Get Well Soon Peanut....

If I include PD and doctor visits for the kids in addition to my own, I think I would easily hit 1-2 visits to the doc every week for the last 2 months.

Brought Peanut to the PD this morning again. Poor girl has been having a badly congested nose since Saturday night. She caught a cold on the 1st day of CNY but it cleared up. For a mere 3 days before it started again.

She has been sneezing out chunks and dribbles of mucus. And she has been crying more than usual. I think she's tired too because she can't sleep well. See liao heart pain.  :(

I'm at work but my heart is at home now where she is being cared for by the helper.


Jiayou Peanut...!

What's up doc?

I've seen a GP an average of once a week for the last 4 weeks. And prior that, an average of 1-2 times a month since the birth of Peanut. 

These are not counting whatever checkups I had. 

Argh. 

That puts it close to 10 or maybe even 10 trips to the GP in the last 5 months. 

So the lack of rest has made me susceptible and vulnerable to various ailments? 

Sigh.

I hope it only gets better from here on...

Headaches

I've been having headaches these 2 days. Basically, since I started work yesterday.

Popped Panadol earlier today and it helped for several hours but now the throbbing has started again. 

I can only attribute it to:

1. I don't wanna go back to work.

2. The constant glare of the laptop screen.

3. The constant glare of the fluorescent lights overhead.

4. Suddenly using too much brain cells when the brain has not been picked at in such a manner for many months.

5. The constant sounds and chatter throughout the whole day.

6. The small talk and banter when you meet other colleagues throughout the whole day.

7. Missing my bed too much.

8. Missing my girls too much.

9. Wearing contact lenses again after a long hiatus.

10. Lack of sleep.

Of cabs and taxis

I caved. 

I took a cab home after work again today.  

Are laziness and a splitting headache sufficient as reasons for doing so? 

:((( 

I've spent $100 on cabs in 2 days. Sigh. 

Of Monologues and Double-Words

And so, now that Peanut has started infant care and the inlaws have started sending and fetching her to and from school.....the monologues with double-words have started again. The same monologues we heard 2 years back. 

"Oh the sun glare glare lah!"

"You want to hold hold? Alyssa grab grab lah!"

"Oh you want to chew chew and bite bite!"

"You want to mum mum is it?"

"See the tree tree, bird bird, cloud cloud?"

"Look at the [insert noun twice]!"

Much noise in the car in the mornings. 

I need more patience. :)

The long drawn weaning process

It's taking a long time but I think I'm doing an alright job of weaning Peanut off my milk. 

She went from 100% breastmilk to now maybe 55% formula and 45% breastmilk.  

I went from pumping 6 times a day to the current 3 times a day. 

I will need to continue pumping at work for a few more weeks or maybe a month or two. 

I started Little Baby on cereal and other solids when she was 5.5months and I would be doing the same for Peanut. 

Hopefully that would be the time when I would be able to wean Peanut off completely. 

I'm half-hearted about it though....weaning her off. A little guilty about it. 

And also.....What if she doesn't recognise my smell anymore? 

As it is, with her starting infant care and Little Baby being so clingy to me, I am spending very little time with Peanut. :( 

Year of the Monkey

This year's CNY isn't much to shout about. 

Besides the fact that K flew off for work on 初一 night, Peanut and I fell sick on 初一 night as well. I also smacked Little Baby on 初一 night, and was the cause of her tantrum on 初三 night and 初四 morning. 

I hope tonight will be better. I shall rein in myself and attempt to be less harsh/strict on Little Baby. Sometimes, maybe discipline can take a backseat? 

Fingers crossed that the weeks and months and year ahead will be better. 

大年初二

Lunch was plain rice with some corn soup, plain tau kwa and some sotong balls. A little pathetic but the helper and I were looking back after Peanut and couldn't do much else.

My nose was starting to drip and so I popped a flu pill and promptly concussed for 1.5hrs. Helper was watching over the napping Peanut and besides, I didn't give her any instructions for dinner. And so voila...we don't have dinner. 

Instant noodles to the rescue. 

Yes a little pathetic again....

This CNY hasn't been all that rosy but I'm just happy Peanut is still smiling sometimes amidst her crankiness and general malaise.

Fingers crossed.

明天会更好啊!!

大年初一

I smacked Little Baby and shouted at her numerous times last night. 

(Besides the usual hugs and kisses she gets from me.)

Didn't want to do so on the first day of CNY but I guess there's no choice when the situation calls for it. 

:(

If there's any consolation. I explained why I had to scold and smack her and she seemed to brush off the incident within minutes. 

Sigh.

Alone with helper. K is away for a work trip. 

One girl is down with fever and runny nose and very cranky.

The other is recovering from diarrhoea but still fussy and volatile and sticky as hell to me.

Had dinner at 1015pm because Peanut was hard to put to bed. Put her down twice into her cot and each time she woke within 10-minutes. 

I eventually slept at 12am. Only to be awoken by her cries at 1230am. The helper settled her while I settled Little Baby who had woken up as well due to the noise. 

215am. Little baby woke again and was fussing like shit. No idea why, just incessant whining and fussing and kicking. 

I hope that's the end of tonight's challenges. 

FML lah. I know I 犯太岁 this year but no need to "choot" so much pattern when it's 大年初一 right?!

And now I feel the onset of a bad sore throat and a sniffly nose. Plus I seem to be growing a cyst next to one of my ears. 

Sigh. Argh. Bah. Bleah. 

%#<^*!!?!!><]#%£€¥!!!%#

Granny

Granny would have been 100 years old on 7 Feb if she were still around.

Ally said she was prolly enjoying herself and having a good game of mahjong up in heaven. 

I like that idea. :) 

And she's prolly playing with Ipoh, Tuan Ku and her eldest sister who passed on like maybe 60/70/80 years ago...

Happy Chinese New Year Mama...Selamat Tahun Baru Cina...

I miss your potato chips, buah keluak, hee peow soup and acar...these were all your CNY specialities...

When going out

Before kids

- In contact lenses

- With make-up

- Colour-coordinated outfit

- Matching footwear

- Almost flawless hair

After kids

- In specs (of which the bronze surface is incidentally starting to peel off to reveal the silver base beneath. Super obiang I know)

- No make-up

- Non-colour coordinated outfit

- Non-matching footwear

- Bed hair (it's a bonus if I manage to brush through it once before leaving the house) 

P/s: somehow these days I am not brushing my teeth before bed. I end up just crawling into bed....ok bad habit I know. :( 

Little Baby

CNY celebration in her school today. 

Her class was supposed to put up a number. A CNY song complete with accompanying hand actions. She was sitting with me when her class' turn came and a Chinese teacher plucked her out from my arms and brought her to the front of the large room where all teachers, parents and children were gathered. 

She was clingy today and promptly burst into tears. I had to sit with her in the front of the room. Thankfully some of her other classmates insisted that their parents say with them too so I was not the only adult there. 

Even though I was with her, she still refused to sing, let alone do the hand actions. 

She withdraws in front of strangers. She withdraws even more in front of a small group. And today's group was much larger than usual and noisier as well. She was frightened out of her wits I think. She kept clinging to me, sat on my lap and did not want to budge. 

My dear daughter...I know. Mama hates crowds too and doesn't really like performing in front of one. 

But hey, Mama did eventually participate in a dance performance item in front of the entire school. At the age of 17. It takes time and some effort. Jiayou ok...:) Dada and Mama are behind you all the way! 

Toe-smacking goodness

She just discovered her toes yesterday. :) 

Milky business

I took a massive amount of antibiotics for my dental appointment on 21 Jan last week and was advised to stop breastfeeding the baby for a whole week.

Anyway I had at least 25 packets of milk in the freezer that was enough to feed her for the week. I just resumed feeding her my milk again today, after pumping and dumping for the entire week. 

I calculated how much I pumped and dumped and my jaw dropped. 

I threw away 4 litres of my milk. 

Two things stood out. 

1) I threw that much milk away?! Gosh that's like 4 cartons of milk leh!! Heart pain lor....:( So wasted...mega sayang!! Sigh....

2) Omg you mean I am producing that amount of milk in a single week? 4L in 7 days? Whoa...I never knew because I never thought to measure or do a calculation. Plus this is when I am trying to wean her off and start her on formula milk somemore. Imagine last time when she was fully on my milk, I think I was producing more..possibly up to 5L in a week. Wow...

The Flying K

And so it has started. 

From today, K will be traveling once a week for the next 4 weeks. For 2-3 days each time. 

Praying for safe travels. 

And praying for a cooperative time from the two sisters. 

Peranakan Makan part 2

We were reminiscing this morning, my parents and I.

Of food that my granny used to make. 

Cincalok

Acar

Bee Hoon Titek

Fermented Rice

Her special Sambal

Her own potato chips

Yellow Rice

And the list goes on....

Peranakan Makan

Every year, just before CNY arrives, I would spend either a Saturday or a Sunday morning with my parents, slaving away in their kitchen to make buah keluak for CNY. This tradition has not stopped even though I moved out almost 4 years ago. 

I'm not sure when this started but it has become a given such that we would book the date way in advance. Like in December or November the previous year lol. 

K helped out last year and this year as well. This year, it was because I had to look after Peanut whom we brought over to my parents place as well. She was fussing and I had to tend to her and so K took over some of my cooking duties. :) 

Rudeness

I had someone send me a message through Whatsapp. He asked for my opinion on which design to choose for his corporate brochure as well as for my feedback, if any, on the designs available.  

I gave him my choice and provided him some simple feedback. And thereafter there was zero response from him. 

Like wtf? I took my time to help you evaluate and then there was no response? Not even a thank you? How rude can you be? And no, you are obviously not that busy if you have the time to type out a 300-word FB status. 

Why ask me in the first place if you are not keen or sincere enough to respond?

Simian lines

Suddenly wish that I knew someone with knowledge of palmistry. 

Why?

Because both my daughters are born with their head and heart lines joined together to form a deep single line on their left palms. And that line runs from edge to edge. 

Big coincidence I think. 

Because I know no one who has this, except for an uncle of mine. He happens to have both heart and head lines joined together to form a single line, on both palms. A fortune teller my maternal grandmother went to said that my uncle would have good fortune and luck. 

But if this phenomenon only appears on the left palm? Then what?

A quick search on Google told me that such lines are called Simian lines. They indicate great intensity but also a tendency to rush into things without thinking clearly or thoroughly enough. Folks with these lines apparently do achieve more than others but they also face more obstacles and misfortunes in their journey in life. 

Wish someone could read their palms for me and tell me what my girls will be like next time. 

But then again...que sera sera?