Childhood

Photo A Day Challenge
Day 10|Childhood

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

I found this picture today of my grandparents, my siblings and I. It must be taken nearly 30 years ago.

This is one of my fondest childhood memories. Every holiday season, my parents would pack us all up in the car and drive 7 hours up north to Penang (Malaysia) where my grandparents live. It's a big wooden house on stilts with a gazillion rooms. There is no front door, just some wooden steps leading up to the house. Creaky floorboards covered with vinyl, old style plantation shutters and an outside dunny! The house is old style colonial and it's simply beautiful.

I remember the aroma of roasted peanuts and sesame seeds, hot sticky sugary caramel as my grandmother makes peanut brittle for Chinese New Year. I remember my grandfather, holding my hand and leading me out the long driveway, to a little mobile candy shack. Buying us Hacks lollies, little black liquorice wrapped in red cello.

My grandfather passed away nearly 30 years ago...
And not long after, that historic house was demolished to make way for modern development.

This is one tiny bit of my childhood memories.

Lily @ 20 months

Do you remember, my precious little baby girl? The little lump I used to cradle, nurse and carry around in a sling? Her skin all wrinkly and covered in fine, downy hair. Her smell of new baby skin, clean and milky. She lies there, a little helpless, just gazing at you. She gurgles, coos and smiles... Remember THAT baby??


Well, she is that baby NO MORE! She puts on her own shoes, picks her own clothes and carries a handbag on her forearm like a grandma, not necessarily in that order! She puts 3 words together, to try and make a sentence. She climbs the fort and jumps in the trampoline with her brothers.

Oh dear, where has my baby gone?


Eating

She loves her food, and just eats whatever we have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Her favourites are sausages, mash and peas, spaghetti bolognese, fried rice, noodles and egg. She picks apart her sandwiches. She loves fruits - peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, mango, kiwi. She drinks cows milk from a cup, 2-3 times a day. She is very independent with her eating. She feeds herself, but gets food in her ears, nose and hair! One thing that sets her apart from her brothers, is that she won't take another bite until everything in her mouth is chewed and swallowed. Where as the boys just shovel their food down like there's no tomorrow!

Playing & Activities

She loves her dollies. She loves playing cooking and tea cups. She's a girly girl. But occasionally does play with her brother's cars, trains and trucks. She gets very territorial at times, not wanting to share her toys. "Mine, mine, MINE!" She chucks a hissy fit when her toys are taken from her. She enjoys puzzles, loves to read. And she wants to read her favourite book over and over and over....and over again! She holds her pens and pencils in a palm grip, and just scribbles whatever she wants to.

She is one brave girl when it comes to swimming. She jumps too eagerly into the pool and dunks her head into the water although she hasn't found a way to swim back up for air! Yes, a little too "brave" for my liking!

Motor skills & Coordination

I must say, Lily is very coordinated in her own ways. We used to have all sorts of baby safety paraphernalias with the boys, but they've been thrown out, given away or even sold online! Lily climbs up and down, weaves in and out of furnitures very very carefully. She rarely gets stuck and gets herself out of tricky situations a lot better than the boys. She follows her big brothers around, climbs up and down the ladder of the fort, hurtles herself off the slide. She climbs up the ladder onto the trampoline and bounces along when her brothers jump. She does it all slowly and steadily.

Language

She can say many words now, and even throwing a few words together. Her first 3 syllable word: NIN-JA-GOOOO!! She surprises people with what she can say. She picks up the phone and says "Hewow?" She knows her daddy's name, mummy's name and her grandpa's name. She practically just repeats everything you say like a parrot. One day she surprises us by saying "har kau (prawn dumpling in cantonese), siu mai (pork dumpling), yue chi kau (shark fin dumpling)" what we've ordered at a recent yum cha session! What a cracker! My sister in law is now trying to teach her a few words in Hokkien.


Tantrums & Emotions

Oh yes, we are starting to see some signs of "terrific" twos and threes. She throws a tantrum when she doesn't get what she wants...sometimes. And she is very VERY loud. She screeaaammms, screeeaacchh, yeelllls and it often sounds a LOT worse than it actually is. She is also very loving and readily give hugs and kisses.

I can't help getting all nostalgic again, knowing that my LAST little baby has grown out of her baby skins.

Breakfast

Photo A Day Challenge

Day 9|Daily Routine



It's the school holidays.

There is NO routine. The kids wake up...LATE. We sit at the kitchen bench and eat our breakfast at 10.30am! And then we lounge around in our peejays ALL morning. And finally brush our teeth at noon.

We might watch a little TV, play lots of video games... like LOTS of video games. We might go outdoors if the weather is good, jump on the trampoline or take a dip in the pool if it's warm enough. There is JUST no routine.

One thing is for sure, we get under mom's skin a lot... and that is a LOT.

In the picture, daddy was getting ready for work. And he's really REALLY running late! First day back at work...

Night Sky

Photo A Day Challenge
Day 8|Sky

10:56PM
Oh crap! Babes... how's the sky?

Errr.... it is... dark?? Why, what's wrong with it?

I need to take a photo of it. I've forgotten my photo a day challenge...

Babe: ??????

Sunday Selections

Do you have many pictures that is stored away in your computer, just sitting in folders, not doing anything? (Try making a photobook at www.photobookworldwide.com!)

Today, I'd like to share with you a couple of photos for each month in the last 5 months. Looking back before this blog was resurrected again, my last post was in July 2011. July! So, I came across a photography meme at Frogpondsrock, and thought maybe I should pick a few photos of the kids at random, just for the past few months.

Enjoy!

August 2011

Daddy, lend me your shoulder...

The boys at RSPCA Cupcake Day

September 2011

My grungy boy, Lachlan at the local park

October 2011

November 2011

Falling asleep in grandpa's arms

December 2011

Raindrops on roses...

Photo A Day Challenge

Day 7|Favourite

My favourite author (at the moment) is Paullina Simons. She writes on frailties of family, and of human nature. I am on to my fourth book at the moment, and "The Girl in Times Square" is by far my favourite. It's about a girl called Lily Quinn who is faced with 2 pieces of extreme, life changing luck - one good and one bad. She struck lotto, but at the same time was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I had my emotions wrung so completely, one minute I was sobbing my heart out, the next minute laughing through my tears! It also has everything a romance glutton like me needs, a bold dashing hero (NYPD cop!) sweeping up sick girl in his arms, into a heart stopping love affair. Great read!

Makes me smile...

Photo A Day Challenge

Day 6| :)

Baby kiss me one more time!

Disclaimer: This photo is published WITHOUT permission! :) :) :)

What she wore...

Photo A Day Challenge|Day 5

Necklace by Cotton On Kids

Making Fresh Pasta

A few girly chit chats, one or two clips on YouTube, a few clicks later... this arrived at my doorstep!


So fresh pasta is on the menu tonight.

I have made fresh pasta before, but with a manual pasta roller and cutter. 2 batches later, it's packed up in the box it came in and stored away at the back of a cabinet.

So what's different about this one? Why, it's so that I use my KitchenAid stand mixer to its full potential? Haha! Powered by the motor of the mixer, the three roller attachments will make lasagna sheets, fettucine and spaghetti for the family, many many times over. (I'd better! At $274.95 plus free shipping at YourHomeDepot.com.au, fresh pasta better be on the menu EVERYDAY so says hubby)


Here's the recipe for fresh pasta:

(Adapted from Taste.com.au)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• Plain flour, extra, to dust

Method

• Place all ingredients in the mixer bowl and attach the flat beater. Turn on to speed 2 and mix for 30 seconds.
• Exchange flat beater to a dough hook and knead for 2 minutes. Take it out of the bowl and hand knead for 1-2 minutes. Let it rest, covered with a cling film for 20 minutes.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces, and start working each portion into the pasta roller. Pass it through the roller a few times, folding it 3-4 times over each time. This process is called lamination.
• Pass the laminated pasta sheet through a cutter. I made fettucine this time.

Now I need one of those fancy pants pasta drying rack!

Fettucine with garlic, prawns and zucchini ribbons...

...made with love.

Snail Mail

Photo A Day Challenge...

Day 4|Letterbox

A little bit prehistoric, a little bit odd (quite odd actually, I've not seen another like it!), but full of character. It was one of those things that grew on me. I didn't like it when we first moved in, but I'm quite proud of it now. Weeds stand tall around it. Snails live in it. I love my letterbox.

Here are some catch up pictures of the first 3 days of the challenge that I missed...

Day 3|Adore

The loves of my life jumping on a trampoline.

Day 2|Breakfast

My breakfast today is well and truly digested, I thought I'd show you our resident snail's instead.

Yum Yum...

Escargot anyone?

And finally...
Day 1|Me!

A new hair colour and cut, feeling refreshed and renewed for the year!

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.