hungry and angry

celeb tees

Joel & Mama's new tees!

On Mama: Jesus Loves This Girl

On Joel: Arms Are For Hugging

perfect weather

Now's the perfect weather!

It was super warm last week, with temperatures about 36/38˚C. Yesterday was 28˚C, today 25˚C. Down by about 10˚C. Cool~

Joel LOVES the weather~
He's laughing and smiling as he walks...

bath time

Here's another video.

Joel has been snorkeling during his bath time. I dont know if he's trying to wet his hair, his nose or his tongue... Haha!

* Towards the end of the video, he even tilt his head to look at himself in the mirror!!! So vain!!!

settled in

Since last week, i was coughing a little...and i've been taking the "Sea Coconut" cough mixture i brought from Singapore. But it's not helping.

I guess becoz i didnt rest much during this week, plus all the running around helping Jennie settle in...so it got worse. Now, i'm having cough, sore throat AND runny nose (and body aches and "heavy head")...and no time to take medicine regularly. Even my voice sounds weird now.

I also heard Joel coughing a little sometimes. But nothing serious...i think.

Anyway, i'm glad Jennie has finally found an ideal place to rent - which was difficult coz she only needed a 6-months lease, and most of the places we saw are not tastefully furnished. Factor in the "chi-na" furnishings and it can really turn you off. The 2 of us have got to be the people who view apartments the quickest! Becoz whenever we enter a "bad unit", we will go "Uhh! NO!" and ask the agent to show us the next one. Haha... ;p

Finally, i also had to help her request for extra things in the house (DVD, water dispenser, telephone & internet connection), bargain for the agent's commission and rental (which cannot be lowered becoz this landlord who is residing in Singapore is super stingy and super fussy). It's the worse kind of landlord one can get...but no choice coz it's the best unit by far - in the few days of house-hunting. Needless to say, NO DVD, NO water dispenser, NO land line, NO internet connection... NOTHING!!! Really a super stingy and lots-of-complains landlord! He even refused to give the agent a single cent of commission!!! So the agent only got the commission from the tenant - and at 50% discount. So the agent got into deep shit with his boss. (Oops...)

Anyway, Elvis, Joel & i helped her move all her luggages to her new place last night - just hours after she signed the contract and got her keys (and after dinner with us)! I've also helped her get a (good and helpful) cleaning Ahyi who started work this morning, bought household stuffs from Ikea, found (cheap & nice) bedsheet and winter quilt. Very efficient, i would say. ;)

If you're wondering why 'Cheap & Nice', it's becoz she heard from people that bedsheets are expensive here, so she had brought her own Queen-sized bedsheet...but her current place has a King-sized bed!!! We went to look at a few places and it's easily S$200-500 for a set!!! Actually, come to think of it, i also bought 2 sets of bedsheets from Singapore. Haha! Shanghai is really not cheap place to live in.

Since Jennie came, she did not visit any touristy sights (except for our dinner at XinTianDi). But there's no hurry since she'll be here for a while.

Let me take a good rest and recover first. Good night.

joel, gimme...

6/8

And here's the video of Joel reading.
18 months, 1 week

tourguide

I wont be blogging these few days becoz someone from Thailand is here. So i need to help her settle in, look for houses etc.

She's a very pretty girl! ;)

20 months

Joel is 20 months and weighs 11.6kg. 4 more months to go before he turns 2. ;)

He knows these body parts: head, eye, ear, nose, mouth, knee, toes, fingers, bellybutton. But he only knows how to say "eye".

my cute baby

Joel has been saying No, No, No, No, No...
I guess it's becoz this Mama always say NO to this and NO to that. Haha!

Sometimes, he calls me "Mommy" now (instead of Mama) and he's been saying "Baby" very often...calling his toy bears and Monchichis. He kisses them and himself in photos. Of course he's still kissing his Daddy on photos and in person. It feels soooo sweet when Joel calls me Mama or Mommy...becoz he hardly ever calls me.

He likes to say the number 2 "tchoo"...and 1 is always "nad" (???)

I also heard him saying
- sit
- seal
- 树 "sshuu" (tree)
- 梨 "li" (pear)
- blanket
- bushes
- sheep
- circle
- rabbit
- pig
- BAA, BAA (the sound that a sheep makes)
- pink
- baby
- 蜡笔 "ra-bi" (crayon "la bi")

* The people here said that if your kid calls Daddy more often, then your second kid will be a boy. And if your kid calls Mama more often, then your second kid will be a girl.

to the last bit

These tubes of "cream" look a little weird, right?
(Perhaps you can already guess what's this all about)

It's something i learned from the Chinese here. I happened to see it a few times...and i kinda laughed at it...

Once, i decided to try it on my aloe vera gel (since it's quite expensive)...and i'm hooked! It's really a good method coz you save every last drop! Somehow, you'll feel very shiok~

When you start having difficulty squeezing from those tubes...
1. cut the tube into half
2. to use: "dig out" whatever is on the inside, whenever you need it
3. to close: cover the top half over the bottom half
4. it's almost airtight
5. zero wastage/heartache when you throw them out!

humid

The heat is up again! I hope it wont be for long.

Today is really warm and humid (real feel of 43˚C)
...and now, it's just started to rain quite heavily.
The thunderstorms are back?

spicy baby

Cuteness! ;)

eat, play and work

Saturday night, we had Shabu-Shabu buffet dinner with our Sunday dinner kakis at a Japanese restaurant called AQ 阿久 (Wuyi/Dingxi Road). Yummy although mine tasted more like Chinese hotpot becoz i chose the chicken soup base. Joel kept playing with the toothpick cover...spinning it, of course.

Dinner Hiccup 1:
We had changed the dinner from Sun to Sat becoz a friend, Kiat, was in town (he's currently working in Beijing). BUT, no one informed him of the venue! So after we've finished our dinner, he came to meet us for drinks. Kiat is also father of a 7 month old baby girl who looks just like him - which is not a good thing. Keke... ;p

Dinner Hiccup 2:
The waitress spilled a colourless drink on Carols' white dress when the food and drinks were served. The glass broke (i was worried coz Joel was crawling all over the place). Anyway, it made her dress kinda see-through. Someone had an extra tshirt, but Carol wanted to go home with Raymond to change. All of us were pretty sure she wouldnt come back...but we were wrong! Haha! Never judge a person from their always-black face.

As for Joel, his fever had gone down after his nap in the afternoon. But kiasu Mommy still made him wear a cardigan at dinner becoz their aircon was pretty cold. He was once again a happy baby. ;)

* Elvis touched down in Shanghai at 1am, then he went into the office and came home at 4.30am. Slept for a few hours, and left the house again at 8am for a meeting. Then he continue to work again till he came home at 7pm...and we went for dinner. Here is what Joel & Mommy did at home.


Sunday, we had lunch at Grandma's Kitchen before going to Joel's first art lesson. Daddy fed Joel some XO sauce fried rice... Initially, Joel ate the rice happily...then after he's swallowed it...he goes "AHH AHH AHH..." It's SPICY!!! Haha... Elvis continued to feed Joel...and Joel continued to eat it and go "AHH"!!!

At Gymboree
- Level 1 Art Class for kids above 18 months
We felt that the Art Class was more interesting than the Play Class becoz during the 45mins, the kids got to explore various things. First, they tried molding with Crayola Playdoh, cutting tools and rolling pin. Then, they played with sand (which is actually inside the table on the picture). When Joel first touched the sand, he didnt like it. After he tasted it, he loves it! Haha! He started to play with the spade and made sand-fishes and sand-crabs. The third and last activity was painting! The kids were each given a piece of paper, a bowl and a circle sponge stamp. The teacher gave them yellow paint, then red paint. The idea was actually to mix it into orange paint to draw the sun...but there was too much red in Joel's bowl, so it what you see is still red. Then, they were each given a stick of glue and some glitter foil to paste onto the circles to represent the sun's rays.

The kids were given aprons but i was really more concerned about the paint that still got onto Joel's clothes and socks....and MY jeans. There were also some "naughtier" kids who walked around and stepped on other people's painting. Despite the mess, Joel tasting sand & paint, and that no one's painting came out looking like the sun, i guess everyone have had fun. ;)

The last picture is Joel's masterpiece.

After that, Daddy Elvis had to go to a production house to look at some work stuffs. We followed him there coz it's supposed to be "for a short while". You can see from the picture below that Joel was making himself really comfortable drinking water lying down on their sofa when we first arrived. By the end of the three hours, Joel was playing and screaming with the boss of that company! Joel kept laughing and throwing 2 plastic bottles on the floor and saying "CUT" each time he did that. All the staff (very busy working) also cant help but to laugh at Joel's horrible laughter. Joel also call that Uncle "Cut" and laughed whenever he saw him. Hmm...maybe becoz he had no hair??!! Haha!


We were supposed to meet Ann for late dinner at 8/9-ish becoz she also had work to do. We had a gift for her, so we went home to take it. It was late and we were hungry, so we decided to go ahead with our dinner at Sushi Tei, and she'll join us when she wraps up her work. After all that crazy playing the whole day, Joel finally fell asleep on our way there. So we had a peaceful dinner. By the time the restaurant closed, Ann still hasnt finish her work. You should never trust what advertising people say. Keke... ;p

* Learn how to make your own playdoh here.

joel at home

Thanks everyone who is worried about little Joel. I'm still giving him his medication becoz the fever kept coming back. He's taking his nap now...

This is him last night while watching TV and playing with the cards. (I'm not testing him lah)

Joel today. Playing with the thermometer... He will say "Di" when he put it at his ears. And his favourite activity...looking through the stack of DVDs and moving them from the console to the chair/us...and back again. Haha!

joel has fever

Joel sneezed a little this morning and had a little runny nose.

6:00pm : Joel woke up from his nap with a fever. His tiny body felt quite warm. I had a hard time measuring him with the ear thermometer. 38.2˚C

6:30pm : Joel ate a few mouthfuls of porridge. I gave him 2.5ml paracetamol (perhaps he downed 2ml). I wrote down the address of the 24-hour Children's Hospital at MinHang district - just in case.

8:30pm : Fever subsided. Joel asked for milk. He looked alright and is happy.

9:00pm : Temperature went down to 37˚C

11:00pm : Joel's body felt warm again when he showed signs of wanting to sleep. He asked for milk again (playfully) but he refused to drink it when i brought it to him. I knew it was a TRICK! Wasted the milk. After he fell asleep, i successfully gave him only 1ml of the 2.5ml paracetamol. I felt goosebumps on his arms.

11.30pm : I just measured his temperature. 37.1˚C

This is the second time Joel is sick. I pray that God will watch over him and make him well again. Whenever Mommy pray with Joel, he will say AMEN after me. Very cute! But when i try to make him repeat it, he will not be tricked. Keke... ;)

Joel loves this book from cousin Xan. He makes me read it many times in a day. I read it to him again before he slept.

God Gives Me Everything: Psalm 23 for Children
I have everything I need because the Lord looks after me.
He is with me when I play outside and when I splash in cool water.
He teaches me to do what pleases Him and He watches over me when I'm sick.
Even in the dark at night, I'm not afraid because He is always there beside me.
He loves me so much, and everyone can see His love for me.
God will care for me all my life, and I will live with Him forever.

P.S: Elvis touched down in Shanghai at midnight but has to go into the office first. Another late night...

super sale

Last week, i went to a Crocs sale and bought Joel 3 pairs of Crocs Cayman (1 x Size 6/7, 2 x Size 8/9). I also bought 2 Alice for Ben's little girls. I was HAPPY!

When Elvis got home, i was so excited to show it to him! Joel's Caymans in size 8/9 are for "next time", and i also bought the Kelly Green in 2 different sizes. But this Daddy said it's silly to buy and keep for "next time". So... i agreed to exchange it for an Alice for his niece. Joel so poor thing...his Daddy so stingy! Keke... ;p

I was excited about the sale and told my sister and a few friends. When i went down again the next day, i bought more! "Fortunately", the 3 ladies models that Janis wanted was sold out, so despite the bulk of Crocs, the ones i'm lugging home are all for little girls.

Looking at my suitcase now, there's 10 pairs of little girls Crocs, and some baby clothes for our little friends...

CHECKLIST:
Alynn - 1 Alice, 1 Cayman, 1 Mary Jane (for her niece)
my sis Sandra - 2 Alice (for Jerome's 2 nieces)
Janis - 1 Alice (for friend's daughter)
Elvis' niece - 1 Alice
Claudia & Kayla - 2 Alice
* Alice size 8/9 for a Cinderella (Riya, you mind keeping it for "next time"?)

If you're wondering why all Alices...becoz it's the best buy at the sale...and Chocolate is the nicest! ;)

pop goes the weasel

Have you ever wondered how many versions are there to this song?
MANY!

Pop goes the Weasel
Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Up and down the City road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread,
A penny for a needle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Every night when I go out
The monkey's on the table
Take a stick and knock it off
Pop goes the weasel

Round and round the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey stopped to pull up his socks
And Pop goes the weasel.

I've no time to plead and pine
I've no time to wheedle
Kiss me quick, and then I'm gone
Pop! Goes the weasel"

All around the cobbler's Bench
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey thought it all in fun,
Pop, goes the weasel.

* Taken from here and there's an interesting find about the meaning of 'pop' and 'weasel'. Also see here for other versions of the song.

food republic

Nope. I'm not in Singapore.

The other day i went to Carrefour in Gubei district. There's quite a lot of shops, cafes, bakery such as Paul & BreadTalk, and a foodcourt in the same building.

I decided to have my lunch at the Food Republic foodcourt on L1. The place looks exactly like the foodcourts in Singapore. Prices are about the same too. It was 2.30pm and there wasnt many people.

Here's my Hainanese Chicken Rice ¥25, Coke ¥6. Looks good, right? The taste of everything - the soup, the rice and the chicken - is authentic. BUT the chicken is COLD - refrigerated!!!

Since i was sitting just next to the stall, i went to ask the girl and she replied, "It's like this ah. We put it in the fridge" 是这样的呀。我们放在冰相的呀。(!!!) Okay...but shouldnt you microwave it before serving???

I wanted to tell her that that's not the way Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice is...

I enjoyed my lunch nonetheless.

P.S. Foodcourts here ONLY use the prepaid card system. No cash. You have to topup cash into a card and you can refund the balance inside the card immediately or keep it for next time. I find it very troublesome so i hardly eat at foodcourts here. In my 4 years here, i think i ate less than 5 times at foodcourts. Becoz, it's not any cheaper than eating at HK "Cha Chan Ting"/restaurants which also serve complimentary/free-flow Chinese tea too! Keke...

fashionable chocolates

I was surprised and happy to discover this chocolate store in Shanghai over the weekends at Channel 1, at the corner of a fashion store. I had wanted to go to the store when we're back in Singapore. I'm lucky!

Chocolate Research Facility

When we walked into the store, i knew i have to try the chocolates! It's packaged like fashion - Spring/Summer '09, Connoisseur, Classic, Exotic, Double Fruit, Nut, Fruit, Alcohol, Tea, Coffee Series. I think i read somewhere that they have a new White Chocolate Series too.

Since they were not cheap - ¥49 for a small box - i should get just ONE. So stingy! Haha! I was also overwhelmed by the selection and piles of pretty boxes. I really couldnt decide on A Flavour, so i decided to look at the clothes first. I have also never shopped at Asobio - an Italian label. This is their flagship store in Shanghai.

When i went to pay for my new dress (totally forgotten the chocolates), i was told that i could choose 1 box of chocolate - for FREE! Haha!

I picked this from the Tea Series.
Green Tea - in green houndstooth checks packaging.

It has creamy green tea sandwiched between the very sweet WHITE chocolate. (Hit the jackpot too! Coz i didnt know it's white chocolate inside) Yummy, actually! But becoz i could finish the whole bar at a go, i would think twice about buying it next time. (¥10 Meiji or ¥25 Ritter Sport works just as well for me)

What is so cool about the bar of chocolate is the tiny letterings. 2 Small, 2 Medium and 2 Large sections to satisfy your S/M/L craving. (Sorry, text not visible from my photo) And of course, the XL section has the type CH•C•LATE RESEARCH FACILITY

After this biggest section, i've had my fill! Happy food makes happy people. I cannot agree more. YUM!

Packaged By: Chocolate Research Facility Pte Ltd; 19 Ann Siang Rd, Singapore 069699. Weight: 70g Note: This product may contain traces of nuts and milk proteins. Store in a cool and dry place. Manufactured in Singapore. Happy food makes happy people. www.chocolateresearchfacility.com

just the two of us

Elvis is away in Beijing for a shoot this week. He'll be gone for 4 days, back on Friday night. (Last week, he was also away for 1 day in ChongQing)

Every time when he's away, i'll try to let Joel sleep on our bed. However, i realized that i cannot concentrate sleeping with him beside me. Firstly, i'm afraid he'll fall off the bed lah. Joel can turn 360˚ when he's sleeping. And...i cannot help but to look at the cute face - even in the darkness.

ceramics DIY

This really interesting studio was featured on TV tonight.

As U Wish Craft Studio
1039 ChangLe Road/Wulumuqi Road

There, you can pick a piece of bisque (ready-made blank ceramics pieces such as cups & plates in various sizes, priced ¥50-150)... unleash your creativity with the coloured paints (included FOC)... wait 7 days (for them to glaze and fire it for you, at a charge of ¥10/item)...and VIOLA!... Your very own handmade ceramics! Kinda hassle-free!

Besides ceramics, you can also do mosaic art pieces.

Sounds good, right?! Hmmm.... Let me think of what i can do...

march and bounce

Noble Duke of York (trad, bouncing song)
Oh, the noble Duke of York (Bounce)
He had ten thousand men (Bounce)
He marched them up to the top of the hill (Bend your knees high up)
And marched them down again. (Bring your knees down)
And when they’re up, they’re up. (Bend your knees high up)
And when they’re down, they’re down. (Bring your knees down)
And when they’re only halfway up, (Bend your knees a little)
They’re neither up nor down. (Bring your knees high up and then down again)

Oh, the noble Duke of York (Bounce)
He had ten thousand men (Bounce)
He marched them up to the top of the hill (Bend your knees high up)
And marched them down again. (Bring your knees down)
He marched them to the left. (Roll to the left)
He marched them to the right. (Roll to the right)
He even marched them upside down. (Fall backwards)
Oh, what a funny sight! (Sit your child up again and bounce)
Oh, what a funny sight! (Bounce)

* Say 123...then bounce your child's bottom onto the floor. Gymboree's version of the song also goes a lot faster, so the kids get very excited.

This song is sung at Gymboree every week and Elvis & i ALWAYS laugh when the teachers sing it. Actually, Elvis tries hard not to burst out laughing and i will giggle when i see him. Becoz we really dont know what they're singing!!!??? We call it the Marchup, Marchup Song. Haha!

Anyway last week, this male teacher took over the singing and i could finally catch the first sentence! So i googled for the lyrics.

We're to sit down, stretch out our legs, put Joel on our lap and bounce him by bending our knees up/down according to the parts in the song. You can also try these actions here.

Joel loves it!

.

Elvis also always laugh when the teachers & parents do some silly actions eg. run around in circles as the kids sit down on a huge mat called the 'Parachute'. (Supposed to help in their balancing) Maybe he thinks we're too "cool" to be doing all those silly actions! Haha! ;)

eat and shop

The typhoon over the weekends wasnt that bad. It rained sometimes and there's wind. The weather is a still a little warm (although Autumn has officially arrived). It's still possible to go out. Doesnt feel like "typhoon", really.

Saturday, we had lunch at Afternoon Tea then went to Joel's play class. After that, we went to a new mall, Channel 1. (长寿路155号近陕西北路 ChangShou/ShanXi Bei Road) Surprisingly, we saw the chocolate shop opened by Elvis' friend - Chocolate Research Facility - here in Shanghai! It's in a corner of a clothing (not food) store Asobio.


Sunday, we had dimsum at Royal China 金桂皇朝 (a popular Cantonese restaurant at Sogo L8) with Pick and QianJun GorGor. Pick & Elvis thinks it's nicer than Crystal Jade, although i kinda prefer Crystal Jade. After lunch and a little bit of shopping, they went to the office while Joel & Mommy went home. (Sorry, no pix)

Back at home, Joel pushing the chair and his bears...

His face so naughty, right?


At night, we went for BBQ meat at XuJiaHui 食特美 again! (We had wanted to come the night before, but decided to settle for Lisboa since the food there might be better for Joel) Pick has a craving for it too, and QianJun heard us saying how SUPER YUMMY it is (during lunch)...and...he loves the 食特美 meat too!

And that's Joel practicing his spinning again when we got home...

There were fireworks near our house. Maybe it's set off by Singaporeans celebrating our nation's 44th National Day!

P.S. That night, when we prepared Joel's bath, i made the biggest blunder ever (with Joel). Elvis took the bathtub into the bedroom and he went to the toilet, i just looked away for a few seconds...and Joel pulled the bathtub down from the chair!!! Our bedroom was flooded. Joel cried and cried although we didnt scold him. (It was my fault) I think Joel was probably frightened despite his big love for WATER!

boo (moo)

Joel doesnt recognize his "boo" (cows) without their spots,

so Mama did this...

(Cows are actually plain brown, right???)

typhoon

Typhoon expected this weekend...

I already "hear" the strong winds going Woo Woo in my ears when i went to keep Joel's laundry. Dont want them to get blown away...

(We're still going to Joel's play class later today and Daddy Elvis has to work tomorrow)

joel spins

Joel is an expert at spinning.
From balls to bowling pins, even jigsaw puzzles.
Basically anything.

joel on weekdays

Joel imitating Mommy who has been using this ear-drop for about a week (due to blocked ears)...

Mommy bought Joel a small Thomas Train backpack which still looks big on him...
(He has never carried a bag, so he doesnt like it and wants to remove it immediately!)

Joel likes using the computer - just like Mommy...

Joel finally wears the home-clothes which we bought loooong ago from Singapore/Uncle Ben...
(I think most kids in Singapore wears these at home, right? The material is very cooling~)

Joel is VERY afraid of the heat (even on rainy days). We have to turn on the aircon at home - day & night, except when he's having his bath. Otherwise, his hair will be all wet within 5 mins!

peek-a-boo

Mama: Peeka
Joel: Boo!

toddler joel

This week, Joel taps his chest when u ask, "Who is Joel?".

and he counts 123... (but it's really just 2, 3, 4 and 9)

and he says "Na, Na, Na, Na, Na" when you try to tidy up the mess he's made.

I also realized he's been able to bend down to pick things up while standing, walk backwards, walk sideways, walk up/down the kitchen/toilet kerb (curb) without holding on to the door frames.

He's beginning to behave like a toddler. ;)

just playing

Saturday, we went for lunch at Lisboa then to Joel's play class. Daddy Elvis went to the office after that. He also had to work the whole day on Sunday.

At lunch. Joel pretending to feed himself...


At Gymboree...


It started to rain in the afternoon on Sat, all the way till Mon morning. The thunderstorm warning signal was between yellow and orange.

Thunderstorm & Wind Warning Signals:
1 - blue
2 - yellow
3 - orange
4 - red

pretty flowers

Yesterday was our "pak tor" anniversary. It has been 12 years!

Last year, Elvis said that we'll do away with this and only celebrate our wedding anniversary in June. (Otherwise there would be so many celebrations all lined-up: Wedding Anniversary in June, Elvis' bday in July, Dating Anniversary in Aug) Elvis had to work the whole day (Sat & Sun), but he still surprised me with a bouquet of flowers when he got home. We wanted to go out for dinner on Sun, but we decided to order delivery due to the thunderstorm.

Thank you so much! It's very pretty! Soooo much better than the last bouquet for my birthday. Haha!
(When you do 10 things right and 1 thing wrong, more likely only the wrong thing will be remembered. Keke!)

And it seems Joel doesnt like the ticklish leaves... His expression is so funny! ;)

Happy 12th Anniversary.

sunglasses

Joel's very own sunglasses!

White, worn the upside down. Blue (not cyan), in hand.
1 for ¥8, 2 for ¥10.