We got this from Taobao, it was really cool, about $50 plus for 6 kg of sand and included many moulds and international shipping. Saw this sold in shops and it was rather costly, was glad we could always rely on Taobao for such deals.
there were many colours to choose from, mama chose pink, ha, xun and tong's favourite colour..hmmm not too sure if it was tong's fav but it was xun's and tong always copied jie jie
the sand was not sticky and was so malleable, even tong could make perfect shapes using the moulds
the seller threw in lots of moulds
it was so easy...xun and mama spent a few hours playing together
Tong did not play as long though, he took more delight in stomping on the shapes that mama and jie jie had made
tong fell asleep with his little black cat, so jie and ma continued playing in peace. ha, we decided to use all the moulds and see if there would be any sand left
jie's favourite, she put the eyes on the shell and thought it was really funny
all the shapes, liked the buildings very much
there was still leftover sand, jie used the sticks to poke starry shapes and thought it looked so pretty
WATER PLAY
this was part of the loot from taobao, tong was into McQueen now and he requested for a McQueen swimming cap so I bought one whole set for him
jie's elsa swimming costume was soooo pretty, eh, it was meant for girls 115 - 125cm, but it fit her so well now, did not think she would fit in it if we were to keep it longer...ha..it was a defective piece so we got it for like less than $10 and could not find anything wrong with it, it was sooooo pretty.
e crazy pals who were up to no good again.
Nature play
We took ah gong's car to Jurong East library on a Mon and passed by this grass patch...
eh...something about seeing mimosa and lalang that sent the two of you bonkers, we must absolutely linger on this verdant patch...
very breezy...mama just sat and waited...
while you two stomped on mimosa and plucked lalangs and thrashed the seeds so they would fly and grow somewhere else...
Yeh, I remembered playing on grass patches with my sisters too...at wai gong's factory, there was lots of this tall grass with a hard vein, our uncles told us how to make flying arrows out of them...
Jie wanted to bring this bouquet home but mama did not allow...ah...imagine the mess! ha, so we took a picture and thrashed them and let the seeds fly...
oh Singa in the library...
after borrowing books, we went to this playground nearby...
yeah, going to this Jurong East library had great meaning to me as wai po used to bring me and my sisters there too...we were poor, could not afford much entertainment or visits to the attractions...so library visits were very special...
Papa's birthday celebrations
It was papa's birthday, we took the bus to town to meet him and his colleagues for a buffet dinner at Triple 3 restaurant. Well, as usual, on the journey, the kids took a snooze. ha, totally forgot to take pictures of the dinner...
oh, papa's birthday. mama secretly took leave and left you two at wai po's house to go on a date with papa. we went for spa at De beaute at IP and went to M hotel for high tea. Very costly though, it cost $40 on groupon...and there was not a lot of food, though exquisite and yummy..haha
well, we had a go at pretending to be atas. would prefer eating at coffee shops anytime!
surprise Mookata dinner with his pals from hall
Could not imagine, but I had been friends with this bunch of people for 10 over years! We arranged this 3 months ago...uncle hao suggested the place as he had some vouchers, uncle huimin suggested naming the chatgroup "online shopping" so that papa would not be suspicious when he saw msgs popping up with this title...uncle hao suggested telling papa I needed to pick up some stuff I bought from a seller so he would drive me there...haha...
we hung out so much that I was close to uncle hao, min and Erwin like we were personal friends. And I was bosom buddies with their spouses too, like Aunt JingLi who always brought back all the kids' toys from the SIA flights and Aunt Xiuming who would buy dolls and dresses ...ha
aunt adeline and uncle sally Alvin were part of the clique too...5 couples, perfect no
we ticked off many items on the menu since it was a buffet (only $17 per pax using uncle hao's coupon vs $29!)
imagined our shock and amusement when the trays and trays, seemingly endless, appeared on our table
so many that we have to put on a chair and the empty table behind us. eh...this was not the final tally, in fact, at the end of the dinner, the whole table was laden with empty trays...a pity I forgot to take a picture
then we got another hotplate coz one would simply take too long
ha smoke billowing...aroma wafting...sweat trickling...standing up to feast...
it was a very extremely enjoyable dinner...no fanfare, no extravagant restaurant or hefty bill...
just unadulterated friendship and mirth...I thanked God for giving us friends...friends who had withstood the trials of time, friends who loved us for whom we were...
Random stuff
about marriage wisdom...you see, children...mama was constantly learning how to be a better wife and mother. I did not believe it came naturally or some people just had the inherent flair...mama believed in making conscious, deliberate efforts...yeah...so I devoured books on parenting and marriage voraciously...
went to hillv2 for dinner with papa...liked this fried chicken restaurant...all rustic and woody décor, like our first house in potong pasir. Was just telling papa today that we needed to move to a new house with 4 rooms so each of you could have a room and own privacy..
then we could decorate it with a woody theme again, something mama and papa loved
after dinner, dessert time. Café Dean and Deluca...apparently some posh hippy café in Europe and only had a few branches in Spore
oooo we found coloured sugar, if only they were not so exorbitant at $8 per tin, we could buy and spread on our butter sugar bread, our comfort breakfast food for now, everyday!
tong wanted the SG 50 cake and jie the rainbow cake. Tong won the scissors paper stone game but papa still bought both slices in the end, to jie's jubilance
another pic about the reality of being a mum and wife
oh and saw these pictures on facebook, cool idea...could have this till you became teens and we moved into the new house with 4 rooms, hopefully, papa got to work really hard then to provide for us. ha
Stumbled upon this picture recently, ha, I thought it really described the situation in our house.
one night, papa went to fetch you alone after a function and you two squeezed in front as there were loads of things at the back. ha
down memory lane, we celebrated in 2012...wow, how much you two had grown
the chubby tong tong in 2012...hahahaa
who would still wear the Chelsea jersey as he did not know how to voice his opinions yet
oh and the surprise yacht party in 2013? I supposed that was when you you was due to be born in oct, er jie was gorgeously pregnant then...
2015, another of tong's selfie again. You kept asking when didi would arrive, you could not bear the anticipation...actually you were more eager for the presents that tim, ahem meaning mama papa, would buy. ha...oh well...glad you two were looking forward to him joining us, fresh from heaven. Gonna throw our routines into upheaval for a while, but I trusted...all would be good...
New International Version
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
And that was our hope for the three of you...a 3-fold cord that would be united and strong...
papa talked about the 4th, darn! ha...mama was hesitant...but we would let God impress upon us the way forward a few years later.
I love the two of you so much. You are the tangible embodiment of angels sent by God. Thank you for being my angels.
