SAT, 26-3-11 : WHAT A KITTY NAP

I saw this cat below a block of flats. It was too cute!

I just knew ... I had to snap a pic.

Sweet dreams!

FRI, 25-3-11 : A TRIP TO THE DENTIST

So ... I have this thing about teeth. Nope, my teeth ain't perfect (ooh, far from it) but I wanna make sure that my boy goes to the dentist regularly (& keeps his teeth clean).

We started bringing him to the NDC (National Dental Centre) since he was 2 years old. It really wasn't a pretty sight! Eventhough the dentist was a pediatric specialist & very, very patient with children, my boy would scream & cry murder! We had to pin him down ... that's how bad it was!

Now at the grand old age of four, Ryan's doing much much better!

You can see me holding on to my boy's hand (Hubby took the photo). They make all kids wear sunnies ... to keep the glare of the light, out of their eyes.

He didn't look that happy, right? He was being very quiet (hehe .. infact he did not talk at all). Ok, he did seem a bit stressed but at least he wasn't causing a huge commotion. I'll take that any day! 

I dunno, was the change of the dentist (to a female) that made the difference (?) ... or just that Ryan's older now. Maybe that's why he was quite "cool" in the chair. Haha ...no more dramas!

  

The dentist even managed to use the dreaded "drill"on him & he didn't even flinch! Way to go, Ryan! 

I have to say that I'm very very proud of my boy. I know, I know ... its just a trip to the dentist but its a big milestone for my four year old. If you had seen him during the first few visits, you'll be amazed at the transformation too. He was calm, cool & collected. And of course, Mummy & Daddy rewarded him with a el-cheapo toy afterwards.

Dentist visits will be a piece of cake, the next time. Thank God!

THU, 24-3-11 : WE FOUND OUR HOME!

Yep! we finally found our new home (which is lovely, by the way) & we have submitted the relevant documents, to start the process. Hopefully everything will go smoothly & we should be moving in by mid June.

Meanwhile, we are still busy packing, giving away & throwing lots of stuff. We have made arrangements to stay with my brother's family during the transition (of about 2 months) whilst our belongings will go into storage.

We have to thank my brother, his wife (my sis-in-law) & family for their graciousness & kindness in putting us up for the time being. Seems like Ryan will have four new playmates very soon ... he'll love that!

(The photos are rather lop-sided coz they were taken by the 4 year old in the house).

Here's just some things that we are "leaving" when we move ...

 The (warm) wood flooring in our bedrooms.

 I love this ceiling light.

We are leaving our 2 single green sofas from IKEA (among other things) for the new owners. 

Our spacious kitchen (the new place will be so much smaller) ... but I'll live!

WED, 23-3-11 : SUGAR IS HOT!

We all know that when sugar is boiled down (with a bit of water), it turns into liquid & its very very hot!

Why the hell, didn't I remember this ....?!

I was trying to boil down some excess rock sugar into sugar syrup & cooled it down on the stove. What I didn't realise was ... it was still very hot when I poured it into the container for safekeeping (in the fridge).

Its obvious ... that I should have waited longer for the solution to cool down but I didn't want those pesky ants in my house to get to it first. In the end, I had to throw everything away .... double arrgh!!!

What is the moral of the story people?!

Think before you do anything stupid! (Errm! that will be a tall order for me ... haha!)

TUE, 22-3-11 : A RIDE

Errm ... more pics of the spawn.

Here he is on the kiddy ride. He's wearing a top that my sis bought for him in Bangkok (thanks Bibik).

Looks cute, huh?

MON, 21-3-11 : A SPOT OF MINI-BOWLING

After our simple lunch at the foodcourt, we brought Ryan to the nearby arcade.

He chose to play the mini-bowling game (always a favourite of his).

Haha! Simple pleasures for a simple boy.

SUN, 20-3-11 : JUST LUNCH

We tend to have lunch at foodcourts or coffeeshops, when I'm not cooking or when we're out running errands.

Nope, we've stopped going to restaurants (for many years) due to budget constraints. It doesn't mean that we never eat at restaurants ... just not that often, that's all.

I took some pics of the family ....

 Ryan was holding a paper-flower made out of cut-outs (that was on a free postcard).

 Being cheeky, as usual.

 Ryan's squares of egg prata ... oily but yummy! Oh coincidentally, the price of this egg prata is $2.50 now! (raised by 50 cents!). Everything's gone up ... except for our pay!

 Ryan was having a nice chat with his Daddy. (Hubby was having his usual Chicken Wing Rice Set).

I had the Fried Fish Beehoon with Soup (sold at the Handmade Noodle stall at Banquet Foodcourt in Causeway Point). This soup is full of goodies (seaweed, ikan bilis, veggies, egg, fried fish), sooo slurp-worthy & the clear soup is delicious! It does not have any milk added (yucks!) & you can add the chilli padi (which you have to ask for) if you want your soup to be tinged with a  bit of spice. I had this plenty of times when I was expecting Ryan & I still love it ... four years down the road. Errm ... when we move, I will miss this but I'm sure we can always make our way here occasionally.

SAT, 19-3-11 : A VIEW ABOVE

Ryan's been pretty trigger happy around the house these days. Hhhm ... I wonder why? 

Maybe its his way of remembering this home ... a place where he was born & grew up in (haha! all 4 long years!).

... As nostalgic as we are, we know its time to move on (very soon).

 Can you see the tiny speck on the right? Its a military chopper (we have lots of that).

A view of our block, from our window-sill.

FRI, 18-3-11 : ANOTHER PACK-RAT?

If you ever wondered whether our kids take after us & inherited (some of) our genes, I have the answer. YES!

Do we get to choose which genes they might inherit? Errm ... nope!

So what do we do if they inherited ... our pack-rat genes?!

Errm ... help them pack??!!

This is Ryan bedside drawer (which used to be mine, by the way). He keeps his favourite & "current" toys here, within easy reach for when he wakes up.

Errm ... this boy really takes after his Mummy, rite?!

Arrgh! that's a trait I'll rather he not have. One pack-rat in the family is .... really enough!

THU, 17-3-11 : THERE'S A BUNNY IN MY HOME

It's the year of the Rabbit, so I decided to adopt a very cute & hyper-active little bunny.

Here it is!

The (soft)-bunny mask was a free gift, that was bundled with a purchase of Drypers (I think).

WED, 16-3-11 : TO IKEA WE WENT

Since we are moving, we've been busy surveying lots of stuff for our new place. I guess the problem is ... we do not know yet where we will be staying nor the layout of the new house but there's no harm in just looking around right? Besides, being on a very tight budget is no joke ... so we have to be ultra careful with how we spend our money.

Ok ... on with the (window)-shopping!

Errm ... any Singaporean, decorating their home will go to IKEA! Yes, its pretty presumptuous of me to say that but I ask you -. How many Singaporean homes have you not seen ANY of IKEA's (stuff) in their place?!

... Yep, I rest my case!

Ryan just loves to stop-over here.

  A budding cook, I see?

Yes .. always remember to wash your hands, little one!

I find this awfully cute! (but a little expensive, no?!)

This single-bed uses the storage below (to maximise limited space in a bedroom).

Something we will have to seriously consider, in our new home.

Woah! Very N-I-C-E ... but equally exorbitant!

Storage for the store room, perhaps?

Even if you don't end up buying anything, IKEA is a great place to get ideas & inspiration on how to decorate your home. I greatly recommend it. The Tampines branch is bigger & has ample free parking (yahoo!). The play area (for the kids) is also a favourite with the small ones. They even have halal-certified food in the other corner of their always crowded restaurant.

Errm ... weekends are soo overly crowded (isn't that the case, everywhere in Singapore?!) so we try to drop by on weekdays, if we can. And of course ... after IKEA, you can always stop over the GIANT (with more free parking) nearby for a spot of grocery shopping.

What a place!

TUE, 15-3-11 : WHAT A HOT DOG!

I didn't notice the "HOT DOG" wording on the yellow ride ... nor the cute dog on top.

Shows how "robotic" & blur I can be, when I sometimes snap pics on the digicam. A lot of times, funny or surprising things show up in the photographs. Only when I download them, do I realise the gems that got captured on "film".

MON, 14-3-11 : DOWN THE SLIDE THEY WENT

There's a rather (dunno-how)-new play area for the kids at IMM (not the wet play area). They have 2 covered slides & some cute gigantic plant & fruit standees for the kids. I can't recall the name for this place but its on the same level as Hoe Kee (the store that sells toilet fittings).

I think most kids need their parents to go on the slide with them coz its pretty high & winding (ok, maybe I'm a bit kiasu & terribly safety conscious). Better to be safe than sorry, folks! 

Errm... I'm too much of a wuss to go on it! Besides ... who else was gonna take the prize-winning shots ... haha!

 Ryan enjoying a ride (as usual).

 Huge ... isn't it?

Down the green slide they go (this wasn't as scary - its shorter & safer).

 My two boys ... atop the highest point.

 The yellow slide's ... kinda scary!

Oooh Ryan! What a big carrot ... you have?! 

 See you next time, slides!

SUN, 13-3-11 : HAVE SOME CAKE

We have several birthdays in our extended family in March. So as usual ... there was delicious food, cake & some catching up.

It was my SIL (sis-in-law) & nephew's birthday and we celebrated it at their place.

Birthday song & cake cutting time.

Notice the candles? Everyone's pretty tickled ... because my (cheeky) Ryan managed to blow on all the candles before the actual birthday boy & girl. Haha!

SAT, 12-3-11 : WASTED DUCKIES

Having a kid that's rather fussy (when it comes to eating) is not the worst thing in the world ... I know. But sometimes I scratch my head ... when I'm stumped & can't think of anything interesting to feed the kid.

Whenever I find something that my boy really likes, I tend to go overboard (errm ... sometimes). Ryan liked eating these when he was a year and a half. So when I chanced upon them recently  (in an organic store) I didn't think twice. Nope, they are not cheap at all! (but less than 8 bucks per box).

I had hoped he'll still like them coz it was one of his favourites, when he was younger.

But as in everything in life ... never assume anything!

Nope! he did not even want to taste them. Not interested at all!

Arrgh! what does a mother do when that happens?

Errm ... to the dumpster, it goes!?

Its actually quite tasty ... but alas!

FR, 11-3-11 : THAT FEET

Several choice walls in our home were painted blue (always a favourite in our house!).

So when I chance upon this pic recently (taken by my boy), I realised that Ryan must have leaned against the wall (with his feet) & snapped a photo. This boy is rather multi-tasking these days. He had other masterpieces but this one cracks me up.

It also reminds me .... to tell me son, not to put his feet on the wall ... rite?

When I look at this photo, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry ... or both!

In this photo, he's standing on the sofa. This tiny photographer is very creative, isn't he?! (thinking of the many, many ways to take a photo of his own feet).