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)