Thursday, June 16, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
A major milestone for Dyllis!
02 June 2011, Thursday, lunar 五月初一 : A very important date in my darling girl's life......
She had her ears pierced !!! Finally ! She did it !
It was very funny, she asked me the day before: "Mama, how pain would it be to pierce my ear"?
Me : "Just like an ant bite?"
DD : "But I'm scared!"
Me : "Well, we've discussed this before, if you want to pierce your ears, the best time is during the school holidays, and now it's the school holidays! Why dun you do it tomorrow?"
DD: "O, er...OK !"
Then, the next morning, as soon as she woke up :"Mama, I'm having my ears pierced today?"
Me : "Yes! What a good date ! Today's the 初一!" (er...am buddhist, first day of the lunar month seem a bit special to me...)
DD : "O, great ! Special day!"
Me : "Yes!"
For the rest of the morning & afternoon, the kids were overwhelmed with finishing up some school holiday homework, it seemed like they were not able to complete them, so I thought we would not have time to go for girl's ears piercing...what's more, had to bring my dad out for dinner....told girl about the 'bad news', she seemed sad....
Guess what ! Somehow, some events in life seemed to be destined. We went to City Square for dinner. Had time to roam around after dinner, decided to ask around for a jewelry shop that offers ear piercing service.
At the first shop that we approached, the sales assistant told us that there is none of such service in the whole shopping mall !
Girl was not convinced, eagerly searched for another jewelry shop, a sales assistant at the 2nd jewelry shop told her it's availabe at Gold Heart Jewelry ! Girl was jumping with JOY !
She happily chose the design, sat down eagerly, not knowing what she had gotten herself into!
Upon the first shot of the earring through her right ear lobe, she gave out a mild squeal...."ouches" followed..."it's painful! "...."wait...let me count 1,2,3 before you punch the 2nd one" she told the sales assistant. (She was the same sales assistant from the 2nd jewelry shop, she was kind enough to help perform the procedure as there were only male sales assistants in Gold Heart Jewelry at that time!)
It was such a cute sight...it's really like 爱美不要命! But I must say that I'm really impressed with my girl's determination in this !
She was so proud of having "done it" finally.
And today (09 June 2011), she surprised me by telling me :" Today's Thursday! Hooray! One week already!!"
My little cutie pie is counting the number of days since she put on her first pair of earrings in her life ! hahahaha....
She had her ears pierced !!! Finally ! She did it !
It was very funny, she asked me the day before: "Mama, how pain would it be to pierce my ear"?
Me : "Just like an ant bite?"
DD : "But I'm scared!"
Me : "Well, we've discussed this before, if you want to pierce your ears, the best time is during the school holidays, and now it's the school holidays! Why dun you do it tomorrow?"
DD: "O, er...OK !"
Then, the next morning, as soon as she woke up :"Mama, I'm having my ears pierced today?"
Me : "Yes! What a good date ! Today's the 初一!" (er...am buddhist, first day of the lunar month seem a bit special to me...)
DD : "O, great ! Special day!"
Me : "Yes!"
For the rest of the morning & afternoon, the kids were overwhelmed with finishing up some school holiday homework, it seemed like they were not able to complete them, so I thought we would not have time to go for girl's ears piercing...what's more, had to bring my dad out for dinner....told girl about the 'bad news', she seemed sad....
Guess what ! Somehow, some events in life seemed to be destined. We went to City Square for dinner. Had time to roam around after dinner, decided to ask around for a jewelry shop that offers ear piercing service.
At the first shop that we approached, the sales assistant told us that there is none of such service in the whole shopping mall !
Girl was not convinced, eagerly searched for another jewelry shop, a sales assistant at the 2nd jewelry shop told her it's availabe at Gold Heart Jewelry ! Girl was jumping with JOY !
She happily chose the design, sat down eagerly, not knowing what she had gotten herself into!
Upon the first shot of the earring through her right ear lobe, she gave out a mild squeal...."ouches" followed..."it's painful! "...."wait...let me count 1,2,3 before you punch the 2nd one" she told the sales assistant. (She was the same sales assistant from the 2nd jewelry shop, she was kind enough to help perform the procedure as there were only male sales assistants in Gold Heart Jewelry at that time!)
It was such a cute sight...it's really like 爱美不要命! But I must say that I'm really impressed with my girl's determination in this !
She was so proud of having "done it" finally.
And today (09 June 2011), she surprised me by telling me :" Today's Thursday! Hooray! One week already!!"
My little cutie pie is counting the number of days since she put on her first pair of earrings in her life ! hahahaha....
Friday, December 24, 2010
A major milestone for Evan
23 December 2010 marks a very important day in my little rascal's life.....brought him to the dentist to have his FIRST tooth extracted !
This little bottom right incisor has been wobbly since our New Zealand trip, but had been advising him to leave it alone, and let it drop out naturally.
However, suddenly, on Tuesday (21st Dec), noticed that there is a new tooth growing behind the shaky tooth ! Oh no ! Cannot wait ! Hence, brought him to the dentist this morning, and have it extracted.
Well done Evan ! No cries...my brave little boy :)
This little bottom right incisor has been wobbly since our New Zealand trip, but had been advising him to leave it alone, and let it drop out naturally.
However, suddenly, on Tuesday (21st Dec), noticed that there is a new tooth growing behind the shaky tooth ! Oh no ! Cannot wait ! Hence, brought him to the dentist this morning, and have it extracted.
Well done Evan ! No cries...my brave little boy :)
Monday, November 1, 2010
The happiest day of my life....
Today, 01 November 2010, is the happiest day of my life...in the last 85 days !!!
Let's start with the beginning of my 'torture'...
We fired the domestic helper! She is the 2nd helper I've gotten in the year. Despite tolerating the usual spoilt shirts, broken kitchen utensils, unfinished tasks, 'cooking porridge' over the phone problems...the final blow came when the 'moral ground' was breached : having boyfriends when she is a mother of 4 !!!
Call us old-fashioned, but neither Bruce nor I can endure such 'immoral' act of cheating on the husband.
Almost immediately, I felt a sense of 'freedom' when there is no 'extra' person in the home. I am not alone, the kids shared my sentiments too! We resolute to make it work, without a live-in helper.
The days that followed were NOT a bed of roses....
There were so many days of ups and downs....there were times when we enjoyed lunch out, (eg at Carl's Jr or Old Town Cafe) on a weekday after school, but there were also times when I had to scream at kids to make them obedient; there were times when I felt so energetic and accomplished so much in 2 hours, but there were also times when I felt so tired and stressed...
Many a times I was not sure how am I gonna survive....especially with Dyllis's year end examination round the corner...but I kept reminding myself to stay calm and take things as it comes.
As if I am not stressed enough already, I had a scare of my life when I had an exceptionally sore breast for 2 weeks ! I went to my gynae, she adviced that the sore could be due to PMS, but something unusual in my uterus, ordered a pelvic ultrasound....got it done...whew ! Everything is fine :)
So, attention back to Dyllis's exams. Frankly speaking, I was very apprehensive about this year end examination. I felt the stress more than Dyllis. Ever since we came back to Singapore, I made the conscious decision of not sending her to any additional tuition, other than Science. This means that the rest of the subjects - English, Chinese, Maths are my responsibilities.
But given our 'relax' attitude throughout the year, I was not sure if my girl can make it! To add on to my anxiety, the Science tutor told me tips for coaching her (for the Science topic) prior to the exam...which meant there is A LOT OF WORK that I have to cover with my girl ! Oh no ! Where got time?!?!?!?!
Ok, steady, steady...I told myself. Just take one step at a time.
Part One : English & Chinese Oral, it was a nightmare - having to discover that Dyllis's grasp of the spoken language is actually very weak !
Part Two : English & Chinese Compositions. This one also almost fainted when Dyllis was not able to complete writing an essay in the stipulated time !
Part Three : The rest of the sections for English & Chinese, Mathematics & Science.
Thanks to the PSLE marking days break, I sort of got Dyllis into the momentum of studying.
But my biggest problem here was Dyllis's carelessness. She knew her subjects, but for 'dunno-wat' reasons, she would give a wrong answer ! There were soooo many instances whereby I have to take very very deep breath, and swollow back my anger ! But of course, there were also times when the "loud hailer" cannot be helped :(
My guiding principle through those difficult times was simple : She do not need to score Aces for the subjects, but she has to work hard and give it her best shot. It's not the result that matters, but the learning process.
Hence, whenever I know that tension was building up too much...I'll remind myself NOT to spoil this learning process for her.
Today's the last paper : Science. I am sooooooo glad that it's over and done with !
Suddenly I felt a sense of relief ! I can't believe that I've made it in one-piece ! To reward my little darling, today was a 'mummy-declared holiday' ! It meant no need to do homework, can watch t.v., can go out for dinner on a weekday night :)
We even ended the night with New Zealand Ice-cream ! So, isn't that the happiest day of my life?
p.s. another huge accomplishment during this 'difficult period' - I single-handedly organised two celebrations for my dad's 70th birthday ! Hm...beginning to feel that I'm 'superwoman' !! hahaha...
Let's start with the beginning of my 'torture'...
We fired the domestic helper! She is the 2nd helper I've gotten in the year. Despite tolerating the usual spoilt shirts, broken kitchen utensils, unfinished tasks, 'cooking porridge' over the phone problems...the final blow came when the 'moral ground' was breached : having boyfriends when she is a mother of 4 !!!
Call us old-fashioned, but neither Bruce nor I can endure such 'immoral' act of cheating on the husband.
Almost immediately, I felt a sense of 'freedom' when there is no 'extra' person in the home. I am not alone, the kids shared my sentiments too! We resolute to make it work, without a live-in helper.
The days that followed were NOT a bed of roses....
There were so many days of ups and downs....there were times when we enjoyed lunch out, (eg at Carl's Jr or Old Town Cafe) on a weekday after school, but there were also times when I had to scream at kids to make them obedient; there were times when I felt so energetic and accomplished so much in 2 hours, but there were also times when I felt so tired and stressed...
Many a times I was not sure how am I gonna survive....especially with Dyllis's year end examination round the corner...but I kept reminding myself to stay calm and take things as it comes.
As if I am not stressed enough already, I had a scare of my life when I had an exceptionally sore breast for 2 weeks ! I went to my gynae, she adviced that the sore could be due to PMS, but something unusual in my uterus, ordered a pelvic ultrasound....got it done...whew ! Everything is fine :)
So, attention back to Dyllis's exams. Frankly speaking, I was very apprehensive about this year end examination. I felt the stress more than Dyllis. Ever since we came back to Singapore, I made the conscious decision of not sending her to any additional tuition, other than Science. This means that the rest of the subjects - English, Chinese, Maths are my responsibilities.
But given our 'relax' attitude throughout the year, I was not sure if my girl can make it! To add on to my anxiety, the Science tutor told me tips for coaching her (for the Science topic) prior to the exam...which meant there is A LOT OF WORK that I have to cover with my girl ! Oh no ! Where got time?!?!?!?!
Ok, steady, steady...I told myself. Just take one step at a time.
Part One : English & Chinese Oral, it was a nightmare - having to discover that Dyllis's grasp of the spoken language is actually very weak !
Part Two : English & Chinese Compositions. This one also almost fainted when Dyllis was not able to complete writing an essay in the stipulated time !
Part Three : The rest of the sections for English & Chinese, Mathematics & Science.
Thanks to the PSLE marking days break, I sort of got Dyllis into the momentum of studying.
But my biggest problem here was Dyllis's carelessness. She knew her subjects, but for 'dunno-wat' reasons, she would give a wrong answer ! There were soooo many instances whereby I have to take very very deep breath, and swollow back my anger ! But of course, there were also times when the "loud hailer" cannot be helped :(
My guiding principle through those difficult times was simple : She do not need to score Aces for the subjects, but she has to work hard and give it her best shot. It's not the result that matters, but the learning process.
Hence, whenever I know that tension was building up too much...I'll remind myself NOT to spoil this learning process for her.
Today's the last paper : Science. I am sooooooo glad that it's over and done with !
Suddenly I felt a sense of relief ! I can't believe that I've made it in one-piece ! To reward my little darling, today was a 'mummy-declared holiday' ! It meant no need to do homework, can watch t.v., can go out for dinner on a weekday night :)
We even ended the night with New Zealand Ice-cream ! So, isn't that the happiest day of my life?
p.s. another huge accomplishment during this 'difficult period' - I single-handedly organised two celebrations for my dad's 70th birthday ! Hm...beginning to feel that I'm 'superwoman' !! hahaha...
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Our first June school holiday in Singapore
A few more days and it's back to school for the kids ! Has it been a great break for the kids? Er....whoops, I don't think they'll say that they've had enough or if they had an extraordinary break....why? It's been a month (yes, a full month) 'plagued' by Chicken Pox outbreak !
We started the holiday pretty well. School was out by 28th May, as it was Vesak Day. As Daddy was not in town, decided to bring kids out to have some 'plaster fun' (together with Aloysius & Aleanor).
For the next 2 days, we had fun venturing out on BMW - Bus, MRT, Walk !
Evan had signed up for a week of 'Alice in Variousland' in school, sent him to school, while Dyllis & I were at Starbucks doing her holiday homeworks from school. This was supposed to be the plan for the whole of first week.....alas, Evan had rashes on his body on Tuesday (of the first week of the holiday) ! Rashed him to Doc Ong (our regular paedi), confirmed - Chicken Pox ! No more outing for 2 weeks !
So, there goes the rest of the plans....I had to come up with new plans...can't be playing the whole day, everyday, for 14 days ! So, my plan was to let the kids do some serious works, before they earn 'credits' for playing or watching T.V.
It worked ! We had a balance of work, play, T.V. and even started on kids' mosaic art project ! (Oh, we also did a major clean-up of our study room!)
For the 2nd week, I needed Bruce to help by working from home while I sent Dyllis for her piano workshops, and art classes. That gave me a short break from home ! I actually did not step out of the house for 4 consecutive days on the first week, and it felt really weird !!
Finally Evan was well, and we brought him out for the first time on 13th June, to United Square to watch the Ben10 show. The second time Evan ventured out, we were very adventurous...we went to Jurong Birdpark ! It was a pre-planned trip with our friends (Venetia, Yikai & Kaiyi). I was actually not feeling very well, but I cannot let the kids down. So, popped panadol, and was well enough to have a great trip at the birdpark.
However, our happiness was shortlived.....I came down with high fever that night. The next morning, I discovered some blisters on my chest, it looked highly suspicious ! Went to the doctor, delayed the flight to a day later, still being positive....but by night time, more rashes appeared, and my hopes were dashed. Bye bye to our Shanghai holiday, confirmed, I got the Chicken Pox :(
So, the record has been broken, I have not left the house for the last 10days! (Except for the visit to Raffles hospital on 20th June for my chestpains - for fear of pneumonia) I can't believe it! I have not stepped into NTUC for two weeks ! The butcher and the fishmonger in the wet market must be missing me ! hahaha....
But seriously, I am very grateful that my Uncle Bruce is in town this time to help me 'tide over the difficulties'. (For once, he is here when I needed him !!)
The first few days were terrible, the rate that the rashes were appearing were depressing. They were VERY itchy and quite pain at some sensitive areas, or when I was lying down on them.
I am so glad that Bruce had taken leave to take care of the kids. I was very upset that Dyllis did not get to have a 'real break', the trip was supposed to be a reward for her great achievements - having passed the first exam in her life with flying colours !
But what Bruce did with the kids the next few days more than made up for the canceled trip! He brought them to the library, to Sentosa (went to the luge, underwater world, megazip, etc), to Science centre, to the Singapore Flyer (at night), to ice-skate at Kallang Leisure Park and to cycle at East Coast ! The kids were soooooo happy, and they are still talking about how much fun I've missed out up till today ! (And Dyllis is so sweet, she is always telling me : "Mummy, I hope you can quickly recover, and we can go Sentosa again!")
Ok, that was last week, and this week, being the last week of the school holiday, and Daddy can't be on leave forever, the plan is for the kids to 'normalise' back to reality! Enough of play, enough of movie nights, we have to slowly get back to the momentum of school work ! So, it's back to work first before play !
So here I am, trying very hard to bring my kids back to boring school work...having very little success till date...thanks to the Daddy making it so fun for them last week :)
We started the holiday pretty well. School was out by 28th May, as it was Vesak Day. As Daddy was not in town, decided to bring kids out to have some 'plaster fun' (together with Aloysius & Aleanor).
For the next 2 days, we had fun venturing out on BMW - Bus, MRT, Walk !
Evan had signed up for a week of 'Alice in Variousland' in school, sent him to school, while Dyllis & I were at Starbucks doing her holiday homeworks from school. This was supposed to be the plan for the whole of first week.....alas, Evan had rashes on his body on Tuesday (of the first week of the holiday) ! Rashed him to Doc Ong (our regular paedi), confirmed - Chicken Pox ! No more outing for 2 weeks !
So, there goes the rest of the plans....I had to come up with new plans...can't be playing the whole day, everyday, for 14 days ! So, my plan was to let the kids do some serious works, before they earn 'credits' for playing or watching T.V.
It worked ! We had a balance of work, play, T.V. and even started on kids' mosaic art project ! (Oh, we also did a major clean-up of our study room!)
For the 2nd week, I needed Bruce to help by working from home while I sent Dyllis for her piano workshops, and art classes. That gave me a short break from home ! I actually did not step out of the house for 4 consecutive days on the first week, and it felt really weird !!
Finally Evan was well, and we brought him out for the first time on 13th June, to United Square to watch the Ben10 show. The second time Evan ventured out, we were very adventurous...we went to Jurong Birdpark ! It was a pre-planned trip with our friends (Venetia, Yikai & Kaiyi). I was actually not feeling very well, but I cannot let the kids down. So, popped panadol, and was well enough to have a great trip at the birdpark.
However, our happiness was shortlived.....I came down with high fever that night. The next morning, I discovered some blisters on my chest, it looked highly suspicious ! Went to the doctor, delayed the flight to a day later, still being positive....but by night time, more rashes appeared, and my hopes were dashed. Bye bye to our Shanghai holiday, confirmed, I got the Chicken Pox :(
So, the record has been broken, I have not left the house for the last 10days! (Except for the visit to Raffles hospital on 20th June for my chestpains - for fear of pneumonia) I can't believe it! I have not stepped into NTUC for two weeks ! The butcher and the fishmonger in the wet market must be missing me ! hahaha....
But seriously, I am very grateful that my Uncle Bruce is in town this time to help me 'tide over the difficulties'. (For once, he is here when I needed him !!)
The first few days were terrible, the rate that the rashes were appearing were depressing. They were VERY itchy and quite pain at some sensitive areas, or when I was lying down on them.
I am so glad that Bruce had taken leave to take care of the kids. I was very upset that Dyllis did not get to have a 'real break', the trip was supposed to be a reward for her great achievements - having passed the first exam in her life with flying colours !
But what Bruce did with the kids the next few days more than made up for the canceled trip! He brought them to the library, to Sentosa (went to the luge, underwater world, megazip, etc), to Science centre, to the Singapore Flyer (at night), to ice-skate at Kallang Leisure Park and to cycle at East Coast ! The kids were soooooo happy, and they are still talking about how much fun I've missed out up till today ! (And Dyllis is so sweet, she is always telling me : "Mummy, I hope you can quickly recover, and we can go Sentosa again!")
Ok, that was last week, and this week, being the last week of the school holiday, and Daddy can't be on leave forever, the plan is for the kids to 'normalise' back to reality! Enough of play, enough of movie nights, we have to slowly get back to the momentum of school work ! So, it's back to work first before play !
So here I am, trying very hard to bring my kids back to boring school work...having very little success till date...thanks to the Daddy making it so fun for them last week :)
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