Stressful Kid and Stressful Mum

Nicole is turning 5 yrs old this April.  She is in Kindergarten 1 this year.  Big girl, I tell her.  Which means, bigger responsibilities too!  WHICH also means, a more stressful mum!

I’ll just give you a scenario of her weekend schedule, starting Friday, after her school.

Friday:        Gym - 6.15 to 7pm

Saturday  : Chinese lessons - 1 to 3 pm

                  English lessons - 4 to 5.30pm

Sunday:      Swimming - 9 to 10.30am

                 English lessons - 11.30 am to 1pm

Ok, before you start off with ‘You shouldn’t be stressing your kid!’, let me explain.  She enjoys her gym classes and she is good at it, so why stop?  She doesn’t want to stop either.  She enjoys her swimming, so why stop too?  As for her Chinese, she really likes going to that school and really likes the Chinese teacher.  She’s always ready to leave the house for Chinese lessons and since no one speaks Chinese at home, it is good for her to go…..  Lastly, why did I put her in twice a week English Enrichment Class?  Well, cos its free!  That course would have cost me $300 a month!

In between this hectic schedule, she’s got homework from school to complete by Sunday night, in time to hand up on Monday!  There is the Chinese words that she had to copy repeatively for her spelling on Tuesday, then her English words, to copy too, for her spelling on Thursday! AND not forgetting her book review!!  Yes, she is only 5 yrs of age, but she still has to do a book review!  I have to read the book to her, then she has to fill up the information, such as her name, date, name of author, title of book, illustrator, etc.. then how did the story make her feel?  From my understanding, she had to then tell her classmates about the book!

When I was her age, my mum said I was like a stupid idiot, ‘everything also don’t know’, I think when I was in Primary 1, I was just learning how to write cat and dog!  And now?  My daughter is more advanced than me!  I think that by the time she reaches Primary 1, I would not be able to teach her any longer!

 Maybe in order to help save money for myself and to get tuition for her then, I should open up a tuition centre!!! It will be a win-win situation! :p

Motherly Me

I heard a funny joke last Monday.  I was at a pub with some gal pals, drinking ourselves silly and shooting some pool.  A girl from the next table was chatting with a friend of mine.  Next thing I was told by my friend, ‘Hey Shan, she just said that you look kind and motherly!’.  I smiled my ‘motherly’ smile at her (could be a glare actually) and said thanks.

The funny thing is, I never thought that I would EVER looked motherly!  Come on, I’m always in my jeans, with a cigarette in my mouth and cursing everyone around me!  Fine, I have a daughter, but that doesn’t make me MOTHERLY!  I’m one HOT MAMA!

So now, I’m thinking to myself, should I take it as a compliment or an insult?  For now, I think it would be closer to an insult!  That lady didn’t know I had a kid.  Maybe its because I was abit more dressed up than usual, in pants and stripped shirt, that made me look more ‘matured’, but that doesn’t qualify me as motherly!

MAYBE it could also be because I’m the oldest in the group!  So I have been mothering those little girls of mine! Hmmm…..  I wonder…..  By end of the night, Syl’s friend came up to me, grabbing my arm, and said, ‘Shanna, I’m so glad I got to know you.  You’re like our big jie jie (Big Sister) to us!’.   Ok, this is getting creepy.  First motherly, now big jie jie?  So does she mean ‘big’ as in ‘humongous’ or ‘gigantic’ or does she mean big as in I’m MUCH older than she is?  She looks so young, she could easier pass off as a 16 year old, petite, slim, big doey eyes…  Maybe she just needed someone to look up to, maybe I AM the big sister she never had!

I’M OLD!!!!!!

I think I should start hanging out with older people, but then, I’ll start looking at older men as ‘Dirty Old Men’.  Speaking of which, I was at another pub on Thursday, and this caucasian guy, with his wife, was sitting at the next table.  I’ve known them for ages.  The wife is really one hot mama!  Always dressed to kill, though some women may label her as SPG (Sarong Party Girl).  Anyhow, by end of the night, the guy kept staring at me, came over a few times to try some small talk, and then he mentioned, ‘You’re looking classy babe!’.  Was it my mother’s ear rings?  Or was I sitting too demurely?  Or was I batting my eye lids at him?  Anyway, I remember my conversation with him saying that I’m looking more gorgeous each day and how I’m getting more beautiful each time he sees me.  Now, at this point of time, I was getting paranoid, did he mean ‘gorgeous’ or ‘gorges’?

I think I have passed the phase of ‘young working girl’ and into the ‘matured working girl’ phase now.  Sigh… I’m even thinking of cooking up a storm for friends and family and baking cakes as and when I have time!  Yes, I have resigned to my own fate!  I am turning MOTHERLY afterall.

Inspirational Quotes

I recently bought a new phone and signed another 2 year contract with Singtel.  Its not that I needed a new phone, or my contract is up.  Its just that I LOST MY PHONE one drunkard night with a group of bitches (A.K.A. BGF-Bestest Gal Friends).  Well, that may be another story to write on huh?

Well, back to my phone and contract.  I signed for a few promotional services, FOC for a limited time.  One of the services is Inspirational Quotes SMSed to my phone each morning.  Some are really meaningful and just in case I lose my phone again, let me leave those quotes here for me to remember.

1. A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.  David Brinkley.
2. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.  Ambrose Redmoon.
3. Millions saw the apple fall.  But Newton asked why.  Berbard Baruch.
4. We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.  Japanese Proverb.
5. Dreams are answers to questons we haven’t yet figured out how to ask. X-files.
6. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.  Sydney J. Harris.
7. The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.  Sarah Brown.
8. The walls we built around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.  Jim Rohn.
9. The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together & said, “If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can call it jumping up and down”.  Rita Rudner.
10. Faith is putting all your eggs in God’s basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch.  Ramona C. Carrol.
11. To avoid mistakes and regrets, always consult your wife before engaging in a flirtation. E.W. Howe.
12. Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.  Jim Davis. “Garfield”
13. There is an easy way to return from a casino with a small fortune.  Go there with a large one.  Jack Yelton.
14. If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.  Unknown.
15. A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.  Arnold H. Glasgow.

There you have it!  Guess there’ll be more to come from tomorrow onwards.  So I shall collect and collect til this free service is over!

Tired and Loving It!

It seems like ages since I wrote something here.  I guess it boils down to me being too tired!  I’ve been working so hard in my new job that by the end of the day, I just want to plop myself onto my bed and rest!

So far, I have been keeping close to my New Year’s resolutions though.  Since I started work, I have been sleeping earlier than my usual 2 to 3am sleeping time, usually around 1am, being the latest.  There is no need for me to TRY to sleep early as I am usually tired out before the day is through!  Which is pretty good news for me.

I have also cut down on my cigarettes because I’m always in the office.  So my smoking times usually coincides with my toilet breaks or lunch breaks.  Instead of my 1 stick per hour average, it is now a one and a half or sometimes 2 or more hours before my next cigarette.  The only problem is, after work, I’ll still be back to my per hour smoking!  Well, we’ll take one step at a time, shall we? :p

My drinking is now my standard once or maximum twice a week.  Thursdays are team mates nights out, while another day could be with my bestest gal friends!  Not so bad afterall eh?  Now, my target is a once a week outing.  I can’t afford to go to work so tired out and stoned out and reeking of alcohol!

Next I have a few topics in mind to write, its on my mind, but now to have the time to blog.

Watch this space!

Browning My Pineapple Tarts

I tried making pineapple tarts last Monday.  It was a semi success.  Well, the pineapple tastes great, so did the pastry, BUT the tarts didn’t brown nicely and the pineapple was still very much in chunks!

I realise that making the tarts isn’t that tedious, its only the preparation like the scraping of the pineapple was the worst!  But once that is done, the rest just falls into place.  Thank goodness I had mum do the scraping for me cos I said that I had to work, so I’ll have no time to do that! :D  3 pineapples later, she was complaining of sore fingers and burning sensation on her fingers, despite using gloves!  Oops….

Cooking the pineapple took me close to half and hour to get the right colour and dryness.  Preparation of the dough, including chilling, took me another half hour.  I had a hard time getting the dough and pineapple into a consistent size too!  The recipe stated to glaze the tarts with egg, half and egg yolk and abit of water.  THAT was where the mistake was!  I baked for more than half an hour, and my tarts still looked so pale!

Its only after doing the first 2 batches that I confided in a friend about the glaze and she said, use only egg yolk!  SO… today, I will be trying it again and hopefully, this time, it will turn out much better.  I’ll also have to cut the pineapples again cos when I bit into the tarts, the whole chunk of pineapple came out!  Its not fine enough!  Besides that, the tarts tasted great!

Watch this space for my successful tarts!

Dinner for 4

I just realise that preparing a dinner for 4 is a tiring job!  My fren and I had decided to cook for our other 2 friends dinner today.  On the menu, we had salad greens (lettuce, tomato, onions and hard-boiled eggs), smoked salmon with thousand island sauce, followed by rib eye steak with potato salad topped with cavier and my sinful butter cake for dessert!

 It doesn’t sound like much but to think that I have been awake since 9am to bring my daughter for her swimming lessons, then to the supermarket to buy potatoes and salad greens, had lunch and then head to my flat to start baking!  That was about 1.30pm by then.

I finished baking and boiling and peeling potatoes by 4pm, head out of the door to pick up a friend to the supermarket to buy the steaks, back to the flat by 5.30pm or so!  I had less than an hour before the other 2 girls came!  So I had to rush to clean up my baking mess, cut the vegetables up, boil d eyes, and finish the preparation of the potato salad, while my friend seasoned the steaks!

By dinner end, I was so full and tired, all I had wanted to do was to slouch with my friends at the sofa, watching TV.  However, I had to wash up dinner plates, pots and pans, cutlery, and to top it off, dry and keep them!  All of us were to full to eat the butter cake til later in the evening….! But it was so worth the wait! Sipping our dessert wine, Muscati, and having a bite of the cake, such a lovely feeling!

Since the dinner party was such a success, I have now promised them Fettecine Carbonara for dinner next time!  Maybe ending with home made Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce!  Or would a sherbet be better?  No matter what, I’ll have better timing next time!

Another long day for me tomorrow as I have to complete my pineapple tarts!

Pineapple Tarts for CNY For Sale

Chubby Hubby is selling Pineapple Tarts!  So for those who would like to order, please do email me or call me to order!

21 pieces - $11 (pineapple balls)

24 pieces - $12 (pineapple tarts)

Rest assured that these are home-made!  I’ve just tried them!  They are full of flavour and very generous with the pineapple, looks almost over-flowing to me!

How Kiasu are Parents?

When Nicole was born, I told myself, I’m not going to be one of those many kiasu parents who wants their child to be the top in class by enrolling him or her into the best childcare or kindergarten.  When she turned close to two, I started ’shopping’ around for a childcare centre for her.

 My criteria was:

1. It should be Montesorri Method.
2. Be in the east, near where I live.
3. Price should be reasonable.
4. Half day school for her until she reaches 5 years old, then I shall change her to full day.

I did my research and chose about 5 to 8 schools to visit.  First choice was near Fort Road area, where there are a handful of schools with a good inter-racial mix, and a number of them are Montessori.  Unfortunately, I was not satisfied with the schools!  The fees were exorbitant, the service was not impressive enough, I just didn’t feel comfortable enough there, so I know that Nicole would feel the same too.

Next, I chose mid range schools closer to home, even the cheapest, being the YWCA.  But all were a great disappointment!  My last choice was the second closest to home, just a five minute walk.  The outlook was not so fantastic, the paint was peeling off the walls and the grilles, the playground was so small, really nothing impressive.  It was my last hope, though part of me wished this wasn’t the school for her.  I was very surprised when I stepped in, the feeling of the interior was homely and cosy, the teachers were very welcoming, even the principal had no airs.  I felt at ease at once.  The principal had also guide me through the education process, how they taught, etc… I signed up immediately!  I was thinking, what a waste of time for me visiting the other schools!  Do  you know what’s the best thing about it?  It suited 2 out of my 4 criterias.  I did get my Montessori school, neither did I let Nicole go to half day school.  I realise that the Montessori method doesn’t suit out Singapore Education System, and not many schools teach the REAL method, its more of a mix and match. So why should I pay loads of money to a school which ‘claims’ that they teach full Montessori Method?

It is not about choosing the school you ‘think’ is good, or that someone tells you that ‘That school is good’.  Its up to YOU yourself to decided what is right or wrong.  There are people who have the mentality that ‘expensive schools = good’, how wrong they can be.  I’m not saying that those school are not good, it is the same thought as when I go shopping, what is the use of buying a branded item, and once the item is out of fashion, its a white elephant.  I’d rather buy something of reasonable pricing, and when I am sick of the item, I just give it away.

I’ve heard of kaisu parents spending most of their income on their child’s education, only to be deceived later, and then changing schools.  Well, I’d have to say, it could be a good way to lose weight too, cos if you spent all your money on school fees, then you’d hardly have any money left to eat, thus you start eating bread, or vegetables, and then TA DAH! You lose weight!

First Day at Work

Today is my first day at work!  I was supposed to start work at 10am, so I had set my alarm clock to ring at 8.30am.  But I actually work up before my alarm rang!  Is that called excited or what???

Even chubby hubby was surprised why I woke up so early!! :D  In fact, I was at work by 9.30am!! Since when I have ever been THAT optimistic for work?

It’s also good to know that my boss has been very supportive of me and has given me alot of leeway to do what I want to the administration of the school….  Which also includes the choosing of printers, stationery, filing systems… and she is now considering applying for broadband service so as to have faster internet connection and also to network the whole company (and of cos, for me to be on MSN Messenger for the whole day!! Hee hee…). But of course, we have to do our planning right first, budget our expenses to finance what we require.

Dearest boss had also volunteered to teach Nicole, my daughter, an extra day if she has the time to go down…  I think I’ve got my life made!  Free English Enrichment lessons from Kindergarten 1 til Secondary 2 (if I work there THAT long!)  Do you know how much that would come out to?  Lets do some simple Maths:

K1 til Pri 1 (3 yrs) = $375 a term x 4 terms x 3 yrs = $4500

Pri 2 til Sec. 2 = $450 a term x 4 terms x 7 years = 12600

TOTAL = $17,100!!!

Not forgetting if its twice a week lessons! That would be double that amount!

I’d better treasure this job!

Ultimate Butter Cake

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you…. the Ultimate Butter Cake!  The recipe was given by my aunt and she used the ‘agaration’ method, meaning, ‘it usually takes about this much of flour and this much of sugar’ and I MADE her show me on the spot, then measure it in measuring cups!  Of course, next is to convert the measurement into grams!

 Imagine, she told me that I should use 1 1/2 blocks of butter, which we normally buy from the supermarkets.  Which, through my calculation, works out to about 375g of butter!  But then, I have seen blocks of butter at 200g!  Her standard is the 250g blocks!  So as I mentioned, this is, to me, the Ultimate Butter Cake. Why?  Because it is so sinful!

Just baked this yummilicious cake today and it was so buttery!  Imagine the amount of butter and egg yolks I used!  This cake was give to my lucky uncle, together with a fruit cake which I baked today, too!

I made him and his family try the cake on the spot so that I can look inside the cake and also get the comments straight off the oven.  Well, from the response I got, my head is still swelling!

Now, I realise that I have like…. 14 egg whites with me now and I dunno what to do with them, besides cooking boring omelettes which would taste so bland without the egg yolks!  So, I have now found a recipe for cookies using just egg whites!  How cool can that be?  The cookie is called ‘Cat’s Tongue’.

I got the recipe from this book entitled, ‘The Best of Singapore’s Recipes: Tea Time Delights’ written by Mrs Leong Yee Soo.  Inside this book, I can find favourites long forgotten through the years.  One good thing about this book is that is has their ingredients in both grams and oz!  They have favourites such as Kueh Lapis Beras (Rainbow Layer Cake), Banana Cake, and Spicy Prawn Rolls (Hei Bi Hiam Rolls), to name a few.

Unfortunately, the book is not mine, it belongs to my cousin, Grace.  She’s got loads of books from Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, and other kinds of books, like books on Cupcakes, Muffins, Old Singaporean favourites!  I don’t even need to buy or borrow from the library!  She’s got her own library of books!  The best part is, most of her books are on baking, which suits me to a T!  The set back is, I have to return the books sooner or later!  So, I would usually type out the favourites which I would consider doing!

I think I should start collecting recipe books!  OK, I think I have a new resolution this year!  Stop spending money on unnecessary things like drinking at pubs, instead spend the money wisely on recipe books and hopefully, a Kenwood mixer!  YEAH!!  Ultimate!