Claire Turns 10

Claire turns 10 today and you know you have aged so much just by looking at the babies or kids around you. Suddenly they are as tall as you. I can still remember how I carried a month-old infant in my arms all the way from Singapore to London 10 years back. Time really flies!

Claire wanted to spend a day at the Escape Theme Park for her birthday so all of us went. We had a fun but tiring day!

Kimi so happy to get on the choo-choo-train

Fearless again - doesn't matter if train was moving!

I like this pix cos Sarah looks so serene

Always happy to be on his feet

The girls on the 'roller-coaster'

Kimi on the baby plane. He's sulking cos it's near nap time

Hey grandma, let me show you my teeth - Yeeeeee!

Oops, didn't know you have more ...

Not sure if tis is a plane or boat. Who cares as long as Kimi likes it

Anything that has a steering wheel, Kimi likes. Quite sure he will make a fine driver ... Long mouth cos sucking on his cheese

Taught Claire 2 rounds and she could go on her own the last round. Well done!

Yummy Strawberry Shortcake from 4 Leaves. We were wondering why they put 1 green strawberry among the ruby-red ones. Our theory was maybe they knew Claire was still green? Lol!

The women pose for a pix with the Muay Thai Boxer

The lovely Birthday Girl, all of 10!

School Hols Are Here!

The hols are upon us and the girls wanted to play with swings. Not sure if you'd noticed that most housing estates' playgrounds now don't have swings?

Kimi loves the swing too and was at it for 15mins, refusing to come off till I had to yank him away...

Swings, swings and more swings...

Scaredy-cat Sarah hid behind Claire

See my silly sis? Having a go at this revolving thing. It was quite fun - lucky it did not break! Haha! Don't worry, adults can play on this too.

Mummy and Kimi stomping their feet and listening to the crushing of leaves

3 Peas In A Pod

It was so hot and humid today when we went for our morning walk at the gardens. Nevertheless the kids, Kimi, Tong & Estelle enjoyed themselves... well at least till they became hot & cranky. Correction, I meant Kimi.

Again, I only took 3 miserly pix.. the rest courtesy of Cath & Serene.

3 Cuties dancing? So cute!

The boys just love to run! My cute Lion, roaring as ever!

Really not easy to take pix for kids - 3 at the same time? Impossible!

I love Kimi's curls in this pix

Running and just so happy laughing! My Cheeky Monkey!

Tong stopped in his tracks cos Cath asked him too. How sweet! Kimi will run further and faster if I asked him to stop! Look at the lovely wide space for them to run. Can you spot Serence & Estelle in the background?

Tomato Gumbo Seafood Soup

This can feed 2 persons if you are having it as a starter. I take it as a meal with garlic & butter toast, yummy!


Ingredients

• 1 can Campbell Tomato Soup
• 4 Jumbo prawns, de-shelled & de-veined (use any other size that you have)
• 1 squid (innard & skin removed and cut in rings)
• 10 small scallops
• 1 packet of white shimeiji mushrooms
• 2 medium tomatoes (cut in quarters)
• Salt & pepper
• Dried Mixed Herbs
• Lemon
• Chopped onions and garlic
• Half tin water & milk (optional, or just 1 tin water)

Method

1. Peel prawns leaving tail intact. Set the peeled heads aside.
2. Wash squid in salt water & set aside.
3. Heat dry pan till hot and fry prawns head till brown and fragrant.
4. Push prawn heads aside and add oil and onions.
5. Fry till soft before adding the garlic.
6. Once fragrant, add in the tomatoes and mushrooms & fry till slightly brown.
7. Add in prawns, season with salt, black pepper and mixed herbs. Fry for a short while before putting in the squid & scallops.
8. Let all seafood cook for only 50% and quickly add in the tomato soup, water and milk
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Squeeze some lemon before turning off the fire. Remove the prawn heads.
11. Dish and serve with rice, noodles, pasta, bread or add potatoes for a 1 meal dish.
12. ENJOY!

Tips

• I like my soup slightly rich and lemony so I used half tin of water (tin from the campbell soup measurement) and half tin of milk. You can use all water if you prefer. I squeeze lemon before serving to bring the 'tangy' level 1 notch up.
• Pls check your tomato soup taste first as different brands have different taste. Some are more sour than others. If too sour, add some sugar to balance the taste.
• Do not fry the squid and scallops too long or it will become rubbery

Kid's Kampong @ Pasir Ris

Today's date with Estelle, we decided to go and feed the fishes and other animals at Kids' Kampong.

As usual, my fearless little boy wanted to swim with the fishes. He grabbed them, petted them, put his fingers in their mouths...is there anything he is not afraid of? He splashed away at the waters so hard that his shirt and face was wet..I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In comparison, Estelle is such a sweetie, following mummy Serene around and posing as nudged. She could even stand by herself at the fish pond. I couldn't even let Kimi out of my 'grip'!

Nowadays, it's impossible to get even a frontal shot of Kimi, he just refuses to look in the camera anymore...unlike before he will smile once I whip the cam out. Sigh, when will he smile for me again? Mummy will wait patiently, darling.

Fearless Kimi grabbing the fishes!

Come, Estelle! Let's go check out the geese

Quack! Quack! Quack! The kids calling out to the geese

Mom, I did not play with the well's water but I'm all wet...

Hey, duckie! Want a taste of my finger? Even Kimi got nipped a few times, he still stuck his finger in there time after time ...

Feeding the bunnies

Estelle getting a little tired

Day Out With Papa

Hb has been working so much that we hardly have time to go out together. With papa around playing with him at the parks today, Kimi is so happy! He's a papa's boy!

Tub-go-round!

Kimi's favourite slides

Running towards the beach

Unhappy that he has to hold hands - Kimi just wants to run into the water and play!

Kimi is so happy to see the waves crashing on the shores

My little astronaut wannabe?

Ahh!! Water at last! Kimi loves his new Penguin (Puko - Piyo Piyo's cousin) water bottle

Ginger Chicken

A simple dinner for a simple man like my hb. He likes this dish as much as I when I first made it for him. It's easy, tasty and we love it!

Ingredients

• 300g chicken fillet cut in horizontal chunks
• Ginger julienned (sliced thinly, I used quite a bit cos we love it)
• Some pre-fried Dried White Bait (optional, you can also use cilantro)
• Salt & pepper
• Dash of sesame oil & chinese wine
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Method

1. Marinate chicken with salt, pepper, sesame oil, chinese wine and cornstarch for 30mins
2. Place in bowl with ginger slices and mix well
3. Steam till cooked
4. Sprinkle white bait or cilantro.
5. Serve hot, ENJOY!

Tips

• I normally put the chicken in the rice cooker so that once the rice is cooked, so is the chicken. Easy & fast!
• Do not use soya sauce cos it will 'tarnish' the chicken, making the whole dish dark/black
• Do not add water cos the chicken will emit

Park, Tong & Cat

I just realised that I did not take any pix today of Kimi & Tong's toddler run at the gardens! It must be the heat but I did take this fabulous breakkie sandwich that Cath made for me! It had all my fave stuff - white button mushrooms in herbs, ham, cheese and eggs and of course her 'ai-xin'. Thanks Cath for making my day, it was soooooo delicious!

Drool, readers! Pardon my lousy photography, it didn't do justice to her sandwich...

Cutting of 8th Tooth

Finally! This long awaited no.8 has broken thru.. why is every tooth taking so long to erupt. I wished Kimi's tooth would come in 2s or 4s so at least he would suffer that 1 time and have 2 or more teeth at one go.

At this rate of 1 miserly tooth each time, he will have to suffer 20 eruptions collectively! My poor baby!

Lawns, Lakes & Swans

Today's morning park hop is again, yes again, the Botanic Gardens ... hee hee! Since Mother and son loves running on the lawns there, so why not?

Hey! The pigeons are there! Bye mum, I'm going to catch one for you!

Huff and puff, I'm almost there ...

Let me Breakdance for you mom

Lovely day, wind in hair...ahh, this is life ...

Kimi ecstatic after managing to run down the little slope

Swans again, Kimi never tires of them

Kimi almost wanted to grab the swans by their tails!

But when they got into the water, he changed target to the nearby pigeons

Enjoying a snack with hair sleek back

Multi-tasking - eating and reading! You are no doubt mummy's boy!

Grilled Cajun Salmon

More salmon? Yes, but this is not from the Jap Supermarket, just the regular one. But still happy to have my salmon for dinner.

I don't have all the herbs & spices I need for a good Cajun mix so I just used what I have. It turned out not too bad.

Ingredients

• 250-300g salmon fillet/steak
• Salt
• Pepper
• Ground Paprika
• Dried Mixed herbs
• 1 lemon (thinly slice 1/4 of it, leave the other 1/4 for final drizzle and leave the other half for marinating)

Method

1. Rub salt and pepper onto salmon.
2. Generously sprinkle the paprika and dried mixed herbs before squeezing half of the lemon on it.
3. Let it marinate for 30mins in the fridge.
4. Heat griddle till very hot.
5. Reduce to medium and place salmon top down and let it grill for 5 mins.
6. Turn and let it grill the skin side for another 5-8 mins.
7. Off fire and place a few thin slice on top the the salmon and cover with pan to rest for 10 mins.
8. Dish and squeeze lemon over salmon.
9. ENJOY

Tips

• Before cutting/using a lemon, roll it on the counter top to loosen the pulp so that it will yield more juice.

Gold Rush

Meant to post this last week but forgotten about it.

Kimi's favourite yummy goldies are back! Finally, no more crap kiwi and Kimi can enjoy his favourite fruit again.

Quick grab these for your babies as they are in store and in season now! Great boost of vitamin C!