My Little Princess

Debbie is very "girl"... She took out Denise's hairbands and wore ALL OF THEM on herself. She willingly posed for a picture when I asked her to.

My Little Helper @ Home

Lena, my helper, was cleaning the house. I took out Denise's "vacuum cleaner" for Debbie so that she will not disturb my maid. Initially she was very enthusiastic. But after a while, she was totally not interested...:)

Taking a rest now...:)

End of duty: keeping her tools.

JIMMY CHOO!!!

I received a HUGE surprise from my sister today!

I am a shoe freak! A €460 (S$954 equivalent) Jimmy Choo is something I only see in fashion magazine! I tried it and it is the most comfortable 4" stiletto I have ever tried on. The sole is made of soft leather; definitely not something you will run in. Now I understand why those ladies in these designer heels only walk on carpeted floor...:p

She gave me another pair of Betula sandels in pink patent leather which was too big for her...:) They belong to the Birkenstock brand.

I love my sister...:) She is always so generous with family members... Have I ever mentioned she also paid for my Lasik?

In preparation for the Read for Record event in school, Denise and her classmates were asked to draw a caterpillar. These art and crafts were on display in school this week.

Most parents will recognize this book. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is a common recommended book for preschoolers. The school wanted to mobilise all their students to read the book at the same time.

Parents can also make a donation to the "I Love Children" organization.

When I went to school, I saw this row of interested things... The children are to form a caterpillar using the red cherries and green grapes. The teachers are so creative!

Sleepless in *Dover*

Debbie has been off breastfeeding for almost a week already. So far the journey has been *rather* smooth. The only challenge is how to put her back to bed when she wakes up in the middle of the night. She used to snuggle towards me and suckle till she falls alseep again.

For the first 2 nights, it was "better". She woke up and asked me to bring her to the kitchen. She ate a little yogurt and then went back to bed. I think she was hungry as she was not eating much when she had stomach-flu.

The next 2 nights was "heaven"! I had uninterrupted sleep from 12mn-7am! She woke up but she will close her eyes and sleep again.

However, last 2 nights was "horrendous". Especially last night, she woke up at 4am and 7am; screaming and kicking a big fuss! Thinking that she might be hungry, I offered her "Honey Star" but she didn't want. Gave her milk, didn't want... Gave her water, didn't want... She just kept crying and asking me to carry her from room to kitchen, and then kitchen to room! All these at 4am!!! Argh!

Finally, after 30mins of screaming and crying, she asked me for "Honey Star" and quietly laid down on her bed, munching on them... And eventually fell asleep...

This morning, the same thing happened at 7am...:(

The worse is that all fussing kids want is MUMMY... JX tried to help; but she got even more frustrated, thinking that JX wants to carry her away from me... Sigh!

I hope this is part of the weaning process... I am almost there... almost there...

Huge Milestone for Debbie (And ME!)

*Think I will receive quite a few comments on this post...:p*

It all started on Thursday morning, on the way to Suntec Nursery. Debbie put her finger into her mouth and I thought she had something stuck there. I wanted her to cough it out and out came her milk! I didn't think much about it...

Thursday night, after drinking her milk, she woke up at 2am and vomitted! This time, it was messy and massive! I knew that the stomach flu virus has hit her...:( In fact, the children in Nursery have been hit one by one; Debbie was the last few to get it... A friend recommends drinking Yakult Ace Light. So the children get to enjoy Yakult these few days!

Kept her at home on Friday, diarrhea in the morning and no more vomitting. But before I left for CG on Friday, I fed her milk and when I came home, my maid told me that Debbie vomitted..:( I reckoned that she should not take dairy product for now. In fact, she had no appetite for food and only drank soup for 2 days!!! Heartbreaking to see her so lethargic and skinny... She even fell alseep on the floor while watching TV.

Hmm...believe it or not, both my princesses were breastfed exclusively since young! In other words, no formula and supplement at all (I don't even know how to make formula milk)! Debbie is 27 months and I am still breastfeeding her. Have been thinking about weaning her; but not sure how to or if I want to... I fed Denise till 3 years old! And the reason I stopped was because I was expecting Debbie then. It was easy to wean Denise. I only had to tell her that Mummy has a baby and baby needs the milk... She stopped immediately...:)

On Thursday, I put Debbie to bed without suckling...just patting.

On Friday, she napped without suckling...just patting.

Friday night, she slept by patting again!

You see, Debbie has NEVER slept without suckling... Others can put her to bed; but with ME, she has gotten used to suckling to bed. So when I can put her to bed without her suckling, I think she is ready for weaning.

Last night, she slept without suckling again and this morning, she woke up without asking for the breast....

So I officially annouce here, that I am stopping this 6 years journey with my kids! I am finally stopping breastfeeding...:) Some mothers cried and get all emotional about it. I do feel apprehensive but I am definitely not teary about it...:) Hmm, I see the benefits of breastfeeding in my kids. They are close to me and defintiely stronger in their immunity system. Even when they fall sick, they recover faster. And not to mention the amount of money I saved from milk powder!

And look at my happy Debbie today. She seems to be back to her usual self... Praise the Lord!

First Night Without Mummy...(Denise)

Took some photos when I dropped Denise in school this evening. Every child was given a camp T-shirt. It reads "Ever camped overnight at your school?" How cool!

This is NOT what they are sleeping in tonight...:) Its just a tent set up at the compound; probably a props for the campfire. Haha... The children will be sleeping comfortably in the air-conditioned Music Room...:)

The children were split up into groups. They had to come up with their own group cheer and group banner...:) Reminds me of my school days in RVHS where we had to come up with our own cheers and banner for school Sports Day...:p Can you imagine Denise is already experiencing all these in K2? How fun!

See how excited the children are! Here, a photo taken with one of the teachers in her team.

Confidence Camp 2009 - Celebrate Friendship! This will definitely goes down Denise's memory lane! As for me, I am missing my princess already... Looking forward to picking her at 9am tomorrow...:)

K2 Confidence Camp

Today is THE day!

Denise is camping overnight in school... Tonight will be the FIRST night she, or rather I will be sleeping without her...:p

Every year, the school will organize an overnight camp for the K2 before their graduation. I heard that 1 of her classmates is having panic attacks. She has been crying and most likely her parents will bring her home during bedtime.

My princess? Aiyo...she is SUPER-exicted! Can't wait for today to come. School will start at 4pm and camp will break at 9am on Saturday! There will be campfire and part of the program is to celebrate Mid-Autumn by going for a night walk at Kampong Java Park, located just opposite the school, with their lanterns...

Looking forward to more stories and photos when she comes back tomorrow...:)

Make-Up Session

Denise and Debbie have always been fascinated with my cosmetics. I usually put on my make-up on the way to work in the car. Since young, Denise would pretend to put on eye-shadow, lipstick, blusher etc. Needless to say, Debbie has picked up the "skills" now...:)

Denise has always wanted me to buy her a Make-up set. I refused because I was not sure if the ingredient used would do any damage to her face. Well....my MIL brought her to Toy R Us one day, and she came home with a Barbie Make-up set. I kept it for a few months!

Recently, I bought some make-up remover wet wipes because Denise is performing in her K2 Graduation concert; I wanted to use these to clean her stage make-up. I decided to "relax" a bit and let the girls play with the Make-up set. It turned out to be very fun for them, as expected!

The proportions might not be right, but who cares? It was good to see Denise having so much fun!

Debbie was quick to follow what her sister was doing! Not bad for the first time...:)

They even had hands-on practice on each other... Haha... I guess, sometimes, as a parent, don't be too restrictive... It's alright to let them have some harmless fun...

CG Outing

We had a CG gathering @ Albert's place last Sunday. It was a time to eat and bond. The mummies were busy taking pictures of the children at the pool...

These were some of the kids that came. I think the pool was the main highlight to them...:)

Raffles Marina Again!

It's been a long time since we last saw my step-mum and brother. Decided to get them to come to Singapore and to celebrate my brother's 21st birthday. Denise was very happy as Mel has chartered a speedboat to bring us out to sea (that was where we scattered my Dad's ashes).

The kids were super excited! Denise kept asking when are we going to Raffles Marina.

Reached at sunset; the weather was good! The sea was not choppy; it was a pleasant ride...:)

Had dinner at the Chinese restaurant before going home. Sorry, no pictures because I was busy eating...:p

@ The Dentist

Last Sunday, Denise complained about toothache and wanted us to bring her to a dentist. The last time I brought her to one, I was TRAUMATISED! She was crying and whining throughout! She was afraid of the drill and I even had to pay for 2 fillings that dried up while waiting for her to be mentally prepared...:p

This time round, I decided to let JX bring her... As it was already 8pm on a Sunday, they went a few places before they found Q&M (Bukit Batok) still open!

It turned out that the molar at the back is growing!!! And the dentist also suggested filling up 2 tiny holes. Before Denise left home, I told her to be brave and everything will be alright!

I must say she was really brave this time! JX didn't have to coax her much. She willingly let the dentist do everything she wanted. The drill, the suction, the cleaning, the filling....EVERYTHING! But she was definitely nervous...

She was clinching her fist...:) My Brave Princess!

Hot Release!!!

Up Close & Personal with SUN

While I am typing this, I am listening to Sun's latest singles "Fancy Free"! I am not bias; just honest... It sounds real good! A song that will definitely send you dancing to the beat...:)

You can buy the downloads from iTunes.... Althernatively, catch it over Singapore radio!

Tune in to FM91.3, catch 91.3 Hot 30 Countdown TODAY (Sep 17) between 8pm to 12midnight! The music video (much acclaimed by those who managed to sneak preview it!) will be released on Youtube TOMORROW! I can’t wait to check it out! :)

Better still, hear from SUN....LIVE via FACEBOOK on Friday (Sep 18)! Here's how...

JWT Kids Gym

Bryan's birthday party was held at JWT Kids Gym in the evening, after Jaden's celebration. Most of the children had time to go home and freshen up. This is a great place to "use up" their energy... The theme was Crazy Relay. So the children formed 2 teams and had to compete with each other to complete certain obstacles.

Parents were included for the last session. We had foam ball fight; parents vs children...:) Basically pick up the balls and attack each other... Haha...

Of course, more food again! Bryan had a Ben 10 Birthday cake; complete with figurines and landscape! How cool!

Birthday PartieSSsssss....

It started last Sunday (Sep 6) when Aaron celebrated his 1 year old birthday at our place. It was supposed to be a mini-party but more than 50 people turned up... I have not seen so many people at the Clubhouse before...:p

On a sidenote.... Do they look alike?

Saturday (Sep 12), Jaden and Bryan (both Denise's classmates) celebrated their birthdays on the same day. In the morning, Jaden had a "Pedal Go-Kart" party at West Coast Park. It was very fun! There were so many different kind of models to choose from.

Even adults can ride on them! A few parents, including myself, tried riding...:)

It was photos and more photos later... The parents were more excited than the children...:p It was like some press conference or meet the stars session. Haha...

The theme of the party was Transfomer. And of course, birthday boy had a Transformer birthday cake from Bengawan Solo...:)

I Wanna Be

United Square is having a promotion for shoppers. For every $50 you spent, you can redeem a pass to their "Kids In The Big World" located at the atrium. We brought Denise there hoping to revive her "BabyBoss" memory...:) Of course, far from it... haha...

We redeemed 2 passes and she chose to dressed-up as a pilot and a model. Every station takes 30mins where she did flight stimulation and a phootshoot like a model. Below are the takeaway photos that you can bring home...:)

My Birthday

My birthday celebration started with the CGLs...:) They had zone meeting at our place so that they can celebrate my birthday for me... And that starts a series of food and fellowship...:)

JX came back from his CG and "made" a special cake using kueh from the famous Tiong Bahru market. This is the perfect cake for a kueh-lover like me!

Weekend, we had dinner at Chilli Padi, located at Heng Mui Keng Terrace (near to Science Park). I have always wanted to try the Peranakan buffet. Since they were having a new opening promotion till 31 Aug, we decided to go there. Boy, it was crowded! In fact, when I called up wanting to make reservations, the person told me it was full! He told us to try walking-in. It was a good thing we went there at 6pm sharp! We managed to get a table and by the time we left, the entire restaurant was full and there was a queue forming outside!

Monday, we had lunch at Jack's Place because I was craving for steak... Hehe...told you it was a series of food and more food...:p

There were other food occasions not documented by pictures. Dinner with my family, lunches with my friends and colleagues etc. And what is birthday without presents?

I am so blessed! I love all the presents I received. Of course, I have to mention the LV that JX bought earlier...:) I received a Adidas water bottle and running Tee from my domestic helper (she spent almost one-third of her monthly salary to buy presents for JX and me *touched*). A office cup, super cute cup-cover, vouchers from Skin, Swarovski cross pendant, a funky top, Royce chocolate, Dior makeup set and of course cash from parents...

I love birthdays! Haha...who doesn't? Thanks everyone for making me feel so blessed!

Discipline

I have been thinking much about discipling my children. A few parents I spoke to tell me that they cane their children. And if it is real bad; they will "cane like there is no tomorrow". The children will remember the punishment and will behave in future.

Last night I had a discipline episode with Denise. I was contemplating if I should (like what my friends have shared) cane her. Anyway, we do not have a cane at home. We only use Mr Spoon... Maybe give her a few smacks and make her remember!!!

But I couldn't bring myself to do it... She was giving excuses, blaming others and finally broke down when she knew that she was wrong... And she really cried!

My heart broke whenever Denise starts to sob! And they are not "crocodile tears" or out of manipulation... They are remorseful tears. I know "spare the rod and spoil the child"... But I must say that Denise is a very sensible girl.

I remember during her baby dedication, Ps Ulf said, "this baby will grow up, understanding complicated things." She has always been a child whom you can reason with. Comparing to other children her age, she is really rather mature. Even though she is a year end (Dec 27) baby, she definitely does not lose out to her "2003" older peers.

I believe in discipline. I still use Mr Spoon. In fact, Debbie is VERY scared of Mr Spoon. She has stopped screaming in the house because I told her if she screams, she will wake Mr Spoon up... Haha.... So now, she will "shhh...." at me. She will point to the cupboard where I keep Mr Spoon and tell me "Mr Spoon sleeps" when I speak too loud at home...:p So what did I do?

I choose to reason with Denise. But if need be, Mr Spoon still proves effective...:)

Selecting A School For Your Child

Where should I begin? My choice of Primary School for Denise is limited to Queenstown area because we wanted to stay near my in-laws as we foresee that we will need their help when Denise goes to Primary 1.

We have always liked Dover; quiet, small and assessible (as compared to Jurong...:p). So our Primary School choice was narrowed to just Fairfield Methodist Primary School. Cut the long story short: We managed to enrol her into FMPS without balloting for Phase 2C...:) (balloting was conducted for those staying 1-2km from school)

This morning, one colleague asked me, "I have flashes of memory; seeing Denise in Fairfield uniform before..."

Haha....yes! Yes! Yes! Last November, I needed to borrow a set of school uniform for Denise's performance at Asia Conference 2008. I managed to borrow a set of FMPS uniform from a friend's friend! Talking about visualization and confession! For those planning for schools... It works!