Mummy's a dreamer

It's past lunch time and my joelle is not home. I'm missing her already. I mean I truly enjoy the quiet time with music playing in the background but her non-stop yakking has become a part of my life that my day just feels empty without it. It's... too quiet. HaHa! I better enjoy my music while it lasts. She's coming home at 3pm. Her school has an excursion to the Singapore zoo today and I hope she remembers to wash her hands before eating and after feeding the animals. I started reminding her since monday hoping it will be inscribed in her memory. 

This girl of mine is so perfect (minus her non stop yakking) and I really do not care if she could spell three with double 'e' or write her chinese name in the box. I'm not sure why I'm just not an academically prioritized parent. I mean in this paper chasing society I should be concern about her paper qualification... but I'm not. Before you start criticizing me, I'm not proud to admit my lack of academic pursuits. I'm just a believer of dreams. When I was younger I took courses I'm interested in, not courses my parents or society deem as worthy of investment. I was with the pioneer batch in Temasek polytechnic doing visual arts communication and went on to be part of the advertising world. It was fun while I was young. The experience gained from my eight years in the media industry probably worth more (not in monetary terms) than a doctor sitting in his clinic or a lawyer debating in the courtroom. Advertising is a glamourous word with its colourful characters but I traded all that for stability and children. We did not want our kids to be raised by someone else. So that's how I ended up at DSTA for three years! Even after marriage I pursued my bachelor of science in psychology, a subject nobody could understand and a choice even Dave could not agree upon but it was great. The theories, the experiments, the live observations from my girls just added fun to the whole learning process. I have never regretted any of my decision and I probably wouldn't have done anything else (except perhaps be a vet and work with dolphins). So I'm not too pressurized by my daughter's lack of academic interest now but daddy is and I have to put her on spelling test every week just to pacify daddy's worry. Daddy wants her to be anything better than him and I can understand that so I'm not dismissing his concerns and insisting that our girls should live by my beliefs. I'm just going to guide them in making their choices but I won't force them (though I do hope they could be doctors). 

I'm free.

  

Isabelle is starting to feed herself and she's enjoying every spoon of it. Look at her! She's so amazing. Look at her hand, she is so careful not to spill the food. She may look boyish but her actions are so feminine. She's so... girl when it comes to feeding herself. She is relatively neat comparing with many children I've seen. I'm so happy. Now I just have to coax the one who knows how to feed to start feeding herself again. Joelle...

Get messy...

   

with Spaghetti! Mummy decides to do some main meal cooking on weekends. Mary deals with the meals usually but mummy don't want to feel lost when Mary leaves after her contract so it's time for mummy to wear the apron again. I decide to start with the weekends lunches. So for the first week (19 April), we have beef spaghetti. We add lots of beef, mushrooms, sausages, onions, tomatoes and lots of fun preparing it. And the best part is... the girls like the spaghetti so much they actually cleared their plates! It really motivates me to whip up more meals for them. I even went to the library to get some inspiration on children's meals. But this week... nothing from mummy because mummy has the runs and it's been rather miserable.  

Black sky

Just two weeks ago on 12 April, we were shocked and frankly a little scared when we saw the sky at about three in the afternoon. It was dark... almost black. We stood by the window for a long time just watching the colour changed. It was very sudden actually. From cloudy to grayish to almost black. Then slowly... very slowly it went back to a lighter gray and back to just being cloudy. Wow! All that changes with no rain! Dave was filming outdoor that day and when he came back that night he mentioned the sky and we both launch into a discussion ranging from meteorological reasoning to religious "end of the world" predictions. Ha! it was on a serious note that we ventured into the unpredictability of life and the environmental issue of global warming and how each individual could part their part. Dave was never a believer of "saving the world" stuff but after that little late night chat, he started to support my recycling our daily used materials like bottles, cans, plastics, glass etc. and he even agreed not to interfere when I go grocery shopping with my own recycled bag and trolley. He used to think it's so troublesome to lug discarded items to the recycling station at the next block and so silly not to get plastic bags from the supermarkets. He said it could be used for trash but seriously how much trash can a family of four generate? Anyway I'm glad I've got his support now cause nothing beats a couple with the same beliefs. Let's save the environment today... starting with recycling.

She's saying...?

Isabelle is starting to talk, the proper words. In the past we could hardly understand her because she has a rather funny way of pronouncing words. We will teach her a word and she would say another "word" and when we repeat it again, she says it again. It's really funny. We used to think she either hears the word differently or she can't voice the actual word out.

Now she's like a parrot and she says anything her sister asks of her. We can ask her to say a word and she would just smile but when her sister asks her to say that same word, she usually complies. She knows her name is "belle" and her sister's but she sometimes calls her "ally". She knows that two, three comes after one and five, six, seven comes after four. Lately she's calling our helper "airy" (mary) instead of auntie which she used to call. She orders everyone to "come" and "go" and "sit" everyday. She's picking up lots of words, comprehensible words. I try to list them down each day but the list is getting so long that I think I can just say "she's speaking" (no, not in sentences yet). But we're happier now. It used to be rather frustrating for her because I only managed to teach her some signs. But I'm happy I did because she's still using the signs today even with the words. I wished I had taught her more though. Anyway, I'm so proud of her. She may have started late but she's picking up fast. Go Issy go!  

6 years on...

When I was packing the house, I came across this wooden sculpture in the drawer. It had a broken fin but it carried with it a great deal of memories (of love). It was an engagement gift from my husband. We held an engagement party in April 2001, one day after Dave returned from an overseas assignment. He came to the changi chalet from the airport and brought with him a big and a small wooden sculpture of a dolphin. The big one still stands tall in my room and this is the small one. This one is special because he crafted some words on the belly and it reads "Hun and Baby. Just Engage" Seven years had past and we just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in KL, Malaysia with the girls. My husband is never a romantic guy but in our many years together he did surprise me with his sweet gestures and kind thoughts. This year he wrote me a card (I insisted on getting a card every year!) and one part of it reads "...I can imagine my life without you. My career will not be so smooth, my bank will always be empty, bills overdue, payment in a mess, van and scooter gets fined and towed, PUB supply cut, maid runs away, school complains, kids get sick, no holidays, no fresh food, no hope..." and eventually it reads "thank you for being my wife (I swear)".

Thank you too for being the man that you have been. No one is perfect but I love you for all that you strive to become. I thank God for the choice we made and I thank God for you and me. Thanks for loving me and the girls so much. We won't fare any better without you. Four is complete.

Birthdays in Singapore

Mary celebrates her birthday in April. The first year we had a mini dinner party for her at home with our family and my mum. This year we bake some cupcakes and have a small tea party. The KL trip and her spending was a birthday gift for her actually. We also bought her a gift and made a card. We hope she will like it. Joelle drew a picture and wrote a birthday greetings for her as well. So thoughtful this girl. She has been a great help really and we do hope to share more birthdays with her. Her contract will end at the end of this year and unless we both agree to renew the contract, this seems to be the last birthday celebration with her.

Polky Polky girls

   
The girls latest craze... polky polky strawberry. Since Issy is already 18 months, I decided that she can be allow some sweet treats but she still doesn't have the go-ahead for candies. The first treat she had was this long sticks with strawberry coating. Mummy's favourite sweet snacks "polky polky"! I tell you Issy fell in love with this snack right away. So I have been buying them in pairs! One box for Joelle, one box for Isabelle. Another of the girls favourite is honey stars cereal. 
 Water is a must after these treats!

From nursery to gallery.

  

This room was initially designed as an office when we first bought the house. But with the birth of our two girls, it became the nursery room. Joelle used to sleep in the cot in this room during the day because we can check on her through the glass panels. Isabelle also slept in this room from the day she was born, first with the confinement auntie then with Mary. Now that the girls have their own room, we converted this nursery to a gallery where dave display his work toys. HaHa! as if he has more stuff than me! It's actually our office again since Crossroad is registered as a home office. In the mornings, I'll close the door (and still able to see out) and get some serious work done. In the afternoons, it becomes Joelle's study room where she spends an hour a day after lunch working on activities with mummy, either from workbooks or crafts and another hour after nap on reading or drawing by herself. During the nights, it becomes a place where mummy relaxes with my favourite music, indulging in some "me-time". I will blog, surf, work on some designs or video edits. Things I enjoy doing. This is also the room where daddy keeps his priced possessions, equipment he can't afford to leave in the vehicle. His steady cam equipment, cameras, monitors, recorders, players and many more. He comes in after work to put the batteries to charge and pack the gears he need for the next project. I feel that finally we are optimizing our space in the house. Now there is a place for everyone and everything. I'm happy with what we did. Dave is happy to have more privacy and the office set up and the girls are happy to be together in their own space. For all the stress, the unhappiness (over the delay), the inconvenience during the three weeks renovation period, the result is... satisfaction. It's like seeing a rainbow after the rain. I'm glad we're happy. Thank you Lord for getting us through each day without any major hitches during the entire renovation project. I prayed for the girls health and you kept them well throughout. Thank you.

The girls room

This is the girls room. It used to be the main bedroom. Dave and I migrated to the next room because the en-suite bathroom is there. We had the "stage" removed for space maximization and let the girls sleep on mattresses. Firstly, it's safer for them. Secondly it's easier to wash if they wet their beds. Joelle had thrown three mattresses so far. The girls are happy with their room. Isabelle took to her new room like fish to water. I thought she would not sleep well at first, afterall she had been sleeping in the "nursery" room since birth but I was wrong. She slept like a baby. It's almost like... nothing changed. Joelle is excited to be sharing her room with her sister but expressed displeasure about sharing it with Mary. But sometimes I can hear them chatting and laughing while lying on their beds. I can already imagine the giggles and whisperings that will come from the girls room at night when Isabelle is able to engage in meaningful conversations with her sister. Girls will be girls and I'm happy I have two.

Our new space

   

This is the new look in our main bedroom with the newly added built-in cabinet and shelving, a fresh new paint and glossy varnished floor. Beautiful yeah? I'm extremely happy with the floor. Parquet is still my best choice for bedroom flooring. It's "soft" to the fall, warm to the touch and looks great with any furnishing. Since the wall is up, Joelle has been made to sleep in with her sister and Mary. She protested every night but daddy and mummy made a pact to have our privacy back so we stood firmly on our feet and grit our teeth hearing her cry the first five nights. She is only allowed to sleep in our room on Friday nights. It's the second week now and she's not crying anymore. Though she's still coming up with lots of excuses not to sleep with Mary, she is settling quite well now. For daddy and mummy... bedtime never feels so good. It is so quiet and relaxing. Hmmm... sweet dreams...

 

Sisters...

   

I wish this can last forever... two sisters... helping each other, walking life's journey together. But... it's not always the case. These girls DO love each other but they do dislike each other too. Joelle is very protective, almost "mothering" Isabelle all the time and that upsets Issy as she is very "gungho", very independent. They fight sometimes and I really mean fight. It's like watching a tennis game. I hit you one time, you hit me one time, I hit you another time, you hit me again, no one moves away, no one cries but usually Joelle will be the first to complain "mummy look, I told you, Isabelle hits me first. She's the naughty one. She's naughtier than me." and my reply will always be "it's not ok to hit anyone. Even if Isabelle hits you first, it's not ok to hit her back." Of course I will also tell Issy the same thing in simpler words "Cannot beat anyone ok!" She will usually nod and say "K". That's how it goes... another day, another time, the same scene repeats...

About breastfeeding...

I'm proud to say that I've breast-fed Isabelle for one year and six months! Today I can quite safely say that we are both weaned. When I fell ill five weeks ago, I began to prepare myself for this painful weaning process. Yes, painful for me as I've gotten myself addicted to it already. It seems harder to wean me than Issy! But I needed to be on medication to recover faster so I thought maybe it's the best excuse for us to be weaned. She was having three feeds each day, one first thing in the morning, one in the afternoon and one before her bedtime. So initially I stopped her afternoon feed as it was easiest to distract her with other activities. Then I stopped Mary from bringing her to me in the mornings. That took a while as she would cry for me outside the room till I softened and allow her in. The last step was the hardest. I had to discreetly disappear after dinner so she miss her night feed. She could not sleep the first few times and woke up in the middle of the night to ask for "neh neh". The whole process took us almost a month! I thought we were successful when she did not ask for it at all during the four days trip, but on sunday she demanded for it. She fussed and persisted (mind you she is a very persistent little girl) till I had no other choice but to give in. I thought I failed but then I realised she only wanted a suckle. That was the last time and it was embarrassingly soothing. It's been one week now so I dare say that we have come to the end of this very wonderful experience. It's nice to be able to drink alcohol and eat funny food again but I will miss it. I really would. In fact I'm missing it already. Sobs.. sobs.. withdrawal symptoms starting to show. Afterall it's been really great, special and most memorable. 

Thanks baby for sharing this precious bond with me. Thanks hun for not getting in the way. You're a supporting husband and daddy. We love you!

Acting school... yes again.

On 1st March, Joelle did a shoot for the trailer of a children's program. She was given the role of a gardener (out of a chef, a photographer and a teacher). Daddy was lamenting why she was not assigned as a doctor or lawyer or something more promising. A gardener? She could have been a top chef from some five star hotel or a world class international photographer or even an award winning teacher. But a gardener? Not that it's not a promising job... but... a gardener? Well, actors are just pawns in a chess game so a gardener she was that day. We just had to make sure she was a lovely enough gardener to attract the bees and the butterflies. Then again... maybe she could become an applauded ecologist or a famous "pharmacist from the rainforest" or even the spokesperson for the "save the plants and beautify your life" campaign. Now that's promising enough for me.  

Details in drawings

Yup. Joelle's drawings have more details now. Look at the pattern on the dress and the shades. Joelle likes to draw. She's always drawing. She uses alot of paper, mainly recycled paper from mummy's used print outs. I do let her draw on notebooks too like for this trip to KL, she was given a notebook to draw. She drew on the plane, in the hotel, while having her meals and even while watching TV. She drew a plane, some funny looking things she said was the rides at the amusement park. She drew us in almost every picture but mainly herself and Isabelle. Of course she will be the one with a fancier hairstyle and prettier pattern on her dress. She's vain.

Isabelle is starting to dabble with a pencil and paper too. So far she has shown to be right-handed too. 

We're back!

   Hello everyone! We're back from our short four days trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's our first trip together as a family. After the birth of Isabelle, we agree to take a holiday every April to celebrate our wedding anniversary. In 2007, Dave and I went to Taiwan with a couple of friends (Ju and Dan) and this year, we decided to take the girls on a plane ride so we chose KL for the short distance. We didn't want to risk many hours in a plane with two wailing kids! Ours for that matter! But it was a great flight. The girls coped very well especially Joelle. Isabelle felt a little discomfort I believe as she grumbled a little and fell asleep soon after take off and only awoke after we landed. I'm happy we took this trip. The girls were so thrilled. Joelle couldn't stop talking about the trip!

   

We stayed at Royale Bintang Hotel along the Bukit Bintang area and in between Jalan Alor food street and Times Square. I chose the hotel for its location as well as safety and cleanliness. The hotel did not disappoint me. The rooms were clean and pretty new. Toiletries were replenished every morning. Staff were polite and helpful. A 24 hour convenient store just next door and a coffee shop selling chicken rice and noodles just opposite. No regrets... especially with young children in tow. I'm happy with my choice. A little more expensive than the other hotels along Bukit Bintang but it's money worth paying. We even splash around in the hotel's pool in the morning after breakfast.

I will blog more when everything is more settled. The house is still in a big mess though the renovation is complete and we are happy with the new space. After I unpack the luggage, finish off some laundry, move the furniture to their appropriate rooms (hmmm... suddenly I have three rooms! Cool...) and have my cup of iced milo, then I will post more photos of the girls on the trip.

Painting in progress

  

While the guys were at work painting the rooms, this little artist insisted on a painting project too. So out came the paints, brushes, a long strip of paper, lots of creativity and lots more mess! Notice Joelle wearing her shoes in the house? Yes, it was that dirty. Very very dusty so I had the girls wear their shoes in the house. Isabelle went to my friend's place today to play with her pal Deron. Joelle stayed behide (she cried so hard that I felt bad making that arrangement) because Sharon was not confident about taking both of them. During the past three weeks, the girls had been everywhere. My auntie Ju's place, my mum's, my in-law's, my friend Sharon's and if we could only deposit one, we would mostly let Isabelle go because she has yet to complete her immunization so it's safer to keep her away from the unhealthy condition at home. However Issy proved so home sick that she could not spend any night out. She came home at the end of each day whereas Joelle stayed over at my mum's over the weekend.

Renovation woes

We decided to embark on a small project in march. Since the girls are pretty grown up already (yes I know... five and two only) and we wanted more privacy so after months of consideration, we decided to have our luxurious master bedroom partitioned to give the girls their own room. We paid the deposit on 15 march and the project was suppose to take two days (according to the contractor) which we found a little hard to believe but we were happy to hear that it won't take up too much of out time. However till today it's not yet completed. It's been three weeks! 

   

We have some soundproofing done between the partition and installed two doors for the rooms. The platform stage was also removed and the area patched back. Cabinets were constructed in the two bedrooms for more storage. The rooms were painted and the parquet varnished. Now do you believe the contractor? Two days project? Haha! It was meant to be a small project but now it has extended to a mayor project! It's torturous for us as we have been suffering from the dust and smell and bunking out in the living room for the past three weeks!!! Just look at the mess below...

 Arwwww... at the end of each day, we had to clean up the mess only to be messed up again the next day. But we had no choice as the girls need to move about in the evening after a whole day of restricted movement. At least today I can safely say... we will have a brand new space by the time we return from our holiday next week!

  

Check out our make shift restricted area for the girls. This is where they eat and play and nap during the day. To compensate their loss of freedom, we let them watch more videos. We rather they watch the controlled DVD we bought for them than the cartoons on TV. At least we know the contents. Joelle is now tired of the brainy baby collection and the pocoyo collection which Isabelle still likes. Thank goodness Hi-5 is still the common favourite. When will this end? Poor babies...