Aeroplanes

It's been a while since we did a little painting, just the two of us. One day during the week, you called me while I was at work asking me if we could do painting when I got back from work. Obviously we didn't manage to do so as I was late getting back from work. You did not complaint about it when I got back. You'd probably forgotten all about it by then.

On Saturday, we decided to do a little painting as daddy and Ah Kong were off for a game of golf. So we woke up, had breakfast then got everything ready for our little painting session. As we started painting, I remembered about taking pictures. So I ran up to take the camera and after a while of taking pictures, you got upset and asked me to stop taking pictures and to join you to paint.

So what were we painting? These little foam aeroplanes. We'd painted 2 a while back. I'd bought then when we went to KL.

Here's your aeroplane:

And here's the end result of our plane. You got upset towards the end of the painting session as the paint had not dried when you painted the next colour, so they got all mixed up. I thought it looked nice, when the yellow mixed with the red, gave it a fiery look, but you did not like it. So in the end, I had to finish up your plane while you painted my plane.

Can you tell which is yours and which is mine?

As I was trying to get a good shot of the finished planes, you decided that your foot also needed to be photographed:


As the end result of this painting session was not satisfactory to you, you kept telling me that we had to go down to KL soon to buy more planes for you to paint. And you were so kind to even say "We do not need to go to Ah Meng Kor-kor's house to visit. Just go to KL and buy then come back". Poor daddy.... I reckon we can go to KL, but we can stay over too.. Yay! More shopping...

Chinese New Year Dinner @ Minden

We left Ipoh on the second day of Chinese New Year after dinner. You were so tired, you slept shortly after we got into the highway and all the way back until the next day. As usual we had dinner with the Phuah. This year was on the 4th day of CNY.

The menu of the day was nasi lemak. Something different. The other kids had white rice, while you had nasi lemak (which is your favourite).

This is the spread for dinner:
As it was a Sunday, Annabelle had to leave early. By 8.30 pm she had to leave to go home as she had to get enough sleep before the next day. As for Abby and you, you both had fun out in the garden playing with the sparklers. We started with one each. After a while it looked like it will be FOREVER before you both finished playing with the very large pack which Uncle Sin Chuan had bought. So it became 2 each, the 3 each then 4 each. And yet, we could not finish all of them. We were all getting too hot and tired. So we gave up and kept everything and went back inside to enjoy the air-cond.

Welcoming the Rabbit

This new year was another relaxing Chinese New Year. We slept until we felt like waking up, no need to rush for the bathroom as there was no lion dance troupe coming this year. When everyone was ready and you were dressed in your new clothes we headed down for breakfast then to give ang pow (for me) and to collect ang pow (for you).

Daddy set up his camera on the tripod and we managed to get a few pictures. With you being the sulky little boy because you were dragged away from the ipad (or was it iphone.. so many choices for you)..

Then we headed to the kitchen and of course more pictures were taken with you:

As everyone was all dressed up and not yet changed into comfy clothes with lipstick still intact, daddy quickly set up his tripod again to get a family picture:

Of course, even Pepper got to be in the family picture... he is "family" after all.. After the picture was taken, we had individual family pictures taken, and of course the 2 youngest in the family with 5th Chek Kong:

Later we had more people so another round of family picture:

Happy Chinese New Year

We all woke up and got ready before heading out to buy Hokkien Mee to bring back to Ipoh. Our usual shop was filled with lots of people having breakfast. But since daddy and I usually get our Hokkien Mee fix from this stall, I didn't have to wait too long before my order of 11 packets were ready.

Next stop was McDonald's at Sungai Dua for the promised breakfast. We waited so long for the food to be ready although there wasn't a very long queue. Went home and gobbled up the food then started to pack the car for our trip back to Ipoh. Before crossing the bridge, we had to make a quick stop at Anna Che-che's house to drop the ang pows to Boh-boh Poh. And off we went....

.. until we reached Bukit Tambun. Then we had to make a detour.. back to Penang. Ah Ma had forgotten to pack the "loh-bak" which was for the dinner in Ipoh. And off we set towards Ipoh.. again... *grin*

At long last we arrived. Traffic on the highway was pleasant. Surprisingly, you napped most of the way to Ipoh. And of course when we arrived, you were in the "sweetest" mood. Greeting everyone with a scowl.

Well your mood got better especially when you saw Pepper. Then soon it was dinner time. The "auspicious time for dinner" was around 6pm. So the tables were set in the dining room (so that everyone gets to eat in air-cond comfort). Look at the spread:

Daddy's favourite meatballs

Drinks anyone?

Then as it was still early, everyone went out t the garden to enjoy some fresh air.. Including Pepper:


And here's Ariesse keeping occupied by checking out everything within her reach:

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Bye Bye Daddy.. See You Soon

We woke up and had breakfast with daddy before daddy left for work. Then we relaxed around the room and I finished the last of the packing. Then you left a message for daddy and off we went to take a taxi to the airport. After checking in (and thank goodness we had no problems doing so.. our bag was 19.9kg!!) we went into the terminal and took the sky train to Terminal 2 then Terminal 3. We even had time to take some pictures:

You were smiling for this picture. And the reason you posed so willingly and happily was because I had to allow you to take a picture of me first. (No, Ee-ee Evan didn't drop the camera *grin*).

After buying the duty free items we were asked to buy, we headed back to Terminal 1 to take our flight back. Before that we stopped to have a quick lunch then took a few travelators before going into the lounge. That was when the paper bag which was carrying your Lego gave way! Thank goodness I had packed an extra paper bag and also daddy's back pack so I managed to stuff all the things into those bags. Then I asked you to sit with the bags as I filled your water bottle. The man who sat next to you told me that you were a good boy and didn't move at all as I asked you to. You certainly made me proud.

Soon we were boarding the plane. And we headed back to Penang. After clearing Immigration, we collected our luggage and Ah Ma was already waiting for us. What a nice holiday it was.

4 more days in Singapore

As daddy had to go to work for the rest of the week, we kept ourselves entertained. On Monday we took our leisurely breakfast in the hotel, went upstairs then slowly got ready and watched TV and when we were finally ready we headed out to walk the many malls on Orchard Road.

After walking for a short while, you decided that you were hungry, so we headed to Food Republic in Somerset 313 (Somerset became our favourite haunt as you liked to cross the pedestrian crossing; you just wanted to press the button, to this mall which was just a stone's throw away from our hotel).

Soon we were tired so we headed back to the hotel for a rest before heading out to swim in the pool which we'd checked out in the morning. Just after we left the pool, it started to rain. We both fell asleep for a while then headed to Somerset again for dinner. We had Italian food in mind, so we went to try out Trattoria Cucina Italiana. We were seated and while I was trying to decide on what to order you were given crayons. Happiness for you *wink*

So this was my placemat:

An axed out car and another car which was satisfactory to you.

We spent the rest of Tuesday shopping too. This time we took the MRT for a ride. Just one stop but still fun. The people on the MRT were very kind, offering their seat for you. Lunch was eggs and toast and warm Milo.

On the way back to the hotel, we decided to drop by Cold Storage in Centrepoint Shopping Center. There we spotted some interesting trolleys:

Trolleys with "TVs". Ah.. so of course although we had nothing in particular to buy, I think we spent a good 20 minutes in Cold Storage, so that you could enjoy the "on board" entertainment. Of course we bought yogurt and this was what you had for tea time in the room:

We had dinner plans with daddy on Tuesday evening. So our dinner date was in Black Angus Steakhouse. Although this restaurant was on Orchard Road, it was at the opposite end from our hotel. And lazy you (thank goodness) said that you could not walk and wanted to take a taxi. So we hopped into a taxi and arrived there (probably longer by taxi than walking) after driving through the traffic jam. Dinner was nice and very filling. Then we took a slow walk all the way back to our hotel. Seems like the walk is not so tiring when it's a leisurely walk and when we're not hungry!

Wednesday was filled with more shopping. We walked all the way to Paragon. As usual, shortly after we arrived, you insisted that you were hungry. Went to Ngee Ann City and you did not want to have lunch in the food court *sigh*. So we took the lift up and found Breeks cafe. Ok. Simple enough.. Before walking into the restaurant. We saw "BricksWorld" the Lego shop which we had visited in Plaza Singapura on Sunday (and had already bought a ginormous Lego set for you). After lunch, you still wanted to look at the Lego in the shop, so we stopped by there. They had some for children to play with you here you are creating something with the many pieces of Lego:

Tada...

A jet fighter

We walked around and made several stops at some shops before heading back to the hotel. Of course, we had to stop by Cold Storage (again!!) for you to take a trolley ride (so easy to please).

Another round of yogurt

After a rest and shower, we headed to Plaza Singapura for dinner. We had a simple dinner in Ajisen Ramen. The headed back to the hotel after wandering around and to pack up. It was time to head home the next day.

Sunday in Singapore

We woke up early and had our breakfast in the hotel and when everyone was ready, we started off to Sentosa Island for an early day there. Ee Poh had told me that it has been raining in the afternoons, so we wanted an early start to avoid the rain. We took a taxi and soon we were at the casino entrance.

Did a little window shopping, walked around and soon got bored. We did not plan to go to Universal Studios as high chances you'd want to go home 10 minutes after we'd entered the park! You do not like the heat outdoors and would insist on going home after a while. So we decided to make a trip there another time.

With daddy at the "Lake of Dreams"

Looking at the water fountain. Daddy tried to convince you to run and try not to get wet.


In your new Ben10 t-shirt

After that we spotted the chocolate shop. Of course, we went in and didn't leave the shop empty handed.

All excited posing with the giant syrup

Excited with the Hershey coin box

Soon it was time to leave as there was nothing else of interest to look at. So we decided to take a Jewel cable car ride. We ended up paying for the return ticket which would let us take a longer ride from Imbiah Station pass the Harbour Front to another stop and back to Harbour Front. But in the end, we went all the way back to Imbiah Station and took the monorail to Vivi City and then from them took the MRT to Orchard station.

With daddy in the cable car

We walked around and ended up in 313 Somerset. There we tried out Marvelous Ice Cream which was supposed to be like Cold Stone which we had in Japan, but we were a little disappointed. We saw another shop with the same concept upstairs but we were too filled with ice-cream so we didn't have anymore. After shopping for a while, you started complaining about your tired legs, so we headed outside to the alfresco area to have a drink. Found a nice little place called Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant. Daddy and I had a drink each. I wanted to share my drink with you but you didn't like it.

My fizzy apple juice

Daddy's 1 litre Paulaner

We went back to the hotel to rest after that then it was time for dinner with Ah Pek and Ah Mm. They picked us up to go for chicken rice. The place is called Boon Tong Kee. Can you imagine we had to take a number then wait for a table? We finally got a table, ordered the dishes (no not only chicken) and dinner was served rather quickly from there. THey dropped us off after that and shortly after that you were in dreamland.

Flying in the Jet (Star)

We took the JetStar flight to Singapore. As daddy was going there for work, we decided to take a short holiday to Singapore too. Daddy went to Singapore on a later flight by SilkAir and we left Penang first. When we reached the Singapore airport, I had wanted to wander around the duty free shops first but SOMEONE insisted that he wanted to ride on the travelator (as usual...),so in the end we walked and walked around Terminal 2 on the travelator and I didn't get to see anything at all *sob*

As we didn't have any specific place to visit, we didn't bring daddy's DSLR. Instead we borrowed ee-ee's compact camera and this is a picture of you willingly posing at the airport while waiting for daddy's flight to arrive:

After clearing immigration and collecting our luggage after daddy finally arrived, we headed out to take a taxi to bring us to our hotel on Orchard Road. Checked into our room and headed out to have lunch. As it was rather late, we decided to have lunch in the food court just downstairs from our hotel. As daddy was ordering chicken rice for you, I saw a sign saying "Char Siew Wan Tan Mee". Big mistake. I'd completely forgotten that Wan Tan Mee in Singapore had tomato sauce in it. Well, this didn't. I reckon it was sweet sauce which tasted OK initially, but halfway through, I could not take another bite more!

After filling our tummies, we headed to Plaza Singapura which was just a short walk from the hotel. I headed to Daiso while you and daddy wandered around the toy floor. When I met up with you again, daddy said that you'd found a shop of interest: a Lego shop! We went to take a look at the toy that you wanted, but daddy convinced you to have a look at the selection in Toys R Us. So we headed back to the hotel to rest a little and to find out where Toys R Us would be. Just as we were heading out, it started to rain. You got upset and in the end, we decided to take a (expensive) taxi ride to Paragon.

Found Toys R Us but they did not have the set you wanted. No time to look around anymore as we had dinner arrangements with Ee-Poh and family so you picked a Hot Wheels car and we headed back in the drizzle. Daddy had to carry you and run/jog all the way back to the hotel. Poor daddy's arms were killing him by the time we reached.

Dinner was in the restaurant in the hotel, so when they arrived, we headed down and joined them for the buffet which included ordering crabs cooked any way you want. This was one of the dishes ordered:

Lobster Thermidor

After dinneer, Ee Poh, Teo Kong, Julian Ku-ku and Ashley Ku-ku came up to the room to have a look at the room before heading home. As usual Ee Poh brought you a little gift. A Ben 10 T-shirt. Lucky you. Shortly after they left, we all KO-ed. Who wouldn't be tired from such a long day, especially poor daddy's arms!

Muffin anyone?

Found this really yummy blog recently. And as I was browsing around, I found this yummy recipe "Banana Crumb Muffin". As we were in the market yesterday, I decided to buy banana's to try out the muffin recipe.

I asked for 5 banana's but one was taxed yesterday. It was a simple recipe and lazy mummy decided to mix everything in the mixer. Yay! Easy peasy. Shortly after it was done, you could not wait anymore. It was a little warm and you ate it all up. In fact you had already "tested" the recipe BEFORE I baked the muffins!

Here's how they looked like:

Wanted to take a nice shot of the muffin. What do you think?

Dang, I only realised I took a picture of a muffin with a cracked top :( Oh well, this muffin is already in my tummy cracked or not cracked!

New Year, New School

We had registered you over a year ago for this other school (for the 5 year old class. There was no opening for the 4 year old class). Then last year a few days before the new term started the school called to ask if we were interested to let you join the 4 yer old class. We brought you to the school and after taking a look, you said that you did not want to go to this school!

Anyhow since your old school had moved to a new location and we still had a place in this school, we brought you to have another look at this school and you said that you'd like to go to this school. So here you are today at your new school.

We arrived quite early but there were already other students in the school. You got to know your teacher, Mr Tan and soon you were happily sitting on the floor building with the toys. We decided to leave shortly as you seemed to have settled well in class.

When we told you that we were leaving, you did not even blink an eye. In fact, you barely bothered to acknowledge us and to say goodbye!!

We picked you up later and you said that you had a good time in this school. Hope all goes well for you.

Short Holiday

We headed down to KL for a 3-day holiday after the Christmas weekend. Furthermore, there was a planned outage of water supply on Tuesday. So this time is was the 5 of us. We tried to make an early start for the drive to KL, but since daddy and I had a wedding dinner the night before and you had waited up for us (till 12 midnight!) by the time we all got out of bed and got ready we left the house at 9am. Not too bad in my opinion!

As I was trying to get you out of bed you asked me "Are we going to the airport?". "Er.. no. Why?" "You mean we're not taking aeroplane to KL?". Wah.... you think we print money?? No we drove to KL.

First stop was not Ashley Kor-kor's house. Instead we headed directly to The Gardens to have our dim sum fix. Ashley Kor-kor met up there for lunch then later Uncle Dennis joined us. The moment we got home, we were introduced to the newest family member:

...Pepper. He was so excited when he saw us, Ashley Kor-kor had a tough time trying to control his excitement. Another thing you were introduced to in KL was the "iPad". The moment you were "acquainted" to it, it was the first thing you touched the moment we reached home from wherever or the moment you wake up!

We had dinner in Kota Kemuning. The next day it was Ikea. Before that we had yummy "yong tau fu" then headed to Ikea. I think you remembered there was food sold in Ikea. Shortly after you arrived, you insisted that you were hungry (what??!!). So off you went with Ashley Kor-kor and you guys took so long I called her to check if everything was OK. She said that you had just managed to get your food. So as you both enjoyed each other's company the rest of us slowly walked around Ikea. Dinner that night was in Grand Imperial Restaurant in Bangsar Shopping Center. Yvonne Kor-kor and Uncle Peter joined us that day for dinner.

As we were getting ready to leave for Penang you told me "I'll miss Pepper". We had the seafood curry mee then headed to Kor Poh's house to collect the yam cake before heading back. We stopped by Ipoh before continuing all the way back to Penang.. where there was barely any water still until 10pm that night!

School Day Tomorrow

After many weeks of "I no need to sleep early, tomorrow no school", you've finally gone to bed early today. Tomorrow is a school day! As this year you'll be starting in a new school which is further meaning you'll need to wake up earlier so that you aren't late for school and daddy and I aren't late for work.

I've told you many times for the past 2 weeks that when school starts you'll have to go to bed at 9pm. So what time did you go to bed today? Well, we went upstairs to bathe and get ready for bed at 8.15pm. But at 9pm you insisted that you wanted to "try" the bread I had made today. So down we went had the bread and came back upstairs.

And just less than 10 minutes ago you were snoring right next to me! Hope this means a good start to the new school year for you.

*Goodnight, sweetie..*

New Year's Eve Party

As most of the usual suspects were not around during Christmas eve and Christmas Day, Ah Ma decided to have the dinner party on New Year's Day instead. So what was on the menu? "Surf and Turf" that's what Ah Ma called it.

Daddy was the steak chef for the night, with mummy taking orders for how the guests wanted their steaks to be cooked. On top of the steaks, we had lobsters on the grille, pork chipolata's and salmon. The kids were each given a hamburger (I should call it "pork-burger" instead) with chippies.

After stuffing ourselves with dinner, we sat around chatting and the kids opened some Christmas presents. Then it was time for dessert:

Haagen-Dazs Ice-cream Christmas Log Cake

Sponge Cake baked by Great-grand Aunty

Apple (?) bought by Uncle Sin Chuan from Cameron Highlands. Everyone thought it was more like guava than apple

As the next day was a weekend, everyone stayed a little later, but they did not stay till midnight as they were worried about traffic jam getting back home.

Happy New Year 2011!