Time fo the Family

Life is hectic - and that is nothing new.
Work is hectic - nothing new either.
In fact, those are constant and I will need to find a way to work around it rather than lament about it....think Shirley, what's your game plan? So far, none. Will play it by ear but one thing for sure, I have been spending lots of time with my family and it feels great. I am still stressed, but I am happier by far.

Some of my activities for the past weeks and I will be collecting more to come.

One of my favorites

Oh no....plenty of homework.

This is a photo of Ryan, at 10.00 pm, still doing his homework when he suppose to finish all his homework hours earlier. He's looking sad.... he will get over it. Exam is around the corner ....and that added to his stress.

Beautiful Leaves

My recent trip to Zoo Negara was filled with fun. Besides animals, I stumbled upon many beautiful dried leaves - big ones, all dried and curled up in the most amazing way. To put the size in perspective,  I included my shoe (I wear size 7) in the last photo. 

Watching TV Together

They are at each other's throat most if the time so much so that I can count the number of times when there's peace between them. This is one of them - they are watching television together and Caitlin is frowning because she's scared while the brother was "protecting" her (...but by holding to her knee?). Well, at least there was peace for the 1 hour.

Good Night

It's now 10.30 pm. Everyone is already sleeping while I am still toiling away on my laptop. I have decided to work in the air-cond room because it's freaking hot out there. I think I will call it a day at around 11.30 pm - that will be in an hours time. I aimed to do and cover as much as possible before I hit the bed - make my time more worthwhile. Time flies - no matter whether you realise it or not. So, we just need to make full use of it. I procrastinate. I know it's a bad habit but I can't help it (excuse). It's part of me (more excuses)....but to be fair, I have improved although there's plenty more room for further improvement. One day at a time (more excuses?).

I better stop now so that I can finish whatever I set out to do and have a good night sleep. Cheers !

Back to Gardening

I was out walking one day, walking toward the park when I saw this nice plant with all its flowers "drooping" over the brick wall. All I can say is nice and I wish I have that plant in my garden. :)

Water cut

Recently, there was an annoucement that we may faced water cut for 2 whole days and that got my aunt into panic-mode and all her kiasuism kicks in.

As a result, all, and I mean ALL the containers in the house were not spared. Have a look yourself.


The funniest thing is that, our house was not affected by the water cut after all !!

First post using iPad

Catching up with technology. This is great as I can pen down my thought anywhere as long as there's Internet connection. Have to make full use of whatever we have and move along. That shall be my lesson for today!

It's end of June now

Time flies and it is entirely up to us what we want to do with them. It will swoosh by and before you know it, it's gone. That's how I have been feeling - so many things to do and achieve in so little time (even though all of us are given 24 hours). The other thing is that the mind is willing but the body may not. I have not been well for the past few weeks and have not been to the gym for the past 2 months.

But all that is going to change - I will be back to the gym next week and take charge of my life more. Need to be in the driver seat - to be more in controlled. :)

So far, all is well in my world and things are looking up.

We just got back from the "3rd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2011". The balloons were colourful and there were a few special shapes - Darth Vader, Doraemon and even a "downside up". Ryan had a go at the recumbent bicycle which he enjoyed. There was also a big "pasar malam" in one of the open field for visitors.

We started the journey at 7.00am and arrived there an hour and a half later and by 10.45am, we were on our way to brunch. We ended up eating "hot soup" at Seri Kembangan. It was a good outing.

6 March 2011 ..... A typical Sunday

9.00 am - Woke up from a blissful slumber...oh, what joy!
10.00 am - Back from the wet market with loads of vegetables, dried foods stuff, meat, fish + breakfast!
11.00 am - Finished breakfast, cleaned and stored all food stuff + making sure Ryan is doing his homework.
12.00 noon - Me and Ryan hiding in my room - he doing his homework (still) and me doing my office work. Caitlin is just too boisterous and nosy. She distract us!
1.00 pm - Still coop up in my room. Ryan find it hard to focus - his own choice I believe while I have tonnes of work to finish. Am trying hard to focus on my work and not surfing the net.
2.00 pm - In the midst of frying "yam + nien ko + sweet potatoes" for tea time. (see photos)
Ryan is still in the room. Caitlin slept.
3.00 pm - Ryan's teatime and homework still incomplete.
4.00 pm - Ryan with his homework in front of the TV - still not finish. Brother and wifey a.k.a weekend babysitters are on their way here. Caitlin is still sleeping.
5.00 pm - Baby sitters arrived. Caitlin woke up. Ryan still doing homework (he's such a slowpoke). Did a 30-min jog around the neighbourhood.
6.00 pm - Setting table for dinner. Aunt Jo cooked. Brother bought some bread from one fancy shop for us to try. Caitlin playing with her babysitter. Ryan finished homework and watching Green Hornet on DVD.
7.00 pm - Had dinner (see photo). Nothing beats home cooked food in the company of loved ones. Kids had their baths.
8.00 pm - Everyone is resting. Aunt Jo playing PC games. Aunt Cleo watching online movies. Ryan digging $$ from his piggy bank for his forthcoming 1-day trip. Caitlin, disturbing Ryan.
9.00 pm - Had supper. Milo all around with cakes and pastries!!
10.00 pm - Preparing to call it a day. Nite nite everyone!

Message from Ryan

I was going through my old photos when I chanced upon this. I remember being amused by it and decided to snap a photo as a rememberance. This was back in 2008 and today is 2011. No much changes. Ryan was crazy about Pokemon then and he is still crazy about Pokemon now.

Mother and Daughter Bonding

These photos were taken last year, right after Caitlin's first hair cut. Notice how short her hair. Well, it has not grown much since then. We were out running errands while Caitlin managed to convince me to let her play for a while in the playground. She loves playground.

Hoppy New Year

Wishing everyone a happy new year and may the year of the Rabbit bring us abundance of happiness, health and wealth.

The kids are enjoying themselves silly. I have been enjoying the food and cookies. Yummy, yummy.........

g

Uninvited Guests

I did not intend to blog about this awful experience but on the hindsight, life is made up of not only good experiences but bad ones as well. We just need to learn from the bad experiences (what's the takeaway? and what I would do the next time etc) and move on from there.

So here goes.....Sometime in December 2010, a snake decided to pay us a visit. Hubby saw it in the early morning when he was getting his breakfast ready. It was on the kitchen top, behind the dish drainer and was trying to move upward. Hubby decided to look for something to help him to remove it from the house and viola the snake disappeared from his sight. He could not find it thereafter. He then decided to wake me up. And how did I take the news? BADLY.

It took me sometime to realise what he was trying to tell me.... a snake in the house?? where did it come from?? a snake in the house but had gone to hiding??? What???. I immediately think of the kids. I also did not want to go downstairs and it took hubby sometime to coax me to go down. I remember feeling scared, helpless and angry. I am terrified of snakes irregardless of the size.

After searching for 5 minutes, we still cannot find it and I had hubby called the security guard in as he wanted to leave for work. Me and the security guard continued with the search but proved to be fruitless. After 15 minutes, the guard wanted to go back and asked me to call him once I manage to find it. I was scared stiff but I had no choice but to let him go. I finally spotted it, coiling up neatly against the wall, when I removed one of the items for cleaning. And boy did I screamed!!!

I called the security guard in again and then ran upstairs and observed everything from there. I needed to be as far away as possible. The guard killed and took it away. All this while, the kids were with my aunt in the room amidst Caitlin's protest as she wanted to be part of the hunt. And as a result, we got in people to clear our garden as well as the slope behind our house. Now, you would think that's the end of the story right? Well, not quite.

A few days ago, Uma, my neighbour informed me that her neighbour next door spotted another baby snake in the garden. I later found out that her neighbour had actually killed that baby snake as it went into the house, right to the stairway. Not wanting a repeat of the bad incident, we immediately closed the gap to the kitchen as we figured that was how the snake manage to get into the house. I must say that we did a good job as shown in the picture. We also bought extra sulphur to sprinkle around the house . That was on Sunday (30 Jan 2011).

The next night, hubby came home late and had dinner alone. Feeling cold, as it had been raining non-stop the previous day, he closed the glass sliding door, leaving only a small gap of about 6 inches for ventilation. Around 10.30pm, I was getting ready for bed and I closed the sliding door. Somehow, it cannot close properly. We have been talking about snakes and yes, snakes has been at the back of my mind all this while. I had even contacted the security representative earlier that day to lodge an official complaint. So when the sliding door could not close, my first thought was "could it be because a snake is stuck there?" I immediately dismissed that thought because it would be absurd!! What's the chance of it happening? Anyway, I pushed the sliding doors back slightly before trying to shut it again and yet, it could not close properly. I then glazed downward, trying to look for the source of my problem and that is when I saw the snake moving its head upwards. I did not expect that though I did thought of it in the first place. I screamed and jumped up the table. I was not sure whether the snake was stuck or free to move. Hubby came to the rescue and I also called in the security guards (again!) to help.

I was in tears because I was scared, though not as frightened as the first time. Then, I became angry. Angry because this is not the first time I had to endure this snake episode. How many more? and why my house for the second time? In the midst of this, I also felt grateful for doing something about the gap to the kitchen a day earlier. Who knows the snake might have gone into the house again and that would be terrible. I went through different emotions. Whatever it is, everyone I talked to arrive at the same conclusion....there's a nest somewhere and it's near my backyard!!

As I said before, there are lessons to be learned from this experience and this are what I have come up:

1. If you are frightened, think of ways which can help you to minimise your fear.
   By gap-proofing the house, I feel safer when I need to be in the kitchen. Therefore, doing something is always, always better than just talking and doing nothing.
   
2. I have to acknowledge my fear and then move on. I was surprised that I "recover" from the second incident much faster than the first. Don't want to think if there's ever a third? Pray not. Fear, if not properly managed can stunt a person's growth and potential. The phrase paralysed by fear has a new meaning for me.
   
3. Bad experiences are part and parcel of life and we just have to accept, learn and move on.

And I will move on.

Goodbye 2010

We are now at the end of 2010 and looking forward to 2011. This year has been a very good and eventful year for me. 2010 is the year which I feel that I have change for the better and began to view things from a different perspective. In a nutshell, 2010 is the year which I grew up. :)

I am truly blessed.

Busy Bee

Just a quick update on what's happening .....

1. Ryan got his report card. He's now a happy boy with no homework and no more exams....cool
2. Caitlin is recovering from acute tonsillitis, she's on antibiotic and she's resting at home under the watchful eye of Aunt Jo for the past 3 days!!! God bless Aunt Jo.
3. I am doing my assessment for my workplace and it's killing me because I need to do it for 11 people. This is insane and I shall make sure that I will not do for 11 people next year.
4. Hubby is considering a new job....juicy juicy.....
5. ........ and I'm so looking forward to year end where I will be on long leave.......
   

Ryan's 8th Birthday

He's still a huge Pokemon fan and wanted the cake with the picture of "Arceus".

Mummy: Why Arceus?

Ryan: Because it's the most powerful pokemon at all times (with his eyes rolling with disbelief that his wise mother does not know this!)

Mummy: Er.....ok. Arceus then.

Ryan: Yeah......

We had a little gathering for a small clebration at my place for the b'day boy, delivered a cake to his daycare for him to share with his friends and had another little gathering at his grandparents place. My boy is already 8.....what happen in between?

Caitlin Suspected with HFM

Caitlin's creche had a few cases of HFM recently. Out of the blue, on Thursday evening, Caitlin developed mild fever and had a bit of a running nose. She took her medication and everything seemed to be under contro and she went to creche, as usual, the following day. At about 3pm, her teacher called to informed that her temperature shoot up and when I enquiried, it was mainly because they forgot to feed Caitlin her fever medicine. Anyway, everything was still ok until that evening when she started pointing her toward her mouth and said "pain, pain" and started crying. We checked and there were not ulcer but her gums looked reddish.

We took her to her paediatrician (Dr Kwan) who confirmed that she's having somekind of mouth infection but it's was too early to tell whether she's having HFM or not. We were asked to look out for the symptons and to bring her in again on Sunday, just to be sure.

It's was a miserable weekend for all of us as she was crying in pain most of the time and she can't eat even though she's hungry. Everytime she put anything in her mouth (even water), she will spit it out due to the pain. It was heart wrenching time for the parents and grandaunties.

She improved slowly over the weekend and by the time we brought her to visit Dr Kwan again, she was feeling so much better. Fotunately, she was clear of HFM. Dr Kwan confirmed that it was just some infection which caused inflammation to her gums. I took leave and kept her home on Monday. We are very grateful that she's well again.

Simple Delight

For Caitlin, she looks forward to having her bath @ the back of our garden, in her small pink bath tub. She will squeal with delight everytime she's allow to do just that. Such joy to see her so happy.