Momsie Tales make-over

No photos for today...but....how do you like the blog's new look?

I spent the last couple of days tweaking about my blog. As a result, I am riddened with so much guilt since I spent considerably less amount of time with Ash due to this obsession. I call it that cos these days, when I embark on something, I have this sensational urge to finish it at all costs!. Well, almost at all costs.

So, what possessed me to do this since I have no expertise in this area whatsoever? In fact, I'm far from being tech savvy...so FAR that I think, I define 'noob'! But I figured that seeing as how this blog has, at some point in time, somewhat evolved into a journal cum photo-blog (with more pictures now as compared to the last time), I thought it was time for a change to reflect it's new identity.

That said, it's far from finished i.e the tweaking. It's not completely perfect; well, perfect in my sense of the word. There are still some niggling bits here and there that needs fixing (read : I have no freakin' idea!). This, I foresee will take up a little bit more time than I originally had thought and planned for.

I've had fun doing this though. Probably un-earthed the nerd in me..LOL. Honestly, it's really the satisfaction of getting my hands dirty and getting through the whole process. And, you know in the end of it all, I'm pretty darn proud of myself *ahem*.

Anyways, hope you'll like it and if this site goes abit awry from now, you'll know it's me..heheh. I'll talk to you soon. In the meantime, have a great weekend.

Bonus shot : The cheeky one

I don't get sandwich hugs...I would love for some though..

However, I do get the everyday-early-morning-right thumb in mouth-left hand holding smelly pillow-hug instead. Ash will come running to me, squeezing out "O r n i" and put both arms around my neck as I scoop her up.

That'll do...for now...in case you're wondering...yes, I can't wait to have some sandwich hugs of my own..:-)

Update and p.s : Sorry about the blurry one on the left - no steady hands. Also, meant that I can't have it printed out since it won't look nice -- not even with the best printers in town.

hmm..I want more

Seems like everything is going by real slow except a nice long holiday. They just fly by you faster than the do-do bird that keeps hunting my fishes. I've lost a couple of fishes to that maniacal being.

That's not the point. What I meant to say was (or is) - long long days are looming ahead of me. And honestly, what I would give for a couple of relaxing weekend getaways. You know, the kind that'd perk up your week and allows your soul to run free..even if it's only for a while.

Wishful thinking. I don't think I'd be heading anywhere for now -- not at least till a couple of weeks time. But, I am hoping that it happens though.

Bonus shot : The look

I think every kid's fantasy are their favourite tv shows.

Barney is one of Ash's. Although, she does get tired after oh, 5 or 6 times of watching the same DVD but when she's hooked on one...she's hooked!

And if I decide that she's had a little too much - this the is look she gives me.

Yeah...that look.

It's my day off...how I love a day off

Ash tickled pink by her grandma

I've got some time to spare today so I'd thought "why not do an early post"..

Ash is with her grandparents as we speak. She was happy to see them -- so am I frankly..LOL..

She's very attached to them. And, they look forward to seeing her too. I guess it helps when she's the only grandchild who is here while the rest are simply to far away for them to be grand-parenting. So, Ash gets their full attention and probably, to a large extent, gets what she wants from them.

I think that's a real treat when you become grandparents. I'm not sure if age has everything to do with it but I've certainly witnessed the changes from the way my parents are with Ash and when they were with us. Especially my dad. He was the strict disciplinarian, no goofying around kind of guy. But with Ash, he's doing all sorts of crazy things with her. Things I never thought I'd ever see him do. It's truly a wonderful to see them bond and share a good ball-throwing-back-and-forth (Ash's favourite game) that can simply go on and on and on....and you know what, it's an absolute joy seeing this side of him.

When you think about it, it's a natural progression of life, isn't it? Especially, when you consider the fact that you've spent your entire adult life (or most of your adult life) caring for your own, making sure you're giving your best and at times, in doing so, the outlook may not be a pretty sight. But you do it because it's what being parents is all about - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Once you've passed that stage, you certainly deserve to sit back and truly enjoy your grandchildren with absolutely no holes barred. It's almost like you've earned it. No..it's exactly like you earned it.

I remembered a quote I read a long time ago which pretty much sums up the role of grandparents --"the grandparents are there to spoil and the parents are there to fix it"..It's not the exact words cos for the life of me, I can't remember where I read it but you get the gist of it..

Looks like I might just diet

A pressie for my baby..

Last Friday, I went for my monthly ob-gy visit. One of the things they get you to do before seeing the doc is to step on the weighing scale. And guess what? I put on a whopping 4 kg since my last visit (which was only about a month ago). Now, that's a big whopper!

Obviously, I sat back down, feeling a little nervous and wondered if he was at all in a good mood. My ob-gy is a no nonsense man and a man of few words unless there's some intricate medical procedure or diagnosis that needed lengthy explanation. Otherwise, he's pretty efficient and strict.

So, anyway, we went in and exchanged the requisite "Kong Hei Fatt Choy" (it was still CNY then). As soon as I sat down, his eyes wide open and the first thing he uttered was "wah, your weight...you put on 4kg!" Before he could go on any further, I quickly replied :

"Mo pein...kor lin, yat yat yau hou yeh seik. Mo hor lang ngai meen pau" (remembering him telling me the last time I was overweight when I was pregnant with Ash that should I go hungry, just have bread and water).

I can't believe how fast that came out. It was as if I had rehearsed the lines over and over in my head for the 40 minutes that I was waiting in line. Like a kid, knowing that I've done something wrong and needed a good excuse for it.

He just laughed out loud -- probably realising how ridiculous the bread-and-water suggestion he gave me the last time was and I actually remembered it.

That was a close one. And, I better watch what I eat or I might just have to come up with another good excuse next month! O_o...

All done

Have you ever had one of those days where you simply felt like completing something that no matter what, you just want to see to it that it's done?

I had that urge today.

Stacks of receipts, papers waiting to be sorted out and filed away, junk mails needed to be thrown out -- they are all done. I've accomplished my task for the day. I'm pretty much a happy and satisfied customer. Nothing beats a clean desk and shelf. I'm not sure if it's too early but I seemed to have that nesting dial turned on lately. I just feel like cleaning and cleaning and making sure that everything is clean.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way - what's next? Honestly...I'm not sure. This nesting mode is kind of freakish if you ask me -- I'll know it when I know...

Bonus shot : Just me and lil' Ash

Ahh..one of the sacred few of my babe and I.

Since I am the one who's always behind the camera, there are very little opportunities to capture a mother and daughter image. But, I think I should...have more...since they grow up so fast.

It's Friday, and we have yet another long weekend with hubby off from work on Monday. We'll be having some friends over tomorrow for what will be to celebrate the tail-end of the new year. Besides, I still have plenty of cookies left :-)

Till then, have a relaxing weekend with your family.

Some random thoughts

I'm still pretty much in the celebrative mood. After all, it's still CNY.

We added a beach front to our itinerary this year. We were there with family for a couple of hours in the evening and stayed for dinner. No need for our brand new Samsonite luggage since it's not that far away and we wanted do to something a little something different from the norm. Besides, we had plenty of time to kill since everyone was on holiday. So, we thought it'd be the perfect place for the kids to fly their kites.

So, things have pretty much returned to normalcy (more or less). Hubby's back at work and I'm still pregnant. Oh, I'm almost 7 months...almost, I think. I've seriously lost count. Ash will be celebrating her 2nd birthday soon -- next month to be precise. And, she'll be getting a bike..LOL...

I've been thinking a lot about the coming months. Focusing mostly on the birth and if I've gotten everything I need. Plus, how lil' Ash will react, you know, to us having to pay more attention to the baby, etc...I sort of did a trial run...to test the waters and see how Ash would react. I held our friends' 4 month old daughter. Ash was ok at first but then, she started to whinge a little. I actually thought she'd start bawling straight-away but she didn't.

I'm not too sure if it worked. I mean, I don't expect her to accept the sudden change so willingly and not throw up a fuss. So, I was actually prepared for her to go all AWOL on me. But she totally surprised me by not acting up;which is why I am thinking that it might have worked. On the other hand, it's not reasonable to deduce anything from that because firstly, she was probably also distracted by the other 2 toddlers whom she was playing with and wasn't fully concentrating on me or what I was doing. Secondly, I only held the baby for a while (in truth, I'm not supposed to -- old folks' tale) and wasn't long enough for her to have any serious reaction whatsoever.

I guess, we'll have to wait and see. It'll be a challenge no doubt. I can't possibly imagine what it'll be like so I am expecting the worst and hoping for the best. When you think about it, that's all I can do.

about Moms

My mom and Ash

“God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers”..

I can't help but to agree with it -- wholeheartedly.

You can read the rest of the article here. I snitched it from our local daily :-D