chilli crab

Agastya: Why does the tooth fairy have to get the tooth?
Me: Good question. I don't know.
Agastya: Maybe she has a collection. Teeth collection.

*gross*

Again with the marriage and baby talk

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:39:00 +0000

Agastya: Mom, what happen if I'm not married but someone give me a baby?
Me: Huh?
Agastya: So if I someone give me a baby but i am not married, what then? Do I give the baby away?
Me: Uh, I think you're supposed to take care of the baby. Whether you're married or not.
Agastya: What do I do with it? Name it Forsay or something?
Me: Forsay??? What kind of a name is that?
Agastya: Isn't it a cooooll name for a baby?

This conversation happened while Lila was watching tv and kept on pointing at it saying "I want that!" everytime she sees something, anything on tv. This girl is dangerous. She'll need a millionaire husband.

Water vs Milk

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Agastya: Do you know why i prefer milk than water?
Me: Is it because you think milk is tastier?
Agastya: No. It's because water comes from Earth's rivers, and Earth is running out of water.

Know your brand

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0000

We bought summer shoes for the kids today at the mall. As soon as we got to the kids section, Lila immediately picked the pairs she liked, while Agastya wanted our opinions for his choices. Of course she picked the pair that looked like cupid thrown up on it with glitters all over them, but she's a fashion guru so who am I to argue? When I took the shoes from her to show to the attendant for sizing, she complained, "NOOO!!! That's my SKECHERS!!"

Why yes it is Skechers, but who told her that?

Marriage and babies

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:06:00 +0000

My kids are such experts in being scary and entertaining all at the same time.

Take a conversation a few days ago:
Agastya: I'm never getting married.
Lila: I want to get married!!!!
Nagi (sounded extremely horrified at the thought): Who do you want to marry, Lila?
Agastya: Is it Manuel?
Lila: No! Me! I want to marry Lila!!!

Which brings us back to just now:
Agastya: I won't be happy if I have a baby.
Me: So you don't want to have a baby?
Agastya: Yeah. I wouldn't know how to feed my first born!
Me: (wow, ok, sensible...) Okay.
Lila: I AM HAVING A BABY!!!!!

Peace be with you

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 01:22:00 +0000

So it was Christmas Eve, and we as a family went to the church together. Lila had been an excited one, singing along mimicking songs she didn't even know. We came half an hour earlier but still had to stand up. Next time we'll have to be there an hour early to get a seat! Nevertheless the kids especially Lila were still high in Christmas spirit and didn't complain about not getting a seat.

When it got to the part where we're to shake each other's hand and say, "Peace be with you", she was in Nagi's arm, copying what Nagi was doing, but instead she shook everyone's hand enthusiastically, saying, "Can I sleep with you?"... "Can I sleep with you..."

Builders?

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:31:00 +0000

Ok I wonder where he gets this from, but out of nowhere (like most things he says) Agastya asked, "Why do builders exist?"
I don't know, do you? To that he replied, "So that God doesn't need to do things all by himself."

Whoa?

Another normal Saturday conversation (later in the day)

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:04:00 +0000

Another blabber talk, just ignore me I'm just in recording mode.

Agastya: Lila is not a baby anymore.
Nagi: Yeah just like you she is growing up all the time.
Agastya: I don't remember much about when I was a baby. Except that I remember I was VERY FAT.

*this is a situation where you want to laugh. So much. But can't. So we just kept quiet and try very hard to keep our composure.*

Agastya: I also remember playing with Opa Wiwiek. (how he calls my dad)
Nagi: Oh really? Who else do you remember, do you remember Opa Benny?
Agastya: Yes. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Lila: That's the moon!!! (totally killed the conversation)
Agastya: Where? Where?
Lila: There, Aga!
Agastya: Oh yeah.. Do you know Strawberry fairy?
Monica: No. How does she look like?
Agastya: She has red-coloured hair, green-coloured dress and peach-coloured skin.
Monica: Really? (wonder why he has to say 'coloured' for each one, and peach coloured skin???? He has better descriptive power than me!)

A Normal Saturday conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 14:42:00 +0000

Monica: I feel gassy. *burp loudly*
Nagi: Do you want ginger beer?
Monica: I don't like ginger beer.
Agastya: I want ginger beer!!!
Lila: I want a GINGER BATMAN!!!!!

------------

Monica: Hey, do you think you'll be having arranged marriage had you not met me?
Nagi: No, I don't think so. That's just not me. I won't ask anyone to find some donkey to marry me.
Agastya: You can't marry a DONKEY!!

High expectation, already

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:53:00 +0000

Manuel made something for Lila at playgroup. When I pulled it out of her bookbag and asked her, she confirmed that it's from Manuel. It's an artsy (scribbly) painting.

Agastya: Let me have a look.
Lila: No, it's mine. It's from Manuel!
Agastya: Whyyyyy didn't he make it in pink? Lila loves pink.

Looking after the little one

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:29:00 +0000

Agastya before his daddy took him to school: Mommy, look after Lila while I'm in school, ok?

[He doesn't normally say that when I drop him to school with Lila, though.]

Agastya after coming back from school: Mommy, did you look after Lila when I'm in school?
*seriously, now???*
Me: Yes, yes I did.
Agastya: Was she a good girl?
Me: Yes, actually she was.
Agastya: Does she miss me?
Me: Of course, she always does.
Agastya: How do you know?
Me: Because she sometimes asks if it was time to pick you up.

Agastya on Psychology 101

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:28:00 +0000

Lila was messing up Agastya's train track with her toys. She put them all around his track so his train can't go. On cue, he's obviously upset and starts yelling at her.

Agastya: Lila! Tidy up your toys!
Lila: No!
Agastya: That's a BAD girl! I am not going to clean up for you. I am the one who always tidy up! Now tidy up otherwise I won't be your brother!
Lila: NO! I don't want to!
Agastya: (increasingly getting louder) LILA!!! I want you to tidy up your toys NOW!!!
Lila: NO!!!!!
Agastya: *sigh, then suddenly changed his tone to very nice and soft* Lila, if you pick up your toys, then you're a good girl. Are you a good girl?
Lila: No.
Agastya: *still with nice tone* Such a good girl, Lila. Are you going to help me pick up your toys?
Lila: *picking up her toys and put it in her basket. Then look at Agastya for confirmation*
Agastya: Wow, Lila! Very good! Look mommy Lila is a good girl!!
Lila: *is happy and pick more of her toys up now*

Somehow I think he'd have no problem handling her.

Sometimes I wish I have instant replay and record button on life (like they do in Sky+) so that I can watch it again and again. I guess recording it on this blog has to suffice.

Especially when Lila does cute short thing unrepeatable, such as putting her hands to close her own eyes and say "Taa daa!!! I DISAPPEARED!"

BBC's 50 things to eat before you die - my list

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:56:00 +0000

1. Fresh fish - DONE. Nice.

2. Lobster - DONE. Nicer than fresh fish.

3. Steak - DONE. Best I had was probably at a Brazilian restaurant.

4. Thai Cuisine - DONE. Not my cuppa. Hot and sour isn't my thing.

5. Chinese food - DONE. Who hasn't?

6. Ice cream - DONE. My favourite flavour is vanilla. I'm boring like that.

7. Pizza - DONE. Again, who hasn't? But isn't my thing either.

8. Crab - DONE. Want more, always.

9. Curry - DONE. Nuff said.

10. Prawns - DONE. Thank God I'm not allergic to seafood like some people.

11. Moreton Bay Bugs - I need to google this.

12. Clam chowder - DONE. In the most appropriate place to try it too. Boston.

13. Barbecues - DONE. Sadly not enough time here. Shitty weather.

14. Pancakes - DONE. Best place I had it was at The Pancake Parlour with my Uncle Ben.

15. Pasta - DONE. My favourite kind is Spaghetti. (with seafood & garlic & olive oil.. yum!)

16. Mussels - DONE. I used to like this so much, Nagi used to buy them and cook for me. With garlic & wine sauce. Nice.

17. Cheesecake - DONE. My favourite is the one by Bread Talk. Chiffon Cheesecake. Waittaminit. Did it says cheesecake or gateux? I love Valerie's Strawberry Gateux. Cheesecake really isn't my thing either.

18. Lamb - DONE. I think Turkish/Greek/Middle Eastern cuisines have the best of them.

19. Cream tea - DONE. With warm scones and clotted cream. Kyaaa...

20. Alligator - DONE. In Melbourne. Wasn't all that nice..

21. Oysters - DONE. Fresh ones and omelette. Dunno which one I prefer. Both are nice.

22. Kangaroo - DONE. In Melbourne too. Same time as I tried the Alligator.

23. Chocolate - DONE. My Valentine is always confused because I don't like chocolates.

24. Sandwiches - DONE. Seriously. Why do you have to eat sandwiches before you die?

25. Greek Cuisine - DONE. Good stuff.

26. Burgers - DONE. No mayo please.

27. Mexican Cuisine - DONE. Best to have the with margheritas! :D

28. Squid - DONE. Oh yeah!

29. American diner breakfast - DONE. Pardon me, but what's wrong with the English breakfast?

30. Salmon - DONE. Don't like it raw.

31. Venison - DONE. Somewhere in a little town in Sweden.

32. Cuy - What the heck is this?

33. Shark - DONE. Nothing fantastic.

34. Sushi - DONE. Not my cuppa either.

35. Paella - DONE. Isn't this part of Mexican food? Oh is this Spanish? (confused)

36. Barramundi - DONE. Fantastic fish. I'm partial to white fish.

37. Reindeer - Not so sure if I had it or not, but I'm sure it's no different than Venison anyway.

38. Kebab - DONE.

39. Scallops - DONE. My god it's best on its own.

40. Australian meat pie - DONE. What's so good about them?

41. Mango - DONE. Still struggle to peel them even now.

42. Durian - DONE. Seriously. You DO NOT need to eat this before you die. You can die eating it. Or sitting under its tree.

43. Octopus - DONE. I think it's better than squid.

44. Ribs - DONE. Sticky fingers totally worth it.

45. Roast beef - DONE. I can think of better things to eat than roast beef.

46. Tapas - DONE. Again with the spanishy mexicany stuff?

47. Jerk chicken - Not sure what this is.

48. Haggis - DONE. Yep. Had it in Scotland.

49. Caviar - DONE. Agree, definitely something one should experience.

50. Cornish Pasty - DONE.

Need to do only 4 more things before I die? Hoh. I better slow down eh?

However, according to "Five things to eat before you die" list - guess I just wanted a shorter list, I only had to do number 3 and 4. Not going to do 4 I think so creepy.

The best of the best

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:11:00 +0000

From my latest trip to Indonesia, this is my recent compilation.

The best noodle place: Mie Agus, Semarang.
The best fried chicken: Ayam goreng Suharti, Yogyakarta.
The best bakso (meat ball soup): Bakso Pak Jo, Semarang.
The best Chinese food: Maystar, Jakarta.
The best massage place: Djemari, Yogyakarta.
The best frappe: Tiramisu frappe, Zest, Yogyakarta.
The best hang out place with kids in Semarang: S2 only on Sunday afternoon.
The best karaoke place in Semarang: Inul Vista.
The best soto ayam: Bokoran, Semarang.
The best mie jawa: Mbak Tik, Gg Pinggir, Semarang.
The best crab eating place: Rejeki, Semarang.

The best wedding I've ever been to: My sister's :D See, not even mine.

[This is personal list, and I'm not being paid for this so no offense to those whose business are not on my list. If only I had done more stuff there, there would have been more stuff in this list..]

Agastya on extinction

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:02:00 +0000

Agastya when asked what happen to dinosaurs:

They're extinct. Do you know what extinct means? It means they're dead.

So I asked him how they became extinct.

His reply:

All the dinosaurs were hunted by the most powerful one which is Tyrannosaurus rex - T-rex so they're all dead. And then the other strong dinosaur which is triceratops have a fight with T-rex so they were both dead. So all of them are dead because they're all fighting with each other. Fierce animals do that.

I asked then what about tigers, lions etc, do they fight too?

Yes.

Do you think they will become extinct then?

He ponders for a while and then said:

Yes, but tigers won't. But if tigers fight with each other, one of them will die, and then it will go to heaven. And Batman never dies.

Excuse any spelling mistakes this is done via iphone and i can't spell t-rex.

Lila's report

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:43:00 +0000

Yep it's that time of the year again for Mama Bear to brag about her beloved little cub. For those people who aren't a fan of this Mama Bear, shoo. You can look away now.

Some of the lines from Lila's report:

* shows emerging autonomy in self-care - especially hand washing
[Now, this line came up in a lot of places, at least 2-3 times. This translates to 'she likes playing with water.' Nothing about hygiene whatsoever, methinks.]

* communicates well whilst playing pretend.
[Oh how she loves playing pretend. She'll be happily sitting in front of the mirror. Talking. Admiring herself. Over. And over.]

* uses available resources to create props to s upport role play "I'm shopping!" whilst hooking lots of bags on her arms.
[Oh dear.]

* is starting to have her own friends.
[I noticed this actually. She can name friends that I don't even know]

* responded to another child who was feeling upset and acted to make them feel better.
[She's very caring, and likes to meddle on everything. When she knows I'm upset with Aga, she'll try to distract me so her brother doesn't get in trouble. More so when she knows I'm upset with her. Her power of distraction comes very naturally to her, effortlessly.]

She loves her hairdo, anything that resembles make up, is obsessed with bright colours (nail polish), loves flowers (put all flowers on her hair), adores jeweleries, and is terrified of flies and ants. She'd go ballistic when she sees them. Wait until she sees lizard back home. Ha. I can't wait.

She writes! She can only write number 1 :D, but she does that perfectly so. Draws a good circle. Holds pencil correctly. Not very good at drawing, and wants everyone to draw Ee-ya (Lila) all the time.

She's growing up too fast...

Wicked, good. 193 stairs, bad.

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:18:00 +0000

Disclaimer: Please excuse me if I write the wrong thing, for any typos or blabbers because I just got back and still under the influence..

I'm still high from the wicked experience that was Wicked the musical. Went with Tosha and friends. It was gooooooood. Really good. A few times I even get goosebumps. It was that good. [Ok see I was blabbering.] The cast sang very well, (hmm.. with the exception of a couple, but we can live with that) but especially the two main girl characters, they sang really good. Wow. Whoa. The stage was very well done, the orchestra was flawless, the choreography was excellent. The only thing that was lacking is that they don't sell food over there. [and it was kinda a mistake that we didn't have lunch before hand].

Let's trace back a little bit. The reason why we didn't have lunch was because we went shopping. We didn't really go to a lot of shops, we only went to two shops and Starbucks. Now the reason why we went to Starbucks was because we needed cool drinks. The reason why me and Tosha needed this cool drinks was because we just came out of Covent Garden tube station, climbing 193 steps of stairs. I called them Stairway to Heaven. To which Tosha said it was to Hell. The reason why we climbed 193 steps of stairs was... well.. we don't know why we did it. I blame it completely on Tosha. We saw the stairs, and I said oh look there's a lift let's take that. Tosha saw the sign that it says 'this stairs has 193 steps...' and she said 'Oh it's only 193 stairs. Easy! You don't want to go queue for the lift!' Err.. okay. Before even halfway I was about to give up. Tosha looked like she just came out of her buggy bootcamp. I for one didn't know that the trip to see Wicked the musical comes with free work out.

So we went to Starbucks, got our very nice frappucinos which we really really needed, then went to Zara. Got nothing. Tosha checked on her iphone and exclaimed that we needed to go the opposite direction to where we were walking in order to get to the theatre. Along the way there's HnM. We went inside, shopped till we drop with little damage (we really just like looking at stuff), then Tosha said oh we should really make a move since we promised to meet up with her friends around 2pm and it was already 10 to. Right. We quicken our steps, and she said the place is close to Leicester Square tube station. We arrived at Leicester Square tube station pretty much on time, but couldn't find the place. Walked around with iphone in order to get the right direction, and still no luck. Finally she realised that the place is not near Leicester Sq station but opposite to Victoria Station. Which thankfully not that far but we did have to rush.

After the show (which was brilliant. Did I say it was brilliant?), we went to have some drinks and then go home. This involves seeing and eating perfectly straight prawns. How weird.

So to sum up: Wicked, good. 193 stairs, bad. My legs are aching now. I never do workout voluntarily like this!

First philately

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:46:00 +0000

When we came back from school this afternoon Agastya saw a few letters that the postman has delivered through the door. He then asked who are those letter for (he usually asks this). I told him they're for daddy and mommy. He then asked why he never got any letter. That was new, he never asked that before. I told him if you have far away friends you can write to him then he will write back to you then you will get letters also through the letter box.

He chewed on this while chewing his snack, in the mean time I got busied cooking chicken. He then asked who can he send letters to. I suggested Vio, and he started working on it immediately. He asked me if he can write whatever he wants. I said of course, but a letter usually starts with 'dear someone', or 'hello someone', just like the way you greet people in real life.

This is what he come up with. He's so sweet he made me cry.

Nadia - please don't ruin it for Vio and let this come as a surprise. Wait for the letter don't tell him yet, ok? I will post this tomorrow and it will be there in the next 2 weeks or so. Please message me your home address - with his full name. There are a couple of pictures he drew also for Vio, which I won't post here.

Lila doesn't have my cleaning gene

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:21:00 +0000

Cleaning is not my strong point. I'd like to think I'm good at a lot of other things, though. I could be good at nurturing, understanding, supportive, or even studying if or when I really have to, but cleaning is clearly something that is not in my gene to do well. People who know me would know about this and there's no need to discuss about this flaw of mine, please. The best cleaning job I'd be able to do would be to delegate (pay money) for someone to do it. I still do it because I have to (as I do not like unclean house obviously), but I detest doing it. I'd rather be... oh I don't know, doing anything else but. I could probably like it if cleaning is more of a social thing to do. Like you clean while you pour your heartbroken stories over cups of coffee. Like that would ever happen!

However, I've been doing cleaning so much lately (spring always brings in a LOT of dust!) that Lila has started to take interest in that. Now, she seems to take over her mother by her preference to water over other types of liquid. Obviously being a kid, her choices are limited to juice, squash. No wine, beer, tea, coffee or spirit yet, I'm afraid. She doesn't even like hot chocolate. Her mom doesn't like chocolate but hot chocolate she does. Now, everytime Lila spills something - thank goodness for her partiality to water - she won't ask my help but ask for a paper towel or something to wipe it. She'd swipe over it thoroughly, and then when she's satisfied she'll say 'There. All nice and clean!'.

Hopefully this means my non-cleaning gene skips a generation or two.

Charlie Chan experience

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:45:00 +0000

We go to Charlie Chan like it's a routine pilgrimage.

The kids were excited even before we left the house when they know they're going to Charlie Chan. (oh note Agastya's new haircut)

Once we're seated, they'll want to play with stamps. They're pretty much happy at the moment knowing good food is coming soon. No stamps necessary, really, but we just do it to keep them occupied so mom and dad can have conversations about world peace and all that.

Other activities include hugging.

The food arrives after a short wait, and they'll start digging, or in Lila's case 'forking'.

This is cuttlefish cake, our all-time favourite and must be ordered every single time.

We usually order fried egg-custard buns for desert.

Look mommy food's all gone!!

I get a lot of kisses at Charlie Chan.

PS: I have no relations whatsoever with the restaurant, this is a mere appreciation of good food and service. I give a lot of credit for people who make me happy.

Lunch time and legos

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:43:00 +0000

Lila has been trying my patience this week. She's sweet most of the time, but throws tantrum sometimes when she doesn't get what she wants, being a stubborn little princess that she is. She's way more stubborn than Agastya. She knows what she wants and has a one track mind. However, when she's being sweet (which I reiterate is most of the time), she's extremely sweet, although I am slightly biased.

The look - She's a lady and she will give you this look.

I have given her first record last week, containing observations and photos of glimpses of what Lila had done in Playgroup. Here are some of what I liked to share from the record:

* At the end of the morning the children were asked to sit in the circle, Lila said 'Mummy coming now'. (awww.. Mummy misses u too)

* At snack time she was offered tangerine, pear and breadsticks but only take the breadsticks, saying a firm 'No' to the fruits. (of course, no surprises there).

* She enthusiastically agreed to try and go to the toilet. After she had been, she jumped up and down saying 'I did it, I did it!' (she does it every single time at home too, and refuses to use potty now. She never has an accident and I am going to try night time training soon.)

Lunch time when she's in her good mood, she'll be very good with her spoon. Her usual food is soupy, and she uses spoon to scoop up the rice and the soup.

She's been crazy with colouring at the moment. I've printed out lots of materials from various website for her to colour her favourite TV characters.

While Lila's been in colouring-craze, Agastya has been in Lego-craze mood. The day he came back from Duxford Air Museum, he sat for a loooong time in front of his Lego bucket and created aeroplanes, transformed it into rocket, then transformed it into helicopter.

This is the helicopter that I managed to quickly snapped before he transformed it into anything else:

A choo choo train. The stairs is where people go up and down. Why does it look like a rhino to me?

A boat, using as what he called a Crazy lego (Magnetix):

A big barn for Spiderman and other superheroes.