Roles Rules

Everybody has a role to play in Baby Justin's daily life.

The Daddy:

- The official chauffeur

- The official photographer

- The diaper changing assistant

- Greets him good moring with his favourite cot mobil animals

- Carries him to and from the car in the mornings

The Gong Gong:

- Carries him up four flights of stairs if I have more than one bag to handle

- Makes funny animal noises which sounds to me like a cross between a monkey and a chicken

- Carries him outside to appreciate his pots of flowers along the corridor

- Sings him nursery songs that I have never heard of in my entire life

The Po Po:

- Takes turns with me to bathe him

- Attempts to make him nap in the afternoons with pretty low success rate so far

- Burps him which I have very little patience for

- Makes milk & feed him

- Entertains him constantly with little animal softtoys

The Uncle:

- Knocks off in the evening and sings boring army songs to soothe him when no one else seems to be bothered by his crying ( I once dozed off listening to him)

The Ye Ye:

- Welcomes him home every night with some Chinese New Year songs

- Chats with him in the rocking chair while we have our dinner

The Ma Ma:

- Makes milk & feed him (usually outsourced by The Daddy) if I am still having dinner or showering

- Attempts to make him sleep for the first round at night

- Bathes him on Sundays

The Mummy:

- The official milk supplier

- The official jukebox

- Oversees milk & diapers supplies in both households

- Kisses him every morning when he wakes up

- Continues with the morning greetings of his cot mobil animals while The Daddy changes into his working clothes

- Takes on any of the above when anyone decides to take a day off

And thanks to everyone playing their roles so well.... I am still sane and enjoying every bit of motherhood :)

Tissue Paper Episode

We found a table at R-Burger Orchard ION and sat down with our food. Someone left behind a packet of crumpled and used tissue which we conveniently dumped into a used tray on the next table.

Along came a young girl, stopped at our table and asked: "Er... I had a packet of tissue here?"

The Man said pointing to the used tray behind us:" Oh, we thought it did not belong to anyone and threw it away."

For someone to actually leave and yet turn back to the eatery for her tissue, she must be in need of some tissue badly. I then reached for my bag and was about to offer her my tissue if she didn't mind when I saw her friend behind her with a tray of freshly bought food.

Ooooo.... Enlightened. That pathetic looking packet of tissue was meant to "chop" the seat!

They then moved away to another table at a corner. (Not after she picked up her packet of tissue from the used tray).

Well, you can't blame us can you? I thought this only happens in hawker centre or foodcourt.

If you really have no choice but to use this "chop-a-seat-" tactic with tissue paper, PLEASE PLEASE use a newer , cleaner and uncrumpled packet. The chance of you getting the seat is much higher... trust me.

Birds of A Feather Flock Together

An interesting but disgusting sight. First the crows tore up a garbage bag of waste food. Then the mynahs, pigeons and even the hens & chickens joined in the fun.

Not All Help Is Welcomed

Just came across this piece of news about how a lady jumped to her death after attending a self-help course. Very unfortunate and ironic I must say. Aren't such courses supposed to help regain confidence, find yourself, be a better person blah blah blah? Who would have thought that such positive intentions can lead to death.

Is this just an isolated case where the course is too intense and uncertified? That plus the fact that people who choose to attend such courses generally are in a relatively more vulnerable or confused state of mind anyway? I definitely hope so, given the proliferation of such courses/talks.

I always wonder if such courses really can change a person's life or outlook. Perhaps without the intensity (which in this case resulted in a freak disaster which could have been avoided), they just cannot get to peoples' mind.

How about books or other literature of such kind then? Are they safer but maybe not as effective? While browsing in a book store the other day, I couldn't help but notice there was an entire shelf or maybe two dedicated to self help books.

If you ask me, there is always the kind of help that doesn't burn a hole in the pocket and is totally safe... family and friends.
(Disclaimer: Ok, it depends on the the kind you have!)

More of it at:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20091208/tap-as-australia-the-turning-point-79704af.html

Wardrobe Crisis

I am having the worst wardrobe crisis ever.

I never realised how serious it is until that day when I finally governed up enough courage to try on my pre-pregnancy clothes which I had painstakingly kept organised neatly in my wardrobe when I shifted house (come to think about it, I shouldn't have bothered)

To illustrate the extent of how disastrous it is... imagine not being able to pull up my pants past my mid thigh! And not only do the buttons & the holes on my shirt not meet, they are a good three inches apart! And yes, I was already holding my breath while trying them on.

I guess before that I have been in denial, hoping that I would fit right back in them "one day" (now this "one day" seems too bleak to be in this lifetime).
Now it is time to bid farewell to all my beloved clothes and they will soon be heading for cartons or other people's wardrobes. Sigh, their destiny it shall be...

As the chinese saying goes: "Old ones don't go away, New ones wouldn't come!"
So just the other day, I indulged in a short yet intensive shopping trip with XH (short because we both needed to rush back to breastfeed before we explode, intensive because we both recognised that shopping to replace an existing wardrobe is serious business :-)) Like how XH put it... we must have tried on like a zillion skirts in Zara for that 2 hours.
Though it was fruitful since we both went home with a few good items, the fact they were at least 2 sizes up my original can only be summed up in one word...Depressing!

Executive Decisions

XH and myself were joking over tea about how we have to constantly make several "executive decisions" on a daily basis these days... more so than when we were working :)

Examples of such tough calls:

"Let me see... should it be 60ml or 90ml this time?"

"Now that the baby falls asleep at the breast, should I burp him now and risk waking him up to another round of non-stop screaming or leave him as he is?"

"Not again! Here comes the stinky poo... should I change his diaper now or hold on for a while more in case he is not done yet?"

"Mmm... he looks so sound asleep... should I wake him up for an overdue feed or allow myself a few more moments of peace and quiet?"

"Aiyo... making noise again! Should I go carry and pacify him or let him learn how to soothe by himself?"

And no matter what we decide on today, it might just turn out differently tomorrow...

Thanks anyway :(

How do you know for sure that you haven't lost all those pregnancy fats?

Simple. When someone offers you a seat in the MRT!
Yes, that was what happened to me a few hours ago.

I stared blankly with a puzzled look when her gestured at the empty seat.

Kind ang mo lady: Opps sorry... I wasn't sure and I couldn't tell.

Me (smiling outside, cursing inside) : It is okay, actually I have just given birth.

Kind ang mo lady: Oh I see, maybe you should still sit then.

Me (laughing): In fact, all the more I should stand to burn away those fats! Thanks anyway :)

And boy was I glad that the next stop was mine.

Who should survive?

Yes, we are both suckers of "end-of-the world" sort of hollywood blockbusters. So, 2012 was a movie which we wouldn't miss.

Like the countless other doomsday epic movies, America once again saved the world from total destruction and devoted father (usually divorced) emerged as the hero who saved the day. The plot sounds all too familiar to us movie buffs right?

If you have not watched this movie and intend to, perhaps you should stop reading here in case the rest of this entry turn out to be a spoiler for you :P

This movie got me thinking if the real world does react and operate in the same manner if we are really faced with such threats of a total wipe out. What if in order to ensure continuity of the human species and civilization, we can only select and save 400,000 in this world due to limited resources and time? And not to forget our dear animal friends and important historical relics of mankind (in the movie, we did see giraffes and elepahants being hauled and The Mona Lisa being preserved).

If so, then how can you and I, who have close to zero chance of being saved, increase our odds of being selected to live?

Here is what I have learnt from the movie:

- Be a billionaire and pay 1 billion euro to buy yourself a seat
- If you see no hope of becoming a billionaire no matter how much Toto you have bought in your entire life, then you have better be some famous scientist or doctor. Not just a mediocre one but someone who makes alarming discoveries and contributes to mankind.
- If that is still too tough, then marry one. I mean the billionaire.
- Alternnatively, work for the white house.
- But not the US president. You might have to make a sacrificial decision of staying behind with your fellow citizens to proof that you are a good leader.
- Learn how to fly a plane and get a license. And just because you proof to be more useful in situations like that, you will live slightly longer than the rest of us. Afterall, both pilots in the movie did not survive eventually.
- Be a citizen of one of the G8 countries. I did not think any Singaporean was part of the 400,000. (though I believe one of the actor is a Singaporean)

Nonsense aside, which is a better way to select the survivors if you are the one to decide?
A) Select the elites from every field/arena who can best contribute to the continuity of human race
or
B) Draw lots so that every human being is given a fair chance of survival.

Well, maybe an ark is well on its way of being built as we sit pondering over this question :)

Good Night No More

It is now 4:35 am.

While my heavy eyelids are telling me to get some sleep, the rest of my body simply refuse to co-operate, with the main culprit being the brain.

Other than that, the rest of tonight has been progressing quite typically so far.

Typical is briefly defined as follows ever since the grand arrival of Junior.

Needless to say, the 2 to 3 hourly feeding is enough to drive any sleep-deprived mother insane. On top of that, I am usually treated to the "Tang Symphony No.9" with Junior whining or wailing on my left and The Man snoring on my right. Not sure if it is in D minor or C major but it does vary a little from time to time. I must say they do a pretty good job synchronising without a conductor.

The feeding can sometimes be tranquil with both Junior and myself dozing and nodding off to dreamland unconsciously for a few seconds only to realise we have unfinished business on hand.

At other times, feeding can get into an intense physical and verbal battle with Junior's knees and elbows all over my bruised body while I struggle to adjust myself to yet another awkward position which I would later regret.

As if that is not enough, there is also the occasional pooping event. Junior somehow prefers to do his mega poop during the night before, during or after his feed. In fact, "prefers" is an understatement because I believe to a certain extent it is some sort of conspiracy especially when it is followed by pee or even more poop while a new diaper is still being put on. Trust me, the sight of his whole bum smeared with **** and watching the live action of more **** flowing out like a fountain is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

So these days when The Man and I wish each other Good Night at bedtime, it no longer holds the same meaning as before. I think a more appropriate thing to say would be Good Luck.

It is now almost 5am.

By now, my brain is finally convinced that some sleep, however little, is required before Part II begins... let me see... in about an hour's time maybe.

My Three Motherhood Helplines

Forget about those 1800 numbers or those never ending lists of motherhood web forums. Who needs them anyway when I have 3 great friends who are just a phone call or sms away for real-time advice and references.

Firstly there is Justin's Godma. Having three kids of her own, she is able to share with me her valuable experiences and perspectives to what works for the different situations encountered, which brands are better, what are the more essential items to prepare in larger quantities and what are the items that might just end up as white elephants. Beyond that, I also look upon her as a source of motivation, whose energy level I can draw upon. If she can juggle three young kids with a demanding job, I should have no excuse with just one, especially given the kind of help I have around me.

Of course there is my good old friend XH, whose baby Claire is just 2 weeks older than baby Justin (who also suffered in the same labour ward and rested just a few maternity ward away). Never did we imagine eighteen years back when we were seated in the same classroom that we would go through pregnancy and motherhood together! As our juniors are just 2 weeks apart, it always feels reassuring to seek reference and compare notes with each other throughout our pregnancy days and now, our baby's development and our "confinement woes".

Then there is BC, the walking encyclopaedia. It is truly amazing how much she knows and she is like this huge knowledge database that can be tapped on for anything from A to Z. Being an extremely warm and helpful person as she is, I have been at the beneficial end of receiving all sorts of tips, "do"s and "don't"s as well as useful advices since the start of pregnancy till now.

I would have been running around like a headless chicken without all the precious lessons learnt from these three amazing young mommies.

I Loved You Before I Met You

The overwhelming euphoria was indescribable.

At that moment, nothing else mattered.

Welcome to this world, my dear Justin!

I just want to let you know...

Thank you for being such great companionship for the past 10 months.

Thank you for struggling together with me throughout the 42 hours of labour pain.

And most of all... I loved you even before I met you.

MINI Road Show

Happened to come across a MINI roadshow while roaming half-aimlessly along Orchard Rd and couldn't resist joining one of the many others snapping away.... I mean how can I :)

The Man and I always have this silly habit of going "MINI!" at a few pitches higher than our usual voice whenever either one of us spots a MINI on the road while driving. What follows usually is a "Where?" from the other person. This will then usually turn into a conversation about how did the driver look like, was that a cool or lousy choice of colour, will I re-spray mine to that colour, any special touches done to that MINI etc... ya I know it sounds totally "bo liao" but come on... what more meaningful conversations can you have in the car :P

Anyway, coming back to the road show... here are some shots:

Just look at how gigantic I looked beside this classic! It is like me in Tiny Toons Land! Btw, there was a cute Mr Bean bear hanging inside the car.

Opening the Clubman's door felt like opening up a fridge...

Wish I own these cool looking posters...

Financial Acumen or Pure Dishonesty

I was at Burger King enjoying my mushroom swiss when 3 school boys (think maybe Sec 1) came in and sat down with the woman right at the next table. Apparently, she was one of the boys' mum.

She offered to treat them to lunch and the boys were rather shy and hesitant to accept her offer at first but soon afterwards, they relented. As the "mum" was ordering and waiting for their set meals at the counter, I guess the 2 boys felt bad and took out money from their wallet respectively and passed it to the "son" who then grinned from ear to ear and kept the money in his own wallet sheepishly.

My curiosity (aka KPO-ness) made me stayed around long enough to finish watching the episode. Throughout the meal, the "son" did not mention anything about the payment from his friends nor did the friends. So it was obvious that the "son" pocketed that extra few dollars undetected.

Although it was just a few dollars and perhaps he will come clean with his "mum" when he went home that day but at that very moment... I thought to myself... what if 10, 20 years later this same boy pull the same stunt but in a much larger scale and not to his "mum" but to his own company...

Up went the balloons, Down came the tears

I can't remember the last time I cried at a movie, let alone a cartoon. And I mean really cry, the sort that leaves eyes red and swollen, the sort that is uncontrollable like a spoilt tap, the sort that ends up with a heap of tissue papers.

After exposing my junior to transforming robots and magic spells recently, I thought an innocent cartoon like "UP" would be a nice change. I walked into the theatre expecting a good hearty laugh, like the experiences I had with that of "ICE AGE" and "MONSTER INC".

So I couldn't believe it when I ended up crying through the first part of the movie before the real adventure even started... in fact, I had tears flowing whenever that background music was playing, whenever the camera zoomed in on the Adventure Book and whenever Me Frederickson stared blankly at his house or his wife's photos.

As I walked out of the theatre at the end of the movie, I was still tearing. And just when I thought that was the end of a teary evening, my eyes swelled up again on my way home just by the mentioning one of the scenes. The one which Mr Frederick flipped the adventure book for the last time and saw his wife's farewell note to him, thanking him for the extraordinary adventure he had given her all those years and asking him that it was time that he seek his own.

It must be the most touching and beautiful cartoon I have ever watched but then again, it may be just my preggy hormones taking over and playing tricks on me.

Adieus Eden

This post should have been up on the night before the move but we totally over-estimated what we could achieve over the last 2 days before the move.

So the night before the move, we were still struggling with the last batch of laundry, squeezing the last bit of stuff into whatever holes we managed to create in the already bursting boxes and finally sealing them before going to bed exhausted.

Being preggy, I was of no value and could only get in the way during the move so first thing in the morning, I made myself scarce by soaking in a lengthy brekky downstairs, reading every line published on the Straits Times and going for a full hair cut with wash & blow (when what I really needed was just a 5 min trim of my fringe).

Periodically, I would sms The Man to monitor the progress, anxious to know if everything went smoothly. Then came an unexpected hiccup... somehow, our humongous sofa could not pass through the main door (even though it has been dismantled into 2 separate pieces)! So, the movers had no choice but to leave it outside at the corridor.

My father-in-law wouldn't give up as he adored the piece and has even gotten rid of his old sofa so as to welcome this giant.

Ingeniously, he sawed the wooden legs apart... pushed it through into the house with the help of The Man... and then fixed the legs back again perfectly once it was in the house. This activity alone took up the entire afternoon as it was no easy feat at all!

Then, last night came another hiccup, less dramatic by comparison though. After discarding yet another round of my clothes in the afternoon (already discarded one round before the move), I finally managed to squeeze all my working clothes into the new wardrobe, satisfied with my achievement for the day. Just before retiring to bed after another back-breaking day, the hanging bar in the new wardrobe decided to give way! Too much clothes... overloaded... my father-in-law diagnosed. I could only curse.

Other than that, everything else seemed to work out... so far so good!

Next thing would be to get all those bulky items that don't fit into this house into storage and of course... continue with the never ending unpacking by the next few days! This will be our little nest for the next 3 years so no effort shall be spared to make it nice & comfortable :)

Last LaLaLa Lesson

I just had my last vocal lesson before I go pop my junior.  Why call it LaLaLa?  At least that is what I saved as my weekly appointment in my hand phone's calendar.  

It all happened one fine day early this year when The Man came home with a piece of paper and shoved it into my face.

"Look! I have signed you up for vocal lessons :)"

"You what?  Hey, doesn't mean that you are having your mid-life crisis and start learning piano, I also need to go learn something mah..."

"Trust me, you will like it"

And he was right.   

Although it is only an hour weekly, it falls on a weekday and back then, I was worried that I may end up skipping more lessons than attend them due to the hectic and unexpected work schedule. However, the thing is I found out I was pregnant just before the lessons commenced... all the better... since I started my LOA by then and had all the time in the world.

Then came another worry... can pregnant women do vocal trainings?

Innocently, I posted the question to my Gynae.

For a moment, he looked stunned and then chuckled.

"You know what... in all my years of being a gynae, this is the first time I am asked this question!  I get lots of questions like can I do yoga... can I travel etc but not this!"

He paused for another moment in deep thoughts.

"Well, it is mostly about breathing techniques right?"

I nodded.

"And you do enjoy it right?"

I nodded again.

"Well... guess there shouldn't be any problem then!  Maybe you can be my first patient who sings during delivery :)"

I took that as a joke of course.

That was moons ago... and thinking back, I enjoyed the lessons and did it make me a better singer?  Well... perhaps not but it did expose me to different ways to treating a song, sight reading and also understand my own range and tone better.

To sum it up, I will do this over karaoke anytime :)

"Lelong Lelong"

The past weeks saw my first attempt at selling on ebay.  I have always wanted to try doing so just for the fun of it but never felt so compelled to do so until now due to the move.

There are just items around the house which somehow fall into the category of "To Be Sold":

• Items which we adore but are too huge and irrelevant for the next 3 years (hope the new owners will treat them with TLC like we did)
• Items which are just not suitable or have no value-add for the Salvation Army
• Items which are in perfect working condition but we have duplicates or newer versions (I still can't believe we found 3 extra keyboards in the house other than those already connected to the 2 machines we have)

Turned out that it can be a lot of work putting up these items for sale and to follow through (unless you do a really sloppy job) but it was pretty fun and it sure opened my eyes to some ebay buying behaviours:

• Some interested buyers love engaging in lengthy and detailed Q&A (i.e. very kiasi mentality)
• Some interested buyers are really shrewd at bargaining (must learn from them)
• Some interested buyers really don't mind going through a lot of trouble just to get what they want (eg travelling cross country just to view or buy a small item)
• In general, most people are just nice folks...

So far, I have my fair share of successes and failures in this little venture and I was casually updating The Man about it:

Me: So far, we have gotten $XXX for the items but we still have a lot of items to get rid of leh.  Shall I collect all the earnings first and then deposit them back in the joint account?

(Ehem... I approached this venture in a very democratic manner)

The Man: AIya, no need lah... just keep all the $$ from whatever you manage to sell.

Me: Really uh? You mean like doing this for my own pocket money since I am income-less for the moment?

The Man: Ya ya ya... 

Suddenly, it seemed like a lot more items around the house should make their appearances on ebay... hahaha... so much for democracy!

15-course Dinner... Anyone?

After a previously failed attempt to try out 7atenine, we finally made it last night and the famous "Dinner Unlimited"  not only satisfied our curiosity but was also a gastronomically gratifying experience.  In essence, you pay a fixed price in return for a 15-course dinner prepared by the chef on the spot and without any menu, the diners just have to sit back, relax and wait for the show to begin.

There was an interesting combination of tapas, main course and desserts.  Enjoy the visual treats below ;-)

Tuna sashimi with whipped cream

A jar of salad vegetables

Beef rolls on hot stones (I watched them literally cook on the stones)

pan seared scallops (tasted a bit raw though)

Ravioli (we agreed there was a familiar 水饺 taste about this)

Crispy chicken wings (and yes those are wooden clothes pegs... so you can enjoy the wings without dirtying your hands)

Cod fish with white truffle foam (the truffle smell and taste was a tad overpowering)

Risotto with cheese and special sauce (real comfort food)

Crispy pork belly (consisted of 3/4 fats, 1/4 meat)

Mini foie gras burger (we wished the whole piece of patty was made of foie gras though)

Some chilli minced beef with edamame beans (we were told this was braised for 36 hours)

Seared wagyu beef rump with shitake mushrooms & ponzu dressing

Lemon tarts with lime sorbet

Pineapple curry creme brulee (it did confuse the taste buds a bit) 

Vanilla ice-cream with strawberry sorbet and meringue

And guess what... after the last dessert was served, the waitress asked if we would like to repeat ANY of the dishes we had!  You mean we could? Ok... here we go again... (well one of us surrendered though :P)

While photos were the best way to keep count of the 15 dishes but after so many shots of what went into our stomach, we figured that we deserved some shots of ourselves too!

Drinking alone could be lonely... or maybe not if you were with great company 

The two preggy women sipping apple breeze and ray of sunshine

The place was having this special "White Party" inside the dance floor and everyone dressed in all white were entitled to free cocktail... coincidentally, I WAS in ALL WHITE last night (together with a bunch of many other patrons as well as their staff) but with the two huge bumps among the three of us... we just have to give it a miss... for now :)