allergies

Still nursing my allergies for more than a week now. Make that 2 weeks. The red itchiness on my hands and legs are gone but the ones on the face still remains. My lips were somehow affected also.

At first, I didn't know what I was allergic too. Was it the countless si-hum I ate, the dirty muddy water at the beach, my acne products..? I honestly had no clue. Then, it dawned on me that this was not the first time I've had the allergies. I had it once before during CNY but at the time, I blamed it on the countless helpings of my aunt's chili crab. I simply thought, it was the price you pay for being greedy. How was I to know?

But, this time, I didn't have any crabs before the attack. Even my si-hum session was after. So, what happened? Both times, the allergies attacked after going to the beach. So then, it hit me..like a tonne of bricks (I also verified this with my GP)- it was the sun protection cream!!! Silly me!! Now, I have to throw that one away and get a hypo-allergenic ones (if there is one in the market) because I need one..soon.

yucks!!

"yucks" is what Ash calls her veggie or anything green. She's ok with carrot and that's it.

How I miss the days when I fed her porridge. I'd just dump at least 3 types of veggies with pork cubes and fish. You don't even have to add salt and it's tasty. She would wallop everything. Then, her eating habits started to change when she started having adult-type meals..rice and all. She started getting picky with her veggie. She used to be ok with broccoli and naturally, I was ok with that! Cauliflower was also another veggie that she enjoyed and will happily gobble up even if it tasted bland (cos this lazy mommy will just blanche them and eat with soy sauce as dip). All the hard veggies she took except for the soft and leafy ones.

Nowadays, she'll cover her mouth and run away whenever I come near with anything green or anything resembling veggies as if they were banned all natural diet pills or something. She hates them so much that she even told my sister not to give her the 'grass' part of my sister's birthday cake (my sister's birthday cake had 3 red beetles and some grassy parts). See what I have to deal with?? **sigh**

Anyway, lately, I managed to 'trick' Ash into eating her veggie is to cut the leafy greens into small and tiny pieces. That way, she'll eat with her rice and whatnots. But, this cannot be the solution, now can it? She still won't be getting sufficient greens because I cannot fill up her plate with lots of greens, she'll complain. I can only take like a few pieces and cut it up, and when you cut up into further tiny pieces, it looks too much.

Any suggestions, anyone? on how to get your child to eat her greens?

Mini at 18 months

Mini went for her final immunization shot this morning. Final for a toddler/baby. Her next will be when she's 6. I can breathe a little...

Of course, she didn't know what was coming. They checked her height and weight. She's 9 kg, standing at 79cm. Very petite compared to her sister. According to the aped, she's all-systems-go so nothing to be concerned about. Just that, after her shot, she was extremely manja, especially if you touch her err..."wound". If you so much as brush her thigh, she'll scream her head off. So...I left the bandage there. It's still there. She's the real drama queen this one. Funny though, this lil queen didn't make a sound during...but instead, she cried her eyes out whenever she sees that white sticker on her thigh. Funny girl! She's really this funny funny girl..:-).

a beach-y outing

When everyone was celebrating Deepavali 2 weeks back, we went to the beach instead. It wasn't planned as such but seeing as how it was a long weekend (it was a Friday I believe), hubby thought we should do something out of our usual with the girls. Besides, we want to fulfill Ash's 3 wishes as best we can (the "3" being an outing to the beach, find snow and buy a Christmas tree).

We weren't about to travel for hours to Phuket or Pangkor or Langkawi because hubby's work schedule is packed till the end of the year so he suggested we take a short drive to somewhere nearby. PD is a little too far out. We could've gone to Morib but...we didn't think of it. So, what did we do?? - end up in Sepang Gold Coast in Bagan Lalang. A relatively short 45 minutes drive from where we live.

We left after lunch and by the time we reached Bagan Lalang, it was close to 3 (we made a few pit-stops along the way to pee, reload Touch n Go and to the gas station). Ash was ecstatic when we finally reached our destination. SHe bounced up and down her seat and screamed "I see a beach...I see a beach...I see it...I see it...HURRAAYYYYY!!!". She'll make a good cheerleader when she grows up..hehhe..

You know, we were late (as usual) because all the shaded spots were filled up. By the looks of it, they weren't moving their butts anytime soon either. We just picked a random spot, with an old tree bark...just to sit on, or lean our bags against. This was such a last minute outing that we didn't even bring a mat. But, we managed.

The girls had a great time. We left around 6. Of course, it wasn't a smooth exit because Ash didn't want to leave. She kept shouting for us to "come back!!" when we left her behind. But, we just continued walking. She followed us, soon after..mumbling to herself. I had to wash Mini off because she was covered with sand, mud and God-knows what. She wasn't swimming in the water but just that, she sat down and the tide came in more and more as the hours went by and we had to keep retreating. SOmetimes, she got wet if we missed. In the end, she got soaked from waist down. Did I mention that the water is filthy? It is!! Dead fishes were being washed up as the tide came in. G-R-O-S-S!!! It was...very very gross..You can imagine why I had to give Mini a quick shower before leaving.

By the time we got home, it was past 7.30pm. Even though, it was late, we cleaned the girls up from head to toe. Scrubbed every nail, wash every strand of hair..ok, I am exaggerating! But, we still gave them a good wash. We gobbled up our dinner and scoot the girls off to bed.

All in all, it was a pretty fruitful outing. Ash got her wish granted. With Mini older now, she was able to sit and play along with hubby and Ash so that left me with ample opportunities to take photos. The last time we were there, it was during CNY when we brought BIL and family and with Mini being just 8 months then, she was fidgety and we had to take turns carrying her. This time, she happily played along. I was glad I managed to take some decent outdoor pics of the girls. That reminds me, I need to sort the photos out and take them to the printers. With everything digitalized, it's so easy these days to just leave everything in the computer and before you know it, you've accumulated thousand and thousands of photos and you'll end up having to sieve through everything again just to pick the ones for print. Wouldn't it be the greatest thing on earth if I had the professional epson printers so I don't have to run to the printers all the time? I can just hook it up to my lappie and print away. Do you reckon I'll get one for my birthday? hehehhe...:-).

when she's angry...

Typically, when Ash gets angry, she's more adorable than disturbing. hahaha..I bet all kids are and most parents love to watch their kids get angry because they look so cute!! I know, aren't we a bunch of sickos??!!

BAck to Ash..at times, I will purposely make her angry just to see her throw a tantrum. I know - what the---??? I don't do things to mentally abuse her or anything, just that bit to irritate her a little. I will usually stop or give in after that. But, just too cute.

Like last night, she wanted hubby to draw her a cat. And she insisted on the cat being drawn in a certain way. If a whisker went out of place, she gets irritated and showed her displeasure (see what i mean...signs of OCD-ness??). When no drawn properly, she'd crumple up the paper and throw it on the floor or she'd grab the crayon and proceeded to show hubby how she wanted the tail drawn..all this time saying "hmmmpppfffrrr...I show u!!". We both giggled in our hearts, and hubby tried pacifying her by saying "ok...daddy draw again".

After a couple of tries, and still hadn't got the drawing right, she got further frustrated with hubby. No, she didn't screamed or hit him, she just crumpled up the papers and ask for another drawing...and another and another..Then, hubby was the one who got irritated with her and said "ok..now, daddy is angry. I don't want to draw anymore" (perhaps the natural testosterone was doing the talking). She let out a 'hmmmpphh..", and ran into the study room. She tried drawing herself and got irritated with herself and when "aaaarrrggghhh..." before crumpling the paper and throwing it down.

Wait...there's more. I went in, hoping to to pacify her while trying to put on a straight face. She pushed me away and proceeded to clean the room. She put all her cooking toys away into the basket. She cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Her way of "letting-it-all-out" i believe. Once she was done, she came out and started her crocodile tears in my arms. She was really tired and was cranky at the same time. She only had a short snooze in the morning. We cleaned up a sobbing Ash, made her milk and hubby read her her bedtime story. She went to sleep in 10.

She's just too cute sometimes. Even her being angry didn't seem like she was really angry at all.

at play

Mini'll turn 18 months in a couple of days. 18 months!! She used to be so tiny when she came out from me. Even tiny-er than Ash. But, a lot more feisty too. Must be the 2nd child syndrome.

People tell me that this is the fun age. I don't know -- it might be fun for her but definitely a lot more tiring for me. She's cute when she runs, like a little duckling. She can say out loud a couple of words..but, none of them are mama or daddy. She's also polite. I know that because she'll say 'kam' (welcome) whenever you say "thank you" to her when she gives or passes you something. She only needs her pacifier and her bolsters to fall asleep. Shes still so tiny and soft. I just love cuddling her..and hubby adores her. Who can blame her for being so irresistible? SHe's our youngest!

Yeah, she's definitely at a fun age. Perhaps, not so "fun" in the parent's physical department because we still need to watch over her. Who knows what might happen when we turn our backs? It's tiring definitely but have no regrets because they grow up so fast and once that phase is over, it is gone forever. So, I tell myself to enjoy every moment even though, you know, on certain days, I honestly don't feel like moving..at all. I just want to curl up in bed and have a nice uninterrupted snooze. Oh how I miss them...the snooze.

Anyway, she'll be due for her final vaccination soon. Her next will be when she turns 6. Apart from that, our agent been bugging us on this new insurance plan for her that he's brought to our attention. We haven't looked at it exactly but I think we may need to cos he'll call real soon. Can't these coverage get any cheaper? I mean, what ever happened to cheap life insurance? I always thought premiums for children are way cheaper than for adults. But, I tell ya, it doesn't look that way to me..**scratches head**.

You know, I do look forward to the day when her whole personality explodes..full blown..for all the world to see -- just like Ash's right now. I can't wait to have a conversation with her..I can't wait. She'll probably be a real chatterbox, you reckon? Too early to tell -- we'll just have to wait...and see.

are you ready for Christmas?

How time flies!! It's already November and then, soon, it'll be December and then, it's Christmas time. Soon, another year just goes and we'll be celebrating new year's.

Have you figured what you're gonna get for your kids, family, friends, friends' kids'...etc..We don't celebrate Christmas on a big scale but since my sister does, she decks up my mom's home with all sorts of Christmas decor. My mom still puts up her Christmas tree from the 1970s. You should see some of the ornaments -- they are like so retro!! Some are missing though; not to mention broken. But, we still have the tree hehehe..

Anyway, I still look forward to Christmas. I know Ash is since she's been asking us to get her a Christmas tree. Since her request fell on deaf ears, she asked us if we could decorate the lime tree in our mini backyard instead **slaps forehead**. We won'd be getting her one for sure. We will however, buy her presents and head over to my mom's house instead. I will of course get myself a present too -- the best best acne serum that money can buy.

a baby girl is born

After 12 hours of labour, my friend finally popped. I tell you, it's raining girls again this year. I remembered when Ash was born, that year, many also had their baby girls. Well, personally I didn't know all of them; the happy news were related to me. The ones I knew were 4 girls at the time.

Anyway, happy news for my friend. And, happy news for the insurers too because I'm sure the new parents will be looking for term life insurance quotes for their daughter. Maybe not immediately because they'll need to settle down, go through the confinement, then the full-moon...once the dust settles, that's when they'll start thinking of the nitty gritty. It's natural because having our kids insured gives us a little peace of mind when it comes to security and protection...for the future...for any eventualities **knock on wood**.

snow and christmas tree

We've been summoned to get a christmas tree and err..somehow get some snow too for Ash. She sure knows how to ask for the impossible, doesn't she? It's the dreaded tv I tell you. Oh, and not forgetting the beach...she wants to go to the beach but we always tell her it's too far...I don't think she understands what 'too far' means but at least, too far managed to stop her from asking much these days. If not, we'll be hearing "beach beach beach"...all day and night.

If you ask me, and if I had the choice, I will want to spend Christmas in Swiss. I did have the best of time there last year though it wasn't during winter. You know, it will definitely be the most interesting Christmas ever if that happened. Not only for me, but the girls too. I get to dress the girls up in pretty little winter jackets and boots; chic cashmere sweaters for me. Did you know they are the trend these days? Again, people in the West are just so so lucky they get to dress up and wear pretty.

Anyway, I am, as usual, day dreaming and maybe if Ash wants it bad enough, we might just head down to Sunway Pyramid. They have a skating ring there don't they? She won't be able to tell the difference -- I'll just tell her it's 'special snow'...:-).

lazy Sunday

I...you know, I will tell you what happened on Sunday. I cannot believe I slept till 10 am that day!! I was so knackered that I continued sleeping and sleeping and refused to get out of bed. Have I ever told you that having kids is your remedy to slimming? It's true! You want to lose weight, simply have kids and they are your best fat burner pills. Running after them is as good as running a full marathon.

Come Sunday...I was totally worn out. Hubby was already flat out Saturday night cos he went to bed at 10pm. So, he woke up bright and early with the kids, made them their milk and breakfast (toast and cheese). He even snuck out for laundry whilst the girls entertained themselves with Barney. By the time I woke up, Mini had her bath and was already having her 2nd dose of breakfast (instant fruit cereal). Yeah, I know, this girl can really eat!

It's been a long time since I've stayed in bed past 8. It was a luxury but at the same time, I think it backfired because I woke up with a massive headache. I must've 'overslept' or possibly dehydrated or from hunger. I quickly gobbled up a few pieces of butter cake I bought the day before and drank milo and popped a panadol. The headache subsided. Thank God..

accountant

Ash will be what? 4 next year? So, I think, it's quite safe at this age to surmise her strengths and weakness..to sort of gauge what she'll be good at doing when she grows up.

The more I look at her, she can be a typical accountant. She's orderly, loves putting things in order and categories. She loves to complete her puzzles. Plus, she's got a little OCD in her. No, I'm not saying that accountants exhibit OCD tendencies (but trust me, the majority of them kinda do) but you know, they are terribly meticulous and extremely attentive to details. One less zero and they will pounce on you. And, you need to put things in exactly the way it's supposed to. So..I don't know. I have 2 sisters who are accountants and sister in laws who are accountants. The accounting genes can't run very far.

It's alright if she decides to make accounting her future career. Did you know that there is a serious shortage of accountants and accounting jobs are aplenty? Every business (small or large), needs an accountant. If Ash isn't fussy, there will always be job opportunities for her so long as she works hard, grab any opportunity she can and who knows...the sky's the limit.

one on one time..

I spent Friday alone with lil Em while Ash spent her day with her grandparents. I had some chores to do around the house in the morning so we stayed home. She had her nap early and hubby came home just in time for lunch. He brought me some yummy lunch, since I was too lazy to cook. Lil Em had her porridge as usual. But, since she was asleep during lunchtime, we had our lunch pretty much in peace.

By the time Lil Em woke up, the dishes were washed, load of laundry hung and some other cleaned laundry folded, cleaned the Fireplace doors. I even managed a short snooze. I fed her lunch and bathed her. Then, she watched her favorite Barney while I accompanied her. If you ask me, it was really boring because we've seen the CD's a thousand times but she wanted company and I thought why not? Since i hardly get to spend any quality time with her. Even if it's simply watching tv, I'll just do it. I was very tempted to surf the net with my lappie or hp but I didn't because knowing her, she will want to fiddle with my stuff so best not to bring my 'work' with me.

After that, she got bored with Barney and wanted something else. I took out Ash's crayons for her and she started doodling. After a few doodles, she got bored, so I brought her out. We went to the Curve (my usual quick and easy hang out place), walked around till she got fidgety and went home just in time for her dinner. Quickly fed her, washed up and then off to bed. I knew she was about to get really really tired, I put her down with her pacifier and her bolsters, turn the lights off left. She did cry a little but I just left her. Normally, if her cries persist for more than 10 mins, I'll check on her. But since it lasted for only a few seconds, I let her be. I checked on her about 30 mins later, she was already asleep. It was a good thing I put her down just in the nick of time; any later, she would've created a huge fuss.

It was a good day with lil Em. I did quite a bit despite her hanging around me. Of course, for the most part, she slept so that gave me some time. For the next 2 months, I will have more time for lil Em because the plan is to send Ash to my in laws at least twice a week. I think they will both be pleased with this arrangement..hehe..:-).