Penang - Kenny Hill's Bakers || Singapore - Otto Prawning | Kids Fishing || Ho Chi Minh - Park | University Village

Brayden 9Y3M1D

Bevlynn 4Y11M24D

This week felt long and there were too many things happening. 

I received a call from a close relative. 

His wife had just asked for a divorce, she just left, a sudden news for him. When finances are tight, it can break a family. In a short week, he had to look for a caretaker for his only daughter, change her school in a different state, consider selling their home and deal with the divorce. 

It was at this time, our families came together and tried to support him and his daughter. 

We were very surprised at how mature his daughter is, beyond her age. She showed a very strong front, to help her father. I guess, and we all hope, she's coping. 

This week too, Project Demure in Penang was moving forward smoothly. 

We had lunch at Kenny Hill's Bakers Bayan Lepas. The service was exceptional; the waiters introduced the menu patiently and also chatted warmly with us. We tried the salmon wellington, peach strudel and tiramisu were my favorites. 

On the weekend, we wanted to go SPCA in Singapore. But it was only by appointment. Bev & Bray were very disappointed. They wanted to see the hamsters, rabbit, cats and dogs. 

So we drove to a nearby location; Nature Kindred - there's a cafe and behind it was a small little pool for kids fishing. It was not a very good fishing spot (a small pool right beside the toilets) but for the children, they were easily satisfied with the activity. Bray managed to catch 25 guppies in the 1 hour, while Bev was the pail carrier - she needed to make sure the fishes don't fall out. Every guppy = 1 point. We exchanged for a little ice cube toy. That was fun.  

Also this week, I travelled to Ho Chi Minh City. 

It was stressful for me to prepare for this trip on a short notice, but everything went so well and the people here are so friendly and welcoming. (The locals tried to speak to me in English even though it was difficult for them, it was a nice gesture). The food here was also good. The stress went away... 

I met Sis Snow here. She was adorable, hopping from her grab motorcycle to collect a parcel from me. 

The Ha Spa and walking along the narrow streets were also a nice experience. I had also a 6km walk on the park in the center of HCMC. The park was surrounded by the sound of cars honking, yet it was relaxing when there were so many locals exercising in the park together. 

I also visited the University Village. It does bring back many good memories from university times. 

I'd hope to return here someday again.  

In the meantime, I missed my lil ones. They shared photos of prawning at Otto Singapore. 

Therapist Book | Good morning Monster | True Friendship

Brayden 9Y2M26D
Bevlynn 4Y11M20D

Good morning, Monster. 
It was an interesting read; a therapist's sharing of 4 emotional healing stories. From a disturbing, traumatic past to one of strength and happier ending. It gave an insight on how one can decide not to let the past define them; let go of the hurt; learn to be kinder to self and not continue allowing the past monsters to hold so much control over their lives. 

In all the stories told, parents played such important roles in the upbringing of their childrens' lives. The parents may not know it themselves because they were also the same victim of abuse. They did not stop the generational consequences and carry forward the effects. 

After finishing the book, I found inner strength. Not from enjoying the torture stories of others, but from realizing the problems we faced are so menial. 

This week I get to experience the power of true friendship.
Would one give away millions just to help their best friend's whole family with no conditions attached? No? Someone did. Seeing this single act, left me speechless. It's is really baffling, yet inspiring. I could not believe there is still such true and generous friendship. It's lucky to have such a friend. I want to build one too.

Chua Chu Kang Swimming Complex | Nanyang Dao | Hillion Mall | Lovebird is in the air

Brayden 9Y2M18D

Bevlynn 4Y11M14D

It was Mother's Day weekend. 

On Saturday after swimming, we decided to go Westmall for lunch. I wanted to have Nanyang Dao but the children and Hub wanted sushi. I was thinking how much I wanted to choose Nanyang Dao for Mother's Day meal; it's ok I'll just have what they wanted for now. 

The next day, we went to Chua Chu Kang swimming complex. This is our first time here. There is a wave pool with floats, children play pool, adult slide pool, spa jacuzzi pool and standard swimming pools. We really love the wave pool, Bray and Bev love floating in the yellow giant float. The waves were very strong too. 

Bray and Hub slide down the big slides. It looked fun.

Then we all got a good splash from the children play pool. 

We decided to leave by 6.30pm for dinner at Hillion Mall. We were running towards the bus stop to catch a bus. I had texted Jane one week earlier, wanted to plan Mother's Day together. But I got too busy with work and Bray's exam days, we did not managed to plan anything. 

I texted her on how's her Mother's Day. She asked if we'd like to have dinner together. I'd say yes, if she can come over to Hillion Mall to meet me. I did not want to pressure her as it was really very last minute for her to come out. 

I asked her what she'd like to have? She forwarded me the location of Nanyang Dao. I was taken aback, how coincidental? I thought what are the odds. The attraction is happening again. Hub looked at me, defeated. This was not something he'd like to have with the good selection of eateries in Hillion Mall. Afterall, it's Mother's Day so both mothers got to choose. Yay! We had our good fill of KL Hokkien Mee, Curry Mee and Char Koay Teow. The mothers were happy, so were the children. 

Also, one funny thing happened this weekend. 

I was home that day. Then a lovebird parrot flew in into our home. As I was approaching it, it flew and rested on my head. It didn't want to leave. The children loved it and wanted to keep it as pet. 

It was so gentle, flying onto everyone's head. It must have thought, ah such a nice looking "nests".

It's such a cute bird and not afraid of people. It stayed for one night, then flew off the next day. 

They'd say such an encounter means more luck and fortune are coming. Ong ah~~! 

Catch Up Before School | Story of the Lazy Boy | Oxygen Music Festival Competition | Speak to Win

Brayden 9Y2M8D

Bevlynn 4Y11M1D

After all the fun in USS theme park for 2 consecutive Sundays, Bray was complaining on Monday morning about being overly tired and he did not want to have breakfast before school. Me and Hub did not buy it. There was only 15 minutes left till school starts, I said "Ok, you can take all the time you'll need, we'll still follow the usual time to head out, you can catch up with us later. If you don't arrive by 7:30am, we'll leave your bag at the school's entrance. Do not forget to pick it up before entering school."

Me and Hub walked out and not long after, we saw from a distance, Bray walking in a fast pace trying to catch up with us. I told Hub let's hide at the store, we'll still keep watch. Very quickly, we saw him zooming past us and almost running now to catch up.... (He must be thinking how his parents can walk so quickly that he cannot see us at this point)

By now, we were the one trying to catch up with him. As he was almost reaching school, he turned around and started running the other direction, looking for us again. He did not noticed us, we had to call out to him. We can see the panic in his face suddenly turned into relief. We simply laughed "What happened to the tired boy? Why are you exercising?" His eyes looked shyly away. 

We arrived at school earlier than our usual time. 

Yesterday, during my storytelling, it was a story of a boy and a girl. The boy being very lazy, he had grown but his brains were so underdeveloped that he turned into a big baby. The girl was hardworking and managed to be a scientist. She developed the medicine to try to "cure" the boy. The boy then turned into a duck. Again she tried again with new medicine, he turned into a piglet. There seems to be no good ending for this little boy. Bray was feeling anxious and nervous with the storyline, he started softly biting my arm. It was very funny how he acted. We had a good laugh before our sleep...

Bray joined the Oxygen Music Festival Competition. This time, we registered 2 weeks before the competition. He had very little time to practice playing Silent Night. Every night, he was rolling on the floor and crying that his fingers were in pain after several minutes of practice. In the end, he persevered. Competition day came, it was on Labour's Day. Mommy and Daddy were proud and happy that he had given his best. 

There were complimentary workshops when joining the competition. It was good exposure.

Finished reading "Speak to Win" by Brian Tracy. The formulas and methods were useful. One chapter I really liked was how to End with a Bang. I've always quickly end a presentation in front of a crowd. I now realized ending a presentation well can be as important as a good introduction. I'll rethink how I can end with a story, laugh, rhyme or inspiration to make a lasting impression. 

Universal Studios Singapore | Stuck in Jurassic Park Adventure | Brayden's Adventure

Brayden 9Y2M3D

Bevlynn 4Y10M27D

On Sunday, we met Bro Gene at Vivo City for lunch - first time trying out the kopitiam Food Hall at B2. There was so much variety, we didn't know what to choose. After a good portion of Putien noodles, Wanton noodles, and dumplings, we set out for USS theme park. This is the second consecutive Sunday, we went to USS.

We entered the theme park at almost 4:30pm. Our mission today is to complete as many rides as possible within the 3.5 hours. 

We manage to complete: 

As a family: 

1. Despicable Me Minion Mayhem x1

2. Jurrasic Park Rapids Adventure x2 (almost dark), x1 (after dark)

3. Canopy Flyer x1 

4. Transformers The Ride x2

5. Watch evening parade

Me + Bev (since Bev could not enjoy the Mummy roller coaster, we split to go for more Bev friendly rides)

1. Enchanted Airways (weeee~~ Bev loved it! Me screaming my lungs out again) x1

2. Donkey Live x1

3. Puss In Boots' Giant Journey x1

Hub + Bray:
1. Revenge of the Mummy x3

2. Jurrasic Park Rapids Adventure x2

We found that the evening Sundays are the best times to go for USS, when there are less crowd and we were able to go for more rides without much queue. 

On this day, we also got stuck in the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure ride - when the boat was lifted to the T-rex area, the lift stopped. The air was stiff inside; it was dark and there was dizzying blinking light at the T-rex. Bev and Bray were very calm. Nobody panicked. There was one other family stuck inside with us, at least we did not feel alone. We just shouted for help in a joking manner.  

It was several minutes, before there was an alarm and an announcement for the ride to stop. After a while, the ride resumed. The staff member checked if we were okay. We were quick on our toes and continued with our mission - next up the parade, our timing was just perfect. We did not miss anything!

When it was dark and everything was closing, we looked back at all the memories made. It was all worthwhile. 

One night, when we were storytelling, I spoke of our memories in USS. I brought up the good times we had in the Jurassic Park and Transformers, then surprisingly Brayden recited all the dialogs from both the rides (exactly how it was). Wow!

We always thought he looked very blur during the rides and was just enjoying it. Little did we realized that he was totally immersed in the whole experience. He was part of the story - he was running away from the dinosaurs as a scientist; he was a recruit saving Optimus from Decepticons. He was living in a world full of wonders. Thank you USS for these adventures.