Outing with friends from overseas

Sometime last week, daddy took out a friend from Netherlands out for dinner at a Chinatown cafe in KL together with the kids and mummy. Uncle Robert, as the kids call him, was here for a working assignment with daddy's company.

We were later joined by the kids' favourite Uncle Dejok, an engineer from Frammersbach, Germany and Uncle Kwan, daddy's colleague.

It was the kids' first outing in a very long time and so, they enjoy the sights and sounds in Petaling Street and KLCC.

Uncle Dejok, fostered a close friendship with the kids, making them paper planes in various types and even tried performed some magic tricks. Uncle Dejok is also known as Magic Andy in Frammersbach as he sometimes performs magic shows in children's party and in schools.

It was a short but fun night for the kids who enjoyed going out instead of staying at home most of the time.

Garbage Enzyme

This morning, a friend told me of a garbage enzyme workshop workshop which contributes to a better earth friendly environment.

I was my first time hearing of such thing. With the changes in the climate and the many waste thrown into garbage, I was listening attentively to her, when I found out that we can contribute to the climate change through a simple DIY formula using kitchen waste (fruits' skin and unwanted vegetables).

This not only helps in protecting our ozone layer and lower global temperature, but actually provides a natural and environment friendly way to use the enzyme liquid as a household cleaner, air purifier, laundry and floor detergent, shampoo (yes, shampoo!!), body care, car care and or course as an organic fertiliser.

It removes odor, molds and grime, it's antibacterial and anti-viral.

It's all natural, and in fact, it doesn't even smell and actually acts as an insecticide as well!

The dilution ratio for usage is approximately 1:1000 to use enzyme as insecticide, 1:100 for pesticide, diluting it 200X to be used as air-refreshener and 500x as hormones for plants to get more fruits or flowers.

1 Tbp of enzymes for 1 litre of detergent water/dish washing liquid/shampoo (or 1tsp for 500cc) will help reduce the side effects in chemicals and enhance the nutrients.

The ratio of making this would be mixing 3 parts of the unwanted fruits and vegetables to 1 part of brown sugar (not sure whether this is gula melaka or that special brown sugar for making desserts) with 10 parts of water.

Keep these in an airtight container and leave it unopened for 3 months. After that, you can pour them into individual containers for your daily household usage and personal care.

Chin Nee's beautiful twins

I received an sms from Chanel who forwarded me Chin Nee's sms that she has delivered her twin baby boys via c-sect. We were communicating via sms asking when to visit her and where about is she before I decided to contact a few other mummies to see if anyone is keen to join me to visit her.

So, Chanel and Liz finally confirmed to meet at my house in within the next one hour and I drove us all to visit her. She's got a gorgeous set of twins and they're so sweet. They look a little different from each other and yet so alike at certain angles. I'll leave the birth story of the babies to the mummy.

See you soon, Chin Nee and meanwhile, take good care of yourself and remember to eat and "bou" yourself!

Never-ending homework

There seems to be quite a number of homework to do for Brendan. There was one time, when he came back with 5 homeworks - English writing, BM writing, numbers writing, coloring and chinese!

Before Brendan started his daycare, he used to dread doing his homework at night. I tend to lose my cool when I wanted to do my own things and he was getting tired of his homework.

Eversince he started daycare after school, he finished his homework in school with the personal guide of his teacher.

After daycare, he can actually asks for more colouring homework to do! He enjoys doing homework now though I only limit him to basic reading and colouring. I wonder what got into him. Maybe my teaching method is wrong, or maybe I'm just plain lazy and impatient to go through this homework.

Brendan is bad in spelling and reading, but loves painting. He took after both daddy and mummy in the arts department cos' I love drawing and painting when I was young. Daddy is also a good artist as well. Well, afterall, I took after my dad who is a superb artist.

Eryn, on the other hand, also took after me in the music and sports department. Eryn can really run, and run, and run, so unlike Brendan who is always complaining of getting tired.

Oil price increase again!!

I pumped RM30 petrol at around 5pm and before I headed back home today. My phone battery was dead and by the time I got home, I recharged my phone and received 5 missed calls from one friend.

When I called her back, she was telling me that the price of petrol will increase tomorrow! I didn't have trouble pumping petrol earlier on as there was no queue. After cooking, I fetched Brendan from daycare and took him for a drive to the nearest Shell petrol station and was I extremely surprised at the tons of cars queueing up to pump petrol!!

Brendan had the urge to pee and so I stopped at the road side for him to do his 'business' and overheard a man telling one driver that the queue has not been moving for more than half and hour as there was a deadlock at the petrol station.

Brendan actually helped saved my time by not engaging in that stupid struggle to get into the petrol station. Since I was already out, I decided to head to BHP nearby but it was the same predicament. Deadlocked. I decided to try for the third time to Petronas not too far away and somehow manage to squeeze my way through the many, many oil pumps available there.

I've never joined in the crowd when it comes to petrol price increase, but now that I'm no longer in the full-time workforce and budget is a constraint, and inflation chocking us up, I have to be kiasu today and join in the crowd. Well, there's always a first time! It won't be the last time as well. Luckily I had Brendan to talk to or else I will be cursing my lungs out.

Unfortunately, I didn't take my handphone out or else I will have started snapping pictures of all petrol stations all over the place! hahaha

Real-life situation

Over the weekend, we made a trip up to Penang and stayed overnight at my sister's place. It was basically eating and eating and eating.

The kids were spoilt by my sis and my brother-in-law who bought Brendan a battery-operated racing car and Eryn a little cooking set!

We had to travel from Penang to Kota Bahru the following evening and gosh, I do dislike travelling all the way there, especially when the journey is so looooooooong. I simply dread going to KB!!

We were there for two nights and on Tuesday, we left after lunch about 1pm+ and arrived home just before midnight! We were stuck for a very long time at Karak Highway.

There were around 7-8 ambulances that came from the direction of KL driving fast to make a u-turn far behind us to go to a stop by the ravine which we later found out in the papers today, that a bus has plunged deep 10 metres below. 2 people died in that freak accident and knowing that we were stucked in a jam due to that accident brought shivers down my spine.

It saddens me to think of the victims stucked in the bus, deep down the ravine, under the rain, while lots of rescuers were frantically trying to save the victims.

I read of these news everyday, and it's just simply that - news.. These people just never imagined how one single move can just change their lives forever.

Ask yourself this question : Are you prepared to go through the road ahead when your life turns 360 degrees? Be it for the better or for the worst?

Turning 3

Eryn is officially 3 years old. Born on 1st June 2005, she displays such a warm outburst that never fails to impress all at home with her antics and her very talkative stories - on the whys, the hows, the whos, the wheres and a whole bunch of wierd stuffs. Oh my, she can really talk and talk and talk...

Her sudden display of emotions always catch me by surprise.

One moment, she'll come squeezing me by the neck and hugging me, saying "I love you, mummy" and continue hugging and patting my back and another moment, she'll throw a tantrum and says "You don't be like that ar!! I don't like you!"

She's so full of grace and so cute with her baby-like voice and yet so tomboyish and behave like a boy.

She definitely develops fast, having learning to stand at 9 months and walking at almost 11 months, I think. Babbling at around one year old, and speaks in sentence by one and a half year old. She went off her diapers much later than Brendan. Brendan voted off the diapers at less than two years old while Eryn got slept without her diapers at around age 2.

We happened to be in Penang on her birthday this year and we didn't celebrate it much due to the travelling and eating and visiting.

Eryn wasn't a planned pregnancy, but she has brought me joy and tons of challenges in motherhood, in coping with 2 children with a close age gap of one and a half years old.

This post is specifically dedicated to Eryn, wishing you a life full of joy and laughter as it has always been for you. Your unique personality and expressions are a beauty to behold. While you can be naughty and 'stubborn', you certainly gives the aura, so cherub-like in times of darkness in mummy's life...

Wishing you lots of love and kisses unlimited, just like the one you so warmly display to mummy out of the blue, just when mummy needs it.