Prive Cafe @ Keppel Bay

My primary school friends having fun teasing my princess!

Had a gathering with some sisters at this Prive Cafe @ Keppel Bay and i absolutely have to recommend this place to you.

Keppel Bay is next to Vivo City, beside the Carribean condos, and after an enjoyable scenic drive past beautiful clear waters atop a bridge you arrive at a yatch clubhouse. You order a nice pot of tea and a yummy cake and while sipping leisurely and enjoying your lazy afternoon you watch the reflection from the sun-kissed pearly white bodies of the luxury boats.

I ordered the cheapest drink on the menu to enjoy all the other benefits - what else would you expect from a HDB tai tai?? ^_^

The best thing about this place is that it is NOT CROWDED. I am pleasantly surprised that we can still find such a nice cafe that is not crowded on a saturday afternoon. (Maybe it'll become crowded when all of you start flocking there after reading this post :P)

If you drive, watch out and turn into this teeny little road Keppel Bay Drive just before the Carribean condos. It is super easy to miss as it is so obsure! Make this your destination for your next friends' meet!

Baby's First KFD

Want to share this quack quack?

Oops i'm having it all by myself! Yummy! ~

You all know i'm a "chicken queen" and KFC is my all time favourite. Baby had her first taste of KFDuck today as she happily ngawed away at the quack head.

Baby has been putting EVERYthing into her mouth. I've been warned by friends, books, old wives that this is to come but you truly realize the real extent when it actually happens to you. We are always on the lookout in case she eats a bug *jk*

Cutesy Tights

I so love the backside! Would look great under any dress!

I would get them for myself if they come in adult sizes!

Went past this little stall at the mall one day and these cutesy tights immediately caught my eye. They come in variety of sorts and each "backside" had such heart melting sweet designs that no mom can ever resist!

I had a terrible hard time deciding on which pattern to get, and finally decided on a pinky flowery one (a definitely must for a princess isn't it?) and a nude polkadot which should go well with most colors :)

The tights are super stretchable and the lady told me they can be worn till the child is two or older! Oh my, you can't really blame a child for being vain. It all starts with the mom ^_^

Dinner Fellowship @ SK

The natural divide between the ol* and the young hehe ^_^

We've started to make Tuesdays my cooking practice days too. The guinea pigs? My church brothers and sisters, whom so willingly come to be "slaughtered" haha.

Tonight we had the brothers gracing the event. I did a pumpkin with dried shrimp, salted fish bone with fatty meat, stew chicken with potato and fried kai lan. I'm very happy that they enjoyed the food and one of them even wants to 拜師學藝！Aiyoh 不敢當 leh!

It's great to have home fellowship where we share one another's joys and burdens, and finally laying it all down at Jesus' feet through prayer and petition. We thank the Lord for a warm cosy fellowship and we look forward to more such affairs!

In Search of the Perfect Baby Bag

Classic black Naraya tote to hold my baby stuff for a short day out

Roomy interior but only one side pocket

Every mother will tell you the no. of things to bring increases exponentially with kids. I use to hop around town with a skinny sling bag or petite tote but these are a thing of the past. Now whenever i go out, the standard paraphernalia includes diapers, changing pad, nursing cover, pillow, sets of clothes, toys, vacuum flask and even ice packs if we're bringing expressed breastmilk!

So the search for the perfect baby bag never ceases - where can i find something roomy enough to hold all the knick knacks, have sturdy handles so it doesn't break while you're crossing the road, and still looks ever so stylish on a hot mama? Ok the truth is i haven't found it yet.

Have always loved Naraya for their sweet design and they have an ultra big boxy bag that may fit the bill. But i find it too big and bulky. Then a nice big tote caught my eye instead. It's got a wide base to hold much stuff with a waterproof interior so you need not worry about any spillage. The black exterior also means washing it can be the last thing after washing diapers. The only downside is it has got only one miserable side pocket, which are desirable to hold wet tissues, pacifiers, handphone etc

Nevertheless, this is serving me well for now, until the perfect bag pops up :)
Note: the PERFECT bag never exists because if it did then every woman would only own one bag ^_^

Baby Cereal

Smells so good that i also feel like eating it!

Aaaaah! ~~ Baby just can't get enough of the cereal! ~

When baby turned 4 months, i bought the Heinz Baby Rice Cereal and tried to feed her. At that time i was not exactly successful because baby's neck is still not strong and her tongue thrust reflex has not disappeared (this is a reflex where babies push foreign matter out of their mouths; an inborn mechanism that protects them from choking on foreign bodies). Baby ate just a little bit and pushes most of it out. So i gave up after a few days and decided to wait for a better time.

The wait proved to be the right thing to do. When baby was 4.5 months, the entire episode took a different turn. She LOVED the cereal!! She would be so excited each time she sees the familiar bowl and spoon; her arms and legs would be flying frantically in the air beckoning the feed! Baby always grabs the spoon so tightly as if she wanted to feed herself! Hilarious! ~

3 things i learnt on starting solids:
a. It is important to assess the readiness of your baby before you start any solids. There is no "best time" - your baby's timing is the best!

b. Feed the solids after milk, not before. Starting solids at this time is more for baby to acquire the taste and experience, and not exactly to make her full. Milk is still the primary source of nutrients at this time. You may worry that baby will be too full after milk to eat the cereal. I had the same doubt but surprising baby still happily eats the cereal after a full feed.

c. Feed the solids from a spoon, not mixing it into the milk. It is important for baby to start learning how to eat from a spoon, which is THE WAY to eat as she grows up. Eating the cereal dissolved into milk will make her full, but does not teach her how to eat. For me, i do both; daytime feed from spoon and nightime feed from bottle.

The rice cereal has a very fragrant smell and i mixed it with breast milk; in the beginning to a very watery consistency and slowing thickening it through the days. You can get this readily at kiddy palace. Dear mummy friends, enjoy this next milestone with your baby! :

Happie Mother's Day!

Er Hem ... the Three Beauties in the family

Any resemblance??

What a spread! Bro and Ruby also in pic

Smooth OILY white chicken

Chicken Feet with Thai Chilli Sauce

Mayo You Tiao ... Nice but a little too OILY for me

Fav dish of all times - super tasty Wu Xiang

Fried tofu in some homemade sauce

YAY it's mother's day! On this day i celebrate my mother's sacrificial love for me and my brother. Since my dad passed on when i was only 12, mom had took on the challenging responsibility of providing for the family financially, as well as bringing us up in the best way possible, and inculcating in us strong moral values.

This is also a very special year for ME! Yes i'm finally on the "mother" side of the occasion! Indeed motherhood is the most noble task. Looking forward to next year when my baby can at least call me MAMA!

We brought the family out to the same chinatown chicken rice restaurant (the one with the fried brinjal). We ordered many small dishes and spent a lovely warm evening together, accompanied by the recurring shrill voice of the little one (i think she also wanted to eat!).

My prayer is for mom to know our Lord Jesus and so we can spend eternity in heaven worshiping the One and Only True God! Mommy i love you! Thank God for you! ~

Prayer Warrior(ess)

Dear God, I pray that i have plenty of milk to drink when i wake up

Dear God, please let me continue to have double eyelids when i wake up (oops this is mummy's prayer ^_^)

Managed to capture this beautiful moment. O Lord may little Charis grow up to love You and to love praying to You! Amen!

Viva La Vivo ~

Doesn't baby look like a little froggie? Hehe ~

Free air-con, that's why can sleep so soundly

Aiyah shop until tired sit down to lim teh first

It's Monday! Hubby's off and i also took a day off to bring baby out for some fresh air (hehe ok you all know this is a smoke screen to satisfy my shopping desire!!)

This is the first time we tried using the baby carrier. Finally it works as baby's neck is pretty strong now and she can balance quite well. I see some mothers lug their infants effortlessly in this setup but frankly i don't feel 100% comfortable in it. It creates some kind of strain on my back and after carrying baby for some time i feel very tired! I also worry if baby is comfortable a not being confined in that position. Anyway in the end we went out of the house without using the carrier haha. Maybe for shorter trips next time ^_^

Went to Vivo - it's a place i love as it is very spacious and lots and lots of shops. Baby was super cooperative as she snoozed a great time in the pram. We even had time of peace and quiet to sit down and enjoy teh/loti at toast box!

One frightening thing happened though. Baby wet her diapers and we went to the diaper changing station near the washrooms. Looks like there is a station near every washroom, so it was very baby friendly and convenient. But when we went in (it was on 2nd floor), we saw many little XIAO QIANG crawling along the wall! I totally freaked out! ~ to think that these creepies are appearing in the diaper changing station?! I ran for my life without taking any photos. And i also couldn't find any cleaners to immediately report this nightmare. Anyway dear mummy friends, be careful next time you visit vivo's baby stations ok. Open your eyes big big!!

Cupboard Mushroom

My otherwise beautiful bathroom cabinet

Mushroomies springing up and out from the side!

Who knows what else is inside the wood? Eeeeek! ~~~~

Those of you whom have been to my place, you know i do not have a single plant in my house. Greens appear only on my table and no where else. I had wanted to install some life in my balcony but later decided against it lest i become a fauna murderer by my slothfulness.

Little did i know an unusual species of "life" actually silently crept into my bathroom without permission.

Bought my bathroom cabinet from I*ea when i moved in Aug last year, which makes it less than a year old. Some mould must have been hidden in the wooden sheets, plus the warm and moist bathroom atmosphere these mushroomies thrived so well that it sprang up and out!

I so wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Can you imagine seeing mushrooms out of your cupboards?! Truly what a sight, but at the same time some tinge of anger flickered through my head and i'm considering filing a feedback to the store. Mushrooms in (new) cupboards?! Oh please. Just in case the manager thinks i'm making up stories i have pictures here as proof! ~

Klub Sandwich

This is the 3rd time in a week i get homemade heavenly breakfast from hubby, YAY!

I attribute this to his schooling days in Taiwan. Being all alone as a young boy, he has to learn how to cook and feed himself. He also worked part time for food stalls and restaurants and managed to pick up praise worthy culinary competence here and there. Ta-Dah! Many years later i became the unexpected beneficiary of his then survival skill! ^_^

Frankly i can't tell what's in that sandwich but it does taste good! Calling it Klub Sandwich since it's prepared by hubby KUAN! *cold joke*

Smiley Breakfast

Hubby's Labor Day prezzie to me during breakfast time! Pan fried small tomatoes sprinkled with rosemary and black pepper, shredded ham and potatoes, wholemeal french toast, all assembled together in a funny smiley face!

Didn't know i get a treat on public holidays in addition to Mondays *hehe*