Kid's Prayer

Phoebe will be singing this song in her kindergarten year-end concert. Time flies and this year she will be graduating from SKMCC. I can't bear to see her leave this great school and I thank God for putting her in such a nurturing environment to grow and learn more about Him each day. Thank you Jesus for loving my daughter and now she wants to love you back Lord. Please enjoy this song, dedicated to our dearest God! :)

Enjoy the video clip...

God is a God of Faithfulness!

After praying for Phoebe for 3 years, since she was in nursery, God has finally answered my prayer! :) I praised God for being faithful, even when I was tempted and wanted the easy way out (to register her in my alma mater or the primary school that I am teaching in), He reminded me that He would be faithful if I abide in Him. He told me that the wide gates are easier to pass through but it is the narrow gate that leads to life! (Matthew 7:13) If God has given me this girl, then He would create a place for her to be educated in, to learn about Him, to praise Him all the days of her life! He has indeed proven Himself true and real. For the past 2 years, PLMGS had to go through balloting for those children living beyond 2 km from the school but this year was an exception! I thank God that He has kept to His promises and I know that Phoebe's destiny is safely in His hands! Praise the Lord! :)

It's time for me to pray for my son. If God has done it once for my daughter, He would also remind faithful and see Reuben getting through the school that He wants him to get into! If I, being the parent, is not praying for my children, who else will? I must be prayerful and commit my children unto His hands each day :)

All Glory and Honour unto Him! :)

Kids Balloon Sculpturing Workshop

I like to sign the children up for different workshops just to let them have experiences in different hands-on activities. In the June holidays, we signed Phoebe up for a balloon sculpturing workshop. We learnt about the different types of balloons and the ways of twisting them. I thought the sculptures that they had taught were a little too challenging for 5-6 year olds. They were not able to follow the steps and Phoebe was one of them! I had to perform the squeezing and twisting on her behalf. I felt enriched though I did not think Phoebe felt otherwise. She was just goofing around with Reuben, busied themselves by pumping the balloons and releasing them for the phweet sound. At the end of the workshop, we made, I mean, I made an Octopus balloon sculpture, a penguin with a heart sculpture and a dead fish on a fishing rod sculpture. It was a lot of fun for me (and them, giggling over the flying balloons) Sometimes, I think that kids workshops are just meant for their mommies, to satisfy them from their deprived childhood! Haha :)

Magazine Cover Models

I have no intention of letting my children to be models because I do not like the complexity of that industry. I am just a traditional mommy, hoping that my children will end up holding conventional vocations such as doctors, lawyers and architects. If they choose to become church workers, I would support them fully and give them my blessings. I know that ultimately, God has a destiny for each of them.

While attending a kids balloon sculpturing workshop with Phoebe in Marina Square during the June school holidays, we chanced upon this free magazine photography session. We bought a Braun ear thermometer and used the receipt to redeem free photo shots for the children. Phoebe was excited about the new experience. Initially, Reuben was just as enthusiastic about it too. But when it was his turn to be photographed, he was uncooperative and whiny. I supposed it was his nap time and his mood just changed in a second. Nevertheless, the photographer was professional and he managed to snap a few quick shots for Reuben.

Phoebe had a second photography shot as the receipt was not stamped and we were able to redeem a third photography coupon for her. We changed her into her spare clothing (which we always bring along as you never know when the children would soil their clothes).

In total, we had three free photography shots and I thought the pictures turned out to be very nice, almost like real magazine covers! In the end, we spent $60 buying the 3 photographs in 8R sizes. Good marketing strategy for the modelling company and I was a sucker for it! Haha! Well, nevermind about it! I am just one proud mommy and I thank God for giving me such beautiful children! :)

Genting in March School Holidays

This is a way backdated entry. I love travelling. I have been to many countries, as far as Switzerland and the Arctic Circle. However, with these two young children, travelling as to be as fuss-free as possible. For these 2 years, we have been travelling on road trips to Malaysia. It is relatively easier, just dump all the luggages into the boot and drive off in the comfort of our own transport. What's more, I can even bring along Aunty Nia to help out in luggage carrying and children-minding, without having to pay for any additional transportation fee. She is also very happy to be able to go see the world with us :)

In March school holiday this year, we travelled to Genting again for 3 days 2 nights. It was our second trip there but our first time driving such a long journey. We departed at about 6.30 a.m. and reached Genting at about 12.30 p.m. We did make a few pit stop along the way to stretch our legs, relieve ourselves and grab a bite.

The children had a snooze, a snack and movie time along the trip. The road was winding, thank God for granting us journey mercy! :)

We stayed in the World Club Room of the First World Hotel. The room was spacious, clean and newly furnished. The children love to "swim" in the bath tub :) Morning breakfast was sumptious in the World Club executive club floor :)


After breakfast, we headed to the outdoor theme park as the weather was good. The children had rides and Reuben was able to enjoy more rides this time round, as compared to his previous visit in June 2009. He was only 1 year 3 months then :)


In the evening, we visited the indoor theme park. Reuben loved this "EiffelTower" car ride but he would always cover his eyes before the mobile moved off. I guess the anticpation was a little scary for him. Haha :) He's a cute little fella! :)

All in all, it was a good trip. The children were very happy as they were able to take many rides. As for me, when the children are happy, I will feel very glad and satisfied. This is the heartbeat of a mommy! :)

I'm Monkey

I must admit that I have not succeeded in inculcating the love of fruit for my children even though we always eat fruit after dinner, almost everyday. The only fruit that Reuben likes are apple, pear and banana. Phoebe only eats papaya occasionally and banana. She likes yoghurt though. My mother gives them vitagen everyday - Reuben likes the peach flavoured one and Phoebe likes grape. I think I must put in more effort in encouraging them to eat fruit.

Speech and Drama @ Home

Phoebe is so into Rapunzal that her interest also excites Reuben. They have watched the DVD so many times that I've lost count. But I thought it was really brilliant that they were enacting the scenes. In fact, they could act the whole movie out, with the almost correct memorised script!! Rapunzal - Phoebe, Eugene - Reuben, Mother Gothel/Queen - me, Maximus/King - Papa. We would play along with them, assuming our roles. Here is one of Phoebe's favourite scenes, a duet between Rapunzal and Eugene. Enjoy! :)

Love and Dislike Relationship

Sometimes they like to play with each other and they can play together for an hour or more. But sometimes, they scream at each other, fighting for the same toy or book. They have a Love and Dislike relationship. I wouldn't use the word "hate" at all because they clearly love each other.

There was once I was very angry with Reuben because he was throwing tantrum and being very unreasonable. We were just trying to be helpful and we opened his Thomas umbrella for him. However, Reuben did not understand or appreciate our help because he wanted to open the umbrella himself. We closed the umbrella again and let him do it himself but it was too late. He was already upset, over such a trivial matter!! We were on our way to "Little Learners". Phoebe was with us to take Reuben to school because it was school holidays for her. The last straw that broke the camel's back was when Reuben threw his Thomas umbrella on the pavement near Little Learners. I was very mad with him. I told him to pick it up but he refused, very stubbornly. We stood at the pavement for almost 10 mins and he was crying and whining all the while but yet refused to pick the umbrella up. I decided to walked away, though my maid was standing near to Reuben. I beckoned Nia to come with me and let the little boy be there by himself while he continued to cry and stamp him feet. When I walked away, pulling Phoebe with me, Phoebe burst into tears. She said, "Reuben !! Reuben !! Mommy don't go. He's my brother!! He's my brother!!" She was crying so sadly. At that moment, I was very touched. My girl is an emotional person. She's also very soft-hearted. Whenever, we read a nice emotional book, I can see that she was touched. There was once we read a storybook about a grandma passing away, after reading the book, I asked her, "Do you like this book?" and she was very quiet. She replied, "Yes, it's a little bit touching. I think of mama (grandma)."

Anyway, back to Reuben throwing tantrum. In the end, he still did not pick up the umbrella. I scooped him up and told him that when we reached grandma's house, I'll give him a stroke of the cane. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and struggling as I carried him to grandma's place. When I got home, Phoebe had calmed down. I re-enacted the scene and put the umbrella on the floor and told Reuben to pick the umbrella up. He refused. I gave him a hard stroke. He was still crying. I repeated my sentence and that was, to pick the cane up. He refused. I laid my threat out - If he would not pick the cane up within 3 counts, I would give him another stroke. I counted to 2 and he relented. All these while, my dad was with me, persuading Reuben to pick the umbrella up. I refused to allow Reuben to run to my dad for refuge and I must thank my dad for being there to stand by me. We all believe in sparing the rod and spoiling the child. Of course, to use the rod sparingly and appropriately each time. After Reuben had picked the umbrella up, my dad "sayang" him and instantly, they became best friends!! :) Reuben found comfort in Gong-gong.

I think I have deviated from my original topic. But clearly, it shows that Phoebe loves her brother a lot and would watch out for him and would refused to leave him behind. THAT is a sister's love for her brother!! :) As a mother, I'm very happy about it! :)

In picture 1, they quarrelled with each other, both were angry. They had to settle the dispute themselves, unless there was violent involved, then I would intervene.
In picture 2 and 3, they ganged up against me, both were angry with mommy :)

Double-Decker Bus Ride

A simple bus ride can make the children so thrilled. The excitement on their faces is an invaluable gift. The children had often seen double-decker buses, they have ride on it before, but never on the upper deck because usually the journey is very short, consisting of only 1 bus stop from our place to grandma's home. They have long wanted to go on the upper deck. Hence, in the June holidays, I decided to take them on Bus 161 to Hougang Mall and then transfer to a NE Line to Serangoon MRT station because there isn't a direct bus route to NEX.

They were elated, they were estatic! They were talking loudly, couldn't stop smiling to themselves through out the whole journey. They observed the people, cars and objects right below them. Their eyes were so busy, darting here and there. Reuben looked at the trees and exclaimed, "Wow! So many broccoli broccoli!" Haha! Indeed, the trees did not look over-towering anymore. They looked like the broccoli that he was familiar with. Phoebe was asking about the mirrors in the bus and I had to explain the functions of the mirror - for the bus captain to monitor the passengers on the upper deck. So I told her to behave herself or the bus captain could see her every move.

The bus ride was very comfortable, cool aircon and smooth traffic at about 12+ p.m. We went to NEX for lunch and the library to borrow some books. Then we took the same route back to our home - MRT and Bus 161. So the children got to ride on a double-decker bus once more. We were all tired because of the hassle of transfering from different modes of transport but it was a good learning journey.

Parents do all the crazy things just for their children and I am one of them! No regrets about it! :)




"Wow! So many broccoli broccoli!" :)

Phoebe Reading "James Changes Colours"

I have been reading to Phoebe since she was a baby. To entice her to listen to the stories, I always try to be very expressive or even exaggerating in my reading. I think somehow, Phoebe catches my traits and when she reads a storybook or even a passage, it becomes natural of her to vary her voice to personify the character. Since Reuben loves Thomas and Friends, we got him many story books on his favourite characters.

In this video clip, Phoebe is reading a story "James Changes Colours" for her brother to enjoy. I hope you will enjoy listening to her story, as much as I do :)

Reuben Thomas Ong

I should have named my son Thomas Ong instead. He loves Thomas and Friends. He looks and stares at it every day. Hence, he was able to spell Thomas and Sodor (the island which the engines lived in) way before he could spell his own name! If I have named him Thomas instead, things would have been easier right? Haha :) My funny boy - Reuben Thomas Ong :)

Reuben Knows His Alphabet

Comparatively, we tend to spend lesser time teaching Reuben because when we had Phoebe only, we only have one child. Hence all our attention goes to her. However, when we have Phoebe and Reuben, our attention is divided and what's more, Phoebe is in her pre-school stage, going on to Primary 1. Hence I spend a little more time coaching her in her academic subjects.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprise when Reuben was able to make the phonetic sounds of the 26 letters and associate the letters to objects starting with the specific letters. He could even link the letters to some of the less common items such as, Y-Yoghurt, H-helicopter, G-garage, F-Fire engine, R-Rainbow and X-Xylophone. I'm very proud of my son, Reuben Ong! :)

Rocket Medicine for Reuben

Just like Phoebe, Reuben is difficult when administering medicine to him. But Aunty Nia is able to "trick" him into eating the medicine, using her patient and creative ways. I'm very thankful for such a caring helper. She really treats my children with sincerity and love! Watch this video and you'll understand.

A Day Out with Papa

This is a backdated entry but I thought it was worth entering. It was on 9 March. Phoebe had her annual kidney check-up in KK Hospital. I was very busy in school and couldn't take leave. Papa took leave and took Phoebe for her check-up instead. It was a day out for them. I was a little worried because papa had not taken Phoebe out on his own before. So I packed her things in a little bag, her water bottle, a jacket, snacks, scissors for cutting her food and tissue packs. And I kept warning Papa to be careful, to hold her hand, to take her to the toilet, to clean the toilet seat for her, to remember to tell her to drink more water, to check if she was cold etc.

Thank God, they came back in one piece! The results for Phoebe's kidney check-up was good. The specialist said that Phoebe will do a thorough kidney check-up next year. If the results are just as well, she will be discharged, meaning that she does not need to do any more annual kidney check-up. Praise God for that!! :)

After the doctor's appointment, papa took Phoebe for a movie entitled "Gnomeo and Juliet". They enjoyed their day out together. Papa said he will try to have individual day outs with his children. I think it will be good time bonding with the children. :)

Lunch - Chicken Rice. Phoebe's favourite!
A bear balloon sculpture, a gift for the children in KKH.

Movie time, Gnomeo & Juliet.

Sprint Kids 2011

Last year, Phoebe took part in Sprint Kids 2010. It is a yearly event. This year, Reuben is elligible for the contest. Hence, we decided to sign him up for it since last year, he had shown keen interest in taking part too. We signed up the "Dad and Child" event where Reuben will run with papa. It was a good experience for him. Seeing the two of them running to victories brings big smile to my face. Such satisfaction is undescribable! :)


Getting ready for their run. Their T-shirts were actually too big, especially for
Reuben but they carried it off in style! :)

All the participants, big and small, all ready to run! :)



The smiles on their faces - priceless!! :) Each is awarded a medal for their effort! :)