Long Deeparaya break

2 weeks before, I was undecided whether to go back to my hometown in good ol' Kluang. I didn't want to take any unnecessary leave when my work is all piling up. And then, the announcement came, that all staffs are required to take compulsary leave. Since we have to take a forced leave, it made my decision more clear-cut.

And so, the exodus began. I drove back with the kids early Saturday morning around 7:40am. Traffic was building up along the North South Expressway but it wasn't jam. I later heard that later in the same afternoon, traffic was so bad under the heat.

It was a good weekend again in Kluang. There's always tons of home-cooked food and tons of shows to watch on Singapore channel. We seldom tune in to Malaysian TV whenever we are in Kluang as we get clear reception of the Singapore tv channels. The kids love playing with kong-kong and their Uncle Kim Leong and Auntie Fannie.

This trip, I missed the breakfast at Kluang railway station again, and missing Kluang's yummy beef noodle and botak curry mee. How to go out an eat when there's abundant of food at my parent's home?

We spent Brendan's 3rd birthday in Kluang as well which fell on Monday. It was a small celebration at home but it's a meaningful one definitely.

On the first day of Raya, we went to a prominent businessman's open house who happened to be my dad's friend. It was a lovely makan love-affair as the food was just simply yummy. I've not been to any raya open house for many many years and attending it for the first time together with my kids reminds me of the lovely racial harmony that we enjoy.

We've never been to the extremely big Zenxin organic farm despite being a Kluangnite and took the opportunity to visit the farm in Kluang. It was really a surprise for us to see that Kluang has a huge farm. I think they specialises in the planting of the red dragon fruit there.

I used to buy the organic brown rice powder from a Zenxin shop in Kluang 2-3 years back and am surprised at the growth of the company.

When the time came for us to come back up to KL, I really dread having to drive up in the jam but it's a decision I made and I have to face the journey. The usual almost-3 hours drive turned into a 4.5 hours drive up to KL.

Whatever it is, I don't regret going back.

Copycats

My mum love sewing pants, batik shirts and pyjamas (doesn’t matter if it’s not matching) for my kids. Even when we were small, my mum always spend her free-time sewing our dresses, School uniforms, pyjamas and shirts for us.

That’s a pic of Brendan & Eryn in matching cotton, checked pyjama tops. Hey, they’ve got matching smiles to go with too!

Siblings Rivalry

Brendan and Eryn have this love-hate sibling relationship. Well, can play and laugh together one moment and then hit at each other at the wink of an eye!

I love it when they play together. Eryn will sometimes go ‘sayang' kor-kor and Brendan will then ‘sayang’ back mei-mei. But when Eryn starts kissing kor-kor with her wet, salivating lips, Brendan will start screaming and hit at Eryn. That’s when the headache starts. Each will take turn hitting at each other and start screaming and shouting for mummy’s attention. Both will come running to mummy at the same time, wanting to be carried and wanting to sit on mummy’s lap at the same time! Yes, at the same time….. They rather not take turns but would rather go at something together……

Here, you can see a pic of Brendan hugging Eryn till she’s almost out of breath! Haha

My brother's wedding

My one and only brother finally got married about 3 months back. So, this is an overdue post.

My sister-in-law is someone who is really down to earth, maintaining a very low profile and is always ever so generous and kind-hearted, never failing to be nice to everyone around her. She's got this lovely glow on her face, being so patient and understanding.

The wedding was quite a big affair for the family, with the dinner guests totalling 50 tables. My mum's side happened to be a big group as my late maternal grandparents had 13 children. It was a fun affair especially for the younger children, which means it's playtime with lots of balloons, running around and abundance of fun with all the grand-cousins to play with.

self-feeding

As Eryn grows older, she likes to "show off" the things that she can independently manage on her own, like having her own meals.

She'll insists on holding her own spoon and eating on her own, sometimes messying herself and everywhere.

Tanglungs

Just a memorable week of the kids having fun with lanterns, doesn't matter if they're lighted up, squashed, torn, burnt, etc... For Eryn, she's even happy just holding the stick without the lantern!

Music please.....

Over the weekend, we took the kids out to Midvalley for a short visit. We had to send my sis to a wedding dinner in Bangsar Seafood Restaurant and thought that we could spend a few hours in Midvalley while waiting for my sis.

The kids seldom get the opportunity to go to shopping malls and they had tons of fun there. There was an 'iceless' skating rink and the kids enjoyed watching the people skating. As the music beats away, the kids danced around the exhibition hall for all to see.... *Mummy had to hide face*