Small Notes From Me: 2009

Monday, December 7, 2009

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

“Swiddle”

On Monday evening (August 24, 2009), we brought Jules shopping at Parkway Parade and he told me he would like to buy a toy boat.

Jules: “Mommy, can I buy a toy boat?”

Me: “What do want the boat for?”

Jules: “So that I can play with it and swiddle it around.”

Me: “Oh … what is swiddle??!”

Jules: “Swiddle is a ‘boat’ word. You know, move it around on the water?”

Me: “You mean, so that you can play with it and navigate the boat on the water?”

Jules: Yeeesss! So that I can navigate and swiddle it around!

I tried googling for the definition of ‘swiddle’ and found that no such word exists, except in the form of surnames. Jules has always been fascinated by words and I guess he has just invented his first word, for us in the family at least! Who knows? We may have a linguist among us.

For the record, if swiddle really makes it into the dictionary, it would probably look something like this:

swiddle
verb
[swiddling, swiddled]
1. Travel on water, moving back and forth or sideways
2. To move across the surface of water, especially by means of a sailing vessel

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Through His Eyes

On Sunday (August 23, 2009), Julian had a sudden whiff of inspiration and decided to do a portrait of Mommy.

He may be no Leonardo Da Vinci and the drawing nowhere near the Portrait of Lisa Gherardini but nevertheless, I am immensely proud of his first attempt at three and a half!

Portrait of Ma Mère

Monday, August 24, 2009

Fluff Ball

Pebby has been with us for about 5 months now and he has settled down nicely as “one of the family” and blossomed into a cute little “fluff ball”!

Friday, August 21, 2009

External Influences

Lately, TY and I have observed through Julian’s behavior and speech that he is increasingly “susceptible” to influences from his peers in school and around him. This led me to conclude that it is absolutely essential for me to rework my lifestyle so that I can spend more quality time with Jules, especially during his formative years.

A clip I received this afternoon further strengthened my belief!

Batman Jingle
Batman, Superman
Ali Baba, Chicken Man
Don’t Forget Your Underpants!

Followed by …

Jules: “Hey, there’s an ant! Quick, KILL it!!!

Now, where did that killer instinct come from??! Hmm ...

I later found out Jules picked up the jingle from a good friend in his class, who incidentally also taught him the Transformers’ theme song, “Transformers: Robots in Disguise!” And to think he hasn’t even watched a single episode of the animated series or movie!

I guess in this age we are living in, hands-on parenting is imperative and we cannot afford to delegate this responsibility to our parents, nannies, domestic helpers or even the schools, no matter how good they may be. Raising up the next generation starts right here in our homes - with our own children!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Road Signs Don’t Tell All

A feast for the eyes. Soothing to the soul. Breathtakingly beautiful.

Navigating this area feels like driving through the scenic countryside of Australia. Unknown to many, nestled in a quiet, unnoticeable part of Bukit Timah, the Bukit Timah Saddle Club offers the perfect getaway from the hectic bustle of city life right here in Singapore.

I have driven past this road almost daily on my way home but the dingy-looking road sign gives no hint of the almost-paradise town that lies deep inside. After discovering this place last week, I came up with my own version to the old adage “never judge a book by its cover” - “road signs don’t tell all”!

With lush greenery …

Old fashioned road signs …

Horses grazing …

Cantering …

Standing …
Or guzzling 100 Plus (saw it with my own eyes!) …

You feel transported right into a different world.

Have a lazy breakfast or spend an idle afternoon in any one of the quaint eateries. With picturesque surroundings and an occasional horse trotting by …

You are guaranteed to leave feeling refreshed. Revitalized.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Great Discovery

I caught the Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery DVD a couple of weeks back at a friend’s place and it was simply awesome! In this all-new movie narrated by Pierce Brosnan, Sodor Day is coming and all the engines are busy preparing. When Thomas gets lost in the mountains, he discovers the old town of Great Waterton and very soon, the whole island is restoring the town in time for the big day. Complete with catchy songs and suspense-filled adventures, this episode also features a new engine friend named Stanley!

After watching it, Julian was so enthralled by the thrills of the movie that he “begged” me to buy him the latest Thomas set that was featured on the back cover of the DVD. I could not help thinking this was a really smart advertising move by Hit Toys Company!

After much sourcing around, I realized it was not available locally and had to buy it online from Amazon.com and shipped it in using Citibank Globeshopper. It was relatively hassle-free with reasonable shipping charges and the item arrived within a week! Top this off with secure payment via Paypal, it is no small wonder many parents are going online to shop for toys these days especially since the range carried by local toy distributors is so limited. Once started, online shopping can be addictive!

Here’s a preview of what we bought.

Monday, July 27, 2009

RC Racing

Julian has been bugging us over the last few weeks to bring him to watch what he calls “dirt track racing” so finally on Saturday (July 25, 2009), we decided to make the trip.

He was really excited and armed with a pair of binoculars, we set out to the only RC racing circuit I know at Turf City! However, there was no “dirt track racing” that day and he settled for “street racing” instead.

Trekking towards the destination

“Street track”

RC cars running on gasoline

Racing stand

Mommy taking a turn

Watching like a pro!

Lemme see the action!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Bridging the Generation Gap

I have seen on so many blogs postings of visits to the zoo but seriously, how can we ever underestimate the importance of the Singapore Zoo as one of the “pathetically few” key attractions of our nation (!), and as a great place for friendship building and bridging the generation gap (even for a couple of hours) as people - young and old – come together, in fascination at encountering the creatures of nature up close and personal.

For our family, we had one such opportunity on a beautiful, breezy Saturday morning, where 6 of us – Ye Ye, Nai Nai, Daddy, Mommy, Julian & Nana – headed for Mandai and had a time of our lives!