Amanda's New Play Pool

Amanda has a new toy! A PLAY POOL which we bought for her from Toys R Us... She was excited when we were trying to inflate the pool, and even more excited when we filled the pool with water.... though it's quite a sin to be wasting water, as gallons and gallons of water were needed to fill the pool. Daddy also played in the pool with Amanda (but photos not uploaded.... censored.... HAHA!!!)

look at the smile on her face!

Reflections

Today marks the last day of my "stay home mum" lifestyle (or tai tai lifestyle) after almost 6 months' break.....

The decision to resign was sparked off firstly because I wanted to spend more time with my babe to prepare her for Primary 1 next year, and also because I had to take time off to do parent volunteer work for her, and last but not least, I needed a break! Hence, I tendered my resignation in late September 2007 and after serving slightly more than 3 months' notice, I was a "free" person!

The past 6 months was indeed very fulfiling and meaningful. It was a time for family bonding, nurturing and cultivating my babe. I managed to fulfill all that needs to be done (except 1 - haha this is a secret, so cannot reveal at this moment)... and most importantly, my babe got into the school of our choice and also, she has improved from not being able to read any books, to being able to read Enid Blyton books now... what an accomplishment for both Amanda and me?!!! At the same time, I also managed to undergo Lasik surgery for both my eyes at The Lasik Surgery Clinic performed by Dr Marc Tay....

Some of the books Amanda is reading now...

So with my mission almost all accomplished, I decided to take on the offer when the headhunter approached me..... everything was kinda rush and it happened all too quickly... I met with my future employer/owner and the interview went on very well. Job presented during interview seemed exceptionally exciting with all the regional work... and within few hours I was offered the job which required me to start work a week after that!!! It was quite unbelievable for a senior role, which usually takes about 4 or 5 rounds of interviews.... nonetheless I still accepted the offer!!!

So here I am, back to the workforce again......

Special Moments of Mother & Daughter....

I've always enjoyed spending special moments between Mother and Daughter.... Hence, during those days when she was in Kindergarten and when I was looking after her full time, I would seize at every opportunity to take her out for Tea, Snacks, Meal etc. immediately after I fetch her from school... this is usually followed by shopping and some fun play....

Lunch at FISH & CO (above) Teabreak at FISH & CO wheelock place (below)

Tea time at the newly refurbished COFFEE CLUB..... Amanda is looking sooo extremely pleased and satisfied with the food.



High Tea at Inter-Continental Hotel... Look at how happy Amanda is eating her chicken wings away...

Winter Holiday in Perth, June 2008

We have decided to bring Dad & Mum to Perth for a holiday. I have been to Perth 5 times, Lawrence went to Perth once 19 years ago, Dad and Mum a few times to Perth too.....

So why PERTH? Because Perth is one of the most relaxed place to drive around especially more so since all of us have been to Perth several times and are pretty FAMILIAR with the place.... and one of the MAIN REASON was also because the season in Perth now is WINTER.... a weather which all of us love..... :)

This is going to be one of our most relaxed holidays as we drive around "doing nothing" without a fixed itinerary and no time constraint...

Sooo we were ready for our trip! We departed for Perth just 5 days after we returned from our Beijing trip. WOW!!! This month is really a month of holidays for us.....

Dad and Mum had earlier anticipated that it was going to be very cold, especially since Perth is known for its very strong wind... but upon arrival, we were a little disappointed even temperature ranged from 8 deg to 20 deg as the sun was extremely strong in Perth, thus making the afternoons HOT on most of the days.....

We rented our car from Hertz Car Rental from Perth International Airport. After all the paperwork was done, we proceeded to collect the car and get ready to drive off for our Winter Adventure!

Throughout the entire trip, Lawrence was the Main Driver, me the Co-Driver and Chief Navigator whilst Dad, the Deputy Chief Navigator. We covered many places this trip; and that included driving within Perth City, ferrying Dad & Mum to Burswood Casino several times, down South to Rockingham, Mandurah, Bunbury and Margaret River.

The fun thing about self-drive trip is that you get to stop over anywhere and anytime you wish. We had so much fun especially on our drive to Margaret River. We stopped over whenever we saw something nice or interesting; visiting wineries, fruit orchards, organic farms, Harvey's Juicy Orange, Scenic Spots etc etc...

Amanda enjoyed herself sooo much during this trip as this is the first time she got so close to kangaroos and joeys.... she was practically hugging them! Look at the pictures taken at Sunshine Animal Farm at Margaret River...

Another thing which Amanda enjoyed was the swan feeding at Lake Monger. All the black swans charged at Amanda the moment she approached with her bag of bread.... and the swans really got her jumping up and down.... wheeee.... that was really fun! This trip the swans bit Lawrence's fingers as he was trying to feed them. I recalled 19 years ago, they bit his BUTT when he refused to give them the bread he was holding!!! HAHAHA!!!

Throughout the entire journey, Lawrence remained a very calm and patient driver despite there were so many navigators in the car giving different instructions at the same time.... and there were also times when we gave wrong instructions and leading the wrong turns...

This was truely a memorable trip and we spent quality time with Dad & Mum and for Amanda, she got to sleep and cuddle with Kong Kong & Ma Ma almost every night.

Home Sweet Home......... zzzzzzzzzzzz

Oh yes, my precious babe did not vomit at all while in the plane to and from Perth.... Trick : let her sleep the moment she boards the plane :)

Summer Holiday in Beijing, May 2008

We haven't gone for a holiday for a year (other than those driving trips to Malaysia), and were all so excited for this Beijing trip.

This trip was a little different compared to our other holidays. This time with a mission... as a parent volunteer for Amanda's future primary school cum our long awaited holiday.....

The flight to Beijing was a mere 6 hours flight... yet, sad to say, Amanda vomitted again just 30 minutes before landing... creating havoc for the SQ crew.... She threw up so much that the blankets & pillows were all soaked... my poor babe.... the flight steward teased her and asked if she ate too much... NO, that's not true, she only nibbled on her sandwich and did not even take her main meal. BUT, I think it must be the apple juice and fresh milk which I made her take sips of them to prevent dehydration.... SIGH..... lesson learnt for me again... DO NOT FEED HER WITH ANY FOOD!!!

We arrived Beijing a few days ahead of the Singapore school team. This gave us time to move around on our own and enjoy some family time before "work begins"....

Our duty was to take care of a group of Primary 5 kids whilst we were out sight-seeing with them and also on their school exchange in Beijing.

We had lots of fun with the 6 kids who were attached to us and Amanda had such fun time interacting with them.

Soon it was time to part when we sent them off at Beijing Airport Terminal 3 for their connecting flight to Shandong. We did not join them as we had extended 2 days after them to "unwind" ourselves before flying back to Singapore. The kids got so attached to us that some of them looked so sad and 2 of the kids even shed tears saying they will miss us.... how sweeeeet..... we told them we are just so near i.e. we will meet them back in Singapore again... and the kids exchanged telephone numbers and email addresses with Amanda....

Our flight home was good. We've learnt our lesson and made Amanda sleep the moment she boarded the plane and she did not take in any food throughout the flight; not even a drop of water.....

This Beijing trip was very enjoyable on the whole except for the weather which we experienced on 2 of the days which hit a scorching high of 39 degree celcius.... OMG!!!

Amanda's Foot Spa Experience

Amanda has always wanted to try out a foot spa cum reflexology whenever she sees me doing it.... so this time, I decided to bring her along for a "little treat"....

First, the foot soak... Amanda chose LAVENDER, which explains the lilac colour...

Then, the Foot Massage... Look at how relaxed she was.... *smiles*