Officially a Kindergarten Grad

Last Friday marked the last day of the 2015 school year. It was also Aiden's last day of kindergarten. Andddddddd... he's officially a kindy grad!

As usual, the last day of school is party day. The kids were allowed to come dressed in their party clothes. Last year Aiden went as Iron Man. This year, I didn't have time to find him another costume, so I asked whether he could just recycle that costume. He reluctantly agreed. That Friday morning, he hopped on to my bed after his morning shower and exclaimed, "I am not going to wear my Iron Man costume!" Ahhh sudah. Finally, he agreed to wear his Luke Skywalker costume, a costume that this kiasu mummy had bought ahead for his Star Wars birthday party next year. *sigh* Sooo, I guess there is no more element of surprise with what Aiden will wear for his birthday party. (Now where do I get an R2D2 costume for Ian? *giggles*)

Luke Skywalker and Daddy Darth Vader!

Some light dueling before leaving for school.

Aiden wanted to make a cake for the party, so we made chocolate cake the night before. He helped me weight the ingredients, and once it was done, it was his idea to sprinkle butterscotch chips on the top. After that, I gave him a frosting tube and he wrote "Farewell Periwinkle" and his name on all sides of the cake board.

Gooey chocolate cake with butterscotch chips for his classmates.

I had made it a point to send and sometimes walk him into school this last week of kindy. So in the car on the way to school, I asked him whether he would miss his friends, especially since Radley and Rizq wouldn't be joining him in his new school. I guess the impact of leaving kindergarten hasn't quite sunk it, because he replied confidently, "Of course I'm not going to miss them, because I know the way to their house!" When I said that I didn't know how to get to Radley's house, he retorted, "But we can always use a map!" *shakes head* After that he even exclaimed, "I can always go to Standard 1 in Rizq's school, then Standard 2 in Radley's school!" Aaahhh... the simple logic of a six year old!

Friday is always an assembly day for the school. That morning's assembly was especially emotional for the mummies, especially when the school played Wiz Khalifa's See You Again. *sobsob*

Morning assembly.

Excited mummies sending their kids for their last day of kindy.

After assembly, I followed the kids back to class for some photo opportunities. Here are some photos I managed to snap of Aiden and his classmates, before leaving them to the class party:

We had Optimus Prime, Batman, Spiderman and of course, Luke Skywalker.

Ms Lashmi's classroom!

Thank goodness my hair was coloured black. (I used to be made blonde!)

Danya's farewell present for everyone in class. Danya chose to give Aiden an orange robot as apparently it "looks like Aiden". *grins*

School was dismissed early that day, ~1030am. I was at the clinic with Ian then. I had developed ulcers in my mouth, it was quite hard to talk and eat. (Doctor said it was stress related... must have been the after effects of that crazy chaotic weekend.) Ian was nursing a week old mild diarrhea. The doctor was taking slightly long than usual so a fellow Real Kids gang mummy offered to pick Aiden up. We agreed to meet at Hideout Cafe.

Hideout Cafe is a new upcoming cafe in Bukit Jelutong. The owner of the cafe happens to have a son in Aiden's class; hence Hideout has become the official designated cafe for the Real Kids gang. Not only that, food is always good, service is prompt, the servers are friendly and most importantly, lots of space for the kids to run around! I highly recommend the Pesto pasta, Beef Teriyaki with rice and Nachos.

Beef Teriyaki with rice, one of the very few rice dishes at Hideout. Seksa betul nak makan with my mouth ulcers, but because it was soooo good, habis licin jugak!

Kids running around outside the cafe.

After a very fulfilling meal, it was picture time! Meanwhile, Radley and Rizq had a bit of a tiff, hence Radley was hiding somewhere, saying that he wanted "to die". Dramatic habis, but very cute nevertheless. So while the mummies were trying to pose for pictures, Aiden and Rizq came up to us exclaiming, "Radley's mummy! Radley's mummy! Radley wants to die!!!" Hahaha check out our response below:

Sorry kids. We will entertain your death wish later. After this photo!

Finally, the best decent photo we got of the mummies (albeit missing 2) and the kiddos:

Ian wondering whether he should get in the photo, or not.

Congratulations Aiden. Huge milestone for you, you are now a kindy grad. Now you can enjoy your 40 days of school holidays!

Aiden's Last Kindergarten Concert

And finally, that crazy chaotic weekend which I was dreading, yet excited for... is finally over. Aiden's graduation dinner and my cousin's wedding is now done and dusted, and I can finally put my legs up and rest. Or so I thought! Now I have a gazillion pictures to go through, and just 7 more days left to prepare for my 10th anniversary getaway.

Before I start flooding my blog with pictures of those two major events, I really should do a throwback post for Aiden's concert. Especially since this is Aiden's last year in kindy, hence it is also Aiden's last kindy concert! *cries*

Last kindergarten concert!

The theme for the annual concert was "Share the Love". The school did a great job of keeping the whole concert under wraps. Whenever I asked Aiden what he was going to perform at the concert, he simply kept mum. Finally a day before the concert, we received his costume in his school bag. Imagine my surprise when it was an army vest and pants, but completely bedazzled with sequins!!!

Come the morning of the concert, this kiasu mummy woke up super early and chased everyone out in good time... just so we could be one of the first few to arrive at the hall and get good seats. We were so early, that when we arrived at the concert venue, we managed to get a parking spot right in front of the main entrance. I remember relaxing then, taking the time to apply my eyeshadow and lipstick. As I was applying my gloss, another car arrived, parked beside us and the whole family walked in. Guess what, that family got the front row seats and I had to settle with the second row!!! *hhmmpphh* Lesson learnt, next time wear your make up inside the hall!!! *chuckles*

So proud of Danya, she gave the welcoming speech for the day.

The concert kicked off with Aiden's BFF slash GF slash whatever - Danya, giving the welcoming speech for the day. In contrast to Aiden's quite confusing concert attire, Danya looked absolutely ravishing in a beautiful sari in green.

The cute three year olds. One of them simply refused to dance, or even move!

Such creative teachers. Bamboo sticks as props!

A lion dance too!

Daddies selfie!

Just our luck, halfway through the concert - the three year olds were allowed to go home, and the earlier family I mentioned who managed to grab the front row seats?? Well their child was one of the three year olds hence upon release they left the concert! Ape lagi, melompat la the Real Kids gang, and upgraded ourselves to front row!

Front row seats, babeh!

Next up, were the six year olds. Finally figured out that Aiden was going to perform a Bollywood dance. And you know how Bollywood songs are... they are soooo fast and catchy; definitely not suitable for still photos! Hence, apologies for the shaky pictures. I wish I could tell them to all freeze in time for a photo. So here are his best three photos, from the gazillion I took:

Looking for Mummy and Daddy in the crowd.

Aik, cucuk langit ke?

Bedazzled army soldiers protecting the beautiful ladies in sari.

Next up, more beautiful national costumes. I especially loved the Baba Nyonya outfits; the girls looked absolutely beautiful in their kebayas. Also the boys in the Chinese class wore pendekar outfits; baju Melayu, complete with tanjak and keris.

Even the boys were in Baba costumes.

Excellent formation by our courageous pendekar Melayu.

Last song for the concert.

So proud of you!

Check out Aiden's arms around his two best friends.

Aiden and Danya.

Real Kids gang selfie after the concert.

After the concert, we all decided to head to lunch. Well more like a late lunch. Discovered that the A&W opposite Amcorp Mall was still open so we all decided to go there. I haven't had A&W root beer and waffles for so long! It was certainly a trip down memory lane for me.

Still as good as ever. *drool*

Well done Aiden, for performing so well during the concert. I hope it was a memorable one for you. It was certainly one for us. #proudmummymoment

Renewing My US Visa

It has been ten years since I last stepped foot in the US embassy. Back then, I was still a university student trying to get a travel visa. Since I was unemployed then, I had to make a solid case about why I wanted the visa and convince them that I will return to Malaysia afterwards. Armed with so many supporting documents (I even gave them a photocopy of my ASB account to prove my financial standings!) I was finally granted a ten year visa.

Fast forward to ten years later, I found myself googling for the same thing - "how to apply US visa Malaysia". *giggles* You see, my boss told me that I needed to travel to US to witness a testing. I confidently said yes because I was soooo certain that my visa was still valid. Alas, just 5 days before the testing (he told me about the testing the day before), I checked my passport only to find out that it had justtttt expired. I sheepishly told my boss the bad news the next day, but he told me to try my level best to get a renewal. 5 days to get a US visa?? Unless you're related to Obama, you can probably kiss your trip goodbye.

Anyway, despite knowing that I wouldn't be able to make it for the trip (boohoohoo... no shopping!) I decided to just go ahead with the visa application. You know, just in case there are any other trips coming up in the horizon. 

So here's my crash course on how to apply for a US visa. The first step is to choose the type of non-immigrant visa you are applying for. For holiday or business travels, choose B1/B2. Once you have chosen the relevant type of visa, you will need to pay the application fee. Since I do not have an account with Standard Chartered Bank, I chose to pay cash at the bank. Note that you will have to generate a deposit slip (from the US travel docs website) and bring this slip to the bank when making payment. If you are applying for multiple family members, each will need a unique deposit slip. Upon receiving your payment, the bank will issue you a receipt. Save your receipt. It cannot be replaced if it is lost. You will not be able to schedule an appointment without your receipt number.

Just 4 hours after you have made your payment at the bank, you can proceed to make an appointment. Create a profile online and and fill in the DS-160 form. You will require a soft copy version of your photo (white background). Allocate about 30 minutes to fill in the form - it is quite a lengthy one! After submitting the DS-160 form, you will be given a number. Using this number (10 digit barcode number), your receipt number and passport number, you can proceed to make an appointment. Usually, the first appointment you can book will be a week after! Print the appointment confirmation letter.

On your appointment date, schedule to arrive 15 minutes earlier than your appointment time. Too early and you will not be allowed to queue. Bring the appointment confirmation letter, your passport and any other supporting documents to support your application. I suggest the following:

• All previous passports containing previous US visas
• Latest 3 months payslip
• Job confirmation letter from your employer
• Letter from employer of your intent to travel (for business trips) or training schedule (company training)
• Bank statements or any other evidence of financial standing
• The website also asks you to bring the DS-160 form confirmation page, one recent white background photo, bank fee receipt - I brought this but they didn't ask for it

Sounds complicated??? Don't worry, the shopping in US will make it all worth it. *chuckles*

The extremely longggg queue.

Once you get to the front of the queue, they will ask to see your appointment confirmation letter. You will have to leave your IC here in exchange for a visitor pass (in green). Once you get the visitor pass, it is back to queuing to get through security.

Loveeeeee these baskets. *sarcasm* Yes, you will have to leave your phone and car keys in this basket and pass it to security. Don't bother bringing your laptop because you will have to leave this too. In a nutshell, no surfing on Facebook or Instagram while waiting in the embassy!

The security door... and the last photo before I had to surrender my phone.

The security check includes taking off your shoes, so wear something you can easily take off and put on. Once inside the compound, you walk through a very pretty garden, up some stairs and through another door. A guard will point you to a door, go inside and queue up to get fingerprinted. All ten fingers yea! After that, you will be given a number. Wait patiently for your number. If you must, visit the ladies while waiting. Don't worry, you will have plenty of time in the loo. (Don't make the same mistake as me... I went to the ladies before being fingerprinted so after I got my number I had to wait again. Such a waste of time!)

Pray hard that you get a kind mat salleh (and not some show off don't-even-look-like-mat-salleh-but-probably-has-a-US-green-card) interviewer as the interview will determine whether you get a visa and consequently, the duration of your visa. Truthfully, I was sweating buckets before they called my number. And just my luck, I got a very unfriendly non-mat-salleh lah. She looked like a local Malaysian but had such a weird accent that she threw me off guard. Anyway, she didn't even smile, didn't want to see any of my supporting documents (I offered!) and the only thing she asked was, "When did your last US visa expire?" I answered, and then she ended the interview. Before I left the counter, I asked "How long is my visa for?" and she curtly answered "You will know when you get your passport." Uuurrrggghhh menyampah! 

Two working days after my interview, I received a text message saying that my passport was ready for collection. The pick up point was somewhere in PJ. 

Collecting my passport.

Alhamdulillah, despite the sullen faced interviewer, she granted me another 10-year visa. *smiles* Now let's hope the oil price goes back up, to fund my next trip to Houston!

Nutella Macarons

I've been baking non stop these past few days, in preparation for my cousin's wedding.

Whenever I make a dessert table, there is always a mad chaotic rush to prepare baked goods the few days running up to the event. Yes, dessert tables can be planned ahead - mocks can be made, props can be purchased early. But baked goods don't last long. To ensure moist cakes, crunchy cookies and succulent macarons, you can only start baking maximum 5 days ahead. I usually bake in this order - macarons, cream cheese based cakes, other cakes, cookies, brownies/congo bars, fondant cakes and last but not least cupcakes. (Macarons stay crunchy even after refrigerated but cupcakes stay moist longer in room temperature.)

So this short post is dedicated to my four batches of macarons. That's 300 grams of egg whites for you! Since I'm designing a rustic themed dessert table, I decided to make Nutella macarons. It's a simple basic macaron with Nutella filling.

Nutella macarons.

I've been using this tried and tested recipe since day one. Similar to other macaron recipes, it takes a lot of practice to really know how long to whip, how much to fold, and consistency of the batter - too few strokes and you'll get 'perky' macarons; too much and you'll get runny peculiar macaron shapes with hollow internals.

Nutella Macarons

80gm egg whites at room temperature (~2 grade A eggs)
65gm caster sugar
80gm fine ground almond
140gm confectioners' sugar
Colour (gel or liquid)

Method of Preparation:

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or baking paper. 
2. Sift confectioners' sugar and fine ground almonds in a separate bowl.
3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until whites are foamy. Gradually beat in the caster sugar and continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks.
4. Fold the flour-almond mixture into the egg whites, about 30 strokes. Add desired colour and fold until the correct consistency batter is achieved.
5. Divide the batter into two. Fill in a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 50cents (old coin) in diameter, onto prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold the batter a few more times and retest.
6. When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, pipe the remaining batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space ~3cm between the disks. Using a toothpick, gently pop any air bubbles. Or you can opt to gently rap the baking tray on a hard surface.
7. Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 30-45minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 140 degrees C. Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 15-20 minutes.
9. Let cookies cool completely before filling with Nutella.

Tadaaaa... the end result.

After you're done, reward yourself with a tub of Nutella & Go. So bad for my diet!!!

Avoid trying this out on a rainy day. There are plenty more petua to follow (told you macarons are leceh!), but in a nutshell, practice makes perfect. Good luck!