The Terrible T.W.O

Our boy turned two about two weeks ago. He's still an adorable little monster. I have to say, the terrible two phase started way in advance before he turned two. (not funny? -_-)

Here's my boy..

He loves the cold weather. He enjoyed it so much that he don't want to wear a jacket but when he came back to Malaysia, he said "Wear ca-ca-ca-ket." (It means Jacket.)

He thinks he's very tall. So he tip toes and tries to reach everything that he could possibly see.

He thinks that he's very strong. He tries to pull anything/everything out. With all his might and when he can't. He'll say "No strength."

He loves eating and drinking on his own. Even though he can't get much food in when he's feeding himself.

He loves climbing up and down chairs and whatever that he can..

And think that it's funny..

He thinks he's old enough to carry his own luggage from the airplane to the airport.

 But of course, he's still an adorable little boy. One of the best gift that we have received from God.

 James: Yes, please check under your cars for Penguins. They are just half my height!

Oh.. I forgot to mention, he loves to show off his belly and thinks it's funny. haha..

and he loves hugging and holding hands with other little girls but not his mummy.. *sob* :P

 <3



All about Latte

I haven't been very good in updating my blog. My apologies for abandoning it for some time. Things has been crazy with work, being a mummy, traveling, baking and etc. (Ya, you know the whole package of life.)

Now that I have a little breather, I should tell you about Latte.

We brought our boy (who's already 2 by the way) to Melbourne in October. I was told that coffee in Melbourne is highly recommended. So as a person who needs a cup a coffee every day, what did I do? ORDER A LATTE EVERY DAY!

For coffee lovers, you are going to love this.

Here's a latte from Cafe Vue, we were there for lunch on the day we arrived..

Oh here's another one from the same Cafe cause we went there for brakfast the next day..(one of our favourite restaurants when we were there.;) )

A Latte from La Chicas Cafe, we loved the environment and the food..

A latte from Mr Tulk, it's a cafe located inside the State Library of Victoria.

A latte from Waterfront Station Pier, even though we went there for dinner, I just had to order coffee cause I just have to.. and we were with good company.

Here's one from Seven Seeds. Next to it is a baby choc which my son loves!

And here's another latte from Cafe Vue.. because we went there for dinner on the day before we depart Melbourne.

And a latte is a must every morning! We had breakfast at Fleur Depot De pain. It's located right at our hotel.

So I had 8 cups of latte throughout my 6days 5nights trip to Melbourne. I can understand why the usual coffee places you get in Malaysia are not in demand in Melbourne. :)

Choux Pastry Workshop

Thanx to TimeOut KL, Hubby and I attended a Choux (pronounced as "shoe") Pastry Workshop conducted by Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia .

We were taught how to make Choux Pastry and Bechamel Sauce by Chef Tan. It is my first time attending any kind of workshop with my hubby and it's his first time attending "baking class" but I have to say, he did well.

Here are some photos to show you what happened throughout the 2.5hours workshop.

 Chef Tan showing us how it's done. (the guy on the left in pink is my hubby... listening very attentively.)

 Piping the pastry on the silicon sheet.

...and this is how beautiful it should look.

OUR TURN!!!

 Hubby was struggling to pipe it out at first but after a while he was even more pro than me.. hahaha..

 TAAADDAAA! Done! of course, these were made by Chef Tan.

 Hubby using all his might to ensure that the bottom does not burn while making the Bechamel Sauce.

 And I was just busy snapping photos since I'm most of the time making desserts in my own kitchen.

 TAAADDAAA! This is how ours turned out...all uneven compared to the ones made by Chef Tan.

 Choux Pastry filled with Bechamel Sauce

(I prefer Choux Pastry with a sweet filling but the Choux Pastry is YUMMMM!)

THANX TimeOut KL!!!

Choux Pastry anyone? :D



My pleasure..

Remember the giveaway that I blogged about? I've finally finish giving them out (oh, except for two close friends who I'll be meeting later.. and I hope it'll be soon.)

I gave my lucky 20 followers these:

 For those who were in the Klang Valley, they received lemon cupcakes with a box of cookies (Double Chocolate Chip or Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies).

As for those who were not located in the Klang Valley and overseas, they received two boxes of cookies. (One Double Chocolate Chip and one Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies).

I have to thank these wonderful people as they were so supportive and to those who have blogged about it (in no particular order) :

1) By one of my secondary school friend : http://www.inhouseling.com/2011/09/i-have-cikumuffin-ed.html
2) By SmallKucing: http://www.smallkucing.com/2011/09/childrens-life-of-christ-widows-gift-i.html
3) By Cleffairy: http://cleffairy.com/?p=6069
4) By Ng: http://mnhldiary.blogspot.com/2011/09/cikumuffin-ed.html
5) By Angeline: http://nothingbutangelinestory.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-have-cikumuffin-ed-too.html
* Need to add one more:
6) All the way from East Malaysia: http://charity1313.blogspot.com/2011/09/you-got-parcel.html


I hope I didn't miss out anyone.If  I did, drop me a muffin! :D

All I would like to say is that it is my pleasure to have the opportunity to share my passion with all of you. :) Hope there'll be more sharing to come! :D

Like Cikumuffin at www.facebook.com/cikumuffin

Made just for you..

I've recently made a couple of cakes for my clients who wanted to make it special for their special one.

Here's for a friend who is superbly money minded... all he ever talks about is how to generate more money..:P

This simple and sweet design below was ordered by a guy who wanted to surprise his girlfriend... (awwww...how sweet of him eh?)

I enjoyed making them and knowing that it's special for them put a lot more "burden" on me while I was making them. Looking at the final result gave me some sense of satisfaction and knowing that they loved the cakes made all the "stress" worth it. :)

Malaysia Day

I'm always happy that it's a 4work day week. Who isn't? An extra day to spend time with the family and to do whatever you like.

I've been pretty amazed by how much my son's play school preach about loving Malaysia. In my opinion, at this age of mine, most of the time I only hear people complaining about the country and yet, they are still in the country or they are not even registered for election.

Political views aside. I appreciate how much the teachers in my son's play school has taught him since our National Day.
 

They taught him how to make a Malaysia flag
(yes, he's only 21 months old, he won't remember but some things you have to start young!)

Also made a card dedicated to Malaysia...

 I think this idea is really sweet...

And today, they organized a party to celebrate Hari Raya, Mid-Autumn Festival, Deepavali and Malaysia Day.

 Three different celebration. (top to bottom: Hari Raya, Mid-Autumn Festival & Deepavali)

Teaching the next generation about other races' celebration may be something very difficult for parents in my generation because there is so much "friction" involved that sometimes I wonder if that's what they really want to teach their children.

I grew up with multi-racial friends. I have bestfriends who are Malay, Indian and Chinese. I grew up without anyone instilling any "negative thoughts" about other races. I hope that my child (children) will be able to have the same kind of mentality.

After all, these little ones will be influenced by us. Just like this little boy who had to wear a chinese costume to school today (he refuses to wear nicer pants) but all he wants to do is play with toys.

Happy Malaysia Day! (for a day, stop complaining and enjoy the day. Life is a lot less stressful.)

**This post does not indicate that I'm choosing sides in terms of political views. It's just merely a thought that came to me when I saw how much my son's play school is teaching them about patriotism at such a young age. Your opinion may differ, so does mine. :)

How much he has grown..

My boy is now 21 months old. I can't believe how fast time has just flown by.

Looking back the photos of him and I wonder...

How did he turn from this...

 to this....

to this...

And then this...

And he became a charming boy...



AND ... this....

all in 21 months..

He's a boy blessed with good health and truly one of the best gift that I've ever had. <3

(I know I know.. time to make #2. God will bless us with one when the time is right. :) )

A gentle reminder

My dad has always been my main "influencer" in my life. I guess it's very normal for every parent to have some sort of influence on their children.

I will be representing my company in a regional competition and rehearsing my presentation script every day has reminded me of my dad.

I could still remember the first day that I had to conduct a training session in my previous company. He saw me holding my slides, flipping back and forth while waiting for the train. (We use to commute by KTM to work together.) He just told me to close my eyes and imagine... that I'm a rock star and every body else below the stage don't have such a chance like me.
That sentence worked very well on me as til today, I feel like a "rock star" when I'm presenting in front of an audience (doesn't matter how many people).

It is my first time presenting in a competition and I'm doing my best to bring the crown back. I do hope God is on our side..

....because this man standing beside me in the photo told me (since I started taking examination in school) that I should just do my best and the rest I will have to leave it up to God.

You can tell that I miss him. <3



King of Fruits

Not everyone I know loves Durian. Some has neutral feeling towards them. Some can have them as meals and some just can't even stand the smell of it.

As for me, I'm not a HUGE fan of durian but I don't mind it either.

My brother-in-law likes durian and I decided to make some durian cupcakes for him as his belated birthday celebration!

Topped with Cream Cheese...

It was good! The taste of the fruit is rich. My husband prefers it without the cream. (Generally, he don't like cakes with cream.)

King of Fruits Cupcake.. anyone? :D

Get a taste of my baking!

Follow these 3 steps to enjoy some goodies from me:

1) Like my page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/cikumuffin
2) Post it up on your Facebook wall (if you don't have one, you may post it on your Twitter or blog.)
3) Drop me an e-mail (cikumuffin@gmail.com) or if you are my friend on Facebook, send me a private message and say "I have Cikumuffin-ed!"

The first 20 who follow these steps will receive freebies from me delivered right to your doorstep!

You are not located in the Klang Valley/Malaysia? No worries!
As long as the receiving country allows food to be posted in, I will find my way to let you have a taste of my baking!

What are you waiting for??? Get Cikumuffin-ed!

Twenty!

In four months, he'll be TWO! how do I ensure that he's still as adorable?

James has been attending play school since last month. The teachers LOVED him and I have to say, sending him to play school at 1.5 years was quite a difficult decision to make. Many said that he's too young. I guess we decided to send him because he is a lot "stable" than his age. He could speak.. not very fluently but he can at least tell you what he wants and oh.. did I mention? The teachers fell in love with him when I brought him there for a "trial".

My adorable little monster melts the heart of many but I have to warn you, looks can be VERY DECEIVING! The amount of stress that I have to go through and the amount of tolerance that I have to put in is just so.. so.. I seriously don't have a word to describe it. One moment, he can drive me up the wall with his demands, fightbacks and crocodile tears. Another moment, he can be an angel that would make me go.. "Awwww.. I have been blessed with the best."

Being a mum has made me a lot less patient but at the same time, I have to be patient! How does that work? Parents will understand what I mean and if you are going to be a parent, trust me.. you will know what I mean!

Well, he is still one of the best gift that I've received from God and here's to show you why..

 He gives you a fake smile when you ask him to smile for the camera...

(with Anthony Tan.)

 He sits on the walk way when he's tired from all the walking/running around like he's the boss!

(with Elisha Lim.)

 He talks to a cat.

 And lectured a puppy for not "playing" with him.

(in actual fact, he doesn't dare touch anything furry. He seems brave here cause the puppy didn't bother about him.)

 "I give Mummy a headache because.......

.....I stuck stickers all over the sofa!"



<3