~ Dora the Explorer - Live! ~

It has been a week since Denver's accident... A rather tough week has past. Was not able to sleep well and took MC on Monday. Work piled up and I was really busy especially with the new product launching next week...I can feel the stress. Cough and sorethroat starts to develop on Wednesday... I knew I am going to fall sick as my voice is getting coarse..

Hubby called on that Wednesday afternoon saying he got 4 free tickets to the Dora the Explorer Live! Dora’s Pirate Adventure show at the Expo. Denver should love it very much...It's about 1 and a half hour show and I do ponder if the kids can stay put and finish watching the musical. I wasn't feeling well but guess we should not give that a miss... It was lucky too I did not have any team meeting that night. We got rather good central seats.. I checked online that it would have cost us $48 per ticket. Amazingly, Denver and Gladys really paid attention and finish watching the entire show! I guess the songs, lightings, characters really helped. In addition, it is something they are both very familiar with (since they have been watching it on TV so often)... It wasn't very crowded either and we had the entire row all by ourselves which gives us a lot of space to move around and put our stuff. I'm glad the kids love it... by the time we got home and the kids are asleep, I also fall asleep... but only to wake up feeling feverish at 3am with a bad flu and sorethroat.. I moved myself to the living room and slept there through morning..

True enough, I lost my voice the moment I woke up. Had 2 days MC... but only took half a day medical leave on Thursday and work through my Friday.... Many issues with work and next week I must get ready to Battle! There is going to be a major meeting and I do expect a lot of issues and questions. Still, I thought I should enjoy my weekend..but end up sobbing today.

Why? Just feeling very helpless.. tired.. Work piling, there are still housework to do.. I hope hubby can help with packing the luggage... do not wish to leave it till the weekdays cos I know I would be too busy with work and no mood to do them. Seeing him playing his online games and not lifting a hand really makes me mad and sad. When Denver had the accident, I told him he should spend some time with him.. instead of endulging in his computer games.. Guess a leapoard cannot change his spots.. I guess packing can always wait for him.. but not to me.. Maybe its my bad habit that I like things to be prepared early.. and know what is missing. I just found out that I can't find the milk powder container.. but I do not bother to tell him anymore.. I did not even bother to pack his clothes and stuff that I will usually do.

I realise I have so little time for myself.. When I am sick.. I still have to make sure my job are done. When my body is tired... I just fall asleep.. I wanted to play stickers with Denver today.. but my mood just gets into me and he had to watch me cry and go to bed.. I do felt guilty afterwards...especially looking at the scar on his face.. which also makes me feel even worse. It's really sad to think that if Mummy is tied up with work or too tired... no one can spend time with the kids. At least I know Hubby would not take the initiative.. Sad... Sometimes I wonder who cares for me.. Gosh.. I spoil my own weekend again. :(

~ Traumatized ~

Life is so unpredictable and beyond our control. The fear we experienced 3 years ago has been felt strongly again today. Today is a normal Sunday morning.. Sunny.. bright and we had planned to have lunch at my mum's place after Denver's swimming lesson.. I still remembered Denver hugging me and being naughty before he say "Bye Bye Mummy"...

I stayed home with Gladys and was watching "Black Jack" while putting her to nap. It was an episode on how a no-license doctor saved a baby boy during war times... just as I was feeling sad and near to tears, the phone rang at 1040am and Hubby told me Denver had a bad cut on his face and bleeding.. I was shocked and worried... the only thing that came to my mind was what happened when Denver was 2 years old. It was Mother's day (May 2005).. after visiting my mum, Denver walked on his own and fell on a concrete sharp end along the corridor.. it fell hard on his forehead and he cried badly...blood was flowing out tremendously. I was traumatized and we quickly rushed him to KK Hospital... he had 3 stitches then... and left a scar till now..

I can't explain if it is coincident or it was fate that Denver suffered the same incident today again in May 2008. This time round, I was not by his side.. We put Gladys at my inlaws place and quickly took him to KK Hospital again... We hoped the doctors can give him glue instead of stitch to avoid leaving another scar... but the wound is vertical and too deep and wide...:( The nurse apply a cooling glue on his wound to numb the area.. After 30mins, I accompany Denver to the room for stitching... I never realized how deep it was until the doctor took off the plaster and starts cleaning up the wound.. I really felt like crying at that time.. but I couldn't as Denver needs my moral support. As he is lying down on the bed, with blankets covering him.. I hold on to his hands... I know he is afraid ... he closed his eyes and didn't speak. The only thing I can do at that moment is to stand by him and keep talking to him...

"Denver, you are a brave boy like Ben"

"Ben is very courageous fighting the monsters.. You are like him"

"We will go Macdonalds for lunch.. What do you like? Nuggets? Fries?"

"You want a Kid's meal toy from Mac?"

"You want Ice-cream?"

"We are going home soon"

"Doctor is very gentle, it's like an ant bite"

"Don't be afraid..One last stitch"

The wound was about 2cm long.. deep..He had 5 stitches. My heart felt really painful... but I could not breakdown. Twice.. he suffered head injury and missed hurting his eyes by that little..

Denver was really brave.. not sheding a tear and let the doctor do the stitching.. He was still as active and bubbly.. I'm glad for that.. As promised, we took him for a good Macdonald lunch, got him ice-cream and a toy. I know Denver likes the OMNITRIX (Ben 10 watch)... we went down to Takashimaya and got him that for his birthday present. He was happy..

The only things I gathered after was he had finished his swimming lesson and bathing at the children pool area. Hubby went to put down his bag.. and shortly he heard Denver's loud scream... According to Denver.. he bang his head on the water pipes while trying to press for water.

All seems to be over for now... but actually its not for us... Hubby was as traumatized as me.. He felt even worse and put all the blame to himself... Being involved in a car accident when he was 10 and now seeing Denver suffered head injuries twice when he was so close to him on both occassion really had a great impact on him... I cried.. He cried... we can't help blaming ourselves as parents... I know accidents happen.... we cannot be with the child at all times to protect them.. but it is always when things happened that we start to ponder and blame ourselves....thinking "only if I were there."... "only if I did not leave him alone"... "only if....."

It's near Midnight.. Denver was coughing and vomitted. I was worried.. Hubby says it's due to the cough he was suffering and should be fine.. so long its not more than 3 vomits in a day. We gave him cough mixture and warm water.. He is awake and could not sleep.. Right now, I am sitting beside him as he is lying down on the sofa watching Cartoon Network.. I asked if he is tired and wanted to sleep.. he says "no...". Frankly, my body is tired physically.. I'm having a headache... but I can't sleep either. Looking at him in this stage.. the fear that was within me 3 years ago has rise again... For the next 72 hours, this is the critical monitoring period for head injury... I am glad brother has came to visit and helped me to look after the kids for awhile.. the intense emotional strain has really tired me out... I had no mood to look after Gladys and the guilt could not go away. Seeing the new scar is not only going to leave a permanent mark on Denver... but also on us. For the past 3 years.. although the wound has started to heal.. seeing the old scar has always make me feel bad.. now, its haunting me again.. double the impact. Hubby is not taking it well.. I can't either...

Although we did not show/mention it.. but it is deeply crave in our hearts. I hope Hubby don't think too much and concentrate on driving. I have to move on too...somehow... 1211am.. Denver still awake.. what can I do? :(

~ Singapore Expo ~

Yeah! It's friday again :) It has been a tough week and I'm glad its weekend! Hubby bought me 4 tops from Bossini lately.. all are below $20 so I am kinda happy. They are casual wear and I can wear them on my trip to KL :p

Today marks the start of the Great Singapore Sales! Tomorrow is Family Day and I heard there is a water show in Boat quay tonight! Wow.. we can sure expect a lot of people everywhere! We went to Singapore Expo today.. There are many good exhibitions there right now... like Popular, Food Fair, Robinson Birthday bash, Adiddas etc....

We bought some assessment books for Denver and headed to the Food fair. We tasted a lot of food and drinks samples.. This time round, the food fair has displayed more varieties and we bought meat balls, drinks, ice-cream, packet noodles, Acticol and Nestles cereals.. Hubby got so much stuff to carry! We also managed to pop by Robinson sale at Hall 7...I have been to Expo a couple of times... but this is the first time I went to Hall 7. :)

Overall, it was fruitful but tiring trip... even right here as I am writing this, my eyes can't help shutting down. Time for bed... Yawnz...

~ Late nights :( ~

It's always nice to have a long weekend...especially since it was Vesak Holiday on Monday.. but the sad thing is since then, I had been working late for 3 consecutive nights! Teleconferences on every night... and I just ended my weekly team meeting conference 5 minutes ago... Gosh..

Felt really bad as I have been 'pushing' the kids aside... making sure that they are asleep before my conferences start... because of that, I have been ignoring Denver...not able to read him books, play games and stickers with him.. I know he feels sad and needed my attention....but I told him Mummy needs to work. It will be good if he understands and learns not to depend on Mummy too much.

Denver has failed to do his homework this week.. we were really mad and Denver got a trashing from Daddy. He cried and was confined to his room.. just before I knew it, he has fallen asleep... I do find it difficult to manage him.. When we are really nice, he takes advantage of the situation and starts to misbehave.. When we are really strict and fierce, he cries so badly and looked pitiful. Sighz.

More work is coming.. and there will be more night teleconferences. I can only pray and hope I can manage this. At least I am really looking forward to the vacation coming June!

~ Denver's K1 Parent-Teacher Meeting Day ~

Today is Parent-Teacher Meeting Day. Took a couple of hours off and accompany Denver to his school.. Yesterday he show me his Progress report book and I flipped to the last page of the book to see what his teachers have commented. Was really happy to learn that Denver has been behaving well and good in school.

The scheduled time was 930am.. but Denver was so eager to go.. he keep calling and asking us when we are leaving... I guess he couldn't wait.. :p When we reached the school, he quickly show us where his classroom is... we waited for awhile before meeting his English teacher, Mrs Chong. She was full of praise and say Denver can read well... a matured boy and always lending a helping hand... Hmmmmm.. :p During the 10 days where he was confined at home and missed school, they thought he might have fallen behind his school work and forgot how to read some of the books... Apparently, he still did well and was able to recognise the words.

The usual 'talkative' son of mine didn't make a sound or word while we were talking.. So unlike him.. and he looks ackward and shy... sitting between us and making weird looking faces.. hehehe

Next Stop => Chinese teacher, Mrs Lin.... now this time we waited really long as she teaches Chinese for a couple of classes.. there are so many parents ahead of us.. A couple of them has been seated there for quite a while.. I only started to earsdrop when Mrs Lin was persuading one of the parent to spend the time on Mahjong to teach her daughter.. and not to let the maid teach her English. Wow... interesting..

We waited at least for half an hour before our turn comes... was really anxious as it seems a couple before us has something to 'complain' about... To my surprise, the first comment Mrs Lin said was "I have nothing to complain about Denver"... Wow... I am so glad.. I am even happier when she says Denver has been helpful and well behaved. The only downside is he tends to finish his writings quickly and also to take note of his prounciation. Other then that, he is dependable and eager to learn. Makes me a Happy and Proud Mummy. :D

Big Big Hugz to you Denver!! I really hope you will do the same at home as you have done well in school. :)

~ Happy Mother's Day ~

It has been a tiring week... My job scope started to change.. feeling restless... took Denver to the clinic yesterday to confirm that he is out of the HFMD suspicion. Yeah!!! He can finally go back to school... Gladys had her 5-in-one jab on Thursday and her left thigh starts to swell and appear red on Friday. Luckily the antibiotics that the Doctor prescribed did help to reduce the redness and swelling... else I have to make a trip down to the polyclinic tomorrow.

Today is Mother's day.. We had dinner with my inlaws last weekend and yesterday we celebrated with my mum at "Uncle Leong Seafood" located at AMK, Blk 233. Their speciality are Crabs.. It was my first time there and my brother ordered Butter and their famous "Golden Sand" aka Jin Sha Crab. Not bad.. it is different from the usual Chilli crab that I usually had with my hubby and his family. The fried seafood toufu, Deer meat, Vegetables and noodles are nice too.. Definitely another place to consider eating at...

Come to think of it...it's the 5th year being a mother. Denver did not even realise today is Mother's Day.. :p Seems just like another weekend. We had dinner at Suki Sushi at Punggol Plazaa and had my favourite Japanese food.. :P Time is still early and we went to Ikea and Courts for a walk. Bought something really good at Ikea... Corner protectors! Really good compared to the usual ones which I bought outside which do not stick well at all. This one really looks cool and sticks really GOOD! At least Gladys won't be able to take them out so easily. :)

Ahh... another day has passed... Its Monday again :( Sucks.. It has been so long since I last had that kind of feeling. One thing I am looking forward is VACATION! There's going to be one coming in June!!! Yeah... I need a break... hoping all goes well.

~ Angry!! ~

I simply do not understand how can a lost of 1 marker pen leads to an argument. Especially questioning me where is the marker while I am in the midst of a teleconference meeting. Already feeling the tiredness and still trying to concentrate on the meeting contents. At the same time, I am hearing hubby making sounds of frastration.. blaming me for always using the pen and not putting it back.. I was pretty sure I did not use it lately..Hmmmpf! Ok..Fine! Take it as it is my fault!

Is it because I have been tidying the stuff.. using items.. resulting in hubby missing letters and making late bill payments that make him mad? Well, if only the things are kept tidy, I wouldn't even need or bother to clean up. Fine..I am being nosey.. itchy hand..My fault again.

I am not saying I am a very tidy person myself.. I do admit that I do not put stuff back to where they are..and leaving things around. But at least I do try to tidy up on a frequent basis. I don't get any help and if I do not manage it.. no one will anyway... Least to say to wash a cup, keep the newspaper, clean the toilet, change the bedsheets, mop and vacuum the floor.. I should have just let it rot! Can't help feeling angry and sad.. :( These days just haven't been going well for me.

~ HFMD ~

Last thursday night, Denver complained that he has mouth ulcers and felt pain. Hubby and I checked and found that there are 2 ulcers on the left side. Due to the recent increased number of Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease cases, we decided to let him stay home for a day.

Denver was bubbly and did not develop any fever. No spots were also found... however, by Sunday, his mouth uclers have grown to 5 spots... one of which was self bitten. :S Denver usually will develop ulcers whenever he had too much heaty food...but considering the seriousness it could lead to, hubby took him to see a doctor this morning.

There were no spots on the hands and foot... however, some rashes were found on the nappy area. To be on a precaution side, the doctor gave him 5 days of medical leave. I have to called the school and notify them that Denver has been diagnose as a suspected case of HFMD. They were very concern as I understand there have been a few suspected cases in the school as well but were later confirmed as non-HFMD.

The weather has been really bad lately.. temperature is raising and it's the flu season..There are also increasing Dengue fever and HFMD cases. We really need to look after our health... especially our kids..

Mother's day is coming.. supposed to have a family dinner together ... let's hope Denver has got well and Hubby has no job on that day.

~ Labour Day! ~

It's Labour Day (1st May)!! 10 years ago, Hubby and I officially got together on this date. Wow... 10 years already!? During this period, I have completed my university studies, got married, have a house and 2 kids. I wonder if that is considered an acheivement... hmmm. What will happen 10 years later? I can't tell..

Today is just like the other days... no special celebration. Hubby took Denver to swim in the morning while I stayed home to look after Gladys. Made some blunders over my work yesterday, so I had a short t-con in the morning and probably need to get it settled tomorrow. Sighz. Anyway.. it is still a holiday and I should just take a break.

Went to my mum's place for lunch and stayed for awhile. Didn't get a chance to see my brothers which is a shame though. Took the kids to United Square later and got Denver 2 Education CDs and a sticker book. He has been playing stickers with me every night and really enjoying it. :) Had a short nap and went back to my inlaw's place for a nice dinner - Chilli Crab and Chicken Wing! Yummy!!

Just returned from Hougang Point and the kids are sound asleep. Denver has been singing me songs he learned from school.. He even said he is going to give me a flower on Mother's Day. I wonder if he knows exactly when is Mother's day.. but we shall see..heehehhee.

~ HOT! HOT! HOT! ~

Its a Hot Hot Day!! The moment I left my comfort zone (i.e. Air-condition on the MRT), I can feel the hot, blazing morning sun especially when standing along the road waiting for the company bus. There's no where to hide... and I am perspiring. I felt so relief when the bus finally reached and I quickly hope on back to my comfort zone again...Phew....

The weather continued to be harsh.. I can feel the heat even in the evenings. This made the trip home so exhausting.. :( The most important thing that I did when I got home is to get a COLD BATH! I did not even bother to switch on the water heater like I usually do.... Felt so Cooling and Fresh when I step out of the bathroom... however, only moments later, the heat came back dwelling on me again..

The night is so unbearable... we have to power up the fans and switch on the air-condition to cool the rooms down. Our electrical bill is sure to go up up up too.. :( Ah well..so long we can get a good night sleep.. and the kids don't fall sick under this weather.

~ Sus Farewell Party ~

Had a loooong day and night yesterday... Why? Because Soo Kiat, our good buddy and colleague is leaving MSD. He joined the company about half a year later than me... so it has been 3 years now...My first impression of him was not that great as he is a man of few words who seldom smile. Cool guy... but Andrea and I got to know him better and he has helped us in many ways as well as super 'ON' on Andrea's tricks and jokes.

Yesterday finally arrived... and we are going to celebrate his departure. We have planned Lunch and Dinner/KTV 'dates"... Present, card, 'cheena' wine, food.. all were ready after weeks of preparation. We had our private lunch first with SK, NT, AG and me. Had urmmm .. super simple basic food (which AG's sister say it seems like making offerings). hahahah.. that's true cos our "GOD" (well known in the company) is leaving. Had role play and fun on SK's car on our way back..

Dinner appointment is also another major event... we had about 16 of us. Lucky there are 3 cars to take us out of the ulu Tuas to 凤波庄 in Chinatown. The resturant is a very interesting place... The waiters will call you 侠女... The chopsticks are call 双节棍.. Each dish has a name - 玉女心经， 乾坤大挪移 etc... the tables also have been named like 东邪， 西毒 etc...

The dishes are standard sets arranged by them and OH MY... its really alot! Even without rice, I had my fill.. some are pretty good while others are so so.. It has a different taste... not really local. But overall I would say it's really interesting.. I like the 大丸... it has 糯米 on the outside, as you bite it, there is meat inside and in the center core.. it is salty egg yolk! Nice!! The other signature dish is the 活水鱼... the soup is not really spicy.. but abit sour.. like tomyam. The fish meat inside is soft and good. 玉女心经 is also tasty... soft n taste a bit like 白斩鸡.. The other one is green vege cooked with 皮蛋.. also taste good too! There is a small duck...I believe they cooked it very long.. so its really soft and tender. There's 2 dishes that I don't like. One of them is the beef cooked with Red chilli.. My personal feel is it's too spicy and salty. The other one was the 豆干... urmm.. too hard.. Other than that, everything is fine. :) Drinks are free flow... the waiter/waitress stand beside us and getting ready to serve us or clear our dishes.. Not bad.

Our bill came out to be $228...not really expensive for so many of us.. and the amount of food we had. We had fun! Everyone was enjoying themselves.. participated and speak like the waiter since we are now in a 江湖 'cheena' resturant.. :p We had jokes and NT and AO was so busy taking pictures.. We presented the card and present to SK and made him say a farewell Thank you speech at the end of the dinner.. Before we leave, the waiter was also very helpful to help us take a group photo! Nice...

After a heavy dinner, some of us continued for a KTV session. There were about 12 of us and really starting to get tired and stinky :p... We had a lot of fun singing and making jokes.. Although there are not many new songs, the drinks were free flow.. not too bad. Well.. All good things will come to an end.. My night teleconference is starting at 1030pm...Denver started calling me checking when I am going home.. I have to make a move first..

Left the KTV at 10pm... hopped on the NE line train and had my teleconference throughout my way home... Hubby and the kids are sound asleep and I really needed my bath.... headed towards the bathroom.. set my BB on speaker mode and had a quick shower.. The meeting finally ended around 1145pm.. and I can go to my dreamland... :D

~ Misc Thoughts ~

Well.. nothing big/important stuff happening lately so has not been blogging... Just a couple of updates..The result of the Colour Scheme Survey has released on the notice board. 49% has voted for Proposal A (It is the colour scheme near to what we currently have - Ivory & Red) Yeah!! We have voted for that too :) The other 2 schemes are too Orange... there are already so many orange blocks in the neighbourhood.. this will definately marks a difference with the rest.

Gladys and Denver were sick lately.. - coughing. I brought them to see a doctor some time back and the assistant which we know made a comment that Gladys looks really fierce when she is not smiling and staring at you. Lol :p Well.. she is not the first to mention it. Andrea said the same thing when I show her Gladys' photos.. a couple of people also make the same comments too..

Tried to take a picture of her last Sunday to prove my point.. She is not responsive to camera and always avoiding it.. walking around and giving me that grumpy, sad look. hehehe.. Her brother is more smily and always pose whenever I have my camera with me.

Dear Gladys, you should smile more.. Will definitely look so much prettier :)

I have been enjoying my past three weeks... Why??? Because there hasn't been any night teleconference on my Wednesday night.. but today I just received an update of a series of planned meetings till June. There will be one tomorrow night at 1030pm.. Gosh.. I have a KTV session.. I may join in while on my way home.

Sookiat's last day with MSD is tomorrow..sighz.. losing another friend :( Within 6 months, I have seen 3 close friend leaving ever since we moved our office to Tuas... Cat, Janet and SooKiat... For the past 2 weeks, I have been involved with making his farewell card. Tomorrow, we are going to have farewell lunches and dinner.. will put up more photos then...

Wasn't feeling too happy with Hubby today.. I told him that I will be having a farewell dinner cum KTV session tomorrow sometime back.. Hoping that he will be initiative enough to look after the children.. As usual, he planned for his own activities again. :( I knew this will happen... Everytime when I have dinner dates (E.g Wedding/Company dinner etc).. he will leave the kids at my inlaws place and have dinner outside. However, if he is the one having functions or needing to work late, I will come back home early and find ways to either take the children back home or stay at my inlaws' place till he come and fetch us.

Many times, I also have the temptation to follow suit and just plan my own outings as well.. but I can't put my heart down to do it. Why? Denver is getting naughty and Gladys is so active.. Looking after Gladys alone is a very tiring chore.. she just can't stay put at one place doing a certain thing for long. To my best effort, I tried to avoid my inlaws looking after them after I knock off from work. They are getting on age and need a good rest too.. Moreover, my SIL did mention to me recently that their health has not been good and Denver is always making them angry. Gladys has also been tiring them out... So, I really hope Hubby can take this opportunity to try looking after them while I am away and not depending on his parents. Things have not been like the past where there are not so many complications from the family. Sooner or later we have to depend on ourselves.

For the past few outings I have never go out with a peace of mind.. I always have to keep track of my phone for any updates... and the time like Cinderella. The only difference is instead of waiting for the clock to strike 12.. I have to make sure I leave by 10pm or even earlier.. Cos I would not know if Hubby or my inlaw is unhappy or if the children is being noisy and cranky. Everytime, I rush back home and only get a sigh of relief when I reached my destination. So, I really feel sad and mad whenever Hubby goes out when I have functions. Maybe it's jealousy.. I don't really know. I guess he don't see or feel the concerns that I have. Sometimes, I even tell myself that I can't afford to fall sick... Sighz.

~ Dinner @ Swa Garden ~

Yesterday, Hubby's colleague, Genevieve treated a group of us for dinner to celebrate her birthday. She recommended "SWA Garden" located at 540 MacPherson Road. As I entered, we were greeted by the waitress, the resturant is rather old, but simple and serving traditional Teochew dishes.

Traffic has heavy and Genevieve was caught in a heavy jam... We were there early with Sengleng, Chunho and his family. While waiting, the waitress served us water and tea.. they were rather efficient and warmth... Nothing much to complain about the service there.

Dinner finally started when all of us arrived. :) Food was served rather fast.. The first dish was Crab... unlike the usual crab that I eat, this dish is cold.. on top of that, it was meaty and there is a lot of 蟹糕。Yummy... Denver love chilli crab but he doesn't seems to like it though. Subsequently, we had braised goose with beancurd underneath, vege, salad prawn, roasted pig, char kway tiao, chicken, toufu ....

I like the Roasted Pig and Salad prawn most.. The roasted pig's skin was crispy and the meat was warm.. Delicious! Salad prawn was crispy on the outside and the prawn was fresh.. Apparently, the signature dish was the Teochew version of Char Kway Tiao.. It is much drier than the kway tiao we used to eat. Less sauce and the noodles feeling more rubbery.. But it was good and something different. Hubby and his colleague also brought wine.. and we had a few glasses... I personally had 2 full glass and started to feel giddy..

The desert was Yam paste and it has Pumpkin inside... it was really nice and I finished the whole bowl... :D The final bill came to be about $390!!. Woow.... After a heavy dinner and wine, I raised the white flag when I reached home.. Totally knocked out and slept through the night..

~ Sleeping Separation ~

Initially we planned to let the kids sleep in their own room when Gladys is much older (maybe 2 plus or 3). However, naughty Denver has made us change our minds. He has been such a pain lately... not completing his homework, not listening and keep complaining. :S He is always so noisy and keep waking Gladys up. So last week, we finally made him sleep in his room for the first time. Of course, I have to keep him company till he is asleep.. else he will be scared.

We knew he did not feel comfortable and eventually will sneak back to the master bedroom... so we left the doors open. On the first night, he wake up and walked back to our room after it passed midnight. On the 2nd night, we saw him coming in at 6am and on the 3rd, I suspect it was 4am... subsequently, he will come in everynight which I lost count of the time.

Well, it's a start, and now he is accustom to his room... In order to let him have a better night rest, we bought a night lamp, a single size mattress from Seahorse and bedsheets. Lately, the weather has been rather hot and the aircon is switched on every night for a couple of hours. Denver is now able to sleep comfortably... (with me around that is)... I must admit it will take more time for him to stop climbing back to our bed in the night. We shall see... Hopefully when Gladys is old enough, Denver can look after his little sister and both of them can sleep well in their rooms. It has been 4 years since we removed our bedframe and sharing bed with the children... Let's see when Daddy and Mummy can have the bed to our own once again...

~ April Fool ~

2 days have passed since April fool... It was a weird day. Suppose to take Sookiat's car at Boonkeng as usual. I was at the train station at 710am.. Crowd was unsually more than the usual.. hence I did not manage to grab a seat... I thought it was ok since I am getting off soon anyway.. Started to read mypaper... Read.. n read.. n read.. hmmm.. the train seems to 'run' non-stop.. I put down the papers and indeed... it keeps on moving and moving..

Soon there is an annoucement saying that there is a technical fault and it will be missing a few stations... Serangoon... Potong Pasir... the MRT starts to slow down at BoonKeng.. I thought I can get off.. however, it zoom past the station. :( it continue to pass Little India, Farrer Park and did not manage to stop at Dhoby Ghaut.. :S Finally, the train stopped at Clark Quay and I am late!! Suppose to meet Sookiat at 740am.. but I am still at Clark Quay at 740.. quickly got off and hoping the train from the other platform will arrive... but it was delayed as well.. *Cry* :( Lucky Sookiat says he will pick me up at Little India instead ... else I will have to return back and work from home instead.. When I alight at Little India, I took a wrong exit.. sighz.. have to run with my heels and finally got on the car.. what a drama.. :(

To add on to the traffic condition, there was an accident where a car flip and caught fire at Jurong Pier area. AYE was very jam. Lucky Norman IM to alert us and Sookiat took PIE instead. (For awhile, I thought it was an April Fool Joke.. :p) Anyway, we were late.. In fact, many of us were late that day.

Oh..What a day!

~ Disturbed ~

Lately hasn't been feeling too good. Not having a peace of mind and having many thoughts.

Work, Children and Family issues... Sighz.

I am happy with my current work. Good pay, flexible time, nice colleagues (although more are leaving ever since we moved to Tuas.). The only setback - there is no sense of job security. Every now and then, there will be an re-organisation. My team in the US has shrink from 10 over to 5 and now 3. Has been having thoughts on looking out for another job...

Denver has been really naughty and not obeying lately. Skipping his homework and keep pestering us to play games. :( We explained to him that he can only play if he completes his work and be a good boy. Somehow he just don't does it. Really making our blood boil. When we are too nice to him, he will ask for more. I am really getting tired of 'arguing' with him. Headache. :( It really upset me to be mad at him too..

Problems with my mil never did improved.. I am just waiting for the bomb to blow. Last week, my fil was dignosed to be suffering from slight depression. With the state and condition my mil is, living in constant worries and fear natuarally will cause my fil to be stress out. To prepare for the worst, we may need to get a maid or put the children in childcare. Sighz..

Reflecting upon myself.. since I graduated from Uni.. I have not been able to contribute to my parents. Career was not smooth-sailing when I started out and very soon I got married and had kids. I guess if there are any regrets in my life... that will be not giving enough and not bringing my parents overseas for tour. I went with my in-laws but never did once with my parents. At least my brothers did and contributed. :( I never considered myself being a filial daughter and never will be. There are no excuses to give... just for the sake of making myself feel better. The least I can do now is to start giving again..

Daily work, household chores and managing the children already make me very exhausted.. Whenever I start to think of stuff, I felt very disturbed. There are things that are beyond my means.. and there are things that I am just too tired to embark on. Day in, Day out.. sometimes I feel I am wasting my time, my life.... Still, LIFE HAS TO GO ON! What has past will never return.. future is left unknown.. Tomorrow is another new day! Cheer up! Kanbetei!!!!

~ Hubby's Birthday ~

Yesterday was Hubby's 34th Birthday... and my birthday present to him? $150 health check-up. :p Weird huh for a present.. Hubby has been complaining about his back pain and he missed his annual checkup last year. Worried that it was due to kidney issue, he decided to go for it last 2 weeks ago. His colleagues gave him a better present.. Harddisk worth $180.. Recently he got his NAS box.. so the harddisk came just in time.

To 'celebrate'.. we took a day off.. I spent the whole morning tidying the house.. mop, vacumm, changed the bedsheets, washed both toilets.. That will spare me for doing it during the weekends when the kids are around.

Hubby had planned to treat his colleagues lunch at Kuishin-Bo to thank them for their present. I tagged along.. we often had lunches together.. so it's fun. I always love Japanese food.. especially Salmon Sashimi.. Yummy... It was indeed a very heavy lunch...I felt so Fat. Hubby and I had a walk around before going back to pick the children. We were so tired...

Denver was not aware of the special day.. when I told him it was Daddy's birthday, he sang a birthday song. :) We went to Compass Point for Dinner.. but frankly, our stomach are still very full. Still we need to feed Denver and decided to settle our dinner at Hubby's favourite Fast Food Resturant - KFC. :D

I guess the most happy part is the 4 of us holding our hands together as a family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dearest Hubby.

~ Anchorvale CC ~

Another working from home day... time really flies.. going to the end of March and I am getting my performance bonus soon.. (Pathetic though - but better than nothing).

We were back at my inlaw's place early... on our way back, I was telling hubby that Nicole told me that a new Community Club has opened in early March near Anchorvale. We decided to pop by and had a look..

The main attraction there is the big swimming pool and running track which is still under construction. I can see twisted slides and splashing pools... it could be an Olympic size swimming pool at the side too. Looks really neat! It will surely bring some life to the neighbourhood.

The community club is new and there are the usual classes, multi-purpose hall for private functions. On the 4th storey, there is a nice rooftop area with a good view of the Pool.. nice..

While we were touring, Hubby got his usual sms on 4D... and to his delight, he strike a starters prize from Gladys' birth cert number :D. Tomorrow is his birthday and the prize money really comes in handy and right on time.

When we reached home, we received a note in our letterbox. "Colour Scheme Survey"...Wow..

Our flats are already 5 years and in the Repairs and Redecoration project, the blocks are going to get a new coat of paint.. so they have recommended 3 sets of colour schemes for the residents to choose. One vote per household... interesting leh.. I never heard of this before.. At least this did not happen when my mum's 3 room flat just got a new coat of paint for their flats.

So now, there are 3 proposed colour schemes.. that's perfectly fine.. but the stupid thing is they pasted each of them at different block's void deck's notice board. :S My block's notice board had Proposal A.. we went to Blk 158D and it was Proposal A too.. headed to Blk 159A and finally saw Proposal B.. try our luck at 157D and found Proposal C. Can't they paste all the 3 Proposals together for easier references? We can also do a better comparison too... If saving Paper is a concern... they can just centralize it at a particular notice board rather than having us searching around. I wonder if every residents have that patience..

Anyway, the colours are either going back to the original coat or mainly Orange... the good thing is either one of the 3 is fine... shall cast our vote soon :)

~ Visit to T3 ~

Every Sunday morning, Hubby and Denver will go swimming... and I am left home alone with Gladys. She used to wave them Goodbye.. but recently, she will rush to grab her shoes.. initiating that she wants to go out too. When I put her shoes back, she will go grab again.. this went to and fro a couple of times and I finally gave in. Putting aside the household chores, I took her down for a 15mins walk.. She ran around the playground and walked on the foot path. Too bad we did not see any cats/dogs for her to "Oh!! OOo" ... :p

It has been awhile since I last took a picture of her..... Later in the afternoon, I saw her standing silently along the sofa.. I quickly grab my mobile phone... she is watching TV and making 'kuey' at the same time. :p Her face starts to look stern as she "Uhmmm" her way through..

It was a tiring Sunday... I did not manage to catch a good nap because the kids are wide awake.. Gladys could not sleep and I have to keep them entertained.. :( Play toys, colouring, drawing, feeding... Tired!!! I had no choice but to strive on... After dinner, we had a walk at Compass Point. The intial idea was to go there for awhile and return home to rest. There was a change of plans when Jo is leaving for London that evening. Barry and I decided to go send her off and at the same time re-visit T3 again. :D

The kids are extremely happy! We were lucky to get a carpark near the entrance. T3 is new, clean and the crowd is alright. We had Mr Bean soya milk and pancakes. Yummy :D We headed towards the departure hall and there is a Big Orchid Propellar-like Fan which was turning around, up and down. The kids were so amazed and Denver wanted to take a photo with it. We had a look of Nice shots there.

** gor gor.. don't squeeze my face leh **

** That's more comfortable :D **

Jo arrived shortly and quickly check-in. She is kinda worried about her trip.. still it is a good opportunity and we hope she enjoys her trip. :) After all, not many will have that chance to go.. I had mine once to the US 3 years back.. and I doubt there will be a 2nd chance. Well..Time to go... Of course, the kids need to take pictures with their "Gu Gu" :D .. Kiss Goodbye.. Muak!!