updates updates updates

I know I haven't been updating and this is a soon forgotten space.

throwbacks to...

... Ethan's TCM visits
He has stopped visting Zhong Hwa but is still seeing the same physician, at her other clinic.
I made the switch because of various reasons, the main reason being, the formula of the medicine cannot be altered or customized and Ethan was already not seeing any improvement after 2 weeks. He made vast improvements prior but it just hasn't reach his optimal so I am hoping he would see further improvements at the other more expensive private clinic.

... Ethan's swimming classes
He has attended his last lesson of this year last Sunday and will resume the lessons again in January due to the rainy December season.
He hasn't made much improvements but I am cool on this.

... Kaelyn's pool visit (27-Nov-16)
I brought Kaelyn along last Sunday, played with her at the Children's Pool while the big brother is having his lesson at the adult pool. Ethan joined us for a while after his lesson. I had to get the duo out of the pool when they were playing excessively rough with each other, for the sake of their safety too.

... Ethan's first tooth came off (30-Nov-16)
I bought some apples the weekend before and Ethan saw it that fateful Friday and decided to bring the apple for his Fruity Friday event. He ate the apple in school, without asking the teacher to help cut the fruit and he came back that evening with a shaky tooth. He was having difficulty in eating for the next few days so we suggested to him to shake his tooth whenever he is free. So on Wednesday afternoon, his tooth came off in school. Me, the mama, is more excited than the boy himself. It's like, it's another event to mark his growing up!

... LuLu the movie
the hubby brought me out for a movie last evening. Loves.


...overnight Q-ing for JJB
I did it again!
this time round with my sister. So regret that I didn't get to buy my starlet. Still ISO-ing... sigh~


...weekends at lao ma house
Over some of the weekends, Kaelyn (mostly) and Ethan went to their lao ma house. Totally enjoying their time there...

TCM, on 2nd try.

I cannot remember how long ago was that when I first brought Ethan to see the EYS TCM at Bukit Panjang Plaza. Chose that location because it was near and the timing was good.
Ethan was having his usual sinus problems when we consulted the 医师 and it was not long after Ethan was admitted to the hospital for Bronchitis.

Ethan was very resistant to the chinese medicinal powder (to be mixed into warm water) then and I do not know if it was the resistance or perhaps he was already sick that he got bronchitis. For whatever reasons, I am just so glad that I sent him to his PD and got him treated.

So I have put off the TCM treatment since then... Until earlier this year, I met a fellow customer and he recommended this 医师 to me and I feel I should give it a try again, instead of feeding them with western meds all month long and no improvements after coming off the med.

I waited for the Lunar 7th month to be over and started the visit on the 7th of Sept.
Brought Kaelyn along since she was coughing a little too.

Again, Ethan was prescribed some chinese medicinal powder (to be mixed into warm water) for consumption. Initially I did offer some sweet treats in exchange for getting the bitter med down the stomach. But later on, he manages it without the treats. Likewise for Kaelyn, hers was syrup and she was able to gulp them down in exchange for sweet treats and subsequently without.

Kaelyn got well after the 1st week of med but took a second cycle to make sure she recovers completely.

As for Ethan, the doctor prescribed the cough syrup and 2 tablets each feed on the second cycle. She even advised me to smash the tablets into powder. I did break the tablet into 2 for the first time but subsequently, Ethan showed me he was able to swallow the tablets like the adults.

It's really a milestone because all along he has been chewing his Bio Gaia and he was resistant to swallowing the Probiotics capsules I got for him earlier this year.

Then on the 3rd cycle, the doctor prescribed him the same cough syrup and this time, 4 capsules! The doctor advised opening up the capsule, and Ethan demonstrated that there was no need to do so, he can swallow the capsules like the tablets. I am so proud of him. Still, we cautioned Ethan to take one capsule at a time for the fear of choking. But he still likes to do 2 at a time.. :x

I seldom see his nose bleed now, just that his nose is pretty congested... and sneeze quite a few times a day. Need to tell this to the doctor on Wednesday when we visit for his fourth cycle.

mooncakes and 猪仔饼

As mentioned previously, I did open ceremony for my mooncake moulds! And so I baked the moon cakes this year! and made the 猪仔饼 from the leftover dough.

As a lover of 猪仔饼, I really liked what I was baking and I am so going to make it again next year! Or maybe on and off... when I crave for it since it's quite simple and easy to make.

As for the moon cakes, I also received good reviews on the taste. I find the look is not so nice because I didn't have a proper brush to do the egg wash. I also found that my oven don't really heat up evenly, causing some of the sides on some of the moon cakes to become more chao-ta color than others.

I am also happy, because out of the many moon cakes I baked, I managed to pick out 4 to use for praying. :)
I guess, no more commercial moon cakes anymore... and probably need to learn how to do those with egg yolk. :)

mooncakes and 猪仔饼

As mentioned previously, I did open ceremony for my mooncake moulds! And so I baked the moon cakes this year! and made the 猪仔饼 from the leftover dough.

As a lover of 猪仔饼, I really liked what I was baking and I am so going to make it again next year! Or maybe on and off... when I crave for it since it's quite simple and easy to make.

As for the moon cakes, I also received good reviews on the taste. I find the look is not so nice because I didn't have a proper brush to do the egg wash. I also found that my oven don't really heat up evenly, causing some of the sides on some of the moon cakes to become more chao-ta color than others.

I am also happy, because out of the many moon cakes I baked, I managed to pick out 4 to use for praying. :)
I guess, no more commercial moon cakes anymore... and probably need to learn how to do those with egg yolk. :)

All on a weekend~

The 9th September weekend has been a blessed one.

Firstly, I was informed of the cupcakes order (which I placed weeks ago) was going to be delayed, then later, the seller was able to arrange for delivery on the 9th.
Secondly, I don't know what happened, but magical things did happened...
Thirdly, Ethan started his first swimming lesson on the 10th. He was supposed to have started a week ago but he suddenly had fever and was not able to attend. I am glad he recovered in time for this week and was enjoying the coach and his class.
Fourth, I was able to finally do an opening ceremony to the mooncake moulds I bought from TB last year. The end result is considerably good since I did it with the children's participation. :)
Fifth, my gal friends and I were finally able to meet up for a game of MJ! :)

How blessed~

coming up, august!

I realised I haven't been blogging in this little corner of mine for more than a month.
In the past month, I got addicted to JuJuBe (JJB) in short.
Because of the "want", I did my first overnight queue at some industrial estate in Changi! And there was even a little episode behind the Q-ing, making it into a saga... I almost feared going on All Singapore Stuff page man~

Anyway, long story short, I am thankful for my cousin, Ben for helping me with the Q as I had an important meeting in that morning following the overnight Q.

Coming up, August, it's mei mei's birthday already.
Soon she is turning three. No more excuses for me to not toilet train her for the night! :)

gratitude.

Have been wanting to pen this down.

In life, both personal and work, I think I have met a lot of good people, who has, in one way or another, offered help or concern to me.
And I am really grateful for that.
I may not say it out, or just a casual "thank you" but trust me, I mean it when I say it.

Sometimes I cannot help but feel despair.
Because these people who had offered help in words or act of concerns, don't have to or rather, there should be a more appropriate person, if playing the right role in my life, doing all these.

On Sunday, I hurt my head and neck while bringing the kids out. I did tell to my mom but I didn't display the fear I was having.
My first thought was, am I going to be paralysed or die? and how about the kids. I better make my way to my mom in case anything happens.

I didn't sleep well that night, paranoia tells me maybe I will die in my sleep.

Was asking in one of my groupchats if I should go to the GP or let the pain die down. Afterall, I just didn't think it is serious. Just paranoia. Anyway, someone hit the nail and spelt out that maybe it is not serious but the fact that I am asking shows I am concern about it. So I went to the A&E.

I broke down at the A&E. No one knows why. I do. Anyway, long story short, my xray shows up well and I am okay already.

Yesterday, I also sent away my third helper, welcoming back the first.

I hope things will go one right this time.

:)

Happy 5th Birthday, Ethan!

How time flies that the boy is now 5!

Imagine 5 years ago, hours before now, he is merely few hours old.

I had sort of been preparing for this day months ago... from the goodies (to gift to the classmates) to the cake, yet I forgot the most important thing, to inform the teacher that we are going to celebrate his birthday on this day.
So I didn't remember to tell the teacher actually; I just happened to casually tell the teacher that he is turning 5 soon and his birthday is coming up and that triggered the information to the teacher. And the teacher told me that they were having some class observations and might not be able to hold the celebration and requested for me to celebrate a day later.
However, due to many circumstances, we still managed to work out a mini celebration today with his class! The only thing I realised is, a lot of his classmates are not in school today.

Still, he was happy, so was the kids! :)

After the celebration, we went to the nearby playpad for some fun. I have to say, I am pretty impressed by the facilities and best of all, it is not too crowded. Maybe because they are still new. I would sign up for a membership if they can maintain the same standards.

After almost 2 good hours of play, we had dinner at KFC. I ordered the rice for them and some popcorn chicken, fries and whipped potato. I guess it was too much of everything so we didn't manage to finish up everything.

Came home, showered and the young man unboxed his presents. He was happy with the Classic Legos I got him. And I am happy that the kids said they enjoyed themselves today!

Today, as the boy turns 5 and with the new toothbrush, he is now keeping up to his promise of brushing twice a day, once in the morning and the other at night, both times after milk. :)
Hopefully he keeps up with this and don't have to fill his 2 front tooth which is decaying a little.

Earlier before the party, I got to the car park beside the school, sat alone in the car and teared. I knew why I was upset and I had to stop. I quickly picked myself up, got all the stuff needed for the party and move them to the class. Holding a brave front, and I have to pretend happy with the kids. I never mentioned a word of my upset to anyone. That's what you do, as a mom to the kids, I guess. Though I didn't mention anything, I am really appreciative that my MIL turned up with FIL and SIL to 'surprise' the kids.

the kids' first dental visit.

Strictly speaking, Ethan has been to a PD dentist before and this isn't really his first visit but then, at that time, he was only given a consultation though his teeth is yellow and decaying soon (or perhaps already decaying...).

Actually I expected the dentist to do some cleaning for him but nope, the dentist only thought us how to clean his teeth and off we went; we didn't even had the chance to get Ethan to sit on the dental chair. So I went home feeling disappointed cos we waited quite a while (though we had arranged an appointment and kept to the time) to see the dentist and paid hundred over dollars for that first visit.

Long story short, I didn't go back to that dentist again.

After long procrastination, I decided to bring Ethan to the dentist again, cos his yellow teeth is turning into a visibly darker shade.

This time round, I wanted to go to the dentist under my friend's recommendation at Civic Plaza, Woodlands but the appointments with this dentist is so full that we can only get to see her in end July (for a weekend visit).

So I chose to go to SmileWorks instead since they had good reviews too.

The appointment was almost immediate and set on 5th June (I called on 30th May).

So came the 5th and I brought the two for their dental visit.
I chose to go to the Keat Hong branch and it took us a while to find the dental clinic because I don't know the place well.

Kor Kor was braver than I thought and he managed to sit through the cleaning.

It was mei mei's first visit and she had her teeth checked too. The dentist wanted to clean her but I guess mei mei didn't like the automatic brush and sound so the dentist only cleared her plaque and what's not manually... she also managed to sit through without much fuss.

Towards the end of the appointment, we made another one to fix kor kor's 2 decayed tooth. Because I thought Fajar would be nearer to my place, and more convenient, I arranged for him to get the tooth fixed there on the 7th June.

After the payment and all, we left the place and went to BPP to get the groceries and MacD. Sadly, it was also the day that mei mei hurt herself while waiting for me to load the groceries back in the car. She cut the lower lip and my heart almost stopped beating and I just felt like crying. But I knew I had to pick myself up and quickly stop her bleeding.
I hope she will learn to be more cautious of the surroundings...

And on the 7th, I brought them to the Fajar clinic.
Kor kor was good. He managed to sit through the fillings without any fuss and offered to give up his sticker to mei mei. They will get a sticker as an encouragement after the treatment. So within days, kor kor had his first cleaning and fillings done. Really proud of him and amazed by him too!

But after the Fajar clinic visit, I realised I would prefer Keat Hong because it is a clinic on its own and more child friendly. The kids just stayed within the clinic premise. But Fajar's clinic is shared with another GP clinic so there are also sick patients and it's open clinic concept so kids can wander around outside, and the clinic is near to an escalator... So I told the dentist we are going to see her at Keat Hong in future.

Kaelyn will see the dentist in December for her 6 monthly check and Ethan will see the dentist in 3 months time due to his tooth conditions. He still have 2 decaying front tooth which needs monitoring.

the kids' academic progression.

E's Chinese teacher informed me that E has learnt quite a few words in school and that I can revise those words with him together back at home and shared with me a method to practise the reading.
Honestly I didn't think E would remember a lot of words but he did and impressed me... or maybe I started out with zero expectations.

The scenario goes like this, with me not knowing what are the words he knows and me just trying my luck with words I think is easy for him...(with the conversation in mandarin)

I point to "公园".
E: 公 。。。
I point to "园".
E: silence~
me: you know this word? or you don't know?
E shook his head in silence and while i didn't notice, he went chanting and counting his fingers, machiam like how we do the 神算 pattern... and said 园。
E exclaimed: "公园"
me: how you know this word?
Then he re-enacted to me by pointing to his index finger, middle finger and fourth finger while saying 动物园。 then he said it's the same word so it's 公园。

Honestly I am impressed that he can make such inference and the number of words he know. He also knew words like 干净, 水壶。

This makes me rethink if I should send him to Chinese enrichment classes... maybe he is not that bad afterall...

K also made significant progress in my opinion. She can follow the lines and trace out the alphabet nicely. She can recognise most alphabets. But the bad thing is, she is writing with her left hand! I am trying to correctly her but she still prefers left to right and can only write well with left. She can also concentrate better to write with left than right... sigh~

Still, I am proud of both my kids' achievement! :)

a step clearer.

Over the weekend, I have sort of cleared my mind and came to a decision.

After hearing bits and pieces from the possible sources, I only have two possible thoughts on your actions - to spike me or you really mean it. And after piecing everything together, I think you really mean to do it.

You know I really find it weird that you suddenly changed your online status to "invisible", changed WhatsApp nick to another foreign language, the overseas call and that late night WhatsApp call.
Just now only, I suddenly felt so disgusted seeing your nick appearing with your reply. Hence I decided to SMS you from now on, saves me from seeing your nick.

Why don't u just tell me what u want?

Scenario 1:
I give in and the same history repeats itself. Just like this time.

Scenario 2:
I just let things be. U also let it be.

Scenario 3:
I give up. And then u leave.

Honestly I was a little upset when I learn of ur possible plans to leave and return to the place where u went a year or was it 2 years ago.

But I thought to myself, if I choose scenario 3, then there is no wrong u think for yourself and want to leave too.

Then I asked, why am I angry if I really decide to give up? I am angry that in all the situations above, there was no effort put in by u. Then why am I still undecided and holding on. And again, since there is no effort from u, why shld I hold on?
Isn't the answer clear?

I keep hearing different versions of ur thoughts from other people but there is no actions from u personally. Sometimes I think what they say are just to pacify me.

Maybe u think I'm just not worth it and there are better things or people to pursue. Why don't u make ur thoughts clear to me so that I know there is no point holding on and I will take that step out faster.

I just hope whatever u decide, especially to leave, pls settle all stuff here and make a clean cut. Don't leave things dangling. That's my last plea to u. Just tell me what u want.

Amber.

Recently, life has been this color - amber.

I used to think 幸福是自己争取的 and it lies in your own hands.
Well, I fought for what I wanted. I let go my ego because of it.
But the end result? I realized it's not just about me. No matter how much effort I put in, I only constitute 50% of the results. Recently I watched this reality show <<一路上有你>> and one of the celebrity couple says this, in a relationship, it's not 1 + 1, it is 0.5 + 0.5 to make 1. He said, take away half your ego, half your temper and mixed it with the other half's to become one. How true, isn't it?

In all honesty, it is really hard for me to decide what's the next move and much as I know the better way out for anyone of us, I don't wish for it to happen. But I know this time, I cannot be the one fighting for it to happen again, because it will then end up with the same state.

There is so much I want to tell you but I know you won't be able to take it or digest. Only when you learn to appreciate that family is your most important 后盾 in good and bad times and take that ego of yours away... then I believe things will improve.

I know I am not perfect but I would really like to tell you this...

You know the temper of yours is a problem. Yes, there was some change but in a fit of anger, everything comes back again.

You know your ego is a problem. 面子真的这么重要吗？ You cared so much about your social network and so-called "friends". Touch your heart and ask this, when you meet difficulties, who are the ones who really cares and stand by you? I agree you do have a few true friends but the rest, are they worth what you are getting yourself into?

Your "you think I scared?" attitude is straining everything. Everyone has their own duties and responsibilities, as a person, as a child to your parents, as a parent to your own children or as a spouse to your partner, so does you. Saying this is just irresponsible.

不管未来如何，放下你的面子，脾气和过去你觉得“光荣”的过去，可能会过得更有意义吧。

conversion of telco plan.

Just recently, I received a letter from my Telco informing the revision of my mobile broadband plan price and was advised to convert to the combo plan.
Well, there goes my 3G 50GB data.... but on the bright side, I can now have 4G network. There are also some "losses" cos now I will be paying about SGD14 more to enjoy only at 4+2GB worth of data. Let's hope I don't exceed this and can monitor it...

Today is my sister's birthday. She is away on vacation but still, Happy Birthday, Sis! :)

one on one with the kid; and parenting.

I just came up with the term "personal time" so that the kids can identify this one on one bonding time is an unique experience to them.

{one on one}
Weeks ago when Kaelyn didn't follow her brother over to my mom's place, and while her daddy is sleeping, I brought her out to BPP to do our routine grocery shopping.
That was sort of the start and our first one on one personal time.
After we've loaded the groceries into the car, we went to take the kiddy rides. It costs a dollar each (5times more expensive as compared to my time, or maybe twice if we compare the most expensive rides, which is only 50cents at my time).
Then we went to buy lunch for her daddy and I bought her a yogurt ice-cream. I told her this is a secret treat, just between me and her.

Then yesterday, Ethan's nose bled again, so I decided to bring forward his appointment with the ENT specialist immediately.
Since the appointment was early, I decided to bring him to Vivocity after the doctor visit. I guess lady luck was with me cos he was in the mood and agreed to go when I suggested to bring him go shopping.
Along the way, I got lost but I also took the opportunity to let him understand it is okay to make mistakes, as long as we correct them and learn from it.
When we reached, we did a little shopping at Fox Baby and then Toy'R'us to get the stuff I wanted to buy. He was looking forward to the visit at the Toy shop.
I am also happy that while he requested to buy something, he did not persist after I told him we cannot buy because there was no need or no occasion for it. I told him he can choose his pressie when his birthday is here in 2 months' time.

After buying the stuff, we went to MacD. I promised to buy him ice-cream and he requested for fries too. Actually thought of surprising the in-laws at their office since we were around the area, but when I repeatedly ask Ethan if he wanted to go to the office, he said no. So home we went.

{parenting}
On the way home, I asked if he was happy with the day's trip and if he could be more gentle, nice and all, he promised yes. For a long while, I thought it's a sweet dream come true since his nature is sweet and nice.

Sadly, he threw his tantrum just before we wanted to leave the house to pick mei mei from school. He insisted on bringing a toy car but I resisted the idea and said that if he wants to bring, he stays home. He just followed me, even when I went round the block taking the stairs and lift. But later on, after we washed up (cos he was crying), he changed his mind to stay home after I kept his car away.

For moments (again), I felt really bad for making him go round and being loud to him. I guess a part of me just wanted to prove that he can keep to his promise of 'listening to mommy'. That didn't work out.

After fetching mei mei, I came home to the normal child. As if nothing has happened.

This morning he did something wrong too and I took him aside in the class. He teared. The classmates noticed it and I think he was a little embarrassed about it. After I was done with the lectures, I went away (to work) feeling very bad. Kept wondering if I did the right thing. He ought to be taught the right values, but was it a right place, right time? During my time in office, I had the strong urge to give him a hug straightaway and tell him that mommy didn't mean to embarrass him. And when I picked him up, he was again, like nothing has happened, his usual mischievous self.

I would say both my children are good-natured and sensible kids but they don't show this and often get chided for their mischievous acts.

Kaelyn, if you repeatedly remind her of the consequences, she will restrain herself. On the other hand, Ethan is aware of the consequences, yet pushing the limits.

I love the two. They are a joy, yet a handful sometimes, to the point it is driving me crazy.

I really wonder when will kor kor wise up and show that he is as sensible as he can be.

I am not hoping for a lot, I just want them to have good health and be thoughtful. Hopefully this wish comes true.

backdated post on Royal Caribbean Cruise.

We went on our first Cruise trip on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas on 19th Feb - 22nd Feb earlier this year.
This is also Kaelyn's first trip out of Singapore as well.

This trip was organized by my mil and she booked us as early as last October.

It was fun because we went with the extended family (from MIL's side) and hubby's cousins but a little bored because the shows have a certain timing that doesn't suit to our kids.
We ended up with this sort of schedule: breakfast, play/swim/walk around, lunch, nap, dinner, sleep.

But I love how the kids adapt to the Cruise and is able to sleep on their own!

Goodbye HappyCall and Hello WMF.

Back in 2012 when the Happy Call Pan was a hype, I actually got to know the Happy Call Alumite pots.
I like that the lid can be put to stand and has an opening to let off the steam and prevent overflowing due to boiling.
So when it was still new and highly priced in Singapore, I sought to purchase in Gmarket.kr for mom.

It came in a set and since mom doesn't need the smaller pots (cos she was cooking for at least 4 pax then), I told her I would take the 2 smaller ones for my new place.

And when I moved, I took the 2 pots with me. Additionally, the mother in law and grandmother in law also gave me some pots. 2 of it is the WMF pots. I didn't quite use those pots because I was still attracted to the Happy Call ones.

Lately, I noticed that the coating on the Happy Call pots weren't like before and I contemplated to change but I wasn't sure if I still want to buy the Happy Call pots (for economic and health reasons).

I tried to Google for reviews and lifespan of the Happy Call pots but I couldn't find any. I read that for those coating, if you are not comfortable anymore, then you should replace for health reasons. At the same time, I read somewhere that one shouldn't use high fire on those pots/pans with ceramic coating as it releases harmful stuff.

Since the hype has sort of died down, the price from Qoo10.sg was much affordable than before. After the coupons and all, it was about $180 for the same set I bought back in 2012. I was also thinking, do I pay $180 which will last me another 3.5years or so~.

Honestly, I like the Happy Call sauce pan because the handle is not hot when you cook and hold it and I don't mind paying $180 for 5 pots set and using it for 3.5years before replacement. But I contemplated because my stove's fire is pretty big and I am scare that the helper will use high fire for the ease and I am indirectly adding harmful substance to the food we eat daily. Also, the opening at the lid is quite hard to clean and thus, it will collect dirt.

So I also considered WMF since I have 2 WMF pots at home and it's a o'trusty brand. I think stainless steel pots are lasting but expensive and heavy. Not only that, the handle is also metal and will conduct heat. By chance, I was at TANGS Vivo earlier and saw this 3 pots set that has exactly the sizes of the pots that I want to have/buy and the design is same as those I have at home. After much contemplating and seeking advice from my mom, I bought the set! :)
A pleasant surprise would be that it comes with a further $10 discount because as part of the CITI promotion, if you are a CITI card holder, you get free TANGS membership (I was told it's lifetime if you make purchase of any amount every year) and the welcome gift is the $10 voucher.

The only bad thing I did was to boil the water (part of the "first use" instruction) when the bottom of the pot is not completely dry and it left a burnt mark. I tried to use the vinegar as I vaguely remember the sales lady telling me, but to no avail. Lucky it is not that bad and I can live with it.

So Hello to WMF and Goodbye to Happy Call.

Next up, is to change away my pans which also has ceramic coating. So now, I am looking for good alternatives. :)

Goodbye T-10.

Have been contemplating to use LED lights at home but I was lazy to go and source.
The T-10 tubes in my mater bedroom has been burning out too often and that finally got me down to sourcing from TB.
After consultation with the TB sellers, and combining dad's requirements (he also wants to get some LED lights), I sort of decided the lights will need to have certain dimensions (to fit the covers), made in Taiwan (better lasting) and have to come with isolated drivers for safety purpose.
After asking a few, it's mostly the LEDs are MIC or not isolated.

So through recommendation from my colleague, Dad and I went to Woodlands 11 to view the LEDs on Saturday. The LEDs are said to be made in Taiwan but assembled in China and it comes with drivers (though we are not sure if it is isolated or not).

The price is comparable if you get it from TB (with shipping fees included) so we decided to get it locally since it comes with a 3 months warranty and what you see is what you get!

Then yesterday, dad came by to help us with the installation of the lights in our MBR. Thanks dad!

When we opened the cover, 3 out of 4 tubes are burnt. So can you imagine how bad it hurts the pocket whenever we change the tubes. Hopefully the LEDs don't burn so easily and last longer...
Oh, digressing, the plastic portion of the cover also giving way, so dad suggested to do some modification to the cover which I will do it in my own free time.

dating Sunday

The man and I went on a date on Sunday.
Today is Thursday already and I know this is a bit late in updating.
I have been wanting to update this space but I stared at the "compose" page for a while before I thought of the content.
Life has been mundane and not worth updating here.

Everyday is just about waking, sending the kids to school, work, pick them up, shower, dinner and a little play and revision before they head to bed again. On bonus days, I will bring them to the nearby neighbourhood bakery to get donuts. (the bakeries near our place doesn't sell donuts, I think we took it for granted that donut in bakery is common, but no, it's not... no demand.)

So on the weekend that just passed, the little Missy decided to tag along her brother to go PoPo's house and leaving us a quiet Sunday. We kinda missed her presence in the house.
But we were able to sleep in a little later without any disruption.

It's been a long long time since we last went out as a couple (less the movie dates). That Sunday, I was thinking to myself, how good if the man will bring me out to jalan jalan. The next moment, he came into the room and asked if I wanna go out... Of course I said yes but we both ran out of ideas on where to go (because we have nothing specific to buy) before we decided to go to Ikea where I can get the shower curtains.

Off we went and had lunch at Tampines Ikea, got our stuff and home sweet home.

Later in the evening, I went to pick up the kids from my mom's place and there goes the weekend.

Short yet lovely couple time.

Zojirushi Electric Vacuum Airpot

Have been contemplating over getting the air pot replaced or install a filtered water dispenser ever since I found out our air pot have a little rusty stain at the rim.

Googled a bit and I am attracted to getting the 3M Hot, Room Temperature and Ice filtered water dispenser but I fret over the installation because we need to be near one water point but the place allocated is not anywhere near. However, I believe the professionals should be able to advise on this if they come by for a site survey. A few reasons held back this decision. I read from some online sources that the filtered water will filter away some of the fluoride currently present in our tap water and reduction in this healthy level may cause tooth decay. For the adults I think is still okay since we do brush our teeth daily but for the kids, I cannot help but think it might result in early decay of their milk tooth since they are still not brushing their teeth properly and consistently.

Another reason is the maintenance. The air pot I wanted to buy is $328 (or rather the price I got for) and the dispenser is $1488. Then the dispenser requires regular changing of the filter which is about $100++. The current air pot lasted me for about 3+years so if this $328 can last another 3 years, then it works out the dispenser is cheaper.

It just came to my mind that because the water source of the dispenser is connected directly to the tap, it means if there is a sudden cut in water supply, we will not have extra if the storage uses up, since it has the hot, room temp and ice water serving. Currently, we have jugs and bottles to store cold and room temperature water.

And so, for now, I am sticking to the Zojirushi Electric Vacuum Airpot. A replacement to my current one in the kitchen! :)

one crazy Sunday.

We call this the crazy day!

For the longest time we (the usual MJ kaki babes) have been trying to arrange for a meet up but nothing materialize due to work commitments and all until we decided on 6th March.

The plan was to meet up for steamboat dinner + MJ and we will go marketing at the NTUC that afternoon.
However hubby suggested that we do marketing on Saturday on our own (the girls will give me their orders) and they can just come over straight.

Came Saturday and hubby had something to attend to and also we have a family dinner that night so we couldn't make it to the NTUC. Informed the girls that we had to stick to the original plan and they came up with an even crazier idea... that is to sleep over with the kids at our place!

Though crazy, I thought it's fun too but too bad, due to space constraint, we aborted the idea.
Next we decided to go to the wet market early in the morning to buy the ingredients for the steamboat!

In the end, we got the most enthusiastic babe that says she woke at 6.30am and promptly gave all of us morning call at 7am.

We got to the market, had breakie and started our marketing.

Havent visited the market for a decade... or maybe even more! I recall my mom would bring me to the market as well and ask me to 'watch over' the groceries she bought at this waiting point while she goes into the wet market to get more stuff. I also remember fussing over outfits, I couldn't get proper outfit to go market and I end up throwing temper at myself and decided to not go out because of it.

After marketing, I sent one of them back to get her kids while the rest made our way to the NTUC to get some other stuff that were not available from the wet market.

Then back to my place where we had lunch and prepare the food for dinner. Then of course, there were MJ too!

Because there were more of us, we decided to play Thai Ban Luck. It was fun.

Too bad we have to end early because the kids needed to go to school and most of us needed to work tomorrow.

Looking forward to more crazy things to do!

the kids.

I was browsing some blogs for the past few evenings and I realized the more blogs I read, the more I am inspired to blog, so here I am.

Ethan is starting his in-school enrichment class today; the first enrichment class I signed him up for, after we pull out of lessons from Agnes' class when he first started Child Care.

Kaelyn is more of a follower so I am not so worried for her because I noticed she does generally well.
So the concern falls back on Ethan. He is doing okay but after discussion with some mommies in the forum, I feel that his learning is way below the same group of kids. He does not do counting very well for numbers beyond 20. He still cannot write his Chinese name yet. He is not doing addition...

I hope to work on this gradually by spending some writing time with him and coaching him on the strokes.
As long as Ethan is on the right path, I have less worries for Kaelyn because her brother can then be that positive influence.

Let's hope Ethan doesn't lose out too much on his learning because of all the distractions he is facing.

february in a glance...

February came and went.
We celebrated the Chinese New Year, had the first family vacation on a Cruise ship and seen 2 addition in the circle of close friends and relatives.

Looking forward to March and hopefully our next family vacation, just the four of us! :)

the drive to blog....

I guess it is noticeable that my posts are getting lesser and lesser.

In the past, I would long for more readers, which would mean more people are interested to know me and my life... but nowadays, I begin to feel, maybe sometimes it is good to keep it private... so this kind of explains the reduction in quantity of posts.

This aside, we came back from our first holiday of the year, from Taiwan. Looking forward to our next trip, as a family! :)

And also, the CNY reunions starting this Saturday! :)