Year end concert

It is end of term for J's playgroup and it is celebrated with concert cum graduation ceremony for those in K2 moving onto primary school next year.

As his school is really small, a total of less than 50 students, the concert was a simple affair with simple props. The concert was held at a lecture theatre in Republic Polytechnic.

Can you spot J? He is the 3rd from right in the 1st row.

My favourite act is the "chicken song". If you see the video trembling, that is because I was laughing very hard.

The little boy wearing a yellow hat is his best friend. Throughout the videos, you can see how J keeps interacting with his best friend.

J dominated the mic from start to beginning. His partner hasn't got a chance at all!

He is so nervous that he keeps fidgitting.

Family bonding time

It has become a routine that on every Saturday morning, K and I would take the boys out for breakfast. One of the places that we like to go to is Jalan Kayu for prata. Today is the first time that M gets to go there.

K has his usual “one egg, one kosong” pratas while I opted for nasi lemak. I suggested ice cream prata for J as it is a nice change from his usual mushroom and cheese. I thought that it would simply be a piece of prata with a scoop of ice cream. Little would I expect that this suggestion would cost me $6! That amt could have bought us a tub of ice cream. What we see in front of us was 3 scoops of ice cream wrapped by piece of prata surrounded by whipped cream and top off with chocolate sprinkles and fudge. This could have easily been a dessert for 2 adults and is too heavy for a pre-schooler’s breakfast. Halfway thru, J gave up. (Take a look at his expression in the picture)

M on the other hand was enjoying feeding himself with bits of prata and spoonfuls of nasi (rice).

After the hearty breakfast, we drove to the nearby mushroom farm to buy some fresh mushrooms that J and I love. We also got to tour the farm and were introduced to how mushrooms are grown commercially in a controlled climate.

Done with the shopping and “sight seeing”, we proceed to the Animal Resort which is one of J’s favorite places because he is an animal lover. (When he grows up, he wants to be a vet and an astronaut.)

This is M’s first time interacting with animals up close and he was very determined in wanting to feed them. In the past few months, this gutsy little fella has become more vocal, demanding and insistent. When he wants something, he must get it, otherwise he will cry as loudly as he can but the minute you give it to him, he stops. His vocabulary is also very commanding and he can say things like:

• "Stop, Mummy!” (When he wants me to stop working and focus on him)


• “Mummy go out!” (Asking me to get out of the room when it is his bedtime)


• “I want, I want!” (Nowadays, he wants everything his brother wants)


• "Kick you out” (He learnt this from his brother)


• "No! No! No!” (When he doesn’t want to do what we tell him to)


• "Mummy, sit here!” (When he wants me to sit and watch TV with him)


• "Is not!” (When is not what he wants)

After all the running around in the farm, on the way back, M, the Menace fell asleep. (A few months ago, he was Mr Sonshine. Now he is M the Menace, haha)

Mum turns 70

It is hard to imagine my mum being 70 years old. If not for her arthritis, she is fitter than most grandmas and still holds a full time job as an office cleaner.

I organized a simple birthday celebration for her at Ling Zhi Vegetarian Restaurant @ Novena Square and secretly invited her godson, A and goddaughter, G. My 1's uncle who is my mum’s most ardent supporter also came to join in the celebration.

As it was a Sunday, I proceed to visit my mum as usual and casually informed her that I would be taking the family out for dinner to celebrate her birthday. When we reached Novena Square, A and his family was already there and my mum innocently asked “Hey, why are you here?” All we could do was laugh. I guess my mum caught on the surprise when the waitress led us to 2 tables that sits about 18 guests. My uncle & aunty and G’s family soon arrived and we tucked in to our dinner.

Towards the end of the dinner, the waitress took out the cake and lighted the candles. The grandchildren gathered around the birthday lady and sang the birthday song. When the candles were blown out, you can see the smile on my mum face, having all her loved ones with her on her special day.