Fun and adventure awaits - Asher is 9!

I have two December babies, which means their birthdays always fall during the year end school holidays. While we used to plan themed parties for the girls to celebrate with their friends, since Covid hit, we have switched to more intimate, family celebrations instead.

I asked Asher if he would like to invite some friends over to celebrate his 9th birthday and while he did ponder about it and ask some of his closest friends, it did not materialise as his friends were busy with travelling and holiday activities. For us, we also went on an epic 17-pax family holiday to Bali too and that was one of the highlights for his birthday.

As always, I hope for my birthday kid to feel special and deeply loved on his or her birthday. Thus, no matter how busy we are, we will always make time for family play and bonding activities. Here's sharing all we did to celebrate Asher's special day.

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The first thing he did in the morning when he woke up was to open his presents! Yup, it's something that always thrills the kids as I always keep their presents a surprise from them. It's a great way to kickstart the day with such big smiles, right?

For lunch, we made our way to Golden Mile Tower to have a family steamboat. It's one of Asher's favourite places to dine in and he loves the food here, and this day was all about him and the things he loves to eat and do.

In the afternoon, we made our way to Marina Square to visit VroomTown, woohoo! It was something that Asher wanted to try for a long time but I thought the cost was not justified so we patiently waited till his birthday to grant him this wish.

He had a blast with Ansel as they drove around town, pumped 'petrol', collected candies and had fun at the indoor playground. While the girls waited for us at a cafe - it would be too costly to bring so many kids to VroomTown - the hubby and I accompanied the boys and they were delighted. It was a short 1-hour drive that did wonders to fuel his joy and fill his heart with fond memories.

If there's one thing Asher cannot get enough of, it's arcade. Haha. Yup, he loves to play all sorts of arcade games and if not for the cost factor, I think he could stay there for days on end and not be bored. So we made our way to Timezone to let him have some fun playing with his siblings and even treated him to a VR motorcycle ride which is more expensive than usual. We used our tickets to award him with a small shooting toy which made him over the moon.

The day flew past in a flash and soon it was time for dinner. The hubby, who specially made time to be with us today, decided to splurge a little and treat us to a hearty hotpot meal at Haidilao. Yeap, you guessed, it's Asher's favourite too! It's his second time celebrating his birthday here and this time, he got a small cake and a fruit platter. woohoo.

The lucky boy also had a chance to witness this 变脸 performance up close and the artiste even came up close to him and gave him an opportunity to touch his mask and once Asher did that, the mask changed immediately. Yeap, he got a thrill out of it and he also received a keychain that made him smile too.

Good things come in twos and thanks to Haidilao, they offered us 30 minutes of complimentary playtime for the kids and well, we decided to redeem it on the spot and stay on to play while Papa went to work. There was a little bit of resistance from the sisters who were tired and wanted to take a ride home. But the boys were feeling enthusiastic and just wanted to play so I managed to convince the girls to accompany them and everyone had fun in the end even though it was just a short session.

That sounds like a fun-filled and packed day already, right?

When we got home, we had a cosy mum-and-kids celebration, complete with ice-cream, strawberries and bananas, to end the day for Asher. May all your dreams come true, my love!

Wait, that's not all! The next day, we made our way to Adventure HQ at HomeTeamNS Khatib to continue the fun. It was a combined celebration for Ariel and Asher whose birthdays are just two days apart and we had a full day of fun and adventure here.

This is the largest indoor adventure park in Singapore and features eight installations across four stories of action-packed fun. These include rock climbing walls, Singapore's longest indoor slide, a labyrinth of tunnels within caves, Ninja courses, obstacle courses and more.

So while the hubby took care of Ansel, who has not met the minimum age for Adventure HQ yet, and played at T-Play which is an indoor playground right beside, I had the chance to bond with the older ones and experience an adrenaline rush with them.

While we enjoyed challenging ourselves at the interactive climbing walls - some of them are unique to us, especially the Jump-in-the-air elements which require us to take a leap of faith, we also let out squeals of delights at the firemen slides and conquered the dark tunnels and caves too.

But what made the day truly memorable for me was how Asher and I made it through the obstacle rope course, side by side. By this time, he was actually feeling exhausted after overcoming all the other courses and he felt like he couldn't do this.

So I asked him to take a break first, and kept encouraging him and reassuring him that I would be by his side no matter what. Sensing my faith in him and seeing his sisters take the first step, that was when he decided to push himself a little more and not give up. We put on our harnesses and started to navigate through the obstacles together. Sure, we were not as fast or as brave as the elder sisters but the important thing was we pushed on and didn't give up halfway.

The staff was so thoughtful and sweet to play the "Happy Birthday" song for the kids too and hearing it while we were in mid-air made us smile and gave us the strength and positivity to go on.

It was harder than it looked but we did it step by step and slowly but surely, we made our way to the finishing line. I love going on such challenges with my kids because it brings out the sporty side of us, build our resilience, gives us the chance to push beyond our limits, provides a sense of achievement and satisfaction, and leaves behind happy, fond memories in our hearts.

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Dear Asher,

Happy turning 9! How can it be that you are turning a decade old next year and this is your last single-digit birthday already? I still remember how you made your way into this world nine years ago, my pink, sweet and fair boy who brought so much joy into our lives from Day 1.

It's been such a journey, hasn't it? Through it all, we've had our ups and downs, joy and woes. It's been a wild ride in the last year and I know sometimes you struggle with growing up tween woes and being the middle child ain't always fun too. As you learn to be good, kind and respectful, I am also learning and trying my best to be a better mum for you too. Some days I succeed, some days I fail, but thanks for always hugging me and showing your love for me in the little ways - like making the bed, wrapping small 'gifts' using items in the house, writing love notes and so on.

I hope you enjoyed the Bali trip and your birthday celebration, along with all the fun-filled activities we did together as we celebrate your 9th birthday. My hope for you is to always hold onto the pure, kind spirit you have, to always show care and lend a helping hand to those in need, to continue to be a little chef who loves to help out in the kitchen, to find joy in studying and learning new knowledge and to always be safe, happy and healthy.

We love you to the moon and back, infinite times, my dear.

Love,

Mama

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Read more on Asher's birthday parties here:

Asher is 8 - A Splishy Splashy Celebration

Asher is 7 - A Long-awaited Holiday

Asher is 6 - Soar High and Dive Deep

Asher is 5 - Abracadabra, it's a MAGIC Party

Asher is 4 - It's a Batman Party

Asher is 3 - Let's have an Arcade Party

Asher is 2 - Just Keep Swimming

Asher is 1 - Having a BALL of a time

Happiness is... chasing dreams and celebrating milestones

October was an eventful month for us and one filled with celebration, joy and dreams come true.

For one, it marked the end of PSLE for Ariel and considering this is a major milestone, of course we had to party and celebrate. With a stroke of luck, we happened to get a sponsored cruise trip that considered with the PSLE marking period so I brought the three younger ones on this short but sweet dream vacation.

As always, we gathered as a family to celebrate Halloween and this year, we dressed up as mummies, played games and danced to "APT" and "Bye Bye Bye".

One crazy thing I did was bringing the littlest to an autograph session and squeezing with thousands of others for hours just to get my concert tickets autographed and to see my idols up close. As for who, well, read to the end to find out.

This month, "Happiness is..." all about celebrating milestones and chasing dreams.

Thanks to Genting Dream, we had a fun-filled 3D2N cruise getaway packed with lots of kid-friendly activities and yummy food. I was only offered three weekday sailing dates so it was really lucky that one of them coincided with the PSLE marking period. If not, it would have been a one-on-one trip for just me and the toddler, since he is the only one who can still skip school, haha.

You can read all about our highlights in my detailed post here, which includes activities we did like bowling, foam party, obstacle course, rock climbing, water slides, sports and recreational games, and more.

The kids said we did so much in the short two-night stay and I totally agree! We even managed to dine in five different restaurants and enjoyed the food immensely too.

What others might not realise was how we had to literally film everything we did since this was a work trip, which made it more exhausting than if it was a leisure one. I had to trouble my kids to help out, like how Asher had to stand in the sun to record the sister and I going through the obstacle course, or how I had to wait at the water slides patiently just for the kids to emerge. All while handling the needs of a toddler who can be fussy and have a short attention span.

Nonetheless, I really did have a good time and especially cherished the fact that I could celebrate the end of PSLE with Ariel on board. We had lots of foam covering each other with foam at the foam party and also set a new mum-and-daughter achievement by overcoming a high element course and a zipline in the middle of the ocean.

We still make it a point to visit attractions in Singapore and go for fun family events even if it means travelling to the opposite side of the island. This time, we made it to KidsStop and Snow City. It isn't always that the kids get to see snow and I always feel like I shortchanged the younger three considering how the eldest had the chance to live in Scandinavia and experience winters, ski trips and reindeer sleighs.

Anyway, we had lots of fun going down the slippery ice slides which were longer, faster and more thrilling than we imagined. It was also our first time going on the ice bumper car ride which was a highlight for the kids too.

October is also a time where I would conjure my creative juices to do handmade cards for the kids. This time, I did a colour-changing card and used transparencies and paper to draw their favourite things and used an insert to create the colour changing visual effect. They were all amazed by it and thought it was pretty cool, woohoo. I also penned a heartfelt message to each of them at the back of the card and hopefully they will remember my words for years to come and know that they are deeply loved.

I've shared the details of our Halloween 2024 party so hop over to have a read if you have not. I love our Halloween parties but with the kids getting bigger, I'm not sure for how long more would they wanna join in such games and be willing to dress up too. Plus, it also takes lots of effort to make it happen and I am the sole party planner. Well, let's just take it a year at a time and see how it goes.

The girls made effort to add in bakes this year and we had cupcakes and chocolate. I thought the ghost design was pretty cool and maybe we can do something special every year too. And yeah, we used up lots of bandages for our outfits this year but at least we only needed this one material.

On another note, I've officially hit 11 full years of breastfeeding my four babies and judging by how this toddler still refuses to let go, we are in for even a longer ride. I am not complaining though because I love the feeling of breastfeeding and how it made me bond to each of my babies. Truly, truly blessed and through it all, I learnt to be a more patient and determined mum too.

We went for a family shoot with Our Second Studio and I must say it is one of my favourites so far. The studio, with its earthy colours, minimal set up, fireplace and reindeer, reminded us of Scandinavia and thus it was the perfect theme for us. These photos are so priceless and the good thing is they last for a lifetime so we can always remninsce these years even when the kids are all grown up.

A Yole treat? Yeah the kids love having their frozen yoghurt with toppings so we still go for it from time to time, usually on Fridays. It's like a celebration of yet another tiring but happy week that passed us by.

I had time for a one-on-one lunch with Asher and brought him to Yakiniku because he loves to cook. It's really hard to carve out time for each kid, and it's not always that they say yes to hanging out with Mama, but I will just have to keep trying.

Making time for friends is also important and I met up with my jie meis to have a Sichuan high tea to celebrate the bestie's birthday. All of us are busy with our own lives and each of us has a different story to share. The good thing is we still make time for each other and I hope this will continue even when we are all old and frail. 29 years of friendship and going strong!

We had a belated birthday celebration for my Dad and had a family meal at Lao Huo Tang. The hubby was out of town and my kids had to choose this day to kick up a fuss and throw tantrums. Haha. It's funny how my parents always witness these moments when I am barely trying to hang in there but I hope they know I am trying my best and being a stay-at-home mum to four kids isn't as bad as what it seems.

So after lunch, I asked my Dad if he would wanna try indoor climbing with the older ones and he gamely said yes. So while they were busy climbing, I took the youngest me to meet....

ENERGY!

Yeap, it's probably one of the craziest things I've done with a toddler in tow because we had to crowd with thousands of people. At the end, where we were queueing to go on stage for the autograph session, it was a tight squeeze as everyone tried to get to the front and so I had to carry the boy for a long time for fear that he would be stepped on if I let him down. Yup, so 咬牙切齿 and eventually, we got there and he got to talk to 牛奶，Shuwei, 阿弟 and 坤达. Woohoo! His favourite is Toro who unfortunately had to skip the autograph session as he was feeling unwell.

I must tell you it was just so fated because I had already planned for a lunch with my parents who stay in Tampines before the publicity for their autograph session was announced. And yup, guess what, I was dumbfounded when I read that the session was going to be held in Tampines Hub on that EXACT same day and anyone with concert tickets could get their autographs. I already had two concert tickets with me so it was really 命中注定 that I showed up for the session.

The boy was really well-behaved despite the long waiting time and he also sang to some of Energy's songs, much to the amazement of other people around us. I guess that's called 爱屋及乌, right?

Anyway, so why do I like them so much? I think I am just very inspired by the pure fact that they got back together after a over 20-year hiatus and have chosen to keep dancing, singing, performing and holding concerts. They are my age so it really motivates me to keep chasing my dreams too and also, to keep working out to stay fit and healthy.

See how my kids drew me this portrait of them? Yeah, I love it lots. So yeap, can't wait to attend their concert next month and share more in my next post of "Happiness is...".

It's never too late to 追梦, yar? If you still have any unfulfilled dreams, do think of ways to keep pursuing them and not let motherhood stop you totally. For me, writing has always been one of my biggest dreams so even though this is not a paid job, I just hope to keep writing from the heart, keep sharing and keep it real.