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This blog is no longer active. It  has since been moved to a new home on Wordpress and renamed Grubbs 'n Critters. Please head on to my new site here. See you there!

16 months

More teeth are finally, finally sprouting for Squirt after months of waiting. In the last month, we counted at least 3 upper teeth making their way out of his gums all at the same time. That being said, Squirt has also been drooling a lot but so far, has not quite lost his appetite for food or get ultra-cranky from his teething bouts.

He is still one of the happiest little tots I have ever come across; one who is always smiling, laughing and quite generous with his hugs and affection. He even enjoys getting his teeth brushed and always look forward to that – a very distinct difference from his sister who used to cry bloody murder for a good month before she would willingly allowed us to put the toothbrush anywhere near her mouth.

Squirt still babbles and although he does not seem to be in any big hurry to belt out his vocabulary just yet, he does have quite a good understanding of what we mean when we speak to him,. For sure he understands being scolded as he would then break out into the most miserable, saddest and weepiest cry he could muster. With tears too!

He is happy to just troop around as he busies himself with stack-up cups, his little car or whatever else he could find to amuse himself. He tends to suck him thumb when he is hungry, tired or sleepy and of late, and we have noticed several times now that he has got broken skin on his hand because of his thumb-sucking habit.

I am not sure if this is something I should worry about, and I do hope that this is something that will pass soon enough.

From time to time, I find such amusement when I watch him feed himself. At this point, I am no longer bothered by mess and it is quite a joy to watch him explore his food. He seems to be enjoying what is put on his plate. Mess and all. I can only hope that he continues with this and not give us any problem with food and chewing as those fangs make their way through!

At 16 months, the traits of being a boy has started to make quite distinct mark on our lives.

All fired up!

This must have been one of the longest breaks from blogging I have ever had in ages and travelling is not one of the reasons as to why there has been a lack of posting in the last 7 days.

The truth is, I just have been plain busy. Between my new job, juggling kids and trying to manage a household amongst other things, I have also been really busy trying to make time to fine-tune and re-organise my new blog site PLUS doing a little cramming to get a certification of some sort after working hours.

My stress level has since sky-rocketed since I left my old job. Coming home by 6.30pm has been quite a feat these days. It does feel like I am biting more than I can chew.

But, despite all that, I'm actually happy. I don't think I have felt at peace with myself for a long time, and yet in spite all the challenges thrown my way, I still feel all fired up and ready to tackle the day when I get up in the morning.

That's always a good sign.

The downside is, I am really struggling to find time to pen down my thoughts for a few posts which I have half drafted since 2 weeks ago and haven't got the time to write them all up. At the same time, I really can't wait to officially migrate to my new site and invite you over. At this point, it that's not going to happen so soon.

My goal is to get my new site up and running, hopefully in a matter of weeks and when it does, I hope you will like it.

Meantime, please do excuse me for the lack of updates.

Eavesdropping Spud

On this one rare occasion, we allowed Spud to eat her small cup of chocolate ice-cream as she sat at the back of the car, in the comfort and safety of her car seat, while the car was still in motion.

As Spud was happily eating away , thrilled that she had the ice-cream all to herself while ignoring her little brother’s little whines as he  gave her his deathly stare and eyeing her treat rather unhappily, we suddenly heard this:

“Papa. Why you do that? How will I eat?”

I have been busy yakking with Silver Bullet until then and had missed that little commotion. Boy! The little lady sounded annoyed.As it turned out, Silver Bullet had hit a bump on the road. And so, because of the bump, she had been unable to spoon the ice-cream into her mouth properly!

We laughed, Silver Bullet apologized , told her he’d be careful and went on our merry way. We shook our heads and grinned our little grins; still can’t quite believe the words that were uttered and the tone that came with it.

What a kid.

There were no more bumpy encounters and she finished her ice-cream in no time at all; of course complete with a little mess on her face and shirt. She then fell asleep soon after giving me her empty ice-cream cup. And just like we had expected, the cheeky monkey woke up from her nap screaming her head off.

I don't think we expected anything less!

The bridge with a warning

Spotted on the railings of a stairway on both ends of a bridge:

What I saw as I walked up the stairs

What I saw as I walked down the stairs

Signs such as these never fail to bring a smile and (a smirk) to my face. With all sorts of cable wires jutting out and hanging haphazardly right above my shoulder as well as within an arm's reach, I can't help but feel anxious that I just might unknowingly get electrocuted from my innocent little walk across the bridge.

As I tried to take a close-up shot of what lurk right behind one of the signs, a security guard on "bridge duty" quickly intervened and shoo-ed me off. I must have imagined that he must have thought I might be a potential terrorist; given the sheer number of embassies located within that area.

He didn't ask me to delete the pictures, and I managed to get a decent shot. Check out those cables!

Wires hanging about precariously all over Thailand with barely an inch above anyone's head is really not such an uncommon sight. What is uncommon is the fact that this is the only bridge I have come across so far that bears any warning.

Not that anyone cares, but I guess I should be grateful for the reminder (and the fact that I was not immediately arrested for making him think that I might have been a potential terrorist!)

Reflect and Ponder on Reflecting and Pondering

Like every other human being in this world, there comes a time when one tends to reflect and ponder on the serious stuff that was etched into one’s life experiences. I do that too, every once in a while, except that this time, I happen to think that “reflecting on life what ifs and what-happened –and-I shouldn’t have-done-that-but-did-that-instead” without any concrete action to address what you actually reflected on is just a bloody waste of time!

I don’t know where all that overwhelming feelings came from, but the waste-of-time factor that came from pondering or reflecting (whichever you prefer) and not being able to do something about it at that point in time was so strong that I felt so compelled to stop pondering further.

My guess is, that tipping point came after months and months and months of useless pondering of my “Maybe Baby” project which I mentioned earlier in one of my Thought Pieces posts.

And after enough reflecting and one that was enough to annoy me of my own incessant waste-of-time pondering, I decided that it was time to move along. By that, I mean go and do something about it.  

So, in the last month or so as I waited out my employment notice, I battled my insecurities. I shamelessly contacted people I know and people I don’t know to get some sense of owning a domain, doing a blog migration, contemplated (and actioned!) on web design overhaul as well as trying to get into the real technicalities of behind the scenes of blogging (which has proven to be too technical for my super simple and un-technical mind).

It has been yet another learning curve. Before I knew it, I committed to contract a very capable and dynamic web designer based in Singapore to help me with my new site and the works behind it. Sounds completely crazy and out of the blue, but the fact that I finally did something about my senseless pondering and get it done was BIG. For me.

I figured, except for parting with an amount of money as a long-term investment, I got nothing to lose. If anything, the new site will look fresh, swanky and I can use it for the kids’ unfortunate inheritance - both Silver Bullet and me have got no real money for them when we die.

While waiting for that to happen, I came to a conclusion that I learnt something valuable from my entire pondering-and-doing-it-for-real experience:

• People don’t always respond. Keep trying, anyway. Have a thick skin. BIG, SUCCESSFUL bloggers or web-designers will certainly ignore you, but one kind soul out there will eventually respond. 

• If I didn’t try, I will never know. And if I fail, at least I tried. Having an always-learning mindset is crucial to my mental health and the goodness of my soul.

• Do not let other people get the better of me and let them make me feel down about myself. Getting an ally who really cares and sincerely support my cause, helps boost my confidence and morale. 

• I have always advocated that it is important to engage with people younger than you, as I think they would be able to guide you to things that you are not familiar with. More than you would ever care to know. 

• I don’t need to explain myself as all I really need to do is just say what I need to say. There will always be some nasty soul twisting my words around and misinterpret what I say. 

• If, in my lifetime thus far I have observed all rules dished out to me, I don’t think I’ll get to anywhere. In this case, I have put my rebellious streak to good use.

• The GUT is almost always never wrong. Use it to guide your instinct with decision making.

Last but not least, stop fricking pondering and just bloody do it. You won’t always get it right the first time, but it’s a start. You have crossed over that invisible line of go and no-go.

With all that in my back pocket, I am feeling really excited with the imminent birth of a new site in a matter of months.

Please, stay tuned. :)

How to sketch like a pro!

This is super cool stuff and whoever did this how-to,  makes drawing a still-life spoon looks amazingly easy.

Had I try to attempt this, I am pretty sure it would turn out to be something not so easily identifiable. There is only way to find out.

Why controlled crying isn't bad

Seven in the evening is almost exclusively my favourite part of the day on ANY given day. When all go as planned, it means the kids are already in their room and safely tucked in bed. They could be singing, having a conversation with their stuffed animals, rolling about in the comfort of their own bed or doing all three at the same time, but we know that it won’t be long before they drift off to dreamland.

It is also usually the time of the day when I would shamelessly do a little dance in my head as soon as we close the door behind us, because, believe you, me, knowing that they are about to retire for the night and thus giving us our “us-time” to do whatever the hell we need to do, is one of the best feeling in the whole wide world.

It has been almost 3 years since we enforced early bedtime for the kids. We may have missed out on the occasional social gatherings in the evenings and even snuffed our noses when we learnt that a birthday party ends at 6.30 pm. But! because we tend to be rather inflexible when it comes to winding them down for the evening for their bedtime we sometimes give them a miss or rushed out of their door a couple of hours earlier without regrets.

For us, it has been absolutely imperative that we start winding them down by 6pm and that they are in bed by 6.30 pm; plus minus half an hour give or take. It has been proven time and again that our kids do get horribly and uncontrollably cranky if we ever were to stretch their bedtime past 7pm. Despite the small inconvenience of having to be home at a certain time, all I can say is that after all these years (knock on wood!), it probably was one of the best parenting decisions we ever made.

I guess, after doing this for so long now, we don’t really think about it as it is something we are so used to. That being said, I have to say though that I am almost always a little surprised when I see the reaction of any parent who went, “SIX THIRTY?? REALLY?? Already? That’s early! Through the night?” 

While I’m sure some thought that it is a little abnormal (or cruel even!) that kids are subjected to go to bed that early, others were genuinely surprised – and dare I say, even envious – that we have been able to shove our kids to bed early and they STILL are sleeping through the night till about 6.30 am.

For curious parents, we would tell them that the only reason we can do that is because the kids are so used to such early bedtime since they were a few months old. Subtly, that really means CONTROLLED CRYING; one of the more controversial parenting topics. A topic polarized enough to make some parents uneasy and label us as being heartless. Unless asked or probed further, we don’t usually spill how we do it in detail; and not because we don’t want to share, but because we are conscious of being accused of giving unsolicited (bad) advice.

Looking back, while controlled crying was one of the hardest things we have ever done, it was only excruciatingly painful for a maximum of a week. The “training” got better every day and in my opinion, was not exactly a bad thing.  In fact, there was an article which backed up controlled crying as a form of baby sleep strategy. (read article here)

Having been through all that for both of my kids' early days as a few month old infant, I truly believe that the long-term benefits of controlled crying as a form of sleep strategy far outweigh the “cruelty” of making a baby cry themselves to sleep for just a few minutes. Yes.FEW MINUTES. I didn’t mean an entire hour. (I have written about the 10-minute Rule here)

If we have not done that, we probably would be more sleep deprived, extremely short-fused (not that I am not already!), supremely exhausted and likely pushed to the brink of a mental breakdown. And no, I don’t think that entertaining two little kids till 11pm at night would be particularly beneficial to our marriage.

3 years on, both of our kids are happy, healthy, as affectionate as they want to be (when they feel like it) and both are not showing any signs of emotional trauma which we had supposedly exposed them to. They wake up happy, and for us, it means that we get a little bit more rest and freedom when the clock strikes 7.

Sometimes, you really just have to be a little cruel to be kind

How I roll: A new chapter

September 4^th, 2013 marked a new chapter in my professional life. It marked a new beginning to a rather unplanned, but imminent end from my previous job which would likely change the course of my life journey from here on. A clean slate once again, a new adventure and a flight path into the unknown.

It has been barely 3 days with my new job, and despite at least 5 years of absence, that sense of warm, genuine sincerity and attachment to some of the familiar people in the organization felt very reassuring.  I still have that springs on my heels I felt months ago when this new job conversation started and more than ever, I feel like I fit right in. There’s no “treading” about and I really do feel like I am just picking up where I have left off. I am still not sure if that is actually a good thing, but most gratifying of all, it feels like I’m back “home” and it still feels oh-so-right.

I have got some work cut-out for me. Already, there are issues to fix, team to set up, stake-holders to please and human dynamics to suss out; amongst other things. There are things to learn, and most importantly, a whole lot of things to unlearn. It really is not about how much you already know, rather, it is about what you don’t know, find out, adapt and go on from there.

With new swanky gadgets at my disposal, I certainly am ready to roll!

Damn Lotus Notes!

Pizza Bites

A random  food blog I stumbled upon a while back had inspired me to experiment and create my own version of Mini-Pizza Bites.

All done within 40 minutes, I adapted the recipe a little. I have since made a few versions of this which had included a batch with tuna, another batch with smoked turkey as well as an all-vegetarian pizza bites.

Here's a warning: These can be quite addictive!

Pizza Bites in a mini-muffin tray before going into the over

Orangy pizza bites really hot from the oven!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tspn baking powder
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning (the original version used 1)
• A pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozarella cheese
• Half a cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cubed smoked turkey (or canned tuna or leave out any meat if you are going for vegetarian version)
• 1 jar of store-bought salsa sauce(I couldn't find pizza sauce!)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree celcius. Grease the mini-muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix (sifted) flour, baking powder. Italian seasoning and salt together.
3. Whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozarella, Parmesan, cubed smoked turkey and about 4-5 tablespoon of Salsa sauce
4. Let stand for 10 minutes.
5. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin tray.
6. Top about a teaspoon of the leftover salsa sauce on top of each batter on the mini-muffin tray. Then top it up again with Mozarella and Parmesan (if desired)
7. Bake till puffed, golden and a little crispy, 20-25 minutes 
8. Serve when ready.

Bon appetit! 

Natural Nude

Wearing a pair of nude shoes can, every once in a while, inject some serious measure of elegance into your wardrobe.  For years, I avoided the colour as I used to think that it is tough trying to match nude shoes with my work clothes, but as I realised, that notion could not be further from the truth.

In fact, after owning several pairs of nude colour shoes which I bought mainly for the designs, I have come to realise that they can be worn with any outfit and easily complement any colour scheme. I have worn nude colour shoes with a dress that was way too colourful, and was still able to get away with it without me looking too garish. I find shoes with nude colours to be soothing, too. It is a colour that exudes a sense of calmness when worn with an outfit for work.

I never actually realised this, but apparently, wearing a pair of nude shoes can make your legs appear longer - something I can appreciate since I am such a short-fart!

Nude shoes can be really versatile, yet minimalistic. Although the colour was not my first choice when I bought it as I was gunning for a pair of really, really mysterious dark maroon pair of wedges (they didn’t have my size!:/ ),  the fact that it is a pair of wedges was enough to make me beam with joy.

I love it that it fits me so snugly.

Brand: Studio Tangs

Cost:  I cannot remember!

From: C.K Tangs (Singapore)

15 months

As Squirt is getting more proficient at picking up speed while walking, climbing over furniture and into toy boxes as well as pulling, grabbing  to sticking his fingers into anything that he is not supposed to, I sometimes wish for a spare set of eyes at the back of my head.  In fact, I sometimes wish my limbs could transform to that of Inspector Gadget’s just so that I could intervene in time from wherever I am in the house to save him from himself.

Squirt is vocal, quick, agile, and he is determined to get what he wants.  Nothing escapes him; every drawer needs to be opened and inspected, every buttons needs to be turned and pushed, and any small objects found on the floor needs to be stuffed into his mouth. He has been quite a handful and just minding him for a few hours can be extremely exhausting. It is of no surprise that I have been coming home to a very weary-looking nanny of late who spends most her day running after him and making sure that he doesn’t get his tiny little body into trouble.

He recently made me rake up a bill of more than 23,000 THB (>700 USD) for the repair of my precious watch. He had somehow managed to get his hands on my not-so-cheap watch when we were in Singapore and had callously dropped it on the floor, causing a huge chip of the crystal glass cover. I then had absent-mindedly wore it into the pool and then it was history. Oh! Not to mention that he had also callously dropped my jade bracelet which broke into 3 pieces some months ago (my fault! what was I thinking giving him my bracelet!). I am contemplating to take the costs of repair from his savings...

Despite being such a busy 15-month old, Squirt is still that happy, smiley and affectionate little boy. He laughs heartily and will always, always give us a big, fat grin when we open the door to his room every morning. He is our little Mr. Happy-go-lucky and does not fuss too much. He does have his cranky moments especially when he is over-tired, but they tend not to last for too long or be much of a drama.

Squirt certainly has a very different temperament from his sister and both me and Silver Bullet had quipped before that if we have had Squirt first, having Spud would be a shock as we probably haven’t got a clue as to how to handle her.

Still a proud owner of 2 bottom teeth, Squirt doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to expand his vocabulary beyond “Mama”, “Papa” and a set of cavemen language. He is still quite adventurous with food and is very willing to try the food on our plates; always a joy to watch.

Recently, he discovered the fun of spinning himself around in circles and then stands still while trying to maintain his balance. Quite a delight to watch him laugh at himself after every attempt and seeing him wobble happily around like a drunkard. He loves his stuffed toys and can't get enough of the remote control.

Squirt having a little conversation with Tom the Tiger

He could be distracted with something else, but his hands are glued to the remote - and don't you dare try to pry if off him!

Our home has never been noisier with kids screaming to test their vocal abilities in their highest frequency or us trying to outshout them as we tell them to stop torturing the cats while they are at it, and our living room has never been filthier with bits of stale food on the floor at any time of the day or toys strewn around everywhere. Yet, despite so much chaos, our home has never been filled with so much laughter. (I still am contemplating on taking his savings to cover my repair cost. Hmmph!)

Things could only get better from here on. And I think he looks better with a crew-cut. (Ok. ONE more broken item, and I might just take it from his savings!) 

TEVA's back!

Guess what I bumped into recently?

OK. OK. This probably look like it's nothing to you. But to me, this is a big, frickin' deal. Let me explain...these are TEVAs. My most favourite brand of sandals. Ever.

I thought I was dreaming, but the logo is all to familiar to not notice! It's about bloody time, I'd say. After more than a decade long of hiatus (of course I'm exaggerating!), it really is time they make a comeback! I guess the Lord of Footwear must have finally heard my lament, but of course he only decide that it should only make a come-back just after I got my swanky pair of TEVA from outside the country!

Anyway. I'm frickin' excited!It means, should something happens to my TEVA, I can get a replacement. They have got some funky and cool designs, too. There was no one tending to the shop when I passed this, and so I did a little of sandal-whoring.

This one is really, really light and comfeeeee. If not for the fact that it is a little too pricey and that I already have a swanky pair, I would probably have bought it. It will take me sometime for my current pair to exhaust itself before I purchase a new one. Damn.

And no, they did NOT pay me to review this. Perhaps, they should.

Fried Chicken Party

As of today, I am officially unemployed! (Well...I'm actually clearing a couple of official sabbatical days prior to my official-official last day, but that's just me being technical). By 9 a.m. I had happily plonked my backside on the chair of Dr. Feet getting a one-and-a-half hour long of a very much needed foot massage.

It was divine! No (corporate) responsibilities. No meetings. No kids. No plans. No stress. For once in a long, long time, the whole set up felt really good; even if this luxury of having a little me-time would last for only a few days till I start my new job next week.

That being said, I still feel a little sentimental when I thought about a particular "Fried Chicken Party" that was held at the office yesterday.I had intended to quietly disappear before 4pm after all the personal goodbyes to several people, and so when I was told to stay a little longer for a "Fried Chicken Farewell Party" (quote-unquote from one of my colleagues), I was completely surprised. It wasn't just some random, ordinary "Fried Chicken Party". It was a party set up by my very sweet colleagues who took the trouble to plan for a small, intimate farewell party for me on my last day at the office. In all honesty, it was not something I had remotely expected, as I didn't think anyone would have cared or bothered.

But it turned out they did. They bought lots of yummy fried chicken and said some really kind words that touched me deeply. Deep enough to make me weep. Yikes. (Damn it,Ex-boss!And I'm saying it endearingly) My team said a heart-felt, "Thank you, Mom". I couldn't decided there and then if it was a good or a bad thing.

And then, I was thrown into the spotlight and there was no escaping of having to deliver a speech. I was completely unprepared and I.had.to.give.a.speech. I had to think on my feet and my mind drew a blank whilst my heart had crumbled by the touching words that was delivered just minutes prior. (I thought that was unfair. Hmmph! Damn it, Ex-Boss).

And I tried very hard to compose myself.

And I failed.

Miserably.

And I surrendered to the mighty,mushy heart and let out some tears as my head screamed silently in protest, "This is bloody unfair! I can't be tearing in front of 30 people!"Arrgghhhhhhhhhhhh!

Not cool. That wasn't supposed to happen.

But it did. And in between tiny sobs (just a tiny bit!), I braced myself and rambled my thank yous, still could not believe that the team had bothered to do a little something for me. I was touched and I was humbled. It was a small gesture, yet it carried a lot of meaning. It was genuine. I feel blessed.

It was also symbolic for me. My tenure has officially ended, and for what it's worth, I hope that I have inspired the people I worked with and no matter how small, I sure do hope that my contributions have had a positive impact on them. My job is done and whether they realised it or not, these people are talented individuals - I have actually learnt a lot more from them than they would ever have from me.

My desk had never looked so clean and empty. It was a good place as I had a very distinct vantage point and most of all, my desk was all "fengshui-ed" up.

Before

After

It was a nice ending. It was an end that symbolises an imminent new beginning.

And oh!Fried chicken now brings an entirely new perspective for me!

The Fried Chicken Party with variety of fried chicken!

Faith in humanity

Watching this 4:04-minute video up to the very last minute of its run had my stomach churning knots, my heart in palpitations and my eyes welling up with involuntary tears.

The video entitled  "A dying child, a distraught father and a tattooed stranger" is one of the more powerful and emotionally surged-up video I have come across yet - and one which represented a situation in which no parents would ever want to be...in either position.

But above all, it is videos like this that restores my faith in human kind and a testament as to why we should never, ever judge anyone by how they look or what they wear.

Calvin and Hobbes: Snowmen Series

The Snowmen Series are my favourite.

If you are having a bad day, I guarantee that you will be laughing your guts out by the end of this post or at the very least, this should trigger a tiny, little smile on your face.

 

 Here's to a cheery weekend!

Pregnancy Q&A

After experiencing two pregnancies, I don't think I could go through another pregnancy again. And so, when  stumbled upon this, I thought that this is pretty hilarious and worth a share.

 

The one with the latte-cat

This is one of the coolest latte arts I have come across from someone else's FB posting:

Just observe the intricate details on that, and tell me that you have the heart to drink it all away and destroy the work of art that was done with milk foam.

Maybe I should start learning how to do these latte art to amuse myself. 

Related post(s):
Latte Art

Quote of the day

This... is classic case of a first world problem:

Sad.

Jelly-crazy

Jelly, plasticky, bendable flat shoes have always fascinated me.  Unfortunately, I have always found the price to be notoriously expensive that I don’t think I could ever justify to myself why I am paying more than 150 (Singapore) dollars just to be able to walk in them.

So, when one Mummy-friend of mine told me that she got a pair of those jellies at a sale for her 3-year old tot, I was excited. I thought, if I can’t get one for myself, I would certainly consider getting one for Spud if the price is affordable. She then proceeded to send me a shot of the shop located in Siam Discovery Centre along with a couple of pictures of jelly shoes for kids which were on discount.

The shop at Siam Discovery Centre, Bangkok

Colourful selection of Jelly shoes for kids

 Aren’t they not the cutest little things!

I don’t think I would want to afford the shoes had they not be on sale.  At 40% off though, it gave me an excuse to get Spud a cool pair of blue jelly shoes. Spud showed an instant liking to the Jellies the moment I showed it to her. I let her try it on when I got home and it took a good amount of convincing before she agreed to take it off her feet and not walk around the house with it.

As for me, I cannot remember the number of times I tried a pair on since I first saw it at a local mall at least 5 years ago. Each time I tried a pair on with the intention of purchasing it, I managed to convince myself that I don’t really have a need for it. They were, however, so, so comfy and I remember that they were still pretty affordable then.  By the time I decided to actually buy it six months later at that time, two things happened:

1. They did not have the ones I really, really liked in my size.
2. Thanks to my curse, they were taken off the shelves soon after

This time though, I threw caution in the wind and scored myself a pair of brownish-red Jelly.

These jelly shoes emit a very strong, plasticky, weird smell. It sorts of give you a high, although it doesn’t beat the “high” I feel from finally being able to buy us a pair of awesome Jelly shoes!

I caught Spud sniffing her shoes the first few days every time she put them on, and when I asked her if her shoes smells yuckky, she gave me an expression as if to say I was crazy and then replied in a matter-of-fact-tone with a, "Noooo. Smells nice."

Brand:Melissa + Campana

Cost (from memory!): 740 Baht (Kids), 1,390 (Adults) 

From: Jelly Dreams, Siam Discovery Center

Related post(s):

Footwear

Night-light Timer

Ever since Spud transitioned from a crib to a big bed a couple of days short of her second birthday, our mornings had since then became rather disruptive as well. You see, with Spud’s new sense of freedom since the crib, I believe, she thinks that it would be absolutely acceptable, not to mention extremely exciting and fun, to wake her parents up at the ungodly hours of 5.15 am. Every. Single. Day.

When that happens, we would usually send her straight back to her room. She would go kicking, screaming and waking up the dead, but would usually comply. For ten minutes. And then it would start all over again. By the 5^th time of going back and forth every 5 minutes (at best!) thereafter, we both would either allow her to join us in bed and/or be completely wide awake. Spud would make it near impossible for either one of us to fall back to sleep as she just would not be able to keep still.

Enter the electrical timer:

How this work is that a socket-located light timer that’s attached to a lamp or a night light will switch on the electric current, allowing the night-light to be turned on at that specific time. The time can be modified and set manually, and when the light is on, it becomes a cue for Spud as it tells her that she can now come out of her bed.

Shared by a friend in Holland, it took us a while to find this nifty little device in Bangkok (we finally found it at Home Pro). This tip has been a life saver for us to relish that much needed half an hour in the morning as  this little trick helps the kids learn the concept of waiting for when it’s time. And that means as long as the light does not come on, she stays in bed!

Spud’s a funny little creature, and when it comes to routine, she can be quite a stickler for it. It took Spud two days to get used to it, and as soon as she did, she actually had gotten quite upset the first few times when we told her that she could already get out of bed even when the light was not on as the device was not set up properly the night before.

On days like that, it always makes me smile in glee when I think how she would be watching the lamp intently the moment she wakes up while anticipating for the light to go on so she could make a dash to our bed as quickly as she could!

Fried Rice for little tots

If there is one food that can never, ever be considered as “Epic Fail” to cater to little toddlers’ picky taste buds, I reckon it has got to be the humble Nasi Goreng, otherwise, fondly known as Fried Rice.

A toddler's plate of fried rice with steamed salmon

I have heard from several other parents too that if all else fails for their kids, fried rice usually will come to their rescue. And, I know from experience that when Spud gets difficult with food, a plate of fried rice would often do the trick to get Spud to eat.

Spud loves her fried rice, and it has become one of her favourite staples; even Squirt has shown his liking for fried rice! Contrary to the belief, fried rice can actually be quite healthy. It is easy to make and the best part about it is that you can sneak in all sorts of vegetables in there without it being glaringly conspicuous to the kids to minimize the potential rejection of vegetables that they see in their food.

This is how I make my Fried Rice for Spud.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cupful of rice, rinse in water then boil
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg (optional)
• Half a teaspoon turmeric powder (Optional)
• Salt to taste

This is when you can get creative to add to the base in case your child does not like vegetables:

• Spinach or bak choy or any green leafy vegetables – chopped finely or blend
• Carrots – diced small or
• Peas /Corn– blended or as is
• A sprig of spring onions – chopped finely

The dish is not complete without either one of these:

• A piece of chicken breast, minced or cubed small or
• 5-6 pieces of prawns, sliced or
• A handful of minced beef or
• Palm-sized salmon or mackerel, cut small or
• Fish balls or cuttlefish balls, sliced

[there is always room to mix the above depending on how you like it]

Method:

1. Boil rice and set aside
2. Blend garlic and onion together, set aside
3. Heat up oil. When oil is hot enough, add in the blended garlic and onion. Fry for about 2 minutes till it turned a little brown
4. Add in the chopped/blended vegetables. Stir fry for another 5 minutes or until cooked (especially cubed carrots which will take a longer time to cook)
5. Add in the meat and fry till all is mixed and cooked well.
6. Crack an egg, stir in together then add salt to taste
7. Lastly add in the rice and spring onions and mix well
8. Ready to be served or frozen in batches for future meals!

It really is a fuss-free dish. Feel free to also use left-overs to whip up this yummy dish and I hope this recipe comes in handy for your little picky eaters.

Squirt enjoying his small bowl of fried rice at 13.5 months (and he's only got 2 bottom teeth!)

Mind-bending visuals

Here are a few of my favourite images which I find to be utterly fascinating. I could easily lose track of time just by looking at them as I try to scrutinize every aspect of it:

Amazing isn't it?

I realise that I'm can never be so creative like that, and so, I just marvel at what other people can do, and hoping that one day, I have my own calling at something 'creative' - whatever that may be.

Original article can be found here.

Eid Mubarak 2013

The last time we were back in Singapore to celebrate the festivities of Hari Raya with my family was 2 years ago when Spud was only 13 months old. We missed last year because Squirt was only a couple of months old (I didn’t feel like I was up for traveling with a newborn), and this year, all the four of us made it there and back - thankfully still sane and in one piece.

The trip wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be, and although Spud did throw one of her worst ever temper-tantrums every other day, we managed to get through the week without me completely losing my head. It was also a novelty for us to watch the kids amuse each other and laughing their guts off when they were put together in the same room at bedtime – something which neither we nor the kids have done before.  The first two nights were the roughest as both went on a crying spree at the same time refusing to sleep even though they were knackered. But as the days went by, hearing bucket loads laughter coming from behind closed door after we kissed them goodnight was pretty endearing. The kids eventually fell asleep after about an hour of mucking around (amazing how they can amuse each other, even though Squirt can barely talk!) and of course, not without us butting into the room every 5 minutes and finally threatening to take their bed-buddies away.

Despite a rather hectic schedule, we managed to do our rounds of mandatory visits to the relatives, caught up with a few precious long-time friends over for lunch at my parents’, had our Sambal Stingray at Newton and squeezed in a trip to the zoo.  Spud even managed to score herself a bonus trip to the Bird Park with her Nya-i when we had to do some errands on one of the days.

The silly thing I did was to forget to charge the battery of my digital camera before we left Bangkok and because I cannot be bothered to attempt taking pictures from my mobile, we don’t quite have that many pictures to share this time, save for these few!

Spud and Squirt with their Uncle at the zoo

Spud & Squirt flanking their cousin

Smiling Spud with 2 apprehensive little babies!

Squirt trying to engage his cousin in a conversation

A picture evidence for Spud that we passed the Rhino which she insisted on seeing.. She fell asleep as I wore her on my back.

Squirt falling asleep on his Nya-i on our way to the airport

The week had flew by so fast and because we were either chasing kids or running after schedule all the time, it felt like I was zooming in and out of a dream. Now that we are back in Bangkok, it felt kind of surreal that we have survived this trip given the circumstances.

This year, I missed a good friend whom I always look forward to see during our annual Hari Raya gathering. I had thought of her.  I remember how much she enjoyed my Mom’s cooking and Hari Raya goodies, and at the same time, it saddened me that I would never see her again in this life. My eyes welled up with tears when I stumbled upon her comments on a blog post I had published in 2011 while I was trying to recall what I had written for the last Hari Raya two years back. It is hard to believe that she was gone. I still feel the warmth in her voice, and while my eyes had involuntarily turned glassy as I read what she wrote, her cheerful and playful tone also made me smile. May the sun always shine bright on your soul, Vicky. I have missed you.

In the spirit of festivities while doing our part for the less fortunate and remembering the departed regardless of race or religion, here’s us wishing everyone a (fairly belated) Happy Eid Mubarak and wishing you a blessed Syawal.