News of the week: Joann is officially toilet trained!!!

28 Jan 2008 marked yet another historic moment in the life of our princess, Joann. She was finally able to poo poo into the toilet bowl instead of into the cursed diaper. Hurray!!!

For the past three years, we have tried ways and means to get Joann to poo poo into her potty but she adamantly refused. She was very determined - Whenever we tried to train her, she would go on a "poo poo" strike - she could "control" her bowel movement and would not poo for 3 to 4 days. As a result, we had always given in, worried that her health would be affected. This time, however, we decided that enough was enough.We hardened our hearts and decided to strike again, praying hard that we would be able to outlast her determination should she go on another "poo poo" strike. By hook or by crook, we HAD to get her off her diapers this time. Jayden is already off his diapers!!!

Yesterday was Joann's 5th day into her "poo poo" strike and she was increasingly lethargic and hot tempered due to her "choked system". My mum-in-law and I decided to end her strike. My mother-in-law brought her to the toilet and held her captive on top of the toilet bowl as she kicked up a BIG storm. Meanwhile, I stood guard outside the toilet door with a cane. Yes, she refused to succumb to pressure and cried so badly that gong gong was so heart-broken and stormed out of the house in anger. Undaunted, my mum-in-law held her in position firmly and assured her that she could do it. Looking at her, I simply could not fathom why anyone would resist the potty / toilet bowl with such intensity!

We "wrestled" with her for at least half an hour and honestly, there were moments we felt like giving up as it pained our hearts to hear her crying badly. I prayed to the Lord for that breakthrough as I waited.

After about half an hour, she FINALLY POO into her potty! The ordeal was finally over! She broke into a smile. It was a smile that spoke of relief and triumph! The moment had finally come for many of us to fulfill our promises to her! We had promised to buy her story books and toys if she could poo into her potty.

Last night, we went to MacDonald's and marked her passage to "adulthood" with a mini celebration. This could possibly be one of the highlights of 2008 for our family!Well done, Jo!

Interest Rates for Your Savings Accounts

Recently, I did a simple comparison of the banks' savings interest rates in Singapore. We all know that the banks' savings interest rates are meager as compared to other more advanced instruments such as fixed deposits, structured deposits, unit trusts, stocks etc. However in my humble opinion (I am not trained in finance :-P), a saving account is the most basic and flexible (easiest to withdraw cash if needed for emergency) form of personal savings. I feel that one will not only need a savings account for salary credit purpose but also for building up a sizable savings amount so that he can channel the extra money into other more advanced instruments as mentioned above. While the money is still in savings account, we can also make it work harder.

Thus, with this in mind, I did a simple comparison table (check here to download!). The top three savings accounts that offer highest interests are:

• OCBC Monthly Savings (from 1.68%) - 24 months lock-in
  
• StanChart e$aver (from 0.8%)
• Citibank "Step-Up Interest" (0.6875%)

This information only serves as a guide for personal use. Interests rates and savings plans change from time to time. The rule of thumb for your finance goal is to make your money work harder!

Jayden's 2th Birthday Celebrations

My little boy, Jayden turned 2 years old on 20 January 2008 :-) He was excited as we celebrated his birthday with beautiful cakes in 2 locations (at my parents' and in-law's place). We bought him a basketball-shaped cake from RoomforDessert as he loves ball games. The cake combines layers of light chocolate sponge, chocolate whipped cream, ganache and generous slices of fresh banana - both the children and adults loved it!!!

Of course, Jayden got his fair share of presents and red packets! His God-ma and Auntie Annie bought him his favourite "Thomas & Friends" train sets; I bought him a Gazillion battery-operated bubble gun ;-) As for his red packets, he was blessed with over $300!

My heart was so warmed to see my boy happy and blessed on his birthday! Now waiting for Joann's birthday in May...

The Children's Toys

Chinese New Year is about 3 weeks away and we have started to do some spring-cleaning this week. Our first station is the children's toys. We are amazed by the collection of toys that Joann and Jayden have gathered over the last 3 years. Since both of them are taken care of by my mother-in-law at her place during the daytime, they have toys in 2 locations.

As we combed through their toys, we realized some battery-operated toys were damaged due to battery leakage. Here is a valuable lesson: Remove batteries from your battery-operated toys or gadgets if you are not using them regularly or anymore. We also realized that it is safer to use batteries from better brands such as Duracell or Energizer because the batteries are of better quality and do not leak easily as compared to those that you can get a pack of 4 for S$1 to S$2.

Recently I have started using rechargeable batteries from Sanyo Eneloop. They can be used immediately right after purchase, have high power, long shelf life without loss of energy and of course, environmental friendly (I can recharge an Eneloop for about 1000 times!).

After clearing through the children's toys, I cannot help but envy the wide range of toys available to the children nowadays. During my time, I only had Ultraman, WWF figures and Lego blocks.. Sigh... Now there are all kinds of creative toys available in the market - Just drop by Toys"R"Us and you will know what I mean.

Before I end this post, I wish to recommend a number of interesting and creative toys which I have bought for Joann and Jayden. I enjoy these toys too :-P

Short Visit to Changi Airport Terminal 3

The Changi Airport Terminal 3 was opened on 9 January 2008. I decided to pop by to take a look at this terminal which attracted much publicity from the local news.

The Terminal 3 is conveniently linked to the Changi Airport MRT station, through escalators and travellators. From the innovative roof to the green wall, Terminal 3 is designed to be a pleasure for the senses.

The innovative roof is designed to let natural light into the building while cutting out the tropical heat. Soft and soothing natural light permeates the interior at all times through more than 900 skylights with reflector panels that automatically adjust the level of daylight into the terminal.

The Green Wall is a 300-metre span of living plants, interspersed with four cascading waterfalls. Below the wall is a sculptured sandstone art wall display - a visual treat for passengers waiting for their luggage.

At the time of my visit, the place was packed with people - mostly non-traveling Singaporeans who were excited to take a first look at their newest Terminal. We left after one hour in search for food as all the restaurants in T3 were packed with long queues.

To know about Changi Airport Terminal 3, click here.

A New Beginning (by Stacey Chillemi)

There comes a time when the meaning of life begins to make sense,

At first it may not,

The sky at first may look dark,

The path one needs to walk down may be hard to see,

Never let a anyone control one’s destiny,

God created will

The Lord will help you move forward,

The Lord gives you the strength to live life positively

He gives you the strength for a fulfilling future,

Let God into your mind, body and soul,

You cannot give up with a barrier blocks your past,

Ask the Lord for help through prayer,

You control your life,

Accept yourself,

Love yourself now and forever,

You were thrown against a corner when,

Getting up was not an option,

Today is a new day,

If you stay down life will pass you by,

So help yourself get up,

Fight the battle and win,

To win the battle you have to refuse to give up,

Winning the battle is teaching you how to live a healthy productive life,

Helping you cope,

Life may not always become what you want them to be,

The road you lead may have some u-turns involved,

Do not fear,

For change can be good,

Follow your path that was laid out for you,

The sun is now shinning,

You can now see your path

There is a plan, a destiny that awaits you,

Do not question your destiny,

Do not ask questions such as “why me?”

Accept the path that has been laid in front of you.

Do not be afraid,

Take one day at a time,

Be proud of who you are,

Walk with courage and your head up high,

Believe in yourself,

Focus on the positive,

For the footsteps imbedded in ground of your new path will become the solid foundation to you future.

Life Is Short!

For those of you who did not manage to catch this clip from my facebook site ;-) This is one of my favorite clips :-) Enjoy and have a blessed week!



Life is Short - Don't Waste It! - Make it Count!

Change My Life (II)

The last few days have been a fruitful time of reflection and planning for me. I am almost done with my personal goal setting for 2008 :-) Here are my thoughts from the last few days:

One cannot expect personal changes in his life by continuing in his current lifestyle - his current way of thinking and doing things.

"...No one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved." - Matthew 9:17

Many times, though we desire change and breakthrough for our lives, we are less than willing to forsake our traditional way of thinking and doing things. We are prone to be led by our emotions or situations rather than discipline by decisions (For example - from now on, bad weather shall NOT stop me from exercising :-P)

We need to open up ourselves to new ways of thinking and methods. When that happens, we re-position ourselves and create possibilities. New personal breakthroughs also demand an expansion of oneself. We must continue to thirst and not be comfortable with where we are.

As I reflect upon my unachieved goals in 2007 and forward planning for 2008, I reckon I need to do the following:

1. Change in Mindset - See things or past failures in a different light. Use my past failures and experiences as my stepping stones. Constantly walk in partnership with God.
   
2. Change in Priority - My dreams for 2008 will require me to prioritize my life. I cannot be everything to everyone.
   
3. Change in Motivation - Replace negative thoughts and feelings (e.g. procrastination, lethargy, fear) with faith and confidence. Know that a step taken towards the goal today is a step closer to it.
   
4. Change in Habits (Actions) - Do not underestimate the significance of the little steps taken each day or feeling overwhelmed by the size of the goal/task; think power of compound - Every step I take towards my goal each day adds up!

Change My Life (I)

Change starts with self
Change is necessary for my life to grow
Change begins when my thinking changes
Change is a continuous process - It stops only for fools and dead men
Change by decision is better than change by crisis

My ability to change will determine my success in life

Change begins with:

1. Decision - Do not be double-minded! No more toying with ideas! Let my mind, heart and action be in unison!
2. Dedication - Be committed to my thoughts and actions based on my decision!
3. Discipline - If good decision is goal setting, then daily discipline is goal getting!

My recommended book for your reading:

Have You Experienced Water Bed?

Check out this funny video for this week to find out! ha!



Hope you enjoy the video and have a fun-filled year ahead!

Joann's 1st Day In Nursery

Today is Joann's 1st day in LSK nursery (Praiseland 1). She has been looking forward to this day since December though she changed her mind slightly yesterday :-P

This morning, her ma ma (my mother-in-law) came to our place at 7am to get her ready for pick-up by the school bus at 8.10am. Joann looked so grown up as she donned her uniform. Her ma ma changed her hairstyle twice before she was satisfied that her granddaughter looked her best for school.

At 8am, Joann was ready and we went down to the void deck to wait for the bus. My mother-in-law and I had a good chat before we started to panic as the bus had not arrived at 8.30am (School started at 8.30am!). I almost carried Joann to school (school is about 10 minutes walk away) before we realized that there was another group of parents waiting for the same bus at the opposite block.

The bus finally arrived at 8.35am. The bus was delayed due to traffic jam. My mother-in-law and I felt relieved as the "carriage" finally arrived to carry our "princess" to the "castle" for 2 hours...

What to Expect for 2008?

Today is 2nd January 2008. A new year has begun. A new year marks a new beginning. This new beginning does not mean that all that had happened in 2007 are washed away; our lives carry on - for most of us, we do carry things into the new year because life is a continuation. Some of our challenges in 2007 are brought forward to 2008. Nevertheless, one can "reset" his mental clock and look upon the new year as a new starting ground by learning from past mistakes and adopting a new spirit to approach life with purpose, zeal and hope.

This is the time of the year where I am taking time to reflect upon what had transpired in my life the previous year and to plan for 2008. I believe one cannot plan effective for the new year without reflecting upon the previous year. Questions I ask myself:

1. What had I achieved for 2007?
2. What were my goals for 2007 and did I achieve them?
3. What were my unachieved goals and failures? Why? (poor time planning? procrastination? lack of discipline and commitment?)
4. What can I learn from my mistakes in 2007? (This will prepare me not to make the same mistakes again in 2008!)
5. What are my goals for 2008?

Making S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals!

• Specific - A specific goal has a greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. If one of your goals is to lose weight, a specific goal will be "I want to lose 20 lbs by June 2008" rather than "I want to lose weight in 2008".

• Measurable - Set concrete criteria for your goal. Ask yourself - How much? How many? By which date?

• Action Plan - Divide your final goal into smaller and easily attainable ones which can be achieved within the specified time frame. Decide what you need to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis in order to attain your final goal. For example, if you want to lose 20 lbs by June 2008, your action plan could be losing 3.4 lbs monthly, starting from January 2008; Jogging for 30 minutes 3 times weekly and heading for gym 2 times weekly.
  

• Realistic - Am I able to stick to my action plan and achieve my goal? Do I need to scale down my goal and subsequently my action plan? Do I need a longer time frame (if allowable)? For example, losing 20 lbs by December 2008 instead?

• Time Conscious - Always remember to tag a time to your goal. With a deadline, you will feel a sense of urgency that will motivate you to work on your goal.
  

• Expectation Management - Be flexible to adjust your action plan. New demands and unexpected events may occur in your life. Be flexible to re-adjust your priorities from time to time. Remember not to deceive yourself by succumbing to your flesh!
  

• Revelation - The bible says in Proverbs 16:1, "We may make our plans, but God has the last word". Seek God for his guidance as you set your goals for the new year. Hear from Him as He directs your path.

How can 2008 be a great year for you and I?

Start putting aside time this month to set goals for 2008! Don't just merely think about them! Write them down as you apply the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal-setting technique! Studies has shown that you are more likely to achieve your goals by writing them down!

Write your goals down and follow through your action plans with discipline! Start today and may 2008 be your masterpiece!

=> Click here for goal-setting card


Some inspiring quotes:

• "Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily." - John C. Maxwell

• "You will never change your life until you change something you do today." - John C. Maxwell

• "One today is worth two tomorrows; what I am to be, I am now becoming." - Benjamin Franklin

• "Good Decisions + Daily Discipline = A Masterpiece of Potential" - John C. Maxwell

My recommended book for your reading: