Tell Me It Ain't No Magic Hat Trick!

I have been feeling a tad disturbed and troubled since yesterday. A customer of mine informed me yesterday that after collecting her stuff for her baby from me 3 days ago, she only realized yesterday that 2 items were missing. Now, I am 101% sure that I did put the 2 hats in, absolutely indubitable! I had paid my supplier for the hats and when I received them, I had updated this customer's invoice before putting the hats inside the parcel.  I have records of my payment to my supplier for the 2 items.  The terms and conditions of my online store states that for missing item or defective item, the customer must report to me within 24 hours upon receipt of parcel. So I have every right to reject her claim. But this customer is just too nice to reject her outright. You see, it hurts and it pays to be nice!!  Sometimes I wish I had a heart like Cruella who would not give a d*mn on how other people feel as long as I feel good! People say you have to be cruel at some point to be able to climb up real high!  That explains why I can never reach that high!!

This customer does not seem to be the trouble-maker kind of customer. She is amiable and warm. I can feel it through our chats on FB.  There is really a big mystery surrounding this missing hats case. She had wanted to come and pick up the stuff from me so that she could meet me.  After 3 months from the date of purchase, she finally told me that she could pick up the stuff from me at my condo on one afternoon. As I had to go out on that day, I left the parcel with the guards at our condo and gave instruction to the guards to pass the parcel to her. But she did not turn up. I had to go down and collect the parcel back from the guard at night.  Then about 1.5 months later, she told me that she could come and collect her stuff again.  Again, I was not free to wait for her and had to pass the parcel to the guard at the Guards Control Room.  She finally came and pick up her parcel. But 3 days later, I got a shock when she told me that 2 items were not in the parcel.

I quickly checked the cupboard that I keep all my customers' parcels and almost turned it upside down. I went through each and every customer's parcel to check if the 2 hats were inadvertently placed in the parcel but NO, no sight of the hats. I sat down and checked the invoice again, over and over again and the more I tried to track back the sequence of events, the more assured I was that I had placed the 2 hats into her parcel.  I then began to feel that there is something really creepy going on.  There seems to be a creepy magic hat trick!?  These days, everyone in our country is talking about MAGIC... not going to elaborate further on this political magic, lest I get arrested too.  I just don't understand how the 2 hats can go missing! I asked my customer to check her car and house and she said she could not find them.

In my 3.5 years running this online store business, this kind of problem has never surfaced. I dare say I am an overly cautious person in nature. I would check the customer's invoice against the items in the parcel and again check the invoice against my email / FB message with the customer before sending the parcel out. I would repeat this process at least two times before I seal the parcel. Sometimes when I feel uneasy, I would open up the parcel again to double check for the last time before sending the parcel out. I know very well the consequences if any item is left behind or if  I send the wrong item to a customer. All my profit would go towards the return  postage by courier!

Now, how would you handle this situation?  I can feel that she wants me to pay her for the 2 missing items but how can I pay for a mistake that is not even a mistake that I made? Maybe she had really misplaced the 2 items herself?  It is her words against mine.  But then I should also give her a benefit of the doubt.  But who will give me a benefit of the doubt?  Though the 2 hats do not cost me a hundred bucks, it is not the money that matters. It is a matter of principle and I want to darn know where the heck the 2 hats disappeared to!

Oh yes, I even went to the guards control room to view the CCTV footage and got some unkind comment from the chief guard.  I do have some suspicion that the guard that day took the 2 hats but heck, they are hats for babies! But who knows, the guard took them for his baby girl?  Fark, all the possibilities have been running wildly in my head for the past 2 days and this missing hats mystery is making my mind sick!

I am still waiting for my customer to revert on the next course of action. Running a business is never easy. It is even tougher if time is not always on your side... when you have to divide yourself and juggle all your tasks (personal, kids, business and what not) carefully every single day. Sometimes it is not money that makes you unhappy but everything else that surrounds the situation or the problem. I could have just refunded her the RM60 but I am not the type of person who splashes money for the wrong reason. I know the hats are in the parcel but where the heck are they now?! Dear God, please let the truth reveal itself soon, amen...

Dealing With A Rascal

Cass, my once submissive, yes-mummy and boops-obsessed baby girl is slowly turning into a rascal.  Stubborn, challenging, irritating, naughty -- these are just some of the words that I try very hard not to use on her everyday.  On Saturday, she got her first major punishment from daddy.

It all started when she kept irritating and agitating her 2 sisters, thus they could not sit down to do their homework. When daddy came home, her 2 che ches reported this to daddy.  Daddy reprimanded her and asked her to say sorry but she just would not say this very simple word!  Daddy locked her in the 'dark room' but yet she would not cry.   Though she was very angry and frightened, she was as quiet as a mouse throughout her time in the dark room!!  After a 20-minute 'battle' with daddy, she was 'kicked' out of the house by daddy and still, this tough cookie with a steely determination and hard head did not muster a cry!!  Finally, she lost the fight and she sobbed but not the wailing kind of cry.  But yet, this stubborn girl just would not want to say SORRY.  I kept prompting her to say SORRY but all she said was "I dare not say"!  *facepalm*  After some drama with her throwing up, I washed her up and was still trying to coax her to say sorry to her 2 che ches and daddy. After she had cooled down and was level-headed again, she agreed to apologize. I called the hubs on the mobile phone and Cass finally blurted out the golden word to daddy  and then I brought her to apologize to her 2 che ches.

Sigh.... this girl is such a challenge now. She has acquired the negative attributes from both her che ches -- stubbornness from Alycia and cheekiness from Sherilyn. Dealing with Cass now brings back my not-so-fond memory and hair-pulling days of having to discipline Alycia and Sherilyn when they were younger.  Motherhood sure is challenging and the more kids you have, the more FUN you face everyday!  Like I have said before, life if NEVER a bore when you have kids.



Cassandra... still looking as cute as a button but drives my butt up the wall every single day!

Planet Popcorn @ One Utama Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama

My girls and I are huge fans of popcorns! Our favorite popcorns are the ones from Garrett's Popcorns and those caramel coated ones from the cinema. Garrett's popcorns with nuts and cheese are very addictive and we all love them but the price can be a major turnoff!
 
When we spotted Planet Popcorn at One Utama Shopping Centre last week, we were all naturally excited and happy as the price of Planet Popcorn is almost a fraction of Garrett's. My girls and I dashed to the kiosk and the salesgirls manning the kiosk were so happy to let us try all the flavors! Our favorite was seaweed and cheese. As there was an on-going promotion, we bought 3 vacuum packs and got 1 small-sized pack of kimchi flavored popcorn for free, so happy!! Yeah yeah, you must be wondering why this health freak mommy is snacking on unhealthy snacks but I chose the least sweet ones. And did you know that popcorns are high in fiber? So it ain't that bad an idea to snack on popcorns. I pour a handful of popcorns into my Granola every morning and enjoy my bowl of high-fiber delish breakfast! Sometimes the girls will bring popcorns to school for recess.

Planet Popcorn are big and round hand made popcorns, freshly made everyday, coated with 9 different mouth watering and exciting flavors. 'Beyond common' is how they describe their yummy popcorns. When I finish my current popcorn stock and do not have time to go to the mall to buy them, I can even order them online!



Cass and Sherilyn could not be happier to try all the flavors for free...

And here's my loot - 2 vacuum packs of seaweed flavor and 1 pack of cheese flavor, which got me rewarded with 1 small pack of kimchi flavor popcorn for free :D

Fruits Infused Water

My group of friends in Facebook have been making fruit infused water after some articles on the health benefits of drinking fruit infused water went viral in Facebook. When you see your friends making good stuff and they post pictures of their good stuff everyday (several times in a day!), you can't help getting 'infected' by the healthy virus! So I jumped on the fruit infused water bandwagon too and made a pitcher last week.

Here is my first pitcher of fruit infused water - which is a concoction of East meeting West. I used lemon grass, lime, orange and strawberry. My kids loved it and it got their wholehearted thumbs-up!




Sherilyn was so amazed with how attractive and refreshing the fruit infused water was that she begged me to prepare a tumbler for her to bring to school to next day. Yup, she really did beg me for it. I was too lazy to do it but finally gave in to her power of persuasion!

This was for Sherilyn to bring to school...





Drinking water infused with fruits or herbs is a smart and tasty way to hydrate and cleanse your body without getting overloaded with sugar and calories. It is a great and healthy way of getting your kids to drink plain water, free from sugar and food additives. It is way better than fizzy drinks.

When I was pregnant with Sherilyn and Cass, I could not tolerate drinking plain water as I was massively nauseated during the first trimester. So I added slices of lime, lemon and strawberry into my plain water everyday and kept myself hydrated by drinking the required 8-10 glasses of plain water a day.  If you or your kids hate drinking plain water, do give this fruit infused water a try. You can have fun choosing your favorite fruits or leaves (lemon grass and mint leaves taste great) and adding them into your pitcher of water.  Depending on the ingredients you infuse, this fruit infused water offers tons of great health benefits.

Smokeless Cigarette

The smokeless cigarette is one of the greatest inventions of this age. It allows you to indulge in a habit that you enjoy while making strides for your health and the health of those around you. Highly customizable, these electronic cigarettes at LeCig.com are a great choice for anyone who wants to take back control of their habit. LeCig has basically everything you could need for your electronic cigarettes, whether you are a new user looking to switch over or an old hand who is getting good at creating their own vapors. The electronic cigarette starter kits at LeCig are truly the highlight of the website if you are new to electronic cigarettes. With this pre-packaged sets you can get started with everything you will need for your electronic cigarettes as well as vapors in some of the most popular flavors on the market. When it comes to shipping on electronic cigarettes at LeCig.com, you will be surprised at just how great their shipping is. On most orders within the United States they offer free first class shipping which can save you quite a bit when it comes to large orders. They also clearly mark their other shipping options with pricing and estimated delivery times. The customer reviews on the website are there to help you know exactly what products are good for. With at least two reviews on every product, you can be certain you know everything you need to know before you make a purchase over at the LeCig website.

Seaweed sandwiches

We had several loafs of freshly baked homemade wholemeal bread and the girls had sandwiches for lunch.  While the adults had pan fried Hormel spam meat (something that we eat like once or twice a year only) with eggs and cucumbers, the kids had something else.  Cass was the easiest to please - just give her 2 half-boiled free range chicken eggs and she can wallop 2 slices of bread.  Sherilyn was pretty easy to please too but she wanted something different that day. She rummaged through the drawer and fished out a packet of shredded flavored seaweed, which is her latest craze.

This is what she prepared herself -- shredded crispy seaweed with slices of cucumbers on 2 slices of buttered wholemeal bread!  I also gave her a cup of yoghurt drink with chia seeds for the extra nutrients.

Health Freak Mommy's Morning Routine

Glimpse of a health freak mommy's breakfast...

A slice of homemade bread (spelt flour + wholemeal flour) with a teaspoon of Nutella chocolate hazelnut bread spread and sprinkled with a teaspoon of superfood chia seeds!  And of course my must-have mug of hot match :D





That's not all, the first food that goes into my tummy at 5:15am everyday is a mug of apple cider vinegar with psyllium  husk. That will surely do its 'drain declogging' job half an hour later haha!  Half an hour later a mug of low fat milk with coffee goes in.  After my daily exercise, it would be fruits on an empty stomach and half an hour later, the REAL breakfast, which is normally all the carbs 'allocation' I give myself. I try to eat my 'carbs allocation' in the morning, keeping it low at noon and try to maintain an almost carb-free meal after 6pm and strictly no food after 9pm.That's how I maintain my 45kg weight  for years, which is only 2kg of weight increase after 3 kiddos.  Pre-kiddos weight had always been 43kg since my teenage years :)

Throes Of Motherhood... Raising Kids And Discovering Them!

Cass has just turned 5 years old.  She is slowly metamorphosing into a brat who is really cheeky, mischievous, fearless and rebellious, just like Sherilyn when she was Cass' age.  And she is wearing my patience real thin in each passing day. What is happening to my cute, meek, obedient and adorable Baby C??  She is afraid of no one at home. Though she is afraid of being whipped, yet this will not deter her from doing the things that she is forbidden to do. Oh gosh, she is just exactly like Sherilyn who has tested over 5 years of my patience and worn it so thin till it was torn and almost irreparable. But thank God, Sherilyn is improving in the areas of obedience and sense of importance in punctuality, albeit going at a real SLOW pace. But at least I see improvement in her and I am starting to feel that we can actually get along really well! :)

Now my biggest challenge is Cass, my baby girl who is torturing me mentally, emotionally and physically every day! Day in, day out, I reprimand her and I nag at her till the point that she has developed an immunity towards my reminders and nagging! She is definitely a brat who has been spoilt rotten over the years. Everyone dotted on her and gave in to her whims and fancies because of her medical condition and not to mention her cuteness!  It hurt us deeply to see her on drips and being poked and prodded every month from the time she was just 6 weeks old up until she was 15 months old (post-operation). We just sucked up to all her nonsense all these years. And I am feeling and seeing the consequences now of spoiling my baby girl! Now, this cute baby girl of mine is metamorphosing into a monster eating me up everyday, bit by bit!

Last night, I suddenly remembered what my late aunt had told me about -- never use negative words to scold your child.  During our bedtime ritual last time, after saying a prayer with her and giving her a goodnight kiss and hug, I said this to Cass : "baby, tomorrow, you will be a good girl. You will listen to mummy. You will not talk in class and you will not be punished by your teacher. Tomorrow you will be a good girl and will make mummy happy only, OK?"  She gave me an approving nod and gave me wet pecks all over my face, like a happy puppy.

It is never easy to raise a child. It is even harder to raise a child into a good and useful individual with a wonderful disposition and attitude. But I am learning everyday.  I have just discovered what has been causing my eldest daughter to throw tantrums and sulk whenever she is asked to do her homework. And I told Alycia about my discovery and both of us felt so happy yesterday evening, after we found out what made her edgy with emotional outbursts so frequently lately.   We discovered that no matter what, this girl MUST have at least an hour of nap in the afternoon to recharge her batteries BEFORE she can start doing anything that is academic!   I feel a sense of achievement and victory when I discover hidden answers like this, which is like finding a missing piece of jigsaw puzzle!.  I have also recently discovered that COW'S MILK was the CULPRIT that caused Alycia to be so sick when she was a toddler and she has an ultra sensitive throat with phlegm up until now.  I have now eliminated cow's milk and all products of cow's milk out from her diet and thank God, I am seeing so much improvement in her throat now!   Can you beat it that it took me over 9 years to 'know' my daughter? But at least I did!

Dear God, I ask for guidance and wisdom from you to raise my daughters, everyday. Thank you God, Amen!

Our Saturday - 20 April 2013

The hubs was free to bring us all for breakfast yesterday morning.The girls and I all unanimously voted for Casa Del Coco, our favorite cozy Italian cafe that serves healthy, wholesome and delish food.  We love their healthy omelets, which come in a variety of flavors. Our favorite omelet is fresh mushroom omelet, which composes of generous amount of mushrooms and herbs and it ain't too salty too.



To side track a little... check out hubs' 'flat' abdomen!  He caught on my health and fitness freak regimen and has lost 5kg!  I hope he has the discipline like I do to sustain this healthy lifestyle.


We ordered a Health Freak Omelet, Bacon Omelet, Giant Breakfast, Smoked Salmon Benedict and their award-winning healthy carrot cake with cream cheese and marmalade.





The damage to the hubs' wallet was RM101. Pretty expensive for a breakfast huh? But the up side is that we were all so stuffed that we needn't have to eat lunch, which means that the amount was enough to cover our breakfast and lunch LOL! 

Fruits For Art

Rascal #2's art teacher in school told the class that there will be a session on drawing and painting of fruits.  Every pupil was to bring their own fruits to school. So I drove her to the nearby mini market and asked her to choose the fruits that she'd like to draw. As expected, this rascal who likes to do extraordinary things chose only exotic fruits, not to mention expensive ones!  She wanted to choose a bunch of grapes which cost over RM10 and  mangoes which are expensive too. I said NO! I knew that when the fruits returned home after the painting session, they would surely be inedible anymore with dents and splashes of paints on them.

So I bought her a pineapple (RM5.90) and a red dragon fruit (RM4) as these are not the run-of-the-mill apples and oranges and I think it would be fun to draw them.  She had a great time drawing and painting the exotic fruits in school and thankfully the fruits were still in good shape when she brought them home.  The red dragon fruit had dents every where though, of which I immediately cut it up for her to eat.  And the pineapple had splashes of pink paint on it but thankfully no dents or holes and can still be cut up to be eaten :D

Sherilyn Is Now Bespectacled!

Two weeks ago, Sherilyn was officially a sei ngan mui ('four-eyed' girl)!  After three checks with the optician and ophthalmologist, I was finally convinced that she has Astigmatism. She was actually diagnosed with Astigmatism since early last year but I was not convinced with the tests down by the optician and later the ophthalmologist. After the third test, I was finally convinced. I took the trouble and time to bring her for three tests done by three different doctors as I wanted to be uber sure that her eyes indeed needed corrective glasses. I did not want her to wear glasses because of a wrong diagnosis and prescription. And I had a hunch that this rascal wanted to wear glasses because her good friends are wearing eye glasses too.

I got her a reasonably priced purple colored plastic frame spectacles and I think she looks cute wearing it! And oh yes, the hubs also has to wear glasses now but only when he reads!

Machine test carried out by Dr C from ISEC @ Mid Valley.  This is the ophthalmologist who operated on Cassandra's eye Chalazion  3 years ago. It was after seeking confirmation from him that I was convinced that my rascal has Astigmatism.




And another round of test, before she was given a prescription.
Right eye Astigmatism is 250 and left eye over 100, which is pretty high for an 8-YO girl.





I think she looks prettier and cuter with the eye glasses put on :D




... and has a smart-girl and good-girl look too, when the glasses is put on LOL!!

Snacks box

This is Sherilyn's snacks box for recess today, consisting of 3 slices of Gardenia white bread and a packet of seaweed to go with the bread. Seaweed sandwich is her latest craze and she can chomp down 3 slices within 15 minutes!  When it comes to sandwiches, this bread lover can have it 3 times a day! Serving sandwiches as a meal is a fuss-free, muss-free, win-win situation for rascal #2 and #3 and me. They are both pretty easy-going and not very selective. It is the oldest rascal who is the hardest to please for she is the fussiest of the lot with a very pernickety taste bud!

The Girls' Work Of Art

These are Alycia, Sherilyn and Cassandra's poster painting on canvas at art class on Friday...




 

Left to right :  Cassandra's drawing of 'herself', Alycia's painting of Vincent Van Gouh and Sherilyn's painting of Vincent Van Gouh's Starry Night.


I like Alycia's painting of Vincent Van Gouh the best as I like the artistic painting of the color tones and shading on the face and hair.

Deep-Freezing Kueh Ang Koo

My mil traveled up north last weekend with her daughter from HK and told me that she would make a pit-stop in Ipoh. I jumped at the opportunity and quickly messaged my mum in Facebook for her to get me my favorite black glutinous rice ang koo from Ipoh Garden South. When we went back to Ipoh last month, we stopped at this kueh stall twice but luck was not on our side, the stall was closed. This time, my dad bought 30 pieces of ang koo in a variety of flavors - black glutinous rice skin, red skin and pandan skin.

I was so happy when I saw the boxes of ang koo and gobbled up 3 ang koos immediately.  I may be a health freak but I have my weaknesses to some very fattening stuff like kueh and durians which I can never resist!

There were so many ang koos that I squirred away some and stashed them nicely in an ice-cream container in the freezer.  That can satiate my crave for another month *burp, oops!* LOL!

Cassandra Is 5 Today!

My baby girl, she's 5 years old today! At her request, daddy bought her 2 strawberry cakes -- one Hello Kitty strawberry cake for our celebration at a Japanese restaurant last Saturday (her choice of restaurant) and another strawberry cake for her celebration in school today.
Here is the custom made Hello Kitty strawberry cake for Cass, with layers of strawberry paste between the layers of sponge cake and fresh strawberries as decor on the cake....




And a strawberry white chocolate cake from our favorite bakery for her celebration in school today.




When everyone was singing the "Happy Birthday" song to her, her expression suddenly turned from happy to one that was on the brink of crying! And she covered her mouth with her palm as if to stifle an outburst of emotions, just like how those beauty queens normally react when they are announced the winner. I thought she was really going to tear but thank God, she soon smiled again when daddy asked her to cut the cake LOL! After school, I asked her if she almost wanted to cry during the celebration in school and she said YES! I asked her if she was overcome with emotions and joy and she said YES! I told her that it is normal to feel this way and then I told her about her birth story and that I also teared when I heard her first cries in the OT exactly 5 years ago today!

Tonight, to make this feel like her day, I will be ordering pizzas to be delivered to our place for dinner. I pray to God that He will bestow my baby girl with good health, happiness and wisdom always. Happy birthday baby girl!

Background Checks

One of the tasks that I had to do when I was working as a Human Resources Officer at a bank was to perform background checks on prospective employees. The job entailed calling the prospective employee's former employer to ask about his or her employment track record and to perform a CTC check. The task was time consuming as many of the previous employers needed time to retrieve the personal files (some files would had already been sent to a ‘cold storage’) and some of the employers were not cooperative. If you work in a HR Department, you can check background checks now from the internet at the convenience of your mouse. How very convenient!

One-Pot Easy Peasy Dish

The mil was away for a few days last weekend, so I had to be in action again in the kitchen. As usual, I will only cook dishes that are simple and fast to dish out with minimal splish splash of oil. So here's what I whipped up...

Anchovies soup with baby spinach, carrots and 3 huge chicken drumsticks. Healthy and wholesome, complete with protein, iron and fiber.






Everyone was happy that evening. Whenever there are chicken drumsticks on the dining table, shouts of  "YAY!!" will always echo in the dining area, albeit cooked in the simplest way :)

Our Former Live-In Helper

Cass missed our former live-in helper dearly when she left about 8 months ago and she still misses her ‘kakak’. Occasionally, she would tell me that she still misses ‘kakak’. During Chinese New Year two months ago, we received a surprise long distance call from ‘kakak’. It was good to hear her voice again. If she ever tells us that she wants to return to work for us, I think I would receive her with open arms! Though she had done many things that infuriated us for the past 4.5 years, I have forgiven her. We are all but human beings who are very prone to making mistakes. One time, when Cass was about a year old, ‘kakak’ gave Cass a pencil with sharp pencil lead along with some tiny disc springs to play with when I had gone jogging in the morning. When I came home and saw carbon stains on Cass’ mouth (I reckoned that she had put the pencil into her mouth to chew), I was so furious and almost wanted to strangle her! But I soon cooled down. This was just one of the many blood-boiling incidents that she had done. She had done many foolish things to annoy us but I have forgiven her.

Homecooked Dinner - 1 April 2013

Our heart-warming, tummy-warming and delish homecooked dinner on 1 April 2013...


 

1.  Tomato omelet with Chinese parsley cooked the Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant style - this is the kids' top favorite dish at our favorite Taiwanese restaurant.
2.  Pan fried salmon fish
3.  Stir-fried long beans with pork belly slices
4.  Braised pork ribs with fermented soy bean paste

For the next 2 days, the mil will be outstation and the chef job will be passed back to me.  I have already told the girls not to expect fancy dishes like how grandma dishes out everyday but to expect porridge for lunch and a one-pot spinach-chicken drumstick soup cum dish for dinner ≧∇≦

Spin In My New Pink Car!

Last Sunday, the hubs finally had the time to bring me, along with the 3 brats for a spin in my new car, with me driving it for the first time. And it was the first time I drove a car in almost 6 years! Thank God, my driving skill ain't completely lost. The moment I started the engine and hit the wheels, memories of myself being the dare devil on the road 6 years ago took over me instantly! I was really glad that I can still remember how to maneuver a car! Driving a car is like riding a bicycle. You will not lose the skill completely. If you were once good in it, you will always be. And I was equally surprised that I did not lose touch of my parking skill just yet, albeit I admit that I have to improve on my L or side parking.

This morning, hubs brought me for my second refresher course. After dropping Cass in school, we went for breakfast at Ficelle Boulangarie and then went to the mini market. He suggested that we should do this every morning for at least another week until he gives me his stringent 'pass' LOL!