We Danced to Xanadu

2011 was a huge year for us. Chubbs started and got through Pre-Nursery school, he stopped wearing diapers, we tried for a baby, got pregnant and had a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

Tonight, we sat down to a quiet dinner of oxtail stew, vegetables, mash, bread and some wine. It was the perfect way to bring an eventful year to a close. To cap it all off, the four of us danced to ONJ's Xanadu before bed (it was Fuzzy's song choice). Cheers to a fabulous 2011, and cheers to a great 2012 to come. Happy new year, dear friends.

Her First

I love Christmas! It's my favourite holiday of the year, and this time around, Christmas was an extra special affair because it's Mae's first. We planned for it to be a quiet affair, opening presents on Christmas morning with her napping contentedly in her seat. Having two kids to celebrate Christmas with, is fantastic! I love how Mae's eyes open wide with curiousity as she discovers and learns about our little world everyday; and she especially loves watching her Kor-Kor's antics. She'll soon pick up the good and the bad :/

Chubbs was thoroughly thrilled with all his presents this year, and so was I. My favourite gift was the Bodum tea cup and strainer set that Fuzzy gave me; I use it every morning now, for my green tea. Perfect.

Hope you guys had a smashing Christmas too, with precious family and friends close by. To me, that's all that really matters.

Fashion Parade

One of the perils of having a daughter, is the uncontrollable urge to get her dozens upon dozens of pretty little outfits! Especially at this age, when she looks like, and is the size of a doll, every dress and skirt makes her out to be sweeter than she really is. I don't think I'm alone in this baby girl's clothes shopping spree; many of our friends and relatives have been bitten by the bug as well.

With Chubbs, it was straight-forward. It was always a t-shirt with berms, or at most, a button-down shirt with jeans. As long as they fit well, were made of light and comfortable material, the colours didn't clash, we are good to go. But for Mae, the sky's the limit. There's just so much to choose from. Somebody stop me!!!

I (Ch)Eat

This can hardly be considered a recipe. It takes three minutes to put together and consists of just four ingredients. It completely lacks finesse, and verges on being trashy. But as undignified as it is, this tray of chocolate and butter coated cornflake goodness, tastes glorious (Chubbs can attest to this). It's unabashedly a cheat dessert, since it's one of the simplest recipes known to man. So guys, let yourselves go, indulge and "cook" a tray of this for your midnight noshing right now.

Chocolate and Cornflake "Cake"

Ingredients:-

50g salted butter

100g dark/ milk chocolate (whichever you prefer)

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 1/2 cups cornflakes, slightly crushed

Method:-

1) Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup over a low fire until well-combined.

2) Take off the heat and stir in cornflakes.

3) Pour into tray and pat flat.

4) Cover and refrigerate for at least 3-hours.

5) Eat all of it in one sitting.

Fuzzy's personal stash.

Afternoons at Our Home

I fire up my oven every other day; sometimes more often. I love the idea of making my family treats, and having something delicious to go with our afternoon coffee/ tea/ milk everyday. Of course, the smells wafting through the house when the oven's at work is an added bonus. I often bake a huge batch of salted chocolate chip and espresso cookies that'll last us about a week, and in between, I'll whip up some granola for breakfast or a butter cake or brownie for dessert after lunch. I bake with nothing but a bowl, a spatula, a whisk, and the pan the batter cooks in, at most, so washing up is a breeze.

Chubbs is mighty fond of the tradition of having a home-made afternoon snack and enjoying a small treat after dinner. Needless to say, Fuzzy and I really look forward to when 4pm/ 9pm comes around, when we can pull an espresso and put our feet up for 10min and enjoy a yummy home-made nibble.

Today I was in the mood for something caramel-y and full of fibre; so flapjacks it was. Just four humble ingredients to create these more-ish, relatively healthy oat bars (if you ignore the fact that they seethe with butter). It only takes 5-min to prepare the pan for the oven, so I was back with little Mae and Chubbs in the blink of an eye.

Flapjacks

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups porridge/ quick-cooking oats

150g salted butter

4 tbsp runny honey

2 tbsp golden syrup

handful of any dried fruit (optional)

Method:

1) Melt butter in a pot with the honey and golden syrup.

2) Stir in rolled oats and dried fruit, if you choose.

3) Pour into a 9 x 9-inch pan and pat the mixture flat.

4) Bake for 180 degreesC for 20-min, or until golden and crisp.

Mae at Two Months

Our sweet little girl's two months old! And Chubbs has been noticing her perfectly round cheeks and stacked thighs. I've heard him say to her, "Mei-mei, you're so fat!" Followed by, "Mei-mei, you're botak-head!" Poor girl.

Fuzzy's truly smitten by her. He asks, "Is it that I'm biased, or is our daughter the prettiest baby girl ever?" Me: "You're biased." My heart melts everytime I see my daughter peering into her daddy's eyes, and I fear that my hubby's heart has been stolen by another.

When They Get Together

I love watching Fuzzy with the kids; it makes me chuffed just seeing them three hang out together. It really tickles me when they goof off, especially when Chubbs "plays" with Mae. He knows she's still too young to respond in kind (keeps saying he'll wait for her to turn 1-year old before they can play together), but that doesn't stop him from talking to her, singing to her, tickling her armpits, massaging her and telling her his jokes. She in return, looks adoringly at kor-kor, and is happy with the entertainment and attention.

The boys imitating mei-mei.

Our walk-about around quaint Tiong Bahru.

Mae's first visit to a hawker centre.

In charge of watching Mae as we prepare her bath.

Them at Loola's

While I took some time off to get a much-needed haircut, Fuzzy took the kids out for lunch on his own for the first time. Our favourite spot at Esplanade Mall, Ichiban, has been replaced by a new Aussie restaurant called Loola's (run by the same people behind Awfully Chocolate).

Fuzzy ordered a barramundi dish for himself and the most expensive French toast I've ever come across ($18++), for Chubbs. The food tasted great, albeit very pricey, and the best part was, Chubbs almost finished all his food.

I joined them after my haircut, and realised that even though I cherished my "me" time, I actually missed my family, even after just being away from them for just an hour or so.

And I think Chubbs missed me too :)

The First with Two

I'm 29. It's a bittersweet day. But it's extra special this year because it's my first birthday being a Mommy to two little munchkins. Fuzzy got me a wonderful gift; a book called Scanwiches, which holds pictorial and recipes of 67 famous sandwiches from around the world. I'm the only one in Singapore who has this book (for now) because it was just launched in the U.S., and Fuzzy shipped it in for me. Fab!

We took it easy that day, lunching at one of our favourite spots, L'Entrecote at Duxton Hill. Steak frites, salad and lots of bread with butter make us very happy. Mae contentedly slept in her stroller the whole time, which allowed the three of us to have a leisurely lunch.

With our tummies filled, we ventured to check out the new mall, Icon Village, and also to pick up the birthday cake that Fuzzy ordered for me. We discovered a cool bakery called Nick Vina, and picked up a brioche for breakfast the next day.

Dinner was another yummy affair, consisting of roast duck and delicious noodles from Imperial Treasure, and the real treat of the day was dessert, courtesy of the Mont Blanc that Fuzzy got. Chubbs could not wait to dig into the cake. It was a lovely, relaxing, yummy day spent with my family. I could not have asked for more.

I love this pic because Mae was poised to cry with her quivering lower lip.

Oh How She's Grown...

My little girl who was born at a mere 2.83kg, has plumped up a fair bit in her first month. We now have the happy inconvenience of having to pry the many folds on her neck and thighs apart so that we can clean her in the bath. I love my darling momotaro so.