Lazy weekend

It's only 4.00pm on Sunday but seems like I've been sitting here in the living hall for hours.... Time certainly crawls at this moment.

Rainy day... It's been raining non-stop since yesterday morning. The positive points are the air is fresh and the weather's just nice. Good time to just relax and do nothing. That's exactly what I've been doing... Doing nothing. Light newspaper and Facebook reading. Till I get so bored....and lazy...

The whole neighbourhood seems to come to a standstill except for the on-going passing by cars in front of the house. At least that keeps me company. Leia's soundly asleep. Since 1.30pm... Hubby woke up not long ago and he's out now. Maid - probably still finding things to do to keep her occupied. Pa-in-law is still resting nicely in his room....

What's there interesting and productive for me to do right now? Think about what to cook again? Oh... not again, though I must admit that I like to cook. I'm putting on weight again, that's why! Hmmmph!

Anywhere nice to go around Penang in such weather? It's weekend, come on! It shouldn't be turned into hibernating days every end of the week... Why am I not creative anymore when it comes to planning outdoor activities? Have I fallen into the trap of momhood? I shudder to think of being one like my grandmother used to be. No way... it's just not me.

Second beach outing cum dinner

Last Saturday, I finally managed to persuade hubby to take us all to the beach. I read in several websites like this and this that toddlers at Leia's age are interested in playing with sand and water. So, I thought we must grant this favour to Leia. And the last time we took her to a beach was several months back. But of course, the recent raining season has been a "good excuse" to hubby as to why we shouldn't... Hmmm, I think he's getting lazier and heavier each day.... No wonder!

And the recent haze enveloping major parts in Malaysia (Penang certainly not spared!) just adds salt to the wound. So, if you ask us what we have been doing lately? Home and shopping complex quarantined.

Getting all ready to go. Where is this papa?

What happened to her pony tail??

Have to wait for mommy to get ready... as usual...

Meantime, let's play outdoor with Mr.Giraffe!

Phoenix wants to join in the fun!

Ah Kong continues to water the plants while waiting for everyone to get ready...

Real hot weather. Itchy...

Mommy, wipe wipe....

There are so many beaches in Penang and since clock was showing 6pm plus by the time we got ready, we decided to go to the nearest beach at Tanjung Tokong area so that we could get good sunset view. The beach was located behind Naza Hotel.

Getting there soon....

The sea!

Going down the steps

Yay, we're here!

Tie hair. Hot, hot , hot!

Wear slippers, roll up the jeans

We first visited the beach with Leia when she was less than a year old. I could still remember that she was afraid of the sea wave appproaching her then. And last Saturday, she was afraid too. The wave was rough and it was high tide. And it was so hot! We could hardly open our eyes. Ah kong and the maid were smart to go hiding under a shady tree.

So, this mommy decided to take on the role model stand. I went near the sea and dipped my legs into the water. She was encouraged by the sight of me touching the sea water and took a few steps forward.... before retreating. An angry' wave was approaching, you see...

And before we knew it, the wave reached her violently and SPLASH!! Leia's offcially wet. From her chest all the way down. And what's the next reaction? Waaaaahhhhhh...!!! Official sign of protest from the 'lil princess.

Very, very sad....

And perhaps we (or should I say... "I") have taught her too much about the need to being clean, she regarded the sand stuck to her feet as "dirty". In between her cries, she couldn't stop complaining, "dirty..... dirty.....dirty.... mommy dirty...... papa dirty......". Both hubby and I didn't know whether to laugh and sympathise at her antics! Well, we did try to explain to her that it is sand and not dirt... but.... tough luck.

Showing us her 'dirty' foot...

Still, I wasn't ready to give up on our beach outing. So, we quickly took out her beach toys - spade, Maggi mee empty cups, container... and showed it to her on how we're supposed to play with sand... build sandcastles....collect sea shells..... bury our feet into the sand....

A one minute of non-crying scene. But still in her static pose....

Well, she did sat down on my lap and played with sand for a while before she remembered the 'dirt' still stuck on her feet. Then, the whole drama started again. Haih.... that officially ended our beach outing. Went for dinner instead. In wet clothes and no change.

Hmmm....we should do this beach outing more frequent. What say you?

Padang Brown - Penang famous hawker center

Our beauty sleep last Saturday was interrupted by a phone call from hubby's office. His boss needed him to be in office around 11am to review one assignment. Since it was coming to 10 when he received the request, he decided to wake the two of us up too. Brilliant idea indeed!

We hurriedly got dressed and let Leia drank her milk as hubby suggested that we should tag along. Since he promised taking us for a meal straight after work, I agreed. Hehehe....

So, by 11.40am, we were already at one of Penang famous eating places - Padang Brown. It is famous for its Yong Tau Foo, Poh piah, Lok Lok, Pasembur, Hokkien Mee, Coconut drink.......... and lots more. Hmmm, I like the place a lot as it has plenty of Penang popular hawker food I named above.

Satellite view of Padang Brown

But we were a bit too early. The hawkers have just arrived and was busy setting up their stalls. We were told to wait at least another half an hour. So, while waiting... we took Leia to the nearby children playground. Now that she is a bit older, we allowed her to explore more. She has been "promoted" to playing with metal play items. :)

Taking on the captain role once again!

"Ready?"

"Yay...!!!"

"Oh, where am I?"

"Hey, Leia...."

"Leia, mommy's here"

The view of the hawker center from the playground

Having enough of playtime with pants and shoes soiled with earth, we marched to the hawker center for a satisfying meal.

We - the early birds got to choose the best table

Assam Laksa for hubby. Tasty! (Yup, he let me tried)

Char koay teow for both of us. Good!

Hokkien mee for me! Super delicious!

Leia settled with playing with the stools while we enjoyed our meal...

Chingay procession in Penang

There was a Chingay procession in town last night. It was yearly event held on Christmas day. But this time around, it was moved to an earlier date to avoid traffic chaos during the festive. Oh, I've not been to one for a few years now. So, I thought it would great to go downtown to join in the fun - with Leia around this time. Well, it was not easy to persuade hubby to take us there. "What's there to see but a few people trying to juggle a long thick pole on their heads without much skill shown?" But I did it. He finally agreed later in the evening. Great!

As anticipated, traffic came to a snarl at certain spots as the police blocked certain routes to make way for the procession. We decided to head to the final meeting point of the procession - Esplanade. We were lucky enough to find a car park lot nearby.

Boy, it felt so good to be out there and join in the fun. :) It felt like it's been ages since we last did that sort of thing. Leia was totally overwhelmed! She couldn't stop observing the antics of people around her, the street performances - lion dance, Bhangra dance, malay dance, etc, the bright colourful lights decorating the streets and the kids.

"Wah...."

A boy negotiating a balloon with the clown

Leia got a balloon too...

It was past 10pm and after more than 2 hours there, we decided to go "makan" (eat for Malay) at the nearby famous hawker centre while waiting for the traffic to ease. Look at we saw hung on the wall of court building.

"Buat kerja" (Do work in Malay) slogan? Hmmm...that's a bit tricky, isn't it? Do we really need a slogan to encourage the workers to work?? Give me that job that I'm not required to work!

A trip to the playground

Yesterday, I took Leia and her young "ku ku" (uncles in Hokkien) to the playground near my ah ma's (grandma in Hokkien) house. Since her papa will only be coming home at dinner time, I decided to spend the time "wisely" and bring along her "ku ku" to have an exercise session with us. The older "ku ku" has mentioned several times of his wish to play at that playground earlier. So, I made his wish came true yesterday... :)

It was a 15 minutes walk from ah ma's house and very near to the new supermarket - Econsave. We had fun pushing Leia in her stroller to the place. We took turns. At one point of time, we even had to lift her up (together with her stroller) to avoid the uneven and rocky path. It was her moment of being a princess carried in her carriage... hahaha!

I let Leia sat on a swing with me. She didn't quite like it. Struggled to release herself from my grip. I think it was probably because she felt restrained. So, I let her tried standing while her both hands holding on the metal. Oh, she loved it! We could her "ki ki ka ka"! (laughters)

Then, I let her tried the slide. It was her first time. So, I guided her and sat her at the top of the slide before pushing her down gently. Initially it felt a bit awkward. But after a few tries, she got it and wanted to try it out on her own.

Slowly but surely

Reached the top!

Ready?

"Weeee......!!"

Older "ku ku", KW appreciating the view from the top

Balancing act by the younger "ku ku", KS

Despite the fun at the playground, I seriously could not stand the mosquitoes! I got bitten like more than 5 bites and Leia got 2! It must be the rainy season. There are mosquitoes everywhere! Even now, as I'm sitting down typing away, I think at least a mosquito is happily sucking out blood from me! Aarrggh! Itchy!

So, after half an hour there, I decided to lead the "rombongan" (group in Malay) home. Enough of blood donation!

Leia and her "koh poh" (aunty in Hokkien)

KW - the camera-shy boy ducked as soon as I took out my camera

Let's go swimming...

Wow... in less than 2 weeks, Leia has gone to the swimming pool 4 times! Since I'm not working now, I finally have all the reasons to swim again. It's been so long.... my last time was I was pregnant.

Every single swimming trip will require 3 bags full of clothes, swimming gadgets for the adults and the small one, drinking water, soap and shampoo, food, what else... So, for this mommy - it was a pretty stressful preparation. Well, at least for the first time. The list of "what need to bring along" seemed endless...

Gladly enough, Leia wasn't so afraid of water. Seeing her "papa" and "kong kong" swimming in the pool, she too wanted to go near. At first, she couldn't recognise them (as they were in their goggles) but after a while of convincing (taking off and putting on the goggles), she smiled and waved at them. That was the ice-breaker.

In her cute "hand-me-down" swimsuit from her cousin in US. Getting all ready

Naturally, she gets more comfortable dipping herself in the pool after a few trips. The last trip we went, she couldn't wait to get into the pool! As soon as I put her into her swim suit, she crawled towards the edge of the pool on her own.

Can't wait to go swimming again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll recover from my back pain by then. Was moving around like an old granny today...

Hair cut!

Don't you think Leia's hair is a bit too long? Her fringe especially. Almost touching her eyes.

So, I finally decided to give her a haircut after her lunch last Saturday. Covered her with her "lampin" (cloth diaper in Malay) and clipped it with a cloth peg on her back to keep it in place.

Not much success though...

Comb, comb...

All set!

A tiny scissors was in my hand when her "papa" came back from work. Looking at his adorable baby sitting in her high chair all ready, he offered to be the hairstylist of the day!

Combing her hair again....?

As soon as papa combed her fringe with his fingers, she screamed, yelled and resisted his action.

Can you see her teary eyes?

So, we tried many ways to make it a not-so-bad experience for her. That included giving her things to keep her occupied and talked to her.

Since she liked the comb that papa was using for the haircut, I have to get her my favourite purple one.

Anyway, that was not her first time. Perhaps, it was a bit too hot that day. There was no fan nearby and she was covered half top body with the cloth. Yeah, what a bad location I've chosen...

Guess where was the location this "hair salon"? Hint: Find for clues from the photo background

Her latest favourite chew item : Her ABC rubber mat! Oh dear!

Lots of hair was cut, almost an inch in length. Didn't have the time to snap the "after" haircut shot. She had "poo"ed! Do check out her new hairstyle in coming posts.