Bonding with Earings

Krisalyn has been asking to get her ears pierced for a very long time. Her best friend recently got hers pierced too and it insprired her even more. I was really hesitant as she has not been a good sleeper since young as she would wake up at times to pee and results in broken sleep for me. So we decided to resort to a bit of bribery.

Since she she is turning 4 in Jan, Dan and I felt it was high time she is off her night diaper. She has been toilet trained in the day since she was 2 but we never took off her night diaper as I was preggie with Keziah and didn't want the hassle of having to change bedsheets in the wee hours together with a young baby to nurse at the same time. We recently experimented with star charts to get her to keep her dipaer dry as there were times it was totally dry for several days straight. But then it would be wet again.

This time, we decided to go cold turkey. So we explained to her that her diaper is going to be off at night and if she could stay dry for 2 days in a row at least, she would get her ears pierced as a Christmas present. Worked like a charm! I think vanity has its perks and a will all on its own!

So we went down to the shop recommended by my friend. But I was shocked by the price as all along I had the naive idea that it would be really cheap! All went well, numbing spray was sprayed, ear marked in place and *snap*! BUT............................. THE LADY PUT THE WRONG EARING IN!!!!!! as in she put in the most expensive one! I felt so traumatised and wondered if she was trying to get us to pay more!She apologized profusely and said that she would have to take it out again and reinsert with the correct one!GRRRRRRRR! Thankfully Krisalyn didn't flinch or cry despite the blooper! Again Vanity gives the strenghth to withstand pain! hahaha!

Well, her vanity inspired mine too and I decided to get my ears pierced too!An early Christmas present from Dan :) Now you know where my girl gets her vain genes from! But the best present to me is that she is fully toilet-trained and she is sleeping so much better and hardly wakes up in the middle of the night.Guess it must be quite uncomfy to have a hot diaper to sleep.!... o.O

Different Faces in the Morning

My kids have different faces and moods in the morning. All from the same set of parents but all with their own characters and quirks.

Jedidiah and Krisalyn were having their usual morning milk. Keziah decided to join in and plopped herself in bewteen her two older siblings and copied them by taking her little water bottle and also drinking from it. Hmmmm...maybe I should cut the bottle soon?

Anyways check out the faces on each of them!
#1(Jedi): happy and wide-eyed
#2 (Krisa): grouchy and a little tearful
#3 (Keziah): cheeky

Love these three monkeys of mine!

Jedi's Lego Creations!

Jedidiah has been into Lego recently and was thrilled when Dan brought back a whole bucket of tiny Lego pieces for him to play. It's a great toy for me too as it keeps him occupied for a long time and Krisalyn will play with her own girly things so less squablling among these two. Here are some of his own creations that he came up with all by himself! Well done Jedi! :)

My only worry is that the little pieces will find their way into Keziah's mouth! So have to be extra careful and extra vigilant!

A battleship

A firenegine with firehose and rungs

a walking robot and its charging station

Happy Birthday Daddy Dear!

It was Dan's birthday on the 24th of November so the night before I cooked some homecooked food which was a simple meal of Assam Fish, Beef soup and steamed rice. A nice pre-birthday meal after the kids went to bed. Just the two of us. :)



On the day itself we all enjoyed a dark chocolate cake from Royals! Simply one of the yummiest cakes we have eaten and honestly beats places like Polar and Bengawan Solo. Dan made little party packs for the two older kids and they made some homemade cards for him filled with love and their little creativity. Had a lovely Dim Sum lunch and topped it off with ice-cream before heading home.




Happy Birthday to our dearest Daddy and my dearest hubby! You are much loved and appreciated for all your love and giving to the family!

We love you!

Candles and Wedding Bells!

Had a wonderful celebration with the five of us for my birthday which is also my wedding anniversary Our 7th this year and time really flies from just the 2 of us to the 5 of us.Though I miss the couple times we used to have, I must say the kiddies have brought us much joy these years.

To sum up the day we all enjoyed a lovely dark choc cake bought by Dan and the surprise flowers too!

Then we had pizza as a family and as they were promoting thier customer service, we had a complimentary family picture taken for us. Little Keziah as usual can't sit still in her high chair when she is outside, so here she is in the corner of the pic. Can you spot her little face? :)

Had a little surprise from hubby too which is super useful for me so I can do my work more efficiently! Thanks dear!

Family are the ties that bind..... :)

End-Of-Year Concert 2010

The yearly end of the year concert was held last Saturday on 13th November at the church hall. All of us trooped down early in the morning as we had to reach there by 8.30am. This was Krisalyn's first-time performing this year since she first started Nursery 1 at the beginning of the year.

Krisalyn's class was the opening act and was an Indian dance choreographed by her dear teacher Ms. Grace. Was a lovely surprise as the costumes were just sooooooo nice and the girls all looked adorable with bangles and sparkly Punjabi suits. We were really proud of her for doing her best and wigggling away to the music.




Jedi's item was a Korean children's peace and he did a great job dancing to the music although he is the kind who dosen't really like to perform in front of a whole crowd of people. So we were really proud of him too!




Our littlest one had fun too dancing to the concert music! But had to keep her mouth stuffed with biscuits and snacks to keep her occupied too. At least this year she was better able to enjoy the concert compared to last year when she was still immobile in her stroller. Better for us too as she could occupy herself walking around and enjoy the lights and songs.




Was a fun day which we topped off with lunch with our friends at IKEA. Well-deserved treat for the little ones! But I feel my kiddies are suddenly growing up too fast!

Assam Fish

Ingredients:
Sea Bass or any fish of choice
Assam Fish Paste
3-5 chili padis (depending how hot you want it)
1 White Onion (wedges)
2 sprigs of Lemon Grass
2 Tomatoes (wedges)
100g Lady's Fingers (washed and sliced into chunky pieces)

Method:
1.Heat 1 TBS of oil in wok and fry onions and chili padis until fragrant.
2. Add Assam Fish Paste and add 300ml of water and bring to a boil
3. Add in Lemon Grass, Tomatoes and Lady's Fingers and simmer (cover lid) for approx 7-10 min
4. Add in fish and simmer with gravy and cooked ingredients for another 10 min (cover lid)
5. serve hot with hot rice

The Do-Re-Mi Journey

This was written recently by Dan for a parenting website which won us a $500 IKEA voucher! God is really good and it is provisonal timing as we are moving house in a couple of weeks. But most of all, I am touched by my hubby's love for the family and kids. Most of all for cherishing and relishing his role as a Daddy to our kids. Love you dear! We are blessed by you in more ways than you can imagine.

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When we had our first kid 5 years ago, someone told me candidly "your nightmare has just begun!" Today I am a father of 3!

Indeed, the 5 years were full of nightmares - stiches to the chin, erasers stuck into noses, late night visits to the hospitals, high fevers, soiled diapers and vomiting all over..

But what was the most memorable weren't the nightmares, it was the what i call the "Do-Re-Mi" moments.

Moments where each of them run to welcome me at the door after coming back from work, where each of them compete to tell you "how's your day?", where each took turns to jump on top of me while I lay down on their beds, where each queued up to be carried to bed, reading bedtime stories, and where each took turns to run towards me to be hugged - again and again.

I remember where each of them will take turns fighting over who sits on my lap, and which of them will get to "marry" me when they grow up.

Moments where I know I am cherished and loved. It is these "Do-Re-Mi" moments where I wish they will never grow up.

Today I am not just a father of 3, I am a very proud one.

Jedidiah, Krisalyn & Keziah: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your journey.

I am truly blessed.

Smellies....

These are the smelly things that my kids just HAVE to sleep with every night. Their attachment toys. But of course to them is the most heavenly smell in the whole world.

Doggie~ belongs to Jedidiah (his stuffing has sunk to the bottom as he has undergone countless stitchings and washings in the washing machine)

Bolster~ belongs to Krisalyn (she only likes it for the tail-like thing that she will stroke to sleep!)

Kitty~ adopted by Keziah (we bought it for Krisalyn when she was younger but it was abandoned. Keziah fell in love with it and she has to have it with her pacifier combination!)

I hope to keep these three things till they are all grown up. Then they can laugh and look back at their childlike ways...

Robin & Strawberry

We have two new pets that resulted from the fishes that died just a day after they were brought back from the fish farm outing by Jedidiah and Krisalyn in Sunday School.

The dark green one is Jedidiah's and is called ~ Robin (have no idea where he got the inspiration for the name!)

The light green one is Krisalyn's and is called ~ Strawberry (inspired by her favourite character Strawberry Shortcake)

The kids will be in charge of feeding but I guess its me and Dan who has to clean the tank for now....

Princess Krisalyn

This was taken some time back when we went with some friends during the June hols to do a Disney Princess makeover for Krisalyn and her bestie, Verity. Krisalyn looks so serious as the photographer told her not to smile as her eyes disappeared when she did! Our little Snow White! Wonder who'll be her Prince Charming...

'Mum Mum' Time!

Mealtimes are less stressful...for me now especially. I used to feel so stressed feeding Keziah as I had to find countless things to distract her so that I could spoon food in her mouth. And I would dread her suddenly turning her head away just when I was about to put that heavenly spoon of food in her mouth!

Keziah is my #3 and yet I always forget. Kiddies at this age want to SELF-FEED!! So now out comes the extra bowl, extra spoon and extra food. Working well so far and I really hope it stays that way.

I really have an issue with food and the quantity consumed! Even after three kids I have to tell myself its no big deal if the plate isn't scraped clean! These are times I feel I'm getting neurotic!

But I'm really proud of my littlest baby....she is feeding herself and gives little self-admiration smiles each time she feels some grains of rice reaching her mouth and not the floor.

*muackies*

Baked Mozarella Tortillas

Made this one of the days as a quick-fix lunch for myself and ate it in front of my older two kids when they were having 'proper' food like rice, vege and meat. They ended up snitching little bites here and there instead of their own meal! Made it the next day for their lunch. I love this recipe as it's a great time-saver for hungry tums! Doesn't look so pretty but its a munch and go foodie! (hee I'm just giving excuses for the poor presentation!)

Ingredients:
tortilla wraps
shredded cold chicken (cooked) /ham
a dash of mayonaise
a little ketchup
mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Spread the mayonaise and ketchup on one side of the tortilla. Place shredded meat on top. Sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese. Wrap up tortilla carefully and place on non-stick baking tray. Bake in oven at 180 degrees for about 7 min. Eat hot! The cheese is oozy!

Potato Patties (bergedil)

Ingredients:
1 medium carrot grated
6 potatoes (boiled and diced)
half a packet of shitake mushrooms (diced)
2 tbs sugar
a little salt
Minced meat
1 egg (beaten)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients (except the egg and minced meat) in a large bowl. Then take little portions and mix in a little minced meat. Flatten into mini patties. Dip into beaten egg mixture before frying. Drain on kitchen towelette and serve hot with ketchup.

Heartwarming Moments

I'm gonna miss this when Jedidiah grows up! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies Bake Time

Since the kids missed playing their playdough which has unfortunately hardened, (and I'm too lazy to buy and also coz I dread the mess when they play with it!) I decided to let them try some edible playdough instead. Cookie dough!

Helped the kids mix the dough then got them to roll them into little balls and place them on their own trays to cook.

The smell of chocolate chip cookies is always heavenly~~~~~ and these are the fruits of their labour.... Yum Yum!