The dreaded EPMS is DONE!!!

Mummy is one extremely happy woman at 12.15pm this afternoon! You might be wondering why?

Did mummy strike lottery like gong gong did?
Did she win a car in some lucky draw?
Or was it that she managed to persuade daddy to buy the long awaited and elusive LV handbag?

Well, actually it's none of the above lah!

Mummy was finally done after a 3 solid hour EPMS meeting with boss and bigger boss! OMG! I'm actually surprised we managed to clock no more than 3 hrs! Super ecstatic that it's finally over! The only thing left to do is to amend certain things and add in more reflection...easy peasy! Should be done in less than half an hour but...being the queen of procrastination, mummy will probably look through it again maybe on Thurs? Hehe...we'll see!

Popping champagne to celebrate this 'milestone' was out of the question but instead, the group of crazy teachers went out together for hi-tea (mrs pada's birthday treat)

Again...watz good to rave about at Carousel cafe? This time it's the waffles!!! Simple yet made to perfection! Top it off with the whipping cream and honey and...tada! The best waffles you can find in town! *slurp*

Mummy got a shock when she went home because mama showed her the mosquito bites on ryan's body! I believe there were more than 10 in total! Atrocious! My precious boy even had bites on his eyebrow and feet! The blood-sucking pests!!! Apparently, mama and gong gong blamed me for the bites because I did not shut the windows at night and switch on the air-con for their GRAND son! Sigh...there it is! The plain truth: mummy's the culprit!

See the big bite on ryan's right eyebrow?

Managed to take revenge when I killed one in the room before ryan went to zzz...praise the lord for that! Otherwise my poor son would end up with even more bites in the morning! Daddy, we miss you!

Daddy's away...

Monday 11th June 2007

Daddy left for his business trip to Shenzhen and Hong Kong this afternoon...ryan obviously doesn't know that daddy is going away for abt 5 days even though daddy has kissed him millions of times and told him that he's going to miss him...

Before this, daddy even mentioned that it was fortunate that mummy wasn't the one travelling because daddy would probably have a HARD time looking after ryan on his own! Daddy even remarked that he'd probably book tickets for himself and ryan on the same flight as me! Hahahaha...it just shows how daddy cannot live with mummy huh?

Daddy called mummy the moment he landed at night and guess where ryan and mummy were? Haha...shopping around at IMM with mama and gong gong of course! I'm not known as the jalan queen for nothing you know?

Gong gong's treat

Sunday 10th June 2007


Attended 10am mass at Holy Cross this morning and then headed to Chevrons for a father's day lunch. Gong gong booked a table for everyone at Brilliant Garden Restaurant and ordered a set meal for catered for 10 persons!

Something to rave about: their PEKING DUCK!!! so succulent, crispy and mmmmm....just so 'shiok'!


Ok, ok, stop it already!


After lunch, mummy had to request for mama to take Ryan along to wherever they were going because I had to seriously complete my EPMS and email to my 2 bosses that night!

I wonder why in the world MOE even came up with such a thing...the dreaded EPMS!! Ask any teacher and I'm sure this EPMS thingy will come up on their list of 'most dreaded'..... sigh

With a super heavy heart, I followed hubby to his office so that we could clear our work together...I cannot imagine if hubby really becomes a teacher himself one day! *FYI, he has mentioned before a couple of times that he's thinking of switching jobs....NO!!! my instant reply, of course! As if he doesn't know the things I have to go through...


Precious Ryan went along with mama and gong gong to lao-ma's house in bendemeer. Mama told me many of my aunts were there so I'm guessing Ryan had the time of his life AGAIN! The joy of being a child....




Yup, there it is...Ryan playing with I dunno whose dog actually.... hahaha...



Mummy and daddy only managed to reach back close to 7pm! It's really a torturous experience I tell you....the most dreaded EPMS

A day ALONE with mummy...or was it?

Friday 8th June 2007



Today, mummy decided to take up the challenge and look after Ryan ON HER OWN! It was supposed to be a whole day affair just staying home and entertaining Ryan but…jiu jiu smsed mummy and asked if she wanted to go to the motherhood exhibition in the afternoon. Of course, without hesitation, I agreed! Haha…the whole day affair went up into smoke!

Ryan had a short nap of about 40mins and when he awoke, mummy fed him his very special lunch.
Why special? Because mummy had cooked rice and soup (made up of dried scallops, egg taohu, carrots and mince meat) for baby Ryan today (her first!) and she was really over the moon when Ryan seemed to be enjoying his lunch…he even gave mummy the 'good' sign (which is simply continuous movement of his hands up and down) without mummy even asking for it! OMG!! Mummy's head was swelling just being so proud of her accomplishment of cooking a meal that Ryan enjoyed!

We headed to the motherhood exhibition at the expo at around 2 plus when jiu jiu came to pick us. Seriously speaking, it wasn't worth the trip there even though jiu jiu, at my recommendation, bought 4 packs of nepia diapers @ 14 each. Since we were there, we decided to take the chance to grab some good deals at the JL mega sale next door. Not fantastic as well but I ended up with a really cheap pair of flats for school.

Ryan was EXTREMELY cranky (due to his lack of zzzz, of course!) and he kept screaming! Yup, you heard me right! SCREAMING!!! I seriously wonder how he's supposed to hear me scold him when he's just so super LOUD!!! Hai! Perhaps I should contemplate getting a cane at home?? Hhhmmm… what do you think?

*Note: I only said get a cane, not USE one! =P

Such a lucky day!

Thursday 7th June 2007

Mummy had to go to sch today for band and prelim oral exams…baby ryan got to go out jalan with the rest of the gang again because 'teh teh' was on leave again! The jalan queen mummy missed her chance of going out with them and was instead stuck in school with her 4A boys who were ever sooo irritating!!

Anyway, the gang went to novena square and then to united square for the Pokemon performance that was going on! I'm guessing it's more for Ian coz he's a fanatic lah! Gong gong took pics of them with the Pokemon characters on stage and I believe that ryan was pretty amused though I'm sure he must be wondering what those funny looking creatures were!

After that, it was time to head to the toy store 'TOYS'R'US' for some toys! Gong gong had STRUCK LOTTERY (2nd prize) the day before as he had bet on the bicycles' numbers and it was time for the children to enjoy their treat! Amazing huh? Trust gong gong to be able to sequence the numbers so accurately! As usual, spoilt rascal Ryan got the most toys from his 'best friend, teh teh' which included a small minnie mouse helium balloon on a stick, a spiderman which was close to Ryan's height and a keyboard which had a microphone attached to it as well! Gor gor only had a DIY praying antis to assemble and if I remember correctly, jie jie didn't want (or was it, get) anything!

When the gang got home, everyone seemed satisfied except Yas who had to lug the keyboard which looked pretty cumbersome in a big box!

I believe it was another enjoyable day out for the children with their doting, most pampering mama and gong gong! Again, daddy missed out on the fun as he had to slog for the family! Till mummy blogs again!

*mummy's been blogging coz she's on hols, remember?*

Time out at the park!

Gong gong (aka 'teh teh' in ryan's language) was on leave yesterday so the whole troop of mama, ian, chrissy, auntie yas, baby ryan and mummy went to east coast park for a day of fun in the sand!

Gor gor n jie jie were well prepared with their caps and sand-castle building tools (which were NOT used at ALL!) The moment we reached there at ard 10 plus, baby ryan decided it was time for his nap...sigh! Mummy pushed him along in his pram till he fell asleep whilst gong gong entertained the other 2 children by bringing them to the beach for some fun. Mama, being mama, had to watch over the things that we had lugged... 1 camera bag, Yas's diaper bag with the things the children needed, 1 big yellow recycling bag containing the sandwiches, hot water, clothes, towel n what have u and... mama's own big black bag with I dunno wat else! OMG! Just bringing the 3 children out, we've got sooo many things to lug!! Imagine if di di Ethan comes along!! I dread to think about it...

Anyway, ryan fell asleep so mummy decided it was time to exercise and went to rent a bike...
Paid $6 for a mountain bike n the guy there gave me a half hr extra...I was thinking to myself 'Would i actually want to ride for 1 and a half hr? Hhhhmmm?? Me? Exercising?'
Anyway, went ahead for a ride and realised my butt was aching and my legs as well, especially having to go up so many slopes! Watz wrong with straight, smooth roads anyway? Headed back after 10 - 15mins n saw the gang resting at the food centre...hahaha...baby ryan was awake and the prince was fed his porridge by his most doting, noble mama!

Gong gong had rented a tandem bike for himself and ian but ian hated the bike coz he was too short and couldn't reach the pedal...insisted on getting a bike for himself so yi yi here had to ride the tandem bike to the bicycle station and replace it with a bicycle suitable for him...in the end, to make it worth the $8 that gong gong had paid, i got another mountain bike but i didn't have to top up any $! Off we went back to where the gang were...

When we got back to the food centre, jie jie decided that she wanted to ride as well so auntie yas had to tompang her pretty precariously with one hand holding on the handle whilst the other one was acting like a harness around jie jie's body, preventing her from falling! It seemed a tad too dangerous so the yi yi here had to, once again, head to the station to get the bike exchanged to one with a child seat in front. Hai! The woes of being the yi yi!

Once the bike had been changed (at no cost again!) off we went for a short ride towards the super cool ski thingy where avid skiers gathered... fatigue, added on to an aching butt, prompted me to take short rests at where mama was while the kids n maid continued riding...

Gong gong took the liberty to bring ryan for a ride in the child seat even though we had disallowed yas from bringing ryan along coz mama n i figured it was too dangerous...however, gong gong was more confident so... i was surprised when i saw baby ryan in the child seat, enjoying the breeze and amusing himself with the bell that was atached to the handle..hehe..

A few more rounds on the bike and the time was up...we didn't venture far though...yi yi here was exhausted so couldn't lead ian any further...

We returned the bikes and headed to parkway parade for lunch at the food court...the children were all tired and ryan and his jie jie fell asleep in gong gong's car on the way back...

Overall, an enjoyable outing which daddy had missed! Another time perhaps...

Cut my hair, pleez!!

Mummy brought the cheeky boy for a haircut today. Mama, auntie yas and jie jie chrissy went along as well. Initially, it was juz supposed to be mummy bringing ryan alone but jie jie wanted to go 'gai gai' as well so poor mama had to get changed and off we went to Jean Yip with ryan in his new ride, the MacLaren Volo!

Once we got to Jean Yip, ryan's stylist, Ken took over and as usual, mummy had to carry ryan on her lap and distract him so that Ken could work his magic! Mama too, played a part in distracting ryan with his biscuits. It took Ken about 15 minutes to simply cut the little rascal's hair but I must say that ryan was pretty well-behaved actually! No fussing and unnecessary screaming! Simply carrying out amusing antics and irritating the stylist with his constant looking at the mirror to see what's being done to his hair!

Daddy wasn't very pleased with the end product coz it wasn't short enough at the sides...mummy thinks it looks just fine actually! Hehehe, difference in opinions I guess! But whatever it is, our boy still looks as good as ever! Handsome little one! The daddy will definitely agree coz everyone ALWAYS says ryan looks just like his daddy! Sigh...I'm pretty sure he'll look so much better if he had mummy's genes! Hehe...

RYAN'S FINALLY WALKING ON HIS OWN!!!! *woohoo*

*WOOHOO!!!* my lil boy is finally walking on his own unaided!!! wat a milestone it is today! for weeks now we have been trying to entice him to walk on his own by standing at least about 1m away and each time after a few steps, he will plomp on his butt and start crawling towards us! so we kinda concluded he's just plain lazy and would rather crawl faster to get to his destination! hehehe... we were at guild house having dinner with the entire family to celebrate baby ethan's 1st month. halfway through dinner, uncle rodney revealed that with his "method", ryan could walk more than 10 steps on his own and i was flabbergasted! OMG! i stopped munching and demanded a re-enactment rightaway! he stood and said "watch this!" he went over to ryan who was busily chasing his cousins ian and chrissy around, of course strolling from chair to chair. rod brought ryan to a fairly open space and with mama in the distance as 'target', he said "let's walk to mama". ryan with his outstretched hands, seemingly to balance himself as if on a tight rope, began walking steadily towards mama! and as we counted the number of steps! it soon reached 10 and counting!! i was like *speechless*. uncle steven immediately took out his videocam and said "Again!" and that was precisely wat ryan did! hehehehehe.... another fantastic reward of parenthood!!!! alas, it may be the start of our nitemare of chasing him around now! it was truly a sight to behold and soon after even the maids were trying to entice ryan to walk towards different 'targets'! ehehehhe... it seems that each time that baby ethan has a milestone, ryan would celebrate it with one of his own! just like when baby ethan was born and ryan took his first steps! and today, another milestone together! gong gong brought ryan out towards the lounge for a "walk" with ryan in tow and he was happily laughing/screaming away! he must be overwhelmed with his new found skill minus the lack of confidence! I AM ONE PROUD DADDY!! hahahahaha.... he must be really exhausted after all that walking cos he's fast alseep next to me now. my lil rascal aka pride & joy! till the next milestone!

RYAN'S 1ST SWIM CLASS! *it's only a trial though*

i brought ryan for his 1st ever swim class ALONE!! mummy was supposed to be ard as well but due to some unforseen ridiculous reason (request to apply for childcare leave was turned down cos of contact time), i had the honours to bring my lil boy alone with maximum bonding time!! hehehhe... and of course mummy is still fuming to date and has demanded to bring him swimming this sat! the swim session was organised by aunt ivy aka perper for the 06 babies (trinity, jayden, javier, cayden, dexter & ryan) and it was held at the NTU alumni house over at one-north. it was a breezy afternoon and expectedly the water was *brrrr* cool! had to single-handedly change ryan out of his clothes and into his swimwear and it was no easy feat! aunt ivy offered to help but i insist i was fine (must appear competent!) ryan was rather co-operative and soon after he was ready for his swim! while waiting for aunt lina aka keikei and aunt 'caymom' to arrive, we were told to bring our lil ones to the edge of the pool for some 'warm-up' preps. i was amazed that jayden and trinity were walking on their own already and very fast at that and realised its just that ryan's rather lazy to start doing that now! hmph! the occasional splashing of the 'cool' water was rather enjoying and ryan appeared 'warmed-up' and was ready! when everyone was ready, i realised i was still in my tee & berms! OMG! thank goodness aunt lina's maid was there to help hang on to ryan while i zoomed to the chair and stripped! the entire session was thoroughly enjoyable except for the part where the coach came over to ryan for his turn to get orientated! as usual, due to his high level of stranger anxiety (which was never apparent til a few months back), he wailed and screamed much to my embarrassment! he had to stand out among his peers! hahahahahha.... aunt sally aka sweetpea was busily snapping away while we were 'swimming' and i must say, the pics were great! absolutely priceless!! then came the moment i dread! it's shower time!! i carried ryan to the bathroom, stripped him and tried to rinse off the clorinated water without any soap (since grandma's gona bathe him soon enough when we reach home anyway). as usual, dressing him up was an extremely mind boggling and tedious affair! had to distract him with my car key, his mickey rattler, etc just to put on his romper and shoes! wat a struggle! but i kinda enjoyed it and felt good about it all! alas! i could bring ryan out single-handedly wifout crying for help! hehehhe.... we gave aunt jerene aka missy and javier a lift to holland v before heading for grandma's place! it was truly a great experience and a memorable one too! cant wait for the upcoming MyGym trial at great world this sat!

ryan's teeth update!

woohoo! ryan's 4th tooth is finally sprouting out too!! *jumping for joy* when will his first molar appear?!! my lil monster has been bugging us to feed him whenever we are munching or having our meals!! but at least he's growing very well! hehehe....