KING of Fruits

(I quickly took my seat next to the durian!!)
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You see,..................did you see what I've got here?

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My 姑丈, (monster aunt's hubby) brought the family some durians all the way back from Segamat, Malaysia (famous for its durians) and my doting MA-MA asked Daddy to bring 1 of the durians home for me!

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I'm grateful and appreciates 姑丈's effort to bring back durians for the family though and what best is we're given 1 of the better looking durians by MA-MA. hehehehehe.......

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As Daddy is also a durian lover, he can't wait to open it up and savour it of course! Without further ado, Daddy started plying open the prickly, formidable thorn-covered husk that very night while I watched attentively, staying close trying to learn his skill (as though, I was just trying to make sure I lay my hands first on the durians after it's opened).

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Without much effort since Daddy is quite a durian expert, he opened the durian and it's ripe yellow fruits greeted us.......in full glory!

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(Wahhhhhh, My first Bite!!!!)
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Yay.......I was excited! I quickly laid my swift hands on one of the fruit and voila, popped it into my mouth.

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At first bite, I was looking forward to taste the highly flavoured, sweet & rich custard. In just seconds, Daddy & Mummy noticed that my expressions had changed. Awwww.......

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My curious parents then finally realised why I looked a little disappointed. The fruit tasted a bit unriped although it is still sweet in flavour. After that one pop in my mouth, I gave up and walked away - disgruntled.

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Later on through telephone, we understand that the durians MA-MA (祖母) & GONG-GONG (公公) ate were all very superb. Oh well, better luck with durians the next time I guess.

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The verdict: Taste - So So......Alright only Lor.

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However, many thanks to 姑丈's effort.

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IT Strucked when you least Xpect

My portable hard-disk died on me today without any warning. All my important work documents went dead and today is a no-work day for me typically since I'm without my datas.

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It was very painful and just last Saturday, I was trying to do 'backup' but had to stop whatever I'm doing since I had to commit to my mothering time. I was barely halfway through my data though so most of it is for now, GONE.

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Master ANG had deployed some IT 'assistance'.......let's see how it goes, whether the recovery is possible.
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Fingers crossed praying hard.

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My feeling now - Regret and Angry.

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GOOD Friday

A very good day indeed for me at least. That's because I need not attend school and Mummy need not go to work but Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?

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So through Wikipedia, we learnt that this day commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Jesus sacrificed His Life on the cross for all mankind which is celebrated through Good Friday. His death and especially His victory over death on Resurrection Sunday (also known as Easter) is VERY GOOD NEWS! Hallelujah!

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How time flies......Mummy can still remember the cotton bunny I did in school for last year's Easter.

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Today, not only I'm another year older and my Easter craft this year is an egg holder! Rhyme quite nicely here........OLDER, HOLDER........hee hee hee.

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Yes Yes, my Easter egg has been eaten up hence that's why the egg is not featured here.........look for my MA-MA though....she ate the jelly egg I made in school and according to her, it tastes yummy!

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Alright, I'll just make do with using my egg-holder to hold these eggs though.

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HAPPY EASTER!!

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Happy Birthday to my MA-MA

Today is my MA-MA's birthday.
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Although the adults have brought her out to celebrate last Sunday at a restaurant....they were eating this thing called dim sum, I'll still like to sing her a song which goes like this:
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Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you (MA-MA),
Happy Birthday to you!
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Thank you thank you......Lovingly brought to you by your only grandson Mister Kiet Ang.......
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Transit

We were asked to attend a briefing in our child's pre-school this evening via a circular given to us last Friday.

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It's not because our child had misbehaved in school. Rather it's about the school in transition stage.

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Our child's pre-school will be taken over by Pat's Schoolhouse (whose reputated for excellence as a childcare provider in Singapore) in around May;

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As parents, we're delighted and greatly welcome this transition as we picture better quality education and learning environment for our child. Since we're taking about Pat's Schoolhouse here, we've ourselves set a high expectation out of this transition and we're excited about what lies in the future.

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For now, we'll sit through the briefing and see what's in the agenda for us and our child.

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Parents' Day Out

Yay, the Daddy & Mummy got a day off from parenting yesterday! They applied the long over-dued family leave with the in laws, ah no, actually they did not. In laws offered to have their precious grandson as company for the day hence it shall free up Daddy & Mummy.

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A rare opportunity indeed since Master ANG is also not required at work this weekend and feels that he needed to go on a date with his wife instead of parenting.

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Hence, off to the in-laws we placed our child. Oh sure, the parents were very diligent here. They completed their household chores before heading to town in the late afternoon for............................

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DIM

SUM

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at the FortunAte Restaurant (Xing Fu Yin Char), located in International Building with our dear Ms Wong & her sis.

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Of course right after the tummies were filled, we roamed the Scotts Isetan store to look for any good priced deal for ourselves, our kids, our house, our pets, whatever etc etc etc.

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Not long after completing our shopping quest, we stopped over at TCC for gourmet coffee!! Mr Chua joined us shortly after finishing his work.

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At around 6ish in the evening, we made our way to Island Resort at Marine Parade with Mr Chua, Ms Wong, Mr & Mrs How to attend our ole' friend's youngest child 2nd Birthday celebration. We enjoyed a huge spread of yummy catered food, topped with BBQ satays and otahs. Food is Heavenly!

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(At the chalet)

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(The Birthday boy!)

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Without our children that evening, the adults chatted with our ole' friends and drank a couple of beer. It was not before long, the time was 10ish. We started to bade our host goodbye and drove off to VIVO CITY to catch the 11.30pm latest asian horror movie - Rule #1

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All of us would probably give the movie a rating of 2.5 out of 5. Well, after all it was merely a leisure time-out we all wanted for ourselves so no complaints.

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After this, we're looking forward to the next dating opportunity though.

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Little Red Hen

Our school brought us all out on an outing yesterday to watch The Little Red Hen at the Alliance Francaise de Singapour. All of us were so thrilled with the fact that we're going out on a bus.

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Mummy took some time off work in the morning to join all of us. The teachers were happy because there'll be an extra pair of 'helping' eyes (to keep an eye on straying young children). Well, she's always a supportive mom in my early childhood learning activities though!

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Produced by this family focused theatre company called I Theatre, the play is about a red hen finding grains of wheat and asks for help from her other farmyard animal friends to plant it. No animal is willing to help her. When the wheat matures, she asks for help to harvest it, then thresh it, then mill it, and finally bake the flour into bread. At each stage she gets no volunteers.

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Finally she asks who will help her eat the bread. All the previous non-participants eagerly volunteered, but she declines their help and wanted to eat it with her chicks, leaving none for others. However in the end, as a nice little red hen she is, she forgives and forgets hence shared her bread with her other farmyard animal friends instead.

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Lesson Summary of this play - “HELPFULNESS - those who do the work should get to keep what they produced, show kindness and be forgiving towards your friends”

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The theme is very much specially designed for the younger audience. There was this nice & neat stage setup, actors were doned in very colouful costumes, engaged and interacted with the audience while the play is acted. There were a lot of excitement, humour and response observed from the young audience.

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This play attracted an overwhelming response from a lot of pre-schools and all 230 over seats were taken during this 11am session alone. Imagine the SOLD OUT news to their 40 over other performance slot.

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At the end of the play, all the children were taken back to school on the bus; some will be preparing to go home since they are half-day children, those on full-day will be taken for a shower followed by their regular afternoon nap.

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It was such a eye-opening experience going out with the preschool. As a parent, you'll get to see and understand fully how your hardworking pre-school teachers face challenges in handling the young children out of school compound; not to mention, the part about bringing all of them to the toilet and making sure each of them finish their lunch. On the other hand, by accompanying your child on an outing, you'll get to bond with your child and get an experience of what he/she learnt from the outing. It serves as ideas for parents too......an extra home activity idea!

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THE FEELING - Just plain Wonderful!

Happy Belated 三八妇女节 & Jeremiah's 1st Birthday

Happy Belated 三八妇女节 to all woman folks!

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(Ehhhh....what did the family do on 8th March? Can't remember exactly hence the belated message...heh heh...)

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With nothing much planned on 9th March since the Daddy has got to report to work at night, the family simply stayed at home and lazed most part of the day away.......of course Mummy did lazed but still made homecook dinner.

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However in the morning, we tried not to bore the curious young and waste his precious learning time away, we allowed him to play with paints though. During the set up, Kiet enthusiastically helped to set up his table with us while getting ready for the hand painting activity.

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After we've got everything we needed, he helped himself to the paints and started colouring both his hands with the brush. He was so good with the paint-brush since he was trained and very often, painting is frequently done in his pre-school.

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(Spider-man poses like this right?)
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At the end of our home-painting activity, we've got a couple of proud artwork!

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After we're done with the paint-works, little boy took out 2 clothing pegs and started playing with it. We don't really understand what he's trying to do since he was mumbling some baby language while fiddling with the pegs. Hence, we left him occupied with his muse for a while.

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By afternoon, all of us attended Jeremiah's 1st Birthday celebration at their humble abode (it's our neighbour staying a few doors away....hee hee)

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Kiet was very pleased with his lunch and play-mates at Jeremiah's party. It was a great chance for our family to gather at our friendly neighbour's place for a short and meaningful gathering!

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We allowed Kiet to play for a good 45 minutes before we brought him home for his delayed afternoon nap. Thereafter, back to usual home routine for that day.

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Sick_In the Afternoon

After a brief morning, the weather is still gloomy. No sight of Mr Sun yet.

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Dear son is now asleep after taking his lunch and another dose of paracetamol.

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From his behaviour, Mummy can tell that he is still feeling alright in the morning despite fighting fever in his body. Good job son!

Sick_In the Morning

It's raining and dear son is down with fever.
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His fever symptoms started yesterday evening after we brought him back from school. Despite the paracetamol we gave him, the fever did not go away entirely. Hence Mummy brought him to the doctor this morning. The weather is terrible for the past few days. Haze + Wet Weather = More sick people with flu, cough, fever virus!
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Fortunately, despite down with fever, he is still rather cheerful and is enjoying his regular cartoon session.
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Pray for early recovery!

Our Wool (7th) Anniversary

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A wedding anniversary is the date on which a wedding took place for the married persons; and they regard the day of their marriage as an important occasion in some special way.

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For all married people out there: Is it true that at the 7th year of marriage people get to be "itchy" and the relationship gets very difficult? How many survived this? What is the best thing to do?

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Our family think the itch is just a myth - but it does serve a purpose - because that time people tend to examine their marriage and try to get back the spark. Its a good benchmark to re-evaluate your marriage and try to make improvements.

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So what did we do to mark the occasion? We 'parked' our dear son at In-Laws' place yesterday, to have some couple time together....Having lost touch with which is the best shopping mall in town, we simply decided on Ngee Ann City being the easiest mall that comes into mind. Daddy treated me to Japanese food @ Sushi Tei restaurant. The dinner was good, in terms of value. We had good portions of food instead of over-eating ourselves....yummy!!!!!

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After the dinner, we continued window-shopping around Takashimaya vicinity, b4 we headed to Jones the Grocer for a nice cup of coffee & tea. Even tho' it was just a short few hours, I really appreciate such time together.....

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Looking back, 7 years together isn't very long, neither is it short. Assuming we each hv 30-40 more years to live, then the 7 years together may seems insignificant.... nevertheless, it ain't that smooth sailing all the time to come this far.... I cannot & do not want to spell out all the ups & downs in these 7 years, but I want to thank our faith and guardian angels for seeing us through these years and the years to come.

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Needless to say, our greatest blessings in the marriage is our dear son - for now.

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CaNdidS

Dear son found himself a new hobby recently, and derived a lot of laughter through taking candid shots from Mummy's handphone.

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(His Penguin Friend)
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He must have been influenced by mummy, who loves to take candid shots of him while he's not looking. For now, nobody understands his pictures except himself. Just look at some of his candid snapshots.

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(His shopping cart)
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(Him and his Mummy)

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Happy Leap Day 2008!

Happy February 29! oh yes, and Happy Birthday to those Leap Day Babies out there!

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Today is a special day since this is a date that occurs only every four years. Was supposed to meet up some ole' classmates for dinner this evening as part of our frequent gathering and to celebrate the "Leap Day" but due to commitment towards my family (especially my dear son), I had to decline this gathering.

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Till next time, perhaps.

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Happy Birthday Uncle Phil (Philip)

Happy Birthday to you,
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Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to (Uncle) Philip,
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Happy Birthday to you!
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Many many happy returns and good health Uncle Phil'
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Evening activity for the child

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For a working mum like moi, her typical evening after work evolves picking up her child from pre-school, feed and shower him, get the housework sorted while also to make time to provide meaningful bonding activities with the family.

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Of course, in this modern society, it's a given that mothers had to think out-of-the-box. On one hand, she juggles the housework, the other her family.
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Woman folk are constantly searching for the balance. Even myself.....I admit not exactly a perfect mum but still trying hard nevertheless. Just like any parent would, to be able to spend quality time educating and guiding their children.

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So what are the current methods I use to keep my child occupied (instead of hopping around the house) while I sneak away once in a while to get some easy chores done? On certain occasions, I give him some colouring pencils and paper, request that he draw his favourite item, animal, or shapes. On other days, I'll let him be seated in front of the computer to play some interesting games or interactive activities.

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Sometime, I'll whip out activities that can relate to Letterland method to keep him briefly occupied. ;-)

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So Mums, do share with me how you spent your evenings with your kids?

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I had a dip in the Jacuzzi

with my classmates today over at Kenji's place. Kenji is my school-mate and the family recently moved into their new apartment at The Lakeshore. Since I'm equally a water-lover, he invited a few of us over for a dip.

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Can you tell just how much we enjoyed ourselves in the water? Poor Kenji's dad.......he had to look after the 3 of us while the mummies sat down to chat....emmm.....also to supervise...hehehe.

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Enforcing the Letter A

Mummy made sure she reinforce the things I've learned in school hence I'm asked to revise the Letter A over and over and over again.

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While I'm tracing the Letter A, I'm reminded by Mummy to hum the LetterLand Handwriting Song that I'm taught in school:

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"At the Leaf Begin,
go round the apple this way,
and add a line down,
so Annie won't roll away"
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After the letter shaping, Mummy guided me to colour my BIG ANNIE APPLE.
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(My Annie Apple)
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Gathering at Ms Wong's

Following yesterday's early morning prayer to the birthday of the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公) , all of us were invited to Ms Wong's humble abode today for a sumptuous treat of yummies!!

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Besides delicious food, computer games and whatever toys were prepared to entertain the children; while playing cards were put out for the adults which is inevitable every year. So whose the ultimate winner?

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End of the day, Our little boy was so engrossed with playing that he forgo his afternoon nap but to fall asleep while traveling home in the car. Thanks to Mr Chua and Ms Wong for all the arrangements.

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Today is 人日

Today is the Seventh day of the lunar new year.

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The seventh day, traditionally known as (REN RI) 人日, the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older.
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By tradition, there'll always be a "LO HEI" session held in Mummy's office where everyone is invited to participate and celebrate.

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(LO HEI in Mummy's Office)

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On this day, tossed vegetables with raw fish salad, Yusheng, is eaten. This is a custom primarily among the Chinese in Singapore. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.

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Some businessman also chose this day to invite the Lion Dance 舞狮 over to their store front; representing the descent of good luck.

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Year of the RA-TA-TOUILLE (Day 4)

Today's more relaxed since Daddy got to work the night off later.
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So off we went to Uncle Philip's home for the morning and I performed the 'human dance".
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Year of the RA-TA-TOUILLE (Day 3)

Daddy returned to work early in the wee morning today, while the morning kicks off with a hearty cornflakes breakfast for me and Mummy.

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Thereafter, I watched SNOW WHITE in animation, followed by my most favourite play-pretend activity. This time, I'm going to - Build my own house.

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I had so much fun building my house with mattress for the first time! It was simply "ORIGINAL" cos it was created by Me!! Very unlike the commercial houses sold outside....hee hee.

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I'm so delighted that I had

鼠不尽的快乐

鼠不尽的笑容

鼠不尽的幸福

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simply just wiggling in and out of my property!!

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Hmmm....if only I have 鼠不尽的钞票 to lavish on better exterior structure of my home...Hmph.
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Year of the RA-TA-TOUILLE (Day 2)

(Hey, is that the RAT)
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Hi Hi, 恭喜恭喜 新年快乐!!
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Today, Daddy brought everyone (the ole' and the young) to the temple in the morning to pray & ask for blessings. We're hoping the family will be blessed the entire year with good health and wealth. I mean in the RA-TA-TOUILLE year.
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(GONG-GONG & MA-MA holds onto my hands)
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So being a growing and curious boy that I am, the moment we reached the temple grounds, I followed Daddy all over the place to learn this skill called "prayer".
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(follow, look, see, then execute)
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It's interesting. The adults were holding on to a few items. Colourful Papers that resemble those I use in my school.......some sticks and oh I know this, oranges. Daddy then patiently explained to me what those items represents.
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Now that I have undergone the briefing, I'll need to start off my prayers with this item called "joss sticks".
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(Prayer Execution)
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So I'm going to request the Deities to bless me this entire year from school-bullies, more goodies and tit-bits from GONG-GONG, MA-MA and not forgeting my 姑姑. No more scoldings from Daddy & Mummy, may I grow up and mature soon (How about getting myself a girlfriend eh??............hee hee)
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May everyone 過好年, prosperous and many abundance.

Year of the RA-TA-TOUILLE (Day 1)

恭喜恭喜 GONG XI GONG XI!!!!! 新年快乐!!

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When I woke up, Mummy told me today is the start of the lunar year of the RA-TA-TOUILLE, I mean RAT. I searched all over the place at home but I just can't find any RAT except Mickey Mouse! I just cannot understand why my favourite MiSka MoUSka MiCKeY MoUsE is pasted on the wall instead of this RAT the adults keep mumbling about. Oh well.......maybe I'll appreciate it next time.

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(My Favourite Mouse)

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Not long after, I was made to change up and prepare to be charged for the day! The family is dressing up in blue theme to signify UNITY though!

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First stop, non other than GONG-GONG and MA-MA house lor. Mummy told me that the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family you see.

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Oh, as I was already taught in my preschool since last week somewhat the meaning of Chinese New Year, the oranges, ANG POWs (red packet) and Songs, I had no problem doing the "恭喜恭喜" when I was asked to do so! Hee hee........so after collecting my 紅包 from GONG-GONG and MA-MA, I helped myself to some biscuits and my Fillet-O-Fish breakfast!

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Next destination, my maternal CHOR-CHOR's humble abode!

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I guess Daddy & Mummy always look forward to visiting CHOR-CHOR during Lunar New Year. That's because they get to enjoy the traditional charcoal steamboat lunch that is homecooked and importantly, YUMMY!!

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After the customary "恭喜恭喜, 红包拿来 (just joking)" greetings to my Grand-Uncles and Aunties, everyone started to feast!!

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Can you imagine some of my Uncles refuse to leave the dining table? So Mummy had no choice but to serve me my lunch separately......

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While they are busy with the food and not looking, I started MESSING UP THE HOUSE.....heh heh. I was so busy fooling around that Mummy had to use her usual stern trick on me. She says I have to try to finish up my lunch soon because I'll be heading home for my nap and thereafter "charge" to another house with a lot more mickey mouse decorations............................OK OK, for Mickey's sake.

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Meanwhile, 恭喜恭喜恭喜你啊!

Lunar Eve

Mummy and Daddy woke up super early this day to do the final "dust dust" - so they both call it. Alright.

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("Hey, why you open the air-con??" queried Kiet)
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Interestingly, besides that "dust dust" thing, Mummy also mention that Daddy will be the chef for our reunion dinner tonight! Can you believe it? It's true, really. (For your info, Daddy cooks nice braised pork)

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(SOUP)
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I was told Daddy's gonna prepare a pot of very ("kuat") yummy chicken soup, (the kind where a lot of other munchies like button mushrooms, dried scallops thing are thrown into the water along with chicken to boil into soup). Another yumilicious dish prepared will be, a delicacy - THE ABALONE - from the Moon? Oh, NEW MOON......whatever.....heh heh heh......

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(I thought it was food from THE MOON)
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Why is there this abalone? Oh, that's becos' Mummy says GONG-GONG and MA-MA is coming to join us tonight for dinner at home! Yay!! My supporters are coming to my place tonight..........happy happy!!

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(Daddy slicing the "a-ba-lo-ne")

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Can't wait, can't wait to eat. YUM YUM!!!

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(Tongue lickin')

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Hmmmm, ok ok, I'll give my verdict of the chicken soup later after tasting it ok!

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I've got Lunar present

I received a very nice lunar present today from my school.........that is.....("drum rolls")

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Mini Thomas the Tank Engine carrier!!!

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Mummy says the carrier is very well suited for me cos' I can carry my "Mandarin Oranges" in it when I go house visiting in a few days time.

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You know what, I was so happy with the new present that I simply ignored my own school bag when Mummy picked me from school today!

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Lucky Lucky child, lucky lucky ME.......heh heh heh

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United we are, because of FOOD?

or rather, it's called the Re-Union Dinner.

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One obvious thing observed for sure, family bliss. We noticed our Little boy's gradually starting to appreciate eating & gathering, we're so glad that our family's reunion dinner was such an enjoyable one!

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We're looking forward to more frequent dine-time though this year. Well, making an effort, that is.

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An apple a day keeps the Doc' away

Yes. We all do know the old adage – "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away".
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So we made sure we serve up to our little boy, some apple slices to munch these days......
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(remember to stop the music on the right bottom of the blog first)