Got Milk?

Yes! PLENTY!!!

46 cans (23 big ones, 23 small ones) to be exact.

This is OBVIOUSLY only a FRACTION of our collection.
The rest have been squrrielled away at our parents' houses ^^

All thanks to the Cold Storage's SMALL oh-by-the-way-this-is-on-offer-too advertisement in the newspaper last Friday PLUS Aunty Joyce's discount card ^^.

We had swooped down to Cold Storage (we went to 2 outlets only...pity!) like a pack of hungry lions to fresh meat and amassed the coveted tins of milk. I think we almost wiped out their whole stock! Tsk tsk! What to do? Singaporean what! Hahaha!

With the rising cost of everything these days (property, petrol, flour, and even milk!!! FYI: I used to be able to buy 1 can of Progress Gold for $18.50, now anything at $24 a can is the usual! Madness!), this offer (1 small can for every big can) was a VERY GOOD DEAL!

We joke that these 46 cans will be our (early) Chrismas present to our dear little princess and hopefully they will last her until her next Christmas. My mom is calling me a cheapstake now. Pppfffft! :P

Plaits!

She actually sat still long enough for me to braid her hair!

I just lurve having a little girl...all the hair styling you can subject them to! Mwahahaha...well, at least until she manages to twist herself out of your grip or yank the ribbons, clips or ties out from her hair! :P

Talk About Getting A Head Start

This is really NOT what I had in mind...

I'd like to think its because she absolutely LOVES to work the steering wheel and that kept her hopping from one "hot seat" to another and feverishly turning the steering wheel this way and that during the time we spent at the bowling alley after our lunchen yesterday at the Chinese Swimming Club. "Driving! Driving!" she tells you. We almost had to apply the crowbars to peel her fingers away from the steering wheels when it was time to go.

ONE gaming person in this family is more than enough, thank you very much. And I HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY!!!

And then a friend of mine suggests to me that, given her "prodigious" talent, she probably can join the F1 races when it comes to Singapore next year.

I just rolled my eyes some more.

Sakuraya

The weather was quite good today...no dark clouds threatening to unleash a heavy downpour on us. So Aileen and I decided, instead of frequenting the usual cafeterias around our office, to venture a little further today. We decided on Sakuraya, another Japanese restaurant tucked away on the 2nd storey of the Village Centre along South Bouna Vista Road.

Aileen recommended we go for the Sashimi as the cuts of fish sold at the restaurant are really fresh. So when we arrived there, we wasted to time in choosing a few cuts of salmon, salmon belly and swordfish.

We also ordered some other side dishes to go along with our sashimi platter.

Looks like such small servings right? Well, I was surprisingly stuffed after our satisfying lunch and was quite grateful for the short walk from the Village Centre to the bus stop! This was one meal that has not only met and but exceeded my expectations. The sashimi slices were INDEED very fresh and tasty. And the cooked food selections were equally tasty and well prepared as well. Needless to say, between the 2 of us, we practically cleaned up the plates (yes, even the wasabi...THAT was Aileen @.@) And the price (the MAIN consideration for me) was very reasonable. It was worth every single cent.

I also like the fact that the restaurant, by virtue of the fact that it is also suppose to be like a fish mart, sold other Japanese foodstuff there (miso paste, udon noodles, etc). So convenient.

I am definitely going to come back to sample the yummilicious sashimi again. This time I will bring along my dear, long suffering husband to savour the selection there. Compensation for the non-treat on his birthday perhaps? :P

Big Sister In Training ;)

Here's Janine, after her Mama's (KY's mom) birthday celebratory dinner at the Golden Dragon Phoenix Restaurant located in Novotel Hotel, doggedly pushing baby Caleb in his pram ;o)

She must have decided that on no account should her Mama have to exert herself with the "tremendous" task of pushing Baby Caleb on the day the family is out celebrating Mama's birthday. So the little girl had insisted on taking over the reins of the pram from her Mama and was soon speeding down the lobby with baby Caleb in tow, leaving 3 rather anxious mothers (KY's mom, Dawn and me) to chase after her!

Well, given that Caleb was pretty quiet throughout the little ride she took him on, she must have done a pretty OK job, especially since this is the first time she is pushing a REAL baby in a pram ;o) WELL DONE, my little princess!

Bane Or Boon?

I am so frustrated and disappointed with my present helper that I feel if I don't vent some of the angst SOMEWHERE, I am going to shrivel up from the inside out and die from all the negativity that is being generated if I have not already blown up like a volcano and cause some SERIOUS devastation.

Here is a list of things that she does/has done that has TOTALLY peeved me

1. She is so lazy. She can't be bothered to fold your clothes nicely or put them away your things in the RIGHT place. She'd rather squeeeeeeeze your belongings into whatever small space there is or chuck them somewhere in the house. I have to go treasure hunting for my stuff in my own house. I have found my bag in the kitchen cupboard where the gas canister is, my letters chucked in a box under yet another pile of things she has amassed around the house, mine and KY's clothes all mixed together, our CDs in the drawer where the TV remotes are placed and the list goes one. I am missing more things when she is here than with any other helpers that I have had in my lifetime! OK so I may be anal about my things but wouldn't you feel frustrated too when you can't find something that you know would have been in a particular location if someone hadn't gone and kept them and the person who kept them don't know what you are talking about (or pretends to) or doesn't remembers where she has kept them?

2. She lies. When she has done something wrong or has spoiled any of our things, instead of owning up, she pushes the blame to Kin Yew or Janine or anyone else she can think of. She must think I am blind to what's going on in my household.

3. She has destroyed/spoiled/broken SEVERAL of our things. My slow cooker (that I used to cook Janine's porridge), several clothes items, a photoframe, an EXPENSIVE China vase and not to mention the foodstuff (chopped garlic, pieces of raw meat, etc) that we dispose of on a WEEKLY basis because she has, with her superb housekeeping skill, left them to rot in the fridge. Even with SPECIFIC instructions on how much garlic to use or what portion of meat to cook, she STILL leaves a small fraction behind (maybe for her own consumption at a later day and time), places it in the fridge and completely forgets about it or doesn't tell you what she has squirreled away. It is so bad that it has come to a stage where we would rather do the cooking ourselves (and not as if she possesses ANY cooking skills) so that we don't find "surprises" when we open the fridge and whiff a dead rat.

4. She doesn't listen. Even after you show or explain the procedure to her for like the umpteenth time, she will STILL do it her way (which is most often the wrong way or the slipshod method). She simply REFUSES to do things the way YOU want it done. When you correct her, she has a thousand and one reasons for you, sometimes she will even glare back at you, or what must be the most nerve grating, she laughs! She doesn't listen not just to instructions but also WHEN we are giving instructions. Before you can even finish your sentence, she is off to do whatever it is she THINKS you want her to do, which of course will be wrong because she didn't get the whole picture. I harbour illusions where I can use a megaphone and SCREAM my instructions into her ear in the hope that maybe volume will help lodge the correct directions in her head.

5. She steals our food. And take this...NOT just our food but Janine's as well! I am so so SO disgusted. And mind you its not that we are NOT feeding her or depriving her of victuals. You should see the MOUNTAIN of rice she/we pile onto her plate at meal times. But then she goes and steals our food. I use the word "steal" because she consumes them WITHOUT asking for our permission and does not even have the decency to tell you she has eaten something of yours. And the best part is, when you confront her, she acts like she doesn't know what you are talking about and only when yuo start blowing your top then she has a light bulb moment and 'fesses up. The icing on the cake is when I find out she has been consuming my daughter's milk powder on the sly!! Every shred of self control I have is stopping me from striking out at her with a mother's instinct to protect her little one.

There is still a whole lot of other things that she has done that has thoroughly annoyed me but those are the top 5.

Honestly, I am at the end of my tether. On our part we have tried EVERYTHING.

1. Initially, we were VERY patient with her. When she first came to us, we were a bit lenient, closing an eye here and there where she made a mistake or done something wrongly. Our rationale is she is new and we need to give her time to settle in and get use to us, our routine and what we need or expect of her. We patiently explain how certain chores are done and even do it for her to show her how we want it done. She started off OK but then became progressively worse. After more than 4 months of working for me, she can still forget to help me cook Janine's porridge, still mixes up my T-shirts with KY's T-shirts or hang wet clothes on top of each other.

2. We made a time table for her. Ok given the language barrier, she may not understand our needs so we have tabled them out for her PRECISELY what is expected of her on a daily basis. We even got Lin, KY's parents' helper, who is also a Myanmarese, to translate and/or explain the timetable to her so she can follow. But for some reason only known to her, she chose NOT to follow the time table and insist on continuing on her own merry way, doing the household chores all wrongly and thus incurring even more work than neccessary for herself to do and our wrath. Only when I finally lost my temper and gave her a major shelling then she decides to be obediant...but even then, she only follows the time table partially.

3. We have held "forum" sessions with her. Together with Lin acting as our translator, we have tried to find out if she there is something bothering her (family matters perhaps) which is causing her to be unable to do her work properly here. Or maybe she just doesn't like us and wants to change employers? I mean, fair enough, I am not the PERFECT employer and if she is unhappy working for me I'd rather she tell me now so I can take the next appropriate step. But talking to her is like talking to a wall. You get NO WHERE. I mean, how DO you help someone who tells you she wants to work but "I don't know why I behave like this"?

4. We called the maid agency to talk to her. That was our last resort. Our trump card. And also to show her we mean business. Unless she doesn't pull up her socks, the likelihood of her being sent back is very high. The effects of the call lasted for about a week. And then slowly, she starts to slip once again.

KY tells me to just write her off as being stupid just so I can cope with all this madness. Because surely she MUST be stupid if she can't follow simple instruction. But she can laugh at a joke I cracked to my mom in Singlish! And she has even managed to make friends with OTHER (Filipino) maids from around my parents' estate! Obviously, she is NOT stupid and apparently, she CAN understand our spoken English reasonably well too...better than what we thought she was capable of!

The thing is you KNOW she can do the job. Its only after we have screamed, ranted, raved, railed at her like some pyscho employer from hell that she will do her work properly and flawlessly. But a few days later, her nonsense will surface and then we start the ugly cycle all over again. I can't be a screaming maniac every other day for the next 2 years can I? Do u know that EVERY sunday I go to church with a heavy heart because I feel so lousy inside?

Nam is suppose to be our domestic HELP, but instead I have even more things to worry about ever since she was around. I appreciate that there IS someone to help me clean the house, do the laundry and be that extra pair of hands to carry my bag and Janine's things when we are out and I am busy running after the little girl. But that is about all that she is doing! I can't trust her to look after Janine. I can't even trust her to do the household chores properly. Instead of relieving us, she is creating more problems for us and giving me tension headaches.

Everyone tells me to just throw her back at the maid agency and just get a new one. I think I should. I really should. For my own sanity. For the emotional, spiritual and physical well being of my family. But why do I hear a small voice telling me to keep her? Maybe I am hearing things...probably the ringing in my ears from my last shouting match or maybe I really have indeed gone mad!

ARGH!

All I can do is just cling on to the verse that says "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Surely He is stretching my patience and grace. And surely only He can "deliver" me from all this nonsense and give me the strength mentally to endure!!!

The Face Of The Future

This is Asher Kam, son of Leong Heng and Sharon (a pair of truely inspiring parents and our new found friends in Oldham Hall), who not only is just slightly older than Janine by a month (he is a Dec baby) but has the energy level to match hers as well!

And the best part is that the 2 get along very very well - they will chase each other around the dining hall, are actually interested in what the other party is doing and are GENIUNELY delighted at the sight of each other. This has of course prompted many people in the Hall (and this crazy mummy as well), to entertain thoughts that they might actually end up marrying each other 20 or 30 years down the road! Someone even mentioned that they have the "fu qi xiang" (husband and wife look)! Lol.

Sharon and Leong Heng will tell you that this precious little boy is their miracle child. At a time where doctors would tell Sharon that it would be medically difficult for her to have a baby, Asher was conceived and delivered at full term with no complications whatsoever. He is a testament of God's hand of grace and blessing on Sharon and Leong Heng.

Its a delight and hilariously funny at times to see the 2 of them interacting with and influencing one another. This mummy is very happy. Not just because a prospective son-in-law is found right under my nose, but more so because Janine now has a playmate whose company she obviously enjoys very much and vice versa.

Even if they don't end up marrying each other, we pray that the 2 of them will grow up being good friends who will encourage each other positively. Doesn't everyone need a good friend to weather the trials and tribulations in life? We hope that Janine and Asher will be that kind of friend to each other ;o)

All In The Spirit Of Being Spontaneous

Today distinguished itself as a day to be SPONTANEOUS.

Just before logging off from my work terminal in office on Friday, I SPONTANEOUSLY decided to take leave for today to spend a nice looong weekend with KY and Janine.

After breakfast today, we (KY, Sharon and I) SPONTANEOUSLY decided to bring Janine and Asher (a sweet little boy who often gets refer to as our "future son-in-law" - more in a later post!) to go for a spin at Vivocity.

And it was there at the wading pool located on the top floor of Vivocity that Janine SPONTANEOUSLY gave Asher a peck on the cheek!!

With NO prompting from us, the little girl, mid way of pouring water from a plastic mould into a little red pail, stopped, gazed and proceeded to plant a kiss on the unsuspecting boy! And then the 2 of them carried on whatever they were doing as if nothing had transpired!

Hmmmm...yet another incident that we the parents can whip out should we SPONTANEOUSLY decide to thoroughly embarrass either one of them on their wedding day ;)

I Spy With My Little Eye...

...and what do i see?

MY TUTU (pacifier)!

Lol. That was my daughter - the pacifier addict!

And oh the faces she would pull when we took just a little too long in helping her extricate her precious from the small red tupperware container poised high up on the shelf. Lol.

This post is a "tribute" somewhat to that little girl who needed her "fix" everytime she went to sleep. Her "love affair" with her tutu even started to extend to beyond nap times. If it wasn't because my mom made it a point to NOT let her chomp on it any longer than necessary (only during sleep times, other than that NO tutu for Janine), I think the pacifier would have become a permanent fixture on her face! Because her mommy here would, on A LOT of occasions, be forcefully and purposefully shoving her tutu into her mouth and allowing her to munch away at the little pink plastic at times no where near sleep time...all in the spirit of trying to keep her quiet during church services and (especially!) during car rides!

Anyway, if there is such thing as a PA (Pacifier-holic Annonymous), my daughter would probably have stood up in the midst of the assembly of babies and declared "Hi, I'm Janine and I haven't taken a pacifier for TWO MONTHS!" Yup! the little girl has been pacifier free for the last couple of months. She no longer needs it to lull herself to sleep or to use it as some sort of security blanket or just because she had a "craving".

Everyone is of course VERY pleased. We no longer have to go crazy whenever we forget to pack her pacifier with us. Or quickly snatch it away from her and make our umpteenth trip to the toilet to wash her beloved because she had either dropt or flung it to the floor.

How did we do it? Ahhh...we didn't do anything actually...she did it to herself! Hahaha! She had unwittingly thrown her pacifier into the bin ON HER OWN ACCORD. We of course capitalised on the situation and quickly proclaimed to her that her precious tutu "no more" because it is "yucks" already. The poor girl was looking quite forlorn staring into the bin for a while before deciding that, while it may have been her long time companion for so many many months, it's just too eeky to put something from the rubbish bin into her mouth.

The next few days that ensued were probably the hardest for her (and us as well!). She would ask for her precious only to be painfully reminded that she had thrown it away. The girl had to go "cold turkey"! And what a lot of tossing and turning she would do before she could fall asleep. We struggled along with her too because it seem to take her forever to drop off to sleep, and when you are sleep deprive yourself, it can get very frustrating. There were moments when I entertained the thought of retrieving her extra pacifier (we had resorted to keep one in each home to minimise damage control when we forget to pack her pacifier with us) from the refridgerator so that she can just please go to sleep!! Thank God we didn't cave in and perservered on because now we are savouring the "fruits" of our labour ;o)

In a way I am going to miss her pacifier days. I get a kick hearing her call so endearingly for her tutu or seeing her twist the little gadget in her mouth, with or without her hands, into the "right" position (FYI: NUK brand pacifers or milk bottle teats have a special shape so there IS a "this way up" position) or to see her grinning away behind her pacifier or (when she still a wee baby) to see little arcs imprinted on her cheeks after some tutu time. But of course there are BETTER things to embrace...like being able to capture sweeter, prettier shots of the girl sans pacifier...and more importantly, NO NEED TO SCRAMBLE when we discover (much to our dismay) that we have once again left her pacifier on the table top.

For the record, she dropped her addiction earlier than I did when I was a kid. According to my mom, I was still slurping away on my pacifier until I was slightly over 2 when finally, after months of wear and tear, it went flat and I was convinced to throw it away. Haha...she is better than her mommy in a way :P

A Modern Day Parable

My friend in office forwarded this to me and I thought I would like to share it with you because it strikes a chord in my heart. Here it is...

The Four Wives

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most. He adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He loved the 3rd wife very much too. He's proud of her and always wants to show her off to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other man.

He loved his 2nd wife too. She is very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the nerchant faced some problems, he always turns to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business, as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the 1st wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took noice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I am dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. The answer cut like a knife right through the merchant's heart

The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!", replied the 3rd wife, "life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devasted.

Then a voice called out, "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his 1st wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"

Actually we all have 4 wives in our lives.

The 4th wife is our BODY. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

The 3rd wife is our POSSESSIONS, STATUS and WEALTH. When we die, they all go to others.

The 2nd wife is our FAMILY and FRIENDS. No matter how close they are or how much they hav been there for us when we are alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

The 1st wife is our SOUL. It is often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure. It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perchaps it would be a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we are on our deathbed and lament.

Ok. this "parable" probably has loopholes but the point I want to make here is what are you going to do to IMPROVE the condition of your soul? The little story didn't exactly give us any idea how we can "cultivate and strengthen" our soul. So HOW?

One thing I know is that the condition my soul is indeed in a very sorry state ["For all have sinned; all fall short of the glory of God" ~ Romans 3:23] and it is doomed to an eternity of death ["For the wages of sin is death" ~ Romans 6:23]. BUT, thank God there is a way to turn the situation around ["He (Jesus) died once for the sins of all of us guilty sinners, although He Himself was innocent of any sin at any time, that He might bring us safely home to God" ~ 1 Peter 3:18]. To get out of my miry situation, all I needed to do is just simple believe and receive my "get out of jail free" card ["To all who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God. All they had to do was to trust Him to save them" ~ John 1:12] And I am glad I did because my life since then has been filled with peace, joy, contentment and (very importantly) purpose. Oh of course there are many many times where I struggled (and still do) and life just seems to be filled with trials and difficulties. But with God, facing each testing moment is more bearable and I know that I will come out into the bright light victorious after my struggles in the dark tunnel of anguish and pain.

At the end of the day, what steps we make to enrich our souls IS a personal thing. And it WILL be a personal thing. Like the dying man, our material possessions and our family and friends can't go with us when we face Death. But Jesus can. He went to hell and back because of us and for us and that's why I know Death will not have a grip on my soul ;o)

So, how is it with YOUR soul today, my friend? Don't wait till it's too late to do anything.

(Jesus said) "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
~ Revelations 3:20

Ahhh...FINALLY! The Brunei Post!

...in a photo slide show!

Hahahaha...

Aiyah...I am just too lazy to sit down and write a blow by blow account of our weekend in Brunei. And what better way to skirt around the issue than to post a slide show with photos after glorious photos of our Brunei trip? Pictures afterall are SUPPOSE to speak a THOUSAND words, no? lol! (Yes, Aileen and Shiwei...I know this is yet another testament to my laziness. Shhhh! :oP)

But lest I am accused of not making SOME effort, I have penned down the highlights in POINT FORM:

We will fondly remember our trip to Brunei as...

...our FIRST tirst time traveling out of the country (with a toddler in tow) by ourselves

...our FIRST time attending a friend's wedding overseas

...Janine's FIRST time travelling by aeroplane! (And she did very well ;o))

...our FIRST time staying in a 6-STAR hotel (The Empire)!!!

...our FIRST time bringing Janine to the MOVIES! We caught Transformers at the hotel's in-house cinema! (The hotel is so atas (high class)! It even has its own cinema!)

...the FIRST (and hopefully LAST) time we let Janine eat nonsense as staple for her 3 meals. Her "diet", during those 3 days we were there, consisted of Nestum for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which was supplemented heavily with muffins, pastries, cakes, popcorn and other sweet stuff, topped off with pathetic servings of some measley bites/chunks of fruits. Where is the nutrition in all this??

...my FIRST time getting a facial (it was part of the hotel package) and it was a HEAVENLY experience ;o)

...the FIRST time we saw and used a super luxurious baby high chair!

...where we toured most of the major landmarks and tourist sports in (get this!) 3 HOURS! Talk about efficient! lol!

...where we met our NEIGHBOURS!!! A charming Australian couple, on a mission to set up an authentic Aussie style grocery in Singapore, living in the SAME (!!!) condo and only a few blocks away! How cool is that!?

Well, we had a WONDERFUL time. Travelling with a child in tow wasn't as nightmarish as I had thought it would be. We handled everything rather well if I might say so *ahem* ;o)

So...where to next on the world map, KY? Haha!

She Won Something!

My daughter is GIFTED!

Hahaha...OK this is a biaised mother's opinion. But really, you feel so PROUD when your child actually WINS something. Even if it's for something as frivolous as a colouring competition :oP

Here is her winning entry...

...which clinched her the 2nd prize for her age group ;o)

And here is her prize for coming in second.

A very colourful Beginner's Bible For Toddlers complete with a handy strap (so she can carry and swing her Bible around) and a velcro clasp (to keep the Bible intact).

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she won something. Especially since I know that the girl, at this age, doesn't colour within the lines. It would be an achievement if she doesn't start colouring off the paper and on to the floor / table surface / anywhere but the paper. So to win SOMETHING in a COLOURING contest definitely deserves some bragging on her parents' part. Heheh!

OK so she did get some help from Uncle Ben who helped her choose where the colours should go and even did some of the colouring. But hey! This, by and large, is still a Janine piece of work and as her parents we will still applaud the effort that she has put in. Simply because we know that, at this point in time, this was the best that she could do. And doing her best in whatever she does makes us feel proud to be her parents. Regardless of whether she wins anything or not ;o)

Kids Say The Darnest Things

I have told (almost) everyone about this. All that's left is for me to post it on the World Wide Web for posterity!

Scene: In the living room. TV is blaring away. Mommy is slouching on the sofa in front of the TV bouncing Janine. Papa is watching TV and SMSing at the same time. Janine is amusing herself with the print on Mommy's T-shrit.

Janine: (patting and stroking mommy's tummy)sayang...sayang!
Mommy: Ohhh...Janine sayang mommy har? Aww...that's so sweet...Thank you Janine .
Janine: (patting mommy's tummy even harder) sayang...sayang...Baby! BABY! *squeals in laughter*
Mommy : .......

KY was obviously tickled pink by this.

I am left more resolute than ever to lose MORE weight henceforth! This and also because a pair of jeans, which I could squeeze into a couple of months ago, I can NO LONGER ZIP UP! Bleah...

This will teach me to teach Janine to go round "sayang-ing" my pregnant friends' tummy :oP

What did you say? No, no, no...that growing buldge around my waist is most definitely FATS. There is NO baby. I am NOT pregnant. Full stop.

Japanese Affair

It's Friday. Finally.

Shiwei and I were itching to go stretch our legs and shake off the dowdiness of the week. And so we decided to traipse to not-so-nearby Vivocity and rewarded ourselves for surviving the work week by indulging in some very good Japanese food for lunch ;o)

Here's what we ordered at the Shin Kushiya Japanese charcoal grill located on level 2 of Vivocity...

A set meal called the Ladies Set and if you think that the servings look small and won't fill your tummy, think again. Before we even got to the dessert we already started to feel full...not the bloated oh-i-think-i've-gone-and-ate-too-much kind of full...but the just-about-right kind of full. And for the kind of price we were paying (about $23 per person) for that quality of food, we felt it was a worth every cent.

There were slices of FRESH salmon sashimi which just melts in your mouth, a stick of grilled salmon and chicken that oozes with goodness when you bite into them, a double portion of sushi, a small bowl of udon, pickled vegetables and a healthy serving of salad on the side. Best of all there was a small square of cheesecake to round up the scumptious meal :oP

Quite fitting that at the back of the packet of wet tissue that the restaurant provided there was a little message, which we found quite funny: "With the mouth-watering choices available at Shin Kushiya, you'll be needing this."

How apt. Just recalling and writing about the flavours and taste of our yummy lunch this afternoon is already making my mouth water again. lol. Hmmm...Shin Kushiya anyone?

The Object Of Our Envy

Janine had her final booster shot and her 18 month physical examinations yesterday. No, that's not a typo error. She IS already almost 20 months but she went for her 18 month check up only just because her scatterbrain parents went and TOTALLY forgot about her appointment in Aug what with all the packing and moving. I only remembered about it last week and quickly set up ANOTHER appointment before my poor Janine has to take her shots all over again @.@

Anyway, on the records, Janine now stands at 88.5cm (plus minus a few cm cos she was wiggling) and weighs a hefty (to us) 10.6kg ;o)

On the charts, for her age, she is considered to be in the 97 percentile for her height and 50 percentile for her weight @.@ which in layman's term means she is tall and skinny.

The doctor who attended to us reassured us that the little girl is NOT underweight or malnourished. Her height and head circumference are proportionate to each other which means she is getting the correct and adequate amount of nutrients to grow. Just that she burns up all her reserves so fast (to which Janine demonstrated this fact by attempting to climb up the chair, touching the dustbin and even doing a little dance in the middle of the room) that's why she weighs much less than what another baby, given Janine's height and age, would probably weigh. The doctor advised us to feed her more carbo if we want to "fatten" her up a bit.

Fatten her up? Are u kidding?

#1. The girl is so fidgety. Too fidgety. Even when you carry her she will wiggle, squirm and lunge this way and that. At 10 kg it already takes a lot of muscle on my part to prevent her from crashing to the floor when she throws herself about in my arms. Any heavier and I think my arms will be in tractions.

#2. She has the beginnings of being a model...Singapore Girl...Miss Universe! Everything that I wanted to be as a little girl! Why would I want to "rob" her of the chance to fulfill my dreams?

#3. She can't be my "money saving" little girl any more if she doubles her girth now. I will need to go and buy her a new wardrobe of clothes! But not like THAT is such a bad idea...what a PERFECT excuse to do more shopping...Hehe ;)

#4. More importantly (and this supercedes all the silly reasons above) is I like her just the way she is now ;o) I don't want a michelin baby neither do I want an anorexic-looking child. Janine is just right ;o)

Honestly, I am not very worried about her weight or how skinny she looks anymore. It is no longer an issue for me unlike months ago when her eating habits were much to be desired. At this stage, she IS eating and drinking plenty of milk and snacking occassionally. Rather, I am AMUSED that, given her parentage, she remains such a slim and trim little girl. On the flip side, her papa and I are HIGHLY ENVIOUS that she, under doctors orders, is SUPPOSE to snack MORE! Ooooh...What we won't give to have that kind of freedom to eat as much as we want whenever we want and not worry about putting on those extra pounds!?

The Wind Beneath Our Wings

"He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

~ Isaiah 40 : 29-31

Some Hard knocks In Life...

..can draw blood and leave an unsightly mark on an otherwise pretty face. Like what happened (literally) to my dear daughter :o(

This is what happens when you choose to use one of your toys as some sort platform to sing / dance / climb to a higher spot in the house / everything except what it is meant for, slipping and subsequently striking your forehead on the CORNER of the coffee table @.@

Some people learn from their hard knocks and are careful to avoid situations which may cause them similar pain. In the case of Janine, however, she proves that we should never let our hard knocks scar us emotionally (even if they do physically). How do we know? She gashed her forehead on Friday. A couple days later, she gashed her left cheek by slipping on a step and then smacking her face on the next step while running up and down the stairs even after repeated instructions not to. You would think after Friday's scare the girl would be a bit more careful.

Well, there you have it! That's my fearless daughter for you.

Sigh...

Our Economical Baby

The tag on the romper which my cousin Gloria, who is in the states, bought for her many moons ago says NEWBORN - 3 to 6 months (and WHAT??! Its made in CHINA!!! *faint*)

And here she is, all of 18 MONTHS OLD, and still able to wear the romper (which haven't burst into flames yet!) Hmmmm...

Either she is super petite or the manufacturers slapped on the wrong size tag to this romper. Or maybe newborn babies in America come in giant sizes?

In any case, the turn over rate in Janine's wardrobe is very low. She is REALLY taking her time to fill up and outgrow her little articles of clothing. Oh but we are not complaining (well, definitely not her Papa at least!)...we can save the money we would have used otherwise for her clothes and put it into her school fund (yeah right! more like its channeled to buying toys and snacks...for her parents! hahahaha...KIDDING!)

Dinner & Dance 2007 - "The Mad Hatter's Party"

We had our annual Dinner & Dance last night and the theme for the evening was "The Mad Hatter's Party" ;o) So for a few hours last night, guests and tourists at Orchard Hotel were treated to a spectacle of people trooping up to the 3rd level wearing weird hats and even customes (to go with the hat).

Apart from the cheesy MC and his equally cheesy jokes (he kept spouting one crass joke after another it was embarressing!), the food was not too bad...much better this year (though the way the organisers chose to name the dishes is another thing...i mean how appetising does "tureen of fungus and prune like fruits" or "one side grow big one side grow small mushrooms" sound to you?)and everyone had a blast!

Of course everyone will have a blast...why wouldn't they? Especially when one segment of the dinner saw 3 ladies (guess WHO was one of them???) being dragged up on stage (on the pretext of having the "best hat") and made to dance, shake, do the ramba, etc...just short of doing a lap dance for our CE (the biggest tau in the company!), whom those 3 ladies had rather unwittingly called up on stage to join them in their escapade, and all in front of 500 over people!!!

ARGH! I have never been so embarrassed (intentionally) in my life. Bleah...it was a good thing there was a "pot of gold" (a small jar containing a $50 Tangs voucher and 8 rochers) to relieve some of the "trauma" which lasted for no less than an agonising 10 minutes! I am sure NO ONE will be forgeting that piece of entertainment any time soon. Pffft!

Anyway, the night ended well ;o) Some people stayed back to do some dancing (the proper kind of dancing not the body spasm kind that I had to do earlier) while some adjourned for supper (Good grief! More food!)

By the time I got back home, Janine was fast asleep and I gave her a gentle peck on her cheeks, tucked her into bed and called it a night. I. WISH.

At 11.30pm, the girl was still a live wire!!! Apparently, she refused to sleep because her mommy wasn't around so any hope that KY harboured of putting her to sleep and then zipping off to pick me was all dashed! In the end, he brought her along for the car ride. By the time she FINALLY closed her eyes and went off to dreamland it was well pass 12.30am. only THEN could I START to scrap the make-up off my face and peel my contacts from my eyes.

It has been a looong day...but definitely one to remember!

The Convenience Of A Camera Phone

I just couldn't resist. I mean...how could anyone pass up a chance to capture evidence like THIS digitally and post it up for the WHOLE WORLD to see?

Talk about really really BAD estimation on the part of the driver of the silver Toyota. Parking at Giant Tampines may be FREE but to take up TWO lots for ONE car??? Its absurd! Another classic example of how INCONSIDERATE Singapore drivers can be.

This driver's apparent disregard for his fellow citizens has caused other drivers who park in neighbouring lots (my Dad in this case) to APPEAR to be as selfish as he was. My Dad obviously couldn't squeeze the car into one lot so he had to infringe into another lot...a lot reserved for HANDICAP drivers @.@

Obviously our Courtesy Campaigns have yet to reach certain people on this island. They must live in a bubble. Bah!

Back In Business!

Ahhhh....

I AM BACK!!! after more than a month long hiatus!!!

What happened?

Well, as I mentioned in my one and only (pathetic) blog entry for the month of August, we have been busy. No, not busy in following our good govenment's family policies (there is no "fruit" forthcoming) as some would be inclined to think, but we have been busy moving house.

Moving house?

Yup! We have moved our family pad! Not very far from where we were though...just a little down the road to ACS Oldham Hall ;o)

Huh? Why there? What gives?

Well, you see, a few months back, our little family had once again come to another cross roads in our lives. As our family and close friends will know, Kin Yew will quit the teaching profession at the end of this year. Much as he loves teaching and interacting with the students, its time to move on. So with the deadline fast approaching, we have been considering our options post-teaching.

One option that was presented to us was to set up a school in Chiangmai, Thailand! Effectively, we would have to quit our jobs (yes, BOTH of us), go on a 6 months long intensive training and equipping course, uproot our little family, say sayonara to EVERYONE we hold dear on this little island, fly off to Chiangmai by June 2008 and stay there for the next 4 years!

Exciting huh? Too exciting for me actually ;oP

Much as I believe that God will provide and see to our EVERY needs, He will give us the strength and passion to see us through this project, and honestly I DO see us doing mission work in Thailand in the future. But I felt to make this decision to go NOW is too sudden. There are so many questions and so many uncertainties. Now just didn't feel like right time. You know, that kairos moment people talk about? Well, this wasn't one of them for me. I didn't feel the peace.

But then, of course, there is that argument that if you don't just take that FIRST step into the unknown, how would you know that this isn't what God has planned for you? OOooh...the emotional and mental struggle!

BUT God is goooood ;o) Within the week, we received another VERY interesting proposal. It came in the form of an SMS from Pastor Leslie informing us of the need for AHMs (Assistant House Masters/Mistresses) at Oldham Hall. Talk about God's divine timing! ;o)

The funny thing is that a year ago when Pastor Leslie brought up this AHM issue, we were none too interested. Then, it didn't seem to fit into our plans and we shelved it. Now, it seems like a possibility we could and should explore. It seems to FIT into where we feel God is leading us. But of course, this new role isn't exactly a bed of roses either.

But we trust God will show us the way. So keeping the Chiang Mai school option in mind, we sent in our resumes to Oldham Hall. A couple of interviews and much prayer later, we find ourselves moving cardboard boxes after cardboard boxes filled to bursting with books, clothes, toys, other personal artefacts into a family apartment at Barker Road ;o)

We believe this is the place that God has called us to be at this point of our lives ;o) What else could explain how smoothly everything went? I mean, there were many MANY other applicants, and trust me there was even a couple that had a better standing than us. But instead the responsiblity to care for 500 borders fell on our shoulders.

So for the last month of so, we have been busy settling down to living (again) in a hall, familiarising ourselves with our new (after office) duties and connecting with the international student body and our other fellow "labourers" in OH ;o)

It has been tiring physically (packing, moving, unpacking) and mentally (you got to be one step ahead of the kids!) but we are having the time of our life ;o)

OK...that's enough rambling today ;oP

More updates soonest...promise! lol!

Apologies

Hihihihihihi!

Sorry, but I will not be able to update this blog for a while as:

#1 I have been very busy the last few weeks or so and will continue to be very busy for the next few weeks or so BOTH at work and at home. I promise I will tell you why but until then good way for us to exercise patience no? ;oD

#2 My internet connection is temporary down (for the same reason why we have been kept so busy). And although I can access the internet from my office, I can't possibly be on the internet the whole day can I? Plus, things are a little crazy so dun have the luxury to surf albeit the mandatory checking of emails, etc. T.T

Anyway, some things you can look forward to (hopefully soon!) on this space would be more updates on Janine's cheekiness (naturally), our Brunei trip (yes yes...its been more than a month since we are back) and other interesting things (like why we have been so busy...hahaha). So check back in a week or two ;o)

OK.

GTG.

Bye!

*MUAH* (Janine style)

Funky Baby!

What a scream! Many years down the road, I think she will hate me for doing this to her ;oP In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy doing silly things to her and having a good laugh! Really, the things we do at their expense ;oD

Teamwork ;o)

A Love Letter To My Daughter

My darling little Janine,

Today, you are EXACTLY 18 months old.

On one hand I rejoice in the fact that you are now well on your way to toddlerdom, but on the other hand, I your sentimental mother feel a little sad. Sad because you my darling baby is growing up so so so so fast. Too fast.

It didn't seem too long ago that we cradled you for the very first time in our arms and cooed over how cute you looked, who you resembled more and marvelled at the smallness of your little hands and feet. In short you took our breath away and we have never stopped thanking God for the gift of you. Hence your name "Janine" which means God's gracious gift.

In a twinkling of an eye, you have blossomed from a wee babe to a petite and VERY active little girl. It has taken every ounce of our energy to keep up with you and even then, we are still left huffing and puffing in your wake.

I always tell people that I wished you came with a remote control. Not just so that I can put you on "stop" mode to catch my breath, but more so that I could put you on "pause" mode and enjoy you at this moment for all eternity. Of course we know that is not possible and it would be too cruel to do so. That would be stifling you. And we know you are one little girl who doesnt like people to cramp her style. (Oh yes! you DO make it a point to let us know how much you dislike it!)

You are independent and dependent all the the same time. You will run off by yourself at the drop of a hat to chase some imaginery cat or butterfy but if I were to walk away from you, you will be back by my side in a flash with tears in your eyes, arms outstretched, followed by a heart wrenching "mooommmy!".

If there is one thing I regret as your mother is not having been able to be with you 24/7. Such is my predicament as a working mom. Every Sunday when I leave you with your Mama, I wonder if I am damaging you emotionally and psychologically by being absent several days in a week. I wonder too if such an arrangement might make you estranged from us your parents.

Thank God not only are you still the happy and carefree little girl you are, the absence between us have only served to bond us even closer together. On weekends and those days when we visit you, you will (almost) leech yourself to me, becoming my little shadow the minute I cross the threshold and give you a great big hug. You would insist that only mommy can give you your bedtime bottle, bathe you, feed you. You go as far as even refusing to go to bed unless you have my arm to hug to sleep. No matter how frustrating and absurd those antics of yours may be, I honestly relish and take great joy in them. Because to me they tell me that you love us, miss us and desire to make the most of the little time that you have with us. How can we not reciprocate?

Your cheeky ways and playfulness have given us many hours of laughter, smiles and sometimes instances of near heart attacks. There were harrowing moments like when you came down with a very high fever, or fell off our bed or when I find you sitting on top of the diaper changing table in church looking very pleased at your accomplishment.

At 18 months, you are beginning to exert your own unique personality which sometimes manifest itself in little tantrums or fussiness. But thankfully, you have shown that you are not too stubborn to listen to our reprimands and learn from our discipline. And for that I am very proud of you. Your papa and I pray constantly that He will continually mould your little heart so that you will be that little girl that seeks after the Father's heart. And as your mommy, that is one thing I couldn't ask for more.

Darling Janine, even as you continue to grow and learn, know that we are right behind you, watching, charting, celebrating every step you take, every achievement you make, every milestone you reach.

We love you.

Mommy

Pottermania!

FINALLY!!!!!!

A week after the seventh and FINAL installment of the Harry Potter series has been released, I have at last gotten my hands on a copy!!!!!!

Here's to sleep deprivation for the next few days! Woohoooo!!!

I Get To See My Nephew...FINALLY!

Because of my very bad cough, I had to delay meeting the newest addition to the family until Sunday when I was less of a communicable disease hazard. But I guess having to wait sooo long makes the meeting all the more sweeter ;o)

Caleb is such a precious little bundle. Such a small little boy...then again ALL babies are sooo small when I compare them with Janine NOW. lol. To think she was ONCE as tiny...ahhhh...the nostalgia!

He is also a VERY sleepy baby. Most of the time we were trying desperately to rouse him from his deep slumber. The poor boy...he must think we are a bunch maniacal adults. Tsk! Tsk!

Well, Janine was VERY excited about meeting her new cousin ;o) She was babbling "Cay lub! Cay lub!" the whole of Saturday and Sunday. When she finally met the dear little baby, all she wanted to do was to either pat him (sometimes TOO enthusiastically for comfort) or try to plant kisses on the sleeping boy. There was even an occasion where she wanted to carry Caleb (who was then comfortably snuggled and sleeping in his papa's arms) and place him in the infant car seat.

Maybe at this point in time she thinks he's a doll that moves and makes sounds involuntarily. Maybe that's why babies intrigues her. In any case, methinks she will make a great big little sister one day ;o)

The Post Where I Sound Arrogant (According To KY)

Theory: When you go to crap doctors, you will get crap medicine which in turn will make you feel even more crappy.

Honestly, not that I am being haughty, high and mighty, snooty, uppity, just-because-you-think-you-leave-in-one-of-the-prime-areas-in-Singapore-you-want-to-be-condescending, but I believe that WHERE u go to receive medical attention determines HOW FAST you recover.

I present to you my case.

On Monday, I went to a clinic at Tampines for some quick medical attention. My fever had subsided but I still had a pounding headache and it was getting increasingly more painful to swallow. It was near my mom's place, so I thought for sheer CONVENIENCE to just pop in and get some medication for my ailments. I mean medicine is medicine right? How drastically different can the prescription from this clinic be from the clinic I near my house?

Apparently, there is A LOT of difference. Not only did the medication do NOTHING for me, I was getting WORSE! I was coughing so badly I couldn't complete a sentence without hacking out half my lungs. This after being prescribed and faithfully taking antibiotics and cough syrup by the good doctor at the Tampines clinic.

By Friday, I had completely lost my voice, my throat felt sandpaper-ish and swollen and my nose was dripping like crazy. That was it! I decided to pay a much overdue visit to the doctor at the clinic outside my house (the one I would normally go to). After listening to my complaints, he promptly presribed ANOTHER dose of antiboitics (never in my life did I EVER have to take 2 rounds of antibiotics!) followed by another type of cough syrup and other pills to deal with the stuffiness.

Maybe its pyschological (or the fact that this visit cost me $60!!!), but just after ONE dose, I felt SO MUCH BETTER. I was still coughing but the soreness in my thoat had eased considerably and my sinuses were clearing up. Finally after meandering through the back lanes, I am on the highway to full recovery!

Maybe if I had gone to my usual doctor, I may not have had to take that second stronger dose of antibiotics @.@ Then again, maybe the flu virus have mutated so much that "normal" medication have no effect whatsoever. Or maybe I just respond better to a particular (expensive) range of medicine ;oP

In any case, the next time I fall sick, I am going straight back to the clinic near my house. No more dilly dallying and no more compromises!

Charity Fair ;o)

Today, we had a charity fair in office. And it was like as if Christmas had come early to this side of the island ;o) There were streamers stuck to the walls, balloons in the fountain, and even small colourful hearts were hung from the trees that line the driveway to the main entrance of the building. It was a very colourful spectacle.

Notwithstanding, the quadrangle was jam packed with people. People were milling around the make-shift stalls set up around the foyer either buying food or craning their necks to catch a glimps of the food that were being snapped up like hot cakes at every stall. It was so crowded you had to elbow your way through to get from one end to the other.

Here are some of the highlights of the fair...

MINDs performance

The children from MINDS came down especially to do 2 items for us at the fair - Drums and Para Para dancing. And I must say, I am VERY impressed with them. They were able to drum out rather complicated rhythms and beats (to me lah) and with such gusto! Even when they were dancing and if anyone misses a beat or forgets a step, they will still keep going, smiling and grinning all the way. If I was up there and I messed up, I think I would be have been too mortified to continue. From the loud applause at the end, it is without a doubt that EVERYONE thoroughly enjoyed the performance that they put up :o)

Food, Food and more FOOD! *droool*

I had $27 worth of coupons on hand and I "splurged" close to $20 on...FOOD! Even with a very sore throat I still managed to foraged quite a bit of food to sample...kong bah bao, kueh pie tee, fish balls,lek dao with durian (whoops!), honey sea coconut...Good grief! How gluttonous! Will it ease the guilt by declaring that half of it was for KY's dinner? Hahaha!

Charity Auction

To raise money, someone took a leaf out of Kyle MacDonald's "One Red Paperclip" idea and had the whole office bartering for items months before the Charity Fair. Then, during the Fair, those items from the last barter session were auctioned off and the proceeds were to go to charity.

A couple of months back, second hand items were also collected from us to be put up for auction. And there were some pretty nifty stuff that were donated for the auction. Shoes, children toys, board games, kitchen appliances...

In what must have been a bright spark moment, I "bidded" for and "snagged" a 4.8l airport that boast of 3 ways to dispense water at a meer $35! ;o)

Celebrity Car Wash

"Mr Singapore 2007" doing his bit for charity. He's the one welding the hose!
Photo taken from a VERY far distance because "photographer" was trying to appear none too interested ;oP

Although the sky was threatening to rain, "business" at the car wash was pretty brisk. Maybe it helped that "Mr Singapore 2007", Mr Gabriel Goh was there to slap on soap and hose down the cars. Someone (NOT me!) actually paid $50 for him to go TOPLESS as he does his bit for charity!! You could see all the camera phones being whipped out to capture Mr Singapore in what must be his most glamourous moment!

Pity I don't drive to work. Hehehe...

Well, this charity fair was a great way to end a grueling work week. And also, another avenue for us to do our bit for charity ;o) All proceeds from the fair are going to several organisations, of which this scatterbrain has forgotten (one was MINDS, another was a cancer foundation, and the other? was there another?) but I assure you the organisers aren't about to pull an NKF on us...such is the level of my faith in my fellow men! ;o)

We interupt transmission...

...to announce the arrival of BABY CALEB GOH (Janine's new cousin!)

Though I hear baby Caleb is a little small (2.3kg), Mother (my sister in law, Dawn) and baby are doing fine and are currently resting at East Shore Hospital ;o)

More about Baby Caleb (including photos) later ;o)

So exciting!!!!

Freezing in 30C weather conditions @.@

That's what happens when the nasty flu bug (i think) gives you a pounding when you least expect it. In a matter of a few hours after the onset of a very scratchy throat, I was reduced to a pathetic mass shivering under the blankets trying hard to sleep while a sledgehammer took a beating at my brain. Not a very pleasant experience.

Anyway, went to the doctor and was prescribed a whole host of medicine ranging from antibiotics to herbal lozenges. Bleah! As if swallowing water wasn't difficult enough with an inflammed and swollen throat, now I have to manage pills too. Ouch. And to put the icing on the cake, I MUST make sure I DON'T pass the bug to Janine as well. That is soooo difficult. How can I NOT kiss and cuddle my little energiser bunny? HOW???

I hate being sick.

Withdrawal Symptoms

We are back from Brunei! And we really had a great time. So many interesting and memorable things happened there, of which I will blog about in another post...soon.

After such a whirlwind weekend (a week for me since I took the WHOLE WEEK OFF to 'babysit' my daughter as my parents were overseas last week), its back to the 'real world. It feels like we just jumped off the carousel. The ground is still spinning but we got to orientate ourselves real fast and run off to the next 'attraction'. All too quickly, we are forced to resume once more our routine of leaving Janine with my mom as we trudge back to work for the rest of the week ;oP

While we 'recover' from our 'crazy' week, peace and order has once more descended upon our home.

No little girl tearing about the place, littering our living room carpet with her toys, or singing and babbling incoherently very loudly to herself, to the TV or to us. No screams and cries from a little one who has been left on the other side of the kitchen barriade or who just had water poured over her head. Our kitchen counter top is cleared of milk bottles, milk powder, cereal, training cups, etc. 'Jay Jay the Jet Plane' and 'Veggietales' have been nicely stacked away in our CD drawer.

Argh. I miss my little girl. T.T

Can't wait for Wednesday when I can swing her up in my arms and hear her cheeky laughter once again ;o)

Pre-trip Jitters

This weekend, we (KY, Janine and I) will be flying off to Brunei to attend a friend's wedding and I am really excited. I have been looking forward to this trip since the beginning of the year and have started to count down the number of days left since June. Haha. Incidentally, it will be Janine's first on board a plane and a first for me attending a wedding overseas!

As this will be the first time we are flying with a toddler, I really don't know what to expect. For one thing, with all the new regulations on hand-carry luggage, I wonder if I can clear customs with Janine's essentials (milk powder, cereal, bottle, etc) in tow. For another, how will Janine take to this flying business? Will she be able to cope with the change in air pressure? Will the claustraphobic aircraft bother her? I really hope she doesn't start wailing once we lift off. Imagine a screaming child in such a contrained space. *shudder*.

But a couple of things I DO know, and that is Janine's routine (or rather my routine with Janine) will definitely be totally messed up. We may have to drag her off for long bus trips during her supposed nap times and knowing Janine, she may not want to nap at all the WHOLE day with all the buzz that is going around. We have definitely set ourselves up to have to deal with a possibly sleepy cranky little girl ;oP. Also, her nutrition this weekend may be somewhat compromised. I mean, is there going to be "baby food" at a wedding reception/dinner? I highly doubt it. And da bao food from the hotel may not be practical since we may be travelling quite a bit. In any case, this weekend we are going to have to be rather "creative" in finding food to feed the little girl ;oP

Anyway, all this is at the back of my mind at the moment. What is foremost, is whether I have packed everything and if there is anything else that I need to bring along. Oh and also, what to wear to the airport tomorrow morning ;oP Heh!

Now, I better give a call to our travel agent and check with them if and how I can bring Janine's milk powder on board the plane. Later ;o)

Janine's First Blog Entry

,.,nnnppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp,.pppppppppppppmm,. i0ii8uuy u u uuk8888888.m-----------------}
}}}}}}}]m n bbm vc /////////

Plonked her on my lap in front of the computer and she was happily "typing" away. Its total rubbish but its still going to be filed away together with her other "firsts" :oD

Bruised Thumb ;o(

This is what happened on Wednesday T.T

So now I am nursing a VERY bruised thumb.

And if there is ever a time where I wondered what other uses the thumb has besides being a pacifier, there is no better time than now to fully appreciate the "supporting" role my thumb has played in my life.

Within the day, I realised that there are so MANY things I could not do PROPERLY without my thumb:

1. go to the toilet
2. dressing/undressing (basically anything that has to do with zips, buttons and hooks)
3. brush my teeth
4. take a bath / wash my hair
5. turn a key (in the car's ingnition / to unlock the door)
6. sling my bag on my shoulder
7. pick up things (which also includes Janine T.T)
8. take anything out of something
9. use a knife to cut something
10. tie a ribbon

And the list goes on...

I guess it is especially more difficult since I am RIGHT-HANDED and it was my RIGHT thumb that got slammed. Sigh...I am just hoping that the nail won't drop off, but i think that's wishful thinking ;oP

Rash >.<

Janine came down with a fever on Friday. And this fever was different from her other fevers. This fever made her very LISTLESS. She didn't want to play, she had no appetite, she was moody...all she wanted to do was to lie on your stomach and watch TV. She was totally out of character.

Then on Sunday, small patches of pink started appearing on her stomach, especially the area around her waist. And I think they were itchy too cos she kept tugging and scratching her diaper, which got her even more frustrated and moody @.@

The last time Janine ran a high fever and subsequently broke out in rashes, we found out from her pediatrician that it was roseola infantum (yes they actually have a name for the viral attack). This time it could be the same thing, so I shouldn't be to worried right? Wrong! Why? It may be MEASLES or RUBELLA!!! or maybe a reaction from her last immunization jab?! So??? Well, honestly in any other circumstances I wouldn't be kicking a fuss, but my very PREGNANT church friend Joyce carried (read: was in VERY CLOSE CONTACT with) Janine on Sunday morning. If Janine has measles or if this is a reaction from the MMR jab, would Joyce and baby be at risk?? ARGH! @.@

So, for the next 24 hours before KY brought her to the doctor, I was somewhat distressed. I did some searching on the internet (oh blessed internet!) and I found out that:

1. Any reaction to the MMR jab would be within the FIRST TWO WEEKS. Janine had her jab MORE THAN A MONTH AGO. So not possible that this is a reaction to the MMR.
2. The child who received an MMR immunisation is not contagious. Yes, even right after the shot. So other children who play with her are not at risk of being infected. So if u extrapolate it, pregnant women (especailly the ones who already had their MMR shots) who carry her are not at risk.
3. An MMR immunisation shot is SUPPOSE to help PREVENT measles/mumps/rubella. Duh!
4. Rashes developed from measles/rubella don't look like that.
5. A child having measles would also have watery eyes, cough and rashes that START FROM THE FACE. Janine wasn't exhibiting any of these symptoms.

So if her fever and rashes is not due to the MMR jab, or measles/rubella for that matter, then WHAT in tarnation is the cause of this??!!! Well, I have my theories:

1. Flu. Naaah...altough she DOES get feverish, but it is ALWAYS accompanied by runny noses. No runny noses so can't be flu.
2. Heat rash. Then what about the fever?
3. Teething. Ok, this would explain the fever but does teething give u rashes??? ABSURD!!
4. Food allergy. Possible. I remember feeding her some rice that was "tainted" with rice wine (from the chicken wine dish KY's mom cooked) which I had on Saturday night. Maybe she is allergic to ALCOHOL? But logically, any alcohol in the chicken would have EVAPORATED during the cooking process. However, while it explains the rashes, it doesn't explain the fever.
5. The fever and rashes are not related. So maybe its combination of theory 2, 3 and 4?

The only way to find out (and appease this paranoid mother) was to seek EXPERT advice. According to the KY, the good doctor took one look at her rashes and declared "VIRAL!" (again!). Not roseola this time but the FLU VIRAL @.@. Huh????Apparently, in some cases, instead of the usual runny nose and hacking cough, the virus can also manifest itself in the form of rashes. Which is really MUCH better cos then we don't have to deal with all the mucus and even more grumpiness.

So THANK GOD! Janine 100% does NOT have measles! and she won't have to suffer all the yucky flu symptoms ;o) and she is back to running all over the place and climbing to places she is not suppose to climb to.

Pinked! ;oD

Seeing is believing! Check this out ---> pinkprankproject

Some people can be so bored! But, I must hand it to them, the end result was rather pretty. Haha...But maybe instead of going with the pink look and utilising A LOT of expensive pink paper (203m!!!!), we might try a black and white version instead with NEWSPAPERS! ;oP

Love One Another

"Dear friends, since God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another."
~ 1 John 4:11

The cute little boy, by the way, is 2-year-old plus Caleb son of Ben and Gen, who unabashedly gave Janine a bear hug...two actually so I could catch it digitally. Adorable ;o)

Something Under The Table Is Drooling

BOO!

Janine's new "hiding place". It used to be my favourite too when once upon a time I was actually small enough to weave myself around, through, under and over those very same table legs ;o)

Cosying Up

Nights at our place can get pretty chilly. Sometimes, as KY puts it, it seems as if the air-conditioning is turned on. Being natives in sunny balmy Singapore, cool 20 degrees kind of weather or sorts offers us some reprieve from the heat and humidity. And provides me with the perfect excuse to let Janine sleep in the same bed as us so the three of us can get nice and cosy under the covers ;o)

Its really nice cuddling a deliciously warm bundle that smells babyishly sweet while the cool night breeze wafts in through our bedroom window, lulling us into deep sleep and sweet dreams...well, that is until Janine starts doing acrobatics in her sleep and we are rudely awaken by either a kick in the face/side or a heavy head landing rather painfully on the face/chest/other parts of your body.

How We Chased The Monday Blues Away...

Human Tetris

This is a no brainer. Its painfully lame but u keep watching just to see the outcome ;oP Trust the Japanese to come up with something like this. I do hope Singapore doesn't attempt to copy it in ANY way. That would be suicide @.@

Janine's much hated Cs

Here are 3 Cs that Janine hates...

1. Changing.

Once she learnt how to flip over from back to stomach, she would protest whenever we had to change her. She used to start howling the minute we lay her on our bed to diaper her, and then squirm this way and that to escape from our grip. We use to marvel at how one SMALL baby needed THREE people to diaper - one to hold her, another to entertain her and yet another to slap the diaper on.

Everytime we went out, I would pray very hard that she doesn't decide to let go a big one because that would mean I would end up having to "fight" with her on the changing table in the PUBLIC toilets (if there was one). People must think I pinched her or abused her in some way by the way she would scream and cry @.@

But the changing fiasco has since improved greatly. Maybe because we would dangle toys for her to play or maybe because of all the funny faces we pull at her or maybe because she is more self aware and takes an interest in what we are doing to her, in any case, at least now she doesn't put up a fight (unless she is sleepy or just being plain cheeky).

2. Her high Chair.

Ah...this is the place Janine probably does a lot of acrobatics on. Place her in her chair and she climbs out almost immediately. Fasten the safety belt around her but she STILL manages to wiggle free and stand rather triumphantly on top of her chair. And this is just the appetiser before the main course - feeding her in her high chair.

As if feeding her wasn't a challenge enough, we have to (literally) juggle holding her bowl of porridge, her spoon laden with food, a toy to distract her, a piece of fruit to entice her to open her mouth while at the same time trying to stop her from putting her leg up or standing up in her chair or sliding down to escape her tormentors and having to endure the whimperings, screams, crying or whinings.

But thankfully, there ARE days where we get some respite. Some days she is so cooperative that lunch time is done in half an hour with not much protest from her and pleadings from us. And ever since we discovered the wonders of TV, the mealtime battles are slowly becomeing a thing of the past ;oP Nowadays, I plop her down in front of the TV, turn on her favourite programme (Jay Jay) and feed her. And its a breeze! Much as I would like her to NOT become a TV addict (like me), this is like the one method that hasn't failed me yet. So until we discover another better way, we are sticking to it! ;oP

3. Her Car seat.

She hates it with a passion. And so do we because of the tantrums that almost always ensue. The minute her bum touches the seat, she will arch her back and twist this way and all the while screaming her lungs out. Even after we (with much difficulty) managed to strap her in, she will still struggle, wiggle and scream. Sometimes she can be quite the escape artist too by successfully wiggling out of her straps and then dangling rather precariously at the edge of her seat, threathening to either bumb her head on the dashboard or toppling her car seat on top of her @.@

In any case, it's her incessant howling that drives us batty. At one point of time, KY would whip out ear plugs (present from my cousin Liz) EVERYTIME we went on a car trip with Janine because her whimpering always escalates to shrieking. Then he bought those noise cancellation earphones which help drown out some of the screaming while at the same time delivering SOOTHING music so that he can concentrate while he drives. It works for him. In the meantime, the rest of the passengers (me and/or our helper or anyone else) just endure and count the seconds to the end of the ride. Sometimes I manage to zone out. MOST times , I have to exercise every shred of self control in me to not cave in to the screaming and carry her out of the seat to save my sanity. We always come out of our car rides with Janine a little deafer.

In the recent months, her aversion to her car seat had gotten better. She could actually entertain herself with whatever toys we had on hand in the car and we didn't have to put up too much of a song and dance for her to distract her during the trip. But, like every other thing that involves children, she throws us a curve ball and we are left totally stumped.

Just when we thought we can dump our earphones/ear plugs, her raving ways return with a vengence. NOTHING could distract or keep her quiet. We dangle toys, sing songs, point to "interesting" things outside the car...All to NO avail. Out of desperation, I give her my hand (my WHOLE arm even)for her to squeeze, scratch, , pinch, hug...it leaves me sitting in the most uncomfortable position but as long as it will comfort her and keep her quiet, why not?! But while it may work the first few times, the novelty wears off and we are left (once again) with a baby siren!

Last Sunday was probably the hay that broke the camel's back. She started bawling out of the blue while her Mama (KY's mom) was driving all of us (KY, KY's dad, myself) to T2 for lunch to celebrate Father's Day. Her poor Mama was so concerned that several times during the ride she took her eyes off the road to glance at Janine. Then, in the evening, she was howling and screaming ALL THE WAY HOME IN THE CAR! Enough was enough.

KY and I, while we love Janine to bits, are firm believers that sparing the rod will spoil the child. So when we reached home, her Papa delivered 2 smart whacks on her thigh with his bamboo back scratcher, one stroke for each time she misbehaved. For the first time in 16 months, the girl gets a taste of the rotan . Naturally, she howled. It breaks my heart to hear her cry so pitiously, but the thought of having Janine grow up into a possibly unruly, ill-discipline, rude and demanding little girl pains me even more.

After her brief encounter with the rotan, KY patiently and lovingly explained and reasoned with her why she was being punished and then after getting her to say "sorry" to us, hugged, kissed and reassured her that we love her. So kudos to KY ;o) I think he will do a better job at this disciplining business. I may have just whack and leave her to cry while I stew in my anger at my ill-behaved child.

Sigh...I really don't know how much of this episode she understood, but I hope she learns fast...otherwise she may soon learn to hate another C - the CANE. @.@

For The Men In Our Lives

A Little Girl Needs Daddy

A little girl needs Daddy
For many, many things:
Like holding her high off the ground
Where the sunlight sings!
Like being the deep music
That tells her all is right
When she awakens frantic with
The terrors of the night.
Like being the great mountain
That rises in her heart
And shows her how she might get home
When all else falls apart.
Like giving her the love
That is her sea and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
She'll always find him there.

~Author Unknown~

To our papas...
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
WE LOVE YOU!

Water baby

Since the school holidays have started, KY now stays at home and 'jaga' the little girl. And he has been having a splashing good time bringing her to the pool in our condo for a morning swim almost everyday! ;o)

From when she was 6 months old (once she could support herself in a sitting position), we would bring her for a quick dip in the pool every now and then during the blessed weekends. Of course she was scared of the water initially. See that worried look on her face as she sits in her baby float?

Now she just LOVES splashing about in the water and will put up a 'fight' when its time to go home. Don't try running water down her face too. She will scream big time. Into your ear. (Ouch!) @.@

Anyway, ever since we 'promoted' her from her ring float to arm floats a couple of weeks ago, she has been having even more fun climbing out of the pool, jumping back in again, climbing out, jumping in...she definitely prefers the arm floats...gives her more movement and freedom. And it also gives KY the opportunity to teach her to swim! Here's her 'progress' so far ;oD

Shermaine - Many thanks for your present! We have had so much fun with it ;o)