My bodyguard

The girls can be very protective of her family. Yesterday, I brought back some BM books from my library so she can improve her BM vocabulary. She came across the word 'tiri' and asked me what it meant. I told her 'tiri' means step like step mother. Then she asked me:

Harvynna: Whats a step mother?

Me: A new mummy. Just like if mummy dies, and daddy marries another lady, that will be your step mother

Harvynna: I dont want. I dont like her. I wont go to her house. And she cannot come to my house.

Rowena: I will smack her and kick her.

Harvynna: I will do my tae-kwan-do kick on her, then no more step mummy. Stupid daddy!

Me: :) haha

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I told them that later today I will be going out, so daddy will pick them up after work.

Harvynna: Why?

Me: Because I am going out

Harvynna: Where are u going?

Me: Going to KL (as in going downtown)

Harvynna: You already are in KL, so tell me where you are going

Me: Going to KL town to meet my friends

Harvynna: Why

Me: I am meeting my friends from 'xxxx' (my previous workplace). Its good to meet up with them once in a while

Harvynna: Once in a while? Then why daddy meets up with his friends all the time?

Me: ??????????

The Big Bad Wolf

The girls have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks as my brother and kids were down and Harvynna was preparing for her story telling audition.

We chose Little Red Riding Hood as it was easy to remember, Harvynna was the Big Bad Wolf. She did quite a good job with the story and was pretty confident. I managed to get the costume from my school, where the students previously performed 'Cats the musical'. She refused to wear the wig till she went into the audition room.

And i need to improve on my face painting skills as she ended up looking like a tiger!! She did not allow me to go into the audition room, but I watched her perform through the peep hole and saw that she did perform they way we had practised. She felt like she was at an American Idol performance as there were 3 judges sitting and watching her! They selected 2 winners from the story telling category. Although she did not win, but I am proud of her and it was a good activity we did together.

Rowena, has also memorised the story and is able to do it as she was always there when Harvynna was practising. Now, if they are bored, they will both tell the story together with all the actions.

Anyway, the audition was a good exposure for Harvynna as she will be emceeing the introduction for her school concert in November.

Cousins & Dinosaurs

My brother and his kids are back from Australia. Some pics of the kiddos at the Dinotrek at Petrosains, KLCC.

Bandung: 7th - 10th September

We had a short getaway to Bandung last week. The trip was booked some time last year on one of Air Asia's promotions. I have always wanted to go to Bandung having heard of its reputation of being a shopping haven due to its wide range of Factory Outlets.

Bandung is basically a place for Indonesians where the Jakarta crowd flock there every weekend to shop. Luckily we went on a weekday. That, however, did not spare us from traffic jams. The traffic there is horrendous as people just drive any way they want, cutting into everyone's lane. The people there however, are very courtiest and helpful - so different from the way they drive!

We stayed at Grand Seriti Hotel on Jalan Setia Budhi. The hotel was still quite new and the rooms were good. The reason I chose that hotel as it was located near Rumah Mode, which is the best Factory Outlet in Bandung. Having stayed so nearby, we managed 2 trips there. Rumah Mode is a more upmarket factory outlet. Most of their stuff are original, hence the higher prices. The ambience is also nice, with many restaurants within the outlet. One thing good about the bigger factory outlets in Bandung is that they come fully equipped with childrens playgrounds and cafes. My dad was the babysitter and looked after the girls at the playground!

Day 2
We decided to hit Jalan Riau - a famous shopping street where many of their FO's come recommended. We took the Angkutan Kota there as we wanted the girls to have the experience of riding in one. The Angkotan Kota is their public transport in the form of a green van with the doors unclosed. It is also very cheap - Rp9000 for the 5 of us. (kids travel free!). However, during peak hours, they will cramp the van to the max.

Bandung can get really hot at mid day and walking the streets can be quite tiring for the lil ones. We went to:

Heritage - highly recommended but I found it quite disappointing. They carried more local brands and the kids line was not enticing. Had a good indoor playground.

Cascade - like a mall with 3 levels - each level dedicated to menswear, womenswear and childrens wear. Comes with a nice outdoor cafe and a Koi pond. Some good stuff there.

Had lunch and my dad took the girls back to the hotel for a nap. Continued shopping with my mum.

Oasis - So so only. I dont think I found anything there.

The Brands outlet - had a lot of stuff but did not like the way it was arranged. They basically just put everything together and you really have to look through everything. Was also pretty tired then.

The Secret - this was good. Well arranged and had some really good kids stuff. The kids department was at another wing at the back. They carried most of the leading brands. Most of their kids stuff were for kids 5 years and below. Bought some stuff for Rowie there.

We went back to Rumah Mode that night!

Day 3

Rented a car (MPV) with a driver. Highly recommended as it is really worth the Rp400000. This includes the car, driver, petrol and parking, Of course, we tipped the driver for his buka puasa. The driver takes you anywhere you want and is really convenient as we did not have to walk at all. They will wait for you while you do your thing. You can leave all your bags in the car, while you go to the next shopping outlet.

The driver picked us up from the hotel and took us to Tangkuban Perahu, the famous volcano in Bandung. It was definitely an experience for the girls as they had seen pictures of volcanoes in books, and were looking forward to seeing one. Rowie found the place smelly -'so smelly the vaikino' as the sulphur smell was very strong.

After Tangkuban Perahu, which took us about 3 hours, we went back into town and hit Jalan Dago - another famous shopping area. Dago has more factory outlets and shops and looks like a more happenning place. The driver took us to:

Grande - this was excellent. Found stuff for everyone here and the prices were much cheaper than Jalan Riau or Rumah Mode. This place was recommended by the driver. I just told him to recommend some Fos and he made the recommendations. Found lots of stuff for the girls.

Next we went into one of the malls (cant remember the name, to have lunch). Then we sent my dad back to the hotel and Rowie needed to be washed up and changed. After that, the driver took us back to Dago, as we wanted to get the famous 'Amanda brownie kukus'. Bandung is famous for their brownies. They have 5 outlets specialising in these brownies that come in various varieties including serikaya, cheese, marble and many more. And it was really nice. It only cost about RM8 per box. There are also many carts along the roadside selling the same brownies, but it may not be as fresh. There are also other brands with similar packaging selling brownies - but the Amanda brand is of the best quality.(claim the locals)

Next, the driver brought us to Kartika Sari, another bakery famous for the Indonesian layer cake. Although, it tasted good, I thought it was overpriced. So we did not get any. Then we headed to the last FO - Episode, which was also pretty good. Got some gym wear for myself here. By then, we were tired of shopping and headed for a spa. The driver recommended one but once we got there, it was shut. So we thought we will head to the famous Roger's spa and saloon. That too, was closed. So the driver took us to one near the hotel. We were going round town a few times. See - the hired car and driver really comes in useful! The girls had their signature menicure and pedicure.

By the time we finished, it was almost 8 pm and we were really knackered.

Day 4 - had an early flight to catch. So could not do anything besides have breakfast and head for the airport.

Overall, Bandung is a good place to shop especially if you are looking for kids clothings. They even have nice stuff for boys. There is a good selection for men too. For ladies, it is seasonal, if you are lucky, you might go when the new line comes in.

A(H1N1)

Exhausted. Just drafted and sent out letters and emails cancelling / postponing all events because of the H1N1. Had to be as tactful as possible as am sure some people wont be happy about the cancellations. Since the no of cases was at an all high yesterday, we decided the best move is to cancel all immediate events and postpone all upcoming events.

Harvynna's school started giving hand sanitizers to their students. This is used about 3-4 times a day, even as they enter the school. Temperatures are taken using an infrared thermometer as they come in. Any children with fever with fever or flu like symptoms will be sent home. They also sanitize all door knobs every hour.Luckily, the school holidays start tomorrow. Hopefully, things will improve after that.

2 weekends ago, her school had Lifebouy over teaching the kids how to practice good hygiene and how to wash their hands effectively. Of course, their marketing was so good that she came back telling us how to wash your hands, but you MUST use Lifebouy soap!!

I have a few hand sanitizer myself - seemed to have received them as gifts in some goodie bags before. Must remind myself to keep it in the car or in my bag. I taught the girls how to use them, but Rowena ended up cleaning her face with it. She thinks it some sort of moisturiser. I got Harvynna to explain to her why we use the sanitize and i think Harvynna has been taught well by her school. She told Rowena that there are a lot of germs now causing H1N1 and it is very dangerous. So the sanitizer is used to clean your hands to kill the germs. But Rowena was not bothered. All she wanted was to play with the sanitizer and squeeze it all over the place.

Harvynna at her Lifebouy demonstration in school

Rowena attack

Rowena is getting naughtier day by day. Sometimes I really give up on her naughtiness that I just tell her ' I dont want to know or I am not interested' which ends up in her 'you dont care about me' drama.

Just the other day, she put the house phone into the fridge before we left for work. And when we questioned her about it later, she just gave us the 'I dont care' look.

This morning she insisted on having chocolate cake for breakfast. After she had finished 2 whole slices, she asked for more and I said no. Then she says' I finished all the cake and ask for more, and you dont want to give me'. Then she pinches me and says 'mm, then you know!'

She just refuses to put on her seat belt in the car so I will brake on purpose (emergency break). She gives me the angry look and says'can you stop doing that'. I tell her 'put on your seat belt and I will stop doing that' and she says 'stop doing that and I will put on my seatbelt'. Aagh.

When we were in Bangsar Village a couple of weeks ago, as we were coming down the escalator, suddently, the escalator came to a halt. I looked around and the lady behind us told us that 'she' pushed the stop button. I glared at Rowena and she pretended to look somewhere else. Later she told me, 'Very good, I pressed the button'

I just enrolled her for Musikgarten. A bit late, as she is the oldest in the class. I stopped her Vital years, as it was just too much of a hassle to drive all the way there on a saturday morning. Have been feeling really exhausted, that I dont have the energy to do anything. This musikgarten class is just around the corner, so it is really convenient. I would love to send her for more activities as she is in clear need of something to occupy her time, but am just too tired. Cant wait till she starts proper kindy next year. Hopefully, that will tire her out.

Hit by the bug

The bug has visited our home. I was sick last week - lost my voice and a bad cough. Then Rowena felt sick (still is), with fever and a persistent cough, now Harvynna is getting it.

When I sent Harvynna to school, I noticed that the school was quite empty - many children have been absent. Poor Harvynna actually slept through her Taekwando class yesterday as she felt very tired. Today, she hardly touched her breakfast. (something very rare with her). With all the virus and health issues going around, it's quite worrying.

On a brighter note, Harvynna passed her Taekwando exam and now has a Yellow belt. She is quite upset as we told her that Rowena has a black belt! We told her that Rowena goes for Taekwando class everyday while Harvynna is at school, so she progressed really fast. And when we asked Rowena to show us what she 'learnt', she actually showed us some Taekwando moves!!