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Now that I have two kids and am raising them fulltime, I can say I get this one question a lot from people :

‘How has it been so far? ‘ (or in other words, ‘How are your coping?’, ‘Don’t you get stressed out?’)

…

I’ve shared quite a bit in the past on the ups and downs of life with kids, like the time when :

I wondered if I could survive managing my life with kids (I was pregnant with my no. 2 at the time)

I shared why I never look down on my decision to raise my own children fulltime (Anya, my first born, was 19 months at the time)

I wondered if I could love two children equally

I shared how my two kids’ different temperaments affect my ‘going out and about with kids’ activities

I wrote about the reality of having two kids

I shared my tough moments with the kids, and how every child will go through such periods as part of their ‘growing up’ phase

I compared how things were when I had only one and after I had my second one

I wrote about why I strongly feel we parents have very limited time with our children and why I feel our time is NOW

…

If anyone were to ask whether I enjoy my motherhood days, my answer will still be the same as the one I gave before :

I love what I do and despite the challenges and tough situations a fulltime mother faces each day, I still feel it’s such an honour and privilege to be entrusted by God with these little ones. And I’ll strive to continually learn to be a better Mom each day, the kind of Mom God wants me to be.

We walked past this alley whenever we want to go for one of Jakarta’s well-known noodle shops.

And along the dark corridor, you get to see different kinds of sights that tend to be hidden behind such a buzzing metropolitan city.

People sleeping soundly on a wooden table with just a cloth mat as his ‘bed’.

Women cooking in what looks more like a makeshift outdoor kitchen.

People selling fruits.

Little children playing near their mothers as they observe occasional passers-by.

…

My 30-second walk past this alley always makes me reflect on my own life and its many comforts I’m able to enjoy everyday. How can I even begin to complain about anything?

Today the four of us spent our afternoon a little differently.

We went to a bar at Clarke Quay - Forbidden City by Indochine - to meet my friend Andrew - whom I first got to know some 15 years ago! - and his wife, Karen, who’re here just for a few days.

Btw, Karen is a well known blogger from Perth AND a Mom of two as well. Her boys are five and three, pretty similar to mine who’re now four and (nearly) two years old.

I love her writing and how she tries to balance her life by juggling SO many different things. From raising both her sons fulltime, gardening, cooking healthy stuff, baking, reviewing fashion boutiques, scuba diving, swimming …

Anyway.

She had her ‘Doing the Karen Cheng in Singapore‘ charity event there at the bar (click on the links to read more of what it’s all about), and it was our first time meeting up face to face.

[Thanks to my hubby who helped to 'babysit' the kids while we're all there, I managed to chat with people and got to know a few new friends!]

I didn’t get to chat with Karen though since she’s naturally very very busy with everyone at the event, but we managed to take the ‘must-have’ shot in front of the mirror, hehe.

Managed to catch up with Andrew though, which was great! It’s been SO long! Still the charming and funny guy I knew.

Anyway, I had a great time.

And oh while we’re there, the kids explored the bar and made themselves feel quite at home with the cushions and stuff! Hm.

Gee. I really don’t know how to begin. There’s so much to tell.

I guess I’ll start from the time I left for Jakarta with the kids and sort of go from there.

Traveling alone with just the two kids

Both kids were awake when we’re on board. I had snacks, small toys (even playdoh and crayons!) packed in my bag, just in case they got bored and went on doing undesirable stuff.

But hey, apparently they’re both quite okay throughout the plane trip!

[To begin with, I kept my standard pretty low, ie. as long as they didn't cry, run around or kick a fuss, I'm a happy mom!]

We sat near the window and Vai sat on my lap. And when the seat belt sign was off, Vai went and played with Anya and with whatever stuff he could find nearby!

He wiped the tables and walls. Sat on the floor and played with his toy cars. Held toys with his teeth and did his “Mommy look! No hands!” stuff.

(Good thing we’re placed towards the ‘front’ - where no other passengers were ‘in front of us’!)

During take off and landing, they’re both okay too (ie. no ‘ear pain’ from the change in air pressure). Thanks to the continuous biscuit feeding and water drinking, I guess?

When we reached Jakarta and got our luggage, Anya helped push the pram with Vai sitting on it, while I dragged our baggage with one hand and pushed the pram with the other.

It was all good. Phew.

Mosquitoes

Ah now, our little flying friends.

I have to say, they’re EVERYWHERE. And somehow they seem to love kids more than us adults!

I put on anti-mosquito lotion on the kids almost all the time, BUT obviously it’s not possible to cover ALL parts of their body ALL THE TIME.

And so yes, the kids did get bitten and they (especially Vai) ended up having quite a few red and swollen marks here and there (read: cheeks, ear, temple, neck, arms, legs, you name it).

Oh btw, Vai got bitten just under his left eye too, and it got so swollen that for two days he looked like he’s been punched in the eye!

Sigh. I told myself, at least none of us got denque!

Family get-together

The reunion itself was nice. We went to the mountains (read: Puncak) and stayed at our villa there for a few days.

We had our family photo done in the outdoors, and the kids had fun amongst themselves. They swam, played with their cousins, rode their tricycle, ran around barefooted, and so on.

And this is a shot of my grandparents posing with their ‘great grandkids’! Oh btw, they’re 88 and 84 years old!

[And to think that Vai and my grandpa are EIGHTY SIX years apart in age is just too amazing!]

And yes, as there were some twenty of us, mealtimes together almost always looked like a busy affair!

…

For two weeks we’re surrounded with family members. Lots of them. And one of the good things about that is I (finally) managed to do bits of stuff ‘for myself’, like having my hair done and getting a nice full body massage (my first time!)

It was goooood.

After two weeks, I’m finally back!

Anya’s started school again and we’re all back to our routine.

Anyway, we took HEAPS of photos and will share them as soon as I’ve unpacked at least ‘part’ of our stuff!

For now, have a great weekend everyone!

PS: I’ve read all the comments too! Thanks to those who’ve shared! I’ll reply soon, and in the mean time, do write in if you haven’t done so yeah!

Jakarta … here we come!

The kids and I are flying off today for our family reunion, and I so look forward to this (hopefully) refreshing two-week break!

This is btw my very first attempt of going on a flight with the kids WITHOUT anyone else (hubby’s joining us later). And so yes, I’m completely clueless as to how everything will turn out today.

Will Vai wriggle constantly and refuse to sit on my lap? (since he’s under two, he doesn’t get a seat)

Will Anya get cranky and start asking for the impossible while I’m busy with Vai, the stroller, my bag and our luggage? (she’s been having occasional bouts of tantrums lately)

Oh well, at least it’s a relatively short flight (about an hour and fifteen minutes).

And I sure hope things will go well with the kids.

…

As for this site, I’ve got some pre-written posts that will appear automatically ‘on schedule’ during the two weeks that we’re away. So do come and visit!

Or, you can always check out my past posts on parenting, principles and values, or activity ideas for kids!

Till then!

PS: Btw, that photo was taken with an iphone at Singapore Changi Airport by Wilson, as he was about to leave for Perth a couple of weeks ago

I still remember the day when I had to say goodbye to all my friends in Jakarta and went with my Mom to Perth.

I was only 14 then and I was NOT happy about going to an Australian all-girls school. The thought of leaving my friends behind and going to a foreign country was just beyond what I’ve ever imagined at the time.

After some time, things turned out differently though, and I ended up enjoying 9 years of my stay there.

Going through high school and university days. Making lots of friends. Having fun. Being silly. Growing up.

And oh, it’s where my hubby and I got hooked on each other too. Heh.

…

Now it’s been more than 9 years since we left Perth for good. And when Wilson went to Perth last week for a pre-wedding photo shoot, he came back with lots of shots and stories of the city.

How it’s now SO different compared to the time when we both were still there. How it’s a much busier city now with lots of developments going on too.

Just looking at his photos made me miss the city all over again.

Walking down its white sand beach. Taking my dogs out for our daily walk at a nearby park. Eating Vietnamese ‘broken rice’ along William Street. Hanging out near the ‘Post Office’ on Hay Street. Driving out to Mandurah at midnight together with our friends for our fishing and crabbing trips.

And for some reasons, I even miss looking right up to its clear blue sky.

Ah. I so want to go back.

And when that time comes, it’ll be with our two little ones running along ahead of us.

That’ll be refreshing!

[Photo info]
From the top: Perth CBD, North Bridge, Sorrento Quay and its seagulls, Cottesloe Beach. All taken by Wilson.

I was reading some articles the other day on today’s busy Moms and how everyone needs some ‘Me-time’ to recharge.

One article says:
“When we are stressed, overwhelmed and tired, we have a shorter fuse. We become irritable, and it’s more difficult to handle the challenges of being with children,” says Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, a personal life coach in Aurora, Colorado.

And another write-up says how “Rest and relaxation are two things that moms desperately need for sure, but often forget to put into their daily schedules. This is a must, as it not only rejuvenates a mom, but it helps to calm frazzled nerves.’

I don’t know about you, but for my case, as much as I know I need a break from our daily busyness, taking some time out when both kids are wide awake is just not easy.

I mean, we don’t have relatives in Singapore who can help and babysit the kids so that my husband and I can freely enjoy some ‘couple time-out’ (read: running our business and meeting deadlines means his working hours are naturally longer too, on average), let alone some time-out for myself.

Of course unless the kids are BOTH asleep.

So at night time, when they both have dozed off, that’s when I’d clear up my work and actually get a bit of ‘me-time’ - catching up on some reading and quiet time, blogging, instant messaging friends, chatting with Wilson and sometimes, watching a DVD together (or simply just … chatting and sharing) till the wee hours.

[All these are at the expense of lesser hours of sleep though. Oh well, can't always have the best of everything every time huh?]

Other than that, there are random occasions now and then too.

Like when the four of us went to a shopping centre and Wilson took the kids to the outdoor playground while I went off by myself for a good hour or so - to relax, windowshop and just unwind.

Or, if Vai somehow falls asleep on his pram after we send Anya to school (rarely happens though), I’d grab a book and enjoy some uninterrupted time-off while thoroughly enjoying my lunch and milk tea *NICE*

…

Juggling and balancing everything well is a real challenge to me. It often feels rather impossible to achieve too. But I must say, God has given me sufficient strength to go through each day, right until today, and though I’m not able to balance and juggle everything well every day and every time, I know I should always try my best to learn and do better each time.

Anyway.

Do you (or don’t you) have regular ‘me-time’ breaks?

How and what do you do to unwind and recharge?

Do write in and share yeah. It’s always nice if we can learn a little something from each other *smile*

Here’s a little announcement from me just in case you haven’t noticed : this site is now powered by Wordpress!

[Btw, this site is apparently BEST VIEWED using Firefox browser. If you're using Internet Explorer, the page will most likely appear cluttered, with bold texts. Am trying to fix this problem yeah]

Previously I did everything the ‘old-fashioned’ way : in HTML. And knowing that I need to switch to a more user-friendly publishing platform sometime anyway, I feel it’s better if it’s done sooner than later.

So after getting some positive advice from a few friends, I finally braved myself to venture into something completely new. I decided to go ahead, invest the time and move ALL of my content over, once and for all!

It was frankly a HARD decision for me to make, because other than the fact that I’m so NOT a technical person, I need to manually transfer over three years worth of blog posts (more than 650), learn how CSS codes work from scratch and find out how certain things fall into place at Wordpress. So yes, since I began it all last month, it’s been a long and painful process for me (not to mention the mind boggling technical hiccups!).

Anyway.

I’m keeping the look and feel of the site similar to what I had before (I prefer a clean minimalist look), BUT there are new features here!

Here are some new changes :

>> I now have categories!

You can now click and read stories about my two kids, on parenting, marriage and relationships, inspiring values and life principles that keep me going, activity ideas for kids, etc.

>> There’s a little section on the right where a different list of posts on parenting will show at random each time you visit this site

>> I’ve got RSS and a list of possibly related posts at end of each blog entry for easier reading and reference to my older posts

>> I now have a comment section (and please please do make full use of it as I’d love to hear from you!)

>> Some of my photos are on Flickr too now! (and I’ll regularly upload them there)

Right now I’m still in the process of transferring all my older posts and pages.

So please do stay with me and feel free to browse around.

Enjoy!

PS: A HUGE thanks goes to our good friend, Willson Cuaca, for helping me iron out some frustrating technical issues!

It’s always nice to have a lovely Mother’s Day from the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed.

But the reality is often a little bit different to what we’d prefer.

This morning for instance, Anya was just hormonal from the moment she woke up, and kept on crying for no apparent reason. Her ‘cranky mode’ somehow went on and off throughout the day. And very often, I had to repeat myself so many times to get her to do something.

Vai was mostly okay UNTIL he woke up from his afternoon nap. He then was just cranky too.

And, because Wilson had important commitments he had to attend as well for the first half of the day, it was all up to me to handle the kids, their emotional roller coasters and their occasional ‘power struggle’ over objects as simple as a plastic cup!

Of course it wasn’t always bad (read: there were sweet moments too), but I guess I was just physically tired and thus my patience and tolerance level towards constantly whiny voices and disobedience was lower than usual.

I felt drained today.

And I thought today we moms are supposed to ‘enjoy’ the day?

As I’m typing this I tell myself that yes, we moms and our contributions are ‘celebrated’ on Mother’s Day, but really, today is actually no different than any other day.

I mean, the fact that many parts of the world celebrate ‘Mother’s Day’ does not mean our little ones can and will specially behave any ‘differently’ (read: sweet and angelic) for one whole day.

They’re children, and so it’s only natural if they’re childish.

I feel we can’t hang our ‘parental responsibilities’ on the rack and take a ‘day off’ from being a Mom, simply because it’s Mother’s Day.

[Of course it'd be nice to be able to put our feet up, relax and be enjoy a special treat once in a while *smile*]

Anyway, what I experienced today just confirmed it yet again, that the label ‘Mom’ sticks to us and it naturally comes with its set of privileges, challenges, joy and responsibilities. Regardless of the time and day of the year.

And now, here’s to all Moms out there:Happy Mother’s Day!

PS: Wilson arranged a nice dinner out and a mobile phone upgrade so I can finally get rid off the one I have now (which gives me SO many problems). How sweet.