Splatter Painting

It's been a while since Bubs and I did any kind of art at home together. Now that he has better control with colour pencils and crayons, he likes to do his own scribblings and doodles in little notebooks but I still miss our sessions. As I was about to throw away his old, worn out - and also gnawed to the bone bristles toothbrush - an art idea came to me and as usual, Bubs was game for it. Splatter painting using his old toothbrush!

You'll need:
An old toothbrush
Watercolours
Preferably stiffer paper

The first mistake I did was to put in way too much water when mixing the watercolours. These resulted into giant blobs of coloured water drops on the paper.

Hubs showed Bubs how to hold the toothbrush upside down and flick them with his fingers. Bubs gave it a cautious few tries.

Bubs started to get the hang of it and had so much fun messing around with the colours. He experimented with shaking out the wet blobs and then tilting the paper so the colours streamed down.

Non stop flicking. First with one hand then both at the same time. Be warned, this is a very messy activity and the colours go everywhere. We'd to stop a few times so I could wash the toothbrush in between colours to avoid everything from turning a yucky shade of brown.

The end result :)

While Hubs was Away

The last time Hubs went on a business trip, he was stuck in Japan during the earthquake of 2011 and his previous manager felt so bad about it that Hubs managed to escape business trips for a long time. Given that Bubs was just 6 months old at that time, Bubs can't quite remember a time when Hubs wasn't around to put him to bed. So it goes without saying that this time around when Hubs had to spend 2 nights away in Melaka, Bubs was inconsolable.

"Mummy, I want Daddyyyyyyyy ..." he repeated over and over again.

To distract him and also preserve my sanity, we hotfooted over to my parents' place which is like paradise on earth for Bubs. Grandparents that dote on him, unlimited Disney Channel, a toy buffet courtesy of my nephew who has outgrown most of his action figures, not to mention a piping hot dinner served and I didn't have to lift a finger ;)

Bubs is one incredibly lucky kid to have a Grandma that keeps his older cousin's toys in immaculate condition for him. He was over the moon when handed this set of Lego Hero Factory toys. "Look, Mummy, the Lego robots are all dancing together!" Errrr ... if you say so ...


Come bedtime when we had a video call with Skype, or rather a "photo call" as Bubs called it, Bubs was hysterical again.

"Come back, Daddyyyyyyyy, I want you back now!" he wailed so loud that even Hub's colleagues could hear him over the phone.

The only way to placate him was to let him clutch one of Hub's unwashed tee and holding on to a Tesco card which Hubs gave to him before he left for the airport :(

Thankfully Hubs came back as promised and I don't know who was more relieved: Bubs or me!

My Very Belated Mother's Day Gift

Look what hit our shores in time for a somewhat belated Mother's Day gift for me :D That's right, series 2 of the Simpsons for Lego. All together now *squeals* Told Hubs that since I'm not a huge fan of all the characters in this release (sorry Moleman and Comic Book Guy) in addition to already having the whole Simpson family from series 1, he can skip buying the full collection and just let me feel my way through the blind bags at Toys r Us.

The Toys r Us branch at Gurney was well prepared. This year, they had 4 shelves full of the Simpsons minifigs at the Lego section and a huge collection of blind bags for me to squeeze and feel my way through the ones that I really wanted.

Resisting the urge to just rip the bags apart the moment we stepped out from the store, I turned them into a little bedtime ritual, prolonging that delicious moment of confirming if indeed, I picked the right ones.

Woo hoo! It was a 100% success rate: Patty and Selma, Smithers - you've got to love that Malibu Stacy detail there! Edna Krabappel and Groundskeeper Willie. Patty and Selma were relatively easy to find due to their distinct hair and if you want to tell feel them apart, they have different accessories. Mrs. Krabappel is the only one with a coffee mug so make sure you can feel the mug's handle. Groundskeeper Willie's toilet plunger has a long stick which can be felt through the blind bag.

And to complete the Simpson family collection: Santa's Little Helper and Snowball! These took a LOT of feeling my way through the blind bags to find. Here's a clue if you're having difficulties differentiating them: Snowball is a lot smaller, has a very distinct curvy tail plus Lisa's minifig has a separate torso and legs. 

Mr. Burns and Smithers reunited at long last :) If there's going to be a series 3, let there please please please be Sideshow Bob, Principal Skinner and Homer's drinking buddies!

The Weekend with Aussie Godma

Aussie Godma gave me the best ever birthday treat: a surprise visit back! It's been a friendship that spans decades and firmly cemented with lots of shopping, cooking lessons - she makes the best chilli crabs - and sleepovers. She now calls Sydney home, where we first bonded over our first factory outlet discovery, and each time she makes a much anticipated trip back, we just hang out like old times.

Who else is crazy enough to think of playing Jenga at Miam Miam but Aussie Godma? Bubs was giggling non stop each time he gingerly removed a block. Since that he was the youngest, he was given the privilege of using both hands to play.

Hubs took Bubs to Toys r Us so us gals could catch up on our shopping. We watched Avengers 2 last week so Bubs was reenacting the Hulk vs Iron Man scene.

While this H&M watercolour tiled pencil skirt with gold zippered pockets got Aussie Godma's seal of approval and made its way home with me. If you're purchasing from H&M, don't forget that donating a bag of old clothes/fabric entitles you to a single use only 15% discount card.

We made our way to ack jiap (duck noodles) at Kimberly Street for dinner and yes, I kid you not, the humble hawker stall actually installed a point of sale machine to charge GST. That didn't deter the crowds though, before the seller arrived, there was a long time of people waiting to place their order.

 

Besties bonding over a mutual love of char koay teow.

3 things

The 3 things that made my week.

If you regularly work with process flows, this genius chalkboard menu at Spade Burger will definitely get a chuckle from you. And the burgers ... mmmm *burger coma* plus the fries. Let's just say that although on the pricey side, this has resulted in many repeated visits for us.

Because flowers never fail to cheer me up and I'm now tempted to pop down to the wholesaler's to add more blooms.

Even though Hubs think that we have way too many plates from Daiso, I couldn't say no to this lil pink bunny. Bubs and I fight each other for the exclusive use of this plate :)

Mini Books by McDonald's

For those of you that missed out on last year's McDonald's Happy Meal mini books, they are back again this month :D Unfortunately, the Magic School Bus isn't included in the line this time around but there are heaps of DK animal Watch me Grow books.

I like these as they present amazing animal facts into bite sized information chunks that are visually engaging plus easy to cart around. Did you know that baby penguins are born with an egg tooth to help them break open from their shell?

The Penguin book is one of Bub's favourite and we've been using it together with a tiny globe that my Mum gave him to show him where the they live. I've been trying to build up our non-fiction library so these are really gems and I can't wait to get more of these!

Mother's Day

I was surprised with a small posy of flowers for Mother's Day and put our collection of jam and pasta jars to good use. One of the labels couldn't be properly removed so I stuck a piece of discarded wrapping paper around it ;) Bubs helped to decorate his little chalkboard and hey presto, instant Mother's Day cheer.

Bubs made this at kindy. I asked if he was driving a car in the picture? Nooo, Mummy, he waggled his finger at me sternly, we're going cherry picking!

No fancy meals but a very satisfying lunch that included a very cute blushing onigiri, rojak, chendul (Hub's and Bub's staple) and nutmeg spiked ice kacang.

And the best gift of all: my lil guy that taught me what it's like to love unconditionally. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Madeleines

I spotted RM5.30 (thanks for increasing your prices after GST) Madeleine moulds at Daiso and could have literally whooped for joy as I've been wanting to try out Madeleines for a long time. Think of Madeleines as French kuih buloh with their buttery taste encased in a bite sized shell shaped sponge cake.

This recipe was really easy and makes precisely 10 Madeleines in the Daiso pan. Since they were a hit with Hubs and Bubs, I'm thinking of getting an additional pan and doubling the recipe for more of these beautifully flavoured gems.

Ingredients:
2 eggs  
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract  
1/8 teaspoon salt  
1/3 cup white sugar  
1/2 cup all-purpose flour  
1 tablespoon lemon zest  
1/4 cup butter  
1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter and flour 12 (3 inch) Madeleine molds; set aside. 
Melt butter and let cool to room temperature. 
In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and salt at high speed until light. 
Beating constantly, gradually add sugar; and continue beating at high speed until mixture is thick and pale and ribbons form in bowl when beaters are lifted, 5 to 10 minutes. 
Sift flour into egg mixture 1/3 at a time, gently folding after each addition. 
Add lemon zest and pour melted butter around edge of batter. Quickly but gently fold butter into batter. Spoon batter into molds; it will mound slightly above tops. 
Bake 14 to 17 minutes, or until cakes are golden and the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertip. 
Use the tip of the knife to loosen madeleines from pan; invert onto rack.
Immediately sprinkle warm cookies with granulated sugar.

Apparently, "successful" Madeleines will develop a characteristic bump at the bottom. I managed to get it using this recipe. If the little bumps are important to you, online recipes seem to recommend chilling the batter in the fridge plus freezing the Madeleine moulds. I kept the batter for about 30 mins in the fridge for the flavours to develop but I did not freeze the moulds.

A couple of variations that I did:

•  Using molasses sugar instead of white sugar. These resulted in dark brown Madeleines but subsequently, fudgier and more moist.
• Brown the butter - this makes for a richer taste - but be careful not to burn it!
• I was lazy and skipped flouring the moulds though I did butter them thoroughly.
• Also skipped sprinkling sugar over them at the end - Bubs doesn't need any reason to be more hyper
• Planning to try lavender flavoured ones in the future. Infuse dried (edible) lavender into the melted butter for at least 15 mins, then strain out the butter.

Birthday Week

Another year older, another year filled with more fab family, friends and food :)

My colleagues are more than aware of my love for Lego and got me a set that I'd wanted for ages *don't judge* behold, my first ever Lego Friends!

 

*squeals* Aren't all of the little details adorable? A tiny, swinging monkey on a branch, pastel flowers, lush palm fronds ... so much nicer than Bub's boring vehicles. Even Bubs was enchanted and wanted to help build the "Barbie Lego" as he called it.

KL Godma has a knack of recommending books that leave a place in my heart forever. Last year, it was John Green's The Fault in our Stars which left me in tears. This time around, she gave me a copy of the Rosie Project for my birthday and I could not put it down. Without giving away the plot, this is reminiscent of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time but a much lighter version.

A birthday present for myself: Uniqlo Mr. Men Little Miss Relaco pants. I've been waiting for them to go on sale for ages - oh the cuteness overload - and when they were RM29, I couldn't resist swooping in on a pair.

 

Hub's birthday surprise for me was at Isaribi Tei, one of our favourite Japanese restaurants. I always feel slightly tense there because the owner is somewhat ... well, you do the Google search but the food there is good and they serve the best raw (unbaked) cheesecake in Penang. To Bub's and my delight, Hubs ordered a whole cheesecake this round so we could savour it slowly at home.

Happiness is Ice Cream

Bubs still talks about that Bangkok trip, "Mummy, remember that cool hotel with the TV right in front of the bed?" and so I tried to re-create one of the best bits for him.

Voila! Coconut ice cream with fresh chunks of succulent mango sprinkled with yellow lentils to add some crunch. This will keep us going for a while before our next trip :)