Love Letters | JB Kidz Republic New Games | Family Dinner | Bukit Dumbar Home

Brayden 8Y6M4D

Bevlynn 4Y2M28D

It has been a busy week. Working till late evening. The door to my room was locked to avoid distractions. While I was on a call, little knocks came at the door and a soft voice whispered, "Mommy, what are you doing? Can you open the door please?" "No, Mommy is working." 

Then, several A4 papers with scribblings started slipping through underneath the door gap. 

"What time will your work finish? Write here......"

"I love you Mommy for working hard. 💖Brayden"

"Thank you for your hard work Mommy. Do your best"

"(HAPPY SMILEY) From Bevlynn"

The next morning, there is a small "booklet" folded from an A4 paper waiting for me. Another Love Letter from my boy. Oh~~ all my pressure just melted away. 

I brought the children to JB Kidz Republic Indoor Themepark. They have upgraded a few play area. The zipline and large slides that goes into the sponge pool were added. Surprisingly Bev was very brave to also go on those high zipline and rope fall. 

Hub walked/ran 6km in the evening to clock for the PRIS Run. 

Cousin Jaq, Yvonne and Ji Chim came to visit Singapore. The last we met was in Feb 2025. It was a nice dinner in Bugis. We talked about how Jaq has started her own freelance 2 months ago. It is such a good step in her career. 

This week was Ah Pa's birthday. Called to wish him and we talked about our old home in Bukit Dumbar Penang which was sold almost 20 years ago. The house back then was big and spacious. The land size was more than 4,000 sqft. Our house was one of the biggest in the neighbourhood. 5 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, 2 toilets (the designs back then were not very focused on toilets), 1 wet kitchen, 1 dry kitchen, front-side-back yards, parking for 2-3 cars. There were 5 families under 1 roof. We, the children, loved to play hide-and-seek in the house and we were very scared to go to the toilet in the middle of the night - after listening to some of the eeriest ghost stories. My worst nightmare was about "A Doll in a Mirror". Who came up with such silly story that haunted me for years... 

Everything was all good until year 97, when the market crashed. Pa had some prospering properties that became liabilities overnight. The housing interest rate almost tripled. What used to be a gold mine became a ticking bomb. He became overly exposed. Then, he had to make a very hard decision - to either sell our home or to sell his office. His best friend advised him - homes can be bought again but his business needs to run with the office. Wise words. 

But being young, I couldn't understand what was happening. I was very very upset when the house was sold. Looking back now, putting myself in my Pa's shoes, it must have been a dark, terrifying time. 

I told Pa, "Don't worry. We'll find chances to buy again a home like that. Give me time, I'll get there..." 

"Thank you for supporting me in my dreams" I said to Hub. It's another STEP forward! It is going to be another busy year ahead but I am excited with what's more to come.   

 

Jurong Lake Garden | Children Hurt | Positivity | Singapore Short Stories | Favourite Song Golden

Brayden 8Y5M24D

Bevlynn 4Y2M17D

We went to Jurong Lake Garden. As soon as we arrived, the rain started to drizzle. We started our way to the nearest shelter; heavier and heavier it got. Where does the sudden black clouds and rain come from? We covered ourselved with a towel; which we prepared for after swimming. Bray, Bev and I were under that one towel (enough to cover our heads) like a lion dance performance; we tugged it to ourselves every time it slipped out of our heads. Laughter echoed through the rain. We enjoyed this spontaneous nature's tears as much as swimming in the cove. 

At the shelter, we saw the sign "the pool is under maintenance". Oops, no swimming allowed today!

We went to a nearby restaurant and waited for the rain to stop. It did stop, after we finished our early dinner. I looked up the sky and the clouds were gone. The air is fresh and the trees along the way were wrapped in colourful knitted clothes. The children played at the sand pit. They enjoyed digging a "river" - a dry one.

This week, Dr Yip one of my close friend, had her private clinic opening. We were invited to her new clinic, her office is at a corner and the window has such a nice view of the Novena town; at a little corner is her home. Such a proud, happy moment. 

We also dropped by to visit a friend who recently got a new little bundle; she now has two little ones clinging for her attention; she is confused with her new state of motherhood and asked for advise on how to cope with two. 

I remembered the day Bev came into my life, I was filled with such bliss and light-heartedness. It felt like a sense of completeness. Although with all the havoc of handling a new baby is still there, I loved how I could enjoy every single moment better without having to worry about firsts (with Bray everything was new and it was harder to know what to do. I was an anxious mother). And Bray made me realised how much time flies and children grow, I wanted to seize all moments with both of them. 

The children were clumsy this week. 

Bray fell at the playground (net area) and got a big scar on his leg. 

Bev fell head first as she leaned forward on the sofa. A sudden loud thud and an innocent cry filled the room. Her head started to swell, I was worried but did not want to show it. Her head bump was like a mini ant-hill hidden beneath her dark black hair. It was so swollen and tender with small dots of redness. My brain was screaming in anxiety "Should I send her in for an emergency? Will she be alright? What if......" I took a deep breath. "Let's just wait and see" For now, I'll hug her tight. 

Winning a 6-star pokemon at a Mezastar game, can comfort them easily. Singing aloud Golden from K-pop demon hunter helped too; their latest favourite song. The song is addictive.

In this movie, I was motivated at the positivity from Ryan Serhant. When many office politics are going on, his composure and leadership are so refreshing. We needed this - I NEEDED THIS. It is such a good leadership strengh to build - positivity that can infect others. Mind my mindset. 

I finished a book from a friend this week - Singapore Short Stories. It is a light read, I liked that it was filled with different writing styles from different authors and the stories narrated the ways of life in Singapore from the past. I love "Vroom Down New Bridge Road", "The Story of the Mask", "The Jade Pendant", "The Rose and the Silver Key", "The Interview". In these stories, I was brought back to some of my past memories which I am fond of - especially my trips to the the chinese opera with my grandparents. Our next generation will not be able to understand its significance. 

 

SG60 National Day | STEM Fest Singapore Science Centre | Brayden Kindergarten Reunion

Brayden 8Y5M16D
Bevlynn 4Y2M9D

Eve of National Day, Bray had a reunion gathering with his kindergarten friends. Every year, we have this gathering for the parents and children to come together. Most of the children were dressed in Red and White. The parents were talking about how their children adapted in their school (all the children are in different schools). The children still loved playing together, laughing, eating... Such a nice effort from the parent who organised it yearly. 

National Day SG60. Happy Birthday Singapore! 

This year, Singapore Science Centre had open its doors to the public - Free entrance. It is called the STEM Fest. We met with Jane and her children. The children loved the AI drawing corner, they will draw and their friends will guess, if the AI can guess the drawing, the children loses.

We also interacted with Ameca, the super expressive humanoid Robot. It was remarkable how the robot can interact so clearly. We asked for it to draw a simple triangle and it replied that it only knows how to draw pyramid. We asked for it to draw a pikachu and it replied that it can draw a surprised pikachu meme. The drawings were good. It was abit scary to me to see the video of the robot sight kept moving around to scan the whole room. 

The children loved the virus playroom corner and the Laser Maze. While queuing, someone tapped on me lightly. I turned and saw my ex-roommate from university, HK. It had been years we had not met. The last time was before we had children. We had a long overdue chat. 

After lunch, we went over to the Carnival area. Tickets were S$6/coupon. There were multi-racial food such as laksa, otak-otak, icre-cream in bread, pani puri and muar chee. There were also free flow of popcorn and cotton candy. There were games and the children's favourite was the bouncy castle slide, they went up multiple times - good way to drain their energy. 

The children had balloons and air brush tattoos. 

 

Putrajaya | Moxy Hotel | Connaught Night Market | IOI City Mall | Maharaja Karaoke

Brayden 8Y5M15D

Bevlynn 4Y2M8D

Another trip this week. On the way there, we stopped at Ah Koong Yong Tau Fu Restaurant.  

This time we stayed at Moxy Putrajaya; it is located right next to IOI City Mall which is the largest mall in the Southeast Asia. I got a nice corner room, with window views overlooking the mall and golf course. The hotel is modern and chic.

In the evening, we went to Petaling Street. We discovered a nice spot for tea tasting for RM8 a pot. We walked over to the street for the popular air mata kucing (a drink with luohanguo, dried longan and winter melon), bak gua and lalapot (clam soup). At night, the Merdeka 118 was in view and lights started to decorate the outline of the building. A close friend, Linda who was also on a business trip came to meet us.

We took a ride to Connaught Night Market biggest night market. We tried many different food; dragon beard candy, smelly taufu, kimchi wrapped in bacon, fish satay (lekor), ban chang kueh, seaweed popiah (crunchy jicuma + chicken floss), 

An influencer was walking behind us. We did not noticed until suddenly someone from the crowd was shouting excited "Oh my god, I need a picture, I need a picture" We turned there he/she was the crossdresser Xiao Honey Deacon Chai. I did not know who he/she was, not until my friend showed me some photos and videos.

We had some nice food & shoulder massage at Healthcare Wellness Center, they have a nice hot stone bag over the shoulder during the massage. 

Next evening, we explored the shops in the IOI City Mall. It was so big I could not even finish walking 2 levels from end to end. We decided to go for Maharaja Karaoke, the cheapest room for 2 pax was at RM19/hour. The entrance was grandly decorated; like a room for Maharaja & and screens were showing Bollywood dancers. My friend decided to go for Putera (a room that could fit 7 pax). With 2 person in such a large room, the echo was so much better. I chose some difficult songs; Shallow, Divorce in Ghana, Flowers. Did not know I could sing these songs before, but somehow I could hit the notes; probably they have very good sound system and the mood was good.

After karaoke, the night was still young, we played free snooker at the lobby of Moxy. There is also a classic arcade at the corner, we chose one of my young time favourite Paper Boy. How it brought back some very nice memories. We also played air hockey table, I got so competitive and hit the puck hard, but I still lost. It was already close to 12 am. Time to go to bed. 

Time to head back to Singapore for National Day celebration. 

Captain Marvel for girl in Salvation Army | National Day Celebration SG60 | Cappucino Assassino

Brayden 8Y5M10D

Bevlynn 4Y2M3D

On Thursday evening, we had a short walk organised by my company around IBP area. The weather was nice at first, then it started to drizzle. We had a nice dinner at Vision Exchange. 

On Saturday, I was at Salvation Army to buy some items. There is a 30% off on all items because of the SG60 National Day promotion. However, the cashier input the amount wrongly and could not correct it as it was already charged to my card. I was overcharged S$20 dollar, she apologised for the mistake and asked me to pick some toys to compensate for the difference. 

I was looking through all toys and was very reluctant to pick. Then, I saw a young girl walking about looking quietly at some toys. She paced about the area, picked some and put them back every single time. I asked her if I could get her some toys, she politely shook her head and put down the packet of toys which was already in her hand. I told her I have some free credits from the store and I can use them on her toys without having to pay. After I insisted a few times, she finally picked one pack of toys in front of her. As I walked towards the cashier, I picked another box of Pop Mart Toy with Captain Marvel in it. I told the cashier to pack them for the girl. Both of them thanked me, looking so happy, but I thought to myself, "Thank you both for making my day!" 

In the evening, there was National Day SG60 Celebration at Bukit Batok at the open basketball court. There were goodie bags, snacks, sausage buns, cotton candies giveaways.

There were also many activities: catching the baton, moulding the colourful quick-dry clay, bouncy castle, batik painting, gift wrapping, coaster crystal design, colour stones.

While we were waiting for the mini-ferris wheel, the performers on stage started singing "Home". I brought out my phone and started shining the light. Soon the whole crowd began to follow. It was a nice sight. This is home truly~~ 

Bev and Bray were in the mini ferris wheel. She was waving goodbye to me. 

It reminded me of the everyday goodbyes I get when I am on my way to work. Her tiny hand would wave from the window of our home, as my bus passed the block. Oh how much I love this morning routine...

On Sunday, Bray and Bev were mumbling some names - Cappuccino Assassino. Me and Hubs thought it was some random slang by the young ones. Apparently not. These are characters in "Italian Brainrot". We found it funny and also started calling out the names: 

• Cappuccino Assasino
• Ballerina Cappuccina
• Tralalero Tralala
• Bombardino Crocodilo
• Lirili Larila
• Chimpanzini Bananini
• Bombombini Gusini
• Bobrito Bandito
• Tung Tung Tung Tung Tung Tung Tung Sahur

It was fun how the children corrected us each time we got it wrong.