“哥哥， fight fight, hia hia hia”….

All the time, she was using her fairy magic wand, swinging around in the air, with one leg up to her knee…

Ah, too much superhero influence.

I was craving for some burger last week.  Not just any burgers, but I wanted the taste of a freshly made burger, biting into a fresh beef pattie, filled with lots of chopped onions, carrots, parsley, celery..ummm

So we made our own.  The good thing about a homemade burger is you can choose the cut of the meat, minced it yourself and the freshness of the beef is what makes a good beef burger.  No dodgy ingredients in them, because you minced the beef yourself

The process is simple.  I have a Kitchenaid Mixer which with a mincer attachement and that can mince up the beef quickly and easily.  Next in go chopped carrots, onions, celery, parsely, add some salt, paprika, black pepper and a dash of barbecus sauce if you wish.  I also added a heaped teaspoon into the mince to help bind the pattie together when I cook them on the babrbie later on.  You can use eggs to replace the flour if you wish, but we have an “eggs-free” home because my kids are highly allergic to them.

Sit them in the fridge for about an hour.  Take them out again, rolled them into the size of half a tennis ball.  When you are ready to cook them, put them in a frying pan, or a barbeque, gently flatten it with the back of your spatula and you should have the patties ready in about 5-10 mins.

We also made some tomato chutney to go with the burger and it was delicious!  So delicious that I ate the whole burger, and not even a bite left. 

A friend and I met up for coffee the other night.  As we sat there, exchanging stories about our day, the school holidays, the kids, their antics, our frustrations, we laughed, we agonised, we frowned, we nodded in unison,  and we came to realise that…

Yes, some days it can be a lot of work.  Different levels of interests, needs, wants, expectations, routines, abilities between 2 kids…

But then, they are a lot of fun.  They are priceless.  They are good kids.  They drive me crazy some days, but they are still my kids.  And I love them so.  So much. 

There is nothing better when you sit in the living room, watching the siblings played, laughed, teased one another, rumble tumble with each other, one rolling onto the other’s back, chuckled and yes, it is noisy, rowdy at times…but you know what…

It is good noise, healthy noise, happy noise because that’s what a family home with children should sound like.  Sometimes we must also be thankful for the times when they cry, fight, bickle because again they are all in the process of growing up.  And they are healthy and happy.

 Sometimes she cried because she didn’t want to sleep, put them 2 together, they played till they fell asleep.

They love catching the train, going to see daddy in the city, one of their favourite Friday outings.

Big brother JD taking over the role of teaching his little sister…C, Cer, for Chloe

She loves sitting on her brother’s lap, sometimes he obliged, sometimes he say “No Chloe, you are too heavy!” Hiakhiak

Sometimes he just let her play with his toys while he watches on…

My two kids are now at the stage of really playing together.

They ride their bikes together in the backyard.

They roll around on the bed together.

They goof around together.

They like hanging out with one another.

They pack up the mess together.

They eat together.

They do lots of things together.

More often than not, they are also in mischief together.

They fight.  They cry together.

But watching them together make me happy.  Really happy.

A week ago, just after the last kid had left, JD would go out to check the letter box.  Among all the bills, supermarket catalogues, local newspapers he brought back in, we also found a hard A4 envelope.  I left it all on the kitchen table, didn’t think much about it until that night when I sat down to check all the mail.

Just as well I haven’t ripped the big A4 envelope apart in all four corners, because in there was a little surprise.

A surprise that came in a reward, a reward that made me realised “It has all  been worth it”.  An encouragement for myself that I must have done something right.  And I can proudly say now maybe I don’t suck so much in running my own family daycare and looking after 4-5 little children everyday by myself. 

It was a certificate to say I have been nominated in the category of “Childcare Worker of the Year”.  I was like a little school girl proudly showing off my certificate to my husband, the same kind of satisfaction we received as a kid when we were the student of the year or some sort, though I was never. 

But I was definitely doing the “punch in the air” move!

Then, I also realised, without the parents, I would not have received this special certificate.  So I have been fortunate to have parents of the children I look after to nominate me…. it was very nice and encouraging. 

So 10 months into this career change, it has been a great effort and I hope it stays that way. 

You have been waking up every night in the past week, created a big fuss, refused to settle by anyone.

Because you just

- wanted me to hold you while you went back to sleep

- wanted to hold  my hands till you were ready to let go 

- wanted to make sure I was there day and night

- wouldn’t leave me alone

- wanted to be cuddled, held, picked up…

Oh, it’s one of those phase we are going through again, tiring it may be.

But I still love you.  Because I know those damn molars that are trying to stick out are pain.in.the.butt!  And luckily you are cuter that those 2 damn molars!

I haven’t gone shopping, I mean shopping for new clothes, new shoes, everything for ME for a very long time.  At least 6-8 months I think.  It takes time to look, browse, trying out sizes, cuts, waiting in the queue for change rooms…and I can be real lazy when it comes to that. 

But I needed to because my 2 pairs of shoes I wear everyday have seen its better days, my winter wear is really a bit outdated and I want to look like a cool mama too!

Last weekend, with a very patient shopping companion, we began walking the mall, browsing, telling me what looked good, what not.  And he usually gives me his most honest opinion.

I tried on shoes, heels, flats, boots, high knee boots, ankle boots, stilleto boots…yes, I tried on many many pairs of shoes and boots.  

My shopping companion just sat next to me, smiling at himself in the mirror, pulling funny faces at me, picked out shoes for me to try, stand in the line to queue for me while I browsed, nod his head, shook his head, yawned…and after many many pairs of shoes, we settled for this!  Yes, my very first pair of winter boots!  I have never owned one before, but I am so into them now. 

But here’s a confession, I didn’t buy just one, but I bought 3 pairs of shoes that day! 

Then we went shopping for new winter jackets, jumpers, sweaters, cardigans…again he was patiently tagging along as I browsed.  When he got tired, he just sat on the lounge chair provided in the shops, stuffed himself silly with lollies provided…again he would try to pick, choose, and finally after many jackets, think, ponder, we settled for this new dark greyish black jacket. 

As we were walking out of the shop, we both stopped and saw a cute little knitted vest.  Oh, so 70s, but so cool looking.  Quickly, I thought of what I already have to wear underneath it, a denim mini skirt, tights, boots..yeh!  So we bought it too!  Because it was hugely marked down, bargain!

And I also bought 2 more basic tops because I desperately needed some long sleeve fitting tops to go under jackets, some short sleeve shirts, vest and more.  Again, he patiently stood next to me, asked if I wanted to try a pink, a green, a purple, a red…but I settled for a very light beige colour top.

Then I bought a dress, oh, I love this!  It is so soft, fits perfectly, looks good with boots or flats! 

By then, it was almost 3 hours since we last set foot in the shopping mall, I needed a break.  So we stopped for coffee, milkshake and donuts.

Also not forgetting I needed to reward my very patient shopping kaki (i.e. companion).

Yes, my shopping companion is my 4yo son!  So I bought him 2 little Transformers figurines to add onto his collection.  And I was quite surprise to learn that he knows all the names of the various Transformers characters, cool!

Yes, after 3 hours of walking the mall, I was gone, because I have not shopped like that for a very long time.  It was a long overdue retail therapy, and my 4yo shopping companion did not whinge once except when he was hungry, needed a snack or a toilet break.  Which all I happily and gladfully obliged.   

Now, I can’t wait to get into this colder weather with my new wardrobe, boots, scarf, beanie, and not forgetting tights!  Oh, if there’s one thing I love about winter fashion, it’s tights!  I love them! 

And if you are wondering where my husband and Chloe were?  The father n daugther were home having a long siesta and the mother n son snuck went out for retail therapy!  Hee!