International Food and Fun Fair

The party at Jungle Gym yesterday was fun. The kids had fun although the party leader was a tad bit "too young" to enjoy screaming, hyped-up children. The kids came home pooped! I hope they sleep in today.

I'll be going to "church" early today too to help set up our LeChon stall. Yes, roast pig! "Swine flu" is a taboo word today for us. I hope the weather is on our side although there is a chance of a thunderstorm later today. There's be pony rides, damn it! The kids and Derrick will stay at home, he doesn't want to join the throng.

Will try to snap as many pics as possible before those pigs are chopped up for sale. Post them later,k?

Cham har ngan, last day of May already. Half a year gone. Will start to really pack for the move soon too. This time I know, it's for reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

Looooooooong Weekend

Full of fun and excitement this weekend.
The whole family's invited to a birthday party at Jungle Gym... I'll be running after Bryan cos Derrick's too crooked to go.
Sunday after mass, the International Food Fair will begin. Weather forecasts Sunday rains... I hope, only after the funfair ends. My kids will enjoy the pony rides and I'll or rather, the Sunday choir be wo-manning the LeChon stall (Roast pork).
Monday - Foundation Day........ day of rest for me....... I DEMAND it!

Men Down!

This just in.. Males are the weaker gender.. at least in my household. Both the boys are down with chest infections. Bryan's still on antibiotics which he still happily chews before downing it with water. Derrick went to see the family GP halfway through work yesterday and was ordered to stay home with symptomatic treatment. Next Monday, public holiday, Foundation Day, so they have a longer weekend for them. Sian sei ngor lor......

Big, Brave, Sniffly Boy

Brought Bryan to see the family Dr. this morning. After 6 days of Demazin tid, he still wasn't getting any better, in fact he's slightly worse. Bryan insisted to taking his toy stethoscope and his Drago with him. After the Dr checked his lungs, he promptly announced that it was my turn. He did the entire "deep breathes in, and out...... in.................and out" bit. His lungs are fine, thank God for that, despite his phlegmy cough (enjoy your lunch!) and his sinuses are inflammed. With that the GP ordered 2 courses of Rulide D bd for him which I promptly went and got his prescription filled. At home, he looked at the tablet, popped it into his mouth and washed it down with some orange juice! No gagging, no spitting it out! He's all grown up!

RCIA Journey

For those of you who know what the RCIA is, you'd be surprised to hear that I have just finished a year-long journey course... Prior to yesterday night, I was actually "journeying" twice last year and again, this year. Some of you may be wondering why me, a cradle Catholic, would not only sign up for RCIA (Rite of the Christian/Catholic Initiation for Adults) but twice AND doing it concurrently?

What started as being a friend's "sponsor" with just weekly attendance to RCIA class with her ended in a more ... ahem!.... involved me! That course ended last night. It was bittersweet because it felt as though after 1 year (has it been that long!) of weekly get-togethers and learning about the Christian/Catholic faith as a family, it felt as if we were parting ways forever.

Yes, I back track... me... cradle Catholic. Baptised as a baby. Attend Catholic kindy, Catholic primary and secondary school, hardly stepped into the Church after I left home, STILL didn't go for mass after being a mother. Yes, both my kids were baptised Catholics before they were 3 months old. So you can imagine that even I surprise myself, after all that's happened in my life, bad and ultimately the worse years of my life, I managed to gather the courage to go for confession before I came here to Australia, you know, to start anew, leave the old Adelene behind. Not easy. I got scolded by the priest. Seriously. I was shocked.


Fast forward to 2005 in Australia. Still didn't know which side was up. After scouring for a nearby school for Caitlyn, I realise that there was a small Catholic school near our home. There isn't even a Church next to it YET they hold weekend masses there! So, one baby step at a time, I started to attend the Sunday mass there. Not knowing anyone there, I was awestruck:- Filipino priest, wonderful nuns, not surprisingly lots of Singaporean, Malaysian and Filipino parishioners among the Caucasian. It was as if I was in Novena Church... well... sans the physical building. Then slowly, week after week of just attend-and-dash masses, I decided that I gotta DO something.... Opportunity arose when the church was looking for a member in the Finance Committee.. guess who volunteered? So within the 2 years till the present, I have a finger in pretty much a few pies..... I am the Sunday pianist, I am still in the Finance committee, I read, Special Minister of the Eucharist, appointed Representative of the Church in the School board, Editor for the weekly bulletin... all this and YET... I knew next to nothing about Catholicism or the Bible. Weird huh? Sure I attend weekly mass but that was it.

Initially I was like "what? 1 whole year? weekly meeting some more!" but then weeks rolled into months and now, I have learnt, in the last year, more than what I have learnt in the last, well almost 40 years. Recently, another girlfriend of mine, same age as me, signed up for RCIA and asked ME to be her God Ma.... Very honoured... I accepted it and this would be my 2nd RCIA journey for me, first for her... she'll "graduate" in November.

Today, although I miss my 1st group friends, I do feel a weight being taken off my shoulder. Eh, these "journeys" and being such a Church kaypoh does come with a price, you know, they do take up my nights.

For that, I am thankful for having such a supportive husband, who oddly enough, isn't Catholic.... he supports by not complaining.

Damn You Swine!!!!

Guess who's staying home today? Guess who has just a cough and yet have to tuang school? That H1N1 virus has reached WA. It's only a matter of time. I received a letter from the school, to keep Bryan home, since he has "respiratory illness" symptoms. Sigh....there goes my makan outing with my silai friends.

My Little Acorn

BEFOREThat's him looking all Beng in my Versace's holding his Bakugan... looking cool.........




AFTER

'nuff said... my little acorn... slightly puzzled

You Can Take Hubby Out Of Singapore but You Can't Take Singapore Out Of Hubby...

We are invited to a fancy dress party.
I have made up my mind of what to dress up in.
It shall remain a secret.... until the day of event, I'll have pictures taken and I'll post them.
So for the past couple of days, I've been calling up friends to borrow stuff for it.
So far, friends are very excited for me.... So I guess I've got my get-up down pat.
Then I casually informed hubby:

Me: Eh... I have decided to go as "******************"
Hubby: OK, then go borrow stuff for me too.
Me: What? Ew... you and ******************* don't go... Aiya.. go wear your army uniform can already la... Hubby:Dowan.. skali all the Singaporean friends all wear army uniform how?
Me: I don't care. How to borrow stuff for you? All my friends got girl stuff only.
Hubby:Do you have any Scottish friends?
Me: (Bewildered) WHAT? You want to wear a kilt ah... no underwear one you know... night time some more, you not scared cold ah?
Hubby:The party indoor one what....

On the one hand, I salute him for being very game for dressing up for the occasion. On the other hand, I cannot imagine him dressed up in a kilt.
So I called Angel, my sis. Angel suggested Hip Hop and Sam's got the entire getup.. down to the male/female bling.... So I chope lor. So? Problem solved...
Now to tell Derrick the good news....

Me: Eh... No need to find already... You dress HipHop... Sam's got everything
Hubby: What? Hip Hop? What's HipHop.... Thick Socks is it?
Me: (Whatta.... "thick socks"???? His deafness so bad now is it?)
Caitlyn: I know what HipHop is Papa... You wear a cap, jeans, T Shirt......
Me: See? Even your 8 year old daughter knows....
Hubby: I only know hip hop dance...
Me: Ya la... then what the dancers wear? Naked ah?

Sometimes I wonder.... does my hubby live in an underground bunker with no multimedia influence at all?

Out From The Mouth Of My Babe....

As the nights were getting colder, it was the time of the year to whip out the quilt from cold storage. After fluffing it and putting it into a quilt cover, it was ready for Bryan's bedtime. Seeing his puffier-than-usual blanket as though for the first time, he quipped "My blanket's got a diaper!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been busy packing up and boxing stuff up, for our upcoming move. I was looking at some old photo albums and one photo caught Bryan's eye.. it was of a very heavily pregnant me, taken weeks prior to Caitlyn's arrival. My hair was very much shorter then, but nevertheless, it was "mummy".
Me: Bryan, who is this in the photo?
Bryan: Mummy
Me: What's wrong with mummy's tummy?
Bryan: It's so big!
Me: Do you know what's inside?
Bryan: A fruit?
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Pointing at an anemone while watching a documentary on Oceanarium one night.....
Bryan: Mummy, that anemone looks like a penis!

Bryan's First Trip To The Dentist

I received a postcard, reminding me about Bryan's dental appointment..which was supposed to take place 2 days prior... and I went "What the...." Anyway, same went to Bryan's classmate.

Anyway, I knew I had to prepare him, be it verbally or with a social story. I took the short and sweet route... bribery.. I armed myself with a brand new, still in mint condition Drago Bakugan and bribed him. I still needed to prepare him for what was coming up. So I told him "Bryan, you see this Bakugan? You can play with it AFTER you let Aunty Penny and Aunty Jenny look into your mouth to check your tongue and teeth, OK?". Hypnotised by the Bakugan, he replied "OK".
So off we went, to Campbell Primary School, and into the dental office. He was a real trooper. He hopped onto the chair, put on the sunnies, opened up when he was told to do so, clutching on to his Bakugan. Halfway through his examinations, he lifted up his prized possession, he asked "Guh you huang guh hee ngai gagugang?". It was hilarious.. the dental nurses cracked up. It was so funny.

I had tears in my eyes throughout, not only because of the funny incident, but with the short conversations back and forth between him and the nurses, and with him doing exactly what the nurses wanted... at that moment, he seemed so.... well... normal.

Anyway, he'll have to go back there again in June to have a filling or 2 done... I have to up the ante now..........

Don't Mess With THIS Angel....

I love this clip. It's very funny. My sis made this clip with her soon-to-be hubby, Sam who plays the thief.

ISQ....

Things are getting near normal now for me, routine wise....

Bryan will be back to full 5 day schooling beginning next week. His main stream teacher, Mrs. Ralph reckons Bryan will benefit from attending school rather than skipping school and attending that 30min OT session. So, arrangements have been made and as luck would have it, his Case Manager will be running therapy with his Teacher Assistant.. in school! How good is THAT! I MUST have done SOMETHING right! The ONE up there has been blessing Bryan all the way. Next agenda.. how to handle his first dentist visit this Wednesday..... The mere thought of it... already giving me a blinding headache. A friend of ours had to have their son put under GA just for a look-see. Sigh.

SO..... now, I am able to join my silai friends swimming every Wednesday morning, after morning mass. See if I can firm up my ol' thunder thighs or not....

Caitlyn's over and done with her NAPLAN. I hope she does well. But that doesn't mean she gets to rest on her laurels.. She still has to practise her guitar, recorder and piano as well. See if I can get a candid shot of her practising her guitar......

Even the Blind Can See.... Time for some serious griping...

See the big hole on the ceiling?

Our building manager claims it's normal to have holes like that wor.... external roof some more.

That LC, in one sentence, brushed hubby aside saying "we won't fix it"...

Then Hubby clever... told them off... "if you're not fixing it, don't bother scheduling for an inspection". Damn angry with some of them... if they want to siam, they will siam. Don't pay them, then they'll LL.

Trip To The City

This is Bryan's favourite shop in the city. Notice the skeleton of a croc there?
Picture with Poh Poh

With Mummy

Trip out to the city was fun. We parked and rode the train. The kids soldiered the heat and walked without any complaints. Wherever we would be, Bryan seems to be able to find his muse.... crocodiles....

Attack!

A hair raising... I mean... fundraising drive for Leukaemia foundation was held at the Livingston shopping center and the kids had fun having their hair spray coloured for the cause. The fundraising booth was manned or kidded (to be precise) by a few kids. We had 2 choices... either get our head shaved or have our hair coloured. Caitlyn wore her hair to Mass the next morning..... the wash that evening couldn't get all the colour out.

Next time, my turn!

Caitlyn's Gift To Mummy on Mother's Day

ALL THINGS MOM

Mum's potrait

Mom's card made at the Craft shopAnd this is what she wrote on the inside

Doesn't the mummy in the picture look absolutely gorgeous? It must be a picture of someone else. I hardly look as tidy as that. My hair has gone so long.... and yes! Today's the day I get my locks chopped off! Up till now, I don't know how radical a change to choose. I'm tired to the same old style I've had since I was 5. Stay tuned!

Caitlyn's Reconciliation Journey

Caitlyn will go through her Act of Reconciliation this year, June 27th, to be more accurate. It's a big step for her journey into the Catholic faith. Her school, St. Emilie's a Catholic school, so she gets her Catholic education during school instead of having to attend Catechism after school like the kids from public schools. This is one big do she will remember because she was baptised when she was hardly 3 months old back in Singapore.

I attended a meeting with her at school and we had so much fun. Her homework? Make a bumper sticker and something out of playdough. She is supposed to complete the sentence "God is like a ..........". I bought the cream of tartar yesterday.. got to get the playdough cooking soon. Anyway, today, is the start of her NAPLAN (nation wide exams), so praying that she does well. Aussie kids, especially in Lower and middle schools don't get many exams here, compared to Malaysia and Singapore. Despite the exams, nothing stops for them. She still will have her recorder, guitar and swimming lessons, library period, play, play and more play. I tell you, she's one cool cucumber. Only the mother is the one nervous like anything. Can't help it.... mother's a worry wart.

Fruits of My Labour

I have a grape.... er... tree? Grapevines? Whatever, finally, they ripen and once I may have said I grew green grapes, I was wrong... they were purple! And I was very surprised cos they were green like... forever.. and only just before harvesting, they'd turn purple. The picture above shows our second harvest. Our first harvest was when mom was here. And you know what the strange thing was? they taste more like pomogranate than grapes.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's day started bright.... no, make that dark and early... at 4am, exactly. I was awaken by Bryan's shuffling feet... and a bloody nose. Sigh. It's one of those mornings. Then after 15 mins of I'm -trying -my -darnest -not -to- fall -asleep- nose -pinching, the bleeding stopped and I let him continue to sleep in the middle of the bed.... Mistake no.1. He spun like rotors. He flailed like an octupus. Aiyo... I could hardly fall asleep from then on. Drifting in and out of REM 2 sleep, I finally gave up.. and woke up at 6am.

Anyway, blood and gore aside, I brought Caitlyn to Church, and came home to a few presents the kids made me. Oh by the way, I wore a beaded necklace Bryan made me for Mother's day from Ed Support. Very nice... I wouldn't have worn it if it was made of pasta... the dye will sure stain my neck and I'd probably break out in hives. The beads are beautiful, very earthy. Here's a picture of me with the necklace on, and my presents on the table around me. I'll show you close shots of Bryan's little book. Very entertaining.

See how long my hair has grown? I have a hair appointment next to chop my locks off. I'm leaving my hair on the hands of this Malaysian fellow who's going to slice and dice my hair. I haven't any idea what style to choose yet.

My mom is 3 years old ??? The teacher left out the 8 after it

No wonder he thinks I like them nuggets and sausage rolls... those are his favourite and who else makes them for him?

I'm kicking my feet up today.... I'm going to take a beauty nap. I didn't cook lunch... Derrick told me not to........... did you think he'd whip something up in the kitchen specially for me? If you thought he did, you obviously don't know him at all... he got us.. KFC! I admit, I do like KFC.. I mean, who wouldn't, apart from vegetarians and vegans? So it's after lunch now, I'm blogging just before taking my beauty nap. See ya'll later! Enjoy Bryan's Book about Mom!

Jumped the Gun!

Er.... Guess who again?
I know, I know, I did say earlier.. like months ago... I was baaaaaack! But sadly no, it has been a whirlwind 5 months I tell you.... A few days after Derrick's mom went back, my mom came to stay for 3 months, till the last day of April. And 9 days later... I'm back! For real.

I hardly had the time to sit by the computer let alone blog. Anyway, here's a little update... I'm back to standing on my own 2 feet, after both MIL and mom's help, post surgery. I feel 100%, on medication, although there are times the ol' ticker plays up on me.

I'm back ferrying my 2 kids with 100 schedules weekly. Caitlyn's started guitar lessons as well as swimming at a private college. Bryan's still getting therapy at home as well as at school and he's doing very well.

Our house is "getting there"... it reached lock-up 2 weeks ago, so I hope we get our keys say in 8 weeks time. Let's see if I can upload the photos....

Kitchen island bench

Cooktop (facing the island bench) - they'll put in the stove and oven later

His and hers sinks in our ensuite - still wrapped in protective plastic