A passing ...

Today was a sad day for a family of my Hubby's colleague. The lady (who was a co-worker of his) passed away today. To say that it was a shock was an understatement. We were just discussing that Hubby should drop by the hospital to visit her (during our dinner last night) ... but now she's gone .....

I've never met this lady but I was very sad when I heard of her passing. Why? ... I don't really know. Maybe when I heard that she was in a coma recently ... I felt very very sad for her. How can a person be ok one minute and in a coma soon after?!

Isn't life unpredictable? We go through life, work hard, worry daily, plan for the future but not everything goes as planned. We constantly worry about our children, our parents but when its time for us to go ... no one knows.

Whoever we leave behind is filled with heartache but for the one that leaves ... its actually even harder. There are so many things left undone, places to visit, words left unsaid, resolutions unachieved ... so much more to life that is left undone.

What we have now ... we must cherish it. We never know if our time is up tomorrow.  We go through life never really expecting our passing to come so suddenly. But life isn't a fairytale and there are no happy endings. As much as we want to be there for our family, when our time is up ... we won't be able to stay.

So ... hug your kids and your partner tighter tonight. Tell them you love them. Tell them they mean the world to you. Tell them they are everything to you. Tell them that you'll miss them when it's time for you to go. Then go to sleep ... after you kissed them. Smile as you sleep ... for if you never wake up ... you've told the people that you love how much they mean to you.

Sweet Dreams!

A Little Bit Of Curry ...

Lately Ryan's been a little bit adventurous when it comes to food. Mind you ... just a little bit!

So ... he's been trying small dips of curry with his pratas. Bits here and there. It's a big step for my boy ... who has been adverse to anything spicy, for as long as I can remember.

Hari Raya!

These couple of years ... Hari Raya has become a muted affair for us. Our extended family has become more fragmented & (I feel) have lost a lot of the closeness that we used to have. Due to many reasons (I'll rather not get into) ... our family is no longer as close as we used to be. I used to lament ... what has happened to us? But I no longer question life. I accept that things change ... people change ... even family. I'll take whatever good comes out of it ... and leave the rest behind. We no longer expect everyone to be there everytime ... & neither should others.

I love my extended family ... I always will ... but I have accepted that it will never be like the old times coz everyone's changed ... even me! What we have ... we have to treasure and what we've lost is a fond memory. Even this year's Raya photos symbolised that ... I only managed to get photos of my family ... and none of my extended relatives. I'm sad yet I accept our new reality. I'm very grateful and thankful that I have my beautiful family - my son and my hubby to spend this special day with me.

A few things made this Raya slightly more special ... my boy was very excited about Raya as he's more intuned with our religious beliefs (as he has been attending classes to learn more about our religion). He was also very excited about receiving ang pows (he's learning more about the value of money as he gets older). One other good change ... our financial situation has improved (a little) and we are able to bless those around us ... a little more this year. So that's been nice!

One little step at a time yah!

New School Shoes

Ryan was wearing a pair of Transformers shoes that I intended for him to wear till year end. But alas ... its not possible. So we went looking for a suitable pair & ended up at Bata. Managed to find a Nike pair that cost only $19. My boy was so enamoured with his new shoes that he wanted to wear them immediately (whaaat?). So I had to purchase a pair of white socks.

My boy was a happy camper!

Lunch Out

We had our lunch at Streats in IMM on Sunday. Wasn't our first time trying their food but it's been quite awhile. I had the XO Fried Noodles and Ice Jasmine Tea. Whilst Hubby had the Macau Fried Rice with Chicken Chop with Ice Milk Tea. Everything was pretty delish ... but wasn't cheap at $8.50 per meal & drinks costing $3.20 each.

My boy didn't want to eat anything so we bought him doughnuts afterwards at Dunkin Donuts (yup, didn't know they had a branch there). Both food establishments are Halal certified.

More Random Updates!

Just because ...

Father & Son ...

Ryan has a special bond with his Daddy. He's full of hugs & kisses with his father. There are times when I manage to capture those special moments. Eventhough these photos are posed, you can't force a kid to show affection on demand ... especially from a six year old.

When he's older and we are long gone, I hope he will look at these photos and remember how close we were & how we loved him so!

Random Photo Updates

Ok ... time for some recent photos of our family.

Not all are of Ryan this time ... haha.

More School Antics

Here are more random pics of my Ryan. Haha ... yes its an overload of photos of the munchkin. So sue me ....

School Antics

Ryan's teacher at school, Miss J is so nice ... to pass me some photos taken whilst he's at school recently.

Each photo is a special bit of memory for my boy ...

Just wanted to put them up here for Ryan.

Thanx ... Miss J!

My Boy Grows Up!

Ryan had his Kindergarten Graduation pictures taken this week. Due to his new look ... I was a bit worried he would flash his toothless grin when the photos were taken.

So we practised ... a bit ...