dot mommygene's

Facebook

2010-05-17T23:42:00.004+08:00

Catch up with me on Facebook!

A rocking moose

2010-03-04T00:55:00.004+08:00

Believe it or not, James picked up this rocking moose from the rubbish dump at our void deck. Lil' moose was injured, one of its leg cracked but our handyman managed to nurse it back into shape. There wasn't any other defect, and I couldn't be more pleased with James picking this up! The girls loved it of course! Lil' rocking moose is their favorite toy for now!

Lia and her drawings

2010-02-25T00:18:00.005+08:00

Lia has grown. Her drawings, have grown too. Instead of the messy scrawling, she now draws. She loves to draw for almost everyone, for me, for her teachers, for her friends, and the list goes on.

These two sheets were actually for her Chinese teacher whom told the class to draw some trees.

I am ashamed that I took her words lightly, gave her some recycled paper and left her to it. She came back today and told me that her Chinese teacher was happy to receive the pictures, and that only two of them, herself and another boy in her class actually submitted their work. And that the boy used proper (and stiff) drawing paper unlike hers. I also regretted not giving Lia her color pencils (James temporary confiscated her set as she'd left it lying around but I kept some spare ones), Chinese teacher asked Lia why her pictures wasn't colored.

So today when she asked, I promised her proper drawing paper and her big set of color pencils. She hasn't enough time to finish coloring, I hope she can do it tomorrow morning so apple tree goes to school nice and cheery!

I don't wanna get down!

2010-02-24T23:58:00.002+08:00

Baby Zann refusing to land when mom tries to put her onto the play-mat!

The girls

2010-02-22T00:09:00.004+08:00

Baby Zann walked!

2010-02-21T00:44:00.003+08:00

We were at Uncle Charlie's house for a CNY dinner when we sort of force Zann into walking! Well, we all knew she was ready, and we've been trying hard all along to entice her into doing so. She did whined quite a bit just now, but we were all too happy and put that aside!

CNY gift for teachers; sticky bars?

2010-02-10T23:00:00.004+08:00

I told Lia that we gonna give something to her teachers for the CNY but promptly forgot about it. After dinner, Lia packed her school bag and told me she had prepared the biscuits. I asked, and she said she's bringing sticky bars to school for her teachers for the CNY!

Haha, she didn't know that I bought Ferrero Rocher chocolates! The sight of that four Quakers sticky bars in her bag kept me smiling throughout when I was snapping pictures.

Peace!

2010-02-09T23:19:00.004+08:00

My mom has gone back to spring clean her house, it ain't an easy task caring for a preschooler, and a pre-walker!

Kite Flying

2010-02-07T23:47:00.006+08:00

James, has a new hobby.

And our little ding-dong, is happy.

The baby sort of blends in...

And the mommy remains as she is.

SPROUT.SG Web-store

2010-02-03T17:14:00.019+08:00

My number 3 baby which took forever to set up.

Of which explains my late nights,

Of which explains my disappearance every now and then.

I herein present... My new web-store, www.sprout.sg!

Eric & Hsing Yee got married!

2009-12-22T18:00:00.002+08:00

My cousin Eric, got married last Friday! ;D

Their wedding car decor has a lilac & purple theme, I LIKE! Click on the collages for a bigger view and you'll see it.

Coincidentally it was James' birthday and it seemed like it that we were celebrating for him too, haha! Except that he didn't get any presents or red packets, oops, LOL!

Well, very soon, I guess, we'll see either a lil' Eric or lil' Hsing Yee toddling around!

Lia turned 5!

2009-12-22T17:38:00.007+08:00

(Click on collage for a bigger view!)

Top left, moving down: Hello Kitty Cookies, paper tiger from Muji craft booklet, red packet from her grandma, mom-and-daughter camera necklace from ME!
Second Column from left: Lia posing with a candle, Lia happily leaning over her birthday cake from Four Leaves!
Third Column from left: Lia and bunny Nobbi, a present from Dee the yee-ma, Lia and yee-ma checking out the Muji craft booklet, also a present from Dee the yee-ma!
Fourth column from left: Lia looking happy with her cake, close up of her Four Leaves chocolate cake, Muji craft booklet from Dee the yee-ma!
Last column: Piggy Princess cup from James, letter "A" from the Muji craft booklet, the other side of letter "A"...

Harlo?

2009-12-22T11:55:00.003+08:00

Mom was on the phone with Aunty Vivien when Zann picked up the remote control and went: "Uh, uh..."

Splashing good time

2009-12-19T22:48:00.005+08:00

I was hand washing some clothes when Zann crawled into the bathroom...

Updates on Baby Zann (8 months)

2009-12-12T10:25:00.004+08:00

Time flies, Baby Zann is now 8 months old! I haven't been a diligent mommy, I was tired from blogging and I sort of went off it. I did not keep much records of what, and when Zann did her stuff unlike Lia's time.

Zann started crawling when she was 5 months+. She quickly progressed to sitting at 6 months, and then pulling herself up to stand. And, she is in fact now cruising around the house! She is more advanced than Lia in hitting her milestones; I am surprised, and pleased, and really proud of her! :D

We started her on organic cereal when she reached 5 months, she took to it rather well and have developed her own preference to the different foods we offered. Besides milk; both breast and formula, Zann eats bread with us at the breakfast table, has her organic brown rice or oatmeal cereal at lunch, I sometimes add on a portion of mashed vegetables at dinner, my mom feeds her fruits after dinner, and etc. She is eating so much more - variety, as compared to Lia at this stage, and she has even tasted ice fruit jelly! I was way too concerned in letting Lia try out different foods and rigidly stuck to her staples only.

Some of Zann's mashed pumpkin here.

Oranges are fine for 6-month old babies... No?

Zann loves music and her sister. She shakes her bum to the music from her electric guitar, and she laughs when Lia does even the simplest funny action. Watch this video; Zann has ventured into the bathroom when Lia was pooing; after-which I heard her laughter...

And like her sister, Zann too watches excitedly when the washing machine is in action.

The remote control

2009-12-12T00:50:00.006+08:00

Hair drinks water like her plant?

2009-12-10T00:31:00.006+08:00

Lia and I had this cute conversation few nights back.

Lia: "Mommy, I wash my hair and then it'll grow long, right."

With that, I started thinking about the massaging of our scalp when we shampoo our hair; of which does promote hair growth...

Me: "Yes. :) How did you come about that? Ah Ma told you?"

Lia: "Because like my plant, when it drinks the water I give, it'll grow tall. Then my hair drinks the water when I wash it and it'll grow long!"

Me breaking into laughter: "Oh, ya... No, not that way, Lia..."

Lia cooked fish balls

2009-12-07T23:45:00.002+08:00

It's been quite a while since I had Lia cooking with me. And today for dinner, Lia helped cooked fish balls!

Lia's new shoes

2009-12-07T00:08:00.005+08:00

Right on time for my cousin's wedding and Christmas! Well maybe, Chinese New Year too!

Lia dumped the initial pair of Mary Janes in black leather (it was a pair of Clarks) and started complaining on its size when she saw me picked this pair out. She tried it on, happily declared that it was good and she wanted it. James and I we happily paid for it too for this costs less than half of what a pair of Clarks would be!

It even has a little heel, cute!

Girly heels, S$23.90 from Metro Paragon
(Original priced at S$ 29.90, there was a 20% discount!)

P/S: Yes, the super procrastinator mommy is finally back to blogging.

Ooh, comfy...

2009-11-28T23:00:00.001+08:00

Bedside water glass

2009-09-12T00:06:00.007+08:00

Simple and nice idea from Martha Steward, I like!

Seated in a McDonald's high chair

2009-09-11T15:24:00.004+08:00

Lia's 喜怒哀乐

2009-09-07T11:58:00.003+08:00

哈哈, 大姨妈的杰作!

Bottoms-up baby Zann!

2009-09-01T22:54:00.004+08:00

Boh-geh!

2009-09-01T22:51:00.001+08:00

I am forever teasing baby Zann on this! LOL!

Lia, the annoyingly adorable one

2009-09-01T22:45:00.002+08:00

A pocket album for my mom

2009-08-26T15:34:00.014+08:00

The Studio Loft - Little Big Shots (Zann)

2009-08-20T22:48:00.004+08:00

Finally uploaded the photos, view slideshow here!

Breakdown of the charges:

Little Big Shots (LBS) package, with returning customer discount: S$ 120 - 20% = S$96
Additional person: S$45 (S$15 each for James, Lia and myself, 5R entitlement^ for each)
Photos that c/w the package: 1x S8R, 7 x 5R (4 + 3)
Additional photos: 11 x 5R @ S$15 ea = S$ 165
Total number of photos: 1 x S8R, 18 x 5R
Total amount: S$306

^Note: The 5R photo entitlement for additional person for the LBS has since been taken off.

Zann's hair shave @ four months

2009-08-14T16:53:00.000+08:00

She, snoozed through it and only woke up when Vince shaved her eyebrows. And she didn't even blink while at it!

Food tasting

2009-08-12T16:06:00.006+08:00

Baby Zann turned four months and we gave her a food tasting session!

Mainly table food, Baby Zann's very first taste of solid foods include brown rice, stir fried scallions and carrots, steamed fish, steamed chicken drum stick and old cucumber soup! It was her feeding time and she sucked hungrily on the slice of carrot, whining for more when I removed it from her mouth. She tasted the fish but didn't quite know how to work it yet and it came out again after a while. And the steamed chicken drum stick which was cooked specially for Zann ended up in Lia and my stomach after that, haha!

Look outside

2009-08-11T08:56:00.005+08:00

Babes

2009-08-06T22:43:00.002+08:00

Pig's skin

2009-08-05T10:00:00.002+08:00

Ordered chicken rice for Lia, James and myself, we had bak-kut-teh and stuff. Lia saw the stewed pig's skin left on our plates and asked what was it. I told her that's pig's skin and Lia asked if she could have it - she loves chicken's skin to begin with. James and I, we wide-eyed each other, and I then nodded my head at Lia.

Mom told us pig's skin's good as it is chocked full of collagen, (and cholesterol) and if the kid likes it, by all means she can eat it. So, our subsequent visit without Lia, we packed and brought it back for her...

Well not all for her, I am already shuddering at the thought of pig's skin and so, I cut it up, hid the main portion and gave Lia a kid's serving.

Flipped!

2009-08-03T23:21:00.006+08:00

Hammock

2009-08-02T09:10:00.005+08:00

Baby Zann snoozing in the hammock; brings a smile to my face instantly.

Mom has gone home for the weekend with Lia and so, it's just me and the baby. It brings back memories, of the time when it was just Lia and myself... I don't know if baby Zann is an easier baby by nature, or was it due to the facts that I have had prior experience with Lia, or maybe now that I have mom helping me; my house is cleaner, neater, and my moods were calmer this time round.

Sassy snack cups and her junior chair from IKEA

2009-07-31T23:00:00.012+08:00

Wished I'd found these earlier!

Sassy perfect size snack cups, S$ 8.90, a blue-tag item at Metro. More details in here.

The Gasell junior chair, S$ 65 from Ikea.

The infrared thermometer at school

2009-07-31T22:22:00.005+08:00

Some days back when the H1N1 started coming around us, I asked Lia if she have had her temperature taken in school.

Me: "So the teachers used a ear scan on the children?"
Lia: "No, not the ear one."
Me, the suaku me: "Then what? How they take your temperature?"
Lia: "Like that one..." And she tried demonstrating on how her temperature was being taken.
Me, still being suaku: "Huh? What? I don't understand you."

Lia then drew me this after our lunch...

Oh well, I didn't know their school had progressed to the infrared thermometers...

The Studio Loft - Little Big Shots (Zann)

2009-07-16T23:29:00.003+08:00

The photos will be ready in two weeks time, I can't wait! ;p

Fiddle, fiddle, with her hair

2009-07-14T08:57:00.017+08:00

Lia makes my bed

2009-07-11T11:38:00.003+08:00

Lia sleeps with me rather frequently these days and I'd rope her in to help make up my bed on weekends. I walked in just now to see her plushies being propped up nicely, it was cute, and it warms my heart too.

Backdated entries: Lia's overnight bag, my hospital bag, and diapers stock-up

2009-07-01T22:52:00.005+08:00

Lia's overnight bag , My hospital bag , Diapers stock-up

Zann's baby talk and laughter...

2009-06-30T23:21:00.011+08:00

At around 10 weeks old, baby Zann has grown into the cooing and blabbering phase! And if you're lucky, she'd be laughing adorably at your antics. Lia managed to do that just yesterday! She was playing around and throwing her hand at baby Zann; this simple action got baby Zann so tickled that she started laughing!

And after her milk, baby Zann would either be so stoned that she'd doze off, or, if she's not sleepy, she'd be in a really good mood and start baby-talking to you!

Link to backdated entry - Lia's promotion gift

2009-06-19T23:39:00.002+08:00

Lia's promotion gift

Updates: After receiving the gift from us, Lia was clearly excited. She dug out the Kinder Joy chocolate egg and handed everything else back to me asking me to help her hold them. She then proceeded to ask if she can eat up the egg NOW. I sat wide-eyed on my hospital bed (I was packing up to be discharged), looked down at the poor forsaken Bambi and big-sister tee in disbelief... I was waiting for Lia to yell out loud on how cute the Bambi is and how she loved her big-sister tee shirt, of which she did none. I pulled her in, distracted her from the chocolate egg and tried enticing her with the cutie Bambi but she disappointed me once again and went back to asking if she can eat the egg already. James who was watching for Lia's reaction shook his head and went back to packing my stuff.

(Some) Backdated entries published!

2009-06-18T01:27:00.003+08:00

I've got several backdated entries on my pregnancy, preps and baby Zann. Just gone through them and have published a few. Click on labels "baby Zann" to see them. More to come, going to bed now...

The Studio Loft - Bloom

2009-06-12T00:44:00.008+08:00

And so, we're back to The Studio Loft again and this time round, I took up their Bloom package.

As a returning customer, I automatically got a 20% discount and Lia gets in for free. :) Actually James too but he wasn't keen as he was too stressed up with work. I didn't force him to join us, and that made him feel better so he came along to watch. I'm glad that he's around to help lug my heavy tote, and he took care of Lia while I did my sole (and nude) shots. Am too shy to upload my nude shots so meantime, here's what we've got!

As usual, I need to log the charges in here as a record.

Bloom sitting: S$144 (S$180 - 20% discount)
*Includes 1x super 8R and 5x 5R prints.
Topped up for additional 8x 5R prints: S$120 (S$15 x 8)
Total amount I paid: S$264

Here's the Little Big Shots photo shoot we did before.

She found her fist!

2009-06-11T23:58:00.006+08:00

PND brought a change in me recently, I actually find housework therapeutic. Just finished my chores and had my third shower for the day, I feel great, and very ready for bed now.

Here's a video I took of Zann yesterday. :)

Postnatal depression

2009-06-09T23:00:00.006+08:00

It started on the third day after giving birth to baby Zann.

I had finished feeding Zann and decided to lay her down on my bed. The baby had dozed off and Lia was beside us looking down at her baby sister. I then started feeling a little down. At the same time, baby Zann stirred, and started to cry. An emotional rush hit me and I found my tears flowing. I quickly went into my adjourning wardrobe area where I started sobbing. I came out a while later slightly more composed as I realised Zann was still crying. Lia saw me and asked why I'm crying? She said, "Why you cry? Like mei-mei... Why you cry?" I couldn't reply and shook my head implying it's nothing and all's fine as I picked up baby Zann.

From that day onwards, I started getting negative thoughts. It was especially bad in the mornings when Lia had gone to kindy, and James off to work. I had looked forward to Lia being a big sister, sensible and all grown up but now, I am missing the moments when there were just the two of us. No James, no baby Zann, just the two of us by each other's side. James had a demanding job so it was always Lia and myself; we shared meals, shared ice-creams and snacks and tidbits. We shared the bathroom and showered together, and we shared my bed, and took naps and slept till dawn together. It was just the two of us and we had clearly bonded very well for the past four years and more.

I started to have regrets on having baby Zann. I thought that she had disrupted our lives and I couldn't help but missed those good old days. I just couldn't visualise any happy times with baby Zann and as I dwell on the fact that those days would never come back again, my regrets grew deeper. I got very upset and would break down in tears whenever those thoughts came into me.

Every morning, after James and Lia leave the house, I'd stand at my window and look out for Lia's school bus eyeing it until it went out of sight. I didn't bring her down as I was in confinement, I would have gotten my way if I insisted but I didn't and so James took over temporarily. I wished for James to stay home with me; and he could only do so for the first couple of days. I was blaming myself; why had I bothered having a second child? I thought I'd brought it upon myself having to start from scratch taking care of a new baby when Lia's getting independent.

At the same time, Lia kept wanting attention and she wasn't behaving well - I knew it's always like that when a new baby comes along, but at that time, it made me very guilty as I had brought it upon her. We had to start being stern with her, and scold her, of which I'd hate myself after doing it. I thought I was hurting Lia and it was just too much for me to bear. I was suffocating.

All these while, I had my confinement aunty caring for baby Zann. I don't feel connected to my baby, and we were merely bonded by the fact that she's my daughter; no mushy feelings, no kisses, no nothing. But good thing is I still have this responsibility towards baby Zann and I hung on breastfeeding her. I was actually half hearted and I contemplated to stop. But I couldn't bring myself to do it as I didn't wanna be unfair. I breastfed Lia till she turned two, how can I stop with baby Zann now?

I was still rejecting baby Zann and I had thoughts of letting my parents look after her, full time that is, at their place, and we'd only visit on weekends. In this way, I could go back to the good old times with Lia isn't it. I also had thoughts of giving baby Zann away, to a relative and not to strangers for adoption, because contradictingly, I would wanna see her again. I started shortlisting people, of whom I wanted to give up baby Zann to, and wondered if they'd accede to my request. But I can foresee the regrets I'd have in the years to come, so, adoption is not an option. It then came to a breaking point that I wished baby Zann would die. No, I did not think of killing her but I'd wished for her to die of natural causes; I deeply regret conceiving her in the first place. I knew that I will be guilty in future if I killed her myself, and I do not want this regret in my life either. How great it would be if she could just leave on her own, I thought, then we could resume our usual lifestyle. I started finding ways on how I can escape from baby Zann; I realised I didn't want to care for her, it was just too much of a hassle, I thought. I wanted to go back to work, employ a maid, and leave her over at my in-laws' house. The maid could look after baby Zann, and do the night feeds which I have started resenting. It seemed like a perfect way out, and my moods actually calmed down for a while.

I didn't expect all these during my pregnancy. We'd planned for a Dec (2008) baby but I ended up with a miscarriage. We stopped talking about it for a while and somehow we became pregnant again shortly after. Though baby Zann came rather unexpectedly in a way, we've gotten very enthusiastic about her as time went by. During my pregnancy, I took good care of myself and rested as much as I could. It was all smooth and my labour was short, and good. Following that, I was in good hands of my confinement aunty whom helped took care of Lia too. PND hit me, when I least expect it.

When my depression started, I knew. I knew I was ill, and I started seeking help. I found my way to KKH's Mental Wellness Clinic for women, and it was there where I met my physiatrist and case manager. I welcomed medication for I knew I needed it, and my doctor was good to give me an effective and breastfeeding-safe one. My case manager was my listening ear, and I am glad to have gotten to know her. I also chanced upon Alicia's encounter with PND, and she was a great one taking time to chat and share her experiences with me via email.

When I finally told my mom about my condition, she in turn told my pa. They were very concerned about this matter and pa doesn't relish the idea of a maid looking after baby Zann. They then decided that mom would quit her partime job, and come stay with me. Mom will help with the care of baby Zann to relieve me of the stress and to free up my time so I can resume my usual activities with Lia. We were glad that Mom came, her presence made a huge difference and she was good with baby Zann. Well, she was already good with Lia to begin with.

Family support is crucial for times like this, and I am really blessed to have them with me all this while. I am getting back on track; I've just seen my doctor last Friday and we agreed that I can now cut down on my medication. Those negative thoughts, have diminished. I can feel my love for baby Zann growing and a few nights back, I had a sudden urge of wanting to sleep with her in the same room. (Mom took the kid and baby in the same room as herself) It was heart warming as I looked at her sleeping, and I actually yearned to be with her. I am starting to find her cute, and have started planting kisses on her chubby cheeks. :)

This explains my disappearance for the past weeks, it felt like the end of the world on my bad days and I thought I would never recover. Now, I am really glad to have come out of it. Like Alicia, I hope that by sharing my experience, I can in turn help someone out there come out of it too.

Baby Lezann

2009-04-19T22:48:00.006+08:00

She was supposed to be due today, but she came last Sunday...

Everyone, meet our new baby girl, Lezann!

I'm not gonna write much now, for I need to go sleep, but I sure remembered that around this time last Sunday, I was in the labour room battling my contractions! Birth story's coming up, do check back here!

Daily fare

2009-04-02T10:04:00.012+08:00

I remembered the time when I was in Primary School. I would come home in the afternoons to my mom's home cooked food; often consisting of porridge, a simple stir-fry veggie, or meat, or fish. I am a very chatty one and would eat and talk to my mom, about the ongoings in school that day. It was very memorable, and now, I would like to do the same with my daughter. :D The weather's really hot recently, and with Lia still nursing her phlegmy cough, porridge, is definitely a good option for lunch.

The spin-dry mode

2009-03-28T22:58:00.002+08:00

Here's Lia watching the washing machine at work. She finds it fascinating when it spins-dry the clothes, and would sometimes bob her head about in tune before laughing it off!

Karung guni

2009-03-24T22:38:00.007+08:00

Me: "Go prepare your storybooks, mommy will read to you once I'm done..."

Lia went off and came back holding five storybooks in her hands. She pointed one out and said...

Lia: "Mommy, I can't find my 'Granny' storybook so I take this; 'xiu gu bo zhua' karung guni one..."

(Xiu gu bo zhua = collect old newspapers in hokkien)

I can't resist my Calbee!

2009-03-24T14:30:00.001+08:00

Despite the erratic weather and people around me falling sick, I just had to munch on my favourite potato chips!!!

Lia's promoted!

2009-03-23T23:09:00.003+08:00

There wasn't a siblings gift exchange, we gave Lia a promotion gift instead!

Lia, being a preschooler will not buy the idea that her unborn mei-mei was able to pop out and buy her a gift, I didn't wanna say that mei-mei got me to buy her the gift as it'll make her think that the gift is purely from me to pacify her. Well, we all know that kids are very smart nowadays and they'll often know the reason behind for the things that you do. So, I voiced this out in the forum whilst chatting with fellow mommies and one of them, gave me this wonderful idea of giving a promotion gift instead!

I got excited, ransacked Lia's section of our wardrobe to get a suitable tee and promptly got James to bring me to Beach Road for the embroidery. We made up some excuses and left Lia over at my in-laws' house before heading off! I wanted everything to be kept a secret. The little Bambi, I bought it online from Gap ages ago planning it as a sibling gift exchange during Baby Two's time. I didn't get to use it and I've since tucked it away at the top of my wardrobe. Now's the chance, finally! ;p

Last but not least, I threw in a Kinder Joy chocolate egg for there had been this TV advert going on and on and Lia would smile to herself as she watches it. She'd told me to buy it for her, but I kept delaying it, once again, now's the chance! Hehe!

(Scary) Fish Therapy

2009-03-23T23:04:00.002+08:00

Those fishies were bigger than I'd imagine them to be! Yikes! And I took my feet out after three seconds!

Lia's overnight bag, packed!

2009-03-21T11:34:00.008+08:00

I couldn't sleep last night and got up to pack Lia's overnight bag. I had been sitting on it since I packed my own hospital bag and decided it's high time I should do so. I hid the bag in our store room for I thought Lia's having mixed feelings now. She cried when I first mentioned that she has to go to my in-laws' house when I deliver mei-mei, so it's rather tricky. We did brooch the subject again, and I mentioned that I'd go to the hospital alone in a cab, since Lia herself, she'd be in school and James, at work. I made myself pitiful and had the following conversation with Lia.

Lia: "No, you cannot go by yourself. Never mind, I will come back early from school..."
Me: "Why? You gonna bring me to the hospital?"
Lia: "Ya, I go with you, then ask papa come back and bring us..."
Me, beaming inside: "But papa got to work, it's okay, I'll carry my heavy bag and go by myself..."
Lia, signing: "No... must ask papa to send us..."

Well, things are looking bright now. :)

Ham rolls

2009-03-21T01:18:00.011+08:00

We ate ham rolls at lunch!
Another lazy-and-easy meal which I can prepare slightly ahead. :D

You need:
Wholemeal wraps (available at Cold Storage)
Ham (I used my recent favourite; Pan Pacific's Virginia Ham! Available at Cold Storage too)
Cherry tomatoes
Lettuce
Mayonnaise
Tabasco sauce to taste

Preps:
Wash lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Set aside to drip dry.
Heat up wholemeal wraps in a pan and set aside.
Lightly pan-fry the ham and set aside.
Cut up cherry tomatoes into halves

To serve:
Lay out wholemeal wraps and spread some mayo on it, top with lettuce, cherry tomatoes and ham, roll it up, and, EAT! Oh if you would like to, add some dashes of Tabasco sauce!

As usual, Lia wasn't really enticed for this is something new and I tried hard making sure she finishes her ham roll. She likes the lettuce and ham on its own, and went on to chomp up most of the lettuce on the plate!

Blah Blah Black Sheep...

2009-03-12T22:25:00.000+08:00

Lia sings: "Blah blah black sheep happy happy wool~~ yes sir yes sir ee ee wool~~"

I was sniggering too much to catch the rest!

Hospital bag packed!

2009-03-11T22:45:00.005+08:00

Yup, I used the new diaper bag as my hospital bag and it is now stuffed to the brim; very full, and to my delight, everything went in rather nicely. Let's see if it'd get messed up in the hands of James. He'd be the one lugging it of course!

Here's what went in:
1) My hospital pre-admission letter
2) Our identity cards
3) Our marriage certificate, photo-copied
4) Original receipts of antenatal package for claims
5) Hair band
6) Bandeau for wear with hospital kimono
7) A front opening night gown
8) An outfit for going home
9) 2 pairs socks
10) 10 disposable undies
11) Some nursing breast pads
12) Some sanitary pads
13) Lip balm
14) Hand sanitizer, eye glasses & contact lens
15) Toiletries & skincare
16) 2 face towels and a body towel
17) Small amount of cash - S$ 10
18) Baby Zann's set of clothes at discharge
19) Baby's wrapping blanket at discharge
20) Mittens and bootees at discharge
21) Baby handkerchief for milk spits along the way home
22) Baby sling
23) Nursing cover
24) 2 pieces diapers and a pack of wet wipes
25) Lia's promotion gift
26) A pack of chocolate digestive biscuits
27) Digital camera
28) Mobile phone charger
29) Ear plugs
30) Zip lock bags for soiled clothing and stuff
31) Extra cloth bag for gifts and stuff

葡萄湿

2009-03-09T23:07:00.006+08:00

We were having raisin bread at tea time and had this cute little conversation...

Lia: "葡萄干... 葡萄干面包我喜欢!"

I smiled and nodded my head at her.

Lia: "葡萄湿... 葡萄湿..."

Me, trying to make out what she'd meant: "Huh, what?"

Lia: "葡萄湿 means raisins so wet right!"

Me, laughing and trying to explain but am stuck: "Oh well, err... You're right in a way lah; 湿 means wet!"

Lo-mai-gai

2009-03-08T11:52:00.005+08:00

I have been eating this delicious lo-mai-gai at breakfast for the past three Sundays! Credits to my father-in-law!

Diapers stock-up!

2009-03-07T13:47:00.010+08:00

For Lia's time, we were pretty inexperienced being first time parents and we didn't know what to expect when it comes to baby diapers. My sister-in-law recommended Pampers, for this is the brand hospitals are using and it has got to be good. Back then, I remembered myself buying a pack of Pampers, and a pack of Mamy Poko, both in newborn sizes, and that was it. Just two packs of diapers and I am deemed ready for war. I didn't know that a breastfed newborn would pass loose stools frequently, and I certainly didn't know that they need up to - was it eight pieces? of diapers a day. (My sister-in-law's babies were formula-fed) As a result, we spent a quite a lot of time (James had to go buy two packs every week because we were afraid to stock up in case baby gets an allergy or outgrew it!) and money during the confinement month on Pampers diapers for Lia.

This time round, we grew smarter. I started sourcing for good and economical baby diapers, and when I saw Gmarket's sale on Huggies Ultra, we jumped at the chance to stock up!

Well, we could always sell it off online should baby Zann outgrows any of the sizes. Anyway, Huggies Ultra seemed a good choice for it was "clinically proven to help prevent diaper rash", and I do use a diaper cream diligently on my babies' butt, so I guess there shouldn't be a problem. So in all, we had 9 cartons of diapers sitting in one corner of our living room, and that was like 1,632 pieces in all!

3 cartons of newborn size - a total of 24 packs,

4 cartons of size S - a total of 16 packs,

2 cartons of size M - a total of 8 packs.

Total diapers worth (as per Gmarket prices which unfortunately were higher than the market rate) = S$ 600.64

We paid: S$ 384.64

The savings: S$ 216.00 (35% less)

Baby Zann used up a carton (8 packs of 24's) of newborn size in the confinement month, finished another carton when she reached her second month and she outgrew it. I easily off-loaded the remaining carton of newborn diapers, online.

A further breakdown on the cost...

24 packs of newborn size (24's/pack)
S$8.90 - S$4.50 discount = S$ 4.40 (18 cents per piece)

16 packs of S size (44's/pack)
S$15.24 - S$4.50 discount = S$ 10.74 (24 cents per piece)

8 packs of M size (40's + 4's/pack)
S$17.90 - S$4.50 = S$ 13.40 (30 cents per piece)

IKEA Trofast cabinet & changing table

2009-03-07T13:24:00.014+08:00

For Lia's time, we didn't have a changing table. I've always thought that it was dangerous, and that Lia would roll off and fall to the floor. During my confinement over at my in-laws' house, I changed Lia in her cot. It wasn't good at all as I had to bend over and I suffered from backaches. Not to mention the accidents we've got, Lia's cot sheets got stained with pee and poo several times. Talk about changing cot sheets in the wee hours of the morning, not fun at all.

I also didn't like the idea of standing when I'm changing her, so I changed her on our bed when we moved back home. In that way, I could sit down and take my own sweet time while I worked my way meticulously over her. But as the time passed, I grew sick of the hassle of laying out, and then putting away those stuff - changing pad, baby creams, powder, cotton buds/pads, etc, after I'm done. And those 'accidents' that still occurred occasionally; I would wanna spend my precious time bonding with my two kids instead of doing those chores!

We went out (I went a couple of times by myself) to IKEA and looked, and pondered, and touched. I was eyeing the Hensvik range; but it was a slightly more pricey and looking at the quality and all, James preferred the Trofast.

We finally bought this for Baby Zann last week.

Total cost: S$ 323
Breakdown: Trofast frame: S$ 150, changing table top: S$ 39, changing pad: S$ 10, set of 4 drawers: S$ 59, cabinet door: S$ 25, shevles, 4 nos.: S$ 40.

I'd brought out the hand-me-down baby clothes to wash, and James popped home at lunch time to fix up the set yesterday. (I had no where else to store those clothes) The changing table was protruding quite a bit, and if we were to have a drawer in the first slot, it is really difficult to get stuff out from it, thus, we decided to leave it open, and will slot a shelf into it. The shelves were out of stock when we bought the cabinet, and that explains the unsightly opening you see now.

Big sister wants to pose and take a photo too.

Let's look inside the cabinet, it's sparse for now and those diapers, are a mere fraction of what we had stocked up. You shall see in my next post. ;p

Baby's name

2009-03-07T13:15:00.004+08:00

Disclaimer: I am not making fun of people's name here. These are my thoughts during the naming process and I'm penning them down to serve as memories in the years to come.

Chinese name: Ng Lin Fei

Baby Zann's Chinese name is a straight forward one, I already had it in mind when I knew I was carrying a baby girl for I had wanted to name Lia that in the first place. I was stuck with Fei, Fay, Faye and Fae, asked around for opinions and finally ended up with Fei.

Christian name: Lezann

It first started off with Kayly. I'd listed out the different spellings for Kayly, and had all these: Kaelie, Kaylie, Kaely. After a while, I begin to wonder on the nicknames which could have been given to my daughter if I'd named her Kayly, and, "kaypoh" came right to my mind. Name dropped.

Then, I moved on to Li-ann.

I later find it a hassle to have a dash in one's name, and checked the net for other spellings. I got Liann, Lianne, Leanne. It sounded too demure, and I soon moved on.

Next, Lizann or Lizanne. It is a sweet name, but I dropped it because the spelling was closed to "lizard" and that was my most fearful insect!

I surfed the net again and found Lezane. It is a boy's name but I was thrilled at the same time! Well, only in the initial, for I later realised it sounded like "insane".

Not giving up, I tweaked the name a little and got Lezann! Yes, Lezann! And I could call her Zann for short!

Baby mittens and bootees

2009-03-05T15:24:00.005+08:00

I was worrying over the lack of baby mittens and bootees. Lia's had turned yellow and most of them were thrown out by me. The hand-me-downs from my sister-in-law doesn't seem enough and I was set on going out to buy more of it. It was until we attended a full month party recently, and we came to know that one of the couples (James' friends) had packed a bagful of baby clothes for us! I sorted them out with delight, and now, Baby Zann will have enough mittens and bootees to last!

First batch of washing - nappies!

2009-03-03T14:38:00.005+08:00

From the pile of hand-me-downs, we sure had a lot of cloth nappies.

Ironically, for those babies born from the past few years or so - Lia's nieces and nephews, none of them actually have had cloth nappies at their bum. My mother-in-law (along with domestic helpers) was quite the main caregiver at that time and she used disposable diapers. Cloth nappies were being used for swaddling instead; which was great; considering Singapore's weather, you don't wanna overheat a baby but yet, we got to give him some security somehow. We've used nappies as a (flat) pillow for Lia's time. Nah, newborns don't need a real pillow yet but we had it in the cot to lay her head on, to catch milk spits every now and then. I am gonna do the same for Baby Zann, except that this time round, I am gonna slot waterproof sheets in between the nappy, to avoid staining the cot sheets!

Piling up

2009-03-02T14:34:00.003+08:00

In one corner of the living room; stuffs for our new baby...

My homemade nonya kaya!

2009-02-27T08:35:00.009+08:00

As excited as I am when I started out making my kaya, I am actually not a big fan of it myself. My precious, Lia, she is. I think I liked kaya too when I was a kid, well, it is sweet and kids being kids are usually enticed to sweet stuff and all. But I slowly grew out of it and whenever I visit Ya Kun, I'd order butter-only-toast. My mom was the one whom introduced kaya to Lia, and she promptly fell in love with it. But she never had the chance to eat it at home, simply because I've never bought it. For the past few weeks, she's been asking me to buy a tub of it whenever we visit the mini-mart, but I am skeptical. Firstly, those kaya I've seen at the mini-mart wasn't in their best shape, and secondly, I am concern about the sugar content in them.

My mother-in-law makes them sometimes, but she did complained that it was a tedious task as one has to keep stirring the mixture so I didn't wanna trouble her. Not wanting to disappoint my precious, I surfed the net for a kaya recipe. And I found some. I tweaked the instructions a little and had one with slightly different steps. The bulk came from here, except that I am not using a bread maker nor cooking it over a stove; I double boiled it.

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup eggs (about 3 medium sized eggs)
3/4 cup sugar (reduced from 2 cups)
10-15 pieces of pandan leaves, washed and wiped dry.

Steps:
1. Wash, dry and tie up bundles of about 5 pandan leaves in each bundle
2. Measure out eggs, then beat it lightly.
3. Pour all ingredients into a big bowl and add in the pandan leaves.
4. Let bowl stand in a pot of boiling water over medium heat, cover up and leave mixture to cook. The mixture will appear curdy and slightly watery, but this is fine.
5. Let the mixture simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
6. Once done, remove from heat and let mixture cool.
7. You may wanna drain the (sugar) water first if you do not want your kaya to be too sweet and watery. I drained mine.
8. Blend till it's smooth!

This is how the kaya looked like after cooling. It looks pretty much the same (curdy, lumpy and all) during the cooking process; doesn't resemble kaya at all but don't worry too much about it!

I used a handheld blender and it took just a few minutes to get this.

My kaya tasted a little too sweet (for me) when I dipped my finger to try it, but it seemed to be fine when it's on bread; I had a layer of butter first followed by kaya. Lia chomped it up really quickly and I only managed to steal two bites of it, thus and couldn't really tell.

Birds' nest

2009-02-24T08:30:00.005+08:00

All thanks to my parents-in-law, I got to satisfy my craving for birds' nest!

This is my very first attempt in cooking...

...and it was good! I simply adore birds' nest!

As recommended by my mother-in-law, I went and checked out Lo Hang Ka. The SA commented that it is rather futile to take a bowl of birds' nest at one time because our body would not be able to absorb them all and it would be passed out. As per their research, the SA continued, it is best to take a teaspoon of it every morning on an empty stomach, and every night before bedtime.

Nope, I did not buy from them. But, I followed their ways and did this!

And I got my dose of a teaspoon of birds' nest every morning!
(Heehee, to save on my supply, I've decided to take it just once a day)

Lia's colouring style

2009-02-23T20:57:00.005+08:00

For her recent colouring works, I have noticed that Lia likes to have a few colours, in one designated area of the picture. She said it's pretty that way, and she'd be switching her colour pencils throughout until she's satisfied with the outcome.

And so, she sang...

2009-02-19T08:02:00.003+08:00

I ordered the new California Baby handwash from and got this free static cling. I then explained the rightful steps to Lia and told her that she has to follow them closely when washing her hands. Step 3 involves rubbing hands for 20 seconds, and recommends that one sings the "Happy Birthday" song while at it.

And so, I told Lia, and, she sang... It was an extended version of the "Happy Birthday" song she'd learnt it in school!

A new diaper bag

2009-02-16T11:14:00.006+08:00

Link

And so, we now have a proper diaper bag! Well, we didn't have one during Lia's time because I never liked the idea of them. They were pricey and so, I bought big tote bags instead. I slowly got fed up because James, is terrible when it comes to packing MY bag. I am fussy, and I need my stuff to be placed in the correct manner. I have had to juggle two kids in the near future, and I think I need all the energy I have and I'm not gonna waste it snapping at James. I've thought it over, James will help with the packing this time round. The bag has got compartments, so I guess things will stay in place and be organised. This diaper bag is unisex and James pretty much liked the camo design. He could use it for work too, as he'd said it himself. What actually enticed me is its discount; slashed a 50% from S$169, we got the bag at S$84.50.

At the beach (初三)

2009-02-12T09:20:00.000+08:00

Post-it...on our letter boxes!

2009-02-09T09:52:00.004+08:00

Alamak... Why like that?!

Roast pork noodles

2009-02-09T09:13:00.006+08:00

Okay, CNY's pretty much over and no more excuses for me to be lazing around.

Just yesterday, I was in my really-lazy-dragging-my-feet mood and wasn't too keen in cooking lunch. James, as usual, had to work a little later and thus, can't get him to tapau food. I started thinking of the wanton noodles across the road; but later on decided against it for it's like 12pm and Mr Sun's shinning quite brightly on us. I moped around in my kitchen and thought, hey it's noodles, veg and char-siew anyway, just whip up my own lah! Apart from the usual marketing stuff, my father-in-law bought me some roast pork and fish balls in the morning, so I put all and all together and came up with my own roast pork noodles!

Pan-fried the fish balls and roast pork, blanched some veg, plain cooked and drained some Tung-yi instant noodles, drizzle sesame oil and a tiny bit of light soy sauce on noodles, add a dollop of chilli - for my serving, and there you have it!

Happy Lunar New Year 2009!

2009-01-27T11:03:00.005+08:00

I have to say this for a start; my baby, slept over at my parents' house last night, without us! A great start for the lunar year 2009, Lia has GROWN indeed! Since babyhood, we've (that's me and Lia together) stayed over at my parents' house a couple of times but this is the very first time she's away from me, for a whole long night! James was worried when we left my aunty's house after dinner last night, and he was quite prepared to make his way back in case Lia frets out last minute. But all was fine, no phone calls on our way home, and as we lazed around watching movies, Lia called me on my mobile. ;D It was like 10:45pm and she'd called to let me know she's back at Ah Ma's house and she has bathed and all. How sweet! She called again just this morning and first thing she told me was that she heard a lion dance troupe in the vicinity and she'd quickly closed the windows - the loud commotion always scared the wits out of her! Then, she went on to say that she's eaten her breakie and she'll go house visiting with my parents at 11am, etc. I was literally floating after our tele-conversation, I felt so pleased! ;D

My home-done pedicure!

2009-01-24T17:29:00.003+08:00

I painted my toe nails liao! ;D

Lia's CNY haircut!

2009-01-23T10:50:00.000+08:00

This is the second time, Lia has gotten a haircut from a proper hair stylist. First was when she was 4 months old, and we'd gotten Vince to shave her hair. And when Lia's hair finally grew out, James or myself, we'd do the trimmings at home - very cost saving, haha! But since CNY is approaching, I decided to let Lia have a go at it!

Lia's fringe was long; Vince decided to snip them off and gave her a cute china-doll cut! Best thing is - Lia's haircut came free! *Big grin*

Xtrim Hair Exclusive
41B Boat Quay,
Singapore 049830
Tel: 6339 5025
Email: enquiry@xtrimhair.com

By appointments only. And here's their website!

CNY gifts + an early reunion dinner!

2009-01-23T10:30:00.003+08:00

Gifts to give this CNY when we attend house-visiting-dinners! Before I got married, it's easy to just tag along for it's my mom whom's doing the giving; I never had to fret, as mom took care of everything. But now that I'm married with my own family, it is only polite that we bring something along. :D

We had an early reunion KFC dinner last Sunday with my parents! What a change eh! My dad saw the pamphlet from KFC and was enticed for it's been ages since he last ate it. He had been eating healthily for the past years and avoided such foods, but recently he's changed and decided to give everything a go, in moderation of course!

Mom's home cooked add-ons! Yummy abalone and shark's fins!

I heart BPs and sprees!

2009-01-17T21:30:00.009+08:00

Some of my wonderful purchases last December. ;D

A sheer & wavy shawl in my favourite colour!
BP price: S$ 5.50 (includes normal postage too!)

Authentic Polo Ralph Lauren polo tees for James.
Spree price: Around S$ 110 each, after shipping! (A saving of close to 40% I think!)

Crocs for our dear little girl.
Spree price for Girls Alice^: S$ 24.82 nett (An estimated saving of 57%!)
Spree price for Kids Athens: S$ 25.80 nett (A saving of 43%!)

^I think Girls Alice has been discontinued in Singapore? It wasn't even available in www.crocs.com.sg. So sad cos I loved this design on Lia! We bought Lia's previous pair from Crocs VivoCity and it should cost S$58 if I remember correctly.

Lia's first ever dental visit!

2009-01-15T10:40:00.000+08:00

Lia and I, we visited the dentist yesterday! It was the baby's very first visit and I should say it went pretty well. We had spoken on this subject before, I'd read her a book on it, and dentist was also included in her flashcards under the occupations category.

I was still a little anxious that Lia would get cold feet last minute, but she was fine and nonchalantly climbed onto the dentist chair when she heard me told Mr Dentist that she'd go first. (We discussed and she said she'd go first herself!) She even asked if she should take off her shoes. She was good when Mr Dentist checked her teeth...

But she became slightly traumatised when the polishing began. Mr Dentist had demonstrated the polishing on her fingernail before starting, but I guess it was too much for the little one to bear when the real polishing began right on her teeth!

Mr Dentist successfully polished the front of her teeth, top and bottom, but after a while, Lia started fidgeting. She bear with it initially, but when it was time for the inside and molars, Lia refused to open her mouth. She clamped her teeth tight, and Mr Dentist had to put the polisher down and resume to checking her teeth. Mr Dentist and Ms Assistant tried to pacify Lia but the little one refused to budge and kept shaking her head whenever Mr Dentist brooch the subject of polishing the insides. They decided not to put pressure on the little one and she was done! Well, at least, she now has two rows of nicely-polished-on-the-front teeth! :D

Our very CNY Chinese calender

2009-01-14T09:11:00.006+08:00

My husband did this to my Chinese calender.

The top part of the calender had some advertisements which I didn't like and before this, I'd mention that I'm gonna paste some nice pictures/cards to cover it. He was cleaning out the storeroom when he'd found a past CNY decoration from the piggy year. He proceeded to tear it up. The piggies, were nowhere to be found now, and he gladly made use of the fur, and auspicious words and ingots.

Me (after laughing out loud with Lia): "Why must stick those words?? After CNY liao how? Tear them out is it"
James: "Aiyah, we 恭喜发财the whole year round lor..."

For my nails this CNY

2009-01-12T21:38:00.001+08:00

I have decided not to go for my CNY mani and pedi @ PINC this year. Doing away with all the hustle and bustle, James and I we have decided to keep things simple. I will still paint my nails, DIY that is, and I've bought the necessary stuff early.

I chanced upon Face Shop's nail polishes and was a little shocked that it cost just S$2.90, well, I had expected like S$7.90 or S$9.90 kind of prices initially. I chose a reddish-purple nail colour; it wasn't as dark as it seemed in the picture, let's see if I'll remember to take a picture after I get it on. :) Sally Hansen was having a 20% discount at Watsons, and you get a free bottle of 'Xtreme Wear' nail polish when you purchase two of their products, which I did. I got the 'Ultimate Shield' fortifying base and top coat (a base coat is very important to prevent staining!) at S$10.80, and a tube of hands & nails & cuticles cream (whoa, 3-in-1 moisturising!) at S$12.40.

There wasn't much choice of colours for the free nail polish and I made do with this...

Morning blues...

2009-01-09T21:22:00.003+08:00

Mashed potatoes topped with mushroom and ham

2009-01-08T10:40:00.001+08:00

One of my easy-lazy-lunch for the kid.

Ingredients for mashed potatoes
1 medium potato - cut up into pieces (I used those darker ones meant for curry)
1 laughing cow cheese cube, plain flavour
1 tsp butter
A pinch of salt (For boiling potatoes)
Olive oil (For boiling potatoes)
Around a quarter cup tap water (For boiling potatoes)

Ingredients for toppings
1 slice ham (I used apple baked ham) - chopped
1 mushroom (I used baby portobello) - chopped
1 tbsp white onion - chopped
Olive oil

Garnish
Parsley flakes, or your favourite herbs

Steps:
1) Boil and thoroughly cook potatoes in a small saucepan with olive oil and a pinch of salt. My saucepan is just nice for the potato pieces without overlaying and I usually add just enough water so that the level comes up to half the potato pieces. Nevertheless, please do check every now and then and if water dries out, top it up.
2) Once potatoes are cooked, remove from flame and check the water level. For mine, there's usually just a little bit left and I don't drain it. You'll need it to wet the potatoes when mashing. Then, add in the butter and cheese and proceed to mash the potatoes in the saucepan. Set aside covered when you're done.
3) Using olive oil, saute all ingredients for the toppings. Set aside when done.
4) Scoop the mash potatoes, top it up and garnish!

Furoshiki

2009-01-07T15:00:00.006+08:00

The piece of cloth that Japanese use to wrap their bentos; ya right, it's a furoshiki! Haha, I never knew the proper name to call it until today!

I'd popped by Compasspoint this morning for the Metro sale - members' preview. And since CNY is approaching, Frasers Centerpoint Malls, of which manages Compasspoint, has decided to present us shoppers with gifts when we spent a certain amount (view promotion details here). I spent close to S$150 and got myself a pack of hongbaos, a furoshiki and a limited edition Tiger glass!

Of all the free gifts, I liked my furoshiki best and will definitely use it during the CNY! Found more wrapping styles here. :)

First day of kindy!

2009-01-05T10:25:00.004+08:00

A change from the usual schedule, Lia is now in the morning session! I am surprised we managed to wake up on time, or rather, too early, as we progressed smoothly from washing up to breakfast and so on. Lia must be feeling excited, for she couldn't finish her breakfast. Or probably it's just too early and anyway, I didn't eat anything myself.

Lia's school has this practice of starting out on a staggered basis; Nursery kids will go in first on the very first day of school, so that there would be enough teachers to cope with the stress - I personally witnessed that stress last year, and the K1 and K2 kids will go in on the second day of school. Very thoughtful! :D

I was afraid of being late for her school bus so I did her hair as she was eating. I'd filled up her new water bottle last night too. :)

Her school bus came punctually, and I am glad it's an even bigger bus this time round. Her previous bus was already a proper (small) bus, but I'd been dwelling on the possibilities that the bus fees might increase if they need to install seat belts. So now, no worries for the time being!

A new session, a new school bus, (it's a comfort that Lia knew the school bus aunty already) new travel mates, a new classroom, new teachers and new friends! Oh my, how overwhelming, for ME!

Gotten it from the mommy

2009-01-04T23:45:00.001+08:00

I have recently realised this, Lia is now imitating me taking pictures of her own creations, food, toys, etc! She uses her toy hand phone which has the "camera function" and which comes with a realistic camera click sound, and she'd be snapping away, stopping to adjust her object's position as if it's gone out of frame.

She was busy arranging those clothes pegs as I hung out the laundry in the kitchen. Then, I heard it and turned to look; indeed, she had started snapping away!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:34:00.004+08:00

A cute mini Xmas cake from my mom; actually meant for Lia's birthday! :D

20th December 2008

2008-12-20T23:00:00.002+08:00

What's a birthday without a birthday cake? Well, I don't mind going without one but for a fortunate kid of today, it is a great deal I must say! It is Lia's birthday today and we brought her out to the mall for a meal at McDonald's. James suggested Swensens or sushi, but all these are foreign to Lia and at the mention of the Big M, she yelled out loud and said she wanted it!

We shopped around after dinner and bought the little girl a set of toy foods from Kiddy Palace; to add on to her cooking set. We then passed by Bengawan Solo and Lia's eyes widen in delight as she looked at the pretty cakes on display. We didn't want a big cake, and decided on this at Emicakes instead. A really small, cute and yummy Oreo-misu. ;p

I made them pose for a family photo. We haven't taken one in ages!

Our happy girl!

Happy 4th birthday, baby!

Sunny-side-up

2008-12-18T00:26:00.004+08:00

My little girl was busy snipping pictures from an old magazine of hers when she stopped short and asked me if there's any picture I wanted.

I pointed to the cute sunny-side-up (egg rug), and I was presented with this after a while...

Me: "Oh thanks, but one side of the egg is gone, you didn't cut properly hor?"
Lia: "No! You eat up the side already what! "
Me: "Oh... But I didn't eat it."
Lia: "Yes, yes! You eat it up just now!"

Wash up

2008-12-17T14:46:00.002+08:00

My darling Lia, you were extremely keen to help in washing up after meals. Let's just see, in ten years time when you turn fourteen, will you still be as keen?

Sesame Street beanies gather!

2008-12-16T22:15:00.002+08:00

One of Lia's favourite activity on a lazy afternoon. She lays out all her Sesame Street beanies, along with some domino cards this time round...

Then, she'd say: "Mommy, take pictures okay?"

Lia's 4th birthday presents!

2008-12-12T12:20:00.002+08:00

We were early too, for Lia's fourth birthday presents! I ordered the "Sesame Street Playground" music CD (S$21) from a spree, and it features songs from Sesame Street in different languages! Being a Sesame Street fan, Lia loves the songs and we listen to them every night at bedtime. Click here to listen to sample tracks.

James, being a kid at heart bought a set of LEGO for his precious. LEGO was one of his favourite childhood toy, he claimed! We got the set from Bricks World, it contained 689 pieces in all, original price was S$109.90 and they slashed it to S$59.90! Unbelievable isn't it? I mean, their profit margin.

Look inside... Wow!

I made two little kiddos; I'd told Lia that it represents her and her favourite friend (Donn Donn) in LEGO land. *Wink*

James wanted to make a jeep... He was fiddling for a while and then left this thing aside as he went back to watching telly. I thought he was done, a very simple jeep, and I began taking photos of it.

During the commercial break, he looked at me and asked: "Why you taking picture now? I'm not done yet leh!" And so, here is the completed jeep, with head lights, driver and antennas.

We worked our way through the pile of LEGO, and managed to come up with a little town!

Following the instructions in the manual, James built two houses and that jeep on the left while I built the houses on right. Lia proved to be better than us and built this little house on stilts...

...On her own! Well, she couldn't understand the steps as illustrated in the manual, but all the better, it got her creative juices flowing! ;D

Sesame chocolate spread, by Healthy Mate

2008-12-10T10:39:00.005+08:00

See what I have on my bread! It wasn't Nutella nor Marmite, but...

THIS!

I was at SGH for my medical appointment when I chanced upon this cute bottle of spread at the pharmacy. I am greatly enticed as it contains black sesame (I love black sesame tang-yuan!)and Lia would love the chocolate in there too! I was almost buying Nutella couple of days back, but there was just something holding me back. I kept thinking Lia'd get sore throats after eating it and there is a high sugar content and etc, and etc. This time round, heck it! I find it pricey for a bottle of bread spread; it cost S$ 9.65 and was like S$12+ before discount, but I am already drooling at the thought of black sesame thus I quickly grabbed a bottle off the shelf and proceeded to the cashier before I have the time to hesitate, haha!

It didn't let me down. :) This combination is good indeed! Lia likes it too and when I asked her how the spread tasted like, she said chocolate, and it smelt like peanut!

The first birthday card I got from my daughter!

2008-12-09T20:15:00.002+08:00

A card I found while going through stuff/notes which were collected during the time I gave birth to Lia. I think this is a card for me to pen my appreciation to the nursers, for the care they have given me during my time in the hospital. But I was getting busy back then, with my newborn, and didn't really bother with it at all. Lia, saw the card, and said she wanted to draw me a cake because it was my birthday last Wednesday. ;D

And so she ran off to her room and drew... She then even attempted to write our names, of which some alphabets got inverted! I was thinking, instead of me thanking the nursers, it seems like my daughter is using this card to thank me for giving birth to her! Haha, cute right, and this is quite the first birthday card she'd drawn too!

She shares her love for stickers

2008-12-07T09:50:00.001+08:00

Lia: "Mommy, I give you stickers okay? Very nice one, I stick for you..."

Toys don't need to breathe!

2008-12-06T20:50:00.004+08:00

Lia tucked her teddy and Elmo at bedtime and covered them all up with her blanket.

Me: "Why you cover their face? Just cover the body will do..."
Lia: "Later they say the face cold..."
Me: "But they can't breathe. You also don't cover your face, just your body right?"
Lia exclaiming loudly: "But these are toys!"
Me acting stupid: "So, toys don't need to breathe?"
Lia: "Yaa! Will not die!"
Me giggling to myself in the dim light: "Oh..."

BPs and sprees - Lia's pretty cheongsum!

2008-12-04T17:17:00.005+08:00

I have been buying from forum sprees and bulk purchases recently, and even though none of the stuff was for me directly, I really felt like jumping up in joy when I checked my letter box yesterday. The letter box, was stuffed to the brim with my loot! :D

There were some letters, two fat packages (one which got stuck; Lia and I had a hard time tugging it out!) and one slim envelope, which contained the cheongsum (CS) I bought for Lia for CNY!

I have been eyeing this pretty CS for the past year! I first saw it during her Shichida class when one of her fellow classmate, E, wore it. And that was in January 2007 (just before CNY). E's mom told me she bought a couple of this CS (different colours) from Beijing and it cost just around S$5 each! I later saw it again at a Chinatown push cart but that was after CNY already and James didn't fancy me buying it - push cart selling @ S$12. The next CNY is quite round the corner and when I saw the bulk purchase in the forum, I KNEW I HAD TO GET IT! It cost S$10 from the bulk purchase and includes free normal postage as well! That's quite a good deal for me already for I can't imagine myself jostling with the crowd at Chinatown! But one downside, I was vain and got it in a snug fit for Lia, then we found that it was too small at the collar and we couldn't get Lia's head to go through! LOL! Luckily the organiser have had some ex-stocks and I can get it exchanged at a nearby location. Nevertheless, I am still happy that I've finally laid my hands on the CS!!!

Lia's umbilical cord stump

2008-12-03T11:36:00.004+08:00

I've finally got my butt moving and bottled up Lia's umbilical cord stump!

It was more than two or three years back when I was reading a mommy's blog and saw how she did this for her baby's. I went out, got two little glass bottles (I was thinking one each for her umbilical cord stump and newborn hair) but promptly left it sitting in my drawer sans action! The mommy I got this idea from used cotton wool as the filling; I tried it just now but it was too plain for I had chosen silver ribbons. Found some leftover pink curly paper and tried it; much better! It was still a little disgusting looking at the stump, but never mind lah, this is a wonderful keepsake after all! :D

Visit to the library, and her comfort toy to bring

2008-11-30T21:45:00.000+08:00

I brought Lia to the library last week! She wasn't a member yet, all thanks to the lazy mommy and when I received a pamphlet from her school, I knew I had to move my butt this time round. Actually, I am enticed by the free tote bag they are giving away; you need to register your child and borrow four items on the same day to get one. And so, we went, we registered, we borrowed and we got the tote bag! It was of a decent size - A4, and quality - thick PVC, and it is great for our future trips to the library.

Lia was thrilled and went about by herself choosing storybooks and then sitting down flipping through them. It was the school holidays and the library allowed us to borrow eight books each time. I got carried away and lugged eight books home.

I was pretty amazed that there were so much great resources at the library! These books were exactly what I'd wanted for Lia. Well, the books we had at home were simple storybooks (Sunshine series) so I had long wanted Lia to explore in this area. We were talking about them all day at home; my plans to bring her to my dentist for a routine check; me always getting a sore throat and that she has to drink lots of fluid to avoid one; why she has to wash her hands so very often; and why she needs fruits for proper digestion and to make her poo-poo soft, etc. Now that we have a book to read and look into, it sure painted a clearer picture in Lia's mind.

Lia fell asleep in the bus as we made our way home. She wanted to bring her teddy bear along, and claimed that she wanna hug it should she be taking a nap when we're out. And sure she did, napped.