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Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas weekend

Phew... the Christmas weekend is over!

Actually, it was a pretty good weekend. It started early since Christmas eve was a half day at work. Chris was home early too. We had dinner at home with the family, then everyone decided to come and check out our new apartment. It's almost ready, just some carpentry work that needs to be completed. We need to get curtains measured and fitted too.

On Christmas day the entire family met up for breakfast at the Botanic Gardens. We were reasonably early so managed to get seats. The family is growing! We needed a table for 10 just for the immediate family! After breakfast the kids got to feed some overfed and stuffed fish at the lake, before heading home to raid the gift pile.

Now that Madison is getting older, it's quite fun to see her get excited over the presents. Madison and Elizabeth were swimming in gift wrap and endless amounts of toys, clothing and other paraphernalia. The rest of us did our gift swaps and I think we were all quite happy with each other's selection this year.

Instead of an eve dinner we planned a Christmas day dinner with turkey. A few relatives were invited and it was perfect with Han Ting around.( That made Chai very happy!) We bought the turkey 4 days earlier and started thawing it out 2 days prior. The day before it was soaked in a brining solution and then I started to prepare it for baking 6 hours before dinner. The entire baking time was 4 hours at 160 Celcius. I did it from a vague memory of this recipe that I'd tried a few years ago and the turkey turned out great. This time round was the same! The breast was tender while the legs were juicy, and the meat had the fragrance of the herbs that I covered it in during brining AND baking. Pa also made roast pork and a braised version that we turned into a prawn and pork salad. For dessert we had 2 log cakes. And of course, lots of bubbly. By the end, we were stuffed but happy. The kids got to eat their fill of sugar too.

Boxing day was a day sans helpers. All 3 of them were off for the holiday. The morning was kind of nice, Chris and I got to laze about with the kids for all of 15minutes in our pjs, then I got breakfast started. After brekky we went over to the pool at our new apartment for a dip. After THAT we headed over to the swimming club. The plan was lunch there but since we were early we had our second dip at the club pool. Annika got to go in for a swim too! Her first! She took it remarkably well, considering the water was actually quite cold. I didn't let her stay in too long, since the midday sun was on the way up. After lunch we drove around for an hour while Madison had her nap. Learnt my lesson from the last time I had to do an afternoon nap... I got the nap and not the kid!

So, we got to see the massive house on Nassim Road that had the biggest Christmas tree ever, with an amazing light up to boot. The house had 2 huge dragons on its' formidable front gates.

Unfortunately, by the time we got back to the apartment, I was beyond paying attention and managed to dent the back bumper bar on the left reversing into the carpark...(sob).

Dinner was out at Pudong, a Shanghainese restaurant at Balmoral Plaza. We had our favourite braised pork, dumplings, noodles in sauce and cold toufu. The restaurant has good food, although service leaves much to be desired. The restaurant itself looks a little dingy and aged but oh well... the foods' good.

This week feels weird... hopefully it'll be a good one to end the year off!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

CRAZY busy...!

It's been rather busy and stressful these past few days...

Yesterday was a good example. The kids had to be dropped off at school, after which the service man was supposed to come and check on my Delphin vacum cleaner( AND HE DIDN'T TURN UP!). Then, for some reason the clinic decided to get busy and it was a mad rush to see them before pick up time at 12noon.

Of course, by this time Annika was grouchy and hungry so I was driving like a mad woman to get everyone home for lunch and naps.

When Annika was finally settled I had to grab a quick bite, pump and then go back to work. Again, another mad rush to see patients, then it was off to the airport to pick up my mother-in-law. Thank goodness traffic was smooth flowing. When I got to the airport, thinking I would be late, it was a pleasant surprise that she had not picked her bags up yet. So, a quick toilet break and a nice cool drink. She finally checked out close to an hour after the plane touched down. We went straight back to Novena, where the kids were all up and playing already.

By this time, Annika was tired and hungry for her last nap so off we went for a short rest. Being an evening nap, she was up 30 minutes later and then it was time for Madison's dinner! So, I handed Annika over to Warni, kept Madison company while she had dinner. When dinner was done, Pa came home and of course we headed out shopping.

Thank goodness United Square was busy but still had reasonably short queues at the supermarket. We picked up a few items and headed home. OF COURSE we forgot about the traffic home. Even though the shops are a 5 minute drive we took close to 15 minutes to get home. BY WHICH TIME our dear Annika was grumbling AGAIN! ( BEDTIME )

So... quick bath for Annika, quick feed and then lights out and down for the night. We finally had dinner, then it was time to go home to put Madison down for the night. Of course when we get home I STILL have to pop out to get some milk from the convenience store, wash and sterilize my pump, prepare Annika's bottles for the next day THEN finally shower and RELAX.

Oh.. and Annika turned 5 months yesterday! I wanted to get her a little cupcake or muffin to celebrate but in the craziness of the day, FORGOT. As usual. I am suffering without my iphone's calender.

I also have started giving Annika a little bit of solids just because she seems so terribly interested in our food. Everytime I eat something she actually brings my hand to her mouth and try to 'eat' it as well! Yesterday she got steamed sweet potato with spinach. Which she took fairly well although she gagged a few times. She doesn't gag with banana. Tonight I am going to try cereal with banana. I've got an avocado that I'm waiting to ripen. I think the solids help a little. She managed to go a longer time without a night feed last night. It was so nice to get that extra sleep.

The other thing that really took up quite a bit of time was Christmas shopping. Finally completed it all this afternoon. Quite a headache thinking and buying presents for so many people!

Today I brought Madison down with me to the clinic. I thought it would be a quick one, then I could take the kids over to Novena, but the patient TURNED UP LATE! ARGH! Madison was really good though. She sat quietly in my room, covering my desk with stickers while I attended to the patient. She also pooed while she was at it, and when I asked her after I was done, her reply was:" No toilet in the clinic?" (!!!) As if she would poo in the toilet anyway! But it was funny. We were late so I had to take her over to Novena in her stinky poo diaper. Boy.. was the car stinky all the way there!

Maybe I should go get Annika her cupcake/muffin today? Hm...

Friday, December 17, 2010

December...

I just love the month of December!

The weather is so much cooler, people are in the holiday mood and it's just a generally more relaxed month.

We're having a Christmas day dinner for the family, and probably going to exchange gifts. Buying gifts is a real pain though, since it's getting harder every year to come up with new ideas! My shopping is almost done, after 2 mad days of combing the stores at Takashimaya and at Vivocity.

Chai is back for the holidays. It's amazing, he's already headed into the final year of medical school and will be done by next year! His girlfriend is already done with her Masters degree and started work. I am getting old! It's nice when he's back, feels like our family is complete again. We're all looking forward to when he's back for good.

Madison is finishing up her time with Bibinogs. It's a little sad that's she's ready to move on, and I'm grateful for the skills that they have imparted to her. She's developed so much over the year, and become more confident and articulate since she started school. Next year she starts at Pat's Schoolhouse at Buckley and I'm hoping she doesn't have too much trouble adjusting. I think she'll like it there eventually.

Annika is also growing up much too quickly. She's rolling all the time now and is generally a happy person. It's great how I feel so much more relaxed and confident handling her compared with Madison! She's also lucky to have 2 older kids to entertain her and keep her company. Elizabeth and Madison sway between protective love and jealous snatching! It's funny how the 3 of them occupy themselves the entire day.

Chris is going away AGAIN, this time with Pa for a medical mission trip to Padang, Indonesia. They leave tonight and will be back on Sunday NIGHT. Argh.. I will have to survive another 2 nights with the kids. He's working so much these days that he hardly has time for the kids, and with all the travelling he's been doing recently, it's been a little tough. But I do understand that he needs to train now so that he can be good at what he does.

The saga with Warni is also resolved. She is (hopefully) coming back to work with us for another 2 years starting next March. She leaves for a holiday in February. We negotiated her working terms and so she gets a pay rise and regular time off starting next year. I think she's happy and already I feel a positive change in her work attitude. I want to thank her for her efforts over the past 2 years, and so I will give her a Christmas bonus as well. I think I want to do the same for Maria and Siti( Geok's helper) as well. I am grateful for their help over the past 5 months with Annika and Madison.

Finally.. on the apartment front... yay! Work has finally begun and things are looking GOOD! I'm hoping we'll be able to move in before next year, but we're not rushing things. I'm rather sick of sleeping in the lounge and having our things all over the apartment. It's only a slight increase in space, but since we're having things built in it feels like a significant upgrade.

Oh.. and Chris' mum is coming for the Christmas break. And staying till Chinese New Year. That should be fun. She'll get plenty of time with her 2 granddaughters.

That's it for now...

Monday, December 6, 2010

Gap Casting Call

We entered Madison and Annika in a baby competition!

Actually, it was Chris' idea to do so, if it were me, I'd be too lazy to do anything. He heard about the Gap Casting Call from a friend, and turned out that it was happening over the past weekend. We had to spend $80 per child in baby Gap to qualify for a photoshoot.

It was lucky I was free this Saturday. We drove over to Gap at Wisma Atria and there were parents there shopping already at 11am. After checking with the sales people that the competition was actually on, we went berserk trying to quickly find $160 worth of Gap clothes to buy for the 2 girls. Then I had to join the queue to pay. It was annoying that the check out register took quite a while.

Of course, by this time Annika was getting cranky because she was getting hungry and it was close to nap time. But bless the little girl, she behaved really well, didn't even cry or complain that much.

After we finally registered the 2 girls, we had to join ANOTHER queue to wait our turn to take the photos. By which time, it was definitely Annika's feeding and napping time. Still, she did brilliantly, allowing the photographer to take her pictures without any fuss. It was a pity she wasn't at her best but it was the best we could do at that time.

Madison was up next after Annika. She suddenly became so shy; she was unable to smile or pose for the camera. Chris asked her to smile and she tried her best...

When the photos were finally done, it was a mad rush to feed Annika then Madison. The Gap staff was really nice, when I asked her if there was a nursing room somewhere in Wisma Atria, she said there wasn't one, and offered a dressing room for me to use. I managed to give Annika a quick feed before people started knocking at the door( rude! I never knock at the dressing room door to hurry other people up!) We ended up at the Marriot Singapore for lunch.

Hopefully the girls get some votes, but I'm not holding my breath about us winning this competition...it was just something different to do and good exposure for Madison. Some of the other kids were quite natural in front of the camera. And they definitely have aggressive parents marketing their photos for votes.

BTW, voting is through Facebook on the Gap Singapore site!

Friday, December 3, 2010

More gastro!

This is unbelievable!

The gastro bug that Elizabeth has and Madison HAD WILL NOT GO AWAY!

Elizabeth has been having diarrhoea from Monday till today, Madison vomitted Sunday but has been well till today, when she succumbed to diarrhoea too. ARGH.

I am praying Annika doesn't get the bug. I really don't want to see her sick and admitted to hospital. This diarrhoea bug must either be a rotavirus or an adenovirus. It's quite bad.

Today I was so pissed off that Madison started having diarrhoea that when I drove the kids over to the Novena house I got the helpers to strip the play area down and wash just about everything. I've got this germ phobia too, and I'm convinced the play area must be swarming with bugs of all sorts. I stripped down Annika's car seat and playthings that the 2 older girls like to get into and got them washed too.

It's days like that I feel absolutely crap. Surviving on disrupted sleep night on night, then having to deal with toddlers who fight, whine and scream all day is seriously exhausting. I'm glad that I do work though, so at least I have an outlet and time out everyday. And I get to interact with people other than the kids and the helpers everyday.

But for now, WILL THE GASTRO BUG PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE???!!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Gastroenteritis..! Blowing bubbles...

Madison came down with a bad case of the stomach flu over the weekend. Just in time for Chris' arrival back from Japan.

I think she must have caught it after going swimming at the NUSS club with Elizabeth, Geok and Munhon on Saturday. She was well Sunday morning, but then all of a sudden started crying, fussing and saying she wanted to poo. Then, without warning, she projectile puked onto Warni and then several times thereafter. Needless to say we were all shocked.

Poor thing, she wouldn't stop throwing up, so I ended up giving her a shot and a suppository to stop the retching. Drove out to get some Freezer pops for her as well. She spent most of the afternoon sleeping on the couch in front of the television with Chris.

Thank goodness, by the evening, she seemed to suddenly improve and could tolerate ICE CREAM. Unfortunately she started running a fever. I was waiting for explosive diarrhea to start, but thankfully it didn't.

I was super paranoid that one of us would catch her bug too, and especially worried for Annika. Bleach was my best friend that day. I'm sorry to admit that I have a bit of vomit phobia; gastroenteritis is my greatest fear. I honestly tried very hard to be there and comfort Madison, but am thankful that Chris had already come home. He did an excellent job keeping Madison company.

Elizabeth started having diarrhea on Monday, so it's confirmed that the pool must have been contaminated with someone's poo.

On the Annika front, she's staying awake for longer periods now, and like Madison, is starting to refuse feeds when wide awake. She tries to sit up, squeal, and blows bubbles when either Warni tries to bottle feed or I try to breastfeed her! It's kind of cute ( although somewhat annoying as well ) when she is blowing bubbles at 5 am instead of going back to sleep after a feed. Her nights are still somewhat variable, which is tiring too. I am still hoping we don't have to do CIO with her eventually.

We finally have some progress with Warni. Her contract is up next March and I've been asking if she wants to continue working with us. Up till now she has not been forthcoming with her reply, but when I paid her over the weekend she finally gave me her reply.

Initially I was surprised that she would bargain on her terms of employment. I was hesitant to renew her contract, but after discussion with the family and thinking it through, I decided to negotiate with her and have an honest discussion with her. I am glad we came to a happy settlement, so at this point of time she will be continuing to work with us. She will go home for a 2 week vacation then return to us. I am quite happy with the decision and am thinking of bettering her employment terms if she does perform well over the next year. In fact, if she could DRIVE a car and chauffeur the kids around, she'd get paid VERY WELL.

Chris' birthday is coming up in 2 weeks! I think I might get him an Agnes B Voyage lap top bag? I was thinking a new laptop, but I did ask him and he declined. A nice watch would be good too, but they are too EXPENSIVE. Clothes a little too cliched. Maybe a nice suit? ( expensive too ) Maybe I should just get him some running stuff. And get him into running? ( doubt he'd like that! )