Last week, Sophie’s form teacher wanted to talk to me when I reached her childcare. I was expecting it to be a complaint as she has been more stubborn and playful in class.

But instead she told me that one of Sophie’s teachers was hospitalised due to a problem in her back. When her form teacher asked the class what they could do to make this teacher feel better, the class suggested to make cards, buy flowers and visit her.

And little Sophie? She suggested to pray for her teacher to get better. I was surprised and moved by my daughter’s gentle spirit. And her form teacher was also very touched.

On days like this, I thank God for simple reminders that there’s something right that I’m doing as a mother despite my shortfalls.

I’ll be leaving for my holiday to Taiwan and it occurred that I haven’t even blogged about my recent holiday in London last November. Erm, maybe not that recent after all. But anyway, to reminisce my London adventures sans Sophie, I’ll start with an entry on one of my favorite place in London – Borough Market, a definite must go  for all foodies. So that’s us Singaporeans

Borough Market is a gourmet food market that’s located in Southwark Street. This is where wholesalers of fresh produce, organic food and food stalls serving anything from good old British food to international flavours can be found.

Given that it’s a market, we thought we’ll be there bright and early on a Saturday morning. Turns out that 9am was way too early as most shops only started business around 10.

But you know what they say about the early bird. We beat the crowd and were among the lucky few who didn’t have to queue to long for our coffee from Monmouth cafe, which was a must-try according to friends who have lived there.

In their words, the coffee is legendary and I have to concur. So if you’re looking for good coffee, do come early as the queue snakes out of the cafe once it hits 11.  You can also come here for a quick bite but seats are pretty limited.

  So envious of their fresh produce that looks way fresher than what we have

 Love the medley of colours everywhere I turn

 Puffer fish for sale. Do you spot it?

If you’re a cheese lover, there’s so much to choose from

And of course I can’t end this post without leaving you with some of the recommendations. So there’s 5 of them!

1. Shell Seekers- the picture says it all.

For 5 pounds, you get 3 fresh stir fried scallops, pretty much like Japanese teppanyaki style topped with bean sprouts and bacon bits. Verdict, they were oh so heavenly!

 2. Kappacasein for their amazing cheese toasties!

 On a diet? Well not today!

Here’s my toasted cheese sandwich, made with Montgomery cheddar, onions, leeks and garlic on Poilâne sourdough. It was the best cheese toastie and this is without a doubt my favorite.

3. Northfield Kitchen- where everything looks so yummlicious, just check out their menu.

Ready to dig into my bacon burger!

4. Brindisa- I heard that they are well known for their grilled Spanish Alejandro Chorizo buns with piquant paprika oil and complemented by red peppers and rocket. But it was a pity that they only opened at 11:30am. But judging from the reviews I read, it’s definitely worth a try,

5. La Marche du Quartier- a French food stall where their specialty is the hot duck confit roll. Too bad, we missed this as well as they only open at 11.

You definitely want to come to the Borough Market on an empty stomach as there is simply so much to try, eat and savour. We easily spent 2-3 hours just walking around and took in all the sights of the market.

If none of my 5 recommendations managed to tantalise your taste buds, I’m sure that the tower of the world’s famous ultra chocolate brownie will do the trick!

Address
8 Southwark Street
London SE 1TL, United Kingdom

To get to Borough Market:

• Travelling by train- The Borough Market is located next to London Bridge Station which is serviced by the Jubilee and Northern Lines on the Underground and by overground trains from all over London and the south of England. To reach the market, exit the station and cross Borough High Street.
• Travelling by bus- Alight at either London Bridge, Borough High Street or Southwark Street and it will lead you right to the Market.

You may want to visit on Saturdays when the market is fully opened from 8am to 5pm. But my recommendation is to reach just before 10 when most shops start their business. Do be prepared for the crowds.

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I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most patient mum in the world. In fact, I’ve lost my cool at Sophie so often that Alexis has to remind me not to be so harsh when I lecture her.

At times, I forget that as much as she wants to assert her independence, my little toddler still needs help in simple tasks which I take for granted. At meal times, it’s not uncommon that she still spills food on the table and sometimes even end up with juice on her dress. I’ll get mad at her for making a mess and scold her for being careless. In the past, she used to react by crying, a self defense mechanism to avoid being  scolded further. But these days, she’ll snap back at me shouting, “It’s an accident. I didn’t mean it!”

I know who she’s got that tone from and I’m not proud that I’ve been setting such a bad example in front of her.

A few weeks ago, I applied for leave to accompany her on her school excursion. But before that, I bought a take away coffee so that I can get perked up before we made our way to the Air Force Museum. As I sipped on my coffee, I didn’t realised that coffee had seeped from the side of the cover and leaked onto my top. I immediately jumped up and hurried to the toilet to get it cleaned, hoping that it wouldn’t leave a stain.

As I wiped at my coffee stain furiously, it suddenly occurred to me that even I as a thirty something year old could be so careless and make such a boo boo, what more a three-year old. At that moment, I was so overcome with guilt that my eyes were moist with tears as I reflected about how often I must have crushed Sophie’s spirits when I was unduly harsh to her.

After I emerged from the toilet, I promised to be a more patient mum and to remember that Sophie is a little girl who’s still figuring out about how many things work. She may not be capable of having full control of her emotions but I can certainty be a role model for her.

Sophie didn’t know about my little accident but I’m thankful that my coffee that morning more than woke up my sleepy head but also my senses so that I can be a better mum.

By the way, do let me know if you’ve got a good tip on removing coffee stains because the lesson has been learnt and having a coffee stain just ain’t cool.

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This year marks my 4th Mother’s Day and I’m happy to announced that I’m still surviving!

We had a simple affair for Mother’s Day. On Friday, I was gifted with a DIY card and bracelet as well as a bouquet of paper flowers and jelly that Sophie made in school. She was so excited about them and I could hear the pride in her voice as she presented the items to me.

At dinner time, she insisted that we should eat the jelly and was adamant  that we can’t use the spoon. Something which I think the teachers instructed them when they made the jelly. But when  I convinced her that it was alright to do so, she dug in and finished most of it.

On Mother’s Day, we had lunch together and I was showered with lots of kisses from little Sophie. Actually I was only given kisses cause I requested it from her.

Sophie asked, “Why do you like so many kisses mummy?” But I bet she doesn’t know that I like them especially if they are from her.

We had dinner with my family on Sunday and here’s me and my mummy dearest. If there’s one word to describe my mum, it would be the word long-suffering.

She’s gone through so much and it hasn’t been easy for her especially when her parents passed away even before she was married. While we may not see eye to eye on many issues, I have learnt a lot from her and she’s the best mummy I could ask for.

As I look back at my motherhood journey one phrase comes to mind, which was recently shared by Hui Ing, The days are long but the years are short. I can’t help but agree as Sophie turns four this year. Though she’s still in her toddlers years, it almost seems like she’s growing way too fast. And one thing I’m more determined to do as a mother is to be more present for her. So I’m really looking forward to our upcoming family holiday to Taiwan.

Me and Sophie going matchy matchy with our new hats

Last but no least, Happy Mother’s Day to all you awesome mummies! We may be far from being perfect mums, but we sure good mummies who are learning on the job!

Do link up every Monday with my Motivational Mondays post. Don’t forget to grab my badge and include it in your post after you have linked up and leave me a comment too. I will be hosting Motivational Monday every week and I hope that you can join me every Monday. Have a great week ahead!

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Sophie has been telling us that she wants to visit Gardens by the Bay because a particular boy in her class always talks about it. I suspects it’s because his parents bought the annual pass, OR he might be asking my little girl out for a date!

I happen to be gifted a pair of tickets so we finally visited last weekend and boy were we in for a treat as there was a special tulip exhibition in the Flower Dome.

Before we arrived at the Flower Dome,  we went up among the Supertrees for a aerial Skywalk .

 Tickets for the Skywalk are $5 for adults and $3 for children above 3 years.

 The beautiful skyline of Singapore by day

Once we were inside the Flower Dome, it felt like we were transported right into Netherlands where a field of tulips welcomed us!

 Little facts about tulips along the way

 Sophie couldn’t wait to step into these wooden clogs which were obviously way too big for her

 Windmills  that adorned the walk way

 I love this burst of colours. So cheery and bright.

 Don’t miss a photo opportunity in the pavilion with hanging clogs too

You may not see it from the photos above, but the place was packed on a Sunday afternoon with everyone jostling to see the lovely tulips.

Sophie had a blast that afternoon running around the cooled conservatory. And her parents felt blasted having to run after her. Thankfully, the pretty sight of the flora display made it an enjoyable afternoon for us all. Tulipmania ends on 20 May, so hurry and don’t miss this.

Ticketing information

For Tulipmania (29 April – 20 May 2013), single conservatory tickets  are at

• $10 for Adults  (U.P $12)
• $7 for senior citizens and children (U.P $8) .

For Mother’s Day weekend (10-12 May), there is a special 15% discount on admission into the cooled conservatories.

For more photos, do check out my Facebook page.

*Updated: According to friends who visited on 10 May and from comments left on Gardens by the Bay’s Facebook page, it appears that they have just replanted the tulips. Hence, you may only see bubs as the tulips have yet to bloom.

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