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Category: Little Joys in Life

小小宝贝’s bedtime story

小小宝贝’s bedtime story

This feels like a déjà vu. When 宝贝 was around her brother’s age, we used to have bedtime talks. But nothing as violent as sumo wrestling, just pure talking.

Now it’s 小小宝贝’s turn. My children are all born chatter boxes. They started talking before they could walk.

We just started putting both of them to bed in the same room. Whilst 宝贝 is a wonderful sleeper (thank goodness!) who doesn’t wake up unless there’s an earthquake, 小小宝贝 doesn’t go to bed on time, gets up early and hates to sleep unless he’s forced to bed.

宝贝 has already fallen asleep. I was pretending to be asleep. 小小宝贝 was lying on his bed with his sister’s rabbit soft toy (named zhashi) which he has abducted and proclaimed that it’s his henceforth.

Deciding that he’s bored and not the least bit sleepy, he suddenly sat up with the rabbit in his arm.

“Zhashi is climbing up. Window is dirty. Zhashi clean window.”

I peeped at him discreetly.

The rascal was standing on his toes with his bunny at the window grills. He’s staging a “play” which revolved around a rabbit cleaner. ?

“Zhashi climbed high high. Aiyo! Zhashi fell down. Zhashi is pain pain.”

Then I heard sounds of mock crying. Waa..! Still have sound effects! At this point, I almost laughed out loud. It was so difficult to pretend to be sleep, keep a straight face and not laugh at his antics. He was rubbing his eyes, pretending to cry…

“Zhashi is tired. Zhashi sleep.” He gently put the bunny down on his pillow and covered the bunny with his own blanket. And laid down beside it.

Oh great! Finally he’s finally going to sleep!! ???

Within 5 mins he sat up again. Argh!!!! *pull out hair* ????

宝贝’s arm was dangling down from the side of her bed. He’s sleeping in a pull out between the wall and her bed. So her arm was practically beside his face. Too tempting!

He put his own hand in her hand and shook her hand. And laughed to himself. Then he started playing with his sister’s fingers. “1,2,3,4,5….” Then giggled to himself for reasons unknown to me. Then he started getting bolder and started tugging at her and pulling her hand.

Sigh! Why me!!

I sat up. And he stared at me in horror and screamed, ” no no! Mama sleep!!!”

“No! YOU sleep!”

With that I brought him down in a sumo hug, legs scissors crossed over him while he struggled. After 5 mins of screaming and struggling (amazingly, 宝贝 slept through the ruckus!), then all was quiet.

Mama 1 小小宝贝 0

Grapes or Blueberries?!

Grapes or Blueberries?!

Can you tell? Are they grapes or blueberries??

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I bought this box of amazing blueberries from cold storage. They were double the size of regular blueberries! In fact, they were as big as the grapes!

And the best thing was, they were succulently sweet!! Yums!

Ming Ming’s Diary – My First Lou Hei

Ming Ming’s Diary – My First Lou Hei

Massive backlog on my diary… What to do… Small fingers I have. It takes me very long to blog a post. Please bear with me!

2014 cny eve

Yesterday evening I had my first Lo hei!!

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But I was too tired to Dayre about it. My normal bedtime is at 630pm. By the time Mama and Papa brought me home, it was almost 9pm. And me?? I was already in Lala land.

When I heard we were going for a Lo hei I was expecting something black (黑黑)but it was so colourful.

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The waiter was chanting some prayers as he poured the ingredients onto the plates. I saw his ???splatter into the Lo hei. Eeeks! So I didn’t eat any, smart baby I am.

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Then all the adults used their chopsticks to toss everything and more chanting and more saliva!!! ?

Ah..! Now I know. That’s Lo hei!!!

My Jie Jie said her fruits tasted better than the Lo hei. There she was. Eating the fruits.

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Pretty babe right? I’m so proud of her. Anyone who wants to date her will have to go through me!!!

Let me see…. I like to drink milk!! Lots of milk. You will need to bribe me with milk then maybe I’ll consider introducing her to you. ?

And me? Haiz. I forgot to bring food. 1st time at the reunion dinner. So noob. Next time I’ll remember to bring my own food like my Jie Jie.

I can only play with my limited edition toy car.

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I got bored with my toy car after a while. Hey! Adults take so long to eat their food. Sheesh!!

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I had to walk around on the chairs and remind everyone to hurry up!! It’s past Ming Ming’s bedtime. Omg!!! It was way way past!! Hey I need to sleep so that my brain can develop!!! You are making my iq drop by a few notches!!!

Why is your mouth so small?? Like a guppy?? Open it bigger!!! Like this!! RAWR!! Eat faster!!!

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I need to go home for my princely sleep. *yawn*

Affordable Art Fair 2014

Affordable Art Fair 2014

I wanted to blog about 小小宝贝 but my phone memory is down to 0mb. Can’t take anymore photos with it. ? So I’m clearing my photo backlog.

Nat gave me 2 tickets to the AAF. Turned out that the person who was supposed to go with me couldn’t make it. Tried asking the people around me.
1. Wanted to go but not in SG or had prior appointment.
2. Eee! Simi Lai eh?! Art fair?? – cultural desert – you know who you are. Don’t want to name you niah!!

So I went there on my own. I used to wander into art galleries (well, pre-children days). Now I hardly have the chance to do that. So I thought I should take a day off. And maybe buy an art piece or two since it’s supposed to be affordable.

But, boy! Was I wrong! I should go to EAAF (extremely affordable art fair) not just AAF. Still out of my budget. ? I still can’t see myself forking out a few grand for a piece of art. I need to work harder and make more money. Nevertheless, I saw some paintings that I liked, some interesting ones and some which left me wondering, huh?! Like that also can?!

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This was the “huh! Like that also can?!” Expand it on your screen, yes, you are right! It’s made up of Lego figurines! And guess what was the price tag?? A whopping 10 grand!!! I counted. 330 figurines. I’ve already started my Lego figurine collection. Soon I’ll have my $10k art piece framed and hanging on my wall. Cool yah?!

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This one?? Just kidding. It’s an art piece by 小小宝贝.

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That’s the little artist hard at work. But… Kid you not! Some pieces really looked like that! I could have it up for sale and market him as the prodigal baby artist and make him work for his education fund.

Or else an abstract piece like this by 宝贝.

Preschooler drawing

Anyway, here are some which I liked or found them interesting.

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I like round and colourful things. This fits very aptly. Nice right? But I can’t afford it. So I snapped a photo of it for memory’s sake.

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This interesting dress was made out of a map on the contours of the Himalayas.

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Robot faces made from tin. Very retro!!

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That’s the joker on his motorbike. Muahahahah!

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Abstract looking Big Bird.

What? I like kiddy stuff?? Ok mah! Relieving my childhood!

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Colourful dog sculpture!

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Rush hour! Kind of reminded me of raffles place during peak hours. I like the layering of the pieces and the bold red and black colours.

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I like these 4 paintings depicting famous scenes in Singapore. The paintings were made up of only vertical and horizontal lines. Dabbed to form the images. Cool right? Within my budget but too bad.. Sold by the time I got there. I particularly liked these 2.

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Now this one… I really liked it a lot.

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It’s a marker drawing with clean lines. The central figure pushed past all obstacles, people to emerge from within. That’s my interpretation. I stood in front of it for the longest time ever. I went off to dutifully cover the grounds and then I came back again. But I couldn’t see myself shelling out 7 grand for that. I took a photo of it and forwarded to hub “nice or not?” “7k leh”

The reply was “you siao arh?! 7k for that?! You come home now! I draw one for you!!” So story over Loh….

Still, I’m looking forward to AAF 2015!

Ming Ming’s Diary – Cool Little Dude

Ming Ming’s Diary – Cool Little Dude

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Hey dude! Don’t I look cool? I tugged half my buttons off while Mama was getting Jie Jie ready for school.

She turned around and exclaimed, “Aiyo! Ming Ming! You look like a Sam Seng!!!”

What’s a Sam seng? It must be some singlish slang for hamsum.

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Huh? I have moobs and a paunch?? I’m not some dirty old uncle. These are hidden muscles, the potential beneath, yet to be unleashed.

I’m a baby! Babies are meant to be cuddly!!! So these are my cuddles!!!

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Too cute for words?? Aww..!! Ok ok. I’ll dress up. Wouldn’t want my cuddles to be pinched. It’s already bad enough that strange aunties pinch my cheeks everyday and exclaim, “so cute…!!” Can’t they just say it without pinching??

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Ssshh! Let me finish reading my book first. I’m reading ahead so that I can go to school and impress the babes with my profound vocabulary. It’s important to be learned and Sam Seng (singlish for hamsum ya??) at the same time.

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? Mama! I want to go to work with you! Pretty please!? Don’t leave me behind!!! Pulease..!! (Watery eyes)

Doraemon Christmas

Doraemon Christmas

Walked past this Christmas tree. Just couldn’t help snapping a picture of it.

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My childhood favourite manga and anime. Just makes me happy thinking of it.

Little things that gives joy! Made my day!

101 Sleeping Positions – Position #3

101 Sleeping Positions – Position #3

I haven’t been posting 小小宝贝’s quirky sleeping positions. So here goes.

He started off sleeping in an orthodox manner – head on small pillow, feet pointing towards the bottom of the bed.

At this moment –

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There were a few transitional positions before he arrived at this one. He was virtually going 360° on the bed. Mind you, it’s a king sized bed. And the “debris” strewn all over the bed due to his cartwheeling moments.

Now he’s ended up on my side of the bed with his “dirty” feet on my pillow. Hmpf!

Just have to kick him back to his side of the bed.

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My sweetie sleeping soundly. Poor little guy’s battle scars from a recent mosquito attack. I’ll miss him sorely when I transfer him to 宝贝’s room. But we need our bed back!

Singapore – This is Home Truly!

Singapore – This is Home Truly!

9th August – This day, every year, I feel proudest to be a Singaporean. This is the day when all political parties set aside their differences and celebrate as one country.

This is the day the whole nation waves flags at the national day parade or sits glued to the television watching the live telecast. (Oh and the day you find the social media filled with proud declarations of Singaporeans!)

On this day, everyone waits for the arrival of our MM Lee Kwan Yew and cheers exuberantly as his face appears on the screen. I look forward to see him for more years to come! Yes! Call me a LKY die-hard fan for he’s truly an enigma and has worked relentlessly with his comrades til today to propel Singapore to what we are today!

9th August is the day when I look back and be thankful that

– I was born in this country where everyone, regardless of race or gender, is given an opportunity to receive education and to excel if one truly works hard.

– I can walk safely (still with vigilance) at most times of the day, free from fear of war.

– I can travel to many countries in the world easily without the need of applying for a visa.

– I can arrive at Changi Airport close to midnight and still marvel at the life, vibrancy and efficiency of a world class airport.

– when I see the homeless in developed and developing countries, Singaporeans have basic shelters over their heads.

– when friends from overseas complain about their social welfare system supporting parasites who refuse to work, simply because of the generous dole payout, to know that Singaporeans still strive to support themselves. Although I do acknowledge that more can be done to help the ones who have slipped through the holes of social aid.

So, everyday, while we bitch and complain about our jams, mrt breakdowns, expensive car and home ownership, I still look forward to the first glimpse of the Changi control tower as the plane flies towards Singapore.

This is where my family and friends are. This is home, truly.

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Sunday Morning Snapshot – Giant Snail!

Sunday Morning Snapshot – Giant Snail!

Sunday. Rain. ?cool weather.

Lounging at the dining area, watching the raindrops ? splitter splatter on the balcony, when we spotted a brown patch on the wall.

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It’s huge! Check out its size in proportion to the plastic milk bottles on the bottom of the picture!!

There were lots of squealing and exclamations ⚠️⚠️. Because we are a bunch of suaku urbanites. Even though my childhood was spent catching tadpoles, grasshoppers and other-unnamable-bugs in the gardens, I haven’t seen such a huge snail. The ones I’ve seen were usually half its size or flattened ones.

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Check out a close up shot of it! What a beauty!! Ok ok it’s not exactly a masterpiece shot. I was carrying a wriggling 小小宝贝 (who happens to weigh 11kg and was excitedly waving his arms and gesturing at the snail) with my left arm, and trying to snap Mr. Snail from an awkward angle so that it’s not against the light. So, ya, that’s the result of it.

One of the little things to appreciate in life. Taking time off to smell the roses and snapping snails.

Coincidentally, 宝贝 and I are in the midst of reading this book – the snail and the whale.

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A fine good read by the same author who wrote the award winning “Gruffalo”. Beautifully illustrated with a simple yet thought provoking storyline and wonderful rhyming words. How a whale brought a little snail on an adventure around the world and how that tiny spelling snail eventually saved the life of the huge whale.

Moral of the story : Spelling is important. Every creature counts, even small little ones.