Clear Blue Skies In December

Had a lovely holiday catching up with my parents from the 5th to the 20th December. Thought two weeks would be a long time but it flew by just too quickly! Guess time flies when spending time with loved ones.

We decided to take the 9am flight. Not our usual red-eye flight at 1am as we did in previous years. I used to think that the kids would be asleep and we could have a restful flight but it was actually worse as the kids would be overtired the rest of the day from not being able to sleep properly during the flight. This time it was much better. Think the two older ones are older too so it was not so stressful. My dear aunt came along with us. So Dan sat with the Jedi and Krisa while I sat with my aunt with Keziah in the baby bassinet. Worked out well as the older kiddies could now enjoy the in-flight entertainment and the food that came on the neat little trays. The bassinet was great as I could quickly pump or gobble my food while she napped. But I must say I wasn't too impressed with the Quantas service...was a roller coaster ride with lots of turbulence and the staff weren't too friendly or helpful.

We reached the airport at abt 2pm and my dad fetched us from the airport. Was so good to see him as I haven't seen him since April this year. Was greeted at their home by my mummy and it was such a lovely feeling! Though I live in Singapore and have never lived in Perth, I always feel as if I'm coming home whenever I visit. Nothing like seeing your loved ones.

Our daily routine would be indulging in a lazy 1 hour brekkie with my mum. She would cook fried eggs and bacon which we would eat with either toasted bread or english muffins. Had my favourite soft-boiled egg with my dearly missed Maggie sauce. Simple breakfast but was good to just enjoy one another's company while the kids had their fill of cornflakes, cookies and honeybuzz yogurt.

TThen, we would either go down to do some grocery shopping at Coles. Loved the cooking times with my mum where we would experiment and exchange recipes. We would come back for Keziah's 2 hour nap so that she won't be so cranky the rest of the day. Then we would set off again to my dad's pie shop for another round of eating pies, coffee and tea.We would head back after about an hour or so and Dan would wash the kids up while I would get Keziah ready for her milk and bed by abt 6.30pm. She was a great travel baby and kept to her routine throughout the trip. Really thankful for that.

By the time my dad was back for dinner Keziah would be asleep and the kids would either join us or entertain themselves in the family room watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks"and other kiddie shows. Dinner was always a feast of either my mum's cooking or fish and chips or takeaway food. But nothing could beat the sashimi! The best I have ever tasted!!

Then once the kids went to bed by abt 9, we could sit down and chat in the family room. My dad would always open a bottle of wine when there are visitors so all except me had a glass. Think its his chance to have company to drink wine! hahaha!Then, it was off to bed and another day would start again...

Well, the kids basically had a whale of a time! My parents indulged or rather over-indulged them with lots of toys and gifts! So many that we had to leave them there so that they can play again the next time they come again!Some highlights were that Keziah mastered rolling onto her tummy while we were there.

We also visited a beautifully decorated home for Christmas which was featured in the local newspaper. Felt quite paiseh to just go up and see their home but my dad assured that it was ok. Different cultures I guess. Dan kindly weeded my folks' garden and cleared up the shed.

But the most memorable of all was the time spent together as a family. Times that I would always treasure close to my heart. I realize that it is only since I got married and had kids that I appreciate the time spent with my folks. Perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder. I only get to see my dad once a year when we go down as he can't come back due to the shop and my mum at least twice when she comes back mid year to visit us. But the things I will miss till the next time I go is the smell of my parents' home. The smell of waking up in the morning to see my mum who I only see twice a year. I will always remember the smell of pies and the smell of coffee when we go down to my dad's shop and the "ding-dong-ing" of the bell. I will miss the dinner time and grocery shopping. I will miss the family devotions on Sundays. I will miss the chatting and tv time when the kids are asleep.

See you soon Mummy and Papa! We love you lots and thank you for the lovely and precious time with us!

Birthday Cake for Daddy!

Celebrated Dan's birthday yesterday. He was still on reservist so we used the time while he was not at home to prepare a birthday surprise for him. The kids made cards for him and did some decorations here and there.

The kids wanted to get Dan a cake. Decided it would be more fun for them to make one. So bought those instant Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix and decided to make muffins. Bought some strawberries, coloured sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles and chopped almonds as toppings.

The kids helped to mix up the mixture then I poured them into the muffin cups and popped them into the oven. Was really fun as once they were ready we were all excited about topping them! BUT.... I FORGOT TO BUY THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE!!! so decided to use Nutella as a spread so that the toppings would stick. Worked surprisingly well.

Dan came home a little late as it was the last day of reservist. was thinking of putting the kids to sleep first if it was too late. But Jedi's bowels had other plans! suddenly wanted to bomb so by the time he was done...Daddy came home! The kiddies were really excited as they helped to make the little cakes so was great fun for them to see Daddy eat it. Only thing was that Jedi asked:

"Why is Daddy only 1 year old??"

Birthday and 6th Wedding Anniversary

This is a really dealyed post as have been so busy these few weeks.

Celebrated my birthday and my anniversary on the 15th of November. Both are on the same day. Smart hubby!

Had a small family celebration amongst the five of us. Went to New York New York for lunch and Dan bought a lovely cake. The kids kept asking why Mummy's birthday didn't have party packs!! Kids will be kids! So we made impromptu ones by going to the pasar malam to get some stickers and those little toys in plastic capsules from the tikam machine to make them happy. Dan collected his free cappuccino from Macs on my behalf as I can't drink too much coffee at the moment or baby will be wide-eyed at night!

Thanks Aunty Ida and Uncle Vincent!

Thanks Aunty Ida and Uncle Vincent for this super duper cute shirt!!! My expression talleis with what it says! hahaha! Hope to see you guys soon!

Well Done Jedidiah!

We are so proud of Jedi! He got an award from school as 'Mr. Right" for making the right choices during decision making time. Don't know what that means exactly but still so proud of him all the same.

He recieved another award on Sunday from his sunday school for good behaviour. Krisa felt a bit left out so we bought her a little something to make her happy. Jedi was nice to share his present with her too.

Love these three kiddies to bits.

Goodbye and Thank You Ms. Grace

This is Ms. Grace.

She was Jedi's first teacher when he started playgroup at Gracehouse when he was just 2 years old. She shared that she grew so attached and enjoyed teaching the class so much that she requested to take them as well for Nursery 1 and Nursery 2.

Rarely have I seen such a dedicated teacher. She has always made the effort to give consistent feedback and positive comments to encourage even me. Jedi was initially a very reserved boy in school and was observed to be very quiet even in class. Under her charge, he has grown in confidence in school, become more vocal and has made friends with his classmates and teachers. Even when Jedi was sick, she would call or drop an sms to ask for prayer requests and that she would be praying with the class for his recovery. She would even keep me in prayer too.

Well, she shared that she had wanted to follow the class to K1, but was unable to as the school felt it would be better for the children to have a new teacher and different teaching styles. I wouldn't mind her following them up for the 4th year actually...

So I encouraged Jedi to make a thank you card for her. Wanted him to write the standard things like " thank you for....". He insisted on writing this instead:

"I Love You Ms Grace. I Love You So Much."

Did all the decorations on his own with some help in spelling here and there. Krisa wanted to help out too so she made a card of her own to give to Ms Grace.

We just gave it to her today at the parent-teacher meeting. The sweetest thing was that her eyes filled with tears and she was so touched that she couldn't speak for a while. I was so touched! Told her it was a small gift to thank her for all she had done and the words were Jedi's heartfelt sentiments for her. She said these words that really touched me.

"All this isn't a small gift, it is so much."

Was an emotional time where Jedi gave her a hug and she told him that his new teacher next year would love him just as much as she does. So so sweet!

The good news is that since she couldn't follow up Jedi's class, she requested for the siblings of this class next year. So Krisa will be having her when she goes to Nursery 1. Praise the Lord!

Ms. Grace if you ever read this,you are truly a blessing and inspiration. You are one teacher whom I can see has the passion and love for the children. Thank you for your love and for touching the lives of the little ones around you. God Bless you!

Jedidiah's Nursery 2 Graduation Concert 2009

Jedi had his graduation from Nursery 2 on 7th November 2009. Had to reach his school by 8.30am so had to get the whole gang ready to leave the house by 8am. Which means getting ready the night before! Felt as if we were packing for a mini trip as we had my MIL's birthday straight after the concert. Lots of logistics with 3 kiddies!

We were really proud of Jedi. Unlike other parents who were queing to be the seated in the first row, we didn't as our dear boy requested for us to sit at the LAST row so he would not feel shy to dance when it was his item! He did a really good job and we were really proud of him. Good job Jedi!

Battling the Blocked Nose

These were the "weapons" that are being used to fight Baby Keziah's blocked and stuffy nose! It lasted for almost a month and the worst part was that it was sooooooooooooo hard to feed her. The minute the bottle teat touched her mouth she would arch her back and fret. Checked with the PD and she was given a nasal spray. Lungs and throat given the clear. Still didn't drink. Super stressful as it would take ages for her to feed compared to previously. Tried everything from standing up, rocking her with my legs while she drank and even tried to get the kids to entertain her with some music. All the no no's that I would usually NOT do.

Then in desperation I literally cried out to the Lord and my eyes happened to fall on a photo of Krisalyn when she was about Keziah's age...lying on a pillow and drinking her milk. Decided to give it a try.

TA-DAH!!!!

She drank!! Took 10 min! One month of stress for nothing! All she wanted was to drink in peace and quiet a little independently without my boney arm in the way. Beginning to realize that every little kiddie is a complex little puzzle to unravel....

Our 3 Month Couch Potato

Presenting our lil' couch potato at 3months 2 weeks old. She had her first laugh on 24th October!