merlion act II

I had been feeling queasy the entire day ... so much so I was so listless - since my hands were feeling numb (a sure sign of oncoming fever) and sleepyness (body trying to cope with the onslaught).

We were out at a friend's place for lunch, and after my stomach started sending subtle protest signals, I didn't finish my lunch and I am also glad I turned down the offer of coffee, although it smelt so WONDERFUL and that guy, can sure make serving coffee an art form.

Came home and I knocked out for about 2 hours plus, but it was only intermittent rest since V decided to be naughty and kept kicking my back when the daddy wasn't looking. She thought I didn't know but she got a dressing down from me later when I felt I was up to getting out of bed. Yes, she look extremely guilty and scared - this mummy is not one to be messed with! Hubby brought her out for dinner while I rested at home.

#2 was v funny - he seems to understand everything I tell him. Since I was running a slight fever, I told him when I saw him that I couldn't carry him. He went "AIYA!" (I'M NOT KIDDING) and made unhappy noises while looking at me. I told him "but mummy is not feeling well. when mummy is ok, I'll carry you ok?" He made loud unhappy noises while giving me sad looks. Later when he was playing on the mat, he made attempts to crawl towards me and he even tried to kiss my toes :P In the end, I carried him for a little while but avoided breathing on him or kissing him. This one sure knows how to steal my heart!

V wasn't feeling all that great too - after dinner she wanted to go to bed and wanted me to bring her in. In the end, she was playing my post-it stickies on the bed for a while before I turned off the lights. We explained to her that I wasn't feeling well, so she had to sleep on her own bed. She started tearing and whimpering. Well, the hubby managed to get her to sleep on her own bed, and he squeeze in next to her on the same bed on her request. I was worried that the bed would fall apart since it wasn't built to withstand an adult's weight!

Woke up to pump but I was having this funny dream (sub conscious) about vomiting, then I realised I might vomit! I sent a garbage SMS to the hubby (couldn't type properly) and a dustbin was kindly delivered to me. Within moments, I merlioned into the bin and the stench was awful - anyway it was the dinner. I retched a second time after the hubby had cleared the first lot and thoughtfully put another clean bag over the bin next to me. I was hugging it for dear life since my stomach was trying to clear the remains, so my stomach was contracting even more forcefully. I flopped back to bed and here I am now, 3am in the morning, doing da pump.

Even if I am not feeling well, #2 still needs mummy's milk, so I got to do what I got to do. That's the love and responsibility of a parent.

#2 can crawl ... well ... a little

Finally ... my boy has made the effort to crawl a little bit ... other than just kicking his legs in the air, flipping on his back and crying for help ... it wasn't the leopard crawl, more like the caterpillar crawl, but it's good enough for me.

His butt will go high up in the air first, and then slide his body in front, followed by his legs kicking in the air. Cute, especially if you remember he got quite a "bak bak" butt.

His first 2 bottom teeth is also out, he's happily gnawing away on forbidden things as usual. I cannot understand why he will pick the tags from the toys which I disallow, over a specially sewn cloth with LOTS of ribbon tags *argh* The Vice Versa milk bottle I received for a Christmas present works well - have you seen it before?

Actually there is a story behind this bottle too ... I had wanted to get it for V, but when I emailed online to enquire about it, they said it was no longer in production. Right then, my heart broke *sob sob* There were some crazy comments about the designs "what makes you think babies must be fed from formula made from cow's milk" ... allo ... I am a human cow, and is that anything wrong with using cow to describe myself as a breastfeeding/ pumping mother?

Anyway, when I got it (well, we opened the present late - we saved some christmas present and allow V to open some from time to time to keep her entertained), I was so excited ... IT IS THAT BOTTLE!!! #2 is happily drinking water from it now and using the udders as a chew toy. That's what I call "smart design" =)

$130 merlion act

V did the merlion act in the car, when I was on the way to the market. Originally she was sitting at the back of the car, and after the hubby dropped off to work, I insisted that V be siting in front with me. She didn't seem v OK to me but I wasn't sure if she was just sleepy.

Anyway, always trust a mummy's instinct. Within a few minutes, she did the merlion act, and I had to stopped in a carpark to clean her up. I did what I could, and I gave her a clean tee to cover her wet tee and skirt, and drove home as quickly as I could (and safely too). We cleaned up the car and the car seat while the other helper cleaned V up. She seem OK but she starting coughing and within a few minutes, she did another merlion act. I was amazed at the amount of liquid her stomach could hold :P I called up the PD clinic and I was told I had to be there by 12 noon.

Well, the traffic was so bad ... jam to enter the PIE, jam to leave the PIE and jam to get into the building. Thankfully they still offered valet parking (till 2pm) since we were very late (12:15pm!!) so I just grab the valet coupon and ran off.

I had expected to be ticked off by the nursing staff since I was 18 minutes late! But thankfully all I heard was "wah! why you so late! lucky you arrive in time, he's going off!" then the manager turned to her colleague and said to her "quick, tell him last one before he goes off!". For all the times we have been to this clinic, this was the FASTEST visit I ever had. Within 20 minutes, the PD saw V, collected the medicine, paid and left the building. I am so thankful for the help from the nursing staff and the PD, which well, did cost me $130!

V seems to be better now ... after her second merlion act, she looked so pale and greenish. Normally even if she was not feeling well, she would be her cheeky self. But this time, she was sad, quiet and just seem really uncomfortable. I gave her some porridge I made for #2 (I made more somehow, again mummy's instinct) and to entice her, I added in some chopped picnic ham. It did the trick and she finished 80% of the porridge and 100% of the ham. We also gave her water, but little by little. She's now fast asleep (finally!). I hope she feels get better when she wakes up. Poor jiejie.

little mosquito

I have a nickname for #2 - little mosquito, or in cantonese, mun zi jai. The "story" behind the nickname? Well, he tends to emit high pitch "mmMmmmMm" sounds when he wants attention or mummy. Just close your eyes and imagine a mosquito buzzing by your ear ... the sound is quite similar.

I recalled vaguely, when V was at the same age, when she was in a good mood or happy, she would kick her legs. Well, #2 is doing the same now ... he's a lot more "fun" now since he is quite responsive to little games we play ... like running away from jie jie, jumping on my bed, kicking his legs with jiejie on the bed, peek-a-boo, and funny faces ... He is also choosing who he will allow to carry. If he does not turn away from the person, he may size up the person by looking up and down at the person a few times, and then leans forward to bestow his hugs.. If he turns away almost immediately, it is quite obvious he doesn't want that person.

V is still just as loving, and she has more or less getting used to her routine of going back to school. She now wears her school uniform without a fuss *phew* When we drop her off her the school, she used to cry and say "no one to look after me!" Now she happily decides who carries her to the class and who she wants to play with.

We also changed the seating plan in the car - now V sits in the back row with helper a and #2 sits in the middle row with helper b. We sit in the front row, but occasionally I will squeeze into the middle row, depending on what kind of "looks" #2 gives me. I do miss our little sessions in the car, so I try to make up by spending a bit more time with him at night. So far, he is happily taking to the "jumping party" on my bed each night =)

Food at 8 months

I made porridge for #2 over the weekend - basically it was just porridge made with pork broth and the flavour was hardly apparent. In anycase, #2 lap it all up, and one big bowl too. So much so that V insist on having the same thing after seeing her little brother gobbling down the porridge.

This weekend I will start him on chicken broth porridge and see how it goes.

V is very fussy about her porridge these days. If there isn't enough flavour she will reject the porridge outright and complain it's yucky. She will only recognise the usual Pigeon porridge as the very nice one and refuse to try others. For her, the soup stock needs to be much more richer - so I figured out the only way "enrich" the flavour for the pork or chicken stock was to add dried scallops. I have tried adding kombu seaweed but she didn't like the taste. I bought bonito flakes to experiment with, so let see how she will take to it.

Pig Trotters Vinegar

Made "zhu jiao chu" yesterday - needless to say the whole house was "perfumed" by the sour smell.

had to made a few trips to get the ingredients, especially the black vinegar (we use the bulldog brand).

Saturday - made a trip to the market and all the pig trotters were sold out. Didn't know it was part of the offerings for "Tee Gong" (pardon me if I spelt it wrongly, my hokkien is v bad) on "ren ri" (people's birthday) which fell on Saturday (7th day of the CNY). So I just bought ginger.

Came home and realised I was out of the black vinegar *grr* so I used whatever I had, the ginger, the stock of vinegar held and eggs to start the process.

Sunday - went to market at 7 plus to grab my pig trotters (actually I want the "pig's hand" or foreleg plus the meat of the shoulder. Then I realised the market's provision shops were all closed - they were told to move and so they closed after appeals to extend their lease were rejected. Then, last minute, they were OKed to stay but it was too late by then. Drove to Shop N Save, nada, no deal. So I had to go to my mum's place and asked if they had any. Only 1/4 of a bottle. OK so I grabbed that too and made another trip to one of the last provisions shops around my area. PHEW. they have both - the single and double vinegar (don't ask me to explain it!)

So finally the pot of the pig trotters vinegar taste right ...

The ingredients and method of cooking is based on "agaration" - I cannot remember the exact measures and some of us may like it sweeter and some more sourer ... so adjust to your own taste!

Ingredients

1. 1 big bottle of double vinegar

2. 1 small bottle of single vinegar (basically just half of the double vinegar)

3. water - same amount as the single vinegar (just use the same bottle after you empty it into the pot).

4. 1 X pig fore-leg plus meat from shoulder - approximately 1.5 to 2kg. The butcher should help you to remove all hairs and cut into appropriate sized pieces (he does it FOC for me!)

5. some rock sugar (I think it's about 150g)

6. 1kg old ginger - skinned, cut into medium blocks and bashed

7. some slices of ginger, a bunch of spring onions and a tablespoon of salt

Method

1. Prepare a pot of water - when it boils, throw in ingredients listed in (7). Leave the heat on high, add the pork. Turn down the heat once it boils. Remove the pork after 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Panfry the ginger with a little bit of oil. Throw into the pot (no stainless steel or aluminum - use claypots like tanyu pots) and add the ingredients (1) to (3) + (5). Bring to boil.

3. Add the pork and let it simmer on low heat for 2 hours.

4. Adjust to taste by adding sugar or more vinegar.

Optional: Add eggs - you can use hardboil eggs without shells or just add cleaned fresh eggs into the pot directly.

CNY Lion Dance

One of my neighbours splurged on the CNY Lion Dance - he invited them to perform at his place today - there were a total of 6 lions and 1 dragon! Wow, I wonder how much he spent on it!

V refused to go downstairs so I brought #2 down to the garden ... once the "noise" started, I immediately covered his ears and he was ok. But when I tried removing my hands, he burst into tears and clung on to me like a koala bear. V came down with daddy shortly after and she also clung on to him - refusing to walk on her own. I moved further away, at the fringe of the area and the noise was slightly more bearable. #2 was quite fascinated since there were lots of bright colours (red and gold), and there were also lots of other kids running around.

Well, here's wishing everyone a Prosperous and Peaceful Chinese New Year!

V & A

A is this little boy in V's school ... whom their teachers and I have on multiple occasions mistaken for each other.

For a while, they could be identified seperately as their haircut was different. But with his current hair cut (V cut her hair some weeks back), they are back to almost being identical twins again.

They are both of the same size, same height, same tan colour, same black hair, same shape of the head, and wear almost the same type of clothes - the only distinctive difference now is he has much bigger eyes than her. And to complicate it further, they always play together. In the morning when she arrives in school, she will look for him. When she's not around, he will ask for her. Yes, they are play buddies in school too.

Yesterday when we arrived at her school, V had already stopped crying. However, A was crying because he wanted his daddy. So I try to distract the sullen V by asking her to go "sayang" A, which she did, by giving him her sweetest smile and patting him. Then when she happily settled down to eat her breakfast with him, suddenly she burst into tears when we waved bye to her. Needless to say, we scooted out immediately.

Last night, when we were chatting, I asked her why did A cry? Her response was initially quite baffling because she didn't speak in complete sentences.

V: Because, because, A cannot find his *mumble mumble*

Me: what? A cannot find his girlfriend?

V: Ya, no girlfriend.

Me: A cry because he cannot find his girlfriend?

V: Ya, because must go home.

Me: who must go home?

V: me.

Me: A cry because you must go home????

V: Ya.

Well, I was trying to ask her why did A cry in the morning. Now it seems that he cried in the afternoon too. I am not sure if she made this up, I will have to check with the school on monday.

Me: why did A cry in the morning?

V: Because want mummy.

OK, so she got that part correct, but I need to check if she is fibbing about A carrying when she left in the afternoon ...

*hmmmmm*

Tweet #1

Woke up to find V hugging my hand while sleeping. Sweet =)

P/S: and no, I have no idea how to tweet using a twitter account.

Fish Maw Soup

Today the in laws came over for lunch ... and since one of them didn't particularly like herbal stuff, I couldn't quite just boil water and throw in a pack of the ready-to-cook herbs.

I went to hunt for my "nourishing soups" recipe book and I figured out my best bet was to get the bamboo fungus since I had the rest of the ingredients.

Ended up, CS didn't seem to stock that so I bought fish maw instead.

My base soup stock was very idiot proof - just made sure it was rich enough so whatever else I throw in will made it taste better.

The soup was enough to feed 9 adults and 3 kids ...

Ingredients

1. 500g lean pork

2. 300g of pork bones (I used bones from my spare ribs - the meat was cut off for another dish)

3. 1 chicken breast (remove skin)

4. a big handful of dried scallops (mine was the broken pieces, so I guess 6 pieces of whole medium sized dried scallops) soaked in a cup of water (for about 2 hours) after a quick rinse. Throw the water into the pot with the dried scallops.

5. 1 medium size wong bok or chinese cabbage, sliced.

6. 2 packs of fishballs (you can use meatballs if you want to)

7. 2 packs of dried fish maw. Soaked in hot water for about 15 minutes, and then squeeze dry. Rinse and squeeze dry again. Cut into small to medium pieces.

I actually cook the soup base the night before, using the pork, bones, chicken and dried scallops. I used my vacuum pot so that saved quite a fair bit of gas for me :P.

In the morning, the ingredients 5 to 7 were added in and then cooked a further 2 hours. My vacuum pot were too small to hold all the ingredients so I had to change to a bigger stock pot.

I also threw in the "brine" that contained an abalone which we used for the "yusheng". I think i forgot one ingredient, which is ginger. I think if I had added a small slice of ginger, it would have tasted better. But overall the soup is good enough for me, sweet without having to add sugar, and flavourful enough without having to add salt (typically when I make soup, I don't add salt, and to do this, I usually add enough ingredients to give the required salty taste).

Sorry, no pictures :P

Also, just wanted to add a small note about "yusheng". I had bought the "SingLong" ready to go pack from CS, plus the ready shredded carrots, radish and cucumbers. I omitted the perserved onions (wasn't too keen on it) and bought extra "bo chui" or crackers. I also had to add oil, since it was not provided in the pack. The "extra" ingredients would be of course, the fish, but I used abalone since I didn't like raw salmon and it would be an hassle just to make a trip to buy sashimi grade salmon (I could used smoke salmon but no thank you!). I wanted to add pomelo too, but they didn't have the "ready" peeled pomelo for sale so I cheated - I added canned mandarin oranges instead and it really made a difference to it. Then again, I love canned mandarin oranges and I would be more than willing to fork out $4 to buy a small cup of japan-made mandarin orange jelly (which was a staple during my last trip to japan - the brand had a cute picture of a cat on it!). I added the juice of 1 lemon and well, it was probably one of the most yummy yusheng I had!

Next year, I will be adding canned mandarin oranges!

Pretend Play - cooking and eating

V was pretending to cook dinner for her daddy - she even arranged the "food" nicely on her food tray, which included a cup, jug, and plates of food.

However, after she announced to her daddy that "Dinner is ready!", she insisted on carrying the tray into the bedroom, in which I was doing "da pump". She laid the tray carefully onto the bed, climbed up and then shouted for her daddy.

After the daddy came in and proceeded to take his "dinner", she also ate together with him. Now, this is the "amusing" part.

V scope her "rice" from the plate and pretend to chew her rice.

She went "PTUI" and announced "I don't like vegetables!"

This mummy went ?!?!?!?!?!

First tooth!

#2 officially has his first tooth out! It's the bottom right front tooth =)

doe a deer ...

#2 went to bed at before 8pm but I could hear him fussing in the bedroom for a long while. #1 was colouring in her hello kitty book and she was OK for me to check on her didi.

I went in and saw #2 was fussing with his eyes closed! Basically he was more or less asleep, but emitting the "eh eh eh" sounds (fake cry). So I took over from the helper and he was uncomfortable in any positions I was carrying him in. In the end, we fed him his favourite beverage - WATER and he settled down a little.

I sang his favourite song, "doe a deer" and he opened his eyes a little to check me out. He gave me a smile when he recognised me and then closed his eyes. I continued singing and rocking him to sleep, while V was calling for me outside the bedroom. Thankfully when she decided to come in to check on me, #2 was fast asleep. She refused to leave the room without me, so I put #2 in his cot, and he grunted, rolled onto his side and continued sleeping. This shorty mummy had to tip toe to lay him on the bed, and more or less, had to "throw" him unto the bed since I couldn't quite reach the bottom of the cot (about 5 cm away). I probably need to place a short stool in the bedroom soon!

#1 wanted to hug my arm to sleep ... she fell asleep together with me I think - we both were pretty tired out as she only napped a little this afternoon while I didn't get around to it at all.

Sweet ending for the weekend, with both kids wanting a piece of the mummy. I should be doing something right =)

new record!

#2 has finished 220ml (almost 8 oz) of milk at one go ... he's be 8 months old in about 2 weeks time ...

I pumped out about 540ml (3 bottles of 180 each) at 2am and there were already 1 bottle of 180ml in the fridge. When I opened the fridge at 9am this morning, there were ONLY 1 left ... which means that 7 hours I was sleeping, he finished 540ml??!?!?!?

and he's a TV addict ... if we are watching TV and whoever carrying him turns him away from the TV, he will COMPLAIN loudly ...

hello ... kitty cakes!

For the hubby's 3Xth birthday (he claims to be forever 21 - even alan tam had more modesty, he only claimed to be always 25), I booked a parent and child baking session so that V can bake a birthday cake together with him for him. The clincher was that it would be a hello kitty cake for this session, so I couldn't resist, I added myself to the class to.

We were running late as I had to be at work this morning. Anyway, the other parent and child attendees were nice enough to wait for us, so everyone started together. There were only 5 of us plus 1 instructor so it was nice and cosy.

It took V a little while to warm up but she was soon doing little tasks (like measuring the flour and breaking the eggs - with help of course). She got so comfortable that she found a little space to sit while watching her daddy mixing the cake batter with the electric mixer. The hubby was pretty good at it, I was actually impressed ... given that his non-interest in all the baking activities at home (other than to eat the final product).

We had to wait while the cakes were baking in the oven, and we got to prepare the decorating cream. They used this whipping cream (the carton type, not the dairy cream type) and added colouring to it. Then we had to wait another 20 mins or so before the cake was done. Since we had to pipe the cake with minimal cooking time, the cream kinda melted a little.

Still, it didn't distract us from the taste, the cake is actually VERY yummy. V actually finished her share! I'll post up the pics once I download it ... we still have 2 in the fridge but we will bring one to my mum's place tomorrow so the other kids will get to enjoy it too.

I think the hubby enjoyed the session. I asked him if he enjoyed it and he gave a non-committal shrug. Then I asked if he wants to come again, he said we can do it at home. Sounds promising =)

in 2 months' time...

I was just looking at the computer date and I realised that V is turning THREE in 2 months' time. Panic mode hit me because I hadn't really sat down to think what to do for her birthday party. Then I reminded myself "Hey no party this year right?", when another thought flashed through "Won't she be upset if #2 gets his BIG FIRST birthday party?" "ARGH" "argh" "ARGH". Well, that's my train of thoughts early in the morning.

Well, guess I just have to reminded the hubby to book the function room first, then I decide what to do ... There are too many things going on now at home(CNY and Feb birthdays - that include the hubby's) and at work to really sit down and start planning. Got to stick one BIG to do list on my headboard.

Maybe I will BAKE a cake for her? I still have my brand new hello kitty cake moulds which my brother and his family kinda brought back for me from HK. Hmmmmmm ........

Why is Papa's face so dirty?

Decided to give the hubby a simple facial (meaning just apply masks for him) since he seems to be having a slight outbreak.

I showed V how to apply the mask and told her to watch her daddy. If he moved, she was to remind him he's not to move. So everytime he twitched a little, she would yell out "Papa cannot move!" She also helped me to sponge off the mask after it dried. She kept asking "why papa's face so dirty!" as she wiped.

Later I applied another mask (peel off if you must know), she asked again "Purple mask then green mask? why?" Yes, she is into her "why" stage now ... so I explained that the second mask will help to remove even more dirt, and she went "Papa's face very dirty?" She kept touching it and asking for the sponge. I promised her that I would let her help to peel it off, but she's fast asleep now (my ploy worked - got her to rest while the mask dried).

In time to come, it would be "why mummy's face so dirty!" but I would probably enjoy her cleaning my face up for me =)

V says ... even more

Me: *argh* backache ... pain pain ...

V: Why pain pain?

Me: Maybe becuz mummy is getting old?

V: Then V have to buy new mummy?

Me: !!!!!!

*****

V: Why your leg like that?

Me: Becuz mummy is getting old? Then maybe you have to buy a new mummy?

V: *stretches her arms to indicate BIG* I want a great big mummy!

Me: Har? What kind of great big mummy?

V: *touches me* This great big mummy!

Me: *dunno whether to laugh or to cry*

V day plus birthdays plus CNY

Feb usually is a hectic month - with the romantic Valentine's day, to birthdays (3) and occasionally CNY (It can fall in January too).

Usually I like to start my preparation early, so meaning I get the birthday presents way ahead, together with Christmas shopping. Only problem is, sometimes I end up with more gift recipients than number of gifts, so I have to use that particular present first. This year, I've bought 2 of the presents, and the 3rd one had me cracking my head. Anyway, I'm sure I'll think of something, just that it may not be a conventional gift (don't get notti ideas now!).

For V day, it's still _not_ so bad, we usually make up with a dinner before or after the actual desginated date. I don't like crowds, so it's fine with me. Besides, with the 2 kids, the extra $$$$$ we pay for stuff on the actual day could be spent on the kids' diapers =P Unromantic, but let's be practical. With no bonus, no pay increment and add in a ever increasing spending (have you notice that the prices haven't really come down yet?), we have to make our $$$ stretch a little longer.

And with the above swirling in my mind $$$$$$ then comes the monetary preparation for CNY. As usual, I don't give my mum $$ for CNY preparations, I rather buy the stuff myself. So this year would be $$ spent on CNY biscuits for family and relatives, the couplet for the main door, new rugs, and maybe some new cushion covers. CNY biscuits are nothing to be sneeze at, I think the total will be coming up to some $500.

hmmmm ... really, I want to strike TOTO first prize (as the sole or shared 2/3 winners) soon!!!!

OK time to go market and order the mandarin oranges ... hope I am not too late!

V says ... more

V looks at my tummy and says," Mummy's tummy fat fat!"

This mummy gets ready to cry ...

V looks at me and smile. She continues, "But mummy's face not fat fat!"

This mummy goes ... !!!!

Sugi cookies

We made sugi cookies today and then to my horror, I realised I made a mistake in my sugi recipe posted previously in my other blog (I just corrected it).

Anyway thankfully I had 1 kg of almonds to rescue the dough (I accidentally forgot to halved the oil in the recipe), so anyway, here's the corrected version for prosperity! I'll be making another batch, partly to retest the recipe, and partly because I decided I want pink colour sugi biscuits this year!

Sugi Cookies

Ingredients A
600g plain flour
200g icing sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda (You can add 1 teaspoon instead if you dislike the taste of baking soda)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Ingredients B
3/4 rice bowls/ 250ml Corn Oil

Ingredients C
1 egg yolk plus 1 egg lightly beaten with 4 drops of egg yellow food colouring

Method
1. Sift ingredients A together 3 times (VERY IMPORTANT).

2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour oil into the center. Mix well into a crumbly dough. Let the dough rest in the mixing bowl for 30 minutes to 1 hour, covered with a wet towel.

3. Divide and roll into balls. Poke the center with the sharper end of a chopstick. Brush with egg wash. Baked at 150°C for 30 minutes (Preheat Oven for at least 20 minutes before baking).

If the cookies taste floury, it means the cookie is under cooked.

Optional:
Add 200g almonds – toasted/ dry fry in a work till fragrant and coarsely grounded the almonds when cooled. Add a bit more oil if dough is too dry. Additional sugar is not required.

V says ...

Papa: next time Papa bring didi out with V to go gai gai ok?

V: Papa carry didi OK? V walk because didi cannot walk. So Papa carry didi, then V walk OK? V must hold Papa's hand, otherwise people take baby (referring to herself) away. Then Papa have to buy a new baby and V have to buy a new Papa.

*standing ovation by mummy*

da pump

As we celebrate #2's 7 month (and I did that by bringing him to the PD, duh), it means also that I have been bf-ing (well, pumping) for 7 months too.

He now weighs in at a hefty 9kg. I would think he is at 90th percentile or so, but I am too lazy to check.

I'm glad he is doing well, so at least I feel that my efforts have not gone to waste. The money invested in a medela dual pump (although 2nd hand) has not gone to waste :P

I am thankful my CL this time was so pro-bfing, so it made life a lot LESS stressful.

I'm not sure if I could continue until 9 months (as I did for V) but I'll just do what I can. It's demoralising that the amount I pump seems to be getting less and less, esp the right side is not very cooperative. I end up pumping for 1.5 hours with a dual pump - same amt of time I used to spend on the single pump.

#2, mummy will try her best ok? love ya, and mummy is falling in love with you more and more with each passing day.

grumpy, and counting to 2 ...

#2 is grumpy today, very grumpy in fact. He didn't hew me today - he just looked in another direction or through me when I was trying to get his attention. I figured the reason much later in the evening - because I didn't bring him out :P

This morning V accompanied me to Phoon Huat (argh I am so upset, I lost my privilege card and they don't issue any replacements anymore!!!!) to buy stuff for tomorrow's bakefest and we came back much later (although it was supposed to be a go-buy-and-come-back trip). We went to my mum's place because I had a tummy ache and her place was the nearest. So the toilet trip became a lunch trip for V and myself (she had her porridge and her uncle to fed her) and I also dropped off the baking stuff, so that I didn't have to lug them along. Then I made a trip to the petrol station to top up the gas... and to get more ang pow packets.

*side announcement*

Ok mummies, the best place to get ang pow packets is from SPC. The packets are the big type, which means you don't have to fold the notes, and they are of good quality paper - study and colourfast. Not only that, you don't have to spend $50 in order to exchange for 1 misery pack (hear that you cheapskate shopping centres/ supermarkets) - just ask nicely and they will gladly give you more than some (OK the aunty mode kicks in - I swiped 10 packs since they have 6 or 7 packets per pack). Get them while you can, and pick up some abalone from them too ... their pricing is actually very competitive!

Then on the way back, I had to pick up lunch for the hubby - V was sleeping in the car, so I parked (managed to get a lot that was pretty near), left the engine running, and I ran to the shop, ordered, shove $10 to them and asked them to please bring it out to me as my girl was sleeping in the car. So I waited on the pavement watching the car, grab the change and lunch pack with much thanks, and dashed back to the car. Thankfully V was still fast asleep.

Reached home, and I was getting my pump stuff ready when #2 woke up. He didn't even greet me with a smile as he usually did. He looked really grumpy. *sigh*

On the way to the FIL's place, only did he start to smile and make his conversational noises. Hmmm ... OK so I guessed he misses his daily car rides :P On the way home, he was sleepy and wanted to be carry. Against the law (see what mummies do for their kids!), I took him out from the car seat and carried him. But still, he fussed until I starting singing. Almost immediately, he kept quiet.

There are 2 songs I found that he would actually quieten down to listen - Doe a deer and a hymn. The latter was the thing that finally made him sleep after he cried non-stop for 30 mins during our transit in Narita. For him, I didn't really have a song for him, unlike V. I sang to V "baa baa black sheep" most of the times when she was inside me. V sang that as a first song :P

I could only think of the times I sang the hymn to V, particularly one short local trip before #2 was born - so perhaps, he was listening too.

When the babies would sleep in my arms after fussing, this particular moment always reaffirmed my ability as a mother. I do not have a lot of confidence as a mother, especially when they are younger, since they cannot really express themselves (or I cannot understand their needs). So it's always nice that I can manage some basic stuff other than playtime.

*****************

V can count to 10 and she is trying to count to 20. However, sometimes I really wonder if she really understands the concept of numbers. Today, I know for sure, V is definitely there and I should have more faith in her. She is probably a lot more smarter than I am!

On the way to the FIL's place, she found 2 sweets, so she was happily saying she has 2 purple sweets and then, "one for me, one for my mummy, one for ... my papa don't have. one for me, one for my mummy and none for my papa!"

CNY is round the corner and so is V day!

Is it going to be a really romatic CNY this year since V day and CNY 1st day all falls on the same day ...

for me, it's CNY first, romance can come later, if I have the time for it.

I'll be stressed leading up to that day ...

1) having enough new notes for ang pows

2) getting new clothes for boy boy - V has no issues

3) ensuring I don't put on some more weight, else I can't fit into my clothes

4) baking, baking and more baking - sugi cookies, chocolate cookies and chocolate cornflakes. maybe I'll attempt kueh lapis next year :P

I haven't had the time to worry about spring cleaning ... whatever!

It's unfortunate that major festive seasons (CNY and Christmas for me) and the public hols here always sync with my work peak periods. Little wonder why I start shopping as early as post Christmas sales the year before :P

I'm a lucky mummy ...

Recently I posted about V playing "hide and kiss" with me ... today's is about #2.

Not so much as he kisses me, but the fact he wants me to carry him.

Now, you are probably be thinking - of cuz a kid wants his mummy to carry him! ah, but see, I'm not that kind of mummy (not v good with new borns) and he's mostly with my family/ helpers while I am at work. At night he doesn't sleep with me, and most of the time, I'm with V at home.

Recently, I notice that when he spots me, he will either grunt or squeal, start kicking and his hand outstretched to me, leaning in my directly. And .. he will shoot me looks if I just stand and not move towards him.

Yesterday we were all napping in the same room, V, #2 and me (I took urgent leave since they had to see the doctor for 1 reason or other). #2 woke up and starting fussing. I buried my face into the pillow (I was really very tired) but the fussing didn't stop. I looked up, and #2 was STARING AT ME UNHAPPILY from the arms of the helper. In the end, I had to get up and carry him. Then he stopped fussing immediately. When I brought him out of the room, the helper followed and he protested, thinking the helper wanted to carry him.

We did a "test" - helper 1 offered to carry him, he looked at her, turned away and cling on to me. My majie offered to carry him, again, he looked at her, looked at me, looked at her, turned away again and pulled my hair! He must be thinking - notti mummy! pull your hair!

He is also happy just to sit on my lap and observe the surroundings, when someone could be carrying him around, and playing with him.

Yes, the trip certainly helped our bonding and I look forward to the KM classes each sunday - my time with him =)

history of ...

england, and it's kings and queens to be exact.

For the past few days, I am obsessed with reading on wikipedia, the lives of the kings and queens ... I cannot remember where I started from, but possibly 2 or 3 monarchs before Queen Elizabeth (I). I always remembered her for the movie "Elizabeth".

well, what did I learn? Being a mother, the thing that stood out to me, is the loss of their children. Through miscarriages, still births, and their passing before their parents ... it's so heart wrenching.

Even though V has been quite naughty lately, throwing tantrums and such, she's also my angel, hugging me and giving me her kisses and love unconditionally. #2 is just as sweet, giving his utmost adoring smile when he sees me, and holding on to me tightly, not wanting to let go.

I was just telling my friend and the hubby I want #3 and their response was similar "where got time!"

Well, time is what we make of it. Yes, we still have 24 hours a day, and I'll be hard pressed for time, between work, family obligations and 3 kids. I won't have as much time to spend with each of them, but love can only grow, not diminish. It's not love shared between 2 or 3 kids, it's love MULTIPLIED by 2 or 3 times.

If I was asked this 5 years ago, and my reply would be I'll won't even have 1 kid. It just shows how wrong I was, and I'll gladly admit it =)

air kisses and potty training

We had been toying with the idea of potty training V for some time - why I said toying was because we weren't too serious about carrying it out. I wasn't keen to potty train her before #2 came along was I didn't want to do extra work, in case she regresses when #2 arrive.

Now that #2 has arrived, and they are getting along well, it's time for me to think about it seriously. So, we are doing it in baby steps.

1) she gets home for CC and goes diaperless till before we goes home. This will be pushed to diaperless until she reaches home.

2) Weekends at home, will be diaperless (unless she naps). We will put on diapers when we go out. This is partly due to my disdain for dirty toilets. I CAN'T do it - the smell along makes me want to throw up. Many a times, I have rushed home just to do my business, both small and big, because I CANNOT and WILL NOT use the toilets available outside.

So far, so good, except 1 minor hiccup. We notice that she put will put her hand on her but when she wants to pee, and this is our visual clue. Other times, if she is willing, she will tell us that she wants to go to the toilet. The only hiccup was in my bedroom, she was playing when she suddenly went "pee pee, floor wet wet". After next week, I'll tell the teachers she's is in midst of being potty trained, so hopefully the teachers will encourage her.

I always blow airkisses to V, with a loud "muaking" sound. Some times, she does the same to me - she will peek through the door, and whoever sees the other party first, will blow the kiss first. This morning, she came to the bedroom door, peek and then "MUAK" and then ran off. This happened a few times until the door was wide open (I was pumping). Since she had no where to hide, she would dash across to the other side of the room, turning and "muaking" at the same time. I lost count of the times she ran zigzag outside of the bedroom. She was giggling away non-stop. Me? I was delirious. I mean, how many mummies are as lucky as me?

Making Bread ... sun dried tomatoes that is ...

I'm waiting for my bread to be finished baking, but looking at the time, it's another 45 minutes so I decide to call it a day and just go sleep. Hopefully it's edible and my girl will enjoy it for breakfast (it's sundried tomato bread with parmesan cheese, garlic and italian herbs). The great thing about this particular recipe is that I seem to have found a recipe site that allows me to make bread without it overflowing. It's the kenwood bread machine recipe site! It gives me the basic measurements for the recipe I want to try, and based on my research, I just a little of extra ingredients. So far, based on what I have seen through the window, it looks good :P but looks can be deceiving right? the verdict will be out in a few hours time anyway.

back to the same old routine ...

It's sad ... #2 looks at me forlornly when I return from work ... as usual we get to spend less than 15 minutes together, before I get distracted by dinner, family member and V. By the time we reach home, it's time for me to pump and for Ian to sleep.

By the time I finish pumping, it's time for V to sleep.

By the time she sleeps, it's time for me to sleep.

When I wake up, it's time to pump, then shower then go to work. Ian would have been dressed and had his cereal. All we get is another 3 minutes walk to the car, and he holds my finger during the car ride to my mum's place. Then he gets dropped off, again, with a sad look on his face, and I'm off to work to drop V. Today was better, she didn't cry, but was still upset.

On the way to work, it's small talk with the hubby, more often than not, it's silence. Then it's work, work and work. Even though we both work for the same organisation, we had only lunch together 3 times! Yes, it's true! We don't even chat during or SMS during office hours because we don't have the time. Then it's time to knock off work ... and the same cycle starts again ...

Sad? Yes, when I don't get to spend much time with my kids, especially #2. The government encourages us to have 3 or more , if we could. The answer is cannot. I'm already struggling with my finances with 2 kids, double income and a guilty complex. 3? I think I'll be so eaten with guilt that I'll be in depression!

Shocker of the day

If you recalled, a few days earlier, I posted about #2 drinking 160ml of milk and that he is challenging V to the title of Milk King/ Queen?

Well, he beats her hands down - he is officially crowned the Milk King. He just finished 200ml of milk at 1 shot today. No, he didn't regurgitate any bit at all...

Yes, I am still shocked and stressed - I cannot possibly produce so much milk in a day for him!!! Gone were the days when I could produce 5 bottles of milk (averaging 150ml each) within a span of 12 hours! If I am lucky, I could produce 4 bottles max ...

Ah well, he's taking well to mix feed (BM plus FM) and besides he is very happy to be eating solids ... so ... I shouldn't be stressed out ... just enjoy him as it is, and produce whatever I can for his needs. I may not be able to provide BM for 12 months, but I'll just do what I can ...

TGIF!

I'm really thankful for the weekend ... This has been one exhausting week, and I only worked for 4 days! And it's not even our peak season yet ... age is really getting to me ...

V finally conked off, after me as usual. These days she is sleepy before 8pm, I can tell from her eyes and her eye bags (shadows at the corner of her eyes) are showing. I guess she is still having issues in childcare, thus not really sleeping as well as before. She is just resisting the "call" to sleep, since we return from work by 7 plus, and she wants attention from her daddy. She doesn't want to stay in the bedroom - always wanting to go outside. She doesn't want to go school - always wanting to go "somewhere". *sigh* my poor girl, wondering if she feel "separated" since now she has to go back to "school", #2 gets to stay at my mum's place, and her cousin is now off to primary school. She certainly doesn't take well to changes, and it's something we have to remember.

Poor #2 is also neglected, since I return home exhausted from work and I look foward to sleeping after washing up. I brought him to my bedroom after I showered (he was still awake) and we played a little while with V and the hub. He was quite happy, smiling and kicking but he was also sleepy. It was a good 15 minute still - before he starting whining. I had planned to bring him in to sleep with us for the weekend but I'm worried - I'm quite tired and I am not be as alert as usual. What if I crush him accidentally? The backup plan would be to sleep with him on V's bed, since she insist on sleeping on our bed. I'll see how it goes when I'm done with my pump ...

I'm planning to bake the crumb top cinnamon coffee cake this weekend - I think I'm obsessed enough with it, so I'll just go ahead with it. Otherwise it's worse than craving for stuff when I was pregnant (I got my durian fix pretty easily :P).

Oh yes, and to get the berry scone recipe from my BIL ... mmmmm

New Decade New Resolutions?

I desperately want to win this contest, so I can get a blog makeover - hopefully I can finally get around to merging my 2 blogs together.

So what will be my new year resolutions?

I don't want to make resolutions like clearing up my house and desk, because I'll never get down to it. I end up having piles of stuff on it, after I shortly clear up the space anyway.

I want ... I want ...

1) spend more time with my kids - they are growing up so fast and yet, I spend most of my time at work or in front of the computer. How? Draw up a proper schedule so I know what I want to do together with them at what time.

2) spend more time with my oven - I desperately want to bake, bake and bake. How? Plan for 1 particular item to bake per weekend, research and then settle on 1 recipe to try.

3) spend more time with my camera - another long lost passion. I am sure I can take better pictures than my lackluster attempts for the past few years.

4) spend more time being a wife - I need to remember I am a wife to someone too, other than being a mother of 2 kids. Relationship = garden. You reap with you plant, and your results depend on what kind of efforts and care you put into it.

so here it is ... you can try your luck too =)

How to enter?

(you have to complete all of the following -except the 4 that is optional-)

1. Subscribe to the Blog via RSS or email!
2. Post about this contest on your blog using the banner below, and LINKING to this post with the guidelines.
3. Come back here and leave me comment with a link to your post, and tell me what is/was your New Year’s resolution for 2010!!
4. If you use Twitter, retweet about this Contest in Twitter to get twice the chances (and remember to leave me your twitter username in the comment)!!
5. Only 1 comment per person, so make sure you put all the info in your comment. I will delete the extra comments and asign you all numbers for the shuffle once it closes

Deadline to enter:

January 20th, 2010 (specially extended because of the holidays). At midnight of the 20th, at GMT+1 (norwegian midnight) I will close the comments on this post.

Plans for the weekend

It's 3 more days to the weekend and I have decided I need to kick start my lethargy.

1. Bake something!!!! Ok on the topmost of my mind, is this crumble top cinnamon coffee cake. Had one in hawaii, bought from Costco and it was SO GOOD. Unfortunately, the ants got the remaining half so we didn't finish the whole yummy cake. I want to bake the same cake and eat it!

2. Start cooking food for Ian. I used to make my food for Vanessa and I think I should do the same for Ian. The cost of baby food is increasing ($2.30 for 1 jar - I could have bought loads of carrots for it!) and I think Ian should have the lovingly cooked food by me, like Vanessa did.

3. Do something about my hair!

4. Bring Ian out with Vanessa by ourselves.

At the end of the day ...

I came back, and I conked off by 9pm.

This time I was feeling giddy, so I had the perfect excuse to lie down and ... well ... I fell asleep - before V fell asleep again.

Just managed to wake up, and trying to force myself to keep awake, so that I can complete my pump.

Jetlag? Unable to adjust back to Singapore time? No idea, I just want the bed, and I want it baddddddd.

*yawn* even researching for recipes is not helping ... argh ...

down down down ...

my mood is

why? cuz my milk ss is down down down ... I had thought I would have problem in Hawaii, but I had enough milk for him then, just not enough for him now =(

i could pump over a litre a week ago, now? barely 800ml.

this is so depressing.

doesn't help that I'm going back to work today - let's cross fingers I didn't leave out things before I left and that my colleagues did what they were supposed to do, without pointing back at me "she didn't tell me"

i'm still having difficulty in adjusting back to the time here. I conked off before 8pm last nite (2am in hawaii) - woke up at 12 midnite to pump (6am in hawaii). in fact, i was hankering for bed by 5pm (11pm in hawaii).

let me strike toto or singapore big sweep first prize with no co-winners can? i promise to do my bit for the community too! just no loans to friends - lky was right: once u lend $$, u are no longer friends.

hopefully my mood will improved today - but it's not a good start, looking at the miserly 250ml i just pumped out *cry*

Trip to Hawaii - Part III

Hanuma Bay (I think) - see the lovely waters ... *sigh*

People fishing on the rocks - could be hunks but I'm not that sure!

Vanessa with her daddy again ... look at the horizon behind them - no wonder people think that water will fall off the edge in olden times ... it's simply beautiful - v few ships out there and you just look out to the endless sea and sky ...

Ian doing his commentary "and over there, we have the hanuma bay, and we have a lovely hill behind us"

"if you look that way ladies and gentlemen, you will see why people say the ocean is blue. Look at the horizon where the sky and sea meet"

Trip to Hawaii - Part II

Vanessa standing on the world famous Waikiki beach! Despite all the sun tanning lotion, the water is NON greasy, PERFECTLY CLEAR ... and the sand is wonderfully fine and soft!!!

With her papa, busy with playing sand.

Showing off her loot of sand.

Outside the Cheesecake Factory - Food was delicious, but you must save space of their cheesecake - it's so good I can eat 3 slices on my own!!!! Didi sitting in the double stroller with the sister Vanessa trying to "buuchi" didi (tickle i think).

However, didi is more interested in nibbling the sling :P

Trip to Hawaii - Part I

Vanessa having her breakfast at Changi Airport Terminal 1 - Killiney Kopitiam. Eating her fav "egg egg" at an ungodly hour of 6:30am or so (for me at least). I woke up at 3am to pump, so that we can reach the airport by 5:00am.


Stepping on the carpet - going to board the plane!!!

Vanessa's children meal by JAL on route to Hawaii. Let's just say I wish I had a Children's Meal too. The food is so much yummier! She's in her Pooh and Tigger PJ's after she vomitted upon landing in Narita. The turbulence during the last 30 mins before landing was really bad - she vomitted quietly - everything out in 3 big gushes and then promptly fell asleep. We spent 20 mins cleaning her up and Ian was crying non-stop until I changed his diapers. Then we left the plane with Vanessa and Ian pacified.

Grandma, my sister and the 2 kids waiting at the boarding area to get onto the plane to Oahu. Thank God for my sister - I probably would have quit and flew on the next flight back home. Ian was quite difficult during the 2 flights and we were all exhausted from taking care of him. I managed to get a room at the airport, so I could shower Vanessa (she was basically covered in vomit) but she refused to change out of her PJs! Ah well, at least she's not sticky with vomit!

Our limo - which is a 15 seater! It had an LED starry mirror roof - looked kinda sleazy actually! Reminds me of the limos I see on CSI Las Vegas hehehe.

Jetlag and porridge

Ok, I am getting old. I cannot sleep as much as I used to (like 14 hours at 1 stretch). After my pump at midnight, I loitered in the kitchen. I finally ate dinner (I went to sleep at 5 ish pm with V) at 1am - had a cup of walnut meal drink (taste like hup tow wu), a cup of K's cereal and a bowl of rice with bittergourd/ spare ribs. V also skipped dinner and slept throughout. That pump I did, only had enough milk for slightly more than 2 feeds. The helper rushed out shortly after I placed the milk into the fridge, so guessing there was a serious shortage of breastmilk, I took out about 480ml of frozen breastmilk to thaw. #2's appetite is shocking. One night I fed him about 125ml of milk and another 125ml of water before he finally settled in. My guess is, he's taking 160ml or more now. If it means a longer stretch in between feeds, and his stomach can take it, it's good news - he may now sleep through the night! Time to retire the 125ml bottles and take out the 260ml bottles. He is seriously challenging V to the milk king/queen title!

I then settled to watch some TV - History channel if you must know, about the fall of the Berlin wall. It was interesting enough to make me glued to it till 3am. Came back into the bedroom, but was out within 5 minutes. #2 was crying still, so I went over, waited till he finished the feed (and wanted more as usual) but I took him, patted him and he fell asleep promptly. I then brought him back to sleep with us - something we hadn't done so since he was 1 month old. We managed to squeeze everyone into the bed - a very tight squeeze but it worked out anyway. He woke up a few times, to complain about the lack of space and the warmth, but he settled back to sleep quickly. The last round, he had a major fart session and woke up V too. I brought him out and passed him to the helper, who was waiting with a big bottle of milk ;P I wasn't so sure he wanted milk, his pattern has all changed but anyway, I let the helper dealt with it. I then proceeded to cook porridge - pei dan chok for breakfast. I knew the hubby like it and I didn't mind porridge - it helps to settle the stomach after travelling. For V, I used the fish and veggies steamed for her dinner last night to make a separate pot of porridge. By the time I was done, I found V playing quietly by herself on the bed! I think she was probably awake since #2 woke up and she was probably just playing by herself for the past 1 hour. I woke up the hubby to feed her milk, and then it's time to pump!

#1 and #2 are in the living room, playing and the hubby is probably helping himself to the porridge :P I made a cup of Mother's Tea and hopefully that will help to kickstart the milk SS again. *sigh*

Family Reunion

I can't adjust back to Singapore time! Ya, now I am wide awake, because it's morning over at Hawaii now! I would be probably either trying to settle #2 or pumping milk, missing the gorgeous sunrise once again, at this time. Thankfully in my room, there's a mirror placed just right so that I could watch the sunrise in the mirror's reflection.

I missed a lot of things ... I missed going on trips at my own whims and fancy, I missed doing what I want and what I like during the trips, and I missing having my own time to "stone out" when watching the skies/ sceneries. But ... I would missed my babies if they don't come along too, so I guess the "what I want to do" bit will just have to wait a little till the kiddos get older.

In anycase, this wasn't a "holiday trip" per se. I hadn't seen my younger sister for about 5 years, since I got married. I had never met her 2 kids, which were born in the same years as mine too. So when she moved to Hawaii, I grabbed the chance to make the trip. The timing was about right - I should be able to clear some leave during this December (I needed to then anyway, otherwise I would have forfeited my annual leave) and next May/ June, I would be busy at work.

The trip would be a lot easier than flying all the way to New York, or so I thought! And this trip turned out to be one massive family trip. In total, 3 families and my mum (13 pax including children) flew in to Hawaii. 13 pax also squeezed into a 4 bedroom vacation rental house, while another 4 pax put up at a service apt as they flew in later. It was chaotic but like old times, when 6 of us used to sleep in 1 bedroom when we were kids. My brother in law cooked most of the times (the one based in Hawaii) and I want his recipes for his cranberry sauce, his scones and belgian waffles! Even V liked his ginger fried rice, which I initally doubted that she would eat it (spicy from the ginger).

We didn't really had the "time" time to catch up since we were all respectively busy with our kids and doing the necessary touristy stuff. It was good to see my sister and her family - the 5 year gap didn't really matter, we just picked up where we left from, and I am so glad she didn't picked up a fako american accent. That would probably have killed me! I am also amazed at her ability to survive as a SAHM with 2 young kids and with no family or social network for support. I'll probably have packed and gone home long time ago!

Now, I am eagerly waiting for their trip to Singapore in a few months time. Hopefully they can stay for 2 months or so, and it would be a good time for the kids to catch up! Now my sister's daugher wants to come here so that she can play with the "other gecko hunters".

Yeah!

SAHM 101

I survived my crash course of taking care of the kids for 2 weeks without the help of maids (but lots of family and hubby's help). For the first time, I had to clean, bath, feed, and put him to bed myself - I barely survived, but I am proud to say i did a pretty good job with a serious lack of sleep.

On the flight, I almost died, but with the help of my sister and BIL, boy boy was finally subdued and calm down, and left the plane with 1 big smile. On the first night, my goodness, he cried for 3 hours straight, not to mention the fussing of 3 hours before that. Again, thanks to the hubby. sister and BIL. Initially I didn't dare to bathe him myself, but eventually I did, and it wasn't as bad as I thought.

As the days flew, it got easier to gauge his needs and one of the nights, he was so happy that he was giggling and kicking non stop for 30 minutes. In the end, I swaddled him, he cried, I put him on my shoulder and he promptly fell asleep.

I didn't get to do much sightseeing and shopping, but I am glad for the chance to bond with him. V was a fantastic sister, telling him "Didi, shhhh, oi oi, don't cry". Even when the kids sleep on the bed together, for some strange reasons, they gravitate towards each other, and one of the days, V was napping next to #2, holding his hand.

On the flight back, the first leg was manageable, but stressful. #2 was screaming for close to 1 hour during the transit. However, he conked off the moment we settled into the plane back to Singapore and he slept almost throughout the flight, give take a few moments of fussing. When we depart the plane and on the way back home, he was a good good boy! He never cried or fuss at all. The helpers were happy to see the kids, but #2 woke up at 4:30am and wanted to play WAHAHA ... he only went back to sleep at 9am this morning. I think he missed his Jumparoo too ... he was cackling like mad when he was jumping in it. I think he grew taller or heavier, becuz his heel can now touch the floor, instead of just his toes!

If I get around to it, I'll post some pics =)

Doing the prep work ...

We had to make a trip to the mall to get a luggage bag - I abandoned the idea of bringing #2 along since I am quite tired and I didn't get a chance to nap this weekend yet. We waited till the 2nd hand stroller was delivered (bought it off ebay) and then we went to one of the "mega" malls in the neighbouring areas.

We had lunch first since I was already quite hungry. Hubby suggested Aijisen and I had no objections since I was in the mood for soupy stuff and I like that place anyway. PARENTS ALERT! We ordered our lunch and decided to get 2 set meals plus 1 kid meal for V. SURPRISE!!!! The kid's meal comes free with 2 set meals! It meant that we had to forgo the discount if we pay by a certain card, but the kid's meal was worth more that the discount so we happily forgot the card discount. Although V didn't eat the fried ebi that comes with the set, we exchanged that with her from the side side (fried fish) that the hubby ordered. To my "surprise", he didn't order the fried fish with the intention to share with V, and he "whined" when I was exchanging the items from their plates. Well, no surprise here, I ignored him.

After lunch, we were looking at some stuff at the Timberland outlet and then saw a queue ... and kids were eating candy floss. Hubby and V only saw the pink Christmas tree and they headed toward that while I plonk myself in the queue. They finally figured out that I was missing somewhere and then saw me queueing ... It took a while, there was about 12 kids ahead of us and the lady dishing out the candy floss had to clean and add more sugar from time to time. Finally it was our turn! V let the hubby carry her because this short mummy couldn't carry her high enough to see what was going on in the cauldron. Candy floss is BAD for kids, but once in a purple moon wouldn't hurt. She licked it a few times while us, the parents, were fighting to get a bite out of it (she wouldn't let us!). The last I saw it, V had floss on her face and the hubby was happily licking the stick (I went somewhere to get some stuff). So guess who is the kid after all :P

Originally we wanted to pick up a Samsonite from the outlet shop, but we looked at the price and changed our minds. V was kicking up such a fuss because she was sleepy (wanted me to carry her) but I needed to make a trip to the loo ... on the way to the loo, I passed by Winter Time (where the old factory outlet was based) and saw that they had some luggage bag within our budget so SMSed the hubby to come over. In the end, we bought this "bird shit green" bag (it isn't all that bad) which cost us over $100, and a wooly hat for V (she finally perked up seeing the hat and was running around happily and letting her daddy carry her) and #2. I also picked up one woollen sweater for #2 (which cost 1/2 the price of the luggage bag!!!!) since I don't really have much warm clothing for him.

V is very much in her "spiteful" stage now. She no longer wants mummy to carry her out of the car, etc etc, and she would even smack my hand away when I want to hold her hand. She does get disciplined when she starts stamping feet, throwing tantrums or hitting at us, but generally I will stay away if she prefers the daddy. It's fine with me and she will get the message that throwing tantrums do not help. If she's jealous that I spend time with #2, that's perfectly normal, and I will give her some time to grow out of it.

End of the day, hmmm, well, she still wants me to carry her when she is sleepy right? =)

sweet memories are made of these ...

counting down to ... a holiday of *stress*?

We will be flying off in about a week's time and I'm getting stressed up over it. We have yet to pack, plan the trip and my biggest stress factor, I'll be taking care of #2 myself - without the help of the maids.

Some people applaud my sheer bravery in bringing both kids with us on a long haul trip - it's about 16 hours excluding the stopovers. Bravery or sheer stupidity ... i don't know but I can't bear to leave either kid behind and I cannot afford to pay for the maid to accompany us on the trip ... so there ... well just try it out right? and I hope the other passengers won't line up to strangle me.

Well, I know it's a holiday, and yet I cannot fully enjoy myself running around painting the town red, but it's would be a good time for me to bond with boy boy ... he's a lot more expressive now - showing his displeasure by pushing us or turning away ... and he has learnt to ignore me by looking away if I come back late from work ... i truly look forward to our bonding time and I supposed I just have to learnt how to manage the stress ... i just hope #2 doesn't suffer in anyway!

V recently performed in her childcare centre end of the year concert, and it was quite funny to see her, because she was one of the least expressive one - didn't really want to "shake her booty" and with a perpetual scowl on her face ... but she went through her parts and she was the only one who did the actions in accordance to the music (the rest were a little too ahead) ... and after the concert is _over_, she now starts to sing the song in the car ... and other songs too ... 6 months ago I worry about her not really speaking, and now, she can negotiate and put 2 and 2 together ...

She was also whining about playing this "mango puzzle" and we, for the longest time, just ignore her because we don't have any puzzles that has a picture of a mango! We assumed she was just making it up or just wanted some other puzzles ... then one find day, my ultra slow brain finally figured out what she wanted ... "you want zingo is it?!?" and she nodded slowly ... she must be thinking "finally! what took them so LONG to figure out what is mango puzzle!" So she is happily playing with the daddy on her bed now ... the daddy is happy too, since he gets kisses by giving up his tiles to her, and she would pat his face and promise to find the next tile for him ...

We also recently (just the 3 of us) took some pictures ... V was in a FOUL mood so there was hardly any shots of her... didi had this "gong gong" look about him which I just adore ... will post up later =)

Makeup by mummy dearest

V will be having her school concert this coming Saturday and the rehearsal was today. I read the instructions for parents and duly followed it.

We woke up extra early so that we could get V to eat enough to get her through the rehearsal if necessary and that I have some time to put on makeup for her. She was very cooperative when I was putting on the makeup for her (who knew she was such a vainpot :P) but she kept eating the lipstick. Ah well ... Daddy dearest took a pic for her but I have no idea where he kept it ... I'll post up a link when he uploads to his webby.

Then when we reach the school, they told us the kids would be going out to play first, have their shower, then go for the rehearsal *argh* All my efforts wasted. I wasn't the only parent who misunderstood their instructions - next time I will check with them verbally first!!!

Ian was on the sideline, staring at his sister ... haha ... he looked so cute. These days, he will give me the "grumpy" look when he sees me after work. He will only cheer up a little after I cuddle him. Yes, he can be quite vocal or he can move his body enough to indicate he wants me to carry him. V is a little jealous, and she's sticking to Daddy dearest like glue now. Well, it's good for me because it gives me breathing space. Good for Daddy too, since he used to complain that V doesn't want him around!

I also started Ian on FM today, 1 scoop to mix with BM, in preparation for the trip. I just hope I know how to take care of him! I am quite apprehensive, but hopefully, I can remember what I used to do with V when she was at the same age!