First Piano Accompaniment Lesson

Both hubby and I had slept late last night - I finally surrendered to my dreamland at past 3am, just half hour before he got home(when I had to wake up and opened the door for him) and I couldn't wake up when Renee came to my bedside at 8am. I simply couldn't get up and thus, I told her to try and resume her sleep, which she didn't as usual.

Then, at 9am+, she came to me and said "mommy, I need to 'mmm mmm'" and that worked, it woke me up instantly and I told her to quickly go, lolz. However, feeling lethargic, I climbed back to my bed after I've got her bread, butter and water(tried to avoid formula milk for e time being) ready. She was very excited and told me that she's able to open the fridge's door. Oh man! And thereafter, it was very nice of her to just do her drawing and let us continued our sleep, sooo sweet...

Renee played, for the 1st time, with the piano accompaniment, Ms Tan today. Not knowing when will her exam date be and as Ms Mok hasn't received any notice yet, we had hoped that it'd be in March(so we could have more time to prepare), so it had supposed to be only a trial today. However, Ms Mok told me today that she's called up to check and was informed that it'll be on the last week of Feb and that means, we would really need to buck up now! OMG!

Ms Tan had looked abit stern when she walked in and Ms Mok's comment that she can be abit fierce might have frightened Renee that she was even more reluctant to co-operate. At one point of time, she even looked as if she's going to cry, geez. After some coaxing and the promise of a lollipop, she slowly began to be more receptive and luckily, it turned out that Ms Tan wasn't that fierce afterall, lolz.

They started by playing the 3 exam pieces but Renee only played them once - maybe no need since she's able to play on-tune? and then they began the Aural lesson. Renee had to repeat by clapping and telling Ms Tan the rhythm she's played on the piano. Thereafter came the singing lesson - Renee has to 'sing' the rhythm that's been played. Then she's tested on her ability to tell how a rhythm has been changed between a few sets of notes.(hope I've described correctly, heee)

Midway through the lesson, Ms Tan turned to ask Ms Mok if she could try 'something' with Renee and she started to test Renee by playing the keys/notes(sorry, I dunno how to explain this, lolz) on the piano. To our surprise(Ms Mok has told her that Renee has not been coached at all in this area due to her inability to understand maths/equation yet), she managed to get a few notes correct!

As I've not expected wonderful performances today, especially it being the very 1st time she's playing with a real accompaniment, I must admit that I was rather happy when I heard Ms Tan's comments. I couldn't believe though, probably due to the frustrations I've encountered during her practices, but Ms Tan, like Ms Mok had, said "I've played with so many young violinist, she is....." and with that, I think I should just take her words, be happy and shut up, kekeke. Phew, at least my and even her very own efforts were not wasted, phew... I told her about the frustrations too, that she's lazy to practice esp. when pieces/excercises got abit difficult and again, the same remark "it's like that with young children, even I was like that when I was young" and that again, was another assurance to me(but which means I have to vomit more blood? Arrrggghhhh, lolz)

However, we're still not sure how she would react to the examiners on the day of exam and I'm crossing my fingers...

*I had not understand earlier, when people told me that it's expensive to learn this instrument. Now I do, for not only we have to change the violin rather often(size - which is a must and even quality upgrade-if possible), we have to pay separate teachers for practical and theory/aural lessons, plus the accompaniment for the exam(oh I 've forgotten to ask how much will we be charged for the exam day...)

Back Alone

Hubby has to go to the temple, so he sent us to the arts class earlier and arriving there at 2:20pm, I was surprised to see that some of the students from the same class had already settled in. Still thought we were early, lolz but luckily, I still managed to find a seat that's not in the direction of the air con blower. The teacher has mistaken the work of the later class to be those of this and asked the students to look for their work as no name was indicated. Renee couldn't find hers and retrieving from my mobile the pic I took last week, I tried to help her look but still, we couldn't find it. The teacher recalled that it's a mistake...lolz.

I've also noticed today, that the assistant has, for the 2nd time(excl those times when I didnt get to see of cos, :D), been guiding Renee to draw/paint with her right hand. The 1st time I saw it, it was merely the ticking of materials so I left it, but when I peeked in mid session, I saw her holding Renee's right hand whilst guiding her on something and I thought perhaps I should let them know. So, when the teacher passed by the door, I signalled to her and requested if she could inform the assistant that although Renee is ambidextrous, but mainly she draws, writes, paints and colours with her left, so kindly do not correct her.

Today, I finally managed to catch a little chat with my ex-colleague and even got her mobile no.(oh that reminded me that I've yet to send her a text with mine!)

After class, we proceeded to Marina Sq thinking that I might be able to find what I need from the JL sales but no... Nothing much from Suntec too, not even at the Tangs Bazzare sales(though we met someone from our GUG classes, small world, :>). When we were almost done, hubby said his client'd just phoned about his arrival and that means = me sending him there and going back ourselves... Having drank quite abit of water, I know I had to go to the toilet before leaving but that still didn't help much 'cos half way at CTE, I was feeling the need to go again! It was bearable then and with Renee asleep in the car plust we're in the midst of the highway, I had no choice but to control.

Exiting at SK, I thought maybe I could rush back to pee first but I doubt I could get Renee fully awake, besides, it's gonna be very troublesome to get her out and back to the car again later, so I 'tahan' til we got to Eileen's and by then, my bladder's almost bursting, hahaha.

Eileen has taken from her friend 2 party dresses on my behalf and from the pics she's emailed me, we've chosen the dress the one with sleeves but the sleeveless one looks better when worn. However, Renee seems to like the one with sleeves but its design is rather formal and thinking that she actually likes the 'butterflies', Eileen took 2 down from the dress(replaced with ribbons) and gave them over for me to sew onto this piece, :) and she was finally ok with it, lolz(better, since the other party dress she's got is with sleeves too).

The Dental Visit

Yes, this visit has been looooong over-due for mommy!

I've been hving occasional toothache on my left side for the past few days and since hubby's going to have his crowning checked, he said he'll booked me in as well. Finally, I have the chance to have my teeth cleaned! But, needless to say, after sooo many years of absent dental visits, my teeth are now very 'dirty' and thus, the cleaning process was abit bloody and good thing Renee wasn't frightened by its sight. Besides the Colgate roadshow I've brought her to, 2 years ago, this is her 2nd but real visit to a dental clinic. This visit gave her an in-sight on how/what takes place during a dental check/cleaning. It's probably time for hers soon I think but I'm not sure where I should bring her to....

Group Leader

Today, Renee had gotten herself up pretty easily but it takes the rest of the mornings to confirm if my 'talk' with her really worked, lolz.

I had also told her quite some time ago, that she'd have her own alarm clock when she's older and thinking that it's now about time for me to train her to get used to its use, I passed her mine and told her she'd have to wake up, get up, stop the alarm herself for her afternoon naps. For the 1st few days, she had lazily let the alarm beeped all the way til it stopped on its own on the but for the past 2 days, she's finally reacted positively to it, ;).

This morning, she's left her PT com book at home and I only realised it awhile after they've left for school. Not wanting Renee to be afraid, I quickly text hubby, asking him to explain to the host teacher that the book's left at home but he said he didn't retrieve the message due to driving(alamak, can't retrieve upon arrival meh?). I wanted him to do that 'cos Renee was at the point of tears yesterday when she couldn't remember the question, actually it's the word 'ancestors' that she wasn't sure if she's remembered correctly, and had asked me to send her to the school to re-confirm, poor girl...

Oh ya, Renee told me that she's now the 'leader', haha. I asked if she's made the class or the group leader and of cos, not fully understanding it, she just replied that there are 2 other friends whom were also made leaders. Then, when I teased her about being happy for being one, she pretended to change the 'situation' by saying "no, I'm very tired". I asked "why so" and she said it's because her table has more friends - that's when I realised she's a group leader(I think), lolz. And yes her table has about double the no. of students as compared to the other 2 tables, :)...

Her school bag was left in the car on Tuesday after we've gone to the Physician's and feeling unwell myself, I didn't really checked the com book when it was brought up later. It was only yesterday morning that I found this piece of paper where she's supposed to draw on and when I went to pick her up today, I saw some of her friends' work already up on the board! Aiyah, I was quite worried for her but she said it's ok, teacher said still can submit later(phew) and so I did it with her('cos it's another pc of work to encourage parent involvement in the children's work) this afternoon after Ms Mok's left - ya, home lesson today. This is the 1st time PX has encountered Renee's lesson and when it's done, she asked me "har, just like that? wah, very good hor. so u're the one whom hv to teach her so much lor?". Ya, what to do, I'm not musically trained, so I didn't know what I've gotten myself in at the time when I signed Renee up, lolz. If I had known that it takes an older kid to understand all the stuffs and that I've have to do all sooo much of home guiding work, I might have signed her up later man! Hope this little child of mine will appreciate it when she grows up, :).

This is the artwork we did together, I realised that although Renee can draw things she sees on her own, it is really very important for a child to have proper guidance/foundation in the arts 'cos that will help her to express her ideas alot alot easier and in a more correct way. Glad we've signed her up for the arts class... :

Pedicure Treats

I've still got 2 sessions left from my package and to avoid their CNY surcharge(which I find ridiculous to be charged, esp. when one alr has a pkg with e salon), which starts on 1 Feb, and also to thank Eileen for all the marketing she's done for me, I asked if she'd like to go with me today. I'm still recovering from my bad sore throat(still very irritable) and phlegmy cough, but this appointment's booked since last week and today's the only day I can go with her before the 1 Feb, we went ahead.

Renee as usual, had to tag along with me and despite hving promised to stay still, she didn't quite fulfil that and with the pressence of her aunt, she couldn't refrain from her infamous requst "can you play with me?", hahaha.

I've fixed the appointment at 4:15pm, supposedly to be after Renee's violin lesson(which was postponed...), thinking that it'd be just on time for Renee to have her shower and dinner before her bedtime but when our pedicure ended after 5:30pm, we had detoured to NTUC as Eileen needed to get some stuffs. From there, I saw the multi-cooker I've wanted to buy for our own steamboat dinner this CNY eve(instead of dining out like before) and plus the packing of dinner, we got delayed further and only got home at 7pm, :(. Good thing hubby helped to shower Renee whilst I cooked her dinner(she insisted on eating home-cooked dinner) and she still managed to go to bed by 8:30pm, :).

Renee's been phoning her aunt LiLi almost everyday and recently, she began this routine with her aunt Elsie as well and this evening, the moment we stepped into home, she's got a call from her, lolz.

Oh ya, despite hving gone to bed earlier last night, I saw her yawning in school today and on our way back, she said she wanted the nap and so I let her. We'll see about tomorrow...

The Belated Birthday

Looks like the 'no afternoon' nap worked! Well, at least it did for yesterday/last night but more monitoring's needed 'cos we were out right after school yesterday plus, she had something to look forward to(her papa's birthday surprise). With her falling asleep almost immediately when she hit the bed(for the past week, I have had to 'ask' her to close her eyes and try to go to sleep), she woke up the instant she heard my alarm this morning - she did make that usual request "can I sleep for a little while more?" but had gotten up the minute I went to brush up. She must have remembered and wanted to give her papa the birthday cards she's drawn for him and was already by his bedside when I came out.

As Papa was brushing up, I urged Renee to hurriedly drink up her milk and then she was standby at the hallway, with the violin in position, to play him the birthday song. However, as this was totally out of what I've planned, it was abit 'clumsy' and we ended up going in to the room to find him and came back out to the dining area for the 'performance', hahaha.

The cookies and cream cake Renee's bought for her Papa.

Wanted her to buy Tiramisu but she found it too plain looking, :D :

The birthday kiss again...

Oh ya, out of fun, I've put a ribbon on Renee's violin, doesn't it look cute now? hehehe :

As for the new routine, we'll see how it goes the next few days...

Disappointing

After the 1st few days of school, it has become relatively hard to get Renee up from bed in the morning. The 1st day was easy, she was excited, so she woke up the minute she heard my alarm beeped but the 2nd and 3rd day, she began asking "can let me sleep for a while more pls?", something which I don't wish to adhere as snoozing, like lazing in bed, can be become a very bad habit. However, since it's her first week, I had allowed her an extra 5 minutes. However it got worser yesterday, after the '1st' weekend, she not only asked for the extra sleeping time, she even threw tanthrums before dragging herself to brush up.

Fore-seeing more of such days, I had a talk with her, telling her that wasting time in snoozing, lazing in bed and in the toilet will only make her late for school and on the other hand, I'm getting tired of having to go through all the fuss again. Today, I saw great improvement - she woke up when my alarm beeped, though not without asking for the extra 'time' :D, but she didn't fuss like the past few days.

Renee had been good for not catching the 'bug' til over the last weekend(many of her schoolmates had taken ill 1 after another since sch re-opened) and I had caught it too. Not wanting to wait til her phlegmy cough worsen, I told hubby that I'd like to take her to the doc after school today and if he could let me have the car for awhile but he's got a golf game. However, he offered to take us to the physician(which was even better 'cos I had thought to just go to the western if there's not enough time) and since I'm also not feeling well, I put my name in the appointment too. My symptoms : heavy head, irritated cough cause by phlegm, stuffy nose, slight fever - caught it from our dear princess. Good thing we've brought her there today as the physician said that her body heat is rising and she'd get fever the next few days, phew, hope we're able to prevent that on time.

Despite these symptoms, I still decided to go ahead with my plan of a birthday surprise for hubby and asked him to send us to Compass Point instead, after the consulation. After our lunch snack, we did some 'walking around' as requested by Renee before proceeding to the supermarket to buy the vegetables. After checking out the various confectionaries on their cakes, we finally made our choice but afraid of damaging the cake, we both took the risk of getting caught in the rain and took the LRT instead of a cab - I can't hold on to her if I had to watch over the other bags of stuffs(good thing it hadn't rain).

The minute I learnt about the golf game, I had told hubby to come back the soonest possible and I assume that he'd come back right after the game But, he did not... Good thing I've not planned for a family dinner(as we've briefly mentioned last Fri) but still, it's a big disappointment to Renee especially when she's been waiting in great excitement to surprise her Papa with the birthday card she's drawn so carefully and the cake she's bought with her own money.

We've been trying to contact Papa from 6:30pm but couldn't and when I finally got through his line at past 7pm, he had to call us back as he hadn't heard the mobile ringing. He said that he won't be able to make it back til about 9pm - he was half way through his dinner with the golfing khakis then. Renee was sooo disappointed and I was, with obvious cause, really upset. When I sent him a long message regarding this, he replied that he's already on the way and should be back in 20 mins' time, BUT, it's too late...In order for Renee to fall asleep faster(and have even longer hours of sleep) after being brushed up by 8pm, we're trying out the 'no more afternoon nap' routine today, and being tired, she had already knocked out when I went to check on her and I told him so... What's more frustrating was that he even answered "how was I to know?", "next time don't plan anything for my birthday" when I commented how unthoughtful he had been! and then he kept quiet when I said he's un-appreciating...

Haiz, no choice, though Renee's not keen in 'celebrating' for him tomorrow - she said that it's no longer his birthday then, awww... I guess, for her sake, I'd still have to let her have the pleasure of surprising her Papa tomorrow morning before she goes to school.

A Packing Sunday

Hubby has to go back to the temple(most of the rest stayed overnight there, praying) early this morning and I thought we might dine out tonight. However, when he still wasn't home by 3pm, I knew we won't be able to come back early if we do go out, I decided to just stay home and pack up our store-room instead, since it's a school day tomorrow. Just as I was about done, Renee phoned his mobile and he in turn, asked me to phone the rest about passing them the food(pity Elsie doesn't stay close by). Aiyoh, I was in the midst of tidying up still and having sore throat but then he's driving, so how? Me lor... :D.

Well, at least now the store-room look neat again, :D.

3rd Art Lesson

Renee must have gotten used to the early hours already, that she woke up this morning at 7:30am(despite hving gone to bed later than on sch days) and exclaimed "oh no, it's 7:30 already! How to go to school?!", hahaha. She calmed down when I told her "it's ok, it's Saturday, no school", hahaha.

Whilst she's attending the art class, we went to Parkway Parade, looking for a drink(which we didn't manage to). Geez, it's really congested in this area(the road congestion is another big minus point) and I really really don't like it. I hope I won't have to move to this area in the future, 'cos it'll be really frustrating to be there everyday.

Today, I had taken heed to my 'inner voice' and had brought the rest of her art materials over as there hadn't been any indication of what to bring this week. Then when I brought this up when we got to the class, the teacher said that some children must have forgotten to jot down the 'instruction'. Renee was then told to follow the assistant to where a schedule was pasted and the children were then guided to tick the required materials(for next lesson) on the list in their own sketch books - I don't think children at this age can be left to jot down on their own.

Oh, someone has asked me what kinda medium/materials will this art class teach/use, here're the items :

I didn't purchase the long sleeved apron & scissors from their supplier,

'cos I've got this long time ago via an an online overseas spree, :D

Drawing Block
Sketch Book Kraft Paper
Oil Pastels
Poster Colours
Water Colour Cakes
Magic Pens
Permanent Marker - Hi-Mckie(12 Colours)
Black Permanent Marker Maxiflo

Scissors
Glue
Apron
Portfolio

Since we were unable to see their work last week, Renee held up her artwork to show me thru' the door's window when she saw me peeking in, lolz and I quickly took a pic of it with my mobile, :)

Spring Cleaning @ Granny's

After Renee's art class, we went straight to my mom's. It was after our dinner(li's fried tanghoon + nibblets) that my mom requested Li to help change the curtains. Our mom has always liked to have everything changed just on the eve of CNY but it's been increasingly impossible for her to do such chores herself that she has to surrender that thought and get them done earlier since we don't go down to her place when it's near to CNY - we all need to spring clean our own homes.

The change of curtains led to mom asking her to clean up the windows and next the kitchen area... It became abit too much for her and we started to pitch in abit here and there, when we came back from downstairs, buying the CNY decorations, etc. We left earlier as hubby needed to go to the temple. Seems like the CNY mood is beginning to set in now, :)...

Birthday 'Celebration' at the School

We were still comtemplating if to 'break the rule' and let her have another cake cutting at the school when we learnt that her pre-N classmate, Nicole will also be celebrating her birthday there. But I told hubby that the school teachers will know how to handle the situation and they will not let Renee feel left-out by getting the kids to sing the birthday song for only the child with the cake. He was relieved after hearing this and stuck to the traditonal notion.

It was raining this morning and when Renee's changing into her uniform, she told me that she'd have to put on the Kinderfit attire('cos they didn't manage to have their Kinderfit session y/day) but as I see no instruction in the comm book, I told her to just put on her dress uniform(actually, I was still thinking if I could let her put on home attire since it's her birthday-she didn't do so last yr either). She hesistated, probably fearing being scolded for wearing the wrong outfit. To calm her nerves, I told her that I'd bring the set along and will change her in school if needed. She even gave up her white colour tiara hairband(she had emphasised that it's this one, probably fearing that I'd not allow her to if I've mistaken her choosing the SnowWhite one, haha) in case she really needed to wear the tee + shorts, :).

When we got to the classroom, I passed Mrs Ong the bag of birthday favors and my camera(requesting her to help take photos of her distributing to her friends on our behalf) but the minute Nicole arrived in her home attire, you should see the initial shocked but immediately disappointed look on her face! I felt for her and asked if she'd like me to get her her home clothes, she nodded only after I've asked her the 2nd time but Mrs Ong feared that it might be too troublesome for me. It's just about 10-15mins drive and so I left for a quick breakfast with hubby at PP before I went back, grabbed her clothes and rushed back to the school.

Renee had started to feel better after I've changed her but as we were walking back to the classroom, we saw Nicole's mom waiting outside, with a cake and also a bag of birthday favors. Oh man, Renee's mood changed again, hahaha... I chatted with Nic's mommy for a while but as I see them getting ready for their snack-time, I thought it's perhaps time to get her cake n stuffs in and I tried to help out abit since I was there.

When they placed the cake on a separate table, Renee stood up, walked towards me and asked "mommy, where's mine?", Oh man... I replied "you said you didn't want one at school so mommy didn't get it. You already had yours at home and you can only have 1 cake cutting, remember?" She looked like she's going to cry but being her, I saw her controlling, so I tried to make her feel better by telling her repeatedly that it's ok.

She was told to stand beside Nicole 'cos there was only 1 chair provided but later when they saw her standing there awkwardly, they quickly put another one for her too. Good thing the mommy and the other birthday girl were very nice and they let Renee to join in the cake session. Renee was of cos feeling abit 'out' as it's not her cake and I kept repeating 'it's ok' to her... She didn't smile during the photo taking session and when it was time for all the classmates to join them(it was 1st the girls, then the boys and then the whole group), I had to make monkey faces to tease her to smiling and finally managed to catch nice pics, :D.

Then it was time to blow off the candles - Nicole had graciously allowed Renee to 'help' her(oh, such a nice girl! It's no wonder she's soo well-liked by her classmates dur their Pre-N yr) but although Renee happily joined in later, she didn't really dare to 'overdo' it since it's not her cake, she didn't really manage to blow off the candle but she was already feeling better.

When Nicole was distributing the cakes, Renee walked quietly back to her seat and remembering the heart and bear shaped-cut bread(in case of party and she can't take the party food) I've packed for her, I asked if she'd like to have them. She was delighted and ate them 'proudly', hahahahaha. Actually, I've only rememebered to do this just before I went to bed last night and I'm glad that I did, since it'd somehow helped her regain some 'dignity' I supposed, keke. I've had my share of embarassment myself too, when I had unknowingly 'declined' the slice of cake Nicole's brought to me 'cos I've just had a really really full breakfast but recovering fast, I quickly took the cake and apologised : "Oh I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to reject", lolz..

When they began having the school's porridge, I got up to leave but when I phoned hubby to report to him on the 'situation'(from his text messages, he must have been anxiouos about how Renee was feeling, lolz), he said 'don't have to come back lah, u'd be going out immediately if you come back now, what for?", and it's only then that I realised it's already 10am, lolz. I went to re-park the car after putting the balance packs of birthday favors(some were absent, but I'd tot it's usual to leave them in sch til the kids return? Anyway, i just followed suit, lolz) 'cos I've parked very near the school-bus lot.

Luckily I'd gone back, 'cos when I was told earlier that the birthday favors would only be distributed when it's near going home time(as usual), I noticed that they seemed to start giving out Nicole's and when Zhuo laoshi saw me standing outside, she asked if I would like to do so as well. Not wanting Renee to feel left-out again, I quickly agreed and then it became abit messy, with both of them distributing their own favor bags, hahaha.

It was all well at the end and it's thanks to the nice gestures rendered by all, that my girl's no longer feeling that sad.

When I met Nicole's mom at the door earlier, I was pleasantly surprised when she asked why we had only joined in so late(3rd week). She had remembered me telling her last year that we'd be switching Renee over to the am session this year! Later, whilst waiting for the class to end, we both chatted outside and guess what, I found out that her name's the same as 1 of my close friends, Vicky! Also, her eldest daughter is also named Renee and today's also Nicole's actual birthday! Oh man, how many co-incidents can we get in a day huh? Lolz...

On my way home, I heard Janice calling me but as I was driving without the ear-piece and my mobile's in the smaller handbag, I couldn't pick it up. When I checked the phone later, I realised that she's actually text-ed me(and I was still at e sch!), asking me to wait awhile for her as Jerome has a self-made card and a present for Renee but I've missed that message! Oh man... I called her back and asked if she'd like to meet up somewhere so I could also pass her the extra birthday favor I've packed for him but she said she needed to run errands and will pass to us another day. I'm ok with that but guess what, she phoned me up again and said she'll drive over to our place to hand us the present, awww... I suggested that she go get her stuffs done first and come over with Jerome after his class and they did. Renee had a nice though short time playing with him at home, :) and she even played the violin for them!

Hubby managed to come home early and we went to Swensen's for Renee's family birthday dinner - I've heard so much about their birthday firehouse which they give to the birthday person and I wanted her to experience it. She even ate up the kid's meal we've ordered for her, hurray! She's really 'grown' up, lolz...

Printed these last minute for her birthday favors

The birthday girls exchanging birthday favors, lolz

Almost forgot to give Jerome his pack, so we rushed down

The card Jerome made for her...

Adapting and Learning New Instrument

3rd day of our 'trial' week and I felt that with Renee attending the am session, although I have to make do with Not having some of my personal treats, we have more time in the afternoon which allowed us to do some work sheets and 'artwork' like these :

At school, much to my delight, Renee seemed to be adapting pretty well and according to Mrs Ong, she is coping well, :D. I even saw her dancing to the CNY tune(probably for their performance at the assembly hall?) with her new friends this morning, :). And today, they've also began their 1st 'actual' music which involves the use of keyboard individually.

Today's been rushing mad for me. As it's Renee's violin lesson day, I had the use of the car and I took the opportunity to go get my groceries(the bulkier ones). Earlier last week, I've seen the bundle pack of toilet rolls that I like, at the NTUC @ Kangkar mall but didn't get, due to the inability to lug it back home without the vehicle. However, I've not been able to find the same bundle deal at other branch since, so I went back there this morning and was very happy to find it still available there, heee. After I've packed the stuffs I've bought into the car booth, I rushed over to the other NTUC at Hougang Mall for more - 'cos couldn't carry the sack of rice together with the rest, so I had to make double trips(& I parked at e mall).

After Renee's had her lunch and a nap with papa, it was time for her violin lesson. And since we're near Compass Pt, we made a quick one over to grab a new stationary case(for her art class) - she chose 'Dora' over 'Barbie's' despite me asking her many times, hurray! hahaha and guess what, it was then another round of groceries shopping at the CS and that made a total of 3 supermarket trips today! Geez, I am sooo tired now man, :)...

NAFA Kindergarten's Playground

Las Saturday, as we had time(waiting for hubby to come pick us), I took happy Renee to their playground and finally got a better look at it :

*Btw, all her presents have been unwrapped today. Not wanting them to be 'obstructing' - sitting on the floor for the next few days and since she's also agreed to have the rest kept aside first and playing with yet another 1 more toy set, I relented, heee.

The 'First' Day II

Just as I've finished the earlier post, I heard Renee coming through our door and although she was smiling widely, she replied "not so good" when I asked how her day had been... However, like we've kinda expected, she seemed to adapt well but of cos, it would still take time for her to overcome the missing of her favourite friend, Vanessa, which I know, the bonding of new friends would help better(like she had liked her CC friends better then?).

On the other hand, Nicole, her ex Pre-N friend, whom used to be the friendliest in class, has seemed to have forgotten about her(which Renee said might be due to the girl being 'shy') and the only new name she's 'learnt' today was 'Jun Hong' - which was easy for her to remember 'cos that's also the name of another boy from the pm session, :).

Seeing her dark eye bags, I told her to have a nap first and whilst tucking her to bed, she made her requests of mee-sua for lunch later and for me to sleep with her(which I told her I would after my chores, though I'm not too sure myself). Then she also told me that she'd like to go back to the pm session(mayb becos she's heard that Vanessa had also switched to the am and then back to the pm before) when we've got another car, awww... Though it's warmed my heart to know that she's sensibly agreed and adapt to the change but I can't help but feel alittle sad to hear this, 'cos it means she misses her friend. I really really hope that she could bond with her new friends soon, so that in the event that if we really do get another vehicle, I could do other things with her in the afternoon instead of going through the hassel of another 'change'(even if it's possible 'cos I'd hope not to)...

*She's cheekily asked to unwrap the rest of her presents, which we'd eventually agreed to have 1 each day, 'cos it's just nice, 5 left, to last til her birthday, :D.

The 'First' Day

The minus point

Having slept badly the night before, I had to drag not only myself but also Renee up this morning at 7am.

Not sure if it was due to the sheer excitement of her 'first day' at the morning session class today, I couldn't go to sleep til 2am. Then at 2:30am, she came and told me to sleep with her again(my itchy backside lah, I've gone to sleep with her earlier and unable to do so, I came back to my bed to read...), I think probably also because she's was woken by a mosquito sting. Then, at 3:30am, I got up to get a mug of hot water to warm my aching leg(I was sleeping near the window and the strong wind caused my leg to ache badly) before returning to my bed again, for yet another restless sleep, thus waking up zombie.

She was ok all the way to school but she kinda 'hesitated' when we got to the classroom. This school has been pretty good at handling 'new students' situation and it's good that 1 of the helpers/assitants, whom she knew from her N year, greeted her warmly at the door - for temperature taking and the familiarity of her host teacher, Mrs Ong certainly helped to put her at ease. She came to receive her at the door and told her that she'd introduce her to her new friends(she told me softly that the kids at this class are quite chatty, so there shouldn't be a 'problem'). Her smile when we waved goodbye was assuring but I still hope she would find nice friends to bond with, soon...

The plus point

I've gone for breakfast with hubby thereafter, and it's nice to have someone helping me to carry the heavy groceries back once again, hurray! :D.

I was also able to put up the first load of laundry by the time we got home and this reminded me of the benefits of my earlier early waking days(when Renee was younger, heee) - else we would have slept the morning away and I'd still be just getting her ready for school at this time now, :D.

The Home Birthday 'Celebration'

Sunday

As we're keeping the celebration simple, I told hubby that we should at least get Renee a even nicer cake this time and so I've ordered a 2 tier-ed cake for her and co-incidentally, we both agreed with the same design, heee.

PC and family had arrived later than the time we're expecting everyone, the mahjong session(huh, is the occasion a celebration of a kid's b/day? aiya, it's like that for our family lah, lolz) had to start late and thus, ending later.

To my surprise, Renee had not requested to unwrap all her presents(although she did ask eventually, though not insistent, probably due to various urgings, lolz) except for one which she did and played with, the entire time whilst the rest, including myself(hey, though I've kinda pre-selected the gifts to prevent 'wastage' of gifts, I was also curious to see the presents but I have to control myself mah, lolz) looked on with anticipation, hahaha. It's a good thing though, else she would have a problem tearing herself away from the new toys to go to bed 'earlier'. :D.

When the mj session finally ended at around 9:30pm and after we've waved everyone goodbye at around 9:30pm, I quickly gave Renee her slice of bread and after a drink of water, got her brushed up and changed for bed(had planned to let her go to bed by latest 8:30pm). She must have been very tired herself 'cos she had already knocked out when I came out of my shower, lolz.

Thanks to everyone whom has came over and made Renee happy, :). Oh, she's agreed to wait til her actual birthday to unwrap the rest of her presents, so Li, Jo and Wayne, wanna come over and see? lolz.

The original design of this cake came with 'boyish' figurines but

they've kindly changed them to these, :)

We managed to 'save' up this

Her presents, all thanks to her doting aunts and cousins, :)

*A self reminder - must plan properly in advance for future gatherings at our place, to avoid the hassel of having to order and re-order of food(esp. those that comes in 'pieces', hahaha) due to 'shortage'(and prevent whatever that may arise from it...) , hahaha.

A Tiring Weekend

Saturday

Slept late on last night(or should I say Sat morng? lolz) and thus, woke up late again today... Guess this weekend's the last chance I get to wake up late from Monday onwards, :(.

Hubby had remembered wrongly the timing of Renee's art class and thus, we had to rush over and I stayed there whilst he rushed over to the temple. No more orientation/getting used to since it's the 2nd week already and 'cos I've stayed back, I managed to catch a glimpse of how the classes are conducted. The teacher began the lesson with a story and they were also brief-ed on the various 'shapes', 'lines', etc... As there were other parents whom had also stayed back to wait for their kids, I took a seat and read my book so as to give way to them taking a peek. When everyone's had their chance to watch, I got up again and thru' the door's small window, I saw them joining the dots on a piece of art paper but that's all I managed - later, she told me that she's also used the magic pens and drew on coloured paper, which she and most of the girls had chosen the colour pink, lolz. However, as they were not to bring the artwork back, I have no idea what she's done, :).

As we're not holding a formal celebration of Renee's birthday this year and perhaps it'd be less tedious for my mom to join us on Sunday, we decided to go over to dine with her. We didn't stay long and left soon after dinner(we only got there an hour before we went down to the rest....) and somehow, she looked kinda 'lonely' as we waved her goodbye downstairs - she didn't want me to walk her up and since it's still early and 'bright', I obliged. This is life I guess, no matter how many children you have, once they grow up and have their own family(ies), the old ones will mostly be lonely, well anyway... When we got back, whilst hubby napped, I decided to take on Renee's request(something she's asked to do so a few days ago) to pack up the birthday favors which she'd be giving to her new classmates on her birhday. It was real tiring man, all the cutting of wrappers, sorting, etc, and my back already ached like what even before I had gone to half of the load. Renee was helping me happily but half way through, it appeared that she's made me even busier to sort out the 'mess'(things she's forgotten to pack in, the confusion she's caused herself, hahahahaha), :D.

A Comforting Touch

1 of Renee's toe nails cracked and despite feeling very tired with a backache(read coming post, lolz), I tried to trim it off before it cracked further and caused her more pain.

I was cutting off the cracked nail when she asked why I shielded it from her sight and I told her that she won't feel the 'fear' if she doesn't look at it and

She said "mommy, next time when I become a mommy, I want to be like you"

Mommy : "oh why?"

Renee : "because I want to take good care of my baby even if I cut my finger"

Mommy : "why you say that?"

Renee : "because you cut your finger and you still 'pong pong'(shower) me. you are a good mommy"

Awww...I guess the pain of her cracked toe nail might have made her 'feel' the pain I had when I've cut myself whilst preparing her meal... :).

Spelling?

Since the time hubby started(and left the rest of the job to me as always) guiding Renee on how to read some words, she's been asking us constantly on the formation of words.

We are not fully phonic equipped but we try our best and she's now able to write things like 'mommy, I love you, you are my dear', 'papa, I am sorry, I will not do it again', 'vanessa, you are my friend', etc. However, don't be impressed too soon ok, she can't remember all the words we've taught her ya! lolz...

But, her daily spelling checks seemed to have helped her a little, 'cos today, she took 1 of my mailers which read 'are you ready for the .....' and told me "mommy, look, 'are you 'what' for the..." and just now, she drew a big oval shape, put in the word 'Singapore' and asked me how to spell 'idol'. I was doing something and didn't respond very well to her request and when she got frustrated, I have no choice but still not wanting to spell it out for her like hubby does, I tried to 'read' out the word, emphasising on the pronounciation of the letters and guess what, she managed to form the word by herself. Has she fully grasped the phonic foundation, surely not la, the school hasn't even started a single thing on this and she's not gone for any enrichment in this area but for now, it's enough(for me) that she could spell some words in this way, kekeke.

This is what she's wrote for me tonight, hahaha :

When we went to pick Renee up together, I saw her playing with Jerome near the door.

Last evening, she had insisted on giving her friends(not all, but most of them, about 10) a drawing each, as a keepsake memoir but she told me later that she's passed all the drawings to Vanessa instead as her teacher has told her that there wasn't enough time(perhaps she didn't know her intention?) for her to do so. Anyway, hopefully Vanessa's parent(s) could see the different names written on each piece of drawing and let her bring back to her friends... :).

Due to the changes, I didn't quite have the mood for her practice this whole week(we've skipped a few days already) and I suggested lunch at Hougang Mall. After hubby's left to do his work, I continued 'shopping' with Renee at the mall.

I had wanted to order some cupcakes from Li's friend's bakery but the latter is now very busy with her orders of lunar new year's goodies, she might not be able to accomodate my small order(I only need about 20pcs). To buy from other bakeries, it would cost more than a nice 1kg character cake and not wanting to get from unlicensed home bakers, I'm now still undecided if I should just get a small cake for her friends at school as the old saying of 'no cutting of cake twice' still bugged at me. In any case, since we were at the mall, I went to get some kiddy food to add to her party packs, in case we decided to really do away with the cake which might add on workload to the teachers, lolz...

*oh, the am session, being more popular with most parents, have more students intake. Her class will now have 18 students! - 9 boys + 9 girls(including Renee).

The Switch

Yes, it's been finalised and official...

On Wednesday, hubby got home and asked me out to lunch before we go pick Renee up together and he 'broke the news' to me. He had in fact mentioned this a few days ago but I didn't pay him much attention. The news was - he wanted to switch Renee to the morning session, as it would better facilitate ferrying her to and from school with the car and leave him abit more time to do his work.

To be honest, it's not that I mind making the switch 'cos in fact, I was the one whom had initiated this many times since more than a year ago! It's just the way he decided on it that annoyed me.

I had earlier felt that this might be good as we could prepare her for the early waking hours in her coming primary school days but the only thing that had kinda deterred me from taking a definite action to it was that we might enrol her to a partial single session primary school(although that's another issue which we'll need to seriously address later) and also, Kinderland's morning session starts really early - 8am to 11am.

However, with Renee unwilling to take the trains to school(she's lazy to take the walk), she has to be persuaded to the switch. Actually, I had brought this issue up again most recently, last November and even during December, to hubby but he had confirmed the later session! It was fine with me too, 'cos after the CC switch, I knew that it would be nice for her to return to the same class where all her 'old' friends are and it had proved so for the past 2 weeks. Needless to say, she was sad when I told her about the switch and as usual, I've been left with the job to eliminate her unwillingness... To do that, I tried the same theory that I've told her before(when I had wanted to make the switch for her this yr - oh, it really came true huh?!), which is that her favourite classmate, Nicole, from her pre-nursery class had already made the switch last year and she could join her in that class. She didn't quite buy the idea which is natural since she's lost touch with her for a good full year(she didn't even buy it when I've asked her early last year...), however, the biscuits offered as their breakfast meal on some days did appeal to her, :).

The school, however, had been pretty accomodating and as they don't usually take in students to the maximum capacity(as per MCYS' guideline), they're able to allow the switch rather easily. They had wanted us to give them a month's notice to facilitate their administration but as it has only been 2 weeks and only 1 music lesson so far(probably due to their music course being out-sourced, that's why), so they told us yesterday that they could allow us the switch from next week - This has been my request, though I know it'd be abit too rush to make the change, plus we'd be having some of her aunts/uncles/cousins over for her mini birthday celebration on Sunday, but I feel it might be better to change over earlier, least she gets even more attached to her 'old' friends...

I've told Renee that she could 'celebrate' birthday with her new classmates, she didn't like it but when she's finally 'accepted' the idea, she asked if she could still see her 'old' friends on that day, awww, I'll try and see what I can do about this though I doubt it's possible...

This morning, I told hubby to confirm our decision to the administrator and though I've apologised a few times to her earlier for the trouble, I still can't help feeling very 'paiseh'...

Hubby suggested switching her back to the later session when we've got another car but I said NO. If there's no real need for that, I guess I'd rather do the fetching and sending myself if that's the case since I'd already have to wake up early no matter how, to prepare breakfast and get her ready(and I'm no early riser ok!)... Anyway, all I hope now is that Renee will find new wonderful friends to bond with, from the new class and PLEASE, No More changes til primary 1. It's enough, for her and for me...

1st part of Spring Cleaning - Old Clothes

I've intended to do this whilst Renee's at school but finally couldn't take it and did it this afternoon, heee.

The big black contains her old clothes that I intend to 'keep' for pass-down(I have many nieces and most of them are at a marriageable age now u know, :D), the individual 'ntuc' bags contained those I have to discard.

The boxes I keep at the top of our wardrobe contain those I'm keeping also(with many many many bags donated/thrown already)...

And these boxes contain her new clothes...

As usual, no actual lesson for the 1st day but they've been asked to draw on the covers of their sketch book and this is Renee's :

The 'minnie mouse' sticker was of cos added on when she got home, :)

First Formal Art Lesson

Yes, finally! It's our darling Renee's first art lesson today!

Renee had really been looking forward to today's class but when we got there, she decided to be manja about us(mainly Me la of cos) leaving the classroom, hahaha.

The phrase that says we're living in a small world has proven its stand today when I found out that her art class teacher happened to be 1 of my ex-colleagues! She used to be the 'artist' in the jeans brand company that I had worked for(a short while when I tried to venture into the garment industry but later realised it's really for me) and she also remembered me! Really a small world... Even her daugher and son(both are alot older of cos) are helping her out in the class.

As you may have noted from my previous post that we've chosen the class at Nafa Kindergarten instead of the Nafa at bencoolen street('cos hubby said that it's alot nearer to us via the KPE) and we got to view the school for the first time today(we had actually tot of switching her to this kindy at 1st). It has a very nice, clean outlook and we were very tempted to change her to this school! hahaha.

This is the school's 'Arts Room' which, naturally is used also for their art class

I like their toilets

This is the are Renee had set her eyes upon happily the moment she got down the car, lolz. However we have to tell her that the playground is only meant for the Kindergarten students, heee

Renee was all smiles when we came to pick her but when we asked if she's enjoyed the lesson, she complained that it's been too short, hahaha.

Dilemma

After hubby's taken my suggestion to put up an advertisment online, he's finally closed the deal to the sale of his Audi A6 today. I was just chatting about it with Janice, Jerome's mom, over coffee this morning and then I came home in the evening, to this piece of good news(good as he's been talking, thinking and talking about selling it for the past 1 year!) but it also leaves me in a state of dilemma.

2 years ago, due to the need of convenience when it comes to ferrying Renee to and from school, we've acquired an additional car. Now that Renee is older and is able to take the longer distance walk, the thought of doing away with my car had crossed my mind a few times. To be honest, this 2nd car is alittle under-used but for the times that I need to run errands and/or buy groceries/stuffs, it had come in really handy, especially since I always have to bring Renee along(what else can I do? lolz). On the other hand, as most of you would have known, I'm not exactly 'route minder' and thus, many a times, when I'm 'forced' to travel to a 'new' place, I secretly wished(many times) that I do not drive at all! So now, with the sale of hubby's car, we're considering if we should get another and for the last reason I've cited earlier, I seriously do not mind at all, whether I have the car. The only down point would be when it comes to rainy days and the difficulty of hailing a taxi from our place(we have to walk out and thus will be caught in the rain and as most taxis prefer to go to the city, there're not many taxis that come to this area so it's quite hard).

After a brief discussion and especially without any good valued vehicles on sale at the moment, we've decided to do with just one car for now(can save money too! heee) and see how it works for us, :).

A Running Up & Down Day :)

Arrived at the school earlier as usual to pick Renee(had to be even earlier 'cos there seem to be MORE cars now, haiz...) and bought another piece of uniform whilst waiting for class release. A 'L' size this time and so we'll see her some days in 'fitting' uniform and some days in a looser fit one, lolz.

I've packed buttered and plain bread for Renee to eat on the way to her violin lesson but as I've seemed to have estimated the time wrongly, I took her home instead, to change her clothes and eat her bread(shld hv cooked, :D). And 'cos I've not prepared a proper meal for Renee, we managed to leave home early but as we've got to Ms Mok's, our ringing of the door bell was only greeted by the barking of her dog.

I should have listened to my 'inner voice' and gave her a call prior to going down 'cos when I finally did, outside her flat, she apologised for hving forgotten to inform me that she's stills stucked in the school, Oh man! She asked if I could wait for her to rush back in half an hour's time but before I could answer her, she quickly suggested that to come over to ours instead. That would be alot better for us(I don't have to waste another parking coupon lolz) and we arranged for her to be @ our place at 5 so I could run my errands. On our way back to the carpark, Renee's already complaining of being tired and to be honest, I was feeling kinda too.

It's not very often that I go to SK hub's Post office and we had to walk up and down 'cos I've got to the wrong section initially. The que at the post office was not very long but as the staff are rather slow as usual, we were made to wait quite a while. However, luckily for me, a staff dispensing a parcel to another customer saw the notice on my hand and as mine didn't look like the usual one, she signalled for me to show it to her. That saved me from queing further and we quickly rushed to put the parcel into the car, before Walking back up to the mall to get 1 of her art class materials exchanged and the rest of the errands run.

We managed to get home before Ms Mok did and Renee was already very tired(had even fallen asleep on e way...) and that caused her to be a little cranky during the lesson but other than that, she managed to get a pass from her teacher, phew...

Found these little storybooks at the Popular bookfair @ only S$1.70ea

Settling Down

It's the 2nd day of school and in Renee's schoolbag, I found these(blw pic), plus a note on the uniform schedule. Unlike the Pre-N and N years, there will only be a Kinderfit/outdoor activity day from now on and that means, we have 'excess' T-shirts/shorts but need an extra dress uniform...

First Day of K1

Finally, our darling girl is attending K1 this year, how time flies(just found out that all her new 'bigger' shoes are getting to be just nice now and I've to dig for thinner socks in order for her to wear her new pair of shoes to sch tmrw)...

She had been looking forward to returning to school(oh why not, it's been 4 mths afterall, incl the nov/dec sch hols) and for the past couple of days, she's been waking up early that I 'warned' her not to do that on her 1st day of school, least she'd be too tired to enjoy it, :). And whenever I mentioned 'today' to her, she'd tell me "mommy, don't tell me, it's supposed to be a surprise for me on Monday", hahaha.

Last night, being excited I supposed, she couldn't fall asleep despite being quite tired already. That however, helped in a way, 'cos she didn't wake up til 9:32am this morning and when she heard me in the toilet, she got up, said to me outside the toilet door "mommy, I woke up already, 'cos I looked at the clock and it's 9:32am". Why she said that? - it's becos I've told her not to wake up before 9:30am, hahaha.

She tried to contain her excitement whilst at home getting ready and today, being the 1st day, I've anticipated 'car jam' at the compound and had asked hubby to take us there. The moment I brought her to the hall, she quickly asked to have her wondeeeeerful trolley bag and sat immediately down beside Vanessa to share with her what she's brought along. However, Vanessa didn't respond(like she did when we went back just before we joined the CC) and luckily I did not really detect any sadness from my girl's expression which means she's still ok, not hurt and is willing to 'wait', :).

In the classroom, whilst the host teacher, Mrs Ong(same as last year-they usually try to let the existing host teacher to take them onto the next level as familarity helps the children to concentrate on learning better) and the new(not new as in new with the school) Chinese language teacher tried to settle them down, I looked on, outside the classroom. Mrs Ong caught sight of me and waved and then, after a little 'discussion' with Renee, she came out to seek my opinion on which table to place Renee at - 'cos the one Renee wanted('cos her fav Van's at that table! lolz) is in the direction of the air-con blower and would be too cold for Renee. I of 'cos chose the one which Mrs Ong had intended for her and Renee pouted for a second at the decision, hahaha.

As hubby didn't go out early and I wasn't feeling quite well, he said he'd pick her up from school but as I felt better after a nap, I went along with him. Wanted to lunch out but as I've already prepared Renee's lunch, he went for his and I cooked my share back home. Renee took a long time to finish her lunch and she said that she's still quite full from the 4 bowls of fried mee tai mak she took at school, hahaha. The bowls are small but I'm very happy that she still likes the food this school prepares(which she actually took a couple of weeks to get to used in the beginning as well).

When she 1st saw me at the school door, she had quickly told me Mrs Ong's instruction that I'd have to write her name/class # on the Teacher Parent Communication Book(she must hv been afraid of forgetting the instruction, lolz.). On the way home, she recalled her 1st day excitedly and I felt so glad that her 'old feelings' are back. I really hope there would not be any more changes in this area for her liao...

Hubby suggested again that I should take the A6 instead, to send/fetch Renee to/from school as I don't travel alot and the mileage would not add on to the car as much as he might if he were the one to drive it to work, but I'm super afraid of its acceleration and also my fear of scratching it deter me from taking it on, so he's left with no choice but to take it, heeee. Haiz, the most I don't drive lor, what's the big deal - I could do with the weight loss from taking the train/walk anyway, :D.

Our Violin Experiences for the Past 1 Year

After the whinny display of unwillingness to play the violin infront of her aunts during the NY's eve gathering at our home, we've finally sorta talked her round to willingness. Today, at my mom's, it's the 2nd time she's done it(it was practicing when we gathered at Sis' on NY's day) and she even danced(yeah, finally, not without some promptings but, she did it, :D) to everyone's delight.

Thinking back, she used to resent practicing whenever it came to a new song. As analysed by her paediatrician and even her pre-school teachers, she's one perfectionist who doesn't enjoy doing something when she's not very sure for fear of making mistakes - she'll only do it when she knows she could do it well. So, during her earlier violin learning days, the first 1-2 days of her learning a new piece had always been rather rough but she turned receptive to the practices the minute she got the full song right on tune. Thereafter, there had even been times when she took up practices on her own, without me asking her to! Arrrggggh, how I wish such days would return and stay.....

Those 'good days' hadn't been long and the tough ones came back 1.5x, since I've agreed to let her go for the grading exam. Practices had been most tedious and I must admit, there had been times when I almost wanted to give up and just stopped her from learning even as she cried and told me that she wants to continue(even though learning violin isn't exactly her most passionate choice). Those were the times when this question will pop up - Do I give up for the sake of my sanity, enjoyment of peace and time(bearing in mind tt I don't have a helper at home to help with the cooking, washing, etc and I have to attend the lessons with her to learn myself, to guide her)? What happens when children whine about their studies in the future?

Yes, I'm not a person with great patience and I do get angry, very angry even at times, especially when she threw tanthrums and cried during her practices and when we urged her to play infront of my family. However, the teacher's comments and her(not forgetting mine!)hard work/efforts made me feel that I should try my very best to persevere least I'd be ripping her off from a special opportunity(I believe not everyone is given the same kind of chance to learn something). I can't say for now, how long I could upkeep my seemed-to-be running out patience but, alot had told me that most children need much persuasions(not forgetting parental involvement) at this age, afterall, how many children are there who are born with an utmost passion for a particular instrument? Besides, Renee had started quite young, when she's at the age when her level at 'school' has not even taught ABC yet.

Anyway, for now, all I can hope for is that she'd put aside her fears and distracted thoughts of play, to focus on her violin learning and even her studies in time to come...

The New Year

A new year has finally begun today and with so many things happening in the year before, I hope things will be well for all in this new and many more years ahead. Most importantly, I wish good health for everyone.

CHEERS, everyone!

The New Year's Eve

Luckily we haven't a big group this gathering and with the help of sis and li, we managed to provide a spread of varieties for our dinner - Sis : Rice('cos I don't use rice cooker, so can't cook enough rice for more than 3 persons lolz), stewed pork cubes and she came with dessert as well, lolz, Li : fried tanghoon and fried wantons, myself - Jap curry chicken wings, egg+potato salad and stir-fry vege with prawns and button mushrooms. Again, we've prepared too much and we've still left with quite abit of curry for ourselves even after mostly have been 'tapao-ed' to various homes, lolz.

Sis had earlier mentioned about getting champagne for the countdown but knowing that mostly wouldn't enjoy this drink, I suggested sparkling juice but then... I forgot to get them! In any case, they didn't stay long enough for the countdown and luckily again, I managed to shower myself on time to view the fireworks! Yes, again!

It seems like this year's year-end gathering has the pattern of our CNY's - lotsa gatherings, and it's another session at Li's/Sis' tomorrow, lolz...

*Have taken video of the fireworks(this yr's much longer than the preious years!) but not sure how to trsf the files to computer, this camera's using a different programme(though same brand as the one I had before)...

Festive Greeting!

Happy New Year, Everyone!