Types of Insurance

Now there is so many insurance ranging from medical insurance, life insurance, auto insurance, fire insurance, household insurance and even snatch thief insurance. Our lives are so precious that everyone buys insurance for almost anything under the sun. Do you buy all types of insurance? As for us, we only have insurance for medical which is important as medical is getting expensive nowadays and also auto insurance which is compulsory for all car owners.

Print 4R for RM 0.30 each….

Mummy has been trying to find time to compile photos for Ariel because Jeriel has one album with photos of him during his first two months. So, in order to be fair, Mummy will want to print Ariel’s first two months photos and put in an album for her too.

Mummy finds this site which has printing promotion -- 4R for only RM0.30 each. Mummy just needs to upload the photos, pay and the photos will be delivered at the doorstep. As for any orders above RM35, the delivery would be free to any destinations within Malaysia. Isn’t this a good deal?

EOE Online offers Online Albums with unlimited space. Yes, with UNLIMITED SPACE.

EOE Online also provides helpful tips and online shop where related photographic products such as digital camera, lenses and memory cards are available. On top of that, there are other activities available such as photo competition and wallpaper download.

EOE Online is not just a normal online photo printing site but it is an online photo portal which creates lots of fun and excitement for all users. So, do not miss all these fun and excitement…

AL is 7months plus

AL was 7 months old on 20 Feb 2009. She was about 9kg and a very cheerful girl. She loved to turn the whole floor so PohPoh put a comforter on the floor for her to roll around. Bouncinet got to be kept already. At home, she would roll on the floor. At first we were thinking of getting a foam mat but then upon seeing Ariel had no problem with floor and rug, we cancelled our plan.

As for solid, she was a bit slow in taking her solid as compared to JL. So, she took very minimum Organic Cereal. This week, Mummy started to cook a bit of porridge using brown rice, millet, carrot and potato. Hopefully, she would slowly pick up the skill of eating solid. However, she loved to see the adults eating and she would start to make sound using her mouth. She would open her mouth if we were to offer our food to her.

Last Sunday in the church, she enjoyed swinging herself in the swing. Her teacher said she entertained herself by swinging herself.

 

Singapore 28-31Jan09

After thinking for so long, we decided to just go ahead and planned for this trip. We started our plan about 6-8 months ago even when Ariel was still in womb. We wanted to budget ahead but trust me, when the day came, still not enough cash but we decided just do it for this time and settle the bill later (something which we tried to avoid but ..sigh sigh…)

First time…

• It was our 1st overseas trip together as family.
• It was Jeriel 1st overseas trip (except Miri trip for Sam Yee and Sam Yee Cheong’s wedding in 2007 which is over the South China Sea...)
• It was Ariel 1st holiday trip (which was more than one day because Cameron Highlands was one-day trip) with us (Jeriel 1st holiday trip was in Genting Highlands)
• It was PaPa and Mummy 1st overseas trip as family since we had Jeriel in 2004 (of course this excluded company trip because we didn’t travel together...)
  

Hotel
Hunting for the hotel was a big headache. Some people suggested
Hotel81 which was a budget hotel. However the location which we wanted was not that cheap. After much hunting with Sam Yee (yes, Sam Yee, Sam Yee Cheong and PohPoh decided to join the trip too...), we decided to settle with YMCA at Orchard Road. We booked one double and one triple sharing room. The rooms included morning breakfast for all five adults and for Jeriel, it was free. Besides that a baby cot was also provided for free.

Itinerary
Next was planning for itinerary and also budgeting how much cash we should bring. We planned to use MRT and Bus as our means of transportation. We planned and calculated with the help of the information from the internet. The itinerary was full.

Stroller/Pram
Which one to bring? How Jeriel was going to take his nap and who was going to carry him if he was too tired to walk? At last we decided to bring Combi for Ariel and our RM20 MacLaren for Jeriel. Why 2?

Ariel would be able to take her nap for comfortable in Combi with big covered hood and total recline down... Combi was not suitable for Jeriel because Jeriel was over the weight limit. MacLaren could take up to 25kg which was the right one for Jeriel but not suitable for Ariel because it couldn’t recline total down for Ariel to sleep like Combi. Besides that, this RM20 MacLaren had no hood. Also we wanted a big basket to put bottles of water to drink and only MacLaren had the big basket. Combi had extremely small basket.

So we decided to just bring 2.

28Jan09 Wed -- Arrival, Mint Museum, Esplanade & Merlion
We booked for the earliest flight which was about 8am. Sam Yee, Sam Yee Cheong and PohPoh took a different airline which would arrive about 30 minutes earlier. So it would be just nice by the time the walk over from their Budget Terminal to the Main Terminal in Changi Airport to meet up.

First disaster, we arrived airport 2 hours before departure and found from the screen that the flight had been cancelled. We rushed to the counter and the staff said cancelled. Mummy asked why never called. Imagine with 2 kids sleeping in the strollers at the airport. Then the staff said the next flight would be 925am. OMG, we had to camp in KLIA for longer time without having anything to do. Sam Yee and the gang would have to camp longer in Changi Airport waiting for us. Our plan in the morning to go to Science Centre also was cancelled.
Since we had so much time, we took the train to another terminal to walk one round then back.

It was Ariel’s first flight and she refused to be breastfed. So, she ended up sucking her baby biscuits.

Which airlines was it? You all can make a guess lar…

By the time we arrived Changi Airport, we took MRT to Dhoby Ghaut station (the nearest station to YMCA). It was a bit early to get the room but we planned to leave our luggage at YMCA. However, our room was ready so Sam Yee, Sam Yee Cheong and PohPoh put their luggage in our room.

We walked out to a near by food court (Indo Padang Restaurant) for our lunch. After lunch we walked around Robinsons for a while buying some Avents bottles, teats and pacifier for friends.

Then we went hunting for the Mint Museum. After seeing toys in Mint Museum, we went to Esplanade and then to view Merlion. It was a long long walk with Jeriel and Ariel sleeping in their strollers.

After that, we went back to YMCA for a fast shower and then to Tony Romas in Orchard Road for our dinner. This would be our one and only most expensive dinner in Singapore. As for other meal, we would go for simple food court or hawker food.

It was our first night in hotel as a family. Ariel refused to sleep in the cot because it was just a soft board covered with bed sheet. So we ended up all sleeping on two singles bed. Mummy wondered what sleep number bed was being used in YMCA?

29Jan09 Thrus -- Sentosa Island
We had breakfast in YMCA then took MRT from Dhoby Ghaut to Harbour Front station. From there we bought our tickets before boarding the cable car. We bought the package because it was cheaper. Summary of some of the places we went in Sentosa Island because we couldn't cover the whole island:

• Underworld Water
  
  
  

Dolphin Lagoon

*CineBlast

*Luge & Skyride

Songs of the Sea

* we split ourselves into two groups so that someone could look after Ariel.

After Sentosa Island, we met Mummy’s cousin Uncle Rohan at City Hall. It was quite late and most of the eating places were either closing or no more food available. Uncle Rohan ‘belanja’ us at Mos Burger. We ate and chit chat with Uncle Rohan.

30Jan09 Fri –Zoo & Night Safari
Same routine, we had breakfast in YMCA and then took MRT to Ang Mo Kio. From Ang Mo Kio, we took bus to Zoo.

We bought tickets for both, Zoo and Night Safari which was cheaper than buying separately.

It took us one whole day to walk around the Zoo. There were quite a number of shows which we had no time to see all of the shows. We had lunch in KFC and Jeriel had a pony ride. We walked and on the last round we took the tram.

In the evening, we went to Night Safari to have our dinner. We watched a show then took a tram to round the whole safari. Since everyone was too tired to walk, we didn’t walk by foot in the Night Safari. After about 45 minutes tour the Night Safari, we took bus back to Ang Mo Kio where we took MRT back to YMCA.

31Jan09 Sat –Home
We had breakfast in YMCA, Mummy’s another cousin Uncle Ah Hwa and his wife came to have breakfast in YMCA with their little baby boy. After breakfast, Sam Yee passed their room key to us to check-out together later. Sam Yee, Sam Yee Cheong and PohPoh left early because their flight was earlier that ours.

We check-out and left our luggage in YMCA. We went to walk at the nearby shopping mall. Jeriel got a Ben-10 t-shirt and Ariel got a red dress. Then, Mummy went to the MRT with Ariel while PaPa went to collect our luggage at YMCA with Jeriel. Mummy went to buy tickets while waiting for PaPa and Jeriel.

We reached the airport early and planned to walk around Changi Airport. However, another disaster, our flight which was about 5.25pm was cancelled. Mummy rushed to the last lane to check and immediately, the check-in counter transfer us to 3.30pm flight because if we missed 3.30pm flight, we would need to wait until 9pm for our flight out to Singapore. By the time we got our boarding pass, it was already 3pm and the Immigration Counter had such a long queue. To make the matter worst, the boarding gate was very far. PaPa was pushing Jeriel in his stroller and Mummy was pushing Ariel in her pram. By the time we almost arrived the gate, they started to announce for PaPa’s name.

The flight was empty. Ariel again refused to be breastfed and she preferred to suck her baby biscuits.

We arrived home…it was very very tiring trip with so many things to unpack and also we spent quite a sum of money for this trip because our currency was quite low as compared with Singapore dollar. However, all in all, Jeriel and Ariel enjoyed themselves a lot. PaPa and Mummy were happy to see them so happy.

baby monitor

Mummy’s answer would be Yes and No because it would be depends on a few criteria such as whether staying in double storey vs. single storey or apartment and whether baby was sleeping in the same room with parents vs. baby own room.

Mummy and PaPa were looking for baby monitor for Jeriel when he was 2 years old because he was sleeping in his own room. We wanted to make sure he was alright and also be able to hear if he wanted something. The whole story of hunting for baby monitor was shared in this post.

What was the outcome?
It was useful initial but Jeriel adjusted quite fast in his own room without fuss. So, we hardly use our baby monitor. Besides that, our apartment was small enough for us to hear what was happening in Jeriel’s room.

However, if Mummy was staying in a bigger house especially double storey, then baby monitor would be useful especially if Mummy was alone in the big house with two kids to manage. Having a baby monitor would keep Mummy aware what Jeriel and Ariel were doing while Mummy running around doing housework. For time being, the apartment would be small enough for Mummy to know what they were doing.

So, whether it would be useful or not, it would depend on each individual needs.

Little Toez n Kidz

Since it is quite hard to find time to go and shop for things, internet is the best option for Mummy to look for great things to buy especially for the kids. Now there are a lot of online shops which offer a great range of things.

Online boutique LittleToez.com is just located in Singapore provide a wide range of clothes from little cute items of hair accessories, soft sole shoes to clothing. The items in this shop are specially imported. They are the exclusive distributor for KM Baby Socks USA and Amélie B Handmade hair accessories from Australia in Singapore. Little Toez n Kidz also has their own brand called C.J.'s Closet. They are the first stockist for Cheeky Little Soles footwear in Singapore. Besides that this shop also brings in Qictoria apparel from Hong Kong and Oobi Baby & Kids apparel from Australia.

Having little Ariel, we have to buy some extra different clothing because she cannot be wearing all Jeriel’s clothes as some of the clothes are too boyish. The item which attracts Mummy the most is the Amélie B Handmade hair accessories. Mummy thinks the Sweet Rose Hair Clip is very cute especially for Ariel’s fine and soft hair. Most of the clip we have will just slip off from her soft hair.

Back to memory lane on Valentine’s Day

Before this trip become stale story like usual, Mummy better shared about this trip even without any photos.

It was last minute unplanned trip. PaPa got a job in Perak, which happened to be quite near to Ipoh. It was a lone ranger job. Since, PaPa would be alone traveling in empty car, Mummy gave the idea, why didn’t we just maximize the petrol and toll which we needed to pay (super calculative Mummy, har har…) and also Mummy wanted so much to go Ipoh to meet up with our beloved poly lecturer, Aunty Roselin. She and her hubby Uncle Soba had been a great family friend to us since both PaPa and Mummy graduated from poly.

Yes, PaPa and Mummy met for the first time in Uncle Soba and Aunty Roselin’s house many years ago. That time all their kids were young and the youngest only hero of their family was not born yet.

PaPa called Uncle Soba and found that they would be around that weekend. PaPa sent the car for service on Friday evening.

Last minute, we packed our things on Friday night because we needed to leave latest by 6am the next day because PaPa would leave us in Uncle Soba’s house then he would drive to the place where he was required to do his work.

Early morning on Valentine’s Day, we started our journey to Ipoh. Jeriel and Ariel continued to sleep in the car.

On the way up to north, all sudden the car gave some problem. PaPa noticed that the temperature was quite high. PaPa started to drive slowly. We were praying that the temperature would not hit the highest until we reached Ipoh. We were supposed to arrive Ipoh at 730am but then due to the radiator problem, we ended up arriving only at about 830am.

We reached Uncle Soba’s house and PaPa took his coffee. Uncle Soba sent PaPa to the factory since PaPa’s car had problem.

Uncle Soba was busy cooking spaghetti for lunch. After cooking spaghetti, he and Jeriel made pizza. Jeriel had fun making pizza and also playing with Greg (Uncle Soba and Aunty Roselin’s youngest child and only boy). The elder girl Juliet was busy with some work and took some time to play with Ariel. The 2nd girl Sandy was in school for replacement class. The 3rd girl Hilda was preparing to go for her afternoon school, also replacement class.

Uncle Soba went to fetch PaPa with Jeriel from the factory. After taking our lunch, Uncle Soba sent Aunty Roselin to poly then brought PaPa to a workshop to get the car’s radiator repaired. Jeriel followed to the workshops and he was fascinated with all the equipment in the workshop including the car lifts.

At night, all the kids were tired. We ended up going to hawker near stadium with only Uncle Soba and Aunty Roselin. Aunty Roselin packed some food for the kids at home including sushi and sashimi. We had white coffee at the hawker.

We went home. We spent whole night chit chatting and also eating.

On Sunday 15 Feb 2009, we woke up early to get ready to go church. The same church which PaPa and Mummy went when we were students many years ago. Aunty Roselin prepared breakfast for us. The church started at 830am. Greg stayed at home because he was not feeling well. We were sitting on the last row and the pastor actually noticed us. We were surprised that he could even remember PaPa and Mummy’s name after so many years when he announced our names and asking us to stand up in the church. So shy…

After church, we went home to see Greg. Juliet was having her driving lesson while the 2 other girls were busy with church activities. This time together with Uncle Soba, Aunty Roselin and Grey, we went to Ipoh Old Town.

All the years when PaPa and Mummy studied in Ipoh, we didn’t have the change to try the famous white coffee from Old Town. So, Uncle Soba decided to bring us there. We had lunch in a shop where each one of use had white coffee. Then we walked across to the original famous white coffee shop where PaPa packed 3 packets of white coffee. The old man was not longer there making white coffee but we found the white coffee was really good. Mummy had been taking overdose of coffees for the past two days…

Then we went back to relax at home while Aunty Roselin went to poly to conduct part time classes. We stayed up to evening waiting for Aunty Roselin to come back. We left Ipoh about 5pm. It was a smooth journey. Jeriel and Ariel slept in the car until we stopped at the Overhead Bridge Rest stop near Rawang for the famous Haji Samuri’s Sate for our dinner.

We arrived home about 9pm..It was tiring but everyone enjoyed this short trip to Ipoh.

Thanks Uncle Soba and Aunty Roselin for having us….

Happy Valentine..

"Back up data n pass notebook"

JL had a notebook which was not working. However it was good enough to keep him occupy rather than disturbing his PaPa when his PaPa was working. See when PaPa working, he must make sure he was sitting next to PaPa and he was also busy.

Recently,

JL : MeiMei, don't disturb KorKor. KorKor very busy (with notebook). Next time KorKor will back up all the data then KorKor will pass this notebook to you when KorKor get a new one ok? This notebook next time is for you ok....

Chinese New Year 2009

This was Ariel’s first CNY. How was it?

CNY Eve (25Jan09 - Sun)
We had dinner at Tai Pak’s apartment. We contributed (actually PaPa cooked) steam herbal chicken, ‘Yee Sang’ and ‘Tong Sui’. After dinner, we just had a chit chat.

1st day CNY (26Jan09 - Mon)
We went to visit KongKong and PohPoh for a while who happened to stay nearby. Then by 915am, we went to Tai Pak’s apartment then drove to Tai Kow Kong’s house (MahMah’s side). There, we met with Tai Kow Kong, Tai Kam Poh, Kow Kong, Kam Poh, Ah Tai and Kow Fu. So, one time we ‘pailin’ everyone there.

From there we went to Ku Poh’s house to meet up with all YehYeh’s siblings. Hopefully Mummy didn’t miss out anyone, 2 Ku Pohs, Ku Kong, Ah Tai and one of the Ku Poh’s two sons (with their spouse/children). We ‘pailin’ there and had lunch there too. The kids were running around. There were 4 toddlers and 2 babies—Jeriel & Ariel, Topaz & Orion (Tai Pak’s sons) and Shuet Yoke & Shuet Yi (eldest Ku Poh’s granddaughters).

At night, we had dinner with KongKong, PohPoh, Yi Yee, Sam Yee and Sam Yee Cheong. After dinner, PaPa played Mahjong with Yi Yee, Sam Yee and Sam Yee Cheong for fun. Mummy just sat but never got to understand how the game was being played.

2nd day CNY (27Jan09 - Tues)
We had lunch in Ku Poh’s house again.

After lunch, we went to Pek Kong and Em Poh’s house. From their house, we went to Sam Yee Cheong’s brother’s condo. Jeriel had fun there playing with Sam Yee Cheong’s nephew Nicholas. Both boys were playing ‘Pop Pop’ – threw to the cement floor and made a pop sound.

Next destination was to 2Gu Kong’s house where we met 5 Ee Poh and her whole family there too. We had our evening tea there and sat down for a chat.

That night, we had simple dinner ourselves because the next day would be a special day for us.

Mummy would share in a separate post on what happen from 3rd -6th day of CNY

7th day of CNY (01Feb09 - Sun)
We had lunch near PaPa’s office then we went to visit Uncle Kok’s house – PaPa’s friend. After there, we went to Uncle Kok’s son’s house which was nearby.

13th day CNY (07Feb09 – Sat)
Mummy went alone to Aunty Wen’s house with Jeriel and Ariel. There Mummy met all the wonderful bloggers’ mummies whom most of them Mummy never meet before. Who was there?

• Aunty Wen with her hubby, Ian and Iris
• Aunty Paik Ling with Bryan and Brandon
• Aunty Jacss with her hubby, Sean and Scot
• Aunty Joanne with her hubby, Karlson, Wayneson & Shernyn
• Aunty Ginie with XY & CE

We had a great lunch there with such a wonderful food contributed by everyone. It was great meeting all these mummies whom we only talk in the internet but now face to face. Mummy was shy to mention that Mummy was not a good cook and didn’t had time to order any food, so Mummy contributed Vitagens. Paiseh….shy shy….

Check out photos in Wen's blog, photos in Jacss's blog and Joanne's post...(yar.. Mummy forgotten to bring camera...so forgetful)

That night, Tai Kow Kong took all of us including MahMah, Tai Pak, Tai Pak Leong, Topaz, Orion, Sam Sok, Tai Kam Poh, Kow Kong, Kam Poh, Ah Tai, Piu Yee Poh, Yi Kow Kong, and Kow Fu for dinner.

14th day CNY (08Feb09 – Sun)
We visited 4th Tai Sok Kong’s family together with Tai Pak, Tai Pak Leong, Topaz and Orion after lunch. We spent there for a few hours.

Dinner was with Tai Pak, Tai Pak Leong, Topaz, Orion and MahMah. After dinner, we had a fast shower then we went up to Tai Pak’s apartment to sing birthday song for Tai Pak Leong’s birthday. We had Raspberry Cheese Cake and spent time chit chatting while Jeriel and Topaz watched cartoons at the television. In future, mounting the television to the wall using tv mount would be a great idea and also for the kids' safety.

Happy Chap Goh Meh to all .....

CNY goodies

Chinese New Year 2009 would end today which would be the 15th day. Everyone was tired visiting relatives and friends. However, everyone’s weight had also increased due to too much good food. Someone was asking what the best weight loss pills in the market were. Mummy hoped that Mummy’s weight did not increase that much due to eating too much Chinese New Year goodies.

Educational CDs

At last PaPa managed to set-up a desktop in KongKong and PohPoh’s apartment after a long overdue task. Next was to guide PohPoh on how to use the desktop. It was a basic and old desktop but good enough for PohPoh and JL to use. PohPoh also had a flash drive which she used to transfer the data between her and her friends. Next, we planned to get some educational CDs for JL. We found that most of the CDs in the market are too pricey. Anyone got any recommendation?

Our tv stand

Getting suitable tv stands for our living room was not an easy task. We hunted and just gave up. So, PaPa made some modification on a few color boxes we bought from hypermarket. Then later, PaPa made another modification using some corner shelves wood which he bought from IKEA ‘As It’ section for less than RM10 per piece. That last modification was actually Mummy’s request for a corner L-shape tv stands. PaPa added the stands and changed the cover from mini curtains to doors for the cupboard.

Mummy did not have a photo of the tv stand and this was the closest one. Please ignore Mummy’s body as this photo was taken during Mummy’s birthday in 2007.

Blessed Chinese New Year 2009

Mummy hopes it is not too late to wish everyone Gong Xi Gong Xi...may this year be a blessed year to everyone.
On the 1st day, we wore Chinese suits. Mummy and PaPa wore the one Mummy bought in Beijing during Company trip back in 2000. We managed to get Jeriel and Ariel just a few days before CNY 2009 with a great bargain price with each less than RM20.

On the 2nd day, Jeriel wanted all of us in green. So it was hunting time in December for all of us. Jeriel's shirt and Ariel's dress were from FOS which was also less than RM20. Mummy's blouse was from CapeCod Metrojaya and it was less than RM30 after discount. PaPa's shirt was from FOS which was about RM40, if not mistaken...

On top of that, Ariel also got 2 new dresses from Aunty Jesslyn and Aunty Chooi Peng. On top of that, KongKong and PohPoh also presented her with 2 new rompers and 1 pajama.

As for Jeriel, we bought him a red TheCar Tshirt (Lightning McQueen) from RejectShop and a Batman pajama. KongKong and PohPoh gave him a set of Thomas Train tshirt plus a bermuda and 1 pajama.

Dream home renovation...

Tai Pak’s dream home renovation would be completed soon by end of this month. He and .Ta Pak Leong had been busy with the renovation and shopping for their new home. They had been checking out different furniture and fixtures for their home such as lights, air-conditioner, Grohe faucets and many more. We were all excited and looking forward to see their new home soon.

Movie

Since Jeriel was a baby, we did not go for any movie until he was big enough then we started to watch movie in the cinema. Now with Ariel, we watched movie at home. We were thinking of going to the cinema to watch Bolt movie with Jeriel and Ariel but we just missed it because PaPa was busy. Since we enjoyed watching movie together as family, it would be nice if we could make out our living room into home theatre seating.

To change watch?

Mummy and PaPa had bought each a Tissot watch back in 2003. So far the watch was working fine except that we needed to change the batteries. Last weekend, ‘Pak Leong’ was complaining that her watch was giving problem even after changing battery. We suggested that she would need to change her watch to a new watch, maybe a Cartier watch?

Rug or Foam Mat?

AL has been turning everywhere either when she is awake or sleeping. We put a small mattress on the floor with her toys but looks like the mattress is getting too small for her because she manage to roll out from the mattress to the hall rug.

PaPa and Mummy are thinking whether to get some area rugs to replace the mattress or to get a few big foam mats. The mattress also is due to change because it is a very old mattress which belongs to JL who has been using it in nanny’s house since he was a baby.

We used to have the ABCs and 123s foam mats which we give away to charity home because it was a messy tasks to remove and fix back each time we need to clean up the floor. Besides that, JL will usually remove all the small pieces out of curiosity. As usual, it will usually take us some time to make decision. Moreover, the big foam mats has increased in price since the last time we check many years ago.