Just Like Old Times

How time stretches when we have fun. Especially when a group of old pals get together and catch up on old times. Which was what happened on Monday afternoon. My longest and best buddies of 22 years gathered at BK's (aka Eliz) house and yakked the afternoon away - YM, BK, Loon and me! The good old 1F clique :)

Old pals from more than 2 decades ago! Am putting this photo real small because I am sure they will protest ;)

It was just like old times when we frequented her house as teenaged guests. From young girls with lots of dreams about romantic love, we are now mothers nurturing ideals in our children. Topics about boys in school morphed into discussions on the best primary schools for our kids!

I guessed what had changed the most was BK's culinary skills! From someone who nearly failed Home Economics Cooking (with me as the lousy partner!), she baked a sweet cheesecake and scrumptious scones for our afternoon tea! How wonderful!

Our kids played very well together, with Big Bee and Aurelius running about, having fun, and Little Bee and Sophie tinkering about in their little toddlers' curiosity!

Big Bee and Aurelius played all kinds of games


Little Bee and Sophie were simply enchanted by the slide!

After BK's place, I even had the chance to bring the Bees to Auntie Loon's big penthouse apartment. Big Bee was enthralled with her pets, Cookie, the enthusiastic Golden Retriever and Hugo, the royal Persian Cat! We took a walk with endearing Cookie around Loon's estate in the approaching dusk, basking in the receding golden sunrays and letting our hair caressed by the gentle sighing breeze.

What a great day!

Graduation Party

One of the parents from Big Bee's class decided to throw a graduation party, and enlisted the help of their 2 teachers to plan games for their grand finale in a chain of K2 graduating activities.

Last Saturday, we gathered at Kai's house for the party and the kids had a blast, jesting with each other, teasing the teachers, clique-ing with their favourite pals. Big Bee exhibited a rare side of her - probably common in school - that I had never seen before. She was bold, energetic, gregarious, independent and outspoken in front of her teachers, where normally with me, she can be clingy, whiny and sulky (shhh...!).

The kids and teachers played party games and the camaraderie was so dense...I could finally understand why Big Bee started loving school so much this year! There were prizes to be won. In fact, Big Bee won the very first game. When the competition boiled down to the 2 finalists, the whole room was resonant with Big Bee's close friends and supporters cheering and chanting her name! As Hubby said, that was a moment he felt so proud as a parent, to see your child so well accepted by her peers. And when she finally won, all her friends came over and hugged her!

Little Bee was kept busy at the party with food and cooking toys, her favourites!

The party ended off with an exchange of farewell gifts and our contact numbers. Let's hope she will have indelible memories of her kindergarten life.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

I took some time off from work on Monday and spent a lazy, relaxing afternoon at YM's place with Sophie. The Bees were entertained to the maximum the whole afternoon! Big Bee was amazed at YM's big fat cat Huskie, although I can tell she was pretty intimidated by the size of Huskie at first! Little Bee was happily playing with Sophie's many fun toys...but she was MOST satisfied when chef YM baked us a deliciously fresh loaf of moist apple bread! Yum! I loved it! The moment she saw YM preparing her dining table to set down the bread, she dropped all toys, abandoned her other 2 playmates, and stuck to my arms, patiently and unyieldingly waiting for YM to hand her that scrumptious slice of bread.

Little Bee with Sophie, both pretending to be crawling babies!

Big Bee and Sophie share a common interest - they are both not very interested in food! So, when Little Bee was busy munching away with YM and me, Big Bee and Sophie were busy playing with each other in the room, chasing each other in circles, Big Bee pushing Sophie in her toy pram, lying on the bed together (this was what Big Bee accounted to me, so cute!)

Big Bee and Sophie chilling out on the bed

The playdate ended on a happy note at 5.30pm...and we could still have time after dinner to start on our trail of catching twinkling Christmas trees in the glorious Singapore downtown that is bejeweled with fairy lights!

Santa Claus Is Here!

Sleepy Santa..Zzzz...

Christmas came early this year. We attended a term-end Christmas party at Little Bee's weekend school and Santa sneaked in to give presents to all the little toddlers! The whole class had to ring little bells to welcome Mr Ho Ho Ho in. The jolly sounds of numerous tinkling bells were so cheery and uplifting! Unfortunately, many of the toddlers cried at the sight of grand old Father Christmas, as many of them set eyes on him only for the first time. Luckily, Little Bee only gazed at him in wide-eyed shock, and she was brave enough to walk to him to collect her present.

As it was a party, I can bring Big Bee along. The kids were all supposed to dress up as animals so I dressed both of them up as little kitty cats. Big Bee had her Marie Cat ears, and Little Bee strapped on a furry cat's tail that brought much laughter from the teachers and parents!

It was a fun party with lots of song and dance, and it was truly heartwarming to see Big Bee guiding and mentoring Little Bee during craft time!

Big Bee teaching Little Bee how to make a fox hat!

The Bee's favourite part of the party - FOOD! Both of them are munching on Mrs Field's mini cup cookies that I brought to the party. Yum!

Kiddie Carnival

Have you ever been squashed in the midst of hundreds of toddlers and kids? Waited in line with patient children for manicure, games and food? Sweated loads, but amazed at how kids seemed oblivious to heat despite their wet brows? Well, welcome to a carnival catered specially for kids. This is an annual Mardi Gras of sorts for kids in Big Bee's school, and I had braved the above elements for 4 years.


Big Bee and her preschool successor, Little Bee, who was initially VERY overwhelmed by the gargantuan crowds and probably feeling glum that she has to start school next year!

This year, it was the easiest for me as Big Bee is a big girl now with all her independent, big-kid buddies. So, they roamed about the entire carnival grounds in a tight clique all by themselves, loving each other and totally not needing the parents anymore! Her friends' parents told me they felt left-out and unneeded! Hm, I am beginning to have a taste of how it feels like to have independent teenaged kids.

And Little Bee can walk about by herself, unlike last year when I had to carry her and pulled along a shyer Big Bee. SO - all's well this year.


Friends Galore (clockwise from top left): (1) Gabrielle in her enchanting painted face, (2) cutesy Natasha and sweet Rie, (3) Charming Kai (aka Big Bee's on-off "boyfriend" who recently cornered her in the school toilet for a kiss on the lips!), savvy Elizabeth, Big Bee and other friends went crazy on the bouncy castle, (4) Elizabeth and Rie again.


After some rounds of carnival games, Little Bee quickly settled for her first love - food food food! She ate cupcakes, bee hoon, nasi lemak and plenty of other junk food! Kept asking for more, more, more! Tsk tsk!

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly the whole morning, and I am glad that I will have another four years of fiesta because of Little Bee :)

Met up with Viv, her hubby and cute chubby Dylan there too, and she wrote a fabulous account of the carnival here.

Last Day Of Kindergarten

Big Bee's last official school day was on Wednesday. I met up with her form and Chinese teachers, and was elated to receive feedback that she had been a strong leader in school, both liked by peers and teachers. They advised me to continue her interest in public speaking, performance and drama. This transformation is no less due to the wonderful teachers in her kindergarten, especially in K2, and I seriously hope that she can receive the same personal nurturing that had led to her metamorphosis.

She brought back her K2 works and yearbook, and I flipped through her works with bittersweet emotions welling up in my heart. No more reading her daily story books from kindergarten with her. No more corresponding freely and informally with her teachers through the communications book. No more light-hearted treatment of her homework and spelling. For I traverse on the road to primary one with much trepidation. My poor Big Bee would have to start the relentless drill of Singapore's harsh academic system that had jaded most of us.


All her friends' and teachers' signatures and a recent class photo from her K2 yearbook. Big Bee is at the top row, 2nd from right. She also had to collect farewell comments from all the teachers who had ever taught her in her 4 years of preschool, featured in other pages of her yearbook.

One of her homework essays in early October was on the topic "What do you like about your kindergarten?". I thought it is apt to feature her short essay (which was straight from her heart) here as a striking and moving finale to her unforgettable preschool years. No editing from me, so pardon the funny grammar in some parts.

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What do you like about your kindergarten?

I like my kindergarten because of my teachers and friends. I like my friends because we play together for the past four years. I have many friends in school and they make me very happy. We learn together, we eat together and perform together.

I like my teachers because they teach me and my friends many new things. They are also kind and friendly. I also like my teachers because they go to field trips with me and my friends.

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Her teacher's comments: "Good job! I will really miss you, Miss Y." (Her teacher has a habit of calling her by her surname in jest.)

I pray that primary school will be an extraordinary journey as well.

My Little Miss Sunshine

Little Bee has always been a smiley baby, playful, grinning, beaming constantly. It's only recently that her feisty and obstinate character peeked through, but her facade of a ready chuckle is forever there.

She had been labelled by many as "Miss Sunshine", "Smiliest baby in the world", "Comical", "Smiley". Of course, only Mummy and Papa know the deep dark tantrums of hers, but I must say her temper is short and quick. She is never one to bear grudges.

This will be a long entry about Little Bee, as she approaches her 2nd birthday. At 1 year and 11 months old, she is the livewire of our family, squealing at the doorway and then running around in circles whenever we are back from work, cheering "YAY!" when jie-jie or she completed an important task, and loudly uttering "UH-OH!" with round shocked eyes and mouth when something goes awry.

She is enthralled by adult strangers at close proximity, especially in lifts. She will stare with her big round eyes, unblinking, at them, then she will smile a bashful smile and wave at them. She also likes to wave at strangers in crowded places. She loves fellow toddlers, and will strike up a conversation easily with them, yakking away in gibberish baby language, pointing, gesturing, bending close to the toddler and nodding her head as if in conspiracy to them. However, manytimes, she was met with bewildered toddlers wondering what she was yakking on about!

She loves to eat. If she is angry or fussy, one offering of a food item is enough to appease any stormy tantrum, only to be greeted with a wide beam amidst eyes still teary! She loves to play kitchen toy games, cutting, preparing and cooking a plethora of toy foods, and then pretending to feed everyone, offering her culinary masterpieces to all of us with a hospitable nod of her head, stuffing the food right into our mouths. I suspect she will be a chef in future.

She is a shopping queen! She loves to go out, always squealing and hopping with excitement whenever I say "Let's go out! Wear your shoes!" Then, she will be the first to scurry to the shoe cabinet, take out her shoes, and wait impatiently by the door.

She loves to draw and doodle. She is currently fascinated by the letter "A", aiming to write "A" always - sometimes successfully, sometimes not. She can also write "I" and "O" and she loves to draw simple smiley faces with eyes, nose, mouth (she drew a sad mouth only once!) and recently, eyebrows and messy hair.

Unlike her jie-jie, she cannot sit down at length to read books, probably she idolises her jie-jie, and will always inch towards her to play. But she can recognise and utter the letters A to F, and can say the majority of the letters after me. When I say "1", she will sometimes continue "2", so on and so forth until 6...then I realised she cannot utter 7 at all! Then she will continue with 8, 9...and by 10, the attention-deficit her will flit off like a social butterfly again.

She loves us! Her favourite person is jie-jie, of course, followed by Popo, Papa and erm, Mummy, unlike her jie-jie, whose favourite person is Mummy! She is a true blue Daddy's girl. And she never fails to be expressive. She will hug us when she is happy. Kiss us when we play non-stop with her. And she will put on a doleful sad face when we reprimand her, lying her head on our shoulder, lips trembling, eyes welling up with tears. Aww....

Well, that's my little Miss Sunshine :)

Nostalgia

On Sunday, enroute to West Coast Park, Hubby suddenly made a turn into my old university. He brought us to the meeting point that he and me first arranged to meet for our very first date, and related the entire story to Big Bee! She was fascinated and asked "Was I born yet?" Haha. We brought the Bees around the places I (and we!) used to hang out - the Central Library, the Forum, the carpark where Hubby used to park whenever he came by to meet me. We also passed by a couple of lecture theatres where I used to attend classes.

Standing at the Forum, seeing the students mugging away for their exams, assimilating the quiet tranquillity of flipping pages and hushed whispers, Hubby and I were immersed in a lavish cocoon of nostalgia. 16 years ago, we had our first date on those steps. And 16 years later, we brought our 2 offsprings back to the very same steps. 16 years...which seemed almost like a mere whisper in the vaults of our memories, for it seemed like only yesterday that I just met him there. Time flies indeed.

Christmas Spirit In The Air

The city is swiftly transforming into a festive wonderland, with ubiquitous twinkly fairy lights and dazzling Christmas trees overladen with sparkling balls and ornaments. The holiday atmosphere is uplifting, despite this year's Christmas being caught in the eye of the financial storm. The magic is descending, imminent and near.

This is everyone's favourite time of the year. To immerse ourselves into the merrymaking and festivities, Hubby and I put up our four-year-old Christmas tree on Monday, garnering the help of the Bees. We decided to change our Christmas tree theme this year from our "Gold Stars" theme the years before to a "Silver Baubles" one. Still trying to complete that look!

The 2 girls were so excited and hardworking, furrowing their brows trying to find the best spots to hang all the pretty, shiny baubles. Unfortunately, due to their height, most of the nicest ornaments are concentrated towards the lower half of the tree!

"Project Baubles" - all seriousness and no play!


A family affair - everyone chipping in

We also went to The Verge (used to be Tekka Mall) today, trying to purchase more ornaments to dress up our tree. Oh my goodness - the different shops selling Christmas trees and ornaments there definitely put those Christmas trim shops in Orchard Road department stores to shame! I had never seen such overpowering and staggering displays of breathtaking Christmas decorations! Made me feel like I am in Yuletide Wonderland!
The kids and Papa - overwhelmed!

Moments of Joy

After a hard day's work where you had to put up with your demanding, fussy boss and your pouting staff, you came down, exhausted and fatigued, to Hubby's car. You saw the infectious grin on Hubby's face, and 50% of your stress slowly melted away. You got into the car, and heard the new Christmas CD that he purchased just hours ago, blasting away in joy and merriment, cheery Christmas carols reverberating through the car and through your being. And all your stress evaporated into thin air.

You came home, stepped through the door, to be greeted with excited and exuberant squeals from 2 little girls. The little one stretching out her arms and running away at the last minute in pure cheek. The big one, beaming, jumping up and down in exhilaration. And you feel life is wonderful.

Thank goodness for little moments of happiness. Little moments that are monumental pivots for our sanity.

Rebirth At Dawn

This morning, Hubby and I woke up at 5.45am, unable to sleep on, inveigled by the cool fresh air outside our bedroom window, and decided to go out for an early morning jaunt!

By the time we left the house at 6.30am, the sky was swiftly transforming from raven black to a stirring mauve. We ate prata near the Botanic Gardens, and were invigorated by the crisp, sharp, rejuvenating early morning air. Our senses were heightened, our energy levels were uplifted and our minds were highly alert. It was a fantastic time for us to chat quietly, seeing the empty roads slowly filling up with cars, observing bleary-eyed passers-by on their morning walks or jogs, spotting school children with heavy bags going to school.

We even had time to take a brief stroll around the verdant Botanic Gardens, breathing in the clear, pure air, letting it fill our lungs with untainted, sparkling oxygen! It was a fabulous way for us to bond before the hectic activities of the day suck us into its vortex. It is a peaceful time for reflection, allowing us to understand that we are but little chess pieces in a gigantic cosmos of planet earth with painfully beautiful speckles of nature that is re-awakening to the cyclical phenomenon of the rising sun. Such beauty indeed.

I am glad that waking up real early will be a routine starting from next year with Big Bee's entry to primary school :)

The Final Hurdle

Today was the last activity of the "busy" period for Big Bee which started from my birthday (because she had to slog to make my birthday card!) all the way through her graduation concert, her primary one orientation and today, her Primary grade ballet exam that she had been gearing towards for the past 4 months.

Unlike last year when we were so anxious, this year, we took things easy before the ballet exam, probably because the major milestone of her graduation concert was over! She was also not as nervous as last year, and I am glad to see her coping with stress really well.

She was in the pink team, and had to perform a little dance on top of showcasing her ballet techniques to a Mrs Tilley from the Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD).

We had to leave her in the good hands of her ballet teacher who transformed her hair into an elegant ballerina bun. Wonderfully, Little Bee fell asleep in the pram, so Hubby and I took the opportunity to go for a foot reflexology session which ended dramatically with Little Bee waking up in an unfamiliar environment and wailing for us at the top of her voice!

Big Bee came out of her exams, her face relaxed and relieved. I told her she deserved a fantastic break after these 4 consecutive days of working so hard!

A New Chapter

This weekend is a hectic one for us. Last night was Big Bee's grand adieu from the carefree world of kindergarten. Today was her stressful (at least to us parents!) initiation into the world of primary school, where she will begin her journey of serious academic studies. This is where she will step into the rigid world of meritocracy that gave so many of us undue stress in the past. (I hope she will not understand what I wrote when she reads this! Shh...)

If you ask me, I would rather she remains our little innocent girl forever. Our girl who plays and giggles in the blithe, untroubled world of preschool. Hence, today is a day that I approach with much trepidation.

The weather played its part. It was weeping sheets of grey sombre rain when we drove into her primary school. For once, Hubby was more excited about the orientation than me! I just want to make sure she settled in comfortably with her new friends. And of course, I am thankful she got into the primary school that we wanted.

The parents sat through a talk with the bubbly principal while our girls played with their new friends. Plenty of rules to abide by. Early hours of schooling at 7.20am all the way to 1.30pm *groan* Long hours. Strict dress codes (no more pink shoes, vibrant socks or colourful hairbands, sob). It's not just her school. It is the nation-wide code of formal education.

Big Bee (in pink top and silver hairband) in her new classroom with her new friends

We jostled with many other parents to buy her uniforms and books (goodness, there are a lot of books, argh!) amidst handling a cranky Little Bee who had to stay throughout the talks and queues with us, poor baby! But I was so glad to finally fetch Big Bee from her new friends. Because I saw that she is smiling, colouring a picture, grinning with her old friends from kindergarten, unaware of her new imminent path.

At home, when unpacking her mountainload of books, she asked me why there are so many books for primary school. She also lamented that "there are no toys in the classroom!" I took the opportunity to tell her that life will be different in primary school. She has to behave like a little adult. And she will have a lot more work to do. And she will have to wake up at 6.30am every day.
At home checking through her new books, with Little Bee joining in like she is going into primary one as well!

I hope she can rise to the challenge! Welcome to the world of academia...