And then there were 3A fulfilled & blessed life with 2.5 kidlets….

Apparently Arianna is living up to what most women typical say when they mean something else. ;) Let’s be honest and admit that sometimes when we [women] really mean to say ‘yes’, somehow it comes out a ‘no’. Hence men get mixed signals and well, it blows up in both faces – if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I know that for one who is going to turn 2 in about 2 weeks, her verbal vocab is limited although she knows a whole lot more. She seems to understand more than she can speak which can be VERY frustrating for all of us sometimes because we don’t know what she wants and she can’t tell us what she wants. Perhaps this is where the signing would have helped so this one I might take the blame for not persevering.

The one word she is great at is ‘No’. Are you surprised? I should think not. I think it would be weird if a child’s first word [other than Daddy] is not ‘No’ because that seems to be the word we use most throughout the day! Other than that, she knows a lot of animals and the great Aussie greeting, ‘G’day!’. Now I have to teach her to add in ‘mate’ though I sound exceptionally silly saying it with my ’slang’! lol

Long story short, at lucnh today – we had spaghetti bolognaise, a family fav. And after Arianna had finished, this took place :

Daddy : Are you done? Would you like some water?
Arianna : No, no!
Daddy : You don’t want some water? [While holding her water tumbler]
Arianna : No, no! [Reaches out and grabs it and starts drinking]

Daddy looked very confused…. *lol* I told him that she is in the making of becoming a woman. ;) How do I teach her to say ‘yes’ when she means it? Still trying to think this one up….

Like most kids, Arianna has a comfort toy as well. With her, it’s her Bear. It’s a white bear which was given to her on her 1st birthday by one of Ted’s friends. It has been sitting on the shelve for at least 6 months after her 1st birthday because at that point, her fav toy was this Santa Bear that she got attached to in Kulim. And before that it was this BLACK JetStar blanket. This I wasn’t too happy about because it was black but thank you to Santa Bear, it was forgotten.

Ever since Bear came into existence about after we got back from Malaysia last Christmas, he’s not had a bath. He was absolutely filthy and stinky! But knowing how much the ’smell’ is the one which is comforting having own my very own busuk pillow for MANY, MANY years until well into my college days…[yes, embarassing I know], there was never the right time to get it off her. Ted and I actually discussed when and how we should get Operation Bear underway and finally decided that Saturday would be the day seeing that it was a nice and sunny day.

So while Arianna ‘helped’ Ted wash the car, I handwashed him and put him out to dry.

This is Bear having a nice lie out in the sun, face down.

And as usual, seeing how bad luck just loves me, it got dark and whaddaya know….Bear was still dripping wet despite me wringing him out like mad. So I chucked him in the dryer hoping that he would be ready by her nap time but the stupid dryer decided that today would be the day to act up and hence, our world was nearly turned upside down, inside out. True enough, right after lunch and having a quick bath, Arianna was looking for Bear coz it was naptime. I wasn’t sure how she would deal with it but Ted took her to her room to pick another bear as she’s got a shelve full of them and she picked the biggest one there. [Bear is the biggest of them all.] And that was how Teddy came to be.

Now, she is completely attached to Teddy instead and even though Bear is nice, clean and white again, she doesn’t take to him anymore. There was a brief sign of happiness and recognition when I first gave her Bear after a few days [had to use dryer and also the sun to get the job done - stupid stuff toys!] but didn’t take long for her to chuck him to one side. Now I know how Woody [from Toy Story] must have felt! Poor Bear…tossed aside to make way for Teddy.

O well, at least we know who the backup will be when it’s time for Teddy’s ‘holiday’ instead, but I’ll worry about in 6 months time. :)

We are nearing the terrible 2’s stage and I think with Arianna, it’s come a little early – just like her. Perhaps this was triggered when she fell ill with the cough the day after Mum left. While at the airport, Arianna was like this mad child, all over the place – running and playing. She was ok then but perhaps the cold night air/wind gave her the cough and it’s about 99% ok today.

Since then, she has been whinging and whinning and omg, being quite a brat sometimes. In general, she is a great kid and I really have no worries about her but when any child is sick, they tend to get that way and we as parents give in. Problem is when they are well, how do we reverse that giving-in?

This is what I am facing now. I have to admit that even times when she is well, she watches lots of tv – I know that is my bad and I take full blame for that. But when she was ill, she watched even more and needless to say, she hardly ate anything and even that, I understand. Who would have any appetite when they are ill right? Plus she may have had a sorethroat for all I know hence, didn’t want to swallow anything. Funnily enough, she’s gladly eat all those wafers and snacks instead. But she wasn’t wasting to an elephant [as my MIL always says], she still had her bottle and fruits instead of really hearty meals like rice, which is her normal meal.

Now since that time, she has been very demanding when she wants sometimes and she must have it her way. It’s a ‘my way or no way’ mentality with Arianna. If she ain’t happy that you told her not to do something, she does it even more – typical child. But some children learn that if you do it often enough, you get scolding and punished but even though we do *sometimes* punish her by putting her in her cot if she’s naughty, I swear that girl has no fear. She still does it and does it even more.

Sometimes I get SO mad and SO angry, I really feel like whacking the crap out of her. And in Malaysia that would be kind of acceptable, sadly, I could get arrested and thrown into jail for trying to discipline my own child so, here we use positive and encouraging but stern words. I don’t know if its working or not but what else can I do kan? When in Rome, do as the Romans. I know corporal punishment is shunned here and is treated as something so bad I think it’s not even mentioned here – no one dares to mention it either but honestly, I think a spank here and there when necessary would not hurt and if at all it did something, it would, in my opinion, drive a more serious message into a boiterous child’s mind.

Sis and I got caned when we were young and if at all it did anything, it definitely taught us a lesson and I don’t think we ever did whatever we did to deserve that caning again. It worked…but now, I dunno la. What I know is, everyday my blood pressure is going up and one day, I’ll definitely burst a vein.

I now know that it is normal for newborn to make all sorts of noises when they sleep. I still remember how every single sound that came from Arianna when she was tiny made me jump 10 feet high and rushing like mad to see if she was still alive. I still remember the many times I’d actually wake up from [very precious] sleep and touch her chest to see if she was still breathing. I was THAT paranoid. Second time around, I am more ignorant and in fact, have managed to block out all sorts of sounds except the crying at night. I tell ya, it’s an art mothers need to pick up fast!! ;) It really a very rewarding one too since sleep is more precious than ever if you have 2 under 2.

With Arianna, she made all the normal newborn noises which were mostly sounded like a stuffed nose which thankfully stopped after the nasal passages got big enough but with KR, omg…..I really don’t know how to explain the sounds that she makes. She makes every single weird sound you can think of and she is a real grunter and strainer. And by this I mean that KR grunts and makes that straining sound when she is in her half-asleep, going to sleep and almost waking up mode. Like her daddy, she takes a long to actually wake up. She tends to stir a whole lot and dozes off a couple of times before she is fully awake. This tricking has caused me to wake up many times to find the tiny tot still fast asleep while there I am standing by her basinet wondering if I heard correctly or not. And most of the time, I’m left with really swollen boobies waiting for her to wake up. It is normally a painful wait.

These days, on top of the grunting, she has begun to ‘converse’ with us and it is just so darn cute!! :) It’s the little things like these which make having babies all worthwhile. :) She’s even begun giving me loads of gummy grins and smiles that it’s just so priceless. Don’t you wished that you could look that good without teeth?? I know I do…*lol* Happy days!

Who would have thought that 3 months would fly by so fast?? Mum left for Penang last night and I still can’t believe that it’s been 3 months since she first came to visit.

I’ve grown so used to having her around that I suddenly feel this sense of feeling so lost and so bored from the minute I woke up this morning. I’m so used to hearing her voice trying to keep Arianna quiet coz Ted and I are normally still in bed when Mum and Arianna wakes up. Then I also already miss her cooking and most of all, I’m missing the silly chats and talks that we have throughout the day. Not to mention that an extra pair of hands is a Godsend when you need some time out. Although I do have Ted more often at home these days, nothing is the same with Mum, it’s just different.

Surprisingly, Arianna didn’t really notice that Nanna has gone home but on a sad note, after all that running around in the airport and a rather cold and chilly night, she is having a cough now. :( I am a little worried abt it so we will have it checked out tomorrow first thing in the morning.

Going back to when Mum was around….she has pretty much help me organise my home to look a little neater than it was. I have to add that I’m really not good at keep my home neat and tidy and I’m not proud about it either. I think it’s a little sad and sometimes wish that I was some sort of a neat freak like my sis. But alas, it is not to be. Anyway, Mum seeing that I have a bigger balcony compare to my previous place, decided that we should have a small veggie and herb garden and that is what I got.

After about 2 years of having a ‘lifeless’ balcony, we now have a tiny veggie and herb garden and this was what Ted had wanted to do at our previoud place but we never got around to doing it. But it’s now here to stay…

It’s a really tiny spot at the end of our balcony and out of reach for tiny hands to dig at the dirt. Also, seeing that I am no gardener, this is more than enough for me to handle. If only I can remember to water these plants!

Tiny hands in positiong to wreck havoc with the dirt. She didn’t make a big mess but once is more than enough.

If you’re wondering what we have planted, well it’s rosemary, sage pineapple, mint leaves and pak choy. And at the side is our existing aloe vera plant which Mum repotted for us before she left. This little patch has really given life to our balcony and I’m glad Mum suggested this and got it up and running for us. I really hope that I can keep them all alive. Wonder if we can train Arianna to water the plants for us…without pulling the plants out first!! :P

You know, I may not be one who’s into make up and all those anti-aging creams because I do believe in aging gracefully BUT I have to admit that I am very wary of wrinkles. I know they are bound to attack me sooner or later, but how I wished I didn’t have to get them!! There are so many types of wrinkle creams to choose but which wrinkle cream works? I’d be long dead before I could pick one but knowing what the top 10 best ones would certainly help me narrow my choices which is most welcomed! :) What is your pick?

I had a tough teenage life. I dare say that I wished I never had to go through it but I did, and thankfully I haven’t been to mentally scarred. I grew up with very bad acne and other than verbal advice and expensive meds which you were not sure would suit you, there was nothing else that was there to help. But these days, help is always around the corner if you look hard enough. I would recommend people who are looking for the best acne treatment to make sure that you ask all the questions you have to the consultant to ensure that the treatment suits you.