Children's Day break

The children these days are really blessed and fortunate.

this is kk and I's pledge:
we the daddy and mummy of Nathan and Natasha, pledge ourselves to make them so happy, that they will not nag us again to bring them to sentosa ...

But it turned out to be a really great 2 hours at the new palawan beach. I am amaze at how Sentosa is doing reno to be a great entertainment island and yet is able to accomodate usual weekday/weekend crowds..

Mama go jogging

It started 3 months ago when we bought the mahjong table with the tiles to entertain guests when we need to.

Then, we thought of polishing up our skills since Nathan learns how to play from his paternal grandfather. But we were in a situation where we lack one player (KK, Nathan and I only).

Tasha was the only logical choice. after a few practices, she is able to "gao" by herself and dunch play play.. she is the "ze moh" queen.. princess. haha...

Ever since then, the children will say "let's play mama go jogging" and we will be at the table.. am I doing something illegal?

see the God of gambler in the makings...

Snapshot of a good rest

The nursed sandy throat has broken into a cough. A chance to take a break and work from home since it's off peak at the moment.

A 2D1N trip to Bintan two weekends ago was refreshing pleasant. We swam twice a day, took a morning stroll collecting seashells, dip our feet in the cold sea waters, watch naked babies/toddlers, breathe fresh air, no calls, no internet, no puters, make foot prints in the sand, had water massage at the jacuzzi pool, eat, eat and eat. haha, the wonder of real holiday.



the highlight for the trip was we were able to catch the turtle hatchlings release to the sea in front of our villa! AMAzing nature.

a third reminder?

The third death this year.

Shortly after my Dad's death. S.L. (hubby's eldest sis's husband)was hospitalised and admitted to ICU. His lungs then was so fill with water that he could not breathe. He was told that it was his chronic high blood that caused it.
It made sense, I recalled in 1998 when my Dad was admitted, the same thing happened and he made it thru till this year.
When S.L. was warded for further investigation, they found a black dot near his lungs but they could not do an oral biotopsy, and S.L. did not want to get cut. Instead of follow thru with the western docs, he saw a series of Chinese sinseh and hoped to find THE miracle. Everytime we discussed about S.L. (without him) during those times, i'll get irritated and told them that if the dot is not determined, how can any persons save him.
Then, his health deterioted within months... sometimes, he'll be so weak that he could not function well. Finally, it became serious enough and they did a CT scan about a month ago. Apparently, he have had brain cancer two years ago and only recently, it spread to his lymnoid, then to his lungs. The earlier detection of the black dot could be that but because it was "new", everyone thought that he was in the early stage of cancer. By then, it was late. The cancer cells also went to his bones.
Two weeks ago, he went for two ops and two Sats ago, we visited hime. Although he seems tired. It seems like God's only comfort to me when i witness his admission to accept Christ. One of my SIL's pastor came over and prayed with him. It was my heart's desire and God protected it and let me saw that thru.
We had all hopes that he will recover. He went home last Tues but his appetite was so bad that he lost a lot of weight.
He was admitted again on sun and this time, the doctors warn that if he can survive these few days, he'll make it. He didn't this evening.

May God receive his soul readily .. Amen.

blog time

M.I.A-ed for a few weeks.. It have been days of enjoying the not so early morning wakes and a trip back from M'sia.
That was a good break, this June school holiday. Away from all the cares and worries. It seems to be a tad too much this earlier half of the year.

a simple fare

My father in law is 67 years old today according to the lunar calendar. Since we (hubby n I) suggested on where to eat the last time for my mother in law's birthday, it was quite a disaster at Chef Chan We did not raise any opinion as to where to go.

So.. as it turns out, my MIL made a simple steamboat set up and storm up some dishes. Then we had an almond choc cake from Cedele.

It was a nice, relax affair where the kids (Nathan, JX, Sihong, sihao) played majong and the adults watched TV and discussed on the plans on end of year trip. . One family plans to go Disneyland , another family wants to go Japan - hokkaido. The singles are heading Tasmania (*wince* I missed that place!).

Us? we are planning a three weeks stay in New Zealand. - read: planning. I hope it'll happen though. *cross fingers*

Tomorrow, one family heads off to Guangzhou for a company's family day.

Three cheers to the bravest boy in the world

At least to me, Nathan is the bravest boy I have ever seen.

We checked in to the surgery centre at 7.30am, earlier in the morning, we did our prep talk again. My boy simply says that he is ready and not afraid, just a little worried.
The ops took an hour and a half but it took him another 3 hours to recover from the GA. Took almost a full day to truly recover from the side effect of the drugs.
He was okay general until about 11pm to 3am. The pain took over full fledge and he tried his best to endure however cannot help but threw out cries and fits. He was given pain killer - injection, brufen. Together we prayed, sang.. the finale was a lullaby and was sung over again for 45mins before he slept thru from 3am till 7.30am. I suspect he woke up in between but he did not want to wake me up.
He is totally okay in the day, Prof came by at 11am and loosen a little of the tight bandage. And Nathan blurted when asked if he is comfortable. I can tell not only is he relieve, he brightened up saying "urm.. now I can play gameboy". His appetite increase and he was able to handle lunch with a full bowl of porridge and fruit.

Daddy will be taking care of him tonight and since the checks on the BP and temp will be 4hourly instead of hourly last night, they should have no problem sleeping.

hubby called: they are making their way to 7-eleven at this hour *roll eyes*

The readiness:


The culprit:


The aftermath:





The brave boy in the recovery:

Salute to you...

http://joanchanshufang.blogspot.com/

http://www.funkygrad.com/think/displayarticle.php?artID=505&subcat=shout

When I read about Joan Chan's demise in ST today, I sob uncontrollably.
It was not because I am sad that she has passed on, she has gone to a better place. I am so touched that she is so brave. The courage to take it all and persevered despite the odds all these months.
The next thing that came to me was "what about her parents?" They have had such a lovely girl whom must have blessed them with her cheerful disposition, her successful academic and yet have to go before them...
I sob even harder.

God's way is not our way. May God bless and guide us.

the ball game

I have these balls to struggle everyday. Work ball, motherhood ball, daughter ball, daughter in law ball, wife ball...

There are two balls here which I find challenging to cope most times. Motherhood ball vs work ball. They clash constantly and I feel like I've produced half baked results on these two balls most times.

I am ever grateful that God has blessed me with a well paid job with reasonable interesting scope. I am at the same time ever grateful that God bestowed unto me two wonderful children whom till now has not given me mega major headache.

But no matter how hard I try, something will slip. I am recently told that I am not at par with key sales persons working for MNC. granted - I was not given any intensive training gerhma. I was also told that I should be more responsive to my phone calls even when I am on leave.. hmmm... how to take calls when I'm stuck at the pool for 4 hours? Or when I am travelling overseas? I'm not paid with auto roaming ..so?? hiyah.. all these trival work rant.
The gist.. not handling this ball great enough.

then, it turns out. The children were giving my MIL heaps of stress and she started to broadcast to the village of bro and sis in law. Who in turn, started to "attack" me on how inappropriately I taught my kiddos and my maid. There are some serious issue with Natasha's behaviour, that I know. I tried my utmost best to control. But hey, I was not the one who pampers her like an empress then suddenly decided to take her priviledges away. I warned them before.. I also..... I defended away...
THEN, it dawn upon me that my MIL is tired of looking after my children. I empathise with her. My two buggers can be quite a handful if they know that they can take advantage of the situation. They bicker almost from the time they got together till we are around, they do not listen to the old pair, they use loads of emotional blackmail on them... etc.

after a short one night of deliberation, It was with consensus that after June holidays, Tasha will be going to after school care direct from kinder school. Nathan will stay at home after school with my maid. The maid will collect Tasha at 5.45pm from the CC to have dinner. I target to be home at 7.30pm. Plus, me gotta do marketing every week to keep food stock up and cook up more nutritious recipes... why is my head spinning urgh. It's a chore to think of menus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
on a happier note. Nephew baby Isaac is a chubby dude who has now mastered to do as much tentative smiles as tentative cries.

We went for all ladies ( sis, mum and I) spa out yesterday and those knots on my back are definitely feeling the p-a-i-n. But it was great. It's been a long time since my skin felt like satin.

Rooting time

It's fun this year. To be able to attend all these emotionally evoking rallies and stuff. It's clear by the numbers of people attending the rallies. Although it does not neccessarily signifies the number of votes each parties is gonna get but it certainly shout that we need to hear things that are close to us, the heartlanders.
Politics to me is nothing but words.
Say is cheap, be careful of what you say, you might get sued with what you said, people might not like some of the things you say, what you say may not make sense, say what people like to hear, some say their speech so scripted, say, say, say.

I've heard from both parties. Aiyah, at the end of the day, I just want action lah, yeah I am such a simple person. My flat's paint is wearing out and when it rains, there are bits of those peeling off paints staining the corridors. The walk to the bus terminal is so open that it burns into the skin. Not condusive for elderly to stroll to and fro in the day.

So who will be walk the talk? who will take ownership and improve things like they stay here?

Meanwhile, I will continue to try to "enjoy" my working 24 X 7 X 6 days work week, hope to be still alive when I draw my CPF monies at 62... chase that academic paper with my children.... hope not to fall sick as well.

random

slogan for the week:
Life is easy ... with directions.Travel and living Discovery channel.

I like the sketches when they describe the how-to-dos.. It'll be nice to learn how to sketch like that.

~~~~~
okay, I'm blogging cos I "sinned". I peeped. I promised I won't. sigh. at Nathan's private diary.

BUT, there's only 4 entries since Jan. All of which were on positive notes. It was all happy, fun etc. It comforts me to think he's has a cheerful outlook under our roof. He seems and told me he is but I was just not sure before.

~~~
ohh.. I hear the SDA announcing their start of rally. At last, they are making their prescence felt around here. About time.

The wild side

Our eyes lighted up as soon as we saw the place. Though small, it's a great place and I know from now on, almost every weekend will be spent here. The 10mins walk from our flat is a bonus.
The beginner's course is open to public. $400 for 10 lessons on weekday, 45mins each time. $480 on weekends.
Adult gear would cost $250 to own and children's at $198.
Pretty steep...

Nathan enjoyed the pony ride and is very keen to get on to the beginner's course. That was by far, a first for him to ask for lessons.





For those interested, it's at Pasir Ris Park, Singapore. Car Park C.

We had a whale of time at the B.Gardens for a Classics time out.

Hope that the coming long weekend would be as great. zonking out time now.

The green mother

Sis having reality bites and turning kinda green.

The tiny bully is not letting her have any rest.
It did not help when her confinement nanny was not exactly great in helping her to boost her health back.
Plus my bro in law is somewhat between a stone and a bull, stone cos he does not know what to do, bull when told what to do, refuses to do the harder task. Poor sis single-handedly clean the fan, cook and feed herself, wash clothes and dry them, clean the floor and entertain the sleep-less-than-two-hours-bully.

If I weren't there tonight at 9.30, she would not have a chance to take her dinner till erm .. 10plus? No wonder her complexion is green. Gotta check on her every night till her maid comes.

At these times, I really appreciates my hubby so much more. Even though he ain't that best help but he tries his best all the time for the kids.

hmmmm

Not bad Mona, not bad at all.

I realise that I am not very efficient in marking all that assessment I gave Nathan so Agnes tipped me on how to solve this. Simply by asking him to mark it himself. Cool.
This way, he is motivated to finish up the assessment cos he wants to know his results since HE is doing the marking. double cool.
Phew, and I am soooo taking a break since I have already done the roadmap on his study plan and he will do the execution. *cross fingers* Hope that that motivation last a long long time...

Natasha surprises me in leaps. The funny thing about her is that I have to be constantly be reminded of God's blessings. Thank God for such reminders.
When she was 3plus, she could not read to me the right colour. I was desperate as it was vague if it was colour blind or plainly, don't know, cannot register...
suddenly, one day before going to Nursery school, she ask if the door close is the one in red and the door open is green. And she was right. More testing that night confirms she is NOT colour blind.
Then came recognising alphabets. It seems to me that all her peers (and Nathan) was able to recognise those a-z (not to mention, some were able to read words) but she somehow got rather confused. It was again one day before going to K1 class, she got it all right. No sweat.
This year, I expected spelling and "ting xie" to come at later part of the year so this time, I put her in God's hands. However, her teachers started giving some words, and now sentences since Feb. Tasha gave me no hair-pulling session whilst coaching her. WOW.

I have two wonderful kids. thank God and may HE continue to bless.

Review

Just recap some of the many things had happened in a span of 4 months ...



December 05: most memorable was the Korea trip. I get to hear alot of my children's laughter and kiss my fav star.

Other significant events: New job (culture shock and all), Tasha's 5th BD, my 31st BD, fireworks at Espanade. Christmas at our place with home made Bingo.











Jan was pretty uneventful except for my mum's BD makan session. Brought my Dad to TTS hospital for check up.






Feb...
After a belated reunion dinner, we went for K-session. That's when I last saw my dad alive.

Other memorables: Lilies for post Valentines, CNY, Macy's BD at WWW.






Mar this year will be the unforgettable cos it was horrific-ly super peak at work and that resulted in my absence in visting my parents.
Till now, I still cannot rid the idea that my dad is not around anymore. I miss him a great deal.
It was not suppose to be this way cos my sis and I had been planning for his birthday bash since he would have turn 60 today. All we could not decide was the date as my nephew was due in Mar/Apr.

This April saw my mum accepting Christ, devoting her studies in the bible and praying. I can say that moving on is for the living to do and do it well.

finally did it

After three long months of deliberation, we finally did it!! Look at our new baby that will be delivered in Oct 06. Ain't she a babe?

hello time

It's phone home time these days.

Tasha and her friends are starting their phone home sessions. So far there is only Tamara and Chloe. They yak about nothing really but just enjoy calling each other. The fact is... they are only 5plus years old.

A life to be missed and a life to be cherished

A life to be missed
I have not fully recover my pain from my dad's departure to be with the Lord. Although I have the faith and am very sure that he is in heaven now, I can help but to feel pangs of sadness when I miss him.

When I saw his lifeless body on 16th March 2006 morning, I could not believe that he is gone. In April, he'll be 60 and we had intended to do a big birthday bash for him. He could have waited till then... why didn't he? I wanted to shake him up from his sleep, I was in denial at that point and thought it was all a joke. He would snap open his eyes and let out a laugh. It was only when the paramedics turned his hardened body that I realised that he is really gone. I wanted the clock to turn back to the night before, to pray with him and wish he would stay with us for a few more years. The night before, he was feeling terrible from some medication he had taken to ease the pain from his diabetic medicine, I wasn't there for him cos I thought he could pull it through like before and I would bring him to the hospital on the weekend. Before he passed on peacefully, he tidied up the mattress and blanket he was sleeping on. It seems amazing how he looked, the weight of the world had suddenly disappear and there was minimal wrinkles on his face. But he was alone sleeping in the living room when it happened.

The last time we had dinner was the reunion get together and a karaoke session. He still seemed strong at that time! I can still remember his voice, his laughter, the way he tease my children, his expression from his eyes, whatever he does he always has good intentions. Foolish maybe but never evil... I wished I had done a thousand things but it's all over. No amount of regret can fill back what I could have done. I really miss him.

A life to be cherished

My nephew Isaac was born on 23rd March 2006. It was with lotsa prayer coverage as there were three rounds of umbiblical cord around his neck. Thank God for his blessings on both my sis and him. Look at this cutie pie, I made some winter melon water and this fellow made such a funny expression and the kids were in awed.

trying to be funny?

I ask Nathan to do a science paper just to know what level is he at now.. and we sure had a good laugh over his answer. One of the hilarious one :

Group A: Pig, Chicken
Group B: Lion, Eagle

Q: which of the group do "Man" belong to? Why?

Ans: Group B. Because Man do not live in farms.

to be honest, I am also no good in this subject though I find this answer funny. So what is the answer???

a post-valentine's post

Nothing to talk about on that day actually. there was no flowers, no gifts, no surprises. I gave him a treat a friday before the V-day, wanted to spend the "just-two" time but was interrogated by my son the next day, that's another story.

Anyway, like some ladies out there. I was the one who told him not to get anything but I had hope that he would give me a little surprise, inexpensive but creative enough to make me erm.. pleased? The day started and ended with me having to work on several tenders till abt 10.45pm and then I hit on to my korean serial.

However, I was not bitter not disappointed. there are several gesture that my man always does that makes valentines an every day event.
~ His hugs are generous.
~ He never fail to pour a glass of water for me every evening.
~ I would be the first one he'll call when he has things to share.
~ I complain about aches, he'll massage for free ~ free hand with free style (haha)
~ I whine for ice-cream, 80% of the time, he'll get out there to buy a tub of Ben and Jerry's.
~ He'll fetch me as long as I ask
~ with no occasions, he'll get those mini muffins from Conrad Hotel, good stuff.
~ I suggest a new place to eat, he'll say when.
~ We smooch everyday
~ he's now cooking dinner whilst I am typing this post away.
~ I nag, he'll listen 60% (good enuff liao lah)
~ he's thinking of getting a handphone for me but waiting for the right time.
~ he fixes things in the house.
~ he gives me his opinion on the clothes I wear

many more ... but these are good reminders already that he's my best friend, my consultant, my lover, my husband and the best father I have for my children.