Goodbye 2011

How time flies! 2011 zoomed by so fast without us realising it. I wonder why time seemed to crawl slower when we're younger. Is it because we can't wait to grow up but we seriously don't look forward to grow old? hehehe I'm very thankful it's been a good year for us. As long as nothing bad happened and everything's smooth sailing, it's indeed a good year. I hope we'll be blessed with another good year in 2012 and thereafter.

~ the kids with MV's Christmas decoration ~

Here are some updates for the month of December :

4th (Sunday) ~ Went to watch Puss In Boots in 3D. This time, CE was okay wearing the 3D glasses. And I think he enjoyed the show as much as the popcorn. Coz he didn't come and disturb me after he's finished his popcorn. :D

After we reached home, XY complained of stomachache in the evening. It got worse the next day. She also had fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Brought her to see the paediatrician and he suspected viral infection, not food poisoning. Since she couldn't really take solid food and she's been vomiting, I made the Oral Dehydration Salts water for her. And she really hated it, both the original and orange flavour. I tried a packet myself, it tasted fine. It was really difficult to get her to finish a cup (in a day) and I had to bribe and force. Luckily she got much better after a day and her appetite was back to normal 2 days later.

8th (Thursday) ~ I won 2 tickets to watch Jacky Cheung's concert via an sms contest. SIL was very kind to offer to babysit the kids so hubby and I can go. This is the 2nd time we went for his concert. The 1st was more than 10 years ago, I think. I took the train to meet up with hubby at the stadium. It was an awesome performance with great dance moves. Jacky can dance and sing fast songs 2 to 3 songs continuously. Very good stamina (for his age hehehe). I sat next to 2 ladies (in late 20s or early 30s) and we acted like teenagers -- shouted his name out loud and moved the blinking wands to the rhythm of his songs. *giggle giggle* He sang for 3 hours with minimal rest in between. The concert ended before 11:30pm. We were stuck in traffic for quite some time after exiting the parking lot and it was already past 12 midnight when we picked the kids up. Many thanks to SIL for the opportunity to go 'pak thor' with hubby. Ever since XY's arrival, we've not been on a proper date.

~ inside the stadium ~

11th (Sunday) ~ We finally decided to get a second-hand piano for XY. As we do not know how long her interest will last, we didn't want to invest heavily on a new one. She chose the piano herself. She prefer Kawai over Yamaha, maybe because she's been playing on a Kawai (CH's) all this while. We got her a Kawai BL-31, about 32 years old. It was delivered on the 13th. Her teacher was asking if we'd like to register her for the Grade 1 practical exam next year (between June and August). After getting her teacher's feedback on her progress, I've decided to let her take the next one in March 2013. By then, she would've learnt for 2 years. There's no rush, better give her more time, less stress for her (and me).

21st (Wednesday) ~ After the pest control service, we went to Tesco for sundry shopping. Then lunch at McD and the kids played at the indoor playground. Since Giant is just nearby, we continued 'shopping' again as I couldn't get all the things I wanted from Tesco.

26th (Monday) ~ I had a gathering with 3 of my secondary schoolmates. We had dinner at my place. So nice of them to come all the way (1 from Seremban, 2 from KL) to my ulu town. It was really great catching up with old friends over good food. I haven't met L since she left school after Form 5. We had BBQ marmite crabs (*yummy yum yum* which A brought from Seremban), satay and home-cooked fried bihun. XY was very excited that night and kept my friends entertained. Actually, she was over-excited till she got out of control thus getting a good scolding from me the next day. The girls commented that she's totally opposite from me as I'm a very quiet person. The funny thing is, PaPa's also a very quiet person. So where did she get this outgoing trait from? hmmmm...

28th (Wednesday) ~ Brought the kids for a haircut. School will reopen soon and it should still look neat enough for Chinese New Year. XY agreed to cut her hair short (not tie-able anymore). Wanted to get a new school bag (without trolley) for XY as her classroom is located on the 1st floor next year. There wasn't much choice and she didn't like the ones we saw. So didn't manage to get the bag yet. To split the weight, I got her a sling bag too.

XY fell sick (again) the next day -- fever and runny nose. Luckily her fever only lasted a day. Actually, CE and I are also recovering from runny nose. Hopefully everyone will be fully recovered before school starts.

Retail Therapy

How invigorating! I was given a day off to go shopping for CNY clothes. Most of the time when we go to the malls, I don’t really have the mood to buy my own clothes. When PaPa’s not there to control them, the kids like to play hide and seek among the rows of clothes. Or play catching. Or just run around, making a lot of noise. *shake head* So I can’t look at my stuff in peace.

As Christmas is just round the corner, the malls are packed with people doing last minute shopping. After walking around (from MV to The Gardens) for 4 hours, I’m quite satisfied with my loots. Nothing fancy, mainly casual wear coz I’m a ‘si lai’ mah, don’t need fancy attires. :D

I also took the opportunity to meet up with my ol’ pal (we’ve been friends since primary school). She came all the way from Seremban with her 11 year-old daughter. I’m so glad she could make it coz I only buzzed her yesterday night. We’ve not seen each other for many many years already, but we’ve been keeping in touch. We had an early dinner at Yuzu Japanese Restaurant at The Gardens. Food was really good! And as usual, sorry ah, no pictures coz slavemom is NOT a professional blogger. hahaha

I came back with bribes for the kids – lollipops from Starbucks, doughnuts and a book for XY. So no complaints from them that I was out almost the whole day. Thank you, PaPa for taking care of the kids. I really enjoyed my day off. Errr... can we do this more often? :p

Proud Moments

So fast 2 weeks of school holidays have passed. The kids have been fully occupied so far. They attended a Science Camp organised by CE's kindy last week (for 3 days). Their grandparents were here for a week, just went back on Wednesday. During their visit, the kids have been playing at their cousin's place from morning till night, with a break during naptime.

Now for some backdated events, CE had his Annual Concert cum Graduation Night on 12th Nov. He participated in 2 performances -- percussion and dance. It was a big relief that he didn't play a fool on the stage (remember his teacher's complaint during practice?). In fact, he was very serious with his dance moves -- very serious in shaking his bum bum. hahaha He seemed to be really enjoying himself on stage. It was also CH's (my nephew) graduation night. He was chosen to give a speech in Bahasa Malaysia. And he did it fluently and clearly. *clap clap clap*

* shake shake shake *

On 19th Nov, we went to XY's school for the Excellence Awards Ceremony. She got first in class and also a prize for Best Subject: English. She had to be in school by 7:30am so PaPa sent her to school first. Last year, all of us went at the same time and wasted time waiting for the VIPs to arrive. Then we had to endure the boring speeches. So this time, I thought we could skip all that and reach just before the prize-giving event starts. Unfortunately, they were ahead of schedule. By the time we reached the venue, she was about to go for her second round. I was just in time to take her picture. *phew* Just like last year, she received a certificate and a RM20 cash voucher for each of the award.

~ just in time to capture this ~

Singapore Trip Oct '11 (Part II)

Day 2 ~ 25th Oct

Had breakfast at the hotel as our package came with buffet breakfast for 2 adults. So we had to pay for the kids' buffet. Food was alright. Not too much variety but good enough for eating 2 days straight. I read a lot of reviews about very long queues, waiting for a table in the mornings. But we didn't face such problems, probably because it was off peak season.

We reached USS entrance at about 10am, its opening time. Saw that the 'candy tree' area was empty. Quickly brought the kids there for some photo shots. The day was so hot although the weather forecast said thunderstorm. But better be hot than raining, right? I brought along the kids' caps and a folded umbrella. But silly me, forgot to check the umbrella as it's been sitting in the cupboard, unopened, for years. It was a bit faulty, with a broken rib and I had difficulty closing it. So we didn't use it. Woah... we were being baked under the hot sun. Came back a few shades darker. :-( Although we went on a weekday, it's still very crowded. A lot of Indian tourists. But luckily the queues are still manageable. Nothing exceeding 30 minutes, mostly 5-10 minutes. If you're going during peak season, I'd suggest you buy the express pass to avoid spending all your time queuing.

~ under the 'candy tree' ~

~ Universal Studios Singapore ~

There are 7 zones in USS. As compared to Hong Kong Disneyland, the place is not very big and the rides are of a smaller version. We covered all those rides that we CAN ride, except the extreme roller coaster rides at Sci-Fi City. I can still accompany XY for the milder ones like Enchanted Airways and Canopy Flyer. While riding the Revenge of the Mummy, I almost freaked out. Just can't wait for the ride to be over. But XY really enjoyed it. What a daredevil she is. She wanted to go for second round but no one can accompany her. Coz I give up! Getting old lah. And don't count on PaPa, he's worse than me. hahaha We skipped Donkey Live show and missed Monster Rock due to the timing. Transformers The Ride will be opening in December 2011.

Some of the interesting shows are WaterWorld (the explosive and thrilling death-defying stunts water show), Shrek 4-D Adventure (with water spray and sensory effects) and Lights, Camera, Action! (special effects stage show).

We had dinner at Din Tai Fung. Had siew lung bao, noodle soup and fried rice. We enjoyed this much more than our meal at HRC. So cinapek hor. hahaha

Day 3 ~ 26th Oct

After our buffet breakfast, we went to check out Hard Rock Hotel's pool. As a hotel guest in the Resort, you're allowed to use any of the hotel's pool. I thought the kids would be thrilled with the man-made beach but they weren't interested to play with sand that morning. They went for the slide first but got bored with it quite fast. CE kept getting stuck in the middle of the slide, probably coz it wasn't steep enough. But I don't know why XY didn't have such problems. I don't really like the feel of sand in the pool so we moved to the shallow pool (without sand). Tried the jacuzzi, the pressure was so strong I had a hard time sitting still. :D

We didn't spend much time there. Headed back to the room to shower and pack and got ready to check out. We managed to get a late check-out at 1pm. Left our luggage at the reception and went for a light lunch at Toast Box as we're still quite full from breakfast.

Next on the itinerary is Underwater World. Although we've been there in '07, XY wanted to go again. And I thought CE would be able to appreciate it more now that he's older. The kids really enjoyed looking at the sea creatures and they are actually familiar with some special types of crabs/fish as they've seen them in Octonauts. hehehe Since it's our second time there, I don't find it interesting, except for the seals and dolphins show. They are really adorable, well-trained and entertaining.

~ Underwater World Singapore ~

~ interesting performance by the seals and dolphins ~

There was still time to kill so had a tea break at a restaurant there. Then we went back to The Forum and had a drink at Coffee Bean, to wait for dinner time. Ate at Din Tai Fung again. This time we ordered noodle soup for the kids and snacks for ourselves.

We were really frustrated when we found out our flight was delayed for 2 hours. The only good thing that came out of this is that I finally found the Faber-Castell finger printing art pads. Have been searching for a very long time already. Couldn't find this in their outlets in KL/Selangor. Due to the delay, I had time to check out the book store. Sooooo happy when I saw the art pads. There are 4 or 5 sets of different colours but I only bought one -- quite expensive leh after conversion. :p Also bought Crayola washable markers since I didn't get any souvenirs for the kids from USS. The welcome pack (consisted of a hand puppet, toothbrush, rubik's cube and plastic inflatable noise-maker) they got when we checked in at Festive Hotel doesn't count, right? :D Oh oh, got one souvenir from USS -- the popcorn bowl. Their cheapskate Mommy kept the bowl after they finished the popcorn. hahaha

Singapore Trip Oct '11 (Part I)

Day 1 ~ 24th Oct

We reached Festive Hotel in Resorts World Sentosa at about 12 noon. I've requested for an early check-in but it's subject to availability. As our room was not ready yet, we were asked to come back at 2+. So we registered ourselves and left our baggage with reception. Went for lunch at The Forum. It's less than 10 minutes walk from the hotel. We had hainanese chicken rice, hokkien mee and fish and chips at Lunar Cafe (serves local and western food). Food was ok, up to standard.

After we've filled our stomach, we took the Sentosa bus to Imbiah Lookout. Bus service within Sentosa is free. The bus stop is located at the carpark, about 15 minutes walk from the hotel. It's quite stuffy at the carpark. The buses are rather frequent, wait time less than 10 minutes.

We tried the Skyline Luge. I rode with CE coz he's too young to ride on his own. XY was on her own. PaPa was following her closely. She crashed at the curb once coz she let go of one hand to wipe her sweaty palm. hehehe No worries, she wasn't hurt. Pulled the cart back on track and she continued her ride. It was really fun. But it'd be more fun if we could go faster. PaPa had to slow down to accompany XY and I had a "passenger" with me. :D After the Luge, we took the Skyride back to the platform. XY, CE and I went 2 rounds as we bought the Family Deal (4 rides). Had to top up 1 person's fare to accompany XY.


Back to the hotel to check-in at 3+. As expected, the first thing the kids did was to check out the bunk bed. Like what the reviews said, the room is smaller than the pictures shown in their website. Although there's a sofa bed that can open up to be a queen size bed, we didn't use that. On the first night, XY slept on the bunk bed. It's actually big enough for both of them but I didn't allow CE to sleep there as I was afraid he'd have problems (blur blur/half-awake) climbing down in the middle of the night to pee. The second night, PaPa had to sleep there (yeah, it's long enough for him) coz XY doesn't want to be "alone" anymore. hahaha The hotel is very generous with bottled drinking water. There're 3 bottles of 500ml drinking water in the room. Every time you make a request to housekeeping, they'd send up 3 bottles. I actually requested for a pool view room. But during check-in, being near to the lift was priority to us coz I dread walking a long way to our room after a tiring day. So we got a room VERY near to the lift but the view was terrible, overlooking a construction site. :-(

~ Deluxe Family King room @ Festive Hotel ~

We didn't waste time and went to the pool for water play. Didn't spend very long there as we need to rush to go out again to watch Songs of the Sea. We missed that during our last trip to Singapore in '07 so this is on my must-do list. But unfortunately, in my personal opinion, it wasn't that spectacular.

We went back to the resort for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Ordered mushroom burger and I ate less than half. I didn't have any appetite, probably coz I was too tired. PaPa had BBQ ribs -- nice, not as jelak as my burger. The kids shared cheesy mac.

~ dinner at Hard Rock Cafe ~

The kids fell asleep quite fast when we're back in the room. It was a long day for them and they know they need to recharge for another long day the following day.

2nd Semester Progress Report

At the Parent-Teacher's Day in CE's kindy, we discussed about his progress in the 2nd semester. His class teacher has just resigned so we spoke to her assistant, Ms V. She said he's good in class, no complaints. Gets along well with his friends and teachers. He did well in the 2nd semester exams. He scored full marks for English, BM and Mathematics. And got above 90% for Science and Mandarin.

Some of the things Ms V highlighted :

1) He likes to help his friends by giving them the answers. Although the teacher has specifically told the class not to help others, he'll still tell his classmate and show him the page (where the answer is). Sometimes when he's so "helpful", the teacher will ask him to teach his friends, but he'll just give them the answers directly, instead of telling them how to get it.

2) He sometimes daydreams during lessons. But surprisingly, he can catch up and respond to his teacher's questions.

3) Ms V noticed that recently he's always having a troubled look on his face, like he's very stressed. I've asked him before, but couldn't find out what's bothering him.

4) As the school concert is drawing near, Ms V is worried about his dance coz at times, he doesn't cooperate during practice. Earlier this week, he was punished by another teacher for not dancing properly when it was his turn but was dancing at the back when another class was doing theirs. Hope he won't be so playful on the actual day.

5) We agreed that his chattiness depends on his mood. If he's in a good mood, he'll talk a lot. But when he's not in the mood, he doesn't communicate much and it's like he's living in his own world.

6) He didn't seem to grow much in half a year. His height remained the same and his weight increased only by 1kg. Hope to see better growth next year as he's taking Pediasure now.

7) His coloring has improved a lot (not so much out of the lines) and the principal complimented on his handwriting. Yeah, he can write very nicely if he puts his heart into it.

~ This is part of his Science paper. Quite neat and
nice hor his handwriting? *hehehe syiok sendiri* ~

I also spoke to his Mandarin (extra class) teacher, Ms L.
* He's very quiet in class and doesn't mix much with his friends. He'll talk to them if they approach him but most of the time, he prefers to be alone. It's probably due to the language barrier as he's more comfortable conversing in English. At the beginning, he speaks to Ms L in English but now he tries to speak more in Mandarin.
* He sometimes doesn't want to read out loud together (as a group) although he knows how to read the passage/book. Yup, that's my stubborn boy.
* A bit slow in his work. He's quite fussy with his Chinese writing. When it's not very nice, he'll rub it off and write again.

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE interacts more with his peers now. He is a fast learner, catch up things fast, especially in phonics. With more practice and encouragement may help him to converse better in Mandarin!

Another Year Older Wiser

When the clock struck 12 midnight, we were at the Immigration check point at LCCT. We just came back from Singapore. The main intention was to bring the kids to USS. Will blog about it in a different post. But I'd like to write about an unpleasant incident of the trip here. Our 9:20pm flight was retimed to 11:20pm. That's TWO hours delay! Gosh, we were already so tired and can't wait to get home. Although our baggage has already been checked in, we managed to change to the next flight, which was slightly earlier at 11pm. Luckily everything went smoothly after that -- 11pm flight was on time, boarding was swift, our baggage didn't get lost and we didn't have to queue for a taxi. We reached home at 1am.

We all slept till 10 in the morning. Didi skipped school to get a good rest. The kids are more excited than me. They said they wanted to behave on my special day. Although they failed miserably (especially didi), I guess I should appreciate their effort. :-) PaPa surprised me with a bouquet of flowers. Actually it was jie jie's idea and PaPa executed the plan. In August, I made a new pair of spectacles and PaPa paid for them. So when he asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said the spectacles are considered my present. I'm so kind to him hor?

~ a dozen gerberas ~

PaPa asked me to decide where to go for dinner. Since it's a weekday and we just got back from Singapore (have been eating a lot of "restaurant food"), I decided to just have a simple meal at home. We had pandan kaya cake for dessert. The kids love it. Less than a quarter of the 0.5kg cake is left for tomorrow's breakfast.

~ pandan kaya cake from Tong Kee -- nice! ~

Aaaah... I feel so blessed and loved. Received so many greetings via phonecall, sms and FB wall from family, relatives and friends. The greetings in FB were really overwhelming. Thank you so much for your warm wishes.

Passport Renewal

Woohoo! Exam's over! I mean my girl's exam. hehehe Today is the last day. So after sending her to school, I can breathe a sigh of relief. She's having a one-week (Deepavali) break next week and we'll be going for a short holiday. Will tell more after we're back, okay? :-)

While discussing about the flight tickets with PaPa, I realised my passport and didi's have less than 6 months validity. *ooops!* At first, we wanted to go to Immigration Department on Monday. But on Saturday night, while checking their website, I found out that the branch near us opens on weekends. We went on Sunday morning so that didi didn't have to skip school.

Reached Immigration Department at 8:10am. The queue was already very long, all the way to the staircase. Heard from the officer that the applicants that day were more than usual. I got my number at 9:30. Good thing we have a place to sit. Waited with didi while PaPa went for breakfast with jie jie. Kept him occupied with his Maths workbook (his choice). After jie jie came back, they kept each other company and made a lot of noise.

Documents were processed at 11:40. The officer checked to made sure the documents were complete. Thumb print was also taken. Next is payment. My number was called at 11:55. And at 12:30pm, our passports were ready for collection. Luckily we don't have to come back the next day as they close at 1pm. It took about 4.5 hours to get our passports done. Considered efficient, right? :D

For those who plan to go to Immigration Department to renew your passport, these are what you need :
1) Form - can be printed from their website (print on A4 paper, on both sides) or obtained from Immigration Department
2) IC - original and 1 copy (photocopy front and back of IC on the same side)
3) 2 passport-size photos
4) Current passport

And for applicants below 18 years old :
1) Form
2) Birth Certificate - original and 1 copy
3) 1 copy of guardian's IC (photocopy front and back of IC on the same side)
4) 2 passport-size photos
5) Current passport

I Went Too!

Went where? To the much talked-about book sale -- the Big Bad Wolf sale. Since Friday, I saw many posts about the sale in FB. I also ' beh tahan' already so I applied "leave" from hubby today. I brought XY along while CE stayed at home with PaPa. We went after lunch, reached the venue at 2+. It was very easy to find the place using GPS. Along the way, I saw many "wolf" signage too.

Good thing I've read about others' experience, so I knew we had to wait for the shuttle bus to bring us to Hall A (where the sale is) from the parking lot. When we reached Hall A, there was a queue but I think we waited for about 5 minutes only. We headed directly to the Children's section. We "systematically" covered the whole section. As expected, some of the tables were quite messy. I think we spent almost 2 hours at the Children's section. Then I wanted to look for my books. But they are quite difficult to find, unlike those advertised in their website and bestsellers. There are so many tables for General Fiction and they don't seem to be arranged by author. I didn't see any Dan Brown books and the John Grisham book I bought, I just picked it up from a non-related pile. :-)

After 3 hours in the hall, the damage to the pocket was only RM106. Felt quite out of place coz other people's boxes or trolleys were filled to the brim. hehehe

~ RM3 each ~

I like the toy clock coz it looks quite "durable". I've bought educational clocks made from paper and wood before. The paper one got torn very soon and the wood one, its minute and hour hands can be moved separately. This one, it's like a real clock. You wind the button behind, it'll move the minute hand and the hour hand will move accordingly. CE immediately "played" with it when he saw it. He has always been very fascinated with time. He likes to keep track of time. He moved the toy every 1 or 2 minutes, to be the same as the digital clock in our living room. The problem is, he finds it a bit tight to wind it from behind, so he moves both the hands on the face. Thus making the hour and minute hands go out of sync. :-|

~ top : RM5 each, bottom : for hubby (RM15) ~

~ RM8 each ~

This being my first time to the BBW book sale, the experience was very pleasant. The place is air-conditioned. It didn't feel hot at all although there was a big crowd. There are many payment counters so it didn't take long to pay. I've waited much longer in Tesco. :p And for a public place, the toilets are very clean. *thumbs up*

Note : I'll go MIA again (what's new eh? :p) as CE is having his exam starting tomorrow and XY's will start the following week. Here's wishing "All the best!" to the children who'll be having their year-end exam.

Malfunctioned

What malfunctioned? Not any electrical devices... but my brain. hahaha I was super blur today that I thought it's Wednesday. After calling SIL and made arrangements about fetching the boys back from kindy, I spoke to Kakak about changing bedsheets. Then XY corrected me that today's only Tuesday. Change-bedsheets-day is Wednesday. Ooops! Then I had to call SIL back to cancel what I've told her earlier. I'll fetch didi back myself coz CH has to stay back for Mandarin class.

Normally, I'll bring jie jie along, fetch didi from kindy and go straight to jie jie's school (she's in the afternoon session). But today, I forgot about didi and took the turn to jie jie's school. Ooops! I only realised it halfway through the journey. I didn't turn back as I was worried jie jie would be late for school. So I called the kindy and informed them that I'll be late. I was rushing like mad coz I've never been so late to pick him up. I was 20 minutes late but didi wasn't the last one. There were still some kids waiting for their transportation. Anyway, he didn't seem to be bothered that I was late.

Gosh... I can be quite absent-minded at times, but this is the first time I was late to pick didi up. Throughout jie jie's kindy years, I was never late (ermmm... I think :D). I'm sure you have your fair share of "blur" moments, but forgetting to fetch your kid? Sigh... Must be getting old, brain not functioning well. Or can I blame the mosquitoes? Didn't sleep well the night before because of mosquitoes attack. hehehe

Water Fun

The kids (especially jie jie) have been bugging us to bring them to Sunway Lagoon. PaPa suddenly became so 'hardworking' and decided to bring them this weekend. And the timing was considered good coz they are not sick or anything. Well, we tried to ignore didi's (occasional) sneezes and jie jie's (very) slight runny nose. :p We told them yesterday night that we'll be bringing them to some place fun in order to get them to fall asleep fast. Anyway, didn't want to disappoint them in case we cancel the plan if their condition got worse. But jie jie could already guess the destination after listening in to our conversations. :-)

Before going to Sunway Lagoon, we had lunch in Puchong, at our usual bak kut teh restaurant. By the time we're in the water park, it was already past 1pm. Although we only intended to play at the water park, we had to purchase the 3 Parks tickets (normal rate : Adult - RM80, Child - RM65) because there are only 2 types of tickets -- 3 Parks or 5 Parks. MyKad holders are entitled for 25% discount. You need to show a MyKad for EACH adult so we had to pay full amount for Kakak (coz obviously she doesn't have one).

After putting on sunblock (it was scorching hot), the kids are ready for some serious water fun at the water playground. Didi isn't the very adventurous type so jie jie (the daredevil) and I went on some of the 'chi kek' slides. She's tall enough (above 1.1m) and can slide on her own. I think she'd like to go for more rounds if not for the long queues. She doesn't want to waste time queuing coz she knows we won't be spending a very long time there. We went on the steep slide (lying belly-down on the mat) and the winding slide (sitting on the double tube). We also played at the wave pool. The kids love to sit on the rented double tube and be pushed by the wave. At 3+, the sky was getting gloomy. So we headed to the man-made beach for sand play. It looked like it was going to rain so they had their last round of sliding at the water playground till the guards shooed everyone out of the water when it started to rain.

We had an early dinner of pizzas and pasta. The kids fell asleep shortly after we left the car park. Reached home, bathed, read some story books and they slept early at 9+, which is quite rare nowadays. I bet they had a FUNtastic day and I'll be reminding them to be a good girl/boy next week (and for as long as it works) as a way to thank us. muahahaha

Their Favourite Toys

The kids love to draw on the drawing board. I think they use it (almost) everyday. This is the second Fisher-Price (FP) drawing board we bought as the first one was spoilt already -- the eraser got a bit stuck. Jie jie loves to draw on it while didi loves to write alphabets and numbers. Sometimes they take turns to give each other questions like maths and fill in the blanks. We've bought a non-branded one before but the FP one is definitely more durable.

~ setting and answering his own 'fill in the blanks' question ~

Another favourite toy is the alphabets from the alphabets mat. This is one of didi's favourite. He likes to build words with them. If I'm not mistaken, he started having this interest when Word World was first introduced on PHDC. He also likes to use the Jenga blocks (wood block game) to build words. They are just not interested to play Jenga the "right" way.

~ building words with foam alphabets and Jenga blocks ~

When he was still a crawling baby, I arranged them at one corner of the house as his play area. I even used the alphabets to decorate the wall during his birthday this year. 1 toy, so many usage. What a fantastic investment. :-)

~ didi at 13 months old, playing on the colourful mat ~

The push car is also a big favourite. Although they've outgrown it (their legs are too long for the small car), they still like to zoom around the house with it. I redeemed this with Anakku points before didi was born. It was in good condition when jie jie was using it. We kept it in the store room till didi was old enough to ride it. And the "buffalo" broke the steering wheel within days of playing. o.O So it can't control the wheels anymore.

~ so big already but still want to sit on the small car ~

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Today is ah girl's 8th birthday. She's 130.9cm tall, weighing 23.05kg (measured on 6/7). Looks like she'll soon be taller than me. :-) We had a mini celebration yesterday night with a simple dinner at home, together with Po Po and BIL and family. Po Po came to KL to attend a wedding dinner last weekend and she'll be staying till Saturday. The menu was chosen by XY and mostly very unhealthy. hehehe We had KFC, pizza from Pizza Hut, satay and Kakak's fried noodles. As usual, we ordered too much food and had to clear the leftovers today.

~ balloons decoration requested by birthday girl ~

After dinner, she opened her presents. Chik Chik and Sen Sen gave her a Swatch watch and a tiara. My kids are so lucky. Chik Chik and Sen Sen always shower them with very nice gifts. Didi got a blue Swatch for his birthday, now jie jie received a pink one. CH already has an orange one. Wow... we've got a bunch of Swatch kids. :D

As promised, we bought her a bicycle. Brought her to the shop on Saturday to choose. I asked about Raleigh and LeRun. The guy said Raleigh is of better quality. Decided on BMX instead of mountain bike coz I think a higher handle is more suitable. Moreover, it's just for city riding, the mountain bike may be underutilised. There're only 2 colours -- white and blue (don't have pink as there's no market for it) and she chose blue. :-) I also gave her a "surprise" gift. I wrapped up the stamper pen set which I bought in Hong Kong Disneyland 2 years ago. I've kept it aside and almost forgot about it. Luckily the ink hasn't dried up. It's a surprise coz she doesn't remember it at all. She also received angpows from Po Po and Zi Mai Po (Po Po's younger sister).

~ Raleigh Laguna ~

~ posing with her cake and presents ~

This year, I managed to convince her to get a normal cake, without fancy pictures on them. I really don't like those sugar sheets. I usually remove them before the kids eat the cake. She chose a blueberry cream cake (one of our favourites) and requested for a number "8" candle. Easy peasy.

~ 'tai kar cher' blowing the candles ~

Today is also Slavery Bliss' 4th Blogoversary. Although I've not updated much recently, I hope to keep this blog alive. Through the years, it has given me many great friends. Really appreciate the friendship we have and even though some of us don't blog that often nowadays, I hope to keep in touch in other ways (I probably have to be more active in FB :p). Blogging is really helpful for someone who has a terrible memory like me coz in the near future, I can read back about the kids and my life.

Boring Weekend

Didi was sick (red throat with fever) since Thursday and he's skipped school for 2 days. Then the next day, my throat started feeling "tight". As we have 2 unwell people at home, our food were mainly soupy and a bit bland. So guai-guai stayed home to "recuperate" over the weekend -- no jalan-jalan (shopping) and no makan-makan (feasting). Moreover, the chauffeur's away on business trip. :D

I suppose didi's almost fully recovered. His fever subsided on Friday and he doesn't complain of sore throat during mealtime (except when eating fruits, which I find really weird coz he likes fruits). I'm also feeling much better already.

I brought XY to her school to collect her report card on Saturday morning. She was so shy in front of her teachers -- hiding behind me and just giggle giggle when teacher asked her questions. o.O Haiyo... I really beh tahan when she "acts" timid in front of people she's familiar with. If with strangers, I can understand lah. *shake head*

Her class teacher, who's also her Math teacher commented that she :
* is quiet in class (that's shocking news to me! hahaha).
* is focused during lessons.
* will try to finish up her homework in class.

Her English teacher said "she's good" BUT she "tends to rush through her work", thus making spelling mistakes. She also stresses the need for checking her work before passing them up.

I'm so relieved the teachers didn't have any complaints about her. I'm very happy with her results and behaviour in school. Hopefully she'll keep it up and do just as excellent in the year-end exam. Deep down, I'm very proud of her but I try not to show it too much. Coz I know she'll become big-headed if we praised her too much. Well, there's always room for improvement, right? hehehe But of course, we'll reward her accordingly. She wanted a bicycle so we're planning to get it for her (as a birthday gift as well). I bet if she has another request, PaPa will comply if it's not unreasonable. Have to start planning for her birthday which is in 2 weeks' time. Nothing much to plan actually, just got to decide on the cake and menu for dinner. We usually just have a simple celebration at home with BIL and family.

Her Version

XY wrote a 'story' of her Sports Day and showed it to me this morning. I think she did quite a good job (ahem... syiok sendiri, obviously :D) although there were some spelling and grammatical mistakes.

In case you can't see it clearly (too colourful for your eyes hahaha), here's the original script :
Today was sports day.
Papa sent me to school.
Me and my friends lined up in front of my class.
My class teacher brought us to the field.
We waited till it was finally our turn.
We lined up and walked to the starting line.
We sat on the soft grass as we waited for a while.
After a while, it was time to play.
After the others played, It was time for me and my partner, Vinutana to play.
After the whole class played, it was announced that I was forth.
After that, I went for prize giving. I was fourth but still get medal. He He.
After prize giving, my family was ready to go.
I was tired, but happy.

She even wrote "He He" for laughter. Coz she saw that in the blog. :D Yeah, she likes to read blogs. Will stand next to me when I'm drafting a post or blog-hopping. Hmmm... since I'm quite slack in updating my blog these days, maybe I could "outsource" it to my little writer. hehehe

First Sports Day

XY had her 1st Sports Day (in primary school) today. It's her first because she missed it last year due to a mild case of HFMD. Her class' event is three-legged race. Her team got last. But everyone still got a medal. The weather was quite good, not too hot. Moreover, a big part of the field was shaded by a tall building near the school. I doubt there's any shade in the afternoon. Imagine them being "baked" while having activities on the field (for afternoon sessions). No wonder she's not as fair as before. :-)

~ waiting for her event to start ~

~ jie jie with funny-looking didi ~

Exam Pointers

XY's mid-year exam results are all back except for Art. I'm really satisfied with her results. I try not to make a big deal out of the marks (of coz the higher the better hehehe) but more on how she fared in the subjects. I'm very happy that she showed improvement in terms of careless mistakes. A good gauge is the Maths papers. For Paper 2 (subjective paper), she made 1 mistake and lost marks for 2 questions because she didn't show the complete workings. Definitely a big improvement. And that's truly rewarding for her "tutor". *big smile*

Everyday during the exam, I had to keep reminding her about the pointers we've discussed. Well, I'm no expert, just helping her to score better. :p Do share with us your exam pointers too. Some pointers that I drill into her :
* read the questions carefully.
* check back all your answers after you've finished the paper, as many times as time permits. Or at least 2 rounds.
* in Maths, use different calculations for checking. For example, if the question is an addition, take the answer to do subtraction for checking.
* for fill-in-the-blanks or matching questions, fill/match the answers that you are very sure of first. If you're lucky, whatever's left is the answer for the question you've left out. If there are more than 1, no choice but to make the best guess. :-)
* check your spelling. Although you choose the right answer, you may/will not get any marks for spelling it wrongly.
* check the back of the paper. Some are printed on both sides. Don't miss out any questions.
* for Maths, show the workings (how you get the answer). Otherwise, even though you get the right answer, you won't get full marks for that question. This was how she lost some marks. (Refer to picture below.) That was really tricky. So after this "lesson", I told her to show ALL the workings in future tests/exams, to be on the safe side.

~ so tricky, got the right answer, but no full marks ~

School Holidays With Grandparents

We went back to Penang to visit Po Po in the first week. Then Ye Ye and Mah Mah came to visit in the second week. The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins. We didn't go out much when we're back in Penang. They spent a big chunk of time playing with PSP and my SIL's handphone. *shake head* Brought them to Youth Park to play at the playground one evening. There's quite a lot of people, although it was a weekday. I haven't been there for many many years already and the place has changed so much. The playgrounds and exercise equipments are well-maintained. Especially love the big trees surrounding the area, providing shades everywhere.

I also had a gathering with my secondary schoolmates. Finally got to meet Olive, SP and sweetie DQ, after a few unsuccessful arrangements. I think we haven't seen each other for 7 years. Had a great time catching up with the gang at McD. Did the right decision to choose a venue with an indoor playground (although that was just a mini one). I brought XY along and left didi at home with SIL. Smart move coz I was able to truly enjoy the food and company. Just needed to keep an eye on her from our table (we sat very near to the play area).

Ye Ye and Mah Mah stayed at BIL's house. The kids are very happy every time they are here coz they get to spend the whole day (except nap time) playing together with their cousins. And they also love the fact that we go out for breakfast often when their grandparents are here.

CE complained of toothache since Sunday (5/6). Brought him to the dentist on Wed (8/6) and was told there was nothing wrong with his teeth. But there's an ulcer on his gum. Glad to hear his set of teeth are in good condition but have to take note that his upper left molar is a bit dirty. Got to make sure we brush and clean it properly. I asked the dentist to clean his teeth and he was very cooperative, considering that was his first dental visit. But he disliked the taste of the toothpaste so he had to gargle very soon after the dentist started the cleaning work. So it was a few rounds of cleaning and gargling, with the chair adjusted up and down, up and down.

Within a week, XY lost 2 teeth. They came out on their own. And she's really cool about them, although there was a bit of blood. Upper right lateral incisor on 5/6 (just dropped out by itself) and upper left lateral incisor on 9/6 (while playing rough with didi). So now she's RM1 richer. Yes, this tooth fairy is quite stingy one. Only 50 sen per tooth. hahaha

CE's Birthday Celebration

CE turned 5 on Sunday. We had a small do for him at home, together with BIL and family. The birthday boy wanted to eat pizza so we had pizza, KFC and fried noodles for dinner. I did some simple decorations with alphabets (from the alphabet mats) and balloons (a must-have for their birthday parties). I don't think the balloons are hung nicely (and always at the same boring place) but I doubt the boy minded. As long as there're balloons, he's a happy camper.

~ I asked him to pose near the wall deco, he wanted
to "pose" with his artwork from Art class ~

~ the very simple balloon deco ~

As for the cake, he actually requested for a number 5 cake. I checked with the bakery, the minimum weight is 2kg. Last year, we got him a 2kg number 4 cake and we took many many days to finish it. I'm not going to torture ourselves again. So I drew a big circle with a number 5 inside it and showed it to him for approval. Luckily he agreed. Phew... problem solved. I ordered a mango cake from Suki Bakery. It was very nice -- soft and fresh, with mango chunks inside and mango slices on top.

~ mango cake with number 5 on top ~

In order to make the kids sit still after dinner, I let them do sand art. Haiyo! It's not so easy to do when you don't have big containers for sprinkling the colours. And messy too! Luckily I covered the table and floor with newspapers. I'm not sure if those are of low quality stuff (RM3 per pack), but the boys had difficulty peeling it off. So I peeled for them but they decided on the colours to use. Good thing jie jie can do it all by herself. They really enjoyed it and were very proud of their masterpieces. Now that I know they like it, the next time we see sand art at the malls, will let them try again. No more doing sand art at home. :-)

~ sitting still doing sand art ~

After the arts and crafts activity, it's sing-birthday-songs (have to sing in 3 languages -- I guess they followed the custom in kindy :D), blow-candles, cut-cake and eat-cake time. XN (CH's mei mei) missed this part coz she was napping on the sofa.

~ halfway through singing the 3 birthday songs, he put his
hand around jie jie's shoulder. Awww... I think he was shy ~

~ the boys giving their thumbs-up ~

~ his presents -- the t-shirt he's wearing, a cheapo tool set with
belt and helmet, and a Swatch watch (from CH and family) ~

1st Semester Progress Report

Went to kindy to collect CE's exam results and discussed his progress with his class teacher, Ms W. He did quite well in his exam. His scores are all above 90, with full marks for English. Anyway, I'm sure the teacher helped/guided him during the exam coz I saw some erased pencil marks for the wrong answers. hehehe Anyway, to me, exam at this level is not important. It's just to gauge how much the children understood what was being taught in class.

In the developments grading (social and emotional, language, cognitive and motor), he got mostly average and good. The teacher highlighted that he's not very good at cutting with scissors and doing tear and paste work.

Behaviour wise, he's generally ok in school. Ms W commented that he's not the talkative type. She said 5-year-olds are usually quite talkative (probably coz they're more familiar with the surroundings, especially for those who started at 3 or 4 years old). He doesn't really mix and talk much with his friends. He'll answer when teacher asked him questions in class but he usually won't initiate a conversation. I suppose he's the type that only opens his mouth when necessary. :-) In a way, isn't that good? hahaha

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE gets along well with his classmates. He can follow teacher's instructions very well. He is good in BM & English reading. He can further improve in Mandarin writing.

Hello Everybody!

Long time no see! Wow... this is the longest break I've taken in the cyber world. Whoosh! 3 months just flew by. Better clear the cobwebs and get back in action before I lose all my blogger friends. hehehe As it is, some have already given me warnings. o.O But seriously, it's really heartwarming to know that there are friends out there (you know who you are) who care and wonder how you're doing when you've been "missing" for some time. Thank you so much for your warm thoughts, girls!

Hmmm, where do I start? Ok, here are some random updates :
* Mother's Day 2011 -- we went back to PaPa's hometown on Saturday to attend his grandma's 80th birthday celebration. We only spent a night there. Didn't even celebrate Mother's Day for MIL as we left after lunch. No celebration for me either. No mood anyway coz CE was sick. I got a card each from the kids.


* CE had his first exam last week. But he has 2 more papers to go because he was sick. Had high fever due to throat infection/gastroenteritis -- diarrhea and stomach cramps.
* Due to his prolonged cough, doctor suggested that CE take Alvesco Inhaler (started on 24 Mac). It's not sprayed directly into the mouth, but used with the AeroChamber. His condition improved after 1 month of usage. He still coughs every now and then, but for a much shorter period compared to last time.
* 19 Mac -- went to the dentist to extract XY's lower right lateral incisor.
* XY started piano lessons in March.
* CE started Mandarin classes in April -- once a week after school hours in his kindy.
* Brought the kids for a haircut in April. Finally snipped off XY's over-the-shoulder-length hair to chin level.
* I went back to Penang for Cheng Beng, alone. It was a good 3D/2N trip away from the kids. :D But too bad I had diarrhea so didn't get to enjoy all the hawker food that I've been craving for. Never mind, will be bringing the kids back again end of May, during the school holidays. Then it's payback time. muahahaha
* Have been watching a lot of tv series -- Hong Kong and Singapore dramas.
* Started eating oats for breakfast (not everyday though) and exercising on the trampoline 2 to 3 times a week to control my cholesterol level. Really hope to keep this up.
* Will be busy preparing XY for her mid-year exam, which will start on 23 May.

CNY 2011

The weather's been rather crazy. As written in my previous post, it was a wet wet pre-CNY down south. It was flooded (luckily PIL's place not affected) due to non-stop rain while it's hot hot hot up north. When we travelled back to KL on the 2nd day of CNY (Friday), we passed by a short stretch of flooded area in Parit Sulong. Luckily it was not very bad as cars can still pass through.

~ the houses by the road were flooded up to knee height ~

The next morning (Saturday), we took the flight to hot hot Penang. It was a short trip as school will start on Monday for XY. She had to skip school for a day. Although it was only 3D/2N, this trip was quite fruitful -- gathering with schoolmates and Uni-mate, visiting relatives, hanging out with very 'old' friends (some I haven't seen for almost 20 years!). I didn't get to enjoy much of Penang food this round. For our family dinner on Sunday, we tried Young Heart Restaurant @ Pulau Tikus, which promotes healthy and delicious food. Unfortunately, the food wasn't as good as the published reviews. Probably coz it was during CNY and the sets were prepared much earlier. So the reheating must have affected the taste.

Tuesday (back in KL), we attended the CNY party organised by CE's kindy. This is our first time as we missed the event the past 4 years (not back from my hometown yet). But this year due to XY's school schedule, we managed to make it. It's a potluck party, I contributed nuggets. There was lion dance, a short drama by the 6-year-olds, games and food.

~ lion dance ~

Saturday, visited my relatives in the morning. At night, dinner at BIL's house with friends and their families. That was the first time (and last, I guess) I 'lou sang' this CNY. Luckily still got chance to 'lou' this year.

Monday, Valentine's Day. Hubby's away so no celebration. :-( Anyway, I doubt we'll dine out even if he's in town. 'Lou foo lou chai' already, we don't really celebrate V-day. But I got a pleasant surprise when a van honked at my gate this afternoon. Flower delivery! *big big smile* So what did I get for my Valentine? Only a card. hahaha I put it in his luggage bag pocket, without his knowledge of coz. Last night after 12 midnight, I sms-ed him to tell him where to find it. Well, at least still got some element of surprise. :D

We don't have any programs for the rest of the week. Will just laze around at home and prepare XY for her assessment next week. Happy Chap Goh Meh in advance!

A Wet Wet Pre-CNY

When we travelled back to PaPa's hometown yesterday, it was raining all the way. Luckily not too heavily. And one small part of the highway was a bit flooded (half a lane). It's been raining non-stop for a few days. Good thing the sun came out to play today, otherwise the clothes cannot dry. And the dirty clothes are piling up very fast. Hopefully the weather wouldn't be too gloomy and wet the next few days. Moreover, going visiting is not so convenient during rainy days.

Our last trip back was during CNY last year. So we've been savouring the local food as much as we can, before they close for the festive season. And there'll be continuous feasting the whole week. Ahhh... happy happy stomach. :-)

To those who celebrates CNY, here's wishing you...

Picture courtesy of http://chinese-new-year-cards.blogspot.com

Have a safe journey, wherever you're travelling to!

And to those not celebrating, have a good holiday!

Art Class & Lemon Cake

Didi attended his first art class today. The art lessons are conducted in his kindy after school, once a week. He had catered lunch from kindy. I'm glad to hear the principal commented that he ate his lunch on his own and very fast too.

~ posing with his lantern ~

So he came home 2 hours later than normal. By the time he finished bathing, it was already 3+. I decided to let him skip his nap so he can sleep earlier at night. Since I don't have to accompany him for his nap, I baked a cake, using the cake mix which I didn't buy. So who "bought" it?

During our last shopping trip at Tesco (3 weeks ago), didi put a box of Pillsbury cake mix into the trolley without me realising it. I had a trolley-full of stuff, so I didn't notice it when the cashier was scanning the items. When I looked through the receipt and saw the item, I remembered that he was holding the box and checking it out. That's the problem when the kids offer to help put things into the trolley. Sometimes they just dump whatever they fancy without asking our permission. However, this is the first time he did that. I must warn/remind him not to do it again the next time we go sundry shopping. Luckily it's not something that we don't use. Just that the "slave" got more work to do. hehehe

~ Pillsbury cake mix ~

I don't know what other flavours are there, but he took the lemon one. Good thing it's very simple to do. Just mix all the ingredients together (cake mix, water, oil and eggs). But I tried to be smart and didn't use up all the water as the mixture was quite runny with just half the amount. So the cake turned out to be quite dry. :-( Taste wise, it's quite alright, not too sweet. The kids have no complaints though, they love it. Well, they are very easy to please, where cakes are concerned. :-)

~ the end result ~

Lanterns

I saw many DIY lanterns in the blogsphere and since I was in the mood, I made some to decorate the house. Our house usually has minimum decoration -- just a pair of lanterns hung in the porch and some wall decorations indoor. So this year, we have some DIY lanterns hung indoor. Must give credit to XY for helping me out. I gave her simpler jobs that doesn't require much precision, although she had wanted to help more.

~ ball lantern ~

I've made this before but have forgotten how to. When I read about Merryn's colleague making it, it sort of triggered my memory after I looked at the lantern closely. And lucky for those who doesn't know how to make this, she's just posted the guide in her blog.

The red looked quite dull to me so I cut out some round pattern from other red packets and stuck them on the "ball". The end result looks rather weird to me, but never mind lah, lazy to change it already. :p

~ 6-point star lantern ~

~ CE's school project ~

Also referring to Merryn's blog, I made this star lantern. But it's slightly different from hers as I used the bigger red packets (length = 2x width) so I needed 6 to make one side of the star. Later I found some smaller red packets (length < 2x width) so I made another one. I let CE bring the 5-point star lantern to school as his school project, although he didn't help at all. Actually he wanted to help, but I didn't want him to ruin MY lantern. hahaha

~ "grand" lantern :D ~

This is my favourite. It looks very complicated, but thanks to Angeline's step-by-step guide, it wasn't that difficult actually. But I'd like to add a note here, when you are sticking the red packets to get Step 12 and Step 34, don't stick them too close together. Leave a small teeny weeny gap (less than 1mm). Reason being, they are the outer layer, so the little extra space will make it look tidier after fitting the inner section. Errr... you've got to read her post first before you know what I'm talking about. :-)

Now there's just the porch lanterns that need changing. Still haven't found nice and not-too-expensive ones. :p

Oh ya, thank you for your feedback on the bracelet. Looks like it's a close fight between the twisted and as is version, with as is winning by 2 votes. hehehe So this CNY, I'll be wearing it as is. And say, a few months later, it's twisted's turn. :-)