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As our family is quite into photography, our kids kind of naturally grow up seeing cameras pointing towards their faces pretty often.

I take photos nearly everyday. It’s more like a hobby to me. And on top of that, I just want to preserve as much growing-up moments with and of the kids as possible. And with that same Canon Ixus, I take video clips of the kids too, though not as much.

The thing is, despite the facts above, we don’t have that many family photos. And I mean, nice family photos. Photos that are not taken with one of our arms stretched out (read: self-taken).

And, although Wilson - in running our business - deals with video cameras too, we don’t have any nice videos of our little family too so far.

Until today.

Late afternoon today, we took some clips of the kids. And even of the four of us! (Wilson had to leave the camera on the ground, press the recording button, run towards us and sit together with us while we all look at the camera!)

I’m so happy we finally had done it.

Honestly though, I’m not too sure if we ever get to edit the clips and produce a nice video out of it.

Anyway, if we somehow manage to, I’ll sure share it with you all *smile*

PS: Since I sometimes do get asked about the kind of business that we run, I guess I’ll explain it briefly here:

we’re in the creative industry, producing works for advertising, film and television - online as well as print. We do creative concepts, graphic designs, visual effects works, 3D as well as animations.

If you feel you want to know more, just drop me an email yeah *smile*

My event is due tomorrow. And so as we went to the site to check on the setup and everything, the kids came along with us.

They sat on the side bench and munched on their snacks. Vai crawled on the stage. Anya checked out the men working on the backdrop.

Ah. I guess one day, many years from now, when we look back to a day like this, it’d be interesting to remember how the kids since they’re very young somehow get to ’see’ what we do, how we work, the stuff we juggle everyday.

And my hope is for them to see how we always strive to give our best in everything that we do. And that even when we’re busy with work and other commitments, they’re never really ‘left out’ nor ‘forgotten’ by us.

Easier said than done.

But we’re trying our best.

And oh, of course when we’re done with work, we met up with my parents and spent the rest of the day with them.

We walked and walked till the soles of my feet longed for a good rub.

Sure was a really full day for us.

I’m not sure if many of you know this, but Wilson and I run our own business here in Singapore. We have a cosy little studio where we produce creative works for our clients. Design. Video production. 3D. Animation. Photography.

As for my role in all of it. Well, actually after we had Vai, my ‘workload’ has been reduced. By a LOT. Wilson handles our projects together with his staff at the studio while I handle some work from home.

Frankly, at times I do find it tough though. You know. Juggling everything. Kids. Housework. Cooking. Grocery. Clients. Deadlines. And there are times when I feel like … exploding to little tiny bits. Like when I’m not feeling too well, my deadline’s within an hour, my client’s calling my mobile, Vai is sleepy and needs to nap AND Anya’s giving me a hard time.

Good thing such a moment doesn’t come too often, or I’d sure go mad!

[Wilson and I often kind of remind each other how we should always be thankful for each situation that we get to face. However tough. And really, when we think about it, such a situation doesn't last 'forever' (though it sure does feel like forever at the time!), and so we need to learn to endure, persevere and get through the period. Easier said than done, obviously. But we know it's not an impossible mission.]

Anyway.

The event I’m organising is happening tomorrow and I need to check out the setup and everything. At times like this, I’d usually be leaving the kids to Wilson. But Vai’s been keeping himself awake way past his nap time and I could already imagine how the kids would give their Daddy a rather hard time later on (especially since Daddy can’t breastfeed Vai and get him to sleep!)

And so we brought the kids along.

We let them play on one area. Anya ran around collecting dead leaves and throwing them away from Vai, while Vai crawled everywhere trying to find one so he could munch on it! (I had to ‘rescue’ two dead leaves from his mouth while we’re there!)

It was a tiring day. I got sore feet from walking around too much. But it all turned out okay. The kids were alright and the tent and everything looked wonderful.

Much to our relief.

PS: I like this photo above because it shows off Vai’s chubby legs, how he’s only as high as the chair and how Anya is still soo much taller than him. All this is going to change very very soon.

Another busy day, packed with one project after another.

We attended two weddings!

Hearing the wedding vows and watching the couple hugs their parents after they’re announced as husband and wife also make me feel all warm inside.

The night was also filled with great friends and great food! I really enjoyed myself! And come to think of it, it’s been a while since I got all dressed up too, hehe. It was fun!

Anyway, I’m glad that Anya wasn’t cranky at all. She played with our friends and chose to stay awake right till the end of the dinner. She fell asleep in my arms on our way home. And that was at 11.30pm. What a day.

Last night someone asked about how my typical day goes. And come to think of it, it’s kind of hard to say, because it hardly is the same everyday. I mean, we may be out and about for one whole day and work past midnight, and be a lot more relaxed the next day.

Overall, Anya’s day is somehow more predictable though.

Simply put, it goes like this:
wake up, breakfast, shower, playtime, lunch, playtime, nap, afternoon snack, playtime, shower, dinner, playtime and bedtime.

But being our kid, Anya (since she’s a month old) learns to adjust her day to our schedule too, which means she may need to nap in her pram, stop at a corner somewhere to have her formula or getting breastfed ‘on-the-go’!

(Btw, she completely switched to formula when she’s 13.5 months old).

So far, things have not always been easy. Juggling between work, being a fulltime Mom and wife, plus having the privilege to take part in some ministry at church.

And I think, it helps a lot whenever I think that : things may not be easy, but they’re (most likely) not impossible to accomplish.

Yes we may have to adjust our lifestyle, sleep less on certain days or work till four in the morning. But it’s part of life’s challenges, isn’t it?

I guess I don’t really think about it much too. If I have to do something, then then I’ll just do it.

And oh, I reckon, having a supportive hubby also helps! A lot.

When I have to rush (and this situation happens quite often!), Wilson helps in getting Anya ready, changing her diapers and stuff. And on days when I feel down or discouraged, he’s there to get me up and going again. And to me, this too is one reason why I can still do what I do today.

Well anyway, most important of all is that I personally believe that God gives us enough strength to go through the many different situations we come across everyday. And for each situation, however tough it may be, there’s always a lesson to be learned. A lesson that will better equip us when faced with even tougher challenges ahead.

We had such a busy weekend! It was packed with going out with my parents (who’re here on a few days visit), event coordinations, and of course the event itself.

Just a little update on how the Indo Arts Festival went last Saturday.

Overall, it went quite well, I think. The sound system needed some upgrading / fixing though. But other than that, we enjoyed ourselves. The performances, the singing, dancing were all pretty nice.

More than 1000 people came to watch and I think Anya was the youngest audience there! Didn’t see anyone else coming with a pram. All other kids were at least 4 years old.

We sat at the very far back and Anya made friends with the people sitting around us. When the show started, she sat on my lap, watched the performances and clapped along.

I expected that she’d get bored and start making noises during the quieter part of the show, but she was alright all throughout. Well, she did make a little ’sss… ssss’ sound when it was all quiet, hehe … but other than that, she’s okay.  Excellent.

[the fact that the festival itself is mostly rather loud helped too, cause hardly anyone could hear us talk or scream anyway. Hehe]

She fell asleep at around 10.30pm, in the middle of the rather loud band and singing. And, she stayed asleep until the next morning.

There’s this Indonesian Art Festival happening on Saturday night and we’re all going to see it.

It’s nice seeing Indonesian students get together and put up this arts event all on their own. The very first one was held 2 years ago. We didn’t go, but we heard it went real well.

Btw, WILSONPICTURES is one of the sponsors supporting the event too! *WOOHOO*

Anyway, I’ll tell you how it goes next week.

Someone asked me a few days ago, “Do you wish you’re still working full time? Like … in a office and all that. Having a career. A well-paid job.”

Somehow I asked this question rather frequently.

Personally I have no regrets. I quit my a fulltime job that I like to care and educate my child myself. Fulltime. I don’t wish to spend ‘leftover’ time with my child. To me, jobs can come and go, but a child is here to stay.

I guess my situation is a bit unique, because my husband and I run our own business, which means I still work, go out and meet clients.

Though I admit it’s tough to juggle my time and energy between running our business and being a fulltime mom, I really am grateful that I am in the situation I have today.

(I can’t thank our friend enough for babysitting Anya at times when both Wilson and I need to go for projects. Thanks heaps, Nancy!)

Anyway, personally I believe that the kind of person a child will grow up to be really depends on the kind of love and teaching that child receives today, especially in the first few years of her life.

I may not be the best mom out there, but I sure try to give Anya my very best everyday.

It’s been a super busy week for me.

Meeting deadlines, preparing quotes for clients, endless phone calls and emails. And not to forget the 13.5-month-old-kid who’s with me nearly 24 hours a day.

I guess it’s worse when my hubby has to go out and meet clients too because that leaves me juggling everything at home, ‘alone’.

Working. Getting Anya’s lunch ready. Working. Feeding Anya. Working. Getting the kid to sleep. Working again. Hmpf. Definitely it was NOT easy.

And oh, not to mention a shocking encounter with a lizard on the kitchen floor last night!