First day of Nursery : SW reports

After collecting her from nursery at noon, I asked her if she enjoyed her day? Did she have fun? What did she eat during snack time?

Her answers :

Yes, I like my school. Today teacher gave me some apples & grapes. And she also gave me some rice. She gave me rice with honey. But I don't like it. No, I didn't finish it at all. I wet my shirt because I play with the water & I splash splash splash around in the garden so teacher helped me change. She took out my shirt & then put this shirt on. I also draw today, mommy. Using crayons - red, yellow & orange colour. I got 2 friends and one is Kaka & another one is a boy. No, I don't know his name, I never asked him. I go to shh-shh (wee wee in toilet) THREE times today! No, I didn't flush it. Hahaha. Yeah, because it's too noud (loud).

First day of Nursery

Finally, the day I have been waiting for!

At first I was a little sad that I would not be sending her off for her 1st day of nursery since I was summoned for Jury Duty. But I managed to defer it for 2 more weeks so that I could help settle her in for her first 2 weeks of nursery.

She went to bed last night with cold & sneezes and woke up the same but she was still looking very much forward to school. We packed her bags on Friday and I have put a set of clothes & plenty of underwear & socks for her in a a bag and she has her own bagpack which has her plimsolls/slippers (for indoors), her upsy-daisy doll & hankerchief. This morning before we went out the door, she reminded me "Mummy, did you put my panties inside?" I told her I put them in the big bag but she wanted me to put one in her own backpack. I quickly took one out from the big bag & put it into her backpack - which is a giraffe-shaped bag. She is happy.

We then walked the 20mins to nursery with her sitting in her stroller, some uphill tasks here for me. AT the nursery, because she has been here on many occasions for playgroups since she was 9MO, she settled in very well after I made sure she went to the toilet & changed her into her outdoor clothes. I waved her goodbye & said I'd be back to pick her up later. She was busy playing in the sandpit with her friend Karmen (Kaka). I then walked the whole 20mins back again home & on my way, wondered what I should do with "so much time"!!! I had GRAND PLANS of preparing tonight's dinner (satay) & making sambal, and of course, preparing her lunch so she could come back to warm food. But it is already 1030am now and I haven't started on anything. Are you even surprised?? Haha.

Anyway, it's been a good day so far, sunny & warm-ish (about 18c). I'm liking this.

Favourite TV Shows : Aussie-influences

Amongst the many TV shows that Shean Wenn just LOVES, are these 2 from Australia. When she was about 1YO, the paternal grandparents gave a HI-5 DVD and said they were one of the bestselling groups on Aus, I put it on for her once & she never glanced more than 5 minutes. Fine, I then chuck it aside and hoping she'd know how to appreciate it one day. Anyhow, in Jan this year when we went back to Aus & SW met her 2 cousins for the 1st time, she also met Wiggles for the 1st time. She was hooked.

1) The Wiggles : After that when we were browsing the shelves in the local toy-shop here (Smyths, awesome!) and found they stock up Wiggles, we bought a few titles for her. It was only about £4-5 each. From then, everytime SW asks to watch a show, it would be "WIGGLES PLEASE MOMMY!". She can memorise all the songs, all the characters, all their antics, their funny trivia, she can tell us. Her favourite character is also Anthony. Her fav songs are "The big red car" (and a few more which I can't seem to recall now).

2) Hi-5 : She got into Hi-5 just 2 months back when Meng was recording it for her in the mornings. I guess this girl really likes to jive to music, esp those with catchy tunes. The Hi-5 is the UK group (not the Aus version) and her favourite character is a girl in pink (what else)! And the her ultimate favourite song is FEELINGS.

"Feelings go up,
feelings go down,
There's lots of feelings spinning round & round & round,
Sometimes they're good,
Sometimes they're bad...."

Here's a video of her dancing to the song with all the right choreographed steps which she has been "practicing". She usually sings along to it but when she knows she is being video-d, she hesitated.

Baking craze : Chiffon cake

I have always ALWAYS loved eating chiffon cakes, this has been going on for many years since my teens. Such a simple cake right? I guess I like its light, fluffy texture and that it isn't too sweet and seems pretty guiltless eating it. I could probably devour a whole cake on my own in a day if I have less self-control!

When I was working in BP, a colleague of mine, a very good friend & neighbour who used to carpool me home and who happens to be a super cook will bake my favourite ORANGE CHIFFON! Her chiffon cake is really light, airy & fluffy. And she is really generous too. On my trip back to Msia in Dec/Jan, she brought over the BIGGEST chiffon cake I've ever seen! Anyway, she has attempted to teach me but at that time (6 years ago), the instructions & ingredients seem a little too intimidating so I have just been contented eating those lousy and not to mention EXPENSIVE chiffon cakes I can get in London (usually sold by chinese bakery).

Anyway, one day I stumbled upon Rasa Malaysia's Nyonya site which had the most tempting chiffon cake recipe. I looked at it & pondered about it for many days. Sigh, first and foremost, I don't even have the appliances - electric mixer & the tube pan. But reading the recipe for almost a week, I decided it is too easy not to do it so I borrowed both stuff from a friend.



My first attempt was an Orange Chiffon cake and it was a GREAT success. Well, at least the texture was right although the cake didn't look too nice. I found out later that you need to use the right tube pans, those aluminium ones and they cannot be non-stick (else it will not "drop out" when you turn it to cool). Over the next few weeks, whenever I can get my hands on my friend's tube pan, I'd be baking chiffon cakes. Shean Wenn & I can eat one cake every 2 days, sometimes I bring it out if we're meeting friends for playdates.

Anyway, a week later we bought extra pandan leaves & I decided to give the Pandan Chiffon cake a go and oh boy, the aroma is brilliant. I didn't use any food colouring for it and its green came from solely from the pandan leaves.

Pandan Chiffon Cake : Made from All Natural Ingredients

Upon request from Shean Wenn, I have also baked a Chocolate Chiffon Cake for her. It too, was a great success! I've been baking it a few times for her and she really loves it. (Shean Wenn's favourite wink, ala the Hello Kitty wink!)

Now, I'm thinking how I should get a tube pan from Msia/US. They don't sell the same ones here in UK - here they sell the non-stick ones and they used it to bake Angel Cake, instead.