Monthly Archives: January 2009

Fuhyoo, gone hi-tech!

Posted by Misty Mom on 28/01/2009 5 comments

Yiippeee….I took the plunge and bought a sewing machine!! :)

Janome DC3050
Specifications
50 Stitch Patterns
2 Digit LED Stitch Pattern Indicator
Auto-lock
Lock-A-Matic Stitch
Adjustable Stitch Width from 0 to 7 mm
Adjustable Stitch Length from 0 to 5 mm
Buttonhole System: One-step Sensor Type Automatic 3 Styles
External Feed Balancing Dial
SFS (Superior Feed System)
Box Feed System
Drop Feed System
Automatic Tension
Horizontal Thread Delivery
Lay-in Threading with Numbered Paths
2 Different Sized Thread Caps
Built-in Needle Threader
One Hand Thread Cutter
Snap-On Feet
Conveniently Located Reverse Button
Electronic Foot Control
Speed Control Lever
Failsafe Device: Electronic Beep
Jam Proof, Magnetic, Top Loading, Full Rotary Bobbin System
Auto Declutch Bobbin Winding
See Through Bobbin Cover with One Touch Release Button
Extra High Presser Foot Life for Extra Clearance
15 Needle Positions
Free Arm Removable Accessory Tray
Needle Stop “Up”
Memorized Needle Up/Down Key
Retractable Carrying Handle
Machine Weight: 18.2 lbs (8.2 kg)
Front Position Halogen Lightbulb
DC Motor
Sculpture Stitch (2 Lengths)
Bi-directional Blanket Stitch
24 Heirloom Stitches
6 Satin Decorative Stitches
Star Stitch

Sounds really dahsyat right? Well, I think it is. I did try it out and was quite happy about how it was working. It was the last one and it was one of the models which was selling like hot cakes when it first arrived in December. It was also going to AU399, same as the one I previously mentioned but this is computerised and well, has more functions than I could use in a lifetime! So I am really looking forward to sewing my own doona covers, bedsheets, curtains, tableclothe…you name it, I’ll try it! :)

This is Ted’s Valentine’s Day pressie to me and I’m so happy he asked me if he could buy it for me instead of getting me a surprise pressie coz this was definitely a better idea! See, it’s not all that bad when you ask someone what they want as a pressie, that way, both parties win. You get something you want and the person who bought it will be happy that he/she got you something that you wanted! :)

Ps. This was the model which was being used as the demo model and I did ask for a bargain but apparently, they don’t entertain any bargains. She did mention that many people ask and they should coz who knows right? So since I couldn’t get any discount from them, I won’t bother asking for any freebies la. Quite apparent I won’t be getting anything! *lol* But I’m just happy with this purchase. Just can’t wait to get to work now!!! *dancing dancing dancing*

No thank you to homebirths

Posted by Misty Mom on 27/01/2009 1 comments

When we found out we were pregnant with Arianna, I went all out and read books and articles on various options on births. From homebirths [assisted and unassisted[, water births to natural births [with and without drugs], having doulas and midwives to assists, and of course, caesarean as well. Everything was considered and we talked about it.

From the beginning, I had always wanted to have an assisted home-water birth. I had envisioned myself sitting in my hall in a big tub of warm water with Ted’s and the midwife’s support, to bring our baby into the world. All this thanks to the positive articles, stories and YouTube videos. You can get ANY sort of video you want in there, all you need to do is search for it. I had come to the conclusion that a water birth would be the least stressful and labour management would be easier and better too. After all, warm water does help loosen everything down there and soften the skin as well hence, I wouldn’t have to worry about tearing too badly. Also, it also made me think about Arianna and not wanting her to open her eyes to a bunch of strangers man-handling her the moment she comes into the world. It would be best if her transition from womb to real world be gradual ie. from the womb to warm water, to Mummy.

But all this was not to be because Ted was not in favour. Although I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t support me in this, I was damn bloody glad!! I keep thinking about how if we really did go through with my initial birth plan, I may not be here today blogging about this. You can read about Arianna’s birth here, just to give you an idea of what happened that day.

In short, if I had had my home birth, it would have gone very bad and in the end, I would have ended up in the hospital and things would have been worst. I was very glad that we decided to have Arianna at the hospital and no number of positive home birth stories will ever make me want to have a home birth. The success rates may be good but not all of us know what will happen along the way. We can’t foresee what will happen. We always hear about the positive and successful birth stories but what about those that went wrong. People don’t talk much about it, do they? If even I do decide to have a home birth, it will not be unassisted – why be a hero and try to deliver your own baby?? Asking for trouble is what I think when mums decide to deliver their own. Perhaps they feel that it some sort of achievement but heck, if what happened to me, happened to them. It would only mean that they learnt their lesson the hard way. Lives could be lost…..no joke!

I’m not saying that people should not have home births or that home births are bad but in my personal opinion, they are not a good idea based on personal experience. After all, I had an almost perfect textbook pregnancy and I was fine throughout the pregnancy – no high blood or GD and yet, mine was a traumatic birth. No amount of books or reference could have prepared us for what happened. Until today, I don’t know what would have happened if I had insisted on a home birth.

I think this pretty much sums up what I think is best :

I would like to point out one natural aspect of a home birth that your writer missed: death. As an emergency nurse working in a city, I see countless women who arrive at the hospital–and die–after a home birth gone wrong. I fully support having a midwife-assisted birth, but it should be done in a birthing center within a hospital setting equipped to deal with emergencies. Elspeth McTavish, TORONTO

So if you happen to read this and think that I’m talking rot or what I think is stupid, so be it. Everyone has their opinion and that’s fine but just bear in mind that it’s not all about you – baby’s safe delivery and you surviving the ordeal are the most important. And if you must have a home birth, please ensure that it is an assisted one or at least have the midwife/doula on standby in the next room. Better to be safe than sorry….

If you’re wondering why this sudden rant about home births…well, yours trully got carried away checking out home birth videos on YouTube and then it occurs to me how most of the births were successful ones, what happened to those that went wrong? Hence this piece…I got another post coming up about newborn handling too. Very scary but doubt I can find that video again though….

Finally, Pacman @ 28 weeks! :)

Posted by Misty Mom on 27/01/2009 3 comments

Finally, finally, FINALLY!! :D

Pacman @ 28 weeks
Pacman at 28 weeks. :) Finally found the best place to pose and take a shot plus I was dressed relatively nicely this time too. *lol*

Why do I feel ‘small’ for 28 weeks? Perhaps I’m a ‘big’ girl? I thought I’d be bigger with #2 but seems like the same…o well, doesn’t really matter. As long as I look ‘neat’, as my MIL labels me. *lol* Glad I ain’t really waddling either. Although I am walking really slow these days…

To buy or not?

Posted by Misty Mom on 27/01/2009 1 comments

As most of you know, I’ve started sewing before I went back to Kulim before Christmas and I really had loads of fun especially while I was there with Mum’s help and all. Now that I’m back, I’ve found myself seriously thinking about getting another sewing machine, one which is more sturdy than the one Ted got me. I must say that I was really glad he bought that one for me in the first place coz that was what got me interested to start sewing.

So yesterday I was checking out Ebay and found a bid which I thought would be a good buy since knowing myself, I have a short attention span and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get an expensive one in case I lost interest. So I’ve placed it on watch as the bids ends tonight. It was about AU54.00 the last I saw and now it’s up to over AU100!! I thought of just getting a 2nd hand cheap one so that if I did lose interest, I wouldn’t feel bad about buying it but Ted felt that when it comes to Ebay and buying working things, he was a little skeptical about it but told me it was up to me as I was going to buy it.

So today, while we were out, we went to a Janome branch to check out what a brand new sewing machine would cost and I found myself attracted to this one :


MS5027 Limited Edition (Pink Ribbon)
Specifications
27 Stitches including one-step buttonhole
Built-in needle threader
Fully adjustable stitch length &width
Maximum Zigzag Width: 6.5 mm
Maximum Stitch Length: 4 mm
Horizontal rotary top loading jam proof bobbin
Free arm capability
Dial Foot Pressure Adjustment (3 Steps)
Extra-high Presser Foot Lift
Markings on Needle Plate (Inches and Metric)
Drop Feed Dog
Auto-declutch Bobbin Winder
Snap (clip) on Presser Foot
Thread Cutter (On the Face Plate)
Horizontal Spool Pin
Incandescent Lamp
Power Switch
Electronic Foot Controller
Hard Resin Cover

I mentioned to the lady that I was a beginner and this was my first machine and she explained to me that there were 2 choices but this was a better one coz although it was more expensive, it had function that was pre-set so I didn’t need to fiddle with the functions which I was quite glad about. Plus it was more sturdy and heavier, better if you had kids around. It’s AU399 but you can get it on lay-by which is paying in installments and you only get the item once you’ve made all the payments and they gave me 10 weeks to pay it all up.

The thing is, I have to make a quick decision as the price of this machine is going up after Jan 31 to AU440 and in March, it will be AU499!! :( So I can’t decide if I want to get it or not!!! :(

After checking this one out in person, I’ve kind of lost interest in the one on Ebay coz the one there seems a little old and like Ted said, we don’t know if it really is working well. So it’s likely that I will end up buying a new one but just a little concern with the price. Once again, Ted told me that if I really took it seriously, then this would be a good investment….will sleep over this and decided in a day or 2.

Till then…what do you think?

How to make twins

Posted by Misty Mom on 26/01/2009 4 comments

Ooopps, if you’re looking for tips on how to get pregnant with twins, can’t help you there unless you do it this way :

CnP
This was just something I got in the mail which I thought was just really cute and funny. But heck, you’ll never know what you might get if you were of mixed raced and was pregnant with twins!!

7 years ago, a mixed-race couple from England had a pair of twin baby girls and boy, were they unique!! One twin was exactly like mum, more white with orange hair and the other was dark, like dad. Very bizarre and just recently, they got pregnant again and voila, who would have thought that they’d end up with twins again? And more surprisingly, one is dark and the other fair! *lol*

Here they are, those cutie pies with mum and dad :
2 set of twins
Read the whole story here.

We all thought that they were unique and they are, seeing that it happened to the Durrant family twice in a row but apparently there are other couples like them too minus a pair of twins of course. :) They include Terri and Malcolm Rayhaman, Kerry Richardson, Kylie Hodgson, Michael and Amanda Biggs, Florence Addo-Gerth and Stephan Gerth, and Tracy and Andrew Balasco.

See what happens when you can’t sleep and then make use of Google?? This is why I should never, ever take afternoon naps….*sigh*

Making life easy with rubber stamps

Posted by Misty Mom on 25/01/2009 None comments

I am one who enjoys writing letters, sending postcards and it’s hard for me not to send out festive cards during those wonderful times. And as much as I love to send out snail mail that way, there is one thing which I hate the most. And that is writing out the return address on the envelope. I totally despise it because it takes ages to write and becomes such a bore!! That is why I am totally into getting my own custom rubber stamps. :) And I personally prefer the pre-ink ones coz then I don’t have to bother buying stamp pads! :D

Baby Bunching – for mums with 2 kids less than 2 yrs apart!

Posted by Misty Mom on 24/01/2009 3 comments

This is THE site you ladies with 2 kids less than 2 years apart out there should read. Heck, make it your baby/mummy bible if necessary!!

It’s called Baby Bunching, with kids less than 2 years apart. What is it I hear you ask? Well, this is taken directly from their site :

Baby Bunching™ is two years of pregnancy and back-to-back infants and toddlers with nary a break for you. Baby Bunching means chaos for you, and your little twiblings. No worries, they become good friends as a result of your bunching strategy. You will become strong, creative, organized, calm and at peace with your new lifestyle without even realizing it.

I have only read like the first few posts and I can already relate. I think I just found [yet] another website to surf! :) But at least this will serve a good purpose for me. Hope you enjoy it coz I think I’m gonna love it! Thanks to Molly who introduced this site to me through Circle Of Moms on FB. :)

There’s a cicada in my kitchen!!!

Posted by Misty Mom on 23/01/2009 3 comments

Yuck!!!! And I’m so freaked out about it…no idea why since I don’t normally freak out like this. It’s that bad that I haven’t had dinner although it’s like 10.45pm now!!! YUCK!!!

It looks something like this :

Cicada

Pix taken from here.

If you don’t know what a cicada is, it’s like a really huge bug that makes a heck of a lot of noise. I never knew people ate this bug!!! Anyway, because it’s so huge, when it hits the light while flying about, it’s loud. I can still hear it buzzing and rattling in the kitchen…eeeeyyyeeerr!!!!

At first I thought it was just a Christmas beetle or something small until I saw it flying around. Then I decided to spray it with bug spray and OMG, it screeched and I just went soft from *speechless and lost for words here*. I was like…eewwww……and sprayed it again and AGAIN, it screeched like something out of a horror movie!!! EEEYYYEEERR!!! Called Ted at work to share my stress and although he can’t do anything till he gets home, I thought I share it with him any way.

Eeeeyyyeeerr……so geli la!! *And I’m so hungry la…..*

The gate is finally up

Posted by Misty Mom on 22/01/2009 None comments

And boy, do we have a really upset little Cheeky-boo! Putting up the gate wasn’t really hard but took awhile coz of Ted’s work schedule and I’m no handy-woman myself plus, the safety measures you are supposed to take here is a tad too much for me. If I were back in Kulim, I’d just use what I needed with whatever tools I need but not here. They got specific drills for the walls – brick or cement or dry or wood, gawd….no wonder we have Bunnings!!

Anyhoo, Ted finally put the gate up this morning and Arianna is SO not happy about it at all. After he left for work, she spent at least 10 minutes trying to shake the gate down while crying – tears and all mind you. Thank goodness I’ve gotten used to them tears and crying coz if I was a nanny or if this was her first time crying, I would have caved in, taken the gate down and burnt it!

But instead, I let her cry it out and the idea sink in that that gate ain’t going anywhere and she ain’t going anywhere beyond it either. I can finally cook in peace knowing that I won’t have tiny fingers trying to turn on the stove or picking at my grill. And no more tossing out all my food stuff from the pantry either. The girl managed to open my pantry and pretty much chucked what she could see out. It would have been a sight to capture on film but at that point, I was no where near the camera and I wasn’t too happy about her tossing the bottled food about.

I wanted to take a shot of the gate with her behind it but thought that would be too cruel so once I’ve tidied up a little, I’ll take a shot of the gate. It will be good that I won’t have to move my sewing machine around too much anymore – it can sit on the dining table and I don’t have to worry about her pulling the machine on top of her AND I can also start rearranging our book shelves. My dining room is a MESS. And here’s a rather shameless admission : I only pick up and clear up the house once a day. And that is after Arianna has gone to bed. I envy people whose homes look so neat and tidy despite having a toddler around….how do they do it????

O well, time to clear up a little but after I finished with my Wordscraper. *snigger snigger* That game is the devil in disguise I tell you – I feel as if I’ve sold my soul to it!!

More teeth or what?

Posted by Misty Mom on 21/01/2009 4 comments

Every now and then, when Arianna sucks her thumbs or touches her ears, MIL jumps and says, ‘O, it must be her teeth! Poor little thing….’. And this is EVERYTHING she does it. But in actual fact, it’s nothing. Every baby does this but apparently my MIL thinks that certain actions mean certain things. Being the ever accomodating DIL [daughter in law], I simply nod my head and agree. Why stress out the lady right? :)

But recently, at least the past week or so, I noticed that her appetite isn’t all that good *choi choi choi* and last week, for 2 nights in a row, she’d wake up crying at night after just an hour in bed. At first I thought it was just a nightmare or something but when it happens exactly the same time twice, it has to be something else. So I have been giving her Baby Panadol to help with the pain coz I noticed that her bottom gums are swelling up and her uppper ones are already showing white. So I guess we can expect more teeth coming in.

Although I have been periodically been brushing her teeth with the finger brush, I’ve given up – that girl can REALLY chomp!! So we managed to get her a Stage 1 toothbrush and omg, she won’t let go of it. Hangs on to it even after her bath and when getting dressed! Those teeth must really be irritating her and chewing pretty much anything she can get her hands on must be working.

I know that there is little we can do but sit it out and so, we’re just hoping that they break the gums soon. She loves it when I give her ice cubes to play with, guess it helps soothe/numb the gums. But mostly I think she likes it coz it’s cold! Should she her go at it the other day when she practically ripped the plastic cup out of Ted’s hands. And although there was no water in it, it was filled with ice and that easily kept her occupied for about 1/2 hour. Of course both she and the carpet ended up soaking wet la. *pening*

On the walking front, she not walking on her own but definitely making progress especially if we hold both her hands. Even if I hold just one hand, she will hang on to me with the other and apparently she was ‘kicking the ball around’ with Ted the other day. So all is not lost la! We are on our way but I am in no hurry. Now I realise why there is such a divided emotion when it comes to babies walking.

On one hand, you want them to be more independant and be able to move from one place to another without you lugging them around. On the other hand, if they weren’t so mobile, you didn’t have to have eyes everywhere watching them like a hawk!! Imagine my utter shock when I caught her climbing unto our dining room chair…I think I had a short cardiac arrest. My heart just fell to my knees and I froze….took me abt a minute to realised that OMG, she climbed up the chair!!!! *can really pengsan*

Been wanting to record her walking for my mum but the time has never been right. After all, need 2 people to pull it off the it didn’t quite work last night. O well….soon enough I’m sure. :) But for now, Ted…..PLEASE get that gate up!!!!!