Happy Halloween

29 Oct

I was late for work, very late.

First, I had to fit and tape the DIY Halloween costume onto Peanut. Next, I had to say a prayer that the costume would endure for at least an hour. This was followed by a prep talk to prepare Peanut that his eager friends in class may peel off the spiders on his costume. And explained to him the contingency plan should his costume give way - that I had packed his commercially made (read "reliable") Bumblebee (the yellow car character in Transformer) costume and mask in his school bag. And after all that work (which, in case you should think otherwise, were over and above the usual morning routine of persuading Peanut to leave his bed, reminding him to wee wee, encouraging him to brush his teeth, dressing him up and getting him to eat his breakfast), of course, I had to whip out the camera:

And stayed on in class. The excitement and fun was simply contagious. All the kids with their home-made and commercial costumes, demonstrating the ingenuity and creativity of the very involved parents:

Even Teacher Melissa dressed up:


If you look closely, the pirate in the middle even spotted a painted beard/stub:

Luckily, Peanut did not choose to wear his Superman suit. You see, I was a little embarrassed by my last-minute-amateurish effort and was persuading him by offering other options including his Batman T-shirt and mask. But no, only home-made will do for my kiddo. After all, mama did spend the night before painstakingly painting all those criss crossed white lines on both front and back, complete with sleeves.

And guess what, the costume is still in one piece - though without the spiders. Despite the pleas by Peanut and his teacher, his friends could not keep their keen fingers off!

Next year, I promise I will make a better effort and plan ahead. I will do some research on the internet, draw out the design, buy the art & craft materials (felt seems to be the most flexible to work with) and even do some sewing (instead of relying on just UHU glu and double sided tape as quick-fix). We'll see. Have you figured out by now what was the material of his costume? Hint: the email from school instructed that the costume should be, preferably, eco-friendly.

Finally, it's Tom's Birthday Party

25 Oct

Like Peanut, I too was very much looking forward to Tom's birthday party... so that life can move on and I can be asked more challenging questions by my No. 1. For the past one week, I had been asked the same question in different forms everyday, "Are we going to Tom's house today?" "Is it Tom's birthday today?" "When are we going to Tom's house?" "Are we going to Tom's birthday party?" "Mama, why are we not going to Tom's birthday party?"

It was a lovely place tucked away in a quiet part off the busy Holland Road. It was spacious, sitting atop a sloping road, with a sprawling front porch and had the old world charm of a black and white colonial bungalow (designed with lots of windows for light and ventilation) - though it was actually the ground floor apartment unit of a block comprising of 4 units. Oh, almost forgot, Tom is Peanut's classmate in pre-school. He's the Caucasian boy with a blue party hat, in the shape of a crown, on his head in the photos.

The front porch had an adult size trampolin on one side, a swing at the furthest end with a stone bench next to it and our hosts thoughtfully laid out various kiddie games - a small tub of bubble solution with all sorts of fun wands, a bigger tub filled with water for 'catching' fishes using a rod with a magnet attached, bowling pins, mini-trampolin for the toddlers. There was this huge wooden train set in the study room, all kinds of toys strewn ("nicely laid out" was the original state when we first arrived as the first guests) in the living hall and a drum set in Tom's bedroom - which turned out to be S.P's favourite. The clown was the only professional act - everything else was DIY, including the b.d. cake. This is what a birthday party should be. It takes very gracious (or very brave) hosts to open their house in this manner to kids ranging from a crawling baby to 5 y.o. - the aftermath was honestly, painful to the eyes ... but most importantly, the kids had a wonderful time.

Partners in Crime

Another backlog entry .. this one goes back to 11 July ..oops, that long ago. It's like one of those sci-fi movie (think, Back to the Future) where the story brings you back and forth through time and can get so confusing. Or like watching the Star Wars movies where they are not filmed in sequence and you have a non-fan like me trying to figure out which follows which in time.

Anyway, this is SP at 2 y.o - we needed to apply for a passport for our trip to G.C. Doesn't he look adorable? No two are the same ... I'm beginning to sound like my crafting friend selling her wares. I was so tempted to use the 3rd photo - it is THE trademark smile (and he goes, "Cheeze") each time you point a camera at him, as seen in many of our holiday photos. He looked the sweetest in the 4th. As these would not pass the strict criteria of our immigration department (from my personal experience, immigration officers of various nationalities in certain parts of the world are not known to have any sense of humour), I settled for the 2nd last photo.

And here are the photos of SP's partner-in-crime: Mug Shots

Day 4 in Gold Coast

16 September 2009

What I like most about Gold Coast (or for that matter, Australia generally) is how family-friendly it is. They seem to plan their tourist attractions with families in mind (or perhaps, they have old folks and obese people in mind, whatever). In places like The Tropical Farm World and here in Paradise Country Aussie Farm, we get to tour the place in the comfort of a tram, much to the delight of Peanut and Sweet Potato who seem to be perpetually fascinated with train/tram rides, for now, at least. There was something unusual about the passengers though - the tram was swarmed with a large group of tourists from China. It was our first encounter in Gold Coast. We had not met any tourists in droves as it was the low holiday season.

This farm (I am not sure I should even call it that... ), is really a Warner Brothers' theme park fashioned and designed as a farm tour. So please remember to avoid this one if you are looking for a true farm experience. But hey this is Gold Coast, we chose this place for its theme parks, for its well planned (aka commercial) activities and clean environment so we know what to expect for our young children and one old folk - no out-of-this-world wonder, romantic getaway, rough-it-out or hardship (trekking in mud was about the biggest hardship we can handle) holiday for this family, at least not for the next few years. I even made sure that the apartment we stayed in came with a DVD player, the preparations, planning, research and packing which went into this holiday were more meticulous than I knew I was capable of - ah, I also packed some grains of rice (over and above the "standard supply" of diapers, milk powder, milo, instant noodles, cereals under the food category amongst the many other categories, e.g. toys, books, beach stuff, first aid, medication, warm clothings .. you get the drift) so I could bring along lunch for SP for this farm tour which admission came with a barbeque lunch. Only to find that they provided rice ...lots of rice ... to cater to the Chinese tourists (who we learned from Dave, had replaced the Jap tourists as the main tourist visitors to GC.) Btw, it was reported in yesterday's papers that China would overtake Japan as the world's 2nd largest economy in another 2 years. Sigh, I am resigned to having to live amongst mainland Chinese ... but to have more of them amidst us on this tiny island - I'm so not looking forward to it. I digressed ...

The must-do photo take with the fake backdrop .. done it in Perth (on both trips there), done it in Dreamworld in previous trip to G.C; too bad Peanut was not tall enough to be allowed to carry the koala.

^ So this is what "moo" sounds like. It was so loud that it frightened SP. Finally, Peanut got to see a cow in a 'farm'.

Another photo opportunity ... a cleverly created barn scene just so the boys can bottle feed the lamb.

The first performance on the schedule was a "billy tea" demo under a big tent where we sat on logs surrounding the cow girl (see photo below) who demonstrated and explained how the cowboys of-old would boil water in a tin can over a small fire to make tea. This was followed by a horse-riding demo:

"This is my horse and my ... reins" ouch!

"Can't you tell I'm bored?" ("cowboys" demonstrating boomerang throwing in the background)

My obliging boy to the shouts of his trigger-happy mum, "Quick, stand here. The sheep's coming."

Still bored ... but obliging ...

Do I care that the sheep are gathering behind and forming a triangle?

He looks embarrassed by all the milk squirting ...

S.P actually said, "Cow wee wee ... yee .."

Our little folks were totally captivated by the sheep sheering demo ...

This small piece of wool .. somehow followed us home to Singapore.

Of Chrysalis and Probosis

15 October 2009


Peanut went on his 1st unaccompanied (as in without any family member) school excursion. I vividly remembered that I had my first school excursion to the zoo when I was in Primary 6 at a ripe old age of 12. Notwithstanding years of endless crying, persuasion, cajoling, begging, complaining, protesting (silent and otherwise), I failed to get my mum to sign on the consent form as she didn't think it was safe for 2 adult teachers to take care of a class of more than 30 students. The teasing by my fellow classmates still ring in my ears. Now with the wisdom I have gathered as a parent, I think starving may have worked ... at least on me, ummm but not sure about my mum ... she's one Iron Lady. Here are some photos of Peanut's trip to The Butterfly Lodge, courtesy of his school.

All ears as the guide explains the life cycle of a butterfly:

Very well-behaved kids

Let the search begins...

Spot anything, anyone?

Do you see what I see?

What delicate beauty!

Best friends stay together...

Being a Lawyer

Here are some excerpts of a speech from a man I had admired in my youth and now have found reason to rekindle that admiration.

"But the real reason I wanted to do the case was that I had spent a lifetime litigating commercial cases where the issues were disputes of fact or law, and few opportunities had come to me of doing a case where the issue was a simple question of right and wrong. I needed to feel that I was on the side of right and justice for a change, instead of just being a hired gun to argue a client’s point of view."

"There is nothing wrong with Singapore’s legal hardware – we have a fine infrastructure and legal system; not even much wrong with our software either, as our law schools are good and our judges and lawyers of high intellectual quality. It is the “liveware” that could do with some improvement, the infusion of spirit and idealism that will put us on par with other first world countries. So the future lies in your hands and I hope that you will each in your own way contribute to making the legal environment in Singapore a better one than what you find today."

"Apathy and Independence"
Michael Hwang, SC
President
The Law Society of Singapore

For the full speech, see President's Message

Day 3 in Gold Coast

15 September (Continued)

After our seafood lunch, we made our way to Tropical Fruit World - it's a huge fruit orchard - ah, you can't tell from the photos, not a single photo of a fruit tree. I assure you there were rows and rows of sugar canes, lychee trees, banana trees, papaya trees, pineapples, macadamia nuts - but the place was so huge, we travelled around in a tram and my hands were full holding onto both kids. They somehow decided that it was more fun to stick to mum for some unknown reason. The only photo was that of Peanut cracking macadamia nuts as that was the only stop we made on the ride. We could eat as many as our 'little farmer boy' could crack - heavenly.

The place is full of surprises - mini train ride, boat ride, all the animals (ducks, geese, wallabies, a donkey and sheep) for hand feeding, bunches of hanging mulberries by the banks ripe for our plucking at will. Commercialised for tourists? Absolutely, but great fun for the kids. There was even a fruit tasting session where we get to sample custard apples, papayas (considered exotic for the Aussies and in native speak known as "popo"). Dave, our tour guide in white shirt, must have been wondering why my sons called their grandma "papaya" or probably assumed it was some kind of nickname? Term of endearment in Chinese, perhaps?

Soup for the Soul

Here's a recipe which I adapted from Karen Cheng's blog for wholesome beef soup:

1kg of beef bones, washed
1 oxtail, about 1 - 1.2 kg, washed (or substitute with 300g of tough beef cut, e.g. brisket, plate or flank)
2 large brown onions, peeled and quartered
2 stalks of celery, peeled and cut into medium pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 tomatoes, quartered (optional)
chopped rosemary
2 bay leaves
½ - 1 teaspoon of peppercorn (depending on whether you like it 'pepper-hot')
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)

1) Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add bones, bay leaves, peppercorn and salt. Boil for at least 1/2 hour.
2) Add oxtail, onions, carrots and potatoes. Simmer on low heat for 2.5 hours.
3) If using tomatoes - Score the tomato skin, blanch in hot water and remove the curled skin
4) Add celery and tomatoes. Continue to simmer on low heat for 30 - 40 minutes.

Taste, add salt and soy sauce for seasoning, if required.

Catch-A-Crab Cruise

15 September

This is the best day of our Gold Coast holidays! Lovely weather (sunny but cool and breeezyy), fun filled activities for the young, the middle aged and the old (except that SP took some persuading before he would set foot on the slimy and cold muddy river floor). And not to forget, yummy fresh seafood served in a shed at the oyster farm. Lots of firsts for the family:

- feeding fish to pelicans

- pumping yabbies

- catching crabs .. well sort of. The cages were already placed in the waters in advance. All we did was bring in the catch by pulling the rope. We learned how to tell the male and the females apart and how to pick the fat ones.

- how to hook the bait and cast the fishing line and bring in the fishes. We made it look so easy that we put the other groups on-board to shame. Apart from another Singapore family who caught one fish, the other 3 groups (all adults for the record) were well ... just fishing, waiting and enjoying the breeze.

Holiday in Gold Coast

12 - 14 september

Ok, more backlog entries. We had 2 holidays back to back (almost) and that was the reason (rather, one of the reasons - procrastination was another) for the lack of new posts.

Here's the 1st instalment of the photos. Movie World was our first theme park. The luxury of a self-drive free-and-easy holiday - we spent the first day in Gold Coast just to recover from the flight (to be fair, the boys were most well behaved ... even took their afternoon naps on board. Emirates surprised me - their entertainment + on-demand movies way surpass the ones on SIA economy) and did some scouting around, grocery shopping (yes, I prepared breakfast every morning) in Surfers' Paradise, where we stayed in a very agreeable, modern 4.5 star apartment (Artique Resort) in the sky which came with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen, balcony, a stunning seaview, lazy-boy leather sofas (remember the US sitcom "Friends"?) complete with heated spa and outdoor pools (the last 2 are shared facilities, of course).

It's the 3rd trip to Gold Coast and to Movie World for Mr M and I but the first for my mum and the boys. Ah, we spent most of our time in the kiddy world. Totally novel for Mr M and I since we don't even remember (or know) if it existed 10 years ago. Still, we enjoyed ourselves. As for the boys, well, the photos speak for themselves. More to come ...