2009 Year End Holidays – Christmas

I had been looking forward to Christmas and New Year for a long time…Not for the celebrations but for the holidays!!! I had lots of annual leaves that had to cleared before 31 Dec 2009, and I planned to take all of them during the Christmas & New Year season.

Initially, my plans for the holidays consist of facials, massages, hairstyling, housekeeping and shopping…. All the things that I wanted to do but never find the time to do. But alas, I did none the above except for a some shopping (Yay!)

So what did I do instead?

1. Shopped for gifts for the Christmas party at my friends’ house. Both hubb and I had a shopping list each for our mystery receiver respectively but I did all the shopping. I also need to shop for my husband’s office Christmas gift exchange party (ain’t him lucky (or lazy ).

Need to shop presents for Bryan and Dylan. Both had wish list at the Christmas tree at the school, and Bryan wants a BIG BUTTERFLY written on his card. Dylan’s card is written by his teacher and I don’t think that it is really what he wanted. I cracked my head for a butterfly gift. It has got to be special and something he would enjoy. At the very last moment (Christmas Eve day) to be exact, I found the Elefun – Butterfly catching game at Toys’R’Us. I was so happy to find this toy. It was a game that both Bryan and Dylan would enjoy, and yes, both truly enjoy playing this game.

Luckily both kids are now “trained” to pick up the butterflies, put them back into the elephant, turn the power on, catch…and repeat the process..over and over again…Otherwise, both hubb and I may “regret” getting the gift…haha.

2. I also baked chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese for the kids’ Christmas party at school. It was my first attempt at cream cheese frosting and I was surprised that it turned out to be GOooooooood! It took all my will power not to lick the whipping bowl clean of frosting. As I decorate the cakes, I had to constantly remind myself to STOP eating the cakes. I had to tell myself, “Enough of testing, you already know it tasted good!”

I had to stop myself not because I am worried there is not enough for the school, but that those little cutie cuppies are loaded with tones of calories that’s going straight to my hips!

3. Had lots of fun catching up with friends who came back from the holiday. We went restaurant/ café hopping (lunch, tea, desserts) instead of pub hopping since this mama had a curfew of 5pm, to fetch the kids from school.

4. Managed to watch Avatar 3D with hubb…(followed by more shopping at the mall )

5. I took lots of photos. Did a photoshoot for my colleague’s dog and for my sisters’ family. Those of you on my Facebook, would have seen some of these photos. It was nice to take photos other than those of my kids for once. And now I am looking forward to my Bali holiday for more photo opportunities!

6. For the first time in many years, went for a Christmas party…that is not at the office or during lunch hour!

Minus the kids…so there’s more photo opportunities again. Initially my plan was to let the kids sleep over at my parents. But at 11pm, Bryan called me and told me, “Mommy, I want to go back to your house to sleep. I don’t want to sleep at popo’s house.”

So hubb and I had to leave the party early, just as they were about to get started on a Shot & Ladder game…hahaha..probably just in time from getting myself drunk for the first time. Yeah..you read right, I have never been drunk my entire life. Not because I am a good drinker, but that I always drink very very little only. I have never even finished an entire can of beer by myself. Besides, I hate the taste of beer (generally). But recently hubb is into Heineken and Budweiser beers at home and I beginning to find these much likable. Anyway, I always prefer red wine over beer, but also I never drink more than 2 glasses in a night. So how to get drunk?

Our Langkawi Hotel

Most of my friend’s children like to stay in hotel. But not Bryan.

When I told him that we will sleep at the hotel.

Bryan: I don’t want. I want to sleep at home.
Mummy: We have to sleep in the hotel. Our house is very far away. The hotel is nice.
Bryan: Why nice?
Mummy: Because hotel got swimming pool.
Bryan: My house also got swimming pool. My swimming pool got dolphin and star fish one

I think he didn’t like hotels because he didn’t like having to squeeze with everyone in a king bed.

Thus for this trip, I made sure that we have a double room – with 2 queen beds. So sleeping is definitely no longer a problem..plenty of space for everyone.

We pulled the 2 beds together and have the boys slept in the middle. I slept next to Dylan, and hubb next to Bryan.

Bryan woke up the next morning and told his daddy,
“Daddy! When you sleep, don’t Brrr Brrr Brr la. People can wake up one you know. People want to sleep!”

We stayed at the Awana Porto Malai. We have the pier right at the hotel. So the location is very good for island hopping. And there are lots of colorful fishes at the pier, so we had a great time feeding the fishes there.

The downside is there is no beach, but I have no plans to take the boys to the beach anyway. What for, when we can get to the beach in less than 10 mins from our house. Yeah, Langkawi has cleaner water and beaches than Penang, but I don’t think the boys could tell the difference.

And there is a lovely children’s pool at the hotel. The boys had a wonderful time at the pool. Bryan enjoyed it tremendously, esp the water slide.

At the end of the trip. He told me. “I want to go swim at the hotel swimming pool again. I want to play the slide. But I want to go home to sleep.”

Looks like there’s really no place like home.

Langkawi Day 2

After our buffet breakfast, we proceed to the pier for the island hopping + eagle feeding tour. As we stayed at the Awana Porto Malai, the pier is actually within the hotel’s compound. SO it is really convenient.

We had some time on the pier before the boat leaves, so I took the opportunity to snap the photos of the kids, since all of them are still fresh and energetic.

But this silly me I had forgotten to changed the ISO setting on my camera. They were still set at ISO1600. I had used the setting while I was taking the photos at the dark aquarium the previous day where we were not allowed to use flash.

So a bulk of my photos turned out grainy. $^%$%#%* I have only myself to blame for not checking the settings first thing in the morning. I have always reminded myself to my camera to the right settings before taking any photos..but but but….

The boys enjoying the speed boat ride

I only remembered my settings halfway during the island hopping tour. *slap myself*

The first stop was to Pulau Dayang Bunting. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the island’s inhabitants – monkeys, and the swamp creatures..crabs and those leggy fishes.

We took a short hike to the freshwater lake over a hill at the island.

Platforms have been built at the lake to enable easy access for tourist either to swim, shop, take photographs, hang around or some free fish spa. There were huge catfishes at one of the segments and lots of people took the opportunity for a fish spa treatment!

Bryan thought that it was a big swimming pool and kept insisting on a swim, especially when he saw some children playing at one section. He wasn’t very happy when I told him that he couldn’t. Though I had brought his swimming trunk, I did not bring along his float nor a towel..so no swimming.

Sharing a box of Milo given by my sis

Just like the day before, Bryan made a lot of fuss when it comes to hiking. (Note: I gotta take him for more nature trips….)

The next stop was the highlight of the tour…eagle feeding.

Photo Credits

This is first time that all of us have seen so many eagles , up so close and in action. Even Dylan enjoyed this event, though I doubt he understand how majestic eagles are. I know my parents enjoyed this event very much.

The last stop of the tour was Pulau Beras Basah. The guide dropped us there for 1 hour. It is a lovely beach for snorkeling/ swimming. But since we are not equipped for swimming…I personally feel that 1 hr was too long.

Matthew had dozed off and so my sis and mom chose to stay on the boat with him. There are lots of fishes at the pier so we hang around there to look at the fishes. I gave some snacks to the boys there. My dad kept asking him for some biscuits to feed the fish, and I said, “No No No.” I knew that once we start feeding the fishes, the boys will not stop.

However, when Dylan dropped his biscuit on the floor, dad took the opportunity to throw that piece into the sea. The fishes got into a feeding frenzy and the boys, seeing how exciting it is, starts throwing all their food into the sea. They didn’t want to eat anymore. All they want is more food from me TO FEED THE FISHES. *Argghh* I nagged and nagged my dad on this, but he only laughed it off.

Since the boys didn’t want to eat anymore, we walked to the beach and let the boys played there.


There is a swing at the beach, and the men (hubb, BIL and dad) and Bryan had some fun swinging around

We went back to the hotel after this. The boys were tired by now and my dad suggested to let them nap before lunch. It was already close to 1pm but all of us were still full from our breakfast. So I gave the boys their shower, then they had some milk + bread, then off to sleep.

The kids are no longer hungry but hubb and I were. So we had to “tahan” with some crackers and 3in1 coffee and teh tarik in the room while waiting for the boys to wake up. My sis then proceed to take my parents for lunch & round island sight seeing. We will meet up later for dinner.

When they woke up at about 4pm…we quickly hurried them out of the hotel to a nearby restaurant for lunch LOL. Ordered fried rice, char hor fun, fresh coconut and beer (for hubb since beer cost the same as soft drinks at Langkawi). The boys were not really hungry, so we had to tempt them to eat with the promise that there is the swimming pool after that.

Photo credits

Bryan had a blast at the pool. He went down the slide countless times. Dylan was a bit more cautious and was a little scared..especially when he swallowed some water…and to gasp for air.. This can’t be avoided when you are at the pool. We spent an hour plus at the pool, and had a tough time getting both boys out and away from the pool.

After a quick shower, we left for Kuah to meet up with my parents and sis. We had the most delicious Thai food for dinner and then went back to pack up. We would be leaving early next morning.

It had been a very enjoyable trip, and I would love to come back again…

P/s: We found out later that we should have chartered a private boat since there is so many of us. It would have been cheaper and we would have more flexibility on the time and the places to go. Sigh…next time then.

Langkawi- Day 1

A week after Bryan’s birthday, we took the boys to Langkawi for a holiday with my parents, and my sis’s family. This was the boys’ first time on the plane. I had planned for this trip for some time. I wanted to take Bryan for his first ride on the plane before Dylan is 2 years old, so that I can still enjoy infant price for him.

Luckily both boys enjoyed their first ride on the plane. Dylan more than Bryan. I can sense that Bryan was a little uncomfortable when we were at mid-flight. When I asked him to look at the scenery outside the plane, he answered, “I see already!” and kept his eyes away from the window.

It was a short & smooth flight. Luckily it was a short one. Because Dylan was a wriggly little worm. He kept wanting to zig zag across the lane from my seat, to my parents, to hubb’s.

Upon arrival, we rented 2 cars and headed straight for Langkawi Cable Car.

The weather was clear and we had a smooth (and hot) ride up to the top. Matthew being the smart one, napped all the way from the car to the top of the hill.

I thought that Bryan would be frightened with the cable car ride, but no..he loved it. When we stopped mid-hill for some photo taking, he kept hurrying us back to the cable car ride.

When we got to the top, we need to hike a short distance to the sky bridge. My city boy Bryan got scared of the hike. I don’t know if he was lazy or he is scared of the walk through the hilly path or what la…. He kept wanting us to carry him.

He gave me a lot of excuses..
“I am tired, i got no energy..”
“My stomach pain pain, I cannot walk…”
“My leg pain pain already, I cannot walk…”
“Mommy carry… Daddy carry….”

I made him walk as much as possible but hubb ended up having to carry him at the very end.

Dylan was more courageous and adventurous. He wanted to hike himself and was counting the steps with his limited counting skills LOL. He attracted a lot of smiles from other tourists.

But on the way back from the sky bridge to the cable car, Dylan fell asleep on dad’s shoulder. It was close to his nap time and he woke up very early that day. So we lingered a while at the top of the hill before taking the “hot” cable car ride down.

After we got down from the cable car, it was time for lunch. We stopped for a simple lunch at the food court inside the Oriental Village. We ordered Malay dishes that were surprisingly very good.

Next to the food court was the rabbit garden. Both the boys were so anxious to go into the rabbit garden that we had a hard time getting them to finish their lunch.

Needless to say, we proceed to the rabbit garden next. The rabbits were overly friendly (and hungry too). Many of them gathered around us as soon as we got in. When we bought some packets of carrots, more came around us. The boys got a little scared when the rabbits got too many and too close to us.

After the rabbit garden, we went to the deer garden. The deers ignored us when we entered the area but as soon as I bought some deer feed, they mobbed me!

The deer keeper told me to feed the deers from my palm, but it was pretty scary having 6-7 deers all coming at me at the same time. I think I scattered most of the deer feed on the grass than feeding them from my palm. I only fed 1 packet and gave away another unopened packet to a family nearby to continue the feeding. Unfortunately, no one took any photos of me been mobbed by the deer as the rest of the family members have chose to “abandon” me. My kids were scared of the deers so my parents accompanied them. Matthew was tired, so my sis preferred to stay in the shade outside with him. But hubb caught the act on video camera though.

The day was really hot, so no one wanted to linger around at the Oriental Village. So we proceed to check in at our hotel. Unfortunately, our room was still not ready when we arrived, so we headed straight for the Langkawi Underwater World.

I prefer the Langkawi Underwater World than the KLCC Aquaria. I think they both cost about the same but Langkawi has more variety. It is much bigger and thus the layout is much better – Tropical, Antartic, Deep sea…etc.

By the time we finished the tour, it was close to 5pm. The boys especially Dylan was getting tired. So we went back to the hotel, gave the boys a quick shower and got them to nap.

While they were napping, my sis took my parents to the Black Sands Beach.

We met up later at Kuah for dinner and some duty free shopping.

Cameron Highlands – Day 3

Frankly, i was relieved when day 3 came. I am so ready to go home. Why? Because I hardly get a good night’s sleep at the hotel. 4 of us on 1 king sized bed is definitely a no-no. Esp for hubb, who is so used to having a king sized bed all to himself most of the time.

Even Bryan complained that the room is no good.

He said, “My bedroom better. I got big bed. I got star light. I got butterfly. Hotel room no good.” Yeah, he also doesn’t like to share a bed with so many people. Makes me think just how lucky he is.

As a finale, we went to the Bharat plantation tea kiosk for breakfast. It was a simple brekkie, sandwiches & masala tea. We din order scones as we doubt PIL would like them. And scones are definitely more messy to eat. I am sure the kids will want to play with applying the cream & jam on the scones. I want a relaxing breakfast, and sandwiches are the easiest.

The kids had some tuna spread, biscuits, milo & choc milk. All the stuff i brought from home.

After breakkie, it is then back to the hotel, pack up and some last minute photography at the hotel garden.

Bye-bye Camerons. Next holiday stop… Langkawi end of this year. Must remember to get extra bed this time.

Cameron Highlands – Day 2

Day 2 is the highlight of our trip. Or the highlight of Bryan’s trip. This is the sole purpose that he had been looking forward to this trip since we told him about it a week ago.

Why? Because after breakfast, we took him to see this.

The butterfly farm. I donno why but he has this fascination with butterflies. He loves them. Everything about them. So you can imagine how happy he is to be there.

Singing to the butterfly. Cause MIL told him that the louder he sings, the closer the butterfly will get to him. And truly he sang really loud. So loud that you can hear him loud and clear from the other end.

The butterfly farm is much smaller than the one in Penang. There are also less butterfly but the variety here are bigger. But it is so much more enjoyable to be here, because it is cooler, so I don’t mind being here longer.

Since I expect us to be here longer, I took the time to setup my tripod so that we can take our family photo. I dare not trust my DSLR with strangers or even PIL in that sense. Why? Because I am afraid that they do not know how to use it, especially the focus point. I don’t wanna run the risk that the trees became the focus point and the subjects (we) turned out blur instead. Since I had my gear and the time to set it up, I rather do it myself.

But sigh, with kids, it is hard to get a good one. Pic 1, Dylan blink, Pic 2 Bryan blink, Pic 3, kids have had enough and wants to wriggle away… Bear in mind that they had to stay at one place for quite a long time – for me to set the focus and turn on the 10s timer release.

After butterfly farm, we proceed to the strawberry farm. I had heard of this one up on Brinchang hill that have a small animal farm as well, and I wanted to go for this one. This one is located near the Boh factory, so we have to drive through a narrow winding road. It was quite a long drive. Half the time, I know hubb is doubting that I am giving him the correct directions. Also I know he was not pleased that I made him drive all the way there when there are so many strawberry farms all over the place. Some of the bends are so narrow that it is quite scary when another vehicle comes in the opp direction.

Luckily we managed to find the place, and true enough there was a small animal farm. The animal farm is quite pathetic but hey, the kids donno that. All they know is there are animals.

One day old goat kids. These were born just a day earlier.

Dylan can recognize all the animals there but he got scared when we bring him closer. Bryan is also quite scared of them. Can’t blame them as they have had very few contacts with animals.

Then we proceed to strawberry picking. And for this reason, I am so glad that I came to this farm because the strawberries are soooooooo delicious. Huge and sweet! I had never tasted such good strawberries from Camerons. And the farm assistant was very friendly and he kept picking strawberries off the vine and asking us to taste them. Well, his friendliness paid off as we ended up buying double of what we wanted.

Usually I eat my strawberries dipped in honey because they are usually sour. But these are soooo sweet! It is unbelievably sweet! They are huge and sweet. But the guy told us that medium sized strawberries tasted best. It may be true, but we just can’t resist picking those huge ones off the vine.

Bryan was pretty clumsy with the scissors in the beginning, but not long afterthat, he became an expert at picking (cutting) the strawberries off the vine. You gotta be careful, cause you don’t wanna cut off those unripe, bruised/ small fruits or the strawberry flowers.

Things got slower after this, as the kids are tired. Actually I am tired. The kids seem to be able to go on and on… Anyway, after lunch, we took the kids back to the hotel for a short nap.

Since it was only a short nap, we proceed to window shopping. How can u go CH without visiting the nurseries right. It is so enjoyable to just admire the flowers even if we are not buying.

Dinner was our favourite steamboat at a watercress farm. I only managed to snap some photos before dinner as dinner is quite a havoc.(usual la) It’s a good thing that PILs are there to help out. Otherwise… *pengsan*

Camerons – Day 1

Guess there are not many cool & green places in Malaysia, since it was so easy to guess where we were going.

Yes, we went to Cameron Highlands. It is actually one of my favorite vacation spots. I love to go to the tea plantations, order some tea & scones and enjoy my books. I could spend the whole afternoon just doing that. Of course, that was before the kids came along.

We drove there on Saturday morning. My parent in laws (PIL) came with us. So now you know why I worried about space. With 4 adults & 2 kids in child car seats, there is indeed no space for anything else. With the third row of seats up, I don’t even have a car boot! So we have to keep the bags in between the kids’ car seats, underneath their feet or on top of our laps. I knew then that there goes my shopping plans (if any).

We left our home about 930am after the kids’ had their breakfast to pick up PIL. MIL bought some char siew paus. Although both of them already had breakfast, they ate quite a lot as well. After a hearty meal, Dylan dozes off… But Bryan was wide awake and was looking forward to arriving at Cameron. He repeats over and over again, what he wants to do at CH.

We stopped by Ipoh for lunch. Initially we wanted to go to the Ipoh old town (not the franchise, ok) for some good old Ipoh white coffee and some beef noodles. But hubb missed the Ipoh exit and headed straight to Simpang Pulai instead. Usually, I am the navigator and he will just drive. But this time around, I am seated at the 3rd row and could not get a good view of the sign board from where I am. So he’s on his own to watch the signs. My FIL is no help at all with reading signs.

So without me, he is lost…literally.

We had to exit Simpang Pulai and head back to Ipoh using the regular roads. I was quite pissed at hubb for missing an exit and I am in no mood to navigate him to the old town of Ipoh. So I just told him to go to Onn Kee for bean sprout chicken & hor fun. Less turnings less chances of mistakes. Besides Onn Kee is air conditioned, so it will be more comfortable for the kids.

After lunch, we head straight up CH. Bryan dozes off almost right away this time but Dylan was wide awake. He stayed awake the rest of the journey.

We checked into our hotel past 4pm.

Both kids were so happy to get into the hotel. Bryan exclaimed, “Wahhh..can sleep and watch TV one wor..” Then both of them got busy with playing with the light & TV switch next to the bed.

We gave them a bath. Bryan loved the tub because, he can “bath & swim like a fish.”

I tried to get them to nap after that but both of them seemed too excited. So I told hubb to take Bryan to MIL’s room or take him to the garden downstairs for a walk.

Unfortunately, with Bryan out fr the room, Dylan refused to nap as well. He kept running to the door saying, “Ger ger leh? Daddy leh? Chou chou (walk walk)”

After 30 mins of trying, I gave up.

So I took him to MIL’s room and suggested that we go to the Pasar Malam.

Not long after we started the drive to the PM, Dylan fell asleep. So I had no choice but to carry him in my arms and let him continue to sleep when we reached the PM.

Bought some snacks – my favorite fried fresh mushrooms, ban chien kueh, satay, putu buluh, BBQ chicken, and strawberries dipped in chocs. All food only Eh? Why? Because I have no more space in my car, remember. No shopping for home … *sigh*

Despite all that food, you would think that we won’t need dinner right. Wrong. We stopped by a South Indian restaurant for dinner where we ordered tandoori chicken, naan, roti pisang, roti bawang, mutton murtabak (yummy) and roti telur. Dylan’s dinner consists of roti bawang & roti pisang dipped in Heinz vegetable puree. Hehe

I did not snap a single photo of our food during the entire trip. Because, by the time the food arrive, I am too busy cutting up the food for Dylan, feeding the boys and trying to get some bites myself. Dining has got to be the most tiring part of the trip. And I have got proof for it. Though we ordered a lot of food for all our meals, I actually lost 1kg when I got back. Guess I really was not eating much during the trip, and all that walking around definitely helps. Hey, I am not complaining. I am glad I lost weight.

Taiping zoo with a friend

I was off for 1.5 weeks during Christmas last year. It would have been a perfect time to take the family for a vacation IF Dylan was bigger, and IF the economy wasn’t going downhill and we need to be prudent in our spending.

So we didn’t go anywhere for holiday. This is the first year since I got married that I did not go anywhere for holiday – not even a local trip. Even after Bryan is born, we still go for at least a few local trips (Camerons, KL, etc) each year.

Dylan is still a little small to enjoy holidays at that time, but not Bryan. So we decided to take him to the Taiping Zoo. And I was so happy to learn that my friend is able to bring her daughter WX as well. Yeah! Bryan is going to be so overjoyed to see WX there.

We drove separate cars and decided to meet at the zoo. And true enough, both the kids were so happy to see each other at the zoo. I think they were happier to see each other than the animals.

Yeah, there are plenty of “NO FEEDING THE ANIMALS” signs in the zoo. But I can’t read when my kids can have fun.

So I let the kids feed the fishes in the pond with some white bread. (no photos, too busy pinching pieces of bread for the kids to throw into the pond).

The kids also fed some leaves to the deers.

Then they saw the bears and decided to imitate how the bears looked like.

We adults had a lot of fun too just watching those 2 jokers having fun and goofing around.

Pointing to the Paw prints on the floor almost the entire time in the zoo.

The weather was quite cloudy that day, so it is a good day to be at the zoo. It is not so hot and so the animals are more active instead of hiding in the shades.

We did not bring Dylan along. He will get tired real soon at the zoo and we thought the weather will be too hot for him. He’ll get cranky and will not enjoy himself.

So Bryan gets to be the baby and get all our attention.

The stroller is really getting too small for him

On the way back from zoo, we decided to stop by Tambun for seafood. We already had lunch at a  coffeeshop near the Taiping lakes, but we still want seafood, since we will be passing by Tambun.

We wanted to make sure that the kids get some rest in the car before we stopped for food. So JM’s husband purposely took the old trunk road from Taiping to Tambun. But Bryan was too excited  (kept asking “where is WX leh”) to get any sleep. Luckily his friend WX napped for a while in her parents car. Otherwise, his extra effort (and petrol) would have been wasted.

We arrived at Tambun with 2 active kids – who prefer to clown around instead of eating.  So we adults focused on our food and let the kids play by themselves. Food was disappointing – so no pics.

After a long day of activities, Bryan fell asleep in the car as soon as we left Tambun.

But he was a very happy kid that day, and he kept asking for Zoo again and again for WEEKS after that.

Sure, dear, we can go there again. And this time, we’ll bring Dylan and WN (WX’s baby sis) along.