working mothers

A friend at work just enrolled her 18month-old daughter into childcare. Today is the child's 2nd day there and she was still crying alot.

My friend, who incidentally is also named Michelle, is feeling very frazzled now. She is upset and feels heartbroken seeing her kid crying like that. She had thoughts of pulling her daughter out of the centre as well after seeing her daughter cry like that....

Just spent the last hour trying to give her some moral encouragement. Via Whatsapp lol.
Told her to hang on for these few days...and that her kid will adjust soon...most kids will go through this transition phase at some point too....better now then later I guess...

I remember the time when I felt this way when I left Nadya in infant care. The good thing was that Nadya was too young then to even know what was happening...hence there wasn't alot of crying.

Jiayou to all working mothers...
Jiayou to all mothers who are going through the daily struggle of handing their children over to other caregivers, while wishing they were the ones by their children's sides....

Jiayou to Michelle...

Jiayou to me....

Open Letter

To: The lady at the optical shop, Cindy.

On Saturday afternoon, I was there at the shop where you work at. I was there to collect my contact lenses which I had ordered from you 2 weeks earlier. I had Nadya with me this time. 

We chatted a little about our kids and then you asked a question which was worded more like a comment. "她这样小你舍得让她一个人睡meh?" 

It may seem like a harmless question when reading in plain text but you nuanced it with your body language. 

You had a small sneer on your face. It was a look of disdain, mild contempt and disapproval.

I chose not to answer you since it was uttered at a time when I was already getting ready to leave. I merely said goodbye to you and thanked you for the service provided for my making of contact lenses (the service was actually quite satisfactory I must say).

Look lady, there is an unspoken mother code. I know you are a mother as well. A mother does not bash another mother, nor question another mother's parenting choices in her face. We are all trying our best here and every mother wants the best for her child.

You can judge me behind my back for all I care. That's your prerogative. But leave your judgemental questions in your mind. Don't throw it in my face.

Pfffttttt.

Go Peanut Go!

Mighty glad that Alyssa's fever finally broke on Friday night. 

She lost weight over the past week but her appetite seems to have improved and she has been calling out for milk every 3 hours or so since Saturday morning. Even during the middle of the night. 

Stay strong sweetie...mama loves you!

P/s: that's not a huge smile per se haha but more of a smile that was morphing into a yawn. :) I happened to catch it at the most precise moment haha

Nadya

She drives me nuts at times. 

She tests my limits time and again.

She stifles me from time to time.

But.

I love her to bits.

I love the way she hugs me.

I love the way she shows her affection by patting me the way I pat her. 

I love the way her eyes twinkle.

I love her for her wittiness and cheekiness and intelligence.

My firstborn. :) 

Boohoo

The finality has hit home. 

I'm packing up and keeping all my milk storage bottles and pumps and tubes and accessories....I've also given my extra milk storage bags away...

Note to self:

Yes it is final. Your BF journey is at an end. While it may have ended not in the way you wanted, be glad that you even lasted till 6.5months. Especially when you were initially only planning on hitting the 4-month mark. *small pay on the back*

Get well soon

Get well soon our sunshine baby...

妈妈看了都心疼...不过还是很庆幸你还是那么的开朗。真是我们的开心果。

Parenting 101

I constantly question whether I am doing the right things for my kids.

Alyssa has been falling sick so often since she started infant care. We've brought her to the PD at least 7-8 times since CNY this year. To the point that the thought of pulling her out of infant care did cross my mind. Am I doing the right thing by letting her continue? Am I doing her a greater disservice by pulling her out?

Nadya has started enrichment classes in her school. She's taking gym lessons and recently started on ballet. Now her teacher tells me more than half her classmates are in the chinese speech and drama enrichment class...Now I'm thinking if she is losing out on learning Mandarin. 

Kiasu mentality? I don't know.

Work...career....job.....

I spent the last 5 years focused on my personal life - getting married, shifting out, getting my own place, having kids and making sure everything is good in their life.

Back in 2011, I had just been in the company for 4 years. Not too long, but not short either. Although HR had earmarked me under its talent management programme at that point and had identified me for a job rotation, I was not ready and declined the offer of the new position in anther division of the same organisation. At that point, I had also felt that the role offered to me was not quite suitable.

Between 2011 and now, thoughts of my career and progression did surface in my mind from time to time but I didn't think about it much. Now, with so many changes happening in the parent organisation and with a new boss, the question has surfaced again.

How long more should I stay here?
Where can I go from here?
What can I do?

Come September 2016, I would have spent 9 years in this company. That is long. Almost 2/3 of my entire working life was spent in this place.

I am not sure if I am rotting here. Part of me feels like I am. Part of me though is lazy to be confronted with new challenges and changes if I shift to another place. Part of me just wants to stay here.

My priority is my family and I am unsure if other places can accord me the flexibility and support I need when I need to head off to look after the kids.

While I am sure I can't move up the ladder much if I am still here in this company, I am half-hearted to leave as well, what with the camaraderie already built up with colleagues and external stakeholders.

Questions.
Questions.

Conversations with a 30-month old

We were in the car heading out for lunch with K's family. His belated birthday lunch. 

Nadya: Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.

Kyne: And then? 

N: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

K: And then? 

N: Must put plaster.

LOL.....

==========

I called my parents one of the weekday nights and my mum happened to pick the call. I put her on speakerphone so that Nadya could join in our conversation.

Nadya was playing "masak masak" with some of her plastic cups and teapot. 

N: I am "making" barley for Mama! 

My mum: Wah, you know how to cook barley?

N: Ya.

My mum: Can you make some for me too? I like barley water.

N: Tomorrow you cook it yourself. 

LOL....

==========

We were in a cafe. I went to take children's cutlery for her....and then I got corrected by the little girl...

Me: Here you go. I took a pink bowl for you. You like pink right? 

N: Nooooo. Not bowl. This is a plate. 

I swear the lady at the next table gave a knowing snigger...maybe she's a mum too lol. 

Conversation piece

I was sharing a table at the kopitiam with another lady. I'd finished my meal and was waiting for the clinic to open. So with my Teh-o still hot and sitting on the table, I decided to start drawing. 

The auntie asked me about it after several minutes had passed haha. She asked to see my book and I showed it to her. I showed her some of my past works as well and she seemed genuinely interested. 

She said the piece I was currently working on was beautiful. Wah thanks a lot leh auntie :)

You made my day even though it is a very unfinished piece haha. 

I seem to be speaking a lot to random strangers these days.....

New pieces

Some new pieces over the last 2 weeks plus....

Fate?

A week or so ago I wrote about my new cabby friends. 

One of them asked me to buy his car licence plate number for 4D because he thought it was quite uncanny how we met. And how we had some things in common. 

I'm happy to announce that on the Saturday evening just past, I won a consolation prize in the draw! Lol....my first 4D win ever! Although it was a mere $78, it still felt good. I'm sure he won something as well. :) 

Although I promised to call him if I did win anything, I didn't. It feels a little strange to call him just to tell him that. So I will leave it to fate again. I may meet him again and only then will I inform him that I did win something! Thanks to his cab number haha....

Story of My Life

I think today is the 6th or 7th time I'm seeing a doctor. 

It's only April. 

And no I have not counted in the times when I went for dental or other hospital checkups. 

FML.

If I include the times when I brought the 2 girls for their own checkups and PD visits, the number will probably hit 17 or 18.....

The windows to my soul

There were 2 things I absolutely hated when I was younger: seeing the dentist and seeing the optometrist. 

While they followed through to my adulthood, I have learned to accept that it is inevitable that I would visit one or the other at least once in a year or two. 

I went to the optical shop today. The same one I've been going to since 5-6 years ago. I had my eyes checked and sigh....the results were not so good. 

My left eye went from having no astigmatism to now having 75 degrees of it. 

Both eyes still have very high myopia. 

Sigh. I get sad every single time I head to the optical shop. Without fail. 

Sigh. 

Should I?

Have I become more cynical and unfeeling? 

An old woman approached me and asked for $2. She said she had dropped her wallet and needed cash for her lunch.  I was quite wary, told her I had no small change and left the area. 

I wasn't sure whether she was a scammer or genuinely needed money. 

As I walked away I felt a mixture of guilt, confusion and cynicism. 

Should I have just given her some money? Regardless of whether she was genuine or not? 

I don't know. I chose to walk away and now I am burdened somewhat by these thoughts and wondering if I am a bad person. 

distracted

11am 15 April 2016 Friday

distracted is when:

• your husband has been coughing for 2-3 weeks
• your older girl is showing signs of a cough starting again
• your younger girl is recovering from an eye infection, still battling a cough and has now just gotten a very bad nappy rash
• your dad just went to for his heart check-up this morning and is due for his eye/glaucoma/cataract checkup soon
• you yourself are nursing a cough and a sore throat and are trying to find a chance to go see the doctor instead of self-medicating

AND

• your mum is now at the A&E with bad giddiness, high BP and another bout of diarrhoea (which has been afflicting her on and off for the last 2-3 weeks. Just received notice from my Dad through whatsapp.... 

Dear God,
please keep my family and my loved ones safe and in good stead.... thank you.....

Nappy rash

Peanut has a bad nappy rash. Sigh. 

The poor girl has been crying badly whenever she pees. It must be quite painful and uncomfortable for her.

Mama feels a little heart pain whenever you cry...

Hang in there sweetie. 

Mr Desitin is trying his best to work his magic on your bum.....

My New Friends

I have been very frivolous of late. I frequently take a cab to work.

Yes, I know...it is rather frivolous...and my defensive mind will churn up 1,001 reasons to justify it when questioned. =D

Anyway, I take a cab to work so frequently that I've recently made 2 friends. 2 different cabbies who have picked me up several times each. Let's call them 2654 and 9897 lol. Those are their cab license plate numbers.

Mr 2654 is with Prime Taxi and is in his 40s. He drops his daughter off at Anglican High and then starts going picking up passengers. And that's why his timing and my timing is about the same. He has a younger son in primary school. We end up chatting mostly about kids and school and education.

Mr 9897 is with Transcab and is in his 50s. He has 2 sons. The older one is completing his studies at NTU soon and the younger one is still in the army. His wife works part-time at a shop somewhere in Frankel. After he drops her off work, he then gets back to the grind of picking up passengers. His cab is only 3 months old and I've taken it about 3 times already. We called it fate and he told me to go buy his car number for 4D. Apparently the number has also been out at least 4 times in 4D results, not the actual number but a permutation of it. He told me to go buy ibet haha....

Knowing these two uncles has its perks...sometimes when the morning "on-call" traffic is busy and I can't get a cab, one of them (if they are free and still around the area) would notice that I'm still trying to get a cab. They would then take my job. Hehe...

有缘千里来相会
Sometimes fate brings interesting people and things into your life. :)

mini rant post

A board member asked me something via email. I had drafted up something pretty good as a response. At least I thought it was pretty good, and it's rare that I think I can do up something good. Sent it to the boss for clearance yesterday. He amended it slightly and said I could send it out today.

This morning though, he sent me a text message to let me know that he'd already sent out the response last night.

Xian max. It was a chance for me to showcase myself to the high-ups...and now that has been taken away from me. And his email sent out was actually 90% drafted by me. Wah. Xian lor.

==========
Peanut has an eye infection. And a runny nose (yes, again...sigh) and a cough.

Sigh. Get well soon sweetie...Mama's worried about you...and Mama misses your smiles.
You didn't smile that much last night and seemed a little dazed at times too. :( 

==========
Going about my days in a zombie mode. It is affecting my work a little. I need to read and re-read certain things. Especially if its is a legal or policy document.

God, grant me patience. And quality sleep.

11 April 2016 - Granny's 2nd Death Anniversary

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of granny's passing.

It is true I guess. Time heals and time numbs.
While the events of that night 2 years ago and the ensuing funeral arrangements remain fresh in my mind, I feel less emotional about it. Is this called coming to terms with it? Hmm. I don't know.

Yesterday, my parents, brother and I went to Holy Family Church to pay our respects to her and to say our prayers. We each took our own pews and said our own prayers silently.

This time round, Nadya and K came along as well.

I'm not sure if I was less emotional compared to last year because part of my mind was pre-occupied with Nadya. (She was abit overwhelmed in the church and was fussing a little.) Or I was less emo because time heals...

There were some changes to the church this time. The offerings counter downstairs had gone and had apparently been shifted elsewhere. The Mother Mary statue and the guppies and koi were still there though. :)

==========
As for Nadya, I don't think she understood why we were at the church though K had tried to explain to her. She was mostly overwhelmed by the number of people who were leaving after mass. She was also overwhelmed by the main glass-stained mural at the front of the main prayer hall. And I think, like how I was when I was younger, she was probably overwhelmed by the atmosphere within the church itself. It just feels different from other environments and I guess she must have felt it too.

She was silent and morose and generally fussy.

==========
In the 2 weeks leading up to today, there were weird comments coming from the little girl.

She had met her great-grandmother 2-3 times before. But I doubt she remembers my granny because she was only a few months old then. Still, there is this family portrait at my parents' place with my granny in it. Nadya recognises and understands that the old lady in the picture is her "Ah Chor" aka her great-grandmother.

There was a night 2 weeks ago when she told me she didn't want to sleep because she didn't like "the old woman". I asked her "which old woman? what old woman?" And she replied "Ah Chor".

Gave me goosebumps after that...lol.

And just on Saturday evening at my parents' place, Nadya was playing with their home phone. She picked up the receiver and pretended to be talking to someone. "Hello, how are you? (blah blah blah) Ok, good bye." My Dad asked who she was speaking to...and she replied "Ah Chor".

Goosebumps part 2! Haha...

#truestory