That time of the year...

Yes! It's the most wonderful time of the year... My favourite... you can smell and feel the magic of christmas all around. More people smiling, especially shop owners, more walking with that spring in their step... lights abound, trees aglow, the holiday mood is starting to be felt! yippee! it's the 1st of December.

Wow, time has really flown by. This year more so than others, perhaps? The last months have been very eventful for me. Little D is now 8 months old, he has sprung his first tooth, and his second is just cutting through. He is now crawling properly, and loves to stand. He'll pull himself up to stand as soon as he grabs on to something he can pull on. Believe it or not, the first 'word' he says constantly now is "che che che" wonder what that refers to. Occasionally you can decipher a "da da", but so far nothing starting with 'm'. He's been such a joy to watch, to see him develop through his milestones. I've kinda forgotten what it was like with the girls. Perhaps him being the last, I'm treasuring this much more. His temperament so far seems to be of a gentle nature, especially when you watch him play next to his rough and tough sisters... I pray that this will continue to nurture, and stay with him. He has also sort of weaned himself off the breast, only drinking at night. He lost interest in drinking directly, and would only drink the EBM. That has made my supply deplete on top of my laziness in expressing milk. I feel a little sad, knowing that this will be the last one I'll breastfeed, but at the same time, I feel quite 'liberated' to know that life can go on! Having said that, I actually feel that I'm also losing my 'link-line' to D. I've been so busy with work and entertaining the older 2, and I really think he is much neglected, always being left behind. I must make a greater effort not to allow a good helper to be my excuse to leaving him at home all the time :P

standing

with the god-sisters

The last weekend was the point at which half a year of practices culminated when we sang at the centenary celebration service of the Diocese of Singapore, which is the anglican church in Singapore. 5 months ago, the singer volunteers met for the first time at SJSM as total strangers from different parishes, not knowing what to expect. Some not knowing much about music, or even how to pitch, but all just coming with a heart to serve and to worship the Lord. Through the patient instruction and several sectional practices, everyone got better each time. The age range was vast from 5-50 I think, but we all managed to forge new friendships, and new links across the various congregations we come from, but still within the body of Christ. It was an unforgettable experience, especially at the rehearsal and service it self when all the parts were put together over the weekend. All Glory to God. It was a spectacular sight! The band, and the singers alone would have been just plain... it was in combining with the dancers that made it all so much more colourful! The energy that came from having a hall filled with 10,000 people was even more breathtaking! I feel truly honoured to be able to serve as part of the team for the service to gather so many people together to worship the Lord. I don't think I'll ever experience anything like this again.

Next up for the last month of this year will be the practices for the SYC concert on the 13th of December. A few months ago, they were looking for some alumni to boost up the voices for a piece which will be sung with a band, and they asked me. Something which I've been wanting to do... to sing in a choir again... I thought this will fill up this yearning for awhile :) I'm really looking forward to the full day practices. Brings me back in time...

Well, since the school holidays have started a week ago, my running has taken a back seat. With 3 kids in the house, it's almost impossible for me to get my run in without feeling guilty, and wanting to come home straight away. So as long as I maintain my weight for now, I'll have to wait till I can get more me-time to further advance my weight loss regime...sigh...:(

3 down... 7 to go!

Yes... that's the progress of my weight loss programme! Woots!

I'm now very motivated to carry on now that I'm seeing the results. However, I think I'll still need to slow down my running programme, do more weights/toning classes to enhance the weight loss, and also to save my knees. I've decided not to train for any more long races for now, till i get my knee figured out. Tennis at the moment is also not great for the knees... sigh. Really starting to feel the effects of being over 30, and the effects of 5 years of childbearing :( Body feels to have aged about 10 years between the 3 kids. Time to get my body back in shape, hopefully my body will feel as youthful as people say I look... *blush*

Anyway, we're 5 days away from the grand move! It feels like such a long process, but we're all so excited about it. The progress of the reno has been rather satisfactory, we're pretty pleased with it.

Still the mixed feelings I have about leaving our first home still exists... I will miss it.

The next step...

So we're 1 and a half weeks into getting the keys to our new place! We are so excited about it. Having spent 5k+ at the OM warehouse sale, getting furniture at ridiculously low prices (display pieces of course), sussing out countless number of places that sell outdoor furniture at obscene prices, working out how much it'll cost us to do minor reno works etc etc... the workers have finally started work on the house! We are so pleased with it... oh wait... not after having had an almost heartbreaking first day looking at the living room area, and realising that the L-shaped sofa we bought might not fit right where we wanted it... seeing the actual condition of the house sans furniture and cover-ups... wow... we really thought that there would be so much to do! This being a rather old house (circa 1970s) there's probably several problems hidden under layers of paint. Problems that we would not encounter in buying a new house, or even an apartment. Nevertheless, we're pretty glad that we can get the problems straightened out, to do the things we want with the house within our budget.

Now, we have to start packing up our current house! It'll still be another month before we can officially move in, but i think packing a little at a time is better than having to do it all at a go.

Little D is also growing up fast. He just passed his 6th month this past week, and I think he is ahead of his milestones. He is starting to crawl on his belly, reach for everything within reach, communicating with sounds, and eating his solids like a good little man. He has learned that he'd rather be carried when he eats, but when I insist that he sits to be fed, he just bawls, but at the same time swallows all the food fed to him! Initially I thought he didn't like the food, and was just eating cos he was too hungry... but now I know that he just wants to be carried.... spoilt from the word go!!!

At his check up yesterday, he weighed in at 7.6kg, and 64cm. Still short and fat by weight-height ratio standards! oh well... he'll be my gentle giant... maybe he'll make a good rugby player :)

Dylan n my new niece Lindsay

I made it!

4 and a half months post-partum... this mama has completed a half marathon! With a rather respectable time that is... much slower than my target... but what could I expect of myself?

2:46H. I'm quite impressed. That includes a toilet stop at the ladies toilet at Fort rd with a queue! I actually felt better in the last 4 km this time than the last 2 times I'd done this distance over 5 years ago. Although my best timing was 2:07 then, but I think I can be pretty proud of my current timing, considering these legs are carrying over 10kg more weight than before. I started feeling the legs (esp the ITB) at about 14km. But I pressed on and stretched through every water station. In the last 4km, I just kept going, not stopping for the drinks. This would have been the point at which, on my last 2 halves, I was cramping, and practically walk/jogged... It was torture... It was then that I swore never to do another half.... but here I am... yearning for more!

Too bad I didn't get any pics of the occasion, even though I wore the Physio Solution shirt! maybe i'll just make it up :P
runpix.com says that we started 10 minutes late! how hilarious. A friend of mine told me that the organisers may have flagged off 5 minutes early. No wonder we didn't hear anything strolling up to the start line. We didn't even realise that the race had started!
Also, according to runpix, I ran an almost constant speed of 7.7kph for the whole race. Thanks to V for running with me, pacing with me, and keeping me company throughout! I didn't even need my ipod! The highlight of the run for me would definitely be the run down the F1 track. That was awesome. I was just imagining the noise, the crowd, and tried to put myself in an F1 car going by the stands... (but of course I'd almost look like I was standing still next to an F1 car!)

Woo hoo! here's to more running!

Big boy!!!

Baby D at 4+ months is 6.98kg, and 62cm long! that makes him 50%ile weight for age, 25%ile height for age, but 90%ile weight for height!!!

that makes him short and fat!!! Haha!

Makes one think

A friend of mine posted this taxi-driver's blog on FB. He has a Phd from stanford, recently lost his job as a scientist researcher, and couldn't find another job... He finally had to turn to driving a taxi to make ends meet.

Reading it makes one think, and reflect on how sheltered I have been. The people that we do not meet, the blessed life we've had compared to some others... How humbling is must be for him to lower himself to such a low level, experiencing for himself how it feels to be treated like the 'lowest life-form'. I do indeed feel that that is how some people treat cabbies, maids, cleaners etc like... like they are not worth anything... little do they know what their family background is like... don't belittle the next cabbie u meet. He may be better educated than you!!!
http://taxidiary.blogspot.com/

My Boy...

5 days before he turns 4 months, my big boy has flipped over unassisted! To the right side that is...The next day, he's trying to flip towards the left side, but his arm keeps getting stuck... That's for leaving him to entertain himself on the floor!!! haha. Bad mum takes advantage of his easy nature to leave him on his own till he cries for attention... so what does he do? learn new skills of course! 

Will upload the video when I get a chance...

3 days more, and we're off down under again! WA this time! yippee! I can't wait!!

2kg to pre-D weight.... phew. this is hard work...

phew...

We've just crossed one major hurdle... now, we're looking forward to the next lap!!!

God has really been gracious to us. Since we'd returned from NZ at the beginning of the year, the issue of space constraints in our house had been on our minds. The in-laws has moved in, and the little one has come along. 5 adults and 3 growing children in an average sized 3 bedroom apartment... something we could make do with for now, but not ideal in the long run. However, around chinese new year, having seen property prices falling, we had made the decision to stay put in this house, for a few more years so that we can try and get a higher price for this property. So, we parted with some money to do up the house a little, adding window grilles, painting the walls, moving some power points, and touching up the cracks in the walls, changing the kitchen cabinet doors, and adding a water heater to the kitchen sink.

As the Lord may have it, we got an offer for our house which we thought was reasonable, and seeing that the prices of landed property had come down considerably, we felt we were ready to make the move. However, in our search for the home of our dreams, for which we had lots of criteria to fulfill, we met with a dead end at each turn... a perfect house which met all our needs in terms of location, and needing minimal work, was either priced too high or was a leasehold property. Others which fell more within our budget just fell short of our criteria. Location was such an important factor as we were reluctant to move the girls out of their current school, and we didn't want to be too far from my parents who are our main support for the kids when I go back to work. 

The buyers of our house were God-given, we believe, as they allowed us to stay till the end of october in order for us to find a house to move to. However, our house hunting experience was far from pleasant, particularly with the owners and the agent from the property we finally settled with... but that's a story for another time.

3 agonising days after the 2nd viewing of the house K and I both liked, we can now heave a sigh of relief. We now wait in eager anticipation for the day we get the keys, and hand over our place, to set up a home in our new house. I pray that it'll be a place of happiness for all of us, particularly for the kids who will have more room to run around, hopefully still have a little pool to dip into daily, friends in the neighbourhood, a perfect running route for us, and a place of rest and relaxation for the in-laws. The night we sold our current house, I felt sad for a few days after that. It's a house we have hardly lived in, having spent most of our weekends in the east with the in-laws. Our kitchen was hardly used up till this year when we shifted home. We settled into this house so comfortably, I was reluctant to give up the convenience of the location, the lovely surroundings of the swimming pool etc. I learned a real lesson. I can truly understand why the Lord says not to make our home here on earth, or to make treasures of our possessions... 

We now look forward to the next lap in our lives, living in a landed property. It is only by God's grace, His blessings, as well as help from my in-laws that we'll be able to make this new transition. For us living in Singapore, this move is truly a big step for a young family. 

Thank you Lord...

Bitten by the bug...

The running one that is...:) Since 6 weeks post-partum, I've been running almost every day since. On the days I don't get to run, I try to swim or play tennis. On the days I don't do anything at all, I feel a little bit edgy! It's like I can't sit still, or I'm just looking at the clock, thinking if I can squeeze in a quickie... of course, I also foolishly (under peer pressure) paid to run a half marathon in august (8 weeks away!) So I really need to get up my mileage.

the good thing is... I'm 3kg away from pre-D! Woot! but still a long way to pre-baby no 1!! boo hoo...  BUT, I still struggle to fit into my pre-pregnancy pants. sigh... The bad thing... my knees are aching bad! It's probably still adjusting to my new weight, or possibly being destroyed under my body weight. While the pains have subsided (no more pain while running), I really walk around like I'm 20 years older. My legs take so long to recover, even with rest days(ie non impact exercise) in between. 

This post is just so long overdue. It's just so much easier to read other people's blogs, than to write on your own...

Oh well, perhaps I should just put up some pictures...

D - week 7

7 weeks old, and D already has had 1 road trip under his belt. Just across the border that is. Over the long May Day weekend, we took the opportunity to go on our first family trip for the year. With 1 recovering jie K in tow, we spent 2 nights at Sofitel Palm Resort. Not the most flash place to be at, but our first choice Pulai Springs was fully booked, as we really made the decision to go quite last minute. Nevertheless, we had a great family time just bonding. The girls were so thrilled just to be at a hotel, and on a holiday. Of course, as on most holidays, swimming, eating, shopping and watching movies on tv were the main items on our itinerary.

Well, in the last 7 weeks, D has proven that he is a really baby, drinking and sleeping like all babies should. He has started to be a little more awake these last weeks, but he's still a quiet guy, staring at the things going by, occasionally crying out for attention when he has been left alone for too long. We feel so blessed for such a good baby. He's really piled on the pounds... at 6+ weeks, he weighed about 4.8kg; the heaviest of the 3... but of course he is a boy. Only thing is that amidst the whole flu bug thingy going around the house, baby D also caught the bug, and has had a runny nose for over a week. Poor boy gets his nose blocked at night, that it wakes him up, and sometimes causes him to unlatch when he is breastfeeding, gasping for air. Praying that he'll be well soon.

Dylan day 3

Dylan week 5

week 7 

A new journey...

I've started on my journey to get back in shape. Pre- baby no 1 shape, that is. After 2 long weeks of recovering from the worst bout of flu ever, I finally managed to hit the gym, and the road, a swim and my static exercises daily since last monday! I can feel myself getting back into it, though my knees have been complaining from the extra weight it has to bear now. I've got 5 kg more to pre-D weight, but 14kg to pre-K1 weight!!! :( Need to keep up the daily thing, or I will start to slack and find excuses to wiggle myself out of the workout for the day.

My regular tennis sessions also need to be re-scheduled again. With my rackets that have been stored away in the store room for over a year, I think it's time to wipe off the dust. I suddenly miss playing tennis! Hopefully I'll experience that new passion for tennis again like I did when I left off 1 year ago...

Scrapblogging...

weee.... i've found something new to do, thanks to mama D! It's creating your own scrapblog! All done with no extra costs, exercising your creativity, at the same time getting tips and help when you run out of ideas! It's great! Only thing is I can't print it out yet... so I'm just going to post it here for the first time, till I figure out my blogger username(???) I can't seem to be able to share it straight onto my blog!

Here goes!

One month on....

Dylan is now 5 weeks old. On the 23rd of April, when he turned 1 month, the whole household was struck by a deadly flu virus which had first affected mei K the day before, then baby D, mummy, MIL, and the helper! It was the worse infection I've had in a long while, and was just flat on my back with a fever for the whole day! I even lost my voice completely. Poor baby D was gurgling, coughing... I felt so pained for such a young baby to be sick... so we tripped off to the PD. While he has grown a whole 4 cm in the last one month, he is now also 4.26kg. wow... think that's the biggest increase any of the kids have had in the first month. So he now looks like a solid fella.

Anyway while everyone is now recovering, jie K, who was recovering from her bout just a month before, has gotten worse, and is today recovering at home as she too woke up with a fever. sigh... 

Praying this will all end soon.

Last week, I had the biggest scare since becoming a mother. In the middle of the night, I heard D coughing, and he suddenly unleashed the loudest, most terrifying screech I've ever heard. I rushed to look at him, and found him struggling to breathe! I picked him up, and had to thump him on his back a few times before he was able to recover normal breathing. He was a little shaken, and it took a while for him to settle down... phew... What would I do if anything serious had happened to him? That night, I prayed for baby D, and for the girls... something that I have not been doing, and really taken for granted... This is probably a timely reminder that these children have been entrusted into my care, I really need the Lord's anointing to bring them up, His protection to keep them safe and healthy, and not to forget the power of prayer...

Adjustments...

2 nights home now... D's been pretty good. Though he seems rather drowsy, only waking for his feeds every 2-3 hours. The first night, he slept well through the day, and woke every hour at night... the 2nd night, he woke every 2 hours... today, we had some relatives visit, and he was up for 2 whole hours looking around quietly. After which, he promptly fell asleep for 3 hours, and hopefully will be good tonight. 

Thoughts of motherhood 3rd time round? Seems like it does get better and easier with experience. However, this also means you start to take things for granted, and think that you know how, but you've really forgotten how... like breastfeeding, which I did till mei K was 16 months, in June last year... I would have thought that it'd be easy, and I'd know how to handle it... however, I still came home with sore nipples, and still needed that nurses to help me latch him on. So i realised that maybe I'd been doing it wrongly all along??? is that possible? But my milk did come in on day 3... not so wrong after all, right?

The addition to the growing family

So, baby D has finally arrived! Thought I should post about my delivery experience since it's still fresh in my mind. So here's a blow by blow description...

We arrived at Mt Elizabeth Hospital on the 23rd of March at 5am or so... was brought to ward 4B, bed 36, where I was to stay for the next 4 days. The nurses came to do their routine thing at 6am, to prepare me for the elective lower section caesarian section, my third one. The nurse then said that someone from the operating theatre will get me at 7am for my operation scheduled at 730am. So we waited patiently in the room. This being my third one, I had mixed feelings. Firstly, I knew exactly what to expect from the surgery, and the recovery process of it all. However, having experienced the failed epidural the last time made me very nervous, as I wanted daddy K to be able to join me in the OT for our last planned baby. I also remembered how uncomfortable and painful injecting the epidural was, and was totally not looking forward to it. The staff from the OT finally came to get me at 720am... by the time we got down there, the place seemed to be in mayhem. I heard that we were late, there were 3 caesarians scheduled at the same time, and they thought that I had checked in late, as they were told that I was not ready yet... when in fact we were waiting up there for almost an hour!

Well, anyway, the anaesthetist (not the one I had the last time, like I thought) was very reassuring, and was so nice to assure me, and to calm my nerves. She found out about the failed epidural, and went a step extra to add an additional injection in to make sure that it worked this time... yes, which meant that I had 2 injections into the spine (ouch!), but eventually, I couldn't feel anything in my legs soon after. Soon after, I started to shiver (the side effects of the epidural), and daddy K came in to reassure me. However, although I couldn't feel pain/ sharp pricks, I could still feel a hand or some movements happening behind the screen that was put up in front of me. I suddenly had fears that I may still be able to feel the pain of the incision, and with the discomfort of the shivering, I suddenly regretted choosing to go through it under epidural... 

After about 5 mins, with the surgery going on, I calmed down. The fact that daddy K was there to soothe me really helped. Suddenly, the anaesthetist said that the baby was almost out, and that she was going to reach over me and push the baby out. After she did, i heard a very strong, high-pitched cry, and K was asked to stand and see the baby being taken out. As I was being sewn up and all, baby D was taken to the warmer, and was soon after put on my chest for a cuddle and some photos.

My first impression of baby D in the OT is that he is a squealer... and he proved that later on in the ward when he cried! Visitors who have heard him have likened his cry to that of a cat's cry!

The recovery from the OT to the ward was rather uneventful, and I was just eager to see my baby, and start nursing him. I was also eager to start eating again, as I was starving. However, the kind nurses were just so cautious, and insisted that I take drinks only first. Finally they were convinced that I was fine, and I had lunch at 2pm!

The next day, I was ready to get out of bed, and to walk around. The attachments were taken off me, and I felt ready to flee from the confines of the hospital bed. I managed to get out of bed and walk around without as much pain as I remembered from before. 

The next 3 days passed by rather uneventfully, not without the usual pains of breastfeeding. The 2 girls coming to visit in the evenings, not wanting to leave to go home, insisting that I went home with them, or that they sat on the bed with me etc... 

I'm just wary that their excitement to see baby D is short-lived, especially with mei K. We'll have to see how they take to the new addition to the household now that we are home, and when the 'vacation' comes to an end...

7 days and counting.

So it's the first day of the school holidays. But I've sent jie K off to school for the school holiday programme... Still a little unsure if it's the best decision. I compensated for my guilt by signing her up for just 3 days instead of all 5, including 1 day to watch the play Chicken and bear go camping. When I told her last weekend that this week is the school holidays, she said "yay, I don't have to go to school!" Then I had to break it to her that she was still going on 2 days, and 1 day to the play. However, on the other 2 days, we'll do something fun, like going to the bird park, or to the park for a picnic etc. This morning, she woke up really chirpy, and was rather keen on going to school. This mummy though, still has some reservations about school holiday programmes especially for her age. I just console myself that it's necessary for me, otherwise I'll be struggling to keep up with bringing them out, instead of resting in this last week before D-day. 

That brings me to why I wanted to write this post... I've been having this strange urges to want to clean up the house, pack up the baby things, go out to buy more baby things in preparation for next week when D comes home. However, I know that I need to rest, especially since I've been feeling the strong tightenings, and my gynae thinks that I'm doing too much. I'm in such a dilemma. Perhaps the theory of 'nesting' before one goes into labour is really true... but mine is really planned... so not really true 'nesting syndrome'.

The weekend that's just past is just an indication of how much I've been trying to do with the family before I pop. Saturday, K brought the girls to watch Disney on ice. Great time for me to have my me-time! I had the first undisturbed nap in a very long time! After they returned, I cooked, and then went swimming, then went bowling at the club, and then out for dinner. Sunday after church, we decided to bring the dog to the beach at Sentosa for a swim to help with her skin problems... so, 2 girls, dog, daddy and heavily preggers mummy all went to the beach! Talk about feeling like a beached whale... that's really all I could manage, just waiting to bathe and change the kids after their swim. But we all had fun... that's the whole point of it, isn't it? 

Today will possibly be my last gynae appointment before D-day. I'm praying that the baby has put on sufficient weight. Last saturday, at 36 weeks, baby was only 2.5kg, having put on 0.1kg in 2 weeks! The only consolation was that I also didn't put on any weight:) So this week, I've been loading up on durian, and more protein filled food, in my last ditch attempt to get his weight up to at least 3kg at birth. 

Yesterday, my mum's helper was officially transferred to us, much to my relief. However, being the only one in this house who has grown up with a live-in helper, I think there'll be a period of adjustment for the rest of the household, especially since she'll be sleeping in the same room as the girls, for lack of space in our apartment that's quickly running out of space... For my MIL who is so used to doing the cleaning, laundry etc, she'll surely feel like she's "out of a job", especially since I feel that these 'acts of service' is really her way of speaking her love language. for my FIL, who is such a private person, I wonder if he'll feel like it's an invasion of his privacy, or if he'll just cope by staying out of the house more than he already does! Of course there's the helper, who might feel like she's just moved out of a place where she had her own room, and lots of space to just do her own thing, to a place where she has to share everything with someone. (including the toilet which the dog has been trained to use.)  So, lots of prayer is needed. I ask the Lord to watch over this household, that there'll be peace, understanding and tolerance amongst all who live here. 

Head count: 5 adults, 2 children and 1 infant to come soon!

Lord help us...

3 weeks to D-day...

Wow! I can't believe that the month of February has gone by, without me putting in a single post! Gee... where has time gone? On the one hand, I'd like it to slow down so that I can enjoy the company of my girls more before the little one comes along. But on the other, I'm just feeling like a beached whale that I can't wait to get the weight off me (literally!). 

I've started to feel gradually more and more tired. the days that I don't work seem to be even more tiring, though I get help from being at my parents' place, and I often get to take an afternoon nap... however, all that lazing around seems to make me even more tired and lethargic... yet, when I'm at work for anything more than 4 hours, I'm just too pooped at the end of it to function properly... Plus, my feet and back starts to hurt from all the standing and walking... no good. 

As time draws near to the day of the prince's arrival, I'm starting to feel a little nervous about the whole c-section thing all over again. With jie K, it was an emergency section. So I didn't really have much time to think or worry about it. With mei K, it was planned. I was kind of nervous, but yet confident, thinking that I knew what to expect with the epidural section. However, things were not to turn out the way I had planned... the epidural administered actually FAILED! It didn't dull any of my senses at all! So with the hubby waiting outside to some in to keep me company, I had to decide to go under GA to take the baby out... Oh what a horrid feeling I had in me, not being able to tell K what was going to happen.(though the anaesthetist did do that) I woke up so drowsy, and I had trouble keeping awake for the rest of the day (the op was at 8am). I also had a super sore throat from being intubated while under GA, which lasted for most of my 3 nights in the hospital. I only regained my voice the day I was discharged. K later told me that he was kind of worried about the surgery, and was afraid that something might have gone wrong. But thank God that all went well. 

This time, I thought I'd be comfortable making the decision of going with a 3rd c-section since it's the only way I know. Something familiar, nothing too unexpected. Even as I write this, the Lord is telling me that it's something  that I have yet to submit to Him. I now know that only when I do this, will I have peace in my heart to know and trust that all will be well. I pray that the epidural will work this time, so that K can stay in with me throughout. Leaving it all in the hands of God..... that's the only way I really should know. 

Meanwhile, we wait for D-day... the Braxton-Hicks contractions have been getting stronger, and slightly painful... Doc has given me some meds to lessen the contractions, since I'm now only 35.5 weeks. Perhaps it's also God's way of telling me to slow down... not try to squeeze in so many things... just to rest... Rest in the Lord...

Happy Lunar New Year!

Wow! The month has just flown by! Thought I might just squeeze in a post on the last day of the month! Phew... the last week has just been the best one since we've been back. A 4 day weekend, followed by a 3 day work week. (for them of course... not me.) Daddy K has been in one of his most relaxed state of mind since work started for him, though I'm anticipating that the next week and many more to follow will just engulf him again, and we'll 'lose' him to that 'other' world. 

Chinese New Year has been great! Albeit tiring, too much visiting and feasting... but I think the girls have just enjoyed themselves, as they are now starting to understand what traditions are involved in CNY. 

Mei K turns 2 in 9 days time, just in time for the 15th day of  CNY or chap gor mei. As usual, the family will be having our customary lotong chap gor mei at our house. However, this lazy, tired mummy has decided to piggy-back on these celebrations, and use it for the K's bday with just a cake. Wonder if I'm just being smart in trying to save all the hassle, or if I'm really depriving her of a party?! But really, would she know the difference? After all, there'll be heaps of people, and there'll be a cake, and candles for her to blow out! What more can a girl ask for?

Jie K has been rather well these last few weeks, though she still seems to have some aversion towards going to school on a daily basis. She refuses to talk about what she does in school, though she says she has fun. She mentions some of her friends, but tells me she doesn't learn anything in school. She'll be going through a change in teacher this coming week, so I'll have to watch her behaviour, to see if it changes... I'm really starting to feel the challenges of being a parent to school-going kids! 

Had our 31 week check-up today... baby D is now 1.6kg, and about 50% on the charts. Obs says he might be small-ish like mei K was. The biggest shocker though was the weight that I have piled on in the last month since we've been home! In the first 6 months of my pregnancy, while I was coping on my own, I had put on 5kg, and was well on my way to maintaining a healthy weight gain for this pregnancy. I was also feeling so good, and soaking up the compliments about how good I look this pregnancy compared to the first 2. In the last 2-3 weeks though, I've been feeling more tired, and a lot heavier... today I noticed that my face is starting to swell, as with my feet and hands. The worst revelation was that I had piled on 6kg in the last 1 month! What's going on????? I knew that I had put on more weight, and I would naturally being in my last trimester... but I really blame all that good(read:bad) singapore food, which I can't resist, the pineapple tarts, bak-gua, cashew nuts etc etc... bleah... I just feel so terrible now. I'm now going to have to watch the amount I take in, and to make sure I eat more of the 'good' stuff for the baby! I guess the sudden decrease in exercise (from 1-2 hr walks daily to zilch) has to do with it too.  I can't believe that baby D is still so pint-sized! ggrrrr.....

So... we've booked a tentative date now.... 23rd March... check out date for baby D. 7 weeks and counting...

Settling in.

1 week has gone by since we've been home... adjustments and new routines are being put in place. Jie K has been in school 5 days today. She seems to enjoy it, yet a part of me senses that she's not completely happy with it. She doesn't really vocalise what she enjoys about school. In fact after the 1st and 2nd day, she seemed rather unhappy when I picked her up. She had said that she had fun, but when I asked what they did, she said "just stand there and do nothing"! On the 2nd day, I decided to pry a little to find out what was troubling her. I found out that this boy in her class,R, had hit her that day, after snatching the blocks that she was playing with. She said she had just sat there and did nothing about it, and that there were no teachers in  the class at that time. So mummy had to to the little pep talk thing, and told her to tell the teacher if it happens again. After she had opened up, she then started talking about the other things they had done in school, and she seemed much happier from then on. However, I still sensed that she is not too thrilled with going to school everyday for 4 hours now... It must be a big change for her from only going to 'play' 3 times a week for 2 hours, to a more formal, serious school. Well, as someone just told me... "welcome to the real world"...

Anyway, mei K has also started going to little play class at the same school, and she loves it. The teachers have noticed how different the 2 sisters are in character. At the same age, jie used to hide behind me and would rather not talk to anyone, mei just says 'hi' to everyone, and would be all over the classroom in no time at all.

As for daddy K, work has just consumed him like he never really left... He tried to have an early start yesterday by going into the office at 7, so he could finish early and spend time with the kids... instead, he pretty much had a 12+ hour day, and came home later than usual! mei was already asleep by the time he reached home. He misses the girls, and I can tell they miss him too.

Hmm... I'm uploading my backdated photos on FB, and just realised that I have to do backdated posts of our holiday as well!!! won't be long!

Home sweet home...

We are home at last! Belated Christmas and Blessed New year to all of you... I'tll surely be an eventful one for us in this household...
We've been back for 2 and a half days now... Adjusting to the heat and humidity, the dog, the in-laws, the house... everything in general. We've been on a mission to unpack and pack up the house, at the same time re-arranging furniture in prep for the girls' room and the new baby to come. Phew... it's been hard. Feeling rather tired.
2 days more till K returns to work, che K starts N2... Where has time gone once again???

It's really been great having 2 sets of grandparents around to occupy the kids... They are just so happy to be back. I don't know why. Perhaps it's back to a new but familiar surrounding, with lots more toys and people to shower them with attention.
Need to start getting used to a new routine again, familiarise myself with my kitchen, and it's appliances. Hopefully we'll get some small renovation works going and done before CNY.

As much as we loved the traveling and sightseeing, there's really nothing like being in your own home...
Ah... it's great to be home!!!