Life as We Know It...

I'm FOUR

2010-05-04T15:35:00.006+08:00

Jaden woke up excitedly on a bright Sunday morning and asked, 'Is it my birthday today?'

Yes, I answered and he was wide awake subsequently. He opened all his presents and couldn't wait for his party to start. We celebrated his birthday at the same playland (Kidszone) and TGIF, just like last year! Just the way he liked it, with lots of balls, slide and the not-to-be-missed chips! In fact, he slept right after his dinner+chips and we'd to wake him up for the cake-blowing/cutting session :p

The rainbow cake was made specially by Patisserie Rui, as per Jaden's request :)

And this was Jaden's 3rd birthday celebration at TGIF last year :)

And the 2nd birthday celebration at home cum housewarming party in 2008.

And the 1st birthday celebration in our condo before we shifted in 2007.

In fact, we'd 2 parties for Jaden that year (1st and 2nd May 2007) as the condo could not accommodate so many guests all at once :p

Happy Birthday my dear darling!

Marriage Time at Opus Bistro

2010-04-09T13:31:00.003+08:00

Ever since papa and myself attended the Marriage Course at DUMC, we try to spend time together as a couple to 'enhance' our relationship. Well, it had not been easy with the 2 boys around and we have to sort of arrange for our MIL (can't really trust the maid 100%) to be in the house to 'look-see' the kids.

Last week, we decided to try out this restaurant, Opus, which is tucked at a tiny corner in Bangsar. They serve Italian, and my main attraction is their foie gra *yums* I wasn't very sure if pregnant ladies are allowed to eat liver, so I limited myself to a few mouthful only :(

Appetiser - Seafood platter

Grilled portobello mushroom salad

My dinner - Roast cod

Papa's dinner - Trio Combo (Lamb, Foie Gras, Beef)

Pregnant @ 5.5 months - Not too fat heh? :p

Sinful dessert - Chocolate desire

We were super stuffed after dessert and was overall happy with the food. *thumbs up*

Movie Charity

2010-03-25T13:28:00.003+08:00

Our cell group are holding a movie charity event at Cineleisure, Mutiara Damansara for Praise Emmanuel Children's Home (PECH) and would like to invite you on 3rd April 2010 at movie time 2:30pm to join us in raising funds for these wonderful children. The movie "How to train your dragon" is a computer animated firm (2D) and will surely be exciting to watch!

So, do come and join in the fun and at the same time, to contribute to PECH. Minimum amount covering the ticket price is RM20 but of course, your generosity beyond that will be invaluable.

Synopsis

From the studio that brought you "Shrek", "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" comes "How to Train Your Dragon." Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, the action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn't exactly fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup's world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges he and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

About the Home [http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/2/10/central/5636458&sec=central]

PECH requires RM16,000 a month to maintain its three homes

There are 24 children living in the Praise Emmanuel Children's Home (PECH) in Petaling Jaya and everyone of them has a sad story - some were abandoned and some are from violent and abusive families, while others were neglected by their drug addict parents. Yet, when you first meet these little ones, you would never think they come with such shocking emotional baggage. They appear happy. They are friendly, almost confident by nature, and very appreciative of the blessings that come their way.

They are 15 boys and 9 girls at the home. The home was set up in 2004, and has been continuously lending support to underprivileged children (and sometimes their families), thanks to the donors.

PECH's commitment to the children includes providing a shelter and homely environment for abused, abandoned, neglected and orphaned children; creating a foundation for a good education; providing counselling and encouragement to the emotionally hurt children; reconciling children with parents wherever possible, and cultivating strong moral values in these children.

While being grateful for all the support received thus far, PECH manager of children's affairs and public relations Christopher Michael, is still wary of the year ahead and how the home will find enough resources to uphold the home's commitment to these children.

Aged between 5 and 17 years, all the children go to school. Getting books, uniforms and school shoes alone is a logistical nightmare - anyone with children of their own will easily relate to this dilemma. It does not help that PECh has a staff of only six, which includs Michael and a driver who has to ferry the children to and from nearby schools. An immediate need of the home is a new van. The existing one is 18 years old and breaks down almost every week. The home also needs to maintain a budget of RM16,000 a month to maintain its three homes - two in PJ as well as one in Ipoh. The budget includes provisions and medication for the children, basic household items, petrol, electricity and water as well as rent and salaries for the staff.

Well-wishers who would like to contribute in cash or kind, can call Michael at 012-6303672.

Carcosa High Tea

2010-02-09T16:08:00.004+08:00

Sometime back, we brought my mum to Carcosa to savor its English High Tea before its closure end of last year. I still vividly remember the yummy scones topped with strawberry jam and cream during my last visit many years back. Somehow, I've to say that their standard somewhat dropped and the high tea doesn't taste that good for the price :(

Took a few photos of the Dining Room for remembrance :p

We sneaked upstairs too to peep at the rooms. Apparently, my parents stayed here before as the minister-in-attendance during the Japanese emperor's stay in Malaysia. Each room came with butler service - quite glam lah.

Note: While walking up the creaky colonial stairs with papa, Ryan commented 'Hey papa, the stairs did not break under your weight'.....cheeky fella :p

Nice ambience

Me and my mum. Jaden said 'Where's my food?'
Darling, they do not serve noodles or fried rice here. The 2 boys were so bored and they slept throughout the session.

The 3-tiered High Tea treats - too sweet for our liking :(

Jaden posing outside in the garden.

Silence.....

2010-01-29T11:28:00.005+08:00

Oh my....my blog has been left 'un-updated' for so long now....my apologies

Too many things have been happening in my life....

Body has been changing to accommodate the little one with bouts of non-stop nausea and vomitting since 7 weeks. At 14+ weeks now, I am feeling much better, especially after I've finished my 2nd dose of antibiotics to treat my infections

We went ahead with our pre-planned family trip to Macao and Hong Kong on the 21st to 27th December 2009 despite my condition. Surprisingly, while we were there, my morning sickness sort of 'disappeared' even though I feel tired throughout the trip.
Ryan koko changed school from Vital Years (VY) to Lil Mandarin House (LMH) to prepare him for Std 1 next year. Since he's doing Primary 1 syllabus now, the amount of homework that he brings home daily is horrendous. Grandma, papa and mama are all stressed up in ensuring that homework is completed daily *sigh*. But thank goodness when I ask Ryan if he likes VY or LMH, he actually told me LMH despite the pressure there. I guess it helps to have teachers who are loving and kind and genuinely likes kids. The 5 teachers have so far been successful in ensuring and providing a conducive environment for learning.

Jaden 'yee' ko (well, we'll tease him and he'll say 'not yet' - till baby comes :p) has become extremely sticky and stubborn nowadays. He'll cry if he doesn't get his way and yearns for attention more than ever.

New maid came in November 2009 after being maid-less for 2 weeks. Thanks to grandma, we managed to pull-through those difficult 2 weeks. Routines need to be taught again and again and now, she's still learning.

That's all for now folks! :)

His and Her

2009-10-20T15:16:00.003+08:00

Hubby and myself have recently bought a new pair of matching running shoes so that we can take up running or exercise more regularly now. The shoes, Reebok Hex Ride Smooth fit provide very good cushioning to lessen the impact when one is running. I particularly like the design and pinkish individual air pockets :)

We used to exercise very often before I got pregnant with Ryan, but after the 2 boys came along, our visit to the park or gym has literally been zero. Now that we try to bring the boys to the park every Sunday for cycling, we hope to take up some exercise too so that our lazy bones can get going once again! :)

Outdoor Play

2009-10-02T12:35:00.005+08:00

My 2 boys are super active kids and basically, any activities that can tire them will bring lots of fun and joy to them. Over the Raya weekend, we brought them out for lots of outdoor play and fun.

1. We went to Tai Yee's condo for swimming.

Notice that Ryan is super afraid of swmming without his floats, so much so that until now, he's still swimming with his floats! Must make an appointment with a swimming instructor soon :) In the picture below, we encouraged him to put his face under water, so that he can learn to control his breathing and blow bubbles.

Jaden playing 'swim from the shark' with Tai Yee.

2. Cycling outside our house

3. Cycling and playground at TTDI park

Don't they just love slides :p

Ryan and Jaden cycling around the track while papa and mama walked.

Feeding the turtles.

Some kind lady gave us some crackers and bread to feed the catfish, koi and turtles.

And enjoying some icecream before leaving for dinner :)

Cheeky boy

4. Ryan participated in the Golf House Junior Series tournament for the second time on 27 September 2009. He actually played slightly better than his first tournament but since this time round, he was required to tee off from Level 2 (which was much further from Level 1), his score was 73 as compared to 66 previously.

I think this lil' boy did very well competing in the 6&Under category as he'd to compete against those 'bigger' boys who are 2 years his senior (Age calculated as at Jan 09 and those turning 7 during the year would be considered 6 @ Jan09.)

Ryan with Justin

Prize giving

Hi 5 Surprise

2009-09-04T14:17:00.006+08:00

We went up to Genting on Merdeka day for the Hi 5 Surprise concert. We initially thought of staying overnight the night before but due to the ridiculously priced Super Peak rooms at First World Hotel (and hubby didn't want to stay in the 'small' deluxe room), we decided to go for a day-trip instead.

We started our journey at around 9.15am on Monday morning and reached Gohtong Jaya before 10am. Thought it was a bit early for brunch, so we continued our journey up.

It was quite a feat to find a parking at Genting even though there were supposed to be thousands of parkings available. Nonetheless, we found a parking after many turns at the basement. Since we planned to be there the whole day (till evening), we brought along a stroller - just in case the boys are tired. It was a bad move though cos Genting is rather a non-disabled friendly place and there were not many lifts available.

Our concert ticket was for 12pm, so we quickly grabbed some food and bought the outdoor theme park tickets for the kids to enjoy after the show.

Ryan wore his face mask while waiting for Papa to buy the theme park tickets. Couldn't get Jaden to wear tho'.

The emptiness of Arena of Star. So few spectators.

On the VIP carpet, with Jaden. We bought the most expensive tickets (RM150, 35% discount) but unfortunately, the boys were not in the mood to dance that day.

Jaden preferred to sit with daddy.

Somehow, the boys didn't really enjoy the new casts - Casey, Stevie, Fely, Tim and Lauren and the songs were not exceptionally entertaining.

After the show, we went to the outdoor theme park. The first ride we went was the Antique car.

Ryan just loves the bumper car. He's really good at manoeuvring the wheel and whenever he bumps into another car, he'll say "Yes!"

Ryan fetching didi as Jaden is too young to drive himself.

Oooooo....and after the dinosaur ride, Ryan braved himself to take a picture with a snake!

Jaden - What's all the fuss about?

Ryan proved himself that he's not a scaredy-cat (by holding the snake) but when it comes to a ride like this one, he's really too scared to go on it. LOL

We managed to catch a glimpse of the 'fire' performance before we headed inside to have our early dinner.

All in all, it was a tiring but fruitful day. By 8.30pm, both boys were already sound asleep :)

Ryan's Golf Tournament

2009-08-26T13:00:00.016+08:00

Ryan has been attending the US Kids Golf Program at Tropicana Golf Club and has recently completed Level 2 of the instruction program. Last Sunday, he had his first chance to play some real golf as the organisers (RSH/Golf House) put together a tournament known as the Golf House Junior Shootout Series. Check out http://www.golfhouseacademy.com/

To be honest, I didn't know it was a tournament as I asked his instructor James about whether he would have a chance to play on a course as part of his lessons in Level 2, which he said yes. So, I actually thought it was a playing lesson!

When I arrived in the morning (7 am) at Bukit Jelutong, tons of parents and kids already hitting balls at the driving range. We were told that it would start around 7:45 so we went down to the driving range and let Ryan hit some balls.

After an initial briefing (and compulsory group photo), we were off. It was actually great as they converted the Bukit Jelutong Pitch & Putt course (all par 3s) into a mini course suited for kids (with par 3s and par 4s). The tee boxes were a bit confusing though and the layout of the course was a bit hard to follow at first. There were actually 2 levels to play off - Blue Level 1 Tees and Gold Level 2 Tees. Ryan played off level 1 as it was his first time and also because of the yardages (no way he could make regulation from the Gold Tees with Par 3 up to 100+ yards - his BEST, PERFECT shot with his 3 wood would be about 60 yards).

Here's Ryan after his first Tee-off! Great shot and no such things as 1st tee nerves (I guess he was really anxious to get on with it since he was the last to tee-off)

He really enjoyed himself throughout the day and spent a lot of time running around the course (more like a playground).

On the 2nd hole, there was a big water hazard, ie. lake, in front of the green and he had to tee-off to the right and approach from the side. Good tee-off, but then on his 2nd shot, he was aiming across the water. I pulled him back towards the fairway as it was clearly too far to go. The joker however, turned back left after his practice swing and let fly a solid 6-iron into the water. After that, he told me, "I wanted to cross!". hahaha.... Going for the glamour shots from a young age!! :)

Here he is with his approach after having to pitch out from the slope of the water hazard.

Got it on to about 5 feet. BUT he couldn't hole it out after 4 putts up and down the hill... so got a maximum score of 10!

Overall he played well from tee to green, however, his putting distance control was pretty bad. But it was ok since it was his first time on a real course. The other key thing was his alignment as he has a tendency to aim right of the target (by quite a bit). Kept having to remind him "where are you aiming?" and pulling him back here and there.

He completed the day with a score of 66 (bogeyed the last hole for his best score of the day), which was good enough to get 3rd place in his category (Boys 6 yrs and under). His category was actually the largest and most competitive group with 12 boys. The winner shot 58.

Here's the little champion receiving his prize :)

We'll definitely be going again, of course being nice to win, but more because there are very few chances for kids to have a game and learn on a real course. When was the last time our clubs let kids (or even beginners) play?

(Note: Krystal kept pressuring me to post this on our blog...)

Thistle Port Dickson

2009-08-17T17:25:00.010+08:00

We were at Thistle Port Dickson over the 7-9 August weekend, which also coincided with the S'pore National Day weekend. In addition to the many Singaporeans at the resort, there were also many groups of people from various organisations, who had their team building event that weekend. In two words, the resort was JAM PACKED!

Nonetheless, the boys had their fair share of digging in the sand and swimming.

Just arrived - at the entrance

Off to some digging

Ryan with his shovel

And after digging....Jaden jumped into the pool

On the second day, papa had a whole day of meeting, so I had to take care of the 2 monkeys. I brought them to the beach for more digging after breakfast.

Jaden loves running bare footed on the sand but Ryan insists to wear his sandals.

Ryan, calling the waves to come so that he can play 'chase'.

Wrote Jaden's name on the sand.

The boys got tired of the sand and we went to the Kidz Club. Lots and lots of balls there!

The room was beautifully painted too :)

And filled with all the 'fun' toys

Ryan, the sociable boy made friends with an uncle and they were playing catch

And how could they resist the trains and tracks

Difficult to get a proper pix of this boy nowadays :(

And more swimming after that :)

Jaden dreaming during his breakfast, on the third day.

Fire Station

2009-08-14T14:39:00.003+08:00

Jaden had a 'lawatan sambil belajar' at the Sri Hartamas Fire Station end of last month. His school organised the trip with another school and there were so many grandparents and parents who accompanied their kids to the station. Jaden was lucky to have his grandmother with him, however, the trip turned out to be like a 'pasar malam', with kiasu grandparents and parents around, that my MIL was quite pissed with the poor organisation.

My MIL was one of the first to arrive at the station (9.15 am) and the staff showed her to the TV room to keep Jaden occupied while waiting for people to arrive. When she came out of the room, she noticed all seats were taken up and parents/kids were scrambling to get a place near the center where the demonstration of uniforms, talk, etc was held. Jaden only managed a place at the side :(

OOOOhhhh....the fire engine is huge!

Lucky Jaden managed to make 2 rounds in the fire engine around the station compound. I was surprised that he sat on Uncle Fireman's lap!

Jaden simply loved the trip! We read Barney's Fire Station Visit and Sesame Street's fire engine books to prepare Jaden for the visit, and he could tell us various parts of the uniform. Truly an eye opener experience for him :)

Kiddo learning Mandarin

2009-08-12T15:02:00.002+08:00

And how does the mama teach the boy to do homework leh?

....by using the Electronic Dictionary loh....

I have forgotten most of the chinese characters I learned in tuition class when I was a little girl, but thank goodness, I still remember some basics, like the 4 sounds and some strokes. But I can't recognise most of the characters now and since Ryan is learning the 100 basic characters (and beyond), I guess it's time for me to invest in an electronic dictionary.

Easy...when I do not know the character, I just scribble the character on the screen and the dictionary will find the character for me plus the meaning in English. Also, I can choose to hear the pronunciation of the character. I have yet to explore the many functionalities of the gadget which also provides Malay translation, idioms, synonyms, penjodoh bilangan, etc. etc....

At least, with this, I can teach my little guy to do homework now :)

Ryan's Concert and Tembok Bali

2009-07-29T16:08:00.010+08:00

Miss me? haha...joking. Too many things on my plate that I've got no time to blog at all.

So many things have happened/passed since my last posting - Ryan's Term 2 JMC concert, been to Kuching (work trip), Bali (2nd honeymoon trip), Bentong (durian trip); Jaden finally started a new school and Ryan's 5th Birthday party!

Piano Concert
JMC Book 2 concert - Rythm and stepping. The class has dwindled to 3 boys now. Well, better teacher-student attention....

A piece 'Party in the Sky' that he played on keyboard. Notice that he can play with both hands now. And at the end of the concert, Ryan was named the 'Best Performer' in his class. Probably the Principal gave face 'cos there was a huge turnout from our family with Papa, Mama, Mah-mah, didi and TaiYee attended the concert.

Bali

Tembok Bali Spa Village Resort

Botanical Garden

Monkey forest

Volcano mountain - Mt Agung

Day 1
We were in Bali for 4 days from 11 July to 14 July amidst the H1N1 scare. The holiday was pre-booked way before the H1N1 started in Mexico, so have to go loh even though scared :p The promotion by YTL was a steal at RM998 for the first night, and subsequent nights at RM399 per night. All meals were included (fine dining style), 1 hr spa, sunset cruise, welcome cake and they'll provide materials for activities as well e.g. we did the lontar drawing and it was free.

Well, I've never been pampered so much before. Upon arrival at Bali airport, we were greeted by the resort driver, who happily drove 2.5 hrs to our destination, on top of stopping wherever we wanted to - to take scenic pictures. The car was also equipped with a dvd player and tv to ensure that we were not bored throughout the journey.

The best thing was when we reached the resort, we were not quickly ushered to the reception for check-in but the staff welcomed us with a cool watermelon drink and a floral foot bath. They also massaged our shoulders to ease our tiredness. After that, they took us on a quick tour around the resort (which is not big at all with 31 rooms only and 2 suites). Btw, children are not allowed at the resort, not sure of the age group though.

We had our scrumptous dinner cooked up by Chef Danny from Ipoh and later, went star-gazing in the swimming pool. We were laughing our heads off when they pushed the bed to the middle of the pool and we wondered who came up with this brilliant idea! When we returned to our room, we were again surprised to find a warm floral bath prepared by the staff. How romantic :)

----to be continued

Jakarta

2009-07-03T14:03:00.006+08:00

I was away in Jakarta for 6-days last week due to work commitment. We stayed at Hotel Atlet Century Park, which was opposite the badminton stadium where Lee Chong Wei won the Indonesia Open final the night before, beating Taufik Hidayat in straight sets. Since Indonesians are a patriotic lot (unlike Malaysians), we kept our mouth shut and did not mention that we were from Malaysia, in case they decided to pick a fight. On a side note, I mistakenly told a guard stationed at my hotel room floor that I was from M'sia and he said, 'O Kelantan...Manohara....' Oops! I wonder what's the impression of Malaysians to Indonesians...scary...and I quickly double locked my room door after they left. The guard was accompanying a technician who came to my room to fix the shower.

The room is actually quite nice

Jakarta is a city with a population of over 8 million people, being the twelfth-largest city in the world, as compared to Kuala Lumpur, which has only less than 2 million people. So, everywhere you go in Jakarta....you see a sea of people. It's no joke - you can see people by the roadside, doing nothing but just observing passing cars; jobs created by the unemployed and youngsters by directing traffic to earn some loose change (if given). And the most chaotic - is traffic jam! You think KL jam is bad - Jakarta is so many times worse!

Crazy mad rush on a Friday afternoon, that we decided to abandon our car and walk to the shopping mall

Shopping in Jakarta is generally a haven for shopaholics, if you have something in mind that you would like to buy as things are cheap. I bought a swimming costume for Ryan and he had been wearing it day and night for 4 days now (no, it's clean 'cos the maid will wash it at night and let it to dry overnight) :p

Ryan posing in his swimsuit

Singapore Trip

2009-06-10T09:57:00.009+08:00

Singapore here we come!

We were at the Lion City for a short holiday last Saturday from 6 June to 8 June. It was really too short a holiday, so much so that we'd hardly enough time to visit places, shop, or even look up friends. Nonetheless, we tried to squeeze our itinerary with as much fun-filled activities for the boys and as much shopping as we could.

Our journey started at 10.30am on Saturday...'lo n behold, we couldn't imagine what awaited for us at the highway ahead from Sungai Besi toll to Seremban to Melaka. My gawd, massive jam, and bumper to bumper drive all the way. We contemplated turning back a few times but even the turn-off was jam-ed up. So how? Sit in the car lor and entertain the kids, who kept on asking 'Where are we going?' 'Why so long one?' 'I want to go there by aeroplane' 'I want to see the bridge now' 'I want to go to the zoo now'

Ryan says he wants to fly to S'pore

Look at the bumper-to-bumper jam

Jaden eating his sausage bread in the car

Stopover at the Restoran Jejantas at Ayer Keroh

The jam cleared after the Melaka turn-off and we continued our journey.

Again, at Tuas (Second Link), the queue was horrible, and we were unfortunate to experience kiasu Singaporean drivers, who refuse to give way.

Finally, at the bridge! Now, the GPS came in handy to bring us to Watten Estate Road, where we stayed for 2 nights. We finally reached my auntie's house at 6.30pm, after being 8 hours on the road!!

Early next morning, we went to Suntec City to buy tickets for the Ducktour (highly recommended by Yvonne). We paid RM100 for 2 adults and 2 children, as they were having half-price promotion for Malaysians and we were allowed to pay in RM. Unfortunately, there were not enough seats for the 10am tour (and the 11am and 12pm tours have been chartered), so we ended up with the 1pm tour. With so much time in hand, we went shopping at Robinsons and later had lunch at Tony Roma's. We thought the pork ribs were so-so only, rather disappointing, as we'd our hopes high....haiya, standard really jatuh...

The boys with their cousin, Ben.

Ben and Jaden, with a skeleton. Ryan hid behind Jaden as he was scared (Only a teeny weeny of his green shoes are showing)

Ryan, Ben, Jaden and Nic mesmerised by the fountain....

After Tony Roma's, we rushed for our Ducktour. The boys really enjoyed sitting in the 'duck'.

After the ducktour, we shopped again, till we drop dead (rather the children dropped dead tired). We headed home for a short nap, had dinner at a nearby chinese restaurant before heading to the Night Safari. My cousin, Michael joined us with his son, Ben while his wife had to put little Nicholas to sleep.

Again, at Night Safari, we enjoyed the half price promotion for admission (tram ride no promotion), paid RM66 and another SGD30 for the tram ride.

Why does Ryan has so many funny expression?

Tram ride

Next morning (Monday) we'd breakfast, spent some time with my auntie, played and 'tortured' the house dog before heading to Orchard Road for more Great Singapore Sale!

The journey home was a brisk, left Orchard Road about 2.30/3pm and reached KL before 7pm!

Level 1 US Kids Golf

2009-06-01T09:45:00.007+08:00

Ryan had completed his 6-weeks Level 1 US Kids Golf program and will be taking a break before advancing to Level 2. Coach James commented that Ryan is well advanced for his age and is definitely ready for Level 2. However, Papa is hesitant to send him for Level 2 just yet as he wants him to practise more at home. So, we'll see how and will decide in a month's time.

Below some pics taken during some of the classes.

In the putting green.

Jaden practising his swing at the driving range.

Ryan perfecting his iron shot.

At the bunker, listening to coach James.

Ryan's practice shot.

His turn to wait.

Apparently he's sensitive...

2009-05-26T14:13:00.002+08:00

Of thunder and lightning

It had been raining rather heavily in my area and whenever there's thunder, Ryan would be scared and will run to me quickly.

Me : Ryan, why are you so scared of thunder?
Ryan : Because I've got 'sensitive' ears

Of Mandarin

Ryan was reciting 1 to 10 in Mandarin....

Me : What about 11 to 20?
Ryan : shi yi, shi er, shi san, shi se.....oops.... I've got 'sensitive' tongue

Choosing books

Jaden's school book club gave a brochure for parents to choose a variety of books at a very good price. I thought it'll be good to engage Ryan to choose his own books (of course, I'll scrutinise his selection :p). I showed him a selection for kids 6 and below, and obviously the boy has too many to choose from and hence, cannot decide:

Ryan : eeny-meeny-miney-mo......ok, this one!

Then, he turned over to the section for boys aged 7- 9 and he saw lego knight books.

Ryan : Ok, mummy, I don't want all the other books, I only want these 2 books.
Me : But it's for kids aged 7 and above and you're only 5
Ryan : Never mind lah, mummy is 7 yrs old, can read to me
Me : No, mummy is 33, not 7!
Ryan : Aiyo, so old...never mind, mummy can read all the books to me

*slap forehead*

His favourite food

Ryan has a few favourite food, such as Hokkien mee, wanton noodle, fried rice, spaghetti, etc... and when he's on it, he can normally eat an adult portion. While eating his favourite Hokkien noodle one day,

Ryan : Hmm...this is so good, I cannot stop!

Ryan oh ryan...I wonder where's all your fats. You're bones and only weigh 19kg!

My baby Jaden is 3!

2009-05-08T09:47:00.012+08:00

The little bundle of joy came into our life on 2nd May 2006, a day after Labour's Day.

With the blink of an eye, my baby is already 3 years old!

Just want to share a beautiful poem, My Child by Elizabeth Pillari:

Come back into the fold of my protective wings.
Let not your spirit be restless,
For you are here with me.
I will always be your one on which to lean,
your rock, your number one fan.
Fear not child to speak your mind.
Undo the wrongs of the day,
And together we'll make them right.
Speak of heartaches, so that they may be subdued.
Share your joys, so that they may be my joys too.
Always know that I am with you,
For you are my precious gift from God.
I will always love you,
And keep you safe from life's hardships.
I will cushion your bumps,
And tend to your scrapes.
I will guide you tenderly;
Your brilliant eyes will always be my sun;
Share with me your heart,
And I with you.
I love you.

Mom

Pantai Hospital @ 2 days old

Bath time @ 3 months

Inquisitive fellow @ 6 months

Pangkor @ 14 months

Korea @ 30 months

3rd Birthday Party at Kidszone

3rd Birthday Party at TGIF

3rd Birthday Part - Ultraman Cake

Family photo plus nephew and niece

Busy Saturday

2009-04-28T15:06:00.003+08:00

We brought the kids to a lawatan sambil belajar to Monsters & Dinosaurs exhibition at Mid Valley last Saturday. We remembered to bring the Astro bill to enjoy a RM4 discount on the adult tickets, thanks to information on chumsyashley blog :) The boys were thrilled to see the dinos although we thought it was a bit 'pathetic' - only a few dinos exhibit and bugs; and they also have a huge giant shoe there, which we thought have nothing to do with the exhibition.

Praying Mantis

Dino in the background - Apotosaurus? Forgot the name....

Unicorn Beetle

After the exhibition, we went to Pet Wonderland. The boys adore dogs and were asking where the puppies were. Luckily, it was 'Exercise time' for the puppies. The puppies were out of their cages in stages and the kids just love observing them.

We were so tired after that but we still have not completed our 'task' for the day. It'll be Jaden's birthday this Saturday and we still have not bought him a present. After McD, off we went to ToysRus to get some stuff.

Slide at ToysRus

We had a short rest at home and had to rush out for grand-mama's birthday dinner.

What a busy busy day! :)

Anne Musikschule

2009-04-22T15:13:00.006+08:00

Recently, I've enrolled Jaden into Anne musikschule. The class was highly recommended by a mother who sends her daughter to the Yamaha JMC class, which Ryan attends. Since Jaden is too young to start the JMC course (and also I prefer not to sit through the same JMC course for Jaden for 2 years!), I thought it would be good to try another program.

Anne musikschule uses the German word, which reflects the use of Orff Schulwork, a music-teaching approach developed by German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982), the man who created Carmina Burana. Orff’s approach was based on the belief that the easiest method of teaching music to children is to draw out the student’s inherent attraction for rhythm and melody and allow these to develop in natural ways.

One of the more popular courses is Music and Movement using the Orff Schulwork approach.

Apart from learning music at the centre, all students are expected to be involved in the many performances and activities that are held throughout the year. These performances range from ensembles to charity concerts. Most of these concerts aim to raise funds for the less fortunate. The centre wants the students to feel that by being part of charity concerts and fund raising activities, they can contribute at a young age to the less fortunate. Besides the Music and Movement course, the centre offers courses on stringed instruments (violin, viola and cello), harp, xylophone, piano, guitar (classical, electric or acoustic), drums, keyboards, as well as vocal training, and a rock music school.

US Kids Golf Learning Program

2009-04-20T10:29:00.004+08:00

We brought Ryan to the Introductory Golf Course for kids at Tropicana Golf driving range yesterday. He seemed to enjoy the lesson and even able to hit some good shots. The experience was different from Kindergolf since the lesson was held in a driving range and not in an enclosed shop lot. And most importantly, the coach is a male (for Ryan, he likes instructors who are strong, big and all qualities of masculinity). Previously, the coach at Kindergolf was a female and he detest going after the trial class.

Ryan, listening to instructions. Co-coach Iqbal in the background.

Standing behind the safety line, waiting for his turn.

Listening to coach James instructions. James is a Class A member British PGA.

The US Kids golf learning program provides structured learning:

specifically designed for US Kids Golf by PGA Master Professional John Godwin (USA)
junior friendly terminology
standardised format to benefit kids and instructors
3 skill levels (Level 1, 2 & 3)
5 topics at each level (Putting, Around the Green, Full Swing, Knowledge and Scoring)
forms and skills 'mastery' required at each level
practical skills and oral tests before moving to the next level
internationally recognised certification

There is also a US Kids instructional booklet for every student, achievement pins awarded for successful completion of each topic and certificate awarded before progressing to the next level.

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And what is little Jaden up to nowadays?

He loves painting. For the past 2 nights, before bedtime, he'll request for his paint brush and he'll 'unleash' his creative skills before going to bed...haha....

Photo Printing Made Easy....

2009-04-15T17:11:00.004+08:00

....by EOE Online. This is a cool website, which I got to know from a fellow friend, Juliana. Thanks Julie for sharing! (well, I guess you got to if you participate in the Blogger's Review Program...haha)

Ok, this is how e-Print works....it's as easy as abc....
1. Create a login (if you're a first-time user)
2. Select photos
3. Upload the whole bunch using Easy Upload (believe me, it's faster than facebook and much more convenient. I went for a short meeting, and when I came out, upload was completed)
4. Select print size
5. Pay via bank transfer and viola!....kau tim :)

To top it, for people like me who dislikes paying delivery charges, EOE offers free delivery for orders above RM35! Definitely a plus point! :)

70th Birthday Celebration

2009-04-13T11:19:00.004+08:00

We celebrated gong-gong's 70th birthday on Saturday, 11th April 2009 at Noble House, off Jalan Imbi. Dad invited 5 tables of guests and we had a lavish dinner, with bird nest, shark fin soup, abalone, white pomfret, etc. etc.

9sum brought a very nice and unusual cake - mahjong table, complete with dice and 'money' for my dad, who's heavily into mahjong now.

Gong-gong and popo, laughing with the 5 grandchildren

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Found this cute Jaden in Ultraman mask, who had just returned from outer space :p (notice the luggage bag in the background). Ryan and Jaden like to play-pretend, that they have just returned from overseas (just like their dad, who had been travelling to Singapore very often nowadays) and taking the taxi home :) 'Ok bye.....'

Change in WV Child

2009-04-07T14:39:00.004+08:00

I've been sponsoring this girl, Batoul Ali from Lebanon since 2 years back, and recently, her family moved out of the Marjeyoun ADP (Area Development Programme) area and as such, the project office will not be able to continue to provide help and monitor on the child's progress. World Vision then, assigned another sponsor child to me.

Shamoun Heya Ahmad is a cute 2+ year old girl and WV provided me with the following particulars:

Sex : Female
Birthday : 29/01/07
Grade : Not in School
Favourite Subject : None
Health : Satisfactory
Handicap : None
Chores : Doesn't help - too young
Live with : Parents
Status of Mother : Married
Status of Father : Married
Job Status - Mother : Employed - Office helper
Job Status - Father : Unemployed
Brother : 0
Sister : 0

Hmm....I wonder why the father is not working.....house-husband or economic crunch? How I wish I have a lil girl like her.....*drool* :p

Homework time

2009-03-24T10:41:00.002+08:00

We enrolled Ryan for mandarin classes early this year and touch wood, he has been coping well thus far, considering we're all 'bananas' at home. For a start, the classes are twice a week, 1 hour each session. I did not want to over-stress him, so just enrol for the 1 hour class for now.

Yesterday, he surprised me by doing his mandarin homework without prompting. Normally, I'll have to sit next to him twice a week to ensure that all homework is done.

Ryan concentrating hard

Nearly finishing - peace sign :)

Done!

Jaden's New Bicycle

2009-03-23T10:53:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday, popo decided to bring Jaden to the bicycle shop at Centerpoint to buy an early birthday present for the grandson. Don't know why, it never cross my mind to buy a bicycle for Jaden, maybe because he's my youngest and I never thought that he would be ready to cycle so soon.

So the night before, during bedtime, I told the lil boy that popo will be bringing him to the bicycle shop tomorrow after lunch to buy a new bicycle. He was really eager to get his own bike, also because koko has one, and it's slightly 'too' big for him. I told him that he would also need to hug and kiss popo for the kind gesture. Note: he's rather afraid of gong-gong and popo as he's a timid boy and not used to their house and environment during our normal visit.

Come Saturday afternoon, we went to popo's house as planned. The lil' boy went up to popo to hug and kiss her without much persuasion. Popo was caught by surprise too! Haha...thanks to mama's ground work the night before :p

At Centerpoint, Jaden tried a bright blue shiny bicycle and that was the bicycle we brought home. He did not want any other bicycles even though a 'size' bigger would be more suitable for him as he's a tall boy. Anyhow, he couldn't pedal by himself at the shop since it was his first attempt.

He fell asleep in the car during the journey home and when he awoke from his afternoon nap, he was looking for his bicycle again. After a few attempts, he could pedal by himself! Well done boy!

Mamma Mia

2009-03-19T16:50:00.003+08:00

Like many kids, my boys love Mamma Mia songs too, and they can go dancing and singing for the longest time. Below is a short clip of Ryan and Jaden dancing to 'Lay All Your Life on Me'. In the clip, you can see:
1. Ryan doing his funny dance, occassionally break-dancing as well....haha
2. Jaden singing '.....your e-mo-tions....'
3. Jaden, the monkey, climbing all over the couch
4. Jaden playing an imaginary guitar
5. Ryan 'Yes!' at the end of the song

Not-so-Bento Creation

2009-03-16T16:59:00.005+08:00

I'm really not a bento person but absolutely love to buy bento tools - because they're cute! hehe... Until today, many of the tools are still wrapped nicely in their wrappers. So during the weekend, I took the alphabet cutters to make Ryan and Jaden's name. The naughty Ryan ate all of J-A-D-E-N 's alphabets but didn't want to eat any of his R-Y-A-N....really naughtly fella :p

And thanks to Annie's nice Mickey Mouse love shape bento box gift to Ryan, it made a beautiful snack creation for Ryan's breakfast.

Stanley the Clown

2009-03-02T14:25:00.008+08:00

We went to two 'parties' on Saturday, 28 February 2009 and coincidentally, the organisers engaged the services of the same clown - Stanley. I guess there aren't many good clowns around and words do get around.

We were at Eddy's daughter, Kai Xin 4th birthday party at Sheraton Subang hotel in the morning. Ryan and Jaden didn't want to participate in the games organised and it somewhat surprised me a little as I always think that Ryan is an extrovert. Ryan preferred to play with his gun, which he insisted to bring along.

Eddy and family

Jaden with the name decor

Ryan, with his gun, which actually belongs to papa some 20 years ago.

Kai Xin with Ashley

Jaden playing bouncing

Ryan, Jaden and Kai Xin

Later, we proceeded to Praise Emmanuel Children's Home (PECH) to visit the underprivileged children. Rosalyn, who's from our cell group, has engaged Stanley to entertain the kids for 2 hours, additionally, we and our oikos also mingled together with the children.

Since we were apprehensive that the kids would be afraid of the clown initially, we instructed him to dress and make-up in front of them. The 'trick' worked as the kids eased and relaxed themselves in the presence of the clown.

Group photo

Clown with the magic colouring book

Ryan and Jaden amused by the clown acts

All in all, it was an enjoyable outing and we managed to collect a reasonable amount for the house as well :)

Bringing up Boys

2009-02-24T15:46:00.006+08:00

I have been watching a series of DVDs by Dr. James Dobson- Bringing up Boys to catch a glimpse on how to handle boys, in particular Ryan as he thinks he's the king in the house and is able to manipulate all of us. This puts us in a very difficult position as we're not one who likes caning our kids, but on the other hand, firmly believes that the rod should not be spared if the situation warrants.

In Bringing Up Boys, Dr. Dobson covers many aspects of raising boys, such as the biological differences between males and females, the role of fathers and mothers in the lives of their sons, and the ill effects of postmodernism and socialism. Likely, however, the most controversial issues he covers are the feminist movement and both parents working outside the home.

During the feminist movement, proponents tried to convince society that boys and girls were the same, except for their reproductive systems, and should be treated and raised in exactly the same manner. Unfortunately, our culture eventually welcomed that concept with open arms. We were told to treat our girls more like boys and our boys more like girls. A majority of us started believing boys and girls should act the same, play with the same toys and have the same interests. Even today, masculine qualities are thought of as bad and undesirable. In many commercials, television shows and movies, the men are portrayed in a very negative way, and in many instances, the 'stupid guy'.

Dr. Dobson also feels only one parent should have a career during the child rearing years. He says "It is my conviction that those who choose to bring a child into the world must give that boy or girl highest priority for a period of time. In a very short time, they will be grown up and on their own." We only have a short time with our kids to teach and model, so they will develop a solid mental and spiritual foundation that will last their lifetime. Although there could be extenuating circumstances for both parents to work, somehow if we love our kids so much, we should make sure that our priorities in life are right. He also stressed that it is important for the dad to be around the boys during the formative years, being the role model to ensure that rules are set, relationships are built and to be the spiritual leader in the house.

It seems that with every generation, our culture gets worldlier. The focus used to be more on God and family, but has increasingly become more about what is good for each individual and who cares about everyone else. Our kids are depending on us to help them learn about God and how they should live their lives. Their trust and faith depends on it and we cannot fail them.

Opthalmologist

2009-02-16T10:38:00.005+08:00

We brought Jaden to see the consultant opthalmologist, Datuk Dr. Ramani at Pantai hospital last Saturday. We were concerned because Jaden rubs his eyes frequently and blinks his eyes while watching TV. Apart from that, he does not have any discharge or redness.

When the Dr. attended to Jaden, I was surprised that he told my son to read the alphabets on the chart, like those practiced by normal optician. I was thinking...if you're doing this, might as well I bring my son to an optician. After a few tries, the dr. gave up. My son wasn't cooperative and consistent with his answers.

Next, the nurse checked his eyes with the machine below. Again, the machine can be found in all those opticians' shops. How frustrating! Is this all you can do ah doc?!

I think Jaden pretty well behaved himself by standing in front of the machine patiently, even though it was difficult to get him to focus on the object. What can you expect - he's only a lil kiddo! But no, the nurse and doctor said he wasn't cooperative! They got the reading of the left eye but not the right.

We waited for a while and then the nurse dilated Jaden's eyes. Waited another 15 mins before the dr. did a manual test. Hah, finally we could see the specialist at work! I couldn't really tell what the dr. was testing as I was trying to keep Jaden still and making sure his chin rest on the holder. I saw some flashing of different lights and horror of horrors, she suddenly pulled Jaden's right eyelid really hard. The boy screamed his lungs out and before I knew it, the procedure ended.

Verdict : Jaden doesn't need glasses. She prescribed some eye drops for allergy. Phew!

And she told us to come back in 6 months' time and make sure that I teach Jaden alphabets by then! Lazy bugger! Less work I guess! Jaden may not be able to tell the doc accurately but he certainly knows his alphabets!

Jaden's Playgroup

2009-02-03T15:38:00.007+08:00

After attending Children's Vital Years Nursery for 2 days, we decided to pull Jaden out of the school. Even though he showed a keen interest to go to school in the morning, apparently, during school, he couldn't really take instructions from his teachers and he ended up crying uncontrollably. Well, I guess he wasn't ready for school.

Yesterday, being FT day, brought the lil boy to a church playgroup in PJ. And the lil boy enjoyed himself tremendously, Also the fact that I was with him, so no separation anxiety.

Jaden playing basketball in the play area. Was surprised to see 2 other mamas from DUMC with their kids - Jamie with Shawn and Audrey with Kimberly.

Snack time - Jaden with cousin Ethan

During coffee break time, the kids are encouraged to explore the different playrooms available and play independently while the parents rest and enjoy a cup of coffee and chit chat. Below Jaden is playing in the room full of cars and trucks.

The real test will be this Friday, when Jaden goes with Mah-Mah and Aunty Meli. Hopefully he'll adjust :)

Happy Ox Year 2009!

2009-01-29T10:43:00.007+08:00

This year's new year was a double joy for the family. The first day of CNY (26th Jan) coincides with papa's birthday.

The Yuen clan gathered at our house for the first time on the 1st day of CNY. We had a small makan time together, enjoyed each other's company and even managed to catch a glimpse of the lion dance next door.

Bought some new plants for the house - Lucky bamboo

Another type of bamboo

Ryan and Jaden, with their first angpow from Yeh Yeh

Papa with Ryan and Yeh-yeh with Samantha in the garden, watching our neighbour's lion dance and fire crackers.

Too many trees. Can you spot the lion on stilts? :p

Jaden with mah-mah

We had an unexpected guest - little Max. The children were thrilled to play with Max, albeit a little while, as Lex has returned home to see his wife.

Pretty Samantha in her cheongsam

Jaden's good friend/cousin - Ethan

The Yuens enjoying a simple meal

The 2 cakes, one from me and another from Yeh Yeh

Papa with the boys and Sam

Ryan happily drew this piece for papa at night. Above the word 'Happy', he drew the family -papa, mama and Ryan, and Jaden below the word (due to space constraint). There's heart shape and balloons everywhere and a number '8' on the paper. Papa was ecstatic to find number 8 = 'fatt' in chinese....haha.... Why 8? I really don't know :p

Happy Chinese New Year to all!!!!!

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Brotherly Love

This is one of the moments which I managed to catch on camera. Jaden wanted to go to the toilet one morning but needed help with his PJ. Ryan quickly ran to his brother's rescue before another accident happens....ooooooo

JMC Concert

2009-01-14T09:47:00.005+08:00

Ryan had his first JMC concert on the 9th January 2009 after completing his first book. Each book takes about 6 months and the entire JMC course takes 2 years.

Ryan has come a long way, from not knowing any keys to being able to play a simple piece with both hands. He has also learned solfege singing, lyric singing, ensemble (singing, rhythm and keyboard), music appreciation, rhythm training and workbook (reading/writing).

During the concert, those skills were tested and each student was required to play on the keyboard a piece which they have selected.

1. Group Presentation : Whale Sneezes

2. Solo : See You Tomorrow

3. Group rhythm : Pa-Pa-Pa Parade

Jaden also came for the concert and pretended to play on the keyboard :)

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The kids current favourite playmate at home :)

A New Friend

2009-01-06T13:33:00.003+08:00

A new friend came to stay with us on 1 January 2009. His name is Lexus, Lex for short. My friend, Kaw May has been persuading me to take the dog, but somehow, since I'm so scared of dogs, I've agreed to adopt Lex for a month. He's a beautiful, or rather handsome golden retriever, very playful indeed and loves attention. And most importantly, the boys love him. Ryan has been asking for a dog since zillion years ago and this is the best I could fulfil his dream, even though he does not know, yet, that I intend to return him to the owner after a month. He told us on the first day 'I wish the dog could stay with us one thousand million years'. In his little interpretation, it means forever......

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On Sunday, a day before the school term begins, we brought the kids for a haircut. Yes, little Jaden is going to school now with big brother Ryan. Unlike koko, lil' boy loves to go to school and looks forward to school these past 2 mornings :)

Below a pic of cheeky boy with his new haircut.

Ho Ho Ho and a Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T15:19:00.004+08:00

Today is already the last day of Year 2008. How time flies.......

Since coming back from our Korea trip, I've been busy preparing for my final CIA paper - not the US Central Intelligence Agency exam but the boring Certified Internal Auditor paper - and the effort will help me to score in my KPI. And most people in my company would not want to miss out in the bonus distribution this year as it had been a fruitful year indeed. God has definitely been good to the company :)

MIL has painstakingly decorated the Christmas tree in the house. A big thank you to her!

And while the presents are being put under the tree, the boys could not resist but opened at least half the presents before Christmas day.

Hubby had a big Christmas present that arrived from the States but even that the boys think that it's their present and had overtaken the huge golf net as theirs :)

A very Happy New Year to all!!!

Day 10 : Seoul - Malaysia

2008-12-11T12:55:00.003+08:00

Finally, it was the last day of our trip. We packed our bags early in the morning, had breakfast and then went sightseeing again :) Of course, we have to maximise our trip while we were there!

We went to Wolmido via ferry and experienced feeding seagulls on board. Below pic is our trusted bus that accompanied us throughout the trip. The small bus is just nice to fit the 13 of us + bus driver and tour guide (even though the seats behind are really bumpy and can be a tad uncomfortable)

Ryan and Siew Ginn koko

Jaden at the wholesale supermarket

The children at the airport playground.

Day 9 : Shopping and Seoul Tower

2008-12-10T09:53:00.008+08:00

Nearing the end of the trip, the boys have mixed reactions. The younger one was missing home and so he lamented 'I want to go home' while the elder boy loves fun, fun & fun and so 'I miss Korea' - probably influenced by Siew Ginn koko, even though we have not returned home yet.

The morning of Day 9 was spent shopping at Myeong-dong Fashion Street, after which we visited Seoul Tower.

Built on a 262 meter peak in Namsan Park, the tower reaches to 480 meters above sea level. When the weather is good, the observation tower allows you to view the entire city and surrounding areas.

The cable car ride to the tower

Bear X'mas tree?

There is a dedicated area for couples to put their locks together - to signify their relationship. You're not supposed to throw your key away! :p

Back in the hotel room, the boys love to dance in their thermal wear. Ryan nicknamed himself the White Man.

After dinner, we proceeded with Kangnam River Cruise, a cruise along the Han River.

This is Jaden, with his new toy.

A video of the boys dancing :)

Day 8 : Everland

2008-12-03T10:18:00.006+08:00

The 8th day of the tour was the day the kids really looked forward to. It was a full day of fun at the theme park! Everland, located in Yongin, is a big theme park (arguably the 4th most famous in the world, but we really doubt it) which includes a zoo, snow sled and botanical garden.

The weather was pretty cold that day and we only went on some kiddy rides. In my opinion, the best attraction there would be the Safari World, which houses many animals, including lion, tiger and a white tiger, bear, elephant, giraffe, zebra, etc....

Safari World tour via a bus

Day 7 : DMZ Tour / MBC Drama Filming Studio

2008-12-01T13:53:00.005+08:00

We started our Day 7 tour by visiting the Ginseng Outlet. Korean ginseng is well-known throughout the world and I was particularly interested as it claimed to help with sinus too. Papa J has sinus so now, he's taking two tablets a day. We also bought ginseng powder form for kids, hopefully to improve their overall health.

Later, we proceeded with our DMZ tour. The Demilitarized Zone tour offers a real vivid eye-opening experience of the Korean War and a dramatic sense of tragedy of the separated family members between the two Koreas from the division of the peninsula.

Security is tight around the area and photographs are not permitted in many places. We visited the Dora Observatory, Freedom Bridge, Dorasan Station and the 3rd Tunnel. The 3rd Tunnel was discovered in October 1978. It runs through bedrock at a depth of about 73 meter below ground. Capable of moving a full division per hour plus their weapons, it is evidently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul.

Dorasan Station - the last station stop before North Korea

It was snowing during our visit to the observatory and the kids were thrilled to see real snow for the first time!

After lunch, we proceeded to MBC Drama Filming Studio in Yangju Theme Park, which was the shooting site for the famous 'Jewel in the Palace' (Daejanggeum).

The lil' Daejanggeum in action in the kitchen

Day 6 : Seoul

2008-12-01T12:57:00.004+08:00

We had breakfast at the Seoul Garden hotel and while Jaden was happily playing with the ornaments on the Christmas tree, one of the waiters gave him a stare. In general, Koreans are not fond of kids and during our short trip, we experienced a number of discourteous people. People seemed to not give way in lifts (barging from behind when they know that you're trying to handle two active boys) and doorways.

After breakfast, we visited the Amethyst Factory and of course, dh was not spared :)

During the day, we also visited Tiger Hill, Doota Shopping Complex - Dongdaemun Market and watched the Nanta Show. The show is a non-verbal performance integrating Korean traditional 'Samulnori' rhythm with comic and drama - a highly recommended show for kids!

We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant that night.

Day 5 : Mt. Sorak / Nami Island / Seoul

2008-11-28T13:32:00.004+08:00

Nami Island is 63km away from Seoul and is famous for its beautiful tree lined roads. This island is the location where many scenes of Winter Sonata were shot.

We didn't particularly enjoyed the lake cruise and the leisure walk around the island. Weather was too cold and our hands were numbed. Even the small fountain behind Jaden turned to ice.

After that, we visited the Lotte World Theme Park. As the weather was still cold, we opted to stay indoor.

Day 4 : Vivaldi Park / Mt. Sorak

2008-11-28T10:06:00.005+08:00

Vivaldi Park is actually a ski resort but since it's only autumn, the resort is in the midst of making 'snow' for the upcoming ski season. Below, the resort view from our condo room.

Entrance of Daemyung Vivaldi Park Ski Resort

After breakfast, we departed for Mt Sorak to visit the Grand Bronze Buddha and Shinheungsa Temple. We didn't manage to visit the Kwongumsong Fortress via a cable car ride as the wind was too strong that day. The temperature for the day was approx. -7 degrees Celcius!

We also visited Abai Village. The village of Cheongho-dong is now the hometown to many people of North Korean ancestry. Many elderly people fled to Cheongho-dong from North Korea during the Korean War. This area became popular after the Korean drama 'Gaeul Donghwa' (Autumn in My Heart) was filmed here.

Noticed this 'weird' house which has a door on the upper floor.

We had Korean for dinner almost everyday now, below is Korean Bulgogi beef - doesn't taste as good as the Australian bulgogi beef we had later in the trip.

Picture of the boys at the lobby of Sorak Park Hotel.

Day 3 : Vivaldi Park

2008-11-28T09:51:00.003+08:00

After breakfast, we took an early morning domestic flight back to Seoul, and upon arrival, proceeded to Vivaldi Park to visit the Ocean World.

Jaden was so tired during the flight, that he almost slept through-out.

The cheeky boys at domestic Kimpo airport

We had bimbimbap rice for lunch.

Bimbimbap is a combination of all kinds of vegetables and egg, mixed together in a stone bowl.

In the afternoon, we went to Ocean World (something like Sunway Lagoon) to enjoy the in-door water slides, waves and heated pool.

Day 2 : Jeju Island

2008-11-25T17:27:00.006+08:00

On Saturday morning, we had abalone porridge for breakfast before proceeding to Jeju-do Island for a full day tour.

Seongsan Sunrise Peak rose from under the sea in a volcanic eruption about 100,000 years ago. Located on the eastern end of Jejudo island, there is a huge crater at the top of Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. The crater is about 600m in diameter and 90m high.

The huge crater in the background.

The ridge provides an ideal spot for walks and for horse riding as well.

Located at the foot of Mt. Halla, Seongeup Folk Village has perfectly perserved Korean tradition. With its vast amount of cultural property, this place is designated as a Folk Village. Many cultural properties such as residential houses, Confucian shrines and schools, ancient government offices, stone statues, millstones, stone monuments, and intangible cultural assets such as folk plays, native foods, etc are handed down to date.

Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls

We also watched an acrobat show at the Magic World and had sashimi dinner at night.

10 Days Jeju Island/Seoul/Everland/Mt. Sorak Tour (14Nov-24Nov) Day 1

2008-11-25T16:27:00.007+08:00

Day 1: Arrived at Incheon Airport and departed for Seoul City tour of Kyongbok Palace, National Folk Museum and Presidential Blue House.

Jaden in the airplane

Depart for Seoul city tour in a bus

Kyongbok Palace was the primary residence for the royal family of Joseon Dynasty.

Beautiful autumn leaves, in yellow and red

Jaden and Chern outside the National Folk Museum

Ryan with monkey statue

All the cousins in the palace compound

Korean ginseng chicken for lunch

Transfer to domestic Kimpo Airport flight to Jeju Island. Visited the Mysterious Road before checking in to hotel. In the pic, the road seems to be going upwards, but in actual fact, it's going downwards, and vice versa.

Check-in at Ramada Plaza Jeju

The tour guide brought us to a restaurant that served seafood steamboat for dinner.

Silence....

2008-11-12T12:07:00.005+08:00

There will be silence from this blog as the authors will be away....

Wish us luck as we will be bringing the 2 monkeys along. Preparation and packing of luggage bags have already been done although mama still wrestle with the thought of how many packets of milk to bring, number of diapers, pants, tops, etc... *arggh*

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Annual Report

Name of Student : Ryan Yuen

Age : 4

Met up with Teacher Ann after work to discuss Ryan's progress for the year.

Personal & Social Development

Ryan has really matured a lot this year, in particular since the second term. He has become more confident and mixes well with his peers and teachers. He also vocalises more and is more willing in group participation.

Reading

Ryan is quite a good reader now. He also has developed a good aptitude to books and reading. He also takes books on his own initiative which shows his keen interest.

Writing

Ryan's writing skills have greatly improved. He is not learning to write upper case alphabets and knows his lower case alphabets well.

Bahasa Malaysia

Ryan participates in the group oral Bahasa Malaysia sessions. He finds this subject a bit challenging. Regular application of vocabulary will help improve his memory skills.

English

Ryan's English language skills are developing well. He communicates well with people and his diction has gotten much better, especially when reading.

Mathematics

Ryan shows great aptitude towards this subject. This is his strongest subject and he has learned to work quickly and independently. He is now doing more complicated sums in addition and also number sequence.

Special Comments

It has been a delight having Ryan in school. He has really come a long way and I am pleased with his progress. We look forward to having Ryan back for another year.

Weekend of Parties

2008-11-04T17:03:00.008+08:00

It was a weekend of parties for the boys. Last Saturday, we went to Jungle Gym, which is located at Bangsar Shopping Centre for Bryan Choo's 4th Birthday celebration. Bryan is Ryan's schoolmate at Vital Years. He just joined VY this year and was previously from Julia Gabriel Chilten House. Bryan's mum, Cindy is a nice lady. She was so busy that day but I managed a short chat with her. Asked whether Bryan has any siblings or she has plans to have another child, she casually mention that it was a surprise for her when she found that she was pregnant with Bryan at 43! Wow, she definitely doesn't look her age!

Ryan and Jaden, without a doubt, enjoyed themselves tremendously. Once the entrance gate opened, they dashed in, and were nowhere to be seen. The poor mummy, who did not bring her socks, was not allowed in. Reluctantly, I bought a pair of socks for RM4. I was worried that Jaden will get 'lost', and so I cannot have him out of my sight. I followed him everywhere, climbing through the tiny tunnels and playing balls with him. I took lots of photos of him, but none of the brother as Ryan was busy playing with his friends.

A pix of the birthday boy, Bryan.

The Ultraman cake...all the boys were hoping to get one of the toy...the mum said, no, it's all Bryan's toys...haha....

And on Sunday, we went to Lisa's house to celebrate Hazel's 1st Birthday. Lisa is my old school friend from BBGS. It had been a while since we last caught up with each other and the rest of the gang. Birthday gatherings are just perfect for catching up!

Raya Open House

2008-10-30T16:51:00.005+08:00

Our division (together with Legal) hosted our annual Hari Raya Open House yesterday. It is our culture for each division to host their Open House during Raya and this year is no exception. For the past week, we have been savoring delicacies from other divisions and yesterday, it was our turn to 'gotong-royong' to decorate the place and prepare the food (not all though, 'cos the main food are catered).

Below some pics to share on the decor and food....

These tartlets are made by my colleagues....many were involved, including male colleagues :)

Lebanese style cooking - lamb. It's tender soft

and nasi briyani + ayam

Doing my job as a 'favour' giver, somehow, was caught in action by my colleague.

Relaxing after the event...

Breakthrough....

2008-10-28T11:26:00.008+08:00

haha.....in cutting hair!!

We brought the kids to the Indian barber on Saturday as they were overdue for a hair cut.

Previously, Ryan and Jaden will kick a fuss at the barber. But last Saturday, papa started the ball rolling by getting his hair cut first while letting the 2 boys watch him. Ryan then, sat by himself next to papa (he has never sat by himself before but always on our lap, although he doesn't cry).

He can even managed a smile :)

The handsome boy after his haircut.

After koko's turn, it was Jaden's turn to sit on the chair. While Ryan was having his haircut, I kept on asking Jaden, whether he would want his hair cut like koko. He gave me a resounding 'Yes' each time. I wanted to reaffirm him that it was ok.

Throughout the 'process', he was a bit scared (evident by the pic below) but he never cried (and he sat by himself!)

I'm so proud of my 2 boys!

Ipoh Makan Trip

2008-10-21T09:56:00.003+08:00

We were in Ipoh over the weekend for a short cell group retreat.

Apart from Ipoh being famous for 'leng luis', Ipoh is also famous for food, especially shredded chicken hor fun soup *yums*

So, it was not surprising that our trip turned out to be a makan trip throughout. After checking-in at Meru Valley apartment, we headed to a seafood restaurant at Jelapang for lunch.

After lunch, we went back to the apartment for some well-needed rest.

This is us having chicken and bean sprout for supper, and that was right after our dinner at Maria's Cafe :0

Pics below taken at the Lim Tapah family home.

Potty Learning

2008-10-17T09:49:00.005+08:00

This lil prince of mine has since graduated from using cloth diapers during the daytime to potty learning. Accidents still happen occasionally but yesterday, he showed marked improvement in his ability to inform us of his need to 'pee'. He still say he wants to 'poo poo' when he wants to 'shee shee'. I guess it's difficult for him to differentiate.

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Ultraman Brothers

Ryan and Jaden are extremely playful nowadays and since koko shows an interest in Ultraman, lil' didi loves Ultraman too due to the influence. I managed to capture the playful brothers, showing their Ultraman stunts and somersaulting continuously.

LOST!

2008-10-07T10:36:00.005+08:00

It was the third day of Hari Raya. We brought the kids to 1 Utama to have lunch and later to jalan-jalan. Ryan wanted to find his Ultraman figurine, a specific type with 2 horns (I've forgoten the name already) but we couldn't find it at ToysRUs or Jusco. We then proceeded to have lunch at Canton-I.

After lunch, I wanted to buy some items from Guardian. I left the boys with papa at Speedy video shop as they wanted to look at some dvds. After a short while, I heard papa shouting 'Have you seen Jaden?' 'No, isn't he with you?'

I walked out of Guardian and saw Ryan, but Jaden was nowhere to be seen. The panic feeling started to seep in and I saw papa walking and running frantically up and down, asking people/guards if they have seen a little boy. My first instinct was to carry Ryan, to ensure that he's safe with me and to prevent him from running away. Many thoughts went through my mind including one with the possibility that Jaden has been abducted. Tears trickled down my cheeks and Ryan asked 'Mummy, why are you crying?' 'Oh no, I don't have didi to play with me anymore....'

Meanwhile, another kind mama, who's carrying her baby, helped to look for Jaden after obtaining some basic info on colour of clothing and age of Jaden. Thank you mama....

After a short while, I saw papa carrying Jaden. What a relief man..... Thank you Lord for finding Jaden and returning him to us!

Apparently, tis lil' wanderer of ours has wandered off from the video shop, walked pass Jusco supermarket, towards the direction of the hotel. A young couple brought the sobbing Jaden to the information counter outside Burger King and waited. The kind uncle was actually consoling Jaden when papa came to the rescue. Phew!

I wasn't really keeping the time but I would think all these happened in less than 20 minutes.

These are some tips I got from the internet as I was researching on ways to prevent children getting lost:

1. Put safe, easily accessible contact information on your child

2. Dress children in bright, special 'Away from Home' clothing

3. Carry a recent photo and description of each child

4. Teach your child to ask another mommy for help

5. Reinforce good behaviour

Phnom Penh

2008-09-30T09:02:00.005+08:00

For a week, I was away in Cambodia on a business trip. This was my longest trip away from the boys. Initially, I was quite worried that they would not be able to adjust with my absence, especially Jaden, since he's a sticky-molly BUT they were alright :) And I was so glad to hear that Jaden sticks to papa like a glue...haha....Papa, now you know how I feel when I've to be there for Jaden when he bathes, change, eat, sleep.....basically everything!

It was a good break away from the kids for once. Anything longer than 1 week would have caused my heart to miss family dearly but 1 week was just nice.

I arrived Phnom Penh on a Sunday (21/9) morning flight and upon arrival, I was cheated RM10 by the immigration officer. Since it was my first time to PP, I wasn't sure whether there were any charges imposed at immigration counter. I asked the officer 'What is it for?' but he pretended that he couldn't hear or could not understand English. Anyhow, now I learnt my lesson. Later, I was surprised to see my colleague at the arrival hall. Asked him why he came, and he said that he was worried that something would happen to me.....haha....didn't know that I was that naive!

The company driver fetched us to the 'low-ya' 3 star hotel, Holiday Villa, which is owned by Malaysians. My Malay colleagues chose the hotel as they provide halal food and the morning sahur before they puasa. The hotel is located in the city center and many eateries are within walking distance and the famous Central Market is also within the vicinity.

Once we reached the hotel, I literally dropped my luggage bag in the room and headed off to see Phnom Penh city with my friend, Lynnette and her family, who have been staying there for 7 years. A long time to stay in a 3rd world country, in my opinion. Well, I guess in life, one has to give and take - in their case, I would say staying as an expat is a good opportunity whereby the fringe benefits include a bungalow, driver, 2 maids, international schools for the children, etc...

There's nothing much to do in PP except eating and shopping. I have the opportunity to try Cambodian food (which is similar to Thai and Vietnamese cooking), fusion, halal Malaysian food, halal Khmer food, Vietnamese, Japanese, fast food and North Korean.

Also, things are relatively cheap at the Central and Russian market, so much so that I bought so many gifts for the little ones and family.

Despite all the 'fun' shopping (I was shopping till the wee hours before my morning flight on Saturday, 27/9), my heart grieved at the condition/state of living of the people in the country. There are times when Lynnette would come after work to bring me for a coffee at a nice place and I notice Cambodians sleeping with their child on the street. Women with babies are begging almost everywhere and street children are roaming the streets, smoking and doing what-not.

And our children in Malaysia are so pampered and spoilt because they are so precious to us.....just a thought

Bento Creation #1 and Ryan's Concert

2008-09-15T10:07:00.004+08:00

Pooh bear says 'Hi'

My first attempt at bento creation - quite fun actually :) The boys were looking for me while I disappeared and they later found me peeling grapes in the kitchen. Ryan insisted that he help and he put the grapes into the animal picks and helped to make the peanut butter pooh bear sandwich. Jaden was not left out in the fun too, he helped with the sandwich cutter as well. I quickly snap a photo of the bento before Ryan reached for the sandwich...hehe...

Ryan ate a few of the seedless grapes and said 'ok mama, enough already, after I choke'. Oh my...excuses excuses....

Piano

We have been looking for a piano ever since Ryan started his Yamaha JMC classes in July 08. Earlier this month, there was a Piano Fair organised by Yamaha and so we went there and managed to buy the last 'Early Bird' piece for the model we wanted. Phew...that was like RM2k off the original non-revised list price, plus they gave us a RM250 Jusco voucher. Hmmm....not too bad a deal.

They delivered the piano last Saturday and while I took a picture, Ryan uttered 'Mama, why are you taking a picture of my piano?' cheeky fella

Ryan's Concert

It was a simple concert this year, quick one too, organised before Aunty Hian Yook's farewell to Kazakstan. I arrived late and managed to hear a few songs and snap a few pictures before it ended. Thank goodness papa recorded the whole concert and we replayed it a few times at home. Ryan enjoyed watching himself on TV :)

Bento tools

2008-09-10T16:45:00.002+08:00

Finally, the bento tools arrived. I've been waiting for the items for more than a month and some have not even arrive from Japan. Anyhow, the most important thing is to put them to good use. Hmm...this is the difficult part :)

While I was looking through the things, some busy bees were also happily taking out the items from the plastic packaging.

Then, a call came in and MIL answered her hp. Her friend who stays nearby saw 2 thieves opposite our house and that house is vacant as my sis has yet to move in. I was alarmed and scared and sure enough when we looked out the window, we saw 2 suspicious Indian men loitering in the garden. One held a guni sack and he put it against the wall bricks. My daring MIL brought the Indonesian maid and went across the street to check on the guni sack and to scare the Indian men away. My maid attempted to carry the sack but was unable to do so as it was very heavy. One of the man came back and snatched the bag away. The thieves were still loitering around the area for a while until I decided to call 999. I was quite worried that they'll think it's a prank call but somehow the lady connected me quickly to the police station and I was quite impressed that 2 police cars came swiftly.

To cut a long story short, the police men went in but the thieves had by then, climbed over to another vacant neighbour's house and more guni sacks were already taken away by an accompliance on a motorcycle. And since it was buka puasa time, the cops decided to leave instead of pursuing the thieves who were hiding in the neighbour's house.

Arggh....

Anyhow, a peaceful picture of the boys sleeping taken in the morning somewhat changed my mood for the day...

Back to basics

2008-09-09T12:57:00.003+08:00

Why o' why did I even bother buying any mama pads? It's the same question I've been asking myself when I started buying cloth diapers for Jaden. But it's so convenient to use disposables, so why not just continue using them? Because of the hesitance, I've deprived Ryan of the chance to experience the softest material - bamboo velour next to his bum bum.

I thought I would like to try using a bamboo velour mama pad too (so that I can feel how it feels like to be in Jaden's shoes...hehe) and since Mia Bambina carries the HomeMadeMama pads made in the USA, I thought I would give it a try. The other smaller pantyliner is from Lunapad, made in Canada. The how-to-use and washing instructions came in so many languages, including chinese characters, and I was somewhat impressed with these WAHMs. The pads are being prep washed now, so no product review yet.

I've also bought 2 more natural soaps - hopefully, natural soaps will replace all pumped liquid soaps used in the household in the future. Recently, I've received an email purporting that J&J baby lotions contain cancerous ingredients. This led me to research more on ingredients to avoid in our daily shampoos, body cleansers, lipstick, face cream, etc. And for the first time, I looked at the ingredients used in my daily body cleanser - oh my! so many chemicals....

I've also received another email saying that we shouldn't use the same sanitary pad for more than 3 hours, else cervical cancer will develop. Don't know how true...but all these prompted me to use more natural products.

06.09.03

2008-09-09T11:30:00.003+08:00

We tied the knot on this day. It's our 5th anniversary this year! :)

We dated for 6 years before we got married.

We were colleagues at the Big 4 before we dated.

Some sweet memories....

Btw, Michelle Yeoh is my relative. Family and friends thronged to take pics with her instead of the bride and groom....boohoohoo....

Indon maid

2008-08-20T17:04:00.006+08:00

As I'm writing this, I feel rather sad. On one hand, I know that I shouldn't be treating the way I'm treating Els (my Indon maid) now but on the other hand, her work/actions are making me so frustrated, that at times, I feel like hitting her. I have not hit her or anything but on the verge of it. I couldn't help it but held (not pull) her right ear last weekend when I wanted to tell her that her ears are for listening. She actually left the Filipino maid standing outside the gate for 20 minutes even after she rang the doorbell for 6 times. Hubby and I came home from the playground with the kids and saw Meli (Filipino maid) standing outside after her day-out. I was furious and we checked what she was doing. She said she was ironing and couldn't hear the door bell. Deaf or what? Imagine my kids crying for help upstairs in their room - she would most probably just pass it as 'saya tak boleh dengar'.

On many occassions, she has hurt my 2 boys unintentionally (at least I would like to think of it that way). She would hold Ryan's hand and at the blink of an eye, Ryan would suddenly fall down. Her legs are always in the way of the boys'. Or on another occassion, she would be tidying the boys' toys and putting them in the toy box and while she's holding the lid, she would knock against Ryan's face. I really cannot put words to describe her. Or yet another occassion, she would be walking in the living room and suddenly she would squat down to pick up something not knowing that Jaden is right behind her, and her big butt would cause Jaden to fall against the wooden door.

And there was one time when I came home from grocery shopping. She was putting the eggs into the fridge and the next thing you know, one egg fell on the floor. Closer inspection on how she put the eggs - she put the smaller rounder tip as the base on the egg casing instead of the wider base - of course lah not stable. She can have the guts to tell me that that's how she put the eggs in her home in Indon (Don't play play, her house in Indon got fridge and not only that, should be relatively big to put non-essential items like eggs too).

And with food, she can be clumsy as well. There was one occassion when Meli caught her giving the wrong formula to Ryan. Ryan has just changed from Enfagrow to Enfakid and the confusion in taste would cause us more problems. I told her off to be more careful in the future. I am just worried that she would be giving Enfakid to Jaden.

There was one night when papa was overseas. The boys slept and I slept in their room on the floor after switching on the house alarm. The next thing I know, the alarm went off and I quickly dashed into my room to disable the alarm. Went downstairs and saw the backdoor open, which triggered the alarm. And emerging from the dark, was the maid. She said that she was hanging the wash cloth. My gawd, at 11.30pm!! And she can tell me that she doesn't know there's a house alarm after staying with us for more than 6 months!! Bloody *stu***

Often, we'll tell her to do something and she'll end up 'maaf - saya lupa'. Called her to put the sausage bread in the fridge and not to leave it overnight outside cos the sausage will spoil and when I wake up in the morning, the sausage bread will still be on the table. Called her to prepare one roti canai for puan and one for tuan in the morning and I'll end up not having any for breakfast.

I guess me and her no 'yuen fan', just can't understand and get-along with each other. Hubby and I can't wait to send her back home next year after her contract ends *sigh*

Beijing Olympics 2008

2008-08-12T11:50:00.007+08:00

I've never been a real fan of Olympics and therefore, has never really paid attention to any of the opening ceremony, let alone to watch any of the games.

Somehow, this year, due to the uniqueness of the opening time/date of 08.08.08 at 8.08pm, I fell into the trap of watching it. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony (up until the marching-in of athletes from different countries) and the association with 2000 years of China history. I was particularly awed by the fireworks, the unveiling of a giant scroll and the participation of over 15,000 performers in the opera performance, movable-type printing, acrobats, etc.

While we were watching this on TV, my parents were watching the ceremony LIVE miles away. This was the account from my mother after her arrival back from Beijing 'Wah, it was really torturous. We had to reach the Birds' Nest stadium by 4pm for the 8pm opening ceremony. We went there in an official car. The ceremony ended about midnight and since the security around the area was so tight, no cars were allowed in. We had to walk many kms to board a public transport and by the time we reached the apartment, it was 4am!' Furthermore, we weren't staying in a hotel, and we couldn't find any food at that time. So, we didn't have dinner and was left with an empty stomach'

Oh my...lesson learnt?! Better to watch the opening ceremony in the comfort of our home sofa than to suffer there :p *but I guess the experience would be wordless....*

And being the nice and lovely grandparents, they of course, did not come home empty-handed. Needless to say, the grandsons were overjoyed to see their po-po on Monday.

Mama taking the photo at the backgrd :p

Cloth Diapers and Soakers

2008-08-04T14:33:00.009+08:00

Papa came back from Canada not long ago and he brought back a luggage full of children's clothes and most importantly, fitted cloth diapers and soakers for Jaden. Mama had been waiting for months for these to arrive from US as these were made by WAHM in US. They were sent to Aunty Min Yau's house in Houston so that mama could save on shipping costs :) And since Aunty Min Yau's visit to Canada coincides with papa's visit, the plan was just perfect.

Jaden is a super heavywetter and the use of a single disposable Mamy Poko at night doesn't solve the leaking problem every night. Mama gets so frustrated waking up in the middle of the night to change Jaden into a new PJ and diaper, and not to mention the wet bed sheets and all. So after weeks and months of research, mama found a better night time diapering solution - which is to use fitted cloth diapers and wool interlock soakers. Fingers crossed, the last few nights have been wet-free nights for Jaden!

Below: Wild Child Woolies shorties and soaker

Wollybottoms soaker

Goodmama OS marigold bamboo velour CD.

Custom made Very Baby Simple Nights (VBSN) diaper with additional bamboo fleece insert

Custom made Holden's Landing bedbugs - Natural dyed cotton fleece (R)

Bedbug - pumpkin dyed bamboo velour with BV inner

Muttaqin 3 Step Rise (3SR)

So far, the VBSN and Bedbugs have been bullet-proof at night...yippee!

Of Body and Sex.....

2008-07-25T10:30:00.003+08:00

Mama came home from work one day and decided to take shower. Lil' Ryan insisted that he follow mama to the bathroom.

Mama: Ryan, why don't you play down here with didi and kakak?
Ryan: No, I want to follow mama upstairs

Mama went upstairs and took off baju.

Ryan: Mama, where's your kuku-bird?
Mama: Kuku-bird is for boys only. Mama is a girl - no kuku-bird. Got pet-pet
Ryan: Pet-pet? What's pet-pet? Can I touch?
Mama: NO! Cannot touch...Pet-pet is for she-she

Mama went into the shower area.

Ryan: Mama, you got ton-ton.... (I didn't teach him this word, I think he learned from MIL...lol)
Can I drink milk from your ton-ton?
Mama: Mama don't have any more milk
Ryan: How come mama don't have any more milk for me?
Mama: *not sure how to answer* Because mama is not a COW! lol

*geling kepala* I've got to go through this with Jaden again next time.....*sigh*

Ryan's 4th Birthday!

2008-07-23T09:30:00.006+08:00

We had a small family gathering at our house on Saturday, 19 July 2008 to celebrate Ryan's 4th birthday. The early celebration was arranged to ensure that papa would be around for the party before his flight to Bangkok and Toronto on Sunday morning.

Ryan specifically requested for a Transformer cake and Auntie Ruijing obliged even tho' it looked pretty difficult to come up with such a cake :p Her supplier printed the transformer pictures onto sugar paper and voila, result as below. Print colour is apparently food safe but to be double safe, we took it out before eating :)

Ryan wanted me to take a photo of him dancing naked, so there you go. There's something about children and nakedness, they really love being naked and I wonder why :p

BPA free bottles

2008-07-11T14:54:00.011+08:00

I know I've not been a good blogger, hardly any updates for more than 1 month now :p Sorie...

But I've been a good mama or rather I hope I am one :)

I've been researching a lot on internets on baby-safe products, in particular baby bottles and recently, I've got a new addiction - cloth diapers! I've been spending so much time on the internet and I think hubby is really annoyed with me too :) Sorry dear....

These pictures were taken some time back but basically what we did was to replace our easy-to-use plastics bottles with aluminium Sigg bottles and children's Avent milk bottles to MAM BPA-free bottles. BPA is actually Bisphenol-A, which is a type of chemical that manufacturers include in polycarbonate plastic manufacturing to ensure that the plastic bottles do not break easily upon impact. BPA has been known to leach from the plastic lining of canned foods and, to a lesser degree, polycarbonate plastics that are cleaned with harsh detergents or used to contain acidic or high-temperature liquids.

BPA is also believed to be carcinogenic. Studies on laboratory mice were performed and the possible effects are listed below (obtained from wikipedia):

Permanent changes to genital tract
Changes in breast tissue that predispose cells to hormones and carcinogens
Increased prostate weight 30%
Lower bodyweight, increase of anogenital distance in both genders, signs of early puberty and longer estrus
Decline in testicular testosterone
Breast cells predisposed to cancer
Prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer
Decreased maternal behaviors
Reversed the normal sex differences in brain structure and behavior

So, you scared or not? I vely scared loh....

Feel Lurved....

2008-05-12T11:46:00.003+08:00

We came home from bowling on Friday night and while I was having shower, lil' Ryan barged in (talk about privacy with kids, they won't understand....haha). He was holding a card he made in school and my eyes brightened. Then he sang 'Mummy, mummy I love you.....' and my heart melted....

This is the first Happy Mother's Day card he made. So simple, yet I lurve it so much!

And this is the flower he made and presented to me during Children's Church on Saturday.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all mothers!!!

Jaden, you're TWO!

2008-05-02T15:52:00.004+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING!

*More photos on Facebook...

Go Green

2008-04-18T14:51:00.005+08:00

Earth Day is approaching and this is mama's effort to save the environment (haha, like real...)

1. No more Disposable Diapers

These cloth diapers were bought from an online store in Oz. I particularly like the itti bitti CDs because they are trim and very absorbent. I like to try different types of CDs on Jaden, like the Aqua snap-in AIO, Apple green fitted bitti boo, which comes with an inner of bamboo velour and bitti d'lish lime green CD which has a soft outer waterproof layer.

2. No more Disposable Wipes

Got this from the mail yesterday. The prints on the wipes are totally irresistable. Haven't used them yet but they felt extremely soft on the hands. Jaden has a liking on the dog wipe while Ryan loves the shark.

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An email that I received from a friend shows the environmental impact of diapers are staggering:

American babies use an average of 3,796 diapers before they are potty trained.
It takes 950 gallons of oil, 715 pounds of plastic and 4.5 trees to make those 3,796 diapers.
American children use a total of 18 billion disposable diapers each year - enough diapers to stretch around the earth 90 times.
It could take 500 years or more for a disposable diaper to decompose.

Hmm...I sort of regretted that I didn't use CDs on Ryan's bum bum :(

Over the Weekend

2008-04-14T14:28:00.011+08:00

Marriage Time

One of the concepts we learned from our recent completed marriage course is 'Marriage Time' whereby 'we' as a couple should spend quality time together (without the kids) just to do about anything under the sun. We could go for meals together, bowling, sports, vacation, etc.... and just enjoy the ber-dating days :)

Last Friday, we spent our Marriage Time at Lobsterman since papa was craving for lobsters the whole week. We had a wonderful set dinner:

* Baked escargot

* Wild mushroom soup

* Live Atlantic Lobster (800g) in Simmered (North America) and Thermidor(Italy)

* Seafood pasta

* Dessert

* Tea/Coffee

The Thermidor cooking style tasted somewhat better than Simmered as the lobster meat was sauteed with white wine sauce and baked with cheese. Simmered tasted more blend but had a traditional authentic taste.

Yum Yum!

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Outing with PECH children at Bread Factory

Every Easter evangelistic event, our cell group will organise a makan time with friends and guests but this year, we decided to do something different - to bless a home and to bring the kids to the bread factory! PECH (Praise Emmanuel Children's Home) is home to 17 kids aged between 3 to 14 years. The children came from difficult backgrounds, either abandoned, abused, orphaned or neglected by their parents.

Our last visit to PECH was during Christmas in 2005 where we blessed the children with X'mas gifts, spent time with them and played games together. We were somewhat glad to hear that 2 of the children we befriended in 2005 had since returned to their mother.

This visit, we brought Ryan to PECH since he loves to mingle with children. Also, it would be an eye opener to him as it would be his first visit to an orphanage. It was good to see him mingling with the kids, hugging and playing with them.

Many of the cell members also invited their friends to join in this outing. There were a total of 41 of us travelling to the Silver Bird factory. Imagine the logistics! Thanks to the good coordination work of Ronnie & Rosalyn and all involved, the outing was a success!

Ryan's New Bicycle

2008-04-11T10:51:00.004+08:00

Gong-Gong's Birthday

The 5 grandchildren celebrated gong-gong's birthday at Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant on 8 April 2008. It is always fun to see the children playing together, snatching toys, pulling each other hair; with the anticipation of crying after that....haha....normal la, children mah :)

The food at the restaurant is so-so only. Not so good, I would say....abalone was rather small for my liking, prawn also quite small and the almond dessert - smelled yucky, so I didn't take it.

The signature cake by hubby's cousin, Ruijing is super good though...

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Ryan's New Bicycle

I have wanted to buy a bicyle for Ryan since last year, before we moved house but pondered on the idea as we stayed in the condo and there would be no place for Ryan to cycle except downstairs. So, on Monday (7/4/08), we finally decided to get one for Ryan and we went on a 'mad' hunt for children's bicycle that night. We travelled from Uptown to Desa Parkcity, to find the right bicycle for Ryan. Hubby insisted that we buy from a proper bicycle shop to ensure that the bicycle is adjusted to Ryan's height, shoulder/hand, etc.... And the boy has been practising on his new bicycle these past few days - and he's a pro now at cycling!

Jaden on the other hand, had to settled with the old car. We didn't want to buy a small bicycle for him as he would outgrow it very soon. Poor baby...

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Hi-5 Dancing

The boys really love to dance and on this very rare occassion, I managed to capture them on video....Hehe...Got talent or not??? :p

2 Active Kids + Trip = ??????

2008-04-04T16:06:00.004+08:00

We were quite apprehensive about the trip initially - how we'll cope with no maids around, time difference, meal times, bath, etc etc but the tip is Be Cool, do not stress up unnecessarily :)

Take it lightly and be flexible when the kids:

cannot wake up early in the morning due to jet lag

It happened to us on the 2nd day of the trip (7/3/2008). We planned to visit Australia Zoo on Friday but changed plan to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary when the kids woke up late after the long flight the day before. The zoo is much further than the sanctuary and we would have lost precious time on the journey.

be creative

During our check-in at KLIA, we were informed that MAS requires 6 hours before a flight departure for a passenger to request children's meal on board. Waliow eh...what kind of rule is this.... So, that means no kids' meal for Ryan and Jaden. So makan apa? Thank goodness, mama brought along some potato bread for the kids. And thanks to papa's creativity, Ryan had a pretty decent meal. The two adult meal choices on board were not suitable for kids - nasi lemak (too spicy) and chicken potato casserole (too meaty). Ryan, being a china-boy insisted on having rice, so papa mixed the coconut rice (no sambal) with the chicken sauce.

take it easy when the kids refuse to brush their teeth or eat their meals - normal routine stuff

After all, they're on holiday - so why not give them a break!

Clash of Elections with Australia Trip

2008-04-01T11:36:00.007+08:00

Hmmm....I haven't been updating this blog for soooooooo long now and hubby had not been helping either, altho' this blog is theoretically his :(

Don't know where to start...so many things have happened these past few months. Elections came and gone but we were not around to vote this time round. Our trip to Brisbane were pre-planned since last year and ticket paid up before the polling day was announced. As much as papa would love to vote for the Opposition, mama, however, would be torn between voting for BN or BR, else be labeled a traitor. You see, I came from a family whose father is heavily involved in politics (BN) for as long as I can remember and voting for Opp would be akin to going to Pavilion KL, the very land that my school used to be.

But I guess times have changed and people need to move on in their life. I'm glad that the people have spoken and elected their representatives in Parliament. I can say this partly because my dad has retired from politics :p. In fact, my dad was rather relaxed when we called home (from Brisbane) on polling day and even tho' the counting of votes has not completed at Batu constituency (my brother was contesting there), my dad left to play mahjong. As he put it...'Phew, I'm glad I missed the tsunami :)'

And as to our Brisbane/Gold Coast trip (6th - 15th March), we truly had a fantastic-a time there! The boys were totally knackered by the end of the 10-day trip and Ryan lamented that he wanted to return to home sweet home :)

To update more on the Australia Trip in the next entry...

Happy Birthday Papa!

2008-01-28T12:32:00.000+08:00

It was papa's birthday last Saturday and mama wanted it to be a memorable day for papa - so, mama arranged for a couple spa at Jentayu Spa! Why Jentayu? Firstly, the place is just 1 minute drive from our house. Mama has heard quite a lot about this spa belonging to Sheila Majid, so why not give it a try.... Moreover, the price is rather reasonable as well - A Spa treatment plus Hair Creamebath (4+ hours) for RM280. Where to get!!!!

We arrived at Jentayu for our 2pm appointment on Sunday. The 7 ladies working there are all Indonesians so we had to speak Malay to them. No problem for us but what about foreigners...nah...I guess they mostly deal with locals and frequent clients. As we sat at the waiting lounge, we went through the menu. Papa decided to take the Just Relax spa package while mama went ahead with the Truly Heavenly Jentayu Spa. The difference between the packages is in the choice of mask, massage oil and body lotion:

Just Relax Spa Treatment

• Body Steam (15mins)

• Body Mask & Scrub - Honey and Sesame Seed scrub (30mins) - exfoliates and throughly nourishes the skin

• Body Massage with Jentayu Bliss Oil (75mins)

• Herbal Bath (15mins)

• Jentayu Bliss Body Lotion

Truly Heavenly Spa Treatment

• Body Steam (15mins)

• Body Mask & Scrub - Mococa scrub – (30mins) - a blend of coffee, cocoa and coconut that stimulates blood circulation

• Body Massage with Jentayu Sensual Oil (75mins)

• Herbal Bath (15mins)

• Jentayu Sensual Body Lotion

When I made the appointment, I told the lady that we wanted a couple room and she offered the gazebo for our treatments together. However, I voiced my concern knowing that the gazebo is located outside the bungalow and incidentally, renovation work has started for the bungalow next door (which coincidentally, is my friend's parents house). Anyhow, each of us got our own rooms - more privacy in a way.

Before we literally stripped ourselves naked, the therapists gave us a foot scrub in a floral foot tub filled with peppermint salts and flowers. Later, we were brought to our room, which is equipped with individual showers, to change into our disposables and towel. We were then brought to the steam room.....OMG, the 15 mins seemed like hours man....

The body mask/scrub and massage were just heavenly and I swear that I heard papa snoring after the mask had been applied even though he refuted :p Throughout the massage, I heard the lady burping and later, she explained that my body had wind but I couldn't release it, therefore the wind passed to her and she released it for me...got such thing one meh....

After our massage, we had our milk bath and the bath tub was actually just below the massage table, a way to save space I presume.

Later, we were escorted up for our hair cremebath. The cremebath is a complete treatment for our crowning glory. It includes hair wash and mask with aloe vera and avocado blend, plus a head, back and hand massage. The Blend was cooling, so it made us felt refreshed after the treatment.

We went home about 6.30pm, after 4.5 hrs at the spa.....and ooh.....we bought the 5+1 package, thinking that it's such a good deal :) Meanwhile, we left the boys at home. We told Ryan that we were going to visit an uncle's house and the uncle had a lion dance show, and mama's gonna fight the lion. He's extremely terrified of lion dance (thanks to a lion dance show during auntie Adeline's wedding :p) and it's our trick to make him stay at home...kekekeke.....)

Blog hiatus....

2007-12-18T11:02:00.000+08:00

Mama had been on a super long hiatus.... reason being:

1. Mama sat for a professional paper on 15 November 2007 - need some time to study lah :p

2. We moved in to our new house on 2 December 2007. Surprisingly, there were so many things to pack and move from the condo, so much so that until now, not all things have been shifted yet. We didn't get any movers and all work/shifting was done with the help of church friends - a big thank you to Edmund, Rosalyn, Vincent, Ronnie, Ivy, Leuk! :)

3. Our Indon maid suddenly decided not to come back to Malaysia after her 1-month break. We were frantically looking for a new maid after we found that she decided not to come back on 26 October 2007. Our new maid, kakak Els just arrived on 15 December 2007, about 1.5 months after the 'disappearance' of kakak Mima.

4. We went for a work-cum-family holiday trip to Hong Kong from 5 December to 9 December 2007. Mama had a business meeting in HK on 6 December (which didn't really materialise), so it was somewhat a paid-for trip for mama with family tagging along :)

And of course, the 2 boys tagged along. We contemplated for a while, whether we should bring Jaden along, but in the end, Jaden followed us as we did not have the heart to leave him behind. So how did papa managed while mama was away at the convention center in HK? (Mama had to visit some booths at the HK Convention and Exhibition Center even tho' the business meeting did not materialise). Haha....it is 'his' story 'cos mama did not know what happened at the hotel room...or rather 'no eye see' :p

Some pics....

Ryan with his newly bought Transformer toy at Toys R Us HK

Ryan at the HK ferry pier

Ryan at the Disneyland Resort Station, just before entering Disneyland

Ryan and Jaden playing near the space shuttle

Family photo with the brightly lighted castle as background

Backdated post - Third Floor restaurant and Lantern Festival

2007-10-05T10:52:00.000+08:00

Papa was kind to bring mama to the exclusive Third Floor restaurant at Marriot on mama's special day. We deliberated for a long while - whether to go or not - 'cos mama was feeling a bit thrifty while papa the total opposite. But anyway, to cut the long story short, we went in the end :)

The ambience was romantic and rather quiet, except for a group of diners, who left after a short while. All we thought was it would be a private dining experience for both of us until another couple came in :p

Papa ordered the Chef's Specialties, which is a 7-course meal set and the menu was to be a surprise for both of us throughout the night. A very interesting idea - that way we get to sample the chef's specialty dishes and also to lift up our excitement throughout the night :)

Before the waiter came with the appetiser, we had a free sample of a cheese tart, specially made by the chef. The appetiser was some creamy scallop thingy with caviar. The taste was really unique and mama thoroughly enjoyed each spoonful.

Papa had this broiled quail

Mama had the crab stuffed spring roll.

Oh, both of us agreed that this is the best for the night - seared foie gras with caramelised fig. It's really yummy - gosh, thinking about it makes my drool...

This is a Tasmanian salmon dish with something like seaweed on top.

Main meal - seared beef fillet with mushroom sauce

For mama who loves dessert - this is a must to finish even tho' we were so stuffed - Chocolate cake with ice cream - It was just simply delicious. The warm liquid chocolate flowed out from the middle and together with the ice cream, it was heavenly.

They added a personal touch to it by remembering that it was mama's special day. Papa made the reservation and mentioned to them about mama's birthday and they remembered! And they surprised us with this free strawberry mousse cake!

This petit four platter came with the freshly brewed coffee/tea.

This mineral water alone costs RM23...aiseh! Mama felt like taking the bottle home but darn..paiseh man...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lantern Festival

The two boys had the opportunity to walk around the neighbourhood with their lanterns during the recent Lantern Festival, thanks to Aunty Shirley and Uncle Richard's invitation to their house. Lil' Jaden also joined in the fun...

p.s. All the above pics were taken using papa's hp/camera, so a bit blur...sorie ya!

Lil Golfer in Action

2007-09-24T17:14:00.000+08:00

We were at Mid Valley last Saturday for a movie - Ratatouille and yes, Ryan sat through his first cinema show amazingly. However, half-way through the movie, he asked for his 'nen-nen', so mama had to make milk for him in the dark... *phew* thank goodness, everything ok lah :)

After movie, we brought him to buy his first 'real' golf club and gloves. He really loves to practise golf at home and when papa brought him to his first golf lesson at Kindergolf some time back, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Maybe Tiger Woods in the making!! kekekeke....

Refresher course and Ginn's Birthday

2007-09-13T11:53:00.000+08:00

Mama was away at Nilai Audit Academy Negara (AAN) for 3 days for a refresher course. It's the first time for mama to be away from Ryan and Jaden. As a result, Jaden really missed mama and couldn't have a good night sleep for 2 nights. (All the poor souls at home, except Ryan, couldn't sleep well either because of the wailing Jaden at night, partly looking for mama and also because he was not feeling well).

Mama was quite impressed with the accommodation provided at AAN. Each of us had our own room and the room is not too bad, above my expectations.

We had fun during paintball too. Below pix is mama in full-gear paintball mask. One of my colleague was so frightened that she'll be hit by the balls, so much so that she chickened out. As for mama, I wasn't shot at all - simply because I hid behind the bunkers most of the time - scared of being shot lah!

Siew Ginn celebrated his 8th birthday last Sunday at Da Vinci creative centre. A very unique place to celebrate birthday indeed - each child had the opportunity to show her/his creative talent by painting on a stone. Ryan was too young for that and as an alternative, he was given a spiderman 3D sculpt to paint. He enjoyed that so much!

The party ended quite late and by the time he set foot in the car, he was fast asleep!

End of 2nd Semester

2007-08-30T16:57:00.000+08:00

Today is the last day of second semester and Ryan will be moving on to third semester beginning next week, September 2007. Looking back, Ryan had been attending kindergarten for 6 months now and he had definitely learnt so much and his knowledge is improving by leaps and bounds daily. This is the progress report I received from Che-che Ann recently :

"His motor skills are still poor but we're still persisting with it. His concentration span is short and before, he used to cry, make a fuss about work. Now, he's getting better. His memory for words and alphabets are also improving. Slowly but surely making progress".

I guess for Ryan, transforming a 'playster' to a studious person will definitely be a challenge as he's so playful at this stage and getting him to sit down to do 'work' will put our patience to test.

But anyhow, I'm quite proud of tis lil boy of mine as I'm impressed that he can read! He has no problem reading words like 'look, Mummy, Daddy, I, like, is, here, no........' from his Vital Years reading series and when I use the Peter and Jane reading books, he can actually recognise those words that he had learned in school - so, it's not memorising words on pages in his workbook but rather learning the words themselves. I quite like this style of teaching as compared to other kindies. Apparently, SmartReader's students were taught to memorise words from their workbooks and when they were given other story books, they couldn't read! (even like after 1.5/2 years in that particular kindie)....scary....

Ok...gotta ciaw....will be waking up very early tomorrow morning for morning church prayer and later, Merdeka prayer walk!

Happy 50th Merdeka to Malaysia!

Wow.. seems like no posts for a while eh? :)

2007-08-23T10:46:00.000+08:00

Well, we've been rather busy and my 'sub-con blog poster' seems to be away from duties as well.
Just a short update on happenings I guess.
We are taking part in our church's 21 day fast and prayer campaign - so blog updates is not really a priority area at the moment :)
The house is coming along well, and we expect that it should be done within the next 2 weeks. However, we probably will not have 100% of the stuff inside ready, so we'll need to work out when we plan to move in.
Of course, I can't wait - but that's mainly due to the fact that I want to 'get it done!' ASAP. Running around every weekend and even at times weekdays scouting for stuff, monitoring the progress of the renovations, etc, is REALLY tiring.
I can't wait for the time when I can just lie back on my sofa and say - ok, it's done :)

God bless

PS. Here's Jaden closing the door for me this morning before I went to work.

PPS. Seems Krystal has just posted something while I am editing the spacing of my text, which seems to always go wrong when I post.

It has been a while...

2007-08-23T10:06:00.000+08:00

...since mama blogged. Aiyo, weekends are so busy and now with the 21-Day Fast and Prayer (13 Aug - 2 Sept), papa and mama are so exhausted by day-end. Papa had been consistently waking up and reaching church by 5.30am and Ryan and mama only started joining this week since it's Ryan's school holiday. Have to say that God's presence is so strong every day that it always leave me in tears and awe!

Anyway, below are some backdated pix taken with Jaden on Bumwear cloth diapers. The cloth print is so pretty that it is simply irresistable! Have to add that it's very soft for the skin and also very absorbent indeed!

We also went to a Thai restaurant last week to celebrate Tai Yee (mama's sister) farewell. Tai Yee will be going to Australia for 9 months to complete her fully-funded research and sub-specialisation in endocrinology.

Tai Yee, we will miss you definitely! *sob sob*

Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)

2007-08-08T14:22:00.000+08:00

When I was just a little boy
I asked my father what will I be
Will I be a pilot
Will I be a F1 driver
Here's what he said to me

Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera

Blog Rating

2007-08-07T12:17:00.001+08:00

What??!! My blog is PG rated? How can...Nicole's blog was rated G and she writes about naked men and me....only talks about my two boys. Hmm....something wrong with the rating formula :p

Global Footprints

2007-07-31T16:15:00.000+08:00

Got the link from Nicole's blog.

Mama's footprints:

My Visited Countries

Get your own Visited Countries Map from Travel Blog

As for Ryan, he had been to China (while in mama's womb), Thailand and Japan.

My Visited Countries

And lastly, Jaden - a bit pathetic. Only been to Japan (while in mama's womb) :p

My Visited Countries

Busy busy weekend!

2007-07-30T13:01:00.000+08:00

Activities were lined up for the weekend even before Saturday arrived. I always find that weekend passes by so quickly that if you don't plan ahead, nothing gets done at the end of the day.

Saturday morning, papa and mama went separate ways to fulfil our duties for the day. Mama went to market to stock up on fresh vegetables/fruits and meat/fish for the week while papa took Ryan and Jaden to the hospital for their vaccination. Jaden was 2 weeks late for his final(3rd) pneumococcal vaccine while Ryan also took the same jab (only need 1 jab after 2 years old).

At the hospital, Ryan and Jaden apparently had a well of a time, making friends with all around them, especially Ryan. He was seen sitting on an auntie's lap at one time and munching away on chocolate and snacks given by yet another auntie later. Sigh...this super-friendly-son of ours is so adorable but quite dangerous in a sense that he could be kidnapped by a stranger or something :(

Generally, the boys' physical development are on track:

Jaden

Height: 80cm Weight: 10kg

Ryan

Height: 105cm Weight: 15.6kg

After mama came home, the salesman from Roboclean came to demonstrate his product. It seems like a good product, suppose to clean/sanitise the air (like an air purifier) and the best part is that it can clean the mattress and sucks up all the dust mites, the droppings, etc etc.... Papa has sensitive nose, so the product would be good for him, as well as other asthma and ezcema sufferers. There are many other advantages but these 2 stand out the most. It's quite expensive though, so we may only consider after we have moved.

Later in the afternoon, we went to a furniture mall at Old Klang Road. They had quite an impressive collection and at one children's bed shop, we were quite tempted to buy 2 'mini cooper car' beds for Ryan and Jaden. Ryan particularly like the steering wheel at the end of the bed frame....hmm....see how our budget goes :p

At night, papa went to church alone.

On Sunday, papa woke up early to play golf. We waited for him to come back to meet the curtain measure man from Macy at the new house. The poor chap must be circling around the neighbourhood for quite a while as he called mama around 12.30pm and again at 1.30pm to check if he could come earlier. Anyway, the measurements were done swiftly in less than an hour and now, it's papa and mama's job to move our butts to their store at Ikano to choose materials and discuss about cost.

We went home to pick up Jaden before we went to our next destination - Mid Valley Modern Home Living & Property Fair. We reckoned that Jaden would feel sad if we leave him at home all the time, so had to bring him along to the fair lo. We didn't decide on any piece while we were there, but rather took the time to scout around to look for furnitures and fittings that we like.

At day/night end, we were so tired that we slept like a log!

The Boys' Chinese Names

2007-07-25T12:28:00.000+08:00

We were at popo/gong-gong's house yesterday to celebrate Ryan's birthday and mama took the opportunity to ask popo how to write the boys' names in chinese. Mama had asked many times before but the paper always seemed to get lost, so this time round, mama will post as a blog to make sure the names are kept somewhere.

The top name is that of Ryan Yuen Zhen-Lin with the word 'Zhen' meaning 'politics' or 'political affairs' and 'Lin' meaning 'continuous heavy rain' or 'aplenty'.

The bottom name is that of Jaden Yuen Zhen Han and the word 'Han' means 'writing' or 'scholar'.

So in essence, Ryan's chinese name means abundant health, wealth and water to flow in his life while Jaden's chinese name means scholarly or studious person.

Below pix taken back in condo with his presents:

Happy 3rd Birthday Ryan!

2007-07-24T13:13:00.000+08:00

Today Ryan is officially 3 years old. He has indeed grown up to be such a wonderful and energetic boy, bringing so much love and joy to the family. The things he can do to make us happy or drive-us-up-the-wall, be it good or bad are countless. He can be mischievous at one time and angelic the other. Like what Pastor Daniel mentioned during Vincent's son (Jovin's) birthday party last Sunday, Ryan is also our little guardian in the house, reminding us to give thanks for our food during mealtimes whenever we forget to do so, or when he did not hear us say the prayer aloud.

Ryan, you're such a darling and we love you so much!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Below pix taken at Hartamas shopping complex recently:

Ryan's 3rd Birthday - Early Celebration in school

2007-07-20T15:41:00.001+08:00

Invaders in Pangkor Island resort room

2007-07-16T11:03:00.001+08:00

Over the weekend, papa had an ISACA Board meeting at Pangkor Island...so mama and the 2 boys also tagged along. We stayed at Pangkor Island Beach Resort for 3D2N. The deal was not bad considering that we travelled in a big group of 30+ including children. Children below 6 are FOC. But I'm sure papa had something to say about the BBQ seafood dinner on Saturday. The seafood BBQ only had fish and prawn and many other misc. - what a ripoff...haha!

The journey from KL to Lumut jetty was a pleasant one even though we nearly missed the ferry at 3.45pm 'cos we took quite a while to look for an 'open' restaurant at Sitiawan at 2+pm. (Obviously the Sitiawan people also practice siesta time, like the Greeks...aiseh).

Friday was rather uneventful (as compared to Saturday, which I will elaborate in a while). We reached the resort around 4.30pm and papa was actually quite tired from the driving. Ryan, the super-duracell boy, insisted that papa bring him to the pool immediately...and papa had to negotiate with him - that the sun is too hot lah, tired lah, etc... but Ryan finally got his way at around 5.30pm.

Saturday was jammed pack with meetings for papa, so mama had to entertain the kids. After breakfast, mama brought Ryan and Jaden to the pool. We swimmed for quite a while until 11am. To kill time, I also brought the kids to the Kid's Club. There weren't many activities there, except for T-shirt painting at that time, and Ryan and Jaden were much too young for that, so we left after a while, to have a short rest in the room, before joining papa and the gang for lunch at 12.30pm. As we walked back to the room, we were fascinated by some monkeys hanging around the balconies and roof top and as I was watching, I noticed a familiar packet being held by one of the monkeys. I panicked and ran back to the room. When I opened the door, I saw 2 monkeys in the room, scavenging our belongings, in particular foodstuff. I panicked again when I saw milk powder on the floor!! SH**! That is so important for my 2 boys! HOW HOW!

I calmed down, called house-keeping to send cleaners over to clean up the room and later, headed to the receptionist to ask for help. They told me I can either go to Pangkor town to get the milk or his staff can try to buy the milk for me from Lumut. With the latter, I'll have to wait for the next ferry to arrive, which was 2.45pm. I thought of waiting since the kids will be having their lunch soon and wouldn't be asking for their milk. Also they charge exorbitant fees for the return taxi to Pangkor town - RM30, which is like the cost of my milk!

I also found that there was an untouched milk powder for 1 feeding (8oz) in the plastic milk container (phew!). After lunch, the kids were tired and wanted to sleep. And they will always look for their nen-nen. We gave Ryan 4oz first - not enough, the boy asked for more - 2 more oz - not enough, Ryan cried for more again - another 2 oz and milk all gone. Jaden how???????? Solution : breast is best!!!!!!!! (Thank goodness I have not stop BF :p) After a short while, both boys were in zzzzzzzzz land. The milk finally arrived at around 4.45pm, as they missed the earlier ferry (tension only!)

Lesson learnt: MUST MUST remember to bang and lock the balcony door real hard. We actually closed the door but maybe didn't lock the door properly.

(We observed later that the monkeys actually climb from one balcony to the other and check/open the doors - real smart fella's ya - darn)

Hannah's Party and Trip to Ipoh

2007-07-09T11:15:00.000+08:00

Ryan attended Hannah's 3rd birthday party at KidzSport (1 Utama) last Saturday, 07/07/07. Being such a 'special' day, many parents took the opportunity to celebrate their kids' birthday as there was also another concurrent party that took place.

Ryan sure had FUN FUN FUN!!!! And when it was time to go, the lil' man sure needed some enticement. I had to tell him that papa and mama will bring him to the swimming pool in Ipoh later. Yes, we had to travel down to Ipoh for 'tai pak gong's' birthday.

Ryan loves slides but he was actualy afraid to go on the giant slide alone. So, the poor mama had to go down the slide with him. And imagine this clumsy mama, wearing a super smooth pants (with no friction) going down the slide.... *bong*... landed at the bottom... how embarassing... thank goodness my legs didn't flip upwards *wink* SO no second time for Ryan, who kept pestering me.

Other entertainments during the party include face painting, tattoo printing and sand art.

The highlight of the party was the party pack that was distributed to each chilid. It was actually a party BAG, full of goodies (for Ryan) but junk (as mama see it :p). The spiderman bag has about 20 items in it - mostly junk food, biscuits, drink, a bottle of bubbles, sticker and stationery set.

Ryan's Little Transitions

2007-07-05T11:47:00.000+08:00

As Ryan approaches 3 in 3 weeks time, mama would like to do some blogging on his transitions from the Terrible Two stage:

1. He can now actually sit through a meal, eating peacefully (thus giving papa & mama time to finish our meals too), unlike previously, when he had to run about all the time during lunch/dinner. Just like last week, during dinner at Souled Out, we happened to sit next to a couple with a young boy, who refused to sit quietly on his highchair. The mother pointed to Ryan and told his boy...see koko, so good boy, sit down and eat his dinner....I was secretly thinking...Hah! Ryan was like your boy too, last time...

2. He can now sleep much earlier, by 10 - 10.30pm, thanks to his normal kindie routine, which requires him to sleep early and wake up early. Previously, he like to sleep at 11.30 - 12am, which really frustrate us 'cos we don't get to do our own things...

3. He can now pee-pee and poo-poo by himself. He even told kakak...kakak, you go outside first, smelly, I ngm-ngm first...Previously, he refused to shit in the toilet but insisted to do his business in the diapers.

4. He can take shower/wash hair without much fuss. Previously, a little water down his face will send the lil' rascal crying like there's no-end.

5. He is more independent now, in terms of the things that he does. He insists that he feeds himself at times (even tho' mama really detests messiness :p). We can also leave him to swim/float by himself.

6. What really brings a smile to our faces is that he can alleviate a tensed situation. Just like the other day, papa and mama were having some disagreements over renovation works. Ryan, who was sitting with us, supposedly heard our conversation and said 'Papa/mama don't be angry' in the midst of our conversation and we were stunned for a while.

7. At times when we were down, especially when mama is moody, Ryan will ask 'Mama, why you angry?' I will explain the reasons and he'll try to cheer me up. Like on Monday, I came home from work and he told me that he broke a toy. I was tired and saw some broken wheels. I was furious that the maids left those broken pieces lying around, especially when it could be choking hazards to Jaden. Ryan sensed that I was angry and he tried to make me happy. He followed an action on TV and repeated 'You are so cool' with his lil' arms stretching outwards. It tickled my heart and made me laugh. Until today, whenever I'm angry, he'll do the same actions to make me happy....'Mama, you happy?' 'Yes..... I love you'

Decisions Decisions...

2007-07-02T11:50:00.001+08:00

We have been scouting around for new furnitures lately but we still have not decided on any yet. We'll let the boys decide :p

In the pics below, Jaden seemed to like the coffee table at Lorenzo. It looks slick, sturdy and rounded - definitely a plus point when you have children around. Ryan, on the other hand, seemed comfortable reading his truck book on a lazy chair at Rozel. Pa...should we let the children decide?? hmm.... :D

We also checked the home furnishing at Ikea. Ryan definitely had a good time there.

Jaden's Comprehension of Words

2007-06-29T16:24:00.000+08:00

I read an article yesterday saying that it is possible for babies/toddlers to read words even before they can recognise alphabets or numbers. This rapid development of the brain happens from birth till 2 years of age and all parents should seize this window of opportunity to communicate and read regularly to their children. Hmm...the more I read the article, the more guilty I become. Excuses like 'where got time lah...lazy lah....full-time working mum lah...' crop up. But it was interesting to note that during his research and video presentation, infants/toddlers were able to point to different parts of their body after reading cards (e.g. nose, ears) flashed before them.

Yet other researchers were saying that babies could sign language even before they could talk. I do not doubt a baby's ability but all these cost money and more importantly, TIME. Would you go the extra mile to give your child a headstart in life? All these programs claim to increase IQ lah, read better lah, blablabla.....

Hmm...Jaden has been allowed to progress at his own speed and I was thrilled that he can understand simple instructions such as:

1) 'Jaden comb your hair' and Jaden will use his fingers to comb the hair

2) 'Jaden wipe your mouth' and Jaden will reach for a wash cloth, hanging on the chair, to wipe his mouth

3) 'Jaden clap your hands' and Jaden will put his hands together

4) 'Jaden brush your teeth' and Jaden will hold an imaginary toothbrush to brush his teeth

5) 'Jaden say bye-bye' and he'll sob.... :p

Home Reno

2007-06-27T11:13:00.001+08:00

Well, we've finally started our home renovation - last Saturday.

It was a VERY long process, but thankfully, work has begun. Special thanks to 9 Uncle for all the assistance.

Contractor has told us that he can get it done in 2 months, but I have given him a 2 and 1/2 for safety (although I'm not telling him that lah!). More of our own buffer. But that should give us enough time to move in by Mid Sept.

It'll be exciting, and wonderfully, our new home somehow coincides with the development of the DUMC Dream Center!! The Dream Center was supposed to be ready around May - and we were supposed to move in around May. HAHAHA... now the church is expecting that our first worship celebration can take place in Week 1 Sept. And we should be moving house not long after that.

An update on the work-in-progress, our contractor is pretty quick. He has hacked down all the bathrooms, the dry kitchen and has also opened up the windows when I went there today.

Here are some pics I took this morning while on the way to work. (notice the upstairs windows have all been hacked out - we are enlarging them)

Jaden after bath

2007-06-26T17:28:00.000+08:00

I've to admit that I was looking for photos for my scrap and some older photos of Jaden are just too cute :p

Ryan has grown up!

2007-06-26T09:36:00.000+08:00

We had dinner at Mid Valley on Sunday and after dinner, we went for 'furniture and fittings' window shopping. Our new house renovation work has just started and we're looking to move in by September 2007. So, we really have to start looking for new furnitures, else we'll end up sleeping on the floor!

Ryan, as usual, was running about and trying out the new sofa sets. Jaden, on the other hand, refused to be carried and insisted to walk. Wherever he walked, he called 'Pa' loudly, as though the whole shop belonged to him...aiyo...

By the time we finished window shopping, it was quite late. It was time for 'nen nen'/milk for both boys. Ryan sat in the pram while the maid carried Jaden. Papa had to go and pay for parking ticket. So when we reached the car, I carried Ryan. During the car journey, Jaden cried and cried dunno-for-what-reason. Maybe jealous that I'm carrying koko. But anyhow, I reasoned with Ryan and asked him whether it was ok for mama to carry dee-dee 'cos dee-dee was crying and needed mama. To my surprise, he willingly went behind to the maid with his milk bottle in the mouth. He's a big koko already and a good boy indeed! :)

The two boys were fast asleep when we reached home. LOL!

Scrappy Mama

2007-06-21T15:53:00.000+08:00

I've always love scrapbooks and have gone to the extend of making and paying RM95 for Ryan's first scrap photobook back in 2005. Now that digital scrapbook software is so freely available, hmm... I'll think twice before going back to pixart again :p However, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with pixart then for coming out with such product - high-quality paper and book binding.

I've tried my hand in making my first digital scrap and....

Happenings...

2007-06-18T10:34:00.000+08:00

Jaden had his chicken pox jab last Thursday and it hurts my heart to see the lil boy crying out in pain when the super-long needle entered his left thigh. But thankfully, Jaden returned to his normal self after a short while...phew! And maybe because of the pox virus in his body, the lil fella gained extra energy and courage to take his first independent steps! Jaden is slower than Ryan in terms of walking but I'm not particularly concerned as walking earlier also means more bumps in the head and occasional blood from the lips, as what happened to Ryan :(

Jaden before his jab

Jaden's weight is more on track now (9.5kg) and height (78.5cm). Maybe the vitamins helped to increase his appetite but not sure. Aunty Meli said his appetite is still the same. In fact, his appetite was so bad yesterday that he ate very little (also because he's having flu at the moment). He refused to take the apple cereal in the morning (something that he really liked normally), macaroni cheese in the afternoon (just a few spoonfull) and chicken soup noodle at night. However, he loved the Japanese yoghurt I made for him.

Ryan, on the other hand, is such a joy to feed. He opens his mouth big-big whenever I feed him during our outings. He loves noodles (especially Hokkien mee) and fried rice and of course, nuggets and fries (but papa and mama don't bring him often to McD or BK). Although he eats a lot, he will never be a 'fat boy' cos he's ever so energetic. We have to actually bring him to an open space (shopping complex or playground) regularly to let the Action Boy run about so that he can release his 'energy'.

Ryan has also learned to be friends with clowns. During koko Ryan Yap's 5th birthday, Ryan Yuen was initially terrified of the clown when the clown arrived at the house but slowly he became friends with Uncle Clown and participated in the games.

Tagged : 7 Random Things About Ryan and Jaden

2007-06-13T11:49:00.000+08:00

I've been tagged by Etcetera~Mommy who wants to know more about Ryan and Jaden.

1. When Ryan was younger, he loves to eat and he really can eat a lot - 1 big plate of porridge, equivalent to the portion of an adult. Look at his fat tummy :)

2. Jaden's favourite word is 'Pa' and when mama say 'Go see papa now', his eyes will light up and he'll stop whatever he's doing (including when I'm bf him), to go look for papa. But papa can only carry him for a while after which he'll want mama to carry him again. Hmm...possessive or what?

3. Ryan is a super play-ster. He can play with his favourite Thomas n frens toys from morning till night and he'll be holding his favourite toy for the day as he falls asleep. He'll wail the next morning if he doesn't find the same toy next to him.

4. Jaden's skin is really soft and silky. I believe it was the bird's nest that I ate during pregnancy.

5. Ryan is known as a little terror in church. He's a very friendly boy and will say 'Hi' to any strangers. However, the downside of him is that he can be quite rough when playing with other kids.

6. Jaden is also a terror in-making. He secretly screams for joy when he's able to hit his brother when Ryan is busy playing.

7. Ryan's favourite phrase is 'Oh I see, I see...' (saying it in a tone just like an adult) when he thinks he understands something, but in actual fact - not really...

Ok, am done with this tag. I'm not sure who to tag tho' cos I don't have many fansee :p Anyway, will tag:

Nicole - A friend who's currently holidaying in EU...how nice :). 7 random things about yourself, other than those I've already known

Genting Trip Pictures

2007-06-12T13:31:00.001+08:00

Genting Day Trip

2007-06-11T14:54:00.000+08:00

Ku cheh is due to return back to London late tonight so papa decided to bring the family, plus grand-mamah (Ryan still cannot pronounce mama and mamah properly, so mama distinguish by using the term grand-mamah) for a day-trip to Genting. It took papa and mama a while to figure out how to fit everyone into one car without compromising on the safety of the children. It sure helps to have a 7-seater car once the family size grows :) In the end, mama had to carry Jaden while Ryan sat in his 'special' seat - only for a little while until the maid decided to give in to the notty boy's request to carry him. Hmm...I always wonder how parents in this world make sure their kids stay in the car seat??? How how how??? Anyway, the 2 boys fell into ZZzzzzz land during the ride up, which really helps, else they'll be fidgeting a lot in the car.

After lunch, we went to the outdoor theme park. Papa purchased 5 adult tickets and did not buy any tickets for the boys since it was written on the notice board that tickets are required for kids aged 3-12. When we reached the entrance, the lady refused to let Ryan in saying that he is above 90cm. We were like 'Whaaaaattttt????' Where is it written that a tall child should be penalised and required to purchase a ticket even when he is below 3?' Anyway, we refused to buy a ticket and barged in. Haha .... no lah. Papa also mentioned that he'll be taking the matter up with Genting Operation's Head to let him know about the stupidity of the policy :p

Ryan and Jaden had a wonderful time up there, pics to follow tomorrow since mama forgot to bring the USB cable to download the pics from camera. They had rides on the monorail, dinasour boat, ferris wheel, bumble bee train and antique car.

By the time we decided to go home about 5.30pm, it suddenly began to rain...phew!

After dinner at GohTong Jaya, papa drove home slowly as it was pouring cats and dogs. Some of the roads were flooded as well. Thank God we arrived safely home :)

Aquaria

2007-06-08T20:55:00.000+08:00

Ryan loves underwater sea creatures especially sharks and where better place to bring him than Aquaria! So, papa and mama took leave to bring him and Jaden there today since it's still school holiday and there are various activities lined up, such as turtle feeding session, shark feeding session and mermaid show. Ryan still enjoy free entrance (below 3 years old), so better utilise this privilege before he turns 3 next month; plus mama has corporate rate, so anyone wants to go there, give me a call :)

Some pictures of the excursion:

During the turtle feeding session however, papa had a terrible experience when a cowfish (fish at the top of the left-most pix) came to attack his finger. A girl working there was kind enough to bring cream and plaster for papa.

Ok, now I've been instructed by papa to google whether the cowfish is poisonous or not...ciow!