1 week short of 5 months

Yes, I know each child is different.

Caylee is 7.08 kg at 4 months 3 weeks.

Just started her on Nestle rice, one spoonful. However she doesn't seem to like it at all. Cries after 2-3 mouthfuls. And she spits out alot of it together with alot of saliva.

Caylee is speaking more than her brother at this age. Her range of vocabulary ranges from the famous Ah Goo.....to Gleeee.....to Hey!.....to mmmeeeee.....to ah,ah,ah,ah.

She can't turn over yet. Highly possible reason coz she is hardly left on her tummy. She doesn't seem to like tummy time as much as her kor kor. Thus she doesn't lift her head as high as her kor kor. Hubby says could be due to the length of her neck which is shorter than her brother (in other words, she is fatter!). Instead she prefers to sit up...or of course be carried around.

She has less hair compared to her brother. I had to cut the brother's hair 2 times already by the time he was 5 months!

She drinks milk like we have been starving her for hours unlike her kor kor who drank at regular intervals. Drinking 6 oz min every 2-3 hours. It would help if she could eat....

She is beginning to want to hold her bottle buts its still too heavy for her.

Character wise, she is more demanding than her kor kor on a regular basis, in that she calls for people to come talk to her. However, she is easier in that when she is tired, she goes to sleep (given of course it is not too hot or noisy) instead of struggling to keep awake and getting all grouchy afterward like her brother.

Other developments similar to her kor kor are...reaching out and pulling things towards her, sucking her fingers and pooing everyday.

Due to the consistency of her poop, we may be taking her of Mamex and putting her on Friscolac. Yet to decide.

By the way, Christopher is 13 kg at 2 years 11 months.

Kiddo-s and foodies

Our recent trip back to Ipoh was a trip of new discoveries. Told hubby "ENOUGH of all the usual eating places. Time to venture into new territories!"

And new territories it was indeed...marked by the fact that hubby had to ask me for directions.

But food aside, let's talk about the kids first.

***

Christopher's a little blur here but look at him cradling the baby kangaroo. He has been frequently doing this since watching us cradle Caylee and Sunday night, he brought baby kangaroo to bed and patted him to sleep.

For the pass few nights he has also been watching me change Caylee into her PJs and insists on holding her bottle to feed his mui mui.

And....yet another purchase for our little girl. You would think that being the 2nd child, we would have fewer purchses. But NO !!! During Christopher's time, Reese's mum lent us the Bumbo. This time round, we had to buy our own. But well....this girl loves to SIT UP. She keeps pushing herself up everytime we try to lie her down. So....

When we were in Ipoh, there was PC Fair going on as well. Hubby went with my dad and some of my dad's friends. I had to stay at home to work and take care of the kids. But well....I got a gift as a result! MP3 player for my car. Have to attach this unit to the cig lighter and put in my thumb drive/memory card. Also comes with a remote control. All for RM14. Not bad huh!
There was also a Verbatim 5GB harddisk going for RM205. But it was COD and hubby never carries that much cash. And we never got around to going back (wonder what happened to the time!).

***

OK....now the main meal foodies:

Mum asked me to choose between Mar Poh or Weng Kee for lunch the last day we were in Ipoh. I have been to Mar Poh (or Sun Mar Poh) since I was still studying in Ipoh and hubby loves the food. But this trip being trying new places, we opted for Weng Kee Seafood Restaurant. Reanaclaire has been there (several times) and 2 of the dishes my mum ordered were the same. Which is a good thing coz I forgot to snap pics.

Highlight of our lunch was the yam pork ribs. We thought it would be like cube yam stir fried with pork ribs....but it came out a surprising mush of yam and har mai with bits of pork ribs. The yam being the emphasis and the pork ribs the accompaniment rather than the other way around.

The beancurd was also really smooth and very nice. Though we were debating with no conclusion what those transparent crunchy stuff atop the bean curd were!

Another place we also tried for dinner one day was Kedai Kum Kee in Pasir Pinji.

The highlight from this place is their famous stewed dai geok, sai geok (meaning pig trotters, chicken feet). I can say nothing else but IT WAS SUPERBLY YUMMY!!! It was soft yet still crunchy and the taste was just right.

I wasn't hungry when we stepped into the shop at 6 pm (opening time) but I was still 'fighting' over the last chicken feet with hubby. Delectable. Will definitely go there again next trip.

Of course we also ordered some char liew (disappointing sar kok but fried wantan big, crispy and nice) and yong liew (quite alright). Hubby also ordered a plate of dry koay teow (which he says was not that great). Total bill came up to RM12.50.

The other place which we visited (and went back again the next day) was Xin Xiang Er Nong also in Pasir Pinji. It's located at the corner of Jalan Tokong and Jalan Foo Eng Lim.

What was sold in this restaurant that made us come back for more was this!
Half boiled egg atop toasted hainanese bread. The sides of the bread were still crispy and the egg was done OH SO right!!!

Hubby also loved the 3 layer tea (bottom pic right) which had the slight taste of gula melaka.

The pork rib dry curry mee was also good. Christopher loved the herbal chicken noodle. And the toasted bread with kaya was nicely thin.

On the way back to KL, I commented to hubby.....we forgot to drink our white coffee! Anyway.....next post will be a confectionary post. Stay tuned.

out of body

Did you have a long weekend? For me, I did go back to Ipoh on Thursday evening but had to work from home on Friday. Went back to Ipoh only so that hubby will have help from my parents to take care of the kids.

Little girl hardly sleeps during the day and little boy needs constant companionship.

Now on Monday I am having an out of body experience. There are 2 laptops in front of me so that I can do 3 persons work more efficiently (my 2 other colleagues are on leave).

I can see myself typing there and then clicking there. My mind is vaguely registering everything.

And my mind is not F10 as well coz when I Ctrl-C on one laptop, I cannot Ctrl-C on the other laptop until I Ctrl-V on the original laptop first. Else I would have forgot which Ctrl-C holds which info.

Seems I have only one Ctrl-C in my brain even though I have 2 laptops with Ctrl-Cs that are totally unrelated!

Will post my Ipoh trip on Wed (time permitting).

Drive or co-drive

Today my colleague and I made our way to Hilton KL Sentral to pick up the mooncakes. It's quite a mess getting to Hilton KL Sentral for those who have no reason going to that area.

Usually I am at that area only to drop hubby at Sentral Train Station. So my colleague and I made a few turns to arrive at Hilton Hotel lobby.

My mooncakes!

From the top, the mooncakes I bought are: Red Lantern, snow skin Kirsch lotus paste with cheese and raspberry ; Yellow Moon, brandy flavoured lotus paste, violet flower essence and chocolate ; Blue Moon, snow skin Amaretto lotus paste with blueberry cheese Feuilantine ; And 2 mixed nuts baked mooncake at the bottom.

This is Hilton Chynna's awesome wooden box. Seems the cost of the box is already about RM20+. I paid (after staff discount) a whopping RM 83 from this loot.

Will put up more pics when I cut them up.

As we were driving there, she commented that my driving seems to have changed. Very mild these days. Well...

I was driving her around for about 1 hour waiting in the car all the time while she did some errands and bought lunch. She asked if I was tired driving like that.

I said that I wasn't really tired even though we had to do several rounds before we got to the place we wanted to go, the roads being one way and we were unfamiliar with the place. But I realised that what I didn't like about being the driver was my lack of control.

"Lack of control in what?" you may ask.

Well....as the driver you have to rely on your co-driver to give you directions in an unfamiliar place. So there is a certain amount of reliability you need from yoru co-driver. And if she is not the kind to be aware of things, you will find yourself going round and round, hitting dead ends and U-turning alot.

So, now....do you consider yourself being more in control at the wheel or at the side of the driver?

Looking out @ Waroeng Mas Timoer

We always had trouble keeping Christopher in a car seat or a stroller. Now, he is bargaining with us for his time in the stroller. Which means I have to carry girlgirl and he closes himself up in the stroller pretending he is in a spaceship.

However, sharing a car seat is totally ridiculous. And he doesn't want to sit on the toddler 'harnass' we got him anymore coz as he puts it "I can't see the tyres or the road or the grass mummy!"

So lest Caylee's carseat breaks under his oversized bum, we got him a new car seat 2 weeks ago.



The top pic is Christopher trying to fit into Caylee's car seat. And the bottom pic is of course his new comfortable car seat which as he puts it "can put drink at the side wan!".

And last weekend, we tried out a new restaurant in Sunway Giza. My treat to my inlaws (and 2nd bro in law tagged along) and my hubby for his birthday!


Tried this new Indonesian restaurant : Waroeng Mas Timoer



Top row : Nasi Goreng Indonesia for sonny boy (Rm9.30) and Nasi Timbel Komplit for BIL (RM14.90)
Mid row : Flying fish (RM 35.90) and Cumi-Cumi/squid (RM19.90)
Bottom row : (don't know what is that) and grilled chicken (RM 19.80)

We also ordered Lamb Topside (RM16.90) and Tumis Kangkung (RM7.90) and Sup Ekor (RM12.90).

LOVED and I repeat LOVED the lamb. It was tender, falling off the bone and well marinated GREAT !!! The flying Siakap fish was nothing special to me. Just fried to the bone. The squid was alright albeit a bit too chewy, it being squid.

If ever I go again, I would really just order the lamb and eat that all up by myself. And my utter surprise really was that each plate of rice in this premise is RM2.50. So, think carefully before ordering rice!

Tommorrow I am going to get hubby another birthday present - Chynna Hilton's snow skin mooncakes. Will blog about that when I get it. Heard the box is really awesome and well, hubby didn't get to eat his snow skin mooncakies last year. Yeah....it's all about the food this year.

The concept of

The concept of some things are slightly different these days.

The concept of free time.
With just one kid, I consider myself having free time when he falls asleep. Now my concept of free time is if none of the kids are crying.

The concept of what is expensive
I used to consider things expensive if they will not be put to full use. Now I get stuff even though only a little benefit can be accrued from them.

The concept of love
Love is not how often my kids say 'I love you mummy' but how quickly they calm down when I carry and talk to them.

The concept of safety
It is not how high they climb or how wide the gap they jump. But that they watch where they are climbing and how far the gap is before they jump.

The concept of long life
I don't really care how much I gain for myself in the next 47 years. But that I live healthily for the next 47 years to see my daughter become 46 years old.

Contraceptive

Anyone know anyone who has used any kinds of contraceptive?

Was talking to my doctor the other day casually about it and she said the main side effect is weight gain.

Anyway.....anyone got anything to share on this topic?

And yes....I am considering.

Between 7-7.30 am

Work for me starts at 7am. Previously I used to leave for work by 6.15 am. There are very few cars at that time so I can drive at whatever speed I want. And usually it will be a constant and comfortable mid speed. It usually takes me 5-7 minutes to reach office so I only get to listen to maybe 1 and a half songs on CD or just a bit of radio.

NOW...

I still wake up at near 6 am. Wash and cut up stuff for dinner. Get dressed, moisturize, bring down all of girl girl's bottles to be washed and sterilized (if required), pack my office bag and girl girl's bag.

THEN....

At around 6.40 am, I go back upstairs to feed girl girl her milk. Burp her and carry her downstairs. Put her in the car by 7 am.

7 am TILL 7.30 am

I am in traffic. Ferrying girl girl to the babysitter takes up the first 10 minutes of the drive. 5 minutes to drop her. And another 12-15 mintues to reach office.

After one week of such schedule,

• I am pushing my car harder - drive faster when the traffic clears and follow slowly when in line.
• I am scolding more drivers. I mean you are stuck in a 2 lane crawl for like 500 m. When the lane opens up to the 3rd lane, won't you want to get into that lane and speed off? Well....some drivers just want to stick to their lane and tus blocking me (from the inner lane) from going to the fast lane!
• I am listening to the radio more and laughing to myself when the DJs make a joke.
• I am using up petrol much faster but that's to be expected.

As for Caylee...

• She has also gotten used to being woken up at 6+ am.
• She doesn't really grumble, swallows her milk and lets me put her in the car.
• She still doesn't like being strapped in her car seat but she tolerates it for the short distance.
• She looks at me dolefully.
• She smiles when I shake my head and sing songs to the radio.
• She sometimes laughs when she hears the DJs laugh.

So, life is quite enjoyable at 7 am till 7.30 am. Apart from the traffic (which I can ignore if I want and drive stupidly), I would say it's my most relaxing time of the day.

Ko Hyang @ The Gardens

The other place that my collegaues have been raving about was this Korean 'restaurant' Ko Hyang in The Gardens.

The first time they tried it, they were comparing notes. And subsequently I heard then comparing notes every other Monday following their weekend meal! Last I heard though the standard has dropped but my fussy colleague proclaimed it "still good!".

So, last weekend I went. Ko Hyang is not a restaurant. It's like a stall along the walkway with a few dedicated tables. An uncle who saw us waiting with 2 kids hurriedly finished his tea and gave us the table. (so nice!)

This is what we ordered. Hubby was eyeing the fried oyster in the next stall which he would have ordered if the I had eaten more of the Seafood Jeon.

Christopher had this. It came together with some soup which could nto have been good for him but he drank it all up before I could really stop him.

Of course the condiments.

I managed to do some bit of shopping as well in Isetan. So, THAT really made my weekend. It would be quite some time before I ever venture to Midvalley or The Gardens again. It's too crowded for my liking.

Aliyaa-aaaaa here we come!

So, upon returning back to work after my maternity and under a new contract, my colleagues looked at me (like hungry puppy dogs) for me to buy them lunch!

Not sure why my resolve to remain slim seems to have vanished out of the door. I am more than gungho to eat out every lunch, visiting food territories far and near.

Let's start with the near first.

I work in Damansara Heights. And around the corner from my office is this Sri Lankan restaurant called Aliyaa.

Be warned! The curry is really spicy. And this spiciness sticks to the tongue and the throat. So, get some lozenges in place or better still, drink their glorious ice lemon tea after the meal.

I shall start with the ice lemon tea. I mean.....I can taste the tea and not just sugar and lemon!

A typical set meal costs approx. RM 16-18. It comes with the ice lemon tea, main course, desert of the day and coffee/tea.

This is my colleague's lump rice meal. It's vegetarian.

The coffee was seemingly good. But we skipped the desert of the day.

My other colleague's mutton set meal.

I thought the mutton tasted like spicy 'sweet and sour'.

And my meal. I didn't go for the set coz

I wanted to eat their bread and try the beef curry.

Overall, I think we will be going there again for the next farewell. It's near and we have a few things on the menu which we still want to try.

Hepatitis B

Have you checked recently if you are immunized against Hep B? For some people the immunization level can drop leaving you compromised.

Recently someone close to me was diagnosed with Hep B. Reactive to Antigen e which indicates that the virus is multiplying.

Anyone has any stories they know about people being a chronic carrier and still living life till their old age? At least something I can share with this person that might bring her comfort.

Have you checked yourself recently?

Caylee's first day

Today is Caylee's first day at the babysitter.

She woke up at 5.45 for her milk this morning.

I fed her and burped her.

And on other days I would have willed her back to sleep.

But this morning, I played with her a bit.

And hugged her and kissd her.

And whispered in her ear.

"Be good, darling girl.

Today you will be going to your babysitter.

Mummy will pick you up as early as possible.

Be good ya, darling girl."

She slept in the car.

While I maneuvered round traffic.

And peeped at me when the car stopped.

The babysitter cooed over her.

When I brought her in.

And then she opened her eyes a bit.

They "oohhh-ed" and "aaahhh-ed",

While I left for work.

My heart slightly reassured.

My darling girl may be alright after all.

Dear Lord, let her be alright.

(If a human mother never stops thinking of her children,

what more our Lord Jesus.)