Blog book

(Written: Thursday, 27 Dec.  Scheduled: Sunday, 30 Dec)

So far, there were already 22 postings dated Dec, one more scheduled for tomorrow, and this one scheduled for Sunday.  I'm getting very tired, cos I had updated so many postings these 2 weeks.  I will have to postpone the update of Redang and Phuket to next year.

I find it difficult to sort through the tonnes of photos for these trips.  Nowadays, for the convenience of shoot-FB/blog, I usually just use my Iphone to take photos, choose a few good and representative ones to load into my postings with blogger app. Then I will fine tune the blog on computer if necessary.

Actually I have already selected 60 photos from 800 for my Phuket trip posting.  Took me a few hours (on off doing other stuff) for this process.  Then loading them into the blog and writing about the trip will take much more time.  I remembered it took me a few months time after I'm back from Perth to finally  complete my postings on that trip.

Anyway, I have found a "new" way of preserving my photos and memories, which is to print my blog.   Since I spend so much time choosing photos and writing about events, trips and thoughts on my blog, I'm going to print them so that it is like a super photo book.  Here's the 2008 book:

The cover, which I state the year:

Quite a thick book for 2008:

Preserving the photos in print:

The wordy page:

Hopefully, I will do one more posting on 31 Dec itself and get it published on 31st itself, on 2012 recap and 2013 goals.

K2 graduation concert and PMT -Young Talents

Her K2 graduation concert was on 13th of Dec (Thursday night), at Yio Chu Kang Grassroot Club.  It's one of the most memorable day in 2012 for me. 

I remembered the first concert that I attended.  She was 4 years old, in N2 then.  Her class did a highly energetic soccer dance.  I knew that Lynn's not the prettiest girl around, but when I looked on stage, my gal is the prettiest and cutest to me. 

As that was my first concert, I was highly entertained by the extremely cute N1 kids (they were called the baby class), and I was very impressed with the student MCs.  There were about 5 to 6 of them from the K2 classes, who take turns to introduce the dance program that's coming up next.  Some of them spoke in English and some in Mandarin.  I can see that they were chosen from the K2 classes (total close to 30 kids) because they were the more expressive (can speak better) ones.  Although I know Lynn is not up to that standard, I still secretly hope that she can be one of them when it's her turn to graduate in 2 years' time. 

Last year (K1), there were a few disappointing aspects to the concert.  She missed the full dress rehearsal which was a few days before the actual concert.  She fell ill one week before the concert.  We were very Kan-Cheong, and took very good care of her to make sure that she recover for the actual performance.  On the actual performance day, the other parents were happy buying photographs (taken during the full dress rehearsal) and we had none to buy.  She was supposed to perform in 2 dances, and I was extremely disappointed when I realised that she's been taken out of one of them (I wasn't informed beforehand).  I asked the teacher subsequently, and was told that it's because she missed the rehearsal, so they get her to concentrate on only one dance.

Finally, this year arrived, and the preparation for the concert started sometime in Aug/Sep.  I knew there's a chance for her to be picked for the MC role as the competition was weak - she is not that good, but the rest are weak too.   Then one day, she recited the opening speech, and I knew that my wish had came true.  Not long after, she came home with this script. 

I was extremely cautious in dealing with this matter.  I was very afraid as I had set my hope and expectation so high.  I did not tell anyone, except WK that Lynn's doing this speech.  I also didn't pressurise Lynn to practice with me although I wanted her to do so (so that I can correct her pronunciation).  But she was not willing (we only go as far as the first para).  So I let go, trusting that she can handle it with the teacher's guidance. 

WK's mum found out about it a few weeks before the concert.  There's something about my MIL that I don't like, which is that she criticise and put people down.  When I started living with her, I did suffer a period initially, until I learn to deal with it, by realising that it's her short coming and not my (I measure up to my own standard and not others') and by retaliating (I did it once, and it was very satisfying and liberating).  So when she found out, she commented at Lynn frequently, that her speech is slow and not clear, so how to be an MC.  I did not stop her, because, again I trust that Lynn will and must learn to deal with it in her own way.  Truly, Lynn inherited one of WK and my characteristic, with is "one ear in one ear out", haha!!  It's quite funny to watch sometimes, how Lynn's totally oblivious to her grandma's accusations. 

On 19 Nov (I was in Shenzhen), with less than a week to our extended family Phuket trip, with 3 weeks to the full dress rehearsal and less than 1 month to the actual concert, I was horrified to learn that Lynn's cousins were stricken with chicken-pox, and that Lynn had spent the whole of the day before (Sunday, 18 Nov) with them.  My heart lifted when WK confirmed with the doctor that Lynn had been vaccinated for chicken-pox before, and then my heart dropped when Winny informed us that the cousins who were stricken were vaccinated before too!  For the next 3 weeks, I was so paranoid that I scrutinised every spot that appears on her body.  I had nightmares about it, and was counting down everyday. 

Finally, the full dress rehearsal came (that morning I happily sent her to school) and went, and then the actual performance day came (that morning I happily sent her to school again).  I was bubbly on that Thursday (I worked only half day in the am), and my colleagues could tell.

That night, we arranged to drive there from home (WK, me, both our mothers) and meet Qiu Yun (Lynn's nanny) and Lixing at the venue.  We almost missed the opening and her speech (I thought it's suppose to start at 7, when it should be 630), but we made it.

The concert started with the Chinese speech by the kids from Fernville K2.  I was not paying any attention to it at all, cos I was concentrating on having my I phone ready to capture Lynn and Jayden's (her partner) speech, which was to come next.  And then they started (so did my recording), and it was so good......  They spoke clearly and confidently, at a steady pace and were very much in sync.  The speech was long.  Jayden did very well; I think he is very talented.  Lynn's rushed a little through her last sentence of her first para, and mis-pronounced "possible", but it was good enough for mummy-me.  I am so, so, so proud of her.  I gave her a short but solid compliment on our way home (told her "well done, both you and Jayden; it was good speech") .

Two days later (on Sat), we attended the last PMT session at Young Talents.  I asked her teacher if she practised hard with them at school, but she said no.  She told us that during the full dress rehearsal, Lynn forgot most of the speech, and froze on stage.  She said that she was surprised that the actual speech went so well.  I also found out from Lynn subsequently that because she forgot the speech during rehearsal, she practised on her own in the few days between full dress and actual.  Well, be it luck, be it hard work, be it talent; I don't really care now.  I'm just so grateful that it had went well, and we all have this priceless memory of this proud moment.

In the comment section of the last Young Talent assessment, teacher Qian Yi wrote:

This is my exact sentiment of Lynn, not the prettiest, not the brightest, but my one and only angel who fills my life with joy (cheerfulness) and sound (chattiness).

Here's some pics (and hopefully I can successfully load the videos) of the performance:

Programme sheet


The 2 kids on the right are the kids from Fernville who spoke in Mandarin:

Jayden and Lynn on the far right:

K2 Toa Payoh graduate class (13 kids)

Lynn receiving her cert:

Her class dance item:

Finale - Jayden and Jolin led the sing-a-long

 Group photos after the concert:

Search for after school care

It pays to be a kiasu parent.

We are screwed this time round, when it comes to search for after school care.  Actually, can't blame myself, because I never really think that we will put Lynn in after school care when she starts P1.  So I didn't start researching much earlier.

Recently, I became very concern about what she does in her free time when she is not with me due to her high astigmatism.  I used to think that I can't control every detail and should "close one eye" if she's not spending quality time when she is with other caregivers.  However, when she need to wear specks of 200d at the young age of 6, my heart's really broken.  I know I shouldn't, but I feel this unhappiness with other caregivers (like daddy, grandmas, childcare teachers).  I came to realised that Lynn watches a lot of TV with WK's mum.

I casually brought up the subject of whether to put Lynn in after school care to WK some time back.  If not for the reasons above, I'm not really in favour of putting Lynn at after school care.  As usual, his first reaction is no, Lynn can just come home after school.  I didn't push it since I'm really half hearted.  I don't know what goes through WK's head, but suddenly, a few weeks back, he said that he passed by one at the CC nearby, and maybe we should start looking.

These few days, we visited a few, including the one at the CC nearby.  Suddenly it struck me that a good after school care, like a good child care, has a long waiting list.  Both of us struggled with the fact that we have to put her up at the one at the CC.  It is NOT BAD, quite good/well run, but it is not what I'm looking for.

Sigh.. I really regret.  This really teach me a lesson, that I need to be more proactive when it comes to raising our kid.  Need to continue our search for a more permanent solution.  

P1 orientation and preparation

This must be one of the high lights of 2012.

Lynn's P1 orientation at Kheng Cheng School was held on the 10th Nov, Sat, starting from 830am.  I was quite excited, and I think WK and Lynn too.  Our neighbour's eldest kid, Joy, asked me on Friday night as to which class Lynn's in (1-8), and told me that's in charge of 1-3 the next day.  

We arrived at 830 sharp, and was ushered to the school hall.  The kids were asked to sit in their class row, while the parents sat on the chairs.  Lynn was very happy and excited to see that Jia Le's in the same class as her.  By the end of the orientation, we had met a few of her other Young Talent classmates and found out that 6 of them (out of her current class of 13) are at Kheng Cheng.

The principal (a middle age Eurasian lady) gave a 1/2 hour lecture about logistics, rules, safety etc, etc, etc.  She covered topics like why back gate only open for certain hours, why we should label every single item, and how her own 2 boys have different character (the older one kept losing things while the younger one doesn't), why we shouldn't over stay in Malaysia and miss school onCNY Day3, etc..  I find her quite long-winded, but I feel very assured that the school has a good and strict operating system.

Jia Le and Lynnette:

I'm very glad that I started preparing for her P1 stuff early, cos there's really quite a lot to do!  After the Orientation day, I attended a wedding on the following weekend and then flew off to Shenzhen for biz trip.  When I came back, we need to fly off to Phuket again.  So on the morning (24 Nov) before going to the airport, I quickly bring Lynn and WK's mum to her school, wanting to buy both text books and uniform.  But the we discovered that only the uniform store was open.

We were the first (and only) customers on that morning, so we took our time to chat with the vendor.  Lynn tried on different sizes of uniform, PE Tshirt, and PE shorts.  We got socks (with school name on them) too.

On the day we came back from our Phuket trip (27Nov), we went to get the text books.  After coming home, it took me and Lynn quite a few hours to write name and class on every book, and to put the book cover on.

In the first week of Dec,  we also went shopping for a school bag.  Finally picked this one, which is the lightest trolley bag that we can find.  Got 2 pairs of white school shoes for her on the same day too.

In the first 2 weeks of Dec,  I took one of the bigger size uniform to the seamstress to sew it smaller.  It also took me sometime to get all the shirts washed.  My part-time helper ironed them, and then I ironed her name tags onto the 5 uniforms and PE t-shirts.

I got her a pencil box as a Christmas gift, and WS got her a wallet.

Finally, one more task to be done on the 31st, which is to pack her school bag for the first day of school (2nd Jan).  My baby's going to Primary 1!

Hamster update

I also want to do an update on the hamsters before the year ends.  Ever since we gave away 2 male baby hamsters in Aug, the remaining 5 hamsters had been living well and healthy since then.  Things settled into a routine, which consist of daily morning feed, and once a week(end) cleaning of the cages.  Right now there's still 3 cages, with 3 females in one big cage, and the other 2 male hamsters each in a small cage.

Something quite interesting happened a few weeks back.  Firstly, the daddy hamster escaped from it's cage 2 nights in a row.  When it happened for the first time, we realised that the cage door is easily opened.  When the daddy hamster loitered around the kitchen in the day, it actually went back into the cage when WK's mum offered it the cage.  We then tied the cage door with twisting wire.

That night, it happened again.  It was because Lynn didn't tie the wire tight enough, and daddy hamster squeezed thro the small opening in the cage door.  This time round, I experienced it for myself how daddy hamster goes back into the cage when offered.

We thought that daddy hamster's too eager to go exploring, so we switched cage for daddy and ko ko.  It was a big mistake.  Although we tied the cage door very very tightly, ko ko hamster actually found other ways to escape.  Till today, we still do not know how ko ko hamster escaped.

Ko ko hamster is a mild and gentle hamster, unlike daddy who bites.  However, Ko ko hamster must had liked the freedom.  He refused to go back to his cage, and kept running away from us when we try to catch it.  It was out of it's cage for 3 days, before we finally captured it!

Here's some pics of the family of 5:

Ko Ko Hamster - Gentle, doesn't struggle when handled.  Loves to run on the wheel

Mummy hamster - Skinny; the smallest of all hamster.  It's runs all around the mini bath tub when it's taking the bath; probably she doesn't like water

Jewel - the darkest of all the 3 females.  Probably looks like the daddy more like the mummy, hahaha!!

Jewel on the plate

Angelina, Lynn's favourite hamster.  She's very gentle, and has much more white fur compared to the rest.  Lynn hates it when I call her Angelina fat!

Daddy hamster - Very aggressive; bites whoever that goes near it.  Lynn got bitten twice before, and I gotten once.  When I try to take these few pics, it was trying to push the cage door open.  I think it's a very smart hamster, who knows the way to open the cage door, except that now we keep the door tightly secured.

On top of the cage:

Hiding in one corner:

Christmas presents exchange

Christmas dinner for the family at May's house. The kids were very excited during gift exchange. We also celebrated Mavis' birthday.

This is taken at clementi mall this afternoon.