Archive for August, 2008

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO FIREHORSE KOPI SOH

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO YOU…….!

Am I forgiven? *flutters eyelashes* Sorry I forgot dear.

Pssst sorry hor, I don’t have cyber flowers or cakes for you. Will a mooncake do? Mooncake festival is coming. I will post pic for you before I eat.

I’m happy that I was able to make pancakes and french toast for the kids for tea the past two days. Its a small thing to be happy about but I’m still happy. Usually the kids just eat biscuits and bread cos’ I’m lazy. Haha. Well, actually, I don’t cook using open fire when I’m alone so it does help that I have someone around, not just for cleaning up.

The kids enjoyed the pancakes and the french toast which they helped to make. My girl would have cooking class in school which she enjoys. Oh no, the kids at kindy don’t really cook but they help to count the number of spoons of sugar etc that is required in the ingredients when they watch their teachers cook. Its a great way to learn.

Every week she would bring back agar-agar (jellies), sandwiches, sweet potato balls, and other local treats that they made in school. She really enjoys these ”cooking” lessons so I try to let them help out in the kitchen whenever I can as it is a good way for them to learn.

I wish I could bake or at least have an oven to try baking. Can anyone recommend a good little oven? :) 

We celebrated our maid’s birthday recently by buying her a cake and singing a birthday song for her. No gift since she’s just with us for slightly over a month. Perhaps next year if she’s still with us, hopefully.

Life with a maid is certainly better despite its slight downside of loss of privacy, extra expense (not just in her salaries but we are now feeding an extra mouth and taking care of an extra person. Our groceries bills has shot up) etc.

On the upside, we now have a cleaner house and daily home cooked meals (I cook, she cleans up) and I have more time for the kids and the spouse.

Its the school holidays now and we have lots of activities planned. Learning Chinese together, reading online together, doing arts and crafts, practising school concert speeches, doing scrap book projects. Our entire day is filled with these. In addition I have to cook (but I don’t need to clean up now. Hooray!). I need to do my exercises and of course theres the man to take care of when he gets home from work.

Previously I would have done all those too but the house would have suffered and our food as well. Now, I can do all of those and still get good food and a clean house. Its been good so far. Lets hope it stays this way.

Recently my piano teacher informed me that she may ask me and my daughter to play something during their school concert.

“OMG! Pengsan. Pengsan.” I told her. ”No, not pengsan at all” she replied. After she told me that, I was so nervous, I played lousily during my lesson just thinking about it. Hahaha.

I had always dreamed of playing the piano and finally had a chance to learn a little over a year ago. My daughter has been learning for about a month.

 I think this will be good exposure for my girl. And so, though I’m shivering right to my very bones, especially the finger bones, I shall do it if given the chance. All for the sake of my girl. Oh, the things we parents do for our little ones.

I shall have to practise and practise and annoy the neighbours and practise and practise some more till I can play with my eyes closed, otherwise, I shall be so nervous, my fingers will freeze and tangle up!

The only other time I’ve “performed” a musical instrument was playing the organ in a shopping mall when I was young. Oh yes, and there was this other time when I had to sing in front of some judges during a test at the end of my Singing Classes. Boy oh boy, how my voice shivered and shook made worse by the fact that my teacher had asked me to sing “On my Own” from “Les Miserables.” (Video below as sung by Lea Salonga so beautiful). I have always been in a school choir and I enjoy singing in a choir but singing alone is a different ball game altogether. Playing the piano with my girl playing the accompaniment is just as scary but I shall have to put up a brave front for my girl. Ooooh shiver shiver.

The Olympic Fever begins today on the 8th Day of the 8th Month of the year at 8:08:08pm. You know Chinese lah. Everything also must be auspicious.

I read from my kids McDonald’s newsletter that there are five mascots. They are…

1. A Fish named Bei Bei
2. A Panda named Jing Jing
3. The Olympic Flame Doll called Huan Huan
4. A Tibetan Antelope named Ying Ying
5. A Swallow named Ni Ni

Put them all together and they form the words “Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni” (Meaning Beijing Welcomes You). See? I know a little bit of Chinese. I’m not such a banana afterall.

Anyway, I am rather excited to see the opening ceremony tonight. I think the Olympic Games is a good opportunity to expose or teach the kids about the different countries of the world as well as the various types of sports. Unfortunately, I don’t have Astro, so I can only watch a delayed live transmission by RTM 1. What to do? Miser don’t want to pay. Have to watch delayed loh. Hopefully the transmission will be clear and we won’t miss anything.

For those who are interested to know more about the Olympic Mascots, you can check out this : Beijing 2008 Olympics: What are the meanings of the five mascots? Or you can simply enjoy the following YouTube video on The Mascots of the Olympic Games. The background music you hear in the video is a Chinese Folk song called “Mo Li Hua” or “Jasmine Flower”. My girl sings it in kindy. Very nice.