Raving Rabbits

When Zac claims that Nana is "gooder" than him at burping...

In the mood for Christmas!

I could still remember... Years ago, when I used to teach in the local Singapore preschool, there wasn't really much focus on Christmas. Maybe because over there, the month of December is the children's school holiday, and for those in childcare, it means non-academic programmes for them... more art and craft activities, music and movement, and free-play time. We do put up Christmas decor and expose children to the songs, but it wasn't much elaborated on as compared to Chinese New Year.

Over here in the US, things are similar to those times when I work in the international school. With Christmas being the main festival celebrated, you can imagine how much effort was put in when Christmas was around the corner. Students did craft work, which served as a gift for their parents and there were lots of singing practises before the parents actually came for the mini Christmas concert held in school.

With my two kids attending the local preschool here, I could really feel the Christmas spirit going around. They have been singing jingles, and they get all excited when familiar Christmas songs go on air on 99.9KEZ. Nana has also been dancing to it!

Anyway, they came back from school with these beautiful Christmas crafts... I love the ornaments the best. Nana could even describe how it was done, firstly by dipping her cute little hand on a plate of white paint, and then holding on tight to the ornament so that her hand print will be left on it. I find the quote attached to it very meaningful... It goes like this:

"This is my hand, my hand will do

a 1000 loving things for you.

Years will go by, but don't be sad

Know in my heart I love you mom & dad."

You'll always be my baby princess!

To my dearest Nana, this is for you to read in future. Mama suddenly recalled all the funny things you said and do, and before all these precious memories are forgotten, I shall jot it down so that you know how much you have brightened my days! 

- Papa left you with me at the shoe store. Mama was busy looking for a nice pair of footwear, and I was totally engrossed, looking at every single shoes on display. The background giggling somehow "woke" me up. I turned my head and guess what... Your shoes were on the floor and you were getting ready to slip your tiny feet into 2 different high heeled shoes, both probably about 2.5 inch high. Haha. You really made me laugh... and a little embarassed! :) By the way, the ladies who were watching you all the while commented on how cute you were...

- Mama decided to take you along with me to shop for bags while Papa shop for his stuff with Zac.  While I got lost in my world, you came up to me with 2 bags. Identical design and colour (hot pink to be exact!) but different in size, one slightly smaller than the other. You mentioned how nice the bags were and told me to choose one! I do love pink bags, but I remembered Papa saying that he doesn't really like it on me, so I told you what he said. You were upset and said that you will scold Papa for saying that. And indeed, you scolded him once we left the store. I'm beginning to enjoy shopping with you...

- I was feeling rather bloated and my tummy was buldging. I looked like a pregnant woman. While I was using my lappy, you came and stood next to me, stared at my tummy and asked why it looked big! I jokingly said that there's a baby inside and that you'll be a jie-jie or kakak soon. You gave that famous frown, and suddenly pressed hard on my tummy, while saying "Go in! Go in!" A while later, you broke down in tears. "I wanna be your baby! Not jie-jie or kakak! I don't want you to have another baby!" I was almost in tears when you said that...

Looking at how much you have grown really makes me happy. Please remember that a few years down the road, even when you are much older, in my eyes, you will always be my baby princess!

My photo gallery...

If you are observant enough, you would have noticed a slight change in my blog. Just below my blog header, there's this word "Memories captured..." Once you click on it, you'll be directed to another page which has a URL link. The link leads to another blog which serves as my photo gallery.

I have created the gallery only recently, so the photos are actually the "outdated" photos from our previous roadtrips. There'll be more to come, once I find the time to upload the old ones, and new ones, if we go travelling again. Hehe. I have searched online for an application or widget for a photo gallery or album, but just couldn't find one. So, my last resort was to publish the photos like a post / blog entry.

This is for our families, relatives or friends without a Facebook account, and thus unable to see how we are doing. Hope this helps ease the pain of missing us! Enjoy the photos...

Thanksgiving 2010

I almost went crazy during Thanksgiving. Everything was sooooo freaking cheap. The urge to just grab everything off the shelves was there. My hand felt super itchy. Hehe. Luckily, at that point of time, mentally, I was able to stay on track and kept reminding myself to distinguish between a "WANT" and a "NEED". Although at certain points, it just got harder. It's as though the sales were calling me... "Yana, come... come... grab... grab..." Haha.

Anyway, we did buy quite a number of things, and most of it are household items like cutlery set, dinnerware, bedsheets, photo frames and the best grab was the recliner on the right. It's so comfy that even I, the "seldom-take-a-nap" kind of person kept dozing off each time I sit on it. It must be the rocking motion, and the cooling weather made it just perfect for a short nap. Other than that, we also managed to get a few bags for me (Thank you dear for keeping an eye on both kids while I got distracted by the bags!) and clothings for the kids. With the crazy crowd, it was almost impossible to choose, as we had to each hold on to 1 child, in case they walk off, especially Zac, who has the tendency to do that.   

As for now, I'm pleased with what I have... Wouldn't want to give my dear hubby a hard time clearing his credit card debts... So dear, with the bonus coming up, please bring us for another road trip to reward us for being good! :)