Lovebug loves Frozen and it's no surprise she wanted a Frozen birthday party.  She talked about it since after Christmas but we wasn't going to throw her one as Peanut will just be born and our hands surely will be full.  We planned to have one just with our family.  However after talking about it, C and I really want her to have a her own party (as she probably have to share her next one with Peanut).  We'll have a low key party and will re-use whatever decorations we have around.  Love's been looking forward to her birthday and we don't want to short change her.  At 2 they might not know it but at 3, Love has been counting down to her birth date.

Love was very specific with her birthday.  She wants a pink birthday with blue cake with yellow flowers (Frozen Fever) and friends :-) and she wants Frozen characters on the cake.  While a cake is pretty to have, our family (minus me) and friends and their kids are not big cake lovers.  I googled around for home made cake ideas and decided on rice krispies cake for her !  We all like rice krispies so rice krispies it is !

The day before the party, C and Bee put up the decorations.  Bee blew over 15 balloons on her own.  Such good helper she is !  She also drew a picture of Elsa and Anna and cut them out to decorate the giveaway basket.  Then she and C both left to attend her classmate's birthday party.  Peanut was sleeping so I started on the rice krispies cake !  I used a cake pan to mold the rice krispies marshmallow mixture then covered it with melted white chocolate.  The melted chocolate will act as an adhesive to the blue fondant I will be making.

The fondant was a nightmare !  my 1st time making it !  The recipe is of mainly melted marshmallow with confectioner sugar (recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/marshmallow-fondant-255227, I used butter instead of shortening).  It was easy to make however having a new born and a toddler around makes the whole thing mission impossible !!!  Needless to say, the fondant didn't turn out the way I planned :-( I rolled the fondant to a good thickness but when pulled up from the board, it thinned out and when it went on the cake, some parts stretched and left holes on the cake :-(  and it can't be peel off as the white chocolate held on really tight.  Standing back and looking at my lumpy blue cake, I was about to give up !  Then I thought why not patch it up with random flowers.  Thank God for the flower cutter !!!  4 hours from start to end, adding some mini Frozen figurines (Disney Store, $17) and the finished cake looked kinda OK !  not what I had in mind, but it will have to do as I don't know how to fix this !

I took Lovebug in the kitchen to show her what I made.  When she saw the cake, she squealed and hugged me.  She said "thank you for making me blue cake mommy !  It so pretty !".  Her words make the whole crazy ordeal worth it !  She was super happy and keeps checking up on it throughout the evening.  Seeing her happy makes me feel pretty awesome actually.  I'm glad I attempted it.  Will I ever do this again ?  Probably not.  One can never say never though !

WHERE TO BUY:

- Pink polka dot popcorn/treat holder, Dollarama $2 for a pack of 6
- Frozen mini figurines, Disney store, $16.97

GOODY BAG: 

- Windup toys for babies, Michael, $2 each
- Blue & white Playdoh, Walmart
- Kinder Surprise eggs, Walmart (Frozen Kinder eggs can be purchased from Toys R Us)

Bee is such a sweet girl.  She woke up early on Valentine's Day, around 6:30am to make a card for us (I heard noises in the kitchen).  I got up and came out around 7:30, to see what she's doing.  She made us a card and a necklace for everyone, even baby.  She asked me to cut her up paper hearts for her to put on her card and the necklaces.  She's so sweet and thoughtful.

Craving something sweet that morning, I asked C to get donuts for breakfast.  Without any hesitation, C puts on his hat and left to pick them up.  Whoa, and here I am thinking he might say "bad sugar first thing in he morning ?" !  Maybe he's doing it because it's V day :) or that I have been asking him to buy so much junk food that my request no longer surprise him anymore and best not to question.  I am being spoiled a bit at the moment :)  

When C came back he got me a bouquet of flowers and donuts !!!  We all put on the heart necklace Bee made for us and had a small tea party.  Donuts taste so good for breakfast.  The girls love it (expected of course).  We definitely will do this again.   

The MORNING OF BIRTHDAY:

Baby Love turned 3 ! This past year she discovered Lego and princesses.  She can play Lego hours on end and most day she's in her Anna get up.  If she sees Anna on screen she would refer to her as herself.  She would tell me "look at me on TV, I'm marry to prince Hans", and refer to Elsa as her sister.  I thought she would be a tomboy but am I ever wrong.  She loves dresses and head wears and all things shiny and pink.  Love dressed herself everyday and can put together a mean outfit. 

Love is LOUD !  always on top of her lung.  Even her inside voice is loud !  We are not sure what to do but keep on encouraging her to not scream when she talks !!!  Love loves food and loves to eat so I don't have to stress over her.  In the morning she would dress herself then go into kitchen, survey what's on the table and asked me to get her breakfast.  Depending on mood, she'll ask for cereal with milk with a side cup of milk, or pancake, banana, yogurt, xoi (sticky rice), or yogurt with crushed cereal on top.  Love is not a food snob like her sister !  She eats everything, from caramelized fish to spicy curry, she's up for anything.  Adventurous she is.

Love is a toddler with a large vocab.  From last year to now, she went from a few words to full on sentences and can even tell stories !  I can now carry on a decent conversation with her about pretty much anything and she'll have some inputs.  Her comments are often funny, at times thought provoking and surprisingly, very clever.  Like one time I told her "don't eat too much candy, your teeth will fall out", she said "No, when they fall out I get new one.  Dr. Jenna (Jennifer) will put in a gold one for me.  It'll be shiny!" (she's referring to crown).  Another one is during our walk home from picking up Bee, she was running before us.  Bee grabbed her and told her to be careful of cars, "you don't want to be dead right ?  cars hit you, you'll be flat!", and Love, with a big smile, said "and I would look so cute !".

Love does everything with passion!  She fully commit to anything that she set her mind on, which is a problem at time when she encountered a hiccup.  Like round piece of Lego won't fit into a certain spot in her Lego house.  And when she's frustrated or angry, she does it with passion too !!!  

Love likes to tell me "I love you to the space ship" and recently she changed it to "I love you to pluto far far away", after her sister pointed out that from earth to spaceship is not that big of a distance.  Once after bed time prayer, she asked why we can't touch the heaven.  I told her because it's really far from earth and she said "we need a really long ladder".  What I enjoy most now is how happy she is each morning, chirping "I didn't pee in my underwear !!!".  She's been saying this phrase for months and months now because she's really proud of it and we're too. 

Love's favorite show is Paw Patrol, Masha and the Bear, and Monster High (the rollerblading episode).  She loves to watch all things Frozen and Kinder Surprise on YouTube Kids but the ipad is always out of battery :-)  it's done on purpose so viewing time is very limited.  We don't want our kids to spend too much time in front of devices.  They are so good with playing on their own and with each other and we don't want to ruin it.  They both are creative kids and love all things artsy and that to us is a wonderful gift both C and I need to encourage and foster. 

I enjoy Love's company very much.  She's funny, cranky, cute, demanding, passionate and animated.  She's fun to have around and she gives really good hug and kisses.  Happy 3rd birthday to my darling.

Bee spent an afternoon locked in her room to make cards for Love !  She wants it to be a surprise.

The girls are obsessed with the new boy in the house.  They would wake up during his early morning feed (around 7am) and crawl in next to me, waiting for me to finish feeding him so they can hold him.  When I'm done with baby, their battle begins.  "He's not looking at me", He's not facing me", "I can't see his face", "He's smiling at me, not at you", "I hold him first", and they keep going back and forth like that and each time their voice and frustrion kick up a notch.  

This has been going on for a week now and my solution is to ask each girl to kiss baby then take him away for diaper change !  Whether he need it or not is beside the point.  I just need them to stop fighting over what side should the poor boy face.  They refuse to accept that he's just a baby !  despite me tirelessly explaining to them over and over again that he's still very young, he has little control of his head, he has no favourite and that he loves them both the same.  "Oooooh, he doesn't love me !  *hic*" the little one complained.  Arrggg !

Some day I want to smack Lovebug in her bum bum to ward off all the moodiness in her.  Whenever she's up from her nap it feels as though we're all walking on egg shells.  C and I would eye each other, "what do we do ?"  Do we talk to her ? Acknowledge her ? Ignore her until she makes first contact ?  She's unpredictable and full of surprises so it's a guessing game every time.

If anyone of us say "hello" to Love (just up from nap), some time we'll get a hug, some time a straight stare, some time she'll turn and walk away, but mostly we get a loud thunderous bawl and she's yell out something like "WaaH don't talk to me !!!  Don't look at me !!! Waaahhh Waah!".  Then she would go looking for me (wish I can hide), rushing over and falling on my lap BUT don't want me to touch her.  I just sit there filtering her out until she's done with all the crying.  

Love is an animated and dramatic gal !  so it's not out of character for her being like this.  She often get upset over things that make no sense at all.  Like, she's mad that my mom is my mom and she's not my mommy !  No sense at all ... I think, despite knowing a lot of words, Love doesn't understand the meaning and when to use it.  She is still a baby though her vocab extensive, she is only 2 almost 3 yr. old.  She likes to say "I'm mad" or "I don't love you" to express frustration !  Probably because it gets our attention every time.  I often try to engage her to talk more, and try listen and figure out what she's trying to explain, but this habit of hers is a tough one to kill off !

In the last few months, it seems when she's upset, esp. after nap, she wants us to ignore her, but she also want us to acknowledge her in the same time.  What the hell right ?  C gave up on her and said she's too hormonal.  I don't have experience with pms (far as I know) but I think this is something like it.  She's so cranky I want to pull my hair out from frustration.  She doesn't know what she wants.  I don't know what she wants.  She expects me to read her mind and know what she wants and this is a big problem !  I haven't got a clue :(

If I ask Love "what's wrong?" or "talk to me honey, why are you crying?", she would tell me not to talk to her and if she sensed my annoyance she would cry louder and say "aww you mad at me !  Waah Waah".  If I let her be for 15 min. she usually would calm down and come around as if nothing happened.  15 minutes isn't that long but because the sound of her cry/whine often escalate to a shrieking volume, 15 min. is a long long long dreadful time for all of us.  I am still trying to figure out how to deal with her so I can pass the memo to C and Bee.  Who both gave up on her and avoid her like a plague when she's up.

I believe this is Terrible Two/Troublesome Three stage other parents talked about. We got away with it with Bee but we can't be so lucky the second time !  Oh well, we can only brave through it now.  I comforted myself that it shall too come to pass one day, like everything else under the sun.  Please grant me wisdom, patience and strength dear Lord !

Pork belly with pickled ginger

After the birth of each of our baby, the day I come home from the hospital is the day my mom would sit down with me and remind me of all the things I can and can't do.

This week I heard some new things I never heard before.  I find these cultural rituals kinda silly.  She told me to get out of the kitchen when she's grinding meat.  The sound is bad for me as it shakes my nerves !  But she said once my hormone is back to normal then it should be ok.  I have no idea when that is and nor does she.  Maybe in a few months ?  I left her there and proceeded to re-arrange a shelf in our dining room sideboard.  Within seconds she rushed over and nagged me.  She said lifting or pushing anything heavy now will damage the strength in my hands and my veins will pop up underneath my skin, making my hands unsightly.  I complied, to avoid her nagging, then proceeded on with what I'm doing when she's out of sight.

Fortunately for my mother, and her heart, I've kept her from knowing all the things I've been doing and eating.  I don't believe in any of those folklore !  She said they are to prevent ailments in my golden years.  They don't make any sense to me.  BUT if she's right, I wouldn't know it until I'm old and by then it's too late and I will say "oh, only if I listened to mom" :-)

These are what I'm to avoid after I gave birth:

-  Avoid drinking cold water !  I can't stand room temp. or warm water.  I guess I'm doomed to be chilled for the rest of my life.

- No bathing for a month.  I bathe right after baby is out.  It's gross if you waited that long.

- No reading book or devices (phone/ipad) or TV to prevent vision loss when old.  I went onto fb to post baby picture on the day of giving birth !  ooops.
- Avoid standing near the stove (???).  I went on a banana bread baking spree days after.
- Avoid eating fruits/food that have warming characteristic (mango, lychee, chocolate, etc)
- Don't wash my hair too often !  This she doesn't need to tell me because it's not like I have time to do that everyday anyways.
- Avoid exotic fruits
- Not to go out !  Baby and I should stay home the first month to gain strength (avoid sickness, etc)

What I'm nagged often to do:

- Eat lots of ginger to get the uterus contract in faster
- Bind my stomach
- Eat pork belly or pork hock to encourage milk production
- Drink warm water
- Eat soft food (to avoid constipation > this makes sense)

While I don't listen I'm thankful for my mom.  If anything, it makes our conversation more interesting and I also get a glimpse into the past, into my mom's and grandma's time.