Us

Last night, Hubby and I went for a casual date night after we settled the Bees' dinner, and put them in the care of my highly reliable mother. We had not been going on solo dates in a long while, always towing 2 little rambunctious girls wherever we went these days. 

In fact, just before we stepped out of the house, Little Bee turned to us and asked sweetly, "Can I come? Pleeeeaaaassseee?" It took a whole lot of effort to tell her that Papa and Mummy were going out on our own! Big Bee, on the other hand, understood that we sometimes needed to take time off for ourselves, to strengthen that romantic bond between us - Hubby never failed to explain this to this understanding girl. 

Hubby and I went for a late dinner at Billy Bombers, and enjoyed the finger-licking good ol' American food of nachos and ribs. We then adjourned for a session of comforting tea in a cozy cafe tucked away in an intimate corner. And we started chatting like old friends which we had not really done in the busy hustle and bustle of parenting. I think it is just so fundamental to take some time off to spend time as a couple - to delve into the essence of ourselves and baring our souls to one another. Even if it is for a couple of hours every few months. I find that this definitely helps to bring the romanticism into our marriage and makes us conscious of why we are together, building a family, in the first place. 

The date night ended with an amazing movie - Avatar. It was an earth-shattering experience of exploring another parallel universe (or alternate reality, in Hubby's words) with remarkable effects. Despite it being a fictitious world, I thought it was an apt satirical portrayal of the harsh world we live in, and the true nature of humans. Watch it for a breath of rejuvenating fresh air - Hubby and I are aiming to watch it again in 3D for an uplifting experience! 

Homespun Christmas Surprise

Big Bee is becoming a mature young lady, and I am loving her sense and sensibility. After observing my mad dash for Christmas presents, she excitedly proclaimed that she will use her savings to buy Christmas presents for Hubby and me. She then probed about what I would like. It is so sweet to have a big girl whose only aim is to make you happy - the glorious rewards of parenting! My heart glows with blessedness whenever I converse with her, and Little Bee will usually follow suit by demonstrating double the love that her jie-jie produces, in a bid to gain my fullest attention - creating friction from a competitive Big Bee! But I always tell my Bees that I love both of them equally, although each will always try to ask me on the side who I truly love more!

Eventually, I told Big Bee that we would truly treasure something that they put in efforts to create. So, on the morning of Christmas Eve, the Bees slaved over a Christmas tree craft to present to Papa. We worked on a laborious handprint Christmas tree, which I thought would be easier for Little Bee. However, I found this craft fairly arduous because I had to painstakingly cut 16 handprints of the Bees as well as manifold Christmas tree ornaments all by myself. 

I got the Bees to paint a large piece of paper in fir-green colour the day before (good way to engage the kids in some quiet, focused work when I can read my book in peace!), then I reserved a full day for the paint to dry completely. 

Random colouring just to fill the blank page!

The following morning, I traced the Bees' handprints on the painted paper - which was very easy. The tough part was assiduously cutting out the handprints by myself, one by one - all 16 of them! It took me an hour, in between entertaining the kids, before I got them to assemble their individual handprints into the shape of a beautiful Christmas tree! 

Thereafter, I thought really hard for shortcuts to this formidable and demanding craft of incessant cutting! So, instead of my original plan of creating paper Christmas ornaments from scratch, I printed templates from the Internet, and got the Bees to colour some of these ornaments instead. Whew! That took a mere half hour! 

Busy colouring the Christmas ornaments! 

Next came another unforeseen onerous task! That of cutting these teeny Christmas ornaments! As the cutting had to be really meticulous, I had to help both girls cut 28 perfect templates out...which took me another 45 minutes on top of distracting 2 active kids simultaneously. 

The easiest job was sticking the ornaments on their respective trees. Both the Bees loved it, and I left them to their own creativity to decorate their Christmas trees - while I nursed an aching right hand! 

Finally, I got them to write personalised notes to Papa. Big Bee spent some private time writing and doodling a tender note to Papa, whereas Little Bee scratched in Papa's and her name onto the craft, when I spelt out the words for her (the strategically-placed stickers in her card are used to hide the wrong letters she scribbled!). 

The efforts were all well worth it from the expression on Papa's face when both his princesses presented him with their gifts - a priceless moment indeed! The crafts are now hanging in his office :) 

Bonding On Boxing Day

Boxing Day was a family affair for us, with the Bees spending much quality time with both sets of doting grandparents. Lunch was spent with Hubby’s parents in The Jewel Box’s Emperor Jade, with resplendent views of Sentosa and the expansive sea around it. We ordered a good mix of dimsum and staple dishes, and the food was highly palatable. More importantly, it was literally away from all the crowds, so we were able to have a good time chatting in peace. 

Big Bee loved the food so much that she ate loads! This girl is enjoying the stress-free holidays so much that she had been steadily gaining weight and developing a healthy rosy complexion. I shudder to think what the new school term will do to her appetite again. Little Bee loved the bright borderless interiors of the restaurant and the fact that she can roam around freely because not many tables were occupied. And the grandparents were very charmed by every little action of the Bees, as always.

In the late afternoon, we set forth to my brother's new house with my mother, Uncle Pat and Auntie Rose. We were awed by his lofty and airy apartment, and the Bees were thrilled to pure exhilaration when they saw their beloved jiu jiu and jiu ma! Hubby and I were able to relax a bit with my brother and sister-in-law helping to entertain the 2 boisterous kids! Meanwhile, I had a good time catching up with Uncle Pat and Auntie Rose who had just came back from an adventurous holiday in Israel - and they were both in their 60s! I hope Hubby and I can also travel to far-flung corners of the earth when we are old. 

Finally, we had dinner at Tampines' Ikea with my mother and shopped amongst the crowds before the kids turned in at 11.30pm! Gosh - their bedtimes are getting later and later! 

Of Good Food And Better Company

Christmas Day was overflowing with splendiferous food, fantastic company and remarkable gifts. We are thankful for our friends who organised the wonderful parties with an overwhelming selection of delightful Christmas foods so that we could just sit back and enjoy chatting with other friends, leaving our kids in the marvelous company of other children.

We were out of the house by 9.30am on Christmas morning, with the Bees chosen their Christmas dresses (these days, they dictate their wardrobe selections!) and we headed for LP’s house for a gathering with their family and PF’s. We were greeted with a mind-boggling selection of toys from her 2 boys, Weiwen and Weidong. The Bees, with Eugene and Claire, went quite rampant with all the toys but eventually settling for the very reliable Playstation again - with the exception of Little Bee and Weidong, who felt more at home with soft toys and Playdoh. Even Hubby was ambling around their house, peering and fiddling with interest at some of their toys!

The adults indulged in some really scrumptious food – a lavish fusion of East and West! Dimsum delights coupled with juicy turkey, ham and sausages! Good food always tastes better with excellent conversation, and 6 of us adults had the pure indulgence of sitting civilly around the dining table, munching on all the goodies while the kids entertained themselves. As our children grow older, this is one of the luxuries that we parents get – to watch them build up social networks from afar, while maintaining a thin, invisible line to them, casting our watchful eyes once in a while, but knowing that they will be fine.

We adjourned to Jasper’s house for a second session of luxuriant Christmas feasting with a stunning array of incredibly rich foods – succulent turkey,luscious beef, delectable sausages and plenty of heady wine and sweet desserts! We were absolutely stuffed by mid afternoon! The kids had a hey day playing with Amanda’s toys and ravishing an endless supply of party food and snacks, much to the Bees’ delight! (I usually deprive them of junk food). Once again, the mothers had a great time exchanging notes on parenting, which was such a far cry from our conversations of yore when we used to gossip about clubbing and the latest fashions!

We came back in high spirits, replete with abundant food in our stomachs and mirthful memories in our minds. The Bees spent an exciting evening opening up lots of presents under the Christmas tree.