so much on, so little time

I am having one of those days....

- So much on at work, so many things to follow up, so many things to finish off ... no time to pee, no time to make coffee, no time to eat, no time for anyone...pretty much head down bottom up. And the radio of the person next to me was driving me nuts....use a bloody headphone if you want to listen to music at work. Nothing worst than trying to work with somebody's crappy music at the back.

- Am feeling edgy because I couldn't make it to the gym. I really needed to exercise to relieve some stress.

Yes, am not in my usual good mood....very edgy! Grrrrrr!

I think I need chocolates, ice cream, chips, mud cake..bring it on!

But then, I had already started attacking the packet of Tim Tam, muahahahaha!

6 down, 5 more to go....

walk 4 a good cause

What was I doing to get up at 6am on a Sunday morning to get ready for a 12km walk!!!??? What was I thinking when I registered for the event a few weeks ago? It must have caught me at a weak moment! Crazy! Worst still it was pissing down big time this morning, so wet!

But hang on, reality check - it was to support ppl with intellectual disability in WA. So, no whinging!

There were people everywhere when we got there, some just look superfit, some dressed up as clowns or the tin man, some came in tow with kids n prams, some purely came to stir u up as they stand by the side clutching a takeaway coffee...some like us were just happy that we made it out of bed in time for the start.

This is my 1st time doing it and with a few people from work, we started the 12km walk at 8am! It was a slow start coz I was trying hard to dodge those fast runners, and then there were the prams, which if not looking, I could crash into them and injured the little kiddies, oops! It was fine after a while, and the non-stop "yakking" exercise along the way certainly did the trick in getting my mind off some of those killer hills.

And we covered 12km in just less then 2 hrs- something like 1hr 59min 32 sec! Close, hee hee.

Yes, I was all wet when I got to the finishing line, my legs were a bit tired n sore, but I got a medal for finishing the walk (of which JD has claimed to be his) and best of all, what could be better than a yummy sausage sizzle after all the exericse!

i m a tiger, roar!!!!!

While doing the groceries this morning, we spotted a free face painting service. Whoopedoo, we decided to let JD have his very 1st face painting. And out of all the pics we showed him, he wanted to be a TIGER, roar!

1st the tiger brow and moustache

then the whiskers and nose
then the stripes

and now I am a tiger
Ummm, I thought tigers are carnivorous
Hey, I think you look too happy for a tiger
Ok, maybe you could guard my house

friday games

Lately I have been playing a new game with JD. It's like the "Simon says...." game.

So, this morning we played, "mommy says" and JD came up with actions for all the words which was I plesantly surprised with.

- Running... JD running around in a circle laughing
- Stepping... JD stepping his feet like a soldier
- Spinning... JD spins round and round with hands in the air
- Crawling... JD on all fours
- Skipping... JD hops around like a kangaroo
- Rolling... JD rolling around on the floor
- Singing... JD sings part of "Twinkle twinkle little stars"
- Dancing... JD moves his hip
- Eating... JD pretending to eat
- Drinking... JD goes "slurp, yummy"
- Cooking... JD stirs the pot
- Chopping... JD motion with his hands and go "chop chop"
- Sneezing... JD says "Ah...choo"
- Coughing... JD pretends to cough
- Sleeping... JD puts his head down and snore
- Driving... JD goes "beep beep"
- Hiding... JD hides behind the couch
- Toes... Points to his toes
- Fingers... JD points with his pointer
- Nose... JD points to his nose
- Ears... JD touched his ears
- Eyes... JD covers his eyes
- Belly... JD lift up his shirt and show me his belly
- Shoulders... Errrr, JD not sure about this one, hee hee
- Teeth... JD proudly displays his front teeth
- Hair... JD runs to the bathroom to get a hairbrush
- Peek-a-boo... JD covers his eyes and go "boo"
- Quiet... JD puts his finger to the lips and go "Shhhh"
- Hot potato... JD does his favourite Wiggles action

Then we built blocks and JD likes to stack it all high before demolishing it.

This is what he likes to do.

Counting and stacking the blocks at the same time.

And this was JD's little conversation to himself while building the blocks:

"One, two, four, six, seven, nine, nine....nine"
"Wow, look, high"
"Bang, down"
"Oh dear!"

i have what?

For a while now...errr, actually a long while on and off...I have been having lower back pain, neck pain and headaches. For all these while, I just thought it was a common post-baby problem, carrying JD on the hip, work stress, running around too much, looking too much at computer and yada yada yada.

After putting up with it for a while, I thought this is not a healthy sign. I have always been a fit and healthy person. Working out in the gym few times a week, going for regular walks, yoga, aerobics and chasing after an active 2 yo toddler. So taking on a friend's suggestion, I booked myself in to see a chiropractor. I have never seen a chiro before and never really knew what a chiro does.

So, here is what a chiro does.

"Chiropractic returns the body to balance through adjustments of the spine and joints, normalizing joint motion, reducing nerve interference, relieving stress and restoring normal body function. Whenever there is a system containing many movable parts, a complex balance is necessary between those parts. Chiropractors influence the body's nervous system and natural defense mechanisms in order to alleviate pain and improve general health. Because of its effectiveness in treating back problems, headaches and other injuries and traumas, chiropractic has become the second largest primary health care field in the world."

Source:www.tlccenter.com

Now, so what did the chiro find?

It was a long and detailed assessment, where my chiro checked my spine, running this very nigh tech looking machine over my spine, testing my nervous system, showing me where my problem was, checking my shoulders, checking my pelvis, testing my reflex and etc etc. Then I was sent for x-ray for a pic of my spine and pelvis.

And what happened after all the assessment.

Well, my chiro, Dr.R found:

- a curve in my spine (possibly since birth or early teenage years)
- an uneven pelvis (interesting!)
- a tilted lower back (blame on 1st pregnancy, hee hee hee)
- an uneven shoulder (probably been around since teenage years)
- a very nasty looking neck (maybe since I started working and spending endless hrs staring at the computer) and
- a slightly not so good looking tailbone (ha, this one I can blame on the birth of my 1st child)

That wasn't good. Ok, so I know I have back problems. I know my yoga teacher keep correcting my posture coz my right shoulder tends to stick out! But seeing the x-ray of my spine and neck was quite an experience. Wow, I never knew I was that crooked! I got scared, and thought OMG! I thought I was going to pass out. My first question was "Can it be fixed?" I breathe a sigh of relief when he said yes. Thank goodness. Funnily enough, Dr. R was able to trace every bit of my crooked joint to my headache, my lower back pain, the pins and needles in my fingers, my sore tailbone. Afterall, I wasn't imagining it, and I wasn't going crazy!

And for my uneven pelvis...ehem, well now I know why JD had such a hard time in getting into the right position during birth.

Well, apart from all the wild things I did when I was a kid, like trying to be a BMX rider (bad idea!), or a "professional" backyard circus, to having a bad posture because I never listened to my parents advice for standing up tall....many other things in life such as stress, diet, tension, errr, and having a baby can cause our spine and pelvis to seriously misaligned.

So, I have 5 treatments so far since I saw Dr.R. The treatment is called "Spinal Adjustment".

1st time - Din feel anything different
2nd time - Back sore as hell after treatment %&*T*&%()
3rd time - Went it with a headache, but gone after 5 mins of treatment, wow!
4th time - I thought my shoulder felt different when I walk, maybe I was dreaming
5th time - My shoulder is correcting itself

So far,
- Frequencies of headaches have reduced
- My tailbone doesn't hurt when I sneeze
- My lower back not so achy all the time

This is promising, I think!

it's a boy thing ...

Scene #1

Coming home from daycare, JD spotted kids kicking footie on the street
JD: Mom, I play?
Mom: Ummm, okay, for a short while
15 mins later
Mom: Ok JD, time to go home, dinner time soon
JD: No mom
Mom: Yes JD
Ignoring mommy's words
Mom: Ok JD, I am going...
JD: Ok, see ya, bye!

Scene #2

Nearing bedtime...
Mommy: Ok JD, time for books, come with mommy
JD: No!
Mommy: Why's that?
JD: Daddy! My daddy!
Mommy: Ok, you want daddy to read story?
JD: "Yep, yay!"
Mommy: "Ok, JD u still want mommy to read you story"
JD: No, see ya!

What a funny moment..I walked away not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

lazy sunday

Ha ha, whoopeedo...we had a great slept in this morning. I had a great slept in till 8.00am and JD woke up half an hour later. I wanted to chill out today and gave the gym a miss. So we went off for a quick and easy breakie at Mccas. It was nice, relaxing under the warm morning sun. JD loves his pancakes and insisted that he spread the butter on himself before chomping it all down.

While at Mccas, I normally let JD have a play in the playground. It's been a while since we have been there, but he has certainly learn to climb up and down inside the maze and I got worried for a while when I couldn't see him. Ha ha, but before I know, he was sliding down through one of the tunnels!

After Mccas, we popped next door to Bunnings to place an order for some skirting boards. Bunnings is a great place to get lost in if you are after things for fixing up the house, garden..there were skirting boards of all different types and colours, paints of all colours, big hose, small hose, concrete screws, wooden screws, big screws, medium screws, nails of all types, drills, nails guns, glue, sealants, plants of all kind, flowers enough to have a garden show in your own backyard...I have to secretly say I am a fan of Bunnings.

The rest of day were spent potting around the house, reading paper, surfing the net, play with JD, nap, eating, opening the fridge, shutting the fridge, squeezing orange juice, ironing...a pretty non-eventful day but good for chilling out.

At night, I made this black bean claypot spareribs and stir fried asparagus. JD must be going through a growth spurt again. I normally cook only a cup of rice and quite often still have some leftovers. But it was all gone tonight! That's a good sign!

party time

Today JD got invited to a good friend's birthday party. It was Ethan's birthday party and they are only 5 days apart of one another. I first met Ethan's mommy, Sarah while attending the ante-natal class at the hospital. And we only bumped into one another again when the boys went for their first immunisation shots. That was how a new friendship started!

The two boys have always been fairly close in their growth and most of the time they will be doing the same thing within one week of one another. But Ethan moved back to Singapore mid last year and JD lost a good playmate for a while. While they seldom pay much attention to one another then, it was always good to have the 2 boys playing together.

And while looking through the old photos today, I realised how much they have changed... Hope to see you again soon Ethan! What a great party Sarah n Stan!

JD and Ethan at 9-10 mths old (both teething badly)

Both boys have always been good with their hands

But between the 2 boys, little Faye does a good job in keeping them out of trouble

And today, they had heaps of fun with all the balls in a castle

why I like thursday?

Yippie Thursday! Ha ha, Thursday is my favourite day coz:

1. It is the last working day of the week for me
2. It's my Body Pump day at the gym
3. It's shopping night
4. I can sleep in on Friday morning
5. It means time with my little man on Friday
6. JD and I can get into lots of mischief together
7. It means catching up with friends on Friday
8. And having nice long chats

And this Thurday is esp. good coz hubby has passed his last CA unit...ha ha, this is all good! No more study, no more exams, ha ha, at least that's what I believe!

happy birthday to u

Yay JD, it's your 2nd birthday today! Well, you certainly know it's your birthday today coz you slept in more than usual this morning. I woke you up by singing Happy Birthday to you and you had the biggest smile on your face. JD, you have been a wonderful part of our lives and not one day go by when you haven't made us laugh with the little things you do. At the tender age of 2, you have achieved so much.

At age of 2,
- You are walking around confidently in your favourite gum boots
- You can run so fast with a ball in your hand and
- Kick a soccer ball as good as a Beckham
- You can jump so high almost reaching the sky
- And runnning backwards and forwards like a remote control car
- You can hold a pen as good as a writer
- And you are a fine artist of circles and water paint
- You love giving cuddles to your friends
- And your caregiver told me you are a little charmer with girls
- You love your swimming lessons and
- You love giving your teacher Sussan a hug after each Gymbaroo session
- You love playing with coins
- And you know how to say "shopping and money"
- You tell me if you fancy an ice-cream or yoghurt
- A pasta or noodle
- You still call a banana "nana"
- But you can say "apple" "orange" "melon" "pear"
- You never pass on a good tucker and
- You love a good party of juice and fairy breads
- You eat well, sleep well and play well till the end of day
- You have some naugthy moments
- But know what to do when that happens
- You are bright little boy
- And good with your little hands
- You love to build a good set of blocks
- Mixing sand and water is one of your favourite plays and
- Wiggles is your favourite dance music
- You like sorting blocks by colours and
- You try to count in your own order "One, two, four, nine, nine, ten, nine nine...."
- You are trying to learn Chinese and good at saying "Xia xia" (thank u), "wo yau" (I want)
- You never fail to put a smile on faces around you
- You are a sociable little kid
- And never afraid to join in the fun of big kids
- Or kicking a footie or two with kids on the street
- Your vocabulary is growing day by day
- And you have strung a few sentences together
- Just yesterday, you told me "I push"
- Today, you told me "I throw"
- And tonight, you told me "I want my cars"
- But your best is still "Me no naugthy"
- And you have a favourite puppy that you go to sleep with
- It's been chucked on and gone through the wash a few times
- But you still remain attached to your puppy
- And your molars have finally cut through after a big battle for over a week

JD, 2 yrs old is a milestone for you...and I marvel at your growth each day. There are so many people around that love and care about you, your daddy and mommy, your wai gong and wai po, your mama, your aunties, your caregivers: Andrea and Suzanne, all your good friends and all the people around you!

Happy birthday to our special little boy!

May you stay strong and happy, seeking pleasures and discoveries in your wonderful years of toddlerhood!

tug of war

Tonight you were naugthy, and your mommy was having a bad case of PMS and headache. So, you had a few teary moments. This was what happened as I chatted to your aunty Shirley:

mommy: hee hee, u know JD was very naugthy tonight
aunty Shir: wat he did?
mommy: well, he refused to sit down to have his meal
mommy: want to stand and eat
mommy: and then splash the food everywhere
aunty Shir: stand lor
mommy: so I got very mad and sent him to naugthy chair
aunty Shir: when he is 5 yrs old tell him only beggers eat standing
mommy: then I so angry and said
mommy: "no birthday and no cake for you tomorrow"
mommy: ha ha ha, wah, he so upset when he hear that
mommy: he cried and sobbed so hard, hee hee
aunty Shir: he cried
mommy: then I said "no crying, no sobbing"
mommy: then he sat in his chair just going "sniff sniff"
mommy: hee hee hee
mommy: very funny lah
mommy: I am very mean, hee hee hee
aunty Shir: aiya u so bad
mommy: hee hee hee, I know
mommy: but he naugthy wah
aunty Shir: but he forgot after like 50min rite
mommy: anyway, 2 mins later, he forgot leow
mommy: he said sorry and gave me a hug, hee hee
mommy: so of course guilt sets in, and I went to make the cake for him at 10pm
mommy: crazy mum!

The truth is JD, I do have moments when I can let my patience run low and I sometimes feel bad afterwards. Of course you will have your birthday and that is something I couldn't possibly take away from you. But, I just want to you to learn the good habit of sitting down for your meals. And as I later relayed to your aunty Jut,

aunty Jut: can he understand?
mommy: well, the reason he was naugthy was because he refused to sit down and eat his meal
aunty Jut: i see
mommy: he insisted on standing up, walking around with his food and then he splashed his food everywhere on the floor
aunty Jut: aiyo
mommy: but after the naughthy chair, I gave him his food again and he said "highchair mommy"
aunty Jut: wa...
aunty Jut: success

cooking up a storm

This has been a stormy night and it has been raining cats and dogs all day. The wind was coming on fast and strong, so spending a night at home sounds like a good idea.




Hub suddenly felt like some cookies tonight and I thought me and JD could make some cookies together. ***Ummm....yes, daddy felt like cookies, and so mommy and bub did the work, yeh, that sounds about right, ha ha!*** So, out the flour, sugar, butter from the pantry and while I was very tempted to make the sinfuly delicious choc chip cookies, hubby preferred the more humble coconut biscuits. So, there we were, me pouring the butter and sugar into the big bowl, and JD helped to mix it all up. Then we poured the coconut in, kneaded the dough, roll into a ball, and flatten it with a big smack! JD was having so much fun, and kept repeating "mack, mack" everytime he flatten the biscuits. We chuck them into the oven for 12mins and within half an hour of fun, we had the golden delicious coconut crisp biscuits! Yummy! Though mine didn't turn out looking like the picture in the book, but me and JD reckoned it tasted just as good! Hubby gave it a big tick too. We are all happy!

But a little drama happened while we were baking up a storm in the kitchen. The wind outside was ferocious and all of a sudden, we heard a big bang! My heart dropped thinking the roof has been blown away and maybe we would all get blown away by the wind! Allright allright, I have watched too much TV. Well, maybe not the roof this time, but it was my fence. My fence got snapped it half by the strong gust of wind....oopsy! Now we have really cooked up a storm.

Well, it is still pouring down outside, wind gusting at 100km/hr...so I guess it's time to hit my igloo and hide under my doona cover for a while! Zzzzzzzz...

sometimes I struggle

Sometimes I find myself struggle as a working mum. B4 having JD, I had a vague impression that my life would change, but never did I realise that it could have changed so much. Don't get me wrong, I am still me, but many other things have changed, my goals, my ambitions, my focus, my working life, my priorities..the list goes on an on.

I have always enjoyed every single moment I have had since JD was born.

But my struggle as a working mom happens sometimes when I try to find the right balance betweeen being a good mum, a good employee, a good team player, a wife and so on. Sometimes I find myself having the random thoughts of maybe giving up my day job for a while and staying home as a full-time mom. Maybe I will start a child care service at home caring for my kid and other people's kids...and that give me the balance of evetything I am looking for.

Sometimes I struggle because I felt bad if I had to leave on the dot from work to pick up my kiddo from childcare. Sometimes it is because I have something important to finish off but I still have to dash off because I have to start my next shift as a mom in half an hour's time! That shift defintely can't be left waiting!

Sometimes I have to miss an important meeting because I needed to stay home to care for my sick child.

Sometimes I get a call in the middle of the day from childcare because my child has fallen sick.

Sometimes I worry that maybe I am not spending enuf time with my kid or not spending enuf time for hubby.

Sometimes I get so caught up with my tasks at work and at home that I felt bad for not having enuf time for other friends and families.

Sometimes I would be thinking about work, running a million ideas and thoughts still on my projects while on the bus going home.

Oh, and then thinking about what to make for dinner....

That train of thoughts never stops!

But then this moment comes at the end of each day which puts everything right again.

My worries, my struggles dissapear instantaneously when I pick up JD from childcare. Hearing him saying "It's my mommy, yay!" and seeing his smiles and cuddles from him when I pick him up from childcare is what makes me feel okay all over again.

Sure, it's never easy being a mom to start with, you are always thinking about this, about that, and always running around doing things. But every other moms in the world would just be in the same boat. Kids will grow up, goals and ambitions we can catch up, but spending quality time with JD in his early years is something I could never catch up on!

growing pains

Growing up can be hard and painful sometimes. This I am refering to JD's current painful teething episode. This little man is most likely having the biggest fight with his molars, his cheeks are bright red, almost hot to touch....he is drooling like a *ehem* fountain and we had to change his shirts after shirts. He only wants to eat yoghurt, jelly and ice-cream. He gets upset when he accidently bite on his swollen gum and would very angrily push his food away.

He is not his usual happy chappy! He only wants cuddles, though once in a while he would break into his cheeky self before the pain got him again!

But he is very clingy to his daddy during this teething stage, hee hee! He only wants cuddles from daddy, wants daddy to read him his fav story, wants daddy to tuck him in bed, wants daddy to bath him, wants to sit with daddy and etc etc.

Ah, father n son bonding....it's got to be a good thing *glee*

weekend break

I love going away for breaks, short breaks, long breaks, we all need one. It refreshes your mind, allow you to relax n recharge, and bringing the glow back to your life again. And hub and I have always enjoyed travelling around with JD and let him experience all the different surroundings, people, sceneries, weather.

We first travelled with JD when he was 6 mo, then 1yo, then 16 mo, then 18 mo, then 23mo...and so far this little man has travelled far and wide to a few places. And he has already left his little footprints at a few places in WA....

So far, he has been to....

Busselton - Took his first train ride on the old Busselton Jetty and spotted a couple of dolphins swimming by. He even descended 8 metres below sea level to view the wonderful of marine, fish and corals, truly a wonderful underwater experience.

Dunsborough - JD went on a whale watch cruise from here, spotted the migration of whales, wow, that was such a wonderful experience....and what we call a Real Australian Big Fish, ha ha.

Albany - This was part of our Xmas trip in 2004. Albany is a beautiful place. I always tell hub that if we ever have to move to country areas, I will choose Albany over anywhere else! Infact, I could be quite happy to reire there one day, ha ha.

Esperance - Now, if you want beautiful, tranquil, pristine beaches...this is the place! Esperance has one of the world's most beautiful beaches, and that I refer to the Le Grand Beach! We once again spotted dolphins while walking along the beach...and where else could you be feeling that close to nature!

Margaret River - MR is our favourite spot. We go there at least once or twice a year. We also stay close the beach, and pretty much just bum around each time we go there. And there are so many wineries and yummy restaurants that you wouldn't even know where to start.

These are mainly travelling in car within WA, but JD is a good little traveller in the car. He has no problem sitting in the car for 1, 2 hrs, 4 hrs, 9 hrs...he only whinges when he is bored and hungry. We are yet to venture up the northern part of WA, so hopefully we will be making a trip soon!

And like many others, I have a real Australian dream of driving around Australia one day in a caravan with JD, hee hee!

This recent trip to Busselton, JD was quite happy to entertain himself by listening to the Wiggles CD, coming up with all sort of dance moves while strapping down to his car seat, playing "Round and round the garden..." in his little palm, drawing a million circles with all different colour crayons in his scrap book, eating muesli bar, mandarins, crackers, drinking water, juice, milk.....a seasoned traveller after all.

Highlight of this trip - Visiting the animal farm at Dunsborough for JD. He was feeding carrots to guinea pigs, ducks, chooks, pony, goats, alpaca. He then went on his first merry go round and even had a go at rowing a boat! Awesome!

going on a short break

We are going on a short break to Busselton for a few days! See u next week!

i am a...

Part 1 - sensitive new age boy
These days while being sick, or was becoming sick, I have this constant fear - fear that I won't be able to look after JD when I am sick. It never bother me before if was sick, but it all changes when I have a child of my own. These days I found myself panic when I know I am coming down with something bad, something I know would require me to lie down and rest. And what happen if I get sick on my off day when I have JD with me? That's my greatest fear. Hubby would be off to work, can't take time off, with not many close families around...what am I going to do?

But the most gracious thing is - JD is a sensitive little boy.

He knows when mommy is sick.
He will give me kisses when I am asleep on the couch.
He will play alone quietly in my room, or in his games room.
He will come and ask me for food when he is hungry, saying "eat yummy"
He will even put on his Wiggles DVD, singing and dancing alone to the tune.
He is an angel!

But also....

Part 2 - a pizza boy
JD loves pizza! He knows pizza by the box, he knows it when we make our own pizza with pita bread, and he knows pizza is yummy food. JD gets very excited when daddy buys pizza for dinner, and I will hear him say "Ohhhh, wow, yummy" when his daddy walks through the door with a pizza! And while being away in the last week or so, daddy and him have been enjoying a few pizza session.

Pizzaboy #1 - A mouthful of pizza....

Pizzaboy #2 - Trying to smile with a mouthful of pizza

Pizzaboy #3 - Yes I like pizza, but maybe not the pineapple on it

Pizzaboy #4 - The best part is, eating pizza while watching The Wiggles

Life is good as a kid!

sick puppy

Knock knock, I am back! Well, I have been missing in action for a while due to an episode with a severe gastro vrius! I have been feeling unwell for most part of last week, some days feeling ok, some days not, I went to work as usual most days but always ended up coming home half way through the day! And all hell broke loose on Friday morning when I started having severe diarrhoea and cramping every hour. It was bad, ugly, vicious...and there was nothing I could do to stop the cycle! I went back to the doc again on Sat coz it just didn't feel right to me and they admitted me into the hospital. Doc thought it was appendicitis but dismissed that after an ultra-sound! They put it down as a bad case of gastroentiritis. I was put on the drip for 3 days and antibiotics to kill the bacteria.

I am at home now and doing everything to take it easy.

I am not trying to do much at all coz I am still trying to get my energy back and at the same time repairing my body from the nasty virus.

I am still not too sure of where and how I caught the virus. But I know my body has been run down, tired in the last two months and I was forever trying to keep up with things. I have felt particularly stressed in the last 2 months with lots of things going on and have neglected my health. I have learned my lesson, stress can be the cause of many health problems and my body is telling me to slow down, take a deep breath, put my feet up.... and to rest.