I've done the 7th day! Just so you know. So scroll. Or maybe not. You're not missing out on much.

Through my eyes

A walk down my favourite stretch between Leicester Square and Covent Garden.

I exit Leicester Square Tube station. Clasping Cheeks' hand tightly in mine, we cross the bustling street, onto Great Newport Street. We stride past The Arts Theatre ('that's where we saw Gruffalo's Child!' pipes Cheeks, every. single.time), Bureau (purveyor of lovely, expensive stationery supplies), the Photographers' Gallery, pizza joints. I tut-tut with my eyes as trishaws tear down the narrow streets, ringing their bicycle bells to draw attention.

At the junction of St Martin's Lane, walk straight ahead and this leads us to Long Acre, a shopping stretch that's home to many a high street store - NEXT, Reiss, GAP, Zara etc. Turn left and that brings us onto Monmouth Street.

Ah. Monmouth Street. With its melange of independent boutiques and shops - how I adore thee. We pass interesting cosmetic shops - brands I've never even heard of, peer covetingly into vintage boutiques with gorgeous shop displays, busy pubs, intimate cafes, a florist, finally arriving at Orla Kiely... Oh Orla, how I love browsing through your irresistably beautiful store (note operative word). I love everything. The store decor, the products sitting prettily on shelves, even the gorgeous lampshades. I do not know how best to say goodbye... should I buy me a mug, rainy day wellies, a bag?!

And then there's Candy Cakes, a cafe with a facade so sweetly-hued (pink, turquoisy shades), it's hard to miss. I'd go there every week if I could, just to have a milky cup of English Breakfast tea, enjoy cupcakes with brightly coloured frosting, and look at the rainbow display infront of me... I'm instantly transported to a happy place.

Cheeks and I thoroughly enjoyed our lemon poppy seed and blueberry cheesecake cupcakes today. They added an extra inch (possibly 2) round our waistlines/hips, but darn it, we were happy.

tea with Jo and Becky

Round the bend

Blogging will be at snail's pace over the next few days. Besides obligating myself to finishing that infernal ditty (you know the one *roll eyes*) and a gazillion other incomplete posts, I am also surfing the internet, trying to do some research for our upcoming Big Apple trip.

Yes, another holiday. Please don't hate us. We are blessed, I know. But also very broke. The number of money transfers that have been ping-ponging from one savings accounts to another is, quite frankly, spiking my heartrate.

We leave next Tuesday. This means taking Cheeks out of nursery during school term. And we've just started a new term after that 2 week break!

While I'm not too perturbed by her skipping nursery - it's not like she's missing out on REAL lessons or anything - I am a tad concerned about the disruption these holidays are causing to our daily routine. And I like routine.

Afternoons are pretty much free and easy with walks, playdates, trips to the Common/library. But these are what we do, mornings:

• Rise and shine, loo visits, et cetera et cetera,
  
• Cheeks has breakfast. Sometimes she watches telly. Or not, depending on her mood. Sometimes she doodles during breakfast.
  
• I potter around the kitchen. Have myself a mug O tea! mug O Tea! Begin preparing lunch.
  
• At 9:30am thereabouts, we begin 'Lessons'. This is when I go through the alphabets, numbers, mandarin vocab, learning to tell time with her.

--> Not all together a very pleasant exercise, I have to admit. She absolutely ABHORS lessons! And the more distracted she is, the more irritable I get, and the more our neighbours HEAR ME. Seriously, I wonder why I even bother? She'll learn all these at school, no? Each session leaves us visibly upset, our chests heaving in frustration. Still, there are SOME good days. Thank God!

• After lessons, it's bathtime for the both of us - she suds in the tub, I lather in the shower.
  
• Lunch! chomp chomp chomp!
  
• If there's still time, we play for abit. Else we get ready for school, or get ready to go out.
  

So yes, this routine will be disrupted. Oh I know, it's a holiday... heck?!

The weather has been tottering on wonderful these past 2 days. Despite the morning showers, I was able to walk Cheeks to school clad in a top (only!) and jeans. OMG OMG! Does this mean I can finally relegate all my winterwear to storage?

On Monday, seeing how school was having an inset day and wasn't open till Tuesday, I decided to bring Cheeks to the One O'clock Club at the Common. It's been ages since our last visit. Cheeks' nursery session falls smack during the opening times of the Club and by the time she finishes, the Club is ready to close for the day.

Seeing her play at the Club made me realise how much she's grown these past 2 years. She used to relish the sing-along sessions, used to trot all over the Club - looking for new toys, preferring to spend more time in the outdoor area. Now, she's content to sit quietly doing craft, or roll out the Playdoh. She plays by herself, unconcerned whether I join her in the activities or not.

Cheeks at the One O'Clock Club, aged 2 yrs 3 mths

Cheeks today, aged 3 years 8 mths

I'm also making a conscious effort to pop into shops/cafes/boutiques around our suburb more. I don't want to neglect them, especially when Time will abate my ability to frequent them soon.

So yesterday, I brought Cheeks for a walk around Northcote Road. We browsed inside gift shops - Huttons, All Good Gifts, we sauntered into La Cuisiniere and La Cuisiniere Too to look for a butter knife I've been hankering. We didn't sight any (I'm so regretting I didn't buy the cute polka-dotted one at Mousehole, Cornwall!). We shared a Ribena Light purchased at a newsagent's, continued to hop in and out of shops as they were closing, saw LOADs of 'Charlie and Lola' stuff that I want to buy but didn't. We went to Woolworth's, where I got Cheeks a 'Beauty Playset' for 1.99 pounds (she been spending hours playing 'Beauty Parlour' with her toys since, pretending to be their beautician and dolling them up for parties, picnics and other 'exciting' occasions.) Our last stop was ASDA. I browsed through racks of GEORGE clothes (all bleh), and we spent time flipping through kiddy mags.

Powerpuff girl, Buttercup, gets a makeover

teddy gets a combo: cut/wash/blowdry

It was close to 7:30pm by the time we got home. We were held up by a MASSIVE jam while on the bus and because we couldn't catch the connecting bus home, we had to walk 20 minutes back to our place. The walk did us both good though.

And so, another day passes... and I feel the need to cry. Just to let things out.

Not helping (or perhaps it is?). This:

Our weekend in The Emerald Isle

It is so easy to fall in love with the countryside. Simply because there are so many things to love.

At the break of dawn, the farmyard comes alive - the cockerel rouses everyone from their slumber, donkeys nuzzle into the grass, scouring for leftover foodscraps, chickens cluck restlessly in their henhouses, waiting to be fed.

Yet, despite the cacophony of animal noises, it feels peaceful. It is a refreshing change of sights and sounds for city folk like us.

And the house we put up at for the past 2 nights - it is a house to love.

Drumbeagh House, County Cavan

They say a man's home is his castle. For Michael and Carolyn Lane (Andy and Meiling's parents), Drumbeagh House (pronounced as 'Drum-baaa') would certainly be their royal residence. It wasn't the tidiest, nor the most spotless of houses, but it was warm and cozy and I fell in love with it. Completely.

From the hand-polished stone walls, the mishmash of holiday memorabilia that bedecked the shelves and dangled from wooden beams, the house extensions that were meticulously planned and constructed from scratch, to the assortment of happy, smiley family photos found at every corner of the house - each bore evidence that this was a much-loved home.

It certainly was a good holiday. We ate well, guzzled too many pints of Guinness and mugs of tea, chatted late into the night.

Unlike our other holidays, we didn't plan an itinerary, nor did we set any objectives for the weekend. We weren't there to see the sights or do touristy things. In fact, our only aim was to plant an apple tree. And that, we achieved. We did things at a leisurely pace, taking time to appreciate the quiet rustic life instead.

This trip was also more for us to spend time with our dear friends, Andy & Meiling.

We'd always said we would visit their house in Ireland before returning to Singapore. We wanted to leave our 'mark' at their place, something distinct to help them better remember us by. That's how we came up with the idea of planting an apple tree in their garden.

I guess that's what made it all the more important for us to make this last trip to Ireland. To plant our 'friendship tree' and thank the Lanes for being great friends, and an integral part of our lives in the UK. We will remember fondly the roadtrip to Cambridge, camping in Kent, exploring St Albans, playing with firecrackers, enjoying the summer sun at Dunstables, the numerous coffee and makan sessions...

It felt surreal, planting those trees. I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness as we lowered the sapling into the muddy earth. What was supposed to mark a new beginning felt more like a final goodbye. All those months talking about planting those trees, and we were finally doing it.

I sighed a lot over the course of the holiday. By the end of it, I'd accumulated a sizeable cloud (think Moses) - some were sighs of contentment, others were just... heavy breathing perhaps? I love to kid myself.

But thank God for tea! Each mug delivered the warm comfort I needed. My 'hug in a mug', Andy jested.

I took 200-odd snaps in the course of 2 days. I didn't care. I want the photos to tell a story in years to come.

The trip has left me somewhat pensive. That night, as I lay awake, curled up in my London bed, I couldn't shake off those feelings.

And now, all I want is for them to go away.

(For full set of photos, view 'em here)

Stairway to Michael Lane's 'Faeryland',
lined with wild primroses

Playdate with Poppy

Poppy is probably Cheeks' best mate at nursery. With the exception of Sebestian, of course.

This 4YO Canadian native has been living in the UK since she was a wee babe and is the only one in the family who speaks with a crisp British accent. Margaret, her grandma, drops her off at the nursery and I always enjoy my chats with her while waiting by the gate for the school door to be opened.

Poppy is always immacutely dressed, and has the MOST impeccable manners. So when Ann, Poppy's mum, invited Cheeks over for a playdate, I actually worried how 'chor loh' (un-ladylike) she would come across to the family.

That was the first time I'd dropped Cheeks off at a playdate, unaccompanied and unsupervised. Ann said it would be fine for me to leave her alone with Poppy, her nanny and Margaret. So I did. I left her there for 3 whole hours. Then, making full use of that free time on my hands, I did grocery shopping, bought birthday gifts, went home for some shuteye, surfed the internet.

When I picked Cheeks up later that evening, she and Poppy proudly showed off their artwork, and gave a rundown of what they did all afternoon - jumped on the trampoline, played in the garden, did art and craft etc.

And that, was how the both of us spent our 7th day of termbreak.

"On the seventh day of termbreak, my Mama gave to me - 7 minutes (it's true! ok, thereabouts?! !) busride to Poppy's, 6 笼s of dimsum, 5 min waaaaaalk! 4 new experiences, 3 turkish delights, 2 summery dresses, and a choc-caterpillar from Marks&Sparks!"

I am so running outta ideas here, aren't I? ;)

Only the mummies...

(this should've been last saturday's posting. Infront of me STILL stands a snake-like queue of backdated posts. Good Gad!)

Armed with Waitrose cupcakes, grapes and a punnet of strawberries, we commuted to North London for brunch at Val's. With chef du jour, Alan, at the helm of the kitchen, our tummies rumbled hungrily, eager to sample his cooking for the first time.

Alan, it seems, does not only possess a flair for cooking, he also has a flair for blogging his cooking adventures in a way that titillates our tastebuds. By the end of his food postings, we're sucking in GLOBS of saliva, and voraciously wishing we could join him on his gastronomic journeys.

Discontent with eating vicariously through his blog postings, we badgered Val into asking Alan to whip up something (anything!) for us shameless folk.

And dazzle us, he did.

We were treated to an amazing spread - oven-baked ham with curdled milk gravy, chicken liver pâté served with warm sourdough, and sauteed mushrooms. Val made a delicious tuna pasta tossed in pesto, and a refreshing fruit salad. The ham, soaked in its milky gravy, was succulent and baked to perfection. The chicken liver pâté was smooth, creamy, and oh-so-decadent. I'm sure our cholesterol levels sky rocketed that day, not that any of us cared. Alan suggested countering the richness of the chicken liver pâté with pickled cornichons. The saltish sourish flavours from the vinegar-soaked cornichons worked perfectly with the slightly bitter aftertaste of the liver. Divine!

Kids at lunch

After lunch, Val, Ros & I scuttled out of the house, leaving the daddies to take full charge of their scion. We'd negotiated a 'day off' with the dads and were keen to enjoy some 'girly time' with each other, sans kids.

We chose the lengthy shopping strip at King's Road, Chelsea, for our girly outing. With its panoply of high street shops, it was the ideal place to engage in some retail therapy.

Papas United

Mama Sisterhood

Despite the bizzare sunshiney rainy weather, we trudged on, unfazed. We visited VV Roleaux, a craft shop that sells all sorts of notions, we browsed at Warehouse, Oasis, Monsoon, but lingered most at Zara. We stopped for a teabreak at Patisserie Valerie, where we shared family anecdotes, giggled and guffawed, and complained to each other over tea and cakes. But all too soon, it was time for us to return to our familes, and slip back to our mummy roles.

We weren't greedy. A couple of hours was all we needed to rejuvenate, recharge, and rediscover ourselves. As we stepped into Val's house, arms laden with supermarket dinners, I felt (in fact, I think we all did) incredibly moved when our kid(s) charged towards us - leaping into our arms for a cuddle, screaming 'Mummy, Mummy!' - their round faces beaming, genuinely happy to have us home.

It's certainly nice to go out and do things the way we used to before we became mums. Every once in awhile, we need to reconnect ourselves with the other roles that help shape our lives - we're also friends, sisters, wives, daughters.

But of all the roles I've taken on in my life, this 'Mummy' role? It remains my most rewarding to date. And I pray it will always, always be.

6 笼

Hullooooo! Farmer Saggs here, still feverishly trying to plough through my untended, overgrown field of backdated blog entries.

On Friday, we ventured to the Docklands. Despite our 2 years here, I've only been to that part of London on one other occasion - dinner at Royal China with Val & family. That was a good meal, by the way. Canary Wharf is a business/shopping district in eastish London. The area is distinctly set apart from the rest of London by the beetling skyscrapers that shape its skyline. Housing there is popular with Asians and is pretty pricey, especially those that have an unobstructed view of the River Thames.

Canary Wharf at night

We were there to meet Joanne who'd kindly offered to show us around Canary Wharf's 4 adjoining shopping malls (Cabot Place, Canada Place, Jubilee Place and Churchill Place). Somewhat similar to Suntec City's adjoining towers.

We accompanied her as she trawled the shops in search for 2 black workpants - casting an eye this way and that, making mental notes of the shops as we went along. Jo successfully snagged 2 sleek workpants at NEXT. And after a cursory look around Monsoon and Gap, we headed for the DLR station to catch a train to Cross Harbour for dim sum at the floating restaurant, The Lotus.

Now here's an interesting nugget of info about this restaurant for those living in the UK. I've been told it serves bigger portions to Chinese who are conversant in either Cantonese/Mandarin. Apparently 'foreigners' (non-chinese or non-chinese speaking folk) are served 'foreigner' portions - small platters of food placed on plate warmers. But order fluently in Chinese with the waitstaff and voilà, you'll see your food portions dished out on large serving plates. Sans the plate warmers though, but who cares?

Lunch was good, especially the beef brisket and fish maw. The perrenial dim sum favourites, siew mai and ha gao, weren't too bad either but I didn't care much for the char siew cheong fun. Loved the sambal kang kong though. It wasn't spicy enough for my fiery palate but was extremely tasty. An hour and a half later, we rolled our distended tummies out of the restaurant, took a short walk around Cross Harbour, grabbed a train back to Canary Wharf for a quick cuppa at Starbucks, bought cupcakes from Waitrose, then headed home before the rush hour crowd came out in full force. Phew!

Alright, ditty update!

"On the sixth day of termbreak, my mama gave to me - 6 笼s of dimsum, 5 min waaaaaalk! 4 new experiences, 3 turkish delights, 2 summery dresses, and a choc-caterpillar from Marks&Sparks!"

This hopeless ditty lyricist is going on a short hiatus. We're off to Ireland today so there'll be no more singin' till I return! Have yourselves a good weekend, everyone!

5 minutes

Why I ever committed myself to a silly '12 day' ditty, I'll never know. It's a lyrical nightmare as you can already tell. But fine, I'll TRY... and finish what I started.

It's a matter of PRINCIPLE.

(Am averting gaze now. So, go ahead - yawn WIDELY, roll your eyes, beat your chests in anguish, et cetera. I know you want to.)

And while you're busy doing all that, excuse me while I continue with my 'riveting' rigmarole...

On day 5 (a Thurs) of termbreak, we had Cheeks' friend, Meilin, over.

Yao, Meilin's mummy, desperately needed to complete her work assignment so I offered to take Meilin for a couple of hours to allow her time to better concentrate.

The 2 girls frolicked in the living room, wolfed down their lunch (I fixed up a quick meal of pasta), painted, squealed in unison while watching 'Dora, dora, dora, the Explorer! Dora!' (accompanied by enthusiastic high-pitched squeals - hola! gracias! Swiper stop swiping! -- ARGGGGHHH!!!), squished, pressed and rolled out lumps of playdoh, did role-play - taking turns to be princess/queen, patient/doctor, mummy/daughter.

I always enjoy having another kid over. It relieves me of my child entertainer/minder duties and gives me time to chill and do other 'non-motherly/housewifey' erm, things.

I leave the girls to their own devices. On the whole, they play nicely but inevitably, there will be catfights. It's almost unavoidable. Children their age still struggle with the concept of SHARING, being LESS TERRITORIAL, that they CANNOT ALWAYS HAVE THEIR WAY.

So my tranquil moments were sometimes broken by shrieks of 'You must SHARE!', 'I had that first!', 'Don't do that, I don't like it!', 'Give that back!', 'Mamaaaaaa!'

Still, I did have some peace and quiet. Ommmm.


At about 3pm, we walked Meilin back to her house then took a train to our next date - tea/dinner at XY and May's. I had shamelessly invited Cheeks and myself over to their apartment in West London. While Cheeks entertained the 2 ladies with her childish antics, I looked through XY's lovely water-coloured illustrations, and flipped through fashion magazines. We were treated to a comforting home-cooked meal prepared by May - stir fried spinach, baked salmon marinated with miso paste, and fried egg omelette. Dessert was 3 pretty Waitrose cupcakes that May had bought as a special treat. They were gone in seconds. Ok fine, minutes. They were really good. Thanks, May!

Uh-uh, didn't forget my ditty. You ready?

"On the fifth day of termbreak my Mama gave to me - an invigorating 5 min walk (from King's Cross tube station to XY/May's house), 4 new experiences (at 4 new locations), 3 turkish delights, 2 summery dresses, and a choc-caterpiller from Marks&Sparks!"

Pardon the parentheticals. They are absolutely necessary if you want to sing this song as it's intended understand the full extent of the song!

Oh, throw me a friggin' bone here!

Me & them Blogger Mums

The problem with backlog entries is it takes forever to plough through them. I've been storing half-written entries in the 'draft' box telling myself I'll get to them soonish.

Right...

A week has passed and I'm now suffering the repercussion of my own indolent blogging behaviour.

I won't be able to give a blow-by-blow account of what we did on Wednesday because of memory lapse. Also, I'd like to avoid a lengthy entry. So, I'm going to do the next best thing - write them out in (semi) point form?!

Wednesday:

• met blogger mums Val & Luke, Ros & Louisa and Lavigne

These 2 Singaporean mums are the ones I most frequently meet up with in the UK. Ros doesn't live in London so her travelling down to the City was a treat for us all. And because her visits are few and far between, there were a few places she wanted to look up. And that, leads us to our

• First stop - Japan Centre

Cheeks and I met Ros' family at noon to explore the newly-opened Daiso at the Japan Centre in the heart of Picadilly Circus. Unfortunately, the Daiso-priced (1.45pd) selection was extremely dismal - a mere peppering of 'cheaper' household and food items. I did discover, however, that Japanese curry packs, dofu and rice are cheaper there. Sugoii...

• 2nd stop: The Muffin Man

After a quick pit stop at Macca's to pick up Happy Meals for the famished kids, Ros and I hopped onto bus no.9 and made our way to High Street Kensington to meet Val and Luke. I'd surfed the internet for tearooms in the Chelsea area and was directed to 'The Muffin Man' at High St Ken. Whilst the tea was extremely value for money, and the carrot cake I ordered was delish, I thought the tearoom was sorely lacking in ambience. It didn't feel like an English tearoom at all! Ros ordered a coffee cake which turned out to be a huge disappointment - dry, bland, extremely forgettable. Sorry Ros, will choose a better locale the next time. Promise! Perhaps we should have stuck to ordering muffins only...

Ros & her sweethearts

Val and her lil champ

• 3rd stop: Holland Park

After tea, we mums walked our little troops to Holland Park to expend their energy. We needed some time to catch up with each other and the best idea was to have the kids busy themselves, playing. We made the playground our resting ground and chatted on benches while the kids played in the sandpit, went on the play structures, rocked to and fro on the 4-seater spring see-saw etc.

• 4th stop: Whole Foods

I admit, my interest to visit this store stemmed purely from the tabloids. I'd had enough of seeing pictures of Keira Knightley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Posh Spice et al, traipsing fashionably out of the store with Whole Foods reusable bags filled with organic products. I had to check out the store for myself. I would love to go completely organic. If I could. But I can't. My pockets are not deep enough for us to eat organically. So fully-organic meals at the Chan household will have to wait... long, long.

Whilst at the store, I bagged me some rice cakes (2 for 1pd), a scrummy chocolate bar (99p), and... a Whole Foods reusable bag. What can I say? I'm shallow. But hey, I now use that bag while out grocery shopping. And that's the whole point of it, isn't it? Save the environment, lay off the plastics? ;P

After Whole Foods, we parted ways with Val and Luke. Ros and I, together with our girls, made our way to Leicester Square by bus. Ros wanted to buy some pastries for her husband (awww... so sweet!). On the way, we stopped for some quick snaps at Trafalgar Square. Lousia and Lavigne had never taken photos with the famous bronze lions (that surround Nelson's Column) before. So I asked Ros if she'd like to take a couple, just for the memory.

Once at Leicester Sq, we rushed to the bakery, picked up the pastries/buns, made a quick dash into New Loon Moon to search for the chilli I'd tried over at Joanne's. We found it, thankfully, and both Ros and I grabbed a jar each. Then it was home sweet home for all...

++++++

We will miss these 2 families v dearly once we... but I thank God so very much for placing them in our lives.

Oh. Let's not forget I still have to complete my '12 days of Termbreak' ditty: (help!!!)

" On the 4th day of termbreak my mama gave to me - 4 new experiences at 4 new locations, 3 turkish delights, 2 summery dresses, and a choc-caterpillar from Marks&Sparks!"

Pathetic, I know. (Trust me. It gets worse.)

On the 3rd day... she ate CORN.

"On the third day of termbreak my mama gave to me - three turkish delights, 2 summery dresses, and a choc-caterpillar from Marks&Sparks!"

Alright, so I'm cheating a little here. The 'turkish delights' are actually our friends Zubeyde and her 2 lovely daughters, Yasmin, and baby Suheyla. But hey, the 3 of them are Turkish and they are delightful, so technically I'm not wrong. Right? Anyway this is my song so nobody gets to complain about the choice of lyrics!

...

I have been filling Cheeks' termbreak with playdates.

Today, we met up with Zubeyde and kids. We'd arranged to go over to hers for a playdate, and Zubs suggested lunch - maybe try a little home-cooked Turkish cuisine?

Needless to say, I leapt at the offer! (Who wouldn't?)

I've never had real Turkish food before. Other than kebabs. They are a type of Turkish food, are they not? Zubs introduced me to bulgur - a cross between rice and couscous. It was scrummilicious! And apparently, really easy to prepare. According to Zubs, all you need is to:

• fry chopped onions together with tomato paste,
  
• add the bulgur,
  
• add water, (as much as needed to cook the bulgur, similar to cooking rice actually)
  
• salt/pepper to taste,
  
• some dried mint/basil,
  
• let it all simmer till the grains get fluffy
  
• serve!
  

Sedap!

She also let me try Tarhana soup which was hmmm... interesting. It wasn't bad. I just wasn't used to it. Definitely an acquired taste.

Tarhana soup

The kids had the soup for starters, and rice with corn.

Now this I have to document - Cheeks ate corn!!! The yellow kernals were in her mouth! She chewed! (More importantly) She SWALLOWED!!!

Girl who picks on veggies chews on corn

*faint in disbelief*

I really wanted to let out a celebratory yelp. My mind was screaming 'OH.MY.GAWD' in the same irritating, nasal tone as Janice from 'Friends' (don't even ask how, or why. The brain has a mind of its own?). I could've done an impression of a real 'Injun' wardance if I knew the steps.

But no. I had to play it cool. You had corn, eh? Sure. No biggie. Cool. Groovy. Peace out, sista!

It was a 'Thank You God! Hallelujah!' moment. Truly it was.

Now, snaps!

Zubs and me, in GREEN!

With 7MO Suheyla

Yasmin & Cheeks having fun at the playground

On the 2nd day of termbreak

"On the second day of termbreak my mama gave to me - 2 summery dresses, and a choc-caterpillar from Marks&Sparks!"

If given a choice, I am dead certain Cheeks would rather sleep in a dress than in her jammies. The girl is completely nutty over frocks. Her all-time favourite is a denim one bought by Mabes' mum which she insists on wearing every, single day to nursery.

Her crazed obsession began late last year. Since then, I've been subject to the same, insufferable question after bathtime, " Can I wear a dress today? Can I wear a dress today?"

And she trills this, over and over and over and...

But lo! Help has come to me in the form of these 2.99pd dresses from H&M - they be cheap & happy solutions for me poor, ailin' ears.

Oh thank you Lord. My sanity is restored.

On a surprisingly snowy Sunday...

(late posting due to internet hiccups)

At the rate I am quaffing down me mugs of Milo, I fear I will DIE once my resources are depleted. *wail* then * fling body over LAST bag of Milo in abject misery*

Before you unsympathetic naysayers tut-tut at my melodramatics, let me jump in by saying - I WILL SURVIVE! Even if it means substituting Milo with le common chocolat chaud (pooh!). I will NOT be coerced into buying Milo here! Nay, never!

And, now that I've managed to break out in cold sweat...

...we be talkin' about the weather again! Yes! It be a fine topic for this continent.

Haven't you heard? It snowed here...in Spring! Gasp!

What next, I hear you whisper. Blizzards in Summer? Heatwaves in Autumn? Snow in the Sahara? Well, why not? The weather's all barmy!

Cheeks enjoying a few minutes of snowplay before church
(And yes, we were a little late.)

Guess which one is Papa Chan? Heh.

Frosty Common

Despite the bizarre weather blip, we were glad it snowed. For obvious reasons.

After church, we adjourned to Fortnum and Mason's as we'd made reservations to have tea there that afternoon. Tea was served at the newly-refurbished St James' Restaurant located on the 4th floor - one of the 5 restaurants housed in F&M's.

We arrived a little early and had to stand in the cold, waiting for the store to open its doors. But it was well worth the wait.

I enjoyed every moment of it. We all did.

Which, in a way, surprised me. Not because I didn't expect to enjoy tea there- I did - but I'd thought it would be a stuffy establishment (dresscode was 'business casual'! Like, excuse me!) with pompous waiters and so quiet an environment, you could hear a pin drop. I was all prepared to talk in hushed tones, make sure I sat 'elegantly', in manner of Mme Carla Bruni, hold teacup with pinky raised. That sort of thing.

But the service could not be more warm and inviting. Our waitstaff was attentive, smiley, and wonderfully obliging. So despite the elegant surroundings, we were able to relax quite comfortably in our upholstered armchairs, and sip tea from the beautiful bone china teacups.

Dee reminisced over his Lapsang Souchong. He said its smoky smell reminded him of his grandfather's wax umbrella. I know this sounds rather odd but that tea brought back happy childhood memories for him. And I sat there, smiling, listening to him tell me stories of his Ah Gong, even though I've heard them a thousand times.

A friend in her blog likened Sunday's snow experience (indoors), to being in a 'snowglobe'. I couldn't have described it better.

As I gazed out of the window - looking down on the view of Picadilly Circus, snowflakes flittering down onto the pavements - it did feel like I was in a snowglobe. Like the white particles had recently been churned to create the 'snow' effect, and I was one of the tiny figurines residing in the transparent orb.

If God was watching from where He was, He'd see insignificant little me, warm and toasty in a restaurant, enjoying finger sandwiches, buttery scones served with rich, thick clotted cream, lovely pastries, and Royal Tea. He would see me smile, and thank Him for this opportunity, this blessing...

After tea, we popped over to the Royal Academy of Arts. This was yet another spur of the moment decision as we didn't know F&M's was located so close to the Museum. We paid the entrance fee to visit the 'From Russia' exhibition.

Our decision to drop in for the exhibition was spurred on by the works of Monet and Renoir, some of which were being showcased. I had recently introduced both painters to Cheeks through the book 'Katie meets the Impressionists' by James Mayhew. I borrowed it from the library and it's one of her favourites. The story centres around Katie's imaginary journeys into the paintings she sees at the art gallery. It's a very creative book and it helps introduce children to famous artists/paintings. I highly recommend it.

Although the paintings featured in that book were not included in this exhibition, I was still able to interest Cheeks for some time with other Monet and Renoir paintings. I described the paintings to her, then in turn, asked her to tell me what she saw, and what she would do if she could enter the pictureframe. That way, the visit was kept interactive for her. Besides the 2 painters, I was also able to point out others like Cezanne and Gauguin, as well as other important Impressionists.

Of course, after awhile, all this proved too tiring for the little one. Still, I was glad for some 'exposure'.

Hubs and I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and walked out a little more 'enriched'. We both like Matisse's 'Harmony in Red' and are thinking of acquiring a print replica of it for our house.

Admittedly though, Art remains very subjective. Some art I enjoy - like those produced during the Impressionist period - some remain a mystery. Some I get, some I don't. Like this one:

Black Square by Kazimir Malevich

I be simple minded. I be uncultured. Pundits call this 'the turning point in the development of Russian avant-garde'.

I say - whatever. I (still) catch no ball, or square, in this case.

Our date with Tate

(a very backdated post but what the heck)

I look forward to weekends, I really really do.

We have Papa all to ourselves. For 2 WHOLE DAYS! We do things as a family. We enjoy lazy Saturday mornings. Hubs brings Cheeks swimming at the leisure centre. We chill infront of the telly, explore bits of the city, try out different cafes/restaurants - basically savour our last moments in London together.

Since returning from Singapore, we've been trying to fill our weekends with all sorts of activities. But it feels like a race against Time. We're struggling to squeeze in as much as possible, but we're losing months, days, hours, minutes, seconds. Timbaland coolly raps about how he's 'runnin' outta time'. The lyrics - they merely roll off his tongue. Me? I feel it.

And honestly... I'm starting to feel a little desperate here.

This Saturday was supposed to pass like a non-event. For the 1st time in weeks, we hadn't planned to go anywhere, or do anything that would earn us a shiny, new entry in our London logbook.

Hubs returned home Friday night absolutely knackered, and a tad flu-ey. So Saturday swimming was off and I thought we'd stay in to let him rest. But after dawdling for a large part of the morning, he suddenly decided no, we ought not waste a perfectly good weekend. So a flurry of last minute ideas began whirring in our heads - visit Portobello Market (again)? See gorillas at the London Zoo? Visit a museum? Which one? Where?

Of course, as luck would have it, by the time we were ready to scoot out of the house, it'd started to drizzle. But then, this IS London. We weren't going to let a few drops of rain hold us back! So off we went.

After a rather silly train ride toggling back and forth on different lines - we changed our minds so many times en route, you see - we found ourselves in the quiet suburb of Pimlico. Home to Tate Britain.

There was a Peter Doig exhibition going on but we're not familiar with his work, so we decided to save our pennies and give it a miss. Once inside, we made a beeline for the free family activity - the Art Trolley.

Located on the first floor of the museum, the Art Trolley is not, as the name suggests, a trolley. It's more like a huge wooden cabinet that's stocked with all sorts of material - artcard, pieces of fabric, textured cardboard, ribbon, string, cellophane etc. The idea is for children to exercise their creativity and produce artwork based on the artpieces they see at the galleries. From the trolley, they are allowed to choose any material they need, place all their supplies on trays provided, then proceed to the various galleries to begin work.

Cheeks chose a painting from the British Art section. She liked it coz it depicted a family scene (it was slightly morose but she didn't notice it so... heck!). And for the next hour and a half, we busied ourselves working on the piece together. Dee and I took turns to help her. We cut out the fabric and icecream sticks for her of course. Everything else she did on her own. The result?

The Saltonstall Family by David des Granges (Tate Britain)

The Saltonstall Family by Cheeks, Dee & Saggs, Tate Britain
Whaddya think?

Although the outing was spent largely helping Cheeks with her artwork, it was still eventful for Dee and me. We took turns exploring the museum - one would sit with Cheeks while the other browsed. So everyone benefitted. Everyone was happy.

It's such a shame the Singapore Museums are still want of such activities for children and families. Kids learn so much from such trips.

An 11 year old shared the bench with us. She was making a room out of cardboard box, magazine cuttings, and bottle caps. After we'd completed our mini project, Cheeks wandered over to lend a helping hand. Together they cut, glued, stuck, and pasted.

When we were all done, we brought our completed work back to the Art Trolley. Cheeks had her photo taken with her artwork by the museum staff (to be uploaded onto Tate's website). And for being creative, the museum bestowed her with a cool totebag.

What can I say - these museums are awesome.

Cheeks working on her artpiece...

...then gets involved in another project

Cool tote from Tate!