Yet, a part of me says that this is probably the way it should for this new year because I find myself finding so little time to do the things that I want to. I want to catch up on the kids' growing up videos, I want to do more art and craft activities with them, I want to do spring cleaning before CNY, I want to help the big girl settle down in her new school, I want to make sure that the little sister learns her K2 spellings which begin next week, I want to do more constructive stuff with the baby boy during our one-on-one mornings, I want to search for more recipes and cook more fuss-free meals, I want to do so many more things but guess what, they don't revolve around blogging, but they do revolve around my kids, my family, my everything.
December has been a month jam-packed with Christmas parties, gatherings with friends and families, and birthday parties for each of my kids. I have to say it was so exhausting yet so fulfilling, to the extent that it reminded me of my priorities in life and how I need to learn to let go of some things that don't, and shouldn't, matter and instead use my limited 24 hours a day to focus on the ones that really do.
In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about refocusing on the truly important things in life, about making use of my time and energy - which depletes faster the older I get - and realising that some moments are just worth cherishing more than the rest. Wait, am I saying that I will stop blogging altogether? No, of course not. This is a much loved hobby and one that has brought me joy, friendship, satisfaction, motivation and more, so I'll be keeping up with it but I'll also be mindful and selective in the things I choose to talk about from now. I still have a lot of heartfelt topics I wish to share with you, so no worries if you have been an ardent fan of this humble blog. Here's sharing more of what we did in the last month!
A visit to Universal Studios always brings us lots of fun and laughter! I've never brought the kids there without the hubby because it doesn't really make sense since the boy cannot take most of the rides and the little girl needs to be parent accompanied for a good part of them. So, it was really awesome that we had their cousins and grandpa with us that day, and they even went on roller coaster rides and screamed their hearts out together. Yup, even the downpour couldn't stop us (thankfully we brought our ponchos) and it was the first time we got so wet at the Water World show! By the way, we watched the movie Water World on Netflix (starring Kevin Costner) and I must say it is quite a thriller with all the action and stunts, definitely show worth watching as a family!
I brought the kids out to do Christmas shopping on several occasions and it always delights them to see any festive decorations in the malls. This one at Compass One was really cute! By the way, I was also the one who set up the Christmas tree with the kids (while the hubby chose to sleep) and the one who took it down with them (while the hubby was away). Haha. Yes, that is something to be proud of and might jolly well become a tradition in our family. I'm just glad to do it because it's something we look forward to every year and gives me a chance to bond with the kids and have fun together.
As for the boy, well, he will just have to wait a couple more years before he can join in the activities at Kidzania. But for now, he is very happy to stay in the baby and toddler zone and have fun playing in ball pools and jumping on bouncy castles.
Being the school holidays, December was really a time where I got to spend my day in day out with the kids. You know, unlike some parents who don't look forward to school holidays as much, I actually enjoy the holidays more than school days because it means that we get to wake up later, do more things together, have time to explore and basically just spend our 24 hours together. When better to do it than when the kids are still young and look forward to spending every brand new day with Mama?
While the hubby went for his badminton training at Temasek Club, the kids and I had a karaoke-cum-dinner session! You know, now that my kids love singing as much as I do, it seems like I'm going to have very little chances of hogging the mic. Haha. The one thing that impresses many is how they actually sing lots of pop songs, and not nursery rhymes. Yup, some of our favourites are Fight Song, Girl on Fire, Can't Stop The Feeling, Baby, What Makes You Beautiful, Shake It Off and so on. I've also been introducing JJ Lin's, Jay Chou's and A-Mei's songs to them recently so that we can sing together next time. Yup, for good or for bad, that is how we roll in this family.
On Asher's actual birthday, the hubby took leave and we brought him to a place that we knew would delight him - Jurong Bird Park! Yup, this boy always gets excited when he sees any bird on the street so it was a treat for him to be able to feed the lories up close and also watch the show where a parrot actually sang him the Happy Birthday song!
Like I mentioned before, we've been trying to save up since we moved to a bigger home, which also means we have to cut down on family holidays because the expenses are really too hefty. Thanks to Radisson Batam (again!), we were invited for a 4D3N family retreat at their lush hotel and it was such a memorable experience that I will be sharing more with you in detail soon! Pretty sure you saw pictures of how the kids got to come up close with geckos, iguanas and pythons, right? That was the main highlight of the December holidays for them. I'm also giving away family stays which include couple spa treats so do keep an eye out for that soon too.
On Ariel's birthday, we did something meaningful and that was making our way to SPCA to personally pass them the cash donations the girls raised for their animal friends at their birthday parties. We donated a total of $350 ($80 came from their own pocket money) which was indeed quite an impressive and admirable effort by the two of them.
The twist of the story was that we initially planned to visit a pet shop after that to buy them hamsters as their birthday gifts (they have been asking and patiently waiting for years) but when we saw that there were hamsters up for adoption at SPCA too, it was quite impossible to say no because we knew we would be doing something good for these pitiful, abandoned creatures. So, the girls each chose a hamster from a total of eight of them and guess what, the staff did a check for us afterwards and revealed that they were sisters! Yes, so destined, isn't it?
So, we have two more babies in the house to look after now - they are fondly named Nella and Nolla by the girls - and I'll be sharing more of their story very soon!
December was also a time where we got to catch up with family and friends so I'm glad we did that aplenty. In fact, we hosted parties every weekend, had playdates in our house and also were honoured to be invited to family gatherings, baby showers and friends' meetups too - it was indeed a month of celebrations for us and we were reminded of how blessed we are to have friendship, kinship, our lovely kids and each other.
Yes, it's time to feast! I have to shout out to my hubby on how great a chef he is because I can never do what he did with all this fresh seafood he bought from Sheng Shiong. Yup, fresh oysters, fresh prawns, fresh fish, fresh lobsters, fresh crabs, fresh mussels and more! Without him, we would never have been able to host so many big-scaled parties and have such a spread on the table when our friends came over. Thanks, dear!
All my kids turned one year older this year end and I can't believe they are growing so rapidly fast! Seriously, I always wish time can slow down for me as a mom. Some of my friends can't wait for their little ones to grow up yet I sometimes hope mine can stay little for as long as possible. Some don't want to have anymore kids because they can't imagine having to take care of newborns again while I crave for that newborn scent and the chance to cradle a baby in the crook of my arms once more. Oh well, three is just the right amount that I can handle in my life now and so I guess I will only dream on while busying myself taking care of these three every day. Happy birthday, my darlings #1, #2 and #3! Mummy loves you all so, so, so much and I'm glad you all enjoyed your simple but fun-filled birthday celebrations!