Couple Time!

It has become de rigueur that we have some couple time every Friday cos Terelle has a long day in school, ending class only at 4pm. So she doesnt nap when she comes home and will be knackered and in bed by 8pm. Baby will follow his sister to bed at whatever time she chooses.

Which leaves us with a good 4 hours to head out for some shopping or a movie, to catch up with friends and of course supper!

Food at Glutton's Bay is good but overpriced

Checking out River Hongbao during CNY

Dont like to jostle around in crowds with the kids in tow

Posing in front of the Kent Ridge Hall float

Scouring Nite Markets

And at our latest run - the Live Earth Run for Water!

This time we brought the kids over to my in laws' the night before the run, so that we could have a good rest before the race, and the whole day to ourselves after that!

At the finish line

Unfettered by kids, we went shopping after the race, went home and grabbed our gear before heading out for badminton and swimming with good friends, and ended off the day with a nice dinner by the seaside

What bliss!

Im so mentally recharged to handle the kids again!

Before this short break i was dragging my heels and losing my temper at the kids at the slightest provocation. What wonders a 24hr break can do to my psyche!

More "staycations" yah, hubby? ;)

We Heart Bangkok

Long overdue post detailing our by now infamous (at least among our circle of friends with young children but who have yet to dare scoot off on a holiday WITHOUT them) Bangkok trip.


4 days 3 nights in a swanky Marriott suite in the heart of Bangkok.

4 days 3 nights of non stop shopping and eating.

4 days 3 nights of doing absolutely whatever we want, whenever we want with no schedules to adhere to.

4 days 3 nights of absolute freedom from the incessant demands of 2 precocious kids.

What complete, unmitigated bliss...



And yet, the night before we were supposed to leave, i was having 2nd thoughts. (See post on breastfeeding Thane for the last time)



How were the kids going to cope without me?

Who will police them in drinking their daily copious amounts of water?

Who will make sure that every inch of every tooth is brushed every night?

Who will make sure that they dont stuff their faces with junk?

And who will be there for them if they miss us badly?



I know hubby was all ready to berate me for wasting his time and money should i pull out from our couple trip at the last minute, so i bit my tongue and quelled all my fears about leaving the kids behind.

I could hardly sleep that night, disturbed by nightmares about the kids injuring themselves/falling very sick/choking/getting lost/getting run over by traffic cos no one was watching them...yeah i was that paranoid.

You couldnt blame me right? This was the 1st time in almost 5 years that we have actually left their sides for more than a couple of hours!

Of course i was apprehensive!



To make matters worse, my baby started to develop a runny nose the very night before we were supposed to depart.

Talk about the kids always succeeding in sabotaging our plans huh...

Here he is, a little sick but still cheeky as usual

And so, the very next morning, we carted everyone off to my mother in law's house , 2 hours before we were even due to check in.

Hubby called for a cab to the airport and with nary a backward glance, plopped himself in the backseat.

Me, my heart broke when Terelle started crying. I wanted to cry myself and almost wanted to ask hubby not to go after all.

Callously, hubby dragged me into the cab (a move which i would thank him for later) and demanded that i get a grip and that they would be fine without us.

We did eventually make it up the plane, but not before me insisting to call home like twenty times (all in the space of 3 hours before takeoff)

As soon as we landed in Bangkok, the shopaholic in me could not resist the lure of the intoxicating city and my worries over the kids began to fade.

OK i was determined to make the most out of my 4 days of freedom!!

And so, all we really did was eat, shop, rest, swim, have massages, read, watch tv...in no particular order and then eat and shop some more. By the end of the trip we were thoroughly sick of shopping...and i NEVER get sick of shopping...ha...

Waiting for the train to take us to Chatuchak

Oh yes, we totally heart Bangkok!

Hubby totally satiated and outside the public toilets at the weekend market

He said that the toilets were so clean that they put to shame any one of our public toilets back home. Says so much about our society huh?

Shopping in the sweltering heat

The Bangkok traffic - i love the colorful taxis!

Carting home the spoils from the market

Having dinner at the Suna Lom Night Market

Our sumptious and authentic Thai food

Lunch at a hip joint in the heart of the city where we caught up with an old friend

Silly me was too fascinated with these noodles (aptly named Complicated Noodles) that i forgot to take pics of our little lunch party. Gah!!

And what's a trip to Bangkok without risking life and limb on a Tuk Tuk?

Look at our loot! 80% were stuff for the kids - shows how much we missed them! Haha!

The beautiful infinity pool surrounded by the tall buildings dotting the city

Lazing around by the pool

When the time came for us to leave, i was eager to return home, for the first time! Usually i will be very reluctant to end a holiday and will glumly drag myself back to the airport. This time, i was looking forward to seeing the kids cos we really missed them over the 4 days.

Thanks to pragmatic hubby who had the faith that the kids would be fine without us, who actually dragged me onto the plane and who limited my calls home to only twice a day (think without him, i would have called home every hour), i truly enjoyed our very first trip away from our 2 monkeys.

More to come? Hell, yeah!!

This time ill have utterly no qualms about leaving the kids behind!!

Weaning - the aftermath

Weaning Thane from breastfeeding was easier than i thought.

Now, whenever its nap or bedtime, all i have to do is to lie on the mattress next to his bed and do my own thing, while he wriggles and squirms round and round the bed, trying to find a sweet spot to lay his little head.
(You know, just like when a dog needs to poo, he goes round and round and round until he finds a nice spot and then he goes?)

After about 15min of burrowing around his bed, he finally falls asleep with nary a fuss.

Heaven!

But the catch is that i HAVE to be beside him. If suddenly during his squirming he happens to look up and im not there, he'll scream the house down till i come back and sit beside him.

It doesnt work if hubby is sitting there. It has to be me.

But im not complaining...its a far far cry from having to nurse him left, right, left, right.....on and on and on for at least 45min!

His appetite has increased much more too. Now he takes 3 bottles of milk a day, 300ml in the morning, 150ml in the afternoon and 120 ml at night, on top of 3 full meals.

No more eating like a mouse! Hallelujah!

However, even without breastfeeding, he's still quite the mama's boy.

Ever so often during the course of the day, he will come and lay his head on my chest and just lie there for a good 10min. He will want me to hug and cuddle and carry him like a baby, smiling contentedly when i do.

And when he's upset, all i have to do is pick him up, cradle him and soothe the raw nerves with some quiet words and he's fine and dandy again.

And i was so worried that only breastfeeding could calm him down!

So overall, i would rate this weaning episode a 10/10. And we got to go for a holiday on our own on top of that!

Happiness...

Running

Amongst many other common interests, i am thankful that hubby and i share a passion for sports, especially running.
Due to our inherent competitive streak, we have always taken great pride in trying to outrun each other, ever since our school days.

I havent been running very regularly since ive had the 2 monkeys, but this year, ive finally hauled my lazy ass off the sofa and restarted my fitness regime. Also because hubby sponsored an unlimited membership with the gym, and penny pinching me abhors wastage, so i go almost everyday to maximize the membership! Haha...

It really is a case of mind over matter. When i wasnt exercising i always felt lethargic and listless, and yet couldnt sleep well at night. Once i started hitting the gym regularly, i had renewed energy to push myself to do so much more during the day and at night i slept like a baby (until awoken BY the baby)

Here we are at some of our runs this year.

At the starting line of the nike human race

I struggled to complete the 10k last year but im proud to say i did it quite effortlessly with a respectable timing this year! Yeah!

Just before flag off in a sea of red

A little crazy with euphoria at the end

At Run Singapore

I also took part in the Great Eastern Women's 10k but alas, no pics as my friend was holding on to my fone when i went for a loo break at the start and we got separated when the run started.

And i have made it my personal challenge to keep beating my timing and to push myself to see how much i can improve.

It feels good to have an agenda for myself for once, and to indulge in something that i am passionate about, and not have my world revolve entirely around the kids.

And this is also the reason why i am dead set against having a 3rd child. My life has just started to get back on track and i dont want to be derailed again and start right at the beginning with another baby.

A couple of good friends are expecting their 3rd child and i am really happy for them, (sidenote: YL you may not be the best mother in the world but i know you are the best mother that k, s and the akan datang little one can ever have. And i admire you for your bravery and steadfastness in following God's plan!)

But i know that i will be extremely upset if i were to fall pregnant with a 3rd child. There is just not enough of me to go round if i were to have another baby.

(Which reminds me that i did mention when i recounted about my pregnant pauses, about how i was going to permanantly guarantee that that doesnt happen.)

We have set our sights on the Great Wall Marathon in Beijing and the Phuket Marathon next year and maybe also the Great Ocean Road marathon in Melbourne, and take a holiday at the same time after completing the race. It would be a good chance for us to have some couple time too without the kids.

Anyone keen to join us? :)

The good man I married

Chanced upon this questionnaire so thought i'd put my hubby under the spotlight for once!


1. What is something your husband always says to you?

"Oei make sure there are no ants in my study/kitchen/living room ah!"


2. What makes your husband happy?

Sorry; this blog is public!

Hahaha...just kidding...he is happiest when the kids and I are happy, and he does his best to keep us that way (he plays silly games with them, brings us all out on lengthy family outings even though he was up the whole night watching soccer, bites his tongue in front of my mum.... )

Or when there are no ants in the house. Hahaha...



3. What makes your husband sad?

I have yet to really see him sad, even when I asked him this question, he couldnt answer. Perhaps he feels sad when his dad doesnt understand him. Right, mops?


4. How old is your husband?

He is young at heart and that's good enough for me!


5. What was your husband like in high school?

Irritating boy always trying to act cool, with a cap perpetually faced backwards and a backpack that was slung so low it reached his butt. Dont know what I saw in him then...haha...
He was deeply tanned, had a flat top cut and a much much smaller waistline...hmmm...maybe that caught my eye...


6. How tall is your husband?

173cm


7. What is your husband's favorite thing to do?

Channel surf all the sports channels


8. What does your hubby do when you're not around?

Channel surf all the sports channels while keeping half an eye on the kids


9. If your husband becomes famous, what will it be for?

Standing up for someone/saving someone's life/taking down a terrorist - he's brave and righteous like that
OR beating someone up cos he got on his nerves/poking his nose where it shouldnt be/being a road bully - he's got a real short fuse and is a gossipy aunty at heart.

Wait...did you say famous or infamous?


10. What is your husband really good at?

Making me laugh and being a dad.


11. What is your husband not really good at?

Being patient. Read point 9 - extremely short fuse


12. What does your husband do for a job?

He sells ultrasound machine parts.


13. What is your husband's favorite food?

Durians and Dai Look Mee (from KL). He can eat truckloads!


14. What makes you proud of your husband?

He is good at his job. I am always appreciative and thank God that because of him, I am able to stay home with my kids. And he is also the best hands-on dad that my kids could ever ask for.


15. If your husband were a cartoon character, who would he be?

Errrr...Kung Fu Panda? Cos I overheard Terelle telling her grandpa, "Kung Fu Panda is so fat, just like my Daddy!"
Hahaha...