Doll house

During the spring cleaning, i found a DIY doll house, P's xmas pressy from 2 year ago by my fren. Since P is old enough now, i assume she wont destroy it. I took me abt 2 hours and alot of eye power to assemble it then superglued all the joints.

All this doll house need is a fresh coat of paint, havent decide what color yet. P will most likely tell me to paint green.

The current tenants are Peppa (she is taking the 1st floor) and Scottie (he is taking the ground floor). P even requested a bed for Peppa.

Page One closing down sales

Page One @ Vivo city is closing down, they having 50% off for books and 30% off for stationary storewide. So happened, i was there on saturday, i can buy books n stuffs that i want since it is 50% off.... The store is a mess, u need to find your stuff through the mess.... I managed to find a Peppa Pig drawing book for P.

my loots for $80... i was the happiest person after the purchase eventhough i have to wait for 2.5h to reach cashier.

Xmas

This is a very back dated post. We had a very simple xmas celebration together with my cousins, nieces n nephew. I didnt really cooked much this year as i just recovered. The usual, i bought a ham and cooked it in the oven, since no one liked turkey. I make macaroni and cheese with broccoli for the kids and they nibbled the ham and some finger foods. For the adult, i make mussels in white wine sause, sautee mushrooms and salad. Try to be as simple as possible.

The kids are super excited to open their presents..... P had a lot of pressy, this year there are mostly toys, and i had to keep them.

Presents from ATM's side

Presents from my side, P fav is the mother garden picnic set.

Food that i missed

Left Brunei after my 'O' and had only been back once or twice during this 11 years. P has never been to Brunei and i wonder will she has the chance to since my parents had left Brunei after been there for 35yr. During my 11 years in Brunei, we had explored the almost the whole Borneo island by car. My dad will showed us around and explained things when we are on the road. It is pretty interesting to be on the road, and you actually learned abt other culture, way of life and the nature. Perhaps i should plan a road trip to Msia (avoiding the expressway) before P goes to Primary 1. The furthest that we have drove to is Malacca and P was sick.

Back to food, dad brought over some keropok (prawn cracker) and homemade acar from Brunei last dec. I havent had any keropok for ages. Normally we will only eat them during CNY and Hari Raya. So this CNY, the keropok was fried and to be eaten with the acar just like olden days. The acar is nt like those that we ate in malay stall. The ingredients has been cut, dried and sun dried so that it can be keep for a long time before it turn bad.

The combination just reminded me of childhood. Too bad P doesnt even like the keropok.

Legoland Malaysia

Helo Legoland. The Legoland in Malaysia will be opening in end 2012. Hurray, plus it is situated in Nusa Cemerlang industrial park, within the Iskandar Malaysia economic region, in short JB. It will be the first Legoland in Asia.

I grew up playing with Lego, even now i still play with them. All our childhood Lego was given away since my parents sold away the house. The old Lego collections at home are mainly from ATM's childhood. The bigger sets are mainly mine train sets, of which some are of limited edition. Whereas for P, she is playing with megablock rather than Duplo as the later is more expansive. When she is older, she will b able to play with our hand me down. My dad bought her her 1st Lego sets last xmas but i have nt let her played  as there are too many tiny pieces.

Cool, i cant wait to visit Legoland. I m gona buy pre-opening annual pass.

Update: i just spend RM554 on 3 annual passes to Legoland, not a bit heartpain but is full of excitement. I feel like a big kid again..... Hope dear P is will enjoy like her mommy.

P-A-I-G

P is learning to spell her name now. Currently she can only get the 1st 4 alphabets right n missing the E. The most challenging part will be teaching her to write her chinese name, nt the right time now....

CNY

A few weeks before CNY, ATM got his medical report. He has heart murmur which he will need to visit the specialist for checkup. Overall he is ok expect overdose on LDL and was advised to watch his diet. High cholestrol might be inherited, since his dad has high cholestrol, high BP and stent for his blocked artery.

Since CNY falls on a wkend, i will have plenty of time to prepare a simple reunion lunch for the in laws. For the past 2 years, we been ordering. Most of the time, the leftover food was wasted as they turned bad. To be green, we just cooked a few healthy dishes (broccoli with scallops, celery with mock abalone), salmon yusheng (i have half the plum sos and replace it with honey and lime juice), soup and ordered a roast chicken for four adults and 1 kid. After the lunch, FIL complained that there is too much green.

Our reunion lunch

P in her oversize cheongsam, she wanted matching pink nail but too bad she dropped n broked the nail polish.

P in her oversize dress with kitty necklace from J ah yi

Pre CNY

P's CC has been giving out the mandarin oranges for CNY. This year the package includes an angpow which has 2 chocolate gold coins which i find very creative. P is very excited abt the package, she has been holding on to it the whole time. Upon reaching home, she emptied the bag n ang pow too... She took the coins n feed it to her doggy coin collector.

Misulo

By looking at a kid's art work, u will know what he/she is thinking, feeling..... P has been doing stone and toilet paper painting in her Misulo class for the pass two weeks. Currently it is ATM's duty to sent her to Misulo.

Stone painting. P arranged the stone which ressemble a person, tt person is Papa and Papa is somewhere n the circle cirlce ard him is snakes.... haha... it shows how P loves her Papa.

Toilet paper painting. P mold the mushy toilet paper into heart shape n deco it. When she came home, she gave it to me. Thanks darling.... This is so much better than being surrounded by SNAKEs.

Appraisal

Once again, it is time for appraisal time.... It is time when u try to boast abt how good/well u are, but it is no use.... Performance bonus are based on how many patents and publications you have..... Last year was slightly better than the year before, hope i will get very good rating ba and a big fat bonus...

Peppa Pig

P is suddenly a Peppa craze. She can watch Peppa non stop n not get sick of it. My dad intro Peppa to P middle of last year, by giving her 2 books on Peppa. She showed no interest at all..... Up till not long ago, she watched it in school n fell in love with Peppa and George. Last night, she asked if i can make her a Peppa... Without thnking too much i say yes.... Thats a mistake, since i have to google/draw the template, cut, sew and stuff the pig.... All materials are available at home, what i need is TIME.....

Final it is done, i dont have white and black felt at home so plastic eyes were used. In no time Peppa will lost her eyes, P will dig it out, so it is not a good idea. Currently Peppa is naked, have finish with her clothes yet.

Separation Anxiety

Dropping P of to school now is a bit challenging now, she would want to be carried the moment we stepped into cc. Otherwise she will cling on to me when we reached her class. Up till now then i realise why she is exhibiting the separation anxiety. Most of her gal-friends are in another class, n her buddy R has nt been in school for a few weeks. Today, they started class at 9am, n i had a glimpse at her classmates, mostly are new faces. P will take awhile to get to warm up with them, she is a bit slow in that, just gotta bear with it. Well at least she is starting to learn that there is always changes, have to open your mind to changes; making new frens and learn to play/work with them. Overall she is enjoying school.

Singapore National Museum

We booked a 3D2N stay over the xmas holiday at Ritz Carlton. Since we are in town, i took P to the Singapore National Museum. Passion card n NTUC member get free entry. The museum is having an exhibite on Dream n Reality, it shows a collection of photos and paintings from the mid 19th century. P got bored after 5 min, i didnt even get to look at any of the paintings, let along Vincent's Starry night. P is jumping on the stage which i had told her nth time not to do tt, till the security came up and told her to stop. I was told tt there is a children's corner, so i took her there, n then i have a 10min of peace n quiet. At the children's corner, she was given a piece of paper n lotsa crayon to let her imagination/creativity runs wild.

P's master piece, well the pink flower was drew by me. The black blob there according to P is a black bird.

While sitting at the children's corner, i saw a caucasion's family. It is very obvious that, our parenting styles are very different. They dont criticise their kids' work but praise them for their effort with all the positive words and vocab. I told P she did a great job with the master piece, and she asked, mummy u liked? then u can stick it on the wall at home :)

When we went back to the hotel, we were surprised by the staff with xmas goodies. P ate all the chocolate.

Doesnt it look lovely?

P enjoying the carolling, it is something that she enjoys during xmas.....

 Oh, did i mention that we got a call from RC to inform that , there were some doodling on their leather chair. Yes, dear P drew on it and the staff wasnt able to remove the ink, n we have to pay 100$ for the reupholster of the seat pad. I will be deducting 100$ from her ang pow money....



Why you go work

P has been asking lotsa questions. Recently she is asking me, why i go to work.
P: Why you go to work? Can you dont go to work?
Me: If i dont go to work then i be at home shouting at you :)
P: You dont work then you can play with me and cut paper.....
Me: If i stay at home, you will be too and you will nt be going to school. You will miss your frens and teachers....
P: (just looking at me)
Me: You enjoy school right? You like playing with you frens like A, E, R, JY and other new frens right? Mommy also enjoys working (cant believe that actually came out from my mouth). Mommy works then we can go visit 公公 more often.
P: OK, u go work.

Courageous

It is a movie abt the importance and responsibilities of father to family...... I m so gona bring ATM to watch this film since i have 2 Cathay movie tix which is gona expire soon. Hope after the film, he will draw up a new resolution.

Direct Translation

We do speak Mandarin at home to P, but somehow i think it is not enough. Last night she told me 陈老师didnt go to school today in Mandarin.
P: 陈老师没有来今天
It is the direct translation from English..
Well i think it is time take we need to speak Mandarin to her now. Any good Chinese program to recommend, as recently her fav is Peppa Pig. I like Peppa Pig too, it is more interesting than Bob the Builder or Barney....
It is time to dig out the chinese flash cards that my colleague gave me.... I m going to have a hard time as Chinese is nt my forte.....

Culinary Time

Dragon Balls: mince pork with water chestnut coated with glutonious rice... Not as nice as it looks, it is not bouncy enough.

Bento Time

 

Bento for FIL, Pariah rice (organic rice from Brunei) with sweet potatoes and grilled chicken with broccoli and tomato.

Craft Time

I've been a bit crafty lately, I bought a Sizzix Vintaj machine. It is the most expansive piece of machine in the craft room after my sewing machine..... It is so cool, it can cut from paper to stockcard and it embosses too.... Since i've volunteer to design n make Y's wedding invite, Sizzix really come into good use... I can justify for the purchase :)

Recently i m playing with clay. Yes i m very double standard, I can play with clay but P cant play with playdough. Playing with clay needs patience.

This set is from my 1st trial, abit rough at the edges. I still prefer to use Grace clay than Hearty clay due to the final texture.... The final product can be used for P's hair clip or scrapbooking stuffs....

I had just sent off a batch of tiny crochet beanies to NICU before xmas. Currently, i m crocheting a baby blanket to the new addition of the family. Baby will be born in winter, all P's hand me down will nt be enough for the baby. P helps with holding the yarn, she is very excited abt the new addition. She is practising with the baby doll, carrying, feeding and changing diapers. It will be so much more to celebrate, if dear Chloe (P chose the name) had make it.

Almost half way there, it still doesnt look perfect to me....

Seasonal Flu

The weather lately suck, and everyone is SICK, so is P. P has been down with fever, running nose n phlegmy cough. I hate it when she has phlegmy cough, means food intake will be less, n i will need to do additional laundry due to cough induced vomit. Although she has not been feeling well but she has been very active, which is a good sign, she is sweating means i no need to sponge her.... She hates to be sponge.

Mon, both P and i were of work and school, since she is still feverish. After breaskfast, she was off to do her own stuff, eg. feeding her messy hair doggy, she is still nt tired of playing with it, practising on the keyboard, practise cutting using scissors, scribbling and pissing me off.....

After her nap, she asked to paint her nail with flowers.... Yes, this is vainpot in the making......

Her fingers are nt chubby and short like mine, her nail bed is actually quite big so the childsafe nail polish actually looks nice on her finger.....

Color coded surgery

The work took abt 6y to get publish.

Bitten

Saw a upper bite mark on P risk when i was showering her. Her 1st bite mark in the new cc. We asked her if she bite herself, the answer is no. So we proceed to who bite you, the answer from her is somebody. Isnt that a great answer, if it wasnt somebody then who left the mark on the wrist :) I suspect is someone younger maybe kids in N1 or toddler class, cos if it was her classmate or older kid, she will sure complain.... Well tt my P, she is ok if younger kids bully her but if her peers or older kids, she will definately complaint to whoever incharge. She was in the Gym trial class yesterday, so we think she might be bitten during tt time as they were quite a few kids there. Anyway this is part n parcel of growing up, kena bitten, fell down and so on, and that is what i called growing up....

Told Teacher L abt the bite mark when i saw her. She tried to ask P but she refused to answer. Teacher L told me tt she is very quiet and she doesnt speak up in class. P still need times to warm up before she will talk/shout, do funny things in class. Once u get to know her, u will know what she is like :)

Big Girl

Bedtimes is our mommy and daugther bonding time. Either we will read a book, well on electronic device rather than book book or lights off and sing song. Last night, she sang the whole of we're going on a bear hunt. Then we will talk abt what she did in school, normally i have to ask her question. Last night she told me she is big. Big? why big? Cos because i m in N2 Garnet. She likes to answer the question why with cos because. 

So far, for the past few days she is ok, we will walk to her class together then she will join her bunch of joyful frens and waived byebye to me. Yesterday, i even heard her saying bye to A loudly, normally when i m ard she will just waived, she will hardly open her mouth, unless talking to me.

Hoping to see more changes in P for the coming year. Hope she will be less shy :)

Music Enrichment Class

P attended the trial music lesson yesterday. ATM went down to have a peep. He said when he reached, the 6 N2 kids are in the music rooms, as usual when the class are paying attention, she will just do her own thing. This time she is doing her yoga when the teacher was talking. Somehow, she has very good eyesight, she caught a glimpse of ATM and got clingy.

When i picked her up after work, i asked her abt music class, but she just ignore me but later she told me abt the piano and how she played the keys. Well is a good start, ATM thinks that P should continue her class next week. ATM still insist on sending P to ballet, well i have no objection, as long as she dun feel stress out. I might nt even be sending her for the little scientist enrichment class, unless she is really keen after the trial. Will see how.

Baby Dog

P is very enthu with the baby coming in July, we making plans to visit and so on. Whenever we walk pass a shop selling bb's stuffs, she will ask if we can buy something for the bb. Recently, i m crocheting a bb blanket since the bb will b born in winter, P has been helping me to hold the yarn. To her, it is a form of helping :) So out of curiosity, i asked if she would want a bb brother or sister. Her reply to me was, bb dog. I m just speechless....