Graduating from 3 year old kinder!

Oh my goodness, will you just look at my little man! The past year has seen him blossomed into a charming, handsome boy, a serious chatter and a caring and giving person. He is a home-body, a mummy's boy. He does amazing things with his agile fingers. He loves building, making fantastic structures from bits of Lego.

Last Friday, Lachlan graduated from 3 year old kinder. They had a mini Christmas concert and a break up party. Oh goody, he goes from 3 to 4 year old kinder, so that means an extra 2 hour session in a week. 2 HOURS, 3 TIMES a WEEK! Golly... just enough time for me to have another cuppa with just 2 littlies at home.

The K.S.G.

Here's something I wanted to share. My husband calls it the K.S.G.

Koay. Sweat. Gene. Koay being my family name.

It would be in the middle of winter. My boys go to bed rugged up, but not excessive. Their limbs and torso would be nice and warm. Sometimes even cool to touch. But their heads would be drenched... in sweat. They call out, waking up in a puddle. Their pillows soaked through.

Now Lily has the K.S.G. too. She has little beads of perspiration on her cute button nose and it's just terribly TERRIBLY cute! Her soft black hair curl up in thick wet locks. I must remember to take a picture one day.

There was an incident that I wouldn't forget. It was in the early years when I was still a little girl in Malaysia. My father had taken the family out to dinner. We had curry and rice on banana leaf. When Papa was signing for the bill, drip, drip, drip. There were droplets all over the bill and the waiter attending to us had looked up to the ceiling, thinking that there MUST be a leak on the roof. Drip, drip, drip. You should've seen the look of astonishment when he found out!

It was the K.S.G.

Passed In

The gruelling weeks of sleeplessness, renovations and cleaning for open for inspections did not pay off. The auction that took place last Saturday was inconclusive, our property passed in at a price lower than anticipated. Oh how I have been looking forward to sticking the "SOLD" sticker on the board outside the house, how I thought never again would I be cleaning windows for the rest of the year, how exciting it would be that I could now look forward to the "new" place.

But.

We have not sold. We're back on the drawing board. We have more open for inspections to come, offers to be considered, decisions to be made, a household to run and a LOT to be done. The game is still on.

I am exhausted, a little bit deflated but not defeated. We shall see what the week ahead bring us.

5 Top Tips for Home Inspections

from a non-real estate expert!

It's all about playing with the senses. You want to be invited into a home, and be tantalised not only by what you see, but what you can smell, hear, touch and possibly taste.

1. Openness create a sense of space. So removing a piece of furniture here and there, or hiding all traces of mess and clutter takes away a lot of distraction from the room. Neatness and cleanliness is paramount. You want to show that the house has been looked after.
2. I like a house with rooms bathed in natural light. A house that is bright and airy is a happy, cheery one. We're lucky that this house has windows lined from the front door to the back, and that was one of the main reasons why we bought the place. (This makes cleaning windows a pain in the backside, but hey, they didn't need to know that - make sure all windows are squeaky clean though, no icky finger prints or slobber marks)
   
3. A little birdie told me that houses that smell like freshly baked bread makes you warm and gooey in the inside, and will sell better. I concur! So I whip up a batch of cookie dough or bread the night before and leave it in the fridge, then stick it into the oven an hour or so before inspection time. I do serve up the cookies during inspection times too, and the real estate agent promised me a couple of grand more for that reason. And they better stick to their promise!
   
4. I try to create a scene and stick to a colour scheme for every room. Like for the master bedroom, a red romantic hideaway. The guest bedroom, a blue countryside retreat. I bought new cushions to jazz up an old couch, borrowed some paintings and pictures to brighten up a wall or two, bought some new pots and plants for the garden, and freshly cut flowers for the lounge. You don't have to spend a fortune, and remember that these things can be used for your new place when you move out.
   
5. And finally, a no brainer, a soft lullaby playing in the parents' retreat, a jazzy tune or two in the lounge and the sound of trickling water in the courtyard. Some aromatherapy candles burning (but make sure they don't burn the house down or clash with the smell of biccies).

Fingers crossed, someone will fall head over heels with this house like we did 7 years ago, and bid bid BID!!! But who are we kidding? It is definitely not the seller's market at the current moment, but we're remaining positive, and we can only hope for the best.

'Tis the season...to be SUPER busy!

What can I say? It has been a whirlwind past couple of weeks. We are selling our house.

It is funny how we've lived in this place we called home for the past seven years, built our little cosy cove, breathe in so much life and in fact made three precious little lives (OK, so we won't go into much more detail here). Damn, we got married in this house, right here in our very own back yard. And we think we know every nook and cranny. It's not until we want to sell the house, that we scrutinize every little mark on the wall, the hair line cracks, the unevenness of the paint, a leaky tap etc etc. Every little scuff has a memory to it. A nail in the wall that held a precious picture. Every little stain on the carpet has a story to tell.



So it is common knowledge that selling your house is a busy and exciting time. You want to ensure that the features that make your home stands out among the rest, really does stand out, so to achieve the best possible price for your house. And that's what it comes down to. Money. Buyers look for negatives to give them bargaining powers in negotiations. So for exactly that reason, we have put in our best effort in eliminating the negatives. And it is here we begin to depersonalise this home. Erase every little scuff of memories that we won't be bringing along with us to our new home, fill up holes that held the nails for our pictures and make some space in the house so someone can come along and say hey, I could make this house mine.



A new coat of paint. Refreshing the carpets and polishing the tiles. Ensuring that every room is as neat and as clean as it possibly can be. Decluttering (a very therapeutic exercise!). Little finishing touches, it does count. And creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere, so that a potential buyer would feel that emotional tug as he or she walks into the house.

First impressions count.

So yeah, we've been busy. 3 little kids tagging along with the ride. Literally, during house inspection times. We practically LIVE in the car during those times. Throw the kids, the dirty laundry, the mess on the floor, dirty cups, saucers etc etc into the car and off we go! Haven't we noticed, kids and mess come in the same category? So that very room every house has, the room that we shove all the mess into when there's an unexpected visitor, our car has become just that. And it's a bloody good one too.



So too-do-loo, off we go for another car ride!

More on Open For Inspections.... later.

Internet Listing is Up!

I am completely happy with the professionalism and services of our real estate agent. Things are happening at lightning speed, and everything seems to fall into place nicely. Even the sun cooperated on the day of photoshoot!

Anyways, here is the internet listing:

Lifestyle With An Architectural Edge

A grand and unique home with the sweeping lines of cathedral ceilings and imposing angles makes ‘The Diplomat’ by Bellemore a truly distinctive residence.

Set on a gorgeous tree-lined street in the company of equally distinguished display homes, the 31 square (approx) family retreat offers lavish living bathed in natural light. A palladium window to the lounge and glass walkway along the dining room’s atrium set a glamorous formal scene, flowing to spacious open plan living set against lush paved gardens.

A magnificent kitchen impresses with north facing light, amazing bench space and a host of lime-washed solid timber cupboards, with the meals area and rumpus room opening to a private palm-lined patio.

Clever bedroom zoning has a parent’s retreat out front with a palatial spa ensuite, walk in robe and a sun kissed sitting room, two bedrooms upstairs for teens and another on the ground floor near the main bathroom and open study. Decked out with ducted heating, evaporative cooling, stylish furnishings, a secure dog run, double garage and a smart Merbau front fence and perfectly placed near Knox City Shopping Centre, Eastlink and The Knox School. This is the home and lifestyle a discerning family deserves.

Click here for more photos.

Lily @ a little more than 6 months

Babies are so darn flexible! I love how they could reach out for both their feet, and pull their big toes into their mouth. Or arch their back at a 90 degree angle at tummy time. Amazing! The pictures here show how Lily tries to roll over. She props her head up, and unlike the boys who would just tumble and flip, this little girly girl would do this graceful arch with her back. She stretches one arm like doing the arabesque. Then with both hips still planted firm on the ground, she rolls her upper body over, sometimes her head touching her bottom. With a swift motion, she does a little pirouette with her bottom half, and end with a cute curtsy and a smile that covers half her face.

I know her ballet teacher kim-kim would be so darn proud of her!

:)

We Are Ready!

So, this is the place we called home for the last 7 years. It has served us well, a fairly decent sized house: 4 bedrooms, a study, 4 living areas including 2 dining, a magnificent kitchen, a double garage, a private courtyard and an ultra low maintenance garden.

The past week, busy is an understatement. We have given this house a makeover, a fresh coat of paint on the outside and window frames, a little touch up on the inside. We now have a lawn! The biggest task of all perhaps was to get rid of all the clutter, and it's amazing how much stuff we collected over the years. We are truly lucky to have enlisted the help of both sets of parents/grandparents. My dad dug and levelled the soil for the lawn. My mom looked after the kids. My father-in-law painted the awnings and ceilings. Even my mother-in-law was up on a ladder painting the window frames! My handy husband did an amazing job with the alfresco area, pulling down the old screens and shade sails and replacing it with a new ones with a modern edge. While I had the endless task of cleaning, decluttering, more cleaning and redecorating the joint.

Now, we are ready to sell.

A whole new adventure awaits us.

Mattel does 4 Way Cradle Swing n Glider

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.



Lily Jade must be the luckiest baby girl of all times. Just after she was born, her grandparents arrived from Malaysia. She was cradled, soothed, rocked, held, sung to and talked to. And then, like most good things, it came to an end. My parents left. And I wished I had an extra 3 pairs of hands. Much to my relief, a parcel arrived in the mail from our sponsors at Nuffnang. We were so excited, the Little Lamb Cradle and Swing was such a handy little helper in our household. Lily loved it, as much as I did.

When the lovely people at Nuffnang contacted me once again, to see if I wanted to review yet another toy from Mattel, I could hardly contain my mirth and excitement! Oh yes please! And then this one arrived...

Fisher Price i-Glide Cradle and Swing.



So we have been spoilt by the option of swinging from left to right, front to back on left and front to back on right. And now, we have even more choices! The i-Glide is more than just a swing, as its name suggests, it also glides.



With the i-Glide, Lily can enjoy not only the swinging, but also a head-to-toe and side-to-side gliding motion. There are four different motions to soothe and entertain, all in the one baby cradle swing.

The cradle itself is quite easy to assemble. My four year old son and I put it all together. It's easy enough as long as you follow the instructions. The seat is a nice soft micro plush fabric in vibrant green and it is easy to take off and put on for washing.



Other features include a variety of jazzed up classic tunes, 6 different speed settings, a fun fluttery mobile and two-position recline for baby’s comfort. The control panel is down on the ground, with easy on-off buttons. It is really easy to work out the different modes, and the transition from swing to glide is made with just a push of two buttons. The seat can be rotated to the left or right.



I love the globe mirror on the mobile. Lily does enjoy looking at herself, and the colourful fluttery butterflies surely are engaging. The mobile does swing out of the way, so it makes it easier to put her in or take her out of the seat.



But perhaps my favourite bit of it all is that, not only does it use battery power (4 D size batteries), but there is also an option of using an AC adaptor. You have no idea how many batteries we have used in this household in the last 4 years. It is phenomenal! Not to mention spending a fortune on those exorbitant D-size batteries. And every time batteries need changing, it's my job to unscrew the itty bitty screws that hold the casing, and then replacing the batteries and the itty bitty screws! Oh how I disliked toys that ate up batteries! So I was really stoked with the thing that plugs into the wall.



The other important bits...

Product Dimensions:

76.2cm in height x 40cm x 27cm

Batteries are not included.



And you see, it has worked its magic again!



Sshhhh....baby's now asleep.



I don't know which one I would choose between the Little Lamb and the i-Glide. We are certainly spoilt for choices. The one thing I know, a cradle or a swing or a glider definitely comes in handy, for those sneaky times when mummy just needs to plonk baby down. And baby loves it. Real sweet.



www.fisher-price.com.au

A New Beginning

One day not so long ago, I fell in love.

It has only been a week, and we have been taken on a whirlwind journey. From the moment we set eyes on this vintage charm, its land so vast screaming out endless opportunity. To the moment we decided we could live there, and so put in an offer for the house. The visits to the banks. The visits to the house again and again. The realisation that we needed to sell the current house and works that needed to be done to get the house in shape to sell. The phone call that told us we were new owners of this property. Whoaa... it is all happening. And it has only been one week.

And I wasn't even looking.

Love is blind. Love is fate.

It is here, we shall begin a new chapter of our lives...

Four Kids

Last weekend, we played mum and dad to 4 kids. We were minding a friend's 5 year old son, Isaac, for the day.

We had 4 child restraints in the car, the third row of seats in our 7 seater SUV resurrected. It was the hubby's dream come true! In fact, he bought the car for exactly this reason. To fill the seats with kids. Though I'm pretty sure he ain't getting anymore from me!

So off we went, Isaac, Lachlan, Lucas, Lily, Gary and I to attend not only one, but TWO birthday parties that day. Packing the family into the car was uneventful. Pffftt... easy. 2 minutes tops per child. It just felt like the whole house was coming with us. Bag for Isaac, bag for Lachlan and Lucas, baby bag, water bottles, stroller, baby carrier, sun screen, hats for everyone, birthday presents, costumes etc etc etc.

The first was a party for a pretty little girl. She turned 4 that day. It was held at a park. What an awesome park it was! The kids had a ball, running free and wild, climbing, swinging, sliding. (Mental note: must have kids' birthday party at a park next time.) It was a lovely day for that too. They decorated gingerbread men and fairy biscuits, did crafty things. 4 hours and lots and lots of cupcakes, sweets, jellies (and maybe a little too much sun) later, we were ready for the next party.

A superhero party for 2 year old super-e!

Just imagine 4 little superheroes, tearing into the house of our next hosts. Cape flapping, a little worn out from the previous party, maybe a tad (ahhh just a tad) sugar high. Sheer terror, for me that is! I don't know how the hosts felt. It was a great party no doubt!

I had the darting eyes all day that day. Uh, where did he go? OK, now where's the little guy. Eeeps, I'm sure he's just hiding in the bush. What? You mean a 15 year old got shot in this very park? Gaaahhh better keep both eyes on the kids. Yeeeeekkk, where are they. Can't they ALL stay in just the ONE place at the ONE time? OK, so you need to use the toilet? What I need to go with you? Here use this tree.........

By the end of the day, I really didn't care if the kids ate chips for dinner.

The best part of the day was when Isaac called out to me... "mum, mum, mum!" I was like "huh? you're calling me mum?" Isaac says, "yes mum, I want to be part of this family FOREVER!"

*smiles*

4 kids? Pfft... easy. Uhmm... but no thank you.


Happy Birthday Master Elliot! You are just too cute!
Photo credit: "borrowed" from someone's facebook page. :) Just can't resist it!

Reflections on Death

I got a phone call on Sunday afternoon. I was out with the family. We were coming home from a birthday party. A friend of mine had passed away. We went to school together, and later reunited in uni when she did dentistry and I did medicine. We shared some lectures together in the first few years.

She was 30. It was sudden, and tragic. I do not know exactly what happened.

That night, I took a deep breath, and looked at her facebook profile. I clicked on her pictures, and went through them one after another. And I procrastinated that moment all evening.

Four years ago, I organised a little get together with a few school friends. We chatted, we laughed and we remisnisce the old times. We laughed so much. She was always so bubbly. There was a certain positive energy that she emits. She laughed at my behind being so massive, pregnant with Lachlan at that time. After dinner, we walked her to her car. And that was the last time I saw her.

My brother bumped into her on Flinders Street a few months ago whilst being on holiday in Melbourne. She ran up to him and gave him this massive jump hug. She was always so full of......life. And now she's gone. And it doesn't seem real. It's so hard to think about death, without thinking about life.

Even now, I still feel numb.

It made me reflect. On how fragile life is. Somehow, I am just more aware of how alive I am today.