Phew! So we just got back from our two week holiday in Singapore for my brother’s wedding and an indulgent trip in Bali. Nathan and Grace played very important roles as the ring bearer and flower girl at my brother’s wedding in Singapore. So much to share with you guys. I have hundreds of photos to sort through and will post some highlights up once I’m settled in and back into my usual routine. But first, I have a very sad but important story to share. You see, our recent holiday ended with a bittersweet tone. We flew home on Sunday the 10th of May. Mother’s Day. We didn’t plan anything extraordinary for the occasion as the entire holiday had been exciting enough as it is. We just wanted a chilled out, drama-free journey home. After checking in our luggage, we wandered around the terminal in the duty-free shopping area. And then, something caught my eye. That navy-blue Longchamp bag. Just yesterday I had seen a fake version of it at one of the markets in Bali. It was a prett...

So Christmas came early for me this year in the form of a shiny new hardback set of this well-known saga . As some of you might have known, I only recently discovered what the whole Twilight obsession was all about less than a couple of months ago. I happened to catch the first movie on TV while I was surfing around the channels one Saturday night and got sucked into the story. I know, I knoooow… I am like soooo late for THIS party that I am arriving after the whole thing has long died down. Yes, I have heard of the Twilight Saga, but for one reason or another, the whole thing had evaded me somehow. It wasn’t because I was anti-Twilight or something. I was just probably busy with other things at that time while the whole party was going on. Hubby must have obviously seen how captivated I was by the series. Being the sweet man he is, he quietly went and got the complete set of books that the movies were based on. Apparently it was no easy feat tracking down these books as I was re...

So today marks the momentous occasion of my tenth year anniversary of being married to my dear hubby. I meant to write a big epic post for this special day…. but I’m finding it all quite overwhelming. Ten years! My goodness! What can I say? I remember a conversation I had with my parents on one occasion. I asked them “ Does it ever get any easier? ”. Their answer: “ No, not really! ”. After over 35 years of marriage, apparently there are times that they still can get hopping mad at each other and they still drive each other crazy sometimes. Image Source So for us, after a decade of marriage it certainly hasn’t gotten any easier. We sometimes still argue over petty things or even disagree over more serious matters. I still can get hopping mad at him at times. It’s crazy how someone you are so crazy about can REALLY drive you crazy sometimes. But one thing I can say is: It’s better. Not easier. But better. It’s still at uphill journey. But with each upward step we take, it j...

A few weeks ago on one ordinary morning, three-year-old Nathan happened to notice our wedding photo on display in our dining area. That photo had always been there but for some reason, it was only that day when Nathan really took such an interest in it. He asked many questions about it. Why are you dressed like a princess mummy? And why is daddy like a prince? Because that was when mummy and daddy got married. Why? Why do you want to get married? Because mummy and daddy want to be together. Why? Why do you want to be together? Because we love each other. And so on, and so on… (as you can see, we are very much in the thick of the “whys” over here). It was actually the very first time he was asking about the concept of marriage. So I brought out our wedding photo album to show him. He spent ages fully engrossed in poring over each photo. This morning Nathan asked a lot of questions about our wedding photo hanging up on display. So I brought out mg wedding photo album for him to ...

How did you spend your Valentine’s Day? Hubby and I were home bound (by choice). We don’t really like going out on Valentine’s Day anyway as we’re not big on crowds and over-priced menus. And I really do enjoy just chilling out in the nice hangout spaces we’ve created in our house. Plus we have everything we need for a romantic evening.. wine, chocolate, a plush couch and each other. After we put the kids to bed, we watched a movie (‘She’s All That’ - a classic from the 90s), chatted about random stuff and then later hubby taught me how to play poker. It was fun coming up with silly bets and bids. The bets soon escalated into the raunchy zone, but that’s strictly between hubs and I. Hubby wrote me this ‘poem’ for the occasion which got me all smiley and gooey inside… What I like about you… I like holding your hands I like to watch you sleep I like to listen to you describe your day I like the way you encourage our boy to share about his day I like the way you teach our kids I li...

Where we were nine years ago… And where we are now nine years later… A marriage motto: We are a work in progress with a lifetime contract {Phyllis Koss} We’re still a work in progress, but happy to be working alongside you… Happy Anniversary, honey! **** Linking up to Sakura Haruka , Little Drummer Boys and Twinkle in the Eye   P.S. On how we first met . A smashing love poem . And is it okay to go to bed angry ?

I suspect I might have a serious case of Folliculaphilia . Folliculaphilia \ fol-i-k uh -la-fil-ee- uh \ verb A person who is only attracted to men with a moustache I don't know about you, but I've really been digging the current trend in Hollywood of male celebrities sporting beards these days. Hubs always gets a heavy five o'clock shadow every second day. On weekends, by Sunday night he'd be looking absolutely grizzly. One day on a whim, I told him he should try to tidy up his weekend scruff so it still looks casually neat. As expected, he didn't want to bother with it at first... so I might have thrown in some bedroom promises to seal the deal... maybe, the details are all somewhat hazy now. I even googled different beard styles and how-tos so we could select which one to go for, and shared a few giggles over a few wacky facial hair styles . But in the end, he got the razor and clippers out to fulfil his end of the deal. It's weird. I never thought I'...

My dad recently shared this amazing story of how he recently discovered an amazing family connection as a result of our little family pet project of chronicling our family history. An extract from the family genealogy book being compiled by my recently discovered long-lost grand uncle On the way to work this morning, I was recounting the story to hubby. I remarked how amazing and mind blowing it was to discover this whole long chain of connections and historical roots. After listening to me go on and on about it for a while, when I paused for a second to catch my breath, hubby commented, “ You know, somehow I don’t think my own father’s side of the family would want to share their family history… in fact I think it might even make them a bit sad to talk about it. ” Then hubs went on to say, “ Come to think of it, I myself don’t really see what the big deal is… I mean, why is it so important to know all this family history? It’s just information; I can’t do anything with it. ” T...

I recently watched the latest Wong Fu Productions video: The Last . It’s really good. If you haven’t already watched it, you should. The video takes the viewers through the story of five different aspects of love . Who we love. What we love. When we love. Where we love. Why we love. The aspect that gripped my heart the most was the one about Why we love … Why I loved was a close friend of mine who passed away. She told me after she was diagnosed that death was not what saddened her the most, but the fact that she never really felt like she had fallen in love. She wouldn’t get to have them emotions, good and bad, of being hurt and of being held. After she passed, those words stuck with me the most, teaching me to see that one of the great gifts we have of being alive is the ability to give and receive and even lose love. There are so many like her, whose lives end before having any of those experiences. What a waste if we don’t strive to love in our lives. She made me understand wh...

Why is it the worst flare ups always happen at the worst timings ? Like late at night or before bed. Worst still, having an early start or an important meeting the next morning. It’s exhausting, mind-numbing, frustrating, stupid, inconvenient and just plain unfair. I hate it. Yet I cannot let go. I’m one of those folks that would rather plant my flag on that hill and die there. Kamikaze style. So… Question : Is it OK to go to bed angry? I’ve read various conflicting views on this and both sides appear equally convincing… I know sometimes we need to call a truce or ceasefire , but at the same time I don’t want to die from a heart-attack or stroke in the middle of the night (due to going to bed still hopping mad) “ There was something peculiarly gratifying about shouting in a blind rage until your words ran out. Of course, the aftermath was less pleasant. Once you'd told everyone you hated them and not to come after you, where exactly did you go?” ― Cassandra Clare , Clock...

Just because it’s nice to take a moment and look back at where we began… When… During my university student days in Perth, Australia. Where… We happened to be attending the same church. How… I was serving in the children’s ministry (Sunday School) at church at that time. I was tasked to organise getting a tape recording of the Sunday sermon to circulate among the other kids ministry helpers who had to miss out on the main service… and the person in charge of the tape recordings was none other than… my future husband! (although I didn’t know it yet at that time). . Then… Our initial weekly exchanges to get hold of the latest sermon tape recording soon progressed on to regular online ICQ chats, then a couple of phone calls during the week, and soon we both realised that we couldn’t stop thinking about each other. We both knew… When he asked me out for ‘coffee’ one day and after some casual chit-chat we finally had the ‘serious conversation’ on how we felt and where this was going....

Hubs and I recently started attending a new parenting course called Growing Kds God’s Way. It follows the same series as the Preparation for Parenting a.k.a. Babywise course we had done a few years back in the B.C. (Before Children) era before two became three . True to form, prior to the course, I checked out various forums and reviews on the book and programme to find out more about what to expect, especially since encountering various criticisms on the general content and philosophy of these programmes. As with all things, there are both good sides and bad sides to the story. There are just too many parenting books and philosophies to choose from in the world nowadays, so why this one? But after some discussion and reflection, we agreed to attend the course not because we want to become perfect textbook parents, but primarily for the interaction and dialogue we can have with the other parents attending the course so we can journey along together with them and be honest with...

Hubs being like any typical guy doesn’t often get emotional over touchy-feely moments. So I was surprised to see him emerge from Nathan’s bedroom moist-eyed after putting him to bed the first night after we arrived back from KL . I guess he was feeling a little more nostalgic with his sister being married off and being with his family and all. He told me that as he sat there humming Nathan’s bedtime lullaby, it suddenly hit him how fast Nathan was growing up. He experienced an almost a piercing sadness and pain realising how fleeting the years are. In a blink of an eye, before we even have time to realise it, he’ll be all grown up. "Young boys should never be sent to bed... they always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown" (J.M. Barrie, ‘Finding Neverland’)

Hubs has known me for nearly one third of his life and been married to me for almost a quarter of his life. Throughout our years together, I’ve always enjoyed making a big deal over his birthday… not necessarily with big crowds and fanfare, but at least something significant between the two of us. I had left a few years pass by without planning anything out of the ordinary (of course still celebrate with a special dinner or outing together). But this year I decided I wanted to organise another memorable birthday surprise . I was cracking my head for ideas when out of the blue, I picked up a remark that made me realise how much hubs was raring to go and see the new Avengers movie . Our church was planning a big movie screening of the film as an outreach event. I was about to cross that event off our list since I didn’t think we'd want to bother finding a babysitter for Nathan and all. But hubby mentioned casually that maybe he could go watch it himself if I didn’t mind. So tha...

A few months back, when we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of our new family addition, I lamented the fact that it would mark the end of an era... the era of 'just the two of us' . Would it mean the end of weekend morning pillow talks and slow breakfasts? Well for the past couple of weeks, it certainly seemed so. But this morning at 6am after a long night of back to back nursing, I found myself too exhausted to get out of bed to pick Nathan up for his feed. So hubs got up and brought him to me to nurse in bed. After Nathan drifted off to sleep, hubs and I just lay there... chatting softly and looking quietly at Nathan lying there between us. Although I could barely keep my eyes open, it seemed like a perfect moment in time with the three of us in bed cuddling and nuzzling together. So although it will no longer ever be 'just the two of us'... I've discovered that 'two plus one' is so much more amazing!

Now that we’re well into December, I think it’s safe to start taking about Christmas and sending out Christmas greetings and wishes. Our Christmas tree is up again… And over the weekend, as the picture below illustrates I’ve launched into baking-frenzy mode… Hubby found the assortment of little gingerbread men too cute for words... no words required anyway, he just popped one of these babies into his tummy. This is the recipe I used The gingerbread cookie dough is not difficult to make. The most time consuming part for me was cutting out the gingerbread men shapes. Although I had a cookie cutter, the warm weather made the cookie dough turn soft and oily very quickly, so I had to refrigerate the dough in between 'rolls' before I cut out another batch of cookies. The part I enjoyed most was decorating the little men. I said to hubby that I wish I could get all the little men pre-shaped and pre-baked so I could just focus solely on decorating an endless array of t...

One of the times I look forward to the most every week is Saturday mornings. Not just because I don’t have to go to work, but it’s generally the time hubby and I have our ‘just us’ time. On Saturday mornings, instead of being jarred awake at the sound of the alarm before groggily reaching over to the bedside table to switch it off, my body clock nudges me awake gently and I let my eyes peek open to the glorious feeling of being able to snuggle under the covers as long as I want to. Then hubby and I exchange good mornings before we share some pillow talk… simply lying back in bed and just talking. Sometimes we talk about ‘important’ stuff like about the changes that will happen when little boy blue arrives or things we need to get done around the house or career plans; sometimes it’s very deep and chim stuff like our thoughts on a sermon we heard, a book ‘we’ (read: I) read; or casual stuff like something we chatted about to someone we bumped into or a funny joke we heard, a movie ...

One of the frequent comments made to hubby following a Q&A session on how I’m doing is something along the lines of… “Are you looking after Serene?” “Make sure you pamper her lots and lots!” “Remember, lots of back rubs, foot rubs, any kind of rub” So here is evidence of hubby’s efforts to looking after me. Yes folks, my hubby can cook! Fried noodles… and it was yummy! Muaks, hon!

I haven’t updated you guys about Mishu in a while. So I think that dusty corner of my Mishu posts needs a little visit. Mishu is doing fairly okay, but he’s acting up a bit in his behaviour. It started when the vet put him on a follow up round of antibiotic treatments just to make sure the infection he had is fully cleared. We usually put the tablet with a little bit food in his bowl, then hubby coaxes him to swallow it to make sure he eats it, then rewards him by topping up his bowl with the rest of his food. However all of a sudden one day, Mishu decided to go on strike and refused to eat any food at all, as if in protest against eating any more of the antibiotics. We tried different ways of coaxing and ‘tricking’ him to eat it, and it got so bad that he refused to eat any food at all even when we stopped putting tablets in it. He went almost three days without food, except for a small bite here and there when we tried to coax him to eat a small teaspoonful here and there. ...

Today’s church service was all about Mothers' Day. There were special presentations and personal testimonies, all centred around the superwoman in our lives. Here is a video presentation written and acted out by our church’s youth group especially for the occasion… So first off, a big thumbs up to all these brilliant actors and creative story writers!!! Well done guys!!! I’m aware that nowadays most of us already know how to give credit to the ‘background people’. But nevertheless, somehow it is still always the actual people you see in front of you who you are conscious of bringing you the enjoyment you experience. So I just want to use up a few lines just to give special credit to my dear hubby who made this video possible… …for being the video man, including crouching around the ground and balancing and manoeuvring the camera to get those ‘creative’ angles in the scenes …for spending a whole afternoon, sitting next to some of the youths to guide them through...