Tag Archives: reflections

Grow Old A10ng With Me!

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Adrian and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary on Thursday and what an amazing decade it has been! I wanted to get him a really special gift and when I bumped into Frus at Public Garden several months ago, I knew I had found the perfect present for him.

Frus (say froo-se) was founded by Ben and Joanne and they design the cutest cards, stickers, and totes with whimsical local designs. The ABCs according to Frus is Ang Ku Kueh, Bak Zhang and Chicken Rice and learning the alphabet with their A-Z Local Food Print is probably the yummiest way to do so. Besides their illustrated cards and bags, they also design custom prints for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and any other occasion you can think of.

I contacted them sometime in August (they need a lead time of about 2 months) and chatted with Joanne about what I had in mind. She sent me a list of questions about our relationship and asked me for photos of Adrian and me taken during our courtship, wedding, etc. and photos of the kids as well. She emailed me the first draft soon after and I asked for some edits and after going through that process a few times, this is the final product:

the final product

the final product!

As expected, Adrian loves his 10th anniversary gift and I’m just incredibly wowed by how she turned the information and photos that I provided into something so special to us. By the way, I came up with the Grow Old A10ng With Me tagline that incorporates the number 10 so if you find it cheesy, I accept complete responsibility!

You can find Frus on Naiise and they also accept orders through their Facebook page and email (). The full list of items available is on their Facebook page so check them out and ‘Like’ them. They will be appearing at the Public Garden Christmas Flea on 21, 22, 28 & 29 November at F1 Pit Building. Do drop by and support Frus because they are such a lovely local business!

Primary 1 Registration for Anya

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2A1

Phase 2A1

I can’t believe I have a kid going into Primary 1 next year! I know it’s a bit of a cliche to say this, but where did the time go? One moment she’s a squishy, fat baby, and the next moment I have a little girl who reads and writes and makes all sorts of smart ass sarcastic remarks. It truly takes my breath away.

I must admit I was a bit of a slacker about the whole registration process. I put together her birth certificate, our identity cards, her immunisation certificate and my alumni letter, but forgot to make photocopies of the documents. I also thought the alumni letter would be good enough and didn’t know that I might have to produce my report books and/ or PSLE certificate so I turned the house upside down the night before registration to look for those items.

I couldn’t sleep well the night before and even woke the husband up at 2 am (by tickling his feet) thinking that it was already 7 am! Then I woke up a few more times before it was actually time to get up. The husband dropped me at my beloved alma mater then took the kids to school before coming back again to join me. I got to the registration counter before 8 am and was 7th in line for Phase 2A1. While I was filling in the form, I started feeling so emotional thinking about how my daughter’s going to be wearing the same uniform I wore for 10 years, studying in the same campus.. *sniff!*

The lady at the counter was kind and friendly and we bantered for a bit while waiting for my documents to be photocopied. I told her I was surprised by the higher than usual number of spaces taken up at Phase 1 and she agreed that it was definitely more than what the school usually gets at that stage. The whole process went quite smoothly and, since I was so early, I was done very fast.

After the registration, we went to the canteen to eat. I will never cease to be amazed by the fact that I can buy noodles from the same auntie that I bought noodles from on my first day of school in Primary 1. So many warm fuzzy feelings in one morning!

Initially, I wasn’t nervous at all about Primary 1 registration. But when I saw the unusually high numbers for Phase 1 and read about another girls’ school that was likely to have to ballot at Phase 2A1, I starting worrying in earnest. I was on tenterhooks the rest of the day and only felt slightly better when Adrian texted me at 4pm to say that his friend’s wife’s friend was at the school and was number 59 and there was no one else in line. I did not breathe easy until 8 pm that night when the results for 2A1 were announced and we were safe.

To be honest, I would be devastated if my daughter could not attend the same school that her mother/ aunts/ grandaunts/ great-grandmother attended. Thank God her place is confirmed!

Hello 2015!

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Happy New Year

I posted this Baby Blues comic strip on New Year’s Day 2012, way before we even expected that we would eventually have three kids. And this is what our family looks like now!

2014 was a pretty great year. Adam started school and got along fine with his friends. He had his first mini performance in school and took it very seriously. I was so proud to see him sing and dance to two short songs with the rest of his class. Anya was featured in Elly’s CNY collection and we were delighted that she got to pose for one of our favourite brands. She also performed in her first school concert at UCC and I’m sure I’ll be crying buckets when it’s her graduation concert this year!

The kids have stretched out quite a bit and Adam looks a lot less babyish now. He also has practically no front teeth after damaging his teeth last year. I still feel sad whenever I see the gaping holes but I know his adult teeth will eventually come in. He stayed in hospital a couple of nights for some bites that got infected and caused his legs to swell up! Anya decided to chop off her lovely long hair and I’m still not used to it but she seems pretty happy with her shorter do.

We welcomed Baby David in January and he’s without a doubt my most difficult baby ever. He doesn’t nap well and he’s generally quite grouchy and fussy. We had to put him in infantcare and he’s doing well there and that’s a load off my mind. He’s a lot more smiley now and on the verge of walking. I’m terribly fond of him and so glad I still have a baby to squish since the other two are growing up so quickly!

We managed to travel a bit this year. We took David and Anya to Ho Chi Minh City, then all three kids to Taipei with the help of my mum and aunt. After that was Deborah’s wedding in Penang in April where Anya was a flower girl for the first time. Adrian and I went to Perth without the kids before I returned to work, then we took the older two to Port Dickson over National Day. We went to Nepal sans kids for our 9th wedding anniversary and then it was just us with all 3 kids in Phuket! Phew!

Blogwise, we have been so lucky to review many different products, services and events! I really enjoy taking the kids to new places and letting them try new experiences, so it’s a real blessing that we sometimes get given stuff and get invited to places and performances. It’s definitely not something I take for granted!

I made four new year’s resolutions at the start of 2014 and kept about 3.5 of them. I took a ukulele crash course, got back in circus arts and I tried very hard to be a good wife and mother. There’s still so much room for improvement though. So for 2015, I want to keep trying to be the best wife and mum that I can be and I think I need to spend less time on my phone and computer! With three kids, I don’t want to make any overambitious resolutions. I want to learn another language and how to crochet but I think we’ll take it one day at a time.

2014 was a really good year for us and I hope that 2015 will continue to be spectacular!

Highlights of 2014!

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Adam started school

Adam started school

Anya posed for Elly's CNY collection

Anya posed for Elly’s CNY collection

We welcomed Baby David

We welcomed Baby David

his first flight at less than 2 months old

his first flight at less than 2 months old

Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh

said bye to KAP

said bye to KAP

first trip with three kids

first trip with three kids

went back to circus class

went back to circus class

Debs got married and Anya was her flower girl

Debs got married and Anya was her flower girl

Perth without kids

Perth without kids

Port Dickson

Port Dickson

visited Raffles Lighthouse

visited Raffles Lighthouse

learnt how to make an old-school cake

learnt how to make an old-school cake

learnt how to play the ukelele

learnt how to play the ukelele

Anya's first school concert

Anya’s first school concert

Nepal for our 9th anniversary

Nepal for our 9th anniversary

first trip with 3 without help!

first trip with 3 without help!

Christmas with friends and loved ones

Christmas with friends and loved ones

Anya’s Concert

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A few weeks ago, we watched Anya’s kindergarten concert at the University Cultural Centre (UCC). It was all a bit surreal because we used to have so many performances at UCC when we were still in NUS more than 10 years ago and now I’m watching my kid perform on stage!

Anya was really excited about the performance and had been singing the songs in the car and practising the dance moves at home for the longest time. She was also very pleased with her costume and kept telling us how nice it was.

Anya was very particular about her make-up, emphasising that she was supposed to have silver eyeshadow, pink blusher and red lipstick. I’m very clueless about make-up since I hardly wear any but Aunty Debs came to the rescue and gave us tons of make-up for Anya’s performance.

doing her make-up before the show

doing her make-up before the show

Adam wondering what the fuss is all about

Adam wondering what the fuss is all about

all ready to perform

all ready to perform

being matchy-matchy in my Lark & Peony cheongsam

being matchy-matchy in my Lark & Peony cheongsam

a quick family photo (without the baby)

a quick family photo (without the baby)

the kids being herded backstage

the kids being herded backstage

We were seated pretty far back because the better seats were reserved for the families of the K2 graduating children so I’m very thankful that David of Life’s Tiny Miracles (who was seated much further in front with his very good camera and superb photography skills) took some beautiful close-up shots of Anya’s performance for me!

Anya’s dance was one of the first items and it was clear to to see that the kids and the teachers had put in so much effort into the dance. The same goes for every other item that followed. It takes a lot of dedication to put together a performance involving so many different groups of young children!

The Power of One

The Power of One

Anya in action

Anya in action (photo credit: David)

so happy to be performing

so happy to be performing (photo credit: David)

Lasso the Moon

Lasso the Moon

the finale

the finale

It wasn’t even her graduation and I was already bursting with pride and close to tears! I think I’m going to be a slobbering mess when I see her in her little graduation gown. How did my baby grow into a little lady so quickly??

with the baby after the performance

with the baby after the performance

well done, Anya!

well done, Anya!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Adam!

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Adam Turns 3

My dearest little boy, you are now 3 years old! You have been a middle child for 7 months but you don’t seem too affected by it. You are still your sweet and good-natured self and you are always loving towards your brother and to everyone else in the family. You are easy to love too and you dispense hugs and kisses readily. I love your kind heart and your cheeky sense of humour. Whenever you see me in a dress, you declare that my outfit is so nice and that I am ‘Princess Mummy of Arendelle’!

Lately, you have been throwing terrible tantrums and it’s impossible to reason with you and scolding you achieves nothing either. I know it’s a difficult age for you because you are thinking and feeling so much but not always able to express yourself as clearly as you would like. You are fond of asking me, “When I’m naughty, do you still love me?” and I always tell you that I love you all the time, no matter what.

It’s hard for you to be patient when you want something and get no for an answer because the notion of delayed gratification is not something you appreciate. You have a love-hate relationship with your sister as well. When I see the two of you playing so happily, I know that having more than one kid is the best decision ever. But when you fight with each other and scream at the top of your lungs, I just want to hide somewhere until the chaos is over!

I’m glad that you are enjoying school and that you have friends you like playing with. Chinese enrichment class for you is not the best use of my money, however, and you can barely remember anything you learn there!  And to think I actually tried speaking to you in Mandarin when you were a baby!

Going from 2 to 3 years old has been a big leap for you and you have grown so much, both physically and mentally, and reached so many milestones along the way. To be honest, the past year was quite a blur and I find myself wondering where my squishy, babbling little toddler has disappeared to!

I love you more than I can adequately put in words and it’s not just because you’re the only one of my three kids who looks like me! Your open and guileless nature touches my heart and I want to protect you and keep you safe. God bless you, my sweetheart. You have an exciting year ahead of you. 

David is 3 Months Old!

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David 3 months

My littlest one, you are 3 months old today! It’s been a tiring 3 months for me. You need to be fed every 2 hours, even at night! Only very recently, you decided that you would sleep 4 hours at a stretch at night. Thank God for that. But your daytime sleeping has gotten worse! You take ages to fall asleep then wake up soon after. On certain days, I barely have time to do anything productive.

You sleep slightly better when we are on the go, so I use that as an excuse to gallivant everywhere with you in the baby carrier. But you only sleep if I’m walking around so you tend to fuss and cry when we’re on the bus. As a result, we get quite a few people offering unsolicited advice on how to stop your crying!

Even though you are only 3 months old, you have already been to Ho Chi Minh City and Taipei, and will be heading to Penang soon. You won’t remember anything about these trips but where I go, you go too. You’re basically glued to me until I return to work.

Your siblings adore you and want to plaster you with little kisses whenever they can. Your sister prefers you to her other brother, but I think it’s because you don’t fight with her over toys. Your brother seems to think you are some sort of adorable pet and doesn’t understand why I need to be taking care of you when he wants my attention.

You tend to look quite serious most of the time with your brows constantly knitted in concentration. But you have been a lot more smiley recently and you have the most adorable smile! My heart melts whenever you flash me a toothless grin and I forget how tired and frustrated I am. You are also very talkative and like to coo and gurgle and make random talking noises. I’m quite sure I heard you say ‘hello’ to a lady in the lift today and it freaked me out!

I only have 2.5 months before I return to work and I won’t be able to spend 24/7 with your awesome baby squishiness anymore. So for now, it’s just you and me most of the time and I really want to cherish the moments! Love you, my little sweetheart!