Journey of Bernice and Shanice

Pictures...

2009-12-04T13:44:00.004+08:00

Shanice at a few hours old...

Two days old...

The jie jie finally agreeing to take a picture with the little sis..

Allowing Shanice to lie on her lap

The first close up picture of the two together...

My favourite... she wanted to carry meimei though she din noe how to... but after we helped her, she was very happy

Birth Story of Shanice

2009-11-29T15:28:00.003+08:00

Luckily like the first birth, this was a short one, very much shorter, all in a matter of few hours.

The school had strategic planning on 18th, 19th and 20th nov, planning to rest these 3 days to get ready for the birth.

5pm - appointment to see gynae, checked my dilation and was very stressed whether to send me home or to the hospital as he felt i would give birth anytime. But i told him i felt no cramps, no contractions, no spotting, so he did not insist i go.

6pm - sent for CTG, confirmed his suspicion the birth would be really soon. The CTG showed that my contractions had already set in. Convinced gynae that i would call him once my cramps set in and he would not have to worry about instructing me how to give birth in the cab.

7.10pm - reached Lot 1 for my Sakae sushi, cramps set in, made up our mind to go to hospital after the meal.

8.50pm - reached hospital after sending Bernice to my mum's and picking up the bag from home.

9.00pm - went to labour ward to get ready

9.40pm - pain unbearable, sent to the delivery room

10.11pm - SHANICE was born

ok, will update the photos soon..

Bernice's version of ABC

2009-11-16T07:46:00.002+08:00

... DEF..J...MNO....STUVWX...now i know my ABC, next time wun you say i love you...?

Ok, the last part is from Barney's song, no idea why she decided to integrate the two.

soon..

2009-11-13T22:46:00.003+08:00

Bernice's sister is going to arrive soon, (2cm dilated). I have been psychoing her to come out on Tuesday (17th nov), not because it is a good date, but because it is after my ma la lunch date. I hope i can tahan til then...

alright, i will update soon.

Down to 2 names:

Beatrice or Shanice ?

Haiyah, i am so tired...

2009-10-29T09:23:00.002+08:00

This is what bernice has been saying every morning at 6.15am when we wake her up to get ready to go popo's house.

Not sure if she is really really tired, or i have been saying it so she picked it up.

at 2 years 7 months...

2009-10-25T21:24:00.003+08:00

I am simply not sure whether i have no patience for Bernice, or she is simply wearing my patience out... haha, sounds so negative hor, but this is when she is in her hyperhyper mood, which is like 90% of the time.

how bad?

the typical throw tantrum toddler, short of sitting on the floor of toysrus screaming for a toy. Then thats ok wat, you may say. Well, thats because i have not tried that yet, on my own. haha

She is only afraid of Daddy, not sure if it is good or bad. Other than him, no one else seems to be able to control her. sometimes i wonder if it is because of Daddy thats why she is so bad tempered, or because she is so bad tempered, thats why Daddy has to do this. hai.

The latest from her, when we dun give her what she wants, or we beat her on her palm or reprimand her. "I dun wan Mummy already." "I dun wan popo already" "I dun wan yiyi already."

ok, enough of my lamenting. hopefully, daddy, myself and bernice will all improve together.

The words on the shirt are my hope.

She calls this purse her wallet, and it reminds me of what she said recently, when she forgot to bring it home from popo house and we were taking the lrt to lot 1. She went, with her palm on her forehead, "hai yah, i forgot to bring my wallet."

i am back

2009-10-14T07:31:00.002+08:00

I have been really really not been updating this blog. Too many things to do, assignments after assignments with less than 3 weeks in between the deadlines.

Weekdays are spent in school til 5,6pm, nights are spent with bernice til she sleeps at nine, and usually, i will sleep with her. Weekends are spent with saturdays out the whole day, sundays at my parents-in-law or spent doing assignments.

Not many pictures taken of bernice too as we seldom go out now.

Maternity leave is not going to happen anytime earlier than when i give birth, too many activities in school still going on, not that i am indispensable, but i still need to complete it.

Alright will post more pictures of bernice soon.

Talking about her, she is a big girl already, 2years7months.. can talk alot though not many can understand her.

The most classis will be," I wan go mummy school to see bishes..."

haha, i will reveal the answer soon...

Jelita trip

2009-07-13T10:51:00.004+08:00

Two weeks back, we went Jelita, its a small complex near Henry Park Primary. Daddy calls it the rich people supermarket. Coz there are many ang mohs there, many big cars there and they even have small trolleys for small children to push around.

We were in the cold storage with bernice in the big trolley, until she drooled when she saw another kid pushing the red baby trolley, so we decided to transfer our purchases into a red baby trolley for her to push around. She was having a super good time. Then she started putting what she wanted to buy inside without our permission. haha.

"Talking back"

2009-07-13T10:41:00.002+08:00

Before i forget,

We went to ah ma's house yesterday, Bernice was playing with my soon-to-be sis in law. And, after that Bernice managed to get $2 worth of coins from her. At night, bernice got another few dollars of coins from ah ma again. So, she was pretty rich yesterday.

While we were going home in a taxi, alot of conversations took place between bernice and ah ma,

This is the only one i can remember enough to pen it down.

Me: Dear dear, next time you cannot take money from jie jie (soon-to-be sis in law) ok?
Her reply had me kow-towing to her and banging my head agst. the wall.
.
.
.
.
Bernice: i only take coin.

haha, i tried consoling myself that she is sincerely not talking back and the reasons i have come up with are
1) this is the limited vocab she has
2) she really thinks money is different from coin. money is notes, and coin is coin.
3) She can be a future banker, coin is really smaller in value than her version of money, and thus the word "only".

That's all i can think of.

Dancing

2009-07-06T21:24:00.003+08:00

In case you are feeling bored, let bernice entertain you for a while, though its less than 7 seconds, it took me at least 5, 6 takes and a whole day of coaxing before she would do it again.

Entertaining, cute, and i wun see this when she grows a little older and knows how to feel paisei.

Pardon her last action of rubbing her nose, she is having a running nose, and when we brought her to the polyclinic today, she had to wear a mickey mouse mask. Cant upload the photo here yet.

Quick updates

2009-06-19T16:31:00.003+08:00

Third week of holidays coming to an end.

Came back from Cambodia last week.

Bernice can speak four to five word sentence now. She is like me, speaking Singlish, speaking Chinese-English sentences, speaking Hokkien words like mai (don't want) and jiak boong (eat rice).

Recent pics

New shirt from Cambodia, and a new book from Borders.

Buy TV

2009-05-08T11:15:00.002+08:00

Popo just subscribed to mio tv, and there was some technical problems. So she was talking aloud to herself and said," TV spoil, how?"

I don't think she expected any reply and all this while, bernice was there and she decided to teach popo what to do with her limited 2-3 word sentence ability. So, she blurted out,"BUY TV."

At night, just before sleeping, bernice was on the phone with popo, and she was ased again what to do if the TV spoil, she replied. After the phone was hung up, while lying on the mattress, i asked again, (haha, abit bo liao to keep asking, but its so cute to hear her say buy Tv). So this time, she think that its too boring to give me just that same answer. So, she replied,"buy tv, ....... plaza (bukit panjang plaza)....... pink one."

Hmmm, ok, so she wants to buy a new pink tv from plaza. oh, she does know how to say a few colors, maybe she just happen to remember pink.

Its not all that bad..

2009-05-02T22:46:00.002+08:00

Haha, in order not to discount my photography skills and bernice's cooperativeness. I do have a few nice shots, though the number is nothing compared to the not so nice ones.

Dada..

"creative" shots

2009-05-02T22:43:00.002+08:00

Ok, this is what i mean...

1) i don't know why she decided to open her mouth so widely
2) that was deliberate...
3) frowning and refusing to look at my camera
4) deliberately refusing to let me take a proper shot

I am still alive... and kicking

2009-05-02T22:08:00.003+08:00

Ok, this is a post to signify i am still alive ... and kicking but not kicking very strongly though... so tired recently. Been zapped of all energy to do anything.

Nevertheless, still captured moments of Bernice and i will continue to update on her progress towards mischief. heehee

Anyway, she appeared on Sunday Times' Life Section after a long long time since Daddy sent in her photo. Think it was on 12th april. Was rather surprised that many friends and colleagues saw it and smsed or told me about it when they saw me in school.

Bernice has started to pick up what we said rather quickly and she is very quick at imitating us, especially what we don't really want. Will update on this again.

Her photos..... A few months back, it was hard to take her photos because she was always moving. Now it is even more difficult, either she is always moving, or if she is not, she will make funny faces. My next few photo mosaics will demonstrate that..

The first...

She loves to put on these medals.. and daddy will pretend to shake hands with her and congratulate her. Oh, these were what i won in primary school, jc and in zss. Haha, neither were my effort, which daddy kept emphasizing to me, as i exercise only once in a year now. Just in case you are intereseted, the medals were for, netball, softball, interhouse games relay and staff rely 8 by 50m, of which i ran less than 50m in 2004. haha.. so you see, none of them were individual.. i managed to parasite on others for my medals. heeehee

Oei...

2009-03-21T00:20:00.002+08:00

Just when i thought her mischief was over for the day, i was proven wrong...

I was putting Bernice to bed, she was still quite energetic and ran to the living room to play..

I did not go after her, and pretended to fall asleep at her mattress..

She yelled," Mummmmmy, Mummmy..."Then, ran into the room, beside me, and continued her, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy...."

After at least 20 "Mummmmmmmys", she could not take it anymore that i was not responding and went ,"Mummy, Mummy, OEI..."

This worked well, i immediately opened my eyes big big and looked at her, and decided to stop preaching to her for the moment.

After reflection, it is really our fault, Daddy and myself address each other, "Aye, Oei." So, it slowly seeped into her. And, she thinks it is the right way of calling us. We seriously must change our way of addressing each other, and think carefully before saying anything in front of her.

Talk about terrible twos, she is not even one month past two...

HAI HAI...

Misuse of Sorry

2009-03-21T00:13:00.004+08:00

Teaching Bernice 'sorry' has come a long way...

Initially, she refused to repeat after me when i taught her.

After that, she was more willing to repeat, after we told her what she has done wrong and asked her to apologize.

Today, she was throwing her toys about. As usual, i went to her, looked at her with my sternest face possible, and told her why she should not be doing that, and as usual, asked her to apologise to whoever her toy was near to hitting. She faithfully did as i told her.

Not more than five minutes later, she was repeating her throwing act. Immediately after that, she looked at me, smiled and said sorry. This got everyone laughing, and got her gleeful with the attention she was getting. After a while, she did that for another time, threw something and said sorry, without thinking.

Definitely, saying sorry does not mean she meant it.

Parenting certainly is not easy.

HAI...

How well do you know your first born?

2009-03-17T01:06:00.004+08:00

Like shaggyfish, i don't really update my facebook and i too got tagged by Magdalene.

How much you remember about your baby?

Let's see how much I remember my child/first born :

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Not really, but sort of. We planned to try after 6 months of marriage and i got pregnant in the seventh.

2. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
I thought there was some problem with the test kit and i tested two times within two days, before i went to the doctor.

3. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
26

4. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Food in the food court made me nauseous.

5. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Hubby

6. DID YOU FIND OUT THE GENDER ?
Yes

7. DUE DATE? 21 March 2007

8. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Evening Sickness. I would end up watering the plants with my vomit while walking home form BPP. Yucks!

9. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Nothing. I just ate all the food that daddy din allow when i was not with him. So, no craving. haha

10. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Daddy naggin at me, cannot eat this, cannot eat that, cannot do this, cannot do that, stop doing this, stop doing that, you do this will...., you do that will....., we must......, we must not...... the list goes on...

11. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S GENDER? Female

12. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Not really

13. HOW MANY KILO'S DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
7 kg. And, it has been with me ever since.

14. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? No

15. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
both

16. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? No

17. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Thomson Medical

18. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOUR?
Less than 2 hours

19. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Taxi uncle

20. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Daddy, Gynae, nurses

21. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

22. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? No

23. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 2.73 kg

24. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? 3 March 2007

25. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Bernice Lee

26. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 2 years, 13 days haha

The time has come

2009-03-16T10:43:00.005+08:00

My sis and i brought Bernice to Macdonalds yesterday. She has the weirdest way of pronouncing Macdonalds, which i don't even know how to put it down here. If we have the chance of meeting, i will get her to live telecast it to you.

Anyway, we were there, and i got her a packet of Magnolia milk. She wanted to drink it, so she started shouting,"milk, milk". I told her, " say softly, don't shout."

So, i expected her to say milk softly or say ok...

What she said next had my sis choking with laughter while she was drinking her coke.

.
.
.
.

Bernice said,"softly." (it wasnt accurately pronounced, but it meant softly)

I was in a daze. Isn't this the "duh" answer i would get from students or i would give to my students when i am in the "duh" mood???

Oh no, retribution...

The time has come to improve my English

Slumdog millionaire

2009-03-16T10:36:00.002+08:00

Been hearing alot about "Slumdog millionaire", about how good the movie is.. however i am never a fan of movies. Can't stand sitting there for 2 hours, can't stand the commercials before the movie.

My sister had this book, so i borrowed it yesterday when i was spending the night there with bernice and daddy's away for a school camp. Hmmm, think its a good book, great storyline. And, i think i will finish the book and not just skip and read the last chapter like what i do to most novels and drama serials. heehee.

If i managed to finish this book, i will probably wait for the movie to be released on dvd and watch the movie at home.

Starry starry night

2009-03-14T00:52:00.005+08:00

When i was in secondary school and used to go camping at the campsite at Pulau Ubin, it was a nightmare. Nothing half as comfortable as the camps they have now.

1)We had to walk all the way from the jetty to the Ulu campsite half an hour away, with the CIs on bicycles hurrying us along.

2) The mosquitoes there were highly trained and buzzing in our ears the whole night through.

3) The CIs then pumped us like nobody's business.

4) The slope from the assemble area in the campsite to our tents was rather steep and muddy. And, instead of running down, i ended up rolling down most of the time.

5) Night patroling was horrible. Already super tired still had to do night patroling. Once, i got left
behind by my group coz they claimed they woke me up and i acknowleged them but i did not follow. They came up and found me sleeping there. The best part was while they were checking attendance, they din even discover me missing!!! What if i had been eaten by a wild boar???

Anyway, the point is the only enjoyable part about going Ubin is that the stars there are very beautiful as there are not so many lights.

Beautiful.. .

Elmo cake

2009-03-04T13:15:00.002+08:00

Elmo cake is the first "2 words" she can say..

And, her birthday was celebrated with the Elmo cake.

She saw the cake after she woke from her afternoon nap. And, she refused to let go of the box and insisted on looking at the elmo cake while she was sitting on the floor. And, she loved it so much, she was "muaking" the cake.

When we blew the candles at night, she was so happy that we were singing the birthday song for her and she was holding on to the knife waiting to disfigure the elmo.

Overall, she enjoyed it and she was busy saying Elmo cake elmo cake the whole day.

Bird day cake

2009-02-23T17:16:00.004+08:00

Think kids at this age also have an obsession with birthday cakes and birthday song and candles. We celebrated her lunar birthday a month or so back.

Her 'English' birthday is coming. And, i have been thinking of getting her an Elmo cake.

At home, there is this cupboard where there is an extra candle from last year placed there. So, when she open it, she will take it and say,"bird day" "cake" and clap her hands. I would just test her and ask her, "you want an Elmo cake?" she would nod her head and add"big bird". I would say, no big bird, just elmo, can? And, she would smile and nod her head.

She rememebered it and the next day i asked her to close the candle cupboard, she remembered and reminded me "happy bird day" "Elmo cake", "big bird".

I must remember to order her that cake. And, i just paid for it. YEAH.

Middle name

2009-02-16T22:06:00.003+08:00

I just had the time to read yesterday's papers and i was a little disturbed that it is more common for young people nowadays to come up with a middle name in addition to the English name that they already have. For example, Shaun Perry Png, Oliver James Tan and so on.

Why disturbed? All along, i do not have an English name, unless Weichi Lee Weiqi counts. So, initially, i did not have the intention to give Bernice an English name until some friends around me told me rather than let her grow up and give herself some funny English name, might as well her daddy and mummy give it to her. And, i was feeling rather happy about it until i saw in the newspaper that it is getting common to have a middle name. ARRRGH.. my hopes of her not giving a funny name to herself is dashed... haha

Ok, that aside, for a full list of the middle names that many famous people have , check out 15th Feb Sunday Times, Lifestyle.

Bernice and her favourite (only) cousin gor gor

2009-02-09T17:06:00.002+08:00

Bernice loves playing. Playing alone, playing with little kids her age, playing with anybody willing to entertain her.

This is her favourite and only cousin gor gor Keng Hien. He is the only child, P5 this year. At first he does not really know how to play with Bernice. But as time goes on, both of them know how to play with each other better. When we went ah ma's house to celebrate Bernice's birthday, she had a good time playing with gor gor.

We 'forced' them to take many photos together.

Hmm... as you can see, Bernice is in the mood for smiling.. when she hears "SMILE". She showed this smile probably coz shushu was telling gor gor to show his teeth when smiling and not just twitch his mouth muscles.

Mama to mummy, dada to daddy

2009-02-09T07:32:00.002+08:00

Yup, she has finally progressed from calling me mama to mummy, and her dada to daddy..

But she is misusing it.... haha

When she does something wrong, like throwing things all over, throwing tantrum, drawing on the wall, putting her hands into the toilet bowl to play with water. I will tell her with a strict face, " look at mummy." Then, she will give me that guilty look and call mummmmmyyyyy. Hai, then i will remind myself not to be taken in.

She just celebrated her lunar birthday at her ah ma's house with a cake from bengawan solo. Will post the photos soon.

Smile..

2009-02-03T11:27:00.003+08:00

While walking along the path towards BPP, i took out the camera, attempting to take photos of Bernice. Daddy was trying his luck when he told Bernice, Smile.

And, she did... hahahaha

This looks a little forced... but well, it is, coz she was like that just before...

She wanted me to give her the camera..

"SMILE." take 2

Ok, i don't mean to put so many photos of her smiling, but i really don't know which to choose and bighugelabs.com was down so i could not collage the pictures.

We are nearing mid-week, SMILE!

Not the sofa....

2009-02-03T10:37:00.007+08:00

This is basically the only place she sits on at home...

Never has the sofa been sat on by her for more than 20 seconds unless the daddy forces her.

otherwise, she would be sitting on the floor playing with her toys or flipping her books.

When we go to the park near our house, she will dash about at the playground, and one thing which i got no idea where she pick up. She likes to walk on the bricks which form the kerb, on her own.

Ok, my fault for not being a good role model... hehe

Bernice and Nimbus

2009-01-20T10:46:00.003+08:00

Bernice just loves dogs.

And, so when i was invited to Auntie Charlene's house, i was quite excited that bernice can have a good time with the dog. Nimbus was a very fast dog, and she was so excited to get close to Bernice, so half the time, bernice was trying to get away from Nimbus face to face contact. Nevertheless, bernice still wanted to touch and play with Nimbus.

Trying to convince her that Nimbus will not jump on her again.

Cabbage mama

2009-01-20T10:41:00.002+08:00

This was when we brought her to NTUC and she insisted on touching the fruits and vegetables.

Haha, like her coordinated eyes-to-the-left shot.

Sunglass mafia

2009-01-20T10:32:00.002+08:00

Bernice loves wearing sunglasses.
When she sees my sunglass box, she will say, "ga.., ga..", trying to see glasses, which means her sunglasses. Now, i know why only mothers can understand what toddlers are saying.

This is her enjoying looking at herself in my gigantic wardrobe mirror.

Happier

2009-01-15T09:44:00.002+08:00

Had a good talk with my boss and boss boss, everything is cleared after much insistence from them, and dreadery from me.

My ability has been reassured, my doubts have been cleared.

I have been told of things about promotion, how i am viewed by the school, and that there is such thing about fair. In other words, people who are less able may get promoted faster. Well, that is the cruel reality. Some of the things which i know, i should not have known.

Anyway, i am just praying that the camp will go well.

New Year Resolutions

2008-12-30T16:23:00.004+08:00

Seems a little early, but if i don't start now, the next time i come in, i will have to write the title as, "Chinese New year Resolutions."

Hmmm, i have never set resolutions in my life before, because i know myself too well, i will never ever fulfil my new year resolutions.

However, with my new and more workload (it is so full that i am not given any classes to teach CME, or to do babysitting). Hai, as my good old master said, my retribution is here after 4.5 years.

So, my new year resolution is:

1) To not be a procrastinator -- finish each day's work as it comes

2) To spend quality time with bernice.

This is the most recent photo of Bernice, taken 2 days ago. She looks rather different with her hair tied.

Bernice's letter

2008-12-11T10:39:00.004+08:00

To all the aunties, jie jies and gor gor who sent your well wishes to me either through smses or tagging,

thank you very much. Both my mummy and i were very touched to receive the words of concern when we were at the hospital. I was discharged two days ago on Tuesday. So, officially I have been there from the 4th Dec to the 9th Dec.

Initially i vomitted, but when i reached the hospital. My vomitting stopped, but my diarrhoea came. And, i had no appetite to eat or drink. Due to this, i had to be put on drip. It was SUPER DUPER painful.

Finally, i decided to eat something after fasting for 4 days, and i slowly recovered and was allowed to go back.

Yeah.

(That's me on the super duper painful drip, on the second day. Mummy says i have "lost a circle" due to my several days of fasting, she will post my photos soon)

Love,
Bernice.

KKH

2008-12-05T15:35:00.002+08:00

That's where Bernice has been since yesterday due to gastro.... don't know what. Vomiiting, diarrhoea.

She is going to be on drip today, as she did not want to eat and drink for fear of puking again, probably.

Will update again.

Elmo show

2008-12-01T13:21:00.005+08:00

For those who love Elmo or Sesame street, check this out

Marina Square
Date: til 7 December
Time: Weekdays (1pm, 7pm), weekends (1pm, 4pm, 7pm)

Its about 15-20 minutes, a good show, Bernice was just so engrossed in it.

We wanted to watch the 1pm show, but we were late, so we only caught the last 4 minutes of the show. And, we did something we would never do if not for Bernice. Haha. We went down to Orchard Borders, and went back Marina square at 3.45pm to get a good place to stand to watch Elmo. The performance is at the second floor, the best place will be at the third floor, so that you will not be blocked and will get a good view down at the stage.

(i need to declare, this photo was not taken by my G9 and its owner, that's why the auntie is so clear in the background, heehee)

oh, this was taken when we were late for the show.

That's Bernice, so totally engrossed, she is trying to say 'hello' to Elmo by waving to him.

While we were at Borders, I let her come down and walk, she was walking around happily and recently, she is more ok with letting me hold her hand. She caught sight of this set of Sesame Street books, and kept on holding them. So, i got her to bring it to Daddy, who was at the History Section of Borders, to ask for permission to buy the books.

At Sentosa

2008-11-20T14:27:00.002+08:00

A few weeks back, we went with my parents and sister to sentosa. It was a very hot afternoon, quite a good weather to visit the beach, however.....

the gong gong was nagging away that the weather was too hot for the little one, and that we can't let her walk around like that or she will get sick under the hot sun, so the gong gong asked us for the umbrella and sheltered the little one. We had to walk 50 metres away from them, so that we would not be embarrassed by the umbrella duo at the beach. haha...

We thought bernice would love to run on the beach as she loved to run all about, and the beach would be a good and safe place for her to run. But to our surprise....

Gong gong had to sweep the sand off her feet for her to stop her whining..

the friendly her who loves dogs, cats, and lizards (ga ga). Oh, whenever i pointed out lizard to her, she would stretch out her hand, palms open, for me to put the lizard on her hands. Not sure if she really dared to let the lizard crawl on her hand, but one thing for sure is i do not even dare to hold the lizard myself. hehe

the dao dog who ignored her... hehe

the bored her trying to entertain herself, as the dogs that we saw either ignored her or were too big for her. haha

Sweet

2008-11-17T22:46:00.002+08:00

Bernice wanted to watch her Elmo vcd, brought it to me, so i told her to sit on the sofa before i switch it on for her. She obliged. I was next to the TV. Soon after the show started, she beat the space next to her, looked at me and wanted me to sit beside her. I obliged too.

Stacking books

2008-11-17T22:36:00.002+08:00

Just when i thought my dear girl has turned over a new leaf and decided to stack books instead of throwing books off the table, i was wrong. This was the first time i managed to capture these pictures of her stacking the books nicely, neatly and patiently, and also the last.

Nicely done.

picking up some more

After stacking them up, she decides to spread them all over the floor, one by one, nicely spread out. And, this is the only time i have seen her doing things patiently, painstakingly taking each book and placing them on the floor, there were at least 30 books. Of course, maybe thats why its also the last time she is doing it. hai...

at work..

still at work ...

all the way to the door and the final touches

My name is not no no

2008-11-17T22:12:00.003+08:00

Another shirt was made following the angel shirt, and this was what i put on the shirt. "My name is not no-no."

Not too long ago, she was in my bedroom, trying to take something which she knew she was not supposed to take, before she took it, she shook her finger and said no-no. That made me shocked that she knew how to say it. Of course, she did not mean what she said, and took the photo immediately after she said no no.

Now, Bernice is waiting for Fluffy to wear the same shirt as her. :-)

The cheeky little one

2008-11-10T11:23:00.003+08:00

i was on msn with shaggyfish, talking about holiday classes for the young ones and that i am fearful of sending her to school as i am worried the teacher will call and complain to me about bernice.

shaggyfish consoled me and said she will be ok. I was almost convinced til i saw these photos which i was uploading on to photobucket.

How to convince myself?

Mafia

2008-11-10T09:54:00.002+08:00

I bought this pair of kidzbanz for her quite some time back. all other colors out of stock so i chose black. took it out for her the first time i bought it and she din really like it. Took it out again recently and she enjoyed going around with it.

Hug Barney

2008-11-09T22:53:00.002+08:00

She is so in love with Barney and Elmo, to the extent when she see other small kids wear shirts with Elmo or Barney, she will go, '' Elmo.... elmo... elmo..." or "Bar Bar, Bar Bar".

So yi yi decided to buy her a Barney shirt. When she first wore it, she was super happy and super excited. And, we too got her to do funny things like she would to her soft toy Barney, like hugging and kissing. The kissing part was a little cruel, i have to admit. Look at the video and you will know why she decided to run away without kissing Barney.

Scrap book

2008-11-09T22:20:00.003+08:00

Wah... so nice right?

Heehee.. not done by me. I have the great honour of getting Shaggyfish do this for Bernice.

Thank you again.

Luv it so much, i am going to get the frames for it, from Made with love.

Character

2008-11-09T22:06:00.003+08:00

She is starting to show us that she has her character, and very strong indeed.

You don't give her what she wants, she will 'piak' you on your head when you carry her away. Since she trying to show me she got character, i must also show that i dun give up easily. haha. So, i don't let her get what she wants.

Hai, it is almost a war everyday.

And, she is quite a distance from 2 years old, then there will be some months of terrible twos before we pass that.

Jia you!

Some very sweet photos of her to deceive you...

Sad update but i am ok

2008-11-06T21:12:00.004+08:00

An assignment is due on the 10th Nov, that explains why the poor time managment me has not been updating. Will try to do it soon.

I have been doing less blog hopping these days, and it was rather sad that one of them had no good news. She is a mother, with three boys, eldest 7, youngest one year old. Apparently from what i gathered, her husband did her wrong once, and i believed she gave him a second chance. However, as i read her blog again recently, it seems like the husband did her wrong again, and now she is trying to manage life without him. As mentioned by her, she used to be ferried around, and now she had to drive alone and it was very very different and sad for her.

Whenever i used to watch Chinese dramas with the wives still staying with the husbands despite being cheated or abused, i would always comment," Stupid women, just live on your own lah, why still stay with this type of idiotic men." As i grew older, have my own family, i realise that that is not stupidity, that is plain sacrifice, sacrifice for the children, sacrifice for their fear of the unknown future. I understand.

"No more"

2008-10-20T09:56:00.003+08:00

Gong gong showed Bernice a magic trick involving coins and making the coin disappear. It involved putting the coin under his armpit, behind his head and so on.

Realising that gong gong is not so clever as to really make the coin disappear, or that she can be clever enough to learn that trick as well, she decided to imitate what she saw.

A day after gong gong showed her the trick, she decided to show off her trick. She took the coins from gong gong, put one under her armpit, and proudly declared "no more, no more" while showing the action with her hands.

We of course were surprised that she could do this, and were "wahing away". And, she of course was delighted at all the attention she was getting.

Yiyi got the happy meal toy, the powerpuff girl, with the body and legs detachable. She decided to do her "not so tricky" trick again. She put the leg under her armpit and declared the same thing.

Yesterday, while Daddy and I were having dinner at po po's house, she walked to the cabinet, opened it and took out a metal plate. We always did not allow her to open the cabinet to take the plates ans she may break the ceramic ones. So, once she grabbed hold of that metal plate, she walked to the living room, put the plate under her armpit and declared "no more no more". Hmmm, she forgot that she was clever, but we were cleverer to see the rest of the plate jutting out from her armpit.

That's the life of toddlers, so innocent, so pure..

Bebelicious shirts

2008-10-20T09:26:00.005+08:00

Saw this on my table when i came to school this morning.

After one week plus, the personalised shirts that we order from bebelicious.com arrived.
A long time was spent pondering over which design to choose, which colours to use, which font to take, what personalised message to add.

Finally, we decided.

For Bernice:

For Chloe:

For the next one that i am going to make, i am going to choose pink, its so sweet...

I have already confirmed the message that i will put on her shirt, "My name is not no-no." (recommended by my master) Nowadays, i have been going "no no" at her for everything she does.

no no, cannot throw this
no no, cannot run
no no, cannot touch this
no no, cannot beat your head
no no, cannot take this
no no, cannot touch your shoes
no no, cannot shout

and, the list goes on.

So maybe its time to remind myself to let her try more things and to not "no no" for every little thing.

Updates about no updates

2008-10-19T14:00:00.002+08:00

Realised i have not been bringing bernice out for two weekends to places like parks or zoos. And, thus i have not much to update about her.

Elmo puzzle .... no more

2008-10-12T13:23:00.003+08:00

Bernice was into Elmo, big bird and cookie monster, so i got her a Elmo and big bird puzzle from ebay. The buyer said that the paint on elmo's nose wore off, but it did not really bother me since it was just $9 and she would be so thrilled to see elmo and big bird. After many attempts of arranging to meet the seller, i finally got it the last Thursday, showed it to Bernice, she was happy and immediately name Elmo as "Amo" instead of "momo" which she used to call it and Big bird as "bi bir".

Daddy asked me why Elmo's nose and feet had paint peeling off, i just said it could be due to wear and tear. This morning, while i was out, that elmo puzzle caught his attention again, he decided to wash it and was disturbed that he could scratch off the paint. He turned the puzzle behind and true enough to him, it was made in China, from Mattel company.

If you could recall, last year, toys from Mattel company were recalled. Toys such as polly pocket, pixar cars and so on were recalled.

Without hesitation, the elmo puzzle was thrown away.

I went online, searched the internet and found the following article...

Aug 14, 2007 11:35 pm US/Eastern
Mattel Recalls 9 Million More Chinese-Made Toys
Polly Pocket Dolls, Batman Action Figures, 'Cars' Jeep Affected
CBS News Interactive: A Timeline Of Toys
Mattel Toy Recall List
NEW YORK (CBS News) ― Mattel has recalled 9 million Chinese-made toys, including Polly Pockets play sets and Batman action figures, because of dangers to children from lead paint or tiny magnets that could be swallowed.

Two weeks ago, Mattel's Fisher-Price division announced the worldwide recall of 1.5 million Chinese-made preschool toys — featuring characters such as Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo — over lead paint.

Arrrgh, and she put Elmo's head into her mouth once....

(if you zoom in, you can actully see the paint wearing off)

Chalet at Downtown East

2008-10-11T17:58:00.002+08:00

Ok, this is backdated..

After going out with my friends for dim sum lunch and to Pasir Ris pet farm, we went to my cousin's chalet.

Tiring day for Bernice, even more tiring day for me, as she did not have her usual 2 naps per day, so she was rather "pek chek"

We had to entertain her with things that were in yiyi's bag, so this was the perfect one, sesame street stickers. Yiyi pasted them on her hand, she played around with them, and eventually decided this would be their final destination...

Not very happy after Daddy refused to let her come down as she refused to let us hold and wanted to just run wildly around the place

This is my cousin's daughter, 5 months younger than Bernice. Bernice was born on 03-03-2007, and Yi xuan on 08-08-2007. Oh, Bernice is Yi zhen, by the way. So both of them have Yi.

Yi Xuan took a while to warm up to the new surroundings. As for Bernice, she is alright with new surroundings and anybody (hmmm, except for one of my friends) should be able to carry her within 5 seconds.

For the above picture, the rest of us were trying to get the both of them to take a photo together. Think we were asking Bernice to hold xuan xuan's hands and xuan xuan was a little scared of her. haha.

Next, we got Bernice to hug xuan xuan, it was really cute and sweet. Bernice hugged her and xuan had no choice but to let her hug. I did not manage to capture that. Aiyah.

Zoo Trip

2008-10-09T08:51:00.002+08:00

We went to the Zoo a few weeks back. A little disappointing as we did not see as many animals as we had thought. And the children's zoo was still under construction. And, many of the animals were sleeping.

One thing good was that Bernice really enjoyed it, and she practically waved to all the animals that she see. And, from this trip, she learned a new word, "monk" which means monkey.

Out with Mummy's friends

2008-10-09T06:52:00.003+08:00

I always feel i have very few close friends, less than five, to be precise, five. However, i also think i am very fortunate to have them, because I have known them since I was in Secondary one, so that's 14 years. We seldom meet up, only about twice a year or so, but whenever we meet, we never run out of things to say.

Arranging the date to meet up is a challenge.
Weekdays - can't meet when they knock off because the teacher need to tuck the baby to bed at nine and need to wake up early, so no energy to stay out
Saturday - family day for the three of us
Sunday - to Ah gong and ah ma's house
Holidays - also hard to arrange because Daddy is also on holiday, and holiday is not really holiday especially now that i have lessons on three full days for three weeks during the november holidays.

Anyway, it was a good day for us. We met, we talked, we went out together. Bernice had a good time too, not scared of Auntie Charlene and Auntie Pris and gor gor, and had no problems with them carrying her.

Singapore Flyer

2008-09-30T12:11:00.002+08:00

Nearly one month since i last updated.

Well, even this is rather back dated. But better than no updates right?

A few transports she can name:
1) car
2) ba (bus)
3) ca-e-ca (cable car)
4) she cant say train, but she will be excited by it

We brought her to the Singapore flyer, since teachers fly for free.

She quite liked it. Before we went up, she pointed to it excitedly. When we finished the 30min ride, we pointed to it and she said, "mo more (no more)".

RSAF Open house 2008

2008-09-06T12:35:00.002+08:00

When i went Perak, Daddy brought Bernice to RSAF open house @ Paya Lebar Airbase. She enjoyed watching the aeroplanes and helicopter. And, she could tell you the difference between how an aeroplane flies and how a helicopter flies. I will try to capture it on video or demo to you when i see you. As you know, Murphy's law goes, if i want to capture it on video with all my barang ready, she will not do it, but once i keep it, she will show it.

So, after i came back on Monday night, Daddy showed me the photos he took with 2 black knights and the plane. Then i casually asked, " wah, black knights ah, you got take with Philip Chionh anot?" Well, i guess he don't know who Philip Chionh is, and he did not really bother if he was there. So, he did not answer me.

The weather was super hot then, that explains the sulky Bernice. (alamak, Daddy is so short)

Then i decide to try my luck by zooming in the photo.

Haha, that is Philip Chionh. Just coincidence.

Rainbow

2008-09-05T23:23:00.002+08:00

Because of the rain, because of reflection, refraction and don't know what else, (forgot to ask neighbor no. 2) i got this beautiful shot. Not forgetting my new toy which enabled me to take this shot. 50% of my shots are not good as i still don't really know how to take photos with the different modes.

For you...

2008-09-05T23:11:00.002+08:00

Very happy to see you back,
Not sure if you are affected by what you hear,
hope you are not.
You have been great,
and you still are.
you have been a great mentor to me,
learnt everything from you,
the five year long service award has all your footprints.

For you...

(ps: don't think of leaving me and all of us alone in this school ah, i already feel everybody leaving me already, must come back ok? )

Back

2008-09-03T21:58:00.003+08:00

I came back two days ago from my ODAC trip with neighbor no. 2. Enjoyable, exciting, new experience. Relaxing for me though it was supposed to be quite tiring, 8 hours of traveling to Perak, plus strenuous activities there.

I used to detest long trips, nothing to do on the bus, ultimately boring. However, this time, i enjoyed all the periods of time i had to do nothing, to stare blankly into the sky, to read a book which i could never ever finish even after 6 weeks. Simply loved the feeling of doing nothing. No need to rush home to do housework, no home commitments to fulfill. Sounds irresponsible hor?

But, but, but, i definitely miss Bernice lots.

Oh, yah, Daddy also loved this period of time that i am not around. Finally, he can have his sole bonding time with Bernice. One great thing he managed to do was that he managed to bring her to watch RSAF open house by public transport. He is the only one who is able to do this without much fussing by Bernice.

More about RSAF open house in the next post.

And more about my ODAC trip in the next next post.

Rushing more assignments ..... again. Why do they never end?

Teacher's Day

2008-08-29T16:04:00.003+08:00

I am supposed to be in the library now preparing for my exam in 2 hours time. However, i feel the need to put up this post.

Every teacher's day, i will always be in deep thoughts. Thinking of why i teach, has what i have taught really benefitted my students, have i not done well enough, and so on...

For all the presents, cards, and self made cookies and muffins i have received from my students this year, thank you very much. From deciding to write the card, to writing the card, to bringing the card to school, to finding the teacher and giving the teacher your card or present, it all takes effort. And, that effort is much appreciated.

I have been the form teacher of 4N1 since the beginning of last year. And, probably i will be the form teacher of 5N1 as well. Being their form teacher has not been easy, especially when i don't teach the whole class, and honestly, when i do go into their class, i am always lecturing or scolding them for their results and behavior. So, it must have been a little torturing for them.

This year, i received something very special from them. A self made huge card, where they wrote something for me. i was touched that each of them who wrote actually wrote quite a lot.

Thank you, 4N1. All the best for your N levels next week. Remember, you have come a long way, don't give up. Jia you.

Ballie time

2008-08-24T11:24:00.002+08:00

The most demure shot of Bernice ever

Thats how fast she is moving around.. blur shot

kicking the ball, actually, she only kicked it once, then she was chasing the ball after that.

throwing the ball

At Marina Square

2008-08-24T11:07:00.003+08:00

This was taken last week, love the shots.
Daddy was watching some science experiment show, and he was carrying bernice. Just happen that the balloon man was just next to us, so i queued up to get her a balloon. Well, she loves it, but she loves those that do not belong to her more. haha

The MILO experience

2008-08-24T10:51:00.004+08:00

She is becoming more and more like me, eating all the junk food. She is not that HC, and she settles for all kinds of potato chips, be it the high class brand or the low end brands. haha. As long as it is junky enough, she will eat.

Her first MILO experience. Photos are a little underexposed as i am still not quite familiar with the settings and no time to play around with it. Outdoor shots are great though.

Partially solved

2008-08-24T00:10:00.002+08:00

Mystery partially solved.
She is hitting her head probably because she can't express her anger verbally. But then again, what a way to express anger.

So, our conclusion is that when she hits her head again, either we will ignore the behavior and not give the behavior unwanted attention. Or, we will just hold her hand to prevent her from hitting her head. We will try not to exclaim aloud like what we normally do. Hopefully, when she can speak, she will stop this. Or when she realises nobody pays more attention to her tantrums just because she is hitting her head will make her stop also.

If she still goes on doing this even when she can talk, it may mean more severe things. And, one horrible word i see in the below article is autism. Arrggh.... haha, ok i am thinking too much

Back to doing my 2500 word assignment...

Article
A not-so-happy little headbangerJane Forester, DO
Why is your child -- who seems perfectly normal -- all of the sudden banging his head on the wall every time he gets mad? (And no, he's not listening to hardcore music when you're not around.) Get some information about this worrisome but not uncommon toddler behavior here.

The question:My son is almost a year and a half old, and has started to bang his head on the wall or the floor when he's mad or frustrated. We try not to react too much, but we are shocked! He's an only child and I don't know where he would learn such a thing. What's going on -- does he have a real problem? Could this be a sign of autism? - Nora in Michigan

The physician answers:
Believe it or not, this behavior is very normal in a pre-verbal child, especially in a boy. At not quite 18 months old, your son does not have the verbal skills to express his frustration with the realities of the world and his own limitations, so he makes his feelings of displeasure clearly known to you. You and your partner are brilliant not to express your horror at your son's head banging, because this non-reaction will help to decrease this behavior.Given how hard kids can bang their heads, it's hard to imagine but head banging is generally not dangerous to your child, and normally does not indicate that he has autism or another neurological or psychological disorder. (Read more about autism here.)As for where he would learn to bang his head without a "role model" -- it is probably something he figured out all on his own. It should remind us of how innate it is for humans to express our frustration in any way we can.It is one of your jobs as a parent to help your son more properly channel his anger or frustration. You can start by having other activities ready for your son which are less frustrating to him, so when he starts banging his head, you can focus his attention on a better option.If -- overall -- your son is happy and accomplishing regular milestones of development there is typically no need to worry. However, if the head-banging increases in severity or frequency, or accompanies other odd behavior, sadness or developmental delays, I recommend speaking to your child's physician.Assuming your son is otherwise healthy and happy, there is not much too that you can do as parents to help except to keep him safe until he is ready to give up banging his head. In the meantime, during head banging episodes, work to redirect your son to different activities, and perhaps teach him less hurtful ways to express his frustration (such as stomping his feet or yelling into a pillow). You may also want to learn to walk away from him -- as long as he's not hurting himself -- so he doesn't continue to do it to get your attention and/or sympathy. Finally, know that as your son's speech and language abilities increase, this head banging will very likely decrease.Good luck with this difficult situation!

Dr Jane Forester
Family PhysicianGlencoe, Ilinois

Hitting head

2008-08-18T10:46:00.002+08:00

This has become a little stressful recently. Bernice is still hitting her head and she has been doing so for the past 4 months or even longer.

At first, we were not too worried and attributed it to:
1) trying to gain attention
2) angry or upset and she learnt the art of beating from Daddy, who will hit her hand when she does something wrong

Now, her head hitting is getting quite bad, as she will hit her head when she is not angry or upset even, and she is not trying to gain attention. As observed yesterday, when we are just carrying her or when she is just quiet, she can suddenly hit her head.

Yesterday night, just before she fall asleep, she was hitting her head quite a few times while lying down.

Now, this is gettting a little worrying, coz she hits her head quite hard. And, we have tried a few ways of getting her to stop but its not getting better.

Just hopes its not because she learnt this from Daddy, or because she is feeling insecure, or because .....

B****h, u dun like me?

2008-08-15T18:23:00.004+08:00

I don't know if i am too shocked to answer, or its because the answer is really yes that's why i did not answer.

As i am typing out the whole scenario, i am crossing my fingers, toes and hair and whatever not that she will never get to read this.

While we were eating together and talking about everything, we were suddenly on this topic about a certain person. So, i started to express my dislike about him, about his coloured hair, about how cool he thinks he is, about i don't care if he does not like me too. And, after i blabbered all this, she commented," WQ, you so bitchy one ah?" I went, "hahahaha, yah." Probably before that i also commented about her saying she looks more tired recently, not as talkative as last time. Then, after that, she decided to go and withdraw money from atm, so she stood up, asked me," WQ, is it u dun like me?" I was eating free bread from cafe cartel then, and this was the most shocking moment of my life. I continued eating my bread, and did not answer her at all. Because the answer was not really a no, so i can't go like, " No lah, of coz i like you lah." I am not such a diplomatic person, remember. I have grown to be more GL over the years in school.

Hello panda?

2008-08-11T14:27:00.002+08:00

Daddy: "Nah, let you touch this Hello Panda."
Bernice:"I want the pink color one."

After n times of changing for Bernice, Daddy says:"Ok, enough. We go and see other thing."
Bernice:" Why, why, why?"

Bestowed this title

2008-08-11T14:19:00.003+08:00

Specially dedicated to me. Edited and pasted on my cupboard by the master. Din know the master so IT literate as most of the time, i am the IT consultant or rather MS Excel consultant. haha

First Day as a real student

2008-08-05T10:30:00.003+08:00

My first day as a student started yesterday.
This was the day .....
1) i had to sit at a desk and listen to my lecturer.
2) instead of me walking around and giving out worksheets, i had to sit down there and receive the worksheets.
3) i sat down there and listen to my lecturer telling me how he is going to grade us instead of me telling the students how i am going to grade them.
4) i had to shut up in class instead of asking students to keep quiet and listen to me
5) i had to wait while my lecturer says," give me another 5 minutes to finish this last part", instead of me telling the students," give me another 5 minutes to finish this"
6) Finally, and worst of all, i had to listen to this," these are the 6 readings i printed for you today. Go and read them. We will discuss them the next tutorial."

hmmm, sir, besides the 6 readings, i still got a textbook to read to prepare for an exam on teacher's day eve, an assignment which requires me to read at least 3 journals.... AHHHH

But, based on experience, i think my lecturer will tell me this," you must learn how to manage your time well." Now, i must brainstorm all the lame excuses my students always tell me that i can tell my lecturer....... haha

At least, Daddy was in front of me, so i had someone to disturb to release a little stress from me

2008-08-05T10:11:00.006+08:00

Random photos

2008-07-31T10:17:00.003+08:00

Time really flies, Bernice has grown so fast, so much so much so that i think i am missing out on her developments. She can say a few words now and express her wants. Well, i will elaborate on this next time.

Photos...

Shhhh...

2008-07-28T11:38:00.002+08:00

Yiyi taught Bernice how to do the typical shhh... handsign (with the finger at the lips). So, Bernice knows how to do it when we ask her to show us. Well, i witness it once when i asked her to demonstrate it to me.

So, now she knows the basic, next she decides to show us that she knows how to apply it.

1) Opposite of shhh...
In the library, i told her,"Dear dear, in the library you must keep quiet ok?
show mummy shhhh." And, she demonstrated to me that she knows the
opposite of shhh, by responding with,"AHHHHHH"

2) You Shhhhh....
(a) While popo was carrying her and talking to her friend, Bernice showed
the auntie, Shhhh (with her fingers at her lips). Well, i supposed they did
not think it was rude for a one plus year old toddler to do that at her,
but wait till she does it 7 years later.

(b) At ah ma's house later, bernice was doing her usual business of throwing
everything out of everywhere, so ah ma was trying to talk and play with
her, so she asked," Wah, what are you doing? What are you throwing?"
She gazed at ah ma, and responded with ...... her newly learnt shhhhhh
sign

Aiyoh, i can imagine her doing that to me when i nag her..

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

2008-07-26T17:11:00.003+08:00

Decided to bring Bernice to Jacob Ballas Children's garden today. The sky was rather cloudy with slight drizzles. Good weather to visit the garden. It was not too big, just nice for us, or rather for bernice. She was walking throughout our trip there and was so eager and happy to be exploring the place. As for me, i was so happy taking photos of her and daddy and of the surrounding. Now, i understand why avid photographers are so enthusiastic about taking photos. While comparing the photos taken with the new toy and those of the old camera, i can say without regretting the amount spent that it is really worth it.

First few shots

2008-07-25T22:50:00.004+08:00

These were the few shots taken with the new toy. Each of them tells a different story. Actually, i did take a few shots of bernice, but they were overexposed, as i have not learnt the art from my G9 friend. So the below shots were taken after some guidance.

One was taken with my master whom i have never taken a photo with, haha, she is my master coz she managed to put the camera strap in for me within minutes and i tried the whole night and still could not do it.

One shows my super, duper messy table. Alamak, if i were not the one witnessing them taking the photo of my messy table, i will never admit its my table. Hee. Anyway, the mess will be gone once my 3 graduating classes sit for for their N and O level exams. Because then, i will open the recycling bin, and do my part for GAIA, that is, recycle.

The others show guides during footdrill today. The rest show snapshots during today's inter UG speed climbing competiton, some taken by TLL.

Yeah... Finally

2008-07-25T22:25:00.001+08:00

Took these professional look-alike shots with my new toy.. still alot more to learn though

B U S Y

2008-07-21T08:31:00.002+08:00

Again, haha, been busy with everything as usual. Shall not bore you with my normal rantings.

While I am clearing my piles of work, let me just re direct you to this other blog, blogs of wedding photographers. The photos are really nice. Check them out.

http://kelvinkoh.livejournal.com/

http://alwinlim.livejournal.com/

Grateful Daddy and not-so-grateful mummy

2008-07-05T23:39:00.002+08:00

A conversation with Daddy...after he realised how we should cherish what we have even though he has been complaining about his job.

D: Actually i think i am very lucky, i have a wife, a baby, a house (hmm, he meant a flat), and a stable job. What more can i ask for?
Me: A mistress

Lost Friendship

2008-07-04T22:41:00.005+08:00

I was told of an "ex-friend"'s misfortune today and i was not very sympathetic that it had happened to her. After a while, it actually struck me that i have known her since jc1 (10 years since), we were in the same CCA, we went home together after CCA, we happened to go to the same faculty in university, bumped into each other occasionally and will talk. After that, our paths crossed again when we worked. However, when we both first started work, we were not as close as i thought we would be. I thought we would be together quite often, as the environment was quite new to both of us and we both had no friends. Anyway, that did not happen, she was searching for her own group of friends, so was i. I was wondering why it was like that then. As i was quite an introvert, i took some time to warm up to the new surrounding and friends. She, on the other hand, was an extrovert and was busy making friends with everyone, except me.

Do i sound like sour grapes, bearing grievances or do i sound like i am trying to justify why i was so unsymapthetic? I don't know

Tired and hungry

2008-07-04T12:40:00.004+08:00

This is how I felt when i attended my first tutorial since 4 years ago. It was from 6pm to 9pm.

Throughout the day, I was frantically doing my tutorial and trying to read 3 chapters of the text. And, of coz i could not find any time to do it, and could only answer one part of the question. After school, i had peer tutoring and my department had to meet P at 3.30pm. He talked til 4.30pm. And, by then i was already frantic. When i realised my HOD had finished talking important things, i ran up to my cubicle, relieved to know my front neighbour was waiting for me to give me a lift to TN. That's it, half an hour left. Amidst this half an hour, my colleagues who are attending the same tutorial as me offered to lend me his tutorial seeing that i was so frantic. And, guess what, i did not copy. Because i had .... integrity. HAHA. Actually, the reason is, i have no time to read his work and rephrase it as my own. Anyway, i managed to complete it. Hai, so last minute.

At night, the tutorial was my most torturous 3 hours. The tutor was chanting non stop. I was so super tired as i did not sleep well the previous night. I was fidgeting, playing with the table and chair, writing "hate notes" to Daddy, playing with my camera. And, of the last minutes, i was like,

"Does she know i have to wake up and go for lessons in school tomorrow?"

"Alamak, can all these people around me stop asking so many questions?"

Anyway, after the torturous 3 hours, i had dinner and headed back home with Daddy.

pleaseparkproperly.blogspot.com

2008-07-01T12:08:00.002+08:00

Ok, i have been known to be kaypoh, in the sense i go blog hopping at mummies' blogs. But, for this one, i happen to see this blog. They feature all the drivers' cars which have not been parked properly. Newest addition is a Lamborghini. The website is a little evil in the sense the whole car plate can be seen. I am not going to say that they deserve it, coz those around me drive. Especially those sitting around me, as in around, front, left, right, diagonal.

But, but, but, they are all good parkers. I mean they park their cars nicely.

Interesting Bus Ride

2008-06-29T01:45:00.006+08:00

Well, actually there was nothing interesting that made bernice laugh like that. I cheated, i tickled her. haha. Have not been using photo impression to "collage" the photos, and decided to use this as i could not decide which format to "collage" the photos in, so i just used photo impression and "anyhow collaged" the photos.

...............

2008-06-28T18:59:00.008+08:00

Recently, there have been an angel and a devil inside me. One asking me to stay on and the other asking me to move on to another pasture, may be greener, may not be.

Really love the students but what entices me to want to leave is also probably i keep feeling i don't know how the outside world is like, as teaching was my first career. There have also been many other things happening that tell me this is not the best place on earth for me as i had thought 4 years ago. But for a parent with a kid, being a teacher somehow just gives me more flexible time. (for those who think that teachers have long long holidays, READ: FLEXIBLE time, not MORE FREE time) And, not forgetting that ZSS is 10 mins walk away from my home.

Anyway, was telling Daddy about wanting to try to apply for somewhere else. His reply," if you want, jus try to apply lor, anyway, got so many applicants, you may not get one lah." See, how supportive Daddy is?!?!?!

SYF preview 2008

2008-06-27T12:47:00.008+08:00

This is where i spent my Thursday, at the SYF preview at the Indoor Stadium, with my Girl Guides.

I was here once with my secondary school friends, and we were commenting then that these condos by the Kallang river were our dream homes, homes we will only see in our dream. As i looked at them yesterday, yeah, they were still my dream home, maybe i shall find a dream husband to buy me that dream home... haha

This was the contingent form up. They were really smart and took alot of pride in looking their best before their parade.

While at the stadium yesterday, i met a colleague cum friend who spends every Saturday at her NCC HQ flying "aeroplanes", and this was the result of her effort. Very nice "aeroplanes" in the dark... But, sorry, not very nice photo. I need my G9?!?!

Canon Powershot G9

2008-06-22T21:09:00.003+08:00

I have quite a few friends around me who are great photographers. Out of the limited number of friends i have, i already know at least 3 who have DSLR cameras, a few others with Power shot. Another friend just bought a camera a few days ago, she was asking me whether she should buy Canon or Nikon, i have not asked which one she bought. As such, i have always wanted to upgrade my camera to SLR. But, friends have reminded me," you so lazy, you sure you will take it out to use?" Ok, i was thrown back to reality. Then, i knew 2 of my friends have powershot, i was tempted again. During TLL's wedding dinner, i sat next to a friend who was using G9. Haha, she was such a good promoter and she tempted me with her words and the pictures she took. Alright, the camera was good, so was the photographer. :-) The last thing that attracted me to buy, her personal assurance that i can always look for her if i need to ask her how to use.

Boy, am i tempted!

Resemblance to Daddy

2008-06-20T16:41:00.002+08:00

All along, whether from relatives or friends, i always hear this, " Bernice looks like Daddy, but she has your eyes."

While having meeting in school today, I got comments from friends that Bernice is looking more and more like Daddy, all she lacks is the pair of spectacles (to cover her eyes that look like me??).

Alright, i shall give her THAT pair of spectacles.

Dada...

And no, I do not hope that she wears spectacles. i hope that she will have perfect eyesight like me! ahem

Hey Mummy, look, its Sudoku!

2008-06-20T15:49:00.002+08:00

Taking photos for an active toddler...

2008-06-15T00:30:00.005+08:00

Po po's instruction:

Take photo for bernice not very difficult one lah, just snap snap snap, later then choose.

Ok, i snap at least 20 photos out of her 3 minutes of sitting on the chair. These are the best 6. Yet, no best.

38.8

2008-06-14T23:46:00.005+08:00

That's Bernice's highest temperature last night. This bout of fever was due to her MMR vaccine. And, it was the highest her temperature went since her birth. She spent yesterday afternoon lying around from 3 plus til 5 plus, she felt so lethargic and had hardly any energy left to walk. Usally, she would be walking around the house normally. So she gave herself, (and us) a break by ....

If you were wondering, wah she can lie like that for so long? Well, she can't really. She was watching Hi-five, followed by the taiwan show, yi nan wang. We always joke, "that show ah, before bernice born show until bernice 15 months still haven't finish." Anyway, she likes the song from the show. It was her lullaby when i was doing confinement at wai po's house.

Lost

2008-06-14T23:12:00.004+08:00

The June holidays is really coming to an end. I just did my work review last Thursday. I did not ask what i wanted to ask initially. No courage to. And, after being told about my 2 weak areas, i changed my mind about asking. And, the point about me not telling MTSS that I was not able to attend FG earlier because of SL investiture was brought up again.

Checked mail, and felt lost. Deadlines that i have not met (NE quiz and IT survey), lots of mail informing me about latest happening. Nonetheless, i still felt lost. Perhaps lost because so much has been done by others but i seem to be still in my own world.

I will be leaving tomorrow, for SL overseas trip, for three days two night. Looking forward to it. I like long trips actually, be it on the bus or on the plane. It jus gives me time to not think of anything and it just reminds me that i am leaving the place further and further away. This time round i will miss bernice even more.

Half gone

2008-06-06T21:52:00.003+08:00

yup, almost half of the holidays is gone. Somehow, during the holidays, i always have this lost feeling. When i am busy with school stuff, i will complain,"who says teachers have holidays?" And if i happen to be free for 3 consecutive days, i will start to be a little guilty and ask myself,"eh, why am i so free? have i missed any important dates for any meetings or what not?" Anyway, time is going to pass super fast from next week. I will be going for a camp at Camp Christine from tomorrow til Sunday. Then I will have to prepare for my work review, mark mock papers, clear some work on Monday. Thursday is my work review. Ok, i shall muster my courage and ask about promotion stuff. haha. Doubt i will have the courage to ask anyway. Shall talk more about that after i go for my work review. Then I will be going away to Malaysia on Sunday til Tuesday. Thursday and Friday are meeting days. Saturday is GG walkaton and LL's wedding. Aaaah.... Then Monday will be school again.

Talking about going for camps and overseas trips, the only problem i have is when Daddy tells me, "i will take care of Bernice overnight." Aaah... He just thinks it seems so easy. Not that i doubt him, but he has never done it alone. I am always there to do everything. Patting her to sleep, bathing her, packing the things to bring out. All these he seldom do. Anyway, i shall just let him try. Let him know the challenge.

Random pictures

2008-06-01T12:27:00.002+08:00

1) Daddy with Bernice (does not look very happy though)
2) a little irritated Bernice
3) staring into space (like this pic, though she never smile, quite a 'clean' photo)
4) happily eating her baby biscuit (she will be happier with those unhealthy, salty snacks)
5) hmmm, push up position? i did not punish her
6) hey you, stop taking photo
7) i don't know why the shoe cabinet's door is open
8) haha
9) the first time we let we walk about while we are outside. ( we don't do it often because once we let her come down and enjoy herself while she walks, the people around will not enjoy her SCREAMING when we attempt to carry her away)

What to do with an "unconscious" Elmo?

2008-06-01T12:09:00.003+08:00

Oh, no a casualty.

Then you pick him up, and check if he's alright. To be exact, see if he is still breathing.

Oh no, he needs mouth to mouth resuscitation.

I am back!

2008-06-01T12:00:00.003+08:00

Ok, I have disappeared for the longest time ever. Thoughts of closing the blog came to my mind. Too busy, too many things to do, or so i claim. I shall persevere, nonetheless. The main reason that stopped me from closing the blog is that a few of my close secondary school friends are reading. A friend from school is leaving and she could still be interested in bernice's life or life in school. haha, that's why i will continue.

Met my VP yesterday in the staff lounge while i was with my fellow math teachers having lunch. He asked about my Master's course. He said," wah, have to look after baby and study ah." I added, " haha, yah, going to give birth to another one somemore." (okok, i am NOT pregnant, at least not of my knowledge, but in the course of 3 years, i will definitely give birth to a second one, age gap will be too big if i wait til i complete my course)

Alright, i shall post more pictures of bernice now.

Da da

2008-05-11T14:39:00.005+08:00

alright, i have lost officially. She can call dada to the right person at the right time. And her mama is random and depends on her mood.

She can call dada when daddy talks to her on the phone.

In the morning when she wakes up before us, she will crawl into our room, sit on the floor looking at us and call "da da".

So much for being a mum. Haha

Alright, photos will be up soon. Once i finish marking and finish keying the marks. Blogging an entry is never easy for a lazy person like me. So many steps to it
1) take out camera
2) upload photos to either bighugelabs.com or photo impression
3) save the collage as jpeg format
4) upload the photo to photobucket
5) login to blogspot and type a post and paste the url of the collage
6) publish the post and edit if needed

haha, see, so many steps.

More excuses for me to be even lazier to post from the next month onwards. I will be doing a master's course, over a period of three years. But i will still do my best to update.

On-ing switches

2008-05-04T23:36:00.003+08:00

That's her favourite activity. The switches in the house are all very low. As such, it is the only "toy" that is located so near her, and can be found saying hello to her in every part of the house.

Let's see. Just in the living room, there are 4 low switches that she will on every night, 2 others are used for the tv, so they are safe. In her bedroom, there are 2, these are the recent targets just before her bedtime. Another 2 in our bedroom.

So, every night after Daddy comes back, he will off all the switches that has been on-ed by her.

I look like Daddy?

2008-04-28T13:04:00.001+08:00

Cheeky photos

2008-04-28T12:35:00.004+08:00

Its never easy to get decent photos of her, either she is moving about, or she is just refusing to look into the camera at the right angle.

The cheeky her...

(top left: kissing the panda, she loves to kiss the those she love, and she hates dolls, refuse to go near them
top right, bottom left: lazing in Daddy's arms
bottom right: posing for the camera?)

The look-every-where her....

(look-up, look left, look right and finally at me)

......

2008-04-27T22:44:00.002+08:00

Just visited shaggyfish blog. Saw the farewell video that Sham and Xueyao created for her the second time, this time round, a sadder version of the song maybe coz the rap has been taken out. I have been in the school for 3 years 10 months, throughout this period of time, i did not have to go through people close to me leaving. Maybe this is life, it is never a bed of roses, "there is no feast that never ends, man will never know what will happen next". It is definitely very selfish to hope that people around me will be like me, forever stuck in the same place and be happy about it. Shaggyfish, if you read this, i sincerely wish you all the best in your future endeavours. You will definitely be missed by many.

Well, i promise to update about Bernice tomorrow. Promise.

Very Sore throat and very touched

2008-04-21T17:09:00.005+08:00

I had a sore throat today, as a result of eating too much high class potato chips and too much curry chicken (with extra thick gravy) yesterday. As a result, i had a sexy voice after teaching in a sec. 1 class. I was hoarse and was shrieking away. They laughed.

But during recess, 2 of them came to me, asked me," Cher, u ok anot? U "zao sia" jus now." I answered that i was ok and i was slightly touched and happy that despite the laughters, they knew that i was not well.

I came back from the staffroom, answered Shaggyfish's call, a minute later, she came up with a bottle of honey, and i had a scoop of it. I was touched.

Later i went to a sec. 4 class, they heard my hoarse voice. Before they even greeted me, a girl gave me a strepsil lozenges.

This is one of the reasons i like teaching, teaching is about human realationships, is about the bond between people and students. And, i am feeling it, though it definitely needs time to be nurtured.

Potato Chips

2008-04-14T22:43:00.002+08:00

Bernice can't eat her porridge very well, she will take very long to finish her meals. But, when she sees titbits or even if we are eating, she will want to eat our food. The only food we eat she has rejected so far is mashed potato from KFC, and i think its because it looks like her cereal. So, she does not want it.

We were home rather early today, about 7 plus. After playing and chasing her around for what seemed like eternity, i looked at the clock, it was only 8.10pm, 50 minutes from her bedtime. Not that i don't enjoy chasing her, but it can be quite tiring. Especially for those who have carried her or even seen me carrying her, you should guess that putting her on the floor is a challenging task. I was commented that i am super exaggerating, but this is what i always say," she is so active that before i can spell B-E-R-N-I-C-E, she is no where in sight if i put her on the floor." haha

Well, anyway, I decided to entertain her by letting her watch me eat potato chips. As she was watching me, she looked on and was about to salivate, trying to go near my potato chips as i admired it before putting it into my mouth. Not bearing to disappoint her, i let her have a bite. That's it! After that, she was no more than 50cm away from me, coming to me each time she finished her bite of potato chips. But, the potato chips was really nice, anyway.

Hearty Laugh

2008-04-09T12:12:00.002+08:00

Everybody around seems sick, stressed and tired.

Hopefully, after watching this, it brings a little smile to your face.

How we wish we can be like them, so carefree.
Or so, we claim. They need to think about where to wander about when they are on the floor, they need to think about whether daddy and mummy will scold when they do or do not do certain things, or do they care.. haha