Baby vs Puppy

Terelle is besotted with this little Shih Tzu from a pet shop in Marine Parade.

Every chance she gets, she will rush headlong into the shop and stand in front of her little glass cage, making funny faces, jumping around and going "Awwwww...Coochie coochie coo".

She has christened the dog Leelo, tells me she wants to take her home and implores me to buy her. I tell her i have no money, and that she should go ask Daddy.

This is the conversation that ensued tonight.

T: Daddeeeee, i love Leelo...can u puhleaze buy her for me?

D: How much does Leelo cost?

T: Err one thousand...errrr five hundred and sixty...no eighty

(Im behind hubby, silently mouthing the words for her, she definitely doesnt know the concept of how much money this is)

D: Do you know how much money that is?

T: Not alot! You have money right?

D: Haha...how about we sell Baby away, then we can use that money to buy Leelo? What do you think?

*Terelle is stumped for words. You can literally see the cogs in her brain whirring furiously*

D: Yup if we sell baby away, he will go live with someone else, but they will give us money so that you can buy Leelo. You want that?

*More silence as she ponders the consequences of that option*

And then the clincher...

T: How bout you sell him away when he is grown up!

Hubby and I almost rolled off our chairs laughing...her loyalty to her brother only extends after he is all grown and has exhausted his usefulness of entertaining her!

Great insight on a kids' thoughts...hahaha...

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!!

Simple pleasures

We really do not need to spend money to buy any more toys for the kids.

Here they are keeping themselves occupied with things found around the house! Best of all, most of these things came free of charge!

Drawing on a balloon

This is a box that came with a lounge chair that we bought.

They doodled on it, played hide and seek in it, played pretend house, slept in it, hid their little treasures in it and basically spent many happy hours with it.

Hiding and squealing non stop

Terelle peeking out of the little window that she cut out herself

Thane in his shanty town house

Alas, hubby has thrown the box out as it has been almost torn to shreds.

Its ok, it had lived a good life!

And here they are, dragging each other along in the old car seat.

I am seriously thinking of doing away with xmas pressies this year

Shall i get them some cardboard, a few pieces of plastic and maybe some tin cans?

HAI-YAK!

This is the result of watching too much Kung Fu Panda.

In the video, Terelle is very amused by Thane's antics and held on to his head while he pummelled the air. Of cos that didnt go down too well with him.

And when he couldnt hai-yak Jie Jie, he turned and started to rain blows on me...haha...

The story of the rejected milk powder

I bought a tin of Nan Pro 3 for Thane to try a couple of months back and he took to it, finishing the entire tin within a month.

Gleefully i bought another tin but this time, it was a pain just trying to get him to finish up a bottle every day. Thinking that i bought the wrong tin (cos Nan Pro3 and Nan HA look similar) i rushed out to get a tin of Nan HA just so that he would drink more milk everyday.

To my utter dismay, he rejected the Nan HA completely! Actually i dont blame him, it smells and tastes like puke.

And so i have almost a full tin of Nan HA and a quarter tin of Nan pro 3 sitting in my kitchen untouched.

I was determined not to let them go to waste, but i couldnt possibly sell them away now that they have been opened.

Brainwave moment - I decided to use the milk powder to bake cookies! I used a conventional recipe for cookies and made some trial and error changes, the cookies turned out to be crunchy on the outside and a little soft on the inside, just like the consistency of Sugi cookies.

The kids loved them so much that they walloped almost half the entire batch the moment they came out of the oven. In fact they were already eating the dough even before i could bake them. Wahahaha...

And so here is my recipe, for any mummy who wants to get their kid to drink more milk without them actually drinking it!

Ingredients
180g butter (softened at room temperature)
80g Horlicks
50g milk powder
200g cake flour
10 tsp sugar
chocolate chips or colorful sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140deg. Line baking tray with baking paper

2. Sieve cake flour and milk powder.

3. Cream butter and Horlicks at low speed for about 3 minutes, gradually adding in the sugar.

4. Add cake flour and milk powder and beat until dough is formed.

5. Roll into balls or use cookie cutters to cut into shapes.

(I let Terelle decorate them, she made faces with the choc chips and silver sugar balls.)

6. Bake at 140deg for 25-30minutes, depending on your oven.

7. Cool completely before storing. Makes about 50 cookies.

Enjoy! :)

Working too hard?

Ive been giving tuition for years but for the longest time this year, ive had no luck in getting assignments.
However, recently God has been good to me and all of a sudden im bombarded with so many referrals for tuition that i have to turn down many assignments.

Im very thankful for the work coming my way and the financial independence it proffers, not to mention the immense satisfaction from knowing that i actually count again.
I can earn my own keep!
Im no longer just a yellow-faced, thumb twiddling housewife whose entire world revolves around the 4 walls of her home!
The rusty cogs of my brain are turning once more!


It feels good to be able to buy stuff for the kids with my own money or to pay for their enrichment classes or workshops without having to consult hubby.

I can also treat myself to an indulgent snack if i fancy it. (it used to be "What? $3.90 for fried taiwanese chicken pieces? sigh...ill pass")

Hell, I can even buy little surprise gifts for hubby!
In the past a gift for him didnt feel like it was a real gift cos i was using his money to buy it!

But i wonder if im working too hard and spending too much time away from the kids.
After all i did quit my job to be a stay at home mum in order to spend time with the kids.

My typical day goes as follows:


Morning

Chauffeur the kids to enrichment classes/school. Thane attends classes at 9am so if Terelle is awake by the time we need to leave the house, I will get her changed and ready for school and take her along for a spot of breakfast as our helper accompanies Thane in class.
After he is done with class, i will send Terelle off to school.


(On a sidenote, I lament the fact that i seldom am able to accompany Thane in his classes because if Terelle is around, she always demands my attention and refuses to have breakfast with our helper and let me go to class with Thane.

Yes we do have a good time bonding over breakfast, as we read storybooks, do a couple of activity books and draw funny pictures together.

But i get this niggling sense of guilt that Thane seldom has mummy's undivided attention, unlike Jie Jie in the past, who had mummy all to herself.

Terelle went everywhere with me, literally. Even when i had to give tuition, i would bring her along and she would play with my student's siblings with nary a complaint.

Sigh the pitfalls of being the 2nd child...)



Midday

After Terelle is off at school, ill take Thane home, put him to sleep and rush to the gym for an hour's workout, ending just in time for me to go pick her up from school.
Sometimes if any of my students are home early from school, ill schedule tuition during this time so that i can be home for a longer stretch in the afternoon.



Afternoon
After showering Terelle and giving her a snack, ill put her down to nap, wolf down my lunch and rush out for tuition. Usually ill have at least 2 sessions a day and ill only return at evening time. This means that after their nap, Terelle would have spent about 2 hrs playing with our helper while Thane would have spent at least 4 hrs.



Evening
Ill have dinner with the kids and after playing with them for about an hour, its time to start the bedtime routines.


Im concerned because lately, Thane has been clinging to me like a limpet each time i return home. If im occupied and cannot tend to him immediately, he cries inconsolably and keeps saying "I want mummy!"


Terelle has also commented that she seldom sees me at home anymore. And sometimes whenever she is excited about something and wants me to share her excitement, she calls me "Aunty!" and then "Mummy!" *horrors*

Is my working 4 hours a day too much for my kids? Cant i have my cake and eat it too?

Sigh...


I still want my stay at home mum status to be a badge of honor and not become a subject of contention.
And so i shall cringe and turn away yet more lucarative assignments because after all, my kids are still my top priority.

Who? What? Why? When? How?

Thane is getting prolific at questioning us. His line of questioning is spot on in context and he always leaves us flabbergasted at his creativity.


Scenario: His diaper has burst and his shorts are all wet. Our helper tells him that he has to take a bath right now. However, they are not at home but at my mum in law's house.

Helper: Baby you need to bom bom now. Your diaper burst.

Thane: *Looks at her incredulously* Here?

Helper: *Amused* Yes!

Thane: How?

(As in this is not our house, where in the world can I bom bom?)



Scenario: Passerby couple quarrelling. We overhear guy telling girl to keep quiet and that he doesnt care about her anymore.

Thane turns to his Gong Gong and with a puzzled look on his face, asks, " Why?"

Gong Gong: I dont know...I have no idea...

Thane: Then how?

*Gong Gong is gobsmacked*



Scenario: Thane is singing at the top of his voice and totally massacring the song. Terelle is trying to sing the same song properly but cant because she is distracted by him.

Terelle: Keep quiet baby!! KEEP QUIET! You must SING PROPERLY!!!!

Thane: *with a mocking smirk* Why?

Sibling Interaction at its best

Scenario: They are both watching starfall. The letter L, which is Terelle's choice, is currently being played but Thane wants to watch the letter N.

Thane: N!

Terelle: Later

Thane: Nnn!

Terelle: Later!

Thane: Nnnnn!

Terelle: LATER!!

Thane: Nnnnn!! (He is so getting a kick out of riling his sister up)

Terelle: LATER!!! Can you hurry up! (Referring to the website loading very slowly)

Thane: Nnnnnn!

Terelle: Can you hurry up and see!!! (Telling Thane to finish watching L 1st) WAIT PATIENTLY!!

* Thane smacks her lightly in retaliation to her pinching his cheeks*

Terelle: (Looking at me and expecting a response)

*Resigned and feeling unjustified* He beat me!

*Reproachful* Naughty boy! Dont play with you!

No matter how many times i watch this video, it still leaves me in stitches.

Current fav pics

These are my current favourite pics of the sibs.

Taken at Ikea, he was trying out a kiddy rattan chair. When asked to smile, he gave a wonky little smirk. He looks so grown up now!

Terelle is now fixated on using chopsticks. Here she is having noodles and using her training pair. I know im biased, but with her coy smile, she looks oh so sweet!

Our "romantic" getaway

We are jinxed - by our kids.

What was supposed to be a romantic hotel stay to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary in June got postphoned 3 times cos all of us took turns to fall sick.

Finally the room was booked over the past weekend and hubby and i were looking forward to spending some quality time together - at last...

And then....

The morning we were supposed to leave for our staycation, Terelle woke up with red, itchy and watery eyes.

Alarm bells rang in my head.

That's it, I thought, there goes our weekend plans. AGAIN!

As she had no other symptoms, Hubby dropped her off at school as usual, only to have her form teacher call me an hour later ordering us to take her home, cos her itchy eyes were bothering her.

We quickly brought her to the gp who diagnosed conjunctivitis and prescribed eye drops.

Time check 1145am.

We still had time to get her sorted out before we set off to check in at 2pm.

Optimistic, we brought her home, administered the eye drops, put her down for her nap and waited for Sis to arrive so we could scram.

To our dismay, she woke up screaming half an hour later, complaining that both her ears were painful. I figured it might be an ear infection so we rushed to the pd immediately cos the gp was by now closed.

Sure enough, pd diagnosed it to be an ear and eye nfection and we were sent home with one eye drop, one eye lotion, ear drops and an anti viral medicine.

By now, our friend was getting increasingly whiny and clingy, it was as if she knew we were going to sneak off!

We were only able to extricate ourselves at 6pm, and checked in at the hotel downtown at 645pm. The idyllic afternoon of shopping, movie and eating that i envisioned just went up in smoke.

We felt uneasy leaving the poor sick gal at home so after a hurried dinner, we drove home again to check on her. Went through the bedtime routines, administered the truckload of meds, gave instructions to helper, sis and dad to call us if her condition worsens in the middle of the night; we finally went back to our supposed "sanctuary" at close to midnight.

Luckily there was a 24 hr TCC nearby to offer some grub and comfort to 2 weary souls.

Comfort food at 2am

It was pretty fun sitting by the sidewalk and gawking at the trannies doing their rounds near Shaw Towers - some of these man chicks were really hot!

The next day, we were determined to enjoy ourselves for a bit.

After repeated phonecalls home, we were satisfied that the kids were still alive without us, so we headed out for a nice dimsum brunch and a leisurely look see at the new ION orchard.

It was EXTREMELY liberating traipsing around town without having to negotiate escalators, staircases and throngs of people with 2 strollers and 2 demanding kids!

That night we had a nice peaceful dinner with the Liews and caught up with old friends over supper.

It was bliss - no schedules to follow, no whiny, demanding kids, no frazzled nerves. It was just us back to pre-kids days, having fun and hanging out with our friends.

Us as we were in the past, not us as parents, as we have inadvertently become.

And although the kids were fine without us at home,

(Thane actually slept through the night without waking up to nurse!

He went without breastmilk for 1.5 days!

Terelle's condition didnt worsen!

Both ate well, slept well and didnt miss us one bit!)

we came back the next morning to fetch them back to the hotel.

Having dinner on the toilet while keeping an eye on the kids in the bath

Can parenthood be more diligent than this?

So there you are, our so called romantic getaway.

We firmly believe we are jinxed. Cos everytime we set up something fun for ourselves or just go out for a couple of hours' break, we'll come back to some calamity involving the kids. Or are we such bad parents that we do not deserve breaks at all?

Hubby thinks this is what transpires between the kids whenever they sense we are going off somewhere without them.

Terelle: Hey pipsqueak! Mummy and Daddy are sneaking off tomorrow.

Thane: Har...does it mean we have to make ourselves sick again?

Terelle: Ya lah, of cos! So isit ur turn or my turn this time?

Thane: Your turn lah! The last time u made me lick the raw meat and i had gastroenteritis for a week!

Terelle: OK OK...so what shall i come down withthis time? Flu? Fever? Baluku on head?

*Out comes a spinner on which is written a myriad of illnesses and injuries. They spin it*

Terelle: Awww man! Conjunctivitis?? Damn its uncomfortable you know!

*Proceeds to touch the toilet and rub her eyes*

Thane: *sniggering* And u think having diarrhea for a week is comfortable??

Plausible, dont you think?

As i write this, im so missing my lazy, hazy saturday already. I really wonder when we can have another break...a proper, guilt free, incident free one...

Sigh...

Kids if you are able to read this now, its payback time!!

The stubborn bug saga

As i write this post, i really hope im seeing the end of this particularly feisty bug that has been plaguing my family for the past month and a half.

It all started with Thane.

He came down with a fever on the day of our wedding anniversary, which was 15th June, a Monday.

Having a nice buffet lunch, oblivious to the "battle" we had to fight soon

After a nice day out together, we came home to my mum in law's house to find him burning up. We gave him paracetamol and a cool bath and thought nothing much of it, cos her house is a furnace and we concluded he was probably suffering from mild heat stroke and dehydration.

We started to get worried when his fever yo-yoed up and down, registering highs of 38.5degrees over the next 2 days. To make matters worse, he had 6 teeth erupting at the same time and his appetite was almost zilch.

As there were no other symptoms, i was beginning to worry it could be a urinary tract infection so I brought him to the pd on Wednesday just to get him checked out.

Turned out it was a throat infection and after 3 doses of her prescribed antibiotic, his fever subsided.

Here they are, full of energy, despite being sick

By the way, the toddler bed will always be put in the living room for us to nurse whichever kid that is sick. One, for isolation purposes and two, temperature taking and sponging throughout the nite is less disruptive to those who are sleeping, if it were to be done downstairs.

So the toddler bed was a permanent fixture in our living room for close to 2 weeks when the kids took turns to use it.

Thinking that the worst was over, we went for Thane's weekly LNT class on Friday and even met up with the entire family on Saturday to celebrate Fathers' Day.

To our dismay, his fever came back on Sunday and by evening, it even reached a high of 39.5 degrees. He also had 4 bouts of diarrhea that day.

By then hubby was starting to get frantic cos he was so afraid of witnessing a replay of Terelle's fit when she had high fever 2 years ago. So we inserted a suppository and quickly rushed to kkh to get him checked out.

At the hospital, his fever began to subside and the doctor diagnosed him to be having viral gastroenteritis. She said it was a different bug from the one in his throat and all we had to do was manage the fever and watch for dehydration from the diarrhea.

Thankfully, everything cleared after another 2 days.

But then Terelle was next.

She started to develop a fever of 38degrees on Tuesday and similarly, it yo-yoed up and down over the next 2 days.

Having an ice popsicle treat to bring down her fever

Surprisingly that was about it.

She had no other symptoms and was hale and hearty again in just 2 days. And through it all she was her usual self, bouncing off the walls and inciting Baby Bone to mischief even though she was burning up.

Here she is, teaching him to do something cheeky as usual

He hero worships her and will copy whatever she does

So it was time to celebrate!

The kids were happy and healthy once more!

Time to head out again cos they had been stuck at home the past 2 weeks!

Modelling Yiyi's sunglasses at a dessert shop just before heading to the indoor playground

And here we are enjoying a nice steamboat dinner sans kids, to replenish all the lost energy during those sleepless nights taking care of the kids

How wrong we were!

That night, it was my turn to succumb to the bug. I started to feel lousy right after the steamboat and woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and chills. My throat also felt as though there were bits of glass in it and swallowing was pure torture.

That was Sunday.

My fever only hovered around 38degrees but i felt like i had been hit by a truck. I marvelled at how the kids could still prance around the house when they registered higher temperatures than I did.

Went to the doc the next day but could only take mild med cos i am still breastfeeding Thane. By Wednesday, my fever still had not subsided, my throat was killing me and i had frequent bouts of diarrhea too. I felt so nauseous and bloated and could hardly sleep, i was feeling that uncomfortable. I couldnt take it any more and went back to the doc to beg for stronger med and some antibiotics.

Thursday came and went and i wasnt any better. Thankfully, the mum of one of Terelle's classmates volunteered to help me send and fetch her to school. I was so weak i could hardly stand. All i could manage to do was drag myself from the bed to the toilet and back again.

Hubby had to leave for a business trip on Friday and i was still burning. I was also getting frustrated and helpless that i couldnt shake the darn bug. This was one of the rare times i was so sick!

My fever only finally subsided on Saturday and by Sunday, i was 80% back to normal. 7 feverish, comatosa days! Well i lost some weight in the process...only good thing that came out of it. *grin*

But that wasnt the end.
Hubby left for his business trip already nursing a sore throat. He came back on Sunday and by Monday, it was his turn to burn up. The doc only gave him a 3 day course of antibiotics but after the 3rd day, all his symptoms abated so he thought he had fully recovered.

Alas the nasty bug fought back with a vengeance and by that sunday, he had chills and a fever again, in addition to a chesty cough which left him breathless.

A 2nd visit to a different doc, some new med and 3 days later, still no improvement. In fact he seemed to have deteriorated, with his phlegm showing streaks of blood.*gasp*

A 3rd visit to the original doc returned a dire prognosis - bronchitis, the bug was now ravaging his lungs. She prescribed a stronger antibiotic and warned him that if he got any worse, he would have to go to the hospital to be treated for pneumonia.

And so, as i write this, he has already been on the new course of antibiotics for a week and is due for a review tomorrow. Hopefully he is finally on the mend.

Conclusion: Same bug, different manifestation...and Terelle is the strongest of us all?

Sibling Dynamics

Ive been observing the siblings interacting with each other and im greatly amused by their antics.

Scenario 1:

Im about to leave the house with Terelle, we are going to watch a play. She gleefully skips over to where her brother is playing quietly and taunts him.

Terelle: Oei Baby! Mummy is bringing me out! We are going to a PLAY. A PLAY, you know what that is? Its for MUMMIES AND BIG KIDS, babies are not allowed! Whahahaha!

Thane: (Realises that he wont be going out with us)

*Starts howling and clings to my leg*

Terelle: Stop crying baby, u cant go out! CANT GO OUT! hahahhaha!

Thane: *Yells louder*

Me, i have to pacify him by telling him that i promise to bring him out the next day, ALONE, without his sister.

He seems to understand and allows himself to be carried away by our helper, back into the house, but not without protest.

Terelle continues her ribbing all the way down the corridor.

My poor son lingering forlornly by the gate

I tell her that when i bring Baby out the next day, it will be her turn to stay home.

She is unfazed.

Scenario 2:

They are playing with their 'Monster vs Aliens' toys from MacDonalds.

Thane wants The Missing Link but Terelle refuses to give it to him, cos she is using him to stage an epic battle with Galaxxar.

He yells, they fight, i manage to break it up.

Awhile later, Thane somehow manages to get his hands on The Missing Link. However, he wants to watch a repeat of the battle so he offers him to Terelle and indicates that he wants to watch Galaxxar pummel the fish-man.

She, by now, is bored and doesnt want that toy.

He insists that she take it.

She yells, they fight.

I laugh.

Scenario 3:

Naptime. They climb into the cot beside the window and look out at the park below and the opposite block.

They are both clutching their beloved blankies and Terelle is pointing out nothing much in particular to her brother.

But he is enthralled and they both go "ooh" and "aah" at everything and anything.

I sit by the side, watching and feeling glad that they have one another for company.

Scenario 4:

Dinnertime. They sit side by side at the table.

Terelle puts her elbows on the table very near to Thane.

He decides that she is invading his personal space and tries to push her arms off the table.

She finds is hilarious that he is geting riled up and refuses to budge.

He yells and starts hitting her.

She screams for me and starts complaining.

I dont know if i should laugh or scold them.

Scenario 5:

We are in the taxi. Thane suddenly decides that he would like to attempt to call his sister.

Thane: *Softly with a shy smile* Jie Jie

Terelle is overjoyed that her brother can call her at last.

Terelle: Baby call Jie Jie, baby call Jie Jie!

Thane: *louder* Jie Jie!

Terelle is really chuffed now. She yells at the top of her lungs.

Terelle: BABY CALL JIE JIE! CALL JIE JIE!

However, by now Thane has lost interest and plays with his toy.

Terelle: BABY CALL JIE JIE!!! CALL JIE JIE!!!!

He looks at her as if she's a raving lunatic.

Ive to calm her down lest the taxi uncle throws us out.

When night falls...

I hate bedtime. Absolutely detest, abhor, dread...even fear it.
Why so, u may ask?

1. The kids love to fight sleep. After the routine bedtime stories, teeth brushing and washing up, they will go to their room and laugh, squeal, bounce around, do somersaults and basically egg each other on to see who can create a greater ruckus.

No amount of yelling, threatening or scolding on my part will make them stop. Only until their last ounce of energy is spent will they lie down , exhausted but satisfied.

I cant leave them alone because they love to play rough and i have to keep an eye on the baby, lest his sister breaks his bones in her over zealous enthusiasm.

And so there i sit, in semi darkness, while they run riot beside me. And i am helpless until all their energy is exhausted.

2. Once they're pooped, I have to breastfeed Thane to sleep and keep Terelle company at the same time. If im lucky, breastfeeding him will take a mere 15min. If im not, it can drag up to 2 hours.

Left side, right side, left, right, left, right... the fussy boy just cant seem to settle.

If he's down fast enough, ill have to play dead beside Terelle till she falls asleep. Some nights she takes a long time to go down, and ill invariably end up falling asleep in a weird position, waking up with a bad crick in my neck/shoulder, totally numb arms and a pounding headache.

Again, i cant up and leave cos Terelle insists i stay. If not she will launch into her hysterics and follow me around the house, simply refusing to stay put in her room.
She claims that Baby Bone is too small to protect her from the monster in her room.


Tsk tsk, you may go. Bad sleep habits, i know, especially the breastfeeding Thane to sleep part.

Trust me, ive tried letting him fall asleep on his own. But he'll either cry himself hoarse or wait up and continue playing till i come and nurse him to sleep.

Many a time have i come home from tuition to find him still wide awake at 1030pm cos he's waiting for me. He is obviously tired, but the stubborn boy just wont rest till he's got the breasts.


3. Once they are asleep, im torn between going to bed early and catching up on my forever insufficient sleep or spending some precious quality time with hubby. Cos it is only after the kids sleep do we get to chat, watch some tv or have a bite of supper together.

I always wind up choosing hubby over sleep, resulting in an even bigger sleep debt which i dont think i can ever dream of repaying.


4. When i finally get to bed, i am thoroughly beat. I dread to think that any moment, the baby will wake and ive to go tend to him, leaving me with another night of broken sleep.

If he doesnt nurse, he will want to sleep on my chest for comfort. Imagine a 11kg weight crushing your ribcage. Sleep? What sleep?

If i ignore him, he will stuff his little fingers in my nostrils and yank my face towards him.

If i still resolutely pay no attention to him, he will start to howl. And ill surrender. Cos if he snaps out of his half asleep daze, that's it for me. He'll be bouncing off the walls for the next 2 hours.

And so ill end up spending the next half hour nursing him, me wide eyed in the dark, the rest of my family snoring contentedly around me.

We've tried letting him cry it out when he wakes but ultimately, one of us will give in, usually hubby, cos he has to work the next day.
"Just give him the breast and shut him up!", he would fume.

I would yield when his cries turn into wracking sobs that leave him shuddering for breath.

We've tried giving him water when he wakes to nurse but he takes a few sips and starts to howl again.

We've tried giving him a bottle of milk. Same thing.

We've tried singing, rocking, bouncing, talking...nothing works.
He just wants the mammaries.
Worst of all, he doesnt even drink properly. He just sucks for comfort.

Terelle, god bless her little soul, never had such sleep issues. As soon as her energy is all used up, she sleeps like a dream. No amount of screaming on her brother's part can wake her and she will sleep her requisite 10hours straight at night.
And this is on top of her standard 2 hour nap in the afternoon.

I know its bad to compare, but why is it so damn hard to put Thane to sleep?
Have i really done wrong by not inculcating good sleep habits from young?
Ill give anything if he can sleep independently without nursing and sleep throughout the night just like his sister.

As a stay at home mum, ive had to deal with many challenges regarding raising the kids; tantrums, whining, illnesses, discipline...But NOTHING, nothing comes close to dealing with Thane's sleep issues.

Because of him, im constantly tired, crabby and snapping at everyone all the time. Ive no energy for my beloved sports and can hardly engage the kids in meaningful activities in the day.

I dont know how long more of this i can take. Already my days go by in a woozy daze because i only get 5 hours (max) of broken sleep every night.

If anyone has any ideas, please give me some new insights to resolve this nightmare, if not i think ill seriously go cuckoo from lack of sleep.

Updates

"This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it."

The entire afternoon session of kindergarten kids were singing this sweet refrain as Terelle and I entered the assembly hall. Wednesday is Assembly Day where all the kids gather at the hall for half an hour of praise and worship.

Hearing this just lifted my spirits immensely. Especially when Terelle bid me a cheery goodbye and raced into the hall, yelling out "Lao Shi Wo Lai Le!" excitedly. As i walked away, i saw her form teacher embrace her in a hug and lead her to join her friends.

I feel I have really made a good choice in sending her to this school, praise God!

Anyway updates on Terelle:

1) She is finally finally off diapers , day and night! I was trying to train her to get used to the feeling of not wearing diapers at night while we were staying at my mum in law's house. I felt it was a good time to train her since she was sleeping on a mattress on the floor, so in the event of any accidents, the cheapo mattress could just be thrown away at the end of our stay.

After MANY accidents, i was finally confident enough to let her go diaperless on her actual mattress in the new house. I set my alarm clock to get up and bring her to the toilet once in the middle of the night.

After yet many more hits and misses, we have finally got it. She will pee about 3 hours after she goes to bed, then the nxt one will be when she wakes up in the morning. We have also started a sticker system where she gets one sticker for every dry night and she can exchange 10 stickers for an ice cream treat. And im proud to say she has been diaperless for the past 3 weeks with only 1 accident!

2) She is into this "princess" phase. We put a mosquito net over her bed, our aim was actually to keep her safe from the mozzie infestation affecting out block now. She views it as a princess canopy and everynight she will tell us, in the haughtiest voice she can muster, to invite Her Royal Highness to please enter her bed.

Terelle: (Looking down her little nose at us) Quick tell princess to go inside her bed!

Hb and I: (Flippantly) Princess please go inside your bed.

Terelle: Again! Ask the princess properly!!

Hb and I: (Louder and more plaintive) Preeeeeeeencess...pleassse go inside your bed.

Terelle: ok...hehehe...


Wonder how long this princess phase will last?

3) She is getting increasingly whiny and angsty. When i say she cant have something, she will go on and on asking to have it.

"But I want Mummy I want...I want it Mummy I want I want I want I want!!"

If i continue to hold fast to my decision not to let her have it, her whines will become wails and tears will start to fall, especially if she is sleepy or tired.

Otherwise, she will start hitting me and yelling, "I dont like you! I dont like you!"

Fine fine...I can live with you not liking me for awhile!

4) She takes extreme pleasure from imitating hb and I while we are talking. And when we try to talk faster and she stumbles over trying to follow us, she will squeak and squeal and double over laughing.

And it doesnt faze her if we do the same and imitate her while she is talking. She will squeak and squeal and double over laughing too.


And as for Thane:

1) The maid tells me he is an extremely good boy whenever im not at home. He will sit in the high chair and allow her to feed him his entire lunch with nary a protest, play quietly with his toys and just be a little angel.

Its a different story when im home. He screams to be let out of the chair, bats away the spoon when i try to feed him, spewing food all over himself, me and the floor. He refuses to play on his own and always just wants to be carried by me.

2) He understands many things that we say and can carry out instructions very well, like "Come here!", "Take this to Daddy", "Go wash your hands!" (at the toy kitchenette), "Cook somthing for Mummy!" (he will hold a pot over the tiny kitchenette stove).

He does a very good impression of Terelle crying, by scrunching up his face and going "Waaaaaaah!" , whenever we ask him "How does Jie Jie cry?"

He also loves to peek at our helper while she is busy in the kitchen and go "Waaaaaatssssss" , laugh cheekily and then walk away. I think he's trying to say "Whatsup", cos hb has been teaching that inane word to Terelle as a form of greeting.

3) Terelle needs a blanket whenever she goes to sleep and seeing Jie Jie with a blanket day in and day out, he's taken to wanting one for himself too. Whenever its bedtime, he will lie on it and chew the corners, making little contented noises.

Im glad they do not have a preference for a particular blanket! Any piece of cloth seems to do the job!


4) Stands up for himself whenever Jie Jie snatches things from him. Will either smack her, all the while making admonishing noises, pinch her or if she tries to run away, grab her tee shirt and pull her towards him to continue his assault and verbal "lashing". If she manages to get away, he has no choice but to scream loudly and frantically fail his arms cos he cant run fast enough as yet.

5) And last but not least. he has 7 teeth and loves eating anything that is not his own food, and that includes unedible stuff like rubber bands.

First "fight'?

We were coaxing Terelle to drink up her chinese medicine. As usual, she was doing all she can and coming up with all sorts of delay tactics to get out of it.

It had been a long day and both of us were tired, hot and bothered, and our patience was worn thin.

Hubby finally lost his cool and shouted at her to get on with it.

She grudgingly sat on the floor and indignantly downed the medicine.

Thane chose this precise moment to let out a gurgle of laughter, which sounded like he was mocking her.

The little chilli padi turned to him and grimly declared in a menacing voice that commanded no further comments
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Hubby and I could hardly keep a straight face after that. We both had to run out of the room lest we burst out laughing in front of her and lose our authority.

Uncanny coincidence

She was born on 050405
He was born on 071207
Similar date pattern

She has 7 letters in her name.
He has 5.

She turned 2 on 050407
He was made on 050407 *snigger*

She turned 3 on 050408
He started sleeping through the night on 050408

In the afternoon, both have to sleep at the same time and they will invariably wake up at the same time too!

We have an strange affinity with these 2 numbers in our daily life too. Rented wagons at the zoo, locker numbers, car park lots, receipt slips at special occasions; all bear the numbers '57'.
Sheer coincidence, you might scoff, but it has happened too many times for us to dismiss.

And the numbers 5 and 7 have an added significance, cos in the days when handphones were non existent and pagers were the hippest form of communication, i used the no 57 as my initials cos when viewed upside down, they form the letters LS.

Im so glad that sister and brother are close (so far), without me having to really try very hard. Whenever he cries, sometimes only his sister is able to make him smile with her silly antics. And whenever she cries, he invariably gets very upset too, as if he is sharing her distress.

Because of this uncanny coincidence, we have a sticker of the number 57 on our car, making us hard to miss on the roads.
So if u do see us, give us a toot and a wave! ;)

Because of you (two)

Because of you, i have a chronic back ache.

Because of you, no amount of concealer can hide my eye bags.

Because of you, i have the rusty, cloying smell of breastmilk lingering around me all the time.

Because of you, i have become a neurotic hypochondriac, for fear of passersby spreading their germs to you. I deliberately make a huge detour if someone sneezes or coughs in our path, disregarding any dirty looks from the offender. To hell with social graces! I am not risking another episode of you being so sick.

And on the same note, because of you, every little sneeze or cough of yours sends me into a frenzy and i start keeping you under surveillence and worry incessantly that you might be falling sick.

Because of you, i find myself constantly counting the no of days it takes to incubate viruses after an encounter with a sick person, heaving a sigh of relief only after the theoretical requisite no of days has passed. Only to find myself starting on another cycle of waiting with bated breath as you come into contact with yet another sick person. I am crazy and paranoid, i know, but i simply cant help it.

Because of you, somedays when things get really crazy, i feel like giving up and throwing you both out the window. When you dont want to eat the nutritious food that i have painstakingly prepared for the umpteenth time, when you have been wailing non stop because you cant have your way, when you refuse to sleep and insist on me carrying your 8kg frame and bouncing up and down like a human "yao lan" WHILE your sister is screaming and kicking me in the shins because i refuse to give her sweets before bedtime; i wish i could turn back time and not have kids in the first place.

And yet because of you, every ache and every pain melts away when you lie beside me at night and tell me that you love me out of the blue.

Because of you, i am starting to see the world through your rose tinted eyes and marvel at how innocent and untainted a child can be.

Because of you, i am learning how to stretch my patience and have become more creative at parenting.

Because of you, im glad i made the choice to stay at home and witness every single one of your milestone. Every gummy smile, every new story that you tell me about your day in school is a priceless treasure to me.

Because of you, my heart is lifted whenever you are happy and i wish you could be happy all the time.

And because of you, i have come to see a different side of the man i married. The man helps me with you whenever he can and yes, although there are limits to his patience (he is a man after all...) but i am thankful for every bedtime story read, every bathtime sorted, every meal patiently fed when i am dead on my feet from exhaustion; when he could have been enjoying his sports channel after a hard day's work.
I am thankful for his thoughtfulness with little surprises like a spa treat when i feel like i cannot deal with you anymore and i am grateful for his willingness to labor on beside me in being a hands on parent.

And though because of you our bedroom has been usurped, our couple time has dwindled to almost zilch and our almost our entire day is being monopolised by a slew of relentless whinings, demands for attention, feeds, burps and diaper changes; it makes me miss our couple time and reminisce about the those lazy, hazy days when we had the whole weekend to ourselves and could jet off on a short holiday whenever we fancied.
But yes, because of you, i have grown to love your daddy more.

Having said all that, because of you, i am still glad i have kids.

Fish bone, baby Bone?

I was feeding Terelle dinner the other night and i accidentally fed her a large fish bone together with the chunk of meat. Thank god she is a proficient spitter, her skills having been honed by countless spitting episodes of food that she does not fancy.

Out came the chunk of meat and bone and i was admonished with an exasperated look and the words " Mummy!! Baby no eat bone! Only dogs love to eat bones!!"

I should have been shocked, fearful, relieved...but i could only manage to laugh hysterically...Haha...


She has also taken to calling the new baby "Bone". I wonder isit because she heard the doctor say that he could see the baby's nasal bone while we were at my checkup.

We intend to name the baby Thane, so questions of "where is baby Thane?" nowadays, will be met with insistent yells of "Baby Bone!! Baby Bone!!"

Hubby loves to tease her by saying "Thane Thane Thane!" To which she will reply vehemently "BONE BONE BONE!!"

She can be doing her own thing; playing with her toys or reading her storybooks, but if she hears us surreptitiously mentioning Baby Thane, she will simply declare loudly "BONE!!" without even looking up from whatever she is doing.

I guess we will let her call her brother (?) whatever pet name she fancies...Guess we have to be thankful it is a cute pet name instead of something unmentionable. Imagine if she had heard the doctor saying "penis", now wouldnt that be a disaster???