Shannyn - Outstanding Achievement in School

On early Friday morning, Shannyn handled me an enclosed envelope and said:"Mummy, this letter is for you to read."

I was still half asleep and mumbled:"This must be regarding her class next year."

Shannyn immediately responded:"Not everyone gets a letter."

This sounds weird. Why doesn't everyone get a letter about their grade next year, I thought.

When I read the letter, I couldn't believe what it wrote!

"Dear Parent/s,

I am pleased to advise that your child Shannyn Yew will receive and award at the upcoming end of year Awards Assembly......"

An award? What award? There was no mention. Either it was meant to be a surprise or the administrators didn't have the time to write the various award titles in each individual letter.

Unlike S'pore where the highest score student in the exams gets an award for that subject/level, there were no tests or examination here.

Nevertheless, I was delighted and looking forward to attend the Special Awards assembly.

So, here is a photo of her award.



An award for outstanding achievement in Chinese Mandarin!

You must be wondering why the primary school teaches Chinese. Shannyn's primary school is one of the few schools that teaches Chinese as LOTE aka Language other than English. A lot of schools here teach LOTE e.g. Japanese, German but each school only teach one LOTE. Her school's LOTE is Chinese.

Some may say that it is not fair for a Chinese to receive the award. But how about an angmo who receives best in English. Can we say that it is unfair? Besides, there are Caucasians receiving the best in Chinese award for the bigger kids. So it didn't mean that the award will naturally go to a Chinese.

At five year old, Shannyn did not know what it meant to receive an award. So I tried to explain it to her.

I asked her whether she answered the teacher's questions correctly. She said yes. And I told her that it was good and that was why she got the award for being the best in Chinese Mandarin.

Innocent yes. Was she proud of her achievement? Yes, she said.

And that, is an achievement that we as parents and grandparents are also proud of.

Keep it up Shannyn!

Look at my new teeth!!

25/11/2013

I was playing with her when she held my finger into her mouth. Feeling something sharp inside, I lifted her lips down. To my delight, there was a tiny tooth at the bottom of her gums.

Teething at four months!!!!

When I told Sean about the new tooth, his first response was "It has to be removed!"
I looked at him and exclaimed "Why do we have to remove Saige's baby tooth?!?"

He had thought that I was referring to Shannyn (five years old) having a new tooth!

Updates:

Milk: Karicare Aptamil Gold Plus (0-6 months). 150ml - 200ml each feed, approx. 5-6 feeds a day

Day sleep: 3 hours, approximately 2 naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon
Night Sleep: 6 hours (8pm - 2am) and then wakes up at 7.30am

Clothing size: Between 000 (0-3 months) and 00 (3-6 months)

Talk: Guu-ahh (calling grandpa), Aahhha (very-high pitch, can sound like a cat) and smiles a lot

Likes: Tingling her feet, looking from left to right (very slowly), puts everything in her mouth, Baby Bjorn carrier one (falls asleep in it every time), pacifier and my bed

Favourite cartoons: Bananas in Pyjamas, In the Night Garden

Stunt: Flips sideways, blows bubbles

 

 

 

My thoughts:

Time flies, Saige is five months by the time I post this update.

She is beginning to recognise people, especially family members. When she sees me, she smiles, kick her legs and raise her arms too! I say "Good morning" and "I love you" to her every day. When strangers want to carry her, she will scream and cry especially if she doesn't like them.

The other day, I met a friend for a haircut while parents looked after Saige. It was good to get out and had my own me-time. I had not been to the hairdressers for over a year!!! I liked my friend's haircut and asked her where she got her hair cut. So she said she would be going again and asked me whether I wanted to go with her. Yes of course!!

The hairdresser (Korean chap) knew straight away and even asked whether I just had a baby, whether it was because I had no time etc. It was good to have someone wash my hair (a Korean young lady who speaks almost no English), blow-dry and most importantly, a nice hair cut. I like the cut and will go back to the same hairdresser next time.

I have always been to get my haircut during lunch hours or weekend when it was always busy. As it was a Wednesday afternoon, there was zero queue. The salon was playing Asian MTV with lots of Korean, Japanese and Chinese songs.

Saige and I are both losing lots of hair at this stage due to hormones.

My friend was in shock when she saw how much hair I was losing as she described "Are you losing a lot of hair? I saw a bunch of hair on the comb as the lady was brushing your hair!".

There you go, losing lots of hair this month is something new and hopefully, not for long.

Saige - first conversation with grandpa @3months

Saige enjoys baby talking with grandpa. Hear her scream!!

Star Search 2013 - vote for Shannyn!

We have posted a photo of Shannyn in the Pumpkin Patch Australia website for their Star Search competition. It is all good fun and the first time we have ever posted her photo in a contest.

Each person can vote up to five times every day. 

If you would like to support Shannyn, Vote here!! Thank you!

Visit to the Monet Art Exhibition in Melbourne

We have been wanting to visit the Monet Art Exhibition in Melbourne since May! As I was pregnant then, I felt so tired after a day's work and just want to go home. We finally made it to the exhibition in September, on its last third day.

Background: Monet (1840-1926) was a French impressionist artist in the 1800s.

It was indeed a rare opportunity and unique experience. As Monet's art were spread throughout the whole wide world, the Australian curators had to contact the owners and convince them to allow the curators to bring their Monet paintings to Melbourne for the exhibition. It was a major project and took them years to organise it. Of course, it was not the entire collection, it would not be possible. The theme of the exhibition was Monet's Garden. He was drawing his garden, his flowers, his Japanese bridge.

What I admire about this artist and what made him so successful is this: His passion for painting was so strong that he would start painting all day. It didn't matter where he was, he would continue with his art. Even when he became partially blind with cataracts in his eyes, he kept on painting. Hence, his art became dark and reddish as a result. I didn't like the paintings done in his late years and found them quite disturbing.

His art was also unique in that we could see the reflection of the sky in the waters, be it blue, yellow or grey. Most artists would simply draw the waters at the bottom and sky at the top of the paintings. Monet drew the sky in the waters! There were four major halls in the exhibition and we only realised that in the third hall. Hence we went back to look at the paintings in the previous two halls again. We spent more than two hours in the exhibition area and my legs were so tired when we left. I wouldn't have be able to enjoy the art exhibition if we went there when I was pregnant.

My most favourite piece would be: Springtime through the branches (1878). The delicate branches in the painting intrigued me. And he even managed to draw the houses' reflections in the waters. It took my breath away and had to keep on going back to look at it during the exhibition.

If there was another Monet art exhibition, we would definitely be keen to go as we totally enjoyed the Monet's Garden exhibition.


 

The Fourth Trimester

The first three months after birth is termed as the Fourth Trimester whereby an infant develops into a baby.

THE FIRST MONTH:

Born slightly premature at 35 weeks and 5 days, Saige was too tiny and had to stay in an incubator in the hospital. There was also a pulse monitor (see blue wire) to check her breathing. Every baby in the nursery has one monitor each. Once, I accidentally removed the monitor and it beeped very loudly. All the nurses went hysterical searching for it. Opps.


 Shannyn looking at her little sister, with lots of love.


 On day 5, Saige went under the UV lights due to jaundice. It looked really scary. I cried when I saw her under the blue lights. I didn't know anything about jaundice and the nurse asked me to google it!


Saige stayed in the hospital for 14 days. Both of us visited her everyday to feed her, cuddle her and talk to her.

Full month celebration - Gong Gong Po Po made the red eggs.



Wearing a new bright pink outfit for her full month party.

Strawberry fruit cake from our favourite cake shop.

Saige slept throughout her full month party!!

 

We invited some good friends to the party. Thanks for all your beautiful gifts and wonderful support.

 



THE SECOND MONTH:



Staring intensely at the camera.

 

Smiling at me.

 

 

 

Smiling in her sleep. Check out those lovely eyelashes.

THE THIRD MONTH:

 

Bogeh!!

 

At three months, Saige responds when we speak to her by making lots of cooing sounds and screeches. She also turns her head slowly to the side when someone speaks to her from the side. From premature clothes to size 00000 clothes, she is now wearing size 000 clothes (note: this was Shannyn's clothing size when she was born).

 

 

We are totally in love with Saige! MUA MUA!



School holidays - Day 1

New hairstyles every day!

I stumbled upon a new app which allows me to try different celebrity hairstyles. Celebs like Heidi Klum, Taylor Swift or Kate Middleton.

Beach waves, short bob,  curls, bangs, you name it.

Here are eight of my favourites!

OMG, I am so not a blonde. A bob cut will suit me but I won't be chopping off my hair just yet.

This is all good fun and sooooo addictive!

New ballet flats

Spring is here! 

As the weather gets warmer, it will soon be time to keep the boots.

I usually prefer pointed shoes but this pair of black ballet flats from Target is super comfy. And I like the thick and colourful insole. At AUD7.00, it is a no-brainer even though it is not leather. Black shoes goes with any outfit.

To prevent clutter, I threw away an old pair of shoes with the acquisition of this new pair although I didn't really have a lot of shoes. 

Young Writer's Award

On Monday, Shannyn came home from school with a piece of paper.

"What is this?" I asked. My eyes wide open as I read the paper.

"I don't know. But only three people got it".

To my surprise, it was an award for being shortlisted at her primary school's Young Writer's Award, signed off by the school principal.

I was elated! Explaining to her what it was all about, I asked her what she wrote.

"Nothing" was her reply, very nonchalantly.My goodness, this little girl didn't even know what she has achieved!

Shortlisted for the YOUNG WRITER'S AWARD!

I didn't even know there is such an award.

I write, and I write a lot (of rubbish). Like IBS, sometimes I have writing diarrhoea and sometimes quite constipated. I do enjoy writing. Shannyn may have inherited my writing interest.

 I am extremely proud of her achievement. Out of more than twenty students in her class, her teacher chose three of the best work. It was an honour to be shortlisted.

The results have been released. A boy next class got it. 

On Tuesday she brought home the work. She told me that her teacher thought that she wrote very well and nominated her for the reward. AWARD, I corrected her. Well, she would definitely be more excited if it was a reward like ice cream or sweets. 

The work was not perfect, descriptive yet with spelling mistakes in almost every sentence. In S'porean slang, like that also can ah? Nevertheless, good effort I reckon.

Congrats Shannyn! Keep up the good work.

Categorising my blog

I have always wanted to categorise my blog posts as a way to organise it. After five long blogging years, I finally did  it!

Never felt the need to categorise the posts as I never thought the blog would last for more than five years, seriously.

Most people use fb, tweets or instagrams, only a few handful blogs. I am amongst the minority who sucks at all of the above except blogging. Or I'd rather say I prefer blogging to the rest of the platforms.

I won't be categorising all my previous posts, unless I am super bored. Going forward, I will definitely be labelling each post.

It goes to show that it is too late to do anything. Whatever you are thinking of doing, go ahead. Whether it is as simple as having a piece of chocolate or as big as buying a house.

It is not too late. The only thing stopping you is yourself.

Where has the time gone?

My time has mostly gone to my little cutie pies. I wonder if there is any spare time to blog....

I won't be surprised when no one visits my blog anymore, which makes me ponder whether I should continue blogging.

Wait a minute, I smell poo....

Shannyn's baby sister, Saige

Saige has the same pronunciation as Sage. A similar name will be Paige, pronounced as Page. 

Bargains from a nearby opp shop

An opportunity shop (opp shop) is a bargain or second-hand shop in Australia.

Today, I bought three books from an opp shop. Did a quick search online, they would have costed approx AUD60 brand new (excluding delivery costs).

I bought all these books for only AUD3.50!! That is a total savings of AUD56.50 (94% off original price).

The books are clean and in almost brand new condition.

I had previously came across two of the three books in bookshops but did not want to pay the full prices. When I found them in the shop, I was extremely delighted. One of the books even had two copies, one was AUD2.00 and the other AUD1.50. The cheaper copy was yelling "Please take me home!!"  And so I did.

What wonderful bargains!!

Why I am leaving work

This card explains it all :)

My day without a mobile phone

This morning, as I reached for my mobile phone in my bag, it was not there! I had forgotten to bring my phone.

Did I miss anything? Yes, a few calls and reminders but nothing detrimental.

It made me wonder whether I needed a new phone to replace my 'dinosaur' phone - as described by Mr ET.

Perhaps one day I will upgrade my phone but it is definitely not a need but a want although nowadays people don't really think in terms of needs and wants.

On average, my mobile phone is good for at least a few years. This current phone has been with me for more than six years. It was my birthday present. It has a weak battery life now, having to charge it for every 30 minutes of talk time. I don't talk for 30 minutes a day so I charge it every alternate day. Not too bad compared to smartphones nowadays where charging every day is the norm.

The thing is I don't do much with my mobile phone except for talk and reminders. With reminders transitioning to my iPad mini, it is just talk.  Perhaps a basic phone with radio will be sufficient.

My day without a mobile phone has made me realise that I still enjoy my dinosaur phone and will not be changing it for now.

My dinosaur phone - still in a good condition.

Best days to run errands

Here is the secret.

The best days to run errands are rainy days.

It was spitting (Aussie slang for drizzling) today.

I thought maybe I should just stay in. But I decided to venture out and run my errands.

What a pleasant surprise.

Quick lines in Aldi and no queue in the post office! I did my shopping and posting in record speed.

I've known this secret all along, but had somehow forgotten.

Now that my memory is coming back, I will be going out, rain or shine!

My new iPad mini

I'm so obsessed with my new iPad mini! It is with me wherever I go.

I was contemplating between getting a smartphone and an iPad and didn't think that I would grab an iPad mini instead.

Dicksmith was having a stocktake clearance on Black iPad3. With only $10 dearer than the iPad mini, a bigger screen, I was so tempted to get it.

I had to pull all my willpower to focus on what I want:

A portable gadget for my calendar, photos, videos, magazines (yes, online magazines e.g. Better Home and Gardens, Marie Claire etc downloaded free from local library and the Age), games (not for me though, mainly for kids entertainment) and Internet. I see it as a replacement for my HP ppc (yes, I had one of those dinosaur gadgets) and even better.

Hence, the decision to get the iPad mini which seems to serve the above requirements.

This has been the most satisfied gadget I've acquired. With fast speed, easy photo-taking, easy photo-editing, games on-the-go, fast Internet, incredible battery capacity and most importantly, quick boot-up (within a minute) compared to a PC, I am over the moon!!!


Me with my new toy! I look pretty shabby but hey, the focus is on the toy.


Fresh from the packaging.


There are two versions. One with Wi-Fi only and the other is Wi-Fi Cellular. The Wi-Fi Cellular version allows users to insert a nano-SIM card and use subscription Internet on-the-go.


The leather case. Pretty expensive. Oh well, I had to get it to protect the gadget right?


I like the colour of the case. Most people will choose a black case, I like Earthy colour.


The inside of the case is red with some slots for cards.

Total Investment:
Price (@JB Hi-Fi May 2013): AUD486
Zenus Premium Leather case: AUD55

24 Mar 2013: Shannyn rides on two wheels bicycle

24 March 2013 - A milestone achievement at 5 years 3 months.

 Shannyn has finally learnt how to ride a two wheels bicycle!!

Sean removed the two trainer wheels a few months ago and had been teaching her how to ride on the two wheels. 

She has been practising on the bicycle for a few months now. That day, we managed to capture it on video. It is amazing how fast kids learn.

Riding a bicycle is like walking. It is skill that almost everyone learns during childhood, a skill that once you get it, you will never forget.

The bike was a gift from Gong Gong & Po Po. We had asked them not to buy but they insisted. So came the bicyle, all the way from Singapore.

The bike is still a bit too high for her and she has to tiptoe to reach the ground. One good thing about the bike is that it has two brakes, one at the front and one at the back. So it is more stable when she breaks.

To encourage Shannyn further, I tell her that when she is older, she can learn how to ride a motorbike. Surprisingly, she is really excited with the idea, opps!

Here is the video.

My natural skincare essentials - Sukin

Sukin is an Australian Natural Skincare brand.

I have been using the Sukin skincare range for the past half year or more.

First of all, I like that it is branded as being a natural skincare product. And it is also sulphate and paraben free, the two chemicals that irritate skin and cause problems.

After using it for a while, I find Sukin really mild and gentle to the skin. Yet it is effective in removing makeup.

In terms of availability and ease of purchase, I can easily find it from pharmacies and beauty stores (e.g. Priceline - similar to Watson).

Sukin is made in Australia. Tick! In general, I like to support local products. There is the impresson that local products are 'fresher', since they are made with local ingredients, as compared to imported products and ingredients. And hopefully, by supporting local product, it will boost the local employment in one way of another.

I also like to support products against animal testing. Another tick!

When I first bought Sukin, I showed it to my angmoh colleauge who is a naturopath. She told me that most healthcare stores have Sukin in their shelves. This means that it is a recommended brand by healthcare pharmacies and in short, it is a good product. Tick!

I asked her whether she had tried Sukin before and she said she heard raves about it but no, never tried. Shortly after, she went to purchase Sukin product too and is now a convert.

Another time, I went to purchase more Sukin products and told another angmoh colleague. She said she had heard of Sukin but never tried it. So, she tried it too since there was a sale. And voila, another convert!

I am currently using four Sukin products, namely its cleanser, eye serum, night cream and also its shower gel.

The only downside to Sukin products is that they do not contain any spf ingredients in it. Hence, I am unable to use them during the day. Sukin has the potential to capture the day skincare market if they explore natural sunblock ingredients in their day skincare range.


There is a sensitive skin version. The normal range is gel-like, colourless and has a slight Mandarin fragrance. The sensitive skin range is white fluid and fragrance-free. Both clean really well and do not leave any oily film (unlike Dove products) on the skin after cleansing.


The eye serum is fragrance-free. It has a very soft texture, hence a little goes a long way.






The night cream has a Mandarin fragance and thick texture. I prefer fragance-free product. Although it has a thick texture, it is only moisturised enough for summer and in a less dry climate. For an extra skin boost, a serum or mask will be much better.

Day off: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Musical

Sean and I took a day off and we went to watch a musical at 'Her Majesty's theatre' in the city - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

We took the train and reached the city before noon. After checking out the location of the theatre, we went to to a Japanese restaurant for lunch.

Sean and I visited the 'Japanese Cafe Restaurant J' five years ago (Exhibition Street in Melbourne) and missed the food. It is popular for its Sushi burger. We both had the soft-shell crab sushi burger. We also had crab potato croquettes and ebi tempura as side dishes. Shannyn's favourite was the ebi tempura, which was the fried prawn. My favourite side was the crab potato croquettes. It simply melted in my mouth! I think I can have ten at one go!

I told my angmo friends and they had never heard of a sushi burger before. So they went to google it immediately!

The sushi burger was delicious! I could never have enough of it. Unlike sushi, a sushi burger was warm and the Japanese rice so very soft. However, AUD7.50 (S$9.50 eat-in) for one tiny sushi burger is rather dear.

After lunch, we went to watch the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. My ratings are of the musical is:

Story: 6/10 (Pretty long-winded. There were some unnecessary scenes)
Vocal: 9/10 (One of the best vocal especially the female lead singer)
Stage prop: 8/10 (Mini-fireworks, flying car was awesome)
Overall rating: 7/10

Overall, it was beautifical.

There was a "child-catcher" during the second half of the musical and Shannyn got scared. She whispered to me "Mummy, is he going to catch me?" and covered her ears with her hands, closed her eyes as I cuddled her during the entire scene. She enjoyed the first hald however was a bit shaken by the "child-catcher" even though I told her it was just acting. She didn't like it at all.

After the musical, we went to have a walk in the city and strolled into Daiso. It is a Japanese store and everything here is AUD3.80. There are a few Daiso stores in Singapore, similiar to the 100yen stores in Malaysia. We bought lots of kitchen stuff and my most favourite was a super cute white rabbit head shaped kitchen timer!

We then took the train back home. As it was peak hour, the train was packed! We went to this Mexican restaurant called "Hog's Breath Cafe" for some western food.

They served the best mud-cake ever. It was not too sweet. Served warm and with ice-cream and cream. It was divine!

It was a rare day off for both Sean and I. Most of the time, we don't take leave together as we always 'save' our days off for rainy days e.g. Shannyn's holidays or no school days or sickness.

This time, we decided that we needed to go for a family day out and 'splurged' on a day off together.

It was a well day spent and I totally enjoyed every moment of it.