Dear Jellybean- May 2012

Hi baby,

You're such a toddler now that you're walking everywhere. You do things that make me question how I should react as a parent.

Somewhere along the line, you must of noticed grandma, grandpa, mimi, baba and other guests left their kitchen slippers along this area. So one evening, you decided your shoe belonged there too- and sure enough, you brought each one along and placed it with the others. I found it funny and quite honestly, stunned by your ability to 'group' things. However, they were your dirty shoes that belonged outside.

Do I tell you dirty shoes belong outside? Or acknowledge you did something 'wow' in my mind? I chose to acknowledge it was your shoe... and left it.

Then one morning, you decided the Grecian off-the-shoulder was a good look for you. It was a cold autumn morning but I commend you on your braveness to pass comfort for fashion.

Mind you, you have also mastered taking off your pants and find it entertaining. I'm not commenting on that. At all. Daddy will deal with you.

Mummy's also given you a new fashion sense- here you are donning your 'spring onion' hair style. The very one grandma gave me when I was a kid. Its forever trendy I tell you. Really.

Ok, I'm just having second thoughts about cutting your hair again- so this is the transition stage.

You love being outdoors- and the weather has been perfect for you to be out in the garden everyday and at parks on the weekend. Here you are, telling daddy you MUST go on that slide. The one you probably went down four hundred and fifty seven times. Nearly.

Ahhh...and your beloved bittergourd. You've learnt this is 'Ku ah' - as you are yet to pronounce 'Ku Guah' properly in chinese. Every afternoon, you will chant 'ku ah ku ah ku ah' in the garden, pick the bittergourd with grandma or mimi and walk around with it like it's gold.

Problem is, you like baby ones. Probably cos they fit your tiny hand that bit better. But baby, they aren't ripe yet.

Oh..you also love putting on your giraffe- it looks like you're going on a school excursion and makes me laugh. But I let you get away with it cos it's great for photos.

You really make our lives so much brighter.

xoxo

Mimi's Day (Part 2)

..thankfully, all was good. He asked for a invoice and took off with the card.

On mother's day, I was presented with this...

and this...

Yes. My own husband asked me to make a card for myself. So I charged him. Fair? H was also quite chum he found a cheap florist. Details he needed to share with me. [We do have such a loving and understanding relationship don't we?!] I give him full credit for applying the stickers on the envelope.

He reasoned I'm glee when I make stuff. Uh huh. So, second mother's day and we've already resorted to me, making my own card. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. You tell me. I'm quite sure H is waiting for the day where he can ask Jellybean to draw something.

H, if you're reading. You still owe me money.

On a more serious note, we had a lovely celebration. The night before we were out with my parents, my sister and her inlaws, H took me to breakfast and I prepared a steamboat dinner that night for my family.

Hope you had a good one too.

Mimi's Day 2012 (Part 1)

Hope you had a lovely mother's day! Jellybean calls me 'mimi'. To be precise- it's always 'meeee-mi'. Hence, this post name.

At the end of last year, I started Partybaby. For those who don't know, I design invites, decor and other party stuff. Before Partybaby, I designed a few wedding invites, basic logos and made cards. Throughout all these years, I never got such a unique order as this one:-

This client showed up a day before mother's day and was very precise on what he wanted. He requested a unique mother's day card, specified the wordings and even chose his papers-colour scheme for me to work with. While I was designing his card, he was anxiously waiting just next to me- which made me VERY nervous.

I wondered whether he'd like the end product. Usually, customers with special details are more specific with their designs. Making handmade cards for such customers are...well....risky. Because of his urgent request, there wasn't much time to brain storm, nor really do a draft of the design. I knew it was a do-and-go project, one with no changing, no going back. I was just simply- screwed if it went wrong.

He was a nice man though, he asked for a quotation and agreed on the spot- despite the higher fee. He was quiet throughout the hour, just observing though not intruding- which made me more nervous.

So a while later, I came up with this...

...stay tuned....

Of Late

I bribe my kid. Serious. It's bad, I know, but I do it.

You see, Jellybean has started to walk- sometimes by herself, sometimes falling all over the place and sometimes wanting us to walk with her. When we take her out, she chooses the later. So if you've ever been stalled by kid traffic- I apologise profusely as my bub does it too.

So sometimes, just to make a sit a little while before she leads us somewhere else, we buy her a food or drink. Her favourite is juice. Watermelon juice. Smoothies. Boost. Babycinos- where she only eats the froth.

Come weekends when we want a small coffee break, we have our drink and she has hers. Bad habit- cos one day, it's gonna bite me back. I know it. She will whinge for some sort of food and throw a tantrum to make me buy it. I can see it already.

But meanwhile, just to give us that 5 minutes of non-chasing time. We bribe.

Our First Family Road Trip

I was reading back on old posts and realised how much I miss blogging. It also made me realise why I started blogging in the first place- to pen (well, type) down snippets of my life. ..so here I am, letting you know about our first road trip- with Jellybean.

These photos don't do justice to how much we enjoyed it. They don't even document many of the places we went to. It just registers a brief description of our trip.

It was basically a 3 days 2 nights getaway to Margaret river with one of my bestie and her family- The Chongs. They were such great company!- It was H's first ever real road trip in Australia and The C's were not only great guides but really accommodating- making sure H got to see, taste and experience the highlights of Margaret River and things 'Down South'. We wouldn't of done the trip any differently-thank you! 


Margaret River is well known as a wine region and a surfers paradise in Western Australia. With thanks to the tourism industry, it now also boasts some gourmet eats and annual events. I personally love it for its cooler weather and lushy greenery (as compared to other Australian counterparts). Using Bussell Highway, it's around a 3 hour trip away from Perth.

We used around 5 1/2 hours to get there- stopping in between Bunbury and Busselton for meals and breaks- mainly to accommodate our little bubs- getting their tooshies off the car seats and letting them wriggle a bit.

I love watching H and Jellybean play- it just makes me go all warm and fuzzy inside. Naww. H has been away for a tremendous amount of time for the past few weeks and this break really just let them bond. I also missed the mass blues and vast greens- *deep breath in* *exhale*.

Jellybean loved the trip. I don't know whether it was just being out or doing something different, but I have to admit she was very well behaved- sleeping in the car, doing her own things and letting us disturbed her routine-constantly.

Could this be any more Australian?! H's first Margaret River wineyard stop- the first of many many....at Voyager Estate.

One of my favourite photos ...of their backsides. Yes, I perve, but I think it's cute. More importantly, I like seeing Jellybean being piggybacked.

Isn't this a nice stop? Geez I forgot the wineyard's name- someone remind me!! All I remember is that Mrs C. told me they had awesome toilets- which they did...oh! Lauren!!!!!....thats it! And just between you and me, I took photos of the toilet, but I shan't degress from the main objectives of this trip.

Gnarabup Beach-White Elephant. Breakfast by the beach before our trip back. I made the whole crew come here just so I could kill two birds with one stone- letting H see the beach- and eat a decent breaky.

Another sight I loved watching. Jellybean and Miss C just frolicking in the open greens. Coincidentally, we brought similar outfits for our girls to the trip!

..And this is truly one shot I love of H and Jellybean- at Yallingup...I don't know why. They both weren't smiling...but it makes me want to go on a road trip already.

Holiday encore...anyone?!