The Apple's Diary!

23 December 2014 Continuing our annual X'mas lunch meet up, it's again at Tanglin Club but we went back to the Churchill room this round. However, we took our group photos before we started eating for that "fresh" look. the real pine tree Oops… I thought I looked kinda "preggie" over here a better shot We had set meal which comprised of a soup, an appetiser, main course, desert and coffee/ tea at a price of $70 per person (non-member). My mulled wine was at $8 while egg nog was at $6. an even better shot of us Tanglin Club had renovated their Churchill room for a year or 2 years back. Except for the inclusion of a bar and an Alfresco area, it didn't change much. my must have - mulled wine egg nog Before the food was served, I decided we should take more photos of ourselves in pairs. welfie The food was then served in predicted ma

Party or no party? That's the question we debated approaching Matthew's birthday. In the end, I relented to holding one and started to look for suitable venue. Chanced upon ToTT through an online view on best family orientated cafe in Singapore. So I enquired and found the package attractive and the luring part got to be the play area attached to the bistro. So we went down and took a look at the venue. We liked what we saw and paid deposit to secure the booking. It was a good choice because the adults could eat and relax while the kiddos ran wild in the play area but still under supervision. Signage buffet line reservation card on our allocated section Although it rained heavily that day and the party started late, yet everyone was in high spirit. Firstly, the food was good. At least, it was to my liking. My photos on the food line didn't turn out well hence the lack of visual appeal. We had the pesto salad which I had 2 rounds, the staple was

14 December 2014 After almost a year of waiting, Jonathan finally got a place in Berries. For the unaware, Berries is a popular Chinese Enrichment Course for Preschoolers although they also offer up to Primary School level. Term Fee & Material Fee Initially, I wasn't sure if I should start Jon so early in Chinese enrichment, although I knew he need to have a good foundation, especially if he is going to a primary school that would start Higher Chinese at P1. Knowing that Berries is a popular choice because it incorporates fun into learning a language, I put his name on the wait list for 2 branches. Just this month, when I called to enquire the status, I was lucky that a student withdrew so there's a vacancy on a Saturday afternoon. When we went down on Sunday to register, I was happy to find the premises clean and neat. The classrooms were spacious and Berries do vigorous health check before letting students in. Yes, I am always concerned about health check

upgraded tree For 2 years, I had been putting up Daiso $2 X'mas Tree in the house for fear that the X'mas tree would not last till Christmas itself. This year, I decided to take the plunge and got a new X'mas tree. Thought I would not be greedy and start "short" at 90cm. Got this deal from Groupon, $21.90 for a 90cm X'mas tree with ornaments and delivery. What you see is what I got and I still have ornaments that we didn't use. Really value for money and the tree? It is still standing tall and bright! In fact, it was Jon's idea to place the tree at the shelf.

13 December 2014 A few days short of turning 2 year old, Matthew surprised me by another leap. That Saturday morning, I was busy with Jon and I left Matt alone with the puzzle. When I returned a short while later (I was washing Jon's hands), he had put puzzle pieces of the same group together. Although he did not place them correctly, he knew the same group of colour and print and shapes belong together. putting rainbow group together So I quietly video him doing his puzzle. He was looking around and looking for the other piece of sea turtle and when he couldn't find it on the floor, he went back to the box. It showed a very nice thinking process here. And just then, there was a delivery made to our house, so I left the room to answer the door. When I returned, he had put together the 3 pairs of 2-piece puzzles nicely. sea turtle Tigers and Birds No doubt we have done this a couple of time, this was the first time he did it on his

28 November 2014 - Post 5th Wedding Anniversary Celebration We spent our 5th Wedding Anniversary in Phuket, with the 2 boys. Achieving our 1st successful steamboat dinner on our own with the 2 boys. Now that we are back, we decided to treat ourselves to a lunch sumptuous lunch after all marriage is hard work too. 5 years of being a marriage and total of 7 years together, from 2 to 4 in the family, there are bad and good times. We thank God for joining us together even when arguments got out of hands. Back to our sumptuous lunch, we found ourselves enjoying tremendously at Melt - the World Cafe at Mandarin Oriental. Although there was no oysters, the spread was good enough to make Melt top of my list, surpassing The Line (Shangri-La). starting from the cold appetiser crab claws, scallops and shell clams boiled prawns, mussels and morsels There are lemons, tabaco sauce, various flavoured mayonnaise for you to go with. 3 line of warms foods, from Thai to Chin