Monthly Archives: February 2008

Is it the Asian in me??

Posted by Misty Mom on 28/02/2008 4 comments

It must be! There is no other possible and acceptable explaination, really.

Arianna is born into a really celup* family. I am very celup, celup to the max – Daddy was Indian and Mum is Eurasian. [I'm not going into her celup family la - it would be just too complicated.] And Ted is English-Irish from memory. That makes Arianna even more celup!

Anyway, being typical Asian there are many things that I find rather hard trying to explain to Ted why is such and such a thing is done or why the belief is such, etc. Sometimes there are things which for me [refering to the fact that I'm Malaysian = Asian] is just something out of the norm and which I would do without question in Malaysia but here, aiyoo…have to explain and makes my head spin trying to. Then there are times when we Asians got so many pantangs* especially when there is a baby in the family. This problem is still on going for me and I don’t think it will ever go away.

To those who are not aware, there are certain things which one mustn’t point out if one notices that a baby is doing it such as :

  • if the baby is eating well

  • if the baby is behaving well

  • if the baby is sleeping well

In short, if anything that the baby in this case, Arianna is doing well. I normally just keep quiet about it because we pantang to say it out loud. But Ted’s thinks is just mumbo-jumbo! It really is not….in the beginning, I refused to give in to this so called superstitious but you know what? I’ve noticed that despite ignoring it, whenever anyone says anything of the above nature, it will be the extreme opposite ie. if she is eating well, she won’t; if she was sleeping well, she becomes a banshee and cries and cries and cries despite being and looking sleepy, she won’t fall asleep, etc. It’s really scary. So much so that I don’t like asking the nurse anything because I would have to tell her about Arianna. And when I really have no choice but to explain everything, I try to tell it in such away that I’m not constantly talking about it, you know?

One good example is that my Mum doesn’t like when people keep saying how much weight Arianna’s put on and I don’t really like it when people talk about the amount of food she is taking in especially when she is eating well or anything positive that she is doing. Am I being paranoid or what?!

I dunno la but it just feels like I’m a mad woman or something. Part of me doesn’t want to think that way but when I ignore such things, then the obvious happens and I just can’t make sense of it. Hence, I’ve decided that I’ll just let things be as they are. If Arianna does anything well as in better than the day before or anything like that, I just keep it to myself because I personally feel that it works that way for us. After all, I’m the one who has to deal with a cranky baby when things go wrong right?

Let sleeping dogs lie….

*celup : inter-racial

*pantang : taboo

Getting all comfy cozy for the movies

Posted by Misty Mom on 25/02/2008 None comments

Ted and I love to watch movies. In fact, we normally watch a new release as soon as it gets out into the cinemas because nothing beats watching a good, action-packed, bloody movie on the big screen.

I guess it must be all the lighting and that comfy furniture that gives it that suitable and unique ambience. But since we have our own home theater at  home [duh!], we’ve been thinking of making it MORE cinema like since we plan to make full use of that empty room we have at the back. So I believe it’s time to check out some home theater furniture that will make it all that perfect. That way, we won’t need to rush out anymore to catch movies unless it’s just TOO good to miss. ;) Nothing beats having the feeling of being in the cinema within the comfort of your own home. :)

Brought to you by Stargate Cinemas

My baby is growing up so fast but…

Posted by Misty Mom on 25/02/2008 4 comments

….it all seems like just yesterday that I was in labour and pushing so hard, I thought that I’d wake up to find all my internal organs missing and on their way to the organ donation bank! After all, I am a registered organ donor what….

Anyway, I have just finished reading a fellow bloggers post on her unexpected pregnancy and how she didn’t want to have the baby but she pulled through anyway. After all, it is her flesh and blood. Someone commented about having gone through an unwanted pregnancy as well but only to find out in the 8th month that the baby had died in the womb and despite not wanting the baby in the beginning, you still anticipate its birth all the same. This woman was saying how bad she felt because of her feeling towards this baby and how she didn’t want it and when what happen happened, it was like God telling her that since you don’t want this gift I’ve given you, I’ll take it back, thank you. I thought it was kind of sad….anyway, that’s not my post for today.

It’s just that as I was reading that post, it reminded me of Arianna’s birth and although it’s been 6.5 month now and to me she’s just growing up so fast that I wished I couldn’t blink coz in those few seconds, she’s already older! But on the other hand, the birth itself to me seems so fresh. It’s like as if it happened just a couple of days ago and everything seems so fresh in my mind. As a matter of fact, I get ramdon flashbacks of the delivery, the labour, the pushing….I can even something see myself going through all that as if I was someone standing in the room – like me outside of me, looking at me, you know? Very bizarre I tell you.

It’s funny how Ted and I were casually talking the other about having more kids and all. Part of me would love to have a baby right now provided that I could have some sort of ridiculous agreement such as no heart burn [but I still get a baby with a full head of hair please], no body aches or stretch marks, no labour, no tearing or stitching, that I don’t have to suffer a C-sect, no postnatal crap and we get the second most perfect baby in the world – Arianna’s the first. In another words, all I need to do is carry bub for 9 months which I would gladly do minus all the discomforts and when the time comes, just give one painless push when doc says so and pop! Have baby in my arms, nursing without a fuss and I can be back home the same day. A most certainly impossible miracle for all mothers but you can’t say that I don’t have a wild imagination, ok? I can dream, can’t I?

Hence, the reason we hope for a small gap in between. In the beginning, I was hoping to set like a 3 year gap in between just so that we can enjoy Arianna as she grows up and at the same time, prep myself for #2. But Ted thinks that if we want another one, we should try as soon as possible so that both kids will have each other to play with hence, less attention from us is needed. Not that we plan to ignore them or anything…just that, they will have each other to entertaint themselves with, and Mummy and Daddy can have a little breather. I can’t say that it doesn’t makes sense coz it does but the asap part is the problem as I don’t know when that will be. Ted isn’t pressuring me into having #2 of course, it will be when I am ready and that’s for sure after all, I’m the one doing all the work from carrying the child, to keeping it alive to pushing it out and then picking up after him/her for the rest of my life right? So I certainly have a huge say on when we can start trying for #2.

But it is quite a dilemma because we have to take our finances into check as well. It’s like back to square one for me! *lol* This is what happens when yours truly has too much time and thinks too much….but you know what? At the end of the day, even if we were trying for #2 and going at it like rabbits, but God thinks that we weren’t prepared to take the very best care of His gift to us, I think we wouldn’t fall pregnant that easily. It’s all in His hands and if in the event, we do get pregnant unexpectedly like with Arianna, although we weren’t planning on getting pregnant that soon AND blame it on my inability of getting my bloody Billings Method right, I think we’ll do just fine. ;)

First you start with a logo

Posted by Misty Mom on 25/02/2008 None comments

Starting a business can be dauting if you just have a vague idea of what you want to create. We’ve been thinking about setting up some sort of business and among the issues that have cropped up are the image and look of the business. With this new era and cyber age, making full use of the internet to introduce and publicize our business would be a great way to reach more people on a larger scale and my first thought was we need a logo design, our own brand name. 

This logo design will be the eye opener and the essence of our business and once that it is done, we can look into setting our goals, objectives and direction. So, I’ve come up with this using a really simple and quick method of designing all provided by LogoYes and done online in just a few minutes. It’s really THAT simple! And with so many varieties of designs to choose from, starting a business just became a tad easier. ;)

 Brought to you by LogoYes

Identity crisis

Posted by Misty Mom on 24/02/2008 6 comments

Poor Arianna! Only half a year old and already being plagued by identity crisis. *lol* This post was spawned by Baby Booned’s comment. ;) Don’t worry dear, you’re still very sane.

So why the sudden change?

Initially, when we named her ‘Arianna’, we never thought about what to call her as in to call her in full ie. Arianna or a pet name like Ella or Kecik, since we were calling her that ever since we found out about her. And at that time, we didn’t know the gender yet so we got used to ’Kecik’ as it’s pretty much unisex because it just means ‘little one’ in Bahasa but it’s got a Northern [I think] accent to it. And Ted kind of got hooked on it and has been calling her that ever since and till today too!

So right about in January, I realised that it was weird calling her so many names. Mum, Sis and I called her Ella, MIL calls her Arianna and Ted, for most of the time, calls her Kecik. I pity the poor thing! She must have been SO confused…..I mean, I would too being that that young and trying to keep in mind who calls who what. Her poor brains must have been so overworked!

And MIL did casually mention that one should be called by the full name, so that was one of the reasons why I changed to calling the cheeky chops ‘Arianna’. The other reason was because I found it just too taxing trying to explain to people why she is being called ‘Ella’ when her first name is Arianna. That itself was stressful enough for me and I just thought I had had enough of that and for the final record, we called her ‘Ella’ because it’s short for Michaela which is her middle name…which is the feminine of ‘Michael – my Daddy’s name.

So why didn’t we just call her ‘Anna’ or ‘Ari’? Well, I’ll be honest and tell you that I did try that but for the life of me, I just couldn’t call her ‘Anna’ because I’m not really that fond of the name and ‘Ari’ just didn’t sound right – ‘Arianna’ on the other hand was perfect. And although it did take me some time to get used to calling her that because it was ‘long’ compared to ‘Ella’, I did get used to it. So now, it’s officially Arianna.

Mind you, I did do a search to check the meaning of ‘Arianna’ and this is what I found :

Arianna is the Italian form of Ariadne [pronouced as ar-ee-AHD-nee]. It is actually of Greek origin which bring the meaning of “most holy”. In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos. She fell in love with Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him.

Interesting eh? But now, Mum and Sis are having trouble getting used to it because they have stuck to it since the day she was born! *lol* However, I am sure that they too will get used to it. Also, I thought I’d mention that ‘Arianna Michaela’ in that order, is the first name that I came up with that Ted liked. Lord know I had so many on my list that he just didn’t fancy but he took to this name so fast that in the end, we chose it for our first born. ;) It just have been a sign but who knows? ;)

Cruise-y, cruise-y

Posted by Misty Mom on 22/02/2008 None comments

O, wouldn’t it be an absolute delight to take a cruise on a magnificent ship from port to port, all around the world? Gosh, that would be like a dream come true! Although Ted and I have been on a short river cruise, getting on board a royal caribbean would be like WOW.

With complete amenities from entertaintment to fitness to dining to gorgeous suites with that killer oceanview, I don’t think I’ll ever get off the ship! One would most likely have to drag me away kicking and screaming. I would most likely be found spending a lot of time in the spa [ooo lala!] and for the rest of the time, partying the night [or day] away at the lounges/bar/discos, where I don’t have to worry about time at all! Only thing left for me to do now is convince Ted that we need that holiday! ;)

Brought to you by Royal Caribbean

Beep beep!

Posted by Misty Mom on 20/02/2008 8 comments

 

That’s right! You heard correct – Arianna’s got a new ride and it’s her Beepa 4 in 1. It is suppose to last kids up to 2 years of age and I do hope that it does. After all, it will come in handy when #2 arrives, when the time comes that is. The funny thing is, up till now, Arianna still hasn’t turned but she is able to jump and sit up quite steadily [aided of course] and sometimes when she is placed on her tummy, she does this cute comando style ‘crawl’. Not that she is moving forward…she goes around in circles. But still no turning and I’m not sure if it’s something I should be concerned about.

Many people keep telling me that she will do so in her time – and boy is she taking her time alright! I’m also wondering if she’s being a lazy bum because we used to leave her in her rocker a lot because she didn’t really like being laid down on her gym mat and by herself but she was fine on the rocker. I started placing her on her tummy when we were at the hospital hence, she’s got a pretty strong neck and back now. Praise God!

Ted’s been coaching her on how to turn. She seems to be able to twist herself 3/4 of the way but that one arm is always preventing her from completing the turn and Ted’s been trying to teach her how to stick her arm out so that it will help. I think and I hope that it’s working. ;)

Other than that, I’ve kind of stopped packing for now. Can’t believe that I will be back home in Kulim around this next month! ;) And on 28/3/2008, we will officially be allowed to move in although MIL will be bringing her friends over to clean the new place once the current tenant moves out. It’s all so exciting and I have so many thing I wanna do when I get there. I mean, the exercise machine Ted has is collecting dust and I so badly need to tone up, I really want to start sweing stuff because I know I can but I’m just too lazy to get started – I’m looking forward to sewing some curtain actually and I might just try sewing those clothes nappies that Aida’s done as well. Other than that, I’m just plain excited that we are moving into a bigger place. Lord knows Arianna’s toys itself has taken up 3/4 of our hall!! And that’s only her gym mat, her Beepa and the rocker….we still have the corber TV set and our 2 chairs as well. So…it’s REALLY getting cramped in here.

And since I’ve laid off the packing for a bit which is BAD as I really need to get my butt off the chair, quit Scarbulous [NNNNNNNNNNnnnpnoooooooooooo!!] for awhile and clear Arianna’s [supposedly] room for my sis who is coming down on 28/2 but I’ve been distracted not only by Scrabulous but also fooling around with Photoshop.

The joys of being a parent is that you are allowed to take any kind of shot at the expense of your kids. :D

Ever since I got the hang of the features and all, I’ve kind of been hooked on playing with the program. It can get quite addictive coz there is just SO much you can do! ;) Anyway, time for bed…..Zzzzzzzz

What makes a happy marriage?

Posted by Misty Mom on 16/02/2008 3 comments

Marriage is made up of many things in my opinion and love is just one of it. Was going through some bloggers who commented in my Show & Tell post, and one of them had this ‘recipe’ to share. So thanks to Barbara H., I can share it with you. ;)

Recipe for a happy marriage

1 cup of consideration
2 cupfuls praise
1 reasonable budget
2 cupfuls of flattery carefully concealed
2 cupfuls milk of human kindness
1 gallon faith in God and each other
A generous dash of cooperation
3 teaspoons of pure extract of “I am sorry”
Children (more or less, to taste)
1 cup of confidence and encouragement
1 large or several small hobbies
1 cup of blindness to each others faults
1 cup of courtesy
1 small pinch of in-laws
1 cup of contentment

Flavor with frequent portions of recreation and a dash of happy memories. Stir well and remove any specks of jealousy, temper, or criticism. Sweeten well with generous portions of love and keep warm with a steady flame of devotion. Never serve with a cold shoulder or a hot tongue.

– Author Unknown

Makes me wonder what ever happen to trust? ;)

Bicycling my fats away

Posted by Misty Mom on 15/02/2008 None comments

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’ve put on quite a fair bit since Arianna was born. But who can blame me right? I need to continuously ensure that I get enough in me to feed my body and at the same time, Arianna needs hers as well -I’m nursing so I guess I have a reason to go on binge eating every now and then. Sadly, because of this binge eating – the weight is piling on.

I know that I’m not really a discipline person when it comes to exercising because I am just too lazy to lace up and go jogging, the weather can be quite brutal sometimes and I just hate it. But all is not lost for me because with ellipticals, I’m well within redemption! I realised that if I were to place one of these machines in front of the telly, I could be doing 3 things at once – watch telly, lose weight and keep Arianna entertained as she watches me cycle my pounds away. Good eh? ;)

Brought to you by Nordic Track

Bluefly’s for you!

Posted by Misty Mom on 15/02/2008 None comments

I was never a fan of branded clothes because to me, they are always overly priced for simply wear. And if you look hard enough, you can easily get something which look similar for less than half the price. That said, if I ever chanced upon an opportunity to purchase any branded wear is. super sales or discount, I wouldn’t give it a miss!

Personally, I think it’s almost every girl’s dream come true to own a ridiculously expensive handbag such as Prada or a Kale and truth be known, I couldn’t afford if but with a Bluefly coupon……hehehe, I think it won’t be a surprise to see a gorgeous Prada hanging from my shoulder pretty soon! ;) Why? Because it’s on sale!!!

Brought to you by Bluefly