Assignment by dear Michelle

Title : THE AGE THAT I WISH TO GO BACK TO

If you read Michelle's blog, you can read her post on this title. Now I have been tagged by her, and I feel obliged to complete the task. Mind you, this is my 1st tag - I don't know what a 'tag' is honestly. But I decide to continue. Plus, this is an interesting topic, which spur great thought.

I ponder very long but couldn't come out the age I wish to go back. But I say I enjoyed college and university time most. I enjoyed the carefree teenage time, very green, very naive, very happy. I love the powerful energy at that stage. I lived in a very simplify world - see no evil, no pain, no hardship and hardly know what sadness is. I presumed everyone was at their most genuine course for one another, everything build from honesty. I was a very lucky girl, then, never got to worry for money, very very blessed. My days were just to focus on my own life - no family pressure, no peer competition, no aim in life, no dream for future. Just CAREFREE, not the slightest taint of stress. (except the exam madness of course!)

Despite the blank happiness I enjoyed, I did reasonable well in my exam too-not the super grade but enough to get a degree. However, I guess I didn't achieve my grade the smart way. If I turn back the clock, I wish to go back to school time - to expand my study outside the book, set a goal, dream future, do a science degree, finish my piano grade 8!! So given a chance, I WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AGE - to relive my carefree day, to make the aimless days more directional. I enjoyed being a student but I do not like living in complete ignorant of the world. I like to be a more informed, more solid teenager who is able to plan, dream and acheive goal. I like to take my study more seriously, especially English and science. And I certainly want to complete grade 8 piano!!

SO, there is no particular bright period of time I want to go back. If I do, it will be for re-living to make my life more memorable so that when I next write this topic, I will have a direct answer.

For now, I am very happy with the present. Learn to accept the fact of ageing but must live to the fullest, everyday. To many of us, life is just starting to get very joyous and meaningful.

Messy Eater

For the past many months I was always busy cleaning up mess after every meal, and still, I am!! Not particular happy with food mess but with help of anti-bacterial wipe, I survived. Feeding kids is much easier than kids feeding themselves BUT these 2 issues standing at a very thin line - save trouble, or to encourage independence?!

Look at these pictures....

What do you think?! Food wasted more outside than going in the tummy....so many kids are on 1st option - be fed. I also find this interesting trend - more asian kids are on 1st option than the western kids. Simple rationale behind - the west strongly believe learning through play and play come with mess so mess is good!! Asian, on the other hand, tends to delay exposure to nasty germ in mess?! So many choose to feed to avoid mess plus cleaning.

We took the other route (largely we want our meal-time freedom!!) - Gab feed himself. But still, I find myself busy during meal time - to stop him from playing, throwing, squeezing, spitting food! It can drive any mummy MAD but this is part of learning process, so I have came to term with - 'MESS IS GOOD'!!

Mid-Autumn Festival

Yesterday was the mid-autumn festival, it was a quiet day, nothing more than normal in UK. But our day was special - we received parcels and warm wishes from family in asia. It was for Gabriel birthday presents, and we also found lot of extra goodies for the festival - lantern and snack!!

Thank you very much to Si Hui and aunty WY, you are very very thoughtful. The electric octopus lantern is very cute, the Mickey lantern is very modern & nice, and we love the magic ducky that light up by fingertip - all are sooooo nice!! Daren asked to keep them all!!! Another heart-warming festive-wish was from A Joan. She wrote us a poem using chinese "ping yin". It took us a long while to figure out the poem (neither of us read well in "ping yin"). It was very lovely, and you know, our dearly A Joan now learning Mandarin, I am very proub of her progress. Thank you for the poem!!

This is cute, isn't it? It sing well too 'twinkle twinkle little star....'

This is mine now....since Gab doesn't appreciate (yet)....

I talked to Gabriel about this festival but he doesn't know a thing and he ignored me ; -(

It is ok, at least he know what a lantern is - he likes them, he played with them but he seems to enjoy more smashing the paper lantern?! ....boy!!

In the afternoon...
In the night after dinner.... Our quiet and chilly mid-autumn day......
When I see the lantern, my thought was full of idea organising a get-together with friends. I know children will be thrill to see the lantern, plus it is fun to have more noise and people on the festive day but nope, I didn't do anything. Shame.....


...Gabriel, you smashed 1 lantern and spoiled the octopus, now it don't sing. Mummy want you to know, you are a very lucky boy. Even we live 3000+miles away from home in asia, we are always in their thought. This festival only reveal how grateful mummy feel.

steamer, grill, bread maker

Now that our kitchen spare us extra space, we bought a steamer, a grill and a bread maker. Not all at once but one at a time. These keep us amused for while but Daren's interest died pretty soon on bread maker. For me, they are savior in my cooking. Steamer is specially helpful in preparing meal for my boy. Most importantly, they are healthier choice of cooking. Oh, not forgetting slow cooker too, these are the MUST HAVE for busy(and lazy) cooking-mum like me!

The grilling machine is superb - it is simple-mess-free to do meat, minus the the fat!! The fat melt under the hot plate, dreadful to see the amount of fat dripping down but you can eat more meat feeling guilt-free. We use it for toasting bread too. We made a modified ham & cheese panini, yummy, Gaby like it!! Daren like the grill a lot. His verdict - fantastic, mess free, fuss free!! Now that our oven is not working so the grill come in extremely helpful....and you know it only cost us 10 pound - from Sainsbury.

Thumb up for the steamer. I strongly recommend if you want to cook easy and eat healthy. It is silly of me not getting it much earlier....anyway, now I steam almost everything, every meal. I promise to keep food tasty and creative with steamer but quite a challenge so my wok still a major part in my kitchen!! I just whipped up a delicious lunch this afternoon - cauliflower cheese salad. Nice, yummy and healthy.

Bread maker - our latest toy!! It is very satisfying when you hold the warm bread in your hand, and the smell of the freshly baked bread is very aromatic - it wake you up, jumping out of bed to eat-bread!! The machine is idiot prove - you follow instruction, get the right ingredients. We can do a lot with the machine, yet to explore... At moment I still find bread from outside taste better (I love British bread!!). Will continue to test and trial until I get 100% right taste and texture. Just bought 2 pack of different flour, let see how it make a change. We bought the Panasonic SD-255, it cost 90 pound, expensive but we are sure we get the right one. This is not a must but if you fancy making your own bread, this is good.

Armed with these new gadget, I want to be an amateur chef. I love baking and cooking, but a shame I can't afford much time after I became a mother. I want to re-new my interest. Now only lacking a maid to do all the washing up ;-))

Our next thing to buy? The "Trunki' for Gabriel.....I think he is a very lucky boy, I never got so many things at his age. These days there are a lot of wonderful mothers eh!!!

My Girl

I watched a few movie recently, I like this one the most - My Girl. This is a Korean series, a comedy about love and family. I have never like a Korean movie like this one - I like so much that I watch for 2nd time ; - ) My Girl is very un-Korean - you don't cry but laugh through all way until the last bit of show, your heart wrench. A good mix of fun for laugh and moment for tear. The story line is unique, and I really really enjoyed the chemistry between GongChan and YooRin. YooRin (by Lee Da Hae) is so beautiful - she is drop-dead gorgeous!!! I love her images in the show and it make me want to change my outfit for this winter and laugh sweetly like her. She fit impeccably in the role as YooRin, her acting skill is GOOD. I like GongChan (by Lee Dong Wook) for his mature and inflexible self but bring you sense of security and romance. I like the rest of the characters too in the show...JungWoo is cute, YieYie is funny, even the secretary is so nice looking. One last things, the songs are very very nice!! You know, I guess I will probably watch for 3rd time...silly me, ha!!

Legoland - Windsor

We went to Legoland last Sunday, part of Gabriel's birthday treat. It was a very nice day out, weather was perfect - warm with gentle breeze. This was our 1st trip to Legoland, we like it!! It is a good family destination, with lot of green for picnic, rides for thrilling scream, things to see, feel, touch and enjoy!! We will visit again next year, and plan to purchase the annual ticket - cheaper!!

Gabriel and Thomas in the souvenior shop...

Daddy and baby in the green...

Mini Legoland - London miniature...

Few things that we learnt from this trip, not to repeat the 'mistake' for next visit :-

...Pack your own food for picnic. We tried the food there, sorry to say, it is completely tasteless!! Sitting down on the green having your own big feast is far more fun!!

...Visit the shops 1st thing if you intend to buy any Lego things!! as in the end of the day, there will be big rush of visitors poping in and hanging round to buy souvenirs.

...Avoid visit at peak period, the crowd is big even during non-peak!! Queueing for ride is a pain, so if you don't mind a few more bucks to spent, get the priority ticket, you can junmp the queue, save the time.

...Bring extra clothes for kids, there are water-fun play area, too good to resist, adult like it too...so why not get wet.

I think Gabriel will enjoy more when he get older, so next year.....I will do all the above, but not priorty ticket. We are not too far away, plus the annual ticket, we can visit anytime!!

Gabriel love the wheel and the car....

The handsome horse-riders....


If you have not planned Legoland this year with your boys and girls, do so soon before they close for winter. It is good time to visit now, sure you have fun!!

Ghost

This is a documentary about the tragic of 23 Chinese cockle-pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay in February 2004. They are illegal immigrant. This documentary highlight the reality of their life - the works they do and the living condition. It gave a clear and honest account of the terrible plight these Chinese immigrants are shouldering. They are burdened with huge debt when they sail painfully to UK - a big sum money the 'traffic-agent' charge for the logistic. This film uses non-actor cast. The people are immigrant themselves and one of the cast, AiQin (one of the lucky survivor), is the real person in this incident. She travelled 6 months from Fujian to UK. It was heart-wrenching to watch her story and her experiences. The cruel separation from her young baby is enough to put you in tear. These immigrants have no social status, no identity, they are a shell the society do not recognise - they are what the documentary named, "Ghost".

We watched this last nite on Channel 4. This is a very powerful and moving documentary. It touch me and Daren very very deep, and put us in extreme sadness for the people and their family. We would like to lend a helping hand but do not know how and where. This film help reflect our life, help remind us we are very blessed to live in a comfortable zone, indeed. So next time when I complain, I must think of people who live far far worst than me. When I see AiQin in the show, I cried. As a mother myself, I can sense her desperation for her son. The amount of stress and fear she carried was enormous. Alone in foreign land in her condition is complete hardship and pain. AiQin make me feel DEEPLY GRATEFUL to able to stay together with my family, in touch with all my love ones.

Daren and me think that this film should be broadcast in China. To let the Chinese know that 'the grass is NOT always greener the other side'. Chinese like to think that the 'west' is easier money but this is not true. The hardship we see in this film tell us it might not worth the cost of leaving family behind, let alone when they risk their life for the extra money?! I hope all 'potential immigrant' can see this film and learn the lesson. For now, I want to hold a minute grief for the 23 Chinese who died in this incident. For their family, we feel extremely sorry, great sympathy for them.

Happy Birthday

Gabriel turn 2 on 7 September. Time whizz by incredibly fast, two years back I was holding him in my arm, now he is a full grown happy cheeky boy! It is very emotional when I recall my journey as a mother, I feel proud!! Now, everyday is full of challenges, fun and pain. The learning curve is huge and steep but I am very blessed to have strong support from Daren. I won't be able to sail through this far without him. We enjoyed Gabriel from day 1, and our love grow everyday. He bring enormous joys to our life. Happy Birthday Gabriel - our angel, our sweetheart!!

Baby growing at an amazing rate......

...new born









...one year old

...two year old

See how much he has changed - the charm is always the same, only get more cute! His smile is the sweetest things anyone could resist!! Daddy is truly deeply madly in love with him!!!

Gift from daddy mummy....

We had a small celebration at home, very exclusive family time, very warm, very loving. Mummy brought him big presents, daddy took him to Legoland, we went Tooties for birthday lunch and Indian Memory for birthday dinner, plus pre-birthday treat at William Curley - wow, long enough list for his birthday?!...quite eventful huh!!

I made a resolution at Gabriel's birthday - to treasure every moment with my little boy, less angry, less temper!! Time is a cruel factor and only when we live to fullest that we could prove 'past' is fully worthy, with no regret. This is hard. Now I need to tame my temper.

Birthday fun.....





And more fun..............

...Happy Birthday Gabriel!! Daddy mummy want you to be happy and healthy,our love to you is indescribable!!

William Curley

I ordered a birthday cake for Gabriel from William Curley in Richmond. This time I ordered the Strawberry Frasier - not the signature dish but perfectly pretty to attract me.

William Curley is famous for its die-for-it chocolate and pastry. If you are a chocoholic, it is a must, I think it is better than Godiva. The truffles....melt in your mouth, and not too heavy!! They are very expensive but I assure you, it is worth the taste.

Don't think any girl (boy too) on earth could resist the deliciously splendid look of William Curley goods. So I decided to sit down, have drink and a cup of the chestnut mousse that I have been eyeing! This is a pre-birthday treat for Gabriel, not really, mummy love it too!!!

I love the colour, the look, and the taste...........

See the following expression.......

.....wowowow......

.....ah....yhum....

.....hmmm....yummy!!!


OK, the chestnut mousse is not bad, the taste is good but I don't like the chocolate chunk bottom, it don't go well with the mousse - oh not that I am a chocolate connoisseur ; - )

100% Daddy Mummy

This is fun - you can see your child look more like daddy or mummy...the meter determine and let you know. Gabriel is 50% daddy 50% mummy, very fair! And I wish he is 100% daddy brain plus 30% mummy hardwork....superb ideal!! ; - ))



Will do another check next year, see how he grows.

Holiday?

We just came back from our short trip in Barcelona. Should we call it a holiday?? Mmm...Daren and me ponder for a while and decided it was not - not with a 2 year old, or to be precise, 3 days to 2.

We don't mind the extra trouble manoeuvring our little sweetheart, but because he reach the age of massive exploration, we had 10 times extra effort to get him to listen.

Gabriel fell in love with 'boat' in Barcelona. When he saw them, his mood heighten and he ignored us completely. His 2nd love - car. When he see AUDI and HONDA, he call 'daddy' excitedly to tell us it is daddy's car. If you ignore him, he will explode into a monstrous state. His 3rd love - ball, this include anything come in the shape of ball. If he see any of them, you are in with him for a roller-coaster ball-search ride! SO....on top of our sightseeing trips on foot, our days in Barcelona were to deal with his interest chases, plus his occasional tantrum outburst - by end or mid of day, we were a wreak.

The beach.......

Barcelona beach is beautiful. It was packed with beach lovers, largely holidaymakers. We are not beach person, so no sun bathing. We stroll along the beach while Gaby slept soundly in the buggy. By time we came to end of beach, he woke. I brought him to the beach - for a fair bit of Barcelona-sand experience.

Barcelona is a seafood paradise, but no chilli crab for Singaporean ; - ) Market Boqueria is very interesting and attracting. It is a good place to have seafood the local way. We didn't experience eating in the market, no way with a 2 year old!! We love seafood paella, so does Gabriel. You can find paella everywhere but taste vary largely. We were disappointed as the seafood weren't fresh as we expected. Must go to right place for good taste. This restaurant is good, must rememeber in case we visit Barcelona again, it is call ' '.

We had good time in Barcelona as a family. Most memorable was the nite at the beach, daddy and son were playing catch with the penguin. The scene is warm and beautiful, with Gabriel giggling loudly. City walk was not easy with Gabriel, but the running about at the port proved to be fun, and challenging.

Generally, holiday with toddler is tricky. You get to learn the challenge but before you are able to respond, new things come up. Everytime I said 'this will be last'....but it is hard to say no. Before I recuperate energy, I think for next holiday, swear to be a better one. I must say for all trips we did last 2 year, despite the catastrophes we attracted one after another, we never fail to enjoy our time with Gabriel, however short and exhausting! When you see his smile, your heart melt.

...the following photos are edited, they are my favourite.

We concluded from this trip - no more city tour with Gabriel until he is older. So next holiday we will be planning around Disney....until then, next travel to asia in Dec, visit home.

The slide is a good memory for Gabriel for his 1st visit to Spain.

...Gabriel, you drained daddy mummy completely during this trip but you had good fun. You were excited to see boat, you enjoyed so much at the port. Mummy wonder would that be an indication of you becoming a sailor one day?! Please let mummy know how you think. I love you.