Tones of Pink

The Scenery Resort and Farm

2010-10-15T00:11:00.005+08:00

Our lovely neighbour came across this resort in someone else's blog, and share it with us since we were heading to bangkok.

And we fell in love with the place just by viewing the website.....

check it out --> http://www.sceneryresort.com/

Having been to bangkok for so many times, this is the first time we will travel out of bangkok for a different agenda (other than shopping!).

Here's how to get there:

We flew to Bangkok, and took a pre booked taxi to the resort. The journey took us 3hrs. The fare is approx sgd160 (return trip, back to bangkok city when we check out of the resort)

About the resort:
The staff are extremely friendly and welcoming.

Upon arrival, i was asked to choose from two fragrances for our room, i chose lavender. The staff will drop lavender aromatheraphy oil into the burners in our villa.

We were escorted to our villa by buggy and when we enter the villa, we were greeted by aircon that was obviously turned on for a while, and soothing Olivia Ong's songs playing in the background. They had the details all arranged. Nice and impressive.

The villa is clean and neat. No carpet, but timber flooring. Very clean.

The bedding is extremely comfortable, there is a cushioned platform by the side of the king bed, and it became the perfect place for our bb to sleep at nite. Nice.

We stayed at Barbados, which is their VIP villa. It comes with a jaccuzzi, seperated from the living with a huge glass panel. Nice. Our bb enjoyed the 'pool' so much!

Dinner at Honeyscene is impressive too. Food is nice, staff is friendly and attentive. Absolutely no complaints. Before we leave the restaurant, the staff told us to visit their toilets, because he said the toilets are very nicely decorated. :)

We went. Nice and clean.

Breakfast is one serving for each person, and we chose the american breakfast. Private, nice and clean (again).

While having breakfast, we get to enjoy the exclusive scenary and watch the cows and horses eating grass..
no foul smell. Clean. What a relaxing and nua way to start our day.

The resort prepared chunks of leaves by the side table, free for guests to take and feed the animals. Thoughtful.

We get to feed the sheeps near the entrance when we pay 40baht for each adult. children is free to go in but will not get the leaves for feeding. Well, thank God, only livingstone held the leaves, while I was carrying our bb. Becos the sheeps flocked to him when they see their food, some of it stood on their hind legs and lean against livingstone, asking to be fed. The aftermath was a pair of dirty and stained bermudas. This was quite an experience.

Before we checked out of the resort, the friendly staff will offer to take a foto for us in the five scenes they have created, after which, they will hv the foto printed and presented to us as a gift. Thoughtful, isn't it?

When we were inside the taxi ready to leave, the staff at the reception lined up in a row to wave us goodbye.....This is excellent service.

We love the resort to the max.

And for my friends who are interested to go, pls dun hesitate, go ahead and start planning!
if u hv kids, jus make sure they can tahan the long journey in the car. prepare lotsa entertainment for them, and hv fun! :D

Scam - GMAIL

2010-09-20T00:02:00.003+08:00

I rx an email today, this is how it was written:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gmail [mailto:accessreply.database@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:46 PM
To: support@google.com
Subject: Your Account

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Full Name.
Password.
Birth Date.
Country.

Your Account Will Not Be Interrupted After Following The Instructions And Your Service Still Continue As Normal. We Apologize For Any Inconveniences.Thank You For Using Gmail.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is obviously a scam....be warned.

Therapeutic Nite

2010-09-18T23:54:00.003+08:00

For two years, I have withdrawal symtopms when it comes to watching action packed movies.
I selectively watched them if I had to.
So how did it happen?
I guess, it was just too much of them, and I was deprived of my fav type of shows - romantic comedy, and totally romantic movies.
(I even had to watch 'Nanjing Massacre 'with him when I was pregnant!)
Now, when heswitched on the DVD player for his movie marathon on weekends, I switched off my brain and walked straight to my bed. Period.

I finally shared with him .... that I missed these shows...

After SATC not long ago, I watched 'Confessions of a Shopoholic', how slow I was, I know.
But better late than never.
I was literally rolling on my sofa, Laughing.
It was so therapeutic for me!
And as for him, I think it was seeing me happy that makes him think the movie was interesting.

It was 3.30am when the show ended, bb was sleeping in her room, and I was still giggling when I replay the scenes of the movie in my head.....
Nice.

Barney LIVE 2010

2010-09-17T15:29:00.003+08:00

My bb is a fan of Barney, but, I would never know the existence of this show, had it not for judy and peggy asking if we were keen to go together. Me so ignorant abt such stuff lar...

So, with all the hassle and arrangement, we have decided to purchase the cheaper tix at $38 (with a further discount when i used the STAR card), and only attend the show with cousin edgar and family.

I was anticipating for this show much more than bbTara would i guess! bcos, the nite before, i was hovering around ryan's ears, and kept telling him how excited i was, as the show will be less than 24hrs. He goes, 'xiaoyee, u hv told me many many times....'
ha....so much for containing my anxiety to see the purple dino LIVE.

Anw, the next day, boy, i woke up at 630am! the show was 11am fyi.
I had to be up early to prepare the meals that i hv to bring out that day. ya, lunch and dinner for her only.
It wasn't difficult, more like a habit for me when i had to bring her out early, or for the entire day.
I had not overcome the thought of her eating table food, so I had to be more diligent in this manner.

And when the time is near, we packed our bag, dressed ourselves, and off we drove to expo, where the egg would be hatched for the PURPLE DINO, haha

Look, bbTara had her barney with her, how cute.

Turns out that, Barney is such an icon! almost every kid was dressed with barney tees, or carrying a Barney plush...how interesting!

the show was honestly not as fun as i thought it to be, but, just being there for our bb, and moving around with her after the interval, to somewea near the stage, got more exciting.

would i watch another show of such? NOooooooooooooooooo..
I still prefer those complimentary public show at the malls, come x'mas season, we will be malls hopping. :D
(fyi, daddy dozed off during the show.)

Cookies, My bake.

2010-06-30T15:57:00.002+08:00

Many Many Many pple, raised their eyebrows, when I tell them that I have not yet introduced biscuits to my bb.
She is turning 20mths tomorrow, shockening isn't it?
It is likely bcos the mummy me, doesnt snack, which means, the bb dun get to snack.
And why shld she snack on junk food?
I choose to give her fruits and bread if she needs a snack in between her main meals.

I am very fussy over what my bb eats. And I am open abt it. I dun hide.
Pple give me the 'why-cannot-eat-look'? but i politely tell them it is just my personal preference.
Not that the packaged biscuits will kill my bb (of cos it doesnt.), but, i believe there are other healthier alternatives to snacks. At the same time, i am trying to cultivate her self control skills, such that she doesnt fuss over what others are having, while she does not.
So far so good, my family and close frens respect what we hv decided, and doesnt give her the extra food, or they will always ask me before they do offer her.

Last wk, I baked the cranberry cookies (thanks to felin for the recipe!), I gave bb her first cookie.....and of cos, i enjoy watching her taking her every bite on her first cookie. =)

It doesnt mean I am open to all cookies now, Im still selective.
and only those that i baked for now.

Hollywood After Hours

2010-06-20T01:01:00.003+08:00

A few wks ago, I saw the sign at the ticketing booth when we were at Resort World.
It said there would be admission tickets for "Hollywood after hours", from Thursdays to Sundays (For June only), ticket sales start at 6.30pm.

It immediately striked me that it would be a perfect chance to bring my mum in there for a walk, since she wouldn't enjoy any of the rides, and we would not want to pay $70 for the admission ticket for now.

So, we went today.
I have no experience of how the ticket sales response will be, whether there will be any limit of ticket quantity and whatsoever. We arrived at 6.30pm, and was a little taken aback by the snake queue at the ticketing booth.
As we stood at the end of the queue, suddenly, someone approached me and asked if I wanted to buy their 4 tickets. WHAT! I couldn't believe my ears initially, but my hand had alrd stretched to their tickets and swept them away from the owners. Anw, they explained that they mistakenly bought too many tickets.
I need 1 more ticket!
and immediately, I walked to the beginning of the queue, targetted a stranger, and pleaded with him to buy just 1 more ticket for me (of cos i showed him my existing 4 tickets).
In 10mins, I got my 5tickets. YAHOOO!
Looking at the snake queue, Im delighted. heh heh.

We walked to the gantries for admission, but had to join the queue.
We will only be allowed to enter at 7pm.
There was again a very long queue behind us after a while.
This is so Singapore. :)

Anw, long story cut short, we had our dinner in USS (one of the pizza store), and with my sista who had already had her fun in USS before, she explained to us the things we saw and also recommended our dinner.
I didnt expect us to stay in there until almost 10pm, but we did.
dine, took pictures and shopped.
U asked me if the $2 was worth the hassle and all?
hmmm...the good companion and quality time spent is priceless.

Note - It is coming to end June soon, if u are planning to visit USS with "hollywood after hours' scheme, my advise is, take ur dinner first. Buy ur tickets after 7pm, there will be no more queue. Walk at leisure after that inside USS, so u do not need to squeeze with the crowd for ticket sales and dinner.

The day of fake tai tais in the making

2010-06-11T00:28:00.002+08:00

My sister must have felt guilty for not being able to meet us this june holiday, due to an increase to ryan boy's tennis lessons.
She took a day's leave, so that we can all spend a day together.
Thanks Thanks Thanks!!

I quickly planned for the day, and since she was the pay master for our high tea, I had to choose Rose Veranda. The place I long wanted to go... heh heh

There is not much to rave about the food to be honest. It was just decent, with salad bar, main courses, dim sum, sashimi+sushi, pastries and desserts.
My asian-blooded mum of cos didnt enjoy the spread like we did.
After a serving of mee goreng (alike), fish, and dim sum, she headed straight to the kuei line.
Even the 102 selections of premium tea, didnt please her.
While the rest of us walked to the line several times, eating and sipping the tea, like a tai tai in the making.
And I had my long-craved-and-satisfied share of sashimi and dessert! yum!
The best thing is, the high tea, unlike other hotels, end at 6pm. So there is no rush here.
We took our own sweet time.

After the high tea, which ended for us at 4pm (thank god the kids were ok for the long session there!), we drove to Resort World Sentosa. Ha, finally walk the galleria, with hand empty and spending no single cent. haha.

But, we rushed to United Square after that, and spent lots of monies. This GSS will be the month my credit card bill will come in pages, im sure.

This is one of the many, super duper quality time I had....thanks to my family who made it happen.
:)

Kenny's b'day celebration

2010-06-07T14:53:00.002+08:00

For a few years, we have not been celebrating the birthdays of many frens in this group.
Well, this yr, I seek their agreement to RE-celebrate these impt days again.
Since Siang's birthday was 4mths ago, I reckon Kenny will not rem that we will celeb his b'day, so, I thought, let's make it a hush hush thing for him, and see if we could surprise him.
Unfortunately, peggy lost her iphone the day before, and she had to ask kenny for my tel number (speaking of pple nowadays, we rely too much on address bk, that we hv no more manual phone book, or memorise the tel number lor! haha)
well, one thing leads to another, and kenny was suspicious of the nite.

They arrived finally at Keppel Bay's TCC, and i hv pre-arranged for the TCC's staff to present kenny his slice of b'day cake. Mango Mango....

The rest of the nite was pigging out, catching up, and entertaining the two kids in the hse.
I think the other customers in the cafe must have hated us, cos we were reaaaaaaally noisy.
There were the eleven of us, and to speak to the person on the other end (on the long table), we had to read lips, fight with our frens' voice, and the ching chang sound of the plates and cutleries in the cafe.
wow, this is a challenge.

A pity I had not enuf space and time to catch up with the ladies....

but im sure, we'll do it agn soon!

Bali Culture

2010-06-06T00:18:00.003+08:00

We have shelved plans to try this restuarant on many occassions, mainly bcos I was not confident of the food.
Tonite, I finally decided to reserve the table for three.
Lucky I did.
The experience in this restaurant turned out better than expected. :)

Bali Culture is located inside a Club, Orientus Resort.
Besides Bali Culture, there is another chinese tze char stall which is also pretty crowded. I saw many tables having steamboat.
Another score point factor, will be the free parking inside the club.
Although I reserved a indoor table, we ended up sitting at the alfresco area when we arrived, mainly bcos the outdoor tables are by the poolside. And that means, bb gets to be entertained. :)
There is a live band indoor though. We get to hear the live band via the central system. Pretty good.

We ordered a chendol and calamari to share, livingstone had the chicken in zurich style (recommended by the hse), and I decided to try the ayam penyat.
The dishes turned out all good!
Chendol was creamy and quenching. The zurich chicken topped with crunchy rosti came with a very nice gravy, and my ayam penyat wasn't disappointing either, comes with a small pc of tauhu, tenpeh and tender chicken thigh. The chili goes very well with the chicken. abit sour, spicy - refreshing!

The total bill came up to be $50.80, and we decided to sign up for their membership.
The culture group owns three restuarants - The Bali Culture, Beach Culture and the SWISS Culture.
The membership cost $30/yr, comes with 6 pcs of $10 voucher, to be use when the bill hits $30, max 2 vouchers to be used each time.
The member card is entitled to 15% on final bill without the vouchers.
With this card, we can also utlise the resort's amenties such as the bbq pit, the swimming pools and i think to book the chalets as well.....too bad the javanese massage jus moved away, otherwise, it could hv been perfect for us.

The resort ain't big. To be frank, it kind of looked quite run down. Im pretty surprised to see that the chalets are mostly occupied tonite. hmmm....
Maybe its the june holidays. chance off the congested city, why not?

And so, u guessed it, we're going back agn. join us! :)

The Better than Expected Road Trip...

2010-06-01T00:39:00.003+08:00

Thanks to the frens who suggested a road trip during this long weekend. It was another milestone with my bb. =)

I expected her to be cranky in the car, afterall, it is going to be a 5hrs trip up to genting.
Thank God! She was pretty manageable. Cranky a bit, slept a bit, played a bit....all under controlled. (i hope the driver and passenger agreed with me loh... lol)
And she didnt make a single noise when I had to dig her up from her dreamland at 4.30am.
She was all excited and ready to play!

We had fun at genting indoor theme park. It was a good place for the old and young i must say.
from casinos, to food, to shopping, to entertainment, they have it all!
I even suggested livingstone to hop onto the kiddy train with bb while i shopped! extremely convenient! But i think he took the train too many times, till he was resting his head on the train while bb was happily enjoying the ride. haha....

I had my retail therapy not only in Genting, but more so in KL...it was awesome! with a short shopping time allocated, i grabbed abt 40+ clothings for the lil family of mine!
dun ask me how i do it,
I JUST DID IT!
coupled with good food, what more can i ask for?
and my mister had his full body massage too.

It was amazing, with just 3d2n, and spending so much time travelling, I had to say we made full use of the time and did many many things.
On the way back, we even stopped at JB-Giant for grocery shopping, and also had very nice pee-pa-ya (thanks to dennis's recommendation!) for dinner before heading home.

And guess what? there was NO JAM at the custom as we expected it to happen....

It was like Jess's comment...it was a short and nice trip. I totally had to agree.

foto of bbtara in towel after shower in genting hotel. :)

The heart of a mother

2010-05-26T16:09:00.003+08:00

It was the first time I visited a fren in the hospital with the newborn not in the room with the new parents.... :(
I can see the sadness in her eyes and voice....
Kurt was in the ICU for the past few days for suspected lung infection.
I believe it is not going to be serious.
But I am sure it badly hurt budd.

It is not hard to imagine the pain of a new mother, not able to tug her newborn close to her at this moment.
From the time a woman conceive, to the ten months of gestation, to delivery, and so on....
the period is full of anticipation, anxiety, and unfortunately danger. Yes, i mean danger.
You never know if the process is smooth, safe, cost effective, correct or wrong.
And more often than not, we are in no position to control the matters....

Whatever it is, I wish that all will be fine soon, we are all ready to move on. :)

Graduated for the First Time

2010-05-25T15:32:00.003+08:00

Today is the day.
bbTara will be collecting her certificate - upon completion of her compulsary vaccinations.
She cried on her last jab. How unglam. hur hur ...
This will be the last time we step into this clinic (i hope), we will miss lilian the pd, and the clinic nurses in kids clinic.

My Godson - Kurt

2010-05-24T23:16:00.001+08:00

Budd had him finally downloaded!
at a whopping 3.95kg, and 56cm long...im gonna label him the Giant Baby Kurt!
Can't wait to see them tml!!

Long time....

2010-05-21T14:02:00.003+08:00

Oh wow...I havent been signing in to my blogspot account for donkey months.
Im still alive. =)
And no, I have not given up on my blog. After almost 6 yrs of blogging, I am of course not ready to retire.
My world revolves around my family as u would have alrd know by now.
The daily things that I do at home with the lil kid is pretty routine, like tidying the hse, tidying the hse, tidying the hse, cooking, cooking, cooking, changing diapers, changing diapers, and still changing diapers, .....but well, lucky for me, I try to spice up the life at home when no one is around, and with the lil kid asleep.

From the day I stayed at home, we have adjusted a fair bit of schedules to fit the new lifestyle, and I believe it will keep changing, man, who said life at home wasn't dynamic...haha
Recently, I decided to reduce the bb's nap to single session (but longer hrs) per day.
So now, when she knocked out at abt 1.30pm, i have my own time for abt 2 , 3hrs or more.
I have more time to chat with my frens and rewatched Nigella, Curtis Stone, 3plus1 and more on my dvd player. Since before bb was asleep, I had to finish most of the chores, if not, i would hv woken up the light sleeper bb.
It became my very own quality time. sweeeeet.

The lil bb is very chatty now, and of cos in her own language. While sometimes I know what she is trying to tell me, other times, I just had to tell her to speak to me in english.
And she likes to call for me everytime and anywhere. 'mummy, mummy, MUUUUUmmy'...it's so sweet...but let's countdown to the day where i will find it a nuisance. (would i?)
Her fav show now is no longer Barney and frens, it has got to be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The character toys that we bought for her from HK disneyland will sit with her thruout the show. I could see her matching the characters on the TV as quickly as she could. Though she is always slower... :)
It is always exciting to see her doing things for the first time. And I can't help but to flash her my proud smile of satisfaction.

It's time for me to return to my writing here so that I could pen down the memories before i forget... :)

To the mini farm....

2010-02-02T13:41:00.003+08:00

It was a day we decided to call it our own. And we drove to the animal resort, very near our hse.
I am not totally a city kid, I prefer to explore remote places and experience something different.
Zoo will definitely come soon.

We usually do not let bbTara run all over in public. In places like the shopping malls, she is still being strapped to her stroller. And in restaurants, she is being strapped to the high chair. So, i guess its fair that we bring her to somewea and give her the freedom to run, as much as she want. Yes, we are very selective to the places she can run ... for now.

This is also the time when we first realise that she noes how to pose in front of our camera.

suddenly, the ducks gathered by the lil pond, and started singing!

billy goat....

and the only horse in the farm.

There are other animals such as the rabbit, dogs, various breeds of birds (both small and big!), and is also a training ground for german sheperd.
bbTara at this point of time is still pretty conservative with close contact with the animals....which can be a good sign, at least she is cautious. Well....let's see if this will mean she is timid... =)

the pair who cannot click...

2010-01-30T01:41:00.002+08:00

The pair who couldn't click...bbGivan became a bottle snatcher last x'mas...
and bbTara obviously didnt like it. =)

they jus can't click...

thanks to aunty HP for this cute headband! Perfect for a x'mas gathering...

she's pouting bcos givan wants his choochoo train back.

the apple crum-pie i made for the day... =)

Jade's Birthday

2010-01-29T15:17:00.003+08:00

My Blog stood still. But not us. We are still breathing.
Too many backlogs, too little time....

Last Dec, we attended bbJade's first birthday party. A pity we missed the cake cutting as livingstone had to work late.

bbTara dressed to theme, it was a minnie themed party.

a few of our frens had to leave early, so we had to chop chop for a group shot.

The star for the day...she was sleepy and tired by the time we arrived...

"Hurry, let's run with the balls before someone catches up!...Mommy, let's run together!"

caught by Aunty Felin...swing me as punishment...hur hur hur

Jade's first pair of shoes...

bbTara disturbing the guest...

Very random...

2010-01-06T00:53:00.002+08:00

Very random pictures...these were lying in my harddisk for quite a while since Nov 09'...
time to release them:

she is saying: "no more"

"I got my balance...look ma, no hands..."

here she is stepping on foreign object....if it wasn't for this hanger, she would be stepping on all the fallen leaves..

now, she enjoys her home base kiddy ride...

watching chubbington...

hug hug minnie...minnie is her bedtime pal...

snuggle up and get cosy!

An evening in T3

2010-01-06T00:19:00.002+08:00

Nowadays, when we are all dressed up and ready to leave the hse, bbTara will wait at the gate for us to put on her shoes.

patting on the floor, signalling us to sit down next to her, and then lift up her feet when she saw her shoes...hmm....she's so growing up....

at T3, giving her the freedom to roam...don't we look like her bodyguards?

tired, and she wanted to take a rest.
It was her wish, she pat on the chair, and showed me the signal to carry her...
she's 'talking' to me isn't it?

That nite at T3 was interesting, with the reciept we obtained from Dian Xiao Er, we were able redeem free gift and pay a discounted rate to enjoy a new and fun ride like this:

it was the eco-friendly ride we saw in the malls these days... and I encouraged ryan boy to have a try. He wanted livingstone to join him. =)

both of them after the brief training session...

Just a fun ride.

We had light supper of roti, kopi and tea at Wang's cafe before we call it a nite.
The nite would have been more fun if ryan boy was allowed into the bouncing castle...but the rule said children had to be above 8yrs old for admission...too bad.

she keeps growing....

2009-12-18T12:55:00.003+08:00

I never know how a mother I wanted to be, until I became one myself....
I thought I would be the rather non-fussy type. Gosh, I was totally wrong!
Been a SAHM for a yr, I began to realise that I am very consecutive with bb food. no table food (yet), no sugar, no salt, no preserved food, selected dry food only, no canned food....that's a series of NO!
i am a control freak. haha...
anyway, i probably wanted to make myself useful in providing bbTara with wholesome natural food, that comes with an extra touch of love. =)
As long as she is growing steady and healthy, those junks can come later.

Along the way, livingstone and I wanted her to cultivate certain independent behaviour, we are still trying hard.
She has as far successfully slp alone in her own room at nite since she was abt 8mths.
And now, she likes to carry her own toy box when we allow her to bring it along.

My baby....she really keeps growing dun she.....
(oops, she's gonna kill me when she grows up to see this foto, .... her hair! mummy forgot the hairclip!)

I'm watching Barney!

2009-12-18T00:33:00.003+08:00

Ever since I realised that OKTO airs Barney everyday, I recorded the show.
(Becos the time coincides with her nap time....)

So, everyday, after her lunch, I will play Barney, and u can tell she enjoys it...
dancing, laughing, kissing, imitating...
livingstone says, there is a curse on Barney shows, otherwise how come so many kids like an ugly purple brinjal....haha

Right after Barney, is my fav cartoon - Chuggington.....hiak hiak hiak.... =D

The Nov babies

2009-12-16T17:50:00.002+08:00

It was an impromptu meetup.
And we had yummy steamboat for dinner at Ngern's residence!

HL thought peggy's b'day was round the corner, so wanted to celebrate the nov babies special day together. But it was way over. Since there was a mood for celebration, why not!?

So i quickly arranged for the agar agar to be delivered to me before the impromptu party...
sorry folks, not like I wanted this design, but it was like 'take it or leave it' kind of agony. If i dun accept this ready made agar agar, we will have no agar agar, and it will be plain old b'day cake. =)

three b'day candles for three nov babies!

not bad, they became the mix & match family! haha...

as we multiplied, there were now kids at our gatherings. Sometimes, I felt so aged...HAHA
pple, dun kill me! i noe im not the oldest... :p
Anw, we are the mothers who will bring bb's toybox with us when we visit someone's hse.
U rather they play quietly together then to ransack the hse for something they can play with isn't it?

Trust us, its more convenient this way. =)

swim & stroll

2009-12-04T14:23:00.003+08:00

It was so much fun that day!
We went swimming at Anchorvale CC again, and if it doesn't rain, we had scheduled to go to Orchard for the 2009 x'mas lightings. =)

she so enjoy the time even though she was only floating...

it rained after 20mins, and we all shifted to the indoor 1.2m pool. No floats allowed, so livingstone became her man made float. Boy, she was cold! her jaws were shaking! but when i carried her out of the pool, she was screaming and her finger was pointing right at daddy inside the pool...
u are right, i put her back then. =)

what a coincident! we bumped into nicole and family at the fun pool! =D
Made us stayed longer at the pool even though we were supposed to leave.
By the time we reached home, it was 5pm, and bbTara was tired! fell asleep immediately when i tucked her nicely on her bed.
So we decided to play by ear, if it doesnt rain at nite, we are so going to Orchard! =)

And we did! bb woke up at 7pm, had her dinner, and we were out by 8pm. Go Public! we were enjoying our train ride to town... hur hur hur
We alighted at Orchard, strolled all the way to Plaza Singapura, and took the NEL back home agn (last train, hee...).

fantastic light up at ION Orchard, inside the gigantic x'mas tree...it brought me back to Tioman, when i was there star gazing...truely beautiful.

I think she was amazed with the human crowd, large decorations and the colorful lightings!
Each time she spotted a mascot, she will blow her kisses at them!

and we had bbTianle joining us at 9.30pm! haha...wat a late nite bbs outing.... =)

Sesame Street @ Compass Point (Part 2)

2009-11-26T12:10:00.002+08:00

We promised ourselves that we will be there for the x'mas musical show performed by Sesame Street.
And we made it!
The performance might be short, but considering our 12mth old toddler's attention span, I find it just nice!

We were no fans of sesame street to be trueful, but the colors of the backdrop and stage were so attractive, plus the characters coming before our eyes live ... woa! I am a fan now. =)
(only the live shows, haha)

check out the videos, bbtara was dancing away at the end of the video.
Elmo Song!

Finale

Merry X'mas!!!

and if u are interested to catch them live like we did, they will be at the Compass Point till 29th Nov, performing daily at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm.

have fun!

she plays catching...

2009-11-24T14:26:00.000+08:00

having fun with daddy....playing catching...

Sesame Street @ Compass Point (Part 1)

2009-11-24T14:14:00.001+08:00

I am not a fan of Sesame Street...
but, seeing the setup they had at Compass Point right now, makes me so wanna be part of them!

so exciting! & we'll be there today for the musical performance!
North East Rox! =D

Ladies Nite

2009-11-17T00:26:00.003+08:00

She's back for a very short holiday.
And we had to meet up very quickly.
She selected Thai food, and we brought her to Nakhon @ Kovan.
It was a ladies nite, even bbTara was left at home with livingstone.
A nite of food, arguments, discussion, corrections, laughters and complains. This shld be pretty much what happen when u put women together, isn't it? We made so good use of our gaps. =)

Thanks to livingstone for taking over the shift while i was out. I suppose this is the first time after an entire year, that I chose to leave her at home.
I reached home with her getting ready to slp...
we cuddled for 10mins before she goes to bed...
how sweet.....=)

Paging

2009-11-15T23:13:00.001+08:00

Paging for CHRISTINE TAY! CALL ME WHEN U SEE THIS MSG!...

heh heh

Her 1st Kiddy Ride

2009-11-15T14:14:00.003+08:00

We were at Downtown East last nite, and while having dinner (at lemongrass, and omg, the food sux...) ryan boy said he was tired...so, to spur his interest, i told him i will bring him on the kiddy ride, & only if there was a discount. I was obviously not sincere :p
But....when u see his hopeful vision staring at the moving train....we all had to give in.
And even we broke our own rule, and hop on the train with him!

so, this was bbtara's virgin ride on A KIDDY RIDE.

She was pretty stiff all the while, and was observing the environment around her thruout the ride.
i think she wasn't expecting something like this, cos the most 'exciting' activity for her so far, was to the playground .... heh heh

Unwrapping

2009-11-15T14:08:00.002+08:00

Thank u for all the generous gifts, dear frens....

She enjoyed tearing the wrappers lo....haha

The Birthday Party

2009-11-12T15:41:00.006+08:00

We were overwhelmed at the party by blessings, generous gifts & tokens, smiles, laughters, and most impt of all, ur presence.... =)
I hope for those who have attended the b'day party, u had fun mingling, eating and pple watching... haha...
sorry no. 1 --> We apologise if we couldn't spend quality time with u at the party, as we have only 1 mouth each....heh heh
sorry no. 2 --> for those that we couldn't invite....but the list gets longer and longer that we got to chop at somewea.... =(

A Big Thank You to you who partcipate in putting the event in order and of cos the bits and pieces...taking pictures, videos, singing the birthday song, clapping, playing, eating....blar blar blar....u noe, without u, this party wouldn't have made it. It's true, and its from the bottom of our hearts.

So, before I forget...let me put the event down in words so that in many many more years to come, bbTara will recall what we have prepared for her on her special day. =)

Dear Baby,
Mommy had a wonderful sumptious lunch at Aunty Meow's church wedding, and the deep impression lasted till the day we decided to celebrate ur b'day, the big scale way. So, we decided to use the same caterer.
Was so blessed that Uncle Kirk agreed to dress up ur line of food! With see-thru beverage container, and three tiers pastry trays! Yeah! Though mommy and daddy didnt eat the line of food, but we were equally glad that many pple told us the food was awesome!

Daddy wanted to make a backdrop for u. But has no idea what to print. So, one day, the idea struck Mommy -- to make u a cover baby for a magazine! So, I got down to the artwork, and viola! We hope u like it like we did. =)

There were so many kiddos attending ur b'day party, and Daddy and Mommy wanted to give them a place to play. So we went thru the hassle to find u a pool which we filled up with colorful balls and balloons. Your frens had so much fun tossing the balls and jumping in & out! The adults could drop their kids in there, and proceed for food! How apt. There were remarks from frens saying 'how come there were noise but no children running around?'
And many frens love the cartoons on the wall, that they took it back when they left the party. =)

Besides all, Jiu Jiu came volunteered with making coffee for every guest possible! Mommy was so guilty bcos I forgot to ask him to fill his tummy first before he got down to work! How silly of me!!
Jiu Jiu ended up making 60 over cups of coffee yet having nothing to eat. =(
But, we made it up with giving him a treat a few days later.

Before the celebration, Mommy decided to plan the attire for our family, and viola! We were all dressed in pink, all matched with camouflage berms! And with that, Mommy decided to extend this creativity onto ur b'day cake!

Home baker Uncle William especially handmade the figurines for us (and it took him many days!). =)
As I noe I will be changing u into a brown dress for cake cutting, so this was what happen on top of a three-kg figure 1 cake.
Sorry baby, if u were expecting something fanciful, like a beautiful fondant cake, or tiered cake....but mommy and daddy think the traditional figure 1 will leave u a better impression when u grow up. We hope u like it, this cake is a gift from Yee Yee. =)

We were afraid that u will freak out when u saw the crowd standing in front of u, ready to sing u the song...but u pulled it off with smiles and cues that surprised us!

baby, look at the aunties and uncles that were there.....sharing our joy, celebrating with u as u turn 1 year old....these are all daddy and mommy's dear frens!

Two wet birthday kiss from us, Happy Birthday Darling!

Daddy is still trying to make u blow that candle....look at the smile and wink u had on ur face! u are so adorable in our eyes....

We cannot describe in words how major a milestone we have crossed with u as u turn 1, but baby, u brought us so much fun, tears, laughter, joy and of cos frustration sometimes thruout this twelve months, that we would never wanna trade with anything in the world.
You have matured into a toddler after this celebration, technically speaking, you are no longer a 'baby', but, like what ah gong and ah ma (s) always say 'you will always be the baby in daddy and mommy's eyes'.

Happy Birthday our Baby, may we be able to hold ur hands and complete the journey of parenthood so long as we all shall live.....

Love,
Mommy

bbTara's 365days

2009-11-01T00:47:00.003+08:00

We made it to our major milestone!
Thank you ALL of u who made it to the party today, i noe some had appt and had to reshuffle it in order to attend the celebration. I appreciate ur effort! thank you once again.
The party was considered a successful one, with positive compliments on the buffet line, and the lil' corner we setup for the kids so that the parents can have some time to themselves.
A teaser to the fotos before I say gdnite....

The customised cake - I forsake every cartoon characters and had the three of us solely sitting on the figure 1 cake. I hope the most creative part was the attire, I had the attire planned and sent to the baker to mould the fondant figurine. Glad the figurine turned out beautiful!
The cake could have been better if it wasn't this colorful though....
Thanks to my sister, who proudly sponsered this cake!

I have many pple to thank, for making this event successful !
Let me catch some rest before I con't....

gdnite everybody, sweet dreams.
& Happy Birthday bbTara, 365days ago, exactly this time...mommy and daddy were in the delivery room waiting for ur arrival u noe.....the journey was amazing....
we love u.

having fun in the car!

2009-10-25T00:31:00.002+08:00

ok daddy, when u left us alone in the car, this is wat happens... =)

fun fun fun!

Zzzzz

2009-10-24T01:36:00.002+08:00

Attended my cousin's wedding tonite, my relatives had fun playing with bbTara... =)
They witnessed how playful this bbgirl is, always on the lookout for eye contact with anybody, then flashes her signature smile!
that tickles that person so much, and they liked her!
am so blessed that our bb is pretty sociable!

She was so tired at the end of the nite....

her new walker

2009-10-24T01:16:00.002+08:00

One fine day, she innovatively used the cheap ikea chair as a walker!
so,....parents, if u are thinking of getting bb the expensive walker, think agn, maybe $4.90 chair is more than enuf.... =)

Fun at North East!

2009-10-22T12:24:00.002+08:00

When I didnt cook, I like to think of places we can go when livingstone comes home at nite.
He's nice, though after a day's work, he doesnt mind going almost anywhere with us. =)
Last nite, I suggested that we go to Rivervale Mall!
ah-ah...no car day for us. We are taking the LRT. :)
Having been staying at North East for the past three years, I enjoyed the comfort of taking public transport as much as possible, this is especially so after the arrival of bbTara...really so much easier.
The car will be reserved for other places =)

This is the first time for us in the LRT. bbTara had fun eyeballing the short train ride! So did livingstone....

The extra incentive for going there now is the opening of DAISO!
oooh-hooo.....we shopped there till all the shops were closed! how comfortable we were in there!

ok, got u this headband since u were so happy with it!

We had fun.... =)

Her First Haircut

2009-10-21T11:21:00.002+08:00

For those who always asked us "When are u gonna trim her hair?"
We did last nite. :)

Went to the salon at Rivervale Plaza becos Daddy was having his haircut at the barber nearby.

Thank God! We expected her to be cranky, but she behaved and kept smiling at the hairdresser.
$6 for that short session and few snips. But she does look neater now.

And, just for laugh, the hairdresser asked us a question before she started to cut her hair,
" boy or girl?"

:D

Well, lucky she asked.....

let's swim!

2009-10-21T11:11:00.002+08:00

It can be pretty fun to have frens who hv bbs of the same age group....so many things we can do together isn't it!

bbShanelle's virgin swim! daddy even got her a neck float! with that, she could kick water on her own and drift away from anxious daddy!

I usually dun swim together with them, bcos I think its better to have some1 dry, just in case the bbs need to get up...and we won't be all clumsy to handle.

fathers enjoying the swim with their bbs...

like a production line, the fathers showered the bbs together, afterwhich, the mommies took over to dry them and dress them up!
The next time, bbJade will join us!!

playground monster

2009-10-20T17:28:00.002+08:00

ever since we brought her to indoor play gyms, I began to be more open to public playgrounds. Before, I would not know when to start exposing her....
so now, if its not too late, we will stop by the playground below our hse, it is perfect time for daddy to bond with his bbgirl too...

look at my playground monster....

so happy she kept shouting... =)

claypot chicken rice

2009-10-19T17:38:00.003+08:00

I love homecook food.
I don't rem dragging myself back home for dinner when I was young.
or maybe jus once a while, when there are temptations to hv dinner with frens.... heh heh...
Im lucky that my mom can cook!
and I always like to jot down her recipes and make them on my own now.
Afterall, I hope bbTara will be proud of me when she grows up too...I dun need her to tell anybody if she likes my food, she only needs to whisper in my ear, and that's just enuf.

a one-pot kind of solution....easy and nice. =)

and just the other day, my MIL wanted us to bring home the pomelo...
I never like to eat pomelo on its own...so I made us the mango+pomelo+sago dessert.... =)

As I turn 30....

2009-10-16T23:59:00.003+08:00

If u ask me, I rather not step into the 30s club. hiak hiak hiak....
anw...im there now. welcome me.
thanks. =)

So, I planned for the day....and I wanna go to the beach! it will be bbTara's virgin visit to the sandy beach!
ah-ah....we didnt head to sentosa...my theme that day was 'North-East Day', so I suggested Punggol beach. Indeed a very nice place, clean sandy beach, with no crowds at all.

bbTara having fun with her beach toys!

Thank God, she was not afraid of sand at all! For I initially thought, she would dislike the texture....

she grabbed a handful of sand....and i love the way she explore the stuff....

notice there aren't anybody at the beach besides us....

strolling baby....

love her expression on this pic!

the 1 hr on the beach was HOT! I was so engrossed with her activity, that i totally forgot to take off my singlet for a better tan! now I end up having two colors...damn....
and bcos bbtara covered her body well with her swimming costume, she ended up having a tanned face and hand. haha...

Anw, next, we proceeded to Anchorvale CC's swimming pool!!
rem i mentioned 'North-East Day'....
we had it all!

This public swimming pool feels like wild wild wet!! Awesome!

trust me....bbTara is very tired now as u can see...

my lovely girl....

thanks Huggies! for the free swimmer sample we've gotten frm them! like how they market it, the diaper didnt swell in water....thumbs up!

For the fun we had in the morning till noon, bbTara fell into deep sleep for four hrs after the shower and lunch....

When she woke up, we con't our 'North-East Day' thingy, and proceeded to Urban Spoon for my birthday dinner....

look at how red her hands were!!

awesome drinks! I had some smoothie that resembles ultimate blend from coffeebean and livingstone had Ice Mochaccino....spot bbTara's drinking mug :)

these Jazzy wings were spicy but jin nice!!

the highly recommended crayfish laksa in pesto sauce....but it wasn't fantastic in my opinion.
Too special for me, i would still prefer that traditional bowl of laksa gravy with taupok and all...

This was good for me! I expected the sauce to be similar to the jazzy wings...but I was surprised!
the ribs were tender and juicy, now it made me drool....

my birthday tiramisu. yummy!!!
trust me, as I savour the dessert, I could taste the effort of the chef! No kidding! very nice!

and on this day, bbTara is blowing the candle together with me...
my bb is growing.... =)

30 is defintely just a figure. =)

2009 Mooncake Festival

2009-10-14T00:13:00.003+08:00

Part two of the day:

After the celebration with ryan boi at vivo city, we proceeded to sx's place for our annual mooncake festival gathering ...
It was a ta-bao theme, so we brought satay, hot hot from Whampoa!

I had fun this nite!
with us splitting up into the female group and the male group, we had so much quality time gossiping and chatting! Caf was in between lo, but thank god there was him, crawling with our two babies as we were too lazy to follow them in the hse...:p
the time ticked tocked away pretty fast! before I realised, it was 12mn! we had to run!
like a cinderella... :p
cos my dear bb had to have her last feed of the day and of cos her beauty sleep!
hur hur hur....
sorry la frens, last feed have to be consumed at home so that she can sleep better.... heh heh
my style. =)

Ryan turns 6!

2009-10-13T17:23:00.003+08:00

My dearest nephew turns 6.
unbelievable, feels like i was carrying him as an infant jus last yr....
further more, he had alrd got himself enrolled in primary school, going for orientation somemore.
what a truth to digest.

I asked him what he want for his birthday, and he asked for watches.
I told him to leave the selection of cartoons to me...
so i got him his fav BEN Ten and transformers watches...
got him delighted!

met up with ah ma to celebrate his birthday at vivo's earl swensens (that place sucks, esp the menu).
it was mooncake festival that day, so there was part two to the eventful day.... :)

my Lovely bb

2009-10-13T17:14:00.003+08:00

she is lovely in our eyes....

iPOOD

2009-10-13T17:10:00.001+08:00

"Mommy, iPOOD!"

Part two wedding 2009-2009

2009-10-13T01:18:00.002+08:00

Rushed to Orchard Hotel to attend their wedding, both of them are my secondary frens...
come to think of it, I am considered their match-maker!!
they only started dating after i pull them into icq to chat together! and that is many many years after we graduated from secondary school....
history aside, am really glad that they have tied the knot on a beautiful day... =)

the bride, who used to sit besides me in class...

bliss!

take-five, taken outside the ballroom...

the BMSSes!!

congratulations my dear fren....may ur hair grey together for many many more years to come...

2009-2009 (Part 1)

2009-10-13T00:42:00.003+08:00

This is obviously a HOT date to tie the knot. And for that, we have two weddings to attend in a single day.
Thank God, they do not directly clash with each other.
Here's us, attending Stella and Weihong's holy matrimony ceremony in the church.

cute bbAlpheus... he is bbtara's 2 mths snr.

we parked them both side by side during the ceremony...

and the group pic before we set off for part two!

Eleven and counting...

2009-10-12T17:08:00.002+08:00

she's mine....

this mth, we gave her the clip.
too many members of the public mistook her for 'gor-gor' and 'dee-dee'...so, I decided she needs the clip to stop the confusion, heh heh
in fact, it helped 'lowered' her hair though! u shld noe by now, that her hair infamously STANDS!

my bumble bee baby...

bee reading cat comics...

bee reading to rat....

'peek-a-boo'!

so happy that she is always seen dancing...jus play the song!

daddy has a remote control car, and she holds the remote control, points it at the doreamon team, and anticipates for anyone characters to move! hilarious!

my sweet bb....mommy is enjoying ur hug & weight on my body....

cheeky smile....

'YOU!'

I can't tell u how much my bb has changed our lives in the aspect of priorities and lifestyle for the past eleven mths.
Parenthood has been amazingly busy and rewarding at the same time, I am uber glad that me and livingstone are still able to maintain our normal gatherings with frens, even going out on our regular family outings. Most of the credits have to go to our bb, who is not extremely fussy and until now, she is still able to remain in her stroller while we were out. That really makes things so much easier for us. And the outings became enjoyable.
The tiring matter becomes preparing her, ourselves and preparing her meals.
However, as we end our day with all of us tired out and had our objectives acheived, that is more than enuf.
Anw, let me update that she is walking! =)

Happy eleven mths baby....we are approaching 365days....

peep!

2009-10-12T13:44:00.002+08:00

I hope she joins me in my baking sessions soon!

this is my bakery compartment...and she looked like she was pretty interested with the things inside... HAHA...

Zzzzzzz

2009-10-12T13:40:00.002+08:00

As we reached home after a session of outing, she was so tired and con't to sleep even after the slow stroll back from the carpark....

even when i gave her a wet kiss....

even when I adjusted her upright, away from my chest...she con't to slp...
with only my hand at the back of her head as support...

my tired bb is very tired....

My Gym Open House

2009-10-04T16:03:00.004+08:00

We attended the free trial session at My Gym (Tampines) a few saturdays back. It was another new branch prior to the one at Marine Parade.

Sitting in a big circle, we introduced our bbs and had fun singing, dancing away!
When it comes to 'performing stunts'....bbTara strongly protested,
she was asked to stand on her hands (upside down), and she wailed and wailed. It was her first experience of such, and I was sure she didnt like it. =)
(Anw, back at home, she enjoyed the stunt now)
In fact, other than her, most of the bbs joined in the wailing choir....
I fedback to the instructors that maybe they shld consider putting this stunt to the last, well...at least allow them to familarise withe the environment and what they can enjoy ....

Next, we can either free play in the gym with its trampoline (which both bbtara and I enjoyed!),
or play on the slides and in a pool of colorful balls...etc....

After a while, there were story telling, and then, yet another stunt...

haha....they aren't called My Gym for nothing. =)

back at home...look at how she enjoyed the stunt....

:)

while she sleeps...

2009-09-30T23:32:00.000+08:00

From month 0 to today, I have been faithfully patting her to slp, 3 times a day (2naps and 1 nite).
On good days, if she is tired, I can walk out of the rm in less than 7mins.
Well, on some days it can take close to 45mins...
Having lowered the bed to the lowest now, since she could stand in her crib, my back could ache when I bend over to pat her for long.
but.... when she sleeps....the ache is nothing...

A gift - My creation...

2009-09-30T17:44:00.002+08:00

My immediate neighbour had twins! so uber happy for them, though it makes up three boys in their hse now (i bet christine can totally relate to this!), they are still bundles of joy la!
& i especially made these rompers for them...come complete with their names, birthdate and numbering... heh heh

was glad that the parents liked the creation.... =D

his hands are full...

2009-09-30T17:29:00.001+08:00

his hands are full, isn't it?

bbtara didnt look too impressed la...

like a Koala!

2009-09-30T16:59:00.002+08:00

while having dinner, bbtara decides to be a koala....mostly tugging me

it was sooooo sweet.... =)

the hooded baby

2009-09-30T14:29:00.002+08:00

my bb in hood.... =)

daddy's darling....

LAVA ROCK (dun rox)

2009-09-24T23:18:00.002+08:00

Location: Hougang Ave 8

We drove past the coffeeshop, and saw a huge banner with a catchy stall name. So, there we were on of those eat-out nights...

warning: They hv a complicated menu IMO. We are spoilt for choices but at the same time VERY CONFUSED. I ended up telling livingstone 'anything lar'

mushroom soup - awwwwwright, this didnt disappoint me. Nice, the bowl was emptied. This is obviously not campbell soup.

livingstone's chicken chop. Awright, nothing fantastic except for the presentation considering we are at a coffeeshop.

My steak:
I am no fan of hotplate, the awful smell that sticks to my clothe is something I disliked! But, the staff highly recommended this, and I thought I shall comply and give it a try.
When the staff key in my order, he asked 'would u like to add $1 for seasoning?'
I was totally puzzled...
and I asked what was the difference.
He explained that it will taste better with the seasoning.
Awright, now, the stubborn me insisted on trying the original. So, I opted out of the $1 seasoning.
The serving came nice and proper. Appetising too.
The steak was served as per my request. Nothing to complain abt.
However, the taste...was too original.
He was right, I shld have opted in for the $1 seasoning.
What I think they shld consider is, put that as a compulsary serving and charge the $1 accordingly.
Now, they lost me. bcos I was turned off by the 'season-less' steak.

lava rock doesnt rox.

but pple are still queuing....

Trial session at JWT bbgym

2009-09-11T17:06:00.003+08:00

Coincidentally, I was toying with the idea of exposing bbTara to bbgyms.
Was browsing the forums for recommendations, and my fren text me '...trial session... @ JWT bbgym"...that's the key words!
Dial the number, and registered. :)
Honestly, we went with no intention to sign up the package. :p
so, there were a few stations that bbs can play with:
The slide:

the platform (that can caused sea-sick haha)...

the cylinder:

fwah! push-ups baby! Can u tell? daddy gets tired before bbTara does! haha...

and, her fav: The swing....

It was her first time on a swing...

quiet time...wea the bbs were all thrown into the pool...(handphone image)

If u asked me, effective or not?
I say, if u hv the extra extra cash, then dump it there, if not, give it a pass.

But, I liked that bbs are exposed to bbs of their similar ages, and she looks like she had fun for that 30mins (cos we were late for 15).

TaraTV:

Perfect TEN

2009-09-09T17:23:00.003+08:00

It's been TEN months, baby!
All the months that we kissed and hugged you seems to fly by so quickly!

Now that we have reached this double digits month, it is not difficult to realise that our baby have grown so much! from nothing to something, she now understands our language and action. Amazing....

Before, she would just stare at daddy at the door every morning when he prepares to leave for work, Now, she plunges herself towards daddy becos she wants to go out. And if she is happy, she waves bye-bye to daddy by the gate.

Before, she listened to music with no reaction. Now, she bounced on her butt vigourously, almost toppled from ground level, when I play the Barney introduction song -- Kicked me out just by watching you for the short 20secs.

Now, she recognises a few words, and will make the actions that we taught:
- 'scare scare' (a.k.a 'Pa Pa')
- 'headache' (a.k.a 'shang nao jing orh')
- 'snap ur fingers'
- 'twinkle twinkle little stars...'
- 'blow kiss'
- 'hello' & 'bye bye'
- 'cover ur eyes'
- 'no more'
And we do this over and over again, like we were afraid that she will forget the meaning, but I guess, it was too cute to see our own bb reacting to our commands. :)

Like you alrd noe, she went thru the minor surgery the other day. My brave fighter pull it off with great spirits! obediently stayed still when I had to clean her wound...I had to count my blessings so much!

Daddy passed her the fever and flu bug 2 days after her surgery. How eventful! Brought her to the GP just downstairs before they closed door at 11pm. Daddy was afraid that the fever will make her bb uncomfortable, insisted that we see the doctor. Glad we did, can't imagine us zooming our way to KKH emergency in the middle of the night instead. We all know that the fever usually peaks in the wee hours. BbTara allowed the doctor to insert the bullet thru her anus without struggling. Thank God! It also made us less worried when she had her appetite maintained the same and was still physically active.

the day she was running a fever:

peek-a-boo:

peep:

As I begin to take on more roles for the past ten months, my mindset and lifestyle slowly followed a change. I had to. It wasn't abt me and livingstone anymore. It is a family of three now, and I had to dilligently put in my all for our precious bb, who knows nothing abt taking care of herself.
I had to make decisions fast. No more dilly-dally, no more indecisive, if i hv to do it now, meant I hv to do it now. Leaving but returning is a waste of time.
I now learn children songs and nursery rhymes that I never knew even though I had been this young before. Singing along to the tunes in a act cute voice and swaying my body to show enthusiasm to my bb is a everyday activity now. haha...Maybe I can join OKTO or Hi-5 during the recession times.

Anw...I could ramble on and on abt parenthood and my bb... =)
enjoy the exclusive TaraTV:

Happy TEN months baby...Papa Mama love you =)

Operation Ellen

2009-09-08T17:22:00.003+08:00

It was a surprise party for Ellen, who is joining Singaland as a teacher!
It was also a convenient excuse for us to get-together... hee
Instead of the usual potluck, I suggested to order the mini buffet. Glad that the idea was supported, and thank god, they all liked the food!!
Many thanks to Meow & Gavin who opened up their hse for our operation and the peach-cheese-tart. The host must have messed up the sugar and salt in the recipe to end up with a saltier tart, but nonetheless, we finished up the tart! next time ya, meow! =)

The afternoon was a quality time for us, the ladies curled up in the host's bedroom and ~~gossip & gossip~~ chatted & chatted...I count my blessings that bbTara was rather coperative even though she was having a runny nose!

more fotos from the national day...

2009-09-02T13:23:00.002+08:00

by the spiral staircase in the musuem...

reading the menu?

*stick out tongue*

teether time....

lil' kenny! so cute!

this is the correct beautiful mommy! =)

My Mom's birthday

2009-09-01T16:30:00.004+08:00

Every year, I challenged myself to give her a fresh new location when we celebrate her birthday.
But most of the time, I failed. =(
My mom....she is tooooooooo picky with food.
anw, I chose the Equinox high tea on that saturday. The main objective was to enjoy the scenary while having the companion of the family...
But she focused too much on the food. So ended up, we got nagged for spending the money on awful food.
Well.....i concluded that it wasn't easy to pls someone like her who noes bloody well how to cook our meals! next time? Hup Choon is enuf.

the most expensive bbchair i saw in public, haha....from mothercare...

daddy and dotter having fun....

ah ma and bbtara shared a secret?

bbtara looking at the wrong direction...

the two having a fight...

say cheese....

so difficult to get her to see the camera that day....two of us hv to squeeze her head tight!

girls just wanna have fun...

we went to marina barrage after that for a stroll...and happened to bump into LKY!
he was so friendly, waved at us!

bbtara amazed with the kites....

happy bbtara....

as the sun sets....

having fun.... :)

afterthought: mmm.....i wonder if i would be like my mother when im old...

National Day 2009

2009-09-01T12:58:00.003+08:00

It was the open house at National Musuem, so we squeezed some time to visit the place before we met up with our frens for dinner.
And I found this indian characters very interesting. They were performing a play at the open area inside the musuem, with songs and dance and story telling, haha, I of cos didnt understand what they were trying to tell, but the translations on the TV screen was helpful.
I was anticipating that bbTara would be turned off by the characters given the 'scary' makeup and costumes...anw, she stared at them and clapped as they danced... =)

the many spectators...

a tank that fires hearts....peace...make love, not war... =)
anw, that's my interpretations...
this is the main icon we see as we entered the musuem.

Did u scream when u see this?
I did! n i immediately recalled the oh so fragrant aroma of the love letters my neighbours used to make. You see, we were staying at those old estates when we were very very young, in fact, when I was born! And we had this neighbour who stayed at the corner unit, who would make their own love letters by the corridor every chinese new year...yes! by the corridor!
These familiar equipment .... hmm....really shld belong to the musuem... =)

After the short visit, we proceeded to hup choon.
oh yes, for the holiday, i urged all our frens to wear red and white! hur hur hur...
even the babies...
look, put them together, and we see a ~~japanese~~ singapore flag...we shld hv brought a crescent and five stars... that would make a complete picture. wat a waste....

they looked like they were fighting! hey! make love, not war!

almost wanted to go see the fireworks after the dinner, which was why we had early dinner.
but frens not keen...so we headed to sx's place wea they played mahjong and watched soccer...

the Singapore family! hur hur hur....

"gimme a hug!"

and before we left them for their mahjong and soccer.... =)
spot the non-white/red pple!

homemade style....

2009-08-28T18:07:00.002+08:00

I last made this dish two years back...
livingstone recently wanted me to do it again.
so, here he goes... =)

fav lor-bak...im using my mom's recipe... =)

To Ford Museum

2009-08-28T13:42:00.003+08:00

since its opening in 2006, livingstone had wanted to visit this musuem...but u noe, being a singapore citizen, he thinks that we shldn't pay to get into the musuem, so, we would faithfully wait for National Day -- bcos musuems will be free to go in on this day. =)
We couldnt find time to go for the past few yrs, farnie how it turned out, we could spare the time this yr, the irony im seeing is, we have a bb with us. haha...n they say u get bz when ur family multiplied...heh heh....
Anw, as we arrived, it was scorching hot! bbTara almost couldn't opened her eyes...

so, I lowered her shade, and she tried to peep...

outside the musuem:

Having fun..... :)

wat a waste, these are blur! livingstone forgot to stop infront of me as he 'throw' bbtara towards me..

after the musuem, we wanted to show bbtara some live monkeys! Why waste the trip since we are there! =)
so we went to bukit timah reserve -- BUT NO MONKEYS AT ALL!!!
WEA HAVE ALL THE MONKEYS GONE!????

Max&Kris Wedding

2009-08-27T18:01:00.004+08:00

This has to be the wedding that i waited for the longest time...
...they, are the couple, that survived the 11yrs of courtship! awesome!! :)
Finally, we are attending my budd's wedding, and bbTara is here to join in the fun!

Early in the morning, as I got ready, I woke and dressed her up....Thank God, she was so cooperative!

The sisters' group foto before we proceeded to Labrador Park for the couple's outdoor photoshoot. As u can tell, it was a low-key event, budd wanted to keep it simple, so no gate crashing for them either. =)

I always call this the monster truck,....wat a waste, I shld have put bbTara next to the wheels, and u will relate to my label for the car. haha...
The unique couple drove their own wedding car!*whistle*

Huey getting so excited for the party!

As we proceeded to Max's house....

ang bao time! hur hur hur...

this bride is obviously obsessed with babies ya....even when she's dressed the best, she asked to carry the babies!

our family shot before we head home to recharge and change!

Arriving at the RSYC, the couple exchanged their vow....
"I now pronounced u Mr and Mrs Loh..."

*clap clap*

Congratulations Budd!! May the both of u live everyday to the fullest together, and happily ever after.... =)

(Uploading the evening gown's fotos when I retrieve them fr another harddisk...)

Livingstone's birthday...

2009-08-27T12:20:00.002+08:00

Last yr, we celebrated livingstone's birthday like the last... haha...oops....
anw, This yr...gives a brand new meaning...we multiplied! and we have now a junior to celebrate the day with us! bravo! =)
This wasn't a specially selected birthday meal, it was so chosen bcos livingstone needed to meet his customer at Tiong Bahru Plaza, and so, not wanting to waste another travelling time, we decided to eat there and then.
I walked around the mall, and decided on Rajah Inn. Yes, it was raining, and steamboat sounds like a gd choice. :)

we had steamboat buffet, it covered items raw and cooked. I remembered the pricetag was $19.80 or $19.90 per pax. it was worth it in our opinion, and we were eating heartily.
We had the chicken broth and the tom yam soup. yum!

dessert! Why would we wanna skip this!
even though there was a long queue at the entrance, but we ordered the fondue set. yum!
livingstone liked it so much, that he asked for another serving of the banana cake ONLY to go with the choc sauce... :)

Back at home, bbTara and I hid in the kitchen (in the dark) while he was having his shower. As he walked out of the rm, he thought I left bbTara alone in the kitchen, and was in a shock!
Of cos our surprise cheered him up! not forgetting those presents i bought lo...(there were many action figures of star wars characters and an optimus prime robot waiting for him to discover in each of our rooms..) He had so much fun searching for his surprise gifts... =)

for the birthday cake, I baked the peach-cheese tart. =)

bbTara playing with daddy's toy...of cos, under supervision...daddy took 2hrs to transform the robot into the truck! haha

Birthdays sure comes with a brand new meaning now. =)

Her Poo style

2009-08-27T12:10:00.002+08:00

I dun think I ever mentioned this before...
ever since bbTara started porridge, she poos three times a day, however, this is if we stay at home. In other words, she usually do not poo 'in public'...heh heh
her routine would be :
1) morning after her milk and WHILE having fruit or playing with her toy,
2)afternoon during or after her lunch, and
3) nite during or after her dinner.
its usually fixed (if at home).
It is my blessing. Bcos I do not need to worry abt wasting diapers, as I noe when I shld change her... heh heh

like the above pic, she is done with her afternoon poo after lunch, swinging her left leg, showing me a face of satisfaction...SHIOK!
hahaha...
or was she thinking 'mommy, u are not thinking of changing my diaper?'

homemade style....

2009-08-27T11:41:00.002+08:00

many times, for a chg of homemade cusine, i watched the cooking shows to get inspiration, recipe books too....
one of my all-time fav (as i had mentioned before,) have to be 'everydayfood'.
It intro me to many ingredients and herbs, i otherwise would not have the courage to use.
this, is something i wanted to try for a while, but kept forgetting to put the buttermilk into my shopping basket everytime i go NTUC xtra....

something refreshing for me, bcos i seldom deep fry food in my kitchen, and this NO-FUSS recipe provided me with a crisp (tat is similar to deep-fried crisp) and yet i dun need to clean up my kitchen, or stained my lips with oil! hur hur...
however, i dislike that the chicken tasted blend....looks like i need to modify the recipe to asian taste... heh heh...

and this, is another breakthru for me and my kitchen!
haha....u see, i seldom deep fry, or pan-fry...
so, one day, i decided to make this..it took me alot of preparation before the fish goes into the pan! im not kidding. :)
something like, armed my kitchen stove area with newspaper (i play safe, so dun worry), n on my service yard floor, so that they dun get too oily...blar blar...
well, i think the prep pays off....cos i get minimal cleaning up to do... =)
me love my fish... =)
(so humble-less...haha)

My heart aches.....

2009-08-23T00:31:00.005+08:00

This is an inserted post among my backloags....

Two days ago, I noticed bbTara's BCG was bigger then usual, however, i did not suspect that it was a bad swell..
The BCG scar was there for the past 9mths, and I was really not thinking much into it. How careless.....
At the back of my mind, I conveniently waited for Livingstone to flew back before we bring bb to the paediatric...at the same time, hoping that the swell will settle on its own.

So, this morning, we went to the clinic at 9am.
We were advised that the waiting time will be 4hrs at least....
"Everything happens for a reason...."
We brought bb home, and with this 'spare time', she managed to catch her afternoon nap, took her porridge and had her shower.
By the time we find our way back to the clinic, it was almost 3pm.

The first assessment revealed that it was a bacterial infection, and we were referred to the specialist at MAH. My heart sank when I heard 'im sorry dear, she is gonna need a minor surgery....'
:'(
The next thing I knew, livingstone and I were back at home packing some clothes, milk powder, bottles, documents, etc for admission to the hospital immediately...and with heavy hearts...

A couple of hours later, we were ready for the procedure....

The doctor confirmed that bbTara need not be sedated. It was not good news to me....I anticipated the worst screams from my 9mth old bb.... :(
Fyi.....the doc will be cutting bbTara as she was awake, squeezed out the puss, and scooped out the dirty blood and discharge, making sure that it will be clean. It will be an open wound. And we would hv to clean the external skin ourselves daily until the wound heals....

bbTara obviously didnt know what was in store for her, she lied down on her tummy, and had her butt exposed...the doc instructed us to see how he do it, especially the cleaning part....
By the time the knife went in, bbTara was screaming ='( at the top of her lungs...the worst scream i ever heard from her since the day she was born...
I couldn't open my eyes anymore...I couldn't bring myself to watch the procedure, I couldn't watch bbTara's helpless and painful face as she screamed... :'(
All I did, was to hold her so tightly, and cried with her....i am so weak.... :(

Anw, the rest is history.

The good news was, bbTara was waving goodbye to the doc and nurses after the procedure.... and was playing with livingstone outside the room smiling :)
She need not be hospitalised.
That really cheered us up abit.....

This is how the swell looked like before the surgery:

Thank God, for livingstone is back with me...and my mum and sister were also with us helping with the necc....thanks for the long q at the clinic, that gave us time to prepare her for the necc then to send her to the hospital immed without a proper nap, lunch and shower.

"bbTara, daddy & mommy know it must be pain...worse then pain in fact.
I wished mommy was the one under the knife instead....but u braved thru the procedure even though u were screaming...and u recovered so fast emotionally....Thank you baby...u showed me the strength u possessed. And we are so proud of u!! Daddy and Mommy loves u so much so much!!!"

And guess what, we cleaned her wound earlier on....and she did not even wailed or screamed...im really thankful ....

Let's go to Jurong Bird Park !!

2009-08-21T17:22:00.004+08:00

I won the tickets to the Jurong Bird Park during the foto contest, so we marked a date on the calendar, and LET's GO!!!

honestly I thought we were gonna be the ones enjoying the walk around the park....so it amazed us when bbTara showed interest on the birds and stuff....

in fact, she constantly 'called' and 'waved' to the birds, and even 'cheered' and clapped for the birds!! Very entertaining for us.... haha...

she refused to look at the camera, and had her eyes locked only on the birds!!

here, she was looking at more flamingos....very happy....

eye-chasing the swans....

looking at pelicans....

very happy as she spotted them...

clapped clapped for the pelicans!!

we settled our lunch at the burger joint in the park, and I also packed bbTara's porridge...

was she happy after seeing the birds, the birds show and the penguine feeding??
obviously, isnt it?

Those smiles we couldn't resisit.... =)
Bird Park wouldnt have been this fun for us, if not with her...

before she turns three, we are gg to the zoo! free entry, that's why.
wahahahahhaha

Patisserie Glace by Chef Yamashita

2009-08-20T11:46:00.003+08:00

meow tempted me the other day asking me abt this patisserie...
but i couldnt justify just driving there for the cakes, out of the way...
so that day, after dim joy, i popped over. lucky it was just opposite dim joy. =)

very very small shop. very makeshift type. we didnt have the cakes there, tabao home for the next morning.

A Japanese perennial favourite. They import the best chestnut from Japan paired with the most delicious chestnut paste from France -$5.60
.
On a sponge cake that is laid out line by line and finally rolled to enclose a sweet banana in a layer of fresh cream. The dark bitter chocolate brings out the natural sweetness of the fruit - livingstone's fav! - $5.50

Double the enjoyment of the original Rare Cheese Mango with fresh mango cubes.The cheese goes well with the mango puree. - $4.70

Like the authentic japanese pastries, they are soft, and decorated with heart. Very different texture and taste from our local confectionaries, worth a try.
But, sweetness level is a warning... =)

Dim Joy

2009-08-20T11:39:00.002+08:00

Brought my in laws for dim sum on one of the saturdays,

bbtara after her outdoor lunch...which is usually the case in weekends. =)

we were seated at the 1st level, which was rather pathetically cramp, I had nothing to rave abt except for these two items, the egg tart and the charsiewsoh.
both were soft to the taste, i even dropped my egg tart when i tried to bite it, it is indeed that soft! can't hold them properly, literally melts to the mouth...

this comes in a ball shape, unlike the traditional oblong pillow shape, where u eat more flour then the fillings, very yummy.

In fact, apart from this, i find the porridge and lotus leaf glutinous rice pretty good too.
i was feeding bbTara when the family tucked in, so I did not enjoy the first feel of the food. But having said tat, if it still tasted good by the time i tucked in, then it shld be good. =)

my dear bread

2009-08-20T11:20:00.002+08:00

It was many years back, when i had to have breakfast in australia before work, i neva failed to order a focaccia sandwich....my choice of fillings? always the same - chicken with egg and avocado - yum!

so tat day, i was browsing the bread dept at ntuc, and came across the gardenia focaccia loaf.
peeeerfect!
we took half the avocado, and bbtara had the other half. =)

9 months

2009-08-19T12:58:00.002+08:00

There was nothing wrong with my blog, nor my proxy, it was my laptop.
Anw, I had since replaced it with a new fujitsu laptop. What is history is history.
SO, here I am, back again. =)

Did u realise? It was the 9th month of my lil' one's growth and development.
I owe many of u fotos of her...so here u go:

early morning, having breakkie with daddy and mommy...

yawn...indicating, its time for her first nap of the day. =)

and as if u didnt noe...she enjoyed her showertime as much as before...

hmm...of cos she isn't perfect, she gets cranky too, but honestly, it becomes insignificant becos the number of times she behaves outnumbered the occassions she doesn't...I con't to count my blessings...

and her smiles of such....i could never resist...

it hurts! at this stage, she wouldnt noe how to control her strength, so she literally digs and pinch us...but, it looks like daddy enjoys being abused isn't it.. hur hur hur

my little girl...she looks like a boy.
even if i dressed her in pink, still, members of the public will ask, 'boy or girl huh?'
haha...and most of them tells me 'she looks like boy! ur next bb will be a boy!'
diaoz....

frens bought her this mascot suit, but we havent got the proper time to shoot her in it...

waking up for dinner...

as i was talking to nicole's mom, bb con't to makes me smile...can u tell, she is imitating me, resting my hand on the ears.
that's wat she is very capable of now, imitating the things u do.

and, this is abt the only time, her hair falls. HAHAHAHA...

She is getting more interactive this mth. as i sings in the car, she joins and sings with me, it's true. i kid u not!
its farnie, i hope i could video it down, but i was driving. wat a pity!

half a mth more to go, to TEN months.... =)

Simple pleasures...

2009-08-05T16:49:00.004+08:00

One fine day...I sat down and thought to myself,
"WE CANNOT BE MISSING TRANSFORMERS PART TWO!"
................so, I thought hard, and came up with an alternative.
Since, bbTara is so cosy with ryan, my sister and mom during their visits every sat....
we shld be able to play the missing game for a few hours. *wink*

So, my sister gave me her consent, and i immediately booked the movie tickets online! Couple seats! yeah! it sounded so kiasu, but i was the first to book the tickets online...hur hur hur
plenty of selections...

As the day approached, me and livingstone honestly were so excited abt the date...
it was eight months since we last went out together (just the two of us)....
fwah....all of a sudden, wat we have been doing for the past many many years, seemed so new... =)
to make things easy for my family, i made sure i did the neccessary before we leave.
so, that sat, bbtara had her shower earlier, had her nap, and had her lunch.
but, we were late for our movie. HAHAHA...
fine, we didnt miss much in our context... =)

We didnt roam in the mall after the movie, headed straight home!
Just in time to feed bbTara's dinner!
and all thanks to my sis who helped to cook her porridge. =)

That nite, my mom wanted Hup Choon. So, we went. curry fish head as usual.
AND, AS USUAL, after hup choon, we got to have THE DAILY SCOOP. ha!
it was also to encourage ryan boi, as he had done well in his sch. =)

simple pleasures....

hmm...so, do i miss bbtara when im out?
I guess so, but I knew she was in safe hands. =)

new breakfast idea

2009-08-05T00:20:00.002+08:00

as i was sharing with meow, this is really a quick fix for breakfast!
so simple!
I got us a pack of wraps, add 2 slices of ham, half a tomato, and grated some mozarella cheese...

fold...and,

pan fry it (w/o oil).
The wraps gets crispy as it heats up, and with the melted cheese, it creates a refreshing brekkie for us (other than bread)...
yum. try it. =)

Impromptu visit

2009-08-01T00:29:00.003+08:00

I left my cake cutter at her hse, and since she stays so close to me, we decided to drop by one of the sunday morning after our eat-out-breakfast...
Can u spot bbTara's pet???

naughty daddy magnetise it around bbtara's ~~fat~~ neck ... hur hur hur
and it turned out rather cute.

i didnt rescue her. I think she looked bloated here! probably cos the fats were squeeze from the neck to the face... hur hur hur...

she couldn't be bothered!

I had fun shooting her!

Unker Gavin finally woke up from slumberland to entertain us!

i forgot what makes her this happy....

u would be able to tell, she is always this cheerful isn't it?

Edgar's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-07-30T12:40:00.003+08:00

It was Edgar's 2nd Birthday. The thoughtful parents custom made a teddy bear cake for him, heard that it was inspired by a toy edgar had. =)

bbTara was rather tired that day, arrrr....now that i recalled, that morning, we went to good morning nanyang cafe before heading to edgar's hse! hur hur hur...shld hv lump them in the same post =p
Anw, there were many unfamiliar faces, and bbTara kept clinging on to me, like a koala to a tree. Finally, when we left, she gave edgar gor gor a birthday hug....how sweet =)

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe

2009-07-30T10:52:00.003+08:00

We finally found time to visit this cafe. Rem we went there the other time, and it was closed?
that was a Sunday.
So, we had to arrange a Saturday instead.
(and the bloody website still advise that they operate on Sunday!)

This was abt 10am (after bbtara's first milk at hme).

fwah, this was really really AWFUL.
i can taste flour in my mouth when i eat it. what a failure.
erks me to the max!
How i miss royal copenhagen's scones....

at least, this did not disappoint me. Very nice.

after tianle's quick nap, it was time to wake up and interact. =)

but it was bbtara's turn to be stone and tired. hur hur hur....
it was good catching up with them talking abt parenthood and everything... =)

She is happy !

2009-07-29T23:50:00.001+08:00

Can u tell she was pretty happy to be playing the xylophone? =)

Meow's hse warming

2009-07-29T23:26:00.003+08:00

It was so late by the time we reach meow's hse, missed the food prepare/brought by all of them!
MISSED the hot topics!! arghhh....
I brought my own bake: peach-cheese-tart, glad they liked it! =)

the fun kicked in when the guys started trying out a game of boxing...HILARIOUS!

what a waste....our group foto came out blur... =(

even livingstone tried the game....can u see that bbtara had fallen asleep!

tired bbtara...

& Meow had a awesome hall! great for big party! yeah! =D

the VTECH toy from yee yee

2009-07-22T23:38:00.000+08:00

So then, we came home real late after vivo that particular nite, and we kept the toy till the next morning.
I guess she was thrilled to see the same toy that caught her attention again...

=)

Day out at VIVO

2009-07-22T00:31:00.004+08:00

my sister is the tow-kay the other day. She is giving us a treat for her fat bonus received! yippie! and i get to choose a restaurant. Since we were heading to VIVO, I promptly selected BOSSES.
nvr mind abt the minority of bad critics i read so far.
Anw, the interior & deco attracted me quite a fair bit. With such baroque setting, it doesn't feels like a chinese restaurant.

and while i was taking foto of the peking duck, the supervisor came up to me, and said 'sorry, no photographs'....ok lo...

anw, i quickly snap a 'grp picture' of the various animals on the dining table. =)
the entire experience was ok for me, the food was pretty much on the higher salty scale, and my mom didnt like it, considering she was someone who could tahan savoury dishes. While I feel it was ok as long as I eat them with my rice. We had some fried durian and durian mochi for dessert, which I suggest you can pass them totally.

Sista wanted to get bbtara a gift since she couldnt enjoy the feast. So we were at Toys 'R' us choosing and choosing, and just when I thought that we shld leave bcos none of the toys attracted her...my sista came up with a Vtech toy. She grab the toy and was playing happily with it, so that was it. it would hv burnt my pocket, becos it cost a hundred bucks. So embarressing, i didnt teach bbtara to choose toys base on cost hor....vtech is to blame.

Just when we were abt to leave the mall, i spotted the huggies team with the launch of their new jeans pants diapers. And I vaguely recalled, receiving an email abt this event. I walked up to the roadshow, and saw that they were taking fotos of bbs sitting on the bike for a foto contest. The good news is, they are wrapping up for the day soon, and thus not many pple were queuing. For the fun of it, why not ya? =)

bbtara say hi to the crew....

we think she likes her virgin ride on the harley inspired bike, bcos it seems like she totally forgot that she dislike strangers. hur hur hur

dun ask me abt the result, cos i didnt check....=p

2nd time flying

2009-07-21T23:26:00.003+08:00

it was my sister's tickets to the flyer. and she has to utilise it by the end of June. So, on the last day of June, me brought my mom there. It was the 2nd time for bbtara and myself...
this time round, i paid more attention to the guided tour. =)

library corner?

hiak hiak...mischevious bbTara disturb ah ma when she was not on guard...

jin farnie...

and it made them really happy...

im on top of the world agn!

jus the three of us in the capsule in that afternoon...

so after the ride, we walked to esplanade and mom choose to have peranakan for dinner.
food not nice la...but the company was more impt....

i enjoy seeing them having fun, minus my mom's nagging....hur hur hur

figure 8 (mths)

2009-07-16T00:46:00.003+08:00

I am half a mth late for this post. forgive me...
My angel turns 8mths, 15days ago.
She is getting interactive and it also means she is developing her set of attitude now...
for example, showing us that she is angry, shaking her head to say 'no', fake crying to test her boundaries, and the list gones on....
Being not the typical parent, we do not respond to her cries immediately, unless her cries implies some sort of pain or discomfort involve. Otherwise, more often, I let her make noise while i con't with my chores. Hopefully, she understands that crying does not mean she gets her way.

In this month, she is getting up on her hands and knees in a crawling position (most times, shaking her butt to catch her balance), though she started crawling, it is in a super slow manner, and only if there is an incentive in front of her (and it must be a brand new 'toy') that she is interested to reach out for. She babbles enthusiastically more often now, especially in her car seat, probably wanted to join our conversation. it is cute. And when she cries, she goes 'ma....ma....ma...ma....' sometimes 'papa' comes into the picture too....(haha) Like many other babies, this is also the time she tests gravity by dropping her toys (intentionally) over the edge of her high chair. So, it naturally means we have alot of picking up to do. it is not getting on my nerves yet. (haha)
I also notice that she has different reactions to different family members, and she has strong seperation anxiety when removed from me and livingstone. I like to tease her as the 'sticky bbTara'....who would have not know this is not good at all. But, tell me how can I stop her from being so attach to us? I am afterall her caregiver, who feeds her, cares for her and plays with her when nobody is around.

And me, being a SAHM for 8 months now, is still enjoying her companion, taking care of her and taking ownership of the chores at home. =)
Now that bbtara has started two meals of solid a day, it takes me more time to plan for her meals, and prepare it. It is fun.
Not only that, I also plan meals for our breakfast and dinner, sometimes my own lunch. At times, when I dun cook dinner, we eat out, and that is the time, we go to the library to borrow books for bbtara, to run errands, to buy fresh produce for bbtara's meals, and most importantly, to take in some new air. =)

I should also be giving thanks to livingstone who though works for the entire day, but still makes the effort to accomodate to my request of doing dinner outdoors and taking a breather out there, especially during weekday nites. And my family, who visits every saturday! spending time with bbtara is therapeutic to them! U can tell when u see the laughter in their face as bbtara cheers them up. =)

There are many videos of her doing things like clapping hands, crawling, laughing out loud, playing the 'catch the toy' game, moving her fingers like in a baby-five gesture when i sing 'twinkle twinkle little star' and lots more....just too many to upload!!
I m seeing she is learning to stand more steadily without my support...slowly bb....u hv ur time to learn and reach ur milestone. Daddy & Mommy has no deadline to meet yet. =)

SUNDAY MORNING EVENTS

2009-07-09T23:14:00.004+08:00

Though the nite ended very late for her the nite before, bbtara still wakes up at her usual 8am.
RISE & SHINE!
anw, we need to get ready to attend dewey's full month party, so might as well. =)

my cheerful bb, at hme before we head out.

And becos budd was still in slumberland, we decided to have our breakfast at Henderson Market, at the same time, check out the stores that sells factory outlet clothes, and also visit carter's kwei kwei stall, yum!
Since we were there, might as well call the gin gang! morning calls to the lohs and the ngerns! '麦当劳开始营业了!' hur hur hur....
they washed up and neatly met us at the market... =)

At budd's hse, korkor huey hosted meimei tara by sharing his toys...so selfless... =)

jin paiseh, many unknown faces, so i didnt take dewey's picture! hur hur hur
wasted...

Initially, we thought we could quickly meet up with the LAMs, passed them the milk bottles, and catch up with a cuppa....but my sleepy and hungry bb could wait no more by the time they finished their service at church...hee
so, we dealed at the carpark instead and make our way home...
(LAMs, thanks so much for the cd!!)

my hungry and sleepy bb...missed her morning nap and lunch...i substituted her with a bottle of milk instead once we reached home, then, let her catch some sleep, while i cook her porridge....when she woke up, she gobbled her food...afterwhich, we showered her, and then proceeded to my in law's hse....
it was so packed, back to back....
wat to do? there will always be just 2 weekends per week, but countless things to do...

so, i tell myself to be flexible on weekends when it comes to bbtara's sleep and eat routine...things are fine so long she catches some sleep and enuf food...
sorry baby, if u dun like our style, pls cry to inform mommy... =)

Bavarian Nite

2009-07-09T22:20:00.002+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Dennis told me that his dad will be away....HOW CAN I MISS THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE HIM WHIP UP SOME FANTASTIC DISHES FOR US!???
so, i pestered, pestered and con't to pester.
Finally, he nod his head. =)

while waiting for felin at her block, livingstone caught me sayang-ing her precious...
we were then on our way to meet the LOHs at the TIMES warehouse sale.

quickly we rushed to the hse after 6pm, otherwise sure kerna nagged by the host(s)...haha

there, in the kitchen, the three of them made themselves bz...

while, we setup the makeshift childcare zone in the hall....erm....can u spot a oversize bb??

Dinner is served!
Let me first give thanks to the chef, and his pretty assistant, for the effort put in to the wonderful meal, and the effort in making the trip to the german stores to get the german cuts, the beautiful pretzels and the rye bread.

the spread was impressive! and the table setting as well! credit goes to the pretty assistant, Jess!
we had a fabulous treat of food this evening, we probably lack just a fireplace to feel like we are in a foreign country!It was pretty authentic. and I do miss the german breads...

shhhh....someone is sleeping....

Pretty assistant made us agar agar in bavarian colors! jin creative isn't it?
and the joke of the nite was, there was a pail of agar agar in the kitchen for us to finish after this plate. And guess what, I thought it was for real, rushed to the kitchen, and realised that they were talking abt the same blue color pail of water that dennis used to clean the kitchen floor!HAHA

and I learnt a new way of making this agar agar, hv u heard? u can automatically seperate the colored agar agar from the non-colored wan by jus beating an egg into the coconut milk! After a while, the colored agar agar will float! amazing! =)

it was 11pm, if not for our sleepy babies, we would have chatted longer isn't it?
thanks for the nite guys! sukiyaki was impressive and successful, so is this bavarian feast!
wat's next? who's making something? hur hur hur...

BRAVO!

2009-07-07T12:44:00.000+08:00

Indeed!!
read here to know why im so happy today.... =D

U dun need to be an experienced parent to know what the mother and her darling child is going thru...

we all have a common heart, and im soooo uber glad that their plight touched many many hearts (including mine), now.....i'll be so excited when i start to distribute the sticker books i bought thru the fund raising. =)

i think....watever the chances of survival will be, charmaine deserves to be given a chance to live.

An Apple a day...

2009-07-07T12:17:00.001+08:00

she likes her apple now....

the cheeky look.... =)

bbGivan

2009-07-07T12:14:00.002+08:00

lost and found picture....hee...
found it lying in the harddisk unclaimed...hur hur hur

picture taken outside SHOKUDO during a meetup with livingstone's secondary sch frens gathering.
cute bbGivan....we shld be seeing him agn soon =)

pls help her....

2009-06-30T00:22:00.003+08:00

although I dunno her personally, but I am sobbing uncontrollably when I read Cynthia's words, words that came from the bottom of her heart.
Being a new mother myself, I can feel the pain she has...
pls help if u can...

Fight on! Charmaine!

Ng's surprise visit on a sunny afternoon

2009-06-27T14:44:00.003+08:00

The doorbell rang on a weekday afternoon. But I knew it was them even before I peeped thru the doorviewer...just that I didnt expect them to tow bbShanelle together as well.

a family outing!

love their expressions...really leh, the smile fr a mother while looking at their bb....is really special. maybe kind of like a satisfied and contented expression...as in, with her bb in her arms, nothing else matters...

the four mth old Shanelle....

then bbtara joins in the fun!

put the bbs together!

bbtara looked at shanelle as if asking 'wat is so farnie huh?'
hiak hiak hiak...

ABC

2009-06-27T09:38:00.000+08:00

he is such an entertainer since young...

Ben - Jackson5

2009-06-27T09:22:00.002+08:00

What was the first song that came to ur mind when u heard of MJ's passing?....
mine was BEN =(
always my fav classic song fr him...

im gonna miss him....

Bath & Body Works

2009-06-26T15:34:00.002+08:00

has'nt been really picture-documenting her bath & bodyworks session lately...
she has grown...

my mom always say the tub is not enuf for her alrd...

and she is now sitting up for her bath... =)
our big bb....

Breakfast@Jones the Grocer!

2009-06-26T12:31:00.004+08:00

Last Sunday, we met up with Daniel and Tricia for ang-mor style breakfast, at Jones the Grocer.
it was packed packed packed at 10am....had to even wait a while for our table.

Dressing up bbTara for the morning outing...did i mention, she gets excited when she sees books...

mommy is giving her tight fit top and tight fit shorts, lol...

in the car, trying to chew off her socks....

at Jones the Grocer, our cheerful bb.....thank God! she behaves yet agn, sitting in the high chair, while all of us had our breakfast and talkative chit chat session.... =)

unker daniel wears green too, wat nice shades they have!

at abt 11pm+, we can tell she was pretty sleepy, cos she had missed her morning nap....and when i took over to carry her, it was as if she fell unconscious all of a sudden! and slept all the way,....but it was neat, back at home, by the time she woke up, i had her lunch cooked. =)

Breakfast with unker daniel and aunty tricia! have fun in Paris!! =)
and thank u livingstone, once again, he slept at 4am the nite before, but kept his promise and joined us for breakfast early in the morning the next day.... :)

tara-tubby

2009-06-26T12:03:00.002+08:00

We spent our last saturday shopping for my dress to attend budd's wedding....
And after bbtara had her lunch, we head down to vivo city.
there, she went touring ard vivo (in her stroller) with daddy, while mommy went ahead to the fitting rooms with my handful of selections... =) heh heh...
Let me imagine, maybe soon enuf, i will have her in my fitting room, telling me which pc is nice, and which is not huh? hur hur hur

we also went to iluma to check out the new mall, and then to bugis village to look for kai ma....and talk abt tt, budd, send me the pictures!

back at home, it was past 10pm...before i gave bbtara her nite shower for the day, we made fun of her....
does she look like she has antenna on her head? wahaha...

we, the naughty parents ...hiak hiak hiak

Aunt Felin & bbTara

2009-06-26T11:20:00.003+08:00

jus the other afternoon, felin couldn't get her books into her head, and she had to sit for the draggy paper the next day...so she popped over to study....

and when bbtara wakes up, it was playtime... =)

Thank God! she passed the paper! hurray!! no more agonies... haha

sukiyaki day

2009-06-25T13:18:00.003+08:00

thanks to our dear fren, Felin - she volunteered to prepare sukiyaki for our gathering this mth!
and we contributed by joining her in marketing for the groceries and stuff the nite before, while she single-handedly prepare the sukiyaki itself and sushi! thanks soooooooooo much! they were so delicious!! =D
Now it inspires me to try it out myself,....hur hur hur...

the crowd: 1 grp of newspaper readers a.k.a library corner, and the other, the AV grp....

YUM!

YUM YUM!

not forgetting the kiddos! they of cos get to mingle agn! heh heh

do we like the food? yes of cos! we could tell fr ah siang's expression.... =)