

Unspeakable Fears..

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.. 

Blogging on a Different Device..

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?

The Incident on the MRT

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!!

School Day 3 and 4..

The mornings are becoming better after i spoke to Grace and preparing her that we are still going to school the next day. It's no longer a battle ground where i have to deal with the cry-ings and them refusing to go to school.. 

Grace now wakes up on her own and head to the kitchen to look for daddy for her milk, and when she's done with the milk, she will put it at the kitchen basin, then brushes her teeth and change into her uniform without fussing. 

Nick still refuse to get out of bed most of the time, but once daddy goes into the room to scream, he will also go into the bathroom to brush his teeth, then change into his uniform and sit at the dinning table for breakfast. 

Sam is a little more stubborn.. He has the laziest bones which makes daddy scream at him 3 times at least before waking up and get prepared. 

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Evenings aren't too bad either.. 

Sam is usually independently at home doing his homework.

For Wednesdays, i drop Nick at Enopi and Grace for ballet at 5pm and by 6.15pm we are already at home. Usual routine, cook dinner and eat. My parents had offered to take care of the 3 kids after dinner that day, so hb and i went for a short "pak tok" date at the supermarket restocking on the groceries.

For Thursdays, the kids will come back for dinner first and afterthat, Nick will attend his music lessons. After lessons, he will come home, does his homework and the kids will be in bed around 10pm. 

The kids have grown up a far bit since the maid left.. They are definitely more independent, closer to us and they have also learnt to take care of each other..  I like the way the kor-kors fuss about their little sister and takes care of her without me asking them to.  I love the way the family is now..

Sam On The Public Transport...

This morning, he pulled me aside and asked if he can take the public transport home on his own again after school.. He says he likes looking out for the bus, board the bus with his friends, pay his own fare like an adult, choose his favorite seat and look out of the windows to look at things. He likes to take charge of pressing the bell and alighting the bus on his own.. He wants to learn take care of himself.. 

I agreed, but i mention that if he's too tired, please take the school bus home since we have already paid for it. Not to play or run while crossing the roads. Wait for the green man when crossing the road even if there are no cars. Don't play on the stairs while on the bus. And call when when he's leaving school and reached home.. 

As much as i couldn't stop worrying, i know i have to give him space and time to grow up.. 

I also fear the day will that Nick and Grace will ask me the same thing. How many more years can i hold on to their hands before they tell me to stop cos they are afraid their friends will laugh at them. How long more will it be before they tell me to drop them off 2 bus stops before school so that they can be seen as going to school on their own. How many more precious years is it going to be before they stops flashing that award winning smile, run and hug me when they see me picking them up after classes.. :(

I know i will have to deal with it soon, but not too soon i hope.. 

Dilemma..

Am about to burst into tears!

Nick is due for Primary 1 registration in 2011, going to school in 2012.. If i want to sign up and do voluntary work so that he stands a better chance in getting into the schools of my choice, i need to do so within the next couple of days!

My choices as such.. 

• Tao Nan School - I need not do any voluntary work, Nick gets a confirm slot in Phase 1.
• Ngee Ann Primary - I also do not need to do any voluntary work, Nick gets a confirm slot in Phase 2A2.
• Red Swastika School /Temasek Primary School - I need to apply and fulfill 40 hours of voluntary work, put my name in for Phase 2B, perhaps need to ballot or may not even get a slot since i stay only within the 2KM range.. If i am not selected as a parent volunteer, i will have to register under Phase 2C and the chances of going in is very very low..
• There are other choices such as Opera Estate Primary, Yu Neng Primary, Feng Shan Primary within the estate, if i apply and do 40 hours of voluntary work, we should get in for Phase 2B, otherwise, register under Phase 2C also shouldn't have much problems in getting in.... 

Well.. I shouldn't have so much problems getting my #2 into Primary School and infact, i should be spoilt for choices since i have quite a number of better schools to choose from.. But as a matter of fact, i am and i am very very stressed.. 

Sadly, my #2 isn't one of those very bright kid, or perhaps a late bloomer (i hope), so looking at the choices i have, i am really having a hard time.. 

• Tao Nan School - A top school in Singapore.. One that i so badly wanted my eldest to enter so that he will have the best education. Standards wise, i suppose it's very high and perhaps (and i am so afraid) might crush my #2's confidence if he doesn't does well. And since #2, i could say, is very KS and diligent, am also afraid he spends his whole entire time sitting there and study just to do as well as his peers.
• Ngee Ann Primary - A better school than other many neighborhood schools, definitely among my few best choice, but it's a little far from home!
• Red Swastika School / Temasak Primary School - A better school than other many neighborhood schools, among my few better choice, nearer to home, but have to apply and do the 40 hours of voluntary work, yet, no guarantee Nick can get in!

The problem is.. 

• if i don't register Nick for Tao Nan School, Grace will not get a place in this school under Phase 1 as by the time she is due of Primary 1, Sam will already be in Secondary School.
• if i register Nick in Tao Nan School, poor boy might be so caught up with studying that he may not have time to play since he is KS (i should be positive and use the word "diligent" instead) by nature.. 
• if i do not register him at Ngee Ann Primary for Phase 2A2, he will not get a place in that school for the next few phases anymore as we are living outside the 2km range from the school and, it's not easy to get into that school too.. 
• for Red Swastika School / Temasek Primary School, if we do not get into the school at Phase 2B, chances in 2C might be close to 0.. 
• i cannot secure a slot at Ngee Ann Primary, throw in for ballot at Red Swistaka or Temasek Primary. Neither can i put my name in for ballot for both Red Swastika and Temasek Primary! It's either ONE.. :(
• And if Red Swastika or Temasek Primary fails, then i am only left with the unwanted choices of neighborhood school!

Oh damn!! Why do i have so much headaches!! 

And, for Grace, i actually was thinking of checking out the Convent Schools for her when she is due for Primary School!  Am i just too KS also?

The 2nd Day of School

Everything went as planned.. The kids have just gone to bed.. Yups.. 10pm! Must be my lucky day!

Morning went alright.. There was the usual struggle to get the kids out of bed, convince Grace to change into her uniform and go to school.. And at 7.35am, we are out of the house.. 

Tomorrow, we will be leaving home earlier since hubby has decided to drop Sam off in school instead of him taking the school bus as he thinks that the school bus is too early! Poor boy perhaps can catch another 45 mins of sleep rather than waking up at 5.45am.. There is only a mere $5 reduction on the bus fare.. :(

Evening battle was a little more tiring since it's a long day at school and at work for hubby.. 

Dinner was as usual, 30 mins to cook, 3 dishes and 1 soup.. 

• Carrot, potato and chicken soup
• Steam Cod Fish with sauce
• Stir Fried French Beans with prawn and pork (usually when we have a dish with prawn, there will be another with pork or chicken as Sam is allergy to prawns, so he will take the one with pork instead.)
• Sweet Sour Pork using those packet sauce

After dinner, Nick sat down and practiced his electone and continued with his Kumon homework after he was done with his electone practice.. And at 9ish pm, he declared that he has completed his English and Math worksheets, did some chinese reading, got changed and went to bed. Grace is a copycat, sat at the table and scribble on her books which Nick was busy with his homework!

Now that the kids are in bed, the flour and ingredients are in the bread machine making my yummy pandan bread for tomorrow breakie and hubby is in the kitchen doing the dishes, i should be burying myself in my books and go to bed in 3-4 hours time when the bread is done.. :)

It's a good day today! 

The First Day of School..

The first day of school was good. Hope it stays that way.. 

6.35am : Sam's school bus came to fetch him to school. 

7.10am : Nick, Grace and me woke up and prepared for school.

7.45am : Drop Nick off at childcare centre. 

8.00am : Drop Grace off at Shichida.

After breakfast, hubby dropped me off at MDIS.

Around 11am, the school bus will pick Grace from Shichida and send her to old childcare centre that Nick is in.. 

Grace and Nick will have lunch in the childcare centre. 

Afterthat, Grace will take her nap while the centre supervisor will drop Nick off at PCF Kindergarten and pick him up at 4pm... 

Me.. Am done with classes around 5pm, hubby fetches me, pick the kids up from childcare centre, and head home.. 

Then, the real battle begins!  

Hubby baths while i cook dinner, the kids change into their home clothes and plays their toys while waiting for dinner to be ready!. 

Yesterday's dinner wasn't too bad. 3 dishes and 1 soup done in 30mins!!  

• Lotus soup was cooked using the thermal cooker in the morning with the rice cooked on a seperate tier in the soup. Heat up the soup slightly and 1 dish done.. 
• Fish was prepared the night before, kept in the fridge, fry..  
• Vegetable with pork was also cut, packed and stored in the fridge the night before, stir fry.. 
• Teriyaki chicken done using pre-packed sauce...

  

After dinner, hubby did the dishes, while i took some 10mins to stare at Sam's higher chinese text book and declared that i can barely read his books already.. :( 

Folded the laundry, kept the clothes into the cupboard and checked on Nick's homework. 

10ish, the kids were in bed and me in the kitchen baking some muffins for the kids breakie, chopping and packing the food for the next day's dinner.. :)

After all's done and cleared up, *yawn* time to go back to the books...

Help Desk?

It's 4th day into the New Year! 2 person called and asked for a loan.. 

On Friday, SIL called for a loan.. Hubby refused. Then MIL called to scold hubby for turning SIL down saying that that is his sister, if he don't help her, then who will etc etc.. Well, they have got to realize that they have got to make their money last a whole month and not going around asking for a loan and jumping at us when we refuse to lend (should be give since it never comes back anyway!)!  *pissed*

This morning, a not so close friend called saying her son is ill, and needed a loan to bring him to the doctor.. I was puzzled.. About 5 months back, she was complaining to me that the house she bought was so freaking small and there isn't enough space for her and her kids. She said that she should have insisted her husband to buy one 1 with the size like mine.. 2 months back, she called and told me she's done with the renovations and it has costed her 60k!! That's hell of a lot for a 3room flat!  And according to her, she's re-done the whole house including hacking up the entire flooring!

I remembered that same evening hb came home, i was telling him i feel so short-changed. 

Our very 1st flat was a 3room.. Very small.. We barely paid anything in cash since CPF covered the entire downpayment. We forked out 300 bucks for paint and we ended up going down to the house every evening after work, painted till 11ish, took a bus back to my parents place to sleep. There were times when both of us were just too exhausted after working and painting and we ended up sleeping on the small mattress in partly painted house that smelled of paint!  

Our 1st sofa was sponsored by my grand-mama since we are so cash striped.. Water heater was paid by my dad. We didn't even had money then to pay for a new toilet bowl or new cabinet that we used back whatever was left by the previous owner.  Mum sponsored a ceiling fan for the hall. That was it.. 

We moved into the new home with a sofa, a water heater, our old queen size mattress, an old 15inch box television, a ceiling fan, a cooking stove we bought from giant at $29 and a small kids table for 1 dollar so that we could sit on the floor and eat. Dad pitied us, he gave us an old bar fridge and bought us some new plates and utensils. That was it! 

We lived in that manner for the next 1 year+. Then slowly, we saved up for a dining table, so almost 2 years after moving in, we had a decent dining table.. Slowly, a mini size fridge, then a system 1 air-con, then a slightly bigger television and it went on. 

It took us almost 3 years to save up for a downpayment for a small car, so that we could fetch our ,then 4yo son, who was living with my parents. 

Then, things got better and we moved out into our current place. Still, i didn't bare to spend that much on reno for our new home. We left our flooring untouched as we aren't sure if there will be an enbloc for our new home, so it didn't make much sense to pay 15k on sometime we will only use a couple of years if the enbloc went thru.. I shopped around for a decent sofa, went out to buy all those plugs and stuffs etc so that that will lower my entire reno cost, got individual contractors to come in and built up different items which brought my whole ID cost down from the original 45k to a mere 11k including all my sofas, plasma TVs and air-con units.. 

Perhaps we learnt that money don't drop from heaven the hard way, so we didn't feel a need to pay 45k or to apply for loan just to renovate the house!. 

Oh, back to that friend.. She apparently took a loan from 3 bank (i was told), thus managed to loan the full 60k, her husband is the sole bread winner at home bringing slightly below 2k a month (i was told), she has a maid (i dunno how she applied since u need a min of 30k per annum to apply for 1), her 3 room flat has 3 plasma tvs (i am not against people who buy big and nice flat screens, but i don't agree that you buy something nice and put it at home, while the kids have no food to eat or no money for them to see doctor when they are ill).. 

Anyways, i gave her a 50 bucks loan... Am not sure if it would come back, but ya.. The 1st and the last time.

All the best to her!

Schools!! Here We Come!!

2 more days, the kids (big and small ones!) will be back in school!

Sam : It will be his first day in Tao Nan, daddy will be driving him to school that morning, so i guess all will be quite the same as previously..

School books - checked

New uniforms - checked

New socks - checked

Shoes painted - checked

Nick : He will still be back in the same childcare centre, all's almost the same except he will be attending PAP Kindergarten in the afternoons instead of napping since he has such a hard time falling asleep.

School books - checked

Childcare uniforms - checked

PAP School uniforms - checked

New Shoes - checked

Grace : She will be attending Shichida Kindergarten in the morning, 11am the school bus will send her to the current childcare centre, and she will have her lunch and nap there till we fetch her in the evenings. 

Shichida uniforms - checked

Childcare uniforms - checked

New Shoes - checked

Mummy : She will be going back to school.. :P Nervous and excited, like a small child, also prepared her books, files, packed her pencil case and is all ready for school!

Schools!! Here we come!!

My New Year Day..

Was still feeling moody when i woke up that morning. Hubby was nice, he let me sleep in till 10ish, while he baby-sit the kids, but nevertheless, them laughing and shouting while playing on the wii woke me up.. 

Hubby had made arrangements to c/o the kids at mum's place, so we got changed, brought them to mum's and both of us went out.. 

We went to catch "The Princess and The Frog" at Kallang Leisure Mall, had a nice Japanese meal and went to Expo for Metro sales.. The day's activities definitely did some mood lifting and i was back to my chipy mood by the time we picked the kids.. :)

Mood Swings and Weird Cravings!

I know it's the 1st day of the New Year and i am supposed to feel super enthusiastic about the new year.. 

Weirdly, i am not.. Am feeling irritable, frustrated and worse of all, am craving for hot pot, ice-cream and hoping some silly person comes to me now and let me scream my head off at him.. 

Aiyo!!.. What is wrong with me???

December A Long, Stressful, Worrying and Tiring Month..

December's been an extremely long month for me.. 

• I started my online business, took a plunge and went ahead with my pushcart idea, got so tied up that i am literally worked day and night.. 
• Grace started on this bad habit that every day the first thing she does when she opens her eyes is "Mummy, i Love You. I don't want to go to school, i want to go kai kai (since the push cart is in a shopping mall) with you.."  Every day, to send her to school, i need to pacify her.. And, Nick and her will cry buckets from the moment they alight from the car till they reach the school.. 
• Nicholas and Grace are behaving badly these days. Am not too sure if it's because i am not giving them enough attention compared to previously, or is it Grace is going thru her terrible twos and Nicholas "monkie see , monkie do", they now cry and scream in public whenever i say NO to them.. Grace even goes to the extend of sitting on the floor, cry, and at times, lie down on the floor to cry, attracting passerby who stop and shake their heads. 
• Sam's school holiday was packed with holiday classes in the mornings, and usually afternoons are free. So i usually have to drop him off for classes and pick him at noon to send him home. Perhaps, the positive part of me doing some small push cart business is he has learnt to be more independent. On a few occasions when i cannot pick him on time, he is able to take MRT or catch a cab home on his own after classes. Also, he now is not afraid of being at home alone for a couple of hours.
• My mum had went to go her tooth extracted. Somehow, the extraction didn't go very well and to my disgust, apart from the whole extraction trauma she went through, the left side of her face had a huge patch of blue-black from the cheek all the way to the neck indicating that some blood vessels have been punctured during the procedure. The whole swell took 2 long weeks to subside of which during those times, we were so scared whenever we saw her bleeding thru her nose and mouth after the extraction procedure.
• Grand-mama had a mild heart failure some 2 days before Christmas, and we cancelled the family vacation to Hanoi so that i can bring her to the doctors. You may ask why is it me.. Where are her children? Well.. Mum took long MC after the tooth extraction, so she couldn't apply for leave when it happened.. My aunty also recently started work with a new company, and since it was close to x'mas, many of her colleagues were on leave and there was shortage of man-power, so it was tough for her.. My uncle? Honestly, i dunno. He's at home, still unemployed after 10+ years, so perhaps that's the reason, my grand-mama didn't want him to bring her to the doctors knowing that he will have to approach his wife or us for money.. And, dad and hubby are pretty mad with the family. From the cost incurred from the cancellation of our trip, to the doctor's visits and tests, neither my aunty nor my uncle has offered to pay any part or a portion of Grand-mama's bills. Mum helped with half, i am quietly paying the other half, and hubby is feeling the pinch since cardiologist bills are as expected, hefty.  I will blog about the whole story in a separate entry..
• The unit above mine was sold sometime ago.. Owners i supposed are rushing with reno works, intime for Chinese New Year. But, of all days, hacking works had to start today! The kids are at home since school is closed today, so they couldn't even catch a nap with all the crazy hacking noises and were cranky.. Hubby and myself were obviously too tired for all their nonsenses.. And what's worse? The hackings will go on all the way till 3rd Jan which is the whole long weekend with the kids! Seriously, i couldn't understand how some people can be so inconsiderate or don't they even have any common sense!.. It's a long weekend, and like many other people, we just need our quiet break.. Can't they schedule their hackings on a normal working day when the chances are, people will be out at work? Haiz.. 

Anyways.. It's the last day of 2009.. I supposed in this post, i have used up my grumbling quota for 2009.. Although, my December's been a crazy month, and I believe my 2010 will be better.. :) My 2009, i am blessed with lots of love and patience from my darling husband, countless kisses and hugs from my 3 monkies, a healthy and happy family, and a lot of good friends who love and cared about me.. I hope i will be blessed with the same if not more for 2010.. 

For 2010, i hope -

• grand-mama will recover real soon..
• hubby will shower me with more love (greedy!) and more pocket money :P
• i will be very discipline on attending my lectures and on sending the kids for their enrichment classes..
• everyone will be blessed with good health, lots of love, happiness and money. 
• every wish and dream will come true. :)
• all will be generous in donating to the less fortunate.

Have a blessed 2010!