A holiday by the beach...

We needed a holiday, a time away together. We decided to book ourselves into a beach resort at Penang. Our stay there coincided with the Middle East holiday season, so there were lotsa of them, even some of the signs in the hotel were in Arabic. The ladies were very fond of Reegan and would just pick him up to kiss and play.

The resort was nice, the staff were very helpful and friendly. We like the hotel although it’s a bit pricey. Sunset just by your balcony…isn’t it beautiful…











We were also impressed with the breakfast…freshly baked warm croissant, my favourite!

And freshly squeezed juices!

The first day was exploration out of what I read from the internet. We went to Gurney Drive and enjoyed the local food and did a little shopping.

Second day, we had fun with the water. Meredith enjoyed the slide. I had my go. And hey, it was really scary the first few tries because you literally just slip down really fast, like those roller coaster ride that stops you from breathing. But Meredith was not even afraid even the first time. I think she is all grown up, and I am getting old...

Meredith and Daddy also went jetskiing. Lucky them!

After a disastrous dinner, we asked the staff to recommend some places the locals go, no tourist trap. We were recommended Jalan Selamat for lunch but the place would be too hot for the kids. By chance, we spotted a crowded coffee shop selling chicken rice. We were lucky cos we found out later we were indeed at the best chicken rice stall in town! It’s the Goh Thiew Chik Hainan Chicken Rice at Chulia Street, founded by Mr Goh himself and now run by his three sons. It was very good!

Not forgetting also the famous Penang Tau Sar Piah which I have been dreaming about. We were told to go to Him Heang at Jalan Burma. Lotsa of Penang aunties were buying by the dozens. It was really good though. The store did not even have a chance to put the baked piah on the shelf! It was straight from the oven to the customers. We had to queue for a while to get ours. And when we have it, it was freshly baked, still warm from the oven!

Dinner was just as herbalicious. We went to a seafood place at Jalan Tokong near Gurney. The best dish has got to be the drunken prawns. Think there were about 20 fresh juicy prawns well soaked in XO and herbs…all for RM30!

We stopped by Malacca for a night before heading back home. All the hotels were fully booked so we paid a bit more for a club room. It was luxurious! We loved the room! And the view was awesome!

It was five days of listening to the Malaysian accent and almost getting a hang of it, and trying to comprehend their bizarre dress sense...but more importantly, it was a relaxing time together with the kids.

Here, the kids... and Reegan with his newest toy - his feet!

So what do you do nowadays?

This has got to be the top most common question I get these days...

Someone sent me this picture and boy am I glad I am not 100% like her...just maybe 60%. I do treasure the time the baby is asleep so that I can get the whole world moving.

Things have kind of settle into a routine. In the mornings, if Daddy sends Meredith to school, I'll take my shower and bathe Reegan. Then I'll watch the programmes in the morning, Martha Stewart, David Gale and Discovery Travel and Living, all these while entertaining the baby. When Reegan naps in the late morning, I'll get lunch and dinner on the way.

These days, without the maid, I get to cook. So I at least try out one new recipe (for mains and sweets/ dessert) every week.

I try to think of something to do with Meredith when she is back but sometimes she has her own ideas.

We sometimes watch a movie as a family at night. And Meredith having several cinema experiences, works our the schema and would prepare chips and bicky, dim the lights, turn on the air condition...etc.

Money and job aside, things are just going great. I am staying at home...and loving it.

Reegan @ 16 weeks

It was about a week ago when I first had a long, serious conversation with Reegan. He is getting real good with his consonants...'mmm', 'gng...', 'air', 'or 'mmm-air'...etc. Last week, he looked me in the eye and responded to me as if he was seriously telling me something. Perhaps he was telling me about the pictures on the wall, or perhaps about his toys or things that he's been thinking about. It was fantastic.

Since few days ago, he's been into his new stunt, rolling over. But when he does this, his legs are also lifted, so he is finding it difficult to balance himself and gets frustrated quickly.

He is also getting easily distracted as he gets more interested in the world around during feeding. He stops at every noise. Sometimes, he looks at me and laugh out loud, and I was not playing with him, and it was difficult getting him back to feed. He is playful.