Never Say It's Too Early...

Hubby was out with his friends and left my girl and I alone on a Saturday night.  Well, me being me, I don't like staying at home while hubby is away.  So, mummy and daughter had a "girls night out" instead.  In fact, my six year old was more eager to go out than me. Haha..

I drove to the nearby Pizza Hut for dinner. We shared a plate of bolognese spaghetti with meatballs and a small pizza.  Whilst I was savouring my portion, my girl vomitted right on the floor in front of me!  I was embarrassed of course for troubling the waiter to clean up the mess. Fortunately, she was quick enough to go up to the waiter and apologised.  Thank god, Mr. Waiter gave her an assuring smile and said "it's okay".  Before leaving the restaurant, I gathered enough change from my wallet and let her settled the bill.  She was more than happy to do the job and I think it's about time she learns to take on some responsibilities.
  

And since the night was still young, I brought her to the Big Book Shop.  As usual, she frantically went searching for the books she wanted to buy and refused to let go off my hand.  Wherever she went, I followed.  At the end of the visit, she bought a colouring book.  One funny thing she did was that she positioned two similar colouring books side by side on an empty shelf and compared the thickness of the books.  And she chose the thicker one!  It made me chuckled.  At least I could see that she is smart enough to decide what she thinks is best for her ;-) 

I bought a few Primary One workbooks for her too - Bahasa, English, Math and Science.  In my defence, I am not that kiasu-type parent who eager to start her early and wished she'd be a top student.  My intention was for her to stay focused during these long Hari Raya and school-term holidays. And you know what, she didn't disappoint me a bit. She could do those workbooks in a breeze and without much supervision except for Bahasa, which I had to guide and explain the meaning of the words to her.  There is no doubt it helps a great deal if a child is taught and given strong foundation of knowledge when he/she is still young. I believe it's never too early to start teaching your kids.  And due to the fact she receives early education when she was little, it helps and makes it a whole lot easier for her to grasp certain concepts.  Straightforwardly, my hubby and I are very proud and happy with her current progress and we hope it stays that way or even better (fingers and toes crossed).

For parents out there, never-never say it's too early to start educating your kids.  Spend a few good years to impart as much knowledge as you could to them. Their brains would absorb like a thirsty sponge and you will never regret it..:-))

Excuse Me, That's Our Prerogative!

Whenever parents get around chatting about their kids' schools, one will hear different opinions and endless debates on which is the best school to enrol into.   Parents these days especially the Malaysian Chinese prefer to send their kids to Chinese schools for one reason or another.  The core objective is to have their kids be able to read and write the Chinese language as an added advantage.   Many even opined that China is gradually opening her door to foreign market and this will create abundance of job opportunities for the years to come and hence, not mastering the language will somehow thwart one's chances to penetrate into the market (I'm sorry to admit that we are not convinced by this reason to enrol our kid into a Chinese school).  Of course, some parents send their kids to chinese schools due to their lack of faith and confidence in the national schools as the standard of the goverment school teachers had deteriorated at an alarming rate. Teachers nowadays are not as efficient and attentive like the old days. 

I was somehow offended by some relatives' comment that my hubby and I were "stupid" for sending our only child to a private school!!!  Well, for someone who did not complete his/her studies, did not understand the importance of education and had no vision of what's the real world is like out there if one's without proper acadamic qualification, has no right to pass judgement as such!!   

We are not arguing that private school is the best school there is.  The point is that we respect our friends/relatives' choice of schools and we expect likewise from them.  Otherwise, I would take it as anyone who insults our choice of school is a method of disguise of their jealousy of our independence and competence to pay for the school fees..;-)) 

Yes, A Typical Auntie I Am!...LOL

"Don't think of the price, just grab whatever you like from the shelf!", cried my nephew. "Yeah, sure!", I replied him as he volunteered to go shopping with me.  The best part was that hubby agreed to sponsor my shopping spree without a blink of an eye (so loving him for his generous gesture).  Budget set at RM1,000 and of course, I knew I wouldn't exceed it ..;-)

I arrived at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur at eleven in the morning and found my way to our meeting point, La Bodega.  I heard a lot about this place but haven't been there myself.   We settled down in a cozy spot and I ordered a cup of warm creamy cappucino and their signature dish, "American Breakfast".  And much to my chagrin, the food wasn't up to my expectation.  The review of their breakfast set is so over-rated but their cappuccino tasted good though.

After filling up our empty tummies, we headed straight for  Bossini where I bought a casual denim dress.  And before I could even took out my wallet to pay, my nephew flashed out his membership card to collect points!  Apparently, he is a frequent patron to Pavilion and had just started to accumulate points not long ago to become Pavilion VIP member.  Hahaha!  Next, we advanced to Okaidi, Pumpkin Patch and Gap Kids.  We went about checking out and comparing prices - oops not WE, actually I.  My nephew teased me for being such a "typical auntie".  Anyway, after much comparisons, I purchased two pairs of leggings and a long sleeve shirt from Gap Kids for my little one.

The branded lady handbags shop, Tod's caught my eye.  I walked in, took a brief tour around the shop and immediately fell in love with a gorgeous tote bag but my conscience said, "not this time, save the money for other things" and walked out.    My nephew has such high taste. He took me to Armani Exchange and made me tried on an off-shoulder purple blouse priced at RM250.  I can't deny the fact that it did give me a fresh look but I just couldn't convinced myself to buy it.  Price was one thing and furthermore, the design was too formal for the office and casual outings.  

We last shopped at Dorothy Perkins.  My nephew was quick to choose some blouses for me,  which designs I wouldn't bother to look if I were alone by my own.  Well, those pieces turned out to look good on me - something simple yet practical. I could wear them to work and for my weekend outings with hubby.   And that last transaction of day at Dorothy Perkins qualified my nephew to become a VIP member.  I got a discount on the spot and a RM25 voucher for my next purchase! Not too bad, huh.

My total spending for the day was RM350, way below my budget.  I was teased and mocked at for being such a typical auntie for checking and comparing prices, having no guts to put on something far too different from my usual style and always keeping tab on my budget. Hahaha!.. Nonetheless, this rare retail therapy with my nephew was a fun day out for me :-)

Making My Loved Ones Happy Through Their Stomachs..:-)

Cooking is never my forte but of late, after experimenting a few new dishes on my own, I kinda begin to comprehend why homemakers like to cook for their loved ones.  I personally get lots of satisfaction seeing my two precious enjoy eating my cooking.  Probably they wouldn't want to hurt my feelings but then again, a six year old kid doesn't lie, right? If she says it's nice and yummy, it gotta be nice and yummy. Haha!  I like stealing glances at my hubby everytime he takes his first bite of my food.  To be frank, I can't read his poker face!  But mostly, he likes whatever I whip up for him (I'm not blowing my own trumpet here..really!)..;-))

My girl is one fussy eater.  She's  just like me -not adventurous in exploring new recipes.  Kim Gary is one of her favourite diners and every visit, without fail, she'll order her favourite dish, that is pork chop nissin noodles. Well, last week at Kim Gary, it took the chef ages to prepare her order. The kitchen staff made a mistake and my girl had to wait for more than 20 minutes before her food was served.  I ordered baked cheese rice with pork chop for myself.  My dish arrived first and since she was famished, I offered her to eat some of mine.  She refused at first but after much coaxing, she finally took a bite. And voila! She loved it and kept asking for more!!  The next thing I knew, she said, "Mom, can you please cook this for me at home?" *giving me the pleading look*.  How could I possible say no, right?

This week, I attempted 2 new dishes - baked cheese rice with chicken sausages (upon request) and the other, baked cajun pork ribs.  Both turned out to be a success!  Hearing praises like "umph..nice, it's better than Kim Gary's and yes, tastes good" from my girl and hubby, worth every minute I spent in the kitchen.

Guess what?  Hubby suggests to have fish for our next weekend meal!  Must now hurry to get new recipes to impress him..;-))

Twinkle Lighting Little Bugs...:-))

As I was rummaging my hubby's office bag for his notebook,  he said to me, "Come, lets change and wake our girl up.  Lets go to Klang".  I happily quickened my steps to the drawer, took out a pair of jeans and a shirt for our precious and visualised myself in my new weekend dress.   And before I could turn around, my girl cried, "Mummy! daddy is taking us to see fireflies!".  I thought hubby was only  kidding us and futhermore, we weren't sure if that place still existed.  We did a quick google search on the internet and found a place called the Firefly Park Resort, Kuala Selangor.  Hubby copied down the map and we wasted no time, get changed and dashed out of our home without further ado  (btw, my new dress has to wait till the next weekend ;-)..)

Our girl was so excited and chatted cheerfully in the car and just couldn't wait to be there.  The journey took us almost 2 hours.  We weren't sure of the exact location and had to keep looking out for signs.   The sky was getting dark and the streets leading to Kuala Selangor were not properly lit and narrow.  I was beginning to worry that we'd missed the resort and ended up going home instead as they shut at 10:00pm.  Even the signages leading to the resort were quite confusing enough. I was doubtful that we could reached there on time but hubby never gave up *I admire his patience*.  He kept going and searching in the unfamiliar territory.  As we were almost giving up, we saw the arrow sign leading to the park!!!  Phew, what a relief.!  Otherwise, it would be a huge disappointment. 

It was almost 9:00pm by the time we got down from our car and thank goodness there weren't many people left. I supposed visitors mostly had gone home.  I made my way to the ticket counter, bought our tickets and managed to snap a few photos before we hit the jetty.  We helped ourselves with the life-jackets and hopped onto the awaiting boat and getting all ready for the boat cruise, which lasted less than 25 minutes.

Though it was just a brief river cruise, I knew our girl was truly fascinated by the sight of the lighting bugs.  To her, those mangrove trees were like Christmas trees being illuminated by hundreds of twinkling fireflies instead of christmas lights.    Prior to this, I doubt she could fathom what these nocturnal bugs would look like during the night .  It was certainly a learning experience for her :-))

Finally, it was time to go home.  To make it a more memorable trip for our little one, we pulled over at KFC (her fav, of course).  Besides food, I signed her up as a chicky member.  She was thrilled to get a watch plus other premium items. It really made her day. And guess what? She must be overly exhausted by the long car ride that she fell asleep twenty minutes into our  way home.  In a way, it was good for hubby and I.  We managed to have some quality time chatting without her interruptions for a good one and a-half hours on our journey home.. :-))

Hubby's Preference..:-))

"I like to see you in proper lady shirt", says my hubby to me.

"Proper shirt? How proper is proper??.

Fashionista I'm not but I do keep myself updated with the latest fashion.  His version of proper equates plain, no sequins, no beads, no glitters, no medium/large prints, no half-sleeve, round-neck and single colour, if possible. Hmmm, quite an uphill task to scour for these type of shirts.  Someone told me to try looking at Forever 21 but I still couldn't find any.  My next stop was to Padini and thankfully, I managed to get hold of something that's real simple and plain.  Frankly, I'm not  hundred percent in love with the design but I bought it anyway to please my hubby.  Afterall, his approval on my dressing means a great deal to me :-))

Well, I think I ought to take a day-off from work and go hunting for more of these shirts. I'm pretty sure there are loads of them out there, which I'll like.  Just that at this point of time, I don't have the faintest idea where to scout for them.  Spare me a little more time and I'm certain I'll find something that I'll like and he'll like it even more..:-D

                                 A Big No No

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                 Absolutely YES
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A Fun Day Out With My Siblings & Families....:-D

I didn't know what to expect when I had to go up to Genting Highlands again right after returning from that place for less than a week.  I thought I'd be bored to death. After all, what has it got to offer me since I am not getting any younger now? Basically naught!..

We sat in my mom's CRV and sitting at the back of the car was not fun at all.  The journey to Genting was a little bumpy and thank god, my girl wasn't really affected by it.  However, she did throw up on the way down as we reached Gohtong Jaya  :-(... ..And hopefully she won't feel  nauseous in my new Exora  *fingers crossed*.

Well, the trip turned out to be quite enjoyable after all.   We spent most of our time at the outdoor theme park.   3 years ago, my hubby and I brought our girl there but during that time, we didn't do much cos she was still very young then. She was below the minimum height and too timid to try out the rides except for the antique car ride, which was dull for an old lady like me ;-)..   Now that she is six and grown a little taller, she begins to like and enjoy  the rides.   She wanted to try the "Pirate Train" ride thinking it was exciting.  So, we queued up and I held her closely to me during the ride but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.  It was neither thrilling nor frightening.

The day passed by very quickly as everyone was busied with their own activities.  As for me, I wasn't bold enough to take any of the thrill rides - too afraid I'd passed out.  Instead, I exchanged tokens for the games hoping to win some cute plush toys for my kid but lady luck wasn't with me.  Despite many attempts, I failed to win  a single thing  :-(

Anyway, throughout the whole outing, I was looking forward to the evening cos my hubby promised to join us for dinner :-)   He arrived earlier than expected.  Believed it or not, I didn't see him waiting for us at the entrance/exit as I conveniently walked past him.  Talk about looking forward to seeing him..hahahaha!

Finally, before leaving for home, my hubby bought everyone dinner at Gohtong Jaya and I honestly believed most of us had a great time that day especially the kids!  And for those who walked out of the casino poorer, better luck next time..:-D