Cheryl will need to be on this nasal spray for the next 6 months. :(

Often, C wakes up with a block nose and it was so bad that she couldn't breathe and I thought it would be best to see the doc about it. So after dinner, I brought her to the doc and he recommended that C be on this spray for the next few months. Or else the swelling in her nose might become permanent and she will always suffer from blocked nose.

We had some time to spare before we left the house for C's ballet class so I thought it would be good to sit her down and get her to complete her homework. Cheryl has been doing addition for some time now and these days, she has been returning with subtraction exercises.

I had wanted to coach her earlier but decided against it as I didn't know the method her teachers were teaching her and I didn't want to end up confusing our Precious. So today, while she finished her task, I gained a little insight on how subtraction is done. :)

So this is how it's done.

Before C went to bed, we did a little reading exercise.

This book is rather interesting as it is a sticker book too. C had to find the right stickers and once pasted, will complete the sentences. She was intrigued and wanted to read the entire book and I had to stop her at Page 1. Hee.

I have always had this struggle. Daddy and I aren't exactly proficient in the Chinese language and we hardly even speak it between ourselves. Although C learns her Chinese in Josiah, we wonder how much is retained as she doesn't use it often too.

And even though I try to speak to her in Chinese, it is not unusual for C to reply in English so this evening, we decided to start doing some exercises in Chinese.

I also decided that C should do her work in the Play Room, now also known as her Study. She used to do her work on the dining table but the television set is in full view so often than not, she is distracted with what is going on on the telly. This evening, C helped me move her desk into the Study. She was all excited and very cooperative and wanted to do a lot more if I hadn't stopped her.

The satisfied look on her face! Now, we can finally concentrate on what we are doing. :)

She quickly finished her task.

Oh and I got her to recite poetry. Here is my 小李白.

C has started with subtraction in school and she did this in class.

I have been asking her to teach me the method that is used in class so that I can follow up with the exercises with her at home.

Cheryl made this little craft work in school.

A really pretty piece of work, I must say. :)

张玲老师 is Cheryl's Chinese teacher and she gave us an update on what's been going on in class.

This is the first time she gave us a written note and Daddy was also surprised but pleased with the update. Parents have to indicate on the Communication Book that we have received and read the note and while I was putting my signature down, Daddy was looking at me suspiciously and then he asked rather sheepishly, "Aren't you going to reply her? You usually reply Cheryl's form teacher."

Yes, Daddy, I know I am not as proficient as I want to be in my Chinese and although I have tons to things to tell her, I think I will do just fine with

-->谢谢.

The Novice 1 Racers had yet another race this evening!

Well, how serious were the Organisers? Let's just say, the panel decided that besides, the race, the participants would be awarded for other categories like "Best Dressed", "Most Improved Driver" and amongst others.

Needless to say, all the parents had just as much fun (if not more) with the event and running after our tods.

Cheryl finally pluck enough courage to ride in the motorised Jeep. She isn't really fond of machines that go too fast and these rides, were running at top speeds as Uncle Steve had modified them. But thankfully, she was alright after a while. :)

And the winners for the night:

We got a little busy this evening as C decided she wanted to do her homework for both Josiah and her enrichment classes so after her ballet, we sat ourselves down and got started.

She only had some tracing to do for English.

And she quickly finished up the rest of her work before she read her chinese book.

This is her second attempt actually, reading a chinese book and I must say, she has shown marked improvement. Her pronunciation is more accurate and she didn't sound so uncomfortable.

This year, I personalised some stamps as my Valentine's Day gift to Daddy Dearest and our Precious.

Really lovely! :) And C was pleased.

I having been resting at home for 2 days as I am unwell and yesterday was a pretty bad day as I was all zonged out from the medicine I took. Today is much better and I decided to do some work.

C had completed her homework earlier and she tried to mark some of my scripts so I thought it would be perfect if she would do some more activities while I tried to do mine. She gladly obliged and was quietly working on her colouring, Math and English worksheets. She even got me to mark her work and reward her with stickers.

But she completed her tasks very quickly and I hardly marked a paragraph!

Our kiddos are officially known as the N1 (Novice 1) Racers and this evening, they raced on real tracks! As one Daddy very accurately pointed out, these cars do not have road tax (gosh! that makes us illegal, right?). But I would say, come with maximum insurance because we have 12 sets of parents keeping an eye on the children.

Ha ha!

It was a really enjoyable experience!

Some how, C seems to prefer manual rides over the motorised ones. And our dear Zinnia was zipping and zooming passed us in her roller blades. C wanted to try them but unfortunately, the blades were too big for her.

The starting line!

It's Vitagen time!


Pretty Mummies! *pic courtesy of Aunt Sandy*

And while the kids rested, Daddy Dearest couldn't resist... .

He went off in the turbo-charged bike and car!

A group photo!

We have to thank Aunt Hazel (my very lovable, and super nice Staff Welfare Chairperson) for organizing this outing to the Zoo.

We were given a task to accomplish at the zoo so C and I got down to fixing the puzzle the night before.

Immediately after C's class, we hurried off to the zoo for our lunch and then started our tour.

We tried to spot as many animals as we could! But we also gave a lot of other animals a miss as we were rather beat from the playing.

Playing? Did I say "playing"?

Hmm... C definitely had a ball of her time there! :)

Remember my entry on the "wonder drug"?

I blogged about it some time back about how good it was and now, I am kind of blessed to be able to find this really sweet (no pun intended) lady who is able to give me a price which I think is heavenly! I am into my 3rd bottle of this sweet nectar since I started taking in November last year. Now, all of us; Daddy, Cheryl and I take it nightly before we retire. :) Yeah, we love it so much! :)

My colleague, whom I recommended the honey to, and Aunt Angie, who just got a fresh bottle and ordered 1 more, are now addicts and they rave about how sore throats are a thing of the past.

Okay, I usually buy this off the shelves at the discounted price of $102.60 (originally priced at $114) and now I am getting it at a steal of $75! So if you are keen, please drop me a note with your name and email address and I will let you know the details. :)

Cheryl made a little something for Daddy and me. :) She did this in school.

How very sweet! Then she told me Valentine's Day is tomorrow. I also have a little something for Daddy and our Precious... .

stay tuned.

Cheryl has been bugging me to print some colouring pages for her and I only managed to remember to do it this afternoon. I printed some of her favourite characters like Handy Mandy, Mickey and the gang and the Little Einsteins.

I also printed some simple Math worksheets for her to work on since I realised that she loved doing them. The worksheets and colouring pages were the "surprise" I mentioned to her the night before. She was thrilled to see the colouring pages and wanted to work on them immediately.

She would have laid her hands on all of the print-outs that I had brought home if I wasn't looking at her! But she finally settled for Handy Mandy and even asked me to do some colouring with her.

Next, she completed her homework of identifying bigger and small numbers. After which, we did some simple addition.