Date night : second attempt

Two nights ago, the husband and I made plans to go on a date night. Half hour before dinner, he called me to say he was still at work. Bummed out, I was but little I could do so my dinner turned out to be instant noodles.

Last night, we tried again and this time, we made it. 

Dinner was at Fat Cow, a place that we had read about but never tried. Since we were meat-lovers, it seemed a good place for us to try. 

The place was warm and cosy - the entrance so inconspicuous that I walked right past. The husband started off with a Yuzu Umeshu - it was refreshing and tasted yummy. 

With guidance from our server, we picked our dinner for the night - items which he recommended. 

Fresh bream with truffle sauce - very very fresh and sweet

Tempura zucchini with fresh scallops and crab-mash

The hero dish - tenderloin, half-cut, medium

Sides - super-tasty mushroom with some amazing sauce and cold noodles (slurps)

Everything was very tasty and though they bordered on salty for me, it was still very enjoyable. The husband had another yuzu umeshu, and I had a lemon-ginger-umeshu. He also had a glass of red.

My favourite was the beef, obviously because it was so smoked and fragrant - lovely.

Credit mention: thanks to the sister for generously sharing the voucher with us

After dinner, we headed to Dempsey for dessert. It was an on-the-whim kinda decision and it was nice, to have extended time together. 

Key lime pie ad chocolate doorstop + ice-cream

Cakes wholly devoured, and a frisky husband who needed
the newspapers to keep him occupied

I was so stuffed by the end of the night, it was not funny. My tummy was literally bursting at the seams. But I was full, not just from the delicious, decadent food; but from the precious time that the husband made for us to go on this dinner. 

I enjoyed last night, thank you baby. #love

Expressing frustration in writing

Last night, was a typical night where the kids were watching TV, and arguing over which channel they want to watch (this recently happened when the girl figured out how to switch channels on the remote) and came a moment where they disagreed and started to squabble. I tried to mitigate but they were still fighting and in a fit of frustration, I said that they were both not allowed to watch TV anymore; because they cannot come to a common agreement (I apply the same rule when they cannot share something. You fight? No one gets it.)

So anyway, the girl started to act up and acted very bratty, making a big deal of needing to switch channels and began to cry. I did not agree with how she was behaving and sent her to her room. 

She was not happy, to say the least; stomping away and yelling and crying very loudly. 

I tried to not let her bother me, and continued to sit with the boy who was - as usual - calmly going on with his life. 

When we were done with TV time, we proceeded to story-book time. The noise had stopped from the room; and I asked the boy to invite his sister to join the story-telling session if she wanted to. He goes to the room and comes back alone, saying "no, she don't want."

Okay.. so we started to read and after one page… she stomps out. With a book in her hand. She hands it to me and simultaneously weeps,"I am very sad, MOMMY….."

From my baby girl

I hugged her and asked her to calm down, and we started to read the book. By the end of the story, she was fine. I then told her that I sent her off because she was crying for no reason and it was not necessary. I understood that she was sad, but I'm glad that we managed to resolve it.

Sometimes, I really want to laugh at my child's antics, but she is such an amazingly sensitive and emotional child that I totally see myself in her. She has never resorted to writing like this before, though I also very seldom send her off to calm down (it's usually the boy who gets sent to naughty corner for his antics). Maybe this is one way for her to regain her composure than losing it.

Oh my sweet child, let's grow up on this journey together. I love you so much baby Kate.

Accidental arms workout

An accidental workout (oh my back and arms) when you go over ambitious doing grocery shopping midweek on your own with a ton of things...

> 5kg !

Sunday night guilty indulgence

Late night TV

Meet my friends, Ben & Jerry

OK, doesn't look great but it tastes pretty awesome with brownie from the ice-cream and
added crunch from my crushed digestives

Mine, all mine.

Penang - Day 2, a day of unfulfilled food, fun slides and foot massage

The morning came too early, with the boy whining when the sun was not fully up. I was so torn, wanting to sleep some more and pretend that I could not hear him; but at the same time I wanted to do a workout so that I would feel more geared up to consume all the calories I anticipated for the day.

The noise made him impossible to ignore, so up I got and brought him out of the room.

My gym buddy - he basically sat there playing guarding his toy (after earning it)/ watching youtube and just being there.

The tiny gym

By the time I was done with a session of yoga, the parents were awake. I deposited the kids with them for breakfast, then proceeded to wash up. The sister went for a run, the brother slept in.

Big, little girl

Small, big boy

With the hotel kids club mascot

For no reason, here is our room. It is full of beds. 

After breakfast, everyone rested about and the kids had a dip in the pool. It was a short play and then it was time to wash up and set off. We were pretty geared up to eat and eat and we were all very excited. 

First stop, famous ngoh hiang.

First stop - famous ngoh hiang. It was ok, not super-fantastic, in my opinion.

SOMEONE WAS GRUMPY

After this famous stop, we were driven around to catch the key sights of Penang from within the van, then we rocked up to the Penang Peranakan Musem.

Being cultural at The Peranakan Museum 

Our friend made himself comfortable "I love carpets!" - uh, he was sitting on the carpet and pulling his bum across the edges of the whole carpet HA HA

K trying to figure out what this was (a very old-fashioned camera)

Very tired by now, he just wanted his milk

GASP - look!

Stunned face

Bats on the ceiling… with their poop on the floor

This fascinated the kids for a bit but the stench of their poo was quite unbearable. Coupled with the heat, the boy and I made our escape to somewhere cooler; having lost interest in the museum.

LET US OUT OF HERE!

By the time the tour was over, it was nearly an hour+ later and we were brought to our next snack-stop.

Famous egg tarts and salted-yolk kueh

It was flaky and okay (only)

CHENDOL!

Admittedly, the chendol was pretty good. It was very filling though and I cannot imagine the amount of calories in that cup. But the gula melaka was so smooth and sweet and tasty, it was perfect for the heat. The deal was made sweeter because our guide had 'friendly ties' that allowed us to not need to queue up at all. The queue was pretty scary and it may have been awful if we needed to queue up for this.

On the street of Penang, happy with our chendol

We then wanted to eat proper lunch - Hello char kway teow! - but alas, it was not meant to be. We headed to three different spots to try their famous noodles but they were all sold out. We were pretty bummed and by that time, it was already nearly 3pm. Having lost patience to search for another food spot, we settled lunch by a huge tent by the side of the road. Literally, street food. It was so so only, and average fare. But at least we had proper food rather than bits and bobs of food.

Post-lunch food coma. K was waiting to catch her jiujiu drooling HAHA!

After our heavy meal, we decided to do a pitstop at the supermarket. We did not get anything much, though the brother and his girlfriend managed to squeeze in a snack of KFC! By the time we got to the hotel, it was late afternoon. There was a small window before dinner, and I brought the kids to the indoor playground attached to the hotel. 

Playground monkeys

Going up the steps with their gunny sacks

WHEEEEEEE

The key attraction at the playground were three very exciting and thrilling slides. The kids loved it and I had a go too. Pretty heart-stopping activities!

Happy hour drinks

Sandplay

By the time the sun set, we were not hungry enough, but stomach-ready to have our dinner. That night, we headed to a zhi char shop to eat our dinner. It was walking distance from our hotel and it was pretty good chinese fare. After dinner, we walked past maccas/petrol station where we had ice-cream for dessert.

We headed back to the hotel and this time, I helped the Mother dress the kids and put them down; then headed out for a massage again. It was so so good and I really just wanted to relax. I went on my own this night, while the sister and her boyfriend went on a walkabout; and the brother and his girlfriend went to rest early too.

That ended up our second day in Penang.

Family fun in Penang

So, I shared how we went on a family trip. Here's documenting our time together. 

That first day, we made our way to the airport mid-day. 

On the way - we were punctual! *gasp 

Meanwhile, in the other van...

We met at the airport and proceeded to check in.

#siblinglove

After that (no, I was not allowed to check the kids in. I asked.), we had lunch so that the husband will feel inclusive, and then we were off.

#familyfie before boarding!

The little man beside me on the plane

K was with Mom, and Dad and I sat with this little man. He was pretty good. He played with the window shades, looked out the window, we chatted about flying or not or getting ready to fly and after he had his milk, he went to sleep. I spent the hour reading my magazine in peace. It was a bit squeezy, but it was bearable. 

Upon landing, we took a van to our hotel, Golden Sands. It took us a while, due to a toilet stop plus the traffic jam, and with the whiney kids who were bouncing off the van walls … it was pretty noisy and we were all relieved when we arrived. Hooray!

After checking in, we freshened up and headed out for dinner. It was a simple, assorted kind of food-fare at a local food court where we ordered one dish from every possible stall to get every type of variety into our tummies. 

Post-dinner, we had drinks at the lobby (happy hour!) and played a game called "2-minutes". It's quite simple really, you need a toy that a yakky child really really wants; an impatient child who does not want to/able to keep quiet; and withholds the desired toy until he keeps quiet for two minutes. We played this game for 45minutes before named child got his prize.

The key player in game - Two Minutes.

After he achieved his objective of getting his toy, the kind Mommy put the kids to sleep, the sister, the boyfriend and I went for a foot massage just across the street from our hotel.

I was totally enjoying myse…zzz…zzz… 

I went to bed past midnight, in a very very cosy room of 4 beds for 5 people (3 adults and 2 kids).  

Hello, Penang!

Grumpy

Been very uptight and grumpy lately. This, despite me trying for exercise daily (or near daily). Maybe it's lack of sleep. Maybe it's hormones.

I don't know, but I don't like being uptight and grumpy.

#breathe

Flowers for Mommy

From my sweet firstborn

.. my cheeky second born...

And my first love, the husband.
Thank you for the bouquet of Mommy's Day flowers.

#love

Day 18: Bye bye USA - again

So, after our failed attempt to go home yesterday, we awoke again in the hotel and prepared to go home.

Getting ready to go

After breakfast, we proceeded to make our way to the airport - just like how we did it yesterday. 

Silly babies

And just like yesterday, we made our way to the aeroplane.

Gangway style

Settling into our seats

Transit at Narita

We had noodles, to warm our tummies, and because there was timezone differences, someone was extremely tired. By the end of eating, and whilst picking up some snacks…

Someone fell asleep!

Boarding, the last plane that took us home.

Just like that, the holiday was over. Truth is, when the kids fell sick on the first leg of the holiday, they did not enjoy the car rides or "mountain - I hate the mountain!" very much at all. K was constantly complaining that the water tasted weird "so smelly!"; besides Disneyland that really occupied them that first day; they had different feelings about each stage. The car rides bored them I think, but thinking back, we coped pretty well. Other than K having motion sickness on the drive up the dreadful mountains, the kids were pretty well-behaved; and we talked a lot, sang a bit, played silly games and ate our way through the states with our trusty mobile pantry. It was such a small space that housed us for hours and hours; and I wouldn't change a single thing (well, ok maybe that one time that I needed to pee so bad that the husband and I had a squabble about my lousy attitude). 

The shopping experience was fine, we bought more than we needed but I think if we had more money; we'd have wanted to get more too. The truth is, the currency was not entirely in our favour so that pinched a little.

Food wise, my best meals were definitely in Vegas and San Francisco. At Vegas, it was the chance to indulge in the best buffet and eating such good meat; at SF it was the homeliness of home-made breakfast (ah, that lingering smell of toast, scrambled eggs and bacon) and sating the craving for proper chinese food. The bad, fried, fast-food really overwhelmed me at times; and it wasn't the best. I can imagine how unhealthy the locals are because of the easy access to all the bad food - though for my palette now, I cannot stomach too much of the oily grease. I actually just don't want to eat another french fry or burger or anything salty because it was just, ugh.

The weather - such lovely weather - played a big part on the trip and while I think we overpacked for most of it because only the mountains were super-duper cold, I guess we needed what we needed when we needed them!

The sight-seeing, the experiences - it was very special being introduced to Yosemite and reminiscing the past with the husband, and introducing it all to the children. While honestly, I wasn't the one who opted to bring the kids along; there are no regrets having done that because this truly builds a big part of our memories as we expose them to so much the entire 18 days that we spent together 24/7.

For the husband and I, it reinforced that while we each had our moments; we work pretty well as a team and truly, that's what you need in life. To have a decent partner to walk alongside with, laugh with and share things with so that we build upon this life that we share.

We love to travel and I'm so glad that we did this holiday. It took me (only) three months to finish capturing each day of our travel and I know that we will have more to share and as we start to plan our next get-away.

Thank you for the great time, USA. Until we meet again.

Love, the Seahs.