In this month's "Happiness is...", it's about feeling that sense of pride, achievement and the happiness that comes with it. First and foremost, I'm really proud to be Singaporean and this month was a special one where all of us came together from all walks of life to celebrate our nation turning 51.
Even though we had already watched the NDP preview at the national stadium, we still made sure we tuned in to the live broadcast on 9 August. The hubby, who has been working really late and many a time overnight this year, was driving back home in the morning when he unfortunately got into a minor car accident. Thankfully, it was only the car that suffered and he was fine. I heaved a big sigh of relief. Together with the kids, we watched the NDP again and I was really happy to see how the girls would take the initiative to wave their flags, stand up to sing to our national anthem and proudly recite the pledge, and do the hand actions when "Count on Me Singapore" played.
Yes, my dears, no matter what happens, where we go or how old we grow, always, always be proud to be part of Singapore and know that this is our home, a home that we are proud to live in.
I've always loved watching Olympics since I was a kid. Yes, those were such fond memories when I would stay up late just to catch a diving or gymnastics competition. So, we basically tuned in to Okto everyday when the Rio Olympics started this month, which also means we were able to cheer for our athletes, be it in swimming, table tennis, badminton, sailing, rowing, shooting or athletics.
Swimming was of course the highlight and the hubby and I made sure we watched every single match that had a Singaporean representative. We were ecstatic when Quah Zheng Wen made it to the semis and my heart was already thumping with joy at that moment, because he already made history for our little red dot. Then came Joseph Schooling. Who made it into two semis, subsequently into the finals for 100m butterfly where he did what no Singaporean has ever done before and took home the gold. Boy oh boy, we cheered our hearts out and shouting with joy when it all happened.
I don't care what others say or how this chance couldn't have been possible for many Singaporeans who have to choose living over dreams, I was just soooooooo over the moon and absolutely proud of this boy, his parents, his coaches and of Singapore. That moment, that very moment when our flag soared above the rest and we heard the tune of "Majulah Singapura" sound for the first time at the podium, that was epic. That was pure pride. That was a memory to last for a lifetime.
So, as you know, we are moving pretty soon and so I've started to pack our cluttered house. Bit by bit. Step by step. I've a super duper long way to go considering how much stuff we have, but it's actually fun to be able to sort out our belongings, decide on which to donate, which to dump and which to bring to the new home. We're shifting to a dual key condo which will be the closest to me fulfilling my dream of having a home of our own and I'm really, really excited about it! More updates on that soon, yeah?
I've also started getting home design inspiration and thankful for the handful of sponsors who are going to work with us on our new home. I still can't really decide on our theme but knowing us and how we need to scrimp and save from now on to pay for the hefty mortgage, we will have to go for something simple, economical and yet to our liking. Just so you know, we were our own interior designers for our current 4-room flat (you can read on that here) and I think that worked out pretty fine for us in the end.
The big girl had two memorable episodes this month. One was when she contracted hand, foot and mouth disease from school and had to be quarantined for a week at home. It was nearly impossible trying to separate her from her siblings but thankfully, she seemed to have only contracted a mild strain and other than some ulcers and blisters in her mouth, palms and feet, there wasn't a major outbreak that we were expecting. Second was when she dropped one of front teeth when she was, erm, munching away on a chocolate sweet. Haha. Yes, it happened and all of us were there to witness it. She is still very much looking forward to visits from the tooth fairy so yup, dropping a tooth is something worth looking forward to in our house.
So during the quarantine period, I sneaked out with the two younger ones to a book fair and brought back nearly two dozen books to add to our library. Ah huh, we are so going to need a much bigger library in our new house because these kids really, really love to read, especially Angel. That is definitely a good sign and something to be further encouraged.
As for the baby, he is growing up well, has started to sit up, play peek-a-boo, is learning to crawl and has even sprouted his first two teeth! Woohoo! I can't believe he is eight months old already and soon will be turning one. Seriously? If he is going to be my last baby, I'm definitely going to miss this precious, heartwarming, filled-with-wet-kisses-and-tight-cuddles babyhood stage so, so much.
As for the small sister, she is also growing up fast and has been progressing well in both her art and Heguru classes. Oh yesh, it's been half a year since we started attending Heguru lessons and I've more on that to share with you very soon! P.S. Her art teacher was so surprised that she chose orangutan when she had the choice to draw any, any animal in the zoo. Yup, she was the only one who chose an orangutan.
We also visited a few new cafes and I am glad that I'm still able to fork out a bit of time for friends. To be frank, it seems like it's only once a month and it's always a case of "Bye, I have to rush to pick the kids" at noontime but I guess it's better than nothing, right?
We've kept up the habit of venturing out and exploring places by taking the public transport. This month, when Angel had an off day from school due to P6 oral, we made it to City Hall and had a good dim sum meal at Tim Ho Wan! Woohoo, I love love love the laksa wantons and crispy pork buns! The hubby was so jealous! Hahahaha.
I was also delighted to finally be able to dine at Hansik, a Korean restaurant in Heartland Mall that serves yummy ginseng chicken soup and BBQ meat. It was quite yummy but for the price we had to pay, I think we can only afford to come once a year. Lol. Gotta save, gotta save, go kopitiam better!
This month was also one that was packed with the most number of theatrical shows for us. We watched The Three Little Pigs, Town Mouse and Country Mouse and Little Star too! My favorite was definitely The Three Little Pigs but the girls said they loved them and they loved them all. Okay. That just means I will have to keep on taking such projects in future (which also means I will keep on doing giveaways too, yay??).
We also made it to the River Safari on a Friday and managed to avoid the weekend crowd. The kids can never get tired of coming up close with these animal and fishy friends and it's a good thing that we are utilising our membership to the max! P.S. We are really hoping that we can get to see a baby panda soon in our zoo. Go Kai Kai and Jia Jia!! =)
Last but not least, we made it to Bounce again! It was my first experience in a trampoline park and I jumped so much with the girls! We had fun hopping, playing dodgeballs and jumping onto airbags. I realised that I actually got a little scared when I jumped too high and tried to overcome this fear by being geh kiang and trying to jump over a low wall obstacle. It took me long to gather my courage and when I finally did, I ended up falling head down and fell flat and immediately heard a "crrrraaaaaa" in my back. The pain lasted me for a couple of days but thankfully I think it wasn't a big issue. Oh well, if there's anything we gained, the hubby sure had a good laugh out of my hilarious and embarrassing fall.
So, that marks the end of our August. Hope you had a great month too and till our next update!
