First Haircut

Date : 22 Nov 2009 (almost 29 Months Old)

Her first haircut-proper from a hairdresser (not including the first time when she shaved her head).

She was really well-behaved throughout the experience. She didn't cry but she just couldn't sit still. Despite telling her "Don't move", "Freeze", she still kept turning around as she likes or whenever she is distracted. I resorted to holding her neck/chin to ensure that Elaine the hairdresser can finish her job faster. Elaine says to give her a "bob cut". This is the same haircut as her 2 other friends, Joyee & Kaye (sisters). But as SW has slight curls at the ends of her hair, it looked different to her friends' style.

During the haircut. What a big girl sitting on the chair.

After : Could not get a clearer photo as she is a GROOVY baby and does not stand still even for a snap.

A pretty good £8 spent, I'd say. And all in preparation for our trips back to Msia & Aus.

Celestial interests : Clouds, Rainbow & Moon

29 October 2009
2 Years 4 Months Old

CLOUDS
Conversation with Shean Wenn one day as we were standing at the staircase going back to the apartment

SW : "Mama, Shean Shean likes clouds. White clouds. Mama, buy clouds for Shean Shean, please?"
Me : >.< "Ok sure. Ask daddy to buy for you ok?"

She added a please at the end of her sentence, ok? How do you say no to that??


RAINBOW
This morning after her milk, I put her sitting on her highchair and gave her her drawing book and some crayons. I was busy preparing breakfast. I came back to check on her after 5 minutes to hear her chanting incessantly "Wainbow wainbow wainbow" (Translate : Rainbow). I looked down at her pad and saw her drawing something distinctively looking like a rainbow. This was what I saw : of course, her rainbow has only a few colours but the curved lines do look very much like she knows what she is doing (drawing!). Most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen!

(Her original rainbow)

(Rainbow she drew again in the evening)

MOON
Every evening while I prepare our dinner (I do this at about 530pm-6pm), Shean Wenn will be playing on her own. Sometimes she watches TV, sometimes she does her puzzles. But without fail, she will run to the balcony sliding door and glance up to see if there is a moon. For the past 2 days, she has been shouting excitedly to me whenever she spots it : "Mama!!! Look at the moon! Moon up in the sky! Moon moon moooooooon!"

I will stop what I do and go look at the moon with her. It's very heartwarming sharing something so simple yet so meaningful (to her, the moon is) with my daughter.

Summer Sliding

So Summer has officially ended weeks ago although I still am in denial. It feels odd now that we have to bulk up again and when we go out, chilly wind keeps beating my face. And not so oddly, the sun has also retreated.

This was one of SW's favourite activity : besides swimming, jumping & singing!



She & her friends Joyee & Kaye (esp with Joyee) kept running up and sliding down, and giggling as they do so.. they walk ON THE SLIDE itself and at one point it was stressing me out (because I was afraid she might fall off). But most times, I am fine with her jumping & sliding all she wants.

30.09.2009 - 3rd Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. Like all the past years, we did not celebrate elaborately. Infact, a few days after our 2nd Anniversary last year I was looking through some letters on the cupboard where we usually put our mails and saw this newly-bought card with wrapper still wrapped on it. It says "Happy Anniversary", I asked Meng what is this card doing there & who is it for? He said "Ooops! It's for you. I forgot to write on it. Happpy anniversary!". >.< I know.

This morning I went to the gym in the morning for "Bums, Tums & Thighs" class and realised just how unfit I am. I was partnering this must-be-60plus indian lady & I think she moved faster than me. Then, towards the end of the class, I had "bum cramp" - I always have this when I do vigorous exercise and never knew it was a cramp. I always thought i had somehow sprained my back! Anyhow, the instructor came to me & told me how I can relieve the cramp: Lie down on my tummy with legs stretched out. Then fold one leg & hold it with the opposite hand for 10-15secs each leg. I did 4 sets & I felt better.

Today is also the 1st time I put Shean Wenn in a creche. 15 mins before my class starts, I brought her there with her water bottle, a change of clothes & some wipes. A carer held her hands & walked her into the room as I had to dash out to get a token for the Creche service. When I returned to the room, SW was quietly playing at the kitchen set area. I signed in for the creche, bid my farewell to her ("Mummy will be back ok? Love you!") & gave her a kiss. She didn't even bat an eyelid! I walked out feeling proud (that she didnt cling to me) and yet also a tinge of sadness (my girl is growing up so fast!).

After my class, I went to look for a friend of mine who is at the gym. Then, we both went to the creche to pick SW up. I showed my friend around the baby-gym area because she was thinking of bringing her own daughter there one day. After that, SW & I walked around the area near the gym (there is a town centre there). I spied a Primark* store there & excitedly went in to browse. I found a very thick rain mac for SW. There were only 2 sizes left, one for 2-3YO and another for 5-6YO. I asked a supervisor to check if there were any 3-4YO sizes & they came out telling there isn't any left. Left in a conundrum, I chose to buy the bigger size (5-6YO). I thought it's just slightly longer & i can fold the sleeves up. The 2-3YO fits just snugly & i was worried if during chilly times, the rain mac will not zip up well above all the thick clothes. When I showed Meng in the evening, he frowned & said it's too big. It isn't! Anyway, it is just an outerwear and she won't be wearing it that often. I think buying bigger size will do & it will last longer.

For dinner, I cooked pork ribs with chinese sauce and some vegetable. That was our "romantic" dinner. We wished each other a Happy Anniversary & proceeded to have our dinner. It was just like any other day.

Three years on, we have a beautiful 2YO daugher. I am very grateful for having all my family & loved-ones with me. I feel grateful that we have a roof over our head, more than enough food on the table, being able to experience the joy & laughter blessed to us in the form of Shean Wenn, good body and good health. Happy Anniversary to you, my (other) darling Meng!

(With our parents)

On our honeymoon at Jeju Island, the guide told us that in Korean mythology, the "Tol-harubang" (pictured above, the statue next to me) which means Stone Grandfather is a God of fertility & the Koreans have a superstition that if you rub its nose, you will get a son. If you rub its ears, a daughter. Obviously, it remains a superstition/myth. Our guide also told us it wasn't true for them (he & his wife have a daughter as well - they are Russians).


*Primark : A value for money clothing retailer who offers plenty of fashionable choices which won't burn a hole in your pocket.

"Itsy-Bitsy" Singer

13 Sep 2009
(At 2 Years 2.5Months-Old)

My husband ("the hub") usually puts Shean Wenn to bed at night. Whenever he is at home (ie if he comes home early enough), they will sing a few songs or read a few books prior to bed-time. Due to this, SW will instinctively know a few nursery rhymes/songs. Last week, she demonstrated that she can sing a whole song on her own. Well, the lyrics are not entirely "correct" but the gist is there. I consider it a good try!



More of the "Little Miss" Series here.

SW's 1st McD Party

(Published 2 Sep)

You gotta love McDonald's : Ice-cream, french fries, chicken nuggets & face painting! The ice-cream keeps them quiet for awhile.
"I'm Loving It!"

(The happy, the ladybird, the lion, the birthday girl (butterfly) & her sister)

Last Saturday Shean Wenn attended her first McDonald's party. The birthday girl Joyee turned 4 and is a very girly girl, her fav colours are pink, purple & she loves cats! So I got her a pink watch with cats on the dial & strap. I think she should like it. Shean Wenn enjoyed herself, she even handpicked her outfit - the dress & the boots. She loves her boots, this girl.

Creative Play : Giant Butterfly

2 Sep 2009

Yesterday afternoon as I was lying on my bed resting, I heard Shean Wenn talking excitedly, "Butterfly butterfly!! Fly... Up im de kai (Up in the sky)!". I sat up and turned around and saw the biggest & most beautiful butterfly I have ever seen!


The GIANT BUTTERFLY in my living room. Does it look familiar? Yes, but of course it is none other than Shean Wenn donned in what seems to be our Ikea laundry basket (she helped me unload all the washes in the morning and hence it is empty and she could play in it) - carefully & creatively strung around across 1 of her arms.

Now, who says kids need expensive toys to keep them happy & entertained?

SW @ 26MO : Milestones

28 August 2009

Actually alot of these milestones were achieved few months ago but I did not have the time to record it on the blog. The video below is to show her latest developments since we (Meng & I) don't really take alot of videos of her, this will serve to remind us of her milestones from 20-26 Months Old.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Height : 85cm (as of 25 Months Old) which is at the 25th percentile.

OTHER MILESTONES
Shape recognition : She can recognise the basic shapes such as triangle, circle & rectangle. As for square, she will usually say it is a rectangle but we are currently working on this.

Colours : She knew her colours way before she turned two. Now her colour recognition not only includes primary & secondary colours, ie orange, purple, green, she also knows pink, black & white. (Colour experts out there, what do these colours fall under?)

Alphabets : She can visually link the alphabets with what the alphabet is for, for example if you show her letter "H", she can tell you it is for HOUSE. Sometimes she will point to a letter on the keyboard & tell me what it is for, how very cute!

So far, I have managed to teach her "The letter A is for Apple...." from A to F. Also, she only knows the letters in capital. She hasn't recognised, or should I say, has not been exposed to the small-caps yet.

Minding her manners : In some parts of the video, you may hear her saying "Yes, please." Or "Yes, mummy", etc. This is because before this, sometimes when I ask her a question, she just kept quiet and I do not know if she understood me, and if she wanted what I asked her. So I sat down with her and told her if she wants something that I ask her about, she should reply me with "Yes mummy" or "No mummy" and if she wanted something, she must ask witha a "please". And voila, the next day, she started saying her please and her replies. :)

Enjoy the video! HAPPY LONG WEEKEND! To both Malaysia & the UK. And to my brother, Happy Birthday to you, I'm truly blessed to have you as my only & most beloved brother. :)

"Discover" - The Story Making Centre

28 July 2009

Shean Wenn & I made our way to the appointed DLR station to meet with the organiser & other moms as this is a day-out organised by the Local Surestart Centre (government-funded centre for kids's welfare & activities, every borough has a few centres for the convenience of parents). We had to take the DLR (again) to get to the last station which is Stratford, walk for 15mins before reaching the destination - DISCOVER, "the story making centre".

Just the day before as i was casually informing Meng that I'd be bringing SW out to Stratford for a "Discovery Trip", he asked me what was it about? I scratched my head & didn't know how to answer him because frankly, they didn't say much on the itinery. I replied him, "It'll be fun!! Furthermore, Jessica (my friend & her daughter & another kid) will be there".

And what a perfect day it has been! The day exceeded all my expectation, in terms of "fun" factor & also, SW's behaviour - she was SO well behaved the whole day being her chirpy self. I was so impressed. I definitely had alot of fun bringing her out although I was knackered by the time we came home (and had to cook, not forgetting!).

Discover Centre is like a mini-playground attraction for kids, indoors & outdoors, there are alot of funt hings to be dicovered by kids - ageing from 1YO to probably 7YO.

Let the photos speak for itself. (Click on photos to see the full version)

(This photo is taken off their website, and it shows the downstairs where they converted it into a "Pirate" land. Story telling area is on the "ship deck" while the kids can also explore the surrounding "Island" with nooks and corners where they also can find treasures)

Upstairs, the fun begins!

Downstairs in "Pirate" Land/Ship. Shean Wenn is Pirate "Yellow Bandanadee" for the day :) Look at the yellow bandana & blue scarf that mummy put on her, thereby transforming her into the Pirate of the Day. Later on, they proceeded to next door where they could paint their own flags. They provided an apron for her and lots of colours & brushes. While the paint were left to dry & fixed to a rattan, we had snack time and also face-painting. Sadly I didnt allow SW to do face-painitng because frankly, I just didn't wanna wash off the paint from her face. And also I remember MIL telling me last year not to let her do face-painting because of her eczema.. Maybe when she is older she can do that.

It was almost 3.30pm when we were done. We then went upstairs again where the kids played. This is a "ship" area and look how enthusiastic SW is at having a go at the, umm.. what do you call the ship steering thing? Well,.. yeah, you know what I mean.


Waving their flags around - SW LOVED THIS!!! She couldn't stop waving her flag. She found this action very fun! I guess it is pretty fun looking at how the flag waves... (Photos below show Shean Wenn with friends Xin Yi & Matthew)

(Inside the room upstairs where more toys await them).

Just before going home, Jessica & I brought the kids outside to play at their playground. It isn't a very big playground but it's got loads of fun equipments for them to tire them out.

There was this slide which is REALLY high (photo below) and without any hesitation, SW climbed it without me knowing! How I realised was when she called me from the top ("Ha-know mummy!!" - Hello mummy) before proceeding to slide down! Oh my, what a brave little girl. The slide looks like a green monster. Shean Wenn on top of the "green monster" slide!

Ready for school?

Shean Wenn puts on her hat, TWO bags, a "glove" (socks on hand) and struts over telling me excitedly (I was on the laptop, as always), "MUMMY, go to kool!" (go to school).

I guess (and hope) I don't have to worry about her going to school. She should settle pretty well? On another note, I can't believe it's been 2 years!

2YO Doodling

Her drawing/ doodling makes my heart leaps up! It's as though I've seen a rainbow.

Bright colours, bold strokes. She's an artist, alright!

As i look closely at this drawing, I see SW drew a face on the right, with eyes, nose, mouth and mickey mouse ears? (It's in red on the right side). I wonder what she is thinking when she does her art?

If you look carefully, you may have noticed both pares are crumpled. This is because my dear daughter will try to "fold" (crumple, more like it) the papers after drawing, she claims she is making a HAT!

A guide to Summer BBQs

A mishmash of activities happening since the start of summer, which is marked by the first of many BBQ gathering! ("Hooray, summer has started, let's bring out the charcoal & skewers!")

Tip #1 : EVERYTHING IN BALANCE & PERFECT HARMONY
Yin & Yang, Colours & Monochrome, Left & Right. Balanced.
Tobey & Shean Wenn refueling after a very extensive play time over the weekend at Sam's birthday BBQ


TIP #2 : LIVE LOVE LAUGH Kaka & Shean Wenn sharing a laugh and rolling on the newly laid grass at Sam's house over at the weekend!

Last weekend we were invited to Sam's 2nd Birthday held at his parent's house in Northampton. Their backyard boasts a newly laid grass which were so soft! Shean Wenn really enjoyed running around or in the case above, rolling about on the grass. No, it isn't prickly at all.

She napped a little on the way there and was recharged so she had a fun time playing with her other little friends : Sam (the birthday boy), Tobey, Bernice, Brandon & Kaka. Halfway we ventured upstairs and Shean Wenn was fascinated by the aquarium. She tried to count fish! Actually she can "count" now, she will go like this "One, two, three, four, seven, eight!!" And then she will rejoice by clapping her hands!


TIP #3 : DRIVE A MEAN MACHINE!

TIP #4 : DO THE TWIST! 1st photo : SW twirling, twisting & dancing with her friends at Ryan's Full Moon.
2nd & 3rd photos : Tobey showing how you should do the twist!

In June, we attended Tobey's 2nd Birthday Party held at their house in Cambridge. The weather was a little chilly but it subsequently became clearer & sunnier as the day progresses. Shean Wenn was pre-occupied with all of Tobey's toys. She especially liked Tobey's red car (is it Roary?). These days she is quite fascinated with "driving"- and her sound effects are pretty "thrilling" - she seemed like she is driving pretty fast! Ooooh... perhaps an F1-driver in the making? I have to "tell her" she's "driving too fast. STOP!"Haha..

We also went for Ryan James's Full Moon at Milton Keynes where she met more new friends! We had a good time sans daddy - he had to catch up with work & we went with Simon & Mich instead. The journey there was pretty crazy! Two 2-year-olds with me at the back seats, them screaming almost consistently & perpetually, me almost pulling my hair out. Shean Wenn was screaming "Mannamory Mannamory" (Balamory, her favourite Cbeebies programme now) or "Josie Jump! Listen (to) Josie Jump!" (Her fav character from Balamory). It was quite stressful, I almost leaped out of the car when we arrived! :P

(Photos taken by Chek San, Michelle Lam & Tsu Lin)

Poll : Music player

As you can hear (if you put your speaker ON), I've got a new music player installed on this blog. It's Top 6 of my current favs and personally when I have my blog on, I like the music playing in the background. But obviously it may not be the same for others, so I've created a poll to see whether I should keep this going. Take the poll now - it is only open for 7 days!

Would love to hear from you.

Like a comet blazing across the evening sky...

"Gone Too Soon"
(The lyrics speaks for itself)

Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

Shean Wenn's Birthday Celebration : Part 2

24 June 2009 : She turns 2 today!

Over the weekend we had a small "family" celebration with SIL Alicia at a restaurant in the city.

But on the actual day, which was yesterday, I decided to bake her a flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake after accidentally stumbling upon a photo of one that Soo Yin has baked. She made it looked SO tantalising & beautiful I thought I should check out the recipe. True enough, it wasn't too difficult to make. I had a trial session with my friend Michelle the Friday before and it turned out pretty good.

So on Tue afternoon (23 June), I started to bake the cake for her. I have also been given some really helpful and interesting idea by Mich for how to decorate it (With her name). It smelt absolutely good when it was out of the oven. Then after cooling it down, I put it into the fridge & at night (it was 1am!) I did some cut-out of Shean Wenn's name.

In the morning, I made the whip cream to be put on top and lay out her name on the whipped cream before sprinkling some Cinnamon powder so that her name appears on the cloud. I realised some of the alphabets didn't appear very well, but it's ok.. it's the imperfections that make it perfect! ;) I then added some blueberries on top.

Chocolate Cloud Cake for a TWO year-old!

Everyone in the playgroup said it looked stunning! I told them that it was my 2nd time baking and I think I can sense some hesitation from them to try. HAHAHA!!!

Anyway during mealtime, Katie the centre manager brought out the cake singing a birthday song (it was a Steiner-style song and I don't remember the words now). Katie put on 2 beeswax candle on it, it looked quite amazing, doesn't it?


Shean Wenn was so delirious & excited when the cake was put infront of her. She has also been anticipating blowing out the candles. She knows it's her cake (because I told her so)! Look how excited she is!

Anyway, the cake received very good response. Infact "good" is an understatement (Ceh, self-praise). :P Comments were that it was just "SO RIGHT" - not too sweet, just the right texture & rich-ness and the cream that accompany the dark chocolate cake was just the right complement. One of the mom, Anna also loved the hint of cinnamon powder. I guess the cinnamon powder is an acquired taste, some people don't like the smell & taste of cinnamon powder. Needless to say, I felt very proud & happy that it went so well.

And most people who know me will know I don't bake at all - I find it too troublesome and not worth the effort but I think for my darling Shean Wenn, I am willing to do it! Isn't this what they call motherly love? :D

The day also coincided with the kindergarten's Summer Fete! Like last year's, there were booths selling food & arts & crafts & some other products. This year there are also face-painting but I chose to remian indoors most of the time because it was just too hot out here - felt it I was being baked. Also, I didn't bring our sunblock along and eventhough Laura, a friend of mine handed me her tube, I only put on for SW and not myself.

The kids happily playing indoors!

Kids on SW's favourite toy in the kindy - a wooden rocking boat or if you turn it the othe rway round, it becomes a table & bench. Lovely wood material. (That's Kayee next to SW and opposite SW is Joyee who is Kayee's older sis.)

Four kids in a rocking boat - Faith, Joyee, Kayee & Shean Wenn!

I managed to score some amazing bargains at their stalls : SW chose this red Puma bag & i got it for a mere 10p! She also wanted a whistle at 10p and I got her another hand-woven felt-bag for 50p. (The one with the silver star infront)

Shean Wenn this morning in a dress my mom bought for her, holding onto her new bags, her Upsy-Daisy talking plush (gift from her paternal grandparents) & tiara that SIL Daphne got for her. No, I did not make her wear those, she put on the ensemble by herself (I helped her with the dress, of course because she was struggling to put on the buttons and was crying out for help!). Isn't she turning into such a girly-girl?

Thanks to :
Soo Yin : For her cake photography has inspired me to bake this
Michelle : For patiently guiding me the 1st time, and also for her equipments she loaned me (Electrical Whisk & Weighing Scale).

SW draws a face

About a month ago, I accidentally stumbled upon SW's new skills. She can draw a face! Complete with 2 eyes, a nose & a mouth - all at the right places. At the same time, on her own initiative, drew a pair of ears at both sides of the head! What I did was, I drew an oval/round-shaped "head", and she proceeded to draw the other features. Then, after drawing the eyes, nose, mouth & ears, she told me she wants to draw legs, and the legs started just below the chin!

Oh, of course to me that was the most beautiful painting/portrait. A MASTERPIECE!

Today I woke up to her drawing on her Aquadraw Mat and I video-taped her drawing another face.

Shean Wenn doing another masterpiece.

(Note her "bangles"! Oh she's a fashionista alright!)

Aviary : Where BIRDS & creative people gather

They say birds of the same feathers flock together. I guess that's why they are all flocking at Aviary - a web-based photo editing bunch of cool software :

Image Editor - there is the Phoenix
Colour Editor - there is the Toucan
Effects Editor - The Peacock
Vector Editor - The Raven

I had a go at Phoenix and because I use Photoshop, Phoenix felt alot like Photoshop Elements, which is good of course. Especially since the licence for it isn't cheap at all! I didn't have much time to explore more, but from first glance the interface looks exactly like that of PS Elements. The "layers" & "history" buttons are located on the right side and the tools buttons are on the left having all the basic "tool" funcstions such as "Magic Wand", "paintbrush", "text tool" and the likes. And if I have even more I'm sure I'd find navigating & ease of use as as easy to work on as Photoshop Elements.

I guess at this point for me, the downside is that it cannot be used offline - which means you need a relatively fast internet speed to do your work online. Of course having the software offline would probably defeat the whole purpose of it being a web-based software anyway. Am i making any sense?

Here are some screenshots of their various "birds" :

1) Phoenix

2) This illustration is gorgeous and is my all-time favourite bird, the Peacock! (PS : My first "tanglung"/lantern was a peacock - I had it when I was around 1 year old, I still remember it - how beautiful it was)

3) All the birds on their blog

So what exactly is all this bird talk??

In their FAQ section and when asked what exactly is their mission, they say shortly but sweetly " (To) Make the world's creation accessible."

I think the 5 words really do make the sentence powerful - accessible (not forgetting free) and to be able to use it for any creative work.

Their motto :
Our motto was "Creation on the fly" and the bird metaphor seemed the best choice out of all the options available to us. We didn't want to name our software after bugs (for obvious reasons). Also, haven't you heard? The bird is the word. (And they attached a clip from "Family Guy" hilarious!).

You can check out their FAQ here.

Anyway, a good tool for someone who has an internet connection and who needs to use an image-editing software but doesn't want to spend money on buying a licence for it.

So flock (Oh i can't help the pun!) there if you think this is for you!

Resepi sedap! (Delicious recipies)

12 June 2009

The past few weeks were hectic for me : studying for the "Life in UK" test for application of the UK Permanent Residency & while in the midst of studying, I have also discovered a highly addictive FB game as a destress regime- "Bejeweled Blitz" (BJB). For days, I will be playing BJB whenever I can find the time amongst studying, housekeeping, housework & caring for baby. Well, all games are addictive but this is highly addictive because on the right of the screen, you get a scoreboard with your friend's highscores updated LIVE. So everytime I play, my goal was to GET TO THE TOP!

Anyway, because I am quite fed-up with eating almost the same food every week, I thought I should bring out my trusty recipe book, an aptly titled "Hawker's Fair Simplified" (which is basically depicting all the delish hawker food of Malaysia) and looked at which recipe I should try. I decided on the "Nam Yee Spare Ribs" (Name Yee = fermented red bean curds). We usually buy streaky pork so I used streaky pork instead of spare ribs.

The hubs's feedback was SO good that he requested for it 2 days later.

(My nam yee streaky pork)

NAM YEE SPARE RIBS/ STREAKY PORK

Ingredients
Meaty spare ribs/ lean streaky pork cut into any size you wish
Oil for deep frying (I shallow fry instead)

Marinade
1 tsp bicaronate of soda
2 pcs nam yee (I used 1.5pcs)
chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp nam yee juice
chopped garlic
light soya sauce
shaoxing wine
1 tsp of sugar, 1 tbsp oyster sauce
five spice powder
1 tsp sesame oil
dash of chicken stock granules
2 tbsp plain flour, 6 tbsp corn flour
1 egg, 100ml water

Method :
1. Combine pork with marinade & marinade for 3 hours.
2. Heat up oil for deep/shallow fry, put in pork and fry until golden brown & cooked.
3. Dish & drain. Serve.

Easy peasy!


And today for lunch, I decided to make some salmon fish cakes/patties for Shean Wenn since I think she's probably quite sick of eating the same kind of food every week. This is a recipe I got from my friend MZ who is a nanny to 2 M'sian kids. I modified it as well.

SALMON FISH CAKES/PATTIES (for kids)

Ingredients
Salmon
1 big potato
Dollop of butter
Diced shallot (make sure you dice it into tiny pieces)
2 tbsp of corn flour
2-3 tbsp of plain flour
some Cheese - Grated
some Carrot - Grated
Egg : separate yolk from white. Both will be used.
Diced Coriander
Salt & pepper to taste


Method :
1. Boil the cubed potatoes until cooked. Drain & mash with butter.
2. Add some olive oil in pan and pan fry salmon until cooked.
3. Squeeze some lemon juice onto the salmon. Use a fork to mash up the salmon with the egg yolk.
4. Mix the potatoes & salmon together.
5. Add in diced shallots, cheese, carrots, some salt & pepper to taste. Also add in coriander.
6. Pour in the egg white. Mix in about Corn Flour & Plain Flour (add in gradually to adjust to the egg consistency).
7. Make sure the consistency is not too "watery". Scoop up a spoonful using a tbsp and coat with some bread crumbs mix with a little cornflour.
8. Heat up some olive oil in a pan. Pan fry the Fish Cakes/Patty until brown & cooked.


Shean Wenn's reaction?

Can't wait to dig in!

She takes a big bite into the Salmon Patty! YUMMOS! She polished up everything!

Water Play : SW at the pool

1st JUNE 2009

On 1st June, I made my way down to the park with SW. I had looked at the weather forecast and knew that today & tomorrow (2 June) were the only days with brilliant spell of sunshine & high temperature (mid-20's) this week. I slapped on sunscreen for the both of us, brought some essentials down (some toys, water, baby wipes , etc) and headed to the park. The walk to the park can be interesting if I bring her along the "longer" route, via the pathway next to the Thames River - she likes to glance and tell me what she sees on the way. For example "Momma, ants!", "Boat", "Bird chirp chirp, fly!" (she will also clasp her mouth and laugh when she says certain things **rolls eyes** - she certainly is a very chatty & happy toddler).

(Our "longer route" to the park, along the River Thames)

However, on that day, we didn't go the long route. I arrived and met my friend - a nanny to two gorgeous girls (their parents are Malaysians). MZ was there and she was all prepared, ie the kids were donned in swimming suits and playing happily in the shallow pool there. Now, I don't usually allow SW to go into the pool because it always looked a little dirty to me. But that day I had a better look. They changed the water everyday and since it was early part of the day (around 11am), the pool's water was still very clean and only another 3 or 4 other kids were playing along.. SW pleaded to me to let her in. Actually she had been pestering me to bring her "swim swim" for the past week - I kept hearing "Momma, go outside swim!!" (Yes, she manages to speak in sentences now. Very very interesting.) I thought "Why not! Don't be such a spoil-sport".

Needless to say, she happily went in and played in the water and an hour later, I had to drag her out kicking and screaming. Ok, maybe not kicking but she was not very pleased. I had to reason with her that she needs to eat lunch and drink some water, besides, KaYee & JoYee (her friends) are already dressed. SW agreed.
We had so much fun that the next day I made plans to go to another nearby park with Mich & Kaka. But 20mins before we left the house, Jessica called and told me she's in the park next to our place so we all headed there again. The three kids : SW, Kaka & Xin Yi splashed about for almost 2 hours (stopping for rest-breaks a few times). I think SW enjoyed it the most, she seems to be the one in the pool longest. Always finding something to do or be happy about. Jessica commented that SW is really such a waterbaby! She is right. I am now looking for swimming classes to bring her to. The local leisure centres usually have this "Aquatots" classes for baby & parent. For kids below 4, you need to accompany your child and since I love swimming myself, I really look forward to this. Hope I can book us a slot.

Oh, and I cut my hair the week before. Nice? It feels lighter, that's for sure. And shampooing these days takes just 10secs. Best is no more tangled hair.