Understanding My Lil' Angels

A daytrip to Genting 2015

2015-04-04T12:08:00.000+08:00

During the one week school holidays in March, we didn't plan to go anywhere far. Too short a time. And was still resting my wallet from the CNY expenditure! :p

So, just took the kids to Genting to jalan-jalan. We haven't been there since mid last year. And probably nothing much has changed. But the kids are just happy to go for a trip anywhere.

Before we went up the hill, we stopped for lunch at Bentong. Didn't do my research before
going there. So ended up eating wantan mee at a restaurant which was packed with people.
You can see from the leftover noodles what I thought about it!!!

Haven't been to the Strawberry farm at Gohtong Jaya before.
We have been to Gohtong Jaya countless of times
but didn't know of this place's existence.

The lavender garden was really nice although quite small.
First time seeing lavender flowers.

Allyson and the giant strawberry!

The construction of 20th Century Fox World in progress

Nothing much to see at the top. Was walking around and decided to stop
at Genting Bowl. First time for the kids.
Really enjoyable and good family fun!
Would definitely do it again!

Happy 9th Birthday, Ryan!

2015-03-27T21:43:00.000+08:00

Ryan turned 9 just before the school holidays.

Gosh, I can't believe that I have been having this blog for 7 years already. It's really great reading back all the old posts when the kids were younger. That is the wonderful thing about having a blog. I remember starting to blog when I moved from an apartment to a house. And starting a new chapter in my life. It was great getting to know many Mummies ( and their kids) along the way...although many have stopped blogging already.

What did we do on Ryan's birthday?

...Since it was a school and working day, we took him to Sakae Sushi for dinner. And Baskin Robbins after that. He was happy.

Breakfast...we had McDonald's breakfast where he had the Big breakfast for the first time. He was happy.

I got him a Lego Creator house set. He was happy.

Loving it!!!

Aqua beads

2015-02-27T11:08:00.000+08:00

Just knew about the existence of Aqua beads last year during Christmas. It has probably been around some years ago. But only took notice when Ally pointed out to me when we were in Toys R Us. She saw it for the first time then and was bugging me ever since then that she wanted it for Christmas.

It was rather pricey to me for something which were just tiny little beads.

So when I saw it on mysale.my and it was much much cheaper than the retail price here, I decided to order one for Ally. I should have ordered more that time. I got the set for RM45 and here is retailing for RM79. A huge savings.

Ally loves putting the beads together and spraying them using a bottle sprayer. Only thing is I always remind her to wash her hands after touching the beads.

Playing with boys!

2015-02-06T16:20:00.000+08:00

Ally has somehow played better with boys.

I know it is normal and healthy for girls to like playing with boys. But now as she is getting older, I am kinda of getting concerned. It would be of a good age now to foster close ties with girls. Girls that she can talk things with. Girls that she can share stuff with and common interests. Basically, I want her to have BFFs already.

I guess it has something to do that she has an older brother that she spends a lot of time with. But the irony is that Ally prefers more 'boy' things that Ryan. She likes to play with guns and superheroes more than her brother. Interests...I am not too worried coz she loves Frozen and pretty pink things as well .It is more the social aspect.

For her new school year, she is somewhat gravitating to playing with boys in her class. I ask her about the girls in her class and she just tells me about them in a sheepish tone. But for one particular boy, she will always tell me about his name everyday! Ethan this and Ethan that! At least for last year, she had a good girl friend that she was close to. This year, so far ...she isn't clicking with any particular girl yet.

I found out that she was punished last week for playing with a boy shooting and chasing during class! I was hopping mad! Some more she didn't even tell me on that day and only a few days later.

I know lah...nothing to worry. She will make her own girl friends when she meets the right girls she clicks with. As a mummy, probably I just want her to have both girl and boy friends.

One minute...I want to be a superhero...

Another minute...I want to be a princess!

Neck strain

2015-01-30T11:24:00.000+08:00

The boy had PE lesson at school yesterday.

On the way back home, he was rather quiet.

When I got home, I cooked dinner and the boy did his usual routine of bathing etc.

After finished cooking, I walked out to the living room...the boy's head was tilted to the side. And his neck was stuck. And he told me he couldn't move. When I asked him to turn his head back to the original position, he cried out in pain.

Alamak! Why didn't he call out for me? He was pretty calm and didn't say much. I was the one a bit in panic mode and kept on asking him...how come lah...why like that lah...! It came to light that his condition was caused during his PE session at school where the children were told to do rolling exercises. They had to go head first on a mattress and then backwards.When I heard they were told to do these kind of exercises, I was quite upset! Kids these age shouldn't be doing these kind of tumbling exercises especially if they don't do it properly, they can injure themselves. And how do you do a backward tumbling exercise? I simply cannot imagine.

Anyway, we took him to A&E nearby and they gave him a painkiller and relaxant injection i.e. Tramadol. He was kept on observation for an hour and then could return home once his neck could move. The doctor gave him ibuprofen syrup to take at home.

Now, he still complains of pain and is experiencing the side effects of the injection which is drowsiness. He won't be going to school today. He is grouchy and stubborn at the moment!

Wearing a corrective guard for his gums

2015-01-15T16:06:00.003+08:00

Some time back, I wrote a post about Ryan's teeth and that it looked like Mater ( Cars).

Well, over time, his gums had gotten more protruding although I didn't really give much notice. Just thinking that when he turns into teenagehood, he'll just need to wear braces.

During the school holidays, I took Ryan for his routine dental appointment.

His regular dentist advised him to wear this guard called Orthoplus after looking at his gums. His last appointment was about 6 months ago and she said that during that interval, his gums had gotten more protruding. Not so much his teeth. If he doesn't wear the corrective guard now, as he gets older, it would be harder to correct and he would have the gums protruding outwards causing an 'overbite' and has difficulty to close his mouth.

First thing that comes to mind...I want my son to look 'handsome' lo. Next time how to find job and girlfriend???? :p

So however much the cost, we will have to do it. Turned out to be affordable. RM800 for the guard. He would have to wear 2 hours in the day time and for the whole night. It is normally recommended to wear for children as young as 4 and Ryan has to wear it all the way until a teenager.

Ryan had some difficulty during the first fitting and it took several days and weeks to get used to wearing it. It looked really uncomfortable for him and he had to learn to close his mouth while the guard was in his mouth. Now, its been almost a month now and he has no complains anymore. Only thing is wearing it during the night which he can't get used to at the moment.

This is hard! Why do I have to do it?

Christmas & School Holidays 2014

2014-12-31T23:43:00.001+08:00

This is the last hour of the year 2014.

And I am rushing to update my blog.

Gee...this blog is like running on 'low' battery. Need to recharge it soon. Hopefully I find the drive to update more frequently next year.

The holidays have been fun. Didn't do anything exceptionally exciting. The usual stuff. Each day came and went. Isn't it great when we don't have to follow any routine? Well, it isn't gonna last long. Don't want to think about it yet.

I guess the bulk of the holidays were used to plan for Christmas. What to get for who and who and where to buy. The kids as usual were excited about Christmas...more about getting their presents. I kept emphasising to them that it's not important about getting presents...its more to the spirit of giving than receiving. But they are probably too young to understand that yet. Ally kept counting down the days till Christmas day.

Happy 2015 to all!

Our tradition of putting up the Christmas tree.

Photo session before going down to Klang on Christmas Day for lunch

Ally and her cousin C

Ryan entertaining the relatives with his 'singing'

Kids and their goodies

Only holiday trip we made was down south to Johor Bahru and Singapore. Did a one day stop at Singapore just to visit Sentosa. We were keen to visit the SEA Aquarium and Madame Tussauds at Resort World. It was a memorable trip and I am glad that we made it. We nearly had to cancel this trip when Ally got HFMD the week before we had to go for the trip. I was so disappointed when the teacher at her school told me there were 2 kids with HFMD in her class and that her class would be close. The next day, she too showed symptoms of mouth ulcer and a few red dots on her arms and feet. But thank God, she had a very mild case only and it didn't get worse. So, we managed to make it for our trip and didn't have to cancel my hotel booking.

Ally waiting for her balloon at the Johor Premium Outlet

Can't wait to enter the Aquarium

Breathtaking

Ryan knows this handsomeactor from the film 'World War Z'

Some wax figures look real, but some not so real.

Ally gets her 4-wheel bike

2014-10-30T16:17:00.002+08:00

Finally, Ally has been upgraded from her baby chicken tricycle to a 4-wheel bicycle. And it's about time. But poor dear. She had to settle for her brother's bike which is rather rusty and old but still functional. That is the thing about being No.2. They get hand me down clothes, toys, shoes and now a bike.

Good thing she was okay about it and didn't even make one complain. The person disappointed was actually me as I was planning for the longest time to get her a new purple or pink girly bike. I just wanted to get her something NEW. But after surveying the prices and also got some nagging from hubby, I decided to just let her use her brother's bike. And we got Ryan a new foldable bike.

Public Library

2014-10-16T16:24:00.004+08:00

A new public library just opened near my place a couple of months ago. Normally, I would be rather apprehensive about public libraries...probably thinking that the books that they stock are old books. I remember going to public libraries when I was a young girl. I would follow my mum to the Shah Alam library which is the blue roof building in Shah Alam town. Now it has become a muzium and I am not sure where the library had moved to.

Anyway, I decided to check out this new library during the school holidays last month.

It is rather small and didn't have many books. But they did have some of the Geronimo books. So why not? Most of the children books there were new and they had some bilingual story books that Ryan was keen to borrow. I am glad that he is keen to improve his Malay by reading more of these books.

We can borrow 4 books at a time. So normally, I would borrow 2 books for Ryan, 1 book for Ally and I would try to see if there are any interesting cooking books for myself.

The kids are normally all excited when we go there. New place to spend the afternoons.

Allyson is 5!!!

2014-08-12T11:38:00.002+08:00

Ally turned 5 last month.

Last year, her birthday cake was a Hello Kitty one.

This year, for her 5th birthday, she requested for a Spiderman cake. *shakes head* She can't get any more tomboy than this. Sorry for the picture of the half eaten cake. We were half way through cutting the cake and distributing it that I remembered I had to take a picture of it.

Pity she couldn't bring any cake to celebrate with her friends in school. Apparently, her school doesn't allow solo birthday celebrations and parents bringing party bags etc. They just do a group birthday celebration with all the other kids born in the same month on a certain day. Sad, isn't it? Wouldn't it be a every child's happiest memory to have a birthday celebration at her kindy with her friends? After all, you are only a kid once. I don't get this school's policy. Oh, well.

I can't believe my second born will be attending formal school in one year and 4 months time. I know I am gonna write a very cliche phase here... but...can't help it...'kids just grow up so darn fast!'

All of a sudden, the words and sentences that come out of their mouths...really baffles me! So grown up! So unexpected of a kid! Everytime she throws a tantrum or argues with me about a certain issue...I can't help but imagining this scenario in say several years down the road and we will probably still be arguing about the same issue.

Ally is very very strong headed and stubborn little girl. Probably 100 times more than her brother. She doesn't listen to reasoning or explaination. The only thing is to let her cool down. And she will be in her happy mood again.

At the moment, she is doing alright in school. She is picking up Mandarin at a moderate speed. She doesn't really like to converse in Mandarin and when prompted, she gets shy and loses her confidence. Must get her father and brother to converse more to her but hard to remember to speak in Mandarin. Ally is a tomboy. She likes mixing with boys at her class. She prefers boys than mixing with girls. I do get worried that she hasn't really fostered many close ties with girls this year. Last year, she had a girly group in her class. But this year, somehow she tells me...she don't like this girl la or that girl la...so hence, she plays with the boys. But now the teacher has been complaining that she is playing shooting games and superhero games in class. Sigh.

Little Ally, Little Ally,
The Apple of my Eye.
(Ryan is the apple of my other eye...):p

DIY Tiara

2014-07-30T16:09:00.001+08:00

I wonder when this 'Frozen' craze will end. It seems that 'almost' every little girl is in love with the movie and the merchandise. And my girl and I are also in that 'Frozen' frenzy too. Well, I am probably sucked in all that because of Ally. But I have to say...that Queen Elsa certainly has rather captivating eyes. And the dress...ohhh...so sheer and flowy.

Ally has been bugging me to get her a tiara whenever we go those toy shops. But the prices on those licensed princess tiaras is totally absurd!!! RM80 for a plastic tiara with a picture of the Disney princess...!!!
I quickly put the tiara back on the shelf and tried to talk Ally out of getting a tiara.

So, let's make a tiara! Ok...my tiara isn't exactly Elsa's tiara...hers is gold and slightly narrower and has a blue diamond. But oh well, the kid isn't complaining. She just loves feeling like a queen...and wearing a makeshift royal robe.

Fun at Legoland 2014

2014-07-29T17:02:00.001+08:00

Two weeks ago, we made a trip to Legoland. Figured that it would be the best time to go...firstly, it was a Monday school day. Errr...yes, I am a bad Mummy...I made my son miss one day of school to have fun. But oh well, it's something that he has been asking to go since it opened. And since he is only in Primary 2, I guess still okay la to miss one day of school. The next day was Nuzul Al-quran holiday. So it was a long weekend straight. Secondly, it was puasa time. So, the crowd would be less and our Singapore neighbours nearby would be having school too.

We left early in the morning at 7am to reach there by opening time hopefully. We managed to reach there by 10:30am. There was a small crowd there already but mainly foreign visitors from Hong Kong and neighbouring countries.

I didn't purchase any promotional tickets nor online booking. So we paid full price. RM420 is quite a hefty amount. I could have hunted around more for promotions on Legoland tickets. But it was quite last minute planning. So decided nevermind lah...

I would say that this place is more catered for kids. The adult rides ain't many. I guess its just nice walking around and seeing the Lego figures all over the park. And seeing the little kids having fun. There was only one ride I enjoyed. The rest...I gave it a miss. We were there till closing time. But the kids were tired out and Ally kept on complaining that her feet were pain.

Oh, and surprisingly the food at the restaurant was really delicious. Or maybe I was just totally hungry by the time it was lunch time.

Giddy up horsey!

Miniland of Kuala Lumpur.
See any familiar landmarks?

Duplo choo choo train ride

Let's lick a Lego ice cream!

The highlight for the kids were the driving school.
Driving school for kids 3 -5 yrs.

Driving school for kids 6-12 yrs.

I don't want to leave this place, Mum!

Stayed at the newly opened Doubletree Hilton JB which is really really nice. New hotel sure clean and nice.
Managed to get quite a good rate.

Kids getting some swimming time before checking out

On our way back...we stopped by the Johor Premium Outlet that has been on our to-do list for a long time. I was quite surprised how big it was when I got there. Probably I had no idea of what to expect. I didn't get anything...sob sob. Wasn't prepared to splurge on a designer bag just yet although the Kate Spade bags were really tempting.

Road trip to Ipoh and Taiping

2014-06-24T16:09:00.004+08:00

School holidays came and went.

Scorching unbearable heat that makes you sweat the moment you step out from the shower.

Happy snapshots of our last short trip during the school holidays.

Just driving around the trunk road to Ipoh was rather exciting. Took the Kuala Selangor way and passed Sekinchan and made a stop at Teluk Intan and Bidor. Took several hours longer than if we took the highway. But what's the rush?

Malaysia's version of the Leaning tower of Pisa ( at Teluk Intan)

Kids all excited for the zoo !

Taiping Zoo was unexpectedly interesting. Managed to see some animals close up.

What are you looking at???

The kids gave a nice post for the camera after I told them we would get some ice-cream.

After the zoo, made a 30 minute drive to Kuala Sepetang which is a fishing village.

Buying frenzy of ikan bilis and dried prawns at Kuala Sepetang.

Stopped by the charcoal factory on the way to Kuala Sepetang.

Before heading back to the apartment, had dinner at Lou Wong chicken rice. Okay only.

Next morning, breakfast at a dim sum joint. The popular ones were just too crowded for my liking.
So settled for one nearby that wasn't as crowded but can eat la.

So happy to get the famous kaya puffs from Ipoh without queueing up long.

Car air-conditioner finally repaired!

2014-05-28T16:41:00.004+08:00

Aaahhhhh!!! Finally...cold air on a hot sweaty day!

For almost 6 months, my poor kids have been tortured sitting in my 10 year-old car everyday.

My car air-con decided to 'act up' around end of last year suddenly. Only on hot days and when it is stationery, the air con will become hot. I have to off it and then drive at a fast speed for a period of time...then only it will become cold again. At night, it was working fine.

Initially, I didn't think it will cause such an issue as I hardly drive in the afternoon. Just to fetch and send the kids to school. But as the months passed, the air cond was getting more and more 'naughty'! Took to the repair shop and they couldn't find the fault...everything seemed okay. Ended up changing some part and cost RM300...and the problem still occurred. Just wasted the money like that.

Took to the original service and repair centre and they said have to change the whole compressor and quoted me almost RM3000! Siao! Poor kids..they really suffered when there was no air cond. Ally would always tell me..."I don't like to sit in your car. Can you get a new car?"

So procrastinated for awhile...and finally...finally...only changed the compressor somewhere else at a cheaper price.

Now everyone is happy. No more sweaty backs!

Sibling love

2014-05-23T15:20:00.000+08:00

Ryan and Ally are really close for a boy-girl pair. It is nice that they share common interests. I guess it is more the brother influences the little sister. What the brother likes, the girl also likes. But not everything. The girl is crazy over superheroes but the brother really isn't too keen.

Considering the age difference of 3 years, they both get along well. Still there is the "Mummy...Kor Kor punched me!!" or "Mummy, Kor Kor took my book!!!" They both love to irritate each other...but it is in a playful manner. I only cannot tahan. I just walk away and tell them...I don't want to hear Kor Kor this or Ally this!!!

They are both at a nice age where they still love playing and enjoy each other's company. I am not too sure I can say this in another few years down the road. But I would love for them to continue to enjoy each other's company and be close. Ryan would help coach the sister with her Chinese work and read with her books.

Btw, Ryan lost his watch already!!! Sob sob! No more nice expensive watches for him until he know how to appreciate things. He misplaced it after school but said he is sure he wore it back home. I have searched high and low for the watch...but still no show! Next watch will be those RM5 watch from Daiso only!

They sleep in the same room together...

They play and make up their own game together...

They even play doll and Barbie together...

Naughty Kor Kor in action... but he loves his little Mei Mei with all his heart!

When the whole family is addicted to a TVB series...

2014-05-16T15:15:00.000+08:00

A month ago, there was this TVB series on Astro Demand called 'Ruse of Engagement' showing every night.
I hardly watch HK serials and the only times I do watch is when there is some romantic story line with some handsome actor that I like.

Hubby is the one that follows...and usually the 2 kids will watch with him. Although they have no idea what the story is about. But Ryan reads the Malay subtitles...as do I.

So for this particular series...I had no plans to follow when they were watching. Every night at 9:30pm, hubby and the 2 kids will sit in front of the TV for an hour. I decided to try watching ...and I was hooked after the 10th or so episode. Why??? There is this particular actor Ruco Chan...wah, very macho lah! Especially in this series. Interestingly, hubby and the kiddos are also 'attracted' to him. Everytime he appears onscreen, all four of us will be so excited!

Everyday, Ally would remind me..."Mummy, tomorrow is Ruse of Engagement Episode XX"..and so forth. Every single day. Until the final 24th episode. She was that 'obsessed' with the show. She liked the lead male actor so much...she will chant this tune..."I like Carson!! I like Carson!!" ...and she is not even five yet.

Anyway, the series has ended a few weeks ago...and no more Chinese serials for awhile. But its nice when a family can bond and can share a common interest, eventhough it is a television series.

First 'real' watch

2014-05-09T00:05:00.000+08:00

I guess it comes to a stage in every kid's life that they want something grown up. No more kiddy stuff.

Ryan has been asking for a watch since last year. But I thought it wasn't really necessary yet. Many of his friends were wearing watches, so I guessed he thought it looked quite 'bergaya' as well.

Finally we got a Casio watch for him. Didn't want to get too expensive in case he loses it or damages it. True enough... after one week only, there is already scratches on the face! Anyway, the consolation is that really loves his new watch and wanted to wear it the entire day... even to sleep.

School Holiday Break 2014: Penang & Ipoh

2014-04-06T22:18:00.000+08:00

As always, we made an impromptu plan to Penang and Ipoh during the March school break.

We didn't plan much. Just wanted a needed getaway for a few days. From all the work and routine. Ended up, the trip wasn't relaxing at all!!! It was just lots of irritation generated from the boy and several MEGA tantrums from the girl. Anyway, we still managed to enjoy the few days spent together as a family and eat a lot of food!

Penang:
Spent two nights in Penang. Wanted to go to Penang Hill but the crowd was 'crazy' there. Too many people queueing up to sit on the train up. Luckily we scrapped the plan anyway coz' the weather that day was really really hot. Don't think the kids would have enjoyed it anyway.

Ended up, just driving back to Batu Feringghi and hanging around there.Ryan wanted to visit the Toy Museum and the beaches. The problem with Penang is getting from point A to point B really takes a lot of time on the road. Most of the time I recall from the trip is more stuck in the car than walking around.

We always MUST make a stop at Padang Brown for the famous crab popiah everytime
we go back to Penang.

The Toy Museum was quite a disappointment. But anyhow, there were lots of old toys on display
that brought back alot of memories from childhood.

When we wanted to go to the beach, the sun was scorching hot. And the girl refused to
walk on the sand barefooted. Some phobia.

Ryan got his dose of map gazing

Bye bye Penang

Ipoh:
Main reason to stop by Ipoh is to take the kids to the Lost World of Tambun. Managed to get a deal from Groupon right before leaving for Penang. Ryan always complains that we never take them anywhere fun. So, I was hoping that would make them thrilled. Indeed they were when we surprised them on the night before leaving Penang for Ipoh.

Stayed at The Haven apartments in Ipoh. Met up with my dad there. It is just a stone's throw away from the waterpark. Nice place to relax. Very quiet and amazing view of the lake. And the swimming pool is rather impressive. The kids really enjoyed swimming there.

We only arrived at Ipoh at around 2:30pm.
Very very hot weather to enjoy a water park.

Nice greenery and view

Kids having a hand at tin mining

No funpark is complete without a ride on the merry go round

Last stop is the water park. First time the kids played in the rain.

Swimming in the infinity pool

Happy Ally in the water

One of Ryan's silly zombie poses

The kids and their grandfather

Free food!

2014-04-01T16:42:00.000+08:00

Most of the time, I hardly come across anything that is FREE. Normally, when you see that free word, there is always the fine print. For example, there is a minimum purchase to enjoy the free item or buy one free one.

But the food shown above was free! Nice flavourful Illy coffee, 2 scones and a slice of tiramisu cake. It was from a cut out coupon booklet at Hero Market to have this tea time food at their bakery.

After doing my weekly grocery shopping, just have a break and eat. Can't complain coz it was free!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Ryan!

2014-03-23T23:55:00.000+08:00

Ryan turned 8 about 2 weeks ago.

He was having his exams during that special day.

So, no celebration until the weekend.

During his birthday, he was also having a sore throat and a cold. And it was the peak of the haze. So, not much mood to have any celebration.

I asked him what he wanted to have for his birthday...Baskin Robbins and Starbucks.

First time for him.

Ryan, I still over you the ice-cream.

"To my dear boy...You are special and an odd ball. You display qualities that I sometimes don't understand most of the time. Importantly, you have a good heart. And I hope that as you grow up, you will always remember the important values in life. Be happy, healthy and love always."

Cuddled milk

2014-03-07T13:39:00.000+08:00

Just a reminder to all mothers out there... do check and taste your kids boxed drinks first before they poke the straw themselves and consume them...be it UHT milk or sweetened drinks or cultured milk.

It so happened was a 1 litre UHT Marigold milk carton that Ally normally drinks. I normally pour out a cup for her to drink before school each morning. It was a new unopened box which I just bought a week ago and I poured a serving out. Somehow the milk looked more bubbly than usual and slightly thicker. The bubbles bothered me. Luckily I took a sip of it and it tasted bad and sour. Quickly spit it out and washed my mouth.

I was pretty bothered about it but I had previously opened other boxes in the same batch and they were alright. Probably some leak somewhere during the sealing process. Gave the customer service a call later that morning and they said they would replace that particular box and the rest of the boxes that I had in the same batch. Now just waiting for them to come to the house and replace them.

What concerns me is all these boxed or canned food. Sometimes we can never know what and when the contents go bad eventhough the expiry is very long from now. Many times we don't notice the contents when we open the can/box and simply pour or serve the food. Luckily for this case, I noticed the milk. If it was hubby who opened it, I am sure Ally would have drank the milk already. But hoping that the kids are now old enough to notice if the food that they were eating tasted strange and different than usual.

The other day, my sister had some food poisoning after eating a can of processed beans. It wasn't expired but she did notice it had some bubbles. But still ate it anyway coz it tasted ok.

Bad Posture

2014-03-06T23:41:00.000+08:00

Ryan is getting tall. And his posture is getting worst by the day. He didn't really have good posture since about 6 yo but now as he is growing, it gets more obvious and it's harder for him to stand straight for a period of time.

Of course it bothers me big time. Practically everyday I have to constantly remind him countless times about his posture. He slouches when eating his meals, he slouches when walking, he slouches when doing his homework, he slouches when sitting on the sofa. When I remind him, he straightens up for that moment and when I walk away, he relaxes his posture again. Most of the time he gives me this reply that he can't and it's so hard before even trying.

Honestly, I am getting really tired of telling him now. I even tried the tidak apa approach where I just don't bother hoping that he would take initiative by himself. But it didn't work. I am just worried that if he doesn't have a good habit to straighten himself, it would definitely be more difficult as he gets older.

Perhaps I should consider Backjoy aids but they are so expensive. I was also checking out those posture corrector aids where the child wears this straps on the shoulders and waist. Looks very uncomfortable though.

CNY 2014

2014-02-15T16:01:00.001+08:00

Everyone had a good time this CNY?

Now that all the celebrations are behind us...looks like no more holidays till the school holidays next month.

Have to focus on school work now.

To buy OR not to buy? - Thermal cooker

2014-01-20T16:54:00.000+08:00

I feel like sometimes I have been living under a rock.

Yes yes...people have been using and talking about the thermal cooker for many years now...and NOW only my interest for this so-called 'magical' kitchen aid has been aroused!!!

Since December, I somehow took interest in the thermal cooker. Oh now I remember how I suddenly became interested. It was from one of those Christmas catalogue promotion for The Kitchen Shop where there was an ad about the La Gourmet thermal cooker. It striked me that I probably needed help 'cooking' since I wanted to improve my quality of life ( hence, less spending time in the kitchen). Since then, I have been checking forums online and reading about what recipes can be prepared using the this pot. Totally excited about experimenting the different dishes...from pasta sauce to soups and stews.

Everything sounds so ideal. So just get one...right?

No...being the 'fickle' person that I am...I can''t decide what brand to get now.

Two weekends ago, I already decided on the Thermos brand. Told hubby lets go to One U and get it...so we went...saw Jusco and Live it Up. Jusco was having a promo atRM499...so decided on there. But the promoter wasn't there. Bummer. I had a few questions to ask her. So ended up, didn't buy it. Hubby asked me to go there myself another day.

Soon, the dust settled...and reality began to sink in...that do I necessarily need to spend so much on this. What happens that the food that it produces tastes bland and soon that almost Rm500 investment goes back into the cupboard? So I gave the idea a rest for awhile and then hubby mentions it again the other day about are we getting one or not. He suggested why not get a cheaper one. My dad has an Endo brand and he says that its really good and useful. Endo would be much much cheaper than Thermos. A lot of feedback I read online are from Endo users. So I guess perhaps it could be alright.

So here I am, decided on Endo...then I go to One Utama again yesterday...and darn...the model that I want is the display set. Went home empty handed AGAIN.

I am still toying with the idea of getting a Thermos again...but well, the price really scares me now. RM300 price difference is a HUGE difference. Does the price difference really justifies the difference in taste as well?
If it really does, then I guess its all worth it. Perhaps its more on how the food is prepared rather than the brand.

Melaka Trip 2013 - School Holidays

2014-01-18T15:38:00.002+08:00

Aiyah...really really slow in updating my blog.

This trip was in mid November last year. Just a one night trip to Melaka.

Kids had fun at the pool. The room was absolutely fabulous and big. And the rate was really good ( Hotel Equatorial). Although travelling with whiny kids didn't give us much places to explore, I would have liked to explore Jonker Street but the weather and time didn't really permit. We just drove through it. The kids were not interested in walking around Melaka town. All they kept on asking is...when they can go swimming....!!!

Hubby was gatal and wanted to drive to Muar for some lunch before going to Melaka.
Muar otak otak and pork satay were the things that we wanted to eat.

Dataran Pahlawan

I haven't been to A Farmosa since I was a little girl.

Kids taking a rest before going out again

Had breakfast at the lounge with complimentary breakfast.
Ally had her sugar fix of muffins and doughnuts.

The river cruise was zzzzzzzzz.