CHANs on the Little-Red-Dot 2010

Welcome to our WORLD!

2011-05-10T11:08:00.003+08:00

Okay, it's been....months?!? Blame it on Facebook. I can only juggle one
network at a time.

But the recent good news in our family is:
Baby Carson Tobias CHAN has arrived on the 9th April, weighing 3.415kg,
and at a whooping 51cm in length. Am sure those were the legs that put me
in pain the entire pregnancy. Will add more details on his first month in
our world.
For now, he's doing well, all the things a baby does to make his parents
have second thoughts about having ANOTHER baby, eg, lack of sleep,
round the clock feeding, endless soiled nappies, lots of 'pig slaughtering'
cries BUT.....the cooos, the sweet smiles, the amazing tiny features and or
course, when he gazes at you, just because!

We are filled with joy, the girls are thrilled and even grandma is dotting
over him. Welcome to our world, little fella!

Getting ready for NUMBER 3!!

2011-01-26T16:54:00.000+08:00

Get your free online pregnancy calendar from WhatToExpect.com

Letitia in her class play: Robin Good

2010-10-03T22:14:00.002+08:00

Robin Good by Primary 3Agape

Happy Birthday Mathena (7th)

2010-09-22T16:29:00.006+08:00

Our family celebration with the Wongs for Mathena's 7th, at Manhattan Fish Market, City Square
"This year took soooo long to come around!", this was Mathena major complain as she started 'waiting' for the birthday since last October!!! As a very patience mom, I remember at least 1-2 a month when my dear baby will ask me, 'Mommy, when is my birthday coming?' My answer will be, "9 months more dear.."
Being our truly 'laughter in her heart' child, it's tough to say 'no!' to her. Mathena beams in life, in joy and savours so much of life in a matter-of-fact manner. Nothing phases her out, nothing stops her nor discourages her. For example, I was already feeling bad as I knew around her birthday, the weekends will be FULL of activities from our commitments etc. I struggle to even 'squeeze' in a timing slot for her to have a cake.
Mathena says, "Mom, what about JUST a playdate and I invite my friends?". I answered, 2 friends! And, there we had a little get together of 2.5hrs of her bestest friends. Right after we rushed home from puppetry practice in church. Zoom zoom!
Just when I thought all the birthday nice-ties were done, my dear girl said, 'Mom, my classmates all say that they DO NOT like cupcakes for birthdays'. I was thinking of just ordering and bringing them to the class on her birthday.... "They ALL prefer goodie bags!!!"
This 7-year old has now, in her short little time on earth, dance ballet for 4.5years, have learnt drama for 1 year, has practice swimming for 3 years, have been speaking Chinese since 2 years ago, is now reading mini paperbacks (100-150 words per page) and sings on stage for church. She's travelled to UK. Scotland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and of course Australia. Isn't she just the go-getter in our family. We love you heaps and wishes for more adventures with you the following year. Happy Birthday my sweet 'baby' girl!

LADIES NIGHT~ ChanFamilyVersion

2010-07-09T21:46:00.004+08:00

Now, before anyone conjures up images of a bunch of ladies prancing around town,
party mood and without reservations, allow me to explain that this 'Ladies Night' (LN) is
entirely and altogether for a different purpose.

Being a parent of 2 girls, we've been reminded again and again our God-given role
and responsibility to bring them up as GOD's intended gift to the world
around them. To achieve this, we have to preserve them long enough so that their
hearts and minds can be vessels for GOD's work in His kingdom. Many times, I've
been given the burden plus the prompting that we are parenting, not for our own
glory, not for the country and even more, not for ourselves.

Hence, my cooking up of LN.
My happy 9yo, thoroughly enjoying this special time with mommy!

After much trembling, seeking and praying, I came up with this idea to regularly
take my girls out (working on No 1 first!) with the intention to talk and discuss heart
to heart, mother to child about life, about growing up and also about the many 'deep'
personal issues little girls face when they are growing up.
(Some will call it the feathers & the stings, get it?)
Anything crafty and fun!

I am recording this in our blog as it is a HUGE milestone in our lives. For one thing,
this series of discussions are been too loooong delayed and it is heart wrenching to see and know
that our girls are growing up. Another reason for doing this, is also to encourage other
moms to take this challenge to recapture and preserve their girls for as long as they
possibly can. It is about building the trust, the relationship and the foundation so that when the girls need a place of solace to run to, mommy can be their choice companion.Having fun with bubbles!

Just in case anyone is thinking that we are living in some sort of bubble and we
have some weird idea of keeping our girls in a crystal cocoon. We are NOT! What
we are merely doing is taking back and acting on our rightful responsibility as
parents to teach into our kids, our values, our morals and mostly, what the Bible
(and what we believe GOD) wants us to have and know. Doing nothing is letting the media and the world 'teach' our kids. Doing nothing is giving way to letting
the children take opinions of other people's values. We don't want to do NOTHING!
Letitia is my cuddle-girl. She never gets enough of it, phew!

My greatest fear is that one day my girls will no longer believe that I love
them, GOD loves them and they are heading for the '2nd best' (compromise) in life.
I am praying that my time with them will allow them into my thoughts, my heart
and build trusts/confidence in them. I want to walk alongside them as they
learn to stand up against the corrupted values they confront each day. I want them to
know that no matter how tough life gets (gets into trouble?), my love for them means that I will not desert them. The consequences will still follow but
my time and my support and my cuddles will heap on.She's the happiest when we hang out as a family.

Now, how is LN done?
Firstly, set and make the commitment to regularly go out (once a 2-3 week)and take turns planning. I have asked Letitia to bring a notebook (top secret
for her eyes only) along for her to take notes and thoughts down. We'll chat
firstly about any concerns brought up during school life. Eg. why were the boys
so into pictures of naked ladies (are you shocked the the exposure your 9yos
are getting at school?), why do other kids watch the 9pm chinese adult soap
series etc. Then, I will prayerfully talk about her, what she is going through now
as a 9yo child physically and what to expect. From basic biological views to
physical changes. I am covering only 1-2 points (I relate them together) and
I know it's enough. It's information overload and the notebook allows her to get back to it during the week to ask/write questions or thoughts she needs to talk about or share. The time required is about 2 hours, inclusive of some food (of course! Thanks Monica for your reminder!) plus somewhere quite private and not too noisy. One of Letitia's favourite food: 小龙包（Steam Pork Dumplings)

Letitia chose the restaurant and we went to a nearby Din Tai Fung. She was happy to just slurp at the dumplings one at a time. It is quite a joy to see her enjoy her food (I was told this will all change when they get figure conscience) and hoping that she'll always have a healthy appetite. Come on, she's hardly overweight, right? There's room for expansion!

As I'd like to end the evening with something fun, it's not hard to search for fun and simple activities to do. Walks, crafts, ice cream/dessert are some. This allowed us some winding down conversation and I will mentally remind her of our love (as parents) for her and that she can come to us, anytime and for ANY reason.

So there. My records of this new journey with Letitia. Mathena will get her turn when she turns 9yo. Meanwhile, I am already praying and thinking of the next topic and thoughts to chat about (been reading 2-3books at the same time) and also thinking of a nice 'quieter' place instead of the one like Din Tai Fung. Friday nights may not be the choice too as the restaurants are packed and everyone's hungry! On this note, I want to encourage ALL moms I personally know, to start thinking about what 'plans' you have, what direction you (and your husband) have thought of with regards to talking to your children about the birds and the bees. It does not have to be just ONE talk. It does not have to be a lecture. It does not have to be like the above. It however, has to be a deliberate EFFORT. It also has to be a lifestyle, an attitude and mostly the relationship (parent with child) has to be built and built SOLID too. It still rings in my head, the words of Josh McDowell when he shared in our church, 'TRUTH without relationship leads to REJECTION, RULES without RELATIONSHIP leads to REBELLION, Discipline without RELATIONSHIP leads to Anger!"

Pray for our next LN!

What Dreams Are Made of

2010-05-29T21:29:00.006+08:00

Today was a super tiring super rewarding day. Our ENTIRE family, Alex included work
up early to head out in preparation for the girl's dance school's 38th Anniversary concert. This is the first ever concert we've done in Singapore since we arrived.
Letitia was part of a 3-part Chinese dance troupe doing the ribbon dance and she's practiced a whole term. The dance performance was spectacular and she looked like a proper acrobatic dancer minus all the bends and twists.
Alex was asked to help out with the photo taking of the concert, post and pre rehearsal etc. He did a pretty good job and even roped in his camera buddy to help enhance the experience. We've got these pics to keep for a long time to come..

I am so amazed at how Letitia can still hold a smile and happy attitude amidst all this hard work. She did not miss a step within the entire series of steps....I would be tripping all over the stage!
Mathena was dancing a midst 6yos and some 7yos. She's a 6yo waiting patiently to turn 7. She looks a sight in this outfit and this dance is aptly named "Classical ballet".
Don't they ALL look sooooo professional!!

Mathena managed to laugh and giggle most of the time, enjoying herself on the stage.
Well done! My dear girls, mommy and daddy are soooo proud of you both!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-08T21:58:00.006+08:00

Simple dinner at Swensens....

Girls treat of 'Volcano'Now,...THIS is my treat! A coke float...except I will be up counting the stars tonight!Been a mom for at least 9 years now..I thank GOD for my children, without whom this journey will not be worthwhile. Thanks also to my dear hubby who's loved me and stood strong as a father to the girls. I cannot ask for anything more.

As usual the girls were bursting to celebrate it
with me and yes, we celebrated on Saturday night, gifts and all.
Sunday at church this season is a time for serving. I have chosen
to be with my girls instead of alone in the church sanctuary!

Pulau Ubin-Labourous Day

2010-05-05T09:04:00.008+08:00

We ventured as 2 families and 2 ladies on this trip...
Off we go on a 20min boat ride. We can see lots of the East side of Singapore along the way.
On arrival, we met with lots and lots of bicycle rentals...and this is before the crowds set in..

..then the bike adventure started. ..for the 6yos and 9yos, this is the start of many spills, falls, pushing of bike uphill etc...very tiring for the other adults (they had to help them!)
We saw inland lakes..
Walked and walked through preserved forestry...cool shades, phew!
From the mangroves, it opened up to the wide, sunny sea..
See the tiny hut, that's the only respite on the entire plank walk..
All in all a lovely adventure but we soon found out that we are creatures of comfort. The heat was too much, the ride was too painful and the mosquitoes were too hungry. Total kid count of mosquitoe bite were about 30 bites, sigh! Good to have met you, Pulau Ubin. Here's the site, of the nice resort we didn't go to.

Words

2010-05-03T21:44:00.003+08:00

Recently, our family has been experiencing quite a few 'learning'
moments from life at school. One thing leading to another, it
has come to my realization that 'words' are indeed powerful
things that comes out of our mouth and unless we make an
effort to curb it, it creates plenty of damage.

This happened in one of my daughters class. To protect all parties
involved I will not be naming anyone. During class time, some boys,
namely boyA, boyB and boyC was happily teasing each other with
the rude "F" word. We were shocked when we found out about this and we were
somewhat disapointed that most families allow such words in their
child's vocabulary and have not made any efforts to teach them self control.
Anyway, as my daughter continued to explained, this is NOT the
first occurence. These words were used in a rhymes, to create jokes,
and also used to stir/tease each other. Soon being annoyed, my girl noted that boyC have finally succumbed to the teasing and was in tears. She tried to ask the other 2 (who was at that
point laughing) boys to stop but with angry tones, they teased her instead.

Here lies the issue.
All this happened because these boys had a heart to tease, embarrass
and victimised boyC. They were actually laughing when they could
see their 'friend' in tears. Instead of stopping, they further rubbed it in
that he's always crying etc. Why has bullying become so 'easy' and without conscience in the hearts of these kids? This 'pack behaviour' only stood strong as it was a ratio of 2 against 1.
The poor crying kid was actually bigger in stature yet he was helpless.As a result, we had to teach into our daughter,
which child to avoid and be careful with her dealings of them. For
her sake, we had to make it known to her that these boys are not
'desirable' company. This is just primary school, sigh! We also had to
teach her how to help the 'underdog' and comfort the one
who's being hurt. We had to re-introduce the idea that bullying of all
sorts 'hurt' and very much to our discomfort, the one who's bullying
is actually the one who has in-depth 'issues'.

Words hurt or words heal. We have to choose how to use them!
These 2 weeks, our girls have been memorising:
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
We've had an open window to teach this lesson into their hearts.

See another blog about a mom who knows the power of words
to encourage her child.

Magical Hong Kong

2010-04-07T16:22:00.005+08:00

When we first planned to go to Hong Kong, we were quite unsure if
we can pull it off with the girls. Disney was a draw card but we
were determined to show them more than the magic kingdom. Everything
was planned and booked for within 2 weeks, the fastest decision
on travels we ever did.
I 'pushed' Letitia onto the stage for a boogey with High School Musical, she was NOT
impressed! LOL!
The Mickey Mouse Candy Floss made up for it..
Visiting Tarzan in his tree house...but too bad he was not in, only his statues were.

We discovered Discovery Bay with my old school friend Katie, what a lovely time together!
We ate these...and more..

Girls fell in love with Wonton Noodles (like me!)

Freezing Victoria Peak in the evening...
We visited the amazing Noah's Ark in Ma-Wan Island.

We'd like to say thanks to the Yue family for hosting us, Grandma Yue for taking us around, to Scarlet and family for the amazing reunion, for Unc Kelvin for making the entire trip to easy, to Eugene and Ange for hosting us with the mountain size goose dinner and not to forget, Katie for spending a whole magical time with me and the kids! God Bless all!

Sample of Introduction: English Writing Age 9

2010-03-29T16:59:00.003+08:00

I am curious...in Singapore, this is the standard (assume high) of what
is expected from a Primary 3 (age 9) child. Can you guys (Australia,
Malaysia, UK, US etc) all have a look at what the 9yo kids are doing in
your side of town and tell me how we fair.....I personally think this is
'Shakespeare'!

"The sun shone brilliantly in the blue sky that was dotted with white
fluffy clouds. The barking of dogs and the laughter of children greeted
me as as I stepped onto the soft, sandy beach. Tall, swaying palm trees
lined along the shore. A nearby ice-cream selling was selling delicious
creamy ice cream to cool the holidaymakers. My spirits was immediately
lifted by the thoughts of a wonderful day ahead."
(emphasis mine, am impressed at those expressions!)

No offence to the teachers (esp Letitia's teacher) but I do think that the
above paragraph is beyond even MY ability to 'dream' up. I am not
able to test out what Letitia can dream up but she has and can do the
above, I truly salute the MOE system, if not, I am not too worried... I think
this is HIGH standards! Wow!

Waiting to hear from ALL of you...what are your kids writing at age 9?

Letitia turned 9...quietly!

2010-03-12T14:50:00.006+08:00

This year, amongst all that we have to juggle as a family,
I decided to just celebrate Letitia's last single digit birthday
in a quiet, meaningful yet nontheless happy manner.

We had to wake at the crack of dawn every week day to
get Letitia to school and knowing that her birthday was
on a school week, it kinda put a drag on her feet.

So I decided to source out some non expensive way of
making her 2nd March 2010 a bit special. I found a local
lady passionate in creating ANYTHING with balloons
and she kindly agree (amidst her busy schedule) to fold
out some fancy balloons for Letitia when she finished
school. WHAT an impact, what a smile (a gasp actually)
from Letitia's surprised expressions. Praise GOD for
little somethings like this.

We had a nice dinner of Canadian pizzas with the Wongs
(plus toddler Samantha) and ended it with some really
decadent choc cake, speciality of Rive Gauche.

Letitia is Primary THREE

2010-02-09T11:49:00.003+08:00

It's not hard to be left out when you have a little sister's who's experiencing many 'FIRSTS' this year. Letitia was very patient and indeed sailed back into the school year quite hassle free and happy. This year, Letitia had her favourite teacher again as her class teacher. This teacher actually requested to 'follow' this class up the ranks in view that she has lots of ideas and creativity to make them do well in school. Except that, in Primary 3, the class size grows and this poor young teacher has the BIGGEST class of all of 43 kids. Phew! Am often praying for her and feeling like she's got it tough... from a mother's perspective, I barely survive juggling TWO and yet, she has 43!!

Letitia has to wake even before the sun rises around 6am every morning in order to get into school by 7.10am. School lessons starts at 7.25am. She has an extremely long day as it finishes at around 1.25pm with an occasional 'extra' events continuing till 4pm. Being a light eater, she'd rather skip morning tea and head to the library to check out the latest books. Thus when come lunch time (late!), she's starving...

Letitia is our Ms Initiative as she's happy to get on with all the homework available for the day. Often, she's so tired that I will have to FORCE her to have a nap, yet she'll fall asleep mumbling that she may not finish her work. And yes, we have A LOT OF HOMEWORK, some of which is too tough for my housewifey mind to understand.
Letitia asked to take a picture in to hot midday sun. Poor thing. Her eyes are unable to open as she is on Atropine drops that dilate her pupils making her reliant on her transitional glasses to protect her. So when it's bright, you'll see her eyes closed shut (body's response).
This is my happiest moment EVERYDAY when I see her running to me. She is home now. Safe and can rest till the next day of 'education' in the little red dot!

Ant and the Grasshopper!

2010-01-20T07:39:00.001+08:00

Can't resist posting this great read....it's a prevalent situation ALL around!

ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different.... Two Different Versions.... Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away..

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

Channels 7, 9 and 10,the ABC and SBS show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

Australia is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Cardinal George Pell then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Prime Minister Rudd condemns the ant and blames John Howard, Robert Menzies, Capt James Cook, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Bob Brown exclaims in an interview on Today Tonight that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, Labor in conjunction with the Greens draft the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confisca ted by the Government and given to thegrasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug rela ted incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2011.

I’ve sent this to you because I believe that you are an ant – not a grasshopper! Make sure that you pass this on to other ants. Don’t bother sending it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn’t understand it, anyway.

Mathena's FIRST day at school

2010-01-05T07:31:00.002+08:00

Mathena stepped into the doors of Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School yesterday. 4th Jan 2010. She missed out on the orientation the year before hence this is a NEW experience for her. Mathena is our trooper and our brave little girl. Even the teacher (at the end of the day) was attracted by her smile and ooomph! She's been in and out of this school many times as Letitia goes there as well so it is not entirely a new place to her. But the uniforms, the shoes, the bags, the classroom, the teachers etc is an exciting event! We celebrate her, her milestone, her life and of course, we can't help but THANK GOD for the entire experience.

Mathena seemed fine when I visited her during her recess. She was assigned a nice 'little' buddy,
the same statue as her during this season of maybe 2 weeks. This Primary 2 child has the role

of befriending her, showing her arounds school, help her with getting food or drinks on top of being a company. It's amazing how after seeing LETITIA on both ends of the programme, the little ones step up to their roles and mature in the click of their finger. There were parents of primary 2 kids who remained in school for the sole reason that they are worried their little ones don't know how to 'buddy' etc. Many went back surprised at their own kids..

Enjoying her packed sandwich by mommy. She turned around just so I could snap a picture.

Back to recess...eating...30mins of NOT MUCH PLAYING involved here. This will not be the case in Australia. It'll be 15 mins eating, then 30mins of FREE play.

Lining up with the day's worth of load to get into the hall for 'devotions and quiet reading'. The blue bags are their art folio which is left in the school closets.

Spot the cheeky grin!

Daddy came out to send her off. She was thrilled to see him!

All dressed up and READY to go..

KOLO MEE lunch (a Kuching favourite) as a send off.

The day they GREW up!

2010-01-05T07:27:00.000+08:00

I thought I better document this before I get into another whirl wind of busyness.

It is official! I have STOPPED homeschooling.

In the midst of getting the girls ready to face another school year, the books, the prep
talks, the uniforms, the rules, the timetables, the lunch boxes, the planning and not to forget the ever difficult task of punching all their routines into my faithful phone/organiser etc. I actually forgotten that as of today, 4th January 2010, I am NO LONGER a homeschooler.

The last of my off-springs has happily bounced off to the big world of Singapore
education. Roller bag and all.

I still struggle inside. I struggle not for the saying 'farewell' but for the simple
lost of the joy that I used to have when I saw their little faces light up, when they
'got it'. The thrill I once knew when they will run/turn to me as if I was the ONLY
walking dictionary they know of. The pleasure of knowing that we can pack up
and travel ANYWHERE around the world and STILL be educated with TONS of fun
piled on.

When Letitia first stepped into school a year plus ago for the last quarter of Primary 1
I learnt to let go. I relented my 'teacher hat' but rediscovered a new role all
together with her. I became her moral and mental coach. I had to revamp the entirety
of the school concept to make it look fun, positive and worth pursuing. I've learnt
to hold Letitia's hand when she is unsure, to challenge her to try the unknown and
yes, to encourage her to ENJOY learning, though noone else seems to be keen.
She's fighting each day to NOT be held down by the scores, the marks and the
rankings. She knows it, I drill it, we WANT to believe it but.... it's still a long
process.

Mathena being the 2nd child, we just love her for who she is. She is
very unassuming yet every bit unpredictable. Just when we expect her to shine in
confidence, she'll fall to bits at the slightest change. She's learnt most of the ropes
with regards to school through the many days and hours I have spent in Letitia's
school. Now she is HOLDING these ropes, tightly and very eager to climb.

I believe every part of our lives is blessed by GOD. Even when we don't ask for it,
GOD blesses us. I have been blessed. These 2 girls will constantly remain the two
bestest gifts I have ever received from GOD and Alex. Even when we were tossing on
whether to foot out the money (desks are NOT cheap!) in search for a suitable desk,
we found one at 1/10 of the price as new, as good! At tehe 11th hour, unexpected!
Even THIS is a blessing...

I now juggle 2 systems of schooling. I now juggle 2 personalities and learning
types. I now have EVEN less time to myself. I have one daughter to herself half the
day every day. I am blessed!

Thank you, God!

Mathena is in PRIMARY school

2010-01-04T23:10:00.004+08:00

Am reminded by this Christmas Message

2009-12-21T18:41:00.002+08:00

The Christmas version

1 Corinthians 13

If I decorate my house perfectly with Christmas bows,
Strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but I do not
show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtimes, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work in the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have
To charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.
If I trim the house with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of parties and sing in the choir, but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug a child.
Love sets aside decorating to kiss the husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love does not envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails,
Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost,
Golf clubs will rust.
But giving the gift of love will endure.

Merry Christmas!

This year, we have BOTH the CHUA granparents here with us. We'll have a quiet
Christmas EVE, then attend our church's FIRST ever Christmas Day family
service, then lunch with 'extended family'. From the above, will whip up
simple Christmas dinner but have a few new friends over.

Finishing Well 2009

2009-12-02T23:00:00.003+08:00

It is now December and as per normal, I will write a newsletter (sent)
or a blog to cap off the year.

Being a Covenanter, we've been taught to start things with the end
in mind. Thus this year 2009, we started with trepidation yet with the
end in mind....to finish well, joyous and one step closer to GOD!

2009 seemed to whip past too quickly. With Letitia pouncing into her
very first school year (Primary 2) in the public system, we took each
step in our own stride and made many progress and memories.
We salute the teachers that helped in educating and teaching Letitia,
in helping her learn to love the tough subjects and also in miraculously
bringing her to love the Chinese language.

Mathena stood proud and strong in her many achievements. She picked up
numbers and maths like a fish in water and matured tremendously in her
work at home. She's still reading non stop (like sis) but we've decided
to curb her Myopia with treatment before it gets too bad. Each year, we
see her blossom into a fine young lady and just today, her FIRST baby
tooth showed signs of shaking...

Our major trip this year was our 'return' trip to BRISBANE and SYDNEY.
It was an amazing yet eye opening trip where we recaptured our hearts
to the dry and dusty land of sunburnt sand. We fell in love(again) with the
clear blue skies, the clean cool air, the lovely breezes plus the never
ending coastal lines. We linked back up to our families (cousins to the
kids) and of course had a whale of a time catching up with friends of
long. We ate up our Aussie favourites (Pavlovas, meat pies, lots of
steaks, custards etc) and also went back many a memory lane for the
girls.... we know where home is! Just not sure when we can make it home
just yet!

Alex's year at work has lots of lows via the recession and the financial
crash. Being in the bank directly effected many things including the fast
and desperate need to hand in projects, to prove it's relevance and also
to create 'fund-worthy' things. He had to juggle people coming and going,
making it frustrating and challenging when things had to be done yet there's
not that many around to do it..... we wish dearly we could help out but
we only stood by him and gave him lots of cuddles. We love him dearly!

As a summary, we've spent majority of the year aiming to achieve 'heavenly'
things. Things that no human eye could see or measure. Events that touches
not just the outward but definately the inward. We spent many hours just
loving, being and listening. We've been SUPERBLY blessed by friendships,
care and love from all those around us. We NEVER felt alone nor 'isolated'.

As we near the end, my biggest role is to continue to host as many people
possible in my home (visitors), to create 'impact' in the visuals for the
coming children's camp in our church as well as redirect the hearts of
MANY families back to the basics of parenting while DAILY, being thankful
for being where we are.

Thank you to ALL who's been part of our lives in 2009!
God Bless You All!

She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her. ~ Proverbs 31:12

Our Aussie trip 2009- the highlights!

2009-11-19T23:03:00.005+08:00

This trip, we told ourselves that we'll have a walk through
memory lane at the same time pretend we are home. We wanted
to have a 'look' at home to see if we were ready to move back..

We came back to Singapore, unsure to call Singapore
home yet, our beds are here. It's nice to be back to our
normal environment. Our hearts are sadden by the
goodbyes and the moments missed yet, we trust that
our GOD has a plan and we are in this place for a reason
(thanks for the reminder, Fred!). The day will come when
we've done all we are here for and HE will send us home
hopefully. Back to our soul-mates, our family friends, our
blood relatives and also a land we miss.

Thanks to all for the memories!

AUST-TRIP 2009

2009-11-03T14:09:00.006+08:00

Just a quick note: we'll be travelling home to OZ 4-18 Nov. Here's an idea
of our whereabouts:
4-5th: Arrive at Brisbane
5-7th: Family time with CHANs up the Sunshine Coast (Coolum Beach)
7-8 Time in Brisbane with CHUA family and friends then off to SYDNEY (9-12th)
10-11th A visit to Wollongong where girls grew up from..12-13th SYDNEY - Brisbane, then drive down to the Gold Coast for an overnight R & R (just 4 of us only!)Then back to Brisbane till the 17th with Brisbane friends and family (CHUAs)
Will go past Toowong Village, shop at Indooroopilly..Enjoy Italian at Savoir Faire, Milton !

Great Escapees!

2009-10-28T22:36:00.004+08:00

Anyone who wants their kids to grow up with a healthy and right perspective
view of marriage MUST make time and create moments together, alone! The
kids will tantrum all they like, they will pull at your heart's strings (and yes,
it hurts for a mom!)...but until we realise what we are DOING is in fact for them,
we'll be fighting a loosing battle of loosing our marriage.

Okay, while most parents are keeping a close eye on their children's revision
during the ONE WEEK PSLE marking BLESSING of a holiday plus Deepavali,
we did the unthinkable and snuck away, all fully arranged and organised to
Langkawi.
We did, nothing...saw very little, ate a LOT, talked so much, laughed and
giggled like teenagers (mind you, we are near 40s) and missed the girls
TERRIBLY! Such a dilemma and every bit worth the effort!
We 'suffered' when we thought of the girls, but we rejoice at the fact that
they now KNOW, "Daddy & Mommy loves each other so much they always
put each other first!" and that they are secure, because we ARE as a couple!
Go for it EVERYONE! Book the sitters, arrange the playdates, mark the dates
on the calendar and enjoy being a couple (without kids) all over again...

Primary 2 Year End Exams

2009-10-25T22:28:00.002+08:00

Here's what we have to cover...

Revise all the papers returned as the questions are very similar to what will be tested in the upcoming SA2 examinations (format is more or less the same)

English
- Poetry Revision Worksheet
- Comprehension Practices 1 - 10

- Grammar & Vocabulary 2009 Worksheet
- Vocabulary List 2009
- KCPPS SA2 2007
- KCPPS SA2 2008
- All worksheets in English file
- Basic English Grammar book
- Spelling List
- Let's Explore book

Mathematics
- KCPPS SA2 2007
- KCPPS SA2 2008
- All worksheets in Mathematics file
- KCPPS SA2 2006

Note that there is both English and Mother Tongue Listening Comprehension Examination on 26th Oct, Monday.

*Sigh, what fun!*

Thank YOU, Lord! (Happy Children's Day)

2009-09-26T22:00:00.003+08:00

It is amazing how GOD works and brings us to places at different stages of
our lives.

Today, we had 'Day of Prayer' where our entire church comes together once
a month to seek GOD and HIS agenda in our lives and our church direction.

We've been pleasantly 'uplifted' and touched by the emphasis today on the
Future Generation especially in regards to "discipling" them as parents, as
this generation and as the church.
This has been the heartbeat of the ministry we hold so dearly and the main
reason we are the way we are....

Alex & myself feels that our GOD ordained role is to disciple, to guide,
to nurture our kids. Not to 100% scores in their studies (though it be a bonus),
NOT to well and prefect 'on cue' manners (though it be VERY good!),
NOT to saving the world and all it's issues with humanity, NOR safe the planet
with dire global degradation, but, simply but for the set-apart-ness of their
hearts so that GOD can live, love and dwell in them.

We are praying that this continues to resonate in our church leadership as
well as 'wake up' all the parents and adults of this NEED. Parents can NO
LONGER outsource discipleship, NOT even to sunday school teachers or
the Religion teacher or even the Senior Pastor of the church.

Happy Birthday Princess Mathena

2009-09-20T22:19:00.005+08:00

How time lifes....it's that time of the year ALREADY...and to think that
6 years ago, Mathena was in hurry to come see the world that she only
took 3 hours to come out, from start to finish!

Upon her 'sweet' request, we had a little gathering of friends (1 from Ballet,
2 from her ex Kindy) plus their families over for an afternoon tea get together.
I promised that they will be NO games, No entertainment, NO deliberate hoo-has
and they STILL had a fantastic time with the toys at home, with each other's
time and friendship.

She still has a love hate relationship with her older sister Letitia. She'll love and miss Letitia one moment, then totally drive her up the wall, the very next! She STILL has the ability to melt the hardest of hearts and so far, has gotten us all wound up in her little not so chubby fingers.

Simple times and happy moments. We ALL as adults had a great time just catching up as well...

Mathena moved to Singapore when she was 2.5years old. The season of Dorothy the Dinosaur, dolls in strollers as well as chubby legs and eager absorbtion to what the world hs to offer. She's now a heart-grabbing, in your face, live the moment, NEVER let life pass her by-type little 6 year old who refuses to let 'No!' be an excuse for anything!

My prayer is that God will continue to mould her, guide and teach into her heart. To use her as a vessel sold out and passionate for HIM, for His Kingdom and beyond. She asked me for some passion fruit (from the market, she loves all sorts of fruits!) over dinner and when asked why, she said "I want to be passionate in all that I do!" And to that I say a loud AMEN!

...and yes, I am STILL proud to be her mommy, sigh!

A new Mac arrived!

2009-09-14T09:21:00.003+08:00

We have a new member in our family. The COMEX sales in Singapore have proven to be worth waiting for again. Most prices are not exactly lower than normal retail but they throw in lots of on other stuff. We are still a 2Mac and 1PC family. The PC is mainly for non Mac users (and materials) plus for the children's primary school use. Alex traded in my old white one for the 13 inch MacBook Pro 2.26.

The deals in Singapore are sooo amazing and esp in comparison to the Aussie prices. Even with dollar to dollar minus the currency exchange, prices here are at least $100-$200 cheaper. While living in Tech-chie city, we enjoy the techs!

What we SAW on our holiday!

2009-09-11T22:29:00.000+08:00

It's ALL about being TOGETHER!

2009-09-11T21:52:00.001+08:00

September Holidays

2009-09-10T22:32:00.004+08:00

Since Firefly opened up another direct route from Singapore to Kuantan, we hasten our decision to revisit the familiar family resort but this time, the oldest and 'original' one in Cheratin.

These pics are 'retaken' pics off the professional pics that cost around RM12 per piece, so the quality will be grainy.

ClubMed prides itself to be a 'family resort' meaning that the main focus is for the well being of families. We ARE family and we had a ball. The 24/7 FOC flowing drink bar and non stop all inclusive buffet meals helps in making the stay so much more enjoyable. My girls and I on the other hand, just went for the basics. Desserts and mocktails. Somehow, the lack of 'pork' (halal country) made the selection less attractive. I think I am just less enthused about non stop eating.

On the other hand, I learnt to fly a kite and keep it in the air for a prolonged time, I got back into aqua aerobics, my aim for archery improved and am getting the hang of hitting the bullseye (I so looove shooting!), and not to forget, we played with sand a lot.

The place was beautiful, will upload more pics later.

LOVE THE WORLD

2009-08-12T22:00:00.003+08:00

We knew we HAVE NOT seen it all but this place surpasses everything....

Not for the food, not for the music, not even for the location and deco...
Where on this side of earth do you get or find a restaurant FULLY dedicated to honouring GOD and then paving a way for those 'seeking' to find HIM.

We chance upon this restaurant when we were invited to listen to our good friend's son perform his one man act, life and uncut. What pleasure to eventually find out the true story and passion behind the people and those who's invested their lives into this place...

I love the food, was amazed and awed at the concept and stand praising GOD for HIS people. Have a read at this site LOVE THE WORLD.

NDP 2009

2009-08-08T22:07:00.002+08:00

This will be our 3rd year in Singapore (we arrived here 6th July 2006) and I still vividly remember the first month frantically trying to settle into our newly rented apartment. During that very same time, I also remember my first glimpse of how patriotic the people Singapore are. Flags were everywhere, even all the hotel we were temporary staying.

By the second year, my family (kids especially) were exposed to the highlights and efforts of the "Racial Harmony Day" which showed me even more so how this country work hard at making the people feel united as "One people". I was impressed.

Now, we had the hindsight to know and look forward to a 'new song' to sing every year, that will help us know and understand this land of 44+ years. The above is exactly that, the National Day Song for Singapore's 44th National day.

This country is NOT hard to love. This country has a proud young history leading itself to the developed and comfortable civilisation of today. As a Malaysian-born-Chinese Aussie citizen, I do have admiration for the establishment of this country. Happy Birthday, Singapore! (9Aug)

Primary 2 Excursions: Zoo & Gardens

2009-07-31T23:30:00.002+08:00

To save me uploading twice, here's a link to my facebook album-

ZOO & Jacob Ballad's

As ALL excursions take quite a lot of planning and juggling, this is one of the most 'relaxed' school excursions I have been to. I truly had FUN! The kids were just being themselves, some painful, some not, some lovely, some not, some just plain cheeky!

Then, I saw the best thing ever- kids building a frienship and having enough time to be together, being friends, holding hands, seeing things, chatting about stuff, adventuring, and..getting lost together. Not sure how much they learnt, but we all had PURE fun and was OUT of the classroom. Even the moms were happy!

Ballet Under the Stars 2009

2009-07-31T22:59:00.002+08:00

I think I was the only person who ACTUALLY respected the request of SDT to NOT take pictures of the professional dancers in their dance and routine. So all I had was the preshow dances, which in itself floored us.Did I mention we went? Am sure I raved about it all over Facebook but here's our version and a little write up from a mother's point of view.

Once a year, Singapore Dance Theatre comes up with a showcase and public display of their daring, interesting and often striking work. The park is open from 5pm, which we went earlier and by 7pm, it's packed! No grass patches could be seen. We went with a ballet family (our kids dance together) and had a BALL of an evening.

I had a bit of a struggle with some themes as NOT ALL were suited for kids, and I had to do a lot of 'backtracking' plus explaination to my ever curious and questioning kids. BUT when the real ballet stuff appear, noone spoke, just open aghast with admiration and awe of the calibre of the dancers on stage! Wow! My girls were inspired! This was what we WATCHED!

Mathena's NEW glasses

2009-07-15T17:30:00.002+08:00

...though this is breaking my heart, Mathena is happy and celebrating the fact that
she NOW has her own glasses.

Yes, the past 6 months showed rapid interest in reading and reading A LOT. From my experience with Letitia, I am now very aware, as well as careful with their reading habit yet, I have lost my battle. Mathena also has Myopia, which is short sightedness and she's started even before her
6th birthday. We saw the specialist on the 9th and her glasses arrived on the Monday the 13th.

Her's the 'new look' of our youngest bespectacled member.

Melaka We Will Go!

2009-06-30T13:03:00.008+08:00

This JUNE holidays, we had 4 weeks to kill. Initially, we had set aside 2 weeks to serve and prepare for a kid's camp in church but the H1N1 situation made all er in caution and thus, we had to waaaaait till the last week of the holidays to eventually head down somewhere. We chose Melaka for the reasons, 1) 3/4 of family never been 2)the distance won't kill 3) affordable RM prices. We, as adults knew that we have to be prepared for some dissapointments in quality etc So with our expectations set real loooow, we went.

This pony would be Mathena's highlight. Our animal loving girl begged, asked, demanded, then pleaded that we give her a ride and a ride she got. Not captured on pic was the day when we went to the animal safari when she was patting and being friendly to the miniature ponies, one of them decided to give her shirt a nibble. With the force, little Mathena was yanked towards the timber fence and the horse was trying with all his might to eat more of the shirt. A quick thinking tourist help pulled her shirt back and what was left was some really brown teeth mark and stunned Mathena. She was fine, after I explained that her shirt had green leaves on it, and the pony thought it was food. She still went on a pony ride after.

Durians were EVERYWHERE! We soon found out that we were surrounded by plantations and the farmers have set up stalls by the roadside for tourist to enjoy such delicacies. My now addicted Alex truly thought he had died and went to durian heaven. I had to EAT with him to keep him company but I soon reacted to all it's richness and felt sick,...it's not an enjoyment for me when I get heat flushes, headaches, sore throats and even gas?!? BUT, Alex was a happy man, we even bought heaps home to share with our Singaporean friends.

Golf is cheap. There was even special deals of RM$88 plus RM$40 of compulsory caddie with pretty chinese ladies on tow. Alex sacrificed a lot and held back from going the rounds, but instead spent the morning just putting and chipping with the girls. Our girls are competant whackers and they do enjoy the swing. They may not have the hole in ones yet, but they look GREAT with the gear, lol!

Then, there's the water world. This will be the 'funnest' place for us. We ALL had a good time and we spent the ENTIRE day there. It wasn't the best 'kept' in upkeep and quality but the kids knew no better. So we just got REAL wet, floated a lot, climbed up millions of steps just so that we could slide down breathtaking wet slides and have our hearts skipped a beat. All in a day.

Then there was the animal "Safari". These were the cutest looking tigers (they had A LOT of them) but these poor creatures were exploited to the very fur. This pic looks great except when the tigers tries to stand to find the leash only half the lenght of it's limbs. There looked calm because I am sure they are drugged to look drowsy for pictures.

We can't resist taking a pic with this cute and charismatic elephant. When they were doing their dance, he ACTUALLY looked like he enjoyed shaking his entire body. The paintings are quite a piece of work too, except we struggled to keep ours flat and uncrushed in transit, sigh!We told the kids about this famous Melaka chicken rice as it is one of their fav dishes in Singapore. When the dishes arrived and I served them out, Mathena asked "So, where's the rice?", not knowing that the round balls were rice. Quite funny!My personal favourite was the Chendol! All icy and full of gula Melaka (which incidentally, one can't find around the shops to buy). Yummm!Touristy HOT and sweaty!This is "COWBOY Town". Initially we were not that keen to go have a look at this version of a theme park as all it had was a 'repeat' of everything else. On top of that, we had to go there every morning for our breakfast and it DID look better in the day time. WE eventually succumbed to entering the 'show' where we saw American Red Indians doing their fire shows, we saw lots of 'Madigra-like' carnival plus even more exploitation of animals. My toughest moments was to try to be positive when my girls are obviously struggling with the carers forcing the animals to take photos to ear a few bucks. If anything, the show stopper was the whole 2 mins worth of fireworks that ends the evening, every night. We hear it all the nights even in our hotel rooms, sigh!

"3 CHAN-migoes!"

Farewell to our holidays, the next one is whenever MOE establishes the school holidays! Sniff!

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-22T00:11:00.009+08:00

We celebrated FATHER's Day with style. Being truly cantonese in origin I requested that we find somewhere with a nice cantonese cuisine for Alex. To our amazement, we were treated to this nice and somewhat luxurious hotel restaurant. The food was amazing! From bamboo pith with shark's fin soup to super tender roast pork ribs, and sea cucumber to king prawns with mee sua cooked in prawn sauce etc. AND the tree, check out the longevity TREE! We are up the yummy snow skinned bun with custard! Slurp, the thought of it makes us hungry, again..

We had a pleasure to celebrate this special and meaningful day with the WONG-YUE family. They were insisting to have a low key event as they don't enjoy to much commercialising of 'days' but we kinda gave them no choice. Richard is a first time daddy to now 9 month Sam-Sam and we wanted to encourage him (plus Clara) to soldier on with the feeds, the night wakes, the lack of sleep, the painful wrists plus the weight lifting. Don't they look wonderful!

The TWO fathers of the moment! Hip, hip, hooray!

JUNE holidays!

2009-06-09T21:30:00.004+08:00

We've been super busy and since the last update, we've had the pleasure of catching up with Kong2 who transited here a few days to be with the girls and us. He was very good at waking up early to go and buy "food court" breakfast for us even before we rise (holiday hours!). Within the short 4 days, we also visited our 2nd cousins from KK and spent 2 playdates with them. We had dinner with the LOs who kindly fit us in within their hectic schedules etc.

Dad flew off just after our Ballet busyness on Saturday and then we ventured to "Henderson Waves" with a young family (ONGs) we befriended through our GKGW course. What fun and even at 6pm, it was BRIGHT and HOT! Our kids were a bucket full of energy and often disturbed many a "romantic" couples courting. Sigh! After that we were introduced to a whole new world of the Singapore version of the Aussie RSL. It's called the SAFRA here and we can NEVER be members as we never served for the country. Hehe! Great facilities and restaurants that we can only go if there's a member with us (except the restaurants). Very similar to the RSL back at home, glamorous and clean (no Pics).

Then on Sunday, after church, we joined the SUNBEAM teachers for lunch and an afternoon of bowling to blend, fellowship and have just plain old fun! Fun we did!

Holidays is about playdates, relaxing, exhaustion trying to RELAX, attending cookie baking classes, trying out "Hip-Hop dances", watching movies, getting wet, seeing new places, meeting or getting to know new people etc....and MORE!

Globetrotter & Sightseer Season (GSS)

2009-06-01T20:28:00.004+08:00

The GSS in Singapore and so have our own version of GSS.

This is the best part of our lives here in Singapore and we get to host and catch up with loved ones and families who makes the trip to visit us. Being so central in SEA, and with the budget airlines ramping up their destinations, we have had the pleasure of seeing many 'long-lost' friends and families. We get 'special' times with these people when otherwise we only get a few hours over a meal. This is the best way to build and treasure relationsips.

Our guest are all VERY easy going. They do their own thing and are often willing to be dragged everywhere within my busy kids schedule just to 'live a day in my shoes', another words, they do what I do, on my normal days and follow me everywhere... This is my 'little uncle's wife, Aunt F' (no pics of Uncle R). They were both very encouraging to us with their many years of wisdom in church life. Being a such a loving couple and serving church and family nearly full time, they are very easy going and just love my girls.

Unc R and Aunt F played a couple of rounds of a board game with Mathena and got her all revved up with excitement. Watching her so 'into' it made us all laugh...

Then we had young M, who is a daughter of really close friends of our Wollongong life. She came to visit us with a short stopover after her Europe trip. A quick, fun and restful time for her.

Because of M, we had the excitement of trying out the famous LUGE in Sentosa. Kids will risks it and loved it.

You are NOT a tourist until you take a picture with the MERLION. So we did the tradition!

The SEASON continues...my dad is arriving tomorrow night!

HOLIDAYS, Yippee!

2009-05-28T21:15:00.003+08:00

We'll be having holidays from 30th May -28th June (inclusive), yippee!

I declare myself a PROUD mom!

Okay, my 8 yo came home with a couple of fancy laminated awards and yes, they LOOKED good!
Not so much that it's a physical thing to hold and to hang up on our already colourful walls, but mainly it made my Letitia fell like she is worthy and clever. She has a spring in her step even after a long day at school, she was beaming a smile even while she announced the news.

Thank you Ms April (P2Agape)! It does a mom wonders to see her young child feeling so 'high' in her little world. It's not very often one gets 'awarded' or rewarded, but when one does, it's worth the blog/boast!

My prayer is that Letitia continues her love and zeal for school, the zeal to learn and be taught. I also ask GOD to continue to preserve her heart, her mind and her spirit. School is but a journey we take to equip ourselves for GOD's plan for us. At 8 years old, it's about girlie friends, hand clapping games, colouring with oil pastels, running at P E as well as getting over the butterflies of 'show and tell'. Thank you GOD for my kids.

SHE'S normal afterall!

2009-05-27T14:04:00.003+08:00

For a long time now, I knew in my heart that I have a super diligent, book loving, self motivated No 1. She's often complained when ART lessons in schools get the boot and is swapped for tv instead. She gets even more annoyed when the "mommies" come in, talks about 'Van Gogh" but noone gets to do any REAL art. Then, there's one time when she announces, "yippee, we are starting school lessons again"! Okay, knowing how bored she is when the end of term looms, I understand that the simple fact of 'some event' is better than NO EVENT but when yesterday,..

She stepped into the car announcing that "Mom, we have REAL homework at last!", I got a bit worried. I then replied, "can you ask your friends if any of them have this same reaction?!" Upon further investigation, I learnt that classes and lessons has resumed with next terms curricula. Then it dawned on me, is she normal? Why is my kids so 'weird' when most parents tel me their children shun school work.

Today, this morning to be exact, she gave me the greatest sigh of relief. No 1 told me that, she is excited with homework because it allows her to hand them in, and it clocks up her chance to play "Home-work-apoly", a board game dreamed up by her amazing class teacher. Phew! She's still a kid afterall, motivated by fun and games. Kudos to Ms April, for making primary two less of the word, drilling for these 8 year olds.

I can now go back to confidently homeschooling No 2 now!

Non the WISER!

2009-05-17T13:47:00.004+08:00

This year we kinda had a bigger birthday for me. Most times, I like nothing but to enjoy a quiet buffet dinner with the girls and their daddy to just celebrate simply. This year, I felt that since we've been here in Singapore for nearly 3 years, I'd like to celebrate with friends. We are now starting to know enough people and it's a good chance to get to know people while not having too cook (yippee!) We went to Sizzlers Toa Payoh with the Yap family who serves with us in church Sunday school. Our kids got along well and we had a nice time getting to know each other. We also brought cakes and pastries to share with our church family to bless all those who has blessed us!

Cuddles from the girls. Just last Sunday we learnt with the kids not to store up treasures on earth where moth and worms destroy. We are to store up treasures in heavens with our actions, words and deeds. We do all these by showing love, faith, patience, gentleness. I am reminded that often mommies are tempted to make their children 'treasures' where their entire existence are revolved around the 'happiness' of the children.

As parents who fear GOD, we have since learnt that being a good parents does not mean fulfilling every single deed/need as per requested by our kids. Most times, their wishes are fulfilled but we are to make the call as to who, what, when and why sometime we have to say 'no'! We end up being the bad guy for the day but a lesson in life is learnt, life is just NOT FAIR, and life is NOT all about YOU!

My biggest present I received this year is when I realised that my kids are now able to self motivate themselves on their school work. It is no longer my 'task' as such to get them to the table to finish their work. On the other hand it is quite the opposite for Letitia when she is the one who oftens reminds me of her piles of work needing attention. Even having an active church life as a family, Letitia will still wake early, finish her devotion and then settles to finish up her homework that does not need supervision. On the same note, Mathena's homeschoolin life has blossomed too. She's happy and excited to be reading chapter books (big girl books) and will also spend whatever veg out times to read. Her school work is showing heaps of improvement where she too is choosing the books and finishing them at her own pace, without being told.

Am older, but still learning..

This year, Alex took a day of on my birthday to take over my 'mommy' duties while I do whatever I want. He held fort of all the driving, all the cooking, all the tidying up and even homeschooling duties. I then went out with Letitia to spend some precious time with this ever growing little girl. Thanks for all the well wishes as well as all the pressies.

MOTHER'S DAY 2009 & NIGHT SAFARI

2009-05-13T11:24:00.002+08:00

This year, we went into FULL SWING with being in the local school system. Though the country prides itself with the high standards of education and the many success stories of their "achievments" as a nation. We are still struggling with certain things. As I mingle more with the local moms and dads, I found out that WE are NOT the only ones.

ONE major thing I struggle with is: "SCHOOL IS NOT FUN!"
Hey, I can understand when you need to buckle up in the high school years to prepare oneself for real life university etc, but THIS is PRIMARY SCHOOL!! My minuscule effort of homeschooling to SO MUCH more fun than what they offer. WHY? You may so ask? Well for one thing, 10mins is taken out of their recess most days so that the kids can finish up their worksheets, then an extra 5 mins is taken to get them READY for class. A full day's worth of recess is only, wait, let me tell you, a whole whooping 30mins. So in reality, how much time do these kids get to eat lunch, play and go to toilet? A lovely FIFTEEN MINUTES ONLY!!!!

How do kids play? How do they exercise their pent up energies? How do they make friends? how do they even finish their food? We KNOW that Singapore is the HIGHEST PER CAPITA country in this region for kids with MYOPIA (my child included), you wonder why?

Anyway, this is enough whinging....will spread my complaining across a couple of blogs. In the MIDST of all the exams, revision and test. We thought seriously on giving the girls a BREAK. We went out to the NIGHT SAFARI.Things are SO DARK there that the only thing we could take are pictures of half clothed NOISY men! Sigh! So sorry for the obscenity.

One reason mainly to celebrate the girls for their work, before the exams, as well as to remind them that their worth is not valued upon 100 marks. And that life is NOT all about exams though we spend 80% of the time at home doing revision. We are especially reminding our conscientious Letitia that LIFE does not STOP when we get assessed. We can still have fun and we SHOULD have fun. We got home around 10pm and the girls were soooo tired that they were half asleep even in their showers. When they touched the pillows, we could not even get a response from them....zzzzz! We all had a wonderful time. It doubled up as mommy's birthday present to spend a 'memorable' time as a family! Here the pics.The NEON gift shop was the girls favourite part of the Zoo, go figure..!

This is where one can get S$17 chicken rice, S$18 Nasi Briyani!!! (Even WE find that an overkill!)

We've been sooo busy!

2009-05-02T23:53:00.001+08:00

Bad excuse for not maintaining this site....but I have been trying to keep my head above waters.

We've had Easter passed. I successfully made 3 batches of cuppie cakes and shared it all around. Forgot to take pics. I discovered that my toaster over we use for bread makes a pretty mean oven for cuppy cakes. Yippee! With one cake recipe, I can make 39 mini cup cakes!

Then we had Letitia's Ballet Exams which she did well in. We were stunned at the amount of work they did. No longer fun and games for Grade 2 kids!

Now that we are at the end of Term 2 of the Singapore school system. I am finally 'breathing' (will blog re school exams soon). On the labour day long weekend, Alex was away for a Men's event in church for 4 days. We managed to fit in a bit of play amongst all the studying, revision and test. Letitia and classmate Grace at our place for a couple of fun hours!

Mathena had her share with friend from Ballet, AG (not shown here).

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T23:25:00.002+08:00

Note the Bunny bands, all done by the mommies for this occasion! Photos compliments of ML Ang, Natalie's mommy.

This year, we celebrated Easter in our usual NOT SO BIG way. We however had a great opportunity to share the story of Easter with Mathena's art class friends as our usual Friday afternoon session fell on a public holiday. So we had ALL the moms & dad here to enjoy the couple of hours of creativity. We also took the chance to do some easter egg hunt plus lots of chocolate eating.

These are the art product we whipped up!

Then, before Easter, I discovered these...no mess decorating of boiled eggs.

Ain't they just cool...!?

...now, for the ARTISTIC shots!

2009-04-06T23:01:00.002+08:00

Marina Barrage Family Shots

2009-04-06T21:39:00.006+08:00

One thing that has become quite a family tradition for us,
is our annual/bi-annual family photo shoots.

Since the children came along, we've picked up on clicking here,

clicking there for their every move, spurt and growth. We just want to capture
them in every stage but if not, yearly 'captures' will do the trick!

The only thing missing out is the existence of the parents (us!) with the girls. So we got around this by getting a 3rd party, hence the idea of family shoots were born!

So, here's for the album 2009.

It was a pretty sunny and glaring day. Girls had difficulty opening their eyes but the sky was a beautiful BLUE!

Those who knows the TOYOTA ad, "Oh! What a Feeling!"

We call this the "Karung-Guni" shot, along the wall mad entirely of recycled paper!

A rare mommy & me shot that turned out to MY liking, phew!

Taken at the new Marina Baraage, by a local up and coming photographer, who spend about 2 hours putting up with our complaints and tantrums etc!

DOWNGRADING is GOOOD!

2009-04-01T17:41:00.003+08:00

In this world of competition and forever upping each other, this is one example where being downgraded is good news!

Raynard is now given the OKAY to go to the normal wards depending to availability.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and interceeding! The road to recovery is still long but they are
'out of the woods' so to speak. Raynard's head injuries still brings him some headaches and nausea
but he is eating and in good spirits. Now the next 'healing' is on the broken bones etc..

OUR GOD IS GOOOOOD!

Pray for Raynard

2009-03-30T13:20:00.003+08:00

For those who know us and our church, we ask you to pray with us for the above young man.

Saturday just passed, Raynard was cycling home (with helmet) and was hit by a hit and run lorry along the Farrer Road area in Singapore. The next thing he knew was he was in hospital with head injuries and broken collar bones. The wife, Evelyn was given a phone call and to this day, Raynard is still in ICU for close observations as the blood clot in his head needs to shrink. Raynard also has a perculiar blood condition that disallows blood clotting to happen plus late onset Osteoporosis. This complicates the healing process as he requires blood platelet transfusion to help with the clot in the head and each of this transfusion comes with a whole set of side effects and discomfort.

Raynard is a JC teacher who loves life to the fullest and is besotted to his young wife Evelyn. We met at CEFC Marriage Breakthrough when they were both only married for less than 6 months. He is wonderful with young people and has a world of information and knowledge unbeknowned to many. Our family loves him and Evelyn to bits, they helped us get into board games and have been a close part of our family in and around church.

See pics of him HERE

Holiday fun!

2009-03-25T23:16:00.002+08:00

For a short 2 weeks, we managed to squeeze in quite a few things and events with the kids..here a slideshow of what we got up to..

FUN without Dad & Mom

2009-03-25T23:01:00.003+08:00

During the start of the Term 1 break, we as parents had to help out with church for some parenting talk. We asked a young couple we know well from church to help juggle the kids for the afternoon and it turned out to be the best day out for the girls..

Thanks R and E, you guys are great! The girls are secretly hoping for another 'playdate'!!

ZOO visit!

2009-03-25T15:26:00.002+08:00

The short school holidays was SHORT but we did filled it up with some fun things. We seem to be making yearly or at least bi-annual trips to the zoo and each time we go, there's STILL so much to see and do! This year, the girls tracked the entire zoo with minimal rides of the tram. They chose their favourite animals and we attended the feeding times..

Girls tried out pony riding and both fell in love with the horses. So we hung around the less than appealing 'smelling' stables for a lengthy time to see the 5 horses there. Candy, Rosy, etc..

The zoo revamped the kids play area and it seems that it's the main attraction now instead of the animals itself...lots of cooling water, lots of splashes, lots of tropical fun!

NEW Looks!

2009-03-23T21:52:00.002+08:00

This is our bi-annual haircut excitement. Usually after a ballet exam. Yes, we get really excited about going to the hairdressers. Mathena has been asking for a short hair look ever since she spotted a few of her friends getting theirs trimmed. I am only permissive to cuts when there's enough 'gap' (5months) for the hair to grow long enough before the new ballet exams loom.

Mathena had up to 5 inches off while Letitia only had 2!

Letitia's trip to UnderWaterWorld

2009-03-09T22:17:00.003+08:00

These are how BIG these groupers are in comparison to the kids,...and through the eyes of Letitia!

Can you spot the Hammerhead shark?

Look at how chubby these squids are...yummy?

Big FISH, small fish!

Who would have thought that you'd see a Peahen at Underwaterworld?
Well done, Letitia for capturing a special day out with your class!

Brownie Baking Bash!

2009-03-08T15:18:00.003+08:00

Letitia & all her girlie guests: from right, Angellet, Josephine, Sophie (Ballet friend) then, Mei-mei. Baby Sam with Aunt Clara plus Angellet's older sis, Kaelyn.

Bubbles were the fun bit for the afternoon after a wet storm..

They all still had a ball...

Brownie stirring is HARD work!

Belle cake plus Daddy's lasagna..

Girlie shot to remember Letitia's 8th Birthday!

Bollywood Vegies

2009-03-03T22:44:00.005+08:00

Upon walking into the reception area, we were greeted with these beautiful greens, all organic and grown here. The below pic is 'padi' rice by the way..

Letitia's photographic skills went full throttle in this garden. Enjoy seeking the garden through the eyes of a 7-8 yo plus a few from Mathena (not sure which one!)
Sweet potato leaves?
Lime tree...all bearing fruit!

This banana tree is all "Pisang Seribu" meaning thousands of bananas, do see the little little fruits on one main stalk!
Longans all protected from the bugs..

NOW, this is a BEAUTY. I was trying to catch something like this...and guess who did it!! BRAVO kids! (or maybe it was daddy?!?)

Hey, we went to the HAY Goat Farm!

2009-03-03T22:28:00.002+08:00

Hello and welcome to our farm. We are a bunch of ladies who stand around eating all day and slowly get fatter while our udders fill with milk. We can't feed our young as they were taken away from us after just 5 hours between our hooves. We live in clean and hygenic raised timber floors so we can remain healthy while we produce highly rich milk which cost 4 times the price of the stuff produce by our "Mooo-ing" friends. This is our farmer. He told kids aged between 5-8yo that our udders were 'womanly'! We are just busting to have a let down!!
Please excuse the explicitness of this pictures!

All in all, we had a great morning. The farm was clean and did not have the typical Malaysian stench like all farms do. It actually smelt normal!! Not sure about everyone else but us breastfeeding moms were quite uncomfortable during the entire presentation!!

Happy 8th Birthday Letitia!

2009-03-02T14:29:00.002+08:00

Today we woke to the usual BIRTHDAY tradition of egg and noodles. EXCEPT this birthday is slightly different with 'kolomee' from Kuching. Letitia was too excited to even eat up her usual share after she's opened her presents.We had a family dinner with Uncle Iain and Aunt Phine at Imperials of Great World City and Kong2 Michael came for this occasion!

This is a small birthday dinner as Letitia has requested (sigh!) for a little playdate with 4+1 friends this Saturday. We'll be baking brownies and hopefully playing 'Pictionary'!
Mathena has a nice deal too as many of our loved ones gave her a token something....thanks everyone, for your well wishes and also ALL THE WONDERFUL presents.

As parents we are still AWED at how time flies! I remembered when I just delivered Letitia at hospital around 5.40pm feeling REALLY exhausted from 14 hours of labour! We then stayed at a 5-star hospital for more than one week! Now she's all tall, slender and sweet ballet loving young girlie girl...sigh!Happy birthday to you..Happy birthday to you...!!

Art is suppose to be FUN!

2009-03-01T22:03:00.002+08:00

This week we tried paper clay and due to the humidity from the rains. They took ages to dry. S we could not paint them on the spot. We learnt to draw a sea turtle as well as stuck patterns on it with origami print paper. Then we had 'play time',...yippee!

The Big Deal with Rainbows

2009-02-25T22:26:00.002+08:00

As I emerged from the underground MRT station, I noticed several people standing by the roadside pointing their mobile phones at the sky. Looked like they were taking photos of something, but I looked up and saw nothing.

Further along, I saw more people taking photos, and this time I saw it - it was a rainbow.

All the way home I came across people taking photos of the rainbow with their phones. To me, the interesting thing was not the rainbow but the fact that literally everybody now has a camera built into their phone and can capture moments wherever they are. Technology is amazing isn't it?

Not long after I arrived home, I heard one of the neighbour's children calling out to her sibling to come see the rainbow.

"What's the big deal with the rainbow?!" I thought to myself. Why the fuss and fascination?

But the very thing that I failed to see opened my eyes... I have taken for granted the beautiful wonder that God created. For a moment, I had lost the joy of the simple things in life. (Simple in the sense that it's natural and unadulterated, uncomplicated by man.)

Furthermore, the rainbow is a promise from God (Gen 9:12-17). Now that is true joy indeed!

We often take things for granted - whether it's the sophisticated technology that enriches our lives, or the blessings and promises from our God that sustains our lives. The difference is, one is eternal and the other isn't...

Moments later, the rest of my family arrived home. "Daddy! Did you see that rainbow?"

"Yes, I did, sweetie. Yes, I did."

posted by Alex

School Area REVAMPED!

2009-02-25T18:06:00.002+08:00

Today it stormed in the late afternoon. To kill the doldrums Mathena created her own picture and to my surprise, it was VERY bright and happy for a stormy, gloomy afternoon. It just shows that we can all be in control of our emotions no matter the weather..
This is the revamped and reorganised study area. Letitia needed to be upgraded to a proper desk and we had to create some space but maintain a cozy reading area, which the girls spend hours doing..
The nice covers and pillow cases were per compliments from grandma Hiang and her endless needle work.

Mommy's Art Lesson

2009-02-20T21:16:00.004+08:00

After months of oil pastel colouring and drawings with an independant art teacher, our group of preschool kids plus 2 moms decided to come out and do our own thing. We started a Friday afternoon art class with 2 kids in tow. We rotate teaching roles as well as homes and only use $ when we need to. This is what we've been up to.

WE are LOVED!

2009-02-17T23:03:00.002+08:00

There seems to be a new TREND for Valentines Day. We've had friends who takes in turns as parents, 'dating' their kids on V-day to remind them how much they are loved. Our church friend dated her son at McDonalds in Changi airport with sky train inclusive while her husband dated their daughter in Swensens!We did similar...
...accept I forgot bring our camera..
...we went to SWENSENS (coincidence) to celebrate we 'LOVE EACH OTHER' day. We topped off our dinner with yummy ice cream. We've since learnt to go to restaurants EARLY to avoid the crowd and by 7.30pm, we are home and ready for a nice rest!
These flowers are my PRIDE and JOY. I went to the wholesale flower market and bought these, wrapped them up and decorated them for a friend of mine who just had a baby. This year the flowers were OVERPRICED and though meaningful, I am quite contented with the other flowers I have been receiving over the year... I am grateful that I am LOVED...at least by 3 people and GOD!

Been Going Through Some Old Photos Lately

2009-02-06T23:06:00.001+08:00

Homeschooling 2009

2009-01-29T22:49:00.005+08:00

In all honesty, I TRULY love the fact that I can homeschool.

There's so many pulls in and out of our lives, plans change, circumstance alter BUT I still stand firm that homeschooling is the best thing that ever happened for our family.

I only have Mathena with me now but even with saying that, as Letitia only attends primary school in the afternoon, she actually goes through the motion of homeschool at home with us too. The BIGGEST difference is that we now have shorter table time as we need to get Letitia off to school by lunch time. After Mathena's nap (yes, my 5yo is happily napping in the afternoons), we continue with more 'fun'..

Here's what Mathena and I get into at home:Picking Letitia up from school is one of our many highlights!

Serious WORK at table time!

We learn how to peel onions without the tears!

We stretch to burn off the jiggle-bugs!

..and we often get quite messy (Note: Mathena's pet is next to her)

Blessings for this CHINESE New Year!

2009-01-25T16:33:00.004+08:00

Today, we went to buy the traditional 'BAK KWA' and I notice a little man in his 40s who wanted 4-5 slices of the sweet bbq meat. When the shopkeeper weighed it to be S$12, he quickly ask for only half that amount. He then, asked for ONE slice of the 'better quality' meat on top of the other lot. I felt challenged to realise that WE ARE SO BLESSED, we can order food according to how much we eat, and not think too hard on the price. How I wished I was brave enough to buy him some more meat, just to bless him!...

BAK KWA is a 'treat' in most traditional chinese families. We now eat it as a 'snack' in this affluent society but this was a reminder to me of olden chinese families who would not have had the pleasure of pork or meat whole year, and when CNY arrives, this sweeten bbq meat is the 'highlight' of the season.

Dear Lord, forgive us for being so spoilt...

Outrigger Island: Special POST for the Van Zyls

2009-01-12T22:29:00.004+08:00

This year TRBC was adventurous to have 270plus kids. 2 separate programmes were run and as usual (6 years running) the ENTIRE church was mobilised!
Surfing and beach look with lots of Hawaiian themes..
HUGE life size, bigger than man size posters were painted for amazing impact!

This is JUST the early primarys...

We were blessed to have REAL doulos missionaries to come and share their lives and testimonies! What an awesome timing..
These 2 girls wishes Allene and Rule were there to enjoy the programmes too!

2 Agape 2009: What Letitia's been up to!

2009-01-10T21:53:00.001+08:00

Letitia's Class teacher is very good at documenting the kid's activities etc. This is Letitia with her hand made puppet with the two boys sitting next to her (to her dismay!). She's all girlie and is not enjoying having boy active/sound-making germs around her.

The kids at school are given 'Buddies' to pair up with the first week of school. Being P2 which is the older one in the afternoon session, Letitia got to look after young Vanessa. What a privelege, what fun!

Recess time with the match of classes, P1 Agape vs P2 Agape.

2009-01-05T22:03:00.000+08:00

Cinderella 2009

2009-01-05T17:38:00.005+08:00

On Jan 3rd, Saturday the girls had the biggest (most expensive) treat of their lives. We went to watch the Musical "Cinderella" and had a 'ball'! Great memories and the girls are still humming the tunes. This time we did not buy any CDs so they cannot re-inforce the songs in their heads, but all the same, it was an enjoyable and 'safe' musical for kids to watch!

Letitia, Our Primary-2-Girl!

2009-01-05T17:10:00.004+08:00

I had just realised that I have not properly blogged Letitia's school days in Kuo Chuan Primary. Unlike all the primary ONE parents, we went to school with a bit of new-ness excitement but at the same time, we know enough of the 'system' to be calm...
These are the corridors where patient parents await their little babies carrying oversized school bags as they march or run homewards. I wait for Letitia here as well...often with Mathena in tow who's literally swinging from the poles!
School buses that line up the school grounds awaiting 2 shifts of kids to shuttle to and fro school. Smaller vans are about 10 seaters are available as well.
KUO CHUAN is actually a government school with a Mission twist. This means that this school upon yearly approval, has the freedom to disseminate the gospel as well as teach into the children some biblical virtues. It's priority is for the neighbourhood children who stems from all walks of life, happy to accept these teachings knowing the 'higher' good. We chose it for obvious reasons... it's the closest to a CHRISTIAN school we can get to near our home!
This library looks great, it was revamp a couple of years back to make it child-likable and I soon found out that our church friends (CHIUs from Pencibox ID) designed it. Well done!
Assembly before school starts. Everyday, there's 15mins of quiet reading plus 'devotion' where teachers take in turns teaching 10-15mins of meaningful out of textbooks stories and lessons to the kids. Am thrilled about this..
Letitia is front of her NEW Primary 2 classroom. 2 AGAPE 2009. The teacher even set up a blog for the families to keep in touch in: 2AGAPE09
Okay, highlight of SINGAPOREAN canteens...it's like a FULL-ON foodcourt in a major shopping centre. There's HALAL food, chicken rice, snacks (fish balls, cakes), chicken wings, noodles of all types and flavors, drinks, sandwiches and much much more. Our dilemma is that they all serve PROPER meal food while when Letitia has her recess, it's afternoon tea time. So end up packing our own food for health (fruits) and logical reasons.
We require a 'trolley' school bag nowadays as they book contents are ALL heavier than the school girls herself. At the rate it's being dragged (day 2) I sense that it may only last the most ONE year. Sigh!

An insight to a Singaporean school....ta-daah! Pray for us!

2009-01-04T23:36:00.001+08:00

We are a PRETTY COOL family!

School YEAR 2009

2009-01-02T17:26:00.002+08:00

Letitia started school this morning in Primary 2 zeal. She's had butterflies in her stomach since yesterday in anticipation of being a 'buddy' as not sure what's happening. Today is Friday, we go through all this only to have the weekend to recover then start again on Monday, sigh!

I sent her in and she soon quickly got chatting with young girl from her class and soon forgot her jitters. She had to carry a whole 6 months worth of books to school as we are unsure what will be used. She will later give to the teachers the wokrbooks that will be kept in class etc. Can't wait to have my baby home to talk to her.

Mathena started homeschooling again this year, finishing up on last year's stuff while embarking on the "K2-Pre-Primary" experience. I have noticed (maybe being day 1) that her concentration skills have improved immensely and is so much more 'obedient' with instructions given.

Am excited for my girls...education her is daunting yet, we love learning...Our job is to continue to instill the joy of learning minus the 'result focus' methods. BTW, Happy New Year to all!

Cool Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T23:12:00.004+08:00

I am sure I have acclimatised to the weather in Singapore. Being the end of year monsoon season, we've been experiencing some pretty constant rainpours but at the same token, the sun shines quite quickly. This has however drop the temps quite dramatically around this dot of an island. I am also assuming due to the fact that we now live 15 levels high instead of the previous 10, the temps and the winds are cooler.... we've had a few nights sleep of NO aircon and it's great of the environment (am sure!) and our health!
We've had a busy wind up towards Christmas and all our activity tappers off just before our Phuket trip. This year, we didn't have visitors during the Christmas season, so we pretty much played by ear the entire time. We had our 3rd (now a tradition unless they decided to move away!) Christmas eve turkey with our family chef, cousin Iain's and his family. We are ALWAYS impress at his culinary skills and this year, he outdid himself further by making Turkey-Extravaganza, roasted with Parmaham butter. We had the usual (standards no lower) trimmings like the crunchy oven fried potatoes, the not so favourite brussel sprouts (no one eats is except me, not sure why we have it each year..), parsnips and roast carrots. Yummm! We ended the deal with Vanilla Macadamia Ice Cream cake plus our 'girls-made' mini puddings. Of course this entire evening was flowing with beautiful champagne and wine.Didn't get home till 12.30midnight. All exhausted.
Christmas morning was a late start as girls struggle to get out of bed. I was up to prepare the lunch menu for the day. We were having 'out of touch' friends, old neighbours, new friends and importantly our neighbours, who sadly didn't show up for various reasons. So leftovers were packed. The highlight was the fruits, I made sure we had plenty of stone fruits as per our Aussie tradition. Letitia has her good friend over and had fun. We later adjoined to my other cousin, Yen's place for 'Christmas-Leftovers', a great way to consolidate and exchange what's in overflowing from our fridge over a meal and fellowsip. It was a dinner to say goodbye to Yen's family as they return to their lives in KK.
In summary, we've been so blessed. I think as we settle in Singapore (nearly 3 years now), as we know more and more people, we are being touched/encouraged by more and more people. I did noticed that the girls were 'piled' with gifts under the Christmas tree unlike the previous years of 6 items in total. God's good. Next year (am sure for everyone!) is in the unknown. We are prepared for the worse yet trusting in GOD the way we did over the past years. Every move (career or house) we make, we make in HIM!

Be Blessed and count the Blessings! Have a great year-end!

Phuket 2008

2008-12-16T20:35:00.004+08:00

This was our long awaited holidays that zipped pass TOO QUICKLY! This time we went to Phuket amidst all the anxieties and conflicts amongst the THAI nation, the Tsunami rumours, the terrorists looming here and there...
We enjoyed the lazy, no pressure feel of the place. The fact that there's even a kids fun swimming pool, free use of the kids club when parents are around, plus real cheap kids activities. The entire place is also catered by "JOE COOL'S" restaurant thay serve pretty interesting and classy meals at affordable prices. We love the kids menu. The restaurant prides itself with being kid's friendly and it's lived up to it by having more than 5-8 choices on the menu. They have up to 20 dishes to choose from. From the junkie nuggets and chips to the healthy sandwiches or pasta.

Our princess themed rooms...check out the other themes, space, actic etc!
We just wanted a break, a getaway, somewhere to relax, affordable and FUN for the girls. We found a resort to suit us to the "T". It's called Ramada Phuket. Phuket has a few resorts that specialises in family holidays and great service to cater for kids of all ages. This one we chose especially for the themed rooms. We figured, the kids have always found the hotel rooms 'boring' and no big deal (very different to us adults who's happy that someone else is making our beds etc). Click below to see the rooms...and start planning for your next family trip!

RAMADA KARON BEACH

ALL the other HARDWORK done!

2008-11-26T21:07:00.003+08:00

KUDOS to all the teachers, volunteers, helpers, committee and CHILDREN (who got dragged along to ALL the precamp activities etc)

ANCIENT CHINA

MEDIEVAL CASTLE: Craft Making

MAYAN JUNGLE

HAWKS VILLAGE

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO

Inside STORY

2008-11-26T20:35:00.002+08:00

SunBEAM Adventure started about a year ago and full sped ahead about 2 months before the week of the camp. We were at our "stations" a whole 3-5 days prior to the start. The castle grew daily and morphed each day. While "Ah Mah" and "Ee-Poh" was here on stopover and having a holiday, they could not runaway from the slavery we put them through..
Then, the knights and ladies came out to play. We all wore our "costumes" and acted our royal roles to impress and teach the little ones.
This is my pride and joy. A last minute decision as I decided to fill up the wall as a "station" post! Noone can mistake which ERA they are entering..
This is the "girlie" corner where the girls did their medieval hats. Alex taught the kids about Knight-hood at this corner so most of the deco is still "knight" like. Most of the posters presented illustrations about the life and times 'Pages', 'Squires', 'Knights' etc as well.

SunBEAM Adventure Camp-CEFC Bukit Panjang

2008-11-19T21:22:00.003+08:00

Happening from tomorrow 20th-22nd, 9-5pm at Covenant Evangelical Free Church, 10 Jelapang Road, "SunBEAM Adventure Camp" promises to take each child on an adventure of a lifetime through the Amazon jungles, the American plains of the Hawks tribe, the Hawaiian Islands, the Ancient China as well as the Medieval English Castle. I will be Lady Sarah and Alex will be Sir Alexander...

This is our "Station" of the Medieval Castle.

3 in 1 happening TODAY!

2008-11-14T22:23:00.003+08:00

Today marks a milestone in our lives. For one thing, we all attended (minus daddy) our first ever end of term Speech & prize giving day in Singapore. Letitia won something and we were invited to see her march up the stage, do a little 'bow' at some complete VIP stranger, then shake hands to receive a certificate with a S$5 voucher from a bookshop. We were then given some 'entertainment' amidst all the prize awards, of choir singing, school band music, Indian traditional dance as well as a chinese 'spring' dance. Refreshments came later.. Was however impress with Principal's heartbeat! Note to self, write note to encourage Principal!

Secondly, girls had their locks snipped off a little for their 6-monthly cut. Each of their birthdays marked the 'hair-cut' time but nowadays, birthdays are quickly followed by Ballet exams which discourages trims of any sort in order to have hairs tied in a certain way...easily! So, now that the Ballet exams are over, shorter hair, healthier hair, a lot lighter and less knotty too!

Thirdly, Mathena is officially out of her Junior Bed and into a 'big GIRL' bed. This is looong delayed due to overly busy and tired parents. Her 'move' still comes with restrictions as Letitia is also been upgraded to the 'top bunk' making it the 'attractive' spot to be. Mathena is NOT allowed up there unless permission is given and theirs adult supervision. If caught, she will revert to 'baby bed'!!! My back is slightly sore....!

14th of November,..just another FULL day!

This is what happens when the kids get hold of your camera!

2008-11-10T14:22:00.002+08:00

We are made of STEEL!

2008-11-10T13:59:00.004+08:00

AMARA HOTEL: Elements Restaurant

Nothing to do with "Quantum of Solace" as we are yet to watch it. But a little highlight of the weekend-we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary with our traditional all-you-can-eat style.

I received some lovely flowers! Sigh!

This time we tried out Amara Hotel-Elements which surprised us quite a bit. It served very traditional 'Bou=nutrition' style cooking with herbs etc. The range of cooked food was more Japanese and Chinese influence while the Dessert section was sufficient. Generally everything looks good but tastes pretty average.

We were dissapointed with very 'hungry' Singaporean(one person actually) who kept piling up plates of sashime/fish slices in front of us. Letitia stood open mouth as after she finally saw the plate refilled, this hungry lady gently shoved the entire TRAY of fish onto her plate...then walked away.

We were the first to leave the place and were asked again and again, 'Are you sure you are finished? It's still early!!' We were happy to have the plates cleared. The girls had their fill and enjoyed their chocolate fountain of marshmallows and strawberries. We tried a bit of everything and was flabberghasted by the slackness of the service.

The waitress and waitresses were obviously untrained in the hospitality field. They stood around dreaming of greener pastures, while my girls tried to CLIMB into their seats (not pulled out in courtesy) or our plates stacked up like little hills on our tables.

Apart from the less than standard service, we had a lovely family time. We spent time focusing on just us, our conversation, how blesssed we are, our yummy food and just hung out together. The girls pretended to be princesses and was dressed up for the evening.

Yummy Chocolate Sauce!

TV & Movie Watching in Public Schools!!!!!

2008-10-31T21:34:00.002+08:00

I have been real busy juggling people, places and events. The best news is that the LAST of all of Letitia's Primary ONE assessments have finished and she gets to spend the rest of the 2 weeks, doing absolutely nothing..... in school!

Yesterday, Letitia came home with some shocking and totally annoying NEWS! She spend the entire afternoon of 6 hours in school watching movies, kids cartoons & PG programmes brought to school by her peers!! AAAARGH!

Okay, let me clarify myself. I AM NOT A ADVOCATE OF TV WATCHING FOR KIDS!! I do not need to explain my reasons but I am sure many already know that it is the ONE most brain cell reducing, numbing, unhealthy type choice of entertainment for children. One hour a day is to my standards BAD, as I have learnt that I need to use 5 hours to get my children's focus and attention back to normal as a result. Now, can you imagine the damage of 5-6hours?? I am not even talking about the 'content' of the programmes!!!!!
Do these 'educators' know that even PG is NOT suitable for 7 year olds? Do they realise that the word PG means exactly that? Parental guidance required!!!! Meaning, duh! Child has to be near parents to have explaination or situations clarified etc.

I stormed into school today to ask for 'what the plans are?' for the rest of the term and was informed promptly that, "We are letting the kids unwind after that have worked so hard for their exams! We want them to relax and veg out!!". Veg-out alright, to the extend that their brain matters DO become vegetable matter!!

I have since told the teacher, if there's nothing planned for the day. I will take her out of school. Even a visit to the ZOO has to be better than drowning in media watching.

Now, I have to clean up the mess created by "Meet the Robinsons", "Flushed Away" and Pink Panther. Who thinks I am over-rated, can come and answer these questions like, "Why did the mother leave the baby at the door? Why didn't she show her face?", "Why did the green guy become SOOO angry at the Lewis (fuzzy blond inventor kid)??, weren't they best friends??"..then there's Pink Panther and his clever antics of 'stealing, cheating & making the little man suffer!"....

Am seriously reconsidering homeschooling AGAIN!! Not Happy....AT ALL!!!!

Aunty Meng's visit

2008-10-28T22:41:00.003+08:00

Didn't realised that it has been THAT long since I wrote...we've been HUGELY (excuse the bad English) busy! We are having our famous Ms ENGLAND, Aunty Meng here for the next 4 weeks. Took the chance to roll in some touristy things and tried out, LilliPUTT. Had a frustrating ball and a long day....but loved everybit of it. It's always nice to do something out of the ordinary.

Not much we can offer our tourist except the plain enjoyment of food. Here's the Ms England and Ms Kuching, enjoying fish head steam boat, fish slice ho-fun, oatmeal prawns, sweet sour pork and some garlice bean sprouts (Aunty Meng is into sprouts!!)
A walk along East Coast beach, near "BIG Splash"
Lots of thoughts, lots of news, lots of happenings BUT not enough time to write them down. Take care everyone!

Thoughts of Being a SAHM!

2008-10-10T13:30:00.002+08:00

Today, I had the pleasure of going to buy food at the nearby foodcourts while little M was taking her nap... I ordered a nice tall milk tea and sat observing the happenings of the local scene.

I guess, being a mom, my thoughts and eyes were drawn to the families and it's relationships. I saw in the eatery, many older men, mostly retired, then older women, obviously lugging bags of today's groceries as well as the spiffy looking working generation. The families were young moms with their kindy-aged or primary aged kids eating their lunch after and before school.

I also saw amongst the food stall owners, many having their little ones with them while juggling the food business. These kids were in their 'playground' and everyone in the food court treated them like they knew them....of course they did!

I was struck with the reality of how BLESSED I was. The fact that I am staying at home, with the girls and being a major part of their lives. My girls will never remember a day of their lives in which I had to go to work. I DID, except they were too young. Alex had to juggle a lot more then, and he even came home earlier than I did (good old Aussie times!).

We made the 'bite the bullet' decision about 6 years ago when we both decided to answer the call to parent our kids, 100% if not at least 50%. This meant that we (one of us!) had to give up a lucrative future/job and it's many 'lures' to the world of 'it's not enough!'. I was the appointed one (though I had the bigger bonus), and I struggle with the idea for at least a year. Said struggling, I never fought the fact or reality as I did not really had a moment spare to think further. Sure I miss the work environment, sure I miss the income but I truly was contented with my new role as a teacher, provider, comforter, housekeeper, etc. The whole year was a journey into motherhood that I HAD ALLOWED GOD TO HELP ME WITH. Because my decision was one I did to honour HIM, he came in with the goods, the attitudes, the right people with the right influence and most of all, the right experiences to draw me closer to HIS heart.

This is not for everyone...not everyone will see our thoughts as wise. We lived with so much less, we scrimp and we save, we calculated and then, calculated again. Our bank accounts were always at it's minimal yet we were never in need. Our hearts were no longer set at the 'things we like to have' but instead filled with the 'moments we can share!'.

Today, I recommit my life as a mom, a wife and a keeper of the home. I am YET to get my first COACH handbag, but that can wait......am counting on the fact that the streets are laid with them in heaven!!!

Talk later

Children's Day 2008

2008-10-03T14:23:00.003+08:00

I remember last year after mother's day when Letitia mentioned that, "There's Mother's day, Father's day, how come there's NO Daughter's day?!". Later in the year, 1st October presented itself with Children's day and all school kids were given a 'special day' by their teachers and school. Letitia was homeschooled then but Mathena had a ball in Kindy.

This year, Children's day fell on a Hari Raya Holiday which allowed us (as parents) to spend some special time with the girls. We needed some time out, out of the routine, out of the day to day and time together just being a family. We went bowling!This was the girls VERY FIRST time bowling. Apart from playing games in our mobile phones, they have both never seen, touched or seen a bowling alley. They had to have the aisles 'protected' with the bumpers and have to book 'extra light' balls, which were STILL too heavy for Mathena.
To our pleasure, the did not complain at how hard it was, how heavy the ball was, and how slow the ball moved. The girls just had BOWL of a time! SO did we!

Mathena will stand with hands on hips almost all the time after her turn to wait for the results of her bowl. She had to roll the ball from the floor and use heaps of 'uurgh!' to push! We love her for it as she showed heaps of spunk in trying something new!

I AM GRATEFUL!

2008-09-26T21:41:00.003+08:00

Today, having a bit more time to myself, I was able to recap. The last few weeks have been quite a whirlwind experience, the major one being Letitia attending a local Singaporean Mission Public school.

Being a home-schooler at heart and having had Letitia at home with me the last 1.5years, I have grown so accustomed to her being with me. I miss her at home with me. I have always known how well she does, and that she's doing not too badly (according to the Aussie stuff). You see, homeschooling allows us the freedom to excel at what we enjoy at a higher speed and efficiency while it also allows us the freedom to slowly plod along the bits we struggle with. It's different now in the mainstream system. We have to retrain our thought patterns to fit the masses and their expectations!I do have to admit I was the one who stressed out the most. Initially mainly in concern for her adjustment and fear of any 'horror' characters she may experience, then later, the fact that she has no clue towards the chinese language and what happens during the week etc. Letitia is now just picking up on the speaking and the writing of the chinese language and though I am absolutely PROUD of her abilities, I am aware that she is no way near the standards of the kids in Singapore.

It has been 3 weeks now and I have been so blessed with seeing Letitia blossomed in school. She is doing so well, mainly as an encouragement to the teachers as she is the only one who eagerly responds and absorbs the lesson but also, in her ability to do well and excel in class and ESPECIALLY in chinese. Letitia has managed to catch up with 2 terms worth of work as well as have been successful with her tests and assessements.

We have put in the work and being the 'worried' mom, I have asked her to revised but was often told off as she knew the 'stuff'. A few days ago, she went to school for a chinese test, having only gone through the texts ONCE. I had to let her go, reminding her that it's okay if she does not know the answer etc (also reminding me that I should trust her! and that it's okay if she fails etc). She came back with 40/40 in her results!!! I am so shocked, so pleased and so grateful to GOD at the same time. Wow! One more proof that God has blessed her with the father's brains (and my looks!)!! We now only have 8 more weeks to go....I have to relax a bit more!

I am also reminded that GOD HAS answered ALL of Letitia's prayers via the Prayer of Jabez! In all schemes of things, it's the stuff of eternity that we HAVE to strive for (esp when we chose to homeschool), it should not be DIFFERENT, even when we go mainstream!!

Someone out there, remember to keep me on track?!?

Yes, she is still playing with the violin, every chance she gets. $6 well spent and do we REALLY have to consider this instrument?..??

A Season of Life

2008-09-26T12:45:00.003+08:00

It usually takes a visit or a blast from the past to make one recollect and take stock. I have had the privilege and fun of having 2 our my 'younger day' friends come visit. They brought along another lovely lady and stayed for a few nights at our home.

We've been friends since our early twenties, before the time of careers and husbands. One girl, I knew from my secondary school years (MI) while another, in my very first REAL job (CHING) back in Malaysia. It felt like old times though the settings and the 'attachments eg kids' are different. We had a lovely time just relaxing and catching up. It was a nice change of the busy season. I was lovely to have met you too, ManXing!3 Kuchingites in Chinatown!

F1 Season in Singapore

Kids version of the Ferrari!

Taking the scenes in with Piick Ling!

Our home in front of the girl's masterpieces!

Happy 5th Mathena

2008-09-22T15:27:00.003+08:00

We had a simple celebration at the LO's then a dinner with friends.

Mathena's been asking for a violin (S$200) which we could not afford.

Who would have thought that a simple $6 replica can amuse her WHOLE day!!

Cheh-cheh gets to share her walkie-talkie toy too!

No time to write

2008-09-19T11:10:00.003+08:00

So pictures will speak for us..

Mathena had her Toddler B class viewing. She did us proud!
She had to change teachers a few times due Letitia's school timetable but she kept up and did extremely well!

Mid Autumn Festival. We did not join the marching at 9pm around the neighbourhood!

We've been blessed with new clothes!

School Holidays!

2008-09-01T17:57:00.003+08:00

We now have 1 week of NO SCHOOL!

Yippee! Except I am now homeschooling Letitia with the text books she missed out on Term 3 as well as walk through the sample assessment sheets with her.
I am slightly concerned for her, just slightly....

When Letitia goes back to school, she'll have one week of practice runs in class for English, Maths and Chinese. She will also have a few papers per subject including oral and comprehension etc. My job at the moment is to expose her to the types, examples and style of questions (which is miles different from the Aussie stuff!!) she will be exposed to, as well as teach her NOT to WORRY if she does not know how to answer them. She has in reality missed out on the entire year of schooling as they have stopped teaching in Term 3. Term 4 is dedicated for assessments, assessments, exams, exams.

Primary school assessments has Part A, mulple choice, Part B, Short answers and Part C, Long answers. I may live in the era bygone but wasn't our university exams like that?!?

PRAY FOR US!

These are images of what happens when daddy is in charge of putting girls to bed!

Heaped in Prayers! School went WELL!

2008-08-25T22:44:00.003+08:00

To all family and friends, 'tadaa!', Letitia in her basic uniform. Basic meaning, we haven't got the shoes, socks, the name embroided tag, the sports outfits and books. We are entering last week of term 3 to allow 'soft landing' into this harsh climate.
So far so good, she had a good day and I went in and out while juggling Mathena 3 times today. Hope to do just the early bit tomorrow and allow her to sink or swim! She has been a true CHAMPION! Just look at her smile!!!We MISSED the Beijin Olympics CLOSING. Actually, I miss the entire SHER-BANG. We've been so busy with church as well as life that....tv hasn't been our priority! Ah well...!

Picture taken at last night's CEFC 30th Anniversary Celebrations!

Intentional Discipleship Making Church

Friends in Town

2008-08-20T22:11:00.003+08:00

We've been spending this week with a lovely couple (Abrahams) we knew from our Sunday Afternoon Bible Study group back in Wollongong. This couple has also been our friends, family and often surrogate grandparents for our kids when we were away from our real family. The girls have been playing catch-up time with 'pop' and loved that we were able to see them 3 times these 3 years! We took an evening out to enjoy a "Bum Boat ride" along Clarke Quay last night.

Can you tell who's the poser in the shots?!?

Settled....AUGUST2008

2008-08-18T21:23:00.003+08:00

Here's the girls watching tele in their new comfortable living area.An overall look of the living/dining area.

This is my front door grill looking out to the corridor of our unit.
(The flags are because Singapore National Day)
Am trying to decide what to do with the blank wall..

We live in the HEARTLANDS!

2008-08-14T20:48:00.003+08:00

Have I mentioned that we LIVE in the Heartlands? Amidst all the festivals, all the hoo-hahs and smack bang in the middle of 'Hungry Ghost Festival' (click) For those who don't know the meaning, just click the words in blue.

We are however NOT impressed. When Saturday rolls in, any spare squarish park area will be mounted with a temporary colourful tent structure with a stage on it. This seeming harmless demountable setup is usually the works of a nearby chinese temple or chinese organisation. Their main aim is to 'auction' tables after tables of 'Offerings- Incense, burnable paper stuff, fruits, food, biscuits etc' in hundreds of $$ to families who requires such things to 'give' to their dead families.

I now know a few people who does this yearly, buying paper folded clothes, cars, watches, bed sheets, ties etc and will pay 'extra' to have logos and brands printed on them. Their belief is that these 'dead ones' need to keep up with the Jones in the heavenlies and they should have the same standards as they normally would on earth?!? Huh!!??

So, what we get is, every Saturday and if we are unlucky, the eve of a public holiday, all the dialect '$200, $250.. going once, twice sold!" to drive us nuts and near insane. Then the party starts at 9pm onwards where the 'GE TAI' (GE meaning Song, TAI meaning stage!) culture sets in to entertain apparently the 'ghosts'. The tent then fills with crowds of people, eating drinking and just out to have a good time, while the "GETAI" singers/dancers compete for more time on stage. They get paid more if the public requests for them to stay etc..

We cannot shut our windows, we cannot shut the noise. It stops around 11pm and my girls will struggle to get to sleep before 10pm. We will ALL wake up droopy eyed the next day and be wishing for storms of fire from GOD to swipe over last night.....sigh!

Here's a colourful sight and an INSIGHT (click) to the chinese superstitions and beliefs. Am gonna catch an early sleep to catch up with the less sleep I will be getting tomorrow (Sat) night!

My PRIDE & JOY!

2008-08-04T13:39:00.003+08:00

Did I tell you guys that I have been spending scores of hours lifting this set of outdoor furnitures into a GLORIOUS state?

And...NO, I did not just paint over it! It's all scrapped down to it's metallic base and JUST look at it now! Wow!

FOUND the CABLES: Serangoon unit!

2008-07-28T22:57:00.005+08:00

No wonder I couldn't find them (for loading pics from camera to computer), it was in Alex's pile of boxes to unpacked. He's actually found them and stored them somewhere.

Decided to show you the 50% unpacked/packed version of the place. To indicate how messy and how lack of storage we have. Will load in another set of pics when we 100% settle in, which is when the pics are up on the walls etc. Enjoy! This is the place we will soon call home. Will take some getting use to but it's sure warming up to us with it's door-to-door convenience!
This is so far the favourite bit of the house to me. I finally get my fully timber dining set from good old SALVATION ARMY OP-SHOP to match my buffet and hutch set from Wollongong. Still struggling with this space as I have not settled on the arrangements, aside from the dining spot.
Our mini-me living room looking out to our balcony. The Balcony now doubles up as storage for the boxes as we unpack. It brings in quite a bit of sun and due to the lacking in 'outdoor' space, my plants have moved indoors!
The balcony, and it's content!
The guest room, with it's own set of storage issues. The plus is, if the tv works, my parents can watch their chinese serials in peace.
Doorway looking into the master bedroom. We now have a his and hers desk as these desks do not fit anywhere else in the house. Lack of storage, too much books, too many STUFF!
Looking into half of girls room. This was the first room we settle in to help the girls find their way in this new place. There's enough for 2 more guests in this room too (if they don't mind the toys and mess!)...toys have moved into bedroom making it also a play area when the other is studying etc.
This is our little blessing. Nooked between the kitchen and living area, a 'study' area bright and spacious. This will be dubbed our 'school room' as it now has a 'reading nook', a creative corner as well as two desks for self study uses. Educational toys are here.
Our kitchen has been halved but it seems pretty useful at the moment. Have to re-figure what is crucial and what is important to store accordingly. The left leads to the laundry....which at this point in time is the most tidiest!

MOOOOVE-ED!

2008-07-23T23:10:00.003+08:00

Am sounding like a cow!

Okay, the good news is, we've done the loading of 90 boxes plus furnitures and then the said being 'dumped' into our smaller new unit.

This time, we only moved ALL our contents, plus 5 single beds, 1 junior cot mattress, our 1-2-3 sofa set plus timber lamp table, my oh-so precious buffet and hutch set, 2 tall boy drawers, 2 bedside tables, 2 desks, 3 kids set table and chairs, 5 book shelves, 2 toy drawers, 1 triple bunk bed, a junior bed, 1 kids basketball hoop, 2 shoe cupboards plus 3 racks, 2 storage metal shelves and an exercise bike. We were told that we don't have a lot of furnitures but our 'contents' are more than an average 4 person family!!! Hence the 90 plus boxes.

Been back to the old place everyday, cleaning and slowing carting things that are left (fridge, pantry, laundry) over. Still lots to do and we will get a painter to fix up our 'decorations' on the various walls. Meanwhile, the NEW place is s.l.o.w.l.y getting in shape. The boxes are reducing by the day (3rd day!), the storage room is filling up to the ceiling plus furnitures are being moved around to present a livable and comfortable place for us. There's so much of juggling between what we need now and what we need (maybe) in 6 months time. We've finally decided to throw out irreplaceable clothes that are at least 15 years old. Some of these stuff have been around when Alex and I were courting...yet, growing yellowish and some even 'fraying'.

I think I have 15 more boxes to go...my back is real sore by the evening from all the heavy lifting, my skin is itching like mad from the dirt and my feet seems to be in a constant shade of BLACK. We've opened ceremony to cook at home tonight, used a BRAND spanking new stainless steel rice cooker that kept blowing the circuit of the house (sheesh!). Girls missed out of K1 chinese class as Mathena slept through the afternoon(kids exhausted like us!) while I completely did not watch the time (no clocks in house yet!).

This reminds me, I will have to start sticking stuff on walls, eg clock.

3 More Sleeps till MOVE day

2008-07-17T23:52:00.002+08:00

To this day, I have done:
1) Side tables of Master bedroom, only 20% of our wardrobe
2) 50% of the girls room, all bookshelves but not toys
3) Guest room ALL PACKED
4) 80% of living area and it's storage
5) 50% of dining area
6) On the food and ccoking stuff yet to be packed
7) 50% more of laundry stuff
8) Have half more cupboard of storage
9) Shoes not packed
10) Plants not sorted

Moving day is 9am 21st. The removals will come to pack the larger furniture, then move all boxes. I have packed 40 boxes so far and yes, my back is starting to ache. The new place is 90% cleaned, and most of the shelves are wiped down and ready to be filled. Noticed that we may need to get more things, eg bedside lamps, fans, curtains (kids room). This time I am determined to add some 'pictures' on the wall to decorate the place a bit.

Things I DISLIKE about moving!

2008-07-07T23:10:00.003+08:00

This is the first time I have ever sat down to try to recall how many times I have moved in my entire life. The grand total comes to at least 15 that I CAN remember!!

Am sure all who has had the experience of moving house, whether just down the road or across the seas, share the same gripes I am about to share:

The plain thought itself is enough to raise your blood pressure, create unpleasant sleep and make you loose appetite with your food.

THE PLANNING
There's just so much to do and so little time. On top of that, the biggest task is trying to maintain a near 'normal' home for the kids before the actual move day, run the household as if it's not going to happen and juggle life as per normal.

THE BOXES
In an already cluttered home, the boxes per compliments of the removals will often than not take up a corner of the room. They are flatten yet a constant reminder that your job's not done, your cupboard's not cleared and there's stuff to be sorted.

THE LISTS
There's the "TO DO" list before we move, then the "MUST DO" list when we arrive at the other end. Then, Alex has His list (which I have to draw up), I have my list, and we have change of address lists, rental hand over lists, last minute lists, and the many lists we make up along the way.

THE PACKING
Okay, this is also the bit where I sort out all our rubbish and become quite ruthless in throwing things out. My kids will loose quite a lot of their toys, books and bibs bobs! Our books gets a reshuffle and mostly, we clutter up the disposal shute with bags of our 'arts & crafts' collected throughout the year. Does anyone have a reduced storage idea for such items. My girls want me to collect and keep rocks....from art lessons, from beaches, trips and holidays!! Yikes!

THE UNPACKING
My greatest nightmare is that we don't have enough place to put them all. Yes, we are downsizing in apartment size but up-sizing in budget. This only happens in Singapore where the rental prices are skyrocketing and landlords are getting greedy! Yeesh!

GETTING BACK TO LIFE
There's the one month before you move where life is in limbo. My girls get educated only 50% of the time as mom is running around like a headless chook and the house is stacked up with boxes. Then, there's the other one month after the move where we slowly get into the swing of things.... and discover what's in the boxes!!!

SAYING GOODBYE
After 2 years at this estate, we've gotten so use to our neighbours and now friends. We can honestly say 'Everyone knows us!!'. Anyone can come to our block and ask about us, most of our neighbours can and will lead them to our doorstep. We'll have to start ALL OVER AGAIN at the new area. I will have to smile more, teach the girls patience, teach them stranger danger(again!) as well as help them resettle. Sigh!

CHANGING ADDRESS
The list is long and I can bet even after 6 mos, we'll have loose mail coming in. Have to make a mental not to give a forwarding address to the new tenants via the owners!

Okay, I do know that all the about can easily be erased off as long as I am willing to pay $3k more in my removal costs etc. They will do the packing, unpacking, organising etc at the last minute day of removal. Anyone have anymore gripes to add about moving? Join in..