Primary One Preparation

This has been a busy week for me. My successor is onboard and I am busy with “teaching” her all the jobs details.

She is a middle age woman with 3 children – 13,15 and 18 years old (2 girls and a boy). She said she used to work Part Time for 8 years when her children were young and now that they are at these ages, she is ready to return to the workforce.

Looking at her is like a mirror image and I do hope that in 10 years time, I would be able to return to workforce fulltime like her, if I am still marketable...hmm..heard that IR is recruiting all the retirees, housewives and people who want to return to work force. So I hope that by then...I still can work as a “BUNNY AUNTY”...haha.

A few days back I collected all the mails from the letterbox. Among the lot was a BIG envelope from TGPS. Yes, it's Anthea Primary School commencement package. Inside the envelope, there are many different forms:

- Anthea has been allocated to Class Primary 1 ASPIRE. (Talks about 缘在A 字头).. : )
- Pupil data form
- Booklist 2009
- GIRO Form
- Uniform list
- Immunisation requirement
- Child name-tag
- Emergency contact form
- Dental form

The orientation is on 17 November 2008 and I am looking forward to the day to buy all the stuff.

Also i need to shop for her school bag. I am considering one of that Ergonomics Bag for her, not sure if anyone has any feedbacks on such bag.

It's going to be a busy November months with so many activities packed in the pipeline and also I am starting work with a new company/new boss/new environment.

With such busy schedule also meant that the month will pass quickly and counting down to Adrian homecoming will be sooner.

快乐周末

On Saturday morning, my farewell gift arrived via local delivery by Takashimaya. It was a 7 pieces WMF cookware. This is the 1st time I own such a branded cookware set...hee : P

2 weeks ago, my colleague who was coordinating the gift told me about the Taka Sale and the WMF cookware was on very special promotion. She asked me if I like to have it as my farewell gift. I thought it was quite a good idea since I am going to be a part time home maker, I will cook more often. Also my current cookwares are quite old, so it was a good chance to change them.

So I went to the sale and checked out the WMF pots and pans. As Adrian also needed something for his induction cooker, so the sauce pan came in handy for him and it's now serving him dutifully.

This is the weekend for our Fairmont Hotel Stay. Thanks to my MIL, we managed to book the room at a very special rate of $140++ and we got complimentary upgraded due to her vouchers.

As this is the Deepavali weekends, we decided to check in on Saturday for the 1 night stay.

After settling my cookware, we left for the MRT to meet my MIL. We were able to check in around 1pm. Our room number was 1728. Both Anthea and Anders was very fascinated with the room and kept playing with the remote control for the windscreen, lights, aircon and the Bose sound system.

Then we proceeded to the Food Court for lunch but to our surprised, the food court was closed for renovation and will open in December 2008. In the end, we had lunch at Sushi Tei.

The children had their afternoon nap after a good lunch. They woke up around 4 pm; my 2nd brother in law's family came by and had their swim by the pool. Anthea and Anders also had a good time by the poolside. The weather was great and we were thankful for the sun as it had been raining since daddy departed for his work trip.

Dinner was at Asia Grand Restaurant at Odeon Towers. It was a very good dinner and we had the house special – Peking duck.

We rested around 10 pm after the families went home. As the children were still quite excited about the stay, we watched Discovery Channel and had a good time. Finally, we slept around 11pm.

This morning, we woke up around 8am and had our breakfast at Toast Box. After resting, we went for a morning swim as requested by both Anthea and Anders.

We checked out around 1pm after lunch at Marina Square food court. My BIL and his wife came by the hotel to fetch us home.

Anthea had requested to settle dinner at home because TV5 is showing High School Musical 2. She does not seem to be tired of watching HSM 1 or 2. She is asking me to bring her to the cinema to watch the movie – High School Musical 3.

It had been nice and relaxing weekends for us and this hotel stay also act as a warm-up packing exercise for me. I will need to pack again this week for our Club Med Bintan trip next Sunday.

MY Farewell Lunch

Today my colleagues arranged a farewell lunch for me at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant @ Dempsey hill. (Finally it's my Farewell turn...: P)

It was my 1st time dinning at this restaurant and I enjoyed the food. We were a table of 10 people. We ordered 2 pitchers of Margaritas – one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic. I had the alcoholic one and it was lime margaritas and it was very refreshing.

(my 1st time drinking margaritas at lunch time, luckily my Boss also drank it, so no worries on getting drunk..haha)

My colleague ordered quite a few dishes and we shared the food as each serving was quite generous.

Food ordered:

- Nachos
- Carne Asada - Campestre Completa Para Tados
- Pork canitas
- Fish burritos
- Snapper dish
- Desserts – Brownie, Tiramisu, Banana fritters
-
All the main course had side dishes. Each dish comes with its own sauce which I find quite interesting. Mexican really loves sauces.

I had a good time sampling all the dishes and the sauce and each has its own distinctive taste.

The place was not too crowded for lunch crowd but I heard my colleague said it is fully booked for dinner.

I enjoyed the sumptuous lunch and most important, the companionship. This will be my final lunch with them, especially with my General Manager and another of my colleagues as they will be on business travel next week.

(my General Manager and another HOD)

I am thankful to the lunch and the farewell gift that my colleagues had organized for me. I know I will remember them for a long, long time.

Oversea NEWS!!

Last evening, I had to chance to msn with Adrian and he was telling me on his current status.

It seems like he had “lost” a chef but gained 1 Master Chef & 1 sou chef for this trip. The best thing is both are staying in connecting room to his room.

They had curry chicken for lunch and dinner yesterday and he sounded very pleased with himself because he helped to PEEL POTATOES and plucked CHICKEN HAIR...haha.

Good thing that Adrian brought the induction cooker as his roommate had agreed to bring along a rice cooker. So their room seems to be the “official Kitchen” now. Adrian also mentioned of the number of premix the guys had bought is plenty. Top of the range is – Bak Ku Teh and they are planning to eat Bak Ku Teh on this weekends.

Then Adrian managed to borrow his roommate's laptop and we connected via MSN video chat. The laptop is very good because this time, we can hear him clearly and also SEE him clearly. Both Anthea and Anders were very happy. Adrian did a brief orientation of his hotel room. It's really very small. : P

It was the very 1st time we managed to chat and see daddy online and I must say, he is really lucky this time round to share room with JJ and the 2 chefs.

Today I received a sms from Siti, my domestic helper. Even though she is back in Indonesia, we still keep in touch via sms. She said she misses her sayang – Anders. Such a coincidence, the other day at lunch, Adrian and my mom was just talking about her and now I get her sms.

I asked about her well-being and guess what .... She is pregnant and should be due next month (If I decipher her sms correctly...hee : ) regardless, I am very happy to hear from her and know that she is doing fine. She is always like a family member to me and I remembered how she takes such good care of the our family.

Hope she will have a smooth delivery and happy motherhood. I know she will be a very good mother, just like she is one to Anders.

这条路。。。

不自不觉已经走了四年。说长不长，说短不短。终于要与 它告别了。

In exactly 7 days, I will be leaving my current company. It's really with a mixed feeling to leave the job after 4 good years with my colleagues. But again, at different stages in our life, we need to make changes to the new routine that is waiting for us in our next move.

4 years ago I joined the company as a Part Time staff working 4 hours a day. 4 years later I am leaving the company because I needed a Part Time job. Some time in life, you just can’t help wondering how each puzzle is mix and match to get the full picture.

I am quite glad that my job puzzles has been quite smooth as each change takes place. I really can't ask for more.

Today in the office, I organized a simple THANK YOU Tea session for my fellow colleagues. I did it this week as a few of them will be travelling next week and some will be on leaves.

During lunch, I went to Pine Garden to pick up the 2 cakes that I ordered on last Saturday. The 2 cakes I ordered were – Lychee Martini and Triple chocolate cake. I also ordered a box Mini Tarts Canapes (30 pieces) from Delifrance.

My colleagues enjoyed both the cakes and some even commented that the Lychee Martini was really special. I am glad that they enjoyed the tea session.

Saying good bye is never easy but in life, there are always Hello and Good-byes.

So to all of my colleagues, i say "Till we meet again someday... 谢谢你们陪我走过这条路。。

飞吧，爸爸！！

2 weeks of “home vacation” had passed by so quickly, today is the day for Adrian to fly back to his 2nd home for his work detachment.

His 2nd trip is longer than the 1st; dates are scheduled from 19 Oct to 30 December 2008. If there is no extension to the dates, he will be home in time to countdown to 2009 and see Anthea starts her Primary 1.

This morning when we were changing to go to the airport, Anders decided that he did not want to go to the airport. Adrian mentioned that he does not want to force Anders to go to the airport, so I was tasked to be home with him. Anthea went along to the airport with her daddy.

My MIL and 2nd Bil family met with Adrian and Anthea at the airport.

Adrian smsed me that his luggage of 27.8kg was cleared, phew..not need to pay extra. A few of his colleagues were not so lucky... : P

The last 2 weeks at home had been fruitful for Adrian, especially learning ONE important survivor skill – COOKING. Now he is quite well equipped with the necessities to cook simple dish.

Today is the beginning of our Trio life (Part 2). I know it's not going to be easy but like Part 1, I will do my best and keep the momentum going on, especially for Anthea and Anders.

三人行下集 从今天又开始了。路好长不过还是要继续走下去。。。大家都要加油！！

“Alarming Discovery”

Under the NTUC Childcare curriculum for K2 children, there is a unit called “Getting Ready for Primary School” and this is aimed at preparing the children for the move to Primary School next year.

This week on Tuesday, 14 October, the childcare arranged to bring the K2 children to TGPS. I was very happy as this is the Primary School that Anthea will be going to in 2009. This will be a good familiarization trip for her. The official orientation falls on 17 November 2008.

The visit involves a tour of the Primary School, meeting relevant people in school and spending time in school. The children also had the chance to buy food from the Tuck-shop as the visit was near to recess time. Each child had a $1 with them to buy food.

On our way home, I asked Anthea about the school visit, she said it was very fun and she had a great time. I know she will like her new “home” for next 6 years.

I asked her: “what did you buy at recess time?” She said “a sandwich and a packet of drink.”

“How much was the sandwich and drink” I asked. Her answer “sandwich is 50 cents and drink is 50 cents.”

“Ok, so this means you used up the $1.” I told her and she said yes.

The next day when I ironed her uniform, I realized that she had 20cents in her pocket. In the evening after dinner, I asked her about the 20cents.

Then she started to think how much was the sandwich and drink. Further questioning lead me to realize that she still does not understand the concept of monies.

I am worried and told Adrian about my concern. Last evening, he spent almost 1.5 hours teaching her about monies.

All these while, she had been doing Math so I would think that she can adapt the monies concept quite easily but I think I was over confidence with her. Luckily she will be starting her English & Math tuition in December 2008.

Some would call me “kiasu” of starting Anthea so early on tuition classes but I know she needed some motivation.

At home, she is playing too many games and watching too much TV. I have to blame myself for these because I really have no time to guide her through her studies. Also I don’t think I can guide her with the correct method. I worried I may end up confusing her further.

A friend who was an ex-teacher also commented that Primary 2 lessons are getting tough, her daughter is in Primary 2 now.

I hope by starting her early, she will be able to adjust to the new learning environment and speed.

My New TURBO Incanto HOB

My current built in hob is Turbo T3309 and it had served me very well throughout its 9 years in the home.

Recently one of the burners decided to go on HOME leave for good and I am left with 2 burners. I managed to survive with the 2 burners while Adrian was away.

So while he is back in SG for the 2 weeks holiday break, we decided to change it.

I had been shopping around for the hob and the sales person had tried to promote me with another brand but somehow, my heart told me to buy Turbo.

Turbo sole agent – Happiness PTE Ltd are having some promotion on Turbo HOBS.
Price of new hob is $428.00 and Trade in value is $360.00 it's a really good deal for a hob.

Their customer service was very good with my queries. I did not need to even go to their showroom to do my purchase. I just placed my order via the phone.

Yesterday, my new Turbo T6309 arrived and is now sitting nice and fittingly on the hob area.

I am very happy that I am now back to operational ready for my new venture to becoming a PTSAHM and try making lunch boxes recipes for Anthea when she starts Primary 1 in 2 months time.

I am waiting patiently for my next arrival of new kitchenware...akan dating...: )

他“放弃”了我们。。

This is his only SUNDAY with the family and I finally realized my importance in his mind.

Today we had lunch with my parents to catch up with his 2 months away from home. Last night we had dinner with HIS families.

In the evening I was tired and don't feel like eating out. Well, I would assume/presume that he would want to spend his Sunday dinner with US as a family. I think he still does not put US as his top priority. He had chosen HIS Families over us.

I am totally disappointed but from this, I know that I HAVE to learn to be more INDEPENDENT from now onwards.

我们三人会好好的过接下来的日子！！

Club Med Inaugural Getaways

I will be leaving my current job on 31 October and planning to take a week break before starting my new appointment.

I am planning to take a short getaway with Anthea and Anders on the 1st week of November. Adrian will be leaving for his 2nd work trip on 19 October.

I did some research on Club Med as I have heard very positive feedbacks on the resorts. Also we had not been to any Club Med resorts so I thought “why not give it a try.”

One of my colleagues has a personal friend who works in Club Med and she managed to “Connect” us.

When I did the initial enquiry about Club Med Cherating / Bintan. I was recommended by Elaine, the consultant, to go Bintan since I am alone with 2 children. I was happy with her proposal and she gave me the offer package:

This package price show price per person and includes the following:

Return ferry tickets
Accommodation
Sumptuous buffet Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with free flow of red and white wine, beer and beverages during Lunch and Dinner
Bar and Snacking Inclusive **
All sport activities with expert tuition
Kids Club (4 - 11 years)
Travel Insurance - Membership is effective for one year, commencing on the date of payment of deposit. Membership renewal is valid for one year from the date of payment.
Nightly entertainment

The best deal is there is a 50% discount on 2nd person (adult/child). I shared with my families regarding the Special promotion and my Parents in law are confirmed joining us for the getaway.
This will also be our last window of opportunity to go vacationing on our own Free & easy schedule, starting 2009 we will need to follow SCHOOL HOLIDAYS Clubbers...haha.

We are booked and confirmed for our Inaugural Club Med vacation from 2 – 6 November. I told Anthea and Anders about the getaway and they were excited about taking Ferry.

I had been to Bintan many times but this is my (ours) 1st time staying in a Club Med resort. Honestly looking at the kid's club program and the resort facilities, I am quite excited about the trip.

Looking forward to the Sun, Sand and Sea.

缘在A 字头

Last week I wrote in for a job which was advertised on Jobstreet by a job agency – Adecco. The consultant in charge of this job is by the name of Angelina Ng.

These few months, I had been trying my luck writing in to various online job advertisements but so far, the result was not too good.

With these experienced in mind, I didn't pin too much hope when I wrote in for this position. However, I was shortlisted by the consultant and went for the job interview last Thursday.

My effort pays off finally. I had been officially offered the job and will start work with my new employer on 10 November 2008. I wanted to take a break before I start work with them.

I went to Adecco to sigh my employment contract yesterday and the offer made to me was better than what I had bargained for.

I am moving from a Dutch MNC to a US MNC, hopefully the culture change will not be too drastic.

My linked with Adecco started in 2004 when they managed to get me a contract job with Garuda Indonesia Airlines after I was retrenched from my previous job. At that time, I was about 7 months pregnant with Anders and to get a job was a real blessing.

It seems liked 4 years later, we are fated to be in partnership again and I am grateful for this opportunity.

I am now looking forward to my DREAM of becoming a Part Time SAHM and be there for Anthea when she starts her Primary School in 2009.

I had a lot support from Adrian when i am pursing this Dream and i really am thankful that he is forever giving me the assurance. Thanks Dear.

Also my families members who has also been giving me words of encourgement when they know about my plan to change job next year.

Of course, to all my blogging friends who had also given me practical advice and some even gave me HOPES when i was feeling down. 谢谢!

眼前所拥有的不是理所当然， 我会好好地珍惜。我真的好幸福.

“Trainee Cook”

Adrian is now very keen to learn some simple recipes for his next working trip.

For the recent trip, he was quite lucky to stay with the Master Chef in the same hotel. The “CHEF” will usually cook some local dishes for the group who stayed there. Everyone will contribute their share for buying the ingredients.

Good things don’t last, for his return trip – the CHEF is staying in a different hotel. So now Adrian is trying to find some ways to be able to cook on his own.

So today we went to source for some cooking utensil – he needed an induction cooker. We went to NTUC XTra to look at the range of different induction cookers. Then we went to the hardware shop to look around for the pots and at the shop, the sale person gave us a better insight of what kind of cooking pot to get. We learnt a lot about induction cooker and pots today.

Then we went to NTUC Xtra to buy those premix seasoning and some ingredient as Adrian want to try cooking.

For a person who had NEVER Cook rice or any dishes before, this is quite a HISTORICAL moment. I let him take over my kitchen for ½ hour.

He started cooking his 1st Hainan Chicken rice. The end result was quite positive.
Both Anthea and Anders ate Daddy's chicken rice while both of us eat the tingkat dinner.

Both of them were full of praises for Daddy's cooking and it really gave daddy the confidence votes that he needed.

Now that he can cook this recipe and he will be trying other recipes taught by my SIL, Eve, within these 2 weeks and hopefully when he is back in Country X, he can cook a simple meal for himself.

爸爸回来了！！

This morning when we woke up, Anthea was very excited and told me : “mommy, I am very happy because papa is coming home today.”

Anders also said to me: “mommy, it's a great day, papa is coming home and he will buy DS for me.” Anders had been asking Adrian to buy him a DS for the 2 months for he is away... : P

In the morning, I went around with my usual household chores and prepared a simple home cooked noodles for the children.

We had an early afternoon nap as we were targeting to leave for the airport around 3.30pm.

The flight was on time to arrive at 1615 hrs and my PIL's came by to our place to fetch us around 3.45pm.

We reached the airport around 4.15pm and the flight had landed. We were all waiting anxiously at the arrival belt. My 2nd BIL and his family were there as well and they even prepared a welcome home card for Adrian.

As for the Aces family, we prepared a welcome home bouquet for daddy. It had Ferrero rocher chocolates bundled with the artificial flowers. (Probably we can recycle it for daddy next homecoming...haha.)

While all our eyes were looking at the arrival belt for Adrian, he suddenly appeared behind all of all. We were all so shocked and surprised. Of course, hugs were all over and tears of joy from me.

I am glad that he is home, even though it is just for 2 short weeks, his presence still means a lot to us, especially for Anthea and Anders.

Then we proceeded for early dinner at the SAF Yatch Club. A nice place for family dining. The only minus point is there are too many flies around. According to the waitress, it's because of the fishing point.

Anyway, we had a relax and enjoyable meal. Adrian had a good chance to catch up with my PILs, Louis and Eve, of course his favorite niece.

回家的感觉真好，尤其是你心爱的人！！

AGONIES!!!

In the afternoon my MIL smsed me to ask if I need her to fetch Anders. From her sms, I sensed that she might be tight up. So I called her and indeed she was busy with some family commitment and can’t help me to look after Anders while I brought Anthea for her lesson.

It was about 3.30pm that I got her sms so immediately I woke Anders up from his afternoon nap to get ready to go out with us. Anthea was changed and ready to set off.

We left our home around 4.10 pm and made it just in time at 4.30pm for her lesson. Phew !!!

While Anthea was in class, I brought Anders to Junction 8 to shop for a gift. A good friend and ex-colleague of mine, Jean, had recently delivered a baby boy. So I bought a small gift for Baby Job and had the shop arranged for delivery on next Tuesday, 07 Oct, 2-5pm, to Jean's house.

Since BHG was having some great sale, I thought I should buy a toy for Anders. So he chose a remote control car.

After our shopping spree, we went to fetch Anthea from her class and met up with the families for dinner at Crystal Jade in J8.

My FIL will usually help to walk my little niece around the dining area while my BIL's had their dinner. When my FIL came back, he was holding a small shopping bag for my little niece and when Anthea saw it, her immediate reaction was : “yeye, my turn next...” by this, she meant that my FIL must buy a gift for her.

I was very angry at her response and told her off immediately. She was upset and started to show me her BLACK FACE. I told her that her attitude was wrong and she must NEVER think that she MUST have everything that people has.

She started to tear a little and her eyes turned right. I almost wanted to bring them home immediately as it had been a very lousy afternoon for me.

When we reached home, I scolded her once more for being so self-centre and always think of herself. I hope she understand my message to her.

TWO Good Things

In the morning I went to work as usual and decided to take ½ day off to attend to the Two GOOD things of the DAY :

1. The wedding lunch of Sing Lee & Yeong Ming.

Andrea is just like a sister to me and we had known each other since secondary one. Her family is just like my family, so how can I miss such an important occasion. SL is the youngest sister of Andrea and I had seen her grow up since she was a kid. Now she is getting married and starting her own family.

I arrived at the bride house around 11.40am and they had just finished the Tea Ceremony and were waiting for the buffet lunch to be ready.

I had a good chat with Andrea and her mom. Her mom was very happy that I could be presence and kept introducing me as her “二女儿”. They kept inviting me for the wedding banquet but i rejected as there is no one to take care of Anthea and Anders. Being able to attend the lunch is already good enough for me.

I had a good lunch and it was a very nice family gathering as I can see all the relatives sitting around and chatting happily. For a weekday wedding and yet almost 90% of the relatives had shown for the Tea Ceremony. I would say that her family is closely knitted.

2. My Next Move

I had a job interview arranged by one of the employment agency at 2pm. So I left Andrea house after the lunch and headed to my interview.

About this job - Admin Assistant (Half- day for 5 days week). Location – Novena.

This is my DREAM job and work location.

So I went all prepared for the interview. It went quite well and actually it was more like a chit chat session, rather than interview. None the less, I dare not take it too lightly. When the interview ended, the interviewer mentioned that he will get back to the employment agency by next week for the outcome. I was prepared for any rejection.

In the late afternoon, the consultant called me and asked me on feedbacks on the interview. I told her all the details and to my surprised – she said I had left a good impression to the interviewer and stands a good chance to get the job.

I was happy to hear her comment but again will keep my options open as nothing signed means nothing is confirmed. I will wait till next Monday to get the confirmation.

2 good things happened in a day and I know I can't asked for more...hee : P

Meanwhile I will enjoy my weekends and look forward to daddy's homecoming.

Happy Children Day & Hari Raya Holiday

完美自我

My last visit to the salon to rebond and colored my hair was on 1 May 2008. Since Adrian is working oversea, I hardly had any ME time, less talk about “overhauling” myself.

After F1 encounter, I know I must keep myself up to a good standard. Looking at those SingTel PYT (Pretty young things), I can't help but told myself; I must maintain myself...haha.

Just jiving lah..Since it is a Hari Raya holiday, I can engage my MIL's help for a few hours to look after Anthea and Anders while I went to color and trim my hair.

My Dearest will be home this Sunday and I want him to see a 美美的我.

While I was at the salon, I received a sms from one of my long time “sister” Andrea. She asked me about the Chinese wedding customary. Her youngest sister is getting married tomorrow. She even asked me to go to her place for the wedding lunch. Now I am seriously considering taking a day off to attend to her lunch and also running some errands... : P

Counting Down Days

Today is the 1st day of October and it is also the countdown of my working days with my current employer. I have decided to leave the company and my last working day is 31 October, Friday.

After which I may do some temp jobs while looking for my Part Time opportunity. My colleague has questioned me about losing my AWS but I told her it's opportunity cost. Also I am not earning a lot and I will claim my AWS from my Home Minister...haha.

Now I am in ORD Gear, the feeling is actually quite good and I am looking forward to doing things that I like. These 2 months of Nov/Dec lines up quite a fair bit of things to do in preparation for Anthea Primary 1 in 2009.

Bento Collections

Dinner was at Sakae Sushi in Wheelock place with my PIL and youngest BIL. As usual, we had a great meal and good companionship. The reason for eating there is actually for me to go Borders to pick up a book that I had reserved yesterday. I had borrowed this book – Kids’ healthy lunchbox by Care hobday and find it very useful for my preparation of lunch box for Anthea. I decided to buy the book and called Borders to check if they have this book and indeed, they had it and I BOUGHT it.

Then we went to shop in Tangs before having dessert at Mac Café. Both anthea and Anders had a good time with their apple juice and chocolate sundae. Like what Anthea say: “it's Children day, so we must be Happy”. How true and wise her words are...haha.

Indeed, it has been a Happy Children Day and Hari Raya holiday for us.