Random Happenings

Last Saturday

The four of us went to Empire for Christmas shopping and dinner.

For the first time.

As a family.

It was fun but it was also stressful.

Had to feed Dylan in Madam Kwan when SK wanted to stop there for early dinner.

At 6pm.

Of course, only he (and Dylan), had their food.

And then when we stopped at Lameeya for proper dinner at 8.30pm, Dylan also woke up for his next feed.

I thought there was a nursing room in Tangs and rushed there with a wailing Dylan.

Only to be told that there was NO nursing room in Tangs and that the ONLY nursing room available was one floor above at the OTHER END from where I was -_-'

Well. 

At least now I know where the nursing room in Empire is.

 trying on clothes before leaving for Empire.

still could not fit into any of my skinnies.

damn!

 Renee and Dylan in the twin stroller for the first time.

both deep asleep when we arrived at Empire.

Last Sunday

Was Shanya's baptism-cum-fullmoon do at Godma's house.

We didn't go to church for the baptism.

But we made it to Godm'as house for the fullmoon luncheon.

As usual, we arrived late.

Lunch started at 2pm.

We arrived at almost 3pm *blush*

 my first ever taste of macaroons.

and it's the famous ones from Nathalie Gourmet Studios.

i'm no longer a macaroon virgin!

 Shanya Charisse Ravindran.

Born Oct 26th, 2011.

Weighing 3.55kgs at birth.

 at home before leaving for Godma's house.

holding her precious pringles.

waiting for me to finish feeding Dylan.

 a fully-fed and satisfied Dylan.

 Daddy carrying Dylan for the first time.

See how stressed up he looks.

 pretty scarves from Chiang Mai.

souvenirs from cousin Michele.

picked a turquoise one for Sarah, a reddish-orange one for Jodie and a psychedelic one for myself!

  

 4 generations in the family.

grandma, me, mummy, Dylan, Shanya, Godma, Lynette & grandpa.

Random Pictures

testing out my new toy ;)

So u think I am very free?

Yes. Looking after a house, handling a 3yo toddler and managing a newborn all at the same time is the easiest job in the world.

That's what people think. Isn't it?

Here's the reality okay.

I feel like a fucking feeding machine! Out of 24hrs in a day, I think I spend 18 freaking hours just on feeding and burping alone.

The remaining 6 hrs is used to bathe and diaper change Dylan, bathe and feed Renee, bathe and feed myself, tidy up the house (because nobody helps me!!!) and do the laundry ie. wash, dry, fold, put back in wardrobe. And all these done around Dylan's unpredictable sleeping times.

Yes. There is no 'sleep' in that list because there IS NO SLEEP!

There is no sleep during daytime because if I'm even lucky, I get at least 2 hrs straight to rush through my shower, prepare lunch and make sure Renee and I have our food.

Usually, before I can even finish lunch, Dylan wakes up dy and I end up spending the next 2 hrs feeding him and trying to put him back to sleep.

When he finally goes back to sleep, I get to finish up my already cold lunch, wash up the dishes, do laundry, tidy up the house a bit and give Renee her bath.

Usually though, I only get to finish up my lunch, wash dishes and bathe Renee before he wakes up again. Then the next 2 hrs is again spent on feeding and trying to put him back to sleep.

If I'm lucky, I get to do laundry and tidy up house. If I'm not, then that will have to wait till tomorrow, or at most times, I rush through it while leaving Dylan to wail away in his cot / basinet.

And then it's rushing to prep and feed Renee dinner, wash up dishes and then prepare Dylan for night wipe down and bed time.

All through the nite is the same thing. If I'm lucky, he sleeps straight 2 hrs before his next feed so I get sleep as well. But again, that's usually not the case.

He feeds, fusses, burps and sleeps. By the time I get my mind to relax and fall asleep, he's awake for his next feed.

Either that or I have to change his diapers.

Either that or it's because I have a snoring machine AND a squealing machine in the same room as me.

And by the time I get to have some decent sleep, it's time to wake up and start the day all over again.

No. I'm not complaining.

After all, it was my choice to stay home and look after my own children and my house.

But DO NOT, for a second, think that I'm very free at home.

DO NOT, for a second, think that I'm getting so much sleep that I 'should' wake up earlier to get more things done.

Because I am NOT free and I'm certainly NOT getting enough sleep!

So please, bear with my 'lack of patience' and my 'absentmindedness' okay.

Because I think I'm doing a pretty good job as it is already.

Unless you think you can do better?

MyCameraCouture.com

Was looking around for a nice strap for my camera but couldn't find any available here in KL. The one that I found and really liked cost about RM200 plus.

It was different from the usual black straps that comes free with purchases of camera, but not so different that I was willing to part with that kind of money for. And so, I continued my search.

You know how went you visit a site and it comes up with a list of links related to the site you're on? Well, I went onto eBay to see if the strap I liked was selling for cheaper but it was still the same price, and underneath it there was a whole list of related links and one of them was MyCameraCouture.com. 

It's a website selling only camera straps, all personally designed and custom-made by the owner of the site itself. 

And I found soooooo many that I liked!

The designs were soooooo much nicer.

AND the prices were also sooooo much cheaper!

So I bought myself 2 straps.

As a delivery present to myself.

I calculated the dates, and knew that I would be receiving it a few days after I gave birth.

Perfect!

And true enough, about a week after Dylan and I were discharged from the hospital, I received a parcel in the mail. It was from Canada.

My camera is totally rocking it's new look.

And I'm totally loving my cam's new look.

Oh.

And both straps PLUS shipping cost me only RM180 plus.

Juggling

So it's almost 6 days since Dylan joined our little family and he's been a joy to have around. No doubt the day and night feeds, the pooping and the changing of a million diapers a day has tired both SK and I out but we're not complaining.

In fact, so far Dylan has been a pretty easy baby to handle. He wakes for his feeds and when he has had enough, he sleeps for 3 hours, allowing me to take my shower, have my lunch, feed Renee her lunch and even some extra time just to sit back and relax a little. I hope i didn't jinx it by blogging about it.

What does tire me out emotionally to no end is the juggling of balancing out the time and attention spent with both my children.

Dylan is a baby. Obviously he needs my attention more. But Renee is also feeling slightly left out. She's been extra sticky and cheeky, craving for that attention that was all hers once upon a time ago.

And I try so hard not to do anything that might make her feel even more left out. Whenever I'm done with Dylan, I try to spend time doing things with her. And when she gets cranky and wants only me and nobody else, I try not to snap at her or scream at her or tell her to go to daddy/nana/kung kung/etc because like I said, I do not want her to feel like Dylan has taken me away from her.

She's a good girl. She helps me while i change Dylan's diapers by soaking the cotton balls for me and passing it to me when asked. She kisses Dylan off and on at her own free will, she snuggles up to him when he's asleep and she's so proud to tell people that Dylan is her baby brother.

So i do what i can to make her still feel loved and part of the family.

It's taking a toll on me but this juggle is worth it.

Dylan...

As of Nov 18th, 2011, my status has been upgraded once yet again - Mummy 2.0

It's now 5.30am and I'm up feeding my newborn baby boy, the second child God has blessed us with.

I've forgotten how wonderful it feels to be holding my very own newborn baby and what joy it gives. To actually imagine that this little baby was formed inside me, it's just such an amazing feeling that words cannot describe.

This little wailing creature has only been in my life for less than 24 hrs and yet, I already know that I will sacrifice my very own life just for him.

My feedback on the Banjaran Weekend Getaway - Day 1

Okay.

I take back my words.

I was wrong.

I ABSOLUTELY ENJOYED BANJARAN AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING BACK AGAIN SOMETIME SOON!!!

view from reception area

Day 1:

We agreed to meet up with parents and sisters at the Sg. Buloh R&R at 10am and head up to Ipoh together. The night before we left, Jodie called me and told me that mummy was prepared for us to be late and to arrive at only 10.30am (because we're always late). 

Of course when I heard that, I was determined to prove them wrong and show them that we weren't always late la. So I told SK to get everything packed and that we will leave the house by latest 9am!

Miraculously, we did leave the house by 9am!

Ok. 9.30am.

But important thing was, we got there before them and even had time to have breakfast!

So take that. Hmph!

We arrived in Ipoh at about 1pm and stopped to have lunch at one of the coffee shops.

Restaurant New Hollywood. 

Nama glamour saja tapi memang coffee shop.

And SK insisted that he's brought me there before during our dating days but I have no recollection whatsoever. He must have mistaken me for one of his many girlfriends. Player.

our private plunge pool

We each had our own villas but each villa was so big I think all of us could have stayed together in one. But they only allow 2 adults per villa that's why we had to take 3.

So mummy and daddy had one.

Jodie and Sarah had one.

And SK, Renee and I had one.

The villas were so big and gorgeous we were 'Ooh-ing' and 'Aah-ing' at everything. 

Upon entering the doors to our own respective villas, we were greeted with the gorgeous view of our own private plunge pool. 

A huge living / dining area faced the pool, facing the open greenery that surrounded the villas and of course, the spectacular caves around as well. 

We were surrounded by lush greenery, hot water springs everywhere and really tall natural caves.

warm water pool outside our villas

It was raining when we checked in so we spent the afternoon checking out our own villas, unpacking our toiletries and just getting used to what was to be our 'home' for the next 3 days.

When the rain slowed down, we headed out to the warm water pool and just lazed there for the remaining daylight hours.

We had huge lizards lazing around the pool with us.
Talk about being one with nature.

the lizard that lepak-ed with us

We also tried out the hot-springs dipping wells but it was soooooo hot, I couldn't even put my feet in for more than 5 seconds!
I really do not know how mummy, daddy and SK could sink their whole bodies in.
Just sitting around it was making me perspire.

So while the 3 of them dipped in the BOILING HOT WATER, Jodie, Sarah, Renee and I sat squatting down around the well like monkeys, afraid to have our feet touch the water.

Sarah did try putting her legs in for more than 10 seconds and they came out RED.
Like boiled lobster red.
In her words, it was so stressful!

surrounded by natural hot springs that was too hot for people to be allowed into it

We then went to check out the Dr. Fish Spa, which was a shallow pond filled with tiny fishes that eats away your dead skin when you soak your feet inside. 

I happily enjoyed having them pick at all my dead skin that I didn't even realize that one part of my feet started bleeding.

They were freaking chewing on me!

I never went back again after that.

the dipping wells where the 'cooler' water were, kononlah. Was still so HOT!

We had dinner at The Pomelo, their in-house restaurant.

Too lazy to drive out for dinner after the long drive from KL and Renee was sleepy as well.

It was buffet-styled dinner and I was expecting 'light, healthy dishes' as was stated in their website so I wasn't really looking forward to it.

But boy was I surprised when I saw their array of food!

There was Acar, Kerabu Mangga, Kerabu Chicken Feet, Cold Cuts, preserved fruits, tom yum seafood soup, steamed rice, ayam masak kicap, ikan pedas, stir-fried vege, ginger beef, and all sorts of desserts, cakes, fruits and puddings! 

Of course the variety is nothing compared to our 5-star hotels in KL la but for a retreat, the food was good enough lor.

So that was Day 1 of the Banjaran weekend getaway and so far, I was already falling in love with the place.

Hotsprings Retreat

 photo taken from Banjaran's official website

Exactly a week from today, my parents, sisters, hubby, Renee and I will be heading to the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Ipoh.

Reason why we're going on a family holiday is because my youngest sister, Sarah, will be back from London for 3 weeks and the parents wanted to go somewhere where the family could....erm....bond. 

So mummy chose this place. 

From their website, I could tell that this is quite a high-end, luxurious place that without my parents paying, I doubt I would ever be able to afford to go there on my own. I mean, it's stated there RM1,800 per night per villa! Now, WHY IN THE WORLD would I want to part with RM1,800 just to go to this place? I'd rather use the money and do something more interesting....like go to Perhentian and spend a month there. 

Anyways, in a way, I was kindda looking forward to going so that I could spend some time with the family but when I also found out that one of their policy was "No children under 8 years old allowed", I was a little taken aback.

Ok, so you are a high-end, luxurious spa retreat whatever and you don't want noisy children running around for fear of disturbing your other guests who are actually there to meditate bla bla bla so you don't allow children under 8 to be there. Ok, I understand.

Mummy managed to get them to make an exception for Renee cos we're taking 3 villas for 2 nights each so just do your own calculation to see how much they are gonna be earning from my parents for just next weekend alone and NO, FOOD IS NOT INCLUDED.

By the way, food served in the spa retreat is nothing that would satisfy a hungry pregnant woman. Because they are all into wholesomeness and health, of course, the food there is organic healthy stuff. I'm talking "light, healthy & nutritious dishes" here. Adding to that, their restaurant is not 24 hours so I don't get to order in-room service after 10pm.

10pm!!!

I GET HUNGRY EVERY 2 HOURS!!!

So now, not only do I have to deal with their "light, healthy & nutritious spa cuisine", I also have to starve myself??? I'm gonna be smuggling in A LOT of instant cup noodles and chocolates. And please don't give me the whole "instant noodles not nutritious for your baby" crap. I'm gonna be eating NUTRITIOUS, HEALTHY, LIGHT food all day long so yes, I get to enjoy a little junk at nights k. 

I've also told hubby to drive me out to Ipoh town after 10pm to have supper and tapow whatever I can back to the retreat. Hopefully I dont get caught smuggling unhealthy food in. Worse, hopefully they don't LOCK UP THEIR GATES to the outside world after 10pm!

Anyways, putting the food aside, I was really looking forward to going and dipping in the hot pools cos I do so love hot water, but then I was told by my gynea that I'm NOT ALLOWED INTO HOTSPRINGS FML!!!!!

Apparently, anything above 39 degrees in temperature will send my baby into a high fever and spasms because although outside temp is only 39, my core temp is always 1 or 2 degrees higher. 

So, let me list it all down here:

1. I am pressured to run after my 3-yo the whole day to make sure she doesn't run around, scream / laugh / cry too loudly so that she doesn't disturb other guests,

2. I have to put up with 'light, healthy dishes' which is only served 3 times a day and starve in between meals and at nights, and

3. I am not allowed to enjoy the hotsprings.

Erm....remind me again why I'm going there?

Oh yah, to BOND with the family.

You know, seriously, I'd rather have the money and spend a whole month in Perhentian, and I might even have balance to spend on shopping!

At least at Perhentian, I get to spend 1 month there, EAT ALL I WANT ALL DAY LONG, and Renee is free to behave like a 3 year old without me having to thwart her every action. 

Having said this though, I appreciate that this trip is paid for. That's all.

Prawns in Chinese Rice Wine

Had a few friends asking me how to make this dish since I tweeted about it.

It's actually very simple and I got this recipe from my late yeh-yeh.

It was his favorite dish to cook and each time we went back for family dinners, this dish will definitely be there. 

So here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• About 20pcs of big prawns (cleaned and heads removed but still shelled)
• 2 cloves garlic - diced
• 3 tablespoons white soya sauce
• 1 table spoon Chinese Rice Wine
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil

Method:

1. In a small bowl, mix the white soya sauce, Chinese Rice Wine and sugar together.
2. Heat up the wok with the cooking oil.
3. When wok is hot enough, stir fry the garlic until golden brown. Add in the prawns and stir fry till prawns are cooked.
4. Turn to slow fire and pour in the mixture of soya sauce, rice wine and sugar. Slowly stir fry for another 5 - 10 minutes.
5. Serve hot.

See. Easy peasy!
And taste good.
Well, I like it anyways.
Hope you do too!

Asthma

About 2 weeks after our Perhentian trip, Renee was admitted into hospital for having lungs infection which then confirmed her as asthmatic. She had to be on the neubalizer every 3 hours for 3 days and 2 nights to clear up the congestion in her lungs .

At the same time, I was sick myself. Had the same problem, lungs congestion (so now we know who Renee takes after), nose was so totally jammed up I had to breathe through my mouth and I lost hearing in my right ear. I was also on the inhaler to clear my own lungs. 

So imagine what a great condition we both were in during that time.

Entertaining herself with the cartoon channels and the iPad

Had her finger pricked for blood sample

Being a good girl holding her own neubalizer

Almost a month after being discharged, her condition has improved a lot. Although she is still on the inhaler at home and on some other medication to ensure that her lungs are kept clear, she's stopped coughing, and she's back to her active self again.

I have also stopped giving her Vitagen and ice-cream but then again, she is just a child so being the bad mummy that I am, I occasionally sneak her an ice-cream cup or two as treats.

Other random pictures I took:

Renee sunnies shopping while her mummy was shoe shopping

At the playground

Being her usual cheeky self

Painted my toe nails purple with silver french

The stupid frog that jumped on my right feet giving me a fright

I Saved A Life Today

Found a little baby catterpillar on my greens today.

What should I do with it?

Should i kill it?
Should i drown it?
Should i keep it in a jar for Renee?

Hmmm...just drown it, I thought.

I started running the water n while waiting for the container to fill up, I watched the little caterpillar.

It crawled up and down the leaf, trying to find a way out. And then i thought, what am I doing? It's just a baby. If I gave it a chance to live, one day, it will turn into a beautiful butterfly.

Afterall, God gave it life. Who was I to take that away?

And so, i turned off the tap, took the leaf with the caterpillar on it and brought it out to my garden.

Here you go, I told the little baby caterpillar as I watched it crawl from the leaf onto the leaf of my bamboo plant. Go live, survive and come back and visit me one day when you've all grown up.

Island Getaway

We're leaving for a short island holiday tomorrow night. Our destination - Perhentian!

Both SK and I have never been there before so we're kindda excited. Apparently, almost all the people I've spoken to claimed that it's far better than Redang and Lang Tengah, and I do so love both those islands.

I've been to Redang twice. First time was back in 2003/4 (can't remember), to Berjaya Redang with the ex-boyfriend. My second time was with SK where we stayed in Laguna.

I've also been to Lang Tengah twice, both times with SK. The first time was before we were officially dating so it was like a 'scandalous' getaway *naughty grin*. The second time was last year May, just after my stupid maid pulled her 'runaway' stunt.

Both islands were...ARE gorgeous, so for friends to tell me that Perhentian is way better, I really cannot wait to find out!

We've decided to take a drive there instead of flying, which is really fine by me cos I love long car trips. I even drove to Koh Samui once back in 2004. 15 hours drive non-stop except for meals and loved every single minute of it!

But this time, because of me being pregnant and having Renee with us, we'll be making a stop overnight at Kuala Terengganu before starting off for Kuala Besut jetty early next morning.

Bags are all packed and Renee is as excited as me, so we're just waiting to push off our journey!

Can't wait to have my tan back! Before motherhood, I used to be known as 'the girl with the permanent tan' cos Sk and I would go to the beach like every other weekend.

Hopefully, i get that 'title' back again!

A Lazy Sunday

After an eventful Saturday yesterday - eventful meaning me busy checking my Twitter and Facebook updates on the Bersih rally going on in town and surfing news channel to see if there were any coverage on electronic media as well, followed by a rushed Pasar Malam visit to tapow my favorite snacks and food and then another rushed dinner where Renee fell asleep halfway through with a mouthful of noodles, and then followed by a rushed grocery trip to Tesco *phew*, we decided to take it easy today and not do anything.

Well, not literally do nothing.

The hubby and daughter are outside right now, washing the cars while I'm inside attempting to copy the Rio movie and a few other videos onto my MacBook so that I can later sync it to my iPad. This is, of course, all for hoping that these movies and videos can keep Renee occupied during our long drive to the East Coast next week. 

I'm hoping I don't screw anything up on my laptop and ipad as well as the DVDs while attempting to do this 'copying'. It's my first time and I'm an IT idiot.

Anyways, while waiting for the files to copy, I've posted some pictures of dishes that I cooked over the pass month. 

We actually tried catered food for about a month, paying RM200 per month for 2 meat dishes, 1 vege dish a soup but after 2 weeks of eating it, we got bored. Same taste, same style of cooking....eeks. So we cancelled it and I had no choice but to start cooking at least twice a week because eating out is oh-so-expensive!

 'Black rice' - a mixture of vege, meat, rice and black sauce all cooked together

 Sour & spicy chicken gizzard with cucumber

 Baked marmite pork ribs

Home-made wantan noodles with stewed chicken feet and vege

Nothing spectacular la, I know, but coming from someone who couldn't even boil rice not too long ago, I take this as a vast improvement in my culinary skills.

I've even made chicken rice a few times and will be attempting to make my own Nasi Lemak this coming week. Hope it turns out yummy.

I never really know if the food I cook is yummy or not because hubby says everything is delicious. He has to. He don't have a choice. Else I mengamuk and stop cooking and we have to eat out every night....which is really fine by me. But not to him. So he'll have to continue loving the food I cook and I'll never find out if its really that yummy unless I have a party come over.

Maybe soon?

June '11

With this blog post, I hope that I can actively start blogging again - at least one post a week, if not one in two weeks?

Life has certainly been very busy for me, even with Renee spending most of the hours a day in daycare, I would have thought I would be able to have much more free time, but I guess I was wrong.

The more time you have on your hands, the more things you'll find that you have to do. Apart from trying to maintain a company, handle freelance writing jobs, keep the house clean and finding time for my own social life, I now also have to deal with the occasional morning sickness, nausea, body aches, hunger pangs - the oh so normal symptoms of a pregnant woman.

Yes, as of this week in July, I am already 19 weeks pregnant. But we're talking about the month of June here so let's move on.

Was almost 4 months pregnant in this pic

First week of June, I turned 31.

Godma threw a BBQ dinner for me and my cousin Chris (who's birthday was a day before mine) at her place and all I had to do was show up. Birthdays these days are not like how I used to have it anymore....unless I am willing to leave Renee with someone and go out and party. But I'm not. I'd rather stay home and have a boring birthday.

Towards the end of June, the three of us, hubby, Renee and I, decided to take a day trip down to Melaka because I was craving for their Sate Celup.

But instead of a 'day trip', we ended up arriving in Melaka only at 5pm!

Ya, blame it on the pregnant woman who didn't want to wake up earlier.

First pit stop was at the Melaka Zoo for Renee!

Seen here taken with the Mandrills

Renee had a blast!

She kept going on and on about wanting to see the monkeys, and the elephants, and the giraffes. Well, life was easy for her since she was carried most of the time where else I ALMOST FAINTED from the heat, the uphill-downhill walk and having to keep up an active conversation with her at the same time!

BUT I MADE IT!!!!!

And so, to reward myself....I had an eating spree!

First meal for the night was this!

Jonker Walk

Nasi Lemak. Assam Laksa. Nyonya Laksa. And Mango Cendol!

The Nasi Lemak was SK's. The rest was MINE!!! Hahahahaha!

So yummy!

After putting some food in my tummy, I wasn't so cranky anymore so we took a walk around Jonker Walk, bought snacks here and there to munch on, bought more knick-knacks for Renee to play with, bought some Angry Bird t-shirts for Renee and Zach and my Godson, Roy. Unfortunately, the shirt I bought for Zach was too small and the one I got for Roy was too big. But oh well, he can grow into it. And it was also because of this shirt that Roy called me 'Godma' for the first time!!!!

Not once but many many many times!!!

After Jonker Walk, we took a drive down to the Portugese Settlement for the St. Pedro Festival.

They had live performances going on on stage and the dancers were cheering on for people to join them and the music was soooooo loud the base was practically shaking my body up and down and I think the baby inside my tummy was dancing to it as well.

We stopped for our second meal of Portuguese Grilled Fish.

Actually, SK was't hungry but I really wanted to eat so he had no choice but to eat it with me, else I would not have been able to finish such a huge piece of fish. But then again, even with both of us eating, we still had to tapow half the fish home...so I had it for dinner the next day. Hahaha!

Right after that, we went for our Sate Celup.

The restaurant that we wanted to go to had a queue so freaking long that if we waited, we wouldn't be able to eat till the next morning, so we opted for the next best one...

Didn't satisfy my sate celup cravings though....but better than nothing. Gonna take another drive down one of these days to have the sate celup that I want.

OMG

I just realized that my last blog post was in November last year.
Which means that I totally skipped Christmas and New Year here.
And also I'm actually blogging for the very FIRST time from my MAC Book Pro.
Although I bought it like in October last year.

So yes, my new year resolutions....

To blog more
To make more money
To have baby number 2

Ok. Wish me luck.

Or at least pray for me yah.

Thank you very much.

Bai.