My baby does things behind my back!

She's turning 17 today! WHA-??

Quick, sound the alarm! Call the Fire Brigade! Call the Ambulance! Call the Police! Somebody has to stop this!

Growing up so quickly should not be allowed!

It should be.. it should be...made illegal if you ask me!

She was just sweet 16, just! Now it seems like she is vrooming into adulthood. What's the hurry I'm askin' you, what's the hurry, huh? Speed kills!

I don't wanna think about it, I don't wanna talk about it, I don't wanna blog about it.

Oh, waydeminit, I have to blog about it cos my memory is going and sometimes I'm not even sure who is who in the photos. Tammy (Tamara Jayne) sometimes looks SO like her older sister, Joni..
(Tammy on left, Joni on right)
(Joni on left, Tammy on..no, Tammy on left...wait.....Jo...)


One day you're a weelittlecutiechickenpie (like the one Sin Yee's aunt makes)...


and the next, you've suddenly blossomed!


One day you're just a little pig-tailed girlie...



And the next you've suddenly shot up!



Even overtaking your sister, 9 years your senior!

(sister, Joni, is sitting on Tammy's lap)



At 17, you've already been to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and India

And soon you'll be going to New Zealand...

aaaah....New Zealand.......
.
.
.
.
.



(Ok, so Tony Willis isn't exactly New Zealand but gimme a break man, he's all I got. It was either him or a bunch o' sheep. And who'd rather have a picture of a bunch o' sheep? Ok, don't answer that. I don't know why I invite trouble like this)


At 17 you can speak Thai, you can sing well, you can write poetry...


As a Malaysian Chindian* (*a coined word meaning Chinese+Indian - of mixed parental heritage) you've sometimes gone Chinese...
sometimes Indian...

and sometimes (just thrown in for good measure) even Punjabi...
(I hope it isn't any indication of an identity crisis)


At 17, you've just been an MC for a wedding dinner with 700 guests!

At 17, you've just been a Maid of Honour...


Someday you're gonna meet your own Prince (and I'm gonna come to pieces) who may not look like anything you envisage now...
.
.
.
.
.
wait..
.
.
.
coming...
.
.
.
hold your heart..
.
.
.


but you know how the story can go....


On this your 17th birthday, I, your Mommy, want you to know that regardless of your roots

meaning, regardless of the fact that sometimes your Dad is a little...umm...strange


and your Mom doesn't always show you the kind of affection you may want


if ever you find yourself all alone..
abandoned..
drowning....


your family will always be there for you.

Even if you find it difficult to believe it sometimes.


Cos blood runs thicker than water.

Love you heaps, Tam.

Birthday!

Short note: Just to let you know that there was a problem with blogspot for a couple of weeks and that I could not receive comments sent in. Before I could figure out what to do, the problem fixed itself. But the comments got lost in the process. Hope everything is ok now.

So yah, where was I? Talking about birthdays. I am not much into them. But my kids (I think Joni started it) thought they should make my 50th a big do.

In case you're thinking that was last week, it wasn't. I am only now blogging about the party cos I thought I should save the memory before it goes.

They even had a theme for it. Like a Grammy Awards Night. I was told little.

I received a call - "Mum, quick! Silver or gold?" So I said, "Gold".
(I thought they were talking decorations - turns out I had just chosen the colour we were all supposed to wear! Or we were to wear something to do with stars - some interpreted that as the ones in the sky)

Partners-in-crime, Tammy my youngest, and Joni my eldest..


I was asked for a guest list. Which went longer and longer like my twice-a-month grocery list so it had to be cut down. My only specification was: NO PRESENTS. But - what I really wanted instead was for my friends to do a song, dance or skit. Anything that would make the night memorable! And what a night it was!

Here'ss what welcomed us into the multi-purpose hall (we were staying in an apartment at that time)..

The stage was an area cordoned off with black tape - a brilliant idea!

On the walls were several hand-painted mock frames with photos of ahem birthday girl through the years...


Even the floor tiles were decorated with golden stars where names of celebrities were written..


Ummm....that's my son, Darren (D.O.N.'T ask)..


Here's where guests signed in as they arrived....that's my brilliant Korean ex-student, Isabelle
(I will blog about her one day).


Umm...the birthday girl. ahem. Yes, that's golden glitter in her hair.


I loved that the whole affair was casual so we could all let our hair down....


The M.C. for the night was Darren. Honestly, sometimes I think my children were just born to be on stage...


He wrote a song for me (altogether now: awwwww..).
But for some reason I can only remember one line that went something like "though you sometimes get on my nerves..." (altogether take back that awwwwww).


And let our hair down we did. Here are some of the older f*rts having fun:


Jessie and Sharmini


My husband Paul, and Eng Hoe our longtime friend - we've known each other since ...oh...the Jurassic Era...(Eng Hoe has the kind of smile that looks like it will just crack his face in two)

Paul, Eng Hoe and Franklin



This guy, who came as The Joker, sang a song with Tammy, my youngest...(that's Josh, can you guess?!)


This group plonked me down on a chair and made me watch their medley of golden years songs...

This was their starting pose (that's me, bracing myself -you'd close your eyes too, knowing the kind of things these guys could come up with...)


"You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you...."

It gets worse....
It really does.....




My friends from New Zealand, Tony and Maria, doing a number...


Here are Koreans singing a Korean song! (the one on the right is my ex-boss and the one on the left was my student, a Jackie Chan look-alike. He's actually been stopped on the street for an autograph...)


See?

He's a terribly shy person so I was exceptionally touched that he actually belted out a Korean pop song for me!!



Even my Japanese student sang, "Sukiyaki" in Japanese. She insisted I back her up!


"The charms of Sukiyaki
The arms of Sukiyaki
Are all I long for
Since I left for Nagasaki
Why did I roam
Far away from home
But I know that she will wait for me..."

Those are the lyrics. Reeeeally!!

An item performed by some very talented guys that involved beatboxing and thigh-slapping.
(By the way, all except one of these guys are still single and available)...



Nya from Nigeria (in all her golden head-to-toe glory) did a dance while Fudge from Zimbabwe
sang.


At some point of the night, I decided to kick off my shoes..



And let 'em have it! (actually, st*pid shoes were mad ill-fitting)


Val: My ex-boyfriend told me one day that I couldn't sing.
That's why he's my EX-boyfriend.

There were games where props were given and participants had to let their imagination go wild..

I think this was a house-fly?


Heard of a ham sandwich? I think this was a samwich.



Food, except for some pizza, was all home-made by the Lims...

Look at that glorious grin by Sin Yee when she sees food.

My Indonesian friend Gaby with another glorious grin (her favourite slogan? "what's yummy goes to tummy")..


Chief cook, Sarah Lim (you're the sweetest!)..

ummm.....is that the pizza you bought, in your hand?!

Home-made carrot cheese cake by the Lims (there were three in all - and yes, were is the correct tense cos they were missing by the end of the night)


An assortment of guests..

My Chinese son, Kevin (this one I 'adopted' whether he wanted to be or not). And my Botswanian son, Boago (this one adopted me as his mother whether I wanted to be or not)..



Yes, it was truly a Grammy night to remember.

Can't wait for my 60th :)




If you have enjoyed reading this post, do leave a comment as I love reading the comments. It will not appear immediately so wait a day or two for it to appear with my answer to it! Thanks!