A Month Of Free Rein

The June holidays had been gloriously unfettered. I took half the month off to spend time with the Bees, and the days were long, luxurious and languorous. We went on a very short trip to Cambodia, and then spent all our time back here in Singapore. Although I always enjoy new experiences when travelling overseas, I discovered the beautiful virtue of leisurely days spent at home. No agenda, no hurriedness, no deadlines to meet. And I don't just mean me. The Bees had the time of their lives not worrying about their school schedules and homework as well! 

However, this is the PSLE year after all, so Big Bee - being the disciplined girl she is - did immerse herself in some light revision. But no drilling, whatsoever. I believe in letting her enjoy the June holidays to the fullest, before the intensive PSLE revision this coming term. Play helps to boost brain power, in my opinion! 

This holidays were epic in the sense that we had plenty of playdates with different friends of the Bees. There were trips to the malls, outdoor playgrounds, movies, concerts, Adventure Cove, Universal Studios, Starbucks - just plenty of opportunities to bond with friends. We spent loads of time with the cousins as well. Little Bee attended an amazing zoo camp with a close cousin of hers, and there were play dates where the 2 generations of cousins gossiped incessantly. A very close cousin of ours got married, and we had the time of our lives bonding and having plenty of fun and laughter at the wedding. 

On the family front, we played lots of board games, we had many lazy mornings spent at Starbucks (Big Bee has a latest teenage addiction to frappuccino, and could not stop drinking them!), we read plenty of books and watched home movies. Simple activities but plenty of bonding. 

Life is leisurely and carefree, days are long and beautiful - and we could forget about the usual hassles of living in a fast-paced society for a while. Here's to more holidays with zero agenda! 

The Warmth Of Christmas

Christmas came a little early for us last weekend with a couple of celebrations and gatherings. On Friday, we attended our estate's annual Christmas party, and the Bees were excitedly wondering if Santa Claus would think they are good little girls and give them presents. Of course, Big Bee is a cynical girl by now, and kept insisting we parents gave the "fake" Santa Claus our presents, but we kept telling her we did not interfere with Santa's choice, preferring to keep the fairy tale alive :) 

It was a fun party from 6.30pm to 9plus pm, complete with a nice dinner and lots of games and shows. I kind of like such camaraderie between neighbours and this was a good way to infuse the elusive holiday mood into everyone. 

And most importantly, the Bees had proven that they were good girls this year, and got their presents from Santa! 

On Sunday, our group of secondary school good friends gathered for yet another annual Christmas lunch, this time at LP's house. We feasted on mouth-watering pizzas and ambrosial nasi lemak. More importantly, we had plenty of chances to catch up and yak with each other! Given everyone's busy schedules during the rest of the year, the year end holiday season is a beautiful period for all of us to slow our paces, take a look around us and appreciate the myriad bonding with family and friends.  

The kids were playing with each other, and we had a simple gift exchange for them, much to their happiness. It was amazing to see how fast kids transform year after year...soon they will all tower over us! 

We are definitely looking forward to more festivities in these last 2 weeks of a very eventful 2011! 

Merriment In The East

On Nov 19, the cousins got together for some family bonding, together with the grandparents - all thanks to Irene who invited us to her chalet at Downtown East! 

She booked a cosy and spacious corner room, and from the moment the little cousins met, it was non-stop, intensive playtime!

Travelling all the way to Downtown East imbued us with that sense of adventure, as we rarely venture into this part of Singapore. The resort feel of Costa Sands lulled us into the mood for holidaying and vacationing, and it is wonderful that we could indulge in such retreats without needing to travel overseas! 

We had a simple yet scrumptious lunch, comprising of delectable local delights like Penang char kway teow, curry fish head, nasi lemak and many more that we could not resist! 

It was serious soiree for the little cousins after lunch, with 5 recharged and boisterous girls indulging in some gleeful fun. Val brought along her little friend, Isabella, who was alone with us the whole day! 

I bought a packet of "blowing balloons" that journeyed straight out of our childhood days. Remember those tubes of gels where we use little straws to blow into really malleable yet fragile balloons?? Well, the kids went crazy over this when Irene, Fio and I blew these balloons for them. Big Bee was really good at blowing tremendously large balloons - even better than the adults! 

But the other little cousins who are much younger tend to deflate the balloons inadvertently rather quickly. We finished the entire packet of almost 15 tubes in a jiffy - with very tired mouths from blowing too many balloons! 

It was swimming time after we had usurped all the tubes of balloon gel, and we were truly thankful that the weather was wonderfully balmy yet not too sunny for a great swim! The girls were squealing and chuckling in delight, and had a truly fun time splashing around in the pool.

 

Dark ominous clouds loomed over us, and eventually large angry drops of rain pelted down on us in the typical late afternoon shower that was so ubiquitous this month. 

Back in the chalet, we squeezed all 4 little girls into the shower cubicle while Big Bee watched us bathe them in delight. It was like a factory production line - Irene would spray water on them, followed by me shampooing all their hair, then Irene would soap their bodies and we took turns to shower them clean. Then Fiona was in charge of towelling all of them dry. What hilarious fun! It was truly a sight seeing 4 little girls of similar height, stark naked and giggling, in a little shower cubicle. 

It was tea time once we got the girls nice and squeaky clean. Thanks to Irene's mum, all of us could indulge in some nice warm homemade green bean soup and fragrant pandan cake, as well as homemade agar agar from my mum! Slurp! The rain was pouring intensely outside but it was truly heartwarming and cosy within the chalet. 

All fun things must come to an end, and as the rain trickled to a halt, we bade farewell to each other but I am certain we would be seeing a lot more of each other during the December holidays!  

Spine-chilling Fun

On an overcast, stormy night, where the rain pelted down in dark fury and the winds were sighing agitatedly, a large motley crew of ghouls, demons, witches and vampires convened. There were also some fairies, a few princesses and a handful of pirates. Even Darth Vadar made a rare appearance from many galaxies away. 

Darth Vadar wheezed clumsily, then proceeded to remove his emblematic mask to reveal....Little Bee! A witch perched near Darth Vadar, with her face completely obscured beneath a dense curtain of thick, black hair, swept the hair aside to disclose...Big Bee! 

This was the 3rd Halloween party at our estate that the Bees were participating - and we had as much fun as previous years! However, timid Little Bee declined to take part in the trick-or-treats session this year, preferring to stay in the comfort of our safe home with my Mum. I guessed the gloomy weather had insidiously perturbed her!

The Witch and Darth Vadar

In the meantime, while waiting for the Bees' friends to arrive, Big Bee and I went ambling around for some trick-or-treats...and she was very brave this year! There was a house whose door was creepily shut with only a big skeleton hanging on the door with an eerie plaintive whine emanating from a scary sound machine. Big Bee, together with a group of 4 Japanese girls around her age, dared not knock on the door because they were spooked out by the scene and sound. I knocked on the door, with them cowering behind me, and the door creaked open slowly. A tall woman, hiding behind a monstrous mask, opened the door and moaned dramatically...albeit still giving the girls their treats. The girls retreated hastily, heaving huge sighs of relief. It was very amusing for me. 

There was a man who even asked me if I would like any treats, and stared in surprise when I told him I was Big Bee's mother. He uttered, "Oh, you look really young!" That made my evening for sure! ;) 

PF and LP came soon after, and after a quick dinner, the 5 children (minus Little Bee who was still contented to stay home) went jaunting around the estate for their treats. Check out their frightening ensemble! 

Can you recognise them? From left, Claire, Eugene, Big Bee, WW and WD

Back home, the mothers were chatting happily over dinner, and thereafter, after a long night, it was the kids' turns to pour out entire mountains of sweets to trade and discuss over!

Some serious trading going on! 

The next day, we adjourned to PF's house for another brief Halloween party where the Bees made new friends again. 

Little Bee can now join the rest of the big girls to play and yak, yay!

What a spookily fun weekend! 

Grillicious!

Hubby's good friends SB and Jasper, together with their families, came for yet another grill party in our home on 7 August. Hubby and I love grill parties for the friendly alfresco camaraderie amongst the "grillers". This time round, the hubbies would be our butlers for the evening - grilling food galore for the lucky wives and kids! 

Our 3 hubbies were busy grilling and barbeque-ing all sorts of succulent delicacies like satays, juicy hamburgers and crayfish (which were sadly forgotten when the hubbies went out for a break, and hence burnt!). 

On top of that, we fried some bee hoon, ordered a pizza, and prepared salad for the kids and hungry mummies, while waiting for the hubbies to finish grilling! So it was truly food heaven!  

Meanwhile, the 6 kids and 1 baby had a fantastic time bonding over toys and games. It was encouraging to see all of them eating their dinners obediently and independently together - talk about positive peer pressure! It was even more heartening to see them giggling, chuckling and chatting with each other as the evening progressed, so that the mummies had all the time in the world to chat, while the daddies busied themselves in the sweltering outdoors, grilling our dinners! I think both daddies and mummies cherished the bonding sessions over these lazy chats and delightful discussions. 

With so much food on the dining table, and imbued with the contented feeling of being waited on, we mummies felt so blessed ;) 

Dinner Under The Kites

A few Sundays ago, the cousins and I traipsed down to Marina Barrage for an alfresco dinner and a stint of kite-flying. Unfortunately, the kiterunner in our family - Hubby - was away for work, so the Bees did not have a kite to launch into the enchanting twilight sky! 

All of us brought along some food for the picnic - scrumptious chicken rice and roast pork with eggs by Irene, mouthwatering rojak, popiah and hokkien mee by Fio, and juicy grapes by me. We laid out the mats and played around a little with CC entertaining all the 4 active girls using his solo kite. 

Before long, we sat down comfortably and dug into the local feast with much gusto and relish! Yumz! The Bees, who are accomplished food connoisseurs, sat right beside me and joined in the food attack, not caring much about running around in the green meadow nor flying the kites. 

I always enjoyed Marina Barrage, despite the crowds. The scenery was breathtaking with the glittering Marina Bay Sands on one side and the placid sea on the other side. We were immensely lucky to have exceptional weather that evening, with the setting sun creating bewitching shafts of brilliant tangerine rays. 

The lavender skies above us were dotted with a kaleidoscope of kites, and there was a constant gentle breeze wafting all around us. What a mesmerising evening indeed. 

Big Bee took this photo, with one of the little girls holding the toy. Toy courtesy of Irene! 

The Bees soaked up the beguiling atmosphere, smiling, laughing and chattering incessantly with their cousins. 

We finished up the food eventually, as the dusky and mysterious gloaming descended on us. Twinkling lights came to life in Marina Bay Sands but Marina Barrage was shrouded in murky obscurity, making the kids squeal with excitement, thrill and a little dash of fear in the imminent darkness. 

We will be back very soon for another night under the kites! 

CNY Started Early!

Chinese New Year came early for us, with a nice simple gathering at my house for Viv, Fon, Angela and Annie. Once again, it was a rare occasion to see all 5 of us together (thanks to Fon and Angela for being in Singapore, hurray!). We treated ourselves to a nasi lemak buffet, plus mee siam and scrumptious pizzas (compliments of Viv), as well as lots of mouthwatering CNY goodies (thanks, Fon!) and addictive desserts (thanks to Angela and Annie!). It was pure heaven just to be sitting around the dining table, and yakked and ate for hours. In the end, the party that started at 6pm ended at 10 plus, to the delight of the Bees!

Meanwhile, the Bees were thrilled that their newly found friends were coming to their home, and had a great time indulging in Wii/iPhone games, Uno, a craft game, remote control cars and plenty of bonding. The kids were enthralled by our octopus, but the elusive octopet made a poor showing due to its shyness, revealing only a fraction of its meandering tentacle, much to the disappointment of everyone!

Surprisingly, we were able to capture all the kids for a group photo, except for...

Dylan, who was enchanted by the octopus!

Good food, great company and kids who can entertain themselves - it was a great way to spend the Sunday evening before the flurry of Chinese New Year activities starts! 

To The Park We Go

On a warm, laid-back afternoon on 19 November, YM and I brought the kiddies to West Coast Park for a jaunt. Sophie and the Bees were energetically clambering around the sprawling playground, trying everything from netted bridges, flying fox and balancing ropes. YM and baby David, who was just learning to walk, were ambling alongside the shady meandering pathways. Going to a normally crowded park on a weekday was bliss - people were few and far between, the place was quiet and tranquil, and we could hear the birds singing! 

We then brought the kids to MacDonald's for a quick bite where they were busy playing and giggling with each other before YM had to leave. 

Thereafter, I brought the Bees around the peaceful park again, imbuing myself with the peaceful silence enveloping us. The Bees were happily fooling around, cooperatively and stylishly posing for pictures whenever I whipped out the camera! They were both ecstatic at a surprise afternoon gathering on a weekday! 

I shall make it a point to visit more places on serene weekdays :)  

Spooky Halloween

The Bees celebrated Halloween with their friends through the spine-chilling tradition of tricking and treating in our estate. The households who are interested in dishing out treats will have a sticker stuck on their doors, and their unit numbers will be featured in a list given to the eager children, so non-participating households like ours will not be disturbed by over-zealous kids!

Big Bee was busy dressing up as a witch excitedly, way before the event. My mum dabbed on creepy white eye shadow on her and helped apply a layer of dark blue nail polish to make her look witchy!

The Bees in their Halloween costumes: Light versus Dark?? 

She invited her best friend Rachael, as well as another neighbour Karen and her little sister. As I was walking her home from school earlier, Rachael, Karen and Big Bee were chatting incessantly about what to wear! Girls will be girls, I guess! 

We were fairly hesitant about not letting Little Bee join the trick-or-treat expedition, for fear that she may end up being spooked. But poor her was so enthusiastic about dressing up that we just donned on a pair of fairy wings and an angel's halo, complete with a sparkling wand, so she can be a little good witch. 

The girls met each other amidst much hullabaloo and thrilled squeals. A storm with dense dark clouds was brewing overhead, making this the perfect setting for a creepy Halloween night. Already, there were many little devils, demons and witches scurrying about, busy finding the houses for tricks and treats. Children's chilling screams emanated all around, creating an ominous atmosphere of eerie fear. The older girls in our group were getting impatiently excited - running ahead to find the first household. 

The tricks-or-treats gang: (from left) Karen, Rachael, the Bees and my Mum, Karen's little sister 

Hubby and I did not follow them as we adjourned for my birthday dinner. However, Mum followed with Little Bee in tow. Thereafter, she told me that Little Bee was really spooked after 2 households, frightened by the silent little ghouls that guarded the 2nd home fearlessly, as well as by the elaborate Halloween facades and costumes decorated by many innovative families. Henceforth, she brought Little Bee into the safe sanctuary of our home immediately. 

Our domestic helpers followed the rest of the older girls around. Big Bee told me she loves Halloween, but she was rather startled by the ghostly decorations of some of the homes, complete with moving skeletons and abruptly shocking appearances of some human apparitions! 

I heard from my mum and helper that Big Bee was like a little leader, paving the way, knocking on doors and yelling "Trick or Treat!!!" before her friends. I am really glad she enjoyed herself independently, and I am sure she loves Halloween for a more concrete reason - a mountainload of goodies! 

Playmates

During the one-week September holidays, 2 of my best friends and I had a little gathering in my house for a session of play for the kids and tea/dinner for the adults. We had known each other for more than 2 decades (Oops, shows how old we are!) - we grew up and shared so many momentous memories together, and it was really fun to see our kids playing together. I am very sure our kids will grow up with each other and be firm friends thereafter!

Happy kids!

The Bees with Aurelius striking a fabulous pose. Check out Little Bee's shy pose. Aurelius played so well with Big Bee that he was really reluctant to go home!

Little Bee squeezing into a car with pretty Sophie. Naughty Little Bee was over-protective of her toys this time :(

Breakfast For Angel Faces

After a long hiatus, my good friend YM and I met up for breakfast on Monday morning with Little Bee and her adorable princess, Sophie. The mummies had a good time munching away on scrumptious breakfast sets - so did the little ones! 

Little Bee and Sophie were singing songs, and I am wondering if they would check out discos and parties together in future, just like what the mummies did (too) many years ago! They are the same height and I thought they look so cute standing and playing together. It was a pity that they could not play longer for I had to rush back and fetch Big Bee from school. In the cab going back, Little Bee was sad to part with her little friend, pouting out her lower lip in her signature pout and telling me, "No more friend". 

YM and I were pregnant with these 2 little girls at approximately the same time, and had many fun moments shopping for maternity and baby clothes. One moment our babies were ensconced comfortably inside our stomachs, and it seems like the next moment, they are growing out of their toddler stages, easing towards big-kidhood! Time really zooms faster than the speed of light and we should really appreciate and grasp every present moment rather than dwell unnecessarily in the past or present!   

Coming Of Age

It is common hearsay that your kids are independent once they start venturing out with friends on their own, without needing your company anymore. During the Friday of the March holidays, Big Bee was invited to Elizabeth's (her K2 good buddy) house...and the invitation specifically highlighted that only Big Bee was invited. Hmph.

It was a gathering with 4 of her best buddies in K2, and a reunion of sorts, as most of them went to different primary schools. As this was her first escapade out alone, she was filled with slight trepidation and asked that my helper accompany her (since parents were not welcomed!).

Hence, my helper became the official photographer for the gathering and told me the girls had fantastic fun, switching from royal games of princesses role-playing to hopscotch to play dough and board games the entire afternoon from 2 to 5pm. I must thank Lizzie's Mum for keeping an eye on the girls, though she said they were adept at entertaining themselves.


Casting a magical spell over Lizzie (in red dress) with Mithalina giggling at the background.


The ring of fairy queens: (from left) Lizzie, Mithalina, Big Bee, Nicolle Tan and Nicole Teo

This party of hers gave me a peaceful reprieve at home. For the first time in years, I could finally take an afternoon nap and enjoyed some tranquillity at home whilst Little Bee napped!

Big Bee enjoyed herself tremendously. When we picked her up at 5pm, all the girls were so reluctant to leave each other. I am very happy to see her forming strong and, hopefully, lasting friendships with these kindergarten pals of hers.

Swim Party

Charlie's Angels (from left): Big Bee, Val & Little Bee. Chloe was changing into her swimsuit in the bathroom!

Last Friday, my cousins and I organised a swim party for our kids, also fellow cousins, together with our Mums, who had lots of fun catching up on gossip over good food.


The 3 happy grannies with Little Bee

Poor Little Bee had a runny nose so was prevented from going into the pool. Big Bee had lots of solo practice swimming in the pool with Chloe watching her every move and attempting to swim about, making poor Irene so tired, clutching onto her in the water! Fio was busy trying to encourage Val to get into the pool, but little Val was more interested to sit by the pool, looking pretty in her gorgeous swimsuit!


Paddling and splashing!

Chloe and Big Bee are swim pals!

After lunch, the kids meddled with toys and indulged in a group craft activity, doodling and drawing harmoniously together. It was amazing how all 4 of them can play so peacefully and amicably together! We plan to let them hang out together more often, just like how our moms used to let us cousins play together ever so often years back.

Group tuition, anyone?

Busy busy...

Toddlers' Lunch Date

From left: Mandy, Natalie, Regina and Little Bee. Natalie and Little Bee were using the backdrop to "teach" each other alphabets!

Last Friday, I brought Little Bee to a lunch date at New York, New York with 3 little girls, 1 little boy and 1 baby boy! Yes, it was with some of the forum mummies as one of them came back from Panama for a little while, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Check out the variety of hand-holding permutations!

As the toddlers are now all-knowing little adults, they were interacting and chatting in ways that were so cute and charming:

1) Like how Little Bee and Mandy chatted "without talking" in Kei's words - nodding at each other knowingly, like they were sharing some deep secrets.

2) And how Regina, Natalie and Little Bee started the peer pressure rolling by grabbing the adults' cameras and shooting all the adults, with Regina taking the lead.

3) Like how Little Bee tried holding Ewan's hand, but he was too shy to hold her hand, which ended up with Little Bee in a rueful, broken-hearted expression.

4) Or how Mandy proudly showed off her cute baby brother Barry to Little Bee who stared with fascination at him in the pram.

'Twas a good afternoon break and we mummies do enjoy having another set of echo-ing yakking tods alongside our own chats!

Little Bee loved her friends, proudly boasted about "mei mei's fwens" to Big Bee after the playdate!

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!