Disconnected

My handphone and my watch. 2 essential pieces of technology (the other being my ATM card) that I simply cannot do without. I mean, I can cope without one OR the other but NOT both at the SAME TIME!!!

The timetables that I unconsciously create and attempt to follow daily were temporarily put on hold and left on the vanity top together with my indespensable hp and reliable watch. I felt like I was on suspend mode. I had no watch to check the time to make sure I was not late for something (as it is I am not a very punctual person ;oP). There was no hp to listen out for for that random phone call/smses to answer. I had NOTHING to refer to. I just had to "go with the flow" with everything today.

It felt weird at the beginning. Like I put my shoes on the wrong foot. But as the day progressed, it became surprisingly comfortable. It was as if the invisible boundaries that I restricted myself to were now gone. And it actually...feels...rather...liberating :oD

Hmmm...

Windmills

This spinning kaleidoscope (and its variants)...an all time favourite with Janine.

A Trip To The Zoo

Today Janine is 15 months old. And to celebrate this exciting fact (yes I am one of those insanely wuliao mothers who find joy in keeping track of the EXACT age of their child), we brought the dear girl to the zoo (again) for some fun!

Ok ok...actually, my company organised a Family Day outing to the Zoo this year. And now that she is a bit older, I thought Janine would get a thrill seeing LIVE the elephants, lions and monkeys which she has "read" in her picture books. Since the cost of the entrance tix were also conveniently subsidised, I signed all of us up!

Her nose was still dripping like an unplugged dam but at least there was no fever. So we took a chance and brought her anyway. And, although I was the one fretting and getting worried when it got too hot, too stuffy, too crowded, too dirty, too exhausting for the little girl, I am glad we brought her cos Janine enjoyed herself immensely ;o)

She particularly like the seal segment of the Animal Show. The swift and elegant movement of this sleek black creature captivated her and her eyes were glued to the action taking place on the stage. She even clapped her hands in glee during the performance.

The other highlight for her during the trip was probably the time spent at the Forest Lodge (this multipurpose hall that was booked by the organisers for the event) running among the chairs that were lined up playing hide and seek with her papa and another (I have no idea whose) girl when everybody had left.

So although she didn't get to take her morning nap, ate only half her lunch, put unthinkables into her mouth, was hot sticky heavy and wormy when you carry her, she would go "beh beh" at the sun bears, "wak wak" at the parrots, or "meow" when she saw the white tigers. And on that note, I say it was a pretty good trip ;o)

Maybe I should make this a yearly affair ?!

Down But Not Out

Janine has come down with a slight fever and her nose is starting to drip like a faulty faucet. It looks like she has the onset of a very bad cold.

Its heartbreaking to see your little one suffering...and especially TORTURING when you know you could have been the cause of it! @.@

It started with KY (well SOMEONE has to have a share in taking the blame too!) . He spread it to me and then I gave it to Janine while absentmindedly sharing food with her during dinner on Tuesday. ;oP

My poor baby :'o(

But, according to my mom, albeit the runny nose, slight temperature and crankiness, Janine is still bouncing off the walls and scaling the furniture. Apparently, it takes more than the common cold virus to "bring her down". She is one tough cookie. And I thank God for that ;o)

God Takes Care of the Little Things ;o)

It was a really trivial request.

"Dear God, please postpone KY's morning meeting on Wednesday so that he doesn't need to go to school so early so that we can bring Janine back to my parents' place in the morning instead of the night before. "

You see, my parents are going for a dinner tonight and we are babysitting our little girl. But as both of us are working, we will need to send her back to my parents' place so my mom can help us to look after her. So the issue was "when?" We all know how long winded some dinners can get, so I am a bit reluctant about having to drag a sleepy (cranky) baby, who may end up being wide awake after her "excursion" in the car, out late at night. I am equally reluctant to drag a SLEEPING baby out in the wee hours of the morning. IF ONLY KY didn't have to have that meeting. Then he would only need to go to school later which means Janine gets to sleep a bit more. THAT would have been THE MOST IDEAL situation.

What to do? So I prayed lor. Uttered it inside my head while I was in the shower pondering over our options.

And guess what?

HE ANSWERED IT!!!!!!

KY's meeting will pushed back to 8am instead of 7.30am. OK. Its ONLY half an hour but that's good enough for us!!!! He relayed this exciting piece of news to me via msn this morning and I am left with this immense feeling that is swelling up in the depths of my heart that makes me want to pump my fists into the air and shout out loud "YES!!!! GOD IS GOOD!"

Janine Translated

Hmmm...She has been jabbering a whole lot of stuff for the longest time but in recent months, Janine's dialect have become more English.

We PROUDLY present (*drum roll*) our little girl's (growing) vocab:

> pa pa - papa
> mah mee - mommy
> mama - mama (her 2 grandmas)
> yah yah - yeye (KY's dad)
> paaah - grandpa (my dad)
> booh bee - Bobby (my parents' dog)
> arh slee - Ashley (KY's parents' dog)
> kai kai - "gai gai" (dialect for "go out")
> wor wor - walk walk
> coh coh - cold (latest)
> der tee - dirty (latest)
> eeeeee - eeee
> eeeeew - eeew
> how - how? (her favourite word)
> dah dat - what's that?
> pss - please!
> bah bit - rabbit
> bir - bird
> bear - bear
> woah woah/dor - dog
> meow - cat
> duc! - duck
> ffsshh - fish
> meowk - milk (latest)
> woh tah - water (latest)
> nah nah - banana (her favourite fruit)
> tu tu - her pacifier
> bor bor - ball/balloon (or anything spherical)
> kah - car
> wah wer / wah wah - flower
> aaai - eyes
> tah - star

Nowadays, she also tries to copy the last word u say. Time for us to be VERY mindful of what comes out of our mouths! lol

Cars and Car keys

Which is worse?

To have locked your car and then somehow left your (only) car key inside the car? Or to have NOT locked the car BUT left the key STILL in the ignition and then conveniently walking off to do some grocery shopping?

No prizes for guessing what silly thing I did last night ;oP I think if KY's hands wasn't full carrying our plastic bags of foodstuff, he would have thrown them up in exasperation ;oP

Well...THANK GOD the car was STILL THERE when we came back!!

B&J's Free Cone Day

Dieting plans be damned!

TODAY is Ben &Jerry's FREE CONE DAY, an annual event where B&J outlets internationally give FREE scoops to their loyal customers as a way of saying "thanks for the support last year". So TODAY, 8 of Ben & Jerry's outlets in Singapore will be scooping out FREE ice cream!!!!! And with one outlet so conveniently located at Vivo City (very near my office), HOW TO RESIST??!!!?

I rallied my ice cream loving friends in office and during lunch time we joined the queue that was snaking outside the B&J outlet for our FREE treat!

At first, when we saw the queue, we thought we were going to be in for the looong haul. But I must say, the B&J staff at the Vivo outlet did some excellent logisitcs planning. Not only was the queue a fast moving one (all in all it took 15 min max from when you join the queue to when they pass you your free cone), the process was made to be as painless as possible as well.

The staff were on hand to usher you as you moved along the line and some "entertainment" was provided to distract customers during the wait. They had their B&J mascot (a cow) to mingle with the crowd and take pictures. Some of their staff were also going round offering to paint mini glittering ice creams on our hands. There were also some people from ECO (Environmental Challenge Organisation) Singapore giving us some tips on how to save energy and other resources.

They made it such an pleasant experience that I joined the queue TWICE! lol

The second time was REALLY to accompany my friend Karen who decided to do some shopping first before she queued for her ice cream. Unfortunately, by the time she returned from her shopping, we had all gotten our yummy dessert ;oP But since the queue was so efficiently managed, I didn't mind joining the line again with her. Then, since I was in the queue again, might as well get ANOTHER cone right? hahahaha!

Well, it was a VERY fulfilling lunch break and with bragging rights for eating TWO B&J ice cream cones (1 more than all my friends) that afternoon, I am on a sugar high...which probably explains this totally narcissistic shot of myself with my second cone! ;oD

Dental Hygiene

9 April 2007

FINALLY! We have taken the FIRST step in establishing some good dental hygiene for Janine. We have at last purchased a baby toothbrush (the kind u stuff ur finger in) for Janine on Sunday and that very night we used it to brush her teeth ;o)

She doesn't seem to mind the soft bristles tickling her gums or that we were sticking our finger into her mouth. She quite likes it apparently. And I am glad ;o) I was expecting her to be quite adverse to this whole toothbrushing thing especially since she hates it when we wipe her mouth/face after meals.

I think we have been a bit slow in jumping on the toothbrushing bandwagon. Our dentist friend (and a whole lot of other parenting mags and articles) advises that once the first teeth sprouts, we should take action soon to ensure that Janine developes good dental habits. However, 8 months on since her first teeth budded and we her devoted parents haven't done anything for her pearly whites ;oP

KY's mom and my Godma has helped to jumpstart us by buying Janine baby toothpaste (the kind where its ok even if they swallow it) and a baby toothbrush respectively. But while the toothpaste is here with us at home, the toothbrush is at my parents' place. And it has become a hopeless case for us unite the pair as we keep forgetting to bring either one back. Sigh.

Oh well, now that we have gotten the extra toothbrush, at least we can start doing something! Better late than never eh? ;oD

Our little budding artist at work

8 April 2007

KY's mom bought a small whiteboard (complete with marker, magnets and duster) a couple of weeks back for Janine.

And the little girl has been having a delightful time with it ;o) Here is my budding artist hard at work:



And, despite her lefty tendencies, it looks like she is going to be a righty. lol.

A Morning Out to...

7 April 2007

We brought Janine to West Coast Park today. I tell you, that place is probably every hyperactive child's dream come true! A stretch of the park was dedicated to clusters of mini obstacle courses, a 3-storey high rope pyramid, excercise stations and somewhere in the maze of ropes, poles, bars and s wings is a BIG children's playground. And all this in a GIANT SANDBOX!

Usually, when we bring Janine to the playground, she would be dashing around and exploring the playground, leaving us huffing and puffing in an attempt to keep up with her. But at West Coast Park's playground where, instead of the usual rubberised floor, there was SAND, SAND and MORE SAND. Janine (for once) didn't run off straight away once her feet touched solid ground. Instead, she toed the sand a bit and then contented herself to just squat at one spot to squeeze, dig and rub the sand between her hands.

She didn't want to budge no matter how much we tried to pull her away from her spot in the sand. So, to get her to try the slides (normally her favourite in any playground setting), we had to carry her and plonk her on top of one.



But while she enjoyed the thrill of coming down the slide, it was still the sand at the bottom and everywhere that continued to fascinate her.



It was a blistering hot day too...we were reduced to hot, sweaty and sticky bodies in a matter of minutes! Persipiration was rolling down our face and backs and soaking our shirts.

So maybe the heat was a factor why Janine wasn't so enthused by the rides and slides the playground offered. EVERYTHING felt hot to touch. When we foolishly placed her at the top of a METAL slide, she complained no end and demanded to be carried down. The heat must have went right through the poor girl's diapers and singed her little bottom.

I really didn't expect it to be THAT hot at the park and conveniently left the sun block lotion, fan, cap and most importantly 2 BOTTLES OF ICE COLD WATER at home @.@ Thankfully, I remembered to bring some water for Janine and this little girl was sweet enough to offer her Papa some of her water.



Touched as we were by her little offering, we were still quite parched. So instead of spending the WHOLE morning there as planned, we cut short our little outing and left within the hour, retreating to the air-conditioned comfort of nearby Sheng Siong hypermart to do some grocery shopping instead ;oP

But not before we (more like Janine) had a little walk around the park to admire the flora and fauna.

We will definitely come back to the park again ;o) but next time, I will remember not underestimate the weather!

Salutations!

If u came to THIS blog from my previous blog on friendster...CONGRATULATIONS on successfully "moving" with me! I am truly touched by your unwavering interest in Janine's progress of driving her parents and grandparents round the bend and up the wall and also (I should think so too!) other happenings in my life. THANKS! :o)

If this is the first time you are reading my blog then GREETINGS! I hope you will enjoy reading my ramblings. The motivations for maintaining this blog are many but the main thing really is to just share a bit of myself and Janine with you. If it doesnt provide any insights to my life as a working mom, then at the very least I hope it offers you some entertainment ;oP

Anyway, the next few entries are "post dated" blogs of what my little girl, KY and myself have been up to in the past 2 weeks ;oP This "migration" (from my previous blog) to blogger came at the cost of several postings. What to do? This is what happens when u fuss over a trivial matter like "what name should I give to my new blogsite?" lol :oD

Stay tuned! ;o)