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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

My 2 Little Babysitters

Last Saturday, my 2 older girls were in a mood to help me feed Baby breakfast. Let me tell you, feeding Baby formula milk, food and water require a hundred tons of patience, something which I don’t have. My helper does not have it either but we have to do it. What choice do we have unless we starve her. Feeding Baby eats up a lot of our time. I always tell the hubs that I need one full-time helper to help me feed Baby and care for her.

Back to my 2 older girls. Alycia started to volunteer to help me coax Baby to drink water. Sherilyn saw how ‘fun’ it was and she too took the bowl of hard boiled egg and coaxed Baby to eat. That freed my helper and me from the back-breaking chore of chasing Baby around the house and coaxing her to eat. I even had the time to read the newspapers and the titan auto insurance review. I hope this coming Saturday, my 2 older girls will volunteer to help me feed Baby again.

To get Baby to open her mouth to drink and eat, she needs to be in front of the TV or at the area where we place the bicycles, scooter and tricycle. I can't wait for Baby to grow up!!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Childhood Memories

As I get older, my birthday celebration gets ‘brighter’. Yesterday I celebrated my birthday at a Chinese restaurant with my hubby, 3 girls, mil and the girls’ 2 godfathers. It was quite a sumptuous dinner but without any fanfare. There was also a tiny green tea birthday cake which everyone chomped down and there were no leftovers this time. Hubby gave me a birthday peck on the lips, in broad daylight in front of the girls. During my teenage years, having birthday parties in a house or a clubhouse that’s totally devoid of lights was very popular. The darker the place, the better and more ‘opportune’ it was so that the boys and girls could enjoy their slow dance and do whatever they fancied in the dark, without being noticed. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t partake in any hanky panky, fishy acts in the dark. I was too prim and proper for all these haha!

When I was about 16 years old, my friends and I were invited to a party at a clubhouse. There was the usual rock and roll music and dance at the start of the party and towards the end of the night, there was the long awaited slow dance. It was pitch black in the function room. There were no exit signs anywhere in the room. My friend who was short sighted and did not wear her glasses (well, she wanted to look pretty and back then, contact lenses were way too expensive) was walking towards the exit of the room and did not see a glass door there. She almost walked through the glass door and hit her head hard on the glass door! Gosh, she was in tears, not so much from the pain but from the embarrassment. We complained to the clubhouse and I don’t know if they had fixed any exit sign after that incident. I have not visited the clubhouse for many years. When I go back to my hometown one of these days, I should pay a visit to the clubhouse to see if there are EXIT SIGNS in all their function rooms. They better have!

Little Penang Cafe @ Mid Valley Megamall

On the day of Baby's Chalazion eye surgery, we had lunch at Little Penang Cafe. This cafe is located just below ISEC. Here's what we had and for you to drool on :D

Sinfully refreshing and fattening ice-kacang with banana slices, roasted peanuts, sweetened sweet corn, jelly, evaporated milk and 'sarsi' flavored syrup.


Delish nasi lemak. The coconut milk cooked rice was really fluffy and fragrant. Even someone who is on a low-carb diet cannot resist chomping down a few spoonfuls of the rice.


Fruit rojak.


Pai Tee (Top Hat) - very good. The 'hat' was very crispy and had no rancid taste. The braised turnip was sweet.


The famous Penang char koay teow with large prawns and crab meat, yums!!

Every plate of food on the table was wiped off within minutes as both the hubs and I were famished after 'fasting' with Baby for the whole morning.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Weaning Baby From Co-Sleeping With Us

I think I will have not much problems weaning Baby from co-sleeping with hubby and me. The problem is weaning her off her boops addiction. She needs them whenever she wants to sleep. Baby's anesthetist told me that she weaned her son off her boops cold turkey when he was 2.5 years old. Maybe I should do that too. I just have to gather the strength and cold heartnedness to do that.



In this picture taken about 2 weeks ago, Baby had slept with Alycia jie jie one night. We had gone out shopping that evening and returned home about 11ish pm. Everyone was so burnt out that they dropped on their beds without fussing and drifted into slumberland, Baby included. I brought Baby back to my bedroom as I was worried that she would fall off Alycia's bed. When I am prepared to wean Baby from co-sleeping with us, I will place a mattress on the floor at the foot of Alycia's bed for Baby to sleep there.

I am expecting my next batch of clothes from my supplier very soon. Head over to Old And New Stuff For Sale to see the new arrivals. Prices are nett, with FREE shipping :D

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Selective Hearing And Answering

When Baby was just carried out from the OT after her Chalazion eye surgery, she appeared very sleepy and still down. I called her but she did not answer me. The nurse and I wanted to test if she was still alert. When the nurse brought out a tiny piece of chocolate and said "come, I give you chocolate", Baby who was latched on dearly to her fix immediately sprang up and grabbed the chocolate! When I said "Cassandra, say thank you", Baby said "tha kiu".... and then clutched the chocolate tightly in her fist and continued to sleep. When I tried to remove the piece of chocolate from her clutch, she resisted and clutched it in a tighter grip...until the chocolate melted and sipped out from the wrapper all over her hands! I knew then that Baby was fine, physically and mentally. Amen! She was merely selectively hearing and answering us :)



Baby snuggled up with Daddy.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Getting Yourself Insured

I didn’t know that eye lazer surgery is a thriving business until yesterday. When we were at the eye specialist centre for Baby’s Chalazion eye surgery, there were many other patients undergoing lazer eye surgery – for cataract, to correct vision and for various other eye disorders. Baby’s minor surgery which lasted only 5 minutes cost us a choking RM2k!! I am praying that our insurer will reimburse us this claim this time round. Our ophthalmologist has assured us that this condition is guaranteed claimable from the insurer as it is a non-congenital disorder. Having a medical insurance and a life insurance is essential as it could save you a lot of money should the unforeseen happen to us or our loved ones.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Baby's Chalazion Eye Surgery At ISEC

Here are some snap shots of Baby at ISEC (International Specialist Eye Centre) taken today.


Before the surgery - all cheeky, smiley and bubbly. She looked so cute in the OT gown and cap. I think she looked like a Japanese chef :D




Minutes after she was brought out from the OT, she was already searching for my boobies and here she is latching on the most comforting tools for her.

For those of you who have Facebooked me, you can view more pictures in my Facebook profile.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Easy To Make Healthy Homemade Pizza

My mil's latest baking frenzy is pizza, healthy yummylicious ones! Last week she made pizzas 2 days in a row. I always thought making pizza is such a hassle but after seeing her make them, I think it's pretty easy. The troublesome part is making the dough (it may be nothing to some people but to me it is considered very tedious as I don't have the time in hand). But we can make a big portion and deep freeze them in smaller portions for future use.

All the healthy liu (ingredients) - organic green, red and yellow capsicum, big onions, homemade tomata paste (which she used a big bag of organic tomatoes and blended them), fresh mushrooms, mozarella and parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil and sausages from Europe (a relative who went to Europe gave them to us).


And oh yes, my mil also grinded some peppercorns and mixed herbs onto the pizza.


The pizza just before going into the oven.




The homemade pizza with thick crust, fresh from the oven... smells SO SO good and tastes SO SO good *slurps*


The following day, my mil made thin crust pizza (specially requested from moi!) and she added some chicken breasts for the topping, as I prefer thin crusts pizzas and this tasted even more scrumptious! She will be making pizza again this week. This time, I will buy a can of pineapple and get her to add pineapple slices on the pizza, yums!


Do hop over to my blogshop, Old And New Stuff For Sale to check out more new arrivals. Shipping for ladies clothing is now waived with no minimum purchase!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Smelly Pee On My Lips!

The other day about 1.5 weeks ago, while sniffing Baby's pee in the specimen bottle in the bathroom (her pee looked and smelled suspicious of an impending UTI), this rascal pushed my hand when I was sniffing the pee. The pee splattered on my lips and I think a wee bit must have gone into my mouth too! Gawd, I was aghast. I don't mind sniffing her pee and touching her poop but tasting some of these yucky stuff, NO WAY, I dowan! I quickly washed and rinsed my mouth with water under the tap and gave the little rascal a good whack on her hand. This little rascal is making every potty session a hell for me. She is now at the phase of rebelling to pee and poo on the potty! She is also rebelling against drinking water! God please help me to remain sane and help Baby to outgrow this horrible Terrible Two phase asap!




On another note, tomorrow we will be bringing Baby to see an Ophthalmologist. She may need a minor op to remove the abscess from the boil/sty under her right eyelid. I shall write about this in my healthiswealth.com blog.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Kids Nap The Darnest Ways



Check out Alycia's sleeping position. On school-going days, she is one very sleepy girl. She totally cannot function without a 1-hour power nap in the afternoon. I am really perplexed with how she can sleep in such a contorted position!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Having Fun With Godfather

My gals having fun with their kai yeh (godfather), who is daddy's long-time buddy.





Check out my vain pot's gaya with her sweater while playing with games on kai yeh's iphone. This girl of mine really has style and character :D

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Homemade Bread, Steamed Egg And Soup For Lunch

I ran out of lunch ideas for Baby the other day. So I served her my mil's homemade wholemeal bread with cream cheese spread. Also made her chawan mushi (Japanese steamed egg) and a bowl of soup of the day.


Verdict : everything was walloped! Such a stress-free, fuss-free, easy-to-prepare lunch!


Guess who lay the flash cards on the floor?

Baby choked on a piece of ice cube today. Hop over to my other blog to read the story, which is every parent's nightmare!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Chewy Junior Cream Puffs @ Pavillion KL

As I was walking out from Mercato d'Marketplace @ Pavillion after shopping for groceries, I passed by Chewy Junior. The promoter gave me a tiny piece of cream puff to sample and I loved it immediately. It tasted a little like Beard Papa, my favorite cream puff but Chewy Junior has many flavors.





The wide array of mouth watering cream puffs in different flavors.







I could not make up my mind on which flavor to buy so I asked the sales girl which is nice. She told me that the cheddar cheese for kids is nice (I think she thought I was buying the cream puffs for Baby), so I got a box and I so regretted it. The puff pastry was too chewy for my liking and my 2 older gals didn't like it at all. I still prefer their plain cream puffs. I will stick to Beard Papa's cream puffs in future, love their green tea flavor and vanilla flavor cream puffs.

Cheddar cheese Chewy Junior cream puffs.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Restoran Pao Xiang Bah Kut Teh, Level 6, Pavillion KL

We were at Pavillion KL on Monday to get some sports wear and shoes from the Nike shop. After shopping, we had an early dinner at Pavillion. Of all the restaurants at Pavillion, the hubs chose this Klang Bah Kut Teh restaurant called Pao Xiang Bah Kut Teh. Well, no regrets as the bah kut teh was really tasty. Here're the hoggy porky dishes that we savored:


This restaurant serves all types of pork....


The very spacious and clean restaurant....


The bah kut teh dishes are served in cute little bowls with fire under the bowl to keep the pork and soup warm....


Baby who does not like eating rice with dishes walloped this bowl of rice with pork (minus the salty broth) and veggie...

Verdict : the bah kut teh was very tasty, though quite pricey. Well, they have to jack up the price as the rental at Pavillion is really steep.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Bestest Jie Jie In The World

My maid had successfully put Baby to nap one afternoon last week. I say successful coz Baby dozed off without my boops! She must have my boops in order to pacify and lull herself to sleep most of the time. Baby now loves sleeping on Alycia jie jie's bed. When she's really tired or sleepy, she could fall asleep on Alycia jie jie's bed without mummy's boobies and without any fuss. Sometimes she prefers to sleep with Alycia than with me.

When Alycia saw Baby on her bed, she didn't want to wake her baby sister up. Guess where she slept?





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Under Sherilyn's bed! Ain't Alycia the sweetest and bestest jie jie in the whole wide world?

Best Way To Lose Weight

Over the past 4 months ever since I started my online blogshop, I have kept myself super busy. I hardly have the time to sit at the dining table to enjoy my meals, hardly any time to nap in the afternoon, have been getting only 5-6 hours of sleep each day and hardly any time to munch on snacks in between meals. Stress aside, I have been really delighted to watch the red needle on the bathroom scale point towards the left numbers each morning! The best way for me to lose weight is a hectic lifestyle and of course my daily morning run / swim / gym. I don’t need any weight loss supplement to help me lose weight. I am now back at my pre-Baby C weight at 44kg, YAY!

I Don't Need Sleeping Pills

Never in my life have I tried taking sleeping pills to help me fall asleep. I have never really suffered from insomnia. The only time I had difficulty in falling asleep was when I was pregnant with Alycia. She was my first baby after years of battling with infertility and I was terribly anxious throughout my pregnancy. Ever since my kids came along, I would be so exhausted that I’d go straight into slumberland within minutes my head hits the pillow!

The Winner Of The Biggest Loser Of Asia

If I have the time, I’d really love to watch all the episodes of the Biggest Loser of Asia reality show. I totally could not recognize King David in the newspapers when I read about his win last week. King David is an Indonesian and he emerged as the winner and won USD100,000 as well as a brand new Renaut car. His total weight loss of 83kg is indeed very inspirational to all those who want to lose weight and I think his weight loss success story is one of the best ever

Childhood Memories

My gals love pressing on our house doorbell button. I guess every kid loves pressing on doorbell buttons, me inclusive when I was a kid. I remember very vividly that when I was a kid, I would go round the neighborhood pressing on houses that have a doorbell button. Those days (about 3 decades ago) not many houses have a doorbell button and those that have a doorbell are normally big houses. I really miss those fun filled, stress-free and worry-free childhood days of mine.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Restaurant Xenri @ Wisma Elken, Batu 5, Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur

Xenri is one of our favorite Japanese restaurants. The food is fantastic and the ambience is very Japanese-like and classy. I love their interior too. There is a pond inside the restaurant with Japanese carps and patrons can dine in calm surroundings with the serene sound of flowing water.

Here you go, the food that we had.... and I hope you've taken your lunch/dinner, else your tummy will surely rumble and I won't be surprise that you'll make a dash for Japs tonight hehe...

Raw oysters. I skipped all the raw stuff coz I'm still breastfeeding Baby.


Yakitori, grilled salmon, grilled unagi...


Loved their baked oysters with cheese and mayo, so delish!!


Pan fried seabass fish and more baked oysters...


Chewy jellies, fruits and mousse...


My favorite grilled salmon head. The meat was so juicy and tender.


Ice-kacang topped with lots of red bean, peanuts, milk and a scoop of green tea ice-cream, how heavenly!


My favorite Fried Pregnant fish or Shishamo (a type of tiny fish that's filled with roe). The entire fish can be whacked - head, bones, flesh, tail and roe! I can easily chomp down 5-6 tiny fishes in one sitting.

The buffet lunch cost RM50++ (can't remember the exact price but it's in the region of fifty++). The buffet lunch is really value for money and the spread of food / quality of food are above average.

Xenri is located at:
Wisma Elken, Batu 5, Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur
No. 20, Wisma Elken,
Jalan 1/147C, Batu 5,
Jalan Kelang Lama,
58200 Kuala Lumpur.
(directly across Pearl Point Shopping Mall)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Random Pix Of Baby


One sure way of getting Baby to drink water without using coercion, bribe or threat is to give her ice cubes. She is another ice cubes lover, just like her 2 jie jies. She can eat 1 whole cup of ice cubes on her own but of course I don't give her that much, lest she gets a cough. Here she's drinking cold water from the melted ice and peeing at the same time :D


The only time Baby gets to wear her 2 jie jies' helmets are when they are at school in the morning. With them around, her 2 jie jies will yell murder if Baby touches their new helmets. The mouse is having a great time here when the 2 cats are away, hehehehe!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

I'm Here.... Tadaaa......!



Now that Alycia and Sherilyn each have a new bicycle, their scooter and tricycle are now Baby's and she can have them all to herself. These days Baby loves to practise scooting on the scooter. She can spend at least half an hour trying to figure out by herself how to balance herself on the scooter with 1 leg on the scooter and another leg on the floor pushing her way forward. Sometimes she falls on the floor but she would not cry. I can see that she's a very determined little girl. Oh yes, 2 days ago we could not find Baby inside the house. We all called her name several times and finally she surprised us by saying "I'm here, tadaa......!" And she was quietly at the shoe area where the scooter was kept, playing with the scooter.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

My Morning Routine With Alycia

Though I hate the lack of sleep and having to force myself out from bed by 5:45am everyday, I nevertheless enjoy spending the 10-15 minutes one-to-one time with Alycia while we wait for the transporter to pick her up. During the short 10-15 minutes wait, we have 'real conversation'. I say 'real' coz I am actually listening and talking to her. When all 3 monkeys are at home and I am working on the computer, I sort of half-listen to them when they talk and ask me questions. I know it's bad but I just can't help it coz there are just way too many issues on my mind - work, kids, personal, household matters and all that jazz. I tell yer, it's a bag load of stress being a WFHM (work from home mum) with 2 young kids and an under 2 toddler who is as active as a monkey!

During the 10-15 minutes quiet time in the morning, I talk to Alycia about everything - reminding her not to follow strangers home, reminding her not to buy junk food in school, reminding her to memorize her weekly spelling / Ejaan / Ting Xie, among others. Lately, I have been reading the newspapers to her every morning. Our condo Management provides free issues of the Malay Mail and The Sun everyday. For the past one week, I will guide her to read the newspapers and explain meaning of new words to her. Her reading is improving and there is still lots of room for improvement. I think the 5-10 minutes of newspapers reading every morning will definitely help her improve her vocab and reading prowess.

After Alycia gets into the transporter's car, I will then go for my half hour run or swim or work out in the gym. When I'm back home at 7:30am, the real back-breaking, mental and physical tormenting job of a SAHM cum WFHM begins. I don't get to rest until midnight. Sigh.... it's really really tiring and I hope that I'll get to reap the fruits and enjoy them really really soon!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Hello Daddy

Each time the house phone or my mobile phone rings, rascal #1 and #2 will rush to pick up the phone, as if competing with each other to see who gets the phone first. Now the 2 jie jies have a rival and the tiniest rascal always get to answer the phone. This is what Baby normally says when she answers the phone "Halo.... ar ar, halo.... ar ar" Why "ar ar"? That's because we adults always say that whenever we answer the phone, like saying "Hello, yes yes" (in response to saying that it's me on the phone) but we say "Hello ar ar" in Cantonese or Mandarin hahahah!

Yesterday Baby grabbed my mobile phone when I had forgotten to put it up on the shelve and she pretended to key in some numbers and then went "halo daddy, ar ar...." LOL!!

Must Try The 10-Layer New Pizza Flavor

As I was flipping through the newspapers this morning, the advertisement by this pizza chain on their latest product caught my attention. I must say that this pizza chain has successfully marketed its brand and drew in a lot of customers to their chain of pizza restaurants with their constant new products. Every few months, we are surely surprised with unique flavors. This time, the new pizza flavor has 10 layers of yummy ingredients. I am so tempted to try it! Who knows the next time round, there will be tiny gold coins buried inside their pizzas to entice more customers!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Little Social Butterfly



Baby is a little social butterfly. From the moment she gets up from bed in the morning till evening, she is always hopeful to go kai kai. At the mention of "let's go kai kai", she is the first to get ready. She will zoom to her drawer in the bedroom and fish out her kai kai clothes. She even knows which drawer is to store what type of clothes. Then she removes the singlet that she wears at home and puts on the kai kai clothes herself. Next, she would bring out a hair clip and say "mummy, help me clip"! Once she's all leng leng (pretty), she will wear her favorite Hello Kitty crocs and wait at the door for everyone else to get ready (as shown in pic above). Super efficient, definitely not a dilly dallier like #2 jie jie. Well, I hope she stays this way and not slackens and be a slacker when she grows up.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Now We See It, Now We Don't :(

We went to the pasar malam on Friday night after collecting my customers' clothes from the warehouse. We bought fruits, veggie, sweet corn in cup, assam laksa, soy bean milk and fishballs. There were so much stuff that our car boot was stuffed to the brim. When we opened the boot upon reaching the car park, crash boom bang... and some of the food fell to the ground. The soy bean milk and assam laksa soup were splattered all over the ground! Luckily we had eaten our dinner earlier, else we would have to go out and take out food again. Haih.... such a waste!!


Sunday, March 7, 2010

Do you hug and kiss your spouse in front of your kids?

Just before hubby left the house for basketball today, he gave me a peck on the cheek. Alycia saw it. In the past when she was little, she would get extremely jealous whenever she sees daddy hugging or kissing mummy. She would push us and separate us and then cry. Now, as she is older and is more mature in her thinking, she would even encourage us to hug!! One time she asked me this "mummy, do you love daddy? Why do you quarel with him?" when she saw us arguing with each other.

When she saw daddy giving mummy a peck just now, she smiled shyly and then walked away. When Sherilyn came out from the bedroom, Alycia announced this loudly "just now I saw daddy kissing mummy, ahahahahah! I am going to tell all my friends in school tomorrow ahahahahah!" My maid and probably my mil heard it. That was really malu I tell yer. I immediately reprimanded her and warned her not to say it. Now, we better be careful of what we do, else our 3 little monkeys will broadcast it to the world!

Do you hug and kiss your spouse in front of your kids?

On a side note, go check out my blogshop, New And Old Stuff For Sale for more trendy ladies clothing at low price. You can now sell your own stuff, new and old at my blogshop too!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Another Sherilyn In The Making

My sweetie-pie is speaking her mind out loud and clear now. Yesterday after feeding her Nutrifresh + Refresh + Scott's Emulsion in front of the TV (she would only obediently open her mouth and swallow her formula milk + supplements if she's put in front of the tellie), I wanted to turn off the VCD player (playing her favorite Barney). She ran to the TV and said this ""I wan see first, go away mummy" and pushed my hands away! At only 22 months+, this litttle rascal is really vocal and I can see that she is another Sherilyn in the making!

Friday, March 5, 2010

No Ordinary Hair Clip



This rainbow hair clip is no ordinary hair clip. Though I no longer wear it, I still feel sentimental when I look at it. I had forgotten all about this hair clip until 3 days ago when I saw it on the dining table, out of the blue. My late grandma bought this hair clip for me when I was about 12 years old. It was my favorite hair clip and I wore it for a few years. And then it was kept in my hair accessories box untouched for over 2 decades... until my vain pot Sherilyn found the hair clip when we were back in Ipoh some time back... and she brought it back to KL. The hair clip still looks good and the fake diamond is still gliterring!

Hate Yellow Lights

Though I hate yellow lights, my hubs had fitted almost the entire house with yellow lights. He should have consulted me first before he bought those lights. With yellow lights, I find that I have to strain my eyes to see clearly. I prefer blue fluorescent lights and only the wet kitchen and area outside our bedroom are fitted with blue fluorescent lights. One of the things that I have to do is to change the 2 yellow lights in my bedroom to blue fluorescent lights with lightings from Dolan Designs lighting. I also have to change the lights in the girls’ bedroom to blue lights as they are brighter and more conducive for reading.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Great Website To Download Free Birthday Cards

Alycia and Sherilyn wanted to make a birthday card for their little aunt's (hubby's cousin) 7th birthday last week. So I googled around for free birthday cards to print and found this website : http://www.greetingsisland.com/Printables/Birthday

They were excited when they saw the colorful cards at the website and they each chose a card to be printed. Once printed, they had a fun time coloring and decorating their cards with nice stickers and ribbons.






You can write whatever text you want in the card and decorate the card with cute stamps / pictures.

Alycia and Sherilyn enjoyed decorating the cards very much. Now I know how to keep them occupied during the school holidays. I'll print cards for all occasions and get them to color and decorate the cards!