FRI, 29-10-10 : JET-RAY

(Sorry! this post got jumbled up in the maze of photos. It was taken ... errm, last week I think).

Ryan's latest love is this toy form the Ben 10 : Alien Force range.

It's called Jet-ray.

It was supposed to end up as "Ryan's Buy Of The Week" entry but he wasn't willing to let me snap a photo of it in the original box. He wanted to open it straight away ... sigh! It was on sale, it's price was slashed from the usual $9.95 to $14.95 (for these range of figurines) to a very cheap $6.50 (so I relented).

Ryan was very happy with this buy!

 Can you see his long fluttering lashes? Of course, you can also see the red Jet-ray.

 Ryan's bright yellow T-shirt is a hand me down from his huggable cousin, Fuddin.

Doesn't he look cute in it?

The pic's a blur, but here's a shot Ryan took of his loving Daddy, buying tea. 

Can you see the rows (of squares) of pratas that I (or sometimes Hubby) sliced & sectioned for Ryan. Yep, my kid is rather OCD ... just like his parents. My poor boy!

You can see Jet-ray's wings extended here. Its actually pretty nice (& big).

THU, 28.10-10 : GOSH! MY OWN OPTIMUS PRIME

Ryan loves Transformers, especially the noble, brave & very handsome Optimus Prime.

Since its Halloween season & the shops are filled with the pre-requisite masks & scary (ugly) stuff, Ryan was so thrilled to see this Optimus Prime plastic mask at our local NTUC. I can't remember how much its cost though but I think its less than 6 bucks.

Pretty reasonable, considering that it look realistic enough.

 Here's the "brave" Ryan ... with his ubiquitous Kung-fu moves.

 Haha ... look at his left hand behind his back. Is that not an (imitative) Ip-Man (the wushu legend, Bruce Lee's martial arts teacher) move? Yep, co-incidentally ... my boy loves watching both Ip-Man movies.

By now Optimus Prime changes his focus & attacks Humongosaur (from Ben 10 Alien Force). This toy was a gift from my good pal, Jessie (thanks, Auntie Jess).

Never really realised how big his eyes are, until I saw them in this picture.

By now, Optimus Prime is getting really bored ... with all these paparazzi shots.

Its my dear little sis birthday today. Just wanted to give her a shout-out (ok, so I've already passed the pressies & sent the greetings earlier).

She's a relatively low-key person & usually doesn't like to make a big deal out of her birthdays but it doesn't mean that I've (or we in the family) have forgotten (I always remember each member's birthday, ok).

Even if our gifts are terribly budget-constrained, I hope you'll like them ... coz we know you love french fries-slogan-Tees (errm ... do you really? or is it just your boy, Fuddin?). Ok, ok, at least I know you definitely like chocolates studded with almonds (just like me) ... this I can't be wrong!

Anyway ...

"Happy Birthday, My Beloved Sis !!!"

Wishing you lots of love & laughter on your special day.  You deserve it !

May Allah Bless You ... & Keep You Strong, on this journey we call Life,

Remember, we love you ... always!

Welcome to the mid-30s my dear. Its all downhill from here (just kidding lah!)

WED, 27-10-10 : A CLEAR LADLE

The other weekend when we went to Geylang Serai, we did drop by a shophouse across the Joo Chiat Complex. This is our 2nd time here. This place is a treasure trove for cooking utensils, kitchen equipment, home stuff & other knick knacks. They seem to stock a lot of industrial kitchen stuff, for the food sector I guess.

I just love this place (nope we don't go to this place often) ... seeing that I'm a (typical) auntie who loves to buy home-&-kitchen stuff (hey! that's a really good description of my mum too). Oh by the way, we were there coz she was looking for something in particular.

Unfortunately, I did not get pictures of the shop as there were camera surveillance and all (errm ... I didn't want to get thrown out of the shop lah!). The shop is also full of (very) sharp objects, breakables & bulky items ... not a good place to bring a hyper-active 3 year old, who keeps wanting to touch everything!

Instead, here's a picture of the ladle that I bought. I like it coz it is useful for scooping the Cheng Teng I usually make for our family gatherings.

Here's the shop address :

5B Pte Ltd

42 / 44 / 46 Joo Chiat Road

Singapore 427368

Tel : 6440 3258, 6458 7228

 I put my digicam cover there so that you will have an idea of the ladle's size.

Yep! It cost that much!

TUE, 26-10-10 : PRATA AGAIN?

If you didn't know by now, the humble Egg Prata (local floury pancake) is my son's favourite. Almost everytime that you ask Ryan what he wants to eat, he will (almost) always say he wants to eat "tata" (prata) ... haha! 

Well, prata or chicken rice, that is!

We had dinner out the other day. Guess what my Ryan had?

 Ryan insisted on bringing out the "Swampfire" character-sticker (from the Ben 10 Cartoon series) out. Why ... oh why ... Ryan?!

A toothy smile  ... and let's not forget the said sticker.

Ryan was about to charge at his prata.

 Yummy, yummy!

What Hubby had - Chicken Wing Rice Set.

Hubby likes eating this (at Banquet Causeway Point) but it's always sold out (by the time we get there) usually before dinner time (is it because its cheap & delicious?). Isn't that so silly? If an item on the menu's such a best seller, why sell it in (very) limited quantities?

Duh! doesn't make sense, people !

I did not manage to get a shot of my dinner that night, which was Fried (White) Carrot Cake. It was actually quite tasty (hah! surprisingly). I noticed that usually, by the time my plate arrives (especially if its different from what the rest of the family is having) I simply forget to snap it.

Besides, when it comes to the table, I'm so ready to tuck in (errm, hungry!). Of course, often times (because Ryan has already started eating by then), I would be extremely busy, "forcing" him to eat ... or telling him for the umpteen time - to sit down, don't play with his utensils, not to disturb other diners, don't touch my digicam ... the list is quite endless really!

So forgive me if you think that my dinner is not worthy of a picture. It is ... just that I get really distracted sometimes, especially when it comes to food ... haha! 

Now, that I realised the "rarity" of my dinner shots, I will make an effort to get the requisite shots. I mean ... what is really more interesting than finding out what I had for dinner, right? (wink wink!)

MON, 25-10-10 : RYAN'S BUY OF THE WEEK - SPELLER JR.

Playing at the local arcade sometimes leaves us with lots of paper-tokens, that allows us to exchange them for small knick-knacks or some (mostly junky) kiddy stuff.

Hubby decided to exchange the stack of tokens for this - (good choice Hubs) it was really very educational & worth it!

Eventhough this toy was gotten for free, we did spend money to play at the arcade ... so I consider it a "buy".

Ryan liked playing with his new toy.

SUN. 24-10-10 : DONUTS ANYONE?

My sweet niece, Ayra sometimes joins us for our weekend jaunts. Where do we always end up being? It really depends on what needs to be done on that day, what errands have to be completed.

This time round I needed to get my monthly supply of reading materials (mainly magazines) at Kinokuniya. So off to Bugis we went!

As the kids were feeling peckish, we brought them to the J.Co. donut place to have ... what else, but donuts.

 Errm ... the kids made themselves very comfortable indeed!

I don't understand why they don't serve paper plates for those dinning in. I was served with a box instead (the take-away kind), which is a real waste of paper. Personally, I prefer Donut Factory (I think they are cheaper too) but J.Co had to do, I guess.

 Hubby was busy sms-ing away.

 Lil' Miss Ayra, enjoying her donut. She did not want to leave the place, said that she liked the atmosphere there (felt like a hotel ... really?).

See my rascal little boy! Can you see the layer of chocolate on his front teeth?

Ok, so ... I actually made them pose for this photo ... but they were really doing it before I asked them too. Yep, I can be so B-A-D!

Later we had this brilliant idea to "drag" the kids to Ion Orchard. For a thrill, we decided to leave the car at Bugis & took the MRT train to Orchard station. Errm ... bad move! I don't know, is it just me or is the crowd very bad. It might be coz its the weekend, it might be that I haven't taken a train to the downtown area for awhile but I thought it wouldn't be so bad as it was the odd hour (not the peak period).

I tell you, Singapore is sooo over-crowded!

The only consolation was a mother with two boys offered to share their seats with Ryan but I declined as my boy & his cousin preferred to stand & hold the hand-railings. Yep, no one else even bothered nor offered their seats to my (small) 3 year old boy!

So much for ... chivalry, priority seats & being courteous! N-O-T !!!

Gosh! if you had seen these two (that day), you would think that they've NEVER been to an underground MRT station.

Waiting for the next train to arrive. Yep, we had to miss the 1st train, as there was no place for us to squeeze into, it was really packed to the gills. Arrgh!

Here's a pictorial proof that we did go to ION Orchard. Taken at the Orchard MRT station (near the entrance connecting the mall to the underground station). It kinda looked like a Christmas tree (does it, I dunno?)

SAT, 23-10-10 : TO GEYLANG WE WENT

After her appointment, my mum wanted to have something nice & cheap (to eat) ... so off to Geylang Serai we went (yep, we went that far to eat good food). We had satay (among other delicious goodies) at the Geylang Food Centre (nope its not nearly as dirty, the new place is pretty clean, actually). After that we went for some grocery shopping at the NTUC branch at Joo Chiat Complex.

Whilst waiting for Hubby to drive over to pick us up, (as usual) I decided to snap some pics.

My boy running around in circles.

Ryan managed to get a photo of his Grandpa, snapping a picture of him, with his newly replaced (phew!) i-Phone. Haha ... photographing the photographer, I guess.

Ryan took this photo of Grandma too.

She noticed that Ryan "lopped" off her tudung (headscarf) ... hehe!

FRI,22-10-10 : PRATA, ALL GONE?

Being cooped up at home is no fun!

So out for dinner, we went.

Ryan wanted to pose awhile ...

More funny faces & poses ... this boy never tires.

Ryan & Hubby had their usual pratas whilst I had the Fired Chicken Briyani. I used to hate eating Briyani, like the plague but lately I have been eating it here (Banquet). Its apportioned nicely (most Briyanis are served really large), pretty tasty & light, with a very crispy fried chicken, not-too-sour Acar (pickled vegetables) & the accompanied chicken briyani (curry?) gravy can be served on the side, if you choose so (I just hate my rice being covered with a blanket of gravy, makes everything mushy!).

You will understand what I mean when I say its "light" coz most Briyani taste very "heavy". Errm ... I know, I know it sounds really weird but to those who have eaten or tried Briyani, will understand what I mean (right?).

Ryan wanted to take a photo of his Daddy. Here he is, smiling for his boy!

 Yep! he managed to finish a whole egg prata all on his own, which is a real achievement for my fussy little boy, who also has a very small appetite.

Hooray! All the prata's gone! ... But let's not forget the usual accompanying plastic straw.

THU, 21-10-10 : UP CLOSE

Ryan was being his usual impish self, fooling around on our bed.

I decided to snap some photos of him, up close.

 Trying to look cool. Errm ... is it working?

Smiley for the camera. (You can still see the insect bite on his forehead).

 Another funny face (Again?).

WED, 20-10-10 : RYAN'S BUY OF THE WEEK - MORE SPIDERS ANYONE?

A ode to spiders.

Haha ... seems like we have more & more of them, in our home - real (live) ones & fake (rubber) ones!

Ryan seem to (always) want to have his hand in the photos I snap these days, so I obliged. (Haha ... what's a mum to do anyaway?)



Ryan (really) wanted his hand in the pic ... oh sure, why not! Its his spiders anyway!

TUE, 19-10-10 : A STING TO REMEMBER

Just wanted to document the insect bites that Ryan had recently - nasty nasty!.

He was bitten on the lower right arm, upper left arm & on his forehead. The swell was so bad on his right arm that I was worried enough to bring him to the GP. Doctor said they were insect bites, nothing serious & gave us a cream to ease the itch.

I really cannot recall seeing any insects biting him .... sigh!

The swell had gone down by now but still persists. (He had the red stars "chopped" from his playground. Yep, he gets them chops daily!)



MON, 18-10-10 : HAPPY 13TH ANNIVERSARY!

I knew we would not get a chance to celebrate our anniversary today as Hubby was working in the day time & he had classes that same night (he's taking a one-month course right now).

So, I decided to cook up a nice dinner of fish & chips that night (we usually have an early family dinner coz Hubby has to leave for class at 7 pm sharp).

Errm ... I was eagerly trying to replicate the LJS-type of fish & chips but failed miserably. The meal was nice enough though ... just not the same as eating at Long John's, that's all.

Oh well, just gives me more impetus to try again next time, with a better recipe ... maybe? We'll see ...

Homemade Coated-Fried Fish, Homemade Garlic-Herb Spread on simple white bread & Homemade Skinny French Fries ... Mmmm, all so greasy & yummy!

For Ryan, just the fish (surprisingly he's eating fish these days, so that's good news). He wasn't interested in the fries that night (oh well, I don't understand why the fries turned soggy anyway).

SUN, 17-10-10 : WE CELEBRATED OUR ANNIVERSARY A DAY EARLIER

(Sorry ... very long & mushy post!)

Yep, true to our fashion, we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary by eating a really simple but nice (read : budget) family lunch (just the 3 of us) at one of our favourite Halal Banquet foodcourt at City Square Mall.

Haha, I know. Who celebrates their anniversary in a foodcourt, anyway?! Haha ... apparently we do!

We had grand plans to go for a quiet date, maybe a lame movie or al-cheapo lunch or even a simple cup of coffee (& toast), as long as its just the two of us. But as usual, my mum bailed on us! Errm ... why am I not surprised! She was supposed to take care of Ryan for a couple of hours that day so that we can have some badly-needed & rare couple time, but as usual it did not materialise (for whatever reason lah!). Well, that's our usual story!

Well, no matter! Like I told Hubby its not what gifts we bought for each other, not which restaurant we go and eat ... none of that matters! All that really matters, is that we spend the day together, as a loving couple ... being grateful & thankful for the many blessings that that we have had over the years. Yep, we're a couple that's had a lot of ups & downs these few years of marriage, but we're still together today as we did 13 years ago.

I guess, what we don't need ... is for people to define what a good marriage we have. Our marriage is far from perfect (no sirree!) but I dare say we work at it, every single day. We argue & fight like any other ordinary-warring couple. We have disagreements & disillusions but we know we love each other, no matter what. We agree to disagree but we know we are working as a team for the sake of the betterment of our family.

And since Ryan's timely arrival, we work very very hard at being better people, better parents to our little blessing from God. With God's permission, it is our hope to provide for Ryan a safe & loving environment, a good example for our dear son to emulate, when he himself has his own family in the future. This ... I can only hope & pray!

We know we have been greatly blessed!

To my loving Hubby, Steven :

Happy Anniversary, My Dear Darling!

You have been a wonderful Husband

But You have been an even better Father to our son, Ryan

Though we seek clearer skies in our luck

Though we want a unburdened future

We have been blessed & we know that!

I know God smiles on us, I know He does ...

Sometimes it doesn't seem that way ...

But I know we have a lot to be thankful for ...

I know we have a lot to be grateful for.

Thank you .....
Thank you for loving me, for loving our Ryan

Thank you for taking care of me, for taking care of our Ryan

Thank you for protecting me, for protecting our Ryan

Thank you for being You.

Although others may doubt you

Although others may question your capabilities

Know that I don't!

Ryan & me, will always support & love you

No matter which way You choose to turn

No matter which path You choose to take

We will always love you

We will always support you

We will always root for you

We will always be here for you!

Thank you for everything

Thank you for marrying me, that fateful day in 1997

Thank you for giving me hope

Thank you for making me your wife.

No matter what the future holds,

It has been an incredible journey.

I pray that we can be together in this lifetime & in the next

I love you ... now & always!

Errm, here are some pics, taken at the foodcourt ... ; )

Ryan, with his endles slew of funny faces ...

 Steamed (White) Chicken rice - Ryan's usual choice.

The tastiest Chicken Chiar Sew Kway Teow Noodle for Hubby (our favourite).
Oh, I had Spicy Mee Goreng that day (but no photo).

Both photos of Steven were taken by his son, Ryan.

Hubby dearest, buying food for our family.