Stay-ca-tion

We had a "stay-ca-tion" at the Marriot just to add some spice to our routine weekend. Nicole simply loved that idea. So much to eat, and so much to play but no work to do!

The most interesting object in the hotel room was this metal cot. It looked no different from a mini prison cell and even Chubby refused to be placed in it! He ended up sharing our King sized bed while L slept singly and comfortably on his pull out bed.

Magic brain at work!

I was casually chit chating with Nicole and all of a sudden, an idea popped up.

Me " Nicole, if there are 2 girls lining up in front of you and there are 3 boys behind you, how many kids are there in the line, all together?"

Nic " 2 girls plus 3 boys.....and plus 1. So, 6 kids "

Me " huh? why plus 1? "

Nic " Me!"

I was impressed :) as many kids of this age group would have a tendancy to miss out "Me". In fact, I "tested" N with a similar scenario when she was barely 4 (an older post dated 8 October 2008 - Kong Rong Rang Li) and she somehow got it right too. Perhaps, a coincidence :)

I really miss those interactive evenings with Nicole where I was able to read and discuss issues with her in private, while E was in his dreamland. As E grows, he is needing less and less sleep and hence, I have to split myself between the 2 :( and more often than not, I end up with only an hour or so with Nicole on most weeknights, taking away time for piano practice, and her art and taekwondo classes.

Creative Play

E is simply so full of refreshing ideas. See the 2 semi closed photo frames? He claimed that he was toasting 2 slices of honey jelly pancakes for me! How imaginative of him :)

Merry Christmas

Christmas is here again.

Skinny Santa is ice skating down the slope!

Reflection 2009

It has been a year since I returned to work. Looking back, it has been a fuitful and fulfilling year. There has truly been a work life balance the way I was promised before I took up the offer, amongst many others which were not meant to be.

I thank God for making this possible for me. It was Him who had willed me back to the workforce at the most pleasing timing when everything worked out just fine with both kids at school. They have learnt much from their teachers and friends though I cant help thinking that, perhaps they could have learnt a little more if I had been with them throughout. Well, since this is His plan for me, I would just accept that this is the best arrangement :)

The Lord has blessed me with much and I will do His works by giving back to the society. It certainly feels good to be able to give than to receive. I hope that the less privileged would also have a good Christmas just as everyone of us would. Amen

Christmas

Nicole's 3D Snow Christmas! Cool heh?

Nicole's graduation!

My little girl graduated for Kindergarten! and she was so proud to show me her certificate :) We had to rush from office to attend her concert at 6pm and it was all worth it, seeing how much my little princess has grown and developed over the years.

Well, she is still barred from entering P1 next year as she is barely 5 this year, due to the education system here. In any case, we will just let her repeat K2 in a different school and meanwhile, we will have to look for other programs to continue her learning journey.

Vicky's 3rd birthday

We attended Victoria's birthday party and it was such a joyous event. Without fail, Su Mei would hire an Entertainer to keep the kids occupied and it was fun seeing how little kids could be amuzed by such little gestures of the balloon man.

The highlight of the day was once again the fabulous birthday cake baked by Vicky's grandma. It looked so good and so professionally designed that a guest remarked " Well, it is so good every year. I have nothing else to say and it is no longer a surprise! "

Truly, I could see lots of love and passion put into the baking process and the end product was a testimony!

Elizabeth and Nicole were engaged in a serious dialog, deciding which figurine to pick!

Logical Mind

L and I were driving home. It was about 745pm and there was a massive jam. Then, L spotted the bus lane.

L “ What is the restricted hour for the bus lane? 730pm or 8pm?” (already turning into it, beating other cars stuck in the jam victoriously)

Me “ Well, I think it is pretty obvious. You are the only smart one on this lane while other drivers are obediently Q-ing”

L “ Oh oh….well, I guess the traffic police wont be so hardworking at this hour?”

Hahaha!

Crocodile feeding

Nicole said she was feeding the crocodile up close and personal...and it gave me a heart attack!

Ethan's first concert

As a result of missing 2 weeks of school right before the concert, E was totally lost during his year end performance.

Well, at least he was dressed handsomely. I like that single white glove in particular! :) but that didnt come cheap. Together with the 2 tickets, it set us back by $120 for a 5min performance! By the way, did he remind you of someone who had recently passed away due to drug overdose? - M. J.

Good bye Australia!

As everyone was busy loading the car, this little brat helped himself to the driver seat without my knowledge. For a second, I was frantically looking for him, fearing that he might have run out of the house with the gate wide open.

It was the last day of our stay in Australia and we bid goodbye to Ah Ma, promising her we would visit again next year.

On the way home, the kids displayed signs of exhaustion after being away for 2 weeks. Both rested for a good 2 hours in the plane. Home sweet home sweeties!

Theme Park

We were making our way to the Lunar Park and the kids were thrilled to hitch a train ride. It was a "double decker" cabin and an eye opener to them indeed.

Soon, we reached our destination but only to be disppointed by the size of the theme park. There were only about 5 to 7 types of different rides and each ride cost A$10 per person! So, 2 rides would have set us back by A$80! Though there were day tickets for sale (A$40 each), we figured it wasnt worthwhile at all as some rides were not meant for young children.

Eventually, we did 2 rides and called it a day! The kids were happy as they were begining to get exhausted and wanted to head home!

Family lunch

A good reunion with family and friend in Melbourne. We have known Mrs Chu for over 1 decade and she is coming close to 76 while grandma will be 80 next year!

A bit of everything!

First time N ever offered her help to wash the car, only because the weather was inviting enough, unlike the hot and humid Singapore climate!

Uncle Ken was so kind to bring his lovely dogs over to keep the 2 kids occupied while L and I were out to attend Chester's Church wedding + dinner! In fact, Chester's wedding was the motivation for us to return to Australia despite having to skip lessons for 2 weeks! L was the groomsman!

N commented " papa, you look so handsome!"

I am sure L was floating on clouds on that day, just as I was, when E remarked " Mummy, you are so beautiful!" (when I put on my old wedding cheungsum for Chester's wedding)