After a 5-year break, with a few weddings and babies in between, we decided to relive the memories of Halloween. It was more like an excuse that we created to get together. This time, no blood and no scary makeup (phew!). First we were not sure if people still dress up for this day. Secondly, we needed an age appropriate theme. Black attire, witches hats, red/black lipsticks and nails. Glamorous. Or so we thought we were.
Another dress up party.
My sweet neighbour made us a Halloween meal– eye balls, meat loaf, coffin sandwich and fingers…
I did it again. I have been eating ONE kind of food repeatedly for more than 2 weeks! My mom’s spicy and pungent Sambal Hae Bee (dried shrimps).
“Everything in moderation” just doesn’t ring a bell to me…
I eat it in my egg sandwich for breakfast, sprinkle some onto my rice for lunch, sometimes even with bread for tea!
Everyone loves this at home. The household is into its third container since last month, including one that was slated for our neighbour.
The ingredients are simple: Dried shrimps, onion and shallots, garlic, chilli and belachan. Blend all ingredients and fry until dried up.
The cooking process sounds easy but the actual execution is tedious, requiring a fair bit of patience and love…
Roseola. Sounds Italian. Sounds like a nice name.
It is a viral illness in young kids, most commonly affecting those between 6 months and 2 years old. It is usually marked by several days of high fever, followed by a distinctive rash just as the fever breaks. The child may also develop diarrhoea from this. The rash may be itchy which cause the child to be whiny and clingy. The incubation period between exposure to the virus and onset of symptoms is nine to 10 days.
The mystery is finally solved. Bb S was “Roseola’ed”.
We have past the high fever stage (thank God), now moving on to the rash phase.
Tired but relieved that we are out of the woods. Joys of parenting!
Our very own little red book, to keep track of bb S’s daily feeding and sleeping pattern. It also spares me from becoming a broken recorder asking the same questions-“ when was the last feed”, “how long was nap time” every day when I get home.
Mom called me crazy but I think she will appreciate this little red book in times like this where we are administering several kinds of medicines with different dosage and feeding instructions...
xoxo,
Mini control freak
Fever fever go away
Don’t ever come again another day
Little Sophie wants to play
In between Paracetamol and Nurofen at 4.30am last night, I started to think of my “thankful” list.
Thank God :-
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”
~Philippians 4:6
What’s the difference between faith and ignorance?
Faith = Have good opinion on all things and believe that God handles every situation
Ignorance =A state of being uninformed and unaware which may lead to ‘unwise’ acts
Yesterday afternoon bb S was struck by a sudden high fever of 38+ degrees. After a dose of Panadol, her temperature subsided. We were not entirely anxious. I continued with my serving in church, while Daddy M seemed to be able to handle her at home, having some ‘fun’ with the cooling gel!
Evening came, her temperature started to rise to 39.6 degrees. I was still not worried, thinking that she would be well soon, the next day, perhaps. She was as her usual self, happily blabbering away.
Somehow, a thought came to me to call my sis to check how would she deal with the fever.
SK: Jie, S is having fever. What did you use to do to the boys apart from Panadol?
Sis: What’s the temperature?
SK: 39.6
Sis: WHAT!?????? Go to the hospital NOW! What were you thinking?! Other kids would have gone to hospital when they hit 38 degrees!
SK: err… oh.. ok (Sis continued to exclaim for the next 5 minutes or so)
And so we spent the next three hours in the A&E (waiting for the most part of it). After sponging and more Panadol, no admission was necessary. Praise God.
So, am I faithful or am I ignorant?
Recently, I attended a ‘superhero’ party dressing up as Charlie’s Angels. The invite reads:-
Cool, Sharp & Sophisticated
Black tops
Dark-washed jeans
Heels (yeah, you heard us right, we mean real heels)
Coincidentally, a friend, A, discovered La Prendo in Dempsey with good deals for Christian Loubutins. So this was me, probably not in the best frame of mind (sleep deprivation), buying my first pair of Loubutin.
I hid it from daddy M for one night but succumbed to honesty in the end. THANK GOD for a calm and cool husband who didn’t roll his eyes, didn’t fall off the chair nor drop his jaw after finding out the price.
It’s 60% off retail price and it’s ‘supposed’ to be a good buy, though not everyone agrees with me, especially those who would rather invest in diamonds (wink wink).
A asked me if I felt instantly sexier and more slander… hmmmm I think so… but it’s definitely not the most comfortable shoes on earth. Oh well, I’m 35, I’ve gone through child birth, I don’t buy jewellery, I have not been on holidays for awhile, I don’t usually go on shopping spree. YES this is my self-talk that I deserve a pair of Loubutin.
Experts say a bedtime routine can be the key to a good night’s sleep for babies. So far it has worked well for us, thanks to these two books.
The ritual:
1) Start with book #1: Good Night Moon: about a great green room full of little things.
2) Move on to book #2: Going to Bed Book: animals in an ark, ready to sleep- currently bb S’s favourite.
3) When it reaches the end of book where it reads “The day is done. They say goodnight. And somebody turns off the light.”, one of us will standby at the light with a bottle of milk.
4) “The moon is high, the sea is deep, they rock and rock and rock to sleep.” .
5) S lies down and start drinking her milk.
6) Normally, she dozes off in 10 minutes.
My mom who’s from the conventional camp of rocking, singing, patting was amazed and fell in love with this ritual.
Apart from my Saturday flowers, these butterflies dough from the Mayflower hawker centre keeps me sane as I do my weekly marketing. It’s popular for its freshness because the seller fries them on the spot as you place your order. The generous sesame seeds also makes it crunchier than the normal ones. Top it up with a cup of black coffee, my unhealthy indulgence is complete!
Never heard of Alsace until recently when I needed to ‘borrow’ a bottle of wine from SY. And with that, we discovered Alsace Domaines Schlumberger Gewurztraminer- don’t even want to try to pronounce this. Not as dry as Chardonnay, yet not as sweet as Riesling. It’s smoother and silkier than Sauvignon Blanc. That’s my kind of non-connoisseur wine review! Probably one of the better whites that I’ve ever had. It’s even nicer to share this with good friends and a heart-to-heart sharing session.
Happy birthday pa!
If you get to read this blog, wishing you health, joy and many more good days ahead.
To the best dad in the world:- I LOVE YOU!
This picture was taken on the mini-gospel night – this pair of hands show the journey of his life, the tremendous hardships for the love of his family. Everything he did, he did it with his children in mind…
Aunt from Sydney was here for transit and showered us with loads of sweets like there is no tomorrow. Bb S was immediately attracted to the chocs… not sure if it was due to the striking coloured packaging or is she a natural sweets lover just like daddy… 
Three years ago today I started this blog, inspired by SY, after a great holiday with my folks at the beginning of the financial crisis. I have definitely evolved over the years…There were times when I was feeling unmotivated to write and almost wanted to kill the entire blog idea. There were times when I wondered if anyone out there read my episodes of verbal diarrhoea. And of course there were times when blogging was an outlet for me to count my blessings in the midst of adversity. I’m glad I didn’t stop.
To a handful avid followers out there – thank you.
I hope my healthy narcissism continues to give you a little entertainment and escape from your daily life.
Some of my favourite posts / moments captured :-
Spare one or two empty milk powder tins for days when you feel like creating a rustic look at home.
It’s been a perfect 10 months!
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
~Psalm 18:2
This morning, I dragged myself to work. I was edgy, deflated and could hardly put a smile on my face. I attributed the moodiness to the combination of PMS and PTS (Pre- Travel Symptoms). The anxiety built up on my “amazing race” to London/Edinburgh/Frankfurt was so intense that daddy M may have felt the thorns over the past few days.
Tonight, as I’m typing this post, I have a big, gleeful smile on my face!
My trip has been POSTPONED till next year!
Why?
The world says: market driven.
God says: I know SK’s heart :) Let’s swing things around!
Turn on the music guys!
It’s always fun to have impromptu visits from cousins! Bb S is said to look like Nadia when she was a baby. I’m thrilled to imagine bb S looking so lovely in 4 years time!
Detox program is in the house.
Marinate chicken breast with mushroom seasoning, sliced ginger, garlic and coriander root.
Steam chicken for 30 minutes.
Garnish with cucumber, cut chilli, coriander leaves, spring onion and chilli flakes dressing*
*2T olive oil, 1T balsamic vinegar, pepper and chilli flakes.
It’s been a long week at home occupied with Cantonese series. Thank God the chicken pox boils are contained on my trunk, sparing my face :) The brighter side is I got to spend maximum time with bb S, in view of my up coming trip to London in 1 week’s time …
