Biggest Mama of All

I've seen this many times before over the past 12 months, but somehow today, I'm seeing them all in one day! What am I talking about?

Stick-thin mummies!!!!

First, there was this young 20-s mum with her daughter, whom is about the same age as Bryan. She was wearing skin-tight shorts and heels. And mind you, we were at a Kopitiam at Wisma Atria, at 9 in the morning. And here I was, in a billowy out-of-shape fushia skirt with elastic waistband and a white blourse splattered with cereal from Bryan's earlier attempt to self-feed. Not withstanding the fact that my eyebags were so dark and big that I put a panda to shame.

Then later at lunch in Summer Palace, there was a utterly chic mama with not one, but two toddlers. Her hair was long, straight with not a strand out of place. She carried a fashionable tote and sunglasses perched on her head. Vastly improved from the fushia shirt, I was in a polo T and pants (which had a small pumpkin stain from Bryan's lunch) and I carry the usual big, blue Kipling bag stuffed full with baby amenities. My hair? Aside from the colour, it was as dead as it could be.

After an afternoon nap, we popped by The Curve for ice-cream. Needless to say, it was a world of fashionitas mummies who look so darn thin & good. I didn't change from after lunch, by the way, nor from after birth. I'm still lugging around 13 additional kilos.

I hereby present myself with the "Biggest Mama of All" award. Luckily my son doesn't know better :)

Tired Today

Ding Dong - the clock just struck noon. I feel like going back to sleep (especially after that warm shower) but cannot due to various reasons:

1) Got lunch appointment with PILs
2) Blogging (haha - I'm addicted to this!!)
3) Bryan wide awake - somewhere I cannot nap in peace if he's not napping. Weird, right?

Anyway, reason for my being so tired is that Bryan's teething again. I felt his gums yesterday - found out that another upper tooth has cut, which explained his constant drooling the past 2 days, and also felt that his bottom gums are tender. So he woke up crying about 3-4 times last night.

This morning, we brought him for the Chicken Pox vaccination and he slept on the way back from the paeds. I successfully transfered him to the bed and lied down beside him, hoping to snooze as well. But lo and behold!- he woke up just 5mins later.

After lunch, I think I have to come home and nap....now got headache.

Good News for Me

VT delivered a piece of good news to me on Thursday. He's going to be transfered back to the company HQ to head the mechanical design team. That means:

1) No more working on Saturdays, except for the 1st Sat of every month
2) No more hardhats and boots, and talking & acting like PCK
3) Improvement of his 'England' haha
4) MORE TIME WITH THE FAMILY!!!

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!! I am estastic, as you can tell. It's good to have someone around the house to keep an eye on Bryan while I blog (like now!) kekeke. I'm also praying that there will be fewer crazy working hours for him. When he's at site, he sometimes need to work the midnight shifts because they can only carry out work when all the shops close.

I'm glad to have my Phua Chu Kang on Saturdays again :)

Oh, What a Day!

I was supposed to attend an off-site meeting but it got cancelled at the eleventh hour. So I ended up having the day off. Any self-respecting, loving & caring mother would have had picked her son up from the in-laws to spend a day with him.

Please raise your hands if you're guilty of not doing so - {{Both my hands are in the air now}}

I decided to take this golden opportunity to have a full day all to myself, yes, me, myself & I. So what was I up to?

9:30am - 10:30am Grocery shopping at Tesco. Managed to pick up those wonderful RM4.50 pyjamas set for Bryan.

11:00am - 3:00pm Salon visit: got a colour, highlight & spa pedicure. Costs more than I had wanted to pay.

3:00pm - 5:00pm Walked around in Ikano; picked up 2 CDs (Linkin Park and Alanis Morisette). I had wanted to look for those big bibs @ Ikea but couldn't find any.

Now Blogging. Off soon to the pharmacy to get my supply of Buds Baby Lotion before heading over to PIL's for dinner. Bryan is having a bad case of heat rash on his back. Contemplating whether I have enough time to cook up a batch of Maceroni & Cheese first. I think got - so off I go!!

WARNING : Photos Galore

As promised, I'd decided to post photos of Bryan as we watched him grow.....

1 day old



1 month old



At 4 months



At 5 months



At 9 months



No...Bryan didn't become a dog, though he was born in the year of ! This was his 1st birthday cake, aptly reflecting this. The model is his favourite soft toy, which also happened to be a dog.



Bryan - 1 years old

Saturday Soiree

Ok - I lied, it wasn't so much of a soiree than sitting outside the restaurant (full house inside) in the blistering heat, eating what seemingly to be "abnormal" pancakes (sorry, my idea of eating pancakes is with honey & butter!). Anyhow, this day was planned some 6 weeks ahead. I finally met up with Jasmine & Vyktore! It was shame that Faythe was hi-jacked by Jasmine's MIL. Due to Jasmine's busy schedule (*ahem* keke), we only managed to squeeze in a lunch on this Saturday afternoon at The Curve. Vyktore is 10000 gazillion times cuter in person!!!! I had to resist from pinching those cheeks, but managed to ruffle his hair. We spent quite a bit of time chit-chatting and it's quite amazing how I felt that I'd known Jasmine for years! I was completely at ease with her.

Anyway, before you think that I've turned into a scrapping expert, the above scrap was kindly done by Jasmine-the Scrapbooking Queen. Thanks again, Jas! Yes, that's my cheeky boy who is really such a poser and not at all, camera-shy. I know everyone out there probably haven't seen photos of Bryan on this site because his mother is such a lazy bum! Promise to put more effort into it.

I hope to meet more of fellow mummy & daddy bloggers. Perhaps we could arrange a huge, kick-a** meeting soon? Anyone else enthusiastic?

P/S: Sharine, you must travel to KL and meet us all!! I'm dying to meet you & En En lar............

Quick One

This is just a quick posting as it's past 10:30pm and I've got to catch a 8am flight to Singapore tomorrow for work. VT already bugging me to sleep but what the heck, couldn't resist blogging since Bryan fell asleep on the way home (else I would have had to spend half-an-hour rolling around in bed with him).

Thanks to Sharine for awarding me with the award - so pai seh lah.....like you said, it's so weird how we've never met each other but yet I feel like we've known each other for a long time. So uncanny! This Saturday, I'm meeting up with Jasmine (finally!) so will blog about our meeting after that. Hopefully she brings her canggih camera kekeke.

Like I said, short posting here just to say "hello" to all my blogging friends. Life would be so boring with you all!! {{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}

Tag: Magic Carpet Flying Ride

***Start Copying Here***

Rules:1. Write a short paragraph about your visit by the two Genies and include a link to the blog that passed on the Genie Symbol to you.
2. COPY the Rules and ENTIRE List below and post it on your blog.
3. List down your wish.
4. Place your name below the last name on the list and pass on the Genie Symbol to at least 5 other bloggers.
5. Please put up either one (or both) of the Symbols of the Genies on your blog to show that the Genies have visited your blog:

Genie Princess
Genie King

The Genie King, the Genie Princess and their trusty Genie Buddy have visited:
Mariuca would like to wish for happiness and success.
Adrian would like to wish for good health and happiness.
Emila would like to wish for happiness and success.
Trinity would like to wish good health for Jan’s brother and
Yah and Wan and success.
MPG would like to wish for love and peace.
Jean would like to wish for stress free work environment and happiness.
Cbenc12 would like to wish for health, happiness and luck for my family and friends and me too!
Paris Beaverbanks would like to wish for more publicity! Hooyah! (taps swollen head)
Giddy Tiger would like to wish for longer weekends and never-ending holidays!
Shooi would like to wish for peace on earth, love, good health and happiness.
Chinnee would like to wish for happiness and good health forever!
Hui Sia would like to wish for love, health, wealth and happiness.
Chew Lee would like to wish hubby for a successful business venture in Singapore.
Anggie would like to wish for dream and wish come true.
Slavemom would like to wish for happiness and good health for her loved ones (and of coz for herself too!)
Wen would like to wish for happiness and health for herself and her family.
Bryan's Mama would like to wish for health, love & happiness for everyone

Welcome aboard the Magical Flying Carpet for the Ride of your Life!
Alakazam!
So make your wishes now;

Sharine
Sasha

Claims Refuted!

Since Bryan was born, most of the people whom have seen Bryan, says that he looks more like VT. Not like I have a problem with that (as long as he has my brains har har!), but when I chanced upon the myHeritage.com website, I for sure wasn't the one to resist.

The results? Here it is, ladies & gentlemen:

I Need A Holiday After A Holiday

The three of us just spent a weekend at Port Dickson. It was really good fun - away from the hustle & bustle of the city, massive car & human traffic jam in 1-Utama/ the Curve, idling around. Of course, it also meant we were taking care of Bryan 24/7 which proved to be quite challenging particularly for me. Since he was 5-6 mos, he developed this incredible need to be joined at my hip. I thought my being away on business trips would help ease some of those "stickiness" but lo & behold, my plan back-fired! He's now stuck to both my hips & waist!! Anyway, I ended up having to carry him around the resort a bit plus he is still down with a runny nose & cough. So he was particularly clingy & whiny.

Which brings me to the title of this post - I feel quite exhausted after the holiday. I reckon it was also contributed by the fact that I had only returned home the previous night at 10pm and 12 hours later, we were in the car headed south on the NKVE.

Nonetheless, we did find out a few things about our little one during this short trip:

(1) He hates the sand & sea combo
(2) Ditto to scrambled eggs
(3) Loves swimming....but we knew that already since his first encounter with chlorine at 7mos.
(4) Loves running around the room naked. Somehow he doesn't get to do this at home - dunno why.
(5) Sleeps very well in a strange bed (!!!)

We took some photos and videos - will attempt to post them onto the blog very soon.

*Sigh* back to work tomorrow and again to Singapore on Thursday.......cest lah vie'!

Tag: 8 Random Facts About My Mum

Got this tag from Sharine - thanks! Somehow I enjoy doing tags (provided I have the time, and I do now cos VT putting Bryan to bed) mainly because I am an out-going person who enjoys sharing and more importantly, talking. But I digress.....back to the tag!

1) My mum is my best friend. She used to be quite strict and fierce when we were younger but has since calmed & mellowed down over the years. She has a very symphatetic ear and even if you scr*w up, she has some comforting words for you. I can tell her almost anything and I love spoiling her in return!

2) My mum is a great cook. As a result, I grew up with a discerning taste for food, particularly chinese food. She has a knack of tasting good food once, say in a restaurant, and able to re-produce the same dish at home - sometimes it taste better!

3) My mum is definitely not IT-savvy. When I was in uni, I recall receiving an email from her which didn't have full-stops, commas or paragraphing. I think it took me 15mins to decipher what she was trying to tell me! Needless to say, after feedback from me, she reverted to the good ol' aerograms.

4) My mum is the shortest in the family. No one is super-tall in my family (besides VT) so I suppose she doesn't feel so bad. I'm short too, by the way but still taller than her ha ha ha

5) My mum hardly believes in superstitions surrounding post-childbirth, ie I could shower & wash my hair everyday during my confinement period, and even go out. But she did cook lots of nourishing food for me to regain my strength.

6) My mum used to be a crossword-addict. She would spend hours at the desk with a thesaurus and her crossword puzzle. I'd noticed that she stopped indulging herself since she started caring for my niece.

7) My mum taught me one important lesson, which was to ask. So if you don't know, ask - afterall, it is free!!

8) My mum is MY mum, and no one can replace her - I supposed that's what makes all mums (including ourselves!) special!

I Am Whoozy

If there was something that I really dislike doing, it is flying in a plane. Now, I am what most people would term as "chicken sh*t" as my sense of balance is really poor so I get motion sickness extremely easily. I stay clear of coller-coasters, swaying bridges, boats of any forms, shapes & sizes and where possible, aeroplanes. I'd just returned from Singapore less than an hour ago. I'm still feeling giddy! When I flew in to Singers in the morning, I had a dull headache the whole day. I should really get my ears checked-out but don't think that would had made a difference had I aspired to be a pilot/air stewardess (of course with the latter, I would have lacked the height and the demure-ness as well!).

The most extreme case had to be when I stepped on a chair to change a light bulb....I think I almost passed out!! Oh, I forget to tell you that I am afraid of heights too :)

Tag: Charity for Orphanage

Found the tag Wen! Sorry, missed the end Aug deadline but thought I do the tag anyway just for fun!

1. A person is only as good as ………what he/she says
2. Friendship is always ……precious & rare
3. To love is to………..expect nothing in return
4. Money makes me…….. itch to buy things that I don't need
5. I miss …………… sleep
6. My way of saying I care is by …………lending a listening ear
7. I try to spread love and happiness by……………being a better person myself
8. Pick the flowers when…….they can be given to someone to make them happy
9. To love someone is to………….forgive their shortcomings
10. Beauty is …………..within everyone
11. When I was thirteen, what I remember….. was not having a care in the world
12. When I was twenty one, I remember……..my frst job
13. I am most happy when ………my family is with me
14. Nothing makes me happier than ………….seeing my hubs & son happy
15. If I can change one thing, I will change……….the emphasis on being thin!
16. If smiles were banned……. the world would be a dull place
17. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could…… stop & smell the roses everyday
18. If you want to ask me to smile while taking my picture….. tell me a crude joke
19. Money is not everything but……. you still need it for the rainy days
20. The most touching moments I have experienced is…... hubs proposed on bended knee
21. I smile when…….I'm happy
22. When I am happy, I…...smile!
23. If only I don’t have to….wake up in the middle of the night , then…. I would be a much saner person
24. The best thing I did yesterday was…..spending time with my best friend, just the 2 of us
25. If I ever write a book, I will give it this title……. "What Not to Say to Offend People"
26. One thing I must do before I die is…… make a difference in one person's life
27. Doing this memo, I feel like …life is much more than work, money and pride

Of Aching Thighs & Sun-burned Arms

Swell that I get to blog on a Sunday evening. Typically this will not be a blogging time for me since the little prince dropped his PM nap during weekends. I'd just returned from a 2D/1N company offsite trip to Melaka. It was 0% work and 100% fun. Went there on early morning Saturday and just back. It was tiring but enjoyable as I haven't had any physical activity in a longgggggggggg time. Which brings me to the title of this posting. Over the course of 1.5 days, we had to participate in these activities -

(1) Paintball
(2) Bowling
(3) Obstacle course, which involve (a) swinging on a pendulum-like rope over water, (b) crawl commando style, monkey bars (over water of course!), (c) climb over a 6ft concrete wall, (d) run across shaky planks (you guessed right - over water!)
(4) Team builing games, which involve (a) forming a human pyramid to reach a whistle tied up high from a tree & blowing it without using your hands, (b) playing volleyball using pillow cases!
(5) Fancy dress party at night

How not to feel tired right? Friday night was a pretty rough night for me with the boy so I had only 3-4 hours of sleep. Somemore have to do all those stuff - wahhh...really Supermum !! I am going to suggest going for spa for the next offsite LOL!

Should I Be Frustrated ?

I don't know how many mothers/fathers are out there with a toddler, who has never experienced one night of at least 5-6 hours of sleep continuous. If you've not, congratulations; if you have, join the club!

I think I have whinged & whined many times about how poor a sleeper Bryan is since the day he was born (Day 2 to be precise - Day 1, I think he was still drugged with the epidural that I was on LOL). I thought the days (or nights) of restless sleep will be over by the time he turned 6 months. The 6 month milestone came and went....then I told myself, maybe it will change overnight so let's wait till he's a year old. Now, THAT came and went as well, and guess what? This mummy (& daddy) is still not getting a full night's worth of sleep! The little fella (who has comfortably taken his place in our bed) wakes up 3-4 times a night, crying but with his eyes closed. It takes me 5 seconds to pat him back to dreamland, but Mummy is wide awake for the next hour. I'd asked many other parents and these are the feedback that I'd obtained:

(1) He's over-stimulated during the day so he has nightmares - maybe, but EVERYNIGHT???
(2) He's hungry - I really doubt this one as he fueles up pretty well before going to bed
(3) He's a light-sleeper so he wakes up when he wee-wees - Doubt this one too because he's ok with naps & I'm sure he wee-wees then as well
(4) It's habitual - BINGO?

Anyway, as I fell ill with fever & sore throat 2 days ago, dear VT asked me to sleep on the spare bed in his study so that I could get complete rest at night, which I had been. Let me tell you - it feels so so so good to be able to snooze the night through. I wake up earlier than usual because I had my good share of zzzzzz. I had come to be point of being so tired & frustrated about this that it was affecting my mood. But perhaps other parents go through this and not b*tch about it as much as I do?

So Mummies & Daddies, what do ya think?

Observations of Hanoi

I had always wanted to pen down my thoughts about Hanoi, Vietnam as it is such a quaint and lovely city.

My first visit to Hanoi was probably 5 years ago before I was married. I'm responsible for the operations in Vietnam so I try to make one trip there annually. And I had been, save for the year that I was preggers.

Hanoi steeps in culture & history, and natural beauty (if you ever visit Hanoi, you MUST go to Halong Bay - a UNESCO Heritage site). But I'll leave those with travel guides and instead, focus on my own observations of the city.

(1) Hanoi-ans LOVE their horns. In fact, I think they are a bit obsessive about its use. From the moment you wake up, you would be able to hear honking from the street about 20 stories below. However, they use the horns as warning, rather than as a sign of anger. I was told this joke recently of how if the brakes and horn were broken, Hanoi-ans rather get the horn fixed first!

(2) There is "free preaching" every Sunday. Yup, as a capitalist state with heavy influences of Communism, the public PA system disseminates doctrines every Sunday morning.

(3) Food in Hanoi goes so much more than spring rolls (Nem) and beef noodles (Pho Bo). Northern Vietnamese cuisine is simply superb, though you must like fish sauce as it is often used in replacement for soya sauce. I would recommend this restaurant called "Wild Rice" - I never fail to pay a visit each time I'm there. The best thing is that food is relatively cheap in Hanoi. Other must try are fried fish with dill (cha ga) and grilled pork with noodles (bun cha).

(4) Commas are used, replacing full stops in numbers. So if it's 16.5, it would be written as 16,5. I don't know the reason.

(5) People are genuinely nice and keen to find out more about you & your own culture. So don't be offended if they ask you what we view as personal questions, like the forbidden "How old are you?". That's their way of simply getting to know you.

(6) There's a huge population of motorcycles on the roads in Hanoi. So to cross the street safely, just close your eyes and walk forward. The cyclists will know how to avoid you!

Where's the Tag?

I had a message from Wen to tell me that I've been tagged. But I was unable to locate it. I really think I'm the biggest technology-dufus that you can find around.

For example, we bought a videocam to be able to capture moments from Bryan's 1st and until today, I don't know how to work it. I used to sit down, read the manual and figure things out on my own but since Bryan's arrival, I think I've become very lazy - whenever I have some free time, I would either catch up on reading Reader's Digest or take 40 winks. If someone asked me what I wished for, it is MORE TIME!!

Tag: SAHM vs FTWM

Time to get started on all my "homework" - I owe this one to Sharine.

Well, it took me a grand 2 seconds to decide on which I prefer - definitely being a FTWM. WHY?

(1) I get to sit down for proper lunches and have some time for myself (selfish, I know, but it keeps me sane). It's the only time when I get to focus on "Me".

(2) Like what Sharine mentioned, I can spend my own earnings however I wish to. I love to be able to spend money on pediacures & massages.

(3) It gives me a better perspective of the world - I find that my whole world revolves around Bryan's timetable during weekends when I care for him 24/7. My perspective of things which are important to me get somewhat, blurred.

I think I'm supposed to continue with the tag but sorry, I haven't made that many online friends yet and the ones whom I know would have done this tag. Anyway, here's the list of responses so far:

List:
1. Immomsdaughter prefers to be a SAHM
2. Miche prefers to be a SAHM too.
3. SYH prefers to be a PTWM.
4. Shoppingmum is definitely a SAHM material.
5. WMD definitely prefers FTWM
6. Milkmaid prefers to be a FTWM
7. Shannon can’t decide, and want the best of both
8. Malaika's mummy prefers to be a PTWM.
9. Sharine prefers to be PTWM
10. Bryan's Mama prefers to be FTWM

Back for Good

The home PC is finally reparied and I'm back in the game! Thanks to those who continued visiting my site filled with stale goods - I promise you that I'll update my blog more regularly.

So what happened betwen my last posting & today?

(1) We celebrated Bryan's 1st birthday (just a lunch with family & close friends)
(2) I went on my annual trip to Hanoi (for work lah)
(3) Been close to falling ill at least twice

Speaking of falling ill, I took some time off this morning to take my maid for her annual medical examination. I had a whole long list of stuff that I wanted to do at the same time eg. take shoe to cobbler, pack my bags for the company team-building offsite this weekend. Anyway, while we were waiting for an insanely long time for the doc, I started feeling feverish & the body was aching - sypmtoms of THE FLU!!! The moment I got home, I called in sick, popped paracetomal and had a snooze from 11am- now (4pm). I feel much better now. But needless to say, I haven't got anything done today. Then the temptation of sitting in front of the computer, like now..........

I have been feeling poorly latetly. I suspect it's due to demanding pressures at work, and partly at home. VT has been working 7-days a week and late during weekdays for the past 2 months. So that means I have to get bback o my in-laws, have dinner (but before I can do that, I have to put aside dishes for both VT & the maid, and keep my little Prince happy with an endless suppy of Cherios), take Bryan home, put him to sleep, prepare breakfast for the next morning & take my shower. Sounds easy? Not to me. Do you reckon that I'm just a whinger who can't take some hard work?