Bubble... Trouble....!

Being alone with 2 kids, this mummy always have to think of ways to 'entertain' them. One fun and simple activity that all children will enjoy will be 'blowing bubble'! The children simply loves it... but obviously, not Golden! He hates it... especially when Ashley purposely disturbed by blowing bubbles directing at him. Poor Golden.... it's bubble trouble day for him! Golden who is always patient and good natured will just walk away quietly and avoiding this naughty Ashley (who keeps following him, and disturbing him). Cieran has no idea what's happening, but he enjoys watching the sister blowing the bubbles... occasionally, he will clap his hands and smile happily. Cieran is easily distracted... on one hand, he joins Ashley in bubble play... Next, he has own fun with the umbrella. Watching them is an enjoyment. I have fun snapping photos of them.

Peeka-Poo!

Day after day passes without one's knowing it... In a blink of an eye, Cieran is 17 months now. He has been a joy to the family. Watching him grow with more 'cheeky' tricks each day makes us laugh. Lately, he's into 'peeka-poo' game. Not sure where he learn it from... he loves to hide. His best spot will be the set of curtains by the living area. He will hide behind the day curtain and put on that cheeky smile on his face. At times, we pretend to ignore him, he will seek our attention by hitting on the glass, making known that he is hiding there. When we look over, he will 'flash' himself out ... "peeka-poo"! This has been his favourite game recently. He did this when he is in class as well. The teacher and I cant helped laugh it off, seeing this cheeky boy! Know what he did? Not hiding on curtains...coz there's no curtains in his class... but he is hiding behind me. He will pops his head with his usual cheeky smile, playing peeka-poo! He really make his teacher laughs out loud.

Last day in International SOS!

The post title may have mislead you that I have left International SOS... which is not the intention. I have been thinking what is the best title for this post, and this is the best I can think of. Well, it is the 'last day' for Eunice and Joanne, both 'leaving' on different reasons. Why did I add a '...'? This is coz they are not actually departing the company for greener pastures. Both of them are still with the company. Eunice is leaving Singapore headquarters to take up a new role in Beijing (relocate), while Joanne is leaving to get herself ready for delivery! Both are 'leaving' for good reasons. Wouldn't this cause for a celebration? For Eunice, Diana and I bought a little gift for her, wishing her all the best in her new challenge in Beijing. It's a pink boots-shaped luggage tag and a pretty pink delicate name card case. Both we thought suits Eunice very well. She is such a 'delicate and petite' lady, pink suits her best. As a department, a farewell lunch is a must! Hendrik hosts a lunch at Raffles Hotel-Long Bar Steakhouse... and gosh! we all had a hearty meal. Coincidentally, it was Secretary Week's and each lady was given a token (Molton Brown shower gel and cream) from the restaurant. For Joanne, we didnt really celebrate, but we did have a nice and enjoyment meal at MOF. Joanne and I had the same... Tan tan ramien, tempura hand roll and we shared a chief choice desert! Another hearty meal for this week! Haiz.... have to start going on a lighter meal next week (in compensation for this week's big meal'.

A Birthday celebration at SUN

The colleagues had been talking about SUN restaurant. Despite the 30% discount that sounded attractive, they mentioned the food was delicious which tempted me to try. I have been thinking of a dinner venue to celebrate Jeremy's birthday, now SUN will be one of my options besides MOF. Much of a curious, I have no objections when the ladies suggest a to have lunch there. Indeed, the environment and menu does looks attractive. I had a tough time deciding what to order. The food appears to be delicious with beautiful garnishing. I had a hearty satisfactory meal! Decided! SUN will be my dinner treat for Jeremy's Birthday. To be able to enjoy the discount, I set the celebration date a week earlier from Jeremy's actual birth date (22 March). Ashley was excited when the day came... it happened that she saw a commercial about CHJMES and I highlighted to her that we will be dinning there on daddy's birthday celebration. I was me who instill the excitement in her. haha! Cieran on the other hand, knows nothing about a nice meal awaiting for him. The evening turn out to be a good one with nice cool weather (rain had stopped). It's been many years since Jeremy & I visited CHJMES. Somehow, it reflects back our memories when we are in CHJMES during our courtship times. Now, we brought with us 2 lovely children with us. This feeling is fabulous. The structure of the building remains while our lives changes over the years. It delighted me to see my kids running around the place, having fun. I cant helped taking photos to capture all the wonderful moments, not forgetting a must to have a family photo! At the restaurant, Ashley immediately knows what she wants-udon was her favourite! We ordered quite a sumptuous meal for the family. We have a mango sushi, Chawanmushi, Ebi Udon, Grilled Katsu Set and Teriyaki Set. The kids especially enjoyed their meal very much. Though Cieran had his, he enjoys eating again with us (as usual). After the dinner, we ordered a green tea ice-cream to share. Both kids were trilled over the dessert. We didn't spend as much as I expected. The whole meal cost less than $55. Thanks to the 30% discount on their 30th anniversary (which ends this day). We sure will come again...during their 'discount period'. :-)

Arrival of Baby Chloe - Valerie's Little Princess

12 March 2009, arrival of baby Chole! Received a short email from Aixin that Valerie had given birth. So exciting! Immediately, I send a sms (instead of calling... mummy needs rest mah) to Val to congratulate her new born. Following will be LCS-ing the ladies, asking if anyone is keen to pay a visit at East Shore hospital next day. Haiz... response wasn't over-whelming as I expected. I suppose, I am the only one 'more free' at work. Hahaha... Joan's reply was " I don't know how to carry a baby"... Phyllis's was "Don't think I can leave office, quite busy". Unfortunately Joanne is on leave, otherwise, I believed she will be keen to join me. Nonetheless, I found a interested party-Geneve. :-) Eventually, we made arrangement that rain or shine, we will meet at lobby over lunch hours for East Shore. The morning, I was browsing for the right gift for mum and baby. I can't wait to see little Chloe. It was pouring heavily.. but the excitement to see the little princess overcome the challenge of 'wet journey'. Very luckily, we managed to flag a taxi without much delay of time from the rain. I wasn't aware that East Shore is so closed to Bon's condo...and the outlook had changed so much-for the better! The last time I came visiting was 7 years ago-Suhainah's new born. Time flies.....!!! Geneve and I bought our lunch from Delifrance express at the lobby and went straight up to the ward. Val was breastfeeding when we arrived, thus we munch on our bread while she's busy attending to chloe's feed. We waited not too long to finally see the beautiful little Chloe. My 1st impression : She looks exactly like Val!!! I am never good at judging, but this is a exact mould to her mum. Geneve agrees with me... next, both of us are busy taking photos of the little princess. Of course, chat with Val also.. finding out how her birth took place... the usual mummy's talk. :-p We spent about 2 hours (I think) at the ward, before we headed back to office. As it was a Friday, there weren't much mood to work...(opps!) Instead, I am spending time downloading the photos to share with the ladies. (shhhhh... dont tell boss!)

Congratulations Valerie... & Brandon to your new born!

A "BUDGET yet LUXURY" Lunch??!!

The usual lunch khakis came out with this idea... We love Lei Garden dim sum, but the cost of dim sum is on the 'high end' in comparison to most restaurants. So, we agreed that we will just eat on a budget of $20 each. Joanne was appointed to be the 'finance controller' to monitor this budget, making sure that we will not order exceeding this set amount. We had great laughs over this agreement and yes.. we set a date and go for our 'budget yet luxury' lunch. The date was set on a Fri.. with the weekend mood. We stepped in Lei Gardens with great pleasure and truly enjoyed the dim sums. Of course, not forgetting to keep closed eye on the price each time we placed a dim sum order. Though we have this limitations, but we had lots of fun with it. Upon asking for the bill, we all played a guessing game... to see who guess the closest to the actual bill amount. Result is... Miss P! A pity no one favour taking up the challenge I've proposed. (closest to the bill amount will not have to pay). Otherwise, Phyllis will have a free meal!

Congratulations! We made it a luxury lunch within budget!!! :-D

Chinese New Year Cheer in the House!

In a blink of eyes, Cieran has turned 14 months! Chinese New Year seems to be a paradise for the kids. Not to talk about Ashley who loves the new year goodies, even Cieran takes a fancy of that now! It is amazing that Cieran's teeth growth was not the normal manner where usually the front teeth pop up in pairs first before any sight of molars. For Cieran, he has 4 on the upper front jaws but only 3 on the lower front jaws. Plus! He has molars popping out ahead, probably in time to munch on more new year cookies! Talking about Cieran, he is a busy boy now. With his new abilities to walk, he enjoys his freedom on his own. He will explores the house, to the adventure of up the stairs on his own! It's a joy watching over Cieran growing stage now, and I wished the time will stop with him remaining at this age. Cieran loves to go out. At several times a day, he would take his shoes and bring them to you-asking for an outing. Even a short walk by the gate is a tremendous satisfaction for him. He brings many laughter to the family especially he is such a cheeky and cheerful boy. I took several days leave during the new year (from 29 to Chu 8) and spends about 3days alone with Cieran in the house. It was a wonderful home alone with him, spending time together. Cieran amuses me with his cheeking acts. He would walk out to the glass panel and seek my attention by beating on the glass panel. When I look over, he smiles and make funny faces. It's tremedeous joy with him around. A pity Ashley and Jeremy is not around to see his acts. I am sure they will have great laughs too. :-) The new year has been good, though I didn't win $ from the black jacks. I have already won some extra cash days before the new year. Thanks to Cai Shen and Cieran's lucky number. It's my life's 1st time to strike 4D first prize! Humbly, I invested only $2... keke! The money was spent on a hearty crab treats for my family of 11.5 members. Why 11.5??....well, Joanne's baby will be due only in May... thus she considers the 0.5 member. ;-) New year is one of my favourite festival. I like the 'preparation' weeks though spring cleaning can be tiring. Somehow, the spring atmosphere is there and even though I usually takes 2 full days to clean the house, the cleaning was done in a happy and joyful mood. I love to spent time browsing in Chinatown when usually I have nothing much to buy from there. The new year mood simply fills the air and I enjoy the crowd in Chinatown once a year. Besides a MUST to visit Chinatown, I love to visit nursery as well. As usual, I will buy few for the festive season. This year, I have selected 2 pots of red "Wan Zi Qian Hong' from Bedok nursery. On eve, I bought a pot of 'Ying Chun Hua' at a discounted price (50%) of $19. It took me more than 30mins to select one full of flower buds. I was very happy that it bloomed so well! On chu 2, 4 flowers bloomed! And the next few days... you can't imagine how beautiful the pot was! the bright yellow fills the living room with energy! The seller told me they are all year flowers... I sure hope it does survive even after the new year. Haha!

Woof...Woof....Happy New Year! Woof Woof.....