加油!

Several things running through my mind over the last few days. Some are stress-inducing, some bring happiness, excitement and anticipation, and some just bring me angst. 

May my thoughts settle down soon for I am having an outbreak. See lah, just one or two sudden stressful days and the pimples start popping up. 

Trying to 看开more. :)

Shell, 你一定行!! 加油哦!!

Buy buy buy!

In an online retail purchase frenzy again haha. This time round, it's all for the little girl.

Pre-walker shoes

Mittens (need tons of them since she's been sucking on them like crazy)

Long sleeved clothes

I'm contributing to her burgeoning wardrobe lol.

Alamak why like that?

Started the new year on a tired, drowsy, medicated note. 

Dark eye rings are getting darker and am now having a zit outbreak. Stomach spoil and am still shedding hair during showers and when I comb my hair. 

Ugh!! Could it be the post-pregnancy changing hormone levels? 

累了。病了。

Stomach spoil. 

Not entirely a nice way to start the year, because when the queasiness or nauseousness comes, giddiness sometimes comes with it too. And I'll end up having a heavy head. 

The doc said it was likely food poisoning. I think it is more of my stomach protesting against the amount of things I stuffed into it during the festive period.

Which wasn't a lot actually. In fact it was lesser than previous years given that I'm on a quest to regain my pre-pregnancy body. 

Oh well. I'll just have to lie low and eat smaller meals and lesser things for these few days/weeks. I need to get my appetite back for the fast approaching CNY!

Losing weight due to sickness is not a good thing...hmm...

Dreams

I've been having bad dreams over the last couple of nights. But I can't remember any of them except for one. Last night seemed to be the worst-hit because I woke up in the middle of the night feeling insanely fearful and anxious. 

Sigh, already not enough sleep. Now whatever sleep is marred by unpleasant dreams...Bleah. 

As The Years Roll By

It seems obligatory to pen a post on the old 2013 and the new 2014. 

2013, like any other year, was marked by peaks and troughs. Except that it's cadence was abit more erratic compared to other years. 

The year started on a hectic note, peppered with bouts of unhappiness and high stress levels. I remember having an hour long teleconference on 1 Jan 2013 and having some high and mighty people unleash their idiosyncrasies on us in that session. Preparations for it had started since 2010. It was a 3-year long project for me and it was a mad crazy time towards the culmination of the APRICOT 2013 event. The fact that CNY was right before the event didn't help much and it was a rush between deadlines for the event and trying to get angpows ready for CNY. 

The event finally ended on 1 Mar and it was a huge relief. To me, it was a great achievement as well. Something I'm mighty proud of. Not many can have such an experience organizing a regional event lasting 11 days with 900-1000 participants and at least 6 other smaller international and regional meetings held in conjunction. The experience also reinforced on me the notion that as far as possible, it is always best to keep work and friendships apart.

3 days after the event ended, I discovered something which would change K's and my lives forever. That little blue plus sign shown on the test kit sent us both into an initial shock and blur state. We didn't know how to react haha. But eventually we were overjoyed of course. Just that it took a few days for the news to sink in. ;p This was another high point for me. 

We were in a loss in the immediate weeks thereafter although things settled down after I did some rough planning. K read up a lot online as well. The months that followed became a whirl of activity. Preparations, buying of things, reading up and learning, gynae visits, my brain and heart checkups. I would say that it was a really fun time buying things and preparing for the little one's arrival. :) Shopping is always nice. Downsides of the pregnancy were the giddiness, queasiness, breathlessness and general tiredness. 

Work was as usual in all those months. I became a social hermit though, choosing to lunch in everyday because I couldn't stand being in the foodcourt. I'd feel extremely queasy, breathless and giddy. I was glad for Kah Hui's company. She sometimes accompanied me and dabao-ed her lunch as well. Our friendship grew much in 2013 and I'm grateful for that. 

Nadya's arrival was another high point in 2013. Although her arrival also brought with it some not so happy and testy, teary moments. It's been a challenge during the last 2 months plus but seeing her smile at you makes it worthwhile. I'm looking forward to watching Nadya grow and I really hope I can be there at each of her growth milestones.

Oh yes and I am really grateful that I received a promotion, while I was on maternity leave. Haha that was a pleasant surprise definitely. 

There are still more happy moments, trials and tribulations going ahead in 2014. I'm anticipating big changes both on the home front as well as in the workplace. In any case, I wish for 2014 to be a smooth year for me and all my loved ones. May it also bring to all of us much blessings, good health, peace and joy.

Meh Day

Not feeling too good today. :( And I'm not sure why. Quite stoned, quite "seh", a little breathless, a little nauseous. Eyes are feeling awfully dry and "siap" since morning as well. 

May God bless me and keep me healthy so that I can look after the little girl....

Breathe

I'm not a patient person. That's why I'm not that good with kids. With my own child, I am learning to stretch my patience more. On some days though, my limits are tested thoroughly and I start to lose my last shreds of patience. This afternoon happens to be one of such days.

Sigh.

Learning and cultivating greater patience.

May my threshold be raised to much higher levels. 

Ohm.

Metamorphosis. Post-partum - III

And so I was praised by the relatives for losing quite abit of my pregnancy weight fast (when I saw them during the Christmas celebrations). That certainly put a huge grin on my face. :D

But then again...festivities usually involve ingesting lots of good food and the waistline usually suffers as a result. 

- Put back several hundred grams of weight over the last few days. Tummy area seems more bloated again. Part of the mind is horrified but the other part says "To heck with it! Eat! It's the festive season!" Oh well, it's always a dilemma.

- Skin discolourations are getting slightly lighter. Just a little. It could be back to normal at a faster rate but I am not complaining. As long as those areas get lighter...

- Dark eye circles are permanently etched  on my face liao. Fml. 

- Hair is really starting to fall out already. When I shampoo my head, strands of my hair end up entwined between my fingers. Sobs.

- Itchy face has improved somewhat because I started using the medicated face wash again. 

- Feet have grown bigger by a size! I used to wear size 37 and last week when I bought shoes, I had to get size 38s. Bunion on my right foot seems to be getting bigger too hmm.

Little fashionista

Little Baby has received her Christmas presents. And wow, coupled with whatever we received for her birth and manyue, we won't need to buy anymore clothes for the next few months. We have enough stock on hand to last her till she turns 6-7monhs I think.

Burgeoning wardrobe.

I am beginning to lose track of what clothes she owns and what sizes they are. 

But I know for sure that she has at least 20 pairs of socks that can last her till she is 9months or even a year old. Gosh. 

Her wardrobe's getting to be more fantastic than mine man...

圣诞节

It is Little Baby's first Christmas.

Merry Christmas Little Baby!

May this Yuletide season bring you much happiness and joy. Stay blessed, healthy and happy always. 

Daddy and Mummy love you.

Muacks!

That mop of hair

That mop of hair on Little Baby's head has been a conversation opener since the day she was born. Nurses, doctors, relatives, friends, strangers. Men and women alike. The first thing they say when they see her is "Wah, a lot of hair!"

Vanity

The mop is growing longer with each passing day. As with any female parent, when your daughter's hair grows longer, your hands will start to itch to do something to it. I finally bought hairclips for her that day. I bought some cutesy hair ties too but those will be used only when she's older and when the mop gets even longer. Verdict? I love the clip in her hair haha. The picture doesn't do justice though, she was fidgeting and that was the best pic I could take of her when she had on her hairclip.

Wolverina

If there ever was a female version of the Wolverine character, she would qualify for it given the stubborn waves and curls in her hair. The ones just above her left ear seem to be particularly stubborn and curl out in huge waves. On some days, the way her hair curls totally reminds me of Wolverine's hairstyle in the X-men movies.

Afro

I get tickled (figuratively) everyday when I bathe her. Just because her hair gets so frizzy and curly when it's wet. And here's a photo of her getting gloriously upset because she was just taken out of her warm bath.

Fuzzy

And...I get tickled (literally) when I carry her upright with her head on my chest. Her hair brushing the underside of your chin and your neck can be quite ticklish haha. 

P/s: typing this post took me two days!

December

I've always liked December, mainly because of Christmas and of the cooler weather. I think I like December even more so now because...the little girl seems to sleep better (at least for the past week or so)

And I attribute this to:

- the cooler weather

- the neighbours' dogs being quieter since there are lesser passers-by due to the rain

- lesser traffic noise due to vehicles travelling slower because of the wet roads 

- December is simply an awesome month 

P/s: October is an awesome month too since both hers and my birthdays fall in that month. :) 

Sorry K darling, April is awesome too, but still less so than October. 

Thankful

It's been 2 and a half months. Interestingly, I still find myself staring at Little Baby and wondering with amazement how on earth did this cute little precious creature come from within me?

Frenchies' Xmas Gathering 2013

Didn't manage to take a group photo this time round because several folks came at different times. But I am still happy we saw all of them. And I'm thankful we're a tight group who get along pretty well with each other. 

Time flies and it's been 6.5 years since we've known each other. Here's to many more years to come! 

This was the only photo I managed to take of the gathering especially since my hands were occupied with food or milk or Little Baby most of the time. :) It's a seafood linguini dish from Modestos.

Little Baby and Basketball

Me: Do you think Little Baby will be a good basketball player next time?

K: Har? Abit too early to tell right? She can't even walk yet.

Me: I think she will be a good basketball player.

K: Why?

Me: Because she is already dribbling a lot when she drinks milk. 

K: -_-"

Me: hahahahaha

K: -_-"

Not funny meh? I thought I was quite witty to have come up with this joke. :D

Liberation

3hours spent alone in a shopping mall, out of which 1h 15mins was spent in a salon. So in 1h 45mins...I somehow managed to buy....

- 3 pairs of shoes

- 2 boxers

- 1 top

- 2 phone covers 

- 3 chicken pies 

- Groceries (4 cup noodles, 2 packets of yogurt, 1 pack of biscuits) 

- Hairclips and rubber bands for myself and the little girl 

Wah I've never been so efficient and so quick to spend money before! Lol look what 2 months of staying at home without any "shopping for myself" time can do to you. 

Say cheese!

After a very trying day on Tuesday, the little girl was in a pretty good mood on Wednesday. And for the first time ever, she gave a little shriek when she smiled/laughed. It was also the first time ever that she smiled so much in a single day!

Feeling domesticated

Rolling up cotton balls to clean Little Baby's backside with. 

Heh

One of the positive things about being on maternity leave during December is that you check your bank account and there it is, your pay is nicely credited into your account. Together with your year-end bonus. Without you doing actual office work. 

*beams*