Tea For Two

We had a loooong day today. And we finished off with tea for two.

Wednesday is gym day, so we got done with class at about 1pm. I'd decided small fry needed to see the doc today because she's sounded like a wheezy old man for the past week or so. The Rhinathiol is so obviously not working.

Our beloved Dr. Vas was on leave when we went to her clinic on Monday. She's just back today but was at Paragon in the afternoon. The clinic there opens at 2:30pm and we were there by 2:15pm. Waiting there outside the clinic suite for 15 minutes or so, the line started building up. By the time the doors opened and we registered ourselves, the clinic was full and we found out that Dr. Vas would only be in at 3pm.

So I sat down and popped open my book while the small fry entertained herself with the myriad of toys and the toy kitchen at the clinic. Made a friend while cooking too. And when she got bored, she alternated between watching videos on my phone and playing with the iPod. All in all, very well behaved.

Astoundingly, when she was called in, she was extremely cooperative with Dr. Vas, even coughed on demand. What I love about Dr Vas is she will only give antibiotics as a very last resort. So I discovered why the Rhinathiol didn't work to curb the cough; it needed to be taken as a combo with Fedac, Zenmolin and Singulair. We walked out with a course of antibiotics for standby with strict instructions to only take that as a last resort if the cough didn't clear.

I was starving and small fry seemed to think she was too despite gobbling up all her snack while waiting to see the doc. So we went for tea.

It was a table for two with cushy velvety chairs, one for small fry and one for me. I ordered stew with bread on the side and a hazelnut latte. The small fry busied herself with the iPod so I popped open my book again. And there we sat like two civilized girlfriends out for a spot of tea, each ensconced in our chair doing our own thing but enjoying the other's company too.

Small fry was curious about the hazelnut latte when it got to the table and insisted on stirring the froth with the spoon. Which led to her wanting to try the latte. Note to self: order a normal or bitter latte when out for tea with small fry. Hazelnut latte is slightly sweet and of course the small fry decided that latte was her cup of tea.

"I LIKE it!" she exclaimed after tasting the froth off the spoon. I had to contend with giving her a few more small spoonfuls of the latte before she promised that the next spoonful was the last one.

So there it is. I can now have a civilized session of tea/coffee with my 3-year old. How cool is that?

Library Haul

Am on a roll:

1. Lips Touch Three Times - Laini Taylor
2. Shannon Hale - Austenland
3. Girl In The Arena - Lise Haines
4. Crazy Beautiful - Lauren Baratz-Logsted
5. My Fairy Fair Godmother - Janette Rallison

Desperately Seeking Cantonese

Note to self: buy DVDs and CDs in KL if I want them to be in Cantonese rather than Mandarin. EVERYTHING here is in Mandarin; Jacky Cheung, Leslie Cheung, God of Gamblers, Ip Man, TVB serials on Channel 5.

E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

It's driving me crazy! What the hell is wrong with having a variety of Cantonese movies and music?

On my next trip back from KL, I will be entering Singapore armed with CDs and DVDs in Cantonese.

Consumerism Starts At Three, Maybe Younger

Back in March during our trip back to KL, small fry learned the fine art of consumerism.

I drive an old 7-series beamer and the logos on both the front and back of the car is all but almost peeling off. Still, a beamer logo is quite distinctive, I suspect. Because after a couple of days of being driven around in the car, the small fry started pointing to other beamers and saying, "Mummy, that looks like your car!"

It didn't matter what colour or which series beamer the car was; white, grey, black (mine's a dark navy blue) or what size; 3-series, 5-series, whatever. She'd pick out a beamer and announce loudly, "Mummy, that looks like your car!"

Initially, while we were in KL, I thought it was a fluke. But the habit continued in Singapore while we were walking along Orchard Road, waiting to cross at the pedestrian lights. A white beamer would pass by and she'd go, "Mummy, that looks like your car!"

Or we'd be waiting for the bus and a beamer would drive pass and she'd say excitedly, "Mummy, that looks like your car!"

It's a tad scary how young they start recognizing brands, isn't it?

Library Haul

1. Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe
2. Wanting Mor - Rukhsana Khan
3. A Map Of The Known World - Lisa Ann Sandell
4. Very LeFreak - Rachel Cohn
5. The Heart Is Not A Size - Beth Kephart
6. Sing Me To Sleep - Angela Morrison
7. The Spell Book Of Listen Taylor - Jaclyn Moriarty

Eat It And A Tree Will Grow

Small fry has a thing about eating watermelon with the seeds in it. We're not talking about the big brown/black seeds but the small unobtrusive little white ones where you can just bite through them or swallow them whole; she'll insist on having me take them out before she eats the watermelon slice.

Not wanting to have to fuss over it, and knowing how much she likes Totoro and growing trees, this is what I told her:

"Babe, these seeds can be eaten. You know why?"

Small fry looks curious.

"You know, when you eat these seeds, then maybe a tree will grow out of the top of your head, like Totoro growing the trees! You like growing trees like Totoro, right? So if you eat these seeds, then you could have a big tree growing right out of your head! Isn't that nice?"

Small fry promptly ate the watermelon slice, seeds and all.

HAHAHAHAHAH!! I'm a genius!

The Cat Did It!

It's 7am and Pixel's sprawled on the back of the couch, looking out the window behind it.

Small fry is having her breakfast of Nutella toast and milk at the couch. I'm having mine at the table. I look up and the boy (Pixel) looks hilarious spread out on the back of the couch, somewhat like a piece of salami.

"Babe, what's the boy doing on the couch, looking out the window?"

"He's looking for the remote (control)!"

"Why's he looking for it?"

"Because he threw it out the window!"

Hm, never ask a 3 year-old a dumb question.

Headaches Can Happen Anywhere

So there we are, the small fry sitting at the head of her bed, watching a recent video on my phone of herself playing together with her best friend; I'm reading my book next to her but on the floor next to bed, on the floor chair against the wall.

Small fry taps me on my shoulder and smiles.

"Mummy, Sophie's got a headache."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I've got a headache on my legs."

"How did you get a headache on your legs?!"

"I fought on the wall, *fob* and fell down and got a headache on my leg."

"So how?"

"Because I jumped on the wall, and slipped like this."

"Really?"

"Ya."

"Is it OK?"

"Ya."

"OK, if you say so."

Revisiting Old Friends

Hi again, my lovelies.

I've been distracted and away too long (blame it on that blasted iPod and its myriad addictive games). You've been gathering dust and been borrowed out from the library by everyone else but me. I've missed you.

I haven't thumbed through your pages in a long, long while.

Well, I'm back. I'm back to pore through the print on your pages, leaf through your crisp pages and include you in my bag on my trips out.

Hello, my old friends.

Hello, books.

Back To The Beginning

We're sitting on the floor, small fry facing me on my lap and I'm watching TV.

"Mummy, I want to go into your tummy!"

????

"You're a bit big to go back into my tummy, babe. You were this small when you were in mummy's tummy, you can't go back in again now, you're too big!"

"When I get smaller, I can go back into your tummy. I want to go back into your tummy, Mummy!" She then puts her head to my abdomen and tries to 'push' herself into my tummy.

"See, I went back into your tummy!"

Riiiiiiight.

The Boys Do It Differently

Small fry standing at the mouth of the toilet bowl with her pants down:

"The boys stand like this to wee-wee."

"Are you wee-weeing like that?"

"No, I sit down and wee-wee."

Hm, those communal trips to the toilet during playgroup (they hold on to each other's shoulders and shuffle along in an orderly line) sure does open her eyes to other ways of doing things.

We Are All Sorts Of Beautiful

"Mummy, you are fat! Daddy is big and I am tall!"

So says the small fry.