Certain Cute Phrases...

Zerlynde is quite a chatterbox at home. Some of her favourite phrases are "Wake up already", "Late already, come upstairs, sleep already", "Titi, what are you doing?", "What's that?", "There it is", "Here you are", "Hungry already, let's have rice", "Let's go shopping", "So pretty", "It's very hot", etc.

Lately, she's also taken to offering to massage my back after having seen daddy did it once. She said "Mummy, massage you". And she really does do a good one too, for 5 seconds ;)

And I really love it whenever she spontaneously comes and kisses my arm or cheek.

There is no away...

I saw this line in a Shell advert in some magazine lately:

Don't throw anything away. There is no away.

And it really struck me! I must be more enviromentally friendly.

Zerlynde's Class Report

We received Zerlynde's very first report from her Montessori last week. It reads as follows:

Dear parents

Zerlynde is a sweet girl. She enjoys working with Practical Life pouring activities. She is also active, she enjoys outdoor play and music and movement. She gets along well with her peers. Her friends are Isabel, Kelly, Nicole, Juvita and Wei Song.

The children have been practicing on the Montessori Practical Life materials like dressing frame, rolling and unrolling mat, pulling out and tucking in chairs, care of books and transferring pasta with spoon. As for Sensorial exercise, they are practicing with the presentation tray, knobbed cylinders, broad stairs and pink tower to train their five senses for future work.

For language and number work, we are introducing the letters G to L and proceeding with numbers 1 to 7. We are using the sandpaper numbers and letters for tracing with fingers and using crayons and colour pencils on the workbooks.

Our theme for April is still "Animals". We will be talking about the habitat, food, characteristic and movements of the animals. The children will be making some animals through pasting and painting activities, besides the colouring activities.

From:- Teacher Yvonne

Zerlynde's typical day school day comprises of half-hourly sessions of Montessori, Outdoor, Music, Snacktime, Art and Craft and Story-Telling.

Cakes

Besides Secret Recipe’s White Chocolate Macademia and Bakerzin’s Warm Chocolate Cake, the other must-try is the Opera Cake from San Terri at Plaza Damas.

We were there for tea sometime last week.

Co-incidentally, I was reading this book called Paris in Mind, a collection of essays, book excerpts, letters, articles and journal entries by American writers about Paris. Naomi Barry wrote about the Paris passion for haute chocolaterie and there was a mention of the “Opera”, a flat square or rectangular cake with alternate fillings of chocolate and coffee and a satin smooth chocolate couverture, exactly what we had at San Terri.

Rolling Rolling Rolling

Zuwern's now a Pro at rolling. He's been practising for the past 2 weeks. And these few days, we noticed that he could roll left and right and straight on to rest on his tummy so smoothly as if he's done it forever. We are keeping our fingers crossed he won't roll off the bed. Zerlynde did when she was his age once!

Zerlynde's First Ballet Class

Zerlynde loves to dance. So, I have been looking for a dance academy to enrol her in. Finally we found one teaching ballet just 5 minutes away from our house. Took her there yesterday afternoon. She was initially a bit shy and insisted that I stayed in the class with her. After 15 minutes however, she started to warm up and enjoy herself, so I quietly left her in the room with her ballet teacher and 7 other kids.

The other girls were mainly 3 - 4 years old. So that made Zerlynde the youngest. The teacher was initially a bit apprehensive as to whether she could follow the class. So she was very surprised and pleased to learn that despite it being her first time, Zerlynde could follow the class very well.

I saw some of the little movements the little dancers made. The girls used their arms and fingers to imitate the patter of the rain. Then, they pretended to make big and small bubbles in the bathtub with mummy. Next, they moved around and pick imaginary fruits off trees to place in their imaginary baskets. Then, the teacher set them off for some marching.

I couldn't stop smiling looking at my little ballerina. And Zerlynde enjoyed herself so much that she refused to leave the class when the lesson ended. Only after much persuasion and the promise of a next lesson did she finally agree to leave.

Tuesdays and Thursdays

Hubby and I have agreed on some important stuffs. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after work, he get to go for his footsal, to meet clients and to go for happy hours with his guy friends. Tuesdays and Thursdays, he shall be home before 6pm and babysit the kids so I get to go for my belly dance, to run errands, to shop, etc.

Since it's Tuesday, I went for my first belly-dancing class at this centre called Caterpillars, just 3 minutes drive away from my house. It's been more than 15 months since I stopped my belly dance lessons. I've completely forgotten all my steps! And I looked so clumsy it was so embarassing! Oh well! I just want to do some exercise and sweat it out. Never mind the clumsiness!

1, 2, 3

Zerlynde has learned to recite 1 to 10 for a long long time. But whenever she was asked to count, she would go 1, 2, 3! Show her a picture of 4 apples, she would say "1, 2, 3". Show her a picture of 6 puppies and she would go "1, 2, 3, 4, 5". I think she couldn't understand the concept of counting. Anyway, just a few days ago, I was going through some counting book with her. Lo and behold, when asked to count, she got the correct answer everytime. Yippee, my baby has finally learned to count :)

Laura Mercier Creme Brulee

I love Creme Brulee for desserts. So, after reading about the Laura Mercier Crème Brulee Parfum, I checked it out at Kens Apothecary yesterday afternoon. It’s yummy. Unfortunately, the Parfum is out of stock for the moment.

Aging

I lost one of my lower molar tooth to crack and decay a couple of months ago! I lose about 50 of my thinning and greying hair everyday. I forget why I go to the kitchen sometimes. I can’t fit into most of my clothes. My back aches really badly. I can’t see the fine prints.

These are the signs and symptoms of aging.

What A Weekend!

Saturday, we had lunch at this place called Eric Deli Paradise at Plaza Damas with Kenzu’s brothers. It was pretty much a family affair. Kitty was also there and we were further joined by a close friend of hers, Yang Hoon. After lunch, we lingered on and went for our coffee at Yik Mun’s Kopitiam. The owner was very nice he did not chase us out even though we were there for more than 2 hours. We went home at around 5pm. I settled in the kids, then went off again with Kitty and Yang Hoon to Cats Whiskers at Desa Sri Hartamas. I must say Cats Whiskers has got really nice clothes at affordable prices. All three of us ended up buying something each. I got myself 2 pants, 6 blouses and 2 sling bags. I know, I know……! When I reached home at around half past six, I found all my darlings tucked comfortably in bed. My wonderful hubby had even given Zerlynde her evening shower. A pleasant surprise!

Sunday, we spent 8 hours at One-Utama! First, we spent more than 20 minutes looking for a parking space, from the new wing to the old wing. Then, we lunched at The Vietnamese Kitchen where we had a hearty meal consisting of chicken chop, chicken boxing, Vietnamese spring rolls and Vietnamese beef noodles. Next, we went to the nearby MPH where I got myself a book, a collection of 4 of Narayan’s novels and a 2007 diary while hubby accompanied Zerlynde to some story-telling session which she enjoyed tremendously. After awhile, we headed for Best where hubby spent over an hour comparing the benefits Sony LCDs have over Samsung LCDs. Then, Zuwern poo-poo, so I had to bring him to Parkson to change his diapers in the Parenting Room while Kenzu lingered around the area with Zerlynde. Next, we had the most wonderful desserts at Bakerzin. I ordered the Warm Chocolate Cake whereas hubby tried out the “tapas”, a serving of 3 different desserts; the pistachio crème brulee, the banana pie and the chocolate price. The Warm Chocolate Cake is heavenly! I’ve been dreaming about it since we last shared a piece (with Kitty and Kar Boon) at the Bakerzin outlet at Bangsar Village. After tea, we headed back to the old wing. Tried out some Osim massage chair on the way, then lingered at a shop looking at some household items, then spent half an hour indulging Zerlynde while she rode on her favourite Zebra Merry-Go-Round. Proceeded to the Groundfloor next. Since Mother’s Day is around the corner, we headed to Tomei to look at some jewellery. Was half tempted to get the half carat diamond ear-rings for myself but am proud to say I managed to resist the temptation! Hubby got me a pearl bracelet instead :) Next, we tried out some jeans at Levi’s. Both hubby and I ended up buying a pair each. Then, we got some discounted Filawear at Jusco before finally calling it a day! By the time we reached home, our baby girl was fast asleep in the car and our baby boy was craving for his milk.

Me or You

“Mummy, read for you”.

Zerlynde still can’t get her “me” and “you” right.

Genting Highlands

We went to Genting Highlands the Sunday before last and stayed 2 nights there. Dad and Kenzu went to the Casino a few times. Mum and I looked after the babies. We also took Zerlynde for her Merry-Go-Rounds. Within 3 days, she took about 20 rides. She was so happy.

Genting Highlands is not my favourite holiday destination. However, I went because both dad and mum like it there, dad for the casino and mum for the cool weather. I remember when I was young, my parents used to bring my siblings and I to Genting during the school holidays. We were allowed to roam about as we wished. I remember vaguely the bowling alleys and the really huge and tall slides, also the outdoor boat rides etc. At that time, we had to walk outside in the cold from the hotel to the outdoor theme parks. There was no indoor walkway. Dad used to give us RM50-00 each for the duration of our stay and we would all blow them away on these little entertainments and the game machines. I loved Genting then.

This round however, I must confess I was rather bored. I don’t gamble, so the casinos meant nothing to me. All I did was bring Zerlynde to the Merry-Go-Rounds. Hubby brought us to The Bakery on Monday morning but our breakfast was cut short when Zerlynde threw up. We also checked out the various eateries for our lunches and dinners with my parents. The food quality at most of the eateries was rather poor. So, we actually settled for KFC for dinner on our 2nd evening! I think The Bakery was the only nice place at Genting. It has got pretty good scones, croissants and pastries.

Some mega Bollywood event was being held at the Arena of Stars that weekend. Apparently, all the big stars were there. We had to go through a massive crowd when we checked into Highland Hotel. The place was full of policemen, reporters and fans. On one occasion, we even shared the same lift with an actress and an actor. As we stepped out of the lift into the lobby, the photographers clicked away, so I won’t be surprised if Zerlynde and I appeared in some major Tamil newspapers, albeit in the background picture of some superstar.

Yum Yum

Zuwern's first solid 3rd April, 2007. "I love apple sauce, yum". Mummy's putting him on Organic. Can't bear to contaminate his system. Afterall, he's had nothing besides mummy's milk...