A heartwarming event: Ashley has graduated!

It seems like only yesterday that I was carrying Ash in my arms and rocking her to sleep, whispering to her that I love her. She was a newborn then. From not having much hair as a baby (hee... I called her a 'potato' affectionately, with her round head and sparse hair back then), Ash's hair finally grew. Well, I guess to compensate for a slow start, now, she has almost waist-length hair at 6 years of age ;)

The beginning of Ashley's long hair.... mum kept this treasure in her purse until recently. She has since updated Ashley's photo :)

Certain things have to go as one moves into a new phase of life. For my dear Ashley, I was told she soon has to forgo her long hair come January 2009 when she starts P1. Her graduation ceremony at her kindergarten marked this significant transition in her life. It was such a hearty time watching her give her graduation speech & playing one of the lead roles, Sandy, in her graduation musical.

A shot with the 'galaxy' as backdrop

In the musical, the kids built a spaceship to outer space & encountered friendly aliens. Ashley played Sandy, a character who embarked on the space journey


Beaming with satisfaction at the end of the performance Ashley with her proud parents, Ting and Robin Ashley with her equally proud grandparents, Gong Gong (Chin Pow) and Po Po (Siew Eng).
The kids today are so much more fortunate than my generation when we were kids. I went to the PAP kindergarten at a void deck a few blocks away from my flat at Circuit Road. Ashley enrolled in a premier pre-school called Lorna Whiston. My K1 teacher - XX Lao Shi (I can't remember anymore cos it's repressed memory - traumatic experience ... haha) retained my very stylish, checked-print, box-shaped schoolbag (you know, the kind with the little push-down lock in front like a mini luggage bag) one eventful day because I was talking to my classmate. Excuse me, I was retained for my spontaneity and verbal expression and expected to sit stiff like a monument at the age of 4? Sigh! Today, any pre-school teacher will know better! Thank God I didn't turn out too bad considering that I was subjected to a punitive and most unimaginative paradigm of early childhood education! haha...


Ashley has also followed mine and my sister's footsteps. My first public address was at my own kindergarten graduation ceremony. I had to stand on a chair because the podium and microphone was very child-unfriendly ;) I've come a long way - now, I am a full-time lecturer and giving public addresses is my ricebowl. hahaha. Ashley, on the other hand, gave her first public thank-you speech. I am very proud of her because she did very well, albeit a little shy.

In my days, kids typically perform cultural dance items - the Chinese, the Malay, the Indian ethnic dance with ethnic costumes. The Chinese dancers would come out with their fluffy feathered fans complete with silky colourful outfits and made-in-China, Mary-Jane pumps. The hairdo would be centre-parting with two muffins above the ears. And the make-up atrociously bright with scary-red rouge and fire-engine red lips. Other than dance items, kids perform in the choir where they stood in straight lines and swayed in synchrony. Today, the kids put up a full-length musical, complete with creative costumes, props, scripted lines and songs, oh! and an intermission in between. The age group of the audience appreciating musicals has also gotten younger... in the like of a 2+ year old brother sitting and waiting for the program to start.

"Aiyah, this paparazzi is always coming after me... dun feel like smiling leh? I know I am a celebrity-kid, Tristan Thor, and I look cool with my Ed Hardy shirt but I wish they leave me alone sometimes. Really no privacy... they follow me everywhere I go & take pictures of everything I do.... sigh! I must file a complaint!"

"Aiyah... so bored... when is the program starting? My jie-jie is performing leh. That's why I am here to support mah? Huh? My views about kids starring in musicals? Hmmm... generally, it's good opportunity and exposure for them lah... YAWN!"

The Kids Cooperate to Build a Spaceship

Sandy and her Gang Encounter Friendly Aliens

Meanwhile, during the intermission, celebrity-kid Tristan Thor was .....

"Wow, so thirsty! Not easy sitting through a full-length performance man! Plus I was singing along with the song... did you hear? A-B-C-D-E-F-G... mama asked me to be quiet though, hmmm, maybe I oughta get up the stage, then I will be allowed to sing."

Ashley has finally graduated! But my darling girl, this is just the beginning of a long learning journey ahead of you. May you grow in knowledge, strength, wisdom and character. Be God-fearing, be forgiving, be kind and most of all, love yourself and others. Chin yi-yi will wait till the day she attends your university convocation ;) Hopefully, she doesn't have that many white hair then... hee hee hee ;)

The Chronicles of the Children: Princess Ash gets ready for church (Episode 6)

A princess never leaves home without a spray of her 'hello kitty' eau de toilette. That's lesson #1. Then, lesson #2, always remember to apply 'hello kitty' lip gloss for fuller-looking lips.

Lastly, never shy away from the camera, be slightly naughty, be energetic and very creative ;) These are ways befitting of royalty.

A Meaningful Engagement with Ash

We were dawdling the afternoon away at my sister's house last Saturday since Fred was too tired out to join his work mates for cable-skiing at East Coast. The sheer sound of 'cable-skiing' was laborious. Since we were going to hang around, I requested for a cup of coffee from my Daddy for a mid-day pick-me-up. Oh, my daddy - I miss all the pampering from him now that we are living apart ;P

As the afternoon crawled slowly ahead, there was a little bustle going on in the living area. Fred had joined Ash on her TV spot on the carpet, but not for TV. The two of them huddled over a small pile of coins strewn on the carpet. The poodle-money bank had been pulled apart to reveal its contents. Some one dollar, fifty, twenty, ten and five cent coins.

Fred had decided to inject educational meaning into their play and I was invited to be judge - who would be the first to collect the coins equivalent to a specific amount that I had the liberty to announce. As the competition proceeded, it became apparent that Fred had to 'slow down' his moves as Ash very earnestly searched and totalled up the coins into the amounts I had asked for. She did very well with her math ;) When I grew weary after a few rounds and announced this was to be the last and the winner would emerge, hence it was to be a difficult one, Ash gently protested and said then she couldn't win! Ha, children love the excitement of competing but they also know the whole idea in competition is to win. That speaks volumes of a child's motivation and sense of self-efficacy - I want to win and I can win!

So a simple, uneventful afternoon was turned into a meaningful engagement with a 6 year old, who is simply adorable and a delightful company ;) Who says life is boring? And who says staying home has to be boring? The ability to find little pleasures in everyday routine living is adaptive and contributes to 'meaningfulness' in life. Afterall, life is made up of all those little things we usually take for granted ;) I say cheers to life!

The Chronicles of the Children: Trick or treat? The pumpkin and the fairy (Episode 5)

Hey, its Halloween! Mummy says jie-jie will dress as a fairy and I will dress as a pumpkin! Hmmm... I'm not sure if that is flattering for my image but I suppose mummy knows best. She always coordinates my dressing & helps with fashion. I trust her ;)

This pumpkin suit turns out to be quite unique. To keep me cool, I wear NOTHING underneath. Except my pampers. Well, you know - if you gotta have it, you gotta have it...

Mummy got me to wear this little hat over my head to complete the look. OK, I know details matter but I am doing it ONLY for the camera because it's kindda uncomfortable having this string underneath my chin. URGHHH! OK, OK, I will give the camera a good grin & get done with it. Whew!!!

Maybe I should negotiate with jie-jie for her tutu. Let's see? What can I trade with her? My gingerbread man maybe? Her outfit definitely looks less bulky & more airy leh! Not fair! How come mine's all wrapped up?? Better to be a gal in such occasions, haiz ;P

So now I know what Halloween is about - we walked from house to house in the evening with the rest of the kids (I dunno their names...??? But mostly jie-jie's friends I guess). The adults in the house welcomed us and gave us sweets. Everybody said I looked cute! Hee hee, I collected quite a lot of sweets in my little pumpkin-pot. Aiyah, these sweets kept me going. I realised that walking around all wrapped up was worse than walking naked with pampers you know! Whenever I reached a house, mummy and Aunty Nisa would help me 'disrobe' to make sure I didn't get heat stroke or something. Wow, nude never felt so good! They fed me with water and fanned me. When they said it was time to leave & I had to put the costume on again, I whined a little and protested... But mummy said I get sweets for that... uhmmm... after seconds of serious consideration, I reckon it was worth this huge amount of sacrifice & I guess I could live with being a pumpkin for a while. Wait, wait, let me check ... whew! Halloween's once a year. HENG AH!!!

Ah, I got a bonus too! Chin Yi-Yi thinks I am the best-looking pumpkin ever in the history of her chronicles... whatever that is... ;) The most important thing - I still maintain my cute and adorable image. hehehe! Bye, Halloween. See you next year! (But maybe I will try to be something else than a pumpkin next year... hmmm, must remember to discuss with mom seriously).

Jie-jie looks so sweet !

The Chronicles of the Children: When Spooky, Ash and Tris visited, complete with Dino and Paw-print boots (Episode 4)

I summoned everyone to gather for my birthday celebration a day after my birthday. Fred was hospitalised a day before my birthday for his deviated nasal septum surgery. Hence, I woke up to my birthday on a hospital couch. Fred was slightly too weak to say much or do much on my birthday. And we shuttered home to get him some more rest. So I was looking forward to everyone visiting the day after my birthday.

The kids never disappoint. In fact, they brought a nice surprise - they brought along Spooky, a Halloween-white bear, Halloween because it had no proper legs and sort of was perpetually floating about. Tris and Ash themselves came nicely dressed, complete with Dino-boots for Tris and Paw-print boots for Ash. Oh, she had a Power-puff tote bag as an accessory too ;)

The Dino-boots looked menacing enough, with fins and fierce-looking teeth. But the little boy himself was mild that day. More reserved. Still, he good-naturedly offered the camera his polaroid grin. Hmmm, must be a let-my-hair-down day for both the little and not-too-little guy ;P

After a sumptuous lunch of century-egg porridge, oven-grilled chicken mid-joint wings, clear soup of clam, mushrooms & other goodies (prepared by yours truly), plus fried bee hoon (prepared by mum), we all adjourned to the karaoke room for our social recreation.

First, the kids' entertainment (well, the adults were nonetheless entertained too). Ash belted out song after song of Children's nursery. Spooky provided vocal back-up on and off. Tris bellowed heartily whenever he felt confident he was keeping in pace (and melody?)

For some strange reason, we forgot to take pictures of me, the children and the birthday cake.. oh well, I don't know why. Maybe we just missed that out after the song and candles-blowing.

After the adults half-indulged themselves with singing David Tao's songs, the next activity of the kids awaited them in the form of a High School Musical Senior Year movie. So as quickly as they came, the kids were whisked off by their daddy and mummy, maid in tow. Before leaving, Ash reminded me that we didn't have ice-cream, the item of which I had announced to her proudly at lunch. I regretfully explained that there was no time. Hmmm, I gotta make sure ice cream gets served, if not first, the next time the kids visit.
So the children, Spooky and all the singing - it made my day-after-birthday - rather special ;)