Catching up!

yes, trying trying! Trying to catch up on my blog. Just uploaded like more than 50 pix into draft posts for this blog... took a lot of pictures last August coz it was Isaac's birthday month, you see.

As you know, I am now in between jobs. Starting work on 18th April, and people ask me what do I do with all my time now, before I start work. Other than my blog, believe or not, I am still catching up on my farewell lunches! hahaha...

Also, I started arranging gatherings with friends... And need to pop by to see friends who have delivered their babies but I haven't had the time to go visit (Weiping, Cecilia, Weiling... congrats guys!!!) Busy with My First Games, making supply orders, collecting supplies, making deliveries, updating the website with new games...

Oh and having fun! hehehe... hubbs took leave today to spend some time with me! We went ktv - KBox lunch special, and then went swimming after that. Then I went to get my wisdom teeth extracted - minor surgery, now I am 2 teeth less, and have a swollen cheek. Hahahahaha...

hubbs tortured me by buying durian... sob sob... I couldn't eat, in my condition. I guess I could, if I really wanted to. But, nah... I'd be on liquids for the rest of today, thank you very much...

And now have been at the computer for awhile now, catching up on my blogging... new post here! Miss the kidzes? enjoy the pix!

My Ascendas Farewell Email

Hey hey hey!!!

Firstly, just wanted to point out that I did a backpost - Isaac in School - pix from August 2010, I just wrote it but posted it to 18 Dec 2010 9.23am. So you can scroll down to see it, or click on that link above.

Secondly... remember I told you I had tendered from my job? My last day was 31 March 2010. And below is my farewell email to all my colleagues! :) I had kinda written it in a rush, so it is not as good as I'd have liked it to be, but unfortunately, it'd have had to do coz I was running out of time to write it. Still am pretty proud of it though. Go read! :)

p.s. I tried my best to keep it short and sweet already!!! No verbal diarrhoea-ing!!!

Hi everyone,

Today is my last day in Ascendas. All 4 years and 9 months of my tenure here. And what a ride it has been! :)

You may have heard of the saying that people are in your life for a reason, a season or for lifetime. I truly believe in that. I am grateful to have got to know each of you sometime in this past 4 years and 9 months.

I have learnt a lot from all of you. Be it finance basics, or property management issues, or legal clauses and concepts, all the way to tips on how to deal with morning sickness, kids throwing tantrums, enrichment classes or baking cakes and cookies and fengshui theories and many many more. You have enriched my life and made me what I am today. My arsenal of lease and asset management skills have been built up here thanks to all the guidance and learning I have gleaned from all of you. I can firmly proclaim that I am a better person today, than when I joined 4 years and 9 months ago, because of you, all of you. And for that, I sincerely thank you.

People ask me if I am sad, or happy to be leaving. I must confess that I look forward to moving on, and pray that my choice of pasture, is greener than the one here. But I am also sad, for Ascendas has come to be a home to me. The people here are beyond nice, and the many friends that I have made here are friends that I wish to keep for a lifetime. Many lifetimes! J

I also thank those of you who have bought me farewell lunches and farewell gifts. I very much appreciate the food and the gifts, but more importantly, I value the time and the company you have given me. I hope this is only a farewell for me in Ascendas, but not that of our friendship. I look forward to keeping in touch with you in the many years to come.

Think of me often. Laugh when you do so. Talk about me, go ahead, gossip, and keep your eye on my facebook page and read my blog often. Bug me to meet up for lunch. I welcome it. Ask me for info or advice – I’d definitely try my best to help you. If I run for election, vote for me :p One last thing I would ask of you, would be, to remember the best of me. Forgive my transgressions and remember me well. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Someone asked me “How do the people who leave decide who to get their farewell email?” This friend then proceeded to tell me to please include her as a recipient in my farewell email. I am flattered that she has asked this. So, please let it be known, that it is my intention to include everyone I know in Ascendas, to be a recipient of this email. If I had accidentally left out anyone, please feel free to forward it to them.

4 years and 9 months is not a super long time to be in a company. Nor is it a very short time to be in a company. But 4 years and 9 months is definitely too short a time, to get to know a person well. Many of you know that I am in Lease & Asset Management, and that I have 3 kids (my boy Isaac, and a pair of dragon-phoenix twins Asher & Shawna). Many of you even know about my passion in boardgames.

But did you know that I used to collect dead mosquitoes and lizard skeletons? Or that I have an interest in a form of theatre called Playback Theatre and have once performed in The Esplanade? Or that my childhood ambition was to become a policewoman, then a writer, and subsequently an architect? :) In short, stay in touch, I have enough skeletons to spill for a lifetime!!! :p

Thanks to technology, please find below a plethora of ways to keep in contact…

My email address: emailpamela(a)yahoo.com
My mobile number: xxxxxxxx
My msn messenger: emailpamela(a)hotmail.com
My facebook account: emailpamela(a)yahoo.com
My blog: www.tanfamilychronicles.blogspot.com
My dream: www.myfirstgames.sg

All Ascendians, past and present, will always have a special place in my heart :)

Love, hugs and flying kisses (with saliva spraying all over you)!!!

;)pamela

REASON, SEASON, OR LIFETIME FRIENDS?

People always come into your life for a reason,
a season, or a lifetime.

When you figure out which it is,
you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need
you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
or to provide you with guidance and support...
to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually.

They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrong doing on your part
or at an inconvenient time,
This person will say or do something
to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled; their work is done.

The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON,
it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.

They may bring you an experience of peace
or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it!
It is real!

But, only for a SEASON.

And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall,
the season eventually ends.

LIFETIME relationships teach you a lifetime of lessons;
Those things you must build upon
in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson,
love the person/people anyway,
and put what you have learned
to use in all other relationships
and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind,
but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life...

Written by: Brian A. "Drew" Chalker

Guess what?! I'm rambling!!! I mean, I'm quitting!!!

SIGH. I feel so sorry for my blog. It must be feeling so neglected ;p Work's been crazy. And what with us trying to start My First Games, and keep it going, and with my 3 lovely kiddos... People tell me they're amazed that I have a blog. Well, I am determined to keep it going!!!

SO! I have decided to quit my job and update my blog on a full time basis!

NOT! hahahahhahahaa.... though... seriously, do you enjoy my writing? Would you pay good money to read something written by me? Perhaps you could start by simply dropping me fan mail... or add comments to the page... (can you hear the desperation?!)

Actually, I decided to quit my job to do My First Games full time..... NOT! *sob*sob* I wish!!! Sigh, I really wish. But then, I am not getting a lot of business, and the margins are not fantastic, so... I'm afraid I can't do it full time yet...

But seriously seriously (I should inprove my vocabulary).... I am quitting my current job! ;p changing jobs. Yes, yes, I found a job before I quit (is there such a word as "quited" as in past tense of "quit"?). Would still be in real estate (no, not agent)...

So anywayz, I have 2 weeks break coming up soon. And I plan to catch up on my blog then. Wish me luck! And stay tuned!!! :)

oh and as you can see, the above rambling is the result of not updating my blog for a long time. Cold turkey!!! blleeaauughhhh!!!

New stuff for the New Year!

3rd February 2011 - the first day of Chinese New Year! Look who's first up? Shawna! She's playing with the thermometer, trying to take her own temperature. Her brothers are still fast asleep. They look very much alike when they're asleep, yes?

 

When I was young, as far back as I can remember, my mother would always get us new stuff for Chinese New Year. And it wasn't just the new clothes for wearing out on the first few days of the new year, it was much more than that. Other than the new clothes and new shoes for wearing out to go visiting, we had new pyjamas, new toothbrush, new towels. I'd always loved getting new pyjamas :) So ever since Isaac was born, every year before Chinese New Year, I'd make sure to get him new pyjamas as well. Here are the kidzes in their new pjs for 2011.

I love shopping for these new pjs. I enjoyed it so much, that, a few years ago, I started to buy new pjs for my nieces too. Each of the kids have their own preference or current favourite colour etc - which makes my task a little challenging sometimes, but hey, I love the challenge! They'd usually wear anything I buy, but it's all the more satisfying when I buy them something they like.

If you think the twins look huge compared to Isaac, that's coz they're seated more forward in the picture :)

At this time in 2011, Asher and Shawna have yet to have any preference for colours, so I tend to get them the usual pink for Shawna and blue for Asher. Usually they'd have a matching pair of pjs too - 2011 had them in a matching "I love Mum" and "I love Dad" pjs. Isaac loves red, and dinosaurs and Thomas. So this year, he has a red pair (the one in the pics), a set with dinosaurs, and a set of Thomas the Engine pjs.

Rebecca likes blue, and Hello Kitty. She is fine with wearing long sleeve shirt and pyjama pants. She's also rather tall, so I make sure to get stuff which she wouldn't outgrow before the end of the year. Isabelle also likes Hello Kitty. She likes pink, and she doesn't like to wear pyjama pants. She likes the dress/nightie sort of pyjamas, so  I have to find those for her. The initial years I had trouble looking for those, but now I know where to get them from. Natalie loves the colour yellow. Anything that's yellow, she loves it. Luckily she is alright with wearing pants too, coz it's tough enough finding yellow pyjamas, but if she wanted yellow dress/nighty - now that'd be super tough!

Lately, I'd also taken to buying new underwear for them all. hehehe... it's fun!!! Usually get them a whole set of underwear in a cartoon character.

 

Hubbs was quite amused at me buying all these new stuff. He said he didn't grow up with this "tradition" of having new pyjamas,new towels and new toothbrush for Chinese New Year. Before we had kids, he just allowed me to do all the buying. I'd change the towels and the toothbrushes before midnight on the eve of the Chinese New Year. And before that, I'd have bought him new underwear, new socks and made sure he has some new articles of clothing.

His tradition though, was to write a nice blessing on the back of the red packet for the kids, and tuck it into them at night when they sleep, so that they wake up to finding the angpow in the morning. Look at Shawna examining her ang pow. Blessings written in Chinese, no less.

I think it's nice to have traditions like that. It kind of makes your life more memorable, in a sense. In 2011, my in laws are staying with us during Chinese New Year. So here is the Chinese New Year picture with their 3 grandchildren, dressed in their Spidey togs.

In the many years to come, when the kidzes are all grown up with their own spouse and children, I hope they keep up this tradition of getting new pyjamas, blessings written on the angpow, and come visit hubbs and I for our big family picture - and hubbs and I can get our picture with all my grandkids too! :)

Reunion Dinner 2011 at home

Asher & Shawna @ four days to 13 months; Isaac @ four days to 3 years 6 months | Picture taken on 2nd February 2011, eve of Chinese New Year 2011 | This post was written in March 2012.

Chinese New Year Eve 2011. It is a Chinese tradition that on the eve of the Chinese New Year, you were supposed to spend that night having a meal with your family. It is also traditional that the Reunion Dinner on the eve, is eaten with the male side of the family. That's why the reunion dinner with my parents and my sister's family, was eaten the Saturday before Chinese New Year. That also explains why my sister-in-law and her husband isn't in this picture, coz they are over at the husband's side.

My parents-in-law moved in with us when the twins were born. Before, when it was just Isaac, I used to send Isaac to my in-laws' place before going to work. But when we knew we were having twins, we knew it would be impossible for me to ferry all three kids to my in-laws' place before going to work, even if I did have a helper helping out. It was simply too disruptive and too much of a hassle. As a result, my in-laws came to stay with us instead.

So this reunion dinner was a milestone of sorts. It was a dinner of thanksgiving, that we had three lovely kids, and a very supporting family behind us, and that we, as a family, have survived and came through well - the first 12 months of the twins lives. Many people have said that I'm a wonder mummy. I say I couldn't have done it without the excellent help and support from my husband and our families :)

CNY reunion dinner 2011

Cock-a-doodle-do, my Mummy's lost her shoe... our father's lost his shaving kit, whatever shall we do?!

Hubbs and I haven't that many pix with the twins. It wasn't easy to have a moment to take a picture with the both of them, and with Isaac too. So when we have the chance, we grab it! Isaac stood with hubbs and the twins to take pix, but by the time it came my turn, Isaac lost patience and went off to play with his cousins. Nowadays, whenever Isaac didn't want to be in a picture, I'd remind him:"Please remember that you are the one who refuse to be in the picture. So next time, don't ask Mummy how come you're not in the picture okay!?"  Yes... he's been throwing tantrums, questioning us why he isn't in pictures...

Our Chinese New Year reunion dinner at my parents' place. We forgot to take a family picture that night, urrrghh! Look at the yummy food though! Every year I put on weight during Chinese New Year! urrghhh!!!

Pictures taken on 29th January 2011

Balance bike

Pictures taken on 23 January 2011 | Isaac @ 3 years 5 months

 

Isaac and his balance bike! We'd heard from a friend of ours who bought a balance bike similar to this one, for his son. The bike set him back a good $350 though. That's a hefty sum to pay indeed. We went down to the store several times, but each time we came away without buying it as we just couldn't justify paying so much for a children's bike.

So when we found this other supplier which was selling this for $199, we thought it was a steal! We immediately bought it! Isaac took to it very quickly, as it's pretty intuitive to ride this bike. You simply use your feet to push against the ground, propelling yourself forward. And if you should feel like you're going to fall, your legs automatically reach for the ground. This is the easiest and most natural way to learn how to ride a bike - for, essentially, you learn to balance. Once you've got the balancing down pat, learning to pedal is not an issue at all.

The height is adjustable so it'd be suitable for as young as 2+ to 5 or 6 years old (depending on how tall the kid is). It look really fun and we've had people ask us if there are bikes like that big enough for adults. I don't blame them, sometimes I wish I could ride Isaac's balance bike too!

If anyone's interested, we're a retailer for this as well, details here.

Do the twins look alike?

What's up, Asher?

 People never fail to comment "But they don't look alike?!" when they find out that Asher & Shawna are twins. Some people go as far as to say "How can they be twins? They don't look alike!" Fortunately, there is an easy explanation for this: Asher and Shawna are non-identical twins. Asher, the boy twin, looks like his Papa. Shawna, the girl twin, looks like her Mummy. They look as alike as any brother and sister may look like, just that they were born a minute apart. I'd usually flip this around and say to people "Well, a pair of brothers may look very much like each other, even though they are born 3 years apart. But looking alike doesn't necessarily mean they're twins!"

We love our Big Blue Car! The third row of seats can be flipped up and we'd have lots of space to stow away all the stuff that we need to bring out!

Pictures above taken on 21st January 2011 | Asher & Shawna @ 12 months | Isaac & Natalie @ 3 years plus | Isabelle @ 5 years plus

Fridays are one of the kids' favourite days - they get to meet their cousins and play with them!

The story of the double stroller

I don't think I've told you about the story of the double stroller. Yes, this double stroller in the pictures. It's a MacLaren twin stroller. I'm not sure how much it costs but I'd bet it's more than a couple hundred dollars. Even though we have three kids, we've been so blessed that we didn't have to spend a single cent on a stroller. With Isaac, we received two strollers, one Peg Perego from the Chanders, my cousins. And a second one, a Combi, from my ex-colleague Faith Soh. Both strollers were used by the families who gifted them to us, but we didn't mind - and the strollers were in great condition anyway. In fact, we're still using them!

 

  

When we were pregnant with the twins, hubbs and I discussed about whether we should get a twin stroller. We decided against it, primarily coz our house is already filled to the brim with all assortment of "baby stuff", ya know - strollers, walker, high chair, cot, play pen, toys etc... Also, we wanted to save money, and we figured that technically, we already have 2 strollers, so we didn't really need another one. We figured we'd buy a Buddy Board to attach to the Peg Perego for Isaac. The Buddy Board was basically a board with two wheels below, that can be attached behind any stroller, for toddlers to stand on. 

When the babies came, we were kinda glad we didn't buy the twin stroller, coz most of the time, the babies didn't want to be in the stroller. Or, well, not both at the same time! In fact, we found that bringing out two strollers would often give us too much to handle if one or both of the babies refused to stay in it. Thus, most of the time, we only brought one stroller out, so that there was always "spare capacity" to carry the babies, if both needed to be carried.

Pictures above taken on 17th January 2011

It was only when the twins were a little bigger, approaching a year old, that I started to think that we could perhaps get a twin stroller. The twins were by then more "settled" and could sit in the stroller. And it'd definitely be more handy if we only had to handle one twin stroller, rather than two single strollers. I started to trawl the Singapore Motherhood forum's "Want to Sell" sub-forum... looking at the ads for pre-loved twin strollers.

Then one day, when we were attending mass in church, this lady tapped my shoulder and whispered in my ear "Do you have twins?" I, out of reflex, glanced at Asher & Shawna, then looked at the lady and replied "Yes, I do." Her face lit up with a smile that her suspicion was confirmed and she quickly said "Do you want a twin stroller?" I gasped "Yes, I want!" a wide grin across my face.

Apparently, Ivy has 4 sons (yes, four!!!), none are twins, but the boys' age gap was pretty close so she'd bought a twin stroller some years back. She didn't need the stroller anymore and was trying to find someone to pass it off to. I tried asking her to sell it to me instead, but she wouldn't hear of it and told me that she was just glad to find someone who would make good use of it. I thanked her as best I knew how - I gave her some of the brand new boardgames that I was selling in my online shop. I hope the boys enjoyed the games!

We were very thankful to Ivy and her family, and to God, for the stroller. Ask and you shall be given! We're very blessed, indeed! :)

Kor Kor Isaac

Pictures taken on 7th January 2011. Isaac @ 3 years 5 months and Shawna at 12 months.

  

Isaac was taking to the twins very well. We constantly told him that he should be a nice kor kor to his brother and sister. He had also more or less gotten over his jealousy over them after we enrolled him in childcare. We made sure that either hubbs or I would give him one-on-one attention when he was at home. That helped things a lot. 

I also made sure that I'd constantly hug Isaac and reassure him, telling him that I loved him very much. And that I still love him even though I loved Asher and Shawna as well. I think it helps a lot.

One day, Isaac kissed Asher's and Shawna's feet and he said to me:"Mummy, I kiss my babies' feet because I love them! Just like you!" I almost cried when he said that. He was imitating me as I loved to kiss and smell the babies' feet!

I didn't know he even saw me kissing the babies. This is because I have been trying to avoid kissing the babies in front of Isaac as I thought it may make him feel even more jealous of the babies. But obviously, Isaac is more observant than I thought he was, and he was more loving than I credited him for! 

 

See in the second picture Shawna's climbing up the chair on her own. At 12 months, Shawna could walk already. She was faster than Asher in this aspect. As early as 11 months, Shawna could stand up on her own and attempted to take steps.

Mini-cuzzies hang out!

Pictures below taken on 2nd January 2011. We had just come from Asher & Shawna's 1 year old party at Evans Road. All adjourned to Hillcrest from for a swim and to hang out for the rest of the day. We tried to get all the kids on the couch for a mini-cuzzies pic - but yes, it was quite unsuccessful :p

The Chanders were still in town and we managed to catch them for this gathering. This is no simple feat, given how packed their schedule is when they're back in Singapore on visits. Jarrod and Zachary were as charming and as handsome as ever, if not more so. And lil' Caitlin was so cute we just wanted to hug her all the time!

Isaac was happy to have some male cousins to play with and he happily started playing wrestling with them. Asher saw the body pile and wanted to join in!

Seeing how the little cuzzies play together reminded me of the days when we were kids and us cuzzies playing together at our grandparents' place. We often remind each other that we should meet up more often to let the kids play together so that they will be as close as we are to our cousins. 

Asher & Shawna's 1st Year birthday party

Post written in Feb 2012, backposted to 1st Jan 2011. Yes, I know, more than a year late... ah wellz... better late than never :) I'm also trying out blogger's new interface - which is a bit too smart for me, so if the formating looks weird, yes, it's a lil my fault, but mostly blogger's fault :p

We celebrated the twins birthday on 1st Jan 2011, coz it was a public holiday, and coz 6th Jan 2011 fell on a weekday (a Thursday, if you're wondering), and traditionally, Chinese believe that you should only celebrate birthdays in advance, but never belated. I wonder who set such 'rules' to begin with. It's silly, if you ask me. But some things are not worth arguing over, and some "rules" are quite harmless to follow, and so people of our generation usually just shift our schedule around to follow these (probably archaic) "rules".

 Hubbs managed to book this huge function room at the MOE Recreation Club at Evans Road. It was nice and huge, had grounds outside for the kids to run around and play frisbee and catching. There was even a grassy slope that the kids started climbing, until some got hurt and they naturally wised up and stopped...

As you can see, I had our usual Spiderman cake made. Yes, Spidey cake for Spidey kids okay. That's always the case for 1 year old Spidey Tan Family babies. Yes, because I say so ;p Besides, the kids wouldn't know the difference, right? Also, the first year birthday is not only to celebrate the first year of the kid's life. It is also to celebrate the parents surviving the first, and toughest (in our humblest opinions) year of the kid's life. Yes, indeed, a celebration of life - that we have lived through that year!

 

 Indeed, looking back, 2010 was very tough for us all. The twins were born on 6th Jan 2010. Those of you who are parents would know, that having one infant to take care of is tough enough. Having two... really takes the cake. (I can't even start to imagine how having triplets would be!) So we had two little infants to take care of. Double the diapers to change, double the time I had to spend breastfeeding them, double the crying, double the bathing, double the everything. On top of that, we still had to cater to Isaac's increasing demands for attention. And to make it worse, because we started Isaac on childcare, he (understandably) caught viruses and bugs and whatnot - came back and passed them to us too. Bad for Isaac, worse for babies, and hell if we adults got it too.

Imagine hubbs and I with 11 kids!!! Cool, eh!? :)

In June 2010, it happened. Hubbs had been sick for a long time, with cough and whatnot, remnants that never faded with an earlier episode of when Isaac came back with a cough/flu (I can't remember), got fever. Either Isaac or hubbs passed something to the twins... Asher came down with croup, triggered by whatever it was Isaac passed him. We brought him to KK Hospital Children's Emergency, but coz he was less than 6 months old and had difficulty breathing, he was admitted to stay in hospital. I stayed with him. We were there for two days. Meanwhile, my mother-in-law who was staying with us to help out with taking care of the kids came down with the bug too. From the hospital, I told hubbs to bring Shawna to my parents place to quarantine her from everyone at home who was sick. My helper soon came down with the bug too.

My parents, my sister's family, and us.

After two days in hospital, we discharged, and went straight to my parents place, intending to stay there to keep away from all the sick recovering back home... but when I saw Shawna, and heard her breathing... I went back in to KKH with Shawna - she had developed croup too. I checked into KKH with Shawna the same day that I had discharged with Asher. I spent my third consecutive night in hospital.Back home, my father-in-law had fallen ill as well. But thankfully, Isaac was better already, and my mother-in-law and helper could rest since the twins weren't home.The following day, I discharged with Shawna and went to stay with Asher and Shawna at my parents place. My mum started sniffling too. And two days later, I started to cough as well. Thankfully though, by the time I fell to the incredi-bug, everyone else was well, and so, I could finally rest, after a very trying week. These two weeks were the most challenging period of the first year of the twins lives for us. Within the first 6 months of the twins' birth, hubbs lost 10 kg. Yes, seriously.

Hubbs' parents, his sister (and her husband) and us! :)

Thank heavens, that episode was not repeated again, and we're praying that it never will. Every time I pray now, the first thing I pray for is good health for my kids and everyone we know. We are also thankful for the amount of family support we had, for without them, we would not have been able to cope with Isaac and the twins. We were also blessed with good a good helper Lina, whom we hope would continue to be a good helper.

My parents and their 6 grandkids!

When people realise that we have three kids, of which two are a pair of twins, there are invariably two comments. Those who are not married or who do not have kids, will comment:"Wah!!! Twins!!! I want!!!" Those who themselves are parents would comment:"Wah, not easy ah, twins. One already cannot cope..." :) To this we'd reply:"Luckily God sent us Isaac for training first! :)"

Yes, having twins is not easy indeed. But we wouldn't change it for the world.We love you, Asher & Shawna, happy birthday! :)

All pictures in this post taken on 1st January 2011.
Asher & Shawna @ five days to 1 year old
Isaac @ five days to 3 years 5 months old