A wonderful Christmas

It was the time of the year again to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to thank God for his wonderful gift. For me, it was also a reminder to be a blessing to people around us. We were very grateful to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends on this special day! Thanks to the WII game " Just Dance", we all " burnt" part of our heavy food intake easily so there was less guilt. Watching the replay of the dance moves and hearing the laughter and screams was priceless! Do not worry, no videos will be posted online. ;-) Enjoy the pics!

Christmas Lunch with Family

Christmas dinner with friends!

Year of Tiger babies!!

This is a record year for me in attending baby showers... despite it being the year of the Tiger, traditionally not a popular year for " production"! Check out some of the cuties...

Miss Emma Chew - Baby of Julian & Elizabeth

Miss Hannah Cowley - Baby of David & Alicia

Mr Mark Xavier Teo - Baby of Emil & Jade

Mr Lucas Aik - Baby of Andrew & Joanne

Miss Ava Seah - Baby of Desmond & Liana

Jacob's report card

This post is long overdue. I posted Tessa's report card comments in Oct and to be fair to Jacob, I have taken a picture of his comments in Nov to make sure that he gets his share of the limelight as well... Here it goes.....Well done Jake! I am truly blessed!

Jacob's prediction - The results

And the results were.... all worse than his prediction!! Surprisingly... he was not as disappointed as what I expected, except for commenting on the fact that he did worse than Jie Jie in P1. I cannot complain since he still manage to get Band 1s for all but I have to admit that I was a tad disappointed in his Chinese. His kind chinese tutor, whom I know have high hopes on him ( and as gan jiong as me on the results), reminded me to keep encouraging him. I certainly will! 加油 Jacob ! 明年会更好！

Jacob's prediction

One of Jacob's favourite past time is to predict the outcome of soccer matches. Every week, without fail, he will predict the scores for matches involving Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. This week, his focus is on his exam results. Here is his prediction :

English - 97

Chinese - 97

Maths - 96

My biggest worry now is that his expectations are too high and he may be disappointed! I have to keep reminding him that it is ok to get lower marks, especially if the paper is difficult. We shall see.

Good Luck Jacob!

Happy Birthday Michelle....

This was the last gift I received from Michelle a few years back. It is a beautiful savings bank, a reminder for me to stop spending and start saving! Sorry Michelle, I have spent more over the years, although I have cut back in recent months because of my long work hours. I can just imagine you giving me that stare! But I love this savings bank so much , it is now being displayed on the bookshelf in my living room. Thank you and Happy Birthday!

The Proud Moment!

Today was the day! The proud moment of seeing my daughter going on stage for the first time to accept an academic award. In a ceremony dominated by students from Catholic High, Nanyang girls and the Rafflesians, Tessa was the only recipient from MGS! What made us even prouder was the fact that she was the sole medal winner for the P3 English category, which means no other P3 students in Singapore shared her top score for English. Even the normally " bo chap" Papa was beaming from ear to ear, even asking me to post pictures on FB to tell the whole world!!! I think I will limit my "bragging" to this blog... Enjoy the pics!

The Moment!

The beaming papa!

The Happy Family!

The cash reward! A nice birthday gift from UNSW!

The Medal!

My Ballerina

It is the time of the year for the ballerinas and other CCA groups to showcase their performance in the " Sound of Hope" concert! We nearly missed the performance this year as Tessa bought the tickets for the night show instead of the matinee show. Thanks to our church connections, we manage to get a gallery standing pass and Papa was able to film her performance. Tessa was one of the swans in the item "Swan Lake" and the 5 swans were very coordinated in their moves in the very short item! Before I learn how to upload the video, here are some pictures of my ballerina...

My biggest contribution to the girls=> helping with french braids!

Almost ready!

Posing after the performance... think it is time to upgrade my camera!

Proud achievements of Tessa

Its not been an easy year for Tessa in her studies. She experienced her first band 2 and band3 in her SA1 and CA1 this year for languages and it was a wake up call for me that I needed to outsource! I did and I proudly say that she has progressed well in both, scoring all band 1s for her year end papers. She also has the honour of being the top student in English ICAS paper, achieving the perfect score and she will be picking up a medal next week at the Singapore Conference Hall. What makes me even happier is the comments posted by her teachers on her report card below. Jie Jie I am so proud of you! Jia You!

Retrolicious concert and Michelle

Amy, Frances and I attended the Retrolicious concert last night. Best part of the show was the video clips that took us through the key events of the 80s year by year. It was a very nice walk down memory lane. People screamed in excitement when their favourite singers, movies or actors came on the big screen. Guess who did I scream for?? Performance wise, Johny Hates Jazz sounded good but sang too many songs from their new album; Debble Gibson looked hot at 40 but her voice was way too squeaky for live perfomance; Rick Ashley was the best of the night, looking and sounding better than before!

The big surprise of the night was bumping into Kristy. There were several thousand concert goers tonight and they came late, yet she was right there, standing just behind me! Both Michelle and Kristy were on my mind earlier because I knew Mich would have love to be there at the concert and there was this woman that looked like a shorter version of Kristy standing in front of me. Tears filled my eyes briefly as the memories of our chats in the hospital this time last year started to come back. Hearing songs that Mich and I used to perform to in the past did not make it easier. Kristy told me later thinks that Mich was with her and was saying hello to me through her. I also felt that it is Mich's plan for us to meet tonight, almost 1 year after her passing. This is a reminder to keep her in our hearts and move on with our lives...

Sailing...

Thanks to Uncle Desmond and friends, we had our first sailing expedition to Lazarus Island last Saturday on their boat " Arbudhen". The weather was wonderful and the sea was calm so it was a very enjoyable experience. The kids had their first dip in the sea though it took a long time to convince Tessa to jump! I don't blame her as mummy will not have the courage to jump as well! Check out pics below ( more on FB)... will definitely be keen to do this with the Seahs!

On the way to Lazarus..

Getting ready to Jump!

Happy kids on the Island!

The men...

Getting comfy in the sea...

Check out the Heineken!

All wet!

NTU recruitment drive 2010

I was very excited about returning to my alma mater tonight to participate in my bank's recruitment drive. NTU has changed so much that I spent 15 minutes within the school compound looking for the good old LT1! I recall we used to come in normal school wear ( ie tshirt and jeans) when we attended recruitment talks but all the students now came dressed up like they are going for job interview! What surprised me even more is the fact that almost all the students that stayed back for the mingling session are foreign undergrads! And I have to add " aggressive and hungry foreigners!" Most of them are doing a double degree and here are some sample of the questions they asked me

- Is Nomura-Lehman's culture similar to that of Goldman?

- FX spreads should be coming lower. How does the bank deal with that problem?

- Tell me about your career path at your old bank... how fast can an analyst progress in Nomura?

and many many more!

A supposedly 30 mins mingling session dragged on for an extra hour. I was speaking mandarin most of the time as more than 50% of the students that approached me were from China.. One of them was even dolled up in Chanel accessories and carrying a Chanel bag! She looks like an "Er Nai" but definitely one with brains. She told me she had her internship with Goldman and is looking for a role to cover China accounts on the sales side. My bet is that she will end up marrying one of the investment bankers eventually and become a taitai.

I only spoke to 1-2 Singaporeans , which makes me wonder.. how can singaporeans fight with the foreigners if they are not even interested enough to stay back to ask questions??? I also started to worry for my kids. Double degree is the norm now and the competition is already so tough from these effectively bilingual foreigners. What will their university life be like in the future? I can only pray....

Happy Birthday Frances!

Amy, Frances and I went to the " Spanish Paella n Sexy Sangria" Class at Palate Sensations tonight. Frances thought it was a different way of celebrating her birthday instead of having our usual birthday dinners. It turned out to be super fun!. I was very proud of my " squid" moment where I removed the cartilage, eyes and membrane from the squid ( yes like a biology lesson!) and chopped it down to calamari rings. Most importantly, the end product was SUPERB!!! Check out the pics below!

The Sangria that caused the birthday girl to talk non stop!

I was the official " stirrer" for the night!

Our group - 3 of us and Louise

Posing with the birthday girl.

Before cooking the seafood.....see the calamari rings??

Tadaaa..... Yummy Spanish Paella.

What a wonderful night! Happy 7th Anniversary of your 29th Birthday Frances!

What a National Day!

It started with a phone call Ian received late last night. One of his team member was in hospital going through an emergency brain operation after fainting in a restaurant. There was a blood clot in his brain and the sobbing wife told Ian he may not make it through the operation. They have two young kids in K1 and P1. It was like deja vu for me! After praying for him and his family, I went to bed with a heavy heart. I even had a nightmare that I had to have to CT scan to check for a blood clot in my brain!

Fast forward to today. The operation went well but he is still heavily sedated. The doctor are still trying to investigate whether the blood clot was caused by the fall or did the blood vessel rapture before the fall. Ian suspect it could be the latter as this guy tend to have dizzy spells quite often. The wife is stronger today but his elderly parents are not taking the news well. We can only pray and hope for the best.

While sharing this story with my friends, I came to learn of a few other bad news that took place yesterday

- a 24 year old friend of my ex-colleague committed suicide. She jumped to her death from the 6th floor after suffering from depression for only a week.

- A friend of Ian's colleague was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.

- The mum of another colleague passed away yesterday.

What a national day! This is again a solemn reminder for us to treasure our loved ones and to always count our blessings.

I miss the kids

It's been less than two hours since the kids were picked up by Liana for their sleepover date with the Seahs, and I missed them already. I miss the loud " mummy!!" when they want to "lodge a complaint" ; I miss the " ko lian" face of Jacob when he tried to get one of us to sleep in his room; I miss the nightly chit chat and prayer session. And it is JUST ONE NIGHT and NOT THE FIRST TIME! I started to think what will our lives be like when they hit their teenager years. They will have so many programs that mummy will no longer be the most important person in their lives. It's weird that I am feeling so "emo" tonight. Anyway, love you babies and see you tomorrow!

Ladies in pink with flowers...

Art work by the kids

After our yummy KFC breakfast, Shyan came to my place and the kids had their little art n craft session.... here are some of their "masterpieces"

Yummy KFC breakfast!

conversation with the kids

This conversation took place during our drive home tonight as Ini told us she plans to work for 4 years...

Mummy : If Aunty Ini work for 4 years, Jie Jie will be 13 and didi will be 11 when she finishes her contract.

Papa : Wow 11! Jacob will have girlfriend by then!

Tessa : No! Cannot! Can only have girlfriend when we are in JC! ( Mummy's bad influence!?)

Papa : No Jie Jie, you can only have boyfriend when you start work!! ( Double Standards!!)

We shall see.....

Our prayers are answered!!

Shyan got into NanQiao without balloting while Julia got into MGS through balloting! Julia's name was the second one to be picked today and words cannot describe the joy in Jaycey's voice when she called me this morning. I was so happy for her that I cried. Praise the Lord!!!

Adoption

Shyan has been on our mind these few days after the incident at Rui's party. During the drive home today, I told Ian if something were to happen to Sean, I would gladly adopt Shyan and Julian since God has blessed us with enough to provide for 4 kids. To my surprise, Ian agreed readily, but what made me laugh was his comments that follows : If something were to happen to Ben and HT, I would gladly adopt Yan Yan too!"

Yan Yan, Uncle Ian is obviously still "obsessed" about you!

P1 registration

During our chat before the kids' bedtime, Jacob suddenly asked me" Mummy, must u put makeup when U die?" N Tessa added " like Godmama? But Godmama's make up was very thick!"

I don't know what trigger Jacob's question but I do not think he has seen any dead body besides Michelle. I was also thinking about Michelle today. One of her biggest wish is to see her kids get into Nan Qiao and tomorrow we will know the results. If Mich was still around, I can imagine Viv and I will be busy texting her today and tom. Viv will probably be more gan jiong than Mich!

We have been praying every night for Shyan and Julia( my frd's daughter who is eyeing MGS) this week. I do not dare to tell Sean that as I am afraid he will be angrier with GOD if the prayer was not answered. My gut feel tells me that it will all turn out well tomorrow! Good Luck young ladies!

The end of my Tai Tai life...

Time flies. Its been 2.5 months since I tendered my resignation and I will be back to reality on Monday. While I am quite excited about going back to the corporate jungle, I will definitely miss...

- walking to school with Jacob in the morning and talking abut anything under the sun,

- my solo breakfast session at KFC, Novena square after sending Jacob to school,

- the happiness on my kids' faces when I picked them up from school,

- bringing the kids to the favourite restaurants like Pizza Hut, Pasta Mania and Din Dai Fung without papa ( as papa hates to eat at these places)

- participating in the kids' school events,

- my weekly Body Combat session at True Yoga,

- my weekly massage session at True Spa,

- shopping in Taka or anywhere in orchard road after my massage,

- my long lunch n coffee sessions with friends and ex-colleagues

- the lack of Monday blues!

Will I stay another 14 years at another bank? I doubt so. I love gardening leave and I am already looking forward to my next one!

I am a proud mummy - once again!

I attended the first parent teacher meeting at ACS last Thursday. I was warned before that primary school teachers are very forthright in their comments, unlike the childcare teachers who to be more "sensitive". I had always get compliments from Tessa's teachers for her behavior in class so I am not expecting any negative surprises for Jacob. Well, it turned out to be an UPSIDE surprise! Here is a summary of the form teacher's comments on Jacob

- Strong in academic results, will likely be one of the top 5 in class.

- Classmates look up to him as he is more mature than the rest. He does not talk nonsense like most of the P1 boys.

- He pays attention in class and sets a good example for his classmates => that was why he was nominated for model student award

- He is willing to help the weaker students with their school work.

- He has very good character and she thinks he is the type that will charm the girls in the future!

- Only reason he is not selected to be a Class Monitor is that he is not fierce enough and may end up getting bullied by the naughtier boys. She is keen to let him try in the second semester.

Even the Chinese teacher, whom Jacob claimed that she has never notice him in class, had good things to say about him. She told me she calls up the parents of all naughty students so if I did not get a call, it means he is good. She remembers him clearly as one of the top in Chinese in class based on the surprise tests they have done so far. She said he is quiet and well behaved in class so there is nothing I need to worry about.

Jacob, I am very very proud of you and if papa was there, he will be beaming from ear to ear!. I hope you will keep it up and continue to do us proud!

A dream come true!

The empty walk-in wardrobe

Now it is full house!

A surprise in Jacob's school bag

I was checking Jacob's bag 2 nights ago and I came across this!

Only one student is picked each month for good behavior in class and he gets to go on stage to receive this from the principal during school assembly. My nonchalant boy did not even breathe a word about this!! He gave me the " what's the big deal" look when I asked him about it. BOYS!!!!! Anyway, I am so proud of you Jacob! Keep it up!

A Bully in MGS

Every year, MGS will celebrate the end of mid year exams by having Zainy Brainy Games - where the teachers will hand over the students to parent volunteers for 1 day for some fun and games while they focus on their marking of papers. I volunteered to be a class chaperon this year and it turn out to be much tougher than expected. I suffered from serious fatigue after running around with the girls for 4 hours and I almost got a sore throat from all the shouting. It was certainly not easy controlling a class of 42 girls and it did not help when there are some challenging characters in class!

One of the girls HA was a total nightmare. She was bossy, rude, arrogant and uncontrollable. I witnessed her throwing a stack of cards at her classmates while everyone was trying to build castles using cards. She also wondered off without alerting me and when I found her and gave her a thrashing, she gave me that look that deserved a BIG slap on her face! At day end, she was caught fighting with another girl from the class by another parent and now I am tasked to write a complain letter to the teacher. I later gathered from some parents and girls that she is a rich brat that stays in a BIG BUNGALOW. Surprisingly, her parents are known to be nice and mild mannered. This girl bullys people in the class, gets scolded by teacher almost daily and writes love notes to herself, pretending that it was from her admirers!! I am surprised Tessa did not complain much about this girl, except for telling me that she is always quarreling with a few other strong headed classmates. Luckily majority of her classmates were well behaved and Tessa definitely belong to the "guai" group. It will be a nightmare if Tessa starts to pick up HA's bad attitude. This young lady needs to be taught a lesson and I will start by preparing an email to the form teacher later! Meanwhile, see if you can spot her if the collage below!

I was wrong about Jacob

While Ian and I were out at Pandan Valley last night, I gave Tessa the task of training Jacob for his " show and tell" performance next week. Either Tessa did a very good job or Jacob was not showing his true potential to me last week, I have to say I was very impressed by his performance when I reached home. He remembered all his lines and spoke clearly and loudly. I did tell him earlier during the day that as a English Representative of the class, he is expected to do well in English Show and Tell. Maybe that subtly added pressure worked on him!! Tessa also gave him a 9/10 and I am now confident he will do well on Monday!

Jacob's first "show and tell" speech

Jacob will be having his first show and tell session next week. While he had a few practices in K2 ( without my help as I was totally not aware of it!), I do not think public speaking is his forte. Tessa, on the other hand, is a naturally confident speaker. My competitive son refused to let Tessa do a demonstration tonight during his practice, knowing fully that he cannot live up to Jie Jie's standards! Here is the simple speech prepared by the 3 of us. Good Luck Jacob!

Good Morning Miss Teoh and friends.

Today I am going to tell you about my two pet terrapins

Their names are Dilly and Dally.

Dilly is the bigger one while Dally looks like his little brother.

They like to eat worms.

We feed them once everyday.

Last year, they both fell sick and we brought them to a veterinarian.

The vet gave them injections and Dilly almost bit her while she was doing that!

They live in a small container for now.

When we move to our new place, they will be living in the pond with other fishes.

This is the end of my presentation. Thank you.

Happy Mother's Day!

While I was out shopping and dining with Frances and Amy on Friday, the kids spent time making Mother's Day cards for me at home. Tessa also used 20% of her daily allowance to buy me a little rose from her bookstore, making Jacob look bad! Papa got me a nice little photo frame for me to display our family picture at my new work place. They were supposed to surprise me on Sunday but as usual, these 2 cannot keep any secrets! I got all my little gifts on Saturday and we had our pre-Mother's day dinner at Seah Street Deli. Thank you babies and papa... I had a wonderful time!