Surprise Shower

Last night felt like ‘The Last Supper’, I think it will be my last late night out for a while! Had dinner at Different Tastes in Siglap with the ‘UpperWatsappers’ chat group, followed by drinks next door at Quarubar.

I remember Different Tastes back in the day when they had an outlet at Cathay Building and SES was based there and since discovering they are still around in Siglap and Pasir Ris, I have been wanting to check them out.

Food was still good and reasonably priced. There were 12 of us and it was less than $20 per head. Almost everyone had a dessert too, their sago gula melaka was quite shiok.

 

 

 

 

Germaine made an appearance during dinner to deliver coconut candy from Glory she had purchased for me earlier in the day and Ajen brought my requested Pret A Manger brownies from London…such nice friends I have. 

The reason we all gathered in the east though was because the ladies of the group threw me and Swana a surprise baby shower at Caryn’s shop, Hands + Feet Studio before dinner. 

We had plans to meet there to pamper ourselves, something that was arranged quite impromptuly after Caryn had advertised a peppermint leg scrub a few days ago. But behind our backs, Vim, Flea, Kavi and Jeanette turned it into a shower and our treatments were on them. 

Plus Vim, the party planner extraordinaire even brought nibbles like nuts, a sparkling moscato, balloons for me and Swana and a gift too. So sweet.

I badly needed a pedicure, seeing as I could not reach my feet anymore to DIY my nails and I also did a 1hr pre-natal foot reflexology massage, and at the last minute added a manicure. So it was 2 hours of pampering and gossip, what a lovely way to spend an evening!

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.

Testing the new toy

Had a gynae appointment today, brought forward from Tuesday because he had an op scheduled so since Swana was seeing him today, we gatecrashed.

Before that though, we took the kids to Botanics to scoot and feed fish. I brought my new camera out for the first time and managed a couple of decent shots at the park including Nick with his 2 princesses, just in time for Father’s Day tomorrow. 

 

 

All 3 kids were present during both consultations and got to see Tiny and Koko Krunch on the ultrasounds. Koko Krunch is all good, approximate weight now is 2.7kg. We made Dr Siow pose with the 3 bubs whom he delivered, he said they were all so pretty.

Lunch was at Brunetti’s at Tanglin Mall…so Italian, was drawn by the range of pastries on display. Had a mushroom risotto, the rice was a bit overcooked but the flavours were nice. The kids had mac and cheese and creamy penne and we shared a few desserts.

Sasha really enjoyed a chocolate ganache cookie I bought her and flaunted her ‘witch’ teeth. She did the same thing at dinner at Hans, when she got vegetables stuck on her teeth, such a clown! Bought some Fragrance bakkwa after dinner…on sale at 50% so it was $12.50 for 500gm…so cheap! Another craving to check off the list!

Prego prego

Met Jane for lunch today, to catch up after her Japan trip and we wound up at Prego, utilizing my FAR card. We shared calamari, eggplant parmagiana and a spinach ricotta ravioli but we struggled to finish.

 

Prego’s calamari portion has got to be one of the most generous out there! And when it’s half price at $13 after the discount, it’s soooo worth it.

 

The funny thing about lunch is that a group of people of walked in shortly after we ordered and sat next to us, separated by the glass partition. I could have sworn Aunty Yvonne from London was in the group but I wasn’t so sure so I showed Jane a picture since she was facing her.

Jane confirmed it looked like the person in my picture and when our calamari arrived, I managed to catch her attention when she turned, and it was Aunty Yvonne with her kids Jessica and Joseph! Small world!

She usually only comes in August for her birthday so I wasn’t expecting to see her and what are the odds of us ending up in the same restaurant? She had come to holiday in Lombok with her siblings and was heading back in a few days. Showed her the bump and told her Swana was also preggers.

I bought a new toy last night at the PC Show….a Canon EOS 650D DLSR camera. I figured with No.3 on the way, it was time to invest in one, never mind that I am not trained in using a DSLR, I just want mainly portraits of the kids and the photo studios are getting really expensive…one shoot with photos returned is the equivalent cost of 1 camera, so I might as well start learning to take my own!

Oh, by the way, Nat’s fever came back and the latest update is that she has HFMD…but I think hers is mainly herpangina because she’s got not visible sores, only on her throat.

Butter crab, come to mama!

I had a crab craving to satisfy and since Nat seemed to have improved slightly, I went ahead with the dinner I had planned with colleagues Wai Leng and Cheryl.

We met at Mellben after work, there was a short queue despite being only 6.15pm but pregnancy has its privileges as a waitress let us sit immediately upon noticing my condition.

We shared a salted egg prawn, claypot crab beehoon, kailan and creamy butter crab with some mantou. It was a little too much for our party of 3 but we managed to polish off everything, save for 1 piece of crab and 3 mantous which I gladly tapaued home for Ma.

So glad to sate my butter crab craving….don’t know when the next chance will be!

Lights, camera, action...again!

Kavi held an emergency recording session today for Zoom Zim Zam, some of her other recorded clips for the alphabet sounds could not be used because the kids’ clothes didn’t stand out on the green screen.

So she rounded up her nieces to help record more alphabet sounds for the final remaining alphabets and I can’t wait to see Nat and Sasha on TV again. They were practicing their XYZs at home but when it came time for their close-ups, only Sasha was not shy. 

She was quite enthusiastic in saying her phonic sounds and what the alphabets stood for while Nat was soooooo super shy and kept mumbling and looking down. She was so self-conscious because of other people in the room. Once they had contributed their bit, we went to Marina Square for lunch at the food court.

Nick had come back yesterday but before he arrived, the girls and I had whiled the time away in Membina, everyone dressed in rainbow colours.

Had impromptu supper with Swana and Kevin at Sin Hoi Sai, coincidentally both boys wore orange Holland t-shirts. There was a slight commotion when a large group of diners came in midway through our meal, apparently there was a celebrity among them.

We found out later it was Richie Ren. I didn’t recognise him with his dreadlocks but I have hummed along to his songs in karaoke sessions!

Bonsoir! Welcome to Poulet!

It’s Geraldine’s 40th birthday tomorrow and instead of having Sunday off, I gave her the option of not working on her birthday since it is also a public holiday for Vesak Day.

So we celebrated today instead by checking out Poulet at Vivocity. It’s a French chicken restaurant run by the same people at Thai Express and they have been opening branches all over.

Food is not bad and not overly expensive, a lot of rich creamy sauces involved…mmmm. The staff keep repeating, 'Bonsoir, welcome to Poulet' whenever a new customer comes in and the kids have picked it up!

Nick is away in Switzerland, and Kavi, Aunty Gowrie and Ananya joined us. After dinner, I got the staff to stick a candle in the tiramisu I ordered and that was Geraldine’s birthday cake. 

Hope she feels more settled in now, it’s obvious that she is not so used to the rigours of being a domestic helper, she comes from a middle-class family but financial circumstances forced her to come out and work.

The kids are comfy with her and I can see she tries her best. We’re still adapting to each other but I am generally happy with her work but I do wish she would be firmer with the kids, she’s too soft with them even when they have done something wrong!