It was a good day

Eight months after construction begun, the house at Diamond road has found a new owner. Two interested parties. One good offer. The deal was sealed yesterday, 27th May, close to midnight.

I am so proud of Edwin. This is his first house construction project and a dream come true for him. Designed and finished from stratch.

The finishing touches are still in progress and we can expect another 4 weeks of hard work. But it's great to reach this final lap and to know there is a rewarding finish line.

Cheers to a great partnership with the Lims!

On a side note, Jack and Lucas were riding in my car one day.
Jack: Where is your Daddy?
Lucas: He is very busy. He is working with his buddies in Richmond. They are building a house.

A Surprise Get-away

I had an extremely stressful week prior to Mother's day. It was one of the most challenging times faced by my business since we took off seven years ago. Anyway, this post is about happier things.

Edwin came home earlier one Saturday afternoon and told me we are going to Seattle for the weekend. I was in the middle of two loads of laundry waiting to be folded and put away, the boys were getting edgy from not taking their nap in the day and I look like crap. I need one week to pack for a weekend in Seattle.

OK, so I have no time to pack my whole house into the car but do I want to be clearing work, and cleaning the house on Mother's day? No. I am so glad we went. It was a great idea, and a very memorable trip.

The boys did really well on the road and we had a most relaxing dinner and I love the hotel we stayed in. The sheets were heavenly and the room smelled great.

And of course, shopping never failed to be super therapy for my being.

And oh yes, by the way, my second surprise of the weekend was the IPad. I was stunned beyond words since Edwin was never a Mac fan. How and what convinced him. I was really curious, but never got an answer.

Dotting the map of the world..in my dreams.

My mind has been wandering. It's probably a form of escapism from my present.

I have been thinking alot about travelling with the boys. I truly believe they will gain tremendously from the experience of being in a different land, in a different culture.

Sure, it will be challenging. Go when we really want to stop and stop when we really want to go. But it will all be worth it.

I love travelling. I love the feeling of waking up and not knowing what I will possibly see or experience in a new place. I love that I do not have to think about what to cook. And oh yes, I love hotel beds. I sleep very well.

I say so often that the boys are growing up too fast. I do fear it. That this sweet, innocent young boy who would run to me for a cuddle would one day ask to be left alone to his computer. I want to manifest fully into their early growing years and I think travelling with them is a great way to bond, learn, and grow their minds, and mine too.

For a start, I am really looking forward to our trip back to Singapore in September. Seeing the family would be the best experience for the boys.

This is where it happened

Someone walked into this store on Mother's day and bought the iPad in less than three minutes of being acquianted to the machine. It was then wrapped in pretty pink paper and landed in my hands some 30 minutes later.

Lucas: Happy Mother's Day, Mommy.
Me: Thank you, Lucas! Wow! Is this a book? It's very heavy.

The final lap

The past couple of months have been so hectic, I am almost at a loss of words where to begin on what we have been doing, not doing, how many chocolate-covered cranberries I have had in my moments of stress. Eating junk food has become a desperate indulgence for me. And of course, it was convenient. Fast and convenient.

Who cares if I am in grossly mismatched clothing, bearing a bed of uncombed hair and smelling of garlic from dinner. The kids are in bed, Edwin is still at work and I am stuck at home. I stare at my computer and click the "refresh" button on Facebook.

So it has been almost 8 months since work begun on the Diamond property. The driveway, landscaping and finishing touches are underway. I smell my freedom coming close.

The end of days feeling like I am a single mom to two extremely active toddlers, one of whom is at the peak of his glorious "terrible twos" days. These are the days of a confused toddler who cannot decide if he would like to eat cheerios or bread for breakfast and the whole world belongs to "mine".

My eyes are barely open in the mornings when Edwin changes to leave for work. I am not sure if he even brushed his teeth. Probably not. It's great he only kisses me on the forehead. My eyes are again half-open and glazed when he returns from work. Glazed, dazed, definitely small. I am convinced there is a correlation between having kids and developing eyes which look like they need some kind of boost in the form of voluminous eye mascara or triple power maximizer eyeliner.

My mommy friends would relate to having endless loads of laundry everyday. I think I fare better in this department because Edwin hardly ever changes his clothes. Why am I still married to this man?

It's the shedding season for Ms. Abby, our Golden Retriever. Cleaning the floors twice a day has just been added to my daily mountain of chores. Too bad I loathe the taste of Chicken Essence in a bottle because somebody told me that would give me lots of energy.

Maybe it is time to visit my Korean friend at the Korean Spa.
http://mortz.blogspot.com/2008/08/back-from-outer-space.html

She would give me a real boost to my flapping spirits from her vigorous scrubs and kneading. In the least, I am pretty sure I will get a good laugh.

The day their buddies left for Asia on a jet plane

6th May 2010

I took the boys to the Airport to say good-bye to their buddies, Viola & Adelia, who were leaving for Singapore & Indonesia with their Mommy for 2 months.

When I told them "KK and EnEn are in this airplane!", they started to wave. It was super duper cute.

The boys miss them and I miss my daytime spouse! Hurry up with the eating, shopping and eating and shopping and come back soon!

I wait in anticipation

Dear readers of this blog,

I hereby announce that you are now witness to the following declaration of what I deem to be "a promise".

Vow made on 16th May, Sunday between 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

ALL the orange carpet in the house will be removed and replaced with a new flooring within the next two months, following the sale of the Diamond property in Richmond.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Hip Hip Hooray!

Boys trying to sing a Chinese song in the car

Boys singing in the car from Serene Ho on Vimeo.

What an awesome idea!

Elisa & Carolyn came up with this great idea and I love it!

The cheeky faces of Linus

Boy, he knew he was in trouble.

I know I shouldn't laugh but I did

Me: Lucas! Come quickly. Put on your socks!
Lucas: (comes running to me) Ok Mom. Blah Blah Blah.
Me: (in shock and on the verge of bursting into laughter but managed to suppress it) Don't be rude, Lucas. Who taught you to speak like that?
Lucas: Daddy.

My kids have great fashion sense

This is how the shirt should be worn in Linus' world. And don't you dare try to do it otherwise. The fashionista in this house has a fiery temper to match.

Hooray! Linus has been binky-free for one week!

I got the idea from a friend. One day last week, I hid all the pacifiers and told Linus that the Easter Bunny had taken them all away. I was surprised he did not cry or fuss about it. He did ask numerous times where his "air-we" (what he calls his pacifier) is. It helps that Lucas reinforces the story and tells his brother that the Easter bunny had arrived at the door to take his pacifier away.

I am so happy he can sleep and go around without his pacifier now.

This is what they call yoga

February 2010

Linus' big boy bed

So we decided it was time for Linus to move out of his baby crib and into a big boy bed. I chanced upon this cozy coupe bed and got it almost rightaway. The boys both loved it when we brought it into Lucas' bedroom.

The first couple of nights went great. Linus jumped right into his "car bed" and Lucas went up his bunk bed and they both slept in the same room. They would be singing and chatting away (I am amazed they understand each other so well since Linus has limited vocabulary now..but they do) and then one will fall asleep and then soon, the other.

This lasted quite well for a few weeks..until a couple of nights ago, when Linus decided he wanted to sleep in the bunk bed with his big brother. We are working on it right now..to rekindle his love for the "car bed".

Lucas' recent artwork

The one above, he calls the "Chitty Bang Bang car". I am impressed he got 4 wheels drawn.
The second picture is "Mommy". He has got me a pair of eyes, mouth and ears and even a neck.

Good job, Lucas!

Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010

22nd February 2010
The boys and I went on a little adventure to downtown Vancouver to soak up the energy and to experience Vancouver at one of its most vibrant. We rode the bus and the train to downtown Vancouver with Margaret & Carissa. It was definitely a memorable and fun day!

The girls went on a separate trip in the evening for a night out and it was great fun to just walk the streets and enjoy the liveliness of the city and have Pho on a cold winter evening with great girlfriends and talk about everything and anything.

The house is on the market

Listed for $1.538 Mil.

The boys share a scone - taken in Jan 2010

The boys share a scone from Serene Ho on Vimeo.

How is it that their features are so different and yet they still look alike?