Baby Joan's 1st Month shower.

Attended Andy's cousin's baby shower today.

Our family very productive, every now and then have babies popping everywhere.

Baby Joan is Suzanne and Darren's No. 3!

 

 

Suzanne's home-made cuppies.

Personalised magnets for the guests

People with sweet-tooth like me love to have my cake and eat it too!



My fatty cannot slide down on his own, need my helper to assist.. LOL

Kidssss

Andy's poor uncle with the snarling babies.

More snarling babies.

Cousin Cristal with her daughter Adrinna and baby Joan.

I think Hubby doesn't want a daughter is it, because his expression like that. Hmmmfft.
Or maybe he doesn't like to take photos with me :P

Take 12431: Happy kids on a beautiful weekend morning is love!

Take 70652

My outfit for the day:
Cobalt blue ruffles blouse (old): www.polkadotpigs.com
Black shorts: MNG
Coral bag: Prada
Shoes: Ferragamo

This is my first Prada nylon bag and I love its good quality nylon, plus it is really lightweight and holds up well despite me putting my camera, water bottle and all my barangs.
You know lah, Aunty never go out underprepared.
I like this bag so much for its cheerful color and functionalilty.
Maybe I should get the black nylon gaufre tote as my work bag.

 

Okiesss I am heading to MBS for dinner now.

Bye and lovely weekend!

 

 

Do you travel without your kids?

The other night Andy and I were discussing a weekend trip to Bangkok for massage, street food and shopping when Adam chimed in and said he's never been to Bangkok before, can he come with us? Suddenly, thoughts of relaxing with drinks at the bar after massage are replaced by mental images of kidnapping and human trafficking. Needless to say, we shelved the plan.

Prior to that discussion, I had walked out of the shower and my kids pounced on me and stuffed a ball under my t-shirt. Adam asked me to have more babies as he loves babies, and asked if he can have babies.

Every evening they see me at the door, their eyes light up like a pack of lions who seen prey and I know my hopes for a wind-down evening is gone.
My kids are totally obsessed with me, I'm not sure why even though I'm a FTWM, but I guess it means I must be doing something right.

I gave up so many holidays for them - there are so many places I want to visit but I can't stand the thought of them pining for me (and me, for them) everyday till I'm home.

It's been years since we travelled alone, ever since Adam came into our lives. Therefore, I can't quite understand how some couples can go on vacations without their kids. Will I really enjoy my trip with a nagging worry for how my kids are doing so many nights without me sleeping by their sides?

I think the separation anxiety might just kill me.

But more than anything, I know my kids would never allow me to walk through the door, luggage in tow, without them!
Even a trip to the neighbourhood 7-11 becomes a family excursion.

I think holidays are out for the next 10 years.

 

Andy captured this photo of the boys and I. I had just stepped out the shower when they clung on to me, and Adam stuffed a ball under my shirt.

I have cling-wrap children!

 

Siblings are the first people who teach you that true love encompasses kinship, jealousy, fights, making up, and being in love all over again.

P.S. Contrary to the universal Law of Parenting, I love my kids.

Claypot frog leg porridge in cold weather.

We were with Adam at his swimming lesson when the skies suddenly became overcast and started raining. Looks like we'll be seeing less of Instructor Desmond for a while.

On a positive note, Adam can swim short distances without any aid now. I'm proud of him!

My weekly shuttling and waiting for an hour at the pool has paid off :)

 

Hubby suggested to have frog leg porridge on a whim so we drove to this porridge eating house in Hougang.

 

Sin Heng Kee PorridgeBlock 685 Hougang Street 61 (off Avenue 8) #01-150.
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 6AM - 9:30PM

My big baby is hungry after his swim and nap!

Our claypot frog leg porridge and raw fish slices are here!

Chunky, juicy frog legs.

I haven't had frog leg porridge in 2 years. #truestory
It was a good lunch, washed down with warm Milo. Perfect in wet weather.

Outfit of the day:
Orange blouse: Mango
Electric blue shorts: Cotton On
Bag: Chanel GST in Beige with GHW
Shoes: Ferragamo Bermuda jelly flats in Rose gold.
Accessories: Chanel pearl necklace, Rolex watch.

 

Starting the weekend with my dearest people.

With work, Adam's Sunday swim lessons, and the fact that it is logistically quite tough to bring both kids from the east all the way up to Woodlands, we have not visited my parents' in a long time.

 

My parents live in a quaint and old neighbourhood in Woodlands, with my big family of three generations consisting of my Grandma, parents, aunt, and my two younger brothers.

When we were young, my aunt quit her job to look after the 3 of us as kids because my parents were both working.

Although she was not our parent, she became both our father and mother when my parents were not around (they both work shifts), seeing to our homework and taking note of our exam dates.

She was also our maid and cook, doing all the chores without complain.

Subsequently, my aunt started looking after my Grandma a few years ago when she had recurrent falls and was in and out of hospital. Now, my Grandma is in her late 80s and uses the aids of a walking frame and quad stick to help her ambulate.

 

Today, Andy went fishing with his friends so I made plans to meet my Aunt for breakfast in my old neighbourhood.

My aunt with her "born-3-years-apart" twin grand-nephews.

Once in a while, I crave for this simple but comforting breakfast.



The neighbourhood barber, with its retro spinning pole, and the clinic have been around for AGES.

Dressed-down outfit for the day:
CÉLINE white tee from www.etsy.com
Denim shorts with rolled up hem: random online shop
Bag: Hermes Evelyne GM III in Etoupe
Purse: Hermes Dogon in Blue Jean
New high-ankled kicks with ribbon laces and studs: GAP
These shoes are made for running after my children, love em!

 

 

Since young, we have always treasured family togetherness.

We openly discuss about our problems at school/work/relationships and share our triumphs.

Although my family is not rich, my parents worked hard to put us through school and made sure we were not grossly in lack of anything compared to our peers.

 We did not have computers until I went to secondary school, my favourite game was Nintendo Mario and my brothers loved SEGA Sonic the Hedgehog.

We dipped Jacobs square biscuits into Milo as an after-school snack.

My parents did not parent-volunteer or do anything insanely extreme, we all went to the same neighbourhood primary school but both my brothers became Hwa Chung scholars and went to uni respectively.

I did not particularly enjoy studying but managed to obtain my Degree in the end.

There was no Wi-Fi but we played and talked to one another.

My brothers and I fought but we always made up.

Today, my children love playing with their two kao-fu (uncles).

My family has always, ALWAYS been there for one another - on occasions when Andy couldn't make it for my antenatal scans, my Aunt was there, for BOTH my pregnancies.

She has seen my lady bits and my boobs.

When we got the keys to our first home, my family was there.

When anyone was in trouble, we will always be there.

Your family are the only ones who will back you up!

 

We are very blessed and happy.

 

What do you remember from your own childhood?

 

 "Do not educate your child to be rich. Educate him to be happy. So that when he grows up, he'll know the value of things, not the price" - Anonymous.

 

The sound of silence.

Tonight, the only feelings I have toward my children are: anger, frustration, disappointment and resentment.
The kids have not been cooperative when I'm home, to say the least, but I dealt with them extremely well - I shouted at them on the top of my lungs until my maid also dare not talk to me.

I made the kids cry, but at least it made them behave for 5 minutes. 
In the first place, if they'd behaved themselves and not need me to nag 482619 times/hr, I wouldn't have resorted to screaming and cussing.

They fight over anything and everything!
They fight over a peach cut in half - which half do they want??! The one that the other sibling is having, duhh!
They fight over toys and they fight over whatever item the opposition is holding. Even an ubiquitous piece of Lego brick.

When it came to time for bed, both of them start tossing and rolling, and suddenly one child starts wanting milk, so I exit the room, and both kids start following me all the way to kitchen. I make milk, and chase Adam back into room while carrying Ashton.
Only this time, the other child wants milk.
Cycle repeats.

It must be some universal Law of Physics that children don't sleep and get a kick of sucking every ounce of their parents' energy.

If they are gonna behave like this for the next 2 years, I think I might have to rehome them.

source: www.weknowmemes.com

 

 

Megan's 1st Birthday

Wet weather has started here in Singapore which means our usual Sunday morning swimming lessons are shelved.

What to do with kids who are stuck indoors with ants in their pants?

 

Playing with bubbles! And staining the whole house with sticky bubbly soap in the process. Yay!

Until it's time for Megan's party of course!



At Megan's.

Ashton and Megan the birthday girl.

"I'd much rather inherit wealth than myopia"

It's getting harder to take a decent photo of Adam!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MEGAN!
Thanks for having us, Adam and Ashton had a fantastic time playing with all your toys.


You know age is catching up on you when instead of being invited to weddings and hen nights, you get invited to babies' birthdays and showers.

Ashton turned ONE!

Our last baby turned one. My baby is rockin' ONE year old!
When I first started producing my debut pink, squirmy little thing called a baby, I was only 25.
Now, I am 30 years old and my second born is ONE.

I remember when I had Adam, I was thrown into a world of uncertainty. Suddenly I was to become a Mom but I knew nuts about the world. I hadn't travelled the world enough. Heck, I hadn't even been out of Asia! I had to shelf my plan to do my Degree, we hadn't even applied for our first home, and among many other things, I was green in more ways than one.

I simply "went along with the flow" of things back then. Because my pregnancy with Adam was a complete surprise, I wasn't prepared at all.
When he was born, I was still staying with my in-laws because we only managed to apply for our own home somewhere in my last trimester when I was heavily pregnant and our home wouldn't be ready for the next few years.
So I delivered Adam, and did my confinement at my in-laws'.
My MIL cooked for me and did the washing and laundry. She had zero experience with using the steriliser, the correct way to hold a bottle, or how to use the bottle warmer. She had a thing about warming it too hot and made me paranoid about "killing the good stuff" because she said cold milk makes a baby colicky.
She thought my breastmilk was diluted and not feeding Adam enough.
She didn't allow me to bathe initially so I had to sneakily take a quick shower with the running tap when she was doing her marketing in the mornings.
She spent hours at the market on the day the cot was to be delivered (because Adam arrived at my Week-37 and we had to amend the delivery schedule ASAP as Andy spent the previous few nights sleeping on the floor. See, inexperience!). When the delivery man came to deliver our cot, I was breastfeeding a hungry Adam and was nearly naked on the top, fumbling with my latching techniques and a squirmy newborn, in front of a male stranger no less. The person who was supposed to help me with my confinement was nowhere in sight. Neither was the 50% shareholder who contributed his sperm to create our baby.
My in-laws' place is run-down and they don't have air-conditioning because they are afraid of rheumatism. I had to make do with a small rotating ceiling fan in Andy's room. 1 cot, 1 queen-sized bed, 2 dogs and 3 humans all in a tiny bedroom.
I had not washed my hair in 12 days. No wonder married couples with kids do not have sex.


Fast forward 3 years later, Ashton was born.
It was a much, much more pleasant experience this time round.
I was armed with experience and a "don't F with me I've been there, done that" attitude.
I specified that I did not appreciate visitors to my residence during my confinement as I wanted to recuperate after my 2nd-time Csect. If people had to visit, please arrange with us beforehand so we could anticipate them and make arrangements for my rest.
Most importantly, I also had my maid and MIL helping me out with the chores, cooking and child-minding.
This time round, I was treated like a Queen and it felt fabulous.
Everything went like clockwork - breakfast, rest, lunch, herbal bath, rest, dinner, rest.
I enjoyed my last birth very much and the pleasant experience made me enjoy my children to the max of my capacity.
It's not that I do not love Adam, I just did not enjoy the baby-bearing experience first time round since I was living with my in-laws till Adam was 2.

Ashton is my special baby.
With him, I take things very slowly because I just want to savour every parenting moment.
I'm not bothered about when he starts rolling over, teething, sitting etc. I know eventually he will get there.
I felt like he was meant to be in my life because he kind of balances everything.
He is the polar opposite of Adam! That is how the balance comes about.
As I said it before and will always say, Ashton is an easy baby. The type to feed and sleep and not fuss much.
He is extremely sticky to me.
He breastfed like a champ since Day 1.
He is quiet and reserved but he observes and is very much in tune.
He let everyone at his party carry him about and did not fuss or cry or even whine one bit. He is such a star.
He is our last baby and I want him to be a baby forever.

 

 

Ashton's awesome 3.5kg cake from Sweet Perfection.

 

We booked the entire of Peekaboo indoor playground at Kallang Leisure Park that evening and received about 80 guests.

Thanks to all our relatives and friends who made time to attend Ashton's birthday party, even though Kallang Leisure Park may be quite inaccessible to some.

Really appreciate all your time and effort!

 

P.S. Will share photos of Ashton's party when I get them from the photographer :)