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!

Cammy is 2!

Adri invited us to Camellia’s 2nd birthday at Happy Willow, Fusionopolis today and Joanne and Rayhan came over first to hitch a ride. 

The playground isn’t as big as Amazonia or Polliwogs and more suited to younger kids. They have a couple of party rooms and Adri went with a Hello Kitty theme, which was unknown to me when I bought a Hello Kitty hat as part of Cammy’s pressie….so good choice on my part, ha ha.

Nick and Geraldine supervised Nat and Sasha while they played, then we opened ceremony with the lunch though not everything was ready but the children had worked up an appetite by then.

After lunch, the staff conducted a couple of games. As usual Nat sat them out, but Sasha joined in with Geraldine. Ray was very on, and was first to volunteer or raise his hand whenever they needed help.

Cake was a Hello Kitty concoction made by Joanne’s cousin Audrey…it was sweet but I nicely helped myself to 2 slices! The birthday girl was a little cranky towards the end, she’s so cute when she cries!

Rena's birthday lunch

Met JGR for lunch today as a belated birthday celebration for Rena. The birthday girl decided on Level 33 and we had a nice table by the window. The restaurant is starting to show signs of wear and tear but their lunch set is still decently-priced and portions generous.

We helped ourselves to the Ploughman’s table for the appetizers and each ordered a different main. 

Rena had fish and chips, Jane the fisherman’s pie, Germs a burger and me a meatball pasta. I hardly touched my meatballs though, the lamb in them was overpowering and gamey so I just ate the pasta only.

Dessert was back to the buffet, they had an assortment of fruits and pastries. It was a nice catch up session, I brought them some leftover Easter cookies and Germaine was also chatty, good to have her back to her normal temperament…she was quiet for a period of time. 

Sasha is 3!

The pumpkin is officially 3 years old, my baby is getting so big so fast and soon won’t be the baby of the family anymore!

At 3, my precocious little toddler fancies herself a Picasso, she keeps drawing a ‘princess’ – a head, some hair and a long, long gown but it’s actually quite clear that the drawing is of a girl so I am quite impressed. She is even starting to scribble some alphabets like N, O, S, A and H.

We’ve switched her to the Enfakid formula so now she and Nat drink the same thing. She’s been biting/sucking her fingers of late, am not sure whether it’s a habit or whether her molars are growing. I think she’s teething a little. She can brush her own teeth, but I still supervise as she has a tendency to eat the toothpaste on purpose.

She and Nat have dropped Snow White and Cinderella like hot bricks, it’s all about Barbie now! Geraldine has named them Barbie 3 and 1 respectively, Gigi is Barbie 2 and Lita is Barbecue! Lol.

As Sasha grows, she is getting more petulant and pouty. I know I should really nip it in the bud but she’s so cute when she’s angry! She’s reduced her tantrums but she likes to scold people or ‘jeling’ and is very selfish with her things. She’s quite stingy, she won’t share her biscuits or sweets, at most she gives you 1 measly piece.

She’s very particular with her pillows, must have them in their precise positions nightly and also when she flips her blanket, she’ll keep doing it over and over until it’s perfectly covering her and not crumpled in any corners….damn anal!

But she’s generally a happy-go-lucky child, her deep giggles are infectious, she loves to dance and has been ballerina-ing of late, she’s quite keen to pick up ballet I think. She also loves to sing so I think I should encourage that musical aspect.

Nat meanwhile likes to draw and colour but refuses to attend any kind of formal class to hone her skill, I think she could be quite an artist given the right direction. I’ve stopped her from calling Gigi on a daily basis, checking if her cousin is going to school…she’s very insecure without her but she’s adjusted to the no calling rule…at least until the next time Gigi ‘pontengs’!

I took leave today to spend the day with her. Mildred came over and after Nat left for school, me, Ma, Sasha and Mildred headed to Vivo for lunch at Shin Kushiya. I shared a tempura udon with Sasha and ordered her some kushiyaki to go along with it, she loved her ‘Japanese noodles’ as she calls it.

Had a gynae visit in the afternoon, no nice ultrasound to share but basically Jr is fine and growing well. Dr Siow estimates he’s about 1 kg now. Super active, am getting kicked left, right and centre. Really starting to feel the weight, I can’t walk as fast I as I used to and sometimes I even waddle!

Still no adverse symptoms of any kind, unless you count incontinence when I sneeze on a full bladder, lol! My stomach looks like 8 months when I am only 26 weeks. Sleep is getting uncomfortable though.

I’ve put on about 7-8 kg since the beginning so am only allowing myself 4 more. The weather has been so hot that I’m eating more ice cream (for the calcium of course!) but there are no cravings and really nothing that I don’t eat at the moment.

Picked up Nat and Gigi from school, I can’t believe Gigi wore this hairband all day!

Joanne and Rayhan popped by in the evening to join our home celebration. We had a simple dinner of chicken curry and bolognaise, I ordered Sasha a small vanilla lychee princess cake from Bengawan and she was a little confused because she thought her birthday was over and doesn’t know you can cut cake more than once!

 

 

 

 

Easter Feasting

It’s Easter Sunday and after checking out of the hotel, we headed straight to St Teresa’s for mass where we were joined by the Gomezes. Nat, Gigi and Sasha were running up and down the aisle but for the most part they behaved.

I think the service must have been either very moving or Geraldine was homesick because she was all teary during some of the hymns! I think probably both.

We didn’t make any prior lunch reservations and just headed towards town, winding up at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao in Taka since they had space. Never trust a hungry and preggy Swana to order, there was too much food!
 
In the evening, the Easter feasting continued with dinner at Ben’s house. He and Wendy splurged on wagyu steaks, yum. They also prepared Easter presents for the girls, as well as Sasha’s and Nick’s birthday presents which the kids had fun searching their bed for. 

For dessert, I served the cheesecake I baked yesterday, finally verdict time! Not as dry as I expected, it has the dense baked cheesecake texture but didn’t taste very Oreo-y. I liked the base but next time will search for a cookies and cream type recipe. But overall a success I think.