2016~

I was looking through my blog for last year's resolution and am prepared to go through the list and see how much I have/have not achieved but I couldn't find it.
I must say 2014 was bad and 2015 was no better.

I can only hope for a better and more meaningful 2016~

blog layout and banner

For the past few months, I have been contemplating on changing the blog template and today I finally did it!

Actually it was an accident. I wanted to keep the old color scheme but I accidentally clicked on the apply changes button and I guess I can only live with this color scheme now.

Today I also created a simple header banner, which I long to do so...

belated dad's dinner and family gathering

This is a long belated family gathering for the family.
We were supposed to celebrate Dad's birthday back in September but due to circumstances, we postponed it indefinitely. And finally, we got the chance to gather now.

Dinner was at the old Bottle Tree Village (I assume it's not call Bottle Tree now).
We went to see how the other kids did long kang fishing where literally, the kids get themselves into the longkang to fish. I am not prepared for the mess and crowd (it's quite crowded and I could hardly see the fishes) so we headed straight for dinner after a while.

After dinner, we get to the Uncle Ringo carnival tent where there are bouncing house, slides and bumper cars.
Ethan wanted to do bouncing house and inflatable slide and I managed to convince him to take the bumper car since I think the inflatable slides are not that interesting.

But when he saw mei mei played in the bouncing house, he changed his mind. So we went to the ticketing counter to change the tickets again.

The kids took off their shoes and off they went for the slides. Because mei mei had difficulty going up so I requested to go up with her (parents/adults not allowed). Upon reaching the top, Summer, who was ahead of us, got scared and refused to slide down, so I was there comforting her while asking mei mei to wait. It can be intimidating when as the slide gradient is quite steep.

There was another girl behind us and she kept jumping to a point I feel that the slide is heavily deflated towards her. Then I realized it's not because of her jumps. My sister was shouting at us to quickly slide down but we couldn't cos the slide was deflating behind me and I felt like I was sinking in and I couldn't move with Summer ahead of us. Seeing this, while shouting the slide is going to collapse, she quickly climbed up and got summer down while I quickly get kaelyn down.

For the first time in our lives, the slide collapsed when we were on it. The staff later explained someone had off the switch, causing the inflatables to lose air and thus deflate. We got scared and requested to the staff that we wanted to change back to the bumper car which is 'safer'. She agreed and off we went bumping each other.


Our car is a little faulty so we spend most of the time stuck and steering hard but it was worth the fun.

After the carnival, we went to take some pictures and left the place after.

It was an enjoyable dinner for me! :)

~~~
Side track, it's been more than a month since I last updated. Tumultuous period for me. And I hope that things are working out fine now.
And I hope to get back to regular blogging soon.

~~~
Celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary last Friday, with mainly activities as a family and focus on kids.
a little upset about it but oh well... it's a family time to cherish too~

Outdoor activities for the kids~

Came across a blog and thought I can pen this down and bring the kids for exploration to various parts of Singapore!

West
Jurong Frog Farm
Singapore Science Center
Jurong Bird Park

South
Underwater World
Port of Lost Wonder
Universal Studios Singapore
Aquarium

Central
Gardens By The Bay

North
Zoo
River Safari
Night Safari
Katapult Trampoline Park
Farm at Punggol?

East
East Coast Park

of the haze and kids

The kids are sick now and I am not sure if the Haze is the culprit behind it.

But this year, the haze is especially bad so the thought of getting an air purifier came to my mind.

I am still diffusing the oils but it has come to this point that I feel diffusing is not the most satisfactory solution anymore.

This particular brand came to my mind but it requires a transformer to step up the voltage from 110V to 240V. Something I feel that it will pose a safety hazard, but if I were to get the local version, then it will be very costly and probably no stock also...

Then I finally set myself to this cheaper alternative but the performance is comparable. It was not easy trying to get one to my hand and I managed to buy it, after much obstacles. Now I am just waiting for it to be shipped to my place, as well as settling the transaction issues which I had when trying to buy...

Will update on the machine again when I get it!

call me super-woman!

I can't help but to boast...

I just came back from the supermarket. I didn't drive but took the bus.
From the shopping mall to the bus stop is some distance but I still went ahead to grab a pack of 10kg rice, 4 small canned food, 2 packet of frozen buns, one pack of fishballs, ants repellant, 2 packs of instant noodles and lastly, 3 x10 rolls of toilet paper!

Rice was running out and toilet paper was on sale so I have to buy the two. Actually I could have gotten these two from the supermarket near my place but I was stubborn lah~ probably to prove that I could do these even though I don't have a car... and to prove that, if there's a will there's a way!

And I did it! I lugged the grocery bags from the shopping mall and walked all the way to the bus stop which was a distance away.

Got my helper to wait for me at the bus stop near my place, with the trolley of course!

But I am proud of myself. Learning to be independent.

未来的路，我不知道我自己的能力行不行，但是我知道一定要可以。

---
The keyboard I bought for korkor and mei mei is here!

Tinkered with it for a while before I went off to the supermarket to get some groceries!

Hopefully they will like to play with it.

when wassant turns cookie bread!

It was on the spur of the moment that I decided to bake the Wassant (bread roll with chocolate spread which you can easily spot at Breadtalk and Four Leaves) this afternoon when mei mei was taking her afternoon nap. I actually saw someone posted on the Baking Corner's FB group and since I have all the ingredients on the list, and have the time, why not?

But it didn't really turn out the way I want to be... the dough didn't form into a ball and it was a sticky mess...
And just before I was about to preheat the oven, my parents informed that they were coming over to pick me up to my in-law's place so I didn't manage to bake the bread until just now.
When I came back, the sticky dough 'rise' to a size bigger and I just dropped it into the oven after it was ready with preheating.

After 19mins, the bread came out as cookie-like bread. The taste is right, just that the dough didn't form well... I am not sure if that's because of the mixer I use (okay, I cheated, I didn't use the mixer, instead I used the bread machine to mix, knead and proof). Anyway, it's a good try, shall do it again soon...

I think baking is really therapeutic. Hope to make the cookies soon but the weather has been bad, not really a good idea to bake heaty cookies for the kids...

---
Today has been a good day. Brought mei mei out to plaza on bus (I have earlier on applied a child concession card for her since she is above 90cm now) for breakfast then to take pictures for her passport application. We made our way to Daiso again and I guess this time she got bored of the place (we were there for four straight weekends). There wasn't much to buy (still, that being said, it was 5 items in my shopping basket) and we left for NTUC.

Since I didn't drive and I was planning to take a bus back, I knew I couldn't buy heavy and bulky things. I grabbed the essentials but still it came up to 3 big bags. That didn't stop me from taking a bus back though... we still took a bus home.

I super enjoy taking the kids out on my own. I wished I could handle two but the fact is, I can only do one at a time. :x

reality check.

Last evening, I picked up the kids from school and took them for a bus ride home.
Everything went smoothly except for getting Ethan to wear his mask. They were asked to put on the masks for the first time after school since we had no car. He was a little resistant to wearing it for the fear of being laughed at. Then I got his friends and teachers to convince him that it is actually for his safety. (I am really surprised his classmate, Megan is so knowledgeable with the haze-y conditions and weather.) With little luck, much as he resisted, he relented to my naggings and put on the mask, at times pulling off the mask.

We finally got home and settled the kids. Fix their masks for better fit (my mom and sis had earlier shared the idea on modifying the masks to fit) then I went for my RC duty.

This morning, I had to send the kids to school. This time, they are more keen to wear the masks since it doesn't slip off so easily anymore after I fixed it. Super delighted with how things went...

It seems like a challenge, to take a 2yo and 4yo to take bus and then to school but I really thank my neighbour for the inspiration and "encouragement". Our kids are almost the same age and they don't have a helper at home. She is a FTWM and takes her two kids to school every morning by bus and I thought to myself, since she can do it, why can't I and she has no helper at home...

Then on the way to work, I was thinking about the new helper and the expenses... I realized that with the school fees, helper salary, levy and all the household expenses, we are barely enough and I must stop spending frivolously already!

Actually I thought of doing without the helper but it is going to be tough without support. Let's see how things go... tentatively the plan is to have the helper for the next two years before further decision.

cupcake making~ with the kids

Inspired by members from Baking's Corner, I had wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies but I didn't have chocolate emulco so back to cupcakes.

Previously when I did the cupcakes and breads, I would involve Ethan if he's interested and gradually, I noticed that mei mei is also keen to tag along to what her brother does too, so this time round, I got the two of them involved in making the AF chocolate chip butter cupcakes.

I first prepared the ingredients according to the measurements. When I was ready, I got them to help sieving the flour and subsequently, to add the sugar and flour into the mixer. Oh, Ethan got an extra task, to break the eggs; and he was the one who offered to do it. I was skeptical but still relented to his request and gave him one egg. As expected, I have to pick out the egg shell... but I am happy he wants to help.

When the batter is done, I got them to help fill it into the cups. I would say it's a well-managed mess since I have expected it when engaging the kids' help.

Drop them into the oven since AF will require two bakes.

Am planning to get the Chocolate Emulco and make some cookies with the kids soon! :)

TB forwarder vs daigou.

I remember when I started TB, a friend helped me brought back the items and I started shipping in on my own. A little costly but if you look beyond the base of 1kg, it's actually not that expensive for air shipment. Then I got to know 65Daigou. I thought the shipping was really cheap and you can decide between air and sea (for heavier items) after knowing the weight measurements.

So I have been shipping with 65Daigou and never looked back since... however, it was only until few weeks ago, I have got a shipment that is quite light that TB forwarder came to mind.

Prior to the decision, I had clarified with the TB forwarder on how the "weight" of the packages are being charged and noted that they take only the actual weight. I know that 65daigou(DG) will charge by actual weight or volumetric weight, whichever is heavier.
Since my package was light (it was, until I keep adding things to my cart),and that I still have some credits with TB forwarder that I feel I should use them.

So I promptly placed my order and received them. However, one of the seller left out one item and because that particular item belongs to a friend and I didn't want to disappoint, I got the seller to send again. This time round, to the DG warehouse.

What was supposed to be 0.45kg(by TB forwarder) became 0.99kg at DG. I am pretty surprised.

The TB forwarder has got a base charge and subsequent charge by per 500g. They do delivery straight to your place.
DG is a flat charge per 500g and you do collection at neighborhood points and MRT stations for free on designated days.

So before placing orders with TB, it's good that you do up the sums and see which is more worthy. :)

TB buys again!

It's TB again!

I would think the stuff are cheap on TB but it's the international shipping that's costly. and I am thankful that my sister happened to have a business trip to China, Shanghai this week and she offered to help us bring back our purchases.
And they will be in Singapore later and I can get them tml! :)

Honestly, I already lost count of the number of purchases/shipment I have made in TB. And actually, this time round I only wanted to help Dad to get his hand juicer and my mixer blade for the bread maker because I would think there's nothing more that I want to get from TB. I have pretty much stocked out the necessary baking tools. BUT but but, with Mooncake Festival around the corner, I suddenly got interested in the moulds, with all the postings. Being a last minute arrangement, I can only deal with sellers that advises shipping is 2-3days to Shanghai, from their place/factory/warehouse. So it kind of limits the sellers/moulds designs that I can buy from. Not the nicest mould that I got but I can settle for that after rationalizing to myself (I wanted to get more but I stopped myself), afterall, it's only SGD3-4 per set of moulds. And I won't use it so often, probably once a year. Also, not forgetting my sister's luggage space and weight. That being said, I got 4 sets of mould. If the moonies turns out nice, I might consider buying another set (or two) of moulds, but that will be for next year, I guess.

As for the bread maker mixer blade, I got a new one cos my current one is peeling and I thought why not, since my sister is there and this item is not bulky at all. The seller whom I bought the bread maker from is selling me at RMB70, inclusive shipping. I have enquired with other sellers and they were selling cheaper, at least by 40-50%. Naturally, I went back to my seller to ask if they can match the price but sadly they can't, so I chose to buy from the seller offering the cheaper price. The blade got to my sister but I wasn't happy with the workmanship and requested for exchange but the seller refused. :(
Initially I wanted to return and refund and that would cost me another 10RMB so I agreed with my sister's advise, to keep this one and buy another new one. The new one is still on its way to my sister's hotel in Shanghai and I hope it better be good. Now it's like I spent 73RMB for 2 blades. Maybe I should have just ordered the RMB70 one. :x

So now it's for me to find time to bake again! :)

now-a-days...

These days, I noted some peculiar behavior of korkor. He wouldn't go to bed without me (when he's home) and will cry for me when he notices I have slipped away while he's asleep. I have tried explaining the situation to him and assuring him but it didn't quite work out. While he fully understands and is agreeable to the situation, he is just not accepting that I am not by his side during bedtime.

I have googled about this clinginess and some articles wrote that it is normal for toddlers between 4-6years old to exhibit this behavior. The possible causes, mentioned in those articles, for the change in behavior didn't really quite apply to Ethan so I am still not convinced that this is just a phase (that just happened!) and will pass soon. I want to find out the cause and I do a lot of talking / explanation to Ethan and I get him to speak his mind too but most of the time he only have answers like "Mommy, because I love you a lot!" (which totally melts my heart!) and "because I want you to sleep with me..." for me.

The helper really isn't of much help except for the cooking and basic general cleaning in the household. I won't discount her ability to follow recipes and cook but her understanding of the recipe needs to be established; oh, and the recipe must make sure it's exactly for the number of people dinner is served for. Her cleaning isn't very clean too, often the obvious dirts goes unnoticed until I sees it. I cannot be inspecting all her work so you can imagine...

With all the underlying chaos within the house, I am thankful that we are still able to function for the day-to-day activities... just that we care cutting back on a lot of couple activities and my personal time...

This probably also explains why there is a cut in the blog entries...

new sofa

It's a pity that the Celini Calypso Sofa has to go...
Not that the sofa is damaged or whatsoever; the sofa is still nice and good, but it has to go due to space constraints and now, we have a new 3-seater sofa that fits the profile (living room and people) better.

:)

the new rack and opening of breadmaker!

Finally, I "officiated" the opening ceremony of the breadmaker!
I received it about 10-12days back and had wanted to make a bread last week but I realised I don't have the instant yeast. And when I got it, I fell sick *again*!
Feeling better already, I made my first bread with the bread maker last night. Started at ten plus and took about 3.5hours.
I think it was okay only because the yeast came into contact with the liquid so it didn't raise quite well and I think I put too much water? the end result is actually more moist than I expected. Never mind, I shall try again tonight!

Also, on Friday, I received my rack from TB! Came home and set it up. Arranged the things nicely into the rack. Dad came earlier and told me this is not stainless steel cos the magnets can clip on it and will rust. I was thinking, if rust then get new ones bah.. but I guess this rack should be able to last me a while.
I liked this rack, replacing the current rack above my microwave oven because it is sturdier than the former, and it is taller in height, with one more layer and longer in width by slightly a little.
I managed to fit in everything nicely and now, if I use my microwave oven I don't have to worry or move anything away anymore!

AS for the former rack, I put it in the other corner, above my air fryer and bread maker so that I can put the Electric Lunch Box and the milk bottles box on top, decluttering the area.

Love it! :)

Oh, just now, I went to Qoo10 to get this radio at almost half-price, thanks to the coupons and Qpoints. Had earlier wanted to buy the radio from Qoo10 but after much contemplation, the price is almost the same as getting it in stores so I put off the idea. Weeks ago, there was this 50% coupon (up to $20) on Qoo10. I managed to get it once and it expired without me knowing. By the time I wanted to use it for this, I couldn't and when I tried to get another, I couldn't as well. Just yesterday, there was a promotion for 30% coupon (up to $10), I thought, heck it! If I can get the coupon, I shall buy it from Qoo10. Lucky enough, I got the coupon. All in all, the radio was $45 (retails at $49 in stores and other Qoo10 sellers) with $5 delivery fee. But I was able to use the $2off coupon and further 30% coupon which amounts to $38 with shipping. I was able to use the Qpoint for a further deduction of $10, so $28 for a portable Philips FM/MP3/CD Player radio! Yeah! :) Beats getting from the stores!
Cannot wait for the delivery to come and test it out. Am planning to bring to office for use, beats using the rechargeable batteries.. always have to rely on it. Now I can either use the batteries or power socket to power it up! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Kaelyn!

Dear Kaelyn, Happy 2nd Birthday to you! :)

Just two years ago, this time, you were slightly less than half a day old. Now, you are a bubbly cheerful little girl that never fails to brighten our day. At the same time, I am also wondering when will you outgrow the phase of crying for daddy and mommy at night....

Happy Birthday to you once again, Mommy loves you unconditionally and equally as korkor! :)

Hugs and Loves.

Today we had a simple celebration at my in law's place with the immediate family. It was a simple dinner followed by cake-cutting. Though simple, it's a much appreciated gesture and heart-warming indeed, especially to my in-laws and those who came and made it happened! Thanks!

Kaelyn's birthday celebration in school.

Because Kaelyn's birthday falls on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate her birthday in advance with her school mates.

Today saw us celebrating her birthday in school for the first time. We brought her a 2kg princess cake from my favourite Bangawan Solo.
I realised that this cake doesn't taste as nice as those 3D customised ones, though from the same bakery.
The reason why we went for a 2kg one is based on previous experiences. Kor kor had a 3kg cake for his 3rd birthday and the class (being a small class) couldn't finish... too much leftovers...
But we noted that the 3kg one will be just nice for the bigger class.

The baobei would usually join in singing of the birthday songs but when it's her own birthday, she just kept quiet... in fact still/ stoned. But still, I think she enjoyed it!

Happy Birthday Singapore and the Golden Jubilee long weekend! :)

Happy 50th Birthday Singapore!

I am always proud to be one of you!

Because this year is the golden jubilee, SG50 as we call it, the Government decides that 7th Aug is also a public holiday!
So from 7th - 10th, it's a long weekend for us, in Singapore.

E has a medical review on the 6th so after the review, we sent them straight to my mom's place. Thank you mom and dad, and sisters! We really need that breather!
Settled them in at my mom's place and off the two of us went for dinner at a friend's place before heading out for movie, Mission Impossible.
The movie is really a nice one! All raves about it!

The usual Friday dinner at my MIL's place and then Saturday night at hubby's auntie place for gathering.

Back to the kids. The plan is for them (especially, to train mei mei) to stay over till Sunday, if not Monday morning.
Honestly, while I enjoyed the days without kids, I am also worried if my mom could handle the two, especially mei mei.
And because of all the engagements and all for my parents, they decided to sent both kids back to us yesterday morning. I think it's a good arrangement too because I don't wish to tire them out unnecessarily since the kids are our responsibility.

Then yesterday, we went over to one of my sweets place for her housewarming and brought the two kids there.
Came today, their grands decided to take one kid out and brought kor kor since he wanted to go with them and we took mei mei. Trust me, one is good to handle, two is too much... :x
For us, we brought mei mei to do grocery shopping earlier and now she is napping...

That's about it for our long weekend!

of life lately~

It's been three good weeks that the new stay-in helper is here. I would say her attitude is not bad BUT her memory and style of working really push my patience to the limits. The idea of changing her away has always been on my mind but the hubby thinks otherwise... I shall slowly go through the new biodatas sent to me by the agency.
sidetrack; while I said her attitude is good, I actually dreamt of her showing her 狐狸尾巴, turning into a monster with bad attitude. Not sure what does that signifies but it sure is scary.

The good news is, I have been given an "overdue" promotion. Calls for a celebration and because of this, I decided to treat myself to a (in my opinion) rather expensive China-make bread cum ice-cream maker from Taobao! I contemplated for a while because of space constraints in the Kitchen as well as other issues like, warranty, the frequency of usage, price, etc.. but I still went ahead.

Just placed the order yesterday night and I hope I can make it to the 15% shipping discount promotion by the forwarding company. Will review on that once I get it!

Another not-so-welcoming news is, E has to undergo another surgery again. Apparently, the tonsil removal did help but not cure on the source. So on the surface, he did look as if he is totally good, but within him, his sinus are still not-so-good. We did a some sort of CT scan to know.
I really hope he will recover fully after this. This sweet little guy is really a poor thing.. to be undergoing all these.

there she goes~

So 30th June came and went.
It started to sink in that my helper for 2years and 2months left and is in the Philippines this very moment.

Just last year this time, I was so confident that she would renew her contract with us but who knows, she had to go home, for personal reasons.
There are times she would show black face, defy my orders, etc... but I must say that she has been good help to me and the family.

Everyone needs to get use to the new helper, new tempo and all.

I was actually cool about it until I see Kaelyn crying so badly on her departure. She cried her lungs out, from the immigration point all the way home. Then she started texting me with her SG pre-paid number (which she still has balance load), that was the breaking point. :x
She asked about the kids, still concern over them... Honestly, I was really touched. I could almost picture her saying it as if when she was around.
I sort of kind of missed her. The chit-chatting times and all... but I knew it was over~

I got myself to focus on guiding the new helper instead. I guess she is not too bad, just forgetful~ I attribute it to being new in the environment but I need her to pick up fast...

deja vu~

I remember many months back, I nearly got into an accident. I was travelling at about 60kmh or less, in a slow moving traffic lane suddenly when brake light of the taxi in front of me lit up. I thought he was just slowing down but hey no! I took a second or two to register and started jamming hard on my brakes. I was able to stop in time but poor taxi, he couldn't and had to swerve left into the bus lane to avoid hitting on the car in front. Though he did that, he still couldn't siam fast enough and eventually hit the left end of the car in front of his.

This morning, while driving to work, an accident happened at the same place, under the same brige! Guess what, it involves a taxi again, and a motorbike. The motorcyclist was sitting by the kerb while his bike overturned and took the bus lane.

I reminded myself to be really careful when I pass through this road again.

Too much coincidence~ I remember we have a few fatal accidents happening along the same stretch of road also.

of Ethan's health~

So we took Ethan to see another ENT specialist recommended by a colleague, since the ENT that Ethan is seeing is on leave and I thought it's good to seek another opinion on his recurring condition.

Well, the doctor did a scope and scans and informed us that Ethan's sinuses are inflamed on the left and right; more so his right side.

I am not sure if he is careful not to be poaching customers from the first ENT that we visited or what, I feel that while thorough checks are done, he is not entirely addressing my concerns.

My concern is that, I don't want Ethan to have fall into this recurring cycle whenever he finishes his medicine. :(

And he cannot tell me any good solutions to fix this problem permanently, other than asking me to finish the medicine and then observe... *blah* This is as good as the first ENT we visited. Ethan has gone through too many cycles of this... I just don't wish to see him take more medicines again. :x

While I see major improvements in appetite after the tonsils removal, I hope that Ethan will be able to get rid of the nasal/sinus problem totally!

The Father's Day Dinner!

After the recent family dinner celebrating mom's birthday, we sort of ran out of places to go for dinner to celebrate Father's Day. So I suggested BBQ steamboat at my place yesterday. :)

It was a great success cos everyone enjoyed the dinner and the after dinner interactions; the kids playing with their cousins/siblings, ah yi and ah gu, not forgetting gong gong and popo.

Yesterday morning also saw us having dim sum brunch with the Lees, then supermarket shopping for the food.
Ethan also went to the Zoo with my SIL and her bf, whereas poor Kaelyn has to stay at home.

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!

Today is Ethan's 4th Birthday!

We have had a few simple birthday celebrations earlier on, one on Sunday with my family and one yesterday night, with hubby's family.

My sister came with a Strawberry shortcake and she got Ethan a set of Planes Lego. She also used the Dusty plane and put it onto Ethan's cake because Ethan wanted a Dusty cake and there was no such design from those brick and mortar cake shops around us, so she got creative and improvised!

Then yesterday, we got surprise visitors other than my in-law family. The Lee couple, who specially got Ethan a toy and sent it up to Ethan. :) Didn't expect this sweet gesture!

Shortly, my in laws came. My SIL baked a cake for Ethan. We sang song and ate the cake. Really appreciate all of their presences' to celebrate Ethan's birthday!

On the actual day today, I didn't have much plans. Only planned to have his celebration in school. You know, when I was younger, I was yearn to have birthday celebration in school where I can give out sweets/goodies bags and all, but I didn't have the chance. :( So I guess, making the effort to plan it in school was something I can do for both my kids.

It was only until later in the afternoon we decided to bring the kids to Kids Amaze and Swensens dinner, so that Ethan can enjoy his day!

Celebration in school was awesome!

Last year, I bought a 3kg cake and the toddler/playground class couldn't finish it. This year, I bought a 2kg cake, thinking if we cannot finish, then I can pass some to kaelyn's class but to our surprise and delight, the K2 and Nursery class finished the whole cake; some even helped themselves to second servings. I like it when I see the kids enjoying the cake; it means that the money is not wasted!

And why was it awesome? Because the kids sung 4 songs! Happy Birthday in English, Mandarin and Malay. On the 4th one, initially I couldn't catch it, I thought it was going to be Hindu/Tamil but it turns out to be an English song that goes like "how old are you? or you are four years old..." something along that line.

Previously, when you asked Ethan how old is he, he wouldn't know how to answer you. But now, he will answer you that he is 4years old. :)

After the cake cutting and eat, Ethan distributed the gifts, and took some group pictures before we left to send dear's ah ma home. Yes, she took the effort to come and join us in the celebration, other than my MIL and SIL. :)

Went to Kids Amaze, let the kids run around, take kiddy rides, totally at their request. But there is one time, while helping out another kid, I almost lost Ethan. Got a scare and thought, will he be scared if he couldn't find us... but ends up, his dad got him and I sigh a relief. Phew~

Dinner at Swensens and this little young man picked his own dinner from the kids menu and decides what drinks he wants for himself. :) We also presented proof of his birthday (happened to have it with me) and got a Birthday Firehouse treat from Swensens. There we sang him a song again!

Went home and put the kids to bed. On his bed, Ethan queried, "today is my birthday?" and I said "Yes, today is your birthday. Are you happy?" Guess what, his reply was "why I have 4 birthdays? yesterday also my birthday?" I guessed his was trying to ask, why did he have 4 different celebrations, once on Sunday, the other yesterday and 2 today. So I told him we have earlier celebration because the rest of the people couldn't make it today to celebrate with him so they celebrated earlier. And only today is the actual birthday and he is four years old now. We also took the height for him. 2 months later, we will take it again, but for Kaelyn. Can't wait. This little man is about 105cm now and the lady 88cm.

With that, a step into the 4th year. My big baby. Mommy Loves You.

p/s: did I mention that not sure if Ethan is imitating the helper or is the ang-mo-ness in him. He calls me "mom" with some slang~ lol. :)

E-T-H-A-N.

E for Ethan Goh!

Honestly, I am not sure if E could recognize all the 26 alphabets because sometimes when I point out an alphabet to him, he gives me all sorts but the right answer. So I thought to myself, let's start from his name!

I kept repeating myself, and getting him to repeat after himself... the 5 alphabets. It was a crazy moment for me, teaching him or rather, getting him to memorise the 5 alphabets in order. He almost killed me.
On the first few fays, it went like this...
Mommy: Ethan, how to spell your name? "E"..
Ethan shakes his head.
Mommy: "E-T-H-A-N". You repeated after me. "E"
Ethan: "E"... *shakes head again*
and this cycle repeats itself..

and on better days...

Mommy: "E-T-H-A-N". You repeated after me. "E"
Ethan: "E-H"
Mommy: No... "E-T".. so "E"..
Ethan: "E-T" shakes head to indicate he forgets..
Mommy: "E-T-H-A-N".
and this cycle repeats itself..

and I remember on good days, it will be either "E-H-A" or "E-T-A"... finally one day, he said "E-T-H-A" and the last one.. "L/O/R/etc" but "N". I am not sure if he was trying to drive me up the wall...

And over the weekend, on Sunday, he was able to spell his name in full, "E-T-H-A-N". I was thrilled!

And he also knows how to write the 5 alphabets but he is a little forgetful in the order and strokes. I guess practice makes perfect!

Happ Birthday to You, Love.

Yesterday was Love's birthday and I took leave to celebrate/nua at home together with him.

Okay, actually we didn't nua~ we went to Plaza to get the groceries because we didn't do it the day before.
Then he wanted to get himself a birthday present (from his parents, with love) so we went TV shopping!

Coincidentally, the Lee couples are available for the meetup (though we planned to meet later again for dinner that day), and we went to Sungei Kadut's biggest Gain City to shop for TV. He got his TV and a camera for me. Okay, actually it's for us. We lost ours during the Korea trip and we have a Taiwan trip coming up next Jan... so~ yea.

Back home, we arranged for the kids and helper to be sent to my MIL's place for dinner while we met the Lee couple again after our shower. Went to Shuffle because the man wanted somewhere to dine and chill. There we enjoyed the dinner and chilled out there till ten plus. Went to Shanghai Dolly because another friend was performing there. Didn't really like the level 1, maybe because it was too noisy too me. Level 2 suits me better somehow~ Had supper there too. Their Ba Kut Teh and the shaoxing meesua is quite nice!

Went home after dinner with me as the driver for the day cos the guys were drinking! :)

A day has passed, but still, Happy Birthday Mr Goh! :)

The birthday celebration weekend!

I guess I probably have missed out on blogging about our first yachting trip on the 9th May 2015.
Probably because Ethan fell sick shortly after.

Anyway, we booked a yacht and celebrated Mother's Day on the 9th of May and it was perfect attendance for our family, including the 3 kids!

Because it was such a joy, the hubby suggested to his mom that the family should charter another yacht for my FIL's birthday coming up on the 11th. And so yesterday, all of us, excluding the kids went for another yacht gathering! The weather was scary, it was raining at the northern parts of Singapore and we were praying that the rain would stop but luckily, it was all clear at Sentosa's One Degree 15.

We met and went out around 3.30pm, after loading up all our stuff to the yacht. Went to Lazarus island (again, we went there the last trip too!) and the sea state is quite unstable as compared to the last trip. We had some of us feeling seasick due to the waves that hit us. One of the couple had to leave half way due to the seasickness.

After all the sea activities and fishing and BBQ-ing, we were sent back to the wharf/yacht club to freshen ourselves as well as to pick up the photographer. My SIL paid for a photographer to take pictures for us however, we all felt that he is like an amateur; or bluntly, a person who calls himself a photographer just because he has got those pro cameras.

We spent the night singing the birthday songs, chit-chatting, some of them fishing, and some resting since it was around 1-2plus in the morning when we berthed back at the yacht club.

Then today, we are meeting up with my family to celebrate mommy's birthday! Happy Birthday Mommy!

Side track, since we have some time, I did some laundry work and hubby did vacuuming. Something we haven't been doing since we have the helper. To my horror, I discovered some 'rubbish' collecting behind the washing machine. I didn't tell my helper about it because, right now, with the mentality of returning home soon... I don't think it matters to her.

the crazy TaoBao buys again!

Recently, there are some discussions on the academic progress of the kids within the mommies chat group and I realized that E is a little behind the other kids. I know I shouldn't compare the progress but I have some expectations in E.
There are 26 alphabets and I don't expect him to recognize all of it, I was just hoping he can recognize the 5 alphabets in his name. So I have been drilling him the 5 alphabets and he doesn't seem to register them... :(

I spoke to some mommies and on different occasions, they recommended me the Leapfrog DVDs and told me that they are available on TaoBao (TB). I saw them at ToysRus and the magazine published Popular and came to realized they are quite pricey. So I turned to TB and realized it was way cheaper for a set of DVDs.

So I made the purchase. And since I needed to use the forwarding services, I thought that might as well add in more things and make the base charge more worthy! I bought another few sets of practice books for E and handicraft books for both E and K. I foresee that on days without helper, these activity books might come in handy.

Learning that I was buying something from TB, the hubby tagged also to my order too. He bought 2 pairs of shoes.

I cannot resist and bought a few more sets of activity books. I hope that E can make good use of my purchases... :)

This month is really a crazy month with lots of celebrations, purchases and online purchase.

I went online and bought from iHerb.com last month. The orders came yesterday! I cannot believe it, I bought 2 bottles of Omega-3 gummies for the kids and organic, gluten-free lollipops too!

Then yesterday, I saw the offer on Qoo10 for the frying pan. I just thought, heck, give it a try since there are good reviews. An for $50.80, I got myself a set of 6pc frying pans with courier. I hope it better last. My last one lasted for about 2 years and it cost about ~70-90bucks, if I remember correctly.

the long weekend. Vesak Day. beach visit again!

It's a long weekend again! :)
Though we just had one for May Day, it's never too much to have another one for Vesak Day on 1st June! :)

The Saturday had us visiting the beach again, with the Lee family!
This time round, instead of Palawan beach, we went to Siloso beach. A much quieter beach with better sand quality than Palawan's.

The sky started drizzling a little when we reached and it was also then I realized that I have forgotten to bring along the mats! So the gan jiong hubby went to get the over-priced mats from the store even when it was still drizzling. The drizzle stopped soon after and we started the sand and water play.

This time round, we managed to get a sand area in the shade, dug a hole and buried Ethan to his waist. :)

Both Ethan and Kaelyn are also more daring in exploring the waters, resulting them in drinking the salty sea water a few times.

We stayed for a shorter period of time at the beach as compared to the last visit because the drizzle started again around 3+pm. Left with no choice, we gotta drag the kids outta the beach area and to the washroom. Washed them up and we went to Vivo, on the request of hubby's friend. He wanted to get his girl her birthday pressie.

So the kids went to ToysRus and of cos Ethan got a toy. I don't really approve of it but his daddy offered to pay for it so there he goes... as for me, I got them the Mr Pencil from Leap Frog. It's to help them practice writing since Ethan don't really like to write with the old school pen and paper. Knowing that the 2 kids will fight over things, I got 2pieces. Everything I buy now, I need to buy 2 sets... *pocket pain*

Then off to Pasir Panjang for dinner before we part ways with the Lee family and head home! The dinner was good!

Since Dad&Mom had something on for the evening, we decided to keep Ethan with us over the Saturday!

On Sunday, we met up with the Lees again. This time round, for their complimentary treat to OCC's Peach Garden. The food is good too! It was supposed to be a dim sum treat but it turns out to be more like a brunch/lunch menu.

After the brunch/lunch, we went home and dad&mom came over. To help us with the shelving and also drill a hole to hand the World Map puzzle I have done. We got this puzzle during our trip to Gold Coast and I am loving it!
Thanks to hubby lubby for getting it framed.

After getting things done, it was about 5plus, so they left with Ethan since Monday is a holiday and their school won't open until Wednesday cos Tuesday is their school's staff retreat day.

Poor Kaelyn wanted to go with them when they left... so I brought her down to car park with them and gave her the opportunity to ride in dad's car and fulfill her 'gai gai' wish... so dad drove her from car park to the lobby and dropped her off...

It was also on Sunday hubby told me that he will bring me out for shopping with the Lee couple at Vivo.
I was surprised but I guess it's the company he cherishes...

So on Monday, I finally got my chance to buy the denizen jeans and I bought 3 pairs! An item strike off my wish-list!

I also got a blazer jacket from H&M although I have a less than 20bucks 'cheong' Zara jacket and a under utilized G2000 jacket which I got it for my Uni FYP presentation (and I didn't get to use it I think...)

So the long weekend ended with dinner at Pow Sing. It was a disappointed because we all wanted dessert after dinner and the dessert shop is CLOSED! oh damn... my mind was conditioned for it... but ... sigh~

This is all for the long weekend that just passed. Back to work... "b

little make-over. little thoughts.

Over the weekend, we were over at my sister's new place with the kids. Though not fully furnished and ready, we did have our first simple lunch there.
Other than the accessibility, I would say the flat is really spacious! How I would my Senja project has 5room when we applied and how I wished our flat is as spacious!

Back at home, I keep looking at what are the enhancements I can make to my house, so I found a few, like installing hooks and bars here and there. Still have not got down to buying it. Will go down to NTUC some time soon!

Then we also saw dad DIY-ing some shelves for sister and I said I wanted it! so Dad will be coming back to help me fix it.

Dad, Mom & sister came over the next day to my place to help me fix the dinning room light and the fans. The lights are fixed. We also tighten the string to let it hang higher from the ground, so when the fan is on, it would swing~
The fan problem still there because it cannot be fixed in anyway. But dad helped us clean out all the fans. Seriously very 感激 to have their help and them over.

sigh~ the woes of having a helper who is soon to go back... the job is always done half past the mark... oh well, I am closing one eye.
The hubby and I discussed about it, we are still going to hire a helper but I am not actively looking at it.. we did enquire with the agent my mil recommended but she is not so responsive. while I'm not pro-active, she is worst.... can just ignore our watsapp messages even when she read it. :x
I will just cross my fingers and hope to get some good news from her soon! :)

away from work.. for the longest time.

Ethan fell sick last week and he spent the week at home before confirming that he had some bronchitis. Feeling worried over his recurring high fever and complains of breatheless-ness, we decided to send him to the hospital. Turns out he nursed himself well during that 2 days of hospitalisation.
After fetching him and sending him to my mom's place, I fell sick. Feeling worried it's the same illness/I caught the bug from Ethan, I saw a doctor quickly. The medicine prescribed by the company doctor's didn't really work. I was still having fever the next day so I went to another non-affliated clinic. The meds and consultation cost me 142$! (I almost fainted on the spot!) But the good thing is, the throat pain has lessen. Still, the fever didn't go away.
Was contemplating if I should return to the doctor or go to the hospital... and eventually I returned to the clinic.
The doctor gave me a jab and additional medicine to kill the very very strong bacteria infection (he says) I have... and he said he was going to waive my consultation fees. We thought it's not going to be expensive and end up... this trip cost me another 124$.

I know fully understand the saying... "man, can die but cannot sick".

Anyway, I am a little broke these few months. And I know June is even a worst month, with celebrations and birthdays all coming up.


----
Really thankful to mommy for taking care of Ethan when I fell sick for the whole week and helping to send him back to school when I couldn't drive far due to the fever.
Love you. :)

updates on my kids~

We had a happy weekend celebrating Mother's Day with both sets of mothers separately, with mine on the Saturday that just passed and hubby's mom and ah ma the following Sunday.

It is an achievement for Kaelyn I must say. She weaned off her pacifier cold turkey!
Before that, she is very sticky to her pacifier. She will take her pacifier almost every time at home, after her meals... of course, the pacifier was kept away when she is in school except for her nap time.

But somehow I got very worried, since her brother weaned off pacifier at 18months+ and she is like coming to 21months already and she is just so sticky to it, so when she was 19months plus, I would make casual remarks like this to her: "kor kor 18months+ never eat pacifier liao, you already 19/20months+, cannot eat pacifier liao..."
Few days ago, I told my helper to keep the pacifier away from her unless she asks for it and told her that mommy is going to throw away the pacifier. And I repeat this to her everyday. Then until yesterday, his daddy said, kaelyn, go throw away your pacifier. Before she threw it into the bin, I secretly made sure I have an extra and making sure that she understood what it means.. like throwing away means no more...
She did acknowledge that throwing away means no more. She still asks for it yesterday night and tonight but once you remind her that she had threw it away, she is fine.
Another 3 days to 21 months. Kaelyn just weaned off her pacifier cold turkey. 2 nights without pacifier. I am so proud of her! 说戒就戒。:)


Side track; was trying to feed E medicine and he fussed a bit.. Mei mei who was co-sleeping in the same room, in her dreams said: kor kor cry, kor kor cry. 平时会照顾哥哥喝水，但也会欺负哥哥的小可爱；睡梦中还是这么alert,听到kor kor...

Mother's Day art work from E.

Today, I received my first ever Mother's Day art work from E.
He did it in school and brought it home today.

One might wonder, he has been in school since he was 18months old, and why is this the first time?
Because previously, during the mother's day period, E would fall sick! So he never got to attend school or manage to do the art work in school. :x

For this Mother's Day, the handicraft he did, is a bouquet of flowers with a personalized card.
This is my first Mother's Day pressie which Ethan made in school!

I am expecting more from E and K. Both my sweethearts! :)

the mother's day weekend.

Just to update and picking up from where I left off...
Finally got the time to pack the kids room and a little of the store room and kitchen service balcony. Given/returned all the stuff to my sister.
And so, I decided to revamp the rooms; moving Kaelyn to sleep with Ethan.

When I first moved in, I got my 14years old single wooden frame bed with me. It was originally intended for any guests staying over. But turns out now, we have the bed for Ethan.

Shortly before I gave birth to Kaelyn, hubby has gotten a super single bed for Ethan. But now, moving Kaelyn and helper into Ethan's room would mean that Ethan has to take the single bed and let Kaelyn and helper take the super single bed.

Due to space constraint I initially positioned the beds in the position such that one of the beds faces the door entrance. Honestly I don't feel good about it, so on a Sunday morning, just before my facial session, I quietly shifted the beds. Though the walkway spaces are smaller now, I feel better as the kids no need to sleep facing the doors. :)

As for Kaelyn's room, we made it into a play room so all the toys are placed there. Actually not all cos there is simply too much!

---
This week has been a little draining because of the work site visits. I have got so little time to plan for the upcoming Mother's Day gathering with my family. Luckily, most things are confirmed and fixed already. Hopefully everyone enjoys the yacht gathering!

Will also be celebrating Mother's Day with my mother-in-law this Sunday. Hope she likes the surprise hubby did for her.

As for me, I have got my Mother's Day 'pressie' from the hubby. A little episode for the first 'pressie' and I have got another surprise from him last night. Thank you hubby! :)

May Day

It's been a long time that we had such a family day!

We started the day with bringing Ethan to Amazonia at Great World City, along with another couple friends with their kids.
The kids had fun while the adults relaxed and enjoy our lunch.
After the play hours, which is about 4plus, we shopped around GWC. Coincidentally I chanced upon the Mayer's showroom and saw the grill pan for their air fryer! *okay, I think I have not blogged about the addition of air fryer into our kitchen*
And guess the luck I have... they had launched the sale of the grill pan that day! So without hesitation, I went in and got the grill pan!

In the evening after sending Ethan to my mom's, we went over to my in-laws' and celebrated birthdays of hubby's aunts. and of course, during gatherings like this, we MJed too! :)

Backtrack abit; I bought the air fryer from Mayer back in February, before the CNY. I guess I was too busy and forgot about it.
To date, we have used the air fryer to fried, grill and simple bakes.

Also back in Feb/Mar, I bought air pressure cooker from OG, hoping to cooking soup with it, in case we are helper-less and I need to prepare dinner. Honestly I don't mind waking a little earlier to prepare all these... just hopefully I don't get "hiam" for the lousy dinner... cos I know my 'cooking' skills...

fat die me.

I think I am really complacent to assume that I could shrink to the post-natal size with the help of the oils. Yes the oils can probably do wonder but I am lazy! Each time the thought came up, it's just in the mind. No actions.

But each time I see food, the mind says, "heck, just eat" and soon translates into action. :(

I am munching on my kit kat as I type this. I am not really hungry but just cannot help it! :x

Oh, I was clearing some brand new in bag clothes that I got from Agneselle during my confinement period in 2013. Back then, I naively thought I would fit a few months after the confinement ends... but when I tried it on, I was telling myself, maybe this top will expand a little after washing. I hope I can be more hardworking. :x

p/s: I think I lost the momentum to write. Looking at this almost vacant blog, I wanted to write but I have no inspirations. I don't know what content to write... so I am just coming up with a random topic.

baby fair

Just returned from the Expo Baby Fair. Took half day to go to the fair.
No, I am not expecting but I went there for the diaper deals and play mats.

My sister bought the playmats few years back during the fair and I didn't think I would buy the mats since she has it and I had the cheaper version, the puzzle mats. With the growing of Kaelyn, my sister loan me her mats so that Kaelyn can use it during the period where she learns crawling and walking.
Now that my sister is moving into her new place, I am returning her the mats. Though Kaelyn can walk independently now, I feel it's a good to have so I went to the fair and bought 2 mats. The mats are not cheap and they cost about 400+$. Yes, I do feel a pinch and actually I did even contemplated if I really needed that many. But another way of looking at it is, I can sell them away should I really not require them anymore...

As I buy these mates, my plan is to get Kaelyn and Ethan to sleep together in a room and set up the other room as a play room when my helper returns.

Might be exploring more this weekend as I relook at the space allocation within each of their rooms.

Airfryer Bakes~

Ethan has been requesting for cup cakes for the longest time.. So now, he did it! He just did his first cupcake today, earlier after dinner.

I got him the ingredients, got him to help out in baking and used the airfryer to bake. :)

First cupcake he did! and first time using airfryer to bake!

eventful March 2015.

It's the first day of April 2015 and looking at the number of posts before this, I know I have been neglecting this space a lot.

As titled, it's really an eventful year for me.
In fact it all started right from late last year. But since these are matters of the past and things are really getting better lately, and as I put it in my last post, to let it go, I shall not mention it here but focus on what has happened this month, since my last post.

Oh well, we left for and returned safely from Australia. Thankfully, Ethan coped very well with the flight take offs and landings, which my worries are all unfounded.

It was a simple, easy, laid back itinerary for the one week trip. We touched down at Brisbane, got our local SIM cards, went to get our car and off we went for the farm stay at Cedar Glen.

Ethan and I pretty much enjoyed the stay while the Big Man doesn't fancy the farm stay that much because spider webs are everywhere and there is ZERO network reception there.

It's a little different from my expectation but it is still worth the stay because Ethan enjoys it a lot and it's really a good break from the urbanisation.
I find that the accommodation rates don't really match up to the quality of the cottage that we stayed in. The meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) are fine. In total, we spent closed to 1000AUD for a 3D2N stay, with meals for 2 adults and 1 children.

During the stay, Ethan gets to feed the animals on the farm, like the chickens, ducks, turkey, sheeps and pigs. Then he gets to ride the pony horse. They have two feeding sessions a day, once in the morning and the other in the evening. On the day of arrival, we did it once. We were supposed to do it the following morning so that we can also milk the cow (which only happens in the morning) but the weather had it all, it started drizzling and we stopped our activities and missed the cow milking, thinking we will have the chance the following day.

After breakie, the weather got better and Ethan did pony horse riding. Then we ventured out on our own and went to a nearby river to fish with bread crumbs as baits. We didn't manage to catch any fishes but we caught tortoises! While trying to release them from the hooks, they actually did the real hiding of heads, making us see the real 缩头乌龟.

Then we made our way back, had our picnic lunch by the river again. However, this time round, it is at another spot along the river. The guy that drove us to the site started some fire, got the water from the river and made us some billy tea. He demonstrated some physics but swirling the billy can to settle the tea leaves and we had a simple picnic lunch there.

After lunch, we retired to our cottage and took a afternoon nap. I guess we were all so tired, we slept through the afternoon, missing the evening feeding time and only woke up around dinner time at 6.30pm.

It was a rainy night so we made our way to the dining hall, had dinner and return to our rooms again.

The rain continued through the night and was still raining quite heavily when we had our breakie, making us miss the cow milking session again. :(

We left shortly after making payment for our stay and breakie for Gold Coast.

The stay at Meriton was poles apart from the farmstay, according to the big man. It was like him, returning to the present, from the old kampong days.
So Meriton was our base till we depart from Australia and we went to three out of five themeparks in Gold Coast, namely, the Dream World, Movie World, and Sea World. We didn't go to the water parks because Ethan cannot do swimming.

On our first day, I actually made a silly mistake, I bought the tickets of Dream World online and brought it to the Movie World. :x I only realized it over the counter where I showed the staff my tickets. :x

I would say, for adults, the Dream World is more fun fulfilling whereas for kids of Ethan's age, the Movie World is more suitable. though the rides are rather limited.

At Sea World, we wanted to take the helicopter ride, which will cost about AUD200 for 5mins ride for the three of us but sadly, the timing was not suitable so we gave up and left.

That pretty much marks the end of our trip. :)

On our return flight, I lost Ethan's toutou (aka bean sprout husk bolster). I tried to call the airlines but they say the couldn't find it. :( So I carefully explain to Ethan on the loss and he accepts it well. And now, he's without it for a few days... didn't fuss for it after his surgery too.

The next day, this poor boy has to fast and I can see he is really hungry. We tried to distract him with all sorts, sweets and toys but he gets cranky soon after. The surgery went successfully. It was supposed to be a day surgery but I opted to stay for a night. However, upon seeing Ethan's activeness, the Big Man suggested for Ethan to be discharged and the doctor gave green light. :)
And now, he's on MC till end of the week and tomorrow for his review. :)

As for Kaelyn, she fell sick again and went to see the doctor last Saturday. She is still crying when we send her off to school and pick her up. I would say she is a drama queen. :x

Life is about it... I hope I can make more updates on a frequent basis. :)

Let it Go.

SO one day, it just dawned on me that I should fight for it and I did.
A slightly happier me, of course, with the new found worries.

---
Got real busy in the weeks following the CNY holies and am still clearing the backlog at work.
Ethan and Kaelyn fell sick. Each with their own problems.
Kaelyn has got wheezing lungs, from the perpetual cough since CNY eve. No thanks to the goodies and people who offered her the goodies...
Whereas Ethan's an old problem and now even worse... he has got water in his middle ear due to the ever congested nose.

I think the most worrying thing about it is, Ethan is taking a air plane this week and I am not sure how it affects him during the landing and take off... :(
And other problems when we return... like deciding to do or not to do, seeking second opinions, etc...

Things are just not good for us now...

---
On a slightly happier note, the big man is able to join us for the trip. :)
One less worry with him around. :)

Mei mei will continue her school when we are off for the holies. :) This arrangement was made because I wanted her to get use to school soon.
She is still clingy to the teachers though the teacher said today was better.
She still cries the moment we leave or fetch her...

and so, it happened.

I didn't have a good closure to 2014 and I thought or wished for 2015 to be a better year.
Barely 2 full months into 2015 and I can feel the negativity in all things.

Honestly, I already had a bad premonition earlier and posted it on FB. But I thought I cannot be so 'zhun' (loosely translated: accurate) all the time and maybe this time I am wrong. Just thinking too much...

True enough, I finally learnt the truth. A truth that many others know but not me. I was the stupid one who devotedly believe that everything will fall back into place, like how it was in the past. So I was wrong.

True to be told, I cannot let go of it. The moment I recall the scene, it is like taking a knife and stabbing it into my left chest, twisting and turning the knife, making sure I cannot survive. It hurts so much that a scar is left, permanently.

I asked myself a thousand questions. I just want to know nothing but the truth. They say truth hurts but for me, I would rather know everything first than to slowly dig out anything. It hurts even more than know that something is hidden from me or more lies are told to cover one lie. I also cannot accept it when people tells me, what has passed is passed. No point talking about it. No, I want to know so that I can have closure. If things are brushed off like that, I am most likely going to dig until I find out more for myself.

My friends often calls me 'problematic' girl cos I asked a lot of questions. But it's me. I need to seek closure and I need to talk about it.

Somehow, this time round, the decision was made and told to me. So I accepted it and I will take it as a form of closure though some times it can be hard for me.

Today is 1st of March and I hope the rest of the 10 months ahead in 2015 can be a better one for me.

Looking back, my friends say they admire me for my endurance and say there is only one thing behind that's driving me to come this far. They are sure of it.
I don't know how long this can last... or am I just numbed?

I hope someone can just give me some answers, without me asking...

lousy attitude at Cars International BPP branch.

Usually we will get our supplies from BPP's NTUC weekly and so the hubby got tempted to sign up for the car wash package with Shine Shine last year.
Barely a year, Shine Shine withdrawn its operations in Singapore and we were left stranded with the barely used package, that consists of 5 car polishing services, etc...

So a new tenant came in and it's the Cars International. As usual, the guy in charge tried to sell us his products and we were quite skeptical since our experience with Shine Shine.
Once we went to Taka and saw Cars International outlet there and wanted to get our car washed. However, we were being rejected because they only service members. Fair enough. We left.

Subsequently, during one of the visits to JP, the man signed a package with the outlet there and told me I could bring the car for wash at the BPP outlet too.
So came today, I specially made my trip to BPP, wanting to get my car washed.
And here's what transpired with the same guy who wanted us to sign a package with him.

Man: What do you want to do?
Me: I want to get my car washed.
Man: We don't do car wash during CNY. You want to do polish?
Me: hm.. my husband is not ard so I can't decide but I am a member.
Man: Show me your member card.
Me: I don't have the card yet but I have the invoice. *passes the invoice to him*
Man: You want to wash your car, you go back JP and ask the guy u signed with lor... see if he wants to wash for you...
Me: *stunned* Huh? but we member leh... got distinguish between which outlet de meh?
Man: No lah, but car wash is more effort than polish. Who ask you go JP and sign?
Me: Okie, so cannot wash?
Man: No.
Me: Nvm.

Went to park my car and do my grocery shopping feeling cheated by Cars International.

I understand that this is the CNY period and probably can validate his reasoning that car wash is more effort than polish or simply put, car polishing is more profitable than car wash but I totally cannot take his attitude and the way he replies me. Fine. I feel that the guy could have just said that they don't have enough manpower or is fully booked. White lies in friendly manner will do actually. This is sales and customer service. Uncle, you need to brush up on that. :x

my crazy friends.

Last night, my bunch of crazy friends came over and baked.
They made peanut butter cookies and maple syrup chiffon cake. I like their enthusiasm in baking and is amazed at how things were quickly prepared and sent into the oven.

I also like how my friends turn the ingredients they can find in my house into a chiffon cake.

It was a happy evening for both the kids and mommy.

Just love them to the max. For being there silently for me. :)

my first TaoBao experience!

Although TaoBao (TB) has been around for a while, I haven't had the time and 'courage' to register an account with them. (You see, I have an account with gmarket KR when I purchased the Happy Call pots many years back and the language is mostly in Korean. I just made out my way to order because it was so much cheaper than...).
Reason being, I am not sure of the shipping fees and the mode of payment. It was only recently when I was scouring for a item and realized it is almost 50% cheaper (excluding shipping) on TB than on Qoo10 that I decided to venture into shopping on TB.

TB now has this Southeast Asia page and accepts our local credit cards so payment is easy.
And for this round, I have a friend who is going to China during the CNY, so I am asking her for a favour, to bring the bags back for me. I hope my orders won't be a burden to her. hehe.

Hopefully the things will be there and won't get lost by the time she gets there. *fingers crossed*

anxiety.

I don't know what has got into me but lately I have been feeling very anxious.
More so when I learn that my helper's work permit will expire earlier than expected. This means that she will have to return much earlier than I have expected.

Seriously I don't know how to survive this ordeal.
I feel time is so tight.

Sometimes I wished to relieve myself of all the responsibilities and will for my parents to care for the kids. Most of the time I just can't bear to.
They are 2 adorable kids (though they can be quite a handful to handle!)

Sometimes I imagine a lot. Imagination runs wild and when I come back to reality, nothing has changed a bit. I only hoped that my imaginations won't come true. Deep down I have this fear that it is already happening. I don't know if I can be so cool about it when the time comes...

I pray for the 2 kids to throw less tantrum, listen more to mommy and be good boy and girl.

Kaelyn goes to school!

Was doing my work and my phone rang. The caller ID shows an unfamiliar number so I picked up the call with curiosity. To my surprise, it was from the childcare centre. The lady told me that they have a place for Kaelyn and she can be enrolled for the toddler class starting March.

I can't believe it! A year ago, Ethan also enrolled and started class at the same centre in March. Now, a year later, she is going to be there! OMG!

I can't imagine how life will be when she goes to school and when Cris goes home.

Actually 我有点舍不得that she goes to school cos I am afraid that she will fall sick very often, like kor kor.
This baby girl of mine is growing up too fast!

Love both of my babies. :)

the trip's booked!

I cannot believe it myself either. I just went ahead and booked the tickets to Aussie with Ethan. Yes, just the two of us.
The plan is to head out to Gold Coast from Brisbane. Nope, I haven't been to Australia before and this is the first time. Many say that I am very adventurous to be bringing a kid alone on the first visit. Of course I have my considerations and fears but heck, I feel that it's now or never!

Ethan's very excited with this trip too! He wants to bring Kaelyn along but I seriously cannot handle two alone so I am thinking of bringing her for another trip soon...

So the plan is to touch down Brisbane and self-drive to the farm in between Brisbane and Gold Coast, stay there for 2 nights, then drive over to Gold Coast and stay there for a few nights (to visit the theme parks) and depart for Brisbane from there.

Sounds simple but it's a 2hour drive from Brisbane to Gold Coast.... Wish me luck!

my birthday.

So I hit the big THREE!
The celebration started off few days before my birthday where my family come over to celebrate with me.

On the actual day, I was out with some close friends and they surprised me with a small little birthday cake that they got in late hours on the Eve. I really appreciate it very much!
Then the husband brought me out for lunch with SIL&bf and their cousin&gf, together with Ethan.
After lunch at Sushi The Holland V, I suggested to go Vivo to do some shopping.
I was there to shop for the Mother&Daughter dresses for CNY and to go Heatwave to see if there are any shoes for me. Sadly, I couldn't find what I wanted... Instead I got a Mother&Daughter top which I liked it a lot. So better than nothing... :x
But we went into the other Mother&Daughter shop (the handmade expensive shop I called it... and I got 2 sets of clothes from there previously for Kaelyn's birthday celebration) and got ourselves another set. Actually I didn't really like it that much but I really wanted something and the husband is willing to pay so I got it anyway... teeheehee...

After the short shopping stint, we met up again at Swensens for Birthday sweet treats. I was given a complimentary piece of cake (I thought it used to be fire house ice-cream or something~) and Ethan finished like 80% of it! Though he wasn't well yet, I thought it's alright to let him indulge in sweet treats once in a while.

As we were heading to the carpark for home, I chanced upon a tube top. I tried and love it a lot but that alone will cost me 90bucks. I just thought, Heck, I should reward something and I don't buy stuff very often (though I just bought a 90$ dress from MNG the day before and the loads of stuff that the husband paid for before the sweet treats), I went ahead and swiped my card.

Went to Uniqlo to get the 29.90$ Skinny Jeans which I got one before and feel that it's very comfy so I got it in another color.

Left for home thereafter and spent the evening alone after settling down the kids.

On Friday, I bought the kids out, together with my helper to Vivo again. Since mei mei's CNY clothes are more or less settled, I was planning to buy for Ethan. It was a fruitful day for all of us indeed.
First we had lunch at Dian Xiao Er where the kids can also enjoy rice, soup and dishes... then we went shopping at Hush puppies where I got myself a dress and a t-shirt for Ethan. Then we went to Chateau De Sable and got Ethan another set of clothes. Since it comes with a matching girls dress, I bought it for Kaelyn. There after we went to the playground on pleas of the kids. Yes, not just Ethan but Kaelyn too! She kept running towards the playground entrance/exit and Ethan kept niam niam niam to go playground. We stayed for about 15mins or so, then left for toilet break.
After the break, we got kor kor another set of clothes and then went to ToysRus at kor kor's plea again.

The two kids are really terror. One will niam to buy toys and the other will touch and touch and touch and you don't know when the whole stack of toys will fall onto her. Anyway, a call from work came in and I really regret taking that call. Spoilt my day to the max! That aside, I managed to get the 2 out of the toy shop without incurring much damages but the deal is to bring them to MacD. Went over to Harbourfront for MacD and my helper saw a Polo Tee that she likes from Hang Ten and I got her 2 pieces since they were running some promotion. I got 2 tees from HT too.

We left the place shortly after cleaning up kor kor cos he wanted to poo. On the way back, he kept saying he had stomachache and probably due to the driver driving too fast. *slaps head* I didn't correct him since I wanted the driver to go at that speed because the air-refreshener in his cab was too overwhelming for my liking and it's causing me headache. At some point I really thought of asking the uncle if I could unwind the window for some fresh air but I didn't want to cos the kids are around.

Got home, left our things and went over to my in-laws' place for dinner.
The SIL sent us home after dinner. :)

This wrapped up my celebration and I am officially 30!

Truth to be told, I am grateful for the simple celebration but I really thought the husband could have done more. I have told this to him and he says he is busy but will try to spend more time with me if it permits. Oh well... I just wished for simple dating times.. and effort/interest in his part to care for, spend time with me and bring me out..

2014 is a year with mixed emotions, both happy and sad ones.
I hope 2015 will be a better one! :)