oNe

A baby's touch is what every parent needs so much. How you have grown, how time has flown. 

May you live to be a hundred years old, my Angel. 

Love from ..

Mummy, 

Daddy, 

Kakak Hana & 

Kakak Sara.

Wean-win situation

I really connect at an emotional and spiritual level with this poster. In fact the similarity is uncanny.. I, too, have an infant boy who will be desperate enough to suckle in any position I subject him to. Usually at the end of the day when I get home from work, so the sight isn't as pretty, as you can imagine- a weary dishevelled Mother 'attacked' by her whiny, desperate bub.

What does he do in his free time when Mummy is at work? He sucks the communication tool that projects my voice every Monday to Friday at 430pm.

In keeping with Breast Cancer Awareness month, I will continue to breastfeed him until he turns one (in 14 days time!!) and then will worry about switching him to the bottle eventually. He enjoys it, I enjoy it, its good for him and relaxing for me (see how serene she looks in the poster).. plus breastfeeding has been proven to lower chances of breast cancer too! A real no-brainer..

And if anyone fancies some cancer education on 19 Oct, visit http://map.operationpink.sg, an initiative from Mt Elizabeth Novena. Hashtag them #operationpink in Instagram/FB and they will donate 50cents towards cancer research and treatment. A nobel cause indeed! 

I'm the only One

Amazing.. Almost 1 already! 

Its been an exhausting and fun year. I learned to transport myself to near places by crawling, and faraway places by shouting until Mummy or Bibik or Daddy or Nani picks me up. I grew 6 teeth, starting from the 6th month and love to sharpen them on Mummy's bony behind. I learned that one important magic word that sets my world right again- Mamamamam (easy peasy lemon squeezy, like my sisters say it); and i now totally bar myself from less-than-nutritious formula milk and insist only on the original, the full cream BM.

What's that I hear?? One year olds normally have big bashes? Oh dear me, I hope not.. I take a long time to warm up to anyone but when you finally know me, you'll knowthat I'm quite the charmer! I find the ladies love my toothy grin.. Whaddya think??

Ps: biler daaa jambul nak tumbuh. Lol

Playdate

Breakfast for Champions, lunch for winners.. before we head out for a fun weekend activity:

Trying out The Rink at JCube because its only 20min by train from ours to Jurong East and I don't have to depend on Daddy who's working today:

Its nicer and cleaner, but more expensive than the Kallang LeisurePark one (well duh!): $16 for a kid with skates rental, $3.50 for me a spectator and $15 for the damn walrus/seal/sealion (i can't ever tell the diff).

Halfway through they decided they both want the penguin instead which is cheaper at $10 each. The Rink guys allowed me to downgrade of course, without refund. 

And what did they do with their penguins? Made it shave the ice so they can take home cold bits souvenirs. Now is a good time as any to educate them about the changing states of water you think??

Sihat & Kuat (Healthy & Strong)

Being skinny has many privileges. Apart from the obvious, it also allows one to run like the wind and float like a feather. Which is probably why the class with the highest population of skinnies have won the coveted title of Overall Champ and also a place in all p1 race category:

3rd place for hop-and-run race

Check out that funky Indo schoolgirl hairstyle, thanks to the Helper 0;0

Skinny kids with long legs/strong legs with their trophy for "Overall Champion"- hurrah to P1-F!

School hall, where Sports Day is held.

Now.. *rubbing hands* where is that Milo truck? I could use some icy chocolatey goodness..! :) "Minum Milo anda jadi sihat & kuat!"

Xx

Better late than never

Every child develops differently, we all know that. However the reality is that parents get very worried if their bubs don't grow teeth at 6 months, or dont start crawling at 9 months, or don't develop proper speech by 2. 

I waited for 4 whole years before Sofia started conversing properly. Waited, at the edge of my seat; gripping the armrest tightly while nodding encouragement to her through clenched teeth. That was how nervous I had been. I had even enquired through friends about autism tests available at NUS. Comments from relatives like "she's in her own world eh" or "aku bebual dengan dia, dia tak pandang pun muka aku" made me even more inclined to think she borders on autism, whose checklist is perpetually in my head:

1) no eye contact

2) does not value social interaction

3) etc etc..

For her I think the turning point was when she started going to MFS woodlands this year. Her teachers were young and jovial, there were always 4-5 teachers around and they were certainly 'better' at engaging small kids. 

First she started to want to make conversations and imteract with others by repeating words/phrases wholesale off the telly like "fantastic!" or "good job!" (thanks to Team Umizoomi and Bubble Guppies)  then over months graduated to holding proper 2-way conversations. Arissa had been critical in Sofie's speech development especially during playtime- they bounce off each other naturally, even when parts of Sofie's speech is incoherent and sounding like a youtube cut&paste (complete with American accent). 

Its a little late coming but she now asks the valuable Why questions. "Why is kakak naughty Mummy?", she asked sad faced after an episode at home where I became the big bad wolf shouting at the big girl to STOP WALKING AROUND THE HOUSE NAKED AND DRIPPING WET because others might slip and fall in the puddles she leaves behind or get sore eyes by the sight of her naked bum. And in the midst of all that shouting, I hear Sofia's little voice ask "Why is kakak naughty Mummy?". I stopped. I looked at her confused face seeking mine for an answer and I hugged her and said thank you for asking. 

My baby Sofie always has a way to calm us down- in the most unexpected, highly emotionally-intelligent method. 

               Always one of the boys.

                    Partners in crime.

                   With her Godma.

Food for Thought

Another milestone has been crossed this month as Aidan goes from incomprehensible blabbering to actually speaking. And by speaking, I dont mean random sounds; I actually mean he says a particular word in association with an object or an action. Often enough for us to know that there is some level of understanding.

The word? Mumma or Mama (claps hands)

And he says it like this "mamamamamamamamaam".

Wait.. it could also be 'Mammam' right.

Come to think of it, its always in the presence of either his porridge or me. In fact, Mama could also mean Mamam cos really, I am his sole milk source. Still. Argh.. He has been steadfastly rejecting his bottle since Eid. So to ensure he gets his daily calcium requirements, we dump formula milk in everything he eats- from breakfast everything to dinner porridge. 

And this boy can eat. Having had 2 small-eater girls before this, the range and frequency of his appetite is delightful to me (so Asian right- fat means healthy?!) 

So anyway it doesnt really matter if his first word is Mama or Mamam.. because I know both object and activity brings him great pleasure. ;)

PS: paid $6 for this 8second haircut. It was all he could bear before screaming. Hello mullet. 

Sleepyheads

Love to watch them sleep..

Steer clear

Being captain isn't an easy task. It requires dedication, knowledge, an eye for detail and people skill. 

The hardworking people who made our International Labour Organisation live webcast possible without a hitch, in the client's own words "I've never seen such a smooth operation since my days at BBC". 

Perhaps I should tell her my baptism of fire came through Beebs back in 2004. Just 2 months after joining the company, the catastrophic Asian Tsunami hit the shores of Aceh, Sri Lanka and Phuket and I got thrown into the deep end. I think I spent a total of 2 months on the field coordinating hundreds of BBC reporters/crew covering the story. Two years later, again I had to fly into

Nias Island when a major earthquake killed thousands and flattened towns. 

That was my first up close understanding of 'breaking news'. I never thought it was a biggie 'breaking news' flashed on tv screens but it took so much craziness to have it delivered on Channels. I recall clearly how my hair/clothes/skin smelled of dead corpses at the end of a very rough day with the team. That gut wrenching feeling of seeing firefighters pull out bodies of a father, mother and little newborn baby buried under concrete when the roof of their house collapsed on them- shudder.

These days I'm involved in less gruesome news and current affairs work. At least this live webcast involves no dead people, although I almost buried a crew member who totally screwed up until the very minute we went on-air. It marked the first time I lost my cool on a job, but I'm not sure it wasn't warranted. Blood and dead bodies don't faze me as much as a clueless crew member who talks more than he listens.

Pretty interesting setup, but the location was the one generating the crew's excitement. 

After all, its not everyday we work on a tanker the size of 8 football fields, 15 stories high with a laden weight of 150,000 tonnes. Amazingly enough, it runs with a crew of only 26 seafarers. 

It is captained by a man, of course, because women 'captains' like myself have a low threshold for BS and the weakest link gets the bitchy end of my tongue. At least it got the whole show on the road right *feeling guilty*. 

Lil Champ

He has shown signs of being bored with the Nestle breakfast cereal that we buy for him for awhile now. I am scratching my head thinking what alternatives I have for his breakfast- preferably something easy to whip up and nutritious (read: not out of a can/box). And youtube proved itself a saving grace.

There are very few food channels that dedicate itself to baby food but I found 2 that I really like, for its simplicity and for its nutritional factor.

And from one of them, I learnt this breakfast meal:

... a puree of avocado and banana and strips of lightly toasted bread.

He took it well for a first-timer, enough to keep me motivated to try other recipes from the web soon.

But he has been consuming a variety of foods- from Ramadhan dates to roti jala to mushroom potato potage Campbell soup to Ovalmatine biscuits. And loooovin' it.

Double toil, Double trouble

Playdates with the bigger two is my weekend usual since Daddy is manning his Ramadhan Bazaar stall at Bussorah Street. 

I love the idea of bonding them through experiences, old or new, because to be honest they fight like cats & dogs within the confines of four walls and out of boredom. To be even more honest, I can get quite nasty with these kids out of feeling cooped up at home with screaming children- a migraine causing phenomenon! So out we go, leaving Aidan and maid home alone. With my newly installed CCTV camera. Because I am paranoid like that, even though Helper is a gentle village girl. Ah well, better safe than sorry, says the Hubby.

Our playdates typically mean venturing within 2km of home- Causeway Point, Woodlands Library, Northpoint, AMK Hub, Safra Yishun, Sembawang Shopping Centre. But recently, I've started moving out of the comfort zone.

Vivocity, with cousin Seri, to watch Epic:

Bugis Market & Arab Street:

Malay Heritage Centre:

Orchard Road. On a Sunday. Now that calls for a badge of bravery, trolling through minions squatting by CK Tangs and overcrowding public toilets. Reminder to self: never ever let Helper take day off. They end up here, oogled by Bangladeshi workers.

So anyway, its true what the Hubby had said before, 2 IS more fun than 1. More chaotic, but fun regardless. 

In return for behaving themselves, I throw in new treats like...

FIRST EVER DOUBLE DECKER BUS RIDE. So ex-cah-tingggggg!

Kawaii

Remember a time when you thought wearing specs were cool? Well I remember how I would purposely try to damage my eyes (by standing close to the tv, by reading in semi darkness) in the hopes that one day I would actually be myopic enough to wear glasses. 

When the day came for an eye test in P4, and the nurse declared I need a degree of -25 and -75, I was elated! My wish was fulfiled. 

Fast forward 10 years later and I wish I didn't have to bother with cumbersome frames, esp when it comes in the way of whatever little eye makeup I could sneakily put on before hanging out with my girlfriends on a trip to InKids (remember them??!). The combination of big frizzy hair and glasses was the ultimate fashion disaster even Diana Ross couldn't pull off.

So I have invested in a pair of $8 frames from Bugis Market for Big Sis who seems to be going that direction. Little Sis got a pair too although hers looks better on me than on her cherubic face.

So this year's Eid theme is nailed down- Gwiyomi anyone??

No worry too big

Not exactly a good day for little bubba- 

10am: his meagre, crooked toenails got bumped in the walker I think and caused it to bleed.

12pm: climbed out of his walker and landed head first. Cried loudly for 2 seconds, then all wide eye innocence as we fussed over him.

1pm: grinding his teeth out of habit these days and caused his mouth and gums to bleed, sending Helper into panic mode.

Seriously Aidan, you're becoming quite the restless worm. But y'know what.. As I've learned from these 3 kids, a bad day can be resolved by a good tickle. Life ain't so bad if you have a smile on your face! :)

Pearlies

Funny how these two are sprouting buck teeth at the same time! 

I've even bought Aidan a little toothbrush which he uses to suck during bath time. As for Big Sis..we always have to keep reminding her to take care of her new set of enamels. I remember those precious moments of post-recess brushing  exercise in primary school.. And the precocious pervy boys checking out the colour of our underpants as we crouch down over the drains. If anything those brushing sessions taught me a few things- a) always wear p.e. shorts under the skirt, b) brush 10x on each sides of the teeth, and c) boys will be boys, whether they are 7 or 37. 

Crafting 101: pompoms

Am going to try a mini version of this next. I could use it as a weight for helium balloons at the next kiddy party! 

Watch and Learn

Seriously you can make/learn just about anything these days with youtube.. I bet if I watched religiously enough, I can even learn to build a house, or d.i.y my kitchen reno, or lay a new timber flooring in my house. 

Ever since my maternity leave in 2009 where I was awed by Martha Stewart's shows, I have a secret ambition- to open up a kids crafting store, so we find granny-friendly apps like Craftgawker on my iphone, lol. Excitingggggg..

But do not be mistaken! For nothing is as easy as it looks. Here are some tries:

Hair chalking tutorial: use hard not soft crayon pastels for a more vibrant colour. Washes off easily!

Macaroon tower tutorial (ok I only directed this look with the help of a professional baker): use macaroon shell only if on a budget.

Lollipop stand tutorial (blue & red cone): my favourite at every party. Easy n cheap to do.

Diaper cake tutorial: so tough to bake for first timer me. 

Face painting tutorial (on a squirmy model, not ideal): store bought pallette is bad bad bad- chalky and resistant to soap. This cat design is simplest to do, I think.

About to start on beading necklaces/bracelets for kids tutorial ;).. In time for Eid!!

I am faaaaaaaar from good but at least, I have stumbled upon a new passion (in fact, probably my one and only excitement...) and find the whole crafting business so fascinating! Even the kids are happy for me to use them as models/scapegoats. 

Now if only I have a proper garage to get those spraycans going and refurbish old furniture, I would die happy.

Epic Lines

"Mummy", Arissa calls me this morning from the mattress where she is playing with Aidan,"I looove Aidan. You see his hair so handsome right! The back is so long macam grass, then the front a bit botak"

I laughed so hard, it felt like a Sunday!

Hello Four

Today you are you

This is truer than true

There's no one alive

Who is you-er than you

~ Dr Seuss

A child of 4 is suddenly fuss-free and finally enjoyable to me. Its a turning point in their lives where they stretch into childhood and leave behind the awful terrible twos and threes phase. 

They grasp language better, they are more sociable and adventurous- always game to try anything new, and they finally FINALLY learn to recognise hunger and fatigue. And that means I can relax and let them come to me for food... And they do so every so often- "mummy i'm hungry" is my nickname. 

As for recognising fatigue, well.. Lets just say it varies between these two. Arissa is not one to give in to bedtime readily, she never found sleeping a necessity, but would always be the first one to switch off. Hafidz and I call her The Lightbulb for her ability to talk continuously til the very second she falls asleep- its like flicking a switch, literally.

Sofia is better in that sense, she used to just disappear from the living room and after hunting her down throughout the house, we find her in her/our bed in the darkness- just chilling y'know... "I'm so tooiiirrreeddd" she declares followed by a request for the milk bottle. Despite that, she takes longer to wind down, sometimes getting so active I have to issue a threat to get her to calm down again. All this, in the comfort of her/our bed.

So anyway, like I mentioned, I adore kids of 4- they sit pretty between being cute 

and being reasonable, and they still smell toddler-ish, a winsome combination indeed. So for Sofia's fourth birthday, we decided to throw her a week of parties. Because I am celebrating the birth of freedom from diapers and tantrums and ushering in an adrenaline junkie (read: USS roller coaster addict).

The first celebration was in school with her friends on her request. I think she's sung so many birthday songs, she wants to be sung to real badly. "Mummy I want a princess cake. I want to eat with my friends", she tells me that Monday as I was planning her real party- one that involves the cuzzies. 

On Saturday, we threw her another fun My Little Pony pool/karaoke party, I will dedicate a whole album here soon:

Then the following Monday we took the kids on a Sentosa Staycation with god-brother Anish and did the rounds to USS, Aquarium and Adventure Cove, despite the bad haze that decided to envelope Singapore. NEA website's psi reading was permanently on our phones, and once the levels came down from hazardous to unhealthy/moderate, we came out running from our hotel rooms/malls.

I discovered what adrenaline junkies my kids were that weekend- they were game on for anything and everything, even as Anish was very hesitant. Seriously that boy belongs to me, what with his need to neatly arrange things *beams*, such a joy to messy girls.

So that wraps up Sofie's fab birthday week, now I have big sister reminding me daily that her birthday theme must be Littlest Pet Shop- yah, riiiiight. 

It was Sofie's first big celebration because I realise four year olds can finally understand and partake in the mini adult version of 'fun', and so didn't mind splurging for some memories. 

In any case, it's still a looooong road for this boy..