Living, breathing in one room

While on holiday, unless you are booked into a suite or an apartment, you will inevitably be living in the same confines of one room. That's 4 walls and a considerably tight space when you take into account the luggages, sleeping arrangements and well, mess in general.

Yet, it's also rather endearing and cosy to be (temporarily) cooped up in such a small space. At one glance, I see the sleeping faces and hear the peaceful, rhythmic breathing of my husband, daughter and son. And there's just something special about that. 

Making memories #seahsinseoul

So far, Seoul good

It has been 4 days since we left Singapore and on this Friday night, I am lounging in our cosy hotel lobby in Jeju Island. The past days and nights have been non-stop time with the kids and it has been pretty good! It was a great decision to bring the kids and this affirms that we are actually capable of going on holiday with the kids on our own - without murdering one another. This is only the halfway mark though so ... Perhaps I should reflect again at the end (haha).

Here's a pic, one taken at a nature sight today. It's a volcano at the Eastern part of Jeju, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site : Sunrise Peak. 

#seahsinseoul

Horsing around on Monday

Everyone rejoices when Daddy is on leave. Including me. I got a cushy ride to the office today and the kids are now with him at the Polo Club for breakfast. Ahhh, the good life. 

Mini me

Little Missy

I looked over at my passenger seat today and marveled at how alike my little one is to me. Besides the shades which are really mine, her face - this pretty little face, her sitting posture (uh, yea she sits pretty unladylike), her "baby" she brought out (she aspires to be Mommy) - it's all so cute and endearing and I remind myself how fortunate I am to have this sweetheart call me Mommy. 

Hello Kitty Kingdom

Hello Kitty castle on the left, with all her "friends" lined up neatly in a row

Another view of her Hello Kitty kingdom that she so carefully arranged

This particular scene was a "music class". Notice the notes on the kitties? All her own doing - she found some stickers and happily stuck them on "because they are singing, Mommy". I don't know how but she obviously learnt how notes look and aptly accessorised her little friends. #toocute

A happy morning

We all love random day outs.

Seeing my little girl in action #soproud

Everyone loves to swing

Hugs all around

'twas a terribly hot day

Someone got upset #iforgotwhy

Unhealthy lunch treat

Oh look. Happy again.

Blading home was too tiring so we took a bus back.

Fathers' Day 2014

An understated celebration of Fathers' Day with yummy dim sum followed by desserts. 

All of us #familyisbest

Featuring Kate, the photobomber; alongside the original Father with his 3 offsprings

My dad is the one who dotes on us silently through his actions than words. His open adoration and spoiling of his grand-daughter is so endearing and we are so fortunate to have him around with us. I wish him best of health as that really is the one most important thing that he needs to spend more time with all of us. 

Second-generation Father with his 2 offpsprings

To my husband, who undoubtedly is doing a great job playing Father, seen from the uncensored joy and love the kids ply on you. Thanks for being the partner you are and pulling weight as Dad. 

One more week

and we will be here! #guesswhere

Battered feet, part IIa

Pic is not great (so it's not too grossly graphic), but just to demo that after cleaning off my nail polish,  my bruised nails count is now 3!

Previous battered series, here. 

Educating little fire-fighters

I've known of these Fire Station visits for a while through friends, but never actually got down to visiting and I'm glad we got the chance to do this today. To those who aren't aware, Fire Station Open Houses are every Saturday (except Jurong Fire Station) between 9am to 11am. More information here. 

That's Eddie. He was our guide for the morning and he was very kind to the kids. That's him trying to engage Jake who was seemingly paying attention but I think he was pretty distracted and in awe of the sirens and ambulances all about the parade square. 

Everyone had a chance to try spritzing the powerful water hose. 

Riding the Red Rhino.

We received an education about the full fire-fighting gear (hard helmet, thick protective bodysuit, oxygen tank and safety boots with metal to protect their feet. I didn't know about the metal plates in the boots!)... & that's Jake in his hulk tee with abs (just as sart sart, in my opinion)

Chance to clamour into an ambulance. While we were there, there were two "turnouts"; their term used for a call - not sure if it's a fire - but the men were dispatched to the scene of incident to render assistance. The kids watched in awe as the shutters went up and ambulance zoomed out of the Fire House. 

Watched a demonstration of how the fire-fighters use the pole to exit quickly (that's a 4-man satay, haha)

Chance to ride the fire truck and climb all about on the inside

I think it was a morning well-spent and though we got rained out, it was still extremely educational and fun!

The husband commented that it's such an investment of time and commitment for the open houses to be held every single Saturday. I think it's great and I definitely appreciate the time that these men who are serving our nation take to spend talking to our kids and educating them (and us adults, alike). One key out-take I got from this morning was how we should not take our national safety and calm for granted; that while we can enjoy the peace and our daily lives with minimum fuss and worry, it's because we have men (all military alike, not just the SCDF) who are on duty to protect our home. 

The other is that there are people who dial 995 for fun, for mis-use and still, every single call gets attended to as an emergency and nothing ever gets taken lightly for. 

Kudos to these men, all men, and I can't help but feel thankful for our safe nation. 

Battered feet, part II

My bunions in its full glory, and if you notice the second toenail on both feet - are non-existent. Altogether now: Gross.

Part I here.

Snip snip

This little girl decided last Saturday that "I want to cut my hair". I asked and asked again to ensure that her mind was truly made up; and brought her to the salon. This is her, pre-cut. K has very fine hair. 

She requested for a wash and I acceded to her request. The weather has been so hot lately that you can practically feel the sweat beads forming on your scalp. She smelt a lot better after this too. 

Snip snip. Look at how adorable she looks. Still a little baby, nearly. 

Nearly finished, and she's feeling pretty happy. 

All done. I was rather reluctant for her to cut her hair off because I do like her with long hair, but I must agree that she looks fresher and still as beautiful as ever. She loves it and that's what matters most. 

June holidays fun activity

All geared up for the park!

Standing

Woah-ing

Falling

Little skaters - so cute!

& while the sister takes lessons, this little boy scoots about

K with her loving 爷爷

The whole exercise of having her start lessons was orchestrated by the favourite Grandpa. He's been talking about lessons already since last year, but K was too young to start lessons. So when the first opportunity rolled about. he went enthusiastically and signed her up! No complaints from working mom me, who obviously did not have any plans for her little children. So yay to 爷爷!

I hear feedback that she's very positive about falling and trying again (though she is, understandably very wary and scardey cat about falling - I would too!) so I'm very proud of her.

I love how Kate enjoyed herself and has made progress with her blading. She's taken a total of 6 classes (2 rounds of a 3-day blading camp; 2 hours each day) and I think it's time for the husband and I to bring her somewhere to show her new skills.

Cheers to new skills! And being active! And special thanks to my dad for being such a great sport in shuttling the kids to the park.

Now, to plan for more outdoors, fun activities for my kiddos...

Naughty corner

So. I think it's (hopefully) a developmental thing, but these two little beings have been bickering non-stop; and increasingly more as the days pass these weeks. Not sure when exactly it started, but it's been creeping upon us and it is at a point where it is obvious; and extremely annoying and painful for our ears.

I did not need this enraged outburst before 8am this morning, but oh boy, are these two little ones pushing limits! 

One child is whiney and needy, tears on demand; the other is forceful and repetitive like a broken recorder. 

So, just so we remember this and can laugh about it later (or now, in the sister's case): I offered them options for their post-park snack. There were two packs of strawberry Pocky, a chocolate Pocky and a chocolate Hello Panda. They both decided that they both wanted Chocolate Pocky - no go because there's only one. They started to argue and yell and cry.... both insisting they wanted Chocolate Pocky. The tipping point was when K, in her moment of anger, kicked a chair! That made me crack and yell at both of them to stand in the naughty corner. (!!!)

In this picture, both were weeping pitifully but I was so. mad. That they were arguing so annoyingly so early in the day; that they had to fight when there were options; that K dared to kick! (Though in hindsight, it's the same action when J lashes out to hit - physical reaction)

The story concluded by me leaving them to stand there for a while, then making them hug each other and I hugged them both with a (naggy) tale of how I love them both and they have to love each other. 

What a morning. They need to manage their bickering (probably when they are 50 years old) or the husband and I need to find a best solution to manage this within ourselves to retain sanity; or we will be in for a fun time when we travel together. Oh boy. 

Wedding proposal - on this day, 7 years ago

7 years. Seems a long time, but I remember vividly every moment on that dive and on that day, I was one of the luckiest woman alive. I felt on top of the world, and truly happy. And I am not exaggerating when I say that, because it was one of the most unbelievable experiences in my lifetime. I was caught unawares and overwhelmed by this extremely special "mission" that my then-boyfriend crafted for me.


Just. For. Me. 

I watch/think of this when we argue - it may sound funny, but it's true. We have been married 6 years and while the wedding day was special; it was the proposal that took the cake.

To the husband: every time I watch/ remember this, I remember how happy I felt. I remember every detail and you really made me feel extremely special. I remind myself how fortunate that I am to have this memory, a very special one that belongs to me, only me. So, thank you and I love you.

To those who have watched this before, allow me to indulge in this special moment of ours. To those who haven't, hold a tissue near, just in case.

Saturdate

With my beautiful firstborn. Doesn't she look all grown-up!
Pearls and keropok are a pretty good mix. #wedding

21.1 kilometres - 31 May

So, half a year ago, I decided to sign up for my second half-marathon. It was a calculated decision; one that was motivated by peers (a bunch of us signed up for it together) plus the fact that I wanted to do it again after my last half-marathon run.

I've been doing good, consistent training the first half of the year and I think that it's all paid off.

Pre-run. 

My colleagues and I - the halfers

So the run was pretty... good, generally. The first 10km was playing catch-up and clearing through the crowds. The husband led me through the crowds and we did a good job clearing through the first 3km (Nicoll Highway), and the route along the stretch of Tanjong Rhu was quite dangerous because while we were trying to cut through crowds, we had to run along the grass-path and I was pretty worried that I'd fall into a hole in the ground (thank goodness that didn't happen). Besides the rocky path, I think that's a part of the route that's really scenic. We were running along Tanjong Rhu, on the opposite side of Kallang Stadium and it was really beautiful. It also got pretty breezy at this juncture and we were running along a nice, straight, long path.

Then the route got a bit rocky, literally. From 10km to 13km, we were led into a construction area and there was gravel, rocks and poor lighting. It was not great. I was again worried that I'd fall. By this time (10km), there'd been about 3-4 water stations and I have stopped at each of them; but I started feeling rather full from the water in my belly. Maybe it was the cool weather too, but I felt clammy. My legs also started to ache and I knew that it's from the lack of long-distances during my training. It was also at this mark that I bade farewell to my partner-runner, the husband. I charged ahead while he said he'd catch-up.

The run ahead was quite a trial. I alternated water points because I felt uncomfortable from the water and slightly nauseous. My legs kept going but were achey. 14km was horrifying - there was a hill up the ECP *inserts puke face

I walked up the slope. It was a slow, trudge up. The winds were nice and breezy though.

It was 15km at the top of the expressway and it was nice and cool and I started to jog again. The scenery was beautiful here too. So pretty (on the top of the ECP between Suntec City and Singapore Flyer where you can see the Barrage and waters and all the pretty lights of the skyscrapers) that I contemplated taking a selfie. But I did not. I ploughed on and continued to run.... we ran down the ECP and looped around the Marina bend towards MBS. The last 3-4km were a pain. Not that literally (oh, my achey legs) but I was getting tired. We did a bend around MBS, past and around the promontory which was pretty boring because there wasn't much to see... and also because I was tired. I wished there were more gel stations for my achey legs; I remember applying some before this point in the Stanchart Run and it seemed to help.

I pushed through to turn the bend at the Esplanade and past the floating platform, around the bend to run beneath the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and finally, finally reached the finishing line.

Nope, am not purchasing this image but using it nonetheless. I WAS EUPHORIC!

Crossing the finishing line, for real!

Not a great picture, but the net time is 2:13:43.

I felt so awesome, truly. But so tired. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

And just because, I needed to do this. YEAHHHH!

This was my phone capture running with my Nike app. I felt like crying the third time we looped about the &%^!*$ Singapore Flyer.

I'm proud of myself. For the consistent training I've been doing, for the good shape that I'm in. I'm happy how running has kept me sane and for pushing myself to do decently well in this run. I shaved off 10minutes from my last half-marathon and I did not stop except to drink at the hydration stations and to move up that hill. Besides that, I kept at my run and pushed myself.

Well done, me! #feelingsokickassgoodaboutmyself