Mumblings

Been wanting to blog so much things but I don't know why lately I've been feeling so tired. My mind tends to auto shutdown at 12am, can't last through 1am. Shucks! And I've things to clear in my lappie etc....

Photos - I managed to finish up to Taiwan. I see all the brochures I lugged back from NZ to put in my albums also sian.. Yah, I tell you hor... when I holiday I don't do much shopping. Even if we do, it's mostly the kids and maybe hubby's. He has the mood to shop mah... I cannot shop, want to try clothes; kids make noise want me; I hear their voices; I tak boleh tahan. So why is our luggage always heavy? I like to bring back some brochures I take from each place, double (just in case I need pictures from the same piece of paper) & see if I need them in the album. Now I see the brochures, I get a headache and I've to separate them according to places we went. And placing them into the album is another story to tell.. I am so lazy now, instead of retyping the words. I cut what I've typed in my itinery and put it inside. Speaking about organizing albums, brother does it much better than me, he'll do more than what I do but lesser than a scrapbook format. Still! That will take alot of time (which I'm thankful that I'm not a diehard scrappie fan).

PTM - was last night. Peggy gave us an idea about the F.S.S the children have to take at the end of the year. Sounds easy but I dunno whether that girl can do it or not. She has problem with her hearing. Play one note, she can either get it right and sound very confident when giving answers or humtam botum from Do to Do. Argh!
Maybe some won't continue on coz' it'll be a non-parent sit-in kind. For me, I'm more worried if she'll interfere with the class & perhaps she might do better in an individual class. If not, I'll be happy for her to continue with the rests of her class before each goes their separate ways. (umm... I hate when it comes to this)
And again... she keeps mentioning that my expectation from her is too much. Very sian to keep explaining you know, afterall it's a group PTM not an individual PTM. She thinks and kept saying I'm too strict. Wah.......ay! I do praise my girl also you know?!
I know my daughter's faults, I don't deny them and I'm willing to share but for others to hear it - it can be very boring and like I said we're here for a teacher-parents meeting. Seems like my child is problematic. She mentioned something about autism and some parents want to deny it. I thought no, my girl is not autistic or has ADHD. She has CSSS - Cannot Sit Still Syndrome. I'm not denying any fact but even if my child has it, I'll be the first to bring them to specialists.
On a positive note, Athena loves to sing and dance. Which I thought I wouldn't mind her taking choir or Dance as CCA. By then I'll still be correcting her mistakes when she sings - heehee! mummy from school choir mah! Then there's handbells too... sadly they don't have violin, if they do I'd ask her to join. Funny! Hubby was saying "why join all these useless CCAs?"
Me : "Then join what???" (pause) Ah! I know, let her join Girl Guides. Ah-nia sure mati one..."

A day of relaxation
Wednesdays are days I look forward to. I love the company. I wonder what will happen next year. I want to continue our sessions and gossips with MH but ...... very sad life hor? Child grows older, mother also more restricted. But then mummies all need their circle of friends right?
Maybe next year I will get to know other mummies while waiting for my children to run to me at the school gate?
After our gossip session, we left and I had until 6.45pm to meet J (Eliz's mummy). Shopped a little, managed to get another top without burning much on my card. $60+ after discount. Cheap? As TM's basement was so tempted to buy Famous Amos cookies.......ooh...if only I can bake cookies as nice as that!

It was nice of J to ask for a dinner together prior to our PTM. I've known her since 2005 and we do talk but we don't talk alot .. I mean those kind of gossipy or fun talks to get to know her better. Usually just in time for lessons and then after that leave and there's no way to get her children on playdate with her coz she's working. Eliz, that sweet girl? That talented girl. Goash! She's the best in the class, just listen and she can play well. Sigh..........if only Athena has half of her talent I'll be happy. Oops! I got a lil' sidetrack.
Anyway, we had a nice chat over Grilled Fish Sambal in Swensens (the sambal don't taste that good as what I had tasted in another outlet) and there'll be more to come next year onwards while we wait for our children.

Miss Subaru
Miss Subaru is finally here. Parked side by side tonight, can see the stark difference in size. Moved over some things and then no space / no compartments for this and that. You know lah! my children sometimes need to watch DVD in the car. Can't hide it from view when storing it, no space for stroller. Argh! I knew its going to be a small car but I totally forgot about space for strollers. Even our cheapo stroller is too big so don't talk about our PegPerago. No space for strollers = I can't spend too long time outside with Aricia. Becoz it will mean I need to carry one huge bag of milk; diapers and my own bag and carry/sling her. And you think I will enjoy my shopping trips?
So... it means it's an :
1) indirect subtle way of hubby trying to tell me not to spend too much $ and better stay at home everyday
2) telling me to leave Aricia at home with KZ so that I can enjoy myself without a child screaming
It's also a 4-seater, which means not much space for extra passenger. If you wish to stash away the booster seat, still gotta land on someone's lap that kind of thing. So it means I can't be kind-hearted to offer to give friends a lift, if I need to. Aha! Got chance to use back Mr Nissan when hubby's not around. Reason " I gotta work the car engine mah....."
I thought the lady said the interior is beige? It's black?! I think the lady very blur or anyhow do sales. Said car ready for collection on Wednesday then say Thursday.
.
.
.

Hubby say cannot speed = he thinks the wife is a mad mother who not only drives herself against the wall but against the speed. With 2 children in the car, he expects me to keep to less than 100km "otherwise will skid". Huh? Trying to scare me or what? Shucks! I drive quite fast now have to suddenly go slow - not used to it. Okay, I get the hint >> "Athena, hurry up. (we're late) the car cannot go too fast." Citing the car as a reason, I get to be the angel afterall!
But okay lah, it's small which I think I will get used to it. Don't get used to it, also must right??

Last unit
Received a phone call about a last unit in Ambrosia, whether we want it or not. Ai yah, blur hubby wrote down my number then I start receiving sms-es when I don't EVEN HAVE MONEY TO BUY ONE ROOM!!!

3 hours solo

Brought Aricia out alone with me, went for follow-up with the sinseh then brought her to Ngee Ann City to collect my bag and jeans from Guess. Umm.... a little well behaved today (surprisingly), although a few times she tried to walk out of Kinokuniya and I had to throw the book I'm browsing through in a basket before running past the sensor to her. Managed to get a Kanji Dictionary finally. Frankly speaking, I've never spent so long trying to find a word. Why do they have to make it so complicated?? Separating the count of strokes to the left side followed by the right side etc....

She is so funny, reciting the Japanese words as she walked around the bookstore. Made friends with aunties che-ches and security guard.

I left the place after that, no more damages done to my credit card.

Holiday photos

Link is on the sidebar.

My page loads very slow, can't test if it's working. Do let me know if it's not.

Enjoy!

Colours everywhere

Made a colourful agar-agar for hubby, he loves agar agar.

Some Kitty extras for Athena

Japanese madness

Seems we are having so much of Japanese this and that lately huh?

Went to Liang Court and Central. Japanese again! Ohh... hubby got caught in the fever too? He actually craved for Japanese food. Heehee! Had macha ice-cream from Azabu Sabo. We just had ice-cream and hubby saw the restaurant and we were peeping at the desserts menu. Too full!! Hypnotize hubby... "I want to go Japan..........I want to go Japan....." Heehee! Maybe try the 5 mins suggestion on him?? For this, must extend to 10 mins daily coz' can't talk much with 5 mins. Hee!

To end this entry, here's a parting shot.

Athena wearing a yukata. The SA didn't tie the obi properly. I didn't buy this, bought another set. She looks cute hor?
Ai yoh.......I also want one!

more photos in her blog

日本語学校 ??

I have a homebased 日本語学校?

For the past few days, Aricia has been reciting to me the Japanese alphabets. She can't recite all but I must say I'm pretty impressed with her yakking and having some words sound the same to me & some correct/some wrong, but she continues the whole thing confidently and end it with a nice ん. But hey! I think that's pretty impressive for a kid who's not born in a Japanese environment and rely on exposures from Japanese audio CDs and DVDs & very very little from mummy.

あ い う え お
か き く け こ
さ し す せ そ(せ)
た ち つ(ち) て と
な に ぬ ね の
は ひ ふ へ ほ
ま み む め も
や ゆ よ
ら り る れ ろ(と)
わ を
ん

Red denotes what she managed to say. ( ) means she mispronounced her words.
Black means she don't know the words

Impressive huh?

Math Dot

I really wonder how the kids can get the dots.
Gf Jasmine did ask me this question long time ago when I was only using GD method on Athena, "how does the dots help?" I don't know how to answer her, the kids will know .... perhaps a good answer would be "your friend is stupid to listen to every thing researchers say."

Tested Aricia all the equations ( 12 + 13 = ?? etc....) and out of 7 questions, she got 2 wrong. I tried on Athena, showing her equations but coz' she hasn't been shown the dots daily and she's like 6 now - left brain (logical thinking), she can't image the dots to numbers. Then she answers wrongly, based on ticum ticum.

The remark I received from Athena was "not fair! becoz' meimei go to しちだ." When both KZ and me heard that, KZ was the first to say "no! it's mummy who teach her, Shichida only one time in a week." I added on, "Aricia attends 妈妈だ." - lol

Fruits

♫♫Eat fruits everyday to become bigger, stronger and healthier... ♫♫ This is a song in one of the Shichida's CD. Played so many times but they seem so immune to it/or immune to my nagging.

Many a times, I hear friends or strangers who tell me their children eat fruits & love all sorts of fruits. I am so jealous and then I pity myself for having 2 tough kids to care for. 2 kids who simply refuses fruits. Many a times I get misunderstood as "you never try.." Fact is I tried, I threatened to disown them only to start threatening again with disowning them, still haven't disown them to start another threat.

Undaunted by the fact that I believe there is a soft spot somewhere.. I tried again today. Feeding Aricia with apples. She screamed; cried like I was trying to feed her poison. Very defiant! I was frustrated and angry and ......... thought what MH said "God is fair" What fair?!?! Give me 2 kids who are so hard to handle, 2 kids who can do the simplest thing - by opening up their mouth and eat fruits and vegetables - also can't co-operate with me.
Hey! Try to empathize with me okay? Someone volunteer to switch children for one month? Then you will understand the difficulty I'm in. Your child stands to gain from me - free flashcards + home sessions for that one month of exchange. Hee!

Anyway, I am headstrong - I never give up trying. I tried to hide the chopped apple in pancake. And guess what? Aricia ate!! But then ... you know with the chopping = oxidation + heating of pancake, whatever vitamins has been lost. I passed some to brother to give it to Athena.
I thought of making apple/fruit pancake, dunno if have such thing or not.
Ai yoh.......why can't they just let me cut it into small pieces and eat from there.

Will have to fins some other way to introduce fruits to them.

Just for laughs

Athena saw a car on the road and points it out to me excitedly and innocently exclaimed " Mummy, mummy you see that black car........... the numbers all drop out."
( FYI, the car has a single digit)
I thought it was funny and asked her "how many numbers dropped out?"
"4 numbers.... 1 number there.... 3 numbers. Mummy, 3 numbers dropped out."
"Yes, 3 numbers dropped out. Mummy is going to drive faster and you turn behind to see the front of the car. See whether the number dropped out as well."
"Okay...."
(speeds up)
"Mummy, mummy the numbers all also drop out leh.... so funny!" ~LOL

A visit >>

by tooth fairy will be due soon. This afternoon (23rd), Athena told me "mummy, my teeth is shaking." She wasn't afraid (aha! wait till she goes to the dentist for the first time) and was happy as if she's very different from her classmates. She kept playing with her shakey tooth ( I used to do that, so fun -> like swing like that), Jachelle came into the music class and then ran up to her "Athena, you cannot run and fall down becoz' your teeth shaking. Afterwards your teeth drop out." Think the whole class in LCCC make it into a big booha. Heehee!

You know what's my feeling when I heard it? I was happy, it's another phase in her life. She's finally going to drop her milk teeth one by one, goes to show she is a big girl. I think I'm crazy; really crazy. Maybe one day when she starts menstruating I'll be happy... hee! I can't describe that feeling I have over her shakey tooth
I had a feeling that she'll drop her milkteeth sometime this year coz' her first tooth was cut at 4 months. And was so prepared to bring her to the dentist the moment any of her tooth is shaking. I don't want her to end up having ugly teeth like the mummy, so want to do my best to make her teeth look nice and if dentist says extract, I'll listen to him.

Innocent remarks from her again :
"Mummy, mummy I must put my teeth under my pillow so the tooth fairy will come and give me money. I must tell Aunty Zet I have teeth under my pillow, she cannot clean and throw away." ( I am amazed she remembered this tooth fairy story, I told her a long time ago)
"Mummy, I put alot of my teeth under my pillow fast fast. Then I have alot of money."

Respond from me :
"Then, I'll ask the dentist to pull out all your teeth."

The tooth that is ......... the 1st one to drop
(will put/keep in her Baby Book)

Call it coincident, I was copying some files from a forgotten SD card and I saw this. Taken on 15th May 2003 - about 4+ months old - and she was chewing on the teething biscuit.

I feel like crying when I saw this picture, when I took this photo I had no idea how my girl will look like when she grow up. Now that she's grown up and I've seen her how she looks like, I almost forgot how she looked like when she was younger. And as I scanned through every corner of the photo, I find life is so amazing and unpredictable. Amazed on how an embryo can create this girl. Unpredictable on a child's personality and behaviour. She was the child who never made me so mad as now.
I want to remind myself that my Athena is still a baby.... in her mummy's eyes.
Shucks! I'm so emo now

New addition to the family

We've got a new addition to the family. Hold on! Retract your congratulatory words, I'm not preggie.

We'll be welcoming our little Miss Subaru R2 next week.
It's going to be my car with hubby paying everything (of course). My job is to be the main chauffeur for the children in this little car which Athena hopes to put Hello Kittys or Disney Princess in it( I freaked out!! No way! But she was really excited..). Keeping our current Nissan Sunny LE as well. Despite my insistence that we don't need 2 cars in this expensive country (ERP gantries everywhere, expensive parking fees) + one car will be left idle most time since he'll be out of country most of the time... he still thinks it'll be better and economical to drive the smaller car - perfect for my katek height - from home to "far far away" Marine Parade. Okay, what can I say? I've done my part as a wife to help him cut costs. Okay, as long as he don't come and tell me "no more holidays just because of the cars' maintenances"

Sad though there's no CD changer. And I'm very used to changing discs very often. Siao lah!!

Macha jelly (re-tried)

Tried doing the Macha Jelly again. I am not satisfied with the watery jelly I made for family, must be wrong somewhere.

I was careful with the measurement and end of it... I realise it still has that watery consistency. It's alright when I made single portion but when I double everything .... ?? So this time round I added more gelatine to the jelly and it's much better. Ummm.......I can't wait to tuck in. I think I will be making this very often, it's really addictive.

Since hubby is coming back tomorrow and he love jellies. Made him the macha added with some gong-tao to make sure he will like the agar-agar I made. And so I made agar-agar as well. Nice! Nice! Since it's so edible decided to give some to my Japanese and Malaysian neighbour.
Colour do look different from the first time - 17th July entry- I did coz' I added a thicker milk to this, also it took me so long to filter this pot of agar-agar (until I want to faint). But as you can see, the fine grains are really removed. Thanks to mom's suggestion.

( the first attempt agar-agar)

My fridge is so full jiggly jellies.......oh! this macha thing is so sedap! Looking forward to more macha bakes. My family sure dare not eat so probably save for myself.我要减肥!!!

The letter...

that says it all. It's strange, I know we're definitely accepted into the school but I don't understand why I was excited to receive this letter. It probably just makes me feel closer and stand strong/proud in the IJ girl spirit - so close that I'm touching the envelope (okay..just kidding. Might as well ask me to kiss the school grounds)


And so, orientation is on 22nd Dec.
Wonder if school can give us the books list sooner, I hate to do things last minute.

Busy day

It's going to be a really busy day for me today. Coz' Athena wasn't well and had to stay home over the week , I couldn't meet to collect something from a mummy on Thusday. Now everything's being pushed back to today.
I wanted to ask KZ along but then with my mad rush, I'd rather they stay at home.
Now the things I have to do this crazy day :
1) 1045am - meet mummy to collect something at Selegie
2) Bras Brasah Complex - need to collect my books. And since I'm there I can buy my papers and stationeries from Popular
3) Seah Street - within vicinity to drop by Sun Lik?? - not so important at the moment so may KIV
4) Middle Road -
5) Adelphi - to collect back my CDs
6) Funan IT - to scout around for thicker laminating pouch & Challenger to get photo papers
7) Buona Vista to collect my laminating machines.

That's not it! I was suppose to go down to supermarket to stock up on things but no time since I was baking on Saturday and when I wanted to bring Aricia out gai-gai yesterday (Sunday) she had a little runny nose and low-grade fever. So in the end couldn't do that.
When Athena's in her Berries class this evening, I'm going to Hougang Mall's NTUC to shop. Goash! I'm going to need Aricia's stroller to help me bring down the things from the car today. It's going to be loads and loads of things. Better sleep early now and then I'll chiong.

chiong ah.......................

Feedback

Some feedbacks on the 'poison' I've been giving my family lately.

Macha jelly - mom says it's too watery

Agar-agar - she said it's okay. Brother ate and he gave me a funny look when I told him it's green tea. He went "yucks!" I thought he liked green tea and he takes it in Jap restaurant. But to him, he said "yah, tea is tea...." Umm... okay some people don't acquire the taste for this. No wonder mom gave me that funny look too when she gave me her positive feedback. Okay lor....next time no need to give them liao. Now, dunno if hubby will like it or not. Sigh... so difficult to please everyone? Why is my family not like MH's family. All the support she gets will make her bake more and try more recipe. I want to bake but don't get support and it's not that horrible food what! Can be really depressing lor.

Aricia's cake - they prefer the previous cake which is moist, this one is a little dry. I thought so too, so will make adjustments next time.

Cookies - mom said it's nice. And when she saw those twirly whirly ones, she said I can make it for CNY.

It's her not me!!

You may think I'm one demanding mother who loves to scream, shout and get my blood pressure upped for no reason.
Or perhaps you may feel I'm one depressed ah-soh stuck at home finding fault with everything; who might one day out of her fits throw things down from the window and end up in jail for being a litterbug.
And the words from my family "give yourself a break, bring her over to our place."

Yup! If you've read my countless complaints, you would know who the heck I'm talking about now. It's my lao-da Athena. I've tried and tried to be the angelic mummy who talks nicely to the child; and the child answers me "yes, mummy." and obeys me. I tried not to get myself flare up for no reason, but I've failed. Yes, a child is still a child but.....I've never seen anyone as stubborn as her. Extremely stubborn!

In a span of 1 day (yesterday) , I can find fault with her 3 things.

Incident 1 :
Gave her the agar-agar to try, she was a lil' surprised coz' she didn't know I made it for her. But I told her to "let it cool down first", and reminding her again and again "use a spoon to eat, don't use your hands". Okay, so what would you expect your child to do? She then kept fidling with the jelly, cutting it into smaller pieces and then kept coming to me every 30 seconds "mummy not cold anymore" Told her awhile more and reminding her again to "eat with the spoon". Guess what happened next? I came out of the kitchen barely 20 seconds later to see her holding the agar-agar and squeezing the it through her fingers (like trying to squeeze out juice like that). Would you get angry?! I did and I refuse to let her eat and threw the jelly away.
Why the anger?
a) already told her upteen times to use the spoon, never listen
b) already warn her before never to play with food, she did. Infact did the most disgusting way of squashing her food between her fingers
c) it is a daily reminder that I have to recite over and over again. And many times she eats in such a way that she dirties the floor; the table; her clothes.
d) come on! don't come and help me find excuses for my girl. "she's only a child.. she's only 6 or 5+" How long am I suppose to live with this silly excuse. At 12 years old, can tell me "she's still a child". 16 years old can tell me the same thing again..then when will she learn?

Incident 2 :
She damaged the walking dog balloon I bought. It's meant for Aricia but I let them share. What did she do? Bite the tail and then what do you think happened? The poor dog lost the pui-pui-ness and don't look good anymore.
a) she's old enough to know. No excuse for this!!
b) always spoiling things that I buy. So, I do get really angry over this incident coz' the dog is quite expensive - $12.90 - though the cheapest of the lot sold.
This morning, the dog RIP lying on the side. Aricia was looking for the dog; found the dog to see it and say "korr...." mimicking snoring sound. Walked away then went back again, this time she tried to walk the dog but it wont move, she look a lil' sad and said "naughty.." to the dog.

Incident 3 :
She refused to eat the unpolished rice for lunch, finding fault with this and that.
Enough of her fussiness + I was already fuming mad at her for the above incident which happened less than an hour ago.
Sent her off hungry. She didn't eat at all until 6 when she saw the cake which I was decorating and wanted to eat. Don't care, helper and mom plead me to give food to her. I said "no, she'll never learn her lesson."
Is there any exchange programme where I can send my girl to one impoverished country and let her see for herself how fortunate she is? For her to see how fussy she is when other children don't even have enough food for them to choose.

I think my readers will gasp at my way of disciplining my kids and say I am a mad mother. I don't know... I tried the soft ways on her; it don't work. So I must use the harsh military style on her. And I must tell brother that the book he loan me "The Rules Of Parenting" won't work on her. He should let that girl read "The Rules of Listening To Your Mom", "The Rules of Being An Obedient Girl"

The cousins

The children played. Saw my lil' Aricia not fighting with di-di but she loves to fight with che-che. Strange??
They both dunked small basketballs fit for them. Aricia cheered on when Iggy threw ball into the net.

Aricia's 22 months old

2 more months and she'll be 2, and today she's 22 months. Wow! All the number 2s. And I've got 2 kids and today I baked ...........2 cakes!! (Oh! That's a coincidence. Didn't know I had so much cake mix left.)


Bro, SIL and Iggy came by to fetch Athena over. Mom came earlier in the day. Since it was an unexpected visit, we didn't have enough groceries (anyway we normally don't shop much if hubby is not around) to cook a meal.

The children enjoying themselves

Cream

Baking has taught me a few more things which I didn't learn during our Home Econs class.

Cakes calls for various kinds of cream and so I googled search on the differences between all - before deciding if I should stock up on all... and make my fridge look like mini-supermarket.

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

Cream : A dairy product which comes from the butterfat layer skimmed off the top of milk prior to homogenization. High in fat and delicious, it is top on the 'no-no' list of many dieters but is worth splurging out on now and then - a scone is simply not the same without a dollop of it.

Different types of cream have different percentages of butterfat. The lower the butterfat, the more beating is required to make whipped cream.

Choose the best
Choose the type of cream you desire depending on your cooking needs, dietary requirements and taste preferences.

Pure cream has 35-45 per cent butterfat and is sold in bottles and cartons. It can be whipped or poured and is a good all-round choice.

Thickened cream typically has 35 per cent butterfat and added gelatine to make it thicker. Once whipped it is best for cake fillings, and can be used for any recipe requiring cream.

Double cream is the thickest, best for serving with fruit and decorating desserts. It can also be used to add richness and creaminess to savoury dishes. Be careful of curdling , but do not whip as it is homogenized.

Soured cream has been treated with lactic acid, which gives it the tangy taste. It has a thick texture and has about a 20 per cent fa content. Use it for making cheesecakes, dips, topping nachos, and in soups and sauces. Make your own sour cream by adding 1-2 tsp lemon juice to 150ml double or single cream.

Créme fraîche: is similar to soured cream but with a milder taste. It has a high content, at around 35 per cent, which means it does not curdle when cooked. Serve with fresh fruit and in soups, casserole and dips.

Clotted cream has the highest fat percentage of all creams at 55 per cent. This silky, butter coloured cream is a speciality of Devon and Cornwall where it is served with scones, butter and jam. Just try to use it sparingly!

Store it
Always store fresh cream in the fridge and use within one or two days of purchase. Créme fraîche will keep for 10-14 days in the fridge. Cream with a butterfat content of more than 35 per cent can be frozen.

Lower fat creams like single cream will separate when thawed but can be frozen when already incorporated into a dish.

One more link

Miss those times

Met Hiroe, who kindly helped to buy these noris from Japan.
Her initial remark was "I hope still can be eaten" to which I assured her that Athena will finish it in no time. But then...when I opened up the nicely wrapped bag, I thought I can't bear to let her destroy the noris . Thanks Hiroe!

It's been some time since we last chat, eh... that was when Athena was still taking up violin. Oh my! Our kids would usually run to the playground after class while we chat. I was told that they still do that now, but the other kids don't join them.
Isn't it nice that motherhood has brought us new friends? Friends that will last a lifetime? Friends that will truly sympathize and understand why you go crazy and start shouting at/caning your kids; friends who are chauffeurs like you and understand how crazy you are zipping around Singapore; friends that will give you their worldly advice when needed; friends that share your gossips. Ohh...how I love this ah-soh poor tai-tai life.

Aricia : speaking

It can be really scary when you hear your child saying things which they shouldn't be saying at this age. Nope! My dear girl didn't spout out vulgarities.

Okay, thanks to the mother's (ahem..me!) early introduction to snacks. She now can tell me "chor kat" - chocolate. She can say ice-cream but in her baby language.

These few days we realized her vocabulary has expanded :
don't bite
don't hold
listen!

Heehee!

School Vacancies By Phases : IV

IJ Katong - 138 avail for Phase 2B/2C
Phase 2B : Allocated number is 70, of which there were 71 applicants

St Nics - 48 avail for Phase 2B/2C
Phase 2B : Allocated number is 25, of which there were 45 applicants *results is dated 17th July, so my prediction should be correct - ballot.

RGPS - 139 avail for Phase 2B/2C
Phase 2B : Allocated number is 70, of which there were 65 applicants

Tao Nan - 121 avail for Phase 2B/2C
Phase 2B : Allocated number is 61, of which there were 97 applicants
*results is dated 17th July, so my prediction should be correct - ballot.

Photos taken in iPhone

Photos that were taken months ago & only managed to load it into lappie :

27th April
27th April
2nd May
3rd May
9th May
13th May
5th July

Haato ice-cream

Last Friday I brought Aricia to Meidi-ya after her class. We shared a nice gelato from Haato. Yup! You saw it yourself.......it's green tea with red bean. (watching what I eat)

Pictures of my lil' one enjoying the ice-cream.


Bet you're full just by looking at her.

Macha Jelly

Again?

Okay, this time round I tried agar-agar. (finished the last scoop of macha powder) Just finished about doing it, it's in the fridge now.
I have no idea if it's going to be watery again (it doesn't seem to be... but it seems to me that I'm an idiot when it comes to jelly. Argh! Jelly brain??) will only know later.

When I peep the bottom part of the mould, I notice alot of small macha sendiments. The recipe calls for sifting "through the finest filter". Wah se...my strainer obviously is not fine enough lah!.... think I must filter through cloth?? I think that's what mom did right? Hmm... better taste good.

* feedback : KZ likes the jelly I made yesterday. Mom said the one I gave them does seem watery but it taste alright. I like buay pai-seh like that, maybe mom's hinting to me that I shouldn't give them horrible food? *

update : checked agar agar.

Not bad afterall. In the picture on the left, I tried to put red bean and the milk over it but it doesn't blend in. Hee!

成功 or 失败? 成功!!

Shortbread - part II

I felt like lazing. Decided to bake more to give Iggy and Aricia's friends on Friday. Since the recipe is still in my pea-size brain and I've got my last butter in the fridge I set the table at 10+ last night and started baking. Tedious affair! Especially when it comes to the cookie cutting etc..

Thing about me is I like to bake, but sometimes I lose my patience.. in day time I have the excuses of my children disturbing me + I am busy. In the night, both kids are sleeping and no interruptions but I was so tired.

I didn't take photos of all the cookies, but took this. I tried this using the 1M tip, first time attempting this and so difficult to do it, dough was not that soft to let it ooze out without strength used. Will attempt this another time with some variations.
Crunch!