pre-loved stuff looking for new owners

Ten items for sale. Going cheap to make room in my cupboards. All items are pre-loved, in mint condition. Original packaging only where mentioned. If you need anymore information/measurement/photograph, please let me know. Leave a comment with your email if you want to purchase. I'll get back to you without publishing your e-mail add.

1. Osh-Kosh swimsuit. Size 1. Total length : 15inches from shoulder hem to crotch. Material is stretchable. RM5.



2. The Disney Store 101-Dalmations Overalls. Size 3T. Length adjustable at shoulder. Total length : up to 31 inches. RM8.

3. Red 100%cotton shorts from Issue/World of Cartoon. Bought at RM15. Worn only once. Size M. Total length : 11.5inches. Selling at RM8.

4. Formal boy's 3-piece suit. Consists of pants, shirt (with tux collar) and blazer. For boy age 4-5 years depending on how tall/short. RM60.

**Models and bow tie NOT included for sale. (Model age 4.5 years at time of photo)

5. Long-sleeved white shirt + dark pants. **Pants is not exactly black but very very dark blue. Cerisi is a Singapore brand. RM20.

6. Gymboree mini skort. Size 3. It's a shorts inside the skirt. 10inches in length. RM10.

7. Gap denim mini skirt. Size toddler 4 years. Length is 8.5 inches in front and 10inches at the back. RM10.

8. Jonas Jodie sleep sack with original packaging. Used about 5 times only in Cameron Highlands. RM60.

9. KidCo Food Mill, with original box and instructions. Use a couple of times. Bought from USA. RM30.

10. Huggies Potty + 1 pack of Huggies pull-ups XL30. RM38.

There are more pre-loved stuff at Huiwearn Kids Store. Do check it out. Combined shipping available. Self-pick-up also possible at several locations in Klang Valley.

Fighting Fun

J&j singing The Boogeyman & The Pirates

Probably only people who have watched Veggietales will understand what they are singing. To everyone else, sorry la.

Thank you for Boots & Baby Jaguar video

Bullied by my princess

My princess bullies me. Maybe it's my privilege. She doesn't do this to anyone else.

Lately, she's extra sticky and manja. When she sleeps, she wants me next to her. She will squirm over to my bed and say, "Mummy can you please give me some space". Then she puts her head on my right arm, holds my hand and park her leg over mine as if to keep me captive. Two nights ago, after the regular bedtime ritual (sing, read books, prayer, hug, kiss), I switched off the lights and she whined for me to sleep. I asked if I could go sweep the floor and she replied, "Mummy, you no need to sweep the floor. Pappy will do it for you!"

Such a smart girl. I listened to her advice :-)

Feeding time is no different. She eats well with no fuss when Nana feeds. But when I feed, she tries to hide her face.

And she does it with a very cheeky look.

It's the same when I try to brush her teeth. Nana can do it with no problems. But when I hold the toothbrush, she will say, "Close!" and purse up her lips.

But I just can't stay mad at her. She says the funniest things.

Like when she does her big and small business together in the potty, she says, "Shee shee and sai sai are husband and wife".

Ahh...the joys of motherhood.

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Boots & Baby Jaguar

Boots and Baby Jaguar (Ty beanies) landed in our home last night. After travelling halfway around the globe from Philadelphia to New York, to Singapore (transit in Frankfurt) and then to Segamat, they finally arrived in Kuala Lumpur.

I took a few candid shots of the kids - love their smiles!

Thank you YeeYee and Yee Teow! I'm still trying to load their 'thank you' video which is very slow.

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day. I'm thankful for the privilege and blessing to be a mother to my 2 beautiful, intelligent and delightful kids.

Joe made this for me at CG last night

I'm also very thankful to have a wonderful mother who is a even more wonderful grandmother to my kids.

for Nana, by Joe

As I reflect on how blessed I am, my thoughts go out today to all the women out there who long to be mothers but can't. Infertility is very real and increasingly common.

I also think of all the mothers whose arms are empty because their babies are in heaven. I have one in heaven too.

We decided not to join the crowds of people splurging hard-earned cash at extra-expensive buffets in hotels and restaurants. It's just too commercialised!

So this morning, we had a slow relaxing breakfast at DreamCafe. Then the kids went to Little Lamb. I stayed with them as well and Daalin had to be pianist impromptu.

Aunty Lily had the children make sandwiches for their mummies.

Joe made me a heart-shaped one. And then he tried eating the leftovers and said, "Tuna is not so bad after all".


He also painstakingly did the 3-heart craft for me.


I had to help Joy make the craft for myself :-) Of course I was more than happy to do so.

Then we all had a very simple lunch at DreamCafe. Food was no big deal. But it was time spent with family that was most important. Ah Chor was most happy to have her cheese cake fix. She usually eats very little so I was very surprised that she finished the entire piece (which was very big!) and also a glass of teh tarik after that.

We came home after lunch and I had a good afternoon nap sandwiched between my 2 lovely kids.

After nap, I went to the gym for a sweat. Blissful indeed.

I had to take a photo of 4-generations of women in our family. It was a women-only picture but Joseph got upset that we excluded him.

So they took a boys-only picture after that.

And now he's happy. And I'm happy of course.

Blessed Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere. And Happy Mother-to-be Day to YeeYee!

Joy's hair cut

I gave the princess a little trim last night. Just about an inch off all around so that the hair curls in instead of out. She sat very quietly in the bathtub. And she even told me, "Mummy....you don't cut botak ok."

Homeschooling by Joseph

Every time I get home from work, there is sure to be some sort of a surprise waiting for me. Some days, it's a pleasant one like a drawing by Joseph. Other days it's a shocking (and tiring) one like the naked mattress - one look and I know someone vomitted on the bed.

Today, Joseph presented me with this :

He drew it all by himself to homeschool Joy-Anne! I'm so tickled by how the watermelon / orange / apple gets smaller and smaller as he is squeezed for space at the end of the row.

The teacher :

The student :

tips from The Parenting Book

I picked up this book while browsing at The Burning Bush 2 weeks ago.

Since the kids keep me busy, I read bit by bit like when I'm waiting in queue to fetch Joe.

I'm still at Chapter 1 and yesterday, I felt like I failed to put into practice what I had just read.



We visited Pastor Nancy in the evening and the boys had a good time trying to catch some tilapia from the pond in the garden. It wasn't easy because the pond is about 4-5ft deep and the long-poled net was really heavy.

Even the mighty big and strong Uncle Nat was exhausted while Daalin managed to catch 2 fishes. Obviously Joseph couldn't catch any.

As I was washing him up at home and changing him into his pyjamas, he had this long pouty face and he was sobbing away. I asked him what the matter was and he said that he was really sad because he couldn't catch any fish.

At that moment, I recalled what I had read earlier in the day and thought of just being there for him. Instead, the blabbermouth in me tried reasoning with the sad little boy, explaining how deep the pond is and how heavy the net is.

Though he slept well through the night, I know went to bed with a heavy heart.

This morning, he looked much happier and I had a chat with him again about how he felt. After some hugs and kisses, I suggested 2 options :

1. Wait till he's older, taller, stronger to catch the fishes.
2. Go some place with shallower waters to catch smaller fishes.

He was quite optimistic with the second option. And he even suggested we get an aquarium to put the fishes in.

I'm just glad I can talk to him so reasonably.

Next time when he's upset, I'll try to remember to keep my mouth shut and just be there for him.

braiding silky soft fine hair

I came home from work yesterday to find Joy sitting quietly in front of kim kim who was braiding her hair.

It's not an easy task with her very fine sikly soft hair. Believe me. I've tried it before.

Kim Kim did quite a good job even though it wasn't long before it was all messy because Joy keeps scratching and pulling.

Last weekend

Last Friday morning, I found my princess burning with a temperature of 39.1C at 3 o'clock in the morning. One suppository, tepid-sponging (with some 'fighting') and 30 minutes later, her temperature came down and she went back to sleep. Her fever came back about every 6-8 hours in the next 24 hours.

We had a busy weekend lined up and I really couldn't afford to have her being sick. I had teaching duty at Little Lamb the next day and we were also to make a day trip to Seremban for Ah Mah's belated birthday celebration on Sat.

So we dropped by Baby and Beyond Clinic on Saturday morning.

Looking nothing like a clinic, it certainly is the most kid-friendly clinic in town.

No sterile-looking set-up.

Dr Chow Su Lin attended to us. Joy was a very obedient patient. She sat really still while the doctor examined her.
Doctor said she had some crepitations in her right lung, upper lobe and diagnosed a lung infection i.e. pneumonia. Pneumonia sounds a lot more morbid.

We spent about an hour in all at the clinic. Including time for the kids to play. From the clinic, we went straight to Seremban, crawling the whole journey there because of the heavy traffic.

In fact, we had to go straight to the restaurant where Ah Mah, Ah Kong and the YongPengTribe were already waiting. Good thing both kids slept through the extra-long journey and arrived there all refreshed to play with their cousins.

Joy is all better now. Thank God for her speedy and complete recovery. And we had a great weekend in spite of fever and traffic jams.

Joy's rendition of the Veggietales Theme Song

My children are big fans of Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber.

Even though Joy only started watching Veggietales at the 'ripe old age' of 2 years (Joseph started much earlier), she has picked up the song at a much earlier age than Joseph.

Though she's not able to properly catch all the words, her mumble jumble is still music to my ears.

**The lyrics are here :

If you like to talk to tomatoes

If a squash can make you smile

If you like to waltz with potatoes

Up and down the produce aisle

Have we got a show for you.

Veggietales (8x)

Broccoli, celery, gotta be, veggietales

Lima beans, collard greens, peachy keens, veggietales

There's never never ever ever been a show like veggietales (2x)

It's time for veggietalesssssssssss!

Logic for Laughter

I love the way Joseph's brain works.

He always makes me laugh.

Incident #1.

During our Tan family holiday in March, he overheard me calling Joshua and Daniel as "Josh" and "Dan" and asked me why I called them such. So I explained to him that it's just a shortform. To save breath and saliva :-)

He looked deep in thought for a moment then said, "So the shortfrom for Sean is Shh..?"

Incident #2.

Ah Mah celebrated her 66th birthday last week. I asked Joe to make her a card. He asked me how old Ah Mah would be and I told him. Knowing that 66 candles would be just too many to draw, I told him to draw 6 big candles and 6 small candles, briefly explaining why but not quite sure if he understood that each big candle represented 10.

So he started drawing and minutes later, he came to me and said, "But Mama!!! Six plus six is 12!!! I counted already!"

And just for the record, he now weighs 20kg and stands at 113cm.

So you think your teeth are clean?

From a very young age, my mother has always emphasized the importance of brushing our teeth well. At 32 years of age, I have a good set of teeth totally free of decay and filling, (that's right! Not a single restoration.) not because I am a dentist but because of my mother.

Now that I know more than her about the importance of good dental hygiene, I can't stress it enough to my own kids.

this is the amount of plaque I can scrape off from the lingual surfaces and from between my teeth AFTER brushing AND flossing!

As a baby, I used to have to clean Joseph's teeth while he slept. I used my extra long finger nail (on the pinky finger) to scrape off the plaque! Certainly this is not taught in dental school. But because he refuses to have anything stuck in his mouth, this was the only way to ensure clean teeth.

Now that he is older, he understands why he needs to brush his teeth. I also tell him that if he doesn't brush clean, lizards and cockroaches will come out at night to hunt for the food debris in his mouth.

He is also very disciplined with junk food. Whenever he receives a packet of twisties or cheezels or whatever else, he will keep until he has got my permission to eat. And if I say "no", he doesn't eat it.

At 5 years of age, he has yet to eat a single lollipop. Nope, he is not deprived!

Joy-Anne is still not very compliant with brushing. She lies still for 5 seconds and then starts turning away. Five seconds is not sufficient for a thorough brushing. At 2 years old, she already has 2 restorations and many more hypocalcified surfaces.

And she does not seek my permission with food given by other people. Just last week, our cg leader's daughter was giving out chocolates after dinner. And before we knew it, Joy had her entire face and both hands covered with chocolate!!! Apparently, Ashlyn asked Joy if she could eat and Joy happily said, "YES!"

So that's why, I would rather have her screaming and kicking now as I brush her teeth, than screaming and kicking in the dental chair when she has a toothache.