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.