A day in the life of...

It's only mid-day but I thought I'd share what a Thursday's usually like for us in the Soh household.

Today we started off pretty normal, with Aidan and I snuggling in bed, reading a book and horsing around. It's Day 3 of him sleeping without a nappy at night, and we're pretty excited that accidents have been kept to a minimum. And of course, my rambunctious son likes to jump around and crack jokes. Like "Aaah! The spaceship! It's attacking me!" or "HA HA Mum, I FARTED! In the BED! HA HA!" or

"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Boo"
"Boo Who?"
"Oh don't cry Mum, it's only a joke!"

He was playing pretend again, "Aaah! Somebody's shooting my nan-nan! HA HA HA!!" (I think all this nan-nan business arose from this incident.) To which I replied drolly, "What, is it target practice?"

Harrumph. Boy fart jokes.

Anyhoos, we had a lovely late brekkie of a sausage on cheese toast with milo, and Aidan started to pretend that we're at a tea room. By the way, conversations like the one below are quite typical in this household!

Aidan: "Would you like some tea?"
Me: "Why yes, thank you."
(Goes off and pretends to pour a cuppa)
"Here you go."
Now it's my turn.
"Would you like a cup of...coffee?"
"But, I can't! I'm not a grown up yet!"
Oops, my mistake. "Er...how about some hot chocolate then?"
"No, tea thanks."
"Ok, would you like a cup of tea?"
"Yes please."
I go off to the pretend teapot and pour a cuppa.
We both calmly sip our "tea", me secretly thrilled we can play tea-party pretend even though he's a boy and not a little girly girl, when he suddenly spits out his "tea" and shouts, "YUCK! Why are there WORMS in my tea?!!"

So much for my tea party.

And then it was off to swim class, where he's getting better and better at his strokes and stretching out his breathing. (Not that I can tell, I'm off in the big pool trying to get rid of the belly bulge from my love affair with chocolate bikkies.) But we get back together after the lesson and pop into the play pool where he and his friend Nati splash around, jump around and go up and down the froggy slide.

Until he threw up. And the pool is witness to the horrific Exorcist sight of Aidan spewing red bile and bits of sausage. I had to do the painfully embarrassing task of telling all the parents in the pool to Leave Leave Leave, my son has just puked, good God don't get it on your child!!

Typical day.

Another milestone

Champion!

Aidan slept through last night without a nappy.

We thought since he's turned 4 it's about time he started leaving nappies behind...and about time he slept in his undies, like a proper, grown up boy.

That, plus the fact we ran out of nappies. Hah!

Anyhoos, we'll see how tonight goes!

In the meantime, here's a shot we took today. Because, really, he's my hero <3 <3

Looks pretty fierce here, but there's another pic I took where he's smiling...

Happy Fourth!

This post is a little overdue, but better late than never!

Can't believe how quickly my little one's turned a grand ol' four. FOUR! That's the age where we REALLY start to remember things...like how I used to swivel the fan away from my baby sis late at night because I was SO HOT and who cares if she suffocated in the heat?

I was not a nice child.

That said, my bubba has grown leaps and bounds in the last year, he's now 103cm, a grand leap from the 96cm measured at his third birthday.

We've always had crazy conversations, and lately their getting more grown up. "So, Ma, how was YOUR day today?" He then turns to his Dad. "So, Dad, how was work today? Good?"

Precocious preciousness!

We celebrated his birthday with some time away in Perth - saves us on the big ol' birthday party (I feel terrible for him though! I really have to brush up on my caking skills to make that Bumblebee-Transformer cake he wants). It was a short holiday, but lovely weather, and great to see the cousins and Aidan's great-aunt and great-uncle again.

Here with Amanda-jie. He's been doing the sticky-out tongue thing lately!

With the cousins at Kings Park, Perth. Beautiful day for the Wildflower Festival!

My Aunt and Uncle, happy as ever.

(And my uncle's as crazy as ever - it's in the genes I tell ya!)

He LOVES the sunshine!!

With some Corica Apple strudel to celebrate his birthday.

Cheeky tongue again!!

Love our pyjamas - all in bright colours! heh

We met up with the Chuas  who were in Perth too - 

JoJo and Aidan had SO MUCH FUN in the water!

SO! Reflection time... as I do whenever we hit milestones...

2011 has been a tremendous time for my growth personally, since I've found a vocation I can be passionate about - cake decorating. And Art! It's been terrific to be able to involve that dormant creative side of my self, and allow it to grow and grow, especially through the Bakeshoppe. I think keeping busy and purposeful (Proverbs 29:18) has allowed me to Breathe again, and while I don't think I've perfected the art of parenting, I'm getting there.

Yesterday and today, I've been pretty sick. But thankfully I don't have any big orders in this week, which means I can get much needed rest, and that has allowed me to really step away from everything (especially Facebooking ack!!) and spend meaningful time with Aidan. Who's also pretty sick btw, we're both down with the flu AND fever.

We memorised Scripture as part of our church's 40 days of Prayer (to the tune of "Spider-Man, Spider-Man..." in a groovy '60s beach-boys vibe LOL!!), read books, played lego, told stories, cuddled, watched heaps of telly.

This, and our trip to Perth has really made me treasure the current opportunity I have with Aidan, that we can spend days together and hopefully I won't waste it! Once he starts prep...*sigh* My baby's growing up so quickly!!

Special times...

Of bumblebees and noodles

Things have really been heating up (hur hur) in the kitchen lately, what with the constant stream of cupcakes, cakes and whatnots to make. This week alone I've made 2 wedding cakes, and about 100 cupcakes, including mini ones!!

Phew!

And Aidan's turning 4 in a couple of weeks, and what does he want? A TRANSFORMER-BUMBLEBEE cake, like this one:



The only thing I could say to him was "SIAO AH?!!"

He's been such a great kid lately, helping me with my baking and generally not getting up to too much mischief so I can get work done. And he said, "Mama, you're the best Cooker!" Hmm...a pressure cooker maybe?

Anyways, in light of all this baking, I thought I'd post something different. A couple of weeks ago I made seafood hor fun and it garnered a bit of attention from friends on facebook asking for the recipe, so I thought I'd post it here.

Seafood Wat Tan Hor Fun (adapted from May's Favourites)
1 pkt fresh hor fun - at room temp. at loosened
250g medium green prawns
100g choy sum (chai sim)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4-5 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 4 tbsp water
2 cups chicken stock
White pepper to taste

Sauce Mix
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Method
1. Rinse, peel and devein prawns, leaving tails intact.
2. Fry hor fun over a hot wok until fragrant and slightly burned. Use a little (1 tbsp) cooking oil if necessary. Transfer cooked hor fun to a serving dish.
3. Heat wok with 2 tbsp cooking oil and fry garlic lightly.
4. Add prawns and fry til they turn pink.
5. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
6. Add choy sum and cook lightly.
7. Add cornflour mixture, then reduce the heat.
8. Add Sauce Mix and stir, then slowly pour in beaten egg and stir again lightly for the "dropped egg" effect.
9. Pour sauce over the fried hor fun, sprinkle white pepper to taste and serve with green chillis if you like.


For more baking hijinks, visit http://www.buttercup-bakeshoppe.com

The boy who cried wolf

THE MOST HILARIOUS THING HAPPENED YESTERDAY.

It was just a typical Monday, filled with soccer practice, Chinese lessons (me teaching him 1 to 20 in Mandarin, and drawing out the characters; he picked it up pretty quick I must say, he can recite it all! Must be all the repetition before bed when EG pats him and counts to 20 in Chinese...anyways, I digress...) and the usual household errands.

We'd just returned from the park and I decided to fill the tub so he could have a bath rather than a quick shower. His "swimming pool" as he calls it. And I ducked downstairs to start preparing dinner.

All of a sudden, I heard cries of "Mum! Mum! Muuuuuum!" and I rushed upstairs in a panic, only to have him shout "Mum, the water, there isn't enough!" Hmph. So much for an S.O.S. I filled the tub with a little more water then left.

Ten minutes later, another cry for help. Again, I rushed up, only to have him tell me "Help! Help! The water is draining away!"

"No, it's not, there's still enough water in the tub for your to play in. And have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? I am NOT coming up again, I have to cook dinner, and no more cries of help!! Because I'm not coming up again, do you understand me?!"

*Pause*

"Are you going to tell me the boy and the wolf story?"

!!!!!!!

I went back downstairs. Five minutes later, I hear crying. REAL crying. Not wracking sobs, but teary enough to warrant another trudge up the stairs...sigh...

I entered the bathroom to see his tear-stained face and asked what happened. "Sniff...my...my....nan-nan." he sniffed, clutching his chest. "My fish bit me."

Turned out his fishy bath toy had accidentally clipped his nip, and I'm so terribly sorry, I'm a bad mother but I BURST OUT LAUGHING and then quickly kneeled by the bathtub and hung my head so he couldn't see me fighting the giggles while I tried to comfort him.

"Oh you *gasp giggle* poor thing... *choke chortle* are you ok? Does it still *pbbbttttHAHAHApbttt*... hurt?"

And inside me I was thinking, Talk about karma!

Warning: Expletives involved

There's a hilarious "children's" book that's topping the bestseller lists and it's called "Go the F___ to sleep". Now Noni Hazelhurst (an Australian actress who hosted Playschool for like 23 years) has done a video reading for it, and it's pretty damn funny.

You can read the article here.

I can totally relate to the book - I'm sure every parent can! Even now, with Aidan turning four in a couple of months, I STILL had to spend a good 45 minutes last night returning him back to bed in the middle of the night (2.45 - 3.30am, to be precise). Usually I'd just hug him to sleep because I'm just too darn lazy to return him back to bed, but he's going off night nappies soon, and the thought of being actually soaked while dreaming of cruising down the Nile is just too much to bear. That, and having to keep rewashing my sheets.

And then he was back again at 5.30am; this time since EG was already awake to get to work, he brought A back to the room on my behalf. Not that I was asleep anyways, since returning to bed at 3.30am I couldn't get back to sleep properly with my sleep cycle completely disrupted. And I really do think that with bad sleep, your body just can't deal with stress and physical labour (like standing for five straight hours in the kitchen baking & decorating - not back-breaking work, but tiring nonetheless). Hence your immune system is down, and you fall sick, sick, sick.

Throw in the cold weather and germs swarming around us, it really does bring out the inner hypochondriac in me! A's caught conjunctivitis, I'm still having a slight cold, and I'd only just recovered from a viral infection a couple weeks ago. I've washed my hands countless times today; I think my skin's about to peel off.


So I can totally commiserate with parents who, on top of sleep deprivation and their usual work, end their day having to negotiate with a four-year-old as uncompromising as Gaddafi.

While I do spend about a good 20-30 minutes putting Aidan to bed - teeth-brushing, book-reading, and the "three things" (GAWD the "three things", they take too long, why and how did ever we start this routine?!) which are Prayer, Songs, and "Pat-pat 20 times Mum!", I don't need to beg, cajole, bribe or threaten (no...that only happens during  daytime activities, like packing his toys, or getting off the computer - the computer! Aren't we suppose to nag them about the computer only when they reach 13???!!)

Many parents do though, and by the time they get out of the room, there's barely any energy left for quality time between spouses. You flop onto the couch, or into bed, breathe a sigh of relief, and you're out for the count.

That's why EVERY parent needs a book like this:

Just to blow off some steam!

Playdates 'R Us

Since Tess & Pierre left on Tuesday, the house has been rather quiet. We had a really great 2 weeks having my sis around, cooking for us, playing with Aidan...it was wonderful! And we got to celebrate her birthday (a few weeks early) with her too, which is pretty rare since she's usually in Singapore, and we're here in Melbourne, in July. Here's the cake we made for her.

You can read more about this at Buttercup Bakeshoppe's blog

Anyhoos, we solved the general loneliness by having playdates both yesterday and today with our neighbour Sarika's daughter, Samiksha (or Sammi, for short).

What a blast! Had a great tea-time at their house yesterday, and today we're returning the favour. Currently, the two of them are watching some telly as I typed this, and laughing about something memorable. ("Underpants!!" I overhear.)

When Aidan saw Sammi today, after emerging from his shower in the bathroom, he said, and I kid you not, "Hey! Wow, you're all dressed up...You look beautiful Samiksha!" She was wearing a blue-bow hairband and a pink jumper.

O. M. G. What a charmer!! I reckon he's got that silver-tongue from his Dad.

And then they ran off and created a ruckus in the guestroom and downstairs. Hmm. Must get them to pack the mess up before she goes...

 

 Cheeeeeese and whiskers!!

But the great thing about playdates is that it gives each mum a little time off to herself. I get to bake, and I hope Sarika gets some time to rest, seeing how she also has another baby to care for.

Speaking of baking, lots to prep for this Sunday's Southside Handmade and Vintage market! See you there if you're free, it's 11am-5pm in St. Kilda. :)

Two little butterballs sizzling in the pan...

With Aidan's cousin, Anna in town over the last month, the house has been filled with so much laughter. They played so well, quibbled and built a "castle" in the bedroom out of mattresses, pillows and blankets. How cute!

It was really great having family around and helping out and adding so much joy to the house. Now that they're all gone, it's been so quiet and strange. Boo. I miss my chats with my mum-in-law, and having EG's aunt cook super delicious meals everyday! Twice a day even! And my dad took care of all the laundry and ironing. I was terribly spoilt, mind you, and now that I've to do everything by myself again it takes some getting used to!

On the upside, my sis will be arriving in a couple of weeks, so Aidan and I looking forward her company!

 Anna...with her mouth covered in food AS USUAL!! 

(teeheehee I call her my little butterball...)

Told'ja Dad likes ironing!

The folks are back in town

So the in-laws have been here for a week, and it's been a blast, albeit noisy! Everyone's found a groove to make the household work - Mai Ling's the cook, MIL packs the house with speedy efficiency (OMG it's so neat now, I hope I can maintain it), DIL does the laundry, Ming Hui looks after the kids...what's there left for me to do?

Bake of course! ;p

Trialing some new stuff for the market next Sunday, as well as our Australia's Biggest Morning Tea collaboration with Fashion Deli in Toorak. Head there for gorgeous finds for your lil' chickadees!

Anyways, thought I'd put up some shots we took a short while ago at Wennie and Josh's wedding Photobooth! Plus the cake I'd made for the gorgeous couple:

Cheeky boys!

I LOVE how photogenic Aidan is...his eyes are just so 'bright' in pictures

 Hmm...my eyes look a little weird in this one...

The Happy Couple!!

Two-tiered chocolate fudge cake, with chocolate ganache and white fondant.

It's themed to match their wedding invite.

Adelaide guests

Last week was Easter break, when we had a phenomenal 5-day weekend. Amazing! I'd originally thought of simply relaxing and catching up with friends over brunch, but EG decided at the very last minute to go visit our friends Stan and Andrea over in Adelaide. SO we drove there...yes, all 8.5 hours.

I hadn't done a road trip in awhile, and was really honestly not looking forward to it, but hey, a holiday's a holiday right??

We had a magnificent time! I'll eventually post some photos up, but we really loved the welcoming hospitality of the Chngs, and made new friends along the way. Also visited Hahndorff (the only German outpost in Australia apparently...but very touristy) and ate the famous platter. And Maggie Beer's farmhouse and the Barossa Valley of course. Sweet!

But the other highlight of the trip was Aidan strengthening his friendship with the Chng's son, Jared. Jared and Aidan met on our last trip back to Singapore, and got along pretty well, but this trip sealed the deal. They could play and talk for hours! Aidan loved all of Jared's toys and games, and they had great fun pretending to be pirates (note to self: get more role-playing stuff for A).

The Chngs were so sad when we had to leave on Monday morning so we could make it back in time for a friend's wedding on Tuesday. So much so, they kept trying to convince us to stay and skip the wedding!

But surprise, surprise! Andrea's work sent her to Melbourne a lot sooner than expected and they landed here this morning, leaving Wed evening. Woohoo!

And this was what the boys got up to this morning:

 

Justin Bieber eat your heart out! 

Have you checked out my Boyz in Da Hood?

Too funny!!

Oh! And before I forget, last night Aidan was singing Marry You by Bruno Mars, when he paused and said to me, "Mama, when I grow up, I want to marry you!" 

And I asked, Why? 

And he said, "Because you're pretty and cool." *heart melts*

Oh my Gawd. Forget the pretty part, my son thinks I'm COOL!! For a mum, that's high praise!!

Let's hope he still thinks so when he's 10 and I'm dropping him off at school and I kiss my wittle baby in front of his friends.

BECAUSE YOU BET  I WILL.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

According to my son, who's in his superhero phase, he's Batman, EG is Superman and I am Wonder Woman.

And there's no other week that I've felt more heroic than this! A's been down with a terrible phlegm-y cough and fever since Tuesday (YET still has his usual hyperactive energy), EG's just caught it and is so under the weather he may as well be buried (in fact, he is, under the doona at the moment), and I've been tasked with keeping the house running (passable), neat (failing) and that they're BOTH fed, washed and put to be on time.

All this on top of making a wedding cake for Wennie and Josh's wedding today (congrats guys...double date next year??) AND the usual cupcake order for the store!

I'm so busy this weekend, we've had to put off our anniversary celebration til...well...soon... I think? Because next week's another round of baking for Buttercup Bakeshoppe's first market at the North Melbourne Market NEXT SUNDAY!

But back to topic, it's just as well we're home. EG's so sick (yet he still attended the wedding, then promptly spent most of the time lying in the car) I don't think he can sit through a candle-lit dinner tonight. And I've got to get back to baking cupcakes.

And at least it'll buy me some time to think of what to give him for our anniversary...can't believe we've been married 6 years! GAH! We've had our ups and downs, and how quickly the time has flown - I still remember spending our first anniversary crying in Footscray park after having a major fight with him, and refusing to pick up his 20 or so calls. And May had to come looking for me and talk some sense into my emotionally distraught self. Yet we've celebrated five more years since. One up for the Sohs!

Anyways, six days leading to our Sixth anniversary, what does he do? He starts by giving me a dark chocolate Lindt egg, and says "You're going to get six little presents each day until Saturday!" Then gives me a pack of cheese and crackers next (because he overheard me telling Ivy I hadn't had cheese in a long time - he LISTENED!), then a gorgeous teapot brooch with a floral motif, and a bunch of purple roses...and then he fell sick.

So I feel bad asking, "What about the other two pressies??!"

Basically, he's the Phil Dunphy in our relationship. Only after 12, I mean TWELVE years in our relationship did I finally get it right for his birthday this year, by getting him this:

I'd seen it in a store, thought he might like it, got it off book depository, waited 6 weeks for it to arrive, and was absolutely rapped when it turned out he'd been eyeing it for awhile after seeing it on Design Files. Two up for the Sohs!

But that still doesn't solve my dilemma. What do I get him this year??

Any ideas?

If we were in a band...

...what would we call ourselves?

I'm open to suggestions.


 

Finders Keepers market

Shots my friend Shaun took at the Finders Keepers market over the weekend...

Pucker up!

Spilt

No point crying over spilt milk!

(NB: Took this awhile back in Singapore, but kept forgetting to post!)

Why do you build me up...

It's been awhile since I posted, but I've been primo busy with getting stuff ready for the North Melbourne Craft markets!

As some of you know, I've been baking cupcakes steadily, since taking over from our cupcake lady at GB last May.


A gig I wanted to quit almost as soon as I took it up - I didn't know so much work was involved in making the different flavours and icing. And it consumes several hours of my time, plus I just couldn't get the swirl right!

Yet, almost a year later, I'm embarking on launching my own little bake shop!

Check it out at Buttercup Bakeshoppe.

I'm still working on the public website - the above link only works if you've logged into Facebook I think!

In the meantime, here're some pictures to drool over...

Vanilla and Chocolate Fudge buttercups

 

Peanut Butter and Cookies N' Cream Buttercups

Mini teal-coloured Vanilla buttercups

Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting for a friend's 21st party

And of course, the obligatory Aidan photos...hehehe...

Cheeky monkey!

The Prince among his Disney Princesses...at Mia's b'day party.

(He shoulda worn the Woody costume w/ the cowboy hat...then he'll REALLY be 

channeling Clint Eastwood)

You can't come into the trampoline mum!