The year was 1990.
The class?
A bunch of lively twelve-year-old tweens from class 6C at Henry Park Primary School.
Form teacher was Mrs Anna Tan.
It's been twenty years.
In one week's time, I'll be seeing some faces I've not seen in twenty years, I kid you not.
An old classmate has rounded up some of us on facebook and is organizing a class reunion. I've not been to one of these for a long time. Twenty years is a record.
A little anxious, and excited at the same time.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The children grow
Phew, finally got some pictures up from my phone.
The year must seem to have been off to a super slow start, if this blog is anything to go by. But really, that is hardly the case.
Three months have passed in a flash, and I find I'm staring the end of March right in the eye. So much has happened between me going back to work, Dylan starting at nursery, E starting in JB, and G starting on solids.
Where do I even begin?
A good place to start, I suppose, is where the boys are right now.
Gareth's now almost 7 months, happy and healthy. Not just that, he'g got a hale and hearty appetite for rice and oat cereal, potato, sweet potato, and strawberries too.
Here's the picture to prove it:
A happy little chap, even at bedtime:
In January, Dylan went for his first-ever "friend's birthday party" at Kids Amaze@ Safra Toa Payoh - a nursery playmate who turned 4. And here I am still thinking of my little tyke as a wee tot who's just seen the other side of 3.
In February, we ushered in the Year of the Tiger in a new way as a family. We took our first ever family trip up north to Segamat, Malaysia - my Dad's hometown - to spend CNY there. Segamat is a small town some 90km north of JB, and even though it was Dylan's second trip there (we went when he was a mere 3-mth old babe), this was the first time the daddy and number two paid the town - and the extended Chen family - a visit.
We put up in a little roach-ridden motel, but what made it all worth it was having the two young'uns spend time with the maternal grandparents, getting to know the extended Chen family and uncles and aunties, and playing with the cousins.
For the little tyke, the icing on the cake came from seeing fireworks at night and real fire-crackers leave behind its trail of red paper all over the ground the following day.
And a real lion dance troupe performing right in front of him.
Over at the country club, he had a fair bit of fun in the playground swings too.
With cousins Sophia, Christy & Sara:
With cousin Sara:
Another first for Dylan this year - at the tennis dinner at Keppel, the cheeky boy showed off his singing and dancing talent by out-singing and out-dancing the other kiddies on stage. To the amusement of the audience, he sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in its entirety, not once, but twice!
Now that Elroy has his passport back, he's been coming home more regularly from JB, at least every weekend if not twice a week. Have to say, compared to the last half a year with him over in Australia, I'm really enjoying having Daddy around more often again.
What do I enjoy?
I enjoy returning from work, taking time to have dinner as a complete family around the table. I enjoy seeing Dylan eat his dinner because he wants to grow big and strong, "just like Daddy".
After dinner, I enjoy the family activity of taking the stroller out, plonking the 15kg boy in it, having little Gareth snug in his baby sling, and walking out to Siglap Centre and back. Daddy will talk about the psychiatric hospital he's placed at, what's happening in the course; his observations of Malaysian life through the lens of a homegrown Singaporean an endearing quirk for me, a half-blood Singaporean who has a Malaysian father. On the way home, we'd grab an ice-cream sundae from MacDonalds.
Come weekends, we've started a tradition of going out for dinner, to some place Dylan might enjoy. e.g. Changi Village, where he gets to drive battery operated cars.
Or maybe Changi Airport. Don't ask why I decided to take a photo of the boys with old Ronald himself!
That's all for now.
When I do squeeze out more time to blog again, will try to fill in the gaps of some of the unexpected twists and turns of the year thus far.
Many of which, I thoroughly believe, have been allowed by God to happen, and are blessings in disguise. More on that later.
The year must seem to have been off to a super slow start, if this blog is anything to go by. But really, that is hardly the case.
Three months have passed in a flash, and I find I'm staring the end of March right in the eye. So much has happened between me going back to work, Dylan starting at nursery, E starting in JB, and G starting on solids.
Where do I even begin?
A good place to start, I suppose, is where the boys are right now.
Gareth's now almost 7 months, happy and healthy. Not just that, he'g got a hale and hearty appetite for rice and oat cereal, potato, sweet potato, and strawberries too.
Here's the picture to prove it:
A happy little chap, even at bedtime:
In January, Dylan went for his first-ever "friend's birthday party" at Kids Amaze@ Safra Toa Payoh - a nursery playmate who turned 4. And here I am still thinking of my little tyke as a wee tot who's just seen the other side of 3.
In February, we ushered in the Year of the Tiger in a new way as a family. We took our first ever family trip up north to Segamat, Malaysia - my Dad's hometown - to spend CNY there. Segamat is a small town some 90km north of JB, and even though it was Dylan's second trip there (we went when he was a mere 3-mth old babe), this was the first time the daddy and number two paid the town - and the extended Chen family - a visit.
We put up in a little roach-ridden motel, but what made it all worth it was having the two young'uns spend time with the maternal grandparents, getting to know the extended Chen family and uncles and aunties, and playing with the cousins.
For the little tyke, the icing on the cake came from seeing fireworks at night and real fire-crackers leave behind its trail of red paper all over the ground the following day.
And a real lion dance troupe performing right in front of him.
Over at the country club, he had a fair bit of fun in the playground swings too.
With cousins Sophia, Christy & Sara:
With cousin Sara:
Another first for Dylan this year - at the tennis dinner at Keppel, the cheeky boy showed off his singing and dancing talent by out-singing and out-dancing the other kiddies on stage. To the amusement of the audience, he sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in its entirety, not once, but twice!
Now that Elroy has his passport back, he's been coming home more regularly from JB, at least every weekend if not twice a week. Have to say, compared to the last half a year with him over in Australia, I'm really enjoying having Daddy around more often again.
What do I enjoy?
I enjoy returning from work, taking time to have dinner as a complete family around the table. I enjoy seeing Dylan eat his dinner because he wants to grow big and strong, "just like Daddy".
After dinner, I enjoy the family activity of taking the stroller out, plonking the 15kg boy in it, having little Gareth snug in his baby sling, and walking out to Siglap Centre and back. Daddy will talk about the psychiatric hospital he's placed at, what's happening in the course; his observations of Malaysian life through the lens of a homegrown Singaporean an endearing quirk for me, a half-blood Singaporean who has a Malaysian father. On the way home, we'd grab an ice-cream sundae from MacDonalds.
Come weekends, we've started a tradition of going out for dinner, to some place Dylan might enjoy. e.g. Changi Village, where he gets to drive battery operated cars.
Or maybe Changi Airport. Don't ask why I decided to take a photo of the boys with old Ronald himself!
That's all for now.
When I do squeeze out more time to blog again, will try to fill in the gaps of some of the unexpected twists and turns of the year thus far.
Many of which, I thoroughly believe, have been allowed by God to happen, and are blessings in disguise. More on that later.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
So much to catch up on, so little time
Looking through my phone and its growing store of photos, I realize that I've accumulated a humongous backlog of events and photos to transfer, sort, archive, and not least update on the blog.
Trouble is my phone doesn't seem to want to let me bluetooth its contents over to the computer.
Highly frustrating.
Till I figure out how to get the photos over, and in turn, this blog going again, akan datang.
Till then, here's what will be posted up soon:
1) Chinese New Year trip to Segamat
2) Gareth goes on solids!
3) The tot drives at Changi Village
4) Weekends with Daddy
Trouble is my phone doesn't seem to want to let me bluetooth its contents over to the computer.
Highly frustrating.
Till I figure out how to get the photos over, and in turn, this blog going again, akan datang.
Till then, here's what will be posted up soon:
1) Chinese New Year trip to Segamat
2) Gareth goes on solids!
3) The tot drives at Changi Village
4) Weekends with Daddy
Friday, February 19, 2010
Each a face and a name among the multitudes
Traveling along the PIE this afternoon in a cab I suddenly had a morbid turn of mind. It happens a lot these days, Elroy would tell you.
I thought, in the event of a horrific car accident - don't ask me why I always think of this when riding in a cab - how would bystanders act upon seeing my horribly wrangled body?
They'd have to search through my belongings and look for my NRIC or my civil service card, or my phone to find the contact number of my next of kin.
These are the items tagged to my person that would give them a name to a "Jane Doe". Without them, I'm just another statistic. Faceless, without identity, among a throng of Singaporeans.
Without these tags that tie me to social constructs of citizenship and personal worth, is the harsh reality that I am just a little better than roadkill?
What about the thousands who perished in the World Trade Centre September 11 attacks? All faceless victims, remembered and known only by their mothers, wives, sons and daughters.
In such multitudes, I wonder how it is that each of us truly counts and matters.
Yet the amazing truth is that in the eyes of God our Creator, no such physical tags are necessary for us to be numbered, named, and identified.
No scrolling down the phonebook is required for God to recognize who I am, even though I am only one in 6 billion living on this earth. Not to mention the billions who have since passed through this life and into the next.
So here I am gazing at my two sleeping babies.
So very young, and full of promise.
And I hope and pray that they will never ever experience a moment of doubt in life that they are just a nameless face in the crowd, no matter what circumstances they find themselves in.
I thought, in the event of a horrific car accident - don't ask me why I always think of this when riding in a cab - how would bystanders act upon seeing my horribly wrangled body?
They'd have to search through my belongings and look for my NRIC or my civil service card, or my phone to find the contact number of my next of kin.
These are the items tagged to my person that would give them a name to a "Jane Doe". Without them, I'm just another statistic. Faceless, without identity, among a throng of Singaporeans.
Without these tags that tie me to social constructs of citizenship and personal worth, is the harsh reality that I am just a little better than roadkill?
What about the thousands who perished in the World Trade Centre September 11 attacks? All faceless victims, remembered and known only by their mothers, wives, sons and daughters.
In such multitudes, I wonder how it is that each of us truly counts and matters.
Yet the amazing truth is that in the eyes of God our Creator, no such physical tags are necessary for us to be numbered, named, and identified.
No scrolling down the phonebook is required for God to recognize who I am, even though I am only one in 6 billion living on this earth. Not to mention the billions who have since passed through this life and into the next.
So here I am gazing at my two sleeping babies.
So very young, and full of promise.
And I hope and pray that they will never ever experience a moment of doubt in life that they are just a nameless face in the crowd, no matter what circumstances they find themselves in.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Ironies
Wanted to post some pictures of the kids having a good time in Segamat with the maternal side of the family, but phone is refusing to successfully bluetooth the photos over, so I guess I'll save them for another post.
Will keep this one brief.
Found myself in two extremely uncomfortable positions all in one weekend. Firstly, we found money missing and I had to send our 5-month old helper back to the agency the very next morning. Second, a family tiff rended my heart almost in two on the night of CNY reunion dinner.
What stuck in my mind were these:
The T-shirt my helper wore when I sent her back to agency had the prints "Easy Come, Easy Go".
And the run-down, cigarette-smelling, cockroach-ridden motel that we stayed at in Segamat was called none other than "Harmony Hotel".
Will keep this one brief.
Found myself in two extremely uncomfortable positions all in one weekend. Firstly, we found money missing and I had to send our 5-month old helper back to the agency the very next morning. Second, a family tiff rended my heart almost in two on the night of CNY reunion dinner.
What stuck in my mind were these:
The T-shirt my helper wore when I sent her back to agency had the prints "Easy Come, Easy Go".
And the run-down, cigarette-smelling, cockroach-ridden motel that we stayed at in Segamat was called none other than "Harmony Hotel".
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
G is 5 months old!
I learnt today from Elroy who visited a psychiatric ward this morning, that there is such a thing as Post Partum Psychosis. A patient in that condition can totally lose touch with reality, and regress into an infant-like state.
He described this woman who gave birth in November last year. She returned to work and suddenly started speaking and behaving as though she was a toddler, becoming extremely child-like in her mannerisms.
While not as extreme, in some ways I've regressed into an infant-like state after going back to work in January too.
In that come 9.30pm every night, as I tuck the two boys into bed I find myself invariably succumbing to the thick ooze of sleep myself. Just so, so dead tired.
It seems between work, commuting to and from work, and the little snatches of time over dinner spent feeding the toddler and playing with the baby, there is just no more time and energy left to do other things.
What of weekends? Between the work weeks in January we've been shuttling between JB and Singapore to spend time with the Daddy who's based there this year.
So no more time to write too, for that matter - therefore why this blog's been inactive since Dec 09.
It's now Feb, and I think time to start regaining my wits about me... and not succumb to sleep and fatigue at the end of a long day. Hopefully will be more disciplined now to update the blog more often!
In the meantime, little G has grown and grown. While his big brother has started second year of school at BKK's nursery program.
At his recent vaccination, we found he is now 8.4kg and 66cm long, a whopping size compared to his brother at the same age!
Just look at this cutie!
Under his playgym:
Tummy time (an old photo of G, then 4-months old!)
During the weekend road-trips up to JB, the little angel sits quietly and contentedly in his infant car seat, enjoying the views:
May this mommy endeavor to be less sleepy and more productive in recording down how her babies are growing!
He described this woman who gave birth in November last year. She returned to work and suddenly started speaking and behaving as though she was a toddler, becoming extremely child-like in her mannerisms.
While not as extreme, in some ways I've regressed into an infant-like state after going back to work in January too.
In that come 9.30pm every night, as I tuck the two boys into bed I find myself invariably succumbing to the thick ooze of sleep myself. Just so, so dead tired.
It seems between work, commuting to and from work, and the little snatches of time over dinner spent feeding the toddler and playing with the baby, there is just no more time and energy left to do other things.
What of weekends? Between the work weeks in January we've been shuttling between JB and Singapore to spend time with the Daddy who's based there this year.
So no more time to write too, for that matter - therefore why this blog's been inactive since Dec 09.
It's now Feb, and I think time to start regaining my wits about me... and not succumb to sleep and fatigue at the end of a long day. Hopefully will be more disciplined now to update the blog more often!
In the meantime, little G has grown and grown. While his big brother has started second year of school at BKK's nursery program.
At his recent vaccination, we found he is now 8.4kg and 66cm long, a whopping size compared to his brother at the same age!
Just look at this cutie!
Under his playgym:
Tummy time (an old photo of G, then 4-months old!)
During the weekend road-trips up to JB, the little angel sits quietly and contentedly in his infant car seat, enjoying the views:
May this mommy endeavor to be less sleepy and more productive in recording down how her babies are growing!
Monday, December 28, 2009
A Look Back on 2009
We've reached the close of another year. And what a year 2009 has been.
To echo how another friend had described his year, this year has been a game of two halves. One half was played in a little town 160km east of Melbourne city, Australia. And the other half played out here at home, in Singapore.
I think it's worthwhile to look back on the things we've achieved, reflect on the events that have shaped this family, and give thanks for the rich blessings we've received that testify to the Lord's goodness in our lives.
10th January
After spending a month with us in Australia, little D's paternal grandparents were treated to a nice dinner at Dorbo's, a Malaysian-Chinese restaurant near Uncle K's place, before returning to Singapore. At dinner, we announced to Grandpa and Grandma that the trouble is about to double. ("Trouble" is the nickname we affectionately give to our little tyke. Heh.)
They did a double-take, and laughed and told little D to prepare to be a good big brother.
7 February
This was a day that we won't soon forget. We were warned well ahead to expect scorching weather with temperatures rising to 46 degrees Celsius, and woke to news that bushfires had started raging close to home.
The severity and the casualty from those fires made international headlines, and put Gippsland on the map for many people who didn't know where it was before.
I remember how the morning blue sky soon turned to a dusky orangey night when the Gippsland fires became so widespread it covered the sky in its smog. We learnt later that our friends the Hardings lost their home in South Traralgon, and we grieved with them.
Through the ordeal, they thanked God for keeping their lives intact and are now well on their way to having their beautiful home rebuilt. We're ever so inspired by their faith.
May 2009
My year on no-pay leave winds to an end, and we spend many happy hours saying our teary farewells to new-found friends in Australia. Even now, D will look at the pictures we took at Wilsons' Prom, in Sydney, at playgroup, with friends and tell me what a good time he had in Australia.
I miss my friends Audrey, Mei, Suryani, and Melissa just to name a few. And little D misses Moncidel, Ayla and other little ones at Gymbaroo, swimming class, and playgroup.
I'm thankful for the chance to be a stay-home mom, learning to cook dinner every day, and thinking up ingenious ways to keep very lively toddler engaged - including making a card-board dump truck for his playgroup's dress-up day, and making home-made playdough of both the edible and inedible varieties.
We pack up, and depart for Singapore. Little G is 24 weeks inside my ever expanding tummy.
Little D goes through a turbulent two months back in Singapore, adjusting to having mommy return to the workplace, daddy not being around, and mommy's ever expanding tummy.
30 August
Woke up at 5a.m. with strong and frequent contractions. Made it to the hospital in time - just 2cm dilated - and asked for epidural immediately.
Little G S Koh arrived at 10.50am, a big bundle of joy at 52cm and 3.5kg. We are so thankful to God for entrusting us to be parents of another little boy.
I begin my maternity leave utterly grateful that I delivered not just a healthy baby, but also 90 days of active service during which I completed a draft report on infusing literacy in Primary 3 Science lessons. =)
30 October
E and I are five years old as husband and wife. What a ride! I am so thankful that God's given me a husband who knows when to indulge me and pamper me, at the same time who knows when not to take my nonsense because he expects better of me.
Even though we are apart and I miss him so, it just makes him coming home and spending time with me ever so precious. We thank God for news that he received a year-long hospital placement in JB next year. It means Daddy gets to be home every weekend!
19, 24, 25 Decemeber
Probably my best decision during maternity leave is to serve in the church's christmas outreach performance aptly titled "The Great Big Christmas Giveaway".
Even though it meant night after night of tireless rehearsals, and fighting off the flu bug to sing, the experience of ministering to pre-believers through song is unparalleled.
After one of our performances, the four of us (C, Joy, Jill & I) stood outside, just praying and thanking God. When suddenly, we were awash in His presence, an ineffably sweet, sweet presence that left us all speechless.
I suddenly understood that the mystery behind Christmas is, truly, the BIGGEST, and the GREATEST GIVEAWAY of all. Note the pun on the word Giveaway. The same gift to mankind - a little babe lying in a manger - also reveals the greatest secret of all: that through this spotless lamb we can have eternal life, for he was born to pay to price for all our sins.
26 December
Our eldest turns three.
In a year, little D has learnt to swim with floats on, say all kinds of precocious and unexpected things like "The husky took it! Naughty husky!".
He is also starting to learn to sing in tune, and loves to sing himself to sleep at night. He has gained quite a repertoire of children's hits too. His favorites include:
- Incy Wincy Spider
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Do- A Deer A Female Deer
- Steve Green's Do Not Be Overcome By Evil
- When I am Afraid I will Trust in Him
- "And BINGO was his name O!"
- Meatball Song
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song
- The Best Day Ever by SpongeBob Squarepants
- From the Rising of the Sun
- Bob the Builder Theme Song
- Polly Put the Kettle On
Here's to more adventures next year!
To echo how another friend had described his year, this year has been a game of two halves. One half was played in a little town 160km east of Melbourne city, Australia. And the other half played out here at home, in Singapore.
I think it's worthwhile to look back on the things we've achieved, reflect on the events that have shaped this family, and give thanks for the rich blessings we've received that testify to the Lord's goodness in our lives.
10th January
After spending a month with us in Australia, little D's paternal grandparents were treated to a nice dinner at Dorbo's, a Malaysian-Chinese restaurant near Uncle K's place, before returning to Singapore. At dinner, we announced to Grandpa and Grandma that the trouble is about to double. ("Trouble" is the nickname we affectionately give to our little tyke. Heh.)
They did a double-take, and laughed and told little D to prepare to be a good big brother.
7 February
This was a day that we won't soon forget. We were warned well ahead to expect scorching weather with temperatures rising to 46 degrees Celsius, and woke to news that bushfires had started raging close to home.
The severity and the casualty from those fires made international headlines, and put Gippsland on the map for many people who didn't know where it was before.
I remember how the morning blue sky soon turned to a dusky orangey night when the Gippsland fires became so widespread it covered the sky in its smog. We learnt later that our friends the Hardings lost their home in South Traralgon, and we grieved with them.
Through the ordeal, they thanked God for keeping their lives intact and are now well on their way to having their beautiful home rebuilt. We're ever so inspired by their faith.
May 2009
My year on no-pay leave winds to an end, and we spend many happy hours saying our teary farewells to new-found friends in Australia. Even now, D will look at the pictures we took at Wilsons' Prom, in Sydney, at playgroup, with friends and tell me what a good time he had in Australia.
I miss my friends Audrey, Mei, Suryani, and Melissa just to name a few. And little D misses Moncidel, Ayla and other little ones at Gymbaroo, swimming class, and playgroup.
I'm thankful for the chance to be a stay-home mom, learning to cook dinner every day, and thinking up ingenious ways to keep very lively toddler engaged - including making a card-board dump truck for his playgroup's dress-up day, and making home-made playdough of both the edible and inedible varieties.
We pack up, and depart for Singapore. Little G is 24 weeks inside my ever expanding tummy.
Little D goes through a turbulent two months back in Singapore, adjusting to having mommy return to the workplace, daddy not being around, and mommy's ever expanding tummy.
30 August
Woke up at 5a.m. with strong and frequent contractions. Made it to the hospital in time - just 2cm dilated - and asked for epidural immediately.
Little G S Koh arrived at 10.50am, a big bundle of joy at 52cm and 3.5kg. We are so thankful to God for entrusting us to be parents of another little boy.
I begin my maternity leave utterly grateful that I delivered not just a healthy baby, but also 90 days of active service during which I completed a draft report on infusing literacy in Primary 3 Science lessons. =)
30 October
E and I are five years old as husband and wife. What a ride! I am so thankful that God's given me a husband who knows when to indulge me and pamper me, at the same time who knows when not to take my nonsense because he expects better of me.
Even though we are apart and I miss him so, it just makes him coming home and spending time with me ever so precious. We thank God for news that he received a year-long hospital placement in JB next year. It means Daddy gets to be home every weekend!
19, 24, 25 Decemeber
Probably my best decision during maternity leave is to serve in the church's christmas outreach performance aptly titled "The Great Big Christmas Giveaway".
Even though it meant night after night of tireless rehearsals, and fighting off the flu bug to sing, the experience of ministering to pre-believers through song is unparalleled.
After one of our performances, the four of us (C, Joy, Jill & I) stood outside, just praying and thanking God. When suddenly, we were awash in His presence, an ineffably sweet, sweet presence that left us all speechless.
I suddenly understood that the mystery behind Christmas is, truly, the BIGGEST, and the GREATEST GIVEAWAY of all. Note the pun on the word Giveaway. The same gift to mankind - a little babe lying in a manger - also reveals the greatest secret of all: that through this spotless lamb we can have eternal life, for he was born to pay to price for all our sins.
26 December
Our eldest turns three.
In a year, little D has learnt to swim with floats on, say all kinds of precocious and unexpected things like "The husky took it! Naughty husky!".
He is also starting to learn to sing in tune, and loves to sing himself to sleep at night. He has gained quite a repertoire of children's hits too. His favorites include:
- Incy Wincy Spider
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Do- A Deer A Female Deer
- Steve Green's Do Not Be Overcome By Evil
- When I am Afraid I will Trust in Him
- "And BINGO was his name O!"
- Meatball Song
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song
- The Best Day Ever by SpongeBob Squarepants
- From the Rising of the Sun
- Bob the Builder Theme Song
- Polly Put the Kettle On
Here's to more adventures next year!
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