Trying to Keep Up Appearances

19 days 40 days and nights into 2012 and we are still being lazy struggling here *LOL* We have a feeling that 2012 seems to be on a fast forward button somehow. Don't you think so? I think i started this post few weeks back and forgot all about it. Like how i forget that sometimes i have a blog and another blog and a few other blogs. *LOL* I was just a kidding about them many many blogs.

We have been very bad at keeping up appearances here and way over yonder too. We have run out of any valid excuses really :) Nothing much happening over our side of the world really... except for... urmmm... this is one of those loooooooooooooooooooooooong posts... i get a little long winded when its late at night.

The Curly is just sleeping quite a lot. Most of the time he is under the bed where its cooler.

Can you see Curly? I am sure there's a Curly there. Its dark but Curly.

Here... try again. Do you see a Curly? i know there's one. Send everyone a woof will ya Dommy.

WOOOOoooooOOOOOoooFF!!

Told ya there's a Curly there in the dark :)

The Chinese New Year "heat" has decended upon us in leaps and bundles and buckets and and and.... Its warm warm and very very warm every other day. We only had a wee bit of rain sometimes in the evenings. We sure hope some places don't start burning and send us their smokes. Last year we had it really bad. The heat and them smokes and everyone i know was trying to do a raindance.

Well.. Chinese New Year's over and out. We were on the road.. and with family for a whole week in Kuala Lumpur. My backpack is still on the floor from the last trip. We did a lot of gambling and some eating and lots of laugher. We are going to be on the road again in 2 weeks time when the Jaiboo comes home. He didn't make it home for Christmas. So he's rescheduled to February end. Its only February and we seem to be going up and down a lot lately.

When we were in Kuala Lumpur, we were at a new place where dogs can run freeeeeeeeeeeee. Dom was super excited and sniffing everywhere and anywhere. He had his walks without leashes and he was just trotting happily without all the pulling and tugging by me. I am a slow walker while he trots likes a horse. It was freedom for him and we had many many walks everyday. That's probably how we spend our Chinese New Year. He lost some flab and drank a lot of water and slept like a log each and every night. I however got a bit darker too from all the walks in the sun.

We were so free and happy that we didn't take any pictures. *LOL* Our hands were not holding any cameras or mobiles and we were just enjoying our time together. There was no internet and there was no reason to keep the computer on.

Dom made friends with a dotted dog. He's dotted like a dalmation but a lot shorter than one. He has perky ears and a very happy smile and a non-stop wagging tail. They played and jumped and played non-stop. Yes... i didn't have a camera or a mobile. A very friendly dog which was walking alone without a leash too. It was like probably how doggy heaven would be i suppose. Where the dogs run free and played all day. Maybe we'll see him again next time.

Now we are back to the grind. I am actually quite overloaded with work since January. With too many holidays overlapping over the weekends, i began to dread holidays. When you come back from a holiday and fire up your computer, the emails all just choked up. Its like a traffic jam in the email box. Don't we all hate traffic jams. And you get cc'ed in every other mail.

We got new systems from the office. Here's me trying to setup my new computer beside the old one. I kept clickling the wrong mouse :p I love new systems but i hate fine tuning it to what works for me. I hate to do the transfers and now that we work from home, we got to setup all the things ourselves. We used to be pampered by the IT guy. He usually does all the setup for us. We just shake our legs and grin. That's not really a good idea as we become too dependent on others to get the job done when we can do it ourselves.

When i work on the computer, i am usually very quiet. Even when i was working in the office. Sometimes i have discussions with a few of my colleagues on the chats or on a call with my colleagues. Sometimes its a typing marathon on the chats with my boss or my superiors. My dad will whizz pass my window. Then he will whizz back and ask me some questions. Then he'll go out and ask me a question from the hall which i can hardly hear. *LOL* My dad is lonely sometimes. He needs the attention. He probably thinks that i am on facebook or surfing the internet.

Working from home does not mean that i can run out and play all the time. I can run out with Dom to the garden for his breaktime. I can run out to hang the laundry and i can run out to get lunch. But I have people to answer to and i have people who ask me too many questions a day at work. Some of these questions are too silly as i believe that some people do not want to think. They want the easy way out of things and just ask you to give them the answer to solve the problem. Some are not problem solvers and some just need to be spoon fed year after year.

The year of the Dragon actually starts on 4th February 2012, the first day of the Chinese Solar. This day is also called Lap Chun meaning “beginning of spring” in Chinese. On Lap Chun day, eggs can stand on their own two feet the floor or table. Hence the many pictures of the eggs standing prettily up there. I didn't flip some of the pictures as i feel they look pretty awesome on the sides :D Its something to do with gravity and.. urmm... go google it yeh :)

This is the only picture of i took of Chinese New Year decorations. Its a lighted tree at the Curve, a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur. I sneaked my friend out and took her to eat. We were walking up and down there and didn't know what to eat. In the end she told me... you know what i really really want to eat. I want to eat maggi mee. Maggi mee is instant noodles. It is something which she can eat at home but not allowed by her mom. It cooks in just two or three minutes.

Her mom has changed her diet completely. She's on a strict healthy juicing vegetarian diet. Since she started chemo, her whole eating regime is being managed by her family. She is a person who loves to eat. We always love to eat all the unhealthy things. But now, she has to follow the diet to save herself.

She went for her 2nd chemo last week. She has lost all her hair and her brother just shaved her head clean yesterday. She's still very postive but bored at home. She can't drive much now as she's on some oral chemo too. She told me that her whole world is spinning almost everyday. Dizzy especially after her chemo sessions. Even a few days after chemo, she is still holding her head in her hands.

4 more chemo sessions to go and hopefully they can do the surgery and radiotherapy after that. Still a long way to go but we are very hopeful and she is still fighting on. A fighter. I am proud of her. And yes, we went to the shops and i let her eat her Maggi mee. She is now waiting for me to come down again to take her to eat Maggi mee again. If her mom knows, i am dead.

These two hardly sleep so close together. Dom needs to be constantly near me or he needs to be within eye view of me. Piper does not really like to sleep so close to Dom as Dom is easily excited and when he is excited, he runs very fast and jumps a lot. It is nice to see them sleeping so close.

Sometimes Mr Stuffie Heart gets to lie beside Dom without getting squashed. One of those good days. Look.. Mr Stuffie Heart is smiling :) Have a good evening everyone. This has been quite a long post. I sure hope i have not bored you all silly.. hehhehehehehe :) Good night!

Bel far niente

The beauty of doing nothing. Bel far niente.

A week has gone by and we are going into the 2nd week of January 2012. We are still doing nothing much. We haven't caught up with most of you yet. Our apologies for the slack.

Before we carry on, we want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year. We hope the new year brings with it a lot of good in everything you need and enough for everyone to make it through a happy and healthy year.

We hope our buddy little Pip will get well soon too. You know Pip. The one with the big heart. The little guy is all heart. The sweetest fella around.

Get Well Soon Pip. We are still keeping all our toes, paws, fingers crossed for you.

My 2011 ended on a mellow note. I was sick with strep throat for the last two weeks of December. It was a pretty quiet end to my 2011 as i could hardly speak except for some squeaks. *LOL* Even swallowing my saliva was quite painful. It was a good way to quiet down and get some rest to end the year.

Being in Kuala Lumpur with family for Christmas, and most of the time in bed nursing the squeak was nice in a way. I did nothing. Just hanging around with Curly and Mr. P. They were my two nursing aides. I didn't have to go anywhere too.

Christmas came and went... Christmas tree was up and down. The one at home here was just taken down this afternoon. All packed and stored back.

Jaiboo didn't get to come home for Christmas and his 3rd birthday. Hopefully they can make the trip in February next month. Dad is still waiting patiently for the little guy to come back. Poor Jai was waiting for his grandpa to come for his birthday party last Sunday. He still doesn't understand that we are many many thousand miles away. We'll have another big party for him when they are home.

All Curly got for Christmas was a stuffie with a heart. Its still in very good condition. Curly is not a stuffie destroyer. He sleeps with it every single night. Hopefully this stuffie will help him with his separation anxiety issues.

 

Mr P got a stuffie for Christmas too. He has a collection of many stuffies now all over the floor. But he usually only likes his old old Pikachu. That is still his favourite and his best friend.

Christmas eve lunch with family. This year's chicken turned out better and prettier as i was not the cook. *LOL* We were lucky to have a close friend who didn't mind slaving in the kitchen to bring us a most wonderful lunch. He only comes by to cook every Christmas.

To some of you who were worried about Piper getting boxed up and shipped off... do not worry. He was just napping in the box. He was being boxed up too for some other reasons. That will be a story for another day. He seemed to love the box a lot. Maybe he does think that he is a kitteh kat.

I spent the 31st of December with my best buddies. We went for a huge dinner at some Thai restaurant in a very remote side of Jinjang. The food was really good but i didn't take much of it as my throat was still quite sore. I still sounded like some mouse with squeaks.

11 years ago, i spent my countdown with these same people. We were lucky to be able to gather again and enjoy some fireworks that night by the highway. All the cars just stopped on a busy highway and everyone got out of their cars to watch the fireworks when it was 12. It was insane.

Halfway through the fireworks, one of my friends showed us a picture on her mobile. Earlier that morning, she was at the hospital to do some tests. The doctor ordered a biopsy immediately when he saw the condition of the lump on her breast. She's has been diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer.

Her doctor told her that she's a wee bit late in coming for treatment. They cannot do surgery to remove the lump now. She has to starts chemotherapy next week. Her doctor told her that its not the end of the world. Her life has just begun.

She's an awfully healthy person. If you look at her, you will never know that she's sick. She works very hard and very very long hours ever since she was 19. She takes care of her family and all her siblings. I knew her when i was 20. She's one of my best buddies. We have been through many ups and downs together. We have done many silly things together too. She was the one that dropped everything and scooted off with me to Malacca on my birthday last year.

She's like my sister... my sibling. I can tell her many things and share many of my secrets. I trust her with my life as i know that she will never let me down. She has never let me down too. Whenever we asked for help, she's the first one who will drop everything and come.

Cancer is treatable these days if you are not too late. Chemotherapy is hell. Anyone who has gone through that will tell you so. Through it all, she is still trying to put up a brave front. She called and asked me about the chemo port. She asked me.. what the hell is that. Should i put it in?? We joked about the chemo port and wondered if it will work like the ipod. I hope it plays some good music.

We are in different cities. Still 2 hours apart. If i could only have one wish, i wish that she will be cured.

I am basically doing nothing. I am the master of doing nothing this week as i have not digested all the current news yet. My apologies for being away and very distant.

Come December, Some More Eye Candy and A Homecoming

The 1st of December is here. The last page of my horse racing calendar. I love this horse racing calendar as i can see the days and the  holidays clearly and i can scribble all over its big spaces. The yellow background on the numbers means that its the school holidays for this whole month of December.

We have Heartgard on the 6th and Frontline on the 7th. My memory is fading fast so i have to make markings on the calendar just in case i missed them. Dom loves his Heartgard but when he sees the Frontline box out, he usually runs and hide.

Usually he hides here. Underneath my dad's lazy chair. You've got to flip yourself around to see the picture better but i am sure there's a Curly hiding there. The reason we didn't flip the picture around is because i didn't want you guys to see the mess in our house :) Didya flip yourself around yet? Okay... let's carry on.

We woke up one morning and found a kitteh kat underneath my car. Don't know when she came by but she has made friends with Transformer Tabby. Transformer Tabby's been quite lonely since Blue Eyes left her all alone. So another kitteh kat about her size is good. Just another hungry kitteh kat to feed. Fiesty lil girl. She will grows fast.

Being new, she does not know that Curly is curious of small kitteh kats. Curly love to just find out more by sniffing them. He does not harm them. He usually gets bobbed by the bigger cats when he gets too near them. He just likes to take a sniff and see who it is. He never harms Transformer Tabby. But being just a small kitteh kat, she is petrified of this big bubbling Curly.

Here she is hanging on for dear life up on the jacaranda tree. Curly is just waiting down there. I am sure both of them are gonna be good friends maybe in a week or two of sniffing and checking.

We went for a walk on a new route in the next neighbourhood near some new houses by some old septic tanks ^.^ Dommy is quite a scardy cat when he is at a new new area. He likes routes that he knows and routes that he has left scents before. He likes routes that passes by some of his friend's houses. When he is at the new new routes without any scents of his or other doggies, his tail goes down. Probably he sense some danger. I usually take his cue and we move back to the car if he does not like the place.

He is not so scared if Mr. P is with him. Mr. P is however the fiesty little one who does not know his size. He is never afraid of anything except for children that hugs him too tightly or children who tugs his tail.

Since its a new new route, he thought that he might as well leave a parcel for the other doggies that might come by. Peemails are not enough. Places like this need big big parcels.

I know some of you would still be interested in some juicy meats men. Here they are below.

Okay okay... enough of them drooling over these meaty beautiful men. Wipe your drools now... hehehehe... These men were performing and competing at Jonker Street Malacca for the 3rd WBPF Men's World Body Building Championships. These muscle men were from all over the world. We just so happen to be there and stumbled on them golden bodies. The bodies are so flexed up... it looks so unreal.

My friend did not hire them specially to flex their muscles for me. *LOL* But my friend didn't budge for a long time... she just stared and stared with eyes wide open. At one point, she wanted to run up to the stage and just touch the muscles to see if they were real. Yes.. she as nutty as i am. I had to drag her away as i was getting so hungry.

One more week and our little Jaiboo will be coming home. I have not seen him since March 2010. Its been quite a while and he has grown so much. We are very excited here and hardly getting any work done. The house is still in a mess and the curtains are not washed. The tree is not up. There's still so much to do :)

He'll be home soon :) 

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Someone's snoring very loudly already. Someone is due at the groomers next week. He's all fluffy again. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell him.

We also forgot to do a very important post for a small fluffy one. We are getting to that if we don't get lost in our excitement. We are gonna call it a night now. Goodnite everyone!

The Great Big Bug

Holaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :) We are back :) Bye bye.

opps! We are not supposed to be saying Bye bye so fast. Happy New Year everyone :) We are about a week late back to bloggieland. Hope you all have missed us becossssssssssssssss.. we have missed you all loads.

First off, do join Pip and Bunny for the match of the year. The will both be racing for the World's Fastest Dog on February 5th, 2011. Don't miss this for the world. They are both training very hard now with their respective coaches. You can visit them here.

Pip | Bunny

A lots has been happening even though we are only at day 9th of 2011. We brought home a big bad bug from Kuala Lumpur and i was sickies with the flu and the fever this week to start off the year with a bang. Playing dead on the bed for few days wasn't much fun so finally i decided to quit playing dead and work instead. Keeping busy is sometimes a cure for many things.

One of the soldiers in our work team went for an eye operation last week. Less one soldier and more yellow blinky faces to torture me. I thought i'll be rid of yellow blinky faces when my job specifications changed slightly last year. I forgot how some yellow faces can be quite stressful.

Anyhow... i still have to survive one more week before my poor old colleague can work again. She should get a good rest first and let the eye heal. The eyes are one of the most important things... and losing your sight would be a terrible thing to happen. So take care of your eyes. Don't stare at the computer for too long. Go for pee breaks. Go for walks. Take your doggie for a leak. Get some grubs.

Christmas was wonderful. This year we cooked some stuffs and ate at home.

Christmas lunch

blue fruit jelly

Being with family was great. We had one of the most hilarious Christmas gift opening sessions this year. We were all reduced to tears because we laughed too much. I think Christmas gift exchange should go in this direction to have a merrier mood.

We did missed part of our family in London especially Jaiboo. Hopefully next Christmas, we'll have the little one here. He just turned two recently. How much we have missed watching him grow up.

Mr Piper wasn't too happy with his Christmas gift too. He was showing his unhappiness by barking at the boxes. He was snooping under the trees before Christmas and secretly checking out the pressies for nom noms. When he didn't find any... well...some pressies got ripped. *LOL*

all i got for Christmas is this. Can you believe it?

You are not taking mine.

More stories to come later :) Now Mr Dommy has to go for a leak. We'll try to slip in a post next week if the yellow blinkers allow an hour of peace. Till then... take care. We'll be slowly going around to visit all of you guys soon... Its good to be back.

Before We Go And See Billy

A series of thoughts.. hehhehee.. yea yea.. it will be a super long post since i have not been posting for quite a while. Brace yourself if you are/would be reading on :)

Firstly...

Congratulations to Bain and Myra. 

Their baby boy Ash came into this world on Mother's Day. I bet Bain will be a great 24/7 daddy and won't have much time to blog anymore. May you both enjoy your blessing. I am sure Ash will fill up all your hours and your days but the journey will be a wonderful one.

Mother's Day... i am late for my Mother's Day post but here's wishing all mommies out there a Wonderful Happy Mother's Day. Hope all of you have had a great one with your loved ones yesterday.

Oh... my godson the Mr Jaiboo bought me a pair of blue shoes for Mother's Day. It is a lovely blue and the kind of shoes that i usually am in. He sure have good taste considering that he's just 1+ *lol*

bluey from jaiboo

If i am never to be a mother in this life, i am still very much blessed with lotta children in my life. Even today i have a kid with me. I had to poke her face a couple of times to wake her up for school... hahhahahaa.. She is a very down to earth girl. Very well balanced and always friendly. Her mother has taught her well. I sent her off to school and picked up another kid... *LOL* My sister's kids are almost like my kids. They are always with me.

Boy went off to matriculation college today in another state. His parents and my father sent him off this morning. With a heavy heart, i said goodbye to him yesterday. He is almost like my son for three years. He tells me almost anything and everything. I have pampered him and given him whatever that i could give him without spoiling him too much. But he is always a good kid. Humble and never wasteful. He never asks for things but will secretly smile with joy when we get it for him. He's hardworking and quite shy. He's not quite ready for the world yet but he has to go out there and fend for himself one day. And the one day is now.. today.

From today, he has to do his own laundry, buy his own food.. wake up on his own (which i doubt he can) hahahahaa but i know he will survive and be a more independent person in a year from now. Sometimes when we keep them near to us, they will never grow up. They will always be dependent. They will fall and they will cry, but they will learn that love is always at home. They will learn to appreciate the ones at home more.

I remember my mom telling me, go.. go out and see the world. I went and was very happy to be free to do whatever i want for the first time. It was a joyous feeling at first. And slowly day by day, i miss my mom a lot. Each day, i'll collect all the coins so that i can call my mom on the payphone (we didn't have mobile phones back then). Sometimes i have to walk very far to find a payphone that work. Each time i hear her voice, i'll come back to my room and cry. Each month, i'll take the bus back to see her. What joyful weekends that were. Mom will cook all my favourite dishes.. and when Sunday comes, i'll have to leave again with a heavy heart.

I am sure Boy is tossing and turning in bed right now thinking about home. He has to share a room with three total strangers who will probably be his good buddies in a few weeks time. He'll learn to adapt and enjoy life in college. He'll also learn not to mix whites with dark colored clothes to wash... *LOL* He's a tough kid. Quiet on the outside but he quite strong on the inside.

In a few more days, my sister and i are taking my dad for holiday. We are going off to see Billy. This year is a year of travelling for my dad. This is his third holiday and its only May.. hahhahaa.. His brothers and sisters are almost envious of him. They haven't seen much of him this year.

He will be 70 soon. My father loves to travel. My mom, never like to travel. Everywhere we take her, she will tell us that it is the same. She only loves to be at home. But i am sure she will be with us in spirit when we take dad to his next holiday destination.

Dommy and Mr Piper will have to be checked into the pet "hotel". Hope they will have a wonderful time away from us and make some friends too while they are taking their break. Dom is like the extention of me. He tails me everywhere. When i go to the loo, he'll even get up from his snooze and get himself parked outside the toilet door. When i am working, he is parked right beside me. I should be quite thankful for such devoted companionship. And only a dog or a Dom could be that.

I'll end this post with a picture i took a few weeks back.

If you look closely, you will see a pair of tiny feet on top of an adult feet. My friend's son was so afraid of the sand getting in between his toes. It was his first time at the beach. He was standing on top of his mother's feet for quite a while before we finally coaxed him to come down. He only trusted his mother and his world was at his mother's feet. It also tells how grand a mother's love is.

Mother's love is deeper than ocean
Mother's lesson is bigger than the sky,
Mother's lap is more comfortable than the warm bed
Mother's tale is better than the best novel on this earth,
Mother's picture is more beautiful than a fascinating scenery
Mother's blessings are more powerful than the thousands of seas
Mother's shade is cooler than the shade of heavy laden trees,
Mother's light is brighter than the sun,
Mother's role is seventy times greater than the father,
Mother's place is more sacred than any shrine

Ground Assistance

Last weekend, my sister, her baby and my dad flew back home. Since she had to carry her child (Jaiboo) and take care of my dad, we requested for ground assistance to help her along the way.

We arranged for ground assistance a few days before they flew and when we were checking in their bags at the counters, the ground assistance staff came over. She was extremely courteous and nice. She told sis to go to a certain counter at the required time and she will guide them all the way to the plane.

When it was time to go, as usual, we flood the airport a little and a few last minute photo taking. We do take a lot of photos in this family (thank God for digital cameras).

A young man from the ground assistance crew was patient and waited for us to say our goodbyes. He automatically took my sister's handluggage and said that he'll help her with that. He was a nice chap who guide them to immigration and took them all the way to the gates and into the plane.

I am proud to say that we do have a world class airport here in Malaysia. With world class service. Kudos to the ground assistance staff of KLIA.

When they got to Heathrow, it was a different story altogether. A ground assistance staff met them in the plane. When they gathered their things, the man just walked ahead. He didn't attempt to help them with the hand luggage. My sister struggled to carry her child and carry her bag. Along the way, the man mentioned that he does not help with baggage at the baggage claim area.

Sometimes, if you are in the service line, it goes a long way to show some initiative. Even if its out of your job scope to help people with their baggage at baggage claim areas. People will always remember you if you helped them. They are always thankful if you go the extra mile.

Maybe the guy had a bad day. Maybe they were not allowed to help with baggage claim. Maybe he didn't feel that it was his job to help with baggage claim or even to help a struggling mother carrying a baby with her bag.

My dad is almost 70. Surely he cannot drag a bag out of the conveyor belt. Thank God for good samaritans in fellow travellers.

When a person request for ground assistance, they are either senior citizens or minors travelling on their own. Sometimes they are disabled people or people with babies. If a person can do without assistance, they would not ask for help.

I am glad our airports in Malaysia is friendlier and world class. Our service staff is with world class attitude. Malaysia mesti Boleh!

Overwhelmed... and

My non-existence lately... my apologies to my fellow bloggers for not visiting much. I've been overwhelmed here.. *LOL* with a lil one who's constantly like a super bunny.. crawling in a fast forward speed... or tumbling over and trying to walk a few steps.

Sis and i both look like scarecrows now. Urmm.. literally. We have dark panda eyes.. and sleep is indeed a pleasure when the head gets to rest even if the pillow is as hard as a rock.

I thought i'll fatten sis up a bit when she's back here for a holiday. But heck no. She's losing more weight here because of the heat... and the sweat. *LOL* I bet she can't wait to go back home to the cool and cold.

One year of taking care of her child with her hubby with no other help seems to take a toll on both of them. I guess they have not slept much since the lil one arrived. But the joy and happiness he brings is of course worth it all even when sleep eludes them.

The heat is taking a toll on us here. The house is like an oven in the afternoons. I bet you can even fry an egg on the porch. Its getting warmer and warmer as days goes by and soon.. we'll just dry up like prunes or ikan bilis. Urmm.. that's a bit of dramatics that goes on in my head all the time. Its the heat.

Jaiboo is sick. Dad is sick. Dommy threw up some yellow stuffs this morning. I kinda sorta going to be sick. Sis is white faced... and Boy.. i told him to drink and drink water like no tomorrow. We cannot have another sick one at home.

Hope both of them will be well soon. They will be travelling in less than 2 weeks time. Dommy is alright now. Snoring away and chasing cats in his dreams.. hehhehee.. He has a love for chasing cats in the garden. He doesn't know he can't climb trees and cats can.

These past few days have been quite taxing. Thank god we have aunts bringing aloe vera drinks... some boiled brown drinks... and lotta food. We are so blessed to have family around.

At one point... i was actually so tired from doing the chores.. i just crawled into bed and play dead.. *LOL* I am quite good at playing dead. Sometimes i retreat to my secret hiding place/the hole to hide out too to have some quiet time to rest.

I have a menu running in my head constantly on what to do first and what to boil next.. hahhahaha.. it was crazy. Its like a mental tick-off list in my head. But things are looking up :) I am sure everyone's getting better now. Even Jaiboo. Once he has his bottle of milk... he's like a recharged bunny.. hahahhaa

Today he said "hiiiiiiiiiii" to Dommy.. hahhahaa He only knows Dommy. When you ask him where's grandpa.. he'll point at something but never grandpa... and where's mommy.. he'll point at something else but never the mommy. (i think he's just playing us) But when you ask him where's Dommy.. he'll always points out Dommy correctly. He's always babbling to Dommy. I wonder if Dommy understands him.

gosh i'm gonna miss him so.

Our Endless Creature

My life has taken a sudden turn lately. Since Jai came home few weeks ago, our lives have changed in a good way. I now spend less time on the computer and more time with people.

When i open my eyes, there's things to do before he wakes up. His mommy and i scurried around like mice hurriedly to eat and have a drink before he opens his eyes. When he opens his eyes.. thats when the day kicks off.. hahahhahahahaha

When he opens his eyes.. he has his bottle of milk and rejuvenate himself. His batteries recharged and walla... his day has begun.

It is a blessing to have an extended family. Our cousin lent us her child's walker... and an aunt brought her son's booster seat over.

The baby walker is pretty dangerous too. He seem to run very fast when he's in the walker. It can tip over i am sure. Try chasing him when he's in a walker. Our house here is not exactly a big house to run around.. hhahahaha.. there are many hazards and big furniture around.

The booster seat is a life saviour. We have the old baby chair. That didn't seem to work for this worm cos he quickly climbed out of it and stood up when you tried to feed him. *LOL* He is fast. Very fast especially after he has his milk (milk=energy=batteries). With the booster chair.. he is strap down safely with a buckle and a tray to hold his food and toys.

He started putting playing cards in his mouth and showing us he has a card in his mouth. After his game of cards in the cot recently, now the cards have become all mushy and soiled with his saliva. We have now ban the pack of cards from his cot.

I got him a small drum the other day... and he was beating on it nicely at first. The next day he sat on the drum and now his drum is with a dent *LOL*

But i love to cook his porridge everyday. We put a lot of stuffs in it. Today we put rice, lentils, tomato, potato, carrot, cauliflower, watercress vegetable. All in little portions so that he'll have a bit of everything in his meal. Sometimes we steam him a small portion of fish or chicken.

He loves to eat papaya, oranges and bananas. I got to find him some other new fruit to eat tomorrow. He eats quite a bit for a small guy.. hahhahhaa.. and poos a lot too. *LOL*

Ahhh.. today he joined the ranks of the kids in the house... and got his height recorded on the wall.

Its really nice to have a little one to run our lives here. Even though its tiring especially for his mom but the smile/smirk on his face is always priceless.

Everyday is a special day for us these few weeks. Its joyful and very entertaining to have him here. I wonder how it will be for us when its time for him to go home. I guess there'll be big floods at the airport again. Anyways, i have only a few very little weeks left with him. I shall blog less and spend more time with the little one.

Urmm.. Dommy's been LOA lately. The first person who can guess what LOA stands for will get a link here :) Only one guess as usual.. hehheheee... yes.. i am wicked.

LOA = Lack Of Attention

Goodnight :) I've gotta sleep earlier now else i won't have much energy to help my sister tomorrow to chase after our worm.

A Good Start

A good start and training them from young. The above is Jai's cot with a pack of cards all strewn over his bed. We are teaching him gin rummy and blackjack. *LOL* In my family, even the smallest kid knows how to gamble during Chinese New Year.

Urmm.. we didn't teach him how to gamble. hehehhee.. But he sure love to crush all the cards and throws them out of his cot while grumbling and babbling away.

We are still very tired (its the age thing) but with a very happy and fast toddler in the house, Jai is draining all of us out. Today we finally moved his cot into his room. It is much safer than him crawling and trying to walk all over the house. He even tried to poke Dom's face. The dogs are actually petrified of this lil one. *LOL*

He tried to give Dom a hug the first few days he arrived. That kinda spooked Dom and in a reflex action, Dom bumped his face on Jai and that sent one dog running and a kid crying. Dogs can be very gentle with kids but we really do not want to test their patience. Especially on these very warm and hot hot extra hot days, don't even try to test their patience.

There's only so few days left before the London worm goes back to his home. Blogging even takes a backseat nowadays. Half the time i rather stare at his face and babble back to him in his yada yada language. He's a good kid. Not fussy and always happy. As long as he gets his meals on time and sleep when he's tired.. he's an angel from above.

His favourite show is In The Night Garden from BBC. I never seen this show before. I still can't find it in the stores yet. But we did download a few from youtube to entertain him. When he sees the characters come out, his smile can light up a whole room.

I googled about it yesterday to understand the show better. Its kinda like Teletubbies. The characters makes a lot of baby sounds. There's Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka, the three Tombliboos (you should check these three out.. their dance just cracks me up) and a whole lot more.

Its a pretty good show and its amazing how the kids learn from this show. I noticed Jai does some of the things the characters does. Its is amusing to see him arranging his blanket up and down before he sleeps. I saw Makka Pakka doing it in one of the videos.

The last time we had a kid running this home was 13 years ago... and we only were watching Teletubbies, Sesame Street and Power Rangers. Kids in Malaysia loves Barney. But i think In the Night Garden is quite a good show for toddlers and small kids. The music calms them and the smile on their face is priceless.

I found In The Night Garden on youtube yesterday. Watch it below if you want to see what its all about. Its Jai's favourite.





I've only been humming his songs lately.. hahahhahaa.. Jai is taking over my life.

Abu

Its been a week since we have a little one with us here in our home. And this little one is like an energizer bunny. If you don't remember what's an energizer bunny... here's it.



They just go on and on and on and on... *LOL* Its really been a while since we have had a toddler at home. The last kid we have in the house with a diaper and wrecking havoc is already a 12 year old girl now. I think i have even forgotten how to fold a cloth diaper.

Jai is a really a wonderful change for all for us. Every little thing he does makes my father happy. My father laughs so much these few days. They were both listening to youtube to some gummi bear song and both dancing away. Jai in his high chair and dad sitting beside him. It was a sight.

This lil one does know that everyone loves him. But he still clings on to his mom and dad cos he's still quite wary of us. *LOL* Its only been one week since he got home. It took four adults to feed him tonite. One to hold him down... one to feed him... another to entertain him and one more to pick things up from the floor. Even Dom has decided to hide in the room. He is actually quite afraid of this tiny guy who keeps pointing at him and go yada yada yadaaaa... and laughs. Jai speaks in some strange babble that none of us can understand. He just goes yada yada yadaaa most of the time.

When he cries... he goes abuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu abuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. *LOL*. I wonder who is abu or what is abu.

With five adults and one curly in the house, we still deplete our batteries at the end of the day. This lil one will still be dancing around.. its amazing how much energy is stored in this tiny little guy. When he goes and have a nap in the afternoon, we are all actually quite relieved... and almost on tiptoe so as not to wake him up.. hahhahahahhaaa.. that's how tired we are.

The weather is not really helping much too. Both father and son is melting like butter in the afternoon. They are so drowsy with the heat. The weather is so hot and dry... and getting warmer and warmer as days go by. I hope Spiffy will do his raindance and get us some rain soon :)

I am not sure what i've written up above.. hahahhahaa.. i am just babbling away... my mind's tired. But this will be a good Chinese New Year for us :) If i don't do any postings these few days... its because i am overwhelmed with family love :)

Have a great holiday and drive safe if you are going to be on the road. We are finally... am home for Chinese New Year this year. Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone!

I hear fireworks... and its 1am. Oh ya.. Piper's coming home tomorrow. YehooooooooooooooooOOOO

Piper home tomorrow? WooooooOOOOoooof!

The plane... the plane...

Jai is already on the plane... coming home. We gotta head off and be on the road now and go and fetch Jai home. He's so gonna be my best friend.

Hey Piper.. go pack your stuffs. You are going home to see your mommy and daddy.

Bye bye... see you all real soon!

Catch us on our On The Road activity if you wanna know where we went. YehooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOO! Woooooof!

The Almost Lazy Weekend...

Almost going to miss today's post for NaBloPoMo :) Urmm.. actually.. i kinda missed it by a few minutes.. hahhahaa.. but the wonders of Blogger and their scheduled posts... i am saved :D

Its been quite a tiring day (its the age thing... everyday becomes a tiring day.. hahhahahaa). I woke up early to go to the wet market to get some stuffs for cooking dinner. My sister with hubby and kids were back for the weekend. Its also a good time to get into the Chinese New Year vibe in the market.

But the earliest i could actually drag my lazy rear outta the bed was 9am. *LOL* If you really want to get the best stuffs and the best fishes from the wet market, you have to kinda get there by 7.00 to 7.30am. I got there about 9.20am but the market was still so full of people. Very excited people and a lot of buying. Trying to get myself into the market was a feat itself as most of the folks were just too excited looking around.. and standing still gaping and gawking at the new stuffs. I should probably take some pictures next time.

I am quite a regular here, so most of them kinda know me. Most know me by my uncombed hair and very sleepy face. Blurr and just rolled out from the bed look.. hahhaha.. yes.. i am a disgrace even to myself any time of the day. Actually i go to three different wet markets for different things on different days. All of these are about 10 mins away even if i am driving at snails pace :) That's the beauty of my hometown.

I only buy fish from one guy from Taiping as his fishes don't smell fishy. Don't ask me why i need fishes not to smell too fishy. But if i buy from the other stalls... my dad will know and ask me where i bought the fish. If it smells too fishy, he will refuse to eat and that will be another headache for me. So even if this guy only have one type of fish left on his stall while the others have a loads of different types... i will still buy from this guy with one type of fish. *LOL*

Sis and kids and hubby just reached Kuala Lumpur. They love to travel at night. I hate night driving. My eyes don't do so well at night anymore. I used to drive up and down to Kuala Lumpur too. Even alone and sometimes with Piper or Bola. I hardly do night driving. Its the people at home that worries when you drive late at night. And when you are tired, its always more dangerous at night.

Bola is always my best companion in the car. Once we drove for close to 6 hours because it was a public holiday. The usual journey will only take two hours. We listen to this advert on the radio for so many times that when we reached Ipoh, we can recite it on automatic pilot.. hahahhaa.. and he was just a small kid then. He is never a fuss and he's a wonderful child. Now he has grown taller than me. I have to look up at him when he speaks now :)

When he was little, he would stay over with me when my bro-in-law goes outstation. I will send him school in the morning as my place was nearer to his school. Before he sleeps, he will always tell me.. wake me when you see blue skies. And when i wake him up, he always opens his eyes with a big smile on his face. No fuss at all. Such a wonderful child. And he sings very well :)

Ahhh... my dad always love company especially when his grandkids comes back. He's an old man. He grumbles a lot. He complains quite a lot about everything. *LOL* He curses too sometimes. But he's an old man. He earned his right to grumble. He earn his right to watch tv as loud as he want to. He's just an old man.

Young farts like us should just bear with his ways. Urmmmm.. actually i am not that young anymore. *LOL* I love company especially when my family comes back home. Even Piper and Dommy was pretty happy with the extra company and the extra treats. Next week... we'll have more people. Jai will be home. Just counting the days.. Jai will be home.

We found a lot of Boy's, Bola and Rachel's baby clothes. Well.. maybe he shouldn't be wearing Rachel's clothes.. hahhahahahhaa.. Enough clothes for Jai to wear during his one month vacation with us :) Uncle John even fixed up the cot for him today. We are all set for you. Come home soon!

Goodnight people. Thanks again for humoring me on the last Fluffy Friday. I was so amused by some comments :)

ROARRRrrrrr

Enter if you dare. Now we have a tiger at our porch to guard our house :) It roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsssss.. hehhehehee.. yes yes.. our Chinese New Year decoration is up today. Well.. part of it. Boy and dad put it up this afternoon in the hot blazing sun.

Our decorations for the festivities are usually recycled every year. Be it for Christmas or Chinese New Year. But this smiling tiger is new. We just bought it from Tescos just now. To greet the little one who is coming home soon :)

I'm a bit poofed now because dad and i did quite a bit of shopping at Tescos to prepare for the coming week. I'll show you more pictures of the decorations as we add on to it :) Today we just did the porch... two pineapples.. some streamers and a tiger.

Maybe i'll go the the big market in town this weekend to go find some nice big pussy willows. They add a nice touch to the house.

Piper is snoring away now while Dom is busy flicking his ears. Piper sometimes sound like a train when he snores.. *LOL* For a little dog.. he sure is loud.

Oh yes.. our Christmas tree is still up *LOL* A marriage of sorts for the festivities. Boy said to wait for Jai to see the tree first before we take it down. But i think he is just lazy to take it down.. hahahhahahahaa

 

Catch you all tomorrow. Goodnite :)

Decisions Decisions

Chinese New Year is celebrated BIG in our household. At least we used to. We love Chinese New Year as we get new clothes, new shoes, new underwears *LOL*, new pajamas too. Well... at least that was how i remembered Chinese New Year when i was a kid. And we get loads of angpows too. I could almost get rich overnight when i was a kid. I come from a very big extended family.

We haven't really celebrated Chinese New Year like we used to these past few years. We just keep wanting to run off somewhere when Chinese New Year looms. As you get older, you tend to fear the festivities. Lots of questions from the clan. And the usual question would be.. When are you going to get married? Gosh! The aunties asked me this year after year. Don't they ever get bored. Each year i get more embarassed and trying very hard to find a hole to hide *LOL*

Other than trying to evade all these very inquisitive people, i don't quite like Chinese New Year anymore since mom passed away. When she was still around, every Chinese New Year, i love to shop like crazy the week before i go home. I am usually running here and there in Sunway Piramid with bags and bags of clothes. I love to find her some very chinese looking blouses each year. And something for dad... and lots of clothes for the kids. I haven't really shop for Chinese New Year these past two years.

Honestly speaking, i haven't done any Chinese New Year shopping at all this year. *LOL* I haven't got a new shirt for dad too. Since we are much much older now... i usually do with just one new thing for the Chinese New Year.

This year... we will have a lot of people to celebrate with us. Jai will be home... my sister and brother in law will be home. Its been a long time since my sister celebrated Chinese New Year with us. Most probably my brother in law and Jai will have a culture shock at how loud we can make Chinese New Year *LOL* And urmm.. the gambling too :)

My extended family is into gambling during Chinese New Year.. we were trained as kids. We have kiddies corner and adult corners for gambling. Its quite a sight to see the whole household gambling from the very young to the very old. Hope Jai don't start gambling too *LOL* Maybe we should start him on the Blackjack :D

I actually love Chinese New Year (yes.. i am a confusing creature). Its the only time i get to see who is related to me.. hahahahaha.. and i get to meet up with my old friends too. I haven't seen some close friends for a few years now since i keep running away for Chinese New Year.

We have been celebrating Chinese New Year in Kuala Lumpur these past few years. We haven't quite decide where we are going to celebrate this Chinese New Year. My father says that we should all vote. I wonder if Dommy and Piper gets to vote too :) My father will also be celebrating his BIG birthday too the day before Chinese New Year.

Festivities away from home is not quite the same. Our home here probably deserves a big bang of the ole festivities. What do you think?

Oh.. our Christmas tree is still up *LOL* We thought we want to put it up till Jai comes home. But i guess we better start putting some Chinese New Year deco up tomorrow :) We are going on a roadtrip next week. Jai is coming home. Hoooooorayyyyyyy!

The First Few Steps

At 1 year, 2 weeks and 5 days old... Jai took his first few steps :) Lil trumpet is walking already. Counting the days... wooooooooooooHOOOOOOOOOOOooooo

When Jai Arrived

It is snowing quite heavily where Jai is now. This morning, my sister sent me some pictures of the white white white land. Both of them took their little one to the park to see the magical white wonderland. And it is a beautiful sight.

Snow snow snow in Jai's corner of the world in January.

It doesn't always snow quite so heavily. The picture below shows NO SNOW in December before Jai was born. NO SNOW at all. But it is still a beautiful picture postcard perfect place. Loads of canada goose, ducks, mallards... it was as busy as a market.

Jai's 1st birthday is over. Today he's 1 year and 2 weeks and 1 day old.

And i'm still waiting for him to come home :( He's only coming in early Feb. So that he can spend at least one festive season with the whole family.. extended family and everyone else who is waiting for him to come home. Even Dom and Piper.

Sis sends us videos of him all the time. Now he babbles quite a lot in the videos. Its fun to see. Quite a lot of teeth in the mouth too. I have one of him banging on the glass door.. *LOL* Wait till he gets to the terrible twos. I bet my sis and bro-in-law will lose more weight.

He was suppose to come in December for Christmas and his 1st Birthday with us. But he had to have his jabs after his 1st birthday. And the jabs were a wee bit different from the jabs we have for kids in Malaysia. For the better good, it is better to have his jabs first and come back after that.

I wonder if he still remembers me. Last i saw him... he was just a few days old. 9 days old to be exact. He decided to let me enjoy my holiday and spend some time with sis before he decided to make his grand entrance. Deliberating.. he did take quite a while to come out.

My sister choose her hubby and me as her birthing partners. They keep telling Jai to wait till i arrive. And he did wait.... quite a while *LOL*

Over in the UK, they allow you to have two people to accompany you in the labour room. Over in our country in Malaysia, they only allow the hubby or the mother to be around.

I didn't know what i sign up for.. hahahahhaa.. but it was an experience of a lifetime. Giving birth is sure not easy and watching someone close to you give birth is an equally tiring and stressful moment. They even gave the expecting mommies an exercise ball to sit on to help them dilate in the antenatal room.

We were at the hospital on the 30th December night as the contractions have begun. We did have many false alarms earlier but we decided to head off to the hospital as it was quite far. The hospital was understaffed as it was the New Year and most of them were overworked.

In the labour room, we met a Malaysian midwife. An old experienced lady and her presence made the situation better. I don't remember her name as i was most dazed and afraid. To see my sister in so much pain really shocked me. It would have been nice if mom was around. She would know what to do.

This lady must be sent by mom. Someone from our homeland and it did calm all of us. She was really kind to sis and to all of us. She even got hot drinks for both brother in law and me. I guess we must have looked a mess.

When Jai decided its time to come out, we were quite relieved. We just have tears in our eyes. He is a very precious one. Sis and hubby have to wait a long time before he came into their world. I guess mom helped made it happen too. Maybe she had a chat with God and ask him to send a baby to them. Knowing mom, she could.

Ahhh.. precious child. Can't wait till i see you again. An experience of a lifetime you are.

Grandpa already got you 2 toys.. and a cap from IKEA that day. So come home soon. He can't wait any more longer. He got his songs all lined up in his head to sing to you. You would be good for him.

The Yellow Birds

Here's a series of pictures i got from Jai this morning :) This are some of his vacation pictures. The view out from his grandmama's window. Its a delightful sight. The yellow birds and their nest. I think Jai's mommy or daddy is a pretty good photographer too.

I couldn't very well keep the pictures all to myself. I haveta to share it all with you here. Enjoy the yellow birds.








Jai is going to be one soon! I cannot believe how time flies. Just seems like yesterday when he was in my arms.

He cannot make it back for Christmas this year but he will be coming in January to celebrate Chinese New Year and papa's birthday.

At about this time last year, i was getting ready to go over to welcome Jai. My baggage was overloaded. Thank god I had a pretty good negotiator with me at the airport while i was checking in. *LOL* Trust a woman to travel light.. hahahhahahaa.. But it was all gifts from home to welcome him to this world. And lotta herbs for my sister's confinement.

Basically its quite hard to find the usual herbs for confinement over there. It would probably cost a bomb if we were to buy the stuffs there. As a chinese, confinement after birth is an important process which has to be followed closely. Else, the new mother will have aches and pain in her joints for the rest of her life. It is very painful when you get older. My eldest sister is suffering now because she refuse to follow the confinement process properly.

Can't wait for the day when he comes home for real.