First Swim - MWL Jul 2009 Challenge

Pooi organised her first challenge at Made With Love. We had to do a 12' by 12' LO, used the word 'first' in the title, use a min of 3 embellishments and have a corner to journal about the 'first'.

Had fun with this "POW WOW challenge". Jon had his first swim at 16months...better late than never. Grandma said to wait a little longer before exposing him to the pool. The weather in Miri is super hot and when papa is free after work, it's also the hotest time of the day! Besides, there's only one public pool and access to hotel and club pools are via membership.


So when we went back to Singapore in Dec 08, went to the pool at my cousin's place. The kid's pool had sand for the bottom instead of tiles so kids won't hurt themselves. Wow!

Embellies include brads, softies, ribbons, blings, chipboard & puffy letters, Dymo tape, felt cloths with stitching, journal tag, stamp and rub-ons.

Productive Sat...and big feet!

This morning, we went to check out a Monterssori nursery for Jonathan (his cousin attends this nursery), and he'll start this next year when he's 2+. Someone asked why not now. Coz we want him to be around when baby Jillian arrives and he can be the big kor kor (brother) to her. While he may kiss my growing belly (and sometimes, beat it) and play with his baby cousin who stays with us, the impact of a new baby sis for him will be felt only when she arrives.

As it's a Sat, there wasn't any school, i.e. no kids, and less chance of getting H1N1. We met Principal Agnes and she went through with us the syllabus, and explained the M way of learning.

While we were talking to the Principal, Jon went exploring in her office and took a mask one of the kids did, a roll of paper, a toy trolley (one at a time). Eventually when we left to explore the school, he took the roll of paper with him! By the time we were leaving, he plonked himself on one of the chairs and took a colour pencil in one hand and an eraser in the other. Seems likes he's ready for nursery.

There'll be only 6 toddlers in his class and one vacancy left. We like the environment, but Simon said we should check out the M nursery just down the street from our place. I could walk Jon to school and bring him back.

Simon then sent us home where I changed and fed Jon. After taking a quick lunch and putting Jon down for his nap, I went for a facial and waxing session. A last grooming before I deliver and be confined at home for a while month!

When Simon finished work at 4pm, he went home and fed Jon his milk, then brought him out to meet me at the hairdresser. Jon's hair was getting long and quite thick, and it was grooming time for him too, before we all get busy with baby.

He was very quiet during his hair cut, and we gave him a couple of hair clips to play with. We're lucky that Jon is OK to have his hair cut. When I was in Singapore, I had seen kids who brawl and the hairdressers had such a tough time.

After picking some stuff from the grocery shop (all these located in one row of shops), we went home, gave Jon his bath and fed him before going out for dinner at MIL's regular vegetarian place. After dinner, in-laws brought baby cousin back (past her bedtime) and for FIL's TV date, while we went to shop at a small shopping mall for Jon's shoes.

Jon can only wear one pair now as the other pair is quite tight. But the soft leather one is not good for walking in the garden and we need to get one for him. Having inherited my big feet, Jon cannot fit into any toddlers shoes and can only wear sizes meant for kindy kids! Shoes for KK meant the length fit but the shoes are too thick. While Jon could stomp around in them, he walked clumsily and we know he will fall when he runs. I let him try on Crocs (the Scooby-doo model) and they fit perfectly! But we're not about to spend RM129 for a toddler who changes shoes like every 3-6months! Went to good old Bata for the Bubblegummers series. i.e cheap and good, but there were none in his size....

Ok, there's another Bata outlet which we will try tomorrow, and another two shopping malls (yes, only three malls in Miri). It is when I am shopping for Jon or soon-to-arrive Jillian that I wish I am back in Singapore where it's choicea galore. There's of course the town in Brunei that's about 2+ hours drive away. But with the H1N1 virus going on....cannot risk it.

Hey! There's online shopping right? Time to see if there's any sale for Crocs online!!!

37 weeks, and counting down to the arrival of Baby Jillian

I am in my 37th week already. Baby Jillian measures about 40-44cm and weighs between 3-3.4kg. Oh my! ready or not, she'll be making her arrival soon.

I ordered a lime green fabric arm chair last week and they said it should arrive in 6weeks' time. A comfy armchair to help me breastfeed as comfortably as possible (Last time, I had back aches from BF on the bed supported by some pillows and cushions). End Aug, the furniture store will have a sale, and I'll ask Simon to pick up a pair of fuchsia pink cushions!

Initially, I was concerned as to how a lime green armchair will fit in the rest of the furnishings in our future home. I thought to myself, if it didn't fit into the living room with the rest of the furniture, then the armchair will serve as a reading chair in my bedroom or study. Then I thought, I have always wanted a riot of colours in my home...so the armchair should fit right in!

Still have a couple more items to pick up to prepare for Jillian's arrival. The custom made crib arrived a week ago. Weird dimensions, but it will have to do...besides it will be stronger than the usual cribs they sell here in Miri. Jonathan played with the barrier of his old crib and promptly broke the top part. So, no way Jillian can use that crib!

I went to shop for some suitable pink bed linen for the crib....but the store either had a pink bedlinen with yellow Winnie the Pooh prints, or a super sweet pink one with pinkier hearts! Too much pink for me! The neutral cream coloured ones didn't come in the size I wanted or they were not fitted sheets! Will go check out another shop this weekend.

And everyone was saying I would have fun shopping for Jillian....thank goodness for clothes that were given to me or I bought them when I was in Singapore in early May. I will have them washed in early Aug as Jillian's EDD is 15 Aug.

Which brings me to another issue...Jon's birthday. It falls on 10 Aug. Last year, grandma threw a big party and invited so many relatives and some staff. It was like CNY. This year, she suggested I invited my church friends over. Then Simon said, what if we planned and Jillian decides to come a little earlier? And do I bake cupcakes again and make fondant decorations (simple ones of course, I am no pro baker).

Good news... and goodies I want

Good News that i have been waiting all along for...finally, there're direct flights from Miri to Singapore! From Sep 9 onwards, Air Asia will be ofering 4 daily flights between the two places! I am sure there's enough business to keep the routes ongoing - Miri is the Asia headquarters for Shell company and I know of so many people who go to Singapore for holidays!

Whenever I have to go back to Singapore, I have to take a flight from Miri to Johore Bahru, then a private cab to Singapore. That means a two-hour flight and another 1+ to 2hr ride across the causeway. Plus we have check in at the airport earlier, means it'll be about 5+ to 6hrs.

Friends have been asking me when we're going back to Singapore next. I have not been thinking about it coz it's daunting to travel with a super active Jonathan (who's turning two in a month's time) and baby Jillian (targeted date of arrival - 15 Aug).

Now with direct flights, I can actually imagine us going back to Singapore in the near future, by that I mean during Jillian's first year.

And I can think of those international travels, popping by Singapore for a family & friends visit then going somewhere else. but with two kids? Ok, I can dream, right?

And this neck of the woods will also be more accessible to family and friends who would like to visit us.

Goodies
Goodies?...I am drooling over the papers from Sassafras Las (Me Likey) and Crate Paper.

Sassafras Las - Me Likey

SSF - Sweetest Pair

Crate Paper - Bliss

Crate Paper - Season

Happy Birthday Simon!

Did a card for Simon. It's kinda cute for a guy, but I like it and I'm giving it to him. Besides, it's the thought and words that count.

Brought Jonathan to great grandparents place before lunchtime to pass them something. First thing he did was go climb onto the old swing (60s to 70s), same one that his father sat on. So, MIL and baby cousin Mabel went to sit on the swing too. Simple fun!Ggpa was already having his nap, so we chatted with Ggma. She even got onto the swing with Jon.In the late afternoon, Simon brought Jon to the garden to pluck longans. Jon chose a big one and a wee little one (which he insisted on bringing to the bathtub later when he had his bath!). The longans are in his left hand...He also touched a lemon on the lemon tree, but he didn't plucked it. A few more days, it will be ripe too! Mrs Secu (i.e. Security) gave birth to four puppies yesterday. She's the wife of Mr Secu, a stray that has been staying with us for nearly a year. Doggie hubby brought his wife to stay with us two months ago, and we noticed she was preggers. What a responsible doggie.There were two brown ones, a black one and a white one. We didn't want to intrude too much and I took a few snapshots very quickly and left mommy and babies alone. In fact when Jon came up, she actually growled softly at him!

The last shot of today...Jon pretending to eat mango. Why pretend? Coz he only licks or puts the fruit into his mouth without actually eating it. Do you notice how big the slices are? In SIngapore, I would cut the fruit into small slices for sharing. Here, there'so many mangoes...so MIL just cut into huge slices.

My first mini album

I did a mini album for my #2 - Jillian. Yay!

* I was not sure if I would have the time to scrap when she arrives, so I decided to have a headstart. I would usually select photos first, so it was strange working without photos.

* The Sassafras Lass Vintage papers are so yummy (thanks Wen Anne for the gift, and Elaine for the recommendation to Wens).

3. Mainly coz I was inspired by Leila Bentahar who's known as Lilibee. Check out her free tutorial here. This creative lady does great works with SSF and Cosmo Cricket papers, and charges very reasonable rates for instructions on mini albums.

Inside pages. A total scraplift of Lilybee's first two pages. I used the chipboards from the Woodland series.I went a little haywire on these two pages.The last two pages...also my fave!

Celebrated Simon's birthday in advance

We celebrated Simon's birthday in advance at the Miri Marriott Resort & Spa, and had the yummy buffet dinner. We had actually cancelled the plans for a family dinner on Sat night with 11 cases of H1N1 (5 from abroad and 6 local), but MIL said we should go and she'll take care of the kids at home.

So Stanley, Grace, Simon and me went to enjoy a nice sumptuous dinner. We all admit we're old already and cannot eat so much. So we went for quality rather than quantity. I took the opportunity to eat more red meat since my haemoglobin levels were just below the average 11pts (10.9 to be exact).

We had a nice time just eating and chatting away.

When I called for the bill, I forgot that I had mentioned to the staff that it was Simon's birthday and they said they will arrange a complimentary piece of cake. Simon knew I would arrange for a cake and said he was too stuffed to eat anymore. Well, the bill took like 15mins to come and with it, the comp cheesecake. Birthday boy was nice enough to finish the entire slice.

Mangoes galore

We had a bountiful harvest from the mango trees this week. On Thursday morning, MIL called me to bring Jon down to the kitchen as she wanted to show him something...and I was to bring my camera.She had collected more than 50 mangoes, averaging about 1.5 to 2kgs each! The heaviest one was 2.5kg! At the market rate of RM6 per kg, the mangoes would fetch some RM500+.
Jon oohed and aahed over the fruits and was amazed at their sheer size. We then packed the mangoes for distribution. We had a few fruits over the last couple of weeks, but this collection was the biggest!All yummy and sweet...I limit myself to 2pcs in the morning, 2pcs at lunch and maybe another 2pcs after dinner.

Pretty home accessories

Accessories make a home cozy, and they reflect our individual styles and characters. If you are a fan of designers from the Netherlands, check out the Dutch delights found in http://www.dutchbydesign.com/ I just love the following items.

The Passe Partout Clock, which is made up of 12 pictures frames. I can fill the frames with my fave photos or scrapbooking materials!
Whimsical Bird in the Bush stackable cups (blue or pink)...such a delight to drink from, don't you think?
Bird cage table lamp...comes in fuschia pink and lime green too!

Yikes!

Jon has this naughty habit of sticking his fingers into his mouth after eating or drinking. The other day, he did just that after finishing a bottle of milk while in the sarong. And of course he puked! Yikes, not a pretty sight.

I quickly brought him to the bathroom to clean him and give him a change of clothes. The puked bits were all over the neckline and instead of cleaning them off first, I just took off his T-shirt while waiting for warm water to fill the tub. And the result was this....

Silly mom right? I should cleaned the bits off first, then pull of the shirt right? Anyway, I got Aunty Grace to go get my camera to take a photo of Jon. I tried very hard not to laugh and Jon was very patient in waiting for the warm water to wash him clean.

PS: I won the Patchwork Challenge by Piradee @ Made With Love...yay!

Patchwork Challenge

I took part in Made With Love's mid-June challenge where we had to:
- include at least 9 squares on our layout - these can be in any size or a mixture of sizes (perfect opportunity to use those scraps)
- include some stitching (and more than just XXX)... somewhere, anywhere on the layout
- and include ribbons

I had this photo that we took as a family back in Dec 2007 (yes, that far back) and it was perfect with the papers from Sassafras Las Life is Beautiful series. I have been hoarding much of their papers and haven't been using them....so this challenge is just great that I can use a few of the papers.


Enjoyed the stitching process - I did straight stitches and blanket stitches. But there's a lot that one can do with simple stitches:

raindrops and border accents

alphas and outlines

Sparkles and photo corners