taipei part 3 - National Palace Museum & Shilin Night market

revisiting the same sites for the 2nd time can be for better or worse.
here are 2 examples.
1) 故宮
i dont like the musuem the 1st time i was there with ser.
we were practically running through the rooms to get it done and over with.
same for this time. lol.
still, let hubbi see the classic jade cabbage and the stone 三层肉 lah.
pretty impressing still, even for the 2nd time.

no phtography allowed. so took minimum shots.


outside 故宮


on the bus towards shilin area from 故宮.

2) 士林夜市
i still like 士林 alot.
the food there is good and cheap! though the variety can be repetitive and the hawkers can be a lil' pushy.
still, hubbi and me really like the food and shops there!


who can miss 豪大大鸡排 when you were @ 士林?!

happy (though he doesnt seem the part) ah long in 士林

oh, must mention that the taiwan sausage （原味） is super duper delicious!

like bah kwa, no kidding!

hubbi and me literally wolf it down in minutes. heh.

spent a really good evening there. :)

taipei part 2 - taipei 101!

something new for me this trip!
直登台北101!
the last time i was there, i didnt go up.
so this time, i asked if hubbi was interested.
he was neutral about it and said up to me.
actually, i am a scaredy cat. i hate tall buildings and dont like the feeling of being on top of such buildings.
still, i decided to be brave and risk the fastest lift in the world. *wee*


taipei 101 on a cloudy day.
yup, the view aint fantastic.


@ the entrance!

view would have been better if not for the weather...

hubbi and me on the 89th floor!

it's a nice experience to walk round the 89th floor and take in the views of taipei from different directions.

i even purchased a postcard and mailed it back to our house from there!

wonder when will it arrive!? heh heh.

posing with some displays

oh, and 101 has one of the cutest mascots lor.

4 characters, all with 101 as their eyes and mouth. lol.

above is me posing with 1 of them.

ok, time to climb the last flight of stairs accessible to public to ascend the 90th floor which is an open area.

we were suitably awed by this notice.

imagining experiencing the strong wind whipping my hair round my face and peering over the edge!

gosh, so exciting.

but hor, 想太多了.

no wind and the wall was fenced up pretty high. bleh.

a still excited me!

yup, another 101 mascot.

and the huge golden ball behind is the mechanism stabilizing the building.

dont know how it works. got to ask ah long. :P

with that, we ended our short but quite fun experience with 101!

taipei part 1 - arrival

yay! dear dear and me are back from our short 5D4N taipei trip.

this has been a most relaxing trip for us.

as i've been there before, ah long set the pace for this trip.

which means, lotsa good food, naps back at the hotel for a few days of the trip and waking up absolutely late (like 11am!!).

haha. this is indeed a recharging trip as he said. :)

we opted for the noon flight instead of the morning one as we wanted to spend more time with yz.

travelling without him is really a pain.

we missed him so much!

so i've been diligently calling home for his updates 2-3 times a day.

the flight there was thankfully a very smooth one.

i do hate air turbulences so very much!

we touched down at taiyuan airport in 4.5hr time.

me wearing N95 mask.

yes, very 夸张 but better to take precautions.
and its damn hard to breathe throught the mask lor.

hope it really helps to block out nasty viruses.

bus trip from airport to city takes another 1 hr+. @_@

and it started drizzling by the time we boarded the bus. bleh.

luckily, the rain stopped by the time we reached our hotel and we ventured out immediately for our dinner.

our hotel area is at ximending which is bustling with people and activities on a thursday evening!

we had some local 鲁肉饭 which the husband apparantly enjoyed it more than me.

then its dessert time!


immediately whisked ah long to try the 绵绵冰.

so glad that he enjoyed this kiwi/strawberry/mango one. :)

after that, we strolled around XMD area, taking in the vibrant mood.

went back to hotel quite early at 10+pm and spent the night watching tv!

haha, yes i really like taiwan tv with their over 100 channels to surf! :P

misc photos:

no jaywalking unless you wanted to end up like the squashed tomato! hah.

activities galore!

what has the ng family been up to for the past 2 weekends?
just managed to upload some photos from the husband's mobile.
let's see!

last saturday:
went for hubbi's friend's daughter 1 year old bday bash @ quintet.
far far drive into the north-west.
let yz had a mini dipping time @ the baby's wading pool.
until he stumbled and got himself all wet. sheesh.



more fun for the husband and son than for me. oh well.

this friday:
went to catch GI Joe with hubbi since yz is staying at my mum's place. teehee.
really very action-packed and i enjoyed it much more than transformers 2!
my fav. character is storm shadow! very cool!

saturday:
a bliss to sleep till i woke myself up naturally at 10-ish.
had a late breakkie with ah long then freshen ourselves up and left for ubi to fetch the lil' terror!

left for vivo for some relaxing time after his afternoon nap @ mum's place.
usual activities include toy r'us for yz, some shopping time for meself, some gadget time for ah long. and then, the roof top chill-out time + daiso @ 3rd floor.

berry happy yz

sunday:

was supposed to meet the mummies @ botanic garden for pinic with other toddlers.

but yz still nursing a slight runny nose so we gave it a miss.

during lunch, yz followed hubbi to in-laws hse while i met up with ex-uni mates for lunchie @ vivo.

everyone is the same! good things never change! :)

hubbi came to pick me up at late noon and we went to my workplace!

my company having a mini national day celebration and staff+family are invited.

there were food+refreshments, activities (for the little ones) and also, the chance to see the fireworks from our office!

yz had a truly good time there and even though we left early to accomodate his bedtime, he was super fussy and cranky when we reached home.

well, i took it as a sign that he really enjoyed himself bah.

sitting on mummy's chair!

i need a good rest. been feeling tired by the flurry of recent activities.

heading taipei the day after!

hope this trip will be a recharging trip.

eat more, sleep more, walk less = my motto for this trip. hehe.

no brains one

How can you let someone who is nursing a cough to eat heaty fast food!
either a case of stupidity or selfishness.
i hate stupid and selfish people!
PUI!

a good evening... or maybe not.

yesterday was a good evening for the ng family. until i abruptly ended it short, that is.

545
picked yz from childcare.

600
reached home, changed yz out of childcare attire, cooked his porridge, washed his bottles, started the laundry. yz was being good, playing with his own toys and reading books.

630
managed to finish all the above (good time management!) and started to feed him dinner

645
finished dinner and fed him his desserts - baby yogurt. called the husband and he was slightly late from work.
to meet him downstairs at 720.
watched abit of tv while fooling around with the tod.

715
made our way down to wait for the husband.

720
met up with the husband and went to hawker for dinner.
after which, let yz spent some time at the playground.

815
reached home and put up the laundry.
wiped yz down, changed his diapers and into his PJs.
hubbi and me spent time with yz in his room.

845
milk feed to yz and getting ready to zzz.

900
lights off. i lied beside yz to accompany him to sleep.
the husband asked me to go outside to the living rm after yz sleeps to play a game of wii or to catch a movie on the pc.
looking forward to that.
UNTIL.... i really slept for good till this morning with yz!
HAHA.

it was a good and smooth evening so far.
the son behaved. some quality time with the husband and the baby.
if only, i've spend more quality time with hubbi after yz slept.
oh well, there is another time, i guess. :P

chomp chomp chomp!

molars eruption!
yz has 4 molars (2 up, 2 bottom) coming out at 1 go!
luckily no fever and he is not fussy as well.
just that his poo poo is abit watery and got strong sour smell. eeks.

seems like its not really an old wives tale when they have runny stools when growing teeth.
hmm..

killing me softly with(out) my heels

i love my heels.
i really do. even though they make my toes/feet go OUCH (!) at times.
but i really love them.

i used to wear them almost everyday.
then i stopped wearing them during weekends when yz got heavier + learning to walk/run.
but i continued to do during workdays.

NOW, i've to fetch yz from the childcare after work from mon-wed.
and high heels doesnt make sense again.
esp. when i've to carry him from the childcare to the carpark, load him into the baby car seat, drive back to our multi-storey carpark, THEN carry him down the stairs to our block again.
bless my squashed toes by the time we reach home.
not to mention the risk of a sprain and hurting him and myself.

so that left thursday/friday when he's away at mum's place.
poor me and my heels.
so little time spent together.
sigh.

and im getting fatter.
and not so good at balancing.
and nagging from people to STOP wearing heels.
sigh.

i know i've to stop soon so i wore them alot these few weeks.
some photos:


work attire to work on a friday....


with one of my fav. pair of leopard-print

met the gang after work so went home to change into shorts AND a new pair of heels!

newly acquired pair from charles n keith!

during weekend: to vivo with the husband and baby = mistake.

my toes do no resemble toes after running after baby and carrying him!

another pair of my fav. pair of heels. very versatile.

TODAY: wanted to wear this pair for the longest time so tried it on even though its supposed to be weekend = no heels with yz

sooo lovely. but i realised i have trouble balancing even when trotting around in the house!

gosh. i think i will fall flat on my face if i carry yz with it.

sigh, so changed back to safe old boring flats. :(

wont be long before i will be wearing flats most of the time.

sheesh.

this is really killing me.

baby's own(ours) room

as some of you know, we have tidied up the guest room and transformed it into a baby's room.

yz has started sleeping in this room as well as hubbi and myself.

the plan is to slowly let him sleep alone in time to come.

but i think that will take some time as i want to transit him to that real slow.

since he has to deal with transition to childcare currently.

so the changes:

1) living room becomes damn tidy and sparse suddenly. cos all his toys and stuff are shifted to the guest room.

2) our master bedroom becomes cold n lonely for we sleep in it only 2 nights a week, when yz is at my mum's place.

3) baby's room is warm and cosy and the ng family spent most of our time here!

here is a shot of the baby's rm:

quiet saturday

brought yz to jm's house for some R&R.
the little one was actually excited about going to 敏敏姐姐's house.
but upon reaching her house, he took nearly 2 hours to warm up to jm + stella. lol.

still, a nice relaxing afternoon spent with the gals and yz was relatively well-behaved.
thanks to the 2 hrs nap before that.

went back to fetch the husband and we adjourned to tiong bahru for a simple dinner.
the baby slept early at 9pm and as usual, hubbi and me veg out in front of the pc popping grapes and watching a movie.
its "zack & miri make a porno" this time round.
1st half of the show was hilarious but sadly turn mediocre after that.
i was expecting another forgetting sarah marshall.
but well, it aint lor.

photos!


ready to go out!


yz developed some nasty 热毒. can you see the 3 spots on his forehead, 1 on his right nostril, and his left ear.
subsiding now but must be itchy as hell for him!


playing ard @ jm's hse

home at night. a topless hubbi+ a disheveled wifey + a focused baby behind.

*weeee* wii!

yippee, finally pestered the husband to agree to get a wii set.
ok, not exactly successful cos he's still feeling v grouchy over the whole purchase.
he still feels that he's being cornered for the purchase and i will stop playing with it pretty soon for im never someone to stick to the same thing for long.
bleh!

whatever, im very the thrilled now! heheh.
cant wait to play with it when my games arrived tomorrow night! *wee*

vivo outing

yz has not been going out at all since last saturday.
so today we brought him to vivo to visit his fav. toy r'us!


hubbi and me!


i know, i know, yz needs a haircut.

finally, yz is able to wear the hard rock berlin t-shirt we bought for him last june!
father & son both wearing hard rock tees from berlin! :)

we actually brought yz to have his 1st japanese dinner! hiaks.

yz has a very full dinner feasting on california maki sushi, chawanmushi & udon noodles.

*burp*

after that onwards to his fav. toy store!
normally we let him run loose inside tinkering with any toys that cross his path.

and he really enjoy this!

soft toys section

after that, we went to the open area on 3rd floor to enjoy the breeze, scenery and a yummy strawberry milk shake. :)

chilling out

hahah can see the insides of yz's nostrils! :P

after grocery shopping @ giant, its time to head home.
and yz actually cried when we reached home, insisting to wear back his shoes and go out again.

wonder if its too fun an outing or he needs his sleep.

anyway, he knocked out before nine and hubbi and i managed to enjoy some time alone.

= fast n furious 4 + chips + pink dolphin. hmm... :)

caught "duplicity" with the husband yesternight since baby was not at home.
by the time we finished the show and ready for bed, its past midnight.
gosh, so tiring.
old age and late nights just dont go hand-in-hand. @_@

anyway, the show certainly live up to my expectations.
great acting and dialouge from the cast!
i esp. love clive owen's sexy deep voice! :))

ok, harry potter 6 tonight!
i hope i wont cry when dumbledore said bye bye! *teary eyed*

im a lousy mummy

last evening was a disaster.
i fetched yz from cc and reached home at 6pm.
no time to visit the loo or to even to change out of my working clothes, i busied myself preparing his dinner.
wash rice, put the pot on stove, cut vegetables + meat.
all this time , yz kept screaming and crying outside the kitchen's safety gate.
asking me to come out and carry him.

maybe he didnt nap enough at the childcare.
maybe he was feeling insecure after not seeing me for most of the day.
maybe i had a long day at work and not really in the mood to pacify an unreasonable baby.

so i shouted myself hoarse at him.
telling him that mummy is just in the kitchen doing stuff and not going anywhere.
telling him that mummy is preparing HIS porridge.
all these reasoning falls on his deaf ears from my shouting.

he continued to cry harder and at 1 point, a very sad him went to his own room and lied on the bed.
i softened up and asked him to come out and play with his toys or read a book.
MISTAKE.
he held on to my hand tightly and refused to let me go back to the kitchen.

and then the porridge bubbled up and started to overflow!
so i hitted his thighs and shouted at him again and rushed to the kitchen to salvage the porridge.
SIGH. and he sobbed all the more in the living room,
and the cycle began again with him crying for me to get out of the kitchen and me shouting at him.

ARGH!

the madness stopped when hubbi came home and proceeded to take care of the things in kitchen so i can just focus on feeding yz his dinner.

on hindsight, im really a lousy mummy.
i dont have the patience.
i dont have the patience.
i just dont have the patience.

when i saw his innocent sleeping face at night, i felt so guilty.
he's just a toddler who have yet to grasp what's right from wrong.
who just wants our attention and love.
and all i gave him are shoutings and tight slaps on his thighs/palms.

i will do better today.
i will.

p/s: on a sidenote, yz is slowly adjusting to childcare! he ran into the classroom this morning without even saying good bye to me! gosh!
hope this positive side of his will keep up! :)

good news!

yz actually didnt cry at all when we dropped him off at the cc this morning!
totally cames as a nice surprise for i really thought he'll bawl out loud since the last time he was there was 2 weeks back!

good job, son!
really hope he will adapt soon and learn to love his peers, teachers and activities there!

updates

hasnt been blogging for sometime.
that's becos yz has been down with a nasty flu+cough+fever combi from attending childcare.
bleh. its really as per some mummies said that most children will fall sick on alternate weeks!
it has been 1 month since he attended cc and with very lousy attendance anyway since he was sick half the time!

and he spreaded the virus to me, making me suffered an asthma relapse. gosh.
finally ive recovered and his illness is more stabilised now.
going back to cc tomorrow and i bet he's gonna cry his eyes out again after the long absence from it.
oh well, he really need to get use to the routine fast for everyone's good!




some silly photos taken with him last weekend since we were both grounded from going out.

finally, we went out to town yesterday after staying at home for the past few weekends!
off to paragon for some shopping..

while waiting for hubbi to get the car

we've decided to convert our guest room to baby's room this weekend.

so as to let him start sleeping in there instead of with us on a pathetic small mattress on the floor.

so we shifted all his toys, books, playmat, table+chair, alphabet board etc into the room.

he seems to like the room alot now. and he knows it as the baby room when we asked him.

so i went shopping for a nice mattress cover for his bed in the guest room as the current one is really of drab design. @_@

managed to find a nice mickey mouse bedsheet at aussino for him yesterday. :)

and we started sleeping with him in the room yesterday.

so far so good, but i dont know when will he ever sleep alone in it...


taking his nap while we con't our shopping

oh, and the husband got his bonus this month! and so far he has been giving me treats here and there!

there is the taiwan trip where he offered to pay for the flight surcharges and hotel fees.

and then a small sum of money for my shopping over there. transferred to my account sneakily. hehe.

THEN, yesterday he got me a pair of shades! :)

i've been looking for shades on-off all these time but somehow ended up getting something else.

was strolling @ lucky plaza yesterday looking for wii deals (yes, we are looking for wii lobangs..), started window-shopping for shades.

i really really like to have a gucci, prada or dior shades but bless my flat face, most of the shades i tried can never find a non-existant nose bridge to rest on.

sob sob.

so i asked the salesman, any models or brands are more suited for people without much of a nose bridge like me...sigh.

he recommended me some models from these brands but i dont really like the designs.

and finally, he mentioned that coach and fendi designs are more suitable for my faceshape.

and true to his words, most of these 2 brands fit my face nicely!

but fendi designs are really a tad too loud for me and coach is never in my list.
however, surprisingly coach designs are quite nice and i managed to find one which i really like.

hubbi helped me pay first as his esaver extra saver allows him to have a o.5% rebate.

and then afterwards, he said this will be a present to me! :)

haha, if only i can get a gucci or prada to fit my flat face. :P

me in my new shades!

the side design of the shades

anyway, im getting excited over the second half of the year.

coming up:

- taiwan trip with hubbi in mid aug!

- our 3rd year wedding anniversary in end sept!

- yz's 2nd bday in end oct! (thinking of a staycation for either this occasion or the wedding anniversary.)

- ronald cheng + william so concert in oct with the husband!

- candice's wedding in nov!

-my bday in dec!

something to look forward to every mth!

yz is getting stickier. to me, that is.
nowadays whenever we fetch him to my mum's place to stay overnight, he will resist saying goodbye to us. wailing and keep wanting to follow us back home. :(

scenario: me fetching him from childcare and sending him straight to my mum's place
day/time: wed/6+pm
venue: in our car

me: "baby, 我们要去ubi 了!"
yz: "不要，不要，不要去ubi."
me:??? then 你要去那里？"
yz: after pondering, "红山." (our house)
me: "你要不要见到婆婆，公公?"
yz: "要."
me: "要就得去ubi."
yz: ........

when its time to say goodbye, he will start crying asking to be carried by me.
so normally, i will sleep with him and leave with hubbi only when he's asleep at ard 10pm.
hmm, hope this is just a passing phrase for he has been staying overnight at my mum's since he was 4 mths old!
if not, it will be very hard for my mum to take care of him in my absence..