On this last day of November

.........dear son woke up slightly past 9am this Sunday morning and requested to have his breakfast.

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Mummy hence got his bluey IKEA table setup and he was enjoying a chocolate donut shortly. (His gu gu had brought the donut for him yesterday).

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Seeing that dear son had well settled himself to the breakfast, Mummy then left the table to prepare a coffee and snack for herself in the kitchen. When she returned to the table shortly, she found her boy indulging and looking like this!!!

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It was absolutely hilarious and Mummy quickly brought him to a mirror. Mummy's laughter must have tickled him so much that he also started laughing at himself.

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It's really how much he enjoys the chocolate eh? Ha ha..........

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We got him cleaned up after breakfast and the entertainment kicks in. Mummy loaded the Madagascar 2 website on her lappy and the trailers kept dear son well entertained. He was enjoying the Move it Move it MTV and even particularly liked the scene of Moto-Moto walking up to hitch with Gloria - opppssss.......that's quite a mature 4 year old here......

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Home-cooked lunch was served at half-past noon - upon dear son's request again. We ate rice mixed with carrot/pork stew and japanese nato beans! It was so yummy.........both of us finished our lunch.

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After washing up and a bottle of milk-milk, dear son is now well settled down having his regular nap time while it's Mummy's very own opportunity for her reading and leisure......kekeke.......Mummies do deserve a break isn't it?

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What is the office coming to?

The media always reminds bloggers to avoid mentioning issues, affairs and names of your bosses, office politics and where you work for.

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I jolly well know it.

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However, I'll still like to 'vent' my frustrations and announce that it's a XXXX stressful day at work today.

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Why??!!??

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Due to the in-efficiency of others - Of Course. Ewwwwwrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

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Eric Carle's favourites

This is it.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Cloud and The Mixed-up Chameleon by award-winning children's book illustrator and writer, Eric Carle, retold on stage in the dark.

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It's the very reason why we're on our way to the Victoria Theatre this morning. Yippee!!

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There were a lot of children with their parents at the theatre entrance when we arrived. To avoid being squeezed among the crowd, both of us headed straight into the theatre for our seats since the performance is due to start in about 5-10 minutes time.

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We got settled down, geared the dear son on a booster seat and the show started quite shortly. All the young audience were mesmerised. Their eyes were glued to the stage while they name out the animals, objects and colours!

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Dear son enjoyed himself for the whole 45 minutes. He was rather reluctant at first (perhaps being afraid of very loud and dark environment) but was engaged quite immediately like the other children after the show started. On the whole, it was a great and engaging performance by the Canadian puppeteers from Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia!

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For those who had missed the performance, Mummy had managed to take a little sneak from her mobile.......hehehe. A better video (promotional) may be found here: http://www.mermaidtheatre.ns.ca/repertory/vhc_video_med.shtml

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I Like to Move it Move it

Yeah.......the Madagascar sequel returns to town!

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Children, mum and dad's all time favourite and now this adorable animation is back in town........opens in all theatres on 13 November 2008.

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Before we sneak on the real thing, say how about a preview of the Music Video?

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母亲一生的八个谎话

母亲一生的八个谎话
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让天下的孩子都知道世界上最伟大的就是母亲！

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儿时，小男孩家很穷，吃饭时，饭常常不够吃，母亲就把自己碗里的饭分给孩子吃。母亲说，孩子们，快吃吧，我不饿！―― 母亲撒的第一个谎。

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男孩长身体的时候，勤劳的母亲常用周日休息时间去县郊农村河沟里捞些鱼来给孩子们补钙。鱼很好吃，鱼汤也很鲜。孩子们吃鱼的时候，母亲就在一旁啃鱼骨头，用舌头舔鱼骨头上的肉渍。男孩心疼，就把自己碗里的鱼夹到母亲碗里，请母亲吃鱼。母亲不吃，母亲又用筷子把鱼夹回男孩的碗里。母亲说，孩子，快吃吧，我不爱吃鱼！―― 母亲撒的第二个谎。
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上初中了，为了缴够男孩和哥姐的学费，当缝纫工的母亲就去居委会领些火柴盒拿回家来，晚上糊了挣点分分钱补点家用。有个冬天，男孩半夜醒来，看到母亲还躬着身子在油灯下糊火柴盒。男孩说，母亲，睡了吧，明早您还要上班呢。母亲笑笑，说，孩子，快睡吧，我不困！―― 母亲撒的第三个谎。

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高考那年，母亲请了假天天站在考点门口为参加高考的男孩助阵。时逢盛夏，烈日当头，固执的母亲在烈日下一站就是几个小时。考试结束的铃声响了，母亲迎上去递过一杯用罐头瓶泡好的浓茶叮嘱孩子喝了，茶亦浓，情更浓。望着母亲干裂的嘴唇和满头的汗珠，男孩将手中的罐头瓶反递过去请母亲喝。母亲说，孩子，快喝吧，我不渴！―― 母亲撒的第四个谎。

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父亲病逝之后，母亲又当爹又当娘，靠着自己在缝纫社里那点微薄收入含辛茹苦拉扯着几个孩子，供他们念书，日子过得苦不堪言。胡同路口电线杆下修表的李叔叔知道后，大事小事就找岔过来打个帮手，搬搬煤，挑挑水，送些钱粮来帮补男孩的家里。人非草木，孰能无情。左邻右舍对此看在眼里，记在心里，都劝母亲再嫁，何必苦了自己。然而母亲多年来却守身如玉，始终不嫁，别人再劝，母亲也断然不听，母亲说，我不爱！――母亲撒的第五个谎。

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男孩和她的哥姐大学毕业参加工作后，下了岗的母亲就在附近农贸市场摆了个小摊维持生活。身在外地工作的孩子们知道后就常常寄钱回来补贴母亲，母亲坚决不要，并将钱退了回去。母亲说，我有钱！――母亲撒的第六个谎。

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男孩留校任教两年，后又考取了美国一所名牌大学的博士生，毕业后留在美国一家科研机构工作,待遇相当丰厚，条件好了，身在异国的男孩想把母亲接来享享清福却被老人回绝了。母亲说，我不习惯！―― 母亲撒的第七个谎。

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晚年，母亲患了胃癌，住进了医院，远在大西洋彼岸的男孩乘飞机赶回来时，术后的母亲已是奄奄一息了。母亲老了，望着被病魔折磨得死去活来的母亲，男孩悲痛欲绝，潸然泪下。母亲却说，孩子，别哭，我不疼。―― 母亲撒的第八个谎 。

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不论你多富有, 不管你官多大, 到什么时候也离不开咱的妈....

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愿天下父母平安度春秋.....................珍惜母亲的每一个谎言, 好好的对待父母, 很多东西, 失去后才得来的珍贵代价太大。所以一定要好好的爱我们的父母。

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如果我還一直深愛著你...你是否還會待在我身邊?如果我還一直在乎著你....你是否會再多看我一眼? 是否我已不存在了...你才感覺的到我的離開?是否我已離開了....你才感覺的到我對你的好?

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~ 在此祝福全天下父母平安度春秋~

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Makana Chocolates

One of our colleague returned from her 14 days NZ trip recently.

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Flown back along with her, were some very fresh and yummilicious hand-made chocolates from NZ that got all of us in the office very excited and in indulgence with.

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The brand is known as Makana Confections.

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It's pure bliss and it makes you relaxed after popping a mouth of it..........the Butter Toffees....hmmmm.....yummy.......tasty!

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I want to order & ship some over!!!

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4th Birthday preparation

How time flies! Dear Son's 4th birthday is just around the corner - in another 2 weeks!

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How exciting. As mummy's sweetheart turns 4, another new stage of in life unveals while he advances into his kinder years next year.

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Sometimes, this mummy wishes that her boy remains a little infant but on the other note, she can't wait for him to grow up soon. Contradictive yeah? Haha, I guess life is a contradiction itself.

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Preparations are already ongoing since a month ago for his little birthday celebration in school. Unlike last year, we're not opting for Macdonald's theme this time. Dear son is now in love with Pocoyo hence we adopted Pocoyo theme for his birthday cake. Goodie bags will not include food items in view of the china diairy issues.

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It would definitely be a simple school celebration for him and his own classmates. Hah.......with those adorable children.

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Canon 50D

This Saturday started slow and easy as usual since Daddy just turned in (returned from his night shift). However not long after, Daddy woke up and suggested that we go out for breakfast.
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We had our simple prata egg breakfast and went out to pray at the Thai temple. Since we did not intend to go out later (as we do recognise that a lot of people are down with cough/fever/flu etc), we brought some fresh produce at the neighbourhood NTUC to prepare for our dinner-fare.

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We invited our good friend Chris over for dinner tonight since she was available and it's been some time since she last dropped by our place. Chris recently purchased a new Canon SLR (as standby camera) for her jobs and she was so kind to bring it along with her; for us to take a look and 'play' with it - using our dear son as our model..........haa haa.

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We ate our dinner and got down to play with the 50D. Gosh, we must admit that Canon's shutter really work very fast (when compared to our Nikon). It's able to react instantaneously to our button press and the pictures we took really look vibrant!

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Just let the pictures do the talking.........Yeah, we swear there's no photoshop tricks used in the pictures here.....simply the cam plus well adjusted flash mode.

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Wooooooooo.........very in love with Canon SLR now..........

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Happy Halloween!

Yeah, it's Halloween again;
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In Singapore, our children do not go door to door in their costumes begging for treats and playing pranks. It's most commonly another usual day unless you're attending a Halloween Party at some clubs in the evening. Our children will be hidden behind closed doors in our culture here. (haa haa.....)

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Today happens to be a Friday and most of us are in good spirits (cos' weekend is around the corner!!!). Out of fun/education, we'll usually try to celebrate festivities and get dear son to participate hoping he will enjoy the experience as much as we do.

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As he is still a little young to understand and celebrate Halloween, we did not deliberately purchase any merchandise this year. Perhaps when he is older, we can elaborate and explain this 'holiday' to him.
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For those who are attending a Halloween party, Have a great 万圣节 nevertheless!

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COFFEE been?

I hope most of us have not miss out the October treats from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

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It's their 45th anniversary apparently hence special treats were thrown every Wednesday in the October month. It's just too bad I keep missing out their Wednesday offers due to some reason or another......but for the fun of it, tomorrow's the last day to catch it!

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We're leaving town

in another few hours.

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Another self-drive short trip up the City of Entertainment ourselves. Away from the recent financial and commodities buzz..............the family just want to stay away.......have some peace, be entertained and feast like there's no tomorrow.

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Haa...........we just wanted a short break from work honestly....that's all. Wish us a safe and enjoyable trip!

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My Family

OK.

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Now, this (shyless) mama is going to show her dear son's drawing to everyone - for a chuckle.

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The impression is so cute; drawn out of an innocent 4 year old of his dad, mum, himself and his dear friend Poh Ong.

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From the left, his dad - according to dear son while drawing, dad has a pair of small eyes, big stomach and short hair while his mama, big eyes, small stomach and long long hair (is it ?!?........haa haa)

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Next, dear son drew of himself - he was mumbling that he is smaller (compared to dad and mum), with short hair and small stomach. Standing next to him is Poh Ong. He did not elaborate why he added so much 'hair' onto Poh Ong's head (when mummy asked him) but he was happily adding those 'hair' during the colouring process (**scratch head**)

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Well, this is it, my child's master-piece, signed off by him.

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Enya's 2nd Birthday

Mummy drove dear son to Aunty Gwen's grandpapa's house along Paya Lebar to attend Little Enya's 2nd birthday...

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Dear son loved birthday parties and had a lot of fun to himself along with many other children in that evening.

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We looked like we had a fun-filled evening haven't we?

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The Central Fire Station

We saw the opportunity to visit the Central Fire Station located down Hill Street today since the day started bright and sunny!

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Without delay, we quickly got ready for this outing. We explained to Kiet about visiting the fire station and mentioned that there'll be water hoses there for fire-fighting demo. You know what, dear son insisted that he 'gear' himself with his raincoat before setting off! - Haa.....

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We arrived at the Station at around 10.30am. It was not too crowded except for a few expatriate families with their young children queueing up to board the turntable ladder (of the fire engine). Not wanting to miss the opportunity, we also joined the rest to board the ladder and get a first time experience! Phew!!

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After the turntable ladder ride, dear son got excited when he spotted the water hoses! Needless to say, both dad and son obviously wasted quite an amount of water!...............while Mummy was snapping pictures away.....opppsss!

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After the 'water-play', we explored the fire engine exhibit, climbed up the ambulance, seated on the fast response paramedic-bike and not forgetting to take a picture with the fire-fighter heroes!!

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Gosh, there's still so much to explore in the station isn't it!?!

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In the heritage gallery, we were in awe with the displays of the antique fire engines and the firefighting equipments used in the olden days.

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We were lucky to meet WO Rosly who shared valuable information with us about the civil defence's progression in Singapore through the years and his experience being a firefighter back in the 1970s. We were like little children learning to real-life stories!

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Besides the company of WO Rosly, there were also customised interactive stations placed around the gallery for visitors to have a close-up experience of what fire fighters and rescuers go through during a mission.

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In appreciation of WO Rosly's time spent with our family, we got dear son to trace a fire-engine onto a piece of paper and sign off in his own name. He was also very courteous and anticipating when he presented his little 'gift' to WO Rosly!

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Oh, before we leave the gallery for lunch, we took a picture of our child in the children's fire-fighter suit which he was very pleased with himself.

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Now, does anyone agree that he do look smart in that little suit and helmet? Heee......

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Theatre - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Ok, this is interesting.

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I'm going to bring dear son to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" theatre next month and I'm all excited about it. It's the mummy and son 1st theatre date!

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I remember dear son's school had introduced the Hungry Caterpillar story to their children since playgroup (last year). I wonder if he still remembers but I'm not going to tell him much about theatre. Rather, I'll read him the story at home again and give him a surprise next month at the theatre.

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JUST A MOM?

I like this one.....
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A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk 's office, was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.
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She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. 'What I mean is, ' explained the recorder, 'do you have a job or are you just a ...?'
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'Of course I have a job,' snapped the woman. 'I'm a Mom.'

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'We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it,' Said the recorder emphatically. I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.

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The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like, 'Official Interrogator' or 'Town Registrar.'

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'What is your occupation?' she probed. What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out. 'I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.'
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The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.
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I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire. 'Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest, 'just what you do in your field?'
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Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, 'I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) In the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out). I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters)... Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.'

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There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.
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As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
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And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than 'just another Mom.'
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Motherhood! What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door.
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Does this make grandmothers 'Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations' And great grandmothers 'Executive Senior Research Associates?' I think so!!!
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I also think it makes Aunts 'Associate Research Assistants.'
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May your troubles be less, Your blessing be more, And nothing but happiness, Come through your door!
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The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
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Happy Children's Day

Yo yo.....my dear child; and to all the children out there..........HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!

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It's a day dedicated specially for you and it's all about enjoying it. Coincidentally, today happen to also be a Hari Raya Puasa public holiday here hence Daddy & Mummy get to spend this entire day with our dear son.

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So what did we do?........hmmm......not a well planned day out to somewhere though. It was simply us starting our day having breakfast at Holland V, followed by a quickie grocery shopping at the Cold Storage. Mummy intended to cook pork stew for lunch and also prepare pasta sauce for tomorrow's dinner (all the cooking done in one go!).

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The rest of the day was simply spent at home, dear son was treated to his playhouse disney cartoons while daddy dear sorted out his affairs; Mummy cooked and tidied the humble abode.

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After all, Children's Day is about spending quality time with the family isn't it?

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There's no loss at all for dear son since he had already been treated with Happy Meals, Movie, Games and Entertainment in his school few days back!

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Imagine the "shock" on Mummy's face.......when his bag unveals the amount of pressies he received from school........

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It's really a blessing....being a child.

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Formula ONE fever ends

F1 finally come to a close yesterday with SPAIN's Fernando Alonso emerging as the winner - unexpectedly.

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We still remember reading that he was frustrated for not being able to start off at a favorable position as it all went wrong in the second qualifying session. The engine of his Renault cut out, leaving him frustrated with no option but to climb out of his car and put his head in his hands. It means the Spaniard will have to start from 15th position, effectively ruling out any chance of victory here.

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However, last night's race is really one classic example of how luck can take its turn.

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Felipe, the black horse ear-marked to win Sunday's race, faced a disastrous pit-stop as he was given the green light to leave the pit but the fuel hose was still attached as he accelerated away, spraying petrol and knocking over one of the pit crew. Massa ended up sitting in his Ferrari at the end of the pit lane while the crew frantically ran after him and managed to pull the hose free.

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He was given a drive-through penalty for almost hitting another car as he drove away and rejoined in 18th place, ending any hope he had of making the points. Needless to say, to emerge winner.

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With such a classic live example of how events can change 365 degrees, who still dares to say that nothing is impossible or anything is possible?

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With F1 fever coming to an end here, our family did somewhat got ourselves more interested in this racing sport. More notably, we know that our dear son had enjoyed very much the race that was telecasted 'Live' on TV that evening!

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