To nap or not to nap

I would like think that I’m quite blessed when it comes to taking care of Ashley; she’s been an easy baby since birth and believe it or not me and hubby had never really went through the midnight duties of changing her diapers, feeding her etc. She would sleep throughout the night. And when she went into toddlerhood, her afternoon naps would stretch for 3 hours at least. Now I know why it’s so hard for me to lose weight; lack of sleepless nights! and a whole afternoon of just snacking doing my stuffs :P

Anyway of late,she hasn’t been napping the usual naptime which was previously around 12ish in the afternoon, she would only stop playing around 2. Sometimes I have to sorta force her into taking her nap otherwise she would just continue playing with me, asking me to read to her, sing to her, let her watch TV etc. She still naps quite long but that’s the thing, she would nap until it’s nearly dinner time unless I wake her up. And even so she would be quite grumpy having to be awaken from a nice slumber. So it made me think whether I should let her stop taking her afternoon naps and go to bed earlier during the evening OR let her take shorter naps although that means I’ll have a grumpy toddler.

And just now after being so frustrated in trying to get my little girl to nap, I gave her the ultimatum either she takes her afternoon nap now or from tomorrow onwards, early bedtime. Guess what my little girl chose; she quickly closed her eyes and here I am, an hour later,  blogging while slaving over a wok full of steamy hot sambal for tonight’s dinner :D

Goodbye 2009 and Hello 2010!

Can’t believe it’s the time of the year again. It seems only yesterday we had our new year’s eve dinner followed by the annual fireworks show at 1 Utama. This year kinda sad we won’t be celebrating with our good friend but at least we are still going to be out celebrating with another friend at his new crib :D

Love to blog more but as always I’m terrible with time management tied down with something so here’s a quote I love and would like to share with everyone

Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look ten years younger. Don't be afraid to say, 'I love you'. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world.

Happy new year folks! And may 2010 brings you good things in life. Have fun ushering in the new year later tonight and don’t drink & drive!

Love

Alesia

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a Jolly Christmas and Happy Holidays. May this Christmas be bright and cheerful and may the New Year begin on a prosperous note!

I am off for a three day family gathering with my in laws and extended families. It’s going to be a fun holiday. :P

Anyway I promise to update on the blog once I’m back. It’s been a while!

Very outdated Christmas pictures!

Hello, doc

Been seeing doctor more often than we would like to, after coming back from PD trip. Although I was only sick for a day and a night, both of my darlings aren’t so lucky; Hubs still has that nasty chesty cough that refuses to go away despite having it before the trip and countless of medicine and Ashley with a bout of cold, slight fever and this morning chesty cough as well! Anyway today we brought her to see her first paed, because she’s been complaining of a very bad shoulder pain and her shoulder blade actually juts out awkwardly when she bends her arm backwards.

I must say, I’m very proud of Ashley! Ok even though I wish we’d see less of both of her paed but still I still feel very proud that she’s very co-operative during the check ups. While waiting for our turn, she would usually play at the play area and when I told her it’s our turn soon, she would quickly keep the toys and wait patiently by my side. Once we go in she would wish the doc good morning before sitting on my lap again waiting patiently while the doc examines her. For this visit, she promptly bend her arms backwards when the doc asked her what’s wrong and even said ‘See, pain here’. Even the doc trainees were impressed with her *beams proudly* After that she would do some sort of yoga’s sun salutation thinking the doc still want to examine her back even though we didn’t ask her to. When asked to show her tongue and say ahh, again she did it without a fuss and when I asked if it’s alright for me to remove her top, she said OK cheerfully. And she just followed doc’s instructions when he asked her to do some arms movement. It was really cute to see her doing what the doc asked her to. And after that she would bid everyone good bye and she even said thank you without me asking her to. hehehe

I think you’d find me weird for being proud at such stuffs but I guess that’s just me, being a mother. Being proud at the smallest stuffs! Even when she was a baby, she wouldn’t cry longer than 10 secs after her monthly jab. Another proud moment. :D

OK, despite being only 2 years and 9 months old, Ashley’s had a few incidents and she has 2 scars to remind me to be more watchful over her. Earlier this year, she had a minor accident involving a lens cover at a playland and boy that’s the most heart stopping moment I’ve ever had in my life. At first we thought it’s just a nasty bump and suddenly blood started gushing from the small dent on her forehead, at that time all I can think of is to bundle her up in my arms and started running to the clinic nearby. And when I stood there shaking, watching the doc examine her and cried when he said it’s too severe for him to do anything and we had to rush her to the hospital. I was crying nonstop while hugging my poor baby and she, being a true trooper actually stopped crying and patted me on my back lovingly, as if saying it’s ok mommy. And she didn’t kick up a fuss when the doc examined her and didn’t even cry that much when they sedated her to prepare for the minor snitching. I tell you, my girl is 100x braver than her mommy!

And then last Oct, sigh, she fell and bumped her mouth against the bed’s headboard. All I can say when I see blood coming out from her mouth, NOT AGAIN!! At the hospital’s A&E dept went around showing her bloody gauze and proudly said ‘hey blood see blood!’ There I was crying and laughing at the same time. Hey I’m not a very emotional person, I just am one around my girl. She even said hi cheerfully to the same doc who did her snitches on the forehead (we’re now good friends with him, aiih) and she just laid there quietly with tears streaming down her cheeks (poor baby!) while the anaesthetist  administer the GA. She’s back to her good ole cheerful self after the minor op. The Angeline Jolie lips didn’t bother her that much at all. When we went back a couple weeks later to remove the thread, she only said Ouch while the doc cuts away the thread. If it were me, I would have kicked the doc in protest.

This was taken during her second well third hospital stay if you count the time she was in the special nursery care for a week after her birth

Well I hope there would be less visits to the hospital and clinic after this.

Sick

Aiiihhh just when I’m about to update my blogs with new posts on the family trip we had, new recipes and much more, I caught the year end cold-fever-achy body bug. I don’t usually fall sick that easily and when I do it’s really bad in fact my hubby would probably kill me now if he sees me at my laptop instead of resting on the bed. Really thankful for his new job that allows him to work from home; he’s been helping me out with Ashley. Ashley herself is such a gem, seeing her mommy’s not feeling well, she asked ‘ Mommy (are) you sick? See doctor, want? ‘ And every now and then she would come check on me, touching my forehead to see if I’m warm or just give me a hug. :) Sometimes she would even say, ‘Mommy, take your (medi)cine ok?’

Anyway I should be going back to bed, can hear he’s done bathing Ashley. Hopefully I’ll feel much better tomorrow.

Beaches, Sea, Sun

Here we come! Three days of fun and just the three of us :D Really need the year end break before the start of a brand new year. And 2010 is like a couple weeks away! Eeeks!

Tata!!

Being a mother

Sometimes can be quite overwhelming, especially when you’re a SAHM, where most part of your life revolves the life of your lil ones. There are days I yearn for my old life back; dancing away at clubs; lepakking at the mamak stalls; going to cyber cafes for CS (yea I know I’m that ancient if the only game I know how to play is CS); hanging out with friends. Now the only hanging out I do are with kids her age.

I’m not saying I resent my life as a mother, I love it. I really do but sometimes I wish there’s two of me or maybe three ok four hmm perhaps five?The mommy, the clubber, the working lady, the wife and err some other role.  Sometimes I just want a break from thinking what to cook for her, what books to read, what nursery rhymes to sing, those parenting stuffs and just do what I LIKE to do. It’s always unfair we mothers have to sacrifice where the daddies can still go out and do their stuffs, no?

There are even times I wish I can just drop whatever I’m doing and let my hair down and go partying. But sadly, I can’t because I have a daughter to tend to, and I can’t just leave her for others to look after can I.

I’m just in a ranting/foul mood because I got left out for my weekly poker session. So now have to utilize my Ashley’s-asleep-I’m-free-to-do-my-own-stuffs-while-still-at-home time listening and bobbing my head to clubbing songs. Hrmph.

It’s good

..to be back online with my own laptop! After nearly two weeks at the service centre, I finally collected it yesterday with minor cost incurred. Yay! Initially the guy said it could be due to a faulty motherboard and that itself would cost us more than RM1000 to replace it and perhaps another RM1000 for the screen if the problem still persists. But thank goodness it was just the graphic card and that’s under RM500. Either way I’m super glad to have my laptop back!

So many things to post; Ashley’s first day at art class – Really brought tears to my eyes when I see her trying to adapt to a new learning environment with other people aside from us; some rants; new foodie posts and so much more!

:)

MIA and endearing moments #2 and milestones #I lost count

If you noticed the lack of activities (posts) in my blog, it's not because I've gotten bored with blogging (never!) it's just that my old friend (lappie) has been sent for repair. Aiih initially thought it has to do with the broken casing, turns out to be the motherboard, and if after changing the motherboard the problem still persists, then have to change the LCD screen. Now waiting for the final diagnose to see how much does it cost to repair and contemplating to get a new one if the cost is too expensive.

So that's why things have been quiet for the past few days on both blogs :( but life still goes on :D . I've been spending most of my waking hours with the lil one and I cherish all those precious moments. Like yesterday, while playing puzzle with her, all of a sudden she looked up at me and said 'Mommy I love you'. I knew I made the right decision to quit from my job and be a SAHM :)

Ashley has been quite behind her peers when it comes to speech developments and recently she's been catching up and now she's able to string a few words to form a sentence. Hubby said Ashley has my cheekiness LOLespecially when yesterday I scolded her for something, she looked to my hubby and said Uh oh Mommy scold me with that naughty twinkle in her eyes. Hubby had a hard time trying to keep a straight/stern face. *shakes head*

Hopefully the next time I blog, I would have my laptop back although I don't mind having a brand new one though keke. Toodles!

The other woman

Some of you have heard me ranting about this nearly everyday (really sorry for having to bore you with the endless rant) should know how frustrated I am each time I caught the other woman trying to bond with my lil girl. And no I don’t mean my MIL (she’s family so it’s alright) I’m talking about the maid.

It’s very common these days for a household to have a maid and honestly I respect the parents decision to have one so that the maid would help out. Who are we kidding right, working and then having to rush back home to clean up the house, prepare meals, look after the kids etc so the maid’s a huge help for working parents. I won’t deny that but for me growing up without a maid and having to do the chores when I was younger, well I just couldn’t grasp the idea of having a total stranger coming to live with you and your family. I just don’t no matter how many out there that swore their lives are so much better now with a maid around.
And when I first met my husband, I had somewhat a culture shock; my inlaws have a couple of maids as they had a bedridden old lady (ahma) to look after and maids are much cheaper option than nursing homes. Imagine having someone else to do the dishes for you or wash your clothes it took me quite a while to get used to it. So when I got pregnant, my ILs suggested that I should hire a maid to help me look after the baby. I was totally affronted at the thought of having a someone who I don’t know at all to look after my child and I had a slight depression due to this. I didn’t rest well during my confinement because the first maid kept sneaking around trying to play or carry my girl without my consent and even though I tried to keep her busy with chores she would still try to get behind my back. I had enough of her, when she wanted to follow me back to Malacca after the confinement and even though I told her it’s ok, I have my mom to help me out she actually went and ask permission from my MIL! Ugh!

Things were pretty bad between me and that maid (mainly because she has an attitude problem – One of the reasons why whyyy I would never get a maid!), in the end we sent her back to the agency as we couldn’t handle any more of her nonsense. After the demise of ahma, we’re left with 2 maids and to be honest I don’t really have much problems with them in fact I kinda bonded with them. But ever since the birth of my baby I find one of the maid is well possessive over Ashley. There are times I’d caught her peeking from behind the curtains watching Ashley play in the porch, or she would stop whatever she’s doing and just stare at Ashley, or she would just mimic any sounds Ashley would make while walking pass her, or sometimes she would purposely go out of her way to go near Ashley and one of the things that unnerved me was that she would keep placing her hands on Ashley’s bottom when she’s younger. I just feel very uncomfortable with that. Of course no one sees this as a problem, they think I’m just being unreasonable and that I should trust the maid more afterall she’s been with the family for years. I used to cry over this, in fact I still do each time I caught her playing with Ashley or carrying Ashley without my consent. (Ok you’d probably think why should she get my permission if she wants to play or carry Ashley or whatever, well since the beginning I’ve made it very CLEAR that I should be the one and only me looking after my baby. From the day she was born till now I’ve been doing the washing of clothes, feeding utensils, toys, preparing of meals, everything myself. So those who think I have an easy life just because I have maids, think again!).

Why I cried? Because I can’t tell the maid not to do all the things I don’t wish her to do without hurting her feelings yet I’m conflicted because I feel very uncomfortable and plus the fact my husband doesn’t support me on this just upsets me even more. Each time I bring this up he would think that I purposely find fault in her and he even asked me once why do I have to be so stressed out over this. Sigh I can’t really blame him as he has always have a maid around while growing up so he doesn’t see what the fuss is all about. But I still resent him for not supporting me, it’s fine that he doesn’t want to tell the maid off but at least don’t give her a chance to spend time with my girl. When I asked him to play with Ashley while I do my stuffs, more than once he’ll just let the maid play with Ashley while he just sits there and read papers, or watch the tv (I secretly thinks the maid had everyone jampi-ed!) It irks me alot because if I wanted the maid to bond with my girl who I’ve carried to full term, gone through so much heartache and not to mention the labor pain! I would have just gone back to work instead of deciding to be a stay at home mother while enduring endless sarcastic/catty comments that I’m living the life of leisure with maids.

It hurts me alot a couple months back when Ashley would go looking for the maids to play with her while I was busy doing the chores or preparing her meals. These days I would just le the maid do some of the chores so that I can spend more time with her. Even when I casually share with others about the woes of motherhood they would always think that I shouldn’t even rant in the first place because being a mother with maids around just well doesn’t make me a mother at all. Imagine when I said I too find it really difficult having to do so many things while looking after my daughter and some of the girls would bluntly tell me this ‘ But you don’t have to clean up the whole house, the maids do it right?’ Don’t they think it’s already hard on me trying to fulfil my duties as a mother and a wife in a house that is not my home? Sigh.. sometimes I feel no one really understand the pain I’m going through and that I’m all alone :(