More Swimming Photos!

Auntie Melissa emailed mummy more yummy photos! See! See! :D

The instructor asked mummy to put me into the tunnel... the older kids were so afraid because it was so wobbly! But I got dragged through!






Then the instructor let me put my head underwater!
1...2...


3!!!

Can see me? Tena mei mei block me! But can see me in the other post! See the lady behind me, also so excited! :D

Now, mummy is asking daddy if i can go for real classes... daddy, may I? Pretty please? :D

Abby's First Day at School!

Hmm... I wonder where mummy is taking me today... this road looks familiar... we were here yesterday! Mummy bought expensive diapers. She told auntie Eve they were for swimming, and auntie Eve asked her to buy one more packet for Vic! Oh, but mummy didn't tell me that we were going to see auntie Eve & Vic mei mei today... so I think we're going somewhere else. Let me take a catnap first!

Oh, we're here! Mummy says I'm going to school! Yay! But I think I'm abit young to go school... oh, it's a special school, it's Marsden Swim School! No books, only a fun pool! That's auntie Melissa, uncle Kevin and Athena mei mei next to us!


There I am, testing waters. Feels cold, but thank Jesus the weather's warm! :D Hmm... this might be fun! :D


That's my instructor! I don't know her name, but mummy thinks she's Australian! :D She dipped me in the water! :D Fun! :D


Look at us all, we just got dunked by our mummies and (a) daddy!


I didn't know mummy wanted me to take a photo. I'd have smiled! :D


They put me through a tunnel. I was really brave! It was very shaky and I had to crawl through it. But thank God mummy remembered I can't really crawl yet so they pushed and pulled me through the tunnel! I vaguely remember hearing people shout 'Push!' before... when was that...? Hmm...


Thank God mummy was there to carry me. The aussie instructor made mummy bounce me up and down as we sang nursery rhymes...


...while mummy spun me around...


...and the instructor dipped me into the water! I went underwater! :D And I like it! :D


Finally, they let me go on the slide! When I landed, I dropped into the water! :D I'm so happy mummy caught me just in time! :D Phew! :D It's so fun! Mummy, can we go there again? :D

35th Anniversary of Earth Day, 22 April 2005

First celebrated in March 21, 1970; what started as a celebration of the start of the march/ Vernal Equinox, which basically means the start of Spring has turned into a celebration of the natural wonders of mother earth and more recently into a day to reflect on the amount of damage we have inflicted into our planet.

Among the damage we have inflicted in the amount of greenhouse gases created when we use the automobile....

The 450 million vehicles on the road today account for half of the world's total consumption, generate nearly one fifth of greenhouse gas emissions, and have pervasive effects on land use and air quality. Personal transportation (i.e., home use) is responsible for 30 to 50% of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, 33% of toxic water pollution, and over 45% of toxic air emissions. In addition, fueling passenger cars accounts for more than one quarter of world oil consumption.

The manufacture of an automobile consumes enormous amounts of energy and raw materials, including 1,500 - 3,500 pounds (679-1,585 kgs) of steel, 200-1,000 pounds (91-453 kgs) of plastic and composite synthetic materials, and 120-200 pounds (54-91 kgs) of glass, aluminum and other materials. A single car contains 4-10 times as much plastic as the average person is likely to consume in a year. The manufacture of the average car generates nearly 27 tons (12,000 kgs) of waste. As a result of car manufacture, over 4 tons (1,812 kgs) of carbon and nearly 500 pounds (227 kgs) of ordinary pollutants are created.

The Singapore Environment Council and the National Environment Agency will launch Green Transport Day on the 15th of April 2005. Green Transport Day aims to highlight environmental problems associated with car use, to promote more environmentally friendly motoring habits and to encourage otherwise regular motorists to try alternative means of transport such as buses, the MRT, cycling, walking, and car pooling.  This year, the Green Transport Exhibition, held at Lido Shaw House from 15-24Apr 05, will highlight eco-friendly transport arrangements that will help Singaporeans save money while maintaining their mobility.

For more info pls logon to the Singapore Environment Council Green Transport Day.

Those were the bumpy days...

Pictures of the five of us - Eve, Vic, Abby, Ben and me. But obviously you can only see Vic and Abby rite? :D Can't remember when we went for the shoot, but it was fun. :) Have got a few more shots elsewhere, but can't find now already. These are fresh from the oven *ahem* although the younger baby is already 7months old! But then again, thanks Kavin! :D

Happy Day!

How to study when this cutie is so charming? Supposed to read Burnett's Secret Garden, but still quite secret coz I haven't read much. :S Nevertheless, I love ABIGAIL! :D

Abby's Sleepy Swim

Brought abby for a swim today coz her daddy didn't go to work. Pity she didn't nap. See those sleepy eyes? She was very sleepy, and a lil grumpy in the pool, then when we finally called it a day about 20mins, we wrapped her up and drove home in a warm, non-air-conditioned car. She promptly fell asleep after lying in my arms. When we got home, my MIL brought her upstairs and she stayed asleep. Even on the changing mat. We kept her nice and warm, and she woke up about half an hour later, fully charged. Maybe the next time would be better. :)

Eco-Ambassador

I've finally received a divine confirmation of my calling as a recycling enthusiast.

I dreamt that we were driving along this road which resembled Telok Kurau in this off white land rover with a couple from church whom I didn't recognise at the back of the car. I asked Ben to stop the car as we approached this 30 odd years old guy who was collecting trash. He was actually tipping the bag of recyclables which the residents put near the pavement for collection into the main trash for incineration. I actually berated him for undermining the residents' efforts at recycling!

Then I woke up. I rolled over and told Ben.

Then he said drowsily, "You're definitely called to do this." Then he went back to sleep.

Facts vs Myths

Okie. So I bought this week's issue of 8 Days. How could I not when they have SO MANY NEW MUMMIES on the cover? I'm not referring to the Egyptian ones... Well, Li Lin looks gorgeous - great skin, slim and happy, while Sage is just delighted. Wow...

Okie. For a moment there, I bet you thought that pregnancy and childbirth would be that glorious? Remember - this is the cover of one of the most popular weekly magazines in Singapore. If they had put a post-pregnant but still-hampered-by-pregnancy-weight-woman on the cover, sales would plummet. Also, everything's edited.

The truth about pregnancy and the whole works is... it's a huge gamble. From getting pregnant (am I? Or am I not?) to morning sickness, to hormonal manipulation (outbreaks, pigmentation, great/lousy hair, great/lousy mood, great/lousy appetite, etc - actually make that, EVERYTHING), to massive weight gain, to erratic mood swings, terrible self-image, etc. That's during the pregnancy. On top of that, you worry about whether the baby's fine, whether 'it's' a boy or girl (sometimes, regretfully, 'again'), uncomfortable if the baby kicks, worried like mad if the baby doesn't, unsure if you've eaten sufficiently, worried that you've eaten too much, afraid of the impending labour, then more afraid if it's false labour, glad that baby has a toy in the womb - umblical cord, but worried when the baby uses it as a necklace, excited when the water bag breaks, worried when the baby's in there for too long *after* the water bag's broken - distressed, if it'll eat its own meconium, etc, and all these before the baby actually arrives.

Now. When the baby arrives, you've got other worries. Afraid if the person who's just sneezed has just inherited the world's deadliest contagious disease. Whether your baby is growing right on target. Worried if your baby is a freak when it grows way beyond the target. (Like the china baby who started crawling 20 days after birth.) Whether your baby would be threatened in any way - on the roads, at home, etc. If your baby still recognises you after you've been away at work the whole day. Broken hearted when your baby rejects you. Exhilerated when your baby chuckles when you walk into the room. And you still look like an overweight version of who you were before birth. Whether you boobs would sag after you give up breastfeeding. Wonder where your boobs went *after* you give up breastfeeding (which solves the previous worry). Whether the tummy which *suddenly appeared* after you weaned your baby off would go away (although it was always there but hidden under the udders), whether the tummy is simply excess skin that would not go away because of age, lack of money, determination to exercise, etc, whether your skin would finally clear up after the hormonal rampage. (If you've had your first menses, you'll probably understand how hormones wreck your skin. Pregnancy - multiply by about 10 times the effect.) Worry about whether you'll have any hair left AFTER it finally decides to stop shedding the compulsory post-pregnancy hair shedding tradition. Worry WHEN it'll stop shedding. Worry whether you'll end up looking like you desparately need a Yun-Nan 200 session hair-treatment course.

Well, of course. You'll say, "Dun worry!" or "I'm not the worrying sort." But how can you not when someone's who's been a part of you is now away from you? You'll realise that your heart is never the same again - that when you leave for work in the morning, your heart stays behind with your baby. But you'll have to gather whatever strength you have to focus (oh talk about focusing - there's a study that's confirmed brain shrinkage due to pregnancy. You'll become more stupid.) See? Focused right? As I was saying, you'll have to focus on your work and everything else. Thank God there's God. If not, I would have been shattered many times over. Glad that He's in control. At least I don't have to be, or pretend to be.

Conclusion: It's a myth to have your cake and eat it too. Unless you've a divine Baker who'll take care of all your needs. It hasn't been an easy journey, and there's more to come. God's been great so far and has been my Sellotape to stop me from falling to bits. Thank God for putting people in my life and for a fantastic and supportive husband who's the greatest dad I've ever seen. God IS good.

8 month old Abby

She's becoming more irresistible. Besides the high pitched squealing, now she's *finally* mastered how to roll over (yup, at 8months). She can sit very steadily now and can even bottom shuffle! She moved about 1 foot today. That's a great accomplishment. Most of the time she can't decide whether to go forward or backward, so she does both. This morning, just as Ben was leaving for work, she extended her arms out towards him, butt shuffled abit, and called out "Baba" to him. *heartmelt*

She was quite fascinated by my hand movements as I sang 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' to her this afternoon. :) After that, she looked sleepy and promptly fell asleep on our bed. I took a whiff of her and she opened her eyes really BIG and stared at me, then quickly closed them again. I realised that her hands were rather dirty, so i took a warm wash towel to wipe her hands. She giggled abit. Then I covered her with the blanket coz the a/c was turned on. (And I usually cover her after she falls asleep or she'd kick it!) Well, as our sweetheart *cannot* resist kicking the blanket, she burst out laughing and kicked the blanket! She giggled and looked at me! She was pretending to be asleep!!! Totally unimaginable! :D So she turned away from me and continued to giggle.

Wow. I'm amazed.

Usually either she wants to sleep, or she doesn't. If she doesn't, she'll suck her toes. If she wants to sleep, she suck her thumb. Yup. We understand her totally. :D It's usually rather straightforward when it comes to putting her down for her nap, thanks to GARY & ANN-MARIE EZZO, and she knocks out VERY fast when she needs to.

After both of us took a loooong nap (about 1.5hrs - I think we both fell asleep at the same time), we woke up and waited for Ben to come home. I sneezed my internal, odd and silent sneeze 3 times when I wanted to put her in her highchair for dinner and she was so amused at my sneeze! After my third time (usually she takes a couple of any attempts to warm up to a joke) she was just giggling. She was so amused. Quite embarrassing actually but whatever it takes to amuse my girl. Love her to bits. :)

Projects

Improvised by Jun & HY, Sydney, Australia
Baby photos from here.


Really love the poster. :) It's for our CEM101 project. It's FINALLY done. Gosh. *speechless* Learnt something about people through this project. Well. Time to conquer the next one. I can't believe I spent the whole day today just getting my next 3 semesters in order. I just realised I may be in trouble because of starting term midway in the academic year in January. Let's pray that everything turns out fine.

Ok. Here's my next project: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone draws together a number of genres. Identiy and elaborate on three and discuss which, in your opinion, is the most effective. In 800-1000 words, with close reading and research.

*poof*