Girls' night out

It's been so long since we've had a girls night out!

Finally the stars aligned and everybody happened to have time to go out for dinner.

It was also perfect timing that C, who lives in Kedah now, was also back for a holiday. (Since her hubby was away on conference in Paris)

It took a really long time to even decide where to go. Nobody could suggest a dinner location.

Finally, hours before we were supposed to meet, J finally suggested Clarke Quay.

Clarke Quay?

The messages started firing. Where about in CQ? Are hubbies going? Are we sure? Driving ? MRT ? ( We usually just take the safe route and meet at Novena Square, so nobody gets lost and parking is really easy )

We finally decided to meet at Central. I don't know how or where to park there, so opted to take public transport. The initial plan was to meet Ca, but on the way there C calls, and offers to drive us there.

We did get a little lost but managed to arrive and park within a reasonable time. Fortunately S knew the place well and gives good directions over the phone.

We were all a little hyped up about going out for dinner. Determined to go 'somewhere nice'. Meaning, outside our comfort zone of restaurants found at Novena or United Square.

Unfortunately by the time all of us arrived, the first 2 had already chosen and grown roots in Manhattan Fish Market. In Central Mall. They refused to leave because they had already drunk their 'welcome drink'. We could have gone to Novena Square! Fish and Co are on the second floor in Novena Square.

Just when we sat down, made our orders and started to relax, C's mother calls. Apparently her older son was inconsolable and she HAD to come home.

Well, at least we got a group photo. Proof to our kids that their mothers had a life outside of home.

After dinner, we decided, we HAVE to get outside to Clarke Quay. At least get a drink. Definitely alcoholic.

After wandering around for another 10 minutes we finally went into TCC. TCC! Also available at Novena square. Unbelievable. Either Singapore is boring or we are sad, sad people. Maybe both. At least the drinks had alcohol in them.

We stayed out past our bedtime. And it was also really nice that J got her dear hubby to send Ca and me home! Perks of being on a Girls night out with married women!

(And it was nice that the kids were all sound asleep when I got home. Peace. )

Next birthdays: MH and Elizabeth

This week is another round of birthdays. Monday( today ) is MH birthday. Beats me what the plans are! He's not a dessert fan so I'm not offering to make the cake. And then on Saturday they are celebrating Elizabeth's 3rd. My parents are hosting it at the Raffles Town Club. They went shopping yesterday and bought her a bicycle as well. I offered to make the cake. ( Felt bad if I didn't offer ). I was going to try and make the Angelina Ballerina cake, but after Googling 'Princess cake' the first thing that came up was actually the 'doll-in-the-cake' idea. I think I'm sold. Rushed out Saturday lunch time to find MH a gift, AND buy the Barbie doll that will be going into the cake. Initially I wanted to get some el cheapo doll for the cake, but they didn't look that nice. So Barbie it is. I think Friday shall be cake making day. It's buttercream, so less complicated than the fondant AngelinaB cake. I still need to get more supplies from a cake making shop.. MH got a Bodum french press from us. He's a coffee fan, but I'm not sure he'd make his own?? It's the thought that counts right?

Mother's Day weekend

I had a good weekend last week.

Clinic was quiet so I didn't have to work on Saturday.

This meant Saturday morning wasn't a huge rush to get everything done. The kids went swimming downstairs in the morning after Madison's tennis lesson. Which only had 2 kids so it was almost like a private lesson. (For $30...unlike Wednesday afternoon where she had a privately organised session at $50 for 30minutes!! )

After naptime we went to the club for Madison's swimming lesson. We took our neighbour's daughter Lynn with us. The lesson was chaotic. They didn't even tell us that the usual coach was away or something and this other guy who could barely keep the kids in order was in charge! Anyway... at least the kids had fun together afterwards. I'm really happy the club is finally mostly done, so the kids pool is functional again. The water is incredibly warm! The new playground is a big hit too.

Of course the kids went down Saturday night without fuss and it was blissful peace!

Sunday morning came waayyy too quickly. Warni had her day off so it was just us. And we had the rest of the family over for dinner as well. We spent the morning at the club (again). What better way to wear them all out??

In the afternoon Lynn came down and then E came over to swim. More swimming.

Since the entire family was sans helpers we ordered food back for dinner. The meal wasn't too bad, we managed to eat in between breaking up fights and screamy tantrums. The tears were coming mostly from E... not sure what's up with her, but whoa... some screamy moods recently..

This morning, Warni finally found the missing terrapin! Madison has gotten into this habit where she takes the darn things and puts it in odd places. And then promptly forgetting where she left it!

The small terrapin was lost for like 4 days? Poor thing. Warni finally found it in the toy box. Of all places. Amazing it was still alive.

Another birthday weekend

This weekend we celebrated:

1. Pa's birthday
2. Elaine's (Lynn's mother) birthday
3. Wang Fang's dad ( Chuyi's granddad ) birthday

And the amazing thing? All on the same day.

Talk about fate. It's spooky.

I baked a chocolate cake with ganache from Martha Stewart's website. AFTER I baked the layer, I decided to read the comments ( how stupid ). Of course that made me panic because some were downright bad.

BUT.. it turned out quite good! I used good ingredients too. Fresh vanilla pod, unprocessed dutch cocoa and couverture chocolate from Jones the Grocer. It looked quite amazing too, with the double layers.

We were supposed to go to Jumbo seafood at ECP. But at 6 pm we were still at home. By the time we got even close to the place traffic was a snarling mess. 30 minutes drive there, then another 20 back to United Square for dinner instead. I was not a happy camper.

It ended well, after dinner, we headed back to Elaine's party which was in full swing back at the condo. I had my second round of drinks, supper and cake. Her party ended close to midnight.

This past Friday I went to SGH as usual. WS finally came back after a 2 month hiatus. Then we were told that they didn't need us for the time being till August or September. To be honest, I heaved a big sigh of relief internally. I think I've also had enough of this job. It was actually getting stressful, for me. Initially it was for a bit of variety, since THEY needed us to help. And those days when we actually just worked it wasn't too bad. (depending on the consultant that day)

But the past few weeks have started to drag a little. And I started to get a little anxious about going there. Partly because you never know before hand who you get assigned to.

Still... it's probably perfect timing. Just enough exposure to get the hang of some of the procedures.

But Yeah! I have more time now to do other stuff during the week!