james+jessie+jamie+justin

Justin Loses His First Tooth

2012-02-17T20:55:00.003+08:00

Justin's two lower front teeth have been wiggling and wobbling for more than two weeks and one of them finally dropped two days ago.

I was anticipating that he will freak out when it finally dropped but he was quite cool about it. He was in the living room when it dropped and I didn't see how it happened. He put the tooth on his palm and showed me and after that looked himself in the mirror, silly...

Here's how he looks like with one tooth less... still my little handsome prince...

Mr Bo Gay

I am encouraging him to write and this is what he wrote about his tooth. He formed the sentences himself with some prompting and required help in spelling for the more difficult words. A very good effort, I am very proud of him.

His little story on his tooth

Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-14T10:57:00.003+08:00

Thanks to my SIL and BIL for babysitting the kids and Cousins M & G for the fun sleepover last weekend, we were able to steal some time off and have an early Valentine's Day celebration.

After dropping the kids, we made our way to The Marmalade Pantry at Orchard ION for my favourite sticky date pudding and coffee. Haven't have it in a long long time, it tasted so yummy!

My favourite sticky date pudding of all time

My lovey dovey pendant <3<3<3

We then came home for a little nap before making our way to Todai at MBS for an incredible scrumptious international spread of seafood and sushi and many more. I think the last time I had a buffet was at least two years ago with my ex-colleagues. That's how deprived we are as we always think that it is a waste of money to bring the kids to a buffet since they don't eat much.

Love the chilli crayfish and sashimi

The man practised restrain, didn't eat that much...

After dinner, we decided to check out Ku De Ta since we were already at MBS and we haven't been up at the much-raved-about joint. It was a nice place with a spectacular view of the Marina Bay area but other than that everything else wasn't quite as enjoyable. James was totally put off by the poor service in particular the bartender who cleared away our drinks without asking. Although the manager did make up by giving us two more drinks, we were NOT happy. Guess we will not be patronising much.

Us at Ku De Ta

After that we walked over to the other side of MBS and check out Avalon and by this time, my feet were hurting from the high heels. Aunty here hasn't been practising much in those killer heels. We hang around for a while, had a drink and went home happy to have spent such wonderful time with each other. Somehow, such occasions though rare, feel a lot more sweeter when it comes...

No pressie from me this year but I have requested for a microwave cum conventional oven from the man. Yes, that's how practical I am...

And ohhh... my lovely son made these tarts for me in school. How sweet...

Valentine's Day tarts from Justin =)

To you love birds out there, have a romantic and loving Valentine's Day! xoxo!

Reminder to Self: Be A Better Mum

2012-01-11T23:19:00.005+08:00

Few weeks ago, when I was sending Jamie to her gymnastics practice, we were talking about the movie "Inception". I told her that is a very 'chim' movie and that I didn't really understand it when I first watched it, so I think she wouldn't understand the plot either. Guess what she replied? "No, I will understand cos I am smarter than you," she confidently told me to the face with her ang mo twang.

I tried to defend myself for a few good seconds but soon find myself getting a little offended when she started to cite concrete examples of my not-too-intelligent moments. "Shucks! Why am I even feeling pissed? Maybe she is right that I am STOOPID? (Self doubt...) Oh no! How can my 9 year old be smarter than me? No! This can't be true! (Denial...)" I thought to myself.

In any case, I let the situation cool after I dropped her off and went for my evening jog. While jogging, I kept thinking of 'the ideal reply' and then it struck me. The below reply was a little delayed but I thought it was quite apt given my level of intelligence.

Here's my very composed and poised reply :-
Yes, indeed, Jamie, I think you are right that you are smarter than me. Do you know why so? Because when I was at your age, I didn't have the privilege or the conducive environment to learn as much as you do now. You are lucky that your parents are able to teach you and provide you with the necessary resources such as books, travelling, computer, etc to acquire knowledge. So, you should be smarter. In fact, I want you to be smarter than me so that you can teach me. But we should never belittle anyone cos some people may not be good in one area but they could be good in other areas. Also, there is one thing that I have that you do not have and that is EXPERIENCE. So, when you need to make any choices or decisions in the future such as making friends, boyfriends, what courses to study, job, etc, I hope you will come to me and your daddy so that we can share our experience with you.

She tried to argue a little on the experience part but eventually nodded her head and agreed with me. I was feeling rather proud of myself for coming up with such clever reply but sadly this moment was short lived.

We moved along and was listening to "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars on the radio. This is one of her current favourites and she was singing out loud and suddenly when it came to the lyrics "I will never be your mother's favourite", she muttered "yes, that's right!" I heard her clearly though she was rather soft and my heart skipped a beat. I asked her what she meant and she said "Yep, it's true, Justin is your favourite." Oh my, double whammy and this time round more challenging than the earlier one. I had to think of something fast but I need not have to think too long. My immediate and instinctive response was, "No, not true, darling. You are also my favourite. I only have one daughter and you will always be my most favourite daughter. I have to spend a little more time and give more attention to Justin cos at this moment he needs a lot of help from me. I love both of you the same. I hope you can understand and have a little more patience with me and Justin". She nodded and when we got out of the car, I gave her a big hug.

These two incidents tell me a lot of things. Firstly, my little girl has really grown up. I always know that she is a very sensible girl but I forgot that at the same time she is also very sensitive to her surrounding and people around her. In fact, she was the first person to notice Justin's speech and behavioural differences when she was in P2 while comparing her brother to one of her classmates. That, in itself, goes to show that she is very observant. In my course of pursuing to better Justin, I must have neglected her needs. Maybe, I tend to think that she is more independent and capable and as such better able to take care of her own needs but I am grossly mistaken. She is afterall just a nine-year-old and I guess what she sometimes really need is just a little hug and a kiss.

J, you have taught me well in that few hours. You reminded me to not only be a better mother but a better person. Thank you, my dearie. I am dedicating this song to you. Love you, always!

R.I.P. Hammy

2012-01-04T13:45:00.002+08:00

On New Year's Eve, I discovered that Jamie's last surviving hamster was dead (I didn't want to blog about it on New Year's Day cos scared 'sway').

Of all people, me, the person in the family who had the least contact with it, was the one who discovered its death (it goes to show how rare it was for its owner / owner's father to cast a second look at it even though it was just residing next to our main door).

I am not sure if it was my acute sense of smell or killer instinct, I gave the cage a shake after we came back from lunch which I don't normally do (I try to minimise contact). Hmmm....no reaction from the hamster but that was pretty usual for the old aged rodent who could hardly move by now, I thought. I then gave it a little sniffle and I could smell something foul. I then told Jamie that I suspected the worst. She then put some food in the cage and waited for movement and when the hamster didn't come out for its food which it normally did, she declared, "Yep, Dead!".

Both of us didn't want to touch the carcass and so we waited for James to come back from work to do the final sending off. I suggested to him to dig a hole somewhere near our place and gave it a proper burial (see, I am really the only person who cares) but before I could finish, it was already in a plastic bag, all sealed up and wheeeeeee, down the rubbish chute. How tragic!

There is not much sorrow from Jamie this time round compared to the first time when she lost her first hamster. Maybe she was prepared for this day to come or maybe like me she has been waiting for this day to come. Whatever the reason, it means no more cleaning the cage and feeding time and I quickly cleared away all its remainings including the cage, the leftover food, the pallets, etc.

Well, Hammy, I didn't mean to curse you when I wrote this but I guessed age has caught up with you (in fact, you had outlived many others of your kind to more than 3 years). It was great having you in the family and R.I.P.

Didn't have many photos of the hamsters but Jamie did a show and tell on them when she was in P2. Here are her powerpoint slides.

30 Things To Stop Doing For Yourself

2012-01-02T11:13:00.001+08:00

Starting the new year with a good article from here.

Some articles are just worth 'copying' and re-reading over and over again...

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.
Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.
Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.
Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing

Glorifying Our Running Achievements

2011-12-30T11:32:00.001+08:00

James said I did not glorify our running achievements enough. Two lines in the previous blog surely do not do justice to the amount of sweat produced for our newly acquired hobby.

He seems to be exceptionally proud of me since he knows what a lazy bum I can be. In actual fact, I am a little surprised with myself that I have the determination and discipline to achieve from 0KM in January to 18KM in October. What I realised is running is all about the correct mind set and positive thinking. Many times, I couldn't make it past 5KM as my mind is filled with negativities such as "the weather is too hot", "I am so sleepy", "I am so hungry" etc, etc, etc...

During our Newton Run, James almost wanted to give up as he was suffering from massive cramps. When he met me half way and told me that he couldn't run anymore, he was expecting me to say "OK, let's don't torture ourselves anymore and go for lunch". Instead, I told him not to give up and to take his time to complete his 30KM. At that moment with the sun beating down strong and hard at us, I bet he must have seen me in a totally different light, he must be thinking "Oh boy, is this really my lovely, lazy wife?" hahaha...

With much pain, James completed his 30KM, not fantastic timing but definitely a great accomplishment. Unlike me who runs so that I can get off my butt and stop being lazy, he runs for the sense of achievement and self satisfaction.

Running has become a new talking point for us and we are loving it for as long as we can run...

Here you go, darling, your running glory in 2011...

Starting from top / left : RUN350 (James 10KM, Me 5KM) / 2XU Compression Run (James 12KM) / Sundown (James 21KM) / Great Eastern Women Run (Me 10KM), Newtown Challenge (James 30KM, Me 18KM)

2011 Has Been a BLAST For Us

2011-12-28T13:39:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year to give thanks and count our blessings.

2011 has been good for us.

I quit my job and become a full time mother and never regret that decision a bit. Well, with 5 holidays (long and short) in a year and having the luxury of waking up at 930a.m. during school holidays, I can’t complain much, can I? In fact, I must admit I am getting very used to this lifestyle. I like it that I can get to spend so much time with my kids and my husband. I guess the only down side is the lack in personal income but hey, I am not the materialistic / shopaholic type so I am actually quite alright with reusing the old stuff and hand-me-downs, after all, the only time that I flaunt my fashion is when I go to the market and meeting up with friends… hehehe

My biggest pride this year is the progress that Justin has made. I realized that his capacity and ability to learn is more than meet the eyes. He is now able to converse more and express his thoughts and feelings though sometimes he still gets his sentence structure wrongly. He is not shy and is more sociable now. He is now able to play simple musical notes on both left and right hands after having attended Yamaha Junior Music Course for half a year, he is now able to swim on his own (though the strokes are not exactly correct) after going for 30 minutes session each week since April. He is definitely savvier with the games in the iPad than I do. He is surely one very happy kid to have mummy around 24/7. Earlier this year, we were contemplating of delaying his P1 enrolment by a year but he has proven to us that he is ready for mainstream curriculum and that will be my aim for 2012, that is, to prepare him for P1.

Jamie is also doing well in school. I know that sometimes I neglected her somewhat as usually I will divert my attention to Justin but I am lucky that James is able to connect with her and provides her with the attention that she needs at times. Whenever I can, I tried to do something a little extra for her, like bringing her to ifly, inline skate with her and even throw her a cool birthday cookout celebration. All that I ask for is a little thank you from her which she never fails to say. Love you to the max, J, for being such a sensible girl that any mother can ever ask for.

James is keeping up in shape with all the running. Yes, both of us have somehow caught the running bug though running has never been in the New Year Resolution list. I am so proud of him having accomplished the half marathon in May and 30KM in October. He devoted all his time in working to provide all of us with a comfortable life and I am so grateful to him for making me a full time homemaker. My wish for him for 2012 is to have good career advancement. You can do it, darling!

There you have it, 2011 has been a great year for the FOO family. As it is, I can see 2012 being more exciting. James and I are turning 40 and I have to start planning for our big bash, he has signed up a full marathon run for himself and a half marathon run for me. We are planning to go to New York for our family vacation… Oh, I can’t wait for 2012….

Happy New Year to all.

Love, James + Jessie + Jamie + Justin

Jamie's Birthday Cookout

2011-12-27T16:54:00.001+08:00

Time seems to pass in double or maybe triple pace during November and December. With less than a week left before 2012 arrives, I tell myself I better be fast with my updates of the recent happenings...

Inspired by Junior Masterchef, Jamie had a few friends over for a special cookout birthday as a second installment of the celebration. It was a lot of fun planning the celebration with her, from designing the invites, to buying flavours at Diaso and brainstorming on the ideas...

Here's how the invitation card looked like...

The girls designed and personalised their own chef hats before the cookout.

They get their hands dirty with all the mixing and kneading. Some of the cookies were burnt as one-man organiser here was too busy to watch the heat and timing but they merrily packed them all up and brought home to show their mummies.

They showed off their imagination and creativity and design their own pizza toasts. They even gobbled up all the bits and pieces of ham, carrots and cheese.

They paired up and took charge of each of the three stations - grating cheese, cleaning the mushrooms and cooking penne. They then took turn to fry their own mushrooms and chicken and pasta. They were thrilled to be dealing with real fire for the first time and were so proud of their own cooking achievements.

And of course, birthday is all about pressies, cakes and making wishes...

It was definitely exhausting to be doing all the work all by myself. Can you imagine, I had to double up as the photographer amidst all the cooking chaos. But it was all worth it when she told me that it was the best birthday ever!

Hong Kong and Macau 2 to 8 Dec 2011

2011-12-22T01:31:00.001+08:00

Although we had been to Hong Kong a couple of times, we had never really tour the city. So, we decided to be as real tourists this time round and were delighted by the many interesting sights Hong Kong has to offer.

We visited Lantau Island, taking the Ngoh Ping 360 cable car which is the longest cable car ride we have ever taken so far, up to Ngoh Ping Village where we saw the giant bronze Buddha Statue and even offer an incense at Po Lin Monastery.

The Bronze Buddha at Ngoh Ping

During our last trip in 2007 with my mum and MIL, we had visited Avenue of Stars by night but this time round we were there early in the morning. Took some nice photos and even a footsie photo with the late Leslie Chung's star which unfortunately does not bear his hand prints.

Footsies with Leslie Chung's star @ Avenue of Stars

We went up to Victoria Peak for the first time. While on the tram up, we met a young chap who demonstrated the 45 degree incline just like how Micheal Jackson did it at the steepest slope of the track. He told us that we have never been to Hong Kong if we have never been up to Victoria Peak and he was right, the night view was spectacular. Jamie and James even visited Madam Trussed and took photos with almost every single wax figurine.

We decided to ditch Disneyland and went to good old nostalgic Ocean Park. Can't imagine the park first opened its door in 1977 and it is still packed today, mostly with mainland Chinese. So much, that we couldn't even squeeze our way through to see the sea lion show.

Ocean Park

Of course, we took a 3D2N trip across to Macau. Stayed at the opulent Venetian and the kids loved it. Once we arrived at the hotel, what greeted us was a strong stench of cigarette smoke. The whole place and I literally mean every single hotel that we visited was filled with second hand smoke and I thought Hong Kong's pollution was bad. We watched the multi-million production House of Dancing Water over at City of Dreams on the first night. I was totally awed by its massive, state of the art technology and ingenious production and staging while Jamie was mesmerised by the performers' acrobatic stunts. It was a really great show.

The kids outside The Venetian

On the second day, we visited the historical sites, starting at Senado Square to Mount Fortress and the Ruins of St Paul's. On Jamie's special request, we visited the Michael Jackson Gallery at Ponte 16. We were quite happy that we visited MGM Grand though it was a little out of the way as their Christmas Wonderland decor was simply wondrous. And ohh, we loved the Portuguese egg tarts so much that between James, Jamie and myself, we down twelve in one day.

Ruins of St Paul's

With the Nutcrackers at MGM Grand Macau

MGM Grand's Christmas Wonderland Decor

Outside City of Dreams

It was a really enjoyable trip. We tried almost every single mode of transportation from the MTR, to the cable car, the tram, the double decker bus, the turbojet, the ferry and of course the taxi... We also had a fair share of their local food from the hot pot with beef innards, to 烧鹅, 烧肉, 云吞，许留山 desert, 点心，to 茶餐厅's 菠萝油，公仔面，ohhhh, writing all these are making me drool and want to go back again....

9 Year Old - Last Single Digit Birthday

2011-12-01T13:52:00.001+08:00

How I wish I can be a 9 year old at this time and age and have parents like myself...

My 9 year old exclaimed this is best birthday ever and rightly so. She received the best present ever a.k.a the iphone 4s. She has been asking for a mobile phone since P1 but we didn't oblige till now. She was over the moon and her eyes instantly sparkled at the sight of SIRI. I was expecting her to play the games non-stop and download silly applications, but surprisingly she has been practising much restraint as she is afraid that she would exceed the monthly budget of $30.

i-carly season 3 DVD and the iphone 4s

Her other favourite gift comes from Neo Neo and Ah Mak - a full inline skating gear for her new found hobby. She got a mystery gift from me which is the i-carly Season 3 DVD which I purchased from Amazon. i-carly is her all time favourite TV serial and she could spend the rest of her school holiday watching the DVD over and over again.

Her new found hobby - inline skating

Thanks to credit card points, we had a one night stay at Festive Hotel and visited Universal Studio Singapore for the second time. More on that in another post.

She even had the most awesome experience at i-fly where she did two flights. She is such a real daredevil.

Yesterday, she had the most fun birthday cookout with a few of her classmates baking cookies, making pizza bread and cooking pasta. Will have to post more on that as she totally enjoyed herself.

And tonight, we are flying off to Hong Kong and Macau for some good shopping and eating and I am not even packed yet...

With so much celebration, how can she not be the happiest 9 year old in the world. We are just glad that she appreciated our effort and wrote us a little thank you note.

Love you to the max, Jamie. Happy 9th Birthday!

The Friendship Bracelets Business (Closing Chapter)

2011-11-21T21:22:00.000+08:00

Here's the latest update to The Friendship Bracelets Business.

As quickly as the partnership with SY was set up, it was DISSOLVED the next day as SY was unable to produce the bracelets. It was back to sole proprietorship once again which made accounting so much easier.

Business was getting tougher with the examination drawing closer towards the end of October. Moreover, her MONOPOLY was short-lived when a few copycats tried to eat into the MARKET SHARE by offering similar products. In addition, the novelty diminished as the days passed even though new design was introduced.

So, when cousin Megan came over to our place and expressed a keen interest in learning to make the bracelets, I immediately proposed to 'DISPOSE THE ASSETS' for $5. She gladly took over the leftover strings and is now doing good business (or at least I hope she is).

After 6 weeks of business, the PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT showed a GROSS PROFIT of $38.80 which translate to 48.5 units of bracelets sold. Don't ask me why there is 0.5 bracelet, the BALANCE SHEET obviously doesn't balance. She probably had misappropriated the funds along the way, buying stuff from her school canteen or bookshop. She was supposed to pay bangala worker (me) 10 cent for each bracelet that was produced but I had generously agreed to work for FREE. So, the end NETT PROFIT stands at $20.80 and with the $5 from the disposal of assets (which is yet to be collected), she made a total of $25.80, not bad for a such short period of time.

R&R In Bintan With The Aunties 13 to 14 November 2011

2011-11-15T21:20:00.008+08:00

I finally get to know the true meaning of going on a R&R trip, thanks to three gorgeous ladies (Jen, Jas and S). These three aunties are not only GORGEOUS on the outside, they are AWESOME TO THE MAX on the inside, just like me, hehehe. REST is when you leave the kids and husband at home and you can totally switch off without having to worry about the well being of another person. RELAX is when you can totally take your time and do whatever you want a.k.a NUA and what better place to do that than going to a resort, or more specifically 2D1N @ Bintan Lagoon Resort.

I have never had so much massage in my life, more than 3 hours of solid massaging over 2 days and it was GOOD. We chillax by the pool in our bikinis, not the most perfect bodies there but WHO CARES when you are R&Ring? We pampered ourselves, choosing not to lift a finger at dinner time.We engaged a chef to barbecue for us while we chat for hours over yummy food, fine wine and GREAT COMPANY. Oh, I even got to drive the buggy for the first time as I was the designated driver and I passed with flying colours...

What a wonderful trip! Thanks aunties! More to come I suppose???

We Inline Skated For The First Time

2011-11-06T23:46:00.000+08:00

I have been wanting to try inline skating for the longest time. So, when Groupon had a special offer of $15 for a 90 minute session at Urban Inline, I bought 6 groupons at one go for myself and the two kids. Yes, a super duper impulsive purchase thanks to Groupon for making it way too easy to transact.

So, yesterday was the first lesson for us. Boy, I must say it is really not easy - it is more difficult than cycling and definitely more challenging than running 18KM. Justin couldn't have the patience to sit through the first 20 minutes when Coach Leonard was talking about safety mainly on how to get up and fall safely. When he finally put on the skates, he was expecting it to move by itself like a robot. He suddenly realised it was not as easy as it seems and gave up half way.

Among the 20 people who were there, I happened to be the oldest and was immediately addressed as 'Mama' by Coach Leonard. I must say I was pretty steady when we were learning to balance and roll at the gentle slope in the beginning. I didn't fall at all. However, once we get on to the track, the fear kicked in and I was falling left, right, centre and backward. By my third fall, I was starting to wonder how the hell did I end up here and what had I gotten myself into. This is surely too taxing for an almost 40 year old aunty. I pressed on and struggled my way back with the words "Mama, why you not moving?" from Coach Leonard who kept turning his head back to check on me.

Jamie on the other hand, was a more very cautious skater. Although she fell more in the beginning, she got a hang out of it towards the end of the session. She is looking forward to the next session to master the basics with me. Oh, did I just say 'with me'? Oh yes, although I do have that teeny weeny sense of fear, I will do it for her sake cos she said for the first time "I am the coolest mum" - way cooler than her scaredy cat daddy. So, we shall see how next week goes before I decide if I will get myself a pair of skates to continue to be a cool mum...

Here are some photos and a video clip of us inline skating...

All gear up!!!

Wheee.... we can balance.....

Jamie's More Matured Poems

2011-10-28T13:29:00.002+08:00

On and off, Jamie will still write some poems when she has the inspiration.

Here are some of her latest works since last year...

A Special dedication to BORDERS
Borders sells books and many, many more
Now Wheelock has no Borders, it's just a Borderless store
Borders is a good place. with neat shelves and floors
And if you look really closely, you'll see pictures on their walls
Everyone wants Borders back, no one knows how
Talk to the management sternly, and ask for Borders back now

Don't sulk or cry when people are around
Don't pull faces or give them a frown

Minor madness one, two, three
Minor madness for you and me
- sounds somewhat incomplete to me

Hands
Hands are for caring
Hands are for sharing
Hands are for playing
Not punching or hitting
Hands mean your arms and fingers too
Hands are for everyone including me and you

People
People people up and down
People people all around
People people here and there
People people everywhere
People people on the streets
People people that we meet
People people that we care
I've got some cookies we can share

Here are some of her previous works, and this on her dead hamster and this and this which she had written when she was younger...

The Friendship Bracelets Business

2011-10-11T20:29:00.006+08:00

Last midweek, Jamie came back from school with a knot string which she bought from a friend for $0.20. It was a short two coloured knotted string. I knew I can do better and nicer knot strings than that and I introduced her to the once popular Friendship Bands which is called Friendship Bracelets now. As we talked about it, I realised I could start a little business project for her to learn a bit of financial literacy and accounting. She was thrilled and we turned to our almighty and reliable tutor (www.youtube.com) for crash courses and tutorials and before long, we were making candy stripe friendship bracelets.

The business set up is simple with her as the Managing Director while I sit on the Board of Director (realise there is no 's'). There is only one bangala worker a.k.a the mother who is paid 10 cents for each bracelet that is made.

As we eagerly put the business plan in place, she was introduced to these terms:-

PRODUCT
We tried different types of threads and concluded that the knitting type is best for the bracelets. I also stressed to her the importance of producing good and consistent products otherwise her friends will not buy from her.

PRICING
We initially wanted to price the bracelet cheap @ $0.30 but after making a few we realised each bracelet takes at least 30 minutes to complete and it is pure hard work. It will take too much work to break even if it is priced at $0.30. So, in the end, it is priced at $0.80 for any 3 coloured strings.

MARKETING
Told her samples are very important to entice her friends to buy and we made 9 bracelets for her to bring to school. Included in the marketing kit was an advertisement and samples of the various coloured strings available.

The advertisement

SALES
Told her to be as thick skin as she possibly can and to get all her friends to buy from her.

BASIC ACCOUNTING TERMS
Her initial CAPITAL is $18 for all the strings that she bought, her only EXPENSE is to pay her bangala worker mother and the money she make is her REVENUE. In order to BREAK EVEN, she needs to sell at least 23 bracelets.

So, yesterday was the first day of business for our little entrepreneur and business was frisk. She sold 17 bracelets. However our little entrepreneur could not quite contain her excitement and leak out her trade secret (i.e. she learnt to make the bracelets from youtube) and almost instantly turn her SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP into PARTNERSHIP when she agrees to include her friend (SY) in the business. Our young entrepreneur didn't mention about CAPITAL share and whats more gave half of the takings from yesterday to her new partner. When she came back home and told me about it, I almost flipped. I had to use my very limited accounting vocabulary to explain the whole PARTNERSHIP concept to her but she couldn't quite get it. I was on repeat mode telling her that as a partner, SY needs to pay for her share of the CAPITAL and needs to make the bracelets as well. She got so flustered with my nagging that she actually told me that she will give me half of her own takings. Now, that is sweet but definitely too naive. She needs to be more mercenary!!! More calculative!!! More money savvy!!!

Today's order dwindled to only 3 but she did explain to SY about the role of a partner. SY agrees to produce as many bracelets as she possibly can to match up to the 20 that Jamie had made so far. She paid Jamie $8.80, $0.20 short of the $9 capital and that confuses me and I find it difficult to explain how profit should be shared if not all 20 that SY made are sold or if SY's production fall short of 20 (I totally understand why I failed Accountancy in JC)...

With SY understanding the partnership and taking over the production for now, I would think that bangala worker here can take a breather and relax a bit; but somehow along the way, there appears a self-declared Director aka the father who just gave a new directive that new designs need to be produced in order to sustain the business. Noooooooo!!!!!!! My eyes are going cris-crossing and my arms are aching all over!!!!! I need to demand for higher wages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

September School Holiday 2011

2011-09-15T14:34:00.004+08:00

This September school holiday was a total blast for the kids. It was non-stop activities day after day. I guessed it must be mummy's guilt at play and her way of making up for lost time after the Seoul trip.

We were totally 'Smurfed' this holiday. From catching the movie, to making a craft piece of Papa Smurf at SAM Night Festival and taking photos with the Smurf mascots - there were a lot of Smurfy moments...

Joined the crowd at SAM Night Festival after the Smurf movie

Glowing Papa Smurf craft that Jamie made at the Night Festival

Delighted to be taking pictures with Clumsy, Papa and Smurfette at Anchorpoint

Then, there was some cooking fun at United Square's Great Kids Cookout Event. We were privileged to be given two passes courtesy of James' cousin Nancy. Jamie was kind enough to join the pizza station to accompany her brother. They put on the hat and apron and pretended to be chefs for a good 30 minutes while I enjoyed a cup of coffee.

Their pizza toasts which they gobbled up right after they made them. Must have tasted yummy!

Next up, we went to The Kite Festival which was held at The Promenade this year. We were at the first one at West Coast and had lots of fun flying kite for the first time. This time round, though against the beautiful MBS as backdrop, it wasn't that fun. There wasn't enough wind to lift up the kite even though we tied two helium balloons to it. James blamed it on the lousy kite that I bought but I think it is more his skills...hehe...

The boy who wasn't too keen about the whole kite-flying idea

The girl who can't wait to fly a kite with dad

Our kite with two helium balloons tied to it but still didn't fly too high... pathetic

Love this pix of James and the kids admiring the kite, against the MBS as backdrop

On one of the afternoons, two of Justin's friends came over to our place for play date. They have fun at the pool...

The very K-POP looking Yi Rui

The very smart Jay Kai

On Saturday, two days before the actual Mid Autumn Festival, we brought along our Powerpuff Girls lanterns and joined the Lantern Walkabout at The Esplanade Mall. The walkabout was led by a dragon dance troupe but it didn't last long enough as the rain started to pour.

Finally, on Sunday before school reopens, we were at East Coast Park. The kids and James rode on the 4-person carriage while I did my 7KM run.

So, there you have it, one solid week of fun...

Seoul Girly Trip 25 Aug to 1 Sep 2011

2011-09-06T21:33:00.000+08:00

R, J and me decided to take a trip to Seoul to visit our good friend I, who is now residing in Seoul and has generously offered her luxurious apartment to us for accommodation. It was a pity that A couldn't join us. It was a really fun trip with lots of shopping, yakking, eating, drinking and laughter...

Highlight of the trip must be the burnt electric kettle which we had unknowingly placed on the stove. I would surely not forget that evening which we cut short our precious shopping to get back to prepare for our Cheong Night like some young teenagers going for their prom, but in the end we didn't step foot in a club but end up eating cup noodles and talking about politics at 3am. We went crazy buying all the Korean facial products and had to stop for fear of excess baggage. I officially declare my dislike to all the little-before-meal-cold-dishes especially kimchi but the Ginseng Chicken near Gyeongbokgung Palace and the BBQ pork near I's apartment were totally out of this world. I fell in love with their local fruit wine made of black raspberries called Bokbunja which I would share a bottle with the girls every night. Oh, we also concluded Korean TV serials is a huge made-believe fairy tale which only beautiful Korean men and women exist cos the whole week that we were there, we hardly saw any good looking people around.

Thanks I and M for being such great hosts. To R, thanks for bearing with my thunderous snores. To J, the trip would be different without your impeccable a-ju-ma style of sunglasses, fan and hat. I am so happy that we took this trip :)

My Sleeping Beauty

2011-08-15T22:28:00.003+08:00

Once upon a time, some 9 years ago, when our Royal Highness was born, we make it a point to sleep by her side every night. We will only take our leave when she slumbers into deep sleep. Night after night, this Sleeping Beauty will fall into her enchanted sleep, knowing that she is in safe hands. When Your Highness turned four and with the arrival of Her Royal Prince Brother, we tried to wean off this sleeping habit of hers without much success. Sleeping Beauty is turning nine in a few months time and she hasn't change a bit when it comes to her sleeping pattern. No matter how tired she is, she will wake when she senses that we have left the room. No amount of coaxing or lies will assure her that she will be alright sleeping alone (in fact, she is in the same chamber as her Royal Prince Brother). Some nights, when she is not too tired or when she happens to take a nap in the afternoon, it becomes worse.

I truly think that it is about time to wake Beauty out of her comfort zone and learn to sleep by herself. I have ordered a summon for I am still the QUEEN (*Evil Laughter*). For a start, two nights in a week, she will sleep on her own. She has chosen Thursday and Friday as her sleep-alone-nights starting from this week and we shall see how she fare. The King, however, thinks that it is cruel that I am pushing her away when it is a good thing that she is so attached to us. He reminded me that very soon she will kick our butts out of her chamber when she turns teenager.

Now, there seems to be a dilemma here...

If only I could cast a spell any time and any way I fancy...

More Scrapbooked Pieces and Angry Birds

2011-08-13T15:59:00.000+08:00

Had a sudden urge and impulse to do scrapbooking again. So, when we were at Parkway Parade again 2 weeks ago, I bought some papers aand letterings and made two more pieces. I took a look at the lovely scrapbooking items on sales, they are all so pretty but not cheap. I thought scrapbooking typically means preserving one's personal or family memories in the form of a scrapbook by including photographs, keepsakes and other memorabilia? I made these two pieces with whatever I can find in the house and they turn out pretty nice...

This was made before I bought the ikea frame and I had to do a bit of adjusting and trimming to fit the smaller size.

A piece on our recent Melbourne trip. Love this but I need to learn to make it a bit more 3-D.

During the June school holidays, we also made Angry Birds with the beads. Jamie made the pig today to complete the entire set, here's how they look like...

Teaching Fun

2011-08-02T13:23:00.002+08:00

Amazing what a laminating machine and a six year old HP printer can do. With the help of these two gadgets and the World Wide Web, I had created quite a fair bit of teaching materials for Justin who learns better through visuals.

Besides the usual flash cards for expanding vocabulary and sight words, here are a few that I took pride of :-

How he first learn to trace and recognise his Chinese name

Was encouraging him to draw by tracing the animal outlines but he wasn't too keen. He only wanted to draw duck and cow.

Tic Tac Toe game which didn't catch on, maybe should change the counters to Angry Birds and try again

Teaching the different body parts

Latest project - took pictures of the various stages of growth of green beans that we planted and presented in a cycle format. Pluck out a stalk and had him to write down 'leaf', 'stem', and 'roots'

Sticky Dates Pudding

2011-07-18T13:19:00.000+08:00

The first time I ever tried sticky dates pudding was at The Marmalade Pantry when they still had an outlet at the basement of Palais Renaissance. I think it is raved as one of the best sticky date pudding in Singapore and it comes at a pretty steep price of $10+++ for each pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I haven't gone to The Marmalade Pantry for a while since it moved to ION and are missing it's sticky date pudding hell a lot. So, when I was at NTUC last week and saw the many dates on sales, I bought a packet and decided to try my first attempt to make one of my favourite desserts ever.

I adapted from this recipe and although it is not as good as those in Marmalade, it tasted awesome for a first attempt. The only negative side is its not so beautiful appearance but who cares as long as it tastes yummy. Somehow, my oven seems to be on the higher temperature side and my cakes get easily burnt on the top (experts out there, you reckon that I should put the bake in the lower rack instead?). The texture is just right, not too hard and the dates are rich and not too sweet to our liking. The best part of it all is it is very easy to make and it uses little butter. I made the butterscotch sauce too but I used honey instead of golden syrup so it tasted a bit bitter sweet but overall it was good.

Everyone loves it and it was all gone within 2 days. I am so happy. I am quite sure I will definitely be making more of it.

Justin Joins the Yamaha's Junior Music Course

2011-07-07T00:02:00.000+08:00

Justin's speech difficulty revolves around two key areas. The main area is his difficulty to understand language. Somehow, somewhere along the way, his brain is not wired in the normal way thus making learning language a tough chore for him. It takes him a while to process and understand each sentence. The other area is to do with auditory. He seems to have selective hearing - listening out to things that he wants to hear and shutting off the rest that he is not too keen with. I decided to enrol him in the Yamaha's Junior Music Course which focuses mainly in encouraging children to listen with their ears and thus improving on their aural ability.

I went with him for his first lesson tonight. I must say the teacher was very engaging and energetic and the lesson was conducted in a very interesting way. I truly enjoyed myself but I could only give a score of 7 out of 10 for my boy. Although he was reluctant, he would still go forth to the teacher whom he had just met and stood with the other kids to sing an unfamiliar tune. He was not as open and spontaneous as the other kids but he still participated and went with the flow. Negative points are given when he became a little grouchy and uncooperative at some intervals. I figured that he probably wanted to express his unhappiness of being placed in the class or maybe he wasn't happy that he couldn't sing the new songs.

I told myself to be patient as after all this is only the first lesson. I need to set the footing right from the first time so that he would still want to continue with the course. This is a pretty long course entailing a full 4 years of which parent needs to sit in for the first 2 years. Imagine sitting through 88 lessons in two years, it sounds more like taking a diploma course. I wonder how far he can go and whether we should invest in a keyboard instrument. I guess I have to just take it one step at a time and see how things progress. If it doesn't work out, I will take it as lessons for the not-so-musically-inclined me and bonding time between mother and son.

Aye Aye Captain

2011-07-01T13:34:00.001+08:00

Officially, with effect from today (1st July 2011), we have a Captain in the the house...woohoo!

When Cpt Foo received his letter on the promotion, he was amused but not too keen to attend the ceremony, it was more like a "see-how-lah-must-take-leave-one-you-know" kind of attitude. I was excited and urged him to attend but never would I expect my FIL to be more siao onz than me. When he saw the letter that was left on the table, he told me (quote) "It is a rare honour to be promoted as a captain. Not everyone can be one." (unquote). Of course, I didn't throw Cpt Foo a wet blanket by telling FIL that most of his friends are already a Captain but just smiled and nodded. Then came, "I want to attend the ceremony and I think mum also wants to go."

So that's it, the captain son of his had not much of a choice but to write to the relevant personnel to request for the whole family to attend the ceremony. We were at Pasir Laba Camp, the old SAFTI which brought back some memories. Specifically, the day some twenty years ago when I went to this god-forsaken place with my good friend Inez to watch his passing out parade as an officer and then to be totally ignored by young James. What a bumper!

It turned out that Cpt Foo had the biggest entourage and was the only promotee there with parents, wife and kids in tow. After the ceremony, while having our buffet dinner, the Chief of Army easily spotted the only two kids that were there and approached Cpt Foo for a casual talk. We had a picture taken with Chief of Army and what's more Cpt Foo had been recently interviewed by Army News, hahaha. Do look out for him in the July 2011 issue...

Well, Cpt Foo I don't know what you did to be promoted but I must admit it was a day which FIL and MIL were absolutely proud and the kids totally idolised you in the army uniform. Muack!

Trying Not To Be A Kiasu Parent

2011-06-29T23:22:00.000+08:00

Jamie started gymnastics since 4+ years old with Prime Gymnastics. For the first two years, she progressed pretty well even though she trained only once a week. Upon entering Primary One, she joined her school's gymnastics club as a CCA. Her Chinese coach from school had been urging her to join their club (Win Win) ever since then.

I am all for the idea to switch to Win Win for a few reasons, Firstly, Prime Gymnastics though very reputable, trains their gymnasts under the Australian system. They do not send their gymnasts for grading under the Singapore curriculum until recently. Secondly, fee in Prime Gymnastics is too expensive to be training for more than twice a week. It is in fact more than double of what Win Win is charging.

So, since Primary One, I had been trying to convince her to make the switch but without much success. Being someone who is not too receptive to changes and is terrified of unfamiliarity, she refused to step out of her comfort zone for a good two years. She eventually agreed to make the switch only from beginning this year as her favourite coach in Prime left and she didn't quite like the new replacement.

As she didn't go through grading examination during her 4 years with Prime, Win Win requires her to start from Level 1 even though most of her peers are grading for Level 2. Few weeks back, during her Level 1 grading examination / competition, I bumped into a kindergarten friend of hers. Her friend, though started gymnastics only in Primary 2, was grading for Level 2. Somehow, the kiasu parent syndrome hit me there and then as I started to compare. I brood over the fact that she has to play 'catch-up' despite the many more years of training. I wasn't happy at all and I blamed it on her inflexibility and us not being persistent enough. James was angry with me for even having that thought but I couldn't help it.

As I watched her did her various routines, I know that she isn't the brightest star of all. Given her bigger and heavier build (she is at least 5 kilograms heavier than most of the girls), she is at a disadvantage as she needs greater arm strength to pull herself up. But, I could see that she was really serious and she was putting in her utmost effort to do her best.

Level 1 Grading is for up to 9 years old and technically she is only 8 as her birthday is in November. In this examination / competition, she was only up against 10 other girls and she did pretty well coming in for 6th position for Uneven Bars and Balance Beam, 3rd for Floor Exercise and 5th for Individual All Around. She wouldn't have achieved that if she had been placed in the Level 2 Grading against 50 other girls, some more capable. When I see her beaming with pride, collecting her medals, I know the recognition must be a great boost of confidence for her and that will spur her on to train harder and achieve more. I, then, tell myself maybe this is a good blessing in disguise and that I have to stop this kiasu feeling. After all, I am not expecting her to be a gymnast at national level. I have seen the youths representing Singapore and I certainly do not want her to have those stout physique.

So, when she asked me if I am proud of her, I answered, "Yes! Of course! You did well and if you are interested in the gymnastics, you have to continue to train hard and outdo your own best. Taking up gymnastics is not so much to win medals but more for you to learn to be discipline, to be able to follow instructions, to learn to be a good team member and most importantly to know your own limits and weaknesses so that you can learn to overcome them."

I am glad things turn out the way it is - at the very least, I am at peace now with her progress.

Melbourne 4 to 13 June 2011- Day 8 to 10

2011-06-23T15:15:00.002+08:00

Day 8
We returned to Melbourne City this morning. Before checking back into the hotel (Park Regis Griffin Suites) at St Kilda Road, we went straight to Queen Victoria Market. James wasn't too interested in the market, so he went off to meet a colleague. We spent like at least 4 hours here. Mum was happy to be finally buying some souvenirs and stuff. She especially enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables section and was awed by how fresh and cheap some of the fruits on sale. That night, we met up with James's old classmate from secondary school at Lygon Street for some great tasting Italian food. Sensing that mum was a little bored, we sent her back to Crown Casino and unfortunately she lost half of previous winning. Ooops! Should had insisted that she came back to the hotel with us instead.

Queen Victoria Market

Day 9
We woke up bright and cheery and drove to St Kilda Sunday Market. We were early and some of the stalls were not set up yet so we en route to Fitzroy Gardens (not knowing that it was really very near to city centre) and had a walk around the garden and took some pictures at Captain Cook Cottage. We then went back to St Kilda Sunday Market and took a nice stroll along the stalls before making our way to Queen Victoria Market to pick up some last minute purchases. We boarded the much-talk-about free City Circle Tram, hoping to see some beautiful sights but the tram was packed like sardines and too crowded to see anything. We dropped mum off at Crown casino again and walked around the city instead. Guess what, mum lost all that she won in the first round. Well. I guess a zero balance is better than negative. At least she got to experience and gamble at an ang mo casino.

Mum at Fitzroy Gardens

Jamie in handstand

St Kilda Sunday Market - that's not a real man by the way

Day 10
Time to say good bye to Melbourne. Since our flight was in the afternoon, we stopped by at DFO Essendon for some outlet shopping. I think everyone enjoyed the trip, especially my mum. Personally, as a tourist, I found Melbourne not as exciting as Sydney. I am sure there are more that Melbourne can offer and we will probably be back here next time in another season to experience the place in a totally different way. Here's a last picture of our footsies taken throughout the trip.

Foo's footsies in Melbourne