my 4 year olds

My gosh.. its been sooo long since I wrote. The bubs are no longer bubs. They are 4 now and are soooo farnee. 

Cookie is 15kgs and Eggy is 13kgs. C has the H butt and E has the B Butt. hehehe!! Wud love to post a pix but hubs is sure to be upset!!

Some stories about the gals
C : Mummy- Kenapa orang mati?
M : Kerana mereka tua.
 C : Kenapa mummy?
M : Inilah hakikat kehidupan kita semua. Kita dilahirkan, membesar, bekerja, kahwin, ada anak, jadi tua dan sakit dan mati akhirnya (omigosh.. sounds so bad)
C : Tapi kenapa mummy?
M : ?????

E : I want to see Nutcracker Suite Ballet
M : Here you go E : Oooh .. dia pandai menari (I wonder how she knows that the dancer is good)

C&E : Nak tengok Egg eating snake
M : here you go
C&E : OOh.. soooo cute dia makan telur itu. Dia macam ikan. kenapa dia buang kulit telur itu dari badannya

C&E : Nak mummy belikan Horned Lizard.  Dia boleh pancut darah dari mata...
M : Msia tak de la sayang
C&E : Kenapa...dia sangat cute!! Suruh papa beli di Amerika.

A reminder of Pablo Neruda

When I came back from church at night, Cookie started crying. I took her out from her cot and gave her some fever medicine as she was feverish for the past 2 days. After the medicine, she pointed to her room and told me she want to go to sleep. I told her to wait for me - for Mummy to clean her teeth and wash face and then get ready to bring Cookie to her room. After i did all that, she crawled onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. I asked her gently if she wanted to go to her own room. She said no. So she snuggled up to me, held my hand with our hands on her chest while I read "Bringing up Boys" by Dr James Dobson.... (hahahaha - should it have been Bringing up Girls?).

I thought she may not be able to sleep as this was the first time I had brought her to bed (and with the reading light on too). But she was shielded from the light with a pillow and soon after fell asleep. WHat a pleasure to be able to hold my daughter's hand and feel her heartbeat while she drifted off to sleep! Reminded me of a poem by Pablo Neruda (he was born in Chile and studied in Santiago in his twenties - so fitting for me since my husband is now in Santiago) ....



I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

It is so wonderful to be a mother...! I am indeed blessed.

CFP - easy or hard

I am in the midst of doing my CFP Certification Course (Certified Financial Planner) and I found it rather difficult. I was wondering why everyone I met who has already done it said that it was easy. Why did I find it difficult then? Was I getting stupid?

After a few diggings, I realised that those who did it a long time ago.. did not have to sit thru an exam.. they just took the question home and then the next day went to the exam hall to start writing what they had the whole night to prepare. And in those days to get exemptions was easy too.

For my own exemption so that I neednt do the 7 papers but 2, I had to get 2 letters from both my former employer as well as current employer that detailed that I had the relevant experience dealing with some degree of money management (budgetting, etc) before they let me have the exemption to do the Challenge Status. The MBA that I had was not enough at all.

It seems that the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia is trying to increase the standard of the CFP trademark holders. So there is a rather rigorous testing of our ability to produce a financial plan in a mere 3 hours. A normal financial plan takes ages to complete especially if you do not have software to help you. And there is also 6 other exams other than the financial plan one (thankfully I only need to do 2 papers out of the 7). When I first read the questions of the various modules, I realised that I could not answer any of the questions as they involved a deeper knowledge of insurance, investment, tax, retirement and estate planning.

The fact remains that it is no longer "no one fails" like in the old days. Now, easily 20% or more do fail the papers. That is indeed scarier than doing my MBA... because that thought of failing never crossed my mind then.

My final exams is coming and by June 19th I will either be done or done for~!..... it has been a very interesting process and planning my own financial plan is I suppose the best thing that can come out of this! Here's to financial freedom when we want it!

Potty Training Step 2

I decided to try potty training seriously when I am in Australia in April for my MIL's 70th birthday celebration. 10 days of staying 24 7 with the kids should be helpful in promoting this training.

It was surprisingly easy. Altho many times they just want to go to the toilet to sit on the bowl for fun, it's ok as long as sometimes they get it right. Now the girls can tell me if they are going to do a shi shi potty and will tug at my baju if they want to do so. Somehow they are still now so good in the poo department but since they are not yet 2, it is still alright with me.

They are still in diapers when they go downstairs to the park as I dun want any mishap and during their sleeping time but i think its great progress.

Books for Toddlers

These books are supposed to be suitable for Toddlers from 2-3 years old.

Book to a Goose by Mem Foz and David Miller
Click, Clack 123 by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Cuddle Time by Libby Gleeson
Dig, Dig, Digging by Margaret Mayo & Alex Ayliffe
Dog in, Cat out by Gillian Rubinstein
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Good Night, Me by Andrew Daddo & Emma Quay
Grandpa & Thomas by Pamela Allen
Guess How Much I love you by Sam McBratney
I want my Potty by Tony Ross
My Dad by Anthony Browne
My Grandma by Jeanette Rowe
Piglet & Mama by Margaret Wild & Stephen Michael King
The Grandpa Book by Todd Parr
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Too Many Pears by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley
We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury
Wheels on the Bus by Penny Dann
Za-za's Baby Brother by Lucy Cousins

A quick check on mphonline showed that they only had The Very Hungry Caterpillar whilst some of other books may be on their database but listed as not available. This is sad indeed if we want to promote reading for the kids. I suppose they may have other books but sometimes the books that parents deem interesting are tossed out by the kids. I shall have to look elsewhere to procure my books.

Books for Babies

I read a list from thebigbookclub.com.au about what is suitable for babies from birth till 2 and I must say that my kids did like some of the books that I managed to get for them.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell - its a very funny book which highlight animals in the zoo.
Eyes, Nose, Fingers & Toes by Judy Hindley
Families by Odette Ross
Hippo Has A Hat by Julia Donaldson - My kids just love seeing the leopard in a skirt and hippo wearing a hat, caterpillar with shoes...
Hug by Jex Alborough
I Went Walking by Sue Machin & Julie Vivas
Kipper's Book of Colours by Mick Inkpen
Let's Go Visiting by Sue Williams & Julie Vivas
Maisy's Bathtime by Lucy Cousins
Miffy Series by Dick Bruna
Moonlight by Jan Ormerod
Nursery Rhymes by Deb Gliori - did not get this but something similar which they love too
Peepo! by Janet an Allan Ahlberg
Round & Round the Garden by Ian Beck & Sarah Williams
Spot (any spot books) by Eric Hill - all spot book are most welcomed
Teddy Bear Hide and Seek by Pamela Edwards - this was their favourite book when they were very very young
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek - they ate this up literally!

But they are now almost 2 and therefore needs to graduate to another set of books. Shall update another batch soon.

Potty Training

I decided a few days ago from watching my girls respond to requests that its time to potty train them. So today, when they are almost 22 months old, I decided to start the potty training. I have yet to read much about it but when I took Eggy to the potty this evening, I was rewarded with a pee!! Both her papa and I burst out in spontaneous claps and smiles. Eggy was grinning so happily.

Cookie tried to pee too but nothing came out... but I cannot fault her enthusiasm.

Will see how long this will take. I am glad that it was not as hard as i thought it would be since i have heard some stories from frens about how hard that was going to be.

A Visit to the Vet

Dr Merv had been Nimz' vet for quite a while now. Just on Friday I brought Nimz to see him for his annual vaccination and deworming trip to see Dr Merv. I washed Nimz just an hour before and hairdryed him (after the vaccination, you were not supposed to bathe the cat for about a week).

Dr Merv recognised Nimz straightaway and took out his file (which in under his name) with my name as his owner.. altho i do think that I am more like his slave than owner. NImz is brought into the cat room where Dr Merv would start the procedure by taking him out of his cage gently and mumbling soothing words to him and even smelling his fur to see if he had a good or bad odour. He then tickled his chin and told him "You are such a good boy! Come, let me see your eyes". He looked into the crystal ball like eyes and pronounced that NImz looked perfectly healthy via the eyes, then he touches his nose to see if its slightly wet. He also used his fingers to feel Nimz all over the body to check for any unusual lump or inflammation. He took his temperature (of course via his 'behind' and talked to Nimz cheerily all the time while the thermometer was in his bum. Clearly Nimz was quite upset and moved his tail violently. Lastly he checked his ears, and sniffed at his mouth.

Dr Merv always cleans Nimz's ears by putting some ear drops into his ears and then for the next minute of so, Nimz would resemble and an Ewok with flattened ears.. damn hilarious sight for those whose cats always have erect ears! Dr Merv advised me to clean his teeth with gauze and cat mouth wash to help with his gingivitis. "Gingivitis would shortened the cat's life span by 20%... oh dear.. Nimz, you did not hear this" he lowered his voice as Nimz gave a whimper.

After the procedure, I got a tour of his latest acquisition of a cat which had been run over by a car. The hinds legs were crushed and the cat was almost put to sleep due to him being injured quite badly. However, the cat showed such resilience that Dr Merv amputated his legs and now when i looked at Gump.. he had the appearance of a normal cat sitting down on his haunches but when he walked towards me, only his front legs moved while his back was sliding over the floor. He was such a lovwly looking cat, with bright green eyes and a narrow sweet face. Such a lovely disposition too. My heart melted as i tickled him. The amazing thing about Gump, well he probably does not realise that his legs are missing and just carried on living with his new situation. No grumbling. just a cheery meow when you come over to say a few words to him.

Weddings

A few friends gathered over a sumptuous Japanese dinner at Iketeru, Hilton. The reason for the dinner was to kind of have a hen's night for the bride to be.. altho i have to say that the hen's night was a bit too tame...;) Maybe its becos we all have hit the middle age line this year and hence not too keen to do anymore of the 'fun' stuff.

It brings to mind my own wedding 6 years ago at The Mines Beach Resort. It seems such an ethereal time. With the white frothy wedding gown dotted with blue flowers (i had always wanted some blue on my wedding gown), bouncy curls on the head, a gathering of beloved friends and family... it was such a special moment. I think it was very special because I made my vows to God in front of the people whom I cared about (altho I no longer speak to half of the guest invited due to one reason or another). It really was such a sacred moment. To walk down the aisle towards the man that you love and whom you know reciprocate that 'verb' towards you. To forever be joined in spirit with this one person who also pledged to walk the journey with you. It was such a comfort, a homecoming of sorts... this wedding which is the start of a marriage. What a wonder it was.. these moments which i like to think about as it brings a smile to my face.

Here's to you my friend who is going to begin this new journey together with her man. Its downright scary but heck! I'll cheer you on!

Eggy names her pink Elephant from Laos

Its been so long since I last wrote and heaps of things have been happening to the kids and to me too. But today, i particularly wanted to write about Eggy and her pink elephant which Uncle Sargeant from Laos got for her (Cookie got a yellow elephant). We were playing with the elephant in her cot with her throwing it out of the cot ever so often and me putting it back in there.. it's great fun for her!

A bit of some development speech (i now understand why mothers get so excited with their kids speaking.. from a only crying mass to a distinctly articulating mobile cave-kid.. its really like celebrating a crippled person walk again in a lesser degree). Anyway, Eggy can call me Mama or Mummy, point at Cookie, Kaka and Nimbus... but today, she pointed at the elephant and said "Mimi" and again "Mimi". I was wondering why.. cos i kept calling the elephant "Pinky".

It seems that Eggy is developing quicker in her speech than Cookie... She has also a repertoire of susu, tidur, butfly (butterfly), frawer (flower), frog (which she like to call mama as well) Aunt rene is really teaching her some nonsense..*grin* So far, no chinese words yet..

Also funnily, everytime we say "Papa", she would turn up her palm and shake it as tho to say that he is not around.. in many cases, he is not around. Marido is missing all the fun! Poor chap.

Beef Curry and Pork Bacon

In a hotel restaurant in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, a couple on holidays was scanning the breakfast menu. "Here darling.. bacon and eggs are on no 4"... said the wife.

"Ho ho.. bacon.. yummy.. er but why is it beef bacon?" wondered the husband. "Waiter... can I get some pork bacon instead?"

The waiter looked a bit flustered "Sir, this is a halal restaurant.. we don't serve pork."

"Oh I see.." The man replied but clearly from his facial expression, he did not understand the situation at all. When the beef bacon arrived, and the man was trying to bite into the stringy piece of meet, he grumbled "What type of restaurant is this that does not serve pork!!?"


Later in the night, they were seated in a lovely Indian restaurant with pictures of Shah Rukh Khan and other Bollywood actors (which incidentally held no meaning for them although they loved Indian food). "Where is the beef curry?" demanded the husband to the waiter.

The waiter must have rolled his eyes under his closed lids before opening them and stiffly said "Sir, we don't serve beef in this establishment" God forbid.. cows are sacred in our culture!

"But but" sputtered the man indignantly "we have beef curry in Indian restaurants in our country!" The waiter patiently said "That may be true Sir but here, we don't serve beef on our menu" .. "May I suggest a Chicken Vindaloo instead?"

A fren is preggie!

No more being a cow

It has been like 3 weeks since i stopped breastfeeding. I thought that i would miss it but actually i did not really suffer much after effects.. perhaps a tad sad cos of the hormones are not released as much to make one happy but the freedom enjoyed certainly makes up for it. at least now i can disappear from the kids for more than 4 hours.. that certainly helps with work (meeting clients) and of course, my work has picked up a lot more now.

So, officially I stopped breastfeeding in Sept 2009... which means that I actually breastfed for 16 months... i am amazed that i actually did it. to think that I did not sleep straight for more than 4 hours at night for one whole year due to the breastfeeding is like psychotic... looking back, i believe that God must have given me a steely edge to my determination. I wonder if i can do this all over again.. God help me!!

The kids are adjusting well to their Mama not feeding them anymore.. they have had the bottle for a long time and so the total switch was accepted with no fuss... In fact, after stopping the breastfeeding, Eggy's weight has slightly improved.. she was a tad skinny for her age.. in fact, below average. We shall see what the doctor says the next round.

I think i can be a lactation consultant... jajajaja.. but i noticed that many women arent interested to breastfeed. Mostly never even make the 2 months mark. Some just go straight to formula.. dunno..whether its lack of education or the pressure of working. But working... in the 2 months maternity.. no work, right?

just for you and this is not a forwarded message!

it's not the myriad emotions that makes me long for you
its the quiet smile on your face
the warm glint in your eye
the laugh lines around your mouth
the little marks that make you you

it's the distance that separates us
the hurriedness of our conversations
the difference in time zones
the many events that distract us

It's the promise of a cosy silent evening
holding the hands of our children together
ruffling Nimbus and snatching him from each other
staring across to the hills and feeling the wind

So many things... so little time
how can one be bored?
how can one be a skeptic?
how can one be blind?

We love becos
we choose to love
So i say that i love you
by the things that i do

Both of you

I thought i'd like to have one of you...
But instead i got the both of you
you were something i wanted to have so that i would not regret not ever having
and when you two arrived ... regret came as well...
not becos there were 2 but becos i sud have asked for you much earlier

when i am with you...
i feel a tiny warmth infuse my soul and and it threatens to make me laugh out loud
and i do... becos you infect me with your happiness
when i am not with you...
i keep seeing your little faces on the dark canvas in my mind
funny faces, sad faces, adorable faces
runny noses, tearing eyes and drooling mouths
so disgusting but how i love the smellyness and the unique scent of you
In the quiet of my room when your brother is sitting next to me on the bed
with my hand stroking his brown head, my other imaginary hand is stroking your heads in the next room where you are

it's just splendid, magical and mysterious..
the way i love you
i've been given a gift, precious beyond belief..
thank you for giving me the privilege of loving you.

Bubs at 16 mths

Loving sisters


Eggy laughing



Small cookie in her big pram



twins' great pose



Eggy



Cookie loves to read

Time to move on

I think sometimes we outgrow something we hold dear for far too long and so today... is the start of doing what Alex likes to tell me "Move on".

Stopping the milk

It has been about 16 months of breastfeeding and it is time to give it up.

Busy? - so what else is new?

Yeah.. as the title suggests, i am busy but so is everyone else? But let me just share with you what my busy means at this point of time.

I have been staying in Brisbane and Gold Coast the last 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom apartment. The one in Brisbane is the Oaks Festival Tower (The Oaks are everywhere in Brisbane!) near to Queen Street malls and other amennities like the library (which I love as it is baby/kids friendly) and Woolies or Coles which I cannot live without ;). The day starts off at 7.30am with either one kid howling or both of them placidly playing in their cots. Then, it's a whirlwind of feeding, bathing, more feeding and cooking and yet more feeding and cleaning the mess they make due to their inability to eat like an adult. Honestly, after eating, my kids have food all over their heads cos their will take the food out of the mouth, look at it with deep interest and with a happy squeal slap it on their heads. Garrr! One of my friends told me that everytime her son has some bits of food at the corner of his mouth, her mother in law would jump up and wipe it away.. I can just imagine her having a fit if she sees my children. I dont have a baby high chair here too and feeding kids without strapping them down is terribly irritating. I dont know how mothers run around chasing their kids for food. At least for me, my kids walk up to me and open their mouths. Phew!

Sometimes in the midst of taking care of the kids and preparing them for outings, i forget to eat.. but no worries.. i am not losing weight at all. That is because i get good sleep cos the kids are down for 12 hours in the night... all that training works!

Then, in the afternoon.. it starts all over again. But in between, i managed to read 2 books in that week (Life with Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse - darn farnee but after one book, i have had enough of that idiot, bumbling Bertie and his all too clever butler Jeeves. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - also after one book, i think i shall give the rest of his books a miss... it's good writing and completely unputdownable but I find the bizarreness of spirits taking over one's body to murder people, fish falling from the sky and people fainting but yet having their eyes open and moving to the left and right... a bit too much for me. I have just got to read.. it keeps me sane somewhat. in between, I managed brisk walks along the incredibly lovely burleigh beach.



The kids are so adorable (to me only lah) and i think that perhaps they need to be adorable and funny so that the exasperated parents dun kill them off. I think the secret to calm parenting is to be just that.. calm.. in the face of whatever that happens.. like Cookie cracking her head on the edge of the glass table when she fell on it, Eggy smiling at her grandmother with a mouthful of zinc oxide, Cookie and Eggy dipping their fingers in the Bottom Butter and licking them.. it smells really good! Eggy walking into the wet bathroom and falling like she slipped on a banana peel, Cookie dangling my new Iphone out the 11th floor railing on the balcony, Cookie grabbing Eggy's fuzz on the head and looking at me as though she has done something incredibly crever while Eggy is bawling away, Cookie eating a bar of soap that she managed to open from its plastic packaging, Eggy upsetting a bowl of soft boiled eggs and soiling the hotel carpet and our clothes, both of them eating bananas and stomping them on the carpet when they feel like it. Or better still, Cookie discovering the soiled diapers and opening it up and smearing the delicious poo on her hands and clothes and then passing it to Eggy - really should have taken a photo of this!

Father's Day 2009

This year's Father's Day was just about the same as the rest of the years.. we go out to dinner. However this year, it was very merry with 4 grandchildren and 2 children with their husbands and the father and mother.

Just want to wish Pa "Happy Father's Day!" Here a photo of Pa with me and the kiddos.



Does not my Pa look happy? That's smum next to him!