Thursday, May 24, 2012

Yes. What About Boys?

So I was having a conversation with the frap, that goes something like this. And for the record, I did not dream this up ok!

Frap: Mommyyy, schatat bee me guys. Guys.
Me: Wha...? Did you say guys?
Frap: *smiles* Guys chu ba gai gao car ya ba eh yu bao cook!
Me: What? Are we gonna talk about guys now? Seriously?
Frap: Schatat mommy beeyo papa yuuba kabir da *sighs*
Me: I'm not sure you are ready for them boys, at least for now, you know.
Frap: Har? Guys car!
Me: Yeah, cars are nice, but they are not everything you know. I mean, you're so young! And, and fragile and naive! And boys being boys, you know. And the commitment! Oh, let's not even go there. Ugh.
Frap: Mommy.
Me: Yes darling?
Frap: Stay cool.

FOR REALS! PEOPLE! FOR. REALS.

The little lady actually said stay cool! STAY COOL! She's asking me, HER MOTHER, to freaking STAY COOL because, oh you know, it's only boys, mom and I can so handle them! *rolls eyes* oh won't you just kill me now? !!!

Exclamation marks. That's all I have for you now.  -_-

Oh and some pictures from the week. /continue dying in exclamation marks

Stay cool, she says. Pfft!

brekkie

virgin beer
a whole new world from up that height
spot the red!
hope
yes, i'm afraid you can't choose your parents, oli
prisoned
icky!
obsessed about colours
rotterdam! it's like, wearing ten tiny pieces of starry night skies on you!
lazing around. everyday.
smelly bunnies


I'm sure the hubs and I would need helmets to face them boys head on. Sigh.
We will definitely make you wear helmet from now on. To fend off the guys.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Easy Recipes For Kids: Pasta In Potato & Carrot Soup


Whenever I’m out of idea on what to cook for the frap, carrots and potatoes are always my go-to ingredients. Always. Maybe because that's what my grandma used to cook for us as children. Ah, comfort food. 

Here’s a super simple recipe, erm, it’s hardly a recipe! But it tastes great, Frappy finished her first bowl and requested a second!

Pasta in Potato & Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

1 stick carrot, cubed
2 potatoes, cubed
1 tomato, cubed OR a spoon of tomato paste
1 piece of skinless chicken thigh, cut
1 cup of shell pasta
3/4 saucepan of water

1. While boiling water in a medium sized saucepan, prep and clean up the chicken thigh. When the water boils, put the chicken in the saucepan and bring to boil.

2. Add in the carrots and the potatoes. Reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. I didn’t have tomatoes, so I added a spoonful of tomato paste. Season with a little salt.

3. Come meal time, add in the pasta and let cook until al dente. Serve. (The Chinese in me like to add a dash of soy sauce in my clear soups, it gives it a sweet boost, somehow!)

What did I say? Is it simple or simple? Haha! You can always add celery, cabbage, peas, onion, and bacon (I'd sweat the diced onion and cook the bacon for a coupla minutes before adding the chicken and other root veges, and then water/stock), or whatever ticks your interest, to make it more flavourful and wholesome. I think this soup is somewhat like minestrone? Tis a chinese version! Haha. Anyway it goes wonderful with baguette and toasts, too! Or rice!!! YUM! Bon appétit!


Monday, May 14, 2012

Stolen Moments

I received an sms from a dear friend last evening, wishing me happy mother's day. Now throughout the day, friends' have been coming up to me wishing me the same and for lame-joking sake, I'd reply oh dear please don't remind me! I know. Don't ask me why I always, ALWAYS like to say lame things and embarrass myself like that! Ugh. Anyway, so when I was replying this particular sms, saying thank you, suddenly it hit me. I realized that, yes, I am actually, happy. Happy!

Not oh-boy-i'm-alive-everyday-cracking-head-what-to-cook-do-laundry-clean-up-shit-yay-i'm-loving-it kinda happy; but I am just, happy. Happy being where I am now, this moment. A wife, not a terribly good one at that, but a wife nonetheless, a mother (!), that fact that I am figuring things out (and the big picture's getting clearer) finally on how to move on and achieve goals socially, financially, personally, and uh, career-ly and I'm ready for that! And that caught me by surprise, because I've always thought I'm in such a rut, that I'm forever in that much dreaded waiting phase, waiting for that big break, only I didn't realize that that big break is now.

Now. I mean, every moment at home with my two girls is a milestone that says something big about their growth and I get to be part of it! Every decision made (and quarrel!) with the hubs about petty or important stuff says something big about a relationship shared for x amount of years. Every meltdown I experience says something big about the maturity process of my womanhood.

And one more big break? That in that split second, I'm finally coming to terms with myself, my family, my life. And I like it. I feel assured that, slowly but surely, things are falling into its rightful places, that I should really cut myself some slack and just at times, go with the flow, albeit patiently. So yeah. Happy. I am.



look who's peeking out and over the cot!


Jenny from the block


Breton stripe top from Azorias. Love it!

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Suddenly She’s Two!


OK, I guess I cannot be in denial anymore. Frappy, my baby, remember? That tubby little wee thing that got everybody went all mushy with her expressionless face and sweet, silly smiles? Well, she’s not that little wee thing anymore! /wails!

She’s a girl now, a big girl who knows how to work her heels (ok not for real, but she loves to put on heels, correctly at that! Where lah did she get that from?! /shifty eyes); she wants to explore places (on her own) and is not shy to make new friends (it’s simple really, just open your mouth and say HAI!!! And then smile. There, you just got yourself a new friend. Simple but profound wisdom); she eats big people’s food; she answers back (!!!); she says xie xie (thank you) when given food or helped without being prompted; she puts away her toys (!!!! sometimes only haha); she is imitating speech, a lot. You should really see her when she’s watching her walt disney’s animations; she’d get very engrossed and babble along with the characters as if she wrote the script. Just yesterday, mickey from the mickey mouse clubhouse asked his audience to say “oh toodles!”, frappy did just that. She said Oh tootoos! 

She is doing so many things these days - some new, some old but more refined and sophisticated, it’s scaring me sometimes! I mean, like, noooo stop! Stop growing so soon! Just stay and be that little wee thing who weighed a ton with all the oh-so-squishable fleshy chunks like that Michelin man for awhile, won’t you? Lookit you! You are all slimming down (except for the tummy haha!) and elongating! You’re wearing dresses and look properly like a lady already, except shorter. Much shorter.

But no, time says no. She has to grow, keep growing and moving with every tick of the hands on the clock. Oh how that pains my heart my dear frappy! But it’s a joy to be able to grow with you, I’ll have you know that missy! You are such a joy to be around with (but I’ll also have you know that you’re such a pain when you’re stubborn and so loud it’s embarrassing -__-). You know, when she knows I’m feeling under the weather, she’d come over and hold my arm, and when she hugs me, she’d give my back a gentle rub and my shoulders a baby squeeze! Such a grown up my goodness! Just stop! You’re giving me heartache just thinking about it! 

Haiks. All I wanted to do was to pen down a few happenings from yesterday, the 7th of May 2012 – Frappy’s 2nd birthday; and of course I had to be random and go all over the place! Hehe. Ok then, I’ll leave you with some memories that no money can buy – my family came visiting (my parents just got off work and had a flight to catch this morning!), my brother sponsored the most delicious berries pavlova, and a group of our friends came celebrating the special day with us! It wasn’t a planned party, I was just going to symbolically give frappy a cake-cutting ceremony and call it a (birth)day, but Ju organized a whole bunch of dear friends over (on a weeknight! You guys make me cry!) and suddenly we have ourselves a party! And these people even brought gifts! I feel so loved whenever I have people coming by our house, and this is not even my party! Ugh. Why am I sucha mush! 

At one point my mom was asking me, rather suspiciously, "these… are frappy’s friends? So old?"

Nawww, mom! They are not old. They are gold! 

Ok, I should really stop, this is turning into an essay (that, and also I’m typing this whilst standing, with frappy clinging to my leg like a koala to a tree trunk, and oli grabbing my toe, like… like, oysters stuck to pier stilts. So very abruptly, and very cliché-ly, blessed birthday my sweet mocha frap! I hope you had an awesome time last night with your family and friends, donning new dress, sunglasses, fairy wings, eating that fancy branded pavlova with fingers, and simply being an all attention-grabbing star! I love you too much, baby! Just don’t be annoying ok? xox

Good morning! I'm two years old today!























Monday, May 07, 2012

Love Was In The Air; Havoc In The Baby Chair


We attended 2 weddings on Saturday and Sunday respectively! Both were uniquely beautiful and the thing with weddings is that, they tend to make me want to get married again (ok fine to the same person. No la, actually I just want the whole party thing lah ok haha).

So anyway, we brought the Frap along to the Saturday’s wedding and I guess that’d be the last wedding she gets to attend until she fully comprehends the function of a chair and what a sit-down-dinner means. I mean, really, some things are just not meant to be together, high heels and on-the-go toddlers for instance.

And so after a couple sessions of serious dad-toddler pep talk, half a bucket of tears, and failed bribery smooches (from the Frap! Tsk, that manipulative little thing!), we managed to sit her down for the duration of a few dishes served before the whole pep-talk-tears-bribes-sit-down cycle repeated. But I must say that I am actually quite proud of her, the fact that after understanding what was required of her, she literally held back her tears and allowed us to buckle her down on the highchair, and played along with smiles on her face, until her butts itched again and her undying energy overpowered her to move. Haiks

So yeah, a good exercise for us parents to discipline our child and for the child to learn the right social behavior to adopt when in public. I guess both parties are one step closer to success (which is, oh just another million steps away T_T).

BUT no matter how good an exercise routine it is, we kinda like our party time to be a little more… peaceful, you know what I mean? So Sunday’s wedding was just us, adults sans babies! And it was fun! Eating hands free, mingling with old friends, socializing with new friends, and posing for pictures! Oh my! 

When we reached my parents’ place to pick up the girls later that night, Oli was sound asleep and Frappy was having a great time playing with her gong gong, happy as a lark! So I guess we both did each other a good favor after all :) 

p/s Congratulations to Jee Hui and Christine (although we don’t know you personally, but we share your parents’ joy in your union! You both made such a stunningl picture in that indian costumes!)

p/p/s Gong hei gong hei Fay and Wilson!!!! You guys are definitely a match made in heaven – both are equally crazy!!!! Haha! We thoroughly enjoyed your wedding, it was so fun! And it was awesome catching up with the GKII girls again! 

Thank you so much for having us, you guys! Here’s wishing you a blessed, happy life together! 











and in return, we got lottery tickets! haha jokers!

Love my top & skirt (from Azoria), and purple envelope cluth from asos

Power women I have for friends!