Made with Love Aug 09 Challenge

Had great fun with this challenge! Thanks for organising Aida!

We were to give simple-style a try and to make it more interesting, there is a point system we had to follow.

• Scrap a 12 X 12 layout, one LO per scrapper
• The title must be a number or a date, we could use different fonts as long as it's the title
• Keep within 15 to 20 points limit. How the points are calculated: each item we use in the layout is ONE point be it cardstock, paper, an embellie, a flower, a brad etc.

Here's my LO of My 2 fave guysKraft Cardstock - 1pt
1 photo - 1 pt
1 photo mat - 1pt
Title - 1pt
Journal sticker - 1pt
Patterned paper (cut into 11 accents) - 11pts
Chipboard stickers - 3pts
Felt bracket - 1pt
Total points : 20pts

PS: Luckily I read the deadline again....thought it was 31st Aug!!! *faint* thankfully I started doing it this morning, and completed the layout the same day (which seldom happens)! It must be coz we could only use 20 accents in total...muahahahah!

A rock star attitude goes a long way

Apart from a nice hairstyle, having a rock start attitude goes a long way.... how do you achieve that if you don't happen to have one?

Step #1 - let's warm up slowly with rock ballads, rock a little, but not too much

Step#2 - stomp your feet a little

Step #3 - let your body move

Step #4 - stomp lagi harder!

How to style my hair?

Do you want to know how I style my hair?Step#1 - Put on your sunniesStep #2 - warm up by bending your knees up and down slowly a few timesStep #3 - once you're warmed up, proceed to do a little head banging
Step#4 - Stop and let gravity do the jobPS: Grandma says my hair is too long and thick and with this hot weather that we're having during the days, I reckon I'll have a hair cut soon. So this pretty boy look will be replaced by something more manly. Enjoy while it lasts.

Squeals & Screams

This afternoon, grandma caught a Rhinoceros Beetle and kept it in a container for Jonathan to play with when he woke up from his nap. Squeals of delight came from the little man, screams of horror from his big mom.

How to play with a Rhinoceros Beetle.
#1 - approach the R beetle slowly.#2 - pick up the container, maintaining eye contact all the time. #3- shake the container vigorously, all the while with mommy screaming in the background, "You better hold the container tightly!"#4 - stop shaking and check if beetle is OK. #5 - yes, beetle is OK.

Jonathan was confused, coz I would push the container to him quickly, no way am I going to spend another second in contact with the container. He thought it was a game and would push it back to me!!! Of course, I would scream and scold him. He must be wondering, "Does mommy want me to play with her or what?

See another perspective of how big that insect is!!!!

Yay...lower bilirubin levels

Yay, Jillian's bilirubin level is down to 180! But doc says we should bring her back again tom to check.

Poor Jon has got a blocked nose and slightly runny nose + phlegm! His nose will be blocked and since he's breathing through his opened mouth, it would be very dry and he will wake up having a dry throat. He can't breathe through both nose and mouth and drink at the same time. Not a nice time at night...

Simon helped pumped some meds to dissolve Jon's phlegm (although he spat half of it out), and I soothed and comforted him, then rubbed a little of oil (just to help psychologically), then tried to give him some water. It worked initially, but not the later two times when he woke up. But his crying somehow made him breathe a little more, and that helped him. soon he would be tired and will fall asleep again.

More of the phlegm meds later on Tuesday. Poor baby.

Promoted to big brother

Jonathan is now a big brother to his baby sister, Jillian. He knows he has a younger sister, and will pop by the her room to see her in the morning. If he doesn't see her there (as the confinement nanny has brought her out to the garden for tanning to get rid of the bilirubin), he will say, "Mei you (don't have)."If he does see her, he will smile and point and her, sometimes calling her mei mei, sometimes touching her on her legs. But that's about it. He's being a man, his grandma says. Will try to take a snapshot of them together.

I guess that's the difference between girls and boys. Boys will acknowledge the presence of the younger sibling, and that's that. Guess he will respond to her when she is older and can play with her.

I know...coz I have an older brother by six years and 2months. He played with me when I was like in primary school....never recalled him playing with me when I was younger. Even when he brought his schoolmates back one day to play Risk. He didn't invite me to play with them. Until one of his classmates asked me to partner him and let me roll the dice when it came to his turn. Hmmmm, can't remember his name, but I think that was my first crush, coz he was kind and attentive to me, LOL!

On another note, Simon brought Jillian for a blood test yesterday coz he said she was yellow. I thought she was more red than yellow. Silly me, I forgot to press against her skin, if it turns white, should be OK. If yellow that means too much bilirubin.The blood test resulta reveal that the bilirubin level was 249, much higher than the average 170. She screamed so much when they poked the needle at her heel. No blood at the first prick and they had to find another spot! Poor baby!

The medical officer said to go back on Mon for another test. We had been sunning her in the mornings, giving her a couple of teaspoonfuls of green grape juice and bathed her in coconut water. Also boiled some herbal drink from TCM, called jin yin hua, and cooled it before givng her a few teaspoonfuls. Yesterday and today, we bathed her in water that was boiled with bittergourd vine (of course letting it cool till lukewarm). I should record all these traditional remedies down for future generations hor?

A taxi driver with a PHD from Stanford?

Yup.....do check out Dr Cai Mingjie's blog on http://taxidiary.blogspot.com/

"Probably the only taxi driver in this world with a PhD from Stanford and a proven track record of scientific accomplishments, I have been forced out of my research job at the height of my scientific career, and unable to find another one, for reasons I can only describe as something "uniquely Singapore". As a result, I am driving taxi to make a living and writing these real life stories just to make the dull job a little more interesting. I hope that these stories are interesting to you too."

Arrival of Baby Jillian

Contractions started around 3+am on Sat and intensified by 4+am, all the way till 5am. I got an hour's of sleep when the contractions tapered off but my gynae, Dr Mattu, made his round at 6am! Wow, does he ever sleep?

He checked my cervix and said it's about 3cam dilated and advised me to get the catheter in for the epidural as I requested in my birth plan. Around 9+am, the contractions came again. I thought Dr Lim, the anaesthetist, had put the epidural on auto drip. Actually, I was supposed to ask him to come and top up when the contractions start again and when I can't take the pain. Luckily the nurse said she will call Dr Lim and he came to give me a top up. The earlier one he administered was just small dose. Blame it on pregnesia!

Dr Mattu had expected me to deliver around lunchtime but dilation took so long that when lunchtime came, dilation was only 5cm. Then around 3pm, my gynae came to check on me again and told the nurses to prep for delivery at 4pm. Dr Lim also came to top up the epidural coz it was at the tail end of the dose and I did feel the painful contractions again. Actually I could deal with the pain, but I know I will not be able to bear the later ones to come. I was asked to lean to my side.

At 3.45pm, I saw that baby Jillian had slanted to my left side, and told the nurses about it. But since Dr Mattu was coming soon, they didn't think it mattered.

4pm came and I tried pushing a couple of times.Then around 4+pm, super active Jillian decided to turn facing up! Doc said it'd be difficult for me to push her out. He said he will have to turn her around with forceps (but with finger-tip pressure), if not, we had to proceed to C-section!

Pangs of panic went through me and I said OK. Dr Lim came to top up more epidural, but my blood had clot where the drip was (hey the drip has been on since 7am). So they had to poke my right wrist!

It was very scary for me coz this was from natural birth to being cut-up. I prayed so hard for everything and everyone who was helping me. As I suffer from motion sickness, I puked while being wheeled from normal delivery suite to operating room. Then I stopped focusing on myself and concentrated on Jillian. I wanted to make sure she heard me. I said sorry to her for making her go through this, and asked for her cooperation and that I would try to make this as comfortable for has as possible.

Dr Lim was very nice and tried to make it as comfortable for me as possible while everyone went speedily to set up the operating theatre in about 5mins after I was wheeled in and transferred to the operating bed. I asked for Simon and Dr Lim went to get him (he was standing one side not obstructing anyone). Dr Lim was the one who got me a blanket coz I was shivering, and he comforted me saying that I am in good hands.

Praise God, J was cooperative and Dr Mattu managed to turn her around. Simon said he was performing and everyone was just watching him as he spoke to Jillian and instructed her and me gently. After she turned, it was up to me to push when my contractions came. Me, who cannot hold my breath for long, was praying that it would not be like for Jon that when I pushed, he inched out a little, then I took a quick breath and he went back in! Well, I managed to push her out with instructions from a very nice nurse called Jenny. What a relief to hear a loud cry from Jillian. As I had told Simon not to take any more photos during my earlier few pushes, he left the camera outside. After the delivery I asked Simon to take photos but he was concentrating on me and Jillian. So no straight-from-the-womb shot of Jillian nor of me who looked like I just went through a battle!

Here are some photos of us on Sun....more rested and sane!

Finally, some excitement!

Went to see my gynae this morning, and he asked, "No progress, no movement? Baby is comfortable in your womb that she doesn't want to come out?" I said yah, she's a very obedient baby. MIL had said that the confinement nannny will not be available before 15 Aug, so I told her not to arrive before then. Also with the haze being so bad the last week, I told her better for her to arrive when the weather is better. Well, the haze is not so bad during the last two days, and we had rain last night and during lunch time.

Baby Jillian is in position and ready to arrive anytime, and I was going to wait for contractions and all. But my gynae will be away tom evening and back only next Tue afternoon. I would rather not risk it, so I will be going to the hospital this evening to induce labour. It's all systems go from tonight.

MIL was so excited when I came back from the gynae and shared with her the news. She said we're not ready yet! I said more or less what (say "seven, seven, eight, eight in Mandarin). She said there's one vital ingredient for my confinement food to prepare, something to boil for the baby to drink to reduce chance of jaundice and a hot water flask to be put in the confinement nanny's room (that makes it 5 hot water flask in the house!). She was so excited she couldn't eat her lunch properly.

Thank goodness I was in the right frame of mind to buy her vegetarian lunch (knowing she will not have time or the mind to cook her lunch) and tea time snacks and breakfast stuff for the family. In fact, MIL is out now buying all those stuff.

So for those who are counting down with me...finally some excitement huh? Appreciate your prayers for a smooth delivery with as little pain as possible, and for the arrival of a healthy Baby Jillian. Over and out for the time being....

Is it time yet?

Thanks for all your love and concern. I'm in my 40th week and EDD for Baby Jillian is Sat, 15 Aug. From visit to my gynae last Fri, she's engaged and in position, so any time she is ready...it's D-Day. For now, she's contented to stay in my womb. Perhaps she knows that the haze is really bad and doesn't want to come out yet.

I feel fine, just that when Jillian moves, it can get a little uncomfortable. But she's just letting me know she's OK. Did I share that Jillian moves a lot more than Jon? Well, I will be going for another check-up this Fri, and we shall see what's the next move. The haze situation here is very bad with peat fires, open burnings, El Nino, and dry weather. This was the view from my window looked like in the morning. We can't really see the houses across the street!
By lunchtime, the houses are clearer, but the sky still looked gloomy. I didn't even open my windows. The minute I brought Jon downstairs after he woke up and had his milk, I could smell the burnt smell. The kitchen and dining room windows were opened, but we closed the door to the dining room and switched on the air-conditioning in the living room the whole day. We also brought the air purifier from in-law's bedroom to the living room. It got dark in the afternoon but the rain only came after dinner and for all of 5mins! Thankfully it's drizzling now.

My sis-in-law who works a little up north said that the burning is so bad that on the university grounds, you can find ash on the floor!

On the lighter side of things, here's Jon with his "bed hair". Totally gravity-defying and definitely scrap-worthy!

Birthday party for Jonathan

Jon's birthday is on 10 Aug but we celebrated it on Sun, a day earlier. Had a good time with the family. We booked two private rooms at a Japanese restaurant for the birthday celebration. This was more for the adults. As long as Jon has some noodles, drink some of my cold drink or eat come ice-cream, he will be OK.

You know how parents, well, more mothers actually, like to plan birthday celebrations with a theme. We got some Bob the Builder hats, whistles (but didn't bring them in case we disturbed other guests), dining set, and presents (driving activity, a school bag and stationery, and water bottle for nursery next year).

It was a nice small gathering with family, Jon's great grandparents, grandparents, Simon's aunties (the uncles were away), and cousins. We had asked our guests not to buy presents, didn't want them to spend, and besides, Jon is still young to understand the meaning of presents.

Jon liked the chocolate cake from Uncle Stanley and Aunty Grace.

He was so tired when we got home that he fell right asleep. When he woke up in the later afternoon, I gave him the Bob the Builder Driving Activity set. He liked it. We had tested a few toys on him when we brought him to the store.

After dinner, Jon opened a present from Uncle Stanley and Aunty Grace - it was a Thomas the Train starter set. He had so much fun watching the train go round and round the track. Then we played this traditonal game with Jon where he had to choose an item from a few items - the item will determine possible future outcomes. A pen & pencil = boss; a ruler = good at counting; a book- good grades; hard boiled eggs = loves to eat.

Jon kept pointing to Simon's camera but that was not one of the items to choose from. He picked the red hard boiled eggs (which he saw during lunch).....well, he does love to eat. We laughed so loudly that Jon was scared and wanted to cry, but he was such a man and held his tears back.

I said it wasn't fair coz the other three choices were in blue colour and the red stood out. So we gave him another try and he picked the book. Hope he really gets good grades in future. Well, it's just a game.

New shoes and others

Remember last month I was lamenting on Jon's big and wide feet and how difficult it is to find shoes for him? We were thinking of getting an open toe sandal but when Jon tried on the don't-know-how-many version, we realise he will hurt his toes should he fall from running too fast. Also, MIL had advised that we get Jon closed shoes to protect his feet.

Then Simon walked past a sports shop and we found the Nike Sensory Motion Peanut by chance, after trying both open-toes sandals and closed-tip shoes. The Peanut has a washable canvas upper (not the high leather version) and baseball-style contrast stitching for a stylish touch; stretch lacing with hook-and-loop closure strap providing a snug fit, but allows for a no-fuss entry. Plus rubber tip for extra durability, phylon midsole/sockliner combination to provide cushioning, multidirectional siped flex grooves for lightweight cushioning allows for natural flexibility.

Means good shoe lah! It was a quite expensive, but the store had a discount on this pair. It came in moonlight blue one with a pink insole (different from the pic above, but I so love the green)! It fitted nicely with some room to grow...hopefully can last him 9-12months?The last couple of days, we also bought Jon some Bob the Builder stuff for his 2nd birthday. Not too expensive since kids outgrow their toys very quickly. Tomorrow, we're having lunch at a Japanese restaurant, yes it caters more for the adults then Jon (as long as he gets noodles and some ice cream, he is good). But with the H1N1 virus going around, we just wanted a small family affair in a private room where Jon and his cousin can walk around (in an enclosed room), baby cousin can nap, and we can enjoy our food without disturbing others.

39 weeks and Legacy to the next generation - Acceptance

Went to the gynae today and baby Jillian is doing OK. No cord around her neck, weighs between 3.5-3.8kg. Simon said the gynae only mentioned 3.5kg coz maybe he didn't want to scare me coz I told him I hope not more than 3.8kg at full term.

Most people tell me that Jillian is big for a girl. And my belly is so low that some think I am going into labour any minute. Jon weighed 3.4kg when he was delivered at 38weeks. I had to induce him then coz I had mild high blood pressure. I am lifting these couple of weeks to God and trusting that everything will be fine.

We went to do one last round of comparing prices for Jillian's baby carrier cum car seat. Although I like one light grey and pink one, the size is a bit petite. And while it says up to 18 months, at her current size I think it will last only a year. I found another one over the weekend that's in red and I think that should last her 18months. After which we will have to get a booster seat for Jon while Jillian inherits Jon's brown Graco car seat.

I also picked up Bob the Builder party hats, whistles, a place mat, a plate-bowl-cup and spoon set. While it will be a family only celebration on Sun for Jon's birthday, I can't help but but a few celebration stuff....

We bought formula milk for cousin Mabel and Simon exclaimed, "You mean we're going to have to buy RM58 a pack formula milk a week, and not Jon's RM35 a pack one?" Yes, plus the diapers, expenses will be going up....So I will endeavour to breast feed. Free one, you know? Plus will help shed of the weight gained.

This time round, I have put on 8kgs. Actually I put on less coz I had 6kgs left from Jon and I lost most of that in the first 4 months. Anyhows, if I used the same base weight, I put on 12.5 for Jon and 8kgs for Jillian. No water retention this time round, no shiny red Rudolph nose, no swollen feet. This pregnancy is agreeing with me.

Spoke to my mom today and she said, "No drinking cold water yah. No matter how hot and tempting the weather is." She read my mind. I told her too late, I have been taking cold drinks....gassy ones too!

OK, some photos of Jon that I took recently.

Playing the drums at Jimmy's place

He found my hammer and was hammering away...must have learnt that from watching Bob the Builder!

Attempting to eat the gianormous pau from Kuching that an aunt brought back

Legacy to our children
The gift of your acceptance: Everyone craves acceptance. It seems we never get enough. When you give your children the opportunity to be themselves and to become what God—not you—wants them to be, you give them a great legacy. The welcoming environment of acceptance is the atmosphere in which kids bloom. Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes a little child, welcomes me” (Luke 9:48 NLT).

Even though they’re your children, acceptance is never automatic. You must be intentional in offering it and continual in showing it. One of the most important times is when a child does something that embarrasses you publicly. At that moment, you have a choice: Will I care more about how others see me or about the feelings of my child? We’ve all seen embarrassed parents in stores use angry, derogatory words with kids who didn’t realize what they were doing.

An often-quoted research study noted that the single greatest factor determining whether a child succeeds in life or messes up is the presence and acceptance of a caring adult in his or her life. The amazing discovery was that it doesn’t have to be a parent! It just has to be someone who offers love, acceptance, and godly guidance.

Can we accept all children? Don't we have hopes and aspirations of how we want our children to behave and be in future? PS: I told MIL today with this H1N1 situation, perhaps parents will think twice about wanting their kids to be doctors. They are in the frontline. MIL said better to be a pharmacist. Simon said sick still visit the pharmacist to get their medication. So dentistry should see higher enrollment right?

Last night's dream and Legacy to the next generation

Last night, I couldn't sleep from mid-night till one-plus coz the dogs kept barking at some rats! I even heard the rats running on the roof of the ground floor, so it sounded like they were running on the floorboards of the 2nd floor! Then I tossed and turned till two plus before I could sleep.

When I was awake, I prayed that Jillian's birth will be with as little pain as possible and not too long a period in the delivery suite. Simon's cousin gave birth two months ago in less than 2hrs, from the time her first contraction started till she delivered in the hospital. Even her gynae wasn't ready! I thought so much about her delivery till I dreamt that I delivered in about 2hrs! When I woke up, I touched my belly and it tightened. I even imagined a contraction, but it was just my belly tensing up. Then Jon climbed up beside me from his mattress and promptly slept on my pillow...yes ON my pillow, till I was edged out.

Yesterday devotion from Rick Warren: Every parent longs to leave a positive legacy in their children, but what does it take? Having dealt with thousands of families over the years, I’ve noticed four common gifts we need to give to the next generation: Our presence, our acceptance, our guidance and our correction.The gift of your presence: Sometimes just being there is what matter most to your kids.

Presence - When his daughter didn't make it for the colour guard in her eighth grade and came home and cried in her closet, the family crawled inside the closet and cried with her. They didn't console her or changed the subject. They just hurt with her, didn't try to talk her out of her grief or say that she will do better next time.

We are more used to speaking then listening.....so this is food for thought.

Think blog postings will be boring without photos. So here is Jon taking a toothpick from the container.

And then trying to put it back! LOL!

Sushi, ice cream & longans

We checked out the new Sushi King that has just opened at Bintang Mall on Sun. Also took the opportunity to have lunch with Ricky (from our small group) to celebrate his belated birthday. This is like Singapore's version of Sakae Sushi. Luckily we went there after church coz there were only four tables left. Once past 11am, the queue formed. We do have Sushi on conveyor belts in another couple of restaurants, but I guess not many people dine there (expensive considering one plate of sushi - 2pcs- cost RM2-3, and for that you can get a bowl of noodles in a coffee shop), so one closed down. In the other restaurant, you get the same 10 plates revolving round and round).

Food was so so, but I like my Unagi don. Jon had his first small cup of ice cream from Simon's bento set. He didn't need any help at all holding the cup and scooping little bits if ice cream. It was Ok that he didn't finish it either coz he had his rice and soup waiting at home.When we got home, the aroma of sweet longans filled the entire kitchen. In-laws had picked out two basketfuls of the delicious fruit and a huge bagful too.
After dinner, I made mango slush with some mango. The mango tree still has mangoes, but it's the tail end of the harvest. Yummy slush was all downed very quickly coz the weather is so hot with the open burning done! Hope the haze will clear soon and people will not burn the fields anymore. Plus it's the super dry season now with 20-30percent less rain compared to last year.

Pot Bless & good news

The small group had a pot bless on Friday as a break after doing 10weeks study on the 5 Love Languages. We were so hungry that we forgot to take photos of the food prepared by everyone. But I will list the food anyways:

1. Steamed white chicken with shiokiest chilli (reminds me of my mom's Hainanese Chicken rice), vegetables and cucumber salad by Amy
2. Potato cutlets and juicy watermelon by Sally
3. Beef rendang by Cynthia's sis and Thai papaya salad by Sanlin
4. Curry fish by Kah Pheng
5. Fried rice by me and nuggets for the kids by my MIL
6. Satay by Ricky

All these yummy food...I am prepared for the one-month confinement food after delivering Jillian (two more weeks!).

We brought Jonathan along to the gathering. While Simon chatted at the dinner table with the rest (he has missed the meetings coz he stayed home to look after Jon, while I facilitated the study), I was with Jon.Luckily there were plastic cups from Ikea to entertain him...he was stacking and unstacking them. And there were also the two terrapins that belonged to Amy's grandson Nathan. Who did you think was scared of the other?Then he tinkered on the piano and played with a torchlight, that occupied him for a good half hour. And when we went to watch the video Fireproof (for the next Bible Study, which I will miss coz I should have delivered by then), Simon tinkered on the toy piano with Jon and played a fishing game with him.Sometimes, Jon can be really mischievous and I want to pull my hair out. But I relish all these three months spent with him taking care of him. When Jillian arrives, the attention will be split between the two of them. But I know that I will have all the love for both of them.Now for the good news - I am runner-up together with another scrapper, Avina for Made With Love's Jul challenge with my entry "First Swim". Yay! Such lovely news to end the week. I am looking forward to the new week!