My 4yo JD has a 2nd passion, and that’s building Lego.

This kid loves Lego.  He spends an average 2-3 hours or more a day on Lego.  He sits in the living room, poured himself over his mega box of Lego, all different parts, building, dismantling, building, telling me about his construction from across the hall…

I am really enjoying him with his new interest.  Because I could sit down have my cuppa in the evening, listening to his “Lego City” stories, and we can talk all night about his constructions and so forth.  His father on the other hand, will be across from us, busy bidding for a 5-7kg bulk Lego from ebay!

Ah, joy of parenthood….

And I like this angry looking Lego man…

All aboard on the Lego boat, which actually float and sail on the water…

And this poor guy whom has blood over his forehead…

Dining table is also a Lego construction “ground”

Kitchen floor can also be Lego construction area…

But just don’t let me step on a Lego brick when I am walking around in the house …ouch! Jayden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 4yo JD has 2 great passion - drawing and building Lego.

One evening last week, JD requested for a movie while I was doing some baking in the kitchen.  I found the movie for him, he put it on and then I heard some furnitures shuffling noises from the family room.

I came out of the kitchen, and he has gotten himself a rather good set up…

Watching Surf’s Up DVD, his sketch book up on the bar stool, a kid’s chair to put his grass jelly drink and crayons, and the stool on the other side was for his bowl of grapes…

Funny kid.

Over the December break we took a short trip to Albany again.  We really like it there and though it’s a good 4 hours drive, we still make it back there year after year.

December 07 was no exceptional and this time round Chloe is more than a year old compared to December 06 when she was just 6 months old.

This time round we let the kids climbed up to Mt.Clarence to enjoy the view of Princess Harbour.  And also because JD’s interest with canons and all shooting-alike-looking apparatus, we spent at least a couple of hours looking at the display at The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial.

It was a small winding drive on the way up to Mt.Clarence and from there it was a short walk - an 80 steps up to Mt.Clarence. 

Chloe like the rest of us was determined to climb the steps all by herself.  She wanted to climb from the word “go” and she wouldn’t let me or Phil carry her up the steps.  Step by step, she climbed, she paused, she took a little breather and she was off again.  She’s just funny that way, that determination of hers, sometimes it just cracks us up.  Sometimes  it drives us a little bit nutty because she is just so damn determined and she knows exactly what she wants and would work till she gets it.

I guess she will be well trained to climb the mountain with her waigong one day… and I am sure that will be a delight for both of them

She ran ….

She climbed step by step

It’s hard work she thought, but nontheless…

Back to more climbing

Yay, I am at the top

I remember my mum used to make a really yummy sweet n sour pork.  It was always a comfort meal for me, especially on a cold rainy day when I was growing up. 

Last week, instead of steaming the pork ribs, I decided to do a sweet n sour style!  I used some oil to fry the pork that has been marinated with some soya sauce, a little bit of oyster sauce, some salt, sugar and a good amount of corn flour to coat the pork.  I marinated it overnight and the flavour was just awesome.

With the sauce, I just quickly fried some onions, and used a bit of tomato sauce, rice vinegar and sweetened it with a little bit of raw sugar.  Simmer it quickly and add in some corn flour to thicken the sauce.

My children prefer to dip the pork in the sauce rather than me mixing it all in.   

When I first came to Perth as a 16 years old, I really had no idea what Australia Day was all about.  I only remembered it as a public holiday and there were fireworks display at night. The end of last year marked the 10 years of me permanently residing in Australia.  Australia is truly a blessed country.  The vastness of land, the clear blue sky, the clean fresh air, the beautiful beaches that stretch across the coast, a stable economy and I feel blessed to have been here and still here.

For my children, I am glad they have this opportunity to grow up here, with the wonderful nature Australia has to offer.

Last week, I did a few crafts with the children, including the flag JD was holding and explained to them about Australia Day.  I also took the opportunity to let them know that they live in Australia, and where we are on the map. 

I also spent some time telling JD that “Mummy wasn’t born in Australia and that mummy is a Malaysian!”.  he seems really puzzled by it all.  But the good thing was he could relate to “Ohhhh, is that where Aunty Wendy is?  where Waigong is?…”  Well, at least he remembered his Aunty W and grandparents live in Malaysia. 

Whilst I have not gone ahead to get myself an Australian citizenship, I feel very much an Australian myself.  I guess over the years I have become so used to the lifestyle here, that I have difficulty in adjusting to the rush and crowd back home.  I have become so used to the quietness on the street, during the day and night, that I find it almost noisy when I am back in the HDB surroundings ….  Funny, and to think that I used to live and work there for a few years.

It’s amazing how we could sometimes easily move and adapt to a new place.

I like Australia.  I like the city I am living in.  I am glad and thankful for the many friends I have made since moving here.  Many of them are colleagues which became close friends, neighbours whom I could always call on for a chat and help, our babysitter whom has become a family friend, the same old man that walks his dog every morning, the lady at the bread shop, the coffee guy at the local cafe….I like the fact that there is usually a “Hello, how you going?” everywhere I go..

And that’s nice.  That’s what I like about here.  Perth, Australia!

Yipee, Bon Jovi concert!  Yes, tonight!  Woo hoo!

Babysitter arranged, kids been briefted, dinner will be cooked earlier, ah, just me and hubby out tonight, I am looking forward to it!

And it is long weekend, even better!

Last weekend, I walked past the seafood shop after my groceries shopping and decided to get 2 frozen lobsters.  So I called my mum-in-law and asked her to be at our place 6pm that evening.  My MIL loves lobster and crab, and one word mentioned of it, she would be there!   

So I chopped up some garlic, fresh red chillies, ginger and set it aside.  Then using a sharp knife, I chopped up the lobster into chunks.

In a wok, heat up the oil, fried the garlic, chillies, ginger till it is fragrant.  Next throw in the lobster, stir fried it together for a bit.  Next, add half a cup of water or chicken stock, let the sauce boil before adding a bit of corn flour to thicken the sauce.  Seasoned it with some salt, sugar, throw in some shallots and there u have it!  Quick, easy, and eat it with a bowl of rice, truly satisfying for a hungry tummy!  Burp!

And these two lobsters only cost me $26, a much cheaper meal compared to eating that in a restaurant

Chloe has officially hit the 18 months old stage.  I am sure before I knew it, right before my eyes, I might just see an 18 year old driving away in her own car, hee!

The most striking thing to me for her at 1.5 yr old is her appetite.  She can eat.  And she eats at least 6-8 meals a day!  Morning milk, breakfast, morning tea, lunch, fruits after lunch, afternoon tea, afternoon snacks, dinner, fruits again after dinner.  She is constantly in the kitchen asking for “more, please, xia xia” and begging for food.  Honestly, I would have just fed her half and hour ago and she is asking me for food again.  And if she is not eating, she will be drinking, water, lots of it!  She eats and drinks so much so that my friend said to her one day “Chloe, you are always eating.”  Hahahaha.

The other funny thing was her discovery of running speed.  Running fast.  It was funny to watch her on that evening a week ago when she discovered her running feet.  She ran from the family room, to the kitchen and back again, bursting out in fits of laughters along the way.  Really fun.

I also noticed that she is quite observant, truly the character of a doggy’s year kid.  She sits, observe, a second later she would follow/copy whatever that strikes her.  A few days ago, as I was packing up the laundry and with her sitting next to me, I said to her “This is yours, this is JD’s, these are dad and mom.”  As I got up to go into my room, I saw her picking up her piles of clothes, cautiously bringing them into her room, before walking out again with a job done….by swiping her hands together!  Oh, it was just lovely.  Then she did the same with JD’s clothes and my husband said she has got my “tidy” genes, hee!

I must say she is really great in tidying up, and she always help during pack up time.  She would insist on bringing her own meals to the table, she helps to wipe her table mat when she is finished with eating, including bringing her dirty dishes into the kitchen….she is our great helper.

Another thing that we found really funny but could be difficult sometimes is her sense of smell, as in her very own smell.  Chloe has this yellow blanket that she loves.  It has to follow her everywhere.  And we must always make sure we have got it if we are going for long road trips.  A week ago, I tried washing it and swapped it with another yellow blanket of exactly the same fabric n texture.  Once again, a true doggy baby, she had one smell of the new blanket before handed it back to me. 

In the morning, she loves her smell after a night of sleep.  She would cry, fight if I try to change her out of her pyjamas.  And if I insisted and succeed, she would quickly hold onto her pyjamas tightly before walking away from me with a sad face

She is just funny. 

In terms of speaking in Mandarin, she hasn’t said any Mandarin words at all but we are very certain she understands them.  She knows her body parts in Mandarin and would point to them.  She understands lots of instructions in Mandarin and I think we are doing better this time in terms of introducing Mandarin to her.  She is keen to listen and learn and I guess that’s a good thing.

But as a 2nd child, we have also seen her utilising her “self-survival” instinct.  Quite often, when she is eating, and if anyone dare to get close to her, she will put a protective arm around her food and shake her head.  Hahaha.  But if we show her the way to share, though she might be reluctant at the start, she soon relaxed and share with her friends. 

Sometimes she and JD would get into a fight over toys.  That’s by far the most challenging part.   Considering they are almost 3 years apart, sometimes there might be toys that may not be suitable for her, such as the little Lego bricks.  On other hand, she is just grossly interested in her brother’s toys and quite often we have to pull them apart.

But what I have found very useful is making her stick close to me when JD is doing his own stuff.  I would bring her out to hang the clothes, water the plants, playing chasing in the garden, listening to birds, trucks driving past, getting the letters from mailbox, saying hello to kids on the street….pretty much doing anything to distract her.  That way, she gets that 1-on-1 attention and prevents “sibling rivalry”, hahaha!   Oh, I know that all too well!  I am learning from own experience, hohoho!

Overall, Chloe at 1.5 yr old is funny, curious, have great appetite and sometimes we just want to cuddle her and give her a big squeeze!

A little boy that I looked after turned 2 today.  He is crazy about Bob the Builder and all sorts of trucks and diggers.  We had a little birthday celebration for him during afternoon tea today.

To bake him a Bob the Builder cake from scratch would be impossible for me, with the limited time and energy I have.  And honestly it would be way too big for a little group of us.

So, to improvise … Download a Bob the Builder image from the internet, type in a few Happy Birthday wordings, printed it out.  Then run it through my laminator and cut them out into little Bob figurines.  Stick a toothpick behind the card with a sticky tape and stick it on the cupcakes!  Tada!

The smile on the little boy’s face when he saw the cakes - priceless! It was just lovely!

•  A packet of White Wings Irresistible Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/3 cup of water
• 125g butter

Whisk the ingredients together until it is well mixed.  Pout the batter into muffin trays and cook it in the oven at 160 deg c for 30 mins.

Icing

• 125g soft butter
• 1.5 cup of icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Beat the butter in a small bowl till light in colour, gradualy add in half the sugar and then milk.  Beat in the remaining sugar.  If prefer, you can add some colourings or cocoa powder.  I decided to use cocoa powder as I wasn’t prepared for a houseful of hyper kids! 

Note: Due to the runny texture of the icing, it is more suitable for spreading and I would not recommend it for piping.

Tonight I had the very rare chance of having some time alone.  It wasn’t planned but just happened that I had 3 hours all to myself in the evening.  I left JD and Chloe with my hubby while I went out for my acupuncture in the evening.  Being daylight saving, it was still bright when I finished close to 8pm.  I rang the husband as soon as I finished and found out that he has caught the train with the 2 kids into the city!

We love the new southern train line, and Phil has taken JD on the train a few times and kids just simply love the experience.  We can forget about driving into the city, leave the car at home, and we are in the city in 12 minutes!

As for me, I drove to the nearest cafe strip I could locate, parked the car, and walked into a restaurant asking for a “Table for one”.  Yep, just me, alone.  It was a much needed break especially when I felt all relaxed and calm after laying on the acupuncture table for over an hour.

I ate my meal in peace, watching the cars and people, enjoying the evening breeze, listening to the live music…oh, it was good for a tired soul after a few very hectic weeks.

I had a lovely dinner of lamb shanks with roasted potatoes, before finishing off with a yummy creme caramel dessert.  To be honest, I found the portions big or my appetite has really shrunk over the years.  I couldn’t take a picture of the yummy food, well, because I was initially only going out for acupuncture and wasn’t going to take a picture of myself with needles sticking out everywhere, hee!

And in the evening of kids-free, silence, calmness, I have one thing to be thankful for and that was Phil’s spontaniety.  The fact that he is always keen to take care of the 2 kids, jumping on the train with the 2 kids after a quick dinner, not afraid of bringing them out alone, going places that he knows would bring the kids most fun.  And while some may think twice about doing that, Phil’s philosophy is always “Why not?  They will enjoy it!” 

I am very thankful for that because Phil is a very hands-on dad.   And because of that the kids just love having him around!