Big OOPS! An even bigger apology! (updated with more pictures)

Oops! Big OOPS!
Failure.
I have clearly failed in my earlier resolve to do away with that extra lie-in in the mornings and to be more disciplined with my time. Somewhere along the way, my sub-conscience must have decided that after torturing my goodself with early wake-up calls at 5.45 a.m. for the last 6 months of my working life (yup! it was that early as I had an early rendevous with my Medela breastpumps before sending kiddo number 1 to school and punching in at the office by 8.00 a.m.) as well as the much-interrupted sleep that I had been enduring for the last 17 months, my goodself deserved that extra lie-in to ensure there was sufficient beauty sleep. After all, I have to keep up with Mr T, don't I?!

Oh, my beloved Mr T.
Let's not dwell on my failure.
Let us instead focus on my significant other.
I have given up counting the number of astonishing looks that people have given Mr T when he reveals his age and the number of kids that he has been blessed with! The usual remark that he gets (and oh, how he loves receiving those remarks and repeatedly repeating them to the younger-in-age Mrs T) is "Eh, you kidding me, ah? I thought you just out of college!".
I guess to be fair on myself, I should really set the scene against which these sort of exchanges take place.

Picture this...
... a sweltering, hot sunny day where the sun glistens in one's eyes, affecting one's otherwise clear vision, sweat dripping down one's forehead...
... one's eyes are somewhat feeling disillusioned under the scorching heat, under the confines of one's golf-cap...taking a breather before swinging one's golf-clubs at the next hole...
... the golfing-partners are in their 50s, hence vision may be somewhat reduced ... unable to see the fine-lines surrounding the various facial features of their younger golf-partner...
Instead, they see a younger male species in his contact lenses, dressed in khakis and a white top, with a youngish looking cap covering half his face, with an ultra-slim physique...

Sigh.....need I say more...

The "College Kid" was recently "questioned" by a new, much older colleague at work who seemed to equate that a person of management level needed to have a certain older look in order to command the rest of the troop. The colleague was a little more direct, shaking his head slightly and Mr T's youthful looks whilst asking the all important question ..."So, how old are you, ah, actually?". This time, though, I believe Mr T was a little affected by that remark.

The weekends were always a time when his stubble could happily grow and flourish to his wife's delight. A good, clean shave would normally be the Sunday night routine, just in time to wow the start of the new working week. That Sunday night, just before he drew the shaver close to his chin, he pondered aloud as to whether he should just shave off the sides and keep the fast-growing stubble growing around his chin and upper lip. He had the seal of approval to do so. After 10 minutes in the bathroom, I awaited for the cosmetic change to wow me. Instead, my beloved College Kid-Husband emerged, totally clean-shaven. 

Needless to say, he has banned me from applying any eye-cream or hydrating moisturiser for him! His reasoning is that even with all the fine lines surrounding his eyes and the dehydrated skin around the lip area, he can apparently pass off as a fresh graduate! Ironic isn't it that we ladies, religiously abide by our daily beauty routine and splash on a variety of miracle creams on our eyes, face, hands and body to retain our youth and beauty, whilst some men just have it all!

So, here i present to you my beloved College Kid-Husband, surrounded by his babes and his up-and-coming wildly-popular 17 months old competitor!

...birthday boy being fed birthday cake by young chic!

His up-and-coming wildly-popular 17 months old competitor!

Ta'da......and here's the picture that will reveal the College Kid's age!

But I digress.

The reason for my long absence is aplenty!
Here we go:

1. 2 weeks school holidays.
The recent school holidays mean that the Princesses were with me continuously for 384 hours! This meant that I had to work overtime in making sure they were fully entertained, be it in the Zoo or out in the wild. Highlights were the 5 days we spent in Singapore with my family (yes, I am the only Ling left in Malaysia...the rest have long uprooted to Singapore!) and the afternoon spent at the National Science Centre (the girls thoroughly enjoyed it). The outdoor park, which is a relatively new feature and has no admission fee, is highly recommended for parents who are desperate to find a place for their children to be self-entertained (rather than being glued to the TV or to the computer); it burns off their energy too! The Little Man clearly enjoyed his sisters' company as they fussed over him whenever they could during the holidays.

Let's not talk about the trips to Pantai Hospital on the 1st and 3rd day of the holidays as The Empress and The Little Genius suffered from yet another flu bug. Those first few days were tirelessly spent trying to segregate my zoo members to prevent cross-contamination! Sadly, it didn't quite work. The flu bug hit us all, some worse than others.

The absolutely low-point of the holiday was that we had to leave The Little Genius behind as we left for our holiday in Singapore. Her cough was so bad that we just could not risk taking her on holiday where fun was aplenty, at the expense of rest n' sleep. She had already been on antibiotics at least once a month since the start of 2011. We did not want to risk having to put her on a second dose of the antibiotics during our Singapore trip. Taking her would also mean exposing the rest of the Zoo Members to the highly contagious virus in our little automobile during the 4.5 hour journey. Rest assured, I will tell more about this drama-filled episode in a later posting.

2. Hit by the Flu Bug
The Zoo Manager was the last to be hit by the Flu Bug at the very end of the school holidays. Hence, I spent the 1st day of the school semester at the doctor's followed by some retail therapy! The trip to the shopping mall was obviously necessary to ensure that I did not sneeze and cough in the enclosed zoo. Instead, I generously spread the germs at the shopping mall! HAVOC!

The retail therapy didn't do me much good as I still took more than 3 full days to show any signs of improvement from that very destructive cough that I was having. The kids probably didn't mind too much as the very sore and itchy throat meant that Mummy could not talk (read: SCREAM) much.

As for the Little One, it simply amused him to see his Mummy wearing a mask before running off every now and then to hastily remove the mask to have a much needed fews gasps of fresh air!

I managed to snap a picture of the oldest princess trying to keep herself safe from the flu bug which her youngest sister was very happy to donate to any willing recipient.

3. Catching up on my vices!
Apart from my indulgence in chocolates, one of my other vices is reading up on Hollywood gossip. Every time I switch on the computer, my fingers automically just click onto my Hollywood gossip websites. By the time I finish indulging in that vice after a good half hour session, something would have disrupted me as I start to write my posting. Very often, it is the irresistable Little One vying for my attention. Hence, the reason for my many draft postings that take a little too long to get published!

4. Trip number 2 to Singapore
Over the Father's Day weekend, I made a surprise visit to Singapore to spend the weekend with my parents as it was my Mama's birthday too! It was also a fulfilment of a promise i made to The Little Genius that I would take her on an exclusive trip (just Mummy and her) to Singapore to visit her Ah Kong and Popo when she fully recovered from her cough. It was the compromise we made to her when she had to forego her Singapore trip during the school holidays.

5. 101 Errands to Run

As my 1st princess would always readily say, "Mummy, doesn't work. So nice, hor...noe need to get up early to go to work. Just need to run errands every day!". Aside from the regular marketing trips to ensure that the Zoo Kitchen is constantly stocked with nutritious food for its young members, and guiding them on their their homework and making sure they complete their homework at maximum speed, a significant amount of time had been spent on dealing with the issues arising from our investments at Solaris Dutamas. Though we have a pretty good tenant, unfortunately the problems arising from the central air-conditioning as well as the perennial bathroom leaks have resulted in us having to deal with a rather irate tenant. Sadly, it took 2 very long official complaint letters before any real and significant action was taken. Finger's crossed that this headache would soon be solved.

6. Buns in the Oven

For the last few months, the Zoo Kitchen has been regularly filled with the wondeful aroma of freshly baked buns. Delicious tuna buns, melting cheese buns, cheese sticks, irresistable ham rolls, chicken buns, sinful chocolate-chip buns...the latest additions are mayonaise crabstick rolls, sweet kaya buns and yummy nutella buns. In a desperate attempt to fatten up our Bony Dragon @ Our First Princess, I've been coming up with various bun concoctions to ensure she doesn't get sian. I figured that preservative free, natural flavouring, home-baked buns were the most nutritious for my fussy kids. So I happily play with my dough every alternate afternoon.

Thanks, Aisha, for that wonderful baking book that you gave me for my birthday 2 years ago. It has since been put to good use. I have played around with the various recipes there and have meshed up my own recipe for the dough. I do, of course, cheat a little as I use the Kenwood bread machine to make the dough. If anyone's interested, the ingredients are really simple:
a) 400g plain flour
b) 20g wholemeal flour
c) 250ml fresh milk
d) 55g butter
e) 25g brown sugar
f) 1 tsp salt
g) 1 Tbsp yeast

Some time ago, The Empress went round telling her school-friends that her mum is a baker and that I am opening a bakery! The Little Genius boldly went further by announcing it to her kindergarten teachers!Everytime the assistant principal bumps into The Little Genius, she drops hints that she is still waiting for her buns! The Little Genius then sulks at her poor baker mum and laments that mummy still hasn't baked buns for her favourite teachers!

Pictures of the novice baker at work...

7. Meeting the Little One's Demands

It is ironic how little ME time I actually get even though I am now a Stay Home Mum. The best time for me to indulge in my writings is during the Little One's morning nap when the Little Genius is at school, as well as during their afternoon naps (that is, if I am not baking and have completed my errands for the day).  To my dear friend, Aisha, in case you are wondering, I have only watched 2 episodes of Glee and Grey's Anatomy since you gave me the CDs in mid-May. And yes, the television is STILL hardly ever switched on, during the weekdays! In fact, the Zoo Financier has just talked about terminating our Astro subscription for under-utilisation in view of their every increasing subscription fees.

The Little One is not so little anymore. He's become quite a samseng and is very mischievous, extremely cheeky, adorable, and is fast learning to pick up quite a few words. His latest magical word is "MAMA"! He has been refusing to call Mama for a really long time. Instead, he would always cheekily say "PAPA" and wait for my reaction, when asked to call "Mama".  So now, whenever he utters those magic words, The Little Man has me firmly wrapped up in his little fingers!

Mucking around with the Little Man...

The Little Samseng...

8. Cleaning up after the Tornado's aftermath.
Big Books, Little Books, Fat Books, Skinny Books, all running havoc on the kitchen table, computer table, sitting on the dining-room chairs, on the stairs......
Sigh... need i say more.

9. Long-Winded Me!

One of my ex-bosses used to lament that I write too much...that I take 500 words to convey a message when a simple 100 words would have sufficed.

How right she was!

TRUE, I can rumble on and on and on and on ...

AND I take too long to choose the correct words to use...

BUT, I must be doing something right, cause you are STILL reading this and I hope I have managed to raise a smile or two in the process.

10. The Plain and Simple Truth.

And somewhere way, way down the list is poor time management skills.

Old habits are so, so hard to kill off.

Till my next posting, Live Well, Love Often and Laugh Always.


~ Published from the Heart
by a time-challenged mother-of-four who is sharp (and crafty) enough to ensure that only carefully selected photos of her husband are published, as the phrase "Wah, so young looking" has already been heard one too many times! Of course, she would also like to take some credit for his youthfulness as happiness and contentment surely must be one of the main ingredients for retaining one's youthfulness.

And yes, the writer will diligently work towards publishing more regularly.
Thank you for your patience!

Post-publication note:
For those sceptics out there, here are a couple of pictures taken of my beloved College-Kid husband as he left home last weekend for his game of golf with his Papa.

Latest Happenings at the Zoo - Part I (updated)

Alas! It's been far too long since I last updated my blog. My fingers have been fighting the urge to get onto the keyboard and my mind has been flooded with virual drafts (works overtime especially when I am caught in traffic jams) for the past couple of weeks.  Ironically, now that I only have to concentrate on managing the Zoo and not juggling both my primary and secondary jobs, I still do not have the luxury of time to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes which is simply to write.

There's always something else to do that claims priority over my fingers tapping on the keyboard. Of late, it has been the exam period for the 2 girls, children one-by-one getting sick period, spring-cleaning period as house is getting messier and messier with more and more stuff being added...as i finish one area and start on the next, i'd then have to re-visit the first area as it would have already been hit by another tornado. Then there is the matter of weighing do i spend precious time playing and bonding with the Little One whilst his sisters are in school, or do i immerse myself in the virtual world and shut myself out from the cuteness and irresistableness of the Little One? Hence my daily struggle to indulge in my finger exercises.

My significant other, a.k.a. The Zoo Financier, graciously bestowed his wisdom on me yesterday when I lamented on how I have not been updating my blog though my fingers have been so very itchy to do so, due to the sheer lack of time. The Learned One spoke: "One thing that is equal in this world is that everyone has exactly 24 hours in a day. Not a minute more, not a minute less. So you just have to find the time."
[Do you see the close traits between The Learned One and The Little Genius? Of course The Learned One parted his words of wisdom in a loving, caring manner...lest he wants to ignite the irritation of the Her Excellency, the Minister of Home Affairs!]

Having pondered on those words of wisdom last night, I decided then that I would do away with that extra 30 minute lie-in's in that cosy, ultra-tempting bed of mine every morning after Nos. 1 and 2 leave for school and before it's time to get to the morning shower to send No. 3 to school.  I was determined to have a fresh start for May.

However, the Powers Above decided to test my resolve when it rained through the early hours of the morning right after my alarm rang, right till my snooze button rang again and again making it almost impossible to get out of bed. Laying under the soft, cosy duvet on top of my cool, fluffed up pillows were just too irresistable! Humble defeat lay before me.

So there I laid till the last possible moment before I jumped out of bed and into some decent clothes to resume my chauffeur duties! As soon as I hit the road with the Little Genius, it dawned upon me that every other sane person also suffered from the same temptation this morning as the roads were still congested by the time i reached home after 8.45.

So I rushed through my breakfast and the morning papers ... and here I am...fingers tapping happily.

Getting down to business...here's a summary of the latest happenings at my beloved Zoo.

Zoo Member no#1
Sigh...her room is as messy as ever. At times, it seems as though a mini-tornado has swept through sections of her room, as well as various parts of the house. Her school books and personal belongings scatter themselves indiscriminately on dining room chairs (sometimes on two chairs!), on the dining table, on various steps of the stairs, on the piano, and in the overflowing drawers of the rolling trolley I had bought from IKEA to store each of the girls' bits and pieces.

On the positive side, she has shown greater maturity in her thoughts, than in the past year. She still loves to dilly-dally and leave things right to the very last minute before she gets moving, much to the annoyance of her mum and dad. However, she has been great in taking care of No#2 who just started Standard 1 in the same school. Recently when No#2 was having bronchitis caused by a very bad cough and had to be put on intensive therapy for her ventolin inhaler, No#1 was her nurse during schooling hours...excusing herself from class to give the necessary medication and inhaler to No#2 during the designated time. She was great at nursing No#2 at school. Of course it was a different story when they returned home from school. Instead of the loving nurse and patient relationship just hours earlier, the relationship would erupt into mini civil wars at the smallest dispute.

Studies-wise, she has also shown improvement. The one-to-one lessons she has with her personal tutor for BM since the end of 2010 has paid off. Her command of the BM language is now far more superior than mine. Her countless Maths exercises has also paid of.  From being in the bottom position in her class for Maths a year ago, she recently scored in the 90s for her recent Maths exam. She still needs to be given those extra pushes to ensure she does her very best and to help her realise her true potential. Tough love. But Mr T and I believe it is necessary as these are their foundation years. I am no tiger mother. I just practice tough love when the situation calls for it.

Mr T is a strong believer that all work and no play makes Jane a dull girl. Hence, No#1 always has a packed weekend. After her Saturday morning classes in school, she indulges in her favourite art lessons in the afternoon followed by her swimming lessons (which she just loves) on Saturday evenings where the day then ends with a dinner outing which all the kids obviously look forward to (Mum included!). Sunday morning starts bright and early when she attends the free golf coaching lessons for kids at the club, together with her fellow golfing-mates (i.e. her sisters), which is sometimes followed by swimming. The Sunday morning sports sessions is then followed on with her BM private lessons and whilst everyone else is having a lazy Sunday siesta, she is busy finishing off her school homework.

Most recently, she has asked to learn the guitar. Obviously Taylor Swift is one of her idols. She just had her first lesson yesterday evening, strumming the acoustic guitar. She was on cloud ten after her first lesson. To ensure her interest is genuine and long-lasting, Mr T is holding back on buying her a guitar for a few weeks. So she is currently borrowing the guitar from the music school. Will definitely upload a picture of her strumming the guitar once she passes her father's test which will then qualify her buying her own guitar.

She really is a Super Girl in the making. Just a few more fine-tuning before she gets there... need to fine-tune those stepmother eyes from making too many frequent appearances, pouty mouth, "tidak-apa" (i.e. laidback attitude) and to straighten that hunchback. I have just began calling her Si Bongkok! (for those illiterate in the Malay language, it means Miss Hunchback!). It really irks her when I do that, so let's hope it works in straightening her spinal column. [Sorry darling, I know you didn't want me broadcasting about Si Bongkok! Straighten up, and I'll call you Si Manis!]

Despite her long hours at school from 7.30a.m. to 4.15 p.m. (her hours are longer than some office workers!), our SuperGirl has done pretty well. When praise is deserving, modesty takes a back-seat. I have my doubts whether i would have physically and mentally survived such a tough commando-style primary chinese school (but then again, I had it easy being in a Malay school). In fact, Mr T and I have just been studying her report card; since 2007, she has only missed 3 days of school. That is quite an achievement! So BIG, HUGE PAT ON YOUR BACK, my darling. Keep it Up!

Being the nagging, short-tempered Mummy, I know I don't say it often enough. So darling, Mummy is publicising it to the whole world now, "MUMMY AND DADDY ARE PROUD OF YOU! KEEP UP THE GOOD JOB!"

It's hard to believe that she is soon going to be eleven years old.
Our 1st pride and joy.

Here are some pictures of our 1st pride and joy over the years.

Posing with her medal during Sports Day
at kindergarten in 2006

In Primary in 2007...
performing during the CNY celebrations in school

June 2006...the Princess celebrating her best buddy Po-Po's birthday

All smiles on her 7th birthday

A Transformation in October 2007...
...the beginnings of the step-mother's eyes and the sour mouth.
Can you spot the irritant factor behind her?

Unbelievable...
same girl...same period in October 2007.

in 2008...at her favourite place by the pool

Posing with the Little Empress in October 2008

Best friends for now...

With her littlest sister in April 2009

In 2010, giving her much-loved brother one of his first bites...

safe in the arms of her hero...her SuperDad
(Japan, December 2007)

cuddling up to Mum(CNY 2011)

Posing with her ex-nanny in CNY 2011.
A wonderful nanny who took great care of her for 6 years
whilst i was trapped in the corporate pressure-cooker.

...her one-time favourite beverage...

at her favourite place to lay-in...Mum and Dad's bed!

Chilling out with Angel

                                          
Here are masterpieces from the YH Tio Art Gallery:

Introducing Serenity @ Dec 2010.
My all-time favourite masterpiece of Ms Tio.

The Artist posing with Serenity

Handing over Serenity to her favourite Uncle
Serenity now sits proudly in the lobby of Shangri-Ling Resort in Singapore.

Earlier masterpieces of Ms Tio...

"nian-nian-yo-yee"

The artist turns blond on the unveiling of her Golden Retriever masterpiece!

Her First Masterpiece...thanks to Aunty Jaclyn of Flying Colours Studio!

In tribute to Mum's favourite flowers.
...this masterpiece proudly sits in Mum and Dad's room.

Beautiful Flowers

~ Written by a continuously challenged Mum-of-Four who is relishing in her finger-exercises and who is relieved at finally being able to regurgitate the many thoughts that have been floating in her mind for the past couple of weeks. To ensure that the content retains its relevancy, the constantly challenged writer has had to break the post in various parts. Part II will be written and published as soon as she completes her chauffeur and tutoring duties for the day.

Crazy times...Zoo Member #1 posing with an unidentifiable object!

Editor's note: The writer is glad to note that the ocassional tornado has slowed down its assault as the writer steps up on her nagging as soon as signs of a tornado emerges. Last Saturday was Parents-Teacher's Day a.k.a. Report Card Day. Very encouraging signs as she has shown significant improvement in her studies. Needless to say, Miss T is also very happy that her hard work has paid of. Fingers crossed that she successfully keeps it up.