8 Already!

WF's birthday party this year was held at The Cage located in Kallang. It was an evening event because we figured that that way, there would be least disruption to everybody's usual Saturday schedule.

The day started out a wet one. Then, finally the skies cleared about one hour before we arrived at The Cage. So the evening turned out to be a cool and breezy one.

A total of almost 20 children came. Most were WF's classmates in KHS; others were classmates from SHHK ACT and Yamaha. A handful of these brought their siblings along. It is always amazing to see how children of tender ages can mingle and socialize so easily when they meet children of similar ages for the first time.



We arranged for a coach to organise the children and guide them in their soccer attempt. This is an excellent option because that left us more time and energy to deal with other matters, such as F&B and photo-taking. The coach seemed very experienced handling the little ones, what with warm-up exercises, practice rounds and various challenges before finally getting the children into a 'match'. Throughout the 1.5 - 2 hours of play in the pitch, the children were given frequent water breaks.



It was good that we had prepared the drinks early. So the chilled bottles of water, straw-packs of Ribena and cans of chrysanthemum tea were a big hit amongst the kids and adults alike. The labels which we had prepared earlier also came in handy because everyone was then able to identify their drinks the next time they were released for water breaks.

When the game ended at about 9pm, unknown to us, the waiting parents, the coach organised the children into a 'train' and moved off to the outside of Pitch 6 to autograph WF's poster! I was very touched by this gesture of The Cage because I had thought that all they would have wanted to do was to simply give us the poster.

After that, the children washed up. We tried very hard to organise the children to take the group photo with the birthday cake. It was tough because some famished children had already started to help themselves to the food on the table. Eventually, we were able to get them to stand properly for a photo shoot after some cajouling.



Food served included the birthday cake + mini chicken pies from Prima Deli, chicken wings + curry puffs + sotong balls from Old Chang Kee, kaya buns + butter buns from The Fresh Bread and keropok from the uncle vendor who sells all kinds of keropok from a van parked near my office. Everyone loved everything. (And fortunately, except for the buns, all the food were halal and so the coach and his colleagues were also able to share the food.)



At the end of the evening, some parents (who are closer to us) also had 'take-away' of some of the food at our urging. All thanked us gracefully except for one father, who uttered some nonsense that I found extremely offensive. I will let his wife know how rude he had been uttering such nonsense, the next time we meet.

We cleared up the place at about 10pm, and left The Cage feeling exhausted but great and happy at having had a wonderful party that evening. We left a very satisfied customer of The Cage.

WY's 12th Birthday

Last Saturday, dinner was at our place. We had simple fare of M's sea cucumber, BK's DianXiaoEr roast duck and my 石斛 soup. YP arrived late because she had to go for some camp inspection following a diarrhoea outbreak at the army camp!

After dinner, everyone got into action in their respective activities: the boys all tried out the various Wii games, including the new Mario game that WS and WP got for WY for his birthday; M and CP turned couch potatoes - they just cannot miss even just one part of their Taiwanese show '爱'; BK got out his mini-laptop and fiddled with it in between watching the broadcast of Michael Jackson's previous concert on the TV; R was in his own cyber world.

At about 9pm, we brought out the Oreo cheese cake that YP had bought for WY and ate it after the usual song-singing. The cake tasted good although it could have been less sweet. Only a small portion was left in the end. WY and I finished it the following day.



The single candle used that day was a special singing candle. It sings very much like what the singing birthday cards do. WP was very intrigued by it but I think its singing is way too soft.

I think we will try it again the next time.

*********************

WY turned 12 yesterday.

It's weird feeling this way (12 years leh!) but it seems like only last week that R and I had checked into the NUH to deliver WY. What with the complete lack of action that day (and I felt so starved because they had refused to feed me that day), the 'unauthorised' visit of F and M at the delivery ward that same evening (only to realise that there had been 'no action'at all!), R's bunking-in with me for 2 nights, his dealing with his sinus issue and of course, the intermittent, increasing pain throughout the following day until WY finally arrived in a hot gush!

And now, our little bundle is already 12!.... He'll be a teenager on his next birthday! Wow....

For lunch yesterday, I decided that we would have something different from the usual rice or noodle stuff. So I ordered pizzas, which were delivered promptly. I am so proud of myself - my timing of the order was so good that the pizzas were still warm when M, WY and I tucked into them after WY's shower!

M told us that during her recent trip, she also had pizzas for lunch on some days. On some other days, she had burgers from some fastfood outlets, too. She is ok with such 'angmo eating' every now and then. So the pizzas yesterday were also ok with her.

I told WY that there was no plan to get another birthday cake yesterday. So the pizzas were its stand-in. As WY munched the pizzas heartily away, he said happily, "That's ok. This is delicious!"

We kept 4 slices of the pizzas for WF, R and CP which they had during dinner later in the evening. I heated them up in the toaster, so they still tasted good. As expected, WF removed all the bits of pineapple before finishing his Hawaiian slice completely. R and CP had the Teriyaki chicken ones.

I gave WY a Super Yoyo for his birthday present. He is delighted at receiving the Yoyo and tried his hand at it. He's still very new to yoyo-ing, but I am sure he will get the hang of it very soon.

WF was equally excited at the Super Yoyo. He fiddled with it, too and later on, asked me, "Mama, why didn't you get me a present on my birthday?"

I reminded him that we did! We got him a brand new mini hifi set for his birthday (to replace the old, faulty set) so that he could enjoy his music in the room! He calls his music 'sweet music'. So sweet. So, WF said, "Oh ya, hor. Thank you, Mama!"

I think the 2 boys will be trying out the Yoyo together very soon.

* The Super Yoyo's price is so super leh - $20!! Its incredible how little value our money is worth these days, hor. Did someone call this inflation??

Private (And Quiet) Celebration

On WF's birthday itself, the boys went to school as per normal. In the evening, they also had their piano and Maths lessons at Toa Payoh as usual.

Then, after a bulky-grocery shopping at the supermarket, we collected the cake that I had ordered from Crystal Jade Cakery nearby before we headed home for our celebration at home.

After a quick shower, the boys got into action swiftly. We brought out the cakes (see below for the simple reason why we had 2 cakes that night) and after the song-singing, we tucked into the cakes.



The 2 mini-cupcakes (looks are not the same as taste) were complimentary from the Cakery - the staff at the shop really liked WF so much, and were delighted to see him there twice 'in person' on his birthday!

In the morning, WF and I had gone to the Cakery to collect a cake which I had ordered for my colleague, S. S had given WF a red packet for his birthday about a fortnight ago when I visited the office for our PC-changing exercise. So, the staff at the Cakery had recognised WF and kept teasing him about being the birthday boy that day. Hence, the 2 cupcakes.

As for the 2 cakes - the arrangement with regard to WF's Maths class is that he will call me on my handphone when he is done with his work (yes, it is flexi-knock-off time). So, when he called me that evening, I told him that I was collecting the chocolate truffle cake that I had ordered for him. Then, to my utter surprise, he said he wanted something 'vanilla'!!

So, when I went to the Cakery, it so happened that they had this special 'Vanilla Angel' promotional cake on the shelf. So, I also grabbed that, hor.

The Angel turned out to be very light, fluffy and delicious! We, especially WF, loved it so much that we finished it off with no leftovers whatsoever of it. We ended up having to keep some of the chocolate truffle cake for breakfast the next morning.

Let's Bowl at Party!

This year, WF celebrated his birthday outside of his school. (In the previous years, his birthday celebration had always been in his school because that was most logical, logistically speaking.)

After some sourcing around and some SWOT exercise, we decided on a party at Leisure Park, Kallang. The programme was basically a bowling game followed by tea at a casual restaurant in the same building. For a more convenient party for everyone, we decided that the party will be held in advance on the eve of National Day!

About 25 children attended. Only a handful was his school-bus-friends, the rest were his classmates ('the rest' was made up of about 2-thirds of his class). WY invited one of his friends called John. John knew that he was going to help to keep scores in the bowling game, so he even brought his pencil case along! So cute.

Both WY and WF were most excited about the party. WF was also especially excited because he knew his guests would be bringing him presents!

On the day of the party, the boys went for their classes in the morning as usual. We went to meet up with WF's guests only after the lessons had ended. Some of the equally excited children were already at the bowling centre by the time we got there.

After the change of shoes and a little 'briefing' of the safety rules such as 'not going onto the bowling lane itself', the bowling game started. Things were generally ok although some of the children were rather rowdy and unorganised at first. A few were also grouchy fellows who wanted to switch lanes mid-game. They were supposed to be grouped according to the party hats they wore, but it was futile trying to get them to keep to this!

A few parents stayed around to cheer their kids on. When the game ended after 2 hours, 2 of them also helped to bring the children to the toilets.



Then I managed to get them to do a group photo near the entrance to the bowling centre. (Fortunately, the place was not occupied because ours was the only function that afternoon.)

The thing about this party was that the only 'organisers' were R and myself. It was very tough seeing to everything ourselves. CP had declined to attend the event. YP and her gang had something else on.

So, after a toilet break, the children raced to the restaurant called 'IWannaGetStuffed' for the cake and food. I had to get the hungry and excited youngsters settled down at their seats. It was tough work because I had to keep raising my voice above the din they were creating with their chattering!




I conducted a quiz on bowling for the children and WF gave out the prizes. We also had prizes for the individual and team top-score bowlers. Everyone went home with at least their goodie bag comprising an IKEA mug and snacks such as mini TimeOut chocolate bars, Quaker Granola Bites, some gummies and a special pen or pencil (depending on their team placing).

We had ordered WF's birthday cake from our regular bakery, the Creative Bake. In the excitement and all the bustling, I forgot to take a photograph of the cake before getting the kids out for the song-singing!

This was a big mistake on my part, especially since with all the 20+ kids 'securely' surrounding the cake, I also could not take any photo of WF with his cake and/or friends! Anyway, there is nothing we can do now about the 'lack of' photo with the cake. Sigh. I also didn't take any photo of the food we had for the party! Aiyah, double sigh.



Food prepared by the restaurant was ok. Some dishes, like fried rice and sausages, remained the children's perennial favourite and were cleaned out quite quickly. I asked WF which dish his favourite was - as expected, he proclaimed, "The chicken wings!"

The restaurant owner and staff were very helpful. I think it's worthwhile visiting the place again another time. Since I hadn't had any food during the whole time of the party, the staff from the restaurant packed some of the leftover chicken wings and potatoes for me. One young girl also helped to pack for me some very delicious coleslaw that they had prepared for the party, too.

That day, we had arranged to visit YP at her place even though R and I knew that we would have been completely exhausted after the party. WY and WF were delighted to end their very happy day with a visit to 二姨's house - because they were so keen to meet up with WS and WP!

So, we picked up the 4 shopping bags full of presents and gifts, and headed for our quick shower at home, quickly. The tray of chicken wings and potatoes that I had to balance on one hand, was really heavy.

At YP's house, we had some fruit salad prepared by YP. Haha, WF had to be coaxed into taking this because he doesn't like grapes and kiwi fruit in the salad! Our little one just went for the apples. He was more keen to get back to the XBox the boys were on then.

By the time we left YP's place and reached home, it was close to half past 11. We all washed up and changed, then went to bed - but not before WY and WF carefully arranged the mountain of birthday presents WF had received that day, and placed them all in the 'squares' (ie tiles on the floor) that we had specified.

What an activity-packed day we had had!

Happy Birthday!

It's J's birthday today!

We all wish him ....

Very Happy Birthday!!

Also 39!

Haha, R has also turned 39 already!

We had a very simple cheese-brownie cake from Secret Recipe in the evening on 1 April after WY's tuition with CP. The cake had no cream (except for the words 'Happy Birthday'). It was also not very sweet. But it's a cake that we probably will not get again anytime soon.

Haha, then M gave R a red packet with the words '两人公司'!! So funny.

To 'make up' for (the lack of richness in) the cake, I gave M and the boys Vanilla Coke to go with the cake. R, CP and I had the chrysanthemum tea which I had brewed in the morning.

39!

I remember that when I turned 9 years old, I told myself that it was significant because the following birthday, I would be 10 and that would be the first of my double-digit birthdays.

When I was 19, I also felt that it was yet another significant milestone because the following birthday, I would no longer be a 'teen'. '20' sounded so grown-up and being a '20-something' so new and exciting then.

I don't recall any special feeling about being 29, however. Maybe the magic of turning into a '30-something' just didn't feel so magical. Also, I guess I was quite contented and busy dealing with everything in my life then - R, WY, work, buying/renovating/moving house and so on.

Now that I am going on to the '40s' the next birthday, I think it feels a little scary. I cannot pinpoint exactly why it is scary. Maybe it's because we all think being a '40-something' generally means that we have already reached the mid-point of our time on earth. And so, we ask ourselves questions like 'So, what have you achieved?', 'What next?'.......

For many of the questions, I don't have firm or good answers. But then, Confucian said, "四十不惑' and so, I will work towards being '不惑'.

For those who remembered my birthday, thanks for remembering and for your birthday wishes. These wishes do seem more precious these days.

My colleague spent a bomb on my birthday - lunch treat at Thanying restaurant ($80+ for 2 pax), birthday cake from Amara hotel ($30+ for one kg, after discount) and an angpow ($128 - ridiculous, hor?!). The aggregate sum is now a new credit in the '人情' account for her, and will go towards her birthday present next month.

WF is 6!

One of the most significant events, if not the most significant event, in August every year is WF's birthday.

Party at CH School

WF celebrated his 6th birthday in CH School on the eve of his birthday this year. It so happened that M also had her appointment at the ENT Clinic at SGH that morning, so I took the morning off to accompany her there. After that, I went in to office before going off soon again after lunch with my colleague.

R went to work in the morning but took the afternoon off to join in the celebration. WY was there, too, after he had returned to CH School after taking his CA2 CL Oral exam in KHS that morning. M declined to come because she would have no patience with the waiting etc.

As was done last year, we made WF's celebration in CH School a very exciting time for everyone in the school. It isn't so much as we want to 'show off' or 'make it a habit' for WF to enjoy 'grand bd celebrations' all the time, but more importantly, we want WF's final birthday celebration in CH School to be as memorable as possible - afterall, he will be bidding his teachers and friends goodbye at the end of this year because the K2's are all graduating this year and will be going on to their respective primary schools next year! :)

Also, we made the celebration a multi-purpose affair.

You see, the enrolment in the CH School this year is something like 150% of last year's crowd and so, we figured that a 2kg cake (which was what we bought last year) would not be enough for everyone. Going by what we know of the children's (especially WF and his K2 classmates') appetite for the fresh, soft and delicious chocolate sponge with blueberry filling cake from CreativeBake, we also guessed that even a 3kg (maximum size for non-customised orders) was unlikely to be sufficient.

So, eventually, I decided to get 2 cakes instead! One was a 3kg Transformer-design one and the other a 1.5kg 'boat-ful of animals' design one. And to kill 2 birds with one stone, I arranged for the message on the smaller cake to read 'Happy Teachers' Day!'.

Hence, 'multi-purpose'. :)



The gifts for WF's classmates in the K2 class comprised a packet of milo premix and some Oreo biscuits wrapped prettily in an Ikea plastic mug. The younger children in other classes got some Munchy biscuits and 2 candies, with no mug.



The Teachers' Day gift was a simple Ikea vase, which we decorated with some pebbles, also from Ikea.



When we arrived at CH School, the children were just getting up from their afternoon nap. The teachers organised the children at the assembly area. Everyone sang our birthday boy the birthday song (in English, then Chinese and then Malay). WF cut his cake shyly, followed by the teachers cutting theirs.



Whilst the Chinese teacher (this is usually a privilege reserved for the form teacher but since the former teacher had been away on medical leave, the job was given to the Chinese teacher instead) helped to cut the cake for distribution to the children in their respective classes (WY and his BASC friends helped), I got the K2's to pose for some photos. These small little ones were all so easy in front of the camera. See for yourself!



After the cakes have been distributed by WY and his BASC friends, the children tucked into their share and enjoyed themselves. Many asked for 2nd helpings, some even tried to 'chope' theirs before they finished their first serving!



After the cake, WY and WF handed out the vases to the teachers and staff. They all thanked us and those not in the classes with their charges, came over to say 'bye' when we left for home at about 4:30pm.