Midweek Luxury

There is something undeniably luxurious about having a leisurely midweek lunch, even if lunch consists of only a simple sandwich or salad.

Spending two hours at lunch once a week when my boys are in school, is a weekly highlight that I try hard to manage. It is a nice break from my routine of late, which demands that my "lunch hour" be reduced to nothing more than a 10 min affair with hassle-free food.

I suppose even that is an improvement from those days when I had to chew my lunch while changing my boys' diapers. Haha!

So you can imagine how enjoyable it was when my lunch date brought me out for one of my all-time favorite cuisines at the multiple awards-winning Brasserie Wolf at Robertson Quay.


I had a mouthwatering pan seared duck foie gras with caramelized apples for starter. Too good and such great value, considering it was part of the 2-courses set lunch menu.


Hmm... just looking at the photo is enough to make me want to head straight back for it. I have to exercise a lot of restraint not to visit the restaurant more often. :P


E didn't fancy anything from the set menu, so he went for a humongous salad for appetizer and lamb shank for main.

We were so surprised when his salad appetizer arrived on a super large plate with the biggest variety of ingredients we have ever seen! It is not always a good thing though to have too much on one plate. He didn't like it because of the assortment of nuts and seeds sprinkled on it but I love it. It is one of those salads that could easily replace a main course.

After the foie gras, I savoured my roasted chicken roulade that was stuffed with crab meat and served with a delightful portion of risotto. It was good, but I would give other dishes a try next time.



This scary looking piece of meat and bone was the lamb shank from the lunch menu. I can understand if it scares off the vegetarians. :D




It was romantic, to say the least, to be able to dine at our own pace, especially at lunch time. And with a glass of red nonetheless. Yum!

I enjoyed every minute of such indulgence. Though it was a fortnight ago, I can still remember the tastes of the delicious food. Time to return soon for another round of luxury!

Paper Wonder

My 3.5 years old came to me for some white papers and a pair of scissors one morning when I was really busy with work (catching up on emails and lesson preparation). 

About an hour later, he skipped over to me and asked for a giant colorful paper. He got a A3 size red construction paper. 

A few minutes later, he told me 'Mummy, I have a present for you.' :D

Aww.... Have I mentioned a million times already that I love my son?! Oh gosh, I am crazily in love with him. 

I thought every little creation was amazing! (ok, I may be a wee bit biased, but who cares!)

Above: obviously an elephant! I LOVE this!

Above: a bird (love the wings and feet)

Above: A happy sun

The little object on the bottom right hand corner is a scorpion with a giant stinger. This may require a little imagination from us. I had to try *very hard* to imagine it. 

This thoughtful gift of his is now stuck to his bedroom door. It has been weeks since I first laid eyes on it. But it never fails to make me smile every time I walk past his bedroom. 

Such is the precious innocence and generosity of our little ones. I must cherish. 

Four-0

To be honest, I had an ambitious idea last January of how I was going to mark the special occasion for my hubby. One thing for certain, it could not just be a simple cake-card-present affair! After all, it is the big 4-0! 

Armed with tons of ideas and plenty of time, I thought it might even be possible to whip up some magic and line up 40 smaller celebrations, one per day, for a straight period of 40 days! 

How's that for ambition? But I had a sneaky feeling it would be too ambitious and I probably have to scale down closer to the delivery date. 

True enough, in the end, we didn't celebrate in 40 ways. But I did my best to make the days before somewhat special. 

We started the week with a fabulous lunch at Brasserie Wolf, followed by yummy home-made steaks with red wine reduction, prepared the way he likes, on another evening. 

On the actual day, I took him to exquisite dim sum lunch at the luxurious-looking Royal China at the Raffles Hotel after reading raving reviews of its food quality. It certainly didn't disappoint my high expectations. 

Next, we popped by the Tiffany's next door to pick up a special and very personal birthday present which E had chosen a fortnight before. 'It' has stayed close to his heart ever since. 

This was followed by more presents, cake and cards waiting for him at home. 

The first was a beautifully wrapped COLD box of wine-lovers gourmet cheese. The moment E opened the box, Chip who is the other cheese-lover in the family, dashed over to claim his share. It was very quickly devoured by father and son. 

The other present is a book on the top archaeological finds of the world, which I was thrilled to discover amidst a dusty pile of books at Borders. It is now sitting on top of the pile of books by our bedside table. 

Both boys made daddy an adorable card with their own drawings and writing.

Chip painstakingly stuck shiny gold papers on the numbers and drew little hearts and kisses. 

Marcus made the face collage of his dad. So cute! It makes me smile whenever I look at it.

'Daddy is drawing. I (HEART) you. xxx'

'Daddy and I are going on a holiday. Happy birthday! Love and kisses xxx'

To conclude the celebration on a high note, we left the kids at home in the good hands of my mum and headed for seafood dinner at the Greenhouse at Ritz Carlton. Ironically, we were tired by then and didn't quite eat as much seafood as I thought we would. 

Nevertheless, it was precious couple time as we reminisced, over glasses of wines, on the memories of the past decade since our chance meeting on his 30th birthday. It is not every day that we could say 'Hey, today is your 40th birthday and also the 10th anniversary of the day we first met!' It did highlight the significance of the day, at least it did to me. 

It is always wonderful to make memories. That is what life and living is about. I hope the day was good for E, though he did tell me so and thanked me for the gestures and effort to 'fuss over him and make him feel special'. 

I'm glad I did, but in some small ways, I still wished I had stuck to my original idea of 40 small celebrations culminating into a finale. Maybe I would, on his 50th. 

HELLO, Big School!

Almost a year ago, I wrote about our thoughts on the path that our boys shall take after they have completed Kindergarten 2 (or K2).

After the months of deliberation between international schools and local primary schools and finally deciding to register my boys in the latter, I must admit that the issue lingered at the back of my mind now and again. 

Friends and strangers who know I have a K2 boy will ask me of my backup plans in the event that Marcus doesn't get into our school of choice, especially when they heard that we are going to register him in a popular school at Phase 2C of the Primary School Registration Exercise.

Some friends even told me that we should be prepared to cast our vote on another school instead of risking balloting. 

I did think long and hard on the matter at the end of Phase 2A in July, after studying the statistics and past-year histories of three schools I have shortlisted, and re-looked the details of another few schools that are farther away and definitely of a different (and less desirable) league.

But I don't want him in School Y or Z. In my mind, only School X fits the bill! 

The places in our one and only choice were disappearing fast by then. But after discussing with E (again), we decided to be firm and if we had to risk balloting, we shall take that risk. We joked every other day about keeping our fingers and toes crossed. :>

Our only two reasons for placing the boys in a local primary school are to put them through a tougher Chinese curriculum when they are still young, with the belief that it will lay in them a strong foundation in Chinese; and secondly, to instill in them a positive work (and studying) ethic that is in line with our beliefs. 

While we think it is not important for the boys to be in the best school (I have a lot to say about this, but shall reserve for a different post when I have more time), we do want them to be in a good school. What this means, we believe, is that they will be in a good learning environment that comes with higher chances of being surrounded by peers who are equally motivated in learning and possess positive attitude towards life in general. 

My main criteria that resulted in our choice of school is really the academic achievements of the recent batches of graduating cohorts. But I am not interested in the grades of the few top students, a selection criteria used by many, that I deem as too misleading. So what if a school produces top PSLE students every year, if majority of the cohort doesn't do quite as well anyway. 

What fascinated me the most is the % of Primary 6 students with grades A/A* in each of the four subjects. If over 70% of the cohort bagged A/A* for every subject, and for several years recently, it seems logical to assume that the school has a sound teaching system (including staff, method, support) and good learning culture in place. 

So anyway, after all the hype and crossed fingers and toes, I jumped up and down with joy on the morning of Thursday, 5th August when we knew for sure that Marcus has a confirmed place in school X. Which means Nicholas will go there too. :D

We didn't have to ballot at Phase 2C because of the proximity (though it was a close shave). Lady Luck must be smiling at us and those who got a place in the school that day. 

So now, I can't wait for my boys to be part of that big family. I have heard tons of good stuff from parents whose kids are already in that school. Interestingly, everyone has only the most positive things to say about their experience so far. 

The best bit that I have heard so far is that the school has a 'no-homework-on-weekdays' policy and the very fun and creative ways used to inspire a love for the Chinese language! 

I am counting down to the Orientation Day when Marcus will check out this place, which he refers to as 'the big school', for the first time. Already, I can imagine him in the school uniform, making new friends and having tons of fun learning new things. 

Here's my baby, all grown up and almost 6-year-old. 

Just a few more months and we will enter another phase of his life. 

Parenting Thoughts: The Mediocre and The Great

Some food for thought after a recent interesting read on The Case of $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers (article here).

How hard can it be to teach pre-schoolers? 

Most people will probably conclude that it can't be difficult at all. It definitely isn't rocket science. 

But can everyone do an equally effective job of coaching and guiding pre-schoolers?

Let's see. 

As long as we are literate, we should be able to coach our little ones in their academic progress. What's more, with the resources freely available on the Internet nowadays, it does empower parents and older siblings alike, hence giving the illusion that everyone can teach. 

I do stress the word 'illusion' for good reasons. 

Everyone can provide answers. But NOT everyone can be an effective teacher. 

Even in formal schools, when teachers are supposedly qualified with the right certification, it doesn't mean they will be effective in delivering the lessons and achieving learning outcomes.

How can we tell if a teacher is effective? 

It isn't straightforward but the easiest way is probably to look at the outcomes delivered (i.e. the children's learning progress over a reasonable period of time). 

Great teachers (like great leaders) do not just provide answers. They should be able to inspire a child to want to learn more by heightening his awareness to his world and teaching him how to enquire, hence cultivating his curiosity and intensifying his thirst for knowledge.

Even with a passion to learn, a child's learning progress can be accelerated only if he has good learning habits and positive attitude, which are definitely qualities that effective teachers should and will take pains to instill in the child. 

Passion for teaching and love for a child alone, are also not enough to make one a great teacher, though they may help to motivate a teacher to put in more efforts. 

So, while all parents should and can play an active role in their children's education and learning journey, not everyone can be an effective teacher in delivering a holistic education to their little ones. 

Which is why I don't think homeschooling is a viable option for every family, even if a parent is willing to put in her best efforts. The dismaying academic results at PSLE of some home-schooled children as compared to the national standards tells plenty. 

Perhaps some didn't even bother to try hard enough because of the low importance they place on such methods of assessment. Or perhaps their kids are just not exam-smart and can't deal with the stress of having to perform in a set amount of time because they have been used to a stress-free home-schooled environment?? 

Of course, these families would have good reasons to homeschool their kids in the first place and probably find the consequences acceptable in return for the other benefits. 

It is a case of to each his own. 

Great Green Grounds

I have a thing for photos that show my boys dashing through wide green spaces. 

@ the Istana on 8th August 2010. 

Wholesome fun, despite the heat, humidity and damp grass. We will be back for sure! 

Dads for Life

Above: E with 2-weeks old Marcus

A few weeks ago, the team behind the wonderful site Dadsforlife contacted me regarding my blog post on our little adventure to the Navy Open House 2010. 

The key point of interest to them, as I noted, was the influence that daddy may have on our offspring and they liked to feature the story on their website. 

As some of you may have already read in this blog, local newspapers and/or elsewhere in the blogsphere, the whole incident was started because of a cute letter that my 5.5 years old, Marcus penned to the Chief of Singapore Navy. 

Dadsforlife is an incredible resource, especially for young and new parents. It is highly inspirational and I like the way the site aims to empower fathers with all the sharing of experiences, advices and ideas.

The story is now out on the website, as part of a bigger article in Fatherhood 101. Go check it out if you are keen. 

Above: Marcus was 2.5 months old here. This is one of my favourite photos of all time! 

Big Rocks in Space

He wanted to paint rocks. Not just any ordinary rocks but meteorites in space. 

And he insisted on using toothbrush instead of paintbrush. 

While the fun for him was during the creation, the best part for me is to capture the moment of pride when he held up his masterpiece. 

BANG, DING-DONG and their Friends!

For the past few months, Marcus would insist that the book for his bedtime reading be The Adventures of Tin Tin. He is at Volume 7 (The Calculus Affair, The Red Sea Sharks and Tin Tin in Tibet) now.

Frankly, I can't stand it. So usually E will oblige and I go read to Chip.

One night recently when E was away, I said yes to the boy when he showed me his book of choice. Actually his ONLY choice.

With a boy on each side, I promised to read the next 10 pages from the page which Marcus has 'dog-eared'. After a page or two, I came to the part that said 'BANG!'.

Before I pronounced it, Marcus said 'oh mummy, this (pointing to the word 'bang') is a 'onomatopoeia'.

'Huh? Say that again?', I asked.

He explained what it meant and gave me a few examples such as 'ring-ring', 'buzz' and 'pop'.

At that point, my little Chip enthusiastically added 'ding-dong', 'clank-clank', 'oink-oink' and 'tick-tock'! I was IMPRESSED.

My 5.5 years old couldn't spell the last part of the word for me, so I had to do some guesswork based on his pronunciation and look up the word on Wikipedia.

They have learnt the word from daddy during one of their nightly reads (sometimes Chip snuggled up to listen to Tin Tin too).

It pleases me to no end that E shares my belief that 'every child is born a genius' and never to underestimate our boys' abilities.

It is simply wonderful to have him share this parenting journey with me. And now, I have learnt a new word too!

Parenting Thoughts: It's all about Inspiration!

Above: Lego truck built by Chip in May 2010, entirely on his own.

As a parent and caregiver, our choice of words can have a tremendous effect on just how effective we are in encouraging our little ones.

This applies to every aspect of their lives. If you think hard enough, young kids have lots of room for improvement in EVERY area and it is not limited to just their education.

They can always work on their manners, learn to look after themselves better and be independent, try harder at doing any given task etc etc..

Even at unstructured playtime, there is always something to learn.



On a daily basis, my boys usually spend a good 2 to 3 hrs before school and another 3 to 4 hrs after school on free-play (i.e. I don't dictate what and how they play and they play on their own or together). That is a solid 5 to 7 hrs of playtime daily!



That said, there are rules that they have to observe, or at least try to observe. Rules such as sharing, be nice to each other, no criticising of each other's creations (be it drawings or Lego or anything they make) though I do encourage constructive comments.

Marcus, being older and more experienced at Lego and drawings, used to belittle the creations of his younger brother, brushing them off as 'too simple', 'not good enough' etc. He didn't say them to hurt Chip's feelings or boast about his own abilities. They were uttered more like an honest and innocent remark, without having first considered the feelings of the recipient. He is after all, not even 6 years old! 

But he has since learnt to be more encouraging and I can tell that he tries.

We also have friends/relatives who will say things like 'Oh Chip copies his brother to make this and that'. While they mean no harm, I am quick to defend Chip everytime.

'He is INSPIRED! Not copying!' I would say.

Copying something means producing something that is identical.

If Chip makes a Lego truck that has a little resemblance to a truck that Marcus made before, it doesn't mean Chip copies his brother. 

To me, it just means that Chip is inspired and with inspiration, he tries his best to create on his own.



Above: Front and back views of the robot that Chip made in June 2010. 

This is to be encouraged. It is the same with everything else that my boys do. 

I guide them to look for inspirations.

But having inspirations is only the beginning of a long journey. They need to have a positive attitude towards learning and be self-motivated to put in their own hard work and perspiration, before we can even come close to any success. 

The journey is as valuable though since they learn much along the way. And why not enjoy the ride with as much fun and laughter as possible. 

A Piece of His Own Garden

Ever since he came back from London last July, he has been asking for his very own garden. 

He has grand plans of the kind of trees and plants that he wants to have in his dream garden. 

A few months ago, his school encouraged the kids to bring a plastic bottle for recycling and he came back with little seedlings in it. 

Every morning, he would lovingly place it next to the window in our living room and "watch it grow". 

Then he forgot about the seedling for a few days. 

When he realized it had died, the boy was so sad and speechless for some moments, as if mourning the death of his plant. And I even noticed a tear at the corner of his eye. Just one. But still, my baby shed a tear for his dead plant. AWw.... 

Craft: Cards of Love

For their grannies' birthdays, both boys collaborated and worked really hard to create two birthday cards.

We brainstormed the themes for the cards and narrowed it down to 'Love'. Instead of each boy making two cards, I thought it would be more meaningful for the brothers to work together and make just one card for each grandparent.

Also, instead of just drawing pictures and color them in, we figured why not try combining all the art techniques that the kids are familiar with to make something different for each card, while also ensuring that the cards share some similarities. 

I imagine the grannies will place the cards side-by-side, hence the 'connections' between the cards will be a nice element.

The boys were so excited by the time our 'planning' was completed and were almost desperate to get started on their creations.

For a few hours (split over two days), they made four backgrounds using different art techniques.

Then they drew the heart shapes and the letters 'L', 'O', 'V', 'E' on the backgrounds they chose and shared the job of cutting. 

The completed cards of Love. 

Marcus wanted to write the birthday messages on both cards, which he did and even added a little 'stamp' next to his name. Haha! 

While Marcus was writing the messages, Chip insisted on making a special present for his grannies.

So after a few suggestions, he settled for using the leftover paper plate heart shapes which I have saved from my classes to make a FLOWER!! :D 

After the painted hearts were dry and stuck together, it was time for his favourite part of the craft - adding glitter glue. His hands are surprisingly strong and steady now as he squeezed the firm little bottles to add sparkly lines and spirals to the flower. 

Both cards and flower were mailed to grannies in London in July. 

Once again, Happy Birthday, Grandpa and Grandma!!  :D 

Hair in my Rice?

It was way past lunch time but the boys refused to leave the school. They were having too much fun playing hide and seek and chasing games with their friends since 11.45am.

Finally they were dragged home. After a quick shower, they started complaining of hunger. 

With only 10 min to whip up something for the boys' lunch, I threw together some overnight cooked brown rice, a cup of frozen vegetables, three eggs, some chopped ham (Marcus chose a big roll of ham the other day) to serve up a reasonably healthy version of fried brown rice.

Two plates on the table and the boys dug in like hungry wolves.

A few minutes later, Marcus paused in between mouthfuls and stared curiously at his food. 

'Mummy, why is there hair in my rice?'  It was kind of funny that he was so calm, with half-chewed food in his mouth. No exclamation or expressions of horror at all. 

Alerted by his big brother, my 3.5 years old also started picking at his food, turning the rice grains over and over, as if looking for something. 

'Mummy, I don't see hair in my rice. But there is a lot of sand in my rice! 

Haha! 

So I had to confess. 

I spotted a pack of Bee Cheng Hiang's fish floss in the fridge when I was cooking, and on a whim, decided to mix two teaspoons of it into the boys' piping hot lunch. 

The kids had never seen or tasted pork or fish floss before. Now that they have mentioned it, I can see why they would think it looks like 'hair' and 'sand'.

I explained to them what fish floss is and how it is made. I also shared that it is their grandma's favorite food and how she would add it to bread, rice, porridge and whatever else that she is eating. 

Somehow, that changes their perception and instantly makes the 'hair' and 'sand' more palatable. 

They looked at the packet and their lunch again and this time, asked for MORE! 

YUM! YUM! was their reactions. Haha! In this sitting alone, each boy served themselves at least another 3 teaspoons of fish floss to eat with their fried rice. 

Marcus even suggested to serve a bowl of this fish floss at his birthday party, so he can offer it to all his friends to eat with their slice of birthday cake. Umm... I don't think so, cheeky!

The lunch was all eaten and boys went off playing. But now, I can't shake off the association of 'hair' or 'sand' with meat floss. Yikes! 

I don't think I will be eating pork or fish floss anytime soon. 

 

Craft: A Small Forest

Another craft with recycled materials. 

Here was Chip pressing the old playdoh onto the base of the container. That was supposed to be the 'soil'.

 

He was real proud of his finished product. :> 

The Long, Long Song

Six months later, Chip is still crazy about rhyming sentences!

He makes up all sorts of funny words that rhyme and laughs hard at his own silliness.

Pink is the ink.

He thinks and winks.

Song, song, the long, long song.
Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!

.....and is silly, willy, billy, milly!

A hat is a cat that sat on a mat! 

Most of these rhyming sentences really make no sense, but nevertheless, I am still impressed.

He gets real tickled when I join him to make up my own silly lines that rhyme. 

 

Sometimes, the cues are just something that Marcus or I have said. Or something that we have read in a book together moments ago.

Out of a sudden, the rhyming would start and go on for 10 minutes or more. He is just too adorable to watch. 

Picture this - this small person pottering around the house with his own plans and rhyming to himself and his soft toys, and all the while, giggling away. :)

Photos: exhausting himself running round and round the water feature at the Rendevous hotel last month.

I love these few photos of him. 

As I look through our photo log recently, I realize how few photos I have taken in the last few months. None at all of them attending birthday parties, having fun at playdates or just hanging out doing silly things. Hmm... we gotta try harder at that. 

Maybe a photo a day, at least, from today onwards.