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!

That once a year family trip

I've tried to adhere to my minimum once-a-year trip for the son. And undeniably, Club Med has been our unanimous choice over the years - food and activties all taken care of.

This time, we were more excited because Jayden has come to realized the concept of going for a holiday = lots of milkshake, sand, play and basically no school!

When you fly budget, there is no such thing as in-flight entertainment, so please bring your own. This trip has made me re-think the idea of getting an iPad - it is more lightweight, has all movies integrated in one source (don't need to bring multiple CDs and worry about being caught for buying pirated), can play games, etc. I think I've just made my point.

The best thing about Club Med is that, food and drinks are perpetually available from as early as 6am to as late as 2am. I confessed my 1kg weight gain reflected during the medical check-up to this sinful trip.

Jayden trying to fake a very excited smile

So after all the calorie-infused junk food, it is time to tour around the resort. Another bonus point for the trip was that the son had just turned the minimal age to join the mini club.

Finally!!! Dylan and I can have some US time to try out other activities in the resort. Another plus point to be in Thailand - massage palours are EVERYWHERE - every nook and corner. I managed to sneak out near the resort and get my daily dose of muscle kneading. :)

Ahhh...bliss. Let's enjoy the sunset for a while...

Well, the following day didn't turn out as what we had planned. Jayden had a fever on the 1st night and so we decided to bring him along while we cabbed down to Patong.

And to bring a restless 12.5kg child along is certainly no joke. We never knew exerting eye power to keep watch on the boy can turn out to be so tiring.

But of course, he knocked out first...

So while the boy is soundly asleep, we had to reward ourselves with authentic Thai food! I was slightly disappointed that Club Med served only international buffet as their guests were mainly Caucasians. But how can one come to Thailand and not have a taste of their cuisine?!?

Where is my Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong, Green Curry and Mango Sticky Rice!!!!!! Cannot do injustice to my stomach right!

It is not long before the terror is up to his tricks again. We stumbled upon Hard Rock and Jayden caught me by surprise this time. "Mummy! Look!"

And there, I took a photo of him posing spontaneously like the mannequin.

Not bad huh. Even know how to close his eyes

And when we thought his silly tricks were over, Jayden insisted on taking a photo with the DSLR. As you can see from the photo, I am not smiling. *breaks into a cold sweat*

One of the activities at the Mini Club

And the highlight of the trip - SNORKELING! This would not have been possible if Jayden didn't stayed at the Mini Club. We were out at the sea of half a day and I even had time to go for a massage session before picking him up! Ultimate shiokness!

And that pretty much sums up our family trip for the year. I have also exhausted almost all of the Club Med options - Bintan, Bali, Phuket.

Son, we hoped you have enjoyed yourself with us so far. We have tried to create many happy memories for you and certainly hope you can remember them as your grow up. But even if you forget, fret not, we still have the photos, videos and not forgetting the credit card bill to remind you. Just kidding.

Looking forward to your next trip!

And so he is 4

Once again, before we head off on our long-awaited family trip, I am compelled to write about the son's 4th birthday. Unbelievable Four.

I have been trying to keep a low-key celebration so as not to give the boy the notion that birthdays are lavished with tonnes of balloons, a humongous cake and gazillion of presents. Ok I'm exaggerating but the point is to keep it simple. But simplicity is always an understatement when it comes to the only child of the family.

So first, let's draw attention to the food spread before we go into the party details. We had seafood with a full sea view at our table. How nice. My dad aka the grandpa suggested to have a family staycation over at Changi Beach Club. I thought this was really a nice idea to bring Jayden to see my childhood playground - this is the place when I was young, where my family would frequent to on every single-never-missed weekends, where I would look forward to meeting my friends and do all sorts of silly things that you don't even need an iPad/Facebook to pass time and where we practically grew up in.

Food galore *nom nom nom*

Introducing Uncle Melvin - they are exactly 24 years 3 months and 19 days apart - both also pig la. You can see that Jayden is giving a patronizing smile because Uncle Melvin didn't prepare any present. *gua gua gua*

And this is Uncle Dickson. Considering that the bigger 'pig' didn't really get along with this younger brother, I am surprised that Dickson has a knack with Jayden. Of course, bribery with a gift always helps. See, even the dimples are showing.

How to miss out the hosts of this staycation - Ah Gong and Ah Ma. Thank you for making it possible!

As you can see, towards the end, the boy has practically lost all the energy to smile. He just can't wait to open up the presents. Tsk tsk.

See what I mean?

And then it's time to cut the cake and get down to the crux of the itinerary... ... SWIMMING.

Again, I'm glad that we had another family bonding time with my side of the family. The birthday boy had his fun but of course the fun never ended there...

The following day, we met Godma Liv for... ... *DRUMROLL*

*** ICE CREAM ***

No words can express his contentment.... Except probably this... ...

*beaming* We had no rules that day. Jayden picked his ice cream creation and had it all to himself!

** ACTUAL DAY CELEBRATION **

Armed with a bag full of goodies and his 'self-picked' cake, we head off to his school for his celebration finale.

Dear Son,

Thank you for staying healthy and happy for the past 4 years and growing. We hope you have enjoyed your journey with us so far. We know you enjoy annoying us with your endless antics but sometimes it's good to mellow down and go slow. Please continue to bring joy to our lives and create beautiful memories. Hope you'll enjoy our family vacation to Club Med Phuket tomorrow! Stay healthy, stay cheerful, stay as my little baby always.

Love,

Daddy & Mommy

P.S Jayden says thank you to all Aunties & Uncles for the lovely presents and well wishes!

Journey to the West

Western Australia that is. But this time is a solo trip. The good thing about travelling alone is that one can go anywhere, anytime they want without wasting time. Food is also not a problem because you decide what you eat.

Hearty breakfast in a cold weather. Must eat my fill to accomplish bigger things - SHOPPING.

Perth CBD is really.... ...like a CBD. Everything closes right after 530. Sometimes, even finding dinner is a problem. Who eats dinner before 530???!!

So all the good food have to eat before the sun goes down. Forget about night life in Perth. So grocery shopping is also a form of night-entertainment.

And all of these were done in a day. Yes. All that snacks to bring home!! After all the merry-making, it's back to real work for the next few days... ...

Moving on to another school

Dear Son,

This post serves as my letter of explanation to you as to why I have decided to put you through another tormentous round of new environment, new friends, new teachers next year.

It has seemed like we have been changing school every year. As much as we try to avoid, the previous and the current ones just didn't fit the bill. When you were 2, we wanted to put you in a playgroup so as to build your social skills and understand the concept that your life just didn't evolve around the 4 walls of Bishan Street 13.

Even at the mere age of 2, school was already competitive with the atrocious long waiting list. And so you only enjoyed playgroup at Brightstart Montesorri with Teacher May for a couple of months before you moved on to a proper pre-nursery at Thomson Church Kindy.

Life was pretty smooth-sailing and you enjoyed your 3 hours session in school with Teacher Patrick and 陈老师。And there, we witnessed our once introvert son performed on stage to the music of "Round the clock" on your pre-nursery graduation day. We cannot be more proud of you, son. But family obligations never quite meet your life expectations and so we were once more made to believe that putting you in a daycare center would be the optimal choice.

I do not wish to recall the 26 cold calls I dialled sounding like a fanatic mom with no home for my son. I also do not wish to recall the heart-wrenching moments witnessing your 1st week at school, wondering amidst your tears why does school last from 8am to 6pm. And after all the ordeal, you have moved on being a more confident, conversant and independant boy. Good on you boy!

We thought we could finally put our minds at ease and Jayden can nuture his growing years in Agape. Unfortunately, finding a good school is like striking lottery nowadays. In a span of 10 months, the nursery class has changed 6 teachers - yes both English and Mandarin teacher! *covers jaws dropping* Some re-cap of their special characteristics.

Teacher Leela - Started her disappearing acts once Jayden joined school. Would only come to school once or twice in a week.

张老师 - The goofy one. She looked like Abigail twin sister. Once, Jayden came home in his inverted underwear - when I meant inverted, one of the thigh area went into waist area. *gua gua gua*. Finally left because she said she missed 娘家。-_-


Then Teacher Amy - Hooray! Local teacher! But this high class teacher only work half day because she has 'other commitments' in the afternoon. Fine. We accomodate. Unfortunately, she couldn't tolerate the kids and left. Very high class lor.

陈老师 - Sounded like a definite Malaysian but insisted she was from China. During the MTP, she even said kids at these age shouldn't put so much stress on studying so Jayden not being able to lift the pencil is a small issue. Somebody!! Please tell her she should be a nanny not a teacher!

Finally with Teacher Elnie and 庞老师。They are still around. I have lost hope trying to interact with them.

We have tolerated not switching schools despite the lack of discipline in maintaining the quality of the teachers. From local teachers, it dwindled to hiring only Filipinos and PRCs. I have no adverse feelings against these two nationalities. After all PRCs do speak proper Mandarin. But the last straw came when the entire school became infested with Filipinos who couldn't even convey proper messages to me when my son got hurt in school. I was further appalled to see Jayden doned in another classmate's uniform. Didn't the Filipino teacher notice the names on the name-tag?!? My son is not Rendall Seah! *smacks forehead*

Anyway, enough of grieving. My dear son, I hope you understand why Mommy and Daddy is putting you to another school. We're not sure if it will be better because we're not admitting that we're always right and know what's best for you. So we hope you have an enjoyable birthday celebration at Agape before you move on to your new environment at Elfa and make more friends.

Remember, Mommy and Daddy will only want the best for you. Keep smiling.