Happy 3rd birthday lil Miss Feisty !!!

My darling little Miss Feisty turned 3 on the 20th of March 2012. It was a whirlwind of stacked donuts fabricated by Lil Miss N and Petit Suisse disguised as a birthday cake.

She then blew out her candle for the first time with said donuts. We had another small celebration with Les Lionceaux, a playgroup we frequent. She became shy and effacée all of a sudden, refusing to blow out the candles or even react to people wishing her a happy birthday. When asked later on why she became statue-like and crispée she replied : I became aware of all the attention focusing on me and I had a moment of panic.

We are not done with the celebrations as yet as we will have another party with all the trimmings: friends and family.

Happy birthday my special little girl ! May you stay feisty but at the same time loving and caring towards us 5, your nearest and dearest !

<3 nbsp="nbsp" ove="ove" p="p">your dearest mummy, daddy and your three siblings

Happy 4th Blog birthday

I began this blog four years ago on the 16th of May 2007, slightly more than 6 months before Baby Taz's birth.

This fourth birthday marks four kids and numerous events and changes and milestones but most of all it is my vent and a great place to document my culinary triumphs and attempts as well as my own personal growth and reflections and the four kids development and milestones to the best of my ability. I do every now and then go back down memory lane via this little blog of mine which is a minor achievement in itself. It helps to preserve memories because writing in a journal just does not appeal to me as much due to time constraints and lack of writing practice. I like many modern citizens have lost the habit of handwriting letters although I still think that the charm of handwriting can never be emulated or lost-

Happy 8th birthday !

We have the continuum of birthdays as 2nd April 2003 was the day my first born came into the world and it marked my first time being a mum and maternity forever changed my life. Since then I have had three more pregnancies and births bringing my total count to four children.

Petit Suisse's birth was marred by my inexperience and I learnt a lot along the way but it is a learning curve which never ends because parenthood and mummyhood in particular are individually adapted to each being hence its uniqueness is amplified by the peculiar relationships one shares with ones child or parent.

I rented a room provided by the quartier for its residents. I then set up the tables, chairs and decorated with Petit Suisse's, Lil Miss N's and enfin Baby Taz's help (who did more damage than help but no matter). I had borrowed games from the toy library and all was set. Shrek came with a pounding and explosive headache which was just swell. Luckily I had one other parent who was able to stay and she aided me with some game organisation. I could have done it all singularly but with another adult it was more manageable.

They played egg-spoon race, Monsieur-Madame : a game of observation and rapidity which had some fun challenges, Devine-Têtes...

All went well except the number of attendants which was slightly lacking according to Petit Suisse, this was a minor detail and ultimately does not determine the success of a party. It's better to have quality rather than quantity of guests. They really enjoyed themselves and I learned a thing or two which would help me improve next time I organise a birthday party or kids party.

Shrek was of no help in the lead up to and organisation of Petit Suisse's 8ème anniversaire but he did redeem himself with the post-party clean-up and aftermath.

We had a little celebration at home on the actual day : today with 'bun xa`o thap cam' and 'kirsch cake' (store bought).

All in all Petit Suisse almost always has a slight advantage when it comes to his birthday as he has the most birthdays celebrated compared to other members of the family.

Lil Miss N's 6th birthday !

I survived eventhough Murphy's Law dictated that when under stress almost everything that can go wrong will and so it is that I was under intense stress today in getting ready for and organising Lil Miss N's 6th birthday. I had thought that I had it all under control but alas I was so far from the truth.
The day began with my massive spring cleaning sweep. I was determined to get the house sparking and spotless (or as spotless as I can possibly get it given the circumstances in this case four pairs of grubby hands/paws and four like minded rambunctious and mischievious underlings). I forged ahead and ploughed/plowed/soldiered my way through and as Murphy's Law has it all four were geared to get in my way and to slow me down at every turn.

I finally completed the sprucing up of the whole apartment but in the process lost my patience and nerve.

Next came the obligatory cake making and baking. Petit Suisse, Lil Miss N and Baby Ben surrounded me and made it almost impossible for me to access the workbench as they were so eager, enthusiastic little helpers who in their eagerness to help crowded me and were haphazardly putting and mixing ingredients much to my dismay but the cake was made and it turned out delicious if I do say so myself.

The decorations were left minimalist because I had run out of time so it did not look all that festive but that was forgiveable.

Games of Twister, Monza and 'Burg Ritter' were played intermittently with 'party bombs' to save the day and then it was 'gâteau d'anniversaire time and candle blowing time'. I had some leftover cake batter so decided to make a second cake albeit thinner and less consequential. Shrek having blocked ears took out the thin round cake instead of the heart-shaped one I had intended. That in the end did not matter too much as the candles were blown, cake was cut and shared amongst Lil Miss N's friends and she opened her presents : Hello Kitty pencil case with accessories, a kit to create her own bnnn me pocket money.

Her friends all left with a bonbonière each complete with little toys and surprises. A good time was had by all eventhough I felt that I could have been much more organised and the party games should have deroulés more smoothly had I not been collée dessus by a little superglue albeit the little party stopper.
Lil Miss N was stoked and visibly happy and all the hard work paid off.

Shrek then attended a work Christmas function. He drank a little too much and the hard liqueurs made their appearance when he returned.

He came home and assured me that he was fine but as Murphy's Law would have it I was prepared...good thing I was prepared given last year's episode.

Anyway Shrek's favourite expression of all time is 'goulot d'étranglement' which means bottleneck or (throttle) and true to form he puked into our household's goulot d'étranglement aka the bathroom sink which was already slightly blocked for quite some time rendering it unfit for use and hopelessly out of order until it has been unblocked by the plumber.


He had a massive hangover is an understatement... I need not get into the gory and peu appetisant details of this episodic vomissement.

He did redeem himself by vaccuuming and taking out the garbage : tasks which he has not performed/executed for a considerable period of time.

My love affair with Murphy's Laws are still going strong !

Happy 3rd birthday !

Happy third birthday to my rambunctious little rascal aka Baby Taz.
He was born on St Nicolas' day although he is anything but saintly.
He was doe-eyed and taken by complete surprise as he is not accustomed to the whole blowing out the candle process..
We only celebrated his birthday with a Pandoro and sparking grapejuice but no matter he was still awestruck as if he could not believe that the attention was focused and centred on him eventhough he had not done anything naughty up until that moment save the hour long kicking, screaming and wailing fest. He repeatedly said 'Bo biet lam' roughly translated to 'Daddy knows how to fix it!' in relation to a computer game at Ikea that wasn't working. He played that phrase for an hour without any hint of fatigue or exhaustion and only stopped when we went under the rain and he forgot completely because he was so absorbed by the leftover almost all melted snow on the ground.

Happy birthday little baby boy and here's to many more to come !

My exceptional 31st celebration

I have a great birthday celebration that cannot be rivalled.

On the eve of my 31st anniversary I ate something sticky and nasty as did Petit Suisse which resulted in stomach cramps for me and projectile vomiting for Petit Suisse. Petit Suisse is especially susceptible to food poisoning, stomach bugs and viral infections much like Shrek. If there is even a hint or trace of it Petit Suisse and or Shrek will surely catch it. The worst part is that Petit Suisse can be projectile vomiting for several days and be lessivé by the bug of the worst kind. It is quite spectacular and I dread his episodes of poisoning/stomach bugs.

Needless to say that my 31st birthday was spent quietly cleaning up vomit and taking care of two cases of food poisoning, one more violent than the other. Add to the mix a bored toddler namely Baby Taz with a tendency and penchance for wreaking havoc and chalking up mischief and naughty behaviour. He has successfully drawn on walls, chairs, bedding sheets, blankets, pillows and himself with a texta. He likes to play with his food and refuses to be spoonfed leaving a mess under his high chair. He also managed to spill and pour pepper all over the dinner table and floor.

I do not have much to do except to clean up after messes and Baby Taz is exceptionally good at creating jobs for me. I will never be jobless and I cannot call in sick ever or take a day of leave.

2 year anniversary

Today marks the two year anniversary of my blog. On this very day two years ago 06/05/2007 I posted a poem entitled 'Children'. Oddly enough my blog arose from my frustration at the time coping with being a full time stay at home mum taking care of three kids and has evolved into something quite therapeutic and now exactly two years after I have chalked up one more kid.

This blog is frivolous and serious simultaneously. It is both my creative outlet and a vent for me to rant about all and everything.

Here is to many more auspicious years of fruitful pickings, if not let it simply be. It is way cheaper than therapy sessions and I can get things off my chest which is not half bad.