Thursday, October 30, 2008
Laugh Out Loud Funny
Not the kind of reaction I was expecting when I smacked the mozzie into the wall... .
Floundering, The Video
Finally, the video, by popular request. Shot and edited entirely on my Nokia N82.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Back In Singapore
It's Day One in Singapore and I'm wondering if Sophia's suddenly forgotten that we live near the MRT track and that trains go by regularly with an alarming depth of noise. She used to be afraid only of the (stupid and totally unecessary) military jets flying overhead on their practice runs. Now she clings to me or yells out even when the train passes by. Or maybe she just wants the extra attention since 'home' is now new once again.
Yesterday after we'd just gotten home, she had a field day going through all her new old toys. She hadn't seen or played with her stuff in almost 4 weeks, so she was understandably engrossed with them for the most part of the evening that we were home. Of course, by enjoying them, she undoubtedly made a huge mess of the living room, strewing her books and toys across the couch and the living room floor. Order of the day for Sophia. Mommy is maid, cook, wet nurse, playmate, armchair and personal butler, all while nursing a malfunctioning leaky nose. In the end, I crashed with her during her naptime. A solid 2 hours of sleep did little to alleviate the nose but at least I felt rested.
One more day till the long weekend and I'm looking forward to it getting here soon.
Yesterday after we'd just gotten home, she had a field day going through all her new old toys. She hadn't seen or played with her stuff in almost 4 weeks, so she was understandably engrossed with them for the most part of the evening that we were home. Of course, by enjoying them, she undoubtedly made a huge mess of the living room, strewing her books and toys across the couch and the living room floor. Order of the day for Sophia. Mommy is maid, cook, wet nurse, playmate, armchair and personal butler, all while nursing a malfunctioning leaky nose. In the end, I crashed with her during her naptime. A solid 2 hours of sleep did little to alleviate the nose but at least I felt rested.
One more day till the long weekend and I'm looking forward to it getting here soon.
Swimming (Floundering) On Land
Sophia's found a novel way to ellicit laughs and entertain us all. She's recently started to 'swim' on demand. She started demonstrating this 'ability' about a couple of days ago but apparently my dad was the one who gave it a name one day. He saw her flopping about on the floor at home in KL one evening and asked her if she was swimming. I think she took it to mean that was what she was doing.
Now she can't wait to demonstrate this new found skill of flopping about on the floor on her belly, sometimes with legs in the air and arms behind her. She gets rather enthusiastic when she does this on her mattress and I tend to call it mattress diving because it looks exactly like what skydivers do, only they look so much cooler thousands of metres in the air and you don't laugh at them.
The things our kids learn.
And the amusement we all get from them.
Now she can't wait to demonstrate this new found skill of flopping about on the floor on her belly, sometimes with legs in the air and arms behind her. She gets rather enthusiastic when she does this on her mattress and I tend to call it mattress diving because it looks exactly like what skydivers do, only they look so much cooler thousands of metres in the air and you don't laugh at them.
The things our kids learn.
And the amusement we all get from them.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Mom and I went emergency clothes shopping the other day for Sophia. Since the decision to stay back in KL was a last minute one, and for some reason this trip I'd brought with us mainly her tank tops, she didn't have enough shirts with sleeves. Snot, sniffles, cough and tank tops do not a happy baby make.
As usual, whenever we need or want to get clothes for Sophia, our choice destination is Brands Outlet at Ikano (I found another place just as good, if not better - the BB outlet at The Curve). Our first stop was actually Mothercare at The Curve but after gasping at the prices (RM75 for a set of 3 t-shirts!), we decided to try Brands Outlet. After rummaging through the bins, we picked up a couple of passable long-sleeves and several T-shirts. One of them, found by mom, was a really cute white tee with green clovers on them. That also turned out to be my favourite. Total damage: RM75 for 2 long-sleeved tees and 3 short-sleeved ones. Quite a steal.
Anyway, when hubby came back from Singapore the following weekend, Sophie was in my favourite tee du jour, the clover tee. And then he looked at me and said, "Don't you have one that's green too with clovers that looks exactly like that?"
"No, I don't. Anyway, I didn't pick out this tee, my mom did."
"No-la. You have one just like it in Singapore."
"Are you sure? I don't remember... ."
At this point I'm wracking my brains, sure that I didn't have any such tee in my collection because if I'd had one exactly like it, I would have known. I mean, considering that I like Sophie's tee so much, if I'd had one exactly the same, I'd love it too.
"Ya-la. You have one exactly the same in Singapore!" my husband insisted.
Hmm...think, think, think.
And then...
Aha!!
"I know which one you're talking about!"
"It's my tank top that has the small little clovers with the ladybugs on them! But that's not exactly the same! The clovers are small and there are ladybugs on them!"
"It's the same!" insisted hubby again.
Hmmm...what'dya know? My mom picks out a green tee that I like which is similar to a tank top I have in Singapore. What are the odds of that? Like mother, like daughter, like daughter.
Two days ago, hubby called and told me he'd taken all the clothes hanging behind the doors to the wash.
"Hey ya-la, that top you have is exactly the same as Sophie's. It's got clovers on it and there are ladybugs but they're not on every clover. It's the same!"
Who says men don't notice what we wear?
And as soon as I get back to Singapore, I'll take a pix of both tees side by side to let everyone decide if they're alike enough.
Like mother, like daughter.
As usual, whenever we need or want to get clothes for Sophia, our choice destination is Brands Outlet at Ikano (I found another place just as good, if not better - the BB outlet at The Curve). Our first stop was actually Mothercare at The Curve but after gasping at the prices (RM75 for a set of 3 t-shirts!), we decided to try Brands Outlet. After rummaging through the bins, we picked up a couple of passable long-sleeves and several T-shirts. One of them, found by mom, was a really cute white tee with green clovers on them. That also turned out to be my favourite. Total damage: RM75 for 2 long-sleeved tees and 3 short-sleeved ones. Quite a steal.
Anyway, when hubby came back from Singapore the following weekend, Sophie was in my favourite tee du jour, the clover tee. And then he looked at me and said, "Don't you have one that's green too with clovers that looks exactly like that?"
"No, I don't. Anyway, I didn't pick out this tee, my mom did."
"No-la. You have one just like it in Singapore."
"Are you sure? I don't remember... ."
At this point I'm wracking my brains, sure that I didn't have any such tee in my collection because if I'd had one exactly like it, I would have known. I mean, considering that I like Sophie's tee so much, if I'd had one exactly the same, I'd love it too.
"Ya-la. You have one exactly the same in Singapore!" my husband insisted.
Hmm...think, think, think.
And then...
Aha!!
"I know which one you're talking about!"
"It's my tank top that has the small little clovers with the ladybugs on them! But that's not exactly the same! The clovers are small and there are ladybugs on them!"
"It's the same!" insisted hubby again.
Hmmm...what'dya know? My mom picks out a green tee that I like which is similar to a tank top I have in Singapore. What are the odds of that? Like mother, like daughter, like daughter.
Two days ago, hubby called and told me he'd taken all the clothes hanging behind the doors to the wash.
"Hey ya-la, that top you have is exactly the same as Sophie's. It's got clovers on it and there are ladybugs but they're not on every clover. It's the same!"
Who says men don't notice what we wear?
And as soon as I get back to Singapore, I'll take a pix of both tees side by side to let everyone decide if they're alike enough.
Like mother, like daughter.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
New Restraint
Thank my lucky stars!! I found a new pacifier clip for Sophie.
This one fastens on to her clothing with a secure pin and the end that attaches to the pacifier requires some finesse with the catch. Her old pacifier clip was a cute orange cat the clipped onto her clothes and the pacifier is attached on with a velcro strap. Little wonder that the kid figured out how to unstrap her pacifier and chuck it to the ground.
I'd like to see her do battle with this one when we're out and about town. Hah!
This one fastens on to her clothing with a secure pin and the end that attaches to the pacifier requires some finesse with the catch. Her old pacifier clip was a cute orange cat the clipped onto her clothes and the pacifier is attached on with a velcro strap. Little wonder that the kid figured out how to unstrap her pacifier and chuck it to the ground.
I'd like to see her do battle with this one when we're out and about town. Hah!
Stuck In KL...Still
In case you get confused reading the posts, we're still stuck in KL and the last few posts after the battle at the doc's are actually what we did before coming back to KL for raya.
I'm not THAT bad a mom as to chuck Sophie into the pool while she's still having a cough and a cold.
And no, my KL couch does not have a floral motif.
I'm not THAT bad a mom as to chuck Sophie into the pool while she's still having a cough and a cold.
And no, my KL couch does not have a floral motif.
Fun At The Zoo
Lots of water to play in and she prefers to pick the leaves out of the pool.
Yes, there she is, trying to get a drink out of a cootie-infested cesspool.
Splash, splash, splash! Sorry you have to go topless, babe.
Mom forgot about the water park therefore, no swimsuit.
Come a little closer.
Since getting the park hopper annual membership (it allows us entry as a family and with two sets of granparents, to get in FOC to the bird park, zoo and night safari), we've been to the zoo twice in a matter a week and before that, the bird park. All these visits in under a month! Wow, can you tell we're trying to make our membership's worth?
Other than that, the zoo and the bird park are actually pretty decent. More than decent, if you compare it to the KL Zoo. And lookit, I actually am not screaming and yelling my head off to GET MY DAUGHTER OUT OF THE PUBLIC WATER FEATURE!! WHO KNOWS WHEN THEY CLEANED IT?!! WHO KNOWS WHAT MANNER OF VERMIN IS IN THERE!!! No, here I actually want her to go and have fun in the water park. It actually looks decently C.L.E.A.N.!! Even though there are tons of other kids spreading their cooties around. It IS Singapore, after all.
And so in she went even though we had no towel and just one change of clothing. Who knew when we'd be back here again? Might as well let her have fun while we're here. Plus, it was another one of those humid days. Just hope when she's an adult (or worse, a teenager!), she doesn't look back on all the posts of her half-naked and start screaming blurdy murder that mom exposed her for all the world to see.
Since getting the park hopper annual membership (it allows us entry as a family and with two sets of granparents, to get in FOC to the bird park, zoo and night safari), we've been to the zoo twice in a matter a week and before that, the bird park. All these visits in under a month! Wow, can you tell we're trying to make our membership's worth?
Other than that, the zoo and the bird park are actually pretty decent. More than decent, if you compare it to the KL Zoo. And lookit, I actually am not screaming and yelling my head off to GET MY DAUGHTER OUT OF THE PUBLIC WATER FEATURE!! WHO KNOWS WHEN THEY CLEANED IT?!! WHO KNOWS WHAT MANNER OF VERMIN IS IN THERE!!! No, here I actually want her to go and have fun in the water park. It actually looks decently C.L.E.A.N.!! Even though there are tons of other kids spreading their cooties around. It IS Singapore, after all.
And so in she went even though we had no towel and just one change of clothing. Who knew when we'd be back here again? Might as well let her have fun while we're here. Plus, it was another one of those humid days. Just hope when she's an adult (or worse, a teenager!), she doesn't look back on all the posts of her half-naked and start screaming blurdy murder that mom exposed her for all the world to see.
The Snack Monster
She learnt how to say 'snack' several weeks back (nack, nack!) and I got her the Munchkins snack cup because it's so cool! She can stick her whole hand in to grab her snacks but the snacks won't drop out. It's not airtight but it beats holding on to her tupperware and opening it to give her the snacks every other minute when she wants them.
Here, she's watching TV and enjoying just sitting around, munching and being a general couch potato.
Battle With The Nebulizer
We went back to the doc's today for a follow-up check. Sophie's cough didn't seem to be getting any better and her meds are running out, so I thought it'd be a good time to see if we needed more and what else needed to be done.
It was good that we went to see the doc. She had lots of phlegm and her oral thrush is still fixated inside her left cheek, argh! So, the decision was made to put her on the nebulizer for her phlegm and to give her more meds for her thrush.
The nebulizer's somewhat an electric inhaler. It spews medicated steam which the child is supposed to breathe in. If just getting Sophie to open her mouth so that we can take a look at the progress of the thrush meds was hard enough (scream, scream, struggle, struggle), you can imagine the task at hand to hold her still on my lap, place the mouth/nose piece on her face and let her breathe in the meds for 5 minutes.
It took all 5 people to adminster the nebulizer. Dr. Hon held Sophie's head while I tried to hold her as still as possible on my lap, locking her arms in a bear hug, the nurse held the nebulizer over Sophie's nose and mouth while Karni held her legs. Anyone waiting their turn in the clinic would have thought we were doing open heart surgery on the kid without anesthesia. No amount of cajoling, talking, shushing and sweet talk got through. It was struggle, struggle, scream, scream all the way, with the complaining (ah ya ya ya ya yaaaa!) thrown in for good measure.
I didn't like having to do this to her but if it was the best and quickest way to get the phlegm loosened, then there was no choice for it. I thought back to her first visit to the medical centre in Singapore for a similar cough just before we were headed back to KL some months back. The doc then had also suggested putting her on a nebulizer but we'd have to take it home and self-administer for a few days. We couldn't then because we were leaving for KL the next day. It was a good thing that we didn't. I don't think I could have managed. But then again, she was younger and smaller then.
Sigh...I think she's got a phobia of doc visits now. If the last two trips were anything to go by, she's only got horrible memories of the place. I hope we won't have to go back again soon or that even if we do, she's not gonna have to go through all that again. It would make visits to the doc an ordeal for her and harder for me.
It was good that we went to see the doc. She had lots of phlegm and her oral thrush is still fixated inside her left cheek, argh! So, the decision was made to put her on the nebulizer for her phlegm and to give her more meds for her thrush.
The nebulizer's somewhat an electric inhaler. It spews medicated steam which the child is supposed to breathe in. If just getting Sophie to open her mouth so that we can take a look at the progress of the thrush meds was hard enough (scream, scream, struggle, struggle), you can imagine the task at hand to hold her still on my lap, place the mouth/nose piece on her face and let her breathe in the meds for 5 minutes.
It took all 5 people to adminster the nebulizer. Dr. Hon held Sophie's head while I tried to hold her as still as possible on my lap, locking her arms in a bear hug, the nurse held the nebulizer over Sophie's nose and mouth while Karni held her legs. Anyone waiting their turn in the clinic would have thought we were doing open heart surgery on the kid without anesthesia. No amount of cajoling, talking, shushing and sweet talk got through. It was struggle, struggle, scream, scream all the way, with the complaining (ah ya ya ya ya yaaaa!) thrown in for good measure.
I didn't like having to do this to her but if it was the best and quickest way to get the phlegm loosened, then there was no choice for it. I thought back to her first visit to the medical centre in Singapore for a similar cough just before we were headed back to KL some months back. The doc then had also suggested putting her on a nebulizer but we'd have to take it home and self-administer for a few days. We couldn't then because we were leaving for KL the next day. It was a good thing that we didn't. I don't think I could have managed. But then again, she was younger and smaller then.
Sigh...I think she's got a phobia of doc visits now. If the last two trips were anything to go by, she's only got horrible memories of the place. I hope we won't have to go back again soon or that even if we do, she's not gonna have to go through all that again. It would make visits to the doc an ordeal for her and harder for me.
Cool In The Pool
We had quite a few sessions at the pool before we headed back to KL for raya, first just me and Sophie and then, when her kong-kong and po-po came over.
However, she mostly wants to bend over and drink the pool water.
I'm thinking: swimming lessons, soon.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Stuck In KL
This raya I've got a dearth of photos. Then again, I had a less than healthy Sophie to deal with (can you say clingy with super glue in mind?), maybe I can be excused from not having enough hands to handle my trusty Nikon.
Poor girl came down with a fever and a slight cold on the first day and got her meds from the 24-hr doc down the road. Needless to say, she was clingy and fussy and slept fitfully those few days we were in Melaka. When we got back to KL, we took her to her regular doc and what did we find? That she had oral thrush as well!
Yikes, so much for being an observant mom. I'd noticed that her lower lip looked kinda red and there was a white sore on it in Melaka but I'd written it off because I remember she'd bit her lip then. Trust me not to check the rest of her mouth.
My theory on how she got oral thrush is from her pacifier. She'd gotten the hang of undoing her pacifier from her clip (which keeps it attached to her and safe from falling) and chucking her pacifier onto the floor anytime it suits her. That's usually when we're walking from MRT station to whichever destination we're headed for. And I'd been lax in getting the pacifier entirely clean before I popped it into her mouth (I read that saliva is great for killing bacteria, so I used my own). Well, I guess that's been happening once too often and now we have the thrush to show for it. My bad.
Now we're both on meds: me for the thrush just in case she passed it on during breastfeeding and she on her cocktail of cough meds, cold meds, phlegm meds and thrush meds. She has a total of 4 syringes 2 times a day and 5 syringes before bed. We manage, amidst gurgles and screams and lots of kicking.
Her dad thought it was better for us to be in KL rather than fly back to S'pore on the intended Sunday and I reluctantly agreed. She had not slept through for a few nights and on Saturday, had woken up at 2.30am, tried unsuccessfully to sleep again but couldn't due to her blocked nose, and only knocked off at 4am in her dad's lap. Not sure whether she'd get any worse, we thought it best she be close to her doc and also that I'm not alone in S'pore since hubby will be traveling for work.
And then I thought, if we stay on for this week, it'd be pointless to go back and then fly back here again by the 18th as I have a meeting in KL on the 20th. In planning our schedules back and forth across the causeway ever since the move to S'pore, I think we're forfeited no less than 7 or 8 plane tickets between the 3 of us (including that ridiculous time when we were heading over for good but I'd read the arrival time as the departure time). Luckily, most of those were booked on budget flights. Oh, and I so prefer JetStar to Airasia for the budget flights even though the former has only one flight between KL and S'pore. At least I get to book my seat online and arrive and take-off from KLIA.
So we're stuck here and I've left off booking us a flight home till I'm sure we're going home. This time, we'll likely take SIA.
Poor girl came down with a fever and a slight cold on the first day and got her meds from the 24-hr doc down the road. Needless to say, she was clingy and fussy and slept fitfully those few days we were in Melaka. When we got back to KL, we took her to her regular doc and what did we find? That she had oral thrush as well!
Yikes, so much for being an observant mom. I'd noticed that her lower lip looked kinda red and there was a white sore on it in Melaka but I'd written it off because I remember she'd bit her lip then. Trust me not to check the rest of her mouth.
My theory on how she got oral thrush is from her pacifier. She'd gotten the hang of undoing her pacifier from her clip (which keeps it attached to her and safe from falling) and chucking her pacifier onto the floor anytime it suits her. That's usually when we're walking from MRT station to whichever destination we're headed for. And I'd been lax in getting the pacifier entirely clean before I popped it into her mouth (I read that saliva is great for killing bacteria, so I used my own). Well, I guess that's been happening once too often and now we have the thrush to show for it. My bad.
Now we're both on meds: me for the thrush just in case she passed it on during breastfeeding and she on her cocktail of cough meds, cold meds, phlegm meds and thrush meds. She has a total of 4 syringes 2 times a day and 5 syringes before bed. We manage, amidst gurgles and screams and lots of kicking.
Her dad thought it was better for us to be in KL rather than fly back to S'pore on the intended Sunday and I reluctantly agreed. She had not slept through for a few nights and on Saturday, had woken up at 2.30am, tried unsuccessfully to sleep again but couldn't due to her blocked nose, and only knocked off at 4am in her dad's lap. Not sure whether she'd get any worse, we thought it best she be close to her doc and also that I'm not alone in S'pore since hubby will be traveling for work.
And then I thought, if we stay on for this week, it'd be pointless to go back and then fly back here again by the 18th as I have a meeting in KL on the 20th. In planning our schedules back and forth across the causeway ever since the move to S'pore, I think we're forfeited no less than 7 or 8 plane tickets between the 3 of us (including that ridiculous time when we were heading over for good but I'd read the arrival time as the departure time). Luckily, most of those were booked on budget flights. Oh, and I so prefer JetStar to Airasia for the budget flights even though the former has only one flight between KL and S'pore. At least I get to book my seat online and arrive and take-off from KLIA.
So we're stuck here and I've left off booking us a flight home till I'm sure we're going home. This time, we'll likely take SIA.
I'm Cool, Are You?
I forgot about this pic we took at the bird park. It was so humid and she was so sticky that we decided to let her 'air' herself for a bit under a nice shade by the eagle pens.
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