"Mug Shots"

Here's my DIY attempts at taking passport photos for Peanuts ... none of which I can use, of course. Shadows are a no-no. Not easy to get him to stand still and look into the camera for me and doesn't help that I'm vying for attention with Harry Potter.

We've been watching "Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chambers of Secrets" again and again (repeated 10 times) since the 1st day of CNY (or was it eve CNY that they show it on Channel 5). The family has been staying home from 4 Feb till 11 Feb, most unusual way of celebrating CNY. First time I did not go visiting and with perfect excuses - both sons were down with fever and flu! Peanut recovered from the high fever after 2 days but only fully recovered (and regained his appetite) after a week. Sweet Potato's fever was yo-yo-ing for 4 days from 38 to 39.6 degrees. My husband and I suffered from all forms of exhaustion - physical (sleepness nights, alternate carrying of a 11 kg toddler and 7.5 kg baby), mental (trying to persuade Peanut to eat anything other than consuming milk, force-feeding medication to a struggling /wailing Sweet Potato every 4-hourly), emotional roller coaster following the ups and downs of the thermometer readings. What an awful CNY ...

Last CNY, Peanut can hardly talk and only managed to clasp his hands together to do the Gong Xi Gong Xi greeting. This CNY, Peanut can say, "Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le" - though it sounds more like English than Mandarin.