Haze respite

It was like a ‘get out of jail’ day yesterday! The skies remained clear so we headed for mass followed by lunch at Sushi Tei at Paragon. Walked around a bit, I bought one of those water bowl air purifiers and some flash cards for the kids from Times. 

 

In the afternoon, I made lemon poppy cake with Nat, and some cupcake versions too…delectable! Dinner was at AMK and I brought some over. 

Nickypoo was featured in today’s Berita Harian and again, there is a little picture of us in Santorini. 

Haze Daze

The haze is back! We’ve been inundated by poor air quality over the past week and on Wednesday while out at lunch at MBFC, I could not even see the Conrad/Suntec buildings.

This is the worst bout of high PSI since 1997 and just as well I was working from home on Thursday and Friday when PSI readings hit the very unhealthy and even hazardous range. Our windows were shut, we hung wet cloths over them to block out the fine particles and the girls were so bored cooped up at home.

We braved the haze to visit Dr Siow on Thursday morning, I did some heart monitoring for 20 mins, it’s all good. Koko Krunch looks really cramped up in there, and now weighs about 3kg…he’s gonna be a fatty!

Singaporeans have gone on a purifier-buying binge, including Nick who spent a small fortune on an ionizer/purifier yesterday. And he just happened to step into the house right after Sasha had striked Nat’s face with a plastic high heel and we were in a state of chaos with screaming children!

This was the view yesterday morning when the PSI was above 300 and below was taken this afternoon. What a difference a day makes!

 

Since the sky was clearer today, Nick brought Nat out for Monsters University and after the show, the Gomezs and Kaelashs came over. I made mac and cheese for the kids but they didn’t appreciate it….ha, they like the Kenny Rogers version!

Did I mention the boy got promoted at the beginning of this month? Robin has retired and is now non-executive Chairman while Nick has assumed the President, Asia role for TravCorp. This has led to him being in the news a little more and this morning there was an article in Malaysia’s The Star and there was a pix of me too! 

Father's Day

It was Father’s Day today but we had no special plans. Nat had made him a tiny card and ‘the girls’ gifted him with a mug from Typo I had bought over Xmas time. At least he got a gift, I got nothing on Mother’s Day! Only the 'Keep Calm' part of the mug applies to Nick, lol!

 

We wound up at Lerk Thai in Centrepoint for lunch, the girls loved their kids meal comprising of fried noodles and fish nuggets, spring roll, mango juice and Thai dessert. I just shared in Nick’s and Ma’s set lunches because there was enough to go around. 

Bought a car seat from Robinsons, something to check off the list. Just need a mattress for the playpen and we’re done I think. I am still in 2 minds about getting a new stroller, the boy will just have to deal with Lulu Guinness!

Dinner was with the in-laws at Crystal Café, Killiney. It has been years since we ate their Teochew Porridge buffet as a family and it was just like old times. Food was good, am sure we’ll be back soon instead of waiting another few years.

Ramen King

Followed my colleague to Orchard during lunch time today and while she ran an errand, I wandered to Laduree to try me some macarons.

At $3.80 a pop, they are pricey but I had to see what all the fuss was about since there was no queue on a weekday. Laduree is a French patissier renowned for their macarons…I did see them in London but opted to try a Pierre Herme one instead.

The verdict? Nice crunch but they started melting when I got back to the office so best to keep refrigerated. But honestly, they taste like all other macarons out there.

Had a quick dinner with Nick at the Ramen Keisuke Tori King in Amara, he says if I hadn’t dragged him there, he would never venture to such a place. Our table was very cramped, they like to put a lot of condiments and cutlery on the small space.

The ramen was good, the chicken was especially tender but after a while the soup started getting very salty, so note to self, opt for less salt in future.

When we got home, Gigi was dressed in her Doughworkz apron and chef’s hat. She and Nat had an excursion today where they got to make their own pizzas and she was so proud of her uniform!

Closer to 40

The boy turned 39 today and age is really catching up with us. Not long ago I found at least 7 white hairs on my head, and he’s sporting a few too. But the thing that cracks me up is that his chest hair is turning white too, ha ha!

He had the day off from work while I worked from home. We only popped out at lunch time to Great World with Sasha, Mildred and Ma to have lunch at Jack’s Place. The Pumpkin wanted creamy pasta but there was none on the kids menu.

So I ordered her a bolognaise and requested the sauce on the side and added a creamy chicken soup to make my own creamy pasta. I swiped her bolognaise sauce for my baked potato – yum! Think I shall do this more often!

In the evening we went to collect food I ordered from Sakunthala’s and then stopped by SGH to collect the cake I ordered. The girls had suggested getting their dad a Transformers cake, they think he’s a big fan for some reason!

The kids hogged the candle blowing and cake-cutting as usual!

I was originally going to get him a pandan kaya cake but there was a pandan sponge option for the character cake so I went with that. Quite a refreshing change from the usual chocolate or vanilla sponge.

Happy birthday Nickypoo! I didn’t get him a present but deducted an amount from money he owes me…how romantic is that?

Belated anniversary and advance birthday

The boy and I finally took some time off yesterday to celebrate the belated 10th anniversary and combined it with his upcoming birthday.

Redeemed one of the vouchers from the Feed at Raffles membership, entitling us to a free stay and I opted for Fairmont. We dropped the kids at Membina after Camellia’s party yesterday and checked in at 3pm.

Napped for a bit before we headed out to Novena Church so he could make his annual confession, then we popped by SGH so I could visit Pops, who got himself admitted yesterday after yet another breathless episode in the early morning. Nick drove him over to A&E and Swana took over to do the admission. I’m so thankful we all stay so near to SGH!

After SGH, we headed back to Fairmont but left the car at Odeon Towers overnight to save on parking. Dinner was at Mikuni, the Japanese restaurant and we were entitled to 50% so I indulged. The total bill was less than $120, one of the cheapest anniversary dinners we've had!

The boy ordered tempura udon (how boring!) whilst I opted for edamame, some king crab fried rice, ebi tempura and a tenderloin steak from the teppan counter. Service was generally attentive and friendly but the grumpy boy kept asking the staff to check on my dishes after his own arrived early.

We skipped dessert but they served a complimentary plate of sweet canapés anyway. There was yuzu jelly, sakura mousse, red bean cake and chocolates.

As the shops at Raffles City were still open, he popped into Omega for a look. After browsing, he asked if I saw anything and I asked, “Are you gonna buy me a watch?” to which he replied that he already bought me a ring.

The sales guy overheard this and later complimented my ring and when I told him I owed Nick a present, he gave me his namecard and said to call him for a deal. Hmmm, we’ll see.

Kenny, Flea and John were actually in the building attending a wedding but we didn’t meet. Instead, we walked over to Chijmes to see what EPL matches were being screened, and bumped into his trade colleague Brent who complained that a joint called Bobby’s didn’t allow him and his wife to move their chairs around hence they were leaving.

But somehow me and Nick ended there anyway, despite the less than friendly service. I had a banana split for dessert and the boy ordered a Singapore Sling. We only watched the first half of Arsenal vs West Brom and then called it a night.

There was a flamenco festival also going on at Chijmes and the loud music obstructed his enjoyment of the match. 

Back in the room, I treated myself to a bubble bath, the shower gel provided in the room was puny so before dinner I had paid a visit to M&S to buy bath foam. Couldn’t help it, the tub was sooooo inviting.

This morning, he went to the cathedral for an early mass letting me sleep in and once he was back, we ventured to Toast Box for breakfast. I can’t remember the last time I had soft-boiled eggs, probably primary school. Since then, the thought of it has grossed me out but I made an exception today. Progress!

We were planning to pick the kids up for lunch in town but Nat seems to have caught a mild stomach bug, hence all plans were cancelled. At least she waited till after we enjoyed our night off!

A decade of marriage

Finally we have reached a decade of marriage and what a way to usher it in! Sasha started vomiting last night and as usual Nick didn’t hesitate to bring her to KKH. We were at the hospital till 4am plus, going through the usual drill of stomach flu monitoring i.e. anti-vomiting medicines, liquids at 15min intervals till she stops puking.

There were plans to have dinner at Mikuni and a brief staycation at Swissotel but all that got cancelled because we wanted to make sure Sasha was alright. She started having diarrhoea so everything is on hold.

I posted a picture of our wedding invite on FB, along with the following words:

10 years ago, this Hot Pink Chick walked down the aisle with her Mee Pok Man and they are still living happily ever after…well, most of the time anyway! Marriage is not without its challenges, especially when kids come along but as long 2 people remain committed and faithful to the vows they took, then the rest will work itself out.

To my Mee Pok Man, thank you for a decade of bliss, two beautiful girls and for providing for us. I know I drive you up the wall sometimes, as you do to me but I will always love you, come what may. Thank you for the new bling, you rock! Some of you might ask what I got him in return…nothing much actually. A son is his present! :-)

The Pumpkin just has a month to go before she turns 3 and for a 2 year old, I am impressed with her drawing. I can actually make out the shapes she draws, she favours a princess with a long gown and she can draw a smiley face. 

 

Just a couple of nights ago, Nat helped to set the dinner table, after being encouraged by Geraldine…I should make her do it everyday!

The kids are so into Disney princesses now, I don’t know when the phase will end! But at least Nat has forgotten about her bridal stuff.

They are always fighting, I have to constantly nag for them to clean up their room…they like to colour and draw while sitting on the floor and will leave scraps of paper everywhere! Nat is so into her scooter and she’s good at it too, she’ll zoom up and down the hallways throughout the day.

I try to make sure Nat has at least 10-11hrs of sleep a day. The ideal would be for her to sleep by 9.30pm and wake up 8.30am but it’s usually 10pm – 8am for her and Sasha, but at least Sasha gets to nap in the afternoons.

We’ve pinned down a bedtime routine i.e milk, story, brush teeth then sleep. They take turns choosing their bedtime story, sometimes when they don’t clean their mess, I withhold the story.

But they are good girls generally, very different personalities and it will be interesting to watch as they grow up. Not that I’m in a hurry for them to grow!