Monster (姑姑) is now MARRIED

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Kiet's paternal auntie Linda (姑姑), also known as 'Monster (姑姑)' to our little boy, was customarily married yesterday.
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Our little boy is in charge of opening the bridal car door for the groom that morning.

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He woke up throwing a lot of tantrums. (Since it's like waking at 7am to get dressed, which is unusual for him on a Sunday morning)

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Nevertheless, he did a great job! A natural!...hee hee hee

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and here's your reward darling...........

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Food...........................Comfort Food!
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wedding preparations

We're choosing a top and pants for our little boy now.

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The family is excited cos' our little boy is tasked with an important role in the early morning of 16 Dec 07. He's naturally the candidate (being the bride's family youngest male) who will open the door for the groom!

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The Chinese customary wedding believes that the groom, on the day to fetch his bride, must not open the car door when he arrives. He has to wait patiently in the car for the bride's younger brother to open the bridal car door for him.

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If the bride has no younger brother, a younger male relative or a younger male friend can play the role. The candidate will open the door and pass the groom two oranges. Those two oranges will then be left in the bridal car for auspicious and good fortune. The groom will in return give this younger male a red packet as a token and auspicious for opening the car door.

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A little child's song

This song is sang over and over again. You'll hear it in every Birth occasion, the celebration of every birthday.

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While my little boy enjoys humming the Happy Birthday song so much recently, his mummy is feeling rather confused + terrible. That kind of feeling that you're not giving him enough as a child and providing him a better environment. Guess this is the aftermath since the meeting of the daycare. This feeling is haunting the mummy's mind as long as she is awake.

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While he sings, he is celebrating! That lousy feeling overwhelms you even more. What is it that as a mother you can celebrate about now? Knowing more clearly that certain things is beyond your control.

Today's THE DAY

to meet the centre's operator and the principal to hopefully try to understand what is going on in the centre.
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Fingers crossed.
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What needs to be done?

The angelic children;

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then those dedicated teachers who gave or tried to give their best; some left the centre eventually due to the internal differences, (between the teaching philosophy and the operator's business mind)

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(From Left, Ms Li-Hua, Angeline, Yvonne, Amy, Annie (Owner of the centre), Kasturi & Christine)
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and finally my growing pre-school child,

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How can a mother tolerate the situation, bear to stand aside, do nothing at all for the children & teachers in the daycare?

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Probably not for me. I'll never compromise situations especially at the expense of young children and the elderly.

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No matter what happens, children are just CHILDREN. I observed an obvious thing during the assessment of the entire situation here; local parents are very afraid to speak up or stand on their rights (although they are a consumer in this situation). Whereas compared to expatriates, they are more supportive and seek to resolve issues together (team-work) when something is not right. In this case, obviously about our daycare centre's operations.

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The mothers are finalising and waiting for the DAY to meet the centre's owner + supervisor. Not until the meetup is over, more information will be shared on what exactly happened.

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Would probably serve as a guide for some working mothers out there to audit their daycare centres!

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kiet the grocer

Having long observed that our child usually enjoys pushing the supermarket carts for mummy - not to mention his favourite would be the children's cart in the Jelita Cold Storage, we decided to gear our little child with a little cart at home and tried to transform a little part of his room into a grocer shop!

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With mummy's little touch to the grocer corner arrangement, we'll be having a little fun on our first home-shopping!
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So who says that boys cannot go grocer shopping with mummy (or girlfriends)? Guess the training always starts young!

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Enchanted

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The family managed to watch an interesting Disney movie last night that is - ENCHANTED
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(The movie poster)
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The story goes about a fairytale beautiful girl named Giselle (Amy Adams), fell in love with a prince and had decided to marry him but before that, got banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan, New York.

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(Giselle, the fairytale princess to-be)
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Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a 'happily ever after' basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden) back home.

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- This movie sets us wondering: can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world now? With the rising number of reported divorce cases, the answer is definitely uncertain. However, if both parties can take things at an easier stride (we all know it's more stressful to live as a family now), give and take on situations and resolve matters/disputes in an amicable manner, divorce is probably avoidable.

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To all love-birds of the world, it is still possible for ''happily ever after' - at least perhaps in the case for the House of ANG.

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Random shots

There's nothing much arranged on this typical afternoon but to post up some nice photogenic shots of our little member........Mummy's just proud of her boy you see.....hee hee. The many expressions of Kiet.

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(Huh? Take pictures again)

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(Don't want to pose lah, I'm shy)

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(Ok, if you insist, here's a smile)
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(Alright, here's an even natural smile)

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What do you do when your childcare is.....

found to operationally practise against the MCYS regulations?
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As a full-time working mother, what do you do when you know that your child's daycare is defying the MCYS regulations?
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What do I mean here by not complying with the childcare centre's regulations?
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1) The teachers employed potentially does not hold the min. Certificate level requirement (CPT)
2) The teachers employed potentially did not go through medical examinations and pass before starting work in the centre.
3) The operator is running the operations of her centre on her own without a supervisor or a head teacher!
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Further to the above, there were no field trips arranged thus far since the Farm Visit due to budget?!? My Gosh!
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Argghhh....I'm getting that headache, and I know the same saga similar to that of Kinderland is going to explode! Any mother would be stomping mad to know that their child is short-changed.
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Mothers, have you done your child-centre audit? What do you do if you know that they are not complying but your child is happily settled down with his teacher and peers?
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Another dilema, am I too demanding of my child-care centre?

Wild & Wet!

(Grand-mama directing toddler to wait for daddy)

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It was humid & sunny when we arrived at Pasir Ris Downtown East on Saturday.

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By the time I entered the pool, it's already past 11.10am since earlier we departed our home late + to pick up my maternal grand-mama at Hougang.

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(I'm enjoying the cool water)

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Daddy, Mummy and me got to spend some quality water time together playing which is very rare. Mummy is very scared of public pool because it means she got to change into her swim-wear to accompany me. (something she dreads after delivering me which I also cannot understand why......whatever)

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Hence I'm super happy today cos I've got both Mummy & Daddy along with me in the water! heh heh......

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(Trying to mimic "Mumble" the Penguin in movie Happy Feet)
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(Let Daddy help you get onto the float)

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We ended the wet afternoon at 12.20 as the sun gradually turns more scorching. Mummy showered me with the assistance of Grand-mama and thereafter headed to treat ourselves to lunch. I had my favourite Nuggets Happy Meal, with a Bee's toy character to add to my collection.

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Happy Happy Happity Me......

Our little member is 3 today

Our little member turns 3 today!

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(3 year old Kiet Ang)

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It's really a wonderful feeling, being a parent and had celebrated his growth & achievement with him. Today, he steps into another phrase of his life - A Preschooler!

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He will become even more independent and begin to focus more on adults and children outside of the family. He will want to explore and ask about his surroundings even more. His interactions with family and those around him will help to shape his personality and individual ways of thinking and moving. As a parent, we're more than glad to be able to bring him the best education and environment possible; in fact any parent would do exactly the same.

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As a positive parent, we made sure we never miss his important milestones and hence celebrated his little proud day in his daycare of course!

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(while waiting for the star of the day, we gathered his friends!)

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(Here's your birthday cake my dear)

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(I am 3 years old)

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(Daddy & Son moment)
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(Let's all wait for our cakes)
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(The Star is served first)

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(Savouring the chocolate fudge cake)

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Our child truly enjoyed this mini-session in his daycare. He was beaming! So what's a Birthday without pressies?

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Don't worry, it's not forgotten..........we got him a lot of toys (usually we do not buy any) this time - affordable toys indeed!

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(A wholesome load of toys)

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Mr Chua is wiser on 15 November 2007

Dedicated to our dearest Mr Chua, the House of ANG wishes you,
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Many Happy Returns and a Very Wonderful Day of yours!
Happy Birthday!
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Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali!
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According to Wikipedia, DEEPAVALI or Diwali is a major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday, and a significant festival in Hinduism and some of the other faiths which originated in India - Jainism and Sikhism.

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Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being. The Sanskrit word Deepavali means an array of lights that stands for victory of brightness over darkness. As the knowledge of Sanskrit diminished, the name was popularly modified to Diwali, especially in northern India. The word "Divali/Diwali" is a corruption of the Sanskrit word "Deepavali" (also transliterated as "Dipavali"). Deepa/dipa means "light of the dharma", and avali means " a continuous line". The more literal translation is "rows of clay lamps".

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(Kiet's version of clay lamps)

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Oh yes, and the parents are off to the land of The Royal Thai. More pictures to be uploaded.....when possible....kekekeeke....shopping, massage, eating, massage, shopping......hmmm...what else?

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ciao

On 7 November 2007

(James & Kiet, born in 15 & 16 Nov 2004)
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We celebrated our toddler's 3rd birthday in advance as promised!

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Yes, in his daycare with his school-mates/friends/teachers/ourselves, parents. All of us enjoyed the little 11/2 hour McFun Party.

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I believe the 2 little birthday boys are truly the ones who enjoyed though.

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(Yum yum, Our Happy Meals!)

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(Like Mothers, like sons)
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(Blowing off the 3 candles)
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(Of course, there's cake cutting)
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(Pressies!!! Yay)

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(Time to play & dance)
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(We're all little monsters! Arghhhhhh!!)
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(Group photos with the teachers)

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(Group photos with the parents that made McFun Party possible)

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Last but not least, we are grateful to the school that made this little party possible, the teachers who assisted in co-ordinating the food list for all the participating children - thank you for making the little boys' & the children happy!

I despies scums of wherever

I'm so angry when I read this on the 31 October 07 New Paper.

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The 3 guys are such inconsiderate scums. The poor old man was having a hard time peddling the trishaw with three full grown freaks squeezing in that small vehicle, but all they did was to mock at him and even tried to haggle the price.

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What is the world coming to nowadays?
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Watch the video and judge it yourself. The old man is only trying to make a living and they have to do such a despicable thing! I’m seriously hopping mad right now
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To you scums in the video, I despies you.

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MacDonalds Birthday

Wonderful, wonderful!

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Although not the actual birth-date, it's fixed. Our toddler along with his little classmate will be jointly celebrating their 3rd Birthday in their daycare - MacDonald's Style!

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Date: 7 Nov 07

Time: 11 am

Location: Toddler ANG's Daycare

Theme: McFun Party

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The children are in for a wholesome good time! Before that, parents are busy with the co-ordination and party favors!
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3rd Birthday Plans

Hmmm.........we're brewing a 3rd birthday celebration for our boy in his daycare.
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I've been talking to another mum recently (her little boy is in the same class) as both of us have the intention to have our boys celebrate their birthday together.
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Will fill in more details once the plans look firm.
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Brewing brewing.........."birthday conoction".

At 35 Months

Our Toddler, now at 35 months is such a fun child to be with.

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Besides being much more expressive especially in his speech; has improved so much compared to 8 months ago, we found ourselves communicating better with him nowadays, playtime is so much more fun and interesting!

Being more mature at 35 months today, he has learned to lodge a 'complaint' regardless whether he is being bullied by his peers, reprimanded or canned by Mummy & Daddy for his wrong actions. At times, he would sit at a corner playing his own toys disturbing the adults. Of course at most occasion, this attention-seeking toddler is always looking out for his mum or dad's company.

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Artistic side of his character started to show in the recent art pieces that he did in the daycare. The teacher and us noticed that he liked to do paint-brush dabbing instead of unorganized painting strokes. He enjoys art and craft lessons more than before as we understand he is engrossed and only moves off after completing his work. This shows that his attentive span has also increased over time.

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According to his teacher, although he would not exactly sit still during story telling or lesson time, he would still be able to answer most of the questions when being asked. He adapts mobile learning method in this case.

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In another exactly 30 days, you'll going to turn 3. As promised to you last year, we'll try to do a little birthday celebration for you in your daycare so you will enjoy your little 3rd birthday. At the same time, perhaps we'll get you some interactive toys to keep you very occupied at home!

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hee hee hee......In Daddy & Mummy's eyes, you're still the very infant we received on 16 Nov 04.

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A little catching up on 15 Oct 07

Too many backlogs & things to do in the past few days, for a working & rest deprived mum. Sleep being the priority over the rest of course.

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A little recap of the small events that happened in the past few days before and after Hari Raya Saturday why not?
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12 Oct 07
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Moi was involved in a corporate golf event to assist and later make rounds at the green as a photographer. Was glad as that gave an opportunity for brushing up the photography skills.....
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Sharing some candid pictures that was nicely captured.
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Of course no doubt about it, the day ended with Moi feeling super mentally and physically tired. Tummy really filled up with food - sinful.
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13 Oct 07
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Chill out and good ole' classmates gather at Ah Bao's abode in Seng Kang. We were all tasked to bring in 1 dish since it was arranged to be a pot-luck session. The initial plan to whip up Beef Rendang got foiled as I was trying to nurse my tiredness from the outdoor event yesterday. Left with no other choice since most Malay stalls are closed for Hari Raya, the ANG Master had to pack a whole chicken from the chinese stall.

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Wasn't a bad evening as our toddler had enjoyed himself; occupied at the computer with his favourite Thomas the Train online games, the ANG Master had chit chat "kakis", for Moi, an evening of undisturbed cable movies.

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14 Oct 07
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It was waking late of course, recuperating the body from the previous late night - returned late from Bao's home, put toddler to bed followed by ironing while watching the television until almost 2 plus am?

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Went for late McDonald's brunch that we promised to toddler and visited our good friend's at Bukit Batok.
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Settled for dinner near our place and most important of all, groceries spree from Seng Siong to end the Sunday and begin a new week with.
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