Goodbye, 2011

As we approach new year's eve, we always look back in the year and think about the things we regret not doing, the things we regret doing, and the things we are glad we did or didn't do.
This year, my mind is so occupied with other things that I haven't have time to do such a reflection.
All I am doing at this moment is looking forward to the year ahead.
So many things will be happening and there will be lots of major changes in my life.
My entire life at this moment already is where I never thought I would be.

I am thankful for the improvements in the kids I care for as well.
Doing up their progress reports have shown me they have progressed far beyond my expectations, and that is ALWAYS a good thing.
Q sometimes jokes that my job is essentially to put myself out of a job.
And somehow, I get happier as I get closer to being useless to the child and his/her family :)

I'm thankful for the past (almost) 2 years of awesomeness with Q.
We have grown so much.
And we are going to grow so much more in the years to come.
I look forward to every tear, smile and embarrassing moment that is to come :)
I am one step closer to being independent..
To owning a place with Q, having a family of our own, a home that is ours alone..
And it is very very exciting :)
I look forward to it every single moment of my life.

So to end this amazing year,
A very retro music video from my favourite boyband of all time..


See you in 2012! :)

Christmas Eve 2011

After a very horrible pre-christmas week,

It's turning out to be quite an unforgettable one :)

the grape became a raisin

After a very very long and tiring day,
my long awaited holiday has sort of shriveled up from a grape to a raisin.
Still good, just a little less juicy than it originally was.
I'm so so so thankful for Q today..
I appreciate him more now for who he is and who he isn't.

OH WELL!
Anyway, now I'll be going to Johor.
things I plan to do:
1. EAT A LOT OF RAMLY BURGERS
2. Relax and block out all distraction and negativity
3. Seriously BUM.

not much but the main thing I think is the ramly burgers.
we get them here at pasar malams but BUKIT TIMAH NO PASAR MALAM.
Still looking forward to my trip :)
Some time away from home always does me good.

twenty-two

I'M FINALLY ON HOLIDAY!! :D
Tomorrow is dedicated to baking up a huge storm of cookies and cupcakes.
I am going to try to make as many different types as I possibly can!
Went down to town today to get the last of my Christmas shopping done!
It was SUPER CROWDED.
The air conditioning felt pretty much non-existent.
But it was a nice evening out with great conversation and awesome company :)

9 days to Christmas!

I'm having a lot of fun at work now because my kid has entered into the social skills syllabus.
It is fun because we get to do a lot more relaxed play and I get to be a bit cheeky with the kids..
I got her to draw today because it's always fun to see what things look like in their little heads.



It's an elephant, sheep, pig and flower by the way.
I love the elephant best.
It's trunk is fully detachable ;)
The sheep would give me nightmares with it's hollow eyes.
This is done by a 4 year old girl btw.
And I think it is AWESOME :)

In other news,
you know how when people get married, there are a ton of photos of the bride coming down the aisle?
But you hardly see photos of the groom.
LOOK AT THIS GROOM'S FACE.

(Link via polkadotbride)

It is so precious (in a very very good way).
I hope when it's my turn, I see something like that.
A smile plastered so hard, it cannot be wiped away even with a whole carton of Mr Muscle :)

Probee no more

I am officially no longer a probee :)

YAY!!!
Q and I had a ceremonial removal of the P-plates yesterday.
It's been a year!
I feel so grown up now.. hahaha...
Work this week was kind of interesting!
I got to be the 'child whisperer'.
Brought my kid and her mom to the nearby shopping center and taught the mom how to get the child to listen.
It was really really fun and I look forward to more sessions like these :)
Maybe I should switch jobs and be an official 'child whisperer'

TEN DAYS TO CHRISTMAS! :D

The smell of fresh laundry and chocolate cookies

THIRTEEN DAYS TO CHRISTMAS! :)
I can't wait!!! :)

I have an off day today because all my kids have something on today..
and so I dedicate my day to chores and a little baking indulgence.
With my parents gone for two weeks, there was quite a pile up in the laundry baskets..
So I washed and ironed all the clothes,
washed the sofa covers,
and my bedsheets.
I also made Chocolate Marshmallow cookies while waiting for each batch of laundry to be processed by the washing machine..

Didn't turn out exactly how I thought it should though..
Somehow the marshmallows cannot stay in the middle of the cookie no matter how hard I try.
And so they rise to the top and disappear into the cookie rather than give a chewy center I envisioned.
I think the recipe needs a little bit more tweeking.
Will try it again when I start the official christmas bake sessions :)
I think I accomplished a whole lot today even though it's only 3.30pm.
Time for a nap before heading down to meet Q for dinner :)

TWO WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS EVE!

This is all super exciting!
I have 7 working days left this year.
As much as I love the work I do, I'm really looking forward to time out.

Yesterday was my last session for the year with one of my kids as he was going on a long holiday.
I told him: 'I won't see you to next year you know?'
He looked down and mumbled: 'I'm going to miss you, che che..'
AWWWWWW.
Then I held out my arms for a hug and he leaped right into it and squeezed me so tight I could hardly breathe. :)

After one year of hard work with majority of my children, it has finally reached the part where thing become more entertaining.
Learning becomes more abstract which can be very challenging and fun (for me mostly).

'Where is your pencil?'
'In the table!'
'IN the table? oh my! Are you sure? How are we going to get it out!'

Sometimes they don't know the answers and they just try to say everything hoping to hit the right answer:

'How is Minnie feeling?'
'Sad.'
'Yeah.. She's crying. Why do you think she is crying?'
'She cry because... she sitting on the floor... and then the mummy come. And she sad, and the sun in the sky and the chair is red and the dog and the monkey and the water come and she cry.'

I love love love my job :)

DECEMBER!

IT'S DEEESAAAAAMBEEEEEERRRR!
Can you hear the reindeer getting all warmed up??
Just kidding. haha.
I am so excited!
It's the time of the year I get to bake a whole mother load and then GIVE IT ALL AWAY.
It's guilt free baking!
Though I always do end up eating quite a bit because you kind of have to try one from every batch to make sure it's right (excuses).
I plan to make a batch of cookies, and a batch of cupcakes :)
And I'm going to source for ingredients and decorations tomorrow! fun fun fun! :)
I will definitely post pictures if they turn out right :)
I kinda want to try a batch of cake pops too..
We'll see!
22 days to CHRISTMAS!!! :D