Reminder in a Cup

When things seemed to be pulling me down, when it seemed like I was swimming against the tide,  I get a reminder :-)

Met someone for discussion at Secret Recipe last Wednesday. The waitress said that it was not intentional. Wow.
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Good to be home again

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Happy Mother's Day!!

It didn't feel like much, but we celebrated Mother's Day anyway because ... it was expected?

Got my maid to cooked some curry chicken and fried bee-hoon and took it over to Mother-in-law's house on Saturday. She has a fall a week ago, and hurt her back. Moving around isn't so easy for her. So we thought a simple celebration of home-cooked food should lift her spirits. I think it did.

My MIL is 84 years old. She's the kind of mom who gave everything, and expects nothing, and even when her kids wants to give back, she makes a big fuss out of it, and ends up making us feel unappreciated. Well, maybe after 15 years of me just brushing off her 'protestations' that she doesn't want anything, she gave up protesting. This time, she quietly accepted our gifts of food and angpows. Good improvement.

My mom - on the other hand - she doesn't demand too much - but we know she loves getting gifts from us - especially the monetary kind :-) I think this is healthier and makes for a happier dissposition. We kids, give what we can, and sometimes what we can't anyway! But then, how much time do we have? If we don't give now, then when?

I've heard it said before "No matter how your relationship with your parents was, you'll miss them when they're gone". I think it's true.

So, we had Mother's Day lunch at my Mom's - KFC, satay, a cake and some Haagen-Dazs ice-cream(!). Yummy! :-P

My kids gave me this :

See the card? It's a hint from the kids asking for another baby in the family!

And they did try their best to be on their best behaviour. Jeremy only cried once :-D

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A smile to brighten up my day

Whenever I go grocery shopping at Carrefour, Endah Parade, I always look forward to meeting him.

He always greet me with a cheerful smile, a happy 'thank you' and a wave of the hand.

He's none other than the guy who collects the parking fare.

I'm sure that despite his humble job, if he keeps his cheerful attitude, he's heading towards a great, happy life. All the best to him :-)

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Ramblings of a Mom

As Damian becomes a Teenager, the one person I keep having in my mind is ... my Pa.

 

I remember how Pa keep looking into the crib, but refused to carry such a small infant.

I remember when Damian reached his full-moon, and Pa awkwardly carried him and posed for a picture.

I remember how Pa said he gave up smoking because Damian was constantly coughing because of his allergy to ciggy smoke.

I remember Pa taking Damian and Marcus out to the playground so that my sister and I could have a little timeout.

I remember once when I wanted to cane Damian and Pa just whisked him away! Then I threatened Pa that if he doesn't allow me to cane that brat I will cane him [my son, not my Father :-D] harder!! But Pa just drove off to the shops and bought his grandson an ice-cream!

I remember when we first went to USA, how Damian, so tired from jet-lag was crying for his grandfather "I want my kung-kung. I want go back to Malaysia".

I remember how Pa used to save hundred of ringgit in coins and gave it to the grandchildren to be counted and divided amongst themselves. Pa was a good grandfather not only to my Damian, but to all his 13 grandchildren.

 Why the nostalgia? I guess... with kids growing up, I realised that I can't pause time, no matter how much I wanted to. I might have this desire to keep them small, to keep them with me forever.... but that's not possible. They have to grow up. They have to leave the nest one day.

 

Damian turning 13 is just one more step into that direction. I cant stop that, and I do not intend to. What I can do now is to continue to ground him, give him roots, and at the same time, strengthen his wings. He'll fly away one day. And I hope.... that he'll also learn to fly home once in a while.

 

Just like what Pa gave us......

 

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Chinese New Year

It's been a sweltering hot Chinese New Year.

It seems hotter than the previous CNY. Every year is hotter than the last. Global warming? Yar, that's what everyone's telling me.


Chinese New Year is quite different this year. Found myself blinking back tears many times, missing my Pa. Time has moved on. Yes, it gets easier, but sill missing him......

I had a great time going for get-togethers with family and friends. As on any festivity, we EAT, EAT and EAT some more!

Ate Yee Sang 7 times already this year!!  (according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng, this practice started in Singapore)

This is the 'Must Have' during Chinese New Year.

The sumptious 8 course Chinese Dinner is as usual too much. Too much rich, meaty food and not enough vegetables.

   Gathering my courage, I stepped on the weighing scales!!!! OMG!!!!

 
 


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Twenty Ten

2010 !!!!!

Ten years ago, many were talking about the end of the world! They say scheduled to happen when the clock strikes 12 on 1/1/00......

So....The world is still around the last time I checked.... although somewhat more polluted and aged, and technology has advanced humankind to the level where it's possible to send your kids (who happens to be just in the next room) messages on Facebook to tell them that "they better log-out now or else....", and it's easier to update your friends (and the rest of the world who dont give a peep about you) on the latest in your life, without having to take the trouble to call and chit-chat. Me - I'm GUILTY :-P


So... how did we herald in the New Year? With friends and food of course. We invited a group of couples (who attended the CMPC - Catholic Marriage Preparation Course - with us), intending to countdown together. The kids were so excited, and kept asking if it's time yet. We were chatting and sharing stories, and before we knew it.... we missed the countdown!!! hahaha. TV3 was 2 minutes earlier than the clock in my kitchen!!

Kids insisted on counting-down anyway!!! So we did .....  from 5...4...3...2....1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Hugs and Kisses all around!!!

Christmas

Christmas - Jesus' Birthday!!

Christmas Eve - the usual 'do' with my side of the family - but this year, my Father was not around. After everyone has gone hme, the kids said 'something' seems missing in the celebrations. Then we all got teary-eyed when we realised 'WHO' is missing.

Christmas Day Lunch with Anthony's side of the family. Quite a small gathering. Not everyone is here this year. My MIL was in Penang celebrating Christmas with her daughters. A close cousin was in Genting with her children and grandchildren.

Christmas Day Dinner @ my home. We're really blessed with so many friends who brought so much food !!!

Digging into the turkey drumstick. Yum!!!

This turkey was huge & yummy. Many thanks to Ryan!!!

Helping to blow out Jesus' Burthday Candle :-)

It's about making others Happy!! The Giver is happier than the Receiver!

Day after Christmas Lunch - Cousin's wedding. Eat again. Will be followed by the actual Wedding Dinner on New Year's Day.

Day after Christmas Dinner - Friend's 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebration @ The Armada Hotel.


Blessed,
So Blessed

Thank you Jesus.

PD Vacation Dec 09

Thanks to WSL, I found a way to upload photos onto blogger a lil easier :-).

Went to PD from 14 - 16 December for a well-deserved vacation (on my part, at least, i think!). Kids were so excited. We stayed at Tiara Beach resort, a water-park resort with slides and water-playground, sand-castling area and man-made beach.

We were here before in June 2007, and the kids liked it so much that we decided to go back. Looks like we were not the only ones who liked it here. They like it here too. In fact, they were swarming the whole place!!!

Except for the flies, we had lots of FUN!

Jumping straight into action!!

Making the Kids take a break at the Sand-castling area.

Night activites at Tiara Beach Resort

2 bedrooms Apartment. Kids had Fun 'sardined' together!

FUN at the REAL Beach

Dare-devils

Souvenirs from PD!

Hot Day

Heading Home

Now I need a vacation to recuperate from this Vacation! :-)

Kudos Damian and Marcus!

UPSR Results were out last Thursday (19 Nov).

As expected - 5As for both Damian and Marcus. (out of 87 students, 19 of them got 5As.)

Now we can all relax. The weeks before the exam.... the weeks after the exams.... were pretty torturous for Damian , and me! Damian - because that's Damian la. He allows his imagination to run wild with 'what ifs'.
What if he wrote the wrong thing,
what if he accidentally shade the wrong box,
what if he calculated wrongly.

And torturous for me - coz - he keeps 'what if-ing' with me!

One of his teachers was telling them about a student who didn't get the results she expected and she killed herself! I told Damian (the day before the results were out) that if he kills himself, I'll kill him!!!

So... UPSR so important meh? 5As so important meh?

On results day, one of the boys were seen with his fingers crossed, eyes screwed shut and chanting to himself "Pls let me get a C! Please let me get a C!" (He was expecting a D for his BM paper!)

Another boy who was totally not expecting it, continued to stare off into space when his name was announced as amongst those who has gotten 5As!

A girl cried coz she worked so hard for her BM, score the A, but then scored a B in another paper!

Seriously ... how important are the As? Yes, of course it's great to have, but seriously.....does it really determined our kids future?

Stephanie and Josehine is now worried that they can't get 5As. I always told them.... no need to compete with kor-kor. Be the best they can be. Always either do better or maintain their own standards. Good advice? And when they've tried their best (and don't get an A), I really think they deserve a reward for their efforts.

It's all worth it

Sometimes, something just happen out of the blue, and makes my day:

Jo - a Nurse?

I'm out of inspiration what to blog on. My life is currently 'boring'.

So I dug my brains/memories for some little 'stories' to share. This happened about 2 years ago when Jo was 7 years old.

We were at Children's Service in Church one Sunday, and the reading of the day was :

Matthew 4:18-20 (New International Version)
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

The teacher explained what the passage meant, and then in her cheery voice asked "So, who wants to be fishermen for Jesus?"

All the kids in the room put up their hands except Jo. I gave her a nudge. She shook her head and gave me a worried look. Then in a loud whisper she said "But Mommy, I want to be a Nurse!"

7 is such a blissful age........ :-D

Moving On

It's been almost a week since Pa left us.

On one hand, I know that it's a good thing. That he no longer suffers. That his illness was short. That we were able to take care of him in during the 3 weeks he was sick. That his kids manage to pay filial piety before he dies. That we were able to be by his side at the time he breathed his last.

Some people commented that the fact he died before breakfast (at 6.32am) shows what a considerate person he was. That he left all good things (and all his meals) to his kids. He was also considerate in the sense that he died on a Monday, thus allowing us to observe all the 7th-day observations (on 7 consecutive sundays). We kids do not need to take leave from work.

One thing I'm truly thankful for is my 2nd Brother-in-Law who took it upon himself to settle all of Pa's medical bills. He certainly did not need to do so, and I'm grateful for his generosity.

I'm also grateful that somehow with all our differences, we 5 sisters and 1 brother remain united. (We hear stories about so and so who has a fall out with a sibling etc etc or so and so no longer on talking terms with a family member etc etc.)

So many things to be thankful for. So many blessings.... yet when I go to sleep at night, all the emotions come crowding in, and I start to weep. My eldest boy told me this morning that he don't know why, but when he closes his eyes at night - he wants to cry. I hug him and told him "It's ok to cry. In fact it's good to cry. We must spend some time mourning. Then we move on...."

I also pray that my mom will also mourn.... and then move on. She's been living with him for more than 45 years... now single again. I imagine it's not going to be easy for her.

Is it July 4th yet?

On June 1st, Jeremy declared that he will be "good from today."

Why from today? I asked

"Because it'll be my birthday in one month's time."

He did try.... but he keeps forgetting and has to be reminded every hour or so.

He has been checking the calendar in the dining room almost everyday. To see if it's July 4th yet.

only 30 more days to go
only 22 more days to go
only 9 days to go
and suddenly today .... oh gosh! .... only 2 more days!!!

And we haven't plan anything for him!! (yes, I feel guilty)

He didn't ask for any party.

I think he's just hoping that when he opens his eyes on his birthday his fairy-godmother would have arrived and left him an enormous present. One that cost RM29xx !!

(we have this tradition in my family where the birthday kid will wake up and see presents on his/her bed. Everyone - mom&dad, bro and sis will give something, small or priceless!)

So today I frantically called on a few of my friends and asked if they will come for a pizza dinner on Saturday. Jeremy's so lucky to have all these sweet aunties who say 'Yes, I'll be there' even tho it's so last minute.

Good to be home

I went to Singapore last Wednesday and came back on Sunday 2am! After 5 days away, I was exhausted. Saw this:

Aren't they the best? Makes all the hard work so worthwhile.

Bye-bye Old One, Welcome New One

My Indon maid left today. Completed her contract with me, and we mutually decided not to renew each other. Initially she said she'll stay another year (which I was ok with), then a month later, she decided not to stay (which I was glad as well, coz her work quality is getting from not-so-good to really-not-so-good).

Woke up at 3.30am to send her off to LCCT. She shed some tears, hugging me, saying all those 'kam-tung' (touching) thank-yous etc. Well, on my way back from LCCT, I started missing her already. Well, she can be really clumsy, and most of the time in her own dream-world, but she did try her best, and the kids really do like her. In fact, when I got home in time to help the kids prepare for shool, D and Jo actually cried, saying they missed kakak.

My new helper arrived today! And OMG, she could hardly speak English and BM! So, I drew up pictorial chart for her, detailing what she should do everyday. And I think I will not be able to go out very often in the next month as have to train her to do things my way. She seems ok.

I've been fortunate with the maids - first with Erni, then with Sur. And I really do appreciate the work they've done - cleaning my home, washing and ironing, cooking and babysitting. Running a household is a lot of hard work, and somehow, they did it! Leaving me with the time I need to do what I have to do - running my business and being a mom - guiding the kids in their schoolwork, taking Happy out for a walk or cycling with them, etc!

Thank you dear maids! May God bless you!

Spring Cleaning

I received this in the email, and I really like it:

Last Week I threw out worrying,
It was getting old and in the way
It kept me from being me;
I couldn't do things God's way.

I threw out a book on MY PAST (Didn't have time to read it anyway).
Replaced it with NEW GOALS, Started reading it today.

I threw out hate and bad memories, (Remember how I treasured them so)?
Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,
Threw out the one from long ago.
Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought.

WOW, you should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND, I hadn't talked to in a while.
His name is GOD the Father, and I really like His style.
He helped me to do some cleaning and added some things Himself.
Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,
Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door.
I FOUND IT- it's called PEACE.
Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice, Looks good around the place
For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any space.
It's good to do a little house cleaning,
Get rid of the things on the shelf.
It sure makes things brighter;
maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.

BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

Bless someone. Keep the Faith!