Hello I am back!

Yes yes, I disappeared again... and also again, only once hubby started writing, I had the inclination to follow... (Haha... the phrase "behind every successful man (say in this case blogger) there is a woman" is certainly applicable, tho to be read on a different note!). Tonight, he will come home and complain again that I "followed him". Haha. Oh well, some things are just the way it is... :) 

He is right tho, we cant just abandon this blog as there are so many things to write about! 

So what am I up to?

Nothing much actually, in a dilemma about K's pre-school (if I shld move him to a cheaper, but very popular and good church kinder), started K's quilt - soon to complete once I decide on the backing and then finish up with a binding, monitoring the markets and the global financial turmoil, driving the kids around, trying to meet friends, reading (such pleasure, I am on my 3rd novel in 2 weeks) and more importantly, spending more time and talking with hubby...

The last point, we're OK, we've always been. Just that, with his long hours, and my focus on the kids, we had less time and also topic to discuss (read: engaging in active conversation) in the past months. However, a recent event brought us closer by giving us a common goal to work towards. It feels good and definitely made me happier that we're really on the same page :)  

What else? Oh yeah, we also survived bringing out the kids on our own... The last 2 weekends, we went out without Gigi, our helper, and we could easily handle both kids during meal times (what used to be the most challenging going-out event). It felt so easy and free - definitely the best weekend we had as a family unit, and we didnt even do much... just meals and a walk-about. In WK's words "Finally I understand the concept of quality time", me too!

We went to the Istana Open House as well yesterday... photos will be up in a separate post once I get off my lazy bum and download the photos to the comp.

Thats all for now... :) Will be back!

New "Readers" gadget link on top right corner of blog

New feature - You are very much welcomed to join the "Readers of Our Little stars" group by clicking on the link at the top right hand corner of the blog. :)

First Cut is the deepest...

6th July 2008 - "Its Pain Pain!!" ....



Totti K had earlier on slipped and fell onto the tar surface of the road outside the house. The minor incident resulted in a graze wound on his kneecap and blood was seeping out. It was Totti K's first fall involving blood and the pain was therefore overbearing for him. TT & i quickly took him to the bathroom to clean the wound. After rinsing the wound with water, we quickly applied some Acriflavine solution on it. TT was in partial shock and kept questioning Daddy's first aid skills - clearly forgetting that Daddy was a qualified first aider...... 16 years back.




It was a challenge attending to a crying boy in pain as he initially refused any form of contact with his injured knee. We eventually managed to convince him into allowing us to run water on his wound. The injured boy was then carried onto the bed with both parents giving him 100% of their TLC. The injured boy cried his heart out, screaming "Its Pain Pain..Its Pain Pain"... until he was depleted of energy and soon fell asleep.




When Totti K woke up 2 hours later, the pain was under control and he was back to his normal cheeky self again. What a relief it was for us. And from that moment on, i fully understood what Rod Stewart meant when he sang "First Cut is the deepest... baby you know...." Obviously, the first cut was not only the most painful experience for the child, it also left the deepest impression for the parents as well....

Western australia Trip - Photos (7th day)

As the days and the months go by, so does the memory...

now i know the importance of taking photos.. it just helps u refresh yr memories. And the event you forgot, one can always 'smoke out', nobody can tell...

On the 7th day of our trip, we checked out of our farm and drove alllll the way down to Augusta. It was quite a long drive and we decided to even push further ahead to Walpole. Here are some of the nice photos taken along the way

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And as we stopped by the road side to take photos, we got to familiarize ourselves with this bird.
Can you guess the what kind of bird this is??



According to TT, this is a Magpie - a meat eating bird???





It felt great driving through this forest with tall & majestic trees - What a pity we do not have these kind of scenic views in Singapore..

When we reached Augusta, we stopped by near the sea to take some photos.
Lovely! these photos turn out to be...





TT, K & myself hiked up to the cliff for some great photo sessions while Baby S slept in the car. It was extremely windy and i was worried that Totti K might get blown off into the sea.

Nah... i was more worried about encountering snakes...





After the scenic stopover, we continued our journey to Walpole. It was already dark when we reached the small little town. We spent some time looking for accommodation and finally ended up in a huge comfortable cottage with a fireplace again.

That night, we had dinner at this cosy restaurant eating Wagyu beef (if i didnt remember wrongly). TT had marron for dinner (Apparently, Walpole is famous for its Marron).

And to end this post, i leave you with a photo typifying how great a place Australia is for spending yr days.....

NO MELAMINE...........WE ARE AUSTRALIANS.........


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Wash my noodles?

So we had Jap tonight, K and I with his godma.

K's started to love eating greentea soba. In order to have the least mess, my way of serving him the soba is simply to drizzle sauce on his soba portion in his plate, instead of letting him do it the right way ie dip noodles in sauce, and feed directly into mouth.

Tonight, he was looking at how I ate and when I served him his next portion with a sauce drizzle, he asked with a serious look... 

"Ma, why didnt you wash my noodles too?"

Kids do just say the darnest thing, and their view of the world's just so simple... Thats so good.

Sophie at 20 months

She is all of 20months today and dear Sophie had grown up to be so different from when she was a baby.

She had lost all her baby fats, more on the thin side but slightly taller than average.

After reconciling my guilt that I love her less, which stemmed most likely from lesser time for and with her, I know without a doubt now that my fear is simply untrue. I love her as much as her brother, and it is not comparable at all as the love I have for both of them is simply different.

Eventhough she does spend more time with Gigi, the helper, in a day, I am still the most important person in her eyes. I will be the one she seeks when she wakes from her nap, or even when she is awoken unexpectedly from a roaring of the loud thunder. She is scared of storms.

She loves babies. And is a sociable creature - touches and reaches out to other kids and babies. But generally shy with adults, wanting most to cower and wrap her arms around my thighs when someone calls out to her.

She loves to sing... tho she cant verbalise most words yet, she chooses to hum the lyrics she cant pronounce and loves twinkle twinkle little star. As I put her to sleep, she will asks of me to sing her my version of the Barney I Love You song - I adapted the lyrics to include Papa, Kor2 and Rusty. She loves it and simply just loves music.

She loves going to the gym, and likes the playground at her playschool.

She is brave and independent. Just today, she declined my hand or offer to help as she treads the children's swimming pool even though she tripped and went underwater a split second before I fished her out. With no fear at all she just sweeps water off her face and continued to climb up towards the water slide.

She loves her Kor2 a lot and does not mind him roughing it out on her. She will only yelp and cry for help when she is really pinned down by him and cant breathe. Otherwise, she accepts his rough brushes with her without even with a bat of an eyelid. All taken in stride.

She loves wearing shoes and loves walking on tiptoes this past month. She loves to spin round and round making herself dizzy.

She loves both cow and soybean milk. As she cant pronounce milk correctly yet, she says "nyok nyok" when she wants to breastfeed from me.

She is beginning to have more patience to finish a baby book I read to her. She also requests for storytime daily. She loves sitting on the bright pink armchair in her room to "read"... she holds the book in her lap and flips the pages.

She still loves Rusty and going out for afternoon walks outside along the road with Gigi.

I love all of her and I love how she cups my face tightly in her little hands and draws and plasters my cheeks to hers, with a kiss on the lips thereafter. I love how she snuggles up to me when I carry her out of her babycot at night for her midnight feed. I love her murmuring "Mama Mama" when she is looking for me in a state of half-asleep.

I love her to bits, and I cant wait to hear her talk, to be able to have a conversation with us all.

And one of my fav photo of her taken just 2weeks ago... No longer the chubby baby anymore.

My first patchwork quilt

I've finally done it! Finally completed my 1st ever patchwork quilt, or for that matter, any sort of sewing project since I left primary school. 

This project, took me a total of 8-9months to complete. 

Ah, being a natural procrastinator, I simply couldnt bring myself to do the final step of the project ie the binding (the red border) after completing the patchwork by hand (already the process thus far had been super super tedious, measure, cut, draw lines, handsew, patch them all up). 

The thought of measuring sewing patching again, and this time a bigger piece of cloth, really scared me. So I left it to sit for 7-8months and kept wondering if I should get a sewing machine, as I had never ever touched one before nor used it, I wasnt sure if it is an investment worth making. Good hubby bought a basic model I chose about 2months back and after attending the free class, I finally had the courage to take the machine out of the box tonight and started sewing.

I like making things with my hands, and being able to complete the quilt, there was pure excitement and exhiliration :) I just HAD TO complete the quilt tonight and it was really fun. I'm so proud I finally finished the project, and more so, I can make a blanket for my dear daughter... 

Why a patchwork quilt you may ask? Cos I had one when I was young, and it was made for me by my maternal grandmother. I loved it and used it daily till it was torn to bits - I no longer have it today, its just a hazy picture in my head. And my motto, whatever I had when I was a kid, I would like to be able to provide it to my kids.

As I really dunno anything about cloth or sewing matters, I hope the cloths used are durable and that the square size can last her at least 6months before I make her a longer one. Next blanket would be for Kayden :)

I am in the process of domesticating, definitely.

P/S. Patchwork quilt instructions obtained from here, thanks Tasha!

P/P/S. Whoops forgot to signout Daddy. Keke, WK would never have sewed! :)