How are we doing?

Last year this weekend, it was a sad Saturday for us as Siti, our domestic helper returned home for good.

For the past one year, we are still in contact with Siti via SMSes; she will send us messages to say how much she misses Anders. I do hope that she will have her own children real soon; I know she will be a very dedicated mother.

Time really passed so quickly, it has been a year that we had been without a domestic helper. How are we faring? So far, I think I AM doing fairly ok with my new multi-tasking skills at home – being a maid & mother.

Housework chores are endless and fetching the children to and back from childcare centre is also very tiring. Luckily for me, I do not need to cook as we ordered Tingkat dinner delivery. Also my mom comes once a week to help me with some house chores which I am always THANKFUL of.

With all these daily routines, sometimes I do miss Siti as she is such a wonderful helper to have.

Since day 1, she does the household chores on her own schedules; I don’t need to give her any timetable.

She cooks whatever I buy and we eat whatever she cooks – no complaints.

She loves the children like her own, so that was why I managed to returned to workforce and leave Anders under her care.

If I ever get a domestic helper, will I be so lucky again…: P

Expensive Lesson

Eversince we had our own family car in 2006, i took refresher course to polish on my driving and parking skills.

So far, driving the car is not difficult as it is an auto car. I do had some problems when parking as my judgement is still not up to par. So whenever the car is available, i will take the opportunity to drive, in order to keep improving my skills.

Yesterday as Adrian was on leave, so i drove to work as per normal. I was also planning to bring back a laptop to test its wireless function. (I am actually typing this entry on the office laptop). So with the car, it was more convenient to bring it back.

After work, i drove back and as normal enter our multi level car park to park the car. I was doing the reverse and i sweared that i had looked very carefully to ensure that the car was in the correct angle and away from the pillar. So with this assurance, i reversed slowly and surely into the lot. Then suddenly there was a small "BANG"...*sh*t*...i thought to myself - hopefully nothing major. So i drove out and adjust the parking and finally when the car was parked. I went to checked on the damages.

Sigh...the side hit the pillar and the bumper was a bit damage with the paint work also destroyed. I told adrian of the "accident" when i reached home and he went to check the car. I told him that we can send it to any of the car workshop in SIN MING Automart to do the repair but he said he does not trust those unreliable source. So he insisted on sending it back to Borneo workshop.

Needless to say, I had to pay a hefty sum for this lesson...sigh. (WE should have gone to any AH Beng car workshop because i really think it's pointless to pay so much just for a simple repair!!)

Anyone has a good car mechanic to recommend? i will put it in my list to standby...hee : P

Financial Independence

One of my colleagues is a high earner. The other day we were chatting about our children primary school after school care provider. She has 2 daughters and the eldest is the same age as Anthea.

I told her that my ideal plan is to work ½ day morning and be able to look after Anthea after school, if she is in morning session. Otherwise we have to work out other options .

She said her husband also asked her to work part time or quit her job. He felt that she should spend more time with her daughters, guiding them in the education.

She said: “No, I do not want to give up what I am earning now, unless my husband can match it. “
She said : “ I am enjoying my financial independence and I can buy what ever I like and I want, no need to ask my husband permission. “

I was thinking – indeed, ask any mommies - who do not want this kind of independence. But when it is your CHILD versus MONEY, I think the answer is quite obvious. There are exceptions, of course.

For our family,if we were to rely on Adrian sole income, it will be a bit taxing on him. I don’t earn much but enough to support my own insurance policies and also builds up on children education funds.

In Singapore, we are considered lucky as we are able to employ maids to look after our children or send our children to after school care services. So working mommies still have the options to remain in workforce.

To work or not to work – that’s a question for me, comes 2009 !!

"Lobangs"- “ 特惠家族”

This is a weekends of "Lobangs" for the family.

Friday's Lobang : Anthea's 1st Tooth drops

In the evening, when I reached home, Anthea told me "mommy, I want to show you something.” Then she showed me the thing. It took me a while to find the thing as it was quite camouflaged among the papers. Finally I saw it...it was one of her Front tooth and it has finally dropped. It has been shaky for the last few weeks and there is few more now waiting to come out. So that her permanent teeth will start to set in.

Saturday Lobangs: 3 Crabs @ Jumbo NSRCC

My extended families and we are great supporters of any discount vouchers or restaurants that had special card promotions because we dined out on weekends. Last Saturday we went all the way to Jumbo Seafood restaurant @ NSRCC in Changi, simply because my PIL had a $50 discount vouchers which can be used at selected outlets. We were a table of 10 + 1 infant. We ordered 3 CRABS (steam, chilli & pepper – my personal preference is still the steam crab). This is the 1st time our families ordered 3 crabs instead of the usual 2. It was a very good crabby meal with other nice dishes.

Then what happened next is really our “catch” – the captain gave us another $100 cash certificates for our next visit to ANY Jumbo restaurants. And the plus point is no minimum orders required, so you can use on any amount for your bill. FIL already made plan that we shall eat at Jumbo@Dempsey as this will be their latest outlet due to open on 21 April 2008. This time I think we can make it 4 CRABS… : )

Sunday Lobangs: My Dinner Dress & UOB Voucher

As mentioned in my previous blog that I would need to get a decent evening dress for the wedding dinner. After a good prata breakfast and coffee. I told Adrian that I would like to visit Celia Loe’s boutique @ Thomson Plaza. Also we can do our groceries shopping at NTUC and have lunch at the food court. So it is hitting 3 birds with a stone.

Down the memory lane a little – I bought my ROM Dress from Celia Loe’s boutique almost 10 years ago. And also I bought a dinner dress from Celiana for my best friend – Cindy’s wedding dinner. So whenever I need a nice and classy dinner dress, I would consider Celia Loe’s boutique.

Back to shopping, so at the shop, I tried a few dresses recommended by the Sales associates and Anthea. After trying them, it seem that all felt that the 1st dress was the best match for the occassion,. When I saw the price tag, I had 2nd thoughts but Adrian said to go ahead. The sales associate seems to read my mind and asked if we had HSBC Card as there is a 10% discount.

I remembered that my MIL has a HSBC Card, so Adrian tried calling her and asked her for the favor. However I knew that she was babysitting my little niece, so I told Adrian, we can reserved the dress and come back on a weekday. Then later Adrian received a call from my BIL and he said he was on the way to meet us but as the Car park at the plaza was full, they could not drive in. Arrangement was made for my SIL to meet us at the boutique to make the payment for us. I was so grateful and thankful for their immediate activation to our call…and paiseh to make them rush down just to pay for the dress… : P

Due to their kindness, we enjoyed the 10% discount for the dress. I think it’s still a bit expensive but luckily recently we received our ERS from the Govt, so it helps to bring down the guilt level. Now that I bought my dress, I would need to buy a pair of matching shoes...hee : P

Dinner was at Crystal Jade Golden Restaurant @ Paragon as my FIL had the UOB $50 redemption voucher. (Didn’t I say we are STRONG SUPPORTERS Of vouchers). As usual the food quality was very good and we had an enjoyable dinner.

At Paragon Metro, I managed to get a pair of shoes for Anthea to match her dinner dress, so her mission is accomplished.

We took a stroll at the basement of Paragon and surprisingly there was an Ah-Mei Café in the building. We had cups of teas and chat at the café. Everyone is now very excited and looking forward to the event of the year.

Counting Down (UP) !!

Wedding:
“Mommy, how many more days to Uncle Terence and Cherry jie jie wedding? “ Anthea has been asking Adrian and myself this question often, after she bought the dress & Tiara. I think she is the one looking more forward to the wedding than anyone else...hee : P

“Today is 10 April 2008; it is exactly 30 days to Uncle Terence’s wedding.” I told her. Her face brightens up. This reminds me that I also need to go and get myself a decent dress for the wedding dinner. I heard that all the men in the family are going to be Suited Up. So as the 大嫂 of the wedding couples, I must also look presentable. Now what should I wear?? Ps: Adrian had suggested that I get a pink dress to match Anthea’s dress. I don’t know if this is a good idea… : P (伤脑筋)

So this weekend, I must start shopping, shopping & shopping.

ERP:
Extract from Mr. Brown:

“I wonder if you know, how they live in Toa Payoh
Please lah tolong, only Lorong. Not Expressway also tio!
Fast and furious! (Kena!) (Beep! beep! beep!)
Spread like virus! (Aiyah!) (beep! beep! beep!)”

Starting this Monday, if I drive to work, I will kena this “Beep” as my office is in Toa Payoh. So now I will need to plan my TIME strategy. I have decided that on those days if I am driving, I will try to time myself to reach the ERP Gantry after 9 am. This means I will be a bit late for work but will stay back longer to compensate for the time lost. My working hours are 9 am to 5 pm. So 5 minutes +/- should be alright with my Boss… I hope.

A DOLLAR A DAY is a lot, especially nowadays prices of everything and anything is going UP & UP…sigh. $ 1 x 5 days = $5 x 4 weeks = $20.

Add another few dollars can buy a tin of Abbott Growth milk for Anthea, u say leh…it’s really “牛车轮” to me.

Happy MacFun Party

Today is the birthday party celebration for Anthea in her childcare centre with her classmates. They are in K2 and this will be their final year together as classmates. Comes 2009, they will go to different Primary schools, some may still be school mates, and some may not.

So the best way for her to have a memorable 6th birthday is to Party with her Friends. I took a day off and Adrian was on leave too. The Mac Fun party was scheduled to start in the afternoon. So in the morning, I managed to complete some tasks.

Task 1 – medical checkup. I used to do annual medical checkup when I was working with my previous company as the company subsidized such claims. Ever since I was retrenched in 2003, I stop doing so. After giving birth to Anders, I would still have review with my gynae in 2004. Then I stopped going for medical checkup. Recently I found out that there is a NTUC Medicare Family clinic in AMK Hub and they offered some screening package, so I decided to give it a try. Today, I did the advanced health screening, Blood test & Pap Smear. The result will be out in a week and I will return to the clinic for review.

Task 2 – couple times with Adrian. Since we had children, we hardly can manage couples times during weekends, so usually we will rendezvous on a weekday during our off day. After my medical checkup, we had lunch together at Botak Jones @AMK Ave 10. Adrian ordered the Ribeye steak and I had the Lamp with rosemary sauce. We shared a Caesar salad. It was an enjoyable and relaxing lunch. Adrian mentioned that we hardly had chance for a peaceful meal like this...hee : P

Task 3 – photographs developing. After a good lunch, I went to the HUB to run some errands. I managed to developed photographs stored in the SD Cards. It is always handy to have copies as the children childcare will at times request for family photos.

Task 4 – THE PARTY CELEBRATION!!

At 2.30 pm, I went by to the childcare to wait for the MacDonald party staff. Adrian went to collect the birthday cake. The party staff arrived around 2.45 pm to set up for the party.

It started with the Happy Meals – as it was the children snack time, so they started with the food. Each child had pre-selected their own choice of main/side and drink. So the party staff handled them their orders according to the list that was provided to them. The children had a good time eating their Happy Meals. Anders also joined in Anthea’s class for the meal.

After enjoying the food, they proceeded to the centre multipurpose room for the game session. The party staff started with a warm up game called the Action Game. When the staff shouted a certain actions, the children have to follow her action. It was quite fun to see the children following orders and some even got “lost” during the commands.

After the warm up session, they were divided into 2 teams. So the teacher told them to follow their usual RED / BLUE team in class.

The 1st game they played was Pass the Balloon Game. They had so much fun at this game and the whole room was full of their cheers “oh...we win…we win.”

The 2nd game played was the Pyramid game. Small cups were given to each team and they were supposed to build a tall pyramid with all the cups. Both teams put in so much effort in building the pyramid and Teamwork was the emphasis of this game.

The 3rd and last game played was the Fruits game. 2 children were given the same fruit name. And each time when a fruit name was called, they need to find an empty space to sit down. When someone shouted “fruit ball”, all must changed seats. It was really fun to see them played the game and enjoying themselves so much. Ms Loh also joined in the last game.

After the game session was completed, it was cake cutting ceremony. Anthea had requested a Sleeping Beauty Princess cake. So I ordered a 2 kg cake for her to share with her classmates and teachers.

Her classmates sang the English and Chinese version of the birthday song for her. She was very happy. After eating the cakes, it was time for her to give the happy meals toys to her classmates. Ms Loh made her present each toy to her classmate personally and they even had a handshake with each other. It was like an award ceremony. Each child had a Macdonald balloon too but Ms Loh said she will give them when they are going home.

It was a very well coordinated party and all the children had so much fun. Anthea was a very Happy Birthday girl and a Happy Host. I am glad we had this birthday celebration for her and I know she will remember it for a long, long time.

Happy 6th Birthday to Anthea

Anthea turns 6th years old on 09 April. We decided to have a small dinner birthday celebration for her on Sunday with the families.

My eldest brother has kindly given me a $50 Tung Lok voucher, so needless to say, the dinner is held at one of the Tung Lok’s group. Seem like we are BIG share holders of Tung Lok restaurant.

After some discussion with Adrian, we choose Lao Bei Jing located at Novena Square.
Mainly the place is near to Toy R Us in United Square, I know from experienced that the doting grandfather will usually bring his grandchildren to Toy R Us to shop for their presents. Actually yesterday, they did go to United Square but to shop for her shoes for Terence’s wedding dinner.

According to my FIL, there was a very nice pair of shoes for her but it was 1 size bigger, so they will try another shop, another day. Seem like the shoes is the one that is more difficult to get instead of the dress...haha. What a surprise it is to me.

I booked a table for 12 adults + 1 infant at 老北京. Since I arrived earlier while the rest were either shopping/ on the way or in church. I took the initiative to order the meals. After some good recommendations from the Captain, I managed to order a few dishes & a Peking Duck.

(this is a prawn in crusty nest dish,SIL commented that it looks like water flowing out,good symbol)

We had a sumptuous dinner with a bottle of red wine. As usual I enjoyed my dinner because of good companionship. Anthea was also having a good time, ever eager to open her presents and also showing off her new bought Tiara. Before dinner, she even asked me to wear it for her. I told her the Tiara should be reserved for Uncle Terence’s wedding.

After dinner, we had the cake cutting and this round I ordered a 1 kg Black Forest cake. Her Princess cake will be shared with her classmates during her party. During the cake cutting, Anthea even asked Da giu to dim the light as we were in a private room, luckily the other table of dinners had left the room, so we had the whole room to ourselves.

Anthea received some story books from her Uncle Louis,Aunty Eve and Faith mei mei.
When we were home, she started on the 1st book for her bedtime reading. As for Uncle Terence & Cherry, they still owe her One..haha.

As usual ah pao & da giu gave her ang pows which mommy here will deposit to her saving account.

It was a Happy Birthday celebration for my little Princess and happiness was all over her face.

Dearest Anthea,

Happy 6th Birthday to you and may you be filled with Happiness everyday .

Love,
Daddy, mommy & di di.

(ps: during dinner, i had a photographer in training..and below are some of the photos he took.. : P )

Flower Girl In Waiting

This morning after a good breakfast of home baked chicken pie and cup of brewed coffee. I told Adrian that we should go & shop for Anthea dress for Terence wedding. Adrian claimed that it's too early. I told him it's ok, better to start early than till the last minute, in case, we really can't find anything that Anthea likes. (ps: i am not being Kiasu, just being careful...)

We arranged with my MIL & SIL with her little darling to have lunch in Toa Payoh hub. We had Ichiban sushi for lunch and then we headed to Kiddy Palace to shop for Anthea's dress. I know that Anthea may or may not eventually be the Flower Girl, subject to the wedding couples final decision. Since this will be very FIRST TIME to be a flower girl, so i thought that she should get a nice dress. Even if she is not a Flower Girl, she will still be dress to the occassion.. : )

When we reached the dresses department, it was such an easy choice. Anthea saw one dress from the rack & she said she wanted that dress. So i took 2 different sizes for her to try and when she wear it..i know it was the RIGHT DRESS. She looks simply "stunning" in the dress. It was pink in color as requested by the wedding couples. Then we managed to get her a Tiara as requested by Anthea, herself.. : P

We tried to get a pair of matching shoes but can't find her size. So we had to try to look for it another day.

It was a Fruitful trip and i know that my girl will be very happy and proud to show off herself on the actual wedding day.

After shopping, we went home for the children's nap. In the evening, we met up with my PILS and SIL with Faith for dinner at Zhou's Kitchen @ Far East Square (again!!) haha..seem like this is one of our regular hangout at the moment.

Anders had a good time bonding with Faith,his little cousin, playing 'hide & seek'. It always send a smile on my face when i see my little niece smiling and laughing away. It's so contagious !! Now that she is learning to be more vocal, her voice can be heard so clearly..hee : )

Anthea and Anders wanted to have ice cream after dinner, so we tried to look for a dessert outlet around the area but seem like there isn't a cafe that was opened. In the end, we saw this new Japanese restaurant - Shin Kushiya and it serves Japanese ice-cream. So we settled down at the restaurant and ordered the ice cream. Much to our surprised, the desserts that we ordered - Azuki Parfait (red bean ice cream), Uji Matcha Parfait (green tea ice cream) and Satsuma imo macha ice (green tea ice cream with jap sweet potatoes) were all very delicious. We had a good time sampling all the different favours. Yummy !!!

(a quick preview of Anthea in her dress and tiara, i have requested for my SIL to do her make up on the actual day.)

Anders 4th Year Old Assessment

On Wednesday I brought Anders to the Polyclinic for his 4th year old assessment. The nurse did a routine check on his vision and tested him on his motor skills as well. After that she referred us to the doctor and he did another round of check on his medical condition.

We were given an OK for the check up and his next review will be till he starts primary school. The only remark that left a bit of concern is – Anders is underweight. He falls below the 50%.

I believe it could be due to the recent holiday that he lost a fair bit of weight. During the trip, he didn’t eat much. I must admit that this boy is quite a typical “china boy”, he prefer Asian cuisine to Western meals. He prefers noodles and rice over fish & chips / spaghettis. I do hope he will grow to like other types of food than just Asian food.

Now that we are back to our normal routine, I will make sure he eats and eats…hee
: P

To me, the most important thing is he is healthy and happy.

Recently, my SIL blogged about kids saying the darnest thing…here goes one of my own recent encounter with Anthea:

Anthea: “mommy, I don’t know what to name my baby.”

Me: “why is that so? “

Anthea: “all the names are already taken by my friends and also the princesses (these princesses are from Barbie stories.)

Me : “dear, not to worry, when you have a baby, you will sure know what you want to name your baby.”

Anthea: “ok…”

I know i will have more of this kind of conversations as she is maturing into a little girl.. : 0

Gyming ~ Cupcakes

Last Friday, my sister in law attended a Cupcakes baking class at Shermay’s cooking school. The Aces family has the honored of sharing the “cups” of her labour. On Sunday morning, we had cupcakes for breakfast and they were delicious. I simply love the Nutella cupcakes.

Also on Sunday morning, Adrian went with my PIL’s for Qing Ming Prayers to our grandparents. He brought home the famous Tanjong Rhu Bao, fruits and drinks. So we had the minis叉烧包 and 肉包 at breakfast too... : P

After a good breakfast, we decided to bring Anthea and Anders to the Kid’s gym at Safra Toa Payoh. Adrian had mentioned this gym a few times whenever Anthea and Anders played at the Macdonald children play area. He said the gym is much bigger than Macdonald and true enough, it was BIG. Anthea and Anders had so much fun at the gym. The price is very reasonable at $4.00 per child. It can be used for the whole day during opening hours.

While the children were at the kid’s gym, I took the opportunity to go to the Energy One gym at the club. Adrian is a member and he has some Complimentary guest passes. The gym is also very big and had many types of equipment. I had a good workout.

After our gym sessions, we left the club and went to the Macdonald Drive Thru to buy Happy Meals for the children for their lunch.

In the afternoon, the children had their power nap before meeting my PIL for dinner. We had dinner at Jumbo Seafood by the River walk. My youngest BIL - Terence and his GF, Cherry joined us. During the dinner, there were so many discussions on their upcoming wedding in May 2008.

It is a BIG family affair and Anthea is looking forward to being the Flower Girl for the wedding march in (if there is no change in the plan...hee : )

Terence had suggested for Anders to be their Rings bearer but I have reservation on this request. I know Anders is a shy boy and he may not be able to perform to the task. Now they are considering another alternative or may not even has one... : P

Gold Coast - Ultimate Theme Parks Trio

We are back from our Ultimate Gold Coast Paradise experience. It has been a very enjoyable and wonderful family holiday. Many 1st times experience for our family and also we learn a lot more for our travel pattern.

Now it’s time to do our Aces family ATR (after tour review) and hope that it will be a good sharing experience with our family & friends.

Day 1: Good Friday, 21 March - Singapore → Brisbane (QF 52) Dep: 2105 / Arr :0655 hr

This is my 1st time travelling on Qantas flight and I must say – the service was very good. The air stewards were very friendly and served with sincerity. The service crew was made up of about 90% male and 10% female. It was a 6 hours flight. There was a menu cum journey planner given to all passengers. It indicated the schedule for the 6 hours flight and also the supper and continental breakfast menu was provided. Both Anthea and Anders had child meal requested for the flight.

The children enjoyed the In-flight entertainment which had all their favorite movies – Enchanted, Mr. Bean, Disney Playhouse and games as well. Luckily they managed to catch a few hours of sleep on the plane.

Day 2: Saturday, 22 March - G’day Brisbane → Sea World

Upon arrival at Brisbane International Airport, we proceeded to the Coachtrans counter for our seat-in coach transfer to our hotel, Courtyard Marriott. It was about 10 am when we reached the hotel and the room was not ready. So we decided to do our SeaWorld tour. As we had the 5 days Super Pass, we had unlimited door to door coach transfers to the Theme Parks and unlimited use of the local Gold Coast bus network. We got directions from the hotel concierge and we were on the bus to Sea World.

In Sea World, we managed to watch the Fish Detective Sea Lion Show. Anthea and Anders also saw Dolphins swimming in the Dolphin Nursery. Then we went to the All New Sesame Street beach for all the children rides.Both of them enjoyed the different rides. Then we took the cable car to the Aquarium and see the Dugong. We had 3 hours of fun at the park and then returned to the hotel for our check in.

Courtyard Marriott is centrally located along Surfers Paradise and there is a main shopping mall by the hotel. Hard Rock café is also located by the hotel.

The room that we had was very spacious and we had 2 queen sized beds in the room. Every room had a private balcony. Noticed that all hotels and service apartments in Gold Coast come with a Balcony, I reckon people simply love the sun and the sea.

After checking in, the children had a short nap before we headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, we took a walk along the street and I am quite surprised and pleased that shops in Surfers Paradise do not closed at 5pm, like those in Perth & Melbourne. Matter of fact, there are so many 24 hours conveniences stores and also late night pubs.

On the way back, we even had Baskin Robbins ice cream and the children simple love the kid’s cone. Then we went back to the hotel to rest for the night.

Day 3: Sunday, 23 March - Gold Coast → Paradise Country Farm

We had booked a morning tour to the Paradise country farm. After a sumptuous hotel buffet breakfast, we were picked up by the coach to the Paradise Country farm. At the farm, Anthea and Anders had the chance to see Koalas and hand fed the Kangaroos. They even had chance to feed milk to the baby sheep’s via the milk bottles. It was a lot of fun for them. Then we saw farm shows – Billy tea making, stock horse, and sheep shearing and finally boomerang throwing display. Lunch was included and we had BBQ steak and chicken. It was indeed a “Paradise Experience” for the family.

After the 3 hours tour of the farm, we returned to the hotel. The children had their power nap before heading to the swimming pool for a quick water play. The sun in Australia is very scorching and sun block is a must.

Dinner was Japanese noodles at a noodle outlet very near to the hotel. Then we bought some supper back to the room to enjoy life. We had pizzas and chicken burgers. There is a pizza outlet that sells pizza by slice and each coast AUD$2.80. Consider quite a good deal and there were many selections. There are many fastfood outlet around the hotel, so getting food is not a problem.

Day 4: Monday, 24 March - Gold Coast → Movie World

After a good hotel breakfast, we went to a designated bus stop to wait for our coach to Movie World. This is a day of Action packed fun. We started with Batman Adventure – the Ride 2. Anthea and Anders had so much fun with the simulated ride and were all geared up for more. Then we watched Shrek 4D Adventure show. It was a real thrilled for the children to watch 4D shows. Then we went around the Kids Fun zone and they both had fun going on the different rides.

We had lunch in the park and for a kid’s meal that we ordered, we had a Batman mask.
After lunch, we watched the Street Parade and the children were so happy to see all the familiar characters up close and personal – Batman, Wonder Woman, Sylvester & Tweety, Bugs Bunny and many more. What a Treat for the eyes!!

After the parade, we carried on with a few more adventure rides before we ended our day and returned to our hotel. They went for a quick swim before we had dinner in the room. The children slept early after a full day of fun.


Day 5: Tuesday, 25 March - Gold Coast → Dream World

This is supposed to be our Free & Easy day, so we decided to go ahead with a tour to the Dream World.

Upon arrival at the Dream World, we took a ride on the train to the Australian Wildlife Experience. Anthea and Anders had chance to see Kangaroos and Koalas at this place. Then we headed to the Tiger Island and saw some white tigers. We had lunch at the theme park. After that, the children had some fun on the rides.

We ended our tour around 3pm and returned to the hotel. Children went to the pool again before dinner. I managed to squeeze in some shopping time for my MIL’s shopping list. I bought back some chocolates for my colleagues and Adrian bought some for his collagues.

Day 6: Wednesday, 26 March - Gold Coast →Brisbane → Singapore (QF 51) Dep: 1345 / Arr 1930

Our coach picked us to Brisbane International Airport for our Qantas flight. We had a very good flight home. Upon arrival, Anthea and Anders were happy to see yeye & nainai waiting for them at the arrival hall.

It was Home Sweet Home.

It had been a fun 6 days for the family and there are things that we learnt from this holiday. I was quite glad that we did not follow guided tour as original planned. I think F&E still suits us better.

Gold Coast is indeed a Surfers Paradise and definitely a good option for family with children to visit. Mainly because of it theme parks. Otherwise, it’s also a good place for people who love the Sun, Sand and Sea.

I do hope that we will be able to visit Australia again and perhaps does a farm stay on our next holiday...hee : p

We are OFF.

Quite thankfully Anders fever had subsided and his temperature is back to normal. I am keep my hopes high that he will be well to enjoy Gold Coast.

We are now all packed and in about an hour time we will be making our way to the airport for our Qantas flight to Brisbane. This is our 1st time taking a "Red-eye" flight and i do hope that the children will be able to sleep on the plane..hee. Being a mommy, it's natural that we worry of this and that...hee : P

Last night, Adrian even went over to my BIL place to pick up a Travel Medical kit, it has everything inside and along side, i packed along paracetemol and Ibufen (i hope that i do not need to use them...)

Thanks Louis & Eve for your thoughtfulness !! & Aces Family wishes:

"Happy 1st Birthday to Faith on 23 March 2008. May our little niece has a wonderful day with her LOVE Ones. "

Okie dokie...Aces Family will be signing off from now till next week. As the famous quote "I (WE) will be BACK!! "

Cheerios !!

FEVER !!

The flu season is back…sigh!!

On Monday morning, I received a notice from the childcare that the centre had 2 cases of HFMD and the children were from Anders class. *FAINT*FAINT*

I was in panicked mode but since I had to work, I had no choice but to leave them in the childcare on Monday.

In the evening, when I fetched them home, both Anthea and Anders were still fine. Then later in the evening, when I checked their temperature, I noticed that Anders had low grade fever – 37. 6 degrees. Immediately I fed him a dose of paracetemol. Then I called my mom and arranged for her to look after the children on Tuesday, hopefully, this will reduce the contact with the virus in school.

On Tuesday, Anders was ok during the day but when I brought them home, his temperature went up again. So I gave him medication again, hopefully it’s just the fever virus and nothing else; otherwise, we may need to cancel our holiday.. : (

On Wednesday, I was given a day of MC by the GP for my throat irritation, so I tend after the children at home. I brought Anders to the family GP to seek for professional advice. The GP mentioned that there were no rashes on his hands & foot, there was one ulcer in his mouth but she can’t confirmed it’s HFMD as the ulcer could be due to heatiness. So her advice was to monitor him for the next 2 days for the other symptoms, which I hope will be negative.

Today is Thursday and this morning his temperature is back to normal, I hope it will remain like this. I check his hands, foot and mouth – all look normal. Now I am keeping my fingers all crossed that he is back on the recovering track and tomorrow we can make our way to the airport as planned.

Wising all a Happy Easter Holidays!!

Happy 4th Birthday to Anders

March is a month of birthday for our families – my mother in law, myself, my niece and finally, it is my son's – Anders 4th Year old birthday.

Anders actual date of birth is on 22 March but since we will be going to Gold Coast for holiday, we decided to have an early celebration for him.

It was a simple celebration over a dinner gathering with the families. I was very happy that my parents and eldest brother was able to join us for the occasion. We brought along 2 bottles of wine (one red/ one white) to the dinner, courtesy of my youngest BIL, Terence.

I booked a table for 13 people at Zhou’s Kitchen @ Far East Square.

The restaurant was considered quiet for Sunday and we had an enjoyable meal.

Needless to say, the most important part is the cake-cutting ceremony. Anders was very happy and he wanted to cut his cake. The main reason is the Uncle Terence said he can open his present after he ate his cake... : )

I ordered a Disney Car cake for Anders; he had made his own cake choice via the Bengawan Solo cake catalog. He was very happy when he saw the cake.

After eating his cake, he quickly went to his presents and open up the wrappers. Boy, he just can't wait…hee.

We left the restaurant around 9 pm and when we reached home, the children were so excited with the presents that they started to play with them.

Many thanks to people who had made Anders a Happy Birthday boy on this special day :

1. Ah gong / Ah po & Da Giu – for their ang pows and also presence to the dinner.



(anders with ah gong/ah po and 大舅)


2. Yeye / Nai nai – for their ang pow and also effort to bring Anders to buy his present.

(ye ye & nai nai with the 3 grandchildren)


3. Uncle Louis / Aunty Eve & Faith mei mei – Transformer AutoBot


4. Uncle Terence/ Cherry Jie jie – Transformer Off road Iron hide.

Without all your blessings, Aces family will not have such a memorable celebration for our dear Son. Thank YOU!!


Dear Anders,

Happy 4th Birthday to you and May you grow up, always happy and be strong in your emotion!!

Luvs,
Daddy, mommy and Anthea jie jie.

Beachside Birthday Party

In celebration of my niece 1 Year old birthday, my BIL made dinner reservation at this beach restaurant located on Sentosa Island – Café Delmar.

We reached Sentosa around 6pm and since we were early, Adrian brought Anthea to try the Luge which I highly recommended him to do so. Otherwise, we will never come to Sentosa.
While they were at the ride, I brought Anders to the restaurant and when I reached the entrance of the restaurant. I was totally shocked and speechless…hee : P

The restaurant set up was similar to what I always see in CSI Miami and there were loud music playing by the in-house Deejay. The place was full bikinis babes and board short clad dudes. (I was thinking to myself – I am too aunty for this kind of place...hee.)

不认老都不行了！！

My BIL booked 2 tables for the families and also invited relatives. Drinks and food were ordered and they were served promptly. Service was good but I find the price a bit on the high side, considering it’s on a beachfront and not some Hotel setup. Well, I guess everyone had a great time with the food & drinks.

After the cake cutting ceremony, we left the place around 9pm.

(ps: I did not manage to take any photos because my head was “pounding”so heavily with the in house music, I can hardly even move myself around..: P , think I have been out of touch with techno music for too long..Sigh)

Happy 1st Birthday to Faith Tan!!

You’re Invited!!

In less than a month time, Anthea will be celebrating her 6th year old birthday. As this will be her final year in K2 and with this childcare. I planned to let her celebrate her birthday with her classmates.

She has a few good girlfriends whose names I hear almost everyday. They are the Winx Club “fairies” – Lydia, Claudia and Huda. Of course, not forgetting her new found “boyfriend” – Han Yong.

So I thought it would be quite meaningful for her to have a small celebration with all these good friends, whom I think she may or may not get to see after they all graduated and go to different Primary Schools.

There were a few options that I considered but finally short listed one that I believe most children will Love / Adore. It is the McFun Party organized by McDonald. I contacted their Ang Mo Kio outlet and gathered all the information.

My original intention was to have the Party at the McDonald outlet. Last week when I asked 罗 老师 for the class name list to write the invitation cards. 罗 老师asked me when / where is the party. When I told her it would be at the restaurant, she asked Anthea: “为什麽 不要在学校庆祝，老师也可以和你庆祝？

Then I started to ask Anthea if she would like to have the Party in her school since her teachers would like to celebrate this special occasion with her. She said OK.

I had sought the Principal permission to use the school Multi Purpose room for the 1 ½ hour party and she had agreed to it. The party is set for tea time from 3 pm to 4.30 pm.

Last week, I went to pay the McDonald outlet to pay the deposit and collected the invitation cards. At the same time, I will prepare a spread sheet for the child’s parent to select their Happy Meals.

Hopefully all her classmates will enjoy the Party and my Princess will be a Happy Host on 08 April 2008.

Easter Holiday In Down Under

On Friday morning, I had an appointment to consult an orthopedic for my hip issues. I was referred by my company clinic to go to Changi General Hospital and I am happy to be able to have an early appointment for the review.

The orthopedic review my X-rays and asked me a few questions concerning my exercise routine. It was confirmed that I had a muscle strained and I was advised to stop my yoga sessions. Most importantly, he gave me the “GREEN LIGHT” to go ahead with my holiday plan….yippy.

We had planned to go for a family vacation to Gold Coast, Australia. Our travel dates are set for 21 – 26 March 2008. The main reasons for going for a holiday during this time is because comes 2009 onwards, we will need to follow school holidays for our family vacation as Anthea starts primary school next year…: P


On Saturday morning, we went to the travel agent – Jetabout Holidays to collect our tour tickets & vouchers. We had booked our F&E package through this agent. Originally, I had planned to go on a packaged tour but it seem like most of the agents do not have a confirmed groups departure on 21 March 2008. So we had to make do with the 2nd best alternative.

We booked the Gold Coast plus Warner Village Ultimate Theme Park Trio from the agent.

I guess going on an F&E tour would be better for Anthea & Anders, so they can spend all the time in the Theme Parks, which is our main target. As for farm stay, we will try to do it in our next family vacation. (I got good tips from my Blogger Twins – LZ mommy of the theme parks, I know Anthea and Anders will enjoyed the parks.)

After collecting our travel details from the agent, we had lunch at Crystal Jade Kitchen in Takashimaya. Then we headed to Tangs to shop for present and shoes for the children. Anders was totally engrossed with the Transformers toys while I shopped for both their shoes.

We had a fun time shopping and after getting what we wanted, we went home to rest. In the evening, Adrian brought the children for dinner with the extended families while I rested at home. I had simple meal of porridge with some home cooked chickens that my mom brought over.

While I was having my dinner, my mobile rang and Anthea was on the line – she was crying and I thought what had happened to her. Then she said: “I missed you, mommy…” Think my little girl is really starting to mature. I told her not to cry and I am fine at home.

On Sunday morning, I received a sms from my brother that my dad had made Bird Nest soup and asked us to go back and drink it. So in the afternoon, while the children were napping, I went back to my parents place to pick up the soup. My brother told me that he had booked a Vietnam package tour for my parents and himself. The departure date is on 21 March as well.

Wow….this Good Friday; we are all busy doing something or going somewhere.

In the evening, we had dinner at Vittles and I had an enjoyable meal with the families.

Looking forward to a good family holiday & "Howdy Mates!!"

My Special Day

Today morning when I on my mobile, smses started coming in:

"Happy 37th Birthday!” (From my long time good friend / 姐妹- Cindy)

“Happy Birthday : - * “( from another long time good friend/ same 姐妹幫 – Andrea)

“Happy Birthday! Need cosmetic/perfume?” (From my eldest brother who is in Manila for business trip and coming back today.)

I am really happy because on my special day, friends & family still have thoughts of me.

Yesterday afternoon, Adrian called me around 4pm and said that he need not report to work and is free for the evening. He went to buy a small birthday cake for a simple family celebration. It was a Mango Cake from Emicakes shop.

After dinner, we had the cake as dessert. Both Anthea and Anders were very happy. They sang the birthday song for me – English & Chinese version. I felt so happy, especially with all my LOVE ones with me.

The cake was very nice and Anthea loves the Mango fillings. She kept asking to have the mango... : )

No big dinner, no fanfare, just a simple celebration and it’s a very fulfilling moment for me.

Another year older and I look forward to another good year ahead. No special wish as I know I have what life wants me to have.

寶貝們, 謝謝你們為媽媽唱的 生日快樂 歌， 開心，我真的好開心！！

In the office, my colleague also bought a small cake for a simple tea birthday celebration. Really thankful for their thoughts... : )

“HIP” to be Square

Nope, don’t get me wrong, I am not doing some kind of hippy dance like those 65’s MPs : P

For the whole of last week, my right hip has been giving me some aching problem. I consulted my company doctor and was given some painkiller. I was referred for X-ray which I did on Saturday.

However, on Sunday morning, the pain got a bit too much for me to bear with, so I told Adrian to bring me to the A&E and we went to Tan Tock Seng hospital A&E. We brought Anthea to my MIL place and Anders followed us to the hospital. MIL volunteered to look after the 2 of them but we were worried as Anders could be a bit too handy for her.

We reached the hospital around 10am and while registering, I nearly fainted. The nurse in attendance immediately wheeled me into the room for the doctor to check on. The doctor checked and asked me some questions concerning my pain complaint. I was put on drip as he mentioned that my blood pressure was low. Then after that, I was brought for X-ray and then observation room while waiting for the result.

While I was at the observation room, Adrian brought Anders to have his lunch at the food court. After 2 hours of observation, the doctor came and advised that the X-ray was fine. He mentioned that the pain could be due to wear and tear of the bone, thus he is referring me for an appointment with the Orthopedic. I was given 2 days of MC for Sunday & Monday. The doctor also prescribed some painkiller and ointment for application to the affected area.

I think the cause of this pain may has resulted from my lunch time yoga as Adrian suggested, he think that I may have over stretch myself thus causing the muscle to sore. Anyway, I am now waiting for my review with the specialist to see what is happening to my Hip. Hopefully, this will not dampen my March holiday plan... : (

HAPPY BIRTHDAY To 奶奶 ！！

My mother in law celebrated her birthday on Saturday evening. We had a family dinner at Bar & Billiard Room in Raffles Hotel. Being a Raffles card holder, she had some certificates of discount, for this dinner, she get 50% discount off food. At the same time, we had a bottle of complimentary red wine for dinner.

It was a buffet dinner and needless to say, the spread was simply FANTASTIC!! I think it should be a Lobster theme cuisine. Every counter has a lobster item. There was a grilled section at the patio of the restaurant.

Anthea and Anders wrote a birthday card for 奶奶，wishing her Happy Birthday and anthea even wrote: I LOVE MY GRANDMOTHER.

We bought a small present for my MIL and hope that she will like it.

It was a lovely dinner.

"Losing Out "

Today I had lunch with a few colleagues at the Original Sin. This is a mediterranean vegetarian restaurant and the food was quite impressive. On top of it, the restaurant has a very good promotion for American Express card holder: 1 for 1 set meal. For Citibank cardholder, there is also a promotion on the main course – 1 for 1 as well.

I had a set meal and it’s served with a soup of the day, main course (tofu burger / tortilla wrap with some special vegetables), dessert and coffee/tea. The set meal cost $24++.

My colleague chose a set meal and so we order one main course each and shared the portion. I like the tofu burger and it was very delicious.

During lunch, we had small talks on works and families. One of them, who are in the legal industry, had twins whom will be starting Primary School next year. This means that they are of the same age group as Anthea.

We were chatting about short listing primary school and he voiced his opinion on the MOE system of selections. As his twins is a boy and a girl, he is in a dilemma as to which house address he should use to register for his girl (aiming at MGS) & his boy (aiming at ACS).

Then also he commented that his children week days and week ends are packed – Mondays to Sundays.

Both his children attended K2 classes at Cambridge. Then following by Mathematics Tuition, English Classes, swimming, ballet, piano, squash, golf and his daughter is even in some modeling classes.

When I heard of his children curriculum, I felt so “lose out” for Anthea. So far, she is not taking any enrichment classes and for swimming, she is doing on her own leisure. I can’t help but felt a sense of guilt toward Anthea. The reason why she is not taking all these lessons is also mainly because we can’t afford all these extra $$.

I do hope that we can start her on some enrichment classes to better prepare her for Primary school. In NTUC childcare, they don’t do Spellings and Hanyu Pinying. So I think this we will need to train her little to get her gear up a notch.

There is a Chinese saying: “人比人，氣死人“! Well, I guess I just need to console myself by thinking positively – 知足常樂.

Let’s hope when she starts Primary school, she will be able to progress well.

大舅六十 大壽

On Saturday, my eldest uncle had his 6oth birthday dinner celebration at Li Bai, Sheraton Tower. His son-in-law hosted this dinner for him. There were 2 tables being reserved for the dinner.

One table was for my uncle and all his siblings. As my parents could not make it for the dinner, naturally my eldest brother and I were asked to be the representatives.

Honestly speaking, I have never been to Li Bai for meals and having read so many accolades of the restaurant, I was simply thrilled to be invited for the dinner.

In the evening, my dage fetched me and we headed to the restaurant for the sumptuous dinner.

Dishes include:

- suckling pig
- double boiled soup with shark fins
- steam fish
- king prawn with spicy sauce
- scallop & prawn with asparagus
- abalone
- dumpling soup with noodle
- papaya boiled with fungus and chuan pei (川貝)

I enjoyed all the dishes very much and each dish is special on it own way. I also had a good chance to chat with all my uncles and aunties. I picked up a lot of tips on TCM since my aunt’s family is in the TCM business.

At dessert time, the waitress brought out the birthday cake and everyone started to sing the birthday song for my uncle. His 3 grandchildren surrounded him and were very eager to blow out the candle on the cake.

It was a very memorable dinner for me and I always look forward to such family gatherings, somehow as age mature, I am starting to appreciate my family and relatives more & more. Not forgetting friends too!!

While I was attending the dinner, Adrian brought the children out for dinner with the extended families. By the time I reached home around 11pm, they were home and both of them were full of sweat. It seem like they had a good time at the McDonald’s children playground.

福禄寿三星 - 齊拜年

On Tuesday, our company had the annual Chinese New Year Lo Hei lunch in the office premise.

This year, we had 3 Special Stars (三星) to celebrate this special occasion with us. They are 福禄寿.

福星 - 民间传说之神。象征能给大家带来幸福、希望的人或事物。

禄星 - 顾名思义，是主管功名利禄的星官。

寿星 - 为白须老翁，持杖，额部隆起。常衬以鹿、鹤、仙桃等，象征长寿。

With these 3 special Stars among us and giving us Ang Pows, we are sure the year of Rat will be a prosperous year for all of us.

We had the usual Yu Sheng and guess what? The God of Fortune was with my table during the Lo-Hei, so hopefully, he will bring us good luck in our Fortune Dreams!!

After the lo hei, there was a buffet lunch. The spread was sumptuous and we had a good time. During the event, we were even being taught how to make “旺梨”out of some simple handy craft things. It was really fun and hopefully we will all be “旺！旺!” on this coming Thursday.

和气生财

It has been a practice with my own parents that we eat Reunion dinners before the 1st day of Lunar New Year. Also a reunion dinner on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year (元宵).

With this in mind, I would also like to extend this practice to my extended families as this symbolized a good start to the New Year (团团圆圆) 。

My MIL is going to Beijing with my 2nd BIL & family on Saturday and will return to Singapore on the next Friday, which means the 15th day is already over.

So I managed to arrange for a reunion lunch on this Saturday with my In Laws and my 3rd BIL with his fiancée. My 2nd BIL and family can't make it for the lunch as their baby girl is down with fever and also my SIL need to prepare the baby meals for their trip to Beijing.

I booked a table at Gim Tim restaurant at AMK Ave 4. We ordered the Lunar New Year Set menu for 6 people. This is also a Thank You lunch from the Aces Family to our parents for all the care and concerns that they had given to us for the past year.

The menu was very good and auspicious:

1. Prosperity Raw Salmon Fish ( 鸿运发财鱼生)
2. Braised Superior Shark’s Fin with Brown Sauce (宏图大展翅)
3. Deep Fried Soon Hock Fish with Thai Sauce (年年有余)
4. Fried Prawn with Green (嘻哈丰收年)
5. Boneless Duck with Sea cucumber (福气满满)
6. Fried Thread Noodle (富贵连绵)
7. Double Boiled Hashima with Red Dates (雪湖奇珍)

It was a very prosperous lunch and everyone enjoyed the food very much. When we were paying the bill, there was a Lucky Draw Box and my MIL picked the lucky draw. We WON a bottle of Red Wine and can consume it for our next visit. So we have good excuse to go back to the restaurant for a meal.

After lunch, we headed to my 2nd BIL house to help him to off load his luggage and then we left for Changi Airport Terminal 3 for their SQ flight to Beijing.

This is the 1st time we went to Terminal 3 for departure. Well, it was BIG and spacious but not as busy as Terminal 2. Seem like the Check in counters are all very empty and the staffs are all pretty free...hee : P

After saying good bye to my MIL, Bil and his family, we had tea break at Wang café at the terminal. Anthea and Anders had the set meal – 2 eggs, kaya toast and a cup of tea. Both of them enjoyed the tea so much. Then we went home for their power naps.

In the evening, we had dinner with my FIL. We tried a new café – 上海人家, 906B Upper Thomson Road. We managed to try 2 dishes – the pan fried shanghai buns and the noodles. The shop was very short handed as 2 of their chefs went back to China for holiday. The kitchen could not cook up to the diners requests. So in the end, we went to Hans Café, which was just next to this restaurant. We had Sirloin steaks and my FIL had lamp chops. All ends well.

After dinner, we brought Anthea and Anders to the AMK Mac Cafe to have desserts. The children had good fun at the children play area while the adults were relaxing and having a good chat. At the same time, since we were so free, we decided to check on the 4D via SMS. To our sweetest surprise – my FIL strike 4D, the number he bought on Friday came out on Saturday. Even though it was a consolation prize, I am still very happy because to strike during Lunar New Year means it is good fortune – 开年生财！！

Probably our Lo Hei today had helps too…hee : )

After sharing his joy, we headed home for the children to change and rest. It has been a long day for us but it was a beautiful day.

Now i am looking forward to 元宵 to have a nice reunion dinner with my family and hopefully we have a bit of luck on the TOTO ANG POWS Draws on this SPECIAL DAY!!

"发 ！发！发！"

Lo Hei on 人日

Today is the 7th day of the lunar new year and it is also known as人日 (means everybody birthday).

Our department decided to do our company Lo-Hei on this special day. With recommendation from a colleague, we made a reservation for lunch at this restaurant – Sha Tin Kitchen, 8/10 Lorong 3 Geylang Singapore 388861. Tel : 6747 2483.

We ordered their Chinese New Year set for 10 person, we had a table of 11 person. As one of them is a Muslim colleague, he just joined us for the fun and we ordered a special fried rice for him.

Our set menu includes :

- Yu Sheng with Salmon
- Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with Crab Roe
- Sauteed Prawns with cashew nuts
- Deep Fried Soon Hock Fish
- Braised Slice Top Shell & Mushroom
- Deep fried chicken with Salad Sauce
- Lotus rice with Preserved Sausages ( we changed to E-Fu Noddle)
- New Year Cake

The Yu Sheng was good and it seemed they added fried salmon skins to the Yu Sheng. Everyone love the Yu Sheng. The food was also delicious and the portion that was served was big. We had an enjoyable meal.


祝大家 ：人日快乐 ， 事事顺利 ！！

Aces Family – Lunar New Year 2008!!

It has been a good 4 days of Chinese New Year, especially for Anthea and Anders since they need not go to school... : )

除夕夜 - Reunion dinner :

As usual, we had steamboat at my Parents in law home. This year we had a special dish – Braised Abalone and it was delicious, I truly enjoyed this dish.

After dinner, my MIL’s siblings came over and joined us for dessert. We had a good time chatting till almost 11 pm. Both Anthea and Anders had a good time, playing with their uncle MK.

We stayed awoke and watched the Chinese variety program and joined them for the countdown. Both Anthea and Anders were excited and started singing the Chinese New Year songs. I always enjoy counting down, especially with all the Love ones. Also as the traditional practice, when the children stay awake as late as possible; their parents will enjoy Longevity (守岁). We slept around 1 am.

大年初一 ：Day 1, 07 Feb 2008:

Early in the morning, Adrian went to the temple and pray because this year he 犯太岁。 At the same time, he also prayed for Anthea, as her zodiac is also on the list. May this year be peaceful for them.

Our 1st stop for visiting was my Parents In law house. We had lunch at their place. After that we headed to my parent’s place. My eldest uncle (大舅) happened to come by my parent’s place. We chatted up a little and then went home for the children to have their power nap.

In the evening, we went to my MJ kakis gathering at Mag’s house. She bought a resale property near to her parents place and her new home is very nicely done. Both Anthea and Anders had so much fun at her place because she had a room full of children stuff. Both of them liked the whiteboard so much that they kept asking us to buy for them.

It was really good to be able to catch up with all of them and knowing how each and everyone is progressing. We are looking forward to our next gathering when our “老大” celebrates his 2nd baby full month, his wife is currently expecting and EDD is August 2008.


大年初二 ：Day 2, 08 Feb 2008 :

In the morning, we brought Anthea and Anders to the swimming pool for a morning swim as the weather was very nice and sunny.

We met my MIL at the pool and while she helped to looked after the children, Adrian and I did our laps.

After a good round of workout, we met up with our extended families at Man Fu Yuan @ Intercontinental hotel for Dim Sum lunch. We had 2 tables in their privates’ rooms – Jasmine & Begonia. My MIL’s siblings and families also joined us for the lunch. We had “鱼生” and with our uncle HT around, our table were full of “發! 發 ! 發 !” . May all of us have a prosperous year ahead. We had an enjoyable meal with the relatives and especially Anthea; she requested to be seated with her uncle Kiat... : )

After a hearty Dim Sum lunch, we went home to rest. In the evening, we went to my 大舅 open house. It’s a tradition that we meet at his home at every Chinese New Year and it makes giving 紅包easier when all the cousins are together.

For dinner, my 舅母ordered a 盆菜 (pen cai) from Old Hong Kong restaurant. This is my 1st time sampling this dish and I find it quite nice. However, my aunties, who are experts with food, all commented that the dish was so – so and next year, my aunty said she will cook her own food...hee. Dinner spread was very sumptuous – steam garoupa, oyster with “fai choi”, special double boiled soup, fried vegetables and a special fried pig heart dish.

At the dinner table, there were so many primary school registration information/tips shared by one of my cousin as she had twins who just started Primary 1 this year.

It was a very meaningful gathering, especially for the children to know of these relatives whom they will meet once a year. Of course, they had a good collection of “ang pows” from the 舅公and 姨婆.

The children had a chance to play with “firework” (烟花) and they had fun playing with the twins, Samuel & Daniel and their younger sister, Sarah.

We left for home after a fun filled day of 拜年。

大年除三 ：Day 3, 09 Feb 2008

We had an invitation by my SIL’s mother for a steamboat lunch at the Bright Hill Temple (光明上寺庙). This is the Aces family 1st time to the temple for such an occasion and I must say　the experienced was very good. My PIL’s also joined us for the lunch.

We had a vegetarian”愉生” and it was good. There were different varieties of vegetables, bean curd and vegetarian wanton for the steamboat. We also ate the 面线 (mee sua) which was very good.

I know from now onwards, we will try to visit this temple more often since it’s quite near to our house. It’s a good chance to encourage the children to pick up the study.

After lunch, we went to one of Adrian’s buddy’s house for visiting. It was a good chance for them to touch base and update each other on the latest. There were so much goodies and food around the house.

We left his friend place in the late afternoon for the children to go home for their nap. In the evening, we had dinner with my PILs at Jack’s place. A nice and relaxing dinner. Then we went Popular Bookstore to buy the highly requested whiteboard. I bought 2 sets of the whiteboard. The children went home and started to do their drawings and writings.

大年初四：Day 4 : 10 Feb 2008

This is the only day we had no visiting. I did my household chores in the morning while Adrian brought the children to the swimming pool.

I prepared a simple lunch with a soup.

Then I asked my BIL to arrange for a game of Mahjong. I told Adrian Chinese New Year is incomplete without a game or two...hee.

Then my youngest BIL smsed me to confirm that we are all set for MJ session in the afternoon. I decided to prepare my “special dish” – 煎年糕.

I like this dish because it is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time because "nian gao" is a homonym for "every year higher and higher." 年糕 - 年高

So for tea break, we had the nian gao with tea.

We had a very game of Mahjong this time and there were so many “thrilling” moments. I knew that my heart misses so many beats...haha. I lost about $15 and my Father in law was the sole winner. He even started the game with a十三幺winning…what a game to start the year. : )

After dinner, my FIL gave us a treat to Mac café for the desserts.

Another fun filled day for us.

This Chinese New Year has been a good start for the Aces family; we managed to spend quality time with all our families, relatives and closed friends. I am glad that Anthea and Anders are growing to appreciate this kind of occasion and enjoyed the festive as much as we do.

恭喜发财，万事如意！！

新年快乐 ！！

大年除夕，到处喜气洋洋。气氛好开心 ， 心情也很漂亮。

昨晚 在 父母家中 享用了一顿 丰盛 的 团年饭。吃的 好开心。 因为 和 心爱的 家人 一 起。

爸爸 煮 了 好好 吃的食物 ：

1．海南鸡饭
2．大虾
3．鲍鱼
4．烧鸭
5．鱼
6．青菜
7．鱼生

用过了晚餐，就是给红包。 也祝福 父母亲 ：身体健康！！ 两位个哥哥 ：事业顺利 ！！ 大家过个大 好年！！

祝 ：新年快乐 ！！万事如意！！

Call me

On Sunday, Anthea went swimming with my MIL and after that she went over to my in laws house. It seem like my parents in laws are now more confidence in handling the baby and Anthea.

Anthea is happy that she can go back to nai nai house, like she used to do before. However I kept reminding her that both ye-ye and nai nai are busy looking after a baby, so she must not caused too much problems while she is there on Sundays. She said she understood.

In the afternoon, my mobile rang and from the caller ID, it was from my In Laws house. I picked up and it was Anthea on the phone. She said: “mommy, I know your number... “ she read my mobile number to me. I was very happy that she can remember the numbers.

So far, she can dial our home number and now we are training her to remember my mobile number.

Simple reason - in the event of emergency or lost & found, she will know who to call.

On Sunday, we had dinner at Vines Steakhouse. Not sure if the chef had changed because the food standard had dropped. My salmon was so dried that it tasted like those “kunings” that are usually found in nasi lemak. My BIL also complaint that his mix grills also was not good as before. .. : (

Anyway, after dinner, we took a walk to Novena Square 2 to shop in the NTUC. To my surprise, the outlet is so small or am I too used to the Hyper mart... : P

After getting some grocery, we headed to Yumi Yogurt and we had a good time enjoying 2 regular cups of peach yogurt with fillings. Both Anthea and Anders Love the yogurt so much. I am really happy that they are enjoying different kind of food on weekends.