Year end. New year!

As soon as Christmas is over, the Chinese New Year bash starts. Year end and the beginning of the year is one of the most exciting, I would say.

Though I wish sometimes people would take a slower pace and enjoy the season while it still lasts. After all Christmas is a 12 day thing. So, CNY can wait since that will last another 15 days anyway.

Almost everyone I know does something for Christmas. Even my colleagues and friends who are non christians. I guess everyone wants to join in the festivities leading up to the new year.

There used to be a time when new year was a significant moment for me. A time to dress up and paint the town red. Of late however, the new year has been catching me in bed with no resolution and no dramatic change.

A person is supposed to grow as the years go by, not only in age (that is inevitable) but in skills, experience, interest, both spiritually and emotionally. This transformation takes alot of wisdom, patience and will. A resolution is to be made only if it is to be kept.

But I reckon since marriage, and even more since the kids came along, the realization of things learnt and the absorbtion of the lesson to the soul cannot be done just once a year. It's everyday, every moment. The impact of it dependant on the situation.

So, as the new year approaches, I move towards it with regular steps. Steady feet above patience and a slow tongue. My resolution perhaps would be to frown less, so I don't look so stressed (as Shang, Wai Yin and Mike always says I am!), Christopher permitting.

Happy New Year to all.

Christmas is indeed pass since school starts soon. Looking forward to the passing of the chinese New Year as well. Gong Xi! Gong Xi!

psst....anyone know where to get splendid loveletters?

Photo printing service

This is the first time I am actually uploading picutres and maintaining an album in eoe online for the purpose of printing the album.

Once the pictures are uploaded, the printing process is really super easy.

It's a matter of choosing the pictures you want to print, or just a check of the button to print all. Then in a few clicks, you can select all to be printed with size 4R and then confirm your address and method of payment.

Currently 4R prints are at a steal of RM0.30 per piece and RM0.50 for 5R. There is also free delivery services if the total amount is RM35.00 or more.

I love their photo prints coz the quality is really good. And it sure beats waiting around the shopping complex for 3 hours waiting for the photos to be ready. Or returning to the shop at a later time to pick up the photos. And added to this is the joy of the postman giving you a little present.

So, in this 12 days of Christmas, I have decided to send in some photos for print. Currently the house is only filled with pictures of Christopher. None of Caylee. So, hoping the fill the house with pictures galore. Hope eoe online will fulfill my Christmas wish!

Christmas 2010

It's Christmas time again.

And it always starts off with a blast @ Simon/Wai Yin's place. Pot bless with our spiritual family is always a noisy affair. This year, there were 12 adults, short of Patrick and Shang. And 11 kids, short of little Alycia. Hope I got the numbers right.

Next year would be a bigger blast prayerfully with Caylee being a cher cher to 2 little ones.

This year to me was not (at all) about the food or the pressies. But looking at us grow together in numbers and in experience. This is really a great group I have attached myself to. They are very frank with me in terms of how I can improve myself. And we all share our ups and downs. Nothing beats learning to be a better mum together with all the other mums and dads.

And the kids have play mates who are all the same age group. Thank God for Alyssa who is really the TAI ka cher to all of them. She will be a real pillar of stability when the kids grow up. She has excellent temperament and is a good role model.

Wai Yin played a fast one on me this year. No thanks to Terence. But it was all in good fun. And at least she didn't make me do it on my own. Good thing 'We are the reason' is my favourite Christmas song.

Christopher is bigger this year. He understands Christmas better. Sadly not yet in terms of Jesus but more in presents and Christmas deco and parties. But he is a kid. He will realise in time.

It's Caylee's first Christmas. Reckon she enjoyed herself tremendously since she loves kids! She was carried and watched by everyone. And she didn't really bother coz she was too busy watching everyone play. The cutest thing was to see Vanessa and Caylee together. They are exactly 1 year apart. So, Vanessa's 'boisterousness' was still not beyond Caylee's capability. Caylee see, Caylee take, Caylee do!

Occassionally, Caylee would look out for me and give me a smile. And she frequently checks to see who is carrying her or sitting behind her. She enjoyed herself, I reckon.

Coz now (nightmare) she knows that it is so much nicer sitting outside her playpen with toys surrounding her that she wants to do the same at home too. Sunday was filled with tears everytime we put her in the playpen.

Have to 'yan' (tahan/stand it).

Watching No Regrets and I just learnt that the 'yan' word is alike the 'tou'(knife) word sticking in the 'sam' (heart) word.

Well....this Saturday is Christmas. We will be having another meal, this time with family at my sister's place. What are your plans this weekend?

Can I scrutinize you first?

Caylee is at the age of scrutinizing people. Yes, indeed, she will scrutinize you. Look at you at all angles and up and down.

We had her infant dedication last Saturday at our home. It was great. My parents were there. My spiritual family was there. Pastor Reynold and Aunty Florence were also there to perform and witness the dedication. It felt more intimate doing it at home rather than in church.

Anyway, Aunty Florence wanted to carry her. But before she could do so, she had to spend a good 20+ minutes talking to her and allowing Caylee to look at her, while I carried her. Caylee would occasionally look back at me while Aunty Florence was doing this. As if seeing if I am friendly with this person. And after that, when Aunty Florence put out her hands again wanting to carry her, Caylee reached out for her hands.

Yesterday my nanny told me another story. Her twin sister came to visit her that day. And they were sitting in front of Caylee's playpen. When Caylee woke up, she sat in her playpen and looked around. When she saw the twin sister and her nanny, she looked at each so carefully. Nanny said she kept on staring at her twin sister and then looking back at her nanny. She sat and stared, stood up and stared. And after all that staring, when the twin sister wanted to carry her, Caylee turned away. And turned towards her own nanny instead.

Yeah...its the smell! :)

Her self preservation is very strong. She doesn't really allow people to carry her and would cry if I attempt to pass her to someone she doesn't want to go to. In fact I am finding it hard to pass her to the nanny's husband or the nanny's daughter when I drop her off. She won't cry but she will show reluctance. In fact would even turn away and hug me. But she reaches out and goes willingly to her nanny.

Good thing she accepts my parents and my inlaws. At least when they are around I can vanish from her sight with no worries.

Christopher was vastly different.

My(vi)'s first accident

Yes, indeed my v has now a dent and alot of scratches on the passenger side front and back.

Where did it happen? Along the SS2 main road, I was turning into Cheow Yang. The right lane was as usual lined with cars waiting for the traffic lights. So, I only had the left lane stream of cars to deal with. BUT the traffic light may be going to turn green soon, so I did not encroach into the right lane. Thus, my vision of vehicles coming was partially blocked and I had to guesstimate looking through the vehicle's car windows.

Fact 1: I really did not see any more cars coming and decided to make the turn.

Fact 2: I was turning slowly always looking on my left to see if any vehicles are coming.

Fact 3: My car was already blocking the left lane and into my required lane when I looked straight.

And then I saw at the corner of my eye a motorbike loose its balance and bang straight into my car.

Sigh.

I drove into the lane. I looked at the mirror, saw the guy fall and get up again. There was no place to park. It was pasar malam night. So I made a turn into the first lane on my left and waited there.

He arrived sometime later. I turned off my engine and waited till he got off. And I got out.

He scolded - saying I didn't bother to stop the car (as in in the middle of the road). And that I would have just ran away if not for the fact he could get up and look for me. According to him if an accident happens, you should stop right away and no one will bother if you are blocking them or not. Well....

He also argued that this is all my fault. Since he was on the straight road. It was his 'jalan' and I was the one turning. So I should have been more careful. Well.....

He told me the damage to his motorbike. Mirror part came out (not broken), front rim 'bengkok' and one part at the leg there also 'bengkok'.

I was shouting and shaking in the middle of the road like a mad woman.

Damage to me (monetary) : RM100.

After the accident, some told me:
"Aiyah, he bluff you. Why you give him so much. RM50 also too much already."
"Motorbike very troublesome. RM100 to get peace of mind is ok lah."

When hubby came home after his Motorshow, he told me he would help take care of the car this weekend. To me, if it can be polished so that it would not rust, I don't want to bother about the dents.

As for my son, he said "Why motorbike hit you mummy? You didn't bring out the gun and shoot him? If motorbike hit you next time, you tell me and I will bring gun out and shoot him, ok?"

I only thank God that he was ok (in fact I told him 'nasib baik Tuhan jaga you', which kinda surprised him that I mentioned Tuhan.) and that Caylee was not in the car when it happened. If the kids were in the car.....

Milestones?

My mum was alone with me one night. Just put Caylee to bed and Christopher was out with hubby and kungkung. And my mum said "You know Caylee is a little slow in speech development. Christopher at her age was already calling you and making sounds like ma and pa."

Gosh! Really?

I kind of know in my heart that I have not been monitoring Caylee's development as closely as Christopher's. The weeks pass by and I am suddenly reminded how old Caylee is when someone asks me if she is 1 year old yet.

No, she is only 8 months. And I always catch myself...."Oh, she is 8 months." What can a 8 month old baby do? What can she eat?

With Christopher I was very diligent in letting him try new food. Also his nanny and I talked alot about when he will be able to eat what. For Caylee, I just fed her stuff which was convinient and available at the time. She has already eaten combination food. And I didn't really think much about the 1 new food every 4 day rule.

She is standing alot now and can walk around her playpen, though she does fall down often. If she is not in her playpen, she will be in her walker. It's very hard for me to sit with her on the floor and encourage her to do crawl. Christopher is her main distraction.

As for speech, she babbles alot. Caylee's nanny is chinese and talks to her in cantonese. So, I have the tendency to talk to Caylee in cantonese for the length of time I am at home alone with her. And when Christopher comes back, I suddenly find myself reverting back to English with her again. My vocab for cantonese is quite bad so I guess I am not really repeating words for her to learn. Of late (after one incident when I told someone she is nearly 8 months already), I am teaching her to say "mumm mumm" and the usual mummy/daddy.

Since my realisation of her growing up, I have also started to sing to her. And she looks at my mouth while I sing and not my actions. I find her a very different child in that sense. The things that catch her attention are quite different from Christopher.

Recently Christopher picked out a pull string aeroplane. When you let the string go, the aeroplane will move and ther will be lights on the plane. Christopher at Caylee's age would be fascinated by the movement of the plane and the lights. But Caylee would look at the string retracting instead and try to catch the string. Very minuet stuff.

So, yes, Caylee is 8 months as of today. And I have to be more aware of her milestones now. And start bringing out simple picture books to show her. And also start using simple one words with her.

Indeed number 2 does receive less attention that number 1. But I hope my realisation of this fact will help in her development as well. Although all kids will learn at the end of the day, its good to give her some concentrated effort.

Mickey everywhere

Ever since hubby subscribed to the Cartoon channel on Astro, the Astro is more or less permanently on 613.

Christopher has dinner with Pororo and drinks his before-sleeping milk with Animal Mechanics. He snacks every weekday with Mickey.

Of late, he has been spotting Mickey everywhere. I didn't manage to take pics of Mickey so I have to describe them. Hope you see them as well as he did.

Mickey 1
when he was playing with balls half way, he suddenly told me, "Mummy, Mickey!". 3 balls were together in like a triangle. 2 were the ears and the 1 below was the face.

Mickey 2
when we went out for dinner and he was using the plates and saucers to 'cook' for me, suddenly he told me "See, mummy. Mickey!" He had the 2 saucers as the ears and the bowl as the face.

Mickey 3
when he is drawing and he 'accidentally' draws one circle, he will draw 2 more and say "mummy, see Mickey!".

And most of the time he will also say "Mummy, my Mickey no eyes and no mouth."

So, does that mean I have to bring sticker eyes and sticker mouth with me to make his creativity complete? :)