Odd Couple

These are what Frappy carries around with her almost everywhere she goes. Birthday Barbie her jiejie and Pink Ranger her korkor. I suppose gender-blindness (or not?) is a good thing after all. Hah.

Jie jie & Kor kor

Wearing Child Safety Harness, Child Abuse?

A couple of weeks ago, we chucked Oli (as usual) at my mom’s and went shopping (!) and we brought Frappy (!!!) along! I don’t know how other parents do it, or rather how other kids stay calm and zen in the stroller all. the. time, because honestly, going out with Frappy is really very… energy sapping!

In the car, she decided to take the diva title from her mama,

and asked that I put MY sunnies on HER.

In the mall, she ran around and around and around and refused to get into the stroller. And so we had to chase her around and around and around until we got all out of breath. Very unglam, that much I can tell you.

Picture unrelated to the event. Just to drive a point. Haha.

Then after some good old power struggle, finally we got her into the stroller but we couldn’t “stroll”, oh no, sire! We had to push the stroller and go fast, like really fast, to keep her quiet (yes, we should just go to the jogging track instead right? Tsk. Such adrenaline junkie, this Frap.) 

AND THEN! Magic happened!

Shhh!

Someone fell asleep. In the stroller. Can you tell how excited we were???

We dashed to toys r us or mom’s care or mama care… or something to that effect, and bought a harness and leash set! 

An hour or two later, Frappy woke up and in her state of sleepiness, she allowed us to wear the harness teddy bear with a couple of clip ons on her and by the time she’s fully awake, she’s enjoying her new found freedom of walking hands-free!

  

And you’d think that’s the happy ending? Nuuu! With her walking hands-free now, she kept dashing towards the moving escalator! T___T But it was all good, at least we didn’t need to struggle with each other – one to break free, one to grab tighter. 

Interestingly, we drew some frowns and snickers from the older folks; I was initially pretty conscious about wearing a harness on my child because of what others would think. I’ve been reading up a bit about wearing child harness on parenting forums and stuff, it appears that the majority cannot accept parents “leashing” their child. Some cries child abuse -__-. 

But hey I figured if they can’t be there to ensure her safety or that she won’t get separated from her parents from all the blind running around, then just to *wherever* with their frowns and gawks la. The point is, my baby is safe within my reach when we are out. 

I don’t know, as conscious as I am about the whole thing (but that’s mostly driven by what others would think of us as parents!), I am quite OK with the idea. You? 

Easy Recipes For Kids: Pasta with Marmite

This is one of Nigella’s recipes which my bro intro-ed me to. While the combo of marmite and pasta just doesn’t sound too right, I assure you, it is really very erm, edible. No, seriously! Not to mention it’s quick to cook with almost no preparation needed; I’d say it’s a perfect go-to dish if you are too busy to prepare lunch for your kiddo (or even yourself!). 

This is the second time I’m making the dish; the first time I followed the recipe fully using spaghetti, I also added the 1 tbsp of reserved pasta water as instructed and it turned out too wet. That aside, I thought the result was a little bland, appearance-wise, so I sprinkled it generously with mozzarella and baked it for a cheesy, chewy meal. This time around, I used colourful spirally pasta and I simply omitted the pasta water and added mixed veges. It turned out much better!

Nigella posted the basic recipe on her site and here, I’m sharing my version, using hers as a base. Do try it and let me know if the recipe’s a keeper or a bummer :)

Edit: Simplified the steps! 

Pasta With Marmite

Ingredients:

Any kind of pasta
½ to 1 cup of frozen mixed veges
50g butter
1 teaspoon of marmite or more according to liking
Your choice of grated cheese (optional)

1. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, according to instructions. 1 or 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add in the mixed veges. Once done, drain the water, set pasta aside for later. Add a small chunk of butter and a teaspoon of marmite into the pasta+vege combo, mix well and serve with grated cheese.

2. In a saucepan, melt the butter, and add in the marmite, mixing well until dissolve. Remove the sauce from heat, and stir in the pasta + mixed vege combo. Serve with grated cheese, if you like. 

Do you have an easy recipe to share? I’d love to hear from you!

Sisterhood

Dear God,

There is not one day that goes by where I don't feel immensely grateful to you. Such beautiful blessings you have given us, these two girls. Sure, when things get rough, I'd need my fix of greasy fries and cola drink, but when I look at them, I see Your love in their faces; I know I will move on, I CAN move on, because You believe in me, and above all, Your grace will make a way.

You know, God, these two simply adore each other! There are always free hugs, kisses, and giggles going around between them. It's amazing to watch them!

I pray O Lord, that this simple love will keep them together for all the days of their lives, this simple love will see them through every challenge, and this simple love will be the sugar glue that keep them together as, not just sisters, but best friends and above all, sisters in Christ that will uphold each other through the ups and downs of life. Jesus, bless my little ones, may they grow to be beautiful women of God and the pride of their Father in Heaven.

Thank you, dear God. For all that You've done and will do in our lives. Thank You...

Siu Yoke (Roasted Pork) Pizza

I just had to post this up! Too. Good! Imma gonna make this every week! OK chill, I'm just saying -.-

Growing Sprouted Onion

Awhile back I found an onion sprouting beautifully in my pantry, and so instead of tossing it out, I planted it! Look how beautiful the green was! 

The sprouting continued and it grew leaves and stuff as the days went on, I got very excited, and impatient. I read somewhere that when the “leaves” start to wilt, it’s time to pull it out, and so I waited and waited forever.

Alas, imagine my disappointment when it came out and greeted me with a bunch of scrawny roots! Maybe I pulled it out too early? Perhaps the pot is not deep enough for it to grow? Not enough nutrients and minerals? Bah! What a letdown!

Easy Recipes for Kids: Tuna Risotto

The Frap has been eating a lot of porridge since she’s started on solids. Even I got boring cooking it. So in a bid to feed something more… interesting (and definitely easy to cook!), I’ve been playing with some recipes and ingredients, hoping to get her to eat healthier, without losing the flavour.


To journal my experiments, I’ll be starting a new category here in my blog – Easy Recipes For Kids – for my own reference; I also hope it’ll be helpful for mothers or young mothers who have been experiencing severe headache from thinking of what to serve come meal time. I improvise a lot as I strive to keep the steps as minimun as possible haha, so feel free to modify to suit to your own convenience and your toddler’s liking! Happy cooking (and uh, feeding!)

Tuna Risotto

Ingredients:

Oil
Chopped onion
About a cup multigrain rice, washed
Chopped,cubed veges of different colours
A clove of crushed garlic
Tomato paste/sauce
A can of tuna fish
Salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a small pan and fry the onion for a few minutes, until softened.

2. Add the rice, veges, garlic, tomato paste, and 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered, about 10 minutes. Then drain the tuna and add to the rice mixture, stirring. Continue cooking, making sure to stir occasionally, until the rice is tender and creamy.

4. Lunch is ready, baby!

When To Send Toddler To Preschool?

Frappy is turning 2 soon, and that means it’s time for us to work out the whole education thing and start making decisions. And let me tell you, it’s painful! Painful because we have no clue whatsoever on where to start researching (ignorance! Tsk.); and then there seems to be endless choices out there – preschools, playgroups, nurseries, kindergartens, all kinds of development programs! And then there’s the question of when is the right time to send her to school/centers? Argh! My hair is turning white just thinking about this!

Here’s a little background.

Laikka boss cos I'm bored.

See, right after Frappy turned 1 month old, we started bringing her out with friends, attending church services and activities, and traveling regularly. She is excellent in the socializing department and is not shy with strangers. She loves hanging out with people – girls especially – older than her; and even though she loves playing and talking to children her age or younger, she is not good in being polite as she tends to get rough and would shove the other kid, she means no ill feelings of course, it’s just really embarrassing for us parents when her “please come with me” or “let’s be friends and go play together” is translated into action as grabbing or pushing.

She loves dancing and enjoys action songs. She can imitate the actions pretty well and I find her, erm, sense of tempo (?) is quite good as she can clap her hands according to the beat of any given songs. She is quite the drama princess too with all kinds of impromptu expressions.

She understands and is good with following instructions (only if she wants to. Pfft). She also enjoys “reading” by flipping the pages of books and magazines, and can get very engrossed, if not distracted. When asked to point out a certain object from a pile of flash cards or on a book, she can do so very well too, sometimes she would even pick the wrong object on purpose and then grin cheekily. Oh, and she lurves talking. For example, in the absence of a phone, she would just cup her ear with her hand and goes “huh? HUH? Bah day bah duh gabi orhk? Noh, NOH! Bah dah gah bi ka bir ka bir! Hahahaha!” And no, I kid you not. -.-

Making herself useful. And her mama proud

So anyway, that’s a general picture of who Frappy is at the moment – one pint size dramatic, super friendly, affectionate, talkative, crazily fun and LOUD kid. After some uh, deep soul searching, we are more keen on development programs (and then there’s the decision of what kind of programs to be made. Zzz) so that she will learn some specific skills and also how to interact with kids her age, instead of just chuck her in a preschool for the sake of joining the crowd, you know?

I don’t know! Are we even on the right direction? On one hand I do believe no place can give her the best attention compare with when she’s at home, obviously. All these schools and edu centers are after all, a business. Plus I won’t have her being a toddler for long before having to send her to kindie for good, so why rush it, right? But on the other hand there seems to be nothing exciting at home to occupy her anymore and I feel bad for her. On another hand still, we don’t want her to miss out on joining certain school stuff and do cool kiddie stuff due to parental ignorance. =.=. So. Yeah. Are you still with me? Cos I think I've lost myself somewhere! T___T

Parents out there! What are you guys doing with your toddlers? Clue this clueless momma please!

Nineteen Going On Twenty (Four)!

Frappy is just doing (and saying) too many new things that I have (to try my best) to jot them down here. She is nineteen months old now and is every bit a sweet pea!

Frappy says:
Kap – duck

Bop – frog

Mamiii - mom

Papa - dad

Popo – grandma
G’ng g’ng – grandpa (it’s this really weird but funny nasal sound she makes)
Diu diu – her uncle my brother
Jie jie – generally that’s how she’d address girls
Kaka – kakak
Kar – car
Ball – ball
Hai – hi/hello
Babai – bye bye
Xie xie – mandarin for thank you.
Vou vou – dog (used to call them dogs, but picked up the baby language – wou wou – for dog from somewhere and is stuck now. But instead of the common -w- sound, Frappy does it the mat salleh way – vou vou. Zzz.)
Nen nen – banana (can you believe it?! -.-)
Ees – please

Frappy does:
When getting ready to shower, she’d pick up and place the stool and her shower gel on the floor, before squatting down on her own and make the shhh sound (if that’s not obvious for you then I erm, let’s just forget it lah) and brush her own teeth with the toothbrush.

When eating (meals or snacks), she’d clasps her hands, bows her head, and sometimes shuts her eyes to say grace. These days, she’s picked up the habit of holding out her arms to hold the persons on both her sides’ hands when saying grace. It’s pretty darn cute when she seems so serious about it. Oh and when we are praying, she’d also bow and nod her head in agreement. Haha!

She enjoys waving hellos and goodbyes to everyone (known or unknown); while doing that she’d say haiii enthusiastically, and babaiii forlornly. Going to the hospital or strolling in our neighbourhood feels like doctor’s rounds for us (she being the doctor), given the way she greets and chats with everyone in sight. And she does it with utmost empathy for that matter. Like, seriously.

Whenever she picks up something with handles (bags, baskets, etc), she’d start dragging it in her arm towards the door while turning back intermittently to say babaiiii.

According to Jason, on a few occasions when he plays ball with her, she was able to catch the ball accurately.

When Oli sleeps, Frappy would ask us (by making the sound) to shhhh, and placing a finger in front of her lips.

She still loves dancing! You should see how she’d drop everything she’s doing when she hears a catchy tune and just stands up and dance! Upbeat, vigorous moves for rap, girly twirls for slower beats. It really taught me to just live in the moment.

Taught her how to do ballet twirls (with both hands above the head!) and she loves it! She'd twirl for ages, and I regret for teaching her because I need to keep humming that whatsitsname classical piece and it gets boring.

She still nods as a sign of thank you, but she’d say xie xie. I guess it’s easier to pronounce.

She’s learned her body parts! She can point to her fingers, toes, mouth, eyes, cheeks, forehead, chin, ears, nose, and tummy.

Sometimes I suspect she can understand complex sentences, just like an adult. When I ask her to “step on mommy’s feet” (to move and dance), immediately she would do so although that was the first time I gave such instruction. Or when I ask her to go pick something that she wants to wear after shower, she would go straight to her drawer and pull out something.

When asked if she wants milk, she’d go running looking for her bottle and bring it to me, flash me the biggest smile, nod her head, and scoot over to lie down on the couch and wait for her milk.

Needs to be independant now, by wanting to do everything on her own. Sometimes the power struggle goes on, like, when out, she wants to walk and explore the place on her own, which is dangerous, and when we insist to hold her hand, she'd fight to free herself, and she's unable to do so, she'd sit/squat on the spot refused to budge. So it gets tiring to bring her out. I definitely want to get that toddler leash and harness thing. Don't care lah what people think. Her safety is above all things.

Still loves Barney, and is pretty good in imitating lots of dance moves. The cool thing is, she remembers the sequence of the steps, and would do it even before the move takes place. And due to my divided attention for Oli, she entertains herself with a lot more cartoon time now :( which she enjoys (only certain cartoons like Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Aladdin. But not Snow White HAHA!). She learned how to play with her hair shyly from Mulan! And Bob the Builder does a good job in lulling her to sleep HAHAHA! My fav CD to play when I want her to nap.

Loves talking on the phone like a real aunty. Always requests me to dial for papa, popo, diu diu and goes to a corner to talk. -.-

Oh! She knows how to give shoulder massage AND asks for a massage.

She likes helping out. When she sees me sweeping, she’d go pick a broom; when she sees me hanging out clothes, she’d sit by and help hand me the hangers and pegs, and when I’m done, she’d push the laundry basket all the way back to the kitchen; when I bring in the clothes, she’d stand by the door to help me bring in the clothes (a piece at a time, of course); she’d pick up a random piece of cloth and start wiping the table; cool things like these.

She’s a darn good actress. She’s learned how to be shy by tilting her head just slightly lower to the side and twirl her fingers; how to be angry and acting all stubborn; how to be sad and how to burst out in tears by hanging her head low covering her face with hands, shaking her head dramatically when she’s got a scolding; and the list goes on quite a bit, and most of the time, she doesn’t mean any of them, she’s just acting out, trying her boundaries, because seconds later, she’d burst out laughing and give you the biggest hug.

That’s all I can remember now. Any more you’d fall asleep too, assuming you read this far. Haha. Oklah, check back later kthxbai!

About Oli. And Then Some.

Few days ago, Oli turned 3 months old. It was bittersweet for me because looking back, not too long ago, Frappy was 3 months old, too! And it was all so new, so sweet, and so exciting for us. I remember how I would carry her in my arms for hours on end and would find all the reasons just so that she could sleep on the bed with me. And now, look at her, a big girl who’d knock on the door gently and calls out to me ever so sweetly to get her after she wakes up from her naps in the room, instead of crying because she wakes up alone.

Well of course not that we are not excited about Oli or that Oli is not as sweet, far from that! It's just things are kinda different the second time around. Jason is busier at work with higher goals and expectations to meet; I get all tired out caring for 2 girls on my own whose age gap is so close and by the feeling of getting trapped with no escape route in the house with housework (and that doesn’t even include house cleaning!) all day long, I mean, what about my dreams? My plans? My career? And to think it’s gonna be like this for the next 20 years. Dear Lord, it’s just, exhausting, really.

Sometimes, I feel terribly guilty secretly, that I haven’t love Oli enough, that I haven’t spent enough time with her doing nothing, just basking in each other’s presence, that I don’t breastfeed her as much as I did with Frappy, that I hardly sleep with her on the bed, that I don’t take a million pictures of her every day, that I’m not as tender loving as I did with the firstborn simply because I don’t have the luxury of time to take things slowly, that I feel so stressed out at times and thus, she doesn’t get a 100% of her mama in the most patient ways, that sometimes I wish and hope my mom would take her and the sister away from me so that I can sit down and breathe for awhile. And I don’t dare voicing these sentiments out loud. For fear of what, I don’t know; being judged for such a horrible mother? Being look down upon? Feeling guiltier if the response was neutral instead of full-on supportive? Yeah, maybe. I mean, mothers the world over is doing this every day, so why do I have to be such a big baby about it, right?

But of course, I know full well that these are the ups and downs of life. I suppose it’s the same in most other situations each individual is in; it’s just something one goes through every day in different settings. So yeah, I complain, but I’m not all depressed and dying don’t worry (although Jason would beg to differ!) haha. I have meant to write about Oli’s growth progress in this post, but somehow side tracked and here we are. Ah well.

For the record, Oli is a total sweetheart (when it’s not her sleeping time, to which she’d become this crying screaming monster -_-). In fact, I’ve never met any other babies who are as responsive as Oli at this tender age. Right from the first month, she’s been gurgling when talked to, smile even! And then by second month, she’d demand to be carried/sit upright. When you put her down and hold her like you would a newborn in your arms, she’d pushed her head up with all her might. I suspect her eyesight is pretty focused too, because she’s never go cross-eyed, and can respond with an excited chuckle even if I was calling out to her from quite a distance away. And at the age of 2 months old, she’s gotten way chattier than when she was in her first month.

Now at 3 months old, she’s practically a smiling machine! Every time one of us turns to her, she’d flash us a sunny smile, and that just makes everything OK again. And she’d gurgle, and babble, and gibber all day through, be it on her own or when talked to. She gets cranky when left alone too long. When she's on her tummy, she can stick her head up like bobble head dog haha!

She now drinks 4oz of milk every 3 hours plus minus; goes to bed by 7pm, wakes up for a feed around 12am, and then sleeps through till about 6/7am. With Frappy, we never used a pacifier, but now Oli does. Some say it's a bad habit to start, some say it's good. I'm not sure, but I guess in different situations bad things can be helpful and vice versa; and in this sense, it helps me in putting her to sleep rather effortlessly, without having to lie down with her and pat her forever. So yes, for the convenience of the mother, Oli is started on a pacifier.

Just the other day – the first day after she turned 3 months old – I was pleasantly shocked to hear her laughed! A hearty, vigorous laugh that lasted a few seconds each time, and that’s because I tickled her lightly on the cheeks! I was taken aback because firstly, I thought it was Frappy and Frappy wasn’t in the room with us then, so I was like, who the heck just laughed like Frappy?! Come out right now!!! Zzz. I know. And secondly, I never knew young babies can respond to such stimulus and wouah, laugh! OK, maybe I was just plain ignorant and actually all babies do laugh like that, but hey, nobody told me! I actually caught the laughing act on camera and it amazes me endlessly every time I watch it.

Last time, with just one baby, Frappy went to bed according to our schedules – she got to go out with us everywhere – as a result, she’s very accustomed to noisy environment and would sleep through most everywhere. In came Oli and this practice goes down the drain because going out with two babies is more tiring than fun for us parents, one because Frappy is at this toddler age where you need to constantly keep an eye on her, and she's so friendly?! What if she follows some indon lady and never come back? T__T plus Oli is fussier with her sleeping and milk time, everything has to be on the dot. So end up, I began to need the comfort of being at home and I shy away from outings. Going out makes me jittery, for I don’t know when Frappy will misbehave (and I can’t calm her by letting her watch her Barney videos in the safe confinement of her cot), and I don’t know when Oli will start screaming (because she’s overtired and by then, there’s just no way you can calm her down without you breaking down in the public). I begin to need familiar routines.

So there, who says being a second time parent is a piece of cake? Haha! OK, so at least not for me. The only cake-like experience is I don’t get too paranoid as compared to the first baby, i.e oh dear she’s gonna die because she’s not finishing her milk 2 times in a row! Oh no, she’s gonna grow worms in her tummy because I only rinse her bottles with just hot water during night feeds instead of sterilizing it in the sterilizer! I think I better go check on her again (for the 104th time in 5 minutes), what if she gets this SID or the bed sheet mysteriously wraps her up and choke her to death?! You know, stuff like that.

Alright, so all these aside – my stress level, the endless housework, the getting trapped at home the whole day everyday – I am, no doubt, honestly, extremely thankful for a newborn as cheerful as Oli, and a toddler as friendly and loving as Frappy. Really. I won’t say it’s all worth it, because that’s not how I’m feeling right now and it’s cliché, but it is something I will continue doing, to nurture and raise these 2 girls as best as I can simply because I love them, instead of say, send them to babysitters so that I can go out and bring in my share of dough; and I know, it’s a responsibility God has bestowed upon me and that He’s grace will definitely see me through this season of life.

Haha. So much for a report on Oli’s growth progress! But yeah, at 3 months old, how much do you expect a baby to be able to do? Anyway I can’t wait for her to grow a little older so that I’ll have more things to brag about in this space :D Until then, here we go with the bottle washing again! :)

Last Night

Pizzas, movies, sleeping babies. Just can't ask for more. /heart/

The Signs

You know the terrible twos? I think it’s hitting me already. Maybe it’s the teething, maybe it’s the frustration of unable to express herself and getting what she wants, Frappy wants me to be where she wants me to be, doing what she wants me to do, like, NAO! MOM! NAO! DROP EVERYTHING (living, i.e baby Oli or dead) AND COME TO ME NAO! Walao, srsly. Zzz.

Most days, by 3pm, we’d both be worn out by each other and ready to call it a day, but the problem is, it’s only three pee em! Bedtime’s still a long way to go. T_T Being the drama queen that she is, sometime’s when she doesn’t get what she wants (after all the sweet mommeees and pleaseeees), she’d squat down, cover her face (peeping from between her chubby fingers), and fake cry. And when she sees that I’m not responding, she’d come over to me, tap my knee, go back to her original spot, cover face, and start fake crying again. -___-‘

I don’t know to cry or to laugh. Usually I’d do both. I do impress myself so. Ha!



My drama princess #1 (let's not even start on the #2)

When Nose Pump Is Out Of Reach

Frappy caught a cold and though she is not too fussy and still cheerful, the runny nose does bother her especially when she sleeps. And being the awesome mother that I am, I always, always forget to buy a baby nose pump for times like this /stabself


Maybe it’s the maternal erm, creativity (? Haha!) that was triggered by the sight of a suffering child who couldn’t sleep and breathe and lie down, my head just went LIGHT BULB a la Gru and I dug out this baby:



Plastic Syringe

And it works just as well (but OBVIOUSLY please be careful when you poke that thing into your baby’s nose, because the head is so slim, unlike a nose pump's which is specially designed for the shape of a baby’s nose, like, you don't know it already. Don't go and cucuk and hurt an already suffering child and come blame me ok T_T)!

Now, really, nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing glob and globs of mucous being sucked out. /happymamamode. Oh wait, /undohappymamamode, cause I just remembered how Oli is at risk to the virus, being a baby and all, and so exposed to Frappy! T___T Story of my life. T___T

Moments Like This Are Rare. Like, Srsly Rare.

Both Jason and I had a sudden case of food poisoning for no good reason over the long holiday weekend, but that didn’t damper MY plan for some almost-me time! Was planning to send the girls away on Sunday night, but had to do so earlier due to our, erm, condition and didn't want to jangkit them (and apparently we parents weren’t missed one bit by them girls during our absence T_T then again, maybe it's a good thing. Haha).


Anyway, in view of my super lazy bug attack (as usual), here’s a photo blog post to capture my awesome weekend (minus the toilet-runs and the crazy beeyotch of an ulcer because Frappy accidentally head- and knee-butted me, twice! On the upper lip! At the same spot! GRR).

My first visit to a board game café! Played a ditzy game called Cloud 9 with some crazy people and won the game, too!

With super good cards! Got 2 wilds 2 times! Take that!

Had McD's and chatted rubbish with the crazy people till the wee hours, which was especially refreshing cause you get to laugh at lame jokes and gorge junk food without a care of diaper-changing time and go home late!

The next day, splurged on lunch at



And finally got my wardrobe some polka dots and a splash of orange!

  

Had meant to grab some coffee and quiet time to read or something, but someone’s missing the girls way too much to allow me the luxury so, off we went back to reality of being slaves parents.

I hope your weekend was as good if not better! Here’s to the next delicious me time (and I'm telling you I can’t wait already)!

*Deep Breath* And Here We Go Again





Here’s to a new chapter of never ending diapers, milk bottles, screaming, crying, and of course, love, laughter, and God’s grace – as we welcome little Olivia Halle Jason into the world. 

Thank you all for your concerns, prayers, and unceasing support throughout these past crazy 9 months! It has been one heck of a ride, fuh! :) 



Frap-Less For A Day!

Was to due on the 31st! Alas, an EDD is just what it is, an EDD. There's no sign of the little one yet! Disappointed? A little, but no one will be pregnant forever, I'm definitely positive she will arrive soon, like duh.

On a different note, on the 30th we chucked Frappy with the lovely Catherine and Diana for a day, while Jason and I dashed off to One U like two overly excited kids! It was such a liberating feeling, haha! We walked and shopped 5 hours straight. Plus, we didn't need to swallow our food, I mean, we get to chew every grain of rice AND actually sit down for coffee! Oh the bliss!

And looks like we were not the only one enjoying the freedom. A few calls and smses exchanges told us that Frappy too, was having the time of her life without two crazy parents hawkeyeing over her. She went to the park, she had her tea time, she got to chat with Daisy the Labrador forever, she was carried around being pampered like a princess, and she got to have a bottle of milk right after she had her dinner, not something she gets everyday!

All those running and walking and shopping did us all good individually that day, because we all slept through. Well, at least I did! (Frappy didn't stir one bit till 10 the next morning! Hee!)

Of Ayam Kurma, Nutella, & Cinnamon!

Been acting very erm… motherly, lately! Cooking and baking and ironing clothes! I do amaze myself sometimes. Must be the pregger hormones!


What I’ve been up to in the kitchen recently:

Chicken & Lots-O-Root-Veges Kurma

You can't really see the chicken because this is leftover from dinner! OK, it might not look very appetizing (I like stewy, one-pot-cooks-all stuff like that), but man I tell you! This is da bomb! Here, I just had the leftover with toasted sunflower seeds bread for lunch. YUM!

 

No Bake Nutella Cookies

OK, visually superbly unpresentable. But the recipe says "drop it quickly on the wax paper" So I got very kancheong and antsy when it came to that step, and anyhowly just drop every blob abruptly and very quickly. erm, so maybe the measurements are not right either, because I didn't use proper measuring equipments? So they didn't set very well. They sat out on the table the whole day and were still gooey, in the end I had to freeze them in the freezer. Brought them to home-life, and everyone very give-face-ly had one. But it's really not that bad lah. Erm alright, I rest my case. -.-

No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls

I woke up wanting to eat these stuff so much, I had to google the simplest recipe, and bugged my sister to bake it with me at night. I was so gungho about it that I drove all the way to my mom's place at night to get these done. Since it was our first time making these, it obviously didn't turn out very well, too sweet and dough-y for our liking - we overdid on the sugar and cinnamon and rolled the dough too thin. But, hey! It feeds the craving! :)

Elephant Is Me

I have lost count on which week I am in now! All I know is that I am suppose to due on the 31st this month, so I am counting days. Every now and then I can feel this sudden tightness or punch on my lower abdomen and it’s so uncomfortable. Zzz. Just yesterday I was starving while preparing lunch, and just as I was laying out the food and cutleries, getting ready to dig in, I felt a sudden stop-you-mid-track punch and I thought, O__O oh God, not now! Not when just my food’s ready. I want to eat!!! I need to eeeeattttt!!! T___T And then it went away =)


Sleep is difficult too, especially at night. Most nights I would dilly-dally till 3am, and still! I kept waking up every 15 minutes and it’s annoying, and by 7am Frappy’s up! Urgh, end this thing already T____T

On a different note /radom/ look what I found laying on the couch this morning when I took my eyes off of Frappy for a sec:

Frappy's *ahem* perspective

When I saw it I was mighty impressed, I mean, look! The cubes were neatly laid out in one straight line (ber-perspective somemore ok!)! *tearsofjoy* Now, let me give you a bit of background: Frappy is never interested with her toys, toys for her age. She prefers remote controls, handphones, clothe pegs, hangers, CDs, pens, books, anything and everything that a toddler is not supposed to be playing with.

And tried as I have, to play and teach her the concept of inserting the cubes into the shape sorter toy, she did it once twice, and then guess what she did after - remove the cover, put all the cubes into the tray, and cover the sorter back, and give me the widest, proudest ma-I-did-it smile. -_____- I'm not sure if I should cry or praise her. Anyone?

Anyway. Yeah. We’ll see, if some fanciful, bombastic talents entail out of this! Haha! /ambitiousmamamode

OK, off to the hospital for another checkup I go now (and endless waiting! Zzz).

Nineth July

Really, there's nothing else to say. You know I know what's going on in this country. We've been too blinded and ignorant in the past - sure, for the lack of technologies. But now with all the information and education we received, if we continue to adopt the close-one-eye attitude, then that's downright irresponsible, and we have no right to complain, not even when you get stuck in the traffic and you want to complain about the transport system. Absolutely no right.

So now that you know I know what to do, we'll take on them giants, however impossible they are, with the Might of God, and see them at the ballot box.

Kaki Clubbing

We are finally home after being away for 5 days in Penang and Ipoh! Nothing beats home, no matter how dirty and dusty it is! Heh!


So anyway one night after dinner during our stay in Penang, we went for a little walk in the hotel’s lobby (did I mention already? Frappy can now walk a little distance without being held! And boy has she found her freedom. Zzz. But she still can’t stand up on her own haha!) and we were all drawn in by the hotel’s lounge live band... uh, does one singer + one keyboardist combo consider a “band”? Anyways! Frappy was particularly attracted to all the singing and music going on in there, so we decided to just go in and chill.

And it was here, that both Jason and I look forward to when Frappy is old enough and we can all go clubbing together one day. I mean, she was going nuts over the music! Jigging, shaking her booty, throwing her hands in the air, shaking her head, messing her hair, clapping, dancing with the waiter, and getting on stage for special appearances! -_-

At first I was going all stingy to go in and order drinks, because it was so expensive! Not to mention we were so full from dinner. But at the end of the little visit to the lounge, I kinda felt good. I realized sometimes money really can’t buy you the special moments and experience. And I’ve bought mine with RM12 only mah huhu (that's the price of a slim glass of orange juice =_=).

Kaputed after some hardcore night out clubbing.