How We Spent Our Sunday

After church today, we went to Bangsar Village. We had gone there on Friday to have lunch at Delicious (one of our favorite restaurants) and just when we were about to leave, we passed by a newly opened Italian restaurant called Marco's Pizza (can't remember the exact name), located opposite Grocers Village. Hubby browsed their menu and the food looked good, so he promised to bring us here on Sunday (today). Well, the food is good. I love the pasta, especially the Pesto pasta and the pasta with pine nuts, avocado and prawns cooked in tomato paste. The cod fish pasta was also good. Their pizzas are all baked in wood stove fire. This is what we had for lunch today :

The wood stove to bake pizzas.

The restaurant is very spacious (with split level), very clean and there is also a kids' play area. It is a very kids' friendly restaurant and suitable for gatherings (we can hold a bloggers' gathering there too!). Will definitely dine in this restaurant again.

The kids' play area - very clean.

You Like This?

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE IT MOVE!

If you visit this young and pretty mummy's blog, you will notice that her blog is full of animation. The pix are moving and the words are jumping around. It's a very interesting, funny and lively blog written by a very creative and cheery mum with a cute son. I'd earlier commented in her blog that I'm impressed with the moving pix and the next day, I got a surprise email from her. I got 2 animation pix of Sherilyn - moving. She had copied the pix from my blog and did a GIF with it. What a pleasant surprise. Thanks Sasha for the little GIF!

Want An Increase Traffic To Your Blog?

This is NOT a sponsored post! Notice the new BlogRush widget on my sidebar? I've just joined BlogRush, a FREE service that helps bloggers get what they want - traffic to their blogs and hopefully, an increase in page rank too.

Here's an excerpt from the BlogRush website on what BlogRush is all about :

By adding the BlogRush Widget to a blog, a blogger can get instant distribution for their latest blog post titles across a network of related blogs. BlogRush users earn "syndication credits" (the right to have their blog post titles shown inside a widget on another related blog) based on their own traffic (loads of the widget) as well as the traffic of other users they refer to BlogRush.

Users can automatically refer others to BlogRush via special links on the widget, as well as through the promotion of a special referral URL they are given.BlogRush is a "Cooperative Syndication Network" that rewards its users for their contributions to the network -- from the impressions they provide of the BlogRush Widget to the referral of other users through 10 'generations' of activity and the impressions of the widget that they provide.

BlogRush was designed to be incredibly viral and to provide its users with tremendous distribution leverage to receive exposure for their blog content (onto related content blogs) that they could never achieve on their own; at least without a massive advertising budget.

If you too want an increase traffic to your blog, quick hop on to BlogRush, fill out some simple forms, copy and paste the widget codes to your blog and you're done.

My Friend Is Going To Las Vegas

My best friend’s hubby is going to the United States for a business trip again and this time, he’s going to Las Vegas and my friend is tagging along again. She had just sent me a text message on my mobile phone telling me how excited she is to be able to visit Las Vegas, one of the most happening places in the world with non-stop entertainment and fun. Her hubby’s company has paid for their accommodation at the Tropicana Las Vegas Resort and she was telling me that her hubby has even bought show tickets for her to the popular Xtreme Magic show starring Dirk Arthur and Folies Bergere show. Her hubby got free tickets to the shows for their stay at the resort, how nice! I did warn my friend not to have too much fun with her hubby at the resort’s 24-hour casino as they are both games lovers. It’s fun to play with them once in a while but I told her that she should always remember her limit though. I wonder when I will ever have the chance to visit Las Vegas.

New Blog Coming Up Soon...

I finally signed up for my own domain yesterday and today, I have been busy setting up my new blog. I must really thank this wonderful mummy for offering her help to me. Already busy with 2 kids (and one arriving anytime), she has time and again offered to help me and kept reminding me about my new blog coz when her baby pops out, she will not be able to help me.

As I've got no experience with WordPress, everything about WP looks so alien to me. It doesn't help that I'm an IT retard and today being a Saturday, I have 2 hyperactive kids at home, tugging at me and wanting my attention all the time.

The most difficult thing about setting up own domain is the FTP file thingy. It is so complicated (well, at least to me coz I'm IT challenged) but Elaine has been so patient with me and helpful to me. I gave up half way through with the FTP file thing and Elaine offered to help me with it as well as to put up all the affiliate codes and what nots on my blog's sidebar. Later, she'll teach me step by step how to update my blog. Isn't she wonderful?

I'll be busy with my new blog for the next few days and I don't think I'll have time to accept offers from advertisers. If I've not dropped by your blog yet, I hope you'll understand.

Till then... I'll be unveiling my new blog to everyone very soon. Finally, I have my very own blog, a dot com blog and no longer a free subdomain blog, yay!

The Many Faces of Sherilyn

Sherilyn my little rascal is full of expression and has a 'colorful' personality. Here are the many faces of Sherilyn :

Playful


Mischievous pout


Sweet smile


Cheeky grin


Greedy stare


Wailing out loud

The Age That I Wish To Go Back To

Hui Sia would like to know at which age I'd wish to go back to if given a chance. Well, if there's really a time tunnel or time machine, just like the serial movie 'The Time Tunnel' that was popularly shown in the 1980's (which was my favorite), I would choose age 14-15. It was a year where I had so much fun with my classmates. First we went on our very first trip to KL on a bus. Back then, it was such a big deal to be able to go to KL for some ulu Ipoh mali school girls like us. We visited the zoo, the airport, went to The Mall (which was the newest and trendiest mall in KL back then), Batu Caves and many more. Then, we went on our first camping trip to Pangkor Island. It was such a fun-filled year and I just miss those care-free, stress-free, worry-free, child-free days.

Now, I'd like to know yours too :

Barbara.... good interim post for you :)
Anggie .... first tag for you :)
Shannon .... don't mind doing this tag?

*******************Start copy************************
Instructions:

Title: The Age That I Wish To Go Back To

Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?

Tag Mode: 5 blogger
1st - You list down their blog name and blog url and add to the list below.

2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they have been tagged by commenting in their blog or etc.

Have fun with this tag!

The age that they wish to go back to:
Amidrin wish to go back to age 22 to correct back some mistakes in life.
Lemonjude wish to go back to age 6 to enjoy kid's life.
Hui Sia wish to go back to age 16 to meet her first lover again.
Shireen wishes to bo back to age 14 to relive her fun-filled childhood days.

Chubby Alycia

Everyone is commenting that Alycia has put on a lot of weight lately. I don't really notice it as I see her everyday. So today I went through my picture folder to go through her pix and omg, it's true, she really gained some weight, especially on her cheeks and belly. Notice how chubby her cheeks are here?

Even our paed commented that Aly's weight has shot up quite a bit. Her weight shot up from 15kg to 18kg in 4 months! I think it must be because she didn't need to go to school for almost half a year, had enough sleep, slackened a bit in her exercise (we use to jog everyday when we were staying in Shah Alam) and she's been eating quite a bit lately. I'd better make her exercise more in the evenings, else she'll grow into a fatty bom bom in no time, LOL!

Breakfast Ritual

Alycia and Sherilyn can hardly sit still during meal times, especially during breakfast when their energy levels are at the highest in the morning. To keep them still on their chairs, I have to provide them with some activities like drawing, scribbling, reading or coloring whilst my maid and I feed them. My mom and I had bought them a huge collection of activity books from letter tracing to number tracing, coloring and joining numbered dots and letters. Each morning, the gals choose the activity that they like and they can spend almost an hour all wrapped up in that activity. I find that their concentration levels are also at the highest in the mornings, so I normally read to them in the morning to capture the most of their attention.

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Crawling and Creeping For Your Child's Brain Development

Crawling (like commando crawl) and creeping (on all fours, i.e. on hands and knees) are highly advocated and encouraged by Glenn Doman (GD) for the development of a baby's brains. I used to be a pro-GD and practised the GD inspired programs with Sherilyn since she was a newborn. When I first had Alycia, I hadn't discovered GD yet. It was only when Alycia was around 6-7 months that I had discovered GD and I then started to make homemade flash cards to teach Alycia reading. Sadly, she didn't show much interest as I had started her a little too late. With Sherilyn, I started flashing words and math dots cards to her when she was 2 months old and I encouraged lots of tummy time even when she was a newborn. Tummy time will lead to early crawling which will in turn lead to creeping. Sherilyn turned out to be more advanced than Alycia in many areas. Till today, I still encourage Alycia and Sherilyn to creep on gym mats on the floor whenever I have the time. To encourage the gals to creep, I too have to creep along with them. It is proven that crawling and creeping as well as walking and running (all in great amounts) have helped improved speech development in toddlers. If you visit the GD website and the Childbrain forum, you will be amazed with how the GD programs have had success with so many kids worldwide. So if you're lost with activity ideas with your kids, go get some gym mats and play crawling and creeping games with them!

Hey, this is not a sponsored post, ok!

Pissed Off With Streamyx

I woke up at 6am today hoping to grab some offers and to complete my outstanding assignments. But my computer wouldn't cooperate. It took me ages to download the advertisers' websites. Some websites were fine but I had problems with most sites. I thought my computer was acting up again and restarted it but after it was rebooted, the situation was the same. I had already wasted an hour trying to refresh each screen and to reboot the computer. I then decided to call Streamyx and it was then that I found out that certain areas in the Klang Valley are experiencing Streamyx disruption. Oh what the fun, if only I had known earlier, I could have just continued with my beauty sleep instead of dragging myself up for nothing. So I didn't manage to do anything this morning until around 10am. What a bummer!

Sweet Corn Fritters

Here's another dish that both toddlers and adults will enjoy - sweet corn fritters. My gals are crazy over this dish. It contains protein, iron, carbo and fibre - a wholesome meal.

Ingredients :

1) 2 cob of corns - remove corn kernels from the cob (choose young corns)

2) Chopped spring onions or you can use 'choy sum' (would be good to conceal some finely chopped vege inside if your little ones don't like vege)

3) 2 eggs

4) 2 teaspoons of high protein flour or wholemeal flour or corn flour

5) Dash of salt

6) Would be tastier if you add in some chopped red chillies (if your little ones can tolerate them)

Method :

1) Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.

2) Scoop out the batter in spoonfulls and pan fry them in a non-stick pan.

Happy Mid Autumn Festival

To everyone celebrating this festival, here's wishing you a very happy Mid Autumn Festival. We are not celebrating this festival as we're not Buddhist. So today is just a regular day for us but I'll be making some chicken nuggets coated with Nestum for the gals. It's my first try using Nestum as the coat and I hope the nuggets will turn out crispy. There's also going to be a steamed Cod fish, a stir-fried vege and a 'Wong Keong Kai' or Yellow Ginger Chicken dish that I had cooked yesterday. I shall make a post on this dish soon.

Notice Any Difference In My Blog?

Notice the difference in my blog?

It's the new beautiful pink header that I've been wanting to put in my blog for a long time but just didn't have the time or knowledge to get about doing it. I have to say a BIG thank you to this wonderful cheery mom who has kindly offered me her help in creating this lovely header for me. She had offered me her help quite some time back but I only had the time to go through my pictures folder yesterday to select 2 pix to email to her today. I must really commend her for acting so promptly and I was really surprised that she managed to get the header done for me within hours!

Thanks Anggie for your help and for your very prompt replies to all my emails. I really appreciate your help.

Dim Sum at Imbi Palace

Last Thursday, we had Dim Sum for lunch at Imbi Palace Chinese Restaurant after my medical check-up. Dim Sum is our all-time favorite and is always top on Alycia's list too.

This is what we ordered :

Siew Yoke (Roasted crispy pork). I'd forgotten to snap a pic of this dish as it was the first dish that arrived and we all walloped it within minutes as we were all very hungry. I must say this is one of the best Siew Yoke I've eaten. The top layer of roasted skin is superbly crunchy and the texture of the meat is also not too rough and tough. A small plate cost us a whopping RM9-00.

Siew Mai or steamed meat filled dumplings, Hong Kong style flat rice noodles, fish balls, egg tarts and kaya pau.


Fried 'lai mien' or pulled noodles. This tasted rather like our good old Mamak style fried mee.


Steam pork ribs, steamed fried tofu skin wrapped with fish meat and ham and beef balls.


and Imbi Palace's house special Tofu Far for dessert. I must say this is also one of the best Tofu Far I've eaten, apart from the ones from the famous Funny Mountain Tofu Far in Ipoh. It's extremely smooth and also fragrant. Even Alycia who doesn't fancy tofu loves this Tofu Far.

Before we left, hubby also got a box of mooncake. Though the snowskin ones tasted quite good but I don't really fancy them as I tend to get nauseaus if I eat more than 2 slices due to the extreme sweetness.

Do You Know What Your Teenagers Are Doing Outside?

I was at the park with the gals yesterday evening. For the last few days I've seen this group of 13-year old boys and girls from a nearby co-ed school loitering at the park after school in their school uniform. On normal days, I would see a few boys puffing cigarettes surreptitiously under a tree. On some days, I could see some of them trying out cans of beer under the slides. After they were done with their wanton acts, I would see them throwing the cans into the monsoon drain next to the park whilst some of them would leave their rubbish scattered on the ground. Yesterday, I saw a 13-year old boy and girl under a slide hugging each other, oblivious to their surroundings. When I went closer to have a look, they were so intimate in their conversations and hugging that they didn't even notice me standing there. I was in disbelief that at such a raw tender age, these kids were already in love, more of puppy love I would say.

Minutes later, I saw this lovey dovey couple's friends (also a couple) arrived on a motorcycle. The boy and girl, who looked like they were 15 or 16 year olds, were dressed very ruggedly with punkish hairstyle and jingling accessories and were holding hands lovingly and joined the hugging couple under the slide. When I saw this scene, I told myself that in future, I will never send my gals to a co-education school. These young kids, if without intervention from their parents are surely heading for trouble. The girl might be impregnanted by the boy and later seek illegal abortion. I can even imagine the boy trying to wash his hands clean by not owning up and accusing the girl of sleeping around. I'd seen this happening before to my school mates when I was a teenager.

Minutes later, I saw another group of 13-year old boys playing by the monsoon drain. They were shouting vulgar words in Cantonese and were daring each other to jump across from one side of the drain to the other and the gap between the monsoon drain is at least 2-metre wide. The boys successfully jumped across but 1 fell into the drain. Luckily he wasn't hurt. Later, I saw these boys dumping trash into the monsoon drain. OMG, what a sight - these kids behaved like they were some 'sampah masyarakat' or trashy society. I wonder if their parents know of their activities after school.

When I was leaving the park, I overheard the same group of boys discussing among themselves. Guess what was the topic? Love. I overheard one boy 'advising' his friend in Cantonese that he should treat his girlfriend seriously and they were talking about true love or real love or something to that effect. My goodness, instead of discussing their studies, sports or TV programs, they were talking about true love and girls and they are just a bunch of 13 year olds. I just hope that in future, Alycia and Sherilyn would never be one of those girls whom I'd seen in the park yesterday - behaving like tomboys, shouting vulgar words, sporting punky hairstyle and hugging a boy who's still a kid himself. That's one of the reasons why I had quit my job - so that I can nurture my girls with good values and I pray and hope that my girls will grow up to be decent, obedient and lovely young ladies who will bring me pride and joy.

That's How Alycia Eats Her Medicine

Alycia who once gave me and the entire family a real tough time feeding her medicine can now eat her medicine without any fuss. I must say she's even better than me when it comes to this. I hate medicine and I can never swallow any type of liquid medicine without barfing. All I need to do now is to put a treat in front of Alycia, pour the medicine out in the measurement cup and there goes my baby - she'll drink the medicine without any complaints but if the medicine has a strong smell, she'll pinch the bridge of her nose like this :




Notice her watery eyes? This particular medicine has quite a strong taste and she almost puked; I quickly stuffed a pinch of Mexican bun into her mouth which stopped her from puking instantly.

Fitball Wonders.... Part 2

After just 2 days of exercising my back on my fitball, the pain vanished today! I kid you not, the pain just vanished today. From a nagging jabbing pain on the right side of my back, there wasn't any pain on my back today. Well, maybe I had slept well last night. Today I did not have enough time to exercise on the fitball as I had to prepare the gals for church in the morning. I'll see if the backpain comes back or not tomorrow. I'm praying that it will not and will never come back again. I'd better exercise regularly on the fitball, it truly is amazing. If you too have backache, you really have to try arching your back on the fitball. All you need is just 2-3 minutes each day on the fitball. For tips on how to exercise on the fitball, click here. There are demo pix of me exercising on the fitball.

Tag : Things That Irritate You

Have been tagged by Kerry on the top 8 questions people ask or things that people do that irritate me. I'm quite a diplomatic and friendly person. Though at times there are certain things that people say or ask that really irritate me and piss me off, I'll still give them a smile.... a forced fake smile but in my heart, I'd be wondering why that person is so insensitive for asking or saying such silly things. And if they probe further or irritate me further, I'll just tactfully answer them... sarcastically.

Alright, here are the top 7 things (sorry, can't think of 8) people say or do that irritate and irate me :

1) Alycia is so fair like you, but eermm.... Sherilyn is a bit darker hor, I wonder like who leh? Daddy is it?

2) Alycia has big beautiful eyes but Sherilyn's eyes are slightly smaller hor, is it like daddy?

3) You have 2 girls. Eh, you must really try for a boy. You're still young, quickly try for a boy lah.
(I'll normally tell them I'm very happy with 2 beautiful girls and don't yearn for a son)

4) When people with very little knowledge on a subject try to tell me what not to do, though they don’t know that I know more than they do.

5) When people ask if I am renting my house or if the house belongs to me.

6) People who behave as if they are high and mighty and make you feel little.

7) Sales people who don't treat their customers with respect and act as if they are not hard up for your purchase.


Would you like to voice out your grouses too on the things that irritate you?
1) Jo-N
2) Alice

Black Saturday

It was a black Saturday for Sherilyn yesterday. She had a fall once, knocked her chin against a table, got her fingers pinched by a door and had a near miss serious case of having her 4 fingers squashed by the same steel door which broke her thumb last year.

Sherilyn my little fearless samseng was jumping on the couch as if it was a trampoline yesterday. She loves doing that and despite me warning her, threatening her and smacking her for doing so, she is still fearless. I was busy preparing for dinner yesterday when Sherilyn was jumping on the couch. I told her to stop jumping but she wouldn't listen. Seconds later, I heard a loud thud and she had fallen off the couch, forehead landing on the floor. She bawled but luckily there wasn't any bruise on her forehead. Less than an hour later, she had forgotten about the fall and started to jump on the couch again, so out came the whip and she stopped jumping.

About half an hour later, I was outside at the wet kitchen trying to shoo a cat away from tearing up the garbage bag. Sherilyn rushed to the kitchen to see what was happening. When I came inside and was about to close the steel kitchen door, I almost wedged 4 of Sherilyn's fingers on her left hand which she had placed on the back opening of the door, i.e. the exact same place where she broke her thumb when she was playing with the door last year. Luckily, I didn't shut the door fast enough and my maid was quick enough to pull Sherilyn's hand away. Phew.... gave me a real fright.

A few hours later, Sherilyn accidentally knocked her chin on the table when daddy was catching her and again, luckily there wasn't any bruises. Just before bedtime as I was coming into the bedroom from the bathroom attached to my room, I didn't see Sherilyn behind me and she had placed her right hand on the opening of the door. I shut the door and this time, her fingers got wedged but luckily again, there was no bruise.... she just got a shock and so did I!

What a black Saturday it was and I must thank God that Sherilyn had escaped all the minor accidents unscathed. I hope she has learnt her lessons.

Lantern Party

Alycia got well in time to attend the lantern party held at her pre-school yesterday evening. There were hundred over people - kids, their parents and maids and the garden of the school was an ocean of human. We had to wait for almost an hour for everyone to arrive before the walk round the neighborhood with the lanterns. Whilst walking, Alycia accidentally tripped and bruised her left knee. She then demanded that daddy carried her like a princess all the way back to her school!

It was the very first time the gals had celebrated mooncake festival in such a grand scale with so many friends. They enjoyed the walk and also the food....food that I rarely feed them with - KFC nuggets, sausages, pizza, fishballs and crab balls, jellies, cakes and fried meehoon.

After the party, daddy brought them to the bakery and asked them to choose a cake. Alycia chosed a cheese cake and we had cheese cake for supper. It was certainly a day of 'food freedom' for the gals.


Alycia and Sherilyn waited patiently for the walk round the neighborhood with their lanterns.

Whilst walking round the neighborhood, Alycia accidentally tripped and fell and bruised her left knee.


The girls enjoying their food inside the class.

Another Piece of Shocking News

I'm sure many of you have read the unbelievable and shocking news of a 10-year old boy who molested a 5-year old girl at a childcare centre here in yesterday's newspapers. The boy had locked the girl in the bathroom before pushing her down to the floor and molested her. Luckily another kid heard the girl's screams and alerted the teacher. What made the boy do such a horrible thing? He's only 10 years old and most boys his age have still not discovered about the birds and the bees yet. I can only surmise that the boy must have had saw his parents' intimate moments together or he could have caught hold of and watched x-rated movies or porn magazines in his house.

Childcare centres are supposedly safer than homebased babysitters as they are governed by Government acts and rules, yet this unimaginable incident had happened. I'm sure many parents who have no choice but to send their young daughters to childcare centres are now worried sick over this incident. If the caretakers at childcare centres are not careful and vigilant enough, this unwanted incident could have happened again, at any childcare centres. I am thankful I don't have to send my 2 toddler daughters to a childcare centre but at the same time, I am worried about Alycia's safety now as she attends a pre-school. Maybe it's time the relevant authorities put in force certain policies and rules to tighten the safety in childcare centres and pre-schools so that parents can leave their kids there in peace whilst they are away.

Brewing My Favorite Tea

Apart from Japanese tea, I love Crysanthemum flower tea. My mil who is a discerning tea lover has a cute and handy tea brewing set from Korea which I can make my tea in a jiffy. I just need to put in the Crysanthemum flower buds into the ceramic strainer and after letting the flowers steep in hot water for a few minutes, I remove the ceramic strainer and pour out the tea into my cup. I use this tea brewer almost everday to brew my favorite Crysanthemum flower tea.

The Crysanthemum flower buds. These tiny ones in buds have a stronger aroma than the big petals Crysanthemum.




The special tea brewing set from Korea.

Get Yourself A Life Insurance Policy Today

I have always believe in getting not only myself insured against the unforeseen circumstances but also for my children and my belongings and properties. Unfortunately, many people still do not believe in buying insurance as they think they are still young, healthy and strong or maybe they cannot afford the monthly premium. However, when tragedies and diseases strike them, it is only then that they realize the importance of an insurance plan in place. When a flood swept through my house last year, we lost tens of thousands of Ringgit as we had not insured our household belongings against flood. It was only after the flood that we realized the importance of the insurance and hence insured all our household belongings against flood.

There are so many types of insurances available these days from so many insurers. It would be a tedious and time-consuming task to check from all the insurers to get quotes and compare rates. If you’ve made the decision to purchase an insurance policy, you can now get information regarding different types of insurance policies from whole life policies to family insurance plans, group policies, mortgage, universal and many more as well as compare rates and policies from different insurers at AdvantageTermLife.com, a website that provides insurance quoting services.

All you have to do is to fill out a simple form with your personal details. The online system will then churn out the quotes from over 25 insurance companies and list them in order from the least expensive to the most expensive for you to choose. If you or your loved ones haven’t purchased a life insurance policy yet, wait no further. The earlier you insure yourself, the cheaper the premium will be and your life as well as your loved loves’ lives will be secured. Hop on to AdvantageTermLife.com and get your quotes today. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

*sponsored post*

Thanks Blogitive!

Just a moment ago, I received an email from Blogitive approving my posts, all 10 of them! Thank you so much Blogitive for the prompt approval and prompt payment.

Payment from Blogitive has been really prompt lately - I receive them at least twice a week. I hope to be able to receive more offers from Blogitive. They are by far one of the best advertisers to work with. Way to go Blogitive!

Alycia Puked

Last night after taking her medicine, Alycia puked. I gave her a piece of Digestive biscuit as treat and I think she must have eaten the biscuit hastily and the biscuit must have gagged her throat, thus inducing the vomit sensation. I fed her the medicine again just before bedtime and thank God, she didn't throw up. This medicine is really making her miserable - terribly cranky and lost of appetite. But thankfully, the hearing in her ear has improved - I kept asking her if she could hear and her answer was yes. Also, there wasn't any complaints of ear pain from her, which means that her ear did not get infected. The best indication is she did not develop any fever coz fever means an ear infection has developed. If she continues to show signs of improvement, then we can attend the lantern party at her pre-school in the evening. She's been looking forward to the party since last week.

Fitball Wonders

I've just had 2-3 minutes of back arching exercise on my fitball and let me tell you, the effect is really good. The nagging jabbing pain on my back has subsided. Of course I don't expect the pain to vanish instantaneously but the pain sure has gone down quite a bit. I shall continue with the fitball exercise.... can't be lazy anymore!

Bad Backache

I woke up this morning with a bad backache. For some reasons, I've not been exercising my back on the fitball for a while already and damn it, my backache has re-surfaced. That's the thing with this fitball. If you work-out on it diligently, your backache will surely be kept at bay but once you've stopped working on it, the backache will surely come back to haunt you. I better start exercising on my fitball again coz the pain is really unbearable and causing me disrupted sleep.

How Do You Cope With 14 Kids?

I was watching channel 77 with my gals several days ago and there was a program called 'Kids By The Dozen'. It featured one couple with 14 kids! I can't even imagine my life with baby no. 3 though I know the day will one day come true as my hubby loves kids - the more the merrier so says my hubby. Montessorimum has posted in her blog that the trend now is that most families have 3 kids. Well, maybe 3 is still manageable but more than 3?? I wonder how these families cope physically, emotionally and especially financially. I really admire mothers with more than 2 kids yet manage to cope so well in every aspect.

Tag : The 2s

So happy I got another tag to use as filler post, LOL! Thanks Slavemom!

Two names you go by:
1) Healthfreakmommy
2) Shireen

Two things you are wearing right now:
1) singlet
2) shorts

Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship:
1) patience
2) commitment

Two things you like to do:
1) blogging
2) shopping

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1) good health for my kids and loved ones
2) an increase in PR for my blog

Two things you did last night:
1) blogging
2) read bedtime stories to the gals

Two things you ate today:
1) early in the a.m. - skim milk and my vitamins
2) breakfast - fruits and fried vegetarian meehoon

Two people you last talked to:
1) Hubby
2) My gals

Two things you’re doing tomorrow:
1) blogging
2) shop for weekly supplies from the pasar malam

Two favorite days of the week:
1) Friday
2) Sunday

Two favorite holidays:
1) Christmas
2) Chinese New Year

Two favorite beverages:
1) green tea
2) sugar free lime juice

Two things about me! Things you may not have known:
1) I'm an extrovert
2) I have stage fright

Two jobs I have had in my life:
1) Personal Assistant to a Dato'
2) Human Resources Officer in a bank

Two movies I would watch over and over: (and do)
1) Oprah
2) Fear Factor

Two places I have lived:
1) Ipoh
2) KL

Two of my favorite foods:
1) roast chicken
2) pastries

Two places I’d rather be right now:
1) in bed
2) in bed sleeping and dreaming sweet dreams

Two persons I'm tagging :
1) Mom to Chumsy... good filler post for you, easy one, that is :)
2) Montessorimum....i know you're longing for a filler post too, right? Too many offers eh.

Some Really Nice People

I've mentioned in my earlier post that I've made friends with some really nice people through blogging. These wonderful ladies (you know who you are :) ) have helped me in many ways - offering to buy my gals toys from warehouse sale, offering to help me buy Avent baby bottles and teats from Singapore, offering me help to create a new header for my blog (wait, I'll send you the pictures soon Annie), sending me SMS to alert me of offers from advertisers, going all out to help me secure offers from advertisers by logging into my account to reserve the offers, offering me help to set up my own domain for my blog, offering me advices on computer and technical problems and the list goes.

Today, I was out having my lunch when I received an SMS from this nice mummy alerting me of offers from this particular advertiser. I replied her SMS and told her that I'm out. Minutes later, she SMSed me again, offering her help to reserve the offer for me. I was so touched by her gesture. Though she's busy with 2 young kids, one of which is only a few months old, but she went all out to help me. I was really happy when she SMSed me again minutes later telling me that she had managed to secure 1 offer for me. Thank you Hui Sia!

Alycia Loves Coloring

Pre-school has somewhat disciplined Alycia. She used to laze around in the house, playing or demanding to watch TV all the time but ever since she resumed pre-school 3 weeks ago, her interest in writing and drawing has surfaced again. Last Saturday morning, after Alycia got up from bed, had her milk and washed up, she took out her Doodle Pro and began drawing with a stencil without being told to. After carefully tracing the stencil, she began coloring the pictures on the Doodle. She was so wrapped up with her coloring that she didn't even bother to eat her breakfast. So I fed her breakfast as she did her coloring and she had spent close to an hour carefully coloring on the Doodle. Her coloring skill has improved tremendously and she can now color within the lines of the pictures.

Sickening News Everyday

Every morning when I go through the newspapers, I read sickening news of rape, murder, plane crashes, fatal accidents and missing children. The latest news is on the young girl who had been sexually assaulted with objects stuck to her private part before being murdered and her body stuffed into a sports bag and left in a shop. The pervert who did that must be a sick psychopath. The one on the missing malay girl, Nurin is also heartbreaking. I can reall feel for her parents. The anguish the parents have gone through, especially when they received news of a murdered young girl stuffed in a sports bag could be that of their little girl. How would you feel if you were the parents? And some sick people could even have the heart to make prank calls to the parents. What have the world become? The days where we could just cycle round the neighborhood the whole evening have become history to our children. I guess my gals will never have the opportunity and freedom like I had to play outside our house and cycle round the neighborhood without parental supervision. I guess they will have to be escorted to everywhere they go until they reach adulthood.

Peace Finally

Alycia has been really cranky, whiny, emotional and edgy for the whole day today. She was practically bawling, whining and making impossible whims every hour she's awake during the day. She didn't want me to read to her, draw with her, write with her or put on her favorite DVD. Finally, I turned on the TV and switched to channel 77 on Home and Health, her favorite channel and voila..... her mouth shut instantaneously and she calmed herself down. There was a program on plastic surgery and now a documentary on parenting. The gals are now watching the program intently as I explain to them what's going on. They just love this channel. The idiot box is sometimes my life saviour when all else fails.

New Balloons But All With Holes!

Yesterday evening, I bought a pack of balloons for the gals from the bakery. When I opened the pack of balloons, I noticed that the balloons were sticky and stuck to one another. When I tried to inflate one of the balloons with a balloon pump, I notice there was a hole in the balloon. When I checked the rest of the balloons, I saw holes on all the balloons. When Alycia saw them, she again bawled! It was indeed a full day of bawling for her yesterday and today, over every single trivial matter. Though she knew that all the balloons were faulty, she still insisted that I blow up the balloons for her. When I refused to inflate the balloons for her, she put the sticky, colorful and stinky ballon into her mouth. I had earlier warned her not to put them into her mouth but she defied my warning and stuck it into her mouth. I was really enraged. She just wouldn't listen to me that the balloons have holes on them. The whole of today, she's been pestering me to return to the bakery to get the balloons exchanged with new ones. Thank goodness the weather is fine and we could walk across our house to the bakery to have the balloons changed, else there's bound to be another night of bawling and screaming.

There She Goes Again....

Alycia just woke up from her afternoon nap and there she goes bawling again.... for some silly demands. This time, she's looking for an empty vitamin bottle that she's been playing with but couldn't locate it today. Earlier this morning, she was already bawling and looking for it but we couldn't find it. Then she switched excuses and demanded to watch 'A Baby Story'. I just can't stand her bawling and screaming, it's really really driving me nuts. I've really run out of ideas to distract her or to subdue her. I'm not feeling well myself. When she wants that particular item, she must have that item and nothing else and most times her demands are impossible to meet.

Lantern Party

There will be a lantern pot-luck party for kids and parents at Alycia's pre-school this Friday evening. Kids are to bring battery-operated lanterns and after the party, the kids together with their parents will walk round the neighborhood parading with the lanterns. I know Alycia and Sherilyn will definitely enjoy this party as it will be their first of that kind and I am praying that Alycia gets well in time to attend the party.

Alycia's Super Cranky

Alycia is still super duper cranky and whiny today, after taking her medicine. Her whimps and fancies are all impossible demands. Just before lunchtime, she demanded to watch 'A Baby Story' on Astro channel 77. I told her that the program is not shown now and she has to wait till the evening to watch but she wouldn't listen and the meltdown began. I put on her favorite DVD but she refused to watch it. She can go on repeating "I want to watch Baby Story now" for almost an hour continuously and bawling at the same time. I know that the medicine is making her feel this way but her continuous whining and bawling really got on my nerves. She still has 3 more days on the medicine and I just don't know how I am going to tolerate her crabby crap for the next 3 days. God please help me!

Hook To Cheese Crackers

Lately I'm really hooked to cheese crackers from Cheeze-It. I have been munching on it for days already and both Alycia and Sherilyn are just as crazy over them. Alycia even looks forward to eating her medicine as she gets these cheese crackers as treats. A box of this crackers costs RM12.30, which I find quite expensive for a small pack of snacks.

Why Is Mummy So Busy?

I've been pretty busy with my assignments for the last 3 days and I've not personally bathed the gals or done much activities with them. Yesterday Alycia asked me to draw with her. I told her mummy is very busy with work and asked her to draw on her own. Guess what she said "mummy, yesterday you also said you are busy, today also busy, why busy all the time". She really knows how to make me feel guilty.

Setting Up Own Domain

I was google chatting with one blogger mom a moment ago and she has kindly offered me her help to set up a WordPress blog. Since I've got help offered to me, I am even more tempted to transfer my blog to my own domain now. That would really benefit me in the long run. Many advertisers, especially ' l c l y 3P' are restricting offers to Blogspot blogs so if I remain with Blogspot, my opportunities would be really low. Anyone has any good host to recommend based on your own experience with them? Would appreciate comments.

Alycia's Super Cranky

After taking her medication last night, Alycia was super cranky, whiny, edgy, emotional and clingy. Just before bedtime, there was a major meltdown. She was bawling and howling away and threw herself into a major fits of rage all because of a tiny box of Kellogs cornflakes that we got from the hotel when we stayed there about 2 weeks ago. I didn't really know what she wanted. She kept repeating "I want that crispy cornflakes from the hotel, the one with the picture of a green chicken on the box", over and over and over again as she bawled. When I gave her that particular box of cornflakes which we took from the hotel, she kept saying that the box of cornflakes is not crunchy anymore as we had kept it for so long. She wanted me to call daddy right away to bring her to the hotel to get a few more boxes of that cornflakes. She just went on and on bawling and screaming. I was not feeling well myself and I just couldn't tolerate her nonsense though I know it was partly beyond her control, due to the effects of the medication. Long story cut short, after calling daddy, he rushed home from his office (thank goodness his office is nearby), carried her, did a 'bom cha cha' with her and then opened the packet of cornflakes for her to eat. When Sherilyn saw her sister eating cornflakes, she too joined in the craze and I had 2 toddlers munching on cornflakes on my bed at 11pm! I was enraged! After satisfying her with the cornflakes, daddy had to brush Alycia's teeth again whilst my maid brushed Sherilyn's. With all the ding dong, we only went to bed close to midnight.

Morning Plan Thwarted

This morning, I decided to wake up at 5:30am to complete a few outstanding assignments which are due today. But Sherilyn my little rascal decided she wanted to wake up and follow me down too. I put her to sleep next to daddy (which she would normally gladly fall back to sleep) but she wouldn't sleep. She was just so alert and raring to go down with me. So along she went down with me, drank her milk, had her washed up and changed and she still didn't want to go back to sleep. I told her mummy has work to do and asked her to go back to sleep. Fortunately after about 15 minutes tossing and rolling on the mattress on the floor, she drifted back to sleep. As for me, I could only complete 1 assignment. I hope I can complete the rest by today, else I would have to let the assignments expire.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings and Drumsticks

Remember I mentioned earlier that I will be trying out a recipe on deep fried chicken wings and drumsticks that I have whipped up myself? Well, they turned out really well. The wings and drumsticks tasted really good but I must say that the wings tasted better and more crispy than the drumsticks.

Here's the recipe :

Ingredients for the marinate:
Lea & Perrin sauce
Salt
Pepper
5-spice powder
Kunyit (yellow ginger) powder

Ingredients for coating the chicken before frying :
2 eggs whites
Some corn flour

Method :
1) Marinate the chicken with the above ingredients for at least 2-3 hours, the longer the better.
2) Before deep frying the wings & drumsticks, dip them into the beaten eggs.
3) Then, coat the wings & drumsticks with corn flour.
4) Heat wok with oil and deep fry the wings and drumsticks.

What's That Creature?

When Sherilyn saw this creature gliding up our oven door one morning a few days ago, she went "mummy, what's that?" When I took a look, I saw a baby snail slithering up the oven. The snail had actually come from a bunch of vegetables that we had bought and left leaning against the oven door. This is the first time Sherilyn had seen a baby snail. More than 20 years ago, the sight of a snail slithering outside our garden was so common. My brothers and I used to play with these snails. We also played with sand, marbles, kites, climbed trees, cycled round the neighbourhood, plucked flowers from our neighbours' trees, played inside drains, played hopscotch, played 'kor kuang' a.k.a. passing the border (LOL!), etc. every evening for hours without the supervision of our parents, yet nothing bad happened to us. Now, if I had left my gals to play outside the compound of our house for more than an hour without supervision, I dread to think what would have happened to them. Times have really changed.

Alycia Has Fluid In Her Ear

2 days ago, Alycia told me out of the blue that she can't hear on her left ear. When I looked at her left ear, I saw a slight scratch-like wound. I thought she must have scratched her ear till it bled and I thought she didn't know how to tell the difference between pain and loss of hearing. I just applied a dollop of Savlon on the wound and the next day, the wound was almost gone.

The next day after pre-school, we went to the mini market to shop for groceries. Out of the blue she said "mummy, my ear can hear again". Later that afternoon when she woke up from her nap, Alycia said "mummy, my ear cannot hear now". I suspected something was wrong and immediately brought her to the paed.

Initially the paed couldn't see clearly what was wrong inside her ears as her ears were filled with golden wax! The dr used a cotton bud and dug out a nugget of gold from her right ear! Upon checking the left ear, the dr saw some fluid inside the ear. The temperature on both sides of the ear was also different. The right ear read 36.7 degrees Celsius and the left ear read 37.7 degrees Celsius. As Alycia has a history of having a sensitive nose which is very prone to allergies, the dr said that there was probably some fluid / mucous from her nose which flowed to her ear. I was very surprised as Alycia appeared perfectly normal without any signs of a runny nose or cold. The dr then prescribed Alycia with a flu syrup, an anti-phlegm syrup (to remove the fluid from her ear), a fever medicine (just in case she develops fever) and an antibiotics (Augmentin). The dr said to only start Alycia with the antibiotics if she still has hearing loss and ear pain the next day (today). So far today Alycia is still acting normal, still active, has not complained of hearing loss or ear pain. I'm praying that the fluid will dry up and that her ear will not get infected. I really do not like the idea of feeding my kids with antibiotics as they weaken the body's natural immune system.

To parents out there, if your kids complain of hearing loss or ear pain, don't take them lightly. Bring them to the dr ASAP so that they get checked and treated immediately. Untreated fluid in ears will lead to ear infection and that's quite serious.

Tag : I Love Your Blog

I am indeed very honoured to receive this award from this pretty and young mom. This pretty mom who has an adorable 18-mth old son is one very thoughtful and helpful person. Though we have never met but one time she called me from a Mattel warehouse sale offering her help to buy Barbie dolls for my gals. Yesterday, she again offered to help me get Avent bottles and teats from Singapore through her twin sister. Though strangers but only online friends, I can already feel her warmth and friendship. Thanks Leena for your wondership friendship!

I must say I love most of the blogs that I know of, so it's difficult for me to send this love award to just a selected few bloggers. Thus, I am going to pass this love award 'verbally' to all the bloggers whom I know. "I love your blog!" Keep up the good work and keep blogging!

Nice People

I've made friends with some very nice, thoughtful and helpful people through blogging. Most of them I have never met but they have offered me help in many ways. One such person is this mummy who has never failed to check offers for me and even heped to log into my account to reserve offers for me whenever I am out, asleep or busy! We help each other out but she has gone all out to help me. Thank you Barbara!

Problem Finally Solved!

I must thank Cherry once again for offering me her professional advise. Following her advise, I downloaded the latest Firefox Mozilla software, restarted my PC and voila, I saw the pic appeared in my blog after I had uploaded it. I was truly rejoiced. Thank you Cherry!

Unable To Upload Pix

Is anyone facing problem uploading pictures into your blog (Blogspot) today? I've been trying to upload pix to my blog the whole afternoon but kept getting the "unable to display page" message. This is just so frustrating. I hope it's not a virus attack on my computer or anything wrong with my blog or computer.

Finally Got it...

...but only one miserable opp. I was feeling really discontented that I couldn't get the earlier 2 offers, so I kept refreshing the screen every 1 minute or so. I knew that some of the opps shaded in grey would turn white as had happened before. After about 5 hours from the time I saw the opps appear, one opp shaded grey finally turned white, yipee! I quickly reserved it and got it. This time I'm faster than you, haha.

Avent Baby Bottles

I have been hunting for Avent baby bottles for many weeks at both Mid Valley Megamall and 1Utama but most of the shops are not selling the 9-ounce bottles. So 2 Sundays ago, we went to Babyland in PJ SS2 to look for the bottles. I was shocked to see that the price of the 9-ounce bottle has increased from around RM25 to RM35 each! I wanted to get cheaper wide-neck bottles but from my past experience with them (Pureen), they are really cheesy and tend to leak a lot.... and cause milk mess everywhere on the bed and on the gals' face. I ended up having to discard them and revert to Avent bottles. Anyway, hubby who's very particular when it comes to using plastic and things for his 2 princesses grabbed 3 Avent bottles without any second thoughts. I told him they are too costly and put 1 bottle back, with the hope of getting cheaper Avent bottles next time. The price of Avent teats have also increased to RM22.90 for a pack of 2.


I also got a NUK bottle brush, a sponge bottle brush and a twin pack non-flouride, sugar-free strawberry flavored toothpaste.


When I was at the check-out counter, I saw an area near the exit displaying an assortment of cute Puku Petit stuff. I saw a very nice bib and it was only RM19.90. I of course bought it.




Also bought 2 Pooh Bear melamine spoons for the gals.


When I reached home, I was shocked to see this Pooh Bear and Friends bowl in the plastic bag. No, I didn't put this in the basket. It must be the work of either Alycia or Sherilyn as they have a habit of putting everything that they like into the shopping cart or basket. And this bowl cost RM9.90. What a waste of money as we have so many kids' bowls at home. The gals are now fighting to use this bowl during meal times. I think I have to get another one to prevent further meltdowns during mealtimes.

Free Piano Lessons Online!

Calling out all music and piano students. You’ll be happy to know that there’s a great Piano Chords Blog called freepianolessons.blogspot.com written by a pianist. This fantastic guy who calls himself the Chord Guy gives really handy piano tips and free piano lessons online! I wish I had known this guy earlier when I was still taking my piano lessons years back. Do check out this blog and his other blogs too and you'll be surprised to discover many tips that your piano teacher hadn't taught you.





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No Luck

This morning, I saw a few opps from TigaP but luck just wasn't with me, someone is ALWAYS faster than me. I saw the opps appeared right in front of my eyes and one was shaded green while the other was shaded white but the moment I clicked on the opp, it just vanished into thin air, it didn't even turn grey but just vanished!

I Need Vitamins For My Skin

It’s true that your skin needs all the treatment and vitamins to stay supple, smooth and fine. I am a health freak and I religiously pop my vitamins A, C and E and B Complex everyday to stay healthy and so far, I hardly ever fell sick, all thanks to my vitamins. But I have somewhat disregarded the fact that my skin also needs vitamins to stay healthy. Ever since I quit work to be a SAHM, I’ve also stopped buying expensive skin care products for my face and my frugality has taken a toll on my skin. I now see crow’s feet from the corner of my eyes when I smile and fine lines are also appearing on my cheeks. Yikes, I look awful. OMG, I better do something about it before my skin wrinkles beyond repair.

I think I should try the Vitamin C Plus Serum from Emerge Skin Care. It is known to diminish the appearance of fine lines and improves tone and texture. This Serum has a formula of essential aromatherapy oils, moisturizer and Vitamins A, C and E which is a powerful antioxidant. What a beautiful and powerful concoction this serum is. I am really keen to try it and I shall use the money in my PayPal account to purchase it online!

I Need Vitamins For My Skin

It’s true that your skin needs all the treatment and vitamins to stay supple, smooth and fine. I am a health freak and I religiously pop my vitamins A, C and E and B Complex everyday to stay healthy and so far, I hardly ever fell sick, all thanks to my vitamins. But I have somewhat disregarded the fact that my skin also needs vitamins to stay healthy. Ever since I quit work to be a SAHM, I’ve also stopped buying expensive skin care products for my face and my frugality has taken a toll on my skin. I now see crow’s feet from the corner of my eyes when I smile and fine lines are also appearing on my cheeks. Yikes, I look awful. OMG, I better do something about it before my skin wrinkles beyond repair.

I think I should try the Vitamin C Plus Serum from Emerge Skin Care. It is known to diminish the appearance of fine lines and improves tone and texture. This Serum has a formula of essential aromatherapy oils, moisturizer and Vitamins A, C and E which is a powerful antioxidant. What a beautiful and powerful concoction this serum is. I am really keen to try it and I shall use the money in my PayPal account to purchase it online!

I Need Vitamins For My Skin

It’s true that your skin needs all the treatment and vitamins to stay supple, smooth and fine. I am a health freak and I religiously pop my vitamins A, C and E and B Complex everyday to stay healthy and so far, I hardly ever fell sick, all thanks to my vitamins. But I have somewhat disregarded the fact that my skin also needs vitamins to stay healthy. Ever since I quit work to be a SAHM, I’ve also stopped buying expensive skin care products for my face and my frugality has taken a toll on my skin. I now see crow’s feet from the corner of my eyes when I smile and fine lines are also appearing on my cheeks. Yikes, I look awful. OMG, I better do something about it before my skin wrinkles beyond repair.

I think I should try the Vitamin C Plus Serum from Emerge Skin Care. It is known to diminish the appearance of fine lines and improves tone and texture. This Serum has a formula of essential aromatherapy oils, moisturizer and Vitamins A, C and E which is a powerful antioxidant. What a beautiful and powerful concoction this serum is. I am really keen to try it and I shall use the money in my PayPal account to purchase it online!

Tag : Most Embarrasing Moment

Got tagged by cutie Ashley's mom on my most embarrasing moment.

I was 16 yo then. I was in the lab in my school attending Biology class. I was quite a rebellious child and loved to fool around in class with my classmates, esp. with TheImperfectmom and gang. I didn't like the Bio teacher as he was very stern, terse, strict and a no-nonsense guy with thick glasses. On that day, I was bored to death and started scribbling some words on the Bio lab table. All of a sudden, I saw him standing next to me. When I peered up, I saw him holding a long ruler in his hand and asked me what I was doing. He looked at the table and saw the mess on the table. So off he went to summon for the disciplinary teacher. Long story cut short, my mom was called to see the disciplinary teacher together with me. I was so embarassed that I boo hoo hooed right in front of them. Luckily my mom didn't reprimand me for she knew I had served my penance and was embarrased to the core.

I'd like to hear your embarassing story too :

Mamapumpkin

Slavemom

Sunday

Today has been a quiet Sunday for the gals and I. We didn't go to church today as hubby had to be at a client's function and we are only relying on one car. I had wanted to bring them to the park to watch dogs in training in the morning but when we wanted to leave the house, the big bright sun decided to appear from behind the clouds, so we didn't make it. Every Sunday dog owners would bring their dogs to the park for them to be trained by professional dog handlers. My gals and I love watching the cute dogs in action. So I just vegetated at home, read to the gals and of course finished off some of my outstanding assignments. My maid cooked fried rice for lunch and later, I'm going to teach her to deep fry some chicken wings and chicken drumsticks. I've already marinated the chicken with some Lea & Perrin sauce, salt, pepper and a dash of 5-spice powder. This is going to be our first time trying out this recipe that I've whipped up myself. Not sure if the chicken will taste good or not. If they taste good, I shall snap some pix of it and write a post on it. Later if the weather permits, I shall bring the gals out to the park.

Feeling Thankful

Yesterday evening as I was at the playground with the gals, I saw a boy who's around 4-5 yo on a play equipment behaving very well. He wasn't jumping or running around and screaming like most kids there. He just stood on top of one of the play equipment with his dad watching over him closely. At one glance, he looked rather normal but on a second look, I noticed that his fingers were slightly turned inwards and his actions were rather slow. He also couldn't really talk. I think he must be mentally slow. When I saw him, my heart felt for him and his dad. I then suddenly felt so thankful that I have 2 normal kids who are ever active, mischievous and naughty. I then realized that sometimes many of us have taken what we have for granted. It's only when we see other people's misfortunes that we are thankful and grateful to God for what we have.

Last Day Spent With Mah Mah

The day before my mil returned to Hong Kong, the gals stuck to her like glue as they knew they will not see mah mah for a long time, probably not for the next half a year. This pic was taken the night before she returned to HK. Sherilyn normally lies down on the bed when she drinks her milk but that night, she demanded to be cuddled like a baby on her mah mah's lap. The next time mah mah comes back, Sherilyn would have grown too big and long to be cuddled like a baby.

Discount Hotels in Orlando

If you’re looking for a fun-filled getaway for a family vacation, a place where there’re endless activities for everyone in the family, then you really have to head on to Orlando, the home of Walt Disney World. I am sure you and your kids will have a fabulous time at Disney World, Universal Studios, Discovery Cove Theme Park and six other major theme parks in Orlando. There’s also the popular I-Ride Trolley transportation where you and your family will be escorted to an assortment of restaurants, boutiques, shopping areas and famous entertainment venues. If you’re thinking that hotels are costly in Orlando, then you’ll be pleased to know that you can find really affordable orlando area hotels at Orlando.com, a website where you will be spoilt for choice with a wide selection of hotels, car rentals and flights throughout the Orlando Florida area. Would you like to pay for only USD37 per night for a hotel located strategically at International Drive, Orlando? Hop on to Orlando.com to find out more.

Homecooked Dish

This delicious chicken dish is yet another of my mil's recipe. It's chicken braised with fermented black bean or 'tau si' in Cantonese (we use organic ones) and Bombay onions.

Ingredients:
Chicken
Fermented black beans or 'tau si' (around 2 tbsps)
2 -3 medium-size Bombay onions
Some ground black pepper

Method:
Heat wok with oil and fry Bombay onions until fragrant.
Add in the chicken and fry for another 15-20 mins.
Add in the fermented black beans and black pepper and cook for another 5 mins.
No need to add salt as the fermented black beans are very salty.

Get Your 2008 Super Bowl Tickets Now!

Do you know that one of the most sought after sports tickets and most difficult tickets to find is the Super Bowl tickets? They are even harder to get than the World Series tickets. The tickets are so popular that they are often resold or scalped for 10 times the face value! According to the Nielsen Media Research, in 2004 an estimated 1 billion viewers worldwide watched the Super Bowl. If you’re looking for the Super Bowl XLII tickets for the big game on 3 February 2008 in Glendale, Arizona, you better hurry and book your tickets now at TicketSolutions.com to avoid a disappointment.

Alycia's Wierd Behaviour

Lately Alycia has been talking gibberish whenever she's angry with me for forbidding her to do certain things or when her whimps are not met. It's scary to hear her talk this way. Her thoughts would then seem incoherent as she rambles on and on. Some words are incomprehensible and some of the things she said are so unbecoming of a little toddler. She would say things like "i will chop off your hands and throw you into the dustbin" to Sherilyn as she smacks her or say such things to me "stop talking to me, I hate to hear this... I will find a new mummy". She seems to have a Jekyll and Hyde personality coz when she's good, she's really as sweet as an angle and when she's bad she's really horrid. I just hope this is just another fleeting phase and that she will not grow up to be a wayward child.

How I Miss Those Corporate Days

Years ago, when I helped my former boss set up his own firm, I had the privilege of choosing the office furniture not only for my own room but for the entire office. It was really fun, looking through catalogues of office desks, chairs, blinds, computer desks and sofas. I even got to shop for the pictures and decorative ornaments for my office as well as the electrical items and things for the pantry. My office was on the penthouse overlooking a lake, some hills and a golf course. Stepping into my office everyday was like stepping into a holiday resort. Though it was stressful being a PA to a super busy boss but I sure miss those corporate days at that office.

Alycia's Milestone

Alycia can now do letter tracing pretty well. Her strokes and lines are straight and she can write quite fast too. The only thing that she needs improvement in is the order of her strokes. Sometimes she can be quite pigheaded as she doesn't like to be corrected. When I correct her, she would make a fuss and refuses to follow but sometimes, she'd be like an angel - sweet as she can be. I really hope she will sail through school in future.


This is what Alycia had done in pre-school.

Alycia doing her homework at home - coloring and letter tracing.