The Kiasu Mama

Two weeks ago at a Parents' Consultation Evening, I asked Louisa's teacher if she doesn't find numeracy as easy as literacy. She confirmed my worry. Alas! She's got my genes. I'm terrible at Mathematics. My cousin can vouch for that as she gave me tuition before. It's one subject I used to abhor and perform miserably at school.

Hence, upon the recommendation of the teacher, I bought the following workbooks from Amazon. Since there's free delivery for purchases above £15, I bought the English and Science ones as well. I like the way the books challenge a child's way of thinking. Instead of just asking one to work out 4 X 9 = _______, there are different ways of asking for example How many chocolate chip cookies are there altogether if you have 4 bags of chocolate chip cookies each containing 9 cookies? All the pages are nicely illustrated too.

I always think she's still young and in Singapore, she'll be in K2. But we're in UK and she's now in the equivalent of Primary 2. So I've got to keep reminding myself that, if not she'll be behind her peers.

It's here!

Since my post on a new digi cam some 5 months ago, I'm so excited that the new successor to Canon S5 has just been launched. Not one but two of them! I was lusting after Canon SX1 IS which is not on the market yet but Canon SX10 IS is more affordable. The former is slightly more advanced with CMOS sensor and HDTV capture. But it is also about £250 more expensive. Adrian said I might as well get a low-end DSLR if I want to buy that. So I've decided to buy the one which is more easy on the wallet. I'm going to love the 20x optical wide zoom, vari-angle LCD and 0cm macro function. Simply can't wait to get my hands on it now. I've had enough of my old camera which hangs ever so often.

Witching hour

Louisa went for her first halloween party on Sunday. It was her friend's 7th birthday party. I painted her face which made her look more like Jim Carrey in the Grinch than a witch. But I was glad she was game for it. When I asked to take pictures of her, she gave me those poses which made me wonder where she learnt them from. Adrian and I certainly don't have that in us. Trust me, I didn't ask her to pose in those manner.

Winter came early

Last night as I was loading the dishes in the dishwasher, Louisa called out to me asking if it's raining hail stones outside. I stopped whatever I was doing and listened hard. Nope, nothing. So I told her it's not and it was probably sleet. 'But mum! The top of our car is turning white!' So curiosity got the better of me and I went to look out of the window in the dining room. What I saw surprised me and I didn't expect it at all - SNOW! Yes, snow in October. Something which I'd not encountered in my years of living in UK. Remember it snowed just over 6 months ago? We usually get snow sometime in February or March but this year is a bit out of the ordinary. Even though it's been pretty chilly, there'd been nice sunshine the past few days. I check the weather forecast regularly and no snow was reported. I was expecting rain last night. So I stood there at the window, taking pictures and enjoying the scene. One neighbour came out to look while another peered out of her window. For the next few hours (no I didn't stand there that long), the snow came down, covering everything in a blanket of white. It looked magical......

A's birthday

It's A's birthday today and the 'celebration' started on Sunday with me cooking up a storm in the kitchen. He's a simple man. Just feed him well and he's happy. So the best way is to cook him food that he likes. I made braised chicken feet and lotus root soup on Sunday. Yesterday, we had bak kut teh, steamed seabream, boiled bak choy and my mum's braised pork (finally got the recipe right using the gas hob). Dessert was tau suan. His favourite food is nasi lemak which I made for Valentine's Day too. I 'ponged' up the whole kitchen on Sunday night making the sambal chilli. Louisa kept complaining the following day. This time, I learnt from my mistake. I wore gloves to deseed the chilli. I could still remember the burning sting on my hands back then. For dessert, I made ginko nuts with flat beancurd sheet.

We bought a very yummy black forest cake from Waitrose in the morning and sang him the birthday song after dinner. Both girls made him many cards. He was a very happy man, saying that it's his best birthday ever (eh, what about your surprise 21st birthday huh?). I have yet to get him his birthday present. I was going to buy him a pair of working shoes he'd been eyeing for months (which is on sale now) but he seemed to have changed his mind. Oh well, let's wait for him to tell me then.

Best Food Blog

Not mine of course but that of this site. It's a delightful blog on food, photography and design. I really like the step-by-step instructions that come with pictures and the author has a great sense of humour. Go check it out.

Today, the dinner I made were all reciped I picked from her site.

1. Onion strings (mine's more like rings)

I don't have cayenne pepper so used paprika instead. This is super easy to make and really delicious (though not quite healthy due to the deep-frying). I thought I might have cooked too much but the girls kept taking them by the handful. It was finished in no time.

Recipe

2. Crash hot potatoes

Adrian commented this is a nice change. It's like a cross between mashed and roast potatoes. Again, very simple to do.

Recipe

3. Honey roast chicken

I've never been confident at roasting but this recipe was simple enough to follow and seemed foolproof. I used chicken instead of turkey and added honey to the melted butter to glaze it. Though I didn't achieve an even colour, I was pleased with the result. It was my first truly successful roast chicken. The possible reason for the uneven tone may be due to the fact that I on and off the oven a few times as I had to run in and out of the house to run errands.

Season of change

Summer had long past but I left the summery clothes in the wardrobe, hoping that perhaps there are some days which they can still be worn under a cardigan. We were fortunate to have some unusually mild days the past month but I decided the time has come to take these clothes off the hangers, store them away in the big luggage and replace them with the woolly jumpers and coats. Dressing up to go out takes longer, what with the layering, tights and soon scarfs and gloves. But it's going to be fun too!

New arrival

Presenting........

baby Louis at 3 days old, firstborn of our dear friends, Daniel and Rita. After picking the girls from school, the whole family went to meet the new baby. The new mum looked amazing! Bright and chirpy, showing no signs of fatigue, she didn't look like she had just given birth a mere few days ago. Blessed with a short delivery (she went from 4cm dilated to 10cm within 1/2 hr), she went about tending to the needs of the baby, making us tea and chatting with us. I marvelled at how she was able to walk around and sit just like normal, no difference from when I met her a week ago before the delivery. I was sore for about 2 weeks after my deliveries and had to sit on the 'surgi-float'. She is one lucky mum!

The girls were excited to see the baby and Lavigne kept wanting to stroke him. Adrian and I had to keep reminding her to handle the baby gently as he's a real baby and not her toy baby at home. The handsome little boy was good as gold. He hardly cried while we were there and slept soundly when Rita put him down in the moses basket. Oh I just love newborns!

Where have I gone?

My apology to the regular readers (esp Syl) for not blogging. I'm still around, just very busy with juggling work and family life now. I don't have the luxury of spending as much time in front of my computer as before. But! I have started using the dishwasher, which means I have slightly more time. So hopefully, I will be able to update you guys more on my often mundane, sometimes interesting, other times humdrum life.

Price Hikes

Everything is getting more and more expensive. Staples such as bread, butter and milk and fuel prices to name a few. My grocery bill is increasing from month to month. Due to this credit crunch, many people are steering away from luxurious brands such as Marks and Spencer (sales dipping) and switching to discounters like Aldi and Lidl. I miss shopping at Tesco which does good offers but there's only a teeny weeny one in my town which doesn't stock many things. Now, I shop mostly at Morrisons but this supermarket chain does not have a loyalty scheme. You win some, you lose some. Now guess what? The price for the weekend kids films at Vue has risen from £1.50 to £1.74! Though it doesn't look much, it's still extra cost. Yah, I know.....stay away from the cinema and go to the park (free!) instead. But who wants to stay outdoors when it's so cold?!

BBBbbbrrrr.......

Its getting really cold. What a change from last week's generally sunny and mild days. The coats and jumpers are out in action. Soon, I'll be pottering around the house in my comfy slipper socks. The clock will move back one hour in no time and days get shorter and shorter. In the winter months, the girls go to bed as early as 7pm as it gets dark around 3+pm. I am not looking forward to picking Louisa from school in the dark, so miserable. On a brighter note, as we are unlikely to be going back home this Christmas, I am no longer dreading spending the cold holiday season in UK as we have made many friends since moving to this town. I was telling Adrian the other day, I have seen more Asian faces in these past 2 months than the 3yrs 7mths we spent in the previous village. Of course we can make friends with the locals but there's a definite immediate connection and familiarity when it comes to Japanese/Malaysians/Hong Kongers.

Pre-party

Tinkerbell doll as cake topper