Learning. Drawing. Dinner in a jiff.

Today, Alkes learnt to how move his butt down first when he is crawling onto the floor from the bed. This takes a while. Since he turns one (last Saturday... Seems like forever), he kinda grown up. Or, maybe it's just me. 

Astria finally has my permission to break in the new colour pencil sets that her yi ma ma bought for her during her birthday. She is using them to draw, what else but Elsa and Anna. The frozen craze is here to stay, for a while, I guess. 

It's Saturday. I have been looking forward to cooking dinner. Since the last meal I cooked was at least 2 weeks ago. With the dinner prep done in the morning, the actually cooking takes me less than 30 mins. I guess with a super clingy toddler at your foot, you will become super efficient. Food was nice, ahem, especially the Korean style fried pork. I am so glad the hub and the girls love it. And the little guy also seems to approve if it too. 

It's confirmed.

I will be on npl for another 6 months. This marked the 1st time in my life that I am jobless for a year. 

Freedom gained, but loss of income. Zero. Period. 

How relieved I feel once the decision is made. 

Am I escaping from the harsh reality? Probably. But the agony of going back to work, to the daily grinds is not something I looked forward. 

Here to newfound freedom, and hopefully a sense of calling to be a better mum. 

Celebrate This

It has been a while. And it's long overdue. 

It's your 5th birthday. Has been looking forward to it. The goodies bag, the celebration in school, the cake and especially the princess tiara and wand. 

I'm so glad the cake turned out well. And the tiara and wand are of a much better quality than I imagined. Ha. 

You have grown so much in the year. Much more mature, more disciplined. But of course the occasional slip. You are so sensitive and emotional. And yet so unaware of the environment. 

I often wonder how do you manage yourself in the bigger world. 

There are times when we think we are too harsh on you. And I really felt so sorry. Especially your cries really break my heart. 

But other times, you are beyond yourself. Totally uncontrollable and I feel like pulling my hair. 

I learnt so much from you. And am still learning everyday. Patience, communication and enigmatic. I'm totally humbled and blessed to have you. You bring such joy to us. 

Happy birthday, my dearest. And mummy loves very much. 

December Dailys 2013

Finally. 

Today I crossed off a few key items on my to do list. 

My DD2013 is finally completed. So glad I persevered. It was good to have an album dedicated to the month of December as we celebrate Xmas. 

But. 

A big but. I'm not going to attempt another DD for 2014. For a few good reasons. 

1. We don't celebrate Xmas in a big way. I mean, we have party, exchange presents. But yet, Xmas is just kept at that. There is no significant reason apart from the merry making. And, obviously, we are not religious in that manner. 

2. Once I started my DD, I kinda regret it. Well, ultimately it just gonna be exactly like PL. I don't find any creativity in doing it. It is probably more details and it exists in a separate album. And I spent well too much time on it. I guess, if I'm stuck with my PL, I would probably have an easier time. I don't even feel like taking a photos of it. 

3. I'm not a fan of all the Christmassy embellies. I find it hard to match with my choice of photos. Which are not exactly Christmassy in nature. 

4. Having said that, I'm thinking of doing a countdown to CNY album. Or, just focus on a detailed week in the life. We'll see how it goes. 

Anyhow, I'm so glad I am done with it. And yes! I can officially move on PL2014. 

Crafty Venture: Amigurumi Totoro

Yeah! 

After a few nites of endless counting and stitching, I'm done with my first ever amigurumi Totoro. 

Since chancing upon Sam huge amigurumi she posted on Instagram, I have been dreaming about amigurumi. My goal is to make a similar doll too. 

But on a safe side, I opt to start with a smaller scale, easier pattern. I'm glad I did. The success of completing one within a reasonable time frame is really a great booster. 

Well, to "make it happen", I have done my part (and spent some money) I ordered the recommended Clover Amour crochet hook, as well as bought enough cotton yarn. Just waiting for them to arrive on my door step 

It's a great sense of accomplishment (although not exactly a huge one)! It once again proven that I'm really quite crafty! Ha! Let's hope this crafty adventure continue. 

Stuck. Unexpected.

Sent the girls to CC. As per usual. 

But Murphy's Law set in. 

We were stuck in a jam. Super duper jam, to be precise. Totally unexpected. 

45 mins later, we made it to Changi ferry terminal for the hub to off load his office stuff. Let the girls come out to stretch their legs and walk about. 

It was a nice change. 

The air was fresh and clean. The breeze was cooling and comforting. This is NICE. 

But!!!! 

We totally forgotten about the CC breakfast timing. When the girls reached the CC, breakfast was over. The girls had to be hungry till lunch time. 

Totally guilty. 

(Note to self: always have a loaf of bread or biscuits for emergency) 

Reached home. Cannot complete any of the things on my to do list. 

Well, that's life. I guess. 

It makes everyday more interesting. 

I hope. 

Friends from long ago

Today, I had a gathering with some of my Uni friends. At the new suntec city. It's been a long time since I last stepped foot there. 

It has been a long time since we last met. At least one of them. So it was really great to see them again. 

It's amazing how we can just catch up from where we last left off despite the fact that we seldom meet. Or even what's apps for that matter. This is how wonderful friends are. 

           MX playing with baby A. 

From Uni onwards, we have moved on to different stages of life. But the bond is there. Still. 

Remember the time we used to share jokes and laugh over the slightest silly things. We had great fun exploring different parts of Singapore. The bonding was great. It's hard to find this kind of friendship now. I'm so grateful I have them as friends. 

Project Life 2013

Yes. 

52 weeks of memories captured in 2 PL albums. I made it. 

Started the PL journey in 2012. It was a good initiative. But come Baby A. All plans were thrown out of the windows. I stopped at week 39. 

I did not go back to finish up the weeks. But I did make a mini album to capture the highlights in Dec. My regret was I did not managed to record Jie Jjie birthday. 

I was scared to start PL in 2013. Knowing there will be a Baby in the plan. But because I love the kits too much, I just went ahead. So glad I did. 

What did I do in 2013 that was different? 

I set a day where I know I can be off early to scrap my PL. And I scrap when the girls are sleeping. This was getting easier.  Of course, the photos would have to be printed beforehand. 

So this work well. And come baby A. Things changed a little. 

I shifted my PL stuff to my mum place so I can continue to scrap in the morning. I am so grateful to mum to allocate a place for me. I work with limited supplies. And this helps a lot. 

Things get a little tougher when I started work and schedules are erratic. With baby A waking up frequently at night, scrapping at nights become impossible. 

I was a back by about 8 weeks. But I'm glad I completed the project anyway. Life little moments would be lost if not for Scrapping and Project Life. 

So here come 2014. This is week 3. And I have not done a single week yet. (I still can't get over my DD2013). I'm hoping I will be able to start week 1 and 2 by next week. We'll see how it goes. 

Same Old Same Old

It's another Saturday. 

Honestly, most of the time I dread Saturday. Well, since I have taken NPL, Weekends for me have become so busy. 

The girls are at home. The Whole Day. Baby A is with me. The Whole Day. 

I'm stuck at home with Mei Mei and baby A while the Jie Jie is having classes. Actually, I am really fine with staying at home. If I do not have to carry along a super clingy baby almost 24/7. 

I used to stay home with Mei Mei before baby A was out. I like to do little craft with her, or reading a book. But now that baby A is along for the ride, things changed quite a bit. 

Well, today was just another Saturday. We managed to pop by Changi City Point for a late lunch before the girls are KOed. And because of the late lunch, we had a super late home cooked dinner. 

The thing about taking NPL is I'm back to cooking dinner. I love cooking. But time is limited. To cut down actual cooking time (I can cook a meal in less than 30 mins) I tend to prep all the ingredients on Friday or in the morning itself. It worked well so far. We'll see how far along I can go. 

Amigurumi Fun

Excited. Can't wait to get started. 

Today I went for a amigurumi crochet class at Sam place. 

To start. I only knew the very basic of crocheting. But the lovely pics that Sam posted on Instagram got me hooked. I'm determined to learn amigurumi. 

It was tedious. It was daunting. It caused me to have neck ache. But it was FUN! And SATISFYING! 

I started with a revision of chain stitch, and move on to single crochet, double crochet etc. And finally comes the magic ring. 

Haha.. It was not as bad as I thought. Once I mastered the technique it was easy. ( not easy peasy kinda of easy, but not so tough kinda easy) 

At the end of 5 hours, I completed 1/5 of the amigurumi. But I'm so so inspired. Can't wait to see the completed doll. We'll see how it goes. 

             In the midst of it 

I'm a crafty person. Well, at least I think I'm into crafting. It's therapeutic, it's energizing, it's liberating for me. (And totally a new valid reason to buy new toy!) Ha...  

Good Read

DD 2013. Halfway, almost there. 

Girls uniforms. Ironed. 

Library books. Borrowed. 

I was reading through a few blogs and saw a great app for recommending books to read. Goodread. Great app. 

I like to say I'm very much into reading. But time doesn't permit me doing so often enough. Plus the fact that I feel the intense need to scrap, reading has been neglected. 

But I really like to take up reading again since I have slightly more time now. 

So today I made a visit to the library with the intent of borrowing some books of my to read list. 

To confess, I had a hard time choosing books to read. I read books largely based on recommendation and bloggers book review. So good read is really a good apps for me. Ha! 

Anyway, I found a couple of books on my list and a few more that caught my interests. I would have borrowed all if not for the time constraints I had. 

If time permits, I would probably do a book review on those books that I read. Yes, if I ever find the time. 

A side note. I love our library. It has a good variety of books. But it is so damned difficult to get the popular books. Imagine the queue on reserve is already at 40?!! When will I ever had a chance to read the books?

Anyway, just a thought. Happy reading. 

Actually, it can be done.

14 Jan, Tuesday

MRT ride, taken. 

Bus ride, taken. 

Promised the girls we will be taking the MRT back from ICA. And so we did. 

Now the girls are bigger, it is much easier now. Used to think it's very difficult bringing them out alone. But we did. 

The girls enjoyed the MRT ride back home. They took turns and counted the stops back Pasir Ris. It's a little noisy, but thinking there isn't many passengers around, I guess it's okie. 

It's such a simple act, but they literally took it like an adventure. It was such joy to watch. Haha... 

Tired but Satisfied

Floor swept and mopped. 

Laundry done. 

Hub overall sewed. 

DD 2013 prepped. I know this is a tad too late. But I finally get to that. (Note to self: DO NOT do DD again) 

After a restless night with baby A waking up at least 5 times in the middle grinning at you, my body is screaming for a break. I did, reluctantly. 

Now is THE time for me to get crafty. It's now or never. Ha! I don't want to waste a single minute sleeping. 

Started on my knitting frenzy again. Sometimes, I wonder what the purpose of knitting in the sunny Singapore? Ha. I found the use of it. (That will be another post, I'm sure) 

Anyway, after a failed attempt at baby a beanie. Correction, the beanie was successful, just couldn't fit into baby A head 😁, I attempting just another knitted hat for Atria. 

Still in progress. Should be done by this week. I hope. 

Grateful

Toys cleared. *partially at least*

Dinner prep done. 

Chinatown checked. 

Yesterday. 12 Jan. 

We brought the kids to Chinatown despite the rain and the crowd. Something we thought was near impossible in the past with only 2 girls or only one then. 

But we did. 

It was short and swift.

We headed for lunch once we reached. That was a good move. Once everybody tummy were satisfied, the sky cleared too. And it was a good time to start walking. 

And we did walk though the crowd. Oh my! How I miss this.

I used to go Chinatown during Chinese New Year with friends. Love to mingle in the crowd and soak in all the festive spirt. CNY is easily my favorite festive! But it had been a long time. 

With the hub holding on to the girls, baby A in sarong, we managed a short walk looking at various CNY goodies and decorations. 

The hub was good. The girls has fun choosing new year goodies to buy. And we also tried several biscuits that were on sale. The girls were happiest when they got to chose their own candy. And Baby A was so tired, he fell asleep in the sarong. Haha... 

Then the sky darkens. And it was time to make a move back. 

Although the trip was pretty short, I'm still grateful we made it. It was awesome bringing the kids around, and doing what we thought was almost impossible in the past. 

Holding On

Dinner cooked. *huge achievement* 

Stroller tried. Phew! 

Survived yet another Sat. *hurray* 

Honestly, I'm not that great a baby sitter. I cannot envision myself caring for the baby and my girls 24/7. I go bonkers first. 

Yet, I decided to take NPL this year to give it a try. (More like an excuse to scrap more, which I LOVE!!!!) 

Baby A is so clingy to me. And he loves being snuggled. Which is fine, honestly, if you are not suffering from perpetual back ache and are so sleep deprived. 

I cannot wait for the day when he can sit on his own and sleep by himself. 

And yet. 

I'm reminded by a colleague that baby A will only be baby once. And most probably my last baby. The time will come (pretty soon) when he doesn't need me or want me to snuggle him anymore. 

So, here to more back aches bad sleep derived days. I'm holding on to these previous little times when baby A needs me. And spending times with the girls too. 

Soon, and I think very soon, they will find me a nag and won't want to be hugged anymore. 

Middle Child Syndrome

Is it true? 

I'm a middle child. 

Growing up, I never felt included in my siblings play. I didn't share their common friends. I went to a totally different school from them. I chose a total different path. 

As I entered adulthood, I was kinda detached from the whole family thing. I learnt to be independent. Doing everything, if possible, by myself. I often wonder why do you need to burden others with your own chore? 

I'm the odd ball. 

Now, as I looked at my own middle child, I wonder. Will she become what I become? 

I feel guilty. I have not spent time interacting with her. We are so glad she is able to play on her own. But is it good for her? Will she be as detached as I become in the future? Uh uh. 

As we journeyed ahead as a family of five, I just hope I have the ability and the energy to give each child their special attention.