The Pink Sisterhood

I got this tag from Doreen and Wen to increase our awareness of breast cancer.
Some facts to share with you:

* One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
* Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
* Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
* Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
* Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74.
* Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.
* Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.

Facts taken from Women’s Health

And now here is the tag and the rules:
1. Put the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add your link to the list of participants below.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

PINK Sisterhood
1- Fara 2- Massy 3- N.O.Y 4- Mariuca 5- A Great Pleasure 6- LadyJava 7- Kim 8- Pink Thoughts 9- Turn-u-Off 10- Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 11- STAY AT HOME MOM 12- Fida Abbott 13- Also Mommy 14- Janice Ng 15- Juliana’s Site 16- The Painted Veil 17 - Thots N Tales 18- Anything Lah! 19- Slavery Bliss 20- YOU Next!

This meaningful tag goes to :
Fussy mum, Annie, MC, Judy, Rachel, MeRy and Dora

Penang Trip Oct '08 (Part I)

Penang has been very good to us. Before our trip home, it was raining every day. But while we're there, it didn't rain at all. So we're able to bring the kids to some places as planned. Although the weather is very hot in the day time, it's very cooling at night. The weather's like that on an island. Well, better hot and dry than raining non-stop as it's inconvenient to go out with kids.

Saturday
Went to Botanical Gardens in the evening (without PaPa, since we have enough hands to look after the kids). The last time I went there was 7 years ago and the kids have never been there. So it was one of the places that I've planned to bring them this trip.

When we reached there, the amount of monkeys were lesser compared to other days (according to my brother). Then I saw something very disturbing. Although there was a sign that says not to feed the monkeys and not to bring food into the garden, some people still ate ice-cream or junk food. So when the monkeys saw the food, they went near these people, eyeing on the food. As they were afraid the monkeys will snatch from their hands, they just threw the food on the floor. And the monkeys quickly grabbed and ate them. I think this is really bad for them. Some people purposely provoke the monkeys by teasing them with food or scaring them.

~ monkeys eating human food near the rubbish bin ~

The kids (especially CE) were very excited to see the monkeys. Finally met their own same species, I guess. hahaha We had to carry didi coz he kept wanting to go so near to the monkeys. And these are wild monkeys. They can get very fierce.

~ didn't manage to take a picture with real monkeys in the background ~

We didn't walk the whole round, but went to an even grass area so the kids can play badminton. While XY was playing with WQ (my nephew), CE wanted the racquet too. But since there's only 2, SIL and I distracted him by bringing him to the waterfall. Boy, that was a big mistake. He wanted to go in so SIL stood at the shallow area and carried him in. But he refused to stand on the sandy area or in the shallow water. And he didn't want to come out either. Really don't know what he wanted. I took out my camera but didn't manage to snap any pictures coz he was making such a big fuss.

Then XY and WQ also joined in. XY got her pants all wet. We only allowed the kids to play in the water for a very short while, as we didn't bring anything for them to change. CE refused to get out and I had to forcefully carry him away. He was screaming and crying, kept looking at the waterfall, saying "There... water".

We didn't stay long as we've to go home and prepare to go out for dinner. Remember I said we had a very expensive but not-worth-it-at-all dinner? The place we went to was Bali Hai at Gurney Drive. We didn't really know what to order. Went to look at the live seafood, the guy recommended the spider crab which he said tastes very good if fried with celery. After weighing the crab, it cost RM700+. Woah! I don't think it's worth eating a crab that's so expensive. Moreover, we won't be able to differentiate the taste of an expensive species from the normal ones. So we ordered lobster, meat crab, steamed fish, sea cucumber, vegetables and noodles.


For 7 adults and 3 children, the bill came up to RM1.2K. Hubby said the food is not nice (for that price). I have no comments as I don't have a very sharp tastebud but I have to say 1 of the dishes was really bad. The lobster salad! This dish contributed half the bill but we wouldn't mind spending the money if it was good. Unfortunately, the meat was very rough, probably coz it was very huge. We find the merchant not being very honest as they simply prepared a huge serving (of lobster) for us. Probably because we didn't order any exotic (and very expensive) seafood so that's the only dish they can 'cut our throat'. Anyway, these are my personal opinion. Maybe we didn't order the right food. But we're definitely not going back to that restaurant again. :p

When we're almost done with dinner, I spotted a cute little boy. He was facing us while his mom was carrying him. Instantly I recognised him... baby Ryan! I walked over to say "Hi" to them. I'm sure Doreen was a bit shocked to see a stranger calling her name. What a small world, eh? It was a pleasure meeting you, Doreen. Hope I didn't give you a scare. Or do you get this kind of 'encounters' very often? :D

Coming up next, our Sunday outing. Stay tuned ya!

One Year Older

This year, my birthday fell on a public holiday, Deepavali. I took the opportunity to visit my family in Penang and to celebrate the day with them. SIL made me a cheese cake with kiwi topping. She said it's very easy to make. Just mix the flour (the pre-mix type) and whipping cream, put the topping, then freeze. She didn't make the crumbs. It tasted just as good, but we felt that the kiwi topping was a little too sweet to our liking.

~ cheese cake with kiwi topping ~

XY brought the cake to me (with SIL's help) while singing the birthday song. I have to keep CE's hands away from the cake as he kept wanting to touch it. The kids were very excited and kept looking at the cake. They wanted to blow the candle but I asked them to wait. My brother was still taking our photos. Hubby was missing in action due to nature's call. :D

~ enjoying the cake while watching tv ~

We left Penang that evening. Reached home almost 9pm. Then went out for dinner. Hubby wanted to buy me a cake since he missed it earlier. But I said just buy sliced cakes will do. Bought Secret Recipe's White Chocolate Macadamia and Carrot Slice but only used the Macadamia cake for another round of birthday song, wish-making, candle-blowing and cake-cutting session. This time he set up the tripod so we managed to take some family photos.

Greetings!

It's now almost 6 am. I've been awake for an hour already. Although I slept at 12+ yesterday, don't know why I'm not able to go back to sleep. I took a flight yesterday and I think I'm having jet lag. But that's crazy coz the flight only took ONE hour and I'm still in the same time zone. hahaha

So where am I now? Back in my hometown in Penang! Have gone to see some monkeys and had a very expensive but not-worth-it-at-all dinner. Will write about our trip later. Till then, I'll leave some monkeys to entertain you while I go catch some sleep before the kids wake up.

~ Monkey 1 : Busy playing with her electronic game ~

~ Monkey 2 : Busy pushing the trolley around ~

~ Monkeys in Botanical Garden ~

29 Months Old

~ a "present" on his 29th month ~

Yesterday night (actually today, since it's already past midnight), CE fell down and hit the bed divan in the dark. I switched the lights off before he climbed onto the bed. Although there was some lights from the street, the eyes take a little time to adjust. He must have tripped over the mattress on the floor and knocked the edge of the divan. He gave out a loud cry immediately and I knew it must have been very painful. Can you see that line across his forehead? *Ouch!* So that marks his 29th Month.

Diet
He's very interested in adult food. If we're having a meal at the same time (he sits in front of the tv while we eat at the dining table), he'll want some of what we're eating. The trick is to put some in his plate (of not too tasty food) and shoo him back to his table. Works most of the time. If he's finished what we gave him but hasn't finished his rice, we've to give him more to shoo him away again.

He likes noodles very much. On Sunday, we had dinner at Dragon-i, Sunway Pyramid. I didn't prepare any food from home so he had la mian (noodles). Initially I thought the kids can share a bowl of plain la mian. But it wasn't enough so we ordered another bowl. That means they both had a bowl each. What big eaters I have. o.O

Alphabets & Numbers
He knows almost all the alphabets (capital letters) except J and Q. As for small letters, haven't really taught him yet so he can only recognise a few.

He's no longer confused between 6 and 9. He can count very well from 1 to 12. Currently learning to count to 20. When we walk up or down the stairs (which has exactly 20 steps), I'll count out loud. I'm also starting to introduce numbers in Mandarin but he doesn't seem interested to follow.

~ arranging the alphabets like a 'choo choo' train ~

Speech Development
He no longer calls me "Bamee". That only lasted for less than a week. :-) His words are getting clearer. He speaks mainly English and some slanged Mandarin. PaPa's been complaining that I've raised his son to be an "ang moh kia" (Englishman). hehehe Well, I've been speaking to him in both languages (English more as my Mandarin vocabulary isn't very good), but I guess English becomes dominant because he watches too much Playhouse Disney Channel.

Brushing Teeth
I was having problems brushing his teeth. Some days he just refuse to open his mouth. So I bought him 2 new toothbrushes (with Mickey ears pattern) 2 weeks ago. I only wanted to buy one so I gave him yellow and red to choose. But he held them tightly. So I bought both since that kept him sitting in the trolley for a little longer.

~ the greedy boy wanted both colours ~

Now when I brush his teeth, I've to let him play with the tap water while he stands on a chair at the basin. Although I don't get a good angle, it's better than not brushing at all. Planning to introduce toothpaste soon. Have to buy the fluoride-free toothpaste first.

Sleeping Pattern
Now when he sleeps, he likes to hug my head. He'll put his hand around my neck, sometimes strangling me. Sometimes if I move his hand away (to my chest), he's okay. Other times he'll strangle me even harder. :-|

Violent
When he's not happy or when I whack his hands/legs/backside, he sometimes hit me back. He'll hit with both hands continuously - on my hands, body and legs. And boy he's a strong li'l guy. Even I find it painful, I wonder how jie jie stands it when he hits her like that. He likes to play 'hitting' with jie jie and the silly girl sometimes find it fun (sei mou?). And I really hate it when the loud laughters end up with one of them crying (usually jie jie).

Rose & Butterfly Awards

I received some beautiful red roses from Dora and Judy. Thanks, girls!











Cool blog? Mine? Wow... thank you Kylie and Mummy Gwen for giving me this award.




Here are the rules to go with the award :-
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Now the awards go to (whom I think have not displayed them in their blogs) :
1. Wen
2. Jacss
3. Bryan & Brandon's Mama
4. bp
5. Contentedmom
6. Sasha
7. SueSue
8. Yatie
9. BabyBooned
10. Mummykhong

Stubborn Boy

CE is a very stubborn boy. When he does something wrong like hitting jie jie/CH kor kor or spoiling something, he won't say "Sorry" no matter how we coax him. Even whacking him doesn't work. He'll just shake his head if we keep asking him to apologise.

Just now while washing him up in the bathroom, the shower head suddenly turned over and I got partially wet - my face, spectacles and right sleeve were wet. It was not his fault at all. Anyway I said, "Look boy, Mommy's all wet already." And he surprised me by saying "Sorry Mommy" when I was wiping him dry. He even wanted to wipe my face and spectacles with his towel. Awww... he can be really sweet if he wants to.

During bedtime, he's back to his stubborn self again. I asked him to say "Good night" but he refused. I threatened not to hug him, and hug jie jie instead. He gave me a fake cry. :-| I just let him be. After awhile, when he was a bit stoned, I prompted him again with "Good" and he whispered back "night". :-) Yup, that's my stubborn li'l boy.

Exam Week

XY is having her exams this week. I've been busy doing revisions with her since last week. That's why we didn't go anywhere last weekend, except for the barbecue dinner at BIL's house (which is just across the road) on Saturday. I made longan jelly and baked blueberry muffins. Well, muffins are one of the easiest things to bake and lazy me always like to take the easy way out. Not adventurous or ambitious at all. :p

~ desserts for BBQ ~

Back to her exam, I don't normally do revisions with her except coaching her on her homework. If there isn't any homework for the day, then her school bag would be left untouched. I think that's perfectly alright at kindy level, right? Right? So obviously this is a last minute work. Must at least do some revision, cannot take exams too lightly though. Otherwise she'll get a big shock when she goes to primary school.

English and Mathematics are over. Tomorrow she'll be having Mandarin. Followed by Bahasa Malaysia and Science. I'm wondering how she'll do in the Mandarin test as I've not been doing much revision with her on that subject. I'm not good in it myself. Hope she's been paying attention in class. While I was testing her on the numbers in Chinese, she wasn't sure of seven (qi1) and eight (ba1). But she surprised me by recognising complicated characters of insects like bee, fly, butterfly, mosquito, cockroach and ant (which were taught in school, of course).

Anyway, no need to give her unnecessary pressure. I must keep reminding myself. I know I've not been practising what I've been preaching. Okay, we'll reward her with something when her results are out, no matter how she did. But shhhh... let's not tell her first. ;-)

Quirky Tag

Debbie wanted to know my unspectacular quirks. At first, I felt a little shy sharing my quirky behaviours but as she put it, "Celebrate your quirks! They make us who we are!" So here's presenting the quirky side of Slavemom :

#1 I love twirling my hair with my index finger. XY has the same habit. And I keep stopping her when she does it. Now when she sees me twirling my hair, she'll stop me too.

#2 I totally hate it when people splash water at my face with their wet fingers. Anywhere else is ok, except the face. I'm fine with splashing water in the pool, but not right after you've washed your hands. Hubby likes to irritate me that way. Hmmmph!

#3 I cannot bathe immediately after a meal (especially a heavy one). Somehow I feel like my stomach will explode or something. Well, there's a scientific reason that bathing immediately after meal is bad for you. It may interfere with the digestive process. So I'm not that weird after all.

#4 I will try to squeeze everything out of the toothpaste tube till it's empty. It's very difficult to completely empty it, unless I cut the tube. But I don't go to that extend coz hubby will give me THAT look. So I'll squeeze and squeeze till there's no more to squeeze out. Seriously, you can still use it for many days if you squeeze hard enough.

#5 I'm very fussy when it comes to ordering food. There are certain ingredients/garnishing that I don't like in my favourite foods. For instance, I order wanton noodles without wantons. I order fried koay teow without the cockles and chives (ku chai). Or order assam laksa without the fat laksa noodles (replace with bihun). It's like ordering hamburger without the bun. Get what I mean? :D Hubby hates to order food for me.

#6 When I paste a stamp onto the envelope, it must be straight. If there's a box, it must be placed in the centre of the box. Don't ask me why, I just like it that way.

Rules :
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. List 6 unspectacular quirks you have.
4. Tag 6 bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each taggee's blog to let them know they've been tagged.

Kindly share with us your unspectacular quirks :
Alicia
Sting
Irene
Contentedmom
Mummy Gwen
Kylie

Kiwi Muffins

The kids woke up early from their nap. They usually nap till about 5pm. But they woke up before 4pm just now. I decided not to make them sleep anymore. So Kakak and I made kiwi muffins. The pre-mix flour has been sitting in the cabinet for 2 months already.

500g of pre-mix flour made 38 mini muffins. Before I finished baking them (need 3 rounds coz I have a small oven), 5 already went into the kids' stomachs. hahaha So today's a little special, they had fruits and muffins for tea-time.

Actually, today IS a special day. It's our 7th Wedding Anniversary! Not the ROM day, but the day we had our traditional ceremony and reception. Anyway, no special celebration tonight. Can't possibly be celebrating every single special date, right? I'm happy enough that hubby remembered. I'm actually very impressed that he can remember quite a number of significant dates. To dearest lou kong, Happy 7th Anniversary! Here are some muffins for dessert tonight (at least something different from normal :D).

~ with lots of love ~

Eating & Shopping Spree

So fast the long weekend's coming to an end. So what have we been doing? A lot of eating and shopping, what else. hahaha

PaPa was working on Wednesday. There was a deadline to meet. So he got Friday off, giving us a very long weekend. But we don't have any plans to travel outstation. So we just hung around KL, where traffic is rather smooth and shopping complexes aren't that crowded (well, not really, but at least we don't have to be stuck getting into the car parks).

Thursday
After lunch, we went to a nearby shopping complex to buy some facial products for myself. Then brought the kids for an ice-cream treat at Baskin Robbins. When XY was a toddler, she's not allowed to take any cold stuff as she has sensitive lungs. It'll trigger her cough. So she hardly takes any cold drinks or ice-cream. Anything that we take out from the fridge, we'll leave it to reach room temperature before she eats them.

So it was a really big treat when she ate one whole ice-cream cone on her own. We bought 2 cones and a waffle berry sundae. Didi also ate some but he wanted to hold the cone himself. And when he didn't get it his way, he climbed down the chair and sat on the floor. :-| After awhile, I managed to get him to sit on the chair again and he ate his ice-cream and banana.

Friday
Went to Spring Valley Chinese Restaurant at MidValley Megamall for dim sum brunch. The mission for the day was to get sandals for the kids. Didi has outgrown his sandals and jie jie's one has spoilt (the velcro on the straps have torn). Didi wasn't very cooperative. Everything that I wanted to try for him, he refused. I wondered if he doesn't like them or he's just being difficult. His current pairs are Adidas sandals and Crocs (Disney cayman). I'm a bit hesitant to buy another pair of Crocs due to the risk of accidents at escalators and lifts. But they are very lasting. He's worn his for 1.5 years and they still look quite new.

We went to Dragon-i for teatime. So nice to be able to eat in peace. CE was napping and XY has a bowl of la mian to eat to her heart's content. After some drinks, steamed meat dumplings, red bean pancake and mango dessert, we're back to our shopping spree.

At the Adidas shop, XY found something she likes (obviously pink in colour). CE woke up when I tried on the sandals for him. He still didn't want to try anything on, even though they were the same pattern as the one he was wearing. Maybe coz they were of a different colour? Anyway, I didn't get the pair for XY as it was a normal price item. Moreover, it was slightly big for her (if they're 1 size smaller, they fit perfectly, which she won't be able to wear for long). So we walked around to look some more. In the end, we didn't buy any sandals. But we were happily swiping our cards for other stuff - perfume (Estée Lauder's Pure White Linen-Light Breeze), Hush Puppies casual shoes, Nike and Adidas pants and CARs membership.

As for dinner, we ate at one of our favourite restaurants, Amarin Heavenly Thai. We had the appetizer platter, steamed siakap fish, green curry beef, mixed vegetables and fried rice served in pineapple. Another satisfying meal. Mission not accomplished but we're so much poorer. And the happiest are the stomachs. :-)

Reverse Phone Lookups

This is a sponsored post.
Whenever I got missed calls with an unknown number, I'll be wondering who called and why. If the person doesn't call back immediately, it'll be on my mind till that person calls again. Don't you just hate that feeling?

If you're staying in the United States or Canada, there's a reverse phone lookup service where you can lookup owner's name and address for any missed calls with unknown phone number. And you can check an unknown number that appeared in your phone bill. This service on LookupByPhone.com is also very useful to trace harassing telemarketers, prank callers and annoying callers.

To find out owner's name, address, carrier, and other details, do a search by phone number. It works for cell phone numbers and unlisted phone numbers. You may have to purchase these information as they are not public record. You don't have to worry about the owner being notified of the search because all the lookups are 100% confidential.