BBQ @ Balestier

12 Sept'2009

BBQ at De-Royale condo at Balestier.


A swim before the BBQ.




















I must say that Eugene is not so scared of the water now.
Hubby said that Eugene slipped and went under but he did not cry.
At home recently, when Eugene's in the bath-tub, he likes to dip his face on the surface of the water, so I guess he is not so afraid now.




M with her 3 months old baby gal E
Hubby's sis with 11 months old B





D's been doing most of the bbqing. Thanks D!



Also thanks to S (hubby's bro)


Marm-marm



My MIL feeding Eugene.
Marm-marm

Cousins Gathering

06 Sept'2009

Hubby's cousins from Australia and USA came for a visit.


Gathering at K's beautiful house.







The gracious host K (without the beard)
Cousin D's hubby and daughter



Cousin V's hubby and daughter



I want a drink too!






All in rapt attention







Think I'll go find something interesting to do........


like pressing the fan's buttons!


















Eugene sour-face cos he wants to get down and play in the water.






Guess what these kids are up to?



Everybody is taking the stones lining the edge of this little stream and throwing it into the stream.
The little boy S, throwing the stones into the stream (that is a stone, not a pixel defect)






Father and son posing in the same manner, so cute.

I Understand

Eugene seems to understand a lot nowadays.

Ever since he turned 1 year old - it seemed like something has been switched on in him. It's like he suddenly understands a lot more.

Here're some examples :

- Eugene, it's time for a bath. Go and wait for mommy at the toilet door.
He goes straight away and wait for me outside the toilet door.

- Eugene, it's time for "mam-mam" (time to eat), go and sit on your chair.
He drops what he's doing and goes to sit on his little chair.

- Where's bear-bear?
He looks and point to his bear which he had thrown out of his cot every morning (but he sleeps with it at night or having his naps).

- What is this? (me pointing to a banana)
Na-na-na (hey, not exact words but he got the 3 syllables right)

- Where's your rake/spade? (his toy rake/spade)
He went to his toy bin, rummage thru it and picks out his rake/spade!

- Eugene, it's hot, please switch on the fan.
He goes to the fan and switch it on, then off, then on..........

Best one of all
- Eugene, please put your toys back into the toy bin
No response. Eugene is very good at selective hearing.

Eugene is mimicking what we say. Like, we say good-morning and he says, "ning".

He's beginning to mimick me saying 'Okay' by saying "kay".

And now, he points to stuff and says "tair tair" (there, there).

Maybe he's understanding more words because mommy here will talk to him all the time. Whether he understands or not, I will still talk to him.

Talk about the weather, how hot it is. And when I ask him if he thinks it's going to rain, he will turn and look towards the window to look.

Even if I'm in the supermarket shopping for stuff, I will talk and sometimes ask him like, hey, Eugene, do you think we should get this veg or the other veg etc.

Even when pushing his pram, I will describe things or tell him about his surroundings and sometimes some passerbys think that I'm a bit mad talking to myself (hmm.. actually I do talk to myself).

Luckily I guess, that I'm quite chatty.

Don't Mix Up

Assess a religion on the basis of its teachings.

The deeds of its followers are a different matter;
whether good or bad,
they belong to individuals and not the teachings.

Don't mix up the two.

– H.H. the 17th Karmapa

Fengshui

I do believe in fengshui to a certain extent.

If it is to do something or place something, change position etc and if it does not inconvenience anybody, then sure why not.

But if it is to the point where it is being ridiculous - obviously you might not think so, but if somebody tells you so - then rethink.

The below article is a good summary.

Main point - it's your Mind that will make the changes. Hmm, did Demartini from "The Secret" realised this too?


Newbie Buddhists often wonder if fengshui or geomancy has any connections with Buddhism.

Well, along with astrology and such, the Buddha did see such practices as low arts, since they do not lead to enlightenment, while he did not outright say they are totally invalid or useless.

Well, there is some connection between the elements and our lives, since our lives are interconnected with our environment. However, when these connections are spelled out as mystical rules to be followed blindly without reflection or enquiry, it becomes a pseudo-religion of superstition instead.

Let's look at very basic 'geomancy' to see how it can make sense.

If you open an eatery next to a stinking public toilet, it's obvious that the stench will mask any tempting aromas from your shop.
This would clearly be a case of 'bad fengshui', as we can tell with common sense!
If a so-called fengshui master, instead of proposing moving or doing something with the stench, proposes some other bizarre remedy instead, that even he can't explain the rationale of, would you follow his advice?
At what point is advice sensible and what point nonsensical? You decide!

There are logical concepts of geomancy which subtly marry geology and psychology, but there are many aspects accepted dogmatically too.

Why not actively enquire on their rationale before accepting them? If not, you might be taken for a ride that parts you with your money.

Buddhism advocates changing of the mind before changing the environment. When the mind changes, the environment can too - even if it is just your perception of it.

It is due to having sufficient good karma that a place with good fengshui can be found. Even so, its goodness can be destroyed by creation of bad karma! - Shen Shi'an

As your mind is your immediate environment, when your mind changes, the world changes. - Stonepeace

Kumar, The Singapore Drag Queen

Of cos, who haven't heard of Kumar?

My friends and I had attended one of her/his shows a long time ago and it was really hilarious, though sometimes rather insulting but it always hits the nail on the head.

Good to see that he is still around and still just as quick and spot-on in his humour.

So, for a dose of really funny, and should I say bitchy comments, here's Kumar.

For the non-Singaporeans, Kumar is speaking in Singlish, our concoction of English mix with local slangs. So, if you don't understand, too bad lah.

For the Singaporeans and you don't understand, aiyoh, you call yourself Singaporeans? (**roll-eyes**).

So for my fellow Singaporeans of all races, don't get upset with the comments, learn to laugh about ourselves and relaxxx lah.......

Michael Jackson Dance

Eugene likes to listen to music especially the beaty ones like Michael Jackson's.

Here's a video of him bopping to the MJ music.

And I must say he's rather observant. You know how MJ likes to go "hee, hee" in his songs? well, Eugene have pick up on that!

Listen to him doing the "hee, hee" in the background.

HDB Hub Play Play

26 Aug'2009

We always pass by this interactive mat outside the NTUC and Eugene will always get very excited especially when he sees other children playing on it.

Today, I finally put him onto the mat since he's now rather steady standing and walking.

Wow, he was so happy and excited joining the other kids.





The older boy was a bit rough. When Eugene was walking slowly, he shoved him at the back - luckily Eugene did not fall.






The little girl was more gently. She was earlier following behind Eugene like follow-the-leader game.



This interactive mat changes to different games which you play with your feet.

I, a Citizen of Singapore

26 August 2009


Eugene got his Singapore Citizenship today!

His adoption is finally legalised. It was a long process but he is definitely worth it - he is such an adorable boy.






See my name there? I'm finally a Singapore citizen and mommy and daddy's child.

ION Orchard

Hubby have not been to ION yet, so off we go.

We got kind of lost in there. There are 2 sections - the expensive section with all the big name brands and the other usual middle-of-the-road brands.

Wanted to do lunch at one of the restaurants but there were long queues. The only one with no queue was "The Soup Spoon" - and it was surprising good

Choose your soup and for an additional $3.90, you get a half size of either salad, burger or wrap and an ice lemon tea.

Hubby's choice :
Tomato soup - not the usual tomato soup, this was a little bit spicy, very delicious
Beef Burger - delicious too, though the burger bread was too thick - comes with a small side salad.

My choice :
Mushroom soup - the usual mushroom soup. Soup was rather thick, can do with a bit less flour.
Hummus Wrap - absolutely yummy! comes with a small side salad.

All in, about $10 per person. Good deal. Sorry, no pic. So hungry that I wolf down the food and only remembered half way thru, ha ha.



Can't remember the name of this huge CD store but it's part of Gramaphone.

I'm going to look at some DVDs







Now, let me see......




Eugene looking none too please as I was restraining him to take a pic with me.
Mommy, I've got so many things to see........




Daddy, why are you also like Mommy, let me down....



Ok, Eugene, hold Daddy's hand (futile attempt)



Yoohoo! hello there babes!
(Eugene saw some gals sitting and immediately ran over to them)



Eugene dancing to some music (he especially likes Michael Jackson and Jazz Music)



Model Pose - Model in the making?






Over at parents-in-law in the evening.

Steady lah!

19 Aug'09


Eugene's been really walking all over the place now. He's now more steady in his walking though can't really go that fast yet - if he wants to get to another area fast, he will start crawling again.

And he's able to stand up on his own now. He had done it before but more the exception than the norm. I guess now that his legs are stronger, it's easier for him.

Night fever, night fever...... John Travolta Junior...




(Eugene's been cheeky, sticking out his tongue, he knows that I'm taking his pic)
YEAH!



Here's a clip of Eugene walking around the house non-stop.

I Wanna Be A Pilot

Eugene's learning things very fast.

When he first try to stand, to hold and how to get down while holding onto something - we taught him how to go about doing it - and he will always know how to do it later.

Eugene got this plane walker on his 1st birthday from Uncle Kenneth (thanks Kenneth) which he love to play.

He had tried to get on and off on his own but couldn't as he don't know which leg goes where.

So today, in the morning, I showed him how to place his legs to get on and off and while teaching him, he was listening and looking very intently, even allowing me to position his hands and legs.

Anyway, I left it at that after showing him and went about doing my own stuff and Eugene played with his other toys.

In the afternoon, while fixing his lunch, when I turned around, he was on the aeroplane but on the wrong end,ha ha and he managed to get down on his own too - exactly the same way that I had taught him.

And in the early evening, he had managed to be facing the front instead of the back of the plane.



Mommy, don't take my pic. I'm on the wrong end of the plane - it's embarrassing....




ok, let me figure it out.......



many hours later.........


Mommy, I can get in and sit on the correct end of the plane all on my own!




now, a serious pose....... I'm a potential pilot......

Grrrr.... I'm tough

Eugene's been rather innovative lately.

He has recently been turning over his toy bin, emptying out all his toys and sitting in it. And now he turns the toy bin over and sits on top of it!


Eugene, look here and smile.......

All nice and calm.....


suddenly,

grrrr....... let me show you how tough I am.....


ok, I really don't know what to make of it.