All Dressed Up

 

Photo taken on 14 February 2020

With nowhere to go.

Covid restrictions are still on and the government is allowing for a maximum of 8 visitors per day per home. You can only dine with 8 others at a table with no inter-mingling which certainly makes reunion dinner less than a reunion. Opa had the food we booked at Crystal Jade sent to Auntie Elan's and to our place so we could have family dinner on a smaller scale. It was really good to have Debbie and Jeekoh over after more than a year of not being able to have Saturday dinner together.

Flowers from our landscaper at Nyee Phoe

The accidental suckling pig that was supposed to be a duck.

初一was spent more or less like this:

Served with a platter of this for breakfast:

Kueh lapis from Benagwan Solo and 年糕

Still, we have to admit that the break from routine was nice and we got to spend time together just hanging out.

The outtakes:

Prata Date with the Littler Buddy

It's not easy to get proper one-on-one time with each of my boys so when the opportunity presents itself, I grab it! Zac was in school this morning until 10am because of Chinese New Year celebrations in school. Eli had the day off so it was quite perfect to grab breakfast (prata kosong and iced Milo) from Mr Prata off Evans Road and have an impromptu mini-date!

Baking Madness Has Begun!

It's all systems GO since this morning. Eli and I went for our very last swim class at Marsden Swim School and said our goodbyes to Sam (his coach) and his friends Leila and Tyng Hao. By the time we got home, it was about 1030am. From that point onwards, it was bake bake bake, mix mix mix and assemble assemble assemble to get good and ready for Len's Christmas party tomorrow.

My first brioche loaf

Cookie monster would be in heaven

Weird blue-tinged macaron shells waiting to be filled with buttercream

To Do Done and Dusted:
1. Bake the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies we're giving away to our guests
2. Make the jelly for the trifle
3. Assemble the trifle
4. Make the sponge for the Malted Milk Chocolate cake
5. Bake a brioche for use in the stuffing
6. Oblige my older son by making French macarons and making them blue
7. Get Zac to practice his English and Mandarin reading

Still Left To Tackle TOMORROW:
1. Roll out, cut and bake chocolate and vanilla sugar cookies to add to the guest goody bags
2. Make royal icing to ice cookies
3. Make milk chocolate buttercream for the cake and assemble said cake
4. Make potato salad
5. Cook the pasta and make pasta sauce

-lipop!

 

He calls is "lee-pop", I call it trouble. It was his first ever taste of a lolli and I think we're never going to pass the supermarket checkout counters peacefully again!

What I'd like to do...

I don't think I stop much these days to think about these sort of things. Being so occupied with my children, obsessing about what to feed the family and making sure that my husband doesn't starve or work himself to death does not allow much time for pondering upon things for the self.

If someone asked me what I wanted to be doing 5 years down the road (a question posed during interviews oddly enough), I could scarcely give a sincere answer without falling back to a rehearsed script (not that I have one). However, just the other day, my mum casually mentioned that I should really consider going to a cooking/baking school. I've been tinkering in the kitchen a lot more since we were in Barcelona and now that we're home, I've taken over the cooking and planning responsibilities as well. The thought of going to a culinary school never really appeared on my radar since I never thought I'd want to do it professionally. At this point, I don't think I do since I'm quite happy making sweets and savouries from my home kitchen and feeding friends and family. Still, now that I've had a bit more experience cooking and baking, I can't say that the idea of turning my hobby into something more isn't tempting.

At this point, because I'm so pre-occupied with raising my young children and family, going back to school isn't a possibility I'd entertain for now. Trying to formally learn how to cook/bake will take me away from the precious time I have with my little ones and isn't a sacrifice I'd like to take. I tell myself, "when they are older and are in school-proper" but of course my mind wanders back to the possibilities. Nothing to stop me from daydreaming which seems to be sufficient today.

Will I be too old? Will I have the means? Will this dream have faded, you say?
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

 But I have this innate trust that God has a plan and he might just allow me to have my cake and eat it too!

Brotherly Love

Zac holds the phone and feeds Eli apple juice while the little king watches a YouTube video on my iPhone. Lai lai's favourite video has to be this one at the moment:

Happy 14th Month Eli!

My little Eli... you've got 2 more little teeth budding and you're not happy at all. I'm so relieved that your fever's gone and that you're just starting to eat and drink your milk again. We've worked hard to get you close to 9kg now and hope you continue with your hearty appetite. Even though night-time feeding was a concern since tooth decay seems to occur in most children who drink Pediasure, we're more eager for you to put on the much-needed weight. You drink 4 bottles every night and I'm so grateful that Mama helps me take care of you so I can make sure your big brother gets enough sleep.

You've attempted walking on your own a few times these past few days. It's been really tough getting it on camera but I'm determined to capture your first steps. Exciting times.

We have a short holiday coming next month and I'm eager (and a little frightened) to see how we'll manage just daddy and me. If this Bintan trip works out well, I think daddy and I will be brave enough to conquer the rest of the world with you and korkor!

Cheers to progress!!

Happy 10th Month Eli!

My little sunshine, you're just 2 months shy of your 1st birthday and you're already fully capable of escaping from your cot ninja-style. You're positively fearless and love dangling off the side of the bed much to your mummy and daddy's horror. You're teething again and that means a runny nose. I hope the little suckers will come out soon and not cause you too much pain. (Right now, it causes mummy more pain since you've been using me as a teething toy! OWWW.)

You're loving your food and seem to be eating all the time! Curious and very determined, you'd lunge at anything you're offered or attempt to grab it on your own. We had a newspaper photographer come by today to take some pictures of us for an article about children and drinks. I have a sneaking suspicion that your big brother will be the only one in the limelight since you're only drinking milk or boiled water at the moment.

The past month, you've been cuddling up at night with Zac and mummy since daddy's been needing to work late in your room - not that you're complaining. It's almost as though you've claimed your spot on our bed because you instantly calm down and fall asleep without much trouble. Zac loves waking up with you near by and is always sneaking a cuddle even though you're still asleep and mummy's told him not to wake you!

Now that you're a little steadier and can hold your own in a high chair, we've been bringing you out with us a little more often. You're still not enjoying your car seat and don't take to sitting in your stroller for very long so our Ergo has come in really handy! You do love being out and about with the family and get really excited when you're brought into the car.

There's lots more to see and do my little one!

Happy 9th Month Eli!

My little bug is a sweet baby with 4 teeth! You wake up sunny and smiley at 6.30AM every morning almost without fail and seldom sleep in. It's like you have a built-in alarm clock that tells you when it's time for bath, nap, play and meals. The past few weeks have been somewhat sniffle-ridden but thankfully it hasn't affected your mood much.

You recognise people - family in particular, very well and yell "ah" when you want attention or as if to say "hey! Look at this!" It seems you are particularly fond of your big brother and get really excited when you hear his voice. You know who your mummy and daddy are and flap your hands in glee as if it will bring you closer to where we are. We love it when you clap your hands when asked (most of the time) and can wave bye-bye though we know you probably have no clue what that means yet.

Not quite content to stay in our arms all day, you love your walker and scoot around the front deck with the greatest of ease. Even though you're not crawling just yet, you get around just fine using your belly, arms and head as though you were a baby harp seal. I think you just might skip the crawling stage and head straight to walking since you seem to know how to put one foot in front of the other when held up by your arms.

You're super energetic and can't keep still so it'sa good thing you eat really well and seem to be liking the formula we mix with mummy's breastmilk. Even after a full dinner, you are still able to sit with us at the dinner table to have mashed fruits (you like mango and papaya) or a little snack. I'm amazed by how you can put it all away and am relieved that you feel like you've put on the much needed weight. We haven't weighed you but my arms tell me you're growing nicely!

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Zachary!

Our little one turns 4!

Like Len said, we had a huge birthday party to celebrate Zachary's 4th birthday yesterday. The theme? ANGRY BIRDS! I've been planning this party for a whole month now and have had many sleepless nights thinking about the cake. From the get go, Zac's wanted to have a party at home so no McDonald's, KFCs or what have yous. Since it's the first time he's getting a party like this (and possibly the last for a while!!), I wanted to go all out. Brunch seemed to be the best timing for us and for most of the guests coming. The guest list included all his friends from Sunshine 5 and more totalling 25 children and their parents! WOW.

Calm before the storm...

What did we feed our guests? Homemade scones, beef shepherd's pie, cheese and bread casserole, hash brown, sausages, charsiew pau, mee siam, satay and fruit salad. We had an assortment of milk, juice, coffee, tea and cereal too. As with tradition, we worried that there was not enough food but there was more than enough to go around and even left overs for some to take home in doggy bags and for us to have for breakfast!

Kids were kept more than busy with Zac's cars, mini kitchen, crafts (pompom angry birds and spinners) and the big hit - our sand pit!

We also managed to play 2 games - Pin the Beak on the Angry Bird and Marshmallows on a String. Fun stuff.

Pin the Beak on the Angry Bird

Marshmallows on a String

I think Zac was so overwhelmed by everything going on, he barely ate anything. Mid-party, he took a little time out to eat a charsiew pau and enjoy a little peace indoors. He's never been keen on games but he enjoyed playing spectator instead.

I think his favourite part was the cake I made for him. There were a few tears because some quick little hands removed the toys on the cake before he got to them but all was well once they were put back in place.

Eli doing half-time show while I was comforting a bawling birthday boy.

Actually, THIS was his favourite part...

Thank you everyone who came and made this celebration so memorable!