Chew Household

Weekly

2012-02-13T20:46:00.001+08:00

The weekly ting xie and spelling are a torture for both him and me. I have outsourced this duty to the after-school care but sometimes the teacher simply doesn't have the time to do all with him. He is too easily distracted. It's past his bedtime but I am still doing spelling with him. The words are not tough. It's just that his heart is not there. Yes, he does need to see the cane so that he can work!

Work In Progress

2012-02-13T19:56:00.001+08:00

Slowly but surely.... According to Teacher Maria, Cephas is creative in adding details to his haunted house. The stairs he drew is beautiful. Progres is slow as he dislikes coloring. Celestiel is diligently working on her 'sea'. She loves painting just like Cephas. She can be a little too enthusiastic, always painting on the same spot. Can you see the mermaid? Isn't that beautiful? :)

Swim

2012-02-12T21:37:00.002+08:00

Celestiel finally plucks her courage and puts her head in the water and blows bubbles. It's a great leap of faith for her. She's very proud of her achievement and so are we. It's a pity I did not have my camera to capture the moment. I believe her progress will hasten since she dares to put her head in the water now.
Cephas is the unofficial teacher-assistant aka the kaypoh today. He joined Celestiel's class and another class to cheer them on. He reports to Teacher Katherine their progress and whatever not. We looked on at a distance. :)
I bought a pair of goggles at Suntec from a very grumpy saleslady. No wonder the shop is so quiet. Anyway, I managed to swim 6 laps today. 2 laps with Cephas, watching him see freestyles- instruction from Teacher Katherine. That boy is lazy. He hates to swim freestyles. Hopefully I can swim more laps in weeks to come as I slowly let Teacher Katherine takes over the children. I like to observe the children when they swim as the class is big.
A mental note to self: Time to get new swim wear for the children. The present ones are wearing off....

Urinary Incontinence

2012-02-12T09:49:00.000+08:00

I know the results even before going through the test. When I surfaced the problem 2 years ago to my gynae, Dr Cheng, he too mentioned that my bladder is rather low. He prescribed medicine but the problem still persist.
How affected am I? Not exactly. I have learnt to cope with the problem. No jumping and running. Problem is magnify when I am sick. I tend to wet myself when I cough or sneeze. I have to constantly remind myself to either drink lesser water or go toilet more often when I am outside.
When I went for my pap smear in December last year, I surfaced the problem to Dr Cheng again. He suggested that I go for a test to know the severity of my problem. Since he does not have the equipment to do the test, I was referred to another doctor, Dr Christopher Chong at Gleneagles. Appointment is arranged on 11th January.
We took time off for the appointment. I didn't know anything about the procedure until I talked to clinic staff who coincidentally is the one who is going to run the test. Only the staff and I were in a room. Chewy was not allowed in. It's a small room with a connecting toilet. I was first asked to remove my panty. Fine. Then she direct me to the toilet. I was supposed to pee when she asked me to. Main purpose was to collect and measure the amount of my urine. The process was embarrassing as the toilet door was wide open. She could see me sitting on the toilet bowl. When I was done, she pressed a button, the toilet bowl is flushed and the computer had the data.
Next, I lie on the bed. She inserted a catheter. It was to stop my urine flow. A little awkward but bearable. Next, she inserted a tube into my anus. This tube will 'insert' saline into my bladder. I needed to control as long as I could. Less than a minute, I asked her to stop. After she removed the tube and the catheter, I went to the toilet to pee. Again, I peed at her instruction. The door was still open. When I am done, she pressed a button, the toilet bowl is flushed and the computer had the data. She walked in the toilet and laid a towel on the floor. I was instructed to stand on it. She asked me to cough and to relax at the same time. Guess what? I wet the towel. All in her presence.
After I was dressed, she told me that my muscle of my bladder is weak and sensitive. I could not exactly remember the details since it's about a month now. Anyway her parting words to me is "See you in the operating theatre!'
Another appoinment to discuss my case with Dr Cheng when he received the formal report. He shared with me the procedures. Either the sling method ( a new technology which he does not perform) or the conventional method by simply pushing the bladder back in place. I am still in a dilemma if I should go. Time is a reason cos I only have a window period of 10 days that I can be operated in a month. Money is of course another reason. I have yet to check with the insurance company how much exactly I can claim she just left the service. Haiz. And of course, the children are another concern. Who is going to take care of them when I am not around and during my recovery?
I know I will procrastinate and sit on the problem. I have done that for more than 2 years already.

A Cut

2012-02-11T12:19:00.001+08:00

Happened 2 days ago. Kind of have forgotten about it until I saw it just now. The teacher at after school care was very worried and told me about the cut when I fetch him that day. She applied some cream on it as it was red and looked sore. Cephas told me that his friend actually tied him with a string and pulled him around which resulted in that cut. A really silly boy to allow a friend to do that to him. I bet they were laughing and having so much fun till the boy pulled a little too hard.

Conditional Love

2012-02-11T12:12:00.002+08:00

Gong Gong always says Celestiel's love for him is conditional. hehee. Celestiel loves to carry her doll, Botak Baby, around. Gong Gong felt that Botak Baby is too old and dirty. One day, after his medical check up at SGH, he dropped by at OG to shop for a new doll for her.
Celestiel was overjoyed. She gave him extra hugs and kisses that night. Calling him 'gong gong' so sweetly. Only that night. Hahaa.
The very next day, she's back to 'square one'. Limited hugs and ignoring him when Gong Gong calls for her to hug him! LOL.

Sleepover

2012-02-10T23:57:00.004+08:00

Cephas is staying over at my parents' place tonight. My mum who is super superstitious , believes that today is an auspicious day to change his fate by having him to sleep outside (anywhere but not his own bed). To please my mum, I dutifully obey. I don't dare to make her angry since I need her help. Grin. Anyway, no harm for the boy to sleepover. When I told him of the arrangement this morning, he thought he was going to Malaysia. LOL. Thankfully he accepted the reason (I told him the grandparents want to have him for a night). No further questions.
When I picked both of them, I reminded Cephas of the arrangement. Celestiel heard and declared that she wanted to sleep over at Grandparents' place too. I gasped for a moment. Since I was driving, I asked them to play scissors, paper, stone. The winner will stay at Grandparents' house. Cephas won all the time and that created a 'floodgate' behind. A good 10 mins of crying.
The conclusion: She didn't sleep over after all. I didn't do anything. I simply told her I am sleeping at home. She didn't whine when we left. She gave Cephas such as tight hug. The sight warms my heart. Cephas was jumping around in the bedroom in his new pyjama (another of my mum's decree), totally fine with the arrangement. On the way home, she told me she missed Korkor. She then requested to sleep with us. Chewy agreed. The girl is sleeping soundly on our bed now.
I truly agreed that breastfed babies are more sticky to their mummies. :)

Stationery

2012-02-09T20:48:00.002+08:00

It's only a little more than a month and Cephas has used up about a box of coloured pencils. Only the red coloured pencil has lead. Think I should renew my Popular card!

'Night' time

2012-02-08T20:45:00.002+08:00

Celestiel was the first to reach school today. Chewy had some important guests in town and had to leave for work early. He helped me to take Cephas to the bus stop to wait for his school bus.
I prepared Celestiel the night before that she needed to wake up early today. Didn't have problem waking her up at 6.30am. She drank her milk and had a quick shower. Tied her hair and left 15 mins later. She still thinks it's 'night' time since the sky is dark. :)

On the way to her school, she saw a big car stop beside us at a traffic junction. She asked me when I can buy a bigger car as she likes big car! *ahem* I would love a big car too but who will pay for it?? *wink*
Anyway, Celestiel will be going to school at 'night' time more often since Chewy is traveling quite often this month. He already dropped the bomb that he will be away for about 3 + 10 days soon. Life is hard as a 'single' mother. Sigh.

To the Dentist

2012-02-04T19:37:00.001+08:00

Cephas had his first dental visit on school yesterday. He told us that the dentist said he has beautiful teeth! Hahaa. He had scaling and declared dentally fit. He received a fair for his oral hygiene based on some instructions ( I think). He received a toothbrush and a small toothpaste before he left. Colgate is very generous to sponsor such nice gifts for the children. In fact, Cephas owns one too. His next check-up will be on 20th March.

Losses

2012-02-02T19:40:00.002+08:00

I'm dealing with losses almost everyday. Missing pencils on one day, missing water bottle the next. To date, he has forgotten to bring home pencils (some days, he can lose all his pencils), pencil case, story book, water bottle, pocket money and breakfast snack. Today, he came home without his wallet. He has LOTS of excuses for all the missing items. So and so took this, I left it ( breakfast snack) on table unattended etc. The worst excuse is 'I don't know!' He did manage to get back his things most of the time the next day but I'm just upset that he is so irresponsible with his own belongings. He is not bothered by it at all. I was checking his pencil case just now. Two broken rulers.

He initially blamed it on his friend. After much interrogation, he admitted he was the culprit. No reason for the act. Arrrrrgh.
He went to the bookshop to buy a pencil and spent the whole afternoon playing with it. The teacher at his student care actually confiscated it and passed it to me when I fetch him.
I am tempted not to give him money since I pack him breakfast. Reason? He doesn't take care. His worst buy? Mineral water as he likes the bottle.
Oh... Totally speechless. Sigh.

Artists in Training

2012-01-31T21:13:00.001+08:00

Art lesson resumed yesterday. Celestiel has officially joined Cephas for class. Teacher Maria has kindly accommodated my request to put the two of them together. I understand the progress will be slow for both of them as she can only attend to them one at a time. It's fine with me actually. Slow and steady win the race ya? Cephas was a little disappointed to learn that Hann will not join him for lesson. I can't move his lesson to Tuesday as I have serval workshops on Tuesday which ends at 5pm.
Was a mad rush day. Art lesson starts at 4.45pm. I rushed home at 3.20pm. Had a quick shower. Fetch Cephas then Celestiel. We did manage to reach there on time. Lesson stopped at 5.55pm as I needed to rush off to deposit them at Grandparents' house as I had lesson at 7pm. I was slightly late for my class, reaching at 7.10pm. But all is well. 5 more weeks of mad rush until my module ends. I can do it!

人日

2012-01-30T17:27:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was the seventh day of CNY, which is known as 人日 which means it's everyone birthday. Granduncle Dave (my paternal side) invited all of us to his house for lunch. My first time to his place though his family has moved there for more than 10 years. Shame on me. We also lou hei for another heng heng year!

Granduncle Dave has left a deep impression on Celestiel, mainly because he has long hair which is not a norm for man. Just the other day, we were watching the drama show on Ch 8 at 7pm. She whispered to me that Granduncle Dave is like one of those princes as he has long hair. Really funny to the max.

Gong Gong with Celestiel.

Cephas entertaining himself withChewy's iphone

Jayden is 4

2012-01-26T23:27:00.001+08:00

A very outdated post. We celebrated our dearest nephew, Jayden's birthday 2 weeks ago. My brother bought a super yummy chocolate cake from Awfully Chocolate. Sinfully yummy. Simply had to forget about my dieting plan for once. Hehee.

Saints Family

2012-01-25T11:24:00.000+08:00

We are offically part of the SAPTA- In another words, we are part of the parent-voluntee group. The tee is given to Chewy.

Day 2

2012-01-24T20:50:00.003+08:00

It's pretty much SOP for us for the second day. We went to mil's place for breakfast before
heading to pay respect to my fil. We had a late lunch at Long John Silver at Jurong Point. This year, we did not go to Chewy's granny's place as his Granny will be staying over at mil's place over the weekend.
We went to the National Museum after lunch. 2 simple reasons- it's free entrance for all galleries and I know Chewy will like the Dreams & Reality exhibition. I was there recently with my pupils. I (my class) managed to tag along with a public guide who has great wealth of knowledge of the paintings. I walked out of the gallery, totally enriched. Hehee.

Chewy took Cephas with him. My mil and bil joined them too. I took Celestiel to see the permanent exhibitions.
We only spent about an hour at the museum. We sent mil and bil home and after which, we went to Aunty Lance's place. Another SOP. We returned home early at 7pm. It's back to reality for all of us except Chewy tomorrow. The celebrations is a little too short this year. 3rd day of CNY is not a holiday. Sad. For many years, we usually go to the zoo on the 3rd day.

River Hongbao

2012-01-24T10:54:00.001+08:00

We checked out the River Hongbao last Saturday, the first day of the opening. As expected, the place is not exactly ready. Guess, the interesting thing is the sho case of all the zodiac signs. We are not believers of the signs. They are simply to us part of the Chinese cultures and they are cute to take pictures with.
We had to stop for a little tea break. Look at Cephas' hair. Wet. It was another hot day.
A trishaw on display which reminded them of the Malacca trip last month.
More photo taking...

The girl definitely enjoys taking picture lately. She posed with 11 creatures.... I can't figure out which one she has mised out.

We were the first to patronise this stall selling ice cream. This man was so entertaining that he made the children laugh so loudly that attracted a crowd.

River Hongbao is open till 29 January. Do check it out if you don't mind the crowd. There are many rides that the children will love though they are not free.

Huat ar!

2012-01-23T22:23:00.002+08:00

Chinatown

2012-01-23T21:20:00.009+08:00

This year we managed to troop down to Chinatown twice. Our first rip was 3 weeks ago (7th Jan). It was not exactly easy to convince the children, especially Cephas, to go there. Cephas kept insisted that the place is boring and he didn't want to go there, wanting to stay at home instead. On the day we decided to go to Chinatown, we actually had to kept our plans under wrap, only telling him we were going to a special place. When we reached, there was no protest. Must be the music [dong dong qiang songs] in the air.It was a very hot day and we stopped often for drinks and snacks. There were lots of samples offered by the stall owners to try too. The children were very much captivated by the CNY decorations.
There was a shop selling some Hello Kitty accessories that caught Celestiel's eyes. I did buy a pack of hairclips for her but forgetful me lost them along the way.
We sropped by at the Tin Tin shop. We are not fans of the characters but it was so hot that we needed to take shelter indoors.
After an hour or so, the boy's hair was totally wet....
Along the way, we met a very young 'Fortune God'. The children walked to him get free sweets.We chanced upon this cafe, The Loft, that serves brekkie all day long. A cosy cafe. Great place for tea.

We ordered toast and waffles. Yummy!

While walking back to our car (we parked next to Maxwell market), we saw this shop that sells interesting cameras.
We had a great time there even though it was a hot day. Celestiel didn't even want go home. :) We made another trip down yesterday after church again. We had a mission. We needed to get some pussy willow to decorate the house. We were thankful to get a carpark lot almost immeditely though there were several cars waiting for lot. A driver saw our car and signalled to us to tell us he is leaving. But there was a car parked near his car. By right, that car should get the lot. But the driver went to his car, on the engine, walked back to us and passed us a coupon that still had 3o mins left. He even drove out on the opposite direction so that it was easier for us to turn in to park. Blessed us.

It was very hot and we stopped for water breaks. We had some coconut drinks. Cephas loves it but not Celestiel. Plain water is all she wanted.
Not very crowded as yet. We shopped for some decoratives for the pussy willow.

Again, we took refuge at th Tin Tin shop.
Finally bought our 5 feet pussy williows at $15. Accordingly to my mum, there isn't much saving. Well well...

While walking back, we saw this whistling bird. It's very much like the whistle we bought in Malacca. Need to put some water and blow. It sounds like you are whistling. Can be very irritating but the children love it.

We went home after 1.5hours. Pay it forward, we gave a coupon with about 25mins left to another driver. Do make me feel good!

We went home, did some clean up and decorated the house a little. Does feel more like CNY now...

Flick Flak

2012-01-21T18:27:00.001+08:00

We finally bought the boy a real watch.

Lazy Morning

2012-01-21T11:18:00.001+08:00

Woke up late at 8am this morning. Was surprised to see the children awake and were reading in their room.

The Weekend

2012-01-16T21:56:00.002+08:00

Yet another busy weekend with the two children missing their enrichment lessons on Saturday morning. It was Breakfast w Principal and Meet the Teachers day at Cephas' school. Being a super concerned (read ks) parent (only me), we spent our morning there, listening to the Principal talking about their mission, vision and upcoming programme. I had a more fruitful time talking to his teachers, checking on his work, etc.
Took Cephas to dentist in the afternoon. Wise decision. He needed 3 fillings. One was in the same molar that gave him problems last year. He felt the sensitivity effect and was feeling awkward. But he was (as usual) very cooperative.

Joined a dear friend, Gary and his wife to celebrate their baby's 1 month at Hort Park. It was definitely a hot day. Cephas enjoyed himself playing soccer with his new friends and just running around.

Celestiel surprised us by joining Cephas in his swimming class. She bravely walked to Teacher Katherine and told her she wanted to swim. There was another boy about her age learning to swim too. She was cooperative and followed instructions closely. After 20 mins, Coach declared she is really for lesson. Yeah! Her first formal lesson will start on 29th. Hopefully she doesn't back out. I wish I had my camera to take a picture to remember. She looked so cute then!

The bus ride

2012-01-13T17:23:00.001+08:00

Yet another first. According to Cephas, he was playing in the bus. His friend, Lucas, 'frightened' him and he accidentally hit the seat in front of him when the bus stopped. There's a bruise on his right cheek now.

After school look

2012-01-12T18:12:00.001+08:00

Terrible me has forgotten to pack clothes for Cephas to shower at his after school care. So, this is how he looks after school- messy and dirty. I bet he smells too! Lol. I whisked him off to shower when he stepped into the house! He definitely looks and smells nice now! :)

First Purchase

2012-01-10T18:19:00.001+08:00

I am super proud of Cephas. He made his first purchase at the school bookshop to buy the Chinese book as I am too stingy to pay the difference if I buy it outside. After checking my school bookshop and the Popular, I realised I can save at least $3.80 if I buy from his school bookshop. I entrusted him with $10 and gave him a note, with the title of the book written on it.
Seriously I did fear that he may forget to bring the book home. He plays during recess (that's what he says) and he told me yesterday he would play soccer during recess today. Last check with him: He bought the book, ate and went to the library. No soccer as he had no time. May look like an easy task for us but for a 6 years old, it's definitely a courageous act.

Pose

2012-01-08T15:42:00.001+08:00

At 3years 10 months, our girl is really good at posing for pictures!

3D Puzzle

2012-01-07T18:28:00.001+08:00

Cephas' first attempt on a 3D puzzle- 41pieces. He struggled a little but he still managed to complete it by himself after 30 minutes.

4th Day of School

2012-01-07T18:01:00.001+08:00

Cephas wore his PE attire for the 1st time! Rather disappointed that he has PE lessons only twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. 1hr on Tuesdays but I would rather he has half an hour lesson 3 times a week.
Talent development programme is on Friday and lessons end at 3pm. He will need to have lunch at school. I decided to give him more money yesterday as I wanted him to buy food since his buddy is still with him. He told me he had chicken rice. He asked if he can buy food (chicken rice again) instead of bringing packed food on Monday!
Both us or rather me only, is very tired after only 4 days of school. Haven't been sleeping well. I woke up at least 4 times a night except for Friday, only once. I'm worried that I would miss the alarm! Waking up at 5.20am is a little too early for me too. Yawn. After work, I have to pick both of them in two different locations which mean more driving.At home, I need to hurry them to shower, check school bags, spin laundry etc within a short 1 hr so that we can rush to my parent's place for dinner. When we return, need to hurry them to prepare for bedtime. Rush! Rush! Rush! By 8.30pm, they are in bed but I still have things to do. Totally exhausted. I knocked out at 9.30pm last night. I need a maid or can I be a SAHM?? My studies is starting soon... How to survive another 9 weeks?

Gone

2012-01-06T10:47:00.001+08:00

Finally that tooth dropped off yesterday at about 6.30pm. He was so happy, declaring he is a BIG boy now. His first tooth and many more to go...

Name Tags

2012-01-05T22:42:00.002+08:00

I think I deserve a pat on my shoulder. I last touched this sewing machine for at least a good ten years. I used to sew/play with the machine when I was younger. I used to sew pouches and little bags for myself. This sewing machine is really old. Older than me. A wedding gift from my late great grandma for my mum. I successfully sewed 5 name tags. There was one a little misaligned.... but it happened cos Celestiel was fussing and I couldn't really concentrated. But I should say it is still a job well done. I saved alot by DIY.

2nd day

2012-01-04T22:32:00.001+08:00

Chewy sneaked on Cephas on the second day. Much fewer parents. He spotted Cephas in the canteen. He followed Cephas. He saw Cephas walk to the big field. He looked like he wanted to join some boys in playing soccer. But he stared at the boys for awhile and walked away. Chewy suspects that he realised that they were much older boys and he decided to walk away. Anyway, he and his buddy found some fun in looking at toad and grasshopper. Picture below is taken by Chewy. That was definitely his highlight as that was the first thing he told me when he saw me. Yet another tired day for the children, more so for Cephas. They slept at 8.25pm. I was packing his school bag. As expected. It was a MESS. Checked his pencil case. Only 2+1+1 pencils. 2 are his. 1 belongs to his friend and another is brand new. In another word, he has lost 3 pencils. Sigh. He has forgotten to bring his water bottle back home too.

3rd January

2012-01-03T21:11:00.001+08:00

An exciting day for everyone especially so when you have school-going children at home. Today marked Cephas' first step to formal education in a BIG school. I woke up at 5.10am to prepare myself before waking him up at 5.50am. He was very cooperative. Fed him a cup of warm milk before I showered him. Changed him up and by 6.10am, he was ready to go. Chewy took leave and manged to wake up at 5.45am. Not an easy feat since Chewy is nocturnal. He tied his shoelaces by himself while waiting for us. I helped to tighten the laces before we left the house. My mum came over to babysit Celestiel as she was still in her dreamland.

At 61.5am, we were all ready to go.
We had to walk to a bus stop to wait for the school bus. I pray that it would never rain in the morning. Talking about his school bus, I had to call many people (3 in fact) before I know the timing of the arrival of the bus. Bus arrived at 6.25am as promised. He has a companion, Jovan, to take bus with him at the venue. The boy stays next block.

We stalked the bus so as to know the route. After picking up many other Saints, he finally reached school at 6.50am. Chewy alighted me earlier and I walked quickly to the bus bay to see him. It was a funny sight. He alighted the bus and was holding hand with Jovan. Both of them stood still, eyes opened wide and smiling. I can imagine both of them 'wowing' in their heart. Heart warming sight.
Met his friend, Jeff, and his mum and elder brother. Together, we walked around the canteen. A gentle reminder to Cephas not to buy drinks. I have packed him a muesli bar and a packet of milk for recess. Jeff's mum told me that they would need to go to the hall to gather. Guess it's SOP for schools. We were not allowed to follow him up to the hall. Posed for another picture and off he left, with a BIG grin on his face.

We drove home. Reached home at about 7.30am. Shortly after we returned, she woke up. "Where's Kor Kor? He's in a big school already? I like Kor Kor!" She answered her own questions. She looked a little sad. Fed her milk, showered her and got her ready for school. We left about 8.30am. She insisted in carrying her own bag.
She decided that she wanted to sit in Cephas' booster seat. She argued that Cephas was not around. Happy girl when I agreed. Another pose just outside the school. I am very proud of her. She adapted to school life with little fuss since last year.
New classroom. (Not exactly new since the class was there since mid December) New teachers but still the same friends.

A hug and some kisses, we left. Chewy and I left for breakfast before we returned to catch Cephas in action for recess. There were many parents crowded outside the canteen. A parent volunteer would shout the class each time a class was down for recess. A parent volunteer gladly helped to stop Cephas and his buddy just so that I could take a picture of them.

They went in to the canteen. I learnt that his buddy is Pri 4. He actually accompanied Cephas to eat. He doesn't eat at that timing. His recess is later. Good arrangement. That means the buddy can focus in taking care of his charge.
Cephas walked out of the canteen with a bottle of Vitagen. Grinning. He has promised me earlier that he would not buy cold drinks. Too much temptation out there.

William took him to the eco garden. The eco garden is beautiful. Very big and well maintained. Both of them were having so much fun that I had to remind the buddy to take Cephas to the toilet 3 times before they went.

They also managed to explore the library. They walked in and walked out shortly as it was time to return to the hall. Chewy gave him a pat talk before he returned to the hall. He's all hot ans sweaty by now.

We left the school to run some errand before returning at 1pm. Again, we wanted to know the route back to his students care. We saw him at 1.30pm when the driver picked him up from the hall to the bus. He looked tired. His energy was delpeting. He was feeling hungry too. Think the food I packed for him for recess was not enough to sustain him.
The place was very crowded. Many buses and cars. Totally impossible to stalk the bus. AS it started to drizzle, we left first to go to his student care to wait for him. We happened to know two parents of his classmate. Exchanged contact. Since they stayed near the student care, we gave them a ride home.

Cephas finally arrived the student care at 2.45pm. He is supposed to reach at 2.23pm. When he alighted, he was urgently looking for toilet. He needed to pee.
The pupils in the student care were supposed to shower before they eat but he was so hungry and they allowed him to eat first.

We left soon after for our lunch. We were hungry too. It was 3.30pm already. We went home to rest before picking Celestiel at 5pm. Very chirpy and talked non stop in the car. When we picked Cephas, he was obviously tired. Gave me a smile when I took picture.
Had dinner at my parents' place as usual. We returned home early though at 8pm so that we could pack them to bed by 8.30pm. Yes, both slept at 8.30pm. Think this will be their new bedtime in 2012.
Unbelievable. My boy is in Primary 1. Where did all the time go?

New Year Day

2012-01-02T22:05:00.003+08:00

A good start to the new year. We hit the pool after resting for 2 months. It does feel good to exercise or rather frolic in the water. At least we are all outdoor. I'm very proud of Celestiel. She is definitely gaining more confidence in the water.With the arm float, she dares to 'swim' around 'independently'- about 5m away from us. However she still refuses to put her head in the water. Hopefully she can join Cephas in the class so that I can start a swim regime too. Only Chewy gets to swim a few laps. The girl insists that I stay with her.

Cephas is able to swim without the float since last September or October. Teacher Katherine usually gets him to swim about 200m. His stamina improves a lot in October. He was able to swim about 70m before he needed to take a breather. His stroke was more 'define'. Guess after 2 months break, he is back to his kang-cheong self, doing only 'half' a breast stroke. He also works on his back stroke. Nevertheless, I should say that this boy is making good progress.

New Year Eve

2011-12-31T23:49:00.002+08:00

No party for us. We spent some time shopping together. We finally agreed and bought a sofa. We went Ikea, wanting to buy a cabinet to store Cephas' Lego but had problem packing the cabinet home ourselves. So we aborted the plan. The children had lots of fun at an indoor playground at Anchorpoint while we rest our tired feet and had some tea! Our last stop was at Vivo City doing some shopping and also had our dinner. It may be just another day out but I am thankful that we are out and doing things as a family. Simple bliss. Year 2012 will be just as great or even better as we have Jesus to sail this journey with us. Happy 2012! I embrace you! Cheers!

Just for you

2011-12-31T22:14:00.010+08:00

Time flies so fast that I really forget some of Cephas' milestones. It's a pity that I only started blogging in 2008, recording their/our lives in blogger. I wish I learnt about blogging much earlier.
I was looking through some of Cephas' pictures and they brought back so much memories. The picture below was him when he was 1 day old. A 3.48kg baby. Cesarean delivery as he was a breech baby. I was rather unprepared for the operation and I still remembered that I was hoping that he would turn on the day of his birth when I went to see my gynae in the morning. The first time I set my eyes on him, tears welled up. It's an amazing feeling to know this little baby comes from me. I still have a 15cm scar to remind me of that day everyday. :) His attire on his 1st month celebration. We bought this romper when we were in Israel, with him in me, just 2 months old. A little romper to tell him how much we love him even though he was just a little pea in me. A very happy baby most of the time. Love to eat and play. Sleep is very much the last agenda in his list most of the time. I love this picture. Taken on my birthday. Turning 6 months old soon.
Celebrating his 6months old birthday on Christmas day. Attire was from my parents who bought this from Vietnam.
About 8 months old. He has very big and round head. I still remember Uncle Mike and Uncle Bryan used to call him Fishball.
He surprised us one morning, by pulling himself up for the 1st time. Giggling. Half awake but I still managed to take this picture. He was 8.5 months old.
Another milestone caught in action when he stood up suddenly at 11.5months old at my late grandparents' place. We (together with my aunties, uncles and cousins) were cheering and trying to encourage him to stand independently and he did it! I still remember the smile on his face.
A very active and curious boy, he surprised us when we turned our heads away from him for just a moment. He can be climbing up the tv console.....
or helping himself to some treats in the fridge. LOL.
Took him to Gap when the shop opened in 2006. He happily took his loots and gave us his signature smile. This picture is special as it appeared on Mother and baby magazine. We were waiting for a taxi to go to the airport. His 2nd time on plane. This was a trip to HK Disneyland.
We celebrated his first birthday at Merchant Court. A small celebration with my immediate family of about 30 people. We made a boo boo for his cake. The date was written wrongly on the receipt and I did not check. So his (intended) cake was not ready. It supposed to have the shape of number 1. Thankfully the restaurant managed to get us this 2kg cake.
His second and subsequent birthday were celebrated in school. Of course there were still smaller celebrations at home, with grandparents and granny. Bless boy.
His 2nd birthday cake had a picture of Barney.
3rd birthday celebration. Picture of Mickey.
4th birthday celebration. Celestiel finally joined in.. She was too young at his 3rd birthday.
5th birthday celebration. There was a change of venue- the school.
He requested for a MacDonald birthday bash for his 6th birthday and we agreed. His last birthday celebration in pre-school. So why not?
The boy has grown so much. I am thankful that God has put him under our charge. He has brought lots of joy and happiness in our lives. In another 3 days, he will begin his journey of formal education. I know he is excited and a little anxious too. But I know our God will see him through this journey.
Dear God,
Thank you for being Lord of Cephas' life. I know Cephas is safe in you. You will watch over his coming in and going out. May you put him at the right place at the right time, meeting friends that will have a positive influence over him, teachers that will love him. Grant him wisdom so that learning will be fun and easy. Grant him grace as he learns new things and meets new friends. Protect him from all harms and dangers, keeping him strong and healthy all the time. I thank you for loving Cephas. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Rest

2011-12-30T21:37:00.001+08:00

Chewy came back on Wednesday and told me he's tired and would take leave on Friday, which is today! I was totally shocked. It's the first time I heard him say he's tired. This man loves to work and goes to work even when he's very sick. I say he is crazy but he always corrects me, saying he's responsible! Whatever!
Anyway, he had the day to himself. I fetch the children to school and went off to work. I had a super busy but fruitful day at work. The man was left to entertain himself. He boxed up the Christmas tree, did some housework and went sofa hunting. He didn't buy any sofa but came home with a guitar stand.
Chewy fixed up the guitar stand and placed his guitar on it. Celestiel saw what he did, ran to her room, took her toy guitar and put it on the stand too. She looked very pleased after that. Her action tickled Chewy totally.

Krups

2011-12-29T20:22:00.001+08:00

This coffee machine is supposed to be my dad's Christmas present. But he was a step faster than us. When we took the coffee machine to his house, we were surprised to see an identical one in the kitchen! So now this is sitting in our kitchen! For the past few days, I have been sipping my mocha. Nice. We ended up buying 2 'designer' cups for him -the one shown in the picture. We bought 2 for ourselves too.

Movie Date

2011-12-28T14:29:00.003+08:00

We met up with the Ang Family to watch the Alvin and the Chipmunks on Boxing Day. It's always fun for the children to meet up even though it was just sitting together in the theatre to watch a show. The children checking their height. Yes, we must get tickets for the 3 kiddos except little Kayson. We had a hearty MacDonald breakfast but for the children, movie and popcorn go hand in hand. It is a must to buy a pack of popcorn. We love the show. Lots of singing and dancing.A takeaway for Cephas from Chewy: Though Alvin was naughty and got himself (and everyone) into trouble, Dave did not forsake him. Instead he came and rescued him and the rest. Chewy's words for Cephas: "Like Dave, I will not forsake you and leave you alone when you are in trouble. I wil be angry but I will still come for you because you are my son, my beloved son!" Awwwww.... that's my man!

Christmas Party

2011-12-27T00:52:00.002+08:00

The Lee Family invited us over for dinner on Christmas Day. We felt like in Genting when we were there as it was very windy and cold. Brrr..... When the adults gathered to chat and eat, the children were very much entertained by the Kinect and toys.
Of course there were times, the children needed to take toilet break. So the adults took over. Hehee.
Celestiel found some masks and had fun getting me to take picture of her. She loves to pose and have me take picture of her lately.
And she found a friend in Xavier, elder son of Chong Family. His mum, Mabel, told me that Xavier likes to play with Celestiel as she is tame. *Ahem Ahem*. LOL.

Unwrapped

2011-12-26T00:45:00.000+08:00

We want to thank everyone, Granny, Grandparents, Grandaunties, uncles and aunties for your love for Cephas and Celestiel. They are bless. They are very happy with their presents. They spent about 30 mins just unwrapping all their gifts on Christmas morning. :)

Sunday Christmas

2011-12-26T00:30:00.000+08:00

I am so happy that Christmas is on Sunday this year which mean we can spend Christmas in church. Yay! It's a special time for Cephas and his friends as they celebrated their graduation from Treasured 2. He will be promoted to be a "Mighty" fella next Sunday!I have said this before and I will say this again (since he will read this when he's older). He's blessed to be attending the Rock Kidz classes since he was only 3 months. The Rock Kidz classes ROCK!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T23:35:00.003+08:00

Chewy and I chanced upon the Logos Hope when we were at Vivo City on Tuesday. Logos Hope is very much like the Doulos ship we 'board' last year. Again, we bought many books for the children.
We decided to take the children there on Christmas eve since we had some time before attending a party at 5pm. Cephas remembered the experience on Doulos last year, Christmas eve too. Like last year, it was raining.
A young man saw us taking a picture of the children and came forward to help us to take a family picture.
Behind where Celestiel is standing, is a video showing about the life of the ship.
The rudder caught their attention and both took turn, pretending to be the captain. The main attraction is of course the books.
We bought many books again.There's a little corner for the children to engage the children in some colouring while the adults rest and have their coffee. After our afternoon at Vivo City, we went to Shum's place. As it was raining heavily, Chewy alighted us at the void deck while he went to park his car. That's the 2 children playing. I love this picture. Happy faces.

Love meeting up with my NIE friends. There's just so much to talk about. Chewy just realised that all the men are of the same age.
The children had a great time together. Cephas and Celestiel enjoyed playing with the 'lion head'.They were already in CNY mood.The picture shows Shum and Chewy preparing the table for dinner. It's such a coincidence that they know each other since their army days.
The mini cupcakes baked by Serena which the children love. They ate MANY. Will try to make some for them one fine day.

Some pictures of the children. Last but not least, the mess that was created by the children.

We were the first to reach but also the first to leave. The children were tired. Both slept in the car. Looking forward to meet them again. We have even set the date and place. 22nd Dec at Toh's house.

Happy Birthda Jesus

2011-12-25T23:31:00.000+08:00

Christmas is all about Him. Blessed Christmas!

2011-12-24T22:54:00.000+08:00

The last on my list. The Looney Tunes at Suntec City. We caught the show last Sunday after service. As usual, the princess bug us to queue up early. We were about an hour early. There was no queue. I asked for more information from the staff. He told us there's isn't a need to queue. Celestiel starred at him in disbelief. When I asked about the Meet & Greet pass (to take pictures with the Looney Tunes), he told me that the booth would only open 15 mins before the start of the show. SHOCKING. True to his words, there wasn't a crowd and there weren't many people exchanging for the passes too. Chewy had the honour to watch the show with the children by himself. His first time for the year.
The show is GREAT. Love the Christams songs they sang. very interative. At one part of the show, a big ball was passed around the audience. The children got so excited, trying to touch the ball. Don't be misled by Chewy's smile here... I caught him taking a cat nap during the show.
Ta-dah! The Meet & Greet picture. The girl is super in love with Tweety Bird and Cephas, the Bugs Bunny. I am so tempted to take them to Movie World next year.
After the Meet & Greet, we went to Level 3 for another Meet & Greet session with Tasmanian. As usual, Celestiel wanted to queue for the pass. We were 45 mins early. The same staff saw us and promised her that she would definitely get a pass and to come back at 2.30pm. Celestiel was in shocked. She looked at me, eyes wide open, and went "Huh? Don't need to queue?" She was just so cute. Caught Cephas putting his hand around Celestiel while waiting for the show to start. He does behave like a protective brother, huh!
Cephas was chosen to participate in a game. No stage fright. :)
And finally, a picture with the Taz. Yes, no queue.
Below is a little snippet of the show.

Ho!Ho!Ho!

2011-12-24T12:27:00.001+08:00

Cephas screamed: 'One more day to Christmas!' when he woke up! The children are excited. They have been starring, touching the presents for the last few days/ weeks! Family tradition- unwrapping of presents only on Christmas morning. Last count- They each have 12 presents from us, grandparents, granny, grandaunties, uncles, aunties and even their teachers! Blessed children! :) Yes, it's gonna to be a Ho!Ho!Ho! Christmas!

Writing Exercise

2011-12-23T00:43:00.000+08:00

The children were with me on Monday since they were too tired to go school. After many hours of television, I decided to do some work with them. I am surprised that Celestiel knows how to hold a pencil properly. As far as I know, she has yet to start writing in school. She does a lot of drawing and colouring in school though. She faithfully did tracing and writing letter A. 4 pages in all. She started whining when she was at the 3rd page, saying she was tired. But she still managed to complete all 4 pages before running off for more tv time. Cephas, on the other hand, sat beside me, learning all about nouns and did many pages of English work with me. :)

Dong Zhi

2011-12-22T07:52:00.002+08:00

We don't celebrate but my parents do. My mum prepares the tang yuan herself. She concocts her own yam tang yuan. It's nice and I love it. The children saw her preparing the tang yuan and offered their service. And of course created a mess out of it, treating it like play dough. LOL.

The Tooth

2011-12-22T00:34:00.001+08:00

Cephas burst into tears suddenly in the car while we were drving back to the hotel in Malacca. We had a shock. He told us that his tooth is shaky and it's going to drop off soon. Chewy and I looked at each other and laughed. This boy has been praying for his milk teeth to drop off just like many of his friends. But when reality strike, he is scared. We comforted him and assured him that it will not drop off so soon though it's a little shaky. We reminded him not to use his tongue/ finger to play with it. He felt much better. I last checked the tooth (the bottom row, third tooth from the left) on Monday. It's shaky but I doubt it will drop off soon.

Malacca Part 3

2011-12-21T11:29:00.011+08:00

This is actually my 2nd time to Malacca but I really don't remember walking down Jonker Walk. A busy street with many interesting shops which we did not really explore as the children were not interested. They were tired from all the walking. It was a hot day though it did rain for a while after our lunch. The boy had an ice cream treat to 'help' to 'strengthen' his legs. Wink.
We discover a authentic Hard Rock shop. We bought 2 tees for the children. I heard that the cafe will be ready early next year.
We wanted to visit the ever famous Baba-Nonya Museum but it was close for lunch. We never returned to visit. It's a pity. As we walked down the street, we saw the Malaqa house and we went in to take a look.Featuring a lot of antiques. The people in Malacca are very trusting. No one followed us around. The owner/in charge was in a room doing her own thing.
A picture taken by a fellow tourist.
Another discovery. The Jonker Bird House. We joined the tour to see how bird's nests are cultivated. We also get to know the harvesting and processing of the bird's nest. A real eye opener. This house was bought over in 2005. The owner did some major renovation. The structures of the house are maintained.
I didn't know that swiflets are such small birds. They are very faithful lovers. The guide told us that if one of the couple die, the other will 'commit suicide'. We got to see the nests built by the swiftlets. Both real and man-made for show case purposes. We saw the process how the workers clean the nest. Very laborious job. I learnt about Admiral Cheng Ho who was the founder of bird's nest soup in 1500s. Cephas surprised me when he told me all about this man. He told me he's an explorer like Dora. He said that his Ji Lao Shi made them watch all these chinese shows and that's where he learnt about Cheng Ho. I crack up. Incidentally we caught an episode about Cheng Ho when we were in the hotel. Celestiel is a bird's nest lover. My mum, sometime pampers her with 3 bottles of bird's nest a week. But this girl only likes them in a bottle. Maybe it's sweeter. We bought a bowl at RM50. Good deal. She didn't eat. I shared with Chewy. He drank about 15% of it. I celebrated my 35th birthday on the second night. A simple dinner at Secret Recipe. I love it this way. It's feel good to have my beloved with me. They are all I need. It's a pity Chewy is not in the picture. It will be picture perfect.
Don't think we will be back soon. It's not easy entertaining the children myself in the car. Chewy calls me their personal assistant (PA). They call and I have to answer them. Giving them this and that, picking up this and that. But all in all, it's still a good getaway.

Malacca Part 2

2011-12-21T10:41:00.004+08:00

The man who planned for the trip, packed the luggages and drove us around. Below are the things he listed on what he liked/ remembered about Malacca.
1) Chendol.
Malacca is famous for their chendol. We had this at San Shun Gong, a place that sells local product. We ordered two version. One is just plain chendol and another with durian. Chewy thinks the chendol is S.U.P.E.R. The children think it's yucky. Hahaa.

2) Chicken riceballs
We finally tried the chicken riceballs at Famosa. None of us like the riceballs. Chewy thinks the riceballs are over rated. But then again, we did not try it at the Hoe Kee or Chung Wah which are the best rice stalls rated by the local and Singaporeans. We had to order another plate of chicken rice just for Celestiel. She is a typical chinese girl that needs to eat rice (she needs to see the grains of rice). The riceballs look very much like fishball.
The chicken tastes very much like any stalls in Singapore. Ok... I am no food connoisseur. I eat to live.3) Pineapple tarts.

Like him, I am crazy about pineapple tarts and Malacca is famous for it. Chewy goggled and found that many people raved about Bee Bee's pineapple tarts. So must try. He called to make reservations for 7 boxes a couple of days before the trip.

This lady, I assumed her name is Bee Bee, operates in her house.Chewy thinks her pineapple tarts are yummy and different from those we have tried. The base/crust are like cookies. Celestiel only eats the crust and not the pineapple. Cephas saves the best (the crust) for last. He eats the pineapple first. We ate a box when we returned to hotel after picking up. I ate a box on Monday by myself. And as I am tying this entry, I am eating the tarts. Hehee. But I do feel the pineapple tarts are a little over rated. You will understand if you have tried the tarts made by my Grandaunty. It is SUPER yummy. The BEST.
4) Fish spa
Chewy's first time. He did not join us when we did it in Penang. He enjoyed the spa thoroughly. He even had 40 winks. Celestiel still refuses to put her feet in. She simply does not want the fishes to bite her. She sat beside us, waiting patiently.
I concluded that Chewy came to Malacca with a mission to eat, eat and eat. Oh, I forgot to mention that he bought (from San Shu Gong) and kept a lot of local products for himself.

Malacca Part 1

2011-12-20T09:04:00.011+08:00

We were in Malacca for 3 days (15th-17th) last week. It's a pretty short trip but we were so tired when we came back. Cephas came down with a fever on Sunday evening. Both children skipped school to rest at home yesterday. Chewy, of course, was the driver. I packed LOTS of tidbits to occupy them. They did get bored and often asked if we were reaching. But in general, the children were in a very chirpy mood especially Celestiel who was singing a lot during the ride. Chewy drove at 120km/h most of the time for the children's sake so we took about 3.5hours or so to reach there even though the traffic was very smooth. I had my very first encounter with the traffic police. We were stopped and 'fined' for RM50 for driving too fast. "It's common" according to Chewy. When we asked the children what they liked about Malacca, these are what they listed.
1) Stay at Hotel Equatorial
I shouldn't be surprised. The children love to stay in hotel. They love the bed and the television. The room we stayed is pretty decent. 2 super single sized bed though we asked for 2 queen sized bed. Both children wanted to sleep at the daybed next to the window. But it's impossible since both of them have very bad sleeping habits. They do turn 360 degree when they sleep. In the end, Celestiel slept with us while Cephas, had the honour of sleeping there. 2)Melaka Wonderland
This place reminds us of Big Splash but in a bigger scale.
As both of them are taller than 90cm, we needed to purchase tickets for them. Adults at RM30 and children at RM25.
We needed to 'wear' the tickets on our wrists.
On our way in, we met some mascots.
There are many attractions with many different kinds of ride. It's really big. The rides are pretty well maintained. We stayed at this attraction. I am a little surprised that there are not many tourists. Mainly locals.
Cephas took off by himself while Chewy stayed with Celestiel. I did not join them in the pool as I was *ahem* not appropriately dressed. Almost everyone was in t-shirt and pants/shorts. I did spot 2 ladies in 2 piece but by then we were preparing to leave.
The use of these floats are free. We believe so. Cephas found them at a corner and happily dragged 2 to the pool.
Cephas tried out all the rides in this attraction including the tunnels which Chewy said are very scary as ride down the tunnels are dark. Chewy also took Cephas to tried out other rides in another attraction when Cephas was bored with the rides there.
There were 2 big bouncy castles at the entrance. Jump! Jump! Jump! The only minus in this place should be the toilets. Both children complained about the (lack of) cleanliness.
3) A Famosa
It's not the fortress that the children liked. Well, it's a real torture to climb up to see the fortress. When we stood outside the Christ Church, Cephas suddenly has the enlightenment. He told us he has been here with my parents. LOL. I checked with my parents when we returned. And guess what? They were here indeed in March. He suddenly recalled his KL trip and told us about the Petronas Towers. So cute.

What they liked about this place is that Chewy bought them each a whistle (sort of). It's loud and can be irritating. But they love it. And of course the highlight is taking the trishaw. This girl was like a broken record, kept telling us she wanted to sit on the trishaw while we were walking along Jonker Street. This girl mentioned no less than 20 times her desire in 3 hours. No joke. We took the trishaw ride back to hotel after an afternoon at Joker Street. We were all too tired to walk back anyway though the hotel is really nearby. It's also to grant the princess' wish.
See how much the boy loved the whistle. He was still playing with it while on the way back.
4) Indoor Playground
We did not plan for this. We chanced upon this indoor playground at Dataran Pahlawan 2nd Floor. Very new. About 2 months old. They had a good workout for 40 mins at RM8 each.
They had the whole playground to themselves.

Guess they children are older and it's much easier to bring them out. They are lesser meltdowns or rather none as far as I can remember for this short trip, which is a good thing.

My Love

2011-12-18T23:17:00.006+08:00

I think I am a step closer to share with the children especially the gal, one of my greatest LOVE. The Carebears stare. I love Carebears A LOT A LOT. No matter how busy, I tell myself to make time for the Carebears show and I did it. The children skipped a day at child care and accompanied me to the Carebears show at AMK Hub on Wednesday. We had fun or rather I had fun going round taking pictures of them with the Carebears. Cephas was obliging enough to pose a few shots for me. Sweet boy. The girl was my main model for the day. That day, she told me she likes Carebears. :) Make my day. Hehee. Wanted Cephas to help me to take a picture of me with Wish Bear.
*Ahem* This is what I got. Good try, boy! The queue started at 2.25pm though the show would start at 4pm.. Celestiel insisted that we joined the queue but we yet to have our lunch. I had to drag her away to look for food. After her constant nagging and my fear (of not getting the pass for the show), we bought some bread to camp at the queue area to eat. The children were very well behaved. After they had their 'lunch', they entertained each other. Hehee. We took turns to go to the toilet. Cephas is really a brave boy. I realised that the toilets are very deep in (at a corner) when I took Celestiel to the toilet. I showed him the toilet at a distance and he ran to the toilet himself. At that time, Celestiel was waiting for me patiently in the queue. When I took Celestiel to the toilet, Cephas waited in the queue. The picture that I love. I am going to develop this picture and place it EVERYWHERE. There was some games before the start of the show. One of the games was 'Freeze'. Cephas' enthusiasm caught the attention of the lady. He went on stage to show his move and that little carebear was what he received and he gave it to me. Awww..... that's my darling boy.
Below are two videos. The first video shows Cephas dancing and the other is a snippet of the carebears show.

Super Chef Kid

2011-12-14T15:19:00.001+08:00

We signed Cephas for a baking class last Sunday at So EZ cooking studio. He asked for it. He still insists he wants to be a chef when he grows up. He was in such a great mood that he happily posed for me while waiting for the class to start. The class started late as majority of the participants were late. There were only 8 little chefs that afternoon. The session is supposed to last for about 1.5 hours and to end at 3pm but it ended about 3.15pm. Cephas was the first to leave. He was very hungry. The rest were still busy decorating their gingerbread men. His bake. Taste very nice.
That night, he actually told me the whole procedure in baking the gingerbread man. As what he says, 'so easy'. We may just sign him for another lesson soon since he enjoys it.

Barney and the Gang

2011-12-13T14:52:00.000+08:00

Barney and more Barney for the children especial Celestiel last weekend. We caught the show twice. Saturday and Sunday. The queue is crazy and messy. 2 separate queue: One for the show and another for the Meet and Greet which required a purchase of $40 in one receipt. It's silly. Cephas was very cooperative and gladly get into the queue with Chewy to queue for the show. We started queuing at 2.15pm though the show start at 3.30pm. And we were not even in the front for both queue. We were number 27 for the Meet and Greet and sat right in the centre for the show. I went in with the children to watch the show. Cephas initially said he's not interested in the show. He was fooling around while waiting. Below is him trying to search for Chewy using his 'telescope'. Guess what, when the show started, his eyes were glued to the stage. Celestiel, of course, is lost to the world of imagination. The show started with guest appearance by Sam the firefighter (don't know who) and Pingu. A family picture with Barney and gang. When Celestiel looked at the picture, she was sad. She said Barney is sad as no one stood beside him! Faint.
Since we were back on Sunday (we signed Cephas for a baking workshop), we queued for the Meet and Greet again. We queued for 1.5 hours. This time our number is 7. Celestiel actually wanted me to queue to go in and sit . She pulled me and threw tantrums when I refused. Chewy and I had to take turns to talk to her why we are not queuing to go in. We had to share since we sat in just the day before. She should give others a chance too right? Anyway, we needed to pick Cephas from the class soon. We promised to carry her so HIGH so that we would not miss the show. And this finally pacify her. Chewy and Cephas had to leave early for Cephas' swimming lesson. I had to privilege to carry this 16.2kg gal to watch the show and to take a picture of her with the gang.
When she stepped off from the stage. She said this to me. ' Barney likes me so much. He smiles at me. Barney is not sad anymore.' Barney 'smiled' at her as we were the first in line for the Meet and Greet show (you need to queue for the Meet and Greet AGAIN after the show). Actually Barney is smiling at everyone. That how he looks. Barney really helps her in her imagination..

Differences

2011-12-13T08:40:00.001+08:00

We are going on a short getaway on Thursday. I got the children to decide what they want to bring and pack into their own luggage.
Boy: He opened the cupboard. Took 4 sets of clothing that he saw. Some books, some small toys and a pair of sunglasses. Squeezed them all in the luggage and declared it's done in a jiffy!
Girl: Stared at drawer. Carefully picked out 3 sets of clothing. Her favourite tees. 8 panties. 1 blanket. 1 small pillow. Tried to fold them neatly and placed them gently in the luggage.

Birthday Celebration

2011-12-12T14:35:00.002+08:00

My cousin, Delvina, celebrated her 21st birthday at Loyang chalet last Saturday. The children had a great time there though they were the only 2 kiddos there. Reason? Stairs and balloons. They had so much fun climbing to the second storey to drop the balloons and see the balloons fly. Simple pleasure. Another shot with the birthday gal. Look at the cake. 2-tier cake from Pine (can't remember the exact name. It's at AMK. I know it's very famous.)
A picture with the birthday gal. This cousin shares the same birthday as me. Was telling her to look at me to see her future in 14 years time. LOL. Wicked.
An interesting fact of my extended paternal family. All my aunties and uncle (Dad''s siblings) are born in December. Uncle Dave is born on 8th, Auntie Denisa (wearing white) is born on 13th and Auntie Mui Lian (wearing blue) is born on 24th. My brother is a December baby too, 9th. So are our dog and Auntie Sharon (Uncle Dave's wife). They celebrate their birthday on 19th. Cool right? Auntie Denisa bought a log cake just for us, December babies. I am not cutting the Delvina's cake. I know I look like.

A Very Short Trip

2011-12-11T13:40:00.000+08:00

It was a very last minute decision to pop by the Johor Premium Outlets to take a look last Friday. Chewy was on leave. But our plan was to go town to shop for Christmas presents for the children and also a new sofa. Hahaa. Free spirit ya?
The Premium Outlet is really near to Singapore. It's only a 30 mins drive from Tuas checkpoint. Very smooth traffic. We arrived at 10.40am. Like what a friend said, the shops are pretty zen. I may be bias as I am looking more for children's clothes. The prizes are not exactly very cheap. Guess, we are comparing to States premium outlets.
Nevertheless, we still bought something. I bought 2 pairs of flats from Vincci at RM$34. Can put in my cars as spares. 1 top for Celestiel (about S$15) and a pair of shorts for Cephas from Gap (about S$15). Chewy got himself a jacket from Lacoste at about S$280. We had lunch there. The food is good. Chewy said I am hungry! Hehee. Guess, we would be back soon as Chewy wants to check out the Polo Ralph and the Raoul. He is still not giving up on that place yet. We left the place after lunch. 3 hours later, we were back to Orchard for some real shopping.

Time for Angry Birds

2011-12-09T07:55:00.000+08:00

Took the children out on Wednesday to catch the Angry Birds show at Takashimaya. Wanted to beat the weekend crowd. Parked my car at TP hub and took the train down to Orchard. We watched the 1pm show. While the children was looking at the toys at the atrium, I spoke to one of the staff, asking him about show. *plotting begins* I was told that the first person usually would start queuing 45mins before the start of the show. Queue would form 30 mins earlier. Being a typical Singaporean and a very KS mummy, I joined the queue at 12.20pm. We were the 3rd family. We were seated right in the first row. The organiser is VERY organised. They led about 1-2 families in at a time so that no one could jump the line.I am very surprised that it was only a 15mins show including the quiz time. Cephas won a little notebook, answering the first question. That boy was so proud of himself. :) The storyline was the story is very simple. Very much like the game, trying to destroythe pig. But the birds and the pigs are so cute. Big and round. Everyone seated in the square are allowed to take a picture with the birds. Celestiel loves Christmas trees. She asked me to take a shot of her standing in front of this big Christmas at Takashimaya.

Love in Action

2011-12-08T17:49:00.001+08:00

My long term memory is good but I can't say the same for my short term memory. Blame it in on my 2 pregnancies. Heh. I thought I better write this down lest I forget.
My dad took my car to work as his car is sent for servicing (he is removing his CNG). I text Chewy at about 4pm, lamenting about the weather. The sky was dark and it seem that a storm was brewing. He replied shortly to tell me to stay at home as he would fetch the children as his meeting is cancelled. Awwww. He had to drive all the way down from Clementi, pick the children, drive them home and return to work. I am so touched. This is love in action which I appreciate greatly.

Robot

2011-12-08T10:41:00.003+08:00

Cephas' last art project for the year. He chose to create a robot to help me to do housework. So thoughtful right? Hehee. Below is the planning work he did before the start of making his robot using recycled items. His completed piece. The front view- You can actually open the box and store things inside. The back view- The 12 little cubes show what this robot can do. Beside doing housework such as vacuuming the floor, this robot can also do his Math work.

We'll continue his art lesson next year, Week 5 after CNY next year.

A year on...

2011-12-07T10:32:00.000+08:00

This picture was taken on her first day of school last year. It's amazing how much she has blossomed after a year in school.

Dora and The Gang

2011-12-06T07:02:00.001+08:00

Yet another Christmas show! It's Dora the Explorer- Three Kings Day Live Show at Raffles City. Last day of the show on Sunday. I did not see any queue forming though we were an hour early. The show was at 1pm. We shopped around. We saw people taking pictures in front of the stage and we followed. After taking this shot, Celestiel told me it's time to queue for the show. Well, she has already learnt that we must queue to watch any Christmas show. She, as usual, was very cooperative. We joined the queue. Not very long. We only needed to wait for about 40 minutes. Cephas was with Chewy, looking at toys. We sat very close to the stage. The reward you reap for being patient and kiasu.

A interative show that got the children up and about, singing, clapping, and jumping.
I caught Chewy napping a few times when I turned around. He's that good at catching 40 winks. Anytime. Any place. Wanted to take a surprise shot but he woke up at that moment to give me that grin.
This was the closest Celestiel could be with Diego. She kept asking me why she could not take pictures with Dora and gang. I told a white lie- They were shy like her when she was young. There was no Meet and Greet for Dora and gang.

A snippet of the show.

Playdate

2011-12-05T09:39:00.004+08:00

I arranged a playdate for Cephas and his classmates last Saturday. It seem a little crazy to gather so many children (17 in all) and adults in our house. Hahaa. But we had lots of fun including the adults. 10 of his classmates came. They were Leia, Faith, Ho Jen, Kyungmin, Ethan, Qi En, Kaylee, Dora, Jia Jing and Titus. There are 16 of them in the class including Cephas. Some of the children came with their siblings.
I have planned to make ice cream with the children just in case they were bored. But I was so wrong. The children knew how to entertained themselves and left the adults in the living room to chat. There were 2 Daddies around too.
I bought a bucket of beads recently and the girls had such a great time making bracelets and necklaces. I am glad that the girls could take home something. I didn't have time to shop for a gift for all the children.
Another 'highlight' was Nerf time. Chewy created some objects (bears) for them to shoot meaningfully.
They also had fun scooting around the house on the bike and cars which left more memories on the wall.

Food! There was so much food left over that Chewy said that we could call for another party. Hahaa. We ordered more that $100 worth of pizzas. Some parents bought fruits, cup jelly, packets of chips, boxes of chocolates and even apple strudel. But the children were wild playing that they did not want to eat after having pizzas. We had pizzas for dinner that night, breakfast and dinner the next day. I packed the apple strudel to school just now. The children would have that for tea later. More chips and chocolates for them in school over the next few days.

I really hope to keep in touch with them. Lovely children. :)

To the Dentist Again!

2011-12-05T09:19:00.003+08:00

Took Celestiel to the dentist AGAIN. I realised the filling for her tooth done 8 months ago is gone and there was a black dot/hole in that tooth some 2 weeks ago. She did not complain of any pain but I decided that I should not procrastinate. Since my mum needed to go to the dentist, I arranged an appointment for both of them on last Friday night. My dad fetch us there, babysitting Cephas while waiting for us.
I guess I should be relieved that Celestiel doesn't mind going to the dentist. No fear. To her, it's like a badge of honour to have fillings done in her teeth.
Dr Raymond Lim told me that she had two teeth that required fillings. The one that I saw is actually quite a big hole. He suggested silver filling since it will stay longer compare to the white filling she had. The white filling only lasted about 8 months. After discussing with Chewy over the phone, we decided to having white filling for her. Aesthetic reason. I should really applaud Celestiel for her courage. Dr Raymond Lim is not very gentle and at times, I felt that he has forgotten that he is treating a child. Anyway, I have decided that I will be the one brushing her teeth. At 3 years 9 months, my princess has 2 fillings done to her teeth.

Hi-5

2011-12-04T23:50:00.007+08:00

The Hi-5 superstars are back to put up another great Christmas show.Kiasu us started queuing at 11.25am right after an early lunch for the 1pm show. We were not the earliest. The first family started queuing at 10.30am.We were the 17th family (the first number is 50).We were seated very close to the stage. Of course, getting up close and personal with the stars is a plus especially when we do not have a good camera. But the whole point of queuing is to take pictures with the Hi-5. Free photo taking with the stars for the first 50 but you must pay of the pictures. That's Celestiel waiting in anticipation for the Hi-5 to appear while the boy is busy with his PSP. We were seated 30 mins before the start of the show. I was expecting a crowd but it was not so. I don't remember anyone standing at the 2nd floor. Only one parent is allowed with the children unless you are 'special'. Chewy was rather upset with the organiser. They did not allow Chewy to sit with us but there were 2 parents with only 1 child seated inside. Some people managed to sneak it without queueing too.
At the end of the show, the superstars were doing a hi-5 with the children and Celestiel ran forward and gave a hi-5 to Casey. She was so so happy the whole day.
Just when the show ended, Chewy walked to the stage to start queuing for the photo session. Here we could witness people insisting to take pictures with the Hi-5 though they were not the first 50 in the queue. We were identified by the label given to us earlier. The 2 pictures that we bought. Celestiel is one happy gal.
The quality of the pictures are not as good compare to the one we took last year. But the children, especially Celestiel is happy. Well, that is what is important. A snippet of the show. Go catch it if you have not. They will be around at Millenia Walk until 11th Dec. Shows are at 1pm and 7pm with additional shows at 4pm for the weekends.

1st Christmas Show

2011-12-03T21:28:00.001+08:00

We started our first Christmas concert show 2 Saturdays ago at City Square Mall. Strawberry Shortcake was in town and Princess loves her. We chanced upon the outdoor playground. There was an 'electrifying' Christmas tree out there that will light up if you cycle long and hard enough. It was not ready when we were there.
A small but clean out door playground.
Before the start of the show, we found a kiosk that was giving out free popcorn and candy floss. The children only had candy floss.
I found out later that the Strawberry Shortcake was part of the promotion by Mother and Baby magazine. There was some quiz before the grand appearance of Strawberry Shortcake. I was totally surprised that my princess was so brave to raise her hand to participate in the quiz even though Cephas was not there with her. She's a scardy cat without the brother. No pictures of Strawberry Shortcake as the whole thing was a blah compared to what we watched last year at Northpoint. There was a meet and greet session at 5,30pm but I was too lazy to hang around (for another 2hours) to wait for them to announce the meet and greet venue.
Before the start of the show, I signed Cephas for a cupcake decoration workshop organised by the Genuis R Us. The workshop was meant for those 8-9years old but they were willing to allow Cephas joined in. Poor response, I believed. After Strawberry Shortcake has left, there was a big man doing balloon sculpting. Cephas and Chewy managed to join us for this part. The man was very good and fast. Celestiel was very happy when the man gave her a bear.After the show, there was free balloons given out. Cephas queued and was rewarded with a gun that did not last (as expected) for the day.
We only left the mall after dinner at about 7.30pm or so. Quite a good place to hang around as the mall is big and is not crowded though it was a Saturday when were were there.

Concert Hopping

2011-12-02T15:46:00.004+08:00

It's the time of the year that parents like us go a little crazy. We shop. We queue. We wait. This is my list of live concerts I hope to take the children there to watch. Hop over to this site for a more comprehensive list. This daddy blogger has also come up with a 100 holiday activities list if you happen to run out of ideas.

Attended
1) Meet and Greet Strawberry Shortcake at City Square Mall on 20th Novemeber (One day affair).
2) Hi-5 Christmas at Millenia Walk- It's still on till 11 Decemeber

Hoping to watch
Angry Bird Live show and Meet & Greet
Takashimaya, B2
25Nov- 10 Dec (except Monday)
1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Dora The Explorer- Three Kings Day Live Show
Raffles City- Level 3
18Nov - 4 Dec
Tues- Fri: 1pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Christmas Carnival
United Square
Barney and Friends, Fireman Sam and Pingu
2nd- 12 Dec
Mon- Fri: 2pm & 7pm (No shows on Tuesdays)
Sat & Sun: 12.30pm, 3.30pm & 7pm

Care Bears Musical and Meet & Greet
AMK Hub, B1 Exhibition Hall
9- 18 Dec
Tues- Fri: 4pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
Meet & Greet passes for the first 40 families. (no spending required)
* I want to watch this cos I heart Care Bears! LOL.

Christams Moments with Looney Tunes
Suntec City Mall, Tropics Atrium
9-22 Dec
Tues- Thurs: 1pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Tasmanian Devil Meet & Greet
Suntec City Mall, Happy Kidz Level 3
9-22 Dec
2.30pm- 3.30pm ( No sessions on Mondays)

Awwww

2011-12-02T07:57:00.002+08:00

Cephas' classmate, Kaylee, gave him this drawing on her last day on school. Melt my heart totally. Look at the boy (on the drawing)! He's holding a flower. :) He has very endearing friends in his class. I am excited to meet some of them and their parents tomorrow. I have arranged a play date and all his classmates are invited.

A year on

2011-12-01T09:31:00.001+08:00

That's how our wall looks after a year... They didn't draw. But the children do (accidentally) knocked the wall with the chairs, books, etc.

2011-11-30T22:39:00.004+08:00

We trooped down to the Science Centre last Saturday since I have heard so much about the Dinosaurs Live! exhibition.

They started the journey riding on the dino. I am totally surprised that Celestiel is not scared at all. The exhibition is quite impressive. There are almost 50 life-sized dinosaurs in their created habitats. I don't have many pictures to show, no thanks to my lousy Olympus camera. :( Pictures are mainly taken using my iphone.
We toured the place twice. The second time after touring the permanent exhibitions inside. We bought them each a passport aka activity book. They had to go to each station to collect the stamp. There are also some other activities there to keep the children occupied. Colouring and drawing. I have 2 palaeontologists in the making. They spent quite some time in the sand pit searching for fossils.
As I mentioned earlier, we also toured the permanent exhibitions. They liked the Sound Exhibition. Lots of fun exploring the science of sounds. However, not all the displays are in good working conditions.
We were there for about 4 hours but we did not manage to see all the permanent exhibitions.The overall experience is quite good. I can forsee us coming back more often as Cephas grows older. Some how, school-going children like to come here.

Happy Times!

2011-11-30T17:21:00.001+08:00

I aborted my 'To-do' list to take the children out. Met up with Stephanie and her gal, Sarah to go NEX. Our first time driving there. It's their first time at NEX in fact. We watched Happy Feet 2. The children didn't really enjoy the show. But I do like the show. It touched on global warming.
We spent about 7 hours there. Damage for parking there... $8.40. Worth every cents since the children had fun together! I think the children enjoyed each other companion more than watching the show!

Concert 2011

2011-11-29T14:55:00.000+08:00

I am so proud of the children! They did a great job at their recent concert. Sadly, we did not have many pictures to show (now). I am waiting to receive the DVD from the school. It's special for Cephas and his classmates as they are the first batch of graduands. They put up 3 items and every child had to share their experiences in school. Their form teacher, Ms Nurul, really trained them well. The picture below is hijacked from his teacher's FB! Celestiel had a chance to perform too. The class did the opening song. She sang with so much gusto. She is still singing the song everyday. Hahaa. I bought her dress on Thursday after watching the preview on youtube which her teacher has uploaded. Chewy thought her dress was too short when she raised her hands. To match her dress, I got her a pair of new shoes too.
Princess in the front row. Third counting from the left. She looks such a sweet demure girl.
After the opening song, the children are returned to their parents. The boy beside her was the one that proposed to her some months ago.
She watched earnestly throughout the concert.
The class of graduates with the centre supervisor, Ms Bee Yong on the left, GOH, Mr Wong KS and his form teacher, Ms Nurul. Cephas was standing at the extreme left.
Some pictures with his classmates through my I.Cephas with Kaylee, my favourite girl. Hehee. Today is her last day in Hampton.
Cephas with his two very capable and loving MT teachers. I am ever so thankful to them. Without their patience and love, Cephas would never have mastered the language.His very creative form teacher, who has great faith in every child.
Cephas shared with us that his drawing is up on the banner. Second piece on the left.
Ms Nurul did a personalised year book for every child. 16 of them. The first page of the book on the right. I did not take pictures as the book is rather thick. Some of his work are published in there. A girl who knows I am Cephas' mummy, came running to Cephas and sat beside him to read the year book with him. Cephas says he doesn't know her. I think she is from N2 looking at her dance attire.
I wanted to take a picture with the children but the girl and her brother came (ran to us) and joined us in the picture. I love this picture. My dream of having 4 children is fulfilled here. Wink. This is currently my FB picture too.Sound cliche. But time flies. His pre-primary journey is coming to an end in a month time. I am glad I made the change for him. His 2 years in Hampton has been a blessing. A new journey is awaiting him. I know it will be good as I have committed his next 10 years to God.

Concert Videos

2011-11-29T13:33:00.003+08:00

Some videos to show.Celestiel is the star for the first video.

Cephas is the star for the 2nd and 3rd video.

Laundry Woes

2011-11-28T08:04:00.001+08:00

I am so glad the hectic week is over and I survive! It was on Friday that we realised that Celestiel had no uniform to put on as all (3 sets) her uniforms were still in the laundry basket. The last time I did my laundry was on Monday night. The girl whined as she put on home clothes to school. Chewy had to explain and apologize to the teacher. Grin. Not my fault right? I was busy but He was lazy.

Santas Pillow

2011-11-27T22:47:00.001+08:00

I used to own many pillows and bolsters before I married Chewy. I think I had about 5 pillows and bolsters in total, 1 small quilt blanket and I duvet cover. All on a single size bed. I had to give up all these luxuries when I married him. I am only entitled to 1 pillow and 1 bolster. I only brought along my quilt blanket.
About 4 years ago, I bought myself a small pillow. I told him I need to cover my chest. Security. Cephas used to take it once awhile but I always managed to convince him to return me. But I don't have such luck with the girl. She kidnapped that pillow and called it hers when we moved to our current place last year. It was also that time I stopped breastfeeding her. I believe she just wanted 'a part of me'. Anyway, she hoards on to that pillow and uses it like it's hers.
I have been searching for that pillow for a long time. I finally found it at IMM yesterday. Why do I like this pillow? 3 simple reasons. It's of the right size, washable and super huggable. I bought 2. One for me and another for Cephas. I bought an identical cover (green) and hopefully, I can take back the old pillow and pass the new one to Celestiel.

The Birds

2011-11-25T22:27:00.001+08:00

The children had the final say when they chose to go to the Bird Park. Chewy was not in favour but he didn't have a choice since it was 2 votes against 1. Hahaa. We spent longer time there since we decided to explore more places (to make my money worth). There were many firsts such as seeing the Shore Birds, Scarlet Ibis, Royal Ramble, Hornbills & Toucans, Jungle Jewels, etc. We did A LOT of walking. The children heart Birds n Buddies show (as usual). Still the same show. Beautiful and colourful birds flying here and there. The only show we watched for the day though we left at 5pm. We had our lunch at the kiosk next to the amphitheatre after the show. Cheeky Princess sticking out her tongue when I clicked. Very unusual of her to do that action in front of the camera. Hehee.
I am totally shocked to know that we were ONLY entitled to one round/ride on the panorail. I thought it was unlimited ride like the tram ride at the zoo. *shake head* Our first time at the Lory Loft. I was actually quite excited. I imagined all the lories flocking around me, fighting to be fed. It's all but a dream. We walked around the crowded enclosure. We saw many colourful lories. But only a few came forward to be fed. The lories were too busy people watching. I had a hard time, coaxing a lory to come forward to be fed. It must have heard my plea. The children were SUPER delighted to see that lory feeding on our cup. The children had to take turn to hold that cup (the one Cephas was holding). That 2 mins or so was really a precious sweet moment, after all the complaining and murmuring from the children, especially Cephas. Mental note to self: Skip this place to avoid disappointment. We were on time for the ostrich feeding at 1.30pm. The keeper was good. He started with some sharing about the bird. Very interactive. But it was very hot as there were many people in that small little space. Chewy bought the bananas to feed them. The birds were not interested. My conclusion. The birds in the park are all VERY well fed. Pointless to pay for the experience cos you will get none. Celestiel was holding an ostrich's egg in the picture below. We must of course see the waterfall since it used to hold the title of the world tallest man made waterfall. The last stop was at the Penguin Coast. It happened to be penguins' feeding time. It was a good time for us to rest our tired feet,enjoyed the air con and watched the feeding. Amazingly, the weather was super hot the whole day. I remembered it rained on the previous trips.
The children definitely enjoyed the trip. I may be swayed to be a Feather Friend if they continue to bug me to come here as our Friends of the Zoo card has expired.

Always Be Right There

2011-11-22T07:40:00.000+08:00

My man sang this (by Bryan Adams) on our wedding day 8 years ago. He keeps his promise.

Button up

2011-11-21T08:17:00.001+08:00

Celestiel has mastered the art of buttoning up, maybe a month or two ago. She insisted in buttoning her uniform after her shower just now. She is growing up, more independent.

Batik Printing

2011-11-17T15:46:00.003+08:00

Cephas did this with Teacher Maria two months ago. But we only remembered to pick it up last Monday. She had him to do the planning work first. This work is inspired by Henri Matisse. I learnt that this artist is known for his use of colours. Once he is done with the cutting and pasting, he could start with the printing. It is not exactly easy for him. He needed to control his strength when squeezing the tube of paint and had to be careful not to squeeze too much paint out. The finished masterpiece which Teacher Maria framed up for him. Beautiful.

The Watch

2011-11-15T21:08:00.001+08:00

It's back, looking brand new again. 2nd overhaul in 8 years. Think we should send our Aquaracer for overhaul too.

Under Healing

2011-11-13T20:31:00.001+08:00

A trip to Dawson Place this morning. We finally took Celestiel to see Dr Chong after 2 weeks of coughing. After finishing a bottle of Bambec and 2 weeks of 'Teddy bear' , her condition still doesn't seem to get better. In fact the cough is more phlegmy and her nose is running too. Dr Chong decided to put her on Klacid as she has mild bronchitis. Chewy is also given some cough medicine. Dr Chong checked on Cephas' tummy since he has been complaining of tummy ache since yesterday. I thought it was anxiety that caused the pain (he performed yesterday for year end concert) but he still complained of the pain this morning. Dr mentioned that he has wind in tummy. He felt that no medication is required and agreed w Chewy that ru yi you will solve the problem. Had our lunch there. Chewy took a longer route home, passing Orchard Road as the Christmas decoration are up. We were near home when Cephas started to complain about tummy ache again. The next moment, he did a merlion in the car! 3 times. Sigh. Lots of cleaning up for Chewy. :( I changed him up and applied some ru yi you for him. He felt much better and there was no more complaints for the rest of the day. We were actually quite upset w him for throwing up in the car. He could tell us earlier and we would have given him a plastic bag. We talked to him about it and he apologized. Anyway, glad that ru yi you can solve his tummy pain. The girl is allergic to it and she gives us headache when she has wind in her tummy!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-11T07:15:00.003+08:00

Chewy reminded me that he was at home two nights ago. I was puzzled for a moment. He reminded me that he was supposed to be in Chaing Mai for 3 days from 9th to 11th. His flight was cancelled at the last minute (Monday,7th) because of the flood in Bangkok as his flight transits there. I am REALLY thankful that he's at home. I sleep better when he's at home (despite the noise) as I know he will guard the door. Hehehee. Work has been/is crazy. It's 5.30pm for the past many days. I have yet to settlle down to study and the next two weeks are exam weeks. Whatever it is, knowing that he/He is with me during this time, I know I can do it... ...

Graduated

2011-11-09T20:02:00.001+08:00

Cephas has graduated from the Prep and Fun lessons with Tien Hsia. He did not attend the 8th and 9th lesson this term. He missed his 8th lesson as Celestiel had her 1st ballet performance and Cephas wanted to be there for her. Missed 9th lesson as he doesn't want to attend the performance. He finds it boring.
Received the final assessment in the letter box today. Huang Wei Lao Shi is very encouraging. She has taught him for 2 years. I like this arrangement as there's follow up and she could track and monitor his progress.
The kiasu me has decided that he should continue with the enrichment lesson. I wondering if I should enroll the princess in Chinese enrichment next year too.

Up!

2011-11-07T19:52:00.001+08:00

Falalalalalalala! It's gonna be a beary good Christmas!

P1 Orientation

2011-11-06T14:46:00.000+08:00

It was the P1 orientation on Friday. It was also Cephas' first time stepping into the school. He was total overwhelmed by the size of the school. Hahaa. He was trying to sign P1 in the picture below. There were some activities lined up for them in the class with his form teacher, Mrs Thomas. This teacher would be glad to know that there are parents out there showering her with lots of praises.

We, parents are stucked in the hall to hear the Principal talk about the mission, vision of the school. Yawn. Sound like strategic planning. I actually sneaked out towards the end to buy his books. Hehee. At the end of the talk, the parents were dismissed according to the magic number given to us earlier on. It's actually the child's register number. Ours is 3. Yeah. Picked the boy. Had a little talk with the teacher. The children actually had to do some work to assess their readiness to enter P1. Thank God, Cephas passed with flying colours. The teacher shared that he was friendly and participated in the discussion. We went to get his uniform and PE attires after that. He is so small. His shirts are in size 2XS. Settled the school bus too.

We met a good old friend who is also the in-charge of the boarding school. We told him of our decision not to send the boy to the boarding school. The timing for the school bus is way too late. He took us to tour the place. Boy, the place is sooooooooooooo big. They actually arranged for swimming lesson for the boys there too. What a pity. But then, I really do not want the boy to stay in school for such long hours.

We walked around the school and got him to buy some food in the canteen too. He was very busy looking around. I promise to take him here during the holiday again.

I really cannot believe it. This boy of mine is attending a big school next year. I thought I have just given birth to him not too long again...

Daddy's Gal

2011-11-05T15:24:00.002+08:00

This is Celestiel's first time seeing Chewy wears a suit. Chewy was in a rush to go out as he is helping out in a friend's church wedding. But Celestiel refused to let him go till she took a picture with him. :)

We had a date

2011-11-05T14:16:00.000+08:00

I believe last Wednesday was my first weekday date with Chewy since the children came along. I hate going out during weekdays since I need to wake up early the next day. I hate to trouble my parents to babysit the children too. When Chewy's boss offered the tickets to him, we could not reject him for 2 simple reasons. We just turned down an offer to attend a concert 2 months ago. Can't remember who was the artist but it was someone I don't know. Not too nice to reject someone's offer too often especially from the BOSS. Anyway, who will be in the right mind to reject the tickets to watch, David Foster, the legendary? Heh.
The concert is FANTASTIC. We sat very close to the stage. About 10 rows away. Very good view. The acoustic in the (MBS) theatre was SOLID. The music was terrific. Seriously, I didn't know he wrote that MANY hits. I love Michael Bolton. Reminded me of the good old times. Memories. Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire and Ashanti were there too. My first encounter with Ashanti. This gal has super lung powers. Amazing.
It was a pity that Russell Watson was sick that night. Chewy would love to hear him sing 'Prayer' with Michael Bolton. Charice was not there too. Boss told Chewy that her dad was killed in Philippines. I don't know who she is... so... it's ok with me. Because of the absence of his two friends, David Foster had more interaction time with the audience to 'pass' the time. There was lots of jokes. His sharing about his 3 wives was really hilarious. Had a great time and am super glad that we attended this concert. :) Of course, I had to thank Chewy's BOSS for inviting us to join him. Grin. [His boss doesn't read this blog.]

1st Performance

2011-11-04T13:54:00.004+08:00

Celestiel is living my dream of being a ballerina. Hahaa. Anyway, the gal had her very first ballet performance last Saturday. I believe she had a shock of her life when she saw the crowd in the theatre. She was lost and was looking out for us. When she finally located Chewy and Cephas, she was so happy and starting waving at them. She only found me much later as I was standing quite far away. Stage fright kind of seeped into her. She forgot most of the steps and stood them stoned most of the time.
After she was done, as instructed, she sat in front and watched the older gals dance. I thought it was a good exposure for us. She has never watched a real ballet performance in a sense.
She was so happy when the concert ended. She is wearing the tutu loaned from the school for the performance. So pretty.Cephas was so cute. He whispered to Chewy's ear during the concert: "Oh! Oh! Mei Mei forgets her steps!" He was quite concerned that Celestiel has forgotten her steps. In the video below, you can see Cephas (in green) dancing away. Hahaa. Anyway, I do feel that gal has done a great job. It's her first public performance. She is doing a song item next week for the school's graduation. I guess it should be better since it's her second time on stage.

Philatelic Museum

2011-11-04T12:52:00.005+08:00

We went to Philatelic Museum on the last public holiday (Deepavali). It was a real overdue trip for Cephas especially. He has been bugging us to go there since last year (I think)! He went there with his class for learning journey last year . *tsktsk*It was as their open house that day. Free entry. They had some activities such as fixing the jigsaw puzzles and colouring for the little ones too.

This museum is rather small.. We spent the longest time at the Heritage Room.
Of course there are other exhibits that are pretty interesting. We saw these two cups that joined together by a long string. A game I played when I was a young girl. :)
Can you decode the word typed by Cephas?Saw this giant mirror and I just had to take pictures with children. Hehee.
And of course the best way to remember the place is to 'put' our faces on a stamp.

Before we left, Cephas insisted in writing a postcard to his beloved teacher. He chose a card, wrote a message and post it out.

Happy Feet

2011-11-01T09:14:00.000+08:00

Watching this show with the children is gonna to be one of my 'To Do' list once my exam is over on 25th Nov. Woots.

Flash flood

2011-10-31T17:50:00.001+08:00

It's beginning to feel like Christmas! I am feeling lazy. It has been raining/ pouring! The weather is cool. Great weather but my joints especially my back and knee are not liking the weather. Aching.
I came home and witnessed this mess just now! :( My laminate flooring is at risk! This is the worst flood so far!

It's French!

2011-10-29T09:06:00.000+08:00

Celestiel's hair is long enough for me to tie french plaits. I managed to distract her while I tie her hair. I am tempted to cut her hair as she does look messy. She doesn't really like me to tie her hair. She says it is painful. Not only that, the last time I took her to the hairdresser was when she was 2 years old. But she refused to have her hair cut.

Brain Power

2011-10-28T08:54:00.001+08:00

Cephas amazes us with his memory power. We bought him a new book 'Reptiles' and he started reading that night just before bedtime. He stopped suddenly on the page 'Croc characters'. He was in deep thought. Then the next moment, he started searching for another book in his 'books box'. He smiled when he found this book 'Sharks'.
We soon found out that the picture of this saltwater crocodilein 'Reptiles' also appears in the book 'Sharks'. Identical pictures in two different books. He just wanted to show us the pictures.

Cutting Frenzy

2011-10-27T08:31:00.000+08:00

Celestiel was into a cutting frenzy last weekend. She cut ... and cut...at times, leaving little pieces of paper on the floor which nearly drove Chewy to the wall since he is the Environment Minister at home.

Primary Art

2011-10-26T08:14:00.005+08:00

Of all the textbooks I have bought so far, Cephas is only interested in the art book. I caught him staring at a picture for some time.

He later told me that the two pictures are very beautiful. "Why do you like the pictures?" I asked. "Look at the different strokes... look the curves... the waves... The pictures look real to me. I like how he (the artist) chooses the colour." The title of the artwork is The Starry Night by the famous Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh. I am totally surprised that Cephas can appreciate such artwork. Teacher Maria will be very pleased to know what he said about the artwork. Cephas also made a mask, getting some ideas from the book.

In the nose

2011-10-23T08:42:00.002+08:00

Guess what is that piece of black thing?

It's actually the (soft) cover for Chewy's earpiece. Apparently, princess had stuffed that piece into her nose! She complained that nose was in pain shortly. Chewy couldn't see anything. He got her to blow her nose but nothing came out. She seemed alright after that. Chewy suspected that she stuffed the cover in her nose when he realised she has touched his earpiece and the cover was missing. Chewy didn't even mention that incident to me when I woke up from my nap.
Fast forward. We had a late dinner at about eight. We were about to leave the foodcourt when princess had a loud sneeze. The cover was at the nose and Chewy immediately 'dug' it out. It was then that Chewy told me the incident. Gosh. Where did that piece 'rest' for that 4-5 hours? Hopefully, princess will remember this incident and not do it again. Then again, I thought children only put things in their mouth!

Textbooks and Activity Books

2011-10-21T18:29:00.001+08:00

Chewy was in Cephas' primary school to settle some admin issues on Tuesday. Settled the admin, confirmed the boarding school and enquired about the school bus. He picked up the book list too.
We went to Popular to buy some of the books. Some are currently out of stock. I am getting a little anxious as the knowing of him going to a BIG school is slowly settling in my head. I do seriously wonder if he is ready for the BIG leap. Logistic is another concern. The bus vendor said that the children in boarding school will take the 6pm school bus. We feel that it's too late. But I cannot commit to fetch him home myself daily. It's a hurdle I know we will cross. But as of now, I am totally vexed.

Counting my blessings

2011-10-18T20:59:00.001+08:00

I am learning to count my blessings from above. So here is the list of things I am thankful for today:
1) I am home safely with my children. I had a scare last week. I witnessed an accident last week while out to recce a site w my colleagues. I am definitely traumatised! So, I am thankful that God brought me safely to work and home especially, since it was raining dogs and cats.
2) My hubby. He is home with me. It's great to know he's around to be with us at the end of the day. I can sit around while he busy clearing our mess. I can talk all I want and he listens! Happiness.
3)My joy- the children. Though they are a little down with flu, they are still jumping around, messing up the house! Hahaa! I really cannot imagine my life without them.
4)My sweetest mum. It was pouring and my mum brought dinner over for us. She fed them while I showered. Bliss.
5) Taking a break from work. It's always good to break a routine and do something different. It's 8 hours of crazy marking but it's also a time to catch up with old friends and make new friends. Lots of laughing and eating and marking. I like it.
Life is good! Thank you, Jesus!

Home Bound

2011-10-16T11:43:00.001+08:00

Gonna be a stay at home day since their noses are running... They don't really mind staying at home since they have more space/areas to mess up! Grin. Cephas found some paints in the storeroom and has successfully conned me to allow them to do some painting. Chewy drew pictures for them and they are happily painting now. I foresee the peace is short live. I do drag to see the mess Chewy needs to clear later! I am pretending to play dead. The heat outside is giving me headache!

Food Craze

2011-10-14T16:56:00.005+08:00

Hooray! The market that is near our place is finally open after a year of renovation. There are now more stalls selling food. Think Chewy and I are going to get fat with all these temptation so near to us. Our latest craze is soya beancurd and grass jelly. There are four tubs in the fridge for the 2 of us now. This is real bad for our waistlines! Hahaa!