Guilty as charged

I have the iPad to blame. Every since I bought the unconniving device to catch up on my K-dramas, I have abandoned the laptop. Blogging has taken the back seat, correction, it is out of the window.

I am almost appalled to discover the amount of "undownloaded" photos in the SD card.

So once again, what has been going around?

There has been a few "First" for us.

Formula One

We watched F1 after it's 4th consecutive run thinking that it will be the last - until the government decided that noise pollution wasn't enough yet.

Singapore Flyer

It was a "First" alone with the Son - complimentary of Auntie Leng. I don't think the kid remembered taking the Flyer when he was only 2. So it was a good refresher for us.

1) He discovered that he could see the world from the Flyer.

2) He discovered there's a water fountain at the bottom of the Flyer.

3) I also discovered that Belgian choc ice-cream has liquor when the Son commented that it was so delicious. -_-""
 

 

 

Hobby + Collection



 

Knowing that Jayden has never inherited my 'artistic' interest, I bought some 'peel and paste' artwork for him to try.


Verdict: Kept him busy for a while before he decides that his "Cars" collection are more interesting that deciding what color a peacock should look like.

 

 

 

His 1st Sports Day
 

Being an athletic person myself, I was excited about the Son's 1st sports day. Especially I was told that he would be part of the cheerleading group! Who says cheerleading are for gu niang only?

So proud of the little one when he performed in front of the entire stadium! Definitely another first for us too. I really have to give credit to the Japanese coach who can make my restless boy remember ever move and cheer.


 

 

1st encounter with Lego

 

I know he's slower than some. Only recently, he took an interest in Lego. But it has to be Cars Disney related or vehicles. Will show some of his small model fix-up another time.

 

Now back to my iPad.

 

So we went to the zoo for the N-th time

This has got to be one of the most peculiar child-caring arrangment with the Son. To cut the long story short, we were 'conned' to go to the Zoo - ON OUR OWN - Just the two of us.

But seeing how enthusiastic the son was, I managed to convince every skin cell in my body that the sweltering heat will be worth it. (Mental note: Have to double up the skincare dosage when I go back!)

Jayden is determined to cover every nook and corner of the zoo. He made sure we visited all the animals that he could recognize on the map.

So being a happy kid that day also meant photo perfect for me. *snap snap snap*

To be honest, this is Jayden's first official time in the waterplay. For those who have been to the Zoo with him before would know that the most he would do is get his knees wet. Nothing/nobody touches the hair.

So I'm actually glad that, at the age of 4, he had finally overcome his phobia of water splashing over his head and just be a normal kid and have lots of fun! Next, will be to make him sit on the slide.

We started off the day with me cursing under the sun. But by the end of the day, with the son sleeping peacefully in the car after all the fun, it's evident that spending some family time is immeasurable. :)

On a rather random note, here's wishing everyone a Happy Dragon year in 2012 in abundance of health, wealth and happiness!

Bye bye 2011

So 2011 came and gone. It whizzed by so fast that I didn't have the time to blog about what had happened for the past 2 months. I am also ashamed to look at the number of posts I had done in 2011 as compared to 2010.

We had alot of "First time" experiences as well so let's re-cap.

Thanks to Adrian, we got a night stay at the renowned MBS. Of course, we had to take a dip at the "must-go" Sky pool regardless of how cold the water was at 8am in the morning! Like tourists, we also walked around the mall for the first time. I know, very suaku.

We celebrated Rene's birthday together with a new addition to the group - baby Mabel! Finally Jayden gets a playmate. Welcome to the world baby Mabel!

And I finally get to go to Universal Studios for the first time! Another suaku moment. All thanks to our company team building event - imagine tonnes of fun at ZERO cost! Sweet.

And for the first time, I muster enough courage to take up the challenge to sit on ALL THE RIDES. Talk about good team spirit. I have no idea where I managed to find the guts to even convince myself to walk up the stairs to The Cylone. But I did and our team won the "Amazing Race"! Prize is free meal ticket to ANY restaurants in Singapore! :D I am thinking Cut, Les Amis, Kunio! Anything to bring a smile to my stomach!

For the past 3 years, it has almost become a ritual to host the X'mas party at our place. This year, we got to make merry at our friends' new houses instead. And for the first time in 5 years at our place, we actually did not bring the X'mas tree out. Dylan is very pleased with the arrangements as it saved up alot of his house-keeping. -_-

First stop, the Tan's abode. Lots of yum-meh food painstakingly cooked by chef Rachel, pressies and alot of blues in the house! A very heartwarming event indeed. Hopefully, we keep this tradition going on for years...

And my two boys opening up their pressies on X'mas day itself. I have intentionally hidden my self-bought gift(s). Tsk tsk. Note the plural form. All I can say is, I'm very satisfied with the purchases. :)

2nd round of merry making at Bon and Trav's new place. Another round of feasting and gift exchanges. I am almost certain that dieting should be shelved up in the month of December.

And finally, we wrapped up the year counting down at the 25th floor with an excellent view of the fireworks! How awesome is that! :D Another "First", this is Jayden's first time counting down with us since the boy is old enough to stay up till 12.

A walk down memory lane in 2011: -

• Holiday trips - Went HCM, Europe, Hong Kong and Club Med Bali!



• Baby boom - 5 friends popped - 3 boys and 2 girls!



• Career - Got double promotion with an excellent remuneration (stayed on the current job for > 3 years. Broke my record) and Dylan changed to a better job



• Health - Finally got the clean bill after a year of doubts



• Family - Spent a staycation with my family on Jayden's 4th birthday



• Indulgence - Spent a 5 figure sum in Europe (something which I would never EVER do), made my 2nd timepiece investment in Aug - a whopping $7.4 grand (after severely influenced by Dylan), bought 2 pairs of extravagant shoes at $400+ each (after laughing at Cel that spending that kind of money on shoes is like stepping on your money. Note to oneself: Never laugh at a friend again). I have come to realize that this kind of indulgence (within my limits) is a necessity in "Living life to the fullest" (even if you don't agree to my methodology)

I am exceptionally glad that 2011 had been fulfilling with so many great things going on. What used to be an uncertainty in my career is finally taking flight, everyone's healthy (minus Dylan's slipped disc) and we visted so many new places in a year.

I hope in the year 2012,

• Finding a new home - After 5 years in our nest, it is time to move to greener pastures, hopefully a place near Jayden's prospective primary school.


• More holiday trips - Booked BKK in Feb, going on girls trip to Taiwan in Mar, HK Disneyland in July and hopefully States in Dec!


• Career - Hope to move on to new roles to move up the ladder. Stay in the same company for the next 2 years. Likewise for Dylan for a smooth sailing career.


• Health - Everyone to be in the pink


• Family - Hopefully Jayden to stay in the new school for the next 2 years. Be patient and kind to family members.


• Bonding - Despite everyone having their own family now, make a point to stay in contact and never stop our traditional celebrations - birthdays, anniversaries, festivals.


• Indulgence - I am still trying to keep the wallet tight but having bought 10 pieces of clothes for Chinese New Year is not a good sign.

And certainly, to live life to the fullest!

What's going on with the Yips these days?

Well, I haven't got much to say.

The man in the house is half the time out on weekends working and I cannot bring myself to get out of the house in the sweltering heat. I am almost ashamed to confess that the son and I spent most of the time doing unproductive stuff at home too.

On some days, we spent building sandcastles - not in the air but literally. The son has a penchant for getting himself muddy and wet and we reckoned that it's healthier to do some outdoor activity before he becomes a hermit and hides himself behind an iPad.

Just the other day, I finally embraced the courage to hand-make some cards together with the son for his teachers day. I was under the impression that he only had 2 teachers to prepare until he list out the rest of them he knew from playgroup to K2 that he insisted to give pressies to. *hears wallet crying*

So after holding his hand to write 10 teachers day cards, I am almost certain that next year it would be less labourious that I just print out labels instead. Thank you technology!!!

And lastly, in return of appreciation, the teachers decided to hold a surprise tea party inviting the parents to watch their precious one perform a surprise act. When I meant surprise, I was supposed to be there with an astounded-jaws drop-overwhelmed look when you watch your kid do his trick.

Well, I wasn't because Jayden got too excited and practiced it in front of me every night. Nonetheless, it was nice to see the son being comfortable on stage and enjoying himself. :)

And that pretty much summed up our lackluster lives these days. Don't you think we need a vacation soon?!?

His first field trip

It was meant to be a solo trip. I wanted to see if the son could handle an excursion on his own. Yep. It was a hard pill to swallow. My boy has grown up. But a mommy suggested that I go for the first time t get to know his friends better as well.

It was really amusing watch the kids mingle together. When we arrived, the kids were pinching their noses and screaming in unison "Ewww...so smelly!" I only had a thought in my head "How to go army like that?" -_-

I had a shock when I first saw his classmates. Are they really 4 years old?! All of them are so tall!

See? Shortest in the class. *gua gua gua*

Theme of the field trip was Cats Discovery. So we went to this amphitheatre that housed the skins of all kinds of cats - Jaguar, Cheetah, Leopard, Tiger, Lion. And my, I couldn't even tell the difference!

At the end of the day, it wasn't an easy task being a parent volunteer. The weather was atrocious, the kids were running all over the place. You had to make sure your own kid doesn't 'assault' anyone. I even witnessed a parent trying to feed his kid snacks along the way and during class on condition that he sat still. In the end, the rest of the kids were distracted and wanted a share of it. How annoying right!

Overall, it was still a good field trip with the son. I'm sure next time, the boy is ready to go out on his own without his Mommy albeit I'm still not sure if I'm ready to let his hand go.

Before the year ends...

I am compelled to blog for the last time before I head off in less than 6 hours, on another road trip to Malaysia and spend countdown in a frenzied pool of people.

Another year has come and gone. So many events had taken place, so many experiences and memories to jot down.

Spending the countdown with this group of friends have become a ritual for the past 6 years. We are that committed to the extent that I would leave Jayden in my in-laws care just to avoid the many other issues - meltdown, being a handful and most important of all, getting lost in the crowd. I feel the guilt every time. :( Sorry boy. Hopefully you can join us next year.

So before I leave the country, let me leave some photos behind of what we had done for X'mas.

This year X'mas proved to the most exhausting but fulfillng one. Perhaps also because we had 2 house gatherings in a single row.

I don't think the son really understood the meaning of Christmas. Perhaps it meant ripping open many many delightful presents from people who loved him. Thank you Aunties and Uncles for the gifts!

Merry X'mas and Happy New Year!!!

Will write when I'm back!

Celebrations

** Bon's ROM **

The long awaited day. Finally my girlfriend has tied the knot.

Bon is one of the few friends I grew up with. We shared almost every secrets together, exchanged gossips on the cutest guy in school, worked part-time during school holidays and did alot of silly naughty things.

We literally watched each other grew up, saw the guys we've dated and finally settling down. I cannot believe we've grown so old!!!

Obviously, the gal has a serious obsession with Cookie Monster since secondary school days. Everything was in blue! From the flowers, to the carpet (yes, people use red carpet but she used blue!), to the balloons, cake and even the ring bearer! Very innovative indeed.

Congrats babe! Looking forward to your customary one year later!


** Company D&D @ Fullerton Bay Lantern **

The D&D was nothing to rave about. I never really relish the idea of stand-up cocktails as everyone was everywhere and in a mess! However, having to go for an event meant that I needed a new dress to wear. Of course, also an excuse for myself to shop shop shop!

C's blogshop Modashoppe happened to launch a range of dresses days before the event. What appropriate timing! The best thing about it was I managed to get to wear the dress prior to their official launch! :D

Back to the D&D. I was aiming for the iPad that I was literally chanting under my breath. In the end I won a "$100 NTUC voucher" *gua gua gua* No iPad for my kid but still have free milk.

Hopefully I'll still be around next year to win some travel vouchers. *cross fingers*

Preschool graduation ceremony

Up till today, then I realized how much my boy has grown. I must say I am very impressed with how the teachers handled the kids, coaching them to dance to a song, stand on the stage without running around and most important of all, having lots of fun in the midst of all these preparations.

I was surprised at myself when I got a little emotional looking at the K2 graduates donning their graduation gown and going onstage to get their certificates. I could imagine myself tearing when it would be Jayden's turn as he proceeds to elementary school.

Jayden used to be very clingy to us whenever there's a crowd. Hence, I was also a little apprehensive on how the boy would react seeing such a big audience on stage. But once the music came on, he was dancing confidently and flashing his biggest smile. So amazing! I would have froze on the spot!

His pre-N class danced to the tune "Round the clock" by Bill Haley.

If you noticed, the poor fella was the shortest in the class. *gua gua gua* So determined to get the boy to play basketball when he grows up!

And now a video of his performance. Times like these, I wished I had a super zoom anti-shake camera.

The 3rd year

Everytime of this year, I would be like a frantic mother going through my mental list to ensure that the son has the most enjoyable time on his birthday.

After holding mega celebrations for 2 consecutive years, I told Dylan that we should keep things simple for fear that I cannot live up to Jayden's expectations of a smashing celebration as he grows older. Well, to use the word simple, is always an understatement.

10-10-2010: Celebrating with his friends

16-10-2010: Celebration with Godma @ T3

11am: Met up with Liv for furniture selection. After much contemplation, we decided to get the Fire Truck bed for Jayden, courtesy from his godma. We had a hard time trying to reason with him that green color just don't suit his room style.

1230pm: Lunch @ Sakae Pasta. I made a horrible choice of braised meat sandwich. Imagine they used normal sunshine bread! Thereafter, we proceeded for ice-cream. Jayden picked his own mini volcano and happily gobbled down 3 scoops!

17-10-2010: Dim Sum Lunch @ Ritz Carlton

Met up with my maternal family for lunch. My dad initially wanted to order an ice-cream cake but I flatly rejected as we had to head out later. And so, my mom picked a cake from The Patissier. Chocolate cake with marshmellows - what a great choice!

19-10-2010: Actual day celebration @ School

I am only thankful we had a car to load all the stuff and drive straight to school. One big bag of goody bags, the cake, his clothes for outing after school. I cannot imagine lugging it around and hailing a taxi underneath the scorching heat.

The celebration was pretty simple. The teachers gathered the kids to the table, made them sing a song for the birthday boy and viola, all done.

Jayden was exceptionally a good host that day, cutting cake and ensuring everyone had a piece of it.

** TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS **

Jayden couldn't wait till the actual day and requested to open all his presents. I am impressed that my friends took notice of the things Jayden likes and got him things he had mentioned to them before.

It certainly beats being a kid these days. J's roomful of toys has proliferated at such an alarming rate that has gone beyond storage control.

Well, what can I say. As long the son is happy, I am happy.

Happy 3rd Birthday son! We're glad you've enjoyed your birthday. Please continue to stay healthy and happy. Mummy and Daddy love you always.