cheerleading

We just got back from the mall. As luck would have it, there was this cheerleading competition going on earlier. As a matter of fact, it is still going on right now. I remembered during my schooling days (which is like dino years ago!), our squad had lovely outfits but did not perform dare-devil stunts like how they are doing right now. I mean, seriously, one false move and you could break your neck! And nothing, not even natural vitamin can be of any help when that happens.

Apart from that, I see guys getting into the activity as well. Not during my time. Then again, I was from an all-girls' school. So, roping a 'guy' to your team was definitely out of the question. Unless, he was from the neighbouring boys' school..hehhe..

Anyway, we stayed to watch some of the stunts. Ash was excited. I could see it in her eyes that one of these days, I'll find her jumping from the couch, flying into thin air...mimicking the dare-devils. I think I made a mistake introducing her to the "dark side". And now, I must brain-wash this little soon-to-be monkey of mine.

Ok, I've said enough. Time to head on to MIL for dinner. Ta-ta!

lucky me

I think I am blessed with good genes. Weight-wise that is. My family members are all on the urm..slim side :-). It's a good thing according to most people since losing weight is usually never a problem for us. Gaining is another story though. We can eat and eat but can never be fat.

But, I never said anything about being healthy though. Skinny doesn't equate to 'heathy'. I've known or heard of some skinny people dropping dead because of stroke, heart and liver problems. So, even though, I don't think I'll ever need to check out any diet supplement reviews but I still need to watch what I eat. Eating everything and anything aren't necessarily good for the body.

wasn't exactly what I ordered

Last night, I had the privilege of dinning and whining (hahha...couldn't resist!) with 2 of my dearest and closest friends. We've been friends from way back, from the days where I honestly look like a complete geek. Not that I am not one now but dude, you should've seen me in my big rimmed glasses and retainers!

We don't get out much because of work...well, they work. The kids and you know, it's not that easy anymore when you're an adult but we do make it a point to meet up on our birthdays, festivities and on some other special occasion.

Anyway, last night, we decided to meet up since today's a public holiday for us. We met at Sunway Pyramid. I reached early and so did my friend. I didn't know about her but for some reason, I was starving. So, I initiated the move to get our butt into PapaRich to have some coffee or something while waiting for our other friend to arrive. I honestly do not know what came over me but I ordered the Ipoh kway teow and steamed chicken. When it came, I was sorely disappointed. When I took my first bite, it solidified my thoughts. H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E!! We were so so disappointed with the outlet. ANd the coffee we ordered...well, lets just say that my 3 year old could've made a better cup if I wanted her to.

I am never going to the outlet ever again. Seriously, the entire eating process was like going through acnepril reviews!!

But, the fact that my friends were there, the laughters, their presence...I think that in itself was enough drowned all the yucky taste in my mouth.

c'mon Daddy...let goes!

taken 3 weekends ago at a park near my mom's place

The week's back huh?! Well, for what it's worth, this work week will be a short one. Friday's a public holiday. So...yay!! :-).

I know, it won't make much of a difference to me since..well, technically I don't get breaks at all. But, with hubby around to help, trust me, it makes all the difference.

So, what did you do last weekend? We took it slow. We were at my mom's place on Sunday as usual. Had yummy-licious lunch...as usual. But, the highlight of the day wasn't lunch surprisingly even though we had, oh...trust me,...glorious food. It was something else and it has completely nothing to do with lunch at all.

Ok, so. Ash has this addiction to the playground/park near my mom's place. I don't blame her - it's nice. Large enough for almost all kinds of activities but small enough to lend it a cosy feel. And because my mom's housing area is now some 30 years old, the trees have the kind of big trunks making parts of the playground feeling kinda woodsy. Alright, I'm no good at descriptions. You'll just have to imagine it a little harder heheh....

So, anyway, we were there again on Sunday evening. We saw familiar faces. We even brought Ash's bike along so she could cycle along the rather wide foot path that lined the park. And she did...cycle. But stopped short half-way when she became enthralled by a boy and his mechanical bird.

He looked no more than...urm, 10. He was at the park with his grandfather. The kid played by himself. Wound up the bird and letting it go like a kite. It flew for a bit before hitting the ground. Ash found that to be more amusing than the group of kids playing basketball. She stood at the side, watching the boy and his bird intently.

The kid must be a very generous kid because after a while, he even tried teaching Ash how to throw the bird. Obviously that made her day. She threw (or tried to) and chased after it...threw and chased after it. She had fun. It was nice seeing her having fun. Then the grandfather spoke to us. He asked if Ash was our only child and what the mortgage insurance rates. We said 'no, we have another who's a year old". He smiled and said "oh". He stopped for a while, turn to look at his grandson and then told us "ah...how great and innocent kids are..they are so full of life. You know, when we were young like you, we had no time for them. We concentrated on our careers and then we come back so late and we are so tired. We never enjoyed them. Now, how I miss those young life."

Oh..we just nodded and smile. What were we to say in any case? You know, walking back home after that, I realised how true those thoughts and words were. And how fortunate I am to be able to enjoy my kids' young life right now because once it's over, I can never get it back no matter what I do. As it is, I'm already feeling that the girls are growing up way too fast. I can't even begin to imagine what will happen when they are truly independent and doesn't need me anymore. Part of me will yell "yes...finally" :-P. But I'm so darn certain that another bigger part of me will utter "..how I miss those young life"..

Friday's here again..

What is it about Fridays that I love so much? I mean, technically, Fridays are the busiest for me in that, it's one of those days where I plan my grocery shopping, what to cook for the week, get supplies, clean (of course, I don't clean personally but supervising can be tiresome too you know :-P). I don't go for drinks at a club or wind down or whatever...in fact, Fridays for me, is just like any other day of the week. Then, why do I love Fridays? An astonishing revelation will come up in the ensuing para...

**snigger**...Actually, there's nothing special about Fridays except for the fact that, I get to chill - mentally and physically. We all need that..one way or another. For me, chilling is when I tell my hubby "ok, thats it. Today I am out...switched off...no cooking, no cleaning no nothing...Em goes to my in-laws. Ash is fine with me cos she knows what to do when I chill."

And, I just get to shut everything out and allow my thoughts to just wander into the wilderness...somewhere..i.e by simply doing nothing. heheh...That's how I chill. Not shopping, not looking for bargains..just sit back, relax and even, writing up a blog post sends me to nirvana (ok, now, that came out quite wrong...I ain't dead yet!). You know what I mean - just try to relax.

Today however, the maid's sick (oh, in case you're wondering - I no longer have a live-in maid, just a part-timer...share with you another day) so she didn't turn up today. And hubby's got dinner plans. Still....I am sticking to my guns and relaxing. Working on my photo-book relaxes me too. Oh dear...did I just come across as a complete Nerd? haha...I am and I am proud to be one :-D. Well, as long as it calms me, I ain't complaining.

So, anyway, I want to get back to 'chillin' and you guys, have a good weekend!

the twirl and the sleeping bears

Ashley was busy twirling away one day. Note her singing mic in the background (yes, my tripod hehe..)

I wrote this as a note on my FB. Since I still can't get over it, I thought I'd share it here with you guys :

News of May 14th - Before having my 'real' lunch, I was busy consuming "food" Ashley's been feeding me. She was busy 'cooking' all morning for me but I was still hungry and wanted some real food. So, I lined her bears (there are 4 of them btw) up on the couch, and placed, in front of each bear, a plate of Ashley's goodie and told her : "here, you cook for bear-bear to mum-mum...bear-bear hungwy".

She shot me that yeah-right-mom-do-you-think-i-was-born-yesterday look. But, I ignored her and walked very fast into the kitchen (not like my kitchen is very far away la...just that I was hungry). I was about to take the first bite of my very boring lunch, she came in and said "e-ki-mes (excuse me), bear-bear sleep-ring (sleeping)".

I went "WHAT??!!...bear-bear hungwy...want to mum-mum". Then I went outside and true enough, they were faced down, in sleep mode. Plates were no where near.

I said to her again "hey, bear-bear hungwy...bear-bear want to mum-mum".

She folded her arms and said (very sternly) - "No. Bear-bear tired. Bear-bear sleep-ring."

I gave up - "OK...bear-bear sleep-ring"...and continued eating (or so I thought).

Then, she came to me, smiling and asked "mommy, do you wanna pway (play) jump?"

Me = **pengsan**

toilet training

I've started toilet training Ash this week.

Oh...why so "late", you might be wondering.

Well, many reasons but the top-most was/is because I just can't take the spills (and thrills). I don't think I can handle poo on the floor, pee on my rug etc...ok, I don't have a rug. But, still..you get the drift don't you? Besides, I had other things to worry about or to have my toes kept like Em for one...and wrinkle creams. It's tough being middle-aged :-P

Hows the progress so far? It's been 2 days now. She's still afraid and a bit unsure of what to do. I think it's horrifying for her. A little bit of pressure I guess. But, when she did get her pee into her ppotty, she was happy and was jumping up and down screaming "..I gol -it...I gol -it!!"..

I guess I will have to continue encouraging her and giving her the support. It felt like gold seeing golden pee in the throne :-)

..and we're back.

Taken on 2/5 - A shot of Lil Em just after her bath.

She was teary cos she was reluctant to leave her tub..

I'm finally back - into blogging that is. We didn't run off to never-never land if you're curious. Just that, last week's been pretty tied-up and somehow never got around to logging onto my blog. But, here I am. In the flesh eheheh...

So, what have you guys been up to the past week? Oh, happy belated Mother's Day to all mommies out there. I hope you guys had a great time putting your feet up, relaxing, checking into the day-spa and even after all that, your kids were the first one to miss you. And your hubby too if you got him to babysit while you enjoyed yourself on your "off" day. :-D.

I had my early Mother's Day brunch on Saturday at Dragon-I (quite good the food, no?). It was unintentional really because we needed to eat after Ash's tennis. She wasn't satisfied with her morning work-out and wanted to ride on her favourite car ride in 1U. You know, the ones where you rent...the "car" stroller. Yeah, she's crazy over that thing. I got myself the One Card after hubby lost his just so that we could rent the damn thing for less.

So, that was that. On Sunday, we went to my mom's place as usual, to feast :-D. Oh, and lil Em is finally 1!! So, happy birthday my sometimes-sweet-sometimes-not-so-sweet angel. She's just the little darling - when she's not hungry or sleepy. And, she's learning to walk too. She hasn't mustered enough courage to take that first step by herself but I'm pretty sure she will soon :-)

So, that's about all for now. Catch ya later.

real estate

Ok, so I had my beauty sleep last night. Couldn't even keep my eyes open for some reason. But, all's good this morning. Plus, the weather's so inviting.

Yesterday, we were at my in laws house as always. Saturdays are spent there. My MIL's opposite house is on sale and we decided to call the agent for the price. Guess what? A whopping RM1.6mil (according to the brochure printing)! I'd give it a 700K or 800K but not a into millions. We were just dumb-founded. There's no way that old property could fetch such a price. Not in my books anyway.

The agents these days are getting more and more ridiculous. Jacking up prices as they like. It's really crazy out there. Alright..so why I am even looking at houses? Well, we are planning on moving, and moving closer to my MIL's. Several factors mooted that fact : First and foremost, we want to move closer to where MIL's staying. They are getting older and it just makes sense if we did. Secondly, the kindy I've set my eyes on for Ashley next year, is close to where MIL lives. Plus, eventually, the school, we have in mind for Ashley when she enters Primary, is also close to where MIL lives. So, there ain't no way I'm driving all over town just to get her to school. A move is the most logical under the circumstances.

We've been looking around. Slowly. We'll take our time. It's just that, the more we look, the more de-motivated we feel...**sigh**...

World Expo 2010 in Shanghai

Did you watch the opening ceremony of the World Expo yesterday? Cool huh?

I remembered the last time I was in Vancouver, I went to the Expo 86. For a 12 year old, it wasn't all that awesome. It was boring...very boring. When you're 12, all you're worried about are pimples, boys, braces and when you can get rid of it, boobs, glasses, sat prep courses...oh and what else? boys mostly. Sure glad my dad isn't reading this because he might just freak out..hahahah...:-P

Now that I am older, I can appreciate going for such exposition. It's gonna last 6 months apparently. I would love to re-live and visit one today but since I didn't get a plane ticket to China, I'll have to wait for another 4 years (I think?!).

ANyway, I am dead beat. I just got home from MILs. I have something else I wanna share with you but I'll leave that for tomorrow. Have a good night!