SUN, 21-11-10 : STICKERS, STICKERS EVERYWHERE!

Ryan loves his stickers - especially ones that depict his favourite characters.

Lately he's into "textured" & "sponge" stickers. He doesn't stick the stickers on things ..... he likes to hold individual stickers in his hand.

Yep, my kid's a little bit odd when it comes to stickers.

Usually, what Ryan likes to do ... I'll let it slide, if its not too nonsensical or remotely dangerous. (Yes, I try to be "lenient" whenever I can ... coz most times I am really quite strict with Ryan).

If holding up stickers makes Ryan happy ... then all I have to do is buy more stickers, right?!

We bought these stickers at the local pasar malam (beside Causeway Point). The top three stickers (Spiderman, Heart-shapes & Cars) are 3 for $2, the Ultraman ones are a dollar each. (The stickers with hearts was purchased as a small gift for Ms Ayra).

 Ryan wanted to put his hand in the picture. Oh well!

 A cheeky grin!

Pouty lips!

SAT, 20-11-10 : RYAN'S BED-FACE

This is what Ryan (usually) looks like when he wakes up.

His hair goes in all directions (haha ... just like his mum's) but luckily he's not as grouchy as her when daylight breaks (Thank God!).

One extra-grouchy person in the family is more than enough! Thank you very much!!!

Can you see a stuffed toy behind Ryan? Its actually two toys - but an optical illusion created, made it look like one. The left is his purple Barney bolster & on the right is "Pinky" the caterpillar (a pre-loved toy given by his cousin, Ayra). Dunno why both toys look pink in the photo though.

FRI, 19-11-10 : RYAN'S BUY OF THE WEEK : BATTLEFORCE 5

Battleforce 5 is a new toon on the Cartoon Network by the Hot Wheels maker. As you might have guessed, my boy loves this show. (Why am I not vaguely surprised?)

What is it with boys & cars?! Really ....

I guess being a (young) girl growing up ... I was never really interested in them. I know I will never really understand the male's obsession with cars & other engines.

Even at a very young age, Ryan is already obsessed with cars. Although I kinda understand (& sorta encourage Ryan to like boy stuff), its still kinda baffling to me, as a female. Oh well!

I guess for a growing boy ... playing with cars, trains & toy spiders are better than playing with dolls, huh?

Ryan playing with his new buy.

THU. 18-11-10 : CHIC & RICE ... & EVERYTHING NICE

For Hari Raya Haji this year, my mum decided to cook something simpler (than her usual) : chicken rice, roasted honey chicken, chicken soup & stir-fried veggies (chap-chye). Simple but nice! We also had sweet watermelon slices & grapes. Yummy!

 The kids were having Yan-Yan biscuits.

 Ayra was trying to feed Ryan the biscuits.

 Ryan : "Kakak, you eat".

"Yeah!"

WED, 17-11-10 : SELAMAT HARI RAYA HAJI

Its a public holiday here in Singapore ... but we're stuck at home (my poor Hubby has to work). But fear not! Later in the afternoon, we're going to my mum's place for some yummy food (as usual!). We don't really celebrate Hari Raya Haji (on a large scale) but my mum will still cook some delicious goodies for the whole family to eat.

Well, isn't food ... love? Haha ... it is, in my family!

I love these kind of holidays  : )

Well, talking about food ... here's a picture of my mum's delicious chicken curry. Its damn delicious! I usually have it with bread or a french loaf but Hubby prefers to have it with white rice. As my mum tends to cook up huge pots of deliciousness, me & my elder brother's family (my parents live with my younger sis) always have leftovers to bring home. Lucky us!!!

 Do all kids love their Mum's cooking? This grown up kid does!

The photo does not do this Chicken Curry justice. Its soooo delicious!

We had the Chicken Curry with instant (frozen stash) prata. Ryan too had prata but his was with fried with an egg (the curry was way too spicy for my boy).

As Malay food (always) tastes better the next day, leftovers are definitely welcome (with open arms) in our home. Malay cuisine is also notoriously difficult to make cook as its ingredients list is long & "quite scary" ... plus there's usually a ton of chopping, blending & stewing (for long hours). Not the kind of thing I'm remotely interested in (yep, lazy me!)

Besides, why bother to even attempt to cook the food ... when I can taste world-class food, that my Mum cooks? I'm a foodie but I'm not crazy ... haha!

Ok, I will try to get some nice pics of the spread my Mum cooked today. Yep, tomorrow will be another food entry.

You hungry yet??? I am!!!

TUE, 16-11-10 : OH! ITS BROKEN

If you think that Ryan is (ultra) careful with his toys all the time, you might want to change your mind, pronto!

Eventhough he's quite nimble with his toys & takes care not to damage them, its inevitable that some do get "demolished" with everyday, rough play.

Boys will be boys!

Eventhough these were hand-me-down toys from my friend, Lisa ... its still sad to throw away stuff that are still playable. What a waste, right?

MON, 15-11-10 : MATCHY MATCHY

The other day, Ryan was (busy) playing with Ayra & her mum (my younger sis). He managed to do up this matching-game-puzzle all by himself.

Does that make me proud? Sure does!

I guess when your kid is 3, almost anything that he does is monumental & a major achievement. Any parent would be happy & proud of their kid's achievement ... even if its just completing a simple puzzle.

I guess it goes to show ... that our kid is growing & learning huh?

Only greater things ahead! .....

 My sis asked me to snap a photo of his "work" (for memory).

Haha, Ryan "acting" shy, & hugging the giant plushy racoon.

SUN, 14-11-10 : WE WENT FOR ICE CREAM

As Hubby has to work on weekends too these days (poor Hubby, so tiring!), Saturdays & Sundays are not whole day outings any more (boo-hoo!). So, we tend to go out in the afternoons instead.

After having delicious food at my mum's place, we decided to bring Ayra out for ice cream nearby. Nope, we did not go to Swenson's ... haha! Nope, can't afford it! We went to McDonald's lah! Its more affordable for us.

I realised ... long ago, its not what you eat that matters but the time you spend together that matters more. Sure ice cream at Swenson's is more delicious but its also much much more expensive, something we cannot afford to spend on right now. But a simple cone or hot fudge ice cream is definitely do-able.

At the end of the day, did the kids mind that we went to the neighbourhood fast-food chain to have ice cream? Nope, I dare say they didn't! They would have loved it any other way. Its the time that we spent, having ice cream, having fun, the sheer act of going out for ice cream ... is fun in itself. It doesn't matter that the ice cream cost a dollar or 10 bucks! Besides, Ryan doesn't even like eat ice cream ... haha! But that doesn't stop him from having fun either - he just had a cheeseburger & some fries.

See ... everyone's happy!

This red outfit was a gift from my friend, Saro (she really spoils my boy, she's so nice!). I call it - the treasure map shirt. It was purchased in the USA. (Thanks Auntie Saro!)

 Mummy : "Ryan, I can't see your eyes!"

 They were waiting for their ice cream.

Ayra wanted to pose ... pose away my dear!

SAT, 13-11-10 : MORE RIDES

We decided to bring the kids to City Square Mall recently. Here was what they were up to.

Whenever Ryan meets up with his BFF, his cousin, Ayra ... he will be soooo happy! He just loves playing with her, hanging out with her, having & sharing lunch with her.

I'm glad that Ayra loves spending time with Ryan too. I guess as an only child it gets lonely sometimes. Its always nice to be able to share fun times with another person ... who loves & cares about you, who's a great playmate & an extremely fun person to be with. Ayra is all these & much, much more. I also hope that Ryan is the same to her .....

I'm really thankful that she's is our lives. You did well, sis! ; ) 

 Can you see how chummy & loving they are!

 Ryan's into fire-engines too.

 Having fun on the rides!

Time to go, my dearies!

FRI, 12-11-10 : PLAYDOH FEVER

These days Ryan is also (equally) obsessed with playing Playdoh. Yep, the non-toxic plasticine variety. (I know there are other brands available or non-branded ones but Playdoh is the choice, in our home).

My sis had passed on (to me earlier) some playdoh materials - cutters, moulders, etc. & we also purchased the set that contained the alphabets & numbers molds. Ryan loves playing with them.

Not so much the moulding or shaping ... haha! All he wants to do is press, cut or squish the playdoh. He also "orders" me to make multiple snakes or worms (shapes).

Aah ... this is what you get, when you allow your kids to play with playdoh!

Ryan is only allowed to use the playdoh on the Spongebob plastic mat (which is an old calendar that we purchased a couple of years ago). Its has been really useful. We have even used Spongebob as a sun-shade for our car's backseat ... haha! Yep. we can be really creative & frugal sometimes!

Ryan didn't want his spider friends (on the top right side of the picture) to miss out on Playdoh time.

Is that a future doctor, that I see?

THU, 11-11-10 : A SPICY SANDWICH

I am a foodie. A real foodie!

If you didn't know that about me, you probably don't know me very well.

Or ... you can always look at my size & presume I am a foodie ... haha! (of which I am!)

Yep, this will be a food entry. Can't you tell by now ..... : )

Ok, here it is!

The Toasted Otah Sandwich!

I actually read about a place that made (& sold) this in a local magazine (8 Days, I think), so I decided to replicate it at home. We have eaten done something similar but we actually bought the (usual & easier to find) otah in the singly-portioned-barbequed-form (banana leaf wrapped?). But I copied the idea of using otah paste instead. You can purchase otah paste in the frozen section of most major supermarkets in Singapore (although they are not that easy to find, dunno why). I have purchased the otah paste from NTUC, Sheng Shiong and Shop & Save (they have prawn otah paste too!)

The Fish Otah Paste pictured below was purchased in JB (Jusco, I think). Sorry, can't recall what it cost (not expensive, I assure you).

Because there's just the two of us having this for dinner (too spicy for Ryan, who had Chicken Nuggets), I sub-divided the paste into four sections. That makes it easier to spread an equal amount of otah paste on each bread (yes, the OCD tendencies doesn't go far!). You can always use two slices of bread per serving (which is definitely more filling) but we prefer the open-face-otah sandwich (really, the choice is yours).

Toast your sandwiches in the toaster or regular oven. Because our otah was "uncovered", it toasted quite well on the top. We like ours overly "crispy", so it looks a bit over-done (& slightly burnt)!

You must try it!

This was the best otah paste we've had so far. I will definitely buy this brand again. (Writing up this post makes me crave for the sandwich ... haha!)

Malays call it "otak-otak" & since its bought in Malaysia, that's how its spelt. Sorry, I cannot recall how its spelt on the ones bought in Singapore. Anyway, you guys know what I mean right?

 Hubby's share. So crispy! Remember to spread a thick layer of otah paste or it won't be so nice! Ok, so we are greedy ....

Mine. It was spicy & delicious!

Some stuff to note :

If you are using the usual pre-cooked otah (& not the uncooked frozen paste), you can even skip the toasting, if you are feeling lazy  ; )

For a variation, you can spread some butter on the bread before doing up the otah paste & toasting. Haha! yes, more calories but also more tasty!

If you want, you can add your own ingredients like minced prawns to the otah (I do think they need to be pre-cooked though coz toasting the bread takes only a few minutes - don't want to eat raw stuff & get a tummy ache!).



WED, 10-11-10 : THE BATMOBILE

(Errm ... I was wrong. This will be the last of the weekend's photos. Apologies.)

Ryan just loooves Batman. Here he is in the sleek black Batmobile.

He calls it the Batmobile car. Yep, he had to add the "car" & refuses to say (just) Batmobile.

Oh ok ..... as long as you're happy, my dear boy!

Ryan will be so happy to see these photos on the blog, seeing how much he's into Batman these days. Yep, my son is a faithful "reader" of my blogs. Infact he's my biggest fan & probably the only other person (other than me) who reads it regularly. Oh well!

All smiles!

TUE, 9-11-10 : BEN 10 & ME

Sorry! This is the last photo taken over the weekend, that I'm posting.

Ryan loves Ben 10 (Alien Force) so much that he didn't mind when I asked him to pose beside the large Ben. Its taken at the entrance of the Toys R Us store in Vivocity.

MON. 8-11-10 : I'VE DIED & GONE TO REESE'S HEAVEN .....

Yep, I've finally found my peanut butter-chocolate heaven. It was on Sentosa Island.

Here it is, in all its glory!

Too bad, photography is not allowed in the store ... so I had to resort to taking the pictures outside. It doesn't do it justice, really. For a Reese addict, it is such a shame ... to hide the bountiful & heavenly Reese's Peanut Butter galore behind that thick glass pane. It really is!

Oh well .....

Now, I know where to head to, next time I get a craving for my Reese!

SUN, 7-11-10 : WE WENT TO SENTOSA ...

.... just the outskirts, ok! (Nope we did not venture into The Universal Studios, etc.)

Ok, it was my dear Hubby's idea to drop by Sentosa, as we were at Vivocity that morning (to run an errand). It was totally impromptu & unexpected. I really cannot remember when was the last time we visited Sentosa. If I can recall correctly, there were only 2 grandkids in the extended family then (coz we headed there together as a big group), but now there's 7 kids. Haha! it was sooo long ago!

We choose to drive & park there coz we did not intend to stay long. Errm ... big (costly) mistake! Sadly, we mistook the parking charges & we thought it made more sense to stay on for the 2nd hour ($2) as the 1st hour charge was already (an expensive) 6 bucks. But when the car passed through the exit gantry, it wasn't 8 bucks, it was 11 dollars (!!!), eventhough we made sure we left before the two hours were up!

Arrgh! it was one ... damn ... expensive ... parking lesson!

The moral of the story people : Don't park inside Sentosa!

Oh weell .....

On to the (many) pictures.

Why ... are ... people ... so ungracious ?!!!

When they wanna take photos, we (have no choice but to wait) patiently for them to prim & pose (& snap). When its finally our turn (in the bl**dy sweltering, hot sun!), they take their own sweet time to move away or simply can't be bother to stand aside?

Why, oh WHY ???!!!

When there's a cat ...

 ... there's always a dog. (no?)

 Walking to the sweet heaven called "Candylicious".

Sweet lollys galore!

With Mr. Jelly Beans.

A Hershey;s Bar, A Reese's Peanut Butter Bar & a Peeps (I think).

 Yes, I was very hungry ... for some chocolates!

 Ryan : I'm bigger than you, Red M&M!

Ryan : You are cute, Miss Green M&M!

Posing with more M&Ms.

 A shot with Daddy (Notice, both my boys are in orange).

Posing with the giant Hershey Chocolate Syrup bottle. Yep, the bottle's bigger (& taller) than the both of us!

By the water-feature.

Hubby is holding on to the Garret's popcorn bag. The popcorn is out-of-this-world delicious! We bought the caramel flavour. You can try them out before buying (but of course! Its damn expensive, 8 bucks for the smallest bag!).

Beware though! People who hate strong smells or the smell of popped-corn will want to stay clear of the shop, coz the smell was really overwhelmingly sweet. Ryan did not like the smell at all, he said it was smelly! (& even wanted to vomit).

Haha! Silly boy! I will definitely buy the popcorn if we ever drop by again. Yes! its that nice!

Hubby & son had to queue for a long time to get this free sculptured balloon (from the guy in the clown suit). It was a balloon-gun, which my boy was probably yearning as the other boys asked for "guns" too. (P.S : Ryan is not allowed to buy toy guns & stuff).

Performers on stilts (they were just standing around). If you wanted a photo taken with them, you have to queue again (too long!). So, I just snapped a photo of them.

P.S : There's more photos to share but I'll have to put it up in tomorrow's (separate) entry. Come back for more. ya!