Nothing like family ties!

Dan and I decided to visit my parents in Dec as I was kinda missing my mother's company as she had been in Sing for a month. I thought it would be a good time to visit my Dad too who unfortunately couldn't come back to Sing for the hols as he had to run the pie shop in Perth. Dan was off-peak at work, my aunt was also having her school hols and the kids were in good health too. So we made an impromptu decision to buy the pkane tix and fly down to visit my folks. We were planning to go for 2 weeks but I had a report that I needed to give to my client. Grrrrrrrrr....deadlines!!

For cost-savings we chose the wee hour morning flight. Jedi was a great traveller and slept all the way to Perth for the 5 1/2 hour flight. Krisa was the model passenger according to fellow passengers and flight attendants....but for the wrong reason for me!! She was an energizer bunny....alert, chatting happily, smiling to sleepy passengers and torturing me!!!!!!!!! coz i soooooooo wanted my sleep!!! Which explains ehy she was completely knocked out in the grocery cart at Coles. A fellow shopper asked my aunt in concern if Krisa was alright as before she slept she was lying really still and expressionless!! think her battery was really flat!

We spent out days just catching up with my folks. Those days my mum didn't need to work, she kindly cooked for us breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have sooooooo missed my mummy's cooking. Had a real treat of her fried rice, roast beef, roast chicken, roast lamb, fried beehoon and vege soups!! Nothng like mum's cooking that comforts the soul! Thanks mummy for cooking for us!!! The highlight was the sashimi my dad bought back from a market near thier place. Its so fresh you can just eat it after you buy it fromt he fish monger. Its the BEST sashimi I have ever ever eaten! Smooth, buttery and melting in the mouth....with wasabi and soys sauce adding the extra ooooph!!!

The kids had a great time too! They had all the nonsense and junk their hearts desired. Gummy sweets, cookies, nbacho chips, ice-cream! No wonder Jedi said he didn't want to leave for Singapore at the end of our trip!! My parent's house was a paradise of all the stuff we didn't usually let them indulge in back home! hahahaha!

We had a real treat of pies at my parent's pie shop and these were the times we also could chat and catch up with my dad other than when he came home in the evenings. We loved the pies so much we ordered 3 boxes home! Still indugling in them till now! Also had the fish and chips at Fremantle at Cicerello's. Think the standard dropped....tastes very noraml compared to when we first tried it during our honeymoon...

Well, thanks Papa and Mummy for having us, playing with the kids, feeding our tummies with all the great food and most of all for your love to us. Strangely for me it felt as if I was visiting home although I don't even live in Perth. But often I feel as if I'm the one who migrated as my folks and my bro are in Perth.Guess its family ties that bind. But I am thankful to also be so blessed with my hubby and wonderful kids back in Sing. Hee two homes in two countries?

Hope to see you all soon! Love you very much!

Chicken Pox Blues!

Talk about wrong timing!

Jedi was supposed to be the page boy and Krisa the flower girl for my cuz wedding on sat 15th November. All went well during the rehearsals until Thurs when Jedi woke up with a sore eye. I thought nothing of it and just gave him some eye ointment. Then when he came back froms chool he started gettinglittle red spots on his back. Brought him to a doc and was suspected to be chicken pox esp if more broke out the next day. True enough by Fri more came out. Dan and I still thought we could let Jedi just do his stint for my cuz wedding as where was the couple gonna find a page boy the day before the wedding?? So discussed with my cuz and the plan was to let him walk then fly home!

But.....around midnight on Fri all the little spots began opening into the blisters and the one near his eye burst!!! *OUCH*!! So we had to call SOS to my cuz and tell him Jedi really couldn't go as all his guests would probably run away upon seeing his spotty face. Felt so so bad! But God is good! The couple managed to find a friend whose three sons had just finished being page boys for a wedding the weekend before so they had three page boys to choose from! Praise the Lord!

To cut the long story short, Krisa was a great sport and let the new 'kor kor' pull her in the wagon down the isle. But poor Jedi had to be confined at home and dan kindly looked after him so Krisa and I could still attend the wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and more on that later..

The moral of the story is: Chicken pox vaccines don't always work!!!! BUT the Lord always provides in times of need!

Me and My Fav Bro!

Krisa loves to literally 'disturb' and tease Jedi. He finds her a real laugh at times but also a real agitation too! Now that they are getting older...its nice to see them having fun together and enjoying some bro-sis moments.

Remedy for Kiddie Poop-that-Never-Ends

Whew! Had a tough week battling a bout of tummy flu that Krisa was down with. Wanted to bring her to a doc but by the time I realised she needed to go, it was a little too late as I needed to pick Jedi up from school real soon! So checked the net and really thank the Lord as found an "online remedy" ! Just to share as found it really helpful:

1 satchet of SMECTA (divided into 2 or 3 doses) + 1 satched of Lacteol Forte.

Both of these can be bought off the shelf at the pharmacy. It really worked and she was fine in a few days. Saved a trip to the PD too.

Think I have changed soiled diapers almost 15 times a day during that week! Not to mention washing a soiled butt! EEEEEEEK!! The bains of motherhood!

But at least my sweetie is ok now. :)

Jedi and the Green Bean

This is the result of some green bean seeds that Jedi threw into an empty pot of soil. The green beans were from school and he came back with one green bean seedling. We just left the beans there and Jedi would faithfully water them after his school when he came home. Guess his love for his little plant paid off! Its has grown really well and has begun budding green bean pods too!

The funniest thing was that he kept telling me "Daddy put SALIVA in my plant!". And when his Daddy protested his innocence, Jedi was insistent and said "Yes you did Daddy! It was black in colour!" That left us really perplexed! What kind saliva is black and why would Dan spit inside??? Then we realized he was trying to pronouce the word "FERTILIZER" !

Now I have a new veggie to try and cook!

Driving in my cart with my sis!

Look what I bought from IKEA! Jedi and Krisa having a whale of a time in the shopping cart. That was good coz Dan and I could shop in peace. Krisa especially looks in seventh heaven!

Jedi accepted Christ today!

Today Jedi recieved Christ!

We decided to let him try Sunday PreSchool again as I had been having a hard time convincing him to stay alone a couple of months back and in the end always had to stay with him trhoughout together with Krisa. Was tough as I couldn't attend service while Dan was teaching Sunday School for the older kids. So Sundays were kind of stressful for me as had to handle the two of them in the church cry room alone.

Today we decided to just try again and we brought him up and I told him firmly that he was a big boy now and that he has to go to Sunday School on his own. I told him that we would pick him up when it ended. I gave him a kiss and said bye. But being the wory wart that I am, I took a peek at him after I left to see him happily settling down and most importantly not crying!

Hooray! I finally could attend service in peace and just handle Krisa and not both of them at one go!

He had a great time as he came out beaming with a chocolate biscuit in his hand and some art and craft. Food is always the way to a man's heart even from a young age?

The best part was when we were told by the Preschool teacher that Jedi had come forward on his own when they asked who would like to recieve Christ. She said she was pleasantly surprised as this was his first time and he had been brave to just step forward.

Dan and I were saying that even though he may be too young to really understand the whole concept, one is never too young to accept the Lord into his heart. A childlike faith is after all what the Lord really wants. Simple and trusting. On our part we have to continue to nurutre this little faith in our daily interactions with him and even by our examples.

Lord bless this little heart. :)

September Hols

This Spetember Hols we decided to do something different as a family. We realized we have been bringing the kids to too much indoor enterntainment like shopping and not wanting to breed shopping kings and queens, we decided to let them have other avenues of fun. First up was "Thomas and Friends" show at Expo which Jedi has been waiting to see for ages and ages! We enjoyed a loooooooong MRT ride from CCK all the way down and had a quick bite and some walking around before going for the show. The souvenirs for sale were SUPER expensive like a light stick cost $15 bucks and posters were the same price too! So we didn't get any but guess Jedi had a good deal as Dan decided to surprise him with a Sodor Airport set on sale there.... hee rather contradictory though as we didn't want to succumb to buying the memorabila! Krisa surprisingly enjoyed herself and kept clapping and dancing to the music throughout the show while Jedi was so star-struck that Thomas came to life that he just sat there in utter awe!

So to end off the hols we took a family outing to Chinese Gardens to see the lanterns. Dan gave Jedi a quick nature talk on bullfrogs that we heard along the way there and the sound really made my hair stand on end though!!! The kids loved the lights and sounds and utterly enjoyed themselves so it was nice to see them all smiley and happy at the end of the day.

Jedi was pooped! But Mei Mei was still high on energy! She really needs little sleep! *sigh*

Baby becomes Mommy!

I wonder if this is how I look when I'm strolling Krisa when buying groceries! Like someone really high on shopping! Well, Krisa for one is elated to be calling the shots and zooming Baby wherever she wants to go. Wonder what's going through her little mind.... But for now, Krisa is happy to play Mommy to her little Baby.

A Child's Prayer

Jedi's school has been in the practice of making the kids pray before they eat and they will usually sing a common childhood prayer:

Thank you God for the food we eat

Thank you God for the world so sweet

Thank you God for the birds that sing

Thank you God for everything.....Amen!

So recently, I have been down with a really bad flu bug and told Jedi to pray for me to get better and this is what he prayed:

Thank you God for the Mummy

Thank you God for the Mummy

Thank you God for the Mummy

Thank you God for everything

Amen!

A bit out of point but it was very heartwarming! He did it for his Daddy too when asked to pray for Dan who has been having a busy week. From his perspective, I guess he is thankful for the people in his life.

Simplicity of a child. Makes life a whole lot easier to live this way dosen't it?

Horrifying Laundry!

I had the most traumatic laundry wash in my entire life! As the kiddies clothes were being washed, I kept wondering how come the wash smelled so weird during its cycle... stale and stinky! Then when the whole thing ended, i opened up the wash to and the smell wasn't the best thing you 'd be expecting after a nice wash! To cut the long story short, there were bits of diaper stuffing all over the clothes and tumbler!! HORRORS!!! I guess I must have been blur enough to have thrown a really soiled diaper into the laundry basket instead of the bin!! Took another 2 hours to clear and rewash and hang! SUPER TRAUMATIC!!

Must make a mental note to check the clothes for extra surprises!! Laundry has never been so stinky! hahahaha!

Unexpected Blessings

Dan and I were just talking recently and we realized that we have been blessed in numerous ways in terms of things for our bubs. Clothes and really nice clothes are never a lack thanks to my two sis-in-laws who generously gave thier kiddies clothes to Jedi and Krisa. We have hardly spent much money at all on clothes and thats a real money saver.

Recently a sis from chuch (one of the sunday school teachers) blessed with us with ALL her childcare materials as she was no longer working at the childcare centre. She said she wanted to bless us as since I was staying home, these materials would come in useful with the kids. These stuff included boxes of flashcards, boardbooks, art and craft materials, sandpaper letters,writing materials. Today another sunday school teacher gave us lovely children's Bible storybooks in small book form which is great for Jedi's age now.

In the midst of our busyness, we realize that the Lord had provided for us in these ways for us to nuture our kids as at times I really don't have time to buy these materials as we don't drive and at times I dread the hassle of bringing out the two kiddies, stroller and all. The Lord has indeed been faithful even though at times I might have felt distant from Him due to the ups and downs in life.

I guess sometimes the Lord sends these little angels along the way to bless us...unexpectedly. Thank you Lord and thank you to the dear church aunties who have blessed us.

All About Perceptions

Sometimes I don't know what kinds of imaginary worlds are in my kiddies minds. We see things just as they are but they see it as something else.

This is just a sliding door in our home:

But Jedi sees it as a tain on a railway track!!

This is just a bowl....

But Krisa sees it as a POTTY!!!!!

Baked Lasagne

Tried this today as the box of lasgne sheets have been sitting in my cupboard for the longest time. Got this recipe off the net http://www.recipezaar.com. Comfort food.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 1 lb ground beef
  
• 1 small onion, chopped
  
• 1 garlic clove
  
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes
  
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
  
• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
  
• 1 tablespoon parsley
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
  
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package lasagna noodles
  
• 1/2 lb ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
  
• 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
  
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1. Lightly saute onions, garlic in oil.
   
2. Add meat and cook until brown.
   
3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, basil, salt, pepper and 3 T grated parmesan. Mix well and simmer for 45 minute.
   
4. Cook Lasagne noodles in 6 qts of boiling water for 20 minutes or until tender.
   
5. Put a couple of spoonfuls of sauce of bottom of 13 x 9 pan. Arrange half of noodles on next. Spread 1/2 the ricotta or cottage cheese and 1/2 the mozzarella over noodles. Top with 1/2 the sauce. Then repeat the layers. Top with 1/2 C parmesan cheese.
   
6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
   
7. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Playdough and Paints

I decided to let Jedi have some creative time at home to keep his active mind busy while I cook and while Krisa is asleep. Busy minds keep busy hands busy! Also used his opportunity to play playdough or paint as a bait in a bid to ask him to keep his diaper dry at night as we realise he only pees in it in the morning when he is too lazy to come and ask us to bring him to pee. Started this on Monday and so far seems to be working. This would complete the final step of his potty training! I hope! Praying hard! Diapers esp the night ones are ex!! hee! Well here are some pix of him enjoying himself:

Krisal's sleepmate

Just this week, Krisal began to be very attached to her doll we bought a few months back. She insists on sleeping with the baby doll. She would ask me to put in the pacifier for the doll as well and let the doll sleep next to her. Then, she would kiss the doll and I can hear her in the room talking in intense gibberish to her doll. (prob nagging like me to ask the doll to sleep!) Since then, she has been sleeping really well and doesn't call me in the wee hours of the morning for water or to be put back to sleep. So interesting the way girls naturally gravitate towards dolls and being mummy-like. Here's how they look together!

Homemade Play Dough

Homemade Play Dough (superior):

Mix together:

1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of salt
2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Mix until you have a smooth paste. Cook on medium-low heat in a saucepan, stirring, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan and forms a ball. Take the saucepan off the burner and let cool for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the dough is cool enough to handle. Remove the dough from the pan and knead it for a few minutes. Voila! You have a superior homemade play dough. Store the dough in a plastic sealed container or a plastic ziploc bag.

Add color to your dough, if desired:

Use food color to add color to your play dough. This can be done by adding food color to the water before cooking the dough, or you can knead the color into the dough.

HAVE FUN!

Kor Kor Understands

Since Jedi has turned three, he seems to be more mature in his emotions and is able to empathise with others. One day, Krisa was being whiny and grouchy as she wasn't feeling well. I was ignoring her as I was busy with prepearing dinner and also to cool myself down as I could feel my nerves fraying with the incessant crying. Jedi walked over to me and said:

"Mummy, Mei Mei just wants you to sayang her and give her a hug" .

So taking his advice, I went over to Krisa and did just that. It worked! No more tears!

Another incident was recently, when Krisa was spitting out her food and I was nagging at her not to do so. Jedi once again calmy told me:

"Mummy, you put too much food into her mouth. That's why she can't eat properly." He promptly took her water bottle for her to drink.

Sometimes, I think my common sense is dulled by all the activities in the day!

These two incidents really touched me as I realized that Jedi understands and loves his little sister despite thier little tiffs and squabbles here and there. He has begun helping her to wear and take off her shoes when we go out or come home and sees it as his duty as a big bro. We can see Krisa also enjoying his attention and she would repay it at times by hugging him if he cried and would bring his doggy for him to comfort him. I;'m daily praying for a close and good relationship between them and that they will love and look out for each other as they grow up together. These are one of the rewarding moments of seeing our kids grow.