Christmas Gifts

So it's the Christmas season and presents giving time! My darling hubbie bought me the Ipod touch. It's so slim. And I can sync it with my MacBook's calendar and address book. And I can surf the net and watch movies, look at photos... Oh yes and listen to mp3s too...

Then I bought my hubbie a gorgeous watch, which cost me most of my end of year bonus. Bryan also got a new bicycle from his grandparents, which he absolutely loves. He can't wait until after Christmas to start riding it. And ringing the bell on the bicycle.

Rubik's Cube

I solved it not once but twice! Yay! With quite a bit of help from a solution guide. Each time, it takes me a couple of hours and lots of twisting. Now, absolutely nobody touches with cube without my permission.

Toilet Training Part 1

This afternoon after Bryan woke up from his nap, I removed his diaper as usual and then asked him to go pee in the potty. He was happy to. And then he asked me if he could wear his underwear, "Like Daddy." So I put it on. And kept him busy, we did some colouring, some stickers, and I let him blow some bubbles. Later, when we went out for dinner, he was quite happy to wear just his underwear. We kept reminding him to let us know if he needed to pee. He actually managed to stay dry for about 3 hours. I think it's great progress. He has never been without his diaper for so long before. And he promised to wear his underwear again tomorrow at home. *Crossing my fingers*

Changi Terminal 3

Open house of the new airport terminal at Changi Airport. Comes into operation 2008. Looks really nice. I'm hoping the shopping and dining is just as good.

Last Day of School

This weekend was the last day of playskool for Bryan. He had a water party in school today. The weather was great, it was sunny and bright out. Bryan and the rest of his class really enjoyed themselves. There were rubber duckies and floating boats, water squirters and even a slide. Then they all had lots of sweets and biscuits and sausages to eat after drying up. There was so much to eat, even mommy had some!

Mommy's Good Little Boy (most of the time)

So this week, while I'm on leave, I've converted the cot into a junior bed and got out all the pottys. I managed to get him to pee in a potty on command. But he still insists on wearing the diaper during the day. I guess that's telling me that he's not quite ready to be toilet trained. I hope he takes to wearing underpants instead of the diaper, just like his daddy! And he sleeps on his own in his own bed, in his own room. Although it takes him forever to get to sleep. Nowadays, he sleeps at almost 11pm at night. So I hardly have time for my own stuff.

Bryan's been behaving very well during the day though, most of the time. I bring him out shopping, to the park, for walks all on my own. He listens when I call him and he can obey simple instructions. So running errands with him is not much of a problem. He can eat on his own if he really enjoys his meal and isn't too fussy. I have to keep thinking of things to occupy him, so he doesn't get too bored. Like doing mini bowling, or making suff with the playdoh, or drawing/colouring, or building tunnels and towers with his legos/blocks, or reading new books, or taking walks, or doing mini jigsaws. Phew! It's been great mother-son bonding though. I can see why some moms are stay-home-moms.

Wishing for Sunny Days

It's the beginning of the monsoon season here. And it rains almost all the time. Sometimes it starts early in the morning and continues on until lunch. Other days, it rains/drizzles the whole day. Until today. It was sunny the whole day. And I could take Bryan out and do outdoorsy stuff. Like taking a walk around the neighbourhood. Watering the plants. Going to the park...

An Unfussy Haircut

I decided that Bryan was long overdue for a haircut. His last one was about 3 months or so ago I think. For a guy, it's a little long. And his fringe was almost reaching his eyebrows. So I took him to the one at United Square. The one which has DVDs playing, and with lots of toys to play with. The one especially for kids. Also the one that costs $18. I think that's pretty expensive for a kids cut. But it's also the one which Bryan likes.

So I was expecting that I had to coax him to sit on my lap and having to promise to get him stuff after that. But Bryan really behaved himself. He sat on the chair ALL BY HIMSELF. And he actually let the hairdresser put on that plastic sheet around his neck. Throughout the entire cut, he just watched the Hi 5 video and DIDN'T FUSS AT ALL! And before he left, he politely said his "Thank you" and "Bye".

I am so proud of my boy. I let him have 2 sweets. (I usually never let him have any.) And the hairdresser gave him a sheet of Garfield stickers.

Lessons from a 2 year old

Lesson No 1 - Submarine

Bryan points to a picture of a submarine in one of his books, "Mommy, what's this?"
Mommy replies, "Submarine."
"Sub-mommy."
"Sub-marine"
"Sub-mommy" *laughter*
"No, sub-marine"
"Sub-MOMMY!" *more laughter*
And suddenly I've become an undersea creature... *glub glub*

Lesson No 2 - Lightning

While reading to Bryan the same night, he suddenly looks up and points to the window, "Ooh, window light"
So I turn to the window, thinking that he saw the light coming from the neighbour's house, but there is absolute darkness coming from next door.
Puzzled, I ask him, "What light?"
"Somebody turn on light"
I look out of the window again and then I saw what he meant, there was a flash of lightning, which lit up the night sky. "Lightning"
Bryan stares out of the window, fascinated, "Light-ning, somebody turn on light"
He's kind of right you know. It did look like God just turned on the light in the sky for a split second.

News

I'm back from the briefing on polyclinic postings... and it's mostly a whole bunch of bad news... Instead of Sengkang Polyclinic which is 15 minutes away, I'm posted to Bedok Polyclinic which is at least 30 minutes away by car and 45 minutes away by public transport. So I'm going to be spending most of my time travelling and I have to get up earlier in the morning.

Not only that, I was unable to get leave to look after my son while my in-laws are away. So my boy is going to be at home with the maid. I'll feel much more comfortable if there was someone else there to look after him. Out of the 3 weeks I requested, I only got 1 week of leave. It's a good thing I haven't made any concrete plans for the day.

It's going to be quite an eventful 6 months because Bryan starts pre-nursery next year and I do want to start toilet training him as well...

Very Early Christmas Present

One of our close friends went to Hawaii and came back with a gorgeous Coach bag for me! At half the price that it's going for in Singapore. Isn't it gorgeous? Thanks so much! I don't really care if I don't get a Christmas present this year.

Zoo October 2007

Looks like the zoo is now Bryan's favourite place to go. And early in the morning is the best time, no crowd and the air is still cool. So lots of animals are up and about. Everytime we come, we try to do something different or see different animals. This time, we ventured into cat country and found ourselves in reptile land. There were the snakes and komodo dragons and of course the tortoises.

Random Photo

Once in a while, we let Bryan sit next to his favourite toy, Barney. It's not cheap though, $1 for only a few minutes to the tune of 'The wheels on the bus goes round and round.' And he enjoys it a lot.

Funny Things Bryan Says

Just the other day, we were walking into a clothing shop.

Bryan pointed at one of the mannequins and frowned. He kept saying, "Oh no, oh no"

So I asked him, "What's wrong?"

He promptly replied,"No head"

Singapore Botanical Gardens

Today, Bryan and I spent a good part of the morning walking in the Children's Gardens. It's a newly opened section of the Singapore Botanical Gardens where there are lots of stuff to do for the children. There is a water section, a playground. Also things like a cave, bridge, maze, etc. But it's a little tricky to get here. The main entrance for this part of the Gardens is actually just inside the NUS faculty along Bukit Timah Road, not along the Evans Road visitors entrance. It was just opened on the 1st October, children's day!

Bryan enjoyed himself. He walked the whole way. I'm so proud of him. And he doesn't misbehave like other boys around him. We went to the sand pit and he walked barefoot on the sand. Then we went to the suspension bridge which he wasn't afraid of. He enjoyed the playhouse that looked like a treehouse. He went down the tunnel slides all by himself.

We walked down to the pond and looked at the small fishes and water plants. Then we found the waterfall and the cave. It was much cooler there. After that, we went to the water play area. I took off his clothes because he was so hot. He liked running around there but he was a little afraid of the water fountains. He wanted me to go with him. But he was the one with the change of clothes, not me. After all that, we shared an ice cream and a drink.

The only thing... when we got home, I realised that I left his water bottle in the cafe! Yikes. I have to go get him another one. The old bottle is quite old and the straw is well chewed on anyway.

(If you have facebook and are one of my friends, the rest of the photos have been uploaded.)

Family Weekend

This weekend was a very busy one for Bryan. On Saturday, I took Bryan and my mother-in-law to the zoo. We saw a couple of animal shows. There was the water show with the sea lions and penguins and manatees and pelicans. And the other one we saw was the elephant one. Bryan loved it so much that he was very upset when they all ended. He settled for feeding the elephants. It cost $5 for a small basket of fruits which we would be giving to the elephants. The elephants liked it very much.

Then on Sunday, we celebrated my father-in-laws birthday. We went to Min Jiang at One North. It's the one at Rochester Park near Dover. There are some new restaurants there housed in old colonial style government houses. The ambiance is actually very nice. But it's a little inaccessible and parking is a bit of a problem. Because it's in houses, there are no lifts to get to the second floor. And it's a little hilly so walking there is quite up and downish. The food is actually very nice. But the service is another thing. The portions aren't very big and they tried to pass a smaller plate of fried rice for party of 8 for our party of 10+. And the tea was very diluted. But everyone still had a good time.

And Bryan made a good friends with his four year old cousin Katelyn.

Sleeping Arrangements

Lately, Bryan has managed to work out how to climb out of his cot. Onto the bed next to his cot and then down onto the floor. Then he'll open his door and come looking for me. All without making a single peep. The next thing I know, he's in my room, with his messy, just-woke-up look. Which gave me a big scare.

So I've decided he's going to need his own bed. But until then, he's going to have to make do with the higher adult sized bed. With lots and lots of pillows in case he decides to roll around. And putting him to bed is going to require a whole lot more time and energy since he now has access to all his toys and books. Which means more distractions, more stuff he wants to do before going to sleep.

When I think about it, Bryan's learning so many new things and growing up so fast. He can take off his clothes and shoes. He's working on putting them on. He can eat on his own. Which is fabulous when we take him out for dinner.

Now the only other thing I have to work on is getting him out of diapers.

In Loving Memory

1998 - 2007: Krusty. The sweetest, most tolerant, most obedient dog. Ever. His furry presence will be missed by all. There will never be another that could ever take his place. His fatal illness only manifested itself in the past few days so his passing came as quite a shock to many. May he rest in peace.

Krusty was with us in Melbourne, Australia. He went jogging with me, he slept at the foot of my bed. He was with me through my long distance relationship when my husband-then-boyfriend was away. He was shipped all the way from Australia to Singapore. He was in our wedding photos. He was with me when I was pregnant and when I had Bryan. He understood when I had a baby to look after and I couldn't spend as much time with him. He was always there whenever I called. I love him and miss him so much.

This photo was only taken last week. I had wanted to do a couple of scrapbook pages on him, so I took some pictures. And in the past couple of months or so I had decided that I wanted to spend more time with him and actually made the effort to play with him more. Coincidence? Or God? I like to think it was His way of making it that much easier to accept this loss.

Random Photo

This is Bryan's 'cheese' smile. He usually makes this funny face when you ask him to smile. So the trick is to ask him to say 'cheese'. Or make him laugh. He enjoys taking photos. He'll stand at the right spot and stay there until the camera clicks or flashes. Then he'll come up to you and he'll want to see the photo straight away. The wonders of a digital camera.

Today is my darling hubbie's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING!

Zoo Sept 2007

We had promised Bryan to take him to the zoo today. But the day started out a little wet. And it rained where we were at home. Bryan however woke up and was so excited about going to the zoo. He acually remembered that we told him we'd take him to the zoo. So even though it was raining, a promise is a promise and we thought we'd just drive there and then have breakfast and drive back.

However, when we got to the zoo, the rain had already stopped over the zoo and the weather was nice and cool. Which was great. And because the weather was so cool, all the animals were out of their caves and dens and were enjoying themselves. We could even see animals in their enclosures on the top of their hills or on tree tops while riding on the zoo tram from a distance.

Bryan's a little older now and he could name some of the animals, like monkey, giraffe, zebra, lion, tiger. I think he enjoyed himself a little more this time. He heared the lion roar and kept repeating to himself that the 'lion roar'. He also wanted to walk instead of using the pram. I think he feels like a big boy if he walks.



I think the zoo's a great outing. We missed a lot of the animal shows this time around. I think we'll try to catch some of the shows next time. Bryan would love to watch the animals doing their tricks. Thank goodness the zoo has a family membership for $150, which gives unlimited entries for a year and free parking. That saves us a lot of money if we visit often enough since each trip costs $15 or so per person. So I figure if we go at least once in two months or so, it would be worth it.

Closet Cleanout

I'm in the process of cleaning out my closet. A yearly affair. Clothes that I have not put on for the past year goes into the Salvation Army pile. There are lots of exceptions of course. But at least it makes me feel like I've done my closet spring cleaning.

So I've noticed that I've lots of white, black and sweet pink. I've dug up some bright colours that are so in season now which I haven't put on in a while. I realised that I wear dark colours quite well. Like cobalt blue, fushia, deep violet. Not orange and green though. Well, maybe only mint green. Then I notice that I don't have yellow at all. And I really like the light butter yellow colour.

During lunch the past couple of weeks, I've been trawling the stores nearby hoping to find something nice in yellow. And would you belive it, I can't find a decent piece. Not in my size anyway. Shops should really stock up more on XS, since it's the one size that seems to run out all the time.

The dress above is from Miss Selfridge. Nice.

I Want!

Probably the closest thing I'll ever get to the IPhone. 8mm thin. Multi-touch screen. 3.5inch display. Wi-fi web browsing. Watch movies. Show off photos. Of course listen to music. Syncs with my Apple Macbook. All in 120g. SG$698 for 16GB. SG$498 for 8GB. Available on Apple website.

Sentosa's Facelift

The last time we were in Sentosa was a while back. Even then we just drove into the island and headed straight for the Underwater World. So we didn't explore the island at all.

This weekend, we were invited to Sentosa to watch their new show, the Songs of the Sea. Initially I thought it was the musical fountain show. But I was wrong.

We went in by the new Sentosa rail which replaced the old monorail system and linked the island to the mainland of Singapore. The monorail journey started out at Vivocity, the shopping mall. It was after dark when we went in so I didn't make out much. But after a while, I worked out that the monorail made a couple of stops before the last station, the Beach Station. Which turned out to be I think further down the old Siloso Beach.

When we got out of the train. I was really amazed at how much the place had changed. From just a beach with a park beside it, it had transformed into a welcome terminal. There was Coffee Bean (& Tea Leaf), 7-eleven, a gift shop. It reminded me of the old ferry terminal on Sentosa.

The show was now actually in the sea, instead of a pond in the old musical fountain. There was an old Malay fishing village built a little way out in the sea, which hid the pipes and other equipment for the light and sound display. The seating capacity is apparently 2,500 now and the stands were very nicely done.

The show lasted I think half an hour. And it was really quite spectacular. Laser and light moving images were projected onto a fine spray of water which acted like a screen. The show incorporated a story with music, laser light display, water and even fire. The finale even included some fireworks. It was very well done.

Bryan really enjoyed the show. Except at the end where there were the loud fireworks and he got a little spooked. But he calmed down after we decided to get some ice cream. His cousins who were there as well, really enjoyed themselves too. They weren't ready to go home after the show.

On the way back by the same monorail train, I noticed that the old ferry terminal and musical fountain had been razed to the ground. In it's place was a huge hole in the ground where trucks and machinery were working. It was a little sad to see the place all torn up. I had lots of good memories there. I guess that's where the new Sentosa Integrated Resort is going to be.

I think we will definately be headed back there sometime. Just to see the new attractions and other new developments going on there. Bryan will definately remember a different Sentosa to the one I knew.

Hi 5 Circus

Hi 5 from Australia is here from 31 August to 9 September. They were playing at the Singapore Expo. Bryan is a very big fan so we decided to bring him to watch it. Now although it says on the banner 'tickets from $38' in reality, the decent seats are actually $68 and $88 a pop. It's insane. And yet tickets are actually sold out. I called up SISTIC and asked if Bryan needed one of those incredibly expensive seats. It turns out that as long as he is happy to sit on my lap, he doesn't really need a seat of his own. That's a big relief. Now I still had to fork out $140.20. $2 of which consisted of their ticket admin fee. I don't really understand this fee. After all, I bought the ticket online. And the $0.20 takes the cake. It's the fee they charge for ME to collect the ticket PERSONALLY from the ticket counter. ??!!


Today was the day of the Hi 5 Circus show. We had gotten him the tickets to the 7pm show. Bryan was so excited. He was told that when mommy got home from work, we would bring him to watch Hi 5. So the moment I arrived, he rushed to the door and insisted that he should put on his 'nice shoes'. And he went straight to the car and wanted to be strapped in. He refused to get out even though I still had to have my dinner. He patiently sat and waited in the car in his car seat... until I was all done.

At the entrance, there was this big Hi 5 hand. We were lucky to be able to snap a picture of him on it without any interruptions from other children. There were also booths selling Hi 5 VCDs and other Hi 5 merchandise. Bryan wasn't keen on anything at the time. He didn't want the hat or Jup Jup. In the end he decided that he wanted that headband one with the flashing neon green lights.

Once the show started, Bryan sat on my lap and watch, entirely taken in with the whole performance. The seats were pretty ok. But the category A seats would have been even better. The Hi 5 team was onstage, singing and dancing in their bright coloured costumes. Bryan clapped along and waved at the right times. There were new songs and some old ones. It consisted of 2 halves of half an hour each and with a 20 minute break in between. At the end of it, after saying 'bye bye' to Hi 5, Bryan was a little disappointed to be going home. He wanted 'more Hi 5'. Then when we were walking out, there were people selling Hi 5 balloons so we got one for Bryan. I wasn't actually keen on getting it but he actually asked for it.

Now he is sleeping with the balloon in his room, tired but very happy. I really shouldn't spoil him too much. But this is a special outing for him. I didn't want to end the night with him being disappointed.

Notables

Recently I watched the 5th season of the Apprentice. Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump has replaced Carolyn as one of the judges together with her brother Donald Jr. I've heard of her but she's never really been in the spotlight much. And she seemed more down-to-earth than most of the other heiresses, like Paris Hilton. And she sounded quite intelligent on the show. So I checked up on her. She's a year younger than me. She attended the Wharton School in University of Pennsylvania and graduated magna cum laude from her class. She was a model while she was studying but now is vice president of her father's Real Estate division (She's only 25!). And she will be launching her own line of diamond jewellery collection. Now that's somebody with beauty AND brains. I would really like to meet her one day.

In the news lately, Pavarotti has passed away at age 71, from cancer. He's probably the only one of the 3 tenors whose name I can remember. Aside from Domingo and the other one (What's his name?). After my honeymoon to Italy, I have come to appreciate Italian songs. And I discovered that Italians are probably born to sing. Even the restaurant entertainers are exceptional. I would really like to watch an episode of Italian Idol. They would put even the American Idols to shame, much less the Singapore Idol. Hmm Singapore Idol, I thought that was some kind of a joke.

Random Photo

Bryan has never liked getting his hair cut. He always kicks up a big fuss each time. But it's about time he had one. The last hair cut was almost 3 months ago.

So, hoping for a cry-free hair cut, we brought him to one at United Square. This one had toys to play with and a TV to watch, so there were lots of distractions. He was persuaded to sit on my lap and he let the hairdresser cut his hair with a pair of scissors. Started off pretty ok. He was cross with me but seemed to tolerate it well. It was only when she used the clippers that Bryan started to fuss. But in the end, he sat through it all and got a great haircut. At twice the price ($18!) but half the fuss. I think we will be going back there at the end of the year.

We had promised to buy Bryan some fishes and a fish tank if he got his haircut. And we did. Actually I think it was more like my darling hubbie wanted it for Bryan. It's only a small tank and now has only a few plants and fishes in it but hopefully it looks much nicer once it's nicely filled. Now it holds 10 cardinal fishes and 2 flame gouramis.

[EDIT] The new tank did not agree with some of the cardinals so after getting water softeners and conditioners and what not, they seemed to be going ok. We got some more fishes too. My favourite: The ghost knife fish. It is really fascinating to watch. My son calls it the 'black fish'.

New Shoes!

This is Bryan's new shoes. Isn't it just so gorgeous? We were shopping for shoes at Queensway for Chun Chong, and I saw this on the shelves of Ltd Edition. And I just couldn't put it down. It cost a cool $49. Which is almost as much as I paid for his blue Crocs.

Then when we got home, we showed the shoes to Bryan. And when we put it on, he really liked it. And everytime he wears it, he gets complimented on them. Now he calls it his "nice shoes".

Coping

Recently a few of my friends have been asking me how I cope with so many responsibilities, seeing as how I manage to work, study, look after a 2 year old, find time to go to the gym, work on my hobbies, run errands and stay married.

Well, in short, ONE THING AT A TIME.

Actually, I find that if I did things as fast as possible, I can stretch time a bit. I spend a lot of time with my son and the rest of the time with my hubbie. And I try to squeeze everything else in between. So my lunch times are usually packed with errands and doing the accounts. I try to study at night when my boy is asleep. But I make a point to sit with my hubbie a while so he doesn't feel too left out. Then I go to the gym during the weekend when Bryan is taking his afternoon nap. And when he wakes up, we do some grocery shopping together.

I have to hand it to my trusty organiser to remind me when Bryan's school fees have to be paid and when our dogs need to be de-flea-ed. Without it I think I'd be a confused mess.

Yet, I still have so many things in my head that I want to do. I want to find more time to teach my boy his alphabet and do more art and craft stuff with him. And I want to have more time, especially in the mornings with my hubbie *wink* & *blush*. I need to find time to read too. I used to read a least one book a week. Now, I hardly have time for any.

Hmmm... one of these days I'm going to give myself a heart attack. But I do have to thank my mother-in-law for helping me look after Bryan especially while I'm at work. At least I don't have to worry about him then. But I always worry about my darling hubbie. Sometimes I think he works too hard.

Busyness

I've been rather busy these few weeks. So has my hubbie. There's been a lot of stuff happening these few weeks. I've been quite tired out and compounding that is me not having time to go to the gym. Which means that my energy levels are not as high. I need that adrenalin rush. I'm going to have to find the time to some exercise. Meanwhile, I've been getting my energy off Starbucks Caramel Macchiatos.

Mostly because I have started lectures for my Family Medicine Course. Which takes place mostly on Saturday afternoons. And I need to have read up the notes. Which aren't very thick but very concentrated. It takes me a good hour or so to absorb just one section. Plus I have to think about the case studies at the end. AND this Saturday happens to be my presentation on one of the cases. Somehow I managed to get myself 'arrowed' into doing the presentation. Which my tutor says I have to go and add in more stuff into the presentation. So back to my powerpoint slides.

Meanwhile, my hubbie is busy with a launch of a new product in his office. And he has decided to 'beng-arize' his car. I told him he could. My birthday gift to him. Sometimes I think he spends more of his free time on his car, cleaning and waxing then he does me. I have to admit though, it looks very nice and shiny. Even if I don't understand all the contraptions he's adding. He tells me I shouldn't worry my 'pretty little' head about any of it. I ask him anyway. And then I get all confused and cross-eyed when he tries to explain. Maybe I should learn to mind my own business.

Growing Up

Bryan is getting more independant. He takes part in activities with other children in church. And tries to join in with his cousins when they come by for dinner. I can sort of leave him be to play with them while I keep an eye on them from the dinner table. And he is learning lots more words too. His pronounciation and phonics are getting better too. Like he can say the letter 'f' and the 'ffff' sound. Instead of sounding the 'f' like a 'p' which he used to do. Which means he can say things like 'fish', 'flag' etc quite clearly. I can understand him most of the time now. And he can articulate what he wants quite well. Like if he wants me to 'come' or 'sit down' or do things 'like that'. He also understands what I mean when I say 'the other side' or 'over there' or 'wait a while'. So it's really great when he understands what I want him to do and he does it promptly. Wish he could stay this cute forever.

Pasir Ris Park

During the weekend, we took Bryan to the park in Pasir Ris. I've noticed it on the map while travelling through Pasir Ris and I thought we should try it out since the beach/park at East Coast is always so crowded on weekends. It's very much quieter in the Pasir Ris Park. Just across the carpark, there is actually a housing estate. I didn't know there were houses next to the seaside in Pasir Ris.

Anyway, there is a rather modest beach there and a lovely place to walk/run/cycle in. There is even a cycle kiosk to rent bicycles. The best part of it is that there is a huge playground for the children of all ages to play in. The park caters for the young ones to the older ones. There are slides of different heights, sizes, types. There is even a huge spider web thing that kids can climb on. It reminded me of a park near the house in Malaysia that I grew up in.

Bryan had lots of fun. He tried the slides, and even walked up a shaky rope/suspension bridge. He walked down the beach, but the water looked rather polluted so we didn't go into it. There were three dogs swimming in the sea and he happily pointed them out. Then the sky started to get dark so we headed home. The weather's been rather odd lately. Raining on and off and it's not really the monsoon season yet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The final instalment of the harry potter series arrived yesterday by post bright and early at 8am. Just when I was about to leave for work. And once I started reading the first page, I just couldn’t put it down. I finished reading it at 2am early this morning.

I have to say that the ending didn’t disappoint. Nothing like what I imagined. And yet it was perfect. J.k. rowling is a master storyteller. She didn’t explain everything until the end. And the readers together with harry potter finally understood why things had to be as they were. She linked the previous 6 books together perfectly. I believe there is no way that anyone could grasp the full story without reading all 7 books.

I may even go back to the beginning and reread the whole thing. Now that I understand what was really going on, I think rereading it will let me see things in a different light.

It’s not only the story though, the book also imparts important values and lessons. It shows us the value of true friendship, trust and loyalty and above all, the power of love. It teaches the importance of standing up for what you believe in. and that no matter how insignificant you feel, one person can make a difference.

Oh yes, on a different note, bryan just learned how to jump. He can just about jump a couple of inches off the floor. It’s so adorable. And I am so proud of him.

Harry Potter Weekend

This weekend is going to be so exciting for both of us. My hubbie is holding a soccer competition for his major clients this Sunday. With lots of great prizes, including great electronic products and gift vouchers.

My weekend is going to be a Harry Potter one. Tomorrow the last book in the Harry Potter series is going to be launched at 7am in the morning. I have already preordered my book and it will be arriving at my place by special post. I'm so excited to find out what happens in the end. If it's going to be Harry Potter or 'onewhoshallnotbenamed' who wins in the end. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a happyish sort of ending. But I'm dedicating my free time this weekend and next week to completing the book.

And then in the evening me and my hubbie are going to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the cinemas. We had made a deal, he'll watch the Harry Potter movie with me and I'll watch The Simpsons movie with him.

Watch this space for the reviews!

Random Photo

Does he remind you of a cartoon character? Heh. My son is the cutest!

GST Increase

The first of July, marks the first day of the latest tax increase from the goverment. From 5% to 7%. That's 2 more dollars out of every 100 spent. Which means 2 more dollars out of our phone and cable and internet and country club bills. I don't even want to think about things like the annual road tax and insurance which comes up to a hefty $20 increase. But then there is also the drop in the levy for foreign domestic workers. So it evens out for me. I guess. I still feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick here.

Things To Do

1. Have another baby
2. Get that masters degree
3. Own a Volvo C70
4. Renovate Bryan's room
5. Finish reading studying the Bible
6. Learn scuba diving Scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef
7. Learn to ride a horse
8. Be a volunteer for Medicine Sans Frontiers Learn Japanese
9. Visit Italy, France, Switzerland, Africa, New York, Egypt, Israel, China, India, New Zealand, Maldives, Hawaii
10. Finish a 5km run
11. Take up dance classes
12. Perm my hair Perm my hair again
13. Join the worship team in church
14. Have Lasix done so I don't have to wear glasses or contacts
15. Retire in 30 years to look after my grandchildren

I love to do them all, with my hubbie, during this lifetime.

Edit: 20 July 2007 - Changed number 8

And Life Resumes

This weeks marks the start of the new school semester for the students. And it also means that the clinic is not so busy. And that most of us are posted back to the schools for the medical checkup. Bryan starts his new playschool term too. I wonder if he actually misses it or not. I had a short break in June, which is great for me just to take a short breather for work and spend time with my son. I would have loved to be able to spend more time with my hubbie though. I think he deserves a good break after working through the school holidays.

But the next half of the year holds so much more promise. There are birthdays to celebrate and I'll have courses to attend. I just celebrated my own birthday nearly a month ago and I feel like the rest of the year is going to be great. I'll be very busy, but it's going to be great. I'm going to embrace whatever life's opportunities bring. Even if I don't get the pay rise that I deserve or if appointments in the clinic get double-booked, I have the opportunity to help people. And I don't just want to be a good person, I want to be a good wife, mother and doctor. And I want to have fun too.

But most of all, I want to share it all with my hubbie and my little boy. They are my life, the reason why I get up in the morning. And I love them with all my heart.

New Addition

This post is probably a couple of weeks late. But we recently bought a new puppy. Actually, my hubbie bought a new puppy. He was at the pet shop one day and saw this lovely female Papillon. And he conveniently decided that he would get it for me for my birthday. Thus absolving him of any responsibilities toward looking after the puppy. Very clever if you ask me. But I digress.

We call her Candy because she looks so sweet and adorable. She is a tricolour puppy from Australia and is actually very pretty. Much better looking than my other Papillon, Krusty. Fluffier too. And I think she is pretty smart and not noisy at all. Her temperament is exactly like her name, sweet. Now, I have to somehow find more hours in the day to spend time with her. Which reminds me, she needs her vaccinations too.

MacRitchie Reservoir

Then on Sunday, I took Bryan with my in-laws to MacRichie Reservoir for a walk. It had been raining earlier in the morning so by the time we left for the park, it was a lovely cool day. Not too sunny. The park brings back memories for me because my father used to take me and my siblings there when we were younger. And it was one of the places me and my hubbie used to go to.

Bryan enjoyed the walk a lot. He went onto the piers and bridges. He especially liked the bridge with the tortoises under it. He kept pointing and shouting "turtle". At the green end of the park, there were lots of monkeys. He was very fascinated by them but very wisely kept his distance.

He saw a little girl walking there with her parents and wanted to make friends. They shook hands and he wanted to give her a hug. It was so cute. If he grows up to be anything like his father, he will be such a charmer.

Happy 2nd Birthday

My boy officially turns 2 today! He's growing up so fast. We celebrated his birthday with family and friends on Saturday. It was raining and the garden was a little wet so we had the party indoors. It's a good thing our place is decently sized so it wasn't too crowded.

My father came down all the way from Malaysia just to see him and celebrate his birthday with him. And my brother also happend to be on his summer break from UK. It was great. We also had some of our close friends over. And they brought their kids too. So we had quite a few preschoolers and babies around. It was really something. And us mommies were swapping baby stories. While the kids were entertaining themselves.

The food was pretty good. It was all catered from Neo Garden so it was no fuss at all. Their chicken curry is really good. And I bought a HUGE Barney cake. Bryan absolutely loved it. He blew out his 2 candles all by himself. He's a natural. Everyone had more than a generous piece of cake and we had so much left. Bryan really enjoyed himself that night. So did mommy. Happy Birthday Bryan!

Church Camp 2007

So more about the 2007 St Paul's Church Camp. The theme was 'Ambassadors for Christ'. And it was held in Tiara Beach Resort in Port Dickson, Malaysia. Most of the camp participants went up by coach but we (my in-laws and me with Bryan) went up by ourselves. We drove to Malacca where we spent the night before continuing the journey to Port Dickson for a three night church camp.

The place looked really nice at first. There was this lovely pool with lots of waterslides and even a waterfall. The pool sloped upwards and ended with a white sandy beach. Aside from the main wading pool, there were two smaller pools which were much deeper for swimming in. The rooms though were quite a different story. It was quite small with not much amenities. The main living room didn't have air-conditioning. And there was no way to control the thermostat of the rooms which had the air-conditioning turned on to freezing. Bryan's cot was small and the mattress was rather soft and lumpy. The rest of the furniture were woody and creaky and the sheets had funny stains on them. *Yuck* I know church camps aren't supposed to be really luxurious but I thought we could have done better.

But despite that, we had a good time. Bryan really enjoyed himself. He played on the pretend beach and went down the water slides too. And during the few sermons that we had, he occupied himself with stickers and his own books. He was on his best behaviour. I was very proud of him. He liked the praise sessions the best though and clapped along. For me, I thought it was spiritually refreshing. The last time I was on a camp like this was when I was still in Junior College. But despite all the fun, I was missing my husband. He couldn't take leave from work.

So when he drove down to surprise us for the last night, I was so happy. It was the best part of the camp! Absence definately makes the heart grow fonder. The next holiday we take, we are going together.

Recovering from a Holiday

We got back from our church camp on Sunday. It was a 4 day trip in Port Dickson in Malaysia. Bryan was so excited buring the trip, that he didn't take his usual 2 hour afternoon naps. I think the lack of sleep is not very good for him. Because the day after we got home, he developed a fever. It wasn't a very high fever. He also doesn't seem to have a cold or cough and he's eating well so I'm not too worried. His fever is lower today too. Seems the trip may have been a little much for him. He really enjoyed himself there though.

Meanwhile, he's not the only one recovering from the camp. After almost a week looking after Bryan, I'm quite pooped myself. I need a little break from looking after him full time. Hmmm, irate patients I can handle on a daily basis, but a two year old can really be quite a handful.

Mommying is Hard

Bryan is almost 2 now. He grows up so fast, it's sometimes hard to catch up. I find mommying a very fine line between being careful and letting go. I want him to learn things and be able to do things on his own. Yet I want to make sure that he knows what he is doing, that he wouldn't make mistakes.

Like today, when he goes to pick up his daddy's mug, to drink from it. It's an almost full heavy mug. My mommy's instint is to grab it from him, even though I know full well that he is capable to holding a cup and drink from it without spilling. I catch myself and watch gingerly as he takes a sip and then sets the mug down, all without spilling a drop, at the same time, watching his favourite TV show. I breathe a big sigh of relief and feel really proud of my little boy. (And me too!) Still, I can't help myself from saying, "Put the cup down on the table properly, just in case it spills."