Doodling Nights

These nights, I usually spent a whole hour before the Bees' bedtime to let them indulge in some doodling. This acts as some quiet time to lull the 2 active spirited girls into a state of serenity so they can sleep easier at 10 plus pm. Otherwise, they can be fooling around on bed till really late!

To save the trees, I decided not to use paper for their artistic efforts, although I would dearly love to keep some memoirs of their evening "works". Instead, I let them sketch to their hearts' desires on magnetic doodle boards. My father gave a nice big pink doodle board for Big Bee's 6th birthday, but I realised that the 2 feisty sisters had been fighting rather unceremoniously over this precious commodity. Hence, last month, we bought another doodle board from Fisher-Price so that each can have her own magnetic canvas.

Big Bee is now a category 5 (in hurricane scale) fan of the Powerpuff Girls. She so adores them that she will live and breathe (and draw!) Powerpuff Girls daily. She will sit - starstruck, and insisting that Little Bee should be quiet as a mouse - every weekday at 12pm for their cartoon show and will comb the bookstores for all books Powerpuff; ask me during every business trip to bring back any memorabilia of Powerpuff Girls (which, incidentally, is rarer than expensive black truffles!!) and will doodle them in any spare blank space on her books! *Faint* We sometimes watch the Powerpuff shows with her, and I do find Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup really cute and adorable as well. She will always ask me who are stronger superheroes - Powerpuff Girls or Superman (whom she knows is Mummy's old-fashioned superhero). Erm, of course, I must concede it's the 3 super girls ;)

Oh, by the way, in school, she is Bubbles, while her best friends Elizabeth and Rachel are Blossom and Buttercup respectively. And YES, Powerpuff Girls are the key talking point of these girls. Fan idolation starts at an early age these days.

Every night, Big Bee will practise earnestly how to draw her favourite Blossom and Bubbles! Here are 2 of her masterpieces which she insists I must post here (yes, she reads this blog sometimes!). They do look pretty much like the real things, huh?

Blossom, as depicted by Big Bee - every little girl's superhero

Bubbles as drawn by Big Bee

I am also very proud of Little Bee recently because she learned to draw a face all by herself! Whenever she doodled a face, Big Bee and me will cheer loudly and festively, and Little Bee will flash her characteristic toothy grin, beaming her pride and joy. Then she would point to her nose and the dot she drew on the face, and said happily "Nose!". And she would start doodling smiley or serious faces all over. Last week, she even drew a perfect circle for the face! Her faces are usually smiling or straight-faced....no sad faces yet! Here's one of her masterpieces :)

Little Bee's depiction of Mr Sun with a serious expression. Sunrays courtesy of Mummy.

Travel Memoirs: The Ice City

Last week, I went to Harbin, China on a work trip for the very first time and enjoyed a bit of sightseeing in this city touted as "Oriental Moscow". And you can probably see why, from the many Orthodox churches speckled around the city, the ubiquitous Russian-inspired architecture and cobblestoned pavements. The juxtaposition of the romanesque Russian buildings and Confucius Chinese culture was charming.

Being so far up north, the weather was way cooler than the rest of the Northern Hemisphere at this juncture of time. One night, I was shivering in my hotel room with the weather outside at 6 degrees! One thing that struck me about Harbin is the cerulean, clear blue skies with not a single cloud in sight!

Blue skies unto infinity at St Sofia's Church. Looks like Moscow, huh?


The baroque interiors of St Sofia's Church


The Holy Bible in ancient Russian language


Another Orthodox church near Guogeli Dajie, the Russian quarters of Harbin


A Chinese man writing calligraphy using water on the pavement just outside the above Orthodox church

Ethereal Grace

Big Bee's ballet school conducted an open house on Saturday morning, which means that parents were invited into the ballet class to watch an exclusive performance by the little ballerinas. Having learned ballet since she was 4, Big Bee can now perform a dance with a little storyline on her own. Today's solo performance consisted of a 3-minute segment where all the girls had to perform an umbrella dance on their own, with the ballerina pirouetting in the rain, shivering gracefully with cold (yes, that is possible in the dance!) and then with facial features and body expression lighting up considerably when she saw the umbrella. Facial and body expressions are now an integral part of their progress. I am so proud to see Big Bee smiling sweetly and performing confidently in front of the audience, remembering all her actions, although I know that the perfectionist her was probably overly anxious to ensure everything from her smile, expression and dance steps were flawless.


Turning on her ballerina stage smile


The ballerinas in the "pink" group. There are 4 colour groups of girls: blue, pink, white and purple


Foundation of en pointe, or "tippy toes", in kiddy ballet terminology

Little Bee had to skip her Saturday school to be part of jie-jie's cheerleading team. And true enough, after Big Bee's solo performance, she clapped heartily with us and kept calling "Jie jie! Jie jie!". When Big Bee skipped back to the group of ballerinas sitting on the floor after her performance, Little Bee was so proud of her sister that she kept calling her, despite us hushing her, and then slowly inched towards her to pat her jie-jie's tulle skirt, stroking her jie-jie's leotard, quietly uttering "Jie-jie, jie-jie" repeatedly with her signature giant beaming grin, her big eyes glowing with utmost adoration for her sister! Eventually, she laid her head on Jie-jie's lap, then shoulder, and Big Bee finally gave in to her little sister's idolation with a soft proud grin and a few tight hugs for Little Bee. How heartwarming to see both sisters hugging on the wooden dance floor!

Jie-jie's enthusiastic cheerleader!


Big Bee with her ballet buddies, Phoebe and Jessica

Sporty Sunday

Weekend breakfasts are highly anticipated and enjoyed by Hubby and I. However, ever since Big Bee and Little Bee took up classes on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, weekend breakfasts are things of the past :'( Hubby and I are still trying to find ways to drop one class permanently so that we can still enjoy at least one weekend breakfast together.

Last Sunday, we cancelled one session of Big Bee's horse-riding class for a tennis gathering at PF's house. The husbands are playing tennis doubles, so it was a good sporty start on a cheery Sunday morning!

The 3 musketeers again - Big Bee, Claire and Eugene

The kids were elated that they can assemble together once again for some crazy fun, right after their wild Saturday night ;) It was rare that Big Bee would sacrifice her beloved riding lessons for anything! We packed MacDonald's breakfast for the kids, and had great fun eating together, chilling out and played sweatily under the blazing sun in the playground, while the husbands were trying to be Andre Agassi out in the tennis court.

Little Bee chomping on yummy hotcakes with her new friend Enya

Moonlit Magic

Happy lantern-holding kids: Eugene, Big Bee, Gabby, Claire and Little Bee (who abandoned her cellophane Goldfish lantern just seconds before this shot!)

There is something ever so enchanting about colourful, glowing lanterns swaying in the dark. And that's what make Mid-Autumn Festival so charming - swinging luminous lanterns under the brilliant round moon, eating sweet mooncakes, burning plenteous candles, making the world awash with incandescent radiance.

This Mid-Autumn Festival, our estate organised a party for all the neighbourhood's rowdy kids. Dinner was included, with plenty of kids' games, goodie bags, mooncake tasting - with so many over-excited kids, it was a scene of wild pandemonium!

Big Bee had her good friends with her - Gabby, our neighbour who is also Big Bee's boisterous playmate in the estate, as well as her weekend buddies, Eugene and Claire. She was ecstatic, whereas Little Bee was highly rapturous, having so many jie-jies and one kor-kor to play with. She loves Eugene, always calling him "kor-kor, kor-kor" in her cute, throaty voice.

We adults brought them on a dim, dark lantern walk around the estate, them carrying the cheery paper lanterns and us carrying the challenging old-fashioned type of cellophane paper lanterns (the one that Claire is holding in the photo above) where the candle kept getting extinguished by the overly-eager wind. It really tested our patience, which should be a virtue kids this age should learn! Those wild kids of ours were charging all around the place!

Mid-Autumn Festival is now a lot more joyful with the kids celebrating together with us!

Mooncakes Scuffle!

Big Bee and Little Bee love to eat mooncakes. So much so that they had been getting into mini brawls just to grab that bigger bite of the mooncakes! Tsk tsk. These wrestling girls are like tomboys!

Big Bee's favourite type of mooncake is snow-skinned and ideally pink. Often, she will take the whole mooncake and hog it, eating slice after slice in alarming rapidity. Little Bee will then be invariably drawn to Big Bee, climbing up to her jie-jie with dogged determination, thrusting her little face right into jie-jie's bowl of delicious mooncake, biting off a large chunk boldly. This often led to a brief struggle of wills (and yells from both sisters), but when it comes to food, you will be amazed at how indomitable Little Bee can be. Kind Big Bee - although pouting and grumbling away - will always give in to Little Bee's greedy demands, sharing with her. Amazingly, Big Bee can finish ONE WHOLE mooncake by herself in one fell swoop!

Yikes! It must be the utter sweetness that is luring my two Bees to these sinful delights.

Socially Responsible

Every day I look at Big Bee, she is blossoming into such a big girl right before my eyes. Whenever Little Bee wears jie-jie's hand-me-downs, I would groan in my heart and remembered the times that Big Bee was wearing the exact same clothes when she was Little Bee's age. Time passes swiftly and mercilessly. We are seriously unable to catch up with it, so we must truly live in the present, appreciating every moment. Just this evening, PF and I were watching our trip to Bintan in 2006, and we were simply amazed at how young and cherubic our 3 kids looked way back then! Now, they are all lanky big kids, playing "grown-up" games.

As Big Bee grows up, she has transformed into a real socially responsible girl. Just the other day, after she ate a grape jelly, she told me "Mummy Mummy, I need to recycle this container! Don't waste it!" So, she went to wash it painstakingly herself and placed it gently on her study desk in her room to air it dry.

And whenever I wash my hands and use too much water or soap, she will grumble at me "Mummy!! You're wasting water (or soap)!" Then she would forcefully turn off the tap for me, making me guilty (and pleased!) that I did not try to be more cautious with my usage.

I am happy to see this responsible side of her. For that's my Big Bee. Responsible, sensible, accountable, amongst her other traits of being diplomatic, pleasant, sensitive, a little stubborn, a little pampered (only with Mummy and Papa around), bold, does not enjoy competition yet she really is quite competitive, gregarious in that she has so many friends who claim that she is their best friend.

Little girls grow up amazingly fast to be little women. I wish I can etch all the growing phases of my little girls in my mind indelibly, forever...

Do Not Disturb!

Little Bee is now a wonderful toddler fully aware of her surroundings and sensitive to the feelings of others. When I pretended to sleep in front of her and if Hubby or Big Bee is around, she would put her finger to her lips, pursed them up into a loud and smiley "Shhhh!" and would flash her trademark grin at Hubby and Big Bee, making a snoring sound to indicate that Mummy's sleeping, do not disturb her!

However, if no one is around, and if I sometimes just close my eyes to get a mini break when Little Bee is alone with me, her signature Terrible Twos temper would flare up, and she would gabble "Ek up, ek up!". She would then tap her small hand firmly on my shoulder, shake me a little, and gabble louder right into my ears. And if I still pretend to have my eyes closed, she would use her little finger to pry open my eyelids (ouch!), and I can see her literally twisting her little head to look right into my forced-open eye...her mouth forming the words "Ek up, ek up" (which incidentally means "Wake up, wake up").

How hilarious!

Mauritius

The happy holiday gang all ready for an alfresco lunch at Port Louis, capital of Mauritius

We went for a holiday with PF and family to Mauritius on Dec 14 last year - just for a short 5 days. Little Bee did not join us, but Big Bee had the time of her life with her good pals Eugene and Claire!

Here are some (very long overdued) photos, and the things I truly loved about Mauritius.

1) Gorgeous landscapes, breathtaking sunsets, bluest of blue skies, big fluffy cumulus clouds and crystal clear waters.

Crystal clear waters with blue skies

Magnificent sunsets that resonate in your mind forever

Omnipresent oceans with far-reaching horizons

We discovered a picturesque lighthouse off the beaten track

2) Ubiquitous rainbows draped all over the awesome vistas.

Big Bee and Claire could not believe their eyes when they see the rainbow popping out of the horizon!

3) Dolphin chasing on a small tipsy boat, with the cool seabreeze caressing our faces. We spotted dozens of friendly and beautiful slick grey dolphins!

These dolphins are so friendly that some tourists even swim alongside them!

Big Bee and Eugene in deep discussion about marine matters...

Papa and Big Bee trying their hand at deep sea fishing!!

4) Visiting a sugar mill and indulging in colonial times.

Starring Eugene, Claire and Big Bee as the 3 hardworking oxen!

5) Zipping around the island that is 3 times the size of Singapore in a Mini Cooper convertible!

6) Just chilling out in general, relaxing and relishing in doing absolutely nothing!

Big Bee, with Pinky the bear, was gleeful that we had the time to enjoy little details like a long drawn sunset with her

Big Bee entranced by a galloping horse on the beach, her dream came true!

7) Seeing the kids fooling around and enjoying themselves.

Eugene, Claire and Big Bee looking glum on their last day together at the majestic Grand Baie

Travel Memoirs: Where Time Stood Still

I was in Yangon, Myanmar (aka the old Burma) for the past 3 days for work. It is one of my favourite countries, despite the political turmoil that had been brewing in this rich country for years.

Time seemed to stand still in this resource-rich country - although I note with regret the increasing numbers of cars and taller, newer malls this trip.

As the plane descended into Myanmar, I was struck once again by the rich, fertile green lands that spread in total flatness, with not a single hill or mountain in sight, a luxuriant land speckled with meandering streams, and from the plane, I can literally observe how the majestic Irrawaddy River dissects the country, flowing from North to South. Try as I might, I could not detect the damage done by Cyclone Nargis because all I could see was dense green landscapes and sprawling emerald rice fields, as abundant and verdant as the famed jade that Myanmar is known for. But when speaking with the Myanmar people during the trip, I learned that the damage of Cyclone Nargis was widespread and severe - and totally under-emphasised by their callous government. Travel by foreigners to the Irrawaddy Delta is now restricted.

It is a land of highly religious people and it shows in the ready smiles and warm hospitality of every Myanmar person you meet. A land where on the roads, you see groups of monks from little boys to older men and graceful nuns decked out in pink flowing robes. I love their night market where the hawkers sell their wares of live chicken and vegetables in stark candlelight, as power outages are so common here. Where you can still get into a taxi with a hole on the car's floorboard. And where 20 to 30 men squashed themselves into a small lorry, some standing outside the lorry, just beside the wheels.

These are mere facades to deeper troubles in the country - where the rich and the poor are universes apart. Where government doctors earn only US$70 a month and salaries of US$300 a month for a private practice doctor is considered wealthy. It is saddening that this is a land of immense natural resources - full of jade as well as precious stones and gems of all kinds, not to mention their very fertile land - and yet, with a greedy government that usurps all these resources to benefit their own kind. Where all the citizens shun clear of talking about their government with the many plainclothes spies around, and where they speak of the government to foreigners like me in hushed tones, in a resigned manner. The common saying of "One cannot choose one's parents" can be applied here, where these souls are born into different destinies in a government system forced onto their wills. Yet, their resilience and cheeriness touched me.

The media and communications blackout shrouded the country like a black cloud - no mobile connection for non-Myanmar telephone numbers, where it costs US$2,000 to own a cell phone for the Myanmar people and where all the major news websites and web emails are banned through the Internet.

Still, for a foreigner like me so used to information explosion everywhere, this communications blackout is a halcyon reprieve for me. Sometimes I wonder, will we be more happy without being exposed so much to global information? Are we all over-exposed to too much information?

Anyway, the most enjoyable part of my trip is coming home to see Little Bee sleeping fitfully with her chubby cheeks and her sweeping lashes. I am now looking forward to fetching Big Bee from school, eager to see her expression of surprise as she hopped down her school bus :)

Portraits To Remember

It is a very long weekend for me :) I took leave on Thursday afternoon for a family photoshoot on Friday. The studio was somewhere near Chinatown, so we got to mingle with the charming chaos that is synonymous with Chinatown. I love the little heritage districts in Singapore - Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, even Clarke Quay! Many friends gave me dirty looks whenever I suggest going there for a jaunt. Yes, these places may be touristy, but well, they give us a potent insight into the roots of our country. Better than us going overseas to visit other touristy areas!

Anyway, today, I was so contented to be immersed in the colourful sights of Chinatown, sniffing in the plethora of aromas, listening to the different dialects of tourists and locals, and seeing those little quaint touristy stuff that I never see for Singapore!

OK, back to the photoshoot. Big Bee was wonderfully behaved and followed all the photographer's instructions, being her sweet responsible self. Well, Little Bee, let's just say she was a challenge to coax. Those smiles in the photos below were sieved out through much hard work. And she was a real handful, tottling about everywhere but in front of the camera! Here are some exclusive photos - in low res ;)

Cousins Confluence

Val, Chloe and Little Bee overwhelmed by toys

A few nights ago, baby Chloe and baby Val came by to my place to chill out with Big Bee and Little Bee. Along came my cousin Irene, her mum and my 3rd aunt. My mother was a jolly one, with such close relations as good evening companions.

Little Bee was elated with cousins her own age to play with. It was Chloe's 1st birthday on that day, and Val's 1st birthday is also approaching. They are both very active crawlers now, and highly curious about their surroundings. Little Bee loves them - she kept whooping away with joy, sat by their sides to play with them and even crawling around to be like them (talk about peer assimilation!).

Baby Val loves the ball house!

Poor Big Bee felt a bit left out, I guess. She was highly amused by these 3 busy babies (or toddlers), but could not really relate to them, although on normal days, she does play very well with Little Bee. Funny thing is, she scribbled on her doodle board and displayed in the living room "3 babies in the house", and kept saying she was so bored. I guess she will be a lot busier next time once they grow a bit older!

Big Bee screaming "I am bored!!!"

It is funny to reminisce how the whole gang of maternal cousins of Irene, Fiona and I (plus Ian and Kelvin) used to play so often together as kids. And now, our kids are playing with one another :)

Big Bee with birthday girl Chloe

Chloe and Val can really crawl very fast!

A Wretched Mother

This was what I read with disenchantment in the news today. That a single Japanese mother left her twin toddlers in the care of her 6-year-old son, while she went gallivanting for 11 days with her boyfriend. Her elder son called her mobile for several dozen times a day but his calls were largely ignored. All she did was to place hamburgers, bread, cookies and other food at the entrance of the house once or twice a day. 9 days later, the 6-year-old called her to say his brother would not wake up. She returned to the house but did not have the courage to enter it. Instead, she went to a pub and got drunk. The next day, her son called her again, saying: 'He still won't wake up.' 2 days later, she finally returned home and found the two-year-old boy dead in a crib covered in garbage and faeces. She slapped the older boy's face and said: 'You are disqualified as my child. Though I'm responsible, you are also responsible. You must have eaten all the food by yourself.' According to the report, the toddler starved to death. The other twin toddler suffered from severe dehydration. She was sentenced to a mere 6 years in prison for this. But I am sure she will live a lifetime of guilt and despair. What's most saddening is that the 6-year-old told prosecutors: 'Mum told me I was fired because I didn't take care of the twins. It's all my fault.'

I cannot imagine this abominable act of neglect by a mother to her own flesh and blood. The physical destruction to her toddlers. The indelible psychological blemish to her 6-year-old child, at an age that is still too young to look after himself, much less a pair of toddlers, without a loving mother's protection.

Reading this story brought tears to my eyes, and I gazed at my 2 angels, vowing to protect them even fiercer for the rest of my life.

Sandy Foray

Last Sunday, the Bees descended unto the East Coast beach. The breeze was warm and gentle, caressing our faces, teasing our hair with a tinge of sharpness so typical of salty sea breezes. The 11am sun emanated its rays with a growing intensity, giving hint to the blistering heat it can potentially give out at high noon. I love the rhythmic sound of the waves, in and out, in and out.
Charlie's Angels?

We set up our little sanctuary beside the waves - a little mat for good ol' Mummy and loads of sand toys for some serious construction of sandcastles with Papa. This was Little Bee's second initiation to the sand. Like all little princesses, she was a wee bit disturbed by the grainy feel of coarse sand at first. But after seeing how her sister was enjoying herself, digging her feet into the sand, immersing her hands into the muddied sand bucket, she eased herself into earnest sandbuilding, never touching the sand with her bare hands, but always using a spade.

Hubby and I had loved the beach and the vast gulf of sea since our dating days. Big Bee had embraced our same love after our numerous beach resorts jaunts. And now, we are hoping Little Bee will share this same ardour as well.

The Debutante

I decided to bring Big Bee for my company's dinner and dance, much to her delight. It was a debutante ball of sorts for her. She was decked up in a beautiful yet romantic white long dress with layers of organza, pearls, satin, lace and tulle, and I thought she looked nothing short of stunning :)

She had been anticipating this dinner for weeks, and promised to be on her best behaviour. I am proud to say that she had far exceeded my expectations, charming my colleagues and bosses immensely, being her vivacious and confident self, putting on a sunny and cheery front despite the dinner ending an hour beyond her bedtime. She was such an enjoyable dinner companion that my hubby worries that she will take over his place very soon!

I am also very heartened to say that she told me she enjoyed the dinner immensely, listening aptly to the silly jokes of the host, observing the guests all dressed elaborately, participating in the table's conversation. I am so pleased to see her evolving to a highly sociable personality indeed.