I used to wonder how I would survive parenting when the children eventually all drop their naps. I expected the days to drag on miserably and leave me begging for bedtime to arrive sooner. Surprisingly this new phase of parenthood has blossomed out beautifully. On most weekdays, four-year-old Nathan goes to school. Which he absolutely looks forward to each day. While at home, two-year old Grace still naps for a good solid two hours. You get the best of both worlds with two-year-olds as they need a nap on most days, but can also stretch and skip a nap every now and then. On weekends, we sleep in and have a slow leisurely breakfast. And then we might head out to run errands or get groceries. Maybe round things off with a late lunch or afternoon tea. With Nathan lo longer needing naps and Grace being able to skip a nap sometimes, we can stretch the day longer as we no longer need to rush back for naps or time our activities around naptimes. On afternoons when we stay at home, we esta...

I haven’t shared a ‘ play ’ post for while here. But make no mistake that our days have been packed to the brim with play. We make it our everyday business around here. Here’s one of our favourite books we’re currently reading: Walter the Baker by Eric Carle (who also wrote the very popular children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar which I mentioned in this play post ) It’s a fun and engaging story about the invention of the pretzel. Not a historical true account of events. It was simply retelling of a familiar tale the author heard as a child. And the main lesson of the story I believe was about persevering through challenges. Even seemingly impossible ones. In the story, to avoid banishment our dear baker, Walter had to… “Invent a roll through which the rising sun can shine three times It must be made from one piece of dough and most of all, it must taste good!” After working all day and into the night, dear Walter finally did it (with some support from his loving family...

There are a few places from my childhood that still hold a special place in my heart. I call them the playgrounds of my childhood. These are the places that hold some of the happiest moments that still shine crystal clear in my memory to this day. For years I’ve been wanting to make a return trip to this particular childhood playground… Manukan Island . I still remember the very first time I stepped foot on that island with my family. I really believed I had stepped onto the most beautiful place on earth. **** I remember I walking along the newly constructed jetty for the very first time. I could still smell the lacquer on the dark wooden beams. I remember gazing in wonder at the crystal clear water below us. I could see right through to the coral reefs and the myriads of rainbow hued parrot fish, clownfish, butterfly fish, angelfish. I even saw numerous starfish and sea cucumbers lying on sand right at the bottom of the seabed. The white sand on the beach looked so clean and fre...

So earlier this month, my youngest brother finally tied the knot. And after ten years, we finally took a sibling group photo together (the last time being at my own wedding). NB: The long interval between my wedding and his is not in any way an indication of how old I am. It’s more likely an indication of how young I was when I walked down the aisle. Or maybe more likely an indication of how OLD my brother is at his wedding. It’s a big thing trying to wrap my head around the fact that my youngest brother is now married. In the same way I felt at my other brother’s wedding , I am faced with yet another new dimension of this person I’ve known almost all my life I now have to reconcile with. I still have the clearest images in my mind of him as a chubby, dimpled, bright-eyed little baby. I relished my big sister role with a baby brother to ‘mother’. I remember running after him, bowl and spoon in hand. feeding him rice porridge… reading story books out loud to him… trying to lift hi...