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."