Happiness Is... Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
By A Happy Mum
@A_Happy_Mum
While many of our friends are going on holiday trips in this couple of months, we have been enjoying our time on the island and cherishing each day as it passes. Sometimes, I do miss the times when we were living in Europe and could easily go on weekend road trips and vacations. Yet, I've also come to appreciate the so-called mundane life of being a stay-at-home mom and I like the feeling of achievement whenever we cross a milestone, explore a new place or accomplish a goal.
In this month's "Happiness is...", I share with you about those ordinary, and sometimes extraordinary, moments that give me great joy and remind me that life is beautiful as a soon-to-be mom of three.
Remember I once said I hope my girls will never find sand yucky but always see the joy in building sandcastles and splashing in the sea even when they grow up? Well, I'm glad they still love going to the beach very much and that we have been able to make time on weekends to enjoy a lazy, hot afternoon in East Coast Park as a family.
We happened to stumble across The Tiara Society one day and the girls totally felt like princesses, even if it was for a fleeting moment, in their beautiful Snow White and Little Mermaid costumes. I hope they know that they will always be princesses in Mummy's heart, at least.
The girls had fun getting wet in the Children's Garden at Gardens by the Bay and it was a joy, and relief for me, that they can now play together and look after each other without needing me by their side. It was so sweet, just so sweet, when I saw the two of them holding hands to run around and hugging each other tightly when waiting for the water to fall. Frankly speaking, seeing them makes me wish I had a sister too!
It was awesome that we could bring our parents to SAF@Istana and enjoy a family day out. We walked around, took pictures, shook hands with the president, visited the carnival and ended off with a steamboat dinner at the popular Thien Kee Restaurant in Golden Mile.
I've been wanting to do something more related to national education with the girls and was happy that we got to learn about and even draw some famous Singapore landmarks! To read more on this, go here.
One big milestone for the little one is that she can now make it through the night without diapers! Woohoo! That definitely helps us to save some money and hassle, for now before the baby comes, and I thank my lucky stars that she has been such a easy one to toilet train. For potty training tips, go here. I was also reminded of how Angel had suffered from bad constipation for a prolonged period of time when she was at this age and feel so relieved that Ariel has been having it smooth and easy.
Though Ariel has not started school yet, we have been going for sponsored classes at My Little Genius and it's heartening that she loves the lessons and looks forward to them! I also like that the lessons are parent-accompanied so I can get to bond, play and learn together with her. We play memory games, do experiments, stack blocks, read stories, sing songs and even dance together in class!
As for the big sister, we crossed a very important milestone and that is Primary One registration. Since we are in Phase 2C, we are waiting for the results to be out next week and I'll share more about that when the time comes! I still find it hard to believe that my firstborn is stepping into primary school in just a few months' time and will need to be even more independent than she is now. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding her in the crook of my arm?
On a more personal level, I was honoured to make it to the Top 10 Most Popular Blogs in this year's Singapore Blog Awards! I've said it a few times but words will never be enough to express my gratitude to all those people who have believed, supported and stood by me in this blogging journey. Thank you for giving me the motivation to keep this passion going!
Last but not least, the baby is now 18 weeks old and growing well in my tummy! He/she (yes, we don't know the gender yet) is really lucky to have two sisters who kiss, sing, hug and talk to him/her every single night without fail. Awwww. These are the moments that touch my heart and remind me there is just so much goodness in life waiting for me to savour.
Ordinary days. If they feel so extraordinary every once in a while, I think I can get used to them.
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What are you HAPPY for this month?
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