Panic Mode

Yes, seriously. I just realised I have 4 weeks to go -

I have not packed the hospital bag yet

I have not gotten the house in order yet, especially the new lighting's and furniture

I have not start handing over my work yet! my boss probably hit the panic button too!

I have not set up the cot for #2

I have not prepared stuff for #2

I am just not ready!

Amidst all the panic and unreadiness, I also realised how different my pregnancy with #2 is compared to #1. If you recalled, I had induced high BP, that in the end, I had to deliver V early. Today, just the very opposite happen - I was talking to a colleague when I suddenly felt giddy (a bit like blacking out) and felt like puking too. So I sat down and was OK. But by the time I reach my seat, I was feeling so bad I asked my hubby to send me to see the doctor. Thankfully the queue at the doctor was short and my regular doctor was in. My BP was a miserable 90/60. That explains the giddiness, but I wondered what prompted the sudden drop. Anyway I was given some oral re hydration sachets, and it tasted so bad, i poured the entire cup away. I made my hubby buy 100+ instead, and it taste so much better! I did call up my gynae clinic and told them about my BP. So they called back and ask me to eat more red meat! So i put another call to the hubby and asked him to buy some beef to cook for dinner as well.

It was probably one of the best dinner I had in a long time - my ma jie simply makes superb beef - be it in steaks, minute steaks or stir fry. It's not the usual western style, but the taste of it, makes me lick the plate CLEAN! Anyway I'll be having the same thing again tomorrow and I certainly look forward to it!

I just hope #2 will be as good as V, my sweetiepie. She was upset today because I scolded her a few times, I raised my voiced a few times, I smacked her once - so she was crying for a good 20 minutes, before I calmed her down by sharing the storybook with her, and slowly winding her down for bed. She's now fast asleep next to me, without much fuss today. Poor girl, she must be wondering why she's getting a lot more from me these days (I scold her for sucking her fingers too :P) I must remember to be a nicer mummy ;P I just hope she won't feel abandon with #2 out ... Time to read Super Nanny!

For the love of Valentino ...

I am very very very very tempted to name #2 Valentino ... just for the sheer yumminess of the chocolate and rum cake I got from Perle ... Perle is the Pastry Boutique of Ristorante da Valentino, an italian restaurant in SIngapore which I have yet to discover. I discover Perle when they were having a booth at the "I love Italy" (I think) at Takashimaya B2 food area.

We bought the cake on Friday, which we never got around to eating it till Tuesday, since Monday was my actual birthday. We were either too busy or too tired, so in the end, just before bedtime on Tuesday, we cut the cake and had some of it. It was SO GOOD, it was difficult to stop, but we had to, since V was still having a very bad cough (she was happily chomping on the cake too). The next time we got around to finishing the cake was this morning! Technically the cake's cut sides was left exposed in the fridge, only covered by its cardboard box housing. I was expecting a chocolate biscuit this morning but no ... it was as delicious and moist as we first ate it!

Now, I hope to eat at the restaurant before Valentino pops and more of that lovely yummy chocolate cake before my diet gets restricted ... they have a very lovely biscotti type biscuit too, which is very addictive, you cannot stop at a few ... just thankfully I'm off coffee with the pregnancy, else I think I will wiped out the entire pack with my regular cuppa!

For photos, erm, I'm waiting for the hubby to upload hahahaha ... i'll post the link once he gets around to it ...

For Valentino and Perla, just go to www.valentino.sg

hmmm ....

Long, long time ago,

I secretly hoped and dreamt that

my beloved toys would come to life and played with me,

oh what fun we could have!

Once upon a time,

i dreamt that I was the princess in the castle,

and a prince would come and sweep me off the feet,

and then we lived happily ever after.

Once, not too far in the distant past,

i began to understand, the hopes and dreams i had,

more often than not, are flawed and doomed to begin with,

and whatever will be, will be.

Que Sera Sera,

how very simple the song, how very true the simple words,

now i sing it for my girl, with tears in my heart.

It is really going to be Valentino?

That's the latest question people seems to be asking me.

No, I don't know. I haven't really think about it yet and it's 5 weeks to go before Valentino pops out.

I haven't pack my hospital bag, definitely not gotten around to 'remodeling' the house, set up the bedroom for #2 nor #1, redefine the dining and study area.

The good thing is that the new helper has cleaned up the house, packed a majority of the place and it's much cleaner and neater now. And we just spent a bomb today - we got ourselves a rainbow. Yes I know I am a sucker, but really, after seeing that amount of dirt/ dust being sucked out, I resolved that this rainbow is really going to be USED. I've already told the helper to use it at least once a week to clean the house, instead of mopping the floor. I feel better than now my bed is a lot cleaner, and my pillows will be cleaned, and the stuff toys will be cleaned too.

I'll lug to my mum's house and clean up the bedroom V uses when she's there too. I am willing to bet the bed we rest on is as dirty, if not dirter, than my one at home!

teething issues ... last round i hope!

V has been teething for the past 2 months or so ... her second molars are pushing out, top and bottom. So basically it means she has sporadic tantrums and clingy-ness. The latest episode has been playing out over the past 2 to 3 days ... doesn't want anyone but mummy to bathe/ shower, mummy to feed, mummy to do this, mummy to do that ... i'm on medical leave but out of the few days I'm given, only today I had a relatively better time, since I had a 90 min pre-natal massage for my stiff and sore joints ... i slept in late today and V was whining non-stop since she woke up. she woke up extra early at 6:30am and she looked for daddy first (since daddy was missing in action last night due to OT). Then she refused to let him near him, shooing him away. Then barely a few minutes later, she wanted her milk, and only I was allowed to hold the bottle.

I feel asleep shortly (I stuffed a pillow under the bottle) and basically slept through the din. I only woke up when she landed on top of my head, crying "mama" non stop. I helped to remove her diaper since it felt leaky already - usually at this stage, she would calm down and follow her daddy to the potty to do her various morning routine (wee wee, brush teeth, mm mm and then pom pom). I could hear her crying for me non stop on the way to the tiolet ... then i fell asleep yet again *shows how tired i am!* Later my helper told me she refused to do anything, and kept crying for me. she even refused to shower/ bathe!

The moment V saw me walking out of the bedroom, she zoomed into me and started her "mama" routine again. I had to get the helper to offer her chocolate muffin for breakfast before I had some peace and ZZZzzzz. When i finally had energy to drag myself off the bed, V was in a better mood but still in a "no no no" mood. She finally showered with me but poor thing, she slipped a little (i was holding her hand) and hit her head on the wall. Off the wailing siren went again. She was OK within 30 seconds though, then had to coax her to get dressed. Left the helper to do it while I went to get dressed myself. We drove to my mum's place (my cousin was coming to help look after/ play with her and I was more than happy to take up the offer!) and on the way, she fell asleep at 11am! all that crying must have left her exhausted hahahaha

Anyway, once she saw my cousin, she stuck to him like glue and I was happy to be left alone to rest (that's what the doc ordered!) and to pay some attention to my dogs (currently housed at my mum's place) - did some stress relieving therapy too ... snipping off the knots I found on my Phoebe - she now looks like a fake poodle!

Just hope tomorrow V will be in a better mood! I need time for Valentino and to start planning for the minor renovations before it's TOO LATE!

Update on Valentino

He's lying low, in fact, quite low at 32 weeks. We can't even see his face now =(

he's now 1.7 to 1.8kg, about 500 to 600 grams heavier than the last visit. I'm not doing too good, I'm losing weight in fact.

My gynae asked me to walk more and I was like "allo! do you know how much i walk a day at work!!!!" in the end, he gave me medical leave to rest - fatigue and i'm not doing too well at the stress/ emotional level.

It doesn't help that medical leave sometimes = no leave when people wants their own job to be done first. it's even worse when they have NO EQ. so basically I just grit my teeth and hold my tongue, before i say something really nasty and just do what I can. and it's even worse when way up up up up there the "guru" is ... how should i put it ... living with the head in the clouds.

I just hold on to the nicer thoughts to get me through work. Like, someone gave me a small box of chocolates in appreciation of my help ... tt's really sweet so ya, I'm keeping the box after I finish up the chocolates to remind myself, there are people who appreciate me, and what I do is important, even though I am not important.

A literally bloody Mother's Day

Just a short post ... V fell and hurt herself during the Mother's Day celebration with my family ... blood was literally spewing from her mouth ... took about 15 minutes, lots of wet wipes (she doesn't want my bloodied hands to touch her) and lots of ice chips to calm her down ...

When she was willing to show me her mouth, her gums on top were a bloody mess =( ... my sis-in-law asked me to apply manuka honey as it has antiseptic properties, so we went off after lunch to pick up a bottle. V doesn't like the taste of it, she shuddered after I applied on her gums! She's a strange kid ... only likes water and especially ICE, but shunning other sweet drinks ... she loves chocolates and sweets though ...

I hope she gets better soon =( this mummy heart super pain.

The story of Valentino ...

I realised I haven't really been talking much about Valentino, and I'll be 31 or 32 weeks tomorrow!

How time really flies ... V is already 2 years old and counting, and we'll be meeting Valentino in a few weeks time. Perhaps it's time for panic since we're not quite ready at the homefront!

Anyway, i'll just post Valentino's story for prosperity's sake, and sorry to bore you if you have heard this before, or if i even blogged about this before (honestly I cannot remember!).

The first person to discover Valentino was on the way is actually Vanessa. One day she just patted me on my tummy and went "Baby!" i was skeptical since i just tested a few days ago and it was negative. She was even the first one who said it would be a "didi" (little brother). My hubby think it's just a lucky guess since she probably can't say "mei mei" (little sister).

Having Valentino is a whole different ballgame from having Vanessa. The only thing in common was the cramps, but even for Vanessa, bed rest and taking the hormone pills worked. For Valentino, it went beyond the bed rest and hormone pills. I had to have jabs every alternate days and it wasn't an easy time for me since i had just changed job too. The cramps only stopped past 12 weeks, and then *sigh*, the migraines and vertigo issues started ... I had to see a neurologist and thankfully, after 4 weeks or so, the problems went again. Even then, I was still sensitive to loud noises and bright lights, which triggered off headaches. Thankfully my BP was OK and is still OK. No swollen legs to date, and no carpal wrists syndrome too. It may helped that I start my pre-natal massage early, once I hit 4 months mark ... right now, I'm trying to have the massage once a week - it helps me to relieve the body aches and to drain the tensions from my body too. Else my shoulders get all frozen up and my legs twitchy, not to mention i get leg cramps too!

Am i excited to meet Valentino in a few weeks time? Yes and No ... I guess I want to meet the one that's been pounding on my tummy from inside out for the past few months (i did mention i felt movements as early as 12 to 14 weeks right?) but I'm also worried how Vanessa will take to Valentino and if I can cope with 2 kiddos ... i'm worried about neglecting either one of them (well Valentino is seriously neglected now!) but ... i'll deal with it when it comes ...

I can't quit my job at this time, but I may well ask to work part-time ... not just for the kids but also for my emotional and mental health ... it's been very stressful at work lately and i'm really drained out ... and I am starting to feel somewhat depressed so it's not a good sign ...

Oh for mother's day, my hubby gave me a herbal spine warmer, which can be heated up in the microwave. That's probably one of the most thoughful gifts he has given to me ... I guess he's tired of having to massage my back!!!! hehe ...

relief and a little break

My new helper came in a few days ago ... We were busy at work so we couldn't pick her up earlier before evening time. Her first job was so clean up my bedroom! and we dash through the chores, since we have to pick up V later at my mum's place. I had to warn her not to be shocked by the state of my place. Now i am glad to say it doesn't look like a pig sty anymore.

Today was on MC, GP said i was prob suffering from fatigue given the stiffness of my neck and shoulder. he was quite funny, he prescribed me "massages. if your hubby can't do it for you, you go and pay someone to do it for you lah". so i did, i went after a nice yummy breakfast at Crystal Jade (i was starving by the time i finished seeing the GP). I walked into this shop and got myself a foot massage and a shoulder rub. i felt so much better! but i had to clear some work when i came back and i managed to get a short nap before i was awakened by calls from the office. *sigh* then it was time to shower and pick up V from CC.

ok more packing and cleaning up tomorrow. I have to get ready for Valentino! time to zzzZzzZz

Green Goo and the other viruses in the air ...

Brought V back to the PD after discussion with the staff since the nose swab shows a particular nasty bacteria breeding away and he wanted to make sure that the tiny red dot at the back of her throat was nothing to be alarmed of (other than that was the 3rd "it may be something to do with HFMD"). I still have some antibiotics at home, unused since we stop giving her the nightly antibiotics feed for the Grade 2 VUR, so it saved me some money, since I could use it.

V came back and she told me "I want to see doctor!" I really think she likes the PD, just that her medical coverage no longer covers the cost of seeing a PD past 2, so the cost of seeing him will go up. I intend to use the same PD for number 2, because this PD is really very good, and he really takes time to explain and listen to our concerns (no matter how ridiculous it may seem).

Anyway a quick update on #2 (let's call him Valentino) before I forget again. The last visit with Valentino at 29 weeks, I gained 200g and he, a whooping 700g. With my craving for durians (once I start eating, I can't stop!!!!), I hope my weight gain would not spiral out of control, and Valentino would still gain weight at the normal track. As it is, I am already having difficulty in walking at times, and all his movements are felt keenly. If he gets much bigger than the normal growth track, I think I will have to lie in bed!!! This said, he's still shy, refusing to let us see his face during the scans.

Now, the other virus that is hot in the news ... what else, the swine flu. Attended a 2 hour meeting this morning with almost 1 hour spent on swine flu. My mgr has it worse, she has to attend twice a day for updates. I'm not sure if it's going to go into Red alert anytime, but Orange alert is scary - although the place where we had dinner was PACKED. I guess no more outings to crowded and air conditioned places, so I better stock up my freezer tomorrow :P I have slightly more reasons to be scared I guess, since I do deal with people who work in the HC industry. I just hope no one does anything stupid or inconsiderate, but you know what, I am not too hopeful, given what some of these parents do even when their kids are down with contagious stuff like HFMD (they bring them out because the kids are bored!). I can only remind V and the hubby to always wash their hands with soap.

my major milestonE

Ya, mine, and probably the main milestone I see I have achieved for the past few weeks.

I actually survived without a domestic helper for almost 1 month!!!!

It's a amazing feat to me, knowing me :P We have managed to keep V clean and bedsheets changed every week. The floor is relatively clean and the toilets too.

Just that the house is in a utter mess, but frankly speaking, I think it's only slightly messier than before my last DH left.

So why is it a milestone to me? Because I feel EMPOWERED! I had expected that I would probably just cry myself to sleep, feel helpless and useless. Vanessa came through much better than me - she's not as difficult to care for than I had expected. No doubt my siblings chip in to help, and it helps a lot since V adores them and does listen to them. At the same time, I wonder if they are spoiling her, but I know I can discipline her without much problem, so that's another big plus to to yours truly! I'm still surviving caring for her at night, although my skin and my eye bags are showing the signs of lack of sleep. I'm learning a few tricks to get her to follow her daddy in the morning (so I can have some time to do my own stuff, shower and change for work) and getting her to sleep is not as hard as it would be. It helps she's more vocal now, so I know what she wants and is trying to say. Best of all, she can be reasoned with since she understands what I am saying. I have also managed to cut her nails in the partial dark (I have night blindness and bad astig, so the combination is really not ideal) and get her to let me clean her nose (she's having really yucky green stuff in her nose) willingly.

I feel more confident as a mother, and I guess, that's the best present a mummy can hope for, other than the "I love you mummy!" (which I was trying to get her to say today heheehhe).

Major milestones ...

to me at least ...

1) V can officially button her own clothes! (Although it's more like 1 button out of the four on the front)

2) V has officially said "sorry" to me without prompting! (she upset the lid that I had put her cup of water on it, spilling the water in the process - I was like "V!!!" she went "sorry!")

3) V can buckle her own shoes (although I never knew it was such a big deal until one of her play school teacher remarked on it)

4) V can take one of my handphones, switches it to camera mode and tells me to "smile!"

5) V can do a simple 5 piece puzzle by herself (a picture of an eggplant). I was busy so I left her with a box of new puzzles which I dismantled for her, came back about 10 to 15 mins later and she was like "baby make! baby make! - she was obviously proud of her achievement, but I think this mummy is even prouder!

5) The other day, I was sitting down when I felt some pangs of pain on my abdomen (I had spent the hour earlier mopping the floor and cleaning the tiolets), so I went "pain pain pain!" and make some groaning noises. She quickly came over and hug my tummy. She said "sayang" and kissed my tummy. Needless to say, I almost cried!

Brought her to see her PD today as she was having this nasty runny nose that would be wet, green and slimy and then dried, green and yucky, plus her eyes were tearing quite a bit. She did her "look I am so cute" routine, and she cooperated with the PD. Needless to say the PD was charmed by her. She then went outside and did the same routine with the ladies outside. It's not surprising whenever I call the clinic and said I am V's mummy, and they will remember which kid's mummy!

Surviving another weekend

We survived another week and weekend without a maid but I had help from my cousin and aunt. They came over to help clean up and iron some of the clothes, so for that I am extremely grateful since I utterly am hopeless at housework. We did our share too, changing the bedsheets and doing the laundry (1 thing that I am undoubtedly good at!). V was in a not so cooperative mood, I think she knows it's Sunday, so it's back to the CC routine tomorrow.

She's out with her daddy now, and I'm taking a short break. I am starting to have difficulty in bending down and squatting, which is required when I'm showering or bathing her. She knows that mummy's temper is getting shorter, especially when she refuses to cooperate when wearing her diapers, but as usual, still testing what limits she can push. The other day I just sternly told her off when she refused her milk (she asked for it), she pretended to select another cushion and quickly laid down on the floor. She finished the bottle of milk too, all 240ml of it. She can chug down 330ml at 1 go and that quite scares me!

I'm relishing the attention she lavishes on me though, especially when she wants to sleep, and she wants me to cuddle her or to cradle her on my lap. it's not easy with my protruding tummy, but we'll make do. She knows that #2 in the tummy, and she will tell my aunts about the baby in my tummy, which I thought was quite cute. Whether she's in her T2s already or not, it doesn't really matter. We are spending time together, and that's what really matters.

Photo Shoot - Celebrating V's 2nd Birthday!

OK, please note I paid $$$$ for the shoot, so this is not some paid advertising by the photographer. If you are interested in the photographer, please go to www.tomato.sg. Their rates and works are published on their website.

Updates updates and updates

1) My chocolate cake and muffins turn out GREAT! I'll be making them in near future, and I definitely want to try new variation, since both worked as great base recipes (then again, how wrong can you get with betty crocker's instant cake mix - just don't try other brands!).

2) V had a HFMD scare - had low grade fever, mild diarrhoea and a blister on her tongue. I was stuck with her at home for 2 days, we can't go out and she can't spend her energy. It was the toughest 2 days I ever had spent with her! Anyway, it was a scare and *phew* she could go back to CC and I returned to work. Needless to say, I was buried at work the moment I returned but thankfully my siblings and cousins were around to entertain her even though I returned late.

3) Amidst all that drama of HFMD, V turned 2! Yup, my sweet princess is now officially into her terrible twos. Just trying to get her diaper-ed and dressed up every morning is a chore, I estimate we spend a good 1 hour coaxing her to get dressed! She's been running a mild grade fever for the past few days, not sure if it's flu (running nose) but I have to watch out for any signs of HFMD since the CC gave out a letter on 9th saying that 2 kids from the CC came down
with HFMD.

4) Spend over 1K at our southern island of our island for a 3D 2 N stay. It went surprisingly well, V took to the room immediately, unlike the way she fussed and wanted out from the other 5 star hotel we spent 1 night on our sunny island. Speaking of sunny, yes, it was sunny, but come 3 to 4pm, the dark clouds loomed and yes, lo and behold, our ever faithful thunderstorms never ceases to amaze us. We did managed to go to the Underwater World on the first day, and exited into this terrible thunderstorm. We were all slightly wet, thanks to the massive crowds and not very effective shelters. We went to the Dolphin Lagoon on the second day (apparently 1 ticket gets us admitted to both underwater world and dolphin lagoon) and I got suckered into paying $15 for an "interactive" session - basically pat the dolphin, smile at the camera and we get 1 photo as souvenir. When we get around to getting a new scanner (my beloved CX5900 epson died on me just after I got 1 whole batch of new inks!), I'll post up a pic, or I'll link if my hubby has any on his blog later :P)

5) In the absence of the helper, I'm now the main caregiver at home. Let just say I'm more "maternal" than ever. I spent a good 30 minutes trying to "dig out" the mucus stuck in her nose (green, prob need to see her PD if it gets worse) and cutting her fingernails. I can't tell you how proud I am of my achievement. Perhaps I should consider working part-time once #2 comes out out, but I think I need to settle my work comittments first. We also decided not to renew the contract of our helper after her 2 year contract has expired for various reasons and we are now looking for a new helper. Wish us luck to finding a good helper who loves V and #2!

6) Last but not least, we went for a photo shoot to "celebrate" V's birthday and it was really really good! I'll post up some of my favourite photos in the next post.

Baking!

It's one of those days that I feel the intense itch to bake ... I have bought Nigella Express almost 1 year ago and I still have not baked anything from the recipes, so I decided "Just do it!"

For the inaugural recipe from Nigella express, it's the banana butterscotch muffin, which of course, as usual I'll tweak the recipe somewhat.

I've melted butter in place of vegetable oil, used chocolate chips in place of butterscotch chips and replaced 50g flour with 50g quick cook oats.

The results? no idea, it's still in the oven and I'm not too hopeful. The mixture was thick and clumpy. I always thought muffin batter/ mixture was much more liquidy than this :P anyway we'll know tomorrow.

Meanwhile, my chocolate banana nutella chocolate cake is done, but it's still cooling away. It's made with Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix, with some changes as usual. Milk replacing water, and melted butter replacing oil (you can tell I really dislike using oil in my baking) and for my own variation, added 3 mashed up bananas, 1 big dollop of nutella into the mix, 1 big dollop of nutella in the middle of the cake with semi sweet chocolate chips, and then topping up with more batter and more chocolate chips. I sure hope it's good :P

Photo (1)

This was taken at the Singapore Zoo last week!

Yet another milestone ...

V is progressing at an astonishing rate ...

Today she uttered the phrase "I want apple" to me, and I was very happy. Just the other day, I was asking her to help me to look for my bag, she went "find mama bag". Today she saw Mr Bean on TV and she went "ah bean!"

She can say "aeroplane sky" but won't say her own name (after all aeroplane and Vanessa are both 3 syllabus words). I guess it's a matter of time ...

We went for a photo shoot today and she was basically "so thrilled" by the photographers she was busy smiling for them (and she doesn't do it for us!). I sure hope she has some great shots so we can print an album for the grandparents to coo at her pictures (she's turning 2 next week).

Terrible Twos?

V is changing her habits like lightning and often I am caught offguard.

1) She now starts her protest from home, refusing to sit in the carseat and crying on the way to CC. She used to start her protest the moment she steps into CC.

2) This morning my hubby dropped her off at the CC, she started clinging on to him, her mouth all downturned ready to start wailing. She did wail as I could hear her cries from outside. When the hubby returned to the car, I asked him and he complained that V did cry, but not for him. She wanted the teacher to carry outside for a walk! *rofl*

3) She is on a milk strike - she only had her usual feed at 7am and throughout the whole day refused milk. She had her nutella bread i packed for her, 2 portions of morning tea and 2 portions of lunch (she asked for more each time she finished her food), then when she reached home at 4pm, wanted rice (she can say 'rice') so they hurriedly cooked for her, she finished 1 and the half bowl of rice. When I came back at 7pm, she was eating again, from my sister's plate (she wiped out 90% of my sister's portion who is a small eater). Then when my hubby came back, she again ate a few spoons of rice from his plate. All this excluding the fact that she already had helpings from her cousins' dinner plate earlier before we reached home. I sure hope she takes her milk tonight! I mean, yes, she drinks quite a fair bit of milk 240ml (8 oz) 4 to 5 times a day but to suddenly drop a few feeds, I am worried if she is getting enough nutrients etc etc etc.

4) She is starting to "streak" again. Last night after I finished bathing her, she refused to put on her clothes and basically streaked in circles around me. *haiz*

Last Trip to the Zoo ...

Well, that's because our family annual membership to the zoo will expire end of the month, and given our schedules, this was the last week we could make it to the Zoo.

My hubby complains about it, that I spend the $$ on the membership, then never go for it, and then make frequent trips at last minute to utilise it. He is just as guilty as me, since he never did quite want to go for any outings on the weekends (he wants to sleep in late till 9 plus). Anyway, we did chalk up enough visits to make it worthwhile, and today, we managed to catch one of the animal feedings. It cost us $23 - $5 for the plate of 4/ 5 sticks of veggies and $18 for the photo they took of us. I am waiting for the hubby to download the pictures so I can convienently link it - I forgot to bring my camera today, or rather I seem to have misplaced it :P

The reason is obvious enough why I'm not renewing the membership (#2 will be popping out in a few months time) but I wonder if V will miss her visits to the zoo. She does complain about the smell, eg when we visit the primates or the zebras, but she seems happy to see the animals (especially when waving bye bye to them). If she does miss her visits to the zoo, then will she blame #2 for it? *sigh* Perhaps I should reconsider when #2 is out.