~Mamamie's Thots~

Happy Birthday to Hubby!

2009-11-12T12:27:00.004+08:00

Happy 32nd B'day Darling!

Of course the kiddos were so happy coz they were able to eat b'day cake twice within a week.

Celebration @ in-law's house, swensen ice-cream cake sponsored by mil

Celebration @ home, oreomisu cake from Emicakes

Waiting anxiously...

2009-11-05T13:36:00.006+08:00

For past weeks, I have looked at various models, compared pricing & features that best suited for my usage. Since I'm going to recontract my current phone line & it's about time for a change of new mobile phone. I was eyeing at the I-Phone...Samsung Omnia II & Nokia N97 for quite a while but in the end felt that it was not worth to fork out more than $100 & above just to buy the phone (since I'm going to change my mobile once a year or every 2 years).

I was browsing thru all the current models & saw Samsung Jet. The features looked pretty interesting & I just need to fork out around $50 for the phone...looked like a pretty good deal for me.

Yes! Finally I'm going to pass over my old Nokia N82 to my mum & now waiting for Starhub to deliver the new mobile phone to me...hiak hiak hiak!

Updated: Just received a call from Starhub, the caller said I'm entitled to a discount voucher therefore the cost of the phone & the delivery charge will be FOC...woohoo!

Weekend Pics

2009-11-02T09:45:00.005+08:00

Army Boy ready to protect his country (borrowed shu shu's army helmet & vest)

阿兵哥 (borrowed shu shu's army cap)

Yummy Salads..

Tasty roasted chickens..

Mr. Piggy @ Nando's

This was my 1st attempt to try the food @ Nando's in JB, apparently dh said that the sauce he tried @ Nando's in Melbourne is nicer. The sauce they served in JB is more saltish & the colour is more yellowish. So in the end, I decided to mix tomato sauce & Nando's sauce together. Definately tasted better...:)

October Updates

2009-10-27T09:10:00.009+08:00

The kiddos have recovered from HFMD already & went to school just in time for the annual school photo taking. As for me, last week was slightly busy for me as I went to the Wine for Asia 2009 event. Got to know some new friends from the same trade & tasted some very interesting wines & of course how can I miss out on my favourite German Riesling :)

At the Wine for Asia trade show

My colleagues- Linda (left) & Ariel (right)

Mr. Richard Buller (the winemaker)

Enjoyed a quiet dinner with dh @ Shokudo (City Hall)..yum..yum..

Last weekend, I brought the kiddos to Daiso to get some stuff. And the shop has started selling X'mas decorations already. This reminded me that this whole year passed so fast, and in about 2 months time is X'mas Day!

My conversation with YS:

YS: Mummy where are we going?

Myself: We are going to Daiso.

YS: Oh...going to Dinosaur.

Myself: No....Daiso & Dinosaur is different. Daiso is a shopping outlet, Dinosaur is an extinct animal.

YS: Nah...it's the same!

Myself: ^_^ *faint*

HFMD (part 2)

2009-10-22T08:02:00.004+08:00

The thing that I do not wish to happen to YQ has finally happened.... she was having slight fever on Tuesday evening when I picked her up from school but the teacher told me there were no symptoms of HFMD from her yet. But to be safe, I quickly brought her home to take some fever medicine & bathed her. I brought her to our nearby GP after dinner for consultation. Yup, she was diagnosed by the GP that she had HFMD now...so she is resting at home with YS. I'm sure my mum will be even more tiring having 2 active sick children running around in the house. Hopefully they will recover faster in time & go back to their school for the class photo taking next Wednesday.

The weird thing is both of them only has red spots & ulcers appeared in their mouth & not other various parts of their bodies. After reading through some articles online, it was found that some people really only have the outbreak in their mouth only. So maybe I'm a little bit too paranoid :)

YS is still recovering & his ulcers are almost subsided. Surprisingly, the principal told me that YS's classmate who was sick on the same day as him has already resume back to school activity yesterday. Apparently, the kid's condition was not due to HFMD but was actually due to heatiness in her body. Anyway, I felt it's better for my children to resume back to school after they have fully recover & prevent them from spreading to other children in school.

自编自改歌词

2009-10-21T14:50:00.002+08:00

近来，YQ时常又哼又唱老师教她的“上学歌”。
但是她唱的版本很奇怪，每次唱完后我们都会笑。
过后，老公再也忍不住了，要我问老师正确的歌词。

YQ 的版本：
太阳当空照，花儿都开了，
小鸟说早早早，你为什么背上小书包。
我要上学校，天天不知道，
爱学习，爱唠叨。。blah...blah.... (这边她唱到很模糊）。

老师的版本：
太阳当空照，花儿对我笑，
小鸟说早早早，你为什么背上小书包。
我要上学校，天天不迟到，
爱学习，爱劳动，长大要为人民立功劳。

YQ-28 Months / YS-49 Months

2009-10-19T10:11:00.006+08:00

YQ has turned 28th months & still not potty train yet (coz I kept telling myself not to rush her), but she will still signal me when she wants to poo poo or wee wee by doing her big & small business in her diaper. During bath time, she will squat down and wee wee naturally...so it's a small achievement for herself. She has started to show sign of shyness when people looked at her or praised her, but her immediate reflex is to hide away or throw a little bit of missy tantrums (which is bad I know!). That is why I've been telling / nagging to her to behave more graciously by saying "thank you" if she receives any praises from anyone. Nowadays she will tell me what she did or learnt in school. Teachers usually feedback to me that she's very attentive in class and very well behave.

YS has gradually stop his self torture (pinching / hitting) when he's angry. I guess he has come to learn that no matter how hard he tried to do that he still won't get his way. So now he will normally complains a little bit about this and that if we restrict him from doing something. But he knows that punishment will still come after him if he misbehave to an extent. He has become more accommodating & learning how to share with YQ. Sometimes he will act a little bit bossy in front of his lil' sister.

HFMD

2009-10-19T09:42:00.010+08:00

Poor YS was down with HFMD since last Friday morning, heard from his ccc that one of his classmates contracted HFMD as well and both of them were banned from entering the school compound. This is my 1st encounter with HFMD, although past years I have heard about it about the growing percentage of children who contracted HFMD from other ccc.

Immediately I brought him to see the nearby GP to confirm his case & he was given 5 days MC. Initial 2 days, he had slight feverish symptoms but had subsided now. His mouth is still infected by the virus & some of the red spots & ulcers has slowly faded away. Luckily for him, his hands & foots are not infected. I tried to ask him to rinse his mouth with salt water as often as possible, but I guess the wounds were a bit painful for him to endure. Sometimes he will mourn in pain in his sleep.

After reading some cases from the Internet, it was known that HFMD is transmittable from person to person. I am trying my best to prevent him from spreading to his little sis as well as to all of us. Hopefully my little cheeky boy will recover soon...

Red spots spotted on the 1st day

Some red spots faded on the 2nd day

Laptop Died-ed...

2009-10-19T08:49:00.004+08:00

Hb's Sony laptop has officially died-ed last week...he has bought the laptop in year 2004 & served him & our family for almost 5 years. Time to look out for good bargain for a replacement! So now we can only borrow my mum's laptop temporarily.

Wedding Anniversary 17-10-09

2009-10-17T10:10:00.003+08:00

7th year passed in a breeze...no itch...just some fond memories of the past when we decided to build a home of our own and now we have 2 wonderful children. Life is full of ups & downs, but our hearts to create a better future is still united as one.

We sneaked out (my mum lured them into her room to watch some educational vcd) in the evening without the children for a few hours & went for a sumptuous Jap buffet dinner @ Kuishin-Bo...yummy! No pictures were taken that night coz both of us were so busy eating that we forgotten about it. And yes...we did put on some extra weight after that..haha!

Happy Anniversary to my dearest!

Our behaviour = Their behaviour

2009-10-15T08:47:00.003+08:00

Nowadays we will hear from most parents or older generations commented that "children nowadays are so difficult to teach". Is it the fault of our society or the exposure they are getting from their everyday lives? One of the things I can't tolerate from children is disrespectful behaviour. Of course, no children in the world are 100% perfect in their upbringing, likewise so do my children! We tend to behave differently under different circumstances & children tend to pick up the bad behaviour faster from us. We can't control where they pick up those bad habits (from schools / media / or just from adults around them), but we should always try to correct them as & when it is necessary & explain to them the consequences after that.

Life is always just so contradicting & unfair. People who are smart & intelligent do not mean that they possess the good manner to respect & get along well with other people. While those people who are just average or below average in their achievement are able to understand & more compassionate about other people's feeling.

When my kids try to behave by being disrespectful to us at home, of course my 1st reaction is to tell them not to do it. Smacking will naturally comes after that if their bad behaviours continues. Of course they will cry, I will try to explain the reason for smacking them after their crying subside. Usually I will tell them to show respect to people if they expect the same thing back from other people.

In our everyday lives, I always try to lead by example in front of the kids so that they will learn & respect us in future. I guess it is one of the very important lesson for them to learn in order to become a better person as well as to survive in the reality world in future. In time to come, I have to let them understand that that being "respectful" is not just an act to show people but must come sincerely from their heart to do it.

Trip to Bangkok (2 Oct - 4 Oct)

2009-10-05T14:54:00.007+08:00

Sawadeeka! We are finally back from a 3D2N holiday from Bangkok. The last time we had a family holiday overseas was 1 year ago to Genting Highland. After weeks of preparation, we finally had our 2nd family holiday at Thailand (a bit pity that my in laws did not join us for this trip). Therefore only 5 of us went for this trip (me, hb, my mum, 2 kiddos). The kiddos were excited during the flight takeoff...YQ was quite okay throughout the ride, but YS was having a hard time with his blocked ears due to the aircraft pressure. After I taught him how to clear his blocked ears, he was calmer during his return flight.

We tried to pack light for this trip (2 small luggages) but came back with 1 extra big luggage & a new stroller. After this trip I knew it was not very fun to bring along our kids for shopping spree coz they did not really appreciate the art of "shopping" haha!

Anyway, after this trip I've understood better & became wiser when we need to plan for another holiday in future. And if we need to walk mostly throughout during the tour, it's best to bring along a stroller. Luckily we managed to find a cheap stroller in Bangkok & hb insisted to buy 1 stroller for them to rest their feet by taking their turns (although our little missy occupied the stroller most of the time & did not want to let her kor kor to rest his feet) *faint*

My hb's cousin is working in Bangkok now, thanks to her we were able to get a good room rates for our hotel stay & bargained quite a few good deals during our shopping trips. She brought us to quite a few places in Bangkok within such a short period of time:
1) Platinum Mall (shopping centre which sell stuff @ wholesale price)/ Central Mall
2) Went to pray to elephant god & four faced buddha
3) Amphawa floating market which was about 1-1.5 hours away from the city (got to see lots of fireflies at night during the boat trip)
4) Went for whole body massage & scrub (highly recommended by hb's cousin & I got a culture shock after the session coz I felt so naked & bare in front of the masseur :P)

The only thing which I brought along but did not keep my promise with the kiddos was swimming. They were eyeing for the opportunity to take a dip in the pool but lazy mummy was too tired to bring them for a splash of fun *guilty as charged*. I will try to make it up to them if we are going for another holiday again soon (hope hb will get the hint) haha!

Wonder Girls Wannabe

2009-09-29T08:31:00.002+08:00

Saw this clip at YouTube & it brightened up my horrible day at work. We can never underestimate the power of children nowadays...

Grand Prix Fever

2009-09-28T08:47:00.006+08:00

Just when the S'pore Grand Prix had finally come to an end on Sunday night with Lewis Hamilton came in 1st in the race. Our big boss of the family decided to sponsor 1 new swing car to the kiddos...they were so happy coz they did not need to fight over 1 swing car from now onwards! Now they can Zoom..zoom..zoom....around the house like nobody business.

Warming up....see who's swing car will come in 1st?

Why is he staring at me? Who say girl cannot be a racer?

So who won the race? All are happy winners....

YQ-27 Months / YS-48 Months

2009-09-18T12:21:00.005+08:00

YQ is going thru the Terrible 2 stage now & has been throwing her missy temper whenever & wherever...*faint*. Just when I thought I'm finally over with this stage with YS & I have to start all over again with YQ. However, I'm a little relieved that YS can be such a doting & understanding bro to his little demanding & stubborn sis. He will give in to his sis's unreasonable request most of the times.
Till now YQ is still on diaper, I hardly toilet train her as I am always "busy" at home. There's hardly a time I can really sit down for 10 minutes & rest on the sofa when they are awake.

As for YS, he has grown quite a bit physically & his way of talking & communicating with us has improved slightly. Occasionally he will help us with some errands in the house when he's in a good mood. Otherwise, he will be so engrossed in his tv programs that he will pretend not to hear anything (inherited from his papa) *wink*
I had arranged for a short holiday getaway to Bangkok in early October. The kiddos are very excited for the upcoming trip as this will be their 1st time taking a plane. I hope it will be a fulfilling trip for them to learn & see more about the culture difference in another country.

Birthday Boy

2009-09-07T10:27:00.013+08:00

Been a pretty busy week for our lil' boy after celebrating his b'day in school on last Friday & at a restaurant with my fil & bil on Sunday (coz all their b'days fall in Sept).

For the school party, I ordered a 3 kg Winnie the Pooh cake from Bengawan Solo & 80 goodies packs from this website (which is very convenient for me coz save the hassle of sourcing & packing).

Pooh Bear Firemen cake chosen by YS

Ah ma, mummy & papa attended the b'day party in school

Classmates of YS

Eating time

YS distributing the goodies bags to his classmates

As for the Sunday buffet lunch with relatives, my fil decided to hold the party @ Parkway Thai Restaurant. The chocolate cake was sponsored by my mil from awfully chocolate (thank you!). A big thank you to all the relatives for their ang baos & presents!

Last Saturday afternoon, I brought the kiddos to experience the hippo cruise tour @ clarke quay. The cashier was kind enough to waive off YS's ticket fee..hehe! It was quite fun even though the tour only lasted for 30 minutes. At least the children got to know see the actual merlion.

Latest Arrival...

2009-08-31T09:39:00.003+08:00

Kiddos were relaxing on their papa's newly arrived recliner chair....shiok ah!

DIY Teacher's Day Card cum Bookmark

2009-08-31T09:10:00.004+08:00

This was my 1st attempt to prepare Teacher's Day presents with my kiddos, I guess there will be more for me later on....

I was looking for a purr..fect gift for their teachers, hoping that it will be useful for them to use as well. Luck was on my side as we spotted those cute strawberries at Metro which can be transformed into bags. I quickly grabbed what I needed & proceeded to the cashier counter. Next we went to Popular bookshop & source for some papers, I had some ideas in my my mind & grabbed the colour I wanted & paid for it.

The kiddos were excited to be involved in this little project & we spent around 15 minutes finished up everything. We made little cards which can be used as bookmarks for their teachers & used the string from the bags to secure them together.

Special messages printed out by me

Kiddos applied glue on the cut out messages

Kiddos pasted their favourite stickers on the front of the cards.

Finished product : strawberry bags with personalised cards made by kiddos & mummy!

Wall Stickers Arrived

2009-08-19T09:03:00.004+08:00

The wall stickers which I had ordered a couple of weeks ago finally arrived. The kiddos were excited & so was I...in the end this "kan cheong" mummy couldn't stop her itchy hands from doing all the work...a little bit of sweat & hardwork to beautify their boring room meant so much to them.

Winne the pooh wall decals

Hot air-balloons wall decals

Happy & satisfied kiddos

YQ-26 Months / YS-47 Months

2009-08-18T08:37:00.000+08:00

It's been almost 2 months plus in the new ccc, both kiddos are adjusting faster than my expectation. YQ's teacher feedback to me that her appetite is better now & is very attentive in class. As for YS, his teacher said that his English vocab is improving and he is reponding back in English language during his conversation with teachers.

They hardly co-sleep with me at night for the past few weeks, although occasionally YS will wake up in the middle of night & look for me. Seems like the kids are going through another phase of their growing stage :). Although they are still very noisy, active & demanding at times, they can be quite an angel too!

Although both of them do fight for toys & attention but YS is beginning to learn how to be a big bro to his lil' sis. For e.g, he will assist YQ to wear her shoes at times, he will try to give in to her nonsense at times.

Build-A-Bear-Workshop

2009-08-11T08:58:00.019+08:00

Both kiddos were grounded at home since last Friday till Sunday coz they were sick. Yes...stuck at home on National Day...poor thing!

I decided to make it up to them & brought them to Vivo on Monday (which was a public holiday). I went to Daiso to grab some stuff & bought each of them a binocular (cost $2 each only). As we walked on, we passed by this build a bear workshop. The kiddos were so excited & I decided to take a look inside.
In the end, I'm $xxx poorer when we left the shop. But at least YS got his advance b'day present from us & kept saying thank you the whole day. Let the pictures do the talking....

YS & YQ chose an empty bear, they were brought to this machine.

They were asked to step on the accelerator to fill up the bear

YS showed a Victory sign

Each of them took a heart

They were asked to hold the heart in their palm, shake shake, rub rub & make a wish!

They were asked to put the heart into the back of the bear & the staff sewed up their bears for them

They were at the "washing area" to wash & scrub their bears

YS got a NBA outfit for his bear & YQ got a Hello Kitty outfit for her bear

They were asked to key in their bears' name & registered for the birth certificate

YS was showing off his bear & its official birth certificate

Final pose by satisfied customers before leaving the shop

Proudly presents "Bear Bear" & "Kitty Bear" officially born on 10th August 2009

Thank You Ritual

2009-08-06T15:21:00.006+08:00

This is what they've learnt from school, all the students are encouraged to say it before taking their lunch. In case you can't understand their pronounciation, this is what they said:

"We are having our lunch, join us teachers, join us friends, let's enjoy the food we eat, thank you teachers & auntie soo.....小朋友们请用！大家请用！谢谢老师，谢谢阿姨。"

This is the funny version from the kiddos, YS was trying to imitate to sound like Ang moh..haha!

YQ's Version of Singapura

2009-08-06T14:45:00.005+08:00

National Day is coming soon, I was asking the children whether the teachers in the school taught them any Singapore National songs. I was trying to teach them some songs which I learnt from the school..my little girl was so cute when she started to sing....

Mummy: Singapura...oh....Singapura....sunny island sets in the sea....
YQ: Singa-bo-la....oh....Singa-bo-la....sunny island sets in the sea....

I had a good laugh when she mispronounced, but good try!

Anyway, just a recap on the song:

Singapura, oh, Singapura,

Sunny island sets in the sea.

Singapura, oh, Singapura,

Pretty flowers bloom for you and me.

Come along join the song in merry singing,

Blend our voices,

Join in the chorus.

Singapura, oh Singapura,

Pretty flowers bloom for you and me.

Mummy...Can I have an ice-cream please?

2009-08-05T09:26:00.003+08:00

YS can't help himself to stop by & take a pic with the gigantic Magnum ice-cream at Dhoby Ghaut Mrt Station.
He was craving for a bite coz he is now banned from cold stuff due to his cough. He can't wait till the day he recovers & taste the sinful chocolate ice-cream again.

千变女孩

2009-07-31T09:41:00.001+08:00