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The articles on this blog are from the housekeeping and parenting collection written between 2012 and 2022, and the personal reflections written since. They are intended for informational and reference purposes only. The editor does not assume responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. Advice should be weighed against a reader’s own circumstances and applied accordingly.

The views expressed here are my own and do not reflect any organisation, client, or platform I work with.

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The Maestro and the Orchestra

It has been only a couple of months since the first grandchild was born in the family, but I am sure it has felt like an eternity for the newly minted parents. Even before the inaugural date of conception, the work of raising a human being was already in full gear. Getting through nine months of enabling a healthy foetus to flourish is no walk in the park. It was not just one person’s lifestyle and dietary habits that had to shift - overnight, if you have to be rid of bubble tea and late-night nibbles after an intense day, that is simply another hurdle to jump over. Most significantly, it was about what the bystanders could do. You learn very early on, once your adult children hit their twenties, that they are their own person - and so as a to-be granny, the first thing one does is to seal thy lips and just listen. Listening and observing are both very formidable skills. They make caregivers of any generation emotionally attuned to their recipients of care. Some memories still linger:...

Shepherd's Pie Recipe (Life Review)

Every year, when September rounds the corner, thoughts of Christmas and Chinese New Year preps loom near. Anticipating the coordinated arrangements that will be needed, some preliminary preps begin. I try to prep ahead so that I don’t get all stressed out at year-end. It is a great time after all to sit back in awe and enjoy the festivities all around the world (the Internet is best for this!) Christmas beckons first ~ I have all the usual recipes tucked away in my blog and easily retrieved on the app Pinterest (which also makes it easy for my family to access). The recipe I am ‘reviewing’ is the Shepherd’s Pie. Do you ever wonder why one flinches when another says a particular dish is ‘so easy to do’? I’ve realised that saying a dish “is easy to do” is only ‘so easy to do’ when one has cooked it several times until it becomes ‘automatic’, a bit like preparing for a standard exam when one rehearses the practice of previous years’ exam papers within the given time. Yeah, that sort...

Coping With Bedtime Routines

An article contributed for Calvary Community Care (C3) ‘Read With Me’ Literacy Campaign When the children were preschoolers, I incorporated reading aloud or hearing stories read aloud as part of the children’s bedtime regime which assisted with ‘bedtime challenges’. Routines and schedules always help with a child’s emotional development because when the routine kicks in, the child living in an ‘adult world’ knows what to anticipate in the whirlwind world of adult life. Admittedly, I never liked reading a storybook to my own children more than once – parents will know a child will ask you to read a book again and again because for some reason the content resonates with them and they want to continue learning about themselves and about the world from the book. So I substituted in other ways. During that time, we had a domestic helper who was good with children and would read the whole book in my place. My children liked her and looked forward to her reading with them. Or I put on a...

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