41 degrees celsius

han suffered from bad tonsillitis & a burning fever of 41 degrees celsius last week! i thought it was just the common viral fever he normally gets & have been inserting suppository (paracetamol 125mg) into him every 4 hours but his fever hardly subsided. ah kong & ah ma did cold compress on him while we were at work & that didn't help much.

about 9pm last thursday night, hubs & i rushed him to the clinic. doc was very surprised by his high temperature, immediately checked his throat & confirmed it as inflamed tonsils. nurse was asked to insert a double dose of suppository (paracetamol 250mg) into him right away. doc asked us if we'd a wet towel so that we can keep him cool on our way home. she was afraid that the extreme heat in his body could cause fits. doc also prescribed han with 5 types of medication, 1 being the antibiotic.

the moment we reached home, upon doc's advise, we gave him his medicated syrups which made him cry inconsolably, then took off all his clothes, got a big damp towel to cover him & a bigger but dry towel on top of the wet one ~ this lasted til 1am before his body temperature reduced to almost room temperature. lil han slept like he has never slept in days after that. poor baby!

a recovering & happier han ~ playfully kicking a basketball

what an ordeal we all went through! i thank GOD for protecting him...

mommy's new year resolutions

i reckon resolutions are tricky biz. i make them with much enthusiasm & lose it before middle of the year whether i wrote them down or not. bravo to those who have successfully fulfilled their 2006 resolution/s! * give yourself a pat on the back *

after going through 4 years of motherhood, i know i lack pretty much a lot of areas in parenting & still need to fine-tune them. i'd say that since entering into motherhood & going through parenting 101 briefly & quickly with major hiccups along the way, my resolutions for the past years revolve around becoming a better parent especially in the department of...

PATIENCE
yup, the virtue of patience is the hardest one for me. in the beginning i'm like, 'yeah, i can do this. i'm rather patient. piece of cake.' but hey no, with kids it's totally different, the minute i lose my cool & that includes counting up to 10, if nicer, i'd count more ~ agitation, annoyance, edginess, intolerance, irritability, snappiness start creeping in & get the better of me! so yeah, i'm stuck with refining this virtue forever!

i notice that grandparents have the most patience with their grandkids. i've seen dad potty train an when he was younger. he'd sit there supporting an (when an was still rather wobbly with the sitting position i.e.), waiting patiently for him to do or finish up his lil biz. i sure hope when i get to my golden age, i'd have obtained a higher level of patience :o)

& having a BIGGER HEART
i need a heart enlargement & enhancement for all the many unexpected roller coaster rides i've been getting as a parent & the many more to come. bless my heart!

i think it'd be awesome if mtv boiling points could do one of their shows on parent & child in a given scenario to test the tolerance level of either parent. that'd be tough huh (on the parent) since it'd be aired on national tv one time or the other. anyway, just a humourous thought ~ hehe!

lil han's signature smile

whenever i ask han to smile for me, he'd give me the same cheeky smile & i therefore declare it his signature smile. sometimes i've 101 things on my mind (don't we all!), meticulously listing out the things i've done & the things i still need to do BUT this smiley face of his puts a full stop to all that & makes me laugh instead!

the twelve days of christmas

this is one the catchiest christmas songs i know & it gets me singing or humming the tune. hooray! it's 12 more days to christmas! i'm a kid again, doing my very own christmas countdown. come! sing along with me...

on the first day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
a partridge in a pear tree...

on the second day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
two turtle doves...

on the third day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
three french hens...

on the fourth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
four calling birds...

on the fifth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
five golden rings...

on the sixth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
six geese a-laying...

on the seventh day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
seven swans a-swimming...

on the eighth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
eight maids a-milking...

on the ninth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
nine ladies dancing...

on the tenth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
ten lords a-leaping...

on the eleventh day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
eleven pipers piping...

on the twelfth day of christmas,
my true love sent to me
twelve drummers drumming...

colours, colours & more colours!

this is an's box of crayons.
i was fascinated with the way it looked after it was being used,
i.e. carelessly placed back into the box by a child.


this is an's palette.
i love the mixture of colours on it
which gives the palette a festive quality.


this is an's sponge.
he uses the sponge to create patterns
instead of the usual brushes.
i call it sponge painting :o)

this is an up-close view of the sponge.
i think it's an art by itself.
i only noticed the beautiful bright colours
when i looked at it closely & decided to capture it.

lil drummer boys

come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
a new born KING to see, pa rum pum pum pum
our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
to lay before the king, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum rum pum pum pum...

the 2 boys are actually playing with the miniature version of the chinese drum which was bought 2 years ago for big bro an before the chinese new year!

they'd normally fight over it but the above shot is one that i took with them SHARING the drum ~ the one & only shot i must add!

having said that, the picture on the left is lil han having full possession of the drum. he'll not give it up even when he's not playing with it. yup, that's him reading in his fav chair with the drum right in front of him, protecting it with dear life!

snowmen collector

i've decorated our bedroom (for the boys' sake) with christmas stockings, reindeer & snowmen (my fav)! i'm currently building my collection of snowmen which began 2 christmas-es ago. i'd go high & low looking for snowmen in any shapes & sizes. the ones on the wall are (drum roll please)...

my homemade snowman & nope, i haven't given him a name. i made him last year ~ my 1st amateurish attempt! i think it'd be nice having a collection of homemade snowmen if given the time to make them :o)

next is my cherished musical snowmen stocking ~ purchased 2 years ago. it was the one & only one left hanging in the store & i knew i've got to have it. of course many other christmas stockings were for sale but not with snowmen on them! i particularly like this one cos at that time i was 6 months pregnant with lil han & there were 2 snowmen on the stocking, one bigger than the other. so i thought to myself, 'perfect! one is an & the lil one is han.'

this one i bought for RM2 (a real bargain) was initially a key ring but i took off the metal ring & attached a thread to it instead to turn it into a christmas ornament.

finally, the cute reindeer stockings ~ the only non-snowman related, is hung on the wall. dad & mom purchased it 4 years ago from sydney, downunder. it's a long stretch of reindeer with the 25 days christmas countdown on each stocking.

our tree in the living room isn't up yet. i've got matching snowmen & baubles for it from last year ~ can't wait to set it up!

happy decorating y'all :o)

noah van gogh

i'm so proud of an for producing this artwork, among others. he normally does his painting at the back of the house. he has his lil art corner at the shaded area of the back, so whenever he feels like it, he can crayon or paint away! he'll do a few quick pieces at one time & the one below caught my eyes instantly with its colourful display of splashed paints!

i've asked him the meaning of his abstract painting

& here's what a future noah van gogh has to say:

title: windmill

• the big splash of bright blue is the windmill
• the bluish green zigzag on the top-left is lightning
• the multicoloured spots is rain

i was indeed impressed with his explanation.
an, in his painting, was envisioning
a windmill on a stormy day.

holiday projects

an hol activities include attending classes mainly for crafts & play. it's only his 1st week & he has produced 3 beautiful handcrafts. i believe his teacher had put in most of the work but to think that he was involved in the process of creating them is definitely worthwhile. an gets all excited every time he has something new to show me. it's a joy to know that he's having fun!

being a parent, learning from trial & error (heaps of it i must say!), or constantly reading anything & everything that's parent-child related to exchanging info with other mommies about what's best for our kids ~ i, for one, would like to give our boys an educational experience that's truly wholesome, an equal balance of work & play i.e. i want them to learn at their own pace + space & i pray i'd never ever compel them into something they're not into even if i, their mommy, consider it to be otherwise. education is an important aspect of life, but for me, striking a balance in life is a bigger deal.

anyway, having said all that, mom told me that an will be baking cookies today. yeah for him!

glittering, green-eyed snake

funky checked, old school dino

hippy tie-dye cloth

last day of school

it was the last song performed by all the students of the kindergarten & an looked happiest. he'd been asking me day after day whether tomorrow & the day after tomorrow is a school holiday. sometimes he'll show me his 2 hands with 10 fingers standing uprightly & ask me, 'mommy, i've this many holidays?' ~ so cute when he does that! i then assure him he has more holidays than his 10 fingers & that answer always makes his day!

who wouldn't want to be a kid? it's so much fun that i miss it myself! haha!

i love christmas-es!!!

i know it's early november ~ can't help BUT get excited over the fact that christmas is only a month away! i'm a kid again! yeah! jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...oops, getting carried away now am i :o)

5 reasons why i love christmas...

1. the birth of CHRIST which brings renewed faith, hope, immense LOVE & a rejoicing spirit!

2. a time of recollection & thankfulness

3. reunion of loved ones, near & far

4. shopping for pressies (i'd be lying if i excluded shopping ~ hehe!), wrapping them up & designing my own gift tags

5. christmas songs, big green trees, pretty decorations & beautiful, glittering lights

reminiscing

celebrating an...
4 years of wonderful memories...
more to come...

11 weeks old foetus

2 hours old

15 weeks old

11 months old

today...coming to 4 ½ years old

brotherhood

the long raya break was awesome. i’d 5 days off including the weekend. swell!

an is also free from school for a week, so timing was perfect. at least i get to spend more time with him, if not the whole 1 week. it was pretty restful, nerve-wracking @ times (especially when i needed to get some cleaning done pronto) but other than that, sweeeeet!

i learnt a lot about my 2 boys during this time. an has gradually, from my observation, developed a sense of responsibility toward his younger bro. he has grown into a much loving & caring older bro, plus can be very protective over lil han. for instance…

when passing han’s babysitter’s home during the hols…
daddy: we’ll be sending ti-ti to aunty's place.
an: no! i don’t want him to go there.

after having scolded han for being repeatedly naughty…
an: mommy, don’t scold ti-ti ok. he’s still small.
mommy: ok (touched by his concern).

when han was playing with a musical toy & no sound was coming out of it…
an: mommy, it’s off, i’ll turn it on for him (then turns ON the toy for his bro).

on the contrary, lil han loves the attention when big bro isn’t around. when an was over at grandma’s place, this is what happened…

mommy: where’s ah-hia*? (*ah-hia is older bro in hokkien)
han: (smiling) huh…?
mommy: call ah-hia.
han: (still smiling with the i-pretend-not-to-know look on his face) huh…?

despite the brotherly squabbles, sibling rivalry & whatnot, they are inseparable. i truly take pleasure in watching them play, giggle away, tickling each other, having the time of their lives ~ moments i'll absolutely cherish forever!

an & han watching fun song factory with undivided attention.

mommy's lil helpers

this is what happened when mommy did laundry during the weekend ~ the boys had a ball playing cleanup.

introducing my horse, mr moppy

giddyup horsy!

don't miss the spot there

who left this piece of junk on the floor?

can we clean up? YES WE CAN!

our very FIRST family vacation

DESTINATION…
manila

DURATION…
4 days, 3 nights

PACKING…
was hard cos i wasn’t sure where to start! i knew what to pack for hubs & myself but for 2 kids?!? now i know what mommies go thru when they pack for everyone. i brought everything extra for the kids, just in case.

AIR TRAVEL…
was great. i thank GOD that the kids were alright with the take off & didn’t fuss in the air. i was a bit concerned beforehand but lil han surprised me when he dozed off after we've all settled comfortably in our seats, before take off i.e.

BUS RIDE…
from clark international airport to metro manila went smoothly except for the heavy traffic flow. we arrived on a saturday, hence the jam. it'd normally take 2 hours or less to get there from the airport but the plus side was that we got to see the outskirts of the city.

ACCOMODATION...
edsa shangri-la. beautiful hotel. very cozy. scrumptious breakfast. need i say more :o)

SHOPPING...
was my main intention. haha! i was told by many that manila is a shopping paradise. i shopped mostly for the boys & YES, i definitely see more choices & greater bargains there! we managed to experience the last day of sale in asia's largest mall, a.k.a. the mega mall manila.

the best part about this shopping centre is that there are strollers for rent. we rented one for P180 (approximately RM13.23) to last the whole day. i carried lil han while big bro an sat contentedly in the stroller when he's tired from walking.

i for one love shoes & bags & i got to see so many - it's crazy! i'll have to go shopping for ME on our next trip. yup, there'll be a next trip. i'll make it a MUST :o)

of course not all is perfect. the kids did get cranky & lil han wanted ne-nen all the time! so he was hanging onto me 24-7! i'd really have to put us in the marsupial category - i'm mama kanga & lil han is baby roo.

we headed to greenhills on the second day of our travel. i absolutely enjoyed this place. it's a flea market-cum-shopping mall under one roof, selling all sorts. i love flea markets! hubs & nico, my BIL babysat the boys so that faridah, my soon-to-be SIL & myself can go bargain hunting. i'll give her 2 thumbs up for being a hard bargainer.

PICTURES...
were hardly taken since lil han was extremely attached to me. hubs managed to snap a few, so here goes...

lil han twisting away in bathroom slippers

outside the hotel - an made sure daddy took a picture of him with the water jetting upwards

big bro an sure likes fountains - big & small

outside teriyaki boy, waiting for our table

NICE BREAK...
for all of us. i'm grateful...

déjà vu

i sent big bro an to school yesterday. as we reached the school gate, he turned to look at me & spoke in a small voice…

an: mommy, where are my books? feeling the weight of his bag.
me: you need your books for school?
an: nodded his head with a shy smile.
me: looked at him in the eye & couldn’t help but smile too. we ended up having a good laugh.

so i reversed & we went back to get his books. thank goodness his school is just LITERALLY around the block.

the reason why his books were left at home was cos he’d to revise them for the coming assessments. normally their books are kept in school, therefore i wasn't aware of his missing books earlier on. as i put them into his bag, he proceeded to ask me…

an: is my water bottle in the bag?
me: yes.
an: is my container in the bag?
me: yes.
an: what’s in my container?
me: don't know. ah ma prepared something for you. you’ll have to wait & see in school.

the part about him forgetting his books & his need to get his books before school made me recall my childhood days (miss it!). there were days when i accidently left a text/work book at home & how i've asked dad to turn back so that i could go home to get it. i’d feel really bad then & i’m sure an was feeling the same when he forgot his books.

i’m pround of him, proud that he is being a responsible student, young as he is :o)

picturesque sunset @ tanjung aru beach

sunday, 10 september 2006, the famous 4 headed to tanjung aru beach for the grand viewing of a magnificent sunset. we got front row seats as well!

an loves the sunset & it's one of the lil miracles in life that i know i tend to forget/overlook. he gets excited over it & asks a zillion questions as to the whys & hows of a sunset plus he can be so mechanical about it! he's 4 & very inquisitive!

this picture was taken by hubs. not a bad shot!

love the colours of the sky!

one…two…LIFT!

despite having a busy schedule, i relax by taking pictures of my boys in their most carefree state. i learn to liberate myself more by watching them. why take life so seriously? a question i constantly ask myself.

thanks to my SIL, i did find the next best thing, i.e. work that gives me access to weekends/public hols with my truckers. whoopee! no more working on saturdays, sundays (occasionally) & public hols! i say AMEN to that! so nope, i won’t be officially a SAHM but i’ll certainly have more time with big bro an & lil han.

dad’s youngest sis, we call her se ko (youngest aunty) came down from kota belud last friday with heaps of fresh goodies including coconuts. lil han couldn’t resist them & observed the coconuts from every angle. he kept saying, “kick the ball. kick the ball.” he’d normally say that when he’s about to kick one. we’d to explain to him that coconuts aren’t balls & he’s not to kick them ever. big ouch there!

here's han trying to be hercules. he must be thinking that coconuts are extraordinary balls – they’re hard & positively HEAVY!

my lil han-ney bunny

busy bee

i’ve been bogged down by work lately - who isn’t? i’m taking a breather, a short one before the workload comes again. ah, nice ^_^

i’m alright really as i’m going to be a SAHM again (mid of next month) until i find the next best thing. yippee! this time i’ll have my long awaited BREAK for sure! what a relief!

one night, big bro an said to me, “mommy you don’t go to work tomorrow. i’ll share the cheezels ah ma bought for me with you.” i smiled at him. he then proceeded to say, “you understand?” i almost burst out laughing. how cute! he was sounding so much like the parent. tsk tsk tsk!

i’ve probably said this a zillion times but time truly flies in just a blink of an eye.