Happy Birthday, Waipo!!

Happy 51th Birthday to Waipo!! We wish her many happy returns and may all her wishes come true.



Singing birthday song


Yeah, can cut the cake!


Wait, papa will take out the candle 1st


Licking the cream off the knife.


Why did Waipo laugh at me?



Kiki has a share of the cake too.

We had an early birthday dinner celebration last night cos Yiyi has her Korean classes on Thurs. The buffet dinner at Changi Village Hotel Saltwater Cafe was featured in a Channel 8 show recently. It had drawn Mummy's interest to their buffet line which includes Teppanyaki, century egg porridge, prawn noodle, salmon and codfish sashimi, desserts and their specialty - Pork Maw Soup.

Though not all the dishes are fantastic (in fact a few of them are quite salty. No wonder the cafe name's called Saltwater, haha!) but there are still the palatable dishes like the porridge, codfish sashimi, Pork Maw Soup and desserts. Anyway Mummy finds it quite worth the price of $36++ per pax and there is the "1 for 1" promotion for UOB card holders. They also has this "Dine and Stay for one night" promotion at $98++ (till May 09).
Can give it a try if looking for buffets out of town area.



The big feast (or rather "The empty plates after the big feast")


Waipo and Reyden. And a crying Reyes too ...


Reyes and her cha soba


Going home

RR's developments

Mummy's post:

I could remember 6mths back I was still pretty worried over the kiddos' speech development when they were due for their last medical review at KKH. However within this span of 6mths, I must say their speech development and vocabulary improved tremendously. And most of the time it caught us offguard (with what they say in public) and throw us into laughters (cos of the jokes they created) with their talking.

And things can go very wrong sometimes too. Kids really have their own understanding and intepretions.

Incident 1
Reyden went back to sleep after some coughing and vomitting. It woke Reyes up and she started fussing.
Mummy: shhh ... cannot wake gorgor up. He'll cough and vomit if wake up. You want gor gor to vomit?
Reyes: Don't want(silence and went back to zzz)

The next morning I had wanted to wake up Reyden up for school ...
Mummy: Reyden, wake up.
Reyes: shhh ... cannot wake gorgor up. gorgor wake up cough, vomit.
Mummy: ????

Incident 2
During the toilet-training period, I had been harping to Reyes that she needs to go pee in the toilet. Though many had advised me against threatening her but I know my gal - she needs constant reminders and strong ones too.
Therefore I'll go every half an hr: You must shhh shhh in the toilet, cannot anyhow shhh shhh, Mummy will cane, ok?

I'm pretty sure this works for her and she remembers it cos there was once when Kiki pees outside his pee tray and Reyes went to take the cane.
Reyes: kiki, no shhh shhh here! cane cane you!!

I'm "defeated" again ...

Reyes being the more vocal and responsive one, of cos there are alot more "stories" about communicating with her but nevertheless I'm enjoying every moment of her innocence.

As for Reyden, most friends or relatives will ask me whether he's the slower one, less developed in speech or etc ...  
What I could say in his defence is that he's a man of few words just like Daddy. But once you get him talking, you probably won't be able to take it too.

Incident 1
I was driving them around when we saw some secondary school girls in uniforms playing a fool by the roadside at 9+pm. (I wonder what time school ends nowadays)
When 1 of them suddenly dashed out as I drove past, I made an angry comment -
Mummy: see all these jiejie rubbish, so late still no go home!!!
RR: kept quiet in the car

2 days later when we passed by the student care at our void deck, we saw some young gals running around playing.
Reyden: all these jiejies rubbish, so late no go home!
Mummy: looked for a hole to hide

I promised not to make any statements of these kind since then.

Incident 2
One day Reyden was trying to be difficult, went fussing and kicking on Kiki's small mattress.
Mummy: Reyden, get up! Kiki mattress is dirty, chou chou (smelly)
Reyden: Got up with a super black face
I walked away to do something. Went back to the room and found the mattress and Reyden gone. Found him in the washroom standing on a stool trying to wash the mattress at the basin
Mummy: REYDEN!! What are you doing?!!
Reyden: Kiki mattress dirty, chou chou. Gorgor wash.

Gave up ...

Happy 2nd Birthday to Keira!!

We attended Keira's 2nd birthday party today. Poor Daddy didn't join us cos he had to stay home to unpack the luggage and do the laundry from our trip. Anyway we enjoyed ourselves and the food. Tks to Aunty Michelle for the invitation.




The kids before the party starts


Keira


Birthday Gal with Daddy and Mummy

Trying to get their attention off the cakes.



Attacking the cupcakes



Mummies and kids

Genting Trip (23rd - 25th Apr 09)

We are back from our Genting Trip! It was a great and terrific trip which all of us enjoyed alot. The weather probably contributed most to our enjoyment. This had been our 1st time taking a plane and we were definitely excited over the Tiger Airway & Airsasia flights. However Mummy had blacklisted Tiger Airway due to a few factors. We had our suitcase luggage damaged by them too but luckily it can be claimed from the AIG travel insurance Mummy bought for all of us.

The overall travelling journey was a pretty short one minus the checking in and waiting. The flight was 40mins and skyvan ride about 1.5hrs plus 15mins of Skyway cable car ride and there we are!!!

As for accomodations, Daddy and Mummy had stayed in Genting, Resort and First World Hotels before and they decided that Resort Hotel is still the best in terms of pricing & comfort.

Of cos food and play there aren't a problem. We had buffets at the hotel's cafe, steamboat at a Chinese restaurant, the famous bak ku teh there and fast food too. As for play, with the All Parks Unlimited passes for the Theme Park, we simply went mad with the rides, both indoor and outdoor. However there are certain rides which we got to give them a miss cos of the minimum height requirement. Daddy says we'll be able to ride in them the next time we go back there.

Mummy felt that this had been a better trip compared to our last Batam trip. We were about 18mths old then, couldn't communicate as well as now, had problem with eating and self-feeding and the weather made us fussed alot then too.

This time round, Daddy and Mummy didn't have to lug as much milk powder and diapers there. Meal times were a breeze for all of us cos we helped ourselves to our fair share of the buffet, steamboat and fast food. Milk became an optional food supplement. Perhaps we could do away with that for our next trip. And also thank god that toilets were easily found and mostly were clean and dry so it didn't pose any problem for Reyes. Mummy's hoping that we won't even have to bring any diaper for Reyden for our next trip.

There hadn't been much fussing from us cos the weather was cooling and at any point of time, there are always some things to entertain or distract us with. However Reyden did get quite restless after awhile in the plane and skyvan ride.

Mummy concluded this trip had probably given Daddy more confidence and we are ready for longer and further trips!!


Here are the pictures we've taken. Sit back and enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

See our poor suitcase luggage.


But Reyden says the luggage bag 活该 (deserves it) cos it made a cut above his eyes when we were about to leave for the airport. Daddy was carrying the luggage when he ran right into it. This boy just don't realise it's his own fault ...

Finally done ...

Daddy and Mummy had finally gotten the dining table from S**r Furniture. Though they had a wide variety of choices for their furnitures but we can't say we are pleased with their service. They had wanted to charge us a skyhigh fee of $120 for rearrangement of the delivery date. This is the 1st time Mummy had heard something so ridiculous. We could understand if they had asked for something like $50 but $120 is definitely out of the question. After a few calls of heated arguments (yes, arguments! Their staffs were pretty rude too), they relented and reduced the fee to $50. And that was after Mummy told them to keep the dining table and she'll just call CASE up and tell them we didn't get our dining table after paying for it.

Anyway this is the 1st and probably the last time we are getting furnitures from them so we shall not harp on it anymore. We are glad to see that everything is in place for our housewarming party on the 1st May.

Overslept

Mummy's post:

Took these shots while waiting for them to wake up ...
Now that they are older, they had learnt to sleep in late recently. Plus their sleep had been disrupted by bad coughing so I just let them be. However we had been late for a few times for breakfast in school so I guess I'll need to move their bedtime earlier.

Our dinner #17

Our dinner - rice with omelette, stir-fry minced beef with zucchini and carrots and celery from the vege soup

The pooh bears are cut with the new Pooh Bear cutter Mummy got from BentoMarket. They are very easy to use and looks good too.


Stir-fry minced beef with zucchini

Ingredients:
250g Lean Beef Mince (marinate with 1 tsp of cornflour for half an hour)
2 Tbsp finely chopped Brown Onion
Half of a normal-sized zucchini, cut into cubes
Dash of Pepper*
Dash of mixed herbs*
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil*

Method:
1. Heat a little oil in a frying pan or wok.
2. Stir-fry onion and zucchini until soft.
3. Add in minced beef, seasoning ingredients* and stir to mix.
4. Stir-fry and remove from heat once beef is cooked. (Do not overcook else beef will be very hard and dry)
5. Serve.

Swimming!!

The pictures don't really tally with the post title? However Mummy could only take the pictures of us in the swimsuits at home. Daddy had forbade her to bring the camera along cos he didn't want to end up being the only one taking care of us at the pool and it becomes a photography session instead of swimming.



Waiting to go off ...

Our dinner #16

We must say that we are in for good treat lately cos Mummy's in a mood for cooking.

Today she pan-fried the salmon instead of the normal poached teriyaki salmon. Though the same sauce used but the tastes are quite different. The poached salmon will have a lighter taste than the pan-fried one cos water had been added to the sauce to dilute it. And the texture would be softer with the poaching. However though pan-fried stuff tend to be drier, there's abit of crisp on the outer layer of the salmon and it tastes stronger of the teriyaki sauce. Guess it all depends on the taste of the kid.

The other dish we had is the stir-fry pork with spinach (refer to recipe below). Mummy had long wanted to add greens to our diet but it had not been easy cos we don't take vege as it is so she'll either have to add into the soup or blend it well into the dishes she cooks. Seeing that she's cooking the stir-fry pork with spinach for their own dinner, she scooped out a portion of it and cut into smaller pieces for us to try out. Well, not that we finished all but at least 75% of it were gone from our plates.

p.s: Mummy didn't have time to make nice cartoon characters for our dinner deco cos she need to prepare those dishes in a rush after we came back from our swim.


Our dinner - Rice, Stir-fry pork with spinach and pan-fried teriyaki salmon. The wolfberries you see on the rice are from the sharksfin melon soup that was poured onto our rice.


Close-up of it

Stir-fry pork with spinach
Ingredients:
400g spinach
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks of spring onions, cut
400g pork fillet, cut into thin slices
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp of sugar
A dash of mixed herbs (optional)

Method:
1. Heat oil and sesame oil in frying pan.
2. Add in garlic and spring onions and stir-fry till fragrant.
3. Add the pork in and stir-fry quickly in 3 bathes over very high heat. Remove the meat and set aside.
4. Add the soy sauce, sugar and spinach and toss lightly. Cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach is just soft.
5. Return the pork to the pan. Add in the mxed herbs if desired.
6. Toss well and serve immediately.

Broccoli with dried scallops and crabstick sauce

This is for the adults but Mummy gave us some of the broccoli forets from it too. It acts as grass for our little lamb. :)



Ingredients:
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 big fresh broccoli
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of shaoxing wine
3 big dried scallops
3 sticks of crabstick, shred
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
Pepper

Method:
1. Put dried scallops in a bowl with water and steam it till becomes soft. Drain and shred the dried scallops and leave them and water aside.
2. Boil some water and blanch the broccoli, drain and leave broccoli aside.
3. Put some oil in a pan and add in garlic and fry till fragrant.
4. Pour the dried scallop and the water used to steam it into the pan. Add another 400ml of water and boil till dried scallops became softer. Add in the sugar, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, pepper and stir well.
5. Mix the cornflour with little water (20ml) and pour slowly into the pan. Stir as you pour.
6. Bring the sauce to boil till it thickens and adds in the crabstick and cook for 1 min. (Do not cook the crabstick for too long else it'll turn very soft.)
7. Lay the broccoli on a plate and pour the sauce over and serve hot.

Our dinner #15

Mummy was very much inspired by a mummy from a bento website to do a lamb for our dinner. The lambs that the mummy made for her kids were so cute and sweet. However Mummy couldn't do an exact same one cos of the lack in her cutters therefore we'll have to make do with these 1st. She'll do another one for us when the cutters she just ordered come.


Reyden's dinner - steamed toufu with fishballs, chicken yakitori (see below for recipe) and brocoli


Reyes's dinner - same as above


Closeup of the lamb

p.s: Pardon her for the badly taken pics cos the camera ran out of battery and she had to use the hp camera.

Chicken Yakitori

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp sake
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
*Bamboo skewers (soaked in water to prevent burning)

Method:
1. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
2. Skewer the chicken.
3. To make yakitori sauce, mix sugar, sake, mirin, and soy sauce in a small bowl.
4. Grill the skewered chicken in oven, apply sauce on chicken in between until the chicken is cooked.

Our interesting dinner #14

Pikachu dinner with steamed threadfin and toufu plus vege soup

Spaghetti Bolognese with Honey Glazed chicken wings

This is what Mummy had prepared for our zoo trip this morning. The honey glazed chicken wings was recommended by Waipo and it tastes great with minimal cooking required. Just put them into the oven for 15 mins and it's done.



Ingredients
For the sauce (serves 4) You can choose to buy the mushroom sauce or beef bolognese sauce off the shelf from supermarkets

300g Minced beef
450g Onions, chopped
2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
150g tomato concentrate
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oregano
two cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon honey
one splash of worcester sauce

Ingredients
For the spaghetti

Spaghetti
Water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Freshly chopped basil
Parmesan cheese

Preparation
1. Press the garlic.
2. Pour olive oil into a large saucepan, add the onions and fry them in the olive oil until they change colour.
3. Crumble the mince into the onions and fry it until it is completely done (no red bits left).
4. Continue frying the mince and the onions while stirring to let some of the water that has accumulated evaporate.
5. Now add the tomatoes, the tomato concentrate, the honey and the spices.
6. Let the whole lot simmer for an hour with no lid on the saucepan - this is to let some of the water evaporate so that will make it tastier.

Preparing pasta

1. Roughly 150g of pasta per head (reduce accordingly for kids)
2. Boil a lot of water (1 liter per 100g), add some olive oil and salt. When the water is boiling, add the pasta.
3. Boil 10 - 12 minutes for spaghetti.
4. Drain away the hot water and rinse the spaghetti under the tap water for a min.
5. Put the saucepan back onto your hob and add 2 tablespoons of butter.
6. Melt the butter.
7. Put the pasta back into the saucepan and heat it up while turning it until it's hot. The pasta will taste great, not stick together and be just right!

Lastly, pour the pasta sauce over the spaghetti and add some of the parmesan cheese and it's done!!!


CP Honey Glazed Chicken wings

A day at the zoo

Daddy and Waipo are on leave today therefore they planned for a zoo trip but the weather wasn't quite cooperative. It started to pour the moment we reached there. The rain didn't stop totally even after our breakfast but we went ahead anyway. Luckily it was a weekday today and we could take the free tram rides around. The trip ended with lunch at Ah Meng restaurant and some "chasing" of the pygmy hippos.


Winnie The Pooh cutters that Mummy bought from BentoMarket
Her stuffs run out fast so got to grab the moment you see anything you like.


Cute Piglet and Pooh mini ham & cheese "sandwiches"
Mummy had wanted to bring this to the zoo for our breakfast but we finished them at home.


Rain, rain, go away ...


Breakfast at Ah Meng restaurant


Monkeys that scare the wits out of Reyden (forgot what's the name)



Kisses from RR


Yummy Spaghetti bolognese with honey glazed chicken wings. See here for recipe.



Meal time


1st time on the new stroller




Fun with the hippo


Umbrella kids