Goodbye 2010

We are now at the end of 2010 and looking forward to 2011. This year has been a very good and eventful year for me. 2010 is the year which I feel that I have change for the better and began to view things from a different perspective. In a nutshell, 2010 is the year which I grew up. :)

I am truly blessed.

Busy Bee

Just a quick update on what's happening .....

1. Ryan got his report card. He's now a happy boy with no homework and no more exams....cool
2. Caitlin is recovering from acute tonsillitis, she's on antibiotic and she's resting at home under the watchful eye of Aunt Jo for the past 3 days!!! God bless Aunt Jo.
3. I am doing my assessment for my workplace and it's killing me because I need to do it for 11 people. This is insane and I shall make sure that I will not do for 11 people next year.
4. Hubby is considering a new job....juicy juicy.....
5. ........ and I'm so looking forward to year end where I will be on long leave.......
   

Berries

This is what Ryan gave me after he came back from school one evening. I have no idea what it is and where he got it from. It's some berry and his teacher gave it to him. I did not attempt to find out more.

Casual Bag

My casual bag. Love the colour and the shape!

Ryan's 8th Birthday

He's still a huge Pokemon fan and wanted the cake with the picture of "Arceus".

Mummy: Why Arceus?

Ryan: Because it's the most powerful pokemon at all times (with his eyes rolling with disbelief that his wise mother does not know this!)

Mummy: Er.....ok. Arceus then.

Ryan: Yeah......

We had a little gathering for a small clebration at my place for the b'day boy, delivered a cake to his daycare for him to share with his friends and had another little gathering at his grandparents place. My boy is already 8.....what happen in between?

Caitlin Suspected with HFM

Caitlin's creche had a few cases of HFM recently. Out of the blue, on Thursday evening, Caitlin developed mild fever and had a bit of a running nose. She took her medication and everything seemed to be under contro and she went to creche, as usual, the following day. At about 3pm, her teacher called to informed that her temperature shoot up and when I enquiried, it was mainly because they forgot to feed Caitlin her fever medicine. Anyway, everything was still ok until that evening when she started pointing her toward her mouth and said "pain, pain" and started crying. We checked and there were not ulcer but her gums looked reddish.

We took her to her paediatrician (Dr Kwan) who confirmed that she's having somekind of mouth infection but it's was too early to tell whether she's having HFM or not. We were asked to look out for the symptons and to bring her in again on Sunday, just to be sure.

It's was a miserable weekend for all of us as she was crying in pain most of the time and she can't eat even though she's hungry. Everytime she put anything in her mouth (even water), she will spit it out due to the pain. It was heart wrenching time for the parents and grandaunties.

She improved slowly over the weekend and by the time we brought her to visit Dr Kwan again, she was feeling so much better. Fotunately, she was clear of HFM. Dr Kwan confirmed that it was just some infection which caused inflammation to her gums. I took leave and kept her home on Monday. We are very grateful that she's well again.

Caitlin's First Trip to the Zoo Negara

Kids love Zoo and mine are no exception. We took them to the Zoo recently and it was a great outing.

We enjoyed ourselves and the kids had fun watching the animal show and feeding the animals. I even

managed to capture a photo of Caitlin running after a flamingo.

Eating Out

In so far, most of my postings were about my kids, family, my thoughts and feelings as well as the occasional update on what I've been up to. I consciously refrain myself from blogging any negative feelings or experiences as I want to only recollect happy memories. Life has it ups and downs. I just have to learn how to go through the "downs", make the best of it and move on.

Now, back to my mission, which is to blog about Caitlin. I love this picture of her. We were eating out in a chinese restaurant when I asked her for a pose and this is what she did. I always wanted to include photos of dishes we had at restaurants but never get around doing it. Have to be more discipline the next time around. I started to tag my postings under "Eating Out" and this is where I hope I can include photos and posting of eateries we frequent.

Caitlin's First Hair Cut

Caitlin had her first haircut and she just loved being the centre of attention (the hairstylist).

I guess I will not have any problem taking her for her haircuts !!!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Somehow, the cooking bug (if there's such a thing) bite me. I surfed the world wide web and found some simple (yeah, this is important) and great recipes and I decided to cooked "Cajun Chicken Pasta' since it would be non-spicy. Actually, the real reason I choose this recipe is because it sounded simple enough. The recipe is from Ree Drummond of thePioneerWoman blogv(http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/?s=cajun+chicken+pasta) which I have been following. There are lots of photos and step-by-step instructions which is really, really helpful for me. Love her work, talent and her energy :)

The pasta turned out GREAT and since then, I have tried out a few other recipes from her website. Did not have the time to take a photo of the finish product (i.e. the pasta) as I was too tired by then and my family including guests were to hungry to wait. Cheers.

Leftover Meat on Bread....Just As Nice

I was hungry. Ransack the fridge. Saw some leftover meat in a small container. Hmm......this should do the trick!!
Took a few eggs.
Refried the meat and added the eggs.
Piled them on a piece of bread.
Gobbled up everything.
Wash it down with a cup of Milo.

Outcome: A Happy Me

Look What I Found in My Garden

I was watering my plants when I discovered 4 big snails hiding in one of the pots. Yikes, I hate snails.

They are slimy and when I was staying in Cheras, the garden there was full of snails as well and they shit a lot. I just hate them.

Simple Delight

For Caitlin, she looks forward to having her bath @ the back of our garden, in her small pink bath tub. She will squeal with delight everytime she's allow to do just that. Such joy to see her so happy.

Quote

"Whether you prevail or fails depends on what you do to yourself more than on what the world does to you"
Jim Collins

I'm studying

Ryan: I may look sleepy to you but I'm studying.....for real
Mummy: ok, if you say so

A Walk with Trinie and Trieon

Trinee and Trieon are my sisters' lovely dogs. Was there for a visit and Ryan and Caitlin are always fascinated with animals. They took the dogs for a walk at the nearby park and fed the fishes in the lake.

Ryan ate the bread while feeding them !!. He's not hungry, he's just being his cheeky self !!!!

Caitlin's 2nd Birthday

Like her first birthday, we celebrated Caitlin's 2nd birthday thrice; in her kindie, at home and at my in-laws. Three brithday celebrations means three cakes and loads of photo opportunities.

What My Daughter Taught Me.....

"Mummy, I want to try"......

Nowadays, that's her favourite words. I notice that since very young, she's very independent and she would insist on doing things for herself. She will feed herself and even refuse food when you tried feeding her. She will hold on to the spoon even as you tried stuffing food into her mouth. Since she was 18 months, she tried wearing her pants on her own and sometimes, somehow, she's successful but often than not, she'll end up screaming in frustration. However, it seems that she's quite content with whatever outcome as long as she give her best shot. It demand more time and efforts from us to take care of her as we will end up "waiting" and "secretly helping and guiding" her while she tries to "figure" things out.

I was smiling when I first heard her uttering those words and she said them more often now especially when there are new things for her to explore. She will look up to me and said enthusiastically ....."Mummy, mummy, I want to try" and before I can answer, she woulld have proceed with her "adventure". There's no stopping her. She's full of energy and she doesn't give up easily.

There's two sides to a coin. The "bad" thing is that I suspects I will be spending more time counselling her (compared to her brother!) but the good thing is that hopefully, her willingness to try new things (coupled with her quiet determination) will serves her well in acquring new skills and knowledge.

Caitlin taught me is that everything is a new adventure and instead of shying away, we should at least give it a try!! Who knows, we might end up loving it!!

My First Coach

This is officially my first branded bag and I totally love it.

I bought it from ebay, got it delivered to my hubby's colleague who was in US for training and he (thank you, thank you) hand carried it back to ME. I love the smell of the leather......so nice. I love the shape of the bag and the design, the coach tag and every single things on it. Love it love it love it... enough said.

HAppY MeRdEka 2010

Today is a national holiday; Independence Day.....and we are taking the opportunity to be lazy.

I'm blogging downstairs, Hubby is coaching Ryan with his school work + surfing upstairs, Caitlin is in la-la land (she's not well; cough and flu) while Aunt Jo is taking her afternoon nap.

It's drizzling outside........a perfect day to just chill. I will be making a cuppa for myself and hubby.
All is well............everyone is happy, healthy and enjoying the peace and quiet. Errr...except Ryan who is asking when he still need to study when it's a holiday !!

Will be back soon .....

Have not been blogging.........naughty naughty and I do miss it.
Will make it a point to blog more...I've got loads to blog about, especially, a new and a happier me :)

More online purchases

There's no stopping me. Got this for Caitlin, for my princess' birthday party.

Happy Mother's Day

I am been exercising and it feels great. I will make sure that I exercise at least twice a week. I know it's nothing to shout about but for me personnally, it's a great start and taking care of myself includes loving my body. ** wink wink **.

Everyone in the family is good. Ryan is having his exams soon and Caitlin is growing up to be this sweet but demanding girl. I will spend all my free time with them, nurturing and discipling them. I think I said this before...they grow up so fast.

As for me, I am happy and contended and living my life to the fullest. I have accomplished a lot for the past few months. I reviewed and redid my personal vision and mission. It has been very rewarding. I feel like I am a different person altogether. I am more at peace with myself and I simply feel great !!! Make everyday a great day especially this weekend as it' mother's day. Wishing all mummies out there a great journey ahead. I am off to choose my gift. ** wink wink wink **

My First Online Purchase

I am new to purchasing goods online. Where have I been? Hiding under a coconut husk? Yes !!

I was introduced to a few websites which sells kids clothings, beautiful ones and at very reasonable prices. I would just fall in love with the designs and colours and just about everything and before the end of the week, my first purchase was delivered to my office.

The quality of the dressess and pants (plurals yes because I bought loads of them) are very good. I especially love this top which the picture of a cat. Unsure of the size, I ordered one for 3 years old. Caitlin will be 2 in August but she can fit in perfectly well and instead of a top, she's now wearing it as a dress. Ain't she cute?

And I think from now on, I know where to get good bargains. Hubby is also happy as I don't have to drag him to the stores to shop for hte kids' clothes....well, not that often.

Teambuilding @ Gopeng with Nomad Adventures

I was away for a few days sometime in February for my company's teambuilding. Needless to say, when they broke the news to me, I was so not looking forward to be away from my family and I dread that day.

But that day came and on the way to the camp site, I was busy thinking about the stuff I planned when "it's finally over" ..... so that I can get on with my life !!!

But life is indeed full of surprises and I actually had fun when I was there. I did whitewater rafting (level 3), rock climbing and I did the "leap of faith" where you are suppose to just jump down a platform with safety harness attached. It's some sort like bungee jumping but much, much milder. I did not join the rest when they went caving. But that was okay, especially when some of them saw a small green snake among the rocks. Eeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuu....scary, I am frighten of snake. Any kind. Yikkkeee.

All in all, it was fun be doing things which I did not even thought I would be doing in the first place. Here's a summary of what happened:

Whitewater rafting
We rode behind a lorry to the destination which was a 15-minute ride. It was hot and I can feel the lorry going up and down, up and down, sway to the left, up and down and soon enough, I felt nausea. Me and my motion sickness. I ended up vomitting even before the first activity.

I was then given the option to go back to the camp site to rest. But I decided to give it a go. What makes me pursue when they gave me an opportunity to chicken out? I'm not sure how to answer that and what came over me. I do know however that if I do not give this a go, I will regret it, for not trying. And it was horrifying. I was nearly flung out of the boat thrice. Thanks goodness for Apec, the Nomad facilitator who "saved me" by holding on to my life jacket while trying to make sure that the boat remain afloat and safe. A big thank you to him for making my first and last water rafting an enjoyable experience.




Rock Climbing
I don't think they took any photos of us doing rock climbing but I did it even though the climb was just a short one. The most important lesson here is I tried.

Leap of Faith
Now this is something which I did not planned to do....I can't see myself jumping down from that platform....no matter how safe it is and no matter how my other colleagues manage to do it. I was among the last few who attempted this and I do need to give myself a pat at the back for conquering this fear. Would I do it again, I dunno. Life is too short to be wondering about it. I will decide when the time comes.

I have a good time there and I came back home with a renewed feelings. There are many lessons learnt there. Many are for keeps. I know now that:

Sometimes, it is us who put the boundry of what we can or cannot do. In any given situation, we should first conquer our fear. As I have experienced, when we start doing the task, we will find that it is not as difficult as what we perceived or make it to be in the first place. Along the way, with each and every small victories, one will be more confident to move forward and before you know it.......it's done.

We are capable of doing much more if we allow ourselves to try it in the first place. "I think and therefore I am".......... if you think you can, you can. Therefore always think positively.....about yourself and your ability.

This trip have indeed left a good impact on me.

How Chinese New Year Came and Gone!!

Well, easy........we simply ate a lot, laugh a lot, have loads of fun and had very little sleep and before we knew it, we were celebrating Chap Goh Mei (15th day of the CNY).

This year, I find myself exceptionally happy and looking forward to the CNY celebration.

I truly feel that I am blessed. Everyone is happy and healthy. We have a warm and close relationship with all our extended family members. I have got two beautiful kids and they are doing great. Besides us, they are always shower with love from the rest of the clan.

Yes, I'm feeling sentimental and I think my age has got something to do with this.....

Don't I look Iike a boy....

It has been a while since I blog about Caitlin. One thing that has not chanhge for sure is the lenght of her hair.......it's still the same. And because she does not have much hair, most people will assume that she's a boy, even though she may be wearing a pink sweater or even a skirt !!. Apart from that, she's well and helathy and bubbly and being a happy cutie girl her age. Yeap...she's the love of my life (and the brother too...)

Chinese New Year Deco 2010

I have been to two shopping mall during Chinese New Year (CNY); the Curve and 1 Utama. I Love the CNY deco there, especially the Maneko (link) prosperity cats in 1 Utama. They did such a good job and it was a marvel to see the gigantic cats.

The local newspaper reported that the cats cost them RM500,000. Not sure whether it's true but all I know is that we had a great time taking loads of photos.

Cooking "cekodok"

I must confess that I am not a good cook.....I cook for survival and not taste. It's something I wish that I am better at but not having enough training hours is one culprit, athough I do have the interest to cook simple dishes. Simple dishes means that I recognise all the required ingredients and that a handful. I am hopeless with spices and I don't know the names of some vegetables as well. Like I mentioned before I cook for survival. Anyway, one fine afternoon, I had with me a few over ripe bananas and instead of throwing them in the rubbish bin, I decided, out of the blue to make "cekodok" (a malay language for fried-banana-in-batter and it's quite a common tea snack in Malaysia).

This is the batter (over ripe banana + flour). Next, make small pieces and throw them in the hot oil and when it turn brown, scope them up. Place them in a nice plate and then tell everyone that afternoon snack is ready !!

Chinese New Year Celebration

Today is the 9th day of the Chinese New Year (CNY) and CNY will officially be over in another 6 days. I have been eating and drinking without a care in the world and have been piling on the pounds.

There's always space for another cookie and before I knew it, I finished the entire jar.....and I can always exercise AFTER CNY. I am still enjoying myself silly and my pants are definitely tighter but what the heck........CNY is afterall, once a year.

Happy Year of the Tiger everyone !!! Rooarrrrr

Me and Caitlin

While waiting for Ryan "koko" (brother in chinese) to finish his swimming lesson, me and Caitlin decided to take a dip in the kiddy pool nearby.

For the first 5 minutes, my girl was unsure and frightened. She was holding on to me for her dear life. That was all but 5 minutes. As her confidence grew, she was ok and we had a splashing time. In the end, Caitlin was so tired that she was "knocked-out" by 8.00pm that night. Doesn't she look adorable in that pink swimming suit?

A New Commitment in 2010

I finally order a new car after thinking about it for a year. It was my husband who "dragged" me to the Toyato Showroom, made me test drive the car, talked to the sales person and then gave me just one day to ponder before "dragging" me back to made a booking. That was 2 weeks ago and yesterday, we went to collect my new car. Just in time for Chinese New Year !!!

I did not choose the car registration number and thankfully, it came out ok and I did not end up with some funny numbers. I had committed to a 7-year old loan and the monthly repayment is close to RM1,000. Cars in KL is not cheap if you ask me. I will be sticking to my Toyota Vios WTM 2540 for at least the next 10 years.

What happened to my old car? Well, my old car (WGV 3144) is still very reliable and I will be passing it on to Aunt Cleo (Aunt Jo's sister). She will be helping out in my sister's kindergarten in Botanic staring this March and will need a car. If I miss my old car, I can always take "her" for a spin when my aunt visits.

My first Manicure

Yeap....had not been to one until recently. Since it's my first visit, I did not shy away when it comes to colour and choose a brillant red for my nails. The end result was really good and I enjoy the entire process. However, the only other person excited about my red fingernails is my daughter. Hubby said he cannot understand why anyone would put chemical on their nails while Ryan thinks they are "yucky". It guess it's a girl thing.

However, after a day, I finally had enough and took them off because red nails can be quite distracting, especially when I am working on laptop. Instead of concentrating on the screen, I keep on looking at my "beautiful" nails...