Hey Blog, still recognize me? :P

I am soweeeeee...Blog! Schedule's crazy...last minute of something...another last minute of another thing......gosh! Okie, nevermind, let me make a summarized round-up....LOL! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and ie. being a mummy, wife, maid, chef, baker, seamstress, among others.......... (and not to forget spending real quality time with my two babes!)

I also happened to be the "OFFICIAL" curtain-maker for godma's new house...aduhai....what to do....this is a duty I can't possibly say N.O to.....if you understand.

Then, out of the blue, an ex uni-mate contacted me regarding something VERY INTERESTING that required me to start doing my two huge BLANK canvases.......yes, here it is....that's what you do when you don't have an 8' long easel...lol....two chairs will do!!! This bamboo acrylic painting is for our living room.....

and sketched errrr more 'passionately'.....for our bed room.....I mean, the canvas was meant to be in the bedroom (i've got 2 2' x 8' canvases btw)......but somehow, I never took down time to start any......maybe coz I didn't have much down time to begin with.......???? :D

This sketch is charcoal btw......
Then with the leftover charcoal sticks...I let my babes play....definitely! And unfortunately, because it's BLACK in color....err...duh!!! charcoal , rite? Kyra refused to touch it....so Little M quickly did her version of charcoal art for her mummy to stand in awe looking at every day coz it's now hung in the kitchen's wall of frames....LOL!


"Of frawers n butterfly under the big big sun" by Maia Faith Leong :D

And Kyra did her non-charcoal version of Picasso-ish HEART....and HOME (the one below)....
Honestly, I really love the HEART and HOME she did here.....it's somewhat random but when you look at it, all you see is positivity in her...... (well, at least she's not drawing monsters and scary anythings....hehe)
And because the silly mummy SAT on a photo frame, even though she ain't that heavy, the glass broke into pieces as well....kakakakkakaa!!! And I am just too lazy to go to the glass maker to cut a new one....so I turned the frame into their hairclippies organizer..... It does double duty: to keep their clippies in check and tidy....as deco item in their bedroom! I knew I broke the glass for something........ :P
Feeling very vibrant....I finally got down and made their INITIALS for their bedroom.....something I've had in my head for mths actually.......but you know me....crazy schedule all-time-round.....
And here is the curtains for our apartment that's to be rented out.....it's a loft unit, thus the curtains are 18' long and very very veryyyyyyyyyy wide....... I dread the thought of doing it in my head!!!!
And, Z helped me paint our old but strong IKEA shelf matte black....to match the theme of the apartment.....yeah, neutrals BLACK & WHITEsss.... (black/dark brown lah).....I am loving the matte black so much...I wish I could transport it back here for my humble studio!!! aihhhh!

A lot of DIYs for the new apartment coz we are on a tight budget to furnish it.....but I guess DIY-ing never fails to make us appreciate things around us even more!!! Try it...you might know what I mean here.....
Thennn.......we had an informal family pix taken by my littlest sister who is a photographer and graphic designer and many more.......
And last sunday, the babes' kindergarten launched their 3rd unit which is also in our neighbourhood.....so I made em a CONGRATS mini cupcakes to celebrate!!! I personally love this set a lot!!! It's the colors I think.....
Then....I've got 2 customers who mixed up the bday dates and suddenly, I have a back-to-back last minute cupcakes orders....and here they are......one for a 30 year old guy, the other for a lady colleague......



So, are you getting all dizzy already???? Told ya so! Thus, I refurbished a to-be-thrown-away desk that's still in good condition...and made it polkadotie!!!! I adopted a few unwanted solid wood stools and repainted em......Yippeee! Total cost to do this? Less than RM20.... (USD6+). Isn't it cute?
And these here are my pencil holders.....each costed me RM1++ (USD0.50++), not sure bout you, but I just love the rugged rope-y look! And here I am typing happily albeit headachy (due to a stupid tooth) on my new work desk n stool!!!!
I know I know.....
you must be thinking.....so we shall wait for another 1 or 2 weeks for an update round-up lidis yes? LOL!

I try not to do that to you, Blog.....but you know I don't have much of a choice.....soweeee......

Sorry BLOG, I've been occupied.....

I can't even remember my last post, that I had to go 'view blog' to see......

Last week on Monday....Kyra came back from school and developed high fever of 39.2C in the afternoon, checked her innermouth and found several ulcers.....SIGH...HFMD again it was....but because it was already 4pm, we only brought her to her Paed that evening.....was given antiviral and paracetamol...but strangely her fever did not come down through out the nite....

She woke up looking fine...still....then at 3pm, she started trembling and her body was burning hot and her temperature hit 40.0C, I quickly called her daddy to come back so we could send her to KPJ (a private hospital 5 minutes away).....Once at the in-house Paed's clinic, Dr S asked: "Is she covered by medical insurance?" :O

Apparently, in such a situation, when paracetamol or antiviral are not working for the child, she/he will be administered IMMUNOGLOBULIN intravenously, asap to prevent the high fever from going any higher. The reason why Dr S asked about insurance is coz ONE tiny 50ml bottle of that 'magic potion' (I called it) costs RM820 (approx USD250++) and Kyra's estimated to need 4-5 bottles :O Yeah, you do the maths, alright....

The first nite, Maia refused to go back home with daddy.....she wanted me to go home with her as well... :P....but thankfully, a few close family members were there to distract her and got her into the car ....the car to go home! LOL! Poor babe...I miss her loads......

So to cut a long story short, Kyra was hospitalized for 3 days and 2 nites.....I 'checked into the same hotel' as well....coz strangely, she wanted me to stay with her (overnite) instead of the daddy :P It was truly a packed week for us...especially me.....I've got house chores piling up at home....laundry's a few meters high......(ok, exaggerating a bit)....orders for POLKADOT + CUPCAKE items are delayed...... :( and worse of all.....I was truly very exhausted.....

The days in the past week after Kyra was discharged....I felt OUT OF PLACE.....I could not get back into sewing totally.....the house was a TRUE MESS....no kidding.....at the same time, I felt so overwhelmed by all that chaos.......I wished I could close my eyes and SKIP THAT ENTIRE WEEK, forget it ever happened, just like that......yeah, I bet you had that kind of emotion too, don't you? Honestly, that was my first after so long....to wanna SKIP AN ENTIRE WEEK! lol! Guess I was just tired to the extremities!!!

It took me quite a few days to morph into myself....the self who loves to sew and bake and everything else......thus, this blankie was the first item I made after the longggggg hiatus...
A peachy pink blankie of cupcakes......green tea buttercream with chocolate chips, fresh cream frosted cupcake with cookies and cream.....and choc ganache cupcake with strawberry shards....

Hehehe....what to do...I needed something cheery to brighten things up.....

Make Me A Snowman, MuM!

So yesterday Kyra said to me when I was showering her.....

Kyra: "mummy i want snowman, make one for me?"
Me: "huh? mummy cant make snow worrrr"
Kyra: "no need....just cut a circle, use white fabric....and u sew sew sew become snowman lorrrrr!"

:]

It made me happy just to know my little girl looks up to me that way......she practically thinks her mummy is ABLE to make things she could think of! That's very flattering, but what really made me happier is the fact that at 4.5 years of age, she has adopted some part of me....the 'IMPROVISER' in me...LOL!

I guess this is why we as parents, should always be a positive influence in our child's life, big and small, even in little ways, from the way we eat to the way we speak! Coz I myself truly believe a child actually reflects her parents in more ways than we realize! BTW, I am not saying I am a perfect mummy, far from it actually...but I always try to remind myself this: "They (the two babes) will be influenced by what you do"......

And come to think of it....I do remember very vividly how my dad taught and showed us the ways around DIY tools when we were very little girls! He would go on and on about how to get it right....how to hammer a nail, how to shave wood with a wood plane, hold the saw the proper way whenever he needed to do some DIY fixings around the home.....I guess that's why even now I'd tell you, I owe my woodworking skills to my dad, my love of baking to my mum!

And even though I can't say I love cooking... but through my mum, I have learnt that EVERYBODY loves coming home to warm homecooked meals without the need to worry what to 'tapau' (take away)! I'll always remember the nice content feeling of filling up my tummy right after school with a yummy lunch at home during my schooldays.....readily prepared by mum of course. And all these, are the little things that motivate me to dish out decent-enough meals after meals on a daily basis.......

TOY STORY 3, have you?

We just got back from the movies with the two babes....TOY STORY 3 of course....and my say is? Bring your kids to this movie if they can't learn to keep their toys after play :D

Yes, halfway watching...I got this idea and couldn't wait to break it to the girls.....lol! Baddddd mummy!!!! So I told em, "see what happened??? If you do not keep your toys properly after playing with em, they go missing, or get taken by the rubbish collector to be thrown into the rubbish truck!!!" :O

Did it work?

Well, upon returning home, Kyra wanted to skip taking her bedtime milk coz she was cleaning up her toys in the playroom :D Her daddy kept asking her to go up to bed and she insisted she needed to clean up toys........I knew she needed her bed already....it's late, so I consoled her YET kept my 'STRATEGY' unharmed by saying: "Go ahead, go to bed, mummy will help me clean up your toys, but only for tonite, only tonite, okie?"

Kyra: Okay....(sounding relieved)
Mummy: but tomorrow onwards, you gotta keep your own toys, I am not gonna keep your toys after you, you get it?
Kyra: Okay....
Mummy: Gniteeee........
Kyra: Gnite.......

Well, I do not know how long this TOY STORY 3 'made-up-by-mummy' lesson will last.....but I hope by the time this lesson wears off, keeping toys properly would have become their habit...for good! :D

Anyway, have you watched TOY STORY 3 by the way? (fyi, I didn't watch 1 nor 2, not that interested, but I guess I could say I have no regrets watching the 3rd) And if you have, what is your favourite part/scene? Hehe.......Mine's when Mr Potato Head morphed into a zucchini (or cucumber...not sure..too dark) LOL! I practically laughed out loud together with most if not all the audiences! Hehehehe......

And according to Zac who sat next to Kyra in the movie, at the end when all the toys got back to Andy safe and sound, she was smiling widely..........sweet.

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Oh, another sweetness....
This afternoon when Zac and the two babes went to get the movie tickets, he said to Kyra: "Eh, we are going for movie worr.....mummy is not here, what if she gets sad?"

Kyra: Pu Hui! Den e xia wo KISS tha, tha ciu pu hui SAD liau!
(Translation: Oh, it's okay, later I will kiss mummy and she will not be sad anymore!")

ahhh.....how kher ai (CUTE) a thing to say...LOL! I just feel the need to jot this down...in case I forget in years to come....hehe......


Okiesss......nite nite for now......

Here are the babes wearing the skirts and pageboy hats I made for em...
Kyra's a poofy bubble skirt, while Maia's a pleated cotton linen.

After d trip....

I have so many stuffz to write about but not the time to do so....gosh! This is overwhelming....as I was sewing a ruffle skirt (very cute I must say) yesterday, I told myself: "You have to set a day to sit down with your long-neglected blog, before you start making your 2nd set of curtains!"

Okay, so here I am!

Where should I start? I think I'll go randomly according to memory then...BEWARE! photos aplenty! Click to view larger images ya:)

We (the babes and I) flew to KL to join Zac for the school holidays on 10th June, and were back 17th. To summarize, out of the 7 days, we 'appeared' in IKEA (or Ikano) FOUR times :O coz it's become Kyra and Maia's favourite hangout mall, thanks to Ikea's ice cream at the cafe and the mini super cute Ikea trolley for kiddos! :[ (I guess they have gotten used to that place coz even before we moved back and away from Ikea *sob*sob*, we frequent Ikano almost every other weekend anyway)

Photo strip #2: What you do when you're @Ikea's!
25 years guarantee: for my little babe? : trolley-full of food used to be our usual before we left Ikea for good to 'occupy' our Kuching home : fabricholics I am! : the very-loved RM1 Ikea ice cream (we had plenty of this throughout the trip lol!) : don't you love the colourful stools? I have one of that at home, mine's red! But I guess ONE red stool can't be as cute as many colourful stools like this eh!? :D

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We lunched with Jacklyn and family at Chili's @1U, the babes (total: 4 of them) had lots of fun riding the 'animals' except Kyra (of course!). She, very much like her dad, just refused to let herself have fun, pure simple fun....aihh........in fact, she was sobbing while riding her big toy elephant ride! Gosh! Jac bought us the lunch, how sweet of her, and Tyrel of course...LOL! Tashell and Maia, surprisingly clicked so well, these two were buddy-buddy with each other the entire time...just look at them, you'll see.....and before we said our goodbyes, I promised Tashell that I will let her make cupcakes at my house with Kyra and Maia and her meimei Tafflene when they visit Kuching in November.....(which kid doesn't like cupcakes!?)
Photo strip #3: sweet sweet babes under 5! Oldest cheche being Tashell, followed by my Kyra who's 3 months younger, then Maia who's an October 07 baby while Tash's little meimei is youngest, a November 07 baby! That's Maia in 4th pix, holding the Tupperware tumbler Jac got them each, they were eager to use it once they got home....goodness!

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We dined with Caren & family, and Ilin at the new Empire Shopping Mall. Boy, Le Boy was quick to warm up to us, to my huge delight! At 9 months old, babies this age are aware of who's around them and usually have stranger-anxiety, that's why before meeting him I was a bit sceptical as to whether I'd get to carry him for the 1st time this trip. He too, clicked with Maia well...LOL! Seems like most people (adults and kids alike) can click easily with her eh.....

I must say that Le Boy is one cheerful and lively little fella, even Zac agreed! On top of being all that, he is also one tough little cookie, according to mummy Caren, he went through his 2nd operation (for his cleft) without much fuss and was still able to smile to the Dr and nurses the next morning after operation :O I truly don't know how could he not be bothered by the pain lerrr....Gosh! Kudos little fella! I was so happy to see you really! All grown up (compared to the last time I saw him at 3.5months old) and eating ya solids so amazingly good. Well, his mummy has gone through a lottttt even before his birth, so seeing him now all so 'leng cai' and healthy kinda makes everything okay, everything fine......(of course, wait till he starts trooping around the house breaking things, and has a lot more of his own 'principles' to debate with mummy......hahahaha).

Oh! The cute thing about this meet-up was, we all got each other presents! LOL!..Making it feel like Christmas really. I gave the 1st and 2nd zippered pouch that I made to these two wonderful friends of mine, and they in return, got me an early 30th birthday gift! In the form of fabrics!!! YEEEeeeee! Great thinking huh?! Me likey! :D
Photo strip #4: That's Le Boy (actual name: Sherlock), and notice how the three little peeps were wearing similar themed clothings? How cute is that? Maia was actually in Le Boy's jacket coz she said she was cold :P but I am guessing it's only coz Kyra has her jacket on! And THANKS you two for the sweet birthday gift and 'dinner' a few nites later....(you know, the one where we talked till we forgot to snap our usual 'photo', till the restaurant dimmed to lights to close up?) :D

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Photo strip #5: What we do at daddy's place!

Maia demo-ing her new bathing suit, and showing us how the orange Tupperware tumbler and ball matched her suit to the T! : the two babes playing 'water' at daddy's apartment's indoor pool : Domino's pizza (beef pepperoni to be exact) used to be our weekly too, so we couldn't miss it while we were there : role-playing as "THE ANGEL" with a magic wand that costed just RM6.50 :O for the entire set (wings, wand and head piece) Found it at Bake With Yen baking ingredients shop btw!

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Photo strip #6: More thingssss.....
I love this pix of Kyra and Zac coz I think she looked sweet there : That's Maia in our trusted Peg Perego Polkadottie stroller that does everything.....you can't go wrong with this stroller really! Yeah I know it does not look space-age like Stokke's or aero like Quinny's, but practicality-wise, this one beats em hands down! I am sure of that coz I have tried all before deciding to get Peggie Peregoieeee! :P : ahhh....two sistas looking all sweet and demure and harmless eh? Too sweet to be true lah! : okie, I chose 3 bathing suits for Kyra to choose from, and guess what?!!! She chose the zebra-print bikinis instead (last pix)...hahaha!!! And no, she didn't get that from me....

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Photo strip #7: It's time to say buhbaiiii....
I pledged my RM25 to plant a tree, and in return got a nice colourful grocery bag at Mid Valley : I tried and tested the RM5 a pop cupcake at KLCC's Bijou and found them to be fine and achievable at home, here in my home..LOL! : its their 1st ride on the KLIA Express train to reach KLIA before boarding our plane:)

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Oh, we were lucky enough to be on the Mas Airbus instead of the usual 737 coz they also served us Haagen Dazs ice creams.....I guess that's to compensate our leaving Ikea...I mean, KL....???
LOL!

Oh gosh....now that I've baked my June (part 2) challenge for my Learn2Bake Club, I have to post it up here too ya.....wait....lemme go fetch my little babe now......I've been prepping photos and blogging the entire morning! :O

A sweet THANK U for the teachers!

This one's bittersweet chocolate....
And it's now transformed into a pretty pink ladybug!
Sitting pretty on a bloom....ready to fly whenever
you reach out to catch it! :D
And here's "I AM VANILLA"
good ol plain vanilla....
Plain personalities go so well with classy blingz....hehe!!!

And here's the final 25 cupcakes to celebrate the babes' teachers
in school today......
Our sincerest gratitude for teaching my two babes,
and tolerating Maia's "OOpppssss, I spilt water again!",
and the other "Ooopppsss!" in class.....

HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY
to all the great educators everywhere!!!

GREEN Tableware For Kids & My Fave GREEN Bag!!!

Yesterday @ The Springs, was just accompanying the babes at the play area inside POPPIES when my eyes spotted THESE.......

Yeap, you think you're looking at melamine or claytan's tableware, but you're wrong! :) These soup bowls and soup spoons are made from rice husks, thus the brand LITTLE HUSKS. It's completely natural, non-toxic and good for our environment too for obvious reasons! I am just so glad they have soup spoon in their range coz I've been looking for a long time for it....(didn't wanna let the two soup-loving babes use my clay and cute soup spoons for fear of em breaking it, and I only have 8 pieces!)

Even better is, the price is decent and it's locally manufactured, not MADE IN CHINA...phew-factor there! Hehe.... :P The soup spoon is only RM3.90, the soup bowl RM8.90. Would love to get the plates for them too if not because of its small size :(

After grabbing 2 of these items, I spotted what could be my FAVOURITE PRINTS from Envirosax thus far...the ORIGAMI set!!! Not gonna get all 5 prints from this range though coz I have enough grocery bag really.....but I knew I just had to own this one!!! It has cherry blossom prints....with a calm cool aquamarine colour......the print is so vibrant, don't you think? Makes me happy just looking at it.....(making me wish I have tons and tons of fabric in the entire ORIGAMI range prints!!!)



Aren't these sooooo pretty???? I wish I could have valid reasons to own the entire set, but NO, I do not...I have enough grocery bags.....(sigh).....So, for those of you who hasn't started using reusable grocery bags when you go to the supermarket, these gorgeous baggies gotta give you a good reason to...NO? (even if these don't....what about conscience then?) hehe!

***pssttt!!! I am actually very glad that the supermarket I frequently go to (if not each and every time) supports using our own grocery bag!!! This is very encouraging.....UNLIKE one huge hypermarket here that does not allow our own bags and even SEALS their plastic bags with cable strings!!!! Each and every plastic bag I tell you! Now imagine how many plastics they waste already...... :(

What's with girls and shuz?

CROCS Malaysia had their warehouse sale starting yesterday till 3rd May 2010. Z managed to grab 2 pairs for Kyra since she loves wearing her Crocs super much. So I asked him to get Kyra a RUBY RED Alice (1st pix) in size M1, and PINK Mary Jane (2nd pix) in size M2! The usual prices for Kyra's Crocs are between RM119 to RM129 depending on design, and for these, we only paid RM35 per pair! Yeap, amazing discounts huh! Over 70% mark down :O So totally worth it!

Hehe...some of you might wonder, "What about Maia?".....
Well, I just took out Kyra's old Crocs and washed em...there are currently 1x BLUE Gabby, 1x PURPLE Alice and 1x PINK Sketchers (also the same kind of material as Crocs), strangely, all these 3 are of more or less the same sizes....and all are still looking new and in pristine conditions! Now why did we get so many pairs for Kyra last time? hmmmm......I can't remember.....

So, that's why, no more impulse buying! Haha! Maia's now wearing Kyra's 1st pair of Crocs which is a LILAC Cayman...and once she outgrows this pair, she will have the Gabby, Alice and Sketchers to choose from! Imagine that.... (Guilty to say, on top of these Crocs, both babes still have their dress shoes from Chinese New Year and sandals to boot! Pun intended...hehe!)

Okie, gotta continue my spring cleaning....sorting their outgrown clothing and shoes to be donated to the Salvation Army.......

These below are the ones we didn't get coz I usually don't buy things that are not so classic and will bore me over time.....Hello Kitty Crocs are discounted to RM50 per pair, Polkadot ones too!

"Mummy I will tell you how to bake it later"

This afternoon, after the two babes got back from school, as usual, I will go to the kitchen to get ready their lunch. At that time, I was actually watching a baking program on the Asian Food Channel, 'SUGAR'. So I guess, seeing that I have to go away from the TV and all.....Kyra shouted from the living room in a serious, very enthusiastic tone:

"MUMMY MUMMYyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! I HELP YOU WATCH YOUR SHOW, LATER I TELL U HOW TO COOK IT, okay!?"

ME: "You sure?" *while chuckling away by myself.....and smiling in my heart....LOL!

Just the fact that she meant it so sincerely yet innocently.....ahhh.......cuteness!!!! I hope she'll get to read this when she's all grown up and be as amused as I am! STILL AM!

Tiered MAXI Dress!

I can't wait to show you guys this dress I made in the morning while the babes were in school. Saw the new arrival japanese cottons in store the other day, could not resist the beautiful vivid prints and smooth 100% cotton.......and while blog-hopping two days ago, came across
MODA BAKE SHOP featuring a spring/easter dress and that's where I got inspired to do this! I think the 'summer-like' weather plays a part in my urges to make comfy (& stylish of course!) dresses...somewhat.....

Made a matching flower hairclip/brooch to complete the look too...hehe....but I am most glad coz my estimation of Kyra's height and size is right.......PHEW!!! (Don't you hate to do alterations!?) It has smockings at the back so the dress will fit nicely and comfortably! Now, I am very tempted to make one for myself :P

HFMD down, ASTHMA to conquer!

As mentioned previously, we spotted HFMD symptoms on Maia and Kyra on Saturday. After tons of chinese medicines, today, Maia's ulcers seem to have shrunken, the blisters on her right palm are also drying. Thank God both babes didn't have to suffer the pain of multiple mouth ulcers! I can't imagine the pain, coz I usually am truly frustrated when I have just ONE ulcer in the mouth.....imagine FIVE or SIX in Maia's mouth! The chinese medicines must have helped suppress the progression of her ulcers...coz Maia didn't complain much about pain throughout! PHEW!!!

The only problem from this incident is, both babes started coughing badly on Sunday evening.....and so, we brought them to the child specialist, Dr Tan. I am so thankful we went, Dr Tan said that their coughs relapsed most probably due to the HFMD virus attack on the lungs. She prescribed antivirus pills and other cough medicines.

Now the only thing Z and I have to tackle is their continuous super-prolonged coughs.....come to think of it, it's gonna exceed 2.5 months' mark very soon, my goodness!!! They were recovering when HFMD attacked, unfortunately.....so now they are still coughing madly especially in the mornings.

Somebody suggested a direct-selling cactus juice that costs a big bomb (let's just say you can buy 2 pairs of TOD's shoes from factory outlet in the states with that money). I am doubtful. I think I will try HONEY, LEMON WATER, cut down on dairy products for now.....I have googled, I know what I am talking about :) and besides, within this period, we have already spent 1x COACH large handbag on their medical bills :[ and honestly, I prefer something we can maintain daily on a long term basis, not just this week or month!

The only thing both Z and I do not know is, WHAT IS THE TRIGGER for their asthma! I just wish somebody can come visit and tell us the answer......could it be flower dander from our garden? or the labrador at the backyard? or dust mites in the soft toys and mattresses?

For the record, we have:
*Removed all soft toys from their room
*Removed the bedroom rug too (thought it's part of the theme :( )
*Vacuumed and mopped every other day (that's a lot okay....the honorable maid is yours truly)
*Cleaned all the airconds inside out, even with enzyme solutions made for the internal fins!
*Changed their bedsheets super frequently!
*Cleaned their everythings with RAINBOW VACUUM CLEANER! (that can suck out dust mites!)
*Googled so much on this topic, that if Google can speak, it will say: "That's enough!" :P

and still, NO IMPROVEMENTS! We are d.e.s.p.e.r.a.t.e.

Bad news for an Easter weekend!

Yesterday, Maia shouted: "Mummy, look at my hands!!!!" and yeap, 4 blisters on her right palm and immediately I knew that could be HFMD (Hand Foot Mouth Disease), with a dreadful feeling in my chest of course......the minute we reached home, I checked with their kindie's principal if anybody's been down with HFMD the past week....and YEAP! Her own little niece :(

I quickly reached for the torch light and checked both babes' mouths, and off we went to a chinese physician's clinic. Thank God we realized the infection early enough, Dr Lee said that his herbal medicines might be able to suppress the ulcers from 'popping'. FYI, Maia's mouth has got 5 (if not more) ulcers already but they are not reddish and painful YET (I can't tell whether those are painful or not coz she didn't complain till now! Strange, I know).....

So, out of the Dr's office, paid RM160, 5 bottles of herbal meds for both to be taken 3 hourly for the next 3 days or so. Dr said that as long as it's not EV71 virus or Coxsackie, it won't be life-threatening.

Today is the 2nd day both babes are on the medications, so far so good as nobody is complaining of sore ulcers nor developing fever *THANK GOD!*, but I do hope the ulcers will start disappearing tomorrow though....

On top of that, we learnt from a friend about this little green plant that people take for ulcers and many other sickness, called PEPEROMIA PELLUCIDA.

"软骨草" Chinese remedy to heal HFMD(Hand Foot Mouth Disease)
Name: Peperomia pellucida

QUOTED FROM SEVERAL WEBSITES:
"The leaves and stalk of pansit-pansitan (=Peperomia pellucida = 软骨草) are edible. It can be harvested, washed and eaten as fresh salad. Taken as a salad, pansit-pansitan helps relive rheumatic pains and gout. An infusion or decoction (boil 1 cup of leaves/stem in 2 cups of water) can also be made and taken orally - 1 cup in the morning and another cup in the evening.

For the herbal treatment of skin disorders like abscesses, pimples and boils, pound the leaves and/or the stalks and make a poultice (boil in water for a minute or two then pounded) then applied directly to the afflicted area. Likewise a decoction can be used as a rinse to treat skin disorders.

For headaches, heat a couple of leaves in hot water, bruise the surface and apply on the forehead. The decoction of leaves and stalks is also good for abdominal pains and kidney problems.
Like any herbal medicine it is not advisable to take any other medication in combination with any herbs. Consult with a medical practitioner knowledgeable in herbal medicine before any treatment."

Seen here (below), I mixed it with a little honey so that it's easier to coax the babes to take it.

But honestly, luckily it's not bitter to the taste, it smells FRESH, nice scent and has not much 'green' taste.....Maia had no problem drinking it! :D

"Description: Peperomia pellucida is an annual, shallow-rooted herb, usually growing to a height of about 15 to 45 cm. it is characterized by succulent stems, shiny, heart-shaped, fleshy leaves and tiny, dot-like seeds attached to several fruiting spikes. It has a mustard-like odor when crushed.Flowering year-round, the plant is found in various shaded, damp habitats all over Asia and the Americas. It grows in clumps, thriving in loose, humid soils and a tropical to subtropical climate.Peperomia pellucida has been used as a food item as well as a medicinal herb. Although mostly grown for its oriental foilage, the entire plant is edible, both cooked and raw. The analgesic properties of the plant seem to be related to its effect on prostaglandin synthesis. Anti-inflammatory, chemotherapeutic, and analgesic properties have been found in crude extracts of P. pellucida. It may have potential as a broad spectrum antibiotic, as demonstrated in tests against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Escherichia coli .Chloroform extracts from dried leaves of P. pellucida have been shown to exhibit antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes."

of cupcake and polkadot!

and so it is 'decided' that Kyra is mummy's CUPCAKE while Maia, mummy's POLKADOT! They both like their pet names very much funnily.....and both cupcakes and polkadot are truly few of my favourite things in life!

Bday Cuppies For Her Mates :)

Kyra's birthday fell on Tuesday 23rd March, a school day. Thus, I made birthday cupcakes for her to celebrate it with her classmates during their break time. Here's TWENTY THREE rich chocolate and carrot cinnamon (NUT free coz it's better to play safe, plus, my own kid is allergic to nuts!), with baby pink frosting and simple black fondant alphabets with inverted dots!

These somewhat looked like one of the felt cupcakes I made her the other day,
the one with pink ribbon 'swirls' on top! Coincidence really!
To be honest, this is my CURRENT favourite cupcake combination. It may be simpler than those fancy fondant covered ones but taste wise, it's awesome!!! It's non-dairy fresh cream frosting in PINK, on top of the soft yummy cupcakes! Not too sweet like buttercream, yet light enough to complement the cake well! I know this coz i had to TASTE one.....this a.m i 'stole' one as breakfast already :D

"K" is for KYRA!


The homemade goodie paperbags,
containing 2 cupcakes + 1 fruit pudding + 1 cracker for each of her friends at school!
This round, she wanted it to be POCOYO instead of HELLO KITTY!
So I did it in 5 colours of the POCOYO & FRIENDS' characters......

It amused me to see how the kids enjoyed their cupcakes! And just look at the mess they made, and happily too!






After my birthday babe handed out all her goodie bags,
she whispered to me
"Mummy I love you!"
and hugged me in her class :)