You know you have done something right when ex students come back to school to see you and update you on their lives. And yes, my "babies" from the class of 2006 came back this morning. I love to see them and hear about what they have been up to.

I sure miss them and I still say, they are the best students I have had in my 7-coming-to-8 years in the Service.

In the afternoon, Aunt Asrina, together with Aunt Fizah okay, she's still single so I guess it's alright to address her as Kakak Fizah came back to pick C up. Cheryl was so excited that she did not take her afternoon nap.

We went to Aunt Rina's place to pick up Ayra after that proceeded to IMM to play at the Wet Playground. I didn't manage any pictures because our dear Cheryl decided that she was wet enough only after 20 seconds. So Ayra was left to run around on her own. I must say, she makes a good elder sister because she was looking out for Cheryl all the time.

Cheryl with Ayra and Fuddin was all engrossed with watching Elmo!

"The Twins with their Mini Me's"

Then we all went for the dinner where we met Dorcus! She is a carbon copy of her Mummy, I must say and the girls had a ball, playing on the stage.

Cheryl didn't eat much but she loved the soup!

I am home today as I am not well and Daddy decided to take the day off too. It was nice of him because Daddy took the initiative to cook lunch for us. Hmmm... it's been ages since Daddy last cooked; as long as 5 years, I think. But Cheryl, who usually prefers rice to anything, ate the noodles that Daddy prepared.

Then it was time for her nap, Daddy took her into the room but an hour later, I could still her chuckles so I went into the room. Oh. what a sight greeted me! Daddy had made a "bed" complete with a canopy with all of our pillows and bolsters and Cheryl was happily lying in it. No wonder, Cheryl prefers her Daddy some times; he is always ready to have fun with her and he will create new things for C to play with or in. On the contrary, I am a no-nonsense person and C will be sleeping in 15 min flat. Daddy is seldom in so a little incentive is allowed.

Our Little Spark!

I found this ...

and if my life can be this good, I will be an extremely happy person!



Okay, Cheryl loves to have bubble bath... I will try to capture a picture as good as this!

Oh wait! I did say I will try not to post naked pictures of our Precious ... hee

The age old battle between Nature and Nurture...

We always wonder how children learn some things (good and bad alike) and when C picks up a new word or a new habit, we conveniently assume that she has seen someone do it.

I rarely wear make up in front of Cheryl and that's because I go to work at 630am and C is still in La La Land. Besides, I only apply the good old simple blusher and lip stick. Cheryl has hardly seen me apply anything else.

We visit Grandparents every weekend and Cheryl's favourite spot is in Aunt Diana's bedroom. She can play in there for hours and on one of the weekends that we were there, Uncle Ben caught C doing this.

She was completely satisfied with herself and her powered look! Thankfully, it was Pigeon powder or I will definitely have a time scrapping it off her face.

*pictures stolen from Aunt Diana's blog*

We booked a nice chalet to celebrate Uncle Junming's 31st birthday and as usual, the kids had a ball of a time there. Many thanks to the Aws because they are always prepared for any occasion. They brought bicycles and games to entertain the kids in case it rained and although it did rain on Saturday, none of the children truly felt bored because they sang songs and blew bubbles!

Here are some pictures:

Cool Slideshows!

Look at all the happy faces!

I received this in an email that Aunt Angie sent.

PARENT - Job Description

If it had been presented this way, I don't believe any of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION :

1. Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
2. Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

1. Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment.
2. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
3. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
4. Travel expenses not reimbursed.
5. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

1. The rest of your life.
2. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
3. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
4. Must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
5. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
6. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
7. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
8. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
9. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
10. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
11. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
12. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

1. None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

1. None required unfortunately.
2. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

1. Get this! You pay them!
2. Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
3. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
4. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

1. While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

So, to all parents, you are doing a fabulous job!

Cheryl loves her Crocs and she is a proud owner of 3 pairs now! I got the yellow pair because her blue ones were so worn out and slippery. They are also getting a little too tight but still, she refuses to let me throw them away.

Now, she wears her yellow ones all the time, until I specifically tell her not to. Of course, I have to reason with her before she will agree to wearing something else. I got little decorations for her yellow pair and when Mickey lost his legs, I decided to get new designs for the purple mary janes.

Cheryl wants to put them on all the time but they are a little big for her feet now. I have to store them high away because I can tell, she can't wait to get her hands ... correction, her feet in them.

Pretty?

On Saturday, we woke up early because Daddy needed to bring our car down for servicing. Yes, our ride has travelled 5000 km... well almost in 2.5 months. After that, we headed to Woodlands to have lunch with Grand Daddy and Mummy.

Uncle Ben and Aunt Diana had just returned from their little getaway from Hong Kong; oh, how I wish we could get away... . And they came back with clothes for C. And moon cakes! I didn't know that Cheryl loves moon cake so much. She's got a sweet tooth like Daddy.

Oh, Oh!! I must tell you this! Daddy and I are so very proud of our little girl. She FINALLY managed to poo sitting on the toilet bowl, all thanks to Grand Mummy! I was going about doing my own thing and Daddy had gone out to settle his rims. Then Cheryl came running into the room with Grand Mummy close behind. Then C climbed onto my lap and told me "Mummy, Cheryl poo poo in toilet bowl." Immediately, I stopped whatever I was doing and got her to repeat herself. Then she beamed and showed me her pearlies.

When I told Daddy, he was so full of praise for her.

In the late afternoon, we went for Uncle Gavin's house warming. Cheryl had a ball with Lucus and they were running around, and playing hide and seek with each other. At times, C would hit Lucus and he would sulk and complain "Don't beat me!" but then again, C would apologise and all was well again. Such a love-hate relationship!

Then Daddy and I decided to go for some CD shopping and of course, while Daddy was choosing his tunes, C was just as busy.

She was tall enough to pluck the ear phones off the hooks and as she listened, she was swaying her little body. She even passed me the ear phones and said "Good?"

The long awaited National Day break finally came and it was a good break for Daddy and myself. We had to stay at home to catch the parade because we forgot to bid for the tickets. But it wasn't so bad because we watched it with Grand Daddy and Mummy.

Daddy took Friday off too because his kaki from Honda Car Forum organised an outing to the Kampong Farm at Pasir Ris for the little ones. This was the first time that Cheryl was doing longkang fishing and she couldn't contain her excitement.

It was no feat for adults, let alone kids because these fish they have, swim really fast and it took many tries before they even caught any. There was this huge notice on the wall that said "Adults are not allowed to fish" but every one ignored it. Ha ha!

All the kids and parents alike, had so much fun!

Here is a picture of Cheryl's "Uncle Cheese" otherwise known as Uncle Chris to the rest. Don't ask me how Cheryl mistook him for cheese but even after Daddy and I corrected her, she still addresses him as Uncle Cheese and in the car, she would ask, "Where is Uncle Cheese? Where is Jie jie?"

Thanks to Uncle Cheese, for organising this! Next time, we will go to Bottle Tree Park where the kids can do longkang fishing again and quickly adjourned for lunch as there is a restaurant there. We had lunch at Ikea Tampines and although it was a Friday, the place was packed like sardines and because there was a big group of us, we literally had to hunt for tables and then, guard our seats like hawks.

This is our catch! Not too bad, right?

Ice cream is one of the little things that Cheryl cannot resist.

Here are some shots of her enjoying her treat.

Oh, I had to put this up! I have never eaten a bao bigger than this and I know for sure that C hasn't too. Just look at the amusement on her face!

I have tons of things to do... . But then again, who doesn't? Sigh.

Our little girl decided recently to morph into this huge 3-hourly drinking monster at night and I really do not miss the times where I had to wake up twice or thrice nightly to make milk, change diapers and what not. Wait a minute, I am still waking up in the nights.

When I return from work, it will be close to 7 in the evening and although I tell myself to come back earlier if possible to spend quality time with C, I can't seem to do it. When I do leave work early, it is to hide at Starbucks to catch up on marking, which by the way, is piling sky high.

Yet, there are days where I have to attend courses on "professional development". Grrr... It's not that I don't like to attend them but some times, i really hate them as I feel completely drained out and brain dead by the time I get back. Then I see Cheryl, all bubbly and wanting me to play with her.

Of course, I play with her and ask her how her day's been but all this time, I will be watching the clock and hoping that the hands on the clock will move faster so that it will be bedtime for C. I really feel guilty some times for rushing her but I am really beat and the thought of waking up 3 hours later to make milk really makes me feel tired.

May be it's just me... If I had been more efficient in training C; she would be sleeping through the nights now, she would be toilet trained now, she would be eating more solid food and not drinking so much milk, she would be reading now... . Argh!! All these just makes me feel like a rotten mum.

Bottom line is, I really take my hat off to Mummies who have 2 children or more; I am amazed at how they can cope with the less sleep, children-falling-ill days, double or triple folds of everything and all this while, juggling the demands of work. Kudos to you, Mummies!