Spreading their wings

By the time shown above, the older is ready to leave for school or, like this morning- he has already boarded the feeder service.

Yes, the past four months saw him travelling to school all by himself. He has assured and proven that he is ready.

The anxious mother in me initially fretted and ‘stalked’ (as the teen calls it) his journey via the Bus travel app. At the same time, there was a proud mom beaming within me.

The youngest has also gotten his wish to travel to school by public bus. The last week of the previous term saw him embark on his independent travels, with yours truly accompanying him.

This term will certainly unfold more milestones as they grow and mature in their readiness.

with Family and Friends

2nd week of June –

A planned outing with good friends – a return trip for us – The Southern Ridges Walk, from Marang Trail (across Vivocity) to Hort Park.

off we go!

fooling around in the defunct cars

playground with garden view – Hort Park

Read more about that wonderful outing here 😉

The next day, with the daddy around, we set off on another greenfix trip to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This is the first visit for the boys. The good son agreed to tis trip after promises of extra foot soaks (a treat after the previous day’s walk 😉 and him getting to choose the (shortest) route there.(Note: Proud moment when he chose tis walk over the awaited F6 movie! -yay for tis assurance that I may still be doing something right in tis parenting journey)

Sign leading to the Nature Reserve

Entrance to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

I had visited the reserve a few weeks ago, after more than a decade. Was a wonderful refresher and good time with kaki.

With children, we took the usual entry- starting with the trademark slope up the hill. Serene, soothing and scenic greenery. Perfect dose of Greenfix with loved ones for tis momma.

Walking backwards upwards on the steep slope

Overlooking the quarry

close to edge with daddy

Studying with Dad

Signs along the routes

And what we discovered end of the walk! Oh fun- especially this remains part of the Green Corridor (another run route for Me! ;))

Explore- Jump- Skip

Balance away!

Last remaining stretch of a historic route

And for the next time-

For future fun…

Greenfix with the brood and friends

First week, continued –

So as part of a friend’s June catchphrase – Stay Active and also me wanting to back to my favourite green spot, we set off to Singapore Botanic Gardens. A simple picnic turned out to be late lunch picnic for me and brood. When I say picnic, please banish the thoughts of painstakingly home-prepared food and snacks! (so not me! at least not most of the time 😉 Usually its just grapes, chips and easy to munch snacks.

There was no fixed plans except to have oodles of easy fun- they love climbing the tree, an icon I want them to remember as part of the childhood.

its the company of a notebook today, usually another bookworm will be perched there

starting his climb

me getting my green fix

More greenfix in the air

 

Tired sister amusing the brothers in one last game of the outing

No visit to our favourite garden is complete without spotting the swan and the fishes

 

Little did we know that such carefree days enjoyed outdoors were limited this month-long break

JUNE is HERE!

Source: the June Photo Hunt (Tech Your Way)
http://tech.yourway.net/join-us-for-the-june-photo-hunt-for-the-whole-family/

Something interesting to try! Keeping Eyes open and be shutter-ready.

With free entry to museums, it’ll be such a crying shame not to visit at least once!

Outings, movies and plenty of lazy time!!

The first weekday of tis June holiday-

Blanket monsters!

Not crying but guffawing at being caught off-guard by the ‘intended victim’!

Off to the pool!

Relishing the barefoot walk!

Passing showers which stopped in time for us to walk back without getting wet.

Guilt Fear

Something happened that shook me to the core, wrecked me momentarily and nearly drove me to insanity.

Sobbing uncontrollably – I now know what that means, how that feels.

I could not respond in any other way but with woeful tears.

I had no control over what had occurred, neither did I have the faintest ideas what to do next.

Drained, weak, lost

Emotional hell and back- a very short jolt of trip

Was it fear of losing the essence of my being or the guilt of failing the one precious?

No matter how ready I think I may be for life’s frequent curveballs, I doubt I can ever be fully prepared for their impact.

Especially when they threatened to destroy the core of my existence.

Overthinking…

I had no reason to say No, but I did… (all ‘so-called reasons’ sound hollow excuses to the self-critical me)

How and where did I pick up the flu bug? Muscle strain? Sudden increase in activity was too much of a shock? When and how soon will I recover?

How fast I can get back in my running shoes? How slow should I resume?

Did I pass my bug to him? Was it some allergy trigger? How to prevent it from getting worse? What did I do wrong?

When? When? When?

oh well… the usual optimistic me is pushed to the background by the critic. Resting and recovering… will bounce back soon enough.

Gripping Ebook

I hardly remember to read all the ebooks I borrow. The hard copies definitely remain more magnetic…
So I have gotten used to most of the digital titles being automatically returned when loan periods expired. Tis convenience attracts me to explore and borrow more titles rather recklessly.

Alexander McCall Smith’s 13th title in the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – The Limpopo Academy- was the first ebook I enjoyed thoroughly, and on time.

And now tis amazing title has ensured that I remain hooked to the digital pages….

The digital title page

I’m reading “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd from Singapore National Library. Find this & more at http://search.overdrive.com/SearchResults.aspx?title=The+Secret+Life+of+Bees.

Thanks to the Overdrive app, and wide range of titles available online, I no longer see a need for other e-readers. Anyway purchasing titles for these gadgets still remain a mystery!

Pink Army

Tis stunning scene marked the start of a superb Sunday morning in March.

It was also my first 5km for 2013. The venue, Marina Barrage prompted me to sign up without a second thought. And I wasn’t disappointed!

With good company, serene scenery amidst the new park by the city and that slope (!), I was assured of a most enjoyable time. Really need to revisit that park for another leisurely run.

Learning Journey to Chinatown

Finally I got the chance to accompany the lil one for his school learning journey (what we used to call ‘excursion’ during our days in primary school ;)) the trip to Chinatown made me feel like a tourist in my own country (not an unfamiliar sensation 😉 and it was tiring afternoon keeping up with the small group of boys. The interesting sights and time spent with my son and his friends made the effort so worthwhile!

Lil one and his friends

The trip was just before the Chinese New Year, thus we saw plenty of auspicious symbols used to usher in the year of Water Snake …

Pomelos- one of the auspicious symbols of Chinese New Year

Glutinous Rice cakes- the round shape symbolises unity and is believed to bring good luck to one’s career

Food galore- perfect reason to go back!

Decorations

Dried food galore

Never seen so much cured meats at such long stretch!

Premium cured ham

Waxed duck

After walking through the crowded and meandering streets, the class visited the Chinatown Heritage Centre. Sights outside the centre and within-

A lone figure by the bustling walkway

Another lonely and hidden figure…

doors- old and modern side by side

washing area from the past

Boys were too busy discovering ‘secret stairways’ to observe the squalid living conditions  of our migrant ancestors. Oh well… it was an eye-opener that tis Oriental corner of Singapore sure needs repeated visits!

Racing away to his 8th Birthday

Found an awesome place and idea to celebrate Sunshine’s 8th birthday. Inspired by Hot Wheels theme (click to visit my inspiring Pinboard), we added our own touches to a gathering friends and family.

The above set the theme, where birthday boy and friends will build their own scooters in teams and race against one another.

Oh can I show off the cool invites we made…? 😛

Flag Invite as scratch-card

Scratch the gold section to reveal birthday details

BBQ plans had to be put on hold with the wet weekend but thankfully the skies held until we were done… Yummy food spread-

Fun with friends-

Choosing the birthday cake was such tug of war… from a cool cake which got mummy more excited than the birthday boy, who remembered this train cake he had been wanting since he was 3(?) Finally we settled for homemade muffins (ya, go figure ;p)

 

While the bigger boys were playing engineers and drivers, lil ones had their bubble fun-

 

Presents galore, … but i think we are learning the lesson about looking beyond material gifts

 

So, that set the birthday mood for this year… next is (another) potluck picnic, so says the soon-to-be 14 year old ;D