Session 1 : Cake decorating / Cookie colouring / Chocolate mess

12th December (Tue) : PRE-PREPARATION
(helps that Athena is not at home to disturb me and mess up the cookies)

I decided to get the Christmas shaped cookies from Bread Talk after sourcing from various breadshops last week.
► The Marriott cookies will not work because in a large glass container I can only get 4 heart shaped and 3 crescent shaped cookies. I can't be buying another 2 more containers right? And end up stuffing my face with the rests of the cookies - the almonds, cinnamons and whatnots just because can't colour in them.

► I did ask Four Leaves if they could do some packs for me without the elaborate icing but they can't as it's machine-made & printed.
►Bread Talk's cookies (as seen) has only the M & Ms on it - well still difficult but definitely can colour.

I bought one more pack so that I can experiment it by scrapping off the M & Ms but it leaves behind the icing mark, so I left it as it is. And I started to put pink icing on the borders and to draw lines to allow the kids to add more colours. It got to be quite fun after that... I was enjoying it - and wonders if my icing mix will work.

The original cookies

Then came the tedious part - putting icing on all the cookies (5 cookies x 4 packs)
It is hard to squeeze out the pink icing and to control well the 'drawing'. Then had to add some lines or whatever in each cookie so that can add more colours - was figuring out what to draw on each cookie.
That's my final piece of art!
It got more fun & still tiring after that first few cookies.

Even after the icing hardened, it can break if I put them back in the original packaging (still must reiterate that it's easy to wait for icing to harden with that big girl not around the house - will be screaming at her not to touch the cookies etc..)
In the end, I had to put them on the disposable plate and use a large bag to wrap it up.

It is extremely late and I am very exhausted. But I can't sleep if I haven't settled my things. I needed to get the proportion of the icing mix. It says one pack of icing to how many tablespoons - but we're not going to use the whole pack. So, I experimented and it didn't take me long to get the correct consistency in the icing. Good! Time to sleep.. Pray hard things don't go wrong on the day.

14th December (Thu)

Got up, tried to pump milk but I think I was a little stressed up - ended up with a miserable amount of milk. Heck! Saw Aricia there so gave it to her immediately.
Didn't even carry Aricia this morning, had to set the table. I poured out the different quins in separate bowls. I didn't know if I should open more boxes but thought I'd wait & see what Helen has brought. No use opening up all the stuffs and end up throwing them away.

Set up the dining table

Put the sweets and snacks on our coffee table for the children. And drinks too! To think that hubby nagged at me for buying the drinks when we had 4 big packs at home. I don't think that's sufficient and we were left with only 1 pack at the end of session. Children consumed 11 packs (better to have more than lesser)

Left to pick the children up, Athena almost teared and had no choice but to bring her along. I doubt KZ can cope with the 2 kids at home anyway.
Four children and Elizabeth's grandma squeezed behind the car while Helen took the front seat. The kids were pretty shy with one another, and they only met last night in their music class. ?!?
It didn't take them long to warm up to one another, not once the toys are out. And then the children knew where the toys are and start opening & look into the drawers.

CAKE DECORATING

Once we slice the cake into 4s and melt the chocolate by microwave (the lazy way), we got the kids out. They saw the things and knew immediately what they had to do. Except that Helen had to help them spread the chocolate on their shaped cake as a glue. With the impatient kids eyeing on the colourful quins and knowing they are sweets, they didn't do it nicely but pile it. Of course the more the merrier. So you see.... it ended so much faster. Click here

Athena helping Victoria with her cookie cutter

Ah ha! Look who (Elizabeth) secretly put the spoon in her mouth... and it went back into one of the bowls after that. Haha!

I almost forgot I bought the Gingerbread Man from Marks & Spencer. Only 9 in them, so told Helen to help give to the kids as I was carrying Aricia (as KZ helped me to tidy up the messed- up bedroom). It was meant to be used for the cookie colouring, but since I got the pack of cookies from Bread Talk.. I didn't do the outline for those cookies. Instead I asked them to put the chocolate on top and spr+inkle whatever they wanted.

LUNCH

Then KZ fried beehoon for lunch, while we let the kids play again in the room (away from us) and we (with Helen doing most of the job) tidied the dining table. I had to carry Aricia so it was difficult. I hope they didn't mind using the disposable plates and cutleries as I wanted to minimize the washing up. The time spent on that can be used to help take care of Aricia while I am busy with Athena.

Simple fare of Fried Beehoon and Chicken. Can't cook much as KZ had to help me take care of Aricia while I busied with Athena.

After lunch we started the :

COOKIE COLOURING

I prepared the icing into 4 small containers, and put colours on their individual plates. Wanted them to mix in one colour first. But before I could give them my instructions, they mixed all the 4 colours on their plate into their icing. Athena has done this before so she knows what to do but I think she saw 'no law and order' + I didn't scream/nag at her; followed her friends. I wanted them to share the colours but all looked kindda the same. I quickly prepared colours on my own to pass it to them. I prepare one colour & Helen helped to syringe them out for me and gave to the kids. Then less than 1 minute, you hear them say "I want the yellow again.. I want the XX again." - coz they really squeeze out and that's it! In a panicky state, my blue became light blue. And my orange became peach. But their end products still had a little of colour. Phew!

The other kids finished their 5 cookies very fast, Athena was doing it slow coz' she knew what she had to do. In the end, she only did 3 but I promised her I'll do it the next day the remaining 2.
Click here

Artist Amanda at work

Victoria (pink) and her elder sister, Elizabeth

CHOCOLATE MOLDING

There were still alot of chocolate leftovers, so I suggested doing the chocolate molding as well. Since they all missed their naptime, make them more tired so that they can sleep early. Brought out all my molds comprising of Elmo, Sesame Street characters, Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse etc.. to let the children choose one for themselves.
Click here

Amanda & Athena in top picture. Victoria & her sister in bottom picture

This one is really messy coz' the chocolate drips.. and like how do you expect the kids to know how to wait till it doesn't drip from the spoon and quickly pour into the mold. And they didn't even wait for me to put the lollipop sticks in for them first!!! This one I had to help them with the touch ups. Even before I could finish, the kids were playing again! Helen saw the extras and she did one. Which in the end, we gave to the children to eat at my place once it hardens.
Put it in the freezer and then once they're hardened, I put them on their plates (instead of packing individually in cellophane bags) and put it back in the freezer until they get ready to leave my place about 2 hours later.

**Helen really helped me alot with the kids. I thought it would be okay for me and KZ to handle it.. but we had to quickly pick up the toys, take care of Aricia and that already makes us busy. I couldn't really even guide Athena in it - I left her to mess up her works. (and I didn't scream at her at all) But really Helen helped me otherwise I wouldn't be able to cope. Thank you!!

....................................................................................................................................
Play

The kids were playing alot during that 6 hours. As long as they enjoy themselves and play safe I don't mind. Mess by 4 kids is inevitable.. of course it was an eyesore for me (not used to seeing such mess) but I let them mess up first; clean up while they're outside. They dropped alot of bits and pieces of different coloured dough while playing Playdoh. KZ helped to clean up, she picked up the bigger pieces and then wanted to pick the smaller ones. Told her to forget it, sweep it up and throw it away. Guess its also that time when Athena can mess up her room and get away scot-free.
But at one time, I did ask Athena to pick up some things. Elizabeth was helpful and the 2 of them joined hands.. and 5 minutes later they both ran out to play : leaving the less-than-half cleaned room as it is. Sigh..
The kids have short attention span, they bring out one toy and then chuck it aside 5 minutes later. Bring out another and the same thing happens. I wonder if the sugars are acting on them - hyperactive.
At one time, they were playing nurse and guess who's the sick child? They (3 nurses) had to pick the youngest - Victoria. Quite cute.. feed her medicine etc..
All 4 went into Aricia's baby cot too. Suddenly I have 4 babies.
They started screaming and run around the house (confirm the sugars are acting up on them) dunno what they're up to but as long as they enjoy themselves. How often do they come together to play anyway?
........................................................................................
The way kids behave & think
Athena followed to see them home. So, the kids having played happily... held hands together. All 4 of em'. They started singing "Old Macdonalds Had A Farm" as they walked still hand in hand.
I was ahead of them and watching out for oncoming car in the carpark; that I let the children go 2 by 2, by the left & right doors.
As Elizabeth & her sister were getting in, she went in but her sister squeezed in from the side. And then both cried both wanting to sit next to Amanda.
We asked Athena and Amanda to switch places, they were okay but then even before I could drive out of the carpark - Athena started crying "Mummy..I very hot. No aircon.. I wet wet now...." Soon we had 3 kids crying in the car. ?????? I tried to pacify Athena but then she didn't listen to me. I thought everything was okay, until Amanda asked her "why you keep pushing me? You move back." "Mummy...I wet wet already." Amanda was kind enough to change seats back again. Eliz was the only one left crying, her sister who started the squeezing in simply had both hands holding onto the 2 front seats headrest and looked in the front, pretending nothing happened. At one point, Amanda's plate dropped from my console with a thud. Eliz can even ask "ah ma,什么 pok pok?" We bursts out laughing at her for being able to cry;heard;stop and asked.

Finally the car's quiet. Then my girl had to start it again... She and Victoria were looking at a book and she commented to Vic "Amanda spoil my book." Amanda upon hearing it said "I'm sorry." Athena that lor-sor girl harped on it again. Amanda said "I already said I'm sorry. Why you cannot forgive me??" And then she started mumbling and I turned to see her reaction - she was blinking at Athena. "I don't like you anymore.. go music lesson.... don't talk to you anymore..." They became enemies.
It was not long then they forgot they were at loggerheads, after Eliz, Vic and grandma left it was spacious behind. They played again.. by falling down when I make a right or left turn. When Amanda left, they were even screaming at each other's name - became friends again.

* Kids ?????? Wonder what they're thinking.

Cheat on posting entries

I have no idea if you noticed this, but I do cheat on my posting entries. And sometimes I post a few entries at one shot.

Sometimes, I will post days later an entry. It can be because I have typed a little of it and was interrupted to continue the entry. Or because, I am blogging at 2 or 3 in the morning and I change the time (notice it's usually timed at 11plus pm) in my entries.

Whatever it is, I hope you have found my entries interesting. Thank you for your support.

Keep a secret

There's a little secret between Teacher Jasmine & the little children. They are to put up a performance next Wednesday and all parents are kept in the dark about it.

For two weeks I've been trying to dig out some secrets from her but she refuses to divulge.

On the first week, when asked she pretended by saying "I dunno... I forgot."

On the second week, she changes it to "it's a sequet, I cannot tell."

Looks like she can keep secrets??

Hesistant in giving up

Life is full of ups and downs, my breastfeeding routine is full of yes(s) and no(s)

I said I want to latch her on fully after Athena's birthday party, I tried on few feeds ( mainly I was still out & about and not convenient to pop into a nursery every 2hours) but still had to supplement with the EBMs or formulas. And the quantity hasn't improved. Then, beginning of this week I realised my quantity has dropped further - probably I didn't put her to my breasts as regularly. When I tried in desperation yesterday (although not all her feeds as I was outside), she rejected me. Sob.. sob.. she made me feel she's grown apart from mummy.

I don't know, I know I've told my girlfriend, Moo Han, will take it in stride and stop if it's meant to be. But somehow when I look at my girl - I felt I needed to give her my milk and my blood (if need be) - remember that at one time I was pumping and bleeding from cracked nipples?
I think now my girlfriend is fed up with me and screaming "ay! you want to give or stop??"

Then I thought it's meant to be and told mom, I may want to stop pumping altogether and give her formula - afterall Athena relied on milk powder totally and she grew up well. Pumping takes up time. And ceasing pumping will help me to get rid of my pumps. I hate things in my house and just want to free up the spaces. As for direct feeding, I think there's really the nipple confusion now. She suckles and then she sleeps, so basically she doesn't drink much and I still have to supplement.
But yet again, whenever I feed her milk she looks at me with that "cute kitty" eyes my heart missed a beat. I want... I enjoyed feeding her from me.
Nevertheless, I was still hesistant.

Today while we were waiting for the children to finish their concert practice, Jenny and another lady told me "you should continue breastfeeding." but how am I suppose to tell them my setbacks so far. If I did, I would have to start the "once upon a time" story.
I don't deny that initially I had wanted to breastfeed for my own selfish needs - to slim down. But then that has changed to "I want to give to Aricia." Which really explains the hesistance
Yes, I should be breastfeeding since I'm not working. But am I willing to give up everything for the next ?? days while trying to latch her back? And there's so many questions :
1) How long will it take to re-latch her back on?
2) And if I'm so determined to latch her back, do I need to get the Medela SNS
3) What if, she latches wrongly but knows that the milk flow still continues (from formula milk) and continue to suckle wrongly - it doesn't stimulate to produce more. We all know demand = supply.
4) Or does it mean I have to reject feeding her from bottles for the next ?? days so that she'll forget how to suck from a bottle? Then, I have the difficult task of feeding her via syringe for all her feeds? - which is like every 2 hours. And the sacrifice of staying at home 100% - I dunno if I can do that since I can't stay to face 4-walls for long.

To cut the whole story short - I'm very hesistant to stop.

Cheryl M Cordeiro

I am not close to Cheryl and she does not know me at all. She is a fellow KC gal, same age as moi but I am curious about her. Thus, I went about in doing a google search on her.

For your information, Cheryl was Miss Singapore Universe 1999. At that time, she was the most talked about winner in Singapore - for being the only one doing double degree for having both the brains and beauty. Although I must admit that it didn't cross my mind that Cheryl, a prefect and very studious girl, would want to join beauty pageants. I thought beauty pageants mainly consists of dumb bimbos.
She has been living in Sweden (wow!) and married to a guy this year. Read this She is so lucky to have her life so blessed.
We're of the same age but have different life!! If only I have half her intelligence and some beauty

* slap in the head *

Feel like slapping myself in the head. I'm so stupid! I'm so blur! I'm so....!

This morning I dressed up and was ready to bring Aricia for her vaccination in Rivervale Mall and jalan-jalan in Compass Pt.
Somehow (thankfully) I have no idea why I decided to take a look at her appointment card and gasp! I got the wrong date, it's due next Tuesday. Good thing I didn't make a trip there and make a fool out of myself.

Nevertheless, since I was dressed up I thought I might as well go down Compass Pt earlier than planned. It was close to 11am when I reached there, so presumed most shops are still closed. From the atrium, I looked up to see which shops are opened and there I saw Converse right smack in my eyes. Feel like slapping myself in the head! KZ said she needed to get a pair of All Stars shoes. And I brought her around Orchard on Friday to look for it fruitlessly, and then there's a store close to where I stay?!?!

I shan't go in details on where or what I did, but basically Aricia's stroller is filled with bags at the end of the shopping spree.

However, there is something which I need some enlightening from my readers. Why would Yoshinoya (吉野家) call it a 'Value Meal' when it costs 20 cents cheaper if I bought the two items separately? And why a meal when there's no drink?

Week 12

This week you may notice that Aricia spends a lot more time watching what's going on around her and is becoming increasingly social. She will flash that gummy grin at any and everyone, and show interest in colorful toys that make noise. Baby gyms with mats offer a comfortable place for overhead play as well as tummy time and will provide lots of entertainment and opportunities to explore and learn.

Aricia is probably pushing up on her arms regularly while lying on her tummy. Her legs are getting stronger too; if you pull her up to a supported standing position she may be able to put some weight on both legs.

The moment you've been waiting for is finally here: sleep! Somewhere around the age of three months, most babies begin sleeping for extended periods of time each night. In all honesty, you may be more excited about the sleeping than you are about any of the other milestones Aricia reaches about now - it will give you the opportunity to get some much-needed rest! She is able to eat and store more food to get through the night, so she doesn't need to wake up for several meals. These stretches may last up to six hours! While you may not consider this "through the night," it's a vast improvement.

I feel like...making cake

Haha! I'm referring to the real making cake not the one where you sit on the throne... I am suddenly so inspired (then the inspiration will quickly go off too!) to bake cakes. It is Cate Lin's homemade birthday cake that inspired me that I must be useful for once.

In school I prefer baking to cooking. At home, I don't and is not interested in cooking at all.

I haven't baked for 4 years or maybe more. When I was doing shopping for my then - new home, I wanted a microwave that can bake as well. I now proudly announces that I never even bake/grill or cook a meal from scratch, I only press AUTO REHEAT for the last 4 years . That's why I say I'm so damn useless - I can't cook for nuts and I haven't baked. I should also say I fail my role as a wife to do the simple task of feeding my husband or winning his heart through his stomach.

A trip down to BIY even inspired me more * bake Lily bake *. I liked Wilton bakewares in particular and had seen it in the US but I don't bake so I didn't buy. Since now I can find it here, this might be a hint for me to try my hand in baking using the microwave.(just hope I don't get over zealous and burn my house down)
I got what I needed for all our messing-around sessions.

Since I was in the vicinty, I went over to Tanglin Mall to check out Gymboree. After which the Ah-soh me went down to Market Place to while away the time. Feels good not to have the little one with me........Bad mummy huh?
In MarketPlace, I headed to the baking section first. Then I walked around, and I was pleased to see that they carry those doughed Pillsbury cookies. I used to get Pillsbury & Nestle Toll House's doughs in the US. Works for a lazy person like me; you just cut it and chuck it inside the oven. And you get a nice tasty cookie without sweating away. I was tempted to buy it since I loved the taste so much but I had just purchased the ingredients to make cookies from BIY. Let me try that out first before going back to MarketPlace.

Stay tuned.....

Who dropped by??

It has been quite some time since June came by our house. Her visit was delayed by the rain, which when explained to Athena claimed "no rain what" and pointed outside our window. She doesn't realise that it can rain anywhere except where she stays.

Well, June and myself have some catching up to do. We chatted; she played with Athena & Aricia. And then she had to leave. Wish we can chat longer but........weekends are short!


June playing with mei-mei

The 2 Princesses

Whenever I see the 2 of them sleeping on our bed, I am awed by the differing size between them. The second picture - shows - the 2 of them facing one another after some time and their hands touching together. So sweet!

See what Athena is doing and you will know why I'm intent of sending her to a lan-cing (dancing) class Athena dancing
Doing the freeze song - see! she's good but she's shy during the party to play.

I have to be fair and put down the video of Aricia as well.. but she's still little and can't do much except to cry, sleep and smile

I'm considering

1) to send Athena to a dance school - probably a social dancing class. Anyone knows of a place that teaches young children?

I felt that it's a waste to let Athena's talent and interest to go to waste if I didn't let her take up dancing class for her agile body.

2) to buy another stroller that can take the weight of Athena. She likes to sit in her sister's stroller and it's very difficult to manoveure. And I'm afraid when we're going on the downriding escalator, that I have to turn the stroller backwards.

Cate Lin's birthday party

I'm not a little child (in my heart - yes!) to pen down what happens in a party coz' I don't actively takes part in it.

I like birthday parties for the sake of my daughter. I know she likes parties - which child wouldn't? It's an opportunity for her to get to play with the other little friends too! She has this "ultimate shy" nature which she really needs to work on -where she gets STUCK to her parents at a party; where she suddenly gets choked on her saliva that she can't speak to the other parents. Sometimes she does warm up to the other children (almost to the end of the party) and play with them. Come to think of it, she's quite pitiful that she doesn't have a group of little friends meeting / playing regularly ~ at she's like 4 now?!

Holding onto her hairband

On a selfish note, I like birthday parties as I will get to chat with the parent/s of the birthday child. As everyone is busy with their own life everyday, it's the best time to catch up; chat. Of course all these (Athena stays to play with her friends, while I can chat longer) can only be done if I can stay longer in a party. More often or not, hubby will always like to hurry in a party. He don't like to stay long, be it an invitation coming from his or my side.

So I am thankful that he changed his mind last minute. He would have been bored, as her invited girlfriends all came without their husbands - they were out of town (pilots). And he would feel awkward sitting there with a group of girls. And even if he joined Ray Sun (birthday girl's daddy) and his 3 other friends, he couldn't communicate much with them coz' they're all pilots!
It's a blessing that Angela kept the party small, so that we could really chat. The ladies (I think one or two couldn't make it) in the group were Zara and Sonia - ex crew, Angela used to fly for awhile too (but that's not how I met her). And Elaine who's a non-crew but we all could chat together about stupid things. Somehow our conversation can go from a rebonded hair to pubic hair - which we all burst out laughing. Didn't talk much about parenting either, which is good that we didn't sound like Ah-sohs.We didn't talk about what happened during the flying years or bitched about people inside, I think they didn't missed it as much as I did - considering the fact that I was the one who resigned "recently". So... they resigned much earlier and had 2-3 children and still spot slim figures. Argh!
The one thing we can fully agree on - is that we're all chauffeurs to our children. I'm thankful so far my schedule is not as hectic as theirs, but in years to come when Athena's in P1 and Aricia in K1 - I will join in their league. And when I have to bring Athena to more enrichments classes after school, I'm sure then Tan Chong would be seeing more of me in the car servicing centre (high mileage. Now is low mileage so we service our car quite slowly)

Athena took a while to warm up. I am not going to write what happened during the party, so read her blog.

As we tried to get the kids out to play, Zara found a strand of hair in the cake! And then as we chat, Emiline - a french girl came in munching with her bowl of Cheezels; her skirt just dropped down revealing her panty. We all bursts out laughing. Thankfully she didn't cry but she was shocked and shy that she promptly left the bowl on the table and pulled up her skirt, and she was pouting at us. bébé mignon - she spot curly locks just like Goldilocks. Since she was standing next to me, I helped her tightened her skirt.

All good things have to come to an end, I am thankful for Angela's invitation.
As I left the place, I kept looking at the dog from opposite Angela's house which was growling at me when I first came; and looking set to charge at me. The house is very simple and nice (I was looking at all the different architectural houses in Bukit Timah, and this is me!- simple and nice) The fence as you can see is that low, the top of the main gate runs along the same line (so it means the driveway is slanting upwards towards the 'little hill'. I think this must be an expatriate's house. [I mean, typical Singaporeans will have their fence high up. Well, we did have that and even had burglar alarm system - dad installs it for us.]
The second level, bedrooms, are all glass. Good! You let the sun into the house; you remain more cheerful! And..... you see a spot of blue on the left-hand side of the photo? That's the pool! It has this transparent window so you can see any hanky panky going on. Haha! But they're smart enough to know that shows must be kept further away from public's eyes.

Athena and her dummy present - the sequel 2

We were at Spotlight when Athena wanted to do something...........

At the boxes section, "mummy, wait! I want to see what's inside the box."
Me : there's nothing inside
A : I want to see..
Me : there's really nothing inside. Since you like the boxes so much, why don't you sit down and open up every box. Will take you 2 days to open up all those boxes over there (pointing to the shelf)

Thank goodness..

Thank goodness KZ was with me the whole day. I thought a simple day-out with 2 kids will be easy, afterall 1 will be sleeping alot and another is old enough to listen to me.

When 1 cry, especially the little one, the older one starts to whine for my attention "I want mummy, I love mummy....." It's very irritating sometimes you know? I already feel so pek-chek with a crying baby which I'll have to figure out why she's crying.. and the big one starts to try to snatch me away.

Going to the movies with Athena is easy, as long as I have some snacks to make that mouth busy. But today she was very cranky in the cinema(maybe she was trying to get attention from me)

Aricia did throw a fuss for a short while wanted to be carried in a certain position , other than that she was a darling. Athena on the other hand, didn't want me to carry Aricia kept telling me she wants this & that.

The day out in brief can be found here.

Honestly speaking, I don't know if I can bring the two of them out together again. I want to spend time with them but it might drive me crazy in the process.

********************************************************************************************
Aricia taken at Caffe Beviamo

Athena & her dummy present - the sequel

She got back home and immediately sat down infront of the tree.

Instead of "mummy is this mine?" she chose the biggest one and asked 'mummy, can I open this?"
And she kept going back to the tree.
Umm...............17 more days of repeating my same answer.

Why is she making things difficult for me?

I asked mom this question, ''why is Aricia making things difficult for me? And when they take care of her the whole day (when I was not at home), she seems such a nice little baby - sleep & play by herself'." No wonder hubby never believed me when I tell him I'm tired etc..

When I'm around, she will want me to carry her and the nicest thing to have - is to have one baby staring in the direction of your breasts. She wants to suckle them as a pacifier. (I guess that's the disadvantage of trying to put her back to direct feeding) Then when you think she's fast asleep and put her down; she wakes up. Then I gotta to let her suckle again. But.... if it's them, they carry; she sleep; put her down; if she wakes or not she don't bother them further. She knows they can't offer her what she needs.

Now......wait! Is it because of my impatient nature that makes me feel that she is making things difficult for me? Or is it really she knows who to wayang to?

Athena & her dummy present

I remember this time last year, Athena kept taking out her huge Christmas present under the tree everyday asking "mummy is this mine?" And mind you, I had her pressie under the tree in the beginning of December. You can imagine how frustrated I was repeating the same sentence "put it back under the tree" for the next 24 days x how many times she pull out daily.

This year, the tree was up a little late with her decorating it (quite ugly.. but she's proud of it). Just a few days late and didn't have time to get the pressies until yesterday afternoon. So, what was under the tree are 3 dummy pressies. As usual, she pulls the 3 boxes from the tree. Kept asking "mummy, is this mine?" I told her there's nothing inside the boxes. But she kept holding on to this Robinson wrapped pressie -which when shaken seems like there's something inside - and kept insisting there's something inside. "mummy, can I open this present?" "Okay, if you insist this is your present. Then open it and mummy will not buy you any present since you already had a present." She stopped short and held onto it. I think she understood what I implied.

I wonder what's her expression will be like to see more than 3 pressies under the tree, since she'll be coming home tonight.

Richard Lee is coming to town ( to the tune of Santa Claus is coming to town )

I can't remember if I've written this before, my friend Richard is coming to town for a few days end of January 07. Finally! After I was utterly disappointed of his boss asking another guy to come in his place early this year.

It won't be his first trip here, since I've played his tour guide many years back. And the next time was during my wedding.

The story goes on how I met him :
It was the year 1999, when he was my passenger on way to Melbourne. Was working in Business Class and I did the stupidest thing by mixing up his surname with another. I mean, if I mixed up his surname with the passenger sitting next to him is still excusable. But I got mixed up with the passenger sitting across him. He was in 15C and in the passenger manifest list was reflected as Mr Lee, the other was in a Mr Young in 15H. I don't know somehow I usually have to find ways to memorize all the passengers' names in Business Class. So in that instance, I popped my head out from the galley and saw a Mr Lee - angmoh guy? Across him Mr Young - a chinese guy? He did correct me twice "I'm Mr Lee", thankfully he wasn't annoyed with this idiot stewardess who kept calling him wrong name but was very polite with it. Then, the more he corrected me. The more I kept reminding myself 'angmoh is Lee, chee-nah is Young' but dunno why, I think the more I think about not confusing myself, got me confused further. And I greeted another one time. Phew! He didn't ask to see my Inflight Supervisor(IFS) at that time to complaint against me.
I didn't bother much with him during the first half of the flight, coz' we were basically busy and he was busy with his work. After some time, went out to do some PR with the passengers and apologised to him. Well, Lee is also an Irish surname which I then found out. We talked and then I moved on to do PR with others. But somehow that cabin is so small, that when I do my patrolling he stops me and chats with me. My Chief Steward (CS) got worried, asked me "he trying to gao-sua you huh?" "Chey! I never want to romantize with any of my passengers or cabin crew." In my years of flying, I do get the "can I have your number" from my passengers (just like any other crew) but I didn't like the idea of giving out my numbers freely to passengers. If I felt comfortable, I would (still) only give my email address. So far, I've gained a few friends out of the 'passenger list.'

After that trip and the bloopies, we met when I was in London (he's English). And kept contact by emails. He's such a friendly chap that he made friend with another New Zealander lady, whom he later introduced to me (and I'm still in contact with her).

During my wedding, he met my other English friends and he became their friends too! I was pretty surprised when he invited them to the US for his wedding. He re-located to US one year after I got to know him.

His wedding was in 2002, and the next time I met my friends was in early Jan 05 when I made a trip to Europea. In October the same year, we dropped by his place in Princeton. That's the time when Athena finally met him. She immediately took a liking to him. It's quite strange coz' she normally needs some warming up. Maybe she thinks he's Santa Claus.
Athena remembers the black cat - Kiki in his place. And when I told her he is coming to Singapore, her reply was "ohh...........that uncle with the nuts nuts?" I thought she meant "nuts"as in crazy. But she kept telling me "got alot of nuts on the floor? in the garden? you remember?'' Then i remembered it's the acorns we saw on the big patch of land outside his home

Mum & Tots Movie Treats

So good that I needed to share it (that is if you're not aware of it)

Needed to make a booking for a movie with Athena and I came across this: -

Foods that can be unsafe for your baby

As your baby grows, he'll become eager to sample food from your plate — and you'll be eager to introduce some variety to his diet. But not all foods are safe for your child. Some pose a choking hazard, a few aren't good for your baby's still-developing digestive system, and others are potential allergens. (Some families are more prone to allergies than others. If yours is one, read on for suggestions on how to approach certain foods.)

Here's an age-by-age look at which foods to avoid:

Foods to avoid: Newborn to 4 to 6 months
All solid food: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you feed your baby only breast milk or formula for the first four to six months.

Foods to avoid: 4 to 12 months
Citrus: Introducing citrus fruits and juices before age 1 may provoke an allergic reaction, especially if allergies run in your family.

Egg whites: Your baby can eat egg yolks now, but wait a year on the protein-rich whites because he may be allergic to them. In fact, if you think your baby is at high risk for allergies, you may want to delay giving him egg whites until he's 2.

Honey: Honey can harbor spores of Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. An adult's intestinal tract is able to prevent the growth of these spores, but in a baby the spores can grow and produce life-threatening toxins.

Peanut butter: Peanuts are highly allergenic. Rather than risk a violent allergic reaction, wait until your child is at least a year old before introducing peanut butter. (If you or your mate has peanut allergies, wait until your child is at least 3.) Another reason to hold off on peanut butter is its sticky consistency, which can make it tough for a young child to swallow safely.

Wheat or wheat products: Most babies can handle wheat — found in many cereals and breads — when they're about 6 to 8 months old. Wheat is the most common grain allergen, though, so if you're concerned about allergies, it might be a good idea to wait until your baby is 1.

Shellfish: Because it can be highly allergenic, experts recommend excluding shellfish from your baby's diet until his first birthday. (If you suspect he's susceptible to allergies, wait until he's between 3 and 4 years old.)

Tree nuts (like pecans and walnuts): If you think your baby is at risk for allergies, you might want to wait until he's 3 or 4 before giving him nuts. Otherwise he can probably handle them when he's 1, as long as they're pureed in food or in nut butters. (Whole nuts and pieces of nuts pose a choking hazard.)

Other potential allergens: If you're concerned that your baby may be prone to allergies because of your own allergies or your mate's, you might choose to delay the introduction of other commonly allergenic foods — like corn, soy, chocolate, or anything else you're allergic to — until your baby's at least 1. Depending on the severity of your allergy and other factors, you may want to wait even longer. For help making this decision, talk to your child's doctor.

If you're breastfeeding, avoiding all nuts and possibly eggs and milk in your own diet may help in delaying or preventing allergies in your baby.

Cow's milk: Stick with breast milk or formula until your child's first birthday. Why? Your baby can't digest the protein in cow's milk for the first year, it doesn't have all the nutrients he needs, and it contains minerals in amounts that can damage his kidneys.

Large chunks: Pea-size pieces of food are safest — they won't get stuck in your child's throat. Vegetables like carrots, celery, and green beans should be diced, shredded, or cooked and cut up. Fruits like grapes, cherry tomatoes, and melon balls should be cut into quarters before serving, and meats and cheeses should be cut into very small pieces or shredded.

Small, hard foods: Nuts, popcorn, cough drops, hard candies, raisins, and other small dried fruit and seeds are potential choking hazards. Also avoid chewing gum and soft foods like marshmallows and jelly candies that might get lodged in your child's throat.

More choking prevention:

• Avoid letting your child eat in the car since it's hard to supervise while driving.

• If you're using a rub-on teething medication, keep an even closer eye on your baby as it can numb his throat and interfere with swallowing.

Foods to avoid: 12 to 36 months
Low-fat milk: Your toddler needs the fat and calories of whole milk for growth and development. Once he turns 2 (and if he doesn't have any growth problems), you can start giving him lower-fat milk if you like.

Choking hazards: Continue to avoid all the choking hazards listed above, as your child might still have trouble getting them down safely. Also be careful not to give him large dollops of peanut butter. Instead, spread it thinly on bread or crackers. You might want to try thinning it with some applesauce before spreading it.

Highly allergenic foods: Most kids can handle common allergens by their first birthday. If you're concerned about allergies, experts suggest delaying the introduction of egg whites until age 2, and holding off on shellfish, tree nuts, and peanuts (including peanut butter) until your child is at least 3.

Warning signs of an allergic reaction

Signs of an allergic or bad reaction to food include vomiting, diarrhea, rash, swelling, abdominal pain, cough, crankiness, excessive gas, hives, itching, runny nose, shortness of breath, stomach bloating, and wheezing. Symptoms most often show up within a few hours of eating. Call your doctor right away if you think your child may be reacting badly to something he ate.

I am pregnant??

I swear I shouldn't wear that maternity top anymore! Today, after Athena's music class I popped by Charles & Keith to get a pair of shoes. And the sales assistant was helping me..and she said "Can.... this shoe fits you. And it will expand a little too, good especially now that you're pregnant."

Argh!!! Feel like telling her "I'm not pregnant mind you." But to save myself from embarrassment, I kept my mouth shut.

Darn! I think my bulging fats are showing. I have to either quickly :
1) hit the gym earlier than the 'go ahead' date (which is 4 months after my C-section)
2) go for liposuction or meso *sponsor sponsor*
3) stay at home and cannot go anywhere including downstairs

I really envy my friends who still spot good figure after 2, 3 children. And this Leading Stewardess who lived in the opposite block, gave birth about 5 months back got back her stunning figure. And I look like a frumpy fat lady. Before she was pregnant, we do acknowledge if we see each other. (We've met before while I was still flying) But now..... I just feel like avoiding her.

Aricia & her funny poses

Was on the way home, when I saw Aricia's funny poses. And what made her poses prominent were her mittens.
In a span of 6 minutes, she changed 3 poses.

First pose, was of her posing like ultraman. I couldn't capture that coz' I was on TPE.

Second pose, quickly stopped the car in the carpark to snap
Directing traffic : "please turn right"

Went I parked the car, she was doing the ultraman again. Took out my mobile phone and she changed to this -
"Now let us pray............"

Changes

You might have noticed the changes in our blogs.

In my blog :- I've deleted some links to our photos; deleted my pregnant(ed) state photos when I'm no longer pregnant - and hoping to add some nice photos of myself.. [umm...wonder when I'll get a nice shot of myself]; changed the Diddl picture to a Snowman picture; changed the background music to a christmas music [in the christmas mood]

In Athena's blog :- deleted 2 photos only

In Aricia's blog :- did a change in the layout. The previous layout was horrible, and although I didn't like our Ah-lian (pink & pink) layout either; Aricia's layout was simply "not her". I finally got one that is her! I then had to add all the links back on the side. To make matters worse since the layout is different, I couldn't align the lines properly. I kept fiddling around with the htmls. But in the end, I was tired and couldn't explore anymore.

Just hope the new changes brings me new directions in the blogs.

I'm so excited

I don't know if the kids are excited but .. oh boy, I sure am!

In my previous entry, I had mentioned about bringing Athena to KookyArt or GeniusRUs. In the end, I decided a DIY at home. I spoke to Helen about it, since Amanda is not in school now and I can pull Athena out of school (not much studies but revision during school hols) and get the kids together to have fun. She is keen, so we've set a date on the 14th at my home. She's more concerned about me having to take care of 2 kids. I did explain that either way - her home or my home - I am able to handle. If I can't then I'll bring my helper along. So, since it's my home she says it's going to be very messy. I don't know how messy she means..but my mentality is "it can't be that messy right? coz' I've done other cookery arty stuffs with Athena and it wasn't that messy." But even if it is, this clean freak will make sure the place is cleaned up properly after that. Not to worry, afterall my favourite part in any supermarkets is the cleaning aids;fresheners side - I'm sure I have something useful to clean up my place.

I thought it'll be great to have Elizabeth around too but her mummy's like the guai-guai kind won't let child pon-tang school. Never mind, it's not far from my mind. And I shall see how Helen thinks about it.

Today, after the music lesson ends, we were chatting outside (while waiting for the children who are practising for their concert) when Helen said "actually this one is more fun when you have more children around." I jumped at the chance and suggested asking Jenny. When Jenny later overheard our conversation and asked us about it, we shared with her what we were thinking of doing. Yes! Jenny is okay with it. So I'll be having 3 other kids in my home - shouldn't be a problem.

I am looking forward to it as it is a opportunity for me to increase my quality time with Athena , and also an opportunity for Athena to have her friends in her home. But I hope I'll keep my mouth shut and stop nagging at Athena.

After all the drama..

...they(bro and SIL) have decided to change the helper. This was a decision made last Saturday to the agency, and they've decided to get an Indonesian this time round. After all nobody understood YK's english, so might as well get an Indonesian when dad and mom can speak malay.

The reasons of changing helper:
1) Communication
2) Can't work or lazy or stupid?

Communication
The agency told them that Burmese can read english and speak little english. They don't mind if she can speak little english, but nobody understands what the heck she is speaking. So what? Mom is supposed to spell out every word for her?? The first few days had us performing as pig, cow and some sign language. And we still received conflicting answers from her.
Mom asked her to cook rice and she didn't understand. Mom had to say "cook rice , R.I.C.E, rice." Then one day, she asked her to cook porridge, YK kept saying she don't know what's porridge (when she cooked porridge for herself the day before, and after mom had taught her how to cook it). Mom said "that day I teach you.. porridge, you cook to eat yesterday??" YK still didn't understand. Mom was lost for words coz' she don't even know how to spell 'porridge.' Yah! And I was thinking if I should pass them my Glenn Doman flashcards to translate for them.

Gave her clear instructions on not picking up the phone when someone's at home, they still got a marathon runner - running for the phone. And a few times, there were people calling the wrong number and she told mom the caller's asking for her. So it clearly shows how good her communication skills are.
Ask her to take something or do something, she gives you the blur look and repeat one word from the sentence you say. Then you repeat, the same response comes from her. By then, you'll be better off doing the job yourself. At Athena's party, mom told me I can instruct her to help. Wah........even the simple task of asking her to take something for me before the party was so difficult that I simply didn't want her to help me (she's only interfering me) at all. So during the party, she offered and stood in the middle of the hall and I felt like screaming "get the hell out of the place you're standing!" Of course I didn't, otherwise the MOM officials would have put me behind bars now. But at that time, I just felt like asking her to stand guard at the back door. It's not maid abuse, but you know when you have a party, sometimes you need help fast and she only hinders the process.

Can't work or lazy or stupid?
If she claimed that she can read but not listen well to english, then why she can't work with the schedule printed out for her?? She can even ask me (when I don't even stay there) "sister, what I do now?"
Me : What did Sir (brother) asked you to do today
YK : (shows me the schedule)
Me : (looked through the schedule; saw that ironing is not done)
Me : Iron the clothes
YK : (took the list from me and went out to do her own things)
So, does she know how to take instructions from us? I asked mom what she has been doing the whole day. "She only sweeps & mop the floor, and then she touch here and there - dunno what she's touching. After she wash the few clothes, she keep sticking her hand out of the window to touch & see if the clothes are dry. She waits and do nothing until the clothes are dry. Then teach her to cook, she don't ask question & don't jot it down in her notebook. Then she thinks she's lucky that I have to cook for her everyday, she stands there and do nothing. I ask her if she clean the windows, then she promptly drops whatever she's doing (if she's doing) and clean the windows. Dunno how to plan her timing well. I must keep telling her what to do, then she'll do. How to find the energy to keep telling her/keep watch over her?? And then I always find her standing in the toilet, scrapping her teeth with her fingers. Is she skiving by hiding in the toilet?"
It's not like they're abusing the helper by asking her to clean windows everyday or what. But I know how mom is feeling, especially when I got her 'cleanliness' traits and will keep the house clean. And cleaning house is not just sweeping & mopping, gotta clean alot of things around you. In other words, wherever you walk to there's endless jobs to do. But YK don't seem to find anything. Maybe she's blind.
And when I mention about her cleaning the floors only, I'm not bragging. Mom deliberately left tissues and cups on her table and she didn't even clear. Ask her to wash toilet, she really only wash that part of the toilet and don't even bother to tidy up the toilet or throw the rubbish bag away.
Then what made mom furious is that she can't take initiative. When mom was teaching her how to cook, she was slicing the ginger when father called. Mom picked up the phone, she came back to see her standing there and didn't even bother to help her slice the ginger. Then mom washed the vegetables, brother called. Again, she didn't even help.
The best thing is :-
Instructions were given to help prepare breakfast for Sir & mum (bro & SIL). Until now, 3rd week still never help to prepare. When SIL have no choice but to do it herself, she stands there and look. If she can't spread the butter on the bread, how is it she can do it for her own breakfast?
And when mom's instructions to her to stay clear of the toilet in the mornings when everyone is rushing to go into the toilet, she has to go in and hoard the toilet. Mind you, it's not only once or twice but a couple of times. On the first 2 days or so, mom noticed she woke up and stood infront of the hotpot. I told her "maybe she's worshipping the hotpot?" Then when there's mayhem, fighting for toilet in the mornings - she had to join in the fun. And to think it's really hilarious for the 主人 to bang the door; asking her to come out.
I just don't understand why she likes to 'run in & join people'. On Sunday, bro and SIL left for church. They came back 3 hours later and their room is not cleaned; bed not made. And when they want to go in, she had to come with the broom wanting to sweep the floor. Crazy! She had such a long time to do it and she was idling away.

Sister's experience with her :
Saw her preparing to cook lunch, reminded her to bring the clothes hanging on the bamboo pole out to the living room before cooking.
As she was going out of the house, from a glance she saw her bringing the pole out in the open (when it's drizzling). Who in the sanest mind would bring the clothes out in the drizzle or rain. Speaking of which, mom says "alot of times she never bring in the clothes when it's raining."
And the funny comment from sister " she stand there, behind me like Sadako" sent me rolling on the floor in laughter.

Oh my! And she said her purpose was to study english here?! I mean, if you want to study.. you must do your work what!

Nobody could understand how YK works and how slow she works except mom who faces her everyday. Nobody believes her until they themselves experience it themselves some time later.
Dad knew how mad mom is over YK, and will tell her "don't think so much.. relax." Out of concern he calls her and ask "got kill anyone or not?" Today, I was at home when I overheard the same sentence from him. I asked "who kill who?" He laughed and said "your mom kill her." My respond thereafter,"Wah.... you so concerned about YK kena killed or not. I was scared if mom got murdered or not."

This entry says so much about her negative feedbacks, and you might think it's unfair to her. But really - she has no positive feedback so far. Which is why after putting everything on the scales, the negative weighed heavier. It tipped so badly that they simply had to change her away. I applaud their final decision.
Somehow the humanity side of us felt she's rather pitiful (and kept in the dark still until the new helper comes) to be sent out. Her ultimate fate is left pending, whether she gets sent back to Yangon depends on whether anyone wants her or not. But then again,they've given her chance and even asked my helper to help translate. Somehow she took their kindness for granted and didn't prove herself to them. I wonder how she'll react - break down and cry and ask for forgiveness??

Somehow, I thank God that he gave me a good helper - KZ. Everyone says I'm damn lucky to have found her. I hope she stays on, if not.... I may not be lucky another time round.

The gingerbread house & me

The gingerbread house and me are just not meant to-be.

The first time I was in Ikea, I didn't even step into the place. Today, I did an enroute while on way to mom's place. Aricia was sleeping soundly in the car, so I thought it'll be easy for me to quickly find the thing and get out of the stupid place.
Yes, she was quite alright initially, slept and then woke up and started looking at the lights above us. Then as I struggle to find my way out while carrying her, and enduring the pain from the blisters that is tearing my skin (wearing new shoes) - Aricia had to cry. I was nearing the Checkouts when she turned even more cranky. I had to rush to make my exit, but then I thought to myself - see where the Swedish Food Hall is. When I saw it, I wanted to make a dash into the place. But my naughty girl didn't permit me to stay, so how am I suppose to go around and find the kit. Suay right?

Dunno if I'll have the chance to go again. Maybe it's a hint that we shouldn't waste our time on it. If I do get it, I hope it's worth it.


Some charming things I read from the website.

Assembling ideas of Anna's gingerbread house
Assembling your gingerbread house
Decorating tips
Templates

Beautiful isn't it? Makes you want to build a house, and the fun thing is - you don't have to be young to do it. It'll be a fun way for family bonding.

Week 11

Your New Baby

Aricia is starting to exercise a little self-control. When she is crying and you respond by making a funny face or talking to her, she will be able to settle down, stop crying, and eventually give you a great big, toothless smile.

Speaking of smiles, Aricia may start giving you my favorite: the full-body smile. A full-body smile is just what the name implies: a smile that uses all of Aricia's body. She may kick, wave her arms, and squeal. There will be no mistaking that she is happy. By the end of the first year, full-body smiles are pretty much over, so enjoy them now.

If you are out of your baby's sight and call to Aricia, she will now probably turn her head and search for you. She is also gaining enough strength and coordination in her neck that when you pull her to a sitting position, she might be able to keep her head steady and in line with the rest of her body.

** Aricia is Miss Smile A-Lot now. Lovely smiles but impatient girl!

Someone is jealous

I knew it! After the older girl has learnt to be an angel - by helping us out, she suddenly turned herself into a devil - by demanding attention from us.
She has been disturbing the little sister from her sleep,making Aricia very grouchy and cry. When we managed to put her to sleep; Athena starts (again) by 'pretending to cuddle' her sister - in the process waking her up again.

We don't understand what goes on in her mind. She didn't realise that by disturbing her sister, we pay more attention to the little one. And thus, reducing the time spent with her. Then she starts saying out loud "nobody's talking to me. Nobody's playing with me", when we're all trying to pacify Aricia. Haha! Good!

She wants more of me now. When I'm carrying Aricia or put Aricia to suckle, she'll ask for me. Whining loudly "I want mummy...I want mummy....."

Ask her if she wants us to give Aricia away, she says no. Ask her if she wants to sell Aricia to ah-pu nene or garang guni man, she says no. So... what is she thinking?? If she's jealous of her sister, then she would have taken the opportunity to have her sister out of her sight.

Gingerbread

It's the school holidays. I have been wanting to bring Athena to Kooky Art or do some crafts workshops, however in the end - I changed my mind. I can buy the cookies and let her do it by herself in the comfort of our home. Anyway, nobody can hear me nagging at her for making a mess when I'm at home.

So, I was looking for cookies since I haven't even figured out how to use my microwave to bake cookies. Otherwise it'll be great to use my cute cookie cutters to make cookies. (abit siao right? Buy cookie cutters quite some time back when I haven't even figure it out)

I remembered reading from somewhere that Goodwood Park Hotel's Deli sells this $30 Gingerbread DIY Kit. Wanted to let Athena ' play' with it but in the end decided against the idea as Athena will make a mess out of it and I didn't want to feel sim-tia. They don't sell plain gingerbread man.
I end up buying those squared; star-shaped and heart-shaped cookies from Marriott. I was able to find gingerbread man from Marks & Spencer too!

Ikea sells the Gingerbread house at $7.50. I will have to see if I can find the time to drop by the stupid place before Christmas.

Anyway, I don't understand why too..... why during Christmas I'll start thinking about gingerbread. What's the association between the two? I can't find a good answer to it but found some things which are good to know on the web.

http://www.annieshomepage.com/gingerbread2.html
http://frankysattic.home.comcast.net/history.html

Recipe : Chocolate Gingerbread cookies (extracted from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup molasses
* 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine butter or margarine, molasses, and unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Heat until chocolate melts. Stir until smooth.
2. Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Stir in melted chocolate mixture and milk. Mix well. Chill until firm.
3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F ( 190 degrees C) for about 10 minutes.

Lighting up my life

Went to soak in the light-up atmosphere in Orchard last night. KZ went "wa...ah" and said they're so beautiful.

While the Christmas light-up makes me happy (especially when I know Christmas is round the corner) The children light up my life everyday. They bring me joy and light up (fire)- angry definitely!!

Ai yah.. this one huh? Doused many fires liao!

This one huh?.........Akan Datang lah!

Photos are ready

The photos to Athena's birthday are finally up.

Please click this to go back to the blog entry