The Yeeppies... Cavan & Verity

Sushi Making for Kids

2009-07-05T01:54:00.002+08:00

I stumbled upon a sushi making tool during Toys Fair at Taka. I was totally sold by the demo video and told Clem to buy it. He gave the box a look of disbelief and asked if it was a toy. No, I replied adamantly. It can help to make sushi beautifully. Watch the video! The usual sucker-me dragged him to see the evidence.

Yeah! Clem bought the thingy for me since it was not very ex. So no heart pain even if it doesn't work. He said he thought he only needed to buy toys for 2 kids. Now got extra kid. Hey, it's not a toy ok! I retorted.

The kids and I were so excited, we decided to make sushi for breakfast the next day.

Simple ingredients: our usual Calrose rice (just like short-grain Jap rice, except that it's not ex), canned tuna, denbu (the sweet, pink powdered codfish), sushi vinegar and seaweed.

First spread rice, tuna and denbu

Then, roll seaweed in and turn knobs

Yummy sushi done! Hassle-free! Mess-free! No more rice sticking on your hands!

You make, I eat

It was really fun and easy. Cavan had loads of fun rolling the sushi. We ended up eating so much carbo for brekkie! Even for dinner later that day, we brought the thing to our inlaws' as Cavan wanted to eat his dinner rolled up. He rolled his rice, eggs and meat in seaweed and ate.

Whatever. As long as he eats his meals.

meet-and-greets

2009-06-28T12:45:00.000+08:00

I didn't understand why people bothered to queue and wait for 15-20 min shows at shopping malls, to see prancing cartoon characters on stage. You can watch from the side, can't you?

When we were dating, I told Clem there was no way I would queue up for these in future, if we had kids.

When we had Cavan, I said Clem could queue and watch the show with our kid and I'd go shopping.

I ate my words recently. Double portion.

We joined the queue and I SAT IN at the show. And I had my picture taken with Thomas and the Fat Controller.

To be honest, I was even the one who suggested it. Seeing the ads in the papers that Thomas and Friends would be staging meet-and-greet at Marina Square, my first response was, "I must bring the kids there!"

And I was the one kiasu about the whole thing. I wanted to go for the earlier session at 11am, since the kids usually wake up really early anyway. So I planned our marketing and breakfast time, so we could get to MS really early. We reached there slightly before 10am.

We hung around the stage area and never stepped outside THE ZONE. When Clem suggested we went elsewhere, I snapped and said, "What? We came all the way for the show. What if we couldn't get in the show when the queue grew?"

Half an hour before the show, the area was cordoned off and lanes were prepared for queues. There was no one queueing. Then, a pair of siblings sat at the start of the lane. I hastened Clem to join in behind them. So there he was, with Cavan at 2nd position. I was mighty pleased.

Our kiasu act prompted everyone else to follow suit. Soon, the queue snaked round and round.

We got to sit in the first row on the floor! I felt a great sense of achievement! I participated as eagerly answering trivial bits about Thomas and Friends and toot-tootering away with the audience.

As I sat at the square and saw people around, suddenly I was brought to mind those things I said before about meet-and-greets! What a change of mentality I have now...

Can't deny the fact that kids can change you. Anything we'd do to see their happy faces. All worth it!

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father

2009-06-28T11:07:00.015+08:00

My father told me that he fell in love with me the first moment he laid his eyes upon me after I was born. Because I looked exactly like him. Fathers are naturally proud of their daughters, what more those that resemble them.

His love was made so evidently to me throughout my growing years. And even to now, although displayed more differently now that I'm a mom. When I was little, he loved to cuddle me, tease me and see my fuming face cos that was when my mom would repeat the old mantra that my "black face" was exactly like his. I remember he loved to play with me in my semi-sleep state on weekend mornings, as he must have loved seeing my dreamy, bliss face before morphing into an irritable grouse if he were to rouse me further.

We loved to wrestle and tickle on the bed. And before long, I the loser, would start wailing and sobbing and that gave my father more reason to hug and cuddle me.

In primary school, I participated in a Chinese composition writing competition and I wrote about my father. Think I got a 2nd or 3rd prize. I would always think of my father in most occasions.

In my teenage years, my father's affection was unchanging. But I was undergoing changes as a teenager. I began to shy away from his public display of affection as I found it embarrassing. One morning, he was feeding me by mouth (he loved to share his food with me like that) at a coffeeshop and I was teased by an auntie passing by. As he held out his hand to hold mine when walking on the street, I pulled my hand away. I also stopped our cuddling acts.

My teenage years were also the time I witnessed my father's fiery temper. Perhaps it was stress from his work that caused him to throw his temper at home. Anyone who crossed his path during those times would be asking for trouble. Hence, I would always hide in my room during these storms and prayed fervently that I would not get into trouble. Sometimes, I would clash with him on purpose (I'm such a confrontational person) and I would see my personal things being destroyed, thrown away. Really, there were times I hated my father and wanted to leave home. But at the end of which, I would throw myself into his arms again when he simmered down and extended his arms to me.

There was one time I literally packed my bags and threatened to leave after an awful shouting match. He yelled that I had better change this nasty temper of mine. I retorted that he only changed when he was 45, I had 22 more years to go. Of course, I didn't leave home eventually as my mom begged and restrained me. And afterall, it was only a threat.

M wedding day must have been a bittersweet day for my father. His daughter would be handed over to another man. Before I left for my in-laws, he suddenly took out a pack of milk to feed me. I was embarrassed but to him, it was symbolic. It was supposedly his last time to indulge in me as from then on, another man would take over this role.

As I walked down the aisle with him, he asked me if I was nervous. Yes I was. He said he was nervous too. He kept talking to me as we walked, as if to reassure me. Being the father of the bride must not have been easy, keeping up that smile so his daughter could have the happiest day of her life.

I was giving my thanks after the wedding ceremony and I knew that I wouldn't be able to control my tears when talking about my father. I tried to prepare a speech beforehand but I couldn't, cos I would start to cry whenever I thought of my father's tender love towards me. I went impromptu on stage. I wept. My father wept. So did most of the guests.

Even after I was married and moved into our new house, he would often come over to scrub my sink and sharpen my knives. Yes, funny things he would do but acts that show his love. We still fought very badly at times and I regretted having acted the way I did.

As the children came, his public affection transferred to them. I saw less of it. Our interactions became more polite, less physical. I am more careful in my words and actions as my father is a sensitive man. I don't want to anger him as I did in the past and especially now that my mom is gone.

My father had been such a huge influence to me. Because of him, I am who I am now. Because of his affection, I didn't need to seek love from another guy and had healthy friendships with guy friends, instead of jumping from BGR to BGR. And I found a good man, because my father was the model. Because of his assurance and belief in me, I became a confident person.

True there are still ups and downs in our relationship but I am very proud of my father despite his shortcomings. I proclaimed this to him during my wedding and I would say it again:

If I could choose, I want you again as my father

I love you, pa.

A Boy's Views on Marriage

2009-06-16T00:12:00.000+08:00

During cell yesterday, Jo came to Yoyo and me, and told us that our kids were getting married on her patio.

Haha, yea a tad too young. Afterall, the 2 kids are only 4 years old this year. What do they know?

More than we think, I suspect. Well, nowadays, we can't underestimate how much they actually know.

Sometime back, during one of our usual casual chats, I asked Cavan if he knew what a "wife" was. He replied, "A wife means it's a girl that you love and you want to be with her forever." Not bad. (On a side note, I noticed that Cavan usually describes and defines words really well.)

After the episode yesterday, I asked him on our way home, "So, you married Bernice?" He evaded the question shyly. I probed, "Do you love her?" He nodded.

"How about Faith? Do you love her?" He nodded.

"Do you love Krisalyn?" Again, he nodded.

"Do you love Erika?" Yet again, he nodded.

"Then why don't you marry them?"

"Aiya, you can't marry everybody!" he replied, rolling his eyes in mock frustration.

Clement was so proud of his son's comments and praised him, while extolling the virtues of being faithful to one.

Then Cavan added, "The bed would be so squeezy. How can you squeeze so many people?"

That really threw us off and we roared at his spontaneous reply. There we were talking about values and the boy was concerned about practical issues. I guess at this point, he just has other priorities...

Miss Why

2009-05-31T14:14:00.004+08:00

Verity: Mummy, I want go swimming pool.

Me: No.

Verity: Huh, why?

Me: Because it looks like it's going to rain soon.

Verity: Why?

This is a typical exchange between Verity and me. The endless "whys" usually happen if the answer is "no". And I thought the whys only happen with pre-schoolers. At her age, or so I read, she should be a Miss No. Meaning, everything we ask her to do, she will say "No".

Verity challenges authority, and does whatever she wants. I have an issue with that, because no one defies me. Clement says I have found my match. We are both very stubborn. But Verity wins. Because she uses no logic nor reason. And I simply can't fight with someone without reason.

So I introduced punishment. Something I did not have to introduce to Cavan when he was very young, since he was usually very compliant.

When Verity was 8 or 9 months old, she loved to take off her shoes and bite on the shoes. One day she took them off and was about to do the un-doable. I warned her, "If you bite the shoes, Mummy is going to smack your hand."

She paused a while, took a bite on her shoe and then GAVE ME HER HAND TO SMACK. She'd rather do whatever she liked and suffer the consequence!

Really, we'll have to instil more discipline on the gal than her brother because of her strong character. Sometimes we fail, because that strong character is wrapped up in a sweet, innocent face.

Verity: Mummy, open the shweet.

Me: No.

Verity: Why?

Me: Because you are about to eat lunch. After lunch.

Verity: Mummy, open shweet now!

Me: No! Later.

Verity: Mummy, open now. I want shweet. I want shweet! (and goes on forever before screaming and crying and becomes unconsolable, then refusing lunch and everything.)

I lose.

Bye Auntie (See You Again!)

2009-04-27T23:46:00.000+08:00

Nancy went home last Fri before her contract ended.

Her estranged husband of 8 years suddenly returned home and wanted to sell her house and take her two daughters. Having no other choice, she had to return home to settle this problem (a divorce) and requested for 2 weeks' leave. I asked her if 2 weeks were really enough to settle it. I mean, divorce is really a complicated matter which is not easily settled within 2 weeks.

I was afraid she was without help and that she would be taken advantage of by her husband. In this case, it was obvious that it was money he was after. So I started to research on the Family Law in Philippines to see what options might Nancy have and read 66 pages full of legal terms.
Divorce was not allowed in the Philippines law. They can annul the marriage. To begin with, they don't have marriage certs like we do.

Armed with more knowledge, I discussed with her the options and how she could get out of it with minimal losses. This was the least I can do to help her. I was full of sympathy for her as she had left to make ends meet and to pay off debts incurred by her husband and family. Before she could even start saving a decent sum, here came one more wave to drown her with financial woes. Hence, we helped her out by paying for the bigger ticket items for her trip back.

I checked with her frequently on updates back home. My concern was whether 2 weeks were sufficient. I was relieved when she told me she managed to contact her aunt who was a lawyer. (Whoa, not bad huh, got lawyer in her family) Her aunt would help her make arrangements in her absence.

So on 17 Apr night, she left for home. Seriously, we don't know whether we'd see her again. Maybe she would decide to stay home and not come back. I've heard stories once they saw their children, they just couldn't bear to leave them again.

The next morning, I received an sms from Nancy, thanking us and saying how much she missed the 2 babies. (yes, she referred to Cavan and Verity as babies and darlings). For me, I just wanted her safely home and safely back.

When I went to church, a nursery helper told me that Nancy had mentioned to her that she was going back. And the helper gave the impression that Nancy might not return.

I was disheartened when I heard that. But we were quite prepared for that. We had to imagine the worst possible scenario so we would be prepared if that happened. I haven't heard from her one week since she left although I told to sms me once she reached home safely.

However, somehow we had the confidence that Nancy would return:

1. Her reluctance to go back. She ever mentioned that when her 2 years' contract was up, she'd rather take the money for her air ticket home than to go home.

2. She invited my dad to follow her back to the Philippines. They were quite close and I'm quite sure Nancy misses him too.

3. One night, Cavan told me that Auntie promised him a gift when she returns- chewing gum.
All these pointed to her resolve to return.

We shall see. *fingers crossed*

Smell Fetish

2009-04-19T23:42:00.002+08:00

Ok, maybe "fetish" is an exaggerated word. But Verity seems to have a thing for smelling. Especially my clothes. Then she will either give a verdict whether it's "Nice", "Yucks!" or go on smelling to no end.

I'm between being super irritated having my blouse being tugged till it turns out of shape and exposing my bra strap, and being amused at her expression.

Perhaps this is her expression of establishing closeness and attachment. To me, I am of course happy that my gal wants a piece of me. But it's kind of embarrassing to expose my skin and strap in public, however open I may be.

Anyway, just let it be. I've never been really discreet anyway. ; p

The Rainbow and God's Promise

2009-03-02T21:00:00.000+08:00

My breath was taken away, as I was walking home last Wed evening. I stopped at my track and wondered at such a beautiful sight. It was the biggest and most distinct rainbow I had ever seen.

I quickly called home and asked the kids to look out of the window while I dashed home to enjoy the moment together.

Cavan, awed by the gigantic arc across the sky, began to name the colours he saw while Verity peered through the window sill, wondering what the fuss was all about. Cavan then asked why was there a rainbow?

First, I gave a scientific explanation while trying to avoid jargons. It happens when sunlight bounces off small droplets of water in the air. It also shows God's love to us.

That night, we brought the kids out after dinner and told Cavan he could choose a book to buy. He chose one on Noah and the Ark. How nicely everything fitted into place!

That night during bedtime, we must have read the story many times. We reminded Cavan (and ourselves) that the rainbow shows us that God keeps His promises and that He loves us.

Thank you, God, for reminding us with a huge rainbow in case we miss it. Thank you for being with us every step of the way. May we not forget your presence in the midst of our busyness and continue to walk alongside with You. Amen!

Planning His Birthday

2009-02-17T19:16:00.002+08:00

I think kids probably understand better what birthdays are all about after their 3rd birthday. For the first 3, birthday parties are pretty much what the parents want. Particularly for Cavan, he was rather nonchalant and dismissively just mentioned his invitees. For the 4th, the birthday star wants a say.

Birthday Theme
For Cavan's 4th birthday, he actually told me that he wanted a Disney Cars themed birthday around late Oct/ early Nov last year. This movie was out around three years ago! I was not sure if I could find stuff for the theme. And he was insistent about it. Thankfully, he told me early so I had time to source - in ebay, Spotlight, Toys 'R Us, pasar malams. As for the cake, he had a 3D car cake for his 3rd birthday already so I settled for a Swensen's ice cream cake with McQueen printed on it.

Wish fulfilled!

Invite List
OK, he had his way in the kind of birthday party he wanted. Next, was his guest list. I asked him who he wanted to invite for his birthday. He named three - Miss Gracie, Albert and one more person I couldn't remember who. I said, is that all? He replied yes. Well, it's going to be a quiet birthday party I think. Is there anyone else you want to invite, I asked. He thought for a while and said excitedly, oh yes! Mr Bean! I said, erm ok, it's going to be very expensive flying him to Singapore. Anyone else? He thought for a while and said, Power Rangers! Trying not to discourage him, I asked gently, ok is there anyone you want to invite that you don't see on TV?

So, Cavan this time wanted a say who he wished to see at his birthday party. That morning of his birthday, he asked if Ms Lilian was coming. Oops, no we didn't invite her. From here we know he wanted to include his teacher in his birthday celebration. This year we didn't celebrate in school since his birthday fell on a Sunday.

Cavan and his little friends

Countdown
He was really excited about it this time and kept asking, is it my birthday yet, like a broken record. We would tell him his birthdate, report the day and month and how long more to go. He began to learn about the concept of time through this. We also pointed him to the calendar and he learnt the concept of days and weeks. Finally it came down to next week, three days later and TOMORROW! Ya, he was so excited he woke up at 2.30am to help with decor.

Putting up for my party!

Prayer
The birthday party was one of the items he incorporated into his nightly prayers. Gosh, I didn't know it meant so much to him! It was nice hearing him talk to God about his plans and wishes and committing them to God.

Birthday Activity
He had told me that he wanted to make his own birthday cake. The Icing Room provided just that. So we took leave the next day to bring him to decor his own cake. He was looking forward to it! And he enjoyed it! After which, he couldn't wait to eat his own cake so we had it at New York New York. He wanted to eat straight from the cake tray, instead of cutting it. So we had to finish the whole cake in one sitting! Thankfully, it wasn't big!

Having his cake and eat it

We were really glad we managed to fulfil most of his wishes except for the Mr Bean and Power Rangers bit. The greatest fulfilment was when at the end of the day, he hugged us and said, "Thank you daddy, mummy! I'm really happy today!"

100 Days

2009-01-28T08:06:00.000+08:00

Probably not the best thing to talk about during CNY, but today marks the 100th day since my mom's passing.

Till now, I find it hard to relate in detail about her death. I don't even want to think about it. I can't even bear to look at her photos. It just brings so much pain to my heart and I miss her so much.

Nevertheless, there were several thanksgivings. I'd probably blog about them next time.

I had talked about how different CNY would be without Mom, and this year we distinctly felt the difference.

Just by going to the market made me think of her. She loved the crowd and bustle during CNY, and would often go to the market during the mornings and nights to pick out the freshest. I felt I was plugging in the gap by going to the market on her behalf. We also went to the Jurong West pasar malam. No doubt it was without her, but somehow (unspokenly) we felt we had gone on her behalf.

Just passing by Chinatown made me think of her. She loved to soak in the atmosphere, never mind the crowd. I couldn't stand the crowd so we went to People's Park for a short while. I felt that I had done my duty.

Following her tradition, I bought new PJs for my kids and changed new bedsheets. Just a week ago, Dad passed me a set of PJs my mom bought for me last year. I couldn't bear to open to look at them.

I did what Mom would have done - buying Verity a set of Chinese costume. Very cheena, but Mom would have gushed with delight.

Waking up in the morning of 1st day, I thought of her veg bee hoon, her succulent meatballs with chestnuts and prawns, the smell of her sweet date soup and other foods she would prepare on 初一. I shall attempt to replicate these next time.

I was mentally prepared that Mom wouldn't be around for CNY this year but I am still coming to terms with this fact.

There are traditions from Mom that I am determined to keep, and to provide my children with these memories of CNY.

Ok, this year I was a little lazy and didn't carry them out full force. Next year then.

a child's prayer

2009-01-19T20:29:00.001+08:00

It's always sweet to hear a child's prayer, for it comes from a believing heart unhibited by the world's constraints and reason.

Here's one un-guided prayer (verbatim) from Cavan as he prayed before bed last night. Something I'd like to remember and something for him to look back on in the years to come.

"Dear God, I pray for my throat, that it will become better.

Today is not my birthday yet. Pray that myself, daddy, mummy, verity, auntie, ah gong, ah ma, yeye, ah ngin, my teachers and my friends will all be there. On my birthday. Pray that we will be happy.

We also pray for my sister. Pray that she will grow up quickly. I am a strong boy because I can carry Verity. Also pray that she will learn to talk quickly, and don't talk like a baby.

In Jesus' Name, Amen!"

Snip Snip

2008-12-27T10:56:00.000+08:00

Cavan hates going to the barber/ hairdresser. Not that I mind, for I also enjoy snipping his chops off. I find it strangely therapeutic, as I clip off uneven locks and see his hair get neater. This is as good as squeezing Clem's blackheads.

I started cutting Cavan's hair when he turned one. The haircut before that was horrible. My in-laws brought him to an inexperienced hairdresser when he was nine months old (without informing us).

I was horrified when I saw him. The hair was unevenly cut, patchy and looked that it had been bitten off. My parents couldn't take it and sent him off to a barber the next day to straighten things up.

I couldn't take it anymore and decided that I, as a mother, should have a final say over my son's hairstyle.

That's was when I became a mommy-hairdresser.

Good for us too, since Cavan's hair grows really fast and I need to cut it 2x every month.

I started out humbly using a rounded-tip scissors to prevent causing hurt to Cavan. Eventually I graduated to the hairdresser scissors and layering scissors some more!My tools

How about Cavan's reaction. Initially he didn't like it cos I would strip his clothes off, and pour powder on him. He would become warm and sticky and had the prickling hair stuck on him. Poor thing, it was uncomfortable but hey, bear with it! Before

The process

Tada!

Even when I was expecting, that didn't stop me (ya, and not even after giving birth, during confinement). Only that the bathroom was tight for me to move around and I also had to squat to cut at the nape.

I was tempted to upgrade my tools to a Philips shaving set. But I heard feedback from buyers that it is hard to control the shaver and more likely to get uneven cut. So I dropped the idea.

I was also tempted to cut Clem's hair. He would visit the barber/ hairdresser every month so I offered it free of charge.

Well, he didn't take up the offer (hmph!). So I have to rely on Cavan as my only source of therapy then. Verity? No way, that squirming gal.

One-to-one Sunday mornings

2008-12-02T18:19:00.000+08:00

On Sunday mornings, Clem would teach at 9am Children's Church. The kids also wake up early, and Cavan would insist on following daddy out. (We attend Sat service so usually we have our Sundays free.) Sometimes, Clem would bring him to church. If he is teaching, he can't bring Cavan along.

I thought it would be a good time to bond with my son over breakfast. So we trooped to Mac's one Sunday and BK the next. It was good to have this time talking to him and just spending time alone. Especially when he is now very gender-conscious and follows only daddy because he is a boy. He doesn't want to stick to me because he is not a girl. So at times like these without daddy, we can truly be together. Hope to make this a regular affair.

I would also love to spend such one-to-one time with Verity when she's older. Now, she'll only be squirming around and raring to run amok...

I luv Mac's breakfast... bcos of the toys!

Examining the Christmas decor early in the morning

Gobbling up ham and egg crossanwich all by myself...

...Also eating up mummy's hash brown and eggs

Butter also whack!

Reading & making friends at Border's

7th-Year Itch

2008-11-25T17:59:00.000+08:00

What do you do when you experience an itch? You going scratching, of course!

But in the right way ok?

After seven years of dating, Clem and I married. Now, we are married for seven years. I teased him, "Seven years already. Itchy or not?" "Yes, very itchy. Let's have another baby!" Beep, beep (but censor broke down)... Hope the above dialogue is not too R(A)!

I really don't know how my life would turn out without Clem. He's been such a pillar in my life. I'm especially thankful, cos I know I'm not an easy person to live with. I have high expectations, a sharp tongue, hate housework and chores, and literally depend on him for many things. Yet he loves me unconditionally, and gives me all he can to see me happy. I truly know from him, that love is not just an emotion but an action.

HIs love to me is extended to my family. He is a good son to my parents. Whenever my parents needed to go anywhere, he'd play chauffeur. During my mom's battle with cancer and treatment, he chauffeured her to the hospital whenever he could. When the housemen acted unprofessionally, he was there to give them a dressing down and made sure my mom received good treatment and service. When the hospital lapsed in its processes, he took the case with the hospital going up to the Medical Affairs and MP. His love for my parents touch me tremendously. I could never imagine I deserve someone like him.

I'm really grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful gift. May I will always be reminded to love him with gentleness and tenderness. Not exactly how I will normally be described. But I'll try.

Here's looking at us!

Another Trip Down Under

2008-11-18T13:56:00.004+08:00

It was a trip made on impulse. While travelling to work one Friday morning, I read from TODAY papers that AUD was going down. I smsed Clem.

Me: Aussie $ going down. Wanna consider aus for hols? Must book fast.
He: Sounds gd. Whr 2?
Me: Tasmania?
He: I was thinking more of cairns or goldcoast.

Later, I checked SQ for tickets. With the incidents (four in two mos!) facing Qantas, no way were we flying them. There were promos for Brisbane.

Our trip was sealed. In three weeks' time, we were going for hols.

In a turn of events, my mom passed away two weeks later. I wanted to cancel my trip but my dad asked us to carry on. I couldn't bear to leave him behind so I asked if he wanted to join us. At least the trip would take his mind (and ours) off the loss. He was agreeable. That said, I couldn't leave my bro behind as well so I asked my bro if he could take leave. All happening in a day, my bro got his leave approved, booked the tickets (on the same flight, Praise God!) and we were set to go in a weeks' time.

After the funeral, I quickly changed our apartment hotel to a 2-bedroom and Clem also quickly upgraded our car to a Terago. I realised that my passport did not have a validity of six months so I had to apply for one. I got the passport the day before departure and had to quickly apply for visa. Thank God everything went smoothly.

As we touched down at Brisbane International, Clem exclaimed, "Oh no!" "What?!" I asked, my heart missing three beats. "I forgot my driving license!" I sighed with partial relief. Partial because my bro could drive but I wasn't sure how confident he would be. Well, at least we thanked God he was here.

2-Bedroom Apartment at Central Summit, Springhill
We were pleasantly surprised at our apartment. It was very spacious. With a big living room and a fully furnished kitchen, it also came with a utility area with washing area, a washing machine and a dryer. I booked through the internet at $1263 for 6 nights. When I checked in, they gave me a cheaper price. $774 in total! I couldn't believe my eyes!

Ok, enough photos of the apartment. I'm beginning to appear like an estate agent.

Food
With the Aus restrictions, we weren't allowed to bring foodstuff in. All we had was one tin of Verity's milk powder. We decided that we would cook some meals and eat out for others. Woolworth supermarket became our fav haunt. As other civilisations close at 5pm, Woolworth closes at 9pm.

We would usually make breakfast, cook lunch and pack. And cook dinner, since there wasn't much night activities. Although we packed our lunches, sometimes we would also buy other stuff to go with our lunch. We saved a lot through that. Ingredients were really fresh and cheap! Breakfast included french toast, chicken porridge, ham & egg croissant, hamburg sandwich and sausages. Packed lunch included fried noodles, fried rice, sandwiches. Dinner was more sumptous, usually rice, soup, stew, a meat and a veg.

On the last day, we chanced upon a Vietnamese shop. We had beef noodles, pork chop rice and chicken rice noodles!

For the kids, I cooked porridge, macaroni and spaghetti. Having a food flask was really handy. the food remained hot for lunch and dinner (in case we were out till quite late). Other than these, Verity would demand to eat our french fries, fish, chicken and any kind of food from outside. We had to feed her first before she saw our food, cos she'd reject hers and wanted ours.

We didn't bring Cavan's milk as we thought he could jolly well drink fresh milk here. Alas, he wasn't used to drinking fresh milk hence he got diarrhoea the first day. We were at the supermarket and he kept hurrying us to go back cos he wanted to ng ng. We told him to go to a public toilet but he refused. He was partially poo-trained but still insisted on putting on a diaper. Finally we got back and he was on a diaper.

A short while later, he needed a diaper again. This time round, he really couldn't wait and Clem took the opportunity and plonked him on the toilet bowl! It worked. Poo went down the toilet bowl. For the rest of the trip, he pooed on toilet bowls, not diapers anymore! Even public toilets! Yippee!

For the rest of the trip, he drank Verity's infant formula.

Transport
This was our Terago. Together with one baby seat, one booster and a GPS, it cost us $445 for one week. Yep, cheap. And cheap fuel prices too. But parking charges, hell no.

At one location (city area), it cost us $24 for two hours. Generally parking cost $6-$12 per hour, depending on where. At certain places where you slot coins by the roadside, they were cheaper.

Now, having a GPS was really useful. It helped us to navigate, given that our two men in the front seats were, ahem, not very good with directions. Well, the GPS guaranteed that we would get to our destination, not necessarily the shortest route, as we soon found out. But the computerised female voice in that contraption became our best friend.

While travelling from place to place, I had to appease the youngest passenger. Before the car even turned out of the carpark, she already demanded to "up!" I threw in toys, books, titbits, cameras. For her to sleep, she needed to smell my clothes. For Cavan to sleep, he wanted to lie on my shoulder. I was stretched between them two so I stayed sprawled throughout the journey while they slept.

Because of this, we tried not to travel more than two hours per trip. That was why we didn't manage to go to Gold Coast and Surfer's Paradise.

I was glad to have the trip. My dad was visibly more cheery. However, the trip was too short. As everything closed by 5pm, there was nothing to do, and I felt our nights were wasted. Next time, Aussie hols need more than a week!

I was really glad to have invited my dad and bro for the trip. My dad's impression was that Australia was a nice place to stay: slow pace, cheap and fresh groceries, seemingly more affordable housing and transport, and best of all, very polite people including drivers!

We also enjoyed my bro's company. He was really fun to travel with. Even he is extremely introvert, he was very enthu and pored through the brochures to plan and discuss where to go. He was very easy going and went along with us whatever we suggested. Most of all, he was our only driver without complaints and kept his attention and concentration on the road while we went "ooh" and "aah" at the scenery.

Would love to travel with them again!

For more photos, go here.

Cavan the Constructor

2008-09-28T19:47:00.000+08:00

Recently, Cavan was quarantined at home as he had chicken pox. Not being to get out of the house, he had to find something to occupy himself. So he started playing with Imaginarium. And imagine he did.

He started constructing buildings, runways and even animals using the blocks. We had been pretty amazed how symmetrical and intricate his designs were. I tried to observe how he built. Did he have a picture in mind first? Or he just put things together as he went along? I tried to analyse how his mind worked while he was working. But of course, he wasn't interested in answering my questions. So it remained a mystery to me.

Beware of the destructor!

Chitter Chatter

2008-07-23T02:10:00.000+08:00

Verity is becoming quite a talkative girl. She loves to call out to us and blabber.

She started out at 8 months by addressing us. Not surprising, her first words were 哥哥, since she adores Cavan. even though we always refer to Cavan as kor kor. Her fav call-out was "Catch 哥哥", as it was her fav game. She scored many points with us as her next few words were "Ah ma", "papa", "mama" and not forgetting "mum mum" since she was such a foodie.

But it was funny how she progressed to call Clem from "Papa" to "Ah pa". Whenever Clem appears, she would shriek "Ah Pa!" in a loud shrill voice. So hokkien! My mum said no one taught her to say that as they would also say papa or daddy.

I supposed she took the cue from how she addresses "ah ma" (grandma) and "ah gong" (grandpa which she pronounces as "ah gerng"). Even for Nancy, in tagalog, aunt is addressed as "Tita" but Verity would call her "Ah Ta". Maybe pre-fixing an "Ah" is a form of endearment for her.

It was funnier, cos she would blabber in her normal voice but if she were to say anything with "Ah", she would go falsetto and shriek the names in such loud shrill voice.

So ah-soh!

Family Soccer Time!

2008-07-11T19:54:00.002+08:00

A Gift from Cavan

2008-07-10T10:12:00.000+08:00

This is the first time Cavan has specially gone and got something for me.

We attended a wedding dinner and on our way out, my brother-in-law got his girlfriend a flower. I'm not sure Cavan saw it but he later exclaimed very loudly, "I want to get a flower for Mommy!"

With this, he skipped and looked around for flower baskets or bouquets but could find none. He asked my father-in-law to help him look for flowers.

When he returned, he was holding a beautiful red rose gleefully.

"For you, Mommy. From Daddy," he said.

"Wow, not bad huh? Helping you score brownie points." I nudged Clem.

I accepted the rose with delight. Cavan was so sweet! He really behaved like a charming gentleman!

My heart totally melted.

June School Hols- Extended

2008-07-05T03:14:00.001+08:00

Cavan had an extended school holiday, even though we would not have wanted it to happen.

No, not that we didn't enjoy the school hols. In fact, we enjoyed the time with Cavan as we took leave to spend more time with him and bring him out. Beside the week at Bintan, we also went to the Science Centre, went bowling, watched Kung Fu Panda, had late night suppers and the swimming pool/ water playground.

The last outing to the pool really did it in. Three days later, we discovered spots and blisters on Cavan's palms, soles and buttocks. HFMD! Immediately, we brought him to see the doc. It was suspected that he caught it at the pool and Doc went rattling about some inconsiderate parents who brought their kids (with HFMD) to the pool.

Cavan had no tell-tale signs. HFMD symptoms included tiredness, lack of appetite, fever. He had no fever, no discomfort, lived everyday happily and actively. And he still ate A LOT. We thanked God that Cavan's case was not serious. He also wasn't fussy at all despite the blisters.

So to Cavan, it was a bonus- hols extended. Dad and Mom took childsick leave for a week and spent more time with him. Although this time, we had to stay home but Cavan was sooooo happy!

We spent time building stuff with lego, sang and danced with Hi-Five, went on journeys with Little Einsteins, kicked ball around the house, cycled around the house, had a DIY pizza party, played catching with Verity.

Ah, Verity. We were very worried that the gal would be infected cos she went to the pool too. And according to the doc, baby pools usually have less chlorine so there are more germs (as chlorine has a disinfecting function). But the doc advised that I continued to breastfeed Verity. The antibodies in breastmilk would guard her against the infection.

Thank God, Verity was not infected at all. We had wanted to separate the kids by putting Verity at my parents' place. But it would be troublesome to shuttle to and fro to breastfeed her. So all stayed at home. But Cavan and Verity must not stay close.

That was the most difficult thing that Cavan had to go through. Not the blisters, not the discomfort, not the ulcers. But not being to go near Verity and touch her.
During their play, Cavan sometimes forgot and we had to remind him. We felt terrible that we had to ask him to stay away from Verity in the midst of their exhilarating interaction. He sensibly told us that "I must wait until my hands have no more spots, then I can touch Verity." So he played peek-a-boo and surprise games with Verity from a distance.

So when he was certified by the doc and got clearance, the first thing he wanted to do was to hug and cuddle Verity. Verity was delighted!

Kor-kor, it is good to have you well again! Now we can kiss and cuddle and play closely together! No more from a distance!

Cavan's Message for His Daddy

2008-06-16T01:10:00.000+08:00

Cavan was hi-jacked by Grace Family Club on our way to service one Sunday. While he was being 'interviewed', I was browsing the bookstore. Recently the newsletter was sent to us and Cavan (the youngest interviewee) had the following message for his daddy:

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Spending Family Time at Club Med Bintan

2008-06-11T00:22:00.000+08:00

Our initial plan was to go to Gold Coast. But due to my busy schedule, I hadn't the time to plan at all. So Club Med Bintan getaway was ideal. Everything was provided for and all I wanted to do was to chill out and spend time with Clem and the kids.

SETTLING VERITY
Club Med has made it easy for us. Extra room, baby cot, baby accessories such as steriliser, bottle warmer and toiletries.

For Verity's meals, I brought along a mini rice cooker and ingredients. Thankfully, their power socket was the same as Singapore's, so there was no problem using the rice cooker. I brought along rice, wolfberry, conpoy, dried silverfish, carrots and fresh fish slices. I bought the fresh slices in the morning before we departed, and packed them into 5 packs together with dry ice in a thermal cup. I packed them into smaller packs so it would be easier to take one and cook for each meal without having to thaw the whole lot. The cooler in the hotel room wasn't cold enough so we deposited them with the bar to keep in their freezer.

We would collect one pack before each meal to cook in our hotel room. Just to be sure, we used bottled mineral water to wash and cook.

Verity would have porridge every lunch and dinner. Other than that, she had milk and would be breastfed (so I tried not to drink cocktails and wines whenever I wanted to nurse her). She also snacked on bread, steamed rice and mash potatoes from our meals.

Sleep-wise, she settled for her cot the first night and during her naps (She was "upgraded" and slept with us for other nights). Other than that, she slept easily whenever she was tired, while we swam or watched night performances.

TAG TEAM
There were many sport activities at the Club but since we had the 2 kids, we couldn't participate in most of them. We could have signed Cavan up for Petit Club (for kids 2-3 years old) but we wanted family time. Maybe next time, he will go for Mini Club (for 4 years and above) should we go again.

Hence, Clem suggested we tag team. Great idea!

Since I woke up early, I went for morning swims while Clem minded the sleeping kids. In the afternoon, we took turns to mind the napping kids while Clem went for his golf game or I went suntanning. That way, we could still have time to do the things we wanted (although we would have preferred to do activities together).

CAVAN
Cavan also managed to do all the things he liked: playing at the pool, snacking, watching loads of cartoons at Cartoon Network whenever we wash up or prepared Verity's meals. Best of all, he had all the cookies and ice cream he wanted after meals.

The only regretful thing was that we might have introduced to him fear of the beach. There was a particular small pool by the beach, where sea water flowed to a fill covered by rocks. It was beautiful and we thought it could serve as a wading pool for kids. Cavan ventured in and he was sinking fast into the sand and water although the water was shallow. He was unnerved by it. But we overracted, panicked and pulled him out. Clem (carrying Verity) tried and he sank in too and had relative difficulty getting out. The sand was too soft. After this incident, Cavan refused to go to the beach although he loved playing with sand.

We didn't understand and thought he was throwing tantrums. It was only in Singapore that he revealed that he was afraid and we connected his fear to the sinking incident.

CLUB MED
We really couldn't ask for more! Great rooms, great food. There was food and drinks round the clock. The buffet spread was great though there were hits and misses. But generally good. We also drank wine and cocktails whenever we wanted.

The staff there, made up of different nationalities, were friendly. We were impressed how they doubled up as performers. We had performances during the day at the pool, at night at the theatrette and mass dances at night. These staff, including the General Manager, Sports Manager, Golf Manager and others, performed "circus acts" and dramas. They seemed to have loads of fun too!

There were also activities for families since it was family festival when we were there. Children together with parents participated in kite making and flying. And there was a parents vs children competition at one of the nightly programmes.

Generally, Club Med was packed with programmes and entertainment for anyone and everyone. Even the nights were filled with mass dances and pool parties. The atmosphere was fun and relaxing.

Will we go again? Certainly, yes!

Of Pencils and Stylus

2008-04-24T20:04:00.000+08:00

I have problems getting Cavan to write and draw on paper. He simply isn't interested. I wonder if I should be concerned, since he does his worksheets in nursery, colouring and drawing. The teacher's review (last year) was that Cavan had very strong language abilities, both in English and Chinese but showed little enthusiasm in craftwork.

Recently, I had a revelation. Cavan is not uninterested in writing and drawing. He is uninterested and uninspired by paper and pencil (or crayon, for that matter). For a long time, he often asks to doodle on our handphones and PDAs. Give him a paper and a pencil (or crayon) and he barely musters a few weak strokes. Give him a magnetic doodle board or an aqua doodle mat or a PDA and he can write his name and create pieces.

The following are some of his works. I would ask him what he drew. Below are the replies:

A girl

A dog

A happy face

Bird on a tree

Guess we've introduced him too early to a high tech world. I wonder how he's going to survive in school next time. Unless the school uses PC tablets of course. Meanwhile, we'd better "de-technologize" him and get him used to paper and pencils.

Cavan's Encounter with Mr Policeman

2008-04-09T21:37:00.000+08:00

I received a phonecall from Cavan's teacher last Friday as I was travelling home from work. I got an initial scare.

Me: "Hello?"
Ms Gracie: (sounding unsure) "Is this Mrs Yee, erm, Cavan's mother?"
Me: (growing suspicious) "Yes?"
Ms Gracie: (sounding secretive) "Mrs Yee, actually I'm calling you regarding Cavan..."
Me: (Oh dear, what has my son done) "Yyyyes?"
Ms Gracie: "Actually, I just wanted to tell you that today during school...(Oh please, hurry and tell me what's going on)... that I put a present in Cavan's bag.
Me: (relieved) "Oh..." (I wasn't sure how to respond)
Ms Gracie: "Because today, we had a police officer... (Police officer? What happened? Sounds serious!)... who gave a talk in school."
Me: "Okay..." (Still waiting for more clues)
Ms Gracie: "And later there was a quiz at the end of talk."
Me: "Okay..." (Still waiting for more clues)
Ms Gracie: "Cavan volunteered to go up and answer the police officer's question. I thought that was very brave of him, so I decided to give him a little present after that."

What a relief! I thought what happened.

So it happened that the police officer was having a little quiz that was opened to K1 & K2 kids. N1 & N2 kids weren't really asked questions as they were too young and might not know how to answer or they might be fearful to go to the front. (Cavan is in N1)

However, Cavan went up to Ms Gracie and indicated that he would like to go up and answer the officer's question. So when the officer asked for a volunteer, Cavan raised his hand.

According to Ms Gracie, Cavan did not display any fear when standing in front of the assembly and in front of the officer. When the police officer asked Cavan a series of questions, Cavan was very attentive and looked at the officer when the questions were posed. He was able to answer the officer's questions.

Ms Gracie commented that she was very impressed with Cavan on his courage, that he dared to volunteer, not knowing what questions would be asked, and that he was able to pay attention to the officer. She marvelled that this was quite rare for a child his age hence wanted to commend him.

I felt so pleased with Cavan. Both Clement and I were so proud of him.

When we reached home, Cavan did not mention about this incident at all till we probed him. He repeated the questions asked and his replies to us. He was as pleased as punch over the whole incident.

Later, he said that when he wanted to be a policeman. But even later, he changed his mind and said he wanted to be a soldier because he can shoot people. Wherever he got this notion from?

Anyway, this was a pleasant news to us. Ms Gracie can get some award for storytelling, for creating fear and suspense.

Little Munchkin

2008-03-27T18:15:00.001+08:00

Verity sure likes her food. She started semi solid at 5.5 months. While other babies started their 1st feed experimenting with several small spoons and bits, Verity decided to start with a big bang.

Her first feed was a bowl of porridge. Yes a bowl. Instead of displaying grimaces due to experiencing different textures in her mouth and coming to terms with foreign gooey stuff, she adapted with great (and quick) stride.

She yelled at my mom to quicken the feed. While my mom hurried to scoop the next mouthful, Verity was already yelling for more. So my mom had to feed very fast.

Verity was interested in every single thing we put in our mouth. Now, 1 month into eating, she has tried rice, bananas, pears, ice cream, beancurd, buns, bread, and durians. If we refuse to feed her anything we're eating, she would grimace, pout, shake her fists and stamp her feet.

We are breeding an eating machine.

Guess this can't be helped, since both Clement and I are the buffet-eater type.

Now that foods are more interesting, Verity shows less interest being breastfed. She would get so distracted by her surrounding that it become pointless to breastfeed. Suck suck, turn around, look around. Turn back and suck suck, turn around, look around. I'll keep pushing her face back but the same cycle would occur, as if internally programmed. I figure I should stop battling with breastfeeding and not get too emotional. I come to terms with the fact that I breastfeed as her snack, no longer a staple food.

Eat well, babe!