3D2N D'resort stay Part 2 Birthday Celebration!

3D2N D'resort stay Part 1

For birthday celebration of Jared and YanChen.  But we booked on the wrong week..so it has been terriblely juggling sch activities vs a good break.  Jared had to go back for CCA practise, and he had a speech to deliver the next day after check out.  After shouting much at wild wild wet, his voice when coarse, and also lag of practise

Wild Wild Wet -Resort stay came with tickets to WWW for everyday of the stay

















Outing to Pasir Ris Beach








Before going home

Deepavali outing-Botanical Garden and Ikea

Our first time in the Orchid Garden, only $5 for each adult, while the children are free..Its a beautiful place inside..certainly worth a visit.

Chiffon Cake Madness

Cos the kids suddenly like chiffon cake and I started baking them almost weekly...



Pandan and Oreo chiffon cake shown here..They didnt like orange chiffon cake.

Pandan Cake Recipe From Ellena Guan

Oreo Chiffon Cake Recipe  From Bakerlicious
added half a teaspoon of baking powder, turned out its quite a dense cake and everyone likes it.

Children's Day 2015

For Jared, the parents chipped in to buy them MacD breakfast, and they had activities in class, which he won another trophy!  3rd one since joining CHS.


I voluntereed for Kaylen's PM session at the children's fair.

Jared's P4 Writing-Dilemma

For this piece, Jared discussed the plot with daddy, and it came back with a 32/40 for his 1st draft. And for 2nd draft, again with daddy's guiding he made it to 35/40.  So as a GEP parent, we really are busy.  Typing out the draft is always moi 's job..hah. And then he will work on it to update as draft 2 before submit to teacher..This is for every compo in class...When back at Pei Chun, only the selected compos for class distribution will required to type, so I happily type each time..now its hard work!

As soon as the door opened, I was hit by a blast of cool air from the powerful air-conditioning. I stared in awe, mouth agape like a star-struck fan who had just met his favourite superstar. There were rows and rows of shops, from antique to toy shops. The air was cool and sweet with perfume and there were lots of people, packed like sardines in a can. People bargained for lower prices. Children tagged along with their parents or played catch around the clothes racks. The air was filled with animated chatter. I could not wait to explore this place.

It was a hot and humid Sunday morning and I was bored to tears at home. My parents had left to pay grandmother a visit.  I decided to get away from the scorching heat by visiting this newly-revamped shopping mall. I also wanted to get a snack and buy some comics to read while my parents were away.  As I searched for the bookstore in the seemingly endless shopping mall, I had no idea that my best friend from primary one, Ben, was also in the mall.

Soon, I located a bookstore. Squeezing through the crowd towards it, I caught sight of a familiar figure. It was Ben! I quickly neared him, hoping to give him a surprise.  However, he seemed to be taking furtive glances and following a woman who was engrossed in her phone, listening to music.  At this instant, he cast one more glance and before slipping his hand into the woman’s bag, pulling out a prized wallet.  My jaw dropped the moment I witnessed this. Surely he would not do that. Not the Ben I know!

Ben has always been a perfect kid at school. He always did the right thing. He was my true friend as he was a helpful and righteous person and would help me when I was in need.  Once, he even lent me pocket money without asking for return! There must be a reason why he is committing this crime now. I just had to find out for myself.

I ran up beside him and gave him a nudge.

“What are you--” Before I could finish, he towed me to a toilet cubicle.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

Ben replied “Shhh, I’ll share the money with you when I’m done.” With that, he dashed out of the toilet.

I tried to chase him but I lost him amidst the crowd. Sighing, I paced restlessly around the mall. I could not believe what I just saw and heard. An instant thought came to my mind: Call the police! However, if I called the police, I might lose a true friend. What if I pretend nothing happened?  I considered.  He might become a thief in the future! I was between the devil and the deep blue sea. After what seemed like eternity, I decided to call the police.  After punching in “999” on my phone, I reported the case to the police. I also notified the security guard at the mall entrance.

As soon as the security guard was informed, I gave him a brief description of Ben.  He called for backup on the walkie-talkie and dashed off searching for Ben.  I walked nervously around the entrance of the mall.  Would Ben severe all ties with me?  After a few moments, the security guards emerged with Ben, who was hanging his head low in shame. The police had also arrived.  I gave the police all the information and pleaded for leniency for Ben. He and two security guards uttered a few words.  After taking down some notes and Ben’s particulars, the police replied, “Okay, we will let him off with a warning since he is still a child. But if he pickpockets again, he will be punished.”  He took a photo of Ben and left. The security guard warned Ben and took back the wallet to return to the lady. His assistant talked to Ben. I saw him call his parents. After than, Ben gave me a glance and wanted to speak, but his voice was rusty. Instead, he scuttled off quickly and wordlessly. I turned around and strolled to the bookstore.

The next day at school, I was very nervous about what Ben would say.  At that moment, I heard someone calling out to me. It was Ben, panting.  Ben smiled and said, “ I was wrong to do that yesterday, sorry. And thanks for getting me out of trouble.”  I gave him a hearty slap on the back and exclaimed, “We all make make mistakes, but let’s not repeat them again!”  I was glad he was still my friend.  Later in the day, I figured out he had pickpocketed as he wanted to get comics and a remote-controlled helicopter. I was sure he had learnt his lesson this time.

This incident had always been in my heart.  I will never forget how tough the decision was. While we all know that stealing is wrong, we must also stand up for integrity in every situation even if it is someone who is close to you.

Kid's little achievement

1) Kaylen passed her Grade 4 mental arithmetic exam.
- If she were to continue to take grade 3, she can officially be a mental aritmetic / abacus teacher...Wow.

2) Jared got a Merit for his Grade 5 Violin Exam at 126!
- My first impression, haiz, why not a little more for distinction..parents can never be satisfied, when it felt like failing, a pass is sufficient..When he overcome a pass, we want more!

3) Jared got his first ever High Distinction for ICAS English
- I heard children in GEP classes getting high distinction is pretty common. So when he only get a Distinction for Science, I felt a little sad...and there he surprised me with a HD!


Well done children!!

Jared's writing for P4-Unfortunate Incident

After 10 months in GEP, I think it is good as it is his own work, this piece is worth 33/40 for Draft 1. The top kids in the class can really write very well, but I can see Jared did improve a lot compare to last year. However, the work is not consistent..I just hope he will keep on striving for better work.  

Boom! Thunder rumbling woke me up with a start. Groaning, I realised it was the day of my exams. Rain was already pouring down quickly and there was no other way to get to school other than riding my bicycle. Which, of course, meant I would get drenched. I quickly packed my bag and got ready for school. However, the rain was still pouring. I tapped my feed worriedly, hoping fervently that the rain would stop soon.

After fifteen minutes, the rain finally slowed to a drizzle, then stopped. I quickly hopped onto my bicycle and pushed the pedals as hard as I could, even though the road was  very slippery. I was going to be late! Sweat poured down my neck and adrenaline rushed through my veins. The bike seemed to be getting slower and slower as I was getting more and more exhausted. I caught a glimpse of my watch. It was 6:50am. Ten more minutes before assembly, and I still had a long way to go. Will I miss the test? Just when I thought things would never get worse, they did.

I came back to concentrating on my riding and saw a large rock right in the middle of the road all of a sudden. Oh no! I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could. Then, the inevitable came. It was too late to stop. The bicycle wheels crashed head-on into the rock. The handles were wrenched from my hands and the bicycle swerved sharply to one side. The wheel lodged in a drain gutter so suddenly that I was thrown off the bicycle, which nearly flipped. My textbooks and worksheets flapped onto the floor, which was still wet from the rain. My watch had also been smashed on the edge of the gutter. Hitting the ground with a dull thud, pain shot like an arrow through my scraped legs and I gritted my teeth. I slowly extracted my handkerchief to stem the blood flow, wincing in pain at the sight of the scar. Then, I put all my learning materials into my bag, hoping there were not too wet.

I stared at the bicycle. Surely I could not get to school with a bicycle that tyres had been punctured, twisted handle bars and a hanging seat. The bicycle would probably crash again due to the lack of grip. After some thought, I knew I had no other choice. I limped over to the bicycle and started tugging it, making my slow and painful way to the school.

By the time I had reached school, assembly was over. When I stepped into class, all heads turned towards me. The scratching of pencils also stopped. The teacher, Mrs. Lee, rushed over and queried worriedly, “What happened? Daryl, are you okay?” I related the whole incident to her and apologised to her for being late. Luckily she showed sympathy and took me to the sick bay to wash my wounds. She even rearranged the exam to the next day. I thanked her profusely for her kindness. Mrs. Lee flashed me a smile, then left the room to inform my parents.

I would never forget this unfortunate incident. The teacher’s sympathy would always be in my heart, and I would reproduce her kindness, as a little kindness goes a long way.

Moist Chocolate Cake

Source: http://www.bestmoistchocolatecakerecipe.com/
2 cups of  plain flour

2 cups of sugar

¾ Cup Hershey's Cocoa

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Buttermilk (Add 1 Tablespoon of White Vinegar or Lemon Juice to a measuring cup. Add milk and fill to 1 cup (240 ml). Let it stand for 5 minutes.)

1 Cup Mazola Vegetable Oil 

1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Boiling Water + 1/2pack nescafe powder (can consider put all)

Mix all ingredient except boiling water

Add boiling water

Bake at 160C for 1 hour

Couple Fri night eat out @ White Beehoon Sembawang

Before we moved out from Sembawang, already heard of this place..and it's forever long queue...

Decided to try it during this haze season, turned out we only waited less than 15mins for a table.



It's truly good..but to spent 1 hour to queue maybe I might not do it.



All the dishes cost about $42 including a drink and a take away $5 small pack of beehoon

Hotel stay @KSL, JB

Made a last minute trip to JB as a reward for Jared completing his violin exam, make up for Kaylen's 7th birthday celebration and finally a short break for the sch holiday.  It was so last minute that I actually book the hotel stay the night before...cos of the haze, and safety in JB...we just couldn't make up our mind.

So glad that we made the trip, cos it had been such a stressful time since the 1 week holiday started due to Jared's violin exam and him fell really sick just before the exam.  We left immediately after Jared completed the exam..and he went with a good mood, the exam seemed to go quite well...at least the practice before with piano teacher and Teacher Joy, was quite good.  Nevertheless, as long as its a pass its good enough for us..

Everyone enjoyed the short trip so much with the pool...and the hotel stay only cost $120 with breakfast..super worth while.  And our car is safe and sound..apparently many SG cars were there!

A lok lok van near the hotel..

4 stick with drinks at RM11, not exactly nice..but worth a try

Super hazy..during our stay the PSI is as bad as 200..

Breakfast at hotel, OK only..can do without next time, approx SGD20 from hotel cost.

Hotel pool

Kaylen can swim confidently in the pool now..but Jared still refused to swim

Dinosaur theme park