Exposure

I always believe in giving as many opportunities and exposure to my children so that they have a taste of every little thing...It can be in terms of food, culture, arts etc..That is why I try to engage them in meaningful activities whenever I can. Recently, I brought them to Tampines to support my colleague, Shu Feng who was playing in the SPH Gift of Music Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. I enjoy music since being exposed from by my aunt and parents who bring me to free SSO concerts at a young age.

So this was one opportunity which I didnt want my kids to miss. The worse thing that I want to prevent is to stifle my children's potential. So, I try my best to cultivate interests in as many areas as possible so that in future, they can choose which path they want to take and explore. Here's Danielle playing with my old camera.

There was one morning when I chanced upon this fruit in Sheng Shiong. I quickly bought it to try. I am basically an adventurous person and would dare to try anything new, especially when it comes to food! This fruit is called Buah Pulasan. It tastes like Rambutan but its much sweeter and easier to eat! It has soft torns, and is supposed to be a mix between lychee and rambutan. My children loved it!

After dinner, Caleb would usually draw or write. He does it automatically and enjoys it very much. He is a very imaginative boy. He was proud to show me what he has learnt in class.

Very proud of my children and will always be because I choose to see only the positive side of things and people...

A day at the museums

Taking advantage of the free entry to museums during this National Day period, we left the house early in the morning to start our day off first at the Singapore Philatelic Museum.

When I was young, I used to collect stamps with my brother as my dad had his own collection of stamps and first day covers. I remembered very vividly how my dad would always show me suitcases of first day covers which he got. I still like stamps but do not really intentionally collect them. I just like to admire the pictures and design of the stamp. In the museum, there were quite a lot to see especially for the kids. They had fun exploring interactive exhibits.

Its quite nostalgic for me as I see things I used to see when I was growing up...like this post office motorbike.

Look how much fun the kids were having..this reminds me of me and my brother as we used to have this at home where we also do the lion dance.

Anyway, after the philatelic museum, we walked down towards SIM and dropped by at the Peranakan Museum. I love Peranakan food by the way because of its spice. Each time I visit Malacca, I will never fail to drop by popular Peranakan Restaurants to satisfy my craving. The kids didnt seem to interested with this one..oh well. Look at what Caleb is doing..

I love their costumes..very intricate.

Along the way to the Singapore Art Museum(SAM), the kids were distracted by the sculptures and water..

There was a huge rabbit at the entrance of SAM.

I have to say, I enjoyed this museum the most because of how they use art to design the wall and there were a lot of creative stuff going on in there.

There was also a film for the kids to watch and it was quite meaningful. So we rested our legs by catching the movie. Interestingly, Danielle went up all the way in front to catch the show while Caleb preferred to sit at the back. Anyway, after the show, there was a room for the kids to play. Caleb was of course more interested in the toy trains while Danielle was busy colouring. Typical boy and girl.

After that, the kids were all tired. Danielle was sleeping in my helper's arms during lunch. Hope the kids enjoyed themselves and learnt something!

National Day Long Weekend

Because of my wedding anniversary, I managed to take child care leave on Monday so that I can have a longer weekend spent with the family. I booked a chalet in Changi that faces the sea and invited my in-laws to stay together. We had a wonderful time. Checked in on Sunday, after lunch... The single storey bungalow simply reminds me exactly of my dream house. My dream house is actually a single storey bungalow with a big garden for me to grow my vegetables and herbs for my cooking. I like single storey because next time when I am old, I do not have to worry about climbing the stairs. If my house has a swimming pool, it will be best. If not, I am also fine. I remember attending the Adam Khoo course with my students in our school and the speaker mentioned about having a dream and being specific about what you exactly want. For me, this is my dream but whether it will come to pass or not, I will just do my best in what I do now and if it happens, it would be great. If not, I would still choose to be happy and be contented with what I have!

The seaview from our chalet

The view was breathtaking..

After checking in, we brought the children for cycling at Changi Beach. Danielle and Caleb both had a great time. I was pleasantly surprised at Danielle's maneuvering skills in her bike. She has great psycho-motor skills! She was even cycling way ahead of Caleb..I had trouble keeping up with her even by running along with her! The kids also spent time at the playground.

You can see Danielle enjoying the thrill of swinging up high. She's definitely more daring than Caleb.

She really amazes me especially when she actually steered all by herself right back into the bicycle kiosk and even parking the bicycle all on her own without stopping and adjusting her bike, in the middle of the row of bicycles which were neatly parked in a row. After cycling, we went to my club for a swim before dinner.

After dinner, Danielle was holding hands with Keane (my sister in law's son) on the way back to the car. How cute..

When we went back to the chalet, the kids changed into their PJs and played together on the bed and in the living room.

The next morning, CT and I woke up early to catch the sunrise just outside our chalet. It was romantic as we used to do this during our honeymoon or on holidays with the family.

Caleb also woke up early and joined us in admiring the scenery..

After that, we had breakfast together. We steamed the char siew pau and da pau which we bought last night. The children bathed and wore their Red and White clothes to prepare for National Day Celebration in school this morning. I figured that no matter what, I will make sure my kids go to school, enjoy themselves and hopefully learn something there.

After dropping the kids off to school, we dropped our helper, Vicky home before CT and I head out to M Hotel for a buffet lunch to celebrate our wedding anniversary which is today..the actual day. After getting married for 7 years, I felt CT and I really have come a long way. Definitely, it was not all smooth sailing..but throughout these years, we managed to work hard at our relationship and to learn to cherish and love each other. More importantly, we have 2 wonderful kids who has given us much joy and has taught us a lot as well.. Thank You God for my husband, Chee Tiong and for my 2 babies- Caleb and Danielle who each has their own unique character which I appreciate and am thankful for.

Anniversary date with Lion King

On 8 Aug 2003, my THEN boyfriend waited outside my school gate to pick me up after our National Day celebration, brought me to his house and went down on his knees with a bouquet of sunflowers (my favourite flower by the way) and asked me to be his girlfriend. One year later, 8 Aug 2004, I got married to him... It has been 7 years of marriage and I find that I am loving Chee Tiong more and more... Anyway, for our anniversary date, CT brought me to go watch Lion King as he knew I have always wanted to watch it AGAIN. Yes, the last time I caught it was probably about 10 years ago when I was in London with my family as we went there for holiday cum visit as my brother was studying in Imperial College for an exchange programme during his NUS days then. I enjoyed it so much that when I knew it would be coming to Singapore, I kept telling CT that he had to catch it! Before the show, we went to Raffles City for lunch. I am not one who craves after expensive food. It really doesnt matter to me. Company is definitely more important to me. So anyway, we had Macdonalds for lunch as there was a promotion for the new burgers! It was 2 for the price of 1! After Macs, we went to "The Handburger" Restaurant in Raffles City basement for a dessert burger which we was also a 1-for-1 promotion as well! How cool! We are definitely a sucker for promotions as you can tell!

I would definitely go back to this place to try their beef burgers! Yum yum.. After lunch, we walked over to Marina Bay Sands for the Lion King show.

We bought the 2nd most expensive tickets as were sitting about 7th row from the stage. So, it was pretty near.

The theatre is pretty nice. However, I was slightly disappointed with the stage as I was comparing with what the one I saw in London and the stage in Singapore seemed smaller. Moreover, they added local flair into the show like Chinese or singlish...so it felt kind of strange. Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself especially when I was sitting by the aisle and got close brush with the crew as they came down from the aisle quite a number of times. I even reached my hand and touched the elephant! Thanks dear for the date! May we continue to have many more good years ahead with each other...