Itsy Bitsy Etsy

Etsy's been around for yonks and I've known of its existence ever since I can remember. But I've never been tempted to trawl for stuff there.

That's all changed. A few days ago, I wound up on the site and well, let's just say I haven't been able to not visit the site on a daily basis. I have bought only from one seller but I've got a list of favourites.

Luckily, some of the sellers don't ship overseas. And I'm also mostly a miser. Although a compulsive shopper at that. The two don't gel but most times, the compulsiveness wins.

So while I've been trying to regularly post photos on my alterna site (even that's kinda stalled for the moment), I've been pretty much quiet on the refried brains front. It may stay that way and I may end up hiccuping along for a bit.

Now, excuse me while I shop.

Sales In Singapore

I'd forgotten why I'd avoided sales all this while. Trying to manouvre Sophie around in her stroller at Robinsons in Raffles City, it didn't take much to remind me why I'd rather shop during non-sales periods. The sheer number of people compounded with the long queues at the cashier and the difficulty in trying get through narrow aisles crammed with people are but some of the put-offs that have encouraged me to pay for my merchandise at full price. It totally turned me off trying on shoes and clothes.

I was luckier at Plaza Singapura; just by sheer luck I found a glittery dress in a style that I liked at Dorothy Perkins and good thing I had on my tank top so I could just slip it on and look at myself in the shop mirror without having to queue for a fitting room. Just my luck also that it happened to be the last piece on the rack in my size. 50% off! Wow. Talk about destiny.

All I need to complete my look for the eventual, still as yet unconfirmed New Year's Eve party is a pair of shoes to go with the dress.

Should I bother with shopping this weekend? Maybe I'll get lucky at Parkway Parade, who knows?

Another Shopping Spree

Daddy survived the weekend shopping spree together with three women in tow. This time we hit The Curve and Ikano. Sophia and I got to use the baby care room at Ikano, Kiew che got herself a few clothes from Brands Outlet and Daddy got two Disney DVDs. Mommy went overboard and bought two onesies for Sophia even though she probably has enough onesies to last her for a few more months.

Noted on our trip out on Sunday: either there are a very large number of families with babies or toddlers living in and visiting Ikano/The Curve or we are just noticing the fact because we're pushing Sophia in her stroller along and we are one of these families as well.

Note to developers and mall management: we need more baby care/parenting rooms in your malls.

Shopping Spree

Po po, Sophia, Kiew Che and I bundled ourselves out to 1U yesterday. After almost two months cooped up in the house, it's got to be good for Kiew Che and Sophia to be out and about. Objective of the day? To look for a Tefal pan for Kiew Che and more clothes for Sophia. Her nenek had bought some clothes for her earlier in the week; unfortunately, she'll have to be a bit bigger to wear them. In the meantime, Kiew Che and I had cleared out a pile of clothes that were either too short, too tight or too small for her, which left her with too few long-sleeved pyjama tops that fit just right (a few of them do, most of them are too big), hence the need to buy her a few more shirts to tie her over till she gets big enough for the ones that she's not wearing now.

Sophia and I got to use the parenting room at Parkson right in the middle of po po and Kiew che's lunch. I thought it was a much better (cleaner, drier and less pungent) alternative to the toilets. Too bad there's only one parenting room in the over-extended playground that is 1U. Well, at least there's only one that I know of. And luckily we were in the middle of the mall and not at the other end that is Jusco. If I'd had to wheel Sophia from the Jusco end to the Parkson end, she'd have cried enough to fill a 9oz bottle, much more than I'd be able to replenish for her in one feed.

In any case, our outing went off without a hitch and we all returned whole and undamaged. Although Sophia, excited from her trip out, hardly slept so much as two seconds even in the car ride home. Nor did she nap when she got home. Excited from her trip she stayed awake for much of the evening all the way till her last meal at midnight.

It's so much fun bringing her out (though a bit of a hassle with the stroller and bag and looking for a place to breastfeed) that I wouldn't mind heading out again this weekend. This time, with daddy along.

What I Did Just To Use My Vouchers

I had RM30 worth of Ikea vouchers with me. Unfortunately I forgot to use them at the checkout and the amount on credit was approved in record time. I whisked out my vouchers just as the receipt for approval came spitting out of the machine.

Argh. The vouchers expire end July and I had already gotten all I needed from Ikea.

"Why don't you go return one of the items you got and then buy it again using your vouchers?" came Chin Lai's handy response.

"Really ah? You mean now? Sure ah? REALLY?"

I don't ever recall returning something at Ikea right after I'd bought it. This would be a first.

"Sure ah?" I asked one last time at the Returns & Exchange Counter.

"Why not?" said sis. "He does it all the time!"

So I took a number and stood by my trolley as Chin Lai and sis sat down and waited.

And waited. And. Waited.

I mouthed to Chin Lai from where I was standing, "I should have gone in first, got the other one, paid for it while using the coupons then come back here and I'd still be in line."

In the end, I gave him the cash and the coupons, he went in to get what I needed while I was being tended to by the customer service rep.

"I realized I didnt' need this AFTER I bought it," I lied to her while waiting for lightning to strike me down.

Five minutes later, the amount was refunded and we were on our way to meet Chin Lai at the checkout lane.

Mission accomplished.

As if I haven't Bought Enough Baby Stuff

A friend insisted we go baby shopping today. I must say that shopping with someone who's given birth before is so much more fun than going on my own. Lots of advice and tips were given out while we looked for essentials. Here's what I ended up with:


1. Bottle warmer. Great for night feeds when you're too tired to mix in the formula with hot and/or cold water. "Just keep some water in the bottle, make sure it's warm, add in the formula, shake it and your baby's ready to go. It's worth the investment because you can use it until they're two or so."


2. Pacifier. "We tried not using it at all and then not too often. But you never know when you need it."


3. Compartmentalised formula container. "Just pour the formula into the warmed bottle and you're done!"


4. Rubberised baby change mat. "You need this because you never know if or when the baby's gonna pee when you change him/her." Yikes.


5. Non-slip baby mat for tub. "Useful because it helps to keep the baby in position in the tub."


6. Talc container with puff. Self-explanatory.


7. Baby oil. For myself more than the baby, since I bought a really small bottle to begin with and it's running out (didn't expect to use such copious amounts at this late stage).

The Slow Ride to the Long Way Down

They say that having kids will deplete your financial resources and probably sink you into the depths of bankruptcy.

How true.

A few weeks ago, we splurged on a Peg Perego stroller + baby car seat combo package. Let's just say I could probably get an iPod Nano and more with the amount we forked over. We have yet to get the breast pumps, bottles, teats and other nursing paraphernalia that we will need later on. Since Rizal will be in Singapore during June, and those items are slightly cheaper across the causeway, we may just wait for the Great Singapore Sale to kick off then before we buy anything related to bottles and teats and pumps.

Just today, we schlepped from one end of 1U - Jusco - to the other end - Parkson - just so we could take advantage of the sales at Parkson for some baby clothes. Not that there was much of a price discount. Would 10% be considered reasonable? We ended up with two pairs of Pigeon brand front-button-down t-shirts with pants and two pairs of booties + mittens, the sum amount of which came up to about RM55. That's just two pairs each. I refrained from buying any other items because I know for a fact that the Parkson at Subang Parade has a 50% discount on some Anakku garments which I could possibly live with putting on my child.

Of course, she will have to alternate between blue and pink items. In this day and age, they still produce items of clothing in stereotypical blue or pink. You'd think that baby garment manufacturers would wise up and just make clothes in multi-gender colours like green or yellow or white. Well, actually they do. It's probably because parents are wising up and buying clothes in these colours that they have to heavily discount the ubiquitous pink and blue items.

So it will be back to Subang Parade to buy a piece each of blue and pink shirts at a bargain RM5 -RM6 per piece. Two for the price of one!!

I am all for bargains. After all, we haven't even gone into the kid's education fund yet. What about further follow-up visits to the paediatrician and other important things in life we will have to spend on her? And the other kids?

God help us all.