Forgive me for being lazy this week and not penning down too many thoughts. The past week has been a little bit of a blur, but one thing that held it together was the love I felt between family members, and God’s abundant grace to go through various tough situations. So I figured I’d post a little collage summary instead 
I realized I totally forgot about Thankful Thursdays last week! So I’m going to do a quick list here and now cos I resolved to do this every week and it’s actually helped me to ‘concretise’ my thoughts!
So this week I’m particularly thankful that:
1) despite surviving on a single-income (ie: my husband’s), my family is doing well and we are not in want. I’m so thankful that hubby has stuck by his job and that he’s excelling in it.
2) we have a car. Which is a big luxury in Singapore cos of the ridiculously high prices and taxes placed on private car ownership. Rushing around a hot, crowded city with 2 kids in tow and schedules to meet is made a lot easier and more comfortable with a car.
3) we have each other. Despite finding myself going off-track (ie: turning into a screaming maniac to my kids) at times, I realize I have the ‘perfect family unit’ consisting of 2 parents, 2 kids. It is a blessing that is so easy to take for granted because some want kids and can’t have them, some want siblings and have none, some don’t want to be alone but no one is with them. So despite our many, many flaws, I am immensely grateful that we are still, simply, together.
4) Lastly I am thankful for the abundance of food (again!!) in Singapore. I was having a ‘I’m bored of noodles and soup and rice week’, until weekend came and I got to eat Japanese food, Western food and even a 10-course Chinese Dinner at Chin Lee Restaurant to mark the one-year Anniversary of the passing of Granny. I got to finally try the legendary ‘orrh- nee’ or translated as Yam paste with gingko nut, and it was, indeed yam-mmy
I am Tiger Mother,
Hear me roar
I make my daughter
Practice violin
Till she cries on the floor
But it’s still not enough
For the school she’s in
Because it’s so tough
Tiny children with 1/8 sized violins
Are expected to perform like champs,
And they do,
But at what expense?
Too many things to remember,
Too many expectations to meet
I am a Tiger Mother
Only because I am weak
Got swept away by the tide
Of comparison
(and good old Singaporean kiasu-ism)
I found myself losing focus
Of what is really important
She is only five years old
And is still a child
Who should be allowed to make mistakes,
To learn while she plays
And not to have to bear the weight
Of so much pressure
One more year,
To primary school
That is where the real game begins
Will she make it through
As a happy, curious, learning child?
Or will her spirit be crushed
By the endless stream of homework,
Tiger-mother chiding,
Tuition on the side,
Or other ‘enrichment’ classes?
Tiger mum, will I be?
Or do I need to live,
And let live?
To discipline yet learn to pull back,
To push her to her potential,
Yet to know when the pressure
Becomes crushing.
At the end of the day,
What do I want her to be?
A brilliant musician,
A fabulous artist or scientist,
Or doctor, lawyer, beggar or thief?
God looks at the heart
And not what man sees,
So why do I, Tiger mother
Care so much about
What the world thinks?
When the one important thing,
I do not exemplify,
I spend little time nurturing?
A heart completely tuned to God,
A life that follows Jesus
Littlelam has been bugging me to bake with her for a while, but cos of the mountains of housework and mainly cos LittlerLam gets her hands into everything at this age, it has been quite impossible.
So I figured one of the easiest and yummiest things for a kid to make is juice pops. Except we didn’t have any juice in the fridge. But we did have Milo. So I let Littlelam mix up a cup of Milo, then pour it into heart-shaped molds and stuck it in the freezer. Today we have dual-tone heart-shaped cubes, perfect for kids to enjoy!
I also chanced upon this ‘scene’ in a friend’s hotel room the other day. Housekeeping must have a good sense of humor well, it made me smile!
Traffic light fruits!
Oops I have been lazy (or rather too tired at night) to blog even though my head has been swimming with thoughts for great research articles which I will probably never write. But that’s another story in itself.
It has been a rather eventful week crammed with meaningful meet-ups with friends, and a bit of a roller-coaster ride with LittlerLam.
Here goes my list:
1) Thankful for my mum for helping to babysit the girls for 2 afternoons and an evening so I could go out and meet friends and run errands.
2) Thankful that we got to go to 2 eating joints that I really like – Breko at Holland village (which has changed so much since the old days when it started I think 10 years ago), and P.S Cafe at Palais Renaissance which has such a unique ambience. I am a big smoothie fan, and the Mango Strawberry smoothie at Breko’s is really great!
3) So glad that I was able to meet up with Winifred, who is a great listener (I can see why she makes a good therapist) and who brought back a stash of Harney & Son’s teas from USA for me! I am also a big fan of tea (totally don’t drink coffee, sorry!) and this brand has the most amazing flavours like Pomegranate Oolong and Peach White Tea that smell divine. I even got a chance to admire some art pieces at the lobby area of the hotel.
4) I managed to buy a whole lot of bedding items for my new place at a good price at the Robinsons’ sale. I didn’t even know it was on, and it was so random that I ended up in the vicinity. So I guess when plans change and you have to travel further, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, like in my case.
5) Poor LittlerLam was bitten very badly by some insect during one of her naps one day. I give thanks that though it looks soooo nasty, it has not bothered her too much, and they are healing nicely now. I didn’t even need to take her to the doctor, thank God!
6) I am so thankful that God indeed set His angels to catch me because this week, I tripped over a kerb at littlelam’s schoo. Which is fine, except that I was carrying LittlerLam in one hand, and holding Littlelam’s hand in the other. So I actually landed quite unglamorously on the ground, dragged littlelam down with me, but amazingly did not drop the baby at all! And she could still just respond by saying “uh-oh!” so thankful both girls were unscathed, and I got away with just a bad muscle strain!
Oops I’m late again! Frankly, it wasn’t that I forgot I had to post this list yesterday, but I was just a little lacking in inspiration and drive to list anything down. But today I was reminded of the little blessings that I can give thanks for this week:
1) I’m thankful that despite going bonkers and waking up every hour or refusing to sleep after waking at 4 or 5am (and sleeping at 11pm) for about a week, LittlerLam seems to be stopping this nonsense. Well, after a lot of prayer, Daddy sleeping with her, and much more prayer. Last night she only woke once! So praise God and praying she’ll get back to sleeping through the night again.
2) I’m just thankful again for family and friends. We are still somewhat celebrating the Chinese new year, and the festivities are supposed to last for 15 days. So we are still on day 12, heh. So it’s always a good time and excuse for all and sundry to meet up. We were invited to our cousin’s place where they have the most fantastic play area for the kids and they had soooo much fun. As we grow older, I realize we all seem to be able to understand and cherish extended family gatherings and the relies we meet. And having kids suddenly gives everyone a common topic, & those who don’t have kids are just happy being bullied by them haha!
3) I’m thankful that despite falling badly from the bed, Head-first and landing directly on top of her head (and doing a somersault) on the hard floor, LittlerLam is unscathed. So thankful that I was able to reach out fast enough to break her fall!
Here are some pictures of the crazy extended family gathering and the kids playing!
Exploring the carpet
Hmmm this is a strange chair!
F1 racing, pushcart style!
Playing with the fantabulous dollhouse
I rarely mention the rest of my family members in this blog because I try to preserve as much privacy as I can, while keeping this blog interesting. But I figured some of the interesting antics my Dad gets up to are quite worthy of mention, since he doesn’t have his own blog.
For one thing, my Papa is a fantastic gardener. He has the greenest fingers I know and can make almost ANYTHING grow out of a pot or in his little garden plot. And I am talking about a miserable, poor-soil type condition in tropical Singapore where a garden is a luxury. Every time I have ailing plants — like an Aloe Vera plant I named Ally and kept in my office many years ago, I would bring it back to him and within a few days of treatment from his tender-loving hands (and vast experience/ scientific knowledge), the sickly plant would soon be on the path to recovery! He even once managed to grow a tiny watermelon in Singapore — which is quite impossible, given the weather conditions.
So today, he posted a picture of his latest experiment, the Red Radish. So I’ve nicked the pic and posted it here, along with his simple instructions on how to grow your own Red Radish plant 
Looks really artistic too!
Red radish blooms in 3 weeks!
1) Buy red radish for $2 one week before CNY.
2) Place in dish with sawdust or potting mix in a shaded place.
3) 3 weeks later, voila! Flowers!
