THE 3RD TRIMESTER: THE FINAL STRETCH

My dear daughter...

We are in the final laps of the months that we have been together as one... soon you will be free and vulnerable to the world that exists around us.. although till now you are blissfully unaware of the things that happen around you...

I must comment though, that you have been a little athlete in utero... today we went for our checkup and ultrasound scan, and guess what! You are now in extended breech position! just 2 weeks ago you were lying head down to the world and 4 weeks prior to that you were lying in transverse!

We are now in 37 weeks and counting down, so you have the next few weeks to decide your final position to meet the world... Dr John Tee feels he is able to deliver you naturally still IF you decided to remain in this extended breech position, but we shall have to see next week if you decide otherwise!

More CNY... feasting

and the feasting continues for the next few days...

2nd day of CNY.. dear friends Joan and Su come around for dinner...







On the 4th day of CNY the family is back from the KL jaunt and organise another celebration with the extended family in Singapore.. an uncle from Johor Bahru in Malaysia comes over with his family, and some cousins from mum's side visit with their kids. We have a major cook up in the
Novena house..followed by feasting until 10pm...






Chai's girlfriend Han Ting came over to kindly help out in the food preparation-she was in charge of the pandan chicken, a marinated chicken wrapped and cooked in pandan leaves, as well as the green salad. I made my spaghetti bolognaise and stir fried vermicelli.. with some help from Jovlene.. There was ANOTHER lo hei... to which pineapple and sashimi salmon was added.

Some of the potluck dishes that our cousins brought: turnip cake, a savoury steamed turnip mash topped with minced meat and vegetable, succulent rendang, chap chye-- a slow cooked vegetable and tapioca steamed sweetcake.

For dessert, we had kueh lapis, an Indonesian baked delicacy that requires hours of cooking over an oven, much like a butter cake in layers of yellow and brown. There were the usual suspects of new year cookies such as love letters, peanut cookies and pineapple tarts. Although by this stage most people had had their fill of these treats!

The kids all went away with plenty of red packets for the new year...

CNY with friends...

Great friendships last a lifetime...

Having attended school at the Singapore Chinese Girls' for the best part of my 1st 10 years of education, I can safely say the greatest gift the school has imparted to me is of lifelong friendship..

Celine Chin, Joan Chia, Lim Su-Yin are the best girlfriends a girl could ask for.. its been 20 years since I first met Celine,who also happens to be my neighbour! Surfice to say, the few of us have been through thick and thin, and now, even as we are adults and have completely different lives and experiences, we are still able to meet at a whim and behave as if the last 10 years has not flown past!

This year, we had our 2nd CNY 'reunion' dinner at my place... an adhoc affair that we put together for the festive occasion.

We had our 'lo hei'--tossing of the traditional fish salad, roast chicken, salad greens and some crab meat wok tossed noodles that I had put together at the last minute... Joan brought some satay and ngoh hiang from her place, and Su provided the bak kwa and new year goodies--pineapple tarts, love letters...

As usual, we caught up on gossip, took the opportunity to look at some photos of holidays.. and Su updated us on her latest holiday plans!

The next time I think we are PLANNING to try our hand at mahjong!

CNY traditions.. Fongster style

Chinese New Year brings about many traditions that are followed by various families in Asia to different extents, with each year bringing about modifications as we get progressively lazier(?) with the march of modernization and convenience!

1. HOUSE KEEPING

Most families do this to various intensities and extents, nowadays many resort to contracting the job out to private cleaning companies once a year for the entire home! I think at the Novena house, cleaning is done to some extent with Jovlene.. as for me.. well, I have the beautiful excuse of PREGNANCY to avoid doing more than the necessary! IE: house is clean and sanitised IS GOOD ENOUGH!

2. REUNION DINNER

Still widely practised, although some and increasingly more are choosing to let restaurants and hotels do the dirty work! We still have dinner at home, usually a steamboat affair that everyone helps themselves to.. has the advantage of flexibility when it comes to numbers attending... and the variety of food especially SEAFOOD.. YUM!

3. YUSHENG

the traditional tossing of the raw fish salad.. composed of grated vegetables ( carrot, radish and other vegetables) with toppings of fried dough, pickles, and fresh sashimi salmon and a dressing made from sweet plum sauce, lime juice and sesame oil.. no one is exactly sure of its' origin, but we've done this for as long as I can remember! It gets tougher with the years trying to remember the words of wisdom that we are supposed to sprout as we toss the salad!



4. EXCHANGE OF RED PACKET


Yup.. definitely the most defining moment of CNY!!! With us Fongsters, we start with a traditional tea ceremony with the parents.. The youngsters have to kneel as we serve a cup of freshly brewed tea to our parents and exchange words of blessings. In exchange we get a red packet of lucky money for the year...






The rest of the day is usually spent LAZING around the house, visiting relatives in Malaysia and eating sweet treats endlessly until it is time again for ANOTHER MEAL...
Oh, not forgetting the game shows with the relis..
1. Married couples: when are you having a kid?
2. Unmarried but attached: when are you getting married? Must send the invite!
3. Unmarried and single: aiyoh! When are you getting a girl/boyfriend? getting old already!
4. Already had 1 kid: When are you having no. 2?

And it goes on... career, weight ( aiyoh, put on/ lost weight... how come??), kids ( how are they doing in school??) etc... But I suppose they are mostly well meaning and are truly interested in your well being...!

So far.. Chris and I have spent our first CNY (without the others around) at the Esplanade
( where just about EVERYTHING was CLOSED) had satay, snow ice and CARL'S JNR for LUNCH!!

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2008 : reunion dinner

Welcome to the Year of the Rat.. or rather? minnie/ mickey mouse??

Another festive season passes us by.. was it not that we were just enjoying the fantastic Christmas and New Year break? Then suffering through the long month of January that didn't have any other holiday break... and suddenly, February is upon us and CNY has arrived!

At the Fong Family, this occasion is generally celebrated with family, either here in Singapore or in Malaysia with the extended folks. Of course, during the university days, we had the celebratory dinner in Melbourne.

Unfortunately, I am grounded ( and so is Chris), so we had a mini gathering at the Novena house on the 6th.. Pa, Ma, Chai and Geok had just returned from their fabulous powder snow SKI trip in Japan -- which we had also MISSED !!! Geok and Mun Hon have gone up to KL to eat with his parents for the first time since they have been married. Actually, the first time ever..

Well, ours was a cosy steamboat affair with multiple seafood delicacies.. carefully prepared by Ma and our domestic helper Jovlene... with thanks! Not to forget the 'lo hei' for prosperity!

As usual, we had to stay up past the mandatory midnight hour.. to ensure longevity for our parents...

Chris' mum (my MIL) is up in KL as well with the extended family... plenty happening up north!

FINAL TRIMESTER part 2

the last leg of the marathon... I am glad to have made it thus far...

Now the panic of impending motherhood is starting to set in... hm... I think I quite like her in there right now.. thinking of sleepless nights and endless infant cries.. time will NEVER be my own...

The nursery is almost complete.. we are still waiting for a few wall decorations to be put up but the cot is ready, sheets are washed and a small chest of drawers is getting filled with her toileting necessities!

Oh.. but she is still lying transversely.. this is at 33weeks +.. I am starting to get my head around the possible need for an elective Caesarian section... the question is : abdominal pain vs perineal pain for 6 weeks.. which is the worse evil??

Oh.. and pardon the most unglamourous sarong attire.. after a day's work, post dinner .. one really has to find a means of getting comfortable! Note the brand new completed cot sheets.. Winnie the pooh and another ?french sounding sheet!!!

HEAL JOO CHIAT CLINIC: new headway...

Well... I am most certainly pleased to report that THE HEAL JOO CHIAT CLINIC is FINALLY COMPLETE!!!

Our long suffering contractor guy, MR LIM has delivered on his promise on completion BY CNY 2008. The floor is fixed, the cabinets and finishings are installed and pictures all nicely hung. We are officially OPERATIONAL...

It's a nice feeling having a spa- like atmosphere in the clinic, a little unusual in the setting of medical practices in Singapore. We like our CLIENTS ( we prefer that to the word PATIENT) to feel comfortable by having in house slippers to wear, the seats are arranged in a communal cafe style seating with lounge tables to sip drinks by.. a selection of current magazines of various interests available to peruse while waiting for treatment/ consultation. I suppose it will take time to see how the people respond to the measures!