Lovely Monday

How lovely if every Monday is like today.
Basically, a Monday when there's no school and you can just eat and sleep as and when you like.
Then maybe there will be no such things as 'Monday blues' and there'll be 'Tuesday blues' instead.
And then people all over the world will like Mondays and hate Tuesdays just like how we know like Sundays and hate Mondays.
Actually it's irrelevant whether it's called Monday or Tuesday cos the only days that I like are called Holidays.
I don't really like weekends that much either.
Cos that eventually lead up to weekdays.
But on hindsight, so will holidays.
Oh whatever!

Anyway, I've noticed that I've not posted for a good almost half a year.
Everytime I think about posting, I think about what I want to write.
Then I realise that it's not really interesting and decide not to post.
Or sometimes, I think about the pictures that I have to upload and the long loading time, I decide not to post.
And so the procastination begins and I end up not doing anything.

Today, I was sifting through my documents and found this video.

This video was made during my last post attempt.
Which failed.
So I thought I should upload it now so as to compensate.
This video was taken during the last trip to Sentosa.
Which was in June.
But hey, it is still an update from the post made in May right?
Any forms of updating is always good.

So what have I been up to?
To be honest, this year passed so quickly that it scares me.
Am I developing wrinkles that I've not noticed?
Have I accumulated tonnes of white hair which is hidden under my hair dye?
Basically, am I growing so old so fast that I failed to catch every step of my own aging process?
Scary right?

Think about what you were up to last year this time.
Didn't it feel just like not too long ago that you did what you were doing?
I was planning my Japan trip and now, I'm reminiscing about my Japan trip while my colleagues talk about THEIR Japan trip.

I think I'll bring Raine overseas next year.
Since this year passed so quickly, then next year this time should come pretty fast too.
Raine can officially travel overseas next year.
You know, I think I've shared my story about Raine not being able to travel overseas to many people.
I can't really remember who I've shared with.
But it seems that almost everyone knows and will give the 'Oh-Raine-can-finally-travel-overseas-next-year' look whenever I mention about me bringing Raine overseas next year.
Please tag me if you've heard the story.
That will let me know who have read this post as well.

I think there are still some readers lurking out there anticipating my next post.
So here it is my loyal fans!
It's difficult when you are so popular!
*exaggerated exasperated look*

Raine is still the cheeky little girl that I've written about.
Except that now she's a little taller and heavier and have longer hair.
She's talking more and sometimes, I think like an adult.
She'll say things like 'the cat is very sad' when she walks past a cat.
Or she'll just pretend that she's a grown up and demands, 'don't help me!' when we try to be the loving pair of parents.

Her teacher in school loves her.
Teacher M has secretly told me that Raine is her favourite when everyone else is not around.
So I think that's something I'm really proud of.
She can now recite the phonics from A to Z and sing the whole song of 'Twinkle twinkle little star', 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' and her 'Good morning' and 'Special song' from school.
Sometimes when I see her so actively engaged in school, singing and dancing along, I feel like tearing.
It's true, I get that emotional at times.
Inside my heart, the overwhelming motherly instinct takes over my thoughts and I think 'Oh how much my baby has grown. How long will she continue to depend on me'.

Just this morning, I was surfing the Internet for pre-school for her.
Currently, the one that she's attending is a little too far for her to attend everyday.
So I'm hoping to look for one that is near my place.
But I either get the reply that the centre is full or it's closed.
Schools nowadays are so scarce.
Maybe I should just quit and open up my own pre-school.
I'm sure kids are easier to deal with as compared to the emo teenagers nowadays.

Talking about teenagers, my lovely 3E1 has failed to live up to their expectations this time round.
Anyone of you reading this right now, REPENT IMMEDIATELY!
But it's ok.
Being the friendly, kind, amiable, approachable, wonderfully nice teacher that I am, I shall forgive you.
Cos you still have ONE YEAR to make up for it all.
But the other set of teenagers, the 4Es!
You better not be blog hopping to another blog.
Cos your O-levels start NEXT WEEK!
Oh gosh, next week.....I wonder how many of them are prepared.
Don't let the mantra 'See you in 2010' come true.

So, the lovely Monday is coming to an end and tomorrow is Tuesday.
It's marking day tomorrow and at the same time a very big day for me.
It concerns my future and right now, I'm thinking I better go get ready for my big day.
No I'm not getting married again or giving birth again.
It's just a BIG day.

Wish me luck my ardent fans!
Meanwhile, I shall continue to read my story book.

Till the next time I feel like posting.

Adios!

Reason for my disappearance

It's been way too long since I last blogged.

It was last year when that happened and one semester has passed.

So much had happened and I seriously don't know where to start.

The usual work stuff shall be skipped.

But I think having a lovely form class has made things good so far and their results have made me really proud of them.

Not to mention that they're lovely kids and these bumblebees really live up to their name.

The last time I blogged, Raine was still a wobbly little toddler.

Today, she's grown so much and I have missed out lots of updates.

Some photos to compensate.

A future Tiger Woods in the making

Raine in cheong sum with mandarin oranges during CNY

One of those trips to Botanical Gardens

A tyrant in the making

No, I didn't give birth secretly. That's cousin Tristan.

Raine in her favourite Mickey Mouse t-shirt with her first craft

So Raine is now a little terror who does not hesitate to show off her temper.
Her favourite is by far, throwing whatever is in her hand whenever she's upset.
She's already yakking away and her favourite sentence is, '______(fill in blank with whatever she wanna look for) where?'


I always look forward to weekends with her.
I have already started Raine on weekend enrichment lesson.
Yes, I am a kiasu parent.
I just want to give her the best and make sure that she won't lose out in this competitive society.
This worry grown in me when I met a fellow teacher at a workshop and he told me that kids nowadays are using words like 'demolish' in primary one.
Inside my mind, I'm thinking, 'Will Raine be able to use that word when she's in primary one?'
So that triggered me to decide to send her for class.
Moreover, I'm thinking of sending her to a childcare centre and I hope that by sending her for lessons, she'll understand what it means by attending school and realise that I'm not abandoning her when I send her to the childcare centre.


Raine enjoys her lessons and I guess she's most interested in project time.
That's the time when she'll really concentrate and listen to what the teacher is saying.
Learning phonics and listening to storybooks don't really seem to be her cup of tea.
She'll always end up walking to another corner of the classroom and asks me to 'sit here'.

However, I think she really enjoys interacting with her classmates.
And not to mention her teachers.
I'm happy whenever she's happy.


This cheeky little girl makes me really mad sometimes as well.
She has this habit of spitting out her porridge whenever there's something hard in it.
Guess she's just too lazy to bite.
And this only happens to porridge.
If I were to give her biscuits, she'll chew them away happily.
And sometimes to prove her point that porridge doesn't really interest her, she'll sip her water and let it drip out of her mouth!
Such a headache to feed her sometimes.


Nowadays bringing Raine out, apart from bringing her necessities, I've to arm myself with $1 coins as well.
What happened to those days when kiddy rides were just 20 cents?!
She'll always rush to her kiddy rides and scream 'up, up up' with arms outstretched.
If we don't, she'll cry.
And parents being parents, I'll always relent and carry her up.
Then the next thing she'll say is, 'money' and expect us to put in the money.
And as usual, if we don't, she'll whine.


Sometimes, I suspect that I'm spoiling her.
And that's the last thing I want to do.
Cos honestly, I do beat her.
This is especially so when she throws tantrums and hurl things across the room.
She has an exceptionally stubborn streak and will not cry even if I hit her hand till it's red.
She'll just stare at me and not cry.
At the most, she'll proceed to stare at her red hand before running away.
Sometimes, just to spite me, she'll even throw and run away before I can even hit her.
The only time when she'll burst into tears is when there're others around.
She'll cry and force her tears out while saying, 'mummy beat' and go on to mumble some stuff which no one can comprehend.


Watching Raine grow up is my utmost concern now.
Making sure that she's safe is my responsibility.
That's why Raine has to undergo 2 more jabs despite her long list of vaccinations.
Recently, due to the H1N1 outbreak, I brought her to take the seasonal flu jab.
Despite the fact that it'll not vaccine her against the H1N1, I wanted her to take it just to have some form of protection.

To be extra safe that she'll be safe, I postponed all thoughts of travelling this June.
Instead, I'll be bringing her to Sentosa for a short getaway.
Not much of going overseas but at least I get to stay in a hotel.
Haha!
That is to make me feel better.
And plus I intend to bring her swimming.
The last time I brought her, she's only 6 months old.
She ended up with running nose and to ensure that she'll be alright this time round, I bought her a thermal swimming suit.
Hopefully, that'll keep the flu bug at bay.


Thinking of Raine always brings a smile to my face.
Although she's naughty at times, cuddling her to sleep always makes everything ok and worthwhile.

Sweeping away the cyberwebs

Once again, I was hibernating in my little real world and despite reminders for updates, I turned a deaf ear. And after many many numerous numerous reminders, I decided to get off my lazy butt and start updating.

You know, there are many times when the statement, 'I gotta blog about this' , plays through my mind. However, my will is just not strong enough to really blog about it. So I end up telling myself, 'Ok, I must blog about this, about that, about those, about these when I actually blog'.

But, once again, it all depends on my flow of thoughts when I sit in front of the computer. I forget sometimes. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Oh well, what else can I say. I've a baby to take care of ok! The most convenient REASON of all. ;p

So, in my teeny weeny little world, Raine is now one year old. She's sleeping really soundly now and so that's also why I can have the luxury of sitting here typing. Time is no longer in my control. My world revolves around her and so does my time. So sometimes, I beg for my precious' mercy and plead her to go have her nap so that I can have a little bit more time for myself. If she grows up, I'm gonna ask her to invent a drug that is suitable for making babies sleep. Kinda like a sleeping pill but harmless. I think I'm gonna be a millionaire should this pill ever be invented. All parents will thank me and babies will grow really quickly cos all of them have their beauty sleep. Remember, you first read about this idea here! This idea is MINE! So don't ever try to be funny and invent this pill before my baby Raine grows up. The pill shall be called 'Raine's beauty sleep'. But first, I must make sure that you people reading this have babies. Otherwise, no one will need 'Raine's beauty sleep'. When I mean have babies, have them when you're married. Remember, no sex before marriage! Don't go round telling your parents that I'm encouraging you to have babies. Of course, this applies to my young underaged readers. For older folks, or rather, matured readers, go get married and have babies. Oh whatever.

So I digress.

Yes, so Raine is one and we held 2 birthday parties for her. One at my mum's and the other at my own place. This is to prevent Raine from being overwhelmed with love. She can spread those love over 2 days. Isn't it nice? So she had two birthday cakes, sang the birthday song twice and blew candles twice.

Her first birthday cake

Her second birthday cake

The second birthday cake was significantly bigger than the first and we took about a week to finish it off. After throwing some away. I think she enjoyed herself but I doubt she understood what it meant when we wanted her to wear her princess party hat. She knew that she was the centre of attention when all of us sang birthday song and looked at her. She clapped and was smiling away. I reckoned the adults had more fun than the birthday girl herself. Especially when I was happily snapping away while Cousin Seth wanted to show his love for Raine.

Seth: Happy birthday cousin Raine

Raine: Hey, what do you think you are doing?

Seth: Happy Birthday my dear cousin!
Raine: Erm, I think you're getting a little too close...

Seth: Ok, I tell you what, let's face the back. Your mummy's a little annoying!

Seth just wanted to pose for picture with Raine. But Raine wasn't too cooperative. In the end, we gave up and decided to ask them to stand for a picture together instead.

What's up with the party hats?!

Her birthday party was simple but nice. I wanted to celebrate her birthday in style. You know, with lots of balloons, presents and lots of people. Then I decided not to cos she probably won't remember and I'll end up being really tired. And poor. So simple is good. But I'll definitely hold a MacDonald birthday party for her when she's older. I think every child deserves it.

Well, despite our efforts in giving her the best of everything, Raine is still very much the menace. She's becoming a little independent being who insists on wanting things her way. She'll want to walk on her own in shopping malls. Without us. She'll want to take things out of the stores. Without paying. She'll just do everything that we don't want her to do.

Can't imagine what it'll be like when she's older. Like in her teens. Oh gosh! Can't imagine. I'll just tell her not to let others know my occupation. How ironic if her teachers gotta ring me up every now and then to complain about her.

Back to my updates. After her birthday came the school holidays. My favourite time of the year. Went on a trip to Tokyo with just hubby. Decided to leave the little imp behind. Otherwise, I don't think we can actually enjoy our trip. Plus it'll be too cold for her. So the main reason why we didn't bring her is cos it's too cold for her. That's right.

It was a really good trip. We always love trips to places with cold weather. We just wanted to see smoke coming out from our mouths when we talk. Not from cigarettes. Loads of time alone together and that is something really precious nowadays.

We visited Disneyland, Mount Fuji and most of the other places listed in our trusty travel guidebook. Seeing how the Japanese behave kinda puts me to shame. They are soooooo polite and orderly. They queue for everything. They queue for the train, they queue for food, they queue for toilets, they queue for donuts, they queue even when they want to look at christmas decorations. Talking about christmas decorations, Tokyo is beautiful at night. They've lovely christmas decorations everywhere and with the cold weather, it really feels like christmas.

Us with Mount Fuji in the background

One of the beautifully decorated street

A view of Hakone while on a cruise along Lake Ashi

Now I know why so many people around me love Japan. The view is awesome and the place doesn't really have lots to complain about. Apart from the fact that it's getting a little bit more expensive with the exchange rate and and the amount of walking one has to do while you're there. The subway station itself can kill you! If you're complaining that Dhoby Ghaut is big, you wouldn't complain once you've been to Tokyo and back.

So I was saying that the weather over in Tokyo was cold and though I loved the cold, I just can't tolerate the dry wind that blows in Tokyo. It makes me feel that my face is all tensed up and it feels that my face is cracking each time I talk or smile. It is especially so when we were up on Mount Fuji. It was terribly cold and my hands were freezing. That's when my hubby said something that I thought was really funny. We were standing on Mount Fuji looking across at some other mountains. It was a really beautiful scenery. The wind was blowing against our faces and we were just taking in the moment.

That's when he said, 'So this is how it feels.......'

Inside my heart, I was thinking of, 'to be living in a cold country' or something to that effect.

Then he continued to say, 'to be a meat or vegetable in the freezer'.

Imagine my reaction in that instant. I didn't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes. I just burst out laughing and realised that my hubby does has his funny moments.

I had a great time this holiday. Though the trip was short but I had fun. While I was in Tokyo, no matter how impish my little baby Raine may be, I missed her tremendously. I'm seldom away from her for such a long time. Each day, I wonder whether she's sleeping well or eating well. And to some extent, I feel a little guilty leaving her behind in Singapore while we're having fun. We decided to bring her along for our next trip. I guess trips away from home will never be the same again after having a baby. A little part of you just seems to be left behind when she's not around.

Christmas is coming and we've gotten ready our gifts for the kids. No matter how bad a recession is, kids ought to receive presents on Christmas. I always receive Christmas with mixed feelings. I love Christmas but when Christmas is over, it means my holidays will be over too. Then it'll be back to the mad rush of school bells. I had better cherish my remaining holidays before it's over before I know it.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my flight to Tokyo was delayed. For 4 hours! Goodness gracious! And I thought this wouldn't happen to the our local flight. It's supposed to be the best isn't it? Sigh, nothing's perfect in this world. And I can't agree more when I was trying my best to remain jolly at the airport.

My trip to the airport

Last weekend, we brought Raine to T3.
She enjoyed herself tremendously cos she gotta explore the place all by herself.

And this is what happened....

Ok ready? Is the camera on me? Ok ready. Good!

Ok let's play peek-a-boo!

Ok don't cheat! Don't look at me. Peek-a......

BOOO!!!!!

Not funny? Ok let me do the Donald Duck walk for you.

Still not funny?!?! You better laugh! Want me to box you right?

You come here!!! Gimme the camera!!! How dare you!

The trip ended amicably with Raine falling asleep on the way home.
No adults were hurt in the process.

Oh my butt!

Alright, just a short one.

Look at me on my bumbo chair!

Does my bum look big in this?

Oops! I think I'm stuck!

Oh gosh!! Mummy help!!!

Heng ah! I will not sit in that silly chair again!

Walk Baby Walk

My baby's walking confidently now.

Can almost imagine her saying, "Look Mum, no hands!"

Right now, Raine is sleeping soundly after exploring the house for the whole evening.

She's been babbling away as well, saying things like 'baba', 'dada', 'ya ya ba ba da da' and whatever combinations that you can form with all these syllabuses.

I wonder when will 'mama' occur....hmmm...

On top of all the walking and babbling, Raine's teething again.
Can see her two other toothies peeping out from her gums and she's been searching for her pacificier in the middle of the night.
I really can't wait for her to grow up!
I mean she's growing up but I mean really grow up.
I think I'll miss her baby days when she's really grown up but I can't wait to really have fun with her.

School's just school these few days.

O-levels has started and I'm passing all my luck to my 2 graduating classes.

Just keeping some for myself to make sure that no bird poo drops on me or me falling off the stairs.

Went invigilating today and I am really impressed by the manners displayed by the pupils of my invigilating school.

Manners abound and that's enough to impress me.

Pupils, you have to remember to thank your invigilators when they give out your writing papers to you.

It makes a whole lot of difference to the impression they will have of you.

Trust me.

Oh ya, to vegetarian tiger and carnivorous goat.

So happy to see the two of you talking again. =)

A little breather

No, it's not a busy period for me.

Or rather, I'm getting a little break now that 2E5 and 3T1 are having their end of year examinations and the prelims are over for the sec 4s.


So it seems that my marking of the prelim exam papers are over.
The exam papers didn't smile at them AT ALL.
In fact, most of them deteriorated and they didn't seem at all worried.
Goodness gracious!

However, one of the classes improved and though they didn't improved by leaps and bounds but they did improve.

Like I told them in class, I told them that though I'm glad to see their improvements but it's not enough for me to feel secure that they can do well in their O-levels.
I don't expect them to do well for me.
I want them to do well for themselves.
But how else can I help them except to be there for them when they need that little helping hand.


It's strange to think how complex human relationships can be.


Last week, I celebrated my 5th year wedding anniversary with my hubby.
It's been 5 years.
Sometimes, when I think back of the times we spent together, I still find it amazing that we've spent 5 years together as husband and wife.
No doubt we've our shares of arguments and disagreements but on hindsight, it's always due to the way we show our concern for each other.
Probably, overly-concerned hinging on paranoia.

My hubby has been a great husband.
He's thoughtful in his own little ways and always put the family first before anything else.
He has his fair share of flaws and I'm sure I do as well.
However, he often turn a blind eye to my flaws and accept me for who I am.

We celebrated our anniversary in a simple way with dinner and drinks.
Simple and yet something that we both appreciate very much.
Eversince Raine is born, we seldom get a night out without her.
So even simple things like dinner and drinks seem extremely rare and special.

Today, I'm blessed with my family, my friends and a healthy body.

Raine is growing up day by day and I'm etching her growing up process deeply in my heart.
She's learning fast and her latest craze is to roar at others.
Her confidence to take her baby steps is growing and I'm still waiting for the day where she can confidently stand up and take her first few steps into her toddler year.
She's now a mischievous little imp and her funny antics never fail to brighten up my days.
I can't wait for her to grow up and call me 'mummy'.
Now she's just blabbering away with words that just doesn't make sense.
But I'm starting to realise that they're now of different intonations and pitches.


Her hair is a constant worry of mine.
Brought her to the hairdresser finally few weeks back and it was a disaster.
She started crying the moment the hairdresser laid the scissors on her hair.
She didn't stop till the hairdresser was done.
By the time the hairdresser was done, her face was covered with a mixture of hair and tears.
That was indeed a very teary hairy situation.
Gotta coax her with her favourite ride on Barney before she put the whole hair cutting episode behind and started smiling again.
So how did the haircut look?
Well, nothing much changed except that her fringe is now shorter.
Wasted $20! What's worse was the hairdresser.
She looked like a total ah lian and stunk of ciggies.
Sigh!
I swear I'm never going back there ever again!

I'm still deciding what kinda celebration I should have for Raine.
It's afterall her first birthday party!
But I figured she's too young to enjoy anything and the only people that'll appreciate the whole celebration will be the adults.
How?
This is such a tough decision.