Penang Trip Oct '07

Saturday
We reached Penang at about 12 noon. My brother picked us up from the airport. When we reached home, XY ate rice for lunch as she was hungry already. Then I made milk for CE. Next, lunch for ourselves. We left the kids at home to play with their cousin brother, WQ. Really thankful for SIL who’s very kind to take care of the kids while we went out to have a peaceful lunch.

We went to Sister’s Char Koay Teow (CKT). I think we go there every time we’re back in Penang. It was 1+pm on a Saturday but surprisingly, there weren’t many customers. We ordered yam cake and CKT. I was very hungry and finished the yam cake while waiting for the CKT. The CKT tasted just as good as always to me but CB said that it’s not so fragrant and the prawns weren’t very fresh. I don’t know... either I have a terrible taste bud or I was just too hungry. I think it’s both! LOL He also said the lady frying the CKT is not the usual lady. This is the first time we have it in the afternoon. Maybe the morning session and the afternoon session are run by different people. So he didn’t have an ‘ooomphh!’ lunch.

We had dinner at home. SIL cooked up a wonderful meal. There were sweet and sour crab, steamed fish, roasted chicken and vegetables. She also made a blueberry cheese cake. Before dinner, we sang the birthday song. The birthday girl made a wish, blew the candle and cut the cake. Whose birthday did I go home to celebrate? Mine! hahaha I had another great birthday this year. It was really great celebrating it with my family in my hometown.

~ mmmm... I love the crab ~

~ blueberry cheese cake ~

Sunday
We didn’t go anywhere. We usually stay at home when I’m back coz it’s normally a short trip and I’d prefer to spend more time at home. CB went to buy some siu mai (meat dumpling) from Sister’s CKT. It’s another must-have for us as the siu mai is smaller than the ones we find at dim sum shops. So it’s very easy to eat, just pop one whole piece into the mouth and eat. Moreover, it doesn’t have too much meat. Not too jelak if eat a lot.

When he went there, he saw the usual lady frying (different from the day before). So he ordered CKT again as there weren’t many people waiting. And this time, it tasted up to his standard. He’s just proven his theory right - different session, different lady, different quality.

As for dinner, we went to a seafood restaurant in Paya Terubong. Will not elaborate much coz I didn’t take any pictures of the yummy food - too busy taking care of CE. The servings are not big so we ordered quite many dishes. We had 3 types of fish - steamed, grilled and claypot, deep-fried squid and small prawns, stir-fried big prawns, vegetables and fish ball soup. We enjoyed it very much coz the food’s tasty and fresh, with lots of variety.

Monday
In the morning, received an sms from AirAsia that our flight has been cancelled and they’ve put us onto the next flight. Luckily it was just an hour delay. I called the airline to confirm. Actually, we could take the earlier flight if we wanted but it’d be too rush for us. So we decided to go with the later flight (well, we don’t have much of a choice, do we?). Good thing the flight was on schedule. The kids were very tired. They slept in the taxi on the way home from LCCT. It was a short and tiring trip but a truly wonderful one.

I'm Back!

I just came back from my hometown in Penang (reached home this evening). It was a short trip, only spent 2 nights at home. But it was really great to be back home to visit my family. My last trip home was during CNY early this year. We find travelling with two young kids a bit of a hassle. That’s why after having CE, we don’t travel so often. Luckily my family do come visit us when we don’t balik kampung for a long time.

I hope I’ve not missed too much while I was away. Will visit you all soon. I’m dead tired now. Have to get some beauty sleep first. :) As for my Penang story, will tell you about it later ok. Stay tuned!

Crazy Eight Meme

Got this tag from Jo-N. I wanted to complete this before I balik kampung tomorrow. So everyone, I’ll be away for a few days ya. See you again next Tuesday. ;)

EIGHT THINGS I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT
1 Caring for my kids
2 Blogging
3 Sleeping
4 Internet surfing
5 Watching TV
6 Grocery shopping
7 Handmade cards
8 Badminton

EIGHT THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1 Tell my loved ones that I love them
2 Make sure my kids are well taken care of
3 Make sure my mom is well taken care of
4 Experience snowing
5 Snow skiing
6 Bungee jumping
7 Be a mother-in-law
8 Be a grandmother

EIGHT THINGS I SAY OFTEN
1 What are you doing?
2 Eat properly.
3 Stop!
4 Please use your noodles. (referring to brain in PB&J Otter)
5 What to eat ah?
6 If you don’t listen to me, why should I listen to you?
7 Keep quiet.
8 Crying gets you nothing.

EIGHT BOOKS I'VE RECENTLY READ (in my case, recently means the past 2 years)
1 The Last Juror by John Grisham
2 The King of Torts by John Grisham
3 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
4 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
5 Parenting books
6 Children storybooks
7 -
8 -

EIGHT SONGS THAT I COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER
1 Shower Me With Your Love by Atlantic Starr
2 How Do I Live by LeAnn Rimes
3 Endless Love by Lionel Richie & Diana Ross
4 Every Day I Love You by Boyzone
5 Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion
6 I Swear by Boyz II Men
7 I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing by Aerosmith
8 Never Had A Dream Come True by S Club 7

EIGHT THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY BEST FRIENDS
1 Trustworthy
2 Caring
3 Understanding
4 Honest
5 Helpful
6 Accepts me for who I am
7 Supportive
8 Generous

EIGHT THINGS I'VE LEARNED THIS PAST YEAR
1 How to breastfeed and pump at the same time
2 How to start a blog
3 How to use a DSLR camera
4 How to use MS Office Publisher
5 How to bake muffins
6 How to change light bulbs at the ceiling
7 How to renew car road tax
8 How to trade online in the stock market

EIGHT PEOPLE I THINK SHOULD DO CRAZY EIGHT MEME
1 Health Freak Mommy
2 Jesslyn
3 Bryan’s Mama
4 Rachel
5 Healy
6 Chanel
7 Chooi Peng
8 Judy

Spinning & Pushing

I have a chair with wheels in the computer room. When I sit on it, CE will sometimes come and tug at my hand, indicating that he wants to be on the chair. After I put him there, he’ll hold on to the arm rest and I’ll spin him around. If there’s sound effect (I’ve to make the wheee... wheee... sound), he’ll laugh out loud. Otherwise, he’ll just be smiling.

Yesterday night after dinner, XY saw us in the room and requested to join in. So I put both of them on the chair and spun them around. Spinning around on the same spot was obviously not very fun for XY. So she asked me to push the chair out to the living room. It was really tiring pushing them to and fro (both of them adds up to about 30kg), especially after a meal. After a few rounds, I called it quits. This is definitely NOT the game for an unfit slave.

~ chair + kids + spin + push = FUN ~

~ CE loves to pull jie jie's hair ~

What Goes Around Comes Around

I just finished lunch. We had bihun soup with meat and cabbage. I also asked Kakak to add a little bit of dried seaweed which I bought from the organic shop. XY said the seaweed tastes good so I gave her some more from my bowl. And she goes...
XY : Ei!
Me : I thought you said you like it very much?
XY : It’s enough. If I want some more, I’ll ask from you. You don’t be kepoh ok?
:-|

Yes, that’s what I always tell her. Don’t be kepoh, if people don’t ask you to do it, don’t do. So now she’s using it back on me. What to do, just keep quiet loh.

Shopping Tips

I don’t really go shopping unless I have something to buy. Being a full-time slave 24x7, I don’t have the luxury of going window shopping. But that’s totally fine with me coz shopping’s not my favourite pastime anyway. But I like to shop for groceries. Thanks, Anggie, for the opportunity to share my shopping tip.

~ Start copy ~

It’s very simple. When you receive this tag, copy the whole list and add your own shopping tip to the bottom and pass it on.

1. Wear comfy clothing when you’re shopping. You don’t wanna fuss with too many laces and buttons when you’re trying clothes on. http://rinnah-marketplace.blogspot.com

2. When buying pants or jeans, try to try them on with a pair of heels so you know its the right length. If you don’t and wear it with heels later, you might find that it hangs at an awkward length. http://www.all-aboutshopping.com

3. Don’t just buy a designer brand because everyone has it or just to show it off. The best way of dressing is how to make a 50 bucks outfit looks like it worths more than 500 bucks. My Fashion World

4. Don’t wait until sales if you really like that particular piece of dress or shoes, as your size could be sold out sooner than you realized. Just buy if you really like it, cause there is nothing much we can do once it’s gone, especially when you shopping abroad. Everyday health and beauty

5. Don't care what brands they are, as long as they look good on me i will buy it, even is cheap stuff. http://annie-Q.blogspot.com

6. I’ll just buy the thing when I need, usually is late minute shopping. http://sylviahoo.blogspot.com

7. Don't always must go for the latest fashion in the market , if it's doesn't suit you and doesn't look nice on you, don't follow. http://www.eiggna.blogspot.com/

8. Always check the expiry date of the food stuff that you buy. If it’s going to expire soon (for those with normal shelf life of a few years), it's probably not very fresh. http://mdmsaw.blogspot.com/

~ End copy ~

Not passing this to anyone as most have done it already. But if you have a tip to share, feel free to do so ok.

To Upgrade Or Not?

Our ancient VCR (which doesn’t even have a timer) has decided to retire a few months ago. So I’ve not been able to record any shows, especially those Cantonese drama serials on WLT. Thus I’ve not been following any shows lately because the prime time (8:30 - 10:30pm) coincides with the kids’ bedtime.

The last show that I watched was ‘The Drive of Life’ on AOD. I think Astro has come up with a brilliant idea to squeeze more money out of our pockets. I have to agree, it has some strong selling points. You get to watch it the same time as the Hongkies, so you’re fully updated with the latest serials that are currently showing there. It’s advertisement-free and the current day’s episode is repeated every 45 minutes. So it’s true to a certain extent when they said you can watch it anytime you want. But I don’t really like the idea of paying extra for something which will eventually be shown later... unless you’re the type that get a kick out of shouting “Tai jor la!” to the poor DVD seller. :D

Now we’re considering to upgrade the current decoder to Astro MAX (A.MAX). And that’s going to burn a big hole in our pocket. I’m weighing the pros and cons of getting a new VCR or the A.MAX. One obvious advantage with the A.MAX is the ease of programming and recording. You don’t have to set the timer or change your tape (maximum 3 hours only) while recording. Another big advantage is that you can watch one channel on Astro while recording another.

Looks like getting A.MAX is an obvious choice, although we’ll be RM849 poorer. hahaha If you have heard or experienced any problems with the A.MAX, do share with me ya. To upgrade or not to upgrade... that is the question.

Picture In My Handphone

I am a very consistent person. Yes, consistently boring. LOL My desktop doesn’t have a fancy or special view and the same goes for my phone. I’m using the wallpaper from one of the existing themes in the phone. So Judy, this is what I have on my mobile.


Mind showing us your phone? Pretty please?
Jazzmint
Health Freak Mommy
Zara's Mama
Mummy to QiQi

17 Months Old

Statistics
Weight - 10+ kg
Height - about the same, I think (very difficult to measure coz he wouldn't stay still)

Diet
His milk intake has increased from 8oz to 10oz for morning and bedtime. Afternoon - still 8oz. Per day, he’s taking 3 times of milk, 2 pieces of bread (used to be 1) in the morning, 2 bowls of porridge (for lunch and dinner) and a serving of fruits for tea-time.
Quite picky about food. He prefers white bread over wholemeal bread. And he doesn’t like mantou (steamed bun) at all. Funny boy.
Favourite foods - Honeystar, raisins and cornflakes. He keeps walking to the cabinet where we keep these stuff and try to reach for the tupperware at the counter top. If we don’t give him, he’ll cry. So we either give in or distract him with something else. Have to pull him away coz he’ll start to climb the drawer handles. He’s really into snacks now.
Prefers to feed himself. When eating fruits, I’ll poke the fruit with a fork and give it to him. He’ll hold the fork and eat himself. Of coz, this must be done with close supervision.

Sleep
Total sleep time - still the same... 11-12 hours. 2 naps a day. Some days just once.

Teeth
16 teeth in total.

Verbal
He’s not really babbling but making more ‘noises’. He’s starting to make sounds of different tones... which sound like singing sometimes.
He likes to point at objects that he’s familiar with, making the ‘nggghh!’ sound and expect you to acknowledge him. He’ll point at the tv, a book or his toy with printed pictures. So if he’s pointing at a balloon, you have to say "balloon", then he’ll move on to the next object. If you ignore him, he’ll shout even louder to get your attention. I’ve tried saying the wrong word on purpose, sometimes he’ll accept it. Other times, he’ll ‘nggghh!’ even louder.
Makes the thumb-up (good) sign. When asked if his food is good, he’ll do the thumb-up sign. Sometimes, he’ll do it without us asking after eating something, even though it's just a few grains of rice.

Mobility
He walks all over the place now. Even in shopping complexes, he prefers to get down and walk. And he doesn’t like us to hold his hand. So he’ll be going one direction (more like all directions) while we’re going the other. Big headache.
His walking is not 100% steady yet. Will still fall down every now and then.

Others
Likes to play catching, hide-and-seek and peek-a-boo. Gets very excited when we hide behind the wall, door or sofa. Then he’ll come and look for us. Sometimes he’ll initiate the game by hiding behind the cabinet.
He tried to jump when he’s on the trampoline. But he couldn’t lift up his legs. So you see the little guy bending his knees, going up and down, like dancing. hahaha
Waves bye-bye to the tv when the cartoon program is over.
Likes to poke his finger into his nose. Sometimes he’ll hide in the room or behind the sofa to do that. :-|
He’s likes to put his finger into his mouth lately. Back to being a baby?

Malfunction

My rubbish detector has gone haywire. He not only throws away rubbish, he also throws away things that I still want. The other day, I was looking high and low for my cellophane tape. I wanted to repair the Clifford book that he’s torn. Most of the pages have come out and some pages were torn into half. Then I asked Kakak if she’s seen the tape. She said she saw it in the rubbish bin. She wanted to ask me but forgot. So she emptied the bin. She thought I didn’t want it anymore as the edges were quite dirty (had it for many years already).

After that incident, I told Kakak to inform me if she sees anything that’s not supposed to be in the rubbish bin. I don't know what he's going to throw away next. Hmm... I wonder if I can get a refund for this faulty product. :D

38 Questions Tag

Look at the long list of questions Health Freak Mommy passed to me. But no problem wan, it's pretty easy. Kacang only. ;)

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? CB

2. What were you doing at 0800? Sleeping, but normally, CE would've woken me up already

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Eating late lunch

4. What happened to you in 2006? Gave birth to CE

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? XY, where are you going?

6. How many beverages did you have today? One (Milo)

7. What color is your hairbrush? Red

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Bread

9. Where were you last night? At home

10. What color is your front door? White

11. Where do you keep your change? In the wallet

12. What’s the weather like today? Cloudy

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Rum & Raisin

14. What excites you? Going on a roller coaster ride

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, before CNY

16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes

17. Do you talk a lot? No, but I nag a lot

18. Do you watch the O.C.? No

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes

20. Do you make up your own words? Don’t think so

21. Are you a jealous person? Yes kua

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Angie

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kenn

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? CB

25. What does the last text message you received say? "We'll bring CH with us. Will leave T with u overnight. C u later."

26. Do you chew on your straw? No

27. Do you have curly hair? No

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Washroom - bladder full already

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? XY hahaha

30. What was the last thing you ate? Roti telur

31. Will you get married in the future? No, coz I want to ‘go’ before hubby

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Didn’t watch any

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Many

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Does rinsing with water count?

35. Are you currently depressed? Yes, but it's pretty mild :)

36. Did you cry today? No, coz didn’t watch any soap opera

37. Why did you answer and post this? It’s like homework... if don’t do, feel quite guilty

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. I belanja you kacang, ok?
Bryan’s Mama
Rachel
Tracy
Anggie
Babybooned

My Desktop View

Rachel wanted to know what my desktop view is. She’s in for a big disappointment as there’s nothing to see. hahaha Ya... I’m a boring person. My background is just a standard Windows XP jpeg. And it’s full of icons and files coz we (hubby and I) will just dump them there when we don’t have an appropriate folder to put them in. Yes, you can tell how organised we are. :p

**************** START COPY ****************

My Desktop Free View Instruction:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by:

1. Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Screen key (located on the right side of the F12 key).
2. Open a graphics program (e.g. Picture Manager, Paint, Photoshop) and do a Paste (Ctrl +V).
3. If you wish, you can 'edit' the image before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons - things like that.

C. Tag 5 of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

iRonnie - I Set No Corner Thess - Thesserie Rebecca - Skippy Heart Knoizki - A Dialogue With K, Beng - Kauderwelch, Vanidosa Marie, , Vanidosa at blogspot , MyGoodFinds with KK, Dom Lawrence, Rebecca, BluePanjeet, ROSE , KNOIZKI, SARDONICNELL, Girlie the hipncoolmomma, Happy Family with Jacelyn, LovelyMummy with her family, Healthfreakmommy - picture of her 2 girls, Anggie - a happy laughing boy, chanelwong -OurFamily, Tracy - Destinee's Big Face, Rachel - My Darlings, Slavemom - Windows XP.

What do you have on your desktop? Bet you’re not as boring as I am. hehehe

Wen
Sharine
Jo-N
Desperate Mummy
Tutiger

SMS Blunder

Have you ever sent an sms to the wrong recipient? Well, it just happened to me today. I wanted to send a belated birthday wish to my SIL. After sending the message, I got an sms from CB which read “Y send to me? Bodoh.” Aiyo... I’m such a ‘big head prawn’. I had to ask him to forward the message back to me coz I’ve deleted it from my phone. Then I resent it to SIL. Sigh... just to get one message across, 5 sms-es were required. How effective. :-|

How about on the receiving end? Have you ever received an sms which was not meant for you? I recently got an sms from an unknown sender with the message in Chinese, “I am going to Dragon-i to eat.” In my mind I thought, oh how nice for you, but I don’t know who you are! I wondered how that person could’ve made the mistake as I don’t recognise the number. So it’s not likely that I’m in the phone contact list. And rarely these days we’d key in the phone number when we make calls or send sms-es. Till today, it remains a mystery.

Bump On The Head

~ can you see his 'bungalow'? ~

CE is quite a clumsy boy. He always knocks his head here and there. He fell down so many times that I’ve lost count already. Sometimes he'll bruise his lips, with heavy bleeding. Last week, he was standing, holding and tugging my shirt, and suddenly, he fell down and bruised his upper lip. There was some bleeding but luckily he didn’t chip his teeth.

Today, he’s got a new bump on the head. I was carrying him near the door (which was open) and he tried to reach out for something, which caught me off-guard. His head knocked the padlock handle which juts out of the grille door frame. I think it must have hurt a lot coz he cried for quite some time. And it got swollen almost immediately. So now he’s got a 'bungalow' on the right side of his forehead. *ouch!*

Frequently Used Phrases

After my promotion to motherhood, I noticed that I tend to nag a lot. Well, can’t really help it when you’ve to repeat the same thing over and over and over again. Sometimes I even speak to CB using the same tone as I speak to the kids. But we do get a good laugh after that, if we’re both in a good mood. Do these sound familiar to you?

When XY’s having her meal :
* Please stop playing with the food/spoon.
* Please eat properly.
* XY, don’t touch your hair.
* Don’t get down from the chair till you’ve finished your meal.
* XY, eat everything together - the rice, vege and meat.
* Don’t choose and eat the meat only, it’s salty.

When XY’s watching tv :
* Sit up straight, please.
* You come down from the sofa, I’ll switch off the tv.

During bedtime :
* XY, keep quiet, close your eyes and sleep.

After her bath :
* Stop moving, let me wipe you dry first.
* Quickly wear your shirt, afterwards catch cold.

I think I should use a tape recorder to record and playback to save my breath, especially during meal time. I practically say the same thing every single meal. I’m sure I’m not alone. A lot of parents face this too, right? Right? Am I right? :)

Self Entertainment

~ Beware! Here comes a little alien! ~

A lot of things in the house can be a toy to a little toddler - the remote controls, baskets, containers, shoe boxes and even the dish covers. CE is no exception. He likes to tip toe at the edge of the dining table and try to reach for the dish cover. We normally won’t let him play with it, unless we’re out of ideas to keep him occupied or just want him to stop disturbing us for awhile. :D

When he gets hold of it, he’ll put it on the floor and try to spin it or press on it. Or put some of his toys in it. Or just walk around holding it or putting it on his head. Looks like he's having fun, eh? Good that he’s able to entertain himself sometimes (and us too!).

Weekend @ Shopping Complexes

We spent the weekend shopping (mainly window shopping), eating (nice, yummy food) and playing (for the kids). It was a tiring weekend for everyone but the kids sure had lots of fun.

Saturday
We went to Midvalley Megamall (MV) at about 3pm - with 2 kids and 2 maids (we’re ‘babysitting’ BIL’s maid for the weekend). Traffic was quite smooth but still had to queue awhile to get into the car park. Good thing we wanted to get a car wash so we didn’t have to look for a parking space. I thought this festive holiday KL would be rather empty but no, MV was just as packed with people as usual.

Went to check out The Gardens which is next to MV. It’s a new block of shopping complex, with mainly medium to high-end shops. It was raining heavily when we were done exploring. The walkway back to MV wasn’t covered all the way. Luckily a few staff were there to help out and they provided some umbrellas. It was really terrible as the walkway was crowded with people from both directions, trying to squeeze in as much as possible to avoid the heavy rain. That’s not all. The end of the walkway (MV’s side) was flooded. Some just walked through the water while some tried to balance across the bricks that were lined at the side (like me loh). Terrible, just terrible.

We walked around for awhile then went to Jusco. When we were at Jusco’s play area, PaPa bought some tokens for XY to play. The place is not very well maintained. A lot of the machines were out of order and some have instructions only in Japanese. How do you play if you don’t even understand how it works?

~ XY's the driver while CE's trying to get out ~

Next, dinner at Amarin Heavenly Thai. We had crispy catfish salad (very appetising), fried chicken with cashew nuts, broccoli with garlic and mushroom, green curry beef (spicy! but very nice), steamed siakap fish, fried rice served in pineapple, and water chestnuts in coconut milk for dessert. Simply delicious and satisfying.

After dinner, we headed home. Both the kids fell asleep in the car soon after we started the journey. They woke up when we reached home (close to 10pm).

Sunday
Left the house at 1+pm to 1-Utama (1U). Lunch at Dragon-i. It’s our first time there. We ordered Taiwan fried chicken la mian (noodle soup), fried rice with shrimps and preserved vegetable, fried seafood la mian, Shanghai braised pork belly, Shanghai xiao long bao, Tianjin meat bun (bao), and steamed rice with chicken, mushroom and chinese sausage. What a yummy lunch!

Our next destination, Kizsports & Gym. That was the main reason we went to 1U. It was the kids’ first visit. They had lots of fun. XY was running around, climbing high up like a monkey, sliding down. She was obviously not afraid of heights. She climbed till very high and came down through the spiral slide. She had a few rounds of that. Then she had a minor accident. She went too near a swing (a father was swinging his child) and got hit at the mouth. It happened so fast. I was standing nearby telling Kakak to take good care of CE while he’s on the swing and the next thing I know, XY was thrown back and sat on the floor. She cried but I think it was more out of shock than pain. She had a cut at her bottom lip and it was bleeding quite a bit. One of the staff gave me some dry ice to stop the bleeding. After awhile, she was back to normal, climbing here and there again. Luckily it was nothing serious. As for CE, he was happy enough sitting in the ball pit, playing with the balls, throwing them out.

~ in front of Kizsport ~

Dinner was at TGIF. Didn’t order too much coz we had a late and heavy lunch. We had the 3 course meal (shrimp martini, pineapple mojito whitefish, cookie and cream), grilled lamb chop, pasta, and hotdog and fish nuggets (from the kids menu). So nice, kids get to eat for free.

On the way home, the kids fell asleep in the car again but this time, CE didn’t wake up when we got home. He stirred a bit when I changed his diaper and clothes. XY also fell asleep quite fast after washing up. After shower, I went to bed too. What a tiring day.

P/S: Sorry ah, no photos of the food coz I was too hungry to remember to snap them with CB’s handphone. hehehe

My Very Own Handy Manny

We decided to put mosquito nets on our windows for 2 reasons - to stop mozzies from coming in when we keep the windows opened (obviously) and to enable better air circulation.

Since we don’t intend to fit on all windows, CB decided to try the DIY magnetic net. He bought one 4 x 2 ft protector sheet from Carrefour. So last Saturday, he played Handy Manny. First, cut the magnetic strip to the correct length and cut the net to the appropriate size. Then glue the net to the magnetic strip to make the borders. As we have a stainless steel window grille, we need to line the grille with magnetic strip so that the screen can stick to the window. You can skip this step if you have an iron grille.

To make the netting screen is really time consuming. CB took more than an hour. So we need to prioritise and see which rooms to install first. For our bedroom, I guess one window is sufficient. Next would be the maid’s room. The other bedrooms which are only occupied when we have guests will have to wait.

Now I’m not so worried about mozzies when I leave the window opened in the bedroom. I hope with good air circulation, the kids won’t fall sick so often.

~ the completed magnetic screen ~

~ window with mosquito netting ~

My Autograph

Tracy passed this 'autograph book' to me. Here goes...

# 1 - What is your favourite movie?
Mrs Doubtfire

# 2 - Who is your favourite singer?
Jacky Cheung

# 3 - Which song gets you grooving in the morning?
Any fast track will do

# 4 - What is your favourite fruit?
Persimmon

# 5 - Who is your best friend (excluding your family)?
I’ve got a few but my bestest friend would be SL. We’ve known each other since primary days. And we’ve been very close till now although we don’t meet or chat often.

# 6 - Name one activity you would like to indulge in, in your free time.
Reading novels

# 7 - When was the last time you laughed so hard till your sides hurt?
It happened a few months back. We were in the bedroom. XY was playing a fool on the mattress on the floor. I can’t remember exactly what she was doing. I think she was holding her legs, rocking to and fro, doing some acrobatic stunts. Then suddenly I heard a loud thump. She has fallen onto the wooden floor, face up. And I burst out laughing. I know, I know, I’m a terrible mom. But I just couldn’t stand that little clown of mine. She was crying out of shock and PaPa pacified her while Mummy laughed away non-stop.

# 8 - Do you recall your last dream?
I dreamt that I caught my maid using the handphone. But it was not ours. Anyway, I woke up before I managed to ‘interrogate’ her. hehehe No lah, I’m not having any phobia of her making phone calls. Maybe it’s in my mind coz we’re planning to let her call home during Raya.

# 9 - What is your all-time favourite hobby?
Watch tv

# 10 - When was your last holiday without the children?
None :(

And I’m passing this on to:
Anggie
Healy
Chanel

Water Play

XY has sand play and water play on alternate weeks every Thursday. Her kindy has a small open-air pool. She’s missed a few sessions of water play because she was not feeling very well or just recovered from flu/cough.

So she was looking forward to playing water in school today. But it was cancelled due to rain. Luckily she wasn’t too disappointed. Probably coz PaPa brings her to a swimming pool for some water fun at least once a month. Her latest water play was at BIL’s condo less than 3 weeks ago. We were ‘hiding’ there after we had the pest control service at our house.

Ei... where’s didi? He didn’t get to play in the water that day coz Mummy and PaPa were too lazy to change into our swimwear. hehehe Next time ya, baby.

~ this sexy swimwear is a gift from kookoo, CB’s younger sister ~

Trying Hard To Be An Angel

PaPa bought a big lollipop for XY last Saturday. She’s been bugging us to let her eat it since Sunday. I kept telling her she can only eat after dinner if she’s been a good girl the whole day. My definition of a good girl:
* Listen to what we say - follow instructions.
* When we ask her to stop, she has to stop immediately whatever mischievous or naughty things she was doing.
* Eat her meals properly - no playing with the food, no walking around before the meal’s finished.
* In short, be an obedient girl.

Sunday night - not successful.

Monday night - not successful, but PaPa gave her some chocolates instead. He’s very soft-hearted. Always pity his precious girl coz mummy doesn’t allow her to eat sweets/junk food (as frequently or as much as she likes).

Tuesday night - successful! Actually, we gave her some ‘discounts’. hehehe How to expect an active monkey to suddenly transform into an obedient little girl? Can you see how she’s enjoying her lollipop? Didi’s also very interested in the big colourful thing and wanted to get a taste of it.

The lollipop’s really lasting. After licking for more than half an hour, it’s still as big. So I asked her to keep it for the next day. She just had 1 round of licking after lunch. At the rate she’s going, I think it can last for 1 week!

Drama Queen

XY’s kindy organised a colouring contest today. They are allowed to bring their own colour pencils or use their set (crayons) in school. She preferred her colour pencils. So I was sharpening them at 1+ in the middle of the night yesterday coz I totally forgot about it, till I was about to go to bed.

The colour pencils have no box coz she spoilt it long time ago (or was it didi?). So I put them in her pencil case. I was a bit worried she’ll lose them if she didn’t keep them properly after use. She’s quite a ‘big head prawn’. She has lost her pencil, misplaced her cap and forgotten to take home her water tumbler before.

Just now when I fetched her from school, she was crying at the school compound. When the teacher brought her to the car, she told me that XY’s upset coz she lost her colour pencils. (See, I already foresee that’ll happen.) She said they’ll look for them and return to her tomorrow.
Me : It’s ok, XY. Teacher will look for them. You’ll get them back tomorrow.
XY : huuhuuhuuuu *still sobbing softly*
Me : I won’t scold you for losing them. It’s ok.

After awhile...
Me : Why did you cry? Were you afraid that I was going to scold you?
XY : No.
Me : So why were you crying?
XY : *kept quiet*

After we got home, she took out her water tumbler from her bag. And guess what she found. Her pencil case. (Ok, ok, this time I was wrong. She didn’t lose any of them. All 12 came back safely. :D) Aiyo... this girl of mine ah. I really don’t know what to say. Drama queen in the making?

First Letter of Your Name to Answer Each Question

This is not a simple tag, I tell you. Really got to use a whole load of brain cells and do some research too. Thanks, Wen for the ‘stimulation’. :)

1. Famous Singer : George Michael
2. Four letter word : Good
3. Street : Gurney Drive
4. Color : Green
5. Gifts/Presents : Glassware
6. Vehicle : Getz
7. Things in Souvenir Shop : Glass slippers
8. Boy Name : Gary
9. Girl Name : Gloria
10. Movie Title : Gremlins
11. Drink : Grape juice
12. Occupation : Graphic Designer
13. Celebrity : George Clooney
14. Magazine : Glamour
15. U.S. City : Gettysburg
16. Pro Sports : Golf
17. Fruit : Guava
18. Reason For Being Late To Work : Got stuck in traffic jam
19. Something You Threw Away : Garbage
20. Something You Shout : Great!
21. Cartoon Character : Goofy

Now let’s see the interesting answers from the first alphabet of your name:
Jo-N
Sasha
Michelle

Rubbish Detector

I have a little device at home that detects small tiny rubbish, picks it up, then throws it into the dustbin. ‘It’ is very good at finding hair, small insects (dead or alive) and small torn pieces of paper. My little device is called CE. hehehe

He has very good eyesight. Can spot very tiny things on the floor. I’m very worried he’ll put them in his mouth when no one’s looking. Nowadays, he likes to throw things (not just rubbish) into the dustbin. After throwing, he’ll clap his hands, very happy with himself.

Boy, Mummy hope that you’ll continue to have this good habit of throwing rubbish into the dustbin. Do not be a litterbug ya.

5 Posts Link To Keywords

Got this tag from Jo-N. I had quite a tough time choosing the relevant links from my limited posts. I didn't have any published post for one of the keywords. Good thing I already have one in mind so I had to write that first before I can complete this tag. :D Sorry for taking so long ya.

*** INSTRUCTIONS: ***

1. Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given below.

2. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.

3. Don’t forget to read the archived post and leave comments.

************************

Link ONE must be about FAMILY: Mid-Autumn Festival 2007

Link TWO must be about FRIEND: Lost and Found

Link THREE must be about YOURSELF: Workout Regime

Link FOUR must be about YOUR LOVE: Where’s My Boy?

Link FIVE can be ANYTHING YOU LIKE: Craftwork From Kindy

Would you kindly share your related posts:

Jesslyn
Healy
Bryan’s Mama
BabyBooned
Wen

Lost and Found

P and I were childhood buddies. We were primary schoolmates. We spent lots of time playing together as we stayed very near to each other. After going to different secondary schools, we hardly kept in touch. I remember I invited her to my 18th birthday party. Then we totally lost contact. Her whole family has also moved. So I couldn’t drop by her house to ask for her contact number. I have never thought of doing a people search then.

One fine day, I received a forwarded e-mail from my Uni-mate (WL). I just busybody browse the CC and BCC list. And one e-mail address caught my eye. You see, P has a very unique surname. So I checked with WL if that’s the girl I know. Yes, they’re colleagues. I’ve found my long lost childhood friend. Unbelievable!

What’s the moral of the story? Being busybody is not always bad. hahahaha So the next time you get an e-mail with a long list of addresses, do look through them. You may get a pleasant surprise.

Unexpected Power Cut

Just now while brushing XY’s teeth, suddenly everything went dark. We were in total darkness. Couldn’t see anything coz the whole neighbourhood’s power supply was cut off. Kakak was downstairs so I asked her to bring the torchlight up. Got some nagging from hubby coz there’re 3 torchlights in the house but only 1 that’s working. The rest of the batteries were dead. So for unexpected power cut like this, it took a longer time to be able to see and move about. Have to wait for Kakak to bring up the torchlight and candles.

I was thinking in my mind, how long will this power cut last. Do we need to ‘hide’ in the car to enjoy some air-cond or go to a mamak shop (most convenient place - got food mah) to get out of this stuffy house? After lighting up the room and the washroom (for XY to continue washing up), we were about to light more candles when the power came back on again. Yoohoo! No more worries. Thankfully this time it only lasted less than 10 minutes.

I just want to share with you some good practices in preparation of or in the event of a power cut.
* It’s good to keep candles and matches in a place that is easily accessible.
* Keep some torchlights (with working batteries hehehe) at places that you spend a lot of time in, like the living room and bedroom.
* Call TNB to report the matter and maybe you can find out what’s wrong and how long the disruption will last. You can get the number (for enquiry/complaint) from your electricity bill.
* If possible, get some battery-operated fan so that you won't tire your hand fanning yourself or the kids.
* And not to forget, when in total darkness, move very very slowly, with hands extended out, to avoid knocking into furniture or people.

Astro's New Channel Numbers

XY will switch on the television and Astro herself after getting permission from us. Her favourite channels are Playhouse Disney and Nickelodeon. I only let her watch those educational ones. Sometimes she’ll surf the tv, checking out what’s showing on the other cartoon channels. She’s very familiar with channels 60, 61 and 63. She also likes to change channels for us. When we tell her it’s our turn to watch, she’ll quickly ask us what number to press.

Now with the new 3-digit channel numbers, she’s not able to change the channels herself. I don’t intend to tell her the new numbers, so she can only watch what I’ve switched on for her. But I think it’s just a matter of time before she realise the new number. Can’t fool kids easily these days, right?

One good thing about the new numbers is that when CE plays with the Astro remote (yeah... every kid's favourite toy), he won’t change our channels so easily. He used to play with it and when he simply pressed a number, we’ll be watching some foreign show.

However, the new 3-digit numbers are a little troublesome as we’ve to press 3 numbers in a sequence and it must be done fast. If the remote is not pointed directly at the decoder or if we’re a little slow (at times fingers a bit ‘cacat’ mah), sometimes it takes up to 5 tries just to get it right. And there’s a whole lot of numbers to remember now. Guess we just need to get used to it. In time, we'll be experts at surfing the Astro channels again. ;)

Playful Monkey

XY can really drive me up the wall sometimes. She’s so so so playful. Although she was born in the Year of the Goat, she’s more like an active noisy monkey. She must have been born a year too early! hahahaha

She plays while brushing her teeth. When she gargles, she’ll spit the water at the toilet wall like a fountain or let it flow out her mouth and wet her front.

She plays while bathing. She tries to make bubbles when we shampoo her hair or body. She will wriggle around when we dry her up with a towel after her bath. Then she’ll run around naked or jump on the bed before wearing her clothes.

She plays on her way to the toilet. She’ll purposely walk a big round or jump on the ABC mat or touch a toy/something on her way there.

She plays while sitting on the toilet bowl. She’ll roll the toilet paper up and down or play with the water spray.

She plays while eating. She likes to play with her food. Takes forever to finish her meal, unless it’s her favourites like sandwich, non-home-cooked noodles or fast food.

She likes to play with my stationeries. Likes to use my pen, highlighter (of coz not allowed), stapler (has been taught in school) and glue stick.

So yeah, she can play with anything and everything, anywhere, anytime.