A Challenge for January

What better way to ease myself back into the world of blogging!

I am taking up this challenge, albeit a little late to start. But better late than never.

Here are some of my new favourite sites, who will also be participating in this challenge:

Chibirun

Fat Mum Slim

Happy New Year!!!

Hello and happy new year from bloggy heaven!

Here's my first blog post for the year 2012. A surprise for some of you that have been checking back on me. See, I have not (nearly!) given up.

Looking back, I have been reflecting. A full time mom juggling three kids under 5, captain of the house and playing taxi driver, butler, chef and confidante to my loved ones. It hasn't been easy. There has been some big life changing events. A death in the family. Kids growing up. Last day at kinder, orientation at new school. Going to a new kinder, new teachers, new surroundings. A growing toddler, tackling terrible threes (and fours! and fives!), the list goes on....

My blog. I wondered if my heart was still in it. If I'm still able to find the balance and the time to write.

Obviously I haven't given up. Here's my half attempt on trying to revive something I once put my heart and soul in. Something that kept me up into the wee hours of the night.

Without my blog, I wouldn't have won my little mini dell, that sadly has also gone up to (bloggy) heaven. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to write and review, and share my thoughts, my joy and my pride with all of you. I could not just.give.up.

:)

So welcome back! Happy new year 2012! Here's to an exciting, awesome year of blogging.

Hello. Goodbye. Hello.

Hello blog. There has been a very long pause. I don't know, I seem to have lost that momentum. And I'm sorry for the lack of fore-warning, or at least a notice that says "BLOG PAUSE" or something like that. But I want to thank you all for coming back to check on me. I know that because just the other day I received an email from my sponsors, Nuffnang, to tell me that they will be advertising on my blog. Gasp, my blog! So that's how I know that there must still be sufficient traffic coming through. Thank you also for the encouraging notes and heartfelt messages. I definitely feel the love, and hope that I could return them by blogging again.

How have I lost it? Hmmm.... it could have all started when our lives got a little topsy turvy (a good kind of topsy turvy) when we moved to this amazing place we now call home. I counted 50 steps the other day taking my laundry to the line. And back 100 steps. If I did two loads of laundry, that would be 200 steps and then another 200 steps to retrieve them. I love it! It gives me extra pleasure in eating that piece of chocolate afterwards. And then we decided to rip out the beautiful slate tiles because they gave our socks holes and feet calluses. My new kitchen is being installed and I'm cooking on a portable electric stove in the laundry. Totally uninteresting!

Then I lost my stay at work from home hubby to a little shop near by *happy dance*. I am happy that the business is growing and just NOT sustainable in this very home. Along with it went the computer with all my precious photos. I don't have a printer in this house. Nor do I have any envelopes, stamps or even sticky tape!

My three precious are definitely keeping me on my toes. On some days, they drive me insanely up the wall. Yet, the little things they do, like big sloppy open-mouthed kisses could send me over the moon. You wait, I will do an update on them real soon and that's a promise!

I thought I'd leave you with a photo of our brand new PhotoBook office:

Pop by for a visit, coffee is on us!

PhotoBook Australia
Shop1/475 Burwood Hwy
Vermont South VIC 3133

Lily has a Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing

This is a sponsored post by Nuffnang.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by my sponsors, Nuffnang, asking if I'd like to review a toy from Mattel. So I said, yes of course, I am a stay at home mom with three young kids, toys are our expertise! But if you've seen my house, you would know it sort of resembles Santa's workshop or a second hand toy store. Train sets and a train table, speedy sport cars of all shapes and sizes, a footy all rough around the edges, tools for little boys, toy soldiers and other little boys' toys! What is it that we haven't trialled and tested?

When the big box arrived at our door, I was excited. I have been secretly hoping that it would be a toy for Lily, my youngest of the three. She is 10 weeks old and the only little girl of the family. Lo and behold, in that big box we unravelled My Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing, fit for our little princess Lily. All of a sudden, it was ALL ABOUT ME! This is JUST what I need.



In our busy household, sometimes I could use an extra pair of hands. Although Lily is an easy baby, sometimes she still wanted to be held, cuddled and rocked. Here's a swing that cradles and swings, here's a place I can plonk Lily down and she can easily entertain herself.



The swing rocks with a side to side motion, a bit like how you would rock a baby in your arms. And the cradle that surrounds her has a really soft, squishy fabric and a canopy, making it a cozy little cocoon. Above her a little hanging mobile with cute little felt lambs, fluffy clouds, moon and star in pretty shades of pastel.



When I first saw the dials and buttons on the body, I was a bit overwhelmed! So many different functions, tunes, speed and volume. There are 8 soothing lullaby tracks as well as 3 nature sounds. The volume and speed dials allow for control of a comfortable setting.



What I love most is the globe mirror on the mobile. I watch Lily watching herself, she could stare at herself without blinking for ages or she makes these little funny grimaces that are sooo cute! The rotating toys engages her attention. And I think Lily enjoys looking at her own reflection, and it encourages self-recognition. And the best thing is, it rocks her to snoozy sleepyland.



Now that's not all. When Lily grows a little bit older, the seat could be repositioned into a more upright position, and the rocking motion could be changed to back-and-forth motion. It also comes with a tray that can be snapped on in front of her. The tray has little tethered toys and beaded bars for when she can reach out with her hands and fingers for tactile stimulation.



What's more, it has a lovely neutral colour that blends into the home. A nice visual appeal. The sturdy steel frame as legs that could fold in for easy storage.

Overall verdict: I think this toy has many positive aspects. It stimulates, it soothes, it entertains and it is an extra pair of hands for me. Perfect for Lily, perfect for me. I couldn't be happier.



Would you buy this for your newborn? What do you look for when choosing a toy for a newborn?

Drop me a comment, let me know what you think.

Here are some links that may interest you:

My Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing

Age by age resource for toys

What's new at Fisher Price Australia

A Special Gift from a Bloggy Friend

Look what Mr. Postman brought in the mail today?

A parcel for Lily Jade, her very first one. And inside are two cutest little softies, a giraffe named "Alfie" and a bear tag blanket with her name "Lily Jade" embroidered on it! Her very own security blanket! I'm sure it will be following her to bed, to the shops, to a holiday, to grandma's and everywhere for many many years to come.

Thank you so very much Charmaine and your family for your thoughtful and generous gift. I am deeply honoured, that someone we have not even met personally, is thinking of us. We hope to one day meet you and your family.

Love,
Grace and Lily Jade

We're Back!

Hello! Did you miss us? We're back from a very long, and well deserved break. 6 weeks went passed in a blink of an eye! Well, maybe not for some. But yeah, we're now back in the comfort of our home and enjoying the things we loved and missed. Here's us with a packed picnic lunch at Carribean Gardens, while mummy shopped for groceries.



And here's what we had for lunch THREE days in a row now: Ham, cheese and cucumber sandwich. Mmmm.... we could still have these for another three days!



And mom made the bestest of all, some good ol' spaghetti bolognaise, and guess who licked the bowl clean again?



It is these simple pleasures that we missed. And of course we missed you too!

Over the holidays, I noticed some new readers that popped by. Hello there and welcome to our humble blog. Sorry if you've felt a little neglected, but I promise my posts will be popping up soon. To everyone else, welcome back!



Feels good to be back...YEAH!

The Year That Was 2009

JANUARY
In January 2009, I made some new years resolution. Looking back in the past year, I may have achieved EVERYTHING pertaining to motherhood, but nothing else apart from that matter. Nevertheless, it has been a fruitful and rewarding year. I have enjoyed my time tremendously and count all my blessings that I could spend every waking hour with my boys, watching them grow and not missing out on anything. First steps. First words. First puzzle completed on their own. First everything.

My brother Kelvin and his then girlfriend visited us. They went to Tasmania and he romantically proposed to her, caught on camera! We love you both. Kisses for you, kisses for you!

I won my first ever blogging competition, and won myself a mini Dell Inspiron laptop, one I'm using to blog now whenever I'm away from home.

My husband took me on a date with Brian MacFadden Delta Goodrem.

FEBRUARY
We experienced one of the darkest days here in Victoria. Temperatures were soaring above 40 degrees celcius, bushes were burnt down to the ground, people perished along with their loved ones, hectares of bushland and properties destroyed. It was The Black Saturday.

Gary and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary and my parents celebrated their 35th year in marriage.

MARCH
We celebrated Guaran (Gary's younger brother) and Chai's wedding, in Melbourne and in Malaysia.We grew a giant squash in our back garden.

APRIL
It was a month of birthdays and birthday parties.

Lachlan turned three. He started 3 year old kindy. We had an arrrrrr me hearties pirate party complete with a pirate ship birthday cake.

I celebrated my 30th birthday and gave myself the best present ever, perfect vision.

MAY

My darling Lucas turned ONE! Be charmed again by his smile, read this post here.

JUNE
Mom and Dad visited Melbourne from Malaysia, and mom spoilt us by making her famous Hokkien (Prawn) Noodles.

This is a typical Thursday for us in June 2009.

JULY
Lachlan fell asleep while eating pizza, caught on camera and made headlines on YouTube. People are still talking about it up till today. Laugh again, watch the video again here.

My brother Mark and his family moved into a new home in Melbourne.

I ponder about whether or not there's a medical career left for me.

AUGUST
It was a month of baking, cooking, trying out new recipes, eating, sharing, merry-making etc. Here are some of them:

Tricolour Marble Cake Lemon Meringue Pie Golden Syrup Scones Pear Crumble Cake Spicy Kerabu Salad Almond Biscotti

SEPTEMBER
It was footy fever all over again, with the Geelong Cats in the grand final in AFL, going against St. Kilda. We came home winners! Go Catters!!

We hosted a Father's Day lunch, with 6 daddies and daddy-to-be's. It was all about food.

I found out I was pregnant, all over again for the third time!

OCTOBER
Gary celebrated his 34th birthday.

NOVEMBER
It's all about being pregnant again. Morning sickness. Cravings. Juggling my three boys and tiredness. Read about it in my Pregnancy Diary.

DECEMBER
We came back to Malaysia for the biggest event of the year. The wedding ceremony of my brother Kelvin and new sister-in-law Ching Mei. (One I'm yet to blog about!)

We had a lovely time with family in a very well deserved 6 week holiday. We ushered in the new year 2010 with people who mattered to us most.

More blog posts to come!

That was it! The year that was 2009. Here's to a better, brighter, bigger year ahead. Welcome 2010!

A Little Hiatus...

Some of you might have noticed my little hiatus from the blogosphere of late, and I can't thank you enough for your emails, kind thoughts and lovely wishes. There are a few things happening right now, the reasons I shall reveal a little later on. Time is difficult to come by.

So keep checking back every now and then. I have a few things coming up, you might not want to miss it!

Asia Pacific Blog Awards

So, for the first time this year, I decided I might try my luck on a bloggie award. What do you think?

Nuffnang is hosting their first ever, Asia Pacific Blog Awards to honour the best in the blogosphere and also in recognition of their second anniversary. This will be celebrated in true red carpet fashion, a grand gala event in Singapore on the 23rd of October 2009. Nuffnang, along with their sponsors will be giving 400 bloggers and their guests a chance to walk the glamorous red carpet to a glitzy gala dinner at the Pan Pacific Singapore Grand Ballroom. This includes airfares and accommodation for the 3 days and 2 nights affair.

Every time, when the bloggy awards season approaches, I always have a list of my favourite blogs to nominate. Best Parenting Blog, Best Food Blog, Best Fashion Blog, Best Photography Blog, Best Hidden Gem! etc. And I would support them with my nominations and voting. The nominations for the inaugural Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards are now open. Do you think I can make the cut this year?

Well if you do, hop over to the awards page and fill in the nominations! You don't need to register, all you have to do is to provide them with your name, contact number, country of origin and email. Nominate http://www.lachinvasion.blogspot.com/! I promise you a blogful of love and eternal gladness!

Don't I have any shame left in me? ;)

Grow with Nuffnang

Earlier this week, I received a parcel in the mail. What a pleasant surprise! It was from Nuffnang Australia. In the parcel were some samples from Redken, John West, Leggo's, Spring Valley and a Coles Myer $10 gift card. Wow! Thanks Nuffnang!

If you've been following my blog, you would know that I have been with Nuffnang Australia, a blog advertising provider, since day 1 and must I say it has been such a pleasurable experience! They have been the most generous when it comes to giving, from free movie tickets to lavish Christmas presents (I still can't thank you enough Santa Nuffie!). And for a small time blogger like me, the advertisements are actually paying off.

This month, the Nuffies are running a campaign, a membership drive to get 1000 bloggers from the 800 or so members that they already have. I think this will in turn help us grow and get rewarded. They've already secured some big players like Coles Myer Group and ANZ Bank and I believe they will continue to grow to become a leading blog advertising company, just as their No.1 counterpart in Asia: Malaysia & Singapore.

So if you're a blogger in Australia and haven't signed up with Nuffnang, hop on over and SIGN UP! You will be rewarded! Also for signing up, you will receive a welcome pack, just like the one I've received. Lots of goodies & a $10 voucher to spend! What are you waiting for??

Oh, and one more thing... When you sign up, don't forget to write my blog URL http://www.lachinvasion.blogspot.com/ as your referee. This will put me in the running to win a $500 gift voucher. And if I win, I will definitely share this amazing prize with you! You have to tell me who you are though...

SIGN UP with NUFFNANG now.

Winners are Grinners!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Spring Kid's launching and giveaway contest. Well, guess what? A little brown parcel was left at our doorstep this morning...



It contained, not one but TWO very lovely T-Shirts. One for each of my boys.



Thanks to the lovely Leonny from Our Everyday Things and creator of Spring Kids. Spring Kids is a new online, all-in-one kid's clothing and accessory store, perfect for everyday shopping or getting gifts. They've got a great range of kid's day-to-day wear and cute little extras for the wardrobe. One of Leonny's mission was to make sure that the items sold in her store are of top quality, and they've been trial and tested, on her kids!



These T-Shirts are made by Chibiko Corner, very very soft and cottony. The Little League T-Shirt fitted Lachlan perfectly. And what's more, it had his daddy's name "Gary" embroidered on the top. I don't know why, but it was part of the reason why I picked this top. This is the look of a happy chappy doing a monkey dance in his brand new T-Shirt. He wore it to kinder today.

So thank you Leonny! You have started something wonderful! Wishing you the very best of luck in your new business, may it continue to grow, with the love and tender care that you have shown us through your writing and your lovely photos on your blog. Good Luck!

The Launching of Spring Kids

There is a seriously talented lady whom I admire so muchly. Her name is Leonny Atmadja.

She is Indonesian-born living in Singapore with her husband Wilson, and two most gorgeous and photogenic kids, Anya and Vai. Today, I'd like to point you over to her site.



Not only does she share through her blog Our Everyday Things, the joys, the ups and downs of being a parent (most often you'll find the most practical parenting tips in her blog that I love reading, it's like a ritual everyday!), recently she has opened a new online store! It's called Spring Kids. Here, you'll find a great range of kid's clothing and accessories. I like how Leonny sourced for some of the cutest and unusually gorgeous items like these Polliwalks.



One of the brands of clothing I quite like is Chibiko Corner. Made in Japan, very very Kawaii.

Shown here: Pumpkin Patch Board Shorts, Chibiko Corner Zip Up Hoodie.

As part of its new launch, Leonny is doing a giveaway. 8 lovely Spring Kids items to giveaway to 8 lucky readers, just for spreading the word. So pop over to her site will ya? This contest is open to those who live in the Asia Pacific (Australia included!).

And oh, did I mention she owns the most gorgeous and talented little models for her clothing store. Hmmm... I wonder if they get paid for their work. I'm sure they do, with love.



Two thumbs up for Leonny!

My Year Without Sex

No dahlings, we're not about to openly discuss my sex life here although there're much similarities to what's about to come.

Thanks to the lovely people at Nuffnang Australia, we have some FREE movie tickets to giveaway!



MY YEAR WITHOUT SEX is a kind of love story about all the big questions, and even more of the small ones. Over one messy year, Ross and Natalie navigate their children, nits, housework, birthdays, Christmas, faith, football, job insecurity, more nits, and whether they will ever have sex again.

Brilliant! There's just so much in life to look forward to, huh?

If you're like Ross and Natalie, Gary and me, please email me at grace@koay.com. I have 2 free tickets to giveaway. It doesn't replace sex but hey, 2 hours away from your kids, who knows what it will lead to? Winners will be randomly drawn from...a hat. Babysitters not included.

Or. If you don't have kids and want to watch the movie anyways, email me and you will also be in the draw.

Entries close Monday 25th of May 2009.

In the movies Thursday May 28th, 2009 until the end of the film's theatrical session. (Exclude public holidays and discount days).

Frogdancer's Book Drive

Today, I'd like to point you over to Dancing With Frogs.

Frogdancer is a mother of 4 boys, a school teacher, a person with a very very big heart. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

She is running a book drive for Jarryd, a son of her friend Judy in Traralgon, whose home has been burnt down to the ground, leaving behind only the dishwasher full of unwashed dishes. Read about it here.

Jarryd is an avid reader who hopes to be a writer one day, his library now in ashes. So she's come up with a list of books on her blog, in hope that her readers would be able to help rebuild Jarryd's book collection.

Here are some of the books from the list:

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
1916
James Joyce

Wuthering Heights
1847
Emily Bronte

The Tin Drum
1959
Gunter Grass

Molloy; Malone Dies; The Unnamable
1951-53
Samuel Beckett

Pride and Prejudice
1813
Jane Austen

The Scarlet Letter
1850
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fathers and Sons
1862
Ivan Turgenev

Nostromo
1904
Joseph Conrad

Beloved
1987
Toni Morrison

An American Tragedy
1925
Theodore Dreiser

Lolita
1955
Vladimir Nabokov

The Golden Notebook
1962
Doris Lessing

Clarissa
1747-48
Samuel Richardson

Hop over to see the whole list. CLICK HERE.

If you're able to help, just drop her a comment and she'll send you Jarryd's mailing address.

God bless you Frogdancer!

Nuffnang Bloggers Meet Up - Canary Club, Melbourne

Last night, I attended a bloggers meet-up at the Canary Club here in Melbourne. It was a casual event, sponsored by Nuffnang Australia aiming at getting bloggers together and getting to know Nuffnang. I had the honour of meeting Ming, the co-founder of Nuffnang Asia Pacific and Dave from Nuffnang Australia. Through this event, I also met some lovely girls, (the other) Grace and her sister Alethea, Sherry and Kriz. They are such easygoing and down-to-earth people, it was easy to get comfortable with them on the couch!

Ming, Kriz, Sherry, Alethea, Grace who is glowing, Grace who looks intoxicated after 1/2 glass of wine, my dear friend Laura.

This was my very first bloggers meet and I was excited about it. It's funny how you meet someone for the very first time and feel like you've known them like forever... because you've been stalking their blog! (Like I'm sure we're all BEST MATES with Karen Cheng!

Nuffnang is the first and possibly the largest blog advertising company in Asia Pacific, with over 60,000 members from Malaysia, Singapore and more recently the Phillipines and now Australia. They're the ones who let me win my Dell Inspiron Mini 9, and of course I have to love them (hehe). Sign up to Nuffnang and spread the good word.

Guess what arrived in the mail today?

Click here to read the letter that won us this sexy mini!

And oh, by the way, the third picture above is Lucas' size 3 1/2 shoe on the Inspiron. That's how tiny it is. I still can't wipe that smile off my face!

How was your Christmas?

I have been awfully busy the last couple of days. Christmas madness! It felt like I have not stopped baking, cooking, cleaning, chasing after the boys etc. in the last couple of days. This year, we spent Christmas with family and friends at the beach in Geelong. It was the most wonderful day, the weather was splendid and we had the best time with good food, great company.

I have some wonderful news! Just a few weeks ago, I wrote a little post, a letter on behalf of Lachie to a special Santa at Nuffnang. We wish for more Australian bloggers to join the Nuffnang blogger community and to support one of our very own "blogvertiser". Just as well, we wish to win the Dell™ Inspiron™ Mini 9. And we won!!!!!!!!!

*beaming smile*

I still could not believe my luck! I would like to thank the team at Nuffnang for giving me this wonderful opportunity to blog about them and choosing me as the winner! Here's to a fruitful year of blogging, a healthy and happy year for my boys and a wonderful year ahead for the Nuffnangers. Also, I would like to wish all of you, my treasured readers, a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year.

A Letter to Santa Nuffie

Dear Nuffnang Santa,

My mommy started blogging about my brother and I just about when I started talking, and now there's no stopping her (or me). Everyday she takes my brother and I places so she has stuff to write about. She must take pictures of us doing every single thing even if it's silly. She makes us wait for our dinner because she needed to take photos of the yummy food she makes, even when we're very VERY hungry. She talks about her blog ALL the time!

My mommy told me she chooses NUFFNANG as her blog advertising provider because just like my mommy, they originated from Asia Pacific, and are based here in Australia, close to our hearts. They get ads that are highly relevant to where we live. She said that her blog will make us loads of money so she can buy me the new train set that I've been wanting all year!

I reckon my mommy should win the DELL Inspiron Mini 9 because it would look awesome in our going out bag. Because it is so compact, that would leave plenty of room for other more important stuff like my Mr. Bishi, loads of snacks for when I get hungry and the incessant supply of nappies for my stinky baby brother.

My mommy thinks NUFFNANG is so cool because aunty Karen Cheng uses it and she's SO COOL! She has even asked some of her blogger friends to sign up with NUFFNANG like my buddies at Joel & Jovan's little world and Lins Writes.

Dear Nuffnang Santa, my brother and I have been good this year. We wish for mommy to win this competition. My mommy tells me that one day when I grow up, I should be a "nuffie", just like her!

With lots and lots of love this christmas,

Lachlan XOX

A Time for Reflection

2008 has been a very important year for us. It marked the birth of our second born son, Lucas. He has brought with him so much joy and happiness into our lives.



Lachlan turned 2. It was a year of transitions and he made us tremendously proud by adjusting so well. He has bloomed into a vivacious, chatty and happy boy and is such a great big brother to Lucas.



In 2008, not so long ago, I started this blog. I would like to share with the world, through my writing and photographs, how being a mother is a privilege, how wonderful and beautiful life is with children and how every challenge we face each day makes us better. I wish to inspire others as I have been inspired many a times through reading blogs by others. I have met people through blogging, people with the same passion in life, people who love life.

I am truly honoured to get readers from all over the world and I thank you all for visiting every so often. And most of all, I would like to thank my two darling boys for making each day so interesting and for making blogging a breeze with so much to write about, just as it is...

Karen Cheng

This is Karen Cheng.

She lives in Perth, Western Australia, with her husband and her two sons, Sean and Callum. I stumbled upon her blog, snippets of life a little more than a year ago, and I must say I've become a big fan. She is inspirational, she is passionate about life and she writes beautifully. She is artistic, she's funny and she's got a great sense of style. In fact, she is the reason I started my own blogging. She gives me ideas on what to do with my own two boys, and what the hell to cook for dinner! So thank you Karen, if you're reading.

Last year, Karen won the Best Blog Design in the Blogger's Choice Awards 2008. She came second in the Best Parenting Blog and was runners up for Best Blog of All Time and Hottest Mummy Blog! I must say she very well deserved all those awards and she got my vote for yummiest mummy of all time! :)

Well, she's up for the vote again for 2009 Blogger's Choice Awards. I know who I'll be voting for. Hop over to her blog for step-by-step instructions on how to vote.