Fist of the Cat Mountain Durian

I've been craving for durians lately, and since it's the peak season for durians, wherever I go, I SMELL it - stale or fresh, my nose can pick up its scent, no matter how faint it is.

For this week alone, I ate durians 3 times.

1) The durian stall at Dempsey Road carpark - FAIL FAIL FAIL. I paid like $10 per KG and i spent in total $32 for 2 durians which were not fully riped (parts of it wee hard). The second replacement durian was the same (we had to pay for the other half since they replace by weight of the durian seeds returned). I was so disappointed.

2) I spent $20 on durians from the Giant supermarket at IMM. FAIL. *haiz*

The quest goes on ...

3) At the recommendation of my hubby's friend, we hunt down this stall at Queen's Street. Apparently it was featured in the local newspaper recently but I didn't really pay attention to it.

The 4 of us had a total of 5 durians, and the cost as follows:

1 X Butter Durian $8

1 X D24 Durian $8

1 X D24 Durian $5

I paid $20 for them. The $8 D24 durian was not spectacular but the $5 D24 and the $8 Butter was GOOODDDDD. I was raring for more and so we got the following:

1 X Butter $8 - 1/2 of the durian was slightly unripe, they exchange 1 whole durian for us without any questions!

1 X Mao Shan $8 per kg, our durian was $13 - this was SO GOOD. It's the best $13 I ever spent on a durian and I know why it's the king of durians. After eating this, I cannot taste the flavours of the other durians!

I ate to my heart's content and I was so pleased ... I am thinking of going another round this saturday!

Dominos effect

My nephew sick -> my niece sick -> my mum sick -> I sick -> my helper sick

*haiz* today took time off in the morning to do some housework and then rushed off to work. Then I time off after lunch to come back to look after my girl as the hubby has to go back to camp.

My girl was pretty restless and only napped for a short while before she woke up again. She didn't take her morning nap so we were hoping she would be knocked out and sleep longer in the afternoon. Fat hope. So in the end, I brought her out, BY MYSELF. To be honest, I was very worried and scared, but she cooperated. Anyway, she was JUST WAITING TO GO OUT. I changed and as soon as she saw me, she went to the corner and dragged out her diaper/ going out bag! Then I was busy packing my stuff, since I was trying to minimise the bags I had to carry, she was complaining! She would walk to the lobby, walk to my room and make some noise. She was going to and fro until I finished packing and went to wear my shoes in the lobby. Then, I remembered my wallet and walked out again, she actually went "NNNNGGGGGG" loudly to show her impatience.

In the end, we arrived safely with all my wits intact and just zoomed her around in her stroller. Met up with a friend for tea and V put on her best behaviour. She also manga-ed my friend by taking a piece of waffle and giving it to her. She wanted my friend to feed her!

We went shopping by ourselves after that - It was relatively smooth, and she didn't do a poop job on me.

I guess I could start venturing out on my own with her =) The cab fares cost me a bit though ...

Jab + Jab

Thankfully my girl didn't catch the flu bug from me - she seems quite immune to the bug that's been passing among some family members.

She's due for her jab today but I forgot what jab anyway :P Turns out she's due for her pneumococcal (whatever!), chickenpox plus MMR.

I asked if I could postpone the MMR, and the PD (Dr Lee - Dr Tan is again unavail due to his scheduling and we wanted to move the appointment forward to the morning) did some basic checks. She is choosing to ignore when spoken to, and she is willing only to acknowledge her daddy. Then oops, realise she's supposed to know the basic shapes by now (never really got around to "teaching" her) so she's not really responding very well. The PD advised to push MMR to 2 years old and to continue monitoring her progress. No more TV for her!

Vanessa's not too happy with the jabs this morning - she cried when she got the first jab. The second jab, her mouth was open, but no sound, until like 5 seconds later with the tears rolling down. Thankfully I'm the mummy to the rescue and her bad daddy was the one who tricked her to get jabbed :P

A distraction of her favourite cheerios was all it took to quieten her down.

Oh. her weight today? 11.6kg @ 15 months and 12 days old.

My first ever ...

Rambutan picking at 婆婆's house ...

Hey! My bucket's empty!

What's Vanessa doing?

She's choosing her rambutans!

Zoom buggy zoom!

Vanessa: Bye Daddy and Mummy! I'm zooming off in my Cookie Monster buggy!

Vanessa: Hey! There's something wrong with my steering wheel!

Keira: I'm the Motoring Babe, I can help you!

Keira: Ok, it's fixed! You're good to go!

Vanessa: WOW!!! You are really one Motoring Babe! Thank you!

Vanessa: OK Cookie Mon, are we ready to rock'n zoom? Here we goooooooooo!

Vanessa: Oops, I think we got wheel clamped for parking illegally!

Kawaii Vanessa

Today I brought Vanessa to the airport and decided to dress her up (she picked the yellow dress herself!)

This is her, all ready to go!

At the airport restuarant, waiting for her fried rice to be served.

A quick change of the hairdo (sounds like a bride at her wedding banquet), my favourite picture of her today. Pity's it blurred =(

4 new clips and 1 burnt thumb

I decided to do my gal's headband finally, with an orange daisy that I had actually bought like ... 6 MONTHS AGO!

Yah, I was procrastinating for a really long time, but since it is literally gathering dust, I decided to "JUST DO IT!"

It took me over 30 minutes to complete it though, because what I tried to do initially didn't quite worked out and I ripped it out. The second attempt was better but it was so hard to push the needle through the material so I had to sew with the help of the floor. I would position the needle and then place the eye of the needle against the floor and push it through. Not the best way, but it works for me.

Since I had to use the hot glue gun to fix the "diamond" onto the daisy, I decided to make some hair clips as well. It wasn't really quite my day, I forgot how to fix the ribbons unto the alligator clip, and this attempt was so messy. As I was fixing a seemingly easy clip, a white silk rose, I burnt my finger. I squeeze more glue than I had intended and I was pressing some beads against it and it got stuck unto my thumb - I yelled out so loud that my hubby got a scare. I ran cold water over the thumb and peeled off the glue. It was sore for a little while, but it's better now. Thankfully the remaining 3 went without much problem.

No pic of the hairband or my burnt thumb though ...

The 2 at the bottom was made when I first got hold of the ribbons, clips and the hot glue gun.

What fun to have a girl!

Gladys and Vanessa @ IMM

 

One of the mummies took the photo yesterday - and I love it!

 

She's wearing her new sailormoon dress from Jshoppers and *ahem* do you notice something about her hair?

 

Hehe, she looks so cute, like a little japanese girl (no doubt she has an advantage by inheriting her dad's eyes).

 

Baby Hair Clips

I've never made the teeny ones before, but after meeting one of the mummies and since I had gotten some of the baby clips by mistake (I didn't know they were this small!), I decided to experiment with my goods.

It took me about 1 hour to do this 2 - I decided I wasn't going to glue it and to sew every bit of it.

I'm quite pleased with it - hope C will like it, even though it's not a girly colour!

Certified

Well, not certified to do anything, but rather, Vanessa received her first certificate today for completing her KinderMusik class. She will be continuing for the next class, and for 2 weeks, she would be having 2 classes per weekend, since her Growing Up Gifted class will start end August. Kiasu? Not really, just that I'm not sure how she would take to GUG, so best is to gauge her responses to both classes and see which one she enjoys more. As much as the norma should say "which one would teach her more", I think at this age, it is important that she enjoys her class, since it is meant to be more of a social and fun time, rather then drilling her how to learn. As long as she's having fun, it's good enough for me. She will have enough pressure to cope with once she goes into Kindergarten!

She's 15 months already, time really passes too quickly. She understands more than she lets on, and although she cannot verbalise, she can carry out a simple request, or just shake/ nod her head (though sometimes i wonder if she knows what she is agreeing to). Yesterday also mark the first time that she walked, instead of sitting in the stroller, which is the usual habit when we bring the dogs down for their walks. Not very stable, but good enough. I do think her crocs are very useful, light and well ventilated, not to mention, slip-proof. I'll get her another pair when she outgrows this one (she already outgrew 3 other pair of shoes!) and perhaps I could get a matching pair too!

My hairclips and ribbons arrived from USA (thanks to the hubby lugging the ribbons back) and I've begun to make a few (bought a new hot glue gun too!) - churned out about 10 yesterday and raring to make more. Only problem is my back is giving me pangs of acute pain, so i have to rest on the bed or sit up straight. Tried taking calcium to reduce the pain, but no to avail. I'll probably need to dig out my painkillers if not I'll pay the doctor a visit. I even had difficulty turning in bed, it's that bad.

Remember the mummy that I said made lots of hairclips for her gal? I visited her on saturday and I marvel at ALL her creations. SHE'S GOOD!!!! VERY VERY GOOD!!!! Now it's my goal to be as good as her! She's also very creative, so I am very very very envious! Will display my new wares in a while - thinking if this should be a sideline I can tap on to grow my gal's education fund!

Some names not to name your child if ...

Anne Chang (Mandarin) - Dirty

Anne Chin (Mandarin) - Keep quiet

Faye Chen (Mandarin) - Dusty

Faye Choo (Mandarin) - Fat Pig

Carl Cheng (Hokkien) - Buttocks

Monica Cheng (Hokkien) - Touching your buttocks

Lucy Leow (Hokkien) - You are dead

Jane Tan (Mandarin) - Frying eggs

Suzie Leow (Hokkien) - Lost till death

Henry Mah (Mandarin) - Hate your mum

Corrine Tai (Hokkien) - Poor fellow

Paul Chan (Mandarin) - Bankrupt

Nelson Tan (Mandarin) - Bird laying eggs

Leslie Tong (Mandarin) - Rubbish bin

Carmen Tng (Hokkien) - Leg hair long

Connie Mah (Cantonese) - Call your mother

Danny See (Hokkien) - Squeeze you to death

Rosie Teng (Hokkien) - Screws and nails

Pete Tsai (Hokkien) - Nose droppings

Macy Koh (Cantonese) - Never die before

Lim Yew Lin (Hokkien) - Drink urine

Lim Teh Peng (Hokkien) - Drink iced tea

When I read the list, I burst out laughing. I can understand most of it since I understand Cantonese and Mandarin, but some of the Hokkien ones, I cannot understand. I have this to add though, because one guy had this name and I was "stunned"

Ho Chee Sin (Cantonese) - Very crazy

My favourite of the lot? Monica Cheng

Signing

If you recalled some time ago, I wrote about my girl being able to sign for her milk. I haven't taught her any other signs after that, but recently on and off, I did sign "bom bom" to her which means bath time.

One evening, as the helper was preparing her bath water and I was playing with her in the bedroom, she was in a hurry to get out from the room. Then I asking her if she wanted to play with the bear (she knows it's called sweetheart!) and she signed "bom bom". I was quite surprised since I didn't consistently signed it to her. So she does know a lot more things than I had expected, so time to watch what I say.

About the signing, I'm not following any standards, I'm vaguely remember watching some online clips about signing and I adopted some of the signs (I'm not sure what they stood for) as I felt it was probably easier for her to sign. You could try with your kids, just make sure it's the same sign each time (do differentiate between water and milk though), and see if they will do it to you!

How I know the bear is called sweetheart? I sat her on the bed and said, "Let's say hello to Sweetheart!" She turned and crawled towards Sweetheart and plucked her from her corner, before passing me the bear.

It's nice to know she's a lot more smarter than I thought, BUT it also means she's growing up really, really fast. And how much am I actually missing out?

Absence makes the heart fonder

Well, not that I grew fonder of my hubby, but I never realise how much I miss him when he's away from me. I didn't miss him that much when I was pregnant, but this feeling of lonliness really hit home this time.

It's just not the same without him in the house.

:(

Teething Issues

If you refer to the chart above (from www.teething-babies.co.uk), my gal has:

for the upper jaw (left and right) - Tooth number 1, 2 and 4. Tooth number 3 is now erupting and is semi through the gums.

for the lower jaw (left and right) - Tooth number 1, 2 and 4. I can't see tooth number 3 yet, but her gums are red.

When her first molars initially came out, I thought she had 4 teeth coming out at the same time! Only did I realise later that the 2 "edges" showing did not belong to 2 teeth, but 1!

Given that her milk teeth is coming out really fast and somewhat earlier than norm, now I am worried about how to keep her teeth healthy! Add that to another mummy's fretting and worries :P

updates

My girl has really taken to walking - now she will take our hands and pull us to where she wants to walk to. She can walk unassisted for quite a distance, although slightly unstable. Good thing, it's a tiring workout, so she sleeps pretty well in the evening.

Her first 4 molars (top and bottom) have sprouted - I've lost count of the number of teeth she has! Her appetite has dropped a little, refusing her usual porridge. So today, I made potato patties for her - a change in food presentation since she wants "adult" food and not baby food all the time. I'll post up the recipe in my other blog in a moment.

I'm just thankful she's quite happy brushing her teeth!

Sometimes I wish I could stay at home and watch her grow. I seem to be missing out on a lot. Been thinking about being a SAHM, but I doubt we can survive on my hubby's pay alone. He doesn't pay all that much for income tax, but he earns a decent living, much better than mine anyway. Been toying the idea of having a sideline to supplement the income, so that if I decide to be SAHM, we have some "fundings" in that sense. However, deep down, I'm a hopeless business person, so I guess I should just drop the idea.

Wonder how my boss will react to if I want to go 1/2 time. *sigh*

Project Hairclips (suspended)

Ya, I'm not making any new clips for the time being. For one, I prefer to have smaller clips and I am considering buying that and alligator clips from overseas. Not to mention the ribbons, the variety seems better than what we can get from there. Spotlight's collection doesn't quite fulfil my needs, so ... $$$$$ will be spent again, hopefully not in vain.

I had another mummy, "inspired" by my projects and she made a collection of cute felt clippies. She's not going to show it (I asked if I could showcase her works here) as she feels that her work is "amateurish". Personally speaking, I think her clips look fantastic as she is very creative! Another mummy also thanked me for showing her how to make clips (via my blog) so I am actually very happy. Not only that some mummies now can make clips like me, but also someone actually reads my blog. *heh*

The law of demand and supply

So it goes, when there is a demand, a supply will exist.

Unfortunately, baby making isn't quite so simple. Lately I've been readingin a certain forum - people with the supply (pregnant) and yet considering abortions for various reasons, people with the demand (who wants to get pregnant) and yet unable to. Ironical, isn't it.

If only life was so simple sometimes ...

An old friend, not quite forgotten

We've weaned my girl off her beloved pacificers, for close to a month already. She can sleep without them, but she takes a longer time to fall asleep.

Initially, she would wake up in the middle of the night, and then dig through all the pillows and blankets to search for them. Only once, did she find a rouge pacifier, that was long lost in the pile of pillows on the bed. She promptly plugged her mouth with it, and refused to give it up. So we dug through everything on the bed, and cleared every nook and corner, to make sure there's no more pacificer hiding in the midst.

Recently, she was playing in my room, and I had her pacifier on my bedside table which I had forgotten to clear. She promptly grabbed it and I had to wrestle it from her, since it's probably been there for a month, gathering the dust! I washed it and then showed it to her, by putting it between my mouth. She would normally just lean forward and chomp on it, but no, she grabbed it forcefully from my hands, lovingly fondle it and the promptly stuck into her mouth. This time, she refused to give it up, and I couldn't fight her force of suction! I waited till she was asleep before I removed it and then we hid it all away.

She still misses it, because since then, when she awakes in the middle of the night, she would dig through all the pillows in vain, searching for her long lost friend.

I'm actually inclined to give it back to her, since it's obvious she still misses it. However, the habit has to be broken, so our resolve has to be made from steel.

*haiz* Not easy being a mummy ...

Project Hairclips - ladybird and more

Worked on a few other hairclips today - sketching out the design was the most tedious. I'm not the best artist so my sketches look horrible, but thankfully it turned out OK.

I couldn't sleep much today as I was coughing too much, and with the HOT HOT sun giving its mighty rays, I guessed I could make do with the natural light to do some sewing.

I tried making a flowery clip with some small pearly beads but I was 95% done and I hated it. So I ripped out everything and redid it, closely to what I had in mind previously.

The second hairclip I made today, was for Kaizer. I hope he (or the mummy) or likes it!

I managed to get my girl in a good mood today as well, so she posed some photos with the ladybird clip.

The bouquet hairclip - beads from Diaso

My Valentino TY bear as the model since Vanessa was already asleep when I finished this clip.

The beads are meant to be dew drops or droplets of water - Kaizer, do I pass your quality/ design tests?

Project hairclip - Ladybird

I finally got around to getting the materials and although it's in the wrong size (it's almsot as big as my palm!), I'm quite proud of it!

I just hope the glue will dry into a transparent colour!

Note: the sequins were sewn on.