~ Changi Chalet and T3 ~

6am... Gladys woke up rather early today. I can't even sleep slightly longer.. Only had a more tiring day packing yesterday and today my legs and body is aching.. 太逊了，真没用。:(

We set off to SAF Changi chalet and reached there around 10am. The living room, kitchen and toilet is very big! The 2 bedrooms on the second floor are also very spacious. Brother-in-law bought us breakfast and after that we headed to visit the Terminal 3 Open house in two cars!

The kids were very excited.. Eileen is busy taking photos with her mobile phone. I'm sure she will be blogging this on her blog. There are still some minor construction work around the area and there isn't any shops open yet. Although it is a weekend, there isn't a lot of people. Hubby purchased the $1 tickets and we headed towards the departure hall gate. Next time, we'll have to purchase air-tickets in order to enter.. so this is a good chance to bring everyone for an mini tour. There are a lot of greenery around.. Trees, flowers, indoor pond with fishes... There will also be a Butterfly garden! Everything looks and smells so new.

Gladys is extremely happy today.. She loves aeroplane... and we brought her to have a closer look at them.. Well, she may not remembers it... but at least she enjoys it this very moment.. :D Every Open house tour tickets came with a lucky draw coupon. The lucky 50 winners will win a complimentary T3 Swatch watch. We drove back to the chalet after having some drinks and food at McDonalds. I'm tired.. :p Nap Time!

Woke up at 3pm... Gladys is still sleeping. Must be the air-con... it's so cooling compared to the hot weather outside... we are so cozy on the bed. :p I really hate to pull myself up! No choice... have to wake Gladys up for her meal.... It's work time! I managed to have a short break in between to play a quick mahjong session with my sister-in-law, her sister and Eileen's mum. :p Actually, I don't really know how to play.... only observed my hubby played a couple of games and pick up from there. I have very little practical experience. Since no money is involved.. they are very accomodating.. especially since I am really slow.

We brought the kids home after the BBQ. All of us were very tired.... Felt really unlucky these 2 days.. My Blackberry's buttons are not working well... and worse of all, I wanted to watch some TV program and the TV is damaged after I switched it on for awhile! The screen turns black and into a single bright line... :( Bad Luck! What can be worse?? Hubby later told me he had a car accident on Wednesday which he did not tell me until now....... paid $400 for the damages.

I do feel kinda sad... There are many things happening around the house... I guess hubby is already very troubled and frastrated... No luck for him at the lottery for the past 2 years, and now we have to pay for the damages on the car and TV. But come to think of it, it is a blessing that he is well and there are no injuries. There are always up and down in our lifes... most important of all is we are all healthy, safe and happy. Cheer up Dear... I'm sure somehow, things will work out. We just have to work harder.. :D

I just pray and hope that we have a good, safe trip on our on-coming vacation to Malaysia. Maybe a trip overseas can help to change our luck for the better. Even if it didn't, I hope the family has a happy trip together...

~ Bye Bye - Concourse ~

Finally... after a couple of months of preparation, discussion and packing, today's our final working day at the Concourse building. It is my 3rd year here and I kinda miss the place.... no more waking up late, no more good range of food selection during lunch, no more shopping, no more checking out of party goods and so many more......

Today is a very busy day! Everyone is doing their final packing and there are boxes everywhere. I helped Catherine with the collection of keys. She wanted them to be pasted on the drawers together with the master keys.. Taking the keys out of the rings are tiring.. after releasing over 40 of them, my nails start to break.. although I do not keep long fingernails, it is still painful after a while. sobz... Only manage to complete 3/4 of the area on the 34th floor..

Lunch time!!! We all went to the Japanese restuarant at Concourse for our final lunch. I was very hungry... ordered a saba fish set. Nice.. :D My stomach is fulled and satisfied so now back to work! I have to engage Andrea, Sookiat and David's help to finish the job after lunch. If not, I definitely cannot complete it by the end of the day. We were busy taking the keys out, cutting and pasting. At around 4 plus, we are finally done. Phew.... It's definitely a good exercise for me! I can feel my legs aching now... hopefully I still have energy to look after the kids at the chalet tomorrow. :p

Our office's Auntie will not be continuing her service with us when we relocate to Tuas... so today is also the last day I'll see her... I missed her too.. She has been a loving and caring person. Being a cleaner is not an easy job... I can truly understand because my mother has been a cleaner for all her life. I wish her good health and have a blissful life ahead.

Before I leave the office, I had a final look at my cubicle.. New cubicle is awaiting me.. but I am not at all excited.. Sighz.. As I took my usual path to and fro from work, I took an extra look at the surroundings. It's going to be a very different look and feel when I go to Tuas... no high rise buildings, lesser cars, fewer crowds... Bye Bye Concourse.

~ Meet & Greet ~

Christmas is around the corner and there are a couple of "Meet & Greet" sessions for the kids in the shopping malls. We have 2 shows to catch this week.

o O o Saturday o O o

Headed for one of Denver's favourite show - Ben 10 Meet & Greet session at Takashimaya. We were there slightly early and took some pictures with the Big Christmas tree. The show was scheduled to start at 1pm and we reached the atrium at 12 noon. There is a toy fair and it is a good opportunity for us to start sourcing for Christmas presents for the kids too. 1225pm - the queue started to form and we joined in so that we are eligible to take photos with the characters as well as the quiz session.



Generally, the questions are not easy if you are not a die-hard Ben 10 fan. Denver is too young and so he happily join in the crowd shouting and raising his hand not even knowing what is expected of him when the host picked him to answer a question. :p For every character, there is a question and answer session where prizes will be given out followed by photo taking. I only managed to persuad Denver to take a picture of him with Ben.. He simply refused to go to the stage to have his pictures taken with Four Arm and Wild Mutt. Sighz... kinda wasted..



After the session, we bought some Christmas presents and headed home to rest. Initially, we planned to go for the Pokemon show @ 7pm.. However, as we had an unexpected long, late dinner, hence the plan is re-scheduled to Sunday.

o O o Sunday o O o

Hubby took Denver for his 3rd swimming lesson while I rested at home. It's so quiet and Gladys definitely had a longer nap. After our lunch, we took Denver to Rivervale Mall for Pokemon Meet & Greet session which is showing at 1pm. Pokemon and Meow are the highlights of the show and this time round parents will need to have a minimum purchase of $20 to be eligible for photo taking with the Pokemon characters. Based on yesterday's experience, we are very certain that Denver is not keen and true enough he did not show any interest at all. Ah well.. that save us $20...



Had a nice, short nap but I was awaken by the sound of thunder! Rain starts to pour.. still we droved out to Bishan Junction 8 for dinner as hubby promised Denver to bring him there to play the arcade games in Virtualand. We played some games and spent quite a some of money and time there.



There goes my weekend... It's Monday!

~ Medical Review ~

Yesterday's night teleconference started and ended rather late... When my phone alarm started to ring, I did not really feel like waking up and had a sudden urge to work from home. However, I got to go for my medical review @ suntec and thus have to force myself to wash up and to go office.

It's a busy morning.... I tried to clear my stuff before I left for my appointment which is scheduled at 11am. It is a long wait at the clinic.... there are always so many people looking for Dr Fung. I sat quietly at a corner, reading my medical report while waiting. As expected, my cholestral readings are on the high side... However, there are also abnormal readings on my urine test with rather high white blood cells count.

Doctor called me in to wait in her room.. that's another 5 mins wait before she came in. With regards to my cholestral level, I was adviced to reduce my weight, do regular exercise and cut down on oily, fatty, fried food. The other abnormalities stated in my report is there are fungus and bacteria in my urine test. I asked what was the caused and she explains that this is due to high sugar and carbo. I would have to cut down on sweet stuff and intake less carbo like rice, flour, noodles. She also puts me on a 3 days medication for this. I headed for lunch at the basement food court after I collected the medicine. Looked around and had no idea what to eat... especially after my medical review... It's going to be noon time and I better order something before the crowd comes in. After making one round, I finally decided to eat Japanese's fish, vege rice set.

Had a little walk around Suntec, bought a set of single fitted bedsheet which cost me $10.35 and I took a bus back to Concourse. 1240pm... Tired.. I filled up my cup with warm water and took the medicine... It was alright before I realised the wordings on the box..毒藥... Hmmmmm..

Was so excited that I show the box to Andrea, SiewHuan, Soo kiat and Kealvyn... Most of them were so amazed except for Kealvyn... I have not show hubby yet... maybe tomorrow... but I seriously don't think he will be amazed too..:p

~ Dry run to Tuas ~

545am - Rinnnngggggg. Woke up to a very cold, windy, rainy morning. Today it's the day we have our dry try to Tuas from our home before the official move on 26th Nov. However, I guess it is going to be a 'wet' run instead..

630am - All ready and set to go... We send Denver and Gladys to my bro-in-laws place first.

640am - Hubby drove me to Yio Chu Kang MRT.

655am - Arrived at the station and got on the train. I believe I am rather early and there are many empty seats. It's been many years since I last took the North South bound train. I used to take it often to go to Kranji during my University attachment at the Singapore Turf Club. Got the chance to see the horses, trainers, chiller rooms, computer rooms, control station, ticketing area and even the VIP rooms where you can get a bird's eye view at the whole race course! Those were the days.. how times flies..

735am - Arrived at Jurong East station. Hmmm.. hungry.. I did not have my breakfast in the morning. Since I am still early, I bought myself a Big bun to eat.. :) Manage to meet up with Nicole, Cat and the others as we make our way to the bus pickup point.

820am - There are so many buses gathering along the road busy picking up the people to their respective work place. Like Creative, Hitachi etc. Our company bus was suppose to arrive at 810am. It was late by 10 mins..probably due to the heavy rain and morning peak hours.

850am - Finally, we reached the Tuas plant. Some of us were hungry.. and quickly headed towards the canteen. There are free coffee, tea, milo and toast! I had a second serving of my breakfast with a cup of milo and toast with kaya... :) I guess my bun has already digested along with the bus ride to the plant..

910am - Meeting starts....

1205pm - Break for lunch. We headed to the canteen for our free lunch.. There are rice, western food and noodles to choose from. I wanted to try the western food.. but was told that we have to wait for another 20mins... :( I queued for the chinese food instead.. had rice with fish and vege, salad, 1 drink and watermelon. Supposed to cost me only $2! I guess I can save up on my future meals... since it is subsidized.

110pm - Safety tour around Tuas to see where are the muster (assembly) points in case of emergency.

130pm - Headed back to Concourse. Woke up early in the morning and after a heavy lunch, most of us were very tired and slept on our journey back.

230pm - Back in Concourse office and starts to work!

505pm - Going home! YEAH!!!

~ 累 ~

It has been an exhausting weekend... Gladys had a high fever on Saturday night... It's a good thing I discover it early when I felt that her hands are extremely cold. I knew something was wrong and true enough she is running a temperature. I quickly ask hubby to feed her medicine and for the whole night and morning, I have been carrying her in my arms. She felt like a fire ball! So Hot! I am feeling the heat too.... I did not have a good night rest as I have to monitor her temperature just to make sure her fever does not go too high..As she has been coughing and vomitting, I carried her to the living room to rest instead.

Whenever I try to lie her down on the mattress, she will cry. When I try to sponge her with a wet cloth, she will also cries.. Both of us could not sleep well.. 1am...2am...3am...tick tick tick... I think for some moments I knock out for a couple of minutes... 4am...5am...6am... She finally goes to sleep for awhile... It's morning.. and I am totally exhausted.. Hubby took Denver for swimming lesson at 8 plus... I am left home alone with Gladys to continue sleeping....but not for long. She woke up at 930am.. where I start to feed her porridge... The rest of the day continues with most of the time carrying and playing with her... By noon, I could no longer take it.. especially after my lunch. I have to ask hubby to look after them instead while I try to catch a couple of minutes rest...

Gladys is better today... still coughing though. Personally I have not recover from my cough too. This week is going to be hectic.. There are meetings, dry run in Tuas on Wednesday, work issues to settle and night teleconferences. Sighz..

Going to catch my beauty sleep now...

~ Dinner & Dance ~

Tonight is my company's annual Dinner & Dance... sad to say Gladys and Denver are sick. Gladys' cough got worse and Denver is also having a running nose. We took them to see the doctor in the morning and he advice us it is nothing serious and prescribe them medicine.

Gladys being at a younger age is harder to manage.. she will starts to cough and eventually vomit her phelgm together with the milk or porridge.. We had to clean up the mess... but that's alright as long as she get wells soon. She vomitted a couple of times and it is indeed worrying. Still, I have to leave the kids with my inlaws while my hubby and I attend the Dinner and Dance event.

This is my 3rd year with MSD and first time attending the D&D. Last year I was on maternity leave and hence I missed the event. Who knows if this will be my last chance too? I will just have to set my mind and heart at peace and enjoy as much as I can.

We reached Pan Pacific rather early (around 630pm) and it is already difficult to find a parking lot nearer to the escalator. We managed to park somewhere not too far off. It was however not so lucky for my other colleagues who arrived late as they had a harder time even to find a lot.

Hubby and I had 車載面 at the Marina food court because we were hungry already. Our stomachs will go on strike if we were to wait to eat at 8pm.. We arrived at the ballroom at 7pm and collected our door gift. Zen Stone and earphone.. Wooooo

This year's DnD theme is Survival.. A lot of people dressed themselves up with either survival or tribal look. There are free airbrush tatoos and photo shoots. My hubby and I also took picture with a snake.

The dinner started on time at 745pm sharp and the show were entertaining. We had a table game and the goal is to build the tallest tower with straws. We managed to have a standing tower but too bad not tall enough to win a prize... but that's okay. :D

First round of lucky draw started at around 9 plus... Hubby and I decided to leave after this as we have to send our kids home.. I was telling him I would not get so lucky to strike a prize. I was hoping that they draw my number first (in any case I can't stay on for the final draw) and lucky me.. my number was picked! 1025! Yiiipeee!!!! I got a $50 Takashimaya voucher... can save this up to buy Christmas presents.

10pm - we decided to leave.. Had a good time and now I am eager to see how the kids are doing. I hope they did not cause too much trouble...Denver is still awake when we reached my bro-in-law's place at 1035pm. Gladys was asleep... but I heard from my father in law that she has again vomitted out some of her phelgm and just managed to sleep at 10pm... :( Poor Gladys. I can only hope she has a good night rest and gets well soon.


It has been an eventful night with prize, gifts and photos taken with hubby.. Tired... Time to sleep.

~ Gladys @ 13th months ~

It's Deepavali... Holiday... No work... it should be a relaxing, happy day... However I don't feel the holiday mood at all. Awaken by Gladys at around 7 plus.. It is just like another day to me.. Feed, bath, do housework... The good thing is I finished my weekly mop and chores and can have more rest on Saturday. :)

Gladys is acting like a "fireball"... Her temper is getting really bad (worse than her brother).. whenever we say "No" to her.. she'll cries very loudly and her tears will starts to fall like rain. She does not gives in easily too.. Even though she is still a 13 months baby, she has great strength and may not lose out in a snatching game with a 2 years old boy. Yup! My mil is helping to look after a 2 years old boy and many times I got feedback that Gladys can really 'protect' her stuff well and does not lose out in grabbing stuff. Amazing huh!

It is also a challenge to put her to bed lately because of her fussy temper.. Things that she does not like or wish to do, she will shake her head. (getting clever huh).. It is time to start teaching her some manners before she goes out of bounds! I wonder if it is really true when people say the cleverer the children, the naughtier they will be... ???

~ Flor Lee's Birthday + Farewell Tea Party ~

Yesterday was Florence's 30th birthday.. :) so we had a belated birthday lunch with her at Coral today. The theme is to wear Pink.. and most of us did. (urmm.. except that there are some tiny arguments over the judgement of colour as some looks purple and some looks orange :p).. Anyway, we had a wonderful lunch! I couldn't really enjoy the event as I lost my voice and really sound very bad when I start to talk.. (So I was quiet and kept myself busy eating). Andrea managed to get a box of salad (Florence's favourite) as her Birthday 'cake'... hahaha.. Of course, we can't miss out the Birthday card which everyone has signed on.

Later in the afternoon, we had another mini Farewell Fruit party at one of our meeting rooms. Half of the helpdesk analysts will start working in Tuas next Monday and Florence's team will also be moving down to the 13th floor... it will be very difficult for us to gather like this again.. :(

Even though it's a mini event, there are quite a range of stuff like grapes, papaya, pear, jelly, biscuits etc... As this coming Saturday is the company's dinner & dance, we also took this opportunity to gather and share the accessories to wear for this year's DnD theme.. (Survivor & Tribal). I have not decided what to wear and match yet.. But I did grab some braclets and a necklace.. :)

Looking forward to this weekend.. Hope I'll be lucky and win a prize :D

~ Denver's First Swimming Lesson ~

We always wanted to let Denver learn swimming. It is a healthy sport and life saving skill. Plus, Denver had slight asthma when he was very young and we hope swimming will improves his health. A month ago, we saw a leaflet on swimming classes for children age between 3 to 5 years in a small group (max 5). After some discussion, we finally enrolled Denver to swimming lesson for $70 per month (Free goggles and swimming cap).

Today is Denver's first swimming lesson at the Hougang Swimming complex. We reached the poolside early (around 9am before the agreed meeting time @ 920am). Denver was really impatient and can't wait to get into the pool. We waited for awhile before his teacher, Jason came.

There were altogether 4 children in his class. He seems to be the tallest and heaviest among them. The instructor told us to watch at a distance so that the children will not be distracted during lessons. Initially, I was worried for awhile wondering if Denver will be scared or panic. He is timid by nature. My worries seems to be uncalled for when I saw how much he enjoyed himself in the water. This is a good sign and I really looking forward to seeing him swimming soon.

They started with some basic mouth and nose breathing techniques in the shallow pool. Holding their breath in the water, kicking their legs and hanging on to the floating board. One of the child was crying as he was shivering and scared. It is important that the parents do not rush towards the child at this moment and let the instructor manages the situation. Everything seems to be under control and the lesson continues.

Denver did quite a good job at holding his breath in the water (more than 5 seconds).. I can see from afar that his teacher praises him.. He could not kick very well with his legs but he floats pretty good on the board. After practising for awhile, they headed towards the medium pool.

The instructor took turns to hold on to each of them on the floating board while they kick their legs. Well done everyone! The hour lesson ended very soon.. Time flies so fast even just looking at them learning... Denver was very happy and hungry! Daddy and Mummy are hungry too because we did not have our breakfast..

To reward Denver for his good behaviour and performance at the pool, we took him for a nice 'lunch' at KFC! Hubby also signed up as the KFC Chicky Club member at $10.20... We got a free bag, water bottle, electronic pet game and a magazine. There is also a 10% off future purchases. It's quite a good deal consider the fact that we are frequent 'eaters' of KFC.

It's a tiring morning, even though hubby and I were not in the water.. All of us took an afternoon nap when we reached home... Zzzz. Denver is really looking forward for his swimming lesson next week. :D

~ Denver's Art Works at Nativity ~

It has been a tiring week! A lot of work... I have been busy with the project plan, a couple of late nights for the presentation slides and managing other issues at work. Yesterday had a late teleconference till midnight where I gave a half an hour presentation to the Infosec team in the US. Unfortunately, Gladys had fever that night.. :( I requested to leave the team meeting earlier to attend to Gladys... if not, I would have stay on longer (probably till 1am). Did not have a good night sleep cos I have to constantly check Gladys' temperature in the middle of the night... Her fever rise to over 38 degrees at 230am... :( Had to ask Hubby to wake up and help me feed her medicine as I was too tired to get out of bed.

Woke up at 6am as usual... but my head is spinning. Gladys is still running a temperature and the medicine she is taking now is expiring... Hubby and I decided to bring her to the clinic later. Hence, I self proclaim to work from home today.. After the morning teleconference with my manager, we brought Gladys and Denver to the clinic.

The doctor says Gladys just caught a cold and it is nothing serious. After collecting the medicine, we dropped by Denver's Nursery school.. There is an art exhibit this morning displaying the art works the children did in school.. Initially, we did not have the intention to go because we did not plan to take leave for this... Since, we are along the way to head home, we might as well drop by and have a look. It will make Denver very happy too..

When we reached, there are not many kids and parents in the school.. Not too sure if it's because the parents did not take leave due to a working day or if it's because we arrived later than usual. When we enter Denver's classroom (Purity A), we were greeted by Mrs Wee and 萧老师。They are Denver's English and Chinese teachers and he likes them. :) Mrs Wee told Denver he just missed Russell. Russell is Denver's good friend and he had waited for Denver to come but did not manage to see him. :p

We tour around the classroom, looked at the art works and took some pictures. Mrs Wee explains that all the art works were done by the children themselves. Inculding colouring, cutting, sticking etc.. So proud of them! We can't really stay too long to see all the other works as Gladys need to go home and rest..and I got to work. Shortly after we left, Hubby says we should have took a picture of Denver with his teachers.. Oh yar.. we forgotten. Will try to do so next time if we got the chance...

Tired.. eyes are closing.. need to sleep.. that's all for today.

~ Depress ~

Wakes up daily around 610am and get ready for work. After a hectic day @ work, travels back to bro-inlaw's house to have dinner. Reached my home at 7pm and bath, do housework, look after Denver & Gladys.. that is my daily routine. Nowadays Gladys is getting active and Denver tends to sleep late.. my work is getting busy and I have to attend meetings or work late in the night.

Even for weekends, I wake up at 7am. Manage the kids, vacuum, mop, do housework.... go out have lunch/dinner.. bring the kids to shop/ library/ grocery store... come back home, nap... read story books, paint.....the cycle goes on and on. Looking at it..there is nothing much to complain about I guess.. but the fact is I am tired..

I feel bad towards Denver.. I ponder why is he sleeping later? Why he always wants to talk? Why he wants me to play with him? I think he is lonely. I am always too pre-occupied with Gladys.. by the time she is asleep, I am almost worn out.. at times, I tend to fall asleep while cradling her to bed. I try to make an effort to keep Denver company.. but sometimes I got to work in the night.. so where is Daddy coming in place??

Sad to say...Daddy is always busy with his online games.. it seems to me playing game is of a greater pleasure than keeping his kids' company. If it is not because I am feeling depress, I doubt Daddy will be taking the initiative to look after Gladys and play with Denver. I am tired of always asking "Dear, help me... ", "Dear, look after ... " and hubby cannot be interrupted in the middle of the game event... why do I need to ask for help anyway? It seems so meaningless.. If I were to fall sick, who will feed, bath, look after them? I doubt hubby can manage 2 kids by himself and most probably it will be given to my inlaws to look after instead. As a matter of fact, it is the truth that even if I am not sick, he will not choose to be home alone looking after 2 kids. So why am I not having the same priviledge?

My colleagues used to say I pampered my hubby. That's why he is not learning to bath, feed, looking after the kids and taking the initiative to help me with the housework. Actually, I don't think my words or thoughts has any weight. Things that I have voiced out will be forgotten... whether I am right or wrong. At times, I feel that I am taken for granted.

Even with the recent Malaysia trip, hubby says I can choose not to go.. frankly..is there really a choice for me? There are already complications and unhappiness within the family because of this trip. If I don't go, it is going to make life more difficult for hubby and many people. It will also not be easy for me to stay home with Gladys too. Of course, this is only my opinion and one side of the story. I know all trips will be tired if you bring kids along. Being tired is one thing.. but being tired and feeling happy at the same time is another thing. It does not matter if I do not feel happy at the end of the day because the purpose of this trip is for my father in law to be happy. So why should I be selfish and a bottleneck?

Give me a break...

~ New Phone + Promotion Lunch ~

My New Phone - K770i
My mobile plan is no longer under contract and so I upgraded my phone last saturday - Sony Ericsson K770i (Sandy Beige). Hubby saw the promotion on the papers and encourage me to sign up for it at the price of $128.

The new phone is slim, light and the specs are definately better than my K750i. The very basic things I look out for a phone is having a camera, radio, easy to use messaging functions, the look and feel and most important of all... the price. :)

This phone seems to fit in all and I'm happy..


Promotion Lunch

Today I went for my promotion lunch @ Plaza Market Cafe (Raffles the Plaza) together with the rest of my colleagues who were promoted this year.

The food there is really good.. just the look of it makes me super hungry! There is a salad counter, selection of main courses and 'live' cooking with chefs whipping up soups and laksa! Slurppp.. Of course, not forgetting my favourite... SALMON SASHIMI!!! and the deserts! Movenpick ice-cream and I guess the most popular dish of the day was Durian Pengat....

Had so much food.. Satisfied...

~ Health Screening + Shopping ~

Slept early last night and woke up at 5 plus in the morning. I need to collect some stools for the stool test. So, I had bananas and papaya yesterday. As I sat comfortably in the toilet, I finally poo... Relief! :) I normally poo daily... but the idea of "you must poo" really stressing. :p

I arrived early at the clinic (before 830am).. still, there were already people queuing. Make registration at the counter and took my urine test. Then, I sat quietly at a corner flipping old magazines.. "Grrrouuuu" ....it's from my stomach. I have been fasting since 10pm last night. No food... no drinks.. :S really Huunnngrrrryy.... 915am. Finally, I was called to go for my height & weight measurement, eye test, blood test, ECG etc. Then I heard someone saying..

"The radiographer is sick today. No Xray at the clinic"....

This is my unlucky day! :( Now I can't go to the clinic downstairs for xray.. Sobz.. After being reviewed by the doctor, I travelled all the way down to Orchard building to have my xray taken instead. 1115pm.. I finally complete my health screening... Really tiring but.. it's SHOPPING TIME! Must fully utilize my day off. Even if it's only half a day..

Hmmm.. where should I start? I seldom go shop around and am not familiar with Orchard at all! So, I headed for the nearest shopping mall - John Little.. bought a pair of shoes there ($15.90). Then I walked down to Robinson.. a lot of nice, expensive dresses... Tried on 2 dresses, not bad...but it's too pricy. 1pm. The weather is super HOT! Hungry again..Time to eat and I had a Whopper meal at Burger King (Revenge!). Next stop - THIS FASHION (@ Mcdonald House). Spent about an hour there. Tried many shirts and dresses.. and finally bought 2 shirts ($57)

My phone starts to ring... Hubby just completed his exam (prepared to fail) and called me to meet him at Suntec Convention Centre for the Malaysia Tour Fair Exhibition. This time round, the exhibition is of a smaller scale compared to the previous occassion. I am not very keen looking at the promotions. (partly also because I am tired). 4pm. It's getting late.. we headed for Carrefour and sweep a dozen cans of Gain IQ and 2 cans of Grow. Why? Because there is a 10% rebate offer for today only! :) More than $300 of purchases we have here... but looking at it in a long run, it is great savings especially since milk prices has been soaring! 5pm.. we left and headed home...

~ Talk, Talk and Talk ~

Today is a really a "talkative" day. Morning had teleconference with Director. Talked about a couple of issues especially on Lutchie's contract terms... To clarify matters and directions, I have to discuss with Kerem and Lutchie again.. Spent a lot of time with Lutchie to really let her understand the expectations on her will raise and she will need to work beyond her current role when she is being re-hired.

Did not manage to get any work done today. I really need to focus tomorrow..

Earlier this year, I took up MCSA courses.. I received an email that I need to complete all my exams by end Jan 08... Will need to work and study extra hard for it.. Busy.

Late in the evening, I saw another email that my Director has decided to re-hire Lutchie as a Merck contractor. Let's see how things will work out...

Just had my late night teleconference with my boss to talk about the project plan.. ended my work at 1115pm... totally exhausted.

I am looking forward to Friday though.. Health checkup day plus my day off. Yeah!!!
I need a break.. Ok.. enough of 'talking'.. bedtime...

~ Mini Farewell 'Party' ~

Although our official office move to Tuas is next month, we had our mini farewell party today just before the other teams start to move out. Heard from Cat that it will be a nice, high-class tea buffet.. She warned us not to have heavy lunch in case we can't eat later. Anyway, I did not have my breakfast and was very hungry...ordered Japanese Terikayi Chicken set at the market for lunch. Yummy..

Monday blue.. no mood to work.. ahhahha.. waiting for the tea-break to start.. The caterer arrived at around 2pm and the buffet was set up by 230pm. Had a quick peek and the caterer was from Purple Sage! High class indeed. http://www.purplesage.com.sg/

The buffet spread includes "Crepes Roll with Salmon, Deep Fried Tom Yam Chicken, Sauteed Escargot with Cream Sauce, Tempura Prawn, Japanese Breaded Fish Finger, Mini Samosa, Tropical Fresh Fruit Platter, Mango Pudding" and more.. its $20 per pax. OOooooh

Each of us also received a red envelope. I thought it was a voucher. :p Anyway, it's a 'Golden' coin to celebrate APHH earning it's first billion dollar. Looks like a chocolate coin :p I wonder how much it's worth.

I had my fill and had very little for dinner.. all the finger food earlier were deep fried... and I am starting to feel the heat.. :(

~ Love & Anger ~

oOo ~ L.O.V.E ~ oOo

Gladys is getting cuter.. She is learning and picking new things as each day pass by. As usual, while the kids were still in bed, I woke up earlier this morning to get their breakfast ready. *ling*ling*ling*...it's the sound of the bells from Gladys' ankle bracelet.. which means she is awake! I went out of the kitchen and Gladys was already crawling her way out of the bedroom and towards the living room! Oh My! She knows how to get down from the mattress on her own! (without getting hurt). Most of the time... she likes to 'crawl' down from the mattress with her head first.. where she may end up having a big bump if no one was looking.. so we have been teaching her to turn around and legs down first.. She finally got it! :D

Gladys has been talking a lot lately.. "one, two, eight", "拿", "ma ma", "mum mum"....... hmmm.. when will you start to call Mummy? :p Later tonight, she saw Denver gor gor brushing his teeth and starts poking her index finger into her mouth trying to inmitate her brother brushing too! hahhaha .. so cute!

oOo ~ A.N.G.E.R ~ oOo

Sometimes, Gladys really makes my blood pressure goes up.. Tonight, she has done it again. Why? She refused to sleep!

8.15pm - 1st attempt to cradle her to bed.. She took out the pacifier and starts kicking.. Okay.. maybe you still want to play. So I took out a box of toys and we played for awhile.

8.45pm - 2nd attempt. Again she refused to sleep! Kicked and cry...Fine! I was getting frastrated. Carried her out and put her directly in the playpen while I make a wind mill for Denver and wrapped up a present. She too was getting unhappy staying in the playpen for too long. So hubby carried her to "rest" on our bed in the bedroom.. She was actively crawling around instead of resting.. :( So we used our bodies as "human block" to prevent Gladys from crawling out of the bed.

9.30pm - still no sign of sleeping.. hmm.. Maybe she's hungry. Fed her a bottle of milk, change her diapers and my 3rd attempt to cradle her to bed...... She took out her pacifier and starts kicking and crying again...Failed :( This time, I carried her in my arms and walked around the house hoping she falls asleep like the previous occasion. 5, 10, 15 minutes past.. Not working.. URGHHHHHHH

9.45pm - I'm tired.. decided to put her down on her bed and let her crawl all she wants.. By now, I can sense Gladys is not as active anymore cos her crawling space has reduced..she is just making circles within the confined area. Waited, waited and waited.. I think I fall asleep for awhile and before I know it.. she is finally in dreamland! 10.15pm.. Thank goodness!

Well, sometimes you love them, sometimes you don't.. :)

~ Shoe Cabinet ~

Gladys is growing some more teeth... i think her 6th is coming out.. She really loves to find things to bite... even my hand! :( Slimy saliva.. EEeeeeek! After her 1st birthday, I have not been taking pictures for her. She just got her haircut yesterday.. kinda short and boyish.. Now, really don't look like a girl at all.. :p

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We bought a new shoe cabinet last weekend and it was delivered to our house this morning. Threw away 2 of our old shoe cabinets in replacement of this one. Hubby had a feeling that he has not been striking lottery due to the shoe cabinet (one of which was given away by his colleague last year). Let's see if this will bring him luck! :D

Hubby was scheduled to work from 2pm onwards.. if everything goes smoothly it will end at 8pm.. My brother and his girlfriend offered to babysit the kids for me.. feel a bit guilty.. supposed to be their 'pak tor' day. I put the kids to nap at 130pm.. Hubby sms me at 4 plus that his work is almost done and can come home early! Oh dear... seems like a wasted trip for my brother.. So Paiseh! Sorry.. :(

Brother suggested to eat at "Xin Wang Hong Kong cafe". So, we make way to Heartland mall for dinner. I ordered Cheese baked rice with fish fillet ($9.90) and a cup of Ice Milo.. ($2.50).. Not too bad... just that I find the drinks a bit pricy. There are quite a fair bit of variety of food ranging from Chinese, Dim Sum, Western, Toast, Desserts... etc.. Maybe can go there for dessert next time. :p

Hmmmm... feel like making myself a nice cup of ice milo already... hahaha...

~ Headache ~

Earlier last week, I scheduled a late night teleconference with my US counterpart tonight at 1030pm. Why so late?? So that my kids will be sound asleep and I can proceed with my meeting in peace. Looking outside the office window, the sky is turning dark.. Black heavy clouds gathering..hmmmm.. I decided to go home 10 mins earlier today...

The weather is getting crazy.. One minute is super hot... the next minute it's stormy.. it is no longer predictable. I fastened my pace and quick march towards the bus stop.. (about 5-10 mins walk from my office)... drip..drip..drip... the rain drops are getting heavier.. :( Intuition - RUN!! Opps.. Can't dash across the road as I am stopped by the traffic.. Urggghhh.. Rain started to pour and as soon as the traffic turns green, I make a quick dash across the road to the shelter.. Bus Stop!

Managed to catch the bus just on time.. lucky.. The cold air from the air condition on the bus and MRT dried my clothes and hair pretty fast.. But the consequences??? Headache when I got home.. :( With the cool weather, it's really a good time to sleep... I wanted to keep myself awake.. but just couldn't make it.. Fall asleep while cradling Gladys.. Woke up at 10pm!! Drowzy state.. went ahead with the meeting as scheduled.

12am.. can't sleep.. :S Hang clothes (bcos hubby did not help), watch TV, blog, eat, drink... okok.. I know it's sinful to eat at this late hour.. I just want a bite to cheer myself up.. hmmm.. really getting too late.. tomorrow (opps) should be today will be a tiring day..

~ Drawings - Water Paints ~

A couple of days ago, Denver came home telling me his teacher has taught them using water paints.... and ever since then, he has been bugging me to buy new paints for him.

"Mummy, can you buy paints for me?"

o~O~o

"Mummy, when are you buying paints?"

o~O~o

"Mummy, are we going to buy paints today?"

o~O~o

"You buying paints for me today? Hooray!!"

He just couldn't wait.. I have to keep reminding him I will be buying him one when we find the time and provided he does his homework and be a good boy... :p. Work has been piling up lately and his daily "nagging" and "questioning" are really getting on my nerves... :(

Yesterday, my hubby and I finally took time to go to Compass Point and we bought Denver a box of water paint, some paint brush and drawing blocks. He was so happy that when we reached home that night, he wanted me to start painting with him.. I was so tired... My initial intention was to work on the transition plan..but my eyes couldn't help closing... and I doze off..... *Snore....

This morning, he woke up saying he wanted to paint again!

"Mummy, can you paint with me?"

o~O~o

"Denver, Mummy's tired.. can you paint by yourself?"

o~O~o

"I don't know how leh, Mummy paint with me"

o~O~o

"I want Mummy paint with me"

I had to wait till Gladys took her afternoon nap before I can keep Denver company.. Yawnz..

"Denver, this is how you should hold your brush.. "

o~O~o

"I know, I know!"

o~O~o

(Stubborn)

Finally completed 2 pictures... He is still a beginner and of course I have to help him "touch up"...LOL... but he painted most of the picture himself.. Not too bad :D I wonder if he is going to paint tomorrow...

Anyway... staying up late tonight.. I can only have time for myself when the kids are asleep.. I have to get that plan done.. :( Sometimes, I wonder how I can manage.. family, work, kids, housework... don't really have any free time for myself.. except blogging for awhile.. sighz.. getting tired... I will just have to take one step at a time.... 加油!

~ Future? ~

Lutchie has tendered her resignation with Emerio and her effective end date is 21st November.. I am losing another person in the team...and with her departure.. it's only me.. If I were in her shoes, I would have tendered as well.. She is not well paid and the agency took a huge piece of the pie. With the relocation to Tuas, there is no additional incentives for her. With that being said, I see no reasons and motivation factors for her to stay on...

Had a long meeting with my manager and he has no intentions to rehire her as a direct contractor. His words were very straight forward and rather cold... hearing it really dampened my mood... Later this afternoon, I had another discussion with our Infrastructure Director and he has another opinion.. Sighz... Really had no idea if they have communicated and decided where to go on from here.. :S

My mood has been fluctuating lately... There are too many things happening and needing attention.. Daily cases, project, office relocation, packing, SOX audit, contractor issue... Argghhh.. I lost time with my kids.. Maybe it's really time I start looking around... then the question would be what kind of job I can take up where hours are fixed, pay is acceptable and I can spare time looking after my children... Tough.

Ah well.. at least I had a good lunch.. It's Kealvyn's birthday! Andrea and I treat our 'godpa' to a Western food meal. We had a nice chat and it really helps to cool down my head and heart for awhile. :) Quoting my manager's words... "Hang on there, Phoebe"

~ Toilet Revamp! ~

For 5 years, we have been scrubbing the toilet floors.. it's a tiring chore and the tiles just get darker and dirtier.. All the dirt and dust stuck in between the lines within the tiles.. Black and hard to maintain.

A year ago we saw Xtoria Marketing putting up stalls at different shopping malls promoting re-furnishing of toilets & kitchen floor using sediment system. The samples and effect looks good.. There are a variety of colours to choose and most important of all, it seems the maintainence and cleaning is easy.. We were really tempted... However, due to the high cost, we did not take up the offer back then which was much cheaper.. :( Just a couple of months ago, we saw the same promoter again at Hougant Point and the price of doing 2 toilets have increased to $950.... and for 2 toilets and 1 kitchen it's $1.6k! Thanks to the 7% GST.. This time we set our minds and put a $50 deposit.. (anyway, we can change our minds if we do not want to do it later :p hehehhe)....

Recently, hubby had an opportunity to dismantle the glass shower screen in the master bedroom (for the safety of our kids) . We are finally ready to do up our toilets! The contractors came yesterday and it took them the whole day to complete the job. We were told not to enter and wet the toilets for 6 hours.. hmmm.. 6pm the toilets are done.. so it means we can only use it after 12 midnight! AHhhhhhhhh... I told my hubby..

"Denver and you can use container... Gladys got diaper... Me howww?????" :(

Luckily, my hubby brought me clothes to change and I bath at my bro-in-law's place. Since we have no toilets to use.. we will just have to utilize the ones at Compass Point.. :p Went late night shopping.... just trying to waste time.. and finally headed back home around 9pm.. (Of course we all went to the toilet before returning.. hehehhe).. I just need to endure another 3 hours! hahahah..

The after effects looks good! The bad side of it is I couldn't close the Master toilet door.. and the floor seems to trap more water.. Other than that.. it's good! :D I sure hope it will make my toilet cleaning days easier and happier! Less effort and water... Afterall, it cost us $950!!

~ Toilet Revamp! ~

For 5 years, we have been scrubbing the toilet floors.. it's a tiring chore and the tiles just get darker and dirtier.. All the dirt and dust stuck in between the lines within the tiles.. Black and hard to maintain.

A year ago we saw Xtoria Marketing putting up stalls at different shopping malls promoting re-furnishing of toilets & kitchen floor using sediment system. The samples and effect looks good.. There are a variety of colours to choose and most important of all, it seems the maintainence and cleaning is easy.. We were really tempted... However, due to the high cost, we did not take up the offer back then which was much cheaper.. :( Just a couple of months ago, we saw the same promoter again at Hougant Point and the price of doing 2 toilets have increased to $950.... and for 2 toilets and 1 kitchen it's $1.6k! Thanks to the 7% GST.. This time we set our minds and put a $50 deposit.. (anyway, we can change our minds if we do not want to do it later :p hehehhe)....

Recently, hubby had an opportunity to dismantle the glass shower screen in the master bedroom (for the safety of our kids) . We are finally ready to do up our toilets! The contractors came yesterday and it took them the whole day to complete the job. We were told not to enter and wet the toilets for 6 hours.. hmmm.. 6pm the toilets are done.. so it means we can only use it after 12 midnight! AHhhhhhhhh... I told my hubby..

"Denver and you can use container... Gladys got diaper... Me howww?????" :(

Luckily, my hubby brought me clothes to change and I bath at my bro-in-law's place. Since we have no toilets to use.. we will just have to utilize the ones at Compass Point.. :p Went late night shopping.... just trying to waste time.. and finally headed back home around 9pm.. (Of course we all went to the toilet before returning.. hehehhe).. I just need to endure another 3 hours! hahahah..

The after effects looks good! The bad side of it is I couldn't close the Master toilet door.. and the floor seems to trap more water.. Other than that.. it's good! :D I sure hope it will make my toilet cleaning days easier and happier! Less effort and water... Afterall, it cost us $950!!

~ Till we (eat *opps) meet again ~

Donuts seems to be Singapore's new food craze after bubble tea, pork floss bread, coffee loti, Beard Papa etc.. Many new shops have opened and long queues can be seen everywhere. There are many different kinds and variety of donuts to choose from.. but it's kinda pricy and I really wonder what's the x-factor that is making people crazy over them. Personally, I do not have a chance to taste the donuts (cos the queue is just too long - even off peak hours!)

Today I finally got a chance to taste the donuts specially air-flown from Philippines (thanks to Leo). It had a similar concept with the ones we have here. A dozen of them and it cost only $4. I can imagine the same box could cost more than $10 over here. The taste is .... sweet.. very sweet. A pity that it is cold.. I guess it will be tastier if it is still hot and crispy. :p Anyway.. the smell is really strong.. and after a while, I started to feel uneasy and full... :p

9th Oct... the first batch to leave the ISAP office is Francoise team. :( Clarissa and the group is moving to the "Batman" building (@ Parkview). Sad..... Janet, Andrea and I had our farewell teabreak for Clarissa at Starbucks. We chit-chatted and took photos ... The IS group is splitting.. sighz.. While making my way out of the office, I saw a huge poster newly pasted on the wall... "The Big Move"... "7 weeks more to go... Have you packed?". It's going to be our turn soon... Counting down...

~ Crying Baby ~

Gladys has been extremely noisy these 2 days. I really had a tough time cradling her to bed. I wonder if it's because she wanted to play or she is just being frastrated over her stuffy and running nose. She refused to nap while cradling and even scream and cry while I attempt to cuddle her to sleep in my arms. :( Her fingers will keep pointing towards the play room.. indicating she wanted me to take her there. :S

I know she loves to go there because she knew that's where all the toys, books and lovely posters are. Still, it is a clear fact that she is feeling sleepy (It's 9pm and her eyes were closing.. mine too..). You are really testing my patience! Oh well, if you like it there, Mummy will take you there... I sang her sweet lullaby and carry her in my arms... where she finally fall asleep..

I just hope she will not repeat her act again with my inlaw tomorrow.. My mil is definitely not in a good mood to endure her wild temper. :( Gladys, be a good girl and don't be a crying baby.. Good night and sweet dreams.

~ Gladys' 1st Art Piece ~

As expected, there will not be an additional shuttle @ Kovan and Outram MRT with the office relocation in November. This did not come as a surprise to me... At least I have the option to work from home for 2 days per week.. even though I will only get 60% of the transport allowance and probably not be able to claim for the broadband charges.. that's fine with me. Most importantly is I am able to balance my work and family life after the move.

The past few days have been really tiring.. Too many activities over the previous weekend and the outcome is - whole family falling sick.. :(

Luckily the kids were alright.. I haven't been feeling good though. Dizzy spell, headache, stuffy nose, sorethroat.... I even have to take a cab and work from home yesterday afternoon because the office is too cold! Hubby is also suffering from a cold too.. The problem with being a parent is you still have to take care of your younger ones even if you are ill. However, it's better that the parent falling sick than the kids.

Gladys had running nose and a slight cough.. Hence, she has been cranky and nosiy. Somehow I feel the toys no longer interest her as she starts throwing them aside... So to cheer her up, I took out a notebook and box of crayons for her to 'draw'. She was so excited when she saw me putting all the crayons on the floor. Without any hesitation, she started grabbing the crayons and scribble on the paper... Instead of sticking to one crayon.. she was so happy and frantically change the colours of the crayon she held tightly in her hand. Black, red, green, blue, yellow, orange....back to black again.. Woooow.... Here you have it! Her first art piece! :D

~ Children's Day - Visit to the Farm ~

It's Children Day and also a off day for me, hubby and my brother-in-law. Together, we took Jasper, Royston, JunLong, Denver and Gladys to the farm. The 8 of us squeezed into our little 1.5l Vios and we headed for the fish farm located in Pasir Ris.

Although there's only goose and fishes, it's a pretty nice and neat place. The kids collected their small buckets and nets and went on with their 'Guppies Hunt' happily. Jasper & Royston being the frequent visitors have no problem getting started. In no time, Jasper's bucket was full of guppies! Impressive! Denver on the other hand has no luck. The guppies were too fast and Denver being not experienced was too slow and gentle.. heheh :p Daddy got to help and teach him!

After a couple of tries, Denver finally caught his first guppy! Good Job! In total, he caught 5. Not bad for a first timer. Hmmm... I also wanted to try! -- Scoop! Yeah! caught a small one on my first attempt.. hehehe.

After the catching session, the guppies were released back to the pond. We told the kids they'll live longer there than bringing them home. :) Let's go feed the fishes and goose! Spent about an hour there and we set off to another farm - The Animal Resort @ Seletar Farmway which houses a mix selection of different types of animals including goats, dogs, cats, rabbits, swans, turtles, fishes, peacock etc.

It's our 2nd visit since April and there were new barriers being set up. There's one along the lake to prevent the children from falling during feeding. It's definitely safer that way.

Feeding time! The animal feeds are available at $2 for 3 packets. Depending on which animals you like to feed, you can mix the kind of packet feeds to purchase.. there are carrots, bread, fish feed etc to choose from. I guess the kids enjoyed feeding the rabbits most. :) If you intend to bring your child to the farm, a tip is to be there early. Especially on weekends! If you arrive late, the animals will be so full and they would not be bothered with you even if you push the feed to their mouths. :p

This marks the end of my long weekend. It's even more tiring than working.. and I think my body is giving me a warning signal that I need to rest.