HK here we go!

Posted on April 10, 2012 · 3 Comments

I traveled for the very first time with Zack minus Daddy to Hong Kong for my cousin’s wedding. My parents were with me so i did have an extra hand, but it was a really challenging trip having to watch the kiddo without David’s help.

We flew on Cathay Pacific and Zack has his own seat as he has just turned two. I must say the airline is very kid friendly, they have special menus for little ones, and what i really liked was that they even had an activity box for children to occupy themselves with during the 3.5 hour flight.

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This was an easier one for me having endured a long haul flight before; i knew what to expect, and Zack was also surprisingly quite well mannered throughout the journey. We even managed to sneak in a short nap which allowed me time to have my meal in peace.

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It was a really short trip, and we spent most of our time with our relatives. We were after all attending a wedding! There was the pre-wedding dinner which is similar to how we host a buffet party–but due to their lack of space they usually host it at a restaurant. There’s a lot of culture that the Chinese in Hong Kong still follow, including the combing of the hair and also prayers to the ancestors the night before the wedding.

On the morning of the wedding it was a typical sight to what we are used to–the groom arrives to greet her bride, but is instead greeted by her ji muis who put the groom and his heng dais through a series of games and “torture”. It was amusing to see the similarities in the tradition and culture that i’m familiar with here in Malaysia.

What i wasn’t too used to  was the size of property in Hong Kong. My uncle and aunt live in a 4 bedroom, 1200 sqf apartment in Mid Levels. It is said to be an exceptionally large space to be living in, but it was a claustrophobic experience for me with 50 odd people in the house during the jip san leong.

Even our hotel room in Wanchai was so cramped, there wasn’t even space for a regular sized cot. There was barely any space for our luggage; it seemed like they made sure they fully utilised every little space possible! It’s no wonder the price of property on the Island is sky high….

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With my Hongkee cousins at the dinner reception in Mongkok

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Zack occupying himself with iPad! Thank God for iPad! (he just refused to sit with us at the table the whole nite…until dessert was served -_-”)

The wedding dinner was hosted in Mongkok, which is in Kowloon. We had to take the MTR as most taxis aren’t keen on driving across Tsing Ma bridge as it will cost them extra for the toll as well as the limited likelihood of any passengers wanting to cross over from Kowloon to Island. Having gone sightseeing over the last 2 days with multiple modes of public transportation, I’ve concluded that Hong Kong isn’t a very baby friendly city, due to a few factors:

1. The terrain is very challenging, there are too many hills and slopes making it a lot of steps to go up and go down from one street to the other.

2. Most sidewalks (particularly observed in the Wanchai and Central areas) are not disabled or stroller friendly. They are not covered as well so when it rains…. you have no where to run to!

3.Public transportation is a plenty but strollers are not very easy to maneuver when attempting to get on the MTR, the electric trams or the buses. MTR stations are not very disabled friendly as there is a lack of lifts, and some stations don’t even have escalators. Electric trams have an entry and exit barrier to manage flow of passengers getting on and off, which makes carrying the stroller on board very, very challenging. Taxi drivers are more courteous and it’s likely the best mode of transport when traveling with kids in the Island.

Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun hanging out with Zack. Even managed to get our Nespresso machine, did some shopping, ate alot—I was surprised with the amount of energy i had on this trip! We even managed to galavant around Wanchai and got caught in a rather…heavy shower. Poor Zack was half drenched–poor me was fully drenched! I think the next time we go back to HK we would just focus on Disneyland!

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Zack with Po Po and Kong Kong at Hong Kong Park

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Someone’s cranky…

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Hong Kong Park has a REALLY big playground for toddlers and older kids. Really a must go place — esp if you wanna tire the kids out!

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Getting ready to go back to KL!

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Trip down under

Posted on February 29, 2012 · Leave a Comment

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In February we spent 2 weeks in Melbourne, Australia on our first long distance holiday with Zack. It was 30% work and 70% leisure for me as I had to manage a trade conference in the city for 4 days.

Traveling with a toddler who is not eligible for a seat on the plane is a huge disadvantage. Yes, we saved money on his air ticket, but he was too big for a bassinet, and too uncomfortable sitting on our lap for the 8 hour flight. He also wasn’t at his 100%, which made the trip going rather challenging for both David and I. We both barely got any sleep, juggling Zack between the both of us, and trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. We were so exhausted

After a tiring 8 hours flying, we arrived on a very windy morning into Melbourne airport and our good friends Joanie and Gavin played host during our entire stay. This city has always had a special place in our hearts as this is where I met my husband David we have since been (and still on) one of the best journeys together.

We had the first 2 days for leisurely activities and we signed up for a Yarra River cruise. Even though we’ve both lived in Melbourne before during our uni days, we’ve never really done any of the touristy activities–so we thought hey, never too late to go now!

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We also had time to wander around St Kilda beach, and little Zack just couldn’t stop chasing after the seagulls!

During the 4 days I had to be in the city for work, we moved out of Joanie and Gav’s place and moved into the Intercon. Zack took over our bed:

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We took the opportunity to hangout in the city, including a trip to the Melbourne Zoo, and some of the lovely playgrounds in the CBD.

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We headed back to St Kilda beach again and had a superb seafood dinner at Claypots too. David even brought Zack to Richmond’s Ikea! We also got our Chinese food fix in good ol’ Chinatown. On our last nite at the Intercon we had time to head over to Queen Vic market for the annual Suzuki Night Market where we got our hands on some roo and croc. Wouldn’t say it was great and wouldn’t say it was bad. Ok ok lah. The gelato was heaven on earth tho!

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Our last day in the CBD we concluded with some massive cocoa overdose at Kokoblack before moving back to Joanie and Gav’s crib in Mitcham.

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The weekend came and we road tripped up to Mount Dandenong on a rainy Saturday morning for scones at Miss Marples Tea Room. One word can only describe Miss Marples–fabuloso. It’s such a lovely quaint little cafe with the best scones i’ve ever had in my life. Ok maybe cos i haven’t had much scones in my life but Miss Marples’ scones are the bomb. Really.

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Sunday. Yum Cha day. We headed back into the city for some mean dim sum @ Shark Fin Inn with Joanie and Gav. Somehow this trip is turning into an eating fest. (And it was because at the end of the trip i had gained weight!)

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On Valentine’s Day, armed with Joanie’s trusty GPS and driving Gav’s car we road tripped down to Mornington to check out the Moonlit Wildlife Sanctuary. Boy oh boy, this was an even better encounter with the animals as compared with the time we spent at Melbourne Zoo. Zack got to feed the wallabies (which i was so terrified of!) and we even saw a couple of koala bears real close. There were lots of kangaroos lazing around and we were able to get really close to them. Zack the brave boy even touched a snake!

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We continued our drive around wine country and headed up to Arthur’s Seat for a view of the countryside. Last stop on the road trip was to Sunny Ridge Strawberry farm for a super sundae. I also picked up some really juicy strawberries which i transformed into yummy chocolate dipped strawberries shared with Joanie and Gav for our post dinner snack.

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We also took some time to do some shopping and catch up with old friends. All in all we had a great time and we can’t wait to go back again!

Thanks Joanie and Gavin for having us and taking good care of us during our time there. Greatest and bestest pals evarrrrrr!

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(In front of Joanie and Gav’s crib)

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(On our way back there was a vacant seat so Zack got his own space = more comfort for him and mommy and daddy!)

 

NEXT TRIP: Mommy’s solo trip with Zack to HK

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First solo holiday with Zack

Posted on January 19, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Our trip to Langkawi was an alternative to our originally planned trip to Bangkok in November last year. Due to the heavy rain and flooding, we had no choice but to reconsider another location for our first family vacation.

Thankfully, the air tickets that we bought with Malaysia Airlines had allowed us flexibility in changing the route for passengers affected with the flood situation in Thailand. We decided on Langkawi as it was a place I haven’t been to since i was a little girl and also we’d thought it be fun for Zack to go to the beach and play with the sand and swim in the sea.

Packing for the trip was a bit easier, especially now that Zack can eat whatever we eat. I’m still guilty of overpacking his clothes and other not-so-necessary necessities. We also brought along a bucket and a set of shovels so we could have fun on the beach.

We arrived and rented a car for our time on the island. Having a car definitely made it much easier to commute with a kiddo in tow! We checked into our hotel, took some time to decide what we wanted to do over the next 2 days.

One thing i’ve learnt about vacationing with a kid is that–you can never plan too many things far in advance. We tried our best to make our plans around Zack’s meal times and nap times. We also learnt that vacationing with a kid also makes u so exhausted that u need a vacation after that vacation!

All in all we had a great time in Langkawi. We got on the cable car, went car-sightseeing around the island, did some duty free shopping, spent time at the pool, strolled by the beach. One thing we didn’t expect was that Zack totally hated the sand. He didn’t even want to walk on the sand with his sandals on. It was that bad. I hope this is just a phase and that he’ll get pass that soon enough.

Some pics from our trip:
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Pool time with Daddy

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What a great view from up here

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Exploring around the hotel premise

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No way he’s putting his feet on the sand!

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Our new home

Posted on November 24, 2011 · 8 Comments

What a hectic 4 long months it has been since we collected our keys at the end of July and to the start or renovations in September, on the historic date of 11-11-11, we have moved into our new home in Kota Kemuning!

Red cloth up, before all our items are moved over!

We took delivery of our property 1 year ahead of its projected completion date. The entire construction to VP period took only 21 months, from the time we signed the S&P agreement. I still remember I was 4 months pregnant at that time!

The last couple of months have been crazy. It all began when we put our (first property) apartment up for sale in August. We didn’t expect it to be sold within a week. Then the roller coaster ride began…

Thank God the interior makeover and renovations was quite speedy, and it only took the contractor 5 weeks to complete his job.

We had the whole of October to furnish the house; from curtains to buying furniture…everything had to be ready by our auspicious move in date!

Moving our TV over first with the Astro technician in tow so he can make sure Zack the VIP gets full access to BabyTV on Moving Day.

Moving is not something I want to experience again anytime in the near future. It’s stressful, tiring, and definitely not the easiest task to manage. Every little thing needed our consideration; paint colours, light designs, cabinet finishing, EVERYTHING. Put aside the stress from managing the cost of renovation and managing the budget for the furnishing, just the act of preparing to move is a big headache. Keep in mind we also have to tend to a constantly active toddler who’s already sucking up whatever energy that’s left in our system!

Packing was another story. I still cannot compute how on earth I managed to stuff all the things I had in our 750sqf apartment having only lived there for 4.5 years. We had to throw away a lot of stuff, donated some, and moved the rest over. A big thank you shoutout goes to our friend Juan from MightyBox for the box rentals.

[Free plug: The MightyBox surely beats your regular corrugated carton boxes. Made of heavy duty plastics, each box is clean enough to store clothes, and sturdy enough for pots, pans, and fragile items. It was worth the investment and removes the hassle of hunting down carton boxes. Sustainable and functional! For more information do check out their Facebook page!]

Thanks to my anal-ness, moving day was quite organised. We got a 3-tonne lorry to transport all our stuff over (costing us RM 500 for a move that was approximately 2 kilometres from old house to new house), and boy, the 2 fellas that came with the transporter are so strong! It was as if they were lifting cotton candy!! The lorry arrived at 12.30pm and we were unpacking at 3pm! Amazing or what?!

It’s been almost 2 weeks since we moved in, and we’re still getting used to the new house (i.e. still figuring out where stuff is, which light switch is for what, etc…). I’ll leave you with some photos of our brand new house which we now call home for many years to come

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Zachary’s First Birthday

Posted on April 15, 2011 · 1 Comment

On March 28, 2011, Zack turned 1. Yes, this post a bit delayed.

Time really flies. It seems like just yesterday when I was in the labour room trying to “poot” out my lil boy. He’s grown into a very heavy, very tall, very active toddler. He’s also got a very lebat head of hair.

First birthdays are always a grand occasion. Not only a milestone for the parents for surviving the first year of parenthood, it’s also a start for the child to look forward to achieving a few significant milestones of his own. My crystal ball tells me when he can start walking, it’ll be like watching a bull in a China store.

We had 2 celebration dinners for Zack. It was more of a eating fest for everyone in the family cos technically he can’t eat what we prepared for the two dinners anyway!

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He had his mee suah

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Enjoying his mee suah before digging into his red egg and chicken drumstick…

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Po Po offered him the drumstick. See his “terkejut” face! He didn’t even dare hold it or touch it *LOL

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Then came his birthday cake. I baked this cake. And iced it. I also made the bear figurine out of fondant. It looks like it’s slouching whilst holding the number 1. That’s because IT IS slouching and holding the number 1. I was lazy and didn’t use a small percentage of gumpaste in my fondant in order for it to harden quicker. When I finished sculpting the bear, he was sitting up right. Over the course of 3 weeks, gravity pulled it to its slouching position. Yes, i’m blaming gravity. BTW the cake was 2 layers of sponge layered with peach and lychee. Super yums.

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Here’s a not-so-focused-photo of how bad the bear was slouching.

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Zack had his first taste of cake (minus icing + minus fruits). Everything else we ate up. BTW i threw the bear figurine away. It was too ugly to keep.

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My mom, being the traditional Cina old lady that she is, got Zack his first pair of walking shoes. I still don’t understand the significance of not wearing shoes until the kid turns 1. Can someone enlighten me please?

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Zack’s 1st birthday: Part 2. We had a grander feast with my in laws in Kajang. The highlight of the dinner was definitely his birthday cake. We took inspiration from Monster Fish, Zack’s fav stuffed toy. The cake was devilishly delicious to the max. It was a super moist chocolate cake sandwiched with chocolate ganache and the fish is made with Rice Krispies and melted marshmallow. The cake artist behind this is Man Kwan, a very talented lady with a flair for detail. I highly recommend her if you are looking for a cake that is not only pretty to the eyes but also extremely delicious to the very last crumb.

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Everything on this cake is edible. Except the candle yo.

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No birthday party is complete without party hats!

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Or opening presents! (Seen here with Grandpa)

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Nobody could resist not taking photos with the cake. Even Yvonne (my SIL) was making silly faces with it. And the REAL monster fish.

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Happy first birthday Zack! Here’s to many many more wonderful years to come!

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Zachary turns 1!

Posted on March 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment

What a year it has been. Quoting my husband, “we survived our first year without a mommy and daddy manual”. One thing we know for sure is that being a parent is an ongoing and continuous process of learning.

Having Zack has brought so much joy to my life. Watching him grow, achieving his milestones, saying Ma Ma (or perhaps mam mam?) or simply hearing him laugh is enough to put a smile on my face. All the worries and stress at work just disappears. All the small things don’t matter anymore. All because of this one small little guy.

Happy 1st birthday Zack. Mommy and Daddy loves you!

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2010 · 1 Comment

Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year from The Wangs!

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Zack’s first kiss

Posted on December 9, 2010 · 6 Comments

While I was away for work last month, our friends Aylwin and Li Ann dropped by my in-law’s place with their 2 kids Arielle and Ashton.  Zack is still a bit “cautious” in front of other babies–not sure if its because he rarely hangs out with other kids OR he’s just a shy baby. I reckon the former cos when he’s around us, he can really turn the house upside down.

Here’s Arielle answering the “phone” and Ashton exploring the surroundings and Zack’s just not sure what’s going on. Then, it happened. My son, my baby boy, my lil tiger… got his first major kiss from a girl! Check out those pouty lips!!

Priceless look on the face or what?

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Shingapura!

Posted on October 22, 2010 · 5 Comments

Two weekends ago we had our very first family trip to Singapore to attend David’s cousin’s wedding. As it was the first time traveling with baby, I was nervous about how he’d react to air travel, if he’d be able handle the long hours out and about with insufficient nap time, and most of all if he’d be alright in different environments for 3 whole days.

I’m thankful that God blessed us with a child who’s been very easy to take care of. I am grateful that he’s pretty ok around strangers, and he’s an extremely happy and bubbly boy that everyone just loves to cuddle and carry. An added bonus on this trip would be the grandparents—who were like our backup babysitters (helpful cos they were in the connecting room next door too!!). They never tire from looking after Zack. I’m not kidding; you can even see a constant sparkle of joy in their eyes!

Traveling with baby however, is a logistical nightmare. I profess that I’m an expert in packing for travel, but when it came to packing for Zack, I raised my white flag. I had to write down a big long list cos I was afraid I might miss out on something. And everything I had packed, I had to pack a back up for it. And I’m sure all moms know why backup is so important—you never know when a puke/pee/poop accident might occur.

David and I had one thing in mind though, we wanted to bring as little things as we can in order to travel as light as we can. However we knew among the few things that I needed to make sure we had enough were Zack’s formula milk, his solid food, and also the number of diapers required for the whole trip. In all, I took 2 hours to pack Zack’s stuff into our big luggage bag. He took half the space, and we took the other half. Gosh, imagine how much stuff belonged to him!

Keeping the stuff we had to bring at the bare minimum was quite simple. I weighed just about enough milk powder to bring based on the number of feeds, I opted for baby jar food for his solid feeding, and I only brought 2 bottles for his milk preparation. Instead of a heavy metal thermos, I just used my single Starbucks flask to carry some warm water with us. We brought along his sippy cup, Rainbow and his 2 favourite chew toys. Seriously, that was all he needed. Oh not forgetting some rice crackers to keep him occupied when we’re eating hehehe!

Zack and I at the departure hall in Subang Skypark Terminal

Now, on to the trip. We took Firefly down to Singapore and Zack fell asleep even before we boarded the plane. He wasn’t even bothered by the loud deafening sound of the engine. During take off, I was worried about the air pressure hurting his ears. I even tried to stuff a pacifier into his mouth but his lips were shut tight. Guess it didn’t really bother him? He did wake up when we were almost landing and all he wanted to do was look out the window and smack the tray table.

This boy really kuat tido. Like the father.

Over the three days in Singapore we alternated from 2 grandaunts’ homes and the hotel. One good thing is that Zack can sleep anywhere. He’s never had a taste of the sarong, so he’s not dependent on it. (I read a blog where the mom packed the sarong including the metal base and had it checked in with the luggage for their 1st holiday with baby in East Malaysia *faint jor*). All Zack needs is his lil bolster and anywhere goes. So between the grandaunts’ place and our hotel, he’s fallen asleep on sofa, grandaunt’s bed and the hotel bed. Amazing kan?

Bathing the boy in the hotel was a little bit tricky but we handled it well. Let’s just say we both did get quite wet (one trying to hold him from outside the tub and the other literally sitting in the tub with Zack!!). On a separate note, Zack’s a serious babe magnet. He got the attention of the air stewardess, the immigration officer, the 4 ladies at the concierge (who in fact waved at the boy and luckily the husband who was carrying Zack didn’t shiok sendiri LOL), and even the ticket checking lady at the departure hall. Everyone wanted a piece of him. I guess babies generally attract the attention of most women. We are after all suckers for anything cute.

One of the highlights of the trip was a major poop disaster that happened in our hotel room. I will not describe what happened in detail as I want Zack to grow up reading my blog and hating me for documenting it. I can say however that an accident happened on the carpet in room 1201 of the Shangri-La Singapore. Thank you very much to their very dedicated housekeeping team for cleaning up the mess and making the carpet smell brand new again. We couldn’t have slept that night without you guys.

Zack with Daddy.

All in all, we enjoyed the trip and had an awesome time with my in-laws and David’s extended family. We didn’t have time to go shopping but we still came home with clothes, shoes, and baby stuff for Zack, all from his grandaunts and my friend Fiona (thanks again for the cute clothes and the TotSeat, it is awesome!!). Our first trip with our son wasn’t too bad and we’re all set for our next one to Fraser’s Hill in December!

I’ll be posting photos from the wedding once I get them from the bride herself. I realize that it’s much harder to take photos when you have to lug around a baby bag and an almost 9kg baby LOL!!

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a month of celebrations

Posted on July 22, 2010 · 3 Comments

July is the month when 4 of my favourite people celebrate their birthdays. Last Saturday we had a roast chicken dinner celebrating my dad’s 67th, along with David’s 29th, my cousin Debra’s 42nd (she’s like a big sista I never had) and my brother’s 34th. T’was a rare occasion that my brother is around (he doesn’t wanna admit he’s Singaporean-ised) so it made the day even more special.

I prepared dinner—roasting 2 chickens and served with sides of soup, salad and spuds. I slaved in the kitchen for a good 4 hours, proudly making everything from scratch. Yup, nothing from a can or a bag beh beh! Boy, nothing feels better than cooking for the people that you love! We closed the meal with a super amazing Blackforest cake ordered from Fatboybakes—gawd, it’s unlike any I’ve ever had! Very, very, very tasteh.

The celebrations continued on to yesterday as I took the day off to spend time with David and Zachary. Dave’s big 29th birthday surprise started off with breakfast in bed and then onto a 3-course lunch with ginger ale served in our crystal champagne glasses (hey, I would get the real thing IF only I could figure out how to hide it from the husband ok?)

Now you know why he is more *pui* than before he met me LOL.

Now you also know why it’s so damn hard for me to lose weight cos I just love cooking. And eating what I’ve cooked.

But I’m determined now, more than ever, to lose all that weight gained during pregnancy. GO AWAY! MAY YOU FATS BE GONE!

(sorry about that, t’was a random rant moment)

Anyhoo, sometimes we forget how these simple gestures suffice to put a smile on that special someone’s face. I’m grateful that despite the (somewhat) shabby effort I put in, I still managed to make David’s 29th birthday a memorable one. Read his recollection of his special day here.

Dear David, you are my best friend, my confidant, my soul mate, my partner in crime and my greatest treasure ever. I’m looking forward to more milestones in our journey together. Happy (belated) birthday, honey!

XOXO from Me and Muffin!

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