~ Stomach Flu ~

Sigh.. We are sick again. Gladys has been vomiting since morning. She losts her appeitite and whatever food she tries to input will comes out. It's going to be a difficult and sleepless night again. To make matters worse, I myself is having a fever and may have contracted the flu viral as well. Hubby is also not feeling well and I guess we might have over-exhausted ourselves during the wake and cremation services last weekend. The weather has been so bad that we got caught in the rain. Now I can only hope we all will recover before the reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve. :(

~ Flu Symptoms are Back! ~

Everytime when it is near the CNY period, I tend to get sick. The weather and spring cleaning activities are big contribution factors to my state of health. My colleagues and friends have be advising me to take more Vitamin C or tonics to improve my immunity. Just as I thought I am on the road to recovery, flu symptoms are back to haunt me again. :( The non-stop sneezing and running nose are irritating and making me tired.

Denver has been feeling sick since yesterday too. He had headaches and then complain of a tummyache and eventually vomited on our way back home from the wake. Since this morning, Hubby also develops flu symptoms and we are planning to bring the children to the doctors tomorrow and stock up some medicine for the CNY.

Wake proceedings will continue tomorrow till Sunday and I'm hoping everyone will be healthy and well.

~ Part time cleaner service for Spring Cleaning ~

Every year I will be in charge of all the cleaning in preparations for CNY. Since December, I have started tidying up the wardrobe, storeroom, drawers etc. and gave away some of our old clothes or toys to the charity. As the date towards CNY draws nearer, I will start to wipe the cabinets, clean the fans, windows and change the bedsheets.

This year, I finally decided to engage a part time house cleaner to assist me with my Spring Cleaning. One of my most "hated" chore is cleaning the windows as it is very tiring and takes up a lot of time. For $50 (4 hours of cleaning service), the house cleaner helped me cleaned all the windows, 4 ceiling fans, toilets, kitchen cabinets, fridge, sink and mop the floor. She was pretty quick and I'm happy to relief most of the chores off my shoulders. Especially so since I am still recovering from a persistent cough and we are busy with the wake proceedings. I may even consider engaging the house cleaner again next year just to pamper myself a little bit.

~ Godfather's passing ~

Early this morning, Hubby received news of his Godfather's passing. He was diagnosed with last stage cancer in December and as it was discovered too late, there is nothing that can be done to save him. Within a month's time, he has left us. Godfather is an amiable, warm and kind person and it is a lost to the family members especially at this period. Although the news sadden us, he is now relief from all the pain and sufferings. We will be attending the wake proceedings till Sunday and may he rest in peace.

~ Denver can bicycle :) ~

We started the kids to ride on bicycles with training wheels. So far they have been getting used to the pedaling but has not been progressing since the 4-wheeled bicycle is so stable. When we gave one of our old bicycle (without the training wheels) to my bbil, the results have been amazing. Royston was able to ride on the bicycle within a week! I believe the child is ready to learn to bicycle when he has the desire and determination to master the skill.

Hubby and I have been spending some time after work teaching Denver some cycling tips. The height and seat of the old bike is low enough and Denver can have both of his feet touching the ground. Whenever he is scared of falling, Denver can always put his feet down. Initially, we hold on to the the back of the seat when he started cycling. This can be quite straining on our backs and my right arm was having muscle-ache for a few days! Hubby also let Denver coast/scoot down a gentle slope so that he can have a feel of balancing on the bike and took him to a wider open space to learn cycling.. After about 3 weeks of self-learning and practicing, Denver can finally say good-bye to his training wheels and ride on the bicycle too!

~ CNY Home Deco for 2011 ~

We finally finished putting up the CNY decos inside our home and at the life lobby area a few days ago. Here is the final look! I particularly like the bunnies where the designs are simple and cute.

Only 9 more days to CNY! I haven't complete my spring cleaning yet but will try to do the final touch up this weekend! So much to do with so little time! Oh my!

~ 9th ROM Anniversary ~

I have been sick since Tuesday with a bad flu, cough and occasional fever. Went to see the doctor 3 times to get MC and also seeking another opinion since I wasn't recovering well. Due to the persistent cough, phlegm and stuffy nose, my appetite has been pretty dull.

Hubby and I spent our ROM anniversary just like other usual days. Since it happens to fall on a weekend, we were able to take the children out for lunch and dinner. I utilized my final $20 Sakae Sushi voucher which I won in the previous blogger contest and Hubby treated us for dinner at Jack's Place. We have been so busy and preoccupied with work and pre-CNY activities that I am truely grateful to spend our anniversary quietly and peacfully. :)

Enjoying each other's company and being with the family will be my greatest joy and happiness.

~ New plants for CNY ~

Apart from spring cleaning and decorating the house, bbil and us will always visit the stretch of plant nurseries along Kovan and buy some new pots of flowers or plants to brighten up the house. There are so many to choose from and it does takes awhile before deciding which one to buy.

Denver & Gladys love to sit on this swing which is at one of the nursery. See how much they have grown within 1 year!

After comparing the various pots of 金钱树 at the different nurseries, we finally set our eyes on this one. Hubby & I love it's shape, greeny leaves, colour of the pot and it's overall display the very moment we spot this little pot which was being set aside on the floor.

This weekend we are going to hunt for CNY goodies and we will be almost ready to welcome the Year of Rabbit! ^_^

~ Drawings - Picture for a friend ~

Gladys received an art piece from her classmate, Louis and so she also wanted to draw a picture and give it to him tomorrow. Gladys loves to use markers with different colours in her picture. I think her drawings have improved too. :)

~ Punggol East Family Event 2011 @ USS ~

Punggol East residents are in for a special treat! Rivervale Community Center has organised a Family Day Event at Universal Studios Singapore at a discounted rate! (about 30-40% off the usual price). On top of that, there will be free transportation, breakfast, door gifts and lucky draw!

Our first visit to the USS was a year ago at its sneak preview. Back then, there were no rides or shows and it was purely walking and looking around the theme park. Next month, we will be making a date with USS and anticipating lots of fun and excitement! ^_^

~ Astons Express ~

We always see a long queue at Astons Specialities and have long heard about the good review on their steaks. Recently, we saw a couple of Astons Express stalls opened in the neighbourhood coffeeshops and Kopitiam Foodcourt which tempted us to try some of their menu.

Earlier this evening, we went to one of their newly opened outlet at Hougang Plaza and ordered Chargrill Chicken - $5.90, Black Pepper Chicken - $5.90 and Crispy Fried Fish - $6.50 for dinner. (We also get to choose 2 side dishes from a range of selection.)

The chicken and fish tasted alright (no WOW factor though) but it's a pity that the serving looks a bit too moderate. Hubby didn't felt his tummy was filled with the smaller piece of chicken. Nothing much to pick about the coleslaw and baked beans, unfortunately Gladys does not like the french fries (which was a surprise) as it was too salty. I guess the additional salt sprinkled onto the fries has made it less enjoyable.

We were a little bit disappointed but I guess maybe we should have ordered the steak instead. :)

~ CNY 2011 Programs & Events ~

CNY 2011 is only 3 weeks away! Every year we will bring the kids to Chinatown to see the colourful streets and look at the various stalls.

There will be an official light-up on the streets of Chinatown TONIGHT with lion dance performances, entertainement and not to forget the grand finale of firecrackers display! Every year, it will attract a huge crowd and so we usually stay home since it is very challenging to bring the kids along and squeeze among the crowd. Not to mention the long waiting time and securing a good spot to watch the firecrackers display.

There are a series of events lined up for Chinese New Year 2011. We will be looking into bringing the children to some of these programs since we have a longer CNY holiday this year. ^_^

Chinatown Street Light-Up 2011
Official Light-Up - 15 Jan 2011

Chinatown Festive Street Bazaar 2011
Date: 14 Jan - 2nd Feb 2011
Location: Pogoda, Smith, Temple & Trengganu Streets

Chinatown Chinese New Year Countdown 2011
Date: 2 Feb 2011
Location: Eu Tong Sen Street & New Bridge Road

River Hongbao 2011
Date: 1 Feb to 13 Feb 2011 (Free admission)
Location: The Float @ Marina Bay
(http://www.riverhongbao.sg/)

Chingay Parade 2011
Date: 11 Feb to 12 Feb (Ticketing applies)
Location: Pit Building (Next to Singapore Flyer)
(http://www.chingay.org.sg/2011/highlights.asp)

Sentosa Flowers
Date: 3 Feb to 13 Feb (Free admission)
Location: Sentosa Boardwalk, Merlion Plaza, Imbiah
(http://flowers.sentosa.com.sg/)

~ Supper Celebration for Hubby's Promotion ~

Just came back from a heavy supper at AMK Central - S11 food center. Hubby finally got his promotion after years of service. That calls for a mini celebration. Anyway, we happened to be walking around the area and stopped by for some food.

Yummy Stingray, Satays and Chicken Wings. Slurp!

~ Chinese New Year Deco - 2011 ~

In less than a month, we will be ushering the Year of the Rabbit! There are so many pretty Chinese New Year Decorations on sale and I am so tempted to buy all of them. Hahaha.

This year, we saw a couple of Bugs Bunny theme as well as other Bunny designs. I managed to buy some of the paper decorations from Malaysia which is something that I don't find in Singapore. Something special for our home. ^_^

Usually we will spend about $50 on CNY Decos to rejuvenate our home and welcome the Lunar New Year. Bbil even decorate from within his house to the entire corridor of the same floor.

I will probably find some time to tidy up the house this weekend and put up the decos! Can't wait to see how it looks. :)

~ Lion Dance performance @ Northpoint ~

Chinese New Year is around the corner and we are seeing beautiful CNY decorations, delicious goodies on sale and hearing CNY songs around major shopping malls and neighbourhood shops. Earlier today, we were at Northpoint shopping mall to watch a breath-taking Lion Dance performance by an award-winning lion dance troupe (郭氏功夫金龙醒狮团) from Hong Kong.

The performance is scheduled to start at 7pm. But by 630pm, there were already a lot of people at all floors standing by to catch a good view of the show later on. We managed to squeeze through and get a "front row seat". That comes at the expense of waiting for 30mins for the 10minutes lion dance stunts. :)

It was definitely worth the wait. The performance was fabulous and the children were amazed by the various jumps, stands and stunts the lion dance has displayed. Even we were impressed and the award-winning troupe won applaus from the cheering crowd.

~ Free Red Packets for CNY Loans ~

From now till 31st Jan 2011, you can redeem free red packets (Ang pows) when you borrow 6 items from the public libraries. (*While stocks last!) ^_^ We have been frequent patrons of the library and have redeem 2 packets to date.

If free angpow is not your cup of tea, you may want to try your luck in winning tickets to a romantic ride on the Singapore Flyer with their Valentine's Day promotion!

For more details do visit: http://www.pl.sg/page/PLAnnouncements&newsLocation=PL#janhappenings
Happy Borrowing, Reading and Winning! :)

~ Back to School ~

School holidays are officially over and Denver will be back to school tomorrow while Gladys will start hers in another 2 days.

The children will be back to their once familiar environment, greeting their teachers and old/new friends, unlike last year where they were newbies when they just started out in Nursery and Primary 1. Books, uniform, wallet, water bottle, shoes are all ready and it's time to go back to our hectic schedule once again. Anticipating heavier traffic, rushing between schools, work, extra lessons, meetings and going through their homework.

With Chinese New Year only one month away, Mommy may only find time to blog on weekends moving forward. Have a happy school term 2011!

~ 2010 Christmas Parties ~

This is an outdated post on the parties that we attended during Christmas last week.

Christmas Party @ Steven's house on Christmas Eve.

It was the first time we stayed over at Steven's house past midnight and countdown for Christmas. Denver and Gladys had so much fun with the other children and didn't feel tired at all! Food, drinks, games, toys and Christmas presents!

 Group photo @ the Christmas Party (Thanks to Jefz) :)

Christmas + Birthday Party @ Andy's house on Christmas Day

We went to Andy's house for another Christmas cum Birthday party on Christmas Day. It was Wenwei (25th Dec) and Wenyi (27th Dec) birthday celebration. So nice to have birthday around Christmas season. :)

Everyone is having a good time.

It has also been a long time since we met up with old friends.

The children get along quickly and easily.

Thank you Steven & Andy for the invite and we have a great Christmas week. ^_^

~ New Year Countdown 2011 ~

This year countdown party is a special one. Not because it has spectacular fireworks or it has great music/entertainment. The only reason is Gladys stayed up with us all night and countdown to the New Year with us for the very first time. :)

The countdown party @ Harmony Square (Sengkang) started from 8pm onwards and we went down to get free light sticks, whistles and mineral bottles.

In order to stay awake, we played kinect games and watched TV programs.

The main highlight for tonight - Fireworks! We went downstairs to countdown for Year 2011 together! It's a new year and wishing all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2011!