Dim Sum, Doting Grandparents, and a Well-Earned Holiday

Barely 20 hours after returning from Singapore as a champion, my daughter Sherilyn was already on the move. Her dance team had just won first place in the Contemporary Dance category at the 27th Asia Pacific Dance Competition, a well-deserved victory for all their hard work. But instead of resting on her laurels, she hopped on the ETS train with a university friend, heading straight for Ipoh.

For my daughters, their grandparents' home in Ipoh is more than just a place to visit; it’s a holiday retreat. My parents absolutely love to pamper them. At 82 years old, my dad still plays the role of their personal "Grab driver" every time they visit during their semester breaks. The girls are treated to their favorite foods and have all their wishes catered to, including getting pocket money from my parents! 💖

Today, their Ipoh holiday began with a lavish dim sum brunch at Dimsum Paradise in Ipoh Garden. My papa, in true granddad fashion, ordered a feast for everyone. My mom told me the dim sum was "very, very good." Looking at the photo of Sherilyn, her friend, and my parents all enjoying the meal, it's easy to see why. The spread looks incredible!

I can't wait to try it myself the next time I visit. It fills my heart with joy to see my daughters so happy and cherished by their grandparents. After all her hard work and success, this quiet, loving retreat is the perfect way for Sherilyn to celebrate.

Dinner yesterday. Sherilyn's uni mate looks like her twin, don't you think so too? 😁

Sumptuous dim sum at Dimsum Paradise today.

Sherilyn with granny.

Our Saturday - 15 March 2014

After dinner just now, grandma prepared a pail of water, threw in 2 sachets of herbs and soaked her feet while watching news on TV. The 3 rascals who are TV-deprived got perky immediately and zoomed to the sofa to get their fix of TV. Never mind that it was news in Mandarin, as long as there was something to watch on the TV. Then the littlest rascal pulled her chair next to grandma and sneakily put one of her feet into the pail when grandma was engrossed with solving her Sudoku puzzle on the iPad. And not long after, both her feet went into the pail of water! . Monkey see monkey do. Rascal no. 2 followed suit. But the ever indulgent grandma happily shared her pail of herb water with her 2 precious grand daughters :D

Grandma's only condition was "don't show my face anywhere!"  Hence the Line Camera girl pasted on her face LOL!!



Six chubby legs squeezed into a small pail, just too funny not to share this in my blog :D

Cool Girls With Cool Grandparents

Check out the girls with koong koong and granny! All in sunnies and cap and ready to go for their morning walk during the school holidays.

Bonding With Granny And Koong Koong

My girls seldom see their granny and koong koong and when they do, they only get to enjoy each other's company for several days. That's because we can't stay too long in Ipoh and my parents can't be too long in KL either. Whenever my parents get the opportunity to be with their only 3 grand children, they enjoy every moment bonding with them.

Here they are sharing a light moment together, playing tic-tac-toe...









"Koong koong beat you this time, hahahaha...."

The gals bidding good-bye, I love you and take care to granny....


I can't wait to bring the gals back to Ipoh again in 2 weeks' time before we all head to Penang for another family vacation.

Random Pix

Mah Mah's 3 earnest helpers helping her to grind coffee beans into coffee powder each morning. Each time Alycia and Sherilyn see mah mah grinding coffee beans, they will surely run to her and volunteer to help. Now, mah mah has one extra helper. Whenever Baby sees her 2 jie jies running to the kitchen and attacking the coffee bean grinder, she will scream "I wan, I wan, I waaaaaan......"



Breakfast With Mah Mah. With 3 brats swarming around her when she eats, she has to sacrifice a portion of her breakfast to feed 3 greedy little mouths. But it's good isn't it? Eat less and gain less, the more the merrier!

Playing Happy Family And Donkey Cards With Granny

During my mum's 1-week stay with us last week, she bought 2 pack of kids' cards and taught Alycia and Sherilyn how to play.

Does this Happy Family card game look familiar to you, albeit the packaging is now different?




Granny teaching Alycia and Sherilyn Donkey card game....


Baby did not want to be left out too and kept tugging at granny's lap and wanted to be seated on the lap and watch them play the card game.

DIY See-Saw

This is one of Baby's favorite activity with mah mah...


... she lays with her back on mah mah's legs and then mah mah moves her legs up and down making Baby feel like she's on a see-saw haha! I wish I could do that too, so syiok!

Sherilyn And Her Obsession With Her Hair

Sherilyn's vain, really really vain for a 4-year old. Now that her mah mah is back, she's found someone who would entertain her whims and fancies. The moment she wakes up in the morning to the moment she goes to bed at night, she would stick to mah mah, pestering her for everything under the sky, especially to get mah mah to tie plaits with her hair. Sher's so vain that she even badgered mah mah to tie plaits when her hair was wet, right after her bath last night. To keep her mouth shut, mah mah put a clip on her hair. This morning, again she demanded that mah mah tied plaits before she went to school. Looks like my mil will be very busy with coiffuring her 3 grand daughters' hair from now onwards.

Awesome Mah Mah

Mah Mah went to Mid Valley Megamall with her friends 2 days ago. Whenever she goes shopping, she never fails to buy something back for us to eat. Here's what she bought us and we had these for lunch :

Red bean pau from Dragon-I Chinese Restaurant, in the shape of pig's head, LOL! One for Alycia and one for Sherilyn.


Stir-fried lai meen from Dragon-I.


KFC, my favorite!

She also bought cakes, buns and my favorite breads from my favorite bakery. Awesome right, this mah mah?

Granny And Baby C

Granny singing to Baby C.




Each morning after Alycia and Sherilyn have gone off to the kindy, granny will have the time to play with Baby C whilst mummy takes her shower after her morning jog and works on the computer. Today granny will be going back to Ipoh. Last night Alycia said this to granny :

Alycia - granny, I am so sad.....

Granny - why are you so sad ?

Alycia - because you are going back to Ipoh tomorrow....

Granny and mummy were very touched and filled with emotion when we heard those words. Last night, granny read to the gals and chit chatted with them until almost midnight. Even Baby C joined in the fun.... all 4 of them in the gals' bedroom and did not sleep until almost midnight. This morning, Sherilyn had a melt-down and refused to go to school. She kicked up a big fuss over everything and cried till she puked. We wonder if it's because Granny's going back to Ipoh.

Kids can forget a person pretty easily.... out of sight, out of mind. Hopefully Alycia and Sherilyn will not cry when granny goes back today. Anyway, mah mah and koo mah from Hong Kong will arrive tomorrow and the gals will have another 2 persons to stick to.

If Only Granny Could Stay Longer

Each time my mum is here, I get a respite from having to entertain the gals. I get to spend more time on the computer, some time to file my documents and to do other things. My mum would read, sing and play with the gals. Best of all she could coach Alycia in her homework as my mum (being a retired school teacher) has lots more patience than me. Too bad she can't stay here longer and when's back to Ipoh, I will have lesser time for myself and to blog.


The gals singing with granny



and playing 'London Bridge Is Falling Down' with granny.

With Beloved Mah Mah

The gals with their beloved mah mah when she was back from Hong Kong recently. Mah mah went back to Hong Kong yesterday and will only be back in a month's time. When mah mah was here, the gals stuck to her like glue coz they know that soon, mah mah will be away again. Too bad mah mah has a frozen shoulder and could not play with them much. Nevertheless, the gals enjoyed her company very much. Mah mah doesn't want her pix to be on the internet, that's why I chosed one with her face hidden!

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.

They Love Being With Mah Mah

The gals love being with their mah mah (paternal grandma) because only mah mah will be so lenient with them with food. Since mah mah loves eating, she buys new food home for the gals to eat almost everyday. Several days ago, mah mah bought a packet of dried pork meat home. As she was cutting the dried meat into smaller pieces to be stored into a tupperware, the gals crowded round her and waited to be fed with the meat. With mah mah at home, the gals will never go hungry as there are tidbits and snacks in the house all the time.

MIL Going Back To Hong Kong

My mil will be going back to Hong Kong tomorrow. I hope the gals will take it well, especially Alycia who has grown so attached to her mah mah over the last 3 weeks. Each morning when Alycia wakes up, the first thing that she'll ask is "where is mah mah?" Starting from Monday, mah mah will not be here anymore. Alycia also tends to stick to my mother, her granny every time we go back to Ipoh. Each time we had to return to KL, she will start to whine and say "i don't want to go back to KL. I stay here with granny" and will cry big time when it's time to get into the car. Hopefully tomorrow she will not cry when her mah mah gets into the car.

Snacks Everyday

Each time my mil is back, Alycia and Sherilyn are the happiest. Not only will their mah mah pamper them with gifts, she will also be their life saviour when I scold or cane them. Whenever I cane them, they will act up and cry louder and harder and then run to mah mah for 'protection' and solace. Also, mah mah will spoil them with tidbits and snacks everyday. It's only when their mah mah is here that they get to eat forbidden food like kuih, hawkers' food, biscuits and cakes. Each day, mah mah will buy them different food to eat. Yesterday, they got a soft cheese cake from mah mah. As for me, each time my mil is back, I will also gain some weight as I will also indulge in the food that she buys. I've been indulging in fried koay teow for my mid-afternoon snack with my mil for a few days already. There goes my diet plan!