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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Healthy Lunch Boxes

With a recess time of only 10-15 mins, Alycia and Sherilyn can't eat much and they often reject anything more than a bun or a few slices of cut fruits. So this is what I prepared for Alycia on Monday and Tuesday :

A butter bun (cut into 3 easy-to-eat slices) and honey plum in the shape of Winnie The Pooh.


Edamame beans and oranges. Alycia could not even finish these and brought home half the beans and oranges back to eat. Both my girls are really slow eaters.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Baby C Loves To Do Push-Ups

and creep the floors of our house, sending me cold sweat when she crawls outside the gym mat and almost knocks her head on the cold hard floor. Sometimes when she loses balance during her push-ups, she would roll to her side and land on the cold hard floor but this tough cookie does not even cry! She's tough, a real fighter and I hope her body will be able to fight off the bacteria responsible for causing her all the UTI attacks.

The Superman pose...

The kodomo dragon pose....and she really does look like an iguana or a kodomo dragon each time she creeps and turns her body 90 degrees to look at us.

The fitgirl pose, doing her push-ups

and the cheeky look with a smack on her lips

Auto Collision Repair Services

I will never forget my very first car, a bright red little Kancil which my beloved dad helped me pay half the cost of the car. When I first drove it, it was also the first time I drove the car in the notoriously traffic-jammed roads in the heart of KL. About a month into driving my new car, I crashed it into a building when I was reversing my car. My mind wasn’t with me and I just stepped on the accelerator while reversing my car until I saw the guard of the building waving his hand and running towards my car. It was too late. The rear of my car crashed into a glass door of the building. The glass door was totally wrecked but surprisingly, my car was only slightly dented. After the accident, I waited for more than a month for my car to be repaired by the workshop under my insurer’s panel. That was really inconvenient as I had to rely on public transport to get to work.

If you have recently been involved in an automobile accident and need auto collision repair for your vehicle, gerbercollision.com can help you out. If you are unsure whether to file an insurance claim or repair a minor dent on your own, a Gerber representative would be glad to assist you. Gerber is one of the largest collision repair businesses in the United States and operates at locations throughout North America. Whether you need auto collision repair in Chicago or Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma or Washington, just give Gerber a call at (773) 774-9450 or log on to their website to click for a quote.

Gerber Collision & Glass is located at 5948 North Northwest Highway, Chicago - Norwood Park, IL 60631.
Their hours of operation are : Monday to Friday 7:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday 8:00am to 12:00pm.


I Want To Have Beard Too Mummy!

I realize I have been blogging a lot about Sherilyn but the fact is that this rascal of mine is just full of bright ideas and she always says things that leaves me in stitches.

Last night as I was brushing her teeth, she saw daddy's shaver and asked me what that is. Not that she doesn't know what a shaver is, she clearly knows what it is but she just likes to ask questions.

Sherilyn - mummy, what is this? (as she points to the shaver)

Me - a shaver.... to shave moustache or beard.

Sherilyn - I want to use.

Me - you don't even have moutache or beard silly girl.

Sherilyn - I want. Mummy, you buy me a beard and stick it on my face, then I can use the shaver ok?

Me - silly girl!

Sherilyn - giggles cheekily...


What kind of silly request that was but she really left me in stitches lol!

Maybe I Should Try Online Trading

Offers have been really scarce for the past 2 weeks. I used to be able to get some offers when I wake up in the wee hours of the morning to grab them but not lately. Even the advertiser who used to give me the most offers every month has drastically slowed down in releasing their offers. My earnings will definitely take a big dip this month. I should find other alternative means of making money online. Perhaps I should be a little bold and try online trading, just like some of my friends. Who knows, I may succeed in this trade.

You're My Sister, You Don't Love Me Meh?

Sherilyn has a habit of sitting very closely to either Alycia, my mil or me at the dining table during mealtimes. She sits so closely to us that her hand will touch our hands and I can't even move my hands freely because her hand will be pressed against mine. Sometimes, she even gets on my nerves when she puts her bowl of rice and cup of water on the newspapers that I am reading.

Yesterday during dinner, Sherilyn pushed her chair towards Alycia, so that she would be seated very, very closely to her sister. But Alycia does not want her space invaded. Moreover, Sherilyn was having a bad cough and thick gooey goo has been flowing out freely from her nostrils, like worms and Alycia didn't want to catch the cold virus.

Alycia - Hey, don't sit so near me....

Sher - remained quiet and kept pushing her chair towards Alycia.

Alycia - I said don't sit so near me.....

Sher - You are my sister, you don't love me meh?

When my mil and I heard this, we just burst out into a loud guffaw!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Baby C Loves Barney Too

What's it with this not-so-cute purple dinosaur with an old man's voice? Most kids love Barney. Alycia and Sherilyn love Barney and now, Baby C likes Barney too.... and I must thank Barney for babysitting and entertaining Baby C every so often when I need to take a quick shower.... by putting on a Barney VCD for baby to watch.

Does your kid like Barney too?








Baby C with this Barney soft toy that can sing when pressed on the chest. Daddy bought this toy for Sher when she was under a year old and my little rascal would step on Barney's chest to make it sing "I Love You, You Love Me".

Monday, September 15, 2008

Another Maid Story

I hate to gossip about my maid in my kids' blog but this time, I really want to vent out my anger. I just caught my maid pouring unboiled filtered tap water into the kettle that we put boiled drinking water. I confronted her and she kept denying. I was walking into the kitchen when I saw her using a jug pouring tap water into the kettle but my maid kept saying that she was only using the jug to remove an insect from the pot of kettle. What a liar! I saw the water still dripping out from the water filter. I asked her why can't she use a spoon to fish out the insect and she told me it's easier to use a jug! What nonsense! Don't you think it's easier to spoon out an insect from the kettle than to put in a huge jug into the kettle? I am fuming mad coz my 2 toddlers and my 5-month old baby drinks the kettle of water. Now I am beginning to wonder if Baby C's frequent pooing is caused by drinking unboiled water! I am also worried that the unboiled tap water that she's been drinking all these while could be one of the causes of her frequent UTI. She's already got a kidney reflux, coupled with unboiled water, that could just be too harsh on her guts and body. I'm just speculating here, I may be wrong, I hope I am wrong.

This is not the first time I caught her doing similar acts. I also caught her a few times putting un-filtered tap water into our water tumbler used for cooking, which I have reprimanded her. I'm sure you all know how dirty the water in our country is. Even with a water filter, the water is still dirty sometimes.

Looks like a leopard really never changes its spots. What am I going to do with her? I've given her too many chances and I think she is taking advantage of my leniency towards her. Perhaps I should just let my maid agent handle her for they know the best how to treat such cases.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Branded Stuff No More



I used to buy Lancome, Clarins and Clinique range of skincare products but eversince I ditched my beloved job to take on the role as Home Affairs Manager, I've stopped splurging on expensive skincare products and cosmetics. I now use Simple and I think they are just as good for my skin. I thank God and my parents' genes that I have an almost flawless complexion, so it doesn't really matter what brand of skincare products I use. Frequent exercise, drinking lots of water and eating lots of fruits and veggies also help promote good skin.

Guess What These Are



I'm sure these look familiar to those who are Chinese and who celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival. We only see these stuff (which resemble black buffalo horns) being sold once a year, i.e. during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

If you're not quite sure what these are, check them out at my other blog.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Lunch At Xenri Japanese Restaurant

We had lunch at Xenri Japanese Restaurant on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite Japanese Restaurants as they serve pretty good Japanese food with impressive food presentation too. This restaurant is always packed, even on weekdays. I also love the interior decor of the restaurant.

Xenri Japanese Restaurant is located at Wisma Elken at Old Klang Road (opp Pear Point Hotel).

We ordered 8 bento sets :



























Alycia and Sherilyn in a cheerful mood as they get to go gai gai and eat out on a school-going day.



I can never get tired of eating Japanese food as it consists mainly of good protein - fish, tofu and Edamame beans and I normally avoid the rice (carbs). Even my California rolls are rolled without rice!

My Kids Love To Eat Stinky Stuff

Yes they do and as I've said it before, it's all in the genes. Alycia and Sherilyn not only like to eat the pungent durian, they even like to eat the super stinky smelly beans or stinky beans aka petai. They love it so much that they would stuff themselves full with smelly beans whenever we cook this dish. And I hate it that they love to eat smelly beans coz I will surely be greeted by two stinky mouths and some stinky poop the next morning...... eeeesh..... I just hate to wash a potty full of stinky poop!

Do your kids eat stinky beans too?



And 'chau tau' (stinky beans) is my favorite dish mummy. I want some more..... yums!

Retail Therapy

My all-time stress buster is shopping. Retail therapy never fails to help me beat my stress. The more things that I buy, the more stress I get to remove lol! Money indeed can buy happiness in this case. Perhaps I should look for some retail jobs like a store manager and work in a departmental store when my gals are grown up. I even like the environment in a departmental store. I can never get tired of being at a shopping mall. Before my kids came along, I can even shop the whole day, i.e. from the moment the mall is opened till the mall closes and not even feel a tinge of tiredness!

That's Why I Can't Lose Weight

.... whenever my mil is around coz she cooks too many appetizing dishes for dinner.... and if I wanna lose weight, dinner should be the lightest meal of my day but how can I resist not touching those mouth-watering dishes that she cooks everyday?

The other day, hubby's aunty came over for dinnner and my mil (always the good host) cooked 7 dishes! Oh boy, I was already drooling away even before dinner was served. The aroma of the dishes that wafted from the kitchen could just throw anyone who is on diet off their diet plan!





Sweet smelling stinky beans (petai) with prawns and chicken.

This is a Hakka dish - sliced pork cooked in wine and sliced ginger and a kind of sweet-smelling mint leaves. Oh, I just love this dish!

Stir-fried hairy gourd with 'wan yue' (cloud fungus), sliced pork and minced garlic.

Pan-fried fish,

braised chicken with potatoes (this dish was cooked specially for Alycia and Sherilyn as it's their favorite dish) and 2 green veggies.

Another Sea Cucumber Dish



My mil cooked this very delicious dish the other day. It consists of sea cucumber, canned Pacific clams, 'wong kai lon' (a kind of dried cuttlefish), dried mushrooms, garlic and it tasted absolutely yummy! We only get to eat sea cucumbers whenever my mil is around coz it takes many days and lots of time and effort to prepare the sea cucumbers..... and this is something that I would never have the time or patience to do!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Stay Away Food High In Potassium From Baby C

Finally, Baby C had her 5th and last dose of painful intra-muscular jab today. Though I am happy that it's the last, I still have a niggling worry that the UTI will attack her again. I've already done my level best to keep the UTI at bay, yet she still got attacked. Our paed said that this is expected as Baby C has a Grade III Kidney Reflux, which means that her sphincters (the pumps/valves in the urinary system) are weak. Hopefully, as she grows, the sphincters will become stronger and the reflux will resolve by itself.

The blood test done on Monday shows that Baby C's renal functions (kidneys) are perfectly normal. Anyway, to play safe, our paed advised us to keep food high in potassium to the lowest for Baby C. People with weak kidneys should avoid or eat very little food containing Potassium. So, Baby C can't eat a lot of bananas, starfruits (remember the case of the man with kidney problem who died after he ate starfruits in China?), chocolates, nuts, beans, etc.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Baby Lamb Needs Slippers Too Mummy!

I was busy with Baby C 2 days ago. Alycia and Sherilyn were busy playing and entertaining themselves in the living room. I was really stressed up that Baby C has another UTI and I have been spending several hours everyday in the hospital.

When I saw this at the front door of our house ............


















I had a good laugh. Sherilyn my rascal sure has lots of bright ideas, funny ideas and tricks up her sleeves. She may be very very mischievous and cheeky and can really make my blood boil but the things that she says and does sometimes can really give me a hearty guffaw!

Sherilyn Is Down With A Bad Cold

and she's coughing and sneezing the whole day with goo like worms oozing out from her nostrils all the time! Our paed kept warning us to keep Sherilyn away from Baby C, else baby will also be bitten by the bug. Sherilyn is trying her best by walking away when she coughs and sneezes but sometimes she forgets and touches Baby C with her germs-filled hands, yikes! Oh God, please don't let Cassandra catch the cold virus. She is already taking so much antibiotics and I just don't want to burden her little body with more meds. Hopefully my milkie will help her fight off Sher's cold virus.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Complimentary Enfalac A+



Each time I bring Baby C for her vaccination, the medical assistant would give me a box of Enfalac A+. Since it's given free, I took it though Baby C does not drink any formula at all and she even hates the milk bottle. Guess who has been helping herself to the baby formula? It's none other than Sherilyn my milk lover and luckily she does not find the taste of the baby formula yucky!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A Drawer Full Of Urine Bags And Sterile Bottles



Ever since Baby C's 2nd UTI (urinary tract infection) attack, I am so paranoid of her having another UTI attack that I stocked up my drawer with urine bags and sterile bottles from the hospitals. At the onset of foul-smelling pee (which smells like someone who had eaten petai or stinky beans the night before), I will collect her urine the following morning. Each urine test costs almost RM40. Since her attacks are so frequent, hubby and I have decided to have her urine tested every week. Can you imagine how much hubby is spending on urine tests, diapers, medical consultation and medication for Baby C a month?