Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas !!!!

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This Threw Me Off My Seat

Come December is when I start knitting furiously as I love giving away scarves for Christmas... and when i do this, I love to "listen" to TV on the sofa. Scrolling on my comcast remote... I saw on the program... PBS Great Performance: Hitman David Foster & Friends... and I selected it. Right away, I heard someone sing the ending part of St.Elmo's Fire song... and next Katherine McPhee came on (I ran and quickly switched on the amplifier).. and oh my... her voice... her pretty face and her pretty voice... it has surely grown.. I was impressed as the last I saw her was the final of American Idol where she "lost". I just love what I saw as she certainly has improved and now looks professional... Like a Mom that is proud of her child... I was proud to see how much she has grown professionally... I "YouTubed" her on this special.. and found her clip... plus my favorite Renee Olstead... so enjoy what I did last night.....

p/s.. I don't usually buy DVDs.. I'm thinking of getting this DVD as it has a great list of singers performing. (damn public library doesn't have it or I'd borrow it)

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Can You Sewing Quilt on Handy Stitch??

Is it possible to sew a quilt with a Handy Stitch??

Hmmm.... any idea?? Please let me know... oh wise ones....

*grin* Oh S... I just love you!!!!

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My Wii Fit Night Out !!!!!!

Last week was a busy night and can you believe that I drove to downtown 2 nights in a row!!!! First was to watch the Broadway show Wicked and it was worth the drive. The 2nd night to driving to downtown was even better. It was the highlight of the week. *grin* I've been to a few parties and I wondered what would make a Wii Fit Party any different. Boy, it was beyond my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to see a friend I've not seen for a long time. They had set up 3 TVs to 3 Wii Fit system, and by the time we reached the party, the gals were playing on the aerobic games. You could hear all the laughing and cheering. I was abit shy at first so I sat down and chatted. Finally I was forced to step on the board when my gf Wendy finished her round. Thank God nobody laughed at my BMI and then I choose the hula hoop!!! We had a good laugh at my butt twisting activities. I've to say working on the wii fit with your girlfriends is very fun and hilarious. I believe we will burn more calories from laughing too much. Seriously, Nintendo should come up with a wii fit where we can drag just our board to our gf's house and a few of the boards to be hooked up to just 1 console. Kinda like how we have 1 aerobic instructor to 20 clients... but in this case a few wii boards to one console so gals can meet up and exercise together. We had some good drinks and delicious food and continued with our wii fit games. Nintendo Wii staff were very helpful and I now know to use my hip and knee to maneuver to catch the flying hula hoop instead of using my head ...hehehehe... I know I'm dumb... Before we knew it, the ladies told us that we had to stop for awhile. So we sat down and continued to chat and before we realized it, they came out with a wii system for both the hostesses. We were all excited for them and man.. wished we got one too... hahaha too bad.... that's what we thought, before we knew it... the ladies now came out with Wii Fit boxes and announced... "Everybody gets a Wii Fit" and we ladies screamed like HELL.... it was like an Oprah moment. Not only did we get a Wii Fit but also the Yoga Mat and a Yoga bag and a cute workout outfit. I was hugging my Wii Fit so tight... Never have I won anything like this before!!!! So Thank you to MJ and Jen (both co-editor of ChicagoMomViews.net) for inviting us to the party.. and Thanks to Nintendo for the Wii Fit. What a perfect night for me!!!

BTW, stop by at ChicagoMomViews. You may just win a Free Wii system and Wii Fit worth about $370. Enter the contest and you might be even luckier than me!!!

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Koo Koo Ciao dissapeared!!!

My sister in law is pregnant (brother's wife) and weeks ago, I spoke to my sister in Singapore. She told me the good news that the ultrasound revealed it was a boy. Fastforward to last Thursday, I was on yahoo chat with my cousin's wife and she brought up the topic of babies and said "wah, your brother is going to have a girl." and I said "NO, its a boy."She asked "are you sure, that is not what I heard." Confused, right away I called my brother and thank goodness it was not midnite yet or the suspense would have killed me. "Eh, are you having a boy or girl?" I didn't even greet him as I got too excited.... He answered "Girl." Surprised!! I asked "What happened to the Koo Koo Ciao?" He in his cool manner said "Koo Koo Ciao dissapeared." After that call, I confirmed to my cousin's wife that she got it right. Then I called my sister but got her voice mail and left her a message... "Idiot, why didn't you tell me that the koo koo ciao dissapeared!!" For some of you that would have figured it out by now.... Koo koo ciao is a Hokkien word meaning... P-N-S... boys genital.. Its a common thing that parents in Malaysia will find out the sex of the baby. I refused to know my babies gender as I believe that its one guaranteed pleasant surprise that God gives. I just love the suspense and it was hard with the boy as I had to do amniocentesis. I had to remind everyone that held my pregnancy records to not tell me the sex of the baby. I know, I know some parents like to be prepared.. I just always had 2 (for each gender) names ready... and got everything in yellow, green, blue and that way I could save money on clothes which they only wear for 3 months... I'm happy my brother will get that little girl who will twirl him round her tiny fingers. He is a good dad to begin with... And we 3 siblings now each have the 1 girl and 1 boy combo. And this little girl will get to wear Gilly's baby clothes ... which I like seeing as its a reminder of the baby girl I got.. So.... hehehe Koo Koo Ciao Dissapeared news... was a hoot!!!

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2 ladies picking Okra at the store

Instruction for selecting okra:

1) Grab bag

2) Pick up an okra

3) Hold the bottom end of okra

4) Quickly snap tip of okra

5a) if snap, put in bag or

5b) if it just bend, throw it back

6) Very importantly... do not look left or right or above you.

Okra is one of my favorite vegetable and I love eating it with sambal or curry. I was at the grocery store with my caucasian girlfriend last Monday. We decided to shop at night without the kids and it was fun. At the store, I saw some okra and decided it would be good with some green curry and decided to get a few. I was snapping the tip to see if they were young okras. My girlfriend was standing next to me and I told her to help me out. I told her "snap the tip and if breaks off, its good. the ones that bend are not good." I notice she was uncomfortable with my suggestion and was cautiously snapping a few and everytime she did that, she would look around to see if the POLICE was watching her. Till now I'm cracking up recalling how she looks when she was snapping the okras. Just like a little girl putting her hands into the forbidden cookie jar...

We had a good laugh when I told her, "hey this is sold here for asians so they know how the asians would choose it.. so don't worry." Then we both looked up at the cameras... Security must be having a good laugh at my guilty friend. I'm just a normal snapping okra asian lady and she the guilty snapping okra white lady. Does it mean we are better off with our kids around as we would behave better???

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My Not-So-New Laptop

Introducing my newest toy... or rather not so new toy.. Toshiba P305-S8838. I just love my new toy except for the weight.. hubby got too enthusiastic about gadgets and insisted on buying a 17" instead of 15". Why do I love this laptop? Because I can drag it anywhere in the house and it sits on my dining table in the kitchen alot. I just love to try out recipes from other bloggers and it just easy for me to have it next to me in the kitchen. I used to have to run the stairs to my loft to look at some recipes. I know it was good workout but this is so nice. I can chat online while I'm baking or cooking as well. We bought this laptop from Costco, hubby had been wanting another PC as I do hog the only one we had. I insisted that the laptop had to be a Toshiba as I worked for a Toshiba distributor and know how reliable they are. I also insisted that we only buy it from Costco as Costco has good 2 year extended warranty for computers. We waited for good 2 months to see if this laptop would go on sale.. and it finally did.. we paid $899 (after $100 rebate) for it while it retails $1200. I just need to kick my lazy butt to install all my software to the laptop, and I would be able to blog fully here. For now, I still upload my photos to the old pc.. then upload it to blogspot... hehehe.. I know I know... I promise I will do so in near future *grin* Till then... have a good day.

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Halloween !!!!

Halloween this year was the best!! We had just warm weather that we didn't have to worry about our kids freezing in their outfits. The temperature was in the mid 70ºF (22ºC) which was almost record high for this time of the year.

Greg at the Kindergarten Halloween Parade

The kids packed their costumes into their school bag and later they had a Halloween Parade. I had to go twice as the Kindergarten and the 1-4th Grades had 2 separate parades. The Kindergarten start their Parade 1 hour earlier and Greg's class was the last to come out. He looked so cute in his fireman outfit. It was a long parade as they have 16 Kindergarten classes.

Not realizing how long the parade would take, I had to rush home and grab supplies as I was volunteering for Gilly's class party. I got back to school in time to sign up at the office then waited for the parade to start. Gilly with her usual bubbly self was smiling and having a fun time with her friends.

Gilly with her classmate

A few moms and I had volunteered for the Halloween party. I was hoping to do the tattoos but that activity was quickly grabbed by one smart mom. I decided that I would get some toilet rolls and let the kids play the "Wrap the Mummy" game. Oh boy.. they sure had fun. They used 9 rolls of toilet rolls for 24 kids. I got them into groups of 4 and there were some arguements on who was to be the honored mummy. One girl almost cried as she didnt' get to be a mummy. I whispered to her "it was more fun to wrap the mummy as you can try to wrap them as tight as you can." By the end of the game, she came smiling to tell me she sure had fun wrapping. We gave all of them a little "prize".

Mummy all wrapped up

Mummy revealed!

I'm glad the kids had fun with the game and they had a fun with the other activities. My only issue this year was the "NO FOOD, ONLY TRINKETS" rule that was adopted by the Parent Board. One mom said that new rule was doing us a favor which I thought was nonsense as trinkets are more expensive especially with this economy of ours. Now.. dont' tell me its a healthy rule and that I'm unhealthy. I dont' dump a big bag of candy every year... I usually would have 1 or 2 pieces of candy or fruit loops plus a few sticker, pencils and tattoos... But to say NO CANDY is just too much. We as parents have to teach our kids how to balance our lives.. and that includes its ok to have candy.. but not too much candy. Gilly's class ended up with only 2 treat bags as the teacher had to confisicate alot of treatbags with 1 piece of candy in it compared the the 15 bags they use to get. Now.. that is really taking the fun out of Halloween.

Gilly helping another group.

Gilly got to come home with me after the party and we went to pick up Greg from a friend's house. She was nice to babysit Greg while I was at Gilly's class. We came home and they got to rest abit and by then Daddy was home. At 4.30 pm the kids were begging to start the "Trick or Treat". We loaded the wagon with flashlights, extra shopping bag and drinking water. We met up with some friends and proceeded ... until 7.00 pm. As the weather was awesomely warm, we didn't rush to get home to get out of the frigid cold. They kids had so much fun and was amaze at how much candy they collected. They were excited as they got to see alot of their schoolmates as kids in the neighborhood would go to the same school.

The witch and the fireman

We usually have extra shopping bags as the kids would complain after sometime that their pumpkin is heavy. Don't gasp at the amount of candy we collect. We usually separate the chocolates from the candy then send them to the village hall. They have collection centers for donations which would be sent to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. That way, I do not feel its a waste of time going Trick or Treating and the kids are happy they are doing something good. They know their candy is being put to good use. As for the chocolates, I usually send them with Daddy to work. So.. do I have any sugar overload problems??? NOOOOOOOO..

Btw, if some of you notice.. my kids are wearing the same outfit they did last year. I'm so proud of Gilly and Greg. They told me that because they could still fit into last year's outfit, they didn't want to wear the same ones.. and that way, we can save money. I'm glad that my goal in teaching my kids the value of money has somehow worked. My constant money lessons has somehow soaked into their tiny little brains. The day after Halloween, we were at Target and Gilly asked if she could buy another costume for next year. She noticed the costumes were on sale (50% off) .. and she told me "mummy, maybe I can wear this outfit for 2 years." I smiling told her that was a good idea, and found her costume. So we are set for next year... with my wallet slightly lighter.

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BusyBodyBook Organizer

I hate to admit that I am one that always tries to remember everything in my head but these days after having babies, I tend to forget. Now that Greg has started school and I'm signing him up for activities. I worry that I may forget something. I do give piano lessons to a few kids and sometimes scheduling them too can ben a nightmare especially those kids that are into all activities. I always thought that I never needed an organizer and just with Gilly's activities, I was fine.... I won an organizer from a competition at momviews.net a few months ago. If in Malaysia, my friends would laugh at its cute name.. Busy Body Book is its name and being Malaysians, it would mean meddling nosy person... I think its a british jargon.. However, I LOVE this organizer as its very simple and easy to use. It has a page for emergency information, a 3-year calendar with the holidays listed. I was fortunate to win the Academic Year organizer which was even better as it was suitable for my lifestyle needs. At the back portion of this organizer, it had a section for the following year appointments, a sections for notes, and get this.... a perforated 4 sectionals for To Do, the final sheet has a section for restaurants and take out information and "important people" information. Now.. if you think I'm done.. the part I like best about this organizer is that its works in a "grid" format. Each page, list the days of a week... hence Monday, Tuesday, till Sunday. And it have 5 columns... which can accomodate up to 5 family members or if you are a student, you could use those columns for your school subjects. I find this just nice for my kids' schedule and my piano student's sessions when there is make-up classes. That way, I know I won't get any double booking on anyone. It comes with a bookmark that can be attached to the spiral of the book. I use it to remind me which week it is. The design on the cover is very retro and to my taste plus it has a plastic cover for protection.

For someone that used to give away any planner or organizer that was given to her.. this is one that I kept... and I'm glad I kept this one. Its just simple and easy to use. I dont' need those that has a section for menu planner nor recipe planner .. cos I'm one that cooks according to her mood... I'm trying to be more organized not perfect... so... try out BusyBodyBooks if you want something easy.

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11 lbs of Tomatoes

11 lbs of fresh homegrown tomatoes

Fall is here and I had so much tomatoes from my 2 tomato plants. I was overwhelmed and figured how much guacamole can I make or how much ABC can I drink with all these tomatoes.

I was lucky a friend showed me how to make pasta sauce. I now have enough pasta sauce to make me 6 meals. *grin* btw.. if you notice the tomato seeds in the paste, i didnt' deseed them. I figured there is no harm in eating those seeds so.. less work and that makes pasta sauce making a leisure instead.

We had our first frost and I made hubby go pluck all the green ones. I now have to lay them on newspapers in the basement.. and still have fresh tomatoes in December.

16 1/6 cups of pasta sauce

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Angry with Mummy

At this moment, I'm not my daugther's most favorable person. She is angry with me, eyes all wet while she is doing her math homework. Why the tears? Because she is being punished. Her Brownie troop was suppose to meet at 4.00pm at a pumpkin/corn maze farm. Greg and I waited in the car for her school bus to arrive. All she needed to do was to go to the bathroom then jump into the van for a 30 minute ride to the farm. I warmed up the her macaroni cheese for her to eat in the car and had snacks ready for the trip. Rewind back to this morning.... I told her that she has forgotten her Reading book for 3 days and she needs to make sure she brings it home today. She has comprehension test on Friday and I'm trying to teach her to do things in advance and not last minute.. so bring the book home on Thursday doesn't work... I warned her that I would cancel the Brownie trip if she didn't bring the book home..... Back to present time... here Greg and I were all excited that she is home and all ready for a fun evening... until I realize her school bag was way too light and that there isn't a Reading book in sight... So here I am hating myself for being the mean person but I have to keep my word and be the Mom that I don't like ... the strict mean mommy... I was forced to dissapoint both the kids and said.. "Greg, get out of the car, we are not going anymore." So, I dragged all the food and warm clothing out of the car. I made the dreaded call to the Troop leader to tell her we won't be there. Gilly is still upset but I guess she will learn that she has responsiblities, and the most important one is.. studies and homework comes first. Let see...she has a birthday party to attend this Saturday, and I wonder if she will be missing out on that.... oh.. I can't wait till she is a teenager!!!!!

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Bad mommy?

Greg my 5 year old who is in Kindergarten goes on the Kindergarten school bus. His sister who goes to the same school goes on a different bus because our school system separates the kindergarteners from the elementary kids. I like that as its pretty intimidating for a newbie to get on a bus with bigger kids. Unfortunately, with the kindergarten bus, a mom or designated person has to be at the bus stop for pick up. If you are not there...the bus driver has to take your kid back to school and you have to go pick him up and sign him out. Yes... and yesterday after some drama... I was in the basement doing extra laundry. I ran out of the house when I realize it was about time he gets home. To my dismay, I see the bus at the end of the corner of our street and leaving. I missed him... and the other mom who just picked up her daughter told me the bus driver refuse to wait for me especially when the bus was a few minutes early. I notice then that yes.. she was early today. Oh well I jumped into my car and followed the bus. The bus driver saw me, stopped the bus and told me "I can't let him down, you have to go to the school to pick him up." RIDICULOUS!!!! Yes, I know I wasn't at the stop but you do recognize me as you talk to me everyday at the bus stop... so let my son down... oh no, I had to drive back to school to sign him out. I met Greg at the school ground and walked with him to the school office. I had to go sign him out. I asked Greg if he got scared that I wasn't there at the bus stop. He smiled and said "NO". He said "I had the whole bus to myself mummy." He continued smiling and said "Mummy, I came to school twice today." I smiled and am proud that he wasn't feeling all angry with me. I did talk to him a few weeks ago. I knew that there was a high chance of me missing the bus so I did prepare him for it. I told him to treat it as an extra special trip back to school. Since he loved sitting on the school bus, it would be fun if mummy wasn't at the bus stop and he gets to go on a extra ride. I did cross my finger that he would feel OK with it.. and I'm glad I did what I did. I did miss Gilly when she was in Kindergarten and I guess, I learn from Gilly what to do this time round. So... I had a happy boy who even called his daddy to tell daddy that he got to go to school twice on the bus in one day. So.. am I a bad mummy for missing the bus??

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Sunday's Poncho

*Drum Roll* Ta Da!!!!! Here is the poncho that I was busy working on last Sunday. I finally added the frills today and boy.. it was my first time working on frills and that zigzaggy one was tiring!!! The poms were quiet easy but the time consuming and eye tiring ones were the zigzag. Smart of me to buy a wider zigzag so I had to make sure the top and bottom were sewn. I didnt' want to leave it to chance that it won't curl up after some abuse by my girl. I was afraid of working with the frills as I've never attempted it. I thought my friend would help ahaha but I was too impatient to wait for her and decided to do it on my own. I figured I'm not selling it so what's the harm in attempting it on my own. So ... for now.. the poncho is OK..

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A Wonderful Sunday

WOW!!!! Something new on this blog today!! Is that what you are thinking? Yes, I'm back. We have been pretty busy running around doing a thousand things and yet nothing much to show. I just have to say, yesterday was Sunday and I sinned terribly by not going to church. With a daughter who is going to receive her first communion next May, I know I've sinned terribly. oh wait.. No.. I did worse. I neglected my poor kids yesterday. *grin* Let see.... I had bought some flannel cloth and was planning to sew Greg some PJ pants as he outgrew those from last year and Gilly's were too pink for him to wear. The flannels were on sale $2.99/yard. I found a nice easy pattern and bought some fleece cloth and decided to sew Gilly a poncho. Now... with those in mind, I just didn't think of anything else but sewing those outfits!!! This would only mean, poor family didn't have food for that day. Even at breakfast time, I was already working on the 2nd pants for Greg and the kids had milk and pandan chiffon cake. Opps... hehehe Lunch time came and daddy came over to ask "what's for lunch?" I asked the kids, "what do you want for lunch?" and continued... "who wants daddy's famous instant noodles, please raise your hands?" One, two and three hands came up... daddy sigh and went down to cook lunch. Woohoo.. that was the most delicious instant noodles. It had fishball, cuttlefishball, choy sum and eggs in it. Super Duper Yummy what what Greg claimed!!! Dad didn't look excited.. because he had to do the cooking. Came dinner time.... I just finished the poncho!!! Yes I did finish the poncho but have yet to add the frills. Dad came and asked if we were having Kathryn's spagetti meatball for dinner. I then realize I didn't not take out the tomato sauce to thaw.. and the meatballs need to simmer in the tomato sauce for 30 min.. that meants... no spagetti meatball for dinner... awwww.. what a bummer for Daddy. I told him to run to Dominicks to get a box of creamer... we are having Ikea Swedish meatballs for dinner. Poor Daddy, he had to figure out the meals for Sunday as Mummy wasn't thinking properly. But I sure enjoyed my Sunday. I do like going to church but I did get alot accomplished yesterday. Daddy got the shelves up on the basement (opps that means I've more work down there now) and he got my new laptop networked to the printer. The kids and Daddy helped Greg with his class assignment and I got to sew my 2 PJ pants and a poncho. I know some will say I should just go buy my kids nice outfits instead of wasting my time sewing ... but the kids just love it when I surprise them with their newly sewn clothes.... so... its OK to neglect feeding the kids once in a while.. hehehehe...

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Lost and Found....

This one just made me laugh.... I visit my subdivision forum and read this: Lost Red Daschund Today (Thursday) at 12:00 a little red dachshund got away. He is friendly but scared. If found please call L at 123-1234 Then 4 hours later... this was posted Never mind...he was found in the bedroom I had a good laugh but didn't dare say anything. Then this morning, I read this and started laughing with tears rolling down. That is so funny - you made my day! Glad to hear he's safe and sound in the bedroom! I guess, I'm not the only one that found the situation hilarious. What do you expect from a dog that is easily scared???

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This is the Bestest Lunch!!!

Since Greg has started Kindergarten, I have 5 hours to myself and somedays I'm on the phone too much and I've started volunteering at school. I keeps me busy for an hour and a chance to get out of the house without going shoppinmg. Yesterday, I did Hot Lunch for the Kindergarteners. It was my first after 3 years as I could not volunteer for Gilly's class when Greg was still a baby. After some chaos, we managed to grab the basket filled with Cheese Pizza, Fruit cup and fruit roll ups. Simple easy food which we take for granted. This was thei kindergartener's first Hot Lunch experience and I was glad I got to see one of their school "first" moments. The kids knew it was hot lunch as they all didn't have to pack their lunchbag. They, anxiously stared at the door for us to enter. After distributing all the food, they opened their box and started chomping on their pizza.... and one girl shouted out.. "this is the bestest lunch I've had in school!!" and that started the ball rolling. Each and every kid were jumping in their seat, legs kicking under their table... getting all excited that they have so much food for lunch. "I love this pizza!", "I want this for every day!!!!", and Greg said "this is super yummy". I was so tickled at their excitement. I know, having cold sandwich everyday is a monotony and a simple cheese pizza just brightens any child's day. It's a good thing that the school does Hot Lunch once a month. One boy decided that he would drink all his milk, finish his pizza and when it came to the fruit cup, he just drank the syrup and not eat the fruit. I asked him if he loves the syrup only and he said "mummy says to drink lots of liquid." I just could help but laugh out loud. He gave me a mischevious grin. Kids and their common sense... I'll look forward to next month's hot lunch as you never know what can happen.

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Malaysia that still makes me smile...

I've been reading the political news in Malaysia and it sickens me to see how much injustice and abuse of power is occuring. These few rotten politicians will not make me forget how beautiful are the people of malaysia... I found this on youtube and it just reminded me of how I would sing this song in school and how fun we Malaysians are at heart. Enjoy!!! I couldn't find one with English subtitles but seeing how people are that cheerful, that speaks a thousand words....

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Thomas & Friends Special Delivery Review

I did a review and it was published at momviews.net . Here is part of my review.. hop on to Thomas Review to see the full version.

*part of my review* REVIEW Guest Reviewer: Jane Of All Trades My 5-year-old son is a die-hard fan of Thomas the Train. So when he saw the Thomas & Friends Special Delivery box, he was all excited. He first thought that it was a DVD movie but when I told him that it is a game for the computer, he was even more excited.......

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Easy Satay

A month ago, I bought some Malaysian groceries from My Taste of Asia. I decided to buy some satay sauce for my girlfriend and ended up buying one for myself. Last week, I finally got to try this sauce. I was pretty surprise how good this satay sauce tasted. I used my own satay marinate on the chicken and used this Delimas Satay sauce for dip only. I added some ground peanut into the sauce and it tasted as good as the roadside satay sauce!!!

Do give it a try, you can use the sauce as a marinate as well. I was being frugal as I only bought 1 packet to try it out and I gave the other packet to my girlfriend. shhh!!!!.. I shd have kept it for myself hehehehehe. I'll for sure order more next time.

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Update on Little "D"

A few weeks ago I blogged about my neighbor's new baby boy, Little D. They call him Nick. We are happy that he is now home with his parents. He is stable enough to come home. His mummy is very tired like any new mom would be. Only difference is its only she and her hubby that knows how to take care of him. Nick is hooked up to a monitor that tells if he is breathing properly. Basically, his parents are the only ones that knows how to take care of him and his life depends on both of them. Even his grandparents would not know what to do so its really all on Mummy and Daddy.

I've been their neighbors for the past 5 years and I'm shy to say I didn't really get to know them well. But since little Nick arrival, I've learn that not only D is a bubbly person, she is strong and determined, and even when things are hard, she sees the brighter side of things. Its nice to know that even when someone is down, she is still able to forge ahead and do the best she can for her family especially her little boy. She has journaled that sometimes she does feel down and feeling of pity comes in... I think its OK for someone to sometimes feel that way. All a parent wants for their child is the best of everything especially health. I've known parents who would go into denial mode when their child have health issues but D has not done that at all. She is just as proud of this boy as she is of her daughter. We all can learn from this family a lesson or two.... Do say a pray for little Nick if you can... that cute little boy sure loves your prayers.

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Red Red Red

My garden has been invaded by RED!!!! Yes, I was too greedy that I planted 2 - celebrity tomato plants, 1 - 100 sweet tomatoes plant, 1 - cherry tomato plant, 1 - grape tomato plant. I planted 1 cayenne pepper plant and on top of it, I have 1 from last year that I took into the house during winter... so the tomatoes and cayenne peppers are all turning red now.

I've been bad and not taken photos of my plants outside... but here are the few tomatoes and chili that I have on my table. I been taking tomatoes to church and walking around my block giving away tomatoes... hmmm... maybe I should just start a tomato stall myself.. hahaha... I'll try to take photos of the celebrity photos. I showed Gilly today when we were at the grocery store that that same tomato cost $3.99/lb and how much we are saving by planting our own tomato plants. I just love eating tomatoes and we have had a few burgers with it.. and used alot for my ABC soup. I'm gonna force myself to cook some Lemongrass chicken which I learnt from Gertrude last year.

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My day.

It was Monday and the 3rd day my kids are in school fulltime. I had a few plans of running around wasting money at Linen N Things and I had a few urgent calls to make. There my phone rang and it was my gf K. She sounded like she was dying and asked if I had any plans. Of course me without any life now, I said "No". She asked if I could babysit her 2 1/2 year old baby. It looked like K caught a bad bug and even her hubby was out of commission. I quickly made my calls then jumped into the van to get "Clicket". Clicket was an easy baby so I didn't have to worry much. But it suddenly hit me that I don't have anymore potties. Then I realize, that I had to be vigilante with her doing her "pee pee". She happily followed me into the van after saying bye bye to her daddy. We got back to my place and she ran in to play with Shan. Later we went to the garden and she helped me water... and she is a good "sprinkler" hehehe... she insisted on watering all my plants. I just had to make sure she didn't shower herself as we didn't have an extra change of clothes. About 11am, I packed her into the van and we went to Gilly's ballet school. I had to signed Gilly up for ballet. All the moms in there were curious who was this little caucasian girl following me. I jokingly said "oh,. she is my russian daughter". They were shocked and I quickly told them "Since Greg is in Kindergarten, I decided to adopt a Russian baby". I added "I didn't want to go the China route you know".. They laughed and looked like the bought my story. I quickly told them that I was babysitting for a friend. After 45 minutes, it was my turn with the teacher and when I sat down, Clicket decided to climb up my chair and Mrs King asked if I knew the girl behind me. I laughed and said "She's my Russian daughter." She looked amazed and ask "Are you serious?" I turned around to Clicket and said "Clicket, say Hi to Gilly's ballet teacher." Clicket did precisely that and that shocked Mrs King. "K" and I had a good laugh at it. The joke behind it was once I had Clicket on a shopping cart in Target and this white lady gave me a weird look. I realized why she gave me that look as its a common thing to see a white lady with a Chinese baby but not a Chinese lady with a white baby. Clicket was enchanted by this pastel pink/blue tutu and kept asking for that costume. It was on sale for $25 which is a bargain considering the original price was $65. In her baby language she pointed to the dress and said "Clicket dance" with her hands up in the air and she did her turn. It was so cute. It was a nice thing to have a 2 year old around the house. Its been 3 years since I had a 2 year old and trying to understand her is a hoot.. She kept saying "cookie" when I asked what she wanted for lunch. And when I repeat cookie to her.. she said NO. Only her mummy would understand her. I'm glad I'm done with babies cos at 39... it can be tiring.. hahahaha... shhh!!!! I took a nap while she watched Cailou and then I took a nap after I sent her home. The kids got home from school and we all went down to the basement to play. Then I realize that Clicket should fit into Gilly's old ballet costumes. We dug thru her trunk and found one... Clicket was so happy when we put that piece of tutu on her. She ended up going home in that outfit and the reaction on her older sister was priceless.

Clicket in her ballet dress

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First Day of School

First day of school went well. It was only 2 1/2 hours which seem short but chaotic as we were all trying to get use to the bus schedules. Greg and Gilly are not in the same bus this year. The school separates the Kindergarten kids which is nice as its not intimidating sitting with the bigger kids. Two days before school, he had school orientation where he met his teacher and his classmates for the first time. He loved it there and was so excited to go back to school by Wednesday. That was also the day we dropped off school supplies which I like as its just too much for a kiddo his size to handle by himself.

Greg with school supplies.

Greg getting ready for school orientation 2 days before school.

They both woke up at 7 a.m. and was so excited. They quickly had their breakfast and was so ready for school. Gilly had to take some school supplies by herself and I dropped off the rest later as it was just too much for her too. This time round, I remembered to label Greg so that he won't be lost. I forgot to do it for Gilly on her first day of Kindergarten. Their bus pickup time are only 10 minutes apart so its just easy to get both of them out at the same time.

Gilly and Greg waiting for their buses.

Gilly about to get on her bus.

Gilly can't wait to jump into the bus!

Greg's turn to wait for his bus.

Greg waits for his turn to get into the bus. Hurry up lady!!

Finally with both kids off to school, the house was eeriely quiet. I was kinda enjoying the silence and yet still missed their noise. I guess I've got accustom to their noise. What did I end u doing? I was busy on the phones as I had nice girlfriends who called to see how I was faring as they knew my baby was away from for the first time. Before I knew it, they were home and the house was noisy again. I had lots of paperwork to read and checks to write.

Greg back from school.

Gilly's back from school too!!

Its been a week since they started school and my life has changed alot. I know just can walk out of the house without having anyone tagging along. I just got to get used to closing all the windows by myself and putting the dog in his cage by myself... I do miss them helping me get ready to go out... hmm.... something to get used to... but I'll survive.

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(that's how the house sounds)

All I can hear is the water splashing from my outdoor fountain.... The house is so quiet... The house is way too quiet..... I'm lost....... I've cleaned the garbage can.... Now what do I do???????

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My son is leaving me!!!

Isn't he handsome in this photo? Greg just turned 5 last month and he will be hitting a milestone tomorrow. He will be going to Kindergarten and he is jumping into that "cool" yellow bus tomorrow. For the last 4 years since he was a baby, he would get all excited seeing his sister get on that bus and finally he has his turn tomorrow. After 12 wonderful and sometimes stressful weeks of summer vacation(what vacation, I was a fulltime referee with both kids fighting all the time), both my kids will be heading to school tomorrow.

3 nights ago, in my dream I told myself, "you can go for pancake breakfast with your girls now" and within a few seconds, I realized in my sleep that for the rest of my life, I've lost my best buddy. That buddy who was a leech that stuck to me 24/7... he won't be with me constantly anymore. I've been dreaming for the last 8 years of some quiet and "me" time and now that its here, I'm having mixed feelings. I'm happy my baby is now going to school, I've done my part as a mom to change his diaper, feed him, take him to the park or to the zoo all those years and he is so eager to go to school, and yet I'm sad that I'm losing that one constant person that is always with me... he was always there to show me I'm needed... and now I'm not needed for 5 hours a day. OK.. OK... I guess I am allowed to be a pity potty for a few minutes. I do know that I will do my happy jiggle when they get on the bus... but I do know I'm going to shed a few tears when Greg gets on the bus. I'm entitled to that feeling...

What will be doing with my new free 5 hours when Greg is in school? I have a few plans and hopefully I'll follow through with them. I will have 1 hour with Greg before Gilly gets home so maybe my best buddy and I can goof around abit... oh yeah... dream on... there is homework!!!!

I've been "begging" Greg to stay home with me... here are a few of our conversations:

Me: Greggy, can you stay home with mummy?

Greg: No, mummy, I want to go to school.

Me: Don't you want play with me?

Greg: I want to go to school, school is fun

Me: Greg, I know you don't want to go to school, you love to stay with mummy.

Greg: Mummy, I love going to school.

Me: I know you love school but you love mummy even more.

Greg: But I want to go to school to learn

Another time:

Me: Hey, why don't you stay home with me.

Greg: No, I need to go to school

Me: I'll be so bored, nobody to play with me and bug me.

Greg: Mummy, you play with Shan Shan

Me: But Shan just sleeps all the time

Greg: Why don't you throw the bone at Shan

Yesterday's conversation after his school orientation...

Me: Greggy, I'm going to lock you in your closet so you can't go to school

Greg: No mummy, I love the school. Its so fun, I like my teacher. I want to go to school mummy.

Today's conversation...

Me: Greg, I'm going to let you sleep at midnight, you can play with the computer. We can play Wii fit and Mario Kart, you can watch TV all night long.

Greg: (puzzle and amazed look) wow.. I can play computer???

Gilly: (giggles) Greg, mummy is trying to trick you!! She wants you to sleep late so you wake up late and don't go to school.

Greg: Mummy, No I'm going to go to bed early. I have to wake up to go to sc hool.

Later in Costco...

Me: Greg, how about this... if you stay home and not go to school, I will buy you one big big big bag of M&Ms...

Greg: (he ran over to touch that big big bag of M&Ms)... I want to go to school! (he folded his hands and walked away from the M&Ms)

Oh well... at least I tried.. hehehe....

I know my baby is ready for school as he wasn't one bit shy when we went to his new class for his orientation. And I'll be on my new adventure with 5 hours of freedom.

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What is the bigger picture??

My neighbor, D (2 doors away), had delivered a baby boy end of May. We always assume that we would all bring home a healthy baby. D however knew earlier than her son would have some challenges. I wasn't aware of it until I notice that she and her hubby wasn't home. Only then did I find out from her mom that the baby had complications. Even when I saw D later, she briefed me about her son's situation and yet, I didn't realize how serious was the situation.

Her son has Charge Syndrome. I never heard of it until I Googled it. I remember feeling horrified when I realized what was thrown into D's way. This is something you dont' wish even on someone you hate whatmore your friend. I hate to say this but Down Syndrome would be an easier diagnosis than what D's son has.

Little D has progress pretty well but he is still not well enough to leave NICU to come home. Her previous entry had mentioned he may come home on Monday but today, when I read her latest entry, explained what went on during the weekend and little D won't be home. D has learnt not to plan too much these days. She says "Plans, who needs them anyway, right? Nothing in life really turns out as you plan them!"

She has alot of support from family and friends. Everyone has been praying for them. I do keep little D in my prayers and hope he gets to go home pretty soon. I know he is a fighter and so is his mom and dad. I just hope God gives them a good break. They need more good news and good outcome when it comes to Little D. Little D has a 2 year old sister (K) and she too has been affected by it. I just can't imagine how D feels everytime she has to leave K behind because she has to go to the hospital to be with Little D. No mother should have to feel guilty that she has to spend all the time in the hosp with a baby and having to leave the other child at home or with grandma. We always assume we would bring home a newborn and let the baby bond with the sibling.

What I've learnt in from D's situation,

• Dont' wish for a certain gender, just be grateful for a healthy child,
• Be thankful for everything. Even tiny little thing like our child having finish their milk or meal.
• God sure has his way with things, one day he will throw something good at you and another day... it may be something bad but he has his plans we just don't understand

Alright .. sorry for my rambling.. reading her journal entry just made me frustrated. I've been wanting to blog about D and her situation but today I am finally rambling... I would love to add her link here but I dont' have her permission as she doesn't know about my blog... Its a lovely journal as it tells you of how amazing this family is during this difficult time.. it shows us how vunerable and strong anyone can be... so if you have time, do find out more about Charge Syndrome. Please keep D and her family, especially little D in your prays...

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My Wii Fit

I finally got my Wii Fit, thanks to my niece who had lined up for hours at the store. How is my Wii Fit, its such a cool and cute device. I'm amazed at how innovative these techie guys are at inventing something like this for us lazy bumps to exercise.

I just love the fact it helps track my weight and tells me how unfit I am. It allows me to set a goal on weight loss for a period of weeks or months as I see fit. So far my machines has called me a couch potato. It says I've a body of a 59 year old person and I'm embarassed to announce my BMI.. so you take a guess if its overweight or obese. Please don't use the comments to play a guessing game... hmm... maybe I should disable the comment for this entry. hahahahaha. It guides me with my balance when I'm doing yoga. I love that hula hoop that makes me make 300 spins. I hate it when I cant' balance and get my head hit by shoes at that football goalie game. The more minutes I spend exercising on it, it opens up newer and harder exercises for me.

Last friday, I paid a visit to my endocrinologist. Do not ask me why I went to see this old man who is very slow paced , mellow personality. I've seen him since I was pregnant with Gilly. I just trust him enough to go get my blood drawn by him. For those of you that know me well, you know how I hate needles.. hate is a very mellow word when it comes to my distaste for needles. We were talking about me and losing weight and I told him about my new toy.. He had a good laugh at the comments I get from my Wii Fit. He is the cool and calm type of person and is one that seldom laughs (the most you see is a smile from him). He was curious at all the functions of the wii Fit. He gave me the usual card for me to call in to listen to the results of my blood work.

Yesterday, the kids and I spent the whole day in the Shedd Aquarium. When I got home, I saw on my caller ID that the hospital called. I got kinda worried as calls from Hosp usually didn't mean good news. This morning I called that 1-800 number to see what was going on.. to only get my blood work results... PLUS my doctor asking me for that device that I told him about because he wanted to get it for HIMSELF. He usually records the results and not call me. That's why when I saw he called, I got worried. I had a good laugh at that.. He wants a wii Fit. I'll will have to call and tell his nurse that its called Wii Fit.

If you are interested, here is a video I found on Youtube showing what a Wii Fit does...

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Be Nice To Me Or I'll Blog About You!!!

Last Saturday, as we had breakfast at McD's. Now, don't lecture me on how unhealthy it is to have McD for breakfast. I just love their Sausage McMuffins with Eggs and their hashbrowns. Greg asked me to finish his hashbrowns and when I took a bite, Gilly said "Mummy, you are eating more than us!" I smiled and pointed to my T-shirt and told her "Read this."

My t-shirt basically said "Be nice to me or I'll blog about you". Gilly giggled the moment she read it. Then Greg proceeded to say, yeah mummy, you are bigger than us. I turned to him and said "Read this" and continued... "oh you dont' read".. Gilly quickly said, "Greg you better be nice to her or she will blog about you." Greg laughed and said, "she always blogs about me."





Oh well, I guess the shirt is a warning to others but not my kids. It won't work. hahahaha ...I did wear that t-shirt to church and to a family function on Sunday... Good enough a warning??? *giggles*

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Stylish Ballerina

Gilly in tap outfit

Gilly in ballet costume

In June, I blogged about Gilly's ballet recital and a few weeks ago, we got to see photos taken from the formal photo session. Here is my money's worth, her sweet smile makes it worth paying $60 per costume. hahahaha... shall I say she wants jazz and tap next year and that would make 3 costumes??? arghhhhhhh....

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Happy Birthday Jane of All Trades

Happy Birthday to You.

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to Jane of All Trades

Happy Birthday to You

I can't believe that one year has passed since my first blog entry. I remember my first entry, I was still hesitant as I didn't want to fail. I thought my blog would be boring. I know I've sometimes gotten lazy and my blog stays "paused". Sometimes its also because I'm just too buzy. I'm glad I did start blogging as I now use it as a reference guide when I can't recall when a certain even happened. Last week I came back to check when I bought my patio set as I intent to buy a few extra chairs. hehehe.. Thank God for the blog!!!

So my friends who have been reading here, thank you for coming back over and over again. Mr.Ray, thanks for encouraging me to start this blog.

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Summer Birthday Party !!!!!!

The Kwannies

Both my kids are summer babies. Their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart and being a "cheap" mummy, I combine their birthday party. A friend has nicely put it as I'm frugal.. while I call it cheap.. hmmm frugal sounds nicer. I guess he used a better dictionary that I did... or I didn't know the existance of a Thesaurus... ok back to birthdays.......

Suddenly so shy Gilly!!!

Yes, I combined both the kids birthdays... hmmmm you know when I was young (dinosaur years ago...) I hated my birthday parties as I had to share it with 2 of my siblings... I never felt special.. until I celebrated my sweet 16.. hahaha my brother couldn't celebrate his sweet 16 with me as he was 3 years younger than me. In my recent call, I told my mom about how I disliked having to share my birthday parties... and yet I'm DOING the SAME thing now!!!!

Unusually shy Greg!!

I went on a guilt trip when I bought the kids their cakes. I called MJ to reassume myself that its ok to buy 2 half-sheet cakes... as I felt bad they had to share a party as it is... BTW.... Costco order form did mention 1 half-sheet cake eats 48... and how many guest were we expecting???? 45. A few of our guest did ask why I order 2 cakes and I quickly said.. "mummy guilt issues" hehehehe

We decided to order most food from Chinatown. I cooked curry chicken and beef rendang.. oh.. and I did last minute experiment with corn custard which turned out nice.. not as nice as my mom's though... We didn't have too much leftovers. Everyone loved the food and I saw someone quickly wrapping up my mother in law's specialty to take home. hehehe BTW "someone", my niece is having her birthday party next week and my MIL is making another batch. You want more ???

Kids can't wait for the cakes.

We started out inviting only few friends especially those with kids that played regularly with our kids. I wasn't being a bi*ch... just that we live in a townhouse (double storey terrace house) and was worried that if it rained, we couldn't accomodate 70 people. Finally 3 days before the party, we knew from weather forecast that Saturday was going to be a dry day.. We quickly invited more friends. I'm glad they understood and didn't feel insulted with a last minute invite. They all came... and that made me happy as they were hubby's close friends and I know how much he enjoys their company.

My sidekick and my partner in crime, you know who you are.

Preparation for the party was easy.. hehe right Katherine???? I just had to worry about the party favors and I did make sure I got the jumper. My kids insisted on the jumper and wanted back the one they had 2 years ago. I made my calls which was another funny story... which I may blog one day... Tony, if you Google and get to see this... You better give me a good discount next time. I'm Kwan... I got my jumper from Jammin Jumps. Their jumpers are clean and the rates are very reasonable. Jumper came at 10am and only left at 9pm... all for $175. The guy that came to set up the jumper remembered us.. cos funnily the same thing happened 2 years ago when he came.. the sprinkler started running just as they arrived.

The jumper.

The same jumper for 2006 party

Our guest started arriving and by end of the day.. almost everyone that was invited came. They kids had fun at the jumper and we had the bean bag games out, and the boys were playing with it. The kids helped themselves to the water balloon and I saw a few boys that were soaked wet. Yes, not only did they play with the water balloons, they were also playing with the water hose too. Oh well its ok... I did ask their parents to bring extra clothing. Its only once in a while that we have a party, so let the kids have fun while the parents get to sit and chat pleasantries....

Birthday girl

I was grateful that a few of my friends helped me out. Almost every adult helped here and there and a few precious helped mostest with packing up the food and storing it in the fridge for me. They helped wash up, I am so grateful to them. Thanks Iola and Theresa... you gals are my jewels.

Who needs a sprinkler???

Did I get to enjoy myself.. hahaha after paying $175 for that jumper.. I decided that I too should enjoy it. Almost at the end of the party, I decided that we mommies should have a turn at the jumper. I went in kicking all the kids out of the jumper and started to get the mummies in for 5 minutes. Yes we sure had fun in there. Ok.. for those of you that know how huge I am.. that freaking jumpber is 20' x 20'. It's a jumper that has basketball hoop in it.. and an obstacle whatever in there.. plus a slide.. so we mummies jumped around for awhile and then climbed up that steep slippery climber.. and slid down the slide... yehhhaaaaaa.... yahooooooo... cooollll... its fun to be kids again!!!!! NO... if you dare think of it.. we didn't damage the jumper. That jumper can take adult abuse hehehehehe....

The boys playing bean bag. Hubby made the board and i sewed the bags.

Alot of our guest stayed on. Gilly had her closest friends over and their dad came over twice to pick them up... to his frustration I guess... his girls didn't want to go home. I got him to let them stay longer and finally he sent his wife to pick up the girls.

The last guests left at 12.30am.. yes at midnite. We were playing mahjong and I made $5. No, I'm not a mahjong expert. I'm a blur when it comes to points and luckily I had an expert partnering with me. We had a few teen girls and I think they did have some fun. I remember not wanting to attend parties for little kids when I was a teenager. The older boys where playing catch at the backyard.

Eugene and I are feeling tired but even with that feeling... we feel happy. We got to celebrate our kid's birthdays with friends.. Friends that means something in our lives. Not "Hi-Bye" friends but friends that matters. Greg did enjoy himself the mostest as he calls it as his sweetheart Bella was there to sing him a birthday song. Both kids are now begging to open up their presents. Yes we got the presents unwrapped but not out of the packaging.. hehehe I milk the moments where if they are good then only they can open one gift.

Greg with the love of his life.

So friends that came to the party... Thank you for coming. Thank you for chomping down the food... hopefully no diahrrea ... I just loved seeing some of my favorite friends meet each other for the first time and actually got along well.

Impossible photo of bouncy kids!!!

oh... before I forget.. I got to meet someone for the first time.. we have been messaging back and forth from a forum. She was nice to drop by on her way back home from a vacation. Wish she had stayed longer.. WM.. you missed the rendang and curry chicken!!! Don't worry, we can always meet up and get to know each other more. When she was here, Iola(a young lady in her 70s...) was there to see for the first time how 2 ladies that met on the internet, meet physically for the first time.

That's all about the party.. wished my parents and siblings could have been here....

Please.... Please.... can we open the presents?

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