Little Miss K graduates from kindy

Saturday, 31 October rolled along. For months prior, this little girl has been super excited telling us how she's been practising at school and singing and dancing along to songs in preparation of her graduation concert.

 

Some observations of K through the course of her preparations and on the actual day:

1) She really fancies dancing

This has been apparent for years, where everytime she has a performance at school, you'll see that she practises quite diligently at home. She shies from dancing for us, but she will break out into moves and she will look at herself in the reflection/mirrors. To watch her commit to enjoying dance is a joy to watch and I've contemplated signing her up for classes, but there doesn't seem to be time - yet. I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to enroll her via the school programme next year, let's see.

 

2) She loves putting on make-up

Being the girly-girl that she is, K really enjoyed being the centre of attention and putting make-up on her adorable little face. For her rehearsals, the teachers went ahead to draw her face - and yes, I use draw her face - because it was so much. It looked like she was a 6yo trying on the SQ-style make-up with a huge amount of eyeshadow and it was just, all a lot. She totally enjoyed it though and loved the fact that she was all dolled up.

 

On the actual day of the concert, I applied make-up for her for the first time in our lives and it felt like such an intimate experience. She was so happy and declared it "the best day ever! I'm super excited and happy!"

 

3) She is loved

There was no doubt that the family - beyond just the husband and I - would go to her concert to support her, and for that I am thankful, for her to receive the love and adoration of a group of loved ones. She was cheered and to watch her chest bloom with pride (yet playing it cool) was too adorable to watch and I know that she will be a girl who will always have angels watching over her.

 

4) My little girl is growing up

I knew she was going to be wearing her graduation gown and receiving her graduation certificate, but what I had not expected was to feel that emotional. That moment where she strode across the stage confidently to receive her certificate, made my heart burst into a million pieces and I could not stop smiling. My eyes also watered up and it was one of the most amazing feelings, a mish-mash of love and pride and wistfulness, watching my firstborn.

 

 

Pretty in pink

Waiting for the concert to begin. It was held in the hall of my primary school and
it felt so strange and surreal sitting in the premise of my ex-school!

My little girl

The moment that made me cry - sniff

Dancing two songs, represented in the chinese immersion class

The performances fromo her class

Finale

Proud Grandma

Happy graduates from K2

 

Proud parents

It was an amazing day of accomplishment and I am so happy for my beautiful daughter.

Dear K, you have grown up to be quite a little girl. Your character is strong and I know that we still have a long way to go together, but you have come so far and done a great job. Your heart is sweet and I know that you can be an amazing big girl and Mommy will be here with you every step along the way. Congratulations on your graduation from kindergarten, we are so, so proud of you.

Love you always and forever,
Mommy

TGIF

Not been great at running the past month and though today didn't feel a lot like motivation, I was driven to run because we had good weather. The haze has really been such a pain to everyone's lives, impacting our days and ways where we used to take for granted. 

So, indeed today, a day where the weather cleared and the sun was up and the air was breathable - I had to do it or it would be a total injustice! 

And so this happened. May we all enjoy the good weather where we have haze-free skies! TGIF

Date night - restaurant week, Absinthe

Tonight, we had dinner at Absinthe as part of restaurant week's offering. The dinner was fine though there were areas to improve upon - in our opinion - in terms of service, food delivery timings specifically.

We had add-ons of fresh oysters and wine. I opted the set meal as part of the meal offering for restaurant week which had a tuna tartare starter, prawns in a cup (uh, I don't know the atas name for that but it really was seasoned prawns with some light salad), my main was choice of sea bass followed by dessert of a pear tart.
 

The husband did not choose the set menu from the restaurant week offering, opting for their regular dinner meal that consists of goat's cheese + tomatoes for starters, lobster bisque followed by foie gras, main of lamb and dessert of a strawberry cake. 

All in all, it was a bit of a letdown experience because the service was slow. I do appreciate the restaurant manager coming up to us to express his apologies as they are already aware of the tardy service as they are trying to manage the larger crowds due to restaurant week take-up, and while that is not the key reason why we are unlikely to visit again, that did play a part. The rest of it is the fact that for the prices we paid, I think it could be equally well spent on other choices that would be more unique, served mind-blowing (not just 'good') food. The ambience was pretty nice and romantic, if you fancy the dim lights, nice white table cloth, well-dressed servers kinda thing (uh, though for the record, both the husband and I spilt sauce on the no-longer white table cloth - oops).

Still, it was a nice experience and for the special price of $55++ (without drinks or add-ons) during a restaurant week's special, it's affordable enough and worth a visit. I think the husband and I both think that the best out-take from the evening was the fact that we both made an effort to dress nice and make a point of date night, and spend the few hours together, just us.

Thank you for the time

Love

My little boy, 3 years 8 months old

Terrific Tuesday

A night of sweat, talking cock and a heavy dinner. Sweet!

Post workout

Today's accomplishment:

• 10-min warm-up on the treadmill 
• 34-min BBG workout 
• 15-min abs video workout 
• Yoga stretches including splits, bridge and baby crow poses 

Totally deserve this coffee today

Sunday Reading

K's reading has improved tremendously in the last few months and I'm terribly proud of her achievements. 

She still needs guidance but when prompted she generally is quick to (1) discern the word based on comprehension (2) be jolted to remember the word form. 

This confidence boost has resulted in her reading more, sometimes on her own. I love to read and I love that she is picking this up. Hopefully it develops into more! 

So this morning, though it was barely 7am, I heard the two of them chittering among themselves and I heard them reading. J was going through his favourite story and reciting it by memory (he doesn't know how to read yet haha) and K was being the big sister correcting him because she can read. It was lovely 

Happy Sunday!

Heart-melting sights

30-minute workouts

So, even though I have signed up for the half-marathon taking place in less than 2 months, I've not been clocking much time on running. Since my last update in July, I haven't done too much! (7 runs in 3 months... oops)...

Statistics

 

I blame it on the haze (ok that's pretty lame considering the haze situation only arose in the last two weeks), but I think it's also because I have been occupied with different forms of workouts.

 

In between running, I do yoga. I'm not sure why I had not talked about yoga much before, but it's one of the best discoveries I made in the last year.

 

Truly, yoga is undeniably good for stretching! To counter the tightness in my muscles when I run, yoga has done good in lengthening my muscles. My flexibility has improved over time (despiate being pretty flexible) and I can even do a half-split 90% (I'm not fully fully flat on the ground, yet).

 

My first discovery (& elation) of half-splits about 3 months ago

 

Pic taken on Tuesday night this week, where I was all warmed up and
managed to get into this split position quite easily, and bend forward.
I'm still wanting to try to improve more by hopefully flattening my body
against my thigh!

 

Yoga has really helped me stretch my tight muscles, and when I do remember to breathe properly, I do find it very beneficial. It has improved my flexibility and I think it's all very good. It is also an extremely easy form of home exercise where I literally roll out of bed onto the mat and work up a tiny sweat; enough to kick my day off and feel good. Another huge benefit besides convenience, is how it has toned up my muscles; specifically my arms. The amount of chaturangas I do has really strengthened my arms slightly; but more importantly spread the weight I put on my arms and toned up both arms (whereas previously, I am mostly right-handed).

 

Definition in my arms

 

 

Another discovery of yoga is that the children have gotten used to seeing me do it at home. I recall the initial months where I tried to practise at home, they will come disturb me and twirl between my legs. Highly disruptive and I also felt rather embarrassed pratising in front of the family. Slowly, over time, it has become pretty normal and we're all quite used to it by now.

 

 

A random day where K did a drawing of me doing yoga (and she pieced together
the word -yo-ga on her own too!)

 

Introducing yet another form of exercise kids is a great benefit and they even started rolling around/ attempting several poses that they fancy. K in particular, is rather flexible and she takes pride in showing off her signature 'donut' pose (where she curls backwards and her head is able to touch her toes). We also do the bridge pose together where together, she and I form a rainbow - I ought to take some pics of these poses.

 

 

Little yogi - J somehow manages to get the chaturanga down pat! Amazing.

 

Besides yoga, I have aos, in the last six months, been introduced to home-style videos where guides are provided for simple exercises that you can do in your own home very comfortably! One of my favourite sources is the Fitness Blender; and recently I also started the BBG workout.

 

The first time I tried a BBG workout, I nearly died. My body went through some shock - the amount of attention I paid to my legs and butt was like never before and oh boy, I was in pain instantly.

Again, the convenience of these workouts is a huge draw for me. I can opt to do them at the gym when I go, else I do them in my living room. I recently discovered it's also possible to do these exercises in a bedroom! Slightly tight but totally possible. Over the past few weeks, I have cheated to modify the exercises slightly when they get too tough (lazy!) or troublesome (where will I go find two benches to use?) but the point is, I still get on with it.

 

 

4 rounds of repeat exercises

 

When I actually hit the 7 minutes (hah)

I was thinking back about my gym membership, where I was a member for 6 years before (2003-2009). I gave up extending it because it got pretty challenging going to the gym juggling two children and my different jobs - the location of the office also plays a part in how convenient it is for me to go to a nearby gym. While I enjoyed going for classes (favouries are body combat and body pump), I have by now, realised that working out is where you want it to be. Of course, I've adjusted my expectations with the amount of time that I have and having these new videos and guides that I can work on in the comfort and convenience of my own home, that's pretty awesome. I don't even need to wear nice workout clothes at home! I have put on pretty ugly / worn out clothes and mis-matched socks before... haha!

It's awesome that I've managed to embark on this healthy lifestyle, and I hope that the different types of workout options I have keeps me motivated to keep on going. It's true that it's a lifestyle change than a fad and how I've been using exercise as a great way to (1) manage my weight (2) tone up my muscles (3) feel amazing and honestly, it's (4) the best stress-buster/management method ever!

On this note, TGIF!

Happy birthday, my dearest little sister

There are many reasons to celebrate this special day of yours, my sister, and I hope the video this morning started it off on a bright and cheery note.

 

This post is dedicated specially to you on this day and it'd be a long one, pictorially, to list the goodness-much of you!

 

You come up with the craziest ideas of having the whole family do some
random butt/legs/squat challenge and we did, just because!

 

You were by my side, my pillar of strength and support through this sensitive
and emotionally-draining National Day period last year. For that, I thank you.

You are always so willing and able to help me with random fun things - like
hunting down these amazing masks that worked so well for our themed birthday celebration!

You do this.

 

You are my peer, joining my friends and I for drinks and funfare.

You not only help out, but create amazing centrepieces for my children's parties.

You do this.

You provide the best props #donutlife

You put in effort to organise family shoots so that we all get a chance to
look pretty and have these moments captured on print.

You are such a great gifter of appropriate and lovely presents!

You are my partner and motivation to exercise, being silly and
joining events with me for fun and laughter!

You help co-ordinate and bring mascots to parties and bring a whole new
level of unbelievable happiness! The 2yo-birthday parties of both K & J
have been phenomenal thanks to you!

You are my glutton-partner and we go to great lengths to
hunt down the best eats.

Though, we also try to balance life (and our weight) by working out together!

Together, we attract the worst stories of horror and semi-fear. Ah, the importance of needing
a manicure/pedicure. No one else will understand it the same.

You are blood but you are nearly becoming whiskey (huh) and you also help
keep our sibling sandwich intact.

You hunt down deals and we become celebrity status because we took a picture
with Wong Lilin #justsaying

You appreciate this.

We share similar tastes and things and sometimes that just rocks.

You do this.

You have unwittingly created a tradition for our family at Christmas,
where we cannot go without props or it will not be the same!

My daughter inherited your silliness.

You are my first picture on ig 159w ago. You keep my cool factor in check.

I love you. Happy birthday, my baby sister.

December is coming

Time is flying by SO quickly, that it's been just... nearly frantic.

Just very quickly, a list of things that's happening in December:

1. The brother's wedding
2. My first D&D with the company
3. My half-marathon (uh oh, the training lack thereof)
4. Our family holiday that was planned just last night! (Hint: our holiday destination!)
5. Christmas
6. The last school holidays before K enters Primary School
7. Wrap up to 2015

Gosh! Can't wait and here's a reminder to myself to enjoy each and every moment; to remember that the process and journey is as important as the final destination.

#mid-week reflections

Family portrait - by J

From L-R: Ah ma (grandma), Jake, Mommy, Cheche K and Papa.

Krabi, last day

We had to set our alarm clocks for this morning, after a very full day - of relaxation- on day 3 of our trip to Krabi.. We had to work our time backwards from pick up to go to the airport (10am) and include time for packing and eating etc, so by 8am, I was up getting ready. After all the indulgent makan, I had wanted to stretch my body out. However, while the balcony seemed a suitable spot for yoga, the mosquitoes were terribly fierce and buzzed about annoying me. I could not stay still in a position without being attacked! That kinda killed my plan of a good session. So I went ahead to wash up and pack my bits; then woke the husband up too. We had breakfast at the hotel.

My happy face breakfast

 

So I decided to engage the husband in a version of face-making too. I started with the whole face, leaving only the mouth of seeds for him to accomplish.

 

"Nah. I'm done"

I guess that does pass off as a smirk which - in all honesty - is pretty apt for the husband.

 

We finished off our hearty breakfast, then headed back to the room to finish packing and completed administration the likes of returning our rental bike, checking out.. and we were ready to set off for the airport.

View enroute home

We arrived home mid-day and had ramen at the airport. By the time we reached home, it was evening and it felt nice to see the kids. The family also came over for dinner and it was nice seeing everyone to catch up. One of the highlights - besides being reunited with the children - was seeing my newly engaged sister and her new bling! It was a nice and sweet end to our short holiday.

A lot of people comment that the husband and I always go to Krabi. True, we have been on many occassions like Jan 2014 and March 2014 and more... but I guess the place is very comfortable for us - whether we are travelling as a couple or if we bring the kids along. It's less hectic than other beaches like Phuket and because it's so near and easy to travel to and do things in, we love it. Some people may deem it boring, but a holiday is what we make it out to be and because Krabi is always a win for us, so that's why we always go back to continue building loving memories at a comfortable place.

So that's the one and only holiday that the husband and I had in 2015. Just a short and sweet one, after we started the year with a very long holiday to USA (that's very far away!).

Hopefully, in 2016 we manage to get away more - here's to planning ahead and hoping that everything falls into place.