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.

Mini Bloggers Gathering

For the first time, I met up with the family of Doreen, Sharine and June. Oh, I've bumped into Doreen at Bali Hai in Oct '08. But this is our first official meeting. :-) Hubby didn't join us coz he had another appointment. Doreen was already at Ko Fu Loft, Gurney Plaza when we arrived. Ryan was such a good boy as he didn't hesitate to share his precious toy cars with XY and CE. Although he was a little shy at first, he warmed up soon after. But he's not camera-shy at all. This handsome lad is ever so willing to pose for pictures, and very good at it too.

Sharine's En En is so pretty and 'see man' (lady-like). It was interesting to see Zheng in action. He's one very cute eating machine (it's better to have a kid who loves food than a picky eater, right?) and he's a pro at the steps. CE was more interested to play with him than the others. Maybe he thinks Zheng's a moving baby toy. hehehe I was very worried for Zheng coz my boy can be quite rough.

Rachael (June's princess) is a very active girl. When she came in, she totally ignored the chair. She was off to explore the steps and the bamboo decoration area, which eventually became the kids' play area. XY soon joined her and played 'catching' with her. They clicked instantly, I guess coz they're the same cannot-sit-still type. hahaha

At one point, the boys were sitting at the table eating while the girls were running around the place. Gosh... what has the world become? :D Although there were only 6 kids, it was enough to create havoc. Luckily Doreen chose a strategic place where we sort of have a bigger area to ourselves (the table next to us was unoccupied). The kids had a blast walking, running and exploring the whole place. Laughing and shouting too. As for the husbands, they are very friendly and very hands-on with the kids.

I didn't take much pictures (not that I usually do :D) as Doreen's and June's husbands came with their BIG toys. They were busy snapping away while we had our meal, chatted or followed the kids around. Actually, we didn't chat much as most of the time we were distracted by the kids. Hopefully we'll be able to do this again and get to know more about each other. To the 3 pretty mommies, thank you for the wonderful company and it was really great seeing you all in person.

These are some of the pictures taken by Alan (Doreen's hubby). Very candid, natural and clear.

~ from left to right : Rou En, Yong Zheng and Rachael ~

~ CE playing hide and seek with Mr Photographer ~

~ 2 cute obliging models (Rachael & Ryan) putting
their heads in between the bamboo sticks ~

~ 'tai kar cheh' with her little friends ~

Dental Visit

Sunday, 6th July, 2008 ~ I went to see the dentist to check my broken tooth. XY went with me to get her teeth checked as well. It was her first dental check and I was very happy that her teeth are all good. She was very cooperative. Opened her mouth wide when asked to. She didn't show any discomfort or fear at all. Maybe she's a big girl already or maybe because I've prepped her many times before the visit.

As for me, the dentist said the side of my tooth has broken. He removed the old filling and put in a new filling. After further check, he said there's a cavity on my lower left molar. So that needed filling too. I asked him if I'd be able to eat as I'm having new fillings on both the left and right side. Apparently the fillings used now (white colour) dry up very fast. And it doesn't have any mercury content, unlike the silver coloured one. I also did scaling and polishing. After that, my teeth felt smooth and clean.

While I was being attended to, XY was standing next to me. She was very curious to know what the dentist was doing. She kept walking over to the dentist's side, which she wasn't allowed to. And she was very "helpful" (kepoh as usual)... helped me to put the cup back to its stand after I've gargled. She really surprised me for being a very good girl. She waited for me for about 20 minutes and she didn't touch this and that or "explore" the room on her own.

Now let's forward to today ~ The kids fell asleep very fast just now coz they didn't take their afternoon nap. I had a lunch appointment and I brought XY along, left didi with PaPa at home. Met up with a very old friend, P (haven't seen him for more than 10 years, I think), and his girlfriend. They've eaten Kajang satay before so I brought them to eat 'latt thong'. After that, I went to Tesco to buy some things. Reached home at 4+. And didi hasn't slept yet. PaPa didn't manage to make him nap. That's why he fell asleep within 10 minutes after the lights were switched off. If only he falls asleep that fast every day. Normally it takes 1 - 1.5 hours. :-|

Meeting Up with Ex-colleagues

On Saturday, I met up with 2 of my ex-colleagues (YL and S - from the company I left 7 years ago) at Secret Recipe. CB didn't join us, he just played driver. YL brought her son along so XY had a friend to play with. They are the same age, just 3 weeks apart. I think they have a common mission - to tear the place down. They were playing catching, pushing each other around and making a lot of noise.

CE on the other hand, behaved like an angel. He was very quiet, munching his Honeystars (finished the whole container at one go) and smiling most of the time. He didn't fuss much. Probably coz Kakak kept him busy with snacks and biscuits. So with XY busy with her new friend and CE busy with food, I was able to chat with my friends. Just have to keep an eye on the kids and remind them to stop running around or stop pushing each other every now and then.

After the get-together, we went to Mid Valley Megamall (MV). Finally, I bought a pair of sandals for myself (have been looking around for weeks) at Robinsons. When we walked to The Gardens, it was not raining. But while we were at Robinsons, it rained so heavily. Luckily now they have a covered walkway connecting MV and The Gardens, unlike the last time we were there. It was so weird that on both occasions we went to The Gardens, we went in when it was dry but when we wanted to leave, it was raining cats and dogs.

It was time for dinner and we went to Amarin Heavenly Thai, our main reason for going to MV. We just love the food there. This time we ordered quite a lot of dishes - appetizer, salad, fish, chicken and vegetables. That's quite a lot for 2 adults and a child, no? It was the first time we tried the appetizer platter (prawn wanton, money bag, spring roll, fish cake and rice craker) and it was very nice (very unhealthy though, as it's all deep-fried stuff). But very tasty and crispy. We were stuffed to our chest when we finished. Now I'll leave you to drool over these pictures. hehehe

Dinner With Friends

I had dinner with some of my Uni friends. It was a get-together to meet up with LY who came back from the States for a short holiday. Just us 5 girls. CB was home looking after the kids. When I reached home at about 11pm, they have not slept yet. Can still hear CE crying upstairs.

We went for 'latt thong' in Sg Chua. Luckily they liked the food. So nice of them to come all the way to Kajang from KL (C and MP from Damansara, LY from Puchong and KC from her office in KL). It was really great to catch up with them.

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.