Day 3 in Tokyo - Kyoto

It is a wet and gloomy day in Tokyo. Meaning, our plan to zoom V direct to the train station in her stroller is shot down. The only good thing is, there is a sheltered underpass from our hotel all the way to the station. Problem, we have to use stairs from time to time. At one point, there was a ramp, and the surge of the oncoming traffic made us hesitate. In the end, we decided to just go ahead, after all we have a child in a stroller and a 20kg luggage to move all the way to the station. The moment we decided to move against the flow, the oncoming traffic kindly moved one side (it was about 2 person wide). Not only that, people also decided to follow behnd us, so I didn't feel so bad after all!

If we encountered escalator going up, we just went with the flow and V didn't mind being tilted back a little. We managed to locate the correct line (Chuo Rapid) and since we arrived in Tokyo ahead of our scheduled departure to Kyoto, I indulged in my favourite hobby @ Japan's train stations. Basically it's shopping for Bento to eat on the train. They can range from 800 yen to 10000 yen (i saw that back in 2006) but I was looking out for my favourite autumn bento set. It's a set that cost slightly less than 2000 yen and included smoked duck breast. That was the BEST ever bento set on the go I ever had. No such luck today, so I had to settle for "best" bento set of the lot, meaning ABSOLUTELY no fish. For V, I bought some egg sandwiches and some onigiri, since she can be quite picky. I wanted to buy even more, but the hubby stopped me. I think he is always amazed at the amount of food I want to and can consume while on the train.

V woke up shortly before the shinkansen ride to Kyoto - 3 of us were squeezed into a 2 seater and she wasn't very comfortable. After the ride started, I polished off my bento set and got V to eat her sandwich plus 1 onigiri (I helped myself to her leftovers). After a while, she got bored and got busy entertaining herself while we dozed off. The ride was quite uneventful and took slightly less than 3 hours (we were on the Hakari) - we managed to locate the right exit this time (I went to ask the train station personnel) and got to the hotel within 10 minutes. We would be staying at the New Miyako Hotel which is just right beside the JR train station. It's actually not very noisy and i would consider the noise as only normal traffic noise. [Note: Our side trip to Kyoto was through the JTB sunrise tour - for return shinkansen tickets and 2 night stay, we paid about 60,800 yen.]

We repacked our bags and headed out - we wanted to go to the Nishiki market. We got lost trying to find the city bus terminal, and spent maybe 25 minutes trying to find out way. The bus ride was about 15 minutes and we had no problem finding the market. I zoomed straight to the end of the Nishiki food street (right at where Daimaru is) and headed for the grilled oyster bar. I immediately place my orders (usually this place can be quite crowded) for 2 oysters and 1 scallops. While waiting for my orders (I ordered the same for the hubby although he said he wasn't very hungry), my immediate neighbour had this delicious looking bowl of mussels sent to them. After much inner wrestling between the need to have a slimmer waist line and the urge to taste the mussels, I eventually gave up and placed an order for it. The grilled oysters (180 yen each) came and it was really really really delicious. The saltiness was just right and I even finished the juice *yummmmmmm* As for the scallops (500 yen each), it just sweet. How should I describe it. The sweetness is from within the scallops and it was so fresh and just so .... perfect. As for the mussels, the mussels were fresh and plump, while some were quite small, but everyone of them were bursting with flavours. Yes, I also finished the soup they came in.

to be continued ...

Day 2 in Tokyo

We tried waking up EARLY at 6am, but while the hubby got up duly at the alarm time, V and me continued snoozing … my back was aching a little from hauling the luggage and V was just tired out by the travelling I guess. By the time we got up, it was 7am. We decided to take our breakfast in the hotel since we think that the noodle shop was probably gone (it was one of those quaint noodle shops that you buy your meal ticket before you enter the shop, and then hand the ticket to the counter to get the food). We decided to opt for the Japanese buffet and we had to queue to get in. The place is small, I think it seats a maximum of 30 to 40 pax, and its usual “function” is a teppanyaki restaurant. While children 3 and above will be charged for the meal, the waitress was kind enough to waive it for us. The buffet cost 1,500 yen per adult and 500 yen per child (above 3) so we saved 500yen for the day. More for me to shop with …

We planned to be in the area of Asakusa, to visit the Sensoji and neighbouring temples as well as to do some souvenir shopping. By the time we left the hotel and headed for the train station (about 10 min walk) it was already past 9. In the train station, we got a little lost and we had to lug V and the stroller along (in the massive crowd, we just tried to move along as fast as we can). On the way down to the correct platform, I overheard this 2 ladies chatting in the parallel escalator down, and I immediately remarked to my hubby, “confirmed Singaporeans”. Later I had the change to ask them (curiosity kills the cow in this case) and they replied in the affirmative. They were also kind enough to guide us to the correct platform since we were still a bit confused.

When we arrived in Asakusa, it was close to 11am. We did a little shopping (hint: souvenir shopping here is the “cheapest” even though it seems they mainly cater for the tourist crowd), and within 30 mins, after V had some ice cream, she promptly conked out. In the meantime, I had accumulated about 3 shopping bags, much to the dismay of the hubby. I bought some “amulets” (for the lack of a better word) for good health for the oldies, and then took some pictures of the crowd. It seems like it’s been a really long time since I took pictures! We headed off to the side street, and passed by an amusement part. Too bad V was fast asleep so we gave it a miss. We (or rather I) decided to head for Kappabashi, where they sell all those kitchen stuff (for retail, so they are like wholesalers). I managed to find the previous shop I bought my “strawberry sundae” from, and I picked yet another “strawberry sundae” to add to my collection, but this one had some mandarin oranges. I was tempted to buy the “fries” but I decide not to risk my kids trying to chomp down the fake fries.

We started heading towards the Sumi River, trying to decide where to go next. They had a bus that goes to Akahibara, which the hubby wanted to go. On the way, while not feeling very hungry, but slightly puckish, and V still fast asleep, we came across this small tempura shop. The prices were very tempting – the cheapest tempura don was 550 yen (about SGD9) so I opted for a 580 yen bowl while hubby opted for a tempura don set with udon. V woke up about then, so it was just nice, and they kindly let us have children utensils to feed her. Just when we started on the meal, she wanted to go to the loo. We told her to do it in her diaper but she refused to, and frankly speaking, I hate dirty toilets the most. I rather hold my business than to visit one. Thankfully, the sole unit they had in the shop was CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. So V did her business without me having to gack or use up the entire dettol wipes.

We decided to go to the Palette town, and we took the river cruise to Hinode Pier. We got a little lost again but the server at the Café there was very helpful and gave us the handy guide to Tokyo (this is the BEST guide to me) and we found our way to the correct station. This time, it was much easier, since we could locate all the necessary elevators! The train to Aomi is a little like Singapore’s LRT, but with more carriages. One way trip cost us 310 yen per adult (free for V). V fell asleep along the way again, but woke up in time to see the giant ferris wheel. We headed for the Toyota showcase first to see the cars. The moment she saw the playground, she started jumping up and down (finally she found a playground in Japan, since asking us about it on the plane). She zoomed straight there and before she dive into the pool (it was just a pool of balls with a slide) she wanted to pee. Anyway I got the hubby to bring her since my feet were already starting to cramp. When she got back, she happily just played in the pool, and even waited for her “playmates” to push her down the slide. The hubby went over the stimulator and had 1 go at the “race” (think Daytona). After that, they went for the Ecco car ride … V wanted the Hello Kitty car, but too bad the cars were assigned, and cannot be chosen. She was very excited after the ride, telling me how the car can drive by itself, and at the same time, mindful of driving precautions, she ordered the hubby to put both hands on the steering wheel at all time.

We then headed for the ferris wheel and this time, she wanted to ride on a red car. Er, we got something close to it, we got a pink one! She did sulk a little :P but she was busy looking out and asking hubby things. I just sat in my little space and tried not to move. I looked back once and I freaked out a little. When we past the highest point and I saw the car behind us above us, I also freaked out a little. Yes, I have a phobia of heights, and it’s not just a slight phobia. It extends to depth, so I don’t like to swim in too deep a pool. Thankfully it was not windy at all, so the ride was very smooth, without the car swinging around. They now have a see through car (including the floor) so obviously I said “NO” when they asked if we wanted that.

After that we went to the arcade and lost over 1000 yen (so angry!!!!) trying to scoop up some toys, but we gave up in the end. We went for dinner at First kitchen, but the meal was a huge disappointment. The fries were limp, and the pasta in a clump. Ah well, thankfully we only bought 1 set to share among the 3 of us.

We went into Venus Family for a walk and a visit to the loo (wow, the washroom here is FANTASTIC, and I mean FANTASTICALLY SPECTACULAR, except who ever did the English translation for the instructions ought to be shot, and again and again). We walked to the end, and they had this pet shop (think P’s) and the puppies (and kitties) were SO CUTEEEEEEEEE. V insisted on going into the shop, and we saw a baby version of Rascal. What had my eyes popping out were the price tag. I saw one was priced at 302,000 yen and I almost choked. Then we walked over to the other side and saw one going for 500,000 +++ yen. I am not sure if this is just the price of the dog or includes a lifetime guarantee of food, and supplies, but if it was just for the dog, then it probably cost as much as this trip (our flights are free though) (and also includes the cost of our side trip to Kyoto by Shinkasen).

By the time we head back to Shinjuku, it was about 8 pm. Remember I said the Handy guide to Tokyo was the best? The train map includes most of the train lines plus station, so it was much easier for us to figure our way back. Again, it was a breeze since we could locate most of the elevators. Just that when we reach Shinjuku, we had to exit from A1 (I think) and people who stay at Hotel SunRoute Shinjuku probably will benefit) but we managed to figure our way back since we know the landmarks to look out for.

We were deadbeat (and my feet were screaming – I have flat feet so walking too much makes my feet arch hurt v v v v much) but we still had to pack for the Kyoto trip, so in the end, we slept close to 12 midnight. Tomorrow we will have to lug the big suitcase … but we will figure it out. Hopefully we can find most of the elevators!

we finally ... reached our destination ...

well, why the long silence and then, tadah, we are at somewhere else ...

when the kids get sick, they really do get sick, and along the way, infect the adults too ...

some weeks back, V had HFMD ... she had high fever on Monday, then by Tuesday, it's confirmed HFMD so we tried to separate the 2 kids. Then #2 started having low grade fever, we weren't sure because he was also teething ... then funny rashes and blisters started showing up. The problem was, the doctor on Sat didn't want to confirm it's HFMD. Sunday, we went to another doctor, and again, the comments that it wasn't typical HFMD kinds rashes but cannot rule it out because his sister have HFMD. In the end, I brought him to the usual PD on Monday, and immediately, he confirmed that it was HFMD. How so? Apparently the rashes/ blisters are typical of HFMD. Imagine me gashing my teeth in frustration, after wasting a over a hundred dollars over the weekend to heard that it most probably not HFMD but they won't rule it out. So ... while V was recovering, #2 started his HFMD cycle. Thankfully, while they bad big ulcers in their mouth, they were quite happy with water with lots of ice, and the way #2 was chomping down the food chain, you won't have believed that he had big ones on the roof of his mouth.

Then ... V starting having a bout of flu ... it was really quite bad, because I fell sick too. And then, it wasn't just 1 bout, it went on to a second bout. I had to go on 2 rounds of antibotics and I burnt 6 days of annual leave within 2 weeks.

We had plan for this trip sometime back as our miles were going to expire soon. We booked the flights, the accommodations, and a side trip to Kyoto. Then, we cancelled it. Then just before we were due to fly, we made a last minute scramble to book the trip to Kyoto again, when the yen is at a all time high of SGD1.61 to 100 yen ... i cannot describe the "ouch" but I think even if the yen was SGD1.80 to 100 yen, I'll prob still happily run off to Japan.

I think we finally recovered just before the trip, but the night before, the hubby complained of a painful throat. I just shove him some medication and well, it worked *cross fingers*.

The flight didn't have a promising start. We arrive nice and early, hardly any queue to check in ... then when we entered the boarding area, they announced that the flight would be delayed due to a mechanical fault. The flight was going to be delayed for at least an hour! In the end, V fell asleep and I conked out too (oops #2 is not going because of his sensitive lungs, I didn't want to take the risk). The plane even had to go somewhere else to be "repaired" and when it finally came back, we were happier, because it meant that we should be moving soon. They allowed us to board first (priority for parents with young kids) so we settled in quite quickly. Er, within 5 minutes, I conked out and I think I slept for at least 2 hours, within on and off disturbances from V. She too, eventually fell asleep, and I think she slept for about 3 hours. When we finally arrived at 3pm. The immigration and checkout was a breeze - no queue no crowds, and we were even the last to collect the luggage. We really wondered where the crowds went! We got the 3.45pm bus to the hotel (airport limo) and we finally arrived past 5pm. We were really tired, and V fell asleep half-way during the ride. We washed up and went to a "usual haunt" for dinner, but the server was no longer there. Ah well. Tomorrow will be a long day, we plan to spend the day at asakusa (well we originally planned to go to Puroland but with the side trip to Kyoto, we don't have any time to spend in Tokyo itself.

The hotel room is small, much smaller than the other building we are used to stay. But, we'll be here for 3 nights only, so we will just make do with it ... Tomorrow we will try to the noodle shop, but it seems to have disappeared too. We didn't see it when we were on the bus to the hotel ... I wonder what else have changed since we last visited in 2006 ...

Big scare of the day: On the flight, V suddenly asked me, "mummy, what is that red red thing?" I turned and saw, she was pointing to some red splatter on her colouring book. To my horror, her nose was bleeding! I freaked out because I do have a slight phobia of blood. I quickly wiped her nose with a wet tissue and tried to clean the book. She lay down for a little while to rest after the bleeding had stopped. She asked why her nose didn't bleed when we were flying to abd back from Hawaii, so I said, it's probably becuz she kept digging her nose! She went," but I have gold inside mah" *faint*

Joke of the day: we were talking about how much Yen it costs for something, then V went "my didi? Ian?" So we tried explaining to her yen = japanese currency, and not her didi, but she still went "ian my didi!" (we nicknamed Ian as "yan yan") ... ah the innocence of children.

it has been a long while ...

since i last updated this blog ...

a lot has happened ... my sis and her family flew back from Hawaii for a visit - we didn't really get to do much since her visit sorta of coincide with the peak from my work ... plus her kids really had to sleep early (7pm) so nothing much we could do beyond 5pm since the kids have to be home, have dinner, shower and then off to the bed. But still, the kids (all 8 of them) got along very well ... my boy learnt how to sign for "more" from his cousin, my girl loves the bedtime stories by my sister so much that she bugs me to read to her before she sleeps. we managed to have a birthday "bash" for the August babies ... I baked the cake again this time, just that well, my baking went a little awry but still, the cake was heavenly! And ... we managed to fit everyone in for a photoshoot (well except for my eldest sister and brother, who both are overseas). We expected the photoshoot to be chaotic ... well, it was chaotic, and only slightly stressful, but the kids had fun! All the girls were dressed in similar kimonos so we had quite a few "kawaii" photos ...

I had the opportunity to catch up with baking too ... made some cookies and cakes ...

hmmm ... oh yes, and the kids ... V is so chatty these days. She is very "logical" in her arguments and sometimes, I can't win. Yes, I cannot win! #2 is also very chatty, picking up more words ... he can sign for milk, accompanied by "nuk nuk" and then signing for more. When he sees food (whether it's his or not), he says "EAT!!!!" He sees a bag, he'll happily carry it and say "gai gai". He sees a pair of shoes, he'll almost dive for it and struggles to put it on. I think he has a fetish for shoes. And ... as for his all time favourite ... soft toys ... It has come to a point that I don't even want to bring him to a shop selling soft toys. Because... if he sees one (in fact, it seems like every one) that he fancies, he'll lunge for it, grab it, hug it ever so tightly like a long lost friend and proceeds to kiss it passionately. By the way, he likes to watch girls too ...

Both of them like to play in the pool, so I try to bring them when I can ... if not, then we'll head to feed the fishes, while #2 proceeds to chomp on the bread.

Hmmm part of my absence is also due to my "fixation" with animes showing on animax too ... I'm currently watching maid sama and 1 more ... i'm thinking if I should just buy the box set and save myself the hassle of having to record it... oh ... I wanted to buy the DVD box set of Beach Boys (the japanese drama series) but it costs a whopping SGD$260 ... so I'll guess it'll just hang on for a little while more ...

now, I'm just waiting for my herbal chicken to be cooked, but doesn't seem to be so ... it's almost 2 hours but I cannot smell anything yet!!!! *argh*

tricycle and car

I went to buy the Little Tikes Smart Trike at a discounted price with the huggies points and it was EXPENSIVE. I mean, I would never pay that kind of price for the tricycle if it's at the original price, but even at the discounted price, I would never have bought it too. OK, so I am a sucker for sales, and I plonked down money when I normally wouldn't have... good thing is, #2 enjoys the bike!

It has 3 stages, but we fixed it at stage 1, where V and #2 can share the same configuration. We just remove the "body bar" so V can sit in comfortably too. #2 is all smiles when he gets to sit in it. My plan wants to bring them down in the evening for them to ride around the estate, but with the recent downpour (hehehe I don't hear the "once in 50 years" excuse anymore, and if anything, it has been strangely silent - perhaps it's time to stop blaming the skies, and get down to digging holes to hide their heads) the kids can only hop on at home, and they go from point a to b, within 3 meters.

When we went to the shop to get the trike (I was quite decided on the kitchen set until i saw the product), it was empty so the kids zoomed in to the toys. We had 3 of them riding the display sets of various cars and scooters and they were enjoying themselves, so much so that they didn't want to leave the toys behind. V kept bugging me for the car, but I told her we have it at home. She was quite puzzled and kept asking where it was. See, I had bought it for her 1st birthday and never assembled it ;P so yes it's at home, just tucked in a corner. I promised her I'll get it fixed. After assembling the trike, there is simply no space for her to ride the car at home! So it will have to go to my mum's house, and I can only transport it when the car is empty. So hopefully I will get down to it soon, else she may be 5 before I get around to assembling it :P

V says and Ian says

V: I wan to go gai gai! I wan to go shopping!

Me: but it's so late already! it's bedtime now.

V: I wan to go gai gai! I wan to go shopping!

Me: Cannot lah, all the shopping centres are closed.

V: Go SPC!

Me: Huh??

V: SPC din't close, can go there shopping!

Me: ...

=============

V: Mr Lxxx, please come here! (calling out to the daddy)

=============

#2 at almost 13 months can say:

papa

dada

mama

jiejie

popo

gor gor

didi

meimei

byebye

gaigai

go go go

mmm oi (dun wan in cantonese)

where

vanessa (we think!)

Just enjoying his babbling now ... so cute ... especially when he's just happily talking to us in his baby lingo, or having a pleasant monologue by himself ...

motherhood and what nots ...

We attended a first month baby celebration today and the new mummy was candidly sharing her experience for the past 1 month. Apparently the experience was traumatic enough that one was enough for her.

I guess, most of us when we share about motherhood, we share the good times, and hardly the bad times. I mean, if I was really depressed, I would be spending my time crying my eyes out and mopping around the house, than to blog about it.

When I had V, the first month was well, nothing short of dramatic. I cried most of the times, lost my appetite (but never my weight nor fats *sigh*), had mastitis, and even restricted visitors to my place because they were just stressing me out (and not that they were understanding - they just wanted to come and bring people I don't even know to see the baby - all of them were something in the archives I think).

So, progression to motherhood is natural, but to me, nothing about it was natural.

I had a hard time to be a mother.

I had a hard time to breastfeed.

I had a hard time trying to feel the emotional bond between my child and me!

But along the way, I did learn to overcome my lack of confidence, my self-esteem as a mother. I used to think "what kind of mother am I to allow XXX to happen?" when things don't go right. I was even scared of holding the baby because baby won't stop crying. All that is now in the past, and I remember one particular phase I wrote in one of those postings then "and this too, shall pass".

Indeed, the difficult and trying times have past, and I have slowly (very slowly) formed an emotional attachment to my children. I can't imagine why I couldn't have love them back then. In fact, I even doubted if I could even love #2 as much as #1. I'm being totally honest, that I love them both just as much. I don't know about equal, because, how do you measure love for your children? I love them both, and that's all I know.

To all new mummies, hang in there. It may be tough now and when the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't seem to come fast enough, remember that "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going". You have the strength to see it through! That's why mothers' love is the greatest love of all, and with that, mothers are the greatest.

Chin up!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear ...

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around,

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground,

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, show your shoe,

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do.

This was one of the earliest songs I learnt to sing for V, and which she seems to like. Of course it took me a long time to learn it, being the tone deaf one and having lousy memory of the lyrics and the tune.

Then out of the blue, I completely forgot the lyrics, but hey, it was such a easy tune, I made up my own along the way, and V loved it.

Then came Teacher Lavina's classes and it was a staple at her music time... Love it still, but I learnt the "proper" lyrics to it again.

Then came today, at the Library, having 20 minutes to spare before the library closes for the day, we wandered into the children section. V wanted only to go to a certain part of the library and this book, the last book tucked in nicely by the bookend, show "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear". So I took it down and had a quick flip. Looked simple, pictures and very little text, but anyway, I sat down with V and read the book. I liked it even though the lyrics were messed up a little, because it was telling a story of how a teddy bear was lost, and through the help of his friends, found his way home. V liked the way I told the story to her (one of the rare few times) and so we borrowed the book home. We read it again before her bedtime, and her stuffed toys, namely Tigger, "I Love Daddy" Lion (Yes, that's what we call that lion), and camel (the measled- looking yellow camel from Ikea) had turns pretending to be the teddy bear, the doggy friend and the birdy friend. V played the part of the lollipop-man and I, the narrator as well as the owner of the teddy bear.

I even got inspired, ideas now churning in my head how to make it into a puppets play for V. But the sad truth is, come tomorrow, I'll be so busy working that I'll forget all about it.

=(

happy birthday #2

#2 turned one last sunday and we had a "mini" bash for him - see, lots of "mini" people came! In fact, I think there were easily 20 plus kids running around. But they were generally well behaved since there were some play stuff and craft stuff to keep them occupied.

#2 had fun, so much so he refused to nap. And he clung on to my hubby's friend like a koala. Yes, he didn't even want me!

The cake was "fun". This time I did a fondant cake. I signed up for a fondant cupcake decorating class with B-I-Y and I was confident enough to try my hand at it, since the store bought fondant they used at the class and which I could buy taste good actually! I made a train design, and to "use" up the empty space on the cake boards, we sprinkled M&Ms around. So yup, the kids went sorta crazy over it. It looks colourful and distracted the obvious "stitches" on the fondant. The cake were my standard recipe for pound cake so it held the shapes pretty well. The train track was made from the leftover chocolate fondant.

I think #2 had fun. #1 sure did running around.

I didn't cook this time. We catered in the food and bought extra "mini" food for the "mini people". I am glad the kids like the play stuff. To this day, the bouncer company still never replied me despite my emails and calls. Well, I'm never going to use them or recommend them. I guess my business were just too small for them.

We had some last minute panic attacks too. I wanted to print #2 photo on a thank you sticky label and then I realised I didn't have any updated photos of him *ack* So we grab the bedsheets, changed him and #1, and took some shots. My lumix L2 is still the best, and I think the next camera will be lumix and nothing less. Some shots turned out pretty well, so we managed to get him smiling cheerfully on the labels!

We did a photoshoot a few days ago, to "commemorate" the stage we are at. Hopefully it will turn out nice ... probably one more shoot to go, for all the kids, since my sis is back with her 2 kids too. It will be nice to have some pics of all the 8 cousins, but wondering which photographer we can use which won't faint from all the ruckus!

"Long" weekend again ...

Started on Friday, since I had a bit of my ML to clear before they "expire" soon. I treated myself to a haircut and then followed by a fondant cupcake decorating class at B-I-Y.

Somewhat pleased with my haircut but I am likely to trim it a little bit more, or else rebond it so that my curls will stop flapping around. The curls are coming back with a vengeance at the fringe already.

Fondant decorating wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I like the cake they used but I still prefer my pound cake, because it has a lot moisture than the one they taught in class. I'll relook at the ingredients and compare later and see if I could "compromise" between the 2 since my pound cake tend to crumb easily. I had expected that they would teach how to make fondant at the class but my fault, I didn't read it carefully. They used ready made fondant which actually taste PRETTY GOOD. I was chomping my way down the allocated bag of fondant (that explains my size doesn't it) while the instructor was doing the demo. Anyway, I've decided I will bake and decorate #2's birthday cake. Just hope I will survive the panic attacks/ transport logistics.

On Saturday, it was massive cleanup of my bedroom. Threw out lots and lots of toys and magazines and books to the living room, and did a massive clean up. Then I disassembled V's bed and got it stored away. In its place (plus more shifting of my bed) we plonked down my old queen size mattress (which I first used back in 2006! got from Ikea for about $200 then but I quite like the support from this bed). I took a mattress from one of the cots and then use it as the headboard. #2 finally joined us for a sleepover! BUT it was far from easy. I had envision the kids playing until they got themselves knocked out. Unfortunately V wanted to go in and out of the room with a LOUD bang of the door and #2 couldn't sleep because of that. Needless to say, V got ticked off, and she went out of the room in tears (insisted on finding on of the helper) so the Daddy tagged along with her. #2 finally fell asleep after I put the bottle to this mouth - wait, it's not milk, it's water! He's strange, more often than not, he falls asleep with a bottle of water in his mouth rather than milk (he will protest violently if it's milk) and he doesn't want a pacifier either.

I went outside to look for V after #2 fell asleep, and she was still tearing away on the potty. Made milk for her (she didn't have dinner - only wanted milk) and then she promptly fell asleep after that. The hubby got to be KING of the bed since he had the whole bed to himself, while I got to be the QUEEN, since my kids flanked me on both left and right. #2 complained right from the start about his socks and long sleeve jacket, so I had to remove for him. V was coffing away through the night and I applied vicks on her chest. #2 then promptly started crying, so I had to carry him with 1 hand while I try to wipe the other hand which was full of vicks. I think #2 may be ready to sleep through the night without milk, he only had 60 ml! Let see if tonight is still the same, but I will prob change his position a little, since he seems to complain that his corner is a little warm. V was quite happy sleeping on this bed, rather than her own little bed. She woke up, singing "do re me fa so" on the same note!

Oh in between room makeover and the sleepover, we attempted to make bak zhangs - I could get the stuffing right, but I completely forgot how to wrap them! So sad! They look rather misshapen and a bit tasteless since water got into the packets of rice, but thankfully the center still taste ok. I need to find a shifu FAST to teach me how to wrap the zhangs!

I'll probably stop pumping soon too ... getting like 300ml in 16 hours only *sigh* and this pump probably be another 200ml only ... feel a sense of "loss" ...

Cheesecake Cheesecake Wo Ai Ni!

Literally "Cheesecake Cheesecake I Love You".

Well, I can't help it. It was so easy to bake, especially if kids wants to help out and to mess around the kitchen. They like to eat it too, since I baked it into petite individual servings (cupcake kinda thingy).

I made Oreo cheesecake, but I also tried something new - rum and raisin cheesecake (well I had some brandy soaked mixed fruits that could do with some using up!).

Base recipe for the Cheese cake filling

1. 16 oz/ 500g/ 2 blocks cream cheese (I used Philadelphia - full fat)

2. 2/3 cup sugar

3. 3 eggs

4. 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

5. lots of oreo cookies

For the Cheese cake base - 1 oreo cookie (it fitted my baking cups perfectly - 1.75 inch diameter)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 C.

2. Get the cheese to room temperature, or zap it in the microwave for 1 min (high) straight from the fridge.

3. Beat cheese and sugar till smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add 1 egg at a time and beat till well combined after the addition of each egg.

5. Add vanilla extract and beat till well combine.

6. Crush some oreo cookies - coarsely and not finely, else your cheesecake becomes somewhat greyish!

7. Add the crushed oreo cookies to the batter and stir just a few times to stir in the cookie crumbs.

8. Place an oreo cookie at the base of each cup and then pour the cheesecake filling till 0.5 cm from the top.

9. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (centre should still be slightly jiggly when you remove it.

10. Cool and then keep it in the fridge. It taste better when eaten cold.

Makes about 30 to 35 mini cheesecakes.

Rum & Raisin Cheesecake variation

Instead of adding crushed oreo cookies to the cheesecake filling batter, finely chopped 200g bar of rum and raisin chocolate bar and add it into the batter, together with a teaspoon of rum flavouring. You are welcome to add more raisins/ fruits to the batter. I have already a new "design" in my mind and once tested and approved, I'll post up the recipe!

Butter Cookie Recipe

This is the recipe I used to bake the butter cookies last week:

Recipe adapted from the 3 Ingredients Cookbook

Ingredients
1 cup/250g/2 sticks Butter (I used SCS salted butter)
2/3 cup lightly packed soft brown sugar
2 and 2/3 cup Plain Flour
2 tsp of vanilla extract/ favourite flavouring (I've tried Irish Coffee)

Demera Sugar/ golden granulated sugar to roll the cookie dough in

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius.
2. Cream butter and sugar together till fluffy (cream for about 5 minutes). Add Vanilla extract and beat a little more.
3. Stir in flour and mix into a soft dough (non sticky!).
4. Tear a piece of baking paper and shape the dough into a long roll on it. You can have it round or square or rectangle.
5. On one side of the baking paper, sprinkle a thick layer of demera sugar.
6. Coat the dough with the sugar. Wrapped with the baking paper when done.
7. Put into the fridge to chill for at least 30 mins (I put mine overnight).
8. Unwrap the dough and cut into slices. Place on baking sheet (I put a layer of baking paper on top) at least an inch apart. The cookie will still expand somewhat.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or till golden brown (depends on how big your cookies are).
10. Remove from oven, let it cool before storing and keep it out of the way from the kids/ adults.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Had to make one today ... had this itch to make something really chocolately and after flipping through whatever recipe books I could lay my hands on, I stuck to the guaranteed recipe that I normally used.

Ingredients

250g butter (slightly soften at room temperature)

250g caster sugar

250g self raising flour

1 cup of dutch processed cocoa powder* (I'll get around to weighing it another time!)

4 eggs

2/3 to 3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

plus

2 cups of semi sweet/ bitter chocolate chips**

Method

First of all, preheat oven to 170 degree C!

1. Cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes on medium speed.

2. Add eggs one by one and beat till well incorporated. Doesn't matter if it curdles at this stage.

3. Divide flour into 2 portions. Add the first portion of flour to the butter mixture and mix on medium speed for a short burst. Scrape down the sides.

4. Add milk and mix on medium speed for a short burst. Scrape down.

5. Add cocoa powder and use the spatula to fold into the mixture. Mix on high speed for a short burst.

6. Add sour cream and mix on high speed for a short burst. Scrape down.

7. Add the 2nd portion of the flour. Use the spatula to fold in and mix on high speed for a short burst. Scrape down again and mix on high speed for a short burst to ensure that the mixture is well combined.

8. I used cupcake cases so there no buttering of pans involved. Fill cases to 1/2 full and push some chocolate chips to just below the surface. Smooth over the top with a little bit more cake batter. This cake will rise quite a fair bit.

9. My oven was working pretty well today or my timer is conky (my son dropped it on the floor this morning and my oven timer has since long gone to heaven) but it took about 30 minutes to finish baking. Do the skewer test if not sure. Made about 16 cupcakes (bases 2 inch wide).

Enjoy!

* Dutch processed cocoa is not the same as the hersey chocolate or other drinking chocolate.

** I am sold on couveture chocolate chips - they are just simply wonderful and I'm not even using famous brands here.

Wonderday day =)

It didn't start off promising. Woke up and then discovered V's diapers leaked yet again *sigh* so changed her and let her sleep on top of the towel. She made us smile with a cheeky remark though ...

My nephew and niece came over today to play as they wanted to baked the yummy butter cookies. Well, I got flattered so of course I agreed :P I tested out the new stand mixer (didn't want to use my kenwood major chef else the kids will be yelling away and I can't hear them) and it was pretty good. I made 1 batch and the kids quickly got bored (what else) so they went off to make a ruckus in the bedroom while I patiently shaped the dough into logs and put them into the fridge. Given then I am in the chocolate mood, I made another batch, adding 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to the mixture. The verdict? We all loved the chocolate ones. So much so that my sister swiped more from the tray as she made me packed more for her to take away. I barely have more than 30 for the chocolate ones. The butter ones I still had another 50 or so, but I can always share the "fats" with my colleagues or V's teachers. I'll probably make another batch tomorrow and some cakes on Sunday. I have some sour cream I have to use up.

V was upset that her cousins left while she was asleep, but nothing my newly minted fabulous chocolate butter cookie couldn't fix. She had 2 and was all smiles again.

#2 on the other hand, didn't see much of me today, and was crying out for me at every time he saw a glimpse of me (if I wasn't carrying him). In fact, he gave his happy smile when I kissed him on the cheek. I spent some time with him alone too, tickling him and he laughing away merrily. I feel terrible that #2 almost seems neglected since V takes up most of our time and she sleeps with us. But the bonding that we did in Hawaii remains intact, and he still wants "mama". Yes, he can call me quite clearly now and when he's in the cheeky mood, he will just shake his head when we ask him to call me.

Speaking about shaking head, he likes the "rap" that the cartoon network plays for the "Adam Lion" trailers - the one that goes "funky monkey funky monkey, who's the funky monkey" (I think!). I would sing out to him at times and he would happily bounce on my lap, and his latest "act", with his head shaking away. Today, he was merrily grooving to Madonna's music as I was catching up on Glee's episodes.

Ya, it's nothing short of wonderful, and thinking of him grooving to Madonna's music has got me slightly worried, but it sure bring on the smiles!

Chocolate Bread? Chocolate Cake? Chocolate Muffin?

What's with the confusion? Not that I couldn't decide what to bake or what to eat, but rather, the final product that I actually baked.

See, I had this sudden brilliant idea about a chocolate bread and I finally tested it out. It's not that brilliant as in other bakers couldn't have done it, but it's brilliant in that sense my brains FINALLY thought of it. It was just a variation of the basic bread recipe that I had working for me. Sounds duh? Ah well, that's how "sad" my baking are these days =(

Anyway, I threw the ingredients into my breadmaker before I slept and I did wake up a few times in the middle of the night, woken up by the wonderful smell which had practically invaded the house. I was wondering who was cooking something really yummy, but I was way too groggy to remember that it could be the bread. My hubby tried waking me up and I was mumbling about that I was only getting up later when I remembered about my bread and almost jumped out of bed. He must have been astonished why I got up suddenly and was so awake.

When I opened up the breadmaker, my heart sank a little. The load wasn't really high, and I was thinking if I had messed up on the yeast, and if it was just going to be a tough HARD loaf that was going to break my teeth (inside family joke). I turned the pan upside down onto the board and the loaf slide out BEAUTIFULLY. I tried to slice it, and I went "wow" as my knife went in smoothly without any resistance. And finally, the taste? See the title. The texture was unlike a bread. It was a cross between a cake and a muffin, because the texture was really FINE. And yah, it was crumbly, probably have to add another egg or 2 to the recipe. Needless to say, I'm happy. VERY happy. This was probably the best BREAD I ever had baked.

Machine: Carrefour's Blue Sky Breadmaker

Setting: 900g Load, Light Colour

Cycle: Basic

Time started: 9:30pm

Time checked: 6:30am

Ingredients

(starting from items to be placed inside the pan first)

300ml milk (warm)

1/4 cup butter or 1/2 stick butter or 75g butter

1 egg (probably will increase to 2 the next time I try it)

400g flour

50g dutch processed cocoa powder (tudor or van houten brand)

6 tablespoon of sugar (if you like it a little sweeter, then add 1 more tablespoon)

3/4 tablespoon of instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon of salt

To add: 1 cup of couveture dark chocolate drops when the machine beeps/ or after the machine has finished kneading the first round.

If you want some resemblance of chocolate chips in the bread, add only during the final kneading stage. Couveture chocolate melts very easily, and is unlikely to have some bits left, so you may want to try adding normal semi sweet chocolate chips instead.

Bon appetit!

V is angry with her KM teacher!

For today's class, she was supposed to have drawn a map of where she stays and the surroundings. The hubby asked me to do, and I told him just print it off the street directory!

In anycase, we forgot all about it and turn up empty handed. We were there earlier got #2's class but we forgot about it until we saw her classmates bringing their maps. Argh. I had to get some paper and drew a rough map and was panicking until I realised, we were NOT the only parents who forgot! WAHAHAHAHA!

There were about 3 or 4 of us drawing away in the class, and I was frantically just drawing ugly cars and houses (ok my drawing is BAD) and adding some splashes of colours here and there. Time's up and we had to hand in "our homework".

After that, the class started so I went to do my grocery shopping for #2's porridge and then went for lunch. The hubby came back with V and he was smiling. Apparently V threw a fit when she realised the game they had to play involves standing on the maps that they all drew. She refused to step on her map, she refused to step on other student's maps. She was so upset that she even refused to say good bye to the teacher. She was sulking when I saw her with a brand new piece of paper (guess that didn't make her any happier) and she refused to eat what we had for lunch. In the end, she gave in to her hunger pangs and had some of the pizza. She ended up with the meal smiling, so here's hoping she won't remember what happened this week, and refused to participate in the class next week!

and al it took was ...

2 gummy bears (vitamin gummy bears) to be exact.

V threw a tantrum with the hubby last night and refused to allow him to switch off the bedroom light. The hubby was tired and sleepy as it was the tail end of his required yearly duty to the govt and he wanted to sleep. Me? I was blissfully hiding in the shower when the "discussion" went off.

In the end, V cried and shouted when he refused to give in and switched off the lights. The hubby gave her an ultimatum to stay in the bedroom or stay outside of the bedroom. Well, she choose outside when she saw me sneaking out the laundry from the bathroom. She followed me to the backyard, crying that she wants the lights to be on, yadah yadah for at least 5 minutes. I tried distracting her with her new blinking LED toothbrush and toys but it didn't work. In the end, I spied my Karihome goat milk sweets on the table and offered one to her if she would stop crying. She stopped crying almost immediately and agreed. She picked the white one and then went "I want 2!" Then I thought about it and went, how about the gummy bears? She immediately threw the sweets back into the can and smiled. The change was almost instantenously and start chatting to me about how red the gummy bears were and etc etc. We went into the bedroom and she had her milk happily. She even went "wo ai ni baba mama" "wan an" "zo tao" and "bon noo la la mi" (bon nuit mon ami). It took her almost 30 minutes before she fell asleep and I snuck out to do some household chores.

It's been a long long 2 weeks, at least to me (well, yes, including my birthday, but it was seriously a utter non-event, although it was quite eventful).

Let me see ... some of the events...

1. Maid went home to attend a funeral, back next week.

2. Hubby started his annual obligation to the govt, just ended on Friday.

3. The kids' paternal great grandfather passed away the week before last.

4. V had loose stools over a week and mysterious rashes on her hands and arms. Thankfully not HFMD!

Weekends were burnt needless to say so I didn't really get a chance to rest over the weekends ... went to work really exhausted and it's like a 7 day work week.

There were bright sparks too ... V has started voluntarily speak chinese to me. The other day, she pointed to the banana and said something. I couldn't quite catch it and made her repeat. It sounded like gibberish until I realised she was speaking chinese! She said "我要这个".

Good, at least I don;t have to worry about her chinese now!

Don't call me Jiejie!

V has this irritating habit lately - don't call me XXX, I am YYY, and the variation can change almost instantly. For eg,

Mummy: Good morning, sweetheart.

V: Don't call me sweetheart, I am baby.

Mummy: Good morning baby then.

V: Don't call me baby, I am Jiejie!

Mummy: Fine, good morning jiejie.

V: Don't call me jiejie, I am baby!

Mummy: ARGGGGHHHHHH

Then very recently, this was added to the variation.

V: Don't call me jiejie, I am TEACHER!

and when I was assigned to be the "STUDENT", I couldn't stop giggling.

My favourite "TEACHER"'s phrase:

"Don't look at your toes, TEACHER is not there."

mama!

My #2 has been making noises like baba, mama, ber ber, jer jer and he could even cough to amuse himself (he is coughing quite badly though).

So I thought nothing about his baby noises until this morning, the hubby carried him into our bedroom and he went "ma ma ma ma" when he saw me. Then I realised recently he has been making the "ma ma ma ma" sound when he wants me.

So ya, I think my boy knows I'm "mama" and does that count as his first word?

Tiring weekend

It's the weekend, and with the Sat as a PH, it guess it felt like a long weekend, even though it wasn't.

#1 was whiny beginning Fri night and throughout Saturday. I kinda gave up on her and just let the hubby deal with it.

My boy was having the sniffles but both of us were busy at work so I couldn't take time out to bring him to the doctor. He is starting to cough too - I am not sure if it's wheezy but it's definitely phelgmy. So I decided to nub him - he wasn't used to it at all (the last we nub him was 4 months ago) and he cried non-stop. By the time we were done, he was literally wet with tears and mucus! Anyway it seemed to do the trick and he seem to breathe much better. I wanted to bring him to the doc on Sat but yes, they're closed cuz of the PH. I can imagine the super long queues on Monday and I'm definitely not looking forward to that.

Then ... I woke up with a really bad tummy ache on Sat - and it got worse. I couldn't even pump without crouching in agony as my intestines merrily twisted away. To top it off, I had this buzzing headache that stayed with me for the entire day. So I slept most of my day away - and poor #2 was missing me (he could see me but I was in no shape to carry him). I finally got around to having my dinner at 9pm and #2 accompanied me to watch Glee for a while - he just sat on my lap and watch them sing their hearts out.

On Monday, the hubby goes for his ICT and I sure hope I can deal with both of them ... I hate the driving part most - in the morning traffic, the evening traffic and worse, if it's raining.