To Sleep Or Not To Sleep

Was up expressing milk for Myron at 2.55am*.
Came back to bed with the sleeping baby at about 3.30am.

Now I am still awake.

Was watching my babies sleep...
Hugged each one of them a but while I whispered,
"Mummy and Daddy love you so much."
For the littlest one on my bed, I smelled him and watched him the most.




In the midst of many thoughts... two people.
My father, whose 8th Anniversary was on 8th November,
And Matthew's 1st that was on 31 Oct.
They are still missed so much by their loved ones.

Yes, and missing Gadget-daddy.
2 weeks away is really just too long for us all.
Max mentioned today, "I wish Daddy was back, Mom."
Looking forward to his being back this weekend.

Ok. Should get some rest.
Taking the boys to school in a few hours' time.
Wish I have more time to go blog-hopping... :P


Goodnight.




*Myron has decided he does not want to nurse directly anymore. Every time I put him to the breast he will either turn away or bite me. Looks like we will just go until I can't produce enough milk to be expressed. So this baby might break my good record of breastfeeding beyond 12 months. *sigh*.
Now breastfeeding is extra troublesome as it involves 2 people. In his sleepy-hungry mode, he want to be held. So while drinking from his cup or waiting for more milk, Grandma has to carry him. *sigh*

Grandma's To The Rescue

This Mommy's crazy.

We have been given the birthday invitation like weeks before, but she could not decide if they should go. Gadget-daddy's priority, so we were waiting to have him confirm his schedule.

Then a new addition to the family arrived in Penang, 2 weeks ahead of schedule. We wondered when to make the trip to see the baby boy. date finally set, and we are going for the party this weekend.

Theme: Safari.

So last minute (hmmm... I seem to run into these with my kids quite a bit), I went to the mall to get some materials, nice leopard prints, and got Ah-Ma to sew a costume for both the boys. If only I knew how to work the sewing machine...

So I cut out the costume and Ah-Mah did the sewing. Think the boys will look savagely cool in them!!



Thanks, Ah Mah!! You sure dote on your grandkids.
:D


-----------

Myron has some viral infection that causes sores that look like ulcers in his mouth and has spread to his face.
This has been for about a week now, and it's really taking a long time to heal.

So Myron looks like he has 2 pimples on his cute face and aspot on his neck, thanks to the endless drooling. Because of the sores in his mouth, he has also refused to nurse directly. Hence a feeding session becomes a 2 person job sometimes. Mommy, moomy the cow expressing milk and Mil feeding with a cup... And this happens even like at 3am, which is why I am up.
Then this evening, Myron ran a fever.
Mil did her usual dough-rub for him.

I really don't know how such super moms like Mott and Lia do it, especially when the boys are/were young like mine. *Salute*

Whenever anyone asks how I manage 3 boys, well, I say that it's with the help of my in-laws.


Thank you, Mah-mah, for going through all the growing pains with me for these 3 precious darlings.

Time Out

I don't mean the time we went out, but oh, I need a time out!!

We were in Sinapore last weekend to spend some time with Gadget-daddy, but travelling with 3 kids is so tiring! We didn't even do anything adventurous this time...at least Myron and I didn't.
We stayed home on the day Gadget-daddy took the 2 older boys swimming and my sister's family went too. My mum and I and Myron stayed back so that he could get some shut eye while my mom and I prepared a bak-kut-teh dinner for a friend visiting that night.

Anyway, since coming back, I have been joining the kids at their bed-time, well, a little after them, but just feel so worn-out through the day.

Could be that Myron is now exhibiting the teething blues - refusing to nurse but crying more frequently though the day and night.

Could be the constant playing referee and judge and jury for the two older boys, and also monitor them at homework time...

Could be the lack of help with the boys in the night, now that their daddy is in another country.

Could be the anxiety about getting a car there and getting the boys registered on time for school... and how to move stuff down, when and how much of what....

I am so ready to sleep...
*yawn*


p/s- will come back and update this with some pix.
Just can't get myself to go get my camera right now. *yawn*

All In A Baby's Day's Work

Eat




Sleep




Bath

Play




Look Innocent

An Un-Happening Day

Had lunch with my sister, mom and the two older boys at their favourite pasta place.
We got there first and when my sister came up to our table I told her, "We are very boring people. We are having the usual."
The boys will have their penne carbonara and the adults will do another pasta and a bread.

That says a lot about kids wanting and needing their routine.
... And we get sucked into it too.


On the way back, just the two boys in the back seat and me driving, I giggled to myself listening to them play and talk.

Doing a tug-of-war with Myron's inchworm:

Max: Koh-koh, why do you always want to win?!
Micah: Actually I was trying not to win, I wanted to be second. But my arm is just too strong.
*
*
*
Micah: I know the trick to win. You make the other people laugh.
(Told a joke that made his brother roll and then cheered that he won.)



In the evening, before bed:
We were playing through some pf the photos from my iPhoto album and there were quite a few that Max could not tell if the baby in the picture was himself or Myron. Hahaha... That's how much the boys all look alike!

Guess which one's who?
(No prize but you'll have a surprise when you check the answer at the bottom of this post.)



I have been a "kiasu" mom the last 2 weeks and asked Micah's teacher for homework.
I actually felt he needed to start a new routine before he starts school next year.
So he has been doing 2 pages of homework every day.
Most of the time he needs a lot of encouragement and assurance.
But I have come to realise his reading skill is better than he believes.


Last week, for a treat, Mommy bought the boys a surprise.
Now it's just sitting in the shelves.
The boys are more interested in the recently made movies, asking only for certain scenes which has their favourite characters and awesome fighting parts.
Boys.

Myron is now 7.5 months old.
He is starting to crawl and practicing standing.
He is also climbing over obstacles.
The safe places for him now are inside the play-pen, on the walker or on the astro-saucer.




When we all go out, this is how we look like in the back seat.



And the 2 big boys just ove entertaining their baby brother.
:)


Three boys are a handful... of fun!!

Thanks for dropping by.
Have a good week.


p/s- All the guess who's who of the baby photos:
They are all Max!

2 Halves Of A 'Pinang'

Gadget-daddy has already left for Singapore.

I was feeling like we were being separated for the first time, like when he went to finish his studies in UK... more than 15 years ago.

This morning, after breakfast, I lay in bed for a little while to moap.
Then got ready to go out. Took the 3 boys and mil out for a no-reason-trip.
But we ended up in McD for lunch and had quite a fun time (sent mil and Myron back first as baby was asleep and mil sleepy).

So it doesn't get easier through the years. Even with all his early jet-setting days, the many months in US and the last long term away, Jakarta... Seems like it's something I can't get use to.

Well, some things are a little better... or worse. The boys are here to keep me company, and keep me busy.
They sometimes forget and ask when Daddy will be home (as in what time today) so that he can help them with some Transformer toy.
Then Micah will ask why can't we just stay in Malaysia, as he will miss his grandparents.

Today, for their bedtime story, I told them an old story that Gadget-daddy had made up when I was expecting no.2.
...
...
...

Ok... shall spare you.
Will go hit the hay now.
Boys have school tomorrow.
Counting the days to this weekend.

Good night.

Sandwiched

Why the two boys are not allowed to sleep with their baby brother:

One night, Mommy took the baby to the boys' bed because one wanted to sleep beside Myron and the other beside Mommy.

All finally asleep, so Mommy went for a quick shower.






When she came out of the bathroom 3 minutes later....


The baby was so sleepy that he didn't seem to notice he had become his brother's bolster.
:D

Mid-Autumn Festival 2009

Mid-Autumn Festival is often called Lantern festival or the Mooncake festival.
That's because, oh, so obvious, that this is the time we light up lanterns and give mooncakes to each other (normally among family members and close friends).

The last few years we have been celebrating Lantern/Mooncake festival at Ah Ma's house. So the usual, we light up paper lanterns and hand them on a plant by the garden.

Grandma and the three boys standing in front of paper lanterns hung on a tree.
Micah and Max are holding the lanterns, shape of the lotus flower, they made in school.

We also light candles on the wall that's between her and her neighbour.

Micah and Max lighting candles.
Supervised by Ee-ee.

And here's a shot of some of the traditional Lantern/Mooncake Festival treats.

Clockwise: Chinese tea, red eggs, baby yams, brown sugar (to dip the yams in), mooncake,
and "ngau-kok" (meaning bull's horns in Cantonese.
It's actually a root, but you eat it like a nut,
boiled, and then crack the shell to get to the white center).

It's Myron's first Lantern festival and it sure was fascinating for him to see all the lights.

Myron and grandma, holding a fish lantern.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone.

p/s- We are still eating the mooncakes my mother gave.