Unusual Parent-Teacher Chat

Stacey, Bevan's teacher said Bevan is showing very advance problem-solving skills and expresses himself very well. Shows lots of improvement in concentration span and discipline. He socialises among the boys group and the girls group. Which we were very happy and proud to hear.

And then, she moved on to talk about our helper.

First, there were a few times that when Siamah came to pick him up from school to my office, sometimes together with Berton, from Forum to Shaw Centre, she didn't hold their hands. Their hearts dropped when they saw cars drove into the lanes beside my boys as they ran freely. Stacey and other teachers have seen it happening.

Second, once Bevan accidentally hit a friend while they were playing at the merry-go-round after the class, Siamah hit him quite hard and scolded him loudly. The parents felt so uneasy about it that she requested Stacey to let me know.

Once again, I wish I could take care of my kids myself.

Mr Monopoly Junior

When Leslie and I were in New York, we played lots of board games to kill the boredom of crazy winter nights. So when Bevan showed interest in Monopoly. I was rather excited and grabbed the Junior version from Toys R Us that very day.

Bevan and I were a team, Berton and Daddy formed the other. Except for the occasional throwing of dice into the sky, and shifting of houses together to form a row of houses, we did okay. We noticed Berton has this incredible luck! He was always the one who get lucky chances, the one who gets all the Mr Monopoly loose change. Bevan focused on getting $2 every time he passed GO.

At the end, Berton and team won us by $1!

Behind The Clouds

I was hiding the clouds for a few days.

For new, though not major, challenges in work, health, life came together. And nights were spent laying down on sofas with blanket, until it's time to sleep. I needed to be completely brainless, totally carefree for that 2 hours after work, and kids were asleep.

I had overspent my daytime brain and energy quota. With a few surprises which I will slowly record them online.

Here I am again, ready for face them all.

Moving House 14: What Now, Holiday Home

So, what is happening to our holiday home?

It is still not ready. All our packed items are still in the warehouse. It's quite a bit of anti-climax in the excitement and anticipation among the littlekohs.

Here's the interesting estimated TOP from the developer:

November 08
It was indicated in the property catalogue that its TOP will be in Jun 09

December 08
Right after we signed on the Sales Agreement, the agent estimated a slight delay to Jul 09

July 09
We called the agent, she told us to call again in Aug 09

Aug 09
The agent said maybe September

Sept 09
We called the agent, she said "I don't know I cannot point the gun at the developer."
I didn't explain to her we didn't mean anything that violent. I guess it wouldn't help. So we wrote an email to her manager and the developer "in-charge", no one replied. I called their numbers, they said 30 September 09.

30 Sept 09
The "in-charge" said she didn't promised 30 Sept, it was just an estimate.

7 Oct 09
I called the the manager, for the first time I mumbled something like "I can be very good in making a public complaint." I really didn't want to get angry, because it's a new home, it's our nice, relaxing holiday home. So I controlled myself, minded my manners, maintained a smile when I spoke over the phone. She said maybe 3 more weeks.

That's 28 Oct 09. We shall see. For your information, it's an award winning project. Arrgghhh.

Hi-5 Concert

We watched Hi-5 too!

For non-parents, Hi-5 is an educational program that comprises dancing, singing, story-telling, drama with a theme each episode, it can be solar system, travelling, teamwork, sports, wild life, party. As an anti-video mother, this is the only VCD I give in to.

The greatest part of Hi-5 - it allows me to take a nice bath.

So when the Hi-5 team came to Singapore, the whole team of 4 littlekohs went full force to support the concert of our stars. It was good. When the Hi-5 jumped on stage, my excitement was no lesser than watching Jackie Cheung. When it ended, Bevan asked to watch it all over again, just like how we re-played the VCD at home.

It's our littlekohs' first concert together.

(It's an overdue post)

The NEW eClarity.com.sg

Once upon a time (5 years ago), I started a website for my shop...

The old experience folks said:
Ahaha! Nobody will ever buy diamonds from website, you are wasting money!

The young IT-savvy friends said:
Ahaha! Your website is so lousy, it should allow customers to see rings from all dimensions, visualise the ring on their fingers...

Of course, better still the ring pops out from the screen drops on your table.

With limited resources, as in time and money, I had to spend on buying more stock, hiring assistants, expand production team. I maintained the website at its basic though I had faith in it. The website hits increased, from 20 hits a month, to 5000, to 20,000. Recently, we have 20,000 hits per week.

Finally, this is the time. Finally, I have the resources to spare. eClarity.com.sg has a new look! The diamond list is updated, the wedding bands listing are more visible, and we have a recognition tab with our favourite customers’ pictures.

I have a feeling of pride. The new eClarity.com.sg, though no ring magic yet, it is a dream come true for me.

It's an important step in retailing less and mothering more. Please ask your friends to go buy diamond online at warehouse prices - eClarity.com.sg

Happy Birthday To Me

It's really the first year I feel old. Thank you for having littlekohs and bigkoh by my side. Thank you my best friends wenshan, sayni, belinda, and my dad, for always remembering the day and drop me little sweet notes, year after year.

I love you all. I am so lucky.