After looking through arwen's photo albums on friendster, I'm sooooo envious of her and jo!!!
I've always wanted to travel to many countries but I guess, I've chosen the path to marriage and having children. We plan to take Allyson to Australia next June and have decided to engage the services of a friend who will plan our trip. We will most likely choose Perth so that we may go visit one of my grandaunties staying over there.
Travelling is sooo fun and the thought of just going to a new country excites me tremendously hahaha. Hopefully, we will be able to travel further as the years go by. It's not going to be easy taking a child overseas but I guess we will be able to cope :)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
A Poem to Share
It's the end of Week 3 of the school vacation. As I was reorganising some worksheets at my workstation, our school counsellor passed a very nice piece of article. It came from www.cgcreations.org/poems/courtesy.html. The title of the poem is
Our Kids Deserve Common Courtesy Too! The author is unknown.
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh, excuse me Please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
Wasnt' even watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home, a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.
I didn't realise how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Look on the kitchen floor,
You''ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers she brought for you.
She picked them herself : pink, yellw and blue.
She stood quietly not to spoil the surprise
and you never saw the tears in her eyes."
By this time, I felt very small,
and now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by her bed;
"Wake up, little girl, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
She smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Daughter, I'm sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
She said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Daughter, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."
This very simple poem sets me thinking about how some of us actually treat our colleagues, friends and strangers with more courtesy than towards our own family members. I guess sometimes, we take them for granted as we are so close to them.
It's never too late to remember our thank yous and pleases when we communicate with our own parents and siblings and our own children. It's not late to start right now!! A simple good morning when we wake up and a simple thank you or please can really make our lives better and make the family a happier environment to be in.
Our Kids Deserve Common Courtesy Too! The author is unknown.
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh, excuse me Please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
Wasnt' even watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home, a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.
I didn't realise how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Look on the kitchen floor,
You''ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers she brought for you.
She picked them herself : pink, yellw and blue.
She stood quietly not to spoil the surprise
and you never saw the tears in her eyes."
By this time, I felt very small,
and now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by her bed;
"Wake up, little girl, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
She smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Daughter, I'm sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
She said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Daughter, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."
This very simple poem sets me thinking about how some of us actually treat our colleagues, friends and strangers with more courtesy than towards our own family members. I guess sometimes, we take them for granted as we are so close to them.
It's never too late to remember our thank yous and pleases when we communicate with our own parents and siblings and our own children. It's not late to start right now!! A simple good morning when we wake up and a simple thank you or please can really make our lives better and make the family a happier environment to be in.
Hong Kong Trip
Our HK trip lasted from 1 Dec to 3 Dec. It was a very interesting trip for both of us as there were many FIRSTS in HK. It's the first time I bought a pair of Crocs over in HK as I wore the wrong pair of shoes thinking everything would me fine. How wrong was I !! I had blisters and had to get a pair of shoes immediately. We chanced upon the Crocs shop and was over the hill as I could see that Jasper was as worried as I over my blisters. He chose a blue flowery pair for me sooo sweet hahaah.
It was also the first time we walked sooooo much in HK. Both of us are not the kind who will walk for hours even if we are shopping in Singapore. Our limit was at most 2.5h shopping in Singapore. In HK, we walked nearly 8 hours with only 15-20 minutes break in between for lunch and tea. I guess the weather was nice to walk..cooling not too much and sticky.
The next first was our ride on the tram. It was the one on the road not the one leading to the Victoria Peak. We just flagged one down and boarded it without even knowing where the tram was heading to. In the end, we alighted at some tram stop and asked two police officers for directions to the nearest MTR.
Another first was having their desserts. One was egg yolk steamed with almond while the other was egg white steamed with milk. Both was sooooo wonderful. The HK cafes in Singapore do not even sell them. I'm looking forward to going back to eat their dessert again *yum yum*
One more first was our trip to Disneyland. I took all the rides ahhahaha they were all very mild very suitable for me. After my trip to korea on the roller coaster and viking, I told myself I'm never never going for exciting rides. So Disneyland is jus for me. I was like a kid going on all the rides such as sitting in Pooh's honey pot, going on a mini cruise and watching a musical. The shopping in Disneyland was superb. I wanted to buy everything back from their shops. Both Jasper and I had to think very hard and just concentrate on buying some gifts back for our family members.
The Ladies Market to me was not very appealing as I'm not into buying their imitation handbags. The shopping malls in HK sells about the same things as in Singapore. We bought some tops from Giordano, Esprit and Bossini.
Basically, we just ate a lot on this trip, the dim sum, desserts, wanton noodles, prawn dumpling noodles etc. We wished we had more time for this trip. Before the plane took off back to Singapore, we told each other that we are going to spend more time in HK on our next trip which would probably be in 2 years. We will take Allyson along and go to Disneyland again. We also plan to visit Lantau Island, Macau and Temple Street Market. We may also go over to Shenzhen and Zhuhai if possible. We will definitely eat more on our next trip!
Yippee!! That's something to look forward to!
It was also the first time we walked sooooo much in HK. Both of us are not the kind who will walk for hours even if we are shopping in Singapore. Our limit was at most 2.5h shopping in Singapore. In HK, we walked nearly 8 hours with only 15-20 minutes break in between for lunch and tea. I guess the weather was nice to walk..cooling not too much and sticky.
The next first was our ride on the tram. It was the one on the road not the one leading to the Victoria Peak. We just flagged one down and boarded it without even knowing where the tram was heading to. In the end, we alighted at some tram stop and asked two police officers for directions to the nearest MTR.
Another first was having their desserts. One was egg yolk steamed with almond while the other was egg white steamed with milk. Both was sooooo wonderful. The HK cafes in Singapore do not even sell them. I'm looking forward to going back to eat their dessert again *yum yum*
One more first was our trip to Disneyland. I took all the rides ahhahaha they were all very mild very suitable for me. After my trip to korea on the roller coaster and viking, I told myself I'm never never going for exciting rides. So Disneyland is jus for me. I was like a kid going on all the rides such as sitting in Pooh's honey pot, going on a mini cruise and watching a musical. The shopping in Disneyland was superb. I wanted to buy everything back from their shops. Both Jasper and I had to think very hard and just concentrate on buying some gifts back for our family members.
The Ladies Market to me was not very appealing as I'm not into buying their imitation handbags. The shopping malls in HK sells about the same things as in Singapore. We bought some tops from Giordano, Esprit and Bossini.
Basically, we just ate a lot on this trip, the dim sum, desserts, wanton noodles, prawn dumpling noodles etc. We wished we had more time for this trip. Before the plane took off back to Singapore, we told each other that we are going to spend more time in HK on our next trip which would probably be in 2 years. We will take Allyson along and go to Disneyland again. We also plan to visit Lantau Island, Macau and Temple Street Market. We may also go over to Shenzhen and Zhuhai if possible. We will definitely eat more on our next trip!
Yippee!! That's something to look forward to!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
United Square and Holidays
Just last Sunday, I took 2 P5 pupils to United Square for the Upwords Challenge organised by Standard Chartered. There were also sponsors from Moo ice cream, Vitagen and Marigold Jelly.
My kids got into the semi finals and went home with a consolation prize (Monopoly set). It was an achievement for the school as we usually go home after the preliminary rounds ;p
On Saturday, my HOD took 2 P4 pupils and they went into the finals. They each received a Monopoly set and the school received a medal. The whole even lasted till 4pm and guess what I did during the few hours? I went SHOPPING!!!! hahahahah
Things at United Square were quite expensive so I had to really think through and choose my purchases carefully. The wonderful thing about United Square is there are sooo many kids' stuff. There are even a few shops selling interior designing for children's room. It was quite an experience as I had never been to United Square.
My brother just shifted to his new place and I passed my queen sized bed to my niece ad it was not used often. We shifted the sofa bed and TV console from one room to another. We decided to do up a playroom for Allyson these two months. Jasper suggested buying the foam mats which we can dismantle as and when we like and paste some interesting pictures on the wall for her play and learning experience. We are still decided whether to leave the study table with the play room or should we shift it to the other room with the tv console and sofa set. hmmm... space is a tricky area in my home ;p
ARGH!!! today I found ants on the ledge of my kitchen sliding door and the ledge of my mini storeroom. Both of us are very paranoid over ants so I took time to spray all the corner ledges first. I ran out of insecticide. I need to buy more later...
I'm looking forward to a nice holiday in HK as well as staying in Singapore. We have a list of things to complete this holidays. Hope that our financial and time factors are able to help us fulfil what we wanna do for the house :)
My kids got into the semi finals and went home with a consolation prize (Monopoly set). It was an achievement for the school as we usually go home after the preliminary rounds ;p
On Saturday, my HOD took 2 P4 pupils and they went into the finals. They each received a Monopoly set and the school received a medal. The whole even lasted till 4pm and guess what I did during the few hours? I went SHOPPING!!!! hahahahah
Things at United Square were quite expensive so I had to really think through and choose my purchases carefully. The wonderful thing about United Square is there are sooo many kids' stuff. There are even a few shops selling interior designing for children's room. It was quite an experience as I had never been to United Square.
My brother just shifted to his new place and I passed my queen sized bed to my niece ad it was not used often. We shifted the sofa bed and TV console from one room to another. We decided to do up a playroom for Allyson these two months. Jasper suggested buying the foam mats which we can dismantle as and when we like and paste some interesting pictures on the wall for her play and learning experience. We are still decided whether to leave the study table with the play room or should we shift it to the other room with the tv console and sofa set. hmmm... space is a tricky area in my home ;p
ARGH!!! today I found ants on the ledge of my kitchen sliding door and the ledge of my mini storeroom. Both of us are very paranoid over ants so I took time to spray all the corner ledges first. I ran out of insecticide. I need to buy more later...
I'm looking forward to a nice holiday in HK as well as staying in Singapore. We have a list of things to complete this holidays. Hope that our financial and time factors are able to help us fulfil what we wanna do for the house :)
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Insecurity
Sometimes, I wondered if I was not allowed to be happy with my life. Just yesterday, I had keyed in marks for pupils' exam papers and settled things that I planned to settle. I was quite happy and looked forward to going back to play with Allyson and spend time with Jasper too. My happiness was shortlived. Jasper was not well. He felt giddy and had to rest in bed. I took over the task of taking care of Allyson the whole afternoon. She slept quite a bit so it was not too bad. By 7pm, Jasper's giddiness worsened. Had to call my father-in -aw to come over and take him to the doctor. Doctor diagnosed as vertigo, a condition that causes Jasper to see stars and not able to walk straight. Doc says it's cos of the imbalance of fluid in the ear. I was so worried the whole afternoon and night.
My in-laws took Allyson back with them as Jasper had to rest at home the next day and it would be difficult for me to take Allyson to my in laws place early next morning. I was also rather tired as I didn't manage to rest at all even while Allyson slept. So, it was a good idea that they took her home in case I need to take care of Jasper in the night.
Today, my in laws told Jasper that Allyson had slight fever last night. Once again, it added on to my worries. I don't know why but when Jasper was at the clinic, as I was carrying Allyson, I had this immense insecurity. I was very afraid of losing Jasper. I prayed very hard telling the gods that I had already lost my second child. I can't imagine what would happen to me if anything happened to my loved ones. I had tears welling up my eyes and I was fighting very hard not to let the tears drop onto Allyson. I know it was silly of me but I just couldn't help feeling that way. I kept reassuring myself that everything's gonna be ok.
Sometimes, I get very sensitive towards comments made by my in laws regarding Allyson. I don't know why but at times, they made me feel that I've not looked after Allyson well. My greatest regret was not to consult a lactation consultant when I realised I could not pump out milk. If I had consulted the lactation consultant, then Allyson would not fall sick so often. The last time she had fever was about 2 weeks ago. These days, I get very paranoid if I l realised that she's abit feverish. I guess it's gods' will that I should not have a second one as they probably know that I would not be able to cope. I cried. Jasper gave me a hug.
I guess I really need a break. Jasper had very wonderfully booked tickets, accomodation and disneyland tickets for Hong Kong. I've never travelled to HK. Let's hope this trip will perk me up a little and prepare me for a brand new year.
My in-laws took Allyson back with them as Jasper had to rest at home the next day and it would be difficult for me to take Allyson to my in laws place early next morning. I was also rather tired as I didn't manage to rest at all even while Allyson slept. So, it was a good idea that they took her home in case I need to take care of Jasper in the night.
Today, my in laws told Jasper that Allyson had slight fever last night. Once again, it added on to my worries. I don't know why but when Jasper was at the clinic, as I was carrying Allyson, I had this immense insecurity. I was very afraid of losing Jasper. I prayed very hard telling the gods that I had already lost my second child. I can't imagine what would happen to me if anything happened to my loved ones. I had tears welling up my eyes and I was fighting very hard not to let the tears drop onto Allyson. I know it was silly of me but I just couldn't help feeling that way. I kept reassuring myself that everything's gonna be ok.
Sometimes, I get very sensitive towards comments made by my in laws regarding Allyson. I don't know why but at times, they made me feel that I've not looked after Allyson well. My greatest regret was not to consult a lactation consultant when I realised I could not pump out milk. If I had consulted the lactation consultant, then Allyson would not fall sick so often. The last time she had fever was about 2 weeks ago. These days, I get very paranoid if I l realised that she's abit feverish. I guess it's gods' will that I should not have a second one as they probably know that I would not be able to cope. I cried. Jasper gave me a hug.
I guess I really need a break. Jasper had very wonderfully booked tickets, accomodation and disneyland tickets for Hong Kong. I've never travelled to HK. Let's hope this trip will perk me up a little and prepare me for a brand new year.
Morton's of Chicago
Celebrated Jasper's b'day at Morton's recently. Was kind of surprised that Morton's not as fine dining as we thought it would be. It's just a very simple, cosy American restaurant. I must say the service was impeccable. After I made reservations, they asked for Jasper's name. When we reached our table, we discovered that the reason for them to ask for his name was to personalise the menu. There were some shimmering words and coffetti on the table as well. Halfway through our dinner, two of Morton's staff came to our table and sang a birthday song for him. At the end of our dinner, they even took a photo for us and presented the photo to us.
Morton's is famous for their steak and dessert. We didn't quite like the steak. Though we ordered the prime cut, it was sooo thick that we nearly wanted to give up eating the steak after 3/4 of it. Luckily we shared the steak. The complementary onion bread was not really to my likeing too. What impressed me most was the dessert with chocolate oozing out of the fudge cake We did not try to seafood but the lobster at the next table looked good ; )
We concluded that we still prefer the steak at Jack's place though Morton's price is really high.
We both decided that we shall just order the dessert and lobster on our next visit to Mortons.
The next place we would like to try is Angus Steak House.
Morton's is famous for their steak and dessert. We didn't quite like the steak. Though we ordered the prime cut, it was sooo thick that we nearly wanted to give up eating the steak after 3/4 of it. Luckily we shared the steak. The complementary onion bread was not really to my likeing too. What impressed me most was the dessert with chocolate oozing out of the fudge cake We did not try to seafood but the lobster at the next table looked good ; )
We concluded that we still prefer the steak at Jack's place though Morton's price is really high.
We both decided that we shall just order the dessert and lobster on our next visit to Mortons.
The next place we would like to try is Angus Steak House.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Taking things easy
I went back to school today and received much pats and support from colleagues. When I got back home, I read comments left by two good friends. Thank you to all who have given me the support and tried to perk me up. I will definitely live my life more fruitfully from now on.
I was sharing with Jasper during lunch that after I gave birth to Allyson, I've learnt to take things easier and not be too particular about the way I do things or the way others do things. I must say, after the abortion, I've learnt to take things even easier than the time after I gave birth. Somehow, it's heartening to know that I'm able to take things easy and not be too hard on myself. When I was younger, I tend to expect too much from myself as well as from others. After marriage and later on becoming a mother has totally changed my view on many things.
I remember one day when I was waiting for Jasper to unload some boxes to my mother's new house, a malay family was going out too. They were driving a 7-seater. Actually it was alright for them to turn out but somehow I guess they were worried that they may scratch their car. I got out of the car and told the wife to give us just 5 minutes and my hubby will be down soon. I was smiling and even apologised to them. Instead of appreciating, this malay lady just shot be a very impatient look and started showing some hand signals. I was totally hurt. I was just asking for a few minutes and even apologised for the inconvenience. In the end, this is how I was being treated. At that time, it dawned on me that the sentence 'it does not pay to be kind' seems very apt. I was very angry at that time. I guess, I may not be that angry now if the same thing happens again.
When I got to know of my unborn child's condition, I actually had thoughts like 'have I done anything wrong that caused my child to have some a condition', 'maybe I had offended people', 'maybe I should be more forgiving towards others who treat me badly'.... there were so many 'maybes' in my head. In this world, does it mean that if I do good, good things will befall me?? I really don't know. Whether life is fair or not, I don't know either.
All I know is for the sake of Allyson, I believe I should do more good deeds and be more patient as well as take things easier so that Allyson will have a good life.
I was sharing with Jasper during lunch that after I gave birth to Allyson, I've learnt to take things easier and not be too particular about the way I do things or the way others do things. I must say, after the abortion, I've learnt to take things even easier than the time after I gave birth. Somehow, it's heartening to know that I'm able to take things easy and not be too hard on myself. When I was younger, I tend to expect too much from myself as well as from others. After marriage and later on becoming a mother has totally changed my view on many things.
I remember one day when I was waiting for Jasper to unload some boxes to my mother's new house, a malay family was going out too. They were driving a 7-seater. Actually it was alright for them to turn out but somehow I guess they were worried that they may scratch their car. I got out of the car and told the wife to give us just 5 minutes and my hubby will be down soon. I was smiling and even apologised to them. Instead of appreciating, this malay lady just shot be a very impatient look and started showing some hand signals. I was totally hurt. I was just asking for a few minutes and even apologised for the inconvenience. In the end, this is how I was being treated. At that time, it dawned on me that the sentence 'it does not pay to be kind' seems very apt. I was very angry at that time. I guess, I may not be that angry now if the same thing happens again.
When I got to know of my unborn child's condition, I actually had thoughts like 'have I done anything wrong that caused my child to have some a condition', 'maybe I had offended people', 'maybe I should be more forgiving towards others who treat me badly'.... there were so many 'maybes' in my head. In this world, does it mean that if I do good, good things will befall me?? I really don't know. Whether life is fair or not, I don't know either.
All I know is for the sake of Allyson, I believe I should do more good deeds and be more patient as well as take things easier so that Allyson will have a good life.
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