Sound of Music

Hubby and I like jazz music. We didn't know until we moved in our apartment and realised we had some same jazz cds.

And it looks like Eugene likes jazz too.


Father and son having their own seats in front of the speakers.

Eugene's Camera Shots

Eugene don't really like toys. Yep, you heard right.

He's got heaps of toys like toy cars, lots of Thomas toy trains, planes, etc......... he would just play with them for like, a few minutes and then it's relegated to the corner or in the toy bin. Maybe he's just too young to appreciate it?

He loves looking at books and trying to figure out real stuff like the remote controls, computers and now my camera.

Just told him once only, where to press the button and now he's an expert. Just pressing the buttons only lah, he doesn't know how to focus the camera.


Not bad lah - at least not blurry .... ha ha ha...

Funny Hats

Father and son wearing diaper hats....

Don't they remind you of the Smurfs?






Eugene wearing a shower-cap.

Changi Airport T3 Walk-About

25 Dec'2009 - Merry Christmas!


We are planning to holiday in China next year and would like Eugene to see a real aeroplane so that he will not be too overwhelm when he sees one on our holiday.

So off we go to Changi Airport Terminal 3 as hubby and I have only seen T1 and T2.


I like looking at waterfalls.






Eugene's cheeky smile again...



What are they looking at?






It's this big egg or globe or whatever you call it. It opens up every half hour.
Little coloured ping-pong balls and sweets rolled down and out from some tubes. The kids went crazy for the sweets and you bring the ping-pong balls to a counter to collect some gifts.





The airport hotel, Crowne Plaza.
This is the reception area. I especially like the batik panels arranged in slats formation.






The foyer of the hotel.



Look there at the plane!






Waiting for the Sky Train.



We didn't get down at the next terminal. We did a loop back to T3.



Eugene was scared to stand alone on the travelator and so I have to hold him.

Thumb-Sucking No More!

I was worried about Eugene's thumb sucking.

I pull his thumb out whenever I see it in his mouth but to no avail. I even rubbed some lemon on his thumb - no effect.

So many people tells me that it's harder to break the thumb-sucking habit than sucking a pacifier as you could take away the pacifier but not his thumb!

I had wanted to stop his thumb sucking habit as his teeth was coming out and I did not want it to affect the teeth development.

Wah, so headache, so how ah?

Then he got the HFMD. Because of the ulcers in his mouth, Eugene could not suck his thumb - pain lah. So for about a week, he did not do it.

And then ..........

He never suck his thumb again!

It's like he forgot that he used to suck his thumb.

Hooray! at least something good came out of the HFMD.


(see HFMD Beginning and HFMD Aftermath)

A GIVER

I had been cooking porridge for Eugene for his lunch and dinner this week (of cos not just plain porridge lah, got mixture of meat, fish, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrot etc).

Think he might get bored with his porridge and also to give myself a break from cooking his food, we went to McDonalds.

Eugene had a filet fish - he finished the whole fish filet and half of the bun.

A staff came to give him a balloon and he was so happy playing with it.

Just then, 2 boys and their dad came in. I think the younger is about 2-3 years old and the older boy is most probably about 5-7 years old. The older boy came to look at the balloon that Eugene was holding and was commenting that he would like a balloon too. The younger boy was also looking at the balloon and pointing at it.

Eugene saw the older boy looking at his balloon and stretched out his hand which was holding the balloon to the boy. Hmm.... did Eugene really wanted to give him the balloon or just pretend to give? Just then, the boy's dad called him and he went to sit at the table behind us.

We had finished our meal and was getting ready to leave. Eugene looked at me and passed me the balloon, I thought he wanted me to keep it for him. I temporarily put on the table while I buckle him down on his pram. He then gestured to his balloon which I passed to him.

We had to pass the table where the 2 boys were sitted and Eugene then stretched out the hand holding the balloon to the younger boy.

I stopped and asked him, "You want to give the balloon to Kor-Kor? If you give, you cannot take it back". Eugene nodded. He stretched out his hand again. Again I asked him a second time, just to be sure - hey, I don't want a bawling kid on my hand.

So Eugene handed his balloon over to the younger kid. Just like that, he did not make a fuss that he wanted it back or even look back at his balloon.

When we were outside McDonalds, I praised him and told him that, that was a nice thing that he did.

Hubby said that it's good that Eugene is a giver, not a selfish person who only wants to take, take, take.

Eugene Boy! Mommy is so proud of you !

HFMD Aftermath

Aftermath of the HFMD blisters (see beginning)

Eugene had recovered from his HFMD very fast. He recovered within a week. His blisters on his feet were also gone. So I was quite surprised that the skin on his sole was peeling where the blisters were, since it was more than a month already.



Oh, what is this? Let me take a look - my skin is peeling off.






See mommy, I show you.



Close up. Dry and scaly.






I've just started applying some Vitamin E oil on it and it is not so dry and scaly now.

Heaven or Hell ?

I hope I'm not opening a can of worms by saying this :

All religions are good and teaches you the right path to take. It's good to have a strong believe in your own faith and believe in what your own faith teaches.

But don't push your own faith onto another. Don't expound to others that your own religion/god is the only true one and the only path to salvation (you mean, another different religion are fake, their god is fake, everybody will burn in hell?).

Hmm.... a thought. If everybody thinks that their own religion is the only true one and non-followers will be doomed - doesn't this mean that everybody on Earth is doomed?
AA followers say BB followers will go to hell, while BB followers say AA followers will go to hell - man, this is ridiculous and funny.

Come on everybody, believe in your own faith but don't condemn or mock others of different faith.

I saw the below article and thought that it's well put. Article mentioned about Buddhism but I am not spreading about Buddhism here. It just so happen that Buddhism was mentioned - it could refer to any other religion.



Can You Believe What I Believe, If You Believe You Love Me?

A friend, who is a newbie to Buddhism, lamented that his fiancee is pressurising him to convert to her faith, or they had better not get married. She had realised he was becoming more and more engaged in Buddhism, and got “worried”.

Isn’t this sad? Just as she saw her faith important to her, she could not see how his mattered to him. What’s more confounding is her closed-mindedness to Buddhism, while insisting her faith is the only right one. How could she force him to convert, while totally disrespecting his faith?

When one uses one’s love as stakes to threaten, is it really love? True love is unconditional – it accepts people as they are, not as who we want them to be.

The key to “religious tolerance” is understanding. “Tolerance” is not the most appropriate word. With true understanding, there is no need to “tolerate” – we make peace with each other, live and let live. Shouldn’t this practice of “religious tolerance” begin with those we are closest to, since we love them the most?

One’s faith is often one’s most precious “possession”. So precious is it that one would naturally wish to share it – especially with loved ones. Remembering how this applies not only to ourselves, but to those we love too, there is no point force-feeding our faiths to each another. We can imagine the exasperation in being unable to lead loved ones to “salvation”, but we have to remember that as much as want to “save”, others might not want to be “saved” in our way. In fact, their idea of “salvation” might be entirely different.

If we truly love the ones we do, we should keep our minds open, and take the time to understand why they embrace their faiths so strongly.

The incident made me reflect… Will I give up Buddhism to make way for love? If I am a newbie lacking in understanding the importance of taking and keeping refuge in the Triple Gem (the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), I might relinquish Buddhism. Not being a newbie anymore, I will choose my spiritual relationship with the Triple Gem above any worldly relationship. It’s as crystal clear as why we should choose the discovered path to Nirvana instead of taking a detour. Then again, can I be compassionate enough to pretend to forgo my faith, while using skilful means to win my partner to Buddhism in good time? Devious? Well, it depends on your motivation – is it solely out of true love to benefit, or just to win another convert?

An ideal relationship nurtures spiritual growth. If not, it might nurture “samsaric” growth instead. Maintaining a harmonious love relationship with someone of another faith, though tricky, is possible.

Sadly, some inter-religious marriages work well when one or both parties are not staunch spiritual practitioners. Sometimes, one party is so dominating that the other always gives in, suffering in silence. Thus are the chances of friction due to differences low in these two instances.

Probably the biggest test of “religious tolerance” is when a couple has kids. Will each try their best to win the kids to their “side”? Will the kids experience religious harmony or conflict at home?

Just as it is best for the kids to experience harmony, it is best that the adults start nurturing the harmony between themselves now – whether they plan for children or not.

Harmony will ensue when we focus on the common virtues which make religions respectable; not their differences.

On hindsight, it might be a blessing in disguise that my friend faced his dilemma early – before marriage. After all, before considering nuptial commitment, it’s always good to consider possible problems of religious commitment.

May they and all other inter-religious couples be well and happy!

'Wonder-Group' Early Christmas Gathering 2009

05 Dec'2009

Had an early christmas gathering with my friends. Wonder why it's called the 'Wonder-Group'? - see below for answer.


(** please click on the collages to see full view)


1st stop : Plaza Brasserie, ParkRoyal Hotel at Beach Road

Eugene with Chong and Anthony






2nd stop : K-Suites at Illuma, for Karaoke




Celebrating Chong's birthday


Our exchanged gifts



Let's start singing! Chong and I dancing some dance steps to the Wonder Girls song, 'Nobody'



Chong has got a new camera and he's testing it out and taking lots of our pics.

















Posing to a couple of dance moves of the Wonder Girls. Now that's why we are called the 'Wonder Group', ha ha ha.



3rd stop : Tea at HK Cafe

Actor/Actress wannabe - not very good lor.....









Wonder Group : Anthony, Chong, Leslie 'Meow Meow', Donna, Ferra, Leia, Felicia
Guest artiste : Andrew, Eugene
Photo Collages by Chong.


It's great to let our hair down once in a while, to be silly and funny and hemping it up.

Thanks Chong for the great photos - you know why lah! "wink"

Telephone Operator

.

.
I've got a serious job to do - answering the phone




Hello, yes?




Daddy, somebody want to speak to you...




Sorry, Daddy cannot come to the phone right now




Aiyah, I told you already that he is busy...




Daddy, you're back - this person insist on talking to you



Hee hee, job done.