My Shan Yao

Shan Yao is my pillar of strength, my reliable helper and my comfort. Although he often gets the 'middle child' treatment from everyone (even me), he never complains. He is often taken for granted and his achievements are often overshadowed by the problems the rest of his siblings sometimes cause.

For the last 4 months, we have been managing without a domestic help. It is during this time that I truly appreciate Shan Yao. He helps around the house without much complaint. I know he feels frustrated at times when his siblings let him down by not doing enough to help out but he does all the chores anyway because I know he does not want me to be tired. His unconditional love for me acts as a reminder for me to do the same for the rest of the family. He humbles me.

I know now that whenever I feel down and out, I just need to think of Shan Yao and how very blessed I am that God has given him to me.

I want everyone to know how fortunate we are that we have Shan Yao in our lives.....

Absent From School - by Mark

Yeah!!!! I did not need to go to school today. I had a very bad cough and threw up last night. The vomit tasted bad. Mommy gave me Ventolin, Benadryl and a glass of chocolate milk. I felt better after that.

It is fun to be absent from school because I can play in the garden, watch tv and play Duel Masters with my brother Samuel. It is fun to play and watch tv all day. It is fun to be sick.

Hooray! The exams are over!! - by Angela

I'm so glad that the exams are over!! Actually, what Mummy had said before was true! I did much better for this SA2 than the SA1 in the middle of the year! I am extremely glad I listened to Mummy! By the way, because I studied, I was second in class for English and third in class for Science! When I heard the second person in class for Science had only half a mark more than me, I wished I had not made any careless mistakes. =( Well, I bet I can do better next year in Primary 5 and I hope to be in the same class as Chloe, Sheryl and Grace!! There are many more girls whom I want to be in the same class with but it's just too much trouble to type all of their names!! Well, I hope all of you have done well for your exams too!! See ya! =0)

I Love Tennis Too !

I am Mark. I love tennis; tennis is fun. My coach is Coach Chris. He taught me half serve, fore-hand and back-hand. My lesson is half-an hour long. I love tennis! I would love to hear your comments too.

I love tennis!!-by Angela

If you have read my title, you should know what my favourite sport is. I love tennis!! I play tennis four times a week. Twice on Tuesdays, once on Saturdays and once on Sundays. I usually play with either my uncle Jon, my cousin Amanda, my brother John or my friend Christy. I play tennis with Christy every Sunday morning at Kallang Tennis Centre. Mummy has arranged for me to play tennis with Christy at her condominium during the hols and I'm really looking foward to that. I LOVE TENNIS!!

Our After-Exams Celebration Meal Plan

Very funny reaction from the kids:

Last night, I announced that instead of our usual rendezvous at CSC for our Friday dinner, we would all have (provided that both SW's and SY's noses are not stuffy) instant noodles for dinner. The jubilation and shouts of joy from the children were tremendous. They would gladly forgo expensive meals at Tony Romas or Marche for a bowl of instant noodles. How fortunate I am for having such undemanding children!

Is Mark popular in school?

The reason why I ask that question is because Mark often comes home with little 'gifts' from his friends in school. They come in the form of erasers, rulers, toys, snacks and today, a very snazzy looking sharpener. When I asked him why his friend gave him the sharpener, he said he did not know why..."He just gave it to me" was his reply.

Here are my theories:
1. He IS very popular in school because he is a good boy.
2. He has been giving his friends 'gifts' as well - I had better check my valuables to see if they are still around.
3. He is a school bully who arm-twists his friends to surrender their possessions.

I find the last theory very funny because he is a rather small built boy whom you would just love to pinch his cheeks and say "So CUUUTE!" But with Mark, nothing surprises me. I am just holding my breath for the phone to ring with a complaint about him.

*********Ah Meng's Aphorisms********

1. The test of the pudding is in the eating
2. Between friends and enemies, it is better to have more friends

Choices

I have just learnt from Li Koon that last night my nephew WL had attended the wake of his best friend from school. WL was devasted at the loss of his dear friend - a loss that was so needless.

Why have I entitled this entry as 'Choices'? Everyday, we make decisions, choices that seemingly do not have any serious repercussions. But in the case of WL's friend, the choices made by the parties involved ended in a fatality. The accident from what I understand happened when WL's friend, while crossing the road, dropped an item. He was standing on the road divider when he bent down to pick up the item. He was hit by a car turning out from the ECP at Marine Terrace exit.

Choice 1: If WL's friend had chosen to look before retrieving his item, he would have noticed the oncoming car.

Choice 2: If the driver of the car had chosen to slow down, knowing that she was driving in a school zone, she would have had the time to react and avoid hitting WL's friend.

I am sure the driver did not intend for the accident to happen - exactly that - accidents are unintentional. I am sure she must be going through the event over and over again in her head; wishing that things had been different, that maybe she could have left her house a little later.....

I have learnt a very important lesson from this sad incident. Being a driver myself, I realise that I too could kill someone with my car; someone's son, daughter, mother or father. Although we cannot control the events in our lives, we can choose actions that can lessen the chance of causing hurt to someone. I have decided from this day forth, to drive with greater care and awareness, to drive slower so that I always have time to react to unexpected situations. I hope that when you have read this entry, you will also make the same decision; the same choice as I have made.

My Very First Poem written in 2004 - by Samuel

What is Blue?

Blue is the sky
and blue is the sea.
Blue is the water,
that runs through streams.

Blue can be hot
and blue can be cold.
Blue can be an alien
from the planet Pluto.

So what is blue?
What can it be?
What is blue,
for you and me?

My Holiday Blues - by Shan Min

I am not enjoying my holidays at the moment because my Mum keeps saying,"More work less play!". I was looking forward to the holidays at first as I thought mummy would let us have fun and play more this holiday but that only happened on Monday. I think you've already read what happened that day on the first blog typed by mummy. Well, I had loads of fun riding the "Skyride" and the "Luge" . Do you know how many times I went on both rides? If you say "four" times, you're right!! I really enjoyed that day but......I'm stuck at home now, doing WORK,WORK and MORE WORK. I hardly have any 'fun' breaks; but I know mummy is right. I would certainly enjoy my December holidays more if I do well for my SA2. I will work hard for a good December holiday - hopefully to Korea!!

Everybody SMILE!

The Happy Foursome ...

They had quite a wild time ... with 3 scooters and a skateboard. Guess whose wise idea it was to bring along the tub of water? And guess who promised to carry it but ended up not doing so anyway? The One-and-Only ..... ..... ..... (clue-> standing apart from the others).

Sentosa Outing

We had a terrific day today at Sentosa. It is a school holiday for the kids today and Meng Hwee is also off in lieu of Saturday being a public holiday. We asked the kids what they wanted to do - SW wanted to go to Laser Challenge at Bukit-something but Mark wanted to go ice skating. Hmmm, MH and I had to think of something fast to please everyone. Aha! Sentosa's Luge!

Everyone seemed keen and within an hour (after walking the dog, bringing out the cushions, having breakfast, putting on sunblock, etc), we were off. The sky grew darker as we approached Sentosa and we all 'put power prayed' for the sky to clear. When we got there, lo and behold, the weather was hot and sunny! "Yeah!" chorused the kids and they dashed for the helmets. Before I could lecture them on safety precautions, they were off.

I did the 'mommy' thing, stayed on the ground and dutifully took pictures of MH and the kids having fun. After about 4 rounds of going up the sky ride and racing down the slope, we headed for the Koufu Food Centre for lunch. Weather was getting unbearably hot and it was such a relief to eat in air conditioned comfort. Food was great and very affordable. MH said it was great BECAUSE it was very affordable.

After lunch, the kids insisted on going for the Miniature Golf but we were spared that 'torture' when the dark clouds came. The sudden thunderstorm put out all possible protests from the kids.

Short and enjoyable - that is certainly my idea of a great outing!

My Humble Resort Home

I love my home.
It's not at exclusive Bukit Timah, nor at fanciful Orchard Road.
Tucked away conveniently near Chai Chee,
I just love my humble abode.