She was still a brave little darling, completing her performance on stage, before finally reuniting with Daddy, Mummy and Prince.
Till today, she missed the campfire songs, and the fun she had.
~ Going on stage for the performance ~ 
~ See if you can spot her backside. ~ 
~ With her group, High Blood ~
The whole Camp Mumbo Campers went on an outing to Sentosa on the second day, for some fun, game and sun.
Mummy Eliz heard that Princess had a fun-filled, energy-draining day, and fell soundly asleep on the way back on the bus.
~ With the in-charge of the High Blood group ~ 
~ Before setting off for Sentosa ~
~ W/Zi-En Jieh-Jieh who took great care of Princess ~
For the December Holidays, Mummy Eliz enrolled Princess Chelsea in a 3D/2N camp, organized by Teck Ghee CC, held at AMK Secondary School. See http://campmumbo.wordpress.com/ for more details.
Mummy Eliz’s intention was for Princess to be more independent. Princess enjoyed the camp, but cried herself to sleep at nights; she still could not sleep well without Mummy by her side.
On the last day, parents were invited to the campfire, and Princess performed along with her group on stage.
~ Gp photo of all the campers for Camp Mumbo 2009 ~
Princess’ friends, some posted to different groups, won some prizes, and thou she was disappointed she did not win any prize, she felt excited at their win. Congrats!
- Khoo Ning won the Best Camper award in the the gp High Blood.
- Khoo Ning’s brother, Khoo Yao won the Most Obedient award.
- Chloe won the most enthusiastic award in the gp Crazy.
December had been a relatively bad month for the two little ones.
Now with Little Prince getting more vocal in his needs and wants, and not following Princess’ instructions, understandably, there are often times of conflict and jealously.
Princess is not used to Prince doing things his own way, and thus, try to force instead of persuade him. Prince on the other hand, sometimes does things on purpose to irritate Princess.
And with school taking a break, facing each other 24/7, they are sometimes literally at each others’ throats. [Prince is also taking a short break from going to Grandma Siew Khim’s place as she just had an eye operation to remove cataracts.]
But when they got punished or scolded, they would then come to the other’s defense. Prince would say things like, “Chelsea is my sister, not mummy’s sister. Do not scold her lah.”
And this goes on and on.
And out of desperation, Mummy Eliz, for the first time, brought a cane. And the cane is starting to be used for instances where there is obvious evidence of intentional disobedience, not in the case of ignorance.
Physical punishment is not something that is enjoyed, and if we spare the cane, are we then going to possibly spoil the child?
As promised on our blog last year, we are back again this year.
Daddy Tiong completed his full-marathon run, and the two little ones did their 750m Kids Dash.
Princess ran with Aunt Anne, while Prince walked with Mummy Eliz. He took his own sweet time at the beginning, and only started running towards the end, where the loud music was blasting; Mummy Eliz guessed the music must have gave him some encouragement?
After the run, we met up with Mervin Khor-Khor.
~ Daddy's Marathon Run Shot ~
PS:
Princess enjoyed herself at the kids’ carnival while complaining about the heat all the time. She is getting to be too much a city lady, requesting to be in an air-con place almost all of the time.
It was Princess’ first solo performance on stage at the Annual Home-School Year-End Concert 2009, and unfortunately Mummy Eliz was not able to make it.
Daddy Tiong brought her, and despite feeling nervous, she managed to overcome her fear and did the whole recitation. Well, she missed out all the actions that accompanied the recitation though.
Nevertheless it was a feat, at least for her age. And we are proud she did not back out.
The fear she had to overcome was equivalent to the fear an adult would feel when asked to do a presentation in front of perhaps a C.E.O, C.O.O etc.
~ Princess on stage ~
~ A video of it, catch her hat falling off during her bow ~
PS: Her recitation
Part 1 - Children’s poem titled: “Bai Mi Fan” or A White Grain of Rice
白米饭
白米饭，香喷喷，
小朋友，来吃饭。
吃得饱，长得胖，
不把饭粒掉地上。
Part 2 – Famous Tang-style poem titled: "Min Nong," or "Compassion for the Farmer."
悯农
锄禾日当午，
汗滴禾下土。
谁知盘中餐，
粒粒皆辛苦。
“粒粒皆辛苦” roughly translated as "A grain of rice is a drop of sweat." is the last line from the famous Tang-style poem titled: "Min Nong," or "Compassion for the Farmer.” Singaporeans should have some impression of it as the tagline used in TV commercials by some rice companies.
The poem describes the hardships that a rice farmer must go through in order to harvest the rice that will end up in the rice bowls of people. To leave food left in one's rice bowl is very rude, for not only is it wasteful, but it is also disrespectful to the farmers who toiled in the fields to bring such foods to one's rice bowl.
Excursions are fun, thus Mummy Eliz at times, have difficulty understand why some parents deprived their healthy, fun-loving children [with no previous known medical condition] of this experience.
~ Having a great swing! ~
~ Princess acting coy! ~
~ Group Photo ~
Now that school is drawing to an end, the photos that were taken during the excursions were finally handled to us. They certainly formed part of the wonderful memories Princess has.
~ A group photo ~
~ A special shoot taken of Princess by Principle Cheryl ~"Let’s look at what other information your child’s teachers have for you…"
Chelsea is a cheerful and well-mannered girl. She is very vocal in her needs and thoughts. She enjoys art and craft activities and is able to read very and actively participates in class discussions.
- Teacher Hamidah
经过一年的学习，各方面都有进步。学习能力很强，悟性高，爱帮助同学。是一个发展很全面的好孩子。
- 苏老师
For the September Holidays, Daddy Tiong brought Princess Chelsea to catch a play titled The Little Green Frog.
Once again, we tagged along with the Bishan RC for this event, the tickets together with transport thrown in, cost a total of $30 for the two of them. That is even cheaper than us getting the tickets direct from Sistic.
Of course, the RC must have subsidized some of the costs. Aha, the joys of being a Bishan Resident. Why does Toa Payoh RC not organized something like this?
And after the play, a short stop was made at the Marina Barrage.
~ Princess with her favourite Daddy ~
Mummy Eliz used to be able to run, she was able to complete her 2.4km run in around 9.5 minutes, many years back when she was at Nanyang Girls’ High School.
Daddy Tiong always took it with a pinch of salt whenever Mummy Eliz talked with pride about her running ability, thus Mummy Eliz was also not too confident whether she could finish her 5km Great Eastern Woman’s Run.
Due to her packed scheduled, and the super-attached kids, she only had 1 running session prior to that. Thus it was sheer mind-power that enabled her to complete her 5km run in under 30 minutes.
The first 2km was a breeze, she completed it in 8 minutes, then old age caught up with her, and she had to slow down to a walk, before making a final dash at the last 1km.
Nevertheless, it was a great experience, and she would challenge the 10km run next year.
With thanks to Mervin Khor-Khor, we had complimentary entry to Wild Wild Wet at Downtown East during the September School Holidays.
After a fun-filled day, the two little ones were pleasantly surprised to catch Tom & Jerry’s appearance at the stage area. And of course, they would not leave without taking getting a shot taken with the duo.
~ With Princess Chelsea’s favorite cartoon characters ~
PS:
My Little Boy is really grown up now. He enjoyed the day so much that he actually was able to remember the name of the place, and till today, he kept nagging us to bring him again.
It’s had been a while.
So what had Mummy Eliz been busy with? Well, Granny Agatha underwent a gall bladder removal operation, and shortly after, she had a fall, resulting in a hip fracture.
For a couple of days, Mummy Eliz was not able to look at Princess Chelsea without anger, nor was she able to face Granny Agatha without feeling guilty.
On that unfortunate day, while Granny Agatha was changing her clothes, getting ready to be brought to her Institute of Mental Health Appointment, Princess Chelsea gave her an impatient pull.
Somehow, Granny Agatha just lost her balance and thus fell badly. Princess Chelsea was shocked; she had only wanted Granny Agatha to resume the Uno game with her.
It was a relatively bad fall, Granny Agatha was just transferred to the Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and for the first time in her life, she had to be on adult diapers as she could not even stand now, not to mention walk.
Mummy Eliz is hoping that the physiotherapy would work; else life is really going to be a tough uphill battle.
Ice-cream treats are loved by kids, including mine.
We had dinner with Joanne Jieh-Jieh at Bishan J8, and she generously gave us an ice-cream treat after.
~ The To-Die-For Ice-cream ~ 
~ My Little Prince enjoying his cup of ice-cream treat ~ 
~ My Little Love getting bullied by his own Daddy ~
Bishan RC organized a tour to a mushroom farm, and it was an educational trip indeed. This tour initiated our passion for mushrooms, fried, or in soup, and believe it or not, in fact, we even kind of like it raw.
A trip was also made to the Bishan Fire Station.
~ Getting all excited in anticipation for the water spray ~ 
~ See the spray ~ 
~ Princess Chelsea with Gwynne Jieh-Jieh on a brave act ~
PS:
Even though we are not residents in Bishan, but we are just separated from Bishan by one road, the Braddell Road, thus, more than often, you can catch us at the activities they organized.
Mummy Eliz is certain it is a gal’s thing; Princess loves to pose in front of the camera at every chance she gets, whereas Prince would shy away from it.
Check out her favourite flower pose!
~ Princess fav flower pose ~
ENJOY!!!
This is hilarious. If it had been presented this way, I don't believe any of us would have done it!!!!.........or would we!!!!!!
A pat on the backs Moms & Dads....we survived!!!!!
PARENT
Job Description
POSITION:
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekend sand frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
Also, 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.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:
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:
None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
WAGES AND COMPENSATION:
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
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:
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, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.
** AND A FOOTNOTE;
THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! **
If you are fortunate enough you will become grandparents!
The week before National Day, Princess and Prince enjoyed a picnic at East Coast Park with our Mac Frenz, our lovely picnic started at 3pm, and only ended around 7pm.
Reaching home only around 8pm that was the longest picnic we ever had.
Everyone brought along some food, and a huge tent was setup. In all, there was about 6 kids and close to 10 adults at the picnic.
My little prince had started to recognize and feel familiar to this usual group of family friends, so much so that he did not want to leave when it is time to go home.
He actually requested for a phone call to be made to God-Pa Mervin before he was willing to cooperate and leave for home.
Thank you, Setoh for the smooth ride home!
~ Enjoying dry sand play ~
~ Enjoying wet sand play ~
~ A pretty boy’s back looking poetic ~
Princess came home one day, with the Young Families magazine distributed out by her school, right on the second page, was a colorful advertisement by Ecreative, Singapore’s 1st online florist and cakes.
A very pretty looking 3D Princess Cake caught her eye, and she could not peel her eyes off it.
It was the first time Princess experienced the feeling of want. Mummy Eliz took the chance to explain the difference between a want and a need.
She caught the idea, but still could not stop desiring for the cake. So we discussion, and reached an agreement.
From now till her 5th Birthday, she has 10 months to save up for the cake. She would have to save an average of 30c a day in order to buy the cake for her 5th Birthday Celebration.
Two weeks had since passed, and daily, with the small allowance she was given, she would try her hardest to curb her desire to spend it all [sometimes, she craved in and brought a sweet or two], and dutifully, she would save the remaining.
Mummy Eliz hopes Princess would be able to enjoy the sweet feeling of knowing that if she tries hard, she would be able to reach a certain goal.
The sister-brother pair enjoyed speech and drama; this is amongst the many they enjoyed.
~ I do... ~
After one year, Auntie Victoria finally came back from The Arctic to Singapore, and she willingly shared with us her adventure, before she sets off again.
For details of her talk on the Antarctica the previous year, check out
- http://chelsea-and-christian.blogspot.com/2008/06/virtual-trip-to-antarctica-snow-city.html.
Mummy Eliz learnt many new things, and those that really strike an impression are listed:
- The Arctic is just ice, not land. If global warming continues, The Arctic will be gone.
- The Polar Bear is a sea animal that can go on land, rather than a land animal that swims.
Mummy Eliz did not managed to take any pictures, but we certainly enjoyed the talk, she is dreaming of visiting both The Arctic and the Antarctica one fine day.
While on the discussion of whether does a SAHM or a WOHM has a better lot, Auntie El shared this wise advice.
- "For if we're at peace with our lot, then that little bit of peace and happiness will rub off on our nearest and dearest: our kids, our hubbies, our il's."
Now, how can Mummy Eliz or Daddy Tiong pretend to be youthful?
This year would be our 10th year Graduation Anniversary.
Our gang took the chance to celebrate the birthday [sweet 16th of course] of the two hottest ladies in our PMG [Personal Mentor Group], namely Siew Mei and Yvonne.
Sadly, for those of you potential suitors out there, the two fine ladies, with both attractive personalities and looks, are already taken.
~ The two hottest ladies celebrating their sweet 16th ~
~ Group Pic ~
Time flies, often without us realizing it.
And once a while, Mummy Eliz gets a reminder how fast time really flies, when they attended another birthday celebration.
Tong Wei turned 4 years old, and we were invited to a celebration at her place, one of the most condo-like HDB flat we had ever visited.
The goodie bag, which came with a yoyo for the little ones, turned out to be Prince Christian’s favorite toy at the moment.
~ Happy Birthday, Tong Wei! ~
~ Prince looking engrossed ~
A talk in Mandarin was scheduled at Toa Payoh West CC, organized jointly by MCYS and Aoxiang Counseling Services, titled “The hidden dangers of The Obedient Child”.
Having such a catchy title [typically, Chinese families hoped for The Obedient Child, thus many were interested to find out the hidden dangers behind having such a child], many turned up for the talk. The talk overran its original scheduled 3 hours.
I also attended the talk, and left with a lot of thought-provoking messages in my mind.
Here’s my amateurish attempt at translating the hand-outs which is in Mandarin to English, hopefully it will benefit you like it had benefited me.
PS:
Do note that this hand-out is an exaggeration of what might happen to The Obedient Child. Many a times, through the help of religion, encouraging friends, counseling, self-help books or other avenues, the situation would often be less gloomy.
“The hidden dangers of The Obedient Child”.
Have you ever seen a lively child, who speaks free, runs around madly, and somehow, yet you feel like interacting with him?
Have you similarly seen The Obedient Child, standing around, and yet somehow, you feel like distancing yourself from him?
Usually, the child that attracts a person’s attention, and desires to be near, is the one who is being true to himself, and of course not lacking in the proper manners.
The growing up process of The Obedient Child
From a tender age, having a deep worry that his parents would not be able to accept his real self, The Obedient Child learnt to try his utmost best in learning to be Obedient, the ways his parents wanted.
As time passes, upon realizing there is a gap between his real self and The Obedient Child he had showed successfully in front of his parents, he begins to despise his real self.
A feeling of guilt slowly develops behind closed doors. He kept suppressing his real self, and is so used to being The Obedient Child that he slowly forgets how his real self is like.
The Obedient Child, in his attempt to define his value based on his ability to get his parents’ approval and praises, slowly loses his innate ability to feel fulfilled or satisfied inside. He is forever careful about not doing anything that might earn his parents’ disapproval.
The Obedient Child will slowly develop the perception that nobody will ever accept him for who he is, but rather people accept him for what he could do for them.
Inappropriate Interpersonal Relationships
If assuming from young, The Obedient Child gets his sense of fulfillment from carrying out parent-defined tasks, he might develop the perception that an ability to earn more money, run the household better, or offer better sex, would be the way to earn his partner’s respect and approval.
But in real life, what a partner want, would be just enjoying the little joys in life. But The Obedient Child might not be able to appreciate the little joys, believing in the perception that his partner will ever accept him for who he is, but accept him for what he could do for them.
Most importantly, what is sadly lacking in The Obedient Child, might be a healthy self-esteem, or possibility steady emotions.
The motivation for being The Obedient Child
In the process of self-discovery, understanding that by being well-mannered and having the right principles and attitude to life, in order for the development of a healthy self-esteem which will in turn lead to fulfilling interpersonal relationships, are what we all should try to achieve.
For The Obedient Child, his motivation would be his fear of losing others’ approval, and thus, he would be over-accommodating. He thus lost his ability to say no, and his inner self-confidence.
The Obedient Child might be living the life of a puppet. Their parents feel that they do not have to worry about The Obedient Child, and thus tend to neglect The Obedient Child’s inner emotional needs.
When The Obedient Child becomes an adult, as they never had a chance to be their real self, their emotional development tends to be incomplete, living with a constant fear of not being accepted by people.
In reality, social workers prefer those rebellious and defiant child, as at least, they expressed out their inner emotions, and are in touch with how they feel.
The Obedient Child, having lost touch with his inner most feelings, might now not be able to fully comprehend how he is feeling, and whatever ones cannot comprehend, one cannot change.
Studies have shown that many young adults, who experienced major and repetitive episodes of depression, are those who were The Obedient Child when they were young, and thus the parents are not able to understand why they are now battling depression.
Encouraging parents should give their child the freedom to express how they feel, teaching them the appropriate terms like sadness, hateful, frustrated, angry, unjustified, jealous, excited, grateful, shyness, worry, etc.
Parents should refrain from judging their emotions or passing any negative comments.
Parents should also avoid telling the child that he should not feel the way he felt.
Only after the child had expressed his view, should parents then guide them to choose an appropriate course of action to handle the situation.
Most Obedient Child tends to be children with a good IQ, thus they are great at using the words, actions, and behaviors that they know would please their parents. But in this long tedious process, they gradually lost their sense of self, and lost touch with their feelings and emotions.
Thus, many a times, The Obedient Child will grow up to be an adult with minimum facial expressions. Some people might describe them as stoned. At work, they tend to stick to just one domain of work, and only have those few friends. Most tend to be loners, and dislikes socializing.
Due to his parents’ strong insistence on him being The Obedient Child, he is unable to have fulfilling interpersonal relationships, and thus is at a higher risk of developing split-personalities.
The hidden danger - Suppressed emotions waiting to erupt
The Obedient Child, in a desperate attempt not to be abandoned, will try to show that he is better, stronger. His emotional burden is overly heavy, he fears failure, and thus at times, when he cannot do a certain thing to his perceived high standard that others might have of him, he paves his own way to an emotional breakdown.
The Obedient Child is often deeply unsatisfied, he despise his real self, and yet, throws himself to despair upon meeting a single failure.
Often, upon meeting with a single failure, all the suppressed emotions erupt. The very real feeling of abandoned to The Obedient Child might magnify his disappointment with any current failure or dissatisfaction.
A lifelong slave to his suppressed emotions
On the surface, The Obedient Child might seem to have a harmonious relationship with his parents, but in reality, his heart had never connected with his parents.
A person with a healthy self-esteem would never forsake his real self, in order to gain others’ acceptance, a yes would mean a yes, and they would not be afraid of saying no. Such a straight forward behavior would in turn attract people’s admiration, as they would feel at ease with the person, without any restrictions or false behavior.
Having given up his real self, life loses its colors
The Obedient Child, having given up his real self, will find that life is without colors. There would often be an invisible pressure upon his shoulders, and he feels that life is a long meaningless journey.
He lacks self-confidence, lacks security, and becomes so good at observing people’s moods, that he forgot that his opinions matters too.
The Obedient Child, who might never have learnt to play in the mud, and never learnt that true loves comes with no conditions attached, will never feel totally at ease, even with his own spouse.
In real life, perfection is impossible. Unfortunately, The Obedient Child never gets a chance or the permission to live an imperfect life.
The Obedient Child had been taught from young to be Obedient, but what does it really mean? It certainly does not mean giving up your real self.
Parents need to take note of this. Rather than expecting full compliance, perhaps parents could welcome discussions.
The Obedient Child, who is not allowed to live out his real self over a long period of time, might feel that life is a misery. This in itself, is a tragedy indeed.
Mummy Eliz read that some babies can recognise words as early as 5 months, while some can perform mutiplication before the age of 2 years.
Thankfully, before she had a chance to really doubt her herself, and fall into the guilt trap, she had the good fortune to read this comforting post.
Read it at: http://mamalim.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/so-much-effort/
Now, Mummy Eliz shall choose to rest easy, and continue to bond with her two kiddos, enjoying slow walks etc.
Now that Prince is over two years, our family could go out whole day outing. We just spent a tiring and enjoyable day at the Science Centre with Audrey Jieh-Jieh, and her boyfriend, reaching at 11am, and leaving only at closing time.
Unfortunately, the water play area was undergoing some new features additions, thus the kids had to give it a miss.
Thank you, Audrey Jieh-Jieh, for remembering Princess Chelsea.
PS:
Last, but no least, when you asked her to help with give out the cakes to guests on your 21st Birthday Party, she really felt proud of her little self.
~ With Audrey Jieh-Jieh ~
For those of you who are unaware, LTA offers a free gallery tour of transportation past, present and future. It is free, guided, and lasts about an hour long.
Joanne Jieh-Jieh accompanied us, and we found it a memorable experience. Thank you, Joanne Jieh Jieh!
Mummy Eliz is thrilled, after a long grueling 8 years, with a 4 years break taken in between to start a family, she finally qualified for a 1st class Honor Degree in Business Computing and Information Technology from the University of Wales, UK.
She initially wanted to opt for just an ordinary degree, but was encouraged to take up the final project module, as only a pass is needed to quality with a 1st class Honor Degree Graduation.
Throughout the whole duration of the project, she felt like giving up so many a times.
Here’s an short extract from her acknowledgements page in her final report:
"Thinking back of the last two terms of my degree program, I never thought that I would be able to accomplish this project. I felt like life was trying to stop me from completing this project by dealing me a couple of life’s wild cards [namely a first-term miscarriage, and a mother diagnosed with chronic leukemia and dementia] to deal with.
Certainly, this report could not have been written without Dr. Teo who not only served as my supervisor but also encouraged and challenged me throughout my academic program. He patiently guided me through the process, never accepting less than my best efforts. I thank him.
My partner in life, my dear husband also assisted me in completing this project. I would like to express my gratitude to him for being my “walking programming books”, and also to my two little children who kept me company while I went through every library looking for my books and waiting patiently while I get my work done.
Without these supportive people and more, I will certainly not be able to deliver this project."
Mummy Eliz loves attending talks and workshops as she believes learning is a life-long process. Even if there is no new information, it is good to refresh some parenting tools and techniques.
Princess Chelsea had been accompanying Mummy Eliz on such talks and workshops ever since she turned 2yos.
Each time, she would be either drawing non-stop, or playing by herself. Of course, she would have questions, especially when the presenter is presenting a topic that is usually beyond her comprehension powers.
Mummy Eliz expects full cooperation from her, and thus, did not though much of this.
Last night, when attending a talk at Toa Payoh West Cc on “The Right and Left Brain Development.”, the presenter actually took note of Princess’ behavior, and commented that it takes a rare child to be able to sit quietly on Mummy’s lap for a good three hours.
Mummy guess, she had been looking too much at the small areas that perhaps Princess did not measure up [and giving her indirect pressure], rather than appreciating her for the daily efforts she put in.
It was a simple reminder call.
PS:
Next Monday’s talk is on “The hidden dangers of the good child.”, and the following Monday’s talk is on “What can I do if my child does not listen?”
Kids grow up so fast, this time round, at the studio for the family photo-shoot, Princess have a mind of her own, be it the attire, the poses, the hair-do etc, everything was decided by herself.
~ Princess loved this shoot! ~
Mummy Eliz is recently a fan of http://www.progressivephonics.com/, for free downloadable phonics books and worksheets, visit it.
The last twenty-one days had been officially termed the ‘Medical Institution Hopping Days’ by Mummy Eliz.
It all started off with an Emergency Trip to KKH, on a night in the 2nd week of June.
Princess knocked heavily into Prince while fooling around at Cineleisure Orchard. The impact was so great that one of her front tooth knocked badly out of position, almost to the point of dropping out.
Thankfully, the dentist at KKH managed to put it back into position. We were told to minimize all physical activities for 2 weeks in order for the gum to recover.
~ Princess in misery ~
On the second day into our 2 weeks confinement, Mummy Eliz thought, since we are supposed to stay home, we might just as well use this chance to catch up on the kids’ immunization jabs.
Thus Princess got her DPT/Polio Booster Jab in the 3rd week of June.
After Princess’ jab, a doctor check the 2 sebaceous cysts growing on Mummy Eliz’s left buttock, and decided that an excision biopsy would be required as they are growing in size, and causing great discomfort.
A referral was made for Mummy Eliz to seek a second opinion at TTSH.
After seeing the specialist there the following day, the specialist recommended Mummy Eliz to have it removed at the Day Surgery Center at TTSH, and thus a date was fixed.
Prince got his HepB/MMR Jab in the 4th week of June.
Princess had her growth development milestones checkup done while Prince was having his jab. Her check revealed something worrying, her eyesight was not as good as it should be, thus an alarm was triggered.
An appointment was thus made with the Eye Centre at KKH.
In the 4th week of June, Princess had her tooth reviewed by the dentist at School Dental Clinic at Health Promotion Board, and we were told not to let our guard down. The gum might look ok now, but as the basic structure is still weak, there is still a chance we might lose the tooth.
In the last day of June, Mummy had the sebaceous cysts removed, and was given 3 days MC and 7 stitches.
In the first day of July, Princess visited the specialist at the Eye Centre at KKH. The 3 hours long check revealed that her eyeball was oval rather than round, thus increasing her chances of getting astigmatism.
She does not need glasses now [she has 100 degrees of astigmatism in each eye], but if we do not take care, she might need them when she goes to Primary School. A review is needed in 6 months’ time.
In total, we made 7 trips in 21 days, averaging a trip every 3 days to a Medical Institution.
PS:
In the 3rd week of June, the kids’ great-grandma passed away, leaving behind 25 grandkids and 27 great-grandkids. We were saddened by the news, and were there every night of the funeral.
Mummy Eliz just had an excision biopsy of left buttock sebaceous cysts x 2, and will require removal of stitches on 10th July 2009.
Our usual playgroup had not been meeting that often this year. Everyone seemed to be busy with something every other week.
Auntie Fiona gave birth to little Chezelle. Mummy Eliz had miscarriage. Auntie Pearline opened a shop at Thomson Plaza. Anselm and Kynan went on to Primary School, some of the younger ones started Nursery.
Birthdays are thus a great excuse to meet-up.
~ Enjoying the cake at the pool-side! ~
PS:
Actually, we would love to invite everyone and have just a single celebration, but as we lack a suitable venue, thus the preference is to have little celebrations with different group of friends.
The last day of school was Keith’s actual birthday, and it is also the day that we are having a mini-celebration for Chelsea.
So for the kids, it was double fun, two cakes, two goodies bags, and lots of finger food as it was party time on the last day of school.
Keith is a soft-spoken gentle boy, a Mummy’s boy indeed. Mummy Eliz likes him pretty much.
~ The birthday gal and boy! ~
~ Prince chatting up a pretty gal ~
Princess love to draw, and thus, she requested to sign up for Kiddies’ Expression at Toa Payoh West Cc, a weekly art class.
It is just simple drawing and coloring, yet she thoroughly enjoys it.
Catch us spying on her!
~ Deep in concentration ~
~ Us getting spotted ~
~ Her best drawing thus far, do not question why the zebra’s leg is purple ~
The good thing about attending a neighborhood school, besides the highly affordable school fees, is that after school, as everyone lives near everyone, the kids can enjoy a makan session at McDonalds together.
See the happy smiles on their faces!
~ The 3 kids! ~
It was a crazy day indeed!
Within a day, we visited the Stamp Museum, the Peranakan Museum, the Singapore Art Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum.
Well, in celebration of International Museum Day, there was free entry, and lots of kids' activities, thus we would not give it a miss.
Thank you, Mervin for coming along with us!
~ A most treasured stamp? ~
~ Coolest stamp ever! ~
Watch it at:
Free museum entry as part of International Museum Day celebrations
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/432942/1/.html
You can catch her during the 16-18 second segment.
"Let’s look at what other information your child’s teachers have for you…"
Chelsea is a pleasant and well-mannered girl. She interacts well with her friends and she especially enjoys drawing. She is very vocal in her needs and thoughts. She is able to conduct meaningful conversations with friends and teachers.
- Teacher Hamidah
聪明伶俐，活泼开朗。学习能力很强，成绩突出。经过锻炼，已培养了一定的能力，成为老师的得力帮手。
- 苏老师
BBQ was huge, sweaty work, if not for the help from all our family and McDonalds friends, we would never be able to have such an enjoyable celebration.
Before the BBQ, the kids had fun at Wild Wild Wet, and Escape Theme Park. Thank you, dear friends for all the help, you know who you are.
~ Princess with her cake! ~
~ Group Pic ~
It was physically challenging, to bring two kids [aged 3 and 2 years] on a day trip to Desaru, as it meant waking up before dawn break and then returning home slightly before 12midnight.
It also meant that the kids would miss their regular nap hours, and could only catch cat-naps while we travelled from one location to another. It resulted in cranky tired kids, and short-tempered parents.
Thankfully our friends were there to help in little ways now and then. Joanne Jieh-Jieh constantly had her hands full with Princess, and ended up with aching arms as Princess napped on her.
Auntie Peiyun travelled with a 7 year old and an 8 year old, and she was so much more relaxed.
The hot weather drowned most of our enthusiasm, it was tiring visiting fruits and vegetables farms with the sun high up in the sky.
For the kids, the sun was no stopper, they enjoyed just being out and about, and they certainly enjoyed the animals’ corner at the fruits farm.
The highlight was the river cruise ride to watch fireflies. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photographs. That was a rare experience, and breath-taking it certainly was. Do catch it before it is gone.
Would we go back again? Yes, in cooler weather.
~ Princess adores animals! ~
~ At the beach, admiring the rocks formations in the hot weather ~
~ Our family picture ~
~ Group photo of our friends on the same trip! ~
On Monday, as our A-Z Phonics Reading Program covered “Hot at the Dam”; Princess had her lesson with Kayla at MacRitchie Reservoir. We had a small hike after the lesson.
On Tuesday, after visiting the Library, Mummy Eliz took part in Health Promotion Board’s Fitness @ Work, and had 30 mins of aerobic workout.
On Wednesday, with aching leg muscles, Mummy Eliz decided to take Prince Christian for a relaxing morning swim.
On Tuesday, as Daddy Tiong is on leave, the kids got to visit Explorer Kids, followed by bicycles ride at Pasir Ris Park.
On Friday, as Daddy Tiong is still clearing leave, we visited the Sengkang Swimming Complex.
~ Prince with his favorite character at the moment ~
Any wonder why it comes as no surprise that proud disrespectful kids often have proud disrespectful adults as parents? And why gentle soft-spoken kids often are the kids of gentle soft-spoken adults?
Well, it comes as no surprise that kids are reflection of their own parents.
And in the process of watching our kids’ interaction with other kids and each other, Mummy Eliz realized that perhaps, she had been a little overly bossy, fierce, and with too much complaints at times.
Thus, the resolution is, for all members in the family to try to be more cooperative, respectful of others’ preferences, gentle, and to dish out more affirmations and encouragements.
When Principle Cheryl Tan asked Princess to wear the PE Attire of PCF Bishan – Toa Payoh North Branch for some photo-taking event, Mummy Eliz was not aware that the photos would be used for their Registration for 2010 Intake Banner.
The photos were taken in January, quite some time back, thus we had forgotten all about it.
Imagine our surprise to see this banner hanging near the road-side by chance while strolling home. This banner, we believed, can also be found along Bishan Street 22 and Bishan Street 23.
~ The PCF Bishan – T.Payoh Nth Registration 2010 Banner ~
~ Close-up of the photo taken in January ~
