I actually thought I'd have a lot to write about our 2nd trip to the Singapore Zoo earlier today. Turned out everything went so smoothly, I don't know what to write! Strange...
Well, we left our home at 9:30am and spent about 4 hours in the zoo, including lunch. It was more fun to be there this time because the munchkins can better appreciate the animals and the surroundings. Despite the heat, Xuan is ever so thrill to spot an animal. En, on the other hand, is her usual oh-so-calm and composed, you wonder if she actually notice the animals. Its only when she let out that soft yet firm acknowledgement "um" that we knew she's aware of what all the excitement is about. Ha!
Both kiddos knocked out by 1:30pm just 5 minutes after we embarked on our return journey. They never fail to amaze me how fast they could go into "sleep mode" when we're on outings. Well, I'm contemplating becoming a member of "Friends of the Zoo"... What do you think?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Fallen
A mommy's nightmare. I witnessed Xuan tumble down the spiral slide at the playground 2 nights ago. Can't helped but kept feeling guilty about it. I was almost certain she's steady enough to climb up those steps and glide down the slide on her own. After all, she's done it many times already.
Anyway, the moment I hold her at the bottom of the spiral slide, I almost wanted to cry myself. Her face was a concoction of tears, saliva, blood, etc. What was I thinking??? She's merely a 17 month old toddler! I felt my heart tumbled right into my stomach at that instance...
Well, she's sustained minor cuts on her lips and bruises on her left leg. Nothing serious and I'm so thankful to God for watching over her. When we went to the playground again the following evening, our dear friend was still as thrilled to see that fateful slide. Guess "severe short term memory lost" is one of those life's lessons we should learn from our kiddos. :)
Anyway, the moment I hold her at the bottom of the spiral slide, I almost wanted to cry myself. Her face was a concoction of tears, saliva, blood, etc. What was I thinking??? She's merely a 17 month old toddler! I felt my heart tumbled right into my stomach at that instance...
Well, she's sustained minor cuts on her lips and bruises on her left leg. Nothing serious and I'm so thankful to God for watching over her. When we went to the playground again the following evening, our dear friend was still as thrilled to see that fateful slide. Guess "severe short term memory lost" is one of those life's lessons we should learn from our kiddos. :)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Rich Yet Broke
For the past 20 months where I've been unemployed (by choice), finances were never an issue, even after the munchkins arrived. Somehow we just survived. Di's single income has to feed 5 mouths including his own. Well, there was the baby bonus from MCYS which is hardly sufficient to cover the cost of formula milk powder and the kiddos' diapers. But we made it this far by God's grace, and of course with much support from our lovely family members. Where else do you think the branded clothes, shoes and toys for different ages/phases came from? Hee... And not forgetting the fresh groceries my dad and in laws bring along to us whenever they drop by to visit the kiddos. :)
I must stressed that we're financially sound at this moment. However, just last week, that notorious "Insecurity" demon touched down quietly in the tiny, tranquil base of mine, fondly known as the "Heart". Why did I allow this demon to checked in? Its not as though our bank account had hit rock bottom. Di is, in fact, doing very well at his job, we're expecting him to receive a big bonus package this year. So why am I feeling disturbed?
Well, I did a rough calculation and our expected expenditure in 2009 is sky high! I brought the girls to check out My Little Campus, a childcare centre which I plan to enrol them in Jan 2009 (gosh, can you believe they'll be starting Nursery 1 next year?). But even before classes actually commence, we've to fork out a hefty $3K for registration, deposit, uniforms, insurance, etc. Subsequently $1K every month goes to this childcare facility. Then, in order to obtain the baby bonus in the CDA (Child Development Account), we've got to throw in $6K before MCYS would match the savings dollar to dollar. @!#$%^&
And even with the kiddos going to daycare, we're planning to extend Ya-Ya's service for another 2 years, so it all adds up. Plus there is the cost of the various immunisation/vaccination the girls had to be given prior to enrolment. How scary??!!! Erm, I mean the $ amount, not the needles...
I've friends asking if I'm keen to enrol En & Xuan in enrichment classes or even just activities in the kids gym. Well, I won't for 2 reasons. Firstly, the 4 of us (En, Xuan, Ya-Ya and me) already make up a class and a gym, so there's no demand for enrichment classes at the moment. Plus all the playdates we go to (or held at our place) is almost like E.C.A. (extra curriculum activities) in school. Hahaha... Secondly, I may be richly blessed at this moment, I wouldn't want to be deadly broke next. So I shall carefully manage our little pool of finances now until I'm back to work again, hopefully early next year.
Dear Lord, I pray we'll always be richly blessed, never broke. Amen. Kekeke...
I must stressed that we're financially sound at this moment. However, just last week, that notorious "Insecurity" demon touched down quietly in the tiny, tranquil base of mine, fondly known as the "Heart". Why did I allow this demon to checked in? Its not as though our bank account had hit rock bottom. Di is, in fact, doing very well at his job, we're expecting him to receive a big bonus package this year. So why am I feeling disturbed?
Well, I did a rough calculation and our expected expenditure in 2009 is sky high! I brought the girls to check out My Little Campus, a childcare centre which I plan to enrol them in Jan 2009 (gosh, can you believe they'll be starting Nursery 1 next year?). But even before classes actually commence, we've to fork out a hefty $3K for registration, deposit, uniforms, insurance, etc. Subsequently $1K every month goes to this childcare facility. Then, in order to obtain the baby bonus in the CDA (Child Development Account), we've got to throw in $6K before MCYS would match the savings dollar to dollar. @!#$%^&
And even with the kiddos going to daycare, we're planning to extend Ya-Ya's service for another 2 years, so it all adds up. Plus there is the cost of the various immunisation/vaccination the girls had to be given prior to enrolment. How scary??!!! Erm, I mean the $ amount, not the needles...
I've friends asking if I'm keen to enrol En & Xuan in enrichment classes or even just activities in the kids gym. Well, I won't for 2 reasons. Firstly, the 4 of us (En, Xuan, Ya-Ya and me) already make up a class and a gym, so there's no demand for enrichment classes at the moment. Plus all the playdates we go to (or held at our place) is almost like E.C.A. (extra curriculum activities) in school. Hahaha... Secondly, I may be richly blessed at this moment, I wouldn't want to be deadly broke next. So I shall carefully manage our little pool of finances now until I'm back to work again, hopefully early next year.
Dear Lord, I pray we'll always be richly blessed, never broke. Amen. Kekeke...
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Insurrection
Twins amount to a permanent riot? Then what about 5 pairs of twins confined to a hall of an apartment? Hahaha... Its called an insurrection, according to Mark Twain, author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Well, last Thursday, I brought En & Xuan to a playdate involving 4 other pairs of twins. The kiddos range from 9.5 months to 17 months old, meaning En & Xuan are the oldest among the lot cos they both turned exactly 17 months that day! The entire event was a little chaotic but outrageously fun! And I think we'll do it again soon. Kekeke...
Check out the pix below!
The kiddos (clockwise from bottom pf pix):
Xuan, Cayley, Yazmin, Danial (back facing), Reyden, Reyes, Austin (blocked by his mommy), En (far back in pink), Sheau Min and Sheau Kai (blocked by his granny).
Like what you see above? Think twins are fun? Well, think again... Triplets or quads can be entertaining too! Hahaha! Just kidding!!!
"Sufficient unto the day is one baby. As long as you're in your right mind, don't pray for twins. twins amount to a permanent riot. And there are no real difference between having triplets and an insurrection." - Mark Twain (1879)
Well, last Thursday, I brought En & Xuan to a playdate involving 4 other pairs of twins. The kiddos range from 9.5 months to 17 months old, meaning En & Xuan are the oldest among the lot cos they both turned exactly 17 months that day! The entire event was a little chaotic but outrageously fun! And I think we'll do it again soon. Kekeke...
Check out the pix below!
The kiddos (clockwise from bottom pf pix):
Xuan, Cayley, Yazmin, Danial (back facing), Reyden, Reyes, Austin (blocked by his mommy), En (far back in pink), Sheau Min and Sheau Kai (blocked by his granny).
Like what you see above? Think twins are fun? Well, think again... Triplets or quads can be entertaining too! Hahaha! Just kidding!!!
"Sufficient unto the day is one baby. As long as you're in your right mind, don't pray for twins. twins amount to a permanent riot. And there are no real difference between having triplets and an insurrection." - Mark Twain (1879)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Breathe My Last?
A very bad Monday morning to start the week off. Xuan woke up crying at 5:30am. Ya-Ya was unable to pacify her, so I carried her out of her bedroom. Well, she did quiet down upon hearing my voice and that was great consolation. I left her to play on her own after Ya-Ya refreshes herself and keep watch over her.
At 7:30am, I got off the bed, refreshes myself to start my "official" duties. Its almost the same routine everyday, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year. The kiddos and Ya-Ya would have had their breakfast by now. So I'll proceed to have a bite and watch CNA while keeping an eye on the kiddos. Ya-Ya showers them around 8:30am (I'll do it occasionally) and they'll get their morning milk feed by 9-9:30am, after which Ya-Ya will take care of the household chores while I toddler-sit. But you know what? Once the munchkins' tummies are filled, that's when they gather enough energy to RR&R, aka run around the house, ransack every corner and ruin my day...
Until 11:30am this morning, both of them were fighting over the same book, the same pen, the same stool when there were many other (and better) alternatives available. They were also getting on my nerves by squeezing themselves through tiny paths between the couch and the window, then finding themselves stuck behind the standing lamp next to the couch and couldn't figure their way out. @!#$%^&* To make it worse, on and off, when En shows signs of sleepiness, I'd just go with the flow and gave her a little pat to help her drift off to sleep. Then midway, our dear little Xuan would drop something with a loud bang, release a laughter or chuckle right at En's face!!! With that, En becomes wide awake and the cycle starts all over again...
I had to take countless deep breaths. No point adding on to the tension by yelling at them, I'd reasoned to myself. I'd ignore them by reading magazines. It worked for a while cos they'd quiet down when no one's giving them any attention. But soon enough, they'll venture into other annoying acts which were capable of driving me insane. I even had to urge to strangle Sesame Street's Elmo whose usually cute voice sounded extremely irritating this morning amidst the chaos.
For a while, I thought I'm going to breathe my last. I could almost see myself six feet underground. I thank God for giving me life and life more "abundantly"!!! Why, God, why??? Why me??? Why twins? Why not a singleton? Such irony!
For my female comrades out there who are desperately trying to conceive, I know you'll be cursing and swearing at me as you read the above. But trust me, you'll feel the same too if you had been in my shoes! Allow me to ventilate, at least for now, for I may not have another chance to do so. Who knows when I'll seriously breathe my last? But then seriously, I know that day will not arrive so soon. At least not today, tomorrow, another week, another month or another year to come. I suppose my Lord wouldn't want me Home so soon for I, too, am capable of annoying Him as such as my kiddos annoy me. Hahaha...
"... I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." - John 10:10 NKJV
At 7:30am, I got off the bed, refreshes myself to start my "official" duties. Its almost the same routine everyday, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year. The kiddos and Ya-Ya would have had their breakfast by now. So I'll proceed to have a bite and watch CNA while keeping an eye on the kiddos. Ya-Ya showers them around 8:30am (I'll do it occasionally) and they'll get their morning milk feed by 9-9:30am, after which Ya-Ya will take care of the household chores while I toddler-sit. But you know what? Once the munchkins' tummies are filled, that's when they gather enough energy to RR&R, aka run around the house, ransack every corner and ruin my day...
Until 11:30am this morning, both of them were fighting over the same book, the same pen, the same stool when there were many other (and better) alternatives available. They were also getting on my nerves by squeezing themselves through tiny paths between the couch and the window, then finding themselves stuck behind the standing lamp next to the couch and couldn't figure their way out. @!#$%^&* To make it worse, on and off, when En shows signs of sleepiness, I'd just go with the flow and gave her a little pat to help her drift off to sleep. Then midway, our dear little Xuan would drop something with a loud bang, release a laughter or chuckle right at En's face!!! With that, En becomes wide awake and the cycle starts all over again...
I had to take countless deep breaths. No point adding on to the tension by yelling at them, I'd reasoned to myself. I'd ignore them by reading magazines. It worked for a while cos they'd quiet down when no one's giving them any attention. But soon enough, they'll venture into other annoying acts which were capable of driving me insane. I even had to urge to strangle Sesame Street's Elmo whose usually cute voice sounded extremely irritating this morning amidst the chaos.
For a while, I thought I'm going to breathe my last. I could almost see myself six feet underground. I thank God for giving me life and life more "abundantly"!!! Why, God, why??? Why me??? Why twins? Why not a singleton? Such irony!
For my female comrades out there who are desperately trying to conceive, I know you'll be cursing and swearing at me as you read the above. But trust me, you'll feel the same too if you had been in my shoes! Allow me to ventilate, at least for now, for I may not have another chance to do so. Who knows when I'll seriously breathe my last? But then seriously, I know that day will not arrive so soon. At least not today, tomorrow, another week, another month or another year to come. I suppose my Lord wouldn't want me Home so soon for I, too, am capable of annoying Him as such as my kiddos annoy me. Hahaha...
"... I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." - John 10:10 NKJV
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)