Moving along

Finally renovation work has started last Thursday and we're looking at an expected completion of about 2-3weeks as we are only installing lights, make 1 false ceiling, repainting of whole unit, adding window grilles to the lower storey windows and a few carpentry works. During that timeframe, the retractable awnings will also be up, just as the solar films and curtains/blinds for windows. 

Definitely things are moving along quickly in the next few weeks as we are looking at moving in sometime last week of July. We've also made lotsa progress on the furniture shopping part :) Bought all the big items except for tv console and dining chairs. These 2 most likely we'll get after we've moved in as its no hurry, haha. Yes, we'll sit on stools to eat in the mean while :)

Another thing we're working on is the external landscaping as we've 3 huge patios we'll like converted into active living spaces. Its useful to have big balconies when one have a dog and 2 kids. Most likely we'll have an outdoor dining set so at least the kids could paint or do dirty stuff. And likely I'll put out their inflatable wading pool permanently as well. 

Only now did we realise that plants, and pots, and soil, are all so expensive!!! It never occured to me at all. We bought 2 planter boxes 2 weekends ago to graft his mom's current plants, and just those two plus 2 packs of soil threw us back by $50. I was aghast to find out that big planter boxes, those that are deep and wide enough for proper plants costs $50 and up per piece. Amazingly overpriced right for plastic! I dunno. Maybe cos in my mind, pots are what, less than 10bucks?? Oh well, we'll still need them whatever the price, so we'll just have to look for cheaper sources, so tempted to drive into Msia to purchase them! 

We've got packing to do and movers to book. We'll need to move the mattress from here so definitely need a mover, which also since we're having one, might as well pack some of our things in boxes for them to move at the same time. So packing, we've not started but at least we've some carton boxes to use :)

Overall, its exciting, to think that we're moving into our own place. Its truly a happy thought, but I must admit, intimidating at the same time. Most importantly, furnishing our own home, thats totally wicked fun albeit tiring. Can't wait to see the end product :) In the mean time, think I better go take some photos of the house in a works-in-progress stage.

Games & more games..

23 Jun 09 - It is so easy for me to forget about the origin of this blog. It never occur to me before that this blog goes by the title "Our Little Stars" & not just "My Little Stars". I always see myself as a guest blogger or best still..... a tourist, who visits the blog as and when i feel like :) TT should be happy now that i'm using 2 hands rather than my usual "one-hand clicking" routine to surf the internet & play games.

And talking about games. While i was "away", i was busy playing games on the internet. Never in my dreams would i've known that so many wonderful and interesting games are available for free. I must have been living in the past, for i always thought that good computer games only comes in the form of nicely wrapped compact discs.

Best still, i was able to integrate Father-Son bonding session via these internet games. Kayden's favourite was a game called "Commando 2". Needless to say, the game was violent in nature. We could even form a father & son tag team playing this particular game. I would be controlling the movement keys while Kayden would be toggling between different weapons and rattling away at the enemies with his machine gun. It was pure fun!!

Here are my recommendations:-

1) Evony - Strategy game similar to Romance of the 3 Kingdoms. Very time consuming!
2) Travians - one of those role playing games that requires lots of time
3) Miniclip - list of arcade games with lots of variety to choose from...highly recommended!!
4) Commando 2 - Kayden's favourite!!

Tonsillitis again

Finally the kids are well and K's even gone back to school today.

Alas, though, dear hubs the next one down, he's got K's tonsillitis since yesterday and was sent home on a 2 days MC. The poor guy's nursing a high fever, bad throat and lethargy... Never ever seen him on the bed for such a long period as these 2 days :) Heheh at least its a good way to force him to sleep, as sleep's something he would readily give up over TV and computer.

I'm so sleepy now, hope I can get a short nap. We finally went to the Ben 10 show in United Square today,will write abt it later :) Overall I enjoyed the Dora show a whole lot more than Ben 10.

Herpangina

So yesterday it was Soph's turn at the PD, and the doc confirmed that she has herpangina , a variant of HFMD and my guess, a spin-off her brother's tonsillitis. Herpangina I learnt, only causes blisters in the mouth, unlike HFMD that causes sores also on palms and feet. 

Lucky that her illness' milder in nature and her fever had subsided on Sunday night before her visit to the PD the next morning. She seems totally OK from Day 3 (ie Monday) and was herself again except for the few blisters in her mouth.

She's so far, happy and herself. Playing with her brother, and as usual imitating her brother.

Good when kids are not sick as the days go back to normal. Kayden will go back to school on Thursday for his school holiday program as soon as he finishes his course of antibiotics tomorrow. We'll try to catch the Ben 10 performance show on Thursday (went today then realised no shows on Tuesday, boo hoo!).

Tomorrow will be a full day out for me, with my gal pal, SH... Truthfully, it'll be my first full day away from the kids other than attending courses, and a big part of me do feel the guilt. I wonder, if ever, I will ever stop having Mama-guilt (think this is the official term, I read somewhere)... Oh, perhaps when they dont need me anymore, which I guess will in the coming years :)

The tonsillitis

Forgot to blog about K's diagnosis, its tonsillitis whereby he's got ulcers on his tonsils and its enlarged and inflammed. First 3 days will have high fever then the very bad throat will persist for 7-10days. He's gotten an MC for 10 days so will be kept at home next week.

Its extremely contagious so PD says to separate the kids. 

Alas, as usual, we didnt do a good job and now Sophie's high fever had just started... Thermometer reads 39.3 and she already has one ulcer on her right tonsil. Next 3 days will be hell cos it'll be even more difficult to feed her.

Swallowing of any substance's a torture as seen in K's case. Liquids' the same as food, so no escape. And once she starts her antibiotic of Augmentin, she can't even drink her milk as the meds will cause the runs.

Do I now have to quarantine she and I in her room? Or perhaps not, since the kids now share the same germs!! Best deal would be to quarantine hubs and I, finally I will have decent sleep again. But, hehe, wishful thinking as sick kids are even more whiny at night when they awake.

OK another trip to the PD on Monday, to get her medication prescription.

Little pedicure

I'm a terrible terrible mom.

I painted my dear daughter's toe nails just a while ago. All 10 of them!

So now we both have bright pink nails, hers just on her feet while mine's hands and feet.

Imagine the amount of fumes she breathed in while she hung her feet off the chair handle as she sits and have her dinner while her slave (read, me) coats her nails with base, OPI color then a fast dry top coat.. She was gleeful. What a girly girl!

As for me, I do know its no good (that's why there are kids polish without the alcohol and all the bad stuff, but they are so so ex!), but I just couldnt resist not painting my daughter's little toes after sitting next to the caucasian 4 yr old girl in the nail salon earlier who had her toe nails painted!

So anyway, there it is, our nails.... Mainly Sophie's for show, I just wanted to show mine in comparison (btw they're different colors).

And this nail business, for me, it comes in waves... I am hooked again this time, and have my pedicures done once a month at the salon while I perform my own manicures every week where I get a new coat of polish with a full manicure regime in the night after the kids sleep. Surprisingly this shop, their pedicures last a whole month with no chip! Good I must say :)

So there it is, will have nice nails as long as it lasts :)

For Sophie, think this will be her one and only time until she turns 3 or 4! :)

Sick Kor Kor

3 months.

Thought its longer, it does seem longer.

K's down again w a fever that hovers 38.5 to 39+ degrees. Tummy ache with no diarrhea. A look into his painful throat looks like enlarged and swollen tonsils.

Guess tomorrow, will be a visit to the PD rather than the scheduled yoga class! Hope he'll be OK soon in time for a day trip to the Sentosa next Saturday. And mostly, Sophie wont catch his bug!

So tonight the ill one and Mama will retreat to the "quarantine" room (hehe, glamour name for Sophie's abandoned room) while the girl can sleep with her Papa. Or perhaps, Mama may have to sleep with Soph as Kayden would be easier for Papa to handle even when he's grouchy being sick.

Btw, think this blog is a good record keeper for me :) Else I would not have known its just been 3 months :)

A Monday update

Its Monday again, good thing about not working is that I dont have any Monday blues like hubs do, poor guy.

Mom was in town over the wknd, and it was hustling bustling busy. Meal outs, shopping, furniture browsing, concert, etc.

Its also a good step forward on the "new house" front as all of the defects have been rectified by the developer - they've to-date, changed a wall cracked wall tile for us, replace a broken heater switch, reinstall our undersink pipe, sanded our parquet floor, patch all hairline wall cracks plus repainting and even repolish our main door frame... That's actually a whole lot of work for a project that's past the defect guarantee period. I am so grateful to this developer's project guy who's just been so accommodating from the start. He even called me today to find out the status of the door frame work, I havent even checked it myself. All these are done at no-costs but I do know we cant ask for more as his boss' not supportive of all that he's done in view its no longer a new development.

Furniture-front, we also got the children's bunk bed! A compromise between Ikea and Maxtrix/Flexa - its a low children's bunk bed that's all white, made from solid rubber wood (very sturdy), and can be dismantled into 2 single beds. Costs $649 from Harvey Norman including delivery. Its a good mid-point for me as I could check off all my bunk bed requirements except one - ie I can't get it to be an L-shaped bunk, its just a normal upper/lower level. Also got 2 sets of bedsheets/quilt covers for them, so their bed's more or less settled except the mattress, to which we'll get from Ikea as we dont need a super good one in view there'll definitely be pee-pee accidents in the next few years :)

Got too a side-by-side Samsung fridge and a Sanyo 8.5kg top loader washing machine from Courts. They've the best deals, for now! No other big ticket electronic items required. Will get a microwave when we're moving in and some other small electronic goods.

We've also finally found a sofa that seems "right"... So that's kinda checked off with the dining table. So the next few wknds, will just be our bedframe shopping as well as  the TV console which I foresee latter to be quite difficult. Oh we've also got to tackle lights and then settle on the contractor by this week. 

Its been a long ride, did you know even Kayden no longer wanna go out with us? Every wknd, he'll say he wanna stay home - see the prospect of home is much more exciting than furniture shopping!! Hehehe. Lucky Sophie still likes tagging along though I think she'll soon parrot her brother as she hears more from him. We left him behind 2 weekends ago, and its so much easier to go out with just one kid!

Sorry for the rambling, cos I do know its boring!

Oh other new thing is that I finally did sign up True Yoga membership. $86 per month for 2 years, with up to 2 classes daily. Guess I'll just have to attend more classes to make it more worth it! I do like the Hot Yoga classes.

One last thing, finally hubs know its tough handling his 2 kids! He was left in charge last night as I went out with my Mom, and they really drove him up the wall over just one aspect of parenting - putting them to bed! He weren't involved more as he napped all the way through their dinner, haha, but lucky my super maid Gigi was able to handle them both on her own. Kudos to her! For hubs, the irritation stemmed more from his stubborn daughter who has a mind of her own. She was put in a dark room after many tantrums and ended up vomitting her milk and dinner. Only after that did she behave and allowed herself to go to sleep. Hehehe, think if I had asked last night, he would have readily give up his dream of being a stay-home-dad :)

OK that's all the updates I have for now, other than Mom's gone back, and we'll only see her in July when she comes down again to stay with us for 3 weeks. Its been good having her around, and Kayden, Kayden asked me to prevent his Grammi from going back this morning, hehe... But by evening he was ready to send her off already, kids really do adapt quite quickly :)

Sorry for a boring post, with no picture whatsmore! Next one, next will be better okie! :)

SH - Enjoy yr trip back and see you soon! :)

The Little Big Concert

Just got back from the Little Big Concert, and.... Welll..... It was quite boring to be honest. 90% of the songs sung in the concert by the different characters are those that's not famous... Nearly fell asleep at the first 2 performances.

And the kids? 

K was fretting during the 2nd half and looked a little bored and tired. Sophie, the outgoing one, quite enjoyed herself in the 2nd half. Both sang Barney's finale "I Love You" at least. 

In comparison, the three events... I would rate Gingerbread Man ($18) first, followed by Dora (free) then this concert ($42). In brackets are all price per pax. For K he said the concert was his favorite of the 3, huh! Maybe cos its still fresh on his mind when I asked in the car as we were leaving Expo. 

Oh well, all for the kids' exposure to different events. Me, I wouldnt pay that much money to go again! Lucky we got one of the cheapest tickets this time around.

Dora & Boots - Best Friends Day

The Dora-fever has intensified.

Today, I spent $75 at Changi Airport just so I can get a priority ticket into the Dora performance for 2 adults and 2 kids. 

No 1, yes yes yes (for Dora fans) she's in town with her best friend Boots (see picture below taken from Changi Airport website). I only happen to see a TV advert on Okto today while K waited for his Ben 10 to start, hence, the only reason I'm in the know, and also, how we ended up being an early bird, today being Day 1 of this event!

Dora and her best friend, Boots!

And No 2,  I felt so cheated to have spent that much money at the toy store in the airport. Let's see, with $75 we got a Transformers (for K), a Mega Bloks Dora (for Soph), 4 sets of 24 pcs coloring pencils and 1 Matchbox aeroplane. All cos we were told that only those who holds a redemption ticket (in exchange for $70 spent at the airport) gets to sit inside the enclosure. My heart, sank when the show started and the performer invited everybody to come and join in! So what did my $75 buy us? See below:

Our "expensive" photos :)

Yes, "super fantastic" photo taking opportunity with Dora and her best friend Boots. I would not have spent that much money on toys if I had known, but then again, Sophie loved being so close to her idol, perhaps, perhaps I might in the end... I dunno.

The brave girl just trooped up the stairs of the stage, and walked straight to her idol when its our turn at photo taking. There is no stopping her, no over the shoulder gazes if her brother and mother's behind her. Nope. She just walked straight smack to Dora and only stopped when she got in front of her. She was really excited and retold Gigi that Dora hugged her, which truly she did cos the little girl was all alone whilst I was trying to push Kayden's grip off my legs as well as shove him forward towards the characters! 

Kayden with the ticket

Sophie with the ticket

Them on the stage before the show started.

Haha guess I could include these photos together with the $75 amortisation cos if we hadn't gotten priority seating, we wouldnt have been able to take a photo on stage, hmmm...

Later in the car, the girl exclaimed that Dora is BIG and asked me why.. I gave them the truth and wondered, if instead, I should have lied, cos would it have been kill-joy to know that Dora is not Dora but a man in a costume?? Oh well, or maybe it didnt matter to 2 and 3 yr olds.

Anyway, it was a good show... lasted 25minutes, what's more its a free show and open to the public. Its held Thurs-Sun 1pm and 6pm for the whole month of June. Check out Changi's website if you're keen on more details :)

Here's how she look throughout the show

The girl was enthralled throughout the show (so was her brother), and most likely we will head there again before it ends (no more $70 spending). Again as I say, its free and most of all, Sophie loves Dora. Love to bits. 

So added to her Dora collection now is the new Mega Bloks set, she already has a Dora Mothercare top, Dora Mothercare wellingtons and a pair of Dora pajamas bought from NTUC. Oh yeah, plasticware, she has the melamine plate as well as a new addition, water bottle. Oh yes, Daddy got her a little Dora figurine too. Oops, not forgetting my $75 also got us a free Dora backpack from the airport, perfect size for Soph to use for school next year. 

There it is... the Dora craze. It's still going strong, and its cute, real cute... Cos Dora's pretty cute herself and is not at all ultra-feminine like the Disney Princesses and Barbie does. We thought its a good and fun character to love :) 

So if anyone wanna get Sophie a present, anything Dora-related would be right on the spot! :) I'm thinking of Dora DVD in the mean time, cos its really hard to catch the TV program that's only aired once a week, every Friday at 930am on Okto. I've not even watched a single Dora episode in my life! Neither has K though Soph had managed to catch it once or twice on Okto.

Ooh, I've mentioned things happen in threes, and again its true this time. Brought K to see the Gingerbread Man play on Monday and this weekend, we're going for the Little Big Concert that shows Bob the Builder, Barney, Fireman Sam and etc.

Its a truly play/performance/concert/arts week for us :) And I'm not complaining :)

Leftie and Rightie

Did you know that I didnt know that I was born a left-hander until 6 months ago? 

It all started when Mom said I should try to influence (read - force) Sophie to use her right hand as the girl is a leftie naturally. Her brother's always been a rightie all the way. Mom's reasons are practical ie easier to share a round table with other diners, most gadgets are designed for the rightie, etc.

I do hear her, but I declined. I want Sophie to be the way she naturally is, and if she is a left-hander, then so it shall be. Basically she also uses her right hand, and at this stage now, its a 50-50. 6 months ago, it was more left than right. Kids do change as they grow.

I, I would like her to be a left-hander. For I hear, a left hander is someone who's creative and good in arts. Why not? I feel its fantastic for a girl to have a creative flair. 

Coincidentally, her current PlayClub teacher, Zita, was also forced to be a right-hander when she was young (its a common asian practice in the past). She claims its the reason why she is so bad with directions and cant tell left from right, cos basically, nature's been tampered with. Hehe, I also thought, perhaps, its also the case for me, in the sense that I can't seem to love accountancy (my uni degree) or HR (my last job). Sure I can do them, but somehow, deep within, I wish that I am able to create.

I cant say I am a creative person, actually I am not. My preferences are usually for designs that are simple, lines that a straight, items that are balanced ie in the centre, or left=right etc. Thus I am unable to much appreciate jaggard shapes, crooked lines, or clashing bright colors. I prefer a more subdued form, pattern and color.

So anyway, I wonder, would my life had been any different if I was left a leftie?

Haha, I can hear you all out there, and also the practical me, says NO. Life is what you make of it. And yes, I am thus venturing into creating, sewing, making stuff... Perhaps, I can start my own line one day... Not women clothes but more vibrant bright children stuff. It'll be so cool, even more if it can grow into a big money making enterprise. Haha, its late, 12.30am, so do pardon me for entertaining crazy dreams :)

But who knows, maybe one day? I am still scared, hesitant to change or make a move, afraid of failure... This is one thing I note similar of those who's gone through school of bricks instead os school of life. Textbook easily tells you, one bird in hand is better than two in the bush. So I dare not change, I dare not lurk in the murky water, what if I fall?

So now, I take baby steps, create things for my kids first, see if I even really like it, the process? For all I know, maybe I am a true rightie now that I've been one for 31 yrs?

My Craft - Hair clips for Sophie

One of my hobby is reading craft blogs. Its a Chips-More cookie to me, once I pop, I can't stop!

Did you know there are so many crafty and talented people out there?? Amazing how creative some people are, and mostly, how well they can make things with their own hands. Not to mention also take super nice photos to showcase their craft. 

I for one, had always wished I have a craft I excel in. One that I am passionate to do, and also, brings in the income. Hopefully as I try making more stuff, I will know if sewing or crafting is for me. 

Enough said about me... This post is really about me making some fantastic clip covers... I've bookmarked this tutorial for months (its one of many!) but never got around to doing it. This afternoon, after my son refused to go to the library (cos he wants to talk he says!), I decided to just get up and do it.

So here they are, my handsewn clip covers :) They're so cute! And bright and cheery, just perfect for my little girl!

Also, it is really easy to do and the tute is very clear. So if you do have time on your hands, do give this one a go. You'll like the result as much as I did :)

Btw you dont need to make many, as this clip measures about 5.5cm in length so one is more than enough on your little girl's head. I of course, tried it on as well, and I say, looks just as swell on adults :) Hehee... 

As note for myself, next time I do this, I will use the sewing machine... so at least the stitches will be even and shape will be perfect, that'll definitely beat the "accuracy" of my hand stitches today! :) It will also be much faster making them!

Furniture cutouts

Today, while the plumber was fixing the undersink pipes, I squat on the living & dining floor and made a few paper patchworks from the advertisement mailers/leaflets thats been cramming our mailbox since Feb 2008 (ie project TOP).

Over the weekend while browsing for furnitures (yet again), one of the shops advised that we make newspaper cutouts of the same dimension as the furniture we've shortlisted so that we could see if it fits.

So today I did just that and made 2 long rectangles depicting the sofa and the TV console for the living room and a round 1.2m table for the dining area plus 4 chairs. 

The living area with our outdoor balcony and patio.

Hello round dining table and 4 dining chairs!

Its a fantastic idea I must say, it at least gives me a perspective (as opposed to none), as a minimum, of the space it will occupy. Also, for the dining table, it allows me to move it to and fro to find the "right" place in the small space.

Today without the hubs and the kids, working alone was a breeze. It was fun too... 

Oh and how could I forget to mention, silly us left the living room aircon turned on since Sat 10am until Monday 2pm! It was not turned off properly. Anyway, no 1, it was pleasing to have a cool house to enter (as opposed to the super duper warm one we are accustomed to now) but no 2, how much our electricity bill will costs this month, for a fact that we've not even moved in. Tsk tsk.

Once bitten, twice shy. I'm pretty sure it'll not occur again. We definitely dont have any spare $$$$ to "throw".

The kids also went to use the pool, yet again, today. They were there for close to an hour, and its so easy to just pop upstairs to have a quick shower before we left. Now that they are older, they do know how to demand for stuff, and thus we picked up 8 plain pratas from the famous Cheese Prata Shop on the way back.

Tomorrow, I head back there again, to meet the Mayer serviceman who'll come take a look at our kitchen hood that I couldnt get to work. Maybe we dont know where the main switches are or stuff, anyway, they're coming down for a free check.

I've to say I am growing quite accustomed to the new place and I definitely am looking forward to moving there, albeit I know there'll be lots to do. It'll be a good change. Sophie also wanted to stay at the "new house" today... Haha, maybe after we move, they'll ask for the reverse instead... "Go Nai Nai's house!"

Will post pictures later, after I download them.