Drool factor #4

Hint hint....birthday coming soon. I want this!!!!

Ultimate Tool Caddy Wilton

Ultimate Tool Caddy Wilton. Provides storage for all core decorating tools and more; featuring specialized compartments. Two tip compartments hold 36 single stack tips; tips can be stacked 8 high of the same size; two top compartments hold couplers, flower nails, tip savers & tip covers; Icing color compartment holds 28 of 1/2 ounce or 16 of 1 ounce jars or a combination; two center compartments have three sections with lids that hold small cutters, tip savers, wheels for fondant roller, tip brushes, decorating bags, etc; side slots hold straight and angled spatulas; and the bottom drawer is for flexible storage for a variety of tools.

Our Price $59.99 (In Stock)

QTY:

Who's going to give this to me?? Whatever happened to my "bigger oven" wish? Okay... I think the oven can wait coz' I'll die if I need to decorate a big cake. And this caddy tool is so handy. Ai yoh.... for goodness sake Lily - you can't decorate for nuts.

Okay, I was just dreaming. In reality, I don't have anymore space in my home to keep all these. And what happens when one day my passion for baking dies down? All these would be wasted.
Hey! I just saw on BIY website, they're selling it at S$112. Gasp!

On another note, I've just made online purchases for these items :

1) Decorating books

I've been wanting to go for the Wilton Decorating Class in BIY, but the timing don't coincide. And honestly, I doubt I'll have the time next year to go for classes. I hope the books will be useful for me

2) Beater Blade - helps to scrape down the sides as it beats. Hmm.... very good........more baking to come 3)Alphabet cutters and Fondant mold (which is italic-looking) - dunno if can get in SIN but since on buying spree might as well just get these from them too.
Wilton Princess Cupcake stand : gorgeous but no need to have it - so drool!

Alot more new stuffs from Wilton. It's cute overload... I'm swimming in my drool.... yeeks! so disgusting!

Finally uploaded in youtube

Video played during Aricia's wedding 2nd Birthday


Hmm....nothing's done with the online photo album yet.

Children's Day - last thing I'd do for the children??

You think so? Afterall, there's still one more Xmas coming up. Either I'm silly or too wu-liao or too spendthrift - I don't see any mummies doing as much as I do. So...from now on, I'm going to step back a little and stop being so generous.

Preparation 1 : - done on Monday
Baked + do more icing buttercream. Was so pleased with myself coz' of my perfect time execution. I was multi-tasking with baking, washing up baking stuffs and packing up small packs for her Berries classmates.


Packed all my decorating tools + fondant (in case I may need it) in one bag. And lugged the trays of cupcakes + bag down with me to mom's place.
I decided that I shall decorate @ mom's place the next day, so I won't risk damaging the cupcakes while driving.

Preparation 2 - done on Tuesday (today)
In the morning, mom was frying the bee hoon to bring to school. She also prepared some agar agar the day before.

Photos of mom's contribution food
I helped to bring the food down while mom is still waiting for the chicken rice to cook.

I started decorating at 10+, couldn't see what the children played so when I brought the food down, asked Teacher Mamta to help me take pictures( I'm one very troublesome mother). Finished decorating at 2+, rested a while; drank water (thirsty like crazy). Then brought my cupcakes down.
Initially had wanted to bring down 25 cupcakes, but seeing how much of cakes were contributed earlier in the day I thought 16 should suffice coz' they'd be trying to clear the food.

Simple decorations, I still need alot of practice and challenging ways to decorate. But real tired.... you know buttercream are so oily... although I had 4 couplers, 2 piping tips for every tip# that I have - I ended up having to keep washing to re-use them. Sigh!



Oh! I did this cupcake flag. Cute?
Teacher Mamta didn't allow the children to choose the cupcake, but she let Athena choose - maybe coz' I was there.... and I knew my girl would choose this!!

Jachelle is 6

Jachelle, one of Athena's good friend in school (she claimed), had her party @ McDonalds.

It's the first time we're invited to a party held in a fast-food restaurant. (suaku!) Since hubby's in town, I don't have to bring Aricia with me to the party. Let him do some job! While I have time-out and chat with mummies instead of chasing Aricia about or losing my cool in the party room.

We arrived at the place on the dot - talk about punctuality! Parking was a problem over there as usual but I managed to cunningly get a lot - driver infront of me must be fuming mad.

I should have expected about me losing my cool - I already did when she paused and refuse to go into the party room. And then began to hug my legs like a koala - just like how she'd cling onto me when I bring her in to school and Berries. 讨厌! Threatened to leave the place if she continued doing that, anyway we've done our part in giving the present to Jachelle, I don't care if she wants to continue her stupid behaviour, she can do that @ home. Come on! It's her friends from school and Yamaha leh!

They took food orders from children and adults. Games started after that. My opinion? I don't think the games are well- handled. No. 1, I don't understand why there's only one person doing the games. Obviously, she couldn't handle the kids when she separated them into two groups.
No. 2 - it looks like she's not enjoying her job. She's doing it coz' she's paid to do it. Of course I don't mean to ask her to act like a clown but... at least show some enthusiasm lah! Hmm.... anyway the children won't know.

After two short games, the children were served their meals/snacks. Goash! I'm surprised that she can finish a Grilled Chicken Burger + Fries + Milo + Yoghurt when she just had her lunch about 2 hours ago?!?! And then she can have 2 slices of cakes (she claimed it's small so she asked for another - dunno how true... that girl so shy... dare to ask for more meh?) Anyway, speaking of cake - you know what's written on the cake? Best Wishes??? Hmm.... not very good, considering how much they earn from parties, they should make an effort to have the image icing words changed to Happy Birthday.
Favors were given out + balloons = end of party.

Photo time :

I had a dream

not on luxury items but on bread...........

I dreamt that I baked bread for my children to eat coz' they refuse to eat everything except bread. So my bread was dumped in with whatever nots they don't eat and in the end... they ate it. Hee!
Woke up and then decided to try baking bread. I am never interested in baking bread coz' I thought it was tedious.

But I'm proved wrong or maybe coz' I took the easiest bread recipe.

Yummy! Mom said it's nice for a first try

** but must admit I love the smell of freshly baked bread.

Caterpillars 1 - TCoster

Since the day I brought back my 2 pairs of caterpillars, I haven't blogged about them yet.

23rd - Tuesday
Had a pair of average size, can pupate anytime caterpillars and another pair of cutesy caterpillars. This time round I didn't have chance to name them or think about it coz' I haven't been feeling too well.

The pic of the 2 caterpillars are the smaller ones. And one hanging upside down @ night - that's fast! But this cater is weird, has only one tentacle

It's really that small!!

24th - Wednesday
The smaller caterpillars are growing up. Apart from that, the bigger ones - there's one superbly fat caterpillar which keeps eating while the one-tentacle caterpillar is still hanging itself, not pupating yet (surprisingly) and not eating. So what's it hanging upside down so soon? I don't know.. competing with David Blaine?

25th - Thursday
Morning : still hanging upside down. No need for competition with Davd Blaine, will win indefinitely. But notice the other caterpillar is disturbing it, poor one-tentacle is wriggling alot.

Quickly separate the naughty caterpillar. Wah! Refuse to move leh! KZ had to push it out of the container into the other one, we can't move one-tentacle too much. KZ said the thread holding it is already thin + kept wriggling..

Barely an hour after we separate them, I caught in action one-tentacle is going to be one-super great fighter butterfly. I was so happy, that I had it recorded down as well.

I thought it's weird that the setaes have gathered to the top. It was swinging while purging out. Then it stopped. I thought it's weird, it hasn't covered itself fully with its sleeping bag. Maybe tired; maybe continue later?

After some time I noticed it looked a little different, it's still covered halfway. Maybe dead? After all the fighting for its dear life with that naughty caterpillar.
I opened the container for a photo and then >>> plonk it dropped on the base. Argh! Murderer!

This is one of the smaller caterpillars. See it has grown again

26th - Friday

Can't help but feel I'm a murderer!
Saw the two smaller caterpillars shedding skin. And next minute I know, the setaes have all thickened with "extra thick-looking mascara"

In the night, KZ told me the one-tentacle is still alive. So there's hope. Then noticed the naughty one kept trying to spin thread. It kept turning round and round - fat & stupid.

@ 1am, noticed it's upside down already

Athena

5 years 10 months. Excited like ... hurried everyone to sing her the birthday song. Sigh....

Photos :

Cuppies

Too much of chocolaty stuff lately, I still have my icing from Aricia's cake. Not sufficient to cover one 8-inch cake so decided to bake cuppies. Manual whisking so I don't have to wash so many things. I wish I have the talent to decorate my cuppies nicely and have nimble fingers to do fondant figurines. 

  

Nope! It's not her birthday at all. It's a silly celebration that I do for them every 19th (lil' one) and 25th (athena)

成功 or 失败? 成功!!

No china-made food @ home

With the tainted milk scare, it gives me an excuse opportunity to throw away things without that greedy girl crying in fits.

Out of the cabinets are Hawthorn products (che-che's favourite) too! Yup! One mummy from Berries I spoke too was so sore about the whole thing coz' she said her children have been eating the Want Want Babybites daily, she recently bought 2 packs of Oreo wafers & M&Ms for herself. I told her she's so lucky, she could have bought 4D - sure strike. Her reaction? Started laughing. I don't mean to make it a joke out of it but this scare caught all of us unprepared.

Yesterday, I suddenly remembered Children's Day is next Wednesday and wanted to get something for the lil' children in her YJC class. Bought snacks but I put down many packs coz' they were made in China. Better to be safe than sorry, a list was sent out to me from J. Hmm... 2 of those I picked and put back are in the list. So, is it confirmed that those items are recalled? Ahem... then that place still has it on the shelf? Wait till AVA comes and fine them.

Isn't it scary?

But sometimes you think, hasn't those previous scare deter us from taking China-made products? Over the years we have heard stories of how bamboo shoots are made, how disposable chopsticks are made, how fa-chai, the most recent luncheon meat or wonder if you did recall the Bairong Grape biscuit scare - can't remember what was that for. It made it into the 'oscar-nomination' list again this time. Sigh..... But then again, major food production & consumer products are made there. So it's affecting the whole world.

** I can throw away almost everything, but I just realised alot of chinese herbs do come from China so I'm not going to throw away those. I'm crazy if I ever threw hundreds of dollars herbs away **

The list

Aricia counting

Last week while she was trying to keep her cubes in her toybox, she started counting.

I was surprised to hear her say beyond 20, before she attempted this she sometimes do struggle with her 13 (teen), 15 (teen) - sometimes she'll just say correctly; sometimes she'll say xx-teen, xx-teen.

Last week, she was counting and throwing her cubes and I heard ni-teen, twengty (20), tweng one (21), tweng to, tweng twee, tweng for.... all the way to tweng ni (29). Cute!

Ps. But this week, I asked her to repeat - she refused.

Day

After sending Athena to school, I went to Oh's Farm to get caterpillars. The first 2 pairs bought by MH are Leopard Lacewing so I hoped I could get a different breed this time round. Yes! It's Tawny Coster. Looks almost similiar to LLacewing but I thought LL is nicer looking, so I got that for Jenny. The LL caterpillars looked nicer too.
When I got home, I realised that I was given 3 sets of smaller caterpillars, maybe it'll take longer time to pupate. So to be fair, I took one pair of small caterpillars and a pair of average size caterpillars. I saw di-di's caterpillars. I think one died, it's curled up in a corner.

More information about Tawny Coster :
http://www.srilankaninsects.net/Butterflies/Nymphlidae/TawnyCoster/TawnyCoster.htm
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~angelo/tawny_coster.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acraea_terpsicore

photo taken from butterflycircle.blogspot.com
I had another mission to run - help MH buy vegetables in the farm. Huh? Ah-nia will skip the vegetables, meat etc... corner when we go NTUC - ask me to go marketing in the farm?? I'm a tai-tai you know????
But it's cheap (sound like ah-soh), $1 for one pack. I bought kangkong for myself. Can't buy much vegetables too coz' we already did our grocery-shopping for the week

At the end of the fruitful trip, I was left with $1.50 from the $44 note I had. Okay, sidetracked a little... she asked me to help her get more caterpillars for her friend, I had to be so thick-skinned to tell her "Okay... but I only have $44 with me." Only to be snapped back, why you have so little money?? What did she expect I was getting? The whole farm? Okay.... MH I know you're reading this. Just kiddin' okay?
Heehee! I had $50 with me, spent on breakfast so left with $44 worth of notes, didn't count the coins lah. I should have told her sometimes you'd be surprised if I have $10 with me, I can only wait until I'm out and pass by an ATM to withdraw money. (So... I'm a poor tai-tai wannabe. Hee!) I always get misunderstood that I spend my time gallavanting in the streets. Tomorrow I will be out in TM with only $3+ in my wallet until I pass the ATM. Normally Mondays are my errands day, but yesterday I wasn't feeling too well, took Panadol and took a nap and didn't go out after that. I couldn't even transfer the $$ to Roslyn. Sorry for the delay, Ros! I should be able to do so tomorrow. I couldn't even bank in Aricia's angpow.

J came by to pick up the caterpillars. I was still alright then... but some time later, my body started aching again. Oh no! I didn't even realise that I fell asleep until MH called. Felt bad that she had to make extra mileage to my place, intended to meet her in Tampines so she didn't have to travel that far. I let Athena stayed over @ mom's place - too tired.

After the nap, I felt a little better and played with Aricia. I only managed to took photos of the caterpillars in the evening. Goash! I must really bar my girl from touching the container. She looked and then she dropped it accidentally. The poor caterpillars who were hanging on the stick for their dear life, fell to the bottom of the container.

Photo time :
@ the farm.

My favourite vegetable - kangkong

The bigger caterpillars

The smaller ones