Em's big day...

will actually be..not so big because..well, just because I say so. heheh..

She'll be turning 1 soon. We will be celebrating her first birthday this Sunday. But, the size of the celebration will only be a fraction of Ash's. Not that Ash had a gigantum birthday bash but just that with Em this time, the celebration will be even on a smaller scale.

The reason is because after Ash, I realised that she didn't enjoy it as much as we did. And, it's pretty much pointless then isn't it? I mean, the party is for her and not for the adults. It should be about them, and not us. So, why have it when the kid isn't happy? So, I decided that with Em, lets not over-do things and stay low; until she reaches the age where birthdays, parties etc...means something to her. Otherwise, she'll just continue to get confused with..oh, I don't know, something as confusing as CLA is to me.

We will get the usual cake, blow the candles bit. These are after all quite mandatory. Other than that, I wish to keep it simple. Not to mention, simple means good news to moms. :-D

stuff your face

cafe.

hehhee...really. this quaint little cafe, tucked in the corner of the 4th floor of BSC. The decor is sweet, coupled with children's books.

SOrry I don't have any pictures. Was busy making sure Ash doesn't get lost or worst, run over any kid. heheh...

The food is surprisingly good. I ordered the kids' mini bite-sized burger but Ash was too engrossed in watching the older kids roller blading in the skating ring. My friend had chicken.. something-I-can't remember. I had a taste of it and it was also pretty good.

We were the only patrons there at the time. There were 2 others before us but they had already finished their lunch and were about to leave. So, we had the whole place to ourselves to talk about anything and everything. Conversation topics ranging from who Kate Gosselin's dating to finding a cure for hair loss. I know, not very interesting discussion topics isn't it? Well, who can blame 2 middle-aged women eh? ;-)

Over-all, I'd say the cafe's worth checking out. Before we left, the owner told us that they will be having a mother's day set dinner or something on mother's day weekend. I am still contemplating. Still...:-0)

stumped

I've let numerous photobook.com.my discounts pass by like a ship in the vast ocean. It's as if I'm just perched up on a rock, like a lazy walrus just watching the world go by without a care. Occasionally knocking off, maybe move to eat and then hibernate (psst..I'm not sure if they hibernate or not..you tell me).

I was hoping to catch the buy-one-get-one-free promo that they had recently but again I have failed. This time, they have come up with the 40% discount and I think, I may give it a pass again because, I've only had oh...a mere 5 pages done! Holy...what 5 pages??!! Yep.

So, I was thinking I may have to stop over-thinking things and get my oversized butt moving. I hope to do more this weekend and get more pages out because if I don't, I might need to re-name Ash book from "the 3 years" to "the 6 years" (un-official titles).

Alrighty then. It's Friday. What's there not to love about Fridays, eh?

You guys have a great weekend!

On their own (Part 2)

It's been almost 2 weeks now since we shipped the girls out of our room and into their own.

And, week 2 has been going on smoothly except for two nights ago when we came home from my MILs. Both the girls were asleep when we arrived home. So as usual, we carried them and put them into their respective beds. Ash was half asleep at that time and I made the mistake of changing her into her PJs. That woke her up and when we were done changing her, we pat her back and told her to go back to sleep. She did..initially..but after 10 mins, she started bawling. Then, hubby ran upstairs to get her and carry her into our room for fear she'd wake her sister up.

She wanted to continue sleeping in our bed. Since she was tired and cranky and we didn't want to aggravate the situation, we let her. We left her in our room with the table lamp on and she was fine, holding on to her smelly pillow and sucking her thumb.

Later that night, when hubby and I went upstairs to sleep, she was missing. We took a peek in her room and found her in her own bed. OK, so that put a smile to our face. She did miss her bed after all.

This signifies something very important to me in that, she has willingly accept the transition -not forced to. I was afraid that she might not have been ready but I guess she was/has been all along. The reason why I felt this tugging feeling is that sometimes, I really don't know how she's feeling. It's like, you can't completely read her as well as Em for instance. With Em, she will show her dissatisfaction to you if she doesn't want something. With Ash, at times, she keeps these feelings to herself and will just obey. You know, on the outside, it may be a dream come true for all parents but trust me, when she's older, it can be a nightmare. SOmething about her I definitely need to keep the tabs on.

Another thing about Ash is, she refuses the blanket. SHe does. She always complain that it's "too hot" and throws the cover away. At the rate she's going, she'll be lucky if she can do without joint supplements when she gets old.

Em's first word

Guess what?

It's 'nen-nen' aka milk...LOL!!! I can't remember when she said it but I heard her say it one day.

Lil' monster's changing every day. I can't help but always comparing the 2. Like for instance, Em is alot more daring than her sister. She'll climb up the sofa, up the stairs...basically, "up" everywhere! It's times like these that I wish she'll grow up faster so that I can rest my aged legs. But, on the other hand, you don't (want her to grow up faster) because once that "baby-hood" is gone, it'll be gone forever. No wonder the Duggars are still pro-creating...

She's also got sensitive skin. Like mine perhaps. She's got a case of mild eczema behind her neck. It's not very apparent but once the weather turns nasty, it'll show. I hope it goes away when she's older because, I'm told that usually, when the kids are grown up, the eczema will disappear.

Anyway, I'm hoping for more 'first words' from the little one. Lets hope it's mama next. :-)

Ash and her movies

If I was looking for a job, my job search would be pretty easy because at the moment, my dream job is to work at a DVD shop!

I'll tell you why - Ash has been watching lots of movies lately. No, not Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu kid or Avatar but Disney and Pixar animated movies. So far she's absolutely hooked on Up. I'll have you know that it's not only her that is crazy over the movie, so is hubby! They both can watch the house with balloons over and over and over...and over. I can memorize the script if they don't do it first.

So, I figured that if I worked in a DVD shop, I can get free DVDs. Brilliant, no? Yes, cest brilliante...ooo, I'm in a frenchie mood. Getting ready for the French Open. :-D.

the photog

Ash has always been curious at my constant snapping of pics. She'll want to look at the image in the LCD monitor after every click. Lately, she'll even want to snap pics on her own with my camera which of course, is off-limits.

So, we let her use our old digital compact instead. She's been having a blast since. She's also been dropping it and rendering the camera un-usable on several occasions. But somehow, the compact 'heals' itself. **spooky**.

She snaps just about anything and uses the compact as if its a DSLR, peeping into the viewfinder hole. In this photo, she was taking a pic of Em who was in the baby play-pan at the time. She wanted me to snap a photo of her doing so. hehehe...

There, this is partly how I entertain my kids. Sometimes, it can be more physical. FOr instance, they will climb onto me like I'm a tree. Or Ash will want sit on my back while I'm on all fours taking me on as if I'm a horse. So, if you're wondering how moms manage to keep their slim bodies after birth, wonder no more because I just told you the secret. Don't believe in myths such as weight loss surgery because clearly, they simply don't exist.

her ways

I had a long day today. In the morning, Ash had playgroup and in the afternoon was house- cleaning. So, I am pretty much pooped.

Ash been ok in class. She's becoming more confident and being more independent. Even though, I am there with her, during the times when she needs to do things on her own, she's happily doing them without me. More importantly, she somehow manages to stay clear from the radar and not gone into any cat fights with anyone hehehe...I am relieved for sure.

One thing I've noticed about her is that she gets disturbed whenever she sees kids fighting and kids who ended up crying as a result. She doesn't like to see people fight and all that. She's one peaceful gal isn't she? But then, whenever her sis takes or wants to take her stuff i.e her mickey mouse, her bicycle...she will somehow hold nothing back and will snatch them away or she'll run and hide..LOL..

I know, this is only the beginning right? Yep, don't remind me.

Anyway, I am glad so far she's been a pretty good girl. Sometimes, she gets on our nerves but I would say that on most occasions, she listens.

Oh and she loves to have things in order. She is quite the mechanic. Everything must have it's system. Not that we impose it on her but she always remembers how things are supposed to be and she doesn't like changes very much. She'll accept it but she won't like it.

Ash is changing day by day. It's wonderful how you are given this chance to experience such evolution. I know many who long for this experience but never getting it. I am extremely thankful.

lets shake on it

Ash's favourite shoes for now

The deal of the day with Ash was :

Ash : Mommy

Me : Yes

Ash : Tommoring...kai kai..(buy) a mickey mouse cake and pianio (piano). Wait first. Kai kai mickey mouse cake and pianio, k?

(Translated as : Tomorrow, we go kai-kai to buy mickey mouse cake and piano).

Me : OK.

Apparently, I just struck a deal with my kid! hehehe...

She is getting real talkative these days. But still has difficulties stringing a proper sentence together. Call this lack of reading on our part I suppose..*raises guilty hands*.

Should I be worried? hmmm...

on their own thus far

It's post T-4 now that the girls have been on their own. And I'm certainly glad that it's going pretty swell. No crying, no fussing, no nothing. They seem to be taking it all in stride.

I'm sure you can tell - I am definitely proud of the girls and happy naturally.

Oh, and I've got photos of their room :

taken this afternoon right before Em's nap

the mandatory mickey mouse curtains

I know, it's devoid of kids' decor. I am totally lousy eh..:-P.

The second room upstairs is a little small. I doubt it can accommodate both when they are older. It'll do for the moment but we'll have to think of something in a couple of years. This is also another reason why I decided to keep the room in it's original state as much as possible. Either that or max out my credit card decorating. Also, once Em is through with night feeds, I will remove the arm-chair and replace it with a kids' table or something, you know. So, I'm hoping it'll happen soon; for Ash's sake at least.

By the way, you might re-call in my earlier post, I did mention that Ash's bed is actually mine. It is! Which explains the very 80's look of the bed heheh...I had it since I was 12. It's actually part bunk bed. The upper deck was mine while my sis took the lower deck. Looking at how this is a kids' bunk, the height is slightly lower than most. Anyway, since it's still in almost mint condition, I took it home for Ash. Oh, the mattress underneath - "security reasons" :-)

That's it. My girls' room.

Godzilla

Not your average baby I tell you. This one's a dangerous one hehehe...

Looks can be deceiving. She looks like an absolute angel but believe me, when she's hungry or sleepy...the monster in her gets out. It's as if she's got split personality..

Ok. So jokes aside. She's a real cutey and an adorable baby. It's just that she's very good at getting attention and getting what she wants. SHe's a very determined kid. Determined and demanding.

I can hardly believe how 'big' she is right now. I can still remember, every detail of my delivery. Well, almost every detail cos some moments I was too drunk (from the panthedine and gas).

And, did you know, she was this close to being called "Siobhan". I honestly love this name. But, I also wowed that my kids will not have names where people/kids can easily make fun off. So, no Apple, Prune or Orange.

I'll tell you why I love that name - one of my fav bands were the Bangles and from there, Shakespeare Sister. Heard of them? Only if you're above 35...sorry young un's. One of them, if I remember was Siobhan Fahey. Now, I never knew how to pronounce the name but for some reason, I liked it. And I was very tempted to call Em that since well...at least I could tell her how her name was "born" when she's older. Eventually, I tossed the idea out of the window because believe me, she'll be picked on, laughed at, set aside...God only knows what'll happen.

So, we decided on the safest possible name - Emily..hehe...Now...if Em had a bumbleride indie twin you reckon the twin will be called Marcella? Oh no..that'll be so wrong, so very very wrong!!

Ash's Sunday work-out

One Sunday morning, we went to our friend's condo for a game of tennis. Actually, it was hubby's weekly game. The weekly affair turned into once in 3 months lately because the friend went for a minor butt operation...heheheh..Trust me, it was pretty hilarious and no, I didn't look at the pictures...eewww. Got attacked by some strange bacteria or something.

Anyway, without going into more gory details, we went there on their invite and assurance that he was 'fit' to play. However, when we got there, he couldn't even get his butt to move even an inch. So, we ended up having the whole court to ourselves. Which was a good thing since it was Ash's first time actually playing with her racquet and ping-pong ball on a real court surface and not the living room.. heheh...

The next time we're there, I will bring my bathing suit and splash around the water with lil monster. She had just recovered from her sniffles that day so I didn't want to risk it.

After our hour or so work-out, we headed up to their condo unit for a brief chit-chat before heading back home. Both hubby and I were starving while both the kids fell asleep in the car. You know, sometimes, I don't mind them napping but I wish they napped at home instead because by the time, we got home, they were 'eyes-wide-open'!! aarrgghh...them not dozing off in the car is as rare as finding diet pills that work ! Uh-huh..believe you me..

the first night

Tonight's the night the girls are on their own.

We or rather, "me" to be precise, spent many months agonizing over this and whether I'm pushing out of their comfort zone too soon. To make them do things they're not ready. I mean, they are only 3 and 11 months for crying out loud. Not as if they are 7 or 5.

But, amazingly, they both proved me wrong. More so on Ash's part. She didn't protest nor kick a fuss. Earlier, at 9, hubby accompanied her upstairs to bed. She immediately turned and opened 'her' room door. Hubby waited till she finished her milk, took her bottle and put it aside. Then, he whispered 'good-night, Ashley doo-doo ok' and kissed her forehead. I wasn't there to see it, but that's Ash's bed-time routine with hubby.

Lil' monster was with me downstairs. She, on the other hand, wasn't as comfortable and as willing to try out her new room as Ash. She protested when we put her down in her cot and made a lot of noise. So, in the end, I took her downstairs while hubby tucked Ash in. It took a while for Em to settle down. As a matter of fact, we didn't settle her, she just fell asleep as soon as she finished her milk and we just carried her from our room to hers. She was simply too tired to have any sort of protest after that.

I must say though, Ash didn't fall asleep immediately. She took a while and only did so (sleep), after hubby brought lil Em to the room. It's the new room, the new smell...it's different. I don't blame them one bit. Actually, I was prepared for the worst as in to move them back to our room. But, I'm glad I don't have to. Well, not tonight at least.

If you were to ask me whether I did some kind of prep work with Ash prior to this; I'd have to say no, not intentionally anyways. You see, Ash has been sleeping on her bed for the past 9 months or so; ever since we brought home my bed from my mom's place. My sister was using it but she had a new bed and didn't want it. So, we took it. It took a while for her to adjust to her own bed because she's been sleeping on ours since she was 1. But, she finally got the hang of it and claimed it as her own. So that was the first step towards getting her ready for her own room.

Then, a couple of weeks back, we stopped accompanying her when it was time for bed. Usually, hubby'll stay in the room, till she fell asleep before coming downstairs and sometimes, he'll just fall asleep there and then. But, the past few weeks, he established a bedtime routine for her. Sort of. He'll stay till she finishes her milk, take the bottle from her and then, leave her in the room. Again, this took a while. She cried the first few times, and sometimes, hubby and I will take turns accompanying her till she knocks off. Some days, it takes a while, some days she falls asleep pretty quickly. But, hubby was pretty persistent. He'll repeat the process over and over again until she's finally ok it. We will always talk to her and tell her that she'll be ok, that she needs to go to bed and that we'll be downstairs if she needed anything. So, she knows we're near. It worked wonderfully and we never had to accompany her ever since. She'll fall asleep by herself.

The same thing happened today. It took a while for her to get a shut eye but she was alright. So, I'm very very happy about the events that unfolded. I was really was expecting the worst. But, you know, hopefully, this will last. Naturally, I am not strict with this arrangement. Rules are meant to be broken. They are more than welcome to come snuggle up with us whenever they want. It's not a dead-end situation. Because frankly, I kind of miss them. My room feels so empty now (partly because we cleaned out alot of junk too..like a Hinkley lighting hehehe). But, it's good. I am enjoying my little privacy and no more kids stuff heheh..just me and the hubs. Time for No. 3 eh...:-P.

I'm really proud of Ash. Really I am. Not only because of this milestone she has achieved but at her playgroup as well. I'll tell you more later. Now, let me go and enjoy my big big bed...:-)

a lil' bit of bliss and a lil' bit of miss

And so, it begins, the work week. The weekend was not as I expected but it was alright.

Ok, first thing's first - Ash and her 'try-outs'. She did ok. Yeah, "ok" only. Her main weakness was that she couldn't follow some instructions that the coach belted out. Like for instance, when they asked her to sit with her "legs crossed", she just sat down bending her legs instead. It took a while and hubby had to show her how literally. SHe didn't understand what "crossing your legs" meant. Which was what I expected anyway because her grasp of the Eng language is not very strong.

Apart from that, she was able to perform most of the tasks shown to her. They weren't very difficult to start with. The activities were designed to gauge her motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination and listening abilities. She did things like catching balls with big nets, chasing after hula-hoops, hitting spongy tennis balls with modified tennis racquets. Basically, it was all fun and I was told she was laughing throughout the 45 mins. The only activity she didn't particularly like was balancing thingy (don't ask me how to describe it, I don't know it either). She totally refused to get on top even with hubby's help.

In the end, she had to join the baby/munchkins class which requires parent's attendance. Actually, I don't mind it because I don't think Ash will want to be left alone like that. Even though, I was hoping she'll be put into the tots' group but this will have to do for 6 weeks at least.

But, unfortunately (here comes the bummer!), the class is only available in 2 weeks' time. They don't have anymore slots available for Ash. I never knew this programme is such a hit hehhe...Oh well, she'll have to wait for another 2 weekends or rather...this momsie will have to wait for another 2 weekends...hehehhe...

That was that. In other news, the girls' room is almost ready for them. Almost because we still haven't gotten our closet out of their room. We got the air-conditioner and their chest drawer fixed last Saturday. The only thing now is to move Ash's bed (with the mattress, bed-sheet..the works) and Em's cot over this weekend. In all honesty, I still want to do something to the walls but haven't figured out what yet so I'll leave it as that for the moment.

Sooooo...this weekend could be THE date. Wish me luck!!!

Good Friday

When Ash and I left playgroup this morning, we met with huge huge massive jam along the Assunta roundabout. I made a mistake going along that route knowing full well that it will be chaotic. But, luckily the coppers were there and managed to ease traffic a little so at the very least, the cars were moving.

I am particularly looking forward to this weekend. Not because it's Easter but because Ash is going for her first tennis-related try-outs!! Oh, I am so so SO excited. It's as if she's going for her very first tournament..heheh..

Ok, so allow me to explain. We want to enrol Ash at this toddler tennis centre. They have a few programmes for the kiddos. Kind of like beginners, intermediate and advance toddler classes. SO, before they figure out which class she belongs to, she'll have to go for "try-outs"..so to speak.

BUT...do not ask me how these programmes are structured because I have no clue. Just like if you were to ask me about rv repair - no idea!! But I hope to find out tomorrow.

So, this weekend will be busy and exciting. I just hope Ash'll enjoy her outing tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

With that, have a great weekend guys!

holy molly..

WHile having dinner earlier today, I told hubby that how amazing it is that today is already April and I was actually 'fooled'! heheheh....no, really, it's APRIL. Can you believe how time has this ability to fly by so fast?

The funny thing is, you know how when you were a kid, you wished you grew up faster so you can just do all those things that adults could. Like how you can just eat whatever, drink whatever and go to bed whenever?!. Now that I am one (an adult), I realised that I don't actually do all that. I kind of watch what I eat like I abstain from certain foods. And, I don't drink whatever either. Maybe I do go to bed whenever but trust me, it's harder to get through the day if I have a late night because my kids are just super monsters.

So, even though I am an adult now -- some kid's dream -- I wish I was a kid all over again. Ain't that the strangest thing?

Oh...that reminds me - better get the insurance quote. See what I mean about having no fun being an adult!! gggrrr...