Holiday season...

It's been quite a crazy time over the past few weeks, hence the overwhelming silence in the blog...

Chai is back for his annual holidays, which is really nice since we hardly see him the rest of the year. Ma misses him terribly I can tell, and she's quite happy when he's back. It's great too, that Madison and Elizabeth get to spend time getting to know their uncle too.

Christmas celebrations were kinda bombed out this year. My parents had a Christmas eve dinner party to attend, and Celine was so generous to invite Chris and I over to dinner at her parents' place. They had a fabulous 22 pound roast turkey, champagne baked ham, roast beef, mushroom soup and a salad. The kids had a bit of Christmas gift exchange and ended up hooked on the Thomas the tank engine track that Celine had given to Madison.

Christmas day was better.... there was a family picnic planned at Sentosa BUT when the time came round to go it started to POUR. Undaunted, we still made our way to the beach but it became evident soon enough that the picnic was NOT going to happen any time soon. So we ended up at the Sentosa Hotel and Spa ( Beaufort Hotel ) for tea/dinner at the lounge. All 12 of us! ( Parents, Chris and I, Geok and Munhon, Chai, the 3 maids and 2 kiddies). Turned out the food was great, drinks were great and the best part was getting served! We did go to the beach after the meal though, and the rain had stopped. Only thing it was getting dark REALLY FAST. By 730Pm we had to pack up and go home, we could hardly see!

Yesterday we had another invitation to Zhou Hong's place. Potluck and get together for us long time friends. Only now all of us ( almost ) have kids. Zhou Hong has 2 ( Kiera and Erika ) . Kenneth and Grace have 1 ( Timothy ). All of them are under 4. ( Kiera is just 3). The kids mixed quite well together ( ie no fighting! ) and dinner was sumptious. Grace made a most amazing beef stew that I really should try to copy!

Only bad end to the entire event was our silly car. By the time we were ready to leave the car wouldn't start! COULD NOT believe our luck. We got there fine but suddenly the car didn't work! Jumpstarting the car DID NOT work. Ended up calling the Honda people to come and help. I took a cab home with Madison first. By the time the car was sorted out it was close to midnight! Poor Chris was on call too.

The only other news that has been occupying us is that we're expecting number 2. Sad to say, second time round is less exciting, since you kind of know what to expect ( rather, what to dread) as time goes by. So, we saved the OBGYN till at least 7 weeks, told the folks soon after that, and it's been pretty tame afterward, compared to the first pregnancy. Mainly been the lethargy and inertia that has gradually set in...

Now we have to figure out how to fit everyone in our little apartment...

Liz is 6 months!

Time flies.. for other people as well as ourselves!

Madison's cousin Elizabeth is finally 6 months! She's eating solids now and certainly enjoying them tremendously, much like her daddy...

Yesterday we had a mini celebration for her crossing the half year mark. Dinner at home followed by a little cake from Cedele. She got pressies from us as well, which she ripped apart and seemed to like the wrapping just as much as the gift.

I can't wait till she can crawl and walk and then play with Madison. I think the 2 girls will have lots of fun together and be great companions for each other. Elizabeth is already sitting and she is always squirming, trying to get a move and out of her parents' arms!

On another note, we went to see an apartment that was for sale. It's actually in our block but 3 floors up and is tenanted at the moment. But what a shock it was. There were about 4 different groups of people that went to have a look ( as a response to the ad that was put in the papers ) and I think we were all dumbstruck. The tenants really thrashed the apartment. It was a world of difference from our own little place! None of the airconditioners were working, they looked all yellow and disgusting. The wood floor was scratched and faded, when ours still looks almost brand new! The toilet floors were black from not washing.

I was the only one left talking to the real estate agent at the end of the tour. The price was not bad but then, apartments in our block don't really seem to go for that much anyway. Partly because our building has minimal facilities and the layout isn't all that great. But the location is fantastic.

So.. should we spend the deposit money and buy this place, rent it out to pay for the mortgage, or wait for our dream place and have to borrow much much more? It's a real toss up.

We are looking at another apartment directly opposite ours, for the same size but going at a cool 400K more.

The one we really like though, will cost a cool $2.5 mil easily. OUCH. Maybe in our next lifetime?

Playschool and getting sick

Madison is down with a pretty bad cough.

It started probably at home with a mild runny nose, maybe from the grandparents who were sick. That was mild, and after a day or 2 of sniffling she was actually better. We skipped a day of Chinese class so that she would not pass her germs to the other kids. Finally when she was just better I took her to her usual class and to my horror ALL the other 3 kids there were coughing! Of course I couldn't make a big fuss of it, since by default, Madison was the only WELL one!

Of course she started having another runny nose and it has deteroriated to a cough. Sigh. So I started a course of oral antibiotics, antihistamines and TLC. Today my mum decided to take her to the paediatrician.

I can't even imagine what it would be like when she starts nursery and is surrounded by 30 other viruses/bacteria filled kids running around and spluttering everywhere. Right now she is mostly at home so the occasional illness is either from the family or her Chinese class. Or swimming pool. I'm hoping the swimming pool will present her a gradual exposure to viruses and build her immunity up before school!!! ?Fat hope??

I'm not bringing her to class this week. I think her system needs a break from infectious agents, and seeing that the other mothers are not as considerate I just have to look out for my little girl.
I heard one kid even came down with chickenpox in the class! Horrors. Thank goodness we missed that one!

On another note, I've been thinking of getting an electronic keyboard for Madison. I think most toys at her age are not that interesting anymore ( apart from playdoh and Lego) so it's pretty much a waste of money buying them. But musical instruments and books last a lifetime, and they are worthy investments. Yamaha only starts at 3 so I'm waiting till then to enrol her.

The only problem is space. Our teeny tiny apartment was great when we were just the 2 of us, but now things are spilling out from EVERYWHERE! Another device would really add to the clutter, but then time is of the essence. She's only this age for this time and after this her neural connections start dying off!! ( I'd probably be more slack if I had another kid ... but then they could entertain each other!)

So.. still thinking about it... Xmas pressy for this year? I guess we could put it in front of the TV? The balcony? Maybe just win lottery and MOVE!

wonders of competition

Madison and I were at the playground this morning.

Initially it was just the 2 of us ( besides the usual gaggle of retirees doing their morning line dancing) and Madison was climbing up and down the slides.

Then a little boy came along with his grandfather and the dynamics of the playground shifted. Initially both of them were pretty shy and hung on to their respective caregivers ( ie the grandfather and me ) but soon enough it became irresistable to interact with each other. Of course they weren't really playing like older kids do, but more like playing close by each other.

It just happened that I took her sippy cup out and offered Madison her morning milk. Usually it's 30 seconds before she flings it to the ground after a brief sip. Today, the grandfather took the boy's sippy cup out too and offered it to him. Just as the 30 seconds were up and Madison was about to fling the cup to the ground ( and get a telling off from me ) she spied the boy drinking from his cup. And the effect was IMMEDIATE. She stopped herself from throwing the cup and continued drinking!! Until the boy gave up and returned his cup to the grandfather!

I was amazed. Maybe it was just coincidence.

On another note, I've been thinking of whether to continue with Bibinogs for Madison. Chinese class seems to be a little repetitious these days and sometimes the teachers seem to spend too much time on snacks and reading and not enough time singing/action based activity. But having said that, I'm not sure if the other schools are any better. I'm thinking maybe location would be quite an important factor in the long run. Bibinogs at the Serene Centre is just off the PIE but traffic these days is terrible. Also it doesn't look like they do Chinese for the local school curriculum so Madison is going to have to attend a school that does.

So yesterday Chris and I went over to the Hua Language centre to see if they had classes for kids Madison's age but they only start at 3. But they seem to do stuff that prepares kids for the local Chinese exams, so I guess Madison will have to swop over at 3.

And finally... our Karcher steam cleaner is dead. Not even sure when it happened. It was working fine before the maid and now it was proclaimed " choked "! And only because I discovered the maid using the steam cleaner WITHOUT steam! I couldn't believe my eyes. This is after showing her a few times what the steam cleaner should be doing! It's going to cost us $400-$500 to replace. Not sure if I should just downgrade her to a mop. That is pretty indestructible and cheap to replace. Only trouble is that it means chemicals on our floor that Madison eats off. Argh.

Looks like more $$$ down the drain....

Tired, tired and sore...

I feel like hell today...

Yesterday was like on fire, alert and full of energy...

It was silly actually, why I felt full of energy. It was the Clarinase doing it. Like being on amphetamines, I guess. I don't know why on earth I chose to take the tablet just before bed, and then top it off with Actifed. Of course I was up at 4 am and completely alert and awake. That continued throughout the day, and I didn't even feel tired in the evening.

So today must be like a pay back day. Double lethargy.

Yesterday was my first boxing lesson with a PT. $85 a pop. I had been REALLY hesitant on taking it up but I give it to the guy, so persistent with his bugging me and that worked. Anyway, wow. I was pooped after 30 minutes but had another half an hour to go. He let me stretch and do some ab work then I struggled through another 10-15minutes of half baked punching and that was it. I think the hardest part was my arms! My wrists, hands and forearms were shaking like from alcohol withdrawal. And my right wrist and hand was actually hurting. Today the shakes are better. But my back is aching like never before. Argh. Tempted to give up already. This is after popping 2 Voltaren and 1 Vioxx over the past few hours!

So, I told him maybe to start with only 30 minutes of boxing then 30 minutes of resistance work or something else. And see from there. I don't really want to break any metacarpals or get some repetitive stress injuries to my wrist either. It's not as if I'm going to became a competitive boxer. It's really something new to learn and so it'd better be fun.

On another note, I have been trying to bring Madison to the playground more regularly now because there is another girl who goes there around the same time. Only that she leaves before 9 so if we're late we miss them. The other girl is the youngest of 3 kids, with 2 older brothers, so she's understandably more boisterous and daring. Madison is quite a careful person, and generally seems not terribly adventurous. I think this girl is good exposure in limited quantities. So far, not bad, after a few playdates. Initially the other girl tended to ignore Madison, but yesterday was like a turning point when we showed up with Madison's Little Mermaid balloon in tow. The power of commercialism. Yesterday she gave Madison a chocolate wafer so today I brought Kit Kats along.

Argh... Chris is on call again this weekend. And I have appointments on Saturday, so Warni is going to end up accompanying Madison for chinese class. That's another issue I haven't really resolved yet. Whether to keep Madison in her current school, or change her to another one that seems more popular in the forums. There is this forum that I stumbled on while googling Mandarin classes, called kiasuparents.com, where they discuss in great and fine detail about the schooling and enrichment curriculum. It's really terrifying. But also intriguing. Anyway, Madison's school isn't even mentioned in the forum!

I think maybe when she's a little older I might try the one that's nearer us at United Square. Hua Language school. I used to see the teachers there as patients too previously. The other one is Tsien Hsia Chinese school. The only thing is that Madison is getting used to the current one already and the teachers are pretty nice.

And October is gone, just like that ...

Having more children

That is something that's recently been on my mind.

Chris already said, that 1.5 to 2 years was the most common age gap between kids in general. I guess he's right.

Quite a few of our friends have or are having their second child. And if I may say, this time they all seem to be boys! The quintessential 1 boy and 1 girl family.

I think I am starting to feel the pressure of having a second, just because everyone else seems to be. Another one of our Melbourne uni friends( also doctor ) just invited us to their ONE MONTH celebration( already! ) I didn't even know his wife was pregnant! Of course it's a boy. What else?

I have other friends who are still stuck in their 1 child situation( like me). And who don't really seem to be in a hurry for number 2. I guess we feel the same.

1. Can you love another child as much as the first?
2. How on earth would there be time for 2?
3. OMG. Pregnancy again
4. OMG. Going through the first year AGAIN. Mainly the sleep thing. And crying. And diapering.
5. Where is the next child going to sleep? ( at least for us!) Can't afford a bigger place with the clinic slowly chugging along.

Parenthood does bring about a big change in us selfish DINKS. Suddenly I want another kid to keep Madison company. How about that? I see her in the playground or on holiday, and think " she should be playing with another kid, not me". And if Chris and I want to go away alone at least she'd have a sibling to keep her company. The rest of the details, I guess we have to figure out as we get there, somehow it works out( it has to!) . And I tend to worry too much beforehand, so that's something I'm trying not to do too much anymore.

And if we are not blessed with another child, it's ok too, because we are grateful to be lucky enough to have Madison already. (as cliched as it may sound, but it's true!) It must be horrible to want kids and not be able to even have one....

So... let's wait and see and let nature decide, I guess...

Holiday weekend!

I really cannot believe how quickly time passes.. I always want to update the blog but somehow time simply slips away and another week has passed..

Anyway... this weekend just passed was a mini-holiday for Chris and I. After Tokyo we decided that we should try and see if Madison could be looked after for a longer period of time by people other than us. So that MAYBE we could take a short break somewhere and do "adult" things --like eat out calmly, stay out really late, have alcohol etc...

Not too bad, actually.... we dropped Madison off after Chinese class on Saturday morning at about 1130, and didn't really leave any instructions. I mean, if you want other people to care for her then I figured they should enjoy it their way rather than have me dictate the weekend for them. After all, a weekend of no rules wouldn't hurt her.

It was, in summary, a weekend without schedule. Let's see... after Chinese class, instead of lunch she ended up going for a walk to Novena Medical Suites to check out the new medical suites, then promptly falling asleep while there.. Meaning no proper afternoon nap. Then the grandparents took her out after dinner to Mount Faber for a walk and to see the night lights, but after which she fell asleep! At 8 pm ! When they got back she woke and of course refused to sleep till 10!

Madison slept in the grandparents' room, in the little cove that used to be my bedroom ( now converted into a wardrobe/study). Apparently she woke every 3 hours calling out for them, so I imagine the poor grandparents got very little sleep! ( kinda like in Tokyo, I guess!) The next morning she was up at 5am!

But thanks to my parents for taking on this duty, Chris and I had a great weekend, so much so that I was sad it was coming to an end. We had lunch out, dinner out and then breakfast out! We finally caught our first movie ( after 19 months!!), never mind that it was at 4Pm and we were left with only the front 2 rows, and the movie was Julie & Julia. It was great to be able to do that, then continue out shopping and Chris got his new mobile phone, the Garmin Asus. Then when we got home we watched another movie, this time the Transformers on DVD.

Of course we did miss our little girl and we did try hard not to spend our time talking about her or buying stuff for her ( kind of a habit now ). And I think it's good for Madison to have her break once in awhile, do stuff that Chris and I wouldn't do ( not interested or too much effort ), and not have to follow her routine. She was really grouchy and grumpy though, when we finally went to the Novena house to see her. Probably because she hadn't slept well and was tired. But the two of us, having had our break were in better spirits to deal with it.

But I think there will probably not be any long holidays away from her for the time being...

Deepavali break

I think I like having a 5 day work week!

This Saturday was the Deepavali holiday so there was
1. No work!
2. No Chinese class
3. Chris wasn't on call or due at work

Was nice, being able to lie around in bed till 7 am (Wow..). Then no rushing around to get anything done quickly because someone was due somewhere.

We made it to the zoo (finally) but the weather suddenly got hot so that sucked. Then for some strange reason Madison fell asleep in the stroller from the car to the entrance of the zoo!! Ridiculous! What was the point of coming to the zoo if she was going to be sleeping!! Sweating buckets and enduring the heat when I could be shopping or relaxing with a book!

So, too bad. Woke her up. Of course she complained but an ant scared the wits out of her and she was awake after that ( that was pretty amusing)

We made it past the Siberian white tiger, the Australian enclosure( wallabies, kangaroo and emu), baboons (red backsides!) and pymy hippos. Then it was already 12noon. So I thought 'oh, better have an early lunch and not get caught in the crowd' ..well.. I guess that's what most people thought too. Or maybe most families eat early! I guess it was the Deepavali break. It was madness at the eating area. The queues were to die for.

Somehow we managed to get
1. Child seat ( thank goodness, but after Japan we'd have been able to make do without )
2. decent food
3. everyone fed.

Of course Madison was complaining and whining by the end of the meal and so the trip kind of became " lunch at the zoo". It was getting too hot anyway.

Today was more a typical Sunday. Morning at the club (default place because they are really child friendly), then down to town to cool off ( free airconditioning !) --today we checked Ion orchard out. Dinner at the parents' ( grandparents) place then off to bed for her. I miss Tokyo weather. And the stuff that you can do outdoors in Tokyo. Sigh.

All in, I had a really good weekend. Wish all weekends were like that.

Serious withdrawals!!

Argh.... am so sick of the weather in Singapore.... always so hot and humid. Can't do anything outside without feeling hot and sticky in a matter of minutes. Miss the Tokyo weather really badly.

Also feeling quite "sian" of the whole being back in reality... having to stress about the clinics, sort out staff issues, not having quite enough time with M, not having enough time for myself... well.. that's not quite true...I have more time here to myself than being on holiday...

Feel like travelling again.. the issue is whether to bring Madison along? Or try and do it by ourselves again? Or bring Warni? Bringing help along to the holiday seems a little like a cop out. But I don't really relish the flight and it would be really nice to have someone able to babysit some evenings while Chris and I go out for dinner. Of course there are logistical issues.. we'd have to choose a closer destination, we'd have to either stay at a larger apartment or book 2 rooms?

The other option is to leave Madison with her grandparents. It's tempting, and it means Chris and I would be free to go anywhere we wanted. Do stuff like go skiing, shopping and eating out. But then it would mean Madison would miss out on seeing snow? Miss the travel experience?

I am really torn. Can't stop thinking about it for now... seems like such an escape from the daily grind. Sigh...

Withdrawal symptoms..

Argh.. it feels like a post holiday blues.

Miss the cool dry weather of Tokyo already. Being able to walk around all day and NOT SWEAT buckets.

Having interesting things to do everyday.

Trying out new food/drinks/restaurants.

Not having to worry about the clinic. Not having to dress for work. Being able to play all day with Madison.

Ok... so it would have been perfect if I could have that plus domestic help so that someone else can do the laborious stuff. Like tidy up and laundry. It's great also having other people entertain Madison some of the time during the day so that I can eat/read/drink.

So now I am busy thinking of our next time off and holiday. With or without kid? Regional or a wee-bit further? Like 1 hour flight ( Malaysia ), 4 hours ( Bali ) or 6 hours ( skiing Nagano or Melbourne) ? On one hand I would really like a trip with the hubby to somewhere nice (read Bali for golf(him) spa (me)), but I don't want Madison to miss out on experiences too. Kinda means beach resort for her or Melbourne then. Just that Melbourne is a 6 hour flight away.

I think I am quite bored being back, but it's good that Madison is back in her bed too. We all sleep better and feel better.

Just that the weather in Singapore really SUCKS. Sigh.

Tokyo trip

Like a durian.. in essence... prickly on the outside, but a great experience overall....

We left on the 4th Oct via Singapore Airlines, and thank goodness we took the day flight. Although that really wastes a day in travelling... but with a kid...


First thing? I lost my BRAND NEW IPHONE. Could just kill myself already. The flight was eternally long, sucked out my energy trying to entertain an 18 month old toddler, then had to spend another hour and half trying to get to the accomodation in Azabu East. Left it probably in the taxi just when I was trying to pack everything else up to get out of the cab. Realised it minutes later but it was too late. And all we could remember of the taxi was that it was BLACK! Black!!! At bloody 8 pm. No dinner yet. Hungry child. Cold dark evening. No phone. Thank goodness the serviced apartment ( Ascott ) was right next to a heaven sent supermarket, where we bought take out to microwave in the room.

So.... after phone calls to 10 taxi companies later, I was resigned to the loss. Had to move on. No cot organised for the first night so we improvised and Madison slept on a combination of cot mattress/duvet and pillows on the floor. She lasted till 5Am. not bad.

First official day we went to DisneySea. Took us almost an hour to get there by train. Then it started drizzling just as we got to the front gates! But we stayed on and it was otherwise pretty great. M simply loves The Little Mermaid and Aladdin so those were the first 2 stops. Tried the mildest of the rides, the teacups but after 10 seconds she started shrieking and wanted out. Thank goodness the ride lasted an entire ??30s to few minutes?? Not sure. So no more rides. There were shows too, but they were all in Japanese apart from the songs. M didn't mind though. We were just thankful for the seats and shelter from the rain!! ( kidding )

You would think that in DisneySea they would have had proper child seats that could safely seat a toddler, but their idea of child seats were more like elevated smaller adult seats! As in, no safety harnesses or front bars that would hold a kid down! Not much toddler friendly food but she had some of ours and stuff that I prepared earlier to bring along.

At DisneySea they had cool popcorn buckets that you buy for Y1400 and get top ups at Y500. Everyone had them and I think they brought them back for refills at subsequent trips. There were popcorn carts throughout the park and each one had a different flavour. The park itself was huge, and amazingly clean. There were several sections with different themes that centred around water. At midday there was an amazing watershow that had jetskis, large water float with Mickey mouse and Minnie mouse, kites and even fireworks.


Day 2 and 3 were rainy rainy and cold.... failed trips to Ueno Park /zoo, Akihabara to look for replacement Iphone.. but we had fun back at the apartment pool and then Shiba Park, which was 5 minutes walk from the apartment. Dinner we bought back from the department stores to reheat. Restaurants in Tokyo didn't seem to have take out. We asked and it was "no...only eat in".


Tokyo Tower, right next to our apartment...



Half the time Chris was attending the conference in Shinjuku, so that meant I was by myself with Madison. OMG. The stuff I had to lug around plus her. Wouldn't be quite that bad if she didn't have to constantly squirm and take her shoes and socks off! But in all fairness, it was pretty fun to hang out with her SOME of the time. Best part was probably just lounging around the apartment, splashing in the pool ( which she fell ASLEEP in ! That was how tired she was !) having picnic breakfast/lunch/snacks on the carpet floor. ( no child seat either in the apartment!) We also went to the nearby park so she could run around, go down the slides.


We did have a great dinner out at Roppongi Hills one of the nights. It was a grill/ bar type of place that seemed pretty chic, but were surprisingly accomodating of M. Despite dropping the small jar of soy sauce on the table and couch within seconds of being seated!!! Thank goodness we eat early. They had some amazing grilled chicken, bacon wrapped asparagus, noodles and a veg dish that had the thinnest sliced cuts of various root vegetables that were fried. We also had a piece of codfish that was grilled to perfection.



Had to lug her cutlery around Tokyo too, most places didn't have child friendly cutlery either. Japanese kids must be able to use chopsticks really early!


The best shopping mall in town in my opinion ( with a kid) was Takashimaya at Shinjuku. They have a pretty decent child section, with a gorgeous GAP store. Great diaper changing facilities too. I burnt some cash at the Gap store. There were the cutest kids gloves, scarves and beanies too, but a pity we live in a tropical climate.

I did muster the courage to go to the Ueno Zoo again. It was that or the Tokyo Sea life park at Kansai Rinkai. ( which was another wasted trip on typhoon day--wednesday, when the train to the park was stopped due to the weather. That was after we'd spent over half an hour getting to that stop!! And the taxi queue stretched like a snake. No buses. Sigh)


Ueno park is a gorgeous park. I didn't have time or energy to wander through the park, but I did go to the zoo. The animals were all behind bars, but the enclosures seemed pretty decent. Some pretty interesting animals there, like a wolf, poisonous snakes and orange pink flamingoes. Again, no child seats at lunch. Plenty of park benches to have your meal, but if you are like Madison and simply cannot sit still then most likely you would end up falling OFF the bench like she did. I think the tears were probably more of embarrassment???!!



There was a section where kids could touch the animals, like lamb, sheep and whatever sane birds would allow the kids to touch them. If you asked me they looked a little sedated but that's my opinion! They're probably just really used to the kids??!!


The grand finale was the 7 hour flight back. OMG. First there was a delay in taking off. NO problem for adults. Just go to sleep. Try keeping a toddler fastened down safely while waiting for the plane to take off! The rest of the flight was a tag between Chris and me to keep her from wailing too MUCH. I was really exhausted and at one point just simply fell asleep. I don't know how people can travel alone with a toddler!

Narita Airport, Tokyo


The best part was at the luggage carousel. When M saw her grandfather at the arrival hall she just TOOK OFF and headed straight out the glass doors without even turning back! Guess she was sick and tired of her parents too! When we got back last night we had the LUXURY of depositing her at my parents' place while we went home, had a great shower and DINNER out. And replaced my Iphone. At M's expense( ie her college fund!!)!

Getting ready to go...

Ok... packing for children is like preparing for war. Every item I kind of go: "ok.. .take it or leave it? Might need it though... but it makes the bag so heavy..."argh.

Fortunately we decided to start packing EARLY .. like last Sunday... 1 week ahead.. rewind back to DINK days... I would be packing like the night before!

How much clothing does a kid need for a 1 week trip? Is it cold enough in early October in Tokyo to require much warm stuff? Do we need to buy more stuff? Or should we try and buy it there as we need it? Of course, thanks to the grandparents we already got some new warm stuff...

How about luggage for the kid? There was this really cute tow along check in bag we saw at Tangs on Saturday night when we were out for dinner. Price tag? $95... but there was a 20% discount. No.. we were not immediately suckered into buying the REALLY cute ladybug suitcase. Took us another day to decide, by which the sale ENDED! oh well. Fate decided.

What about onboard entertainment? I tasked Chris to upload videos onto my iphone, which for some really strange reason was incredibly difficult since we don't get iTune shop in our part of the world. So he had to convert the DVDs into some format that would be usable on the iphone. That took like a few days. My job? Go shopping : new books. Crayons. Snacks. Stuff she normally wouldn't get.

I'm not even sure how we're going to sleep when we're there. We didn't end up getting the 2 bedroom apartment ( I know, overkill... but sleep is priceless) so we have a studio instead. I hope she doesn't wake in the middle of the night and see us there and then not want to sleep anymore after that.

Chris is also going to be busy a few days when we are there so it'll be the 2 of us in Tokyo those days. First and foremost I hope I don't LOSE her. Then I hope we'll be able to do some stuff and not just hang around the apartment. hm... travelling the subway with Madison? What about her naps? Stroller plus carrier plus bag and Madison for the day? How about lunch? Hm.. how do people manage ?

Still..it'll be a change, and change is always good for the soul. Maybe Melbourne/Sydney trip next? Chris has a registrar conference that he wants to go to in March. Then it'll be Madison and me for a week while he is at the conference in Sydney! KIV....

Going to Japan!

Yes, we are finally headed off for a long awaited holiday..

I'm not quite sure if travelling with a kid is the same as having a holiday but I am determined to be flexible and enjoy this trip. Barring any illnesses though!

Packing is a nightmare. I have started to make lists of things to bring, from clothes to food to medication. Today I have started to assemble the E -kit. After surfing the net about information on travelling with toddlers it seems that I really should start packing and not leave it to the last minute. Seems like a good suggestion to bring lots of entertainment on board too. How on earth to do all that without needing an entourage to carry the gear!!

It's going to be autumn in Tokyo... wonder how cold it's going to be? We haven't bought any cold weather stuff for Madison yet; Chris wants to go there and buy stuff but I have a feeling that it may be a bad idea to not buy any here at all?

Getting there is going to be tricky. I said to fly in the day; online info seems to say that travelling at night with kids is a BAD idea and I concur. So the flight leaves at 0940, which makes it 0740 that we have to check in, which makes it what? 0700 that we leave the house? How about her breakfast? Not to even think about taking off and landing! Ice? biscuits? She's a little too small for sweets just yet...

Then we land at dinner time. Oh goodness. And it takes 90 minutes to town from the airport. With baggage! Options: Taxi (90 min ) , train (60 min) then taxi to hotel (?10-15min) or bus (?90min).... So far the train then cab seems like a better idea. At least she can walk around the train? By the time we get in it would be at bedtime for her and we still have to check in ! OMG.
I can't even imagine how we're going to cope with the bags and her. Hopefully not screaming.

So I guess the trick is to be open, calm and flexible, and let all schedules and expectations fly out of the window! It should be fun though... I have been prepping her about flying already!

Hari raya weekend

Having a domestic helper really spoils you!

Last Sunday was the Hari Raya holiday weekend so I gave Warni the day off. This meant I was alone with Madison for the day since Chris was on call the entire weekend.

We did ok. Quite well, in fact. I love weekends and public holidays. And school holidays. The mornings are so much quieter, without the din of the schoolbuses and other traffic. Madison slept in till 73o (hooray!) After breakfast I wanted to go to the Botanic Gardens with her but after driving all the way there the silly carpark was closed for a wedding marketing event.

So, instead we went to the Jacob Ballas gardens next to the main Botanic Gardens and spent some time there. Pity though, it got hot really quickly and I didn't bring her wet stuff so she could splash around in the fountain. Wish I had the motivation to run with our jogger. Just that it has a silly front wheel that wobbles crazy even walking sometimes. And of course we can't get it fixed because we bought the jogger online from NZ.

Anyway. I even managed to make lunch at home for the 2 of us, read to her for awhile then tried really hard to put her down for a nap. Initially the plan was to do it without rocking or nursing, but after waiting and watching her run around her bedroom for close to an hour I had enough and rocked her down to sleep. That lasted 30 minutes and she was up crying! But after sobbing for 10 minutes she went back to sleep. Thank goodness.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Went over to the my parents place, had a mini saga drama with the maids coming back super late and getting a royal shelling because my parents were entertaining guests that night.

Thank goodness Monday was a holiday too. I had enough of time with the extended family so we did our own thing. Went swimming at the club in the morning, then hung out at home for a little while. After Madison's nap we took her to United square with the intention of buying her a sun hat, but while we were there the little girl insisted on donning her swim goggles the entire time! They fogged and she was stumbling all over the mall, and eventually walked into a mirror while admiring herself at the shop! Was pretty hard to keep a straight face on...

Life with Madison..

Inspired... by a kid

No... not my own... although she does inspire me to greater good ( ie her needs over mine... )

It was a teenager that I'd seen previously in the clinic.

I've been pretty down about the clinics, being so quiet that they are that I really wonder how much of it is due to me... ok, ok... negative self talk..

Still, things being equal, I look at envy when I see how other people are so busy with their successful practices and then I think, maybe I'm not cut out for this. Better to be employed then it's not really my problem. When I was employed I didn't seem to have trouble with getting patients to see me. Location problem? Pricing problem?

Anyway... it was the teenager's mum who volunteered that her son refused to see all other doctors apart from me. I was really flattered. Of course it's extra stress that I have to be responsible and extra careful with him but I try to be like that anyway. Terrified of missing some thing.

So, I guess, it means that I should plow on....? I am hoping in the near future I will look back at these times and think that I had more time with Madison, and that it was all worth it!

On another note, I was snooping around the net and checking out other people's blogs. Amazing place, this blogopshere. It's like a window into other people's lives, people that I probably would never meet. ( they live in the USA ) These women are mostly mothers, who enjoy running, some of which work (run less) and others stay at home to look after their kids ( run ALOT more ) Anyway, they sound really fit. And fast. They run distances over 10 miles easily and regularly. I don't think many people here do that. That's like 16K! I think most people here manage around 10K. Maybe the really serious marathoners do much more than that. I guess that's why we're not that fast!

Madison also seems to be running a temperature this morning. After her shot yesterday. As usual, the KK style proved right, with the manhandling and multiple nursing staff helping me keep her absolutely still so the paediatrician could stab her with the needle... all I can say is that "thank goodness for videos on the iphone (Little Mermaid) , Youtube and Malteasers !"

We were supposed to go to the zoo with Celine and Aaron this morning, but we shall see about that... maybe the Botanic Gardens instead?

Celine is visiting!

I get really excited when Celine comes to visit...

It would be really nice if she were living here instead of Sungei Petani, but well.. she does visit every few months.

Aaron is also 18months and growing really well. He is talkative, like his mommy and pretty tall. He is just starting to walk but is really active, throwing himself fully into whatever piques his interest.

Celine, my old friend of over 20 years is still the same..it's amazing how we seem to stay still in time when we see our contemporaries.. she's amazing, coping so well with motherhood and looking after her family without her base of support here in Singapore.

Yesterday they came over for a mini play date. Madison didn't seem to mind sharing her toys with him too much once she'd warmed up. A stark contrast to when we were at the park earlier and she refused ( to my chagrin ) to share her toys with another kid there. I think he likes coming over to the Novena house because it is now play central ( thanks to Pa ) . He'd just bought Madison a new 2 man tent that we set up in the middle of the hall. Of course it was way larger than what he'd expected, but then, the kids loved it, so what ?!!!

Elizabeth is still screaming her head off whenever other people try and carry or handle her. Not too good there. Not sure why. Maybe colic? I think it's quite puzzling for the most of us because we compare her to Madison, but also because it's quite stressful. Hopefully she'll grow out of it soon. Geok is still on part time, working 3 days a week and having long weekends. Their new maid arrived 2 days ago.

So.. we're supposed to go to the zoo tomorrow afternoon if everything works out well... Madison is due for her final shot today ( for the next 5 years !! HOORAY!!!)... I usually whip out the paracetamol suppository, EMLA patch to prep her for the shot. Even better when I give her the shot. Distract and stab. At KKH they kinda make it pretty obvious they are going to give the shot, but making her straddle me, holding her down and then going 1,2,3... before she's even anywhere near the needle she's already stressed and crying! But Chris is covered by Singhealth, so... too bad... subsidised healthcare means cost savings for us!

Makes me wanna cry..

The transformation that Madison goes through from being a helpless infant to the toddler that she is today is truly amazing. I am so glad to have taken the time and effort to try and capture some of this in words, because my memory is so bad, the little things just don't stick.

Today, I had to go to work ( some semblence of it..) after we'd spent a pretty nice early morning together. Madison is getting used to it because I make a little ritual of it. We play and then I go off and pack my gear, get dressed, then finally I say my goodbye. I try and keep it lighthearted, I go: see you later, tata for now! Then I give her a hug and leave.

Initially she would wail and cry and we'd have to distract her. A few times I was naughty and chose to sneak out, but once she realized and was crying as I left. Of course I felt terrible.

Today, she reached out to me as we said our goodbyes, and initiated a hug! I was really touched. She didn't cry or make a fuss, just wanted to hug me and she said " sayang..." which is malay for "love"... then she tried to delay me leaving by wanting to play in her crib, but I had to go and so said my goodbyes and gave her a kiss.

It was amazing.. I tried so hard not to cry ... it's indescribable when your child reciprocates your love unconditionally, and at such a young age too!

Bacteria, bacteria...

Another week has flown past...

Here I am, sitting at the clinic at Joo Chiat, wondering what to do next. Sigh. Came in this morning because my clinic assistant managed to lacerate her nose cleaning the clinic floor. Amazing. Stitch above CA's nose. Check.

Wonder when, if ever the clinic will pick up enough to resemble a decent practice. Wonder, if it's worth the effort.

The other clinic at Balestier is slightly more encouraging, as it is established as a dental practice and people know it exists. Still, it's pretty quiet compared to the other clinics I've worked at. Of course I know it takes time to build up a practice, but this is frustrating.

Patients arrive at ad hoc, even though we try and schedule appointments, but the nature of family practice in Singapore is as such. It's really quite tiring shuttling 2 places that are 15 to 35 minutes apart, depending on traffic.

3 years? 5 years? How on earth am I going to make enough for us to afford another place???!!

Sigh.

On a brighter note, Madison's speech is progressing at an amazing pace, she is speaking in phrases already and imitates much of what we say. This morning something really funny happened. We were in the bathroom while I was putting on my contact lenses and she wandered over to the toilet bowl. I said : " Bacteria, Madison! Don't touch !". She repeated the word "bacteria" very clearly and then thought about it for awhile. Suddenly she got really upset and started to cry. She kept repeating the word "bacteria, bacteria" while sobbing.

At first I didn't know what suddenly happened. I led her out of the bathroom and asked her what was wrong. She just kept saying " bacteria, bacteria " .. I really wanted to laugh but that would have been wrong.... so I got her to drink some water instead.... to kill the bacteria...naughty mama...

Argh....

The stupid renovation cheque. Our condominum regulations stipulate that prior to any renovation being conducted we have to put a $500 cheque deposit to guard against damage to common property. They return the cheque after the renovation is completed.

Of course I had to forget to record the cheque number down. And the stupid management people have now seemed to have missplaced the cheque! Horrors!

Of course the best thing is to cancel the cheque, which by the way isn't FREE...$30 if done by the bank staff and $15 if done by phone banking... but OF COURSE you need the cheque number!!! Argh.. I could just about kill myself.

I thought : hey, why not just look through the entire statement and cancel the ONE cheque that hasn't been banked in yet... BUT of course I forgot to take the stupid banking device for internet banking with me this morning!

On a lighter note. I had a great day with Madison yesterday, we managed to go shopping in Orchard road for a gift for Mia, my cousin's 6month old daughter in Sydney. It is a rare occasion that I would take Madison to town by myself... but we did ok. I tried using the Ergo carrier initially but she was struggling and wanting to ride the escalators, so we were using it on and off. I went to the Gap shop in Wisma and was able to browse while Madison amused herself with a full length mirror in the shop. She would occasionally pull some items off the shelf but fortunately it was a quiet afternoon so the staff weren't too pissed about it.

After I had successfully paid for the items I decided to take a coffee break and the easiest shop .. sob sob was MOS burger.. so sad.... but it was the closest. Just when we had both settled down to a booth to drink .. GUESS what!! I left my card wallet back at the Gap store!!! I could DIE.

So .. up we were AGAIN. Thank goodness the wallet was still at the shop, kept by the kind staff at Gap. Sigh.

Today.. I wanted to post the said item to my cousin... ARGH... the post office is pretty hopeless. It was a toss between the Takashimaya branch or the newly renovated one at Killiney road. For novelty sake I chose the latter. What a ridiculous waste of time. The staff this afternoon were really slow and clueless. I didn't get anywhere near my queue number after a good 20 minutes of waiting. Despite the crowd they were actually still trying to sell DVD players to customers instead of just doing their job!

So I still have to go to the post office later... sigh...

Birthday wishes...

Officially another year older ...

Actually the day started pretty depressing... Madison woke early , Chris had work ...

I didn't end up blocking the clinics since they are quiet as it is ...

After breakfast to avoid tv watching I initially planned to take Madison to the playground but it was too wet...

So after some deliberation ...(worth the drive ???)I packed her up to head to the gardens .
It was a good decision ... We had fun watching the swans and people, feeding the fish and wandering around.

I ended up being called to work, which was good as then afterward I got time off to drop by the club, have lunch and then waste some time trying
to sort out a missing cheque (renovation deposit )...

Pa's away in sri lanka so the family dinner was postponed.
Ma bought some food from a north Indian restaurant and pizza from pepperoni's for dinner.
Kay shin made a potato salad and a beef stew as well.

Chai surprised me with a lovely basket of flowers too ...

Sucky day turned out pretty good in the end ..

Iphone

I finally got an iphone last week!

Actually Chris was the one who did all the internet booking, then confirming and collecting of the phone for me... we were going to get 2 but I thought it would be safer to start with one and see how we liked it before getting another.

Anyway.. if it was left up to me, I'd have done nothing about getting the phone so it was great of Chris to do it all.

It's been great fun! I was a little cynical about the iphone, seeing how so many people had it already, and was actually looking at other interesting phones in the market to replace my slightly ageing ( in today's technological world ) phone.

Now I know why the phone is so addictive! It provides a mobile internet source, like a constant connection to the world.. the computer is basically at your service as long as the phone is with you.

I've already signed up with the iTunes store, posted pics on Facebook using the phone, and checked email several times on the go. Surfing the net is limited mainly by the Wi Fi speeds that you get outside.. 3G is probably too expensive to use to surf for prolonged periods... I'd hate to see the bill at the end of the month!

Next thing would be to blog on the go...

Pets

We got some fish for pets over the weekend!

Ok.. so fish aren't exactly the interactive type of pets but they are a good start. We have 3 dogs at my parents' place already and I think I would like to have one too in the future, but maybe when Madison is older and can help look after it.

Actually the fish were a spur of the moment thing... Chris and I were at the local wet market shopping for fruit and some ribs when we passed a fish store. So I asked the guy how hard it was to keep some fish and he said "easy! " ( kinda, hand me the cash and I'll set you up... )

$60 bucks and a stroller full of stuff later we were off home in a hurry to continue the day.. ( I had to rush to work and Madison had Chinese class ) We managed to set the tank up, complete with the air bubbling device and filtration pump!

I've told Madison that the fish need to eat twice a day, and I realise initially we have to do it regularly with her so that she gets the hang of it. I think its good training for children to have some responsibility even at an early age.

So far she's been enjoying feeding the fish ( and making a mess in the process ) , poking at the tank ( which frightens the fish a little ) and watching them swim in the tank.

The next task we have to do soon is to change the water in the tank without killing or maiming the fish... water looks slightly murky to me already...

National day holidays!

I decided I needed a well deserved break from shuttling around the clinics.

Sunday was the National day holiday so that made Monday an official day off. Taking Friday and Saturday just made sense to extend it into a nice 4 day break. ( of course it would happen that patients would suddenly pop up when they refused to the rest of the week! BLAH! )

Anthony is in town too, so that was perfect.

Friday Chris was working so it was Madison's and my day. We went to the Botanic Gardens for brekkie with Chris, and stayed on afterwards. I took her to the Jacob Ballas children's gardens to wander around, and even had an impromptu gathering with a group of mummies who happened to be there for their weekly get together. But in honesty, I found them a little intimidating.. these SAHM who meet and seem to know quite a bit about kiddy type things.. I felt pretty clueless and small around them....

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, went out with Pa to get sashimi for dinner... bought a new swim suit... Madison got brand new goggles. That was a mini drama in itself. Apparently she freaked out when they put a pair of red goggles over her eyes.. and freaked the sales girl out too!

Saturday came too quickly...
Madison had her hua yu class in the morning, daddy had his with her, and I got my cuppa and a good read at Macca's while waiting...

The evening was spent at the club ( again! ). Madison enjoys the playroom and we took her for a dip in the pool when it got cooler in the evening. ( I still turned a shade darker though! ) Alfresco dinner, out door music and freshly cooked satay... how could you beat that!

Sunday heralded HOT weather... PICNIC day... 1st ever at the beach with Madison. It was great, apart from the sweltering heat. Of course I had a 'brilliant' idea to rent a bike, cycle with our gear to the pit stop and have a picnic lunch.

Of course I didn't expect BAD traffic at the beach. And lousy parking which meant a bit of a hike to the shop ( although Madison was great, and 'jogged' that distance too!) So at the end of that it meant we were cycling in the terrible heat and Madison kind of feel asleep at the back of the bike!

But lunch was great. We all enjoyed the meal on the sand, under some coconut trees. We had sand dumped on the food initially but she was good and stopped it when told to do so.

Cycling back was another story, but we made it... and even went to the Carl's Junior drive through...

Busy busy...

This week has been crazy busy...

Started off with the airconditioning breaking down. Then " why not get the window fixed at the same time " ( its been broken years ago now.. !)

So we find the aircon guys after some surfing the net on Sunday, and the Coolserve people sealed the deal just because they followed up our email request. The window was harder to fix. Not many people are intested in small jobs. Well.. thank goodness for the world wide web. Turns out the window fixing guy was actually employed by someone who did carpentry. So that led to the kitchen next for renovation.

1. The airconditioning:

Kaput. Dead. Amazing how stuff changes. In 5 years our model is 'old' and the pipes needed checking for leaks etc...
1 day to check that the compressor was dead. 2 days for the pressure gas test. Another day to get the new airconditioning system put in.
Not cheap either! Pressure test cost us $342, and the new system another two grand or so.

2. Window pane:

Broken by a freak wind accident that led to the window being slammed shut.
Getting it fixed cost us another $140!
Got plastic. Not going to face another broken window. It's in the kitchen facing the airconditioning ledge anyway.

3. Kitchen:

The idea was to shift our humungous double door refrigerator back into the kitchen. Of course it meant tearing apart the cabinets and shifting everything down half a metre. So we elected to install an oven while we were at it. So we got the guy to measure it out, went shopping pronto to find an oven to fit, all in the same hour. That's setting us back another three grand or so.

Hopefully everything turns out well... we're going to get quite a few credit card points this month.

That aside, I think Madison also caught Pa's viral thing and was ( is ) coughing and having somewhat of a runny/itchy nose. Thank goodness for chlormine.

Elizabeth had her first round of vaccinations too, and she did well... getting the full cocktail with pneumococcal and rotaviral vaccines too. Not even a real fever! Lucky gal.

The airconditioners are taking longer than I expected to get put up.. argh...

Fun with Madison

We had a pretty good weekend.

Yesterday was a work day but we managed to salvage it.

Initially I was hoping we'd make it to Casa Verde at the Botanic Gardens for strawberry pancakes in the morning, but turned out that Chris needed to go back to work at 830Am. By the time we were ready to leave the house in the morning there was no time to make it to the gardens and then to the hospital.

So we settled for self service, grumpy service ladies and kaya toast with eggs at Kopi Tiam at SGH. And of all the food courts this one didn't even have a single high chair. Talk about child friendly establishments! We made do and stacked 3 chairs together but Madison was squirming about on the chair and barely made it past 5 minutes. After breakfast Madison and I spent an hour wandering the corridors of the hospital ground floor, the gardens and the pharmacy. Madison scored herself an orange beanbag Carebear.

Chris took longer than expected so by the time he was done :1. I was running late for work at Joo Chiat 2. They were running late for Chinese class at Bibinogs. Chris and Madison took a taxi to class while I rushed straight off to work.

By late afternoon, after her nap we decided to go for a bike ride with Madison sitting behind on a child seat. It was amazing! She lasted close to an hour and started to fuss only at the end. My main grouse was the crazy crowds and the blazing hot sun at 5PM!

Today, I had my mind set on replacing our airconditioner in our bedroom. Turns out its not as simple as rocking up to a shop and getting it changed. Long story short, I'm still stuck with our crummy old set that now blows warm air. Disappointing.

This afternoon though, our poor old chum Madison had another bout of tummy trouble. Actually, she had trouble with her bowels. There was blood involved. Fortunately between the 2 of us we managed to sort that all out, but her nap was truncated because of her tummy.

There was also a MP walkabout this afternoon around the Novena house . So Madison got to meet our MP!

Dinner was a family affair . Elizabeth was brought over too and boy is she chubby now! I cooked for a change, and made macaroni olio aglio with seafood, and chicken casserole with kidney beans and brussel sprourts.

Tonight I'm camping in the living room. I think Chris still wants to sleep in our room with the crummy hot airconditioner. I really don't know how he can bury himself under our duvet !

Tomorrow, another week starts... so many things to do already. Anthony arrives Thursday. Aircon needs to be checked. Window pane in kitchen needs replacing. Curtains need replacement. Sigh.

H1N1 scare

I think our family thrives on drama.

Now it's Pa's turn to have his share of excitement.

He started being unwell on the 16th July, initially with a fever. Then he didn't seem to get better, even though he'd started Tamiflu and subsequently Augmentin. The rest of us went into minor panic mode, and Novena became flu zone and was quarantined. Even the maids were sleeping at our tiny apartments, in the hallway while we waited out the quarantine.

Yesterday, he started having a cough on top of his fever. That took the cake. He was packed off to Tan Tock Seng hospital to have tests to see if he'd developed: 1. H1N1 2. Pneumonia. 3.Something else eg dengue?

Good news was, it wasn't H1N1. Bad news? The chest Xray did show some changes. So it was some kind of pneumonia.

So far so good... he seems to have improved today, after starting some clarithromycin that I dug out from the drawer at home. If Geok hadn't called me to call him, he'd even had gone off to work!

Was a bit mad for me this morning too... Chinese class again ( which we'd missed on Saturday as Chris was called back to work for the blast victims from Jakarta ). And a patient turned up at Balestier just before we had to leave .. when it's usually dead as a doornail on Mondays!

Got to go...

$1000 cake

And that's for a single slice at Dempseys!

No... the cake didn't cost that much at the counter. It was the process that cost me that much.

I don't even know how the accident happened. Even after it occurred I had to stop and think " what just happened there???!!! ". I pulled over at the nearest safe junction and stopped to check. And my heart sank. Yes. There was a collision. No it wasn't with a curb.

To my surprise a black SUV drove up and stopped behind me. Who else but the owner of the other car.

So that's how the cake is going to cost $1000 ( I think, hopefully not more but you never know with cars. It's like getting cancer, getting into a collision ) I don't think I can claim insurance on this one, already my premium will have taken a big hit earlier with the one when I was taking Madison to the Botanic Gardens!

Sigh. It's also Chris' fault. He wanted that cake from PS cafe in Dempsey road. I suggested my buckwheat pancakes with Ben and Jerry's (no ), cake from Bakerzin ( at United sq, a whole lot closer and familiar drive for me --no cake too small ) , cake from Cedele ( also nearby ) --no. Ice cream from Udders ( also at United square--no, not that great ) , Ice cream from Ben and Jerry's cafe --no, we have that at home already ..

The dutiful wife in me wanted to give him a break, let him get some reading in before dessert so I volunteered to drive out to get it. What a mistake.

I can only say, "thank goodness I work and earn $$"

Chris goes " there goes your iphone $$$"

And when I finally brought the chocolate brownie cake home he zaps it in the microwave and completely destroys the creation! ( It actually cost $16 including taxes. Minus the ice cream as it was takeout. )

Next time Warni will babysit and we should go there and be served.

And Chris can drive. No more nice wifey. $1000 cake lesson of life.

Meal time with Madison

My goodness. Did they not warn me about meal times with a toddler.

To be fair to Madison, most days she is fine, especially if she is ravenous she will eat most adult looking food served to her.

But check out meals that she has little appetite for. Like oatmeal. Or a whole host of other things that she used to eat: yoghurt, banana, occasionally papaya, sweet potato.

THE WHINING. And writhing. And head turning/shaking. Enough to drive me bonkers up the wall. Especially if I'd just spent the past hour slaving away, drenched in warm sweat making the meal. And the hour before that planning the meal so that it would have the right balance of protein, fibre and carbohydrate.

I swore before I had kids that I would cook for my family. But after what Madison puts me through some days, I wonder " why bother!! She prefers the maid's cooking!!" Nothing like a kid to MAKE YOU EAT YOUR WORDS!!!

Now I mainly grit my teeth and swear in silence ( not good if her next words turn out to be a "s" or "f" word!). IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE whining. Take her out of high chair calmly and tell her to come back when she wants food. And I still cook ( just for the rest of the family), something really therapeutic about concocting a meal out of ingredients.

Breakfast has to be the hardest. Now she knows what she will or will not eat, I try and let her feed herself as much as possible. Only trouble is she cannot use utensils well yet and she has no molars. I am having some difficulties being innovative in breakfast options that are high in fibre, calcium and/or protein and still be finger foods.

So far, omelette, pancakes and muffins seem to work. I scour supermarket shelves looking for fibre rich cereals for her snacks. And fibre rich recipes to try out. The internet is an amazing place to find gems to try out. Oatmeal raisin muffins are quite easy and successful, as are buckwheat pancakes. Today I found this 5 grain fibre mix that I shall try to incorporate into my next creation. ( I do add chocolate as a cheat to add flavour and to tempt her !) Cost me 10 bucks for a small pack!!

Milk is another challenge. How much do toddlers really need? Some also say too much cow's milk is not good either. Organic? ( way too expensive -- I do draw the line at some things) Soy?
( not as much calcium, too much sugar. Unsweetened soy is an acquired taste ) I have kinda weaned her directly to cow's milk, bypassing formula altogether ( hurrah! anyway I doubt she'd take formula ) That I also cheat sometimes-- what else? Chocolate malt diluted with fresh milk. Or milo with milk.

But thank goodness her meals are pretty simple these days. 3 square meals and 1 snack inbetween. Milk once to twice a day either after the meal or inbetween. I have to remember to keep the snack small is all. Otherwise pay the price of a too-large snack at dinner time.

My hope for Madison of course includes the usual: growing up healthy, having a positive attitude towards food and body image. Most of all, I hope she grows up enjoying food as much as I do!

Chinese class

It's been a few weeks since we started Chinese class at Bibinogs at Serene Centre.

So far she seems to like it. Or so says Chris. Ok.. so she does seem to get excited and is more willing to get dressed for her twice weekly classes.

I am mixed about this. 75 minutes in a confined space with a bunch of other kids and their moms. All running amok and wandering while the 2 teachers are frantically trying to conduct the sessions. And the mothers trying to keep the kids in line and not fight over toys/books/music instruments.

Somehow though, I think the kids do pick stuff up. They participate in the song singing, clapping and jumping around, and when they turn up for the next session they seem to recollect parts of the class. Of course their favourite part is definitely either snack time or project making time. And the stuff they make is really quite cute. I would have never thought of making such simple projects, like a bumble bee from left over cardboard tissue rolls, drums with cardboard, paper balloons stuck onto straws. And the kids do their part by painting or sticking stuff onto the paper.

Mostly, I think Madison no longer looks at me funny when I try to read or speak to her in Mandarin. In fact, she can now say a few words with meaning in Mandarin. " Mao"-cat, "Xing Xing" - star, "an" -for good morning, "xie xie" -thank you.

This week was tough though. I had to go there for Saturday and today's session. Usually Chris does the Saturdays but he was on call this weekend. Thankfully, the mothers who attended the past 2 times have been nice. In fact we started chatting a little, but usually stop because we are supposed to be interacting and participating in the class. And seem terribly interested in the lessons! ( although I think most of us, in our sane past DINK life would've been in town/having brunch/at the gym or still in bed at that hour on a Saturday morning)

Today there were 3 new mother/child pairs. One was Indian too. Their kids were all close to 20 months. They were well behaved bunch, but by the end of the class the kids were all hankering to leave the room and the mothers all probably needed either a glass of wine or some paracetamol.

So I guess this means we should continue the sessions. Chris thinks twice is just right. If this saves her from years of struggling with the language later on, well then, it's a small sacrifice.

Xie Xie, Ni how.Zhai Zian le!

Visitors from Down Under

Cheryl and Kayla came over to visit yesterday. They'd been down to see Cheryl's family and she'd been pretty busy since being in Singapore.

Kayla is pretty tall now, she's 5 this year and going to kinder in Melbourne. Her hair is soft brown and really LONG, she looks like her dad and mum. We didn't really do much, but it was nice meeting up with Cheryl, and finding out about our old friends in Melbourne. ( still pretty much the same, just married and pregnant, most of them .... )

I really admire Cheryl's tenacity, coping with being a SAHM to Kayla for the past few years... she has to cope with housework, childcare and everything else on a daily basis. In Australia the work hours are better and she sees Jake daily, and he must help out quite a bit so that helps. We didn't get to meet him this time round; he left for Melbourne a week ago. Well, kudos to the mom, Kayla is doing well and blooming into a young lady!

Speaking of visitors, Chai was back in town too, for the past 3 weeks. The next Dr Fong in the family. Pa is really proud of him. Ma mainly misses him terribly when he's in Melbourne. We only got to meet up with his current beau once for dinner.. the future "Mrs Fong"??

My little brother is quite mature these days. He comes back from overseas and has the initiative to try and help around the house, get the TV screen checked ( bad news, the LCD screen is DEAD), and spend quality time with his little nieces. I think he was pretty bored too. Ma took a few days off to keep him company, although I'm not quite sure what they did those days.

Chai left for Melbourne about 5 days ago now, taking a ridiculous 12 hours to make the journey back via budget airlines! He's flying back with SQ in November. Wait till he has to work! Then time is of the essence and every hour is $$$ ( or so Pa says!)

Next in line to see us will be Anthony. He's due at the end of the month, the lucky sod. Travelling for the best of this month and a bit of last. Tour de japan to see his loved one, Kei, then to Malaysia to visit the grandparents before the last stop here to see his niece.

Thank goodness no one has come down with the "swine" flu or H1N1 (hini!) just yet, although the excitement about that has just about dwindled to seasonal flu. ( and who cares about that, even though heaps of people die from it every year!!!)

It's great having visitors, like an excuse to take time off work to do other stuff. Although we should try and be more "fun" and "adventurous" from time to time. Why are we always stuck in a rut?

Oh.. and not to forget... our dearest cousin Kay Shin who is now staying with us. It's great. She loves to cook and bake too, and so we get " cook-offs" from time to time... we've had cheese cake, brownies and cookies. It's a tough call.

Visitors. It's like contact with another universe.

1 year amnesia

It's all true.

They say new parents have this inbuilt ability to FORGET the past year, especially the pain of the early months. They say you get the desire to have more kids again.

I didn't believe a word of this 1 year ago, when I was in the throes of sleepless nights, endless feeding and diapering. I think I must have sworn then : " never again! Not for a few years! "

For some really inexplicable reason, I HAVE FORGOTTEN! I look at Elizabeth every day, and start to wonder what Madison was like at that age! And I can't remember! I can't remember what she looked like, what her schedule was like, how her physical development was like in comparison to Elizabeth. I don't remember what we did at night once we moved back to our own home, what the holiday to Melbourne was like.

That's what diaries are for, to remind you of the past. Now I wish I had a more detailed diary of what Madison did then.

But maybe it's better to forget. And simply enjoy each moment as it passes. Love does grow, and the feeling of love that I have for her is now stronger than ever, so strong it feels like it could burst somehow from my heart. Almost like a physical pain somewhat. How could I ever love another child as much as I love this one?

Cliched, I know. And the answer? You get more love for all the kids you ever have. But I wonder if the love is fair, if it is the same for all ? I suppose I have to find that out for myself.

Madison is such a gem right now. After the troubles of early infanthood, before the suffering of school starts. Just tonight she was dancing to the beat of Michael Jackson on TV. I managed to get that on video. And she is the greatest imitator, from actions to words, it's amazing how quickly she can process information now.

How do I encourage her to her fullest potential? Encourage her to develop a healthy self esteem? creativity?

Now I get to have time to myself, and yet how not to feel guilty about spending time away? How do we have our cake and eat it?

Conflict at home

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later...

We were at the Novena house this evening, doing the same old usual boring thing ( ie not much ) and sitting around chatting before dinner. Elizabeth was in the playpen that was right in the middle of the hallway, supposedly trying to sleep without help.

Of course Madison finds the playpen irresistable and one of her favourite activities is to crawl into the pen under the mattress that was suspended above.

Ma was playing with her then, and allowed her to crawl into the pen with Elizabeth lying on top. Geok saw it happen and promptly told her to get Madison out. Instead of doing just that, Ma got defensive and Geok ended up telling her off. I had to intervene and get Madison out of the pen. Ma got upset.

Then while we were having dinner Madison started to approach the pen again while under the care of Warni. Elizabeth for some reason was unsupervised in the pen. Geok immediately told Warni to take Madison back to the play area and keep her there.

I am trying to stay level headed about the entire thing, but if Geok wants her daughter to be safe from other people, is it not better for her to be napping upstairs away from the crowd in the evening?

Does Madison not have every right to be freely playing in the house?

Is it unfair that access to the pen, that now sits smack in the middle of the hall, that constantly tempts Madison, is forbidden to her?

I try my best to remember the time that Madison was that age, the tiredness and frustration I must have felt then. Maybe Geok is just tired and flared up because of that?

Conflict is inevitable when there are SO MANY people around these days in the house. Makes me want to avoid going there. But it's unfair to deny Madison her grandparents, her uncle, and even her new cousin. Especially her doting grandmother.

Sigh. How do people overcome conflict at home? Maintain peace without feeling cheated? Only in parenthood would I sacrifice my freedom so that my daughter gets the best out of being in an extended family.

My conflict is also how to make sure Madison is not denied her rights, and yet not cross paths with my sister. I can only imagine this is the start of a longer drawn out battle!

Life in a nutshell

More pics of my little angel....

Its like heaven when Madison is sweet ( usually in front of grandparents ), compliant and smiley...

Then she pisses the hell out of me right the next moment when she refuses to eat breakfast, plays the throwing game at the table and whines her head off.

That's when I hope that I have to go into the clinic for my sanity and leave SOMEONE else to do the hard work of childcare! IE : Warni...!

Yesterday we had Chinese class again... I'm sorry but I am not really enjoying these sessions that much. Kind of like I have to go sit for an hour with these stranger mommys who aren't the friendliest at the moment. ( at least that's how I feel ). We'll see. Madison seems to be ok and she can kind of participate in the singing and actions. It's a pretty small class, which has its benefits... every child gets more attention from the teachers (2 ) . But it also means I'm kinda stuck in a small room with 3 other women whom I don't know and probably have little in common with! That's how I decided NO OTHER CLASSES until she can attend them ON HER OWN!

Elizabeth is growing quickly too, and Madison seems to be really concerned whenever she squeals or screams. Then she gets the green eye if I just spend too much time even looking at her! Same goes for the grandmother.


I was pretty amazed that she can drink quite well from a cup these days, especially if it is filled with something she likes ( usually sweet ) . Oh.. and she prefers COW's milk to my milk. Time to wean pretty soon... Just that at the moment I am hoping to protect her from eczema if I can with extended feeding.. she seems to be getting some red patches on her legs and elbows... the scourge of eczema can drive parents mad... feeding is NOTHING in comparison to what I see my other patients go through!

Today was a good clinic day... Patients to be seen at all 3 locations. Especially Joo Chiat, which was DEAD AS A DOORNAIL for the past week and a half! I'd started to get depressed about it again, thinking it was a goner, I'm not succeeding in private by myself, better to go back to locum work... blah blah.. sob sob...

Hopefully it'll keep up, I don't really need it to be bursting at the seams but it would be nice to see someone there everyday... same goes for Balestier.

Running a business really takes some gumption.. having to listen to staff grumble and bitch about each other, sort out drug inventories, in between praying that the clinic would survive... But its a challenge, and I hope that it'll last!

Elizabeth is 1 month

Today Geok and Munhon officially cross the 1 month mark. They held the customary celebration at the Novena House and invited some friends and family to commemorate the event. Of course the poor helper Maria nearly died but that's another story!

I hate to brag, but today once AGAIN Madison made me PROUD.

There was another toddler at the party, daughter of one of the relatives. She was barely 1 month younger than our chum Madison, but developmentally was well, less developed... Madison speaks better, moves in a more co-ordinated fashion and plays more maturely than the other girl! Even the other parents were, well... I suppose to put it mildly, impressed?

We were at the pool this morning too.. and there was a nearly-2 year old toddler in the pool... and Madison was able to tolerate dunking by me, albeit the occasional splutter and protest. In fact just a few days ago I actually let go of her in the pool, just like the baby swimming videos like u can see on Youtube! ( well.. she didn't really like me for that and today she absolutely protested at me even thinking of attempting it again...looks like she is developing a bit of a short term memory now! )

ok..ok.. this entry is becoming about Madison again...

Anyway.. Elizabeth looked absolutely adorable in her pink jumpsuit that had green polka dots on it. Lots of people ''oohed" and "aahed" at her, and she got heaps of red packets and some gifts as well... plenty of photos taken by Munhon and Chai.

One last mention of my dear girl.. she is really developing her toddler charms now... temper tantrums and hissy fits ... breakfast is getting to be a bit of a nightmare these days.. not sure if her appetite is waning or just that she wants to eat crap now. I actually had a hissy fight with her yesterday morning, that of course ended up with me yanking her out of her high chair and banishing her to her room. Ok.. I was kinda harsh and a bit violent with her, and she bawled her eyes out and sobbed terribly.. And bad mommy me... didn't feel anything except exasperation and some irritation, in fact.

Actually.. I am getting some anxiety over having to give her breakfast nowadays... it's getting to my patience and I admit it.. I AM NOT PATIENT! Warni and Chris beat me hands down in that department!

New words: today : THUNDER! NECK !
recently: Hand, man, phone, I want! , don't want! Crap! grape! darn! Ice/eyes, Arm, toes, echo. Ball... papa, mama, Ah Ma, kong kong. bird. apple. elmo.

15 months and counting

Today Madison turns 15months officially!

The morning we spent in educational pursuit... Mandarin class.
After much consideration and some shopping around, we finally settled on a basic Mandarin class for Madison twice a week. Hopefully this will spare her the painful difficulties that I faced growing up when I struggled through the language in school. At least for now she seems to like the class, where the hour and 15 minutes are spent in singing, dancing and playing while the teachers direct in Mandarin. I wonder how much of it she understands?

After the class she was quite tired and we struggled to keep her awake getting home. Fortunately Warni was all ready and took over while we went out to town, first to the gym then lunch at the Coffee club. I had plans to visit Kinokuniya but of course, had forgotten to bring my privilege card so that was the end of that!

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Zoo. We were lucky, by the time we got there and into the thick of things at around 4PM, quite a few of the animals were being fed. Madison was quite taken by the monkeys swinging in the trees, giraffe being fed carrots, white rhinos and zebras munching away on greens.

The new rainforest kidz world was packed with kids too.. this time we packed a spare set of clothes for Madison so she got to splash around with Chris.

By the time we left the skies turned grey and we missed the downpour just by 5 minutes! We headed back to the Novena house, where the adoring grandparents could take over.

Finally, to celebrate 15 months, Chris and I went out to dinner at Spruce. It's a fairly new cafe/bistro at Phoenix park along Tanglin Road, and has been favourably mentioned in the media of late.

The food did live up to their fame, with the burger taking the cake. The sweet onion crepes were fragrant too. The only flipside? The sizes of the dishes were a tad small for the prices that they were charging.

We shared a sticky date pudding for dessert and it came rather quickly which took us by surprise. There is a fine line between making a customer wait too long and food arriving too quickly, which always makes us suspect the MICROWAVE OVEN. We began to wonder if it was a frozen dessert, quickly thawed and served warm with ice cream (?? Walls ?? or fancier Movenpick/ Hagen Daz ? ) Dinner came up to $85 including 1 wine and an OJ.

The day passed all too quickly, and another one is upon us in a blink of an eye... and Madison grows yet another day......

Grandma in town!

GRANDMA AND MADISON...

Chris' mum from Melbourne arrived on Tuesday night(2 nights ago ), in time for dinner with us at home.

Her visit this time round was to coincide with Boon Hean's wedding in KL, and she'd had a ball with the relatives. Well.. kind of... the grandfather was down with some chest thing and they'd had a bit of a tiff about how it should be managed. That's families for you. Some manage through peaceful discussions, others thrive on emotionally charged debates. In the end things do get sorted out, occasionally with silent wars that usually don't persist for too long.





GRANDMA, NEIL and MADISON



In any case, I decided to try my best to make her short trip worthwhile, so I took a day off work yesterday to take them out.

The weather, being Singapore weather and all was as usual hot and humid, with the threat of a thunderstorm in the clouds. Guess where we ended up first ? Shopping, of course. By the time I'd picked them up from their hotel it was close to Madison's lunch time and we had to make our first stop at the foodcourt at Vivocity.

Then it was time for a wander around till our lunch time, and by this time Madison had fallen asleep. The chaos then began.

Neil wanted a Singapore SIM card. So he headed off to the mobile phone shop. Mummy was happy to just hang around and shop at the M & S shop while I had to run to the car to get the stroller cover.

Of course Chris finishes clinic late and needs to be at a meeting within 30 minutes. So I rush. And of course we couldn't find Neil. I took a punt and assumed he'd do the smart thing and call us when he couldn't find us.

We start lunch at Bakerzin. Midway through he calls. Twice before we manage to tell him where we were. The kind souls at the mobile shop directed him to the cafe. At this time I'd taken over the care of the stroller while Warni ate her lunch. When I came back, Mummy was in tears! Argh... another tiff...

Things did get sorted out... and the dark cloud did pass... of course by then I'd developed a bit of a headache....

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Botanic Gardens with Pa and Geok.. Elizabeth slept through the entire jaunt! She's getting bigger quite quickly and Geok is coping remarkably well by herself ( Munhon is back at work ). She looks great too.



ALL OF US AT BOTANIC GARDENS.. umbrella for ELIZABETH .. sun REALLY HOT.





Auntie Kimit took us out to dinner at the Chinese Swimming Club. Her grandson, Gordon came as well, and his mother gave me a blow by blow account of her 4 year old education... well.. I did ASK! In short, he started lessons at 6 MONTHS, beginning with music then progressing to enrichment Mandarin and English classes. She knew all the brand name schools and recommended that I start with Julia Gabriel.

Ok.. oops.. Madison is close to 15 months and the closest to any group activity that she does are her visits to the Botanic Gardens where she gets to splash around with the other kids in the fountain play area!

So ... I shall have to think seriously about her education? To assuage my guilt, I have signed on for a trial class at Growing Up Gifted.. shall have to go check out JG too now... at least have a look then decide whether or not to BURN some serious cash on early childhood education!