Welcome To My Hood......Motherhood

First Taste

2008-12-01T13:35:00.003+08:00

Dhiren had his first taste of Peanut butter and Chocolate and he is loving it! No surprise, since Mummy is a fan herself. The good thing is, he's not allergy to nuts but the bad thing is, he has a sweet tooth just like Mummy.

No fuss, just go straight into the mouth

Don't let this look deceived you. Even though he looks like (according to Daddy) people owe him money, but he loves the yummy peanut butter & chocolate.

Cried Laughed Cried

2008-11-23T23:57:00.005+08:00

I was deeply sadden today by my loss.
No, thank God is not a person or a living creature, is an item that I loved.
An item that I will never ever see again.
It cannot be replaced, priceless and filled with alot of memories.
I just stared at the nothingness and cried, said good bye.

I felt better now.
Looking at Dhiren squeezing 5 cheerios in his mouth makes me laughed so hard.
Baby cheering Mummy up :)
I was watching the movie, Enchanted.
It made me laugh so much until I cried, with happy tears
Fairytales really brings happily ever after... after all.

Indian Sweets

2008-11-21T00:30:00.003+08:00

I, being a Malaysian, love love love Indian food! The banana leaf rice (The best one is Nirvana Maju), the roti, the thosai, fish curry.....yum yum yum. That is why I married my Bollywood Hubby. HA ha ha :)

But there is still this one thing that I can't bring myself to take (I bring shame to all the Chinese...we're suppose to eat anything and everything).......that is Indian Dessert! It is so so sweet. Words can't describe how sweet it is. All you can taste is the milk and the sweetness. So I told my Hubby, "Go ahead feed me anything but dessert," his mouth almost drop. "What? You with your sweet tooth are refusing dessert?"

Recently, whether is hormonal changes (after having baby lah) or Hubby finally bought the best sweets in town, from Saravanaa Bhavan Restaurant in Bangsar. It was fantastic.

They are a chain restaurant from India which also serve authentic vegetarian food. And their staff are also hired from India. My Hubby actually recognized one of them who served him back in India!

I love the one with icing coating on the lower left side, which Hubby don't know the name. It reminded me of a really yummy icing donut but harder. Laddu, the popular one comes in a whole lots of different flavors depending on the ingredients. Mysore Pak is originated from Karnataka (my Hubby's state). It is made of generous amounts of ghee, chickpea flour, suger and it was first created in the kitchen of the Mysore Palace by the royal cook. Jahangiri/ Jaangiri is a variant of jalebi, this sweet is fried and served with generous amount of sugar syrup, very popular at weddings and festivals.

And also thanks to Edward, I get to try the equally best sweets from Sangeetha.

Sangeetha is located at Lebuh Ampang, KL. Tel 03-20323333

My favourite is Sompapddi/ Sohanpapdi. It is square in shape, and has a crispy and flaky texture, melts in the mouth. It's made from sugar, gram flour, milk, ghee and cardamom. Absolutely delicious.

So, before you run out and get a box of this yummy sweets, be warned that the sugar content might cause a 'sugar-high' effect and it is definately not for anyone who suffer from any form of diabetes. For me, I will only indulge inthis once a year.....mmmh, can't wait for the next Deepavali.

A year ago

2008-11-18T17:33:00.004+08:00

Son, you grew so much in a year time!

What a crazy week

2008-11-06T16:48:00.005+08:00

It all started from the day before Deepavali, we attended my Cousin's Wedding. It's nice to chitchat and have a family reunion, cause I hardly see any of my relatives. But during these kinds of occasions you will tend to have a relative who will be all too eager to show of their grandchild's skills. The conversation went like this,

Relative: Can Dhiren walk yet?
Me: A bit lor. Still needs a bit of support.
R: Wah! My granddaughter younger than him 1 week can run around already.
M: Wah so clever, good lah.
R: See see...she can do twinkle twinkle little star, she also can give kisses and she is very easy to feed, eat almost anything.....can your boy do this ah?........that ah?.....
(It goes on and on. So I quickly went back to my table. But then she came to our table and show all her skills again to my Hubby)

OMG. I never knew the world is so competitive even for a 1 year old. I wonder when I was small did my parents go through this as well. But to my Hubby and my surprise, Baby Dhiren started walking by himself the next day, on Deepavali...Must be the festival of light, the triumph of good over evil (not that I said that my relative is evil). Eh okay lah the good triumph over the kiasu.

He been walking up and down ever since

Okay back to the Crazy week. After the wedding, was Deepavali, didn't do much only have my parents and my sis over for lunch, ate some murukku and very nice indian sweets (will blog about this next). Then the following day, Hubby and I left for Cameron Highlands for a well deserved break. There for 4 days (will blog about this too later), it was so so nice and relaxing. Then came back on Friday, rested for a day and come Sunday, the Sun Motorhunt day. I signed up for my first treasure hunt. It was so exciting, tiring and so fast paced that I don't even have time to breath. It was an eye-opening for me and will blog about that also.
So for just a short period of 7 days, there's so many things happened. so I'm taking my time to recover from all this and will blog about it soon.

Joy to the Festival of Light

2008-10-26T23:49:00.007+08:00

Even Munchy?

2008-10-21T12:43:00.004+08:00

Not my favourite cheese cream biscuit too!!!! Luckily Baby Dhiren didn't like it that much.

On 18th Oct., The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety announced that two samples of Munchy's mini crackers contained excessive melamine and the trade has been asked to stop selling them. The 2 products Munchy's Mini Crackers with Peanut Butter and Munchy's Mini Crackers with Cheese Cream. Both were 45g packs with an expiry date of July 15, 2009. The melamine levels in the samples were 5.4ppm and 3.8ppm. The legal limit for melamine in the concerned products is 2.5ppm.

Quoted from Bernama and The Star online on Monday 20th Oct,

"...Munchy Food Industries chief executive officer C.K. Tan said none of its products contain any dairy-based ingredients from China except from Australia and France. As a reputable 18 year-old homegrown manufacturer of confectionaries with a strong international brand presence, we have consistently view consumer food safety as a top priority. We will continue to uphold this without any compromise," he said. He claimed that independent certification agencies, namely Chemical Laboratory (M) Sdn Bhd and Pacific Lab Services of Zargo (Singapore) had certified its products as safe.

Do you think that the American products will be safer with the stringent FDA guidelines? Dhiren favourite is Cheerios from US. He munches ALOT of that.

Unlucky Wednesday

2008-10-15T21:29:00.003+08:00

Today I woke up like any other day, the first thing I saw was Hubby standing with 1 hand against the wall and the other holding his foot in pain. I was still blur and I asked him to give Baby Dhiren some water without noticing anything. Then I jumped up and checked on him. His right foot was in terrible pain and he couldn't even stand so I quickly sat him down. We knew that we needed to go to A&E. Quickly got dressed and THANK GOD Mum was here. We headed to Damansara Specialist Centre. 3 hrs later, an X-ray & a blood test, Dr said he had Tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon) and we were sent home with some Voltaren (for pain & inflammation) and a walking stick (Hubby insist to get 1 because he need to go to work.......OMG in pain and with a twisted foot still think about work!!!!!). But this is only the first part of the story......

Here comes the second part. Back to the morning, when we were leaving for hospital and I realised that I forgot some stuff so I asked Hubby to wait for me while I rushed back to get it. I was too 'Kan Cheong' and I swung opened the door too hard. And so so unfortunately.......Baby Dhiren was sitting next to it playing.....so you can guess what happen, I BANGED on his head reaaaaallly HARD....MMMhhhhmmmmm 'sob' 'sob' . Mum has to reduce the bruise by rolling with a hard boiled egg.

So which is worse Friday the 13th or Wednesday the 15th?

eBay here I come!

2008-10-14T23:25:00.003+08:00

I am Officially an eBay Seller......time to make some Moolah.
Click here to take a look at my items

Canon Goes Green

2008-10-12T19:10:00.006+08:00

Canon is going green.

Submit a photo and this will play a part in Canon planting 2500 seedlings in Padang Kota Damansara.
You can check out our photo too, when you type in my son's name.

One small act can make a difference. Click here

My 1st eBay winning bid

2008-10-12T17:47:00.007+08:00

I was so so exited when i won my very 1st eBay bidding war and the item has finally arrived yesterday(after just a short 3 days waiting, even thought the seller said 8 days). I felt like a child getting her Christmas present.

Yes! I am admitting it, I'm a kid and i had bid for a LEGO set! I can give excuse like ,"Oh well...it's not for me..I'm getting it for my son ..eh ...who is 1 year old and not old enough to play this. So as a responsible Mother...eh..I just going to test the safety of the toy." But NO I'm not going to say that (Even though I just did). It's my toy and I'm going to play with it! So hubby just wait for your turn (when I get bored playing it...don't believe in sharing muahaha......)

Hope I don't get hooked on this online shopping mall. But out of convenience and cheaper price I got my 2nd eBay winning bid, a Maybeline Mascara & an Eyeliner. I get to save 50% as compared to retail price. See Hubby I am a Smart Shopper too.

It's kind of fun shopping online. Maybe...I can consider making some money selling stuff too ;) Please tell me what is your very 1st eBay winning bid. Alright back to playing with my choo choo train.

Feel bored but with money to spend, check this out http://www.ebay.com.my/

Do you miss Working?

2008-10-11T17:20:00.005+08:00

Being a stay at home mum, I always have people asking me this,"Do you miss working?" and I will always answer them with a laugh, "I miss sleep more than anything, no time to think about work".
But today I had lunch with my ex-colleagues. We had a good laugh, updating me with the usual gossip, who left, who's still around and doing what, about the Boss & his antics. And I suddenly realised that, I wished that after lunch, I could go back to the office and work with them. Instead we parted ways and promised to meet up for the next lunch.

When I reached home in the evening, the moment I opened the door, my Mum started complaining how naughty Baby Dhiren is and he refuses to take his afternoon nap. I can hear him wailing loudly from his bedroom, "Eeh...aah!.....eeh....aah!" Then I took him up and gave him a tight hug and he smiled and attempted to bite me, in that moment I was thinking to myself, "Mmhh...maybe work can still wait after all as long as I get to go away from my Baby once awhile to have some adults conversation - Gossips!

Photo of my ex-company

Happy Birthday & Merry 1st Anniversary

2008-10-02T13:57:00.008+08:00

I am finally back in the Hood!

First things first, I would like to congratulate myself for reaching 32 years of my life, along the way I found my Sister, a group of best Buddies, my wonderful Hubby, and my Boy, together with a host of life experiences....

I have learned that rolling down the stairs in my walker can be a painful experience(when i was 1 year old), glasses can help me read the blackboard better (standard 5), leaning near the exhaust of a motorbike can cause burns ( when i was 12 years old), the constant itch on my palm is called eczema (in form 3), eh....Boys?!?(in form 6 :) living away from home with a bunch of girls doesn't mean all fun...there is responsibility, housework & taking care of my own meals ('Uni' life), Ooooo my own money to spend, credit card to swipe & my own car to drive (working life), I have learned that love can make me cry, make me smile, laugh and how a person is so important that i was willing to share the rest of my life with (meeting and marrying my Hubby) A little boy who is barely a day old can bring so much joy into my life and he taught me about unconditional love (having my Baby). ....Even though i haven't achieve anything great yet, I am proud of my life and it is a life, so far, well lived.

Secondly is I been blogging for a year now (more or less lah except that i have 'ponteng' for 4 months) Hope to have many more years to come

Father's Day Gifts

2008-06-10T22:55:00.006+08:00

This coming Sunday will be the 1st Father's Day for Baby Dhiren and Hubby...oh and also the 1st Grandpa's Day for 'Kung Kung' as well.

I wanted to get both of them something special from Dhiren. This seem like a perfect choice, a personalized photo mug. I got it made in shop at Central Market and it costs RM50 for 2.

Photo on 1 side and message on the other side

Now, Hubby can enjoy his daily black coffee and 'Kung Kung' can have his green tea while knowing that they are the hero to Baby Dhiren.

Biba Bear if you are reading this, just make sure that Pa is not looking :)

Feeding Baby Dhiren (part 2)

2008-05-21T17:43:00.006+08:00

Baby has reached a stage where he likes to use his fingers, grabs the spoon and attempts to feed himself. So getting him to sit and feed on a proper highchair is helpful. So Hubby bought a highchair and carried it all the way back from US on one of his business trip(we actually save about RM300 compare to getting it locally). Great chair, come with a toy and it is highly recommended to all the mummies out there.

Fisher Price Rain forest Highchair

Back when Baby Dhiren was 7 mths old, I had mentioned in my blog that I wanted to start him on homemade porridge. But, after many, many failed attempts, we finally made some progress.
He was not eating well and lost a bit of weight due to the flu. Last week I had started him on homemade porridge (chicken, carrot & spinach) and to my surprise he took a spoon, then another and another. He took about 1/4 of the bowl. Which is a very, very good start. He must be very hungry, I thought. Then the next day, I offered him porridge again, this time was pork, pear & spinach. He munched it down. So the following days, I gave him porridge either once or twice a day. Sometime he'll eat just a few spoons but most of the time he'll finish at least half a bowl. I had tried (chicken+carrot+spinach), (chicken+papaya+spinach), (pork+sweet potato+broccoli), (pork+pear+spinach), (fish+carrot+broccoli), (fish+pumpkin+spinach). It was fun to be creative, to mix & match 1 green, 1 'sweet tasting' vege or fruit and a meat. Baby favourite combination is pork+pear+spinach, just like Daddy, a pork fan!

Then thinking of what finger food to offer Baby is also fun..I had tried Nestle Rusk biscuit (a bit sweeter than the other brands). Healthy Times Teddy Puffs is really good, nutritious and organic as well, it is Baby's favourite. The original flavour Cheerios is one of US top selling cereal for baby & toddler. But it is quite difficult to get it locally but then we saw only the fruity flavour in Mercado Supermart. It's a bit too sweet . Other brands that Baby had tried were Heinz and also biscuits which i got it from the Japanese mart in The Gardens, a bit expensive.

We are very happy that Baby start to get his appetite back and we hope this will continue....My next aim is to offer other non-rice meal to Baby Dhiren. Bon Appetite!!

My First Mother's Day

2008-05-11T23:42:00.000+08:00

My first Mother's Day and I hope to spend many more Mother's Day with my Baby

Baby Dhiren would like to wish all the Mummies and Grandmas out there, "Happy Mother's Day!"

This is my first Mother's Day gift!!(according to my Hubby, this beautiful box is hand painted and made by Baby Dhiren)....Wow my 'Son' is so creative ;)

Baby was given a paper heart to be given to Mummy during Tumble Tots class

And not forgetting today is also a day for the Husbands to show appreciation to their wives for all the things that they have done.

Self Discovery

2008-05-08T21:57:00.002+08:00

After Baby Dhiren got his strength back, he has been busy roaming around the house and discovering new things and new places to play.

I've been sitting back, observing and letting him touch & discover new things which i think is good for his development. Curiosity encourages him to discover and learn.

As Baby Dhiren grows, he is getting more active, so keeping an eye on him is important. He'll not sit still, even with all his toys to play. It was kind of fun at first , whenever i go to the kitchen, he would follow; when i go to the bathroom to get ready for his bath, he would crawl in, commando style all the way to see what I'm doing. But when i cook i have to constantly get him out of the kitchen or sometime i just give in and make him sit in his Bumbo chair in the kitchen with me. But lately, he been forcing his way out of the chair.....so we have no choice but to look for a playpen to lock him away.

We were shopping around for a playpen. At first we wanted a conventional playpen where Baby can play & sleep inside but after seeing a playpen that double up as a room divider at Mothercare we changed our mind. We ended up getting a similar one from Lindam which was RM200 cheaper and it's easy to use, can be folded for storage. Great value for money.

In my mother's generation, they tend to be more protective of their children. Climbing up and down touching & grabbing stuff around the house is a big no no. But being a modern day Mum, i will not discourage this but I clearly understand that it can sometime be dangerous for Baby so full supervision is a must. Our eyes should always be on Baby, but unless we have to walk away then make sure Baby is happy in his cage....ops, i mean playpen :)

The end of a Dreadful Month!!

2008-04-30T22:56:00.001+08:00

Adios April and thank God for May. We had a dreadful month.

First Baby Dhiren was down with a flu, then he recovered but got hit again by the cough virus. He was really sick until the extent of needing a nebulizer(device used to administer medication in forms of a liquid mist to the airways. It is commonly used in treating asthma). We were so so worried. We rather we fall sick than seeing Baby this way :( Then while taking care of Baby, I caught his virus and got sick also. This is worst Mummy and Baby coughing together!

He is recovering now but all his routine got mess up. He refuses to eat his solid meals and refuses to take his naps and i don't have time for anytime at all . Because of that he is now a skinny, cranky Baby.

Brought Back The Flu

2008-04-07T15:33:00.004+08:00

When Baby Dhiren goes to nursery for the very first time, he brought back the Flu. Hubby and I kind of expected that this will happen because he was exposed to other children but we didn't know it will be so soon.

After going to nursery for 2 days, Baby came back looking very tired and not his usual self so i thought that he didn't eat or sleep well but on that night, he was feverish so we brought him to the doctor the next day. Baby Dhiren had fever and runny nose. He was given cold medicine and paracetamol syrup.

He became very cranky, so feeding him medicine was horrible is like a torture. He was held down by Hubby and he was screaming and crying and I had to hold his head and inject the syrup into to his mouth. Even though, he was sick but was kicking away really strong.

Right now, Baby Dhiren is recovering while Mummy & Daddy had survived their first.

My Baby goes to 'School' today

2008-03-31T21:34:00.005+08:00

Yup, My little Boy goes to Nursery School today.

Hubby and I have decided to send Baby to Nursery twice a week so that Mummy can have time to be an adult again and Baby can meet & play with other babies so both Mummy & Baby (also Daddy) won't go crazy.

The night before, I tried not to think too much whether Baby will adapt well or the nannies will know how to handle him. I was packing almost everything so that he will feel at home at the Nursery but then I came to my senses before Hubby thought I'm going crazy.

Only the essentials

Today is the first time where Baby is away from me and from home for the whole day. I actually expected worse and Hubby even said that I will park my car on the roadside and cry after sending Baby. But is was not that bad, I went for my Body Balance class to release tension and did some retail therapy. It works!

As for Baby, Initially he cried but after the nannies work their magic, he was alright. I was told that he was happily playing away and behaved pretty well for his first day but his timing got all mess up.

At the Nursery

When i took him back, he looks really tired and to my surprise he finished all his food without fuss for the first time. So is either he become a good Baby or he didn't eat well. And he slept 1 hour earlier than his normal time.

My Baby Goes to Gym

2008-03-18T16:00:00.001+08:00

2 months back, Baby Dhiren was so used to Mummy & Daddy, he would cried when anyone besides me or my hubby held him. Even to 'Kung Kung' and 'Poh Poh', he will first frown then wails.

When he reached 6 months old, we signed him up with Tumble Tots and slowly, we see improvement. He cried on the first few classes but gradually the cries were lesser and now he is used to unfamiliar faces.

Tumble Tots at The Curve

Baby Dhiren's first class

Baby Dhiren entered at level 1: Gymbabes. Although he can't crawl yet, he uses some of the equipment to help build his upper body strength and the exercise encourages body coordination and the songs are great for baby interactions.

Now after 2 months, Baby Dhiren is more 'sociable', still trying to crawl (but he can drag himself across the floor) and he likes to stand on his 2 feet.

Daddy & Mummy enjoy the sessions and seeing Baby Dhiren interacts with other Babies are so much fun.

Hungry and tired after every session

Baby Achieve Another Milestone: Sign of his 1st Tooth

2008-03-12T22:35:00.000+08:00

Baby Dhiren is no longer a 'Toothless Wonder'. Every time he laughs, there is a sighting of his 1st tooth poking out slightly from his gum. The tip of the tooth is actually quite sharp and Baby will bites on anything that he can gets hold of. The teethers in the market are either too big or too hard but finally I got what i wanted a smaller, softer teether from Anakku.

Teether from the left: too hard & heavy, too hard & difficult to fit in Baby's mouth, difficult to fit in Baby's mouth, this is just nice

Baby likes to bite on the rattle (top item) and on the legs of the tortoise & crab toy

Baby Dhiren now drools alot and his fingers are always in his mouth. So to prevent getting facial rashes, I clean his fingers and face more frequently and his teethers and toys needs to be cleaned daily as well.

Thanks Ann. Is my first Award too

2008-03-04T22:03:00.005+08:00

I have received a special Award from my fellow blogger friend, Ann. Thank you for your friendship and support. Knowing that I am not alone and there is someone who is also going through motherhood.

And now is my turn to present this award to Honey Star who is currently very stress about the Election.

Feeding Baby Dhiren

2008-03-03T22:56:00.003+08:00

Since Baby Dhiren had his first taste of semi-solid, we have been steadily increasing his cereal to a bigger portion and twice daily. We had a hard time initially, he prefers taking milk. But after much frustration and forcing (don't do this, doesn't work) later, he has grown to a daily routine of 2 cereal meals and around 7 meals of bottlefeeding.

My Baby is such a fussy eater, he will only eat his cereal hot and will not tolerate even if it's slightly cold, so i have to keep it warm with a bowl of hot water and have to change the water at least twice during feeding. Mummy spoilt you!

For his lunch at around 1pm, Baby Dhiren will have his Nestle cereal that is baby rice, apple & cranberry with either diluted pear juice or diluted apple juice. I mix the baby cereal with warm water till it become a smooth paste and and always served it together with a small cap of water to help him to swallow easier.

Since Baby still can't sit on his own, so we put him in his 'spider chair'.
For his 5.30pm feed, Baby will have his Why Not organic fruits cereal that is baby rice, quinoa, banana, orange and pear. It is nutritional and less sweet as compare to Nestle cereal, but the texture is not as smooth, so baby take time to get use to this. I have been adding a bit of homemade puree into the cereal as well. I have tried carrot, sweet potatoes and pumpkin puree.

From Breastfeeding to Formula Milk feeding to his first semi-solid to cereal. Baby Dhiren had came along way. Next, will start Baby Dhiren on homemade porridge. .....

My Baby, My Son

2008-02-26T20:45:00.004+08:00

Half an hour ago, my Son posseted milk all over me, all over himself and the bed. Lately he been having this gas problem. I had a major clean up, first wiped and changed him then my bed and the floor and showered again.

He was tired, sleepy but relieved after the gas came out. Me, hungry and still smell like puke (probably abit still stuck on the hair) was patting his back to burp him. And at the very moment, my Son was patting me back. Is like his way to console me telling me that, 'Mummy everything is alright now, don't worry'.
That was the moment I knew, that no matter how many times of cleaning and running around, it's all worth it.

Today my Baby has grown up. I love you, Son.

Love You All

2008-02-14T22:45:00.003+08:00

Valentine's Day is a day to express and to celebrate the spirit of love. I dedicated today to My Dear Hubby, My Family and most of all My Precious Precious Baby. I Love You....

'Abundance' of Milk

2008-02-11T22:14:00.000+08:00

At last, a day to recover from the hectic house to house visiting and Baby Dhiren finally can try to go back to his routine.

I been having some discomfort over the last few days. My breasts are engorged due to cessation of breastfeeding resulting in milk accummulation.

Since there is a way to establish production of milk, I'm sure there is a way to discontinue the production of milk. So while stuffing myself with too many cookies and drinking the leftover boxes of soya beanmilk, i searched the net on How to Stop Breastfeeding. Besides that, I find taking a hot shower or putting hot towel and massage out the excess milk definately helps.

Gong Xi Fa Chai

2008-02-11T22:00:00.001+08:00

May the year of Rat brings Abundance Wealth, Prosperity, Happiness and Health to All.

Not Been Posting

2008-01-29T12:28:00.000+08:00

Been experiencing some problem with Streamyx. Will resume soon.

A Bosom Tribute

2008-01-20T00:19:00.000+08:00

Baby Dhiren is 6 months now! I been a Mummy for 6 months!! I been Breastfeeding for 6 months!!! I am Proud of it :D

6 months back, Hubby & I would never imagine that I can breastfeed for so long. We took it one day at a time. I still recalled the initial struggles and the very first night when we got back from the hospital, milk was not established, I cried and cried and blaming myself for starving Baby. After much determination and encouragement from Hubby I continued and ultimately the milk production slowly increased.

Now I am breastfeeding and also topping up with formula to cope with Baby's increase demand. Milk production is slowing down and I am going to let nature take it course on when to end the feeding.

Breastfeeding helped me to connect with Baby and when it ends one day, I will most definitely miss the special connection, it is a very beautiful feeling especially when Baby looks up to you and gives you the sweetest smile and lets out a big BURP!! In spite of losing more than my sleep, my figure, I will definitely do it all over again.

For all the Mummies who are struggling out there, don't give up and a piece of advice is don't feel guilty when you have to top up with formula. It is good for both you and Baby.

Hubby said,

"It been 6 months since we were blessed with our little boy, lots of sleepless nights, endless dirty (my god the stains!) diapers and mind numbing midnight feeds but we managed to get through it. For this I really want to give a special shout out to my wife and to a very special part of her. For those who don't know what i refer to, I mean the source of all nourishment and life giving milk to our wonderful son Dhiren. Her bosom has grown in size ( to me rather exciting proportions), stretching and straining all efforts to contain them. The cup runneth over, resulting in giving Dhiren the healthy head start to face the future. For this & so much more, I really want to say how much I love her and her wonderful udders."

Moooooooooo........

In his attempt to be funny, my hubby got this cupcakes from Cupcakes Chic to celebrate my 6 months of breastfeeding!

From an Addict

2008-01-19T22:29:00.000+08:00

My name is Bobo Bear and I am a cupcake addict. Welcome to C.A. (Cupcakes Anonymous).

It been 3 months now, I been an addict. It all started on November when i stumbled upon an innocent looking stall at The Curve. It was near Christmas, while looking around, I saw the most delicious looking cupcakes on display and it come in so many different flavors.
I bought 1/2 a dozen back and from my very first bite, I got hooked. I had to try all the flavors and many times I told myself that this will be the last one but, no, no, no, one after another I got to have it. And now, the Cupcakes Chic has opened their own outlet and there are no less than 25 different flavors of cupcakes available on different days.

Oh God!!! Need to end this blog, got to go and have a cupcake.

Bobo Bear is giving '3 thumbs up' to Cupcakes Chic. One of the best Cupcakes around.

Baby Dhiren's 1st Vacation

2008-01-16T23:30:00.000+08:00

For those who are staying in Kuala Lumpur, how many of your children have their first holiday in Port Dickson? KLites have 2 choices of favourite destinations, either Port Dickson (we fondly called it PD) or Genting. Around an hour drive (depending on how fast you can go, some may claimed they only need 30 mins), affordable and the little ones will definitely have a good time.

Since Baby Dhiren is still too small for Genting, we decided to bring him to PD and it is also a vacation for mummy. He is such a well behaved baby, through out the trip, he has been a pretty good boy and he enjoyed his 1st encounter with the swimming pool!

It was a 3 days 2 nights stay in The Legend Water Chalets (although, the sign board in PD put as ' The Legend Water Chealets..hahah). The place is quite nice. Since this was baby first trip away from home, I practically packed the whole house, i started packing 2 days before and made sure i brought all his toys and stuff, so he can be comfortable & feel at home.

We managed to get the resort to provide us with a baby cot (for free...Hubby is a squeezer) and it was not too bad but we brought along baby's cot bumper so that he can feel safe and familiar. The other must bring were baby's hat, sunblock (we bought Buds) , swimming diapers (we got Huggies) and of course a few bottles of boiled water from home to make feeds.

Clockwise: Daddy loves to carry him around with the carrier; Swimming with Mummy; Tired Baby on our way back; Free Baby cot

Baby Dhiren loves swimming

The food here is good, we ate here for both nights! My favourite for the first night was Cheese baked Boston Lobster...yum yum yum and favourite for the second night was Fried Sotong... yum yum yum

Thank you, Daddy. We enjoyed ourselves so so much.......when can we do another one ?!!?? :D

CNY Shopping in Ikea

2008-01-16T18:08:00.000+08:00

I was in Ikea but not to buy household items but to get cookies and 'Ngah Ku' (Arrowhead) chips...mmmhhh my sister actually asked whether the cookies are in furniture shapes. Nope.
For those of you who didn't know the Vikings also sell Chinese New Year cookies and they even have Raya cookies during Hari Raya...hi whatever to make a few viking bucks (ugh umm....according to Hubby it is called 'Danegeld: which means Danish Gold, bribes paid by villagers to the Viking....we learn new things everyday :D), right?

To my surprise the Pineapple tarts & Ngah Ku actually taste good and cheaper than buying from the Chinese Pasar Malam sellers!

Last Day at Work

2008-01-10T21:09:00.001+08:00

This is funny. Kind of remind me of my last day...but of course, minus the famous pals.

Crying

2008-01-09T22:30:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Baby Dhiren just cried & cried & cried & cried. Refused to drink milk. The more he cried, more air went into his tummy, more painful and he continue to cry even louder.
At first I was angry then I became upset then worried and then I felt helpless and I just cried along.
He was tired and hungry and in pain at the same time. I tried everything to help him. We fell asleep exhausted. It went on and on through the day and he woke up every 2 hours at night.
But in between all his crying and screaming, he gave me a smile, my heart just melted and I cried even louder.
Baby Dhiren is back to normal today, he, 'One who is Strong' survived and for Mummy, she survived this ordeal not without the help from a chocolate bar, left-over chocolate cake, Chocolate, Rasberry Cheese cupcake from D'lish (I don't have the pic, can check out Da Wheel of Life & Happiness) and a Hot chocolate drink. YES ! it was that bad.

Good Bye 2007...Hello 2008

2008-01-02T21:44:00.000+08:00

2007 just zoom by with a blink of an eye. Can't believe it's already 2008! There goes my 365 days, but looking back at 2007, it is an eventful year in did!

Highlight of 2007 in chronological order:

Our last honeymoon to Perth before we journey into parenthood. It was the best holiday i had. Love it.
Trip to Redang with Sis. Love it... Should do it more often (Bangkok next, right?)
My physical transformation from petite (50kg) to just fat & short (67kg) and my emotional transformation from moody to psychotic to happy to very anxious and to all at the same time.
Arrival of Baby Dhiren.....my whole world changes.
Moving into our own new Home.
My last day at work after 8 long years....my first day as a stay-at-home Mum.
Removal of braces after 2 years...I can't stop buying lipsticks now.

Thank you for 2007!

We entered 2008 with a quiet dinner that Hubby had prepared. I actually slept by 11.30pm, so I missed the firework displays. But I had a wonderful dinner and amazing wine. I know nothing about wine but the one i had is damn good! I like it abit sweet.

Seasons Greetings

2007-12-25T21:22:00.000+08:00

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas and

a Happy New Year

Photo courtesy of Honey Star

Here is one of my all time favourite Christmas Song, enjoy :D

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Thank you Hubby for a wonderful Christmas Lunch and thank Pa, Ma & Sis for coming

Best part of Christmas... Presents!

Baby Dhiren 1st Christmas.

Baby Achieve A Milestone: First Taste of Semisolid

2007-12-18T23:52:00.000+08:00

Baby Dhiren has his first taste of semi solid. Daddy fed him 2 teaspoon of very dilute Nestle Rice with breastmilk. Even though he is not 6 mths yet but we decided to let him try because he doesn't seem satisfied with just milk.

According to Hubby, it is a tradition to give Baby his first semi solid feeding using silverware, it's suppose to bring good luck.

A Review: Diaper Changing Rooms

2007-12-17T23:00:00.000+08:00

Being a Mum, the first thing that I need to know when we go out with Baby Dhiren is, where is the Diaper Changing Room or the Nursing Room. As you know the condition of some of the mall toilets are not a pretty sight let alone the Diaper Changing Room.

I guess the basic should have in a Diaper Changing Room are countertop or fold down top, sink, rubbish bin and tissue. It will be a plus point if toy mobile, nursing or feeding section or even diapers are provided.

At Ikea

Ikea is very thoughtful, they even provide toys for toddler to keep
them occupied when mummy is feeding baby

At The Curve

The room is very spacious with 2 feeding sections, comfortable & clean.

At Bijou Cafe, Mont Kiara

This is a Baby Friendly cafe with limited but delicious menu, amazingly
yum yum cupcakes & other cakes and they even provide a diaper changing
station with branded diapers & wetwipes as well. Bravo!! Wish there is
more of this cafe out there...... if you know of any,
please please please let me know.

At Parkson, Pavilion

But to my surprise or even horror, some of the biggest, latest exclusive shopping malls don't even provide the most basic facilities!!!! If a mall can fully furnished the toilets, why not the Diaper Changing Room? We are so so disappointed.

At Pavilion

At the Garden

Finally...No more MetalMouth

2007-12-17T18:35:00.000+08:00

WArning!!!!!!: The following is not for the faint hearted or those who just ate...... scroll down at your own risk

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Me with braces.

Been wearing braces for almost 2 years plus. I've decided to wear braces just before my wedding (don't ask me why, I don't know the answer myself.) But thank god, this is ceramic braces, which I heard is made famous by Tom Cruise. The braces is not too obvious when the wired is removed and transparent bands is used instead of the gray ones here.

A few Thousand Ringgit Smile

The metal was removed recently and my Hubby said, "Now, you don't poke the person next to you when you smile!" ...so bad :(

I Am A Zombie Mum

2007-12-05T13:14:00.000+08:00

I have been losing sleep all this while with very little effect until now. My body response is super slow, after many months only now it sunk in. I've been going through my daily chores like a zombie.. and that is why no posting lately.

This Zombie Mum (which is me) has a heighten sense of sound. I can hear the slightest of 'eh' from Baby Dhiren. So at night I kept jumping up & disrupting my sleep because to attend to him but most of the time he was just turning, talking in his sleep or just farting...When motherhood turn Zombie Mum hearing to superhuman, fatherhood also turn Monster Dad (will explain later) hearing into super selective listening. He can sleep like a log through the night even Baby Dhiren screaming & crying! That is the most advance of all Superpowers.

The reason why my Hubby turn into a Monster Dad is because he snore like a monster. Nothing can stop him from snoring and that also contribute to my night insomnia. Sometimes I even need to do a karate chop on him to stop his snore (Is this consider to be spouse abuse?).

That's It! Can't take it anymore....so we got help from the pharmacy.

Item No. 1

Use as nasal spray suppose to keep the inside of the nose and throat moist so to prevent the noise of snoring but Hubby said it's feel like anaesthesia in the nose, horrible, horrible, horrible.

Item No. 2

To stick on the chin to prevent the mouth from opening so to stop snore but not effective at all for people who snore from the nose like Monster Dad here. So Hubby said might as well use this as a face mask or prevent wrinkle in the mouth area.

Back to square one, we are in a quest to look for the Nose Strip thingy which is out of stock in many pharmacy.....mmmhhh probably there are plenty of Monster Dad out there....To all the Zombie Mum hang on I am sure we can find a way to cure this

The Battle of the Cupcakes (Updated)

2007-11-27T17:35:00.000+08:00

After I went to Marmalade Cafe in Bangsar Village last Sunday, I know that I need to re-write this posting.

I've been in one of my cupcakes craving mood recently......and I'm sure most of you have come across many many cupcakes reviews. So, I have decided not to review but to rate them in this

Battle of the Cupcakes:
Bijou vs Cuppacakes vs Marmalade Cafe

VS

VS

The RESULT:

The cupcakes in Marmalade Cafe in Bangsar Village are really Yum Yum, so much better than the one in Mont Kiara.

Do check out Honey Star reviews on cupcakes as well:

Zoe's Cupcakes
Marmalade Cafe's cupcakes
Bisou's (Bijou's cupcakes were from here)
Cuppacakes/ Wondermilk

While these babies were Homemade by ME!!!

L-R: Plain, top with Peanut butter, top with Nutella

They were good and don't look too bad at all :) What do you think?

For the Big Cupcakes Fan out there, do check out this amazing write up on all you need to know about cupcakes

Daddy is My Hero

2007-11-20T17:42:00.000+08:00

When I have stuffy nose, daddy will suck out the booger for me(with a sucker device). But sometimes when it s dried up, which makes it harder to remove, then daddy will put 2 drops of saline water into my nostrils, wait for a minute for the booger to soften and then suck it out easily.

When I have tummy wind and it's so painful, daddy will apply baby oil on his hands and rub it rigorously together to heat up the oil so that it will relax my tummy and helps to release gas. After that I will let out a big manly fart.

When my tear ducts got blocked and my eye become watery and crusty, daddy will apply a warm cotton on my eye to loosen up the crust by putting a few drops of saline to help the eye to clean itself.

Daddy, what do i do without you?

Baby Dhiren 1 day old

Love,

Baby Dhiren

My Typical Day

2007-11-15T15:37:00.000+08:00

0900
Wake up. Have a hot drink(my breastfeeding milk) to start the day before Baby Dhiren start making noise ( he usually make ee..ee..eh...eh sound but sometimes can be really loud). Change, put fresh sheets & fold the diaper cloths.

10.00
Prepare for his 'Bum Bum' (Bath session). He loves playing in the water and I love looking at him playing in the water. Dress him, clean up & quickly take a bath ( if Baby Dhiren is not screaming with hunger).

Around 1100
Feed him & try to put him for a short nap, if he doesn't want to sleep, will keep him occupied with his mobile (thanks to his Meow Meow Auntie, at least it buy me sometime for my bath if i didn't do it earlier).

Around 1200
Make a quick lunch for myself or if Baby Dhiren is not sleeping, will read him a book (he get very excited whenever i read to him, he'll start throwing his hands & legs and many times hitting my face), then put him in his chair.

1300 - 1500
Feeding....Diaper changing...Playing.....Trying to put him to sleep......wash & hang baby clothes...(Thanks to Hubby, i have a part time cleaner so no worry about house works)...Lunch & do some blogging.

1600 - 1800
Prepare dinner in between feeding, diaper changing & playing with baby.

1900
'Bum Bum' Time again. Dress him. Feed & put him to sleep. If Hubby is home early, I get to go to gym.

2000
Bath & have dinner.

2100 - 2300
Wind down. Watch TV & blogging

0030
Sleep

Around 0130
Wake up for feeding

Around 0330
Wake up for feeding

Around 0600
Wake up for feeding

Not everyday will be the same. Sometimes Baby Dhiren in his moody day will probably be crying on & off from 1300 - 1700....... or sometimes he will be an angel & let mummy do her things.

It is not easy taking care of a baby alone. The simplest thing like going for a shower, eat or doing the 'Number 2' needs meticulous planning and doing it fast will probably helps. Even though most of the time I'll be alone with baby, but Hubby is very very helpful & supportive, he'll help when he is at home & he even take the early morning shift so I can have some extra rest. My Dad will send Mum over on Friday to help & cook soup for me.

Thanks and we love you.

An Inconvenient Truth

2007-11-14T16:25:00.000+08:00

Please do your part to save planet earth for the future of our children. Click on this....

All that Jazz...& a Whole Lot More

2007-11-12T17:34:00.000+08:00

I finally found something to wear for Chicago the Musical... Been searching Hi & Lo from Curve to OneU to the latest Pavilion...ended up in Forever 21 (Strange name for a shop, or probably I'm not 21 that is why it sound strange to me)

Needed something to cover my big shoulder, tree trunk waist and my huge backside, so I was searching for long sleeves, batwing, loose and preferably sequins to draw attention away from the problematic areas. Gone through piles & piles and finally got this....

Even though it's not a dress, which i initially wanted, but it's still better than nothing. Especially since Hubby & Baby Dhiren were chasing me to hurry up for feeding (next time should bring more than 1 bottle of milk). So ended up with this and my reliable, versatile stretchy black pant (which followed me from my pre-pregnant to 8 mths pregnant to post-pregnant...really stretchy)

The top did cover the areas that needed to be covered but 1 slight problem, it flaunted my assets too much (this I should thank to motherhood & breastfeeding :D) Hubby was not too happy about it.

About the show, Chicago the Musical.....

The experience was great, my 1st musical, and our seats were just 3 rows away from the stage..cool! But for the supposedly stellar cast, London production, the costumes failed to razzle & dazzle me.. but nevertheless I enjoyed it and if it's good enough for Royalty ( Sultan Azlan Shah & wife were there 1 row behind us) it is good enough for me..

This is Chicago the Movie which I love, earned Catherine Zeta Jones an Oscar

To PQ, nice to see you there! And thank you for noticing the guest stars.....Even Momma can RAZZLE & DAZZLE!

Baby Dhiren 1st Diwali

2007-11-12T16:33:00.000+08:00

Baby Dhiren experienced his 1st Diwali celebration but unfortunately because of Hubby recovering from a viral flu, we can't have an open house this year (the chef is sick, who is going to cook? :D Not me, ppl won't want to come). So it's just us .

Lighting the Deepa

Baby Dhiren 1st Oil Bath

Contemplating whether to eat muruku or pineapple tarts

All that Jazz.....& nothing to Wear

2007-11-06T14:08:00.000+08:00

My Ex-company was so generous to invite me & hubby to attend the hottest musical in town 'Chicago the Musical' this coming Friday and I'm facing the biggest ( yes i really mean BIG) problem, that is nothing to wear!!! From my old size S to my now size ranging from L-XL depending on brands, is really depressing (mmmhh..I need cupcakes to drown my sorrow)

And this hubby of mine is so kiasu decided to wear his couple of thousand $$$ suit. When I asked him why, he said, 'Just a suit what, I wear suit to work all the time.' :( I don't want to look like a maid or an auntie standing next to him in front of my ex-colleague.

I WANT TO BE A YUMMY MUMMY!!

So Hubby decided to sponsor my quest for a clothes that doesn't look fat on me. :) Thanks muak muak. So will take time out this week to check out the shops...

My Hubby The Amazing Cook

2007-11-04T21:30:00.000+08:00

This is one of those days where Hubby get very excited and inspired to try on a recipe [yeah yeah, i know i'm lucky to have a hubby who loves cooking :) ]. At first I was abit doubtful because of goat meat, can never stand the smell!! Hubby promise it will turn out good but nevertheless he also made a separate dish (knowing how fussy I am) same recipe but substitute with pork. Amazingly when i did a blind test, I actually preferred the goat meat then pork! So it is VERY GOOD. For those who are interested and adventurous here is the recipe:

Goat Kurma

1 bunch curry leaves
2 medium size onions
6-10 green chillies
1 inch ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 ½ tbs oil
80ml coconut milk
600gm lean goat meat (cut in cubes) or substitute with lean pork

Grind up items 1-5 to paste. Heat up oil & brown the meat and add in paste. Pressure cook for 3 whistles then add coconut milk and continue to cook again for 1 whistle.

So this dish is best to go with either paratha or couscous. Hubby made both!

Paratha

2 ½ cup wholemeal (chakki atta) flour
1 cup buttermilk but we substitute with 2 scoop of plain yogurt dilute with milk & water
1 tsp salt
2 tsb oil

Mix all ingredient together by adding buttermilk slowly. Cover dough & set aside for 1hr.
After that roll it into a round shape, spread 1 tsp butter across the circle, fold it into half then quarter , press flat & roll it again. (Layers will help the paratha to puff up)
Cook it in a flying pan till golden brown

Couscous

Buy from Tesco and follow the instruction.

Bon Appetite!! Yum Yum

What do you do when you breastfeeding?

2007-11-01T20:28:00.000+08:00

I'm proud to say that I had survived my 3rd month of feeding baby exclusively with breast milk :)

Baby Dhiren normally will take 15 mins to feed, 4-5 times in the day while expressing with a breast pump will probably take me around 30mins 1-2 times a day. Since I spend so much time on feeding, what do i do while feeding? In the books, they will tell you to feed in a quiet room and the mother is supposed to look at baby, have eye contact and do the mother and baby bonding.

But in reality, how long can you actually stare at baby? Probably during the early days but after a while, many feeds later (I really sound like a bad mum) don't you want to rest your mind and look at something else? (Probably is just me).

I NEED my entertainment! Watching 6 seasons of Carrie with Mr Big to Aidan to Burger to Russian Guy and back to Mr Big (Cant' wait for the Movie!!) helped me to survive 3 months of feeding. I know it sounds weird but watching TV really helps the milk flow!!!

So my feeding routine always involve Baby on one side and the remote in the other.

Introducing Baby Dhiren

2007-10-29T14:27:00.000+08:00

To stay true to my Blog Title, lets talk about the man in my life (sorry hubby) ......introducing 'drumroll .....tum...tum....tum....' Baby Dhiren.

Only 6 days old and already so cheeky

The most eligible bachelor standing at 1.9 feet weighing at 5.1kg with a pair of big grayish brown eyes and a killer smile that put Mr Big aka John to shame. He is now 3 1/2 months old and already getting all the aahhh and the oohhh from the girls (Note: Mummy doesn't like the touchy touchy one, don't know where they last put their hands).

Baby Dhiren is an aspired football player. Looking at the way he kick the dangling ball I say he is definitely a striker. Even though he is friendly and easy going, but he is abit selective of the people he hang out with. He'll only talk to his best friend, Doggy Bear who can perform 'Old Macdonald had a Farm' with 3 of his legs, the other one is a bit out of tune. Mummy can foresee alot of girls trouble in the future.....but for now, I will be THE woman in his life.

My First

2007-10-24T22:30:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wanted to do something which you can never find the time to do so?

I always wanted to make polymer clay dolls
I always wanted to draw and paint
I always wanted to bake cakes
I always wanted to start a photo scrapbook
I always wanted to learn a language
I always wanted to blog

So now I can at least cancel one of the item from my list.

This will be my recorded journal to a new chapter of my life, a first time mother and a full time housewife ( I've just quit my job 2 weeks back).
When life only revolve around baby and hubby.......blogging will be a way to keep me sane and just be myself.

So here I am...please talk to me :D

I am officially unemployed

2007-10-20T23:16:00.000+08:00

After 8 years, this finally happen... I have the guts to bid farewell to my Boss, or rather I blamed it on my son as an excuse. Hat off to all the career mums out there.

Is having children an excuse for us to quit our job?

To all the stay-at-home mums out there, what is the reason for you to give up your career? (Feel free to answer if you have the time. Don't worry this is not a survey and I will not use this as a statistic.)

because raising a child take up too much of your time
because you are sick and tired of the rat race
because pressure from your hubby or family
dan lain-lain (If you don't mind to share, please tell us why)

For me is a little bit of everything. If you are thinking of doing the same, think it through..is it worth it? Be prepare mentally, physically & financially. Most importantly is the support from your family especially your spouse on your decision. And if you decided to do so, make sure to keep yourself sane by blogging of course :D All the best