No office, no office!

Sunday nights, I usually prep Sarah that the next days are office days.   She will say ok but come Monday morning (and Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning...you get the drift), she'll go "Mama, no office, no office!"

It makes going to work heartbreaking.  Especially to hear it said repeatedly with matching pleading voice and puppy eyes.  Oh my Sarah!

I would then sit down with her and we would count to 5, explaining there are 5 days that Mama and Daddy need to go to work.   Every workday then becomes a countdown to the 'no office' weekends.

(Technically, 'no office' periods are lunchtime, evenings, weekends and holidays.)

 

                          Sarah trying out a summer hat during one of the 'no office' periods.

During my pregnancy, I've thought long and hard about continuing work or becoming a stay-at-home mom (SAHM).  I was torn but in the end thought that whichever way I choose, I cannot get the best of both worlds.  If I continue working, I would miss out on most of my child's milestones.  My work schedule would definitely limit time with my kid.  If I chose to be a stay at home mom, I fear I would lose my identity as a capable and productive individual.   Plus I want financial independence from my husband.

Obviously, I chose to be a working mom.  The deciding factor was our apartment's proximity to the workplace as I can come home daily during lunchtime, except on really hectic days when there are lunch meetings and/or urgent stuff to do.

I'd like to think I struck a pretty good balance between motherhood and having a career, I get to have a little of both.

And I'm extremely grateful that life is good!

Ice cream time with my bunny

Malunggay powder power

Photo credit to cherryeveryday.com

Malunggay (moringa oleifera) leaves are very nutritious and cheap but sadly not readily available here in Penang. 

​So whenever we spy malunggay in the market, I buy a couple of big bunches and we cook dishes which use the magic leaves - monggo dish or the greens in stingray-in-spicy-coconut-milk or the greens in clam & corn soup.

To not waste any leftover leaves, we turn it into powder form.  Here's how we do it. 

1. Rinse the malunggay leaves under running water.  Shake excess water.

2. Pluck leaves from the stem.

3. Place the leaves on any microwavable container, making sure the leaves are not too crowded.

4. Zap for 1 minute 30 seconds (or more!). This dries the leaves and makes them crispy.

5. Grind with the back of a spoon.  One can also use a blender if making big batches.

6. Pour in a recyclable mini-bottle.  

We sprinkle the powder into Sarah's omelets, soups, rice, etc.  Healthy stuff for my bunny!

Date with Rafael

December 31, 2012
Alabang Town Center

Rap and I had an errand/date at ATC for last minute groceries, cakes and desserts.  We had Hainanese chicken rice at Toast Box for lunch.  He loves donuts and Starbucks frappucino so I bought for him on the way home.

I saw how happy Rap was to go out with no toddlers around.  For the longest time, he was the only 'baby' in the family.  When the toddlers came, his spotlight was taken over.  Sadly, we may have been guilty of overlooking this fact.

I promised myself that when my siblings come over next month, Rap and I will have more dates alone.  I'll take him to the movies, eat Chinese food, visit the bookstore, get him a massage, etc.

Rap turned 20 years old last April 3.  Happy, happy, happy birthday to my sweet brother.  I love you very much.

Note: My brother has Down's Syndrome.

Lunch at Toast Box

Happy birthday Reena!

March 30-31, 2013

Our Reena girl turned 8 years old this year!  She didn't come over to our apartment on her birthday weekend as her mother had a small party organised in their house.  So we had a post celebration the following weekend.

I bought a small cake for the candle-blowing-after-singing-the-happy-birthday-song event.  Sarah blew the candle before Reena did so we lighted up the candle one more time for Reena's turn.  It was funny because we had to do it several times as Sarah kept on blowing the candle, so much so I had to cover her mouth! 

(Our family is never into cakes, even that small cake was not finished.   The kids just picked on the edible decors and had a few small bites.)

The next day, lunch was heavy.  We had the Easter Sunday buffet lunch at Rasa Sayang's Spice Market.  The place was packed, we forgot that it was also Easter Sunday.  Good thing there was a no show so we got a table.

There was a clown going round the tables making toy balloons to kids.  Reena asked for an umbrella.  A kinda weird request right?!  But the clown was able to make one which he said was also his first umbrella request.   I asked for a simple bear for Sarah.

Happy birthday Reena!

Look at that candle blowing thief!

Cake eating time!

The birthday girl with the Easter Bunny

Her umbrella balloon

Sisters' shot

My girls

How To Catch A Star play

March 10, 2013 (Sunday)
Penangpac Stage 1, Straits Quay

We had a nice time watching the play How To Catch A Star.
It was based on a book of the same title by Oliver Jeffers, with kids 3-7 year olds in mind.

It was Sarah's first play.  Reena has watched a drama the month earlier with her father and brother.  My girls seemed to enjoy it very much.  (The kiddie play was kinda boring for Ravi and I, as expected!)

Hoping for more acts like these in Penang in the future!

Poster shot (look at what my naughty bunny is doing, tsk!)

Reena shot a few minutes before the play started

With one of the 3 main characters.  There were too many other families waiting for a picture with the other characters so we left after taking this shot.

Book haul from the Big Bad Wolf

From March 22-31, the Big Bad Wolf came to Penang Times Square.  It's dubbed the biggest book sale of the country and this was the first time the Wolf passed by Penang.

We went last March 23 (Saturday) around 10am.

Boy was I not disappointed!  Prices start from RM3, with most books priced at RM6 and RM8.  The most expensive books I saw was just RM30 which were mostly big hardbound books - think medical, architecture and design books.

I bought 28 books all for RM132, a really great bargain!  Most are story books for Sarah with a few travel books for myself.  

Sarah slept while I was busy browsing and choosing books.  The not so good thing was that I carried her.  My.back.ached.a.lot.

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I actually came back for more last Saturday (March 30).  We were supposed to go for Sarah's vaccine shot but I decided to go for more book deals.  I figured the vaccine can always be taken the following weekend but the bigbadwolf will be gone by then.

As usual, I got mostly Sarah's reading books with several ones for myself.  Total cost was RM124, still a sweet deal. 

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It was mostly children's books as Sarah likes reading and I want her to continue that habit.  We can finish 4-5 stories each night.  She enjoys it a lot as mama makes a lot of sound effects plus voice changes to make the story really interesting.

Having more mean more books on rotation during our evening bedtime reading.  I do hope the bigbadwolf returns next year!

loot #1

loot #2

loot #3

loot #4