Chef DN

About three weeks back, I got a text from WP asking if I was keen on signing up for a parent-child baking workshop at So EZ Cooking Studio. We would be learning how to make a log cake. A log cake! I only know how to eat log cakes, so learning how to make one would be pretty darn cool. PLUS, I get to spend time just with DN.

"Ok!" I texted back.

Now that DS has joined the Ong family, she has become the fifth limb I didn't know I had. I need surgery to detach her from me on weekends. She is THAT clingy. It does amazing things for my self-esteem but it also means that poor DN doesn't really have his mommy any more. Sad face. I don't think he feels good about it. And because of this, he is now really attached to PF. Like seriously. It's always, "I want Papa to brush my teeth!" or "I want Papa to pat me to sleep!". He doesn't really ask for me any more. Sigh!

So I thought the baking class would be a great chance to get some solo time with my little man. And it was quite fun! We made a really basic log cake from scratch. It was surprisingly simple - just a swiss roll covered in fresh cream and decorated with a jelly santa and fruits.

DN got a little chef's hat and coat to wear during the class. Pity it wasn't his to keep though. I heard that the kids get to keep theirs at Bakerzin classes. Well, no matter, we had fun!

That's us mixing the eggs and sugar for the swiss roll.

DN and Jovann having a little snack during the break. We were waiting for the swiss rolls to bake and cool down a little before moving on to the next step - decorating!

That's DN decorating his log cake with fresh fruits (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries), chocolate balls and sprinkles. He took the decorating very seriously!

I know this is a bit belated but, here's wishing you a fun Christmas and New Year holiday!

Happy Easter!

I don't know about you, but when I see these animal ear headbands in the store, goddammit, I just want to put them on and start barking / meowing / hopping / trumpeting around the shop. Sometimes I give in to my desires which causes PF to suddenly look at the ceiling and start inching away from me, but most times I just Bite. My. Lip. And. Walk. Away.

When I saw these bunny ones however, all decorum (and shame!) flew out of the window. I descended upon them hungrily, plonked DS into my Dad's arms, adjusted the headband on her head, started hopping up and down to make her laugh (and when that didn't work, started making crazy, high-pitched noises) and snapped away. PF was nowhere to be found as usual. As I snapped, I thought about the 500 other people who wore the headband before DS and that slowed me down a bit.

A bit.

Looking at these photos, I think DS might have inherited my passion to be half-human-half-furry-animal. She seems happy enough!

Happy Easter!

Lowlights of Chinese New Year 2010

On CNY day 3, after half a day of feasting.

Me : (changing DN out of his t-shirt) Wow DN! Your stomach is so big and round!
DN : Hahahahaha!
Me : (rubbing his belly) Ooooh!
DN : Just like yours Mummy! Hahahahaha!
Me : -___- *collapse*

To add insult to injury (and to really drive me over the edge), we were at West Coast Park on Sunday and a woman came up to me and gave me this.

I was standing in the shade with a sleeping DS and my BFF and I was the only one who got this! Are you trying to tell me something, lady?!?!!

Highlights of Chinese New Year 2010

1. Playing Dress Up

The best thing about having little girls is the dressing up. Ooooh, all those dresses! Sleeveless... capped sleeves... spaghetti straps... bows... pleats... lace... tulle... and don't forget the matching shoes, socks and hair clips. After 3.5 years of dressing a boy (*yawn*), my inner dress-up beast has finally been released from captivity. RAWRRR!

CNY Day 1

White eyelet socks and brown mary janes. Love!

DN's trying to eat his sister because she looks like a cake.

CNY Day 2

Blue spaghetti strap floral dress with a big bow at the back 

2. Proper hydration

Or... maybe not.

CNY Day 3

DN's collection.

He would pick one up at house #1, drink, playplayplay, get into car, reach house #2, PEE.

Pick another one up at house #2, drink, playplayplay, get into car, reach house #3, PEE.

Pick yet another one up at house #3, drink, playplayplay, get into car, reach house #4, PEE.

And so on.

More orange cordial.

3. Trigger Happy

When I saw this going on in my aunt's garden, I was like, "Woah, they must really trust him."

 CNY Day 2

DN taking photos of my brother and cousins.

And this is the product!

Not bad!

Take two...

Not bad again!

4. Hijacking expensive cameras

God bless my cousin who trusted DN with her camera. She wouldn't have a picture of smelly little feet otherwise!

5. Funny Shots

You know it's time to buy 4D when both your kids are smiling in the SAME photograph. Never mind that neither one is looking at the camera. Now that would really have been asking for too much!

 

ps : Have you joined February's raffle yet? ;)

Can you say "par-teh"?

The September 2006 "babies" had their annual Christmas party (this is their 3rd) a few days before Christmas and it was a BLAST! In every sense of the word. From the word "go", the tots were literally blasting all over the place at supersonic speed. Seriously. It was like someone shot them out of cannons. Who fed them sugar??!

There was much planning that went into the party - location, food, decorations, goodie bags and entertainment. We were worried the kids would get bored with nothing to do in the function room, so there were games and a storytelling-cum-drama session. Well, we needn't have bothered because all they needed was a long table to run around. And around. And around. And around.

And around!

But we did the storytelling-cum-drama session anyway, and the kids LOVED it! I would post the video here, but I don't think I want to crush PF's macho image. (He was Goldilocks, wahahaha!).

On the menu : Roasted chicken, Angel hair pasta in tomato sauce, Shepherd's pie, Salad (for good bowel movements!)

 

Sweet treats include : Mini doughnuts, Gingerbread men, Log cake (not in pic), Fruits (again, for good bowel movements)

The goodie bags! Inside was a candy can pen, a snowman cup, a colouring booklet and sweets.

No Christmas is complete without a tree and presents right? Well, that's what I told PF after suggesting we bring our tree to the function room. He gave me a "my wife is bonkers" look. So I gave him my "I gave birth to two of your children... without epidural" look (and tirade!). 

The tree went in the car.

Aunty Krist surprised everyone by secretly getting one of those face painters for the party. Arianne's getting a butterfly here.

And Jovann is getting a spiderman one here. I thought DN would be keen on getting a "tattoo" too, but he refused. Does this mean I don't have to worry about him and tattoos in 16 years' time?

Too fast too furious! Couldn't get a proper pic of Reubern on the bike!

 

But Mr Camwhore obliged, every time!

DN : I detect hints of mature oak and, erm, fennel(!). This red has a racy streak and yet, subtle nutty undertones. Easy on the palate. Hmmm... a 1972?

Arianne : Aiyoh, just bottoms up!!

DN : You mean, like this?

DN, Jovann, Reubern, Clarice, Arianne, Rochelle

Not in pic : Sophie (We miss you!)

The party was great fun. A bit crazy because of all the headless-chicken-running-around the kids were doing, but great fun nonetheless. And you know what they say about having too much fun and nightmares right? DN woke up crying in the middle of the night that night and I caught him saying, "Snowman! Snowman! I don't want the snowman!"

ps : Raffle Wednesday coming up soon! ;) Stay tuned...

Merry Christmas!

I don't have a helper at home, but my mom does. J came to live with our family a year after my brother was born 17 years ago. I was 18 and J was 22. We are just four years apart, but by then, it was obvious that our worlds were miles apart and our futures were going to be so different. I finished my A Levels, went to University, went on holidays, dated, got married, went on honeymoon, had two kids AND throughout, I had my family around me. J just helped our family for all those years. So basically, I lived the cookie cutter (and privileged) life. Because J and I are so close in age, I often feel guilty (but grateful) for having so many things and such an fortunate life.

When DN was born, J helped me out with my housework. She was a godsend. With her, we slept on clean sheets, walked on clean floors and wore clean clothes. Without her, we would have lived in filth and smelt even worse! We are very lucky to have J. She is so patient, kind and generous. She has been with us for so many years and seen us through so much, she is like family to us.

About two years ago, J decided that she wanted to move back to the Philippines to get married and start a family. Although no one wanted her to go, it would have been very selfish to make her stay. So we made do while she was gone. And sigh, started living in filth.

So J got married and her husband and her had a little boy last year. :)

Sadly, because of the global recession, her husband couldn't find work and five months ago, she returned to Singapore to work. It was good to see her again after all that while, but I couldn't help but feel SO SAD when I thought about how she had to leave her little boy to come back here. And indefinitely too. How painful must that be? I remember what a wreck I was when I had to leave DN last year. And even then, I knew I would be seeing both PF and DN in about two months or so. (What a wuss!) So my heart aches for J and her little boy. And all the other helpers who had to leave their children behind to work here. It's too sad.


On a recent Sunday, I asked J what she was doing that day. She told me she was going to Lucky Plaza to wire money back to her family because they didn't have enough to buy milk for her son. I stopped smiling after that. Life is so unfair right? Just as J and I have such different lives even though we're about the same age, so will our children. My son started receiving Christmas presents left, right and centre about three weeks ago. J's son will spend Christmas without his mother. My son just went on his fourth holiday last week (and he's only three and a half). When will J be able to take her son on a holiday? I mean, I bought DN his own luggage for heaven's sake!

As a "privileged" parent, providing for my children's basic necessities is a done deal. I am lucky to be able to go beyond that and give them even more. I know how lucky I am, but DN and DS don't realise how lucky they are.

So my Christmas wish this year is this - I wish that my children will grow up to be humble and giving individuals. I wish that they will have compassion in their hearts and are able to put others ahead of them. I want them to take nothing for granted and be grateful for everything they have. And lastly, I want them to give generously and wholeheartedly to those who are not as fortunate as they are.

In the midst of all the giving and feasting with family this season, let's stop for a while and think about all those who cannot celebrate the holiday the way we can. Merry Christmas everyone!

Making Mooncakes

DN made mooncakes in school last week. He was SO pleased to bring them home and share them with everyone. Except mei mei because, according to DN, "She has no teeth!" His teacher sent me this picture.

He made red bean paste mooncakes. They were really quite nice!

Hope you had a great evening admiring the moon and the lady (or rabbit?) on it. :)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Thank goodness our CNY dinner (on day one) was so much better than the one we had the night before. It actually tasted like chinese food. Phew. We had Double Boiled Fish Maw Soup, Roast Duck, Steamed Soya Sauce Chicken, Fried Calamari with Garlic and Chilli, Braised Pork in Claypot, Braised Tofu, Sweet and Sour Pork and Kai Lan. 8 dishes for prosperity! Good food and good company - it was a nice night out.

We ended up staying there real late (almost 10pm), just eating, talking and laughing. Of course, Mr DN is not really one for sitting at the table and indulging in conversation for 3 hours, so he was running around the restaurant, waving at other diners and terrorising the staff. They were so nice by the way. When the manager invited him to follow her and help her make our drinks, she said, "I'll let you press the button!", we ALL went "WAHHH!" right on cue. Press the button! Even I want to do that!

Halfway through dinner, DN came running back looking like this.

I have NO idea how it actually got on his head. I think he probably found it lurking behind some counter and the wait staff put it on his head for a laugh.

DN just LOVES being the centre of attention.

Oh dear.

Reunion Dinner
If we had to make new year resolutions for CNY, then I'd resolve to blog more frequently in the year of the ox. I'm so sorry for neglecting this blog for the past few weeks. I've just been inundated with school work! :(

Chinese New Year without all the guilty feasting, sea of red and cheenah songs in shopping centres is definitely not Chinese New Year. (Although I don't miss giving out ang pows, heh heh... or the spring cleaning!) It feels very flat, like Coke without the gas. You still try to get into the mood by wearing red and new clothes, but it's not the same. No bak kwa! No pineapple tarts! No kueh lapis! *SOB!* We did talk about baking some cookies, but that's as far as we got. Operative word being "talked" here. Hmm.

On CNY eve, we decided to have dinner at an Asian restaurant. We had Thai Tamarind Duck, Pad Thai, Gyoza, Beancurd with Seaweed and some stir-fried vegetables. It wasn't that fantastic but it helped us to get into the mood because there was a lion dance! DN was a bit too grumpy to appreciate the lion dance because he was tired of waiting. They only arrived at 9.20pm. We left right after the entire rigmarole and ended up leaving with the lion dance troupe.

I don't know why (must be the cold that impairs judgement!), but PF and I actually expected to see a lorry decked with luminescent flags waiting outside with drums and cymbols clashing. No lorry. Only a Mercedes M-class, a Mercedes C-class and a Chrysler Grand Voyager. Haha! Everyone (lion and all) crawled into the vehicles as PF and I laughed about how lion dancing in the UK can actually be quite profitable.

DN, erm, brandishing his cutlery proudly.

The Pad Thai that was way too sweet and NOT SPICY at all. We asked the kitchen to send some cut fresh chilli over but they tasted like capsicum. Bah. I felt so cheated! We ended up packing half of it back which we refried the next day with some garlic chilli paste.

The restaurant got a magician-cum-balloon artist to come in and entertain guests during dinner and DN got a koala!

The balloon is still with us. Only now the tree trunk is horribly limp and lumpy because DN twisted and twisted and twisted it and then proudly showed it to us and said, "Sausages!". LOL!

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!

Duracell Bunny on Speed

DN attended Jovann's birthday party on Sunday. We also attended J's first birthday party last year, and I must say, the Teos really know how to throw a party. It was a "Thomas The Tank Engine Party" so there were Thomas mylar balloons, a Thomas tablecloth, a Thomas phwoarh-phwoarh cake, Thomas goodie bags for all the kids and even Thomas The Tank Engine was playing on the TV while we were there!

WP, I want to be your child!

During the party, DN was playing with all the toys and feasting on fried noodles, cookies, hard-boiled egg dipped in mee siam gravy, chocolate fudge cake and ribena. We also had fun with a "special" Thomas Story Telling session (details akan datang... next post!) and a Happy Helium session. Remember DN's birthday wishes last year? Well, there were 40 helium balloons on the ceiling this time, just waiting to be ingested. It was inevitable. Come to mama!

After laughing ourselves silly (the kiddos weren't very amused though), we decided to do the cultural thing and went downstairs to Ti Deng Long because it was Mid-Autumn Day. WP included a child-safe little lantern (with a little red LED light instead of a candle) in all the goodie bags so everyone was properly equipped. This also meant we could turn off the electric dinosaur lantern with the spinning belly (don't ask) that was belting out "Ai-yee-ai-yee-ai! I'm a little butterfly!" at supersonic speed, and (sadly) sound frequency. Die dinosaur, DIEEEEE!

So that was our Sunday. Until 10pm. -_-

DN was so stimulated that night, he didn't sleep until midnight! He was like a Duracell bunny on speed and 20 cups of coffee. His usual bedtime is 830-9pm, so 12am is insane for him. When we turned the lights off and put him in bed, he got out and started walking around the room and talking to himself. I even tried to be a good role model and lay down on the bed and went, "SNORRRE!" (for real actually, I fell asleep) but to no avail. DN was unstoppable. Until now, I have no idea what time he eventually fell asleep. But I do know what time he woke up. 6am! I know because the first thing he said when he woke up was, "CAKE! CAKE! CAKE! CAKE! CAKE!" For 5 minutes. -_-

Talk about overstimulation! There IS such a thing as "too much fun".

The 3 tots on a lantern jaunt. Can you see the "ai-yee-ai-yee-ai" dinosaur lantern in the background?



The CAKE!

Chinese New Year Day 1

Standard happenings on CNY Day 1:

• Visiting both sets of parents and grandmothers
• OD-ing on steamboat
• Farming DN out to excitable relatives
• Melting in the sweltering CNY heat
• Giving out ang pows -_-
• Receiving ang pows :)
• Taking photos with CNY wall decorations at PF's parents' place

The Ongs in 2007


The Ongs in 2008 (decidedly older, with more lines and more chins!)

DN's "how-can-you-not-give-me-another-ang-pow" face








Chinese New Year Day 2

DN demonstrated his eating prowess on Day 2 when my aunts, uncles and cousins came over for breakfast. DN sat at the dining table for about 1.5 hours and was fed egg mayo sandwiches, bak kwa and chrysanthemum tea, AFTER his breakfast of raisin bread. I think he was very pleased with the buffet breakfast. Everyone was very amazed with his bottomless pit.

Number of times DN pooped during CNY (his norm is once a day):

• Day 1 : 3 times
• Day 2 : 4 TIMES!!!!!
• Day 3 : 3 times
• Day 4 : 3 times

He was crapping like a newborn!


CNY is all about eating...



... and drinking...


... and more eating.

(that's his Great-Grandma Wee)


DN's face when told he cannot eat anymore.




The first thing he does when we arrive at someone's house is check out what's in the lacquer boxes.

Chinese New Year Day 3

We took a break from all the visiting and went to the Botanic Gardens with Katriya and her parents. We couldn't have chosen a better day. :)

Katriya and DN

Ushering in the New Year

DN's hair grows so slow that we've only gotten it cut twice since the day he was born - before his birthday and last week. It's actually a good thing because cutting off his hair is as difficult as cutting off someone's inheritance. Phew.

DN tagged along when PF got his hair cut and it took two grown adults to cut his hair - one to restrain him and another to cut the hair. DN just wouldn't keep still, and he's a blur in all the photos I took.


DN stayed in the chair for about 2 minutes before squirming so hard that we had to release him, lest Kate cut his ear off.


Kate tried to tempt him with a hair roller, haha.











On CNY eve, we had dinner with both sets of grandparents and lohei-ed at DN's great-grandma's.


Here's to good health and lots of happiness in the year of the rat!


DN : "I wish for an endless supply of food!"











On CNY eve, we had reunion dinners with my parents and with PF's parents, and we also visited PF's maternal grandmother. Although it's "cooler" to scoff at all these gatherings, I actually like the idea of Going Home. When you go home, you know you'll be taken care of (i.e. FED, in our society). It's a place where you can fart, burp and pick your nose with wild abandon and know that you'll still be loved.

I hope, in thirty years, DN feels the same. :)