In a flash, a year had past by and I started the day with a running nose! I must have caught a cold last night. These few days the temperature in Singapore is hovering at around 23- 25 Degree Celsius. This is also the monsoon period marked by heavy rains and strong wind. People are prone to get sick during this period of time. A hot soup seemed to solve the symptom for now.
Resolution
I do not really set resolutions for the new year because you can see the wishlist which I have on my blog is something that is not totally under my control. I shall explain why these are difficult to achieve.
Being stay at home mom (SAHM)
My ex-colleagues and friends have been asking me how I have been after I quit my job a year ago. In summary, I would say money is tight but I do not regret the decision. What is more important than watching your children in good hands?
I am a SAHM for a year. Anyone with children would tell you taking care of children is not an easy task.
For the first 2 years of Little One's life, I have been breastfeeding through the night. When Little One first attended school, she waned off breast feeding gradually and started to fall sick frequently. That means waking up in the middle of the night to check her temperature and feeding her medication. Now that she fall sick less frequently, she wet the bed. Hence, I have to wake up to get her to the toilet in the middle of the night. Please don't be mistaken, my hubby does help but it is a mom's nature to wake up in the middle of the night whenever the child stirred in his/her sleep. I often woke up when Little One had a nightmare. I would hear her murmur in her sleep. I would wake just to check on her. These are the reasons why I could not have a good night sleep. Things are going to get better, I should be getting less and less sleep deprived. It is also helped that I am a SAHM, I get to wake up late. I still remember the days when I need to wake up early in the morning to send her off to school by public transport and then rush to work. At the end of the day, I was totally exhausted. Hence, I am very much envy moms who are still energetic after working and taking care of children.
Being SAHM, meant I have lesser money to spend. I have to spend within the household budget which is mainly for grocery ( food) and my transport fee. It is not a lot (less than $400) My transport fee cost $50 on a bad month and $20 on a good month. We could not afford to send Little One to swimming class because it is pretty expensive. We are considering to send Little One to ballet classes but none of the CC near us are offering classes. It makes no sense to travel all the way because it is additional transport cost. It is good that Little One had wane off formula milk and went fully diaperless last year. These would certainly burst the budget and I would have to ask hubby for more money. I set not to buy clothes for Little One unless it is absolutely necessary. I do not mind having the hand me down clothes from her cousin. On holidays, I would treat Little One to some trips using my own savings. Of course, I could use my own savings to go on holiday (Japan) with Little One but I think it would be unwise to do so since I am not working. I still have my own life insurance to support.
Now. I am happy with teaching Little One whenever I can to cook, pass on knowledge or to experience the great outdoor. Although Little One do pester for toys but I know she does not really need them because she is not lacking of any. In fact, I have not bought her any toys this year. I like to invest on craft materials and experiences instead. It helped a lot that NLB is offering quite a number of free programmes for children.
Returning to work force
Of course, I do if given a chance. I hope to clear our housing loans as soon as possible. However, having no one to take care of Little One meant I could hardly get a part time job unless I could find one that can accept 3 hour work per week day and accept me to be away during the school holidays.
Little One's progress
This year, I would be focusing more on Little One's progress.I am trying step by step to prepare Little One for Primary School. This year we would be enrolling her to primary school.
I am teaching her the concept of money and hopefully she knows how to pay the right sum of money to the vendors next time when she is in school
I am also teaching her Han Yu Pin Yin but fear that she may confuse them with phonics.
Next year, I hope I can make her a more responsible child who is capable of taking care of her own things.
My progress
I hope to exercise more and keep myself fit. A healthy body is needed for the tasks that a mom has to do. I would like to explore more culinary dishes to feed my family. In addition, I must reflect on myself how I should keep my temper under control and not burst unnecessarily.
Blog's progress
I admit I am not good with words. Thank you for all your time and patience reading my post. My blog had an average of 3.2K page view per month last year, an huge increase compared to previous years.
I enjoy travelling around Singapore especially if it is free. Hence, besides blogging about Little One's journey, I have been blogging on my travelling experiences and craft works.
All time favorite award goes to...
Chinese White Honeycomb cake (Bak Tong Gou, 白糖糕) and Steamed Rice Cake (松糕 ) posted in 2012 but remains as top post ever since. None of my posts had ever beat its page view since then. It is the most commented post and many are interested in the recipe of the honeycomb cake.
Do you feel like making it? It is simple and easy to make. All you need is waiting time.
Top 5 post of 2014
These are selected based on total page views
5. She posted her first mail
This is a Wordless Wednesday post. Little One wrote on a postcard and send it off personally. This was one of her milestone. She had personally decorated the words that she wrote and had been tall enough to post in this pillar box outside the Philatelic Museum.
4. Our First and Probably Final Fishing at Bottle Tree Park
Our first trip to Bottle Tree Park. Although GUI is allowed to stay but it is still sad to see such a place gone. This was the first place Little One had gone for fishing. There are others but I think are not as cheap. If you have any place to recommend, please do let us know. hehh...
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Do you know how to bandage a child's finger especially it is a serious cut and it is at the tip of the finger? Read to find out. This is the first first aid tip I have on the blog. I do not wish for more to come!
Kampung are part of Singapore's history and yet they had made way due to development. This particular kampung is the last one standing in Singapore mainland. You can also find kampung in Palau Ubin but a small kampung amidst a city is rare.
1. The number post goes to ...
Tutorial: How to make needle felted animals
I am still a noob in needle felting. I have plenty of ideas on what to do but simply too lazy to get started. 1 needle felting takes hours of work. I do not feel like having them half done. This tutorial is my second attempt on 3D animals. The post had became second in my all time favorite posts.
Meanwhile, enjoy 2015!
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