lost & found

i recently found 3 old friends on facebook. when i say "old" i really mean "old". they were folks i had known when i was only 19! with no worries in the world or money in the bank. =) then we were all single or at most attached. today, all of us have more lines on our faces & members in our families...

i can't remember why we didn't keep in touch over the years but i don't think that's important anymore. what's important is that we found each other. no more thinking about "what are they doing now? do they still look the same?" now, i have all the answers... =)

i still have 2 uni friends i tried to find on FB but in vain so you know a 'kwek siew puay' or 'angeline chong', tell me! =) each time i have a picnic & lie on the grass to look at the sky, i think of them - the first picnic i've ever had!

jerome turns 3 today!

chuckee cheeses - where a kid can be a kid

prince for the day - he could choose whatever vcd he wanted & stay up late *just for today*

i thank God for blessing me with a wonderful son.

just 3 years ago, i was alone. now, i have you to love & be loved. =)

with the kids, i learnt what it was to really love someone. to cook a serving of prawns & eat none. to give up all my french fries. to clean & wash poop, vomit & pee on dirty bodies & clothes. to sing the same song & read the same story *with the same enthusiasm* for the 1001 th time. =)

to cuddle, hug, kiss, hold & love for a long, long time...

happy birthday, my son.

God needs to wash the cars

this is the way we wash the car, wash the car, wash the car

God made the world in 6 days... then He needed a nap

Whenever Jerome frets about having to take an afternoon nap, we'll sing the Barney song,"Everybody needs a nap..."

After enjoying 2 weeks of the great outdoors, we chilled out indoors today. It rained the whole day today.

I explained to Jerome that God needed to water the plants & the grass.

He thought for a while & said, "God needs to wash the cars too!"

I thought that was just so sweet. =)

freebies :)

WH ooooo...ooooo's that?
thump, thump... vet jerome, "eagle, you have a healthy heart beat."
hmm, there's a tiny crack in your wing here

cost of living here is so high, we are always on the look out for places that are free to visit... this is especially difficult during winter. then we had to find places that are free AND heated...

hence, a trip to the FREE raptor center. it was listed as an attraction on our GPS but the better attraction was that it was free. :)

when we reached our destination, boy! weren't we disappointed... there was no place to park unless we were handicaps. :( the nearest parking garage *lot* was a short walk, in the freezing cold! & with a sleeping little jerald. & parking is very expensive! *it cost about S$3.50 to park for the 1st hr*. we must be mad!

having told jerome that we were going, we could not afford to disappoint him... so began our brisk walk in the freezing cold. there were only 4 raptors on display. a majestic looking bald headed eagle, a falcon, hawk & grumpy vulture. there was a sign that states that he is territorial & for visitors not to cross over the barrier as it distresses him

the fun bit was the kids corner where we tried on puppets, masks & pretended to be vets. :) not a wasted trip after all.

got to go, won't be very "free" if we have to pay the extra minute of parking beyond the first hour... :

FOOD best !

can you tell me how to get to sesame street ?

jerald has no loyalty to either parent, jerome or anything, except food! :(

J started this cheer with the boys if they want food from him. "daddy, daddy, you're the best!" complete with a "yeah!" & raised hands at the end. it's amazing!

with this cheer, he introduced them to the world of chocolates, chips, ice cream, Reese PB cups, JAP seaweed, muruku, chilli tapoica chips & more.

when J offers food, jerald would shout, "dada, BEST!" & when i offer food, it'll be "mama, BEST!"

it's amuses us how fast he switches from J & me & back within a split second.

whether he really means it or not, i still like to make him say,"i love ma ma". =)

city of MN comes alive!

our boys getting ready to go swimming *in summer!*

toay we saw our 1st spring blooms. in fact we saw 2 lots! lovely yellow wildflowers & purple ones too! hooray! spring has finally made its way to us.

J says the city has come alive too!

with the 60F *14C* temperature, the neighborhood has awoken from its winter slumber. people fighting for space to play games, BBQ grills a-sizzling, babes in their hot shorts & tiny tank tops, folks throwing a towel on the grass & reading, lazing in the sun, friends partying on the steps of their apartments,...

a mother & her 2 sons having a strawberry picnic on the front porch watching the squirrels scamper past & birds chirp in the trees above...

i've fallen in love with spring & its subtle touches of beauty.

n guess wat? thunderstorms are expected tomorrow. this is certainly a city of unbelieveable weather. :(

fun in the sun

putting us, regular "car washers" to shame?

yipee, we've been having 5-15 degrees temperature over the last few days. :)

each day, i get bolder & venture further from the comfort & security of our apartment alone with the boys. is this what happens when one gets cooped up too long in winter?

day 1 - took the boys to take out the trash. a short walk to the back of the building. for such a loooong time, there was no need to wear a jacket, long pants & shoes! =) the boys splashed in the muddy puddles of melting snow on the way. i had no heart to stop them.

day 2 - took the boys down to do a mock car wash. with a rice cooker *can't find an empty pail =)* filled with water, 2 sponges & an assortment of toy cars to the car park. they didn't really wash the cars. they were more excited about gettng out of the house & playing with water. we soon progressed to washing "daddy's car". this time, they really gave the body, wheels & doors a nice scrub. =)

day 3 - went for a walk around the apartment. heard birds chirping, jerome *& the man hammering on a neighbor's roof*, another neighbor's dogs "sunbathing" & the first green buds on a plant. gosh, suddenly it feels like spring. =)

day 4 - took the boys to the nearby playground on my own for the first time. it took me twice the time to reach it. somehow there's this sweet tingling feeling of holding both their hands & walking together. *usually J would hold one* & looking at a neighbor's tulips sprouting. he planted them in winter & saw they would sprout in spring. yeah!

they didn't get a chance to play with the slide & all as it was crowded with rowdy elementary *primary sch* kids. they were content to dig in the san with their beach toys & load sand on their monster truck & crawl through the tunnels & climb the steps.

for me, these are my baby steps towards taking them out on my own. =) one day, i hope to be like my friend, driving them to the grocery store, library, mall, lakes & other parks.

don't forget the old =)

J jus reminded me to link our old blog to our new one... there are tons of photos still in the photo album that we are too lazy to move & blog entries from when we first arrived in US, MN :)

http://my.opera.com/jabby7

snow, snow go away

Hopefully this marks my last comment about snow & its presence soon becomes a fleeting image, rarely to appear in my mind till this Oct. :) Some stuff I learnt about snow. :)

Snow Flurries: Light, intermittent snowfall without much accumulation of snow on the ground. Can't make snowballs or snowmen with this. :( Feels like dust.

Snow Shower: A short duration of light to moderate snowfall. Sudden beginnings and endings. Usually leave snow on the ground. Time to go sledding. :)

Snow Storm : Visbility is very poor. Stay indoors for hot chocolate & marshmallows. :)

Snow emergency : Snow storm & lots of accumulated snow. Shovel your walkway & pavement around your place within 24 hr or pay a penalty!

Snow plow : Machine to remove snow.

Snowbird : Motor vehicle not used during winter

Snow bunny : Folks who love snow. Def not me!

Things that I remember

boys going sledding

snow angel daddy & son

the boys making a zoo

come end April & Jerome would be 3, Jerald would be 1.5 & we would have spent a good 9 months here in US.


This is the place we all learnt so much...


J learnt how to cycle in the thick snow & freezing cold of -24 degrees at times, read & write papers when all of us are sleeping...


Jerome spoke & sang in mandarin & spanish, dressed himself, made snow angels, snowmen, threw snowballs, enjoyed fast junk food...


Jerald hit most of his growing up milestones here... took his first step, had his first tooth, said his first word, made his first hug & kiss, sang his first song...


where I learnt how to cook, bake & entertain the kids 24/7...


Things that I remember... quoting from Ernie & Bert's song...


Chilly days in winter
Laughing in the snow

Lazy days in summer
With no place much to go


Each day has its memories
& when the day is through
Things that I remember
Are the things I did with you

bad dressing

chilling out at an indoor shopping mall play area

sunken garden of Easter flowers at Como

the newspapers say in MN, there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad dressing...

tell us about it...

how often have we gone out, not realising it was actually freezing out there... snowing & sub-zero degrees in spring... madness!

we're so prepared now we have an emergency bag of hats, scarves & mittens in the car for these brrrr days ...

alongside with our bag of beach toys & picnic mat for lovely days by the lake or playground *as long as it's above zero degrees*

sounds like a weird combination of winter & spring stuff especially when it's offically declared as spring since last month

we've had another bout of snow last week which lasted a grand total of 3 days! no wonder they say "march & old man winter's going out like a lion" :) let's hope they will both done soon so we can enjoy the chirping of birds, honking of wild geese, scampering of squirrels & hares & the beautiful coats of flowers... cheers to spring :)

mine, all mine

was talking to a friend whose wife has cancer...

we all said our marriage vows "in sickness & in health" but how many of us can testify to it? he can!

was reading a friend's blog - one who is also battling cancer...

even God says, 'the greatest is love'...

love is... a husband wishing he could take the pain for his beloved

love is... a father crying with his frail daughter as she goes through another chemo session

J started this in the family. a hug &,"my jerome, all mine. my jerald, all mine." :)

love is... a Father who made us, chose us & loved us before He made the world. He put His arms around us & proclaimed us... Mine, all mine...

I sit mama

when spring comes, we can see rabbits hopping around again! in winter, we pretend...



my superstars...

"I sit Ma Ma" is what jerald would say as sometimes gets a book & plop himself on my lap. he usually continues that action with, "i want this book", "read this book"... & "please, please, please" & "thank you" when prompted by a frown or "what are the magic words". :)

these are times when i feel i can give myself a pat on my back & say, "well done" as a SAHM *stay at home mum".

there are times when i do feel frustrated. when i cannot even sit down & read a book or a magazine without the boys sitting on my lap to "let's read together" or requests of "this book", "what art & craft are we going to do today?", "i want something else", "can we bake something now?".... sometimes it can be so overwhelming... how can i always think of something else to do?

but when i look at them playing together, reading to each other. jerome does reads to jerald or his toy dog sometimes. :) or flips through books & reads aloud by himself. even jerald reads to himself & points out some things he recognises. he'll go, "dog","woof woof", "hop" *he can't say rabbit yet","piglet" *guess what? he does know pooh bear & friends*

or when i see their craft work peppered about the house & their excitement to show daddy what they have done, it just brings smiles to my face.

when else would i have time to create so many things with them? what with decorating easter eggs, making animal masks, hats & all.

some things money really can't buy...

easter eggs with crayons & food dye

frozen lake & snow baby bunnies

see that snowball in the process of hitting my little one? thought this was quite an awesome shot.

we made another silly mistake. it was supposed to be at least 5 degrees. we packed a picnic basket for the lake. we froze. we picnicked in the car instead, overlooking the frozen lake.

the lake behind us is all frozen solid. there's just this HUGE temptation to get out to walk on it.

the ultimate must be 2 ladies with tiny babies bundled up. we guessed they were probably 1 or 2 mths old. madness!

we packed a picnic lunch at the zoo the other day & it turned out to be -5 degrees. the wind was howling around us. we retreated indoors for our picnic... sigh...

when will we ever get the weather right? i know! in summer!