Happy NEw Year everyone. We just got back from Sabah on New Year's day. It was a wonderful trip with family and extended family, about 30 something of us. We were actually there for my cousin's wedding. In between we did lots of shopping, sight seeing and eating. Sabah is really known for its incredibly fresh and wide variety of seafood. So of course, we ate and we ate and we ate. The wedding was lovely...romantic, emotional and joyful. Congrats my dear cousin on your wedding. :)

Well they say a picture speaks a thousand words...so here are some shots taken from that beautiful "land beneath the wind."

Lots of seafood here, dried and fresh. (Sea Cucumber...very expensive if purchased from the city.)Fresh seafood in abundance! we ate and ate and ate.....not very good for health I know...but hard to resist...
My cousin Vincent and his bride Angel saying their vows...they make a very beautiful couple.

We had to try this species of durian..very different from the usual ones we get in the city.

A fisherman's boat

Some of the stuff you get at the Phillipino Market. Actually most of us bought baskets, batiks and Pearls. I got myself some really lovely pearl necklaces....after spending close to an hour bargaining.
Stalls by the ocean Night market coming alive. We bought some of these lovely delicous grilled chicken
MOre fisherman's boats...
sunset
Part of the mountain. I climbed it in 1999 and hubby plans to climb again next year.

kundasang...very cool mountain area with fresh veges. Lovely place...I plan to stay here for a few days on the next trip.
by the pier
This is me after I fell into the mud. Since I'm the photographer, no shots of my mud packed butt. :) Basically I was standing there telling everyone, "Be careful, slippery, careful careful...." and then whooopps....I WAS in the MUD! haha...

Some of the very beautiful Padi Fields At Ranau. Really so beautifully green as seen in the picture. Lots of water buffaloes too.

Anyway, if you have an acc at Facebook, you can view the whole collection. and no, this is not and add for facebook. :)

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From now on comments will be moderated. So if you don't see your comment appear immediately, don't worry, it'll appear after I've read it and know it's from a friend and not stranger. God bless.

This is a busy CHristmas ...The dinner I planned for has come and gone. It was really good time catching up with old friends. Guess what? they all loved the food, and a few suggested I opened a restaurant. haha.... but no way. I spent way too long preparing all the food, if I were to open a restaurant, the dishes would never get to the guests on time. :)

ANyways, am gonna go cook now. Gonna help my sis in law prepare a dish for the party at her house tonight. Will probably make Mexican Chili topped with Mashed potatoes.
Tomorrow will be grandma's, and I will be the one bringing THE turkey. Then on Christmas day it will be at my parents. Well...what to do, we have a VERY large extended family.

I've a question, if Gail can answer? If I buy a self basting turkey, would I have to add salt still? How much? do I add a lot lesser than usual?
ANyway, here's some pictures. Enjoy.

Nel decorating her gingerbread star

The finished product. It was delicous and not like the super hard cookies you get outside. I substituted the Molasses with 3 parts Treacle and 1 part Golden Syrup. I also omitted the black pepper and cut back on the cloves. Yummy.

here's one decorated by Little Jo. YUmmy with extra cream, fingerprints and drool. Partly licked too before it was finished. :) Jo calls it the "funny gingerbread man."

My Golden turkey..I used fresh herbs. The fresh ones are SO expensive. Can you imagine, I paid 15$ for 2 sprigs of Thyme? and a hundred plus for this small turkey? I also covered the turkey with streaky Bacon which costs a LOT here. For 5 thin slices I paid something like 20$.

My Shepherd's Pie, which was really a favourite of the day. I layered the potatoes with Parmesan cheese in between...which really added flavour to the potatoes

Anyway, yeah...better get cooking now.

Merry CHristmas ALLLLLLL.....................

busy week

Christmas is around the corner and I am busy. There's presents yet to be bought. I have a very large extended family... and I've only bought half the presents. It's tradition that we meet at my grandma's every Christmas day or Christmas Eve. All my 10 aunts and uncles and their children and children's children will be there. It's also tradition to give gifts to the umarried.... Can you hear me sigh as I watch my bills escalating and my bank account depleting? haha... but then, yes, I love giving... it's nice to give and my children will get to receive.

To add to the "buzy-ness"..there's all the extra classes I have to teach this week to make up for my going away next week. I'll be off to Sabah (East Malaysia) to witness my cousin's wedding by the beautiful ocean. I so look forward to that.

Not forgetting, I have 3 dinners to cook for. 3!!! well..I'll be making a turkey for grandma's, a Sheperd's Pie for a combined dinner with friends, and a whole meal at my own place.

I've not finalized my menu.... (the one at my own house.).. To date, the menu is gonna be

-Roast Turkey
-Sheperd's Pie
-Fettuccini with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce
- Yam Rice (chinese style)
-Salad or long thin beans cooked with ham and herbs

If you have any suggestions to add to my menu, please feel free to advice. :) or better still, if you can come and help me out in the kitchen, I'd be absolutely delighted! haha...

Merry CHristmas to you my beautiful friends!

If Nel had 3 Wishes..

Just before hitting the bed last night, Nel and I read a book together (which is what we usually do before bedtime). As I have been recently reading a child psychology book, I decided to use one of the questions on her. I interrupted her and asked “Nel, if you had three wishes, what would it be?”

She smiled and said “hmmmmmm……. No. 1, I wish I could be like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.”

I asked “what do you mean? You mean you’d like more chocolates?? Or to own a giant Chocolate Factory?”

“No” she replied… “ I wish I could be so good just like Charlie. He’s such a good boy. Sometimes I do so many naughty things, so I can’t be so good.” Nel said this seriously and meant it.

Somehow, in my way of dealing with her, I had planted the thought in her head that she wasn’t a perfect child. Well, nobody is, but what she said showed that she had thought about this matter a lot…. Why? Had I set up too high an expectation for her? And I guess, sometimes in my impatience, I’d forgotten the rule of "7 positive comments to every one negative comment."

So we talked more and realizing it was a tender moment, I said “Danelle, I’m not perfect too. I make mistakes too. I make a lot of mistakes.”

Nel giggled softly, looked and me and said “really mum? What naughty thing did you do mum?”

I replied… “well… sometimes I get angry and shout, and say horrible things…. and that’s not good.”

Nel grinned a very huge grin! haha..

“Nel," I went on, "we all make mistakes, the thing is, we ask God to forgive us, and we try not to make that same mistake again. Yeah?”

She smiled and nodded and we prayed together, she prayed a cute, earnest prayer. How difficult it is sometimes for a 5 year old to control her impulses. Impulse to protect her toys, to hit out at a friend when provoked or to protect territory, to snatch etc etc etc. but that’s them, a 5 year old. Well, but I've to mention that Nel is also big hearted, loving, fun, independent, helpful and full of creativity! I’m learning how to handle it as mum, and I’ve to learn to have more patience, less I plant negative images into my daughter’s head about herself.

Her 2nd and 3rd wish were funny things. The 2nd one was that nail polishes would never fade off her nails. The 3rd one was that she could see real snow. Then she got ambitious about a 4th wish, which was “I wish I could have ice cream on my rice.”

I thought…hmm…that one seems possible to fulfill. I’ll go buy a bucket of ice cream now. Haha…

yeah....ice cream is good, especially when used as a bribe...to make up for my imperfections as mum. haha...

Today...

Today started off as a really good day. My hair looked perfectly in place, shiny, bouncy and good. My skin glowed despite the very little sleep I had gotten. (yeah, Jo was super waky the whole of last night!!)
Well…put on my sky blue shirt, some earth-red colored lipstick and my beautiful turquoise colored earrings. Sprinkled a little bit of Sunflower perfume and went off to teach my morning piano students.

Felt really good today…felt young and vibrant. It’s amazing what your feelings can do to you, coz even the people I met today commented that I looked good.

Well it continued that way, till getting down from my car, I caught a glimpse of me in the mirror and noticed the fine wrinkles forming around the corner of my eyes. I was temporarily reminded that I was fast approaching middle age. Shooked off that feeling and went on doing stuff……….TILL I popped in to 7-11 to grab a roll of wrapping paper for my little niece’s present.

Dang those fellows, they surely spoilt my day. I asked for wrapping paper and they said “Wait ah AUNTY, let me go check to see if we have some.” A few moments later the guy reemerged and said “Sorry Aunty, no wrapping paper lar.”

I went back, sat on the bed, and reevaluated myself, giving myself terrible points for everything. One ratty word and that spoilt my day. Aunty indeed! Bah!

But hey, they day ain’t over yet, it’s just 630pm, and I’ve got a birthday party to go to. Gonna spruce myself up, shake off that mid 30’s feeling and enjoy the rest of the day. I can’t help feeling tired with kids and motherly duties. I wish I had all my kids when I was in my 20’s when energy was boundless and sleepless nights would be nothin.

Sigh………….ok,ok. Wake up girl; where’s the optimism I had this morning. Better go find it. But it’s always this way in the evenings when energy runs low.

Rabbit poop + food = sunflowers

(Questions Nel asked this week: Mum…why is it that in all the books I read, children’s heads are soooo big and their bodies are sooooooo small?
Me: well, coz that’s reality. Look at all the toddlers and babies you know, their heads are big and their bodies are small right?
Nel: Mum, you’re and adult right? Is that why your head is small but your body soo big?
Me thinking: (yeah don’t remind me, I still have to loose that 5 kgs!!)
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My two rabbits have been eating like crazy, I suppose all rabbits eat a lot! Don’t be fooled by their petite structure and think they’re cheap pets to look after! It’s just about a couple of months and I’ve already bought a few BIG bags of food. Thing is this, a rabbit poops endlessly! That’s what they do all day. Eat and shit.

Well, those clumsy fellas sometimes topple all their food and also poop in their water bowl. Sometimes when I clean after them (as if cleaning after my own kids are not enough!) I just throw all the stuff into my plant pot. I throw them all, the leftover food and the heaps of poop.

Well, one fine day my pot started sprouting with all sorts of plants! Curious I left them there and studied them everyday. Eventually I discovered they all grew from the rabbit’s leftover food (mainly seeds…oats, barley, sunflower etc). Well…one particular one just kept growing taller and taller and taller………just like Jack and the Beanstalk, only it didn’t reach heaven…. it is none other then, the very beautiful Sunflower. :)

I’ve to tell you, my MOST favourite flower in the whole world is the Sunflower, so imagine my joy and excitement when I discovered that all of a sudden I had about 8 sunflowers growing in my garden! The tallest being about 9 feet. J Absolutely breathtaking…so beautiful…so….lovely….. so magnificent (especially the one that is 9 feet tall.)

So I’ve discovered rabbit food and rabbit poop go hand in hand. Throw the food, it grows. Throw the poop on it to fertilize it, creating the healthy tall sunflower.

Here’s some pics of sunflowers taken in my garden.

Some recent random pictures

Life around here is as usual. It's terribly rainy over here. Yesterday the rain was so bad, I pulled over and stopped the car. It's just the fear of crashing again after the accident the other day. Other than that, we're ok. I think I've lost an inch off my waist. Well, another 4 more inches to go! but am working on it. Well, here's some random pictures taken recently.

Some wild flowers taken on one of our daily walks

Jo's hooked on books. She woke today at 6am and said "read mum!" arrrghhh...that is like torture to be woken at 6am! I'm not a morning person.

Little Nel's progressing well in her ballet classes. There's still lotsa times when she's not paying attention in there! but generally, she's doing well and she enjoys it.

We went to our favourite picnic spot again where the kids get to play with sand and wade in the stream. This time round we caught baby fishes, shrimp, and surprise, surprise, 2 dragonfly nymphs! that was an exciting catch coz none of us have ever seen nymphs before and I've been showing it to Nel in her encyclopedia.

This is a dead HUGE HUGE toad we found at the stream! You won't believe it, but yes, Chinese people eat this toad. I admit, I've tried it. They remove the skin, cut it and stirfry it with ginger and soya sauce and whatever. Basically it tastes like REALLy tender chicken. I'm not particularly crazy about the dish, but if nobody told me it was toad, I'd say it is delicous.

Baby Jo's been at it again, breaking my third lipstick this morning!!! Here's her wonderful work of art! but I do not condone this work of art, coz it just "burned" the money that went into purchasing this brand new lipstick just barely 2 weeks ago.

Other than that, life is good, the Lord is good. :)

Blessings to all.

Before I forget...have to pen down some questions asked by Nel today...
1) Mum, when I get to heaven, if I ask God to sit with me on the train, will He sit with me?
2) Mum, if I'm naughty in heaven, will God punish me?
3) Mum, what color is God's clothes?
4) Mum, why is it you have to obey God and I have to obey you? is it, coz God is bigger than you and you are bigger than me? In that case, Daddy obeys God, you obey daddy, I obey you and Jo has to obey me right?

(I write it down, coz I print all this stuff for them to read in the future. :) )

Well, today I sent off a dear god-brother to the Phillipines to pursue a degree in Film making. Hope he'll cope well. Also spent the afternoon reading a journal I kept during one of the long trips across USA by Amtrak. I have to admit, I've changed so much since then. I had to laugh at some of the entries in that journal. Stuff like talking about my period, to running away from an expensive restaurant with friends, to crying after a friend shoved me while I was roller blading, and talk of peeing, pranks and some other crazy crazy stuff which I shouldn't relate here.

Just helps me realise that I shouldn't judge what young adults and teens talk about nowadays coz I was once like that. haaha...

soo...just rambling. I was again down with a bout of flue. This time my lungs were so congested i was wheezing (doc thought it was asthma, but it isn't). Then I had conjunctivitis. Well, my help came in the form of my little Nel. I told her I Was sick and she had to look after her sister, and she DID!

She kept Jo away from my room the whole day, told her to eat her lunch, kept her busy playing and reading and did all the things I would usually do. Amazing, coz Nel is only 5. I'm blessed. Today I'm much better. :

well...tis all for now.

oh yeah...my sink was clogged again. I dug and dug to bring up eeky black seaweed like substance. yukkkk... still it remained clogged till evening when husband took out the whole pipe to find MORE of that seaweed like substance clogging the ENTIRE pipe! arrrghhh...gross. Must clean the sink with a regular dose of Sodium Bicarbonate.
Happy week and here's kisses to all of you.

Jo quotes some verses

Jo turns 2 years 3 months (27 months) on November 5th. It's a routine that before i give her milk at night we go through some Bible verses. She picks them up quite quickly and I've recorded her saying some of her verses. In case you can't hear them clearly they are
1) Love one Another
2) With God Nothing is impossible
3) I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving in my heart
4) Bless the Lord Oh my Soul, let everything that is within me bless His holy name
5) When I am afraid I will trust in You, my God in whom I trust
6) For God so loved the world He gave His only son
7) Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord.

To listen to Jo saying her verses, go here Recording of Jo and click on "Download verse2" to download. Will take about one min. (wma format)

Hope you enjoy listening. :)

Before I end today, Nel asked me 2 questions today. 1) will I have to brush my teeth when I get to heaven? 2) Will God give me a Husky when I get to heaven? I really want one. Do dogs live in heaven?

P.S while waiting for audio to download, you can try this really cool IQ Game . I enjoyed it! It's trying to get everyone from one side of the river to the other, but only taking 2 at a time without having certain people kill others.

Some random statements and questions by Jo and Nel

Nel: Mum, what is that bag of thing? (pointing to the pack of sanitary pads)

Me: Well....it's ummm....it's like diapers...where big women wear.

Nel: Why do big women wear diapers?

Me: Well..we only wear it once a month, coz ...coz... you know mummy's womb where you came from Nel? Well...when there's no baby there, the womb cleans itself out by releasing some blood. (I know, not very accurate answer right? too lazy to go into fertilization etc etc...)

Nel: (with a frown) Blood? (more big frowns...)

Nel: I see..... Mum? why is it, only mummys can have babies?

Me: Nel, it's not that only mummys can have babies. Anybody can, but when you have a baby, THEN, you become a mummy.

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Today Jo decided to follow me into the toilet and climbed onto the toilet seat.

Jo: Mum, Jo want to pangsai, poop poop.

Me: ok, but take out your diapers. (Jo is not yet toilet trained.)

Jo: (with a serious look..one finger pointing at me) Ok, but mum, please leave, go outside and leave Jo alone. Don't disturb Jo ok? Mummy go outside and play with your toys quietly.
(these are my exact words to her when she comes rushing into the toilet when I'm inside!)

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Jo: Mum read the book please (Jo asks me to read books a hundred times a day I get so tired!)

So I read to her as she asked questions. Finally, I put my hands on the book and looked at her with a smile on my face and admiration and love in my heart and said "You're so cute Jo."

Jo frowned at me, pushed my hands and said with a frown "Move MUM! Don't block Jo's book."

so much for a little tender moment! hahaha

Tee Tee
Fluffy

Teetee has a new friend, Fluffy. In my opinion Teetee should be called Fluffy coz he is REALLy fluffy. Oh well, Nel's choice of names. :) Well, every evening I put both Teetee and Fluffy in an enclosed area in my little garden.

Usually the kids insist they wanna go in with the rabbits so yesterday I let them.

Well about 15 minutes passed and Nel and Jo started getting rough with each other. Being confined in a small area for a long time tends to bring out the aggression in them as they fight for space, and who gets to feed/pet which rabbit etc.

Eventually Jo gave Nel a little push and Nel reacted by pushing her back. Nel being bigger gave a rather hard push which led to howling from Jo and this led to more shoving and pushing from both parties. So I lifted Nel out of the area and told her to stand by the gate with hands crossed for a while and to think about her actions.

Then I realised well, Jo had part of this fight too. So I lifted Jo out too, who protested and cried with all her little strength. I told her to stand by the gate too with hands crossed, which she did though she had tears streaming down her eyes.

As they stood there, Nel looked and Jo, and Jo looked at Nel. Both looked funny with hands crossed over shoulders.................and then......they thought the situation funny and started laughing a little first amidst tears, and then real roll on the floor laughter! hahahahha.....

Don't they look so pitifully cute? Especially Jo with her overfull diapers? haha.... you have to see the faces with tears frowning, then smiling and eventually laughing ...hahaha...I have to admit, I started laughing myself...and in the end we just ended everything, kept the rabbits and went for our little walk in the evening breeze. :)

Thank God we're safe

I just wanna give thanks to God that me and the kids are ok. What happened today....
well, first I sent my husband to the airport coz he's gonna attend his nephew's wedding back in his hometown. The airport is a good 1 hour away, and today it was just raining endlessly and HEAVILY!

So after I dropped him off, we drove home in heavy torrential rain. So heavy I could barely see more than 30-50 meters ahead of me. Since we were so far from home, I wanted to maintain a reasonable speed to get home quick and out of the horrid rain. I was on the fast lane most of the time, little Jo asleep in her car seat and Nel almost dozing off.

About 20 mins before home, I slowed down thinking I'd come to the exit, but it wasn't, so I kept on the left lane, and I thank God for that, for at that my moment, my car started hydroplanning It was pretty scary, I admit. coz all of a sudden I lost control of the steering, it wouldn't respond, and no matter what I did, my car kept skidding to the left. If I had been on the fast lane as I had been most of the journey, surely we would have collided with another vehicle and my little girls and I would be in a pretty bad shape. (shivers)

Well, when I lost control of the car, it kept skidding towards the left no matter what I did....and common sense told me not to hit the breaks too hard or we might just summersault altogether over the very short barrier into the monsoon drain. What I did was to ease off the accelerator and to step very lightly on the breaks, a little at a time...till it slowed a little. Still we inevitably crashed into the barrier. I thank God, we did not overturn. Little Jo's side of the window smashed to bits, and I Thank GOD, my little girl was not hurt. Sure, she was jolted from her slumber and cried unconsolably for a while.

We waited about half hour before my bro came to help us (in the very heavy rain). I suppose I am a little shaken....and still a little jittery.... but again, Praise God, we're all ok.

here attached is an excerpt from an online website..should you face the same situation.

Car response
What the driver experiences when a car hydroplanes depends on which wheels have lost traction and the direction of travel.
If the car is traveling straight, it may begin to feel slightly loose. If there was a high level of road feel in normal conditions, it may suddenly diminish. Small correctional control inputs will be ignored by the car. If the drive wheels hydroplane, there may be a sudden audible rise in engine RPM and indicated speed as they begin to spin. In a broad highway turn, if the front wheels lose traction, the car will suddenly begin to drift into an outer lane. If the rear wheels lose traction, the back of the car will begin to slew out sideways into a skid. If all four wheels hydroplane at once, the car will slide to an outer lane. When any or all of the wheels regain traction, there may be a sudden jerk in whatever direction that wheel is pointed.

Recovery
To recover, never turn the steering wheel of the car or apply the brakes. Either action could put the car into a skid from which recovery would be difficult or impossible.
Instead, with no change in steering input, gently ease pressure off the gas; control should then return. If braking is unavoidable, use light pumping actions on the brakes until hydroplaning has stopped.
With a manual transmission, immediately when you notice that you are hydroplaning, press the clutch down so all wheels can roll freely; this will restore grip.

Marriage

They say, if someone wants to be a writer, that person better write something everyday, doesn't matter how long they work at it, as long as they write something. I used to have thoughts to write about almost everyday when I had that MSN blog.... but somehow, my motivation to keep blogging has waned... and though I have random thoughts here and there, I'm not motivated to pen it down.

so here I am, forcing myself to write something, less my brain becomes lazy. Life is moving at such a fast pace. Was it just yesterday that I said goodbye to someone who was leaving for some country far away for a couple of years. Fast forward, and boom, I just saw the same person and 2 years have passed. 2 years, and I thought it was just yesterday I said goodbye. The person is sitting in her same old favourite chair at church, a little fatter a little fairer, but she's back and you wonder where the heck has time gone.

Talking of time, Sunday marks my 7th wedding anniversary. Seven?? my gosh...and I realise next year marks the 10th year since I got back from the US. I tend to think I'm only in my 20's till I check the mirror and realise I'm in my 30's. I'm just writing randomly and aimlessly today. but as I hit mid 30's the issue of time is a lot on my mind. I feel sorta in between, not old, not young.

Anyway, speaking of marriage, I'm blessed with a wonderful husband. He's not perfect, but neither am I. There are days when I ponder, question about stuff.... but then, surveying and analysing my life, I know God has given the best for me. He (my hubby) is patient, and able to tolerate me as I am, my ups and downs. thank God for that, for I really need a patient husband. haha...
He's not the fast pace goal seeker who's always going for the money. He's one easily contented, reliable, consistent, and loving. :) (sometimes tooooooo patient!)

As for me, I"m still working on me. There are days when I tend to let my tongue wag a little more than it should...(I mean negatively), then I'm reminded to hold it back. Yeah...you know, some people think if you don't like something, "speak it out and take it off your chest!". From my experience, that only results in terrible arguments, exchange of heated careless words that cut, hurt and sting.

In my opinion after 7 years of marriage, YES, disagreements and negative feelings must be voiced out, but in a proper way at the right time. Those who believe in leting it all out of their system without considering the other, are only gonna cause damage to their marriage. It only feeds the anger and ego of the angry spouse, it's a very self centered approach.... to me, it's like throwing glass at your spouse without considering how it's gonna hurt.
Sometimes it causes damage which lasts a long time, and leaves words that haunts the memory for a long time.

I've learnt to control my tongue, but still to voice things out...in a way that would get to him, hopefully without hurting him, and my husband has done the same. I suppose that's why we're still married and happy to be with each other. :) There's so much to be learned....so much more of myself to improve...... but yeah, me and hubby, we love each other (though there are moments we cannot stand each other! hahaha....but that is not often)....and with God as the center of the marriage...this family is mostly happy. :)

ok, I'm rambling..........................

Jo and mess!

As we were all just lazing around in the livingroom, Jo jo came up and said "Mum, I pangsai (pooped)." Before I could take her to the toilet, she did the unthinkable. (well not unthinkable for a 2 year old), she stuck her hands into her diaper!!!!!!!!!! Eeewwwwwwwwwww!! I jumped up and yelled "Jo, take your hands out!," hoping her hands had not touched her poop. Alas, she took out her hands and yeah, stuck to the tips and all her nails was the stinky, brownish poop!!! Urrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

"Off to the toilet!!" "don't touch the sofa!" "don't put it in your mouth!" ....and I had to keep saying all this commands as we marched to the toilet! arrghh! yukk! The joys of motherhood! hahaha.....
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This morning Jo had bread and jam for breakfast. She undid the sandwich and wiped the jam on the floor and said "AIYOH!" (Malaysian for Oh No!) "JO!!" I jumped up again. You must be wondering why I'm always jumping up? well, actually I'm down with a horrid flue....and trying to rest when she has to create all these little scenes for me. *sigh*..... anyway, since I have absolutely no energy today, I gave her a series of commands to follow.
I told her "Jo, put that sandwich in the dustbin, go to the kitchen and get the cloth."

So pitter patter, went her little feet. After a while I hear a "thud" sound, and assume it must be JO throwing the sandwich in the dustbin. Then I hear her sweet voice calling very loudly from the kitchen "Mum, where is it?" (meaning the cloth). I yell back "By the sink!"

A few minutes later, she emerges with cloth in hands, wipes the mess up. and asks "mum, could I...have...milk?" So I replied "first, put the cloth back, next to to the toilet at the back and wash your hands, then come back and pick up all your toys."

I listen intently...and yeah, I heard the "plop" sound (cloth in sink), then I heard the tap water running (washing her hands) and then tap water off, then she appeared picked up her toys and said "I've washed my hands ady, and pick up toys ady (already)."

"very good Jo", I smile at her and gave her the milk. (No, I've not managed to wean her yet). *sigh*

but....yeah, children are a blessing, life is interesting with them around. Though all those instance were REALLY messy, they make nice memories. Nel is currently at Chinese class. Will have to go pick her up soon.
ciao.

Jo's first real punishment

Little Jo decided to try and see what it'd feel like to smack her older sister. So, while snatching her sister's stuff away, she smacked Nel on the face and yanked her hair. (yes, a 2 year old can do that!) So I pulled her away, got to her level, looked in her eye and said "You CANNOT hit your che-che (sister), you understand? Hands are not for hitting.."

Jo looked at me seriously, and said "yes mummy, no hit Nel, no hitting Nel."

I replied "you sure you understand what mummy said?"

Jo looked at me somberly and replied "sure mummy, Jo cannot hit Nel."

I then took her to the corner of the room, placed both her hands on her ears and told her to face the wall and stand there for a while. I've tried this before, and she burst into tears the last time. This time, she quietly did as told and did not cry a tear. However, she took lots of peeks at us, hoping we'd allow her out. She had this really serious frown on her face and if I happened to catch her taking a peek, she blinked her eye in a really funny manner. I was trying hard to be serious, but I could not help turning away for a bit of laughter. No, I'm not a sadist, it's just she looked so seriously cute! hahahaha.....

Finally I said "ok Jo, you can come here now."

Jo walked over to me, smiling, and said "Jo want to say sorry to Nel. No beating Nel." So she walked to Nel, tenderly stroked her hair and said "sorry, Nel, Jo sorry." *sigh*..... the end.

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Apart from that, yesterday we celebrated mooncake festival. I don't know the significance of it, I don't celebrate it in the real sense of it, but traditionally it's a night where you eat mooncake, and children walk around the neighbourhood with their brightly litted candles. So we got together with the neighbourhood kids and did just that. It was fun, except for a few lanterns that got burnt. But that is part of the fun, watching the lantern light up in flames! hahaha...

Addtions to the family.

Wish I could tell you that I am pregnant with a new baby. but no, no, no. Am not pregnant, do not plan to get pregnant in the near future.... maybe in 2 years...maybe maybe.....

However, in a matter of one week, we acquired a dog and a rabbit and we have a terapin boarding with us as well. Nel ( and I) REALLY REALLY wanted a dog, and we were going around checking out Animal Shelters. Nel (meaning I) fell in love with a Schnauzer mixed with Terrier and asked to adopt that little fella. Unfortunately it'd just come in and was not ready for adoption, and they wouldn't allow us to place bookings. Well a volunteer happened to be there and took my number down. Two days later she called me to ask if I was interested in a rescue Poodle. It's pure bred, but kept in a small cage for an entire year by a cruel breeder.

The little fella's hair was all mangled up and he had weak hind feet due to being caged up. Well, after several visits to the vet..he was ready for adoption. And yeah, we took him in. :) He is simply adorable, REALLY active little fella who's really inquisitive and cute. :) We take him for long walks, so his legs have strengthened. He's so strong he actually pulled Jo flat onto her nose once when she held the leash. Thank God we were on grassy patch. Anyway...enough of stories already. By the way, we've named the poodle Camel.

Oh yeah, in the same week, my dear dad, not knowing of our intention to get the dog, decided the kids needed to have pets around and got us rabbits. Sadly one died within a few days. I guess, we're learning how to handle these little creatures. One survives, and his name is Tee-tee.

Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary

well we spent a whole day at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary . It was a hot day, and 5 families went with us. Had our picnic at the site and at about 12 the show began. First we watched as they bathed the elephant

then it was feeding time. You get to go up close and feed the elephants all sorts of fruits.

and finally riding time. Here's the man preparing the elephant. If you notice, no carriage. You just sit on the elephant and hang on tight to the man, and feel the elephant's very prickly hair tickle your thighs! :)

They also brought out two REALLY cute, ADORABLE baby elephants, which the children, especially Jo REALLY loved. (they are orphans rescued from the forest.)

The water activities (elephant dunks you, and swimming with the elephants) were canceled due to strong currents. too bad, or I might have posted a picture of me being dunked. Next time. :)

Finally, if I've anything to say, it'd be STOP illegal logging, and safe the rainforest. I'm passionate about nature, and I feel sad when their (animals) homes are being destroyed. Why are we destroying God's beautiful creation?
The complete set of photos can be found at flickr where I post my pictures

more why questions from Nel

Nel has been asking tonnes of questions...that I admit, sometimes, I loose my patience. *aarrghh...I can hear the lightning strike me for being an impatient mother.* You see her torrent of questions usually come when I'm driving. Coz she's sitting down with nothing to do...so she either starts asking questions, or she starts making up strings of songs which she INSISTS I listen and appreciate and clap!! or she starts disturbing/playing with her sister.

I can take a little bit of listening, and answer some questions, but when I'm on the busy highway and Nel's questions or songs increase, my head starts to pound and sometimes I yell out "zip your mouth or we're gonna blah blah blah." Ok, I need to be more patient. Praying for MORE.

Well, yesterday her question was quite CUTE! Here's what she asked "Mum, why is it, I can see your chest bump out and Ah Ma's (grandma's) chest and aunty's chest all bump out (protruding) but I cannot see daddy's or Ah Kong's (grandpa) or mine?"

I thought, oh my, here we go, another question about anatomy. (If you remember, when she was 4 she once asked why Lu's belly button was dangling and hanging out of his tummy!) Well...so I was about to go into breast tissues and milk ducts etc etc....when she herself answered the question. She said "Is it coz you, AhMa and aunty are women, and daddy and AhKong are men? and because I'm just a little girl? that's why our chest are flat?"

"Yes Nel!" I replied happily. Not wanting to go into scientific detail since I was driving. Maybe it's time to get a science book on human anatomy for her. Ok, we're off to the Elephant Sanctuary in some forest where we get to ride the elephants, feed them and bathe them. Ciao.

It's been an interesting week with all sorts of things going on. Well...it was a long weekend coz of our coutry's 50th independence celebration, which was a REALLY big do! too lazy to blog about it though...it was just a really busy weekend with lotsa concerts and fireworks (which baby J didn't like at all) and blah blah blah.

Here's a quiz for you. CAn you guess what is Baby J's favourite food? If not, click here for a clue. Download J's voice .wma (will take about 40 seconds. Please keep speakers on.)

Ok let's see who gets the question right! haha...

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Ok I've been tagged by Sonia . Sorry Sonia, coz I'm lazy to go copy the rules. but basically if I remember correctly I have to list down 8 things about me which you all don't know. Oh well, I actually did 101 in my previous blog, but here goes 8.

----at one time of my life I owned 3 wild chickens, a dog, a cat, a turtle, some fish and lots of stray cats.

----- I love Korean, Japanese and Italian food

----- I have consistent sinus problems and cannot stand dust

----- I love the outdoors

----- I am by nature an introvert

----- I did at one time wish my body was proportioned differently (haha)

----- I also love Indian food, esp North Indian cuisine

----- I love my parents dearly

there's the list. Ok, hoping you all have a beautiful week. It's rainy over here. I just spent some cash on new plants. Cannot specify ammount, lest hubby finds out. hahaha... my garden is packed! coz it's so tiny. I cannot help but envy those with huge compounds. I dream of having a large compound one day so I can plant to my heart's content.