Buffet

Rows after rows of sumptuous japanese fare - decent quality stuff that beat the Ikois and Minoris hands down. We are talking about the Kuishin Bo buffet restaurant at GWC. One of the best japanese dinner buffets that we have come across and reasonably priced too. We feasted on soft shell crabs, sashimi, cold crabs, jap ice cream - anything you could think of on a jap menu, it was available. there was even sinful grilled lobster with cheese (pic below) ! By the time ah kong, ah ma, bigchek, dh, dd and I left the restaurant, we were close to rolling out of the restaurant from the huge decadent feast we have had.

Accident

We had a traumatic afternoon today.

After shichida class, we drove off and joined the queue of cars waiting to exit out of the Hub's carpark onto ToaPayoh road. All the cars were stationary whilst waiting to exit and dd was happily yakking away in her carseat when suddenly, there was a super loud bang, and we were slammed in the rear by the car behind us.

I was totally shocked. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a young lady driver looking petrified emerging from the car behind. The lady kept saying sorry. We drove out of the carpark and parked along TPY road so as not to block the other cars exiting the carpark. The first thing she asked me was how she could pay me for the damages.

Given the atrocity and seriousness of her bad driving (the cars were stationary) she should have gotten a scolding, but somehow, I felt quite sorry for her even tho' I was traumatised too. After getting her particulars, I left the place still in a daze. I had promised dd to bring her shopping, so I drove to my destination. Only upon reaching did I call dh to tell him about the accident. He asked me if I was injured and I realised that my chest and arms were aching. It must have been the whiplash from the impact. Praise God that dd was fastened in her carseat.

This is a summarised version of what needs to be done after an accident:
1. Check for injuries. Any injury please report police
2. No injury please report at any 'centre/your insurer' within 24 hrs.
3. Provide details of other driver
4. Provide photos and time of accident.
5. Provide concise account of events at reporting centre. If there are any claims (eg medical fees) please submit together with your report.

School

Part of the premise of dd's new school come January. Notice the red/white plastic tape at the lower left corner. I thought the school was closed for renovation when I saw the tape tied securely across the only corridor leading to the school office. Apparently they are so fastidious about screening every last visitor to the school (since the H1N1 scare), they actually tied the official-looking tape to deter visitors from sauntering in. The other wing of the school - where a row of parents are waiting for the kids to finish swimming lessons at the pool.

Watch

At some point in time when dd is older, she might like to know that this is her very first watch =). Bought for the 'princely' sum of $10. I was afraid the strap might be too big for her, but surprisingly, she isn't even using the last buckle 'hole' but the third last hole.

Bookstore

This is a wonderful online bookstore 'Book deposit' based in UK. I ordered my book somewhere on July 15th and voila!, here is the package containing the book today. Free international shipping, a 10% coupon code for limited time discount and prices are cheaper than Amazon. What more can you ask for ?

I have a coupon code for 10% discount. Do drop me a line for the code if needed. Happy shopping!

Musical

We were at The Esplanade to catch "Sing Dollar- the musical comedy". Fortunately, the traffic was quite light despite there being a NDP rehearsal. Thanks to Melody, we were able to clinch front row seats in the sell out crowd. After the show, we adjourned to Orgo for their trademark mangosteen martinisDD was sound asleep by the time we got home. The next day, dd grabbed my program booklet from the musical, pointed at the cover and told me its a handbag. I wanted to correct her till I realise what she was pointing at - It was actually a LV lookalike print on the program booklet with the initial 'SD' instead of 'LV' ! These days, brand recognition start from young =P

Toys

Taka toy fair. Its actually quite fun to browse a toy fair like Taka's because they have so much variety all in one spot. I enjoyed myself shopping and dh was quite clever to keep dd occupied with some cakes that he had bought from a nearby bakery.

Our haul :

Our best buy has to be a cube jigsaw puzzle ( I have been searching for this for quite a while) at $3! DD also got herself a second tricycle (nope, she's not nearly tall enough for a bike).

Incidentally, ah ma went to the same toy fair in the morning on her own and happened to buy the same cube jigsaw for dd. So now we have one extra jigsaw. Anyone keen, do drop me an email.

Homebased

We have uncovered a thriving market of home based 'educators'. These are super-moms worthy of admiration because they juggle bringing up their own children as well as being a homebased entrepreneur. The fees they charge are below the enrichment centres whilst their enthusiasm and expertise are certainly no less. Thanks to online spams or ads, they are also able to reach out to mommies like myself, without incurring high 'advertising' costs.
We have spoken to a Shirley, Ms Chow, Mei lan and Pauline regarding their individual homebased programmes and hope to arrange a trial session with them. Lets hope dd will enjoy these sessions.

Food

This is my FIRST attempt ever - at making any sort of food even remotely aesthetic. The chef in the house is obviously dh (and a very good one too!). For me, I have not a single creative bone in my body - especially not when it comes to food. DD was thrilled to bits to see her favorite food item - bread, being transformed into different shapes. And the good thing about cutting the bread into shapes - it doesn't make the omega3 butter that I used, ooze out which is what happens when I use a knife to cut. As far as lunchboxes go, I know my maiden attempt above is rather ugly =P. Nonetheless dd was very happy and tickled to see Hello kitty and rabbit as part of her lunch. After taking this picture, I added in double portions of the veg and a huge serving of threadfin (it didn't look very artistic after I added in all that). DD cleaned out everything.

The thing that bothered me when I was making the lunchbox - bento making seemed to focus on being cute visually to the detriment of what they contained food-wise. I suppose if the box is meant as a 'snack' rather than a full blown lunch, its actually pretty fun. And for fussy kids, this may be a good idea to motivate them to eat their foods.
I had good fun putting everything together. Stay tuned for more photos of my 'culinary' efforts.

Gifts

We received a wonderful package from HKG today and dd was simply delighted with all her pressies (she also enjoyed tearing apart the wrappings and the box that all the items came in =P ). The items were from Auntie Shirley. DD wanted to say a big 'thank you' to kau mu for all her pressies :

In case dd's speaking too softly - she was saying " the best kau mu in the world *kiss*".

Party

Sean's 2year old birthday party at The Metz's function room, along Devonshire road. DD staring at her 'bee' cupcake with a frown - deliberating whether its ok to eat such a cute cupcakePinata time with the birthday boy using a baseball bat to whack elmo

Disposables

Never leave home without it!

My precious waterproof, flushable toilet seat liners for dd's public toilet visits. Its just slightly bigger than my Vertu which I had place next to it, about the same size as a pack of pocket tissue.

Saver

Today we were ill prepared. We went to Vivocity for lunch and to run a few errands. DD had a huge lunch - she finished her homecooked porridge + a huge serving of rice from the restaurant.

After lunch, just when we were getting warmed up with our shopping, dd suddenly complained that she had 'tummyache'. She clutched her belly in pain. We were in a complete tizzy. We had left her travel potty in the car (which was quite a walk away) AND we hadn't thought of bringing any seat liners along for the public toilet since we were still indulging in diapers for her kaikais. *Yikes*

The thought of asking her to just go ahead and poop into her diaper (she was wearing one) did cross our minds but we wondered whether we should dampen her response to our toilet training efforts. Anyhow, she disagreed to pooping in her diapers, so we were left in a fix. Finally we found her a restroom and cleaned the filthy seat and lined it as best as we could. My distaste was so evident that dd told me that she didn't want to sit on the bowl. And I promptly empathised with her =P.

We brought her out again, since she said she 'lost the poop' feeling. But the moment we went back to the store, she clutched her belly and complained of pain. This round, we dashed for the carpark to find our travel potty. And it was a real life saver! It was not a second too soon, as dd pooped a weirdish, wettish sort of poop - she may have eaten something that disagreed with her tummy. DD was all smiles after her 'good' expulsion and dh and I were equally relieved - at her chirpiness that is.

Diapers

The last bastion of resistance has given way.

On the 3rd July, we finally decided to stop supporting the wonderful, amazing, indispensable product called 'diapers' and potty train dd.

Apart from our love of the diaper and sheer inertia, we also wanted dd to potty train at her own pace. On the first 3 days, there were the inevitable accidents of pee on the floor. By the 4th day, she kept her panties on for the whole day without soiling it. The 5th, 6th and days thereafter, were not so perfect. She still had one or two accidents but mostly she stopped herself in time (tho' her panties still got a little damp sometimes, ie pee came out a little).

The next hurdle (our own personal hurdle, not dd's) is to a) let her go to bed without diapers and b) go out of the house without diapers. Knowing me and my strong dislike for using public lavatories (b) is going to be one huge hurdle =P. My two pronged solution : arm myself with her own personal potette (I blogged about this 1 year ago) as well as tons of waterproof, biodegradeable pot liners. I thought of getting one of those foldable child toilet seat that you can place over the adult seat but apparently none lives up to its claims (ie don't waste money )

As for (a) sleeping without diapers, I believe we have first to get ourselves some kind of waterproof gadget for the mattresses (ours and hers).

So there. The grand plan is laid. We only need set it in motion.

Lest you think potty training is that simple .... the reality is : we have no illusions that toilet training will be a short, spiffy 2 month event. Kids are known to revert to bedwetting or even peeing/pooping in their pants for no rhyme or reason. And many kids still wear diapers to bed at 3, 4 or 5 years old. So here we are, bracing ourselves for more 'training days' to come and keeping our fingers crossed. Meantime, dd has gotten herself a whole collection of cutie pie panties. In case you are wondering why so many panties, we reckoned it more prudent in order to give allowance for pee/poop accidents.

New

Some interesting items we bought after sm class today: Another pair of chopsticks for dd - I have been searching for this particular type of chopsticks. Cost me $4.95 A set of 2 stencils (about A4 size each) cost me a humble $2Bought this on a lark - sticker flags with a world map (folded). Couldn't resist the $2 pricetag.

Growing up

This week, we are finalising details for dd's entry to pre-nursery classes at St James Kindergarten which takes place in January.
In the whole scheme of things, given how coveted a place in SJCK is, I should feel totally elated. But unexplainably, in my heart I feel a certain sense of 'heaviness' which has nothing to do with the school. Its because ..... my baby is growing up!!! =/

It's major events like these that make me realise how much my baby has grown. Going to pre-nursery is such a mega milestone because this will mark the start of dd going to 'School' for the next-dunno-how-many-years. Nursery->K->Primary etc etc

How fast time flies. These days when I shop for her clothes, I have to drag myself away from the cute rompers and pretty '18-24m' type of dresses. Somehow bigger sized dresses don't look as cute as those in the 'under 24m' range =P. And those cute squeaky type of shoes - soon she will be outgrowing these type of shoes too. How I want to cherish as much of her 'babyhood' as I can and for as long as I can....

Even the things she says these days makes me realise how much she progresses each day. When she goes to the toilet (she doesn't use the potty) and takes off her panties, she will tell me that her panties are 'damp-ish'. Where she learnt this word (and its used in a perfectly correct context) from, is beyond us. When we ask her a question, she ponders for a minute and replies " ahhh no, I don't want". Or "actually, I want to go there" Or "Errr no, I don't want to eat anymore. " Its the "ahhh, actually , errr" that tickles us.

When the new year comes along, I have to desist camping out at St James just to make sure she's alrite in class. Lets hope that by that time, she will be a much 'braver' girl than she is now so her mommy won't be too worried...

Botanic Gardens

Dylan and dd, hand in hand at the Botanic Gardens.

Everyone heading towards the picnic location in the fine weather. Not really a picnic, just a bunch of mats for the mommies and open space for the kiddos to romp

DD attempting to mount li'l Gabriel's TTT scooter which threatened to roll down the hilly slope with her on it.

Kudos

Kudos to the marvellous efforts of Alvin and his team at Dphotofolio. These people have been working non-stop doing fund raising for a cancer-stricken 4year old little girl, Charmaine.

Tho' we had no prior plans for a photoshoot, we were honoured to be part of their drive for funds. All proceeds from the studio shots went to the fund.

Magic

DD surprised us with this 'magic' trick of hers whilst dining out. Good thing my camera was nearby and we managed to snap these shots. DD: Wanna see a magic trick?

DD: Look ma, no hands !

DD Easy peasy *smug*

Stainless steel

DD's not hoping off to drop-off school just yet but I couldn't resist these stainless steel ( the cover is plastic tho') hellokitty lunch boxes that came in its own li'l bag. The next step, will be to ponder what foods to fill these pretty boxes with...

Mac's

Everytime dd eats out, my mommy instinct kicks in and I find myself analysing the 'value' of each food group that she is eating =P. Foods that have zero value obviously takes last priority in the whole scheme of things. So it was a pretty momentous event when dd had her first taste of Macdonalds' french fries today! Not certain, but it could have been her first visit to Mac's as well. So whats dd's verdict on the french fries ?

It happened after sm class when sensei, zyi and dd had a field day playing tag in the front reception area and Diane and I were busy yakking away. After that, we adjourned to Mac's together with sensei for some refreshments. Some of the shots I captured:

After all that running around, the 2 classmates were happily playing with Diane's phoneDD: wah, such an exciting game .. but I can't see properly

zyi: *frowning in concentration*

*yikes* zyi topples over

Bored with the phone game, what are the two up to now? DD: I think we better not go in without permission zyi: No one's looking ..

DD: *curious cat* I also wanna follow...

Mmmm ... french fries Very nice ! The 2 chums . Look at how tall Zyi is !

Fine

We were taken aback to receive an overdue notice (ie pay a fine) from the national library yesterday. We had visited the library twice in the last month as they were offering a special "8 books loan per borrower" for the whole month of June and had hauled back the maximum load each time. But we had also been conscientious in renewing/returning the books on time. So the notice came as a bit of a shocker. Upon checking our loan receipts ( you can accumulate the receipts for some sort of gift redemption) we realise that we did leave out one book but therein lies the mystery. How did we manage to count the correct number of books when we were returning ?? Could we have 'returned' one of our own storybooks thinking that its a library book? There seem to be no other answer to this mystery. Sigh, wonder whether the library has a 'wrong book' returned section ? From July 1st, the library will be allowing multi media rentals, I had been so looking forward to it but now I think I better be doubly careful that we are returning the correct discs.

Remember

We met up with Elaine and dahling Dylan at Paragon today. Dylan is still having poor appetite so mommy Elaine specially ordered some tempura salmon at Akashi to whet his appetite. In the midst of our chitchat, dd interuppted me and asked "mommy, remember this song?"
I stopped to listen to the barely audible strains of music from the restaurant's speakers. At first I couldn't hear anything (it was really soft) then I heard it. It was the beautiful tune used on dd's DVD slideshow which was given to us by the photographer for dd's 2yr old studio shots. When I asked dd where she had heard the tune before, she told me it was when she was a 'princess' on tv (due to her princess fairy outfit at the studio http://moxibaby.blogspot.com/2009/04/studio-2009.html). Thanks to Elaine, we manage to find out what tune it was. Listen to the music here:

Before today, dd has had the habit of making this statement "Mommy remember this __ ?"(fill in the blank with whatever it is that she is seeing/ hearing). I never paid much attention altho' the things that she points out to me are indeed correct recollections of past songs/objects. But the tune she heard today is something that she heard once/twice quite a few weeks back so I am really happy for her. Hope she continues to enjoy and appreciate fine music.
Whats dd munching so happily on? Its auntie Elaine's delicious homecooked macaroni! DD asked for many many helpings.. till I had to stop her =P. Many thanks to Elaine for the delicious noodle!Dylan enjoying his tempuras whilst dd eyes his toy trucksDD enjoying her 'ride' on this stationary carousel

Coffeeshop

My favourite 'coffee shop'!
This is the one and only shop whose food I had cravings for when I was preggy. It also has very honest staff - I once left my bag behind (with my Vertu inside too) and when I came back half an hour later, everything was intact cos the staff had kept it for me.

Food quality is not 100% infallible (different 'chefs' depending on what you order) but still I keep going back. I was most impressed when during my preggy days (about 7-8mths preggy), I paid them a visit (my only visit) and the waitress asked why I haven't visited them for so long and congratulated me for my pregnancy. This may seem like a non-event but it was not, because I had gained a whopping 23kg when I was preggy and was highly 'unrecognisable'. Coupled with the fact that its a coffeeshop (not Iggy's restaurant) we are talking about with the usual coffeeshop bevy of waitresses.

Unfortunately, ever since dd came along, we haven't been able to go except for one solitary visit together with dd. We find it tough to manage a squirmy baby in a hot, stuffy coffeeshop. So whats the dish that I keep going back for ? Its their 'sui jiao' shrimp dumplings noodles/ soup !