Stargazing

I had always been fascinated by astronomy and the stars. Those mysterious, twinkling diamonds in the sky constantly beckon to me, taunting me that there is so much more to this universe than the everyday woes and joys we are going through on Earth. Making me feel so much like an infinitesimal speck of insignificant stardust in the limitless universe that knows no boundaries.

And yes, according to some astrophysics' theories, we are all made of stardust - because almost every element on Earth was formed at the heart of a star. Isn't it magical...and almost existential?

Last March, in one of our trips to the Science Centre, I bought a huge telescope as a birthday present for Hubby. It was a long-held dream of mine to gaze regularly into the stars and examine our universe, and thus understanding our world and who we are. And I know it is sneaky of me to buy something I really want for Hubby's birthday!

The telescope is a real beauty. It opens up panoramas that are literally out of this world. We saw - in vivid details - almost every little crater on the moon. We glimpsed into elusive galaxies where clusters of stars reside. We went back in time to look at stars sparkling at us now. It was all so fascinating. My only grouse is that I need to learn to handle the telescope better because I can never focus onto Saturn despite us spotting it gleaming high in the skies. To be able to see Saturn's rings would be a feather in the cap! And oh, the repercussion of nights of viewing is that I ended up with a very tired left eye which I usually kept closed when peering into the telescope with my right eye...and an aching neck!

Enjoy the photos of the moon from the eye of the telescope that I took using my good old mobile phone!

Is Our Math Curriculum Relevant for the Real World?

Last week, I attended a Primary 5 & Primary 6 Parents' Maths workshop. This was the first time I had attended a workshop of such nature, and Maths had never been a favourite subject, so I wasn't really looking forward to it. However, with so much changes in the primary school Maths curriculum, plus the challenging Maths questions that Big Bee occasionally asked me at home, I thought it is good to understand what Big Bee is going through in school. The real Maths whiz in our family, Hubby, came along too, much to my relief, and I was really thankful for his interest and support in his girls' education.

What ensued was a 2.5 hour of mind-boggling and muddle-headed session where parents were taught the various strategies used in the PSLE Maths curriculum, and parents were made to do 16 problem sums (gulp!).

The audience was filled with parents from all walks of life - from doctors to lawyers to journalists to parents with postgraduate qualifications. But the looks of bewilderment on most parents were truly priceless. We had to throw all our years of algebra aside, and for Hubby especially, to toss his advanced Engineering maths aside, so that we can become primary school students, learning a new curriculum from scratch again.

We grappled with new strategies like repeated identity, branching, advanced model drawing, etc. Eventually, the final problem sum that we had to solve baffled most of us, and it was so ironical that a Primary 6 girl had to come up to the main board and explained the solution to the entire audience.

After the workshop, I was really perturbed. Today's Maths curriculum does not help in fostering creativity and problem-solving skills in our children at all. Today's Maths - with its allocated strategies for respective problems - reinforces the perennial problems that most Singaporean students are facing, which is the inability to think out of the box and the lack of opportunities to think beyond what they are learning in the classroom. Having fixed strategies for individual problem sums just prove to students that there are ready-made solutions for every problem they face, when the world's problems are really made up of so many ambiguous issues with no black-and-white solutions. Thereby, this will sadly reduce our children's inspiration to think beyond the traditional boundaries of knowledge to create more unique and applicable solutions, which is what a fledging and small country like Singapore really needs.

Frankly, I emerged from the workshop disillusioned and disappointed. Despite the Ministry of Education's call for more creative teaching and a more holistic curriculum, the teaching of this core subject, Mathematics, shows that we, as a nation, are somewhat unprepared to veer away from the staid curriculum of rote-memory and examinations-based learning. Worst of all, I fear that such a curriculum will not foster a life-long love for and interest in learning, and is not practical nor intellectual.

When will we be ready to steer away from rote memory examinations, from ready-made solutions for a more liberating and intellectually stimulating curriculum that will nurture the true abilities of our children?

Some of the questions that we had to solve are below. Want to try your hand at solving? ;)

1) On Monday, Alynna has $48 more than Eunice. On Tuesday, Alynna spent 1/4 of her money and Eunice received 20% of the amount of money she had on Monday from her father. Eunice found that she had $72 more than Alynna on Tuesday. How much money did Eunice have on Monday?

2) Anne, Belle, Cecil and David each have some stickers. The number of stickers Anne ha is 2/3 of the total number of stickers Belle, Cecil and David have. The number of stickers Cecil has is 20% of the total number of stickers that Anne, Belle and David have. If Cecil has 35 stickers, find the total number of stickers that Belle and David have altogether.

Colours Of Nature: The Green Corridor

There is a vast meadow near our old house where we used to hang out over the weekends. It is a pasture where we could take long leisurely walks without seeing any cars or smelling their noxious fumes. A colossal verdure where we can observe the little things that make nature so wondrous. We were able to observe at close range the simplest beauties like an eagle soaring low over the meadow, verdant patches of lalang, and dense morning mist rising over the dewy, wet grass awakening from a night of slumber.

Recently, we went back to our little emerald playground, and we were devastated to see a proliferation of bulldozers, trucks and other horrible machines meant to annihilate the primary forest, undergrowth and the enduring greenery in that entire area. I think the government just cannot bear to see a large piece of unspoiled natural beauty gone to "waste", and prefers building sterile shopping malls and pricey condominiums instead. It is inexplicably saddening. 

We should really be teaching our children - who will be the next generation of leaders in this urban nation - the value of nature, the huge benefits of leaving forests unkempt and growing at their own pace (instead of terribly boring cultivated parks), and the power of heritage in this young children. Otherwise, there is no way for our children's children and other generations beyond to truly understand this fledgling country if everything is all about economic success and air-conditioned leisure. 

I am blessed to have parents who used to bring us to parks and beaches for picnics and outings. My brother and I grew to appreciate nature a lot - even until now. I am also very happy to have a husband who loves the heat of Singapore as much as I, who always refrain from going into boring, air-conditioned malls to spend a free afternoon. 

Some time back, my husband and brother made plans for a cycling trip along the Green Corridor. I would love to join them one day, maybe trekking behind them with the Bees. Here is a guest feature by my brother who wrote briefly about the sights and scenes from their dawn cycling adventure. I thought it was a very poignant post about grasping at the last vestiges of our memories. In the end, my hubby and brother cycled for a good 6 hours throughout the breathtaking Green Corridor! 

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The Green Corridor (The old railway track)

Text and photography by my brother

As I cycled on the old train track along Ghim Moh, I took a moment to look up at the block of flats that my eldest uncle once stayed.

Every first day of Lunar New Year, all my relatives would congregate there. I still remember vividly during my childhood days, my sister and cousins would rush to the windows and catch a glimpse of the passing train. As it whistled by in a hurry, it brought us smiles.

Today, the block of flats stood silently cordoned away from the public, awaiting its final destiny.

Further down, Tanglin Halt comes into sight. It is here that my mum spent many of her growing years in. Once again, the block of flats had met with the same fate as those in Ghim Moh - en-bloc.

Queensway is just round the corner. There are news that it is up for sale. Will the Mecca of sports shoes meet the same fate as Ghim Moh and Tanglin Halt?

Ironically, in this day and age, nothing can withstand urbanisation. A stretch of dirt path filled with rich memories - and yet, its fate is in peril.

What other sacrifices do we need to make in the relentless pursuit of economic growth in Singapore? Have we all lost our soul and innocence in the process?

  

Pancake Design

We discovered a pancake joint where the Bees could design and cook their own pancakes, with different flavours and lots of condiments.

Every table was equipped with a grill where customers could just squeeze the pancake batter in any shape or form, and then have fun creating their very personalised pancakes!

The batter was available in different flavours - from buttermilk to chocolate to strawberry to pandan!

 

The Bees loved the fact that they could create any pancake shapes their hearts desired - in all sizes! They created teeny pancakes, heart-shaped pancakes, alphabetical pancakes, and decorated these beautiful shapes with rainbow sprinkles, M&M chocolates and fruits. This was an excellent way to make picky eaters like Little Bee eat lots of pancakes!

Hubby was like a big kid - and a creative one at that! Check out his pancake creations below...the girls loved his creations!

Definitely worth a visit again and again - and such great bonding over the dining table too!

 

20 Years

...20 years. This is how long Hubby and I had known each other as of last month. 2 full decades. 240 months. 7,300 days.

We did not mark the special day with fanciful celebrations. Instead, we quietly acknowledged the fact that we had known each other for more than half my life, and rejoiced in the notion that we are still as much in love with each other as 20 years ago.

We met as sparkly-eyed freshmen in his university. Destiny must have been working its adroit hand as it lured me all the way to his campus. Within weeks, we were dating regularly - deliriously in love, meeting each other almost daily, writing lots of love notes and poems to each other. Oh, those were the wonderful years.

6 years later, we went on a trekking trip to Nepal with some friends. On our first day of camp, we set up camp on a grassy knoll high up in the Himalayas, with resplendent snow-capped mountains all around us. At night, when our friends had retired back into their tents to hide away from the cold, he asked me to look up at the skies, and I was blown away by a dense blanket of dazzling, brilliant stars all above us. It was magical.

As I looked back at him, I saw him holding a little jewel case with a pair of diamond earrings, smilingly saying, "These are the stars from above" (or something like that!) and "Will you marry me?" I was overwhelmed and speechless, before uttering some unintelligible affirmation out of sheer happiness.

14 years later, with 2 additions to the family, we acknowledged that marriage is a whole lot of hard work, compromises and effort - but most importantly, love and companionship. There were good days and there were equally bad days. We had gone through much trials and tribulations as well as endless happiness. We still think about the same things at times. It is uncanny when he utters something and I would look at him, stunned, because I was just thinking about the same thing. It is remarkable that I sometimes still finish his sentences for him - and vice versa - because we know just what each other is thinking about. But most of all, we cherish each other's differences - how he could not even do a single forward bend despite his wife being a yoga practitioner for the past 10 years, and how I could not even understand a single music squiggle (yes, musical notes are squiggles to me!) when his favourite hobby is composing music.

I recently chanced upon this little note of scrap paper which contains an unforgettable poem that Hubby wrote on a lovely morning in London 3 years ago as I slept. We both read it again and were transported to that memorable trip. For me, I was touched that he could still write this poem even after 9 years of marriage then, and his scribbles and cancellations on that scrap paper made the poem even more precious.

Here's the poem he wrote:

My beautiful wife
In the early morning light
Lips pristine and locked
Face a perfect scenery
Eyes like the morning sun,
Waiting to rise
From the slumber sleep
Time never moves
As she whispers
Each breath
Lips part slightly
Air moves in
I place my kiss -
Morning rises

~ 12 July 2009, Sunday, London

The Fruition Of Parenthood

One of the gratifications of being a parent is to be at the receiving end of a child's appreciation and love. And what better way to experience this thankfulness than on Mother's Day!

This weekend was the culmination of an incredibly hectic week. Craziness at work from Monday to Friday, coupled with intense exams revision for Big Bee in the evenings, and then my weekend work practically started from Friday night till Sunday evening! So, it was an immensely fatigued weekend for me. Still, despite the 12 to 13 work hours per day that I put in over Saturday and Sunday, I always count my blessings that I am in Singapore and not overseas for work, so that I could still spend some time with the Bees at night and snuggle with them at bedtime.

Yet, what was most fulfilling after coming home with flagging spirits and a languishing body on Saturday night was to be presented by 2 very special Mother's Day gifts from the Bees. The girls were really dramatic. They sat me on the sofa, and started showering me with little styrofoam hearts (used for their craftwork). Then, each of them presented a little gift to me - Little Bee gave me an enchanting bouquet made up of a little teddy bear, and Big Bee presented an exquisite bear-y jewellery box to me!

I was so touched. Hubby had the fantastic idea of giving them $10 each to buy me a present in Popular bookshop in the afternoon, and the presents were handpicked by them, which made it even more meaningful and delightful. In addition, Little Bee also presented me with a little craft that she did in school for Mother's Day and a card she hand made earlier in the day. I felt so pampered!

Craft that Little Bee did in school

A card that Little Bee put together on her own

The next day, on Sunday, after dragging my feet home from an entire day of work, Big Bee quickly informed me, "Oh Mummy! I need to give you your Mother's Day card!"

What ensued was an unfolding of a splendid handmade card by Big Bee, which was beautiful. What was most moving was her message in a little book within the card (see below), and this made me realise that this is truly a time for rewards and sweet desserts of parenthood. All those years of nurturing, frustration, unconditional loving and fatigue all rolled into one enrapturing ball of inexplicable sweetness and satisfaction. I couldn't imagine that I would one day receive messages like these from my Bees, but I am delighted and moved beyond words that Big Bee had broken this barrier yet again. This will certainly be yet another memorable moment for me again.

She drew my 3 favourite books in the pop-up orange card, complete with their titles!

She wrote an acrostic name poem for me!

 This also sets me thinking. I used to make beautifully crafted cards for my mum during Mother's Day all the way until university. Somehow, along the way, with all our busy-ness, these cards stopped, to be replaced by little packs of impersonal and meaningless ang pows once I graduated and entered the work force. I wonder how my mum felt? She diligently kept all my cards in a little box and would talk about them to the Bees. 

I think it is time to make a handmade special something for her soon....

My Family, My Best Friends

Poor Big Bee had to go to school on her birthday, so I brought her for lunch in MacDonald's after school, together with a nice ice-cream session in another cafe. We then had a merry cake-cutting session with a delectable blackforest cake in the evening.

Being with a big girl is really wonderful - it felt like we are friends, and recently, we had been gossiping a whole lot. During our alone-time during my Saturday enrichment class cum lunch with her. During her little birthday lunch with me. At home in her bedroom. And she would gabble on about her friends, politics in class, teachers and the little pressures she faces in her studies. It felt just....marvelous that I had reached this amazing stage in my life when all I could do was sit back, relax with my daughter and just yak about everything under the sun.

Little Bee is fast approaching that stage too - she is now beginning to tell me more things about her school life and friends, being the chatty little girl that she is. But they are still child-like narratives - nothing like the 2-way conversations that Big Bee and I have. However, on one hand, I am faithfully counting down to the day when I could gossip with both my girls, yet, on the other hand, Hubby and I are reluctant to see Little Bee, our youngest baby, grow up. Life is full of strange, bittersweet dilemmas, isn't it?

With the Bees being big girls and able to chill out on their own, Hubby and I had been taking brief 15 to 20 minutes walk in the evenings, so we could hang out with each other, have a little private time and get in touch with ourselves again. What was most heartening in one of the walks was when he uttered that I am his best friend :)


Daughters - my good buddies. Hubby - my best friend. I hope this heartwarming stage of life will be perpetual...

April Delights

Life had been inexplicably hectic at work recently - with me averaging about 3 to 5 hours of sleep nightly. It is getting harder to juggle motherhood and working life, but I refused to be daunted. Furthermore, there are little blessings in life this month - for it is both Hubby's and Big Bee's birthdays!

As we grow older, we prefer to keep our birthday celebrations more and more simple. And this is the same for Big Bee too. When I asked her how she would like to celebrate her birthday this year, she said she would rather spend a quiet birthday with us, and not involve her friends, unlike her big bash last year.

So, we woke up bright and early on Hubby's birthday to have a simple yet heartwarming breakfast by the pool. As the Bees grow older, we find it so easy to just sit back, relax and observe the little interactions of our 2 big girls, letting them run the show, leaving Hubby and I in the backseat. Today's breakfast comprised of scrumptious soon kueh and mouth-watering fa-gao. We munched on good food, observed the shimmering ripples of the pool and admired the verdant greenery around us. Lovely quality family time.

Breakfast by the pool with the Bees

We then plunged into the pool for a little swim, before hurrying off to The Line at Shangri-La Hotel with Hubby's family for an overwhelming buffet lunch. The food in The Line was just.too.much! And I thought it was crazily expensive and not worth its value. However, Big Bee had been bugging me to go there for its chocolate fountain, after reading about it in someone's blog, so I thought this would be a wonderful chance to bond over food with Hubby's family as well.

They were hardly away from this chocolate fountain for long!

We were also lucky that there was a roaming balloon sculptor who created a cute little flower for Little Bee and an amazingly impressive bouquet of balloon flowers - complete with a bow! - for Big Bee, whose birthday was imminent!

We ended off a rather long day with a lazy and peaceful dinner at our favourite Italian restaurant in a charming area, a relaxing trip to the library and completed the day with Hubby blowing his (all-too-many) candles on his cake!

I really love weekends like these :)

Preparing For The Dragon's Roar

I had been working 12 consecutive days without any rest - throughout the entire weekend last week too. Which is why I started off this Saturday a little edgy, tense and a wee bit tired, unable to shake off that clingy irritant called Work.

However, I gradually got into the mood of the imminent Dragon year this morning when I had the opportunity to shop around for new clothes, pyjamas and other Chinese New Year trinkets for our home.

Traditions and rituals have a funny way to slither unknowingly into our memories - enticing us to travel back in time to those wonderful days when we were young, when life was carefree, when our parents planned elaborate lunar new year celebrations. By replicating some of these age-old rituals, we are perpetuating not just traditions to pass on to future generations, but also social constructs of self and society for our children.

For me - these familiar rituals, these proverbial practices act as a powerful life buoy for me, imbuing a sense of calm, the significance of stability and a stalwart anchor that reassures and sustains me. The world around us might change, but such familiarity ensures me deep down in my soul that so long our essence, our awareness of what truly matters and our love for our closest family and friends remain the same - everything else is irrelevant.

I also hope to create this bubble of familiarity, tradition and reassurance for the Bees so that they can look back at their childhood fondly in future.

Which was why Hubby and I were invigoratingly packing the Bees' room this whole afternoon, although it can get tiring at times! And since Chinese New Year this year has a weekend before 初一, I was delighted to be able to indulge in a reunion dinner with my family. This year, we had dinner at Guilin Restaurant with my entire maternal family as well as Uncle Pat and Auntie Rose - and it was so heartwarming catching up with everyone despite all our hectic schedules.

I am certainly looking forward to more family bondings in the next few days! Happy Dragon Year, everyone! 

The Real Oz

Our family loves musicals, so we headed out to Wicked the musical last Sunday with much anticipation. And we were not disappointed!

The Bees were bewitched right from the beginning with the excellent cast and their enthralling, crystal-clear singing voices. Big Bee especially loved the story line and plot, which I found very meaningful too - about friendship, looking beyond the surface, being different yet getting accepted. These are values that resonate very well with a tween like her. As for Little Bee, well, little naive her still loved sparkling Glinda versus emerald Elphaba!

Big Bee told me she prefers Wicked to The Lion King because the plot is a lot more substantial, whereas Little Bee - being in a completely different age group - still prefers The Lion King because she found parts of Wicked a wee bit scary, according to her.

Both Hubby and I prefer Wicked to The Lion King as well - due mainly to the sterling performance and singing by the lead actresses (although Phantom of the Opera remains as both our all-time favourite!).

We came out of the musical into the ethereal, golden sunshine of a brilliant sunset - what a perfect ending to a wonderful afternoon!

The Bees now have a renewed interest in the Wizard of Oz story - so I guess it is time to read that to them!

The Sunshine Moments of 2011

We spent a very quiet New Year's Eve, busying ourselves with re-doing the girls' bedroom to a brand new theme and spending the evening looking at photos of our recent holiday. Warm, snuggly and intimate. 

As 2012 looms ahead of me, I read through some old blog posts (and were amazed at how fast time slithered past as always) and reflected about some momentous instances in the past year. 

Here are my top favourites:

1) We went a little overdose on holidays this year, probably in a bid to escape from hectic working life in Singapore! But these holidays sealed our close family bonds and allowed us to spend unfettered, unobstructed time with the Bees. 

We had a languorous time with ourselves in Penang, doing nothing but chilling out, eating and soldering our nuclear family ties. 

We decided to bring the entire extended family on a longer trip to Taiwan (which I had yet to publish my post!). It was so gratifying to see the 4 grandparents' eyes lighting up every morning to see their beloved Bees. And we managed to spend 7 days of precious time with all our parents in a stunning and beautiful country with breathtaking natural scenery.

And we loved our latest holiday to South Korea where we spent a very quiet but memorable Christmas, away from everyone we know, only to hole up in a rural small town.  

I am never really very good at travel blogging, but will try to publish posts on the last 2 holidays soon!

2) I am thankful that Big Bee got into a special performance class for next year, whilst maintaining my usual level-headedness that this is but her first step in a long odyssey. And more importantly, as her parent, I need to inculcate the values of working hard and expecting the best, yet, if the best is unreachable due to whatever reasons, it is perfectly fine so long as your family loves you and you are healthy and happy. Strange, juxtaposed lessons to impart...but challenges are synonymous with parenting! 

3) Little Bee had just turned 5, and had grown and grown in K1- much to both Hubby's and my chagrin. Nothing wrong with her becoming more self-reliant, more worldly-wise, of course. But...we will miss her little baby self, her chubby cheeks and her pure immaculate innocence as she stepped onwards to K2 next year. She is a lot more independent now and somewhat cynical at times (just like her big sister), albeit with frequent dazzling sessions of absolute charm and baby naivete. She is popular in her K1 class and has many best friends. Her teachers adore her and had also discovered her love for performing, so we shall see how they nurture her in school. She had also commenced her ballet classes last year...and is enjoying every bit of her classes. 

4) Meanwhile, Big Bee has matured beyond description, and is now deep in tweenhood as she turned 9 this year. She is now like my friend, and sometimes even my mentor. I look to her for advice on some issues and she never failed to dish out sensible advice. When I go crazy with Little Bee, dancing and singing around the house, sensible and no-nonsense her would shake her head as if barely tolerating these 2 mad childish females! She stopped bringing my home-prepared lunch boxes to school, which was a little sore point for me, preferring instead to buy food with her friends in the canteen during recess. Yet, at times, her enthusiasm, excitement and love for adventure shines through - and I never fail to cherish these 2 sides of her personality. 

5) Hubby and I managed to meet another time in Beijing for one night in April during both our work trips for a little couple time. And we also managed to escape to Bintan during our anniversary for a night. There were also a few occasions when we requested my Mum to stay the night in our house, just so we could indulge in a little supper and movie, and even a happening concert, to regain our connection and solidify our emotions without distractions. I definitely love these moments. 

6) Work-wise, I am grateful for an exciting and new portfolio at work, which is something that I had always wanted. Yet, I am even more thankful that I am travelling much lesser for work now. As my frequent flyer status dwindled down the tiers year on year, I rejoice in the fact that this is a powerful indication that I am with my darling Bees most nights of the year, instead of some cold, impersonal hotel bed. 

7) On the homelearning front, we had covered the themes of Space, Solar System, Planet Earth and Lifecycles this year. I hope to continue to work regularly with the Bees on fun homelearning, whilst balancing the dry, more academic aspects of homework and assessment books (urgh). We are also doing more painting at home, with me as art teacher and the Bees attending art workshops for the first time this holiday (they love it!). Being all-rounded individuals is so important for character development and ultimate experience of everything in life. The Bees also became flower girls for the first time, and would be flower girls the second time on the first day of 2012 :) 

8) Gatherings with close friends are getting lesser with everyone's busy schedules as our kids enter primary school. But yet, I am thankful for holiday breaks to catch up with friends and for all the random occasions throughout the year when my cousins and the Bees' cousins would meet and have fun! 

9) Hubby had acquired a new hobby - marine fishes! So, this past year had seen a slew of new pets from octopuses to starfishes to seahorses to all sorts of colourful marine fishes! He had become quite an expert, and had imparted quite a lot of knowledge to the Bees as well! Thanks to him, we now have an teeming and lively aquarium with marine life to admire every day.

10) I still love all those simple outings in Singapore when we would traipsed to the myriad parks around our sunny little island, indulged in alfresco picnics, immersed ourselves in performances and museums, or simply relaxing at home with breakfasts and homecooked meals. 

2011 had been a lovely year...but I am still reeling from the feeling that it had soared past us way too rapidly! 

Posing with lionesses in one of our many zoo trips

What were your most significant moments in 2011? 

Nutcracking Fun

We always try to watch a full-length ballet performance towards the end of every year, usually by Singapore Dance Theatre. Last year, we treated ourselves to a 3-hour performance of Sleeping Beauty, where the Bees were entranced by the familiar storyline and beautiful costumes. I remember Little Bee was dancing and pirouetting to the music in the dark, emulating the sinewy ballerinas! 

2 years ago, Big Bee and I were fascinated by the popular Christmas ballet of the Nutcracker. And this year, the entire family of 4 trooped out early on Sunday morning to watch this year's version of The Nutcracker again. As always, the haunting and mesmerising Tchaikovsky music captivated us and immersed us in a spellbinding cocoon of rapture. 

However, I was a wee bit disappointed by this year's adaptation - which was not as elaborate as the version 2 years ago, with the storyline a little thin. The techniques were not particularly striking as well, and the leads were relative unknowns in Singapore. 

But still, the Bees were enchanted and this annual ritual gave them some fodder of inspiration for their ballet journeys. I am also thankful for Hubby who is usually more than happy to join us. 

After the performance, we had the wonderful opportunity to stroll around Esplanade, admiring the beautiful skyline and revelling in the cool, year-end weather. 

The Bees in pure glee on the rooftop of Esplanade

We also made our wishes at the wishing spheres of Singapore, with the Bees writing down their wishes for the imminent new year with excited alacrity. 

Big Bee's nice simple wish

Little Bee thought that these spheres are presents to the fishes in the Singapore River, so wrote something for them! It was hilarious to me. 

We showed them where their spheres will be, and we all looked forward to the countdown to the new year! 

Time passes so fast every year - it is definitely good to take stock of the year and look forward to another brand new year, while learning to wind down towards the end of the year :) 

Fan-Spotting

Thanks to Hubby, he dragged us out of the house on Saturday morning to queue up and watch one of Little Bee's favourite bands - Hi5! Big Bee used to be a fan when she was young as well, and I remembered bringing her to the old Hi5 concert. Now, this is a new Hi5 with brand new band members, and Little Bee is now their little fan! 

We reached Millenia Walk at 11.30am (for a 1pm show!), and saw a little queue forming beside the stage. Apparently, the first 60 kids on the queue can have a meet-and-greet photo session with all 5 members of Hi5. I had never queued up for any band tickets before, much less queue up to do celebrity spotting - so can you imagine the things we parents are willing to do for our kids!? 

I am normally an impatient person and would avoid long waiting times and meandering queues at all costs. However, strangely, I find queueing up on Saturday morning rather therapeutic! I was sitting on the floor, while Hubby brought the girls around, and I enjoyed observing the people around, analysing who they were. I guess time slows down when we are caught in the web of a waiting game - hence allowing us to fully live in the present and observe the world. 

Hubby and I also took turns having lunch with the Bees, so I brought Little Bee to MOS Burger for some yummy Tsukune Rice Burger. She loved it! It was really enjoyable spending solo time with Little Bee over lunch, and I am sure Hubby had a similar pleasant experience with Big Bee too!

Soon enough, we were being ushered into the sitting area around the stage, and needless to say, Little Bee had a first-class seat at the front row nearest to the stage! She patiently sat and waited for her favourite bandmates to come strutting out onto the stage, and boy, was it a happening and super boisterous party when Hi5 pounced around on stage, singing the favourite songs of the kids! 

Check out the look of glee on her face! 

I must say their songs are very catchy and danceable, so it was no surprise that all the kids around me were screaming away excitedly just like fans in some adult rock concert, and many - including Little Bee - were at the frontline, bopping and jiggling away! 

She was one bold kid as usual, dancing right beside the stage and incessantly waving at the various Hi5 team members vigorously until she got a couple of Hi5s and smiles from some of the band members. 

Serious dancing in action

It was really amusing watching her dance and gyrate to the tunes. And the fact that she tried several times to attempt climbing up the stage plus her persistent waves at the singers was testament to the knowledge that she is one gregarious kid alright! 

During the meet-and-greet after the concert, she was smiling broadly at them, hi5-ing away with them and daringly sitting on one of their laps for a photoshoot. She did not display any signs of shyness at all, and I worry she will become an uncontrollable party animal when she grows up!

In the meantime, we were just content to sit back and let her revel in the physical closeness of her favourite characters - for now :)  

The Moongazers

The second lunar eclipse of the year happened at a very appropriate time when the Bees were still awake and could gaze at the moon with Hubby and I. After viewing the first lunar eclipse of 2011 in awe and fascination, we naturally wanted the Bees to observe the second celestial phenomenon with us. 

So, at 9.45pm on 10 December, I peeped out of our balcony, saw the full moon eclipse commencing, whooped in excitement - much to the surprise of the rest of the family, and proceeded to get Hubby and the kids out to view the lunar eclipse. 

We spent a good 45 minutes observing the devouring of the moon by earth's shadow. The kids were a little spooked at first, seeing the moon disappear little by little. Hubby and I took the opportunity to explain the science behind this rare event, and emphasized that there will not be another lunar eclipse until 2014! 

We gazed at the clear, aphotic sky and admired the ponderous but steady progress of the eclipse. We could even detect glimmers of dim constellations just beside the moon at that hour - I believe it was the Big Dipper, I am not certain! We pointed out the differences between stars and planets, as gazed upon by the naked eye, and this was certainly a great continuation of our previous homelearning theme of Solar System! 

By 10.30pm, Little Bee was almost nodding off, plus the full moon was in a state of total eclipse. We scrutinized the exceptional rusty-red glow of the full moon in total eclipse, and we explained the reasons behind this amazing occurrence to the Bees. Thereafter, we called it a night and headed back to our home. 

We were definitely blessed by clear skies and the optimal position of the moon that lovely night! 

Where Magnificence Meets The Horizon

Our family loves the sea. And we love this beautiful restaurant just by the sea somewhere along the eastern coast of Singapore. Back in the days before the renovation of this restaurant (into something glitzier, which I truly lament), we used to burrow our feet into the sandy ground whilst chomping on our breakfast. Hubby and I had a celebratory ROM dinner here, way back in 1999 - together with all our family and friends. Thereafter, we had regular family meals with our parents here. And we would always cherish the looks of awe from Big Bee and then eventually Little Bee when we had meals with them just beside the sea. 

Can you believe this is Singapore? 

Which is why this restaurant is so special to us. 

We went back after a long hiatus of almost a year, after they revamped themselves, and was a wee bit disappointed by the sophisticated upgrade. Gone is the rustic pavilion that we would make a beeline for in the past. Gone is the wonderfully friendly staff whom we had known for more than a decade. 

Yet, we understand their need for change. And we still love the stunning ambience and unblemished atmosphere while dining under the stars. In addition, we love observing the flight patterns of our colossal jumbo jets that land and take off nearby. 

We had the good opportunity of dining on scrumptious Indonesian food under a dazzling evening sky of multi-hued clouds and malleable colours of dusk. As we ate, the resplendent skies turned from orange to a kaleidoscope of deep reds and purples, and eventually darkened into a rich lavender and eventually darkness. 

As darkness descends, the distant twinkling of the city lights were like gems beckoning seductively to us, but we revelled in the knowledge that there is still this little paradise from the daily urban rush, this tranquil enclave of serenity where time stood still. 

A little slice of heaven on earth

Exquisite indeed. 

What's For Breakfast?

Hubby bought a waffle-maker, and created waffles for breakfast :) Nothing is more delicious than a waffle made by a loved one, complemented by a wonderful frothy cup of cappuccino to start the day. 

The Bees loved the waffles and gobbled down quite a fair bit! Thanks, Hubby! 

The Festival Of Lights

Sweaty meshing of bodies. Ambrosial scents. Kaleidoscope of vivid chromatic fabrics.

No, I wasn't stuck in a dance party or a market. Rather, it was in Little India that I encountered such vibrancy for the senses.  

The Sunday before Deepavali, we trooped towards Little India to immerse ourselves in the impending celebrations of the Festival of Lights. It was the Bees' first trip right into the heart of Little India, and we wanted to go back another time soon!

We squashed with the festive crowds busy shopping in Mustafa Centre, and the Bees had their first experience of hastily trying out clothes in the constricted alleys of the congested Mustafa, with all eyes on them, 2 Chinese girls trying on resplendent saris. We bought 2 beautifully embroidered saris in dazzling lavender, all thanks to Hubby for choosing. 

The Bees adorned in their saris

We strolled along the streets of Little India, our olfactory senses engulfed in full-bodied fragrances of flavourful foods all around us. We looked around, amazed at the cultural diversity exploding in Singapore. We then ambled to the nearby spanking new City Square Mall, bewildered by the sheer size of the mall. 

We vowed to return with the Bees, who were as intrigued as us. And I would also love to bring them to Arab Street, Geylang Serai and many other ethnic quarters in multi-cultural Singapore...so that they would understand the idiosyncrasies and nuances of different cultures in Singapore.  

And on the day before Deepavali, Little Bee's class hosted the assembly performance in celebration of Deepavali (which was why we went to Little India to buy saris in the first place!). 

One thing I love about Little Bee's school is the opportunity to perform regularly (usually once in 2 to 3 months) in front of the entire school, performing plays, dancing and singing, so these kids would have no fear of public speaking and performing on stage in future. Parents are invited to such assemblies, and the school tries to involve parents in an interactive way during the performances. 

Big Bee with some of her best friends

For an extroverted and gregarious girl like Little Bee, who loves singing and dancing, she is like a fish in water when performing. For the Deepavali performance, her class performed a play depicting the origin of Deepavali, and 2 Indian dances. She had been constantly practising her dance moves at home, and telling us animatedly about her performance weeks before the day of performance. 

After the assembly, everyone praised her for her passionate Bollywood dancing. Some of the mothers were also dragged on stage to dance with them (including me!), and Little Bee was thrilled to see me beside her, performing in front of the school. 

Little Bee leading the pack during the 2nd dance performance!

That was truly one exciting performance by Little Bee and her friends, and I actually secretly enjoyed prancing around on stage with her!