About Lia

Lia's four months away from her 2nd birthday.

She's still very active. She loves to play ball, mess her Ate's play kitchen and do dress-ups. She would cover herself with a blanket (like a ghost) and say she's a princess!

The little lady likes to sing her favorite rhymes especially Row Your Boat, Twinkle Little Star, and Bah, Bah Black Sheep and I'm glad she's in tune. Her current YouTube favorites are Masha and the Bear (we call her Masha sometimes), Bada Namu and lately, clips from Frozen. 

"Give me", "Please", "Excuse me", "Sorry", "Thank you", I love you", "Bye" or something that sounds like those words were added to her growing vocab.

And I just love it when I say, "Lia loves... and she'll say "Daddy!"

Container Gardening

I love plants! 

I have been keeping a plant or two since our last rental. But lately, we have started a small garden at home with plants ranging from tropicals to succulents. And since we do not have a real garden to dig and to plant something, container gardening is the only way to go. It is actually practical because each pot can go indoors if needed and it's easy to rearrange.

It all began last year during the time when Singapore was choked by yet another haze situation. We bought pots of air purifying plants to improve air quality and since then, we continue to enjoy the benefits both in health and aesthetically as it branched out to what it is now, a small container garden.

My interest can be seen in my Instagram posts and I have here some screenshots of the Top Posts, featuring some of my plants, of course.

It really gives joy and delight to see them grow a new leaf, spread out a new branch, watch a seed grow and ultimately see a beautiful flower blossom. It is indeed a rewarding hobby.

I think everyone must have at least one plant to take care of, however black his thumb may be.

Ashrie's First Day in Primary School

Happy New Year!

It was January 4, 2016. The first Monday of the year and the first day of school for 2016 here in Singapore for most of the students. It was also Ashrie's first day as a gradeschooler.

I took the day off to assist her on her day. First, in sending her to school, then in checking her up during their recess time, attending the parenting talk, buy more school uniforms and lastly, picking her up after school. I've been very busy running to and fro the school and our house. Thankfully, her school is just across the street.

Maybe I was anxious as she is or maybe I have more butterflies in the stomach than her. But thank God everything went smoothly.

I was relieved the moment I sent her at the school gate mainly because there was an older student who carried her heavy bag and brought her to their designated queue. (Parents were not allowed inside the school premises.) And during their recess where parents can have a glimpse of them, I found out that that each of them had an older student (from higher grades) to be their buddy/mentor as they go to the canteen, buy food, probably lead them to the washroom, and to send them back to their respective classrooms. All the parents, with all their cameras were cordoned off and could only watch from a distance. Fortunately, Ashrie sat close to the sides and I got a view of what she ordered or how she had been doing so far.

Here she is with her school guide, Novita.

First Day is over and I am so glad she enjoyed and did very well. I pray that God will bless her Primary Education, keep her safe, and guide her always. 

Keep it up Ashrie, we're proud of you!

2015 YearEnder Party

Christmas flew just by but the memories one occasion makes will stay forever. That is why I blog in the first place, to record special memoirs of our family life.

The girls (and us) opened our presents on Christmas Eve. Lia was delighted with her little bike. Ashrie was surprised because the ones she thought were dummy or decorative presents were actually presents for her. And both Jane and I, who for the longest time were saying that we will not buy gifts each other, actually have surprises too!

 
Two days after, it's the Year-End Party at the casa where we've prepared a simple dinner party for friends. This has been the third year we are hosting this event.

We agreed to wear the same color that night and all showed up in various shades of green. Dressing up in one color was both fun and interesting and it set the mood for the party.

The girls, Ashrie and Lia donned neon green clothes while Jane and I wore the darkest shades of the color. We were able to take a few snaps before our guests arrive. 

     

For the table, we've decided that it'll be a buffet setup this year. I made use of my newly bought dinnerware, propped in some fresh branches, pine cones, and bamboo mats. We opted for a no-disposable tableware. All in all, it was very casual but still stylish. 

   

Here's our menu:

After dinner, we had a small gift exchange. One that is prepared ahead of time and we had a Secret Santa. The funny thing is, because the adults were just six, we kinda guessed each other's giftee even before the event. But it was sure fun. We did an online draw app weeks before and Jane was actually assigned to be my Santa.

And guess who had a blast? the kiddos of course. Ashrie, Lia and Danah had an awesome time playing. They did a lot in such a short time. They open gifts, play with the gifts, do Play-Doh, read, and color. They also ran and jumped as though they have a quota to finish before the year ends.

We finished almost before midnight and bade sweet farewell.

Like what we will do in a few days time as this is the last week of 2015. This year has been very challenging for us and we are grateful to God for everything. We hope and pray that 2016 will be a better year for all of us. 

See you in 2016!

Christmas At The Casa 2015

As you might have peeked on how we decorated for Christmas this year on my previous post, well this post is all about that entirely. 

This year, we're decking the halls with the classic Christmas colors of red, green, and gold. We used glittered cone trees, a Fa La La La La garland and small presents on top of the HEMNES bureau, which I always consider as a mantel. Those boxes really have gifts for friends inside. So a good tip would be to wrap your presents beautifully and in the same color-theme so you'll have an instant additional decor for the holidays.

I also made a Christmas Card garland for the dining area which were actually Christmas art prints because nobody's mailing cards anymore these days. And if there are people who still do, I am not receiving any. :(

The tree is adorned with our old gold, silver and crystal ornaments and accented with a new red ones. All our presents are either in glossy and matte red or brown paper packages tied up with a nice bow. We also moved the tree from its yearly corner location to this space between the living and dining areas. We love its new place so we can enjoy a closer view while dining and how it welcomes you with a great vista from the main door and from the bedrooms. 

And hey, it's actually three sleeps before Christmas. Merry Christmas to one and all!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" ~ Isaiah 9:6 NIV