When it comes to food, Zara likes to call herself a half vegetarian, she doesn’t take much meat besides fish; and Zaria loves her meat.

Zara is a connoisseur, she is very fussy with food, and only enjoys good food. She takes the trouble to add flavour to her food, i.e. sprinkle this on her spoon of rice, add that to her cracker; and lay them out on her plate neatly so that it’s pleasing to the eyes etc etc.

Zaria on the other hand, does not bother much with flavour or presentation. She loves meat. Full stop.

This was our Monday lunch. Chicken burger & sausage with homemade bread.

This is how Zara wants her lunch to look like.

She wanted her burger drizzled with homemade pesto, and topped with slice parmesan cheese, and a basil leave. Just like how a gourmet burger shop would serve their burger.

As for Zaria, I asked if she wanted me to serve her burger just like how I did with Zara’s, she said, “No.” Went on to cut her sausage and burger while chewing on her bread. “Because I want to have a meat buffet!”, she said. o.O”
And this is her meat buffet lunch. o.O”

We saw a pair of lovely high heel shoes with metal heels in Jiufen, Taiwan. Zaria wanted us to buy for her, but I didn’t want to because the heels were pretty high for her age.

Since then, every time when we asked where she would like to go for holiday, she would reply, “Taiwan.” Why? “Because I want to go and buy the high heel shoes with the metal heel.”

We asked her back then, “Why do you like high heel shoes so much?”
Her reply, “Because high heel shoes is my destiny“ o.O”

Zaria loves high heel shoes. I’m not her influence, because I can’t wear heels. I have clumsy feet which will get twisted if I walk in a pair of heels.

My SIL recently went to Accessories warehouse sales and got Zaria shoes with High Heels + Glitter = Perfect High Heel Shoes.

See the happy face?

A bit too big but.. so what?

Since the 1st pair was a bit too big, my SIL went back and got her another pair.

Fits her perfectly, and make her look like a teenager.

How much does she like the shoes?

She wore them when she watched TV

She wore them to do her homework

She wore them when she used the iPad

And for someone who doesn’t bother tidying up after herself (you should have a look her pencil case and her bag), she laid them next to her neatly when she took her nap.

That’s how much she loves her high heel shoes.

And of course, she’s still not really satisfied, she still wants to go back to Taiwan, to get the pair that she didn’t buy.

Look what we got from Mattel? A Barbie Fashion Combo Holiday set!

Such a BIG SET!

Barbie is going on a holiday, so she’s bringing along, a comb, 5 sets of clothing, 5 pairs of shoes and 2 bags!

Zaria went, “Waaaaaaa” then silent, not knowing where to begin.

Lovely accessories.

Look at how intricate the shoes are.

Lucky Barbie! Lucky Girls!

As one of the girls’ favourite show currently is Barbie Fashion Fairytale, they absolutely love this set of Barbie Fashion Combo Holiday.

Watch out for a Giveaway of this Barbie Fashion Combo Holiday set later in the month!

Mean while, the girls will start enjoying their set first.

Conversation in the car yesterday when we talked about confirming Zaria’s placing in Zara’s school.

Me : So mei, next year you are going to jiejie’s school, ok?
Zaria : No. I don’t want to go to jiejie’s school. Because there’s bees and rotan (Malay : Cane) in her school. I want to go to English school (Zara spotted bees in her school and told Zaria about it)
Me : We cannot afford English school. So you either go Chinese school or Malay school. So which one do you want? Chinese or Malay?
Zaria : English
Me : You can only choose Malay or Chinese?
Zaria : English
o.O”
Me : But we don’t have money to send you to English school. So how? You want to stop going to school?
Zaria : No. Then I want to be in home school.
o.O”
Me : Who’s going to teach you?
Zaria : You.
Me : But I’m so fierce. You want me to teach you?
Zaria : Daddy.. Daddy then.
Dad : But daddy sometimes not around.
Zaria : Daddy teach(es) me when Daddy is home. When he’s not home, mummy teach(es) me.
(she has it all planned out).
o.O”

Later I asked her.
Me : Do you know what is home school?
Zaria : A house that gives you homework.
o.O”

Not sure if this one will reject Chinese school next year. Sigh.

To train the girls to clean up their plates during meal times, like all Chinese, I tell them that leaving rice grains or pieces of meat behind will make their husbands/boyfriends have scars, pimples, pork mark on their faces.

Every time when I say this to Zaria, she’ll reply, “But I’m not getting married.”
And I’ll ask, “What if your boy friend got it then?”
She’ll reply, “I’m not going to have a boy friend too. Remember, I told you I don’t want to get married and I don’t want to have boy friend?”

So this becomes our standard meal time conversation.

Then one day, Zara watched Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend on Youtube, and Zaria joined in.

That night, the dinner conversation changed. It started with the same thing with me telling her to clean her plate or her husband or boy friend will be porky face. Then the below conversation took place :
Zaria : But I’m not getting married, and I’m not having a boy friend, remember?
But she still cleaned her plate, and added : What if my boy friend or husband is Justin Bieber?”
Me : o.O”
Zaria : (giggled) Yah… hee hee hee.. He’s blonde and he’s so handsome.
Me : o.O” So, actually you want to have boy friend and you want to get married. But you want your husband or boy friend to be a handsome blonde?
Zaria : (giggled) Yah… hee hee hee.. And you know.. even in Harry Potter show, I like Malfoy.
Me : (just to tease her) Oh, What about Dumbledore?
Zaria : Dumbledore is not blonde, he’s grey! (so smart this one)
Me : Ohh….
Zaria : Actually I like blonde. And I also like Australian. You know like the men in High5 shows? They have light brown hair, and handsome.
Me : Ohh….

o.O” So she likes kwai-lou or kwai-zai larrrrr…

(and she just told me, “Justin Bieber sounds like somebody is pinching his hand when he sings Boyfriend right, mummy?”) o.O”

We had this conversation the other day when Zaria asked me how old I was.
Zaria : How old are you mummy?
Me : Me? 15.
Zaria : (suspicious) The number is so little.
Me : Ya. Because I’m not that old really.
Zaria : (a little convinced) Oh…
….. then she thought for a while.
Zaria : (a bit worried) So when you are 18, you are going to leave us and go to college?
Zara : Mommy is just pulling your legs. How can she be so young!
Awww.. when they are older, they become less gullible.

Over dinner on Sunday.
Zaria : I don’t like fried bee hoon. BUEK.. so horrible… BUEK.(always exaggerating)
Me : If you don’t like fried bee hoon, you can have a dumpling. Your choice.
Zaria : I don’t like dumpling too! I don’t want to eat dinner. I want to drink milo.
Me : (not giving in) If you don’t finish your beehoon, nobody is allowed to make you milo or give you milk, and you cannot have any snacks after that. Anybody give you snacks or make you a drink, I’m going to cane that person! And if you got so hungry in the night and start shivering, I won’t give you anything to eat as well, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow breakfast! So your choice. Eat your dinner or go hungry for the rest of the day.
Zaria : (started eating reluctantly) Next time if I was (were) a mummy, I’m going to let my children eat anything they want. I won’t say (change her voice to higher pitch) YOU MUST EAT THIS… YOU MUST EAT THAT…..
So lets see what she will do next time when she becomes a mom.
And she did ‘force’ herself to finish her dinner and then went on and had all the other snacks she wanted.

What is the opposite of a worry wart? In Chinese we say ‘bochap’, in Malay we say ‘tidak apa’, is an optimist the same in English?

Anyway, this is how the girls are. One a worry wart, another isn’t bothered with anything, here is an example.

We were packing for our recent holidays, and I got the girls to pick out their clothes for me to put in the luggage. I told them we’ll be away for 5days/4nights, we need a set of clothes each day, 2 panties for every day, and then 2 set of pajamas.

Zaria finished hers real quickly. Picking up 2 sets of clothing, 2 panties.
Me : We are going for 5 days, you need 5 set of clothing! This is not enough.
Zaria : I can wear them again wut. o.O”
Me : *rolled eyes* Ya.. you’ll wear your panties again and again until you can throw it on the wall and it’ll stick there.

Zara picked what? 12 panties, 8 sets of clothing.
Me : Aiyo, we’re going for 5days and 4nights, you don’t need so many panties and clothes.
Zara : I need to bring extra, what if I dirty them, or spill something on my clothes, then I have extra to change to. o.O”

This is how they are… one the worry wart.. the other the opposite.

These are the things she said in May that raised my eye brow, or put a smile to my face (although I have to pretend I’m not amused).

Zaria made a mother’s day card for me but she can’t recall where she’s placed it.
Asked her to search.
She said can’t find (without moving her butt).
Me : Go help mommy find please.
Zaria : *moved her butt reluctantly* Find until I become an old lady is it?
o.O”

About cars and money.
Zaria : I like your car more than Ah-Gu’s car (BMW)
Me : Why?
Zaria : B’cos your car is a bit more simple than Ah Gu, and you can save money.
Me : Save money for what?
Zaria : For your wedding dress.
Me : *laughed* But I’m already married.
Zaria : Then maybe save money for Zaria’s shop then. (she’s always very jealous of Zara having so many shops named after her, and found in all big shopping malls).
o.O”

Zaria : Why is Ah Gu so rich?
Me : You ask him next time you see him
Zaria : Maybe he studied very hard when he was young
Me : Maybe
Zaria : And he work very hard when he’s older
Me : What about mummy? Mummy doesn’t work hard? How come I’m not rich?
Zaria : You.. you spend time playing with Bug Village (iPad game which I checked 4 times daily) only.
o.O”

Zaria : Next time when I’m older.. I’ll buy a BMW.
Me : Oh.. will you give me a ride in your BMW?
Zaria : By then, you are dead already. o.O”
Me : I won’t be dead so early.
Zaria :Then you’ll be an old nenek (granny)? Yah.. I can drive you.. o.O”

On a day where her Yamaha class was cancelled.
Zaria : Why is my class cancelled.
Me : Ms Tan has to take a day of holiday
Zaria : Why does she want to take a holiday?
Me : (simply pick a reason) Maybe her daughter is having exams, so she needs to do revision with her?
Zaria : Oh.. you mean now she’s at home shouting at her daughter?
(revision == mom shouting at daughter… now you know how it’s like during Zara’s revision) o.O”

Zaria : I love you mum
Me : I love you too Zaria
Zaria : If you love me, why you scold me, pinch me, smack me and give me chili to eat then? Huh?
o.O”

On the way home from school.
Me : Zaria, what songs did you sing in Parent’s Day last year?
Zaria : I cannot remember.
Me : I cannot remember too.
Zaria : I know, you can go to google, and then type Zaria, and then you’ll get the answer…. Wait, not Zaria. Because if you type Zaria, then all the things about other Zaria will come out. You have to type Zaria Low, then you’ll find the answer about me.

Zaria before playing the iPad (she likes watching those MTV with skimpily dressed dancers/singers)
Zaria : No sexy shows right?
Me : Yes.
Zaria : Then why did God create Lady Gaga? o.O”

The diarrhea bout I had early this month has made me lost some weight, so I could squeeze into the dress that I wore as my friend’s bride’s maid.
Me : Do I look nice? I wore this as Auntie Ping Ping’s bride’s maid.
Zara : You looked puffed up now. o.O”
Zaria : You mean you were Auntie Ping Ping’s maid? Her kakak? Cleaning all the mess after her wedding? (maid to her is domestic helper) o.O”

I love re-reading some of my old posts about the things the girls, recently however, instead of putting in a blog post, I put it on Facebook instead.

Just so I don’t miss some of their witty conversation, I’d better jot them down here too. These were some of their witty remarks earlier this year (I remember because I either put it on paper or update Facebook), some taken from Facebook status.

In Jan
She gave me the paper doll she created in her art class.
Zaria : Since I give you my dolly, you have to give me something.
Me : I give you my love.
Zaria : I don’t want any part of your body.
Me : I’m giving you my love. Not my body.
Zaria : Your love is from your body right? I don’t want any part of your body. o.O”

Caught Zaria watching Xmen2.
Me : I thought I told you no more Xmen show?
Zaria : But I remember in this show they didn’t say “kiss that, bitch” so I can watch right? o.O

If you’d been to the busy shops in SS15, you’ll notice near Mc Donald’s, there’s a dodgy place called Momo Hime Japanese Lounge. We passed by one night, and Zara said she wanted to check out the place.
Me : No, you can’t go there, because it’s a place for people and do hanky panky things
Zara : What’s hanky panky?
Me : When a man wants to go and date another woman who’s not his wife
Zara : You mean they go there to mate? o.O”
Possibly.. but I don’t know.

Zaria is very good with giving threats earlier this year. i.e.
If you don’t buy me the crown, I won’t let you take photo of me.
If you don’t XYZ, I won’t talk to you for 13yrs. o.O”
If you don’t …., I won’t ….. etc etc etc

Zaria asked over dinner one day. “How come in adult shows, they don’t just kiss one time, they go muak muak muak muak muak (pouting her lips she tilted her head left, then right, then left)”…. o.O”

In Mar during our holidays in Singapore;
Zaria saw so many Zara shops there, so she complained, “So not fair, every where there’s jiejie’s shop!”
Then she thought of an idea, “I want to change my name. I want my name to be Unique. So I’ll have lots of shops as well.”
(Their sirname is Low…. so Unique+Low = Uniqlo.) o.O

In Mar when I was maidless for a month.
Asked Zaria to peel garlic and onion for me.
Me : Zaria, can you please help me to peeeeeeel…………. (3s and the word is still not out)
Zaria : Onion is it?
Me : Yes. Make sure you peel them on top of tttthhhhe ………… (3s passed)
Zaria : Newspaper. Mummy, why are you loosing your words? Are you going crazy
Yes.. almost. Luckily it was only for a month.

One day, Zara kept interrupting me at work to help her with her homework. On the way to school..
Me : Next time you have to do whatever you know how to do first, then whatever you don’t, ask me at one go. I need to work you know. I cannot be interrupted so many times.
Zara : You have the whole day to do your work.
Me : It’s not a matter of whole day or not. If my boss wants something in the morning, I have to give it to him in the morning.
Zara : At least your boss don’t cane you. o.O”

Like the season, Zaria changes her interest frequently.

At one point, she was crazy over puzzles. She would sit down and do puzzle after puzzle.

Then it was bubbles. She would sit in a corner of the house, and blew bubbles after bubbles.

Next came badminton. Every evening, she would ask Minerva, our helper, to play badminton with her in the garage.

This week, it’s cycling. Still fond of her tricycle, she would be cycling at the garage with Minerva watching over her.

I wonder what’s her following week’s interest.