On Auto-pilot

My sister, Joanne, arrived from Singapore early this morning at 6am. I dragged myself out of bed to pick her up from the airport. She landed at T4 but I drove to T1/2/3. I don't know if I was too used to driving to T1/2/3 and hence on auto-pilot or I was simply 'blur sotong'. I only realised my mistake when I was about to reach T1/2/3. I quickly turned left to take another route to T4 but it was a turn too early and that was the way to Central London(!!!). I stepped on the brake (luckily traffic was light), turned right to get back and took the right turn. As I wasn't familiar with the way, I had to rely on the road signs. It was still dark and it was difficult to drive and look out for the road signs at the same time. If it's daytime, that wouldn't pose a problem. Then! I took a wrong turn again (duh!) and had to make a U-turn. Finally, I was on the right track to T4. Luckily there was a huge delay at the baggage claim and my sis didn't wait long. I'm not a lousy driver I must say but I just don't know what happened to me this morning.

Wonderful Break

After hearing about Devon being a beautiful place for so long, I finally got the chance to go there over the weekend. Before we left, I was really worried as to whether the girls will be able to endure the long journey. Thankfully, they were fine except on our way there when Louisa was getting a little impatient and restless at one point.

It took us 4.5hr to drive there (with a break thrown in). Surprisingly, Adrian drove the entire journey when he doesn't like to drive much. The original plan was for him to drive the 1st half of the journey which he said the map would be easier for me to comprehend and then we'd switch when it gets more complicating. Perhaps he realised I could read map pretty well so he left me to it. We passed by Stonehenge along the way but we didn't stop. It was very near to the main road and we could see it well.

Our host, Gilly, is really hospitable and friendly. She's a vicar and her house is newly built - a bungalow (single-storey detached house). She prepared 3 rooms for us but we told her the girls sleep together in one room so we only took up 2 rooms. Adrian commented that it's better than staying in a hotel.

The beach is 5min's walk from her place and as the weather was good, she brought us there and Louisa was so excited (she's only been to Pasir Ris beach once before). Lavigne, on the other hand, was frightened of the sand and waves. She refused to get off the stroller while Louisa went about picking shells and rocks happily. We didn't get to spend much time there as we had to head back for dinner for Ronald, an old friend from uni, was going to join us for the meal.

Talking about Ronald. The last time we saw him was in October 2001. 1.5 weeks ago, I was looking at the photograhps of a common friend of ours at Frienster. Then I came across his photo. There he was, our friend who lost more than half of his body weight. Though I've heard he'd lost a lot of weight, I still couldn't believe what I saw. Anyway, I sent him a message and within minutes, he replied. Then we chatted on MSN messenger and I found out he's not only working in UK but at Paignton, Devon, the town we are going to. As he was flying to Dallas the day after we arrived, Gilly kindly invited him for dinner so we could meet up. And! His workplace is just a few minutes' drive away from where Gilly lives. I thought such things only happen in movies.

Anyway, that kind friend of mine went out to get me some cold medicine after learning that I wasn't feeling well. I was so touched! After drinking 2 sachets, my cold cleared and I was able to enjoy the rest of my stay in Devon.

The following morning, we walked to the beach while Gilly went to church to conduct a short service. She then took us on a steam train ride and then boat trip to Dartmouth, a nearby town. The weather couldn't be better and we had such a wonderful day there.

On our last day, we went for a service at her church in the morning and then it was back to her house to get our things packed and loaded into the car. Gilly brought us to this beautiful garden. Soon, it was time for us to begin our drive home which took us 5.5 hr as the traffic was bad. There's so many places to visit but we simply didn't have the time. A weekend's stay at Devon is definitely too short and I hope we can go there again sometime next year.

Short Trip

We're off to Devon for a homestay in a few hours and I'm nursing a cold. Sigh! I'm not going to take Piriton as the drive will be at least 4 hrs! Will be passing by Stonehenge, wonder if Adrian will want to make a stop there since he's been there b4. Home on Sunday and off to Heathrow early Monday morning to pick up my sister who is coming back to work.

Another LO completed

Fig Tree kit by Scissorless Media

Font is Hannibal Lecter & 20th century

Potty Training

I heard Lavigne in the toilet going 'Shee shee potty yeah....good girl...well done!' then made the 'shee shee' sound. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped this.

As for her own potty training, I think we're almost there. She's been doing it in the potty for a few days in a row now. Most hopeful of all was when she went to the potty herself to pee today. I hope I will have the courage to bring her out diaperless soon.

Babies themselves

On my way to pick up Louisa from school today, I bumped into my neighbour who's a childminder. I'd known that she'd been looking after a young baby so when I saw this sweet little baby girl inside the stroller she was pushing, I asked her how old is she now. She replied that she's 5 months old and has been under her care since she was 3 weeks old. My neighbour started explaining that the reason why the baby's under her care was because the little one's mother was only 15(!!!!) when she had her. She was still attending school then so had to look for someone to look after her. Not that I'm conservative but to be a mum at 15 is way too young. Some years back, I read in a local magazine about teenage mums. The youngest was only 12. Yes, when kids of that age in Singapore are preparing for their PSLEs. A lot of these young mothers find having a baby 'fun'. To them, it's like having dolls to play with. Physically, their bodies are not matured enough to have a baby and they're definitely not emotionally and mentally ready. These children should be enjoying their childhood and not be worrying about formula and diapers. Of course, most of the babies will be cared for by their grandmothers or be given up for adoption. But still, it's unthinkable for girls as young as 14 and 15 becoming mothers when they are still babies themselves. UK has the highest pregnancy rate in Europe. I often see many young mothers pushing their babies in pushchairs on the the streets. I guess many of them do not realise the full consequences of having babies that young.

2.5 years back, Adrian and I were volunteers for Children's Society. While visiting our ward at a halfway home one day, we saw a young girl with her newborn son. She and her friends were all coo-ing at the baby. I didn't despise her or anything remotely close to that. In fact I pitied her. She'd been forced to grow up faster than she should. I wondered if she fully understood what it'd be like being a mum, let alone at such a young age. Sadly, the baby boy was taken away to be adopted.

My late aunt

I had written earlier that my late aunt was suffering from bone cancer. That was a mistake and my mum just told me it was liver cancer. Time from diagnosis to death - 2 months.

Girls just wanna have fun

I'd finally put up the bed canopy, which I'd gotten from car boot sale a few weeks' back (cost me only 1pound), in the girls' room. Not that there's any mosquitoes but more for decoration purpose. It has proved to be a hit with the girls. The moment it was up, they got onto the bed (Louisa's) with books and stuff and stayed in there for quite a while. I plan to put some personal touches to it, going to add beadings, ribbons and embellishments. Louisa had requested for underwater appliques. She's still crazy over Little Mermaid. Adrian (being the man he is) told me it'll be pulled down in no time.

Back to School

Today marks the 1st day of Reception (equivalent to K1) for Louisa. Previously, I'd written on how she didn't like the uniforms saying 'they're ugly' (she likes pink and all things pretty). I thought it'd just be a passing thing. But last evening, Adrian was telling her about going to school today and she burst into tears. She had said she wanted to go back to her 'old school' (nursery) and not the big school and she doesn't want to make new friends. Of course, the 'ugly uniforms' issue came up too. Adrian explained to her that she's now 4 and like all other 'big children', will wear school uniforms and go to 'big school' where she will still see quite a few of her old friends. I was really worried that she would throw a tantrum and not want to go to school this morning. Fortunately there was none. Adrian asked her to choose her own set of uniform (either polo shirt with skirt or pinafore with polo shirt). She chose the pinafore and commented it looks pretty. Phew! Kids do change their minds quickly.

The whole family went to school with her. I could tell that she was a little apprehensive and nervous. But upon reaching school ground and seeing some familiar faces, she started to relax. One of the things she had to bring to school today was pictures from somewhere she had visited during summer. I had printed out some photos from our Belgium trip for her to bring to school to share her trip with and she took along some photos from her recent birthday party as well. Mrs Lynch, her class teacher made her feel at ease the moment she stepped into class with welcoming words. Louisa showed her the pictures and when it was time for us to leave, she cheerfully bade us farewell without any hint of reluctance. Adrian and I were one pair of relieved parents.

Life is Short

After suffering from cancer and becoming half the size she used to be, my dad's beloved sister finally passed away peacefully at home this morning. She lost her son to the same type of cancer (bone) a couple of years back and wasn't really herself eversince. I'm glad she passed on at home, something which she'd requested a couple of days back. My dad's particularly upset because he didn't get to see her today before she left. He'd been visiting her at the hospital everyday without fail. Furthermore, my aunt had wanted to go to Swatow, their dad's hometown in China, when she was not so ill. Unfortunately, my dad had to postpone it a few times till she was too ill to go. Well, at least he took her to Genting Highlands some weeks back, which I hope will be consoling to him. No more pain....no more suffering.....may you rest in peace, Er Gu.

Slightly more than a month ago, I got to know of the news that my aunt was critically ill and she didn't have much time left. Within days, news of another aunt's (no blood relation) bad health reached me when I rang her to arrange a day to visit her. She's my MIL's friend whom I befriended in UK since 1998. She used to have breast cancer and that went into remission. But the cancer has come back and it's attacking her nerves near her spine. My MIL told me it's the 2nd relapse in 2 years, which doesn't sound good. She's now undergoing Chemotherapy and constantly in pain. I wanted badly to go see her since the last time we met was one year ago. I'd called her husband several times in the past year to arrange a get-together but she'd not been feeling well to receive guests. I still have her pot's lid which her husband had mistakenly left behind and take mine instead. That was during Lavigne's 1st birthday party. I hope she'll pull through again this time round and we can pay her a visit soon.

Daniel, my brother-in-law

Daniel, my brother-in-law, is such a dearie. He's very patient with the girls, helped me look after them when we went out to exchange some of Louisa's school attire today, took the girls cycling while I was cooking dinner, read them bedtime stories, wash dishes for me, took the garbage out, vacuumed the floor and basically helped entertains the girls whenever he can.....what more can I ask for in a brother-in-law.

What's been happening...

Weather

The weather for the past week had been lovely with plenty of sunshine. I was just telling my sis the other day that our summer clothes didn't get enough mileage this year. Then the temperature went up (mid 20s)....pretty hot for this time of the year. Anyway, we're not complaining. The girls got to go out lots and we could forget about cardis at the moment. So for this week, we went to Legoland thrice (4X actually but I turned around after seeing a long queue into the carpark) and to parks and playgrounds everyday. Barney was at Legoland yesterday. Other than the purple dino, there was Snoopy and a whole lot of other performances for the day. Needless to say, the live concerts attracted a huge turnout. So huge the park ran out of carpark spaces and had to turn people away. We were one of them. Well, the park was closed to cars but not visitors. They advised people to park at Windsor and get a ride on a bus into the park (that would take ages). Or we could find somewhere else to park and then a long walk uphill to the park entrance. They even refused to let Adrian drop us off at the entrance. On our way out, Adrian found a spot and parked there before we made our way up to the park. Thankfully halfway on the hill, a minibus from Legoland stopped to give people a lift. We just managed to make it. The Barney performance was OK. It was almost the same as last year's. But the girls enjoyed themselves. That was the whole point of it.

Adrian's away again

Adrian left for Italy this morning and won't be back till Saturday. We'd wanted to go with him but this time round, he'll be staying on the campus so there won't be room for the 3 of us. But we'll be going to Devon in 2 weeks and hopefully Belgium in November. Daniel's here till Wednesday so we'll be fine. Lydia was here for the weekend too so I had a little breather as she's good with the girls.

Badminton

I've been playing badminton for the past 2 months with Adrian and his friends. I'd not played for 5-6 years and it's nice to be playing the sport again. Adrian's friend, Hoon Wei books the courts every other week and the whole family will go. I started playing badminton since I was 11. To be able to play it now after having the girls, I feel young once more. It's good workout for me too!

Potty Training

I'd been trying to get Lavigne to poo and wee in the potty for a while now. We wanted to get her trained before it turns cold again. It's been quite unsuccessful until the past few days. On the first day when I started potty training, she wee into the potty on her 2nd attempt and I thought to myself 'that was easy!'. But that was the one and only time. Previously, she'd wee and then tell me. Then, she'd tell me she wanted to 'shee shee' before actually weeing and I'd rush to get her to sit on the potty but there weren't any output. We'd resorted to offering sweeties as rewards but without any results. Then for the past few days, she'd managed to wee in the potty a several times. In fact, there were some occasions when she said she wanted to 'shee shee', not in the potty but on the training seat in the toilet. As we don't have a toilet downstairs, she'd have to climb up the stairs to get to the toilet. I was afraid she'd not make it there in time. But I'd realised that she's more comfortable with the idea of sitting on the training seat than the potty. The reason being that the moment she sits on it, there'll be output, rather than the potty which I'd to repeatedly get her to sit and she'd get up to walk around, get her to sit and she'd wonder off again before she'd finally wee. It's also difficult to toilet train her now that we're going out everyday. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of letting her go out diaperless when she's not really trained yet. A friend taught me to stay home one whole week to potty train Louisa some years back. Sounds logical but we won't be getting much good weather soon. Hopefully, she'd be trained before she turns 2, which is very soon.

Chatterbox

I'm just amazed with how well Lavigne could speak now. She'd been called a chatterbox by ladies in the shops. I guess the reason why she speaks well is because she repeats everything that Louisa says. Quite like a parrots actually. Very fun to hear her speak.

She's now toilet training her doll as well. The other day I heard her saying to her doll 'Shee shee potty give sweet sweet'. She'd also put the doll on the toilet bowl in the dollhouse and go 'shee shee shee shee'.

She'll also ask me things like 'What's meimei eating?', trying to be independent and wants to do things herself by saying 'I can do my own'. I should videotape her speaking.

Louisa going to Reception

Louisa will be starting her new term on 21st September (awfully late). She'll attend school from 9-12 everyday, 1/2 hr more than at nursery. In January, she'd attend full days from 9-3. She could wear whatever she'd fancy in nursery. But now, she'll have to put on a set of uniform. I'm not looking forward to that. The other day I took her out to buy her school uniform and everything that I showed her, she'd go 'so ugly', 'I don't want to wear that'. I had to force her to try them on. In the end, I just bought items without letting her try them on. I just love the return policy here. Extremely flexible. Talking about school uniforms in UK, they aren't very uniform at all. Well, you see, any shops sell uniforms in all sorts of designs. You just buy anything you like in the colour your school designates. Louisa's school colours are grey and blue. I got her a grey pinafore and skirt, white knee high socks, grey tights, plimsolls for PE and blue tops. The only thing that would make her part of the school is a jumper with it's crest on it. Singapore is so easy. You just buy uniforms of a particular school. Here in UK, a grey skirt is not just a grey skirt. You can choose between pleated ones, A-line ones or those with pockets etc etc etc. So the students do not look that 'uniform' at all.

OK, will read a magazine and sleep early tonight!

Under Construction

Seems like the template needs further tweaking. Please pardon the look of some pages.

Cheery Fresh New Look!

Yeah! I've finally managed to design my own header to incorporate into a template (not pro enough to design my own template yet). In fact, I came up with another design previously but couldn't manage to use it with any available templates. I completed the header in one sitting which I'm very pleased with ...got over it and done with. It's very me, don't you think so....bright colours and flowery.

Birthday Present

Louisa's birthday present from grandma Maisy arrived today. It's a Disney Princess bicycle. No, my mother-in-law didn't post the bicycle all the way from Singapore. I ordered the product online and had it delivered while she paid for it. Pretty, isn't it?