Musings of a Mom

Our Lil Taukeh is 6!

No birthday cupcakes this time round. We decided on a Spideman jellycake instead. Simple and hassle-free. I ordered it from Michelle with one phone call and got it delivered to my doorstep.  He had a simple celebration with his classmates and we plan to have joint celebration with Ashley towards the end of May.

 The night before, the kids prepared the party packs on their own. It was a nice feeling to have the kids prepare their own party packs for a change. All we had to do was of course fork out the money.

I blogged about where I got the brown bags  here. The goodies are from Happy Planet at Jln Tun HS Lee. It’s the BEST place to go to to shop for party goodies in bulk.

 Next, I got to figure out what to do for their joint birthday celebration. We are thinking of doing something outdoor activities….

Stay tuned…

Last month, while Hubs and the kids brought Sydney for a walk in the neighborhood, they stumbled upon 3 kittens which were barely more than 2 weeks old. The kittens were left in a bucket outside an empty house. Someone obviously wanted to get rid of it. They were meowing loudly and their mom was no where to be found. So the kids decided to bring all of them back to the house. While the kids were thrilled to take the kittens under their wings, I wasn’t too keen on keeping them because  I am allergic to cats. I will no doubt end up sneezing all day with itchy and watery eyes and with a tickled nose. Thankfully though, a neighbor of ours decided to adopt 1 of them that night.  We decided to send the remaining kittens to SPCA the next day.

The next morning, the kids’ prepared for the kittens’ departure.  As it was love at first sight for them, they couldn’t deal with parting with the kittens and at first, Ashley cried during the car ride to SPCA. They made sure that the kittens were in good hands before leaving SPCA.

Aidan was cool and didn’t shed a single tear. Not yet.

But when we left SPCA, Aidan was really quiet. Moments later, we saw him choking back his tears.

I love how a child’s love is so pure and unconditional – without any complications.

Don’t worry kids. The kittens are in good hands.

The kids embarked on their 2nd DIY project last week by making an Incy Wincy Spider from the Itsy Bitsy Bugs Lollibox set.

The set came with the following materials :

- Black Yarn

- Googly eyes

- Chenille Stems

- Biodegradable plates.

You will need :

- scissors

-Craft Glue

Check out this video to find out how simple is it to DIY an Incy Wincy Spider.

What do you usually do on weekends?

Ashley complained on numerous occasions that she hardly has anytime to play during the weekday because of the fact that her classes are in the afternoon.  When she comes back from school in the evenings, she only has 1 hour of play time before she has dinner, shower and start on her homework. Ah well, such is life. Didn’t we all go through that? We just need to make sure that they manage their time well.

Last weekend, we decided to embark on a little DIY project.

We got the Itsy Bitsy Bugs Lollibox from Fun4Kids which consists of  3 DIY projects i.e. Fun with Firefly, Incy Wincy Spider and Grasshopper.

The kids decided to make a firefly.

Check out the video below on how they made a firefly and find out how it turned out…

They had lots of fun together and the firefly is now a permanent fixture in their bedroom.

Stay tuned for their next DIY project…

 Operation Milk Tooth last night was a success! I managed to pull out his milk tooth during my first attempt at bedtime. I was expecting him to cry but he was shocked instead and was amazed that his milk tooth was finally out. I’ll never forget the expression on his face…..

He promptly wrote a letter to the tooth fairy, prayed for her to come visit him and went to bed.

What a sweetheart!

I love that this 5yo still believes in tooth fairies.

When he was in deep sleep, his dad wanted to place a RM10 bill under Aidan’s pillow.

“It’s his first milk tooth” –  Hubs tried to justify for offering RM10 for the milk tooth.

The dear boy doesn’t really know the difference between RM1 and Rm10 anyway and I reckon he will be happy to even receive something from the ‘tooth fairy’. We agreed to place RM1 under his pillow last night instead.

This morning, he proudly came into our room with the Rm1 note in his hand and announced that the tooth fairy visited him last night.

Love!

He put his RM1 note into his piggy bank and got himself ready for school.

Tooth Fairy duty – done for now.

I’ve been shamelessly occupying myself by watching Korean dramas during my spare time and as a result, I’ve  neglected this blog. When I first started watching k-dramas, the first thing a  dear old friend of mine said over Whatsapp was :

OMG!

Followed by…

Don’t forget to feed your kids.

All I can say is…Thank God we have a helper

Anyways…back to the kids…..

Aidan has been complaining about how painful his milk tooth was and thinking that it was the normal pain which accompanied a milk tooth which was about to come out, I never gave it a second thought…Not until yesterday when his dad discovered that his permanent tooth was growing behind the milk tooth!

ACCCKKK! Why didn’t I spot it?

His milk tooth was shakey so I attempted to pull it out but failed and as a result, Aidan was in tears….and I mean BIG BIG tears were rolling down his cheeks.  Have I really lost my touch? I mean I extracted Ashley’s milk teeth with just 1 attempt before  but failed to extract Aidan’s after 3 failed attempts last night.   So to get Aidan back in control, I got him to loosen his milk tooth on his own.  I promised him that I will let him eat ice cream the next day and then l’d extract his tooth. I was hoping that the ice cream will numb his gums so that it will be less painful when I pull his tooth out.

This is a photo of him taken today after he ate his ice cream – all ready for operation milk tooth extraction.

Did it do the trick?

No.

I managed to loosen the milk tooth after my 3 more failed attempts today in extracting his tooth.

I guess we’ll just have to wait abit longer. He doesn’t trust me to pull it out just yet but I reckon it’d come out by tomorrow…..

We’ll see.

Playing hide and seek in our home doesn’t get old with the kids. Our house is not big and there are only so many places that they can hide at. More often than not, their giggles usually give them away.  I like to join them in their game of hide and seek especially when it’s time for bedtime. To get them to go upstairs quickly (as opposed to dragging their feet on their way up), the last person will need to find whoever who have gone upstairs.  What the heck? Kill 2 birds with one stone right?  The picture above was taken when Aidan and I were hiding behind the guest room door while Ashley was searching for us. She never expected that we would hide out at that spot because the room light was not switched on and yea…she’s a  scaredy cat – she’s afraid of going into a dark room all by herself.

…too short to be anything but happy!

Have a great day!

Of late, my life has been a mess. Well, not a bad mess, but a mess it is. I finally caught the k-drama bug and I have started spending every waking, spare moment watching Korean dramas! OMG! I don’t believe I said that. Thanks to technology, I can stream it via Viki.com (there is a Viki app for Apple devices and Android devices – which means you can basically watch k-dramas anywhere on the go!) and because some dramas do not have license to be aired on Viki, I watch some dramas online on the PC too via other websites. I caught the bug about a month ago and since then, Aidan has been calling me OMA (Mom in Korean)

What have I watched so far?

My first ever Korean drama was ‘I Miss You’

Plot (taken from asianwiki)

15-year-old  Soo-Yeon (Kim So-Hyun) is a victim of bullying at school. They target her, because her father is a murderer. Soo-Yeon has an ally in Jung-Woo (Yeo Jin-Ku), who always protects her from the bullies. Soo-Yeon and Jung-Woo are in love, but due to an unexpected accident they become separated. Now as adults they meet again through destiny.

Jung-Woo (Park Yoo-Chun) is now a detective and his first love has always remained in the back of his mind. Soo-Yeon (Yoon Eun-Hye) is now a rookie fashion designer who tries to have a bright personality, but still carries emotional scars inside of her. Hyung-Joon (Yoo Seung-Ho) is Soo-Yeon’s lover, who appears warm and nice, but he will try to take vengeance upon Jung-Woo

My thoughts

This was my first ever k-drama experience. When I started watching the first episode, I knew that I was hooked. It’s one of those dramas which carried their story line pretty well from the beginning. I enjoyed the drama at that time but it’s not something which I’d re-watch again – unlike other dramas in which I will share in a bit. My first impressions of k-dramas were that the actors have really good skin! I mean WTH? It made me re-look into my skincare regime! I love that soft dewy effect that they have – and mind you dewy as opposed to oily.

My ratings

5/10

Be warned. They do alot of crying in this drama.

My second k-drama …

My Princess

 Plot (taken from wikipedia)

An ordinary college student, Lee Seol (Kim Tae-hee), finds out she’s a princess and the great-granddaughter of the Joseon Dynasty‘s last Emperor, Emperor Sunjong. The grandson of Daehan Group, Park Hae-young (Song Seung-hun), is put in charge of educating Seol on proper etiquette in order for her to fulfill her role. However, Hae-young is put in a precarious situation when he finds himself drawn to Seol, the girl who will take away his inheritance if the monarchy is restored.

My thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It was funny and the on-screen chemistry between Kim Tae Hee and Song Seung Hun was commendable. I can’t say the same for the rest of the cast but who cares? I was only interested in the scenes between Kim Tae Hee and Song Seung Hun  Among the other k-dramas that I have watched, this is the first drama where I actually liked the way Song Seong Hun was dressed – in impeccably cut  suits which complemented his body. Basically he doesn’t look sissified …unlike alot of the young Korean actors out there. Kim Tae Hee’s wardrobe as a princess is something that I am not too fond off though. Although I don’t expect her to be dressed like the Duchess of Cambridge, but a princess wearing ankle-high  boots and mini skirts????? Nah…that doesn’t do it for me.

And what’s with the men dragging women by the wrist???

My ratings

6/10

Would I watch it again ? Yes. And I did

Boys Over Flowers

Plot (taken from wikipedia)

Hardworking Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun) attends the exclusive Shinhwa High School. She finds her shallow, privileged classmates unbearable, especially the notorious F4. Rich, handsome, and arrogant, Goo Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho), Yoon Ji-hoo (Kim Hyun-joong), So Yi-jung (Kim Bum), and Song Woo-bin (Kim Joon) are the kings of the school and no one, not even the teachers, dare challenge them. No one, that is, except Jan-di. Angry at their rudeness, Jan-di tells off F4 leader Jun-pyo, bringing a world of trouble upon herself. The proud and persistent Jun-pyo falls hard for feisty Jan-di, but she shares a connection with the quiet, sensitive Ji-hoo. Caught between the two friends, Jan-di’s heart is torn.

My thoughts

OMG! The hair!!!??? I couldn’t except it at first but after a few episodes, it kinda grew on me. Also to note that this drama is based on  Japanese shōjo manga series, Boys Over Flowers (花より男子 Hana Yori Dango^?), written by Yoko Kamio. The lead character played by Lee Min Ho had curly hair too. When I first started watching this drama, my friend told me that our mutual friend was hooked to this drama and watched it over and over again. After completing this drama, I can totally understand why because I too was hooked to it and re-watched it I love the soundtrack in this drama. Lee Min Ho did a great job in this drama and after 2 episodes were aired, he shot to stardom. This drama did it for him. Goo Hye Sun (who played the love interest of Goo Joon Pyo) had a bumpy start to her acting in the first few episodes but overall, I think she did pretty well after the actors got into the groove of working together. At the beginning though, I thought she tried a bit too hard in acting silly – much like a 28 year old trying to act like an 8 yo – it was awful. I cringed at those moments and she did look as though she tried too hard.

Again, there are lots of moments where the men dragged the women by the wrist, and k-dramas are never complete without  a scene by the river, a piggy back ride and someone getting drunk and oh ya! Back-hugging too! LOL.  Am I right????

My ratings

7/10

Personal Preference (aka Personal Taste)

Summary (Taken from wikipedia)

 It is adapted from Lee Se-in’s 2007 novel of the same name about a furniture designer, Park Gae-in, who lives together with architect Jeon Jin-ho under the mistaken assumption that he’s gay

My thoughts

Ok ok. I gotta admit. I started watching this drama because of Lee Min Ho and you know what? I really enjoyed this drama too. It’s funny and the on-screen chemistry between Lee Min Ho and Son Ye Jin was really good as well.  Although Son Ye Jin is 5 years older than Lee Min Ho, their age gap didn’t even occur to me in the drama – which is a good thing. I am not too pleased with Lee Min Ho’s dressing in the drama though – think fancy pastel colored jackets with hanging pants with shoes without socks? I like ‘em wearing suits like Harvey Specter! Ah well, nonetheless, he still has a pretty face The soundtrack is very good as well and yes, I have downloaded them onto my iPod

My ratings

7/10

Playful Kiss

This is a romantic comedy between a clumsy love-sick girl Oh Ha Ni (Jung So Min) who has a crush on Baek Seong Jo (Kim Hyun Joong) in high school all the way to university for a total of 4 years! It was an unrequited love. While Oh Ha Ni shamelessly crushes on Baek Seong Jo, Baek Seong Jo  was a cold robot to her. 13 episodes later…he finally realizes that he loves her.

My thoughts

This was a very difficult drama to watch but I trudged on because I wanted to give a drama with Kim Hyun Joong the benefit of a doubt. There are 16 episodes altogether. The first 12 episodes were so torturing to watch. Oh Ha Ni sulked most of the time  - it was rather annoying. Baek Seong Jo was a robot. He was always mean and robotic to Oh Ha Ni but noooo, the girl was blinded by LOVE.  And then from Episode 13 onwards, Baek Seong Jo came to his senses and turns from a robot to a human being with feelings. I cringed watching them together. Episodes 13-16 were all about tying up loose ends.

Ratings

4/10

Would I watch it again? Hell no!

My 6th k-drama…..

Gentleman’s Dignity

Summary (taken from wikipedia)

This drama is the male version of Sex in the City about the careers and love lives of urban professionals. It tells the story of four men in their 40s who have been friends since they were 18, as they go through love, breakup, success and failure.

My thoughts

I enjoyed looking forward to the beginning of each episode when a prologue is shown which involve anecdotes about the 4 men’s friendship through the years. The prologues are all humorous except for an episode. The prologues are not a continuation from the previous episode’s ending nor  are they related to the present storyline but they underline each episode’s theme – brilliant writing if you ask me. Apart from that…Iwasn’t too drawn to their love lives. In fact I found Seo Yi Soo’s character rather annoying. This is one drama in which I took my time finishing it. The last 2 episodes where rather unnecesary – cheesy even if you ask me but I watched it till the end anyways.

Ratings

6/10

Following up from  the time Kakak helped Aidan to catch worms, this time, Kakak helped to catch a little frog for Aidan.

Aidan and Lil Froggie were inseparable. Where ever Aidan went, Lil Froggie  went. He never left home without it. That evening though, after we spoke about what frogs eat and that it will not survive long in the little ventilated container, he decided to free it. The minute after he did that, he regretted it…..and he cried…

 Poor boy….

Lil Froggie is better off in the garden anyways…

Here’s a picture he drew of Lil Froggie.