Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Abigail Starts Reading

JESUS

DADDY

MUMMY

ABIGAIL

SHALOM

So far she's gotten them right all 3 times today. We are all amazed, including her grandparents. This is so fun! :D

It could have turned out real bad

I was feeding Abigail dinner tonite when she behaved like she had found something in her mouth. Slowly, she pulled out, between her thumb and index finger, a fishbone! It's about 2cm long! Thank God Lina wasn't the one who prepared the fish but my MIL, otherwise she'd have been throttled to death by now. Not too long ago I explained to Abby what a fishbone was and even let her touch one, or rather, several. Showed her how it felt like, especially in the mouth, and to eat carefully and pull it out if ever she found one inside. THANK GOD SHE DID. It's really scary.

The final stop

It's my last paper tomorrow. In fact my only exam for this semester. And I am not prepared for it. Lecturer says 'no need to study' because he does not want us to regurgitate facts, so it's application? 2 questions, 1 discussion type, 1 lesson plan in response to a particular context. I really pray that I'll do well for this paper. Things have been challenging at home since the old maid's gone. Shalom's still not too well - feverish at times, and MIL is at full throttle - at Lina's neck. SIL's daughter is over with the maid also - who is pretty terrified of MIL's ways. Abby's not doing very well today - runny nose started and ultra clingy. I tried to study today but didn't really succeed. The on-going commotion downstairs is not really conducive although everyone's been really thoughtful, knowing that I've got a paper at 9 tomorrow.

Normally Lina will take Shalom downstairs around 7.30am so I can get a bit of decent rest - but since the old maid's gone she's really bearing the brunt of the extra load. Dodo me didn't realise this until I asked her to take Shalom down early tomorrow coz I'd be leaving the house early. Then I could feel her holding her breath and almost tearing. Already the morning duties are a challenge with Siti around - now it's even worse. Seems she keeps asking when the new maid will arrive, as well as when we're moving.

Next week will most likely be our final week here at Hotel Robey, after which we'll be moving over to the new place. Packing's underway now and we've got 13 boxes of BOOKS. We haven't started packing anything else yet, and there are still some more books actually. We've run out of boxes, so packing's halted for the moment. Hopefully we'll be able to get some more soon. :)

Monday, November 27, 2006

Spikey Suppository

ARGH. Just returned not too long ago from a certain 24hr clinic around our area. Poor Shalom is unwell AGAIN - high fever and vomiting stuff besides breastmilk. It started yesterday - he felt slightly feverish so we gave him paracetemol, then thought everything would be fine. He started throwing up when we administered another dose at 7pm - and then kept throwing up eversince. The vomiting was almost involuntary - his stomach kept pumping out whatever was within. Last night was really long. He was really hot - our less than reliable thermometer registered 38.9deg Cel and when his temp was taken at the clinic (and he felt much cooler to the touch than the night before) it was 39.4! Last night we kept sponging him, and kept trying to feed medicine to keep his temperature down. But he just kept throwing up. It's amazing how much milk I produced to keep up with the nursing marathon. We were up almost every hour until about 4am. Shalom finally knocked out - and so did I - while Ben continued to sponge him.

When we woke up this morning, he was much better and even attempted to wave a 'Bye-bye!' - raised right hand, rotating wrist! It was so heartmelting to see him happy again, especially after the ordeal the night before. He really wanted to get out of the room and kept tapping his granny's shoulder to get out. Essentially it was - I've said my byes, let's go! But it started going downhill in the afternoon again. I wasn't feeling very well either. So by around evening, we decided to take him to the doc coz there was no way to keep his temperature down. So off we went.

Shalom was rather limp in my arms throughout the ride there and we had priority coz of his high temperature. It seemed like a privilege until we entered the doctor's office. I probably stepped on her tail the moment we entered it, and she had her claws out at on me throughout the whole consultation. Within me, I was just grateful for my MIL for who she is - instead of this person! She was extremely rude, told me off repeatedly even when I wasn't talking to her, extremely impatient with me when I couldn't provide precise and prompt answers to her questions. Overall, I wanted to bite her. I really did. But for the sake of Shalom, I didn't. *grits teeth* Although I almost wanted to swing Shalom's legs at her head, but better judgment cautioned me against doing so. Supposed to be civilised.

However, she was nice and patient with Ben! Maybe she really thinks I'm an incompetent mother because I didn't know if my son pooped today, couldn't give his precise weight - even at last measure (but isn't this a clinic? Couldn't she just get the weight by measuring him?), couldn't answer whether he pukes when breastfeeding. I thought I explained to her clearly by saying that he only pukes when given medication and sometimes a while after breastfeeding. Ben saw I was really pissed by her and intervened. She even made Ben call the operator to get the pharmacist at Guardian Centrepoint coz the clinic did not have the suppository.

It was extremely annoying. I really wanted to get out of there. Strangely enough, the doctor at the other office was faced with a difficult patient who wanted an injection for cough and flu. He nicely tried to tell the patient that there was no such thing, and later even got the nurse to explain to the patient, but in the end the patient got fed up, exclaimed that other clinics had such injections except here, and said he didn't wanna see the doctor anymore and left. Gosh. If there was a spectrum of doctors, these two would be at the opposite ends. Ours even lectured me on not relying on the maid coz they are forgetful yadda yadda, and even when I was asking ben to ask the doctor (I didn't wanna talk to her anymore) whether teething causes fever (I know it doesn't but MIL keeps insisting that it does so i wanted 'DOCTOR SAY DON'T HAVE) and I KENA FROM DOCTOR AGAIN! Dissed me off by saying that it's an old wives' tale. She was darn nice to Ben but absolutely horrible to me! When we exited, Ben commented, "This doctor must be absolutely biased against maids and daughters-in-law."

Out of all the suppositories, she's one of the spikiest.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Sudden changes

Suddenly, our Wish came true. Ben's dad called during lunch yesterday and asked us to go to Tagore coz he's looking at either a Wish or Honda Stream. To cut the long story short, we committed to a Toyota Wish XE 1.8L (Light Grey that doesn't look very grey). It's been our dream to get this car coz our Mazda can't ferry anyone once the family loads up, and we hate that. Actually, we've died to that idea coz when Ben's dad first saw the Wish, he wasn't overly impressed with it and wanted to get a Picnic instead (which is supposedly the same car actually! but more conventional looking). So the two men didn't get any coz they couldn't agree. Oh well. Then suddenly - many months later (FIL has been scouting around actually!) and got us there. It was totally amazing.

Another thing - my MIL's maid has been on our nerves for the longest time, so much so that we're pretty numb to it. Initially we really wanted her out - even wanted to install CCTV to 'catch her' etc... but also died to the ideas. And then - when she went for her medical check up on thursday, the pregnancy test kit showed "+". She even wanted the doc NOT to tell my MIL! Oh well. She says that it's her hubby's (he came to singapore) - they did it on Hari Raya which was on 24 Oct 2006. (Check up was on 22 Nov.) You do the math. My aunt asked, "Her hubby sent his sperm here uh?" Not too long ago, she said that he had run away with some other woman. It's all too confusing. Anyway she's gone back. Seems she wanted to abort the foetus and had wanted her friend to deliver the abortion medicine here, which ruffled my FIL's feathers. He said if she wants to do it, go back Indo to do it, but not in the house. Seems she's bent on it. Hopefully the saga has ceased. They're getting a new maid, and MIL is rather pleased with the new one after the interview last night - doesn't like long hair, walks fast, can cook (but Indo food). We're 'encouraging' ours to be on her best behaviour so that the new one won't adopt the nasty generational attitude towards my MIL.

Things are looking upwards. :)

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Ooh YES! Ooh Lala!

I got my posting! :D and it's back to PCS! :D

Monday, November 20, 2006

Posting Update

Because of my no-pay leave supposedly ending on 31 Dec 06, the ministry hasn't been able to post me. So after today's conversation with one of their really nice and patient staff, I found out that I haven't been posted to any school yet and that they'll try to rush me to report on 4th dec (so that I can start drawing a paycheck :D). The lady also called me many times (I was at Hip Hop so I couldn't take the call) and when I finally called her back, her colleague, who was also really nice, filled me in on the details. I'm just really grateful to them for being so nice and patient. I mean, after dealing with a certain department in NIE that eats trainees for breakfast, I'm kinda terrified at these corporate people. But I'm just glad we had a pleasant conversation. And the best part: They will send the posting memo to my current residence! Yesh! that means I don't have to shuttle to the new place whenever I have this sense that I HAVE MAIL. It's really disappointing actually...

Oh well. Glad things are looking up. Praise God. :)

Expecting Changes

Had a hectic weekend, and I just realised that the graduating cohort (i.e. PGDE January intake) is supposed to report on 4 Dec to their schools! Let's see, I've got an exam on the 28th Nov, but have got some NIE enrichment programme starting on the 27th which will last for a week (but I'm exempted from several activities :D) and am most likely to report to my new school on the 4th! I haven't finished packing yet, in fact, I've barely started! :P have to speed up the packing process now.

Anyway, I've been bugging MOE personnel regarding my posting by calling them everyday - 3 days liao. They haven't gotten back to me yet. Will call them again tomorrow. Seems they have sent the posting memo out the previous Firday (10 Nov) but till now I haven't received any news. It's very troublesome coz I have to go to the new place to open the letterbox just to see if there's any mail! I've tried my luck by asking them if they could release my posting to me over the phone, but they said it's not the normal practice. SO I HAVE TO SHUTTLE WHENEVER I HEAR NEWS THAT I MIGHT HAVE RECEIVED MY POSTING. But the nice lady did suggest (but didn't follow up) for me to provide them my mailing address so that it would be easier for me. That's really sweet of her actually. Seems like I might have been overlooked coz I'm not the graduating January cohort but one of the remmants from the previous July 04 BA intake. Anyhow they'll have to post me somewhere, but it seems like I'm not on Poi Ching's list either. Oh well. God will put me in wherever He deems fit.

Time's running out, and I'm spending every precious moment of it with the kiddos. I now have very strong arms. :)

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Super Hectic Saturday


Mum graduated from AGBC today with Bachelor in Theology. Phew. And she did it in CHINESE. It was a great moment, and even my granny said that she was very happy for my mother. Usually the older folks don't like to praise or affirm openly. So the message was relayed instead. Likewise, my uncle was so excited for my mum that he said he wanted to be at the venue at 11am. The ceremony only started at 1pm. Asked him why he wanted to be there so early, and he replied with so much joy and pride, patting his chest, "My sister!" It was sooo cool. Everything was really joyful, with a couple of exceptions that dampened the weather abit with whinings here and there.

The kids had to miss the afternoon event, coz they had to be well rested for my granny's 70th big bash in the evening at The China Club! The view was so gorgeous from above. And the children behaved well too! :)



I love these two photos. Shalom was really enjoying himself and the two grandmas - Ah Mah and Mama! :) Two of my relatives actually spent half the dinner figuring out whether this baby was a boy or a girl. Hahah... poor folks. In such mental agony.

Shalom was happily eating off the table - the longevity bun and some other breads while Abby was at the kids' table. She sat very well throughout the whole dinner! Very very unlike the other evening when I took her to AGBC's Annual Banquet.

She was such a handful I was very overwhelmed. Coz she aborted her nap midway in the afternoon. Argh. So today - no afternoon event coz I didn't want to have a headache at the birthday dinner.


See our happy (but tired) faces? We haven't been able to focus on meals for a long time until now. That's the secret to weight loss actually. Kids.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Help.

What's the matter with my layout? Somebody help... :'(

*struggle*


Praise the Lord! It's fixed! Hallelujah! :D

Monday, November 13, 2006

Happy Like Bird

Just handed in my Social Studies portfolio and essay today - which marks the end of projects, deadlines and assignments!! Yippee!! Woohoo!! But. Still got exam on 28th of this month. But thank God it's application, not the fact regurgitation kind. :) This kind, I like.

Now, to embark on the biggest project which has been bugging me forever - moving house. I want the new place to be functional and not overly filled with junk. I still clutter everywhere, and we desperately need to declutter and combine our filing systems. Yes, we've been married for 3 years and are still operating on 2 separate filing systems. Some things are just not that important. :)

And my list of things to do. Oh gosh. Especially the one in my head. I have so many things I wanna do, the last thing I need is to procrastinate, which is often the first thing I do. Or spend time with the kids. Although I would like to solve the mystery of "Which school will Audrey be posted to?" nevertheless I hope the news won't come so quickly (officially) coz I'll need to report to school. The last time I checked, posting (for the previous semester) was approximately 2 weeks after our exams. However, we had a really long break during the mid year. So I don't know if they'll still follow this practice for this term. The holidays are incredibly shorter. Also, I think there's less posting volume coz the graduating cohort is smaller (I think).

I'm really excited at the things to come. I'll probably blog about my breakthrough (I think I haven't) when I've sorted my thoughts out abit. :)

Snapshots of Shalom at 8 months

>> He likes ribbons and tags. Gums them whenver he gets a chance. Even with cloth teething toys, he chews only the tag part. I think I used to do that too when I was young.

>> He can sit up very well on his own, and is lunging forward from the sitting position. I think we can expect him to start crawling pretty soon! :)

>> He's got a lot of teeth. 4 upper, 3 lower with one more on his left - canine I think - breaking through. I'm still breastfeeding him! :)

>> He has been a reluctant feeder lately. He used to take 6oz every 4 hourly before he started solids and before he started falling ill so often. Now he struggles to finish 4 oz every 3-4hrly. But his solids have been increasing. I can't remember how to juggle milkfeeds and solids. Any clues? :)

>> He's still nursing at night. I get about 6 hours of sleep from his last feed. So if I waste time and blog I lose out on my sleep. :P Then he wakes and I co-sleep with him after that in our bed. He can find his way to his milk even asleep, in the dark! And if our backs are facing each other, he'll turn around, pull my hair, at which I'll turn around (in my sleep usually) and he'll latch himself on. Very smooth transaction now. :)

>> He's been taking so much medicine. Had bronchitis twice since September. I think it's the bugs from Abby's childcare. ARGH!

>> Yesterday when we left home for Tuan-Min's wedding, he started developing a fever. By the time we reached church, I was totally distressed because of the heavy downpour, Abby's hysteria in the car because of the raindrops on the car roof, Shalom's fever, and no carpark lot. He remained extremely drowsy and slept for most part of the wedding, including reception. Anne Mak, Keawta, Charlotte, Auntie Aye Lan and Queenie were all in prayer for him. When we reached home, I finally got the chance to administer Paracetomol and even before the medication took effect, he sprang to life almost instantaneously! Praise the Lord! :) We kept praising God! :D

>> He seems to be repeating vowel sounds. Eh-Ee for Daddy, Eh for Mei mei. Seems he's doing a new vowel sound everyday. He's done Er (Schwa or upside down e - phonetics) and Eh. Usually he just goes one tone continuously, especially when it's in a group conversation, like tonight at my aunt's place. He looked like he wanted to say something and join in the conversation!

>> He responds when we ask him if he wants his milk. MIL uses 'neng-neng' while I try to use 'Milk'. He seems to respond whenever he wants a drink. Otherwise there'll be silence. :)

>> He knows how to accept and reject an offer to carry him.

>> He and his granddad are best friends. They take walks around the car porch in the evening. I'm sure he's heard many of the patriach's secrets that none of us will ever know. Otherwise I think he knows the names of all the plants in the garden. Including the nicknames. :) He once fretted after he was accidentally ignored by his granddad. When Shalom first saw him, he was really excited and wanted to be carried. But a phonecall came in and he answered it. Shalom was sad that he got ignored. When the phonecall ended, the granddad came downstairs and tried to get Shalom's attention. But the kid's face was classic. He was actually fretting! Even had a pout! Refused to smile, he just kept staring at his granddad who was quite puzzled (and I think abit hurt because there were no smiles). Later Shalom relented and his grandpa carried him. Then he just laid his head on the old man's shoulder. Very hurt look on his face. All of us at the dining table were amazed. He kept himself plastered to his grandpa for the longest time and leaned on his chest/shoulder all the way. Very endearing sight.

>> He loves his sister a lot. Even when she rough-handles him, he's fine with it. :)

>> He gets upset when Ben doesn't spend enough time with him. We can actually see that he misses Ben alot. :)

>> When I carry him, he doesn't want anyone else to carry him - according to my MIL. :)

Snapshots of Abby at 27 months

>> We were at her saturday playgroup and abby was standing at the table behind a chair, drawing with crayons. I pulled out a chair on her right and asked her if she wanted to sit (also).
Abby (in deep thought, so rather matter-of-factly): Oh, oh, okie. Thank you mummy!
Then she continued colouring. Meanwhile, I was too impressed with her manners!

>> She can recite numbers rather well, from one to twelve, then fourteen, fifteen, (at this point mummy will always inject thirteen too late), and all the way to twenty. She knows how to list the twenty-plus also - I think. I thought I heard her say twenty-nine today. She can also count - one object with one number. She's learning to read digital time - and she looks forward to 9 o'clock coz it's bedtime, and then she starts resisting going to sleep.
Abby (at 7:30pm): Mummy, 9 o'clock?
Me: Not yet dear. It's seventy-thirty.
Abby (at 8:40om): 9 o'clock?
Me: Still a couple of minutes more. It's eight-forty.
Later at 9pm...
Abby: Mummy, 9 o'clock?
Me: Oh yes! It's 9 o'clock! Time to go to bed!
Abby: DOOWAN!
*speechless*

>> She sticks stickers with utmost precision. It's amazing. We've got a sticker activity book for her, and she's gotta search for stickers and paste them on 'templates' that are in a lighter shade. She does it so well for most that you don't see the lighter shade. It's very well superimposed - with few exceptions. The perfectionistic streak can be quite frustrating for her sometimes, so we're trying to get her not to be so hard on herself.

>> She's very, in fact extremely terrified of thunder. So when it was raining today, she was, as usual, tearing and just lost because of the soft rolling thunder. I was dozing in and out of my nap while feeding Shalom, and Ben was tending to her. When she came over to the bed, I was really at my wits' end. Usually that's when I pray. So I offered to pray with her.
Me (holding her, after suggesting to prayer together): Dear Jesus... I am scared... of thunder... Please protect me... Amen. (Pauses are for her to 'digest' the bite-size prayer.)
And all glory to God! She was significantly calmer after praying! It's amazing when you see your child respond to prayer. Amazing indeed. Even Ben noted she improved significantly after praying. She could even talk and joke amidst the thunder. Usually she'd freeze up and cry "thunder! Ser-kad (scared)!"

>> She likes to switch on lamps. So she gets to switch them on supervised whenever I need them switched on. When she found her 'toy', I told her she couldn't play with it. But knowing her, if she's restrained, she'd do it more - rebellious nature in all of us I think. So I gave her instructions, "Whenever mummy needs the light switched on, you help mummy do it, alright?" "Alright!" I try to make up opportunities for her to swtich it on (or off), and she'd do it excitedly. And she won't abuse the priviledge. She'd even offer to switch on other lamps for me - she'd ask first. And if it is not needed, most of the time she won't switch it on.

>> She likes to hug Shalom, especially while standing up. But I realised I have to 'lift' Shalom when she hugs him, otherwise in no time he'll have a very long neck! She holds him really tightly and I suspect he suffocates a little. Scary! Have to monitor very closely.

>> She can sing quite a number of songs -
Jesus loves me
Twinkle2 little star
Row3 Row your boat
Kinderboppers' Clap your hands & All fall down
Eensy Weensy Spider
ABC
Butterfly
Hokey Pokey
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Once I caught a fish alive
Good Morning
...

Can't remember all... but she's pretty musically inclined. Can hum tunes, sing La-la-la to melodies and can remember songs after hearing it or being taught.

>>She's starting to jump and barely lift her feet off the ground. She's still grounded... hehe. :) But managing to stand on one foot.

>> She learnt to use a pair of scissors yesterday! :)

>> She can pour very well... much better than her mother.

>> She usually puts her toys back after playing with it - one set before taking out another... except when her dad plays with her. Ben & I play differently. I am the super-stick-by-the-rule kind, whiile Ben's the creative one. So all the toys get integrated. They all have a communal meeting while I am amazed. Another thing - we've got this Ikea wooden shapes set - my version of 'play' is take all out and put them back according to the proper placing - super boring. Ben will create stuff and all with it! I try but can't get beyond stacking. I just can 'see' the creative part while Ben is amused by my 'by the book' attitude. We try not to impose on each other; instead we try our best to put our strengths into good use. He gets to play with Abby while I teach Abby to pack up. :) She gets the best of both worlds coz she packs really well (everything must be in order - no mixing) and is creative also. :)

>>Me: Where's Jesus?
Abby: In my heart!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

One More to Go!

Just finished one assessed self-evaluation, one more reflective essay to go. I think I'll have to go school again on monday to submit my essay, my portfolio, my mc and clear my library fines. Typically, if we don't clear, they won't let us graduate. It's a legal ransom of sorts. Sounds fair to me. Although I won't miss the daily journey to the west, I sure will miss my tutors and lecturers. They've been awesome!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Tracking My Life

Significant Events/Turning Points in My Life...

just in case i lose my memory. Or my life.

early 1977 - almost didn't make it
oct 1977 - was born
1979/1980 - spent 3 months in indonesia to be with my dad who was running from creditors and managing some cig factory
1977 - 2003 - keep moving houses and changing kindergartens
1982 - liked a boy named Adi
1983 - brother was conceived; moved to Tampines St 21
jan 1984 - entered primary 1 in St Hilda's School (girls' school then)
mar 1984 - brother was born; Hotel New World collapsed
1984-1987 - cheeky girl in school; liked zero point; cheerleading, climbing bars
1987 - left SHS tearfully. Scarred. Moved to Nim Gardens. SHS moved to Tampines from Ceylon Road.
1988-1989 - went to CLGC. Grew up too quickly. One teacher was looking for someone to take part in the Nativity scene. I volunteered. She was glad. I was also glad. Until she said I looked exactly like the part of the donkey. I played the donkey. I still remember the teacher.
1989 - Got involved with someone in school. Rumours went round the whole school. I received my PSLE results. Teacher said I should have done better. I was devastated at hearing her words. It meant "Not good enough".
1990 - went to SJC coz most of my friends went there, including those who had better marks than me. So I thought it would be a good school. I was not spot on at all.
1990 - 1993 - committed myself to 4 years of netball. 4 years of Career's Club also... but had no idea how that helped me in my career.
1990 - met Benji via friend who was his pen-pal. Met him and his cousin - the latter was an ABC - Alligator, Buaya, Crocodile. Till now I still haven't seen him since.
1991 - broke up with her. Terribly insecure relationship.
1992 - was streaming into History class. I suck at history. I wasn't given the geog class coz I wasn't in the top 40.
1992 - had a string of boyfriends. Bad move.
1993 - had a steady who's now married to one of my childhood bestfriends. Failed two O Level subjects - History and Literature. Had As for E & A Maths, Science (Physics/Chem), Bio. Bs for English and Chinese.
1994 - Entered poly - Ngee Ann - banking and financial services but swtiched to Mass Communications because everyone was going there. Stupid dodo. Another steady which didn't begin too steadily. Friends betted we wouldn't last for 4 weeks. Entered poly pageant. Too ashamed to talk about it. Ex's friends called me bimbo. Not because of that though.
1995 - Got my driver's license.
1996 - Court seized property.
1997 - specialised in radio production. Got involved with Radio Heatwave - campus radio station. Vain like mad. Joined Miss Singapore, emerged 4th runner up. Went Germany Baden Baden to represent Miss Singapore. Another event which I would like to forget. Performed with JFK - Just For Kicks. Got to know Eve - the babe where all the manhunters were drooling over and hunting after. Even my ex. We were still together then. Parents' marriage on the rocks. Drunk many nights. Both my mother and I.
1998 - Went Perth to study Marketing & the Media @ Murdoch Uni. Another tumble downhill. Broke up with ex and got involved with a guy there. Became black sheep of the church. Spent one day in 'jail' staring at cell wall because of dirty looks from church members who were in the same house. Moved house 5 times in Perth.
1999 - Graduated from Uni. Parents never came to visit.
1999 - Applied to Shang. Got employed. Kissed my husband-to-be at the dawn of the millenium. Knew I was going to marry this guy.
2000 - Was asked to leave job. Not qualified, it seemed. Accepted by Monash to do Masters. Turned down offer. Dunno why. Full time tutor, taught 11 kids. Pure madness, poor money - lousy rates. Always kena ke-toh. Spent six weeks in Melbourne with Ben. Best time of my life. Did relief teaching at Seng Kang PS. Managed to commit all the worst mistakes a teacher could ever do - including flying markers and dusters. Too much Stephen Chow.
2001 - Continued to RT @ SKPS, got employed by MOE. Started contract teaching in PCS.
2002- Enlisted in NIE.
2003 - Got married. Got pregnant.
2004 - Gave birth to Abigail. Graduated with distinction in Diploma in Ed. I have no idea how that happened. All God's glory. Made valedictorian. Turned down valedictorian honour because investiture date was right smacked on Abby's EDD. Abby arrived 3 weeks early. Didn't attend investiture. Took one sem to be with baby and transit properly.
2005 - Got pregnant. Again. Cross-overed to BA.
2006 - Finishing the last lap of my studies. Hoping to graduate with honours. My family needs the money.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Too cute to resist!


I must remember to take more photos of Shalom and Abby! Time is passing by too fast indeed.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Closing of a Chapter

I am left with a couple of deadlines, all due this Friday, plus one exam on the 28th, and I will no longer journey to the west almost every (other) day. It's been four years, one longer than the time I spent in Ngee Ann, more than twice the number of years I spent in Murdoch, and as along as it took me to get my O levels cert. Gosh. It's been a long while. Some of my pals who went into NIE with me in 2002 have already completed their 3 year bond by now. And I am just beginning.

Although it's not too hard to bid farewell to salary-less days, I must say I have to think of a genuine excuse to diss credit-card telemarketers off courteously. No longer can I unabashedly proclaim, "Solly, I am too poor to apply for your credit card." I must try saying, "No, I am not interested," and bear drowning out their voices of, "but but!" as I gently disconnect the call.

To fully close this chapter, there are probably several things I need to do, one of which is to clear my library fines. I have quite a number of uncollected assignments and files, and unfortunately some tutors have already left NIE and dumped my files away. What a waste. Oh, and some of my precious notes have mysteriously disappeared from home also. I'm indeed a hoarder - four years of uni and I have 5 boxes of notes, not including the box that went missing and a few stacks that also mysteriously disappeared as well as my missing assignments and one Math folder. :( I really doubt I'll look through them though... I'm giving myself 5 years. At the end of the 5 years if I don't touch my notes, I'm recycling the papers. :)

I think the school posting will be out soon. It's a bummer I can't check with anyone coz I don't really know of anyone who'll be graduating together with me. To those who received your postings, was it near the exams, or after? Or closer to the results release date? :)

I just hope that I will transit well and settle down in teaching. I have indeed learnt a lot these past four years, and it has made me a better teacher, and more importantly, a better parent. Ben & I were discussing our parenting methods, and we really give thanks to God because we parent differently from how we were 'parented'. And I think to a large extent, this has been influenced by what I have learnt in NIE. Perhaps some may say that what has been taught is not applicable especially when the end result is still exam-based assessment a.k.a. the PSLE, yet I think the children will benefit greatly from the changing trends in education. I don't know what kind of teacher I will become, but I always believe in being firm yet gentle. Even as I struggle to stabilise myself and my moods, I hope I will be able to achieve a sense of consistency with my pupils and help them become useful and caring citizens of the world.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Looking Upwards

Tonight I will have a great rest.
Tomorrow will be a great day.
This whole week will be a FANTASTIC WEEK!

Despite it being ladened with DEADLINES all the way till friday.
Abby's getting referral letter to KK tomorrow.
Shalom's got second review for his lungs with the substitute PD on Tuesday. Real one on holiday.

But right now? I've gotta finish writing my essay. I'm almost halfway there. :) I can almost feel the burden lifting off my shoulder. Or either that my nerves are going numb.

Want some designer furniture at affordable prices?

Check out Melissa's site. Advertising for her (not that I've that high a readership anywayz). Just passing the word around. It's cool stuff, but way beyond my non-existent budget. Oh, I think she'll start a 'Do up your place before you sell" service, soon. She's good... :)

Strange search words...

Search "daschund smell from the penis" on Yahoo! and my blog is No. 12 11. Wah lau. Thanks ah.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

The Silver Lining in the Collection of Dark Clouds...

Got smacked by another bout of thick clouds. These moods aren't really kind to any of us, especially Ben. He's been most patient ever and ever ready to help as I try to stay calm and objective. Got news from the eye specialist yesterday that Abby requires a surgery for her stye!!!! It's pure madness. She said that the stye has developed roots, so only a surgery can eliminate the stye. Gosh. And it's not cheap either. Now Abby's gotta put stinging eyedrops every 3 hourly.

Shalom needs yet another round of neubulising although we been doing it almost every 4 hourly round the clock since Wednesday. Sometimes I oversleep and extend to 6 hours instead. Second review on Tuesday. It's tricky - Shalom's every 4 hourly feed, plus 4 hourly neubulisation (1/2hr before and after no food in case of vomiting) PLUS medication 2 or 3 times a day. He's been throwing up EVERY time he takes his medication. Really upsetting. And he screams really well too.

Now swamped with deadlines. School's almost over, just gotta clear the remaining deadlines. I hope I can complete them soon coz my aunt's family is coming to Singapore today. Would love to spend some time with her.

The silver lining:
Spoke to the P of Abby's sat playgroup and found out he's in her new kindy's management committee! (Erhm.. not sure if it's the kindy or the church's). And he said that things are underway (hopefully!), and if God wills, the kindy will be under his mgmt! :D We'd love to put the kids next time at the current school @ Hougang coz we love the climate and teachers there, but due to distance and cost, we had to forgo that option. He kept saying, gotta pray about it! :) Hopefully he'll take over by the time abby goes P1! :)

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Any other point in my life is better than now. Except 1997.

Is it really post-natal depression? But I gave birth such a long time ago. Anyhow it's been tough keeping things up. Maybe it's just a sore lack of sleep. Lately it's been a challenge keeping my spirits up and holding my hands to myself so that I don't smack people across the face for saying stupid things that even a two-year-old wouldn't say. Oh well. Perhaps they aren't even 2 year olds.

I am so looking forward to better days. I don't want to go into details here, because my doors aren't that open anymore. It's time to take stock.

I think it's hormonal. Otherwise it's really a lack of sleep. I am so tired. I have so many deadlines. I have a screaming pre-schooler and a baby who's sick. I have people judging me based on what I'm writing at this point in time. I have people giving me dirty looks while reading this post. Oh well. Dirty looks come from a dirty perspective. Otherwise, where else could it originate from?

I need sleep. Otherwise, I just need a lot of chocolate.

Bronchitis

2nd time in 2 months. First was in Sept. Then at start of Oct he had cough. Then now Nov he got smacked with bronchitis suddenly. Very heartbreaking. PD also damn expensive.