eye see trouble

oh no! kong kong had an eye accident. he was happily cutting down my sandbox tree when suddenly a tiny splinter went into his eye! aiyoo! all inflamed and red…popo took his to see a gp…lousy one..which caused him even more pain when he used the prescibed eye drops….

daddy went home early then took kong kong to see an eye specialist…long queue told the nurse "emergency"…even then still gotta wait 45 mins…the specialist dropped a few eye drops and kong kong said he is as good as new…since he was suppose to travel yesterday for his short holiday with popo…he was so excited that he can go as planned…but but then….after 2 hours…he felt the discomfort again!! dreads…no choice but to cancel holiday plan…wat a bummmer!

when i saw kong kong, both his eyes were soooooo swollen it really looked so serious…i really felt so bad…some more my tree, spoilt his trip, his pigging-out & drinking sessions & massage sessions, his pain...arrrggghhh!

so this morning we thought the nurse must have gave us the wrong medicine…since the eye drops that the doc used worked like magic and the eye drops we used at home does not…po po called and asked to checked if we got the right medication or could we get the magic potion?

found out the magic potion was in fact anesthetic no wonder la…kong kong instantly felt better…all numb and sedated…well at least for a while.

just called him to check if he is better, kong kong eyes is still red but he is in no pain and is happily watching tv at his own home in peace…away from the 5 grandchildren. thank god!

pajama party

well its not really a pajama party...since its only erika and synn yi...but more of a sleepover party.

synn yi has spent 2 nites over with us...all 5 of us squeezed into 1 room (one queen and 2 single mattresses)...and erika is still badgering her to perpetually sleepover in our room and become her “permanent” room mate!

the trouble with putting 2 little girls together is the yakity yakity yakity yak yak yak...non-stop...even after cajoling and threats…these girls have no fear of authority…they yak yak yak…then daddy will growl at them…quiet for a little while…then they will start whispering, then they get bolder and louder so is their giggles…then daddy starts to growl again…and the cycle went on and on until way past midnite!

of cos i gotta try to put a stop to this idea…so i told yee ma that in order for synn yi to sleep over…negotiate with erika to sleepover at her house first ~ so its fair trade!

actually its mommy’s “evil scheme” of putting a stop to the sleepover as erika has never been successful in sleeping over at anyone’s place before…there were many attempts but usually at the stroke of midnite, the little princess will cry and moan for mommy and wants to be chauffeured home! just like a cinderella story.

however, erika was persistent that she will be able to sleep over this time…we happily let her go telling her that even if we receive calls from her…we will only get her in the morning and yee ma…once asleep cannot wake up to drive her home…as yee ma is the sleeping beauty!

before leaving she told us that we cannot abandon her or disown her for sleeping over…she said… “i don’t want to call you uncle or auntie when I came back tomorrow ok? i still wanna call you mommy daddy ah…I don’t want to call yee ma as mommy”. i laughed when i hear her said this.

erika ran upstairs got her pajamas…her bottle & her milk powder & milo…and gleefully follow yee ma home….to our surprise the phone did not ring once and she came home the next morning…smiling from ear to ear! she finally is able to sleep without mommy!

another milestone in her life.

new year is around the corner

wow...time flies...another year is passing by...work a few more days & another loooong holiday awaits…yahoooo! my babies are growing up so fast...from tiny dependable babies...to becoming independent determined little bosses!

just yesterday...erika was requesting me to scratch her back (exact same way as the daddy)..."mommy please scratch my back...put your hand under my shirt...left a bit...left...left...down a bit...now higher...ya...there...can you scratch my shoulders now...ah...more to the right please...right...right...move down...down...ah..."

po po and kong kong is going away for a short vacation this coming thurs till next year...so will have to call ma ma to fill in the babysitting for thurs and i will take leave on friday to play with them.

dunno where they went? maybe hideaway to Vegas vacations...who knows?

plan to do some hand and feet printing with the girls on friday morning...and then let them paint the bathroom till they are covered with water colours themselves...then bathe them while they play with the bath toys...guess that will take the whole morning...will try to make the water colours myself!

the only struggle i have with the 2 lil' girls now is feeding time...they don't seem to like to eat what i feed them...even if i make the most yummy porridge or noodles or rice or spaghetti…they will entertain a few bites and then leave the rest…only po po has the magic of making them finish their meals…so when it comes to my turn of taking care of their foody needs (especially during weekends), the girls just survive on milk and fresh air! po po always says they are slimmer on a monday…after mommy’s great weekend nurture! hopefully i will be more succesful with the new year!

happy holidays…another long weekend to snoozzze, pig out and lazzze…happy 2007 to everyone!

christmas postcard

dunno what to give to the grandparents...so i dress up the 2 angels today and took photo of them in front of our christmas tree...then played with the picture editor ...voila! made photo postcards and printed them with kodak...phew! just in time to wrap them for tomolo!

one down, now gotta start cracking my head for Christmas invitations!!!

hug me ma ma

this is a typical every day event with the 2 angels, especially during bed time in the room.

erika: mummy hug me pleasssss, i am tired (meaning she wants to sleep and enjoy her thumb)

of cos i will go hug erika when she says that. in the room, ellisa is usually busy using up all her energy ~ opening and closing the cupboards, storage chest or wardrobe, climbing into them, playing the remote controls but once she sees her che-che in my arms, she will get all worked up, crocodile tears welling up, whimpering and says…

ellisa: hug me ma ma...hug me ma ma (rolling on the bed with arms stretch out for better effect)

what can i do when a little baby says that to you…of cos i will stretch out my other arm to hold ellisa.

but are the 2 girls satisfied with this arrangement?

of cos not…there will both be kicking up a fuss, pushing and shoving each other for more of mommy, trying hard to expand and protect their mommy-space…since ellisa being younger…sharing is not an option, she will start her croc tears and throw a tantrum (noizzzy situation)…scolding che-che “nautiiii”….in the end…she wins and mommy will be hugging her…daddy says mommy is bias! (maybe daddy is bias towards erika too)

erika: not fair, you always hug ellisa, you only love her, you don’t love me, always always hug ellisa

of cos i try to explain the situation to erika...

ellisa showing her sis her “winning” smile! satisfied…she will climb out of my arms and do her usual exploration of the room...she's there just to get a piece of the action.

then i will quickly go and hug erika, she's happy and by nature is very huggy, just like a koala bear, when she was a baby & toddler, once you hug her, she will be so comfortable she will stick to you like glue, so easy! of cos the downside or upside is that you will have very tone arms(?) and an aching back…since my babies are huge!

2 sisters sooo unlike each other! and who was the one who told me that no. 2 will be easier?

merry christmas to all

name calling

"what's in a name? that which we call a rose

by any other word would smell as sweet."
--from romeo and juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

ellisa has lots of names…that’s because everyone seem to adjust her name and call her as they wish….here’s are some examples:

yeh yeh calls her “e” as in a, b, c, d, “e” – “e” lee-sar

po po calles her – “air-lee” or “destroyer” as she is the only one out of the 5 children that is breaking the toys after these toys were passed down from the 4 pairs of hands!

daddy calls – “lisa” or “monster” since he can’t seem to tame her!

synn yi (her 4 year old cousin) calls her – “bo bo” ...i dunno where she came up with this one? sounds like a dog’s name?

mommy calls – "ellisa" or sometimes "wei zi" (meaning wise and stunning!! good name right - i choose one) …don’t think she knows it’s her cina name.

erika on the other hand, after fighting with her over something…will call her “u nauti girl” …so ellisa has learn to start scolding anyone even mommy, if she don’t get her way…. “nautiii mommmiiee” “nautiii kaaa kaak” “nautiii chea chea” “nauutiii por por”…

daddy says that ellisa may be just plain confused.

daddy's little trip

daddy is away for a few days for work...took a 3 hrs flight to east malaysia...to the remote jungles...and to visit ‘his’ closely related relatives.....the orang-utans in sandakan.

***guess i will pack him 2 way radios, just in case***

daddy and his staff had to track into the jungle...sweating like pigs...before they were greeted with only 3 orang-utans...a real disappointment for all the hard walking! mommy told daddy that the zoo would have more orang-utans to greet them than the sanctuary! maybe they were a bunch of unattractive relatives that the orang-utans were trying to avoid!!

however when daddy told mommy that they had seafood for dinner and the oysters were bigger than his palm…wah…mommy’s imagination ran a bit wild loh…fresh oysters so huge…salivating, asked daddy to take photos…but i don’t think daddy bothered...so at least no need to imagine so much mah!

other than that, daddy said there’s nothing to do and can’t wait to go home to see his angels…especially when he called and ellisa said this to him…“haar looow daad di….aii urve yuuuu…..baiiii baiii”

no wonder he is catching the earliest flight home today.

look who's talking

some talk with their eyes,
others with their hands....
but for erika...
she inherited the skill
of talking with her nose...
obviously this inherited skill
didn't come from me!
of cos her daddy la...
all the weird stuff comes from him la!
i wonder...
if ellisa also has this skill?

2 seconds of viewing time


11 seconds of viewing time

something that fell from the sky

after all these years, something dropped from the sky and landed onto our garden...bet you can never guess what it is....









some thinks its a gift from heaven



















some thinks its smells like hell

































my very 1st durian from our garden...not very big...but very sexy curvy woh...well, not much to say as the tree only produced one and only one after years of hoping something would fall from it and it didn't, so kong kong started chopping and practically killing it...i guess the tree panicked and started flowering for the 1st time...i thot since kong kong already half killed it...the flowers wouldn't bear any fruit...but to our surprise one little durian was formed!



moral of the story - must threaten to get results!!

my lil office helper

boss away for 2 weeks holiday...great news for me leh...hahaha so i brought erika to "entertain" me! or me "entertain her today...oh well...also get her out of po-po's hair for one day. she luurve to go to mommy’s office coz there are so many fun stuff to do:

• play stamping with the rubber stamp and stamp pad


• drawing with highlighters (i don't have colour pencils) & all the coloured pens within her reach


• drawing on the big white board with markers


• playing with the cabinet's key ~ locking & unlocking


• printing blank cheques with the checkwriter...wish those cheques were for me...in the million billon zillion


• playing stapler and cello-tape


• folding and cutting paper into beautiful "snow flakes"


• eating biscuit, fried chicken & char-siew that po-po packed and drinking her milk&milo


• play with the water dispenser


• talking to herself – playing pretend “manager” holding a pen and scribbling things on the paper and putting a stamp on the “documents”


• playing kiddie games on my boss pc! sitting on the big chair! acting like a boss!

another fun part of going to the office includes...taking a ride on the bus and having lunch in town and taking the train home! and also mommy’s full attention, without ellisa as a distraction.

before coming to the office, she already made a request that she wants mommy to get her a new pair of shiny earrings in town, so will do that as promised…what more could a little girl want?

erika's 1st visit to the cinema

yesterday yee-ma took erika, jern & synn-yi to watch "happy feet"...very terror loh...only her alone with the 3 children...dunno how she handled them...she said the trick is never give them a minute, actually not even second to be idle! or else they will start a fight and be at each other's throat.

one’s a bully, one’s an instigator and one’s a spoilt brat!

so in order to keep their hands and mouth busy…yee ma wanted to buy popcorns but dunno how the machine was spoilt…then she told me, an elderly couple had 3 bags (said they got it for free using coupons)…didn’t make sense to me why the elderly couple can have popcorns and my sis couldn’t buy them…anyway…seeing the bunch of kids…they generously gave 2 bags to them…bad formula…2 bags of popcorns for 3 kids…you can imagine the commotion of who gets to hold the bags, who ate more, not fair, not fair, my turn now, see you drop the popcorns, give it to me…

finally settled into their seats, since this is a first for erika, unlike her veteran cousins (7 years old & 4 years old)…she was only able to sit though to the middle of the show and then started to bug yee-ma to take her home…but luckily she was good enuff (listen to yee-ma) to sit through and finish the show.







i would have thought “happy feet” would be an ideal show for her to sit though…hmmm…maybe she prefers a movie with more action or hunky guys! hint..hint to daddy to take us to see 007! maybe after that…she will be hooked to the big screen!

switch to beta version?

i dunno whether its me or the lack of sleep (the girls have really been practising for the late nights or up-all-nite party animals for the christmas & new year celebrations)...my mind a little zone out and wacky and i think i am hallucinating that blogger is harrassing me to switch to the beta version of the blogsite. at every turn of my computer screen, the beta version icons seems to pop out at me and scream click and change!hurry hurry hurry...don't miss the boat.

since i heard so much horror story on the unreliability and cranky platform...thot i won't do that until....i hear otherwise?

so should i switch? or stay at the same ol' platform?

baby bottles

when i was pregnant with ellisa, read that glass baby bottles were much better as plastic bottle may not be entirely safe...well research findings always try to scare us...so why not try glass bottles for ellisa! even influenced laundryamah to get for kylie but dun think she used it for too long!! also gotta thank laundryamah for giving one evenflo glass bottle to ellisa..still using it!

yes...actually the glass bottles are not as fragile as we think! in fact...i only broke 2 after 16 months...that's quite a record as we (me, po-po, the maids, the kids & ellisa) handled the bottles everyday and sometimes accidents happened...still the bottle seem fine until recently...finally 'cracked up' from all the punishment.

since i plan to use the glass bottles for only a year maybe 2, so bought only 3 big glass bottles & 1 free gift (thanks laundryamah!) = so total 4, i thought enuff to last for a year....i was right...a but is coming...but then i didn't count on ellisa being sooooo choooosiee leh...she only wants to drink milk from her glass bottle and nothing else...since i am down to 1 big bottle (she takes in 6-7 oz of milk 6-7 times a day!)...and this glass bottle i bought from fajar in damansara utama....already closed down...now i dunno where to find the bottles to replace lah...





the brand is camera....made from taiwan...name of manufacturer is heinz baby corporation...not related in any way to heinz!!

so if anyone know where to get the bottles in PJ or KL...please tell me.

ambitions

being a parent, of cos i was curious what my little girls would like to be when they grow up especially erika...so i asked erika

me: what do you want to do when you grow up?

e: eh...i want to be a princess....aurora, barbie doll

me: what does princesses do?

e: no suck thumb, talk nicely, they wear pretti pretti and wave! take picture nicely (posing) and stay in a castle.

me: does princess drive car?

e: no, they sit in a car and watch tv

me: what food does princess eat?

e: sweets, chewing gum

me: princess no more teeth la, all your teeth drop out...are you a bo-geh princess?

e: of cos no!

well, very dreamy ambitions...

as for ellisa, her current ambition is to walk and carry a heavy bag of toys. she also know how to push a chair/box to whereever she wants and climb on it to get to what she wants! climbing higher and extending her "octopus tanticle hands" to more gadgets & objects. another interesting fact is that she can even follow the "high school musical" songs.

nite out

had a date with daddy last nite...we got an invitation to the omega flagship store launch. got all dressed up...dresscode is stylish...eh...as long look nice can la! daddy got the car ready...washed it...so make it shinnier...big date woh! daddy was very smart...black shirt & pants...mommy no like black...so wore a lime green embroidery silk dress.

erika was happy to see us dolled-up...kiss us goodbye a few times...

so we zoom down to starhill...valet park at marriott...style a bit la...gotta style all the way tonite loh... was a little early...actually only 10 min...so walked around, browse...its a watch haven!...funny thing is we couldn't find the store even though we have seen it before when we were there a few weeks back...it was because it closed off with soft flowing cream curtains for the function...walked in...signed the registry...very nicely decorated…a flowing water fountain…red red roses…then we saw 2 twiggy female models posing the watches...aiyooo so skinny...half my body size only...they really look bulimic and so tall…i thought they would break into half anytime…dad say too thin…a turn-off la…men prefer real woman…then when i turn, the 2 hunky guy models caught my eyes…wooohooo…was distracted for a long while…so regret didn’t bring a camera…quickly pretend to see their watches and get closer to them!!

as more and more people came, some very gorgeous, some weird, some pathetic like a young kept-boy and his old girlfren, and some wannabees superficial people…pretend to hug and give flying kisses! quite funny la watching people and notice most of the people wore black...

sipping wine…after 1 glass…already tipsy…so after the speeches…daddy say we better sober me up and left for dinner at jogoya…since the function only served finger food…and real people like me cannot survive on that la…

wah at jogoya…sapu the oyster…so huge & fresh…ate and ate until cannot move then went back to omega store to check out the collection, now that the crowd has left, we can ogle at the merchandise for as long as we want! wishful thinking la! maybe christmas present leh??

went home, wrapped the shiny car with car covers...happy day.

short trip to singapore

mission for the trip is to bring yeh yeh to see his doctor and to cheer him up! so we brought our very own cheerleader ~ ta..daaa erika! yeh yeh's fave grand-daughter...solly lah...to all the other grand-kids but this is a fact loh! not bragging.

ellisa will be staying home with po po & kong kong...no pas-si-port! (daddy hates govt. departments) solly darling...maybe the next trip when you are older....you are still a handful and with a mind of your own, mommy will be tired out before we even reached johor...some more cannot bring kakak as there are so many of us in the estima, there is no place for you or kakak....yes...mah mah(s) are coming, so is ku-ma....7 seats for 7 people!

my personal mission is tony roma's ribs...thought it was gonna open one in sunway??...still waiting.

relieved!

friday, took the 2 girls to see the paed, synn yi also tag along...as the erika & synn yi were supposed to be flower girls for a fren's wedding but when they reached the church...they refused to walk during the rehearsal, so don't waste time...i took them to the clinic instead!

before reaching the clinic, erika made a big fuss, complained she's tired, wanna go back & sleep, don't wanna see doctor or take medicine...u know just like what laundryamah talked about...whinigitis!

so practically gotta drag her along with ellisa & synn yi...once they reached the clinic...as i was registering...the first thing erika ask the staff was..."do you have any sweets to give me?"...so i said after seeing the doc, she will get a sweet.

as usual paed clinic have all sorts of toys, big playhouse, see-saw....the 3 girls had a ball playing house...ellisa kept saying "open, open" then opened the doors..."close, close" closed the doors...give me an idea, get them a huge box make into house or set up the tent.

so finally met the paed, check ellisa 1st, told her her allergy story, and was advised that it was a bad reaction and to give her anti-histamine if she ever gets an allergic reaction again, her skin still a little dry, to sapu more cream on her...so i was happy to take home some emergency medicine.

erika's turn ~ checked her ears, was happy to know it was perfectly dry and looks as normal as it should be...phew! so erika was happy she don't need to take any more medication and she got her sweets...so she said she likes this doctor! only advise from doc to her was - "no more sucking thumb!"

so all of us were happy, and the girls didnt want to leave the clinic as they want to play some more, so let them play another 5 minutes before we left!

fish! fish! fish!

was feeling lazy, rather lack of continuous sleep during the night, had to make milk, pacify ellisa from her bouts of crying (dreams?) and zapping those irritating mozzies with my electric racket! so decided to take thursday off to spend time with the girls! i don't really do this because the house is full of people and i don't have any peace to rest or have the luxury of the house to myself and the girls. we only have that during sunday and some saturdays ! wish my house is bigger, the only place to hide from them is my room.

already stated in my earlier blog, that i am no maternal material! so the motley crew of nieces & nephews can really irritate me to my bones...since they are in my house...the only escape for me is not to go home! if i were home, i will be like a home&safety police stopping them from poking at the piano keys, jumping on my furniture, screaming for kakak to do something for them, playing with the food, sitting right in front of the tv or drawing on my house or playing soap and water! yes...it is more stressful than work...i really admire those school teachers! i try to look the other way and close 2 eyes but its not easy. they are also at my computer...which we quickly segmented so that they can't touch or change anything important!

of cos this motley crew are considered angels compared to a lot of children...but since i see them everyday...i need to put down some rules lah! or not i dunno what becomes of my house.

but all this doesn't seem to exasperate po po, she in fact thrive in this crazy situation, while even kong kong get frustrated with the kids and need some time-out by going to the garden and killing some trees (luckily i have a few for him) or moving the lawn to vent out some steam! ~ very productive energy.

since there are already 5 happy kids in the house, i don’t understand why sometimes my aunt will dump another 1 or 2 kids here…oii we don’t open a nursery…even then, there are also limits! we gotta adhere to…luckily we now have 2 maids helping but that is not the issue…it makes me really angry not at the kids but the inconsiderate parents! and it makes me doubly angry coz kong kong is definitely not a happy man when he sees the other invaders infesting the house! and i hate to see my dad unhappy…i am super close to him, in fact much closer to him than my mom…

another point is ellisa is allergic to lots of stuff, when it comes to meal times with the motley crew, the food is laid out on table and in an instant ellisa will swoop into their food, and yesterday, she took some forbidden food ~ fish!! just a tiny bit and within minutes we can see her face transformed with bumps, left eye swollen until almost closing, face red, body itch!! had to rush her to see paed but not open…so quickly went back…bathe her with lots of neem leaves (heard they have anti- inflammatory powers)….made her drink lots of water hopefully to flush out the toxin and clear the allergic reaction and put some cream…luckily the swelling & itchiness was over in an hour but her eye was still one big one small! this morning, eyes much bigger but still not 100% original yet!

no matter will still have to take ellisa to see the paed and see if there are any emergency medication we must keep at home, in case it happens again!


picture taken a few days back!

kindy concert

here is the photos of erika's kindy concert...she sang a song in the tune of "jingle bells" but with different wordings...and she has a big pink "oink" pig poster...they are part of the farm animals on the barn/manger where jesus christ was born...

talking about pigs...she loves her barbie (babi!) dolls and i try to discourage her and tell her it means a pig in malay...but it never seems to deter her...in fact...she seems to like pigs too! i am not against playing dolls, the reason is i feel barbie may give her a wrong impression of a woman's body and pyschologically affect her when she is older! all the diets and exercise will not make a barbie out of any girl! try not to be so negative too or else she yearns for it more...you may be thinking, so don't get any for her...but its also hard to stop barbie from invading my house...they come in wrap in a disguise of a nice package with a bow from her cousins & yeh yeh!


waiting after their perfomance...restless class of 5 year olds!



finale...joint performance with the sunday school, play group & kindy! she sang very loudly and with her whole heart!

blink blink

last sunday, i cleared our amazon jungle with 2 maids (got a temporary one - thank god! and my sis's maid to help)...it is now tamed enough to be called a tropical garden...then daddy cleared the flat cement roof of the maid's room...moss & plants were growing by water supplimented by the 3 air-cons! he then painted it with water-proof paint...after that...daddy was dooshed & slept the whole noon-time! it was also raining...good excuse to snoozzzee

after all the hard work...felt so energized...erika learned to make mashed potato in school...so boiled some potatoes for her to released some energy!...quite yummy...she added butter, milk, salt and pepper!

so evening came...went to to the curve makan dinner at vivo's...met oscar's mommy & family...then as we were walking aimlessly...erika saw a pair of earrings (blink! blink!) at a counter outside metro.

e: "can i have it mommy? please buy for me? i like it"

me: " i will buy for you only if you have holes in your ears like mommy then can you wear that earring!" "you want to have your ears pierced?"

e: (thinking hard) YES!

me: ok (daddy was happy to hear that)

so we went to ask the cosmetic counters to find out if they know where to get this done or they know of a jewelry shop franchise ...they suggested there was one in tesco...scared she might change her mind if we don't do it then so even in the rain...we walked over.

at the shop...the studs for piercing were not as pretty but finally she chose a tiny purple stone stud earring...i sat her on my lap...hug her...she was so excited it didn't occur to her that it will HURT!...so they spray her loops with some cool alcohol...then boom!....you can see her left ear turning from white to pink to red! and she started crying "so painful mommy...i don't want to do again!" then she closed her right ear with her hand...alamak...how now? one sided only? cannot la...so had to coax her, pacify her and finally did the right ear....she cried and cried...but she was also smiling! then she finally said..."they sta-pe-lar my ears!"

erika was so proud! so were we...walked back to metro to get her the earrings she wanted in the 1st place.

ear infection

after we left for our trip to istanbul, po po and kong kong stayed with the girls. on the 2nd nite of their stay, erika cried the whole nite complaining that her ears were aching and she also had a bleeding nose...why do this happen when we are away? her nose bleeding problem has been on-going for some time...so po po quickly took her to see an ENT specialist the next day...found out she had a bad middle ear infection...heard that this is a real common problem (didn't know about this before)...just that she had a bad case...so had her on strong antibiotics, eardrops & some cream for the nose...unfortunately when we got back from the trip...the infection has still not cleared up....

follow-up visit to the ENT, another dose of stronger antibiotics...hopefully this will do the trick...the ENT advised if the infection does not clear, he would like to do a minor surgery!!! eh...i would like to get at least 2 or 3 opinions before operating on erika's ears. i have second thoughts about any doctor who requests for surgery...i have this feeling that all they want is to suck as much money from the patient if they can! and they get away with it too!

so all you mommies out there...if you any opinion on ear infection...i would love to hear your thoughts...would definitely make me feel better...

turkish delights

i think this was one of the longest time that i was sick and of cos not counting the times when i was pregnant! was sick before leaving for istanbul...was not 100% recovered there and was sick again back home...the weather didn't help

due to the long flight to istanbul, even longer transit, the transit was 9 whole hours!! in dubai...luckily we took advantage of that and did some sightseeing & even shopping!...as we arrived rather early 5am...we search hard to find a good comfy bench with cushion as our bed for a few hours before daylight. dubai is one amazing city...it is growing faster than shanghai...it is said to have the tallest building up in 2008...of cos only visited the outer gates of the burj-al-arab...daddy didn't want to pay $190 for breakfast each...then went to the mall of the emirates...there was a ski resort within the mall...quite mind-blowing! snow in a desert.

the first nite in istanbul...once we reached the hotel, brushed teeth, clean-up and slept...it was such an exhausting journey!

the second day...was up at 3am...then force ourselves to sleep...was up again at 5am...gave up fighting with the body clock...and got ready for breakfast....was at the restaurant at 6:30am...still closed! walked the streets...freezing cooooold! back at 7 sharp to get breakfast...after that armed with a tourist map, camera...we headed to the Metro and learned to use their subway, train and tram system...it was pretty confusing at first...signage was bad! finally we landed at the sultanahmet area and was nicely greeted by a local who offered to take us around for the day...of cos we have to pay him...but i think that was money well spent...it was like having your own personal tour guide and he was very well-informed and made our visit to the blue mosque, hagia sophia, the hippodrome and topkapi palace very meaningful...(when we walked into these historical sites....you can hear us saying...."wow! wow!") it was another exhausting day...we walked so much until our feet and back hurts...of cos we stopped for some very sweet fruit cha and purposely find a table and sat in the sun! at the side-walk cafe. as we gave up on walking...we decided to take a boat cruise down the bosphorous to the asian side of the city...even after reaching...we were so tired we just didn't want to move but we found out that everyone must disembark...so we went down...walk a little and quickly bought the return ticket and jump on another boat back to the european side...had dinner at one of the restaurants by the sea...very nice view and it was also opposite the spice bazaar and mosque. daddy loved the food-kebabs...i think he has a secret ambition to start a turkish restaurant in KL! i was too tired...and due to the time difference...dinner time is my snoozing time in m'sia...so the body automatically shuts down...





third day still jet-lag! since we have familiarize ourself with the city, we went to the grand bazaar...all the shops sell almost the same things...belly dancing costumes, leather goods, stained glass momentos, clothes, carpets & kilims, tea-sets for serving turkish tea...it was a huge covered market...daddy wanted to get the belly dancing costume for erika...but i thot it was not a good idea! then we pass the university and went to one of the biggest mosque - suleymaniye mosque up in the hill...the i had to go to the little girls room...at the suleymaniye mosque, the toilets were ancient too!...of cos they installed proper plumbing....but it had very low ceiling....and small doors and you have to bend in order to go into one of the toilets...that was an experience....went down the hill...walked along the local housing areas...then we took a cab to visit the galata tower. the cabbie dropped us in beyoglu area about 1.5 km from the tower and asked us to walk!...eh...what to do...the road was closed...so we walked and to our surprise this was the best looking pedestrain street we have seen...wide open streets with beautiful ornate old tall buildings, churches, shops and restaurants on both sides...it was a very pleasant walk to the tower...on the way we saw lots of windows with yummy food...and we scheming on which to try when we get back from the tower...of cos we had lunch at one of the cafes...we took lamb, chicken and rice...actually a lot on our plate...then we notice the locals mostly eat...salads, soup and bread (they give bread free) for lunch...no wonder they all were slim! since already in turkey...we cannot miss the belly dancers...so we booked to have dinner with belly dancing!

no need to take slimming pills!



forth day...we wanted to do some shopping and found out that they have outlet malls...but quite far away from the city...went also la...quite dissapointing...not much outlets...but i was happy to find there was zara & levi's...so only bought some stuff there...on the way back on the tram...it was stuffy with lots of people...and my body must have been totally spent with all the walking, frezzing weather and the flu bug from malaysia that forgot to stay home...my whole body went numb & cramped up in the train...immobilizing me for at least 20 minutes...we were shocked as this never happened before...luckily...after the paralysing ordeal...i started to feel back my legs and was able to get out of the train!...we took a cab straight back to the hotel....and the horrible cabbie cheated us...as for the short distance we paid him about the same price we paid for our cab from the airport! i was informed that this was incidences are common...we didn't want to argue...we just went back and rest and hope to recover fast! evening...had to help set-up the meeting room even daddy help out!

fifth day...my meeting day...thankfully was well enough to run the show and everything worked out well! as daddy was exploring the city on his own today...at the evening, he took me back taksim square and to another part of beyoglu...had dinner there...more kebabs!

sixth day...last day in istanbul...visited the underground basilica cistern was built by constantine and enlarged by justinian ~highly recommended by our guide...he was right it was so peaceful inside with the columns and water...then we did the traditional boat tour (about 1 1/2 hours) through the waterway separating asia and europe. along the way we saw the skyline of the mosques, palaces, fortress, the old ottoman wooden mansions, marble places, small fishing villages and some spectacular homes! the boat tour was the cheapest and most relaxing way of seeing the city, for only 5lira each! still have time and energy to do one last visit...we went to the dolmabache palace...as we were running out of money and time...we decided to visit the harem section only as it was cheaper and i was more interested in this area as this is the living quarters of the sultan, the sultan's mother, his 4 wives and children....with only enough cash to bring us back to our hotel by metro...even though the hotel was very near...we didn't dare to take a cab, just in case it had a cranky&jumpy meter!


back to the hotel...change some money..so that we can have a last kebab meal before going home! as we were jet-lag all the way...coz our body clock only works in malaysian time...once we reached home...we wake up everyday as usual at 8!

deeparaya holiday photos

before going, as i was packing, the girls were so thrill to see their swimsuits that they had to wear them and pose...and "try on" for fun!

on the way to cherating....ellisa slept most of the way (just recovered from her fever..phew!)....popo hugging her...erika watching 'high school musical'...this pic, erika looked tired but she never seem bored of the show even after watching it over and over again...since we were all "trapped" in the same car...after the long trip...i can't make the songs go away from my head...obviously erika is able to do the dance steps and sing all the songs!

ellisa getting dressed-up for her dip...

swimming in the pool....erika is sooo afraid of water, that she only sat on the steps of the big pool...while ellisa was happily jumping in...of cos we catch her everytime she jumped...but she was happy to be wet and love the thrill of jumping into the big pool...only on the last day...was erika brave enough to go into the big pool.

to me ~ the best part of the holiday was all the snoozzzzzing and siesta time in the hot noon day...that's the most enjoyable event for me!! hehehe

at the beach...erika just want to build sand blocks (where to find castle nowadays?)..the same story, erika don't even wanna be near the sea...ellisa is happy to play water but she was not too happy to dip in the sea too...maybe it too big a pool for her liking!...anyhow i got my wish...she was totally soaked in seawater...and i hope her skin will be smooth as silk soon.

one of the fun activities was zooming around in the atv...erika needed a lot of coaxing before she was brave enough to get into one...but once she was in it...she was shouting and screaming..."fassster daddddy fasssster"...."don't stopppp....morrrree"! daddy tekan max. just to make her happy...

happy birthday erika

today is your birthday...erika was so excited to go to school as she will have a birthday walk and a small celebration...not her usual grumpy grouchy morning self...very chirpy, happy girl today!

doing the birthday walk, erika is holding the earth (a sandpaper globe) and walking in an ellipse circle round the sun (a lit candle) in the middle. she had to walk 5 rounds signifying 5 years of her life...as she walked aunty jaimie read out facts about her life when she was a baby until she was 5...erika was shy and walked a little too fast...but we all can see that she was glowing from the attention and the fact that is is now finally 5 years old...can't wait to grow up!

instead of a cake, my good idea was to take choc. chip muffins with icing of "erika" written on each of the muffins...save on cutting cake! and it personalised the muffin & made it real easy to distribute...the children loved it.

another good idea is to give out art blocks with pictures of erika in the cover (this one is yeh yeh's bright idea) instead of the usual party packs of sweets!

and it is also a day erika have to say goodbye to her sucking thumb day...so far she has been good this morning...

life lessons

finally erika is getting a piano...actually mommy have been bugging daddy to get it since august...but daddy is always dragging his feet since this is not-top-priority item unlike golf or cars or... (ok don't want to go into that any deeper or else will get mommy real worked up!) actually i don’t mind getting it myself…but since this is sort-of big purchase item, want him to be involved mah (let him be “the man” once a while loh! give some face kua)…and some more it’s for his daughter. a piano is quite a big furniture item in the house, so we all should like as we will be stuck with it for a long time.

anyway, yeh yeh must have realised the “struggle”, maybe he have 6th sense and so he promised to get one for erika. so to make peace for all and not to evoke any "jealousies"...he bought mah-mah's old piano for erika. mah-mah then can have a new one...very diplomatic lah! make everyone happy ~ win-win loh. so at last...erika can start practising...which i know is not her top-priority too! she is adverse to any kind of work ~ homework, schoolwork, pianowork….it’s a real 4 letter word for her…i can’t imagine how she will cope when she goes to cina “homework” school in 2008!!

mommy have to threaten, bribe, sweet-talk to get her going…come to think of it ~ do i really want to put her or more likely "me" through all of that. but that girl needs discipline badly and so will try her on the cina school and see how she survive or sink in it.

aiyooo…yeh yeh really adores the girls… when he came for a visit yesterday, erika played with him and stuck stickers all over his face….and he just lay there and enjoyed the attention and let her do whatever she wants. if it was me…surely different reaction!

as you all know we are going for holiday….but ellisa has been sick (why does this happen when we wanna be away) – fever on and off since monday…very worrying!! sent her to the paed yesterday…will do the same again today…long weekend…makes us even more anxious!! she’s fine a few hours…then fever…paracetamol….fine again…some how we can’t seem to break the fever cycle!! let’s see what the paed says today…

oh yeah found a site for discount furniture!

happy holidays!

"classic" old dress

ellisa just got this hand-me-down dress from mah-mah. amazingly, this dress is worn by two generations. dunno can last for another one or not??

mah-mah was digging out some old things and found the little dress which was ku-ma's that ku-ma wore in the early 60's!! she must have kept for sentimental reasons and also these were hand-made by her...so this dress is around 45 years old!!! wah another 50 years can become antique.

hello melissa ku-mah this is me in your dress!!! remember this boooo-tee-ful dress?? i look good in it... love ellisa

vely happiie hor-lee-dae

we are going somewhere for the long hols...yahoooo!...and already in the hor-lee-dae mood...some more my office is located in a yiindian area....really into the hor-lee-dae mood loh...temporary stalls and "ethnic" music in the air...of cos...coz havoc to navigate the road too...festival is like tat la...

can't wait to go holiday...bringing kong kong and po po...actually suppose to give them a break but they are there to help mommy also loh! ehh..not easy woh...2 anak! somehow they love to help out...especially po po never seem to be tired from the grandchildren, mommy not very maternal lah...

i also receive a lot of "advice" or "tipsy" or "old wives tales" from aunties saying if dip ellisa into salty sea water...maybe can cure her...so will try that...and hopefully ellisa will stop saying "it-chi, it-chi" to us! actually i now used a cream with 10% urea content and it seems to help a lot...so maybe with the "special salty seawater dip & spa"...ellisa's skin will be all new and soft like a baby!

yappiiee hor-le-dae!!

kek kek kek

whenever we attend a birthday party, erika will whine "why is my birthday so long one?"..."when is my birthday coming?"..."how come i cannot celebrate my birthday yet?"..."why always other people's birthday and not my one?"...it will go on and on...

and this month is like the birthday month for the family as kong kong, yee ma, mommy & sean are all october babies! and erika is the last to blow her own birthday candles...this really makes her jealous la...she of cos blows all our candles for us.

another thing we made a deal with her is for her to stop her thumb sucking habit when she hits 5...that's a tough one loh! still psycho-ing her.

my fridge still have 4 different types of cakes...jelly cake, choc. mouse, layer cake & cheese cake...quite "jelat" already lah! non-stop makan "cake"...from last months mooncake festival...face also look like cake...kek kek kek!

growing up

everyday, without fail popo will have a story of erika or ellisa for mommy...on what they did at home...so here is 2 stories:

erika was given a sweet from guess who?? (mommy's sweet battle with kong kong is still on) anyway...ellisa saw the forbidden sweet and wanna have a bite...of cos erika saw her motive and quickly wallop it...then cunningly gave her the wrapper...so bad hor! ellisa took it la...not knowing any better...stared at the wrapper for a while...realise oiii no sweet one...then said..."i troo, i troo"...walks to the dustbin and get rid of the junk.

as usual in the noon time watching wahlaitoi, dunno if it was advert or singing show...ellisa immitated the singer and started singing and dancing..."lap sap chung....lap sap chung..."

still battling with ellisa's enzema...tried so many things: bath oil, soap-free and fragrance-free products, cool-warmish bath water with oil, creams, cortisons, careful with her food...no fish, nuts, seafood, milk-based products, eggs...basically she can't eat a lot of things...poor girl...and she loves to scratch, scratch, scratch...until it bleeds..still continue scratching...so it can get really teruk and mommy feels soooo bad for her!! paed says it's bad but not cronic case yet! any more good ideas?

lunch w boss

yesterday boss belanja makan lunch...as a belated birthday thingy...he remembers coz he puts everyones b'day in his scheduler...even i a "loiyan" don't do such things...anyway...the schduler reminder pops up and me no escape la...have to makan lunch with him instead of my frens...

went mid-valley...nearest mall to office...ate thai...usual lunch...talk about work, his family...he brag about his over-achiever daughter...i sit and listen loh...must get into his good books too...

the thing was the restaurant was having promotional items and the promo is with a certain bank's credit card in order to enjoy the promo...you have to pay with bank xxx credit card...which he don't have but i have....so i ended up paying the bill!!

for an accountant he was very generous this time...i said this not becoz he paid me back but he wasn't his usual self...as he didn't make a claim from the office account for the lunch- this is a first!...hmm got ulterior motive ah...i wonder is he guilty that he didn't give me a higher increment?? aiyoo if like tat...think buy me one lunch can make me forget ah? think i am lu lu or is he really changed?

checking index

i am frantically checking the haze index...not the commodity one!...to see if it has reached 300 or not...you see...tomolo is public hols for selangor...& i too would like to join in the lazzziness...daddy will be home and his project is to clean-up our garden which he calls "my amazon jungle"...it was a tropical forest a few years back...

so tomolo gotta work ah? haze index not up to 300 yet??

that's looking at the good side of a bad situation...

haze is back

almost every year we get it around the same time...last year it was during ellisa's fullmoon...that was in august ...it really put us in a limbo as we were considering to postpone the party or move it to a hotel...finally we stuck to our decision to have it at home, as the caterers were booked in advanced...prayed real hard....and as suddenly as it came...it went away on ellisa's fullmoon...so we had a wonderful party in the garden with lots of yummy food...even had a yummy roast lamb.

no wonder read so many blogs of unwell mommies & babies....today is real teruk case...all grey and "foggy" except instead of cold - its hot, stuffy and smoky! to my surprise a fren in jakarta does not suffer the same fate...life is not fair.

had a great weekend...spent friday nite at yeh yeh's...celebrate mid-autumn festival ~ forgot to bring camera so didn't capture the lanterns, mooncakes, tiny yams, kacang, fruits and tea. since it's a tradition, the whole family still sat in yeh yeh's garden...with the haze...to play paper lanterns...burned a few...the children like to see the lantern go up in a blaze and of course played with candles, sparkles and pop-pop...unfortunately...the pop has fizzle out as these were left-overs from chinese new year!

saturday we had a mini-hols in le meridien...took erika to stay a nite (solly ellisa had to leave you with po po) the room was small but had a good view of lake gardens....all clear sky today...haze blew away...we had a good time in the pool...their pool is very biiiigggg, very nice...cannot say the same about the bed....daddy is like the "princess and the pea"...we think the hotel is owned by lebanese...the interior deco & food relects the middle eastern touch...which i don't know how to appreciate loh.

sunday...haze back in force! went to church...go home...watch F1...daddy was dissapointed with the results...he don't like the renault driver...but i think he finished 1st!...siesta time - need to recover from the mini-hols...then had sate for dinner...snooze till morning! we are very horizontally-inclined people.

popiah

popo made popiah today and asked erika to try some...erika survey the popiah skin, fried sengkuang, lettuce and all the other condiments....then she said "no lah...i don't want....but can i play with the mask!"

and the mask she refers to is the popiah skin...trust a girl to say such things!

not well

was feeling really bad physically...aching from head to toe..(hint! a body massage would be great)...so went home early from work yesterday..well not that early la..considering it's 3:30pm and today resting at home...so thought of putting some pictures up since haven't done it for a while.

erika was so tired...slump on the couch and into dreamland.


picture of rossie relaxing at the front door...


the girls in their creative element...ellisa was happy scribbling and erasing...


mommy's little helper...in the kitchen...they played with the floor steamer (suppose to kill germs) until the little tyre came out! so the "toy" is now out of commision.

photos

This photo was taken during my lunch break on the 5th floor of the hotel...you can see the palm trees swaying violently and the torrential rains...visibility very bad.






This photo taken at the hotel lobby...see it's raining IN the lobby...with winds of about 130+km pushing the rains in, the housekeeping staff had their hands full trying to make sure the lobby is not flooded.




The next day after the typhoon...a mangled mess of billboards on the major roads...causing havoc to the already bad traffic.