Finally. Home.

Yes, we are back in Singapore, ... for good (mummy hopes).











Mummy is tired from all the packing and upacking since October (from Korea-->Singapore-->Daddy's operation-->Korea-->Everland Tour-->Busan Tour-->Singapore). Packing for 4 (inclusive for 2 toddlers) during the cold season is no joke.

Really glad to back home in Singapore (tho' now got tons of unpacking and packing and cleaning to do). The feeling of being home is just great.

For my darlings, of course they are happier to be back home:
... more home space to run about
... more toys to play with
... more delicious choices of food to choose from
... more shopping fun

But... we miss the cool weather in Korea and also its beautiful scenery especially during Autumn.

The most wonderful thing of our stay in Korea for mummy is being able to get to know some lovely ladies from other countries
... Fiona (Taiwan), Ally (Japan), Yumiko (Japan), ML (Turkey), Myrtis (Brazil), Jinu (Thailand), Lina (Malaysia), Run (Korea), Song Keong (Korea) and more...

Also worth mentioning is Ajuma (the owner of an eatery) who made us feel so welcome with her warmth and motherly love.

Thank you, everyone. It has been a pleasure knowing you and hope we will continue to keep in touch.

Farewell, Everland

We didn't manage to go to Everland for one last time (sigh! could have... if... not due to some people...hee...ranting again??...no, no...).

Nevertheless, it has been a wonderful place to us (mmm... think it's more for my darlings) while we were in Korea.

Mummy did not keep tracks of the number of times that we've been there, but based on the number of group photos we had taken on different dates, mummy has managed to count to 14.

14 times to Everland??? Hee...guess we are the only Singaporeans to have achieved that. And to be exact, it is a total of 14 times during our last 6 months of stay in Korea (of which 1 month we were back in Singapore when Daddy went for operation).

Guess now you can understand why we called Everland our "hometown".

3-year old Proficient Reader

Now at 44 months, my Cutie is already a proficient reader. She can read almost any word, thus reading a book is not a problem to her. Too bad the video of her first reading of "The Ugly Duckling" was gone when Daddy lost the small camera. Thank God had captured this second reading on the DSLR camera.

Here's my Cutie reading to you the summary page of "The Gingerbread Man" storybook.


Every night, she will be busy her reading on her own after story time with mummy and Mei Mei.
In the following video, you can see that she has no problem reading the sentences found at the bottom of the pages. However, what surprised mummy was the fact that she was sharing and teaching her meimei the vocabulary of the pictures in the book. An elder sister teaching her younger sister, so sweet.

Click here to see the video of Cutie reading and teaching my Sweetie.

This Cutie is also able to do simple addition. Guess she's ready for some Mathematics lessons. *wink*

Trip to Busan, Korea

Honestly, this was the worst planning for all the trips I've had so far (a long story which someone changed the booking date for us without consulting us!). Tho' it's a 3D2N trip, we had actually only a day to spend in Busan, to be exact.

On Day 1, we had a 2-hour journey to Busan via the KTX train and it was about 9pm when we arrived at the hotel (we were unable to go there earlier cos' it was Daddy's graduation ceremony which ended in the evening.

On Day 3, we thought we could leave our luggage with the hotel after check-out so that we could have more time to tour in Busan. But the conceirge staff says they do not allowed that. As it's not practical to travel around with a luggage, a stroller and 2 toddlers in this cold weather, so the only option was to go back to Daejeon after checking out.

Hence, Mummy was rather upset that our tour dates had been brought forward (we do appreciate the friend's help in booking for us, but would appreciate better if he could consult us and not make his own decision to change the dates for us based on his own logical thinking). Our 1st day was practically wasted and just going there just to check-in to the hotel to sleep. Mummy had initially planned to use that night to finish packing before the tour to Busan and it's really hard to enjoy a tour when things were left undone. *Sigh*.

Nevertheless, we did have some fun at the popular Haeundae Beach (해운대) and the Busan aquarium on the 2nd day, and thank God that both are located very near to our hotel.

Though it was a bit cold in Winter plus the sea breeze, my darlings did have a wonderful time playing on the sand and picking up seashells at the beach. The picture on the left shows the "cake" with 2 "candles" made by my darlings and you can see my Sweetie proudly telling me that she's 2 years old. After that, we sang a birthday song and then they blew the "flame" off the candles. That was fun.

At the Haeundae Beach, Mummy was surprised to learn that we were actually quite close to Japan's Tsushima Island (cos' we had a Japanese friend whom my darlings addressed as Uncle Tsushima). He had told us before that there's an island in Japan that was named after him. Hee... didn't know that it's actually so close to Busan. Too bad he doesn't own the island, else we could have drop by the island, hee...

The Busan Aquarium, however, was a little way-below my expectation as I thought there will be an open viewing area facing the open sea since it's situated underneath the beach. I remembered our tour to a Seahorse Aquarium in Tasmania (Australia) years ago, there's 1 viewing area inside facing the Pacific Ocean which left a deep impression in me. Hence, I was actually looking forward to that at the Busan Aquarium (the main reason of choosing this aquarium over the other located in COEX shopping mall in Seoul). Worst of all, there was the suspense-type of background music constantly being played in the dimly-lit aquarium, which drew more fear in my darlings when they saw the sea creatures.

Guess which creatures do my darlings like most at the aquarium? Haha... it's the soft toy pengiuns that were being displayed near the entrance (to give a Christmas mood).

Fun in the Snow

It snowed earlier in the day, so Mummy brought my darlings out to have some fun before the snow disappeared. Haha... cos' the amount of snow here was so little that they will be gone once the afternoon sun shines.

We only managed to play with the little bit of snow found on the cars in the carpark. Tho' all we got were just a few small snowballs, it has been a fun experience for my darlings to play with snowballs for the 1st time.

See my Cutie throwing the "miserable" snowball on the floor, haha... will never get the chance to when back in Singapore. Mummy also had a great time chatting with a Taiwan friend (arrgh... gonna miss her when each of us returns to our country) while my darlings had fun playing with her kids.

Ladybug Princess

My little baby has grown up and now she's crazy over the princess. Hear her telling me that she's a "Ladybug Princess" and asking me if she is pretty. Haha...



See, how happy they were when mummy bought for each a box of princess panties. Anything associated with the word "princess" will just keep them captivated.

My Sweetie princess not just can converse quite well in spoken English, she understands perfectly on the usage of the possessive nouns.

Here's a transcript of 0ur conversation:
Mummy: This is A camera.
Sweetie : This is A camera.
Mummy: This is Mummy's camera. (it really is mummy's camera)
Sweetie: This is OUR camera.
Mummy: ???

Haha... Sometimes she is just so sweet, especially with her sweetie smile (minus away the whining and stubborness). Mummy just loves her much much.

HomeBridge at Everland

It's great to be back to Korea, cos' we get to visit our hometown again. With the change in season, Everland has now transformed into a Christmas wonderland.

In total, this is our 3rd visit to Everland since we came back to Korea in November. This time round, we had booked the Homebridge Resort (which is just next to the Rose Garden). It was great as we could simply watch the Magical Christmas Fireworks Display from the balcony of our hotel room and then slipped into the warm room when it ended.

The drawbacks of the hotel is that it doesn't come with any bed or other furniture (Korean style of hotel) nor does it has any bathtub.

Nevertheless, my darlings still love the hotel as they could see Everland thru' the balcony. The feeling is nice too to be able to see Everland first thing in the morning.

Mummy loves the decor in the lobby area. It reminds us of our tour to Tasmania last time (hee...without any babies then) which Mummy got to see snow for the first time and burning logs in the fireplace of our cabin then.

At Everland, it's a pity that there's no more Carnival Elysion performance (ie. no more chance to hug Laila and Laciun). However, my darlings were satisfied just to be able to see them on top of the float during the Parade (see picture on left). In fact, from the balcony of our room, we could actually see the hangar for the floats. So the floats would move past our balcony area which is near the side entrance for the Parade. My darlings were very excited to see the floats lining up in front of our balcony, getting ready for the Parade.

This maybe our last visit to Everland, nevertheless we will try to come to Everland for 1 more time before we leave Korea. What is life going to be without Everland?

First Snow in Korea

Yesterday while on our way back from our hometown, we were surprised that it was snowing. We were very excited and so we stopped at the next service area (오찬 휴게소) to see snow.

It was actually the first snow of the year and we were glad to be among the first few to experience it. My darlings were very excited too and tried to catch it. They were very amazed that the snowflakes "disappeared" when in contact with their hands. What a great experience.

Really thank God for this snow experience as Mummy thot that we won't be able to see snow before we leave Korea. When we were back in Daejeon (further south) , it wasn't snowing and the first snow here only came the next morning. But we had already had enough fun the previous night and preferred to snuggle warmly in our little house. Gee... winter is here.

Make the Right Decision

Today marks the last day of Korean class for my batch of foreigner wives and Mummy went together with my darlings to join in the farewell party.

Honestly, Mummy does not regret my decision to stop attending class then. It's really hard for learning to take place when Mummy was busy in class like a nanny attending to kids (besides my own).

Well, with my 2 darlings sticking to me, it's not surprising that the other kids who were bored in class would be attracted with the things which Mummy gave to my darlings to keep them occupied (so that I can focus in class). Many a times Mummy had to go to my darlings' "rescue" when the other kids took their things or disturbed them. At times, these kids would ask me for help too (eg. open the packet of food to eat, take out jacket). Tho' it may just be a short moment, it's really hard to stay focus in class when every now and then you had to be interrupted, least to mention about learning. Mummy has, in fact, learned more thru' self-study.

In additon, Mummy found that my babies are happier ever since we stopped going to the class. Tho' it maybe good to expose children to meeting people, Mummy finds it may not be so for my darlings who prefer to having Mummy to themselves and have fun together. In addition, there's plenty of opportunity for them to mingle with other people in future. Mummy realises it's important for mummies to understand their kids well and work according to the needs of their kids (rather than follow blindly what the experts said are good for children).

11 November is known as Peppero Day in Korea (it's actually a gimick by the Peppero company). Nevertheless, see how happy my darlings are, with the number of Pepperos that they have. Yummy, yummy.

Mummy's birthday

Yeah, it's Mummy's birthday yesterday. It's great to be able to celebrate the occasion together as a family, here in Singapore.

My darlings love the Tom & Jerry cake (for my birthday, hee...) and are very happy to eat the cake (as usual).


Then we went to Swensen's to celebrate and for the first time, we bought a kid's meal for them. It has 2 mini-burgers which kept them delighted. Time really flies, they have grown up now.

In the evening, we went to the airport to fly back to Korea. Tho' it was sort of a last minute decision and Mummy thinks it's a right decision to return to Korea with Daddy.

Daddy should avoid carrying heavy stuff at the moment especially luggage. It would also be good for us to get away from the hot weather in Singapore. Thank God we can still catch the last glimpse of Autumn (Mummy's favourite season). Tho' it maybe expensive to travel back to Korea again as a family, it's definitely worth it to being together and have Daddy's involvement in their toddlers' years. Money spent can be earned back, but it's impossible to buy back time to be spent with the little ones. Sometimes, life is just as simple as ABC. In fact, it's these simple things in life that truly matters.

No wonder there's a saying that the older one gets, the wiser one will be. *Sigh* Mummy is really getting old.

A Day for Mummy and Sweetie

Sometimes while in Korea, Mummy would spend personal time with each of my darlings at times. This is important for their well-beings as my darlings love the individual time they have with Mummy.

Today, Mummy got to buy some stuff and souvenirs for Daddy to bring back to Korea. It wasn't an easy task, as Mummy got to get light stuff so as to minimise the weight in Daddy's luggage (he just had an operation).

For my Sweetie, it had been a fun outing with just her and Mummy. Look at her sweetie smile and you know that she's really enjoying it. She loves to help to pass the money to the cashier and then after that tells me that she bought the stuff (for me). Haha...

This little Sweetie has actually grown up now. She can communicate well her thoughts to Mummy and speaks proper sentences. Actually, she is already potty-trained for a while but her kia-su Mummy (aka me) still wants her to wear her pampers everyday (just in case and also partly still have a number of pampers at home anyway).

Now, this little darling of mine is also a fan of Dora too.

It had been a tiring day for Mummy, but looking at her beautiful smiles just drive all the tiredness away. Well, that's magic.

Home Sweet Home

Finally, Daddy's operation was over and was able to discharge the next day. Tho' Mummy has been cooking everyday, it has been such a joy to cook for the family (as compared to when in Korea). The best is to be able to eat fresh meaty steamed fish everyday.

For my darlings, guess they enjoy the moment of having "new" toys to play everyday (after Mummy cleans them). My Sweetie may not have memories of the toys before as she was still a baby when we left for Korea a year ago. See picture on left, my Cutie was having fun transforming herself into Minnie Mouse with the headband and plastic cups.

My darlings love to play on the piano everyday and they have also been eagerly waiting for Mummy to clean their tricycle and "cars" so that they can ride on them around the house.

Indeed, there is now so much space here in our house for them to run around in comparison to our small house in Korea. A spacious environment does indeed improve one's mood - my darlings seem extremely happy in fact.

It's funny that when in Korea, my Sweetie would refuse to sleep unless Mummy lay down next to her in bed (even tho' she could still see Mummy sitting in the living room when she lay in bed). Yet in Singapore, she would go into the room, lie down in bed and sleep even without Mummy around (the bedroom is far away from the living room which was not within her view at all).

Guess she knows that she's home and it's good to be back home.
Indeed it has been great to be home again.

Hello Singapore

Finally, we are back in Singapore. Back to the old pampered life style, back to the yummy food days, hee...

Indeed, Mummy misses the local food of different flavours. It is also great to enjoy "cook-free" days in Singapore (must break free from the mundane of cooking days and nights while in Korea where cooking has become a chore).

Mummy has been busy cleaning and unpacking stuff especially to put back all the displays). There are also numerous mails/letters to clear (thank God got 2 little helpers who enjoyed opening the envelopes for us). Now these 2 little ones have grown up, Mummy has to crack my brain to rearrange the furniture again to accommodate to their daily needs.


After one of Daddy's visits to the hospital, we decided to drop by Hort Park to enjoy the greenery. It is a beautiful place for relaxation, just that the weather is a little unbearably hot.

We went to the Bamboo Labyrinth (see picture on left) where bamboo plants are grown. This reminded us of our tour to Damyang in Korea (Damyang is the place famous for its bamboo) where Mummy finally got to eat the bamboo rice 대통밥 and kept the bamboo "bowl" for souvenir. Hee...

Below are pictures taken at Damyang.

Goodbye Korea.

Had been really busy preparing for the trip home alone with my 2 darlings. Besides packing for our luggage, mummy also had to pack up everything in the house and shipped back our stuff, so as to minimise the packing for Daddy when he returned to Singapore in December.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, he needed to go for an operation and after some discussion, we felt it would be better to have the operation done in Singapore rather than Korea. So, there was a change of plan and we had to quickly arrange for an early departure so that he could be back in Korea by November.

Now, there were more work for Mummy, to repack the luggage again and also to ensure that there's sufficient food/ water when Daddy returns to Korea alone (note: water from tap is not really safe for consumption in Korea).

It was quite ironic that Mummy was happy to have Daddy going back with us, when he was actually back for an operation.

Tho' Daddy was unable to help with the luggage, it was great to have another adult to watch over the kids. My darlings were very excited, my Cutie knows there are a lot of toys awaiting for her at home in Singapore.

Mummy is grateful for this trip to Korea, learning new things and meeting new friends. Our stay in Korea also helps to widen my knowledge about Korean's culture. Tho' didn't get to master the Korean language, am still glad that I know the universal language (hee... English).

Many thanks to the various friends from Brazil, Taiwan, Japan and Korea who came to send us off (tho' Mummy did not tell them the departure time so as to go off quietly to avoid the tearful moment), and especially to Run who purposely rushed back in the morning from her mountain trip (a few hours' drive away) just to bid farewell. Mummy felt so touched by their gestures. Suddenly, Mummy was starting to miss Korea.

Here's my darlings saying "Hello" to you in Korean.

A Day in Everland

Since we will be leaving Korea soon, we decided to visit our hometown Everland for the last time since we had not been there for a while. Amazingly, the whole place was transformed into the Halloween theme. Tons of pictures to share.

Taking pictures with the mascot.

Enjoying the views on the chairlift (see left) and ferris wheel.

Many, many kiddy rides.

For the first time, we ventured into the Arcade centre. My darlings had a fun time playing the drums, horse-riding and canoeing.

My Sweetie recalled the time when she watched Mummy riding the horse at Jeju Island. Mummy and Daddy got to reminisce the old days of spending time at the Arcade.

Finally, it's time to say goodbye.

Everland, 안녕.