Its 2026

 Ive been absent from this blog for ages, but looking back at it, I wish I had kept up more with it!

To anyone who's still here, HELLO!!!

 

 

A Trip to HCMC

It's been a week since we left for our Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) trip and sure doesn't feel like it.

It was a really eventful trip, to say the least. It started off when one of our business associates who was supposed to join us called at the last minute to inform us that she would not be going due to some family issues. Fifteen minutes later, she called to say she would join us again!

At the airport when checking in, we realised that we forgot to pack my sister's baggage with us to the airport!! A mad rush ensued to go back home to bring the said baggage to the airport for a quick check in! By then, I had enough drama to last me a week (Or so I thought).

It was a rather uneventful flight on Vietnam Air, thankfully! The kids were well behaved with only complaints of slight earache upon our descent into the city. More surprises awaited us upon arrival at the airport. Mr H. who only had a travel document (not a passport) needed a visa to enter Vietnam and he did not have one! After half an hour of fruitless talking with the customs officer (whose face I really want to box!) it was agreed that Mr H would have to stay back in a nearby hotel while the customs officer arranged for a visa for him which would be ready by noon the next day. THe cost? US$200.

The fun started the next day, when we visited the CuChi Tunnels. A 2-hour bus ride from the city, the tunnels are a testament to the Vietnamese tenacity and genius during the Vietnam War. The heat was horrendous, but it was really interesting to see the many booby traps and weapons they used, and experience the claustrophobia of the tunnels. The kids were really spooked by the gigantic milipedes we saw too. Haha. We also got to try their food during the war (tapioca) and bought ourselves some Vietcong hats. :)

THis was followed by lunch at the touristy Indochine, then we headed back for some R&R (rest & retail therapy, that is haha!!) Lucky Plaza was small and rather nice, and it has always been impossible for me to resist buying anything while on holiday (even copy stuff) even though I told myself not to!! Also ventured to Tax Centre for some supermarket shopping with C! We then had dinner with Mr P. at Ngoc Suong, a nice French-styled Vietnamese restaurant. It was a long dinner though, and the kids got rather impatient and J fell asleep.

THe next day, we had the customary city tour where we visited the Presidential Palace (super hot again!) and Central Post Office. We then had lunch at Le Dong Du - mediocre tour-style food! That's when our friend , I., told us she had to go back to Singapore due to the urgent family matter. We split up after lunch, some to Ben Thanh, and me and the kids and mum back to hotel to arrange for I's ticket back, and get some (more) R&R. Dinner was at the super yummy Crystal Jade Restaurant at Legend Hotel . We went there on cyclos - small trishaw-styled vehicles! IT was a wonderful experience, weaving through the signature Vietnamese traffic! :)

Before we knew it, it was our final day there. We spent the morning packing and making a quick trip to Saigon Square and Lucky Plaza, then headed to the airport for our journey back. After more altercations with the checkin staff (we had excess baggage!!) and US$192 poorer, it was home sweet home!!

HCMC, we will see you again !

Up at night.

How surprising that I'm up at this time. Had a power nap while putting J to bed now am bright-eyed at 1045pm. I wish I could stay up really late tonite, with a great book, nice music, and nobody to bother me :) I could, I guess, except that I've still got to wake up at 6.30 am tomorrow and get ready for weekday madness. (It could be worse - if C had school I'd be up at 545 am)

So here I am, trying to do some blogging. (I'm also trying hard to eliminate exclamation marks from my posts.) Could Jamie's first meaningful words be "no more"? She has this cute action, raising both hands and moving her fingers, saying "no more" when something she is doing/watching disappears (e.g. end of her favourite Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show). So cute! (Other vocab words - mum-mum, geii, tei-tei-tei..but they don't mean much I think)

We're headed to Japan in 9 days and I'm so excited! (I think an exclamation mark is justified here.) It's been a while since we really went anywhere really different and new, and i've invested hours (if not days) on research about Tokyo.... but that said, think I'll relax and go with the flow! Holidays are meant to be fun, not stressful right?

Other exciting things - R's final K2 concert is also in 9 days and i'm feeling both sad and excited. AK puts up the most amazing concerts and it'll be the last time for me seeing any of my kids in such a big-scale production. (The plan is for J to attend nearby schools, rather than AK when the time comes). Then it'll be his graduation on 18th Nov, and then P1 orientation on 21st Nov!

Chelsea did quite well for her exams this year, considering how much (little) effort we put in this year. There'll be streaming at her school and my only requirement is that she make it into the top 3 classes (out of total of 6 classes in P3) I think she'll be fine! We'll never really find out I guess, as the school has a policy of not revealing the order of classes.

That's all for now. Time for more mindless surfing until I feel sleepy again....

Time to remember.

I just thought it was time to come back to this blog, to remember in more detail, what has been happening since May when I last blogged.

As 16th sept draws closer, I can't help but reflect on how my life has changed the past year. I've become adept at packing a diaper bag when I go out (everything is done in 5 mins tops), any stretch of sleep of at last 5 hours is good enough for me, and I'm eating faster than ever before. Lest this all sounds too negative, the joy that Jolly Jamie (as she's nicknamed by her siblings) has brought into our life is immeasurable. Her cute antics ("funny face!") and reactions are so fun to look at, and her smile brings happiness to me even at moments when I feel so down. Watching her sleep is the best way to end my day, and hearing her happy yelps over the phone monitor when she wakes up each morning is a definite highlight too. I love watching my three kids play together, be it crawling around the yard, or pulling down and putting up luminous stickers on the wall (J pulls them down and C & R put them up). It may be a cliche, but I can't imagine life without her.

Ryan is growing up super fast too. His spidey pajamas is finally getting short (those long pants are now more 3/4 pants!) and he has just started wearing glasses. I noticed him squinting at the TV a couple of weeks back, and brought him to an opthalmologist to have his eyes checked. True enough, his degree was 175/225 with some astigmatism! Quite bad for a 6 year old. So we got him fitted with a pair of spectacles and he seems happy to be wearing them. At least most of the time. Lifestyle changes have to be made - less 'near work' (reading, nintendo, TV at close range) and more 'far work' (running, cycling, outdoor activities.) As primary 1 draws nearer for him, I can't help but feel anxious about how he will cope with his new school, new friends, etc. I just hope and pray that he will have the ability to meet any challenges he faces , and that I will have the wisdom, patience and strength to guide him.

Chelsea, my first born. She's already 8. It seems just yesterday she was in kindergarten, and now she's going to be sitting for her first streaming exam. I should feel some stress, but the truth is, I hardly prepared her for the coming exam. I hope I don't regret it. Somehow, I trust that she will be able to do what's needed for her studies, this studious and hardworking girl. I worry more about her social and character development. How can I make her tougher, to fight for the right things, and not get upset if she doesn't get them? How do I show her what is important in life? I fear that I may have missed some of these important lessons along the way, sidetracked by the 'need' to complete this or that worksheet, rush for this or that event, etc. For her, I hope that the coming year will lead to more maturity, to the ability to deal with things that don't go her way, and for her to grow in confidence and leadership.

Hey...i'm blabbering. haha. I can hear the three of them shrieking downstairs! Time for me to get off this computer!

Ma-y already?

I have definitely fallen off the blogging bandwagon. I don't really know what I have been up to - probably the mundane day to day stuff that makes up life. (These include work, child care, planning for company trip, obsessing with designer bags -for now it's Balenciaga, makeup (Clea De Peau makeup base) and car shopping..)

We just got back from our 3N2D cruise to nowhere on Star Cruise Superstar Virgo and the kids had a whale of a time. In fact, upon return, C & R slept for 4 hours straight! Only J was unaffected, still keeping to her half-hour naps. Thankfully, she wakes up for at most once a night nowadays.

C's exams start tomorrow, and I have just been informed that R's excursion tomorrow to Mediacorp is cancelled due to the swine flu 'epidemic'. Poor R, he was so disappointed as he was really looking forward to it (and the fact that I would be fetching him back after the excursion.)

J is starting to babble (just today, she started with ma-ma-ma-ma and pa-pa-pa) and move (she tends to move in a circle, not really crawling yet.) Her hair is curlier than ever, and it is a mystery how it got that way. That is what most people comment on about her. :)

I am looking forward to our Melbourne trip next month, although I'm not sure if our plans will eventually fall through with the swine flu and what not! *Cross fingers & toes*.

An eventful March (so far)

I'm seldom compelled to blog about something so badly, but events of the past couple of days are eventful enough for me to want to blog them!

Let's start with 2nd March, R's 6th birthday. We didn't have a party this year, but we did go to the zoo, Sentosa, and Vivocity all within the span of 3 days at the request of the birthday boy. His 6th came and went rather quietly, with just the family celebrating for him. I guess what is most important is that he enjoyed himself. Things I want to remember about him at six:

1) His happy-go-lucky nature. He is generally a good natured kid, and nothing seems to faze him (more on this later).
2) His prone-ness to accidents. My dear son perpetually has many bruises on his shins and of all the kids, is most likely to fall or hurt himself. I attribute this to his over-adventurous nature and fearlessness.
3) He rode a 2-wheel bike before six.
4) He has a bright mind, and can achieve a lot once he puts his mind to it. (The problem is really how to get him to put his mind to it.)
5) He really loves me. :)

Soon after, J's first tooth sprouted! C & R's first teeth only came when they were one year old, so I was really surprised to see/feel her first tooth so early! As they say, every child is different, I guess that explains her great desire to chew all stuff (her most loved being paper.)

OK, now on the the main part of the eventful March story. We planned for a March holiday to Bintan (again) as we chanced upon a great promotion for our favourite Angsoka villa. On the way there, I realised I had forgotten to pack part of my breast pump to pump milk for Jamie. I really dreaded the thought of hand-expressing (J has not latched onfor a long while!) but since I planned to stop, I thought this was a good opportunity. Of course, at that point I had no idea how tough hand-expressing was.

Upon arrival at the ferry terminal, while waiting for the last of the bags to be checked out, I turned around and suddenly saw blood streaming out of R's nose (see what I mean by accident prone). I think I was more frantic than him (he's unfazed at this point!). Turns out he was playing with a trolley that hit him resulting in the nose bleed. Fortunately, the blood flow stemmed after a while and he carried on as usual.

The first night, Jamie came down with a fever. I'm not sure what caused it..maybe it was the flu bug carried around by her siblings, or her first foray into the pool- but she had a restless sleep and had to be given medicine. Her crankiness carried on, and I decided to cut short our trip to come back early as I really wasn't in topform to deal with it and wanted easy access to medical advice and all other stuff in case of an emergency.

Hence, here I am now at home, writing this down while she is in her cot. I'm just glad to be back although I miss my C & R! But, they dont miss me...they're already asking when they can go back again!!

I want to ride my bicycle.

Well, thats what the kids have been saying this entire weekend, ever since a very generous Grandma bought each of them a top-of-the-line (based on price , I think it is at least :P) bicycle! C got a Trek Mystic 20, while R got a spider-themed (he's really into spidey-stuff) Specialized Hotrock 16".

After 1 day, and countless rounds around the house, along the path outside and around the park, I'm glad to report that R can already ditch his training wheels! After some training on 2 wheels, R put back his training wheels, only to realize he could not balance properly. The solution was clear - remove the training wheels which were heavy and impeding his speed and balance. And voila! Off he went! C still needs a bit of coaxing and I'm hoping to wean her off the wheels by the March hols.

I formally started J on solid food yesterday.She's been waking up twice a night and finishing entire 4-oz bottles, so I gathered she's ready for some solid food. Starting off with organic brown rice cereal, she seems to be taking it well. Already last night she only woke up once! Informally, she's already been fed scraped apple, scraped prune, scraped chinese pear and today, tiny pieces of sweet potato :P I can't wait to include more stuff into her diet!

Well, if anything, these only go to show how fast time flies. At 16 wks, J was 7.4 kg. She's due for her 2nd round of vaccinations next week, so we'll see how much she's grown again!

Till the next update, Happy Birthday everyone! (Today is Ren2 Ri4!)

Growing up.

Time flies, it's mid-Jan and soon it'll be CNY! The clearest sign of it to me is Jamie's development. From a helpless, skinny new born just 16 weeks ago, she's bloomed into a chatty, happy, responsive, chubby girl who's learning to turn and lift up her head! She can also show excitement when she see a toy she likes (like things which make noise and with flashing lights). I also brought her to the pool this week just to touch the water and see her reaction. Some pictures:

Jamie staring at her mobile:Lifting her head so I can take her pic today:

Not liking the cold water at the pool:

And just so this post is not so Jamie-heavy, here's a pic of her siblings and cousins taken on the last day of 2008:
Chelsea is settling in well to P2 - I can sense the increased workload already (and it's onlyweek 2). Ryan is doing well in K2 - I don't think he gets that he'll be P1 next year! But well, I guess I've still got 11.5 more months to do it!

It's X'mas Eve!

I can't believe that it'll be Christmas tomorrow! 2008 passed by in a flash. One year ago, we were at Insadong, having a lovely BBQ dinner with Korean friends, followed by Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the lobby of our serviced apartment, soaking in the lovely wintry atmosphere.

This year, I'm spending a quiet X'mas eve at home. Baby J slept early, and R&C will be going to bed at 10 pm or so. Probably me too - sleep is so precious to me nowadays! haha - I'll have to wake up at 3-4 am! :P As 2008 draws to a close, these are some of the more memorable momentsthis year: C starting primary school, the closing of our online store The Velvet Cat, and last but certainly not least, the arrival of Baby j!

Baby J is growing real quickly, she's so cute to play with sometimes, responding when you talk to her or sing to her, and smiling when carried in a standing position on my shoulders! I'll post some pics soon to update!

School resumes in a couple of weeks for R and C (Where did the loooooong holiday go?) and then it's back to the daily schedule/grindstone. While that adds certain structure to our days, I'm sure I (and they) will miss the holidays dearly. Days of doing nothing except playing (for them), sleeping (relatively) late for me.... sigh.. we must look forward to the March school holidays!

This Christmas, I hope for peace and happiness for everyon and that my children grow up strong, happy and healthy. I'm still thinking about my 2009 resolutions - hopefully I'll have something to post on New Year's Eve!

Merry Christmas everyone!

ETA: I've been using my new bag. It feels great to carry it, is big enough to fit my necessities (big fat overloaded Ferragamo wallet, handphone, exploding card case, tissue, lipstick, and small card holder.) And...no scratches yet! *touch wood*

I did it.

I took the plunge and got my Xmas/Bday/Anniversary/Baby present yesterday. I'm glad I did - no more agonising about stock and what material/colour etc to get it in. After all, it's probably something I would have paid full price for. I love it, the soft leather, the gleaming metal hardware, the size, how it looks on me - it's perfect! hahah! There're no pics for now, because it's nicely wrapped up in Chanel wrapping paper and also because I am a tardy photo uploader!

I'm grateful for DH's decisiveness ("just get it, lah, then you dont have to think so hard everyday!") and also his supportiveness in my choices. ("Just get the material you love, so what if it gets scratched. It's worse if you don't use it.") Sometimes marrying someone so different from yourself makes things easier (though it also makes things hard sometimes). In difficult decisions, I always find myself asking dh what to do, and often, the ease with which he makes the decision makes the whole thing crystal clear to me too.

ETA: Credit also to my friends who goaded me to the right decision! haha!

So...for my bag, I'll use it! No keeping in the cupboard etc. :) I can't wait until Dec 16th when I can open it! Heehee!

All I want for Christmas is...

...this. A jumbo classic flap in lambskin with gold hardware from Chanel. (The picture is more of caviar/calfskin material I think). I am agonising long and hard about it. It costs a lot (probably the single most expensive item I own aside from my house I think!), and comes in so many variations. Should I get the medium or large/jumbo? Medium would be great for evenings, whereas the large would also work well for day time. Should I get it in calfskin or lambskin? Calfskin is hardier and more scratch resistant, but lambskin feels soooooo buttery smooth and looks so nice. HOwever, it is prone to scratches and needs more baby-ing. Should I get the gold hardware or silver hardware? I thought silver would be it, but when I tried on the gold, I was also attracted by it.

What makes the decision so much harder is the price of it. Should I get something where I would use frequently to amortise the cost over time? Or something which I use rarely due to the high cost of the item?

After a few days and nights of thought, I kind of decided on the size, material and hardware colour of my 4-in-1 present (J's birth, my birthday, my wedding anniversary, and Christmas). Now, thinking whether I should get it this weekend, or wait for the DBS Black Card sale..what if there is no stock?? Decisions, decisions...

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

To me, at least. I'm planning to set up the tree today, plus i've got part of my gift/shopping list sorted out! *yay* With the economic downturn, my budget this year is smaller (not that I ever really had a budget, but just trying to be prudent here :P)... C gets a box set of Mallory Towers books, R gets a Titanic book, and I'm still thinking about some others. Hehee maybe just a cheap surprise for them to open on the actual day? Baby J will probably get some rattle-y toy or a car seat (that's more practical than anything!)

Dec is also my birthday month, so here's my wish list:
1) An eyebrow shaping package
2) A belt (my clothes don't fit well nowadays :( )
3) Unlimited retail therapy (any sugar daddies/mummies out there? hahaha!)
4) Some really good books
5) Some hair/makeup related stuff
6) Something unique/handmade that I can use
ETA:
7) A state of the art laptop with all the relevant bells and whistles (preferably lightweight and nice to look at too)
8) A holiday to Australia (I'll take a raincheck till next year!)
9) A new wardrobe!

On the not-so-fun side, I went back to work last week, with J in tow. She proceeded promptly to have a fever and swelling on her thighs after her vaccinations last week. She's better now, but still not very used to the office I think. Of course, it doesnt help that C and R are having school hols now, so the maids can't handle all three plus housework at home. So I'm stretched trying to give equal time to all. Sometimes I wonder whether I can do this, but when I see my kids happy (even J, who can give a great smile now!) it's all worth it! Just have to grin and bear it for a few more months and things will get better!

Talking abt J, she did well in Bintan (her first holiday!) Spent most of the time sleeping, even at night, so that was good! I hope to visit Australia when she turns 6 mths next year. Hopefully it will be even easier then! She's not really sleeping through the night yet, although she can manage 5-6 hours a stretch usually at night. This too, will pass!

So...what is on your wish list this year for the holiday season?

We're going on a holiday.

Yep, it's the school hols! At least, it's begun for C, while R's will begin in less than 2 weeks time! We're going to Bintan (again) as we managed to snag a good deal for the Angsoka villa. Then again to Sentosa in December. I'm sure the bigger kids will enjoy themselves as usual. As for baby J, I'm not sure how she will take to it. Me...i've got a packing list about a mile long I think! Diapers, milk bottles, inflatable tub etc etc. I've never travelled with a 2 mth old baby so it will be an experience for me too.

Here's baby J's passport photo (taken by me, no less. ahah!). Doesn't she look adorable? Actually, I think she's turning out to look more like her brother. heh..they have this 'old' look about them. :)
She's 7 weeks plus now, and last week, she actually slept through the night. It's not a constant yet (she still wakes up once a night most of the time) but definitely an encouraging sign! She also has more or less set her body clock to wake up at 7.30 am, so I'm quite pleased at how things are going. Time flies, and I can't wait for the day when she can sit up unassisted, crawl, and play with us.

The past couple of weeks also saw the two elder ones having their concerts. C's was a relatively low key one held at her school hall, while R's was the typical Ascension concert, lots of glitz, music, makeup, and as usual, a great show to behold. Here are their pics taken with Mummy:


We also had a blast on Halloween, visiting Woodgrove Avenue near the American school. We're definitely going back again next year, and that means, I have ONE year to think about my costume for next Halloween!

Pictures of my little princess

Well, blogger is taking eons, so please go to my facebook account to see more....

Jamie's here!

Baby J finally made her entrance into this world on Sept 16th! Just for posterity's sake, here's her birth story....

We checked in the delivery suite at about 730 am after dropping C off at school. Shortly after, drips were adminstered to induce delivery (due to gestational diabetes) and the anaesthesist came to inject the epidural. A combination of these drugs left me very sleepy the whole time - I didn't have the mood to read my book or watch Heroes / TV, and was mostly sleeping. It didnt help that I couldn't eat anything, in case I had to go for emergency C-section. Things progressed rather slowly and at one point I was told that she could be delivered as late as late evening only!

But as fate would have it, during an examination at abt 3+ pm I was told to start pushing. Just a few (painless) pushes later, Jamie came bawling into this world - all gangly arms and legs! heh.. I felt more relieved that anything, that she was ok and normal.. and that's when I started feeling the full aftereffects of the epidural. I developed a fever promptly, started shivering uncontrollably (not that I was feeling cold at all!) and itchy all over (no manifestations of rash, just itch!). To help, the nurses gave me some meds, which I proceeded to puke out (another after effect of the epidural). Even when they wheeled me back to the ward, I was still having the fever, and it eventually only subsided the next morning, which left me sweaty and feeling horrible the whole time. I remember thinking, while waiting to leave the delivery room, " I feel horrid! Sweaty, immobile, and sick. How am I going to do this?" For the record, Jamie was born at 3.19 kg - hardly the "giant" baby Dr Doom expected! :)

Thankfully, things developed at a fast pace once the night passed, and my fever subsided, I started walking around and eating food. DH even snuck me in a cold Pepsi, which I so craved. We were discharged just 2 days later, and came home with Jamie! The next 2 days I had a splitting headache each time I sat up / walked (no thanks again to the epidural), but that gave me a good excuse to indulge in some Coke (the doctor said caffeine and paracetemol will help!) in this humid weather!

The first couple of nights were rather tough, she stayed awake from 2 am-4am, but last night she only woke once at 3.30 am for a feed and slept right back. I'm telling myself to enjoy it while it lasts - the wrinkly hands and feet, cherubic face, curly wispy hair and the whole small-ness of it all, because it'll all be gone before I know it.

I've taken quite a few pics, but haven't got round to uploading them yet. Stay tuned!

16 Sept.

Yup, that's the day Jamie will be born, provided she doesn't decide to come out earlier! I'm looking forward to this last weekend of shopping & eating heh heh!

At today's scan, her weight is estimated at 3.4kg currently and her birthweight is estimated to be between 3.5 kg to 3.7kg. Turns out she's not going to be an oversized baby after all *phew*. I'm really looking forward to seeing her, but kind of dreading the delivery and recovery process! heehee. I'm no heroine, so I'm definitely opting for the epidural once I reach the delivery ward.

That's it for now, folks. Wish me luck and I'll be back soon, hopefully with pictures of our new addition!

September's here.

...which means, soon I'll be a mum of 3 instead of 2! :) It also means the Mooncake festival, the nearing of the end of school, and the end of another year.

This year has flown by so quickly, I can't believe that C will be in Pri 2 next year, and I'll have to register R for Pri 1 next year. Of course, baby J's arrival will also mean a whole lot of adjustments to our daily lives. I sometimes wonder how I'll cope, but I know that somehow, we'll manage.

The kids and I can't wait to see Jamie, and we're guessing who she looks like! In the meantime, I'll waiting out the rest of this pregnancy, with its related woes while telling myself to enjoy it while it lasts cos life will never be the same with 3 kids, and I may never be pregnant again! heh... still, the mix of anticipation and impatience is hard to bear!

Next week, we scan Jamie to see how big she is again, and probably will make a decision when to bring her into this world. Dr Doom is not in favour of bringing her to full term as she may be too big for a natural delivery, so we'll probably have to fix a date. :P

Till then....enjoy what's left of the school holidays!

Updates

Again, it's been a while since my last update. Most of the time, just can't find the inclination to blog or upload photos (my D40's been acting up since Perth and I haven't fixed it. Bleah!)

My dear daughter turned 7 last week, and we had a great weekend at Sentosa! (It's now her favourite place in Singapore!) She had a party for her classmates at Build-a-Bear Workshop the week before, so that concludes the birthday celebrations! I can't believe she's already 7, when I look at her, she still has the same baby face, but now more defined facial structure and framed by longer and fuller hair. The next thing I know, she'll be getting married I think! :P

Jamie weighed in at 2.5 kg at 32 weeks, which according to my doctor (aka Dr Doom) is too big. So, I was tested to gestational diabetes and it seems that I *do* have it. Bleah! So, I have to go for some clinic next week to learn how to manage it, or else I may end up with a 4 kg baby at birth. This doc of mine really knows how to bear the bad news (he's always telling me about worst case scenarios), I really regret changing to him! (my previous gynae doesn't do deliveries anymore...sob sob) Anyway, another few weeks to go, and I won't have to bear with him anymore!

Sick

Yes, that's what's been bugging me the past few days. Started off with a mild sore throat last week, then developed into a night-time-only running nose, then finally erupted into a full-blown blocked-runny-nose-sore-throat-cough illness two days ago.

The worst thing is that while there are many medicines out there capable of controlling these symptoms, many of these medicines contain drugs not suitable for use in pregnancy. The doctor has prescribed some safe medicines, which don't really do the job, but I guess I just have to hang on and hope it will pass for the sake of baby j!

On the home front, C & R have taken to my ballooning waistline well. The son calls it "the biggest tummy button in the world" and my daughter says "it's even bigger than a house!" That's not really true, in fact until a few weeks ago, some people I meet regularly did not even know I was preggie! Heh heh. I don't want to put on too much weight this round, in case I never lose it all! :P So far, I've gained about 7 kg, but the doc says in the last 2 months, I might gain another 5-6 kg! Bleah!

Back to Sunny Singapore

Yes, time has flown and we're back from our trip to Perth, Australia! It was a fun-filled 4.5 days for us, and what an experience it was. It's not the first time we've been to Perth, but the couple of days we spent at Pumphill Farm were really eye-opening. Think gathering firewood in the middle of the night, kindling your own fire, and having a whole variety of animals just a stroll away to feed! The farm and cottages were nice, but the drive was really long! For some reason, I can't post pictures from the office, so that'll have to wait.)

The next couple of days were spent in Perth city itself. We're really city folk at heart (I think) and by this time I was really looking forward to seeing some shopping malls. Not that I bought a lot of stuff, but I didn't have to touch my credit card till the last half day! Not bad eh! (No thanks to the extremely high exchange rate and winter season.) I was happy I got a few flannel blankets for Jamie, 'cos I was having difficulty finding them in Singapore. I also got some Jurlique stuff from the duty free store (yah, can't stop shopping even at the airport. I swear I can't walk through any duty-free store without picking up something...anything!) and they're really divine!

Back to reality though..and school starts in a few days. Now, where did all the school holidays go!?