I didn't write down any pregnancy memory when I was carrying Charlotte. Back then, I didn't even have a blog. I only started blogging 2 years after having Charlotte. And this is it, a blog all about her.
Now that I am expecting my second baby very soon, and I think I have a perfect place to keep not just about my kids' growing up memory, but also start all the way back from my pregnancy memory.
I remember clearly the night before I found out that I was pregnant with Charlotte we invited a few friends to our house for dinner. We cooked steak and had a very nice wine and we stayed all night chit chatting. The next morning, I decided to take a home pregnancy test since my period was late. When the test result came out positive, the first thing I recalled was "damn! I was drinking last night!"...it wasn't a planned pregnancy but Pat and I did talk about it as we thought we'll just take it easy and if it happens, it happens...and it happened!!!
I swear and was 101% sure that I will not have a second child. I guessed I was not prepared to welcome another baby experience along with the responsibilities and commitments associate with it. I was overwhelmed, my tried to do the best (I think I did) for the Charlotte, I was committed to breastfeeding, I sacrificed my career commitment to allow bandwidth to take care of the Charlotte, I gave up many opportunities on both personal and professional growth. Naturally, I was in phobia to commit another one. Pat on the other hand, always wanted a second child. But he couldn't push to hard for it to happen because half the time he is not home and he knows that the responsibility is all mine. His brilliant idea is to have maid to help out, but I am someone that cannot rely on maid entirely, not on baby, not even on house chores. Baby is too fragile and I can never imagine to have something happen to a baby because I "outsource" the responsibility to a maid and accident happened. So second baby was out of the equation for quite some time. Charlotte is turning 6 this year and maybe I'm kinda forgotten about all the sweat and tears, and I also missed the feeling of having a baby kicking inside your tummy when you are carrying him/her, but I also realized that now I am 6 years older, my stamina and health may not be in the same condition as 6 years ago. Can I still cope with the night feeding marathon? The miserable colic cry every night? The washing and cleaning...so just like the 1st pregnancy we were not to serious about it but we are blessed!
I found out that I was pregnant at around the 5th week the first time, and this second time was maybe just around the 3rd week. We couldn't see any sign of embryo formation when we went to see the Gynae, just a sign of positive pregnancy with thick wall on the uterus. I was in a little denial for a couple of weeks until the presence of an embryo showed on the ultrasound scan later on. So the pregnancy journey started...
I had a very easy pregnancy the first time. Everything was normal, I ate as usual (maybe was eating a lot more than usual), sat, walked, slept as usual. No morning sickness, no backache, nothing...so the whole 40 weeks passed by very quickly and Charlotte born just 2 days earlier than the EDD. The 2nd pregnancy is a whole new experience, and I never thought it could be that challenging although I had heard many difficult pregnancy experiences before. It started with a very bad morning sickness, or maybe I should say all-day sickness because that's really what it was. I felt so sick all day long, nothing (food/drinks) seemed to be able to comfort my tummy. I was hungry but everything that went in came out pretty soon. What makes it worse is the washroom in the office, the look, the smell, even just the thought of using it made me sick already. So I was really dragging myself to work everyday in the first trimester. Not only that, I started to have backache even at 8 weeks along. I couldn't bear the pain even just walking a short distant, imagine back then my tummy had not really show and I was worried sick about the remaining 30+ weeks journey. In between 1st and 2nd trimester, I had numerous occasions of spotting and visited A&E very frequently. I spotted when I was slightly overworked, slightly over stressed, did a little bit more house chores than usual, baked a cake or two over the weekend...I was on bed rest many times so far. I felt so fragile and weak with this 2nd pregnancy, but I was all energetic and active during the 1st. No wonder the old wive tales called it unique pregnancy...but I call it "age does matter pregnancy"...
With Charlotte, I had a very clear sign of labor - my water bag burst at 40 weeks, at 4+am. I knew for sure I had to check myself in to hospital by then. I am now 38+ weeks and for the last one whole week I kept having false signs of labor. I felt the contraction last Thursday late afternoon, Pat was away from home and so I drove to the hospital myself and had a CTG check. The nurse asked me to pack my bag and check-in that night because the contraction was strong and consistent. On my way back, I called Pat and asked him to come home immediately. Pat came back late night, but we didn't check ourselves in because the contraction had went away, and it was nothing for the next few days. I woke up on Saturday morning and found out that I had "show" and this time we packed and put all the necessary things into the car and went straight to the hospital. Strangely, the contraction that morning was very mild than usual and my Gynae said there was no dilation yet. He sent me to CTG monitoring again and when the result also showed mild and inconsistent contraction I was sent home. I had my follow up today and my Gynae said my baby likes it in my womb and decided to stay a little longer...(sigh!). I'm home once again.
Will the bell rings next week?
Showing posts with label other. Show all posts
Showing posts with label other. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
It's Just Beautiful!
A couple weeks back we received the key to our studio suites and we finally made our visit there last weekend. Our unit is at the top floor, although not sea view but the views from all angles were spectacular! Because we have the corner unit, the living room window has the view all way to Gurney Drive, and the balcony is over looking the tennis court and swimming pool.
The workmanship and finishing are the best of all houses we bought so far. Kitchen, bathrooms, bedroom are all done up, lighting and air conditioning are installed, all one needs is a bed, a sofa set, a satellite dish and a TV to move in.
Charlotte had the biggest fun enjoying a swim of the brand new infinity pool on the roof top and the environment was very green and peaceful.
We also made way to the beach front to check out the view and scenery.
The spectacular view, pleasing workmanship, beautiful environment and architectures made us feel like getting another unit. But I believe that good thing doesn't come twice, let's eyeing for some place else...meanwhile, we can still bring Charlotte for a swim until we hand over the key to the new owner *wink*
Monday, March 22, 2010
On The Move, Again
This is my 3rd time leaving home for a business trip since Dec last year and I got very very worried that Charlotte might have a tough time to accept it. I planned very carefully of how and when to break the news to her. Thankfully she accepted the fact, although with some tough negotiations and treats.
Last Sunday, while putting her to afternoon nap I asked her if she wanted to go visit 外婆 (maternal grandma). She asked me why, and I said because 外婆 is my mother and I missed her since it has been almost 2 weeks since I last visited her. Immediately she broke down in tears and I knew I had said something wrong, or rather sensitive. I pretended that I didn't understand what has caused her to cry and she said "because when you go to China I will miss you too mommy!"
Lotte Oh Lotte!
Last Sunday, while putting her to afternoon nap I asked her if she wanted to go visit 外婆 (maternal grandma). She asked me why, and I said because 外婆 is my mother and I missed her since it has been almost 2 weeks since I last visited her. Immediately she broke down in tears and I knew I had said something wrong, or rather sensitive. I pretended that I didn't understand what has caused her to cry and she said "because when you go to China I will miss you too mommy!"
Lotte Oh Lotte!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
What Was Mummy Up To When You Were Sleeping?
I've gotten myself into the wall sticker heat since Dec last year but all I did was just browsing the catalogs online, admiring the beautiful creations some folks put up on their walls, didn't have the courage to do it on mine as I know I'm not much of an artistic person.
A while back, I happened to bump into a small kiosk at one of the malls here in Penang. I spent almost 45min at that store browsing, asking questions, and choosing...I didn't know what I want or what I need, but I want to try one. So I finally bought a roll from that store.
That roll of wall sticker had been sitting in my drawer for many weeks now and although I always remember that I have to put it up I couldn't find the time to do it. Last night, I sneaked out from the bedroom around 10pm, leaving my sleeping princess and I went on with my little project.
I carefully took out the wall stickers, and I worked on it. In between, Charlotte woke up, I went back to the bedroom and came downstairs again to continue. Pat came home while I was maybe just 40% done but I continued. I knew that I had to get it done once I have started it because I don't want pieces of work lying around on the floor and I don't like half done work...
After 2.5 hours...
It looked simple, but it was kind of challenging to put it together...it could be easier if I have some helping hands.
Charlotte woke up the next morning, thrilled to see it and Pat also gave a satisfying smile. Charlotte is now ordering me to put more nice designs here and there.
Monday, January 11, 2010
When Communication Is A Problem
We all know the importance of choice of words and I bet you don't know how it is going to drive you up to the wall like I do when the wrong choice of words is used.
My new maid came to join our family in Nov last year. She's only 21 years old (yeah, we remember we saw 27 on her profile but then you know how 1 and 7 fooled us sometimes) and has never leave her country before. Deep down, I had prepared for the worse, that she doesn't know the basic expectations nor the most fundamental discipline that we expected from our previous maid. But, I am fine to take her as long as she is willing to learn and has some level of initiatives. The one thing that I didn't know is how communication can be a challenge.
Examples:
Right after I came back from my recent trip I found that my bedroom floor was super sticky and there were dusty and hair at the corner of the living room and under the couch.
Me: Arnie, did you sweep the floor when I was not around? How come it is still so dusty?Arnie: Yes, madam
Me: Did you sweep under the chairs and tables? And from the corners? *pointing to all those direction*
Arnie: No, no need!
Me: What do you mean no need? You have to! Remove the chairs and tables and sweep! Did you?
Arnie: No, no need madam!
Me: What?! Stop saying no need. I am telling you that you have to! ...
I came home from work one evening and realized that I didn't bring the keys with me, so I honked and have Arnie to open the auto gate for me. I saw her stood at the front door and waving to me. I couldn't understand and so I wind down the window:
Me: Open the gate for me Arnie
Arnie: No, no need open madam.
Me: What? Open the gate! I want to park my car inside.
Arnie: No, madam, no need open. *then she pointed at the small gate and asked me to come inside from there*
I parked my car and walked through the small gate...
Me: Why didn't you open the gate? What do you mean no need?!
Arnie: *Took the auto gate remote control and pressed on the button several times, but the gate couldn't open* No need!
Me: Arnie, the door Cannot open, not "no need"!
Pat uses different pieces of cloth when he washes his "precious" (car) and he will just leave the cloths outside the porch when he is done. When our previous maid was with us, she knows what to do with those. But Arnie, she just kept all those cloths in the washroom. One day, Pat realizes those were extremely dirty and so he asked:
Pat: Arnie, did you wash these cloths? How come it is still so oily and dirty?
Arnie: Cloths? No, sir
Pat: These cloths *showed it to her* Did you wash?
Arnie: No, no need sir, no need wash!
Pat: What no need wash? Please wash them and dry them every time I finish with them. See so oily? How can I use them?
Only last week I finally realized that her "no need" can be "cannot", "not yet" or "didn't"! It has been driving me nuts every time I had a conversation with her. I couldn't understand how can she be so stubborn? How can she answer me "no need" when I told her that she "Has To"? I felt like my blood pressure was shooting right up to my head when I heard "no need" from her.
Her other standard answer is "don't know". Charlotte has request now and then, sometimes she asked for her old toy, 1 small piece of a particular paper, 1 small ring, 1 small hair pin...and Arnie's standard answer is "don't know". She got me so mad that I had to tell her I don't want to hear "don't know" anymore. She better know where are all Charlotte's toys and stuff. I mean, my house is not a 3 storey big bangalow, I only have 1 room for all Charlotte's toys and those are all in boxes. How difficult is it to find one?
My new maid came to join our family in Nov last year. She's only 21 years old (yeah, we remember we saw 27 on her profile but then you know how 1 and 7 fooled us sometimes) and has never leave her country before. Deep down, I had prepared for the worse, that she doesn't know the basic expectations nor the most fundamental discipline that we expected from our previous maid. But, I am fine to take her as long as she is willing to learn and has some level of initiatives. The one thing that I didn't know is how communication can be a challenge.
Examples:
Right after I came back from my recent trip I found that my bedroom floor was super sticky and there were dusty and hair at the corner of the living room and under the couch.
Me: Arnie, did you sweep the floor when I was not around? How come it is still so dusty?Arnie: Yes, madam
Me: Did you sweep under the chairs and tables? And from the corners? *pointing to all those direction*
Arnie: No, no need!
Me: What do you mean no need? You have to! Remove the chairs and tables and sweep! Did you?
Arnie: No, no need madam!
Me: What?! Stop saying no need. I am telling you that you have to! ...
I came home from work one evening and realized that I didn't bring the keys with me, so I honked and have Arnie to open the auto gate for me. I saw her stood at the front door and waving to me. I couldn't understand and so I wind down the window:
Me: Open the gate for me Arnie
Arnie: No, no need open madam.
Me: What? Open the gate! I want to park my car inside.
Arnie: No, madam, no need open. *then she pointed at the small gate and asked me to come inside from there*
I parked my car and walked through the small gate...
Me: Why didn't you open the gate? What do you mean no need?!
Arnie: *Took the auto gate remote control and pressed on the button several times, but the gate couldn't open* No need!
Me: Arnie, the door Cannot open, not "no need"!
Pat uses different pieces of cloth when he washes his "precious" (car) and he will just leave the cloths outside the porch when he is done. When our previous maid was with us, she knows what to do with those. But Arnie, she just kept all those cloths in the washroom. One day, Pat realizes those were extremely dirty and so he asked:
Pat: Arnie, did you wash these cloths? How come it is still so oily and dirty?
Arnie: Cloths? No, sir
Pat: These cloths *showed it to her* Did you wash?
Arnie: No, no need sir, no need wash!
Pat: What no need wash? Please wash them and dry them every time I finish with them. See so oily? How can I use them?
Only last week I finally realized that her "no need" can be "cannot", "not yet" or "didn't"! It has been driving me nuts every time I had a conversation with her. I couldn't understand how can she be so stubborn? How can she answer me "no need" when I told her that she "Has To"? I felt like my blood pressure was shooting right up to my head when I heard "no need" from her.
Her other standard answer is "don't know". Charlotte has request now and then, sometimes she asked for her old toy, 1 small piece of a particular paper, 1 small ring, 1 small hair pin...and Arnie's standard answer is "don't know". She got me so mad that I had to tell her I don't want to hear "don't know" anymore. She better know where are all Charlotte's toys and stuff. I mean, my house is not a 3 storey big bangalow, I only have 1 room for all Charlotte's toys and those are all in boxes. How difficult is it to find one?
There are many other cases that made us go "Arghhhhh"!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
How Much I Love You!
This much!
Lately, Charlotte tells me "mommy I love you!" or "mommy I miss you" very often and mostly out of the blue. It is very sweet to hear this, especially when my at day work was tough and tiring.
Thanks sweetie and I love you very much too!
Lately, Charlotte tells me "mommy I love you!" or "mommy I miss you" very often and mostly out of the blue. It is very sweet to hear this, especially when my at day work was tough and tiring.
Thanks sweetie and I love you very much too!
Friday, September 11, 2009
What Is Going On?
I couldn't believe that my last post was on Aug 25th. I have no update for more than 3 weeks now! I have so much to share and so much to put down just as a note to myself, a reminder, a record...everyday passes by so quickly and I have no chance to waste a single minute.
I have been pretty occupied since I started this new job. Yeah, when they pay you more than what you asked for they expect you to contribute more in return. It has been a challenge to send Charlotte to school on time in the morning, to be at her school on time in the evening for pick up, I forgot about extra classes that we signed up for her when I was still trying to finish up what I left of after I left office, I forgot about her homework that I need to guide her before her next lesson...Oops! Bad mommy, I know :(
I wanted to post about how lucky I was to have my mom to help out during the school holiday. I wanted to record the wonderful time Charlotte spent with her grandma, how she enjoyed grandma's company, how she enjoyed grandma's cooking, how many new dresses, new shoes, new accessories she got from grandma for no reason, how blessed we all to have my mom to take care of thing at home while we were tied up at work, how sorry I was for my dad that I had to keep my mom with me for a week.
I also wanted to share about Charlotte's new discovery, took picture of herself with our digital camera. I only found out about it when I was downloading some of the old pictures from the camera. I also wanted to put up photos of Charlotte in those new dresses that grandma bought her (I'll try to take better picture when Charlotte put up those dresses again)
I wanted to record about Charlotte told me "mommy I missed you!" when I came home late. I also wanted to record about Charlotte told me "mommy I love you!" and came running and gave me a big warm hug. That was the best and made everything worth!
I wanted blog about my upcoming business trips, I am making plans and arrangements ahead for Charlotte, and I am worried about her.
I only think of those in my head, hoping to have time to blog about it tomorrow. They were all too back dated now and I don't want to do that many back dated post. I'll just let it go and hopefully I will have better discipline to do that for my next post.
I have been pretty occupied since I started this new job. Yeah, when they pay you more than what you asked for they expect you to contribute more in return. It has been a challenge to send Charlotte to school on time in the morning, to be at her school on time in the evening for pick up, I forgot about extra classes that we signed up for her when I was still trying to finish up what I left of after I left office, I forgot about her homework that I need to guide her before her next lesson...Oops! Bad mommy, I know :(
I wanted to post about how lucky I was to have my mom to help out during the school holiday. I wanted to record the wonderful time Charlotte spent with her grandma, how she enjoyed grandma's company, how she enjoyed grandma's cooking, how many new dresses, new shoes, new accessories she got from grandma for no reason, how blessed we all to have my mom to take care of thing at home while we were tied up at work, how sorry I was for my dad that I had to keep my mom with me for a week.
I also wanted to share about Charlotte's new discovery, took picture of herself with our digital camera. I only found out about it when I was downloading some of the old pictures from the camera. I also wanted to put up photos of Charlotte in those new dresses that grandma bought her (I'll try to take better picture when Charlotte put up those dresses again)
I wanted to record about Charlotte told me "mommy I missed you!" when I came home late. I also wanted to record about Charlotte told me "mommy I love you!" and came running and gave me a big warm hug. That was the best and made everything worth!
I wanted blog about my upcoming business trips, I am making plans and arrangements ahead for Charlotte, and I am worried about her.
I only think of those in my head, hoping to have time to blog about it tomorrow. They were all too back dated now and I don't want to do that many back dated post. I'll just let it go and hopefully I will have better discipline to do that for my next post.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
外婆的宝贝 (Grandma's Little Precious)
It was school holiday last week, Charlotte was home all day while Pat and I were at work that whole week. We don't have a maid since Brenda (our previous maid) went home in May, so who was there to look after Charlotte?
At situation like this, my parents never failed me. They are always there for me, for us, anything at all that we asked, they will never say no as answer. For that, I am very very thankful that I am such a blessed child. Obviously, my mom volunteered to look after Charlotte for the week even before I asked. I was very happy to hear this as I know nothing can go wrong and I can focus my attention at work knowing Charlotte is in good hand. The only thing that we were worried about is if Charlotte would get connected with my mom the way we hoped for. This is because we only visit my parents once a week or less. We observed that Charlotte sometimes need a long period of time to warm up and get comfortable with my parents.
My parents came Monday morning, and I was very relieved when Charlotte ran to the door and greeted her grandparents. My dad proposed to take Charlotte out for breakfast worrying that she may not agree to let me leave for work. That was how I managed to get to office without any protest on Monday morning. It was all peaceful throughout Monday, no phone calls from home and I knew everything was under control. I went home early Monday evening as promised to Charlotte and my mom started her "update" the moment I stepped into the house.
Update:
1. Charlotte was very obedient, didn't create any difficulty and my mom was able to cook and prepare meals without any disruption from her.
2. Charlotte had good appetite (something very new to me), she ate "char siew pao" during breakfast, big portion of lunch, she had 3pcs of biscuits and a cup of milo for tea.
3. Charlotte had good manners, keep telling grandma to be careful of the stairs, slippery bathroom, helped grandma with aircond and fan in her room as grandma was not familiar with the environment.
4. *there were many other comments which I didn't really listen because Charlotte was talking to me at the same time*
All of us had the most delicious and wonderful dinner that week! My mom is a great cook and she has magic in her cooking that I can never understand how it tasted so differently even I followed her recipe and instruction exactly. Maybe that's what called "cooking with love"! Pat ate the largest portion of all and my mom was definitely happy seeing us enjoyed her cooking. Charlotte even decided to sleep with grandma!
My mom, being her usual self, she bought a whole of things for the house, for the kitchen, for us and not to mention for Charlotte. I saw my fridge and freezer was filled with materials for cooking, kitchen added new tools, new dresses and accessories for Charlotte everyday. Last evening, I was greeted by this cute malay looking girl when I was home.
Every evening, I look forward seeing happy faces (Charlotte and my mom), great dinner, nice little chit chat among mother, daughter and granddaughter, small shopping here and there when I don't need to attend night teleconferences. It has been going on for a week and I can really get use to it. Unfortunately, it has coming to an end and I have to consider my dad although I love to have my mom all to myself. My dad has been living by himself and run his business all by himself this entire week. Although he keeps saying that there is no big deal for him, I feel extremely bad and selfish and I should "release" my mom to take care of him when Charlotte is back to school next week. I love to have both of my parents staying with me when my dad decided to retire one day.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Been There, Done That.
I had been a SAHW (Wife) back in 2003 when Pat was relocated to the States. The experience that I had then and now is very different. Location aside, back then we were just the 2 of us. Time and schedule were very flexible, we could even stayed up for late night games, movies and pop corns, parties and travels. Eat or sleep, snow or sunshine never bother. With Charlotte, everything must be planned and done in considering of her.
There were many things that I wanted to take the opportunity to do or try when I gained the SAHM status slightly about a months ago. Then I realized that I didn't gain any additional time to do what I had planned to do when finally I as the home project manager. Unlike in the corporate world, there are resources to leverage for any project to be managed, I was practically "THE" manager, "THE" team, "THE" resource to run all that is around at home. From the moment I wake up in the morning till I close my eyes again at night I was occupied with activities and tasks that need to be completed. It was not any easier, but definitely happier.
I was very busy but felt very much accomplished and satisfied. One of those things that I am most happy with is the training for Charlotte to do the morning "perch". Charlotte used to keep for 3 to 4 days, although she didn't really have constipation issue I felt that the keeping habit is unacceptable and it will eventually cause constipation. The training was very successful and she is up on her "thrown" every morning with good output :) Of course this is no magic, the luxury of time that I had without having to rush to office and involved in the process with her (yeah, I practically stood outside of the toilet waiting and chatting with her initially) significantly contributed to the success.
I was also able to prepare healthy meals, of course coming out with a menu can be quite stressful sometimes. The exploring I was able to introduce several more new dishes to Charlotte's liking. Nothing beats the sense of accomplishment seeing empty plates :)
Other than baking, cooking and cleaning (nothing glamorous), I was also able to enjoy the treadmill, watching DVDs, running my fingers through my long abundant piano, spending more times with parents and friends, and also blogging (hehe!).
The only thing we didn't do is going on a holiday. We were considering but then we have concern on the H1N1 outspreading. We feel that it is not necessary to expose ourselves to the risks. To bad, Pangkor Laut Resort will have to wait :(
Now that I am back in the corporate world, I pray that God to continue to look after our family and guide me through my new adventure.
There were many things that I wanted to take the opportunity to do or try when I gained the SAHM status slightly about a months ago. Then I realized that I didn't gain any additional time to do what I had planned to do when finally I as the home project manager. Unlike in the corporate world, there are resources to leverage for any project to be managed, I was practically "THE" manager, "THE" team, "THE" resource to run all that is around at home. From the moment I wake up in the morning till I close my eyes again at night I was occupied with activities and tasks that need to be completed. It was not any easier, but definitely happier.
I was very busy but felt very much accomplished and satisfied. One of those things that I am most happy with is the training for Charlotte to do the morning "perch". Charlotte used to keep for 3 to 4 days, although she didn't really have constipation issue I felt that the keeping habit is unacceptable and it will eventually cause constipation. The training was very successful and she is up on her "thrown" every morning with good output :) Of course this is no magic, the luxury of time that I had without having to rush to office and involved in the process with her (yeah, I practically stood outside of the toilet waiting and chatting with her initially) significantly contributed to the success.
I was also able to prepare healthy meals, of course coming out with a menu can be quite stressful sometimes. The exploring I was able to introduce several more new dishes to Charlotte's liking. Nothing beats the sense of accomplishment seeing empty plates :)
Other than baking, cooking and cleaning (nothing glamorous), I was also able to enjoy the treadmill, watching DVDs, running my fingers through my long abundant piano, spending more times with parents and friends, and also blogging (hehe!).
The only thing we didn't do is going on a holiday. We were considering but then we have concern on the H1N1 outspreading. We feel that it is not necessary to expose ourselves to the risks. To bad, Pangkor Laut Resort will have to wait :(
Now that I am back in the corporate world, I pray that God to continue to look after our family and guide me through my new adventure.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
One Rare Occasion
I got a very nice dinner treat last night, by Pat, at home...It was one of those very rare occasions and I was definitely very happy about it :)
Pat loves steaks but we could barely find good steaks in Penang. It usually not cooked to our liking, or I should say it's the cut of the meat that is not to our liking. Most of the restaurant serve steaks that were cut to too thin and it came out not as juicy and tender as we expected it to be. We learn that it is important to keep the cut to a certain thickness to conserve the juicy part of it while it is under the cooking fire. But most of the meat here are cut to too thin in order to look bigger in size and when it is cooked it usually taste harder and drier. Also, Pat likes it medium-rare while most of the restaurants locally couldn't keep up to this exactly. So, the best way to satisfy him is to cook it our own.
We found out that at Giant hypermarket at Penang Plaza was able to customize the cut to their customers and we've been going there for our special cut every time we wanted to have our steaks cooked at home and because of the cut and thickness we were able to keep the tenderness and the juiciness of the meat. We went to Cold Storage once but they were not very open for "customize" cut and never went back since then. We did it many times before and Pat loved absolutely loved it! That's why we kept going back to Giant, only the one at Penang Plaza. Pat also invited friends to our house, but many times I was too busy cooking than enjoying.
Back to the point...he asked "how about we have steaks tonight?" yesterday and I was like "does that means I have to cook again?". Now that I am a SAHM I cook almost everyday and hoping to have day off at least for Saturday and Sunday. I guess he got the point and said he's gonna do it this time. I was delighted and agreed to it, of course! This is the only meal that he knows how to cook, and did it well. (He doesn't even cook maggie mee or fried an egg for me, ok?) The first time he did it was when Brenda still around. I didn't have to worry about dirty kitchen and dishes to clean up back then. Although I agreed to the idea but at the back of my head I was worried about the "etc" that I have to deal with after the cooking episode.
Since Charlotte doesn't take steak my role that evening was to only take care of Charlotte's meal. I prepared a spaghetti bolognese with Parmesan cheese aside (Charlotte loves Parmesan cheese) and I feed her while Pat was in action :) I was glad that Charlotte enjoyed the spaghetti very much and it was just a perfect timing that my meal was ready when Charlotte was done.
Tada!!! A nicely grilled Rib Eye with Shiitake mushrooms...
Pat knows I always wanted it medium and he did a great job in keeping it. See how pink and juicy it looked...
Pat usually will have a bottle of red wine but we can never finish a bottle ourselves. I can only take half a glass each time and we usually have another half bottle left and eventually ended up in the dustbin. So, this time he got us an imported, naturally brewed drinks -Bundaberg Ginger Beer
We first had this drink at the Marché Restaurant at The Curve and I didn't know that we have stores selling them. Actually, I like the root beer better than ginger beer but it was great for our meal last night.
Dinner was great and what comes after dinner ---washing!!! I hate this part most and I was hoping to get a dishwasher when Brenda went home. How to escape this part of the game? I assumed it was part of a deal tonight and hinted Pat to get to the washing part while crossing my fingers and expecting to hear "I cooked already, you wash la" kinda thing but I guess lucky stars were really at my side last night, he agreed and proceeded to the kitchen :D
It was really a rare occasion, or I got really lucky :)
Anyway, thank you honey!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
For The Better
1st July marked a whole new chapter of life for me and my family. I am now officially a stay-at-home-mom.
My company is actively restructuring and down sizing its organizations due to the slow down in global economy situation. After much discussions with Pat, I volunteered myself when the company announced the option, hoping for more quality time to spend with my family members but I was told that it was not a voluntary program for our department. The idea was put aside since then.
Early May, my maid mentioned to me that she did not want to continue for another year (we had a verbal agreement on that) when her contract ends this year. It was over a very small conflict that we had. She was supposed to finish her contract until Sept this year but I sent her off immediately when she mentioned that. The thing was, she made me lost the trust that I had for her over this incident and I couldn't bear thinking and worrying for what potential risks that we are going to run into by keeping her even for just another day. So we decided that it was the best option to send her off immediately and I told Pat that I do not want a replacement, for now.
After I lost my maid, I approached my manager again for the option. Again, I did not get a very positive response. For the whole month of May I practically running like chicken without heads, multi-tasking almost everything, everyday. I was thankful that I was allowed to work from home quite a bit in my job as it was a global role. But yet, 24hours a day seemed too short to have.
By end May, I managed to get my routine and tasks including work, house chores, child care, meals pretty much under control but yet it was not perfect. It was a very effective slimming program too that I shed 2kg just that. The weight lost was not due to conscious dieting but it was because of exhaustion that put off my appetite most of the time. I approached my manager again by end May and let her know that if they need to work out a "list" or to meet the "quota", I would be happy to name myself. She acknowledged that and I was asked to be patient.
First week of June, I got a meeting invite by my manager and a HR manager was also invited to join the meeting. I thought "this is it!" but...yes, my position was affected but I was not automatically put into the Work Force Managed pool but rather into the redeployment pool. If no job offer by end of June, I will leave under the WFM program but if I reject an offer I walk out the company without anything. You know what I mean? I was like "what???"!!! Does that mean I had to pretend dumb in each interview so that I don't get an offer? I don't want to do that ok? It's a value issue! Anyway, just to cut the story short, please know that it was not easy for me for the last 3 weeks in the company ;)
Looking back, I was worried of all sorts of "what if" when I lost my maid. I was frustrated when over whelmed by work and chores. But now I know that everything happens for a reason. More so, I know God has everything planned for us and we just need to look upon Him. Everything happens for a reason. For this, it is for the better :)
So, who is the happiest person in the whole world right now? Charlotte la, of course! She has my undivided attention all the time :) I am happy that I can run the house, do the chores, prepare the meals and taking care of my family knowing that everything is safe, clean, healthy, and with LOVE!
Cheers to all stay-at-home-mom!!!
My company is actively restructuring and down sizing its organizations due to the slow down in global economy situation. After much discussions with Pat, I volunteered myself when the company announced the option, hoping for more quality time to spend with my family members but I was told that it was not a voluntary program for our department. The idea was put aside since then.
Early May, my maid mentioned to me that she did not want to continue for another year (we had a verbal agreement on that) when her contract ends this year. It was over a very small conflict that we had. She was supposed to finish her contract until Sept this year but I sent her off immediately when she mentioned that. The thing was, she made me lost the trust that I had for her over this incident and I couldn't bear thinking and worrying for what potential risks that we are going to run into by keeping her even for just another day. So we decided that it was the best option to send her off immediately and I told Pat that I do not want a replacement, for now.
After I lost my maid, I approached my manager again for the option. Again, I did not get a very positive response. For the whole month of May I practically running like chicken without heads, multi-tasking almost everything, everyday. I was thankful that I was allowed to work from home quite a bit in my job as it was a global role. But yet, 24hours a day seemed too short to have.
By end May, I managed to get my routine and tasks including work, house chores, child care, meals pretty much under control but yet it was not perfect. It was a very effective slimming program too that I shed 2kg just that. The weight lost was not due to conscious dieting but it was because of exhaustion that put off my appetite most of the time. I approached my manager again by end May and let her know that if they need to work out a "list" or to meet the "quota", I would be happy to name myself. She acknowledged that and I was asked to be patient.
First week of June, I got a meeting invite by my manager and a HR manager was also invited to join the meeting. I thought "this is it!" but...yes, my position was affected but I was not automatically put into the Work Force Managed pool but rather into the redeployment pool. If no job offer by end of June, I will leave under the WFM program but if I reject an offer I walk out the company without anything. You know what I mean? I was like "what???"!!! Does that mean I had to pretend dumb in each interview so that I don't get an offer? I don't want to do that ok? It's a value issue! Anyway, just to cut the story short, please know that it was not easy for me for the last 3 weeks in the company ;)
Looking back, I was worried of all sorts of "what if" when I lost my maid. I was frustrated when over whelmed by work and chores. But now I know that everything happens for a reason. More so, I know God has everything planned for us and we just need to look upon Him. Everything happens for a reason. For this, it is for the better :)
So, who is the happiest person in the whole world right now? Charlotte la, of course! She has my undivided attention all the time :) I am happy that I can run the house, do the chores, prepare the meals and taking care of my family knowing that everything is safe, clean, healthy, and with LOVE!
Cheers to all stay-at-home-mom!!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Movie Time!
I received a surprise call from Ann (Chloe's mother) last Friday that they are inviting us for a movie on Friday night! Of course it's GO and I was hoping that Pat would join us too (he usually has business dinner on Friday nights). Then Pat said OK! Yippee!!!
We took Charlotte for her first movie at the cinema back in Nov last year. Last Friday, we watched...
We took Charlotte for her first movie at the cinema back in Nov last year. Last Friday, we watched...
She absolutely loved it! She loved the movie, loved the company, and guess what? We met a lot more friends there at the cinema! I think kids movie makes good money, 1 person wants to watch but have to buy at least 2 or 3 tickets... :D
Anyway, thanks Chloe for a nice movie treat! Next round will be our treat :)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Homemade Sugar Donut
I have this donut recipe sitting in my book shelf for a long long time. Recently I got into mood for baking again and the book is now on the kitchen table. As Charlotte flipped through the book one day she pointed at the donuts and asked me to make for her.
I gathered the ingredients a few days before and was just waiting for the right timing to do it. It requires a lot of "waiting" time as for the dough to rise and such I couldn't afford to multi-tasks, as I tend to forget about it.
So here it is...you see 2 different colors? Well, the darker ones were the first batch and the oil was too hot! Then I turned down the fire and the rest of the donuts came out well.
Charlotte ate one that night and she asked to bring 2 to school the next morning. She wanted to share with her good friend, Chloe. I was hesitant because it really wasn't that good and by the way, Chloe's mother is a pro in baking. Then I thought, doesn't matter, it was Charlotte's good thought about her friend. I shouldn't discourage her, so I let her bring anyway.
It looked like donut, tasted like donut but only not soft enough. I wonder what could have been wrong or what is it there to improvise? Any expert want to help out here?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
I Think I Did It Alright!
I took 2 extra days off from work last week just right before May 1st holiday just so I could have a loooong weekend. No, no where to go, no planned trip, no special agenda…so what was I up to?
I had been waiting for the off days since I got this recipe from Jessie a couple of weeks back and I couldn't’t wait to get my hands dirty! I had been planning (in my head) of what to do, how to do and a very silly habit that I have is I never make note to the list of things that I need to buy. So, I will surely forget one or two every time but I never learn :p So, I took 3 days (3 trips) to buy the complete ingredients needed for fondant.
I followed the instruction carefully and prepare the fondant a night before an invitation that we received to celebrate a 12-day-after-birth gathering from a coupled friends of ours. I already had the idea of what to design when we received this invitation but being a first timer I was less adventures. I choose a simple creation, with only 2 different color fondants, and the result…
Thanks Jessie for the advise and sharing, I think I did it alright as a first timer ya :)
I had been waiting for the off days since I got this recipe from Jessie a couple of weeks back and I couldn't’t wait to get my hands dirty! I had been planning (in my head) of what to do, how to do and a very silly habit that I have is I never make note to the list of things that I need to buy. So, I will surely forget one or two every time but I never learn :p So, I took 3 days (3 trips) to buy the complete ingredients needed for fondant.
I followed the instruction carefully and prepare the fondant a night before an invitation that we received to celebrate a 12-day-after-birth gathering from a coupled friends of ours. I already had the idea of what to design when we received this invitation but being a first timer I was less adventures. I choose a simple creation, with only 2 different color fondants, and the result…
It was to celebrate their first new born baby girl, Isabel. So, I made the fondant cutouts with her name and little cute hello kitty. Unfortunately, the baby was admitted to the hospital a day before the celebration due to jaundice.
Thanks Jessie for the advise and sharing, I think I did it alright as a first timer ya :)
Friday, April 17, 2009
What A Night!
I had a very bad migraine attack on Thursday night. I thought I felt the trauma starting around 9pm and I decided to quickly swallow a couple of pain killers as usual to stop it from getting worse. I always have pain killers in my medicine drawer but it must be a very unlucky day for me that night that it ran out! I thought I could probably endure the pain while hoping it doesn't get any worse I tucked Charlotte to bed as usual.
Unfortunately, the pain level kept increasing and I was really on my knees and I text Pat to quickly come home and get me some panadols. He was in town when I contacted him and it took him 45min to reach home at his fastest speed possible. I thought I will be alright once the medicine had taken effect but I was wrong! The pain had traveled from my head to my neck by then I knew that was not a good sign. I usually will throw up once it hits my neck and that was what happened. It didn't relieved me after the vomiting however and the pain was almost unbearable. Pat then decided to send me to the nearest hospital.
I was sent to the A&E as it was already past midnight. I was first examined by a GP and then blood sample was taken for some blood tests. I was then asked to be admitted and they ran a CT test while contacted a neurologist to come in immediately. I threw up another time after they transferred me to the room. I have to say that I was only half conscious the whole time at the hospital but I was worried. I knew how often I have migraine and I was really worried if they found something unwanted from the scan. I started to think about who will look after Charlotte if I'm gone, who can I trust to hand over this responsibility...
Finally, the neurologist came in and examined me again, with a whole bunch of questions. I tried my best to answer although I wasn't really sure if I gave the correct answer. Pat then asked "So what is the result from the scan?". I think he must have ran out of his patience, and it was a good thing that he asked. The answer was "it is normal". Phew! Thank God! Then I thought, ok Charlotte is still mine, for a long long time :)
I was not allowed to go home as they claimed that they need to monitor me. I then asked Pat to go home and took care of Charlotte, get her ready for school the next morning, told him what she should wear to school on Friday as they have recycling activity on Fridays, and her school bag, and her water bottle...
It was my first time admitted to the hospital except giving birth to Charlotte 4 years back. I was alone and I was worried if Charlotte would cry when she wakes up without me. As I was thinking of all that I fell asleep and the next thing I know a nurse came in to check my temperature, that was 6am.
I was discharged on Friday afternoon. The first question I asked when Pat came in the morning was "how was Charlotte?". Pat assured me that she was doing fine the whole night and this morning. Both Pat and Brenda got her ready for school and she was happily involved in the recycling activity that the school had put together. We waited the whole morning for the doctor's consent to discharge me and getting the medicine. It was very unproductive I have to say even though they claimed that we will have special service for executive room. Anyway, I am just happy to know that I am alright and I am home with my family.
Charlotte on the other hand stuck to me like a super glue the whole evening :)
Unfortunately, the pain level kept increasing and I was really on my knees and I text Pat to quickly come home and get me some panadols. He was in town when I contacted him and it took him 45min to reach home at his fastest speed possible. I thought I will be alright once the medicine had taken effect but I was wrong! The pain had traveled from my head to my neck by then I knew that was not a good sign. I usually will throw up once it hits my neck and that was what happened. It didn't relieved me after the vomiting however and the pain was almost unbearable. Pat then decided to send me to the nearest hospital.
I was sent to the A&E as it was already past midnight. I was first examined by a GP and then blood sample was taken for some blood tests. I was then asked to be admitted and they ran a CT test while contacted a neurologist to come in immediately. I threw up another time after they transferred me to the room. I have to say that I was only half conscious the whole time at the hospital but I was worried. I knew how often I have migraine and I was really worried if they found something unwanted from the scan. I started to think about who will look after Charlotte if I'm gone, who can I trust to hand over this responsibility...
Finally, the neurologist came in and examined me again, with a whole bunch of questions. I tried my best to answer although I wasn't really sure if I gave the correct answer. Pat then asked "So what is the result from the scan?". I think he must have ran out of his patience, and it was a good thing that he asked. The answer was "it is normal". Phew! Thank God! Then I thought, ok Charlotte is still mine, for a long long time :)
I was not allowed to go home as they claimed that they need to monitor me. I then asked Pat to go home and took care of Charlotte, get her ready for school the next morning, told him what she should wear to school on Friday as they have recycling activity on Fridays, and her school bag, and her water bottle...
It was my first time admitted to the hospital except giving birth to Charlotte 4 years back. I was alone and I was worried if Charlotte would cry when she wakes up without me. As I was thinking of all that I fell asleep and the next thing I know a nurse came in to check my temperature, that was 6am.
I was discharged on Friday afternoon. The first question I asked when Pat came in the morning was "how was Charlotte?". Pat assured me that she was doing fine the whole night and this morning. Both Pat and Brenda got her ready for school and she was happily involved in the recycling activity that the school had put together. We waited the whole morning for the doctor's consent to discharge me and getting the medicine. It was very unproductive I have to say even though they claimed that we will have special service for executive room. Anyway, I am just happy to know that I am alright and I am home with my family.
Charlotte on the other hand stuck to me like a super glue the whole evening :)
Monday, March 30, 2009
We Voted Earth
28th Mar, 2009 marked the first global election between earth and global warming and we, a small family also did our part to vote for earth!
As usual, I knew we will be out for dinner at this hour so I had all our lights set to off from 8.30pm-9.30pm that night. I also told Brenda to do the same and she did! We were home around 8.45pm and the whole house was dark and quiet. I only lite up the candles for the aroma burners, and Charlotte was very curious why we didn't turn on the lights.
She was very excited about all this, it was quiet and calm, no TV, no music, no laptops. Charlotte is too young to understand what global warming is about, so I turned the subject into "appreciation" instead. The story I associated her was "long long time ago, people's house had no lights, no air conditioning, no TV, no fan. We need to be thankful for what we have now, and thus when not using it we need to make sure to switch them off." She understood that very well, and the example she gave me was "Like Tarzan hor?" *LOL*
That night, she said her thanks in her prayer and we were all happy that we did our part in this small voting activity.
As usual, I knew we will be out for dinner at this hour so I had all our lights set to off from 8.30pm-9.30pm that night. I also told Brenda to do the same and she did! We were home around 8.45pm and the whole house was dark and quiet. I only lite up the candles for the aroma burners, and Charlotte was very curious why we didn't turn on the lights.
She was very excited about all this, it was quiet and calm, no TV, no music, no laptops. Charlotte is too young to understand what global warming is about, so I turned the subject into "appreciation" instead. The story I associated her was "long long time ago, people's house had no lights, no air conditioning, no TV, no fan. We need to be thankful for what we have now, and thus when not using it we need to make sure to switch them off." She understood that very well, and the example she gave me was "Like Tarzan hor?" *LOL*
That night, she said her thanks in her prayer and we were all happy that we did our part in this small voting activity.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Preview
Remember the crochet dress that Brenda (our maid) made for Charlotte? It didn't occur to me that I have a "sifu" (teacher) available 24x7 that I can take this opportunity to learn this skill until lately. When my company announced pay cut in Jan, we are entitled to get 2 days off every month and I started to wonder what I can do with this extra free time that I have.
While chatting with Brenda one day about the crochet workshop available at one of the mall nearby she said why not I go learn up this skill with the 2 days every month and I seriously think that was such a great idea! But I didn't go sign up the workshop, instead I went to a book store and started to look for books on crochets. I studied the instructions and I think I am able to interpret at least 70% of it. I was thinking, it doesn't matter even if I don't understand the instruction as Brenda is definitely able to figure it out. So I bought this 2 books, but they are in Chinese.
I started to look for a simple pattern, with simple instruction to start with. It has been months since I started my 1st piece of work. You must be thinking, "she is too free ah?", "she no need to work meh?", but the truth is I have been spending a lot late nights doing it. I can only do a very small portion at a time because I am not familiar with the work and I need to watch the time so that I will not take too much time off from my sleep hours.
It is not complete yet, but here is a sneak preview as I tried it on Charlotte today. Actually, Brenda has been making a lot of corrections, repairs and additional rows when I was away at work. Otherwise, it will take another few more months if I do it all by myself.
I think it looks great on Charlotte!
Monday, February 16, 2009
A Nice Morning With Charlotte
I like these pictures...it was taken minutes before we left for school and office this morning :)
This one, Charlotte asked me to snap for both of us. As I was focusing the camera at us, suddenly she turned and kissed me!
This one, taken by Charlotte. Not bad eh?
She was in good mood, I think it was that little trick I did on her hair! Vain, I know. I can do more tricks if only daddy doesn't bring Charlotte for hair cut that often.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
KABOOST
As I was browsing the web lately, I found this very interesting yet useful tool to add to my already-more-than-enough feeding accessories - KABOOST! The only reason I wanted to get was because I am trying to train Charlotte to sit and eat at the dining table with us instead of having to set the feeding table aside just for her. It was my mistake not training her since young to sit on a high chair during meal time, I was almost never successful trying to feed her while strapping her down on a high chair except at the restaurants. Now that she is able to climb onto and off a chair unassisted and not to be restrained to keep from falling I feel that I could use this tool to start a better eating habit.
Besides the creative design, the size also makes it very portable. I was thinking if at any chance a restaurant ran out of high chair or doesn't provide one, we can always bring along this and use it to raise the chair instead. I was certainly disappointed when I found that it is not available in Malaysia and I definitely not going to purchase it online as international shipping always cost double the price of the product itself. But at last I found a nearest distributor and yet I don't have to pay a cent of shipping! It is in Singapore! I quickly wrote a letter to one of my sister-in-law who works in Singapore and was coming back for CNY holiday! The timing was just never better!
I have been using it and encouraging Charlotte to take her meals with us at the dining table. So far the return of investment is very good.
Besides the creative design, the size also makes it very portable. I was thinking if at any chance a restaurant ran out of high chair or doesn't provide one, we can always bring along this and use it to raise the chair instead. I was certainly disappointed when I found that it is not available in Malaysia and I definitely not going to purchase it online as international shipping always cost double the price of the product itself. But at last I found a nearest distributor and yet I don't have to pay a cent of shipping! It is in Singapore! I quickly wrote a letter to one of my sister-in-law who works in Singapore and was coming back for CNY holiday! The timing was just never better!
I have been using it and encouraging Charlotte to take her meals with us at the dining table. So far the return of investment is very good.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
三代同堂 (3 Generations All Together)
I mentioned that Pat's family was having a big reunion last Christmas as one of his sisters, Veronica and family were back from Australia. It was my first time meeting them although we met her elder son Brendan early last year.
I come from a small family and I always overwhelmed with the number of people in Pat's family. Even until today, I feel suffocated and kinda uneasy sometimes when everyone is back, like in Christmas and CNY. When I first met Pat, I thought I would never figured out who is who in his family.
The whole family of >30 people gathered at a photo studio on 26th Dec for a big family photo session. It was a BIG group and the studio even warned us that they can't fit so many people in the studio but will take their hall (studio lobby) for the family photo. Each individual family also took the opportunity to take the family photo of their own too. We gathered at the studio at 4.30pm and only finished at 7.30pm (I think) before we all adjourned to a restaurant for dinner!
Last week I got a call from the photo studio that all the photos are finally ready! I drover to the studio and collected all of it. All pictures turned out very well but the big family photo we developed for MIL is really big and couldn't fit into my car. Luckily I drove my Jazz and I told the studio guy to fold down the back seats so that the big frame can fit inside and it did. Phew!
I believe each family was busy putting up the family photos last weekend (at least we were). We took our family photo last year with the same photo studio but I did not develop or enlarge of any the picture until now. Luckily they still keep the soft copy and we enlarged this one to put in our living hall.
We don't get soft copies from the studio as usual and I "reproduced" the pictures with my lousy digital camera just to share it on this post but they are not as clear as the originals.
I come from a small family and I always overwhelmed with the number of people in Pat's family. Even until today, I feel suffocated and kinda uneasy sometimes when everyone is back, like in Christmas and CNY. When I first met Pat, I thought I would never figured out who is who in his family.
The whole family of >30 people gathered at a photo studio on 26th Dec for a big family photo session. It was a BIG group and the studio even warned us that they can't fit so many people in the studio but will take their hall (studio lobby) for the family photo. Each individual family also took the opportunity to take the family photo of their own too. We gathered at the studio at 4.30pm and only finished at 7.30pm (I think) before we all adjourned to a restaurant for dinner!
Last week I got a call from the photo studio that all the photos are finally ready! I drover to the studio and collected all of it. All pictures turned out very well but the big family photo we developed for MIL is really big and couldn't fit into my car. Luckily I drove my Jazz and I told the studio guy to fold down the back seats so that the big frame can fit inside and it did. Phew!
I believe each family was busy putting up the family photos last weekend (at least we were). We took our family photo last year with the same photo studio but I did not develop or enlarge of any the picture until now. Luckily they still keep the soft copy and we enlarged this one to put in our living hall.
We don't get soft copies from the studio as usual and I "reproduced" the pictures with my lousy digital camera just to share it on this post but they are not as clear as the originals.
The Big Family
With Parents-In-Law
Pat decided we should take one more round of family shot of our own and Charlotte was in very good mood. The pictures turned out to be very natural and we made it into a 3-in-1 frame and put it up on the wall at the dining area last week.
This year, the pictures are the new year decoration for our house and we are ready for Chinese New Year!
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