Happiness is... toasting to a fresh start

January is always a month filled with hope and joy because it marks a fresh start and a new beginning. It's like, no matter how many mistakes we made in the previous year, this is our chance to let go of the past, have renewed opportunities to try again and hopefully make things right this time round.

I knew this year would be a tough one for me because, well let's see, the eldest will be taking her 'O' Levels and right now, she has zero motivation to study, the secondborn will be embarking on a brand new journey in her secondary school, the thirdborn is entering upper primary and is struggling with a couple of subjects, and the youngest is still clinging to me everyday and while he may be turning four, he is still breastfeeding — which probably explains why he is like a koala and I'm his eucalyptus.

Nonetheless, as we step into 2025, my heart is full of hope, my soul revitalised and my positive mindset empowering. In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about toasting to a fresh start and embracing the beginning of this new year.

What is one festival that I always look forward to?

CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Even though it means we usually spend a bomb on ang baos and reunions, the good thing is the kids get to collect ang baos and we get to feast a lot with our family. Yes, I love the feeling of 一家人吃团圆饭，and how we go around to 拜年，how we will 守岁 by watching the CNY show on Ch 8 and count down together to a prosperous new year.

It is also a cherished time where we gather with our loved ones to bond and celebrate. We are very blessed that our parents still cook 团圆饭 and prepare 火锅 for us every year, and it's not something that I take for granted.

As we march into the Year of the Snake, I hope my kids can learn to be grateful and be able to cherish their blessings more. They are well loved by their grandparents and it's a privilege that should be tightly embraced and deeply treasured. Chinese New Year makes me miss my Popo so, so very much and I can vividly remember how this was always a special time because I got to sit beside her at reunions, talk to her, play mahjong with her and just be with her. 

婆婆，无论您在天堂何处，希望您知道我有多么思念您，也但愿有朝一日能和您团聚。

Check out our CNY matching tops! We travelled to JB at the start of the year and while the boys played at an indoor playground with Papa, the girls went on a shopping spree with me, haha. I was so happy that we got this matching top in three different colours but all in S size, haha. Yeah, it was the smallest size if not Ariel would have taken XS. As for Angel, we are kind of at around the same height and nearly same weight now too. How time flies, right?

She might be 15 already and while some might that teens this age are independent and don't need mums to hover over them or take care of them anymore, it's not the case here and in fact, teenagehood might just be the most challenging phase I have to battle so far. This girl makes me 揪心 and often leaves me wondering what I did wrong as a mum, but I can only pick myself up and tell myself to try again and try harder the next day.

So nope, parenting duties and motherhood don't stop, not even when the little ones turn 15.

There's something I've been wanting to do for a couple of years and I finally got down to doing it. Check out my customised photo pearl portrait collection of the kids, woohoo! I did the first one in Sweden 15 years ago and I am glad that the last one is now done too — and that they fit nicely side by side on top of our TV cabinet.

They might seem easy to make but each takes time and one portrait comprises of 3,600 beads. It takes time to generate and finetune every portrait and I would constantly be making changes, switching this bead colour for that, to try to make it look more realistic and maximise the resemblance.

Morever, these beads were bought in Sweden so for some of the colours I required, I couldn't get them anywhere locally and had to order from a Swedish supplier to get them to do a special package for me and ship over. So I am just happy that everything is finally done and my collection is now complete.

While the girls feel that they are too big to wear cheongsams to school for CNY celebrations, they boys still like to do it and I am cherishing these years before they outgrow it too. Look how cute they are side by side, right? The korkor took a bus over after his school ended and since it was early dismissal, he was able to pick the younger brother up which delighted him to the max.

Besides shopping in JB, we also checked out some of the festive decor, tried to queue up for freshly made pineapple tarts but failed cos' the queue was snakingly long, went to the book store and played in an indoor playground too.

Oh, we also drank this fresh yoghurt with fruits which was delicious, visited a pet store to get supplies for our hamster, and at night, the hubby brought us to this nearby restaurant where we had a super nice Lala hotpot dinner.

The ingredients were fresh, there were even marshmallows for you to toast, and the soup was finger licking good. Or maybe, everything just tastes better when the family is together.

Do you love car rides? Well, we enjoy them because we get to talk, sing, snack and then sleep on the road. Well, the hubby doesn't get to sleep but then again, he also doesn't need to let a toddler sit on his lap throughout. I kind of love having Ansel close to me like that though, because we all know it won't be long before he can't fit and gets too tall and heavy. I hope we will still go on road trips even when the kids are older and that they will still make time amidst their busy schedules to go travelling and sightseeing with Papa and Mama.

We were lucky to be able to catch a dragon dance performance during the CNY period. I always try to bring the kids to watch lion dance performances too but I think the girls have outgrown that and the Korkor usually has school so it's only the youngest who can pontang class and go with me. He still loves it though and I will do it for a couple more years before he goes to Primary school. We love the festive ambience, the drums, the exciting performance and can only imagine how much effort goes into all the trainings and rehearsals.

Meet CHIP and DALE - our newest additions to the family!

Yes, the kids love hamsters and after a hiatus, we decided to get two new hamsters to join our big family. Although the kids have promised that they will help to look after and care for them, I've a feeling I will be the one who ends up cleaning their cages while they will just feed and play with them. Haha. Still, we are loving these adorable animals and they bring a smile on our faces whenever we see them.

We still love going to pasar malams and arcades as the kids like to play the games there. I always have to remind them that we cannot go frequently as the games are not cheap, and we usually wait till there is promotion (for instance Timezone regularly has school holiday promos) before we get to play.

Still, I love seeing their happy faces and the good thing is even the teens still enjoy arcade games and claw machines. So we let them indulge from time to time in the hope that they will 相亲相爱 and be 乖乖 after that. Haha. Yup, fat hope, I know.

These memories of playing together as a family will hopefully stay in their hearts even when they are all grown up. Yes, I hope they will remember how Papa and Mama tried to join them and play together instead of merely watching and following them around or waiting outside for them to be done.

Movies continue to be a big part of our lives. Though it is increasingly costly to visit the cinema now that the kids are bigger and can't sit on our laps for long, we still hope to do it every once in a while. I guess I should be thankful that the older kids still tag along to watch animated or kiddy films whenever we get invited to a preview. It mean a lot to me and to the brothers too. That said, our weekly movie nights still continue at home but we mostly watch on Netflix or Disney+ instead.

The kids started their Taekwondo journey in December 2021 and this month, they concluded it with their last lesson and graduated with their black/junior black belts. It's been a fun learning experience for them and they are blessed to have met nice coaches who genuinely care for them and have their best interests at heart. I'm thankful that the three of them did it together though a part of me wonder if Ansel will wanna pick up the sport next time too and if so, would he feel alone? Well, that would be another worry for another day.

For now, we are thankful for how the year had begun and can't wait to see what else lies ahead of us in the months to come. Till more updates soon!