It's a Small Small World

I feel that the world is indeed getting smaller.

I have a colleague whom we got acquainted when her department was sitting on the same floor as my department. After her department moved to another floor, we still bump into each other once in a while, and we continue to exchange our hellos and chat up a bit.

Then she found me on Facebook. I was browsing through her list of friends and I noticed that we have many common friends. The best part is she even knows both my sisters-in-law (they don't know each other). Come to think of it, she's probably the only person in Singapore who knows both my sisters-in-law, ie Chester's sis and my brother's wife, before I even know them!

The search continues.....

Matters of the Heart (Part 2)

Doctors told us that given Mum's condition, she's actually lucky to have been sent to the hospital in time. Nonetheless, we were given 2 options: (1) to do a heart bypass, or (2) take blood thinning medication and hope for the best. Mum gleefully opted for the 2nd and her mind was set on going home.

But we all know that there is actually no choice - she may have an attack again and may not be that lucky the next time. I guess she's in denial of the situation and was afraid to take the chance for a better quality of life after a bypass when mortality could be the end result of the op.

Then she continued to experience chest pains and was given a series of medication to help her cope better. The doctors were very concerned and transferred her to the High Dependency ward for closer monitoring. I believe it was then she realised the severity of the situation and finally agreed to the surgery, but not after the angiogram specialist took the time to explain her condition to her and persuade her to do the surgery.

She was trying to keep her spirits up, but many times, usually when we talk about Mayenne, her eyes would well up.

The surgery date was originally scheduled on 1Nov07, which was at least 1.5 weeks from the time she had her angiogram. That seemed like a long wait, but we didn't have a choice as the operating theatres are fully booked. We were concerned that Mum will worry and think of things that will make her more sad while waiting for her turn for the operation.

She was still experiencing angina, and was getting more and more breathless and weaker by the day. We could literally see life draining from her, and the doctors were very concerned about her condition. Her surgeon then decided to request for an emergency operation by taking over a slot for a non-emergency operation, and the date was 26Oct.

...... to be continued

Happy 6th Anniversary!

To my dearest, cutest hubby Chester:

It has been six years since we walked down the aisle, and I recently asked you if it feels like 6 years to you. You quickly said no, and added "It feels like 10!"

Your sense of humour is something that I'm still learning to appreciate :P. Other than that, I count my blessings everyday for you .....

...... for being my pillar of strength during tough times, especially the recent phase that we went through with my mum

...... for showering Mayenne and I your unconditional love

...... for working so hard to provide us with necessities and luxuries

...... most importantly, for making that decision 6 years ago so that we have all the reasons to celebrate our love and share our lives together today.

I Love You Darling!

xoxoxo

Matters of the Heart - Part 1

It has been more than a month since my last blog. It is not that I have nothing to update; on the contrary, that's so much to say that I don't even know where and how to start.

I've titled this blog "Matters of the Heart", cos it's really all about that.

My mum, with the exception of a persistent high blood pressure and being mildly diabetic, has always seemed fit. When she was taking care of Mayenne over the last few months, she did complain of some tightness in her chest, but she brushed it off, citing old age and lack of exercise. Nonetheless, the tightness apparently developed into breathlessness and pain, but she didn't tell anyone.

On the Saturday of 20 October 2007, she went to a sinseh for a quick rub for her aching wrist. On her way home, she experienced symptoms of angina (pain in chest, nausea, cold sweat etc). But she didn't see a doctor immediately and went home to rest instead. But the pain got worse, and I only found out that she was unwell when I called her to chat with her.

Her being home alone, I was worried that she may collapse anytime, so I called my brother Cedric to go over to Mum's place to take a look as I was also home alone with Mayenne. When my brother arrived, he was very worried with what he saw - a very pale face, very shallow breaths, and she couldn't even stand without support. He rushed her to SGH A&E (actually she saw a doctor at TTH prior to this attack, which makes blood boil even thinking about it - I will talk more about this in another post).

The doctors and nurses at SGH promptly ushered her to do all the appropriate tests, to determine if she has a heart failure. While the preliminary results revealed that there are no enzymes in her blood, ie her heart is still ok, doctors were concerned about the irregularities in her heartbeats, reflected in her ECG. They recommended for her to go for an angiogram, to see if there are any blockages to her arteries.

All this while, I was at home with Mayenne as I couldn't really bring Mayenne to the hospital and it was logistically challenging as Chester took the car out for work. I could only rely on my brother to update me on my mum's progress, which was not very much.

She was then scheduled for the angiogram within the next 2 days. We didn't think too much about it, cos my dad went through the exact same procedure a couple of years back, and went on to do an angioplasty to open up the blockage he had in one of his arteries.

Now that the sole care giver of my baby was indisposed, I have to take leave to take care of Mayenne myself. Fortunately I still have a couple of days of my annual leave left, so it wasn't such a big issue. The problem I had was that I need to be at the hospital to accompany my mum, but I couldn't bring Mayenne with me (hospitals are no place for infants this young).

Then my MIL offered to take a few days of urgent leave to help me take care of Mayenne. I am very grateful for her kind gesture as I know she wasn't accustomed to taking care of infants (it's been a long time since her kids were babies), but yet she was willing to try and help me out.

On the day of the angiogram, after I sent Mayenne over to my MIL's place, I took a cab and headed to SGH. On my way there, I received an SMS from my brother. It read:

"Not so good news. Angiogram shows all her main arteries are seriously blocked. Cannot do angioplasty. She needs a heart bypass."

I cried in the cab.

(to be continued .............. )

More photos of Lil' M

Mayenne Loves to Read

Hope she takes to the piano soon ...... =)

Baby Car Seat

If anyone out there is looking for a car seat, I recommend Bridex's Safe-N-Sound Range, and model "Premier". It is one of the few car seats which you can use from birth (rear facing; turn it around to face front when baby is 9 months) till the kid needs a booster seat. The fabric is plush, paddings are ample, and the base of the seat is smooth and rounded such that it will not damage your leather car seats.

We bought the car seat from Baby Hypermart at Ubi on the same weekend we collected our car.
We asked the sales person to install it in the car for us so that we can also learn the steps to fix and remove the seat.

I held my breath when I placed Mayenne in the seat, almost expecting her to wail and try to squirm her way out immediately.

But no..... she looked extremely comfortable and all set for the ride home. In fact, she fell asleep as soon as we left Ubi.


One word of caution though, the seat is so comfortable that I had trouble getting her out of it, and she will have an entire episode of wailing and crying back at home, taking us at least half an hour to calm her down.

In the Genes

When I was pregnant, many people tell me about things that babies can take after their parents, and even from the extended family: facial features, skin colour, allergies, etc.

When Mayenne was almost 4 months old, we noticed that she was displaying signs of the LTWY Syndrome, which runs in the blood of the Tan family (the symptoms are more pronounced in some than others).

We manage to catch one of the moments when it happened to Mayenne. See pictures below:

Mayenne was fussing a little, so we let her watch some TV

Mayenne slipped comfortably into Daddy's arms and watched intently

Hmmm......


Going......

Going......

Gone...... to Dreamland

By the way, LTWY stands for "Let the TV Watch You" Syndrome. Cure: Unknown. =)

Go Nuts over Donuts

These are the all-famous donuts from Krispy Kreme.

Yummy!!

These donuts are absolutely delicious and they are not too sweet, and you will not stop until you've finished the last one, and still dun feel jelat.

To the dear friend (you know who you are ;) who brought them back specially for us from Jakarta .............. THANK YOU!!!

22nd September 2007

Yes, I turn 34 today.

I must say my 34th year on planet earth was about the most exciting and memorable one - same time last year I found out I was pregnant, I gave birth to my precious Mayenne and we bought our very first car.

As I had to attend my company's D&D last night, Mum has kindly stayed over for one more night. When I reached home, I found a box on my bed, and it was a gift from my darling hubby. It was the new P1i from Sony Ericsson, the phone that I really fancy. (Thanks Hunny!)


This morning when I went over to see Mayenne after I woke up, Mum and Chester were cheering her while as she did her flip exercise. This time, she managed to push herself up and support her body at almost 90 degree angle, something which she has been struggling to do for the longest time. That really made my day.

We didn't make plans to celebrate the day as I wanted to rest at home after a long night last night. It may be seem a little quiet to spend the anniversary of the day you were born like that, but spending it with your loved ones is more than anything you can asked for.

Happy Birthday, Angie.

Our New Baby

Join us in welcoming the newest member to our family:

Chevy Tan

Over the last few days, I have been checking on Chester on his excitement level on the arrival of our new car. Didn't get much pulse.

May be to him, the car is just a transport equipment, so there's really nothing to get too excited about. But for me, it is a milestone in our lives, just like having Mayenne. It will change our lives (for the better I hope).

At the advice of Chester's uncle, we arranged to pick up the car after 11am as it would be a "good" time to do so. Dex, the Chevy guy was really nice and he offered to send the car to Tuff-Kote to do the PPS first thing in the morning, so that we can save some time as it takes about 3 hours to do the treatment.

My father-in-law and Uncle Lee drove us to Alpine Motors at Sin Ming (their workshop is located there as well) and we reached there at about 11.30am. But the car was nowhere to be seen, and Dex called to tell us that they are putting the finishing touches to it. So instead of waiting at Alpine, we drove out to Tuff-Kote (which is just a few meters away from Alpine) to just take a look. True enough they were almost done and we all then headed back to Alpine with our new car.

Then we went to ThermalGuard at Macpherson to do up the solar film. Left the car with them and went for lunch. Within the hour, the process was completed, and we went for a spin and ended up at Autobacs at Bukit Timah to buy some car stuff, like chamois and leather wipes.

I was overwhelmed and amazed by the number and type of car products, ranging from decorative (flashing dice??) to maintenance (oils, sprays, paste, scrubs) to technical (meters, exhaust pipes for znging). Subsequently we returned to AMK and went to AMK Hub to buy some groceries and dinner.

It's been a long, but fulfilling day. And I've gotta stop peering at our car each time I pass our kitchen window (which is facing the carpark) ......

Celebrating Po Po's Birthday

We celebrated my mum's birthday last Sunday, together with my brother Cedric and sis-in-law Karynn. This would also be our first outing together.

Ced came to pick us at about 10.45am (our car is not ready yet) and we then headed for my mum's place which is just a 3-min drive away from where I stay. As Mayenne has not visited grandma's place before, we brought Mayenne upstairs to jor-jor (hang around). I guess she was overwhelmed about being at a new place, she bawled and was inconsolable. However, when my mum offered her an angpow, she was calmly took it and stopped crying. Bravo.

I'm getting there.... closer....

heh heh heh..... got it
(but must still pretend to sulk)

We then made our way to Kam Boat at Marina Square for some dim sum. Mayenne was fussing a bit when we were settling down at the table, but soon fell fast asleep, giving us some peace to enjoy our food.

After a short nap and feeling refreshed, Mayenne was all energetic and ecstatic. May be she's just thrilled on her first shopping day; may be she's just glad she's out of the house. Here are some happy moments she shared with Grandma.



Here's one for the album.


I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and clean the nursery room was at Marina Square. The changing table was padded and there was ample space to manoveur within the room. One thing that could be improved would be to make the door to the room swing outwards, as I was nearly hit by the door when someone barged in, thinking it was a toilet (and of course, no apology was offered).

It's been a long while since we (I mean I) shopped, so we walked quite a bit, venturing between Marina Square and Suntec. Mayenne was rather cooperative, drifting in and out of sleep in her stroller as we pushed her along. It was only towards the end of the day when she got cranky and was refusing her milk though she didn't drink much the whole afternoon.

All in all, I enjoyed myself on Sunday, but was pooped at the end of it. And this is with my mum's help. With more practice (after getting our own car), I guess I should be able to manage without my mum, and could start going to more adventurous places, such as parks, beaches etc.

Meanwhile, I'm just going to stick to air-conditioned places with nursery rooms.

Mayenne's New Tongue Exercise

Step 1: Lie on a comfortable surface

Step 2: Do warm up exercises by sticking tongue out just a bit

Step 3: After warming up, swing tongue to the right

Step 4: Then to the left

Step 5: for the more experienced, you can stretch the tongue further

Be careful not to overdo as you may experience cramps

If that happens, just repeat from Step 1 to Step 4

In 4 weeks, you should have firmer and chubbier cheeks!

More photos of Mayenne

Mummy, where's the milk?

Are you looking at me?

The Donald Duck Look

Do I look like a boy or what?

Mayenne with Uncle Cedric and Aunty Karynn

Call

Office phone rings.

Me: Hello?
(silence)
Me: Hello? Hello?
(still silence)

So I hung up.

Phone rings again.
Me: Good afternoon.
Caller: Good afternoon, may I speak with Angie please?

(Caller was a guy, sounded familiar)

Me: Yes, this is she. Who's this calling?
Caller: It's me.
Me: I'm sorry, who?
Caller: It's me, it's me lah.

(Caller now sounded really familiar)

Me: You who?
Caller: Chester.

2nd week back at work and I can't recognise my hubby's voice. Sigh.

Is That Your Final Answer?

Decisions.

We make them everyday, big or small, fast or delayed, important or trivial.

I may be rather quick in making decisions at work (actually, we don't have the luxury of having too much time to think, given the nature of my job), but when it comes to deciding things for myself, I tend to procrastinate, as I'm afraid that it may be a decision I'll regret making.

Take the buying of our car for instance. First of all, deciding on buying a car already took us a while - worked out the math, on its frequency of use, practicality etc. Then, the car itself. Being not very informed on the car world nor savvy in car language, having to choose a car out of so many brands and models almost gave me a nervous breakdown.

We finally decided on the Chevy Optra Magnum, and I was convinced (well, at least while we were at the Chevy showroom) that we've got a great deal for it and it's the best possible buy. So I happily shared my joy with a couple of friends (non-Chevy owners), whom I found to be less than enthusiastic about Chevy, citing less-than-favourable reviews. Then I start to wonder if Chevy was the right choice (brain started throbbing).

Ches told me that he had a colleague who also owns a Chevy, and his feedback has been very positive. I guess nothing beats the words from the horse's mouth. So I've again convinced myself our choice is right (throbbing eased slightly).

"What colour?" was the next question. It may seem simple enough, but Chester and I had many rounds of discussion, trying to convince each other what is the best colour. Ches was more inclined on practicality, ie ease of maintenance, ie not black. I support his case, but the rest of the Chevy colours are not nice, except black (you can't go wrong with black), and he agrees with me.

After weighing the pros and cons, we ultimately decided black for our first car, so that we will not be living each day wondering how it is like to own one, and experience the pains of maintaining one, so that our next car will not be black :).

When Ches paid the balance and signed off the alteration form today, to amend the colour from silver to black (we initially chose black as Ches was not keen on black then), he asked me if I was sure, I reluctantly nodded but my head was spinning again.

May be the Paint Protection System that we plan to do for the car is not as good as I thought, or may be I will not have the time to even do a water-wash on the car as I'll be busy with Mayenne. May be silver is better so that the chrome linings are not so obvious .......

Decisions.

I survived ..... barely

Whilst I've braced myself to return to work after 3.5 months, nothing could ever prepare me for what I had to face.

Expired (and forgotten) passwords hindered my ability to start work on my first day, a couple of thousands emails choked my inbox, tons of work still outstanding. Nonetheless, I am extremely appreciative to Rena, Pearlwyn, Jane and Ben for covering me during my absence. I am also grateful to come back to an understanding new boss who is very supportive of my new role (as mummy) and has been helping me with some of my work.

After Friday, I've got to switch to my Mummy Mode to take care of all Mayenne's needs (cos Mondays to Fridays are taken care of by my mum), which includes the night feeds and baths.

Ok, so I survived my first week, but it will take a lot of getting used to, now with all the new responsibilities at home. No more waking up to late mornings on weekends or going for an impromptu massage or shopping trip downtown. Meeting up with friends will also need days of planning. Demands from work will increase: clear outstanding matters, keep up to date of customers' new requirements, events that the bank/department host etc.

But I think I'll be alright, with the support of my hubby and my family.

Urg... Urg....Urg...

No, wrong again, this is not sound from an X-rated film, it's the sound that my breastpump makes :)

At the very beginning, I attempted to BF Mayenne direct. However, due to her jaundice condition and she appeared to be dehydrated, the PD suggested that I pump so that we can ascertain how much Mayenne drank.

So we bottle-fed her for a couple of weeks, and in between tried to latch her on for some feeds so that she will not reject direct BF and I can keep my supply going. However, Mayenne dozed off very quickly when being BFed, and she certainly has not drank enough. So we made a decision for feed her from the bottle, giving EBM, and formula as supplement.

I'm glad that despite the few direct BF sessions, I manage to have a decent supply of BM, only supplementing one feed a day with formula.

I plan to give Mayenne EBM for as long as I can, and this period may be shorter than I think as I am not able to pump as frequently as before (when I'm at home) now that I'm back at work. At best, I will pump before I leave for work, during lunchtime and when I return home (at about 8pm). As such, I noticed that my boobs are less full and EBM collected has dwindled. I also foresee the situation getting worse when I have to attend customer visits or business lunch/dinners, and the intervals between pumps may stretch even longer.

It also doesn't help that the Bank doesn't have meeting rooms with curtains, so what some nursing mums can do is to lock themselves inside the equipment rooms (where photocopies, fax machines are housed) in their office during lunchtime. But my division is a very busy one, and by locking myself up in the equipment room will deprive people from using the machines and hinder someone's work.

As such, I had no choice but to pump in the toilet. I chose the cleanest toilets in the building on the 19th floor but I still feel very uncomfortable and that it's rather unhygienic. But I really have no choice as there are no nursing rooms around Raffles Place area.

I guess I just have to bear with the inconvenience and less-than-ideal place to pump, just so that Mayenne can have BM. Hopefully all this effort will help make her a healthier and happier baby.

C(hevy) O(ptra) E(ntitlement) Day

Chester reminded me yesterday that the 1st COE bid for September closes today, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get it in the first attempt.

He was closely monitoring the COE prices. By lunch time, it already hit $15k. One hour later, $16k. Chester then contacted the Chevy guy to ask him at what level are they going in, but they advised that the COE prices were much higher than what they were prepared to bid. So at 3.53pm, Chester smsed me, saying that we will not get it and have to wait for the next bid.

Though it was a little disappointing, but I didn't really think too much about it as ours was a COE-guaranteed deal (within 6 bids).

Then, at 4.22pm, I received another SMS from Chester, informing me that we were successful! Apparently the Chevy people upped their bids during the very last few minutes of the COE bidding exercise, and they managed to secure it for us. Final COE price for Cat A was $17,999, which was $9,881 higher than last month's exceptionally low price of $8,118.

Yippee!

Mayenne & Daddy

In one of our conversations on parenting, my MIL was relating how little my FIL participated in the initial stages of Chester's babyhood. According to her, he hardly carried the baby, what more change a diaper or bathed him.

I guess back in those days, men are viewed as sole-bread winners (point to note though is that my MIL also works) and child bearing and rearing are left to the women.

How times have changed and am I glad it did. Here are some stolen moments I caught of the father and daughter, spending some quality time together.

Missing Baby

No, this is not an appeal for a disappearance; it's how I feel when I returned to work today.

Mayenne woke up at 7 plus in the morning, a little earlier than usual, as though she knew Mummy was going back to work and wanted to see me before I leave home. May be I'm imagining things, but I swear the look in her eyes was different -- there seemed to be a longing and plea to stay, and it doesn't help when she held on to my fingers so tightly, not willing to let go. I left home with some tears in my eyes, and I was hoping Chester didn't notice.

Then, in the office, I realised I have not downloaded any Mayenne's photos into my handphone (because it doesn't have a camera). Tried assessing Chester's and my blogs, but my company's firewall blocked all access. Then, I panicked as I felt I've forgotten how she looks like. As soon as I stepped back into our house, I rushed to her and hugged her.

It's tough to be away from someone you've grown to love, and the love is multiplying exponentially. It's tough to suddenly not see someone whom you've spent all your time with for more than 3 months. It's tough not to be able to be there to see what are the new things Mayenne has learnt and ever ready to show off.

This may all sound drama, but I believe all mothers will understand how I feel.

Day 105 - It's Finally Over

On the last day of my maternity leave and before going back into the real world tomorrow, I've taken count of some of the memorable events that happened to me during these 3.5 months, in a poem (or at least something like a poem):

Gave birth to the most beautiful thing and joined motherhood
Realized the stinkiest thing on earth is baby's poo
Bathed with strange herbal water and ate heaty food that can give one nosebleeds
Had to contend with confinement ladies one, two and three
Our house failed the stress testing - sewage pipe choked, water pipe leaked
But the mess was nothing compared to Mayenne puking on bed her entire feed
My fridge died and resurrected
My aircon turned into a heater, unsuspected
My big boss, immediate boss and CSO resigned on me
Plus many other colleagues who joined the bank after me
Witnessed someone commit suicide opposite my block
Witnessed someone parking in the path of someone else's car, and TP was called
Relentlessly worked as Mayenne's milkbar
And we finally bought a car, the newest Chevy Optra
While my life will never be the same
I dare say, I don't mind going through all this again!

Knowing how busy I can be after returning to work, I hope to find time to update my blog as often as I can - it's something I've grown to love to do and it would probably be a good outlet for me, from all the work pressures and stress.

Weighty Issues

When I was expecting Mayenne, I gained 15kg by full term. I patted myself on the shoulder as I expected myself to put on even more, cos I have known people to put on 20+ kgs, and I sure look like I'm capable of it.

Mayenne was a relatively small baby (weighed in 2.59kg when she's born), so no prize for guessing where all the extra pounds went. Nonetheless, within the first month after delivery, I lost 9kg, which I attributed the loss to the missing amniotic fluid, placenta and loss of some f.a.t.

But my joy was short-lived, cos in months 2 & 3, it was as though time stood still or my weighing scale got stuck, cos it stayed at the level I weighed myself at end of Month 1. Tried a few other weighing scales eg at Mayenne's PD's clinic and my facial/spa saloon. Conclusion: there's nothing wrong with my scale at home.

Ok, ok, I didn't cut my carbos and exercise as much as I should, but breastfeeding is suppose to suck the calories out of me!!

In denial, I went on with my life and stayed away from the weighing scales for about 1 1/2 weeks. It was until today that I tried wearing a pair of pants which was a little tight the last time round, and it felt loose. I scrambled to the scales and stepped on it - it's minus 2kgs from what I registered previously. Yippee!

Must be all the fat-burning workouts that came with my intensive shopping expeditions over the last 2 weeks, in view that I'll be going back to work soon. If retail therapy really works, instead of throwing $$$ into a slimming centre, I would rather shop like crazy, lose the weight, and use the money to reward myself.

The hard part is to convince my hubby to sponsor this form of therapy. :)

It's a Small Small World

After buying the Aprica stroller, we decided to sell our Maclaren Techno XT. So I made a posting on a popular forum for mothers who WTB and WTS baby items.

A couple of days went by but there were no interested parties. Thinking that the response will be slow, I didn't check the thread for a while, then out of the blue, someone indicated interest and told me to PM her more details, which I did.

One of my girlfriends, who visits Chester's blog on and off, read that we are selling our Maclaren, and MSNed me yesterday, wondering why or if we have any negative feedbacks, cos she intends to get one for her son. She also told me that she found a good deal to buy an almost brand new XT on the net.

Then it occurred to me that the person who enquired about the stroller could be her, cos the way she described the XT on sale sounded like the way I posted it. After cross-checking our userids, we realised that it was the both of us trying to bargain with each other, and we collapsed laughing.

Thread closed, deal done.

Responsibilities

There were recently a couple of newspaper articles reporting how parents queued up way before the actual date for Phase 3 of the Primary One registration, only to find out that there are no more vacancies as the MOE website did not update the number of seats left.

My heart goes out to these parents, who pinned their hopes on getting the last few positions in the school of their choice, only to be disappointed.

I had lunch with a dear friend (who shall remain anonymous) this afternoon, he remarked in jest how his parents did not plan well for him (compared to his brother), as he attended neighbourhood schools which became defunct. So he was lamenting that when his kids are due for Primary One, he will have no alma matar privileges and have to compete with the rest of the non-affiliated members of the public.

Looking at this example, I was very concerned, to think that the planning for our grandkids' future starts now, with what I plan for my daughter. Besides education, the values we instill in her will affect what she'll become and how she'll raise her own kids.

The responsibility is immense.

But I'm sure all parents will do their utmost to give their own children their best, AND hope for the best. I'll be no different.

Mayenne's New Hairdo

(well, it's actually my mum behind her)

We Did It!!

Today marks yet another milestone in our lives - we have placed an order for a new car!!

Since last year, my friends have been bugging me to buy a new car, citing it's a first time buyer market (new cars were relatively cheap and we don't have the burden of disposing an existing car), provides convenience for the family etc. While I was keen to consider, Chester didn't share my excitement as he felt that it was premature to get a car then as we won't know how the baby will change our routines and way of life, and getting a car is a big decision, cos it may be cheap to buy a car, but there are expenses that we need to contend with.

Months rolled by and COEs rolled higher. The thought of getting a car faded into the background, tossed right to the back of my head, as my EDD drew near.

After Mayenne was born, I re-opened the discussion with Chester on the topic of getting a car. Chester was still hesitant and his parent were also initially against the idea, and offered to let us drive their car on weekends if we need to. But I explained to Ches that we (both his parents and us) would be bound by each other's schedules and activities, ie if we need to use the car, his parents will be forced to make alternative arrangements or even decide to stay home, just because the car is with us. The thought of depriving his parents from the use of their own car didn't sit well with me.

Besides, having our own car would greatly facilitate Ches in his photography jobs. Mayenne would also have the quality of life that both Ches and I previously were fortunate enough to enjoy - both our parents have cars when we were very young.

We finally concluded that we should get a car, but there's another problem - which car to get?

After a few weekends of car hunting and test driving, Chester was inclined to get the Nissan Latio, as it was the car that carries the most "gadgets" eg keyless ignition, ioniser aircon etc, made in Japan, was one of the more fuel efficient car with a spacious interior, and most importantly within our budget. He also got good reviews from a friend who bought a Latio late last year.

But I HATED the design of the car. Given that there aren't many choices around, I tried to convince myself that it isn't that boxy after the bodykit is installed, and it is a good car for that price. So I gave in and agreed to getting the Latio, only if Ches gets it in black.

Then COE plummeted by half last week, and we were grateful that we have not made a booking yet. Feeling good about the lower COE (which market says was primarily due to technical problems with the bidding system), we were all set to go to Tan Chong to place the order today.

But like God's calling, we came across Chevrolet's advertisement for their 2008 new Optra Magnum in Saturday's papers and the price were slashed by more than $5k in view of the lower COE, and this reduction was way more than Tan Chong's adjustment for the Latio.

We went to Alpine Motors to check out the car, and was offered a deal that was hard to resist - a 1.6L continental car for only $55,588, with guaranteed COE, free reverse sensors, free upgrade to leather seats and sports rims and free solar film. Best of all, the car looks great, well, at least much better than Latio.

After weeks of car searching, we decided on a car we saw for less than 1 hour. Such are ironies of life.

Really looking forward to the day when we collect the keys to the car. The next thing for me to do is take up driving refresher course...... :P

Mums & Babes

There have been a lot of arguments (friendly ones) as to who Mayenne resembles more, Chester or me. While trying to find evidence to support my case, I found some of my own baby photos and came across this one that my Dad took of my Mum and me in front of my paternal gramma's old house at Highland Street many many years ago. If you look closely enough, the date on the photo says Dec 1973, which means I was 3 months old then, about the same age as Mayenne now.

Feeling nostalgic, I took a photo in a similar pose with Mayenne too.

Me and Mum

Me and Mayenne

Here are some photos of Chester and me when we were tiny. What's the verdict, does Mayenne look more like Ches or me?

Baby Chester

+

Baby Angie

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Baby Mayenne!

Happy 3rd Month, Mayenne!

Mayenne turns 3-month old today!

Here's looking at you!

But her mum had to "celebrate" this day by arranging for her to take not one, not two but 3 (!!!) vaccinations. Honestly, it was unintentional as the PD said that the jabs have to be administered when Mayenne is around 3 months, and it so happened that the appointment (booked a month ago) fell on her birthdate (24th).

As before, Mayenne cried only momentarily when the doctor injected her. Either she's a very brave girl, or she has inherited my thick-skin gene. For the videoclip of Mayenne's ordeal with the needle, check out Chester's blog at blog.chester.sg (Yes Sir! Yes Sir! 3 months full).

To make it up to her (or so I claim), I bought her a new Aprica stroller to replace the harsh-looking, totally uncomfortable, and unbelievably heavy Maclaren, and we used the Aprica today for the PD's visit. Mayenne seemed to have enjoyed her cushy ride and Mommie couldn't be more relieved that I don't need to lug that Maclaren piece of artillery equipment anymore.

Check out my new ride!
(I'm happier than I look, really)

Many people say that Mayenne looks more like a boy than a girl. So Mommie tries her very best to make sure that people don't mistaken her for one, like by getting her a red stroller, wearing pink clothes etc.

Today, as we were getting out of the lift at Gleneagles Medical Centre, Mayenne, sitting quietly in her red stroller wearing pink t-shirt and pants, caught the eye of a lady in the same lift as us, and she exclaimed, "What a good looking boy!" I replied, "Thanks, but she's actually a girl!" I think she got out of the lift at the next level.

After the PD's appointment, we bumped into my primary school music/choir teacher, Mrs Chin. It was actually my mum who pointed out her to me (my mum knows all my primary school teachers and vice versa - that's another long story for another time). Mrs Chin was the person who taught me how to sing, and placed music into my life. I remember her as a very dedicated teacher who relentlessly made sure that we believe in the songs we sing, and that we sing with our hearts. She still looked great after all these years (what, it must have been at least 20 years).

Anyway, back to Mayenne, I asked Mrs Chin if she thinks my baby was a boy or gal. She took a long hard look and confidently said "BOY".

I'm just short of making Mayenne wear a top that shouts "I'm Not a Boy!" and a wig.

Help!!