Just arrived at Sydney..

I have been looking forward to this trip with my students as its only during such opportunities where I can get to know them better. Moreover, its a trip to Australia (and not some nearby, deserted, third world country)!

We arrived Australia at about 5 plus pm (Sydney time). However, we waited for about 2 hours for our luggage! The weather was not very good and it seemed that our luggage was in another aircraft, being held up by the bad weather.

When we met up with our friendly bus driver, Gary, he told us that for the past few days, the weather has been very nice. But only today, it started to rain very heavily with thunder, lightning and hail storms. He jokingly said that we brought in the bad weather. Oh well..I was praying hard that we would get to enjoy good weather for the rest of our time here in Australia as we have lots of great outdoor activities lined up to do!

We checked into our hostel straight after leaving the airport. We stayed at Sydney Central YHA for a night.


A very nice, cosy, well-equipped hostel!

Anyway when we arrived, we had dinner at the restaurant in the hostel.

I had spring rolls, beef steak with fries, served with salad and a small slice of cake.



We then checked into our room, which eventually gave up to another teacher as her room didnt have attached bathroom.




Anyway, after settling into my room, I toured the area. They had lots of things in the hostel! My whole idea or concept of hostel has changed after this trip as its so revolutionary! This hostel that we stayed in has a BBQ in the balcony area, Sauna as well as a small swimming pool




And also a spacious reading room and cinema!



They also had lot of nice-to-look-at vending machines..

But the prices werent very nice..But anyway, me and my other colleague, Sabrina went out to the nearby convenience stall to get our sweets and water.


However, my students didnt think much at all and purchased lots of food from there the whole night like it was free! Goodness!

Anyway, after touring the place, we made our rounds to our students' rooms to check on them.


Well, it was mission impossible as they are teenagers after all. How can you expect them to sleep by a certain time when they are with their good friends altogether in the same room? But at least, we tried...

Anyway, while waiting for some of their room mates to come back to their rooms (as they went down to the lobby area to buy some potato chips from the vending machines), I was bored waiting for them. So I decided to test how big their lockers were in their bunk!



And, I concluded..it was big! (Or maybe I should comfort myself and think that I have lost weight!)

Well, anyway, what a enjoyable first night in Sydney with great cool weather which I was loving! (probably about 23 degrees tonight)



Slept about 12 midnight tonight.

Gearing up...

I would be going on a trip to Sydney, Australia with my students tomorrow morning. I feel rather excited and yet, apprehensive because my family is not with me and its my first time going with students. So, I do not know what to expect.

Nevertheless, I am looking forward to this trip to just take a break and earn some mileage points for my Krisflyer card. Yippee! And the best thing is that I didn't have to fork out a single cent for this trip!

We have been 'training' the students before this trip just so that they are physically and mentally ready for this. This is a Sec 3 Uniformed Group Leadership trip where all the uniform groups like NCC, NPCC, St Johns and Girl Guides from my school all come together to go for it. There will be 28 students and 4 teachers going.

For our first training session, we ran around the school a couple of times, climbing staircases, as well as some static exercises. For our second training, we brought the group to Bukit Timah Hike. We wanted to let the students have a feel of trekking as that is what they will be doing in Sydney as we go to the Blue Mountains.



It was tough as the steps in the nature reserve were huge and numerous!


I didnt manage to go for this hike as I was attending a course at Teachers' Network. I definitely wished I went as I needed the exercise!

But anyway, from the photos my students took, I could tell they were having a great time!




As for our last training session, we brought the kids to our school gym to tone up and strengthen their muscles.


The students all wanted to see me in action too. So I did some stuff with the machines just to amuse them.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to this trip to have fun with my students and colleagues as well as to enjoy myself.

I do pray for their safety and health as well as smooth journey throughout this trip!
Also pray for my family back home that they will be protected and be happy!

Alright, got to finish up my packing before I head to bed as I've got to be at the airport by 5am tomorrow morning!

Caleb's 2nd performance

I am glad Caleb's school has given him a lot of opportunities to perform, considering he is only in Pre-Nursery. His last performance was the kindergarten's 10th year anniversary celebration, while this time round is the annual concert cum graduation ceremony.


Caleb had a number of combined rehearsals before this and we were pretty excited but yet not putting too much hope because Caleb has his moods. If he refuses to do something, nobody can force him to.

He was cranky in his last performance that he didnt make it up on stage but manage to perform at the foyer area after the concert with the rest of the kids for others who might have missed their performance.



So I was half expecting that maybe Caleb wont turn up on stage this time round again but to my surprise, he did appear on stage. In fact, I'm sure everyone noticed him. Reason is because he just stood on stage without moving much, throughout the whole performance.


Was I embarrassed? Well, actually no. In fact, I was proud that he made it up on stage. That is a huge step in my opinion. It takes guts to do that and he did it. Of course if I were to compare him with his friends, I would be disappointed because his friends were all dancing so well.

But from young, I never liked my parents or anyone to compare me with others as I feel I am unique and I do not want to be like others. So I wouldn't want to compare my children with anybody and feel very strongly that each child is unique in his/her own way.I thank God for that because I also do not want my kid to just do what others are doing but to have a mind of their own. That shows character. Of course if I dont nurture that well, he might turn rebellious and disobedient. But if I nurture it positively, character is definitely a good thing as he would stand up for what is good and not blindly follow others without thinking.



So anyway, I am just glad that Caleb has made improvements from his last performance and I will continue to encourage him and help him to succeed. Good job Caleb! I am very proud of you for at least trying!

Toy Story Party

Was invited to Asher's Toy Story party today. Marianne actually spent a long time before this to prepare for it as she handmade these candies as well as having to sew Asher's vest.


Upon reaching there, Pamela was busy making name tags for the children who came in as well as doing balloon sculpturing to keep them occupied.


When most of the kids came, they played games. They were supposed to stick the donkey's tail on the right spot.


Caleb had a go too! And guess what?

He won! Was very surprised considering he was the youngest contestant up against children 2-3 years older than him.


This was his reward which he immediately ate!


The kids were served this for dinner while the adults had their BBQ dinner outside out of the function room.



Caleb was 'dressed' as spiderman. I did go Toys R us to see if there were any costumes but figured it would be cheaper to just get him a mask. So here's what he wore.


As for Danielle, she was dressed normally.


I didn't want to go through all the trouble of getting her a costume which she wouldn't wear as she can be very picky!

And all birthdays end with a cake and its usually the highlight as guests would fix their eyes on the cake box and get ready all their cameras to capture the beautiful cake.



So Asher turns 3! Same age as Caleb.




Happy Birthday Asher!

Caleb's got mail

Its quite rare that Caleb gets his own letter. All thanks to godma, he received a letter today which he excitedly ripped open!



Its an invitation to Asher's toy story birthday party


After receiving the invitation card, Caleb was holding it the whole night. He even commented that he wanted to watch the cartoon.



And for the record, ever since we played the Toy story 3 movie for him, he has always been asking us to play for him again and again. He has watched it for about 4 times ever since.

Things we do for love...

What do you love doing? Is your love selfish or selfless? Reflecting is what I do everyday-whenever I drive, take the bus, waiting for someone, push the pram as I take a walk with my kids etc etc. Questions I ask myself would also include- have I been doing the right thing? How can I improve? What should I be doing more for my family and friends? (Chee Tiong says I think too much...I admit, he's right!)

So far at this point in time, both my kids love music. They will get excited when they hear a nice song played on TV or radio. Caleb would be holding on to his chopsticks (he has starting holding since he was few months old) while Danielle would be trying to dance. Caleb loves drums...



As for Danielle, I feel she is more patient with the piano. She could sit there for long and carefully press the keys with her fingers. Unlike Caleb who would come by and just punch all the piano keys violently with his fist.


As for Chee Tiong, he is a great family man. He loves being at home and eating home cooked meals. He tries to make it a point to bring the family out during weekends just to do something the kids love e.g to the park in Pasir ris, to shopping centres etc. Its wonderful to see how much he loves the kids and tries to spend time with them.

As for myself, I just love cooking for the family and seeing them enjoy eating what I cooked.



I am very appreciative of my family and I do wish we can continue to show love towards one another and stay united.

Thank you God for Chee Tiong, Caleb and Danielle (and not forgetting my wonderful helper, Vicky)!

What constitutes a good family meal?

Home cooked food is always very comforting. Each time before I go visit my parents, I would always wonder what dishes I would be having for dinner as my mum usually pulls out something interesting and always yummy.

Its usually a pleasant surprise.

Today was no different. On the dining table, were a wide spread of food- food that has everybody's FAVOURITE on it, food cooked for different kinds of people, with various tastebuds.

There were lamb chop, fried fish with herbs (for those who dont eat lamb), mashed potatoes, mexican salad with chicken, tortillas, steamed cauliflower with cream of mushroom and crispy bacon as well as chinese dishes like spinach, pork belly probably for the kids as they can eat it with rice.



A very well-thought out menu indeed.

Thanks mum!

Bonding session

It was Vicky's off day today and CT had a pair of basketball match tickets which was given by his colleague. It was a match between the Singapore Slingers and KL Dragons. So, CT took Caleb out for a guys bonding session to the Indoor Stadium to catch the match!



Heard from CT that Caleb wasn't interested in the match at all. He was busy playing with the chairs.



While both of them were out, I brought Danielle to the supermarket to buy stuff to cook for dinner and so the gals basically stayed home to cook and waited for the boys to come home. Had a great day spending time alone with Danielle and just bonding with her.

Invited over

Invited my in-laws over to my place tonight to celebrate Ally's birthday in advance as she would be going to Shanghai with MIL during her birthday. I thought she would like Western food. So cooked mashed potatoes, fruit salad, pan fried fish with fresh herbs, BBQ chicken wings and potato, leek soup as well as homemade fizzy lemonade


There's Caleb helping me out to prepare..



After dinner, the kids were busy playing with the ipad which Gilfred brought along.


They were playing educational games as well as car racing game.I am glad I do not own an ipad because my kids would probably want to play all the time!


And there's the cheesecake which Ally made for her own birthday! Goodness! She insisted because she said cakes bought in stalls are way too expensive.



After eating the cake, we all still had magnum ice cream! Including the children!


We all had a wonderful time! Think I shall prepare Japanese food the next time round when I invite them over. I really do enjoy inviting people over.

Children's Day Celebration

I never did celebrate Children's Day with my kids as I felt they were still too young for me to do anything with them. To me, I guess I only feel its proper to celebrate with them once they know such a day exists and that would probably be when they are about 4 or 5 years old.


But decided to bring them to Go go Bambini (Indoor Playground) because my cell group had plans to have the outing there since its Children's Day. Caleb and Danielle both had so much fun there! Even I was having fun and wished I was shorter as most of the obstacles required me to bend down. I was literally on all fours as I played with them, crawling through the tunnel on my knees till it hurts so bad.




Oh, I just realised I didnt take any pictures of Caleb playing in the playground because he was running quickly at different places. Both Caleb and Danielle ended up enjoying this long and pitch dark slide that goes round and round. I was surprised they were not afraid of it.

After playing for about 2 hours (which I felt was long, but judging by what I see, the kids could go on forever in the playground!), we all went to NUS for dinner at Chilli Padi. It was a great place to go for dinner as the restaurant was so spacious with very few people since not many would know of that place. Its in a secluded part of NUS, near Prince George's Park Hostels at Heng Mui Keng Terrace. Its a Peranakan buffet costing only $15 per person after tax! So affordable! For Caleb and Danielle, its free! So even more worth it!

There was penang assam laksa, braised pork belly with steamed bun, different kinds of curry, lontong, assorted desserts etc etc..




The kids had fun eating the colourful desserts!


I will definitely love to come back here again!


Happy Children's Day to Caleb and Danielle! May you always be as energetic, innocent, full of life, being in wonderment and awe of the things all around you and having that child-like faith forever and ever!

Chilli Padi Nonya Café
29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace
#06-21 (Ground Level)
Singapore 119620
Tel: 6872 2982 Fax: 6872 3982

So tiny..

Went to my colleague, Serene's new house today as she has just given birth to a baby girl, Janelle on 11 Sept. Ooo..9-11. Easy date to remember.

Was definitely looking forward to seeing a newborn and carrying baby Janelle just to get back THAT feeling. Ha.

So light..so still. How nice, I thought to myself.


BUT on the other hand, I wouldnt want to be doing all those night feeds and having to go through sleepless nights. So, am happy at 2!


I am also very thankful that Caleb and Danielle did not get jealous when I was carrying the baby. In fact, they seemed to like baby Janelle. They were fascinated by the sheer size of a baby.