Cheeky & PacmanNot one day is the same

The one thing that I absolutely love about most department stores here is that they really love giving out free samples of various baby items from shower baths to nappies to laudry detergent which are especially designed for bubs – the for sensitive skin kind. Ever since Arianna was born, I get a voucher in the mail every now and then, from various clubs I’ve joined and also the fact that Arianna was born here, to collect a free goodie bag filled with lots of samples and free magazines.

The latest one was the one I collect today from Target. I’m expecting a free magazine when she turns 2. :) Anyway, they had an article about being a SAHM as opposed to a working mum and how management is important and that in a nutshell, housework just never ends! I had totally agree hence we expect a helping hand from the working partner as well.

I don’t deny that Ted works VERY hard to keep our heads above the water what with our mortgage and daily expenses, and I’m totally grateful and filled with admiration for this man of mine. But although he works hard outside, it’s tough being home too. Especially the times when you have to deal with a clingy or grumpy baby who just won’t settle but the minute daddy walks in, she is all smiles which in turn makes him think that she can’t be trouble at all. But he some times doesn’t see the ‘naughty’ side of bub. Guess I also have to mention that I totally abhor housework and I seriously wished we had a little bit more to spend else I would seriously get a maid in to help once a fortnight. But alas, this is not to be. I can’t be the tai-tai that I had hoped but the opposite. I guess the one thing I have to be happy about is that Ted isn’t one of those husbands who expect the home to be spick and span so I do get away with not doing my housework. Hehehe…..my mum freaked out when she saw the condition of the house when she came to visit and as for my MIL who is a total clean freak, well….I think she’s have a stroke if she decides to give me a surprise visit! *lol* It’s really bizarre how total opposites Ted and his mum is.

Anyway, on the subject of being a housewife, the magazine included these excerpts from a 1950’s home economics textbook [similar to our Ekonomi Rumahtangga]  which made me thank my lucky stars that I was not born during the 50’s. And here is why :

1950’s tips on being a good wife

• Freshen up : Take 15 minutes to rest so that you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift. [Excuse me...but who puts makeup on at home??? I'm normally dressed in my slumpadinka pants and just forget about putting ribbons in my hair! That's just asking Arianna to yank my hair out. WOnder what they were thinking if they think doing housework day in, day out is not boring - hello, it is!!]
• Be happy : At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home. [The only thing I agree here is - Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home. Ted would love to come home to a happy and chatty cheeky - what kind of father would detest a chatty child????]
• Make him comfy : Don’t greet him with problems or complaints. Don’t complain if he is late for dinner. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest that he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow his to relax and unwind. [It's because of these teachings that women have a hard time these days fighting for equal rights. 'Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes'? Geez, that's way too much!]
• Make the evening his : Never complaint if he doesn’t take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax. [Why not just come out and say, 'Just let him have his way with you!' instead]

Damn, I’m SO glad I missed this generation…..

Actually, it’s more like she watches what I watch. :) We’ve pretty much got a daily routine going these days. Arianna wakes up between 6.30am – 7am and then it’s straight to her first dose of booby juice in bed with Mummy. Then Mum wakes up and gets dressed and off we get out of bed [and me very reluctantly]. I put her in the playpen and switch on the telly while I get her breakfast, usually her cereal, my breakfast and put her porridge on to cook.

Then we have brekkie together and then back into the playpen and she watches telly while I play on the pc. I noticed that she only fancies 3 kiddy shows for now despite her young age – I know I shouldn’t be encouraging her to watch telly but I seriously dunno what to do with her la! :( Anyway, in this same order as on telly, it’s The Wiggles, Sesame Street and her favourite, In The Night Garden.

The Wiggles

This is an Australian based team and is a major hit wherever they go. I have to admit that 5 grown [old] men prancing around singing kiddy songs is a little creepy to me but hey, they are making big bucks and the kids here love them!! We saw a show feafuring Dorothy the Dinosaur at the Pregnancy, Babies and Childrens expo recently and Arianna really took to her!! I’m sure it was the noise and action that was happening. But surprisingly, I’m slowly beginning to like it a wee bit…ok, maybe not.

Sesame Street

This is and will be my all time favourite! I’ve been watching this for as long as I can remember and I still watch it. I prefer how it was back in the day where Barkley made frequent appearances. I actually intend to get the DVDs from their website soon [when my paid posts makes me some moolah!] and I’m glad that the boxed sets are from the beginnings. :)

In The Night Garden

This is a pretty new program in my opinion and it comes from the same producers as the Teletubbies and lemme tell you that I totally abhor the Teletubbies! I don’t know why…maybe it’s because of how they look. They are ugly. But surprisingly, I actually enjoy watching this instead. I’m not sure what the appeal is but Arianna stops whatever she’s doing the minute the theme song comes on and is totally transfix on the telly. The theme song is outrageously addictive although you might not think so the first few times you listen to it. But give it a listen and I guarantee you that you’ll be humming to this tune in a couple of days without even realising it! *lol* I know coz I absolutely love it and I sing it to Arianna at least 3 times a day and it never fails to bring a smile to her face. These creatures talk gibberish and I think they depend on their actions to get the message across. By the way, I think Iggle Piggle and Upsy-Daisy are a little too affectionate that I find it rather disturbing, then again, I might be taking it too seriously….who knows? But I can vouch that I ain’t the only one who thinks that these 2 are an item!! *lol* :P

And after this progrom is over then its morning nap time for Arianna and more pc time for me although sometimes I have to tear myself away and remind myself that I have to cook and clean as well. See what I mean when I say that I was kind of happy when the net wasn’t fix coz it gave me a lot of additional time to do things. *sigh* I’m utterly hopeless when it comes to time management!!!

I used to work in the bank hence I knew what it was like to have a checking account. Before coming over to Sydney, I never had a checking account before because I never thought it would be so handy.

Every financial business has it’s perks when it comes to checking accounts and if I had one which gave me free checks, free check safekeeping and free wire transters, I’ll be right there standing in line to set up my account. But sadly, the checking account that I current have is not that good. I’ve come to realise that my checkbook has become quite handy to me since we pay our mortgage with checks and it’s just to easy to carry a check book around. So yes….if you don’t have a checking account, I think you should go get one.

Yes I do!!! :)

Pearls are simply gorgeous and they compliment any sort of outfit especially if it’s going to be that special night out with your man. I was never into pearls until I checked out these Tahitian pearls. Who would have thought that there was just a wide variety of pearls out there??

These gorgeous Tahitian pearls are cultivated in the tropical waters of French Polynesia – that gorgeous heaven on earth. And I just found out that that it is often referred to as black pearls. You learn something new everyday, don’t you? The other thing I also found out is that they come in more than 80 different colors. Wow!! I’m so going to have fun checking them out. :D

Aiyo, poor Arianna is down with the cold again. :( I think she got it from Daddy who picked it up from someone at work. We were going fine and I thought we had conquered it but nup, Arianna caved in just as Daddy was getting better. And I think it won’t be long before I catch it from her as when I got it in Kulim. Funny how I didn’t catch it *touch wood* from Ted even though we slept in the same bed and all. Bizarre….

Anyway, I hardly had any sleep last night because Arianna was up at 1 – 1.5 hour intervals. Poor little thing was sniffling, snuffling, choking and everything under the sun. She had the works going for her and that really put a damper on her sleep and of course mine as well since I ‘threw’ Ted out of our bed and Arianna slept in the big peoples bed with me. And Ted slept in the single bed in Arianna room - it’s our guest bed. It just made things easier for me take care of without getting out of bed and all that drama. I could hardly sleep because of all her sniffing and weird sounds and all, plus she had a slight fever so every now and then, I’d reach out to check her. Decided to slap on one of those  Bye-bye Fever packs I bought from JB. Guess it did its job which I am happy about.

It was so painful to watch her struggle to sleep and breathe and feeding was a bigger challenge. Even when it was time to put her to bed, I didn’t know how to position her because lying on her back seems to clog up her nose so initially I had her on her side and somehow, she was not comfy about it. Then I decided to put her on a raised pillow, about 150 degrees and seems to work – praise God! And somehow we soldiered on through the night and we went to the clinic just now. She did have a slight fever, a running nose and a sore throat. Poor thing! No wonder she wasn’t too excited about dinner and brekkie. Even lunch wasn’t too good but since I managed to get something down, she’s been given the meds and is now down for her sleep. I hope she gets a whole lot coz she hardly got any last night. Really so kesian…

What I should have done was place her on her tummy. Here she is sleeping in her playpen. I couldn’t tahan and had to go to the toilet and when I was done, I returned to this sleeping beauty. O well, we’ll see how it goes tonight.

At least until Arianna is about 1 year old. We went down to the local child health clinic to touch base as well to have Arianna measured and checked out. Also I wanted to discussed about solids. I know I must sound obsessed with this solids issue and I think I am! I’m not sure why but I feel so unsure about feeding her stuff although there is tones and tones of info online. I’m such a silly-billy!

Anyway, Arianna checked out fine and her stats so far are : Weight : 9.4kg [Was 8.45kgs in March], Height : 74cm & HC : 44cm. So that’s like 0.5kg a month which I think is rather normal. Then we got a file for her since we are new to the area and then we talked solids. Turns out that if Arianna is bf up till 12 months, then we can progress straight to cows milk and bypass formula all together which I think is great!! So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we will go the distance. I will also try something more adventurous finger foods like bananas although I can already foresee the mess this will cause. And although I’m not really a neat person [my house is still in a big mess despite being here for over a month or so], I’m fussy when it comes to keeping clean when eating. I always have a towel nearby and if just a little cereal or food gets on her cheek or isn’t in her mouth, I instantly wipe it off. I can’t stand to see pieces of food on her face. I’m extreme like that and although I appreciate it when Ted feeds her, but OMG…..the mess he lets take place always makes me cringe! *lol* Siao right?

Well, we’ll see how the bananas go and I also bough an avocado to let her try. But if she doesn’t like it, I ain’t eating it coz I think its totally horrid. Will have to make guacamole if not and have them with nachos or something – we’ll figure it out. :)

The other thing which I’m rather pleased about is the fact that I don’t need to be in any playgroup or mothers group yet. Well, mothers group because Arianna is already too old for that, its more for mums with bubs between newborn and about 4 months. It’s more for playgroup. It’s just that I feel pressured to join these kind group because #1. MIL went through the trouble of getting the contact numbers for me so I can sign up – her reason is that I need interaction with people my age and spend some time outside, #2. That most mothers here seem to be unable to live without it. It seems to somewhat of a necessity. Hence that made me feel as if I was the odd one out since I didn’t think too much about it. So now that I know it’s not a must, since a lot of people have made me feel that way, I’m not going to bother about it now. Phew! That’s really a load off my chest.

The other little concern I had was that Arianna is not attempting to try to sit up on her own or even crawl for that matter. She can sit for long periods of time without any help now but if she topples over, she just lays there and makes herself comfy on her own by grabbing whatever that’s nearby and makes do with that. Then she just rolls back and forth as she pleases. She did tease me the other day by trying to get on her knees but then she sat down again. Issshhh, such a cheeky teaser!! :P So now the nurse told me that she needs more tummy time so that it will encourage her to get her knees up and those arm muscles more strong. Hopefully, when she is ready, she will be zooming all over. :) But I must say that although I want to see that I’m not all that excited about it – a toddler running wild all over is a nightmare. *lol*

First up, I have to admit that this is a tak malu [shameless] post. It’s literally taking food from the baby.

Confession : I love Farley’s rusk.

Yes, I don’t know when this craze for Farley’s rusk [FR], in particular, started but I am NUTS over it. I have been nuts over it for as long as I can remember and there were many occasions way, way, way before I had Arianna, when I was still single as well, that I was tempted to go buy a box of FR and stuff my face with it. But I felt guilty and also I had to jaga muka what…..

This shameless me would curi [Steal sounds SO negative!] a piece or 2 from the kids my aunt looked after because I couldn’t handle the temptation. But I took from the fridge la, not out of their hands. I’m not THAT desperate for icky rusk, ok? And even, today, I take the opportunity to pick at Arianna’s rusk when I can. Hehehehe…..normally if she can’t finish, then Mummy help la. I eat the bits where it’s not saliva soaked of course. But this time around, have to control because the ones I brought back from Kulim already finished and I can find similar ones here. Here all the rusk look like and taste like the roti keras you can buy from the grocery. But is like SUPER hard finger biscuits.

I find it very kesian for Arianna coz it’s tasteless and takes such a long time for her to bite into it. Although one of the reasons why is it that hard is to help with the teething but still pitiful right? So I’m waiting for my stash from Malaysia to arrive. Sadly, my mother couldn’t get the ones I wanted so she got me another brand. Funnily enough, despite Farley’s and Nestle both producing rusk, I prefer the Farley’s one. Not sure why since it is the same. It just taste different. Hope this brand that mum bought is ok la, I can’t remember the name.

I’m not sure why I’m so crazy over rusk. I think it’s the taste that it brings with it. It’s got that naturally sweet texture to it and it must contain milk and something but whatever it is, it’s got me hooked for life. And whenever I get the chance, I will shamelessly take a piece. :) Sungguh tak malu!!! *lol*

Ppppsstt……I’m not the only crazy one – my sis and cousin is too! :P

It’s been awhile since I last put up some pix so I thought that it was about time. :) Here are some of the latest shots.

Our first shot together at the new unit – celebrating autumn. It was darn cold that day!

What can I say – I take better shots! *lol* Arianna here with Daddy

This is her ‘What you looking at?’ look – like very tu lan right? ;)

This is Arianna’s signature look – almost every picture I take she will pull this face.

What a tease!! When she was in this position, I thought that she was going to make her first attempt. But sadly, she pulled a big bluff on me!

This is another one of my favourites – she just loves to show off her 2 teeth. *lol*

Arianna enjoying some sun on our balcony while having her morning tea – Farley’s rusk all the way from Kulim.

Being typical girly girl, Arianna is turning into quite a vain pot! *lol* She absolutely loves to stare at herself in the mirror. Most of the time, she’s trying to beat the heck out of her image in the mirror! ‘Who is that baby wearing my clothes?!’

Another one of my favourites because of the close up shot. I try to capture the color of her eyes but photos just don’t do her eyes any justice. But this is one of Ted’s favourites and is currently my desktop background.

Arianna gave me this look when I called her ‘cheekums’. It’s something Ted came up with. I think it’s got a cute tingle to it – ‘cheekums’ and ‘cheekyboo’. I like!

I will be adding more pix especially those taken during our hotel stay in Penang.

Yay! Despite not being able to go the Pregnancy, Babies & Childrens Expo on Friday as planned, we managed to spend a considerable amount of time today instead. I think it was a day well spend not only for us as a family outing but also it was really a great place for parents.

They had lots of sample products which was one of the major reasons why I wanted to go there in the first place. I mean, whether it’s because I’m being a bit kiasu or not, I don’t really care or bother because heck, if you can free stuff for free – you don’t want meh? I did manage to get some samples of baby biscuits, shower batha and lotion which is great because not only do I save, at least now I know I have other options as well.

The other reason was to get more information on solids and feeding routines. At the moment, I am still breastfeeding Arianna and although I know that I will have to wean her sooner or later, I’m in this place where I don’t know what to do now. I know that bf can go up to 2 years of age but I personally think that is a little excessive plus I think by then #2 will already be around so perhaps that way, expressing like what Aida does for Avarayna would be the best thing but for now, it’s just booby juice for Arianna.

I have given her formula now and then, just to see her reaction to formula and *touch wood* she seems ok with it except that time when I gave her Snow brand formula milk in Kulim. She wasn’t too fond of it but at least I know that she is ok with it. A big part of me doesn’t want to stop feeding her because of the convenience factor that comes with bf. I mean, the joy of just being able to pop one out at anytime is simply awesome. No worries about boiling the bottles, making sure that the milk is at the correct temperature in case it scalds baby and the list goes on! Bf is just simply awesome and the other thing is the bonding factor. I love to watch Arianna feeding and then slowly drift off to lala-land. So cute and it’s personally satisfying to know that you have this ‘power’ and ability to bring this on.

So hence, my current ‘lost’ situation. I’m still on the look out for more baby food recipes. Arianna is now mainly eating moi [rice porridge] cooked with either carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and sometimes zuchini, and I add a piece of meat to it for the protein. I double cook it in this porcelain pot which my mum had when we were kids so it’s like a hand-me-down kind of thing and it’s great. Haven’t really tried anything else yet coz I think boiling the heck out of broccoli is yucky. Looks like I’ll be going the Asian way of feeding Arianna. Here everything is stewed and rice is as usual a small part of the meal but not for my baby. We are making it staple! :)

I know I really have to broaden her choices so that she don’t get fedup with what I’ve been giving her and no better time than starting now. I have to shamelessly admit that I haven’t give much fruits to Arianna. We’ve only tried pears and apples – both stewed and she doesn’t seem to like it much. I’ve also given her some diluted orange juice freshly squeezed and that brings on another screwed up face too. Guess it’s all a matter of getting used to. But surprisingly, she enjoys the bottled fruit gels that my MIL gets from the supermarket, go figure….

We went there thinking that we’d just look around but we ended up getting a few new toys for Arianna – they were cheap and cute. And also a travel cot which doubles up as a play pen. At least now I don’t have to worry and keep an eye on her when she is sitting up because she still tends to fall over and hit her head. So far, noting major and she hasn’t yet cried her lungs out instead she just looks stunned, like a deer in front of the headlights. Then again, I guess it’s must be because babies have a higher absorption ability around their head which makes impact less painful – other wise how else can you explain them not bawling their eyes out??

So, yes…now I can leave her to play safely in the pen and not worry about her knocking her head and all. I’m still waiting for her to sit up by herself. At the moment, she’s just a pro at turning and twisting. She can get on her belly but no way can she sit herself up. I hope to find her sitting up by herself one of these days. ;)

Reminiscing the times while we were in Kulim, I can’t remember a time when we were NOT mobbed. Yes, everywhere we went, Arianna was sure to cause some distraction because she is after all the most gorgeous baby in the world. ;) And being the most gorgeous baby in the world, she had the ability to make everyone just stop and stare at her and to the more daring ones, they would stop, stare, baby talk to her and then try to grab her from us.

Everytime we went to the market for brekkie, the taukey soh [lady boss] would come over and play with Arianna before whisking her off to the next table because those ladies are all her friends and they’d go cuckoo taking snap shot of Arianna. Everyone had their turn with her and surprisingly, Arianna let them be. She went to everyone without a problem – somewhat of a social butterfly you could say but you knowla in this day and age, child kidnapping is so rampant, I was actually not very happy when she was passed around from one person to another and I had to watch them, just in case.

Besides being fair, I guess the main stopper is the fact that Arianna’s got a really gorgeous pair of eyes and the color is just awesome. I hope it doesn’t change color because the grey really suits her. :) Very eye-catching. Hehehe….anyway, she must have gotten sick of being poked and prodded by every Ali, Ah Beng, Mutu, Minah, Mei Mei and Minachi that the last couple of days we were in Kulim, she just flat out refused to go to anyone and decided that she was going to stop being friendly. And up till today, it’s almost impossible for a stranger to get a smile of out her whereas before this, she was so generous with her smiles. This is such a pity because her face literally lights up when she smiles and what with those 2 bottom teeth, SO CUTE!!

Back home here, strangers hardly look at her because she looks just like one of them babies here and I don’t know if she realises that no one pokes or prods her, or even attempts to reach out to take her from us. It’s really not common for strangers to want to carry your baby and even of they wanted to touch her Arianna, they would ask. This caught me by surprise the other day when this Filipino lady asked if she could touch her hand – of course I said, go ahead. But to think that the difference from the Aussies here and Malaysians back home – WAHLAU! Here never ask oso, straight away grab….no wonder Arianna got sick of it.

Anyway, it will be a long time more before we get mobbed again. I think it’s safe to say that we will be making another trip back to Malaysia before the year ends. Hopefully, we can spend Christmas in Kulim – that would be awesome. :D