The Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree in the living room. The theme is the same as last year, Red and Gold. Love the star at the top the best. But some of the fragile glass ornaments are really glittery and gorgeous.

The Alternative to Swimming

It has been raining a lot these past couple of weeks. Typical of December. So swimming lessons typically get cancelled. There are other things to do besides swimming at the club. This is just one of them.

Weekly Scraps

I've gone out of my comfort zone with these two layouts. I'm using Sassafras which is not one my usual style. But I really love the backgrounds. They fit the photos really well. I've also mixed and matched leftover papers from other collections, OA and Pink Paislee. And used different layout sketches. Both of which I don't ordinarily do. I did like how it all seemed to blend together at the end though. 

In the second layout, I didn't have time to finish the journalling AND take a photo so I just took the photo. I did complete the journalling in the end. I also tried out the new Frixion pens by Pilot. Where the ink can be rubbed off by friction. And doesn't leave a trace. Quite amazing actually. Great for me because sometimes I tend to have some mistakes in the journalling. I will get more...

Brothers

Brothers = God Choosen Best Friends.

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An Amazing Weekend

Yep, had a great weekend. Tiring. But great.

For one, Hubbie's back! :) Yay. Missed him a lot. I wasn't sleeping well for one thing. And it was rather dull in the evenings without him around. So he's back, and I'm sleeping better. No more headaches in the morning...

Another thing, my company had a conference over the weekend in Rasa Sentosa. So they sponsored a night's stay. I just had up top up to pay for the difference for a larger family room. So the kids got a night's stay in Sentosa as well.

The hotel was rather crowded because of 3 weddings happening all at once and it was a weekend. But they really had a great time. At the play areas and the beach. But it was oh-so-hot! So we all cooled off in the pool.

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Weekly Scraps

So I'm finally working my way into my August photos. This is a photo of my boys during their school's National Day celebration. They are supposed to wear red and white. The colours of the Singapore flag. I usually take the opportunity to wear my red Ferrari top which is the only thing red that I own.

I used the rest of the OA school house collection. I especially love the chipboard banner. I just had to use it all up. I like how the layout turned out bright and cheery.






Since the National Day is always a school holiday, we spent it at the club together with all of Bryan and Gabriel's cousins. They all had an awesome time. First they went swimming, which turned out to be a fabulous thing to do. It was an incredibly hot day. Then, when it got too hot to swim, we all went bowling. And enjoyed fries with chicken wings.

For this, I used the rest of my old OA stuff, mainly from Campfire and Thrift Shop. Flowers and leaves were from a friend. I really like how OA collections can be mixed and matched, to create unique layouts.

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Kinder Graduation

A big congratulations to Bryan. He graduated from preschool yesterday. It was a big ceremony with each child called up to receive their certificate. Complete with the cap and gown. So proud of him. He's done really well so far. And he's really growing up well. It's been a great 4 years in Ascension Kindergarten. He has made lots of friends and his teachers like him a lot. I hope he keeps his friends, even as he moves on to the next stage of his life. Primary School.

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The Weather Report

The weather in Singapore's been changing from hot and dry to not-so-hot and wet. December is typically the monsoon period, when it rains and rains. That day, it was baking hot. The boys wanted to take a walk but found it so sunny that they both put on their 'sunglasses'.

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Enjoying a Hot Day

Congratulations to Bryan who was just awarded his Bronze Swimsafer Swimming Award. He swam great. And did everything else very well too. Very proud of him!

That day turned out to be a very hot morning and noon. Gabriel chilled out in the wading pool. While Bryan took his Bronze test. It was all very well for the two of them. While Mommy ended up finding pockets of shade to rest in while playing photographer. Phew! It's a good thing I decided to slap on lots of sunscreen too.

The day ended with a cool thunderstorm which meant we all slept very well that night.

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The Big Camera

Since hubbie borrowed my camera for his Japan trip, I am left with his Nikon D700. I don't usually use his camera because it is very heavy. And very bulky. It does not fit into my handbag as easily as my Lumix. I have to carry it's own shoulder bag.

But I have to say, it takes beautiful photos. Even without trying very hard. The colour comes out fabulous. And even if there is a colour cast from the lighting, it's easily fixed. Way better than my Lumix which I already think is a great camera.

So here I am playing with it, getting fabulous shot after shot of my dog, my boys and everything else in between. I am so tempted to try out the new micro 4/3rd Lumix cameras. If it can give me photos like these, it would be awesome!

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Best Friends

Best Friends - My two boys had a great time on Monday. It was a public holiday and they had an awesome time together. In the morning, we explored a new playground. Bryan had the time of his life exploring the playground. Gabriel was very brave with all the slides.

In the afternoon, I let them out of the house for a bit. Bryan went cycling. While Gabriel tried out his scooter. I made him go slow. But it was great fun for him. Better than just the garden. I do need to get him a proper helmet.

I think they are beginning to realise what fun having a brother can be. A God-given best friend. And together they learn how to share things with each other, play together and care for each other. Which are great life lessons for their own personal growth. (And since they can keep each other company, they don't pester Mommy so much)

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Weekly Scraps

These photos were taken when Bryan was learning to ride his two-wheeled bicycle. He has since mastered it quite well. And loves his bicycle a lot. He's always badgering me to let him cycle outside the house.



Gabriel is still too young to ride a bicycle. But he does enjoy building his sandcastles on the beach. Doesn't he look so cute with his sunglasses on?

For these two layouts, I used a mixture of Pink Paislee Daily Junk as well as the latest Nantucket collection. I especially love the hexoganal shaped tiles and the wooden alphabets from Pink Paislee.

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Pony Ride

The weather was great last weekend. It was also the weekend that I knew lots of kids would be at home studying. So I brought the boys to the zoo. It was just the 3 of us. And we had a lovely time. The zoo was definitely quieter that morning. And there was hardly a queue for anything.

Bryan wanted to go down to see the kangaroos. So we went that way. But the kangaroos weren't in. Maybe it was too early? So he was a bit disappointed. Since it was still early, Bryan wanted to go on his pony ride. But that was quite a distance away. I thought we should take a lazy ride on the tram around the zoo to the pony ride. And Gabriel was happy with that too. He liked the tram. Although he kept calling it the train.

At the pony ride, Gabriel also wanted to sit on the horse. And he was really brave about it too. Even though it was rather high up for him. And it was his first time. When he got off, I asked if he wanted another go. Gabriel said, "Tomorrow." Bryan on the other hand, enjoyed himself tremendously. He had a great time.

I bought the boys a drink and off we went on the tram back to the entrance of the zoo.

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A Special Scrap

I don't usually do altered stuff. I much prefer to do layouts which I put into folders. However, I recently managed to get this lovely wooden photo display. And I decided to use it to showcase some of my favourite photos from our Melbourne trip.

I first coloured the frame with Prima's chalk ink. And I cut out various icons from Webster's Pages leftover papers. I used a lot of their Seaside Retreat and Yacht Club papers. I also used Prima's flowers, tiles. And AC alphabets. I was actually quite concerned with the papers/pieces falling off. But so far so good.

It was fun doing this altered layout. It's a great visual reminder of the trip without having to flip through albums. Previously, I did some altered board books. But I realised after everyone has flipped through them, stuff would start coming out or bending at the edges. And I had to keep them away from my boys. But this photo display is much more practical. And there's no need for excess handling. I might do more of this next time...

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Concert 2011

On Saturday, both Bryan and Gabriel had their school concert. This would be Bryan's last year in Kindergarten and his last concert. And Gabriel's first one. So it was a special one for us. Their grandparents came along to watch this time.

Bryan was a school boy. And his number consisted of kids dancing to the song by Justin Bieber "Never Say Never'. I'm not at fan of the singer or the song. But when my boy performs to it, it's a great song. In his performance, Bryan had a solo bit where he did cartwheels. It was fabulous! I'm so proud of him.

Gabriel did a spanish number. And he had a couple of shakers to use in his number. He was really cute! I thought he'd be a bit lost but he was actually not too bad. He remembered where to go and stand and he moved to the beat.

We got everything on video. It was awesome. I was one proud mom.

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Short Trip

This weekend we took a short trip down to Malacca. We wanted to run in the new car as well. It was a good drive, there wasn't any jam at all. And the weather was good.

The food was fabulous. We had a wide variety of stuff, from noodles to suckling pig and 'bah-kut-teh'. The boys enjoyed the drive in the new car. Bryan especially had his own seat at the back of the car. But I think they enjoyed the playground the most.

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Time Off

I spent the first half of the week with the kids. I took a couple of days off to do Mommy things like pick them up from school, fill up forms for Bryan's new school, getting Bryan's new school uniform, sending Bryan to his swimming class. Then the car's battery went flat, and AA had problems restarting it. So had it towed back to the service centre to get it recharged. So had a mostly busy start to the week.

But it was nice to spend some time with the boys, especially Bryan. I was surprised to see how much he has matured. He could be helpful and usually remembered what I told him. And he didn't throw much of a tantrum at all and stopped whining. I think perhaps it had to do with him starting primary school next year. I think he knew he needed to behave a bit more like a big boy.

Gabriel is still cute and adorable. And still my little boy. And he's learning that a NO means a NO. He still throws his tantrums but it's not as bad and he stops once he realises he's not getting his way. And the two of them are getting along, although Gabriel still tends to take advantage of the fact that he's younger.

Sigh, they grow up so fast...

Weekly Scraps

These are my last photos I wanted to scrap from our Melbourne trip. It was a nostalgic trip for us, a lot of the buildings and landmarks were still there, almost 10 years since we studied in Melbourne University. And it was great to see everything again. I had a great time in Melbourne and sometimes I do miss the weather and some of the landmarks in Melbourne.

I used Websters Ladies and Gents collection with Country Estate. I thought both collections went very well together. The wooden clock is from Kaiser Craft. Flowers from Prima.




I love this photo. It's taken in the apartment we rented in Melbourne. I am actually trying to get Gabriel to finish his milk before going out. Hubbie took this photo of him laughing. It was perfect timing. I used up the rest of Websters Country Estate and some icons from Ladies and Gents. Alphabets from American Craft. Flowers and bird from Prima. I also used Prima's new Chalk inks to ink the edges. The Chalk inks are small and shaped like a tear-drop which makes it easy to ink uneven edges. It's fabulous to use for that distressed look. And they are very affordable too.

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Haircuts

The boys had their haircuts on Sunday. Bryan had his done in a grownup salon. At one of those $10 places. Gabriel still gets his done in a kids salon. It's more expensive but he gets to watch Thomas and he is also given a balloon after.

Aren't they looking so smart now.

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Weekly Scrap

Skiing... Bryan actually learned how to ski when he was up in Mt Buller in Australia. He took lessons and after that, he could ski a little bit. We were very proud of him. I think he just needs a few more lessons to start skiing with the rest of us.

This layout I did right after I got Prima's new distressing tool and chalk inks. The inks are very easy to use and when applied, actually really looked vintagy. The distressing tool, I experimented with the edges of the photo mats. It's not so obvious in this photo but looks nice up close. The tool is very easy to use, you can use it to scrape the edges of the paper and distress it in various ways. No more scraping with fingernails and sandpaper.

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Three

It was a busy weekend for all of us. We were celebrating Gabriel's birthday. He turns 3! He also shares the same birthday as his grandfather. So it's quite a big celebration on Saturday. We celebrated with a dinner at the riverboat parked at Marina Pier. It's quite a nice, intimate setting for a lovely family dinner. They have delicious steak, ribs and even fajitas. The kids enjoyed fish and chips and spaghetti.

Then on Sunday, we organised a playdate with a couple and their daughter. Gabriel quite took to her the last time they met and has been asking about her. So I thought it would be nice for him to enjoy an evening playing with her. We went to the new indoor playarea, Amazonia. At Great World City. It had a huge jungle gym which Bryan had such a great time on. And also a smaller play area for the smaller children. Gabriel enjoyed both areas. Although the slides on the jungle gym were a tad tall and scary even for me.

We had a fabulous dinner at Imperial Treasures and topped it off with ice cream at Ben and Jerry's. I think Gabriel had a great time. He looked like he really enjoyed his birthday.

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Steve Jobs 1955-2011

What Steve Jobs created, was not just amazing products, but an entire way of life. Apple's iPhone, iPad, Macbook, has defined the way we live today. And the way we communicate with each other. Look all around you and someone will have an Apple product in their household. Kids want them, adults need them. Especially when we have friends/relatives overseas, Face Time is invaluable. The stability and quality of Apple products are legendary. And the whole concept of iTunes and the Apps... Nothing else comes close.

Not just Apple fans, but the whole world will miss Steve Jobs. He is an absolute genius. May his legend and spirit live on.

Weekly Scraps

Yes I know, I missed a week of scrapbooking. But I'm catching up. I am finally starting to scrap the holiday photos of when we were up on Mt Buller. This was a special experience for my boys because this is the first time they've seen the snow and been out in the cold. And they really enjoyed themselves.  I saved up Webster's Pages previous winter collection for our snow photos. Simply because I loved the colours. And even though it was meant to be a Christmas collection, it worked very well for our photos. I also used Prima's lace and jewels in white which stands out much better in real life than in the photos.

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Photo Strips

Edited with Pic Frame

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Singapore F1 Weekend

Out with the boys on Friday night to watch an F1 practise session. It's really something to watch it live vs on tv. Even if it's just a practise session. We saw a couple of seperate minor incidences with a Ferrari and a Mercedes. It wasn't too crowded at the Bay grandstand  either which was nice.




This was my best shot with my Lumix LX3. My camera is awesome. I pre focussed and then just clicked when the car was in the right frame (Aperture priority - the camera automatically adjusts the speed). You can even see the Red Bull words clearly.

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Weekly Scrap

These photos were really fun to take. We were at a vineyard in Melbourne and the boys discovered a huge leaf pile. They took turns jumping in it. Bryan discovered how to rake the leaves in a pile and was trying to keep everything together while Gabriel was messing everything up. It's the first time either boy has seen so many fallen leaves in a pile before.

I used the last of my old Prima collections. I used up the rest of the rub ons too. It's not so clear in the photo but I've also used some old Prima jewels for this layout too.

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Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Hunnie! Wishing you a very blessed year ahead. And many more years together. I love you. *muacks*

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Weekly Scraps

Yarra Valley Vineyard - This was a unique experience for all of us. We took a drive down to the Yarra Valley in Victoria. It is the perfect place to have vineyards. And there are so many of them around. That day, some of the wineries had an open house for visitors to taste their wine and have something to eat. Some even have a live band to add to the festivities. The wineries we visited were actually very crowded. And the atmosphere very lively. We spent the entire afternoon there.

I used the last of my Websters Spring Market papers, journalling cards and chipboard buttons. The colours and motifs were perfect for the photos.

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Mooncake Festival

It's the night of a full moon, lanterns and sparklers. It's the mooncake festival or mid autumn festival. The kids get to carry lanterns and the adults get to eat mooncakes. Which are yummy and oh so fattening. Some of the older kids including Bryan get to play with sparklers, which is probably the highlight of the evening for them.

Meanwhile, the other side of the world remembers a horrific day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors and their families. No one should ever have to go though anything like that. And I hope never ever again.

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Weekly Scraps

18 June - Bryan's birthday party at the Cuckoo Restaurant. He turns six!. We had a buffet dinner with lots of yummy food. And Bryan had a yummy chocolate birthday cake at the end of it. It was a great day for him. I used Webster's Let's Celebrate collection for this. It was perfect for his birthday photos. The flower and jewels were also from Websters.



This photos are from the same night. It's a group photo with all of us in it. I'm quite happy that the photo came up ok. The restaurant was quite dark inside. I used the papers from Webster's Spring Market. While the flowers and jewels this time are from Prima. I did a lot of cutting for this layout. But I liked how the layout matched the photo.

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Bryan's Solo Performance

This weekend, Bryan had his usual chinese class. But this time, the kids were putting up a little performance for the parents. And they've only ever prepared for the performance in the 1/2 hour or so after class started. It was great to see the kids enjoying themselves doing the rhymes.

There was a new addition to the usual rhymes. This time, the kids had time to do a solo bit if they wanted to. It was very interesting to see all the younger kids coming up to do their solo bits. While the older kindergarten kids all didn't want to.

All, exept Bryan. He decided to give it a go. He actually did remember a rhyme from one of his classes so he recited that. It went very well. He was actually quite good. I am very proud of him. :) And I did get it on video, although he was a little soft on it.

Fun in the Zoo

This is what we were up to during the recent public holiday. Our zoo membership allows us unlimited trips to the zoo. Which is great when there are 2 kids to entertain. This time, the grandparents came along. It was a simple trip, not much walking to do.

We took the riverboat ride up to the children's section of the zoo. Where we had ice cream. It wasn't a very sunny day but still warm enough. Then we took the tram back to the entrance. We still managed to see some animals, including the very cute small monkeys. Then the boys discovered something new in the zoo shop... animal hats!

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Weekly Scraps

Puffing Billy in Victoria Australia - This was a special treat for Bryan, for his birthday. In the years that I was in Melbourne, I've not taken this train ride either. So it's something new for everyone. I like the vintage look that Prima Londonerry papers give, which complements the vintage steam engine. The cardboard cutouts are from Prima Printery. I also used October Afternoon Boarding Pass Miscellany train tickets and other train related stuff.

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Razor Thin

So the results of the Presidential elections in Singapore are officially out. After a recount and a nail biting finish. Dr Tony Tan won by a razor thin margin. Only 7000 plus votes. After more than 2 millions votes were cast. That's about 0.38% only. And he only got the votes of 37% of the people of Singapore.

I was disappointed. Very disappointed. I felt that Dr Tan Cheng Bock, who came in a close second was a clear winner. He spoke from the heart and he would be a people's president. And he would unite Singapore under one president. I didn't think Dr Tony Tan would be able to achieve that given that there are a lot of Singaporeans who are still anti-PAP. And everyone knows Dr TT is the unofficial PAP candidate.

I hope the ruling party gets the message. I hope they realise that even in their own party, the people are split. It will be a long 5 years for them. They need to start listening to the ground instead of living on their own high horse. And finding better PAP candidates to represent the people.

Weekly Scraps

I've finally caught up to the photos in June. And the major event in June is the family trip we had to Melbourne, Australia. It's a trip long time in coming. It's been years since me and hubbie have been back since we graduated. So it was nice to go back and reminisce. It's going to be in a whole album by itself. And probably going to take me a couple of months.

The newly released October Afternoon Boarding Pass arrived just in time. It's perfect for the travel theme. I also used items from their Miscellany pack. The Together stamp is from Unity Stamps.








It wasn't just us during this trip. My in-laws came along and a couple close to us also came along. It was a small party of 6 adults and 3 children. But made the trip much more fun and enjoyable. There was lots of time to sit and chat as well. We rented 2 cars so we could go at our own pace. The children enjoyed each other's company too.

These 2 pages were done with Prima's previous collection. The earthy, natural colours matched the weather in Melbourne at the time. I liked the yellow to brown leaves and blue skies. Prima's flowers and jewels complemented the papers very well.

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The Presidential Elections

This Saturday is the Presidential Elections for Singapore. This follows a rather interesting General Elections earlier in the year. And this time there are 4 candidates. Previously there haven't been as many (or even just one). So it's going to be very interesting. Even if I'm just going to be sitting on the sidelines.

For one thing, in this elections, only the post of President is up. And in Singapore, the post of the president is very different from the president of other countries. The President of Singapore doesn't have as many executive roles. As far as I know, he has the final say on the use of the country's reserve. He doesn't have any political clout on any other government policies. But he is an important figure to Singapore as he represents Singapore to other countries.

For the 4 candidates in the elections, this is important. There is no use campaigning about being the voice of the people or wanting to institute change. I think most of Singapore is also aware. And the elected president will also have to be able to conduct himself properly in the international scene. I don't think Singaporeans want someone to stir up more trouble with the government itself.

That being said, since the president is supposed to safeguard the reserves, he should also be one to stand his ground if he feels the government is using the reserves unnecessarily. So he needs to be someone who doesn't just agree with everything that the government does. Most of the candidates at the moment are trying hard to show that they have their own mind. But in the end, whoever Singapore ends up voting, has to be someone that the whole of Singapore can stand behind.

Weekly Scrap

31st - A rare pink feminine layout. All about me using Websters Celebration line. I also took the opportunity to use up my pink flowers. We celebrated my birthday in Marina Mandarin. It's a nice getaway for the weekend.

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Weekly Scraps

It's interesting how just one line, Campfire from October Afternoon can have two so different looks. One is about a recent trip to the zoo where the kids managed to feed the giraffe. I used the reds and yellow to brighten up the green and brown. And the other layout is about a sleepover in a hotel. I used more of the deep blues and stars in the layout. I quite like the chipboard accents as well. The flowers are from Prima (as always) and alphabet Thickers are from American Craft.

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46th National Day

Happy 46th National Day Singapore! It's been a very busy day for Singapore and for us too. All of us working people have a day off which is great. So our boys spent the morning with the cousins in the club. It was looking to be a very hot day. And we spent the morning cooling off in the pool. The kids were on the slides. The younger ones on the small wide slide at the baby pool and the older ones on the bigger slide. I think they had a lot of fun. Even the babies had fun.

Later, it was really getting to be very hot. So we adjourned to the bowling alley just upstairs. We booked 2 whole lanes for ourselves. The younger kids had buffers so the bowling ball wouldn't keep falling into the gutters. The older kids tried without. The rest of us enjoyed the air-con and the snacks. It was nice to spend time together out of the house for a change.

I could tell Gabriel was very tired by lunchtime. He was a bit moody. But still wanted to walk and play with the fishes. Literally. He wanted to step into the pond. We also discovered that Seletar Club was home to a turtle! Flippers and all.

The very hot day evolved into a very warm evening. And that meant it wasn't going to rain at the Parade. This year, it's at the Floating Platform. There were the usual marches and all. And then there were the hilarious 'big pao' floats. I liked how the parade incorporated elements from the Singapore River as well.

But the whole parade also told a story. About the Singapore Spirit. About perseverance and hard work together. Which is what made Singapore an economic hub in just 46 short years. I think it's a good message to the younger generation. Sometimes, we forget how far we've come in such a short period of time. It's thanks to the older generations.

Wavehouse

We were invited to a birthday party at the Wavehouse at Sentosa on Saturday. There is actually a big flow machine where you could learn to surf or bodyboard. Bryan gave it a go and he was quite good at it. It did look like a lot of fun. Although it would be more for the bigger kids. There is an option to book some of the smaller wave pools for a party like today.




If you turned around, you would see the beach behind. It could look really gorgeous in the evening with the sunset in the background. After the party, the kids headed out to the beach to swim in the sea. Gabriel, too young and small to join in the fun had to contend with splashing at the edge and mucking around in the sand. Still he had fun and was super exhausted at the end of the day.


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Boys...

Why do boys like to play with guns and join the army? Why can't they just sit on my lap and read a book?

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Weekly Scraps

The kids had their Kindergarten open house in May. We all went to look at their artwork and classrooms. They were all nicely decorated depending on the theme of their lessons.




October Afternoon Schoolhouse was perfect for all their school related photos. I also used LYB clear stickers. This layout has Bryan's school projects. I especially like the little 'Angry Birds' that his class made. It's supposed to be a stress ball. It's incredibly cute.




While this layout has Gabriel in his classroom. He showed me how good he is at sitting down and doing some work. He also played along with the games in his classroom. Sometimes, he mentions his teacher, Miss Ong at home too. I think he likes her.

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