An Unexpected Visitor

So yes, we do have a swimming pool in our backyard that we share with a multitude of other organisms!

The water has been gorgeous, blue. Icy, even at the height of summer. There's this solar thingy, but it doesn't "heat" the water up one bit. Probably just takes the edge off the iciness.

The boys LOVE it so so much! Lachlan wanted to have a pool party for his birthday. It's just that, I had to explain to him, his birthday would be late autumn. I didn't think anyone would come in their bathers, let alone jump into the pool with him.

Anyways, just a couple of days ago when the boys jumped in. Something else had already jumped in....FIRST. A little green frog that reminded me of first year uni lab practice! Uggggghhhhh..... Lucky I didn't jump in with them, else I would've jumped straight back out.

There was something else that I noticed that day, the pool somewhat turned green. Gaaahh, what's happened to resort style, crystal clear water overnight? Now I've got swampy ugly muck in my backyard with a frog??? I quickly googled "green pool water" and found out that there was a full-scale algae bloom in my pool. Awwww.........just bloomin' beautiful.

The rain must have brought these little buggers with it. Now here's what we have to do to reverse it. Sounds like a bloody science experiment to me, frogs and all.

Our House - Part 1

Over the next few weeks, I hope to be putting up pictures of the house. Mind you, the house is not new, it's almost 30 years old! But like a good wine, I think it has aged quite beautifully.

Now, I'm going to have to do this in a few parts. One, because I need the photos to actually look good to impress (teehee!) ie. minus the mess. Two, I can only do THAT much tidying up at the one time and taking the photos before it gets messed up again. Three, it will keep you in suspense. Four, there's no four. Don't worry, I will still be showing you the psychedelic, low hanging lamps from the 80's that we try not to bang our heads on, and everything as is, when we moved in.

We have not renovated, or done anything to the house. We simply moved in and unpacked.

Let's go from back to front! The rolling lawn, that was quick to impress. But when one has more time to ponder on how gruelling mowing the lawn can be........

So tip no.1 on buying a house, do it quickly before the hubby changes his mind!



It's always handy to have a lemon tree, especially one as established as this. Only problem is, they all ripen at the same time! So tip no.2, come and say hello to me during the lemon season, I will have a bucket load of lemons to share with you.

You can see the fenced pool area on the right, and the back facade of the house.



This is a fully covered patio, where we will be having lots of alfresco dinners in the warm summer's nights.



One of the things about this place is the well established garden, there is so much green. But it takes no genius to figure out, a big garden means a lot of hard work maintaining and time. Thank goodness, we have our parents to help out every once in a while. And it helps having a hubby that doesn't mind sweating it out with the lawn mower.



More pictures to come, so stay tuned!

Lego Lad

My first born child is almost 5 years old. He goes to kinder this year.

I get asked all the time when we go out together, why isn't he at school? Is he cutting classes? Surely this charming young lad, often very very suave with the ladies (especially grandmas) is of school age. No, he goes to kinder. 3 times a week, only 3-4 hours each session. Every other time, he gets to hang out with his mom. His poor mom!

Often when I potter around the house, picking this up and that, I would come across many of his interesting creations. A Lego police speedboat, with wings so it could fly and fold out tyres, so it goes on land. A rotorcraft house, so you can bring it with you on holidays (I like that!). Vehicles that change into robots, and robots that transform into humans. Space crafts, space shuttles and rocket ships.

And he talks to himself, in his imaginative play. In R-O-B-O-T like sounds. So sci-fi.

My first born child, he builds houses and space crafts. Perhaps one day, it will become a reality.

Hello Blog!

OK, so I think I am back. I have taken a rather extended hiatus from blogging. There has been quite a lot happening over the last couple of months. Buying a house, selling a house, moving house and now, renovating a house! But I could safely say that we have ironed things out, and on the right track back to our normal routine. It has been a smooth sailing adventure, but hey, packing and unpacking boxes is not too much fun when you're up to Box No. One Hundred and Twenty-Two!

Moving house takes up SO MUCH of your time, it zaps up your every last bit of energy, it's like a never-ending marathon. Whatever bit of time I have left, I thought it was only fair that I spend it on my children. I must admit though, inspirations have been hard to come by and I am struggling a wee bit (I think) to think about what to blog about. Maybe there are just SO MANY things I don't even know where and how to start!

How about this: We are so madly in LOVE with this place! The kids are crazy about their own little rooms (OK, except Lily), the space to run wild, the big gum trees! Oh it is so so green here, I absolutely love it! We stretch out our arms and legs, and there is SO MUCH room to streeeeettcchhh (and also SO MUCH HOUSE WORK!!) Oh yes, I absolutely love it! Haaaa......

And have I told you, we share this house with a gazillion of other living beings? We find 2, 4, 6 and 8 legged creatures of all shapes and colours and sizes, I feel like we're in a freaking museum of entomology!

Here to greet me on my kitchen window sill early in the morning...


Hello Mr. Mantis :)


Ugghhh... I'm not a big fan of 8 legged creatures! This orangey number is apparently a baby huntsman and she's already the size of Lily's palm. Gaaaaahhhhh!!

Often there will be a row of cockatoos sitting on the fence outside the window when the kids ate their breakfast. And one night, we heard hoot hoot, hoot hoot and we thought it was one of the kids snoring. But there he was, Mr. Owl perched on one of the gum trees.

Maybe I should start charging rent.

The Omnitrix

I remember those days when sugar crafting was completely alien to me. And now I'm crafting mysterious watch-like alien device out of sugar! By the way, this is a birthday cake for a Ben 10 themed party.

For those who don't know, an omnitrix is a device worn by Ben 10 that is used to transform him into some kind of alien form (I think).



It was Nigella Lawson's old fashioned chocolate cake recipe, an old favourite and lots and lots of ready rolled out icing.



Disclaimer: No person(s) were transformed into aliens in the making and the demolition of this cake.

Check out some of the other cake creations that I've made in the past. Click click.

The Middle Child

This is Lucas, our second born child. Some people say, he has the middle child syndrome. He craves the family spotlight, the attention seeker. He is LOUD. He is boisterous, adventuresome and somewhat destructive.

He wants to be independent. He picks what he wears. This is his absolute favourite shirt of all. His "Party Shirt", I picked from a $2 rack at the second hand kid's market. He NEEDS to wear it every time we go out. And here, he paired it with a pair of RED ugg boots, in the middle of summer.

Just imagine him, sitting in a supermarket trolley wearing his red party shirt and his red ugg boots! We do get a LOT of attention!

So the middle child phenomenon, is it true?

Lily Jade @ 9 months

My baby girl is 9 months old, can you believe? She is at this SUPER CUTE age, I wish I could bottle her up and keep her this way forever! She's full of smiles and giggles, constantly exploring the world. It doesn't take much, even the simplest thing keeps her happy. She loves her fruits. Throw her a nectarine or an apricot, she sits on her chair munching her fruit for ages.

Over the space of one month, Lily's development has PROGRESSED at lightning speed. And she has all her aunts and uncles, grandaunts and granduncles, grandma and especially grandpa, to thank for that.



She is 8.5 kgs. She has grown 3 teeth and she looks so cheeky when she smiles. Just one of her top incisors has grown and it's so freaking huge, it is so scary to feed her. Just what happens when she has two?

She loves to crawl to where the big boy's toys are. And often you would find part of Buzz Lightyear sticking out of her mouth or Lightning McQueen smothered in her saliva. She loves to stick her bum up high in the air, with her feet and hands firm on the ground, like in a downward dog (yoga) position. She pulls up on furnitures to stand, and sometimes couldn't get herself back down and calls out for help.



Thank you grandpa for teaching me how to clap hands and wave bye-bye.

Thank you grandma for teaching me twinkle twinkle little star.

Phaik Gunn Kor-Poh for teaching me how to blow. Kim-kim for splashing hands and kicking legs in the water. Aunty Yee Ling for blowing kisses. Ching Yoong "che-che" for teaching me how to say "che-che". And everyone else who has cuddled me, talked to me, nurtured, taught and showed me so many things in life. Most importantly, thank you for teaching me how to smile.



She oozes happiness, everyone just can't get enough of!

Camping at 'The Prom'

Over the Christmas holidays, our family went for a camping trip at the southernmost point of the Australian mainland, Wilsons Promontory (affectionately known to Victorians as 'the Prom').

Day 1: Yanakie Caravan Park

31 family members, a convoy of 7 cars packed with tents, camping equipments, food supply, 7 pitched tents, 4 camp sites and 2 cabins. Well, we sort of went "camping". When we stayed very comfortably in our very well heated cabin, the rest of the family were freezing their butts off in their tents!

The drive from Melbourne to Yanakie was quite pleasant. The kids were well behaved and Lily slept most of the way there. We settled into our cabin, while the rest pitched up their tents. We spent the day just relaxing and lounging around the camp site, exploring the caravan park and its surroundings. The boys watched boats being pulled to the docks and released into the water and dug on the sand in a near by beach.

Day 2: Wilsons Prom and Mt. Oberon



The drive from Yanakie to the Prom was interesting. Blackened trees amidst bursts of fresh green eucalypts, the views were simply breathtaking although what's left behind was a sombre mood, a memory of the "Black Saturday".

Early on the morning of Sunday 8 February 2009, the day after what is now known as Black Saturday, a dry lightning storm passed over Wilsons Promontory and a bushfire ignited. Lightning struck a gully just north of The Cathedral, a mountain at the north end of Sealers Cove on Wilsons Promontory's east coast. This bushfire burnt 25 200ha over five weeks, close to 50% of the national park.

We saw some wallabies and kangaroos along the way.

What we did on day 2 of our trip amazes me, up till today. Some of us still shook our heads in disbelief! We hiked up Mt. Oberon, ALL 5 of us! I had Lily (8 months) in a backpack carrier, Lucas (2.5 years) managed a third of the hike on foot and the rest on alternating shoulders of various strong gentlemen. Lachlan (4.5 years), well HE DID ALMOST 100% of the hike (up) on his own. It was 3.4km each way, with a gradual moderate slope.

Photo credit: Top photo was taken at the peak of Mt. Oberon, panoramic views of the prom. Second photo, on the way up to the top. Both taken by an uncle (Thanks Uncle Yeoh!) :)

We did not bring our camera as our hands are already full as you can imagine!

Squeaky Beach.

Exhausted but not defeated and very VERY hungry, we got takeaway fish and chips and headed to squeaky beach for a picnic. Wrong move. When you put a 2.5 year old and a 4.5 year old in a beach with sparkly quartz sand that squeaks AND fish and chips, you end up eating very VERY sand peppered crunchy chips. What a cute name for a beach don't you think? It was because of the squeaky noises made when you walk on the sand. Squeak, squeak!



Day 3: Whisky Bay

There are so many beautiful beaches at the Prom, and we love them all! Day 3 was spent at Whisky Bay. Here are some snapshots of the kids...



It wasn't her first touch of the sand, but here Lily had her first real taste of the sea! She rolled in the sand with the gentle waves, ate fistful of sand, and then another. She splashed her hands and feet in icy cool water (the water is still very cold although it was a rather hot day) and had sun kissed nose for a couple of days. (But she is still very VERY fair, just like her mummy who tried so terribly hard to get a nice golden tan. Did not happen!)

Day 4: Home sweet home.

End.

Hello 2011

Why, hello there! It has been a while hasn't it? Here's wishing all of you a very VERY belated merry Christmas. I hope you all had a fantastic time celebrating with family and friends. I hope you are well rested and rejuvenated for the new year and I wish you a blessed and successful year ahead.

The last few weeks for us has been interesting. A little crazy, but we had a blast. We celebrated Christmas and ushered in the new year with guests from Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Shah Alam, Sungai Petani and Brunei. Exactly how many of them I don't actually know, that's because I loose count everytime I hit 30. We had mattresses rolled out in the lounge room, people lining up to use the bathroom and puzzled neighbours wondering if we were hosting a convention.

Oh, one very important bit of news: We are SOLD! Yayy! It was a few days before Christmas, and our lovely neighbour Pam saw us jumping up and down the nature strip posing for photos! She must've been the first to know.

:)



Santa (you know who you are!) had been very generous to us. While I was busy cleaning windows for house inspections, I was totally unprepared and disorganised for the silly season. Even our christmas tree was put up haphazardly a few days before. As it got closer to the day, presents started piling up so high I was getting worried. We have to move. But thank you! Thank you all santa(s) for spoiling us silly!


Christmas morning 2010.



Even I got spoilt rotten by my own personal santa. He bought me a book, the exact same book I have that had been sitting on the shelf for a couple of months!

I have forgotten how many christmas dinners, banquets, feasts we had but this was one of them:


Roast turkey with a pork, walnut and cranberry stuffing and Chorizo sausages.


Pumpkin, caramelised onions and brie tart.


Hassleback potatoes.


Chocolate ripple log with fresh berries and cream.


Smooth and elegant, red velvet cake.

So yeah, that was our christmas in a few pictures and words. I hope there's more to come from me to you in the next few days.

Welcome 2011! Here's to an exciting new year, a new house, a new chapter of our lives.

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.