Confessions of an Unlikely Tomato Farmer

As you read this post, my family is taking a bit of an extended break in Melbourne, Australia. The husband was able to take some leave and I jumped at the chance to take a bit of an extended break. After all, with Noey starting Primary 1 next year, this is just about my last chance to just take the kids out of school to travel during off-peak periods! 

Usually when we plan to go on a holiday, I get stressed about stuff like packing and sorting out our accommodation and itinerary. This year however, I had an additional thing to worry about: What would become of my cherry tomato plants?

I never intended to grow cherry tomato plants. In fact, I wasn't even the one who planted them -- it was Noey who did, as part of a homelearning lesson planned by my friend D. This wonderful mummy planned a lesson on plants and part of the hands-on portion of the activity saw the kids planting their own cherry tomato seeds. My apartment dwelling kids rarely have the opportunity to get their hands dirty this way so they really enjoyed it! 

The unwitting gardener.

And that's how we ended up having two pots of cherry tomato plants. I'd come back with the very vague general notion that we'd leave the seeds where they'd get plenty of sun and water them regularly and see how long they'd survive. Not having intended to grow tomatoes, I was ill equipped to take care of them. I'm sure the plants would not have survived, and indeed thrived if not for the fact that my helper was very excited about the plants. "I've grown tomatoes before. It's very easy!" she assured me. Clueless, I decided to let her take charge.

The kids were very excited about the plants at the beginning and were all too eager to douse their pots with water everyday. We also made sure to provide them with plenty of sunlight and were rewarded with the presence of spouts within a couple of days. Of course, the kids had liberally poured all the seeds in their seed packet into each of their little pots, so we ended lots of little shoots -- way too many for our little pots.

We allowed the seedlings to grow till they put out sufficient roots and were about 10cm to 15cm high before we re-potted them. My helper salvaged two pots from the discard pile nuder my block and I bought a longish trough to transfer the rest of the plants into. We tried to save space and probably put in more plants than we ought to into the pots -- two each in the single pots and about ten in the long pot. Probably not the best idea but I know we were reluctant to throw away healthy plants. So my advice to you on this is not to plant too many seeds in the first place!

We were surprised that the cherry tomato plants grew rather tall. Much taller than tomato plants, I am told. They did get rather unruly before we decided to stake them a bit by building a box around them. My MIL had the good idea of buying canes from the market for this purpose and it worked a treat.

My messy plants… before we decided to do something about it!

After a couple of months, we were rewarded with the first flowers! 

Little buds that burst forth into yellow blooms.

We waited excitedly for fruits but the flowers just ran the course of their lifespan and withered and died. Boo. How disappointing. It was nearly two months later (four months after we first planted the seeds that we spied the first fruit developing! I half suspect that nearly killing them when we abandoned and did not water them for 5 days when we went for church camp stirred the plant into fruit-bearing action...

Our first fruit forming!

It took another month of patient waiting before the fruits started to ripen. It was actually quite fascinating to observe the daily progress and watch the fruits push themselves out of the flowers. You can still see the remnants of the style of the flower with the stigma hanging off the base of the fruit as it develops though it does eventually drop off when the fruits are ripe.

Fruits growing and ripening on the vine.

The one person who was eagerly watching the whole process with me was my little Mei, devourer of all things tomato in this household. I had to keep her busy little hands off the vines because as soon as she spots a red one, she'll be helping herself to the fruit! 

(L): Little Miss Helpful helping herself: (R): Fruits from our own garden taste extra sweet!

We picked the fruit off the vine as soon as they turned red and popped them in our mouths, but found that while decently sweet, the skin was rather thick and hard. Fruit left to ripen on the vine for about a week more tasted much better, but were at risk of other hungry creatures!

We found this crime scene on the balcony one morning. Likely suspect: a squirrel. My helper has spotted one prowling near the balcony and plants!

It's been quite an experience. The plants were fruiting away over the past month but it remains to be seen if they will survive this period when we are away. Maybe it'll be time for new plants when we return, though before I plant any, I'm going to have to think hard about contingency care arrangements!

If you're keen to grow your own cherry tomatoes in a pot, here are some tips, based on my own experience:

1. My cherry tomatoes were grown from seeds from Known-You-Seed Co. Ltd. The variety was lycopersicon esculentum Mill.

2. I read that these plants need plenty of sunlight and I fretted a bit as my balcony doesn't really get much (if any) direct sun. During the initial days I used to bring the plants downstairs to the courtyard for some sunning but later determined that it wasn't really necessary since the plants continued to grow well notwithstanding the lack of direct sun, bending towards the light. So if you are not able to place your plants where they get lots of direct sunlight, don't panic. They'll still grow!

3. These plants need a lot of water. At some stage we started watering the plants twice a day to keep their soil moist.

4. I didn't add fertilizer, but I did make sure to get some good quality potting soil. You might also have to top up it up and add more soil to the pot after some time. We added more when we started seeing roots on the surface.

5. These plants grow pretty tall and as they grew, we started pruning the leaves at the bottom (which started yellowing anyway). Pruning unwanted unnecessary leaves allows the nutrients to be channelled to the new growing parts, including the fruits.

6. I think the fruits benefit from ripening on the vine. As I mentioned above, I left them on the vine for about a week after they turned red and thought that the fruits were much sweeter with a thinner skin. I suppose you can also pluck them early and leave them to ripen on the counter but we've never been able to resist eating them straight away!

Have you successfully grown cherry tomatoes in a pot locally as well? Do share any tips -- I'd love to know! Or have you grown any other plants or herbs successfully? Please share easy-grow useful varieties!

Cleaner and Better-Tasting Water with 3M Water Filter Systems

With the weather being as hot as it is these days, one of the things we've all been doing a lot more of is DRINKING MORE WATER.

I must confess that drinking more water daily is something that my husband has been nagging me to do for ages. I just don't have the habit of drinking a lot of water, which isn't great, considering that drinking lots of water has a whole host of benefits, including giving you great skin. I am really feeling my age these days and looking it. (Ahhh!!) So I'm diligently trying to up my water drinking routine, and make the kids do so too.

Something that has really helped is my recently acquired 3M Water Filter System. Why, you ask? For one, the water tastes better, and when it tastes better, I drink more.

I grew up drinking boiled water and continued doing the same in my own household. While tap water in Singapore is officially safe to drink, I followed my mother's practice of boiling tap water before transferring these into water pitchers ready to be poured out for drinking. I thought nothing of it and would have continued drinking boiled water but for my husband having a change of heart. He went on a business trip with a client who only drank bottled water and returned home convinced that our usual boiled water didn't taste quite right. That same week we went out to buy a water filter jug, and I had to agree -- the water tasted way better than our usual water.

But I never found a water filter jug very efficient. The filter was slow. You had to wait 5-10 minutes for all the water to pass through the filter. The jug capacity of 1 litre was also rather limited, which meant that if I needed a larger quantity of water, I would have to refill the jug several times and wait for the water to filter through each time to accumulate the required amount. The filters were also pricey, especially when you consider the amount of water they filter (ie. not much!).

With the 3M Water Filter System, I've finally found a solution that works for us. Having used it for over a month, I have to say I really like it and the husband has been telling everyone about it!

Here's why:

1. The water filter system is small and compact. We got the basic system (AP Easy Complete) installed and got a separate tap installed at one corner of our sink. The filter is a single cartridge under the sink, and a tube is run to link the it to the water source. That's it! The installation was quick and easy and took 45 mins. If you'd rather not have a separate tap, it is also an option to upgrade your existing tap to a mixer tap where, instead of choosing between hot and cold water, you can choose between filtered and unfiltered water.


2. It is very convenient as you get filtered water straight from the tap. No more boiling water and waiting for it to cool down. No more filling a jug and waiting for the water to filter through either. If you need to drink, you can get filtered water instantly from the tap. It is also much easier for me to fill up the soup pot with filtered water when it used to be quite tedious previously as I would have to refill my water filter jug several times to get enough water.

3. We get much cleaner water to drink. The 3M AP Easy Complete water filter is certified by NSF International (an independent public health and safety organisation) to significantly reduce cysts, chlorine, sediment, rust, lead, mercury and volatile organic chemicals in water. It is the only home system in the market that is independently certified so you know that this is a product that delivers on its claims.

4. It is affordable. $0.04 per litre, is I think, not a lot to pay for clean water. Especially since I don't need or use a kettle any more! Each replacement cartridge costs $110 and lasts for 6 months. As a comparison, it cost me about $0.24 per litre with my water filter jug and I needed to change cartridges every 3 months.

5. The water just tastes better. I keep coming back to this, because this has been the biggest, most obvious result. In fact, one great thing that has happened since we switched to filtered water is that the husband has stopped drinking cold water. He used to ONLY drink cold water, but he now deigns to drink room-temperature water as it isn't as unpalatable. I've found myself drinking more too.

If you're in the market for a water filter system, this is the best time to get your hands on the 3M Water Filter System as they are having a storewide 15% DISCOUNT on all their water filter systems during this GSS! This means that you can get the 3M AP Easy Complete (usual retail price: $600) for just $525. And there's more! All blog readers are entitled to an ADDITIONAL $50 VOUCHER which can be used to offset against the already discounted price of the system! Which means that you only pay $475 for the 3M AP Easy Complete.

To get your additional $50 voucher, just click on the following link and fill in your details and use the blogger code MY SMALL THINGS: Click here for your $50 voucher! This offer is valid till 31 July 2014.

If you want to see check out the range of water filters 3M has to offer or try a cup of 3M filtered water yourself, do drop by their showroom at:

No.2 Kim Chuan Drive #02-06
CSI Distribution Centre
Singapore 547080
Tel: 6288 8290
E-mail: sales@jestac.com.sg

Opening Hours:
8.30am to 5.30pm (Mon-Fri)
8.30am to 2.30pm (Sat)




* We were provided with the 3M AP Easy Complete Water Filter System, and drank many cups of water on our own for the purposes of this review. We genuinely love it! All opinions remain my own and are based on my own experience and on information provided to me by Jestac. (Mei is also dressed in her favourite dress, from FOX!)

What's on My Fridge?

The fridge of a family to two young tots is different from our fridge as DINKS (double-income-no-kids). Gone are the ceramic magnets and fiddly souvenirs from our travels, all broken over time by itchy fingers. Instead, what you'll find are these: 

Magnets to play with while Mummy is in the kitchen, and a notepad on which to jot down a grocery list.

Invites! To parties and places. Reminders that put smiles on our faces. 

 Random pieces of art, earnestly and sometimes carelessly made.

Precious memories, stickgram-med.

Cryptic messages from busy little people.

Also timetables and school schedules, flyers for food deliveries and cards for home services.

Numbers to remember, a photo or two of a time long past.

And right up front, where little eyes can see, a note from Mummy to the kids, a virtual hug and a kiss and a promise to be home soon.

That's our fridge. 

(And if you're wondering how I have space for so much stuff on my fridge, it is really because I have two of them! Best decision ever.)

 

Linking up with:

Nature at Our Doorstep

A few weeks ago, someone new moved in our on floor. But this new family is a little different from the rest.

We spotted the little guys repeated appearing in our lift lobby carrying bits of twig, dried grass and hair and realised: a pair of olive-backed sunbirds have decided to make their home in our neighbour's potted plant.

The kids were fascinated by this piece of nature being brought, quite literally, to our doorstep. Every day we watched as the nest slowly took shape.

In the beginning, it looked really like a haphazard laying of material - not like a nest at all! I certainly had my doubts. The branch that the birds had selected to build on was hardly substantial, and the materials kept dropping or being blown away. The mess it made around the plant also annoyed my neighbour, who at one time, asked her helper to remove the nest. Noey was so disappointed when he heard that when I suggested to him that we take it upon ourselves to keep the area clean, he readily agreed and help sweep a couple of times.

By and by, and against the odds, the nest was completed. And the little family moved in.

We took peeks in the nest occasionally when the birds were not around and were thrilled at one point to discover two tiny little eggs, waiting to be hatched. We watched as the birds patiently sat on top of the eggs as they incubated. Some days we could even see the birds peeking out from the nest, looking upon as watchfully. As long as we didn't go too close, they were happy to stay and go about their own business. We encouraged the kids to cut down on the random rowdiness in the corridor, and were pleased to note a drastic improvement in this area. When they didn't forget, at least.

A week or so later, my helper came excitedly to tell me that one of the eggs had hatched. We took a peek again when the adults were away and indeed, we spotted the tinest little bored, about half the size of my finger. The kids were so excited!

Throughout this time, we took opportunity to learn a little about the life cycle of birds, as well as a bit more about sunbirds online. I also checked out a couple of books from the library about birds and found an interesting one called Even an Ostrich needs a Nest: Where Birds Begin which discusses many different species of birds with drawings and descriptions of their different nests. It is truly a wonder to me how birds with can create such strong, load-bearing nests from such seemingly insubstantial materials. This is, to me, surely a sign of God's hand at work.

We are away for a bit and chances are that by the time we return, the little baby birds would have flown the coop. I'm sorry that we will miss the opportunity to see them emerge. I certainly hope another little family will come and make their home just outside our door. It has not been without incident -- a couple of times, we've found the sunbird in our house and have had to guide it out. It even once dipped into the frying pan on the stove, much to the kids' amusement. Thankfully the pan wasn't in use at that time! 

But I've been really grateful for the opportunity afforded to us to get this close to nature. It has certainly showed me that little creatures are much more resilient than we give them credit for. There's a lot of construction going on in my neighbourhood and my guess its that these birds have been ousted from their usual habitat as a result. While it makes me sad to think about, it also gives me hope that with some ingenuity and some accommodation, we can still live together, albeit in a different way. 

Decking the Halls

With the rain pouring down yesterday afternoon, I decided it was as good a time as any to get the Christmas tree up.

Noey was most enthusiastic. "We need to listen to some Christmas songs," he said, and he proceeded to put pick out one of his favourites and set the CD player going. (This boy can listen to Christmas songs the whole year round if we let him!)

It was a great suggestion on his part. The music, together with the wet weather outside, really set the tone for the whole festive dress-up.

Today was the first time that Noey has been interested in helping me with the tree. I was expecting him to get bored and run away but he didn't. Instead, he stayed to help me fix in the branches of our plastic tree, and made himself useful when I strung up the lights. Then, when it came time to hang up the decorations, he gamely picked his spot and patiently helped to hang the ornaments one by one.

He was so cooperative, I didn't have the heart to tell him that he'd hung all his ornaments a little too close together. I did look up and tell him to space things out a little, but then left him to it. I figured that I would just re-arrange things a little after we were done anyway.

Besides, I also had my hands full trying to stop Little Miss Naomi aka Destruction-on-two-legs-with-a-cute-face from pulling off everything within her reach and giving it a taste test.

We were done fairly quickly, and for the first time, I could say that it was because of the help that I got from Noey, not In spite of of it. He was pretty proud of himself too.

At times like this, I think that even as we sigh over how quickly our babies are growing up, having a big boy is pretty awesome too.

That said, I think I'm going Noey's decorating handiwork untouched. If only to remind myself that my big boy, isn't quite so big just yet. And that's the way I like it.

Now that the tree is up, it's starting to feel a lot more like Christmas!

The Green Living Workshop

Remember the Green Living Workshop?

I managed to attend the session held at Smitten in March and was very glad that I had squeezed out the time for it. Delphinia of Four Cow Farm and Militza of Little Green Dot, who together conducted the session, were both clearly very passionate about the subject at hand. It was inspiring listening to them as they sought to share the wealth of their knowledge with us that morning.

The two big thrusts of their message: (1) There are far too many cleaning products in the market and far too little known about the long term effects of the exposure to the mixture of chemicals contained in these products. (2) Just by using a number of natural ingredients, you can create effective cleaners which are safe for you and your family, as well as the environment.

Delphinia started off telling us the bad news, identifying some of the questionable and possibly harmful ingredients in our everyday cleaning products. I honestly wanted to zip out immediately to rid my cupboards of the cleaning liquids, sprays and creams, which I have quite a few of! She pointed out something which I did not realise before, which is that commercial cleaning products generally do not list their ingredients. However, they frequently carry warning and hazard notices highlighting the toxic nature of their contents. I found both these points troubling. Especially when I have a baby who is very fond of putting everything in her mouth. That is the reason why we try to keep floors, surfaces and other items clean in the first place. It made my heart sink to think that the cleaning products might be harmful to her.

Militza then stepped up with the good news, namely that it was possible to create our own non-toxic cleaners from food products which are found in our kitchen cabinets. It was simply a matter of harassing the qualities of food items such as vinegar, baking soda, and even good ol' lemons.

Some of the good natural ingredients, and how they can be used. 

(Taken from the Guide circulated after the workshop)

She shared some tips and ingredients, then we all tried our hand at infusing baking soda and also making an all-purpose cleaner with vinegar, water and lemon. I've been happily putting the all-purpose cleaner to work on my glass surfaces, and using the baking soda as a detergent booster and am happy with the results.

For those not inclined to go the DIY route all the way, they also shared some information on brands and good shops carrying natural/organic products.

It was an interesting and productive morning which I enjoyed thoroughly. The fact that I met a couple of familiar faces at the workshop made it all the more fun for me.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, the good news is that there is another run of the Green Living Workshop happening this Wednesday:

Date: Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Time: 10am
Place: Smitten Cafe at 60 Robertson Quay, #01-11, The Quayside.
Cost: $25

Go to www.meetup.com/green-living-singapore or e-mail Delphinia at delphinia@fourcowfarm.com to sign up.

Also, do check out Green Living's Facebook Page for more information as well as updates on further sessions which they might be conducting.

At Smitten - my first time there!

The table all set-up for our session. The bananas were really yummy organic ones - they were food, not cleaning agents!

Our programme for the day

Refreshments! Everything was good. I particularly loved the chewy cookies.

Del delivering her part of the talk.

The products I put together to bring home.

Workshop: How to Create a Non-Toxic Home

I am way, way behind with my blog. Having to run to repeatedly to the Paed with 2 sick kids and plan a party in between, while being sick for a bit myself, blogging does get pushed way down the priority list. I hope to be back with more updates soon.

But first I have an interesting event to share.

The good folks behind Four Cow Farm and Little Green Dot are organising a fun, hands-on workshop on "How to Create a Non-Toxic Home". This will be taking place next Thursday, 15 March 2012 at 10am at Smitten Cafe.

I don't know about you, but I have, in recent years, become increasingly concerned about the chemicals and additives that are in our food, toiletries and general cleaning agents around the house. Even more so now with the two young ones at home. I find myself swaying towards organic food -- I try to buy organic greens where available -- and avoiding too much processed food. For toiletries, I try to buy products free of SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) and parabens. I haven't been as particular about cleaning agents, though recent conversations with a couple of friends have started me thinking about this a little more carefully.

Which is also why I am pretty excited about this workshop. During the session, Delphinia from Four Cow Farm and Militza from Little Green Dot will be teaching everyone how to identify toxic ingredients in household cleaning products and how to find safer alternatives. I think this will be useful if you, like me, are frequently boggled by the list of ingredients to be found in such products. And the fun part: participants will be learning and making 3 all-natural cleaning products together:

1. An All-Purpose Spray (that cleans and disinfects)

2. Window and Glass Cleaner

3. Toilet Bowl Cleaner

There will be refreshments, your Guide to a Non-Toxic Home, and the all-purpose spray that you made to take home. All this for the registration fee of $15.

Sounds fun? E-mail Delphinia at delphinia@fourcowfarm.com to register or if you need more information!

Event details

Date: Thursday 15th March 2012
Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Place: Smitten Cafe at 60 Robertson Quay, #01-11, The Quayside.

I will be going so I hope to see you there!

Advent in Our Home

FOUR days till Christmas! Are you well and truly in the mood yet?

These past few weeks have been a mad rush for me, no thanks to the fact that we came back from Sydney with 2 weeks to Christmas. In between meet-ups, parties and concerts, we managed to get the tree up. Or rather, I managed to get the tree up, no thanks to my helpers who kept disappearing with the ornaments.

This year I also decided to try something new. With Noey old enough to understand more of the meaning behind Christmas, I ambitiously decided to construct an Advent Calendar for him when I saw some cute images of a really do-able project in Martha Stewart, involving items I have readily at hand -- baby socks! You can find the tutorial here.

(I love Martha Stewart, by the way, and accumulated a huge pile of MS Weddings when planning our wedding. I still might have them somewhere! My latest addiction is MS Living on iPad, which is half-price on subscription.)

It was surprisingly easy amassing 24 green and red socks! (And 1 pair of black ones for some variety.) Aren't they cute?

The best part about this project was that I didn't actually have to buy much to complete it. Just a length of red ribbon and some white stickers for the numbers. The pegs were left-overs from the photo line at Noey's 1st birthday. And since we were away till the 8th, I only started from the 10th. I figured Noey wouldn't know the difference anyway!

About half of them, all strung up!

I got hold of an Advent kit with bible readings and suggestions of items of daily items that I followed. I'm not very on the ball about this so I fill up the socks in an ad-hoc basis, just the day or two ahead. 

Having the Advent calendar has been useful as the presents pile up under the tree. I have a no-opening-of-presents-till-Chirstmas-morning rule, so everyday Noey would ask me "Is it Christmas?". At that point I would tell him the date and he would run to retrieve the appropriate sock from the line and rummage for the paper hidden within, as well as the gift. There have been hits and misses. The food gifts have certainly been the most well received! Some days he was just not interested in the readings so I simplified the process and told him the relevant stories.

The morning rumble for the sock of the day.

What do we have here?

On the whole it's been a fun exercise for the both of us. The socks are also a cute, festive addition to the wall. Provided they don't get hijacked, that is.

"But they are my socks and I want to wear them, Mummy!" Even more so if one is green and one is red.

It is true that Christmas is more fun when there are kids at home to share it with.

Goodbye, I-Ti

Tonight, my helper Marilou will be returning home for good, after 3 years with our family. I'm really going to miss her. I wanted her to stay longer and she wanted to stay too, but circumstances are such that she has to go home. I still wish that it didn't have to be this way, but I have come to accept that it is in God's plan. Indeed, when I think about how wonderfully everything has come together over the past few weeks, I know that God is in control, and this gives me great comfort. I will share more on this when the time is right.

Marilou is our first helper, and I remember all our uncertainties when she first came, shortly after Noey was born. I got live-in help at my Mum's urging, but at that time I wasn't sure it was the best idea. I had no idea how to manage someone else in my house, and together with a new baby, it was just all too stressful. I remember thinking at that time that it felt like more work having help than going without! But I always appreciated that she had a good attitude and was willing to take instructions. It was mainly communication issues in the beginning, but these were eventually sorted out as we got used to each other.

Fast forward to today, I know for sure that things in the house are better with her around. She's not perfect -- no one is -- but the most important thing to me is that she loves my children, and for that reason, I trust her with them. She keeps them bathed, fed, and napped and on their schedules whenever I'm not at home, and we tag-team well on the kids on the days I am. I appreciate this all the more when I hear all the helper-woes that friends and my Mum suffer through.

The weeks ahead are going to be challenging. Meips in particular is going to have a hard time adjusting when she leaves, especially when Aunty M carries her so much. I don't know if Noey grasps the concept that Aunty M (or I-Ti, as he used to call her when he was younger) is not going to be around anymore. He took it quite well when she went home on home leave, but he was thrilled when she came back. This time round she's not coming back. Thankfully he's thus far been quite alright with my new helper, who, by God's grace, was able to come in earlier than expected so there has been a bit of a handover going on at least. Only time will tell.

I don't know what lies ahead for Marilou or for us. Who knows, she might return to Singapore to work in future. My sister is certainly hoping she would come and help her when she starts a family. But in the meantime, I can only wish her the very best. Like I said, I'm going to miss her. And I know the children will too.

Tramping on Tracks

Like everyone else, we also spent some time walking the old KTM tracks before they were closed to the public.

Noey was most excited when I told him about our little excursion. "We can pretend to be the Fat Controller!" he said, amongst other things.

I feel no nostalgia for the discontinuation of the line except in one respect. Back when we were staying in our previous apartment, the railway line ran along one of the perimeter walls. When we first considered buying the place, that was in fact one of the negative factors, and we were relieved that our unit was one of the furthest from the railway tracks.

Then we had a little boy who absolutely loved trains.

Everyday when he heard a train come rumbling and trundling down the tracks, he would make a dash for the window. I believe "choo choo" was one of the earlier words/sounds he could verbalise. And if a train was to pull in while we were downstairs playing, you would see him absolutely riveted to the spot, staring. Seeing the train is one of the things he misses a lot, I'm sure, since we have moved.

Since there are no longer any trains, I figured it would be fun for him, and us, to go walk on the tracks and visit our old neighbourhood.

All smiles! This excursion gets the Noey stamp of approval.
Thanks Aunty Debra for the tee! It fits great and I heard a few passerbys comment on how cute it was!

Even Naomi came along for the trek! Not a squeak from her the entire time.
We met a couple of church mates who helped us take a family photo, one of the rare few we have.

Me: Choo choo! Here comes the Noey train!
Noey: Noey's not a train! I am a person!
My son is really too serious sometimes.

DD managed to find the hole in the shrubbery through which we could spy the train from the hall window of our previous apartment.

"The station is over there!"
I feel like a doofus for not realising that there was an actual station right there in Bukit Timah while the line was still running. It might have made for an interesting excursion with Noey on the countless times we'd walked past to go to King Albert Park!

One with the signage of the station that I did not know existed.

I'm not sure what they've decided to do with the land, though there's a movement ongoing to keep this a green corridor. I also heard that the metal bridge would still be retained, which is a happy thing. Hopefully after development plans are worked out, we'd still be able to walk this short stretch and retain this little link with Noey's childhood and his (and our) first home.

Upon coming home, Noey (not surprisingly) felt a need to play with his trains for a bit!

Survival Mode

Who left and put Mom in charge??

Things have been a little crazy around here.

Slightly over a week ago, my helper left for a month of home leave, leaving me at home with 2 little kids on my hands. Add to that the fact that my parents were away on a holiday for the past week, and DD is going through a busy period in the office, I have been more than a little stretched.

However, God has been gracious -- I haven't been completely alone. My parents' helper has been coming over for most of the day over the past week to help with the chores, my Aunt, my siblings and my MIL have popped by on different days to be an extra pair of hands, and I've been ordering tingkat food for dinner to cut down on the cooking.

The challenge comes from the fact that both kids have been super clingy to me, especially Naomi. She sees all the unfamiliar faces around her and bursts into tears until she's returned into my arms. She's better in the morning, allowing almost everyone to carry her, then her mood steadily declines during the course of the day and by evening she's screaming unless I'm carrying her. Thankfully she goes to sleep by 7.30pm. Noey's been his usual super-glue self, so between having to be the one to prepare Noey's food, and feed, bathe, clean, entertain, carry both kids, put them both to sleep, and also help keep the house in some semblance of order, I've not had much time to do much else!

Except when they both graciously decide to nap at the same time. Like now.

It's been an interesting experience so far. I've always wondered how I'd do as a full-time SAHM with no helper and now I know. My conclusion:

(1) The house will only be clean when DD has some time to do the cleaning, which is not very often.
(2) We'll just have to get used to toys being EVERYWHERE.
(3) Everyone will need more clothes/sheets/towels because I'll never be able to turnaround laundry fast enough.
(4) Ordering tingkat food is a lifesaver.
(5) While I am no housekeeper, I can manage the kids just fine by myself.

On that last point, I guess I'm glad I've always done most things for both kids myself. At least these past weeks haven't been too much of a shock to me or them! I was quite pleased the other day when I was left with both kids all by myself in the evening that I managed to feed Noey and breastfeed Naomi (at one point breastfeeding Naomi while feeding Noey), bathe both kids, AND feed and bathe myself, before settling Naomi for bed. I thought the real accomplishment was the fact that I could somehow eat and bathe myself! It took a bit of juggling, but I knew I could it and I was determined to, because I'm stubborn like that.

Still, I'm looking forward to my helper coming back. Trying to be supermummy is tiring. Hah.

Grow Grow Grow

Remember that mini garden Noey put together at Hort Park a couple of weeks back? I'd forgotten how easily green bean plants germinate and how quickly they grow!

Monday morning: Little roots germinating.

Tuesday morning: Some of the shoots have already come up and leaves are starting to unfurl. If you look carefully, you'll see that a couple of the corn seeds have also put out roots.

My little gardener. Obviously more interested in digging things up than leaving them to grow.

Wednesday morning.

Thursday morning: !!!!

Noey admiring his mini-jungle.

Of course with the plants having grown so impressively, I was reluctant to simply let them die out. So I went to buy some soil and pots to re-pot them and see how much they could grow. Then I chanced on a basil plant at the super market and thought, hey, why don't I just grow one so that I could stop buying packets of basil for that little that I use in some of my dishes. And since it's Christmas soon enough, I grabbed a couple of poinsettia for for good measure. So now, I -- suddenly -- have a small, very random collection of plants sitting on my balcony needing care and attention. Well, I'm not really known to have green fingers so I'll see how long they last!