ZOO TRIP - 2009

Ok, we went & we ended up being damn tired! But was it worth it? Of course it was ... & I hope Ryan will remember it that way.

The day started with a tram ride for everyone (Uncle An, Fuddin, Bibik Rina, Ayra & Ryan). As we get ready to roll, the sun shines brightly ...

As Ayra smiles, Ryan gives a sleepy look (he looks sooo excited ... doesn't he?).

Ryan & Ayra pose before they dive into the "deep" waters ...

Ryan treads "carefully" around the water!

Papa! This water feature looks interesting!

The three kids enjoying themselves.

Ayra poses (wif her constant peace sign) whilst her mummy is busy texting on the handphone.

Ryan & Ayra on a beat-up zoo jeep (a photo opportunity not to be missed).

A sweet smile from my boy!

Another twin pose from the two youngsters.

The infamous white tiger (it was pacing up & down the whole afternoon ... maybe the visitors were annoying!).

Two orangutans, lazing in the sun.

Ryan : Kakak, come see! ... Ayra : Later, ok?

While Ayra tries to pose for a pic, Ryan ruined it by walking pass ... spoiler!

We had a bit of time in between the animal shows, so we stopped by one of the show place (which was virtually empty) except that the sea animals (the penguins, dugongs, pelicans were around, resting). We decided to take a break & had some drinks, whipped potato & snacks. After that I managed to snap a few photos of the 2 kids. By this time they seem a bit tired (you can tell from their faces) but they were reluctant to show it. They seem intent on seeing more animals, more walking, more of everything. Well, the adults ... they weren't that keen though ...

They seem a bit tired by now ...

And extremely sweaty ...

My sweet little niece, she was very game at posing ...

Poor hubby ... he looks very tired.

Hhmm ... another peace sign pose. How cute!

My hyperactive & sweaty little rascal!

Admiring the animals.

Can you see Ayra in the background?

Ayra : Oh! I love the seal! .... Ryan : So do I!

What ... no peace sign??

Cute little seal ... don't move ok!

Ryan : Kakak, you wanna sit on this seal? .... Ayra : Its ok, I've found the right one! Peace!!!

Ayra : Bibik ... are we finished already? I've run out of peace poses!

Ryan : Mama! Can we bring him home?

Before the animal show, I finally posed ... & the kids don't want to be left out either.

On the way out (at the entrance), Ayra requested for a photos op wif the Ben & Jerry's cows ... why not!

Overall, it was a fun, albeit a very tiring day. We dropped off Ayra at her place & the 3 of us carried on home where Ryan & me dozed off for a couple of hours. Later on we had a buffet dinner at hubby's collegue's place in Sengkang (so far!). At 9pm, we made our move & returned home. Well that was how we spent Valentine's Day in 2009. I wonder how will we spend it next year?

A word of thanks to my sis for the free tics to the zoo (& the tram rides too). We appreciate it very much (& we saved a ton). Special thanks also to Ayra for being such a sweetheart ... she always never fails to be a fantastic playmate for Ryan. She's amuses & plays wif him all the time & is always willing to hold his hand. Most of all, she makes Ryan smile. Not a week goes by that Ryan does not mention his Kakak & he misses her all the time. I can see that having her in his life has enriched Ryan's life, & I am very grateful for that.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Its officially Valentine's Day today, though its 4:58 am in the morning. As you can see, I can't sleep (since 2 am, duh!) so I decided to log on & update here. Later in the day (early morning), we are going to the zoo, courtesy of free tickets from my sis. I think it will be a good "excursion" & I hope the kids - my son Ryan & his 2 cousins, Ayra & Fuddin will have a wonderful time there. I was trying 2 get Ryan in the mood by saying that we were gonna see the tigers (T-I-G-E-R) soon but he doesn't catch my drift (what do u expect from a 2 year old huh!). It know it will be a tiring day but I also know it will be worth it. Anything 2 put a smile on my son's face ...

As for Valentine's Day, we don't have any plans. As usual we don't buy or give each other gifts as we just dun have the excess funds 2 spare nor do we subscribe to the commercialism of this "lovers" day. I am one of those people that belive Valentine's Day should be an every day thing ... & that businesses are only out to "gain" your $. Everything is over-priced on this day & a lot of the things on sale are tacky & useless. I dun think you need to give over-priced gifts as a symbol of your love. Show someone you care ... in the little things that you do everyday ... not just one day out of a year.

I'm not anti-Valentines', infact I'm all for it ... I'm just not into the spending lavishly kinda act. Maybe its coz we are constantly on a budget but I think even if we are not, we don't go overboard with gifts or such. We have spent Valentine's day having a simple (albeit a cheap) dinner ... all that matters is that we have it together. This year, wif Ryan, there's no such thing as a private couple time as we are not so fortunate to have help in baby-sitting. Even if we did, I would feel bad leaving Ryan behind whilst we have a lovey-dovey time. Hhmm ... maybe when he's much older, we'll see ....

AUSTERITY DRIVE

I decided 2 transfer my austerity drive ideas onto another blog coz I thought it would look so "messy" here. Besides not everybody's interested to know where I found the cheapest baby clothes, etc.

So here's the other blog's address :
http://our-austerity-drive.blogspot.com/

Do drop by if you are keen on our latest effort to "buy-&-live-cheap". I was also thinking of including a section on delicious food too (Anyone who knows me ... knows how I loove food!). I think I will wait & see how things work out wif the new blog. If the blog is alive & well ... & I can find the time 2 update it regularly, I will try to add more sections of interest.

I hope my "thrift & save" ideas helps. Enjoy reading!!!

OK, since I have the time 2 rant for awhile (baby's sleeping), I sure will ...

I was just going through my older posts on the blog & I saw that some of the slides I did on SLIDE was either empty or not moving! Arrggh! I just don't understand these stuff. When I went 2 check on their website, the slides were still there. Am I just stupid or is the program playing tricks on me? Downloading videos on Blogger can also be a real pain. It can't be my internet connection coz I'm on broadband so thats excluded. So whats the problem then?

I simply dun know how to keep up wif these stuff. I'm not extremely tech savy but I do know how to manuever around the Net. Even simple things that I wanna do, I can't seem to do it. I'm also a stickler for formatting & spacing. That simple thing ... I can't even do here. It either refuses to do what I format or it keeps leaving spaces when I don't want it to. Frustrating!

I surf the Net & see such beautiful blogs, full of creative & interesting stuff. Though I wish my blog would look half as good as theirs, I'll be thankful if it does what's its supposed to & not get on my nerves so much. Since I can't spend hours doing up my blog, I just want it to be idiot-proof, simple & does what I tell it too. Hhhmmm ... well it seems like its wishful thinking for now.

OK I think I will leave it up to that for now. At least I got it off my chest .... ha!

Aahh! ... Life ...

Well, this makes me wish, I was on the beach wif hubby ... Hhmmm ... Ryan must be hanging nearby.

SOME RANDOM PICS OF RYAN

Wohoo! Hubby's on leave for the next couple of days so its either a long-well deserved-rest time for me or we might end up packing-cleaning-house ... again. We'll see how things go.

OK the blogs full of photos right, well I just went crazy updating all the pics here, maybe I went overboard but heck I sure aint gonna delete them coz it took me the whole afternoon to get them up here. So folks just enjoy the pics ok ... dun think I have such luxury all the time.

Hhmm ... must write more, muse more, complain more, b***h more ... I need more time in my days!

BUSY DAY - PLAY TIME & COFFEE

Once again, we were at IMM. As usual Ryan can't help but wanna spend time at the playground. Just a few pics ... of Ryan having a good time!

A ride or two doesn't hurt anyone ... but Ryan wants them ALL!!!

Somehow we ended up in town, later in the day. Here are just some pics of Ryan, posing ... rather obediently.

Doing his "Say Cheese" impersonation, its rather amusing. Too bad, most times he ends up covering half his cute face wif his gesture. Well, he tries ...

We had late night coffee with some ol' friends, Lisa & Jason, together wif their kids, Chelsia & Damian. Ryan just loves playing wif the kids. He's taken a liking to Uncle Jason these days too. I guess coz Jason tries to amuse Ryan by having little conversations ... he likes that!

Isn't that Ryan's BFF Barney? What was he doing at Starbucks???

Phew! What a looong day it was! Tiring but enjoyable, especially 4 my lil munchkin.