Don't know who the "majority" they are talking about.

Yes, we want a slower pace of life, but surely a slower pace will not transform us into beggars will it?

some of the times, i leave comments on forums online. here's one:-

i wake up pre-dawn before my helper does, and turn in later than she does. i work like a dog to make a decent living so i can feed my two kids who are in childcare, my parents-in-law (one half-blind and mild dementia, the other had stroke) and one handicapped sister-in-law, all under my roof. i also wish to have a breather sometimes but surely not at the expense of a slower economic growth. the additional childcare subsidy i had went to the school bus driver whose fees went up from $150 per kid to $230, and, i am not complaining. i must have been born with a huge dose of faith.

Mandarin Flash Cards Revision, 28th August 2013.

YouTube clip 

I will be contented if she could recognise the new Chinese words but she went further and surprised me by incorporating the memory card game concept with the Chinese flash cards.

If you were to test me and ask me to flip to the correct word as you read, I think at best I could mange is to remember the ones at the corners or maybe a few more on the borders, the rest of the words I will take a long time to memorise!

The capacity of a young brain is marvelous!

Full of Question Marks

My aunt grabbed Colin from Maricar when she bumped into them outside her church.(the church is just around the corner of my neighbourhood) She paraded him to my other aunts and her friends who were there. They bombarded him with the question - where is Ah Ping? who is Ah Ping? over and over. (that was what Maricar told me afterwards) So my little boy looked so perplexed and so much like me! LOL!!

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Kiki: Mama, did you know we are going to Gardens by the Bay?
Me: Yes I know, but I've got to apply for leave from my boss.
Kiki: What do you mean "apply" (for leave)?
Me: Apply for leave means to take a day off. I will ask my boss if I can take a day off and go to Gardens by the Bay with you and Didi.
Kiki: If your boss say(s) no, I will talk to him.
Me: !!!
Kiki: I can talk really loud so he can hear me.
Me: !!!! You are a brave girl, Rachael! Thanks!

Selamat Hari Raya

Sarina is an ex-colleague, the first person whom guided me when I had first moved into a brand new industry. we worked till eleven at night for all of the six to seven months when i was there. we worked till the night cleaning contractor wondered who were the silly ones. so, there is a form of bonding although we had worked together for only seven months and that was seven years ago. Every year, I make a point to visit her during her new year. The fragrance omitting from her kitchen was so mesmerising, i felt like making a perfume from it. (i think it was the spies that smelt so wonderful).

Sketches- Unicorns

 Her current fad is on unicorns and pegasus

 All the unicorns have ribbed horns (indicated by short stripes in her drawing)
the red blots hovering above are hearts (i guess her unicorns emit a lot of love)

 The studs with dots are mushrooms.
At the back of that drawing, is the story. She rattled on a whole 5 minutes on a story about unicorns. What's interesting is most of the text are the letters L-O-V-E.  for now, she only knows how to spell her name and the word "love".
what's on her mind is so intriguing. 

Happy Birthday, Colin!

 I'm so tickled by this card. It says - Rarrrgh! which is dinosaur's language for "happy birthday".

 Kiki made a card for Colin. It says - Colin, Happy Birthday, Love, Jie Jie.
(all written in her own language without any assistance). complete with her current fad - Unicorn with four hearts hovering above.

We had lunch at the coffeeshop steam boat thingy and Kiki was struggling to manage her feelings between being jealous over Colin and loving him. I would say she managed it well, despite her clenching fist lightly touching Colin. (that shows her self-control. she wants to punch him but she lets her anger stop at her fist) She caught me by surprise and I didn't much know how to simmer her feelings except to hug her and despite the small commotion, I looked into the sky and felt surreal, it must have been those flagging streamers in the wind.  

Both vying for the Papa's affection

 So happy lor!

I've bought for Colin a TOMY train set, expandable to construct longer tracks and additional trains in the future. for now, it's just looping.

An outing

Kiki's music teacher had too many tickets in hand hence we helped her lessen her monetary loss buy purchasing two tickets from her and also took the chance to learn to appreciate the orchestra. She bought the tickets in support of her former student, whom I think, is the main violinist. (I didn't ask for details)

Indeed it was a mind opener (for me), the sound from the violin is beautiful, and I can never, ever, imagine that the orchestra could make a perfect, single note, in great force at a time-perfect pitch. I was taken aback by the energy of that single, concerted beat.

It was also good for the kids to hear from the musician that he had practised daily for 3 to 4 hours when he was young.

 After the concert,

 She studied the menu and pleaded to eat there. (she needn't have pleaded)

(of course the waitress didn't know the spelling to her name and missed an "a", but it was a nice surprise for Kiki)

Then we went to the Library @ Esplanade for a stroll, and surprise, surprise, the whole library is a flim maker's haven.So much resources on film making. Not to mention a dozen "shelvesful" of DVDs! To boot, there are screening rooms for rent if you so wanna watch any of the movies, which could also be on loan.
Wow, I was so impressed that I thought- if I were dating, this will make an ideal pastime! Haha.
The screening rooms are so cosy, the only thing lacked are booze and sticks. Haha.

Rows and rows of movies, I'm so going back there!

And before we headed home, we sat by the bay for a while. 

 And she goofed up and down the steps in self-entertainment.

My Little Pony

I was dead beat and had not intend to play along with her and her ponies but I did! For an entire hour or more, I lost track of the time until it was eleven post meridiem, way past the hour I had in mind to rest.

Few weeks ago, I had told Kiki I would buy her a pony after she manages to play "Lightly Row" on the violin, before she heard me correctly, she exclaimed: "All six ponies?!? Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Princess Celestia, and Fluttershy?!?"

I paused for a second,,,,, and said, yes, all six of them if she could play the tune well solo. (the teacher would randomly pick a child to play solo during class and that,,, is a tad nerve wracking for me because I would cringe sometimes.....)

So anyway, I know that that little girl will feel left out when Colin's birthday comes, so I thought I would just prepare a few ponies for her as well.

Anyway, I know Applejack is at Toys R'us, but I haven't seen Fluttershy anywhere! I hope I can find her. 

Thanks to My Little Pony, she is able to differentiate Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus without anyone's telling.

I've watched a few episodes of the cartoon with her and I think they are not too bad. They are about friendship and how we could support a friend and also, there's strength in numbers. In one of the episodes, the group was preparing to give a surprise birthday party for Applejack but she was no where to be reached. When they finally found her, she was very hostile and refused to return to the herd despite the group's forcefulness. Finally, she broke down and said, it was because she felt undeserving of their adoration. You see,,,,,, she won tonnes of badges and trophies but none of the bunch had a "Number 1", you see,,, she has never came in first in all of her races. (Sad!) The story tells you that if you belong to a group because of your number one status, I think you've got to be aware of that superficiality. Finally, Applejack was convinced by her friends that she will always be their number one despite her track records. (Aww..)

This cute one is - Rainbow Dash.

This swee char bor is - Princess Celestia.

This baby is - Rarity.

This cheonger is - Twilight Sparkle.

And luckily, Kiki has not learned the names of all the other ponies!!!!!!!!!