Swimming Classes

Bryan's now over a month into his swimming classes. And he is enjoying himself. He isn't scared of the water and he is confident enough to jump in and kick for a short distance. I often have to remind myself that he's only 3 and a half years old. And he's already learning how to swim. Soon, he'll be able to swim on his own and even join in Midget competitions. He's really growing up so fast!


Meanwhile, when my mother-in-law brings Bryan for his classes, Gabriel follows and watches his brother learn to swim in the pool. If I was there with Bryan I'd go for a dip with Gabriel. But too bad I have to work weekdays... I haven't been able to find the time to start a proper exercise programme since Gabriel was born. With Bryan I managed to find some weekend time. But now it's almost impossible.

Nursery Art

During Bryan's School Open House, we got to see his classroom and meet his teachers. And see what he got up to in school. It was very different from what I expected. They had converted the classroom into a little traffic school. There were lanes, traffic lights and even little vehicles.


The art work was all hung up on the walls. He drew and coloured a very nice windmill, made a kite and learned all about the wind.


This is his teacher, Mrs Yee. With Bryan holding a TV that he made! It must have been fun making stuff like that. Mommy is very very proud.

More Photos here

Mini Scraps Part 3

With Baby Samuel


With Nicholas and Baby Luke


With Baby Gabriel


The End!
-- Posting From My iPhone

Mini Scraps Part 2

With Baby Matthew


Family Photo


With Katelyn


With Bryan and Baby Gabriel
-- Posting From My iPhone

Mosh Posh Blog Party

This week is the second week of the Mosh Posh Blog Party. There are more scrap challenges this week and lots of other fun stuff to do. Do drop by if you have the time.

Mosh Posh Blog

Mini Scraps Part 1

I made this small altered album for my mother-in-law for Mothers' Day. It was quite easy to do. I used the Little Yellow Bicycle Zinnia Collection. It came in already pre-die-cut 6x6 pad and chipboard album.


My parents-in-laws


With Bryan when he was about 6 months old


With all their grandchildren

-- Posting From My iPhone

Sightseeing

I had an important lecture to attend which was held at the Asian Civilization Museum's auditorium. It's near the Parliament Building and St Andrew's Church which was where I parked my car. While walking there, I took a few photos with my iPhone.


This is the side of the Singapore River, opposite Boat Quay I think. It's also supposedly where Sir Stamford Raffles landed too. I don't think I've actually walked here since they've renovated the place and restored some of the old buildings.


This is the Victoria Memorial Hall/Victoria Theatre. I may have been here years ago when I was still in primary school, to attend some concert. Nowadays, most concerts are held nearby in the new Esplanade Theatres.

-- Posting From My iPhone

Weekend Photos

Bryan at Seletar Country Club where he swims for fun on weekends.



Gabriel enjoying himself in his cot. He can play quietly by himself for a while, which is great when I need to get things done.

Zoo Rides

'The Zoo' features 'Bella Blvd' papers and stickers. The lovely paper flowers, green crystals and rub-ons are from 'Imaginisce'.



"Waiting... 4 the rides" is a double page layout. This is also the first layout I did with some border stamping. I also used 'Pink Paislee' rub-ons and chipboard alphabets.

It's hard to see on the front-on layouts but the alphabets are raised up to create a 3D effect.

Blog Party

Mosh Posh

Mosh Posh is a monthly kit club. Every month, the girls there put together a scrapbook kit with the latest designs from the hottest companies. It's also very well coordinated so you don't need to crack your head thinking of what embellishments to go with that scrapbook paper. One kit usually includes 6 patterned papers, 4 cardstock papers and lots of embellishments. There is the option to add on extra papers or cardstock or embellishments too!

It's Mosh Posh's 4th anniversary and the team there has put together 10 days of scrapbook fun! Challenges, projects and excellent prizes! So drop by to get started!

Mosh Posh Blog

To Sleep Like a Baby

= Sleeping Like a Baby. Precious, Peaceful, Perfect. When Gabriel falls asleep on my shoulder, I find it so hard to put him down. He's so contented, I could just hold him in my arms forever...

My boys are thankfully very good sleepers. They sleep at about 10pm and wake up at 7am. Even Gabriel. He has been sleeping through since he was 4 months of age. He'll fuss a little at night, when it gets too warm. But goes back to sleep without actually waking up. Bryan is even able to fall asleep by himself in his own room.

Which gives Mommy time to wind down and spend time with Hubbie before I fall asleep. And get a decent night's rest.

Science Fun

Hubbie took my son to the Singapore Science Centre on Monday since it was a school holiday for Bryan. Apparently they had a good time, there was lots to see. And lots of hands-on exhibits to play with. From the photos, it seemed like the Science Centre had changed quite a bit. I remember going there years and years ago.

Scraps

This is my leftover scraps layout. I used as much of the material I had left from Heidi Grace and Yellow Bicycle. I wanted to clear as much old stuff as I could before starting on new collections. So I patchworked the papers to make a background and used most of the rest of the transparencies, stickers and rub ons.



Whatever I had left I tried to incorporate into this patch layout. If you look closely at the photo at the bottom left, you can see Gabriel's toothless gums. So adorable.

-- Posting From My iPhone

New Activities

I took out some of Bryan's old baby toys for Gabriel to play with. It was one of those toys that pops out when you press the button. Like a jack in the box. Gabriel loved it so much he kept banging on it to try to get the little toy to pop out. It's so cute to watch.


Bryan meanwhile, got to play in his 'tent' that we set up on our bedroom. It's a special weekend only treat for him. He enjoys it because he gets to watch tv and play up late too. He does fall asleep... eventually...

Gabriel's First Swim

After finally getting over his cough/flu, Gabriel was ready for his very first swim.

It was a lovely morning. The sun was up and the pool was empty. The water was nice and cool. I took Gabriel into the kiddy pool while Bryan was splashing around with his water gun. Bryan calls it his 'gun shootinger'.

I think Gabriel saw it as a very big bath tub. He sat on my lap and splashed around. It must have really tired him out. Because after drying him up and putting him into dry clothes, he promptly fell asleep on my shoulder.

Happy Early Mom's Day!

Bryan brought this home from school for me. :) I know it's something they had to do during their craft session. But it's a lovely gift. I know he put in quite a bit of effort to colour the flower petals too. I shall look for a small vase to keep it in. ;)

-- Posting From My iPhone

The Second Time Round

Mother's Day is this weekend. And this would be my 200th post.

Being a mother changed my whole life. Before my children, I'd only have to worry about myself (& hubbie but he's a big boy). I could work late, go shopping after work, catch a movie anytime and get home whenever. Then it all changes. I go straight home after work to see my kids. I bring my kids out with me when I shop. And I don't stay up past midnight anymore.

But I don't think I've given up anything at all. In fact, I feel extremely blessed. To have a baby to hold. To watch a child learn the simplest things in life. To be able to shape a person's way of life. And to influence his future. It's something every woman should go through. It's that instinct in us that comes alive.

It's not easy though, to be a mother. The first time around, I felt prepared. I've read and trained in all things birth and beyond. I knew what to expect every step of the way. But it's one thing to have the theory and it's a completely different thing to actually do it.

To put it simply, I was lost the first time round. I had no clue why my baby was crying. Was he hungry? But it's not time for his feed yet... Wet? But I just changed him... Did his tummy hurt? I don't know. Is it something serious? Intususseption? Hirshsprung's Disease? Metabolic Disorder? Suddenly, I go from being a professional to a worrying mess. Is he going to be ok?

So like all first time moms, I learnt from scratch. How to tell when a diaper needs changing. How to prevent nappy/heat rashes. How to sooth a crying baby. How to coax him to try that new cereal you just bought or to take the medicine he needs. How to keep him happy while on the phone.

Meanwhile, I tried my best to show my first, Bryan that I loved him. Everything he did was so exciting, fascinating. I was secretly very thrilled when he met each milestone. I never imagined I'd have such a rollercoaster of emotions. This was all brand new.

But the second time, it's very different. I was more relaxed, took things as they come. I rationed my time, made sure I had enough rest. I didn't panic every time my second, Gabriel cried. It was like a do-over. To correct my 'mistakes'. This time I breastfed longer, and didn't supplement as much. I think I read Gabriel better, whether he needed to be fed, or whether his diaper needed changing, or if he just wanted a cuddle.

This time my feelings were the same, yet different. It was still a deep, intense love that I felt. But it was quiet, more mature. I don't feel the need to rush into things, like weaning. I feel contented, peaceful. A very good feeling.

April Scrapz

I used Little Yellow Bicycle Vita Bella paper for the background. The diamonds are cut out partially with a craft knife to hold the photo in place. The flowers on the right are punched out and combined with a small brad. I kept the design simple to emphasize the colour combination and to highlight the lovely background paper. This layout is fitting as the last page of an album.


This layout uses Little Yellow Bicycle's latest Baby Safari papers and embellishments. I absolutely adore this line. The papers had a subtle background design and is very versatile. The circles were cut out from a separate paper and used as embellishments. The layout was borrowed from the Two Peas in a Bucket "A Year of You" April class. It was just fitting to showcase all the babies in the family.


I really wanted to try something different so I used a large die-cut paper from LYB as the background. I had a lovely Daisy Bucket tree which I cutout from the original background paper and trimmed to fit. The photo was overlaid with a transparency from the LYB line as well. After putting in all the stickers, rub-ons and letters, I had a little bit of space left for my journalling. Perfect!