Prince Charming has Marriage on His Mind

My Little Man appears to have grown up overnight, for on this day 09-09-15 the Little Man proclaimed his intention to marry!

It was just the two of us in the car during our usual school run, when the Little Man suddenly strikes up this conversation with his beloved Mummy:
(Note that words in italics denotes the inner voice of Mummy and the Little Man)

Little Man: "Mummy, when I grow up, I want to marry you...... (Mummy is obviously taken by surprise and feels rather flattered, but before she could respond, the Little Man continued on....)..... but I cannot right, cause you are already married to Daddy, right... so I think i want to marry Su Yann Wei next time." It was as though he wanted to get it off his chest because he said the entire sentence in one huge breath!

Mummy (in shock): Huh, you are so young.... you want to get married?

LM: NO (don't be silly, Mummy!), not now, next time.

Mum: Ohh.........

Fast forward the next day, whilst on the way to kindie....

LM: Mummy, how old were you when you married Daddy?

Mum: 26 years old.

LM: Ok, next time I want to get married at 25 years old, ok?!
Mum: Huh, so young?
Silence greeted me.


Fast forward a couple of hours when I pick him up from school.... he jumps into my taxi and promptly proclaims "Mummy, today I asked Su Yann Wei already, she said ok, she will marry me!"

Mummy was left speechless.
Utterly speechless.


Just a few days after Prince Charming informs me of his marriage proposal to his classmate, the following exchange took place as I started to apply my lipstick whilst waiting for the taxi engine to warm up before zooming off to school.

Prince Charming: "Mummy, why must you always put lipstick?".
"To add some colour to my lips so that Mummy will look pretty," came my reply.
Prince Charming shot back and said"But Mummy is already so pretty!".
My heart instantly melted at that moment.
As I turned back to look at Casanova with my melted heart, he turned away shyly and half-buried his face into his lap!

Moments of such pure joy that could never be replaced with a big fat salary in the corporate pressure cooker, wouldn't you agree? I constantly remind myself of this every time i ponder whether I had made the right decision to abandon my other career and forego my pay-check. This is a long-term investment where small priceless rewards are regularly provided with the monetary returns only seen many, many, many years later.


~ Jottings from the Heart
by Little Casanova's mother.

Time for Change .... 'simply Too Blessed to be Stressed!

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, 
but Anybody can start today and have a new ending.

Some time back, there was a massive volcano eruption where hot smelting lava spewed everywhere at the Zoo, adversely affecting the well-being of all its inhabitants. I shall not delve into the details of the damaging eruption save to say that the cause of the eruption was, in my humble opinion, justifiable, but the manner in which the explosion occurred was entirely unacceptable. I simply cannot let it happen again. 

CUT THE FUSE, NOW!

  

There are Little People watching me all the time, and God forbid,
I would not want them to be Time Bombs like their mother when 
they grow up and leave the nest. 

Heaven Forbid. 

No. NO. NO. 

One Time Bomb in the family is already tricky enough to diffuse. 

I need to cut the fuse. NOW. 

During my last home visit to my dearest parents, the Heavens Above seemed to be sending me various signals that it was indeed Time for Change.  It was WAY OVER time to be one hundred and ten percent serious about controlling my temper. Out of the blue, my dearest Papa, (who himself is well-known for his extreme short-temperedness!) gave me a little pep talk on curbing my short-temperedness. To give some background info on why this is rather significant, it is because it is very rare for my Papa to have such heart-to-heart talks with his kids as he normally communicates via my beloved Mama...being the typical conservative China-man dad that he is. Also, I've noticed to my delight that Papa has started to mellow down in the last year and a half, so perhaps he could see the benefits of a more calm and "just-let-it-go-with-the-flow" attitude and thought it worthy to give some words of advice to a fellow short-tempered person! Point taken and appreciated.

No more blaming my DNA nor the beautiful name that was bestowed upon me at birth. I sometimes kid myself that my fiery temper must be partly attributed to the fact that the Chinese character for my name contains the fire character.  

Enough is enough. No more excuses.  

JUST. DO. IT. Make the Change a Reality.

Looking back, I was not always so fiery tempered. Admittedly, I have always been slightly on the impatient side, but I was definitely not as hot tempered in my 20's nor in my early to mid-thirties. In fact, if I was really honest with myself, my short-temperedness only flourished in the last few years since assuming the role of Director of Operations at the Zoo.  

Perhaps it is the lack of adult interaction and the lack of ME time. 
Perhaps it is because there is always somebody or somebodies pulling at me from various directions, screaming "Mummy this..., Mummy that....., see Mummy, see what she/he did, MUMMY, M-U-M-M-Y!!!, MAAAAAAAAAAA-MMMMYYYYY!!!!!". 
Perhaps it is the constant voice recorder that has to keep playing the same old nag-nag-nag song to no effect, except to cause the fuse to shorten and shorten till a spark lights if up. And to add to that, the neverending "you-do-me-first" arguments between siblings, sour faces, rudeness, answering back, lack of maturity, stubbornness, and the show-no-urgency, notorious tidak-apa (i.e. couldn't care less) attitude. The wonders of being surrounded by untweens and teenagers!

As much as I love the M-U-M-M-Y title and the perks (?) that come with being an unpaid Full Time Chauffeur, Lunchtime Chef, Time-Keeper, Tutor, Disciplinarian - being on the job 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, whilst staying sane and remaining as cool as a cucumber, is a constant challenge for me.  

Though these are all contributing factors, I keep reminding myself of two things. 
One, I chose my current vocation to be the Director of Operations at the Zoo. I could have fully outsourced the operations to a professionally qualified  House Keeper, a Babysitter and a Chauffeur. But that would have meant long hours at the office just so that a sizeable chunk of our hard-earned salary would go towards paying for those outsourcing services AND I would have missed out on countless treasured moments!
Secondly and more importantly, I have a choice on how to react. All our choices have consequences, so I must learn to choose well. 

Day by day, I challenge myself to improve my self-control and discipline in ignoring and turning off the many ignition buttons that stare at me daily, tempting and urging me to press those buttons!  Though I do falter, I consciously remind myself to take deeeeeep, sloooww breaths, staying relaxed and simply refrain from pressing the Ignition Button.  

If only it was that simple.

NO MORE EXCUSES. 

I have always told myself to control my temper, to control my emotions. 

Guess it had to take that seismic volcanic eruption to really make me re-think the path that I was taking, and to be truly serious and determined to make that change a success.  

It really is all about how one handles the situation and the choices we want to make in life. When I awake every morning, only I can decide whether it will be a happy and positive day ahead.  Only I can decide whether to close an eye on whatever that may be out there trying to spoil the day. Only I can decide to take a deep breath and walk away when I see my domestic outsource service provider (a.k.a. my maid) doing something nonsensical that is likely to light a small fuse within me. 


My Inner Self tells me "Keep Your Mouth Shut! 
Simply not worth getting upset for!".
Just zip my mouth and walk away. 

STOP, BREATHE AND THINK. 

THEN THINK SOME MORE BEFORE REACTING. 

Awareness is Key. Control Your Emotions.

The Heavens Above continued to send me signals upon my return home from across the Causeway when on one glorious afternoon, I encountered horrendous traffic whilst chauffeuring Princess #1 to the Golf Club for her golf handicap test. As I was manoeuvring my way through the unforgiving traffic, a small unassuming car appeared from out of the blue and I found myself staring at the words 'I AM TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED' on its back windscreen. It had my full attention and I immediately scribbled down the message in my Journal that very night.

I - AM - TOO - BLESSED - TO - BE - STRESSED

Mr T always reminds me to turn every negativity into a positivity.
Mr Always Right has always been Mr Positive.

As I always tell the Little People, if you don't have anything nice to say, just keep quiet.
Guess I have to lead the way and Walk The Talk.

Little Darlings, if any of you are reading this, be warned that this does not mean Mummy will not reprimand nor sternly tell you off if you misbehave, if you are rude, if you waste that precious commodity called Time, or do something that you know you should not be doing, It just means that the volcanic eruptions will be kept in control, and that the machine gun will not automatically fire off at every moving thing in sight!!

In starting this new journey, I made an undertaking to myself......
To Always Take a Deep Breath Before Reprimanding and Think Before Acting, no matter what is being thrown at me. 

To treat my Loved Ones in the same manner and with the same dignity as I would others, no matter how much my patience was being tested.  

To stay on this journey and not lose sight of my ultimate destination. 

Oh, Little People, please help Mummy and don't ignite Mummy's fuse.

My dearest Mr T, thank you for your impeccable patience, 

Thank you for your unconditional love and for always being there to defuse my fuse. 
Thank you for showing me the way. 

Thank you for your positivity. 

Thank you for reminding me of my blessings.   I am truly blessed.

You've been asking me what it was that I have been busy scribbling in my Little Blue Notebook recently. That Little Blue Notebook is my journal to record every little progress (and regress) that I make on this long-overdue journey of mine.

Wish Me Luck On My New Journey.  

And I shall continue to pray that 

I'll be a better person tomorrow, than I was today.

Simply because...

~ Confessions written truly from the Heart.

Wise words to live by

Something to think about ...

Whether we wear a $300 watch or a $30,000 watch, they both tell the same time.
Whether we carry a $300 handbag or a $10,000 handbag, the amount of money inside is the same.
Whether we drink a bottle of $30 wine or $3000 wine, the vomiting is the same.
Whether the house we live in is 30m2  or 300m2, the loneliness is the same.
Whether you fly first class or economy class, if the plane goes down, you go down with it.

One day, you will realise that you true happiness does not come from the material things of this world, but from the simple pleasures of this world.
When you have buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, family members to chat with, laugh with, talk to, sing to, or sometimes, just to spend quiet time with, that's true happiness that money can't buy.

Don't educate your child to be rich. Educate them to be happy.
So when they grow up, they will know the value of things, not the price.

Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise, you have to eat medicines as your food.

The One who loves you will never leave you because even if there are 100 reasons to give up, he will find one reason to hold on to.

There is a lot of difference between a human being and being human. Only a few understand it,

You are loved when you are born.
You will be loved when you die.
In between, you have to manage!

The SIX best doctors in the world:

1. Exercise
2. Diet
3. Rest
4. Sunlight
5. Self-confidence and a Positive Attitude
6. Friends

Maintain them well in all stages of life, and you will enjoy a happy, healthy life!

The Long Silence

I'm not sure what got into me.

I must have been insane, leaving my small handful of faithful readers in total darkness.
(Aisha, Cheah Huay and Shio Yen, I am so sorry...thank you for keeping faith in me.)

The unimaginable Long Silence of Three Hundred and Fifty Five days ends here today.

I have to put right my guilty conscience.

Young or old, rich or poor, we all have one thing in common.

We only have twenty-four hours in one day.

Somehow though, I feel that my twenty-four hours seem to run faster than most other people's.

Most Other People can still tick off their to-do list with ease and yet have time to indulge in Candy Crush, Subway Surf, etc. (I lose track of those mindless games found on those Not-So-Smart-phones).

I like to think that my To Do list is longer than Most Other People. 

Or maybe I am just not as efficient as Most Other People.

Mr T says the reason I take longer is because I'm a sticker for perfection!

I beg to differ. I am not a perfectionist. 

I am just a firm believer of the principle: If You Want To Do Something, Do It Right. Do It The Best That You Can.

Perhaps the reality is just that my time management skills are lacking, as is my self-discipline and a general lack of will power to sacrifice beauty sleep over flushing out my thoughts on the keyboard. 

In one simple sentence, I have no one to apportion blame to, but myself. 

Here is my list of "distractions" for the last 12 months.

You be the judge to decide if the Long Silence was even a teeny weeny bit justifiable.

1. Chauffeuring duties have become more hectic this past 15 months since the Little Man started studying at his new kindergarten right along the Federal Highway. Every school week, Monday to Friday, I have to literally crawl through 2 massive traffic congestions, one just outside my neighbourhood and the other greets me at the start of the Federal Highway, just to reach the Little Man's kindie. It takes almost 40 minutes to reach his school to pick him up (compared to the normal 15 minutes it takes to drop him off in the mornings). 40 minutes of traffic madness, every school day. What can I say...it's a very long-established and reputable kindergarten so that my little banana boy can learn his Mandarin that his Mat Salleh Mum can't teach him. After sending lunch to school for the 2 younger princesses and taking into account my 15 minutes lunch break, I have just a little over 2 hours 30 minutes to myself. And that's if I don't have errands to run for that day. Most of the 2 hours 30 minutes is now invested on Item #2 below. 
2. In the second quarter of 2014, I had signed up for a 12 months self-study online internet marketing course (which burned a slight hole in Mr T's pocket), and the clock is ticking for me to complete the course... like yesterday! I am still slogging through and trying very hard to find a suitable niche market (:-( that masses of people have not penetrated yet) to focus on.
3. One of my dear SILs celebrated her wedding in Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur in October last year. Being the first family wedding in years, a considerable amount of time was spent searching for the perfect coordinating outfits (for the day and night events) and accessories for not just for Mr T and I, but for my FOUR young bosses too, who were the flower girls and ring-bearer. It took an especially long time for us to find the perfect dresses for our rather skinny First Princess. After many, many hours of shopping and researching over the internet, we finally found the perfect outfits that complemented her bony frame. She looked fantastic.It was a beautiful wedding, really memorable and needless to say, great fun for the kids. (I will post the beautiful snapshots in a separate post.)
4. Then of course, there was also the planning AND COMPACT packing for the entire family for our two week holiday Down Under. We had to prepare clothing for contrasting weather... chilly spring in Melbourne (which greeted us with cold, blustery winds!) followed by the sweltering heat in Gold Coast and Brisbane. The kiasi side of me prepared for every contingency that I could think of, apart from first aid kits, I also packed a variety of western medication as well as traditional chinese medicine for the kids. The medicines came in handy as Nos. 1 and 2 developed a sore throat and a nasty cough in the first week of our holiday! We still had a great, great holiday.
5. My outsourcing service provider went home to Philippines for a one-month break in December. So there was a lot of gotong-royong to be done at the Zoo with the cleaning and endless laundry. The trickiest part was keeping my sanity whilst feeding, entertaining and managing the zoo inhabitants especially when the CFO was hard at work (or perhaps he was just escaping the chaos at the Zoo :-[ ). To manage the potential chaos, we balik kampung to Singapore for over a week ... that was wonderful, precious time spent with my extended family there. 
6. Perfecting my baking skills! A burning passion of mine.... only if I had more time! And less fat, flab and bulges so that I could bake more and enjoy more sinful baking pleasures! It de-stresses me, enriches my soul (and the kids' too!), adds a wonderful aroma to our home and puts me in a happy mood (which is really good for everyone's soul!) unless the baking turns out disastrous which thankfully does not happen very often. In the last few months, I have experimented with numerous sponge cakes, durian cakes, pineapple tarts, almond tart, fortune cookies...gonna try making my own muesli bars filled with healthy organic rolled oats, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and cranberries! I'm sure the kids would gladly have those for breakfast rather than plain wholemeal bread!
7. Other more routine "distractions" include guiding the Little Empress (who is not so little anymore as the Tween is going to be eleven in 7 months) through her Theory Exam last year (and the efforts were thankfully well rewarded as the Tween scored a Merit for her Grade 2 Theory - her mum could only obtain a pass in all her theory exams); and working hard on the Aural Tests together with the Little Empress and the Little Genius for their piano and violin exams respectively. Rather ironic really, for one who always used to fail her aural test dismally ...truly my one weakness...it cost me my distinction for my Grade 8 piano exams all those years ago. Hence my determination to ensure my girls sail through their aural tests!
8. My last "major distraction" was my decision to undertake major spring cleaning at our beloved Zoo grounds during the year end holidays. I packed away those toys that were way past its play-by date as the kids have outgrown them. Soft-toys were also segregated into 2 categories: Category (a): 'Can't Live Without It' cuddly-toys;  and Category (b): Off To A Better Home To Be Better Appreciated cuddly-toys. Both category of soft-toys were lovingly showered and dried before entering a new lease of life! The sweat and toil was worth the effort as our cupboards and shelves had new-found storage space, the kids LEGO Collection had a display table of its own and the kids at the United Learning Centre had new furry-toys, bags, stationery, hand-me-down clothes and the like. Mission accomplished.

That's my short list of excuses.

I am happy to note that having decided to sacrifice my beauty sleep and my thrice a week exercise for the last month or so, I now have more time to invest in my writing and in my internet business self-study course. Of course on the downside, dark eye-bags and extra flab now reflect back at me in my bathroom mirror! C'est la vie.

I have been jotting down my thoughts and snippets of various events happening at the Zoo in my Little Purple Book.  So whilst the memories are still fresh (almost!), I'll be flushing them out here real soon. Trust me.

.....fingers crossed.

Flashbacks.... how time flies...

Big Sis cradling
the newborn Prince

The Little Empress at 6 months

     Little Empress at 6 years,
carrying our Young Prince

The Young Prince

The Little Genius
(can't miss that huge forehead)

...close up shot

Scary Big Sis !!

Simply Irresistable!

Simply Adorable!

Simply Perfect. 

Truly Blessed.