Evolution of the TH kind

Time zoomed by....I had an operation, therapy and the long year end holiday at my beloved hometown. The nation at large has its share of shocks too, who can forget that Mongolia thingy in Nov 06 and the BIG flood in Johor. Everything happens for a reason, we make the best of our situation. As Mum said, be grateful for the little things.

One of the most memorable thing during my therapy was the amount of books I managed to read, while waiting for my turn at the hospital. I would say it's the most I've read in many years! At the end of the treatment, even the hospital staff enquired how many books I've finished. Everyday, on weekdays my routine was the same. Little A was quite a handful but Mum & Dad were more than helpful. The first time Z and me managed to catch a movie together since A was born, they took care of him. They took him for a drive the whole 2.5hrs that we went out for :) Bless them.

This year I thought it would be best to decide on something to do. A project maybe. Decision is yet to be firmed up, but the halo is there..I've decided to work on my own, from the comfort of my home. I've got all the details needed to register the business, all I need now is to follow the leads. Excited of the product's potential, I have yet to do a business projection although I am quite confident with the viability. As if one good thing leads to another, Z also have a business proposition and we may have to form a company to realise the potential soon. It's all very exciting! Taking the first step is the hardest thing...

A new house..a new life

It has been just over three months since my last post, big chunk of the time was packing, moving, repacking and settling in the new environment that is P. I used to wake up staring at KLCC before...not to mention the sound of cars choking the highway! Now, it's waking up to sounds of chirping birds, gentle and welcoming breeze and the uplifting smell of fresh air. Aaaahhh! I thank the Almighty for this abode, this rezeki.

Adam loves the new house; he can go outside everyday! Since he learned how to ride a bike a month ago, he's out there almost every evening when Z comes home. Oh ya..then there is the taska i.e nursery, he goes there half day till noon so I can relax a bit. That wee bit of time-off really helps, I realised how we both have to adapt to this soon if I were to return to work.

Z is also benefitting from this new environment tremendously. The journey to work is more than halved, more time to play with Adam in the evenings. He's into DIY things, and I thought my hubby can only work wonders with electricals and computers *sheesh...sorry* Even our car gets the occasional shower by its owner now...bliss for everyone and everything yay!

Moi, I have yet to bake any cookies or cakes in the oven...hubby is watching this space..at least I've got the recipes for "The best Choc Chip Cookie" or " Yummy Carrot Cake You'll Ever Have" from Allrecipes.com heheh! Slowly but surely...

Potty Training - survivor's guide

What a stressful week it has been. Excited about the prospect of sending Adam to a playgroup next month, I'm giving him the crash course on potty training. To add more spice into the stress soup, Z is making me responsible of his tax matters, due end of the week! Great...just great..ho hum!

To be fair, Adam is a fast learner. He relishes the colourful printed pants he is wearing now. "You tell mummy when you wanna go to toilet ok?" He would run around and nod his head at that. The first two days was ok, no accidents. But you just know it was coming when you've had it so good right..it's okay, it was expected..in fact I read that it can take months before it becomes accident-free. Now it has come to the fourth day, my exzema is playing up a bit due to the increased contact with water. Told Adam, this morning you just have to wear diapers for a few hours ok...he wailed!! He wants his pants, his trips to the toilet...waaaaaa!

I'm saving the environment, no more disposable diapers for Adam..
Ok, maybe just for going out and at night when he sleeps
He's going to the playgroup, meeting new friends
Gonna have free mornings all by myself
Something I'm looking forward to
So stick to the plan now T
Give Adam his potty
Let him be
Happy

The one with the OVEN

CC note: Picture above is credited to Nannydaddy@flickr. Thank you! It resembles my kitchen, white with stainless steel oven but I would love to have that floor!

Early this year, I was so excited to get the keys to the new house. No more broken down lifts, no more inconsiderate neighbour, no more noisy bikes racing illegally in the wee hours of the day...no more, enough is enough!

What I did not bargained for was the stress that comes with this Big Move. Sure, I have moved places before, but it was different this time...so much more stuff, a little man and a hubby. To add salt to wound, I keep on getting leg cramps, painful knees and the inevitable eczema flare up. Man! I wish Potter's magic wand is around..hmmm..

Weekend got off to a promising start, got things ready for the lunch do at the new house..MIL wants to test the oven, bless! Then, I turned on the tap and there was no blinking water. Yikes! The fish needs to be cleaned first...luckily another tap in the powder area is ok. MIL is a fast worker, she prepared all the ingredients for the lunch and I will cook it. When I saw the fish and chicken without any extra colour, I was a bit puzzled but I told myself not to offend her after all the effort she has put in. Confident that "it would be allright on the night", I put them in the oven and wait for it to work some magic!

Twenty mins went by, I thought the oven was still cold. There was no change in colour on the fish and chicken. I did not use the timer function as I set the time on my phone. Checked the temperature, ok. The programme setting is also ok, I saw the red light on. But wait a second, shouldn't the temperature light be on as well? Where's that manual...turned out I did not SWITCH ON the oven afterall...hahahha! The light I saw was a reflection of the sunny ray from outside to the gleaming new oven! To start the oven, the timer must be set as well or I should turn the knob to a certain icon :) Oooo ..I felt so angry with myself for not reading the manual first..am beginning to feel so undomestic despite giving up full time job over 3 years now!

True enough, i became the talk of the day. Hubby cannot contain his glee and relate the "incident" to SIL, much to her chagrin. She used the oven regularly you see..baking cakes and what nots. Luckily the fish turned out allright, could have been better I know but no one's eating my version of sushi..it is cooked allright . Thanks to the "recommended time setting" for cooking fish as detailed in the oven's user's manual. Phewww..

Friend in Need indeed???

To help or not to help, I'm in a dilemma. This ex-schoolmate M, whom I have hardly any contact since aeons ago suddenly text me for help last week. Turned out she is in L, with no place to stay and suddenly remembered that yours truly have friends there.

What made it creepy was the way she chose her words..she claimed that she sent me a text earlier and I must have missed it, but she still need my contacts...aahh! Unless my reliable Nokia has gone bonkers or my service provider is risking their business by not delivering her said text, I did NOT get an earlier text from her! It's just a ploy to get me feel "sorry for missing a call for help" and now help me..help me eventhough you have only met me once in the last 15 years! Help me because you've told fancy stories of your time here with your wonderful friends.. help me, because you can.

I laid low, partly because my prepaid credit is nearly zilch and my instinct is telling me this is not right. Something about this call for help is bugging me. Unfortunately, the strings of my heart are pulled and I thought ok, let's help her find lodging at least.

Several emails to my trusted friends and I managed to get lil N and possibly K to help M. So that's that then...noooooo!!! Another text from M today..and she pulled the same trick again...I must have missed your calls, please give me your contacts.. Groundhog Day all over again!!!! I thought, what happen to N and K? My guess is, they both called but M is afraid to answer all those calls coz she have not given her number to anybody else but moi ? Could it be that she miss those calls made by others but thought it was from me coz somewhere along the strange international mobile network, numbers calling from out of the country morphed to be from her local area??? Shucks! Why do I bother in the first place??

A friend told me, she can only take M in small doses..nice way of putting it. I'm going to bed and pretend this is just a bad dream. Good nite moon!

Adam's 3rd Birthday

Yesterday was Adam's birthday. Woke up early, thought we'll take him and his cousins to the pool for a bit of a splash. The boy has been waiting to wear his swimming gear since last week but then it was not to be, the heavens opened even before he got up! Not having a plan B really sucks, so I gather my wits just to find what else we could do with three kids under 6 on a day like that. Z was leaving it all to me, he would just drive and agree to anything..hmmmm.

Still determined to go to klcc, it suddenly struck me that little place on the 4th floor could be interesting. Mildly suggested to Z and yes, of course he said. Rang up the cousins, who were fed and ready to be picked up ( and wore pampers for my convenience!) told them we're doing something else, it's a surprise. Lil boy is oblivious to where we're heading but know it must be a special day, he's wearing a new red shirt Z bought from his trip. Looking dapper and excited!

Being the "no cooked breakfast type of mum", I have to agree Z was crossed not to have even a sarnie. We stopped by Le Cucur and ordered nasi lemak with some cakes for the kids. Nearly finishing my spicy meal, Cousin A chirped that she loves "sunny side up egg" . I offered it to her, she said no at first but as Z was leaving the table, she quickly took it and smiled. Cute!

So here we are, told the kids to wait by the F1 car inside petrosains while Z gets the tickets. The kids were just excited to be wearing a yellow tag on their wrists, like a badge for those under 6s who will not board a heli simulator inside (that's great.. I was already thinking of leaving them outside the simulator and get on it with Z hahah) We were ushered to a platform, where there were black cubicles or cabs that moves..kinda like the ones in a theme park ride. The kids were scared, it was dark and a strange territory for them.

As the cab moves, there was a running commentary right above our heads, which only made the kids wonder where they are and if they could go home then (are you kidding me??). Told them just to take it easy, but already thinking whether this trip might be too advanced for them. We were greeted by a friendly attendant who told us it would take about 2 hours to complete the tour. Yeah right! I remember thinking that we might just be out in half an hour. Moving along, we encountered several interactive games, science experiments, visual arts and a bit of culture in the form of wayang kulit. Adam and cousins took turns (more like elbowed each other) pressing buttons, pulling levers, grabbing holograms.. great!

Before we know it, we were sitting down watching a Children's theatre. Cousins N and A were in the front row and A stayed with us at the back. There were only three characters in it but was packed with simple science info which they then asked the children at the end of the show. Adam was the first to answer their question about earth (mummy told him the answer of course) and he got a little red dinosaur as a prize!

More experiments and interesting science infos later, the kids had a break at the "kiddies lounge". Lots of games which encourages teamwork, a bit of thinking, creativity, puzzles and music rolled into one. Even Z and I joined in the fun...we needed the break too it seems. You can imagine it was tough to persuade them to leave the place after all that fun, but we clocked in over 2.5 hours inside Petrosains! All I can say is that, parents...go take your kids there!

It was an interesting day out, something different to do for a birthday.. cakes and balloons aside.

Read My Mind

A world without borders is fine, as long as we understand each other. To date, I can realistically (such a mouthful!) say that this is not to be yet.. different languages, cultures, background etc. Still, this is not a blog on serious issues, just those affecting me at the moment. I still like to be acknowledged as a Malaysian, rather that Citizen of Earth..so mr. alien, if you are reading this please understand that I don't speak ya language!

A tulip a day

Just love those tulips (credit due to: spiralz@flickr) Z may be in Amsterdam, but I'm having my own piece of the city right here. Oooo...can't wait for my Claire V bag!!!

As Adam Reaches Three

My cheeky lil son is approaching 3 this month! It's a wonder how we both survive each other really.. him trying to convince me knocking pots and pans makes good music and me going berserk everytime he does something I told him not to do. Always tell myself, it's gonna be ok, this too shall pass. Dunno what the neighbours think of us when we start singing "a,b,c" and "row,row, row your boat..." I mean, we can be loud!!

Last month, Mak Ngah Noor came back for the holidays and bought Adam goodies..chocs for kids, tees etc. That was about the time Adam became a model, Noor just keep clicking away, everyday..aaahhh auntie! Thanks to her, we have Adam's myriad of expression on camera..ooohh she's such a pusher for the perfect pose *love you sis*

Terrible vs Terrific Toddler!

We've all heard of the "terrible twos" and Adam is no stranger to this stage. However, he has his moments too..the ones that makes it terrific to be a mom..pause..you can almost expect the BUT word. But imagine having this two opposites within a few minutes, almost 12 hrs of him being awake, EVERYDAY for the past few days...help! Hubby said maybe it's his growth spurt, possibly so since he has also increased his milk intake despite having proper meals and snacks throughout the day. Nihil desperandum.. never despair.. for when he sleeps at night, he justly restored his mom's faith that tomorrow is a brand new day, sleep well my son!

Owen scores for England..about time!

There's something about football which makes me wakes up early mornings just to catch up with live coverage from the other side of the world. Much to hubby's delight, we share the same thing for football so there's no wrangling with the remote control over what to watch on weekends when ESPN or Starsports dish out EPL live matches. Ahhh...bliss!

By tomorrow morning in England, I could forsee all the dailies bursting with headlines over their win at Old Trafford last night. Owen as captain was a bit doubtful to me but when he scored, enough said!

Sudoku fever

It's amazing how a grid of numbers can keep you up till the wee hours. Eversince I discovered "Place the numbers" game, I can't really stop myself from solving it, even when it means hurrying Adam to sleep *some mummy I am* At first I'm only interested in solving it during my free time, next it became a necessity to keep improving the time spent on it. In the end, even my hubby noticed how intense I became at it. Dear me... got to finished today's Sudoku dosage from Daily Mail!

Milestones

In my daily routine, it's almost hard to realise when exactly Adam achieves something new. In his first year, I wrote down all his firsts, even celebrate the monthly birthdays. Then he started to walk, quite soon actually at 10 months.. the house was not the same anymore. Vases were hidden, small little trinkets shoved into boxes and I became his shadow, worried that he would fall or hit something.

Soon enough, I realised that you can't be too protective. Adam needed the space to discover the world himself. I gave him "space" allright.. he got his first "scar" which is "Potter-like" on his forehead when he hit the corner of a wall. I can never forget that day, just two weeks before his 1st birthday. When he stopped crying, I was still at it. He ended up soothing me with a smile...aaaaw!

At one time just before he turns two, hubby kept on worrying why Adam was not talking as well as his cousins at that age. Told him to let Adam grow at his own pace, afterall he hardly have the chance to interact with other kids. At the same time, I kept on talking to him (rather that yelling!!) and now he is a persistent talker. Oh well... the joy of motherhood can never be described to the tee, can only be experienced.

First Post from a Muggle wife and muggle toddler!

My first blog. Adam Harith is my little prince who turns two and a half today!