Having fun with the Photo Booth

Just some random shots taken with my 5mo using MacBook's Photo Booth. He just woke up from his nap, so excuse the heavy-looking diaper!

A gourmand's delight: QB Food Trading

I like warehouse shopping. It's as close as you can get to the source. Plus most of the time, you walk away feeling like you've got a really good deal. So if you love to cook and if meats--especially Wagyu beef--is your thing, then do check out food distributor QB Food Trading's warehouse retail outlet.

Other than meats, both frozen and fresh, which you can buy in bulk, there are other produce like seafood, sauces, and herbs as well. Their fresh buffalo mozzarella^ was going at S$5.35 per packet, which is far less than what you pay at the supermarket.

The brand they carried is pretty good; the cheese was soft, creamy, and smooth. Perfect for a caprese salad^.

The Grade 6 Wagyu beef was going at S$11.75 per 100 gram. Cheap.

Terence refused to pan fry the steak we bought, opting to drive to NTUC thereafter to buy a use-once-and-throw BBQ set. And we had smokey steak cooked with the help of a food thermometer.

QB Food Trading is far out for East enders, but it is worth a drive if you want to throw a party/dinner where good meats for grilling/BBQ-ing is required.

Where:

8 Chin Bee Crescent

Dressing up for mummy's day out

There are days where I put together an outfit in my head, and I'd then think to myself: "That's too outrageous for the office." And so poof! That outfit never materializes.

But since I was going out for a "Mummy-only lunch date" with a girlfriend, I thought I'd have fun with my outfit. There was nothing highstreet about it. It was an outfit that was just honest-to-goodness-streetwear-finds.

It was a cathartic moment for me. It felt good to get out of the functional t-shirt and denim shorts/skirts/jeans that I throw on to deal with baby's drool or Kai's meal-time mess.

Water play at Marina Barrage

Disco dancing!

The waterplay area at Marina Barrage is a great place to bring the kids. It's free, it's spacious, and the water--or so I hope--should be cleaner than most other waterplay areas (being at a reservoir).

Getting a facial.

Getting some shut eye...

...together with Daddy.

Life's not complete if you don't give Mummy something to do, i.e. clean me up.

And your name is...?

When I went in to the dining room this afternoon for lunch, Terence was in the midst of teaching Kai our names.

Terence: Kai, what's my name?

Kai: Old man!

Terence: ...

Ten years and still counting

Famous words from Terence about our 10 years together as husband and wife: "There is at least one thing I do better than Tiger Woods."

Happy anniversary. I love you too.

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Happy new year!

Gor gor, happy new year pull your ear!

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McDonald's--we're lovin' it!

Letting a toddler eat ice cream on his own can be a really messy affair. I feel almost awful saying this but what better place for some ice-cream-cone-eating-training than McDonald's since I only have to wipe up a dirty toddler and clear the table after he is done? :-p

When I was training Kai to eat using a spoon at 9 months, I would bring him to McDonald's too every Sunday morning for a strawberry yogurt. He would look like a mess after he's done but he learned the skill rather quickly.

I'm sorry if I left a big mess on the floor (and oh, also the sticky chairs and tables), dear shareholders of McDonald's. But I always clear my trays. And you've made my kid a very happy kid, and we'll be back for more to help you keep your till ringing.

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Hey baby, how you've grown

Hey baby, how you have grown. Two years ago, in February too, you were just a baby when we decided to send you to playschool.

You needed help with so many little things. I was worried about how you would cope without Mummy, Daddy, or Grandma for that three hours a day.

But this Chinese New Year, surrounded by your classmates, you performed on stage like any regular school boy. You dried yourself after your shower, and packed your dirty clothes away like a seasoned boy scout in a camp.

Hey baby, how you have grown.

Lulu Guinness on the secret path

Ah... high heels. Love 'em much. But all my killer heels have been sitting pretty in their boxes lately as it's not practical to tote baby around in them. Since I wasn't bringing baby to Kai's Chinese New Year celebration in school, it was a perfect excuse to wear my Lulu Guinness.

Of late, the secret path has been strewn with flowers that reminded me of those from the Jacaranda tree because of the purple-ish pink hue. I felt as if I was walking down a fashion runway with pretty petals as my red carpet.

Easy peasy baking

I love cookies!

The last time we baked cookies with Kai was a year ago using a Mrs Field cookie recipe. It was a mess. This time, we were smarter and used an instant cookie mix. We just needed to throw in the eggs and butter to the cookie mix and added extra frozen chocolate chips to the dough. Kai loved smashing his round ball of dough on to the tray though I had to keep adding dough to his cookie cos he made them too small!

This way to great, yummy chocolate chip cookies!

Flippity flop

Despite my initial concern that Kit hates lying in the prone position (belly to floor), he suddenly took to flipping from back-to-prone really fast. He's been trying to do so for the past few weeks, and he is now a pro at doing it.

Step 1: Lay flat on the back. Tell mummy that everything's ok with a smile.

Step 2: Next swing right leg over to the left.

Step 3: If your darn cat is watching and it makes you nervous...

Step 4: ...switch sides. Swing left leg over to the right side. (That'll show the cat to mind her own business!)

Step 5: Then with all your might, flip body to the floor/mat (and remind mummy that next time, set the shutter at high speed for action shots)

Step 6: Then lift yourself up a little such that you can swing your hands in front to prop yourself up. And ta-da, give yourself a congratulatory drool!

Rock a bye baby

I'm in the midst of reorganizing Kai's toys, and I don't think I'd ever be done. Kai keeps finding toys he's forgotten about, and is finding new ways to entertain himself. And this afternoon, I found his Ugly Doll lying in the cat condo swing.

'Stylo mylo'

My 3yo can be quite hilarious in front of the lens sometimes. Here's his pose to my command: Give me an angry look! Even his stance looks pretty 'stylo mylo' (stylish).

And here's my boy looking all "sugar and spice, and everything nice".

The Thomas snowed-under saga continues

And this time, it was snow made from vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. We've been given strict instructions not to remove it.

(See what it was previously.)

Behind every happy kid is a very tired mummy

Being a parent allows me to be a kid again. I get to play with toys that I've always wanted to lay my hands on when my brother and I were young, but never had the chance to. Play Doh's one of them. Especially Play Doh sets that let you to turn those soft putty into colorful creations like ice cream.

But no one warned me about the mess. There are bits of Play Doh every where--on the floor, smashed flat on his clothes, in his fingernails, hair... Gosh, is it because he's a boy? Do girls play well, nicely, with Play Doh?

He went to bed a very happy boy. I went to bed a very tired mummy.

Journey to domestic goddesshood

The mantra of domestic goddesshood: You (and your kitchen) must look good.

I am not entirely comfortable in a kitchen, and I've been known to screw up even the most simple task.

So I thought: OK, if you can't do it. At least you (and your kitchen) should look good doing it. Off I trotted to Pantry Magic for some inspiration and wow, a whole new world stands before me. Every item inside look so pretty and apparently, they are all very useful too.

For instance, why use your thumb and index finger to pinch a 'smidgen' of salt/sugar if the recipe asks for it when you can use a 1/32 teaspoon--which, as it turns out, is the precise measurement for a smidgen--from a beautiful stack of measuring spoons^? Need a 'pinch' of something else? No worries. Grab the 1/16 teaspoon from the same stack.

It's a great place for buying gifts for other domestic goddesses and their little ones. And it's also such a veritable visual feast as it's filled with plenty of 'eye candy'.

But I didn't get anything for the kitchen at the end. The always-so-practical husband brought me down to planet earth by saying: Pretty things don't make you a better cook.

Smarty pants.

Where:

43 Jalan Merah Saga

Chip Bee Gardens

#01-80 Holland Village

Under wrap

I walked passed Kai's Thomas tracks yesterday, and spied a bright pink lump of something.

Me: What's happened to James?

Kai: *frowning* That's not James.

Me: *peers under the layers of bright pink Play Doh* Oh! What's happened to Thomas?

Kai: He's covered with snow, mummy!