Can't Stand Her English

I really cannot stand the wishy-washy and horrendous English that my maid speaks. Her English already sounds terrible with her mother tongue interferance, coupled with her broken command and wrong usages, her sentences really make my hair stands at times. Though I've told her countless times (almost everyday) that she is to speak in Malay with the kids, she is still speaking in her terrible yet hilarious command of English. Here are some examples :

1) When Baby C cries, she will try her best to pacify her while she says this "Please wet wet ar..... mummy a coming, wet wet ar......." (she meant wait wait).

2) Don't climb up Kay Yi, nanti you the drop down.....

3) Faster go shower, you number one, faster a go take shower....

4) You no go out, you naughty.... (she normally says this to Sherilyn when she's naughty. She meant to threaten Sherilyn that she can't go for outings next time)

5) Faster you eat! (she loves to tell this to Alycia and Sherilyn during meal times)

6) Why you no drink you water? (she also cannot pronounce the word 'your' and often says 'you' instead)

7) Alycia : Kakak, where is mah mah?
Kakak : Mah Mah go....
Alycia : Where is mah mah Kakak?
Kakak : Mah Mah go, Mah Mah go...... (she meant to say that mah mah has gone out. Both Alycia and my maid normally get frustrated because Alycia does not understand kakak and kakak can't tell Alycia exactly where her mah mah has gone to.)

And I will be like a teacher correcting her broken English all the time. I just don't understand why she does not want to speak to the kids in Malay. Perhaps I should tell her that I will fine her 10 sen for each word of English that she speaks to the kids. If I don't do this, the kids will be picking up horrendous English too.

Pretty Shapes Fried Eggs

If you have a kid who doesn't like eggs, you can try cutting them into all sorts of shapes. You can also make pancakes (with extra eggs) and cut them into cute shapes. Click here to read on...

Sherilyn Is Breastfeeding Her Baby Too!

"Mummy.... look at Kay Yi.... she is breastfeeding her baby!" These were the words uttered by Alycia to me yesterday just before I put Alycia and Sherilyn to nap in the afternoon. When I saw what Sherilyn was doing, I just burst out laughing out loud. My goodness, the way she lay on the mattress on her side with Elmo her 'baby' is exactly like mine, when I nurse Baby C. At one point, she even covered her legs with her nappy, just like how I cover mine with my blanket. LOL..... Sher is just an expert in imitating me!

Oh but of course I don't do such a silly act with Baby C!

New Cloth Diapers

Pretty or not my new cloth diapers? My maid has washed them this morning and tomorrow, I can start putting them on Baby C. I'm planning to get more CDs. After some calculations, I figured that CDs indeed help save loads of money coz Baby C poo poos too often. Moreover, the CDs that I bought are one-sized, meaning she can wear them till she's potty trained or at least weighs 16kg.

Continue reading here.

Does Baby C Look Like A Boy?

Most people who see Baby C for the first time tell me that she looks very much like a boy. Does she? My urut lady (Malay masseuse) tells me that it's because when I was carrying her, I yearned for a boy, thus Baby C now looks like a boy. Crappy isn't it? Actually, both Alycia and Sherilyn looked like a boy too when they were infants. It was only when their hair grew longer that they looked more feminine.

Whatever it is, whether she looks like a boy or a girl, Baby C is still very cute in my eyes.


Doesn't she look more like a boy in this blue jammies?

My New Cloth Diapers Have Arrived

Yay, the cloth diapers (CD) that I ordered from babysashanmom.com have just arrived. Hubby paid by cash via online payment yesterday and I was actually quite worried that they might get lost in transit. The initial investment is really quite hefty, around RM85 each but I think we will save loads in the long run. Will take pix of the CDs tonight and post them in my blogs soon.

Organic Toffee Biscuits

This organic toffee biscuits that my sil bought from Hong Kong for Alycia and Sher taste so good that I finished almost the whole box all by myself! Nope, I'm not a bad and greedy mummy. Alycia's down with fever as she has throat infection... again! I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that Alycia's body cannot tolerate heaty food and biscuits. Over the past few days, she ate durian and biscuits (mah mah sayang her too much to say 'no' to her requests). Though she drank water like a camel, her throat was still not spared. She's on antibiotics again (sigh...) and her fever is still not going away (already 4 days). So to remove the temptation away from the gals, I chomped down almost all the biscuits, hehe...



I love the toffee bits in the biscuits!

Father's Day

There wasn't a big celebration yesterday. Hubby and mil brought Alycia and Sherilyn to Mid Valley in the morning as my mil wanted to go to the GAP boutique to change the pair of jeans that my sil from HK bought for Alycia last week. As usual, I had to stay home with Baby C. I was advised by our paed to avoid bringing Baby C to crowded places as her immune system could be a tad weak from all the antibiotics that she's taking now. Hubby tar pau half a steamed chicken from Crystal Jade Restaurant for me for my lunch

As for dinner, my mil steamed a huge 'yim kai' (neutered chicken), made 'kon cheen har loke' (pan fried huge prawns), steamed a huge 'tau tai chong' fish (pomfret) and stir fried some vegetables. In case you are wondering what differences are there in a neutered chicken, well, the meat is very firm, the skin is thicker, more yellow in color and 'crunchier' than regular chickens and the meat tastes better. It's quite rare to find neutered chicken these days and my hub's aunt bought it from Ipoh

After dinner, the gals sang "happy father's day" to daddy (in the tune of happy birthday), blew the candle and cut the cake. It was my favorite green tea red bean cake from my favorite bakery. How was your father's day celebration yesterday?

Keeping Eczema At Bay

Click here to read how I prevent an eczema flare up in Baby C.

Eating Dim Sum In The Hospital

I was bored to the core during my 4 days stay in the hospital with Baby C recently. I was also worried sick of Baby C's condition. Not only was I bored and worried sick, the hospital food also sucked big time. I was happy that hubby bought me my favorite dim sum for brunch on the 3rd day, but eating alone in the huge room facing the 4 walls and seeing how sick Baby C was, well it was really no fun. Though hubby brought me homecooked food everyday, I was merely swallowing my food without really tasting them and enjoying them. As the Chinese saying goes "sake loong yoke toa moa wai hau" (no appetite even to eat dragon meat ).

Baby C And Sherilyn's Toy Clock

This wind-up toy clock used to be Sherilyn's. Daddy bought it for her when she was 10 months old. After the clock is being wound up, there is music in the tune of 'Hickory Dickory Dock' and the hands of the clock will tick and move.

When Baby C cried non-stop 2 weeks ago, Daddy dug out the old clock from Aly and Sher's toys cabinet and wound up the clock. When Baby C heard the soothing soft music and the ticking of the clock, she stopped crying and stared at the clock as the hands were moving. Since then, this toy clock has been her favorite toy and greatest companion.

When Sher saw daddy taking her clock away and left it in Baby C's cot, all hell broke loose. Sher has always been rather possessive with her things and she just could not part with her clock (though she does not play with it anymore). She was hollering away like a dog whose tail was being stepped on. She snatched the clock away, brought it back to her room and refused to part with it. After some sweet talking and bribes, she finally brought the toy clock back to my room and gave it back to Baby C. It was very rare that Sher would be so generous and for once, she obeyed me. I was really touched with her generosity and gave her a big hug and lots of praises and kisses.

Baby C @ 2 Months Old

Baby C turned 2 months old on 9 June 08. Her weight is now 4.9kg, which is an increase of more than 1kg per month. Her birth weight was 2.75kg. Baby C is now trying to flip over and is always on her side trying to push herself over, whenever she is awake. Therefore, it is not safe to leave her alone on the bouncinet anymore, not even for a short while. She also loves being sang to and talked to and she is always trying to immitate me by cooing "aaar...o" whenever I say 'hello' to her! She will smile to me whenever she sees me smiling to her or talking / singing to her.

Baby C is still breastfed exclusively and she is latched on to my breast almost the whole night... and sleeping under my armpit! As she's most likely going to be on maintenance antibiotics for several years for a suspected Kidney Reflux problem, our paed said that it's best to breastfeed her to strengthen her immune system. It is also not advisable to bring her to crowded places. My hubs has even suggested that we should not bring her to the church until she's stronger. Looks like I will be in prison for the next few months. I can't even bring her out shopping, unless it's on a non-school holiday weekday, early in the morning where there are very few people in the shopping malls. Apart from having a suspected Kidney Reflux (which we will need to send her for an MCUG test to confirm the diagnosis next month), Baby C is otherwise a healthy and happy baby.

Baby C Loves Being Sung To

Baby C loves being sung to. Each morning, I will play a children's nursery rhyme CD and sing to her (complete with actions) as I feed her antibiotics. She will coo, gurgle and smile as I sing to her. I will sing to her for at least an hour, till she finishes the 3ml of antibiotics. Then, she will take a short nap before I nurse her and bathe her.



These pix were taken last night just before bedtime. Baby C was crying and Sherilyn tried to pacify her by singing to her. I had taken videos of it but had accidentally deleted it after downloading it to my PC this morning. Baby C was smiling and responding happily as she heard her cheh cheh singing to her. She was moving her hands and kicking her legs gleefully non-stop as her eyes were fixated at her cheh cheh. Sherilyn felt so proud that she could pacify her little baby sister from crying. I'm going to try to capture another video of Sherilyn singing to Baby C tonight!

I've Started Exercising Again!

I finally moved my butt and started exercising again yesterday. Though I really missed my daily running sessions in the mornings, I just cannot find the time and opportunity to escape from Baby C for a half an hour session in the morning. She's just too clingy to me and she seems to have an innate sixth sense that I am leaving her. You see, each morning when I wake up and creep quietly to the bathroom, Baby C would wake up too and cry. There's no way I can 'escape' from her. Yesterday, she slept very soundly in the evening. So I jumped at the opportunity, went to my porch and jumped on my trampoline for 20 minutes. Whilst I jumped, Alycia and Sherilyn cycled on their tricycles. Woot, it really felt great to be able to exercise again after a 11-month exercise hiatus.

I gotta go now before Baby C wakes up.... to jump on my trampoline again!

Liver Pate

For foodies who love liver pate (a type of rich paste made of finely ground liver), you will love this dish from Delicious. The yellow paste in the white bowl in the middle is made of chicken liver. The appetizers at the side go very well with the pate and the thinly toasted french loaf. The liver pate is to be spread on the thinly toasted french loaf, like butter on toast.

Verdict : I am not a fan of pate, so I wouldn't say that the chicken liver pate is delicious but I love the appetizers and the thinly sliced toasted french loaf. Alycia and Sherilyn loved the toast and spread slabs of butter on it. We even ordered another tray of toast for the gals to munch.

Baby C's Face Cleared Of Eczema

During her 4-day stay in the hospital, Baby C's face was practically cleared of eczema or heat rash. Her complexion was flawless. I deduce that it's because she was in an air-conditioned room all the time. Baby C sweats very easily and whenever she's hot, the eczema would flare up. My diet was as usual the same food which consisted of milk, Milo, wholewheat bread, eggs, some nuts and I even ate 'kai jau' which had alcohol. Despite all these food which are known to cause eczema, Baby C was free from eczema during her stay in the hospital. The day she returned home (which happened to be a hot day), the eczema started to flare up again. So I can only sum up that my little princess cannot stand heat and must always be kept cool and moisturized to prevent an eczema outbreak.

Simply Irresistible

This red bean paste with a scoop of homemade durian ice-cream is simply irresistible. We had this dessert at Duck King restaurant. Had I been able to start exercising again, I would have gobbled down the entire bowl of it.

Sherilyn's First Day Of Pre-School

That's Sherilyn on her first day of pre-school yesterday. Sherilyn and Alycia have polar opposites in terms of their character and disposition. While Alycia cried for 3 days straight on her 1st day of school last year, Sher who was very well prepared for school, having had followed daddy in the car ride to bring cheh cheh to school every morning for the past 1.5 years was very upbeat and excited. She showed no fear or separation anxiety but treated the school like her second home and even cheered up other kids who cried! I did not even accompany her to school as I had to stay home with Baby C. Daddy just brought her into her class, snapped some pix of her in her classsroom and left. Her teacher said she is really outgoing and demanding too.

Sherilyn with Alycia at the porch of the pre-school.

Sherilyn in her classroom. She's the most outgoing kid in her class.

Baby C Trying To Tell Me She Hates Her Antibiotics

During my stay in the hospital with Baby C when she had UTI recently, the nurses were all amazed that at only 7 weeks, Baby C could try to tell me that she hates taking her antibiotics. Each time she was fed antibiotics, she would turn her head left and right, repeatedly, as if shaking her head to tell me "mummy, no, no, no". When I held her head with my left hand and gripped her cheeks with my right thumb and forefinger to force open her mouth, Baby C would give me the most pathetic stare with her eyes wide opened and eyebrows furrowed. She would then muster some pathetic sounds, as if pleading with me not to force feed her with the horrible tasting thick stuff. I would then kiss her head and tell her that she has to eat her medicine if she wants to get well and go home. She threw up anyway each time she took the antibiotics. Seeing her throw up so painfully broke my heart into pieces.

Salad For Me

We went to Delicious for lunch 2 weeks ago. While hubby ordered pastas, spaghetti, nasi kerabu and a chicken liver patte combo, I ate something light - baby spinach salad with cranberries, grilled chicken and strips of bacon. The portion was really big and of course I could not wallop the entire plate down myself. I also ate a little bit of everything but stayed away from the pastas and spaghetti. Well, so far my high protein/fibre + low carb diet is working. With breastfeeding and so much stress taking care of 2 toddlers + 1 sick baby, my weight is slowly but surely going down.... though I have yet to start my daily exercise regimen. But I must work towards getting started on my exercise regimen soon, once Baby C gets well and is not so clingy and cranky.