I’ve been spending a lot of time with Chloe of late and it’s really quite fun to see her doing stuff that are not only creative.. but each day, i see changes in her .. and it seems that everyday, she comes home learning something new. She told us about the new stone sink that they had in school.. and also many new steps she learned in her dancing school. But most importantly.. i am able to drop everything .. and be with her .. after school.. and during the weekends.

Ppl said we are very blessed to be able to bring our kid to work… and before i used to lament.. that my online work.. takes up some of my time.. therefore, i needed help. But truth be told, the kid loves spending time with us. I remember the many nites when she had to go home with her babysitter.. and we had to bribe her sometimes. Or she would say.. “mummy .. i’m gonna miss you!”. We are of course, thankful for the babysitter’s help.. but i guess .. Chloe is getting a lot older now.. and i need to help her with her reading too.. every nite. Not just reading to her.. but teach her how to read. Nowadays.. she recite her numbers.. from 1 - 100 with no problem.. and read 3 books on her own - as of today. I have the luxury to be with my daughter.. everyday.. and i have to be thankful. Thankful for help when i needed.. thankful.. to PB for being so hands on. Thankful that PB is willing to share 50/50 of all my responsibility.

PS: One of the main reason i feel a need to be with Chloe is because there were too many things going on around us in this town. And like any responsible parent.. you and I know.. that we have put your child’s interest on first priority, to protect our kid, nurture them ourselves and make sure that she grows up the right way, so what better but to teach her yourself right? As a mother, you cannot fault me for wanting to spend more time with my kid.. and less time online right? I also noticed that i’m able to write once again - meaningful and thoughtful scripts about my life.. and those of chloe’s. A fair trade..?? very.

For those who are not aware of this, I get a lot of questions about migrating to Canada - because of my expat blogger status. And truth be told, I wished they had this .. or i had found this forum.. before migrating to Canada - because I had a lot of questions too. Plus migrating and uprooting is not like doing your garage flooring, it’s a huge decision .. and you want to make this life altering plan right?

For those who are planning to migrate to Canada, please note that Canada’s winter is wicked. Love may conquer a lot of things but the weather is really, really something you have to think about. Your health issues and which part of Canada will you be residing. If you think that Canada has a job just waiting for you - then you are in for a shock because for Asians like myself, you are fighting with the rest of Canada to get the job they want to. Now if you speak french - that is a different thing altogether of course.

And for those planning on visiting your girlfriend or boyfriend this holiday season and you are traveling alone, make sure you have prove that you have enough money for your trip.. and also your name cards from your office. Why..?? because if custom deemed that you might overstay or cannot afford your stay in Canada.. they might turn you away and send you home on the next plane. Good luck..!

So i saw a dress on sale on Facebook and it was so cheap.. you wouldn’t even believe how cheap it was. So when Chloe came home.. i showed her the dress - she asked why we bought her a dress and PB replied if there must be a reason .. to buy her a dress. And she replied.. “Is this from Auntie Kai Mah..?? ” In which, PB replied.. ” so now only your auntie kai mah can buy dresses for you?” … muahahhahahaa!!! I guess you can’t blame her for thinking such .. afterall, Auntie Kai Mah bought a a full wardrobe of dresses. Even today.. a mother of her classmate commented that Chloe have the nicest dresses and outfit in the entire school. Yes ..! chloe is loved by so many people - not only Auntie Kai Mah.

So we went bowling on Sunday .. but that’s only because we had a birthday party to attend at the bowling alley. I missed the bowling alley near the Miami beach hotels. where the bowling balls are of normal sizes. The bowling balls here are mini sizes. I had wanted to get Chloe her own pink bowling balls.. but they are like $200+ dollars.. so nah.. not gonna happen.. hahahah!! PB was sore from bowling .. because he hasn’t bowled in such a long time.. hahha!!! See that torn up jeans..?? yes..! torn.. and guess what he said.. when i asked him.. “you going out with your town up jeans..??” In which he replied.. “yes..! it’s sunday.. and i’m gonna wear what i wanna wear”. *slap forehead*.

Of course, chloe loves bowling too.. as you can see. Even though the rest of the kids were eating chips.. and running around.. she was bowling earnestly.

Summer is almost over for the kids.. and in less than a week, luckily, i’ve gotten the life insurance quote for myself, as Chloe goes to her new school .. and begin school in this school that she will be for the next 6 years, i’m gonna be busy, busy. Of course, I have my worries.. because this time.. the kids in her new school are a different set of children. Of course, i would like to think that all kids are like mine.. innocent, a bit whiny but kind.. and wouldn’t beat up other kids.. or upset other kids. But as you and I know .. it’s not gonna happen .. some kids .. as I’ve seen in the last few months.. can be really mean.. and nasty.

The other issue is lunch - as we all know that Chloe is a fussy eater.. and with the school not allowing us to even donate a microwave oven.. it’s gonna be tough .. to keep her rice and noodles warm. But for the last few days.. we have been testing out the thermos flask.. and also training Chloe to do her own lunch like school, I can say that it is gonna be a wee bit tough.. since she needs to fix her own lunch at the canteen.. and then gobble up all her food in 20mins.

I know that Chloe ain’t looking forward to her new school.. because she still has fears and reservations from her old school. One can only keep our fingers crossed eh and we all know we’ll survive .. we all do.

Yes..! as much as we love our brat, she has to clean up too and we never say no if she wanted to sweep, dust or wash up after she is done messing up. What about you ..?? are you the do it all for them mom..?? or are you the try to cultivate good habits in your child. My mom was the type of mom who does everything for the boys - afterall, they are the ones carrying the family name to their grave right..?? hahahhaha!!! and what did my brothers become..?? well, lets just say .. one had a hard time getting a g/f - he learned it the hard way that his g/f ain’t his mom. So while we are using our own ellipticals, the princess of mind needed to clean after herself .. for drawing on the glass cabinets. Like a wise old woman used to tell me, teach them young and they will grow up right.

The special bonding we had with Chloe this week because we were without a babysitter was a wonderful experience. We also celebrated our 10 anniversary in business with a big sale in the store for a week, obviously the store was busy. But we also made sure.. that we had time for Chloe - we went to the park, we took walks.. we did her numbers.. we drew.. and we had play dates. It was a good week - and in fact, i’m enjoying it so much.. i even bathed her for the entire two weeks, it was a very good feeling.

In some ways, we miss having a babysitter.. but i also realised that i didn’t wanna miss doing certain things with my daughter.. and watching her grow, play and saying all sorts of things… funny stuff. We also read a lot .. and we ate a lot of home cooked meals even on the weekends. Gary our friend played with her almost everyday .. till lunch.. so that was a great help to me.. since i needed to finish my work online. Overall, I know we did good .. even when our babysitter was on vacation for 2 weeks - i think Chloe loves having both of us with her - oh.. and she also created a special bond with our neighbour’s son.. that is so cool.

So we had another wedding after the first - but you see the brides were twins.. and wanted each other to be their bride’s maid.. so having one after another was the best way to go about it. There were many guests invited and as expected it was a lovely wedding ceremony. Amongst the guests were friends, family and business associate and one was a Seattle personal injury lawyer, a friend of a friend i think. The parents were happy .. and i’m sure very proud of the girls. They are lovely girls and the day Chloe walk down the aisle like these girls.. i would definitely tell PB .. “we did a good job” … but till then.. we still have a long way to go. Congrats .. Ally..!!! I’m so proud of you too..!!

These are PB’s cousins and 2nd cousins.. and aunt. The Surettes are generous folks.. and they are very nice to Chloe and I. As usual.. they let me go crazy with my ranting at times.. but basically they are good ppl .. and the cousins to Chloe .. Nick and Tom - they have grown so much since I last saw them. But the boys are well mannered and good company. We had dinner the day before the wedding .. at the our favorite chinese restaurant in town - the New Century Restaurant. And Mr & Mrs Zhu were so hospitable . .and roasted 2 ducks for us at no extra charge.. and only charged us $12 per pax .. with another 10% discount. Awesome ppl these Zhus are.. !! i cannot ask for better company .. and better friends..! their friendship has been priceless.

When we were on vacation, I bought this cup for PB because it was such a perfect cup.. and describe my almost perfect man. In any relationship, there are the ups and downs.. and of course, we have our fair share of tiff and disagreement. For those who say they never had a tiff or were upset with each other must either be lying.. or still in their first stage of their relationship - you know the “honeymoon” period.

Mr Almost Perfect of mine, does just about everything.. although some of the things.. he is not too keen in doing. But he cooks for chloe and he makes my breakfast and does laundry .. and vacuum the floor and scrub the tub for chloe when she takes a bath everyday. He also gets my medication and place them in the pouch for me. .and test out my new blood sugar machine as well. He loves his games and toys but tries to spend time with me.. by watching shows with me.. even though i know his heart is at the computer desk - thinking of his game there. For those who knows us, you would know that we own our own business.. and the brat doesn’t sleep .. so the only time he can play is late at nite.. and he has to split his time between doing housework, spend time with yours truly and then he can game.

I can’t ask for more nor can I complain.. even though there are times.. i do but overall, our relationship is pretty much on the same pace right now.. and we’ve come a long way - i think anyways.. but the fact that he knows that women are crazy at times.. and ignores it .. when i go crazy.. i think that was the winning combination/solution to our relationship.

So we are back from our vacation, a short one .. but that was all the time we could afford. We didn’t go very far.. but we did a lot .. more than we had for the last 5 yrs. With your own businesses and a child.. and years of ex-employees that had the “me first” attitude.. there was just no way to go anywheres. This year, we had Katelynn who double up as a part time employee at the store.. and looked after the store.. while we were gone. Yes, she followed instructions to the tee .. and we had no problems with her manning the store.. for she is trustworthy. On top of it.. we had our good friend, Gary come see look.. and help Kate when it was busy - during the days we were gone. Grateful for good friends.. and finally a good employee - we are going for another short break in August before the summer ends. So while PB bought some golf training aids for himself, he bought me this handmade necklace. Love it..!! and he insisted on paying for it.. so i’m happy.

For those who are not aware of this, I was approached by immigration lawyers about a year ago to share my experiences with others like myself who had fallen in love with someone other than your own country or those thinking of migrating to Canada. Am I compensated for it..?? nope.. but i feel good helping others out.. and if you know me .. you would know that I’m that kind of person. But for those “idiots” out there.. i have no patients with them nor do I want to associate myself with them. My philosophy in life is .. why bother or waste time on non-important stuff and “A-holes”.

Ok.. lets get back to the immigration stuff. Most ppl asked me .. how I made the decision .. and what made me decide to uproot - afterall, we all know that Singapore is a place with everything and anything. Is love really blind..?? Is love enough to sustain a long lasting relationship…??? Migrating is no laughing matter, nor was it an easy decision to stay and not go back home, like buying some swing sets. I have been in Canada.. for almost 10 yrs now .. and before coming to Canada.. I was in a 6 yrs long distance relationship with my spouse.

I cannot speak for other men in Canada.. but my spouse is a pretty simple and straightforward person.. who doesn’t believe in even telling white lies. Having said that.. it’s not like he fights with me .. all the time.. just to get his point across but he rather .. not fight.. and let me go on a rant.. every now and then.. if i so wish to. As the years went by .. it gets a little harder.. because i do miss home.. and i do miss the food from home. But had i not come.. i wouldn’t have such a beautiful daughter.. who is my greatest accomplishment.

So do you listen to your heart or your head..??? I have no regrets .. and if i had to turn the clock back.. i would rather had him come to Singapore.. but love is a strange thing eh..?? so if you are thinking of migrating.. you will have to weigh your pros and cons.. but make sure that whatever you do, you have to be very sure.. the person you are gonna be with .. is not psycho or a serial killer.. or a woman beater.. or will mentally torture you. Harsh as i may sound, it is for your own safety.

As you all know we had a little mishap last year with Chloe’s school and we had to pull her out. Looking back, I wished the teachers there would have given her a chance as she was only 4.5 yrs old. Given that her teacher was new and all .. but still i felt that she had wasted half a year.. else she would have graduated from Grade Primary instead of Pre-school. On the other hand.. we should have put her in pre-school when she turned 3.5 ? Oh well, this fall would be better .. because she will no longer go to a french class but a normal english class. As parents… we only want what is best for the kid eh. And as you can see .. the daddy was beaming all because she loves to eat pea -he calls her the pea monster. One thing for sure is we will never miss out on any event concerning the brat.

So we finally bought our patio set from my favorite store in town. It was on sale.. and it was a no tax day. For those who are not aware of this, in Canada - taxes are like 13% - pretty high in my opinion.. for a place where one can get a new landed property for as low as $125K as compared to home of $1.3 million. Back home where the standard of living is higher.. the GST we paid were mostly included in the price that we see .. and only at 3%.

Why did we wait so long to get the patio set..?? because we are pretty el cheapo.. and only feel that we will only buy things at the right price.. and not necessary the right time. So PB put it together.. one evening when it was really hot in the house. Glad the man is very handy .. and can do stuff like this on his own. Oh.. and special thanks to Uncle Jerry for helping us bring the patio set home from Superstore.

I’ve been productive this week, besides preparing for Chloe’s end of her school week next week and a PJ party at her school, concert next week and father’s day celebration, i also had my blood test done and gone to see the results. But I also had to look after Chloe on my own this week because the babysitter was sick for a few days. I had lots of assignments from my favorite advertiser and i finished up my website i was comissioned to do for the Chinese restaurant. Why is Chloe in the torque..?? we were spring cleaning her old clothings.. and had put them in the box to giveaway.. but Chloe wanted it back.. so she wore them to show me that the torque still fit ..! Yes..!! right when we are going into summer .. hahahahha!!! So yes.. it was a productive week.. and the store was busy too..!!

PS : I’ve also updated this blog with a new theme for a summery look.

The beauty of life is basically up to you - some asked how i make it in a small town with no food .. and no high rise shopping centers and one or two crazy ppl around. But you know what..?? I have a great spouse and a wonderful daughter.. and great extended families here and many good friends/relatives.. a great babysitter albeit she is sick and gets into accidents when i need her the most but she is pretty much a trustworthy and good gal and many good customers. This is how i look at it - the beauty of life is you, you and your family is all that matters. Does it matter how others look at you ..?? I don’t really care pretty much. My conscience is clear, we make an honest living, not on welfare of any kind. But i cannot stand idiosyncrasies and ppl who are pretty much “stupid” and insist on making a mountain outta a molehill - those i just stay away and cut them outta my life very quickly and swiftly. So yes, my bottom line is..?? you are happy if you want to be .. and life is too short to waste on silly stuff. I plan to look at the good side of ppl and bright side of things.. what about you ..?

We all know that parenting is not just about telling you kid from right and wrong.. and feeding her with some milk everytime she cries right..?? Nope..!! when you have a 5.5 yrs old.. and an active one at that.. you have to get active.

We keep a ball in our car all the time.. so that she can have fun with it.. and even just throwing the ball and catching it is fun for her. We get hours of fun with just that - in fact in doors.. in the winter.. with her grammie. In the summer, you can go for treasure hunt for feathers, snails and flowers.. and in my brat’s case.. she goes hunt for blueberries.. and strawberries. We also let her ride her bike and scooter around the neighborhood stores or to Frost park. And we let her dance and sing alot even when i am doing my dishes. She loves the dancing.. and the putting on the piano. Andd of course .. swimming just started with her babysitter .. every saturday.. and we try not to disappoint her.

PB is very witty .. ! that was one of the reason why I fell in love with him and came all the way from Asia. An example of his wittiness below :

See lah..!! can die or not..!!

We don’t get to do a lot of things with Chloe.. but as the weather gets warmer.. and if it is the weekend.. PB and I try to do stuff with her.. like the library or going for walks.. or visiting friends.. and of course.. the playground. Yes, we don’t just push everything to Keegan to do.. we do stuff with Chloe too.. because she would rather do stuff with us.

So off to the library we went this weekend.. but we weren’t there for long since we had to go swimming later. Chloe loves to draw and color .. as soon as we got into the library .. she sat and colored. The next time.. i’ll bring my lappie with me.

Chloe telling me.. i have to be quiet… muahahahhaa!! who’s the mother eh..??