Long Disappearance

*cough cough cough* Gosh, so much dust and cobwebs in here. Some of you might have thought I've abandoned this blog or retired from blogging... or something. :-) Well, I don't want to bore you with the excuses. So let's just have some updates. Hmmm... where should I start? Okay, in some sort of chronological order :

CNY 2012
The journey back to our hometowns were rather smooth and uneventful, thankfully. As usual, it's feasting non-stop and gathering with family, friends and relatives during the festive season.

We attended the CNY potluck party in CE's kindy. I brought sausages and nuggets (too lazy to prepare anything creative :p). Every year, they have lion dance, which never fail to fascinate the kids. The lions were very playful. So when CE put his hand near its mouth to feed it oranges, it "bit" him. I think his hand was pulled a bit too hard till it hurt so the silly boy cried a little. hahaha

~ CE got "bitten" by the lion ~

St. John Ambulance
XY was assigned to join St. John Ambulance and Maths & Science Club for her co-curricular (Ko-K) activities. If we don't agree, we can ask the teacher for a change but I think it's good to learn some first aid knowledge in St. John. I had a hard time looking for her uniform. The smallest sized t-shirt they have is so big on her. The smallest sized pants were too loose. I bought them anyway and the pants had to be altered. Even the belt was too long and I had to cut it myself. She has Ko-K once a week and it alternates between uniform units and clubs.

Valentine's Day
Received a bouquet of flowers from hubby. It didn't turn out to be a surprise coz when hubby called around noon, I didn't mention anything so he had to ask me about it. They haven't delivered it, although they said it'll be delivered in the morning. So hubby had to call them to check. Turned out they can't find my place and a taxi guy actually delivered the flowers at 4+pm. Apparently the delivery fella sub-contracted the job to him. o.O

~ a dozen of red roses ~

Slithering visitor
SIL's maid saw a little snake, about 1 foot long, in my kitchen. It must have entered through the small opening underneath the door. She quickly grabbed the broom and whacked it. It was hurt but still alive, squirming on the spot. Both the maids were scared, so I continued to whack it till it stopped moving. I was totally freaked out (thus forgot about snapping pictures :p) but someone had to do it, right? Hubby was out running errands and when he came back, he got the honour to scoop the "dead body" into a plastic bag. Afraid that the mommy snake was nearby, I called the Fire Department to lodge a report. They came in their big red truck, all ready with the snake catching tools. When we told them the snake is dead, they took the plastic bag and wanted to leave. We had to ask them to check the compound to make sure there were no snakes hiding around. One of the men said that the little snake must have been catching a rat and followed it to the house. o.O Later in the day, I bought sulphur powder and sprinkled it around the backyard.

Surprise for mom
In early March, I went back to my hometown alone for my mom's birthday, without telling her in advance. I called my brother that morning itself, to pick me up from the airport. Didn't want to tell my brothers earlier, in case they accidentally leaked my plan. hehehe And it worked! She was VERY surprised when she saw me. Mom's birthday fell on a Sat this year. I actually bought AA's tickets in May last year during their sales. I only spent 1 night at home but it was really great to spend quality time with her as when I'm back with the kids, I'm usually distracted by occupied with them.

Kids' health
Didi had fever on the Thursday before the 1-week school holiday. He was coughing badly. Paediatrician said it's lung infection. He was feverish for almost a week. Luckily it was during the school holiday, so he had a good rest at home.

2 weeks later, it was jie jie's turn. She started having fever on Mon (26/3). It started with runny nose, then cough. Her fever lasted for 5 days. During that time, I brought her to the clinic 3 times. The first antibiotics didn't work and had to be changed before completion, to the same type as didi's. So I guess they were attacked by the same bacteria (lung infection), although 2 weeks apart. She was absent from school for a week. She also missed her first school outing (a full day outing to Pusat Sains Negara, chocolate factory and don't-know-where-else) on Saturday. She was really disappointed.

Last Wednesday, it's back to didi's turn. :( He's got ear infection, both ears. Complained of ear pain on Wed night. PaPa came home at 11+pm and brought him to the hospital (most clinics were closed already) coz we don't have any medicine at home. He was still in pain after putting the ear drop so I gave him paracetamol. The next morning, brought him to our regular paediatrician coz I don't really trust the doctor at the A&E. Although he didn't have any fever, the doctor started him on antibiotics coz he's usually more aggressive when it comes to ear infection. Luckily he didn't complain of pain after that.

Photobook
I've just received my second photobook. I bought 2 vouchers in Sept 2010. After procrastinating for more than a year, I completed didi's book in Jan and got it just before the CNY break. I was busy slowwwwwly working on jie jie's book last month. Finally it was done and uploaded for printing just before the expiry date (end of Mac). :p

~ from birth till 3 years old ~

~ from birth till 4 years old ~

~ inside XY's photobook ~

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. :-)

Locked Out Of The Room

The kids were playing with the computer room door and accidentally locked the door, with nobody inside. What do you do?

Step 1 : Scream at the kids for playing with the door.

*steam still coming out of the head*

Step 2 : Search for the key. Try your messy storeroom.

No luck?

Step 3 : Try the bunch of spare keys. Although you're almost 100% sure the key isn't there, who knows, it could be your lucky day. Or maybe miraculously, some other key is able to open the door.

No such luck. *start to get frustrated already*

Step 4 : Call your hubby to see if he knows where the key is. But don't count on it. Most of the time, he'd be clueless. :p


Step 5 : Search the internet for "How to open a locked door". One of the links given.


Step 6 : Start looking for expired credit cards or membership cards.

I used the iTalk phone card as it's not as hard as a credit card, so it's more flexible. Slide the card between the door and the frame. I started higher up where the gap is slightly bigger. Slide it down to where the lock is. Push and bend and twist the card, while pushing the door slightly.

Ta-daaa! The door's open!

Couch Potato Weekend

Hubby and I were following the Singapore series The Little Nyonya on Astro. But it's quite irritating to watch one episode per day (minus weekends). I don't really mind that as I don't want to spend the extra money on rental or CD purchase. Call me a cheapskate but why spend the money when we've already paid for the Astro subscription? But of course, with the full set of CDs, we can watch as many episodes we want, whenever we want.

Hubby, who doesn't mind spending the amount (not a lot, actually) and also because he's not very patient, came back with the full set last Friday. So we spent the weekend doing TV marathon. We watched 19 episodes in 2 days' time and we've finished the series! *phew*

As it's a couch potato weekend, we didn't bring the kids anywhere (except for dinner on Saturday). So they were confined at home, with no TV to watch and no Wii games to play from afternoon onwards. Of course they created a lot of havoc - running around the house chasing each other, playing rough, snatching toys, making A LOT of noise, etc. They got scolded countless times. But can't blame them, right? At least they kept themselves occupied while the parents are glued to the idiot box. :p

~ one of the things they did to entertain themselves ~

Brown Water

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

~ CE bathed with this ~

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

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

Valentine Weekend

After his Saturday morning errands, PaPa came home with 3 stalks of roses for me although I've specifically told him not to.
Reasons being :
1. Extra expensive on V-day.
2. I have to dry them then figure out what to do with the dried flowers.
But since he was being extra sweet, I'd better quickly say "Thank You" and appreciate his thoughtfulness.

~ roses from my Valentine ~

We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day in a big way anymore. As time goes by, we put less and less emphasis on special dates. There are just too many to commemorate. And some are just too commercialised. As long as he remembers them, it's good enough for me. Don't have to shower me with gifts or flowers. But of course, some surprises thrown in once in awhile would definitely send me to cloud 9. :D

Hubby suggested we go for seafood dinner coz he knows I love crabs. We had dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant and the highlights were cheese crabs (not very satisfactory - will stick to their sweet and sour crab next time) and tomyam prawns (cooked and served in a coconut shell and it's really yummy! *slurp*). Again, sorry for not taking any pictures coz I forgot when the food came. :p

Since we didn't go out on Saturday, we decided to go for a movie on Sunday as we've got free GSC tickets which will expire on Tuesday. We went for dim sum at Tai Thong restaurant in Cheras. Hubby said the food wasn't nice. For that kind of price, I'd say it's just so-so. Next stop, Midvalley Megamall. We have some time to shop around before the movie. Then "armed" with popcorns, drinks and nuggets, we watched The Wedding Game. It's a romantic comedy and I find it quite entertaining (I don't have high expectations) but hubby said it was boring. One thing for sure, it's not suitable for kids as there were some kissing and intimate scenes. It was very funny and embarrassing when XY went "haiyo...". hahaha

After the movie, we had a very late lunch (at 5 pm) at a mamak shop on the way home. Had to rush home coz the air-conditioner installers were coming. The unit in our room has broken down. We must be the unlucky few as it's only 3 years old. It costs a lot of replace the IC board and motor fan so we bought a new unit. Panasonic air-conds are quite reputable, no?

After some popcorn indulgence and being out almost the whole day (meaning no proper rest), didi started having fever early this morning. Coughing a little bit too. Sigh... jie jie has just recovered from fever, redthroat and slight cough. Now it's didi's turn. Luckily his fever's not very high - below 39ºC. And I'm so thankful force feeding medicine is a thing of the past. *phewww*

Unsightly Lawn

We engaged a gardener to cut our grass coz hubby was too lazy to mow the lawn. The lady came on Monday morning. She was wearing an oversized jacket, long pants, boots, big spectacles and straw hat.

The kids were really funny (and embarrassing). First, it was jie jie. She wanted to see what the lady was doing so I asked her to see from the window in the computer room. Then she referred to the lady as "Uncle". When I told her that's not an "Uncle", she continued with "man?" "No." "Abang?" hahaha "No." She was a bit confused when I told her that's an "Aunty". :D

Next was didi. He was peeping from the front windows. He too referred to the lady as "Uncle". :-| So jie jie corrected him. I hope the lady didn't hear any of the kids conversation. That'd be so embarrassing, right?

I spoke to the lady about the grass, which has dried up. She told me not to let the grass grow too long coz it'll cover up the roots and they'll dry up and die. We have to maintain the grass, trimming them every 2 months or so. I also need to water them on non-rainy days. They aren't as hardy as I thought they are. hehehe I'm really hoping with more care, the grass will eventually grow back.

From this green lawn one year ago...


... to this brown patch now. What an eye sore.

Warranty Period Almost Over

A few weeks back, I realised that my trampoline's cover was torn, revealing the sponge. I remember I bought it in August last year so the 1-year warranty's going to be over soon. I searched for the receipt and called up the outlet. The guy told me that for the cover, the warranty's only for half a year. Huh? But the receipt just states that warranty's 1 year, without differentiating the cover and other spare parts.

Anyway, I asked him to check for me how much it'll cost just to change the cover. He called me back later and informed me RM45. So expensive! I bought the trampoline for RM120 but the cover's RM45. Might as well buy a new one, and get another year's warranty, right? He also told me that the torn cover doesn't affect the usage, just that it doesn't look nice. hahaha It's not a home decoration or something, I can live with the torn cover.

~ torn ~

I also asked what I should check to make sure the trampoline's working fine. Better ensure it's in good condition while still in the warranty period. He said to check the springs, make sure they're not broken. If they are, you'd feel off balance when you jump. Okay, checked! The springs are all fine.

As for my exercise regime, it was 2 to 3 times a week at the beginning. But since April (since my previous maid left), I've not been very hardworking. I stopped for a period of time. Partially it was because the new Kakak couldn't handle my boy that well. So he won't leave me alone to workout in the room. Now I'm slowly getting back the momentum. It really does feel great after some jumping, even if it's just for 15 minutes. Must try to keep it up. No more excuses. :p

Free Vouchers

Phew! I’ve finally finished sorting out all the papers in the tray on the computer table. Next task will be to file the documents into the respective files (not now though... *yawn*). While clearing the documents, I found the Petronas coupons which CB won from MY FM. He won RM150 in the ‘Filler Up’ Challenge last year. RM100 worth of petrol coupons have expired. The remaining RM50 is for purchase of goods from the service station or Kedai Mesra. These will expire on 30 June 2008. I’d better put it in his bag and remind him about it.

I also found a voucher which was given to me by my aunt. It’s a RM50 cash voucher, redeemable at any Jerneh Insurance Berhad branch for their insurance products. It’s valid till 30 April 2008. But I don’t have any policies with Jerneh. Anyone of you interested in this insurance voucher? If you are, do let me know as soon as possible. I’ll post it to you immediately as it’s expiring end of this month. On a first come first serve basis ya. ;)

The Hunt For Detergent

At the beginning of the month, my maid told me that the detergent for the washing machine was going to finish soon. When hubby went to Tesco to get some sundries, he couldn't find the one that we normally use - Dynamo Low Suds (ours is the front load type). We also tried Giant and the Chinese medicine shop - don't have.

On Tuesday, I found out from my maid that she's started to use the normal Dynamo (blue colour) for machine wash. I was a bit worried it'll produce too much bubbles if we use the normal amount of detergent. And the rinsing cycle may not be able to clean the clothes thoroughly. Luckily she used lesser than usual.

So after picking XY up from her kindy, I went to Billion to try my luck. Still don't have. Have they discontinued the product? Looked like it's out of stock everywhere. I had no choice but to change to another brand. I bought Top, which can be used for both front and top load washing machine. Hmmm... I wonder if it smells different.

Setting The CNY Atmosphere

Do you have to think hard on what to eat? I don't have much problems with weekdays as I'll just ask the maid to cook whatever that's in the fridge. Sometimes some dishes are planned ahead when marketing was done. But when it comes to weekends, we have a hard time thinking what to eat. We usually eat out on weekends but there aren't many nice food around our area. Like just now, we discussed for almost 10 minutes on what to eat before deciding on bak kut teh. For that, we've to travel out of Kajang town coz there're no good ones here.

After dinner, we went shopping at Jusco (yeah... again). We bought 2 small pots of lotus bamboo. Wanted to create some CNY atmosphere at home. I wanted to get the bigger one but the vase was quite ugly. Also saw a nice pot of pussy willows. The vase is filled with soil so I thought it wouldn't be a suitable decoration in the house with 2 active and curious kids. They were also selling bunches of it separately and the saleslady told me I just need to put water in the vase. Not suitable for us either. Looks like we have to get those artificial ones if we want to put in the house but they don't look that nice. So in the end, we didn't get any.

~ our first decorative plants ~

Astro MAX

We’ve got another new gadget in the house... the Astro MAX. It was installed last Saturday. Still not very familiar with the new device. Got new remote control and different navigation screen.

This morning, suddenly we’ve got a disruption to the Astro service. Couldn’t watch any programs at all. I called up Customer Service. They told me my smart card was temporarily suspended coz they were upgrading the old decoder to Astro MAX. And it should be done within 24 hours. Huh? How are we to survive without Astro for 24 hours? So I complained a bit and the lady said she’ll try to expedite the upgrade. Luckily the service resumed after an hour. hehehe

Then in the afternoon, I wanted to record the 2:30 WLT show but was unable to. It showed the message “This channel cannot be recorded.” I tried other channels. Gave me the same message. So called Customer Service again. Reported the matter and the guy said I’ll get a call from the technical people to solve my problem within 4 hours. I tried to record a few times, even switched the decoder on and off. Also downloaded the channels again. Nothing worked. I only got a response from them at 8+pm (which was 6+ hours later). I was asked to switch off the power cable, wait for 15 seconds, then switch the power cable and decoder on. After the decoder’s start-up, I was able to record again. I felt quite stupid. Such a simple step also I didn’t think of doing.

One feature I’m very impressed with is that I can record a show and watch another recorded program at the same time. With a VCR or DVD, you won’t be able to do that. We’re quite happy with this purchase. So far so good. :)

To Upgrade Or Not?

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

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

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

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

My Very Own Handy Manny

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

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

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

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

~ the completed magnetic screen ~

~ window with mosquito netting ~

Unexpected Power Cut

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

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

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

Astro's New Channel Numbers

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

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

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

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

Pest Control

The pest control people are coming tomorrow. And every time they come, we’ve to find a place to ‘hide’ for the rest of the day coz the smell is too strong. So usually, we’ll go shopping or go to my BIL’s place to hang out till night time. Of coz the smell is still there, but at least it’s bearable.

We engage them every 2 to 3 months. Actually we can see some cockroaches in the house within a month after the service. But they are usually quite stoned and easy to whack. I’m really scared of cockroaches, especially those that can fly. So whenever I see one, I’ll shout for help and hubby will come to the rescue. If hubby’s not at home, my next saviour is Kakak. She’s not afraid of roaches, but is very afraid of lizards. So when it comes to lizards, I’ll be her heroine. hehehehe

Another nuisance in the house is ants. Once the chemicals wear out (normally 2-3 months’ time), I can see ants trails coming in through the kitchen window and door. I really hate those tiny ants. They’ll conquer your food within minutes if you leave them uncovered.

I’m actually worried about the chemical smell and how it can affect young children. According to the pest control people, it’s not harmful but may make them nauseous if exposed directly. How do you handle those pests in your house? Do you engage a pest control service or you use some products that can keep them away?