Teambuilding retreat in Kuantan

Recently I had the privilege to join my company's senior management team for their teambuilding retreat in Kuantan. There was lots of eating, singing, dancing, and many cool games.

The most memorable game was the 'Caterpillar Walk', which featured team members sandwiching balloons between them and completing a walk that involved picking stuff up from the ground. Not easy when there are 5 people moving up and down in tandem, while trying not to drop or burst the balloons! Plus... picking up a large coconut with one hand makes the task harder.. haha :p The grand finale to this game involved crushing against each other to break the balloons; now this was really really hilarious! I bet some of the photos, if seen by others who were not there, could easily lead to- *ahem* -dodgy conclusions!

We were also given the task of building a rollercoaster out of straws and masking tape.. and here is our creation! Cool, huh? Thanks to our team leader, who is, amongst many other things, an engineer by training as well...

A rollercoaster by another team; note the disconnected track..

which they argued provided a thrilling twist to the ride! Haha :)

We didn't win this challenge however.. we lost points for using up too many straws! Not environmentally-friendly enough, apparently. Cheh. We were most unhappy with the result. Hmmph.

We also had a 3km beach run at 6 a.m. on the first morning! Imagine that. Plus all the other games- bowling, beach volleyball, etc.. it was really tiring. Most of us were limping towards the end of the retreat, haha.

It was hectic, but I certainly had a few fun-filled days. I also had the opportunity to get to know my colleagues better; it was certainly eye-opening to see their quirky sides :)

And hubby managed the little one all by himself while I was away- well done!

Mooncake Mania!

For some reason we ended up having a lot of mooncakes this year. Too many, I might add. In fact, I think I still have 3 in the kitchen.. I blame the mooncakes for my recent weight gain. Cheh :p

Anyway, I didn't realise that mooncakes came in so many flavours these days! There are even some that come with meat floss, which sound odd but actually taste really nice. Another one of my favourites is Tai Thong's Jade Custard. I tried their new Honeydew & Peach flavour- and truth be told, that turned out to be quite yucky. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Here are some lovely snow skin mooncakes that were yummy.. with exotic names like 'Red Lantern- Snow Skin Kirsch Lotus Paste with Cheese & Raspberry' and 'Blue Moon- Snow Skin Lotus Amaretto Paste with Blueberry Cheese Feuillantine'.

And the packaging! So elaborate. I ended up buying this box of 4 since the pink box was just so cute. One particular flavour here stood out- 'Bamboo Charcoal Hazelnut', which had a pitch black exterior and a lovely chocolatey centre.

Can recycle this to store little trinkets..

We also considered buying a lantern for the little one to play with, and checked out the new canggih-manggih designs that were out there for sale. Wow, there are battery-operated fish lanterns that have wheels, plus moving fins and tails! RM30+! Crazy. Toys have certainly come a long way since the time we were kids. Hmm.

We didn't end up buying a lantern in the end (will wait till he's older).. but his grandma surprised him with one. How sweet :)

A chicken that flaps its wings and turns its head; plus it does something rather strange- it tilts forwards and the beak touches the floor, thus causing the chicken to go backwards! Until now we're not sure if that's how it's supposed to work.. but hey, it keeps him occupied! :)

Our little darling turns 5 months old today...

Time flies. The little one is already 5 months old. He's growing well, and so far, he's a pretty good-natured baby. Hope it stays that way...

According to my mum, he's already learnt to turn over, but I'm still waiting to see it with my own eyes though. Hmm. A bit sad that I don't have the privilege of witnessing that first turn, but hopefully I don't end up missing too many 'firsts' along the way. Sigh- the downside of being a working mum.

There's really nothing better than to give him a cuddle at the end of a long day at work (though I suspect it probably benefits me more than it does him.. haha). Better give him as many as I can while he still lets me...

Thumbs up for Up!

Have you watched Up yet? If you haven't, you really ought to see it. It's a lovely movie; funny, heartwarming and thought-provoking all at once.

*spoiler alert*

Flying away with the help of balloons? Cool! Talking dogs? Errr... And the scene with the two old men fighting was just hilarious! Incidentally, Russell- the little kid, made me think of my little boy.. round face with 'no double-eyelid eyes' (Where are they?? They keep disappearing when he opens his eyes wide. No hope la...) Haha :p

On a more serious note though, I wonder what a scrapbook of my life would look like. What will I file away under 'Stuff I'm Going To Do'? Hmm. I remember the exact moment when old Mr Fredricksen discovered his late wife's cherished memories.. and it got me thinking. Life may not turn out the way we expect it to, or the way we hoped; but there will always be something wonderful to be discovered, if we choose to open our hearts to it.

p/s: If you're going to watch Up, remember to be there early. The short film screened before the movie is just precious :)

Back to Banquet

It was mum-in-law's birthday recently, and we ended up having a quiet and pleasant meal at Banquet, Bangsar Village II. It's quite a challenge to bring the little one out; there are other factors to consider when deciding on where to eat, besides the obvious- the food! Haha. Banquet is quite spacious, and Bangsar Village II is rather nice and quiet, unlike some other malls which are insanely crowded.

We had the Baked Escargot with Parsley Butter Sauce and the Honey Truffle Prawns for starters; the escargots were yummy and garlicky, and the prawns were simply divine! Lightly fried and coated with honey, this was definitely the highlight of the meal for me. I virtually ate all the vegetables that came with the prawns and used them to mop up the sauce! *drool*

Garlicky escargots

Honey Truffle Prawns- delicious!

I went for something rather boring- pasta; so I won't bother to go into details here. I'm just a huge pasta fan.. sometimes I really have half a mind to move to Italy. Anyway, hubby went for the Burgundy Cheek of Wagyu, which I thought was nicer than the one we tasted at Café Café.

The best part was that our little boy fell asleep when we started our meal, and stayed asleep throughout until it was time to cut the cake. Such a dear, huh? :)

Harry Potter, Angels & Demons

After a fair amount of planning and co-ordination, we managed to find time to watch 2 movies recently- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Angels & Demons. Harry Potter wasn't really that great; it was more of a teenage love story or sorts. Plus, it was rather weird seeing sweet and smart Hermione getting her knickers in a twist over Ron. Hmm. I went back and ended up reading the last book just to refresh my memory on what happens next. Oh gosh, I'm so excited- can't wait for the next 2 movies! In case you didn't know, they're breaking the last book into 2 movies. Hope they are as action-packed as the book.. :)

Angels & Demons was also a bit of a disappointment. Director Ron Howard certainly took quite a few liberties with the storyline. There were just too many 'Eh?' moments for me. What a shame- the book was simply amazing. I remembered being glued to it, devouring page after page. The Camerlengo's speech in the book was wonderfully heartfelt and thought-provoking, but it was hardly featured in the film (if my memory serves me right).

Ah well, at least Rome was captured beautifully in the film. And Tom Hanks' hair looks less ridiculous now... Heh.

Cute cupcakes!

I ordered these gift sets for my colleagues; didn't make it in time for the traditional full-moon, but hey, better late than never. The problem was there was no delivery service available, so I had to go and pick them up myself.

The cupcakes looked so cute, and they tasted quite nice as well. Not too sweet :)

Took a photo of all the different designs, don't they look too cute to be eaten? Haha.

11 weeks on...

and baby is just doing beautifully. He has been sleeping through the night without needing to feed for a while now; praise the Lord! Hope it stays that way.

Sleep is still rather choppy for me though, as he tends to fuss a little starting from around 4 to 5 a.m, but usually the pacifier is sufficient to help him get back to sleep.

He is smiling a lot more now, and 'talking' quite a fair bit too! 'Angku' seems to be his favourite word, haha. Recently he's developed a whole new cry- this pitiful, high pitched cry that just melts your heart. Awww, the little darling. Guess you already have mummy wrapped around your little finger. Hmm.

We're really grateful to both my mum and mum-in-law for being so gracious in extending help to care for the little one. From now on my mum will be caring for him during the day when we're at work, and we get to spend time with him every evening and on weekends. So far, so good.

God is gracious indeed.

Hubby is a great Daddy!

Hubby is such a great help with the little one. He can do everything that I can (except breastfeed, obviously- haha). Nappy change? Check. Bathing? Not a problem. Dear hubby also wakes up in the middle of the night when I need help.

Baby and I are so blessed!! =D

It still feels a bit odd...

...to say "I have a son". At times I can hardly believe that I'm a mother now, (though it doesn't take that much to snap myself back to reality, heh).

Motherhood has been a rollercoaster ride so far (and it's only been 8 weeks or so!). The first month was tough; things are getting better now, as I learn to understand the little one a bit more each day. Am still trying to come to terms with the fact that not all the expectations of how to care for baby would be met. Like using the pacifier, for example. After a few weeks, we decided it was time to buy one. Ah well-pick your battles, as they say...

A couple of things to pen down, before they become distant memories:

His neck control is really quite good; even in the early days he could lift his head up, much to our surprise. Recently we have had quite a few laughs watching him shift his head from left to right (while lying on his tummy)- which involves lifting his head first, and then shuffling face down to the other side. Hilarious.

His lower lip quivers pitifully sometimes when he's crying. We noticed it right from day 1 when he was born. Aiyo, so drama.

Screams the house down sometimes if we're late in giving him his milk. Goes all red and screams until a point where there is no sound- scary. But after that he realises it takes too much energy, so he quietens a bit thereafter. At least the screaming doesn't last too long.

Sometimes he's content to suck on the pacifier while waiting for his meal. Wonder how long we can continue 'conning' him...

He pecks or headbutts when he's hungry- just like a little bird. And the way he latches on to the bottle (or me :p) would give piranhas a run for their money!

He waves (more like punching) and kicks quite comically when he's not happy- i.e. when he's sleepy or hungry. He packs quite a punch too!

Sometimes he makes a 'fish mouth' (like he's trying to whistle) when he wants to poo. Or he goes really quiet.. as if he's up to no good. Haha.

He makes a lot of noise when he sleeps at night- grunts, etc. In the early days we used to get up to check on him all the time, worried that he might have vomitted or something. Now we're wiser- it's just how he is, so we don't bother so much.

And oh.. that smile. Just melts your heart. (Never mind that at this stage the smiles are probably mostly involuntary- but hey, I'll take what I can get. It's one of those things that keeps me going.) Also, recently he has been chuckling as well.. which sounds like a quick series of hiccups, except that they are coupled with a broad smile. Awww..

Sigh. :)