Trainspotting

Boy, does this country love its trains. A quick google search revealed all these railways, just on the first page. It's nice to see that someone is taking care of all these retired trains.

The Midland Railway
Perrygrove Railway
Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Mid Hants Railway
The North Norfolk Railway

We decided to check out the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway because it was only a 15 minute drive from us. DN was so excited when we told him he was going to see the trains. He kept bugging us to get out of the house to "see Thomas".

We paid 6 pounds each for 3 return rides. DN rode free. Heh heh.

Being the true Singaporean, I told PF, "If we don't ride together, DN can go on 6 rides!" And of course, being the true tropical Singaporean, I was freezing my cheapo ass off so as much as I would have liked to bleed our tickets dry, we stuck to the 3 rides. And it took us 4 hours to complete those 20-minute rides, can you believe it! It was so cold, we hid and thawed out in the cafe between rides.

The trains are mini open-topped ones, so the little guy was really cold. Here he is pushing PF's hands to his face to shield it from the wind.

Even though DN looked like this 80% of the time while we were on the train, we know he enjoyed the trains because he keeps asking us to play the videos we took. We now put them all on a playlist, AND on repeat.

The boys on the train. Yes, I know DN looks like a brown dumpling. It's for his own good!

DN will probably sell his soul for us to bring him to this and this, but too bad, we won't be around for them. :( To make up for it, we're going to try to see the big trains at Didcot Railway Centre tomorrow. It's a "Steamday", so the entrance fee includes unlimited free rides on the steam trains. (And these are covered trains, so the Singaporean can make the most of her ticket now. Woot!)

Pass the detergent and scouring pad

Before PF and DN got here, I had been on my own for 2.5 months. That's 10 weeks of home-sickness. 10 weeks of boredom. 10 weeks of bad eating. And 10 weeks of unrestrained swearing! Woot!

When DN arrived, I really had to watch myself and curb the sailor in me. But just the other day, I tripped on the pavement while carrying DN and I forgot myself. Before you can say "what the hell?", a few choice words exploded out of me and rained on DN's ears. Here's the exact conversation that ensued, adapted for all ages.

Fisherman's wife trips on the pavement and almost drops the baby.
FW : F***!
(realising that I'd just said the BIG no-no) FW : Sh**!
(realising that I'd just sworn again BECAUSE of swearing) FW : Ah, dam**t!
DN : !!!

And then, I really shut up because swearing at a rate of 1 choice word per second is not funny when your toddler has entered the parroting stage and has already started saying "oh dear" when he drops something.

Pass the detergent and the scouring pad. If I'm not careful, soon, little children, their mothers and other assorted little animals will be running away from my toddler at the playground, who will probably be (notoriously) known as "that BAD one".

How we spent our Christmas Day

It wasn't a white Christmas (BIG phew) but it was an unexpectedly sunny one. This was a pleasant surprise because when you look up at the sky over here, you usually see something resembling an elephant's bum - grey and threatening.

So we happily headed out to the New Forest to see the ponies and deer. By the way, the New Forest is anything but new. It is in actual fact terribly old (trust the English to confuse us all... think 'Reading', the city and 'reading', the verb) because it was created in 1079 by William the Conqueror. It was the only place we could go to because it's a complete shut-down here on Christmas Day.

As I packed a light lunch for all of us, I thought of the nice little picnic we would be having in the bright sunshine. And I was so proud of myself because I didn't forget the cutlery! Nothing could dampen my spirit.

DN's lunch? Check.
Our lunch? Check.
Vegetables for all? Check.
Fruits for all? Check.
Cutlery? Check.
Assortment of beverages? Check.

Nothing could go wrong! ... Right?

Wrong. It was too blinking cold to eat outside! We ended up retreating back to the car for lunch. -_- Oh well.

DN's lunch
Main Box :: fried rice (with egg, mushrooms, yellow pepper, carrots, beans)
Sweets Box :: 1/2 granola bar, dried apricots and blueberries, almonds, multi-vits
Vege Box :: broccoli, apples

Our Lunch
The same as DN's but with more chilli and salt! (not on the apples though)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I know we aren't dressed in red and green, but we're holding a Christmas fruit cake! Surely that counts for something. (Please ignore the toy car that DN is trying to drive over the fruit cake.)

Have a Happy Christmas and a good 2009!

Wow, Thomas.

Lucky DN. He got to open his presents 3 days before Christmas because his Uncle Josh and Grandma Wee had to fly back to SG on 23 Dec. We miss you! It has been wonderful having them both here because DN absolutely adores his Uncle Josh who by the way, has a latent talent for making a mess out of any sort of wrapping. Josh and DN had tons of fun together and DN often requested for his Uncle Josh to sit in the back of the car with him. And of course, what would we have done without Grandma Wee's delicious cooking? Well, besides not putting on 20kg, I guess we would have done pretty much nothing in the kitchen. DN loved all the food that Grandma Wee cooked. Yums.

Here's a short video of DN opening his presents the night before they left. His deadpan "wow" whenever he opened a present was hilarious. I know he didn't look it, but he was thrilled with all his presents. Except maybe the CD set. When he opened that one, you could see the "You call this a present? It's just a white box, but I'd better say 'WOW' anyway and pretend to be happy..." look on his face.

Thanks everyone for all your presents for DN. :D



Postscript:
Mom, we got lost after we left Heathrow! We missed a turn and drove to Windsor, can you imagine? It's not really that far, it's not like we drove to Wales. We're not that kayu. Since we were there, we decided to have lunch there and we got to see Windsor Castle (from the car) too. As we tried to navigate out of Windsor and onto the motorway, we got lost (again!) and visited Ascot accidentally. Can you say "accidental tourists"? By the time we got back to Winchester, I think you guys were already over Cyprus. -_-

Josh, I think you would really have puked in the car this time!

It's time to diet

I thought really long and hard before deciding to blog about this because it's kinda embarrassing. But I figured, "Everyone's already seen my son squatting like a coolie and his pink thermals, so bugger it!"

Look at the amount of food PF and my mom brought up! I've now got my very own Asian provision shop in the store room. Sweet. We've got mixes for nasi lemak, chicken rice, laksa, sayur lodeh, bak kut teh, rendang, herbal soups, and we have dried hokkien noodles, dried soba noodles, (low-fat!) coconut milk, tau kee, mee sua... and erm, *whisper* lap cheong.

DN said, "Mmm... nice!" after he tried to take a bite of the lap cheong.

We've feasted on nonya chap chai, bak kut teh, chicken curry, char siew, wan ton mee, suai gow... I can't fit into one of my jeans anymore. :(

DN the Homemaker

I burst out laughing when I found this in the fridge compartment of DN's kitchen set. He told me he was washing his thermals!

Yes. My son has pink underwear. That was the only colour they had left in Sainsbury's. Real men wear pink anyway. Humph!

Oh dear. And he has a pink sponge for his kitchen set! Again, what colour do real men wear? Roar.

DN has been having a ball with this kitchen set. He makes kopi-o-kosong (yes, he actually says "kopi-o-kosong" as he serves it!) for us everyday and when he serves his pizza/burger/etc, he makes sure that it's on a plate with a fork. He even forgets to do the dishes!

Bento Box

DN's Grandma Wee bought him a new bento lunch box/plate.

He's been having a great time with it and demands to have all his meals in it now.

Here are some of the meals he's had in it so far.

Bento #1 :: Breakfast
Chewy Multi-Vits, Potato Omelette, Grapes, Egg Burger with some ketchup

Bento #2 :: Breakfast

Toast with Strawberry Jam, Grapes, Cereal, Crackers

Bento #3 :: Lunch
Shredded Chicken with Red Peppers, Soup, Tofu, Egg Noodles with Spinach

Bento #1 :: Dinner

Onigiri, Brussel Sprouts, Braised Chicken, Tofu Soup

3 powf!

There are some market-auntie genes lying dormant in DN I'm sure. We were walking around town the other day and DN kept pestering us to buy something. After a while, PF got so annoyed he told DN, "Here! (passing him some invisible money) Take this money and go buy what you want."

That did the trick. DN was so pleased, he immediately took the "money", put his hand inside his t-shirt and deposited his "money" there for safe-keeping, in true market-auntie fashion. All he needs now is a handkerchief stuffed under his t-shirt, at his shoulder.

When I asked him how much money he had, he said without hesitation, "Three POWF!!!"

He's been here almost 2 weeks and he's had the currency all figured out! So, he's either a smart biscuit or, we've just been shopping too much, LOL.

He's also recognised the way home. Close to home, we always have to make a right turn and then drive for about 1km before reaching home. About a week ago, DN started saying, "Me goh-ning (going) home!" whenever we got close to that right turn.

I'm going to lay claims on that. Those navigation genes are SO from me!

Wonder Dad

PF took care of DN when I left in September. His parents looked after DN during the day while PF worked, and he (sort of) flew solo at night and on weekends. You know how all superheroes have one special ability right? Superman - flight. Wolverine - regeneration. Hulk - superhuman strength. Well, Wonder Dad has one too - DN translator!

DN : "Me chain ku, shey yi!"
Me : "What???"
DN : "Me chain ku, shey yi, shey yi!"
Me : "???"
WD : "He wants to change (chain) his pants (ku) and wear his pajamas (shui yi)."
Me : "!!!"

DN : "Bi roar ree dair, bi roar ree dair!"
Me : "Hah???"
DN : "Bi roar ree dair, BI ROAR REE DAIR!"
WD : "It's a big lorry there."
Me : "What the..? How did you..?"

DN : "Me tui show rer, me ti show rer!"
Me : "Translator!!!"
DN : "Me tui show rer, SHOW RER!"
WD : "He wants to push (tui) the stroller (show rer)."

Me : "Yeah yeah. Show off."

What would I do without the DN-translator?

Tonight, Wonder Dad figured out how to use the onigiri mold and made a fancy Shinkansen onigiri for DN's dinner. DN's mouth literally dropped open when he saw his dinner. He was so pleased!

You would smile like this too if you had such a pretty dinner.

And he surprised me one morning when he gave me this. I decided not to pose with my onigiri like DN (above), because come on, I am a mature individual with poise and decorum. *TSK!*

But look! My onigiri has Christmas trees on it! I'm SO going to show off during lunch. I bet I'll have the best lunch in class. Hee hee heeeee!

My Lunch Bento (clockwise from top) : Sesame Snaps, Cereal, Special Onigiri, (half) Ham sandwich, Apricots, Almonds

Hampshire Farmer's Market

We woke up early on Sunday to go to the Hampshire Farmer's Market. It comes to Winchester only twice a month, so we thought we'd better catch it before they "shut" for the Christmas / New Year period. I love it! The produce is all locally grown so you know it's freshfreshfresh, and you get to meet the farmer who grew the vegetables, the butcher who reared the pigs, the apiarist who harvested the honey and the baker who baked the bread. Mmm-mmm-mmm!

Of course, the entire idea appeals to us so much more than DN, who wandered off to stomp in a puddle. :(

We bought some Hampshire honey (£1) for DN's oatmeal in the mornings...

... a yummy homemade Lime Drizzle Cake (£3.50)...

... and gorgeous watercress, raisin and cheese scones (25p each for the raisin and cheese ones, and 50p each for the watercress ones).

We also bought a variety of sausages - English, Wild Boar, Chilli, Tomato and Leek. But no pictures of them here because the amount we bought is embarrassing.

We are SO going to get nitrate poisoning. But we're SO going to enjoy the process. ;)

Andover Museum

Today, we drove half an hour to Andover because I had to pick up another toy I bought on Ebay. Oops. I promise this will be the last one. Since we were there, I thought we might as well check out the Andover Museum. (It's free!) After a few wrong turns, we found it, and boy was I relieved that no one had puked.

You see, we drove to Southampton yesterday to stock up at Yau Brothers and we got lost. Halfway during the journey, DN started whining and my brother, Josh, started turning a suspicious shade of green. I was fine because I was in front shouting unhelpfully at PF to, "Turn right! (but pointing left) Reverse! Take the 1st, 2nd or 3rd turning! (he got really frustrated with this one) 4th exit at the roundabout! Wait, we're not supposed to see any more roundabouts! Er sorry, I think we were supposed to turn left just now. U-turn! U-TURN!" I think there were 3 beings that wanted to throw me out of the car yesterday. PF couldn't because he was driving. Josh couldn't because his hands were holding his lunch in. DN couldn't because his hands are just too short.

My goodness, when we finally found the elusive *spit with venom* Prince's Street, all of us literally collapsed out of the car. Josh bent over next to the car and started dry-retching. In the supermarket, DN puked. :( And I held it (the puke). :(((

At this point, I'd like to say that PF has to shoulder some blame too. My silly husband is so worried that our son will get frostbite that he turns the heater in the car up to 28 degrees, FULL POWER. Keep in mind that the temperature outside is around 5 degrees. Now, what happens when hot air meets cold air? Condensation right? And boy, did we have more than our fair share of condensation in the car. It's amazing how PF could still drive - it was fogging up so badly in our car that from the outside, we must have looked like a carful of chain-smoking hippies. The heat and stuffiness probably made them extra ill. So it's not really my fault you see! Anyway, back to the Andover Museum. And how we were so relieved to find it with our stomachs intact. :D

It's a tiny little museum that chronicles England's Iron Age. I didn't explore it that thoroughly because I was checking out all the kids' activities with DN. He really enjoyed the colouring station. Psst! Do you recognise the jumper Dawn? ;)

There was a smaller side exhibition entitled "Hair" that looked at anything related to hair - hairstyles throughout the ages, retro hairdryers, the make-up of hair etc. I like how it actually catered to all ages. DN entertained himself there for close to half an hour. There was a kids' corner and in it was this basket of playmobil toys. Look carefully - it's a hairdressing salon scene! Cool bananas.

What do you think DN is doing here?

He's combing the doll's hair with this!

After that, he tried to brush his teeth with it. -_-

The Natural History Room was really child-friendly. There were 2 low tables with all sorts of activities - wooden puzzles, board games and even a bookmark making station.

Reunited... and it feels so good!
You should play this song as you read this post. Hur hur hur!

I promised an update on our "reunion" so here it is.

As erm, predicted, the grand reunion didn't really go according to plan. The unfortunate (and unplanned) combination of me hitting the snooze button twice (sorry PF!!) and getting lost driving around the airport made me late. They were already standing outside the gate waiting for me when I ran in at 7.10am. The flight got in at 6.20am. I thought it would take at least an hour for them to clear customs and collect their luggage, so technically, I was early okay? (Trust my luck for Heathrow to be effective on this day of all days.) I even brought a book to read while waiting for them! PF saw the book and the look on his face read, "I can't believe this woman!"

DN saw me before I saw him, and according to PF, he said, "There! Mummy!" From a distance, I could see him grinning away! He looked so happy! Of course, I ran like a blinking idiot, arms flailing unglamourously, to DN. PF let him down and we ran and crashed into each other. He hugged me so tightly and couldn't stop smiling! Oh, it was a wonderful moment! I don't want to ever forget it. Finally, PF let go of me and I hugged DN next.

Haha. JUST KIDDING.

Because I was late, we got in and out of the car park in under 15 minutes so our parking was free. Ho ho. A good thing too, because parking is like 2.50 pounds per 15 minutes. Ack.

I can't begin to explain how happy I am to see DN again. He's changed so much since I last saw him 10 weeks ago. A few times, I've caught myself looking at him and thinking, "Is this the same DN?". I can't believe how talkative he is now! 10 weeks ago, he was only saying selective words, literally just WORDS. Now he's saying actual, complete SENTENCES and he keeps repeating after me like a parrot. Goodness. I'm still so tickled by it all, I can't help giggling when he talks. It's too cute, buay tahan.

Thankfully, DN switched to UK time immediately and has no jet lag at all. He went to bed at 730pm last night and got up at 7am today. Just now, he slept at 815pm. I think it helped that they took the non-stop red-eye flight. DN managed to sleep for about 10 hours (of the 14 hour flight) on the plane and when they arrived at 6.20am, it's just like he's starting a brand-new day. :) I don't think it'll be as easy going back to SG though.

After his nap at 10.30am, we ventured out and checked out the Winchester Christmas Market where PF and DN feasted on mulled wine and a gingerbread man cookie, respectively.

You can take the Singaporeans out of Singapore, but you can't take Singapore out of the Singaporeans.

Today, we went out to get a temporary carpet to lay over the horrible, grubby, thread-bare one in the flat. I don't know what kind of little creatures are living in it and what has been dropped on it before, and don't want to know actually. Well, we found this good buy at a 50%, then 20% discount - 80 pounds 40 pounds 32 pounds! And it's vinyl too! Carpets and toddlers with a tendency to drop food are not a good match at all.

Here's Mr Happy playing with Scoop, Muck, Roley, Lofty and Skip. He's a happy little bub.

And so am I. :)

Finally

I can officially say it now... I'm going to see DN tomorrow! I've been waiting for this day for 10 weeks and it's finally here. I miss the little bub so much. Right now, I've got grand ideas of what our reunion will be like...

I will be waiting outside the gate and DN and PF walk out. DN spots me and shouts, "MA MA! MA MA!". PF puts him down and he runsssss to me, arms wide open and slams into me and starts hugging and kissing me (er... I'm thinking of DN here, not the husband. He's Asian and we're known to be conservative). And then PF saunters up, looks at my perfect outfit (turtleneck sweater dress, tights and boots) and says, "Hey you. Have you lost weight?" Ah bliss!

Sorry, excuse me a while. Let me remove my rainbow-tinted glasses. Ah... the grey looks familiar. This is what I think our reunion will look like.

First of all, I will look like what the cat stole from the garbage bin and THEN dragged in because their flight arrives at 6.20am and I have to start driving really early because I'm about an hour and a half from Heathrow. So no turtleneck sweater dress, tights and boots. Hello eyebags and jeans. I will probably miss PF and DN as they walk out because I'm so blind. After half an hour of impatient waiting, they take 5 years off my life by coming up from behind and scaring the bejesus out of me with, "Where were you??!" By this time, DN is cranky and whiny because it's been a LONG flight. And instead of "Hey you. Have you lost weight?", my husband says, "Help me carry this. DN, where are you going? It's mummy!"

-_____-"

We'll see huh? Keep your fingers crossed for #1 and watch this space for an update.

You all know I've been prepping the scene for DN's arrival yes? With the clothes, books and toys. Well, at this point, can I just say that I'm in LOVE with ebay? As in, deep, infatuated and forbidden love. *sigh... vapid smile on face* Ebay lets me be my true self. Ebay doesn't judge what I search for. Ebay is ALWAYS there. Ebay doesn't care if you have no makeup on and are in your long johns, a pink dressing gown (with hearts) and fluffy slippers (with sequins). I heart you, ebay!

See? Without ebay, I wouldn't have been able to get this ELC kitchen set for only £10. *smug*

There's even a little light over the stove for better cooking, and when you turn it on, a sizzling sound accompanies it. And yup, all the crockery and cutlery came with the set. Best!

Ah! Ebay! Without you, I'd never have found this Bob the Builder set of toys for £15.

Now, tell me you don't love ebay. I dare you!

postscript : I've self-imposed an ebay ban on myself. The prospect of shipping a container back to Singapore is becoming more and more probable.

Wessex Children's Book Festival

There was a children's book festival held here over the weekend and went for a little look-see. I wasn't planning on buying anything because I don't want to ship a container of things back when we go back to Singapore (I'm already halfway to achieving that objective... damn Ebay!).

It was a small festival, but the nice thing about it was, you could meet authors and illustrators. And not just one or two, but a whole bunch of them over the 3 days. When I saw the festival brochure I really wanted to meet Axel Scheffler. He's the one who illustrated The Gruffalo.

I had no idea what to expect, so I thought he'd give a talk or walk around and interact with people. I didn't know he was going to sign books and I didn't know his queue would be SOOO long. I didn't have time to queue because I had to meet someone in half an hour. Argh!

So I walked out of the hall and was THIS CLOSE to going off. Then I thought, "What is wrong with you! If you don't buy a book and get it autographed, DN will never have another book actually signed by Axel Scheffler and you will kick yourself tomorrow when you finally wake up from whatever stupor you're in and it sinks into your thick skull that this is your only chance!" So I walked straight back in and almost crashed into Maisy (who seems to be saying, "OMG. Look where you're going lady!" in this picture).

There was a whole selection of books on sale and I finally chose this one written by Kate Perry and illustrated by Axel Scheffler - Rosie Plants A Radish. It's a lift-the-flap book, so I could show DN what goes on underground when you plant something. And of course, I'll help him plant something so he can actually track the growing process, and test his patience at the same time. LOL.

Ah! Cute!

So I bought the book, got a ticket for the signing and obediently joined the queue, staying passive and patient throughout because of my "queue training" in Singapore. The queue was moving SOOO slowly. I figured that everyone was giving him 10 books to sign. I mean, it'd make a good Christmas present, but still? How long does it take to scribble a signature into a book? Then I got near the front of the queue and understood why his queue was so long and so slow.

He drew a little illustration in every book that he signed! Compare the before and after picture!

Of course, the first thing that popped into my mind was, "Dang! I should have bought 5 more books!" And of course, now I'm not going to give the book to DN until he turns 10 12 16 21 ... wait a minute! When's that magical age when boys actually start taking care of their own things?

How To Add A Pretty Title On Your Blog

Disclaimer:
(1) First of all, I apologise for the appalling photographs. For some unknown reason, my "print screen" key doesn't work so I had to take pictures of all the steps with my equally appalling phone camera.
(2) I'm sure there's a more professional way of doing this, but as I don't have legal any photo editing software, I had to resort to using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Paint. If you have Adobe Photoshop, stop reading! You will just roll on the floor in laughter at my rudimentary attempt. Please help me save my dignity.
(3) This works only if you are using the new blogger that allows you to add gadgets and customise your layout. If you're using an actual template, you could possibly host your image on photobucket and then add a HTML code to your template. But that's too much thinking for me. Pass!

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1. Open a word document and insert a text box. Inserting a text box allows you to copy the entire thing and paste it onto a Paint document which is saved as a jpeg file that can be uploaded onto blogger. Size your text box to the exact size you want it on your blog and type in the title.

2. Add images around the title. For a seamless look, the images should be all landscape or all portrait. For DN's blog, I chose only the portrait images. For my sister's blog, I chose only the landscape images. Resize the images so they're all the same size.

3. For this header, I decided to have 2 rows of images, with the title in between. You can adjust the size of the text box as you go along.

4. Once you're happy with your basic title piece, highlight the text box, right click and select "copy".

5. Open a Paint file, select "edit" and click on "paste".

6. If you want, you can start filling the background in with colour. Click on the paint can icon, choose a colour from the bottom and click on the area you want filled in with colour.

7. I only filled in the top and bottom with colour because I wanted to manually spray in the rest for a graffiti effect.

8. To spray in colour, click on the spray can icon ("airbrush").

9. Because Paint only allows you to undo the LAST command, be very careful when "spraying". The minute you make a mistake, quickly undo it. To be safe, I did the outlines first (slowly), then sprayed in the colour.

10. If you look closely, my images were of different sizes. Ugly! So I used a black spray to cover it up.

11. Done! The outline also makes everything look less stark because you can't see the harsh lines.

11. The rainbow effect came out quite well I think. Don't forget to save the file!

12. Log in to your blogger account and go to your dashboard. Click on "layout".

13. You should see the "page elements" page. Click here to "edit" your title bar.

14. Under "image", click on "browse" and upload the completed Paint file.

15. Under "placement", click on "instead of file and description". This means your image will replace your old title and/or description.

16. Once blogger has uploaded your image, it should look something like this. Click on "save" and go check it out. You're done!

And this is how my sister gets a *new* header for her blog! Click here to see it for real.

If you do create your own header, I would be thrilled to have a look at it. Absolutely thrilled. Please drop your blog link in the comments box when you're done! :D