Tribute to Mr. Lee K.Y

A date and a year to remember (23rd March 2015), as I wished Xav a Happy Birthday yet on the other hand, trying very hard to hide my teary eyes when I informed him of the passing on of the Nation's Founding Father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (some of us called him "Ah Kong") and the Nation is now mourning for him.

Never did I thought of, the demise of Mr. Lee.K.Y, could impact me this much. Not that I have met him nor spoke to him before. I can only fondly remember, driving past his residence along Oxley Road, whenever I was on patrol duties ( when I was a civil servant wearing the blue uniform).

Each time, I would read with teary eyes whenever the updates of his condition were updated via the PMO's website. I wished that he would get better and get to celebrate SG50 with the nation.

Not until Monday morning, at 5.30 am, I saw postings on the passing on of Mr. Lee.K.Y surfaced on my Facebook newsfeed. Yes, I cried, the nation lost a great visionary leader, someone who dedicated the whole of his lifetime , building up with his team of capable ministers. He had visions, goals and believes for tomorrow. He built a thriving nation, so strong and free, from the third world to the first, he has shown the world what Singapore can be !

I am lucky that my generation as well as my children get to enjoy the fruition of late Mr. Lee's hard work. Today, he left his behind the legacy he had visualized; a beautiful garden city , a strong and successful Singapore.

25th March 2015, I brought Xav to one of the Community Tribute Sites at Anchorvale Community Club to pay our tributes.

We made a Thank you card for the late Mr.Lee and left it at the Tribute site.

A handmade card #ThankyouLKY

Penning down his tributes

Xav wrote : "Thank you Mr Lee Kuan Yew for making Singapore a nice place, a beautiful garden city, making homes and flats for people to live in. You will always be remembered."
 

26th March 2015, in the morning, I brought Vera to the Parliament House, where the Lying in State was. Using the priority lane as I was with Vera, I managed to get into the hall in less than 10 mins to have my respect paid to the late Mr. Lee. As hard as I tried to hold back my tears but there was an elderly uncle behind me, broke into huge sobs when we were near the coffin. My tears of course followed suit.

28th March 2015, I brought Xav down to Padang as I saw the shout out from Adora that Yeo's is looking for volunteers to help in the drinks distribution. The passing on of late Mr. Lee, once again united the hearts of Singaporeans. There were pretty lots of kind hearted vendors and companies, providing the people who were stuck in the snakey queues with free drinks, ponchos, umbrellas, tissues, cakes, bread and pastas to help them overcome with hunger and thirst while others volunteered by picking up litter around Padang/ and contributing in whatever ways they could.

This was the spirit of Singaporeans that I saw and I thought volunteering does not limit to a young boy like Xav. We went down to Padang in the morning but we did not managed to contact the staff from Yeo's. Hence, we thickened up our skin and joined in Temasek, who kindly took us in to help them in distributing mineral water and cakes to the people joining the queues.

"Water, water for you ! It''s going to be a long wait ......."

We both had a nice tan and I asked Xav if he was tired. His immediate reply was "No, am not tired. I am very happy !" We were more than happy to play a part in whatever way we could to contribute our help.

The same evening, I went down to the Parliament house again to pay my respect but this time with my mum, Xav and Vera. We joined in the priority queued for 1 hour and 15 mins to enter into the hall and that was the final bow which I could gave to the late Mr. Lee.

29th March 2015, I could not bring the kids down to bid him our final farewell. We watched the State Funeral Procession live from our screen. I saw how Singaporeans, old and young, lined up  the streets, braving in the rain just to send this great man off on his final journey. The pledge taking and singing of the National Anthem on this day had never been so hard, one that was filled with tears and full of pride !

 

I read so many articles and tributes for the late Mr. Lee. I would say no amount of thanks can be expressed for all that he had done for this Nation. I hope the legacy he left behind for us can be continued to be build upon, keeping it stronger for another 50 years and more.

History lesson starts early. I wanted Xav to learn what has this great man did for the nation and the people he loved so deeply. I ordered these two books online from Epigram Books for him to get to know the childhood and growing up of late Mr. Lee,  whose English name was Harry before I introduce more to him.

On the left : A Boy Named Harry, ISBN  : 978-981-4615-29-7
On the right : Harry Grows Up, ISBN : 978-981-4615-31-0

One of the favourite sayings from the late Mr. Lee; "For the young, let me tell you the sky has turned brighter. There’s a glorious rainbow that beckons those with the spirit of adventure. And there are rich findings at the end of the rainbow. To the young and to the not-so-old, I say, look at that horizon, follow that rainbow, go ride it.” - LKY.

This beautiful drawing is from Eva. She has included a downloadable link so that we can print out for the children to add colours to it.

Photo credit to Eva

 

The passing on of late. Mr Lee ended one era yet it is the beginning of a new era. On Monday, everything seems normal but I felt "emptiness" in the air when I stepped out of my home. I am sort of trying to recover from the grief of the past one week. Am not sure if you are feeling the same too.

#RememberingLKY #ThankyouLKY #TributetoLKY

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Feel #Momazing

My #Momazing moment ...... when Vera finally took her first baby steps at the age of 18 months ! Her development has been a bit slow compared to her peers, so I felt relieved yet elated at the same time when I witnessed her first baby steps towards independence !

For more than 140 years, Scott's has been well known among many generations of mothers. I fondly remembered that my mum gave me Scott's Emulsion when I was young ! Scott's Emulsion commercial (Chinese version) has left a deep impression in me and yes I'm still humming the tune to the kids at times !

Scott's Emulsion can help maintain and support kids' immunity, support their physical growth as well as cognitive wellness. It contains Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Calcium Hypophosphite and Cod liver oil. All you need is just one tablespoon daily to keep their immunity going !

Enjoy this heart-warming #Momazing video clip from Scott's.




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Disclaimer : This is a sponsored post. No monetary compensation is involved and all opinions are of my own.

Busy Bag - Cup - O' straws

How do you normally drink those bottles of Yakult ? Usually, I go by the straw-less method, simply peel up the aluminium cover and drink straight from the bottle. End up, I have loads of straws "stocked" up in my fridge.

Was racking my brains what to do with the straws until the thought of washi-fying them came into my thoughts. Then, my bigbite came into my mind, follow by the plastic cup.

Hence, I told myself, Cup O'Straws shall be the first set to go into Vera's busy bag. If you search through Pinterest, you can find loads of very nice ideas.

Below are the materials that are needed to do up this kit; one recycled plastic cup, some yakult straws, washi tapes and a pair of scissors.

One by one, I "wrapped" up the straws with washi tapes of different designs and colours.

The washi-fied straws

I punched some holes on the lid so that Vera can insert the straws from the top. It's one of the ways you can train their fine motor skills. The set kept her busy for a moment while we had our brekkie. But be ready to pick up the straws at the end of your meal.

 

 

 

I have punched some holes around the cup too. This way, she can also insert the straws this way.

Older toddlers can try a higher difficulty level by inserting the straws from one hole and out from the other. That's how it looks like from the top view.

It's a pretty simple game but it can keep the little ones busy while you have some peace for yourself. Remember not to throw your clean yakult straws away !

For older kids, try playing a game of pick up sticks with the straws. =)

And if you do not know, I'm a washi tape lover ! I have diy a few projects with washi tapes :
- Identify that passport
- Build your own city
- Mummies ... Happy Halloween
- A game of Carrom
- Teacher's Day gift ideas
- Our ways in using washi tapes
- Minion Pencil Holder

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Best Christmas Gift for 2014 !

On the evening of Christmas, I was given the best Christmas gift more than anything else,

definitely something not of any monetary value. Friends whom I have spoke to with regards to Vera's weight and growth will totally understand how I am feeling now. Yes, it's a new milestone unlocked ! But why would I be so "emotional" about her first few, unsupported baby steps ?



She was a term baby, she had a pretty nice weight of 2.78 kg. (Read Vera's birth story) but three months later, her weight did not double. She was growing very slowly and her growth were all way below the third percentile.

She is now at 16 months & 25 days old but she looks to teeny, weeny , tiny. All strangers whom we met were "shocked" when they got to know that she is already over 12 months. Pictures of Vera that you see on my Facebook album somehow made her looked "bigger". She looks like a 7 / 8 months old baby in real. I was kind of worried that she may be undeveloped at the rate she is growing.

No I am not trying to compare. I knew that all babies are different but most of her peers could walk and talk much earlier (as early as 9 months old) ! I can't help but felt a little worried about her growth development.

I consulted two different Paediatricians, both advised me to send Vera for blood test to check if she has any deficiency in Vitamin D as well as Calcium. Hence, one fine day I brought her in for a blood test. It was on my Instagram post about 5 months ago (She was 11 months old then) - "While I was fighting hard to hold back my tears for fear that she be in pain and fright of the needles, #mytoughcookie surprised the nurses and me with no cries at all! Despite the blood was draw from the back of her hand #notafingerprick #"

It was such a great relief that the blood test result were all cleared ! I just have to convince myself that probably she takes after my genes. After all, I was a pre-matured baby, who has decided  to arrive on earth 2 months earlier. My mum was telling me how small I was. I was just like the size of her palm, looking dark and hairy just like a tiny little kitten.

Back to Vera, 5 more days to her turning 17 months. Some of her milestones can dos, cannot dos, likes and dislikes, which I would like to note down for Vera :

- Loves animals, to be more exact, moving animals, especially dogs. She will attempt to make woofing sound whenever she sees one. Fearless and this girl sure does not know her limit when  she happily when to "pinch" on Collie's nose. But Collie was really nice and patient to everyone, especially babies !

Collie, can we be friends please ?

- Love to kiss soft toys when they were brought near to her cheeks, awwww ......
- Loves to eat ! "WAH!!!" is what she usually reacts to when she sees food on the table.
- Love Letterland songs, especially "Annie Apple" and could do action along with it.
- Love to see herself in the camera and will smile when we are taking selfies / wefies.

pardon my drool please, I can't help it with so much feasting !

- Able to react by saying "Bye bye" whenever she hears me saying "See you!"
- Able to identify Star by saying "TAR" and goes "Ball ball ball" when she sees balloons !
- Able to drink from the straw.
- Able to understand commands like "sit, stand, lie down, eat, open your mouth" I just find it so amusing when I told her to lie down so that I can change her diaper. She just went lying down but on her tummy instead !
- Able to eat one Chinese bowl of porridge.
- Able to stand on her own without support FINALLY !
- Able to take at least three steps unsupported.
- Able to sleep through the night

We are looking forward to more milestones to be unlocked by Vera ! One more month before she steps into the official toddlerhood !

Loving her with much love from Daddy, Mummy and Koror =)

Have a Jolly, Merry Christmas, everyone !


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