Precious moments

Baby Netanya

2006-03-22T13:33:00.000-06:00

On 9 March 2006, God placed a special gift into my arms, my baby girl, Netanya was born.
When the nurse place her on me right after the delivery, there was no words to describe the kind of emotions that overwhelmed me. There was this great relieved that she is healthy, and the excitement of being a mom again, and the anxiety of wanting to do everything right for her, and the uncertainty of how I'll cope with a jealous toddler and a baby's needs, and the overflowing love for her and of course the physical tiredness of having just gone through labor. Unlike the first time, I also experienced a certain peace and assurance that everything will eventually be alright.

Some things that I tell myself:
Learn to enjoy each moment
Every parenting difficulty is a challenge that will eventaully work out
One step at a time, one day at a time
Your children are not perfect, be patient and love them for who they are
You are also not perfect, don't expect yourself to be able to do everything right
Every new day is a fresh start, don't be angry that the kids woke you up the night before

God's grace is always sufficient!

I got a ticket!!

2006-02-28T13:26:00.000-06:00

Oh what rotten luck!

I just got a traffic ticket for making an 'illegal' u-turn. I made an u-turn at a traffic junction. The moment I turned, I saw a man in blue about 20 feet away from my car, signalling me to stop. This is the first time I've ever been pulled over by a police officer, it is a terribly lousy feeling when that happens. The car behind me who also did the same thing was also pulled over for the same offence. I swear there isn't any 'No U-turn' sign posted there, but since it is never wise to argue with a police officer, all I could do was to apologize and quietly accept the ticket. I don't even know how much it will cost me. I'll have to wait at least 10 days for the processing to be done and then I'll know the fined amount.
Arghhhh!!! ##@#@@xxx&%@$%^%@@##XX !

The last lap

2006-02-22T21:16:00.000-06:00

Just a few more days and I'll be officially considered full-term, the magical 36th week mark. As the days go by, the wait seemed harder. The discomforts of the final weeks of pregnancy are increasing by the day. My tummy is heavy and the pressure of the baby's weight on the pelvic gets more and more intense. It hurts when I stand too long, and it is hard to even put on my socks and shoes. I really don't like feeling clumpsy. My sleeps are often disrupted by frequent visits to the bathroom, increasingly noticeable contractions (Braxton Hicks), nasal congestions and leg cramps. Maybe this is the nature's way of conditioning my body for the months of disrupted sleep ahead after the baby is born. But the hardest part would be not being able to play with Russell like I used to. When we sing "Ring around the rosie", Russell always requests to crawl around the rosie and hop around the rosie, but I just can't do those actions anymore. Sometimes he wants me to jump and roll around with him and I have to tell him that mama can't do that. He doesn't fuss but I know he feels a little disappointed. Because of all these, sometimes I hope that the baby can out as soon as possible. At the same time, I also hope for longer one-on-one time with my son. Anyway, it's not up to me to choose, God has His perfect timing.

Another exciting thing to look forward to is my mother and brother will be arriving this Saturday. Yeepee! I'm going to get lots of pampering from my mom...hee hee heee....And Russell will have so much fun with his uncle. Guess for the next 2 weeks, I won't have time to do much blogging.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-15T11:03:00.000-06:00

What a sweet surprise! Hubby brought home a bouquet of iris for me yesterday. I didn't expect him to buy me flowers, not that he's not the romantic type, just that we have agreed not to get each other anything this year. So it was really a very pleasant surprise and the flowers are so lovely! At dinner time, Russell with his mouth full of food suddenly blurted out, "I love you, mama. I love you, dada." Hmmm....seems like love is in the air all around us!

Hey! He can sing!

2006-02-14T13:22:00.000-06:00

For sometime, I actually thought that Russell might be a little tone-deaf. Most of the children around us who are about the same age as him can sing or at least hum a tune. But he, though he loves to dance and clap with the music, has never opened his mouth to sing along. When I sing his favorite songs, I tried to encourage him to sing by leaving out words here and there so that he can fill in the blanks. But he would either shout the words, or stopped and wait for me to continue. Once in a while, he would recite the lyrics some songs but there was no recognizable tune to it.

Last Saturday morning, while I was making breakfast and he was playing by himself, I heard him sing! "All night, all day, angels (mumble,mumble).....my Lord" I dropped whatever I was doing quietly, not wanting to interrupt or make him feel shy, I stood there and enjoy that moment. This was the first time I heard my son sing and I actually thought he sang pretty well. (Ahem! Sorry, I can't help being a proud mama.) He was swaying his body and clapping his hands as he went, "All night, all day, angels (mumble,mumble).....my Lord", over and over again. Apparantly he only remembers the first line of the song, but that was good enough for me. Someone ever mentioned to me this and I quote " No matter how badly the mother sings, her voice will still be the most beautiful voice to her baby. And no matter how badly your child sings, his voice still sounds like those of angel's."
Wish I had a videocam then to record down his first debut.

Sponge craft

2006-02-10T14:26:00.000-06:00

This sponge craft thingy is so much fun, even I enjoyed doing it. If you haven't tried this with you kid, I highly recommend this as a fun pastime, or you can even use this to teach counting or alphabet! The sponge animals can be bought from any Walmart, a pack of about 10 costs less than $2. It is a little messy, but if you use washable paint, the mess can be easily cleaned up in less than 5 minutes.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G.....

2006-02-07T21:40:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to teach Russell the alphabets for more than a month now. Every week, I'll introduce a letter, we are at letter F this week. Even though I was a teacher at primary schools for some years, I have never taught kids this young and something this basic. Back home, kids came into primary school knowing not just alphabets, but able to form words, sentences and even paragraphs! So while everyone assumes that since I was a teacher, I should be an expert at teaching my own kids, I humbly beg to differ. Moreover, kids at primary school are more disciplined and their attention span is at least 20 minutes, but my little 2 year old can only concentrate for only 2 minutes!

So when I first started, it was quite frustrating for me. I drew pictures of objects that began with the letter I was teaching him that day. I tried to get him to color those pictures, oh boy, even getting him to sit still and color is such a challenge. He would pick up a crayon or marker and make a few lines on the paper and then spent the rest of the time playing with the crayons and markers instead of using them to color. And because he has been increasingly wanting to do things without my interference, he didn't really like it if I hold his hand to show him how to color the pictures. So 80% of the coloring was done by me. After coloring, I would identify the objects with him, hold his finger to trace the letter. Then I would pick up a brochure or magazine and help him to identify the letter. After that we would sing or do silly actions related to the objects on the pictures, which is the part that he enjoys most.

After 5 weeks, it is getting slightly better now. He is able to color more and sit with me for about 5 minutes. These few mornings, he has been looking at my digital clock and pointing to me, "Mama, look, letter A!" He was refering to the letter found in AM. I'm so glad that he did actually learn something even though it doesn't seem like he was all that interested. I salute all the home-schooling moms, it is not an easy job at all.

2 agonizing days

2006-02-06T14:59:00.000-06:00

Maybe it has to do with genes, like mama like son, Russell gets constipation easily just like me. All it takes was for him to skip one day of BM and the following day would be extremely painful for him to go poo-poo. But it has never been as bad as the last 2 days.

Usually he will have his BM early in the morning, right after his milk. For some reason, the whole of Friday, he didn't want to or need to go. So on Saturday morning, I was expecting him to do it, again morning and afternoon went by and he still didn't do it. Then came evening time, when he had the urge to go poo-poo, that's when the drama began. Since he's still unwilling to poop at the potty most of the time, we didn't want to push him on days when he's constipated. We put on a diaper for him hoping that it will make him feel more at ease to do it. He went into a tip-toed position (that's he's style) and started whining because he was so constipated. He whined and cried and sobbed and called 'mama mama mama' non-stop for about 1.5 hours! All the time he kept changing positions, standing, tip-toeing, kneeling, squating, sitting....but still there was NOTHING! He was in so much pain, I wished I could help him get it out. To make matters worse, it was close his bedtime and he was getting very sleepy while trying to 'pang sai' (BM in hokkien). In between crying and sobbing, he was yawning and his eyes were teary and droopy. So I asked him to stop trying, knowing that his efforts were not getting him anywhere. I carried him to his bed and hoped that he would fall asleep and end his agony for the moment. But he kept saying he wants to 'chou chou' (smelly in Mandarin, that means he needs to poop). And for another 30 minutes or more, he was in a half kneel and half squat position, in the dark room, whining and still trying to poop. Unitl finally he fell asleep in that position! My heart ached so bad watching him suffer.

The next morning, the moment he woke up, he said he needs to 'chou chou' again! Apparantly the sleep didn't make him forget his unfinished 'business'. So from 7 am to 8 am, exactly the same thing happened again. He was crying, standing, sitting, tip-toeing, kneeling and pushing till his face turned red and the veins on his neck was visible, still nothing came out! We know we need to somehow distract him, and persuade him to drink some juice and eat some blueberries in order to help him get it out. (He has been refusing to eat nor drink because he felt so uncomfortable). There was nothing we could offer him that could distract him, until finally he said that he wanted to go the Macdonald's for pancake. Thank goodness for Macdonald! We headed straight to the nearest Mac, ordered his favorite breakfast, then went to the park to feed ducks, played at the playground and then headed home and finally got him to eat a handful of blueberries.

After his afternoon nap, the moment I've been waiting for finally happened. After some pain and tears and lots of pushing, he did it! YEH! HIP HIP HOORAY!! It must have looked really ridiculous and people would have thought we were crazy, the moment when Russell finally got it out, we were clapping our hands and cheering and I almost burst into tears.

3 cheers for blueberries!

Hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

Peek-a-boo! I can see you!

2006-02-03T14:01:00.000-06:00

Just went for my 33-week ultra sound scan. Still a girl! No surprise. As usual, my untrained eyes could hardly understand what's shown on the screen. When the lab tech says "this the ......", I was like "okay......" but most of the time I used more of my imaginations to picture it than actually recognizing the different parts of the baby's body.

At one point as she rolled the scanner up and down, right and left on my huge basketball belly, she told me that that was my little girl's face. And it was a very clear view, finally I saw her! And guess what she was doing, she was sucking her thumb! (think it was the thumb or maybe the back of her palm). That was so cute.

Throughout the entire pregnancy, I was quietly going through an emotional roller-coaster. Some days I was elated with the fact that we are going to have another baby, some days I'll lay awake at night wondering if I would be able to devote 100% to both Russell and her sister at the same time. I don't want Russell to feel that he will get less of me and I also wished that her sister has the kind of one-on-one time that her brother enjoyed when he was a baby. But after seeing her face that day, worries have been replaced by aniticipation and excitment. I can't wait to see her in person, all I want to do is to cuddle her and love her.

Reunion dinner

2006-01-30T21:26:00.000-06:00

Eve of Chinese New Year, we were invited to our friend's place for reunion dinner. It is so nice to be able to gather with friends and also let the kids experience what Chinese New Year celebration is about. We really appreciate the effort that the hosts put in to make us feel that we are celebrating the new year home away from home. They put up new year decorations, prepared a sumptious feast. We even have home-made 'Yu Sheng'. Everything was so delicious and the kids had such a great time, many thanks to these very generous and hospital people.

The kids are eating happily by themselves.

"Lou hei" - toss the yu sheng. The higher the more prosperous the new year will be!

Look at the spread!

After eating, the kids help to decorate the flower pots with "ang pao" (red packets).

HAPPY NEW YEAR! GONG XI FA CAI!

Look who's talking

2006-01-27T14:10:00.000-06:00

Conversation 1
Russell pointed to his toothpaste and asked: Mama, what's that?
I know that he knows the answer to his own question.
Mama: Russell, you tell me what this is.
Russell: What's that? You tell me what's that?
Mama: You know what this is, why don't you tell me?
Russell: Uh....TOOTHPASTE! My toothpaste.
Mama: That's right! This is your toothpaste.
Russell now holding on to his toothpaste and asked again: Mama, what's that?

*sigh* There he goes again......and this can go on for the next 5 or 10 minutes. Why do kids like to ask the same questions over and over again when they knew the answers to their own questions? I wonder.

Conversation 2
Russell: Mama, eat grapes please.
Mama: How do you ask? Can you say it properly?
Russell: May I .... have .... uh... grapes please?
Mama: Okay, mama will get you some.
Russell: "pu tao" (grapes in Chinese)
This is one of the few Chinese words that he can say it so well.
Mama: "Dui le. Chi pu tao." (That's right. Eat grapes.)
I handed him the grapes and he was happily to the living room:
Mama: Russell, what must you say to mama?
Russell: Thank you, mama.
Mama: You're welcome.
Russell: Welcome. (He's confused sometimes when to say which)
Share, share with dada. Dada have some?
One for dada. (And he'll pop a grape into dada's mouth)

Isn't that so sweet? He will never forget to share with dada whenever he has his fruits after dinner.

Monologue (with his bear)
Russell was playing in the kitchen with his bear while I fixed dinner. He took out some of my plastic bowls and pretended to serve dinner to his bear.

Russell: Sit down. Sit properly. Backside on the bench!
Oops....he's talking to the bear just like the way I would talk to him.
I continued cooking glancing at him occasionally and listening to his monologue.
Russell: Pray! (mumble a few words) AMEN!
Aw....that's nice....he's teaching bear how to say grace!
Russell: Done? (he's asking if bear has finished eating)

Then he proceeded to put away the dishes and pretended to wash them.
Suddenly I heard him raised his voice: No, naughty! Stand at the corner!

He took bear from the bench and put bear in the corner to punish bear! Oh no, he's really picking up the things I say and do. I wanted to laugh because it was comical to watch him mimicking me, but at the same time, this tells me how closely he's watching me and absorbing everything he sees and hears. I better make sure that I'm setting a good example.

Moments later, it was as if bear had said sorry to him. He went over to the corner, picked bear up and hugged him again. Well, I'm quite relieved to see that he understood this; that is when he's being disciplined for a wrong act, he'll always still be loved by his mama after that.

A taste of CNY.....

2006-01-25T13:45:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite CNY goodies is the pineapple tart, and I have been craving for it for a long time. After tasting a friend's homemade pineapple tarts recently, I've decided to try making them myself.

The first 2 attempts didn't turn out the way I wanted at all. First the shortbread (pastry) was too thick and the pineapple jam was too soggy. The second time, the jam just didn't have the fragrance that I was looking for and the pastry was still not right.

Last night I tried for the third time, determined to get it right this time. I used fresh pineapple instead of canned ones, and I adjusted the amount of ingredients for making the shortbread to the consistency of the dough I was looking for. And you guessed it right! I am absolutely happy with the outcome. The pastry was buttery but not too sweet, just the way I like it; and the pineapple jam was delicious! Ooooo....I'm so happy. Now I don't have to wait for CNY, or when I return to Singapore, I can chomp down these goodies any time I want!

Here's the recipe if you're interested to make some:

Pastry:
1 1/6 cup butter
2/3 cup icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 beaten egg for glazing. Beat with a little water to become Egg Wash.

Filling:
1 fresh pineapple, crushed using food processor, yields about 20oz
1 cup sugar
1 or 2 cinnamon stick(s)
1 star anises
6 cloves

Methods:
The night before, make the pineapple jam.
In a saucepan, on medium high heat, pour in drained crushed pineapple, add in the rest
of the ingredients. Stir occassionally until the jam like consistency is achieved. Meaning
it became dry and sticky like. About one to one and a half hour. Discard the spices and
store the jam in the fridge until ready to use. It will thicken more in the fridge.

The next day, make the pastry.
1. Cream butter and icing sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.
2. Add vanilla extract and salt and beat until fluffy.
3. Fold in the sifted flours and mix into a dough. Put into ziploc bag and refrigerate the dough at least 30 mins before use.
4. Preheat oven to 350'F.
5. Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch and cut with a cookie cutter. Place the jam in the
middle and decorate the top with strips of pastry. Brush the top with the egg wash. (For
a prettier tarts, roll the jam into a ball and place it on top of the pastry.)
4. Bake for 16 - 18 mins or until golden brown on edges. Cool on wire racks.

いらっしゃいませ .....

2006-01-16T15:02:00.000-06:00

.......'Irasshaimase!' - Welcome to Rushing Springs Sushi Bar

Over the weekend, shefu (chef in Japanese) hubby decided he wanted to try to make our own sushi. We loved eating sushi and I have promised him for ages that I would try to make some for him at home, but for weeks I never did it. Finally, over the last weekend, we tried.

First I cooked the sushi rice using our rice cooker. According to the instruction, I was supposed to cook 1 cup of rice with 1 cup of water, so that was what I did. Oh boy, it came out half-cooked. And I didn't even realised it until I have added the vinegar, sugar and salt solution! But it was so hard that we had to put it back into the rice cooker to recook it. Minutes later, it came out a little burnt! What a bad start......but my very encouraging hubby said that burnt rice actually tastes better and that could be the secret ingredient to our sushi.

Next I prepared the 'filling', sliced avacado and mixed mayo with minced crab sticks. That was the easy part. Then came the fun part, rolling the sushi. We put a sheet of nori (seaweed) on the bamboo mat, spread a thin layer of sushi rice on top, sprinkled some sesame seeds, placed the fillings on the rice and then ready, get set, ROLL! I rolled and rolled and oops....all the rice and filling started spilling out of the nori! How now?? Then my very smart hubby came up with an ingenius idea! He cut a small strip of nori and used it to patch my overflowing sushi roll. I shall name it 'Tah ko yok' (bandage in hokkien) roll. One of its kind, our very own and we were so proud of it. Bet you can't tell from the picture that our sushi roll had been patched, right? They didn't look too good but they taste pretty decent for our first attempt, okay.

Next day, we tried again. This time round we cooked 1 cup of rice with 1.5 cup of water and the rice turned out just right. I put less filling and rice on the nori and gave about half an inch of allowance on the top and bottom edges of the nori. When I rolled it, it looked as good as home-made could get. Other than crab sticks, we also added jelly fish to our variety. It was love at first bite for me, the jelly fish sushi taste 'shiok des neh'!

I've been tagged

2006-01-12T13:49:00.000-06:00

Remove the blog in the no.1 spot from the following list and push everyone up one place. Then add your own blog to the bottom spot.

1. Princess Diary
2. Baby Talk
3. Little Foot Steps
4. Crazymommy
5. Precious Moments

And then, victimize another 5 people with the following questions:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
In Singapore, serving my bond as a teacher. Really really enjoyed teaching in St. Hilda's primary school, the staff was closely knitted, the principal was a motherly workaholic and the kids were such a joy. But was working so long hours and so hard that I hardly have time for family, friends or even myself! If I had continued to work there, I would probably have remained single.

2. What were you doing 1 year ago?
Went back to Singapore with Russell and stayed there for 3 months! Russell had the greatest time being spoilt by all the aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. And also went on a cruise with hubby while mom watched Russell, it was so nice to have some couple time again.

3. 5 snacks you enjoy
(1) Pineapple tarts (thanks for satisfying my craving, Chimney sweep)
(2) Soft baked cookies
(3) Nachos
(4) "bak gua" (BBQ sliced pork) makes me drool just thinking about it
(5) Cashew nuts

4. 5 songs to which you know all the lyrics off your head right now
(1) Wheels on the bus
(2) If you're happy
(3) Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
(4) Oh Mr Sun
(5) Do you know the muffin man?

5. 5 things you would do if you were a millionaire
(1) Renovate my mom's 32-year old HDB flat. It is long overdue for a good make-over and clean-up.
(2) Set aside some for my kids education and our retirement funds, then give hubby some for investment.
(3) Pay up our mortgage both in Singapore and US.
(4) Make donations to charitable organisations that take care of children in poverty.
(5) Buy a real corvette(not the remote-control type) for my hubby!

6. 5 bad habits
(1) Forgetful, very forgetful
(2) Procrastinating
(3) Not tidying up things until hubby nagged at me, especially the kitchen cabinets
(4) Raise my voice at Russell over 'no-biggy' issues
(5) Not making my bed. :p

7. 5 things you like doing
(1) Cooking and baking.
(2) Watching hubby and Russell play together, always get a good laugh.
(3) Making crafts.
(4) Walking in supermarkets, especially HEB or Central market.
(5) Reading magazines.

8. 5 things you would never wear, buy or get new again
(1) Stiletto - I can never walk much less run after my toddler with these
(2) Gerber fruit splash drink - tastes like diluted cough syrup, Russell won't even take a second sip. Had to throw the whole bottle away, what a waste of money.
(3) Violent action figurines or toy weapons of any sort as toys for my kids
(4) A musical instrument for myself - I had an organ which I gave away when I was young. Then I bought a guitar in my 20s which in the end I gave away too. Guess I have to curb this urge to learn how to play a musical instrument and accept the fact that it's probably never going to happen in my life on earth. Maybe till I reach heaven I'll ask one of the angels to teach me how to play a harp!
(5) Tennis shoes - my brand new pair is still sitting in the original box. Got them just before we came to US and never had a chance to even play tennis in them.

9. 5 favourite toys
(1) My dog (used to chase her around with a vacuum cleaner just to make her bark)
(2) Digital camera
(3) Computer
(4) Puzzles
(5) Sounds so horrible to call my son a toy, but I really love to play with him!

10. 5 bloggers to pass on
Think I'll have to skip this.

Being pregnant.....

2006-01-10T20:48:00.000-06:00

is a priviledge and a gift from the Creator.

I enjoy being pregnant. Don't get me wrong, it is not easy. The first few months was a little hard to get by when I was constantly having morning / noon / night sickness, always feeling hungry but being not able to eat much and plain tired tired tired. There are much to sacrifice too, first to go is your figure. I can't find my waist and only hope they will appear again after childbirth. And there are so many yummy stuff that I wish I could eat but I have to stay away from, like steak (rather not have it since i have it well-done), coffee and ice-tea, tiramisu and being able to take a sip of wine with my steak. And I'm beginning to feel the discomfort of all the extra weight I'm carrying, backaches, breathlessness, not being able to sleep well because I need to visit the bathroom at least twice a night and those horrible leg cramps that attack in the middle of my sleep.

Despite all these, I still enjoy being pregnant. It is something that blows my mind away to have a baby growing inside me. I'm humbled by the fact that I am totally not in control of how the baby is formed, yet the formless fertilized egg just over-time developed into this cute baby! God is the most amazing Creator. It is an undescribable feeling to feel the movements of the baby. Sometimes she gives me a little light nudge, sometimes she packs such a punch that my whole belly get 'out of shape' and oohh...it does hurt. But oh wow....isn't that the most thrilling thing in the world?!

Another reason why I enjoy being pregnant is I (or should I say my hubby) get to enjoy my temporary upgrade from a cup A to a cup B+!! Hey, that's like having a free boob job and the best thing is it's not some silicon, it's real okay. Being pregnant is such a wonderbra....oops....I mean wonderful thing.

Purple pumpkins?

2006-01-03T13:21:00.000-06:00

Russell: Mama, pumpkin! Look, look! 2 pumpkin(s).

Mama: Wow! You made these pumpkins.
They look so nice! But I think they look more
like mandarin oranges....
Russell, what color are the pumkins?

Russell: Eh......purple!

-_- How to teach him colors? He's just not getting it.

First Christmas present

2006-01-03T13:00:00.000-06:00

This is Russell's 3rd Christmas, but it's the first year that he actually appreciate Christmas lightings and become aware of what receiving a present is like. We have so much fun putting up the Christmas tree together. Three of the ornaments were even made by Russell in school and he picked the spot and hung those on the tree himself.

He enjoys fixing puzzles, it is the game the he can play by himself for a long time and he always feels so good that he could solve them all by himself. So we got him a 16-piece animal cube puzzle. It is way beyond his ability to fix the puzzle by himself, but still he loves it.

To my son: Blessed Christmas to you. You are a gift from God to mama and dada.

Q & A

2006-01-01T13:16:00.000-06:00

What time did you get up this morning?
7.45am (considered pretty good since Russell normally gets up at 7)

Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds, pearls abit "lao tu" I think. But I can't wear any with all the chores I need to do.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Shrek 2, when Russell was 6 months old. That was his first movie at the cinema.

What is your favourite TV show?
CSI Miami, New York and Las Vegas.

What do you usually have for breakfast?
Bread with peanut butter and decaf coffee now that I'm pregnant. Wish I can have prawn noodle, Chai Toa Kuay, Mee Siam......think Singapore has the best breakfast variety.

What is your favourite CD at the moment?
Eternity. It's a collection of some of my all time favourites.

Morniing or night person?
Morning definitely.

Favourite sandwich?
Don't really care for sandwiches.

What characteristic do you despise?
Hypocrites.

Favourite item of clothing?
Sleeveless tops and jeans, though I cannot fit into any of these anymore. Hopefully I can get back in shape soon after delivery.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be?
Anywhere scenic, with good food and away from crowds.

What colour is your bathroom?
Beige. My hubby says he's going to change it soon, hopefully we'll don't won't have this boring color for too long.

Favourite brand of clothing?
During pregnancy, Old Navy Maternity. Other times, no specific preference.

Where would you retire to?
Have never thought of it. Somewhere near the lake or beach, so that my hubby can go fishing as often as he wants.

What was your most memorable birthday?
This year's. When hubby and friends threw a surprise party for me.

Favourite sport to watch?
Baseball.

Who did you least expect to complete this?
Chimney sweep.

Person you expect to complete it first?
No idea.

Person who is least busy?
Is it you, Weili? (don't take it personal. ok?)

When is your birthday?
The day after the bombing order was given to dropped the atomic bombs.

What is your shoe size?
6.

Pets?
A dog named Goldie.

Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
My mom's coming over to US to help me out after delivery. Can't wait to see her again!

What did you want to be when you were little?
Animal rescuer or zookeeper.I wanted to own a big place where I can save all the stray or tortured animal and I would name it Noah's ark.

What is your favourite flower?
I like both sunflowers and cala lilies equally.

What date on the calendar are you looking forward to?
My EDD, sometime in March.

One word to describe the person who you snaffled this from?
Funny.

Chatterbox

2005-12-30T22:36:00.000-06:00

These 2 weeks, Russell has become a little chatterbox. There's hardly any moment when he'll be silent. They are mainly monologues that he kept repeating to himself again and again. sometimes he'll chuckle and laugh to himself! Apparently he cracked a joke, but we didn't get it. Other times he conversed with us, I find him quite entertaining while his dada find his endless chatter annoying at times(especially when he's driving). Well here's some:

Conversation 1:
Russell: Mama, see that?
Mama: What?
Russell: Cows! So many cows!
Mama: Yes, I saw the cow.
Russell: Some more there. Cows eat grass.
Mama: What does a cow say?
Russell: Moo moo

Conversation 2:
Russell: Dinner time!
Dada: Go wash hands if you want to eat.
Russell: NO! (He answers no for almost everything these days)
Mama: Yes, you have to wash your hands.
After washing hands
Russell: Dinner time, let's eat! Sit high chair.
Mama: mama help you get up the high chair.
Russell: NO! Russell help (he means he wants to do it himself)
Served him his dinner
Mama: Do you want mama to feed you?
Russell: NO! Mine! Mine! Russell feed.
*sigh* "Why does toddler like to say 'mine' so much?"
Russell: Mmm....taste good....yummy.

Conversation 3:
Early in the morning at 7.30am, Russell stood by my bedside and flung open my blanket.
Russell: Mama, wake up! Time (to) wake up! Mama, wake up please!
Mama: Russell, let mama sleep for a while more....
Russell: Sleep well, Russell sleep well (he slept well, not me, I want to sleep some more...) WAKE UP MAMA!
Mama: What do you need?
Russell: Milo please. Milo please. Hungry, hungry. Eat, eat.
Mama: Later okay, a while more okay. (I just can't get myself out of the cozy bed on a cold morning)
Russell: Milo please, mama. May I (have) Milo please.
Mama: Okay (how can I say no any longer) , let's go make Milo.
As I'm getting out of bed, Russell stretched out his hand to hold my hand.....
Russell: Careful, mama, careful.
Eversince I came back from the hospital, dada has taught him that he is responsible to take care of mama and meimei, and he took it seriously. It's worthwhile sacrificing some sleep for him, he's been so caring towards his mama.

A friend in need is a friend indeed

2005-12-20T13:47:00.000-06:00

For the past 6 days, I was in and out, then in again and out again from the hospital. I really really don't want to go back again, not until it's time to deliver the baby at least. The worse thing about being sick, is not the the pain, the discomfort, the lost of appettite, the medications, not even the needles or the IV. The worse part is constantly feeling worried that no one is taking care of my hubby and my son, and the depressing thought of not having someone to help in times of need.

When I had to return to the hospital the second time, which was barely less than a day after I was discharged, I felt so depressed I could not described how heavy my spirit was. I called home (Singapore), though knowing that it's not possible, but hoping that my mother would volunteer to come over to give me a hand. Maybe when a person is not well, she can't think rationally either. I don't know what I was thinking, I mean to expect my 70 years old mom to take a 24-hour journey which costs USD1800, to come over within such short notice, abandoning all her responsibilties and plans back home??? What on earth was I thinking about? Maybe deep deep down inside me, I am still mommy's little girl, whenever I'm in trouble or in desperate need, I always wished for my mom to be near me. But hey, it's time to grow up, I'm a mom now, I need to face the problem and think of ways to solve it without depending on family members who are thousands of miles away!

So for the next 4 days when I had to stay in the hospital, not able to help my hubby in any way to lighten his load, we depended on friends who so generously lend us a hand when we asked them to. They babysit Russell so that my hubby could visit me and make sure that my hubby and son never go hungry. In the end there were so much food in the fridge, we even had to throw some away because they had been there for too long. Talk about counting your blessings.....having these friends are such blessings to us. I thank God for each and every one of them.

So proud of my hubby

2005-12-15T21:36:00.000-06:00

Two nights ago I became very ill. For more about 24 hours, I kept vomitting and having diarrhea. I could not eat or even take a sip of water, I would throw up immediately if I try to swallow anything. I threw up so much that I was afraid the baby would become stressed by my discomfort. And there was this constant excruciating pain in my stomach. I went to a GP who ordered me to go for a ultra-sound scan of my gallbladder suspecting that something might be wrong with it. On Wednesday, after the scan, I went to see my OB, and seeing how dihydrated I have become at that point, she immediately admitted me into the hospital. I was so unwilling to be hospitalised, I was worried about Russell. What would happen to him when I'm not at home? How would he be able to get to sleep without me putting him in bed. And my poor hubby was not feeling well too, how was he able to cope with taking care of Russell? I was not thinking about my physical condition at all, I was swamped with worries for my hubby and my son. But my OB felt that if I continue to not be able to retain fluid in my body it would endanger the baby and the quickest way to get me hydrated and replanish the potassium I lost would be to put me on IV.

When I told Rick that I had to be hospitalised, he immediately made plans to take care of stuff. And thank God also for our good friend, Jasmine, who took a day off from work to help out in every way she could. She picked Russell up from school and pretty much kept him happily occuppied for the rest of the afternoon so that Rick could spend time with me in the hospital.

Last night, Rick left the hospital at about 7.15 pm so that he could be home to take care of Russell's night time routine. I only hoped that Russell wouldn't give his dada a hard time. I was imagining that Russell would be whining and asking for mama to give him a bath and tuck him in bed. I could hardly rest, only praying and asking God to please watch over them and give Rick the strength to do what he needed to. At about 9.30 pm, I finally couldn't resist and called to find out how everything was going on at home. Jasmine told me that Russell had his dinner, had his bath and Rick has tucked him in bed. I was relieved and also find it hard to believe at the same time. I know that Rick and Jasmine were doing everything they could to give me the peace of mind so that I could rest and get well in the hospital. I really appreciate them.

This morning when Rick brought Russell to visit me at the hospital, words cannot described how much I missed them, even though it has only been one night that I have not seen them. Rick told me how cooperative Russell had been with him, how well they slept last night, and how enjoyed the undivided attention from his son. He gave him a bath this morning, fed him his meals, dressed him up prim and proper, and even changed his diaper when he did his No. 2 (something that he would never do when I'm at home). On top of that, he even did the laundry and dishes. I was so filled with pride for my hubby. I have always been worried as to how he would cope when I needed to be away during child-birth. But after this experience, I know that I can totally rely on him in times of crisis. When the situation calls for, he will do what needs to be done, and he does it 110%.

For my hubby: Thank you for everything. I am so proud of you.

Mei mei (little sister)

2005-12-12T12:45:00.000-06:00

Eversince we got to know the gender of the baby, we have been refering to her, especially in front of Russell, as 'mei mei' , which means little sister in Mandarin. In a way it helps to make Russell aware that there is someone inside my belly who has a name, even though he can't see or touch her now, who has become part of this family.

By nature, Russell is a pretty mild person, he doesn't display jealousy whenever I hold my friend's baby and when he's at the playgroup, he doesn't fight with other kids for toys too. People did mention that sometimes kids are fine with outsiders, but they can become extremely possessive and jealous when comes to their own siblings. Well, I certainly don't wish for that to happen. I started working on this by telling him that toys that he has outgrown are mei mei's toys, the crib is mei mei's bed, etc. I want him to know that the things in the house are not just dada's, mama's or Russell's things, they are also mei mei's and she can use them too.

As my tummy grows, I told him that mei mei is getting bigger, and it would be uncomfortable for her if I need to carry him for a long time. When I feel the baby kick, I will place his hands on my belly and let him feel the movements too. He would say, "Mei mei is moving. Russell love love mei mei." At times he would flip my shirt, touch my belly and ask me, "Mei mei moving?" If I answer him, "No, mei mei is sleeping." Then he would pat my belly and say, "Pat pat mei mei." I really hope that he will love and protect his sister like an older brother should.

Night time woes

2005-12-09T11:07:00.000-06:00

Russell calling from his room:"Mama, mama!"
I answer from across the hallway in my room: "Mama is here!"
He's calling again:"Mama, mama, mama, mommy!"
If I don't answer him, he'll not stopped yelling, he would even start crying.
"Mama is here! Shhh! Sleep, Russell!"

These exchanges can go back and forth, back and forth for an hour, even 2 hours! It has been like this every single night for almost 2 weeks now. Russell will wake up at around 1 am and creep to my bedside, and asked to be in bed with us. Of course, I will not allow him to co-sleep with us because I know that giving in just one time will send a wrong message that he does not need to sleep in his own room. So every night I will faithfully escort him back to his bed, sometimes coaxing, sometimes even threatening. Once, twice, thrice, even as many as ten times a night, I will walk or carry him back to his bed. He would be begging me to stay, crying and clinging on to my legs, even bargaining that he would only sleep in "mama's bed, short while." (his exact words). When finally he agreed to stay in his own bed and I left his room, that's when he'll start calling for me. Just so that he can hear my voice and be assured that I am there even though he can't see me.

We moved Russell from his crib to the big bed for more than 2 months now. The transition was astonishingly smooth, he seemed to sleep better on the big bed than the crib. Other than those nights when he was not feeling well, he would sleep through the night from 8.30pm to around 7am. I was enjoying nights of undisrupted sleep, I actually thought that my days of sleep-deprivation has come to an end, or at least until the baby is born. But, but......*sigh*...... I was too happy too soon.

I think that he is having separation anxiety, though I can't think of why the sudden spike. I wanted so much to just let him cuddle with us in bed and sleep in peace. Sometimes I feel so bad, especially when he kept begging me to "Sit here, mama, sit here." He wants me at least to stay in the room with him until he falls asleep if he's not allowed to sleep in bed with me. I tried and am still trying all ways to reassure him, I just hope he'll get past this stage soon.

Friday Playgroup

2005-12-02T14:26:00.000-06:00

Look how much fun the kids have at the playgroup today! They sang, danced and did face cat-face-painting. Then they all crawled around mewing like a cat to the song "Mi mi xiao hua mao" (Hanyu pingyin). So cute right?

These are some of the chinese words that Russell learned through the playgroup:
(In Hanyu Pingyin)
Bi zi -nose
Zui ba - mouth
Er dua - ear
Yan jing - eyes
Tou fa- hair
Bing gan - biscuit
Pu tao - grapes
Tu zi - rabbit
Tiao - jump
Pao - run
Wa zi - socks

This is one of the songs we sang today (to the tune of "Head and shoulders"):

Yan jing bi zi er duo zui ba (eyes nose ear mouth)
er duo zui ba (ear mouth)
er duo zui ba (ear mouth)
Yan jing bi zi er duo zui ba (eyes nose ear mouth)
Hai you tou fa (and hair)

Gym is fun at last

2005-11-28T13:48:00.000-06:00

It was the 4th gym class for Russell. I was dragging my feet to bring him there. I could almost foresee what was going to happen at gym, he would be clinging to my legs, refused to participate in the activities, sobbing and begging me to bring him to the car..... I dread another one of these sessions, when it felt like I was torturing him instead of letting him have fun. And with my tummy getting bigger by the day, it is not easy to wrestle with a kicking and crying toddler! But, oh well, still we went, trying to be as positive as I could be.

The moment we pulled into the YMCA parking lot, Russell started protesting about going to the gym. I had to keep telling him it was going to be fun and then carried him into the facility from the car. Only when we reached there then we found out that coach Reneigh hadn't showed up because she had a flat tyre. For about an hour, we sat outside the gym waiting for news if the class was still on, while his gym-mates, 3 other boys, were busy running around, playing with the toys there, he was sitted on the couch with me just watching them play. That was when I thought, "Oh no, he's not going to have a good time again." On the other hand, I think I should really appreciate the fact that I can sit comfortably on the couch, while the other moms were busy chasing their little ones down the hallway.

Finally when the replacement coach arrived, we could all go into the gym. And guess what? He dashed right in and started playing with the equipments. Still skeptical, I thought, " Okay, let's see what happens when warm up starts." Because that's when usually he's tears starts to flow as well. *Aha! You're wrong about me this time, mama!* When the lesson started, he was doing all the routines, cooperating, and was such a good sport the whole time! Even the other parents took notice the change in his attitude and were commenting about it. What happened that caused him to have such a shift in attitude and behavior? I have absolutely no idea. Not a clue at all. Just so thrilled that he's finally enjoying his gym class. When he's happy, I'm happy too.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-25T13:52:00.000-06:00

It is quite unusual how I got to know C.S. She was reading my friend's blog, found a link there to my blog and left a couple of comments. At first, when we corresponded online, we had no idea that we were geographically so close to each other. Then one day, to our utmost delight, we realized how much commonalities we share. We are staying in the same city, we both came from the same country, we're both stay-at-home moms, we each have a kid whose ages are just a few months apart and we're both expecting our next child! Thank goodness the similarities ends there, ahem.....all you cheeky readers....no we don't have the same husband.-_-

Maybe because of all the similarities we have, and also because she is such a likable and pleasant lady, it doesn't take me long to feel connected with her. In a place so far away from home, family and friends, I really appreciate making new friends, especially so when she and her family are such delightful people to be with.

We have them over for thanksgiving dinner last night. Ricky made his favorite Nacho appettizer, and I prepared a simple Asian-style thanksgiving dinner, while C.S brought dessert. We had a wonderful time just sitting around chatting about anything that came to our mind. The best part I think was, our kids got along so well. We had never have any kids (except for a baby) over at our place, so I was not sure how Russell would respond when he has to share his toys with another kid. Knowing that this is the age when kids are possessive over thier stuff, I was prepared to be doing lots of mediating between the two of them. To my surprise, they played together without glitches and were sharing toys with almost little need for the parents to interfere. I could tell how much Russell enjoyed having a friend (his size) to play with. Before Pumpkin left, she even gave Russell a big hug....that was so sweet.

Cookie Monster

2005-11-17T13:30:00.000-06:00

Russell loves eating cookies, any kind of cookie that he can get his hands on. He can eat it anytime of the day, even right after dinner. He doesn't just chomped down his cookie, he actually savours and enjoys every bite. One morning when I gave him a cookie and some strawberries as a snack, he started decorating his cookie like a pastry chef! That was so cute. I know that too much sugary stuff is not good, and cookie is a high-calorie snack. But just look at how much he enjoys it, how can I say no when he asks for one.....

Friday playgroup

2005-11-11T14:25:00.000-06:00

Russell started to join this playgroup every Friday about a month ago. He has been enjoying it so far. The mother who started this playgroup wanted to help her daughter to converse in mandarin more and hope to benefit other parents who also want their kids to learn this language. It has been very helpful to get me started to teach Russell chinese, since we converse only in English for the past 2 years.

At the playgroup, we would sing and dance to the tune of chinese children's songs. And this very creative mother even translate familiar songs like Wheels on the bus, It's a small world and Head and shoulder into mandarin. We also do crafts related to the topic we were covering that day. Even though toddlers being toddlers, they were running around and busy exploring, we know that they are somehow still picking up the songs without sitting down and doing it with us. Every now and then, they would stop whatever they were doing and surprise us by singing to the tune with actions, just when we thought they were not paying attention at all!

We learned this song today (sing to the tune of Wheels on the bus)
Lyric is in Hanyu Pinyin

Bai se de tu zi
(white rabbit)
Tiao tiao tiao - 3x
(jump jump jump)
Bai se de tu zi
(white rabbit)
Tiao tiao tiao
(jump jump jump)
Ta men hao gao xin
(they are very happy)

Hui se de da xiang
(grey elephant)
Zai he shui - 3x
(drinking water)
Hui se de da xiang
(grey elephant)
Zai he shui
(drinking water)
Ta men hao gao xin
(they are very happy)

Hei se the xiao gou
(black dog)
Pao de kuai - 3x
(running very fast)
Hei se the xiao gou
(black dog)
Pao de kuai
(running very fast)
Ta men hao gao xin
(they are very happy)

My little Monet

2005-11-08T14:00:00.000-06:00

One of the things that Russell enjoys doing at home is painting. Unlike many kids his age who would not hesitate to dunk their fingers into the paint, Russell is quite fussy about dirtying his fingers, he'd rather use a panitbrush most of the time.

Just yesterday, he was painting again. And he told me that he was painting a picture for dada, oh....that's so sweet and I'm so jealous. So I asked him, "What about painting a picture for mama too?" Guess what he said? "No, for dada." :( *ouch! That hurts!*

Tumble tots

2005-11-07T13:23:00.000-06:00

It's Russell's 2nd Tumble tots lesson at the YMCA, this week's worse than the last.....

He was clinging on to me and whining while other kids are having fun with the gym equipments. When the coach was helping the other children with the routine, he wouldn't join in or even go near at all. I really don't understand what's going through his mind. I signed him up for this class thinking that it would be so much fun for him and he would have a chance to spend his energy and play with other children. But the last two lessons have been the exact opposite of what I expected it to turn out! He would only play where there are no kids there and he absolutely refused to follow instructions and do the routine requested by the coach. I know I'm not supposed to be comparing, but I can't help but look at othere kids and wonder why they can do all the exercises and have so much fun while my boy is hugging my legs and whining. On his first lesson, I thought he probably was shy, but today, I began to question if the problem lies with me.......

Maybe I've been not doing enough physical activities with him and stifled his development. Or maybe I've been too restrictive and not allow him to tumble around at home and therefore he has developed fear to try new things.

I tried to encourage, coax and even bribe him to try, but he just wouldn't. I really feel like taking him out of the class and forget about the whole thing.....but....if i do that, then I'll deprive him of the chance to overcome his fear and acquire new skills. What should I do?

The race is on

2005-11-04T12:54:00.000-06:00

It's the time of the year where the race is on. A marathon that breaks any world record and lasts for at least 3 whole months! Yes, it's the season for noses to run! I hate it when this season comes.....all winter long, you can see and hear noses running everywhere. In the grocery store, at the park, in the mall, in school, oh my goodness there is no way you can avoid them. What's worse is, noses are extremely social creatures, when they decided to go for run, they'll insist on bringing yours along! It's a good thing that I have a very anti-social nose who refused to to join in the race. But not my son's nose, it simply cannot resist a little competition, sometimes it breaks into a sprint, sometimes it slows down to a jog, but for weeks now it has not kept still for a even a second. My darling's champion nose is more long-lasting than an energizer battery. Will someone please flag it down and tell it that it has crossrd the finishing line?? IT'S TIME TO STOP RUNNING!

It's a girl!

2005-10-27T14:02:00.000-05:00

The scan at the hospital showed that we are having a girl! Even though the lab technician would not say it for certain, I am pretty sure she is right since 2 weeks ago my OB also said it looked like a girl from the scan taken at her office.

Oh yes, we are excited of course. Not so much because we are going to have a girl after having a boy, but more so because we are happy and relieved to hear that she looks healthy from the scan. There are no abnormalities in the measurements taken and that's the best news for us. All we want is for the baby to be healthy, if it's a boy, he'll be our prince, a girl, our little princess.

See you, little princess in a few months' time.

Ouchie! Ouchie!

2005-10-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

Russell had his two year old checkup yesterday. He hated, loathed and disliked (every adjective describing negative feelings you can think of ) going to the doctor's office. The moment we stepped into the clinic, he started protesting, "No....no....car ride..." He wanted to leave immediately and go back to the car.

When they finally called for him, the nurse led us to have his weight and height taken. No way, he's going to stand on the scale to let her do that. Eversince he turned 9 months old, he was no longer cooperative with any procedures done at the clinic. So dada had to carry him, stood on the scale and then they took the difference in the weights to find out Russell's weight, 25.5 lbs. (Ahem....I shall not disclose dada's weight....a man's weight is a secret you know) Measuring his height was no easy task either. All three of us had to pinned him down, while he cried and kicked and struggled to free himself! He measured 32.5 inches, think he lose one or two inches because he struggled so much. Our boy is actually quite small by American standard, but as long as he is growing consistently, we're not worried.

All the while when we were waiting for the doctor in the room, he kept asking us to leave. He just has this terrible phobia of seeing the doctor. The moment Dr. Leonardo stepped into the room, he started wailing and struggling again. It was so hard to perform checks on him, I wonder if she actually did a thorough job. The worse part was the shots! TWO SHOTS! Ouch! Dada had to hold his arms and I held his legs so that the nurse could give him the shots. Poor baby.....he was terrified!

When finally all was done and I was carrying him towards the car, through sobs, tears and mucus, he muttered two words, "Poke, poke...." (Sorry,I wanted to laugh) He was complaining that the stranger has poked him with needles. Oh my boy.....he's so funny.

Having fun in school!

2005-10-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

Finally Russell is beginning to enjoy going to school.
These pictures are taken after their nap time, when the kids were free to do whatever they want while waiting for their parents to pick them up.

Aren't these little tots adorable!

Russell misses dada

2005-10-12T09:52:00.000-05:00

It's been 3 days since Dada left for business trip, not a single day had past that Russell did not ask for his dada.

Tuesday morning he woke up at 5 am, calling for me to go to his room. I dragged my sleepy body to his room, the first thing that he said when he saw me was,"Dada, where?" So I told him Dada is at work. Then he said, "Oh (wondering why dada would be at work at such odd hours), Dada, bye bye."
(*shrug my shoulders*) "Go back to sleep, Russell."

This morning, at 7.30, when he woke up, he asked me the same question and I gave him the same old answer. At breakfast time, he asked again! This time round instead of telling him that Dada is at work, I asked him back, "Russell, where is Dada?" He smiled and said, "Work." Then he added, "ser (means Russell) work." And he rode his bike toward the garage door and repeated that he was going to work! I am so amused and surprised by his response....maybe he figured that if Dada has so much work to do and can't even come home, he better go help him. I don't know what's going through his mind, but he was dead serious and he meant it when he said he was going to work!

Happy Birthday Russell!

2005-10-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

On Russell's 2nd birthday, there was no extensive preparations, no invitations sent out and no elaborate party like what he had for his 1st birthday. I remembered how busy we were with the party preparations last year, and poor birthday boy had to practically stay in the play yard for most part of the day. He felt so neglected, was not happy at all. Worse part was, he didn't even understand that we were doing all that for him.

This year, all we wanted is to for him to have a good time. We want to do the things that he likes. So we headed to Meyer park and brought his birthday present, a motorized ATV, along. He ride the ATV in the park, played at the playground and went to the pond to look at the ducks, geese, muskrats and tortoises. Then we preceed to La Madalene's for his cake, he selected a cheesecake topped with fresh strawberry which he enjoyed eating very much. There was no candle, but Dada and Mama took turns to sing him the happy birthday song.

That's all, no hassle, no big fuss, just a simple celebration.

Terrible two?

2005-10-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Today started out pretty much normal like any other day. I put Russell down for an early nap so that he could go for a birthday party at 1pm. After which, we plan to go the Katy Mill for Columbus day shopping.

Right after he woke up, which was around 1.15pm, I immediately 'bribed' him into changing out of his pj so that we could go to the party. Getting him to do anything within half an hour after his naptime is always difficult. It is as if he needs about 30 minutes to fully rise from his slumber, if you would even attempt to ask him to do anything at all during that 30 minutes, there is bound to be a meltdown. But today we were already running late and I could not afford that 30 minutes wait, so I gave him some chocolates to have him cooperate with me. It took four chocolate coated blueberries to appease my groachy boy. (BTW he hardly gets to eat chocolate or anything loaded with sugar normally) The party went on fine, he started out shy but finally was able to overcome his shyness and joined in the activities. He especially enjoyed the chocolate cake with colorful icing.

When we finally left the party and reached the mall, Russell was absolutely not his usual self.....he was running down the mall like a wild horse, dashing in between isles of clothes, he was so hyperactive, he was bouncing off the walls. We have never seen him so out of control and so extremely hyper before. We had to take turns to keep an eye (and hand) on him because he kept disappearing from our sight. He wouldn't listen even when we disciplined him, he kept struggling when we picked him up and he kept saying he wants to run! Oh my goodness! Is this a fortaste of what terrible two is all about? Then it suddenly dawned on me that he might have an overdose of chocolate and sugar this afternoon! I've read about how sugar and chocolate can make children more alert and active, but this is my first experience of it's effect on my kid. I could find no other explanation for his sudden abnormal behaviour. The entire shopping trip was such a nightmare! I was planning to buy him a chocolate cake for his birthday at first, but uh uh, no more chocolate-whatever for him from now on.

The incident at the mall, I could blame it on the sugar, but what happened at home this evening was most certainly a sign of the coming of the infamous terrible two. For reasons unbeknown to me, he wouldn't stop crying and throwing tantrum the whole evening. Whatever he was asked to do, he'll say no and do the exact opposite. So much so that we had to punish him. We have never needed to be so harsh on him. When he finally quietened down and slept, we just felt so emotionally, mentally and physically drained by the experience. Russell is going through a phase in his development when he is becoming his own person, testing limits and boundaries, challenging authorities and wanting to exert his self-will. We know that it is part of growing up and he is not meaning to be difficult and rebellious, but having our sweet little boy no longer always obedient to us is not an easy thing for us to go through. We wished we don't have to ever raise our voice or punish him again. Unfortunately, I have to face the fact that loving him also mean disciplining him, setting boundaries, teaching him right from wrong, letting him know there are consequences to his actions and he has to respect the authorities, which at this point of his life are his parents. It would be quick fix to give in to him to pacify him, letting him do whatever he wants whenever he wants it, but I know that that's not loving, that's harming him. But he doesn't understand all these, all he know now is he wants it his way, if he doesn't get his way, he cries until he can have his way or until we step in and do something about the situation.

Oh, it's so hard to be parents....we need so much wisdom, and patience and love.

I am a champion, I am a champion

2005-10-04T13:33:00.000-05:00

Dada kept saying that he wants me to be a sportsman when I grow up......

Maybe I would be a professional wrestler! See I can even pinned my dada down so effortlessly.

But if my stature is too small for that, maybe I can be a ........

....... jockey. "Giddyup! Giddyyupp!!" I shall name my horse the 'Black Beauty".

But at the rate I'm eating, I might be too heavy to be a jockey. Then maybe I can be a ....

... NBA basketball player. When Yaoming retires, I'll take over his place and be the next Asian NBA star!!

Don't worry dad, I won't let you down, I will try my best to a sportsman. I promise you whatever sports I'm going to be in, I'll never be a......

waterboy.

A mother's day

2005-10-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

Being a mom is not all bliss and fun and lovey, there were many times that when I felt so overwhelmed, stressed out, I think my hair was falling out and my eyes were half-way popping out of thier sockets because I was so boiling mad.

This evening is one of those times when everything and everyone gets on my nerve .... blame it on those pregnancy homones maybe, but I just couldn't keep up with the torrents of irritable feeling anymore. First it was Russell who made a mess of the place at dinner time, which by the way I refused to clean it even until now, because I am so tired of cleaning, washing, cooking, cleaning again and washing again and cooking again for the better half of today. Then there was this load of dishes that needed to be done when everyone has eaten, why is it always my job to get the dishes done? Then I was trying to sweep the kitchen floor and my very 'helpful' son was trampling on the dust that I heaped together because he says it was "Russell's turn" to sweep the floor. On other days I would have been so proud that he was so helpful but today I only wished that he'll leave me alone to finish what I want to do. And when I finally was able to get the floor all swept and about to mop, I realized that I ran out of floor detergent!!! Arrggg....now I'm mad not just with others but also with myself, for having visited Walmart twice last week but didn't buy this thing that I need. Arrrhhhhh!!!! After that I got angry again, this time at my hubby for the way he disciplined Russell. The last straw was putting Russell in bed, he was not his usual self at all. He didin't want to have his bedtime story, he didn't want to kiss mama and he screamed and kicked when I tried to put him in his crib. He insisted on sleeping on our bed. Guess what? He finally won and is sleeping in my bed now. I am totally against giving in to him just because he cries for something especially when comes to sleep routine, but tonight, I think I am ready to call it a day and I cannot find any energy left in me to battle with him any longer.

Oh what a day....wished it had been easier. No, of course I won't let the 'sun go down on my anger'. They are people whom I loved so much, I can't be angry with them for longer than the incident lasts, and I know I was partly to be blamed too. Tomorrow I'll wake up (nope, actually my son will wake me up) and still be happy that I'm a mom. Oh ya, I'm very sure I will.

Potty Training Week 6: Making good progress but....

2005-09-30T12:29:00.000-05:00

When the house is suddenly all quiet and Russell is nowhere in sight (not because he is not at home), I know that he is "up to no good" behind my back. Usually when times like that happen, there are normally one or the other of these two activities he is engaged in; either he is playing with something that he knows he's not allowed to or he is hiding somewhere to poop so I won't know it.

It has been one and half months since we started potty-training him, and so far he has made very good progress. He does not need to be on diaper unless he's sleeping and he is able to let us know when he needs to pee. There were only a few accidents and they happened when he was too engrossed with an activity and didn't managed to let us know in time. Since last week we even tried letting him be diaperless away from home. He was able to tell us when he needed to go and there was no accidents during any of those outings so far!

Yes, we are so ready to give each other a pat on the back and say "We did it!" But I'm afraid we have to save that for later.....Russell still refuses to use the potty for No. 2. It's almost like he has a biological switch somewhere in his bottom, when he has his diaper on (usually in the morning before I change him and after his afternoon nap) he will somehow have the urge to poop. All day long when he is wearing his underwear, he doesn't need to do No. 2! On very few occasions when he was diaperless and he needed to poop, I would put him on his potty, he tried and he tried and he'd say "Stuck! Stuck" (Sorry for being so explicit) And such days usually resulted in him suffering from constipation because he held it back subconsciously.

I don't know what to do except to keep trying and waiting for the day to come when he'll be ready. I think we have travelled the more difficult half of the potty-training journey, with patience we can and will conquer the other half.

Happier at school

2005-09-29T13:46:00.000-05:00

It has been two months since my darling started school. Yesterday was the first time the teacher actually commented that he was enjoying school. I was so thrilled to hear what he did for that day. He was playing at the playground, clapping hands and singing along during music time, did his craft by himself at his desk, he ate his lunch for the first time and also took his nap! Wow! Wow again! I couldn't believe my ears, but I could certainly believe my eyes.....

When I picked him up he was not melting down, needing to be consoled and carried to the car like he used to. He actually waved goodbye to his friends, gave Ms Mary a hug and a kiss and said bye bye to her before walking (yes walking!!) by himself to the car. Am I not impressed or what?

Cat 5-4-3-2-1 Rita

2005-09-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

We really didn't know what to expect from Rita. Thursday around noon when we were trying to do everything we could possibly think of to prepare ourselves for the worse, Rita was still a cat 5 hurricane, wobbling east and west, she seemed undecided as to where she wanted to make her grand entrance. I cooked like I've never cooked in my like, not knowing if we would have any power, gas or water once Rita strikes, I prepared as much food as possible to last us at least 48 hours.The workers have left lots of wooden spikes and planks at the building site just next to our house, dangerouse projectiles that can pierce right through the windows and doors if picked up by strong wind, so Jasmine and Rick was busy clearing debris from there. I know that Rick was very worried about the wind and he was doing everything he could think of to do to fortify the house.

We were glued to the local channel getting the latest update of Rita's path and her strength. Sometime late evening, wind started picking up where we were and we could hear the howling wind even when all the doors and windows were shut, then light rain also started. We didn't think the storm surge will come so far inland but we were afraid that there might be tornado or relentless rain that would lead to flooding. I kept telling myself to keep calm and pray because no one but God can protect us from being harmed. By the time we had dinner, hurricane experts predicted that Rita would make landfall more to the east of Houston and she has become a cat 4 hurricane and would most likely become a cat 3 at landfall. We were much more relieved and I thank God for that news.

I went to bed at close to 11 or 12, Rick was still monitoring the situation over the internet. There was brown out now and then and wind has become stronger and it has also rained harder. It was hard to fall asleep under such a circumstance, but I need to recharge myself in case we need to evacuate from our house in the middle of the night. At 2 am, I was awakened by the sound of the wind and noticed the night light was flickering more and more often. By 4 am, we completely lost power and the wind was pounding hard against the wall. Rita huffed and puffed, determined to flatten all that's in her path......I don't know what time it was, but my tired eyes finally gave in and I was in deep deep sleep.

"Ring ring ring ring......" I opened my eyes and saw Rick ran to the study to pick up the phone. I looked at the clock, it was already 7.30 am! I don't hear any rain, but I could still hear some wind, much slower, gentler wind compared to last night's. I asked myself, "Is this it? Have we already ridden through the storm? Has Rita slipped by us so quietly? Where is Rita now?" I got out of bed and peeked through the window, only light rain and fast moving clouds, nothing else. I was not ready to let down my state of alertness until we can locate Rita.

By 1 pm, power was restored, outside was so calm, children in our neighboring houses have even gone out to play! We immediately logged on to the internet and found out that at around 3 or 4 am, Rita has made landfall along the state line of Texas and Louisiana and has quickly become a cat 2 then a cat 1 hurricane. PHEW......IT IS OVER! As for where we were staying, we were almost untouched by Rita's fury.

Words cannot describe how relieved and how thankful I felt at that time. To be able to call home and let my mom know that Rick, Russell and I were fine, was such a priveledge thing to do, considering how many families were separated and how many lives were lost due to Rita's older sister, Katrina. There are lessons that we have learnt as a family and as individual through this experience. We realised how ill-prepared we were and Rick has since started thinking about how and what to do for such emergencies in the future. As for insights that I personally gained, I'm still pondering over them and hope that this experience will make me a little wiser, not actually should be humbler.

Unsuccessful evacuation attempt

2005-09-22T23:23:00.000-05:00

We set out early this morning to evacuate from the hurricane. We started off the journey with almost full tank of gas. 7 hours into the trip, we were still stucked on the road not much further from where we have started out! The weather was extremely hot, we tried to switch AC to the lowest to conserve gas, but at the rate the traffic is moving we'll be stalled in the middle of nowhere by nightfall and no means to get gas anywhere. We know that it would be safer to evacuate as far north as possible, but the reality is there was no way we could get to anywhere when there is no availibility of gas for 100s of miles to come. So we made the tough decision to head back home. We figure we'll be better riding the storm in a house than in the car in the middle of the freeway.

Tonight we try to prepare everything we can for the approaching hurricane. And yes, I pray that God will have mercy on us and protect us.

Chimney Sweep

2005-09-20T14:37:00.000-05:00

Hi Chimney Sweep,

Thanks for visiting my blog and faithfully leaving encouraging comments. I'm reading yours too!

Uncle Mike

2005-09-18T14:30:00.000-05:00

Mike is a very dear friend of ours, in fact his family treat us like part of their family and we feel the same towards them too. He stays in Colorado, but was in Houston last week due to work. Maybe it's the bond that Rick and I already share with Mike, Russell who is usually shy with strangers, very quickly became comfortable with him. They played together so well, he would allow Mike to carry him and even shared his precious bear with Uncle Mike.

Mike was driving a very nice rented Ford Mustang when he was here, probably one of the reason that attracted Russell to him. I mean, which boy doesn't like a cool-looking Mustang, even my hubby does! Saturday morning when Mike came to our place, the first thing that Russell said when he saw him was, "cle (uncle) Mike car..." He wanted to go look at Mike's car! Boys!

Sweeter than honey

2005-09-15T13:10:00.000-05:00

Every morning when Dada gets ready to take a shower he would always hang his towel by the door. Morning is a busy time for me, preparing Russell's breakfast, making coffee for ourselves, letting the dog out into the yard and sometimes cleaning dirty dishes that were left from the night before. Russell will usually be either taking his breakfast at the coffee table or wondering around the house or playing with the dog. But no matter what activity he is engaged in at the time, the moment he heard the sound of Dada cleaning the shower glass door with a squeegee, he would dashed into the bathroom as fast as his little legs could carry him. Then he will retrieve the towel, holds it high in his hand and gets ready to hand it to Dada when he steps out of the shower. Isn't that so sweet and thoughtful of him, I will not expect this kind of action form a toddler! That made Dada so proud and always brightens his day.

In the midst of my first trimester, I often experienced queasiness especially in the morning and right after lunch. Sometimes I felt so lousy, I gagged and had to squat down to let the morning sickness pass. Russell who witnessed this would often come to me to comfort me. He would pat me on the back like the way I give him a back rub whenever he chokes or cough. He was actually showing concern for his mama, and I sure felt much better after that.

Every night before Russell goes to bed, he has to say 'night night' to everybody and give Dada a kiss. There was one evening when Dada started conference call before Russell was able to kiss him. As usual I went to the bedroom with Russell to read him a few books before tucking him in. When the reading was done and I asked Russell if he was ready to sleep, he pointed to his lips and said "Kiss. Kiss" So I leaned my faced towards him and said, "Okay, kiss mama night night." He kissed me on the lips and repeated again, "Kiss. Kiss" Then I realised that he wanted to kiss Dada night night before sleeping. Awwhhh....that was so sweet......So I brought him to the study, let him kiss Dada and only then was he willing to be tucked in bed.

After dinner, we often sat in front of the TV and enjoy some fruits together. Russell loves fruits, especially grapes, blueberries. apples, watermelon and mango. The fruits are prepared in bite-size so he can feed himself with the worry of choking. While he busy putting pieces of fruits into his mouth, he does not forget to share them with his parents. Since mama always helps herself to the fruit platter, Russell will take 2 pieces each time, one for himself and one for Dada.

These are some things that Russell did that simply warmed our hearts and sweetened our days so much that we wish that we could make time stand still and savour those wonderful moments over and over again.

Little rock

2005-09-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

Russell was so thrilled with the little rock

It has been a few days since we spent time outside. Being a person who doesn't like heat, I try to stay indoor as much as possible. But Russell loves to be outside. He can always find things that interest him and keep him occupied for an hour or 2.

Dada was still on business trip and the thirsty frontyard was yelling out to me for some drops of water, so even when the evening was still sunny and in the high 80s, I had to go water the yard. As usual, Russell would bring his bike and ride it up and down the drive way. He likes to let the bike roll down the slope with his feet up, the faster the bike goes, the broader the smile on his face. And when he reaches the bottom of the drive way, just before it hits the road, he would quickly put his feet down to stop the bike. At which point he would then turn around and give me a smile that's so full of pride for what he just did. When he first started doing this bike stunt some time back, I would always run after him and yell for him to stop, I was so afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop the bike on time and get himself hurt. But after watching him does this over and over again, and seeing how his confidence and skill improved with practice, I am assured that he is in control of the situation and I should trust him.

When he got tired of riding, he wondered around the yard looking for other things that might of interest to him. That day, he found a little brown rock on the mulch. He came to me beaming from ear to ear with his arm outstretched and the treasure clutched in his fist.

Russell: "Mama, look."
Mama: "Wow, you found a rock?"
Russell: "Rock! Rock!"
Mama: "Do you want to keep it?"
Russell: "Yup! ket (pocket)"

And he carefully put the rock into his pocket. Moments later he took it out again and went riding on the bike with his rock. He went everywhere and did everything not without his new friend, the little brown rock. This might seemed silly to adults, but to his childlike mind, that little rock is special. For the rest of the evening, he was as happy as a clam.

Being outdoor is so much fun for him and very enriching too. Trees and flowers, grass and rocks. dirt and bugs, skies and clouds, birds and planes, and lots lots more. Books and toys are wonderful learning avenues, but there are so many things to see, touch, experience and discover outdoor; like the bike will roll down the slope and the way to stop it is to apply friction by putting your feet down. Now, isn't that law of physics in application?

3rd time in school

2005-08-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

Since Russell only goes to class once a week, this is his 3rd week and also 3rd time in school. I would have signed him up for more days if only the school has vacancy. It would probably be easier for him to adapt to the school environment if he sees it more than once a week.

Today I sent him to school alone, since daddy was busy with work this morning. As usual, he is always excited to go on a car-ride. He was his usual jovial self until the car turned into the school's parking lot. He started sobbing softly,"No.....no....no......" When I've finally parked, his sobs has turned into cries, no more words, only cries and tears. I tried to reassure him that it would be fun but he was not listening anymore.

Getting into the classroom did not help, there were already about 8 kids there and 50% of them were crying. I sat on the mat and hugged him for as long as I could stay in the classroom. As more kids streamed into the class, the teacher and her 3 other helpers all have their hands full. Everyone of them holding 2 crying children in their arms and I figured they would have no spare hands to hold mine. I waited for about 10 minutes, all the while Russell was clinging on to me for his dear life, looking up at me in between sobs as if begging me to not to leave him there. Finally, his teacher managed to free herself and came to take Russell from me. It might seem cruel, but I know I should no longer linger any longer. I gave him a quick peck on his cheek, told him mama would be back for him later and left without looking back. I could here cries turned into wails coming from my back.

lllllllllllll

About half an hour ago, I drove to the school to sneak a peek. His class of 15 little ones and 3 teachers were at the school playground. I didn't dare to get out of the car. From a distance I saw Russell playing! Not crying but playing! The teacher saw me and gave a big smile and a thumbs-up sign. I was so so relieved.

Last 2 weeks, by now the teacher would have called to ask me to pick Russell up because he wouldn't stop crying. But so far the phone has not rang...... I think today my baby is going to do just fine......

Potty Training Week 2

2005-08-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

Patience, patience and more patience
Patience, patience and still more patience.......

......that is what potty-training takes.

Russell pointing at his genital: tee (means potty)

Mama: Do you need to go potty?

Russell running away from mama: No.....no.....

Mama: Are you sure you don't need to go? If must tell mama if you want to go okay?

Russell nodding his head: k!

3 minutes later........
Russell pointing at his genital again: tee (means potty)

Mama: Do you need to go potty?

Russell squat down and turned his body away from mama: No.....no.....ah

Mama didin't trust his response, removed his pants and sat him on the potty: Russell, shh shh (pee) okay? You shh shh in the potty mama will give you chocolate.

Russell sat on the potty: shh......shh.......

Nope, he didn't pee, he only made the sound with his mouth. Mama insisted that he tries longer because I know he needs to go, it has been 2 hours since he last went.
After 10 minutes, Russell got tired of trying and so is Mama tired of waiting.

Mama: Russell, mama put on pants for you but if you need to shh shh you must tell mama, okay?

Russell: k!

Mama: Russell, you must not wet you pants, okay?

Russell: k! clate! (chococlate)

Mama: No Russell, mama only gives chococlate when Russell shh shh in the potty.

Russell started throwing tantrum and demanded for chocolate.

Mama: No chocolate, no chocolate, mama gives something else.

I offered him some biscuits to pacify him.

While eating his biscuits, he suddenly yelled: tee! teee!

He has peeed in his pants. Now I have to clean him and the floor as well.

Arrhhhh.......my mom would have spanked ......... arrhhhh.......but no, no spanking, no yelling, no shouting.......patience, patience, keep calm, count to 10.

Mama: Russell, next time must remember to tell mama when you want to go, okay?

Russell knowing that he has done something wrong, leaned over to kiss mama: k!

First day of school

2005-08-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

Russell was all excited and ready early in the morning in his new haircut and wearing his new shoes for the first day of school.

When I asked him, "Baby, do you want to do to school?"

He answered, "Yes!"

I know better of course he doesn't know what he was getting into. Last week when I brought him to the school open house to meet with his teachers and see his classroom, he was acting quite nervous initially. He only started playing after 10 minutes and was constantly keeping an eye on me to make sure I was staying there with him.

When we arrived at the classroom this morning, he was clinging to my legs and appeared unhappy. I knew it would not be easy later when Dada and Mama had to leave. We entered the classroom with him, and encouraged him to go play, he did and was smiling as he went to his favourite toy, a push car. When it was time to go, we kissed him and left. 5 seconds later, while we stood at the doorway, out of sight from him, we heard him yelled, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" He pushed open the classroom door and tried to escape, but Ms Mary, his teacher, got hold of him and that was when he started crying very loudly. Ms Mary assured us that he was going to be okay. It was so hard not to dash into the classroom and scoop up my baby to comfort him. Thank goodness, Dada was there to gesture me away from the classroom door. After about 15 minutes, when we peeped through the door again and saw that Ms Tammy was holding him and he seemed to have calmed down, we finally left the school.

It was a very strange feeling for me.....not to have Russell with me in the house. I know I should be enjoying my time alone, but still it was kind of strange nobody was bugging me, running around the house and making noises all the time. But guess what, before I even have the time to get used to being by myself, the phone rang. Oh....oh.....I knew it must be from the school. Two hours into his first day of school, the teacher had requested for me to pick him up because he had not stopped crying since we left. It would be too traumatizing to continue to let him cry and it would affect the rest of the children in the class too.

At 11 am, I was in school again. The moment Russell saw me, he cried between sobs and tears, "Mama!". His faced was red like cherry from crying and he clung on to me like a koala. My poor baby, he must be thinking that mama was not coming back for him.

So that was his first day of school. Not quite a success story, but it actually turned out better than I expected. I thought he was not going to stay in school longer than an hour, but he stayed for two! Imagine he has never left my side, never had a babysitter, surely it is only understandable that he would feel insecure with some total strangers. It might take weeks before he will finally stay through the entire school day. We'll just have to keep trying.

Potty Training Day 1

2005-08-16T13:48:00.000-05:00

Something prompted me that I should give potty-training a try today. Well, there have been numerous attempts to potty train Russell and they have yielded no result so far. All the failed attempts have left me feeling like a failure, especially when my sisters and mother kept telling me how easy it was for them to potty train their kids and grandkids. And some of my friends whose children are around the same age as Russell have ditched their diapers long ago......*sigh*........if there is a school that teaches me how to potty train or better still will potty train my son for me, I'll definitely sign up for it.

Let's face it, nobody is going to potty train our child for us, this is the job of the parent, just like teaching them to eat with a spoon, drink from a straw, blow your nose, wipe your mouth, put on and take off shoes, etc etc, all these are parts of what raising a child is all about. If someone does all these for me, then what's left to be done as a parent?

Anyway, I've decided to try it again today. Russell has been very comfortable sitting on the potty by himself without his diaper on for a while now. The only problem is he would leave no 'residue' in it. This morning, I gave him an extended time to be running around diaperless in the masterbath, and reminded him that if he needs to 'shh shh' (pee), he should sit on the potty to do it. I left him at that and was busy with my own stuff, while keeping an eye on him. I shut the doors to the closet and bedroom so he would not wonder out and wet himself on the carpeted area. All the while, he would sit on the potty for a few seconds, get up, go play, and then repeat the whole process again. About 20 minutes later, he suddenly abandon his play and ran to sit on the potty. YEAH! His first attempt to pee in the potty! Even though he aiming was bad and most of the urine landed on the floor and on himself, still I was ecstatic. I was never so happy cleaning up pee in my life!

6 hours have passed and Russell has been going in his diapers again, even though I've been bringing him to the potty every hour. I am, of course, hoping that what happened this morning would repeat itself again and again, but I know I need to be patient and be realistic about my expectations. This morning's experience demonstrated to me that Russell is ready to be potty-trained, and he understands what I wanted him to do. It may take weeks or even months, but at least, we have taken the first step to success.

An unforgettable day

2005-08-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

That day started very early and can't be more dramatic than this. Days before, Russell has been ill and for that reason we laxed the rule of not letting him be in bed with us before 6.30 am.

5.45 am
Russell cried and Ricky when to pick him up from his crib and put him in bed with us.

6.00am
Russell asked for milk. Normally he would only be given milk at 7.30, since he hardly ate because he has not been well, so we gave it to him.

6.10am
He must be really hungry, he gulped down 7 oz of milk in one breadth!
Seconds after he removed the bottle from his mouth, he threw out every single ounce of milk one me and on the bed and on himself.....it was like the Bellagio fountain!

6.15am
Frantically clean up the stinky mess

6.25am
Finally changed the sheets and all three of us lay in bed to rest.
Then it happened again! Russell threw up whatever remaining milk he has in his tummy on the bed again!

6.30am
More cleanning up!
Poor Russell was shaking and frightened and running a temperature.....so we decided to give him some Tylenol to bring his fever down. He was so tired and weak that he didn't even struggle as much when we fed him the medicine.

6.40am
After giving him the medicine, I went to clean myself up, his puke was on my clothes and hair. Just then I heard Ricky shouted, 'No!'......Yes, Russell vomited again, this time round on the carpet. Maybe we should have waited longer before giving him the medicine, he just could not stomach anything then.
Another round of cleaning up and consoling the poor baby.

7.15am
Russell finally fell asleep being tired out by the eventful morning. Only then mommy and daddy was able to catch some zzzzz.

9.00am
Russell woke up from his nap. The first thing that he asked for was food, poor baby, he must be starving. But after this morning's experience, I was careful to pace him and watch for signs and stop him from gobbling down his breakfast. Amazingly, after eating, he simply bounced back and behaved like he had never been ill. He was happily playing and running around.
All was well until he ran to the garage door to say bye bye to daddy, he fell and knocked his head against the corner of a wall. OUCH! It was a HUGE bump.

Ricky was rushing to work, so I was left with an unhappy, hurting toddler who has a golf-ball size bump on his forehead. And to top it all off, that day was yours truly's birthday.

5.00pm
Ricky called to let me know that he has made reservations for dinner and would be picking us up in 30 minutes' time. I knew that he meant to celebrate my birthday but I really was not in the mood to do so and didn't think that Russell was well enough to enjoy an evening out with us. Even though he was no longer feverish nor acting ill, I was afraid he would act out in the restaurant....I don't need another 'exciting' episode to add to this already highly dramatic day. But Ricky was so insistent, so I obliged.

6.00pm
We were in the car on the way to the restaurant, when Ricky said he wanted to swing by our friend, Jasmine's, apartment to say hi. It was a little suspicious since Ricky is not a person who would drop by without giving prior notice. So I guess, maybe the 'surprise' he has for me was to have dinner together with Chris (Jasmine's bf) and Jasmine, and maybe at the Japanese restuarant downtown, since I love Japanese food.

Uh...ah....I was totally wrong! I underestimated what my hubby was capable of doing to surprise me. Jasmine came to answer the door in apron and a spatula in her hand.....

SURPRISE!!

All three of them have been preparing a surprise birthday party for me at Jasmine's place. I never would have ever guessed that. Ricky had actually taken the day off work, and has been doing grocery shopping, chopping and dicing in Jasmine's kitchen to cook up a feast for me. I was sooooo touched beyond words. Jasmine, Chris and Ricky have really really made me feel so loved and special. The rest of the evening was filled with fun, food and laughter. And Russell absolutely enjoyed himself and he ate so well, nobody would have guessed that he had thrown up 3 times this morning.

This is one of the most unforgettable days of my life.

priceless possessions

2005-08-04T13:16:00.000-05:00

Blankie and bear

There are two things in this world that are worth more than....uh....actually they are priceless. Russell has grown so attached to his blankie and bear, I dared not even imagine the day something should happen to them. He can't sleep without either one of them by his side and that, my friend, is the greatest nightmare to any parents, when their kids won't sleep. He chews, cuddles, sniffs and wraps himself with the blankie as part of his 'fall-asleep-ritual'; and he also kisses and hugs his beloved bear before he falls asleep and after he wakes. It is so cute to watch.

I only hope bear and blankie will last as long as Russell's childhood years, it is impossible for me to find replacements for them. Even if I should be able to buy identical ones, still they will not be the same as his precious 'bear bear' and 'ket'.

Russell insists on feeding himself

2005-06-24T23:01:00.000-05:00

he loves pancakes for breakfast

I remember how proud I was when Russell ate his first meal, nuggets and fries, all by himself. He started semi-solid food since 6 months old and has graduated to more 'adult-like' food since he turned 1 year old. But all these while I would only allow him to feed himself using fingers, picking up bite-size snacks and foods. Since he was 14 months, he became increasingly interested in using utensils, he would try to grab the spoon and fork I used for feeding him or point at it and say "poon, poon.....". So I started letting him practice using a spoon to scoop dry snacks into his mouth. After a few weeks, I began to allow him to do 'partial-self-feed', by this I mean I would scoop the food, placed the spoon in front of him and allow him to do the onors of delivering the goodie into his mouth. It was a slow and tedious process, meal time took doubly long. On top of that, there was always a bigger mess to clear, food would be on him, on me, on the table and the floor. Sometimes I felt that it would be so much easier and faster to just feed him, but then again, how would he be able to learn if I deprived him of the chance.

The effort does pay off, Russell is 20 months now and he can use fork, spoon, straw-cup and even toothpick with confidence. Nowadays he would not eat a meal unless he is allowed to feed himself, which is still a little messy and takes longer to finish the meal. There were days when I felt frustrated because I was in a rush for time and simply have no patience for him to count every pea; and also days when he would insist on using spoon for noodle and fork for soup; also there were times when he would spit his food out again and again, so much so that my blood reaches boiling point. But mostly, meal time is fun and enjoyable because we can dine together as a family. Also, when I see how he enjoys his food and how proud he is of himself that he eats 'just like dada and mama', I really don't mind cleaning up after him.

ice-cream social

2005-06-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

Last night, Harold and Sharon, our neighbors down the street organized an ice-cream social. I was surprised to see as many as 15 families turned up at their front yard. There were mothers, fathers, grandparents, teenagers, children and even dogs, what a group! Russell, as usual wouldn't venture far and peer from between my legs whenever someone approached him. Then I would start my usual explanation, 'He's very shy..." in an almost apologetic tone.... actually do I have to apologize that my son is shy? Is it not natural that he feels a little nervous in front of total strangers?

Anyway, after much persuasion and some warming up time, he finally did wander off and attempt to join some children his age to play. He even gave the little girl, who is the one wearing a cute green striped dress in the picture, a hug! But he only played for a few minutes before running to me for security and comfort again. Perhaps the most exciting moment for him was when he saw the puppy (in the picture too). Without any hesitation, he ran towards it and pat it. You can't blame him for being more comfortable with dog than human when his only playmate at home is Goldie (our dog).

As for me, I have a good time socializing and getting to know the neighbors whom I did not have a chance to until then. So glad to know and exchange contacts with a few stay-at-home moms. They even suggested setting up playdates for our kids. Of course I welcomed the idea, both Russell and I seriously need to expand our social network. And its about time Russell has some friends other than the 4-legged ones.

Acting like a big brother

2005-06-18T21:50:00.001-05:00

Giving baby a kiss

2005-06-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

We visited a friend who has a 4 month old baby, Leon. The way Russell behaved towards the little one kind of surprises me. He is not exactly a careful boy when he handles his toys, but he was as gentle as a 20-month old can be when he interacts with Leon today. He strokes his head, which I have to keep stopping him from doing so because the baby's skull is still not completely closed at this age. Then he kissed his hands, his legs and his face. Orh....that was so sweet....
He even asked for a piece of tissue paper to wipe Leon when he noticed the baby drooling. I was so proud of him for behaving like such a big loving brother towards the baby. In fact Russell's first 2-syllabus word that he could speak clearly was "baby". I hope he will be the same caring big brother next time when he has a sibling.

Hmmmmm......is this a sign that I should have a second child soon?

A Tribute to my Daddy

2005-06-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

My daddy was a big man. He was tall and had a big belly, a result of all the good food cooked by my mom. I said that because I had seen pictures of him when he and my mom were still dating, he was a skinny fellow. Anyway, as long as I could remember, daddy was always this big man who could protect me from all harm. Everybody in the family, even the man selling vegetables in the market near my house claimed that I was daddy's girl. I was with him and mom every morning doing grocery shopping, and I would sit by the sidewalk and watch him wash his taxi.

My daddy was a taxi driver. He worked very hard and for long hours to provide the best for his 6 children. But never did I ever heard him grumble or complain, never did he ever made his children worry about not having good food on the table. No, he would not allow us to splurge on luxurious things, he would not send me to piano classes when I begged him. He explained that such things were beyond our means. As a 10 year old, I didn't understand the hardship of life, I was angry with him then. But as I look back now, I don't remember not having everything I need; there were always trips to local attractions every school holiday; and daddy always bought durians, mangosteens, rambutans, longans, lychees whenever these tropical fruits were in season. He knew these were the little treats he could afford for his children to enjoy.

I remember daddy as always smiling. He had 2 deep dimples on his cheeks that showed whenever he smiled. As a little girl, I've always wanted those dimples on my face too! And I was silly enough to 'drill' my faced with the tip of my fingers everyday in hope that someday dimples would appear. I wanted to look like him more.....actually I am like him, only not in appearance, but in our love for animals.

Daddy kept fish, birds and a dog. He loved his pets. He would closed all the windows in the house so that he could let the bird out of the cage to experience a little freedom. Every morning when he opened his eyes, even before he got out of bed, he would yell, "Roy....Roy....", that was our dog's name. He would lay in bed and pat his beloved dog before getting on with the rest of the day. I feel so special and so proud to say that no one else among my siblings has as much interest and love for animals as I do, which I know comes from my dad. When I was small, I kept fish, tortoises and hamster as pets. Once I even climbed into a deep drain to save a little bird. My sisters freaked out when I brought the bird home in a plastic bag that was emptied of the soda I was drinking. Another time, I was locked out by my mother when I brought home a stray kitten. Now that I have my own family and my own home, I keep a dog. Somehow, to me, the home just did not feel right without a family pet.

Why do I love animals so much? Just look at my daddy.

During my teens, I was no longer as close to my dad. Friends and school were all that I cared about, so we spent very little time together other than sleeping in the same house. I cannot recall anything that I did with him except the day when he drove me to my first day at Junior college. That was it. Yes, that was all. The realization that I spent so little contact time with him came too late. He had a heart attack and a stroke one night, when I was 17, which was the night that began the last month of his life.

Everyday, for a month, I would take a slow, long walk up the slope that led to the entrance of Toa Payoh hospital, where my dad was hospitalised. I would visit him after school, and leave only when visiting time was over. I didn't expect he would leave me so soon. At one point, he was taken out of the ICU and seemed improving. Then he was backed in the ICU again after another massive heart attack. My big strong daddy lay in bed helpless, with many tubes in and out of different parts of his body, which had been reduced to only half its original size. He couldn't speak, but I remember I stood close to his bed and saw tears fall from his eyes. He didn't want to leave us yet and we didn't want him to go. We were still clinging on to the hope that he would walk out of the hospital with us. But on one dreadful night, almost a month after his first heart attack, the phone call came around midnight from the hospital, asking us to hurry so that we could say goodbye....

....we didn't make it. He was gone, all alone, before we could let him see us one last time. Days following that was a blur. I didn't weep during his funeral, tears wouldn't flow. Nothing felt real, I wished it was a dream that I could wake up from. The only thing I could remember about that grieving period was constantly praying, "God, please let my daddy be in heaven."

It has been 15 years since my daddy passed away. I still can remember the dimples on his face, the trips to the zoo and birdpark and the special moments we shared. I am thankful for having such a wonderful dad. Now that I'm a mom, I have an even deeper appreciation for the unconditional and sacrificial parental love he lavished on me. On this Father's day, I want to say, "Thank you and I love you, daddy." Wished I had said that when you were around and wish you are here. But I believe you are in place where angels sings.

A quick and easy way to get rid of the pacifier

2005-06-16T14:27:00.000-05:00

Russell started using the pacifier as a soother to help him to stop crying moments after he was born. I am not a strong advocate of the use of pacifier, but when I've just been through hours of labor and the nurse stuck one in his mouth so that he could calm down after his grand entrance into this world, I did not object to it. My mother, who came to take care of me and my newborn had no qualms about letting the pacifier stay in the baby's mouth as long as he wants it there. I really did not like that idear since I felt that sucking on the pacifier can be a pretty 'addictive' habit that would be hard to break in the future. That I speak from my own experience.....ahhmmm....I remember still sucking on the pacifier when I was 4 or 5 years old! Shame....shame.....and that also I think was to be blamed for my crooked teeth.

I had a lengthy discussion with my well-meaning mother, and we came to a compromise.
That was:
1. Only allow Russell to use the pacifier as a soother to help him to fall asleep.
2. The pacifer must be removed when he became sound asleep, not a minute more.

To cut the long story short, I've been observing those 2 golden rules I set and allowed Russell to use the pacifier until he was 6 months old. I tried removing it from him when he was 6 months, 9 months and 12 months old. Need I say, all the attempts failed miserably. He wouldn't accept another object of comfort and he would cry for an hour each time he needed to sleep. And his withdrawal syndrome didn't get better even when I persisted for 2 days, 4 days, 6 days, until I finally gave in. He became more resistent with each attempt and I was both mentally and emotionally worn out by the experiences.

When I brought Russell back to Singapore for an extended stay at my mom's, I was determined to get rid of the pacifier then. As before, I used the withdrawal method. I simply hid it away and let him cry it out. His grandmother(my mother) watched in dismay at how her daughter 'torture' her precious grandson. After crying for 2 days, my mom who had restrained herself from interfering finally spoke up. She said, "The key to getting rid of the pacifier is not to magically make it disappear and hope that Russell won't not miss it. The secret is the make him surrender his pacifier to you willingly." I listen with disbelief and was full of skeptism, but decided to let her try her method anyway.

She took Russell's pacifier and sewed a few black threads on the tip. Then she gave it to him before his nap as usual. Russell took the strange looking pacifier and studied it, the sight did not gross him out and he decided to put it in his mouth. After sucking on it for 3 seconds, he spat it out, he tried again, then he spat it out again! He held up his pacifier and cried, I soothed him and offered him his blankie. He was very upset with the horrible-tasting pacifier, but finally fell asleep within 15 minutes! IT WORKS! For the next 2 days, we continued offering him his pacifier but always dramatized and reminded him how gross and yucky it was. He would taste it and spit it out again and again. Each time he would fall asleep with 15 minutes with little tears. Finally at day 3, he threw the pacifier out of his crib and with that ended his relationship with the pacifier forever.

VICTORY at last!

Thanks to my wise mother I was able to get rid of the pacifier in such a short time and almost painless manner.

"Didn't I tell you to always listen to your mother!" guess WHO said that.

What I learn from my son....

2005-06-14T22:16:00.000-05:00

....slow down and take time to smell the flowers.

While I water the yard, he will usually be playing by himself. He squats and watches a spider crawl by and follow it until it disappeared into the grass. He will place his nose close to the flowers to smell even those that hardly give off any fragrance. He will exclaim with great pride and his eyes will sparkle when he spotted a beatle on the leave. He picks up fallen leaves and flowers and scrutinize them. But I'm usually so engrossed with yard work and trying to finish it as quickly as possible that I hardly pay attention to his little 'discoveries'. In the end I spent more time and effort trying to maintain the yard and flower beds than actually enjoying them.

He taught me that it is okay that I couldn't complete the task that I planned to do sometimes. It is okay to take time to smell the flowers even if half the flower bed is dying, appreciate the other half that is still alive and blooming.

Welcome to my blog

2005-06-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

I am wmd Choon. Want to make a guess what wmd stands for?

For thousands of years, many women in different parts of the world, living in different eras have earned this title in front of their names. No, wmd does not stand for women's medical doctor, for I certainly am not one. It simply stands for the 3 predominant roles I'm playing at this juncture of my life; w - wife, m - mother and you guess it right, d - daughter.

'How ordinary. How boring.' some might think. To some extent, the duties I carry out from day to day are ordinary and mundane. Being a stay-at-home mom of 20-month old Russell, most of my waking hours are spent caring for him; and as a wife, meeting my husband's needs, and not forgetting the endless chores to be done around the house. And once in a while, I get to be the daughter to be served and spoilt by my mother, whom I didn't come to appreciate as much until I move thousands of miles away from her. But mostly I'm just preoccuppied with being a mom. And that, I believe, many moms would agree, is never a dull nor boring job, especially if you are the mother of a toddler.

I love babies, but I love toddlers even more. Babies are sweet and cute, but toddlers are funny, amusing, annoying, unpredictable and full of surprises. Probably the most interesting and entertaining people to be around ...if they are in a good mood. But also the most unreasonable and hard to understand creatures when they are in a meltdown. Russell is no longer the sweet and helpless baby who would eat whatever I give him and wear whatever I choose for him. He now has his own preference and exercises his right to refuse constantly, the most common word he would say eversince he learnt to speak is 'No, no, no.' It has become much more challenging than it used to be. Nonetheless, I wouldn't change a thing, I totally enjoy the role of being a toddler's mom (except for the potty-training thingy).

"Go, go..." (Outside Downtown Aquarium)