Weekend reflections

This week had been extremely busy for me. We celebrated Chinese new year on Monday and Tuesday. Frankly speaking it doesn’t feel much of a celebration to me this year. I don’ t feel the joy of the festive season and it’s more like going through the motions then really enjoying the celebrations. I’m not sure if it’s because as we age the joy and expectations diminish.

The kids too are rather muted this year of the dragon due to the current economic climate. There are no fancy restaurant dinner and the food that was served was not really suited to their taste buds. I would have loved to celebrate CNY in Hong Kong but we aren’t going there so soon as we just went back to Hong kong in Sept last year. Maybe in one of these years when it’s possible to have a long weekend as we only get two days of holidays here in Singapore.

I’m looking forward to our upcoming trip next week with Tiger girl. It will be the fourth country she will be visiting. She’s a rather seasoned traveller as she has travelled to Bali, Penang and Hong Kong and now to Taiwan and she ‘s not even two

Run to Him Challenge – Week One{ Delight in His Word Because He Speaks Truth}

This week reading is on Psalm 1. I’m trying to faithfully read the bible and live a better christian life.

Psalm 1 talks about to lead your life the way god wants it and no based on the ways of the world.

It mentions not to walk in the ways of the wicked and evil, to talk bad or mock others. Instead to leave the judgments to god and try to live by his commandments.

The psalmist   teaches that it shall be always well with God’s devout servants, whose constant endeavor it is to make progress in the study of his law. To steer way from corruptions and it’s related evils.

To me it means do not be envious about others. It is okay to want to be as successful as others but constant comparison and using comparison to put down yourself or the other person is a definitely NO-NO. Everyone is different and shouldn’t be constantly compared to one another. You can never keep up with the Jones and it is not something you want to do your whole life- chase the almighty DOLLAR instead of GOD.

Be grateful for what you have and the blessings that GOD has bestowed onto you. Don’t take other’s kindness and generosity for granted and cherish what you have.

 

Insane Goals for 2012

La styear I had so much fun doing this meme hosted by   Simply Rebekah that I have decided to do it again for 2012.

Here is are my goals for 2012

Weight Lost Goals

I’m determined to get my weight down to 55kg by the time Tiger girl turns 2 in Sept. ( It’s currently down to 62/63kg)

My routine would be

• Stair climbing (x2) 5 times a week
  Zumba WII or other interactive sports games.
  
• Increase intake of fruits and water.
• Cook more healthy foods
• Try to get more sleep at night if possible ( hopefully Tiger Girl can sleep through the night soon)

Household maintainance

• Organize the kids toy chest and donate the toys that they don’t need.
• Clear out expired stuff from the pantry and the fridge.
• Pack up the baking cupboard and put all the essentials neatly inside.
• Wash all the air-con filters/ clean all the fans in the house.
• Re-ogranize the  bookshelf.
• Sort out the pantry and all other cupboards.

Educating the kids

• Prepare Doggy boy for P1 next year by doing daily exercises in English, Maths and Chinese doing weekdays.
• Read daily to Tiger girl and start doing more flashcards with her.
• Brushing up on Monkey boy’s composition and oral  skill for both English and Chinese.
• Getting Monkey boy to polish up his piano pieces for the upcoming piano exam  this year. He will most probably be going for Grade 2.
•  Getting Doggie boy to do practice the piano more often.
• Getting the kids to read more in English/Chinese before bedtime.
• Read the bible at least once every fortnight.
• Pray more often with them.

For the blog (Dominique’s Desk)

• Increase revenue to be able to save enough to buy a DSLR.
• Have bloggers to guest posts on my blog.
• Guest post on other sites/blogs  at least once a month.
• Increase readership and grow my community

For Myself

• Practice taking more shots with my camera.
• Brush up on my Japanese and French.
• Do regular facials at home.
• Try out new dishes/bakes once a month.
• Be able to fit into my wedding dress again and take a picture wearing it with the 3 kids.

For the family

•  Do up a photobook for Tiger Girl
• Photobook for 2012
• go on more family outings/ overseas trips.
• spend more time with R and resume having date nights.

Reflecting on 2011

20 Questions for a New Year’s Eve Reflection as seen on (in)courage

I saw these questions on another website and am deciding to answer them here.

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
It would  have to be the opportunity to stay home with the kids.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Taking care of sick kids alone while R was away on a business trip.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Being able to travel to 3 different places for holidays.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
Moving from a SAHM to a WAHM.. I’m still trying my best and hope that 2012 will be the year.

5. Pick three words to describe 2011.

Grow, mature, exciting.

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2011 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).

Fun, turbulent, stressful.

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2011 (again, without asking).
exhilarating, interesting, different

8. What were the best books you read this year?
It would have to be the kids book ” Scary school” by Derrick the Ghost. It was really refreshing and the only book that I couldn’t put down from start to finish.

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
The top of my list would certainly be R and my immediate family members.  A close second would be my group of girlfriends which I would be lost without them to support me.

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
It would certainly be my weight lost challenge. I still am not on target yet and will have to work more smartly to get to 55kg.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I’ve learn how to let go and remove some toxic elements which had invaded my life.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
 I’m learning more about my religion and hope to step it up a notch this year by teaching the kids more about our religion.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
I’ll put it down to aging.

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
 I feel that I have a closer relationship with R and the kids this year as I manage to focus more energies with them.

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
I get to set my own schedule and can be as flexible as I like.

16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
 Handling the kids as each one of them have their own unique character and way of learning.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Facebook.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
 Connecting with friends and family.

19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
 That my decision to put family first is correct.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2011 for you.
 Challenging but worth it!!

Year End Review 2011

In two weeks time we will be welcoming 2012.  The year 2011 has really zoomed pass and there has been a lot of changes here at home.  I have been trying out a new schedule and have the kids helping out more in the house.

There will be some changes in our schedule as I will stepping up on academics with my Doggie boy as he enters K2.

He has progressed a lot this year and is able to write and read independently now at 5 yrs ago. It’s a stark improvement since he turned 4 and he is more willing to sit down and study with me at night after dinner. However I still have to ensure that he is adequately prepared for P1 in 2 years time.

Baby girl has started walking and can walk independently by herself. It will get more tiring chasing after her and making sure that she remains safe. She is rather “fearless” and still hasn’t the concept of danger. She can climb up to the upper bunk of her brother’s bed by herself.  I have to really watch her like a hawk to safeguard her from falling into any nasty scraps.  She is getting very vocal and will not hesitate to let you know what she likes/dislikes.  Tiger girl is more adventurous now and have been asking to taste more different foods. She has taken rice and noodles so far and prefers to eat noodles like her brothers. She loves eating fruits like Doggy boy and I hope that she remains this way and loves her fruits and vegetables.

Monkey boy is doing well in school. He is within the top 10% of his cohort and had been selected to be a prefect for next year. However  it is time that I work with him to brush up on his weak components to ensure that his grades remain consistent next year. I too will be focusing on character building and building up his spiritual knowledge.

Insane Goals for December

Goals for November~ Reviewed

Weight Lost Goals

• Try to take the stairs as much as possible..
• Do Zumba 4 times a week ( Still not done faithfully)
• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Cut down on carbo (rice/noodles)

Household Maintenance

• Pack up and sort out the kids toys 
• Get the Art cupboard sorted out.
• Prepare /clear out the boys old work and prepare for the next school year (starting Jan)

Educating the kids

• Start on Abacus with the boys. ( will do it this month in December)
• Do more on creative writing with Monkey Boy
• Reading before bedtime with all 3 kids. ( needs to be done)

For the blog (Dominique’s Desk)

• Increase revenue to fund hosting the blog.
• Create a short series to run during our upcoming holidays in Nov/Dec.
• Schedule more posts to run during the week.

For Myself

• Practice taking more shots with my camera.
• Learn to use the manual functions of the camera ( am still learning)
• Brush up on my Japanese.
• Brush up on writing Chinese.
• Have more meet up sessions with girlfriends.
• 
  

This December it won’t be getting any easier for me to deal with weight lost and I STILL have about 4 kgs to lose to get to 60 kg.  However with the upcoming holiday and other festive gatherings I really hope that the pounds/kilos will magically melt away by itself.

Pondering ~random thoughts on weight

It has been nearly 11 months and my  weight has been stuck at 63/64kg since July. I know that it does take some time for me to reduce weight but it has been really depressing that I haven’t reached my targeted 55kg yet . Tiger girl is already 14 months old and I really hope to reach 55kg by the time she is 18mths old. I remember that it was roughly then when I got back to 55kg after giving birth to Roy.

It seems that my friends lose weight much easier then me after the birth of their 3rd/4th kid. I don’t know if having the traditional malay massage has anything to do with speeding up with getting back into shape.  One of my girlfriends only has like 3 kgs left to lose and her baby is only 2 months old!!

I managed to lose  the 20 kg that I put on with my 3rd pregnancy but getting back to ideal weight  which is another  8.5kg away has really been very difficult.  (It will be a 30kg lost in total to get back to 55kg)

I know that I do need to do more exercise and eat more healthy foods but really carrying it out has been difficult.  I tend to lose focus on exercising when I get sidetracked by the kids.  I’m exhausted after dealing with the kids and it doesn’t help that I don’t get sufficient sleep each night.

I have been procrastinating long enough and it hasn’t been good to be constantly bothered by the scale being stuck and not having the tone body which I desire. I really need to be more discipline and step up dieting and exercise if I want to see 60kg by 31st Dec 2011.

Insane Goals for October~Reviewed

Last month I had so much fun doing this meme hosted by   Simply Rebekah that I have decided to do it again this month.

Here are  were my goals for October

Weight Lost Goals

My weight is still stuck at 63/64kg . I am aiming to bring down the number to 62/63kg by the end of this month.

( Still aiming for this for November.. as STILL STUCK.. I blame it on the fact that I’m still breastfeeding Tiger girl and

My routine would be

• Stair climbing (x2) 5 times a week ( Not done faithfully)
  Zumba WII 3 times a week ( need to do it !!)
• Increase intake of fruits and water.
• Eat smaller portions of baked products or only a bite size and pass on the rest of the bakes to others to devour  Have been sharing all my food with all the kids.
• Try to get more sleep at night if possible (still a dream as she still wakes up alot!!)

Household maintainance

• Organize the kids library and sort out the books. (3/4 sorted out)
• Clear out expired stuff from the pantry and the fridge. (yet to do it!!)
• Pack up the baking cupboard and put all the essentials neatly inside. ( yet to be completed)
• Wash all the air-con filters/ clean all the fans in the house. (1/2 done)
• Re-ogranize the  kids toy cupboard and art supplies cupboard. (still haven’t worked on this )

Educating the kids

• Make new Japanese flashcards for the card holder. ( have resorted to using existing flashcards which I have )
• Teach Tiger Girl new songs in Chinese and do more flashcards in English/Mandarin with her. (on going)
• Brushing up on Monkey boy’s composition skill for both English and Chinese. (on going)
• Getting Monkey boy to polish up his piano pieces for the upcoming piano exam next year. Get him to use the proper hand position to play the piano more often. (still on going)
•  Getting Doggie boy to do practice the piano more often. ( he is practising every other day now..improving)
• Getting the kids to read more in English/Chinese before bedtime. ( ongoing)
• Read the bible at least once every fortnight. (on going)
• Pray more often with them. (on going)

For the blog (Dominique’s Desk)

• Increase revenue to fund hosting the blog.
• Create a short series to run during our upcoming holidays in Nov/Dec. ( yet to be done)
• Finish up all my book reviews. ( managed to finish it for the month of oct)
• Back up of  this year’s posts into hard copy. ( still thinking about this)

For Myself

• Practice taking more shots with my camera.
• Brush up on my Japanese.
• Do regular facials at home. ( am doing so)

I will be writing a new list of goals for November soon as there are some changes in goals.

Goals for November

Weight Lost Goals

• Try to take the stairs as much as possible..
• Do Zumba 4 times a week
• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Cut down on carbo (rice/noodles)

Household Maintenance

• Pack up and sort out the kids toys
• Get the Art cupboard sorted out.
• Prepare /clear out the boys old work and prepare for the next school year (starting Jan)

Educating the kids

• Start on Abacus with the boys.
• Do more on creative writing with Monkey Boy
• Reading before bedtime with all 3 kids.

For the blog (Dominique’s Desk)

• Increase revenue to fund hosting the blog.
• Create a short series to run during our upcoming holidays in Nov/Dec.
• Schedule more posts to run during the week.

For Myself

• Practice taking more shots with my camera.
• Learn to use the manual functions of the camera
• Brush up on my Japanese.
• Brush up on writing Chinese.
• Have more meet up sessions with girlfriends.

Mid Oct Review

There has been quite a few changes on this month. I’ve been actively de-cluttering the whole place and the whole house is nearly done. I’ve yet to re-arrange the kids toy chests and the art cupboard but all others places in the house has been given a once over.

A lot of unwanted stuff that had been lying around in the cupboard for years has been cleared. It’s great to see the place clutter free again. It’s really refreshing seeing the empty space and everything neat and tidy. I know that it may take awhile  for the place to be constantly neat and tidy but as the kids grow up I know it will get easier.

The boys are older and are able to keep their toys away after play. However they do need to learn how to arrange and put the different toys in the various boxes/drawers instead of dumping it all in one and messing the whole drawer up.

I’m trying out a new calorie counting program in aim to step up my weight lost regime.  It’s really been taking too long to lose the remaining 7kg to get back to 55kg. I remember the last time with Roy I managed to get back to that weight when he was about 1.5yrs old. I hope that I’ll be able to make it this time with Riona.

Stream of Consciousness- First Week of October

There are many things on my mind at the moment. It’s only 3 months till the end of the year and I have YET to reach my targeted weight of 60kg.  It has been really depressing not seeing a vast improvement in the scales and being able to see my targets numbers.

Even though I already managed to shed all the baby weights and gone back to pre-preggy size but the weight issue is still troubling me. I have reset my targeted deadline for reaching 55kg twice and wishing that I’ll be able to reach that weight when the baby turns 18months old in 6 months time.

I learning to let go more and more of unwanted emotions and people. It’s not worth wasting my effort on stuff on people who would not appreciate my best efforts and are all out to pick on everything you do.  I’ve recently de-cluttered the house and am in the midst of doing digital spring cleaning for my PC and FB account. It feels good to hit the DELETE button and unfriend button.

From now onwards I will only keep in contact with people who I value and they do value my friendship.