Back to Work Day

Woke up to the smell of haze this morning... Hate the haze... it just makes the air so thick and humid! Argh!



It's sort of a "back-to-work" day for me and Cobby. Cobby took leave for the whole of last week plus Monday, so today he had to go back to work, while me, well, back to my life as a stay home mom! Cobby said that he fear that we might suffer from HWS (Holiday withdrawal syndrome)! Haha...

I know people like to say things like, "Hello, you're on holiday the whole year round ok?" For your info, I too have to work ok? Clean the house, cook meals, take care of baby, buy groceries, etc. The house doesn't clean by itself one hor! I too enjoy the holidays! At least Cobby's around to help out around the house, help take care of baby, and of course, keep me company. :)

I've opened a savings account for Jolie, so today I wanted to bank in her Ang Pao money. After the trip to the bank I stopped by Cold Storage to get some biscuits for Jolie. I brought my shopping bag, so there's no need for a shopping basket, but Jolie found an empty one on the floor, so she decided to pick up the basket herself and do some shopping too.



She would even stop, put down the basket, take something off the shelf, put it into the basket, and pick up the basket and continue "shopping"! Haha, it's so cute! But the moment I took it back she was off taking something else. Tired man!

We spent so much time at the shopping centre I sort of lost track of time! So I quickly went home to cook dinner. Made something new today. Hot plate tofu without the hot plate! Haha... It's delicious! So proud of myself!



Another simple day as a stay home mom.

Japanese Class Lesson 1

Went for my Japanese class today. Because class starts at 10am, so Cobby took leave today to help me sent Jolie to MIL's place before driving me to class.



Class was fun! It's great to be doing something other than looking after the baby. Most of the students in class are young people in their 20s. Thankfully there are also students more mature than me. :)

Managed to make friends with a quiet girl sitting next to me in class. She had also learned basic Jap before, but like me, has forgotten most of what the teacher has taught us. Hahaha!

Time flies when you are having fun! Before I know it, 3 hours has passed and lesson has ended. Look forward to the next lesson! In the afternoon, we went to waterloo street to 拜泰岁. I never liked to do these religious stuff. It always makes the hair at the back of my neck stand up, even if I've done this before. -_-

Anyway, hope that with this blessing done, this year would be 旺旺!

Jolie to the rescue

Jolie's 4 year old cousin, Charlotte, was petrified of having water poured over her head during her bath. She's so scared that her grandma had to carry her while she bathe. During CNY, Charlotte observed Jolie laughing and enjoying herself when her Ah-Ma poured water over her. Even Charlotte's Mom teased her for being such a baby as compared to Jolie.

That night when they went home, having her ego bruised, Charlotte was determined not to be out-done by Jolie. So she decided to stop screaming and crying during her bath and even let water being poured over her head. In fact, she was SO PROUD of herself that she was boasting to everyone the next day. "Yesterday I had water poured over my head during bath time and I didn't cry!"

Naturally, her Mom was very happy. She joked that if she only knew that letting Charlotte watch Jolie bathe would solve the problem, she should have done that a long time ago! Sigh~ Jolie saved the day again! :)

Dinner at The Jewel Box

Spent the whole day at home on Saturday, so for dinner, Cobby suggested that we dine at Sapphire at The Jewel Box. The last time we've been there together, I wasn't even pregnant yet, so it's a refreshing change from our usual dining locations.

It was already 6.30pm when we go there, but it was still quite bright. There were lots of tourist walking around the park, but all the restaurants were still quite empty. As we were walking towards the restaurant, I was even attacked by ants! Ouch!

But when we got there, we were awed by the beautiful scenery and the cool evening breeze. SO nice~! So we placed our orders and started walking around the open air restaurant, taking pictures.







When the skies darken, the chairs at the garden lights up. Looks pretty cool but not very comfy to sit on!



The food was pretty good, (see here for details) but there were mosquitoes! The table next to us sat an old Japanese couple with their grown up son. Right after they ordered, they actually asked the waitress to light some mosquito coil! I was quietly telling Cobby how Kiasee they were when suddenly, I spotted a mosquito on my leg!!! OMG! I quickly smacked it dead and for the rest of the evening, I was quite paranoid. Not for myself, but fear for my little princess's precious blood! Luckily we were almost finished when the skies turned dark. And the bloodsuckers started to come out!



When we paid the bill, Cobby complained to the waiter that it's too dark. I teased him that he's losing his sense of romance! Haha... There were quite a few young couples dining there, one even has a bouquet of roses! Not that I'm jealous or anything. Haha... been there, done that! Anyway, it was quite fun going there for dinner. Something different.

Dinner at Taka

Cobby wanted to try the Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki I had the other time at Chikuyotei Dining, so we headed there for dinner. Cobby was very happy with his dinner.



I ordered their Niku Udon, was pretty good too.



Cobby offered to feed Jolie so that I could enjoy my charwanmushi in peace.



After dinner it was already 7.30pm, so we headed back home. Haha, travel all the way just to eat dinner only. But Jolie loved the quiet corridors of Taka so much that she was laughing and playing with us all the way to the carpark. Besides, she's wearing her brand new Polo Ralph dress and she looked so cute! Must take pictures!







Happy baby...

River Hong Bao 2010

No need to go visiting today, so I suggested that we go to the River HongBao. It was quite sunny that day, so I thought we can go in the late afternoon when it's not too hot. Also, I thought it would be less crowded as most people would go in the night. Unfortunately, the sun was still blazing hot at 6pm! Wah Kao!

There was some amusement rides at the entrance which looked really fun. If baby wasn't there I would have gone on every ride! But Jolie was quite freaked out by the crowd, their screams and all the loud techno songs blasting away at each ride. I don't understand why do they have to play different techno songs for each ride? So the place was a super loud mess of different techno songs, playing full blast. Poor Jolie was so nervous; she was practically choking me as she clung on to my neck tightly. So we quickly moved away from the rides and headed to the lanterns near the water.



The IR almost completed...


We wanted Jolie to have a good time, but she was a little traumatized by the amusement rides, and it was really hot there! So even though we brought the umbrella along, she doesn’t seem too happy.






Erm, actually there isn't much to see leh... So we wanted to go off after awhile as it's starting to get really crowded.



As we were about to go off, Jolie noticed a Panda sitting beside the bridge. It was her 1st smile of the afternoon! So we quickly took some pictures.



She likes bears...


It's really hot!


There were also kiddy rides there, but the merry-go-round seems like the only one I can go with her, so we went. We bought tokens from a tourist who bought too many tokens but had to go off soon. He was so desperate to get rid of them; he even gave us an extra token! :)

We waited very long for the ride to start as it wasn't very popular, but when it did start, Jolie was ecstatic! She kept screaming in delight and bounced up and down as the ride went round and round. It's quite shiok for me too as it nice and breezy. Cobby on the other hand was taking pictures every time we pass by.



We wanted to dine nearby, so we chose the Thai Express next to the Esplanade. Unfortunately they were sorely under-staff and under-stocked that night.
So we waited...
- to be seated
- for Jolie's child bowl to come, but came after Jolie almost finished her food
- for our drinks (in the end, it was sold out too, so we drank water)
- for our cutlery, which came after the food
- for our food (we finished the appetizer, Cobby finished his food, Jolie finished her food, and mine was still not there -_- )

I think they were low on noodles too, cause the serving was quite small! But we were hungry, so no choice! When I finally got to eat, Cobby brought Jolie to hang out at the Esplanade as it was so humid outside!



While I ate, the mother at the next table was throwing a fit. She was scolding her two boys and husband. I don't know why, but I think she's just frustrated. Outing with small children during holidays can be very stressful. It's hot, it's crowded, the children go berserk, you're tired and hungry, and you just hate everybody and everything!

For me, yes, it's hot and frustrating too, but seeing Jolie laugh and enjoying herself at the amusement ride makes it worthwhile.

年初二 2010

This morning made another family tradition, pan-fried Nian Gao! Just can't go through Chinese New Year without eating these sweet sticky yummy nien gao!



Same routine as yesterday, after her nap and lunch, we headed out to Ah Bu's (Cobby's Aunt) place. I bought this outfit for her! Pretty! With her mandarin orange bag, Jolie's all set to go!





At Ah Bu's place, Cobby played cards with them, so I didn't really join in, so I accompanied Jolie while we waited for our fourth mahjong player, another one of Cobby's aunt to arrive.



Ah Bu has really green fingers. Look at how beautiful her flowers are! Fourth Auntie came quite late, but she forgot to bring her glasses, so we waited again and only got to play when someone brought her reading glasses. By then it was already quite late and Jolie gets REALLY clingy at night.

I had such a hard time trying to play! The lighting in the room was quite dim and I had to carry Jolie while playing! I was so distracted, I didn't know what I was doing most of the time! It didn't help that the other two players were very fierce! Keep winning and 自摸! Faint~

We only played till 西风 because Jolie was getting really tired and cranky. And guess what?? We lost!!! I lost $152 while Cobby lost $210! Guess they really got their revenge! Hahaha... Oh well, I just take it that we lost away all our bad luck! That's the main reason for gambling during CNY right? :)

Black Eye Peas Flash Mob with Oprah

Just watched this on the Oprah show on TV and I was SO IMPRESSED! Super cool performance. Watch it!

年初一 2010

Happy Lunar New Year 2010!

Mummy's not here to cook nien gao for me this year, but I can make it myself and my family! So I cooked nien gao for breakfast. Cobby said that it tasted good! Next year can cook for Jolie. :)

Itinerary for today was MIL's place, so we let Jolie take her nap at home before heading out. While she naps, I thought my plain painted nails looked so boring! So I decided to spruce it up with some nail stickers and recycled crystals! It's a little rough around the edges, but looks really nice from afar! Very pleased with myself! :)



At my MIL's place, Jolie found herself a new friend! Cobby's cousin's child, Charlotte. She's four this year, very cute! See Jolie's new signature smile...





Jolie's dress was a birthday present from Charlene Yee Yee! Very appropriate for CNY and it fits very well, thanks char!



MIL and relatives playing cards...



Jolie looking very pleased after getting a biscuit from "Ah Bu", Cobby's Aunt.



Jolie so happy that she shared one of her biscuits with Ah Mah, my MIL.



It was a fun day! Cobby and I even won at a game of mahjong! I won $76! Tomorrow we're going to Ah Bu's place, where his cousin vow revenge on another game of mahjong. Looking forward!

团年饭 2010

This year my family is in HK, so 团圆饭 was settled at my Mother-in-law's place. This year's dinner was ordered from this Tong Chiang Kitchen.



Initially I thought it was a box of mandarin oranges! Haha... Looks promising, they delivered the food to your doorstep! It even comes with a Mango Jelly in a form of two fishes!



Jolie having fun before dinner time!



When we set up the Yu Shen, MIL gave Jolie a pair of chopsticks so that she too can "lou hei" with us. Whao it's like a dream come true for her man! She got to sit on top of the dining table, play with chopsticks and play with adult food while getting praised for it!



These are the food MIL ordered... (Excluding the steamed fish)



Erm... It's like... The worst dinner ever. Really. Nothing good to say about it, except that the herbal chicken was edible. -_-" Anyway... After Jolie's bath it's Hong Bao time! See how happy Jolie was when she got her first hong bao!




Well, the dinner may be sucky, but I guess the important thing was having the family together.




It was a nice evening, but that night, I had such a hard time putting Jolie to sleep that I completely broke down. I was tired, hungry (I hardly ate dinner) and I missed my family so much. It's 除夕, tomorrow's Chinese New Year and I can't be with my family. That sucks. I was sad, lonely and angry all at once and I hate it that I'm feeling this way the night before new year.... :(

CNY Shopping

Went Chinatown on Sunday to pick up some CNY goodies. I know we can get those stuff everywhere, but it's just tradition to experience the Chinese New Year feel! We go there every year! Last year, Jolie was still in my tummy...



Gosh I look fat in this pic...





Here are some stuff we bought. A lucky windmill to bless Jolie with good health...



Some decorations. This year I only bought two.




I think we went over board with the goodies! Oops...



We also bought alot of other stuff such as cushion covers, some wiping cloth and we came across this new shop selling chopsticks with surnames on them!



It's kind of cool as it explains the origins of the surname. I thought my surname, 顾, was quite obscure and was almost sure they don't have it. But hey! they do have it! So I bought a pair for everyone in the family. Ironically, it's Cobby who can't find his surname, 陈. It's such a common surname that it's all sold out! Hahaha...

We left about an hour later cause it was getting SO CROWDED!!! Cobby was worried that people may push us around and it wasn't safe for Jolie, so we left. After that we headed back to Woodlands Causeway Point, ate dinner and bought sunflower seeds and other nuts as it's less crowded there.

When we left for home it's already quite late. I don't know if it's because she's tired or what, but Jolie kept crying and screaming in the car! She cried so hard that she even puked in the car! AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I was SO ANGRY at her that I really wanted to MURDER her. I HATE PUKE! I HATE HER CRYING! I know I should be more sympathetic but at that moment, I just wanted to KILL HER. When we reached home she kept crying, so I just put her in the toilet while she cried and puked somemore while I get the towel. After I bathe her we both calmed down a little and everything was back to normal. -_- Drama~

So ends our day. I fun shopping trip that ended in tears (literally). But I guess that's normal when you have a baby at home. :)