IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SATURDAY

Why the title of this entry? Haha ... its because on a lot of our carefree Saturdays, we tend to take the bus (& train) to have our breakfast, in the neighbourhood (coz we can't drive). But all that will change, with the new announcement this week, that all OPC car owners can drive ALL DAY on Saturdays & the eves of the 5 major Public holidays, starting end of Jan 2010. Hooray! Its about time man! I've always found the 3pm time (rather stupid) coz its neither here nor there ... duh! But of course, there's a trade off right? We need to pay slightly higher road tax, which I see as a small price to pay ... to be able to use our car on all Saturdays of the year. We really can't wait for it to come true ... don't understand why they have to wait till Jan next year though. Oh well, can't complain ... just gotta bear with it, I guess - grin grin!

One other clue ... Hubby was carrying the smaller blue haversack (which is now unusable coz we just broke the side buckle recently). If we were driving, I would probably be hauling the smaller pink carry-on for Ryan's stuff (plain drinking water & his trusty supply of milk). Oh well, Saturday or not, you can see us bright & early ... catering to our boy's (many) whims of his eggy prata, for his usual weekend breakfast.

Waiting patiently for our prata supply to be ready!

Don't you think that Ryan smiles ... just like his Daddy?

After filling our tummies, we headed down the escalator. The photographer Mummy thought that it would be a swell idea to get some pics of her two boys down the flight of moving stairs. It was made possible because the escalator was empty & rather long. They were both game for the shots, so that made it easier for me to catch them at their most natural. We decided to bring Ryan to the nearby arcade. We have , for the longest time tried to avoid arcades of any kind because we were very sure that Ryan will get "addicted" to them (which turned out to be right). Most times he will be extremely reluctant when time comes to leave but as a treat. we still bring him to these arcade (sometimes).


A lot of times, its just to sit on the rides (no money or tokens involved) but of course, at times we cave in & allow some rides or games. I'm all for some enjoyment & games ... I just don't want it to become a norm or expectation that Ryan gets to play all the games that he wants. That's not what I want to teach my child. Its ok to play some games & such but if it becomes an obsession & an "obligation", that's where it stops being a "playtime" & becomes a tug-of-war of, if the parent wants to keep the child from throwing a tantrum, she has to give in to the kid's demands. I definitely don't want to go there ... nor do I wanna encourage free-play for all. I know I have to tread a very fine line of finding new experiences, giving my son a good childhood & trying to be a good-enough parent ... that's trying to find a balance between play & learn (especially when he starts going to school, next year). Well, I'm still trying ...

Posing on the car ride.

Ryan was wearing his new Bumble Bee watch (purchased at Toy's R Us).

Again ... posing at the carousel.

Nice horsey!

Banging on drums, with the sticks!

Singtel had a F1 car (which had a game installed inside the driver's seat) in the atrium. I guess its for die-hard F1 fans (not for muah).

Made Hubby & son pose beside the car.

Hubby looks tired ... errm, its still too early in the day to be tired but that little bundle on his lap, can tire any adult, without even trying ... haha!

AN ANIMAL RIDE AT MARINA

If you didn't know by now, my son Ryan is obsessed with rides of any kind. Everytime we head to Marina Square, we either have to get a cup of Mc's Chocolate Milkshake or let him have a go at this (kinda ugly looking) gigantic mobile animal rides that cost $2. Of course there are times Ryan gets both treats ... haha!

As usual, Daddy becomes the "ride guardian" or should I say ... the parent that is light enough, not to "kill" these rides. Ryan loves this ride ... as usual.

Ryan insisted on maneuvering the ride. He "refused" to let his Daddy help him!

Whilst walking back (after the ride), I noticed that there was a rather new mini playground for the kiddies nearby. There didn't used to be one (as I can recall) but there is one right now. Ryan of course, had to try out the new playground.

After having a good time on the rides & playground, Father & son made a quick pit-stop at the water feature beside a coffee joint (is it Dome or Coffee Club?) & posed for some cute pics. Everytime we hang out at Marina, Ryan will stop-over this rather mesmerizing water feature, as we have to pass it from the basement car park ... oh well, if that brief stop makes my Munchkin happy, why not? Its a very small "price" to pay, as I always tell Hubby. Errm ... at least it doesn't cost us any money, haha ... infact its free! (as can be). Since there are not many guilty pleasures that are FREE in "fine" Singapore, anything that brings a little joy & happiness to my little boy, me & Hubby will surely try our best to make our only child happy (ok, ok .... call us cheapskates, but we can't help it ... we can't afford a lot of things). Anything that's dirt-cheap or free is fair game for this family ... haha!

How, Mummy? Do we look cute?

I like this pic. Ryan looks forlorn, deep in thought as I "caught" his sideview ... Nice!

A TRAIN RIDE ... AGAIN

OK, these pics are definitely back-dated ones. I realised that due to my recently emotionally-charged entries, I had totally "ignored" the batch of new photos that lay dormant in my PC. Ahem ... so as usual, I am trying my best to get up to speed. I will take probably awhile to get almost everything up, so bear with me yah.

Again, this post will be the start of MANY back-dated entries for us. The "bad" thing about putting all these "old" pics up here ... once I get them all done, I will have a new batch of pics that will be considered "old news" by blog context. Oh well ... I'm doing my best, with my limited free time, so I hope that everyone will still enjoy dropping by for a read, anytime.

OK, on with the pics ...

This batch of photos are the first in a group of pics that I tried tweaking a little. I thought that they were kinda "darker" than usual, so I used Picassa to lighten them & add some brightness. Errrm ... I think I kinda overdid it. The pics are a little overly bright & I simply don't have the patience (nor the time) to redo them once again. So, here they are ... brightened & all.

Ryan giving me a sign for the photo op. As usual, Hubby's there for his Munchkin.

Ryan looking very excited ... & waiting anxiously for his train ride.

Ryan's Mummy posing with the little terror (note the "grabbing" of Munchkin's head ... so that he won't run away, before the pic was taken).

Ryan displaying his latest bad habit to the hilt ... the sucking of his tiny fingers, drool & all!

Ryan showing his Daddy the finer points of playing with his new book.

Grabbing & playing with the digicam cover ... again!

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

As the saying goes, like father like son (or like mother like daughter), I have noticed that a lot of times, its oh so true. Of course, there are things that Ryan takes after me ... but a lot of times its actually funnier if he copies his Daddy (so obviously). I guess its even more hilarious because they are both males & I call Ryan a mini version of Steven. I guess if I had a daughter .. she will probably take after me (now that's a scary thought ... haha! another me!).

These pictures were taken in a foodcourt. Hubby was feeling a bit tired & sleepy ... so after the early dinner of (what else?) prata, he said that he wanted to shut his eyes for a couple of minutes to get his usual "power-nap" (which I am soooo not capable of, as I take eons just to nod off to sleep). So Hubby proceeded to place his head on the table. As usual, my Munchkin ... seeing his Daddy doing something out of the ordinary, just had to follow suit ... but of course!

PS : Trust me ... I did not edge nor told Ryan to copy his Daddy (at all). He did so of his own accord ... so that actually makes it even cuter. I'm glad I got it on film ... haha!

When Daddy woke up (more refreshed), I asked him to take a photo of Ryan & me. Notice the many fingers in his mouth ... yucks! A very bad habit he's developed lately. Hoping he will outgrow it very soon. So unglam!

JUST SOME RANDOM PICS ...

Its approaching midnight. Its time for bed but just thought of putting a short write up. Went through some of the "older" (back-dated) pics I had on hand. These were taken by my trusty Nokia, which has a 5 mega pixel camera. Although its not the latest phone nor the best one around, its been my trusty friend, since last year. Besides, for a handphone camera it takes very good photos (though I do get blurry or over-exposed ones at times). Most times, the pics turn out well & its handy when I don't have my digicam with me or I'm with Ryan alone & can't handle him & the digicam with my 2 hands.

Until my handphone "dies" on me or Nokia comes out with an idiot-proof phone, that has at least a 5 mega pixel camera, I don't see myself changing to an another phone anytime soon. Hmm .. I wonder if the I-phones (Apple) will churn out a 5 or higher mega pixel camera soon? Now, that will pique my interest ... haha! Well, until then ...

The following pictures were taken at Ya Kun (Ah Kun Toast). We were just having our usual tea & toasted kaya bread. I found the two pics of father & son rather cute. Both were smiley & its a good comparison of how they look alike (or not!). Funny, how majority of folks say that Ryan looks a lot like his Daddy (carbon copy?) but there are also people who seem to think that he looks more like me. Personally, I feel Ryan does look a lot like his Papa but at certain angles, he does kinda resemble me. Of course, there are times that I feel Ryan looks nothing (at all) like me ... haha! I guess its because Ryan looks more Chinese than Malay. He's also very fair & his features are more Oriental (if you may) ... except, for his ultra long eyelashes, which never go unnoticed by his many (usually female) "admirers" ... haha!

Even, I am envious of those lashes!

OK, here are the pics!

Playing with Mummy's handphone pouch.

A smiley wave from Daddy. Ryan was wearing his $2 Rocket watch we bought at Bugis ... how cute! Hubby is wearing one of the 2 T-shirts, that was a birthday gift from my elder brother.

Both, smiling for Mummy.

A SAD ANNIVERSARY ...

This is a photo of my dear little pet guinea pig. Her name was Bubbles (yes, like the Powerpuff Girls but she wasn't named after that toon), I just liked the name ... as I had a "bad" habit of naming all (or most) of my own pets with the letter B (coz of my beloved cat who was named, Baby).

The sad anniversary is two ... of sorts. One anniversary is the passing of Bubbles, 2 years ago. Why of all my many pets, was it easiest to remember the anniversary death of my dear Bubbles. That's because she died the night before I had my operation ... after my miscarriage, in 2007. So I guess its hard for me to forget that fateful date. Its clearly etched in my memory ... how I barely coped during that stage.

Some may say that Bubbles passed away ... to "take" my place, as I was having the op & going under anesthesia, etc. Its kinda swapping places, if you may. I try not to think of it coz I would feel really sad if that was the real reason she passed away. All I can recall was that, other than being a bit quiet the day before, Bubbles was happy & healthy. So when we came home from dinner (as I had no mood to cook or to stay home on the eve of the op), I went to her cage to bid her goodnight, as always. Alas ... I realised that she was already gone. Didn't even know when she passed on. I was inconsolable as you can imagine. I just lost my baby & here my poor pet, Bubbles had to die too! Life wasn't fair! Yes, I had my newborn baby, Ryan (who was about 7 & half months by then) & hubby with me, but to lose my new unborn baby & my pet, within a space of a couple of days ... was a bit too much for me to handle. I remembered I sobbed the whole night, I didn't really sleep either. But I knew I had to get a hold of myself. I had to (pretend to) be strong ...

We had to send Ryan to my mum's place before 6 am, the day of the operation, as I had to report at the hospital before 7 am. Huh, & guess what time I finally went into the operation theatre? ... about 2 pm in the afternoon. I spent a good part of the morning in the operating gown & robe, sitting in the waiting area, with other ladies that were probably going through some kind of operation too. Though I suspect that some were not having the "evacuation of the uterus" - the term for my kind of op, as some were rather elderly & some were very young. Besides, no one was really in a chatty mood ... not that I can blame them. I wasn't either ... all I wanted to do was sob in my hubby's shoulders. But as we all do, we put up a brave front & hold back the buckets of tears. I wasn't gonna break down in front of strangers ... no I wasn't!

I remembered after the op, I was numb & feeling hazy. I was assigned a bed for bedrest. Whilst I was having my op, hubby went to SPCA, to have Bubbles cremated. He met up with me when I was wheeled out of the operating theatre. How was the op? It was white, cold, long & then I couldn't remember anything ... I remembered speaking to my gynae before I was knocked out & I also recalled speaking to the anaesthesiologist before things went blank. The wait for operation itself took so long that I was sorta relieved it finally came. When we finally left the hospital at about 8.30 pm that night, we went to my mum's place to fetch my little baby, Ryan ... who never knew what transpired during the day. I remembered that I kept hugging him. Though I lost Megan that day, I still had Ryan with me ...

I kept saying goodbye to my baby, Megan, whilst I was waiting for the op ... eventhough I knew she wasn't there anymore. I knew somewhere, somehow ... she could hear me. I told her I loved her & that I will see her again ... very soon. I still miss her ... If she was here now, she would have been 1 year & 5 & a half months old. Her birth date was 5 March 2008. I think of her all the time ... I can't help it, she's still my baby. Megan Sarah is still my daughter, even though we can't be her parents in this world. But I know that both Steven & me ... will get to meet her & hold her ... one day. One fine day, we will be a family ... again.

I love you ... Megan Sarah.

I miss you ... every day of my life.