Haircut & Rewards

Monday was a holiday for XY because of Family Day the day before. I brought the kids to the salon for a haircut. When we were at home, CE said he didn't want a haircut. So I persuaded him with lollipop as reward.

They had their hair cut at the same time. CE sat in the toy car while XY on an ordinary chair next to him. I stood in between them as a "facilitator", constantly reminding them to stay still, like a broken record. :p At times, I've to hold CE's face to keep him still.

Overall, I'd say they behaved really well. CE was fidgeting a little and kept looking sideways at jie jie. Well, you can't expect a 3 year-old to stay as still as a statue, right? So I shouldn't be complaining. XY, as usual, was very cooperative coz she "wants to look pretty". ;-) But I offered her fries as reward anyway.

After the haircut, we went to McDonald's (just next door) to have french fries. Actually I was craving for that too. Haven't had them for a very long time already. Both of them enjoyed their fries dipped in tomato sauce.

As promised, they had their lollipops after lunch. This is CE's second lollipop. He hardly gets the chance to eat it. And he's probably thinking "haircut = lollipop" as his first lolly was after a haircut too. :D


And then they started to monkey around.

Family Day @ Putrajaya

Yesterday, we attended the Family Day event organised by XY's kindy. Our day started very early. We reached the venue at about 8am. Upon registration, we were given coupons for breakfast and lunch. I went to collect our breakfast (curry puffs and sausage buns), then looked for our tent (Blue team). We settled down on our picnic mat (we were asked to bring this) and ate our breakfast.

~ kids enjoying their breakfast ~

The event started with the National Anthem being played, followed by a speech by the principal. Then the children performed the pom pom dance. And next, the games began. We had earlier selected which games we wanted to participate in. The games required the parents and child to work as a team and also to team up with other families. We participated in 2 games but PaPa wasn't being very sporting (when we reached there, he has already made himself clear he won't be participating in anything *blek*), so I 'borrowed' SIL to be XY's "father". hehehe And likewise, I was CH's "father" in their event coz BIL wasn't feeling very well.

~ getting ready to perform the pom pom dance ~

The last game was treasure hunt but we went to the nearby playground. There was a small pool next to it. Many children were playing water there, including the kindy's students. We had been notified earlier that we can use the facilities (playground and pool) at the Community Hall after the event. Although I brought the kids' swimming costumes, I didn't let them play in the pool. The water was errr... not very clear (I think enough of brownish water for the week). :D

At the playground...

~ the big monkey climbing here and there ~

~ see, samseng or not? ~

~ he can spin/play with the wheel for a VERY long time ~

~ finally got bored with the wheel, went for some sliding fun ~

On our way to the car, we met the principal. She passed us a gift as our team won the treasure hunt. How nice, at least XY got a souvenir to bring home coz we didn't win anything in the games earlier.

We went for lunch and reached home at 2+. It was a very tiring day for all of us (especially the old folks :D). I was totally knocked-out once I lied down on the bed. Even after a 4-hour nap, I still slept early with the kids at night.

Brown Water

There was no water supply late last night. Usually we'll get dirty water once the supply is back. When I bathed CE this morning, the water was brown in colour. :-|

~ CE bathed with this ~

The colour was like the above after throwing away almost 10 pails of water. So can you imagine the colour of the earlier batch? Ewww... Anyway, I still bathed him but washed his face with "cleaner" water from the basin tap.

I really don't know how come the water in the second shower room is so dirty. The water from the master bathroom and taps downstairs is just a little cloudy (even with a filter outside the house). Good thing I have another filter in the kitchen. Sigh... we have to pay for this kind of water. Maybe we should dig our own well. hahaha

Fruity Dessert

Yesterday I made konnyaku jelly coz it's expiring soon. Bought a can of longans on the way to fetch XY from kindy. Kakak and I started our 'project' after lunch. After cutting the strawberries, grapes and kiwi into small slices, I arranged them and the longans in a tray and 5 small cups. I used less water than instructed on the packet as I've added the longan syrup. It was sweet enough (also taking into consideration the fruits) so I didn't have to add any sugar at all.

~ konnyaku jelly with fruits ~

This was their dessert after dinner. I gave hubby a mouthful and he asked for a piece. I was surprised (and very happy, of coz) as he's not a dessert person (especially those that I make :p). But when he had his piece, he complained that it was sour. hahaha That was why I gave him a bite with only grapes earlier. I knew he doesn't like the sourness of strawberry and kiwi.

Needless to say, it was a big hit with the kids. CE didn't really like longans though (hmmm... funny coz he loved it when I made longan jelly). XY, as usual, kept asking for more. But they only got to eat their second serving this afternoon after lunch. Now all finished, no more for tonight. Anyway, I've got another packet of powder, will be making jelly again very soon. ;-)

3 Years 1 Month Old

Today CE is 37 months old. I don't think I'll continue to do the monthly updates for him. Blame it on my laziness, forgetfulness and there aren't many new things to update every month. :p But since I skipped his update last month, I'll do a brief one here.

Naptime Experiment
This experiment, which started about 2 months ago, has failed. He's now back to wearing diapers for naptime. Although he was doing quite well at the beginning, I have to stop the training as he was sick and on medication (too drowsy to be aware of the need to urinate while sleeping). Then after that, his 'performance' wasn't consistent. Some days he's okay, some days I've to change him and the bedsheet halfway through his nap. You see, he disliked the rubber mat or towel to be put under him. So when accidents happen, he wets the bed as well. Moreover, he doesn't realise it that he's wet the bed. He doesn't wake up immediately. I take that as a sign that he's not really ready yet. Anyway, on the days that he doesn't wet his diaper, I'll use it again at night. I guess I'll wait till he's really ready.

Milk & Fruits
His milk intake has been reduced to 2 times a day (skipped the afternoon one) since I started to let him nap without diapers.
Have introduced rambutan and lychee to him. He loves them. He's tried durians when he was smaller, didn't reject them. He's not too choosy when it comes to fruits. His current favourites are banana, grape, mango and dragon fruit.

Behaviour
He's become a big cry baby. The start of the Terrifying 3 stage? When he doesn't get what he wants :
(1) he jumps on the spot like a rabbit and/or
(2) cry out loud and/or
(3) keep repeating what he wants.
If he doesn't do ALL 3, then it's any combination of the 2. :D

Others
When he speaks, he likes to end with "... ah", especially his questions. "Mie, can we play games ah?" Aisay, speaking like a cina ah pek.
Makes request to go for movie. To him, movie = popcorn. Obviously, he's only interested in the popcorn. hehehe
Not so obedient anymore. Will sometimes protest when I ask him to brush his teeth or bathe. I guess as they grow older, they have their own preference and won't follow our orders willingly all the time.

Movie Outing

SIL and I brought the kids for a movie last Wednesday. We watched "Monsters vs. Aliens". The kids really enjoyed the popcorn. Can't say the same about the movie though. I think CE doesn't know how to appreciate the movie. When he was done eating his popcorn, he wanted to get out of the cinema. :-| Luckily he didn't insist nor made a big fuss. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience as the kids didn't create any scene. :-)

This is the first time we tried the couple seat. For that particular cinema, the couple seats are at the last 2 rows. Although the seats are in a row (no spaces in between, just the arm rest), the space is slightly bigger as the arm rest between 2 seats is removable. For 6 of us (3 adults and 3 kids), we bought tickets for 2 couple seats (4 seats altogether) and we sat very comfortably.

Before the movie, we 'wasted' some money at Jusco's playland.

~ CE particularly like those with steering wheels ~

~ even the "big" kid wants to play in the moving vehicle ~

No Card Nor Gift

... just a Dark Chocolate Moist Cake.

After the failed attempt to bake the Nestum cake 5 months ago, I tried to bake a chocolate cake on Saturday for hubby's birthday (yesterday). But the cake is more for the kids than for him coz he doesn't really like chocolate cake. hahaha

A few weeks ago, I went to the bakery supplies shop to get some muffin mix and I asked the shop attendant to recommend an "easy" cake. She gave me the chocolate cake mix. Well, it's easy to make, just mix all the ingredients (pre-mix flour, eggs, oil and water) together. But the baking-in-the-oven session was a little tricky as I've got a slightly cracked and burnt top. After getting great tips from my previous attempt (thanks friends!), I lowered the temperature gradually and covered the top with foil paper when the top started to crack. So the cake came out (looking) okay.

~ the ingredients, I used milk instead of water ~

~ the not-so-pretty birthday cake ~

After dinner, we had a very simple cake-cutting ceremony. So simple that there was no candles to blow. :-) The cake tasted alright, not too sweet. But very rich, so can't eat too much at one go. The kids kept asking for more (as usual) - chocolate cake mah. :D

~ not too sweet but very rich ~