I was so happy that Channel 5 is bringing the new season of Desperate Housewives next Monday!!!
Finished "Plain Truth", which was a great read and just got "My Sister's Keeper" from San yesterday.
Synopsis from Jodi Picoult's website:
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?
I was reading the March issue of Her World yesterday and came across the Omega De Ville Co-Axial Ladies' Chrono watch with white alligator strap, 42 girl's best friends (dazzling diamonds totalling 1.61ct) on the bezel and an ice white mother-of-pearl dial. It's womanly yet growling with power. Then I turned to Kieran,
Mom: Kieran, Mommy likes this watch, do you think it's nice?
Kieran: Yes, it's pretty!
Mom: It's so expensive, will you buy for me?
Kieran: But I have no money... ah, no I have, I can use my ang pow money to buy for you.
Mom: (Laughing gleefully)
A few seconds seem really short and trivial. But these teeny weeny bits of time can change our lives because we cannot foresee all the time.
My friend's father-in-law was very sick once but miraculously recovered so well that he could get up and do his usual chore.
Just when he was out with his maid to do some CNY shopping on Thursday morning, mishap happened.
He asked his maid to wait for him while he crossed the road to get a taxi, but was knocked by a car just before he could reach the pavement! He died instantaneously while his maid witnessed in horror and shock.
TIME is precious, time will tell, time will heal. It's TIME, we treasure all around us and give our love generously. There is always TIME for anything and everything. Take TIME to smell the roses and tell those that matter to you "I LOVE YOU". Do not speed (nor hog) on the road, be gracious and you will be thankful.
"Maybe it was only a second of your time, but you need to treasure life, every second." Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata
"Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your gold and good health have vanished." Og Mandino
Happy Lunar New Year to Guan, Lisa, Gabriel and Carmen!
We had a splashing good reunion dinner on Saturday @ Joo's place. Everyone was in high spirit, especially Mom & Dad as Ger & Joo returned from Suzhou and Perth respectively.
The kids partnered with each other except for Eugene & Raeyen, who are either a tart too old or young to join either Eric/Jamus or Rachel Kieran groupie.
The dishes from Kriston were good except for the prawns. Connie's homemade "Or-Ni" was ooh-la-la! Connie will make lapis sagu (9-layer cake) next.
As Ger will return to Suzhou on 25 Feb, we will have a "Ren-Ri" dinner on 24 Feb.
Joo has found a place in Perth, Connie & Jamus will join him in late May. We have decided to visit them in late September (instead of July) to coincide with Jamus school holidays there. Kieran was thrilled when we told him about our visit as he can buy loads of Kraft Easy Mac (macaroni cheese) which we couldn't find in Singapore.
We gave him milk which pacified him and he tottered to the living hall. Mother-in-law then came to mind him so that I could sleep.
Raeyen had his jab this morning. in fact it was Hep A jab not MMR as previously posted. I was blur, he took MMR in December.
He weighed 11.6kg and was cool when the jab was administered. We are so proud of our boys, they never cried at every injection.
Connie came to babysit the boys while we fetched Triana from the agency. She was OK but English is still poor. As my MIL will be staying with us on weekdays and she is conversant in Bahasa Indonesia, she can be our go-between. That was also how our previous helper, Yani managed to communicate with us. But Yani was determined to improve her proficiency in English, I hope Tri (as we call her now) will be the same.
We then went to my mom's place in the evening and my SILs' verdict of Tri was better than Yati (the unsound one, hahahaha). Amelia said Tri shows some proactiveness, we'll see.
We will have reunion dinner at Connie's place as Joo and Ger will return from Perth and Suzhou respectively. We couldn't get a sitting at the Mouth Restaurant and decided to cater. We settled for Kriston, Connie planned to make "or-ni" - a Teochew yam dessert with gingko nuts. I found a recipe for "Pumpkin Yam Dessert" here. Yummy!
The "music professional" called me today explaining that the objectives for the course that Kieran is taking for 4 year olds are mainly music appreciation, listening, singing while writing of notes is not that crucial due to the lack of fine-motor skill.
She took note of my concerns and would speak to Kieran's teacher. She said she would come by the class after CNY to see for herself and to speak with me (let's see).
Last evening I was so glad when Kieran told me he's going to play on his keyboard. He took out the adapter, plug it in and started to play a piece he learned at Yamaha. I praised for his initiative and gave him a stamp on his reward chart (shall post the reward chart here some day).
Raeyen first sat on the "throne" months ago, but usually for small business.
I was on leave on Friday 26 January minding the kids when I noticed this little guy was flushed red in the face. Sensing that he might be on the verge of doing "big" business, I decided to rush him to the "throne".
At lightning speed, I removed his shorts, diapers and put him on the throne while singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". He looked relax alright, prove below:
But alas, after only releasing one tiny "betel nut" he decided to call it quit. And, back comes the diaper.
Later that evening, he made a major bowel movement.
Yes, it wasn't very successful afterall, but hey it was still a tiny weeny little milestone of his :P
This Saturday, he will have the MMR jab. This marks for another milestone for him as he completes all mandatory innoculations (birth to 18 months) by MOH.
Today, I went to San bookshop to get another Jodi Picoult's book - Plain Truth. It's about an Amish girl. It was interesting to read not because of the storyline (see synopsis below) but the use of some German, subtly with translations.
See, I attended basic German course at Goethe-Institut before and I could relate to some words used in the book. German language is fun to learn, but tough.
Synopsis (from J Picoult's website):
Moving seamlessly from psychological drama to courtroom suspense, Plain Truth is a fascinating portrait of Amish life rarely witnessed by those outside the faith. When a young Amish teen hides a pregnancy, gives birth in secret, and then flatly denies it all when the baby's body is found, urban defense attorney Ellie Hathaway decides to defend her. But she finds herself caught in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own… and discovers a place where circumstances are not always what they seem.
Thought they looked cute, clicked their pix before we dashed out for a 1st birthday celebration.
Kieran's in Chateau de Sable shirt and a Marc Ecko jeans; Raeyen's in Zara shirt and Benetton jeans.
We celebrated hubby's birthday a day earlier, ie Sunday 28 January.
The kids (especially Kieran) were thrilled to see the cake. It was a simple yet intimate celebration at home, just us.
I still owe hubby his present + Xmas present = a bigger present. Wonder what he is up to his sleeves to "ketok" me this time, hahaha.
I was dead tired over the weekends!
The kids were keeping me on my toes all the time, I have never felt so "wanted" or demanded for in my life. I was like a juggler and a master of multi-tasking. Kudos to those SAHM without help!
Just finished reading J Picoult's Salem Falls, a great read on witchcrafts, deceptions, wrongful deeds but some points were quite predictable.
Val, I don't want to trouble you to send me your J Picoult's books, I will just rent from San, thanks though!
Kieran returned home from school with a CD ROM of photos taken at the childcare centre and a spelling list for February, and I think it's getting tougher!
7 Feb: Nose, Eyes
14 Feb: Hand, Arm
21 Feb: Toes, Legs
Kieran's last Sunday music lesson @ Yamaha was OK but I didn't agree with his teacher's expectation of him to master the skill of "drawing" the notes well. At 4.5 years, his fine motor skill in handling a pencil and drawing perfectly straight line and oval notes is not 100% plausible.
When she checked his homework of 4 sets of 3 shaded single-beat notes of mi, re, do, she asked if he did them himself. I said I guided by holding his hand. She said I should have let him do on his own. I said I did since his first homework from her but he freaked out because I was expecting him to perfect the strokes and ovals after numerous erasing and scolding. I told her he has tremendous pressure as 10 of 12 kids in the class are all older than him though this class is meant for 4 year olds. Obviously the rest (some look like already in P1) can do better. Even his Kindergarten teachers told me it's not possible to expect kids his age to perfect those strokes. If his oval is not that oval, she would comment it looked like a potato, or why was there a tail, etc.
I don't want to upset Kieran and hope he still enjoys music class, but not a torture to him. I called Yamaha main office and was told a music professional would call me to explain the syllabus and expectations.
The agency informed me that its owner has decided to send Yati back to Indonesia. Meaning she was not even considered for transfer. I guess that also means she is not reliable afterall.
I was upset with her for the inconvenience she has caused us. It proves that hubby and my decision for sending her to the agency was right. We cannot risk having a dishonest person like her to mind Raeyen and/or run our household.
Oh, we do miss Yani.
My mother-in-law's health deteriorated alot and she couldn't help much either.
We can only hope that the new maid, Triana will turn out fine. She will arrive Singapore on 6 Feb, upon passing a English proficiency test and health check, would we be able to fetch her home.
