Nigel Ng

Today is the BIG day for Elaine Jie Jie and Uncle Dietmar. They are getting married! Today is also a very important day for me. I was given a mission impossible possible task. *DRUMROLL* I was appointed the page boy! Before I go into the details of the wedding itself, here is a list of what needs to be done before the BIG day.

Preparation for the BIG day
What am I supposed to do as a page boy? My task is to hold onto the marriage certificate while Elaine Jie Jie and Uncle Dietmar exchange their wedding vows. When Mummy was told by Elaine Jie Jie the task given to me, she was a little apprehensive. That weekend before the BIG day, Mummy ‘brainwashed’ me. She told me that I am the safe keeper for the treasure map aka the marriage certificate. I have to safe guard the treasure map at all costs. I cannot drop it in the water. I cannot crumple nor tear it. Without it, the treasure is lost forever. I buy her words!

What I am supposed to wear? My wardrobe does not have any formal pants, although I do have a few printed shirts. It is shopping time for Mummy. Mummy wanted to buy me a tuxedo but she does not like the ‘usual fabric’ the tux was made of She wanted something different. She and Daddy hunted and reserved a corduroy tuxedo at bloomB. I tried on the next day and I looked really suave. The salesgirl commented that I am as handsome as Daddy. I told her “NO! I am MORE handsome than Daddy.” *fainted*

The BIG day
I went to school as usual. Teacher Cherie will get us ready in the evening and fetch us there. Daddy and Mummy were among the first to reach there. Daddy even helped to shelter me from Teacher Cherie’s car. WHERE exactly is there? Mid Summer Nite Breeze at Pasir Ris Park. This is our first time attending a wedding in an alfresco beach side restaurant. The dining area on the wooden deck and under the sheltered area are decorated with rose petals and tea light candles.

The rain stopped just in time for the solemnization by the beach. It was pitched dark as we all gathered by the beach. Elaine Jie Jie and Uncle Dietmar read their self-written wedding vows and exchanged their rings. We ate our dinner while the couple gave their thank you speeches. We did not manage to say good-bye when we leave as the couple are busy catching up with friends.

It was indeed an unforgettable evening. Once again, may your marriage be blessed with joy, peace and happiness.

Ah Yi invited Mummy to an exclusive ‘by invitation only’ Adidas Sample Sale! It’s happening at Adidas Robinsons 77 which is just a stone’s throw away from Mummy’s workplace.

Mummy bought three pairs of shoes for me at $10 per pair and a t-shirt too at $10. This is only a fraction off the original price! Ah Yi bought a bag for at only $15 (after a whopping 80% discount)!

I betcha we will have more Adidas merchandise coming our way – all decked from top to toes… muhahaha

Nigel has progressed to the second phase of Grade 1 programme. In this second half of the Zketteers Grade 1 programme, more time will be spent on free-fencing and partner training in preparation for his grading.

We bought him the foil, foil mask and other accessories in July. Now it is time for him to get all geared up with the Breeches, Chest Protector, Plastron, Jacket and Lame.

After adding the many layers of clothes, Nigel looks more like a sumo wrestler than a fencer to me… muhahaha!

It’s been six months since Daddy and Nigel went on a day out together. This father and son’s date usually coincides when Daddy sends his car for servicing and Nigel has the privilege of taking a day off school. Today is a little different. As norm, Daddy still send his car for servicing but school is officially closed today (because it is Children’s Day). As far as I remember, Children’s Day always falls on 1 October every year in Singapore but from this year onwards, Children’s Day will fall on the first Friday in October every year.

Boo hoo hoo… I had to cancel my leave last minute due to work commitment but I am glad I did. Both my boys had a fantabulous time today… watching Real Steel in the theatre, playing Digimon card game, browsing toys at Toys R Us and lunch at Sushi Tei.

Both Daddy and Nigel rave about the movie – Real Steel, especially Nigel. He went on went describing to me how the robots fought each other and who had fallen and who eventually won. Daddy and Nigel gave Real Steel a two-thumbs up so I guess this is a must-watch movie for father and son.

Every year without fail, Greentree Montessori will have night schooling for the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year is without exception. Unlike other years, for the first time, parents are invited to celebrate with the teachers and children. There are various fun-filled activities planned for the afternoon… moon cake making, lantern making and outdoor café.

Daddy and I took half day leave to join in the celebration. We arrived at Greentree Montessori at around 4:30pm in time to catch Zhuo Ma 老师 demonstrate to the children how to make snow skin mooncake. The dough (made from Phoon Huat Snowskin Premix) and the lotus paste filling (all rolled into balls) have been pre-prepared. After the demonstration, each of the children were given two doughs and two lotus paste filling to try making their own mooncake. Nigel had a hard time pulling the dough to cover the lotus paste filling. The dough is a little too sticky and rubbery to pull. He did that with a little help from Daddy. Thereafter, Daddy and I stationed ourselves at the mooncake making area to help the children while Nigel helped Teacher Cherie set up the outdoor café.

This is the lantern making corner. Nigel has made the lantern prior to us arriving.

Yummylicious snacks were served at the outdoor café. They include the traditional mooncake, pomelo, sweet corn, sweet potato and chrysanthemum tea. Also served is this black coloured stuff that looks a little like the black fungus 木耳, more like a bull’s horn or even a mini bat. This is the first time I come across this and I do not know what that is until I googled. It is called the water caltrop 菱角 and it CANNOT be eaten raw.

This is how Nigel ate his pomelo and mooncake… nibbles by nibbles. Since young, Nigel is not at all a fan of traditional food. He hates the mooncake!

After filling our tummies, it is game time. This is a parent and child event. Each child is to pick a number from the basket. Then together with the parent, they are to find the number of paper moons that are hidden around the school compound.

This year, we are so honoured to have the teachers perform for us the traditional story behind the Mid-Autumn Festival. The casts are Hou Yi (Teacher Cherie), Chang E (Teacher Arveen), Jade Rabbit (Su Mei 老师) and the Jade Emperor (Teacher Maggie). Oh ya, not forgetting Teacher Priya who has to literally hold the arrows and hit the suns.

The finale is the lantern parade which we did not participate. Nigel is too hungry to do that. What an unforgettable experience we had. Thank you Teachers for the invite!

This is how both father and son watches a movie on the television. Not only their facial expression is the same, their body language too!

Mummy redeemed another two passes to the Great Kids Cook Out at United Square. Two days ago, she realised that the passes are only good until Friday, 9 September. So she took leave today and brought me there. By the time we arrived at United Square at 11:10am, there was already a queue. Mummy asked why are there two queues and she was told that there is a priority queue for UOB Lady’s Card members. We had brunch at the foodcourt. 15 minutes before registration, Mummy went to queue up and she was the third in the priority queue.

Apparently, they did not open up the kitchens for children aged 4 to 8 years old to be able to participate in the kitchens for aged 9 to 14 years old (as what the Customer Service personnel told Mummy). Since I am already 6 years old, I am allowed to participate in Bento Making. Yippee… that is what I want to learn and make. I chose to make the pizza toast again as I am not interested in the Kaya Fondue Making nor making the Rainbow Snowskin Mooncake.

After the Bento Making at 12:00pm, Mummy took me to the food court and we had some cut fruits before the Pizza Toast Making at 1:30pm… Anyone can cook, SO CAN YOU!

Bento Making at 12:00pm

Pizza Toast Making at 1:30pm

Daddy turned three-six today and every year without fail, we will celebrate Daddy’s birthday with a cake. This is the seventh year we celebrated Daddy’s birthday. He is the BESTEST Daddy I could ever have. He is also the BESTEST hubby every woman dream of.

To our superhero… Happy Birthday and WE LOVE YOU! *muacks*

Alrighty… we were off to the zoo again. This is our 4th visit to the zoo this year. We had a hearty breakfast at Ah Meng Kopi before our adventure began. The first thing that Nigel did when he was in the enclosed zoo compound was to look for his favourite “$18 red Mercedes”. He could not find his “Mercedes” in the usual spot (renovation in progress). He was a little disappointed but he broke into a huge smile when he found his “Mercedes” at the other side. We told Nigel that we are not renting the “red Mercedes” today but instead we will go for the boat ride. He was a little reluctant but finally agreed.

We paid $6.00 per adult and $3.50 for Nigel for an unlimited number of boat rides. The one-way ticket costs $5.00 per adult and $3.00 per child (which is not really worth paying). We waited 10 minutes for the boat and took a scenic ride across the Seletar Reservoir where we alighted at Dock 2 – Rainforest Kidzworld. It was a really boring 15 minutes ride with nothing much to see. Nigel kept asking me how long more before we reach our destination. Finally, after the “take forever to reach” boat ride, we arrived at our destination. My two boys played at the water playground while Ah Ma and I relaxed over a cup of drink at KFC. We had lunch at KFC before we are out of Rainforest Kidzworld.

Now, we had to decide if we want to take the boat ride back to Dock 1. Daddy and Ah Ma do not mind taking the ride but it is a NO-NO for Nigel and I. With two votes each, it was difficult to come to a consensus. But nonetheless, without me saying, you should have known which group won. Yep! The formidable Mummy and son duo.

Nigel told us specifically which animals he wanted to see – Chimpanzee, Crocodile and the White Tiger. After visiting those animals, we are back at Boat Dock 1. Daddy managed to sell our boat ride tickets at a discounted price. We be back again real soon and we cannot wait for the River Safari to open its doors in early 2012.