Long weekend

Long weekend: It's time for a short getaway, staycation, family-get-together or even just to laze around.

We started the weekend by bringing the lil ones to Hello Kitty Town in Puteri Harbour. My dad drove as he is pretty familiar with Malaysia. The place was easy to find via Tuas Checkpoint with directional signs and banners leading us there.

My girl has been feeling excited about the trip since the night before and she was thrilled when she reached there. Before we could even step into the theme park, she pulled my mother into the souvenir shop busy checking out the toys and other items (we walked past the shop before we reached the main entrance). I'm glad that we have made a pact with her earlier that she was not allowed to get any more stuff toys else she would have hug a Hello Kitty and plead with us to get it for her.

The theme park is relatively small & we covered the place within 2 hours (including watching the stage performance).

Since my girl and my boy also love Barney and Thomas & friends, we have gotten tickets for 2 parks. The Little Big Club is located one level above Hello Kitty Town and there are different sections for different characters under HIT Entertainment. Before we entered the park, we saw Barney mascot & people are queuing to take pictures with the purple dino. My girl and I went to queue, my boy was totally fascinated with the mascot & he was staring at purple Dino, waving and clapping his hands while waiting for our turn to take photo.

We managed to watch the Barney mini show and I was happy that the 2Js was totally loving it. My girl was dancing and singing along with Barney and my boy was enjoying the show, clapping his hands periodically.

Spot my happy girl touching the wand

Loves this photo. Spot my girl's cheeky expression

Family shot

Me and my kids. Loving Janelle's smile

Say hi to Barney

It took us approximately 3.5 hours to cover the 2 parks. It may be longer if we bother to queue for activities and rides but we are too lazy to queue and Janelle is afraid of rides.

We still have time after the visit so we decided to make our way to Johor Premium Outlets to see if we can get any great buys. Pretty disappointing as the prices are not that attractive afterall.

Saturday was spent lazing around in the house and Megan came over to play with Janelle in the evening. The girls simply love the company of each other and it is always very sweet to see how they misses each other, play together and loving each other.

The kids had a playdate at T3 on Sunday morning. Janelle has been asking about her friend Kate hence I have made arrangement to meet my friend at airport for them to meet and play.

The boys make friends with each other.

The girls finally meet again.

Having fun

 

Fun @ playground

The kids enjoyed themselves and had fun over the weekend. And of cos I felt happy too knowing that my kids were happy.
Happy Kids = Happy Mum = Happy Hubs

The lil Unstoppable boy

At the age of 13.5 months, lil J has a strong mind of his own. Though he is not able to articulate what he want, he will usually points toward the direction (mostly to food or the main door) or he will walk-cum-crawl to the place that he want to be at. He will reach out for his snack, bring the pack to us and ask us to open for him. He will decide who he want to be carried. He will point what he want and if we give him the wrong item, he will push the item away and continue to point toward the thing that he is eyeing. When he do not get his way, he will throw a fit and go all soft when we tried to carry him. Small in size but he does have a BIG temper.

Now that he is able to climb up and down from everywhere ie the sofa, bed and chairs, there is no place that we can 'trap' him except his playpen. Being such an energetic boy, he can never sit still and never like to be seated in one place for long (5mins is considered long to him). He simply loves to move down from the sofa, cruise to the standing fan (and start shaking it). If we shift him away from the fan, he will either move to the main door and signal that he want to go out or he will cruise back to the coffee table and start throwing the remote controllers to the floor. 

I called him lil Unstoppable Boy as nothing seems to be able to stop him from doing what he want to do in the house. He knows every corner of the house and he is able to move to where he want to go on his own.  The only place that I can 'trap' him and keep him safe if I have to do house chores or the cooking is the playpen. Guess he will be able to move out of the playpen pretty soon too as I have seen him stepping on the sides of the playpen trying to push himself out.

Boys are boys. He simply cannot sit and remain contented playing with whatever toys that I give him. He is an adventurous boy who loves to explore every corner of the house.

The boy who wants to join in the Wii Dancing Game when his sister and cousin were playing

Attempting to climb over to the coffee table from the chair

Every corner of the house can be his playground. Even his jiejie joined along.

Sit still on the sofa? No way! How about trying a balancing act between the sofa and the coffee table?

It's the Mummy's day!

This is the 4th year that I am celebrating the mummy's day as a mum. And it is also the most memorable year as I received the 1st handmade card by my girl. Though it was not 100% done by her (with the help of her teacher), it is still the sweetest gift that a mum could ever receive, not to mention feeling proud too.

my 1st mummy's card (decorated by Janelle)

Inside of the card (decorated with the help of her teacher)

I also took the opportunity to celebrate the special occasion by indulging in a sumptuous buffet lunch at The Line, Shangri-La Hotel. Well, I have been wanting to dine there with my hubs, sister and her hubs and my good friends but it was not easy to fix a date where everyone can be available, especially now that my sister is back with SQ. So 11 May was the day and since it is the mummy's day's weekend, we took it as a celebration too. I wanted to enjoy the spread hence I have gotten my parents to help look after the kids. It was a good lunch catching up along with the yummy spread.

I rem to take picture for the first spread but was too busy feasting later on to take more shots. And i lurveee the fresh prawns and sashimi! Yums!

On the same night, we also celebrated the special day with my grandma, my mother and the family at Peach Garden OCC. Well, the food are slightly on the pricey side but I must confess that we enjoyed the yummylicious dishes.

Great food overloaded for last Saturday!
But loving it (though I have to work harder to shred those unwanted calories :p)

Time for me, myself and I

When I was a FTWM, i never thought much about ME time. Yes, I do like ME time but the desire was not strong. Back then, I wanted to spend my free time with my kids (I felt guilty that I had to spend longer hours at work than with them) hence even if I have no time for myself then, it did not matter.

Now that I am a SAHM, attending to the needs and wants of my 2 kids 24/7 and doing the household chores, I realised that I CRAVE for personal time. Not that because I feel that I have too much time for them now but I know that ME time will help to keep me sane. There are days that that the kids are just too cranky and I feel like tearing myself apart. But towards the end of the day, it is all about keeping myself calm and composed before I can manage them. Easier said than done! There are times when I just simply lost it and I will behave like a tigress. Trust me. I hate being a tigress and I always felt bad after I lost my temper.

As much as I love my kids, I need time for myself so that I can pamper myself, love myself, recharge myself before I continue to take on the challenging role of SAHM. 4 weeks ago, an opportunity came when I felt that I badly needed a massage and facial. I called up the spa & I was lucky that they have available slot. I planned it well that my boy will be taking his nap when I leave the house and I gotten my mum to help to look after him. And that was a refreshing experience! I felt really good after the session and I know that I should go for the spa session on a regular basis. Afterall, I have already paid for the full package (when I was working), hence it will be considered as one of the "no additional cost" self indulgence time.

Apart from personal time, I know we need to have couple time too. Since I wasn't really into ME time when I was working, couple time has taken a back seat too. Yes, my hubs and I do love each other but I believe that effort has to be put in to maintain a relationship or make it stronger. Leave it status quo and it will just fade as time passes.

I expressed my wish on couple time to my hubs and I think he felt happier too. Frankly, eversince the arrival of the 2 kids, I have channeled all my energies and attention to them, leaving very little or none for my hubs. But I definitely did not take him for granted. And I think it is time to make an effort for us to spend time alone (without the kids) at least once a week. A spa session, catching a movie, or even a dinner will be good. I do look forward to holidaying with my hubs too. Just the 2 of us!

Being a SAHM, I am glad that I am working towards my objectives ie to devote my time and attention to my family. Making them feel loved and keeping the family close and happy together.

Quality time for my girl

Now that I am a full time mummy, I should have more time for my kids. And yes, I do have more time for them. However, with a curious active boy moving around the house (he simply cannot sit still) and need 24/7 attention on him, it is challenging to give my girl the quality time that she deserves.

There have been more than one incident that both will cry and seek my attention simultaneously (usually at mealtime or bedtime) and I have to attend to my boy first as he is more needy at this age. Despite that, I often felt guilty that I am unable to attend to my girl first. And she will make me feel worse when she tried to hold back her tears yet ended up sobbing very hard (I have to remind her that didi is younger and mummy will attend to her after didi finished his milk/meal or after he has fallen asleep). I wonder how much she can understand from that statement or perhaps she just feel neglected that I am always attending to didi first before her which explains why she always ended up sobbing very hard.

For the past weeks, I have been planning to go shopping to replenish my skincare products and I decided to do it on last Friday. Frankly, initially I planned for the shopping to be on my own so that I can enjoy some ME time. But it was also a good opportunity for me to spend quality time with my girl alone. Thus, she was excused from school last Friday to go shopping with me. I gotten my mum to help to look after Jayven for a few hours (when he is napping) while I take Janelle along with me for shopping at Vivo City.

We took train to Vivo City and I can see that she was really happy that we were out shopping together with my time and attention on her for that few hours. She behaved like a little girl (erm, yes she is still a little girl) and wanted to sit on my lap instead of occupying a seat on her own in the train journey. She likes to tap the card at the exit and insisted that she should hold the card and tapped it upon exit.

I'm amazed at her good memory at such a tender age when she recalled that she had bought her favourite biscuits at M&S in Vivo City approx. 8 months back and requested to get the biscuits again. Of course, I gladly brought her to M&S where she was happily doing her biscuit shopping without my help. All I had to do was to bring her to cashier to make payment. My girl has really grown up!

After shopping, she stated that she was hungry and needed a snack. Well, I was very tempted to bring her to Starbucks and ordered my all-time-favourite Green Tea Latte but there will be not much choice for her. In the end, we ended up at her favourite restaurant McDonald's. I ordered a Happy Meal for her and she happily indulged in her fresh milk, nuggets and not forgetting fries. Yes, I am a bad mummy who do not restrict my kids from junk food. Afterall, I grew up indulging in junk food too. At least Janelle do take her fair share of fruits and vegetables hence I have no complaints about her diet. And it was a day dedicated to spending time with her so she get to decide.

Delighted with the toy from Happy Meal

Happily munching her fries

I'm glad that I have made time for her. I know that she enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed hers. It was a great bonding session with her and I hope she knows that her mummy love her deeply. She is a sensitive girl and all she want is time, attention and affection from us. I hope that I am able to spend time alone with her at least once every fortnightly or at least once a month.

Jayven at 13 months

Jayven turns 13 months 2 days back.
Well, I guess he is of average size for his age though I have received comments like "He is so tiny" (guess that their babies must be huge to make such a comment) and "He is big for his age" (perhaps their babies are of smaller build than average). Since I have received extreme comments of either too small or big for his age, I'm pretty certain that he is of the right size for a baby boy.

Jayven is definitely more mischievous as compared to his sister. In the past, I used to think that Janelle was too hyper and mischievous. Now that I have a boy, I beg to differ. Instead I learnt to appreciate how well-behaved Janelle used to be at his age. Jayven is often restless and his attention span is very short. He simply loves to move all over the place, be it climbing down from the sofa, crawling to the tv console, cruising while attempting to pull whatever he can get hold of, crawling to the stand of the fan and start shaking the fan, play with the remote controller and pushing them underneath the sofa and many more. Just 2 days back, he was happily watching Barney in my room and he was bouncing excitedly when Barney appeared. Bounced and bounced and bounced and off the bed he fell (head down first). Well, what can I say? He will not even sit still when his eyes are glued to the tv.

See the baluku on his head

He knows what he wants and he will always point to the things or direction that caught his attention. At his age, he will express his mood clearly. When he is happy or excited, he will flash his wide smile. When he is feeling cranky, sleepy or hungry, he will cry out loud (and I mean real loud) and even kick his feet at times.

His favourites at 13 months old
Favourite people: Jiejie and mummy (and his favourites to
Favourite cartoon character: Not too certain as he gets equally excited when he see Mickey, Barney, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Alex (from Madagascar)
Favourite food: Sweet potato porridge
Favourite snack: Anything edible! He simply loves to munch
Favourite song: Twinkle twinkle little stars
Favourite sleeping place: Our bed. Place him in the playpen and he will often wake up seeking attention. When on our bed, he will sleep soundly like a baby
Favourite activity: Bath time & meal time

Just like a big boss. This pic never fails to amuse me

I'm glad that he is growing well and his personality is starting to show (more clearly). Though he has managed to walk on his own 3 weeks back, he is not showing any further attempts to do so. I am looking forward to the day that he will just stand up and start to walk without any support (soon!)