Busy busy busy

Have been really busy for the past 2 weeks since we came back from M'sia. Fired the maid the night we arrived home and since then, I've been doing more housework. Hubby's really helpful. He has been cleaning the floor and helping with the laundry.

My dear Josh has been keeping me tired and busy. For nearly a week, he refused to sleep alone in his room and has been crying for either daddy/mummy to sleep with him. He'd wake up at night and come over to our room too. When we finally settled that problem, he came down with a fever and flu. So I had to wake up every 2 hours to check on him.

Things are finally falling into place now. Josh is his usual self again. I guess he got too much attention from his grandparents so he was a bit difficult to manage when we came home. However, after a few visits to the "naughty corner", he has been a lot better. Back to his usual cheeky, lovable self.

Now, yours truly is suffering from stomach discomfort and lower back pain. The pregnancy hormones do no good to my digestion and I've been suffering from constipation. That led to bloating which resulted in abdominal pain. And the extra housework has led to back pain. Have been too pampered so now with a bit more to do, my back cannot take it. The hubs has ordered me not to do anything and said he will take care of all the chores.

Oh well, life is not a bed of roses all the time. However, I am really thankful for a co-operative and understanding hubs, an obedient toddler and my part-time helper who comes in every Sunday to give the house a good wash!!!! And let's keep our fingers crossed that my Myanmar maid will pass all her tests and come in by the end of this month as expected. Till then, I'll take things easy and not fret over little mishaps.

Hello 2011

This is a picture of Joshie sitting by the lake at Singapore Botanics Garden. One of my resolution for the year is to do more outdoor activities with Joshie. Less tv but more outdoor activites where he can run around and release his pent up energy. :)

Two major changes for us this year:

1) First, we've employed a live-in Filipino helper. She came yesterday and today, I've been training and teaching her how to do her chores. Her attitude seems ok but she's pretty slow. And a bit blur. Doesn't seem to really understand what I say. Think I need to learn to talk slower and maybe write down everything that she needs to know.

2) Joshie goes to drop-off school. He's starting tomorrow at LeapSchoolHouse. The programme is thrice a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9 to 12:30pm. I am a bit anxious that he'd cry. Pray that he adapts well and enjoys going to school.

I seriously wonder what else is in store for us this year. Hopefully I make full use of the extra ME time that I get!

Goodbye 2010

I know, it's already the 4th day of the new year and I still haven't said goodbye properly to good old 2010. Just a short post for me to recap 2010.

2010 was a year of traveling for us. We did not intend to travel to so many countries but somehow, we have. Mainly because the hubs and I discovered that the little cheeky is quite a good traveller. We first brought him to Hong Kong when he was just 15 months old. It wasn't easy, BUT it was much easier than I had imagined. From a boy who wouldn't even sit in the stroller, he surprised me by taking his nap in the stroller without any fuss. We then became more adventurous and planned a family trip to Australia. Little did we know that before we even booked our tickets to Aust, the hubs had to go to Japan for work. So cheeky and I tagged along. We came back in good shape (not over-exhausted like how some other moms describe their holiday with their tots) and continued to visit Australia and Bali before the year came to an end.

2010 was also a year where I got to discipline and train my toddler better. Although some moms have told me that it's easier to train babies, I choose to concur. I only managed to sleep train Joshie when he was a baby. Other things - FAILED!!!! He wouldn't sit in the stroller nor the playpen; thus I had no time for myself. I remember rushing through housework like a mad woman. Potty training also failed; no matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn't poo in the potty. But 2010 saw my toddler transitioning from a baby cot to a single bed with little fuss, sitting in the stroller while I shop, playing independently and being potty trained (no diapers during the day). I am now a much more sane mom! Hahaha........more ME time and less stress. I have even gone for a pedicure and a massage with Joshie.

2010 was also a year of numerous visits to the doctor! My little boy came down with a cold practically every month. I was just so fed up feeding him medicine. Well, we finally discovered the root of the problem in September - his allergy to dust mites; and since then, we've managed to control the occurence of a cold to a certain extent.

2010 was also a year where the hubs was away from us very often. His business trips are very frequent although he might not be away for long - maybe 3-4 days on average. Except for his longest trip to B, which was 10 days. I used to get stressed up in the beginning because coincidentally, the cheeky would fall sick each time the hubs is not around. My worst nightmare was him waking up every 45 minutes on average throughout the whole night, with a fever that hovers around 39C plus, even with panadol. I even brought him to A&E!!! Sickness aside, cheeky also seems to know that daddy's not around. He'd be cranky and at times, would cry for daddy. Thank God he's much better now, he seems to understand that daddy's only away for a short while and would be back. It helps that he can now talk to daddy on the phone.

Ok, that's all for 2010 I guess. Happy New Year, folks!

Neglected blog

Have been really busy of late. Actually, for the past one month. Since we came back from our Australia trip, time seemed to have flew really fast. So what have I been busy with?

1) Busy nursing a runny nose - I suspect I am allergic to something. This is because my nose is runny off and on. My cold doesn't get worse, it's actually quite mild but very irritating at times. Went to see the ENT, had the skin allergy test done but since I was taking antihistamines few days before I went to see him, the test didn't work! =( The ENT should have asked whether I've been taking any antihistamines before performing the test right? So I paid $400 plus and walked out of the clinic without solving my problem!!!!!!!

2) School registration for Joshua - I know, I know, he just turned 2! So why am I talking about school now? Few months ago, hubby and I found out that if we wanted to send Joshie to a local government school, we'd only be able to apply 2 months before the commencement of Primary 1. Singaporean parents would start applying for schools for their children the year they turn 5. However, since we are not citizens nor PRs, we have to wait till the local children are allocated to the schools and then only apply to schools which still have empty slots. Risky right? Thus, we decided on international school. Hubby's colleague recommended UWC but the waiting list was just too long so the final option for us was St Joseph International, after ruling out Chinese International School. So we went to the school and paid a registration fees of $1,070 for him to commence K1 in 2013.

3) Maid hunt - With the hubs travelling so often, we are hiring a maid. At least there'll be another adult in the house. Have been looking at Filipino maids from two agencies and finally chose one. Salary is $350 plus a foreign levy of nearly $200. She gets one day off every month. Had to do some online test as we are first time employers and tomorrow, I'll be meeting the agent to do some paperwork. Hopefully, this maid will be ok and not give us any problems.

4) Planning for our impromptu holiday - This one is really unplanned. The hubs will be in Bali for a conference so the little cheeky and I are tagging along. Hehe, I have never been to Bali so this is a good chance.

OK, gonna settle some maid-related stuff now. Will blog after our holiday =)

Turning a year older

I celebrated my 2*th birthday today. As usual, birthdays aren't a big thing in our family, so it was just another day, except that we'd go out for dinner.

After Joshie's school, I decided to give myself a treat and headed to Pretticure for a pedicure. I like this place because all their equipments are sterilised. More hygienic compared to some other places which I have been to.

My dear son was very co-operative. As pictured above, he sat on a stool next to me and watched tv. Of course he was very curious as it was his first time watching mummy's nails being done. He even stretched out his legs and wanted the aunty to put colour on his nails......hahahahaha.

After that, we went to Sushi Tei for lunch. My son was being very cheeky. While waiting for our food to arrive, I asked him to show me three different expressions which he learnt recently.

"Joshie, cheeky smile"

"Funny face"

"Pray"
We had dinner at another Japanese restaurant with the hubs. Can't remember the name, but it's very close to Orchard Road. Food was good and we'll go back again.....hehe. Will take pictures next time =)

Gym time

No, not gym time for Joshie, but it's for Joshie's mummy =) After being a lazy bump for 2 whole years (except for the 3 month period when I joined a small gym), I am now a member of a gym again! I made quite a quick decision, just happened to walk in one fine day to enquire and after telling them I'd think it over, I signed up and became their member the very next day!

Entrance of the gym is towards the left. On the right, is the spa. And no, my gym package does not entitle me to use their spa. I need to purchase a spa membership, which I didn't lar. Already paid so much for gym membership already.

A snapshot of what's inside. There's also 2 exercise studios.

Anyway, this is what made me sign up so quickly. The kid's room. There'll be a staff who will take care of Joshie while I exercise. I was initially worried that Joshie would cry. But then there's another plus point too. Since the gym is so near to our house (it's located at City Square Mall which is right opposite our condo), I can leave Joshie with hubby during the weekends or even weekday nights, if he's not comfortable being in the kids room. So looks like I will be able to exercise twice a week, which is better than nothing!

So far, I have been to the gym three times, and left Joshie at the playroom twice. No crying at all, even though I have to go in together with him and slowly sneak out when he's engrossed watching tv. But I have been brainwashing him before we leave house, saying that mummy needs to exercise and he has to stay with aunty in the kids room. Also told him he's already a big boy, so "no cry-cry". He seems to understand and I was told that sometimes he repeats "mummy go cise (exercise)" to himself =) Hehe, success!

Oh, and regarding their spa. I have been there twice so far. Was given a free 45 minute body massage and $50 voucher upon signing up at the gym. Their massages were really good. Nevertheless, I am annoyed with the staff there. They practically sit me down and force me to sign up for their packages. Not cheap. Think the smallest package is $500 and it goes up all the way to $10k. I know it's their job to try to secure more sales but I have been to lots of other spas and have never encountered such "stress" when I decline to sign up. I shared my woes with my friend who also goes there for a massage and to my surprise, she also faced the same issue with me, even though she and her husband have purchased a $1,000 body massage package. According to her, they (Ms T in particular) continue to bug her to buy facial packages or to top up their existing package. My friend plans to bring this issue up to top management if they continue to pester her persistently again. As for me, I'll just stay far far away from the spa =)

New header

This mummy commented that she loves my new header. Do you love my new header too? =P

I've always had a plain, boring header before I finally asked this talented mummy to design one for me. Too bad she is taking a break from custom designing at the moment but I was really pleased with her "as-it-is" header. The little car looks so cute and it is a perfect match as Joshie loves cars too =). So if you want a nice, eye-catching header, do contact her!

My Mother's Day

Guess how Joshie wished me? By pooing on his pillow!!!!!!!!!!! And it was watery poo. Of course it seeped into the pillow, so I had to wash both the pillow and the pillowcase. But I didn't scold him. I knew he couldn't control himself coz he wasn't feeling well. It was partly my fault coz I left the pillow on the floor while I was looking for a clean diaper.

I spent my morning changing his bedsheets and washing vomit stains. Joshie had vomitted quite a bit of milk the night before. He was down with fever since Thursday and developed a cough on Saturday. We were quite worried when he was still feverish on Sunday (day 4) so we brought him to see the doctor. Doctor said it's viral infection and prescribed him some antibiotics. Also checked him for HFMD. Luckily no blisters and ulcers! After seeing the doctor, we had dinner at Nogawa, Concorde Hotel. The food there was pretty good but I wouldn't go back again as I felt it was too expensive.

Ok, so what did I get for Mom's day? Hubby bought me a Mother's Day gift set from Crabtree & Evelyn (picture below).I normally wouldn't buy their products as I feel they are a too pricey. How did Joshie contribute? By telling the salesgirl "more, more"............he was asking for more samples for Mummy! Haha.....they managed to get 4 bottles of sample body wash and moisturisers for me! And hubby also bought me my favourite chamomile tea and a tin of strawberry cream cookies. The cookies were so delicious that I finished them all by myself in 3 days! Gosh, such gluttony!

Oh, and hubby taught Joshie to say "Happy Mother's Day".....=) (beaming from ear to ear)! He couldn't pronounce "mother's" clearly but it was like sweet music to my ear! He also wished his 2 grandmothers and I bet they were both floating on cloud nine too!

Polliwoggs

Elke and I brought the 2 boys to the Polliwoggs indoor playground at East Coast Park yesterday. The place was spacious and well ventilated. And the floors are all padded so that kids won't get hurt when they fall. Had to pay $8 each, I am not sure if $8 is for unlimited play but we were there for nearly 2 hours. There's even a little cafe that serves light snacks.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Joshie playing with the bouncy ball. His eyes lit up when he entered the playground. He ran around freely and was happily exploring the place.

He went up and down straightaway.

Finally a picture of the 2 boys together. They were playing separately most of the time, different interest I guess. But both boys loved the ball pit to bits.

I don't know what is this!!!!!! But Joshie found the colourful cones interesting.

Crawling through the tunnel and looking through the little "windows".

The boys had some bread and a few spoonfuls of New Zealand yogurt before we headed home.

Supposed to be a happy outing right? Well, it was EXCEPT that I lost my phone!!!!!! Guess I dropped it when I was scooting down their long slides or playing in the ball pit. And I couldn't find it at all even though we looked thoroughly. Even asked the staff to help look for it in the ball pit. But the phone was not to be found!!!!!!!!! We reckon that one of the helpers who accompanied their employer's kids took it! Well, I should say stole right?????? There was a bunch of helpers when we first arrived at 10am! And they all disappeared quite soon after that(maybe 30 minutes later), which was when I lost my phone. The playground only opens at 10am and they left so soon? Seems a bit fishy right? Well, what's lost is lost. Shouldn't be too sad about it and should learn to be more careful next time!!!!!! But all my photos are gone!!!!!!!!!! =( Tell me how not to be sad lar?

First, it was Joshua's daddy.....

...................and now followed by Joshua's mummy. I really pray and hope that Joshua is spared. Have been diligently feeding him Vitamin C and spraying the house with disinfectant. Today, I had to rush to the toilet more than 10 times, even though I took diarrhoea medicine. Felt so so weak, even weaker after my 2 hours plus labour with Joshie. Gosh! At least after I gave birth to him, I only felt pain down-under. But now, I am so weak till I am dragging my feet just walking from the living room to the bedroom. Thank God the hubs is at home to tend to Joshie's needs. Ok, what hit us? Tummy flu.............as diagnosed by the GP this afternoon! Gave me antibiotics, diarrhoea medicine and some satchets meant for detoxification.

I'll leave you with a picture of my cheeky son at his table. We bought the table from IKEA after moving into our new place and the little boy really loves sitting at the table. Sometimes he would bring his bowl of biscuits/fruits to the table and sit there and munch.

"Is he your child? But you look so young!"

Young? I am already 27 and I am certain that I don't look younger my age. Yet, I have strangers asking me if Joshie is my son. Doesn't he look like my son? I know he resembles hubby a lot (some people even say he's a photocopy of hubby) but don't I look like the mother?

Last month, I received this comment 4 times, in just a span of 10 days. Strangers whom I brushed shoulders with at the car park/shopping mall/market/gym seem surprised that he is my son and they are even more surprised upon learning that i take care of him full time. 2 weeks ago, someone asked if I am even 22 years old! And yesterday, the trainer at the gym says I look like a student instead of a mother. Gosh!

I guess we are at a age where marrying and having kids after 30 is the norm. That's why people are surprised that Joshie is my child.

Will he be a good boy? (part 2)

Yes, Joshie was a good boy. He entertained himself with some toys and also "tried out" the gym equipments. And the trainers there were very helpful too and played with him.

So is mummy going to sign up as member of that gym?

The answer is...................

NO!

Yeah, the gym is good. They measure your weight, height, BMI, percentage of body fat and other statistics which I have forgotten; they will even draw up an exercise plan for you and review the plan every 3 months. Also advise you on what you should not eat. BUT...........the fees are too expensive. It's beyond my budget and moreover, I am not 100% sure that Joshie will always let me exercise in peace. So, better not sign up and waste money.

I figured the first step to a slimmer body is not signing up as a member of any gym. I should get my butt of the chair now and spend quality time with my yoga mat, fitball or hula hoop instead!

Will he be a good boy???

Do you think this boy has ever sat still? Nope..........he's always on the move, satisfying his curious mind. As I am typing this now, I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be a good boy later.

So where are we heading to?

Well, after a few months of contemplation, I have decided to try out a ladies-only gym. This gym allows moms to bring their child along as there's a small play corner for them. But I have a HUGE feeling that my little cheeky will not be interested in the toys! Old stuff! BORING! His eyes would be on the gym equipment. New stuff = Interesting+captivating!

I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I called up the gym to book an appointment. And right now, as I am typing this, I have already made up my mind that I will still go. No backing out. Well, never try never know. So wish me luck!

KL

We were back in KL for a good 4 days. Ate all my favourite food and ended up putting on more weight! And I am now indulging in Ben & Jerry ice cream. Gosh! Nevermind, I plan to eat only vege and steam fish tonight =P

KL was tiring mainly because the little cheeky was having a gala time walking around and climbing up and down the staircase. And we don't live in a double storey house. There are 5 floors altogether, with only about 2 rooms on each floor. So you can imagine how many flights of staircase we have. I am really glad I live in a 2-bedder in Singapore. Otherwise I can't imagine taking care of the little cheeky all alone without a maid. Think I'd have gone mad! Hahaha

Before & after Joshie

This picture was taken at the waterfall at Singapore Botanical Gardens when I was 25 weeks pregnant with Joshie.

And this is the "after Joshie" photo........taken last Sunday, 9 months after giving birth to Joshie.