三人行 的 第5 个星期天

温馨午餐：

My eldest brother called me yesterday and made lunch appointment with us for today.
As usual, how can I say “no” to free meal...haha. He brought us to 莆田 @ Kitchener road. I remembered I had eaten in the restaurant before the renovation. The whole place now looks so clean and spacious, compared to the one I remembered. The food presentations are also very nice and the taste was very good. Simple home cooked dished and yet taste was so defined. I really had a very good impression of the food especially – 卤面 and 面线。Till now, the taste still lingered in my mouth…yummy. Anthea even had 2 bowls of the noodles.

After lunch, Anthea insisted that she want to “enjoy life” and as usual the 大舅 would fulfill her wish. We were treated to Bens & Jerry ice-cream at United Square. We took walk around Toy R US but did not buy anything, just window shopping. Then my brother fetched us home. We reached home around 3.30pm.

What Goes Round, Comes Around

At lunch time my youngest BIL, Terence, called me and asked if he could borrow our car to run some errands. Both Cherry and him are now busy shopping for the renovation items.

I agreed to his request. I remembered during those days when we were car-less, we also borrowed our families’ cars to run errands. It's especially useful when you need to go a few places, like they do now. The least I can do is to let them has the convenience, otherwise, their deadlines will be tighter as Cherry will be leaving soon for her work assignment to London.

I always think we had benefitted much when we needed the helps from the extended families, so now it's time for us to return the favors.

Hope that they can accomplish their shopping list... : )

简单晚餐

Both Anthea and Anders had late nap as we came back late from lunch. So I thought that it would be better to eat dinner at home, then to rush out for dinner again.

I prepared simple dishes – black bean soup with chicken feet, steam Golden Pomfret and minced pork.

We had a relaxing time at dinner and we even played some guessing games at dinner table. Both Anthea and Anders enjoyed the soup so much. And looking them eating so happily, I felt the joy within my heart.

After dinner, we played the cards game that my FIL bought for them last evening. It has been another wonderful Sunday for us and spending such quality time with the children is really fulfilling for me. 就算累也是累得开心。

Tomorrow the children childcare is closed due to Teacher's Day and luckily my mom had agreed to help me “babysit” 2 of them. I had wanted to take leave but there are some meetings cum training session, so it would not be nice to take a day off. Probably I may take ½ day, if permitted... : ) (谢谢你，老妈！)

RSAF OPEN HOUSE @ Paya Lebar Airbase

This morning breakfast we had 2 surprise “visitors" – they are Miss Piggy and Mr.
Elephant. Yeah, after yesterday Zoo outing, the breakfast theme is so timely...haha.

I had arranged for Anthea to take her make-up lesson for Tien Hsia today, 11.45 am to 1.15 pm. When we reached the school, then I realized that there was no lesson, just the “class performance” and parents review. So I asked Anthea if she wanted to attend it as this is the different class from her usual group. She said NO.

Then we went ahead with my PLAN B – RSAF Open House event. We had a quick lunch at Junction 8. Then we took the MRT to Toa Payoh Interchange and took Bus 90 to reach the Paya Lebar Airbase.

Previously when there was such an open house, I would tell Adrian that it would be nice to visit it, since both Anthea and Anders like airplanes, especially Anders. I will usually get lukewarm response, mentioning that he work with aircraft every day, so there is really nothing of interest to him. All of them would try to “siam” as far as possible. So now since daddy is not in Singapore to “siam”, we will “cheong” for the open house.

It was a good call. When we reached the airbase, Anders was so fascinated by all the different models of the aircraft. We even had the chance to go onboard the Apache and sat in the plane. Now we understand how our military people felt when on board.

There was an Aviation Carnival Zone. Both Anthea and Anders had fun with the stalls and also the playground area.

We had an ice-cream break at the Main Stage area and once of TCS star – Jessica Liu was performing on stage. Too bad, I had 2 kids, so can't go too near to take her photo...hehe. (She’s one of my favorite actresses in Babes, Beaches, and Ball.)

Anthea kept commenting how handsomes those uniform men look. Hmm...i wonder if she will fall in love with One, just like me..haha.

We spent a good 3 hours at the Open House and then started to make our way home. The only regrets were we miss the Flights rides Draws and also the hot air balloon timing were reschedule to a later time. Anyway, there will always be a next time. : P

We reached home at around 5pm and it was too late for the children to nap. So I decided that they would skip it totally.

Dinner was with my PIL and youngest BIL/SIL at Lao Beijing in Novena Square. Understand from Terence and Cherry that their home renovation will be starting soon. They are both busy now buying all the fixtures – lightings, basin, kitchen hood/hops and others. Really looking forward to viewing their new “Home Sweet Home”.

After dinner, we headed home and the children a voice chat with Adrian as somehow his webcam does not work due to the slow internet speed. Anyway, beggars can't be chooser and we should be contended to be able to hear his voice, LOUD AND CLEAR. : )

Then it was bedtime for the children after a FULL DAY EVENT.

Zoo Outing & my 1st Bento

This morning I woke up around 5.45 am. It's the childcare centre field trip to the Zoo and I felt quite excited about it. This is Anthea and Anders 1st time to the Zoo with their childcare centre.

The other reason for my excitement was – I am preparing my own lunch box. As the children meals are included in the fees, parents were advised to buy their own meal. So I thought it would be a good chance for me to gauge my preparation timing because comes 2009 Anthea will be in morning session.

I had a simple lunch box ingredient in mind – onigiri / hardboiled egg / Vienna sausages.

I started cooking the rice and boiling the eggs. As for the sausages, I just needed to steam them hot in the cooker. All in I spent about 30 minutes, not bad since I didn't plan to do any deco, so my lunch box look a bit dull...haha.

Both anthea and Anders woke up at 7.30 am and had their breakfast. Then we set off to the school. Upon reaching the school, we presented the Teacher's day gift to their class teachers. There were total of 4 gifts - Ms Kelyn and 张老师 (Anders teachers). Ms Valentine / 罗老师 (Anthea teachers)

The principal had a short briefing with the parents who were there for the Zoo trip. I was quite happy to see a large turnout and some even joined in as couples. Each parent was given a bottle of mineral water and a hotdog bun.

We set off from the centre at 9am and reached the Zoo around 9.20am. The children were all excited upon arrival and kept saying what animals they wanted to see... : )

As it was just a ½ day trip, the itinerary was all set up by the school and from the schedule; I knew that there will be limited time/chance to explore the Zoo.

9.30 am – 10.00 am: arrival at the Zoo

10 am – 10.30 am: Educational Programme (Take 5 @ ZOO)

10.30 – 11 am – Proceed to Animals Show

11 am – 11.30 am – Splash Safari Show

11.30 am – 12 noon – Proceed to KFC

12 nn – 1 pm: Lunch

1 pm – 1.30 pm: Return to centre

Anders was a bit disappointed that he can't see all the animals that he was expecting to see. I told him that we will have chance to come again, that's for sure. Anthea had a good time with her classmates.

I brought along bread and biscuits for them to munch while walking on the way. Some of the other children also asked me for the snacks, luckily, I had enough to go around...haha. We had visited the Zoo before and from experienced, I know the children enjoying eating light snacks.

We reached the centre around 1.20pm and I brought Anders and Anthea home for their bath and afternoon nap.

In the evening, Anthea did her MPM lesson and I brought Anders to the library to read some books while waiting.

At night around 9.30pm, we had a chance to talk to Adrian. He was on a tour to Jerusalem and Dead Sea.

It has been a tiring but very fulfilling day spends with the children.

Stocking UP Day..

Yesterday near to lunch time, one of my colleagues was discussing with me “what to buy for teacher's day?” She said she want to get Famous Amos cookies and packed them in nice boxes.

When I heard her said boxes, I told her “you can go Daiso to take a look, they have nice boxes.” Her immediate reaction was “ok, let's go.” So our lunch time was spent at Daiso Plaza Singapore. Needless to say, I also took the opportunity to buy the boxes for Anthea and Anders teachers. I managed to buy some nice cookies from the AMK HUB. Let's hope their teachers like the gift.

I overheard this on Playhouse Disney Hanny Mandy show: some Wiseman said – it's not the Price that matter, it's the thought that counts. (I was quite amazed that kids channel also teaches such moral value.)

Tomorrow the childcare centre is organizing a Zoo Outing and I am going along for the trip. Luckily I managed to ballot the company corporate card, so I get FREE admission. Silly me, forget to inform the childcare that both Anthea and Anders can get free entry too… : P

Last evening, in preparation of the Zoo trip, we bought covered shoes for Anders and Anthea. Anders got what he wanted – a pair of Batman Shoes with LIGHT. Anthea had chosen a pair of Winnie the Pooh shoes for herself.

At the same time, I also stock up on Carman's muesli bars as NTUC was having some special offer @ $4.05 per pack of 6 bars. The usual price is $5.03. This is in preparation for Adrian 2nd oversea working trip from late October 2008 to early January 2009.

I am really glad that I was able to complete the “shopping list” in a day.

新目标 – 2。4 公里跑步

I read on Angie's blog that she recently completed the 10KM Army Marathon organized by SAFRA. Her original goal was 6KM. With Clement encouragement and her strong will & determination, she DID IT. I always admired people who does marathon because it is not easy task to run and run for such a long time. It takes a lot of discipline.

After reading her accomplishment, the “athlete” in me is starting to want to come out underneath the lazy bones. I am contemplating to try it next year, perhaps.

I enjoy running and used to represent inter-school 4x100m relay during my primary school days. For secondary school, I slacken and joined uniform group instead.

Now that I am back to my gym routine, I am very interested to try to do at least a 5km run.

Before Adrian left for his oversea trip, he transferred his SAFRA Gym membership to me for use during his absence. So this means that I am now a gym member of 2 clubs and I should have more motivation to train for the 5KM target.

Probably I should start with the 2.4km 1st and then slowly progressed to a longer distance. Wish me good luck with this new target in my next phase of life. My gym routine is keeping me going strong and active. This indirectly makes my day happier and i have more energy with the children.

Last evening, we went to NTUC to buy a string water bottle for Anthea, the previous one I just bought “spoiled” after 2 weeks of usage....sigh!! 中看不中用.

At the same time, I tried to look for a pair of cover shoes for Anders but was not successful as he prefer a pair with “light” *faint*. Boy also wants to look nice.

After buying the bottle, we went home and the children had ice-cream cone – their way of enjoying life. I bought these 2 tubs of Wall's kid’s ice cream @ $3.00. They chosen chocolate and durian flavors. It was very nice and I had a cone too...simple enjoyment in life.

Blogging Friends Forever Award

With great honour, i take this award from LZmommy..Thank you very much!!


To be honest, i find great comfort in knowing so many blogging friends. Many whom i have not met face to face, yet they are always giving me great encouragement in life.

Especially when i am down and out, reading these mommies/daddies blogs somehow will bring a smile to my face.

Now with Adrian working oversea, i get very strong moral support from all the mommies/daddies. To all of you, i say : 非常感激!!

Here goes the Rule:

1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world
4. you must link back to whoever gave you the award

Like what LZmommy said and i agreed - "it's a tough choice".

I would like to share this award with :

IT Family (Thanks Idy for sharing with me all the jobs opening.)
Stardust (Thanks Stardust for sharing her puzzle lobangs.)
Kinigu (Thanks to Angie for sharing all her bento's and also chinese blog)
Louis, Eve & Faith (Thanks Eve for her kindess to help with logistic when adrian is oversea)
Brightsong ( she is new to my blog...but she stay in same area as me...oops..don't care lah)

三人行 的 第 4 个星期 天

“SWEET SURPRISE “– last Saturday I arranged to meet up with a family friend, Eileen, to pass her 2 small moon cakes. Eileen' brother (W) work in the same company as Adrian and he is going for the same work detachment. He is going with the 2nd batch that departed on 22 August. W had kindly agreed to help us hand carried the moon cakes to pass to Adrian, along with the moon cakes, we sent Adrian a small “gam ba deh” card and Anthea's drawing.

Yesterday evening, Adrian SMS me to inform that he had received the sweet surprise with the card. He felt very happy and wrote me an email –“Thanks for reminding me that it is moonquake festival and you know how much I love moon cakes. Really can't believe how a simple moon cake can mean the whole world to me. Now I know.”

I know how it felt when we are away from our family and all these little gift from home will mean so much to the Love ones. (ps: my FIL even commented that adrian is eating mooncakes earlier than us here in SG..haha)

It rained the whole day on Saturday and today morning, it feels kind of chilly, like in winter season. Very nice weather but hope the Sun will come out because of the laundry.. : P

In the morning, I brought Anthea and Anders for some outdoor game while there was a bit of sun. We played Volleyball and also went to the playground.

After the morning workouts, we went to the hawker center to pack lunch as I was a bit lazy to cook.

Children had their usual afternoon nap after a good morning exercises.

Dinner was at my parent's home. Simple home cooked lotus root soup, dou si fish and baked chicken. All my favorite food and I had a good time catching up with my Lao pa and Lao ma. My eldest brother is in Bangkok for work purpose and will be back next week.

We went home to rest after a nice and hearty dinner. It's such a wet day and I think it's going to be another cold, cold night.

E-Poll Day & A Birthday Celebration.

We woke up to a rainy and cold Saturday morning. Thanks goodness, I bought breakfast, so it was just simple preparation. We had our usual ham & eggs breakfast.

POLLING Notice for Lift Upgrading – after the last round of general survey, now it's the real thing. It's time to VOTE for the LUP. The polling dates started from 21 August to 25 August. So I decided to cast in OUR vote this morning. It was a simple procedure – I submitted my IC and the officer in charge lead me to an E-polling kiosk. I just needed to answer 2 simple questions and that's it. Done in less than 1 minute time...haha. The committee even gave us a small souvenir.

Then we went to AMK HUB to buy a birthday cake for Aunty Eve's birthday celebration this evening. I decided to try the ever long Q – Four Season Durian Cake. At the same time, we bought a small present for Aunty Eve, hope she likes it.

Lunch was simple home cooked soup, steam fish and special “pork floss rice”. I bought this sushi rice maker last evening at the hardware store and decided to try it today.

Anthea and Anders had their usual afternoon nap after a good fun time with the neighbor gor gor.

Dinner was at Hua Ting in Orchard Hotel in celebration of my 2nd sister in law, Eve's birthday. As usual, the food was delicious and the companionship was good. We had a bottle of complimentary red wine to go with the sumptuous dinner because of my MIL privilege card entitlement.

(Anders & Faith)

Cake cutting ceremony was after the dinner and the feedbacks on the Durian cake were positive. Both Anthea and Anders had about 2 servings of the cake...haha. When Adrian is back, we will buy one for him to try.

After dinner, my PIL fetched us home. Yet another fruitful day for us.

Aces family wishing Aunty Eve – Very Happy Birthday and May her wish comes TRUE... : )

CHEERS!!

2 in A Day...

Anthea used to do her MPM Math on Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon. Then when my MIL announced her retirement plan, we took the opportunity to sign Anthea for a weekday Chinese lesson at Tien Hsia. So far, the routine was manageable with my MIL logistic support.

Recently, my MIL decided to return to the workforce when her previous employer approached her with a reasonable attractive package. I am all supportive of her returning to work because I know my MIL has great passion for her job and she also enjoy working with her colleagues.

With this change, I need to reschedule Anthea's classes in order to match our family routine. Now that Adrian is oversea, Anders will need to tag along whenever Anthea has her lessons. So I am trying my best to maximize her lesson time, so that it will not be so tiring for all of us.

The best fit schedule now is MPM Math on Friday and she will be doing 2 books instead of the original 1 book. The teacher has commented that she is progressing well and handling 2 books should not be a problem to her.

Her Tien Hsian Term 4 starts Sep to Nov and I have arranged for her to take the Saturday afternoon lesson from 4.30 pm to 6pm. This means that I will try to make the children nap early on Saturday so that we can go for her lessons. There are limited slots for weekend's session as most of the classes are fully booked

Today is her second last lesson at Tien Hsia for Term 3. I decided not to disrupt it and took ½ day off to bring her for the lesson.

After work, I went to her childcare to fetch her and when we reached Tien Hsia, I made the payment for her next Term lessons. Judging by the number of waitlists on my preferred timing, the coordinator mentioned that chances are very slim.

While Anthea was doing her lesson, I run my errands. I managed to go to the Library to returned and borrowed new books for them. Thanks to Vivien and Levine's comments in my previous blog. I managed to collect the free gift and a token, plus the reading card. Now we are motivated to read more books...haha.

After the library, I went for a quick bite and then did some shopping for grocery at NTUC. I stocked up on our weekend breakfast and lunch ingredients...: P

Then it was just in time for me to fetch Anthea from her class. I saw many mommies/grannies and even daddies waiting for their child at the centre. This makes my dream of becoming a PTSAHM stronger!!

We went home and Anthea had her power nap. In the evening, Anthea and Anders had Happy Meals for dinner before Anthea went for her MPM Lesson.

At the end of the day, she was still pretty enthusiastic and came home to do her homework...phew... I was still worried she might be overwhelmed with 2 lessons in a day.

At night, we had chance to talk to daddy and he updated me on his course. So far, things are going well and he had been tasked to do some important assignments and I know this will be to his advantage.

Another quality day in Aces routine.

20082008

YEARS COME AND GO.......
BUT TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY. . . .
20082008
DOUBLE MATCH........
IT HAPPENS ONLY ONCE IN A LIFETIME,
SO I WISH YOU
GOOD LUCK, GOOD HEALTH,
HAPPINESS AND PEACEFULNESS.
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

on such a special day, i bought this ....

When i showed it to Anthea, she said "mommy, it's too big for my bag."

I said "ok, never mind, mommy can use or next time daddy can use it when mommy prepared lunch box.."...haha. : P

Updates on Daddy - Adrian has been keeping in touch with me via email daily and he will call and talk to the children on weekends when he's not working. Because of time difference and long working hours, it's tough for phone calls during the weekdays.

He had completed his 1st course and is now waiting for the 2nd course to start next week. The 2nd batch of his colleagues will be leaving this Friday to join them and his pair of Addidas shoes will be hand delivered by a very trustworthy mate - WH.

The hotel area that he is staying is similar to our Orchard Road, so getting food and daily needs are not a big issue. His hotel is by the beach and he will do his regular jogs.

It is defintely not easy for him to be working so far away from home and feeling so much for the family here. We know that this experienced that he's getting and what he is learning in the courses will be a very valuable asset to his career.

"Dear, like i say, you are building a better nest for the family to rest on, in future. Don't worry for what's happening now, in life, changes are inevitable and so far, i know it's for the better.

Have a wonderful 2008-2008 !!

PM NDP Rally - My Priorities

Last evening I listened to the PM National Day rally on Television (for the very 1st time… : P ).
I was totally engrossed with his speech and felt very much on all the issues. There was one particular topic that gave me very deep impression.

Extract from PM Lee National day rally:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/369408/1/.html

“A successful lawyer, Mrs Lee Kuan Yew chose to put her children first, took on fewer cases, avoided evening work functions and ate lunch at home every day with her children.

He said having children is a personal choice, and parents have to decide their own priorities.”

Which parents does not put their child/children as TOP Priority and which parents does not want to have lunches/ dinners with their children? REALITY BITES!!!

While PM Lee was talking about this topic, I tear a little, felt a bit emotional. Why?

I was a latchkey kid, not that my parents do not want to spend time with me, but coming from a Low income family, they were working hard for the monies to support 4 children. I am grateful to my parents for bringing me up to be what I am. However sometimes I wonder if my mom was home with us, would that had made a difference in my life. I don’t have the answer to that.

Having been through the experienced, I know the importance of being THERE for my own children when they are growing up. I want to be there to share and learn with them while they grow. I want them to feel LOVE and being LOVED by us. It is not easy but I am trying my very best.

It is for this simple reason/belief that make me decided to become a PSAHM… : )

I LOVE my FAMILY and they will always be my TOP Priorities !!!

三人行 的 第 3 个星期 天

Today is a super fun packed Sunday for us.

Trial Bento - today morning I prepared breakfast for Anthea and Anders. Last evening I bought the heart shaped cutter for Daiso and decided to use it on the sandwich. Anthea was very happy when she saw the sandwich and said: “mommy, it's very nice.” She said next time she can bring it to school for her tea break. She even chose her 1st bento box from NTUC Xtra when we saw it. Now I am even more committed into Bento..haha.

Volley Ball session – ever since we watched the Channel 8 Drama series “babes,beach,ball.” Anthea seem to fall in love with this sport. Every day she will come home and tell me that she plays volleyball in school. Last evening, we bought a ball from Daiso and she was very happy with the new toy. This morning, we went to the open ground downstairs and played volleyball. Our neighbor gor gor also joined us for the game session. Both Anthea and Anders had a wonderful time and were perspiring so much... : P

I prepared a simple lunch for the children and they happily finished up their lunch.

Teacher Badaria wedding – Teacher Baida was Anthea ex-childcare teacher. Ever since Anthea change childcare, I still keep in touch with her. She is a very good childcare teacher. Today is her wedding and she had invited us for the wedding lunch. So I brought Anthea and Anders along, her wedding venue is just walking distance from our house.

We had a good time at the lunch and managed to catch up with some of the parents. The only regret is we did not get to see teacher Baida at the wedding. We missed her as we went quite late. Still we want to wish the Very Best in her marriage.

The children had their nap late, so we did dinner on our own instead of the original plan of eating at my In-laws house. At the same time, I am following the Olympic Woman Table Tennis GOLD medal contest and Singapore had won its SILVER medal... : )

“Web-chatting”

It has been a busy day for me, as usual...haha. In the morning, I prepared breakfast for the children. Anthea enjoyed her ham & cheese sandwich with scrambled eggs. Anders had his cereal and breads.

Then they went to the neighbor house to play with the big gor gor while I busied with preparing lunch. I managed to cook one of their favourite soup – corn & carrot soup. Also I prepared the steamed minced pork with egg dish. I noticed that whenever our tingkat dinner had this dish, Anthea will keep asking me for more of the minced pork.

The children had a good lunch and I was especially happy to see Anders finished his whole bowl of rice and soup. Usually he will only eat about ¾ of his bowl and said that he is full. Today is really an exception.

Last night we had dinner at my PIL's house and my In-laws was telling me about how nerve breaking it was to watch the "LIVE" woman table tennis match. My FIL said he nearly had a heart-attack...oops...luckily the Singapore Team won the match and Singapore is guaranteed of SILVER for Olympic 2008. Finally, after 40 over years of waiting. Tomorrow there will be a LIVE Telecast of the final between Singapore and China @ 7.30pm. Guess everyone will be glued to the TV.

Also last night for the 1st time, Anthea and Anders had the chance to see Adrian “LIVE” via the video call on MSN. The 2nd hand laptop that we bought does not have a built in camera, so he can only borrow his friend's laptop. Both Anthea and Anders had a great time chatting with the daddy and were happy to see him on air.

Hmm...now that we know that we can be connected via this channel, guess we will need to call Adrian HP lobang soon..haha. Prior to Adrian oversea detachment, I had been advised by Clement and Angie to get a laptop with webcam, I know this is a good option but we didn't managed to get it in time. So for his 2nd trip, we will be wiser.

决定

Yesterday I spoke to my General Manager of my plan to go Part – Time in 2009 so that I can take care of Anthea’s after-school-care needs. From his tone, I know it’s likely not possible for my current position to be a Part Timer as the department is expanding and they need an administrator support FULL TIME.

Anyway, I told my GM that should the idea not be feasible, I am ready to pack & go…haha.

I had discussed this issue with Adrian before he left for his oversea detachment and I am glad that he has been supportive of my decision.

I felt my desire / passion to be there for Anthea after-school care surpasses my engagement toward my current work. This does not me that I want to be JOBLESS. Matter of fact, I am actually very ACTIVELY looking high & low for a Part Time morning job that can allow me to be there for her. Probably the right opportunity is not here yet… : P

Yesterday, I had lunch with my long – timed friend and also our family financial adviser, Kenneth. He also mentioned that nowadays, it is hard to find a FULL TIME working mothers. Especially when the children start formal schooling. He said nothing beat the care of a Mother / Father, which I agreed totally. Of course, not every family can depend on a sole bread winner, like us. I guessed we just need to be more prudent in our daily expenditure.

Last evening I brought Anthea for her MPM Math class and had a quick chat with her teacher. She asked me about Anthea enrolment to primary school. Her feedback on TGPS was very positive and she also gave some insight to guiding the child in their learning process. After chatting with her, I know my decision is on the RIGHT TRACK…haha.

The other push factor is – Bento-ing. Seeing so many mommies preparing snacks for their children to school, I am very inspired and motivated. Hopefully being a PT worker will give me more time allowance to prepare “爱心便当“for my children : P

All the best to my DECISION ...

Anders 1st Library Card

Both Anthea and Anders enjoy bedtime stories and I will try my best to read to them every night.

It's a routine for us (me) to go to the library to borrow the books for reading. I would usually chose books that Anthea can read. I would encourage her to read and help her with words that she has difficulty. I hope this will encourage and cultivate her reading habit and become a Book Lover like daddy.

As for Anders, I will choose books that are of his interest such as: Animals, Cars, Dinosaurs and short Chinese stories book.

All these while, I have been using Anthea's library card to borrow the 4 books. I realized that 4 books are not enough to keep them occupied because the story kept repeated every night…haha.

Last Monday, when we were at the library, I decided to register a library card for Anders. I went to the customer service counter and wanted to register the card, the attendance informed me that I can DIY at the E-Kiosk ...this show how “mountain tortoise” I am... : P

So I register Anders card at the E-Kiosk and within a few minute, his card was ready and operational, I was so IMPRESSED!! Now Anders is officially a NLB card holder.

We went around the library and both of them busied themselves with the library books: “mommy, I want this book.” “Mommy, I want that book.” I was so busy looking at those books that they choose. Some are just too difficult for them, so I told them to choose an easier one.

Anders had requested for the “ya chong” (tooth bacteria) story book and we managed to find it. He enjoys reading this book. Ever since he read this book, brushing teeth had become his every night ritual...haha.

I am glad both my children enjoy reading and we will definitely visit the library as and when we are free.

三人行 的 第 2 个星期 天

The 1st week with Daddy oversea had flown passes so quickly and like I told Adrian before, 2 months will go by very fast, I strongly believe in this. Been there, done that!!!

Home alone with Anthea and Anders had NOT been as difficult as I had thought it would be. I think the main reason is – I am mentally prepared and also the 2 of them are now older and more independent.

Anthea is growing and maturing in her own way and I can sense that she knows that it’s not easy for me to handle both of them single handedly. Many times, she does things on her own and at times, she also helps me with little things like: keeping Anders toys and sharing things with Anders. At the end of the day, I will say “thank you, darling Anthea” & give her a BIG HUG. I will not take her little acts for granted.

Anders has been putting on his best since last Saturday and he has not been giving me any major problem. He will listen and cooperate with me as and when he is in his mood...haha. Likewise, when he did well, I will also praise him “good job, darling Anders” and give him a high five.

I know both of them miss their papa because every now and then, they will say “mommy, I miss papa...”. I will remind them that Papa is working hard for the family and so both of them must also behave well for papa. When papa comes back from oversea, he will buy TOYS for them...(opps...dear, you must remember this promise I made on your behalf...hee : P )

This morning weather was cool and nice. After breakfast, I brought Anders to the GP – Dr Tng to get medication for his runny nose/cough. My MIL brought Anthea for a morning swim at my youngest brother in law house.

For lunch, we met up with my da-ge and Lao ma and headed to Han's @ China Square. It was a nice and relaxing lunch. Both Anthea and Anders had a good time chatting up with their da-jiu.

We took a walk around China Square and there were many stalls at the Flea Market. I was so engrossed with all the little things that were selling. I almost bought a lunch box for Anthea but didn’t do so because the cover of the lunch box could not close tightly. I was worried the food may spill out. Must find a chance to go Chinatown Point…hehe.

After lunch, the children came home for their afternoon nap. I had planned to bring them for a gathering at Sentosa with some of the BB Forum families. As Anders is still down with flu, I thought its better not to let him go and passed the virus to other children. I hope the next chance, we will be able to make it, can't wait to see all these nice and fun people in person.

Dinner was with the families at Jumbo in NSRCC. Then after that we headed to Changi Airport T2 for Swenson Desserts. Both Anthea and Anders had a great time with all the uncles and aunties, yeye and nai-nai and of course, their lovely cousin, Faith.

My MIL shared with me a piece of good new - she is going back to work on 18 aug 2008. I knew that this will come along but never expected it so soon...haha. She had enjoyed enough of her retirement. So now i will need to re-schedule Anthea's friday lesson and make new arrangement for her next term lesson, if she is still interested to continue.

Happy 43th Birthday, Singapore!!

We woke up to a bright and sunny day. Anthea asked me: “when are we going to play games.” I told her after our breakfast.

Well, in celebration of National Day, there is a National Day Celebrations 2008 organized by the GRC. It was a whole day event from 8.30 am to 9 pm. There were carnival stalls and we had game coupons which were distributed via the Letter Box. The guest of honour is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Around 10 am, we went to the venue and there were so many games stalls. We saw PM Lee left the place when we arrived, I was told that he had stayed for almost 1.5 hours long for the event. Wow...that meant he had come very early. He is such a busy man and yet, he still makes effort for this kind of event.

Both Anthea and Anders had great fun at the carnival, playing with the different games and also they had the chance to go on the motor rides.

Then we walked around the Flea market and I bought some very nice cards, in preparation for Teachers Day, and they were sold at 30 cents each. The children also bought some toys from the flea market and they ended with an ice-cream each. Such a lovely treat for a sunny hot day...haha.

After the carnival, we went to the wet market and I bought some soup ingredients. We had simple lunch and I prepared the soup for dinner, just in case, we may dine at home because of the National Day Parade. I know the children will enjoy the show on TV, especially Anders.

We had our usual afternoon nap after a good lunch and woke up around 5pm. As Anders is still coughing a little with running nose, I thought it's best to stay home for dinner.

It was the right decision as it started to rain a little as well. We had nice simple dinner of Fish & chips, fried hor-fun and a pot of home cooked soup... : p

We enjoyed life watching the Parade and this year seemed better that last year as there were more flight display and Anders Love the show.

In the evening, they had their 1st telephone chat with Daddy and both of them were very happy. Adrian is adapting well in his new “workplace”. He said time passed too slowly...haha. Guessed he still need time to get used to the different pace.

It had been a fun day for us may we wish our little island – Singapore “a Happy Birthday”

08-08-08

This is one of the lifetime most auspicious date and so many events happened on this day.

This morning I woke up feeling so happy and looked forward to a fun filled day.

Our general manager, Tony, recently celebrated his 15th wedding anniversary and he brought his wife and daughters to Bali for a family vacation. At the same time, they celebrated their anniversary there and re-took the wedding vow. He showed us the photographs and it was simply – So Romantic.

Our department bought for them a small wedding gift from Swarovski. In appreciation for the gift, Tony and his wife treated us to a lunch. It was arranged on 08-08-08 and the lunch venue was Raku Japanese restaurant in Greenwood Avenue.

It was a buffet lunch and we were treated to some really good Japanese food, which I had never eaten elsewhere. The presentation of each dish was very exquisite and the taste was delicious. It was my 1st time meeting Tony's wife and she is very pretty and also a very well groomed lady. From the conversation, she seemed to be a very DIY person. After lunch, we headed home. Tony had agreed to give us early released from work, in preparation for the Dinner & Dance.

I went back to settled Anders from childcare and then brought to my PIL's house as they had kindly agreed to help me babysit both Anthea and Anders while I attended the dinner. When I left my in-laws place, I decided to go to the salon in the Central to style my hair. Honestly for such a theme, it's hard to decide on hairdo. Anyway, I told them of the dinner theme and the rest is up to the hairstylist imagination. Luckily, the Lady Boss did a simple one and it was really cool. I meant because it was outdoor, so I need to tie up my hair, so I will not feel so hot...: P

I took the MRT and reached Fort canning in about 20 minutes time, it was pretty easy to get there. As this year dinner theme is Wacky Olympic, most of the staff came in their sport gear. It was quite a nice change compared to those usual fanciful themes. Some business unit even comes in the same dress code. There were some pre-dinner programmes – photo taking, different games station related to sports, face painting. I went to register my lucky draw and took my goody bag.

(She is the WINNER of best dress - Individual Catergory)

The dinner started with a short video show of some of the HODs passing the “Olympic torch” around Singapore (actually it was just in our company location). It was a very funny video and the staff had a good laugh with the video. Finally at the end, the CEO jogged in to the marquee with the “torch” and lighted up the “Olympic fire”.

The dinner started and there were many games in-between and some of them were very hilarious. It was so much fun enjoying the entertainment. My only regret was that I was sitting among a group of “aunties and uncles”, none of them wanted to participate along and just sat there quietly to watch. So “sian”..right. I should jump table… haha.
Anyway, I enjoyed myself wholeheartedly because like I say, this may be my last D&D with the company.

After the final lucky draw, it was almost 11.10pm, I quickly and took a taxi back. Per my last checked with my In-laws, they had brought the children back to our own home. I left a set of house keys with them, just in case.

I reached home around 11.30pm and both Anthea and Anders were still awake. I knew they need to see me before they can fall asleep.

I am so grateful to my in-laws for making it possible for me to attend the dinner and I was felt apologetic for making them stay up so late, especially my FIL, who sleeps early. Thanks mom & dad.

Also, another important letter that i received in the letter box from TGPS confirming that Anthea has been successful in securing a seat in the school. The orientation is on 17 November 2008 at 9 am.

The official Olympic in Beijing opened today too and we had the see it LIVE at the dinner.

It had been a very memorable 08-08-08!!!