A “COLD” weekend…

Anders caught the flu bug this week and while taking care of him, I also got the “COLD” bugs. So far I am quite proud of myself of being able to keep healthy throughout Adrian’s detachment. I believe this is mainly due to the gym routine that I have been maintaining.

Of course, the body will still succumb to some viral in one way or another, which means the system needed a rest…: ) (短暂的休息是为了走更长的路)

So this weekend is mainly for me to recover from the cold and get well for all the events happening, next week.

This morning we woke up around 9.30am and it was drizzling and I quickly smsed the swimming coach. He mentioned that the lesson was still on and will only be cancelled if heavy rain.

So we had a quick breakfast and headed to the swimming pool. The weather was turning better for a moment when Anthea started with her swimming lesson. She was the only one who came for the lesson, so she had 1 to 1 personal coaching from the coach, not too bad.

Then after about 10 minutes warm up, he brought her to the deep pool and said that he wanted to build up her confidence. Anthea did a few laps in the pool with the coach swimming beside her. She had a great time and enjoyed the lesson.

Then we had lunch with my Mil who also does her usual morning swimming session at the pool.

After lunch, we went home to rest and I had a good power nap as the weather was so cool and nice.

In the evening, we had dinner at my parents place, really misses my dad home cooked 海南鸡饭 and I had a good time eating the 文昌鸡that my parents brought home from 海南岛.

Next Sunday there will be another round of feasting in celebration of 冬至. This marks the countdown of a month to our Lunar New Year and we are also looking forward to Adrian’s homecoming.

You Are INVITED!!

Yes, it's another MacParty and this time it is organized by the childcare K2 teachers and Principal.

This party is organized in conjunction of the K2 graduation and I think it's going to be a High School Musical Theme... : )

The most touching part to this party is the fund provided is from the 2 teachers – Ms Valentine and 罗老师 and the Principal – Ms Wendy own pocket monies.

It is very generous of the teachers and principal to do this for the children, especially under this kind of economy situation. I can only say a big “THANK YOU” from the bottom of my heart.

The party is taking place next Tuesday, 16 December at the childcare centre from 6.30 pm to 7.00 pm. I have also registered Anders for the party and for his participation; I will need to pay for it, which I am perfectly happy to do so... : )

December is a month parties – beside this MacParty, the childcare will also be having a Christmas Party on 23 December for all the children. Each child need to bring along a present for exchange. The value is capped at $5.00 for the present.

Then on 19 December, there is another plan of Christmas Party organized by one of Anthea classmate.

On 20 December morning , I have registered both Anthea and Anders for a Christmas Party organized by the Civil Service Club.

I believe all these parties will keep both of them very busy and I will be busy buying Christmas presents too!!

老爸/老妈 回来了…

我的父母终于完成他们中国 45 天 海南岛探亲行程。 他们于今天回国。 大哥为他们洗城 而安排了大家一起共用晚餐。我打从心底的开心。。。我好想念他们。

晚餐安排在 金沙海鲜煮炒 (Golden Sands), 二哥也一起来吃晚餐， 好难得。 一家团聚。

孩子们也 特别开心，因为他们也很挂念 阿公和阿婆。他们也一直问起阿公和阿婆几时回来。

晚餐大哥点了几道招牌菜 ：

- 金沙螃蟹
- 金瓜豆腐
- 泰式鱼头
- 南乳排骨

这一餐我吃得好尽兴。和自己的家人吃饭， 感觉很自在。想吃什么就吃什么，想说什么就说什么。不用顾及那末多。

(周末于外家吃饭，吸取了之前的教训， 现在不敢乱乱开玩笑或提起任何话题。只管多吃少说的观点。。嘻嘻 ！！)

爸爸和妈妈还在中国给孩子们买了一些衣服， 也买了手电筒和2009 日历 给我们。

真得很感激家人一直以来的爱护与关心，没有这份关怀，我们的这一路也不会走的这样顺利。。我是幸福 (姓符）的!!

我很丑,可是我很温柔。。。

Last Saturday evening, we had the chance to video- conference with Adrian. Noticing, he is more relaxed now. The interview had happened on 4 December 2008 – our wedding anniversary date. The feedback he received from his officer was “faired better than average. The only thing that can stop them from going to the course if their cohort back home did better than them.”

I am glad that the interview went well and Adrian had got good comments for his effort. During the conversation, he showed me a photograph of himself. He said his direct supervisor had prepared a CV for both himself and his colleague. The photograph was taken 2 hours before the interview.

The interviewers were quite impressed with the CV and I told Adrian that he looks quite good in the photo.

Both his colleague and himself even bought a new Polo Tee shirt especially for the interviews. As his superior said: “must dress well to show respect for the interviewers” which I totally agreed.

Now I will let the photo do the talking....

Looney Tunes – Christmas Carnival

Angie is so “SPOT-ON” when she said that we are like Ge-Tai singers during this December month. We are really Q-ing up for the shows. Lucky for me, Anthea and Anders had outgrown some of the characters like Sesame Street, Barney and I didn't even introduce them to Hello Kitty...hee.

So this year the numbers of shows that we have to run after are quite limited. Phew...thanks goodness.

This morning, we had our usual breakfast and then headed to the swimming pool. I started Anthea on her swimming lesson, again. After the last swimming lesson, she said she wanted to stop and I didn't force her to continue. Now I thought it would be a good time to start again as she will be in Primary One soon and one of her CCA is swimming.

She was a bit reluctant to start on swimming but I gave her my best encouragement and luckily after the lesson, she said she likes the new coach.

After a good 1 hour of swimming, we went home for lunch and the children had their power nap.

They woke up around 5.30pm and I told myself -“ok, we should change and go to Q for the Looney Tunes Live show.”

The childcare bath and changed and as we were leaving the house around 6.10pm. I told them that there is a Live Show at AMK HUB and they were very excited.

When we reached the AMK HUB, the Q had started and we joined in. we were in the middle of the Q, so not too bad.

Around 6.50pm, we were seated and there was a Host to warm up the crowd. He played games with the children and kept them entertained. At 7pm, the show started and Tweety, Sylvester and Bug Bunny came on stage. All the children were very happy.

The dance show and game lasted for about 15 minutes. Then the host gathered the children to go on stage to take photo with the characters. NO PURCHASE REQUIRED. So Anthea and Anders had the chance to take a photo with them on stage.

After the show, we had dinner at the food court near Macdonald. Anthea had her Subway and Anders had his Duck noodles. They had requested to go to the Bubble and Snow play again, so after dinner, we had another round of fun before going home.

What a fun and enjoyable day it has been for us.

WINX CLUB – Enchantix Christmas

December is always a busy month to catch LIVE SHOWS at the different Malls. Anthea is a WINX CLUB Fan and I know she simply adores the Fairies. Knowing that the Fairies are LIVE in town, how can I not do some ground work...haha.

After reading some negative feedbacks on last year Winx Club LIVE show, I decided not to bring her for last year show, anyway, last year we were all packed for different shows.

So this year I thought I should make an effort to bring her. The 1st thing I did was to go do a pre-view of the LIVE Show before deciding on bringing her. As the show place was near my current workplace, so last Friday, I went to view it first. After seeing the show, I told myself – Yes, Anthea will like it.

Early this week, I contacted one of her classmate – Lydia's mommy to ask if she may be interested to bring her girl along for the Live Show. She said she would like to bring her girl too. So we worked out a plan.

The plan was I would go to the venue and Q for the show 1st; Lydia's mommy will go to the Childcare to pick up the girls and meet me at the show venue.

Today after work, I went to the venue and as it was still early, there was no one in the Q. So I went to run some errands before coming back to the Q area.

Around 1 pm, I saw people started Q-ing, so I went to join in the Q. The 3 of them arrived about 1.20pm and they went to walk around the Winx Club toy section. Both Anthea and Lydia were so excited and going goo-goo and gaga over all the merchandise.

Then at 1.50pm, we were all seated and we had a very good seat near the main stage. The show started on time at 2pm. Both of them were so happy to see the characters came on stage. The dance moves were quite good.

The show lasted for ½ hour and when it ended, Anthea was quite sad and asked me why the show ended so fast... : P

After the show, we went to Ya-Kun and have a light teabreak. Both of them enjoyed each other company so much that they want to go to each other house to play.

We had invited Lydia to our home on Monday for breakfast and then they can play till their heart contented.

I am really happy that Anthea has such a good friend and I know she will miss Lydia when they go to different primary schools next year.

交情

It had been a month since I joined my new company and I am learning the job as the day goes by. I am also adjusting to my new ½ day routine which I am enjoying at the moment.

Now I get more time to do all my own routines – household chores, washing car, gym routine and even going to the library to borrow books (for the children and my own readings).

As my Manager is a One-man-operation team, so in our department, there is only him and me. I don’t have any fellow colleagues working in the team, so at time I do miss my ex-colleagues where we used to chat about anything and everything.

I have been keeping in touch with a few colleagues whom I can connect better as we shared a lot during my days there.

This week, they have been posting emails to me on 2 great “lobangs”. There was a Mövenpick Ice cream sale and The Great Year End sale.

How can I miss it out, especially it is ICE-CREAM....so I immediately put in my order. I ordered 6 Tubs of ice cream – 2 Swiss chocolate, 2 Maple Walnut, 1 Tiramisu and 1 Vanilla.

Adrian had told me the last time to stock up if there is any sale as he's also an ice-cream lover, just like Anthea and Anders. So they are all in for a good ice cream treat.

My youngest brother in law new home sweet home is almost ready after few months of renovation. With the current Great Year End sale, it was a good chance for us to buy the house warming gift for their new home. So the Aces Family bought for them their wish list items – Juice Blender and Steam Iron.

On Thursday, I was on my day off and arranged to pick up all the goodies on the day. The collection of the ice-cream was schedule from 4 – 5 pm, so I went to the office around 3.30pm. This gave me a chance to visit my ex-colleagues and chatted up a little. The feeling was great to see some of them again.

After picking up the ice-cream and the stuff, I bid good-byes to them. I am really glad that they still have me in their mind and I do hope these friendship can walk a long, long way ahead.

Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary

"Will you love him, comfort him, honour and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to him, so long as you both shall live?"

9 years ago we were at the ROM and were both asked the same question on this day – 4 Dec 1999.

Till today I can still remember the SPECIAL DAY where all our families, relatives and very closed friends shared our happy moment in life and joined us in our celebration as HUSBAND AND WIFE.

Today - 4 December 2008 - no fanfare as my Dearest is striving his BEST for the family.

Wedding Anniversary dates, to me, is a date for me to reflect on those good and bad time spent together as husband and wife.

On the good times, we must remind ourselves to be thankful for what we have in our life. Especially our 2 lovely children.

For those bad times, we needed to reflect on ourselves and remind ourselves that it is the learning curve in our life and must take it with an open mind.

These few months of Adrian being away for his job attachment has made me realized that we must never take the presence of our Love ones by our side for granted.

I also know that No Matter how far apart we are from each other, we have each other right here in our HEART, where its really matters...

To my Dearest,

Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary and remember whatever the outcome is, my answer is the same as 9 Years ago –

“I WILL.”

Love,
Wife dearest.

Anthea Graduation & Concert Photo

This evening when i went to the childcare to fetch Anthea and Anders, Miss Wendy passed me her graduation photo and also the CD of the concert photographs.

Hopefully, in another 15 years or so, i can see her in a real convocation ceremony... : )

Now we are all waiting for her concert DVD to see her performance again.

“Snowy” Good Time.

This morning the weather was quite good, so I brought Anthea and Anders to the swimming pool for a dip.

Luckily we had a quick swim because soon the sky darkened and it started to rain when we reached home.

Lunch was with my 大哥 and he brought us to IMPERIAL TREASURE LA MIAN XIAO LONG BAO in Marina Square. The 拉面和小笼包were delicious and the children had a great meal.

There was a Sesame Street Live Show and the children managed to catch a glimpse of the characters.

After lunch we took a walk in John Little. My brother asked me if Anthea needed anything for her Primary School, he said he would get it for her as a Christmas present. So I told Anthea that she can look around for a present. She was looking at TOYS again and I told her NO, she should look at something useful for her Primary school. Finally she chose for herself a stationery set... : )

Anders chose for himself a water bottle; again... : P

When we were done with shopping, we went to MOF for dessert. I had seen so many LOVELY Dessert from Obasan and Ajuma blog that I told myself – I MUST TRY the dessert and my determination was SWEETLY REWARDED. We ordered a Choc Sundae and a Kakigori. Anthea and Anders gobbled up the sundae till the last drop. We were all very satisfied and left home for our afternoon nap.

Dinner was with the families at New York, New York in AMK Hub. After dinner, we took a walk around NTUC Xtra and then my In-laws went home with my BIL's family.

On our way out, we saw that the Looney Tunes cartoon characters and took some photographs. Then I noticed that there were many children and parent hanging around and they seem to be waiting for something.

I asked one of the Security personnel and he told me that there will be a Bubble Blast & Snow Sensations at 8pm. Great, it was almost 8pm when I looked at my watch.

Then at 8pm, Bubbles started shooting out. All the children and parents were excited. Both Anthea and Anders started going around to “catch the bubble”. A few moment later, “Snow” started to flew in too...wow, the atmosphere were so joyful.

I am really glad that “Snow” is now in our town and we don't have to go all the way to Tanglin Mall for it.... : )

Anthea had such great time with the “snow”, she said she was imagining that she was a Princess changing her clothing in the snow...haha.

As for Anders, he was the Incredible Hulk going around chasing the “snow”.

I am really glad to see them had such a great SNOWY time, even though it is just manmade snow.

Parents-Teachers-Conference

Both Anthea and Anders PTC were scheduled between 10 am – 11.00am on 29 Nov 2008. We had a good home made ham& cheese burgers with scrambled eggs for Anthea and soft boiled egg for Anders.

Then I started to prepare simple lunch of chicken porridge before heading off to the childcare centre.

The 1st PTC was for Anders, 10am – 10.30am:

Both his English and Chinese teachers – Ms Kelyn and 张老师 gave me their assessment of Anders performance in the 2nd half year of 2008. I must say both their comments were very positive and I am very glad that Anders had such improvement.

His progress reports were as follow:

他能感激 别人的帮助，以及尊重长辈和别人的意见及看法。

Anders enjoys sport games such as bouncing ball and relay games. He displays very good team player spirit and as a good role model to all his peers. He has become more expressive in class as he will share his views with his peers. He has become more inquisitive during class activity time.

He will be starting K1 on 1 December and sad to say, his 2 teachers of Nursery class will not be taking them through K1 which I was hoping they would... : P

His K1 teachers will be Anthea existing English and Chinese teachers – whom are also very caring towards the children and I know Anders will enjoy his K1 lessons, like Anthea did so.

The 2nd PTC was for Anthea, 10.30 am to 11am.

This was her final PTC with the childcare and soon she will be going to Primary school and it will be a totally new experience for all of us.

Spoke to both her English and Chinese teachers – Ms Valentine & 罗老师。Feedbacks were also very positive and improvement had been observed, especially in her Mandarin.

Her reports were as follow:

艾妤上课时注意力短，但能回答老师的多个问题。她能人读很多词汇。好！

Overall for her English and Math, she is doing fine and she should be able to transit to Primary one quite smoothly. This was my understanding from Miss Valentine.

Anthea had been very fortunate to have these 2 teachers for her K1 and K2 classes. They had made a very great impact on her improvement in her respective areas.

Up till today, I am glad that I had made the decision to send both Anthea and Anders to NTUC Childcare. Their curriculums are very well organized and children learnt a lot through different activities: Hands on Activities, Gross Motor activities, English and Chinese Literacy programs etcs. The children had truly enjoyed all their lessons and playtime in the childcare.

Of course, the one person that should not be forgotten is the Centre Principal – Miss Wendy Sim. She is a “People Principal”. She is very approachable and always asking for feedbacks from parents. This is the culture of NTUC Childcare - 3 Ways communications. She runs the centre very well and I think for Parents who are visiting the centre and considering sending their child to the centre will be bought over by her knowledge and her professionalism...: P

Like what the K2 children said in their graduating speech: “NTUC Childcare is the best, of this I can truly vouch!”

Likewise, I would say the same. No fanciful name or fanciful game or even fanciful picture to showcase their children talent.

It is the everyday smile and lovely stories of the children that really matters.

Wok Of Life...

Last Sunday on the Sunday Times – Lifestyle section, there was an article about stalls that are selling high class dishes at Zi Char prices and this caught my attention.

The article mentioned a total of 8 Zi Char stalls and to my greatest surprise – one of them – Golden Sands Seafood is in Ang Mo Kio and it is pretty near to my house.

Golden Sands Seafood

Block 215, Ang Mo Kio Street 22,

#01-877

Tel: 9029-9608

Open: 5pm to 12.30am daily

I told my 大哥about this Zi Char outlet during our Sunday lunch outing and he said we can go and try it out for dinner on this weekday. 说吃就去吃。。。So last evening I invited my Parent in Laws to join us for dinner at this stall and they readily agreed.

My PILs came by to fetch the children and myself as they were on their way back from work; we met up with my 大哥 at the coffee shop. When we arrived the place around 6.45pm, it was pretty quiet. Initially I was worried it may be crowded due to the write up.

We got our seats and started to order the food. The article had recommended 2 dishes – Kailan Leaves and Steam Fish with celery sauce, which we didn't order...haha.

We ordered the other chef recommendations:
- 南乳排骨
- 香酥鸭
- 带子西兰花
- 酸甜鱼片
- “老鼠粉” (claypot style)

The dishes were all very delicious and all of us enjoyed the dinner. I think the best dish was the Pork ribs. It was really fried to the taste and the meat was still very tender on the inside. This is the 1st time I enjoyed such a dish...even now as I typed, the taste still linger in my mouth...haha.

During dinner, we had a good chat. My brother was asking my PILs about their career path and asked if they had changed their jobs before. Both my In-laws had served their ministries since they started working. My MIL said she had been in the nursing industry for 44 years. That is a very long time and I know till now, she still has great passion for her job. That's why the company offered her the 2nd career opportunity.

Then my FIL asked me about Adrian situation and I mentioned to him about the stress on the upcoming interview. My FIl gave me his words of wisdom. He said: “tell Adrian don't be stressed, it is all fixed. The interview is just a formality.”

Honestly, after hearing what he said, I think it does make sense and I emailed Adrian of my FIL words. Of course, we won't know if the fixture is for better but we shall not take for granted.

Adrian was very appreciative of all the encouragement that he is receiving from home and from his mentor. He said he felt better and will try his best for the interview this Friday.

In his own words:

“Nevertheless, it is also silly to go down without a fight. If I didn't make it after putting up a fight, at least I know I tried my very best. I don't know if I can withstand some more mental pressure but I will fight on.”

Well, if Zi Char stalls can offer high class dishes at Zi Char prices, I believe Adrian can do the same for his interview. ..haha.

Life is like a wok...you will use your best ingredients (knowledge) to cook up a good meal for your love ones... (achieving a higher altitute in your work life)..福满人间!!

人生得失

昨天早上在翻阅报子时看到了一则扑告。鼻子开始有点酸溜的感觉。扑告是有关去年五位在柬浦寨不辛逝世的龙舟赛手。时间过得好快，他们逝世已经一周年了。

他们的家属还在为他们的逝世感到悲哀。这种感受，我能理解，因为我也成经失去过我心爱的人- 我的三哥。他同样也是年轻有为。

人生的悲欢离合往往不由我们控制的。所以我会好好地珍惜生活的每一天。

今天早上收到了老公从外国发来的简讯。内容提到他的模拟应征测验不是很理想。这令他和担心，压力也很重。我明白他的苦，不过也只能给他精神上的鼓励。

“亲爱的老公，

名利的得失并不重要， 最重要是在这个过程中你学习到了宝贵的经验。考到了，我们等你回来庆祝。若失败了，不要失望，这表示还有东西你还没学好。下次再来！！

是得或是失，你都要记住：爱你得我们会永远在这里等你回来。

得与失是一瞬间的事情。不要把他看得太重。以我们坚定的信心和爱，一切都会有个答案。

一直爱你的老婆，女儿和儿子。"

WINX CLUB: THE SECRET OF THE LOST KINGDOM

Anthea has been a Winx Club fan since she was in K1 and in her own girls group in class; I think there is also a “winx club” group. She will usually come back from childcare and tells me who is Flora, who is Techna, who is Blooms etcs.

At our recent movie outing for High School Musical, the cinema show a thriller of the Winx Club movie and Anthea said she wanted to watch it.

Being a 二十四孝妈妈，how can I say NO... : P The game plan started on Saturday morning. While I was reading my newspaper at breakfast, I took a quick glance at the movie showing time in Cathay Cineplex. When I saw the show times, I knew I was spoilt for choices. So I told myself, I will play by ear to see how the schedule goes.

I did my usual household chores, prepared a simple lunch of Hainanese Chicken rice using the premix sauce. Of course, preparing a pot of home cooked soup using my new WMF pot... : )

Then I received a call from my SIL to inform me of the dinner plan of eating steamboat at my MIL's place as some of the aunties were coming over for dinner too.

So this set my game plan – target the 5.05pm Winx Club movie. I didn't tell the children about the movie plan because just in case of any last minute changes.

After lunch, the children had their usual nap. They woke up around 4pm, very good timing. I asked them if they would like to watch a movie before going to 奶奶 house for dinner. They said YES and then we were making a decision on which movie: Winx Club or Madagascar.

After discussion we decided on WINX CLUB. So around 4.45pm we made our way to the Cineplex. We bought the 2 tickets for the 5.05pm show. I used the Civil Service card and bought the weekends Combo deal – 2 tickets include Popcorn and 2 drinks. As usual the cinema was not crowded, so we had the chance to change seats.

The 1 ½ hour show was very engaging and I engaged it as much. Anthea also had a great time. Anders was a bit restless but still managed to sit through, though he kept going to the toilet... : P

The show had a beautiful ending – Bloom finally found her real parents and became the Princess of Domino.

Both Anthea and Anders came out of the cinema feeling very happy and I am glad that we had the chance to watch it too.

Then we headed to my MIL's house for dinner. Both of them were looking forward to seeing their Uncle Kiat again. Matter of fact, Anders was just asking to play with Uncle Kiat on Friday evening when we were out for dinner. They had a rowdy good time with their uncle kiat at my MIL place.

Like Adrian always say: “be careful of what you wish for.”

Wishes do come true, just like DREAMS too... : )

毕业典礼 – K2 Graduation Concert 2008

Finally it's the Graduation day for NTUC Childcare K2 classes. The day I had been looking forward to and the day my girl made me a very PROUD mother.

In the morning around 7am, I brought Anthea to her childcare centre for the teachers to do her makeup and change of costume.

Then I went home to see how Anders was as he was still sleeping while we left the house. Thankfully, the neighbor 哥哥was sitting with him at the door when I reached home.

We had a simple breakfast and then got changed and got ready to go to the Graduation ceremony. The venue of the ceremony was Nanyang Polytechnic Auditorium, which is about 10 minutes drive away from our home. So we were in no rush and took our own sweet time.

According to the teachers, this year NTUC organized the ceremony into 2 sessions – morning session 10.30am to 12.30pm and afternoon session – 4.30pm to 6.30pm. In each session, there are about 18 – 19 Centers taking part. In Anthea morning session, there were a total of 381 children graduating.

I bought 3 tickets for the concert as originally my parents were joining me. But due to their China tour trip, they can't make it for the ceremony. So it was just Anders and me .

We reached the auditorium around 10.10am and collected our door gift. For Adrian benefit, I ordered the concert DVD, so that when he's back in SG, he will have the chance to see Anthea in her 方帽子and her performance. We were seated at H 10 – 12 and it was very near to the stage.

At about 10.30am, there were montages of the children preparation shown on the big screen on the stage. It showed all the practice sessions that they had gone through.

Then the 2 hosts started to make the announcements. (English/Chinese Version). The guest of honor was invited on to the stage to make a speech. Then after the speech, it was the moment that all parents were waiting for – seeing their child coming into the auditorium in their “convocation suit” and going on stage to receive their certificate.

When the host announced the arrival of children from AMK2, I was very excited and keep looking at the march in group. Luckily for us, Anthea came in via the side where we were seated. I was so PROUD to see her and she was very happy to see us. I took a few photos of her while she was standing next to us, waiting to go on stage. The children go up to the stage and one of the children will represent the centre to collect the certificates from the GOH. Then they took a group photo with the GOH and their teachers.

Then few selected children from different centre came on stage to do the graduation speech – My Journey in NTUC Childcare. It was like walking down memory lane when they were saying the speech.

(Anthea is the last person standing on the left hand side)

Extract -

“Finally, I am in the 5th year as a senior! I am in K2 now, a year short of primary school.
Hey, I am the oldest and I feel pretty cool, I look around me and I feel I know so much.
I feel so confident with my teachers in touch; NTUC Childcare is the best, of this I can vouch!

And as I step out of my centre's door into the crowd, I am feeling happy and proud.
Even as I shall miss all my friends, principal, teachers and aunties...
I am feeling so excited to learn new things and make new friends...
As I smiled and wave at this K2 concert 2008
Let's cherish our moment now, and celebrate a new tomorrow!!

After the touching speech by the children, the SHOW began – A CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP.

Based on previous experienced in attending graduation concerts, I would assume that children would perform individual items from respective centres. To my greatest surprise, the children from all 18 centers put up ONE BIG stage show of the story. Alot of effort has been put into this stage show especially on all the logistic arrangement for practises and full dress rehearsal. Kudos to all the teachers, aunties and pricipals who made it possible.

The 1 ½ show was really impressive. The children were dressed in different characters for the stories. Anthea and her friends played the role of frogs. Though their performance was pretty short for the whole show. I know they had enjoyed it and I was very PROUD of her performing on stage, without any stage fright.

For the finale, the children all went on stage and sang a song for their teachers – Special Song of Thanks. Honestly I am very thankful that Anthea had 2 Great teachers in her class – Ms Valentine and 罗老师。They had provided very good opportunities to the children. Seeing how Anthea grow since K1 with the centre, I know both the teachers had put in great efforts.

I SAY ：”THANK YOU TEACHERS!!”

The very last part of the concert was when all the K2 teachers came into the auditorium and sang “You will be in my Heart”. A very touching song and the lyrics are very meaningful.

Finally after the 2 hours of speech, awards and performance, the ceremony came to an end. Parents were told to remain in the auditorium till the host called out the Centre name, and then we proceeded to the holding area to pick up our child.

Throughout the time, I shed tears of joy because I felt that Anthea had achieved so much in her childcare days. No words can express my feelings but I know these days will bring her forward to the next phase in life.

After the event, one of Anthea's classmates – Lydia's mommy asked me if I would like to join them for lunch and I said ok. We decided to eat at the Drive – thru Macdonald at AMK central since it's near to NYP. Then another classmate – Xiao Xing and her mommy also joined us.

The girls had so much fun at lunch and Anthea was so happy as she hardly had the chance to lunch with her friends in this manners. After lunch, the children played at the big playground area while the parents chatted. It was a very nice impromptu lunch outing and I hope we can keep in touch and the girls will have more chances to meet up, even after they graduated.

亲爱的艾妤，

今天你让妈妈感到好骄傲。虽然只是幼儿园的毕业，但是也算是一种成就。
接下来的学习路会更长，更难，不过妈妈会一直陪你走下去。

永远爱你的妈妈。

守望相助

Having stayed here in our humble home for almost 10 years, we had got to know most of our neighbours very well.

On Wednesday, Anthea needed to report to the childcare centre early in the morning around 7.30am. As they were having the Full Dress rehearsal for the graduation day .

For tomorrow morning, the teacher advised us to send the child to the centre at 7am. I am a bit worried because I do not want to drag Anders out of bed so early, i.e.: 6.15am.

So I went over to one of my neighbor house and asked them for their morning help. In case if Anders wakes up early, I will bring him along to the centre to drop Anthea off. The childcare is closed for tomorrow for the Graduation Ceremony. However, if Anders is still asleep at the time we are leaving the house, I have asked my neighbor to watch over him.

This family is very helpful and readily agreed to my request. At this kind of situation, I realized the importance of a good neighborhood –“远亲不如近居”.

This morning when I opened the door to pick up the newspaper, I saw my neighbor (the aunty) watering our one and only plant. I know she had been watering it for some times because I noticed the floor was wet in the morning. She even volunteered to help me sew Anthea name tag on her uniforms, she works as seamstress.

Their son just completed his PSLE from TGPS, so he is actually a senior to Anthea. Both Anthea and Anders always had fun playing with the 哥哥。

Although we stay in HDB but having such good neighbors is really what we cannot take for granted.

谢谢左邻右舍们的守望相助 的精神！！

New Toys

Last Sunday we had dinner with the families at the Teochew City restaurant in Centrepoint.

After a nice and relaxed dinner, my parents in law suggested to take a walk in Robinson Children section. Both Anthea and Anders were happy when they heard their 爷爷mentioned this.

Anthea and Anders was totally engrossed with all the toys and luckily the place was no too crowded. My little niece was also following both of them around the toys.

Suddenly 爷爷 told the children they can chose a toy and he will pay for it. Oops...here they go... : P
Both of them were busy going round and round choosing their toys. I followed Anders and he wanted to buy a Ben10 toy. I shortlisted one of the toy for him as he choose all those big and expensive stuff.

Then as we walked around, he saw Thomas the Train Puzzles and decided to buy the puzzle instead. I was more than glad to shortlist puzzles than those not to useful monster toy...hee : P

Anthea wanted a Barbie Diamond castle musical jewellery box. I told her she does not need those entire items from the box, so it would be better to choose some other educational toy. Finally she chose the Pony Race game.

Meanwhile, my little niece, Faith, was pushing a toy pram while she was walking around with the children and my PILs. So needless to say, her present was the toy pram. The week before while we were at Toy R Us, she was also pushing the toy pram. Hmm...does this mean she's ready for a sibling...haha.

She was very protective of her toy pram, when Anders tried to push her pram, she kept saying: “NO,NO,NO.” in her own stern way. Very cute and adorable little girl.

Now both Anthea and Anders are playing with their new toys at home. They are enjoying the puzzles and the Pony race. Big thanks to 爷爷和奶奶。

Anthea Orientation Day

It is the day that I have been looking forward to. Yes, it's her Orientation day. As usual, we woke up and had breakfast at home, and then we brought Anders to Childcare before attending the orientation.

Anthea and I reached TGPS around 8.45am and we went to the hall for the orientation. Anthea was seated with her new classmates in the hall while the parents were seated on the other side. Looking at her expression, I knew she was a bit nervous but I kept signaling to her “she will be ok” and she gave me a smile on it.

The Vice Principal started the orientation around 9.10am. He went through a quick introduction of the School Motto “Aspire and Achieve” and also the school values:

T – Team spirit
G – Graciousness
P – Perseverance
S – Self –Discipline

I was quite impressed with his simple speech. Guess what, he was being transferred from Anderson Primary School just 3 months ago. He was very confident in telling parents whose child was rejected by APS that there is no “lost” as TGPS is doing as well as APS...wow...what a surprised it was to me... : P

After the VP opening address, the children were brought to their respective classroom by their form teacher. Anthea class teacher is Miss Anna Koh. She is a very pleasant young lady. I had a quick chat with her about school books and she said that she will be keeping most of the exercise books in school, so the school bag would not be too heavy to carry. I was glad to hear this from her.

Parents were further briefed through the P1 SEED Programme, Dental Care, the Parents Handbook and finally the Parents Volunteer Group.

Then we were lead to one of the classroom to complete some forms. Upon completion, I went to Anthea’s classroom to pick up her. I brought her to the School Bag vendor and asked if she would like to have one of the school own designed school bag or she preferred others. She said she is fine with the school bag, so we bought one BLUE tag bag for her.

I was happy with the purchase as experienced mommies had advice me on buying the Ergo Bag, so I was following their guideline. Thanks Mommies!!

We walked around after buying the school bag. Anthea requested to have a sandwich as the canteen was still open. On our way out of the school, some PVs approached me and asked if I would like to sign up as a PV. I told them: “Yes, of course.”

I hope that I can learn as much as my children while being a PV to the school. I want to partake in their school life as and when my time permits.

As we were leaving the school, Anthea said to me: “ Mommy, I like my new school very much. “

I am really glad that she likes her new school and new teacher. I wish her Primary School road ahead will be as ASPIRING as her class name denote.

Family Carnival @ Orchid Country Club

This morning we had fried carrot cake for breakfast as requested by Anthea last night. This is my 1st attempt in home-fried carrot cake. I find it not bad but my critic said it is not nice...: P (of course, cannot compared to the uncle's fried carrot cake.)

Anthe and Anders had requested to go to the park to ride bicycles. However, there was a bit of overcast so I told them we should not go to the park. While they were watching their morning shows, I did the chores. Then around noon time, the sky cleared and the sun was out.

I told them to change and we go ready for our Orchid Country Club outing. The children childcare had provided information about this Family Carnival with some free game and popcorn coupon, so I thought it would be good to take a visit. The pamphlet also advised us to bring along our swimwear. The Carnival takes place on 15 – 16 November, 12 pm to 8 pm.

We took the MRT to Yishun station and from there; we took the OCC shuttle service. It was very fast. When we reached OCC, the children were very excited to see the many games stall and also the pool slide.

We bought the $5 coupons and started playing at different games stalls. We collected colour sticks after each game and these sticks can be used for redemption.

Anthea and Anders played archery , shoot the dinosaurs and football games. After playing the games, we went to the poolside. Both of them were very happy when I told them I brought their swimming gear. They changed and got into the children pool where they were different animal floats on loan. There was a BIG water slide in the pool.

Anthea has fun going through it, Anders was a little apprehensive about the slide, so he just played with the Dolphin float by the poolside.

They had about an hour of water play. Then they showered and changed. We had a simple lunch at the Carnival. There were food stalls, so we bought 2 bowl of 拉面, with mixture of fish ball, sausages and satay. There was also a Magic show on going at the lunch area.

After lunch, we went and played a few more games before calling it a day. We left OCC around 3 pm and reached home about 3.30pm.

The children had their usual nap and after such a fun packed outing, both of them were totally knock out. They slept till almost 7pm. I decided to prepare a simple home cooked dinner instead of rushing them up and out for our usual dinner with the families.

Last evening, we had the chance to video conference with Adrian and it seem like it may be hopeful that his interview may happen after all in his current work location. A few high ranking officers will be making a trip to their current work place, so they may do the interview with him onsite, rather than to wait till he return end December. Rumour is their stay may be extended for a week so he may be back in January 2009.

Anthea School Uniforms and Books

On Tuesday, my new Boss told me that he will be working for home on Thursday. I have the option to go to the office or not to go in. so after discussion with him, I decided to be off on Thursday and work Full Day on Friday.

This current flexi working hours is really a blessing as I can go around my own household chores and gym routine at my own schedules.

Today TGPS is having school uniforms and school textbooks for sale. After listening to experienced mommies advices, I decided to go and buy all the stuff since I am off.

In the morning, before bringing Anthea and Anders to childcare, we went by to TGPS to buy her school uniforms. I needed Anthea to be there, in order to buy the right sizes. Her name tags are also ready.

I bought the followings:

- 3 sets of school uniforms
- 1 set PE attire
- 1 set house attire
- 3 pairs of school socks with School Initial
- A pair of black shoes
- Her name tags (6 pieces)

The total amount spent on her school uniforms were $85.90.

When I had settled the children in childcare, I decided to go back to the school to buy her textbooks. I had done some research on prices of the textbooks and discovered that it is still more economical to buy from the school vendor – pacific bookstores.

I bought all her textbooks/workbooks/homework books and all the compulsory items on the book list. They were all nicely packed into a big box. Total amount spent on the books were $112.15.

It was the right decision to buy her stuff today as there was no one in the Q. The uniform vendor was so nice that she even let Anthea tried on the size. She said this will not be possible if I buy on next Monday, the Orientation Day. Luckily TGPS has pre-arranged a few dates on the sale of uniforms/books, so that parents can arrange to buy them at different dates/timing. Otherwise, next Monday will be a mad rush to Q here and there.

I am really excited and look forward to next Monday orientation. I hope Anthea will like her new school and new friends.