The cartoon toddler

Some funny things AN does.

I was trying shoes for myself (after a failed trip shopping for HER shoes coz they were either too ex, or do not look pretty). AN wasn't interested to try on shoes of her size BUT she couldn't stop slipping her feet into shoes I was looking at for myself.

hmm...Now that I'm watching this clip, I feel a little regretful I didn't get this pair of heels...


And this cartoon baby was playing with the stinky hat papa wore during his weekend exercise in Gila Bend as he was unpacking.

National Day getaway: MGM (7-9th August 09)

This is a short trip.

It took us a day to reach (abt 7 hours' drive) on Friday, and a day to get home on Sunday. We reached in time for dinner at Mr Liow's favourite restaurant: Penang Malaysia. They sell authentic tasting Singaporean/Malaysian food! They are the ONLY ones that make authentic tasting food that Mr Liow had been craving for. Thus whenever he hears rumours of a long weekend coming up, he'd not hesitate to suggest driving 7 hours just to eat 'hor fun'. I like the food but I miss the bubble tea by the Taiwanese in the shop below Penang Malaysia more. The bubble tea is even better than Singapore's. Oooohhhh....

We couldn't believe the deal (free room and $400 spending money) was real, but it was! We got a suite (according to the front desk staff) for 2 nights and a visa gift card of $400 (we had several other options but decided visa was most practical). Mr Liow even got playing credit of $300. All these at no cost to us. How more generous can MGM be?? He eventually returned the $300 to them (and lost another $100 on top of that), so we probably did pay $100 for the 2 nights' stay, complimentary meals for the 2 days and the gift card afterall.

There wasn't much to do this trip coz we didn't have much time. It was more a glutton trip for us. We didn't remember having meals as part of the room package previously. We should have asked. This time round, there were complimentary meals for both days, and we kept going back to Penang Malaysia, even on a full stomach (coz that was Mr Liow's main purpose for being in LV). Eat, and eat!

We went to Factory Outlet (go LV, if not for gambling, must be for shopping right? There are other activities but most belong to the dark side.) and shopped for half of the 2nd day after brunch at the hotel (Saturday) before heading to Penang M'sia for dinner (eat again...*pukes*). Bought AN tonnes of clothes again. I can't stop buying clothes for AN...*HELP*

The nights belonged to Mr Liow. He'd go earn some money to support the family (ok, not funny) while AN and I lazed around and enjoy the comfort of the hotel room. I'm fine with him gambling as long as he returns at the exact time promised to be back. I don't set his curfew, he does. It's flexibility within a boundary.

Before we were ready to leave, it was time to check out. sigh..time flies when people are enjoying themselves.

Not many pictures taken. Here are some of the few :)

Of AN and I at Phoenix for lunch before we continued with the rest of the drive to LV

Of the hotel toilet

Room

Couch

This little one loved the couch, obviously
Of AN while waiting for Mr Liow

"Where's papa?"

"Huh? Papa?"

"I am a baby lion."

"Papa! Where did you go?"

Mr Liow's main attraction of Las Vegas: Hor Fun! (There were curry puffs too. Old Chang Kee styled but we forgot to take pictures of them)

Goods in time: Shoes woes + Giant Orijen

AN loved her brown winter boots but coz the weather got hotter, boots do her no good at all. I'd probably selected too small a size for her anyway and she seemed to have outgrown that pair in a matter of a few months of cool weather so even if she wanted them on, those would have hurt her toes.

Before winter, she had this brown pair of mary janes that she loved too but she needed those boots to keep her feet warm and so those brown mary janes were benched.

The boots were a little too tight on her by March and her mary janes still fitted just nice (a little tight with socks). We got her a pair of pink covered sandals during Dillards sale last year and finally it seemed her feet has grown enough to fit into that. Just in time for her to outgrow her brown mary janes.

She didn't seem too keen on any other pairs of shoes except for the boots and mary janes though (she seems to have a preference for brown shoes). We had to hide the pair of boots to get her to forget about them and since she could still fit into the mary janes well enough, we did not object to her choice each time.

Now that the mary janes has gotten tighter, we tried encouraging her to put on her pink covered sandals but she'd refuse to. So, we had to hide her mary janes (like we hid her boots), to get it out of her sight, and out of her mind.

I got her a pair of ladybug sandals for this summer which she refused to put on after a couple of times. She told me "pain pain". It's now on display on the shoe rack now. That pair looks nice with dresses actually.

So, as she starts to grow into the pink covered sandals now (and soon out of it again), I'm on the prowl for new shoes again.

Piperlime(.com) offers free shipping and free returns. Have never gone in to check out the shoes till lately and saw a few of them that are toooooo cute! If the sizes do not fit, I can simply send the shoes back. So, I got her this:

It's a little loose so she won't get to wear this till next summer, or probably spring. Just as well since it's already August (It's quite a trouble shopping for kids here coz I have to make sure I get the appropriate size for the appropriate weather else she would probably not be able to fit into anything by the next change of season)

And with that as a gauge, I've gotten her 3 more pairs (in bigger sizes) since they were on sale. It's a shame those shoes do not come in size 6 or 6.5 that she should be wearing now. Anyway, those 3 pairs are on their way and should arrive in a couple of days. hehe. Shoes for kids here quite ex. They are easily USD$30 and above. I will be tempted to grab anything that's below USD$20 (and look cute). Are toddler shoes that ex in Singapore too??? They do not wear those shoes for long..tsk tsk.

This is AN trying to balance when I asked her to keep her feet together. hehe. She was multi-tasking with watching Shrek and trying not to fall with her feet so close together.

And along with that shipment came Baileys and Maen's Orijen. Petnetdirect.com had free shipping and since they've started on Orijen (and except for tearing, seem to be doing rather well), I decided to get them the largest pack.

The furkids somehow, always seem to know when packages contain anything related to them. They won't usually linger long around packages containing AN's stuff but with theirs, they behave like sharks around their preys.

And Baileys wondered when I would be done getting excited over AN's shoes.

Soon enough, Shrek ended. AN then started to get busy helping me open up the big big box that Baileys had been waiting to look into.

The furkids after thanking AN, started sniffing the box in case there were more goodies that I missed out.

And sniffing Orijen. This expires in Aug next year *phew*. They've just started on their mid-sized pack last week and won't need this one till at least a month later. Don't want this to expire too soon.

Hounds at work (and they fail totally..I only noticed there was a pack of dehydrated dog food sample inside after clearing the giant bubble wraps. They did not even know with all that "stick-my-muzzle-into-the-box" !)

Sniffing the main cast

Ta-Dah! This will last them at least 3 months!

Food change again, plus shampoo updates

I've formally transited Baileys and Maen to Orijen Fish, from NV's Rabbit meat.

It seemed like NV's Rabbit kibbles are not that commonly available in Singapore so I feel it's safer to switch now. I'm impressed with what's in Orijen and saw a list of distributors back home in Doggiesite, so we started the transition about 2 wks ago.

They will be completely on Orijen Fish from tomorrow.

Maen's stools had been a little soft since she was on NV. I tot it was likely due to the cold turkey switch from the worm-infested pack of Blue. I noticed her stools only started to firm up after I added Orijen in 2 wks ago. Her coat had been good on NV thus putting me in a dilemma whether I shld switch both or just Baileys. There had been: no extreme shedding as I brushed her or even when I run my fingers through her coat. Baileys on the other hand, has perfectly formed stools but still had the same shedding symptoms.

Both started tearing since days ago after I added Orijen into their NV nibbles. Guess the detoxifying process has begun.

Can't really tell if Orijen will work better or not. We've got lots more food to go before we can give a verdict on this new food.

Up next comes their milk baths update:

Maen had the half and half last Tuesday, Baileys got the original.

Both still smells good but Baileys' coat looked a little 'sticky' already. His coat looked light and fluffy for 2 weeks when I bathed him with half and half.

Nxt and last run of the Tomlyn test should be done after we pick them up from Camalot on Monday after we get home from LV. As for now, my favourite of the 3 is the Halr and Half for its nice and lasting scent, and how it made B look like a stuff toy. M's coat looks good for a long time regardless of the shampoo used or length of periods between baths so it's hard to tell from her coat. She's also the stinky-ier one too, so for her to still smell like the shampoo a week ago, it has to be good enough.

I'm almost sure I'm going to get the gallon size of Half and Half. It's a pity the other website that is having a promo on Tomlyn products carry all but half and half. Sigh..

Am really keen on Plush Puppy but it won't make much ofna difference from the prices from Singapore so no stocking up on this I guess, unless there are interesting sales this Thanksgiving!

So, yup. That's all for now. :p

Becoming sensible

There are still toddler mood swings but it warms my heart to see that AN is becoming increasingly sensible.

She asks for "mem mem and sleep" when it's time for afternoon nap and waits if I qm busy and she's not too badly in need of rest yet.

Recently she's started looking for my Ipod touch when I asked her to lie down first. I'd usually be looking for the mobile device to keep myself occupied while she nurses to sleep. The first time she asked me for my Ipod touch when I asked her to lie down, I didn't know her intention and since we couldn't find it, I did not continue searching for it and AN didn't persist in asking for it too. Subsequently when it's naptime and AN sees my Ipod touch within reach, she'd grab it, jump onto the sofa and push the device in my direction, saying: "here mummy, Ipod touch" and lie down only after I take it from her. She's so dear...

Just a while ago while I was shutting down the laptop so that I could lie with her for the night, she got off the sofa, ran towards the tv and helped switch it off, followed by the speakers.

She doesn't know how these little actions mean the world to me. The Lord has been filling in the blanks that I've been leaving out of Adrielle's life due to my inability to cope with her resistance to certain instrucions that I wished she would obey. I am thankful that while I am unable to continue, the Lord carries us through.

We are blessed.

National Day weekend plans

Mr Liow has earned places in the place they call "Sin City", otherwise known as Las Vegas. haha!

He's been given membership privileges in MGM (we've been offered free stays but chose to visit during Memorial Day and had to pay a minimum amount when hotel prices were charged as "peak season".)

And we've received invitations in our mails lately, free stay offers from Casear's Palace and Circus Circus at the same time (one of them for the month of Aug and the other for Sept). Circus Circus's offer also includes free air travel (for 2 I think. We have to only pay for AN if tt's the case). MGM's offer this time includes free room stay, and a $400 voucher for us to spend.

All these are like too good to be true but since the previous offer was true, we're hoping these ones are too. hmm...Sin is free!

And there is an outlet there too, so even if it's not for gambling (or other sinful activities available there) that we go for, you know why we would choose to go there for a long weekend.

There's are 4 days of no work coming up for National Day (Sgp) this weekend and with all these offers, Mr Liow was thinking of making a trip there again. We either take up Circus Circus' offer of a room and free air tickets (it's like at least 7hrs drive from Tucson..very tiring on Mr Liow and AN, and very time consuming) or drive there and stay at MGM (for the free stay and $400 spending voucher).

If we can't decide, I suggested we take up both offers: fly there for free, check into Circus Circus, then check into MGM (for a better stay and leave the room at Circus Circus empty) and claim the voucher. And then go on a shopping spree!!

All these at no cost!

Dunno if these are all marketing gimmicks. haha!

Anyway with this long weekend, even if it's not LV we're going, we'd follow the rest of the gang to Yellowstone.

The last long weekend we had, AN and I took turns to fall sick. It was a pity coz MGM offered free stay and Michael Buble concert tickets for two. We had to give that a miss.

It's going to be extremely busy 2 months ahead for Mr Liow after this (with ranking and audit checks coming up), so he wants to getaway. So, let's getaway!

AN enjoys painting

She keeps bugging me to let her paint but I am ever so lazy to clean up. Moreover she has art lessons in gymboree that allows her to make as much mess as she wants to so....Ok, this is no good excuse. My bad.

AN asked again on Fri if she could do painting. She went "Mummy I want to paint (sweetly begging) please?" She probably didn't expect a positive reply when I said "Ok" coz she paused a little and then went "YEAH!!" so excitedly!

She got to choose which brush she wanted to use, and which colours she wanted (of paints and paper). It made me very happy that she was so happy. I'd clean up anything to have her be that happy all the time. hehe.

It was a good start with brush and sponge. While she was having a good time, I made use of the time to do the dishes. When I came out, I saw she upgraded herself to using hands instead.

She painted out of the paper accidentally and there were paints the table top and sides, even on the sofa.

Once she told me she had enough, in her own words: "Mummy, I finished", I started cleaning up with her help (she likes to do everything by herself now and that's good although irritating at times).

Thank God the paint was super washable. Even the paint on the sofa could be easily wiped off with a damp cloth.