Friday, November 21, 2008

Simply having children does not make mothers

What kind of a beast can beat a small child to the extent that it breaks their little backs or causes their brain to rupture? What kind of a Mother turns her face away and numbs her heart when she hears her child scream with pain and terror? Or worse, inflicts more pain on the little body?

Nia Glassie, 3 years old, died on August 3, 2007, from massive bleeding between her skull and brain, 12 days after being taken to hospital.



* Kicked in the face, causing her nose to bleed;
* Hit, slapped, punched and jumped on;
* Objects such as shoes thrown at her;
* Verbal insults, for example continually being told she was ugly;
* Forced into a television cabinet drawer;
* Dragged through the sandpit half-naked;
* Shoved into piles of rubbish;
* Made to bathe in cold water in mid-winter;
* Folded into a sofa and sat on;
* Flung against the wall;
* Held high in the air and dropped to the floor;
* Used for adult wrestling moves copied from a Playstation game;
* Whirled rapidly on a rotary clothesline until flung off;
* Put into a tumble dryer and spun on high temperature;
* Had her head and feet dangled into the fireplace when the fire was lit;
* Kicked repeatedly in the head because she was crying;
* Left lying in a coma for 36 hours without medical attention.



Baby P, 17 months, died in his cot 3 Aug 2007 after sustaining 50 injuries to his face and body including a broken back.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.

~Joyce Maynard

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bikini model meets Speedy Gonzales

Thank you Nana for my se-xy 2-piece suit...

























even though I look like I can barely open my eyes, I'm actually enjoying my swim with Abam Speedy Gonzales Iki.

Monday, November 10, 2008

..and she's 2!


Here's another mental note to self. Well, a few mental notes to self AND husband in case one of us develops amnesia and forgets how tiring the whole affair was:

1) We should organise a party for our child(ren)'s birthday once every decade only.
The next one for Arissa would be when she turns 12. Her coming of age (21st) party can be with cousins/friends to ensure no old boring party-poopers are around including Mummy & Daddy.

2) We should NEVER have any parties at chalets because we end up 2 times more tired- having to lug the whole kitchen there and back (ladles, deep fryer, pots and pans, airpot, teabags, coffee powder, sugar, dishwashing liquid, sponges, mats, paper plates, forks and spoons etc). If we can't do without a chalet, make sure its no more than a 15m ride from our kitchen i.e. the BBQ pit at Sembawang park will do.

3) Get guests to send presents directly to home address to save boot space. Or provide appropriate gift dimension/price guidelines to guests.

4) Hire Amah-on-Wheels to do the cleaning up afterwards!

But, hey, you guessed it.. we were none the wiser this time round and broke all the abovementioned rules for Arissa's 2nd birthday party. To make life more difficult, both Hafidz & Arissa were sick and I was getting there too, having to breathe the air contaminated by these two people in the bedroom.


Me, MIL and Arissa's babysitter/aunt chilling @ Costa Sands Pasir Ris


















Sous chef & Chef de partie
























Lamb chop in black pepper sauce, hot from the stove


















Chicken chop, sauteed prawns and buffalo wings
























Our guestlist:























































































...but don't things always seem a lot more fun on hindsight.. we had a great party, the Aussie-style Barbie concept by Hafidz & Fendi was a resounding success (minus the Caesar salad which never got made somehow) and birthday girl had so much fun she wasn't able to wind down at night. We ended up driving home at 4am just so she can fall asleep in her own bed (aka my bed), then up again at 8am in order to get back to the chalet in time for the big cleanup & checkout.

The birthday gifts are still unopened because Arissa slept from 6pm on Sun all the way through to 9am on Mon morning, a loooooooooong respite for me & Hafidz to nurse our aching muscles with heat pads and a spot of Simpsons, The Movie (hah, thats how long I've wanted to watch it).



















I plan on giving her one package every morning to open to lengthen the excitement because after all, the next big party is 10 years away.. Gotta milk this one for as long as I can!

My thank you list extends to:
Yani, who secured us the preferred chalet unit (Q1 in case I forget) at a very competitive price,
Joe Peter for purchasing the KungFu Panda party favours from US,
Hafidz & Fendi who worked really hard preparing food for our family & friends,
Sapna & Anil for the very yummy chocolate truffle bday cake,
Sanah for helping prepare the party and sleeping over in spite of being 6 months preggers,
Friends & Family members who came all the way with your gifts, ang pows, potluck deserts and well-wishes.

xxx