Disastrous date nite

Note to self: Never bring a baby to what's supposed to be a romantic dinner for 2. Oh, and if you do, make sure there aren't any loud noises, mosquitoes and large crowds.

PS: If you're going to see fireworks, jolly well charge your camera batteries!

Had my birthday dinner with Nick this evening, timed to coincide with the National Day preview so I could catch some fireworks. Made a reservation at Lantern, the rooftop bar at the new Fullerton Bay Hotel but having never been there before, I didn't know quite what to expect. (The hotel is lovely though!)

Swana was supposed to babysit Nat and Sasha but was invited to a friend's house at the last minute so she decided she could only manage 1 extra child and took Nat with her. Thinking Natasha would be easier to handle, I didn't arrange any babysitters for her and dragged her along with us.

When we got to Lantern (after navigating some construction sites and eager heartlanders out to catch fireworks), we were shown to our table. That's when things started going downhill. While we had a lovely view, ours wasn't so much a table, but a large circular daybed. How to eat like that? Still, we decided to make the most of it and soon the F15s started flying past, the sound was deafening...Nick was paranoid Sasha would burst a eardrum!

I whipped out my camera only for the batteries to die on me just as the planes were splitting up above the bay and doing their fancy tricks! Aaaarghhh! These were all I managed to take.






Next Nick started noticing mosquitoes hovering near Sasha. Added to that, he was wearing a black long sleeve shirt outdoors, and some of you know heat and him don't get along. I could see him getting agitated by the minute, plus service was slow and some of the drinks we ordered were not available, he deemed the crowd pretentious etc etc so eventually, we decided to cut our losses and head indoors.

I was bummed at missing out on the view but better that than having him on edge. We settled at Landing Point, the hotel's lounge/bar. We could still see some of the fireworks from there, so it wasn't a total waste.

I had a watermelon/avocado/boston lobster salad ($22 bucks for more watermelon than lobster) plus roasted cod with saffron chorizo risotto. He had an onion soup and a wagyu striploin. I loved my main but since Natasha was fussing a bit, I couldn't savour it and instead gobbled it down in less than 5 mins so I could take over from him and let him eat. But it was too late, he had gastric already!


On and off I would go to the large windows to see fireworks, caught the finale bit but felt sorry for him because he couldn't eat in peace. I felt even sorrier for myself for not charging my camera batteries!

We got home at 9 something and are going to have an early night...such an anti-climatic evening!

Riley is 3!

Riley celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday, a few days ahead of the actual day. Kaelash and Jeanette had decided on a Polliwogs party and Nat was brought by the Dopes, having spent the night at Membina. Left the pumpkin with Ma since Nick had to leave halfway and I didn't want to be stuck with 2 kids on my own.



Nat wore a romper and so did I. Those things may be trendy right now for adults, but they are a tad impractical when it comes to loo time, have to practically strip! Ha ha.



New mom Jamie was there with baby Kayla, who is about 6 weeks younger than Natasha but already they are about the same size.


There was lots to keep the kids entertained, like a face painter and games, along with the indoor playground where they could let loose. Nat refused to get any part of her painted, maybe she thought it would be permanent but I think she was just chicken. Gigi got some stars done and I added a ladybug to my arm.





Everyone was commenting on how skinny I was. I don't think I'm that skinny. Am around the size I was when working at SingTel, which is in the 48-49kg range. It's not like I'm doing much to shed the weight, in fact I'm eating more. Booby-feeding is the best! A lot of my clothes are loose now, but luckily I'm a hoarder so I can resort to my 'skinny clothes', some of which I was sayang to part with when I put on weight so they stayed in the closet.

Today was Ann's birthday, so we joined the Gomezs at Membina for cake-cutting and thence to dinner at Thai Express at Tiong Bahru Plaza. As we approach August, there's going to be lots more feasting...so many Leos and Virgos among the family and friends! Next up is me!

The stripey family

I go back to work tomorrow after a nearly 4-month hiatus and I have been consoling myself by indulging in some retail therapy. I've lost track of how many things I've bought in the past week, but it's something like 9 tops, 3 rompers and 2 dresses from Forever21, Zara and Desigual. I REALLY NEED TO STOP SHOPPING!

Anyway, I wore one of my new tops on Sunday to Zach's first birthday party, Nat wore a similar top from Cotton On. Nautical stripes are very 'in' you know! So are rompers and I've collected 4 already!




Natasha wore stripes to the party too and Nick was wearing a striped polo, his wasn't planned. After the party, we headed to AMK where Mildred was hosting a 9-day Novena and coincidentally Wendy was wearing stripes too, ha ha.



Yesterday was Ben's 40th birthday, so we met him for lunch at the airport after Nat's gym session. Bought him 2 books by Richard Branson and showed him a recording of Nat and Gigi singing 'happy birthday' to him. Right after singing, Gigi shoved her finger up her nose!

At night I spotted humongous oranges in the kitchen, oranges bigger than grapefruits! Are they on steroids or what? Taller than a pear with it's stem on!

Freshly baked cupcakes

Nat's into sprinkles at the moment so I thought I would treat her to some lemon cupcakes...instant of course! Just add butter, milk and eggs!

This is the result of this morning's baking blitz, I added macadamias so we are having us some lemon macadamia cupcakes for tea!

Jo and Ray in town

Joanne and Rayhan have been in town this past week and I met up with them several times, in fact I saw her 4 days in a row!

On Monday after a check-up at KKH, I found out she was nearby at United Square so I popped by to say 'hi' and buy some groceries at the same time. Found her at the Cotton On Kids stocking up on clothes for Ray and I bought some things for Natasha as well. We went to a couple of other shops before parting ways.

On Tuesday, she shopped at Vivo with Tsolmon and Alistair and swung by in the evening to see Nat and Sasha. Swana and Gigi were here too, and Nitya and Anaya dropped in for a while, so there were 5 kids in the house and whenever we have an influx of babies and toddlers, I dub the house 'Mita-ssori'.





On Wednesday, we brought the bubbas to the Bird Park together with Tsolmon and Nitya. Thank goodness Nat co-operated by sitting in the stroller most of the time or walking on her own since I was alone and I think she enjoyed herself.




Didn't really take in all the exhibits, but managed to catch the Birds and Buddies show, view the Lory Loft, the waterfall, penguins, some flamingos and ride the monorail. The Bird Park isn't a very stroller-friendly attraction with limited ramps and lots of steps. Had lunch at the Bongo Burger, where Nat and Anaya hammed it up for the camera.








On Thursday afternoon, I met Jo and Tsolmon again at Tanglin Mall. Ray had an unfortunate accident in the baby care room in a split second while Joanne turned away to wash her hands. His hand fell through a dustbin swing door which was part of the changing table and he hit his face. His cheek got severely pinched and he had a small cut on his eyelid.

Not taking any chances, we brought him to a clinic that was just outside the room, where the doctor cleaned his wound and checked him thoroughly. Coincidentally, the doctor is the brother of the pediatrician we bring Nat to sometimes at Crown Centre. Poor baby, I shudder to think about how close he came a serious eye injury but he was laughing away in no time and we proceeded to check out the Zara sale at Liat Towers.

This morning we met again for a final time before she departs tomorrow. Had breakfast at East Coast KFC and Germaine and Ginny even woke up early for the occasion. Or rather, Joanne gave them a very effective wake-up call! Jane, Albert and Ethan also joined us and we were so noisy inside the restaurant.




Midway, Nick brought Nat to the beach to play with her sandcastle kit before he rushed off for a football tournament down the road. The rest of us then strolled along the beach for a while before cooling off at Carl's Jr. It was soooo hot today, Natasha was melting!

And the award goes to...

...Nat and Gigi for being such actresses as they turn 29 and 22 months respectively!



This past month, they have been falling to their knees very easily at the slightest reprimand. If you scold them for doing something they weren't supposed to do, they would pretend to fall and in an injured voice complete with quivering lips try to gain sympathy by saying, "I fall down, I fall down" as a means to distract from their bad behaviour! But they didn't fool us and have since given up!

From not wanting to sit in the stroller or walk on her own, Nat has made a u-turn and is starting to display some independence. Now everything is, "I do myself" or "I walk myself". Am so glad I don't have to lug her much these days, she willingly walks most places and occasionally agrees to use the stroller, but she prefers Gigi's Peg Perego that Natasha has been using over her Lulu Guinness Maclaren but the point is she can be persuaded to sit and walk now, coincidentally after I stopped insisting she do so. Guess she wanted to do things her way and didn't like being told what to do!



Even when it comes to feeding, she keeps wanting to feed herself so I encourage her whenever the food is not something too soupy. Likewise, she insists on brushing her own teeth, but usually she'll just suck and swallow the toothpaste so I brush for her first, then she practices herself. She's had some success on the potty, requesting to sit on it the last couple of days and actually pooping 3 times on it. Progress!

She's not independent when it comes to sleep though. Instead of crying in the middle of the night, she now drags her pillows and blanket and stealthily enters our room at odd hours and climbs into the bed herself without making a peep. Nick almost kicked her once, not knowing she had sneaked in.

The phrase of the month has been, "Gimme some" in a very 'teh'-like manner whenever we're eating something she hasn't tried. And when she gets her way, she'll say, "Thank you, welcome!" saving us the trouble of saying 'You're welcome'. Conversations are two-ways, kids really do say the darnedest things. Previously when someone wanted to talk to her on the phone, she would be mute, just listening to the other party and not answering questions. But now she answers back. Sometimes she'll just grab any phone and pretend to answer it by going 'hi'.




She's getting observant and absorbs words and phrases like a sponge. When she spotted some dirt on the bathroom floor this morning, she went, "So dirty over there. Aunty Wendy need to clean the toilet." She also bosses Gigi around, beckoning her with, "Gigi, come I tie your hair nicely". She's curious in the kitchen, now she takes a stool to see what Wendy does at the sink or counters. Kaypoh lah this girl!



Her favourite CD in the car now is the Sound of Music soundtrack, she loves 'So long, Farewell' and 'Do Re Mi'. She tries to sing along in church for the Amens and Hallelujahs, clasping her hands in prayer when she sees Nick doing so. So 'on the ball' and holy!

Nick signed her up for another term at JWT Kids Gym, there was a promotion so she has 11 sessions to complete. Wonder if her new-found independence and confidence is a result of the gym activities? She's definitely a little less shy and clingy these days when meeting new people, taking less time to warm up.

Gigi has joined the 'gym' too. She had no shyness or anything at the first session, getting into the swing of things immediately.



She and Nat can't get enough of each other, wanting to stay at each others' houses.

Her sentences are growing e.g. "I pee pee so much" or "Wow, flower shirt. So nice", "Natnat wear shoes now!", "I go papa's house/playground", "I don't want this shoe.".

She still calls me mummy sometimes, proclaiming she has 2 mummies and pointing to me and Swana. Her pooping might have improved slightly, less reliant on suppositories.

She's always looking for a place to hide. If it's not climbing into a drawer, she's hiding in cupboards, influencing Nat at the same time.



They both copy each other and lately like to remove their clothes and streak around the house, much to our exasperation!