Saying "Thank You"

Saturday, 18th June, 2010

These days, with our very tight schedules, there is just simply no time to cook. So, every night I would bring the kids out for dinner (or rather supper!) after their tuition class ends at 8:30p.m. That brought us to many stalls/restaurants which we would otherwise not go. Hence, this also brought out the curiosity in me in search of new places to eat! Good for the soul sometimes, becoming more adventurous when it comes to food :-)

Anyway, these eat-outs have also burned quite a big hole in my pockets, sometimes I wonder if I should just put in the extra effort to cook instead of taking in the MSGs! Poofffff! How la? By the time we got home, the kids would be too tired for food. In fact, many a night the boys just kinda doze off in their school uniforms!! Poor kids, I pray that our maid will be here soon lorrr....

I am not sure who started this, I think it's our Teochew culture, but before every meal, the kids would shout out something that goes like this : "Mommy eat, Zhen Ni jeh jeh eat, Zhong Hao ko ko eat" to those elder than himself/herself.

Added to this dining culture, now the kids would also shout out : "Thank you, Mommy" or "Thank you, Ku Ku" for buying them the meals .... nice leh ^_^

Without A Maid

Sunday, 13th June, 2010

It has been more than 8 months without a maid. Inconvenience, yes, a hopeless situation, definitely not. Now, the kids are able to sweep, mop, wash dishes, operate the washing machine, line and iron the clothes, make their own bed, tidy their own rooms, on top of cooking rice, make their own hot drinks, toast their own bread, cut fruits, all of which they took for granted all these years.

The absence of a maid also brought out the creativity in us. The guest room is now turned into a laundry room with clothes being hanged according to the kids' own open wardrobe.

Best of all, we are able to schedule our time-table into very productive activities. All of us leave the house early in the morning and gets back home after supper. During the day, I am able to spend more time at work, while the kids get to go for extra tuition classes where their homework is being monitored by the tutors hence while they get proper guidance, I do not have to scream my head off trying to figure out the many Chinese characters and the kids, well, they seem to enjoy themselves at the tuition centre rather than having a frustrated me!!! Apparently, their results have also improved significantly ... phew! It warms my heart when I see their beaming faces smiling and sharing their day when I pick them up, all eager to tell me their stories.

Of course, there are times when they would all be too tired and would just doze off to sleep while on the way home. Poor things, it's tough to be living with me in such conditions but then again, I think they would all fare well in the future, being independent, responsible adults later in life and knows the value of hardwork ^_^

Fun Fair

Sunday, 13th June, 2010

Today's fun fair at the kdis' school brought back memories of yester years. It used to be lots of fun. I could still remember the best game was to hit a spot hard enough to bring down whoever is the person sitting on a plank splashing into the pool of water!!!! Haven't seen this kind of game since ages ago. Ahaks! As though I have been living during dinosaur years oh.... lol!!!!

This morning's fun fair was more fun for the kids I guess. They were more interested in the games than the food, we must have spent quite a bit, what with all the 5 kids going round the stalls and spend all they want, including a go at the haunted house .... well, that was a real long queue :-) Oh well, after all, it's for a good cause .... in aid of the flood victims in China.

Got back home during lunch time, went straight to bed for a nap ... ahhhh ... so nice, haven't been taking naps for a long long time now. Woke up, had a cup of milo with biscuits for afternoon tea and after that, did some gardening or rather weeding. It rained slightly and thus a cool way of squatting and cutting the grass. Joey was quick enough to take the umbrella and gave me shelter while I cut away although I was actually quite happy to be patted by the rain. Getting caught in the rain used to be one of my favourite thing, really ^_^

All in all, a great Sunday!!!!

These Flowers Are For You

11th June, 2010

Today, I received a beautiful piece of e-mail.
Love it :

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.'

When God takes something from your grasp,

He's not punishing you,

but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

There comes a point in your life when you realize:

Who matters,

Who never did,

Who won't anymore...

And who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past,

there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Give these flowers to everyone you don't want to lose

So, my friends, these flowers are for you :-)