Between My Babies and Work

Bangkok Work Trip 2012

2012-02-04T23:24:00.001+08:00

Over the past 3 days, I went to Bangkok for a work trip. But what's best about this work trip is a little leisure with food and shopping.

Food-wise, we were taken to the Blue Elephant, a Thai restaurant and cooking school, for dinner. It's located near the Surasak BTS station. The colonial style building was beautiful, and the Thai cuisine was great. Here is the unique tea-pot which they served lemongrass tea at the end.

Shopping-wise, this is my first encounter with this designer brand made in Thailand called Jim Thompson. The founder was a ex-army officer from the USA who had a passion for Thai silk and made Bangkok his home, and created a business of reviving the Thai silk industry to the world. Of course, being designer brand, prices were "designer-grade" too, however, I am thankful to have the chance to visit its factory outlet, where out-of-season merchandise were offered at discounts of nearly 50%. I got a dress for Baby Xin and a few small items as gifts.
No matter how many times you have been to a place, there is always something new to experience.

Eve of CNY 2012

2012-01-22T20:44:00.000+08:00

Wah.... the past weeks have been crazy with preparation for the meetings and trainings at the company, and there was hardly anytime to organize shopping and home for the CNY. Even this weekend, on the last 2 days before CNY, we were busy cleaning and packing things away for recycling, and went to Carrefour for some last minute shopping. Last weekend, J took all the kids for their haircut. Baby Xin came out looking like she had a coconut shell head ;-)

Baby Xin and her coconut haircut

J's CNY gift hamper for deco

Thankfully all our shopping and cleaning is done, as much as we could, and I even had time to put some CNY deco in place.

Reunion dinner is as usual, steamboat with seafood at home, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

5-Year Long Service Award

2012-01-14T23:21:00.000+08:00

I am really thankful for having worked at the same company for the past 5 years, with significant development in my career. Most importantly, the boss, my colleagues and my team are great to work with, even in the face of great challenges. Today I received my 5-year award from the CEO and I am thankful for this milestone. The award was given out at our company's annual dinner, and it comes with a cash award of RM1,500. Wow! Thank you very much, boss.

Baby Xin's 2nd Birthday

2012-01-11T22:29:00.005+08:00

I can't believe my Baby is 2 years old today. First thing in the morning, her brother came near her crib and said "Happy Birthday, Baby!" while she was still sleeping. That was so sweet of Wei, who was getting ready for school.
As J and I were both working today, we had a simple celebration at home. An American chocolate cake with 2 candles, and some balloons that I took from my office event (haha!). Baby Xin loves balloons.

Wei teaching Baby Xin to blow the candle out

Baby Xin wanted to cry because she touched the candle

Baby Xin cut the cake, and licked the plastic knife

Visit to Petrosains

2012-01-08T23:48:00.000+08:00

Today, J and I took the kids to Petrosains, where we met up with our friends, a family from Penang who were on vacation here. They are also a couple who have 3 kids. Although both J and I were busy with homework (a term that we used with our kids whenever we have to bring work home), we decided that we would still spend some quality time with kids and friends.
And I am so glad we did, we had lots of educational fun.

Baby Xin at the multi-mirrors

If you are Malaysian, you must remember to bring Mykad to Petrosains because that offers significant discounts.

6-peg puzzle

I am also very proud of the fact that Wei managed to solve the 6-pegs puzzle in less than 2 minutes, he said it was easy because he was guided by the knight piece in chess. In the puzzle above, you have to put the 6 pegs where they are not aligned with each other in any lines.

After Petrosains, it was food at Madam Kwan's with a few hours of chatting. What a lovely afternoon, even though when we got home, we had to continue with our "homework".

2012-01-04T21:56:00.001+08:00

2011 - The year That Was

2012-01-02T21:36:00.000+08:00

A new year has dawned upon us just like that, without much fanfare. I've spent the long weekend catching up on errands especially for the coming school reopening and Chinese New Year. Then I read the posts of 2 bloggers and this inspires me to do the same on reflecting on 2011 and resolve to achieve some main goals in 2012.
Family
Baby Xin turned 1 in January and is a toddler. She learnt to point before she was able to speak, and when she can speak she says 2 syllable words in Mandarin, English, Tamil and Teochew. Her most frequently used word is "em mai" which is "don't want" in Teochew. She is turning into an i-generation toddler, where everything is about touch screens, sliding and flipping, and iPad becomes a bedtime request (sigh.....).
Wei turned 10 in Nov and is considered a tall boy. My first born is a chess-enthusiast, swimmer and piano player. He represented school in chess competitions, but swims and plays piano for fun. Towards the end of 2011, he had to get a dental retainer fixed to his upper teeth, that should last him for 3-6 months.
Yuan is a skinny but active girl, she turned 8 in Dec. She had to get an eye surgery done to correct her weak eye muscles, and started to wear glasses this year. I am thankful that all went well. Yuan is generally good with all subjects. I hope 2012 will be a year she gains more weight, I am trying to encourage her to eat more.
J and I, we are in our 12th year of marriage and still going strong. J is a partner who is considerate and supportive, a great father to the kids and a great family man.
Work
Work has been most challenging this year, and I put in a lot of time and effort in order to make things work. The good things are: 1. J is very understanding about my tight timelines and 2. My efforts do not go unnoticed by the boss and my team as well. Towards the end of this year, the boss changed my portfolio so that I can have a fresh start and develop new ideas.
Travel
For a work training I was sent to Manila. Other than that, I really enjoyed the 3-day break to Singapore (Marina Bay Sands and Festive Hotel) and our 2-week-shoestring-budget trip to Japan with the kids.

Health & Fitness
This is the aspect that seriously needs improvement as I have skipped my yoga classes and swimming for months, all in the name of work (and also an element of laziness - *embarrassed*)
Spirituality
I really could have done more, but I am thankful for the opportunity to attend a 1-day meditation camp, Kathina Day as we do every year, and helping out at our Sunday classes to guide young pre-schoolers. Time contribution reminds me to have patience, be humble and be grateful for all that I have.
Contribution
Under the planning and guidance of our fellow team-member and blogger, Anie, we organized a charity program on property topics and all the proceeds were donated to the NSTP fund. We hope that our small contribution would make a difference to someone's life.
Education
This year was great! I've been to at least 5 seminars on properties and wealth management. And with a baby now, I really couldn't have done it without J's kind understanding, and willingness to look after the kids when I am away at the seminar sessions.
On top of self-education, we also conducted 2 other sharing sessions in March and July to share with others with like-minded interests.

A great 2011 indeed and I am thankful for the love of my family and the support of my friends.

Baby Xin Says Something

2011-12-28T20:16:00.002+08:00

My Baby Xin at 1 year 11 months has quite a vocabulary. She is now able to say words with 2 syllables like Papa, Mummy, bolster, water (btw bolster and water sounds the same so I have to decipher that). Blanket, pillow, bear, dog, cold, habis! And the ultimate 2-syllable word: ipad.

To encourage her to say more words, I will ask her, "Baby, say yes, say duck, say porridge etc." And she would always say the word.
Today, Yuan was playing a telephone game with her. Yuan said to her, "Baby, say something" while putting the pretend telephone near her mouth. So Baby Xin said: "Something."

My One Big Goal for 2012

2011-12-25T21:55:00.002+08:00

Steve Aichitson, a very inspiring personal development blogger and life coach, asked this question for Christmas. What is the one big goal that I hope to achieve for 2012?
Well, it would have to be a health & fitness goal. I wish to exercise at least an hour every week, either swimming or yoga. This year I have not been going regularly at all, mostly due to being busy with work, at other times, well, just being plain lazy.....
I hope to lead a more active lifestyle together with J next year, that's my one big goal for 2012!

Photo from http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/ent1945.html

Pottu

2011-12-24T23:28:00.001+08:00

My Baby Xin's nanny is an Indian, so naturally Baby Xin is learning a lot about Indian language and culture. One of the things that she likes is a pottu on her forehead, which her nanny sometimes put for her as a symbol of protection.
One day while I was working on my laptop, Baby Xin wanted to take off the red tracker ball right in the middle of my keyboard. The tracker ball cover, had gone missing before, but was always found afterwards and I put it back, so I now realized it was Baby Xin who pulled it off. I asked her why she wanted it for, and she pointed to her forehead at the space between her eyebrows. I finally realized that she thought it was a stick-on pottu, and that she wanted to put it on! This is so funny!

Visit to Pavillion KL

2011-12-18T21:55:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since we visited Pavilion,as it's perceived as such an expensive place.
However today, we decided to see the Xmas deco there, and Yuan got a free ride on the Xmas carousel (worth RM5), courtesy of a credit card promotion. There was a long queue of paying patrons for the small carousel. This reminds me of my childhood days in Ampang Park, but I believe the carousel there was much bigger.

We were also fortunate to witness a Scottish band playing at 4pm in the center court, which was very entertaining. After that, we spent most of our time in Daiso at the top floor, splurging on RM5 items.

Pandora bracelet fixed

2011-12-17T22:48:00.000+08:00

After our morning seminar session, I went to Pandora 1MK outlet to get my bracelet fixed. I've been meaning to go for a few days but never had the chance due to long hours at work recently. Finally today I went and succumbed to buying a safety chain for the bracelet, and also a Murano glass charm because the charms were moving around too freely.

As a result, I got my bracelet changed to the right size, got the safety chain that I wanted, and used the Murano glass to commemorate a meaningful day in which my fellow bloggers and I conducted a charity session. On top of that, I received another plain bracelet as a gift, which I intend to give Yuan to start her childhood collection when she's much older.

Yuan's 8th Birthday

2011-12-03T20:04:00.000+08:00

Due to our extended holiday trip, J and I were not able to take leave for Yuan's birthday. So we have preempted her and told her that we would celebrate it the next day, which is a Saturday.

Yuan's 8th Birthday Cake

Our little Yuan, she looks small for her age. Of course she is a year-end baby so she was smaller than her classmates, but she is also smaller than some Std 1 kids.
We had a simple celebration. Yuan got an unusual present which she liked very much.

Ikea Mala Easel

Ikea doesn't carry this easel anymore. I bought this online from a 2nd hand shop. It still looks clean and decent. And I also bought the Ikea Mala coloured white-board markers. So Yuan liked this present very much, although I did say it is supposed to be shared with Wei, and the Baby.

First Day Cover Collection from 1.12.1997

2011-12-01T22:30:00.001+08:00

I am showing off my stamp collection again.

14 years ago, today, I bought this first day cover for - what? RM25?
It is a special issue with a Royal Selangor pewter stamp. Today it is worth millions of ringgit (haha, I wish!)

Moments in my Life

2011-12-01T21:21:00.000+08:00

What a great idea to commemorate each important moment in my life with a charm. That is the appeal of a jewelery line named Pandora. Well, I have a weakness for pretty little things and when J offered to buy me a starter set, I couldn't resist.
J bought a bracelet to commemorate our Japan holiday, and he bought it on board the Cathay Pacific flight. Since it came with 3 charms, I would like to think that it commemorates more than that, which includes our 11th wedding anniversary, and our Baby Xin who is 1 year old this year.

11th Anniversary

Japan trip 2011

Baby Xin - 1 year old

The chain is too long for me, and I really had no idea how to attach the charms, so I would take it to Pandora in Malaysia to do that. Thank you, dear hubby. I like the bracelet a lot, and the fact that I could add to it later so that it becomes really unique.

Raya Haji Long Weekend

2011-11-09T22:59:00.001+08:00

Long weekends - always fun and so much to accomplish.
5 Nov
Took Wei and Yuan to their dental appointment. Wei had to have a retainer for his teeth, and today the dentist took a mould. Yuan had a regular checkup, only that it was her first time, she was so scared. Luckily she didn't have to get anything done to her teeth.
When we got home, J, Baby Xin and I went out, house hunting, again.
This time it's a beautiful end-lot which was more expensive, but it was facing the T junction, so no go.
After viewing, we went home, and I sneaked out without the kids to take care of some tenant issue.
At 4pm we went to view the intermediate lot again, almost ready to make an offer but not quite.
At night, I had to attend a wedding dinner, and all the while I was thinking about the 2 houses, intermediate or endlot, cheaper or more expensive. I told a friend about my unrest, and she reassured me, "If it's meant to be yours, it will be."

6 Nov
Sunday dawned bright, and J wanted to go to One Utama early to take care of some much needed shopping.
We had McDonalds for lunch, and Baby learnt to dip french fries in tomato sauce.

After shopping, we went to view another house, this time it is even more beautiful than those that we have seen. We went home and I spent time poring over my Real Estate Negotiations book, hoping to negotiate a good deal out of it.

7 Nov
The kids and I went to a friend's house who was preparing a lunch dana. Then we went to Mom's house to spend some time with her.
J then took the children shopping to get a pair of shoes for Wei. When they came home, it was already evening.
In the evening, Baby Xin hurt her left hand fingers from pulling down a futsal goalpost. We rushed her to the clinic, where the doctor said it was nothing serious. Thank goodness, poor Baby was being very brave about it.
All ended well, except for the little scare at the end. A great weekend, nonethless.

Wei's 10th Birthday

2011-11-01T23:49:00.000+08:00

On Wei's birthday this year, both JL and I were working. In fact I was in Port Dickson for a team event for half day and 2nd half was travelling back to the office. Luckily I was able to leave a little early and I bought the cake on the way home. We had a simple celebration. Wei's present had been bought earlier and it was a story book set that he wanted.

World Vision - Gifts of Hope

2011-10-29T17:42:00.001+08:00

The year end festive season is fast approaching. If you are thinking of giving a gift to your loved ones, or simply making a difference for the year, consider the World Vision Malaysia year end gifts of hope. You can give something to impact the lives of poor children in South East Asia, including Malaysia, in honour of your friend or loved one. World Vision will then send you a gift card and you can send that to your friend, telling him that you have made a gift in his name for truly making a difference.

No matter how big or small, the children will appreciate the gift.

Manila Work Trip

2011-09-25T21:18:00.000+08:00

I am here in Manila for 6 days for a company training, and this is my first time. The only day that I get some free time is on Sunday before my training course starts, and I spent it wandering at the Intramuros.

Makati CBD area

View of a colourful Jeepney from our taxi

Horse cart at Intramuros

Jeepney

Singapore Trip Day 2

2011-09-17T21:04:00.000+08:00

Day 2 is spent fully at Universal Studios, although it certainly is difficult with Baby Xin in tow. The highlight of the park is the Human vs Cylon roller coaster. I wanted Wei to ride it to get a taste of roller coaster, and he gamely complied. So, J stayed behind with Yuan and the baby.

When we got on the Cylon roller coaster, shoes off, all buckled up, he asked me, "Mom is it really alright?"
I said, "Sure, it will be over before you even know it. If you are afraid, just close your eyes."

Before I knew it, the Cylon roller coaster shot up at full speed. No going up the slope at an agonizingly slow pace like the traditional roller coasters. When it was over, I cheered and said to Wei:: "Wow, that was awesome!" to lift his spirits in case he was scared. He said, "I closed my eyes the whole time."
My brave, brave boy.

Singapore Family Trip - 1st Day

2011-09-16T23:55:00.000+08:00

The Sands at Marina Bay, Singapore

Friday morning, we all got ready to go to LCCT, boarded Tiger Airways to Singapore. We were all excited, this was the first family get-away trip organized by J's company. At LCCT we caught up with all the other families at McDonald's and waited patiently for our flight.
It was Baby Xin's first flight experience. I got an infant seat belt and buckled her up on my lap belt. Luckily she was accustomed to being buckled up.
We arrived Singapore and checked in Marina Bay Sands. It's really beyond my dreams that I would ever get to stay there. Wei said the top of The Sands looked like an aeroplane crashed on top of the 3 towers.
The kids couldn't wait to go to the swimming pool, it was a very long infinity pool. It was like "swimming in the sky", with the view of Singapore skyscrapers.

Already in swimming suits, the kids rushed to the swimming pool.

Infinity Pool of The Sands, it was crowded!

At night, we went for the Singapore River Cruise, which took us to our seafood dinner at Jumbo.

Raya and Merdeka Week-long Holiday

2011-09-05T23:59:00.000+08:00

The past week has really been good, so many things accomplished and done, and things left undone. Undone because I focused on the more important things and chose to ignore the less important ones.

Sunday 28/8:

Joined a full day meditation course and focused on training the mind to being in the present. Very grateful to have heard from and understood a little more about peace, contentment and practice.

J's sister and her kids arrive at our house for a little holiday reunion.

Monday 29/8:

Took time to visit my old aunt with my mom and sister, spending time with the people who matter in my life.

Watched "Horrible Bosses" movie at Wangsa Walk with J, just the 2 of us, at night.

Tuesday 30/8:

House cleaning with J, while the kids enjoy a day of swimming. Screened potential tenants for an apartment.

Wednesday 31/8:

Kids and cousins visited Batu Caves as a local excursion trip, while I spent time with Baby.

Completed apartment rental transaction safely.

Thursday 1/9:

J's sister's family went back to Penang after our dim sum lunch.

Kids spent the afternoon at revision and reading.

After dinner, took kids to Ikea for their favourite session at Smaland.

At Ikea, bought a kitchen sink unit at the irresistable price of RM15.90 (normally RM90).

Bought for what? We do not know, but since we like doing up houses, it's bound to be used one day.

Wei sprained his toes at Ikea Smaland.

Friday 2/9:

Car refused to start early in the morning, when Wei and I both had our dental appointment.

Called for a taxi to take us to the the dentist, and called for the breakdown service to send a replacement car battery. Completed dental sessions just in time, despite being late. T

Returned home by taxi, where the mechanic has arrived and waited with the new battery.

Battery replaced. Mom arrived to take Wei to see a Chinese tabib for his sprained foot.

Went to office, completed some work.

Went to the bank, and to the apartment management office to complete resident registration for my new tenants.

Went to Gas Malaysia office in Desa Pandan for gas connection.

Came home to find Wei playing with Grandpa's unused wheelchair, called him young Professor X, which he enjoyed despite having his foot wrapped up in a bandage.

Saturday 3/9:

Took Wei to his tuition session in the wheelchair, he was both thrilled and embarrassed.

My pampering facial session and grocery shopping.

Watched Harry Potter movie with the kids at home.

Sunday 4/9:

Relaxed at home in the morning. then went for an education session on multi-currency loans to increase my knowledge about investments.

Dinner with family by the riverside restaurant.

Wei's foot improved a lot.

Kids read books at quiet time just before bed.

All in all, a great week, with much accomplished and a lot of rejuvenation.

Holiday House Cleaning

2011-08-30T22:50:00.019+08:00

While everyone else was enjoying the long Raya cum Merdeka holidays, I've been busy at house cleaning. (No part time maids available during Raya holidays, that's why...)
I scrubbed the glass windows and toilets, cleaned the fridge,all the shelves and desktops, and wiped the walls clear of markings, as well as mopped the floors. J cleaned the fan, the aircond filters, wiped the doors, fixed the lights and scrubbed the bathroom walls and floor. And little Baby Xin was helping!

She used the 3M Quick Sweeper to mop the floor and even got the spots under the sofa. She must have been watching her babysitter do it.
We were so tired by the time we finished but at least it was a job well done.

iPad Camera Connection Kit for SD card

2011-08-24T22:39:00.000+08:00

This is a technology post, because I would like to share my experience on what I happened when I tried to transfer photos from my laptop to iPad via the camera connection kit (CCK).
Firstly, I transferred photos from my laptop to the SD card (in a named folder). When I plugged in the CCK with the SD card into the iPad, nothing happened. I checked the web and found that I must name the folder DCIM. I did that, but my photos were all named according to the place and number. Having plugged in again, I found that all the photos were not detected, except one. Wondering what was so special about the lone photo, I discovered that that photo was named Picture7.
So 2 basic rules. The folder must be named DCIM (which stands for digital camera images, I think) and the photos must be named Picture1, Picture2 , Picture3 and so on. After changing all the picture names, finally they could be detected and imported on the 3rd attempt.

Wei in Swensen's Age Group Rapid Open

2011-08-21T22:06:00.029+08:00

At the recommendation of Wei's chess teacher, we enrolled Wei in a national chess tournament, at Cititel Midvalley. As Wei is a year-end child, he could still participate in the Under 10 category. J took Wei to Cititel at 9am and left him there with the chess teacher and picked him up at 5pm.
There were 136 participants including kids from Singapore and Iran. Wei was seeded somewhere above the halfway mark. Even though it was nothing to shout about, I am still a very proud mom.
For lunch we gave Wei RM20, hoping that the chess teacher would take the kids to lunch. It turned out that he was too busy helping out at the tournament, and 4 boys went to lunch together at McDonald's, with one of the boys leading the way. That boy was CH; his mom and aunt went to Gardens for shopping and they didn't show up in time for lunch. So CH had no money. So he led the way to McDonald's, ordered 2 lunch sets for Wei and himself, and Wei paid for lunch ;-)