Meimei's temperament

I always enjoy playing with Danielle when she just wakes up because she would be smiling and looking so blur. She does not fuss or whine as compared to her korkor.

I especially love her fluffy, messed up hair.



I do enjoy playing with her and spending time with her as so far, she is quite easy to handle. She could be left alone on the bed and goes to sleep by herself. So far, her timing is quite fixed-so I would know what time she would wake up, what time she would be hungry and what time she would be sleepy. Quite predictable.


By the way, at 3 months old, she is 6 kg already. Oh boy, she is catching up with korkor's weight, that is 9.8kg.


Think she will be heavier than Caleb when she turns 1 year. Haha..my prediction.

Long curls

Caleb's hair has been growing well.


I loved his psuedo Korean hair style.



Why do baby's hair always look so nice and styled? I am jealous. Ha!

Goodbye "Dadi"

My dear beloved grandaunt has passed away from cancer on 19 March 2009. She is a French who has migrated to New Zealand. She married my grandmother's brother whom has passed away for a very long time already but he has always been in my heart as my family used to go NZ to visit them and I always remember how my granduncle would spoil and sayang me as we stay at their farm.

This is a photo of me, my mum and bro together with my granduncle and grandaunt at Ms Evelyn Norris's place.


Last year in March, I had to take UPA leave from my work to go with the family to visit her in New Zealand. It was a special trip made there as the doctors gave her only a few more months to live. So we went there with a heavy heart as we visited her.


Who knows back in end of June, she came over to Singapore to visit us (as well as to see Caleb for her first time)and at the same time, to drop by France to visit her siblings. She probably knew that this would be her last farewell trip to her loved ones. However, she was looking so frail..



I would always remember her to be the one who would put Chinese people to shame as she loves to eat black vinegar pig trotters (as well as the huge ginger inside it), durians. Basically, anything Chinese, she would love it. That explains why her apartment in New Zealand has all the antiques and Chinese paintings.



Goodbye "dadi" (french for aunt) as I will definitely miss you and your kisses!

Movie reviews

In my old blog, I used to have reviews about the movies which I have watched and for some time, I deleted that segment. Well, now its back because watching movies is part of what I like do, besides eating, cooking and spending time with my family. So, I had to have it back in my blog to share with you the movies I have watched and hopefully, it can help you decide whether to watch it or not.

I have to first warn you that the comments about the movie is purely my own opinions and thoughts. So, you might not agree with me. Therefore, hope you will not blame me if you went to watch a movie I recommended and didnt like. ;p

Anyway, hope you will enjoy reading the reviews! (It's on the left column right at the bottom of the site)

Stylo Milo

Today, went to Chinese Swimming Club with my parents for dinner. Danielle was dressed in a romper which I felt make her look so fashionable.



When Caleb saw the swimming pool, he was fussing so much as he wanted to go in. However, he has been having bad cough. So, we didnt allow him to go in. Throughout the dinner, he just wanted to sit by the pool and watch since he cant go down. If you take him away from the pool, he would be whining and crying. Sigh.



Hope he can get well soon so that I can bring him to swim.

Actually I am quite envious of Danielle's hair. Its so trendy. It looked like it has been styled. Of course at times, it just looks messy. But to me, its cool and hip.

Adulthood

Caleb is at the stage now where he imitates me and CT. Whatever we do, he would also do. Its quite scary as it means we have to watch what we say or do in front of him so that he doesnt pick up the wrong thing. At the same time, it also means that Caleb is molding me to be a better person. For e.g.I try to speak less singlish, CT and I are now more wary watching violent or explicit shows on TV etc.



Caleb enjoys wearing papa's shoes and always end up falling down after trying. And there was once when CT takes off his shirt and Caleb wanted to wear it. So here it is!



Despite wanting to be an adult, Caleb will always be my baby.

Typical Saturday

Our typical Saturday for me would be waking up at about 7-715am. Pack my wallet, water bottle and tissue into my small recycling bag. While waiting for CT to wash up, I would be playing with Caleb or changing his diaper. Vicky would also be brushing Caleb's teeth and we could change him.

Then when CT is out of the room, we would go somewhere for a quick breakfast before heading to Giant together with Caleb for our supermarketing. We leave Vicky and Danielle at home since Vicky has lots of housework to do and also since Danielle's feeding time is about 830-9am.

We would reach Giant at about 830am and I would TRY to buy all the groceries for the week. (TRY because most of the time, I would still forget to buy some stuff and during the week, I would visit the supermarket down at my block to pick up a thing or two). We would place Caleb in the trolley as CT pushes it. I would be the one leading the way as we grab stuff out of the shelf. While shopping, CT would be teaching Caleb the name of fruits and vegetables in English and Mandarin.

CT once commented that I am the youngest shopper there as most would be in their 40s or 50s. And yes, I would be the youngest shopper squeezing in between aunties grabbing for discounted fruits or fish.

However, I would not be like some of them who stands in front of the pork bones counter for such a looong time just to choose those pork bones that are on sale. They would pick and drop them as if there is any difference.(Giant Tampines pork counter used to be open for public to choose and pick) I guess its because of these aunties who clog up the area that has Giant changing the counter to prevent people from choosing now.

I told CT that well, you seldom see people my age buying groceries because firstly, they may not be married yet (as I am still in my 20s) and if they are, they seldom cook. They would rely on their mothers or in-laws to do that.

Anyway, after pushing my trolley load full of groceries to the cashier, we would always wonder which queue is the fastest so that we will not waste time waiting. Yup, it is the hurry sickness- we find ourselves counting how many people in each line, multiplying this number by the number of items in their trolley. And even after we get in line, we keep track of the person who WOULD HAVE BEEN ME in the other line. If we get through and the person who WOULD HAVE BEEN ME is still waiting, we are elated. We've won!! But if the alter-me is walking out of the store and we're still in line, we feel depressed. Does all these seem familiar to you?

Ok, back to what I do on a typical Saturday.

When in line, CT would take Caleb out of the trolley to the outside of the counters for him to run up and down. Caleb would be running around so happily like a bird who has just been set free.

After that, I would foot the bill which usually amounts to $100 over and place Caleb back to the trolley before we zoom back home. Usually, we would reach home by 930am. Everything is quite chopchop because I would have my shopping list ready just before going to Giant as I consult Vicky. (Actually, I would start my list on either Wed or Thurs when the promotion discounts for Giant are out in the newspaper).We do not deviate from the list and stick strictly to it. So everything is quite fast.



After reaching home, I would help Vicky load the groceries into the fridge. Then Vicky would be preparing the food for lunch just before she goes down to wash the car.

For lunch, we would eat something simple like noodles or porridge. And after lunch, I would do my stuff on the computer or watch a movie with CT at home.

In the evening or late afternoon, we would go out together as a family. Today, actually, we wanted to drop by the new shopping centre at Sembawang. But because it was raining so heavily, we decided to go somewhere nearer. So we went to Compass Point, Sengkang for dinner.

Since I had a craving for curry rice, we ate at the new restaurant called "Curry San" which serves almost everything curry.



Danielle was wearing her dress and jacket since the weather was cold.



After she made some noises in the pram, I placed her on CT and she was happy there.



Then after dinner, we had a nice walk around the shopping centre before heading home for yet another movie! Ha.

So this is what I usually do on a Saturday.

Splashing good time

Today marks the first day when Caleb and Danielle bathed together in the same bath tub. I have been longing for this day actually. Danielle probably has no clue what is happening but Caleb sure does as he was smiling so widely from ear to ear.

At times, he would take the cloth in the tub to wipe her body. And he also uses his legs and hands to splash the water that Danielle's face would be wet. But glad Danielle still does not know how to protest when water gets onto her face, unlike Caleb who would whine when the water from his hair go onto his face.



Anyway, glad he was having a good time. It saves water this way too!

Thai Chicken Broth Noodles

Every month, I would always go to the library with CT and Caleb at night to borrow books for the children. And at the same time, I would grab a couple of recipe books.

So today, I decided to cook a meal from the recipe book since I have most of the ingredients already.

Cooked Thai Chicken broth noodles for my lunch.



1)Heat oil in frying pan. Add chicken thighs (cubed), garlic (chopped), chillies, ginger(chopped) and lemongrass. Stir fry for about 3 mins.

2)Add white wine (but I used DOM instead), bring to boil and simmer until reduced by half

3)Add chicken stock to the pan and boil

4)Add noodles (bee hoon) to the pan as well as finely chopped coriander stalks and french beans.

5) Finally, add beansprouts, spring onions, fish sauce and lime juice (thai). Taste for seasoning.

6)Garnish with coriander leaves

However, I feel next time I should cook the noodles and soup seperately. So I would cook the noodles first and place them into serving bowls before cooking the broth.

Overall, very happy with the dish. Cant wait to try this with beef the next time.

Herbed Red Snapper with Butter Caper Sauce

Today, I decided to cook Western for dinner. Recently, went to Giant to buy a whole Red Snapper fish as it was on offer. Got the guy at the counter to fillet it for me and so, with that, I thought of pan frying the fish.

Firstly, I add olive oil to the frying pan. Stir fry the zucchini and yellow squash till it is slightly soft. Add salt to taste. Then you can stack it up on the plate.



As for the fish, I marinate with salt, black pepper and herbs. If you have fresh herbs like chives and basil, use that. But since I do not have, I just used dried herbs.



Add olive oil to the pan. Place the fish skin side down first. Then turn over once the skin is crispy and slightly brown.

Lastly I make the sauce by adding butter to the pan. Then add capers and white wine. Capers are basically a bud from a plant. It is a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine which is used as a seasoning or garnish in salads or sauces. It is salted and pickled. Add salt to taste if needed (but not neccessary since the capers is already salty).



Finally, I plate the fish and pour the sauce over. You can garnish with fresh chives if you have. But I don't. So, here's a simple and healthy meal.



I also had a bowl of corn for dinner. You can get it fresh from the cob and steam it with salted butter or just simply buy canned corn kernels and heat it up in microwave oven.

Then, cooked clam chowder (which I bought from Fassler) as well.

How simple is that as a dinner for your family?

Gathering at Loyang

This evening, our ex-church friend, Ophelia, invited us over to their 'new' place. Its 'new' because they moved from one unit to another unit in a different block but within the same compound. They got a cheaper rent. Boy, their new place is so huge and spacious. The whole atmosphere is like a resort/chalet style of house. So nice.

It has been a while since the kids met up and Asher was so excited to see Caleb as he enjoys playing with him. Kieran has grown so much taller and mature. He has lost his baby fats.



Danielle was the only baby girl there. She was sleeping initially



but after so much noise from the boys, she woke up and sat all by herself on the sofa while the boys were running about and playing.



Ophelia gave me a playmat for Danielle and she laid down on it.



But after a short while, the boys wanted to play with it too.


After dinner, I took Caleb for a walk. Went to the small minimart in the compound. We happened to hear a very loud croak from the garden area and when we went nearer, the sound grew louder. I think it was a bull frog. Sounds really scary. We shined the light in the drain where the frog was and it stopped croaking. Didnt manage to see the frog as it was too dark and it was hiding too deep into the drain. Sigh.

Overall, we had a great time catching up with our ex-church friends.

Trip to the Science Centre

Today, CT took half day off to bring the family to the Science Centre as we had free admission and magic show tickets for 3 adults which my colleague passed to me as her daughter works in the Science Centre. We didnt want to go on weekends so as to avoid the crowd.

In the late morning, I took the kids and the helper on a train ride from our place all the way to Jurong East Station where CT would meet us there since he works in Jurong. It was quite fun having the kids around when you are travelling such a long journey. They were very well behaved.



Caleb was sitted nicely in the pram the whole time while Danielle was lying snugly in the sling. And for the first time, she was sucking her THUMB! She discovered it!



We had Macdonalds for lunch. Great deal as we had the McValue Lunch which costs only $4.50.

Caleb had his home cooked porridge and french fries too!



It wasnt easy for Caleb to sit still as there were lots of distractions. So we had to take turns to walk with him as the other would rush to eat their lunch.



There were a couple of interesting outdoor exhibits




When we first entered, Caleb was mesmerised by this as it turns and turns. He loves anything that turns round and round.



And there is Danielle looking around as well. We changed her clothes as she puked out her milk. Sigh.



Caleb was practially running around and exploring. Glad he has lots of space to run about.


He also enjoyed playing with his own shadow


Then we made our way to the magic show. There were a few exhibits which we were playing with it before the show. It was quite fun.


But during the show, Caleb grew cranky halfway into the show as he hasnt had his nap. So he was making lots of noise. CT and I had to distract him with something else. Ha. And we were sitting in front somemore. So paiseh. Ha

After the show, we walked for a bit more. We chanced upon this interesting station which takes a picture of you and then shows you your baby, child, adult, old pictures. It was so funny as we each took a photo and see whether Caleb or Danielle looks like us. Here's CT! (mine is too disgusting to be shown. Ha)

This is his original photo which the computer took of.



And this is his 'baby' picture...(which look so much like Caleb!!)

His 'child' picture..

And his 'older adult' picture..(which is quite scary but funny)


Too bad Caleb was sleeping at that time we were in this station. If not, we would definitely get him to try. But...Danielle was AWAKE!! (Muahahaha.... *evil laughter*)

So here's is Danielle's!

This was her original photo.


Here's her baby photo (which I do not understand why it would be any different from her face now since she is still 0 years old)


her teenager photo..(which does look like me when I was a teenager!)


her young adult photo..


And lastly, her older adult photo (which I find it still acceptable-not too ghastly).


Well, guess you cant rely much on this computer. But nevertheless, we had loads of fun and laughter from this.

At the end of it all, we wanted Caleb to play in the water area which seemed so much fun. But too bad, he was sleeping so nicely. So we went home after that instead. And moreover, it was almost 5pm already and we wanted to beat the peak hour jam.



We went for dinner at Serangoon Gardens Chomp Chomp since it was on the way home and it wont be crowded at this time.



We do wish Danielle would be sleeping each time we eat so that we could eat properly. However, she was wide awake and usually when she is awake, she wont like to lie down. So because of that, CT has mastered the art of eating with one hand and holding Danielle on the other. I still havent as I would end up dripping gravy all over her while eating.



We ordered oyster omelette which I havent had for a long time since I was pregnant. Not a big fan of this dish because of the amount of oil and flour but it was nice to indulge once in a blue moon.



Had a great time eating as the crowd has yet to come in. But because of that, CT commented that he doesnt know which stall sells good food since there is nobody lining up. So I told him to look out for newspaper which is probably the next indicator of good food?? Hmm..what do you think?