In-door Park

We don't usually take our kids to those in-door parks kinda thing (kidzone, etc.) simple because where we are there are parks a plenty.

But last week, while Mommy had to have a chat with a friend over lunch, Gadget-daddy took the boys to one in Midvalley.

Here are some of the nice shots Gadget-daddy took of what they did.





I came back about 90 minutes later and the boys were having a light snack. Then even after we had announced we were going to head back, we actually only got out half an hour later.

They sure had fun...

Oh, But now they know what these place are and that they are in places familiar to them.

Did we just set ourselves up for some more pestering and pestering and more pestering...?
Oops!

Gadget-daddy's Home

Gadget-daddy's home.

The boys wasted no time in playing and rough housing with their Daddy. While he took time to play a recently discovered train game online, Mommy took a snooze. Now the boys are downstairs playing racing with their uncle, it's Daddy's turn to snooze. Traveling is very tiring and so time wasting.

Just glad he's home safe. And no hitches this time. There was one incident where he was suppose to be home by 3pm, but because of the flight delays he reached home at 12am.

Just so glad he's home.

MERDEKA!

Happy Merdeka!!

It's our Independence Day.

For all the mess that's going on in the political scene, all I have to say is Malaysia is hitting puberty at 51!

So now we are seeing all these signs of growing, painful as it is,

Changes and challenges,

Emotional turmoils,

A lot of uncertainties,

Still struggling with an identity crisis,

Can't get your priorities right,

Can't stand to be criticised,

and

Where's all the money?!!


Seems to have all these physical developments but the maturity definitely still not there.
Looks like a "grown-up" but still thinks like a child.

Doesn't that sound like a teenager's set of problems?
Anyway, ...

Happy Birthday, Malaysia.

Hope you bloom into a beautiful nation that is useful to the rest of the world ant not just be stuck in the rut always looking only inwards.

Missing: Gadget-daddy

Hubby's been traveling every week since July.

Today, on one of our long-distance calls (we call and text each other a few times a day, trying to reduce the distance), he mentioned it would probably be for just 2 more months then he may not need to travel so much then.

Some people can get used to their spouse being away. After a while they establish a kind of routine to keep them busy, and maybe start a new hobby etc. to have some entertainment or excitement.
Well, I think those are very independent women.

I was one... until I fell head-over-heels. Then I was bound, still am bound, in my heart and soul for the rest of my life.

So after all these while it actually has taken a toll. I feel it harder every time he has to go. I feel the distance more, especially when we talk before bed time - exchanging stories of our day.

My boys are not too crazy about talking on the phone, so he has also missed hearing them and they him. Sometimes he leaves when they are still asleep, in the wee hours in the morning. Sometimes he leaves in the evening while they are busy at play and just give him a quick, "bye, dad" without realising they won't see him for the next few days.

Photo taken in mid 2006

Oh, I know time will pass quickly if we count by the weekends...
But it's still a day away.

So near yet so far.

Sharing Heartaches

I am walking through a very rough patch with a friend in her marriage.

Things have been tough from the time they got married but after all the changes she's made for him, she now suspects he is unfaithful.

She is afraid of what the future may hold, starting this weekend.
I am afraid for her.

Generalisation:
A man thinks he can have his flings and affairs and when he has had enough, he can come back to his wife and kids and expects a warm welcome. She/they should be glad he chose to come back.
BUT
If she had been unfaithful, it's the end right away. She should be stripped of all rights and even have her children taken from her and there will no reservations spelling out her sins to her kids or to anyone else...

If a man is unfaithful, many wonders why his wife did not satisfy him or how she failed meet his expectations.
BUT
If a woman is unfaithful she is labeled a whore, b*tch, gatal, miang, etc...

A woman is expected to still keep her family intact despite the failure of the man of the house.
BUT
If a woman has failed to keep the household intact, the man has the right to demand another woman do it. Marry another woman, any woman, with no one questioning him doing so.


I think of some women I know, mostly my mom's generations, who would just run their home as smoothly despite their knowing their husbands' unfaithfulness. They think nothing of their rights, their needs. They only think of taking care of the children and to have a roof over their heads and food on the table. They keep themselves busy through the day, but I wonder how they handle the time alone before they sleep... if they can sleep.

As for our generation, I've already heard of a few of my former schoolmates divorced. Some with kids, some without. I don't know the whole story behind it, but if it involved an affair, I am sure no woman is going to stand for this today, whether your religion allows it or not.

So maybe some men, maybe quite a lot of men, are still stuck in the times of "Abraham and the forefathers" where you can have more than one wife for whatever reason...


So tonight, after talking and crying with my friend,
I kissed my darling boys and prayed
that they will be men who will be good and faithful husbands,
and they will have good and faithful wives.

Household Headache

"We're in deep sh*t."

I don't usually use that word, but I think the phrase and expression, as subscribe by Hollywood, best describe our predicament.

We have a leaking pipe...somewhere. It's finally sowed up in our water bill. The water bill comes like every three months. The last round we only had to pay like RM 22.++ and before that we had over paid for two rounds (Thanks to some mistake from their computer* and Gadget-daddy paid, on line, double the amount due). This time the bill came up to over RM1000. With a red stamp of warning of our unpaid dues.

Crazy!!
Even our electric bill never come anywhere close to this.

As a child, even in my teens, I have always heard my parents complain about bills to be paid, and maintenance of the house that is stressful, but they have spared us of all the dollars and cents (ringgit and sens, rather) they carefully counted at each dispense.

Now I have a cloud over my head, although I am not really doing anything about it - as in, we have got a plumber, happens to be one of FiL's brothers, to come look and check around, and FiL usually walks around with him while I keep the boys busy and out of their way.

MiL is also pantang (superstitious) and does not want me near anywhere things that are being taken apart and where there's clanging and banging going on.

So for the last 2 days I've been showering I MiL's bathroom downstairs and we've been trying to cope with adjusting the usage of water from the mains and the tank.
Sigh... complications of urban living in the 21st century...

We are still not over this yet. Still checking on the pipes.
Wish there's a technology that can scan through walls and underground to check for leaks... One common enough to not cost us a bomb and save us from the worse case scenario: Breaking up the flooring and down the walls.

Eeeek!!


Sigh...
There... done griping.


p/s- Daily supplements: Multi-co and folic acid from doc, and fruitcake from sis. :)
Little 'bulge' is getting bigger. :)


* This is the whole misgivings I have about records and amenities being tech savvy. These systems will one day come back and bite you when you've come to rely on it for convenience...and give you a major headache, like now.

A Photo Memory: Oh They Grow So Fast!

Gadget-daddy actually had a photoblog earlier, but the server crashed.
So here are some photos that we managed to pull out from some other hard drive (he handles all these stuff anyway. )

Micah at 16-17 months old.
These were taken in Penang.



Oh, they grow so fast.

Micah's first year flew by so fast I really had no time to keep a good record of his progress except that his first 2 teeth sprouted at 4.5 months, he was communicating with single words by 9 months and walked on his own, quite a few steps, on his first birthday. He loves everything fast. In fact, we thought he learnt to run before walking - he was always dashing across the room, and my mom actually told me to teach him to walk properly - to tell him to slow down his steps consciously.



Max in his early months, between a few days old to about 4 months.


Oh, they grow so fast.

When Max hit his First birthday, I could still remember the day we brought him back from the hospital. Maybe because I had stopped working by then, but Max stayed a "baby" a little longer, much to our delight.

His first two teeth sprouted at 4 months, he walked a week after his first birthday and started talking, communicating with single and double syllable words, when he was about 19 months. He loves puzzles, scribbling with a crayon, or a pencil, and is the sweet-tooth of our family.

National Museum

We were suppose to meet up with jlow and another of his and Gadget-daddy's friend. Our plan was to go to the Aquaria KLCC. Unfortunately a few things turned up and were had to put off our get-together.

So instead of going to see the fishes, we decided to take the boys to see some trains and old cars and other stuff - to the museum.

I was already imagining the dark corridors of the natural history gallery, mainly stuffed animals and insects and eggs behind glass cases, apart from the displays of old retired mode of transportation.

To the boys' delight we took our time on the trains and road transports displayed outdoors.



To Mommy's disappointment, the lower galleries were under renovations. I asked the lady at the ticket counter and she said all the displays on natural history are being moved out (did not mention where to), and the whole place will be just to focus on the Malaysian history.

Sigh... so all the images I have of what the museum used to be is also history. The trips I made as a child with my family, a few with different school groups as an excursion. We even played tour guide a few times to some foreign friends and brought them there. all are now but memories.

Well, I hope it'll be better when things are all done up.

Anyway, a visit to the museum is always marked by a photo taken at the main entrance (although it's been closed for renovations and we entered from the back).
(Oh, here the boys were too busy looking at dragon flies and water gliders in the fountain and I just got a candid shot. Gadget-daddy actually took a family photo later with his camera set on a timer.)

We did buy kacang putih (friend peanuts) from a stall. The lady had them in bags and on a wooden table, more like a desk, and you can just imgine her walking away at the end of the day balancing the table on her head. (Sorry, too busy to take a shot of her and the stall) So we had old style kacang putih at the museum. How appropriate. :)




So that was our kinda adventurous morning.

Felt like a Saturday

Today Gadget-daddy worked from home...much to the delight of this moody moomy.

In the afternoon, when Max was at his nap, we decided to go watch a movie.
While we were getting ready to go out, Micah was calling from downstairs,

"Anyone wants to play checkers with me? Anybody?"

Oh, he sounded so pathetic, so abandoned.
So I went down and gave him some attention, but did not want to start on the game.

Gadget-daddy came down and Micah called, "Daddy, wanna play checkers with me?"
Gadget-daddy did. He stayed on the game for 5 minutes, gave him some pointers and then we rushed off for The Mummy 3.

Before leaving the cinema we got a fresh box of popcorn for the boys. They were really delighted with that. We ate the popcorn while watching Pocoyo.

For dinner, Grandma made some delicious spicy fried chicken and assam laksa.
I sure had my appetite for dinner today.



Later I had a craving for something cold and refreshing. I actually wanted a smoothie, but decided to settle for a fruity ice-blended at Coffee Beans - had their Berried Treasure. Gadget-daddy drove us out. Micah fell asleep on the way to the mall. Max enjoyed the drink as much as I did. :)


Ahh.. a good end to a day. It sure felt like a Saturday. :)


Thanks, Gadget-daddy for meeting the cravings of this moody mommy.


-----
p/s- Pictures coming up...

Updates: Uploaded photos on 23/8/2008, 11.45 pm.

Whet My Sleeping Tastebuds

I was looking at this strawberry shortcake recipe only to find out it's actually no cake but a biscuit! Marvellous! Just looking at this picture gave me mind a good stir.

Something sweet and fruity!!

I also looked at this delicious strawberry cream cake, ...

that I only dream of making, but really doubt I'll ever make it...

Oh, all that's pretty and fruity...

p/s- I must say "Thanks" to Lynn who first pointed me to this recipe site.

Up and Down On the Preggy Ride

I normally feel pretty good in the morning. I am full of energy and I want to get out of the house to do something, go some where, eat something...

Then by the time it hits 2pm, I need to nap. Mainly to get off my feet and take the pressure off my back.

The down part comes after the nap. I usually wake up feeling listless, nauseous, bored...

I feel like I need some distractions. Should maybe go for a movie, or sit and have a drink with a friend. But it's not the best of time to be out of the house, considering it'll be the rush hour for home soon... Plus these are the hours grandma will be preparing dinner for the family and I should watch the boys so that she can cook in peace...

Is this one going to be a social baby-bug?

Ahh.., we shall have to wait till after March 2009 to find out.

Your Eyes or Ears

Was reading Infant's post on this and I thought...

The things I'd miss if I were to become blind:

Colours of Nature,
Sunsets, sunrise, stars, rainbows, green trees and rushing rivers. The change of weather, and of seasons.
The details of a plant.
Animals of all sorts, the way feathers and scales are arranged,
the way furs and skin are so smooth and fine, and
the patterns that they come in - spots, stripes, patches or just whole.
And not just the colours of nature, but their shapes and depth and splendour.


Watching how things work
I am one easily captivated by how things work, or how skillful one works.

I was once commented and laughed at by an owner of burger stall because I was just staring at how he was preparing my burger - completely interested like at a cooking class, just absorbed. At least he was generous enough to not think I was trying to steal his skill or that I was suspicious of his hygiene etc. But I love watching how breads are made, cakes being decorated, the florist at work on a bouquet, the painter with his choice of medium and tools (Oh, I love 'Art Attack!').

I also love to watch clockworks, and those alike, I am always amazed by the mechanics of things, not like I'm anywhere near being a professional in this area, but I enjoy my moments with my boys staring at the unders of cars at the workshop, looking at the wheels of a train, watching road-bulding machines work.

Most of all,
I'd miss watching my boys grow as they play,
watching them in perfection as they sleep,
seeing their different facial expressions or delight, surprise, in great laughter, in anger or even fear, in sadness, in deep thoughts or when they are bored. When they are sleepy, falling asleep...
I'd miss seeing their face change as they grow from a baby to a child, and then to a man.
I'd miss studying their handsome features, their fingers and toes, and clipping their nails.
(This paragraph applies to my bestfriend and life partner too - Gadget-daddy - except the baby bit, but will be looking out for wrinkles and grey hairs. :D)

It would be such a loss. I can't imagine a world of darkness.

I can't imagine not being able to read,
not being able to walk freely and watch the bustling of a scene at a market, in the kitchen, at a park or at a train station.

So for all the above, I'd choose having my eyes than ears.


---------

On another somber note,
while my dad was losing his sight due to his diabetes, I once cried to Gadget-daddy (years before any sign of him being a daddy then) that it'd be so so sad that my dad would not be able to see our kids, his grandchildren. But more than that he never got to know on earth any of his grandchildren. He passed away 3 years before his first grandchild came to be.

A Little More-Active Mom

Micah is such a home body. I asked him if he wanted to go out today, to the Science Center, but he was not interested.

"We just stay home everyday, ok? No school tomorrow? We just stay home-lah. No need to go anywhere."

The only place he really wanted to go was to visit a friend, but Max is still sniffing.

So the boys played and fought and made-up and played and fought, and made-up....
You get the pattern.

Mommy did a bit more with them today.

We built a few towers together with the building blocks, I still waved them off for their car races. We did some coloring activities, more like "homework" for Micah, and we did quite a bit of drawing. They chose to use the doodle-pad, so nothing to show. Of course there was endless pretend play, again on the Oriental Express and then in a space ship.

E.g.:
Micah, "Tigger is so funny. He goes (bouncing), 'bounce, pull, bounce, pull...' Then Rabbit says, (waving arms in exasperation) 'That's now how you pull weeds!' (giggles) They are so funny."

Micah and Max are now also very into repeating the funny parts they like from the shows they see. It's usually something from Pocoyo or Tigger and Pooh. Occasionally it'll be from Mickey Mouse or Johnny and the Sprites.

Good to see they have such a wonderful sense of humour.

Today's craving: Fruit cake.
Shall get it tomorrow.

Sleeping Tastebuds

Must be the reason why I feel like I need something sweet or sour or spicy all the time.

Most of the time I feel my tongue is like a foreign object ion my mouth, especially at rest. Sometimes there is a tickle in the throat in the middle of sleep that makes me cough and I feel like throwing up.

Ah... need the pickle papaya and dried plums (shin-mui).
Need my nasi lemak and fizzy drink.
And still dreaming of a good fruitcake and have it with tea...

-------


Now to see to the boys.

Moody Mommy

I am tired today. Don't feel like doing anything.

I enjoyed watching the boys play by themselves and playing together, but just not in the mood to get involved (if ever possible for a mommy).

So at one point or another I did:

fix a train,

hand out snacks,

cuddled the boys,

play pretend in a passive way (waved them off as they took the Oriental Express),

read a couple of books,

admired their drawings and exclaimed how amazing they are (of course they had to tell me what the drawings were suppose to be),

tickle them,

.....

BUT I wish I could

take them to the park (can't imagine having to run after 2 boys and probably have to carry Max on the way back),

play in the room as we usually do, i.e. Mommy be the horse/ lift/ give helicopter rides...

race around the house with them,

make them pan cakes (if they're in the mood for some),

take them to visit a friend (Max has a slight running nose),

be more pro-active in suggesting something fun for them to do (like painting?!!)

............


Well, Just a little while more...

Hopefully by the time the first trimester is over I will feel better.

Sigh....

Maybe we should plan for something this weekend when Gadget-daddy is back.


p/s- Sorry I have not done my round of visiting your sites... just tired, and dull, as if the tastebuds on my tongue has fallen asleep.

Two Events

Early in the morning we went to the doctors for a belated check up. Well, we tried to be as early as we could, but obviously, having to settle the boys and their breakfast before leaving, we were not as early as planned.

When we got to the doctor's clinic, I was was No.14. He was attending to No.5. So we were advised by the nurse to go have tea and then come back.

Gadget-daddy and I went for dim-sum and had a good chat about reading and new writing styles.

When we got back in, we were just in time for my turn. So a quick update:


Fetus is 11 weeks old and 41.1 mm.
(Sorry, I think I heard the doctor wrongly last time.)

So far all clear, but advised not to travel so much.


Then we got back to take the boys for a movie. WALL.E

Throughout the trailers, the boys kept asking, "where is Wall.e?"
The the show started, and after the first 10 minutes, Micah already declared "I don't like this." But we persuaded him to stay. Gadget-daddy held him and talked softly to him.

Half way through the show, Micah started crying, "I don't like this show, scary..."

So I took him out to the hall way, Max saw us going and wanted to tag along. So the three of us sat outside eating up the rest of the popcorn, went to the bath room, they ran around a bit looking at some posters, but mostly sat with me to eat popcorn and talked about the shows they like: Pocoyo and others on the PHDC.

We peeked in occasionally and when it was the ending scene I brought the boys back in and we ended the show togther.

By the time we hit the road outside the mall, Max was asleep.
Micah fell asleep as the car backed into the driveway.

Now the boys are playing the Wii with their daddy.

Movie Special In School

Micah's school did a movie special today, bringing both the kindy and the playgroup (for Max) together to talk about what to expect and how to behave in a cinema.
It was really fun simulation.

We all were told to line up for a ticket.


Then we queued to get our drinks and popcorn.


The everyone sat in rows of chairs in a darkened room to watch a few short cartoon.



When it ended (too soon), the children moaned a little and washed up for their snacks.
Then some free play and it was time to go home.

What a fun day at school.

Bed Time, Max

Micah fell asleep in the car on the way back from the train station. Gadget-daddy's home!!

So I only had to get Max ready for bed. Got him to brush his teeth, looked at some picture books and then dress him in his pajamas.

While putting on his pajamas, I quizzed him:

What is your name?

Max.

How do you spell that?

M-A-X, Max.

What is your daddy's name?

Dunno... (grins)

You don't know?!!

(Punishment by getting his calf between mommy's teeth. Squeals and giggles follows)

What is your Mommy's name?

Dunno.... (giggles)

You don't know?!... (Low growl starting in Mommy's throat)

Kin.

Ok...What is your koh-koh's (older brother) name?

Micah koh-koh.

How old are you?

Dunno... (giggles)

You don't know how old you are? How old are you?

Fine, thank you.

No, not "How are you?" "How old are you?"

Dunno... (giggling and wiggling)

You don't know? Two...

Two...

Two and a half.

Two and a half... (grins) I want to sleep now... where is my Daddy?

Mommy calls for Daddy and we all said good night.

Good night, you cheeky baby.
Good night, beautiful boy.

Is That Why You Want Me to Go to School?

Micah, the first born and a sensitive child, has serious separation anxiety.

For the first 6 weeks, he would still moan and whine about missing me while on the way to school. On the good days, he will talk about the things he likes about school but sprinkled lavishly with a string of "But I will miss you, Mommy..."

These days we have these kind of repeated conversations sprouting sporadically through the day. It could be in the car on the way to school, or on the way back, in the garden, or at the dining table, in the showers or at Ah Ma's house. It always starts with:

" I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too."

"Is that why you want me to go to school? Because it's good for me?"

"Yes."

"Then I can learn new things?"

"Yes."

"Then I can come back and teach you the new things too?"

"Yes, and teach Max too. "

"I love school. It's a lot of fun. Is that why you wish you could come to my school too.?"

"Yes. Your teachers are very good and you have so many friends and you do such interesting things..."

"But you can't. You're too old to come to my school. How about you come and teach in my school?"

"But..."

Never mind my explanation... You can just see how he is coping with wanting Mommy still.
But we are getting better.







Micah at 2 years old.

Good Ole MIL

Had some fruits today and searched the fridge for some pickled papaya I thought we had. Turned out it was finished some time back.

So before I knew it, Mil was already at work making a new batch of pickled papaya. She's just amazing.

The secret of it is to use a peeler to make fine slices of the fruit. The it's the usual sugar, salt in hot water and then add in vinegar and chilly. The fruit should sit for a few hours before it's good to taste. After 24 hours, it'll be even better.


Mmm... tangy and spicy.

Will come back and tell you about our busy weekend.

Smile for Max

Here's Max having a turn handling the camera.

He's still not as skilled as his brother of course, because he is just 2 and half after all.

He took some shots of the inside of our car,



One of Mommy (trying to get him out of the car)



And then he took the dogs,



one of Grandpa reading at the porch,




and some self portrait




Good try, cutie.
You are getting the hang of it.