Valentine's Day 2011

My dear hubby as usual doesn't believe in V day as he feels its another day the flower shops and restaurants make more $$! My girl dreams of flowers and roses and chocolates went down the drain in the face of such realism! But underneath this stand of his, lies a very sweet part of him that will still indulge despite his stand that 'Everyday can be V day!" Thanks dear for buying all this and now I have to go lose some weight!!!!!! But thanks for your love all these years. Am learning that love goes deeper than just one Valentines' Day! Loving you still and more~~~

Chicken and Avocado Sandwich!

 I just loooooooooooooooooooove avacados! Especially after my last trip to Perth where the avocados there were so lovely. Green and creamy and we had great home-made salads made by my dad. I found them in Singapore but they were like rocks! so not to be daunted I went to do some research on how to get the perrrrrfect avocado. And I was pleasantly surprised! All you have to do is to wrap the unripe avocadoes individually in newspaper and check them every day or so. Once they have become a little soft they are ready to eat!

Anyways, my mum-in-law always makes lovely soups with lots of chicken meat which usually dosen't get eaten. So instead of throwing it away, I shredded it and mixed it with a little salt, sugar, basil leaves and Japanese Mayonaise. Got two pieces of buttered bread, put the chicken and some chunks of avocado and voila! A healthy and delicious meal with a 'recycling' feel!

Tooth Fairy Tales

I loved having the Tooth Fairy come visit when I was a little girl and I recalled recieving little surprises under my pillow in the morning. I still remember I told myself that I was going to stay up and see who this Tooth Fairy was. Will never forget the night I saw my dear mum sneaking in quietly into my room, open the cupboard where the present was hidden and slip it under my pillow. I pretended to be asleep of course and had a mix of emotion of bittersweet disappointment that the Tooth Fairy wasn't REAL!

Now with my eldest, I have spun the tale of the Tooth Fairy and it's thrilling to see the look of pure joy and wonder on their faces when they see a little suprise under their pillow. The younger girls get thrilled too and are dying for their teeth to fall out too. Krisalyn even thought of writing a letter to the Tooth Fairy to thank her as she once had a present too for being a supportive sister when Jedi's first tooth dropped! For now I have to think of far-fetched answers on where the Tooth Fairy lives, how does she appear at night and how does she carry the gift if she's so small!

Jedi was super happy that his two front teeth fell out on the same day. Although, one got gobbled down with a sticky egg tart, I'm sure the Tooth Fairy will know and understand.

Childhood is once in a lifetime, so think I'll let them indulge in this Toothy mystery till one day they figure out who this Tooth Fairy is and who the supplier of the gifts are (Daddy!).

AhMah's Visit Back Home...:)

Some pix of my mum's recent visit back to Singapore from end December 2011 till 8 Jan 2012. Always lovely to have her back and spend time with her over meals and chit chat. Was a double bonus as my brother was back too so had a good meal and time to pig out.Looking forward to the day when my dear daddy can come back to Singapore. That will be one blessed and memorable reunion! I believe it will in His perfect time!
Till then, am learning the importance of cherishing time with family and loved ones as life is indeed unpredictable with its ups and downs. At the end of the day family are the ones always behind you... Cheers!

Happy 5th Birthday Princess Krisalyn!

Some snapshots of Krisalyn's 5th birthday celebration. Had a small party at McDonald's for her. It was her request as we were actually quite tired of having big birthday parties. Found it more meaningful to have just a simple family affair. But since she requested as she loved the party that Jedidiah had for his 5th birhtday, we decided to give one for her. A simple one without the need for huge floats, popcorn stands,balloon sculptures or magic shows etc!

Was glad that my mum could be there as this was the first of all Krisalyn's birthdays that she could be around! Looking forward to my dad being here too to clebrate with her on many of her other birthdays. Thanks everybody for coming to make her day an extra special one!

A New Year and New Beginnings

End of 2011 and the start of 2012. I felt a mix of apprehension and nervousness as so many things would be coming with the start of the new year. My youngest and my eldest were going to school! One starting Nursery and the other launching into the ever stressful Singapore system. Felt really nervous on the 3rd of January as we got our youngest ready for Nursery. I had to keep brain washing her throughout December that I wouldn't be able to get on the school bus with her as if I did, I told her that the bus's wheels would collapse and the bus would never be able to move and all the little kids won't be able to go to school! I think it worked as she reminded me the night before school started that if I came with her, the bus would be spoilt!

But I think what helped was that Krisalyn was a wonderful elder sister and her companionship gave Keziah the emotional support to go to school. The role of elder sister now, helped Krisalyn to stop crying as she would occasionally cry even last year when going to school.

The good thing is that now with the two girls out of the house, my mornings are quieter and I can spend more time with Jedi to run through his work or spend some quality time with him that I haven't had since I had only him. :) Plus, I now finally have more time to focus on Krisalyn and help her with her reading and writing which I have not been so consistent last year.

Dan took leave for a day and accompanied Jedi on his first day at school. Thanks Dear for your help. :) Was a new experience for all of us as it was settling into a new routine of getting into uniform, having lunch earlier and also waiting downstairs for the school bus. A new routine that I found rather stressful in the beginning as now it meant that I have to prepare all the cutting of the food the night before as well as more housework at night so that my mornings are free to teach Jedi or do grocery shopping. Am still adjusting till now.

Jedi had a good first day but I think the little guy still misses his kindy friends whom he has been with for 5 years. But we told him that he would make new friends in time. Interestingly, he shared with us that he thought his teacher didn't know God. We asked him why and he said she kept using the phrase "O My God!!" every now and then! hahaha! What was also heartwarming is that he made a little friend on the school bus who lives in the same block as us and who had told him that she was a Christian and that she was glad that he was too. Such a sweet little girl!

But it was also a tough week for me as on top of the adjustments, Krisalyn met with a very bad fall as I was sending Jedi off to school and waiting for the school bus at the void deck on the second day of school. She twirled on her slippers and landed on her chin. Resulted in a deep chin split that required 4 stitches. Had to rush her to KKH and am so thankful that my mum was around to help as she helped me send Jedi up the bus while I put my youngest to sleep and then rushed to KKH to settle Krisalyn who was in shock at the blood seeping. Thank you so much Mummy!! :)  Super traumatic and very stressful for me as I'm blood phobic! Thankfully, she is now recovering and the stitches are healing despite the itchiness.

 What a week and I am so exhausted! Next week will be a new one and I will really be on my own coping with the new routine with the 2 girls in the morning and Jedi in the afternoon. Plus I will be missing the company of my dear mum who has been here for 3 weeks. Praying for God's strength and wisdom for this year and the weeks ahead. One day at time....

A Restful Trip Back to "Home".

Went down to Perth to visit my parents from Nov 23-Dec 12. Was a lovely lovely time with family and it always warms my heart to see them. This time our trip was almost three weeks but still the time flew by. really quickly. Also,  as Keziah is older now and also as I think I have become less rigid with my routine, we had more time to move around and go more places.

Most of the days we went grocery shopping with my mum and had lunches at Fremantle. My dad could only take one weekend off so it was a wonderful time having fish and chips at this place called Sweet Lips. Much better than the Cicerello one. Managed to catch some wildlife fun at Caversham Wildlife Park too!

We went down to the shop to help my dad in the afternoons and Jedi slowly learned how to serve customers and key the pie orders into the machine. On the weekends, he had some grandpa-grandson bonding with my dad and went down with him to help out in the shop. Was lovely as my dad isn't able to come back to Singapore for the holidays as the shop needs to be open.

As always the dinners whipped up by my dad was lovely and of course the fellowhsip around the table with red wine, fruits and Baskin Robins! Haven't has the luxury of family dinners like that for a long time and soaking it up was so nice. The hum of conversation at the table with loved ones, the chomping of food together and the noises of the kiddies in the family room. They would also join in here and there to snitch some food or enjoy some snacks with all of us.

Would have been wonderful if my brother was there too. I realize we haven't had the whole family together in years as we would catch up in parts when we could fly over or when he or my mum came down. Hopefully we can plan one more soon!!!

As I become a parent myself, I come to really appreciate my own parents and the time spent with them. Funny how as a teenager, I craved for more independence and time alone with friends etc. Perhpas now I'm older and I have come to see that the ones who are really there for you and who genuinely care for you are at the end of the day my hubby and my family. Blood ties are the ones that bind. Others can never replace that and will never be able to offer that sort of support. I am so thankful too that my kiddies have godly grandparents to love them and pray for them and also have their well-being and interests at heart. Who spend the time to play with them and give them lots of love and tell them silly stories and pretend play. My kids are blessed.

Till we meet again ...very soon.... :)