Tee-pee weekend!

I know I haven't written bout Kyra's 5th birthday and many others, but pleaseeeeee.......lemme start with whatever that's on top of my head now, okie? :D Thanks!

So, last weekend was another long weekend since 1st May aka Labour's Day fell on a Sunday, Monday became a public holiday here! So, the Thursday before weekend arrived, I suddenly got inspired to finally get down to making the TEE-PEE that I've planned since 2010! So, off I went to the hardware store to get 5x 8' long wooden dowel (that were later cut down to just 7'). The other 'ingredients' were ready-stock @home anyway.....hehe....

I was determined to get it done in time to kick off our long weekend with lotsa 'faux-camping' fun with the babes....coz I knew they would be thrilled.......so, spent the whole long afternoon measuring, planning, cutting, sewing.......assembling...............Tadaaaaa!!!! DONE on time.....PHEW!

I remembered we have their now-unused baby cot mattress in the storage room....complete with comfy soft jersey fitted sheet :O oooooooo.........so, I pulled that one out of hiding......and quickly put together THIS "scene" below......right before the babes got back from school that Friday afternoon!
Wooo...I tell you, they were excited alright! And I thought, might as well do an impromptu family 'BBQ cook-out' that evening itself! So we took out whateva food that's BBQ-able from the fridge, set up a last minute BBQ pit using a wide and low flower pot (BAD BAD idea I tell you, I think the heat cracked the pot a little...LOL! but other than that, the BBQ was a success I tell you!)

These 'grilled' tomatoes were SUPER yummy!!! So yummy I didn't have to persuade Kyra to eat her matoes!!!! Ok, here's how you do it........season the tomato slices with salt, pepper and Olive oil! That's it......BBQ it a little....and you'll get these very sweet, tasty tomato slices!!! MUST TRY!
And that night, we really 'camped' in the tent! But of course, mid sleep, I had to transfer myself to the daybed coz Gosh! It was kinda horrible sleeping without a mattress...LOL! But what's important is, the babes, especially Kyra really enjoyed the whole tee-pee & cookout weekend!

The SURPRISE is this!

Above: Berita Harian weekend copy, 2nd section, published on 12th September 2010 (Sunday)

Alright....yeap, that's the surprise I've been waiting to reveal....ahh....it's really just a 1-minute-fame kinda thing to me honestly, but it's just strange and exciting to see your own things (and yourselves) printed in a national paper like Berita Harian. I mean, seriously, when I got the copy 1 day late (coz I couldn't get it on the day it came out) on Monday, I even missed this front page (of the 2nd section) coz I didn't think they would feature our home on front page most definitely....so I went right to the middle and saw those photos and article of us in the centrespread. Only hours later, when I retrieved the pages out to keep, that I saw the cover!!! LOL! Well, that was really exciting...and weird......to see my bed, our bedroom...right there! LOL!

But one thing though, I wasn't surprised to find out they have decided to feature the babes' room as the biggest photo in the article itself.....I've mentioned this before....(I think?), it's my favourite room in the whole house!
And you see the tiny family pix there? Yeap, you've seen this before...in my previous 3rd post.


Sorry, I am just too lazy to scan the pages out....so here.....read it online, while it's still available.
But then....sorry to those peeps who can't read nor understand Malay.....the paper is a Malay paper, LOL!

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.....

SAHM to WAHM

Yesterday, while updating my FB Polkadot + Cupcake page, I realized I have put my status as SAHM (stay-at-home-mum).....but I don't stay at home goyang kaki lehh......in fact, almost every minute at home is work work work....be it for Polkadot + Cupcake, or The Polkadot Cupcake, or for my very own Polkadot babe and her cheche Cupcake! LOL! So, I finally changed my utterly unsuitable status of SAHM to WAHM....ie. Work-at-home-mum! :D Much much more suited to me, I personally think....LOL!

Ah well....my babes are big girls now.....big as in 2.75 years old and 4.5 years old respectively... :P It's time for me to start something for myself finally......while taking care of them at the same time of course......

Yesterday afternoon, principal's hubby who is also their kindie's "CEO", called coz we're supposed to work on the kindie's blog (yes, supposedly I am to manage and write their blog), then he asked about my label.....not knowing I oredi 'launched' it in FB.....so he asked if I wanted to promote my label during their year end concert (which is not at year end totally...it's on 30th October!).....and I told him, many thanks, it's a lovely idea, brilliant in fact, but how can I single handedly come out with a range of items to be showcased? I told him my sewing and designing time is only in the morning when the babes are in kindie.....then he said: "Put them in full day classes then?"

Nah nah nah.....I would not, and could not bear knowing the fact I am 18 feet away from their school not having them around the entire day...it's just not me.....so, yeah that's it...for now.....I am still very much a full time mum, who works from home..... W.A.H.M it is! :)

I NEED to....

in random order lah....

1) save $$$ from my cupcake sales to NOT ONLY buy a bigger oven, but also customize its 'built-in' cabinet.....
(gosh! coz I can't see where I can squeeze in another oven in my current kitchen now.....and besides, such ovens require its own built-in cabinet......aduh...extra cost to me, that is!)

2) save $$$ from my handmade sales to get myself a serging machine.....and an electric sewing machine that can do buttonholes and have different stitch options! Both ain't cheap fyi ya...
(fyi, I already found its table...lol! Salvaged a metal table with caster wheels from Godma's unwanted-and-to-be-thrashed stuffs)...yeah, so now, I have the suitable table....but yet the machine itself...LOL! See the table? Pretty messed up huh? But worry not....I shall wave my magic wand (when I actually have ample free time, I don't know when....with my current schedule).....and turn this Raggedy Ann into Snow White! :D I have the colors and design in my head the moment I spotted this poor thang...yet the time....so be patient ya'll!


You might ask...."Why not just swipe those on my credit card or something?"

Well, yeah....credit card....I have come to learn from Oprah that....credit card is like the devil....'who' makes you spend money you don't already earn.....and people are S.T.U.C.K with this bad habit of destruction......how true is that? So, I have told myself to swipe my card in TWO circumstances only......

a) EMERGENCY of course...
b) When I have the cash to actually buy the thing but bringing cash is not convenient...., in short, it means, only buy with credit card when you actually have the money to pay for it almost quite instantly lah! lol!

Truth be told, I learnt a lot of things from Oprah...from her interior decorator Nate Berkus' tips on decorating, to the financial experts she had on her shows.....to the shrinks who talked and talked....I just wish I could watch her show every day...and learn a new lesson daily...but sorry lah.....haven't seen Oprah for quite some time......(gotta fix that!)

Did I mention that I recently helped my parents UN-clog their bedroom? Yeah, now you know....I learnt that from Oprah too! LOL! It's her "Clean Up Your Messy Home" campaign....no no no....don't get me wrong...my parents bedroom was NOT dirty what the heck.....but my dad aka the "HOARDER".....had kept toooo many unnecessary items till they 'clogged' the breathing space in their bedroom.......hah! No wonder he always complains he's unable to get a good sleep or rest at home!

So, as busy as I am.....I set on a task.....Mum couldn't be happier....coz she said: "He never listens to me, only you girls can talk him out on letting go of his hoarded junks" LOL!

So on one fine weekend, me and MY TEAM (= Z + K + M), headed on to mum's house (why we always call it MUM's PLACE, Mum's house and not DAD's place????). Thankfully, Dad was willing to let me touch, sort and throw then reorganize his stuffs......I think I threw out 50% of things......but of course, I didn't simply throw things okayyy.....hehe....

And just look at the junks that we should have discarded ages ago!!! Man!!! This is just 5% of the total items we got rid of that weekend you know..... :O

"Things you have not touched or used in the past 12 mths, THROW or DONATE"
-from The Oprah Show :D

So, items that are still usable but un-needed, we donated to the Salvation Army...some were taken by Dad's workers, this way, every good item did not go to total waste! Look at these cupboards here.....It's an ISSUE of organizational skill really....I opened his cupboards a-many.....and realized that Dad had a 'whimsical' organizational system......

He stored some stationeries in Cupboard A, some in cupboard C.....you get the flow....
So, I cleared and regrouped his stuffs according to TYPE, and placed em nicely in ONE place....thus, these 3 cupboards were made EMPTY!!! Yes, EMPTY!!! And that's how I managed to clear their bedroom off these 3 bulky unnecessary items!!! GOOD!!!


Using some leftover Murobond paints from our house, my teammate Z helped mum and dad paint their not-so-feature-able feature wall...which was half maroon, half white :P
***Sorry, again, I forgot to snap the "BEFORE" pix...as usual...too excited to get started to transform things....always always forgot to do that!!!

So this is the semi-final outcome......tadaaaa!!!! Gorgeous Aubergine shade.....
The week before, Mum , little sis and I went to buy her curtain fabrics....and see how the curtain matched the feature wall? (This is not yet the final outcome....I have to go there to snap the pix....haven't done that...will update here when I have it ya)....even their old-but-still-pristine bed set matched the new shade harmoniously...dont cha think???
So I told mum, the only thing she gotta 'fix' would be her FILI FALA flower power-ish bedsheet! LOL! Asked her to find one in matching shade, simple pattern to simplify the room even more....

As I am writing this, this bedroom already had the curtains hung up......there's more breathing space.....and definitely less crowded! Even though this is not some fancy 'makeover', I feel that we made the best of things with super minimum budget...and that's the real success...to me at least!

Have you spring-cleaned your space recently? It's fun.....HAHAHA!

Birds, Beessss....then B.a.b.i.e.s :D

15th July 2010, my younger cousin's wife gave birth to a baby boy Hariq Danesh Lee. Well, being the good aunt that I am...LOL! JOKING BIG TIME......okay!, I already packed a few baby gifts that I'll be sharing with Sis#2.....then, I remembered I used to make newborn baby shuz for Maia and decided to try my hands at em again this morning.......but this round, it's not red or pink....it's Houndstooth black and white :D.....How do you like em? Hehe....

Baby Hariq is Muslim born to a Muslim Melanau mummy and Chinese daddy (my cousin). I think these cute smart shuz will make visitors ooo ahhh during the upcoming Raya, no? :P
I added a Mandarin button at the side too...

Might consider making a few for Polkadot + Cupcake.....rain check!

oh so busy....and random!!!!

NOT according to sequence btw.......manyyyyyy photos ahead....(but you like photos more than words, don't cha? I do)

* We (sis#3 and I) got mum a puppy for her birthday that's in September 2010. Yeap, laugh, chuckle, whatever....LOL! His name is KIDDO and is very cute.....wait...I go 'curi' (steal) his photos from Sis#3's FB album first.....

wait arh......


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SEE!!!! Ain't he adorable!!!!!????? He's at the moment, less than 10" long only!

His pop's a Terrier while mom's a Shih Tzu. We bought him from my ex-school friend actually. I haven't seen him in a while....heard from sis, he's getting naughtier by the day! Cutie pip!!! So, you already knew what we got mum for her 'upcoming' birthday......hahahaha!

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I got a birthday cupcake + cake order to be delivered last Friday, and I had to stay up till 2am to finish it ....got me sooooooo worn out the next day.......and I told myself: "NEVER AGAIN should you accept such last minute cake order, girl!" Noted...noted.....

Anyway, here it is....birthday babe's born in the year of the Pig (Chinese calendar), her name is Joey (like me!) and she turned 3, while I turned 3-0! :P





Well, I have my SIS#2 to thank for assisting me from 8.45pm to almost midnite with the moo-moo calf especially.......but anyway, it's always a lot of fun working with her (not in the office I mean! LOL!)...coz most times, we don't even have to complete our sentences and we just "ok, got it!" auto-mode! I guess growing up playing and fighting together did benefited us...or at least me? :D

SO, u like my pig? hahahahaha!!!!


Wait....got another cupcake thingie to share with u....but you'll have to wait....
my hands!!! my hands!!! they are itching to sew something.....gosh, I didn't have the time to sew the entire weekend!!! I tell you why.....

1st, it started on Friday nite when I baked Godpa's birthday cupcakes till midnite......

Then, before I knew it....it was already Saturday and I had to fetch Godma from her office and go check out kitchen sinks with her for her new home.....that ended at 3pm.

Then, there was his birthday dinner that we all organized at their place.....done, the entire Saturday was gone! Here's my two babes singing the bday song, as usual....It's almost like their national anthem already, and they usually do it in three different languages :D


And here, check out the cupcakes.....me likey the laebit!


See the pile of fondant with a toothpick sticking out below?
That's Maia's creation, it's her version of bday cake + candle...
(I beg you to forgive her...she's only 2.5 year old LOL!)

Errr......the green lump on a stick,
(kinda her style eh)...is also Maia's.....she said it's a lollipop....
later she said it's satay! :P

The veined butterfly and 'face' was created by Kyra specially for my Godpa's bday...
I didn't expect a pretty well-cut veined butterfly from my 4.25 year old actually...
but again, I guess I underestimated her little fingers....
(in fact, all the veined butterflies here were hers)

These were butterscotch cupcakes with buttercream frostings btw.


SUNDAY! today...yeap yeap!
We started the day 'ferrying' Euro (our male labrador) from my in-laws' to our house....
Then I got a very last minute cupcake order from who-else-would-I-oblige-for-but SIS#2! LOL!
So, off to the kitchen....baking it was....and this is the simple classic chocolate cupcakes with a hidden layer of choc ganache topped with fresh cream frosting!

YUMMMMMY!!!


Then at 3+pm, Mum and Dad and SIS#3 arrived, so we went to Godma's to move a few SUPER heavy furniture items to my place......the stuffs she won't be bringing to new home that is!
Let u see....

See that set of outdoor table and 6 stools made of concrete but fashioned like wood?
Yeap.....I'm loving it very much there.....they feel right here...LOL! But you know how darned heavy they were???? Luckily I have a strong sista, cousin and Godpa around! whooshhh!!!


And this poor prickly baby.....would be abandoned when they move house....so I adopted it....
See my feet there? Just for comparison.......size comparison lah....

Okie....enough photos and words to blurrrr you out for the nite.....go to sleep! Nite nite!!! Sweet cupcakey dreams yo! :D

(I hope I'll find time to post some photos of the newly organized and RE-purposed laundry room tomorrow.....)

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

55th Birthday for the babes' Granpa!

My dad, aka the babes' granpa turned 55 last saturday. We threw him a surprise family dinner party, and he totally had no idea.....that's why he was so gloomy the entire afternoon, LOL! Well, who could blame him for thinking that his children would definitely remember his birthday after all that he did for them....hehe.....

So, imagine how 'delighted' (that's an understatement) he was when he finally saw the birthday cake and all of us at our home that evening.....hehehehe....... and as usual, mum would 'cater' for most of the food and I catered for the cake and/or dessert.

My dad was born in the year of the Goat (or sheep?!), but because a herd of sheep is way nicer, better and cuter than goats, I made him these......... (the Chinese words read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and we had to google it for me to refer coz I don't read nor write Chinese. It's my 1st set of cupcakes with Chinese words btw...a lot of fun!)
Take a closer look.....the one inside the fences is GRANPA SHEEP of course..the birthday man! The 2nd largest sheep is GRANDMA SHEEP... :D, and the two lil sheep is Kyra and Maia each! There were even two sherperd dogs, the brown one is a mongrel (LOL!) while the other one in jet black fur is a Labrador Retriever! Fences made of biscuits, salty yummy biscuits, while the paving stones are actually Cadbury's. Grass is buttercream, the 'land' itself is chocolate ganache. The sheep's wool is buttercream as well, while the head and legs are fondant. To be honest, I had a lot of fun creating this birthday cake......so much so I can't wait for another occasion to bake one with deco!
Here's the two babes wishing their Granpa a happy birthday with their wet kisses...LOL!

This is us, from LEFT TO RIGHT:
Zac, Me, Kyra, Mum, Granpa, Maia, Sis#2 aka NingNing and lil bro Leonard. The only person not in this photo would be Sis#3 who's far enough, in KL...too bad. But well, she's coming back next week.....goodie!!!!