Great Help

My sil from Singapore is here for a holiday and will be here for the next few weeks. I am glad that she’s here as my mil had just left for New Zealand and will only be back in a few months’ time. My sil has been of great help to me. She helps me coach the girls in their homework, walks #2 to school and helps me check my stock every day. I even have the time now to write a review on cheapestautoinsurance.net. Had she not been here to help me out, I can only find the time to complete my online assignments in the still of the night at ungodly hours when everyone else is asleep. That’s when the house is quiet and my mind can be at peace, which helps me to think straight.

Forget About Designer Furniture If You Have Toddlers

Our set of sofa is only a little over 2 years old but it looks really beat up. The same goes with our dining table chairs. The covers have pen mark scribbles and doodles and the leather skin is peeling off. We are considering replacing the furniture with new ones. But with 3 rambunctious kids at home, we should think twice and even trice before getting designer furniture lest our expensive furniture get graffiti marks on them again in no time! With kids, it’s best not to have any furniture in the living room! That’s what happened 4 years ago when our living room was devoid of a sofa set when our 2 older rascals were still toddlers!

Vacuum Cleaners

Our rechargeable cordless vacuum cleaner is hopeless! We had hoped that a cordless vacuum cleaner would be easy to maneuver and less messy without any cord. While it is mess free without the cord but the power of the suction is pathetic. I may want to get a more powerful vacuum cleaner, like those Miele vacuum cleaners or those vacuum cleaners that can even suck out dust mites from mattresses.

That Rattan School Bag I Will Never Forget

During my time when I was a primary school girl, my mum bought me a rectangular shaped open rattan school bag, which looked like a picnic bag. I hated that bag as I thought it looked so hideous while my friends had nicer covered school bags. But my mum did not buy me those school backpacks, which were very costly 3 decades ago. I had to carry that hideous rectangular shaped bag for a few years which gradually turned crocked and slanted to one side over the years. Some of the rattan strips even jutted out of its place, which made the bag look really beat up. Oh how I hated that rattan bag! I will never ever forget that rattan school bag LOL! Now, Alycia gets to change her school bag at least once or twice a year! Kids these days are so lucky, aren’t they?

Which Type Of Lighting?

While lightings with yellow lights make the home look cosy and warm, I dislike the fact that it is dim and not bright enough for reading. My hubby recently changed the pendant lighting in our living room to blue fluorescent lights and our living room area is so much brighter now. I can even see clearer in blue fluorescent lights as opposed to yellow lights. With yellow lights, I have to squint my eyes when I read or work on the computer. What type of lightings do you prefer?

Sherilyn's Achievement

She may not be as disciplined as her jie jie and I need loads and loads of threats, bribe and reminders to get her to memorize her weekly spelling, ejaan and ting xie. But at least, she has been scoring full marks for all her ting xie, ejaan and spelling every week and I am proud of her. Nonetheless, I am still very worried how my rascal will cope in Primary 1 in a Chinese school next year. Hopefully the tough environment and Chinese teachings will shape her into a better disciplined and obedient kid. And I am slowly but surely turning into Amy Chuah aka Tiger Mother, else this rascal will be a wayward child.

Our Friday

On Friday night, we had desserts at Food Foundry @ Happy Mansion PJ after a dinner with my parents, my brother and sil from Singapore and my mil. We had dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. It was a very rare occasion that I could have a meal with them altogether and I think it was very much like a CNY reunion dinner.

Nothing makes her happier than eating what she likes to eat!

The hubs is really fond of the chocolate cakes and Vanilla Mille crepe cake at Food Foundry. Whenever we are out for dinner, he will surely jump on the opportunity to drive us to this unassuming cafe to satiate his craving for these 2 cakes.

A view of KLCC (right) and KL Towers (left) from the 5th floor of our unit taken at 8pm. I heart my new Canon IXUS!

Can Never Get Enough Of Shopping At Pharmacies

I love stepping into the pharmacy. Pharmacies are mushrooming at my housing estate and they are competing with one another by offering discounts on their products all year through. I think this is healthy competition and we the consumers get to grab the best deals from different pharmacies. Each time I step into a pharmacy, I spend several hundreds of Ringgit on toiletries, supplements and cosmetics. I had just returned from a pharmacy that was having a Crazy Sales promotion and spent over two hundred Ringgit. There was discount on almost every item on the shelves from shampoos to cosmetics, dental care products , moisturizer, supplements for kids, creatine supplements, diapers and the list goes. Had I not been in a hurry to leave, I could have spent even more at the pharmacy.

Durian Season

The durian season is at its peak now and we are taking full advantage of it, at the expense of our wallet and health. For the past 1 week, I have been having durians for my breakfast, chilled yummy creamy Musang King species that is! Sherilyn ate so much durians when my dad got some from Tapah that she is now having a very hoarse voice, a symptom that her body is very heaty. But I am well prepared to counter the heatiness with jars of cooling herbal tea and refreshing coconut water. Hopefully I don’t need to use therapores with all the cooling drinks to douse the heat within my body.

Bulky TV Hazard

We recently gave away our bulky pre-LCD era TV (the kind with a big jutting butt!) that we used to put in our bedroom after we read from the newspapers that a little boy was killed when a TV fell on him. Since Alycia sleeps on the floor next to the chest of drawers that we placed the TV on, it is scary to imagine what would have happened to her if the bulky fell on her while she’s asleep. We may get a light weight and sleek TV, like those samsung led tvs for our bedroom soon.

Computer Crashed!

My desktop computer is seriously injured and may need admission. Someone turned off the main switch connecting to my desktop computer last night, thinking that it was the switch for the TV. When I restarted my PC, it was 'hang'. Thank God I have a laptop as back up BUT the BIG problem is that the data of my 800 over customers are saved inside the hard disk of my desktop PC. Now I have a huge pile of new clothes lying in the living room and I cannot send them out without the details of my customers. I am SO SO upset. The computer technician came to fix my PC this morning and it took over 6 hours for the restoring scan to complete BUT bugger, the problem is still not resolved. The computer technician has to come over to my house again to reinstall the Windows software and if this fails, he needs to remove the hard disk to have all the data stored inside transfered into an external hard disk or a thumb drive. And a reformatting of the PC would have to be performed. Sigh.... this is a costly lesson for me and if you have not done a back-up of your data too, do it now before your PC crashes.
Sorry there will be no pix from me for the next few days until my baby is up and about again.

Things She Says

Just want to record this conversation between Baby and me today. Baby, when you read this a few years down the road, you will have a good laugh at yourself.

Me - Baby, tomorrow is mummy's birthday. What are you going to give me?

Baby - I have no money....

Me - I know. But you can give me something that does not need money to buy. What will you give me?

Baby - I will give you a pink goggles (and pointing to the pink goggles hanging in our bathroom).

Me - I don't want a goggles. I don't need one. Give me something else.

Baby - Errrrr, I will give you money from my piggy bank!

Me - How much money will you give?

Baby - MANY!!

Me - Can you give me ALL the money in your piggy bank?

Baby - NO!!! I will give you 2 (and showing me 2 fingers)





My Baby, she's getting more and more vocal each day and she's a willful cili padi too. Try to criticize her and she will put up a defiant and defensive front saying "Who says??? NO I am not. You only, not me!!"... and she will defend herself until the end. I am quite confident she won't get bullied in future.

Morning Routine

This is Baby's morning routine. She drinks 3/4 cup of fresh milk with a teaspooon of chocolate flavored Dutch Lady 123 milk powder for a tinge of chocolaty flavor to her milk. On some mornings, she sits in front of the TV while she eats her breakfast. Her breakfast is as heavy as mine. In fact she eats more than me! Here's what her breakfast normally consists of : fruits on an empty stomach, 3/4 cup of fresh milk half an hour later, a hard boiled egg, bread and biscuits. When my mil eats her breakfast later, Baby joins her and pecks on her food. This rascal can really eat and eat and I think she really has a stomach made of rubber!

Here she's watching her favorite Go Go's cartoon. Go Go's series of educational DVDs teaches toddlers and kids English and Baby loves Go Go's. She can memorize most of the songs and all the scenes in her GoGo's DVDs.

Noodles Crazed Girls

My #2 and #3 are noodles crazed, in particular over green tea noodles or buckwheat noodles. They can survive on nothing but these noodles and they like it with Soba Sauce and shredded seaweed. Alycia likes her green noodles with a dash of wasabi too! I normally prepare some onion omelette so that their daily intake of protein is met.

If I ever leave a plate of plain green tea noodles on the dining table and turn my back, I can be rest assured to see 2 greedy pups climbing up the table to pick the noodles with their fingers and stuffing the noodles into their mouths! When my mil is again away overseas soon, my girls can be certain that they will get to eat green tea noodles at least twice a week. It's easy job for me and they love it!

Dangers Of Working When You Are Sleepy

I am one who can never go to bed at peace if there is work left unfinished. Last night, I was seated in front of my PC but I was struggling to keep my eyes opened. I wanted to complete a review on discount avo cigars but my mind just could not function anymore. Knowing how dangerous it is to work on my PC when my brain is shutting down, I went straight to my bedroom and dozed off within seconds. In the past, I had made some mistakes with my customers’ orders when I worked with my eyes almost shut and a mind that was also half shut down.

Dislikes Milk

Alycia used to love drinking milk until she was weaned off the milk bottle when she was 5 years old. Since then, she has developed a dislike for milk, even if the milk is flavored with chocolate or strawberry. I told her that if she does not want to drink milk, I need to give her calcium supplement so that she will not have brittle bones or Osteoperosis in future.

If All Goes Well…

If all goes well with Baby’s urinary tract, we will no longer be required to make a trip to Penang to see the surgeon twice a year starting from next year. Her surgeon told us that after her condition stabilizes 2 years post surgery, we only need to bring her to see him once a year, until she turns 12 years old. With God’s grace, I pray that she does not require anymore expensive scans, medical treatments and surgery. With the money saved on her expensive medical treatments, we can start to plan for a long-deserved holiday and look for some Outer Banks vacation rental soon.

Praying For Good Health

My mum does not have any extensive medical insurance and Medicare part D plans in place. Having seen what some of our friends have been going through lately with the grave illnesses that they were stricken with, I have been reminding my mum to quickly get a medical insurance in place soonest possible. Diseases and misfortunes strike without warning. My greatest wish and prayer are for me, my kids and parents to be blessed with good health. That is the best gift the Lord can bestow us with.

Yummy Homemade Breads And Pesto Sauce

My mil spent her entire day in the kitchen to whip up something really good for us last week. She started work at around 4pm and the work ended at 11ish pm.

Here are the products of her labor of love and her passion in cooking and baking:


3 jars of pesto sauce to be used as bread spread and for pasta. She made extra and stored a jar in the freezer so that we can eat it when she's away again soon.

3 loaves of purple sweet potato bread and 3 loaves of walnut-figs rye bread.

Say Sorry To Me!

While I was showering Baby last night, some water splattered into her eyes and she was mad at me.

Baby - HEY!!! Why spray water in my eyes?

Me - Oh, I did it accidentally only.....

Baby - then say SORRY to me!!! (in a demanding tone that I owe her an immediate apology!)

Me - sorry Baby. But you can't shout at mummy ok?

And if I remembered correctly, she was still not satisfied with the apology and was mumbling away that I had accidentally splattered some water into her eyes! This rascal is a cili padi, small but mighty, I am very convinced she is.

Wine Ice Cream From USA

We sampled some wine ice creams from the wine specialty shop that hubs patronizes and hubs chose a tub of cherry ice cream made with Merlot wine.


A tub costs about RM24 and it's imported from the US. If you are crazy over wine, you'll love the tinge of wine taste in this ice-cream. I am not a huge fan of wine or alcohol and will only have a sip or two if occasions call for but I kind of like this ice cream. Nice!

Cherry Merlot Wine ice cream with generous amounts of cherries.

The Hilarious Fall Of Sherilyn's 2nd Tooth

Remember my earlier post on the hilarious fall of Sherilyn's first tooth? About 1.5 weeks later, her 2nd shaky bottom tooth dropped and I tell yer, it was equally hilarious.

That night, Sherilyn had fallen asleep on the couch. When I dragged her to the bathroom to shower her, she was whining and sulking away. When I brushed her teeth, she whined even more and was throwing a huge tantrum... which made my temper hit the roof. After brushing her teeth, she turned to me abruptly and said this "mummy, what happened to my tooth???"... and opened her mouth wide. When I looked at her mouth, I burst out laughing as the shaky tooth at the bottom was gone!!! I told her that her tooth had dropped and she exploded... bawling away like a baby. She blamed me for brushing her teeth too hard to the point of 'loosing' her tooth. I then searched everywhere on the bathroom floor for her tooth. Damn it that the color of her tooth and the bathroom floor was almost the same, making it hard for us to find her tooth. What more with all the suds on the floor, we could barely find the tooth. I asked her if she had swallowed the tooth and she said NO and bawled even louder... and blamed me to no end.

After a 5-minute search, I finally found her tooth at one corner of the bathroom LOL!! My cry baby was really angry and crabby as I had woken her up from her sleep and dragged her to the bathroom to shower and caused her tooth to drop. After she had calmed down, I told her that she should be happy that the tooth had finally dropped as she had been complaining that the loose tooth was hurting her gum. Now, there's no more pain and she can eat comfortably again.

Our Quiet Sunday

It was a pretty quiet Sunday for us. We were supposed to go to church but Sherilyn had fever on Saturday, which did not subside on Sunday. Hubby who is always paranoid whenever the gals have fever insisted to bring Sherilyn to the doctor but I said no. I always prefer to give their body a chance to heal naturally and not shoot straight to get antibiotics, which will only impair the body's immune system. True enough after just 1 dose of PCM, lots of barley water, coconut water, plain water, fruits, rest and sleep and showering her body each time the temperature shot up to above 38 degrees Celsius, the fever subsided last night.... without the need for antibiotics or costly doctor's fees.

While Sherilyn lay on the couch the whole day, I spent the whole day packing my customers' orders into courier bags for them to be posted out today.

Garment factory from home...

Kids clothes, kids accessories and ladies clothes for over 50 customers... you can check out my online store too :D

And Alycia spent the whole day with her koo poh who brought her along to her office and then for lunch, just the both of them. Later that night, my mil brought Alycia out for Thai food with my sil who just arrived from China.

How did you spend your Sunday?

Simple And Delish Homecooked Dishes

My mil is a great cook. She can mix and match and whip up a delish dish with whatever ingredients that she can find in the fridge. Every time there are leftover uncooked meat and veggie in the fridge, she can whip up something different that tastes good.

Here's a peek into what we normally have for dinner every night:

Fried fish or steamed fish. I can never go wrong with fried fish for that's my kids' favorite, mine too.

Pan fried Japanese tofu with fresh mushrooms...

Stir fried long beans with brinjal and preserved olives. The salty preserved olives are very flavorful and go well with veggie dishes and meat dishes.

My mil will leave us for a few months again very soon, this time to HK and NZ. Though I dread the thought of having to cook lunch and dinner everyday, there's no way I will get catered homecooked food again after our previous bad experience. My kids and I don't mind having fried eggs, omelette, fried fish and steam chicken in our menu every week. We rather have these simple dishes than having salty and oily catered food with burnt wok residue as toppings on the dishes everyday!

The Hilarious Fall Of Sherilyn's 1st Tooth

... and I think it will be an unforgettable one as it was really hilarious. It all started about a year ago when Sherilyn's right front tooth was knocked twice - once on her friend's knee and another time when she tried to walk through a glass door at Purple Cane restaurant and had her mouth smacked hard on the glass door OUCH!!! From then, the tooth became loose and about 2 months ago, it became really shaky and half the tooth was yanked out from the gums, making her look like a 'sau ngar por' LOL!! She looked really hilarious each time she talked or ate as the shaky tooth would dangle in and out of her mouth muahahahahah!!! I couldn't even stand looking at her mouth when she talked for I would be unable to control laughing out hard... which made her really mad... mad that her mummy was making fun of her. But I wasn't making fun of her, she just looked too too funny LOL!!

So back to the shaky tooth. After weeks and months of wanting to yank off the tooth herself (she chickened out each time we told her we wanted to bring her to the dentist to have the tooth extracted), one night it finally came off.... in a hilarious way. It started like this. I had asked Sherilyn to demonstrate to me some of the ballet movements that she had learned in class. While she was dancing, prancing and jumping, I saw her loose tooth dangling out of her mouth, to the point of almost dropping. I excitedly told her that the tooth was almost dropping and asked her to dance and jump harder... to which she did. She jumped and hopped as hard as she could and when she tried to pull it off, the shaky tooth was finally yanked off, without any pain! Everyone cheered for her and we were all very glad that her loose tooth which made her look terribly hilarious each time she talked and ate had finally descended. That night, the mummy tooth fairy put a dollar in an ang pow packet under her pillow. That's where her first tooth has been kept - in an ang pow packet, together with the dollar note and it will be for keeps for a long, long time... for her to see and maybe for her kids to see.

Sharing

Lately, #2 and #3 have been very chummy. About a month back, the 3 girls moved in to sleep with mah mah after they were scared off their wits by a a huge lizard who tried to play hide-and-seek with them, HAHA! I don't know why #2 has a sudden closeness with her baby sister ever since they moved in to my mil's bedroom. In fact, both #2 and #1 will 'fight' over Baby, each claiming that Baby is theirs and would insist that Baby should sleep on their bed! The fight turned out pretty ugly once when they had a tug of war over their baby sister, muahahahahahah!!! And the proud Baby was sitting on the fence, watching her sisters fight over her, as if she was a cuddly snuggly soft toy :D

Last night, Baby decided to snuggle up with me and sleep with hubs and I on our king-size bed. When #2 found out that Baby did not want to sleep with her, she was really upset, to the point of almost in tears! In fact this had happened several times and she bawled, saying that she could not sleep without Baby next to her!

Baby and Sherilyn lining up outside the church recently, waiting to walk to the front of the Sanctuary to contribute a portion of their CNY ang pow collection to the church.

My Saturday

My day passes by oh so quickly everyday. Being a WFHM who hardly ever have the time for myself, I never have to worry that life is a bore. I have too much on my plate now and really hope that I can reduce some of the nosh off my plate so that I can breathe easier while I take the time to enjoy whatever that's on my plate.

Today I woke up at 6am and did some work on the computer. At 7am, I went out for a jog, bought some meat and vegetables from the veggie man on van and then proceeded to work out in the gym. After breakfast, I started to do stock check, perform QA check and packed my customers' orders into courier bags. Next, fixed a simple lunch for my kids and got Sherilyn ready to attend ballet class. Later, I spent almost the whole afternoon doing revision with Alycia who will be sitting for her 1st term exam next week. Tomorrow we will be having buffet lunch at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Xenri @ Wisma Elken. It's a lunch to celebrate the birthday of our close friend, Alan Yun (local actor and model).

How have your Saturday been?

Mummy, I Found A Boy To Marry

Alycia and Sherilyn have always been telling me that they do not want to get married when they grow up. Time and again Sherilyn will reinforce her decision of not wanting to get married. She always tells me this "I don't want to get married because I don't want the doctor to cut my stomach to take the baby out" LOL!

But today she came home from school and stunned me with this :

Sher - mummy, you want me to marry a clever and rich boy is it? I already found a boy to marry.

Me - who???

Sher - Ricky Kiu

Me - who???

Sher - Ricky Kiu!!

Me - is he your classmate?

Sher - yup. But Berlyn said she wants to marry him too, so I cannot marry him.
(Berlyn is Sherilyn's best friend)

Me - Oh! So did you fight with Berlyn over Ricky?

Sher - no. Never mind, I will find another boy to marry lar....


See how naive kids can be with their thoughts and words. She made my day today :D

A Fairy Tale Wedding

One of the best weddings I had ever attended was that of my good friend’s held 5 years ago. It was indeed a wedding made in heaven and everything about the wedding was so detailed, well planned and organized. It was held at a lake-side of a well known holiday resort here. First was the speech by the wedding DJ who was as good as the Biloxi Wedding DJ followed by the wedding vows and ring exchange ceremony by the lake-side. Then everyone adjourned to the banquet hall for a sumptuous feast of Chinese cuisine. We were all entertained by the witty wedding DJ who made us all laugh with his amusing speech and tongue in cheek remarks about the bride and groom. There was also the usual champagne pouring, cake cutting and tossing on the stage.

When the wedding reception was about to end, the groom went up stage to sing their love song solo, then invited his lovely bride to dance. After their romantic dance, the couple invited other guests to dance and before we knew it, the entire dance floor was filled with guests doing cha cha, rock and roll and later ballroom dancing. Today, this lovely couple has been blessed with 2 lovely kiddos.

Pros and Cons Of Condo-Living

I had never liked the idea of living in a condominium until we moved in to our unit 2.5 years ago. My point of view of condo-living changed totally when I discovered how convenient it is to live in a condo. I enjoy the facilities at our condo very much, especially the gym and I feel very safe knowing that the security is very tight. We do not have to worry anymore each time it rains cats and dogs for we have sheltered car parks and most of all, we do not have to worry that our house will be swept away by a flood if it pours continuously. Everything that was on the ground floor of our double storey house was ruined in a great flood that came unexpectedly in March 2006. It was this disaster that prompted us to sell that house and move into a condo.

Condo-living has its downsides too. One of it is that if water leaks down to the unit directly below your unit, you are accountable for it, whether or not the leakage is directly caused by you or a fault of the condo maintenance. As long as the leakage is found to be from your unit, you have to bear all the costs related to the repair works. The contractor who did the renovation works of our unit did a shoddy job with the water-proofing of the bathroom floor. The owner of the unit directly below ours had complaint umpteen times that water was found leaking from their ceiling, which came from our bathroom. We had asked the same contractor to fix the problem and the cost of repair works for both our bathroom and the ceiling of the unit below was on us, all on us, which cost over two thousand bucks! This happened not once but numerous times, all at our expense. We were just unlucky that we hired this contractor who did a sloppy job. Next time, we better find a more meticulous contractor, like the Indianapolis Contractor so that we don't have to loose anymore money through their negligence.

Food Foundry @ PJ Section 17 (Happy Mansion)

Ever since the hubs tasted the chocolate cake and Mille Vanila Crepe Cake at Food Foundry, it seems like his taste bud for sweet cakes has been stimulated. He has been craving to eat chocolate cakes all the time and his craving is even worse than mine when I was preggers. Oh for your info, I did not have much cravings during all 3 of my pregnancies, thus my weight gain of only 10kg for all 3 pregnancies +_+

After days of craving for chocolate cakes from Food Foundry, we finally made a trip to this little diner after church last Sunday.

And here's what we had:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Nasi lemak set...

Fish and chips...

Vanilla Mille Crepe which is one of the signature cakes at Food Foundry.

Mille means ‘1000′ in French, so this very popular cake translates to 1000 layers of crepe. The crepes are layered on top of each other till they form a cake, and I heard that it is one of the only places in Malaysia that serves this unique cake.

Hubby's favorite chocolate cakes. The one at the bottom is peanut butter chocolate cake. I find it too thick and creamy for my liking. If anyone were to chomp down these 2 slices of rich, decadent cakes, she / he will need to exercise an EXTRA 15 minutes a day for 1 whole week to burn off the approximate 700+ calories gained in just 5 minutes! See how easy fat enters our body but always too hard to exit!

My cake-crazed hubs even took away a slice of tiramisu but as usual, the cake ended up in the fridge and I had to reluctantly finish it off with my girls. Don't get me wrong, I love cakes to bits but knowing how fattening these morsels are and how hard I have to work out later, I rather not step into a bakery so that I will not succumb to the temptation. I suspect my hubs gains satisfaction just from buying cakes!

From the facade, Food Foundry looks like a regular cafe but the food is delish. It is located in the heart of Section 17's Happy Mansion, a residential flats area. It describes itself as "Your Neighborhood Food Provider".

Add: Food Foundry, BG-8, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, PJ
Tel: +603 7955 3885
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10.30 am - 9 pm & Sat-Sun 9 am - 11pm

A Very Prepared Lil' Missy

Sherilyn may be a champion in dilly dallying but she is very well prepared for outings and trips. Each time we make a trip back to Ipoh and Penang, she will pack her own bag, not forgetting her lil' missy vanity bag which she keeps her bunch of hair accessories, costume jewelry, hair comb, a pair of two of sunnies, books, coloring books, pencils and all that jazz.

Whenever we go shopping or out for a meal, she will pack her sling back with some papers, a book, coloring book, color pencils, crayons, a few pens (so that she can let her sisters use), a cardigan or a dainty shawl, some hair accessories and anything that you can think of that a vain pot would stuff in her bag!

Oh yes, I missed out ruler! She even brought along a ruler when we went to Magnificent Fish And Chips for lunch!

Ranting On Maid Again

Just cannot stand that lady anymore. She turned into a bossy control freak about a year ago and now the bossiness has accelerated. Yesterday after shopping for groceries, while keeping the stuff into the fridge and storeroom, she tried to incite hatred and tried to start a fire between my mil and I by reporting to my mil that I still bought so much of this and that. She thought I was in the bathroom but I heard her reporting softly to my mil "tengok aunty, masih banyak beli lagi hehe" Who the h*ll is she to control what I buy and to report to my mil? That lady love yakking non-stop and most of the time, whatever that comes out from her mouth drives me bonkers. She even told Sherilyn this once "you die already ah, why you lie down to eat?" She also loves to use her body to push Sherilyn when Sherilyn is near her whenever she's carrying something heavy, as if to tell her blatantly, "move away!!" Oh yes, she did say "GO away" rudely many many times to my kids whenever she's busy and they are near her.

This afternoon, when Alycia returned from school, she told me that she did not eat anything in school. I was shocked to hear that as I had put a small box of honey stars into her bag last night. She told me that kakak took it out! Who the h*ll again is she to control what I put inside my daughter's bag and how dare she take it out without telling me? What a super super control freak she is.

Yesterday morning, she also used her feet to nudge Sherilyn's butt to wake her up. Knowing that Sherilyn does not like her to step-mother her around, she has to target Sher all the time. She and Sherilyn are like cats and dogs. That lady loves irritating Sherilyn to no end. She will playfully touch her butt and that lady will turn back to give Sher a killer glare with her vampire teeth ... and use whatever that she's holding on to attempt to hit her back, only to be caught by me most of the time. It's really a tit-for-tat case for that lady who has no patience at all with my kids. In front of our friends and relatives, she will transform into a maid sent from heaven with the sweetest smile and words, to gain liking from them. I can write and write and even a compile a book on maid horror stories but I shall end here. I have loads to do but I just have to vent out my frustration.

Fascinated By Scissors

If there is one item that can keep Baby occupied for over an hour, it has got to be the scissors. She seems to love the scissors and cutting papers with it. But she knows what she is allowed to cut and what not. She will only attack used papers and never on books or papers that are from my printer or cupboard. If I ever snatch the scissors away from her while she is busy at work, all hell will break loose for she will wail and throw herself on the floor.... while uttering "I don't friend mummy, I don't like mummy anymore!!"

Do you know what distracted her from her bout of cry-out session here? That thing is another item that can keep her seated still for at least half an hour.

A Princess Cake For A Princess Wannabe

We had the third celebration for Sherilyn's 6th birthday last night. It was a joint celebration with her little aunt who will turn 8yo this month. And it was a 3-day belated one for Sherilyn. When daddy opened the box cover to unveil the cake, my princess' jaw almost dropped as she gasped and exclaimed "Oh... my... GOD!" LOL!!! She was absolutely besotted and pleased with her princess jelly cake in rainbow color, her favorite set of colors.

Daddy even bought special candles that lit up like sparklers for the ceremonial cake cutting session.... and oh yes, we even let out firecrackers and the girls played with sparklers.

A very pleased princess with her rainbow princess jelly cake. And I think she was indeed treated like a true princess with 3 celebrations and showered with lots of pressies! She's way luckier than I was when I was her age!

Popping Supplements

Being a health freak, I pop a wide array of multi-vitamins and supplements everyday. I really do think that these vitamins and supplements can strengthen my immune system and improve my complexion. But don’t think that these vitamins and supplements are a miracle placebo. You also need to eat healthily, lead a healthy lifestyle, get enough sleep and exercise. Do you take any kind of vitamins or the best vitamins for women?

Phishing Websites

I often receive emails prompting me to change or confirm my username and password. Sometimes the email will prompt me to click on some links to verify my account details. If you have experienced the same situation too, these are scams by phishing websites, with con men masquerading as trustworthy entity. Whether you are shopping for rv insurance quote, clothes or other stuff online, be extra cautious when you have to release your personal information and banking details.

What Is Your Best Natural Treatment For Acne?

What is the best natural treatment for acne that works for you? For me, all I need is to drink lots of clean and filtered water, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise, stay away from deep fried and oily food, stay away from stress and getting sufficient sleep. Easier said than done, I meet most of the requirements except the last two. One of my new year resolutions is to get at least 6 hours of sleep everyday. I hope I can achieve this.

Tiny But Mighty

Our relatives and friends often comment that Cassandra looks very petite and tiny for her age. At 2 months shy of her 3rd birthday, she weighs 12kg now. But I am not worried at all that she is tiny or under-weight. I am not going to try to plump her up with hgh or food just so she looks chubby and cute. As long as she is healthy, does not fall ill easily and is developing well, I am already very happy.

Too Much Meat Jerky This CNY

My hubs bought too many packets of pork jerky and chicken jerky for the Chinese New Year recently. After giving them away to friends, we still have 3 unopened packets of honey bacon jerky and chicken jerky in the fridge. Not only are these meat high in protein, they are also laden with sugar and carbon. I dare not lay my hands on these meat too much less I get a bad case of sore throat and need to get the best acne treatments to rid those zits on my face.

Pep Talk With My Girls

Yesterday morning I had a pep talk with my girls. I have been trying to drum into their heads the importance of reading widely, doing well in school and graduating from university. I told them that if they want to live a comfortable life, getting good education is the key to the door of success which opens up to many opportunities, local jobs as well as overseas jobs which pay well. My girls need lots of pep talking, pushing and even threats to get them to read and to complete their homework. Without these, they will be glued to the idiot box from dawn to dusk!

The Eve Of Sherilyn's 6th Birthday

This year, we celebrated Sherilyn's birthday twice. Well, I think I should say thrice as we will be having a joint celebration with her little aunt who will turn 8yo this Saturday.

On the eve of Sherilyn's 6th birthday was a public holiday (15 Feb). So daddy brought us to Mid Valley to celebrate her birthday. We had lunch at Sushi Zanmai and then brought her to look for a gift.

After getting her a gift, daddy bought the girls Gellatissimo ice-cream, though Sherilyn was still having a slight cough with phlegm. Sigh, daddy is always a yes-man to his girls. Their wishes will always be his command!

See the blue dress Sherilyn is wearing here? I actually had it tailor made for Alycia from Niv Niv Handmade but when Sherilyn saw it, she fell in love with it. So I gave the dress to Sherilyn as her birthday present. She will get another dress from my online store for her birthday present.

Baby enjoying her ice cream on cone...

Renting Out An Apartment

This morning during a chat with a gym mate at our condo’s gym, I learned that the unit of condo that he owns has been left vacant for several years. He stays in a huge bungalow nearby but comes to the gym at our condo every morning to work out. I was perplexed as to why he did not want to rent out the unit, knowing that the rental rate at our condo can fetch a very handsome price, especially if it’s rented to expatriates. He told me that he felt it was too troublesome to rent it out. I was stunned to hear him say that it was troublesome to make money from renting out his unit! Well, I guess that is how rich people think. They buy a unit of condo just to enjoy the facilities and would leave the unit vacant!

If I have the money to invest in a condo, I would be worried sick if my unit were to be left vacant for a few months. I would be scampering to engage the best real estate agent to help me source for potential tenants. If you are looking for an apartment to rent, perhaps you can let me know. I will ask my friend if he’s interested to rent it out. But if you are living in Minneapolis and are looking for Minneapolis Apartments For Rent, do click on the earlier link ok!

She Ain't Heavy, She's My Baby Sister

Alycia and Baby share a very special bond. They adore each other very much and are the chummiest friends ever. But they do bicker and fight with each other at times. Just now, Alycia was playing with Baby and then she hit Baby's hand with the core of a kitchen paper roll. I don't know what made her hit her baby sister but I think she was just playing. Baby bawled and was really upset with Alycia. I carried her away but Baby was really angry with her jie jie and said this on top of her voice "I DON'T friend Alycia ANY... MORE! Alycia IS GROUNDED!"

But moments later, they were friends once again. See how kids can easily forget and let bygones be bygones.

Little Samseng

When mummy's busy, this little rascal sure knows how to entertain herself. She does it quietly too. Whenever I realize that the house is unusually quiet, I know trouble is brewing somewhere... I better do a spot check right away before disaster happens!

Samseng caught in action...

Cassandra And Her Doraemons

That's Cassandra drinking her daily dose of Nutrifresh and Refresh from E. Excel, something that she's been drinking since she was less than a year old. And joining her is her collection of Doraemon. She lost the baby Doraemon, which is a tiny Doraemon in red and she's been asking me everyday to look for her baby Doraemon. Her mah mah bought these Doraemons from Japan recently. Cute eh? Oh yeah, she also has a cute Anpanman tin toy that can spin on the floor that mah mah bought from Japan too. That Anpanman tin toy matches her set of Anpanman training pants so well. I'll show you that next.

Cell Phone For Alycia

After yesterday’s traumatic incident for me, I am really considering giving my old cell phone to Alycia for her to bring to school. I will then get myself a new iPhone or a blackberry phone but I must first speak to Alycia’s teacher about this. Alycia told me that students are not allowed to carry cell phones to school. I think the school can always allow some exception since it involves the safety of the child.

Radar Detector

When I was still working years ago, I would go over the speed limit and drive as if I were driving a racing car every evening, just so I could reach home early to see my 2 babies. I missed my babies terribly when I was still working. I had received speed tickets on several occasions and had paid several hundred bucks for speeding. If I ever go back to work and have to drive again, I will get a radar detector so that I don’t have to pay for speeding anymore.

No More Spoon-Feeding

I have been spoon-feeding Cassandra her milk thrice a day ever since she was a year old. She will turn 3yo in April 2011. For those of you who have gone through the throes of spoon-feeding milk to your toddler, you will know that it ain't an easy task. It takes lots of patience and time and for me, I need the tellie to distract her too! That's one of the cons of breastfeeding your baby direct from your boops without the use of a bottle. Most babies who are exclusively directly breastfed will reject the bottle.

I tried to introduce the straw to Cassandra about a year ago but she didn't like it. It's only recently that she got attracted to the straw. Now, I no longer need to painstakingly spoon-feed her milk 3x/day and 1x Nutrifresh-Refresh daily. Just give her the straw and she will happily suck all the contents and of course with some blowing and playing with the straw but that's A OK, as long as I don't need to spoon feed her. Keeping my fingers crossed that the novelty of the straw will not wear off on her!!

Monkey See Monkey Do

Monkey see monkey do. This position is an exact reflection of Sherilyn when she eats at the couch, in front of the idiot box. People often tell me that boys are naughtier, cheekier, more active and much more samseng than girls but I bet to differ. I have 3 girls who have a little boy side trapped in them!