Mummy's Say - Rest in Peace, Shin Na....

I have been following Shin's Cancer Blog eversince I chanced upon this Channel 8 programme, 'In the Face of Death', sometime last year.

Shin was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in December 2005. She spent 2006 getting surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. In August 2007, her cancer came back. In February 2008, she learned the cancer had spread to her brain, liver, lungs, and bones.

Shin had fought the good fight, finally succumbing to her illness yesterday afternoon. Through her blog, she had touched many lives, mine included, with her immense love for her family (daughter Josie, son Toby and husband Tony) and the courage she showed in the face of the terrible disease which not only ravaged her body but her family life. However, she never once complained, berating her fate. On the contrary, she remained upbeat about life, never wasting a single moment of her remaining days, but doing what she loved best i.e. loving her family.

Rest in peace, Shin. Though I never had the good fortune to have known you personally, with your passing, I feel as if I've lost a dear old friend. I will miss your wicked sense of humour, your keen observations of life, your optimism....You know, how it's been said that God does things for a reason (don't worry, Shin, I'm not proselytizing. We all know your stance on that one)? Well, I know for sure, you have touched many people through what you've done with your life, and definitely through your blog, cos' I've most certainly been, and am appreciating what I have, i.e. my hubby and kids, even more. Thank you for sharing so much about you and yours and teaching us to be thankful for small mercies. Josie and Toby must be so proud to have you as their Mom, and Tony, his wife.

Officially unveiled on 1 November 2008, the iconic Marina Barrage, the realization of a vision twenty years ago, looks set to boost Singapore's water supply, alleviate flooding in low-lying cit areas and become a hot spot for recreational activities. A dam built across the 350-metre wide mouth of the Marina Channel, the Marina Barrage creates Singapore’s 15th reservoir, and the first in the heart of the city.

While we may still be too young to understand what all that means, and the impact it will bring to our generation and beyond, there's one thing we sure do know - we now have one more big 'playground' to play in! Yippeee!!

Mummy's Say - The Twins are TWO!

It seems like only yesterday that the munchkins were celebrating their 1st birthday and now, they're officially headed for their terrible twos! How time flies...and I'm already missing them and all their milestones - when we first laid eyes on them (what marvellous creations of God!), their first flip, when they started crawling, cruising, and subsequently, learning how to walk....The babes, they just grow up too fast...which makes it all the more crucial for us to cherish, relish and remember every single moment we have with them. It's times like these that hit me and make me truly realise how much I love my kids.

Celebrating their birthday in advance (30 Dec) @ their school

Jayden's fave character - Thomas the Tank Engine

Shannen's fave character - Hello Kitty
Aptly decorated cake (Little Twin Stars) on the actual day (1 Jan)

May all our wishes come true all year through

Mummies' Dear Old Friends

This is Auntie Danni (Dione), Mummy's dear friend from secondary school who hails from Taiwan (but migrated to Canada, and now, residing in Taiwan). Back in Singapore for a week to settle some family affairs, Mummy met with her and Auntie Lip at the latter's place to do some much awaited catching up. Auntie Dione, Auntie Lip and Mummy

It was at Aunt Lip's place that Mummy tried the swiss rolls from the renowned Rich and Good Cake Shop (24, Kandahar Street, Tel: 6294 3324). The kaya swiss roll was yummy! The strawberry swiss roll was yummy! But the mango swiss roll must surely take the cake (pun not intended)! It was super yummilicious!!!

Mango swiss roll from Rich and Good Cake Shop

Ho Ho Ho!

Mei Mei & I woke up this morning with great anticipation for it's Christmas day and time to unwrap our pressies! Lest we forget our manners, here's wishing all a Merry Christmas!

Starting off with the fgifts from Daddy & Mummy - Mei Mei received a storybook-cum-pillow and I, a battery-operated, motion-sensor car, which frightens Mei Mei & I to no end. Upon shaking it, there are sounds of the engine revving up and the car actually speaks *gasp*, before accelerating off, sending us scattering in both directions! Scary, boy!

And these lovely non-drip, non-flip water-bottles are from Auntie Von Von, one of our fave persons. A big, fat, slobbery kiss from us to you, AUntie Von Von *MUAKS*!

We've also received pressies from our dear Auntie Danni who's just returned from Taiwan for a visit. Auntie Danni is a very nice lady who simply adores kids. It was so kind of her to get all 3 of us clothes from Chateau de Sable, a French clothing line. Thanks, Auntie Danni!

Once again, Merry Christmas to all!

Silent Night, Holy Night @ Vivo City

One year ago, at this time, we were also here at Vivo City, soaking in the sights and sounds of the festive spirit. Back then, we were still snug in our strollers, and not as mobile as we are now, and definitely not as the little 'terrors' that we are now, running here, there and everywhere.

Por Po, Gong Gong and us

Mummy's Say - Twilight ROXX! Edward Cullen's HOT!

For the uninitiated, this must be the hottest teen movie to hit town in a while. Although Yours Truly is no spring chicken *hurhur*, lured by the hype surrounding this vampire-romance movie (or rather, the quadrilogy of books from Stephanie Meyer - Twilight, followed by New Moon, Eclipse and rounding off with Breaking Dawn), I made a date with Dear Hubby (who's clearing his leave) to catch this today.

Frankly speaking, I wasn't expecting great acting from the relatively young cast, considering its target 'tween-age' audience, and the rabid hysteria arising from the cult status generated by the series. But I must say that the two leads (Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson) enjoy pretty good chemistry, so much so that I was (and still is) swept away by the forbidden vampire-mortal romance. Edward Cullen...OMG! I just so dig that character (not Robert Pattinson, but the character depicted in the books). Such chivalry, such yearning, such devotion....Sigh! And oh, I simply love that vampire baseball scene, against the beautiful backdrop with MTV-style music playing in the background. It's literally Cool, with a capital 'C'!

I could go on and on about this movie, but 'nuff said. Just go catch it to relive those heady days of first love! :)

Mummy's Say - Little Girls are Made of Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice

How time flies! The twins are fast approaching 2 years of age, or what is more popularly known as the 'terrible twos'. They have been picking up verbal skills and enhancing their motor skills rapidly. While Den Den has always been the one with stronger motor skills (he's able to slot in batteries and operate toys, fixing little kinks in the toys he plays with, etc.), Mei Mei is undoubtedly the one who's linguistically, more advanced. Sometimes, the words that she picks up, and the logical thought-process behind which she strings a sentence, surprise me. Below are excerpts of what she's said in recent incidents, and which still amaze me:

(This took place while I was bathing Shannen, after picking the twins up from school. )
Yours Truly: Shaen, Mummy is sad. Gor Gor didn't hold Mummy's hand just now while crossing the road
(Jayden didn't want to hold my hands, preferring to hold my dad's, on our way back from school). *cue sad expression, act of crying with moving fists near eyes*
Shannen: Mei Mei hold Mummy's hand *took my hand in hers* Gor Gor no good, no good. Mei Mei good *gave the thumbs up sign* Mummy don't cry.
(That was when half my heart sublimed, while the other, simply melted.)

This happened during dinner, while I was feeding Shannen. As usual, she was proving to be a challenge to feed, with the tendency to spit out every mounthful of food. My patience wearing thin, with the cane in hand, I reached out for her hand, intending to give her a little smack to serve as deterrent. That was when she said, 'Mummy, don't beat, don't beat, Mei Mei good *gave the thumbs up sign with both hands* Mei Mei eat.' Feeling sorry for being harsh, I put away the cane, and Shannen never spat out her food again, at least not during the rest of her dinner that night.

(Another one went something like this:)
Yours Truly: Shannen, are you a good girl?
Shannen: Yes, Mei Mei good.
Yours Truly: What about Gor Gor?
Shannen: No good, no good.
Yours Truly: What about Daddy & Mummy?
Shannen: Daddy good. Mummy good.
Yours Truly: Didi?
Shannen: Cannot walk yet.
Yours Truly: !!!

Thanks for Popping by

Although Mummy has left her ex-company, SingTel, more than a year ago, she still maintains in touch with many of her ex-colleagues. Some of those who recently dropped by to visit Mummy and me included Auntie Rena & Auntie Geraldine, as well as Auntie Angelina. Mummy enjoyed meeting up with her old friends and hope to have the opportunity to catch up with them again some time soon (else, perhaps at my 1st-year birthday party!)

Auntie Rena & Auntie Geraldine

Auntie Angelina and Mummy

Banana & Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:
6 ripe strawberries (we used the Korean ones)
2 bananas (Del Monte or those 'red flesh' bananas or 'ang ba jio')
1/2 cup of low fat milk
5 tablespoonfuls of low-fat vanilla yoghurt

Process:
Mix the above ingredients in the food blender. Add ice cubes (estimation). Blend at high power till texture is rich and a froth is seen.

A simple recipe, yet a healthy and yummilicious beverage! Enjoy!

Ben & Jerry's Chunk Fest

Being a huge Ben & Jerry ice-cream fan, ever since Mummy read about B&J's upcoming Chunk Fest in the papers a few weeks back, she had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this big day with bated breath. Apparently, at this B&J event, there would be 12 new flavours introduced from the States. In fact, she had even toyed with the idea of forming a team of four to take part in the B&J ice-cream eating contest with Auntie Lena, Auntie Von and Daddy. Yup, you've said it, she's a real fanatic when it comes to B&J ice-cream. But considering that she still has much to shed after giving birth to Didi, she had to perish the thought, albeit with much reluctance.

So, with the big day finally here, we made our way down to Fort Canning Park, hoping to have some yummilicious ice-cream treats. But boy oh boy, what a huge jam at the car park, with nary a lot in sight! In the end, Daddy parked our car some distance away, and our entire lorong had to trudge up several flights of steps, through wet and slippery dirt tracks before finally reaching the 'hallowed grounds'.

But alas, what greeted us were lots of big Gors Gors and Jies Jies (teenagers) in funny dos, a smoke-filled atmosphere (almost all present were lighting up) and deafening rock music from the concert which frightened Didi a little, hardly the family carnival atmosphere which Mummy had envisioned for weeks. As for the ice-cream, let's not even go there. Probably cos' it was FOC, the queue for it stretched for almost an eternity, with easily a few hundred people ahead of us. Faced with such daunting prospects, Daddy & Mummy decided to head back to the car. How disappointing!

And since we didn't get to have our ice-cream fix, yet to end off the night on a high note, Daddy & Mummy took us to MacDonald's at Kallang for some milkshakes and McFlurys. Reliable comfort food which tasted just as good, we like!!

Mummy's Say - Look at what you have done, again, Jayden Boy!

A strange call came through this evening and it went something like this:

Moi: Hello

Caller: Hello, is this 63xx xxx0?

Moi: Yes, it is, and you are....?

Caller: I'm calling from the Police.

Moi: ...*stunned silence*. Yes?

Caller: Someone from your place has been dialling 999 non-stop for the past 5 minutes. You have young children at

home? It's been jamming up our line here.

Moi: *JAYDEN BOY!!!! (He was playing with the handset a while ago)* Oh! Oops, I'm very, very sorry. It must have

been my boy. I will make sure that he doesn't do it again. So sorry....

Caller: Sure, thanks. By the way, how old is your son?

Moi: Errmm...23 months....

Caller: Oh, that's rather young!

Moi: Yah, sorry again, I will see to it that he doesn't dial 999 for fun again.

Caller: Alright, thanks! By the way, who am I speaking to?

Moi: Visible gasp *Am i about to chalk up a criminal record on behalf of my notti boy?* Errmm...Michelle.

Caller: Ok, thanks, Michelle. Bye. Click.