tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147444862024-03-13T08:21:53.594+08:00~ Xweing Away ~Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.comBlogger804125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-39693595296113145822021-02-15T04:23:00.001+08:002021-02-15T04:27:31.430+08:00Welcome My Little Prince - Bradley’s Birth<div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Baby Bradley was delivered on W39.6, one day before EDD. Writing this 2y4m after his birth, I recalled most of the experience through WhatsApp’s chat history. 😁</div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">W39.1 - It was my final checkup. Doctor said she had a planned leave during my EDD, so asked us whether we wanted to set a date to induce labor next week before she went on leave. Manual dilation by doctor. And we went home to calculate fengshui date for the birth lol.</div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">W39.3 - Mucus plug fell off. Went to hospital to check but dilation still remained at 2cm. Went to watch <A Star Is Born> at the cinema and got inspired by Bradley Cooper for our baby’s name. 😁</div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">W39.5 - The day has almost arrived! Was feeling anxious that there was still no signs of baby coming, and it was getting nearer to the EDD where my doctor would be on leave. Took Pastor’s advice to walk around in the garden to help with labor. Then in the evening, I started to feel irregular contractions at 7pm, but still mild and bearable. Went to hospital for checkup but dilation still remained at 2cm. Decided not to admit but to go home to wait it out as hospital was too freezing cold. </div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">W39.6 - Around 2am I was crunching my body in a fetal position, trying to withstand the painful contractions till 5am. As I asked hubby to check when I could take epidural and he said need to wait till dilation 4cm. The contractions lasted around 1 minute each time - during that 1 minute I would recite Psalm 23 and The Lord’s Prayer, which was long enough to withstand the pain for 1 minute. 🙏 At 5am I couldn’t take it any longer, my face was ashen and I decided to call my neighbor to take care of Hayley as we went to hospital. </div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Reached hospital at 6am and went through the birth preparation and monitoring process - shaving, inserting suppository to pass motion, signing consent forms, requesting epidural, monitoring baby’s heart rate, monitoring my BP etc. The midwife who was with me was not very friendly. The anesthesiologist came to administer the epidural, I asked is it need to wait till dilation 4cm and he asked me, “Didn’t you go for birthing class? You can come right in at the start!” Garhh I had endured the pain for nothing. 😖 After that, I found out I could increase the epidural dosage until I could feel zero pain, and that is what I did! 😁 After that, it was total peace and calm and heavenly till birth. </div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">9am - Dilation at 7cm. Doctor had put her whole fist in to check dilation but I couldn’t feel a thing. </div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">10am - Midwife put a drip to make the dilation happen faster. At this point something funny happened. Hubby thought it was gonna be another few hours of waiting so he went down to the car to get a book. Then doctor arrived at around 10.30am, looked around and asked, “Where’s daddy? Going to start soon.” Then I faster called hubby to rush back to the labor room lol. </div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">As I was on epidural I couldn’t feel any sensation at all. The missions doctor had to rely on the monitor to know when my contractions were coming, the big ones. They strapped up my legs, elevated the table and fixed the light. Then the doctor told me to push, just like skiing. I thought to myself, “skiing is not a good experience for me...” Well I tried my best I could to mimic the push... using my imagination. And I tried a few times and the baby was out! However something was kinda off as I could see a lot of action going around, and the baby was not crying as I expected. I told hubby to go and look at the baby, why it was not crying. And just then, I could hear its cries! 😄😄 Later on Doctor told us that it was due to umbilical cord around the neck and she was trying to save the baby. Well, hubby didn’t get to cut the cord like in the TV shows. 😄</div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">And that was it! The birth of my son. 🥰 After that, I was left there until the drip finished. Felt nauseous and threw up. Then felt very very faint although I was still lying down, until the Paediatrician came in and tilted my upper body down for blood to flow to my head. And the unbearable chills. All these were part of the side-effects of epidural. </div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><img id="id_b78d_2959_bab3_69db" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/GKfskMQ_gZTOHYDGW1lkMT0kzs44TG_VBqI6kS8bJ4rqX3_EKsu7v2i00ndS74Y" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"></div><div style="font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span><img id="id_e196_c14f_10c_29ef" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/emljNDpGQrdzRY0tSPbF6SpkGIV5bodIPHUHPB7XG1IVZ22WoAJ6_Nu7Qc6Wtto" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_bf3_24f8_3e9a_5230" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YzbjX2ItLpk3gM3U7cBBi7nHtH9t8m3Jez-bIzEV9ZARyLBd8fIviIr66cS-zLw" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_834f_2d3b_d570_d1ad" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/525AGXTDN19qDX1I4qNAuNtTFE4x9rW5ZPMaXTWGTgrBjNZ2onbK-1p3C3a7ai4" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div> Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-3699506345932565392021-02-15T00:11:00.001+08:002021-02-15T00:20:04.556+08:00Third Time’s A Charm - Nataley’s Birth <div> 【My birthing experience during MCO】🤱🏻</div><div>Baby Nataley was delivered on W39.6, one day before EDD, same as her brother. Other similarities, contractions started around the same time in the early hours of the morning. </div><div><br></div><div>W39.5 - CNY would be a week later. Doctor said baby could stay in the womb for EDD +10 days, and asked us whether we wanted to set a date to induce labor next week to avoid the CNY holidays. Doctor did a manual dilation. I went back home and calculated based on last pregnancy, I thought it would take another couple of days before any contractions would happen. </div><div><br></div><div>W39.6 - 2.00 am - Contractions happened in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I woke up my groggy hubby to pack up the remaining items of our hospital bag, and we drove to the hospital. That time contractions were happening every 10 mins, every 7 mins. Hubby called ahead to request for epidural and hospital said they have 24 hours epidural. </div><div><br></div><div>3.30 am - Reached hospital, there were no roadblocks along the way. Due to hospital Covid-19 SOP, both hubby and I had to do nasal swab test upon admission. I was taken to the labor room first to go through the birth preparation and monitoring process, then only do the swab test which takes 45 mins to get the results. Hubby had to wait downstairs in a quarantine room while awaiting the test results.</div><div><br></div><div>4.15 am - Midwife checked for dilation - 2cm. </div><div>4.20 am - Midwife did COVID-19 nasal swab, needed to wait 45mins for result, and the doctors would not come in until the results were out. I was in so much pain, kept calling for epidural but the answer I got was “Dr is on the way.” “Breathe in and out.”</div><div><br></div><div>5.00 am - While waiting for the swab test results, I experienced rapid dilation from 2cm to 10cm in less than an hour! Although I had already requested for epidural upon admission, the anesthesiologist could not make it in time to the labor room to administer the epidural. 😅 I asked the midwife, “No epidural, is there any painkiller? Gas?” Then the midwife suddenly realized and started bringing the gas. </div><div><br></div><div>Then everything happened so quickly, I could feel the baby trying to come out. The most painful moment was when contractions happened every 2 mins for 12 seconds. I could feel the baby moving down the birth channel and it felt like a train wreck/ earthquake rumbling down there each time, baby’s head pressing against the still intact membrane, baby eager to come out to the world. I cried out to the midwives, “I think the baby is coming!!” Then suddenly everything happened with a sense of urgency, the midwives suddenly realized that the baby was REAAALLY coming and they started setting everything in motion - elevating the bed, turn on the light, preparing the baby receiving table. </div><div><br></div><div>The urge to push with each contraction was really very unbearable yet I had to tahan because the midwives were telling me “Don’t push yet!!” Later on I found out it was because they were waiting for doctor to arrive. Then suddenly I couldn’t feel anything and then the midwives said, “Now you have to push!” I looked at them with confusion, “Why? But I don’t have any contraction now.” The midwives said, “You have to push now because there is meconium, cannot wait already!” Then one midwife helped push open my legs, another pushed my tummy while I pushed with all my might (although I couldn’t feel any urge to push, I just mimicked it lol). And after 2 pushes, the baby just slid out!! With a big loud cry!! It was the first time I saw/heard my baby cry so clearly and loudly. I took one look down there and said, “Good baby!” Once the baby was out, the feeling was like going from hell straight to heaven. 🥳</div><div><br></div><div>In the end, both my obgyn and my hubby couldn’t make it in time to the labor room cos everything happened too quickly. He got his Covid results at 5.10 am, while baby came out at 5.17 am. By the time he reached the labor room, the nurses were congratulating him. So, hubby didn’t manage to witness the labors of childbirth this time. 😭😅 In the end, I managed to deliver my baby with the help of the experienced midwives! </div><div><br></div><div><div>5.30 am - Me and hubby were already happily taking pictures of the baby when the doctor arrived. The stitching-up process was another gruesome experience. Doctor had to open up my stitches to clear some blood clot. By the time she stitched me up a second time, the local anesthesia had worn off and I could feel each prick and pull. Thanks to the laughing gas that bide me through each painful moment. </div></div><div><br></div><div>All in all, throughout my 3 childbirths I experienced:</div><div>- emergency c-section</div><div>- vbac natural birth with epidural</div><div>- natural birth pain without epidural 😁</div><div><br></div><div>Thank God for keeping me and baby safe and strong during the whole childbirth process! 🙏 I believe that our human body is so amazing, after one or two days I just can’t remember the pain that I had went through. It makes you forget the pain of childbirth so you can go through it once again. Hahah. </div><div><br></div><div>At the end, nothing really matters as long as mother and baby are healthy, safe and sound. </div><div><br></div><div>#anataleyaday </div><div>#birthstory</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_2a36_adcb_72bd_f401" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/trWpAMEIgOTDWICyQK40qLveQMy4fKa14bLhp4KsEBqlheQudTmuzQ7WtljEEDI" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_89ed_961c_7bdc_e78f" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Gdat9ojX95xiic1mG8mmxKjuCwzqsuZ6zFWqgryPrYvLHMG4UgwQ6ONbzogqzpg" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div> Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-5086727372605204892020-02-17T16:53:00.002+08:002020-02-18T11:16:00.256+08:002020 Resolutions<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's already the second month into the year of 2020... guess I'm late to the party to write my resolutions!</div>
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Recent events have made me feel strongly that "Life is short." As I shared with a friend, my previous company gave me work-life balance but I still wasn't happy because the peer pressure was too much over there. My colleagues were so into material things and I felt so small compared to them. We should not take life as a race, to compare with others whose house is bigger, who has a more luxurious car, travelling to which exotic destination this year, whether or not children are going to international school, whose face is more glowing... etc. Such unhealthy competition only adds to misery, making one feel depressed and unworthy, when that should not be the case as there are so many more things worth cherishing in life... such as precious moments with family! So one of my NY Resolutions this year is to "Stop Comparing!" and "Reduce Time on Social Media!" I find nowadays around me, the most grounded people are the most successful ones.</div>
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Last year 2019 was not really a good year for me. Well at least I made a change in the 2nd half and things have been better since. My current job allows me to spend quality time with family whilst maintaining my sanity. Still, every now and then, I seem to can't control myself and I have outbursts... and my poor hubby receives the brunt of it. I really hate myself for it... I did make NY Resolution last year to stop being so mad all the time, but yet I couldn't control it. Hopefully I will be able to "Control My Temper" this year! At least hubby made a change to employ an hourly maid service to clean our house every now and then, so at least things are not spiraling out of control.</div>
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"Take Care of Yourself" is my key theme for this year 2020. While I was invited to a skincare product sharing session, I concluded that I won't be investing in it for the time being. I hope to give myself time to work on myself, my body and exercise for the time being. I wish to kickstart my exercise routine of running 3x20 mins each week and swimming x2 again. Hopefully I can reach my goal of feeling and being healthy and happy. :)</div>
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Other than physical self-improvement, my friend/ former mentor actually helped me set my goal for 2020, which is to get a promotion at work.. haha. Well, my career has been stagnant for a few years now, and I keep pushing it to the backseat, well, because I just don't want my expectations to turn into disappointment. Maybe I should put this as a long-term goal, that hopefully in 1 or 2 years I will get better at my work and get my promotion that is long delayed.</div>
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One more important goal is to help my kids to improve themselves. Since we as adults are already considered to be stable in life, the best I can give my kids is to be with them, guide them and steer them towards empowering themselves. I was surprised when I asked my daughter, "What do you think is Mama's favourite activity?" and she said "Playing with your kids?" I was so emotionally touched and happy when she said that because I feel that she notices and appreciates it! I never really liked playing with children but I pushed myself to try to spend quality time with my kids. For my elder daughter, continuously guiding her with homework and building her self-confidence and life skills is definitely key. As for the toddler, I'm sure he can manage for the time being cos he is an independent and smart boy. Haha.</div>
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<a href="https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2020/02/13/build-walls-and-resilience-to-manage-the-adult-bullies-in-your-life">https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2020/02/13/build-walls-and-resilience-to-manage-the-adult-bullies-in-your-life</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> “Your mind is a great weapon, ” he insists. “Use it to create quietness, space from others, and a feeling of being in control.”</span><br />
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And now to bullet-point my NY Resolutions:<br />
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<li>Love Myself - Wake up at 7.30am to do some stretching or spending time with myself.</li>
<li>Limit time on IG/ FB - Spend time on IG only to post stuff. Not browsing through countless pictures and stories. </li>
<li>Control my temper - Hold my breath and tongue for 10 seconds to cool down before speaking.</li>
<li>Exercise: </li>
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<li>Running 3x20mins a week </li>
<li>Swimming 2x a week</li>
<li>Badminton 2x a month</li>
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<li>Focus at work - aim to complete tasks before day ends</li>
<li>Continue with Hayley's schedule:</li>
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<li>Mon - playdate</li>
<li>Tues - 7.15pm piano class</li>
<li>Wed - my badminton</li>
<li>Thurs - 6.30pm ballet class</li>
<li>Fri - 7.45pm art class</li>
<li>Sunday School - 11am</li>
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Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-71132414770141216442020-02-17T11:29:00.002+08:002020-02-17T11:33:19.274+08:00To SSTo be honest, I didn't know you all that well<br />
I can't even call you my friend<br />
Just someone that had helped me along the way<br />
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It's such a shock to me<br />
That you left so soon<br />
Someone's voice whom I have gotten used to<br />
Now a distant tune<br />
Someone who I could depend on<br />
Now above and far beyond<br />
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I can't even call you my friend<br />
We have never really met each other<br />
Just that one brief glance at the pantry<br />
Where I quickly averted my eyes<br />
Because I was too shy to say hello<br />
I never knew that would become<br />
The first and last time I would ever see you<br />
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Since you have no Facebook<br />
and I can't even email you like I did before<br />
I felt I need to write this short eulogy to you<br />
To tell you how much I'm thankful for you<br />
I'm grateful for the times you helped me when I was so new<br />
I even nominated you as my Office Angel<br />
but I guess you never knew<br />
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You did touch countless hearts here on earth<br />
Even if you did not know it<br />
I just want to let you know<br />
I think I would want to know if it were me too<br />
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I hope that you will continue to be an angel in heaven<br />
Looking after everyone you love<br />
May God have mercy upon you and bring you into His fold<br />
Rest In Peace dear Angel<br />
You were a friend I never got to know...Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-10870015528437100042019-12-03T15:30:00.002+08:002019-12-03T15:30:42.686+08:00Bradley's Milestones @13m1wAfter 3 weeks of not being with our baby Bradley, finally we are back together again as one little family!<br />
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In just 3 weeks, he has grown so much. He fell sick while he was at my parents', and each time after that he grows just a little taller. And skinnier now so we have to fatten him up lol. He is still crawling around, which is good cos we don't want to miss his milestone of walking!<br />
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Baby Bradley is so very talkative. He loves to communicate to us every thing that he sees! Right now his favourite words are "ball", "kick", "car", "clock", "dong!", "mum mum" (eat) but he can also say words like "door", "light", "off", "chair", "bom bom" (bathe), "da da" (smack), "jie jie" (sister)! I think it's amazing for a 13-month old to be able to understand and communicate so well!<br />
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Being a boy, he is a little bit naughty compared to his sister. When I ask him to "sayang" me or sister or popo, he will show his love with a smack instead of a gentle touch.. haha.. and he seldom ever kisses anyone. Hmm.. need to teach him to be more affectionate! He is quite the looker and he loves to style his hair with a comb.<br />
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He is also very active and has already climbed the stairs on his own quite a couple of times, giving us a shock!<br />
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He has a love-hate relationship with his sister. He adores his sister sometimes. When he saw Elsa in a Frozen picturebook, he pointed and said "jie jie". But when his sister nags him and yells at him for playing with her toys, he will engage his defense mechanism to either smack/yell at her or deploy cries for Mama!Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-72770406018552355952019-12-03T15:14:00.004+08:002019-12-03T15:14:52.835+08:00Child-free week<div style="text-align: justify;">
After my parents came back from their long Swiss trip, Hayley had just finished her exams. So, we jumped at the chance to dump both our kids back to my hometown so that hubby and I could take a breather from our childcare duties. </div>
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What do we do when the kids are out?</div>
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Exercise becomes such a luxury when we have kids. Everyday it's like a battle - in the mornings, getting the older kid ready for school, and also putting up with her constant whining/pleading/crying because she doesn't want to go to school, bathing and feeding the younger kid, and also self-grooming before going to the office. In the evenings, another battle begins - cooking, ferrying the older kid to music/ballet/art class, doing homework, playing, and feeding/taking care of the little kid. </div>
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So with the kids out of our hair, we were finally able to work out a sweat! Everyday we went for some kind of exercise - swimming, badminton, and we even took up line-dancing, surprisingly which we enjoyed very much! Line-dancing is really fun, we get to enjoy the music and learn how to dance while working up a sweat. Without noticing, time slips by so fast! Well, I even got to lose 2kg in one short week. But... gained it all back later... haha...</div>
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On Friday, we celebrated the end to our "child-free" week by going for a long-awaited date night... going to an Italian restaurant and then to a hidden bar in Georgetown.</div>
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Enjoyed our relaxation time so much, yet at the same time missed the kids. Such irony as parents. Nevertheless, we're looking forward to our next child-free time!!</div>
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P/S: I know I am blessed. Lol.</div>
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Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-58954570515210584302019-07-09T16:40:00.003+08:002019-07-09T16:40:42.770+08:00Bradley's Milestones @8m<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpbqOaZtzGg/XSQ1_xEFCRI/AAAAAAAAPIs/K8qLSQq3BnIYniKSrOeK0P9XKwZYm8VDQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_6349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpbqOaZtzGg/XSQ1_xEFCRI/AAAAAAAAPIs/K8qLSQq3BnIYniKSrOeK0P9XKwZYm8VDQCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_6349.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our little Bradley is 8 months and 3 weeks now.</div>
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<b><i>Physical</i></b></div>
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Bradley has outgrown almost all his clothes and is wearing clothes of 9mo size, or 6-12mo size. He is wearing M size diapers now but we think he will graduate to L sized ones soon!</div>
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He is busy doing his army crawl now and loves to crawl around the house looking for something to eat, or looking for us. He is really fast now. He loves to crawl under the table and chairs, like an obstacle course haha. He also likes to climb up on me whenever I sit beside him.</div>
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Bradley is a stickler for daily routines. He must have done some military duty in his past life. Every morning, he wakes up at 6.00am, demands to be cuddled, and will fall back asleep for another one to one-and-a-half hour. He wakes up bright and cheery-eyed at 7.30am. After bathing him, he will eat breakfast. Then it's off to the nanny for the whole day, until we pick him up at 6.30pm. Then he will eat dinner and play for a while. He will drink 4oz of milk and go to bed at 8.30pm. Another 4oz of milk at 11.30pm. </div>
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In Ipoh, my mom started to place him in a baby hammock around 6mo. In the daytime he will sleep soundly inside the hammock, but at night time, 8.30pm, he refuses to sleep inside the hammock and will signal my mom to bring him upstairs where he can roll around in bed. </div>
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<b><i>Eating</i></b></div>
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Bradley's first teeth - the bottom two - started emerging at 4mo. He loves biting on stuff and will put anything into his mouth. This is so different from his sister, we never had to worry about Hayley eating the wrong thing cos she never had this habit. The other day, I looked away for a moment and he ate 1/4 of a receipt! He also drools a lot - my mom says that this might be a result of me not eating something that I desired to eat during pregnancy?</div>
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Nanny started feeding Bradley porridge with vege and pork at 8mo. For me, at home, I still make baby cereal + fruits/vege for him because I am yet to get my hands on baby rice for him. So far, Bradley hasn't really rejected any food we feed him, except for kiwi. It is a delight to watch him eat, as he gulps down all kinds of food with a great appetite! So far, he has tried: apple, avocado, pear, banana, watermelon, kiwi, orange, pumpkin, carrot, potato, sweet potato, eggs. We are using the Phillips steamer+blender which saves us a great deal of time.</div>
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<b><i>Communication</i></b></div>
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The biggest event that happened this month... tada... his first word at 8m4d! Bradley must know that Papa is his primary caregiver so he decided to call "Papa" first! Hubby is so proud of his son calling him. It really melts our heart each time he does that endearing sound, "Pa... pa... papapa"!</div>
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He doesn't talk or babble much but when he does, it is absolutely endearing! Sometimes he yells when he is over-excited or when he is trying to get our attention. That day we were eating at Putien and he was yelling and yelling at the table, we felt so embarrassed since we never had this problem with Hayley, haha. This little fella loves us to sing songs to him, he will focus intently whenever I sing lullabies to him. His favourite song is "good night to you, now close your eyes and go to sleep" cos he knows that this is his bedtime song.</div>
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Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-31781361376232896322019-07-05T11:39:00.001+08:002019-07-05T11:39:17.793+08:00Half-year Review (and a New Beginning)<br />
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So here we are, in the second half of 2019.</div>
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First things first, I will be changing jobs to another group within the same company next week. Some may think that I have changed jobs one too many times. I also felt discouraged; felt that I should have stayed and continued to learn, to battle on. I felt that maybe I would get better as time goes by and my experience grows. I still feel that way. I don't know that is it me? Or is it my job scope is just not suitable for me?</div>
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But I think I just can't do it anymore. I almost got postnatal depression due to my job. I think I owe it to myself, my family and my sanity, to look for a future that can sustain me. Then I came across this quote "If you don't like where you are, move. You are not a tree!" I think it's true, at least, I have the freedom to move because I have the knowledge and experience to move across jobs. I deserve a job that values me, some place where I feel that I can wake up each morning not dreading the feeling of going to work. I hope that this team will be good, that it will the last team I will move, at least for a long, long while.</div>
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<b><i>Half-year Reflection</i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">Let me try to tick off my resolutions for the past half a year.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">Challenges:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Getting there!</i></b> - to strike a balance between work and family; juggling work, a baby and a toddler is not an easy feat.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Failed at 6months.</i></b> - to breastfeed my baby past the 1-year mark,</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Not yet started. .</i></b>- hopefully, to reduce my body weight to 56kg,</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Getting there!</i></b> - to be disciplined enough to leave home for work between 8.30- 9am everyday,</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Success! </i></b>- to be disciplined with my time management so I can cook for Hayley, and make sure she is on-time to attend her Tuesday music class and Thursday ballet class,</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Success!</i></b> - to find a Sunday School for Hayley on Sunday mornings when we are in Ipoh.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">- <b><i>Getting there!</i></b> - to quit shouting and berating hubby, instead I should step up and be more disciplined and pro-active in tackling matters.</span></div>
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OK, so for the next half a year, my goals are to:</div>
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- focus on my new job</div>
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- start going to the gym to run 20 mins </div>
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- bring Hayley to Sunday School every Sunday morning when we are in Ipoh</div>
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- continue stepping up and be disciplined and pro-active in house stuff!</div>
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Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-41426589312011027162019-02-13T16:05:00.003+08:002019-06-20T16:40:09.170+08:00Hayley x Bradley<div style="text-align: justify;">
It occurred to me that I hadn't jotted down my thought process while naming my children. I'd like to write this down, so that next time I can tell them the origins of their name if they ask me.</div>
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For both my children, we decided on their Chinese names first before their English names.</div>
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<b><i>Hayley 恩愉</i></b></div>
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Naming my eldest girl was relatively easy. Long before I even got pregnant, I had already thought of names if I were to have three daughters - 愉,悦,悠. I wanted my girls to grow up happy , joyful and carefree, without a worry in the world. I especially loved "yu" because it rhymes with 鱼仔, the nickname of 杨怡's role in 《On Call 36 小时》which was the drama I was watching at that time. Add the feeling of being blessed with a baby, and her name becomes 恩愉 - “恩典的恩,愉快的愉 ”.</div>
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As for her English name "Hayley", I can't really remember how is it that we came to decide on this name. I think hubby and I were kind of going through a list of baby names, and narrowed it down, and finally decided on this name as it sounds so sweet and cheerful and free-spirited. </div>
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<b><i>Bradley 祺扬</i></b></div>
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Naming my son was more difficult - I cracked my head well into the third trimester to think of both his Chinese and English names. It was so difficult that I enlisted my parents' help to think of a list of Chinese names. We finally settled on the middle word 祺 which means 吉祥, prosperity and good fortune. While I had thought of names for daughters, hubby had thought of a name for a son a long time ago. He liked the word 阳 to depict a strong and healthy child. How in the end we ended up with 扬 i can't really remember but I think it had something to do with me wanting a Biblical value in the name, hoping he will grow up to spread the Gospel - 传扬福音 as stated in Matthew 28:19-20 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">”</span><span class="text Matt-28-19" id="en-NIV-24215" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">19 </span>Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-24215R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-24215R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-24215S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-24215S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Matt-28-20" id="en-NIV-24216" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">20 </span>and teaching<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-24216T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-24216T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-24216U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-24216U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> always, to the very end of the age.” </span></span>Also it rhymes with 喜洋洋 which also reflects joy and happiness!</div>
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As for his English name, well I wanted a Biblical name for him (e.g. Matthew) because we had prayed for this child for so long and I want to dedicate him to the Lord. But hubby couldn't settle with any of the names in my list. So one day I was looking at Hayley's music school concert brochure with all the names of the children who would be performing. I said to hubby, let's look at this and see if there are any suitable names here. And one name just jumped right out at us - Bradley. We were like smacking our heads, it's so perfect! Why didn't we think of this name sooner? Both our children's names would be ending with "ley", which was perfect. Not to mention at that moment Bradley Cooper was all the rage with his movie "A Star Is Born" which we watched after my cervical plug fell out. </div>
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So since we're on the topic, just for the record, if we ever have a third child who is a boy, I would name him Wesley since it's another "ley" and it's a Christian name. Lol! </div>
Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-17082769598294710252019-02-12T16:24:00.000+08:002019-02-12T16:24:27.143+08:00Bradley's Milestones @3m<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our little Bradley is at 3 months and 2 weeks , or 111 days now.</div>
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It is such a blessing that little Bradley is a rather easy baby to take care of, compared to his sister. He latched on well since Day 1 and easily switches between bottle and nipple. He managed to sleep through the night after the first month whereby his last feed would be at 10.30pm, and wake again to feed at 5.30am. So I get to rest for 7 hours straight! So blessed! But once he feeds at 5.30am, he will wake up for milk every hour after that: 6.30am, 7.30am, 9.30am... after which he will wake up bright-eyed and make cooing sounds calling for people to carry him.</div>
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Little Bradley is meeting all his developmental milestones. He can hold his neck firmer now, and he is a good size to carry, compared to poor little Hayley who was born at a super low birth weight. However, that also means he has outgrown all the 0-3 month baby clothes which I bought for him! And I bought too many! He also starting to grasp at objects, and sometimes scratches his ears I think because that is the nearest thing to grasp haha. The sweetest moments that I enjoy the most are putting him to sleep by gently stroking his head and singing to him, while his little hand grasps on my finger for comfort.</div>
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During these three months, he has traveled at least twice from Penang to Ipoh, Slim River, KL, Melaka and back. Everybody loves him because he is a super friendly and responsive baby. During the first month my mom already commented that he is very responsive for a one month old but it is getting more evident now starting from the third month where he will smile happily when we talk to him and try to babble in response. His favourite people are my mom and my grandfather (tai gong) where he will give a super wide gummy smile whenever they talk to him, especially in Hokkien. Hence, hubby says that Bradley is a Hokkien-kia and he is trying to use his limited-Hokkien to speak to him in attempts to make him smile! He is also especially responsive to his sister, and looks at her endearingly and attentively whenever she opens her mouth. Hubby says that is because he is used to hearing her chirpy voice ever since he was in my womb! Haha!</div>
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<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-64484456771790137622019-01-22T16:29:00.000+08:002019-01-22T16:33:05.166+08:00New Year, New BeginningsAs I type away at this blog post, I am reminded that my New Year just only started today when I am back at work after a long hiatus for my maternity leave.<br />
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<i><b>How I spent my maternity break</b></i><br />
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As any new mother would say, time flies by so fast when you have a little baby on your hands. Not to mention a little toddler which needs your constant, undivided attention. Although I am blessed to have 3 months maternity leave this time, it still feels like "time is not enough" for me. After giving birth at the end of October, I spent the whole month of November in confinement. December went by in such a flurry - non-stop travelling to Melaka, to Slim River, to KL, to Ipoh and back to Penang to visit family and relatives and for church Christmas event. I was fortunate to have a little "family time", just the 4 of us, on New Year's Day to watch the fireworks from our condo. When January came, things slowed down a little and we got to spend a holiday in Legoland, just the 3 of us. And the last two weeks were just for me to enjoy and laze around at home before I got back to work.</div>
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<i><b>Self-reflection and Challenges</b></i><br />
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On New Year's Day, while everyone was busy writing down their New Year Resolutions, I was just not in the mood to make any resolutions this year. I think what I am going to face this year are new challenges, to be able to overcome these hurdles would be an achievement in the sense.</div>
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Challenges:<br />
- to strike a balance between work and family; juggling work, a baby and a toddler is not an easy feat.<br />
- to breastfeed my baby past the 1-year mark,<br />
- hopefully, to reduce my body weight to 56kg,<br />
- to be disciplined enough to leave home for work between 8.30- 9am everyday,<br />
- to be disciplined with my time management so I can cook for Hayley, and make sure she is on-time to attend her Tuesday music class and Thursday ballet class,<br />
- to find a Sunday School for Hayley on Sunday mornings when we are in Ipoh.<br />
- to quit shouting and berating hubby, instead I should step up and be more disciplined and pro-active in tackling matters.<br />
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As I was self-reflecting during my free time, I realized that I had been too held captive by my emotions (during work, dealing with colleagues, and dealing with family). I let people's words and actions get to me, and I spent a lot of unnecessary anger, anxiety and wasted tears on those issues. And I took out my anger on my poor hubby at home. For 2019, I vow not to be hijacked by those issues again. I should not care so much on what other people have to say, and focus on doing my own work. I really have to learn how to let it go, for my own sanity of mind, and for my children's peace and happy times at home.</div>
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So, my two keywords for 2019 are : "discipline" and "let it go"!<br />
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<i><b>Bible Verse</b></i><br />
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I pray that I will turn to these two verses to calm myself down whenever I am in anxiety. I should learn to be grateful that God has blessed me with two lovely children, and turn my negative emotions into positive emotions and fuel to push forward!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18px;">“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” </span><a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=niv&q=isa+41:10" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; color: #8f2895; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Isaiah 41:10</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18px;">“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” </span><a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=niv&q=isa+40:30-31" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; color: #8f2895; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Isaiah 40:30-31</a><br />
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Let's look forward to a better 2019!<br />
<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-6944797629354061492018-09-26T16:03:00.000+08:002018-10-02T13:54:34.491+08:00Conception 2.0 ~ Week 36 Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">*Pics taken during Week 25 Sarawak Trip</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I realized that some coincidences happen for a reason. </span><br />
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Like that weekend last Christmas where we decided to go to Gurney Paragon and stuck around to see the Christmas performance by kids at the main stage. We bumped into our obgyn who was there selling bread for charity, whom we hadn't seen in years since Hayley was born. That chance encounter with our doctor triggered us to go for a checkup when my period didn't come for five weeks. But my period came just before I stepped into the doctor's office, and we told her we couldn't get pregnant for so long so she asked me to try out some fertility pills. The pills ran out and I went to the newly opened Georgetown Pharmacy opposite my house to get a new supply. The pharmacist said those pills would lose effect and recommended hubby to take Q10 Coenzyme. Next thing I knew, we saw a double-line on our pregnancy test kit. That was the start of our Pregnancy 2.0 journey, 4 years after having Hayley. </div>
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Now I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy. It's the final lap, with four more weeks to go. People ask me how I'm feeling; I can only tell them I'm excited! This is something that hubby and I have desired for far too long, I feel like I can be strong and that I will go through anything to make this a dream come true. </div>
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We are so eager to see you, to hold you in our arms and tell you we love you, our little prince.</div>
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<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-9688481802357126462018-09-05T14:28:00.001+08:002018-09-07T10:43:13.375+08:00The Little Nyonya<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KdZTpxyS_aU/W493YdI2r7I/AAAAAAAAORE/q0WahrXB5tAd-8hLPfmr2HsoJBAR41rngCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_1771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1026" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KdZTpxyS_aU/W493YdI2r7I/AAAAAAAAORE/q0WahrXB5tAd-8hLPfmr2HsoJBAR41rngCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_1771.JPG" /></a></div>
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You with your messy little bun<br />
wisps of soft hair tumbling over your forehead<br />
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Gently you fold your little hands<br />
and cross your little legs<br />
You strike the perfect balance<br />
between poise and grace<br />
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Who'd knew you'd be such a beautiful little Peranakan princess<br />
our delicate little porcelain doll<br />
once you put on the embroidered kebaya<br />
the flowery batik skirt lightly sweeping your ankles<br />
and the tiny beaded sandals decorating your pretty feet<br />
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The morning sunshine streamed through the window<br />
turning your face golden and streaking your hair<br />
as you look towards the light and smile<br />
our precious Nyonya girl<br />
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#ahayleyaday 4yo<br />
<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-12354028201366071622018-08-13T10:49:00.001+08:002019-07-22T11:06:49.755+08:00Amsterdam 2016 ~ VolendamPrevious: <a href="http://xweing.blogspot.com/2018/08/amsterdam-2016-zaanse-schans.html" target="_blank">Zaanse Schans</a><br />
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After visiting the beautiful Zaanse Schans windmill village, we were transported to yet another picturesque yet touristy place - Volendam.</div>
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The (very) brief introduction by our tour guide was that Volendam was originally a harbour, which was then dammed and reclaimed. Hence the name means something like "filled dam". Today, Volendam is an area bustling with tourists - there are many restaurants, photography shops which you can wear traditional Dutch costume to take photos, and also souvenir shops! We bought most of our Holland souvenirs here - clock, magnets, decorative trinkets, etc. I bought a gray Amsterdam sweater here as my luggage was still stuck in transit and I was so cold at night without a proper jacket.</div>
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The route to Volendam is very scenic, there are a lot of waterways and bridges connecting the greenery, and the water is so clean! We even saw swans in the canals. And the houses in the Volendam neighbourhood are very big and modern and well-kept.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Reached Volendam! First we went to eat lunch at one of the restaraunts - I can't remember what we ate but I think it was fish-and-chips. After that we walked around on the touristy street and took some pictures. The small little houses on the road leading towards Volendam are so triangular and cute - they look straight out of a picture book!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handmade Dutch dolls</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Seaview from Volendam - isn't it so beautiful? Again, it looked like a scenery straight out of a picture book with its crystal blue seas, bright blue skies with fluffy billowy clouds, and of course, yachts sailing on the water!</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">And this is the cutest scene ever! We saw two </span><i style="text-align: justify;">angmoh</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> kids playing by the beach, with their parents watching nearby. It looked like those pictures we saw in those Peter and Jane books when I was little. </span><br />
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Next: Amsterdam City<br />
<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-27519102865510021212018-08-09T13:03:00.003+08:002018-08-09T13:14:16.498+08:00Week 28, 3rd Trimester - Baby waves "Hi"!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The first purpose of this post is to declare that I'm currently in my Third Trimester! Congratulations to me for coming this far. 💪<br />
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I can relax a little bit now... all through my Second Trimester I was constantly plagued with fear:<br />
- What if my baby has xxx symptoms?<br />
- What if my baby is not doing well inside my womb?<br />
- What if I slip and fall?<br />
- What if anything terrible happens to the baby? (On the night of the GE14 - 509 I found two drops of blood while traveling back to Penang in my friend's car. Thankfully it didn't happen again.)<br />
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And hubby didn't/ couldn't find any way to allay my worries. Nobody would understand, only the mother herself would know. Anyway, I can relax better now... if anything happens at this time, at least baby would only be premature and could still survive in incubator. *touch wood* !!</div>
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The second purpose of this post is to note this down. I already posted this in Instagram but I think I want to remember it here as well. </div>
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Our Week 26 obgyn checkup coincided with Hayley's 4th birthday - July 28th. It was an exceptionally special day for us as we had both our babies by our side (and inside me). It was the day we saw our baby's face for the very first time! Hubby said he looks exactly like me - with the big round nose and pouty lips. Baby's eyes were also half opened. Though you can't see from the ultrasound because his forehead has retreated to the background. But, I think baby looks exactly like his sister!</div>
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The most amazing thing happened a moment later - when Hayley said "Hi" to the tummy, baby put up one hand, and waved at us! We saw it live through the ultrasound and were stunned. Then we all laughed because we were all so surprised! Baby recognizes his sister's voice!!</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Baby stuff and Nesting Instinct</b><br />
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My nesting instinct has started developing, here are some checklist items that I have done and are yet to do!<br />
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- Buy mattress (done)<br />
- Wash baby clothes (work in progress)<br />
- Clean baby cot, wash cot items<br />
- Clean baby changing mattress<br />
- Clean 1st and 3rd bedrooms thoroughly<br />
- Wash baby toys<br />
- Buy baby items (tomorrow is Spice's BB Fair, can't wait!)<br />
- Think of craft to do for baby's name<br />
- Buy confinement items: soup packets and herbs<br />
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I also bought a Zebra vacuum mug which was the last one on sale yesterday from Aeon. Now I can start to make red dates water to replenish my "qi" (energy) in preparation for childbirth!</div>
<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-46268987273872187692018-08-09T11:09:00.002+08:002018-08-09T11:15:07.660+08:00Week 20, 2nd Trimester - It's a Boy!!!<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is a long due post as I am already in my Week 29 (Third Trimester) now. But I just didn't want to reveal the gender of my baby too soon! </div>
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We went to the obgyn checkup at Week 20 and this showed up on the ultrasound. Btw, that's not a nose! 😋 At first, doctor was like "prolonging" our excitement over the gender reveal by saying, "oh baby is not cooperative today, the weight of the bone is good, the size of the head is good.. blablabla". All the while me and hubby were dyinggggggg to know the gender (that IS the whole purpose of the Week 20 checkup, isn't it? haha..) </div>
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Anyway, at the risk of being said we're sexist... we're really happy that we're having a boy. It means a lot for the family as this is the first boy in his generation on hubby's side. And I can see that hubby really really wants a little boy. But having said that, we wouldn't have minded if it were a girl because we had waited so long for this second child. </div>
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Before the gender reveal, we asked Hayley whether she preferred a baby brother or a baby sister. I can't really know her preference because it changes, but, she demonstrated her creativity when she gave names to the baby! Hayley proclaimed, "If it's a boy, I'll name him Coco! If it's a girl, I'll name her Nana!" I felt peculiar as to why the names were Coco and Nana... hahaha... then hubby said, "Oh it's because it's Coconut and Banana!" Hahahahaha! Anyway the name "Coco" has stuck, it'll be his little name (乳名) for now as we're still cracking our heads to find a suitable name for our little baby boy.</div>
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<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-8739260189516260542018-08-03T11:51:00.001+08:002018-08-09T16:20:34.355+08:00Amsterdam 2016 ~ Zaanse Schans<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our second destination of our Europe Trip 2016 was the Netherlands.</div>
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Early in the morning, we visited Zaanse Schans, which is a picturesque re-creation of a late 19th century Dutch Village, located on the outskirts of Amsterdam. </div>
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I am so thankful for the weather that day, the bright blue skies and billowy white clouds combined with the dreamy windmills along the river, made all our photos look picture-perfect! Indeed, everywhere we glanced was like a picture straight out of a postcard. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard perfect picture!</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">We only had a short two hours to explore the place. But the scenery was so incredibly breathtaking, we didn't know where to start! So we took a lot of pictures with the huge windmills alongside the river - the striking green windmill with its enormous wind blades in the background made for a dramatic backdrop. </span><br />
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If there were any more time, we could have taken a short cruise on the river and visit each of the windmills which some are actually still functioning with a purpose.</div>
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Other than the windmills, we also visited the clog-making workshop (<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;">Klompenmakerij De Zaanse Schans</span>) to see the live demonstration of wooden clog making. There were also many interesting souvenirs being sold here. We bought a cute little fabric Dutch dolly for Hayley here. Too bad, we were short on time and there was a long queue so we didn't get to take pictures with the giant wooden clogs outside of the workshop.</div>
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We also visited a cheese shop where we got to try various flavours of cheese! Of course, we bought some Edam cheese to bring back home. Yummy!</div>
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Next: Volendam<br />
<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-31355045086158232482018-08-01T15:30:00.004+08:002018-08-01T16:06:33.542+08:001st Anniversary in rejoining (again...)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O-hoAJpm_Vg/W2FaWOJtheI/AAAAAAAANM8/nGqvAXXfhMslN0YsuZcjyCRNMQqtGJBvQCLcBGAs/s1600/38120032_10155845224711243_6654478782025433088_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O-hoAJpm_Vg/W2FaWOJtheI/AAAAAAAANM8/nGqvAXXfhMslN0YsuZcjyCRNMQqtGJBvQCLcBGAs/s320/38120032_10155845224711243_6654478782025433088_n.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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Congratulations to me! It's been one year since I rejoined my first company. In short, I survived the first year!</div>
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I remember this time last year when my former company was forced to close down the Penang office. I was very sad. Where else could I find a job that could offer me so much freedom and work stability? Then one of my colleagues (the only other Christian in my former company) shared this verse in FB. </div>
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"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." (~Proverbs 3:5-6) </div>
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This verse comforted me greatly.</div>
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That time when I rejoined this company, I was very unhappy - with the package, with my job, with my team, with the other team I needed to work with, with some people etc. I felt cheated, overworked, under-compensated, and unappreciated. It was a very trying time for me in this high-demanding and over-competitive company. But I had no other choice because this is the ONLY company left for ASIC engineers in this little island.</div>
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But, I chose to continue to put my trust in the Lord to lead me.</div>
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One year down the road, I am happier because things have changed for the better. I completed one major project with no "major" screwups... learnt a lot of things, gained a lot of new working relationships. Even my team dynamic has changed to include some good teammates who are willing to teach and share experience. And apparently my manager is not too bad after all. </div>
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And the best thing happened to me: though I faced a lot of work stress, I now have a bun in my oven! Haha my little "project" has the same timeline as my work project. And now I am waiting to take 3 months maternity leave, which will grant me sufficient time to rest, I hope.</div>
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Praise the Lord! If we fully trust in Him, we will be able to see that He has great things prepared for us in His own timing and plan.</div>
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Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-14854794604650211422018-07-23T17:01:00.000+08:002018-08-01T13:58:29.219+08:00Movie List 2018Just jotting down some interesting movies that I saw recently... some are quite old but are recently showing on Netflix, so I'm happy I got the chance to watch it!<br />
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<u>Movie List 2018</u><br />
1) All The Money In The World - *****<br />
2) The Danish Girl - *****<br />
3) Bad Genius (Thai) - ****<br />
4) The Grand Budapest Hotel - ****<br />
5) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - ****<br />
6) Stepford Wives - ***<br />
7) Hotel Transylvania - **<br />
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<u>Drama List 2018</u><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 18px;">1)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">宮心計2深宫计 - **</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; white-space: normal;">2) </span><span style="color: #545454; white-space: normal;">밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"> /<span style="font-size: 18px;"> Something In The Rain / Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food - ****</span></span></div>
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</h3>
Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-85685920981518404692018-07-23T16:54:00.001+08:002018-08-01T10:35:18.346+08:00Kuching, Sarawak<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last week, we had a short 3D2N getaway to Kuching, Sarawak for the Penang Governor's holiday. It was my virgin trip to East Malaysia, while hubby had already been to East Malaysia a few times. So, I was very happy to kickback and relax and let him do all the planning. Still, as I didn't get much relaxation/"me" time, I don't really consider it a "babymoon" for Week 25.. haha.. although I doubt that I'll be having another babymoon as I'm just too tired... to travel......</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8YztFhaWoug/W2Ea-EsnjII/AAAAAAAANMo/lwhbz8JJWrkKNoeOmjdoDh7suASSbSjPQCLcBGAs/s1600/37386737_10155819569801243_8909056889795379200_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8YztFhaWoug/W2Ea-EsnjII/AAAAAAAANMo/lwhbz8JJWrkKNoeOmjdoDh7suASSbSjPQCLcBGAs/s400/37386737_10155819569801243_8909056889795379200_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the famous "cat statue" roundabout</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzUqT927qoc/W2Ea9-OLYQI/AAAAAAAANMg/BVdqp_4qwDwKoqaDPMFb7CUab94sLKYNgCLcBGAs/s1600/37340860_10155819569851243_2909651476148125696_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzUqT927qoc/W2Ea9-OLYQI/AAAAAAAANMg/BVdqp_4qwDwKoqaDPMFb7CUab94sLKYNgCLcBGAs/s400/37340860_10155819569851243_2909651476148125696_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the famous "cat statue" roundabout</td></tr>
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Back to the Kuching trip, the reason we suddenly decided to go there was because hubby wanted to visit his father who had slipped in the bathroom and broke his leg. So, we didn't get to spend much time sightseeing as we spent most of the first day in Serian, which is a small town outskirts of Kuching which is the border stop before crossing over to Kalimantan, Indonesia. There was nothing much to see and do in Serian, except for Jong's Crocodile Farm and Semenggoh Wildlife Center for Orang Utan on the way. Hubby suggested to make a pitstop to Bau's Blue Lake but I declined as I think there's nothing much to see there since I am pregnant and can't go into the Wind/ Fairy Caves. Pregnant... can't do this, can't do that, can't see this, can't touch this... blah.</div>
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Back in Kuching, we were lucky to have hubby's good friend ferry us around town. For the first night, we dined in a restaurant called Lepau that served authentic local Sarawakian cuisine from the Highland tribes "orang ulu". The ambiance was nice and the food was delicious. </div>
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On the second day, he brought us to eat Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee at 38 Food Centre. We wanted to go try the Sarawak Laksa stall near Hotel Grand Continental which Anthony Bourdain had eaten there, but the queue was too long on Sunday morning and the stall was closed on Monday morning. After breakfast, we went to the Cat Museum located inside the Dewan Bandaraya Kuching, which was quite some ways off from the Riverfront where we stayed. Hayley had a field of a time inside the Cat Museum and kept saying, "we'll come again next time"! After that, hubby met up with his university mates for lunch at Serapi Garden.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At #RWMF2018</td></tr>
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After lunch, his friend sent us back to the hotel and we took a bus shuttle from the hotel to Santubong/ Damai Beach to see the free cultural show at Rainforest World Music Festival #RWMF2018. It took a total of two hours bus ride to-and-fro the hotel, but luckily the cultural show was very entertaining and worth the journey. Too bad the weather was blazing hot and I didn't want to risk us getting sick, if not we would have camped all night and sang and danced with the hippy tourists at the festival! Hahah! Back in Kuching, we took an evening stroll along the Riverfront and met up with his father's family for a seafood dinner at Top Spot. </div>
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On the third day, we took a Grab to eat Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee again at another place. Then we explored Chinatown and took pictures of the cat statues around town. After that, we went back to the hotel to pack. Then hubby's friend brought us for tea time where we tried out some famous Kuching ice drinks and snacks. After that we went to Vivacity Mall which had nothing much interesting apart from Rubi Shoes which I can't find in WM. After yet another dinner at a hawker center near the airport, we were ready to leave Kuching and return to our home sweet home. :-)</div>
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Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-19804410832453167402018-06-25T16:02:00.001+08:002018-08-30T11:17:09.942+08:00Hayley's First Exam and Storytelling Contest @3y11m<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IAs9DzyOJOQ/WzCbS6oqQkI/AAAAAAAAMeI/eSfjTeHdbnMU8EWpRi5dhpCpabG4GY_GQCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IAs9DzyOJOQ/WzCbS6oqQkI/AAAAAAAAMeI/eSfjTeHdbnMU8EWpRi5dhpCpabG4GY_GQCKgBGAs/s400/IMG_0181.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hayley has been attending nursery/kindy for more than a year now. In fact she started in this kindy since May 2017, and she is now in her Nursery 2 year.</div>
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So far we are quite pleased with her progress in this school. The teachers are comparatively young, and caring. The meals smell delicious when we send her in the morning. We can see that she picks up a lot of moral values from the lessons. And there is a good balance between academic and co-curricular activities - the school organizes incursions and excursions, and the children are so excited whenever they go for outings!</div>
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Last month, Hayley had her first ever exam. A day before the exam, I enquired from the teacher about the test syllabus and did some revision with her the night before - 1) matching uppercase letters/ lowercase letters 2) tracing alphabets 3) which animals lay eggs, 4) etc. When her teacher showed us her exam papers during Parents-Teachers Day, we were amazed! Hayley scored an almost perfect score in her first exam. She answered all the questions correctly - which was really an amazing feat considering we didn't really teach her much at home. The only lacking bit was the alphabet tracing because she is still practicing to hold her pencil correctly. All praise be to God.</div>
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A few weeks later, Hayley presented the story of "The Shepherd and The Wolf" on stage during her school's storytelling competition. Again, she stunned us during our practice sessions at home. She was so confident and could understand the story so well. We took a video and sent it to our relatives and friends, all of them were amazed that a 4-year old could memorize such a long story and present it so well with such rich facial /tonal expressions and hand gestures! The teachers really did a good job in preparing and training her.</div>
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Our wish is for our little girl to continue growing and learning happily, and at the same time enjoying her school life. Papa Mama loves you. :-)</div>
<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-86593534836938114502018-06-01T16:31:00.003+08:002018-06-05T10:31:40.557+08:00Week 18, 2nd Trimester - Butterflies<div style="text-align: justify;">
For Pregnancy 2.0, I started to feel the fluttering in my stomach earlier - around 16 weeks. Maybe I'm more sensitive this time, or maybe little No. 2 is more active. :-) Baby is active in the morning around 8.30am and lasts for about half an hour. Sometimes I can also feel baby moving around throughout the day, like now, baby is kicking actively around 4.30pm.</div>
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Like last night, I was lying on the bed when I felt baby moving. I asked hubby to place his hand on my stomach and he felt baby kicking too! :-) Hayley is also very cute, she just can't wait to be a Big Sister. Her favourite cartoon at the moment is Paw Patrol. She loves to sing the Paw Patrol theme song and tell little stories to baby, and she always ends with a little kiss on my tummy -- so super endearing!!</div>
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I love this feeling of having "butterflies" in my stomach. It gives me a strong, secure feeling that baby is doing well and fine inside me, and this happy feeling is able to last me to my next checkup which is due June 9. :-)</div>
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<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-36617326810791424652018-05-30T16:53:00.003+08:002018-05-31T14:50:54.988+08:00Lake Wanaka, New Zealand South Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LIYVYd8T5tA/WwvH9cwGCHI/AAAAAAAAKPc/j6UvZzV-2xg3N0qqtEzQrJTYWuaYkyrXACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LIYVYd8T5tA/WwvH9cwGCHI/AAAAAAAAKPc/j6UvZzV-2xg3N0qqtEzQrJTYWuaYkyrXACLcBGAs/s640/IMG_0481.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is not The tree<br />
#thatwanakatree<br />
which I would have known<br />
if I'd done more research<br />
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All we did at Wanaka<br />
was chase some ducks around<br />
eat a hearty Korean meal<br />
walk around the lakefront area<br />
cook a steak meal<br />
and book our trip to Milford Sound<br />
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Still it looks amazing<br />
much more spectacular in the morning<br />
with Mt Aspiring in the background<br />
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I wish I had more time<br />
I thought there's much to do in Tekapo<br />
and less to do in Wanaka<br />
but it's the other way round<br />
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Next time I'd try to take a hike<br />
or even a bike<br />
try out the day walks<br />
cross and see the Blue Pools<br />
try a glacier walk<br />
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Next time, next time<br />
oh when'll be the next time?<br />
Perhaps when I'm 40 or even 50...<br />
I wish to go there again with my hubby...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 16px;">- Lake Wanaka, 12 July 2017</span></div>
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<u>South Island (6D)</u></div>
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Christchurch - Lake Tekapo/Mount John - <b>Wanaka</b> - Milford Sound - Queenstown</div>
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Wanaka was like a mid-point layover for us. Come to think of it, now I really can't remember what was the purpose of us spending a night in Wanaka. The thing about New Zealand is that after a while, you get bored of repeating the same scenery over and over again - lakes, lakes and more lakes. So when we reached Lake Wanaka late in the afternoon, we were like "Oh, another lake." and quickly hurried off to look for some hot soup for our stomachs as it was sooooo cold that day.</div>
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Fortunately we did bundle up ourselves in warm clothes and took an evening stroll by the lakeside. And Hayley enjoyed watching and chasing the seagulls and mandarin ducks by the lake. </div>
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At night, the YHA Wanaka 4-bed dorm room was also too cold. So we spent more time eating in the warm and cozy dining hall. The best part about YHA Wanaka was the very helpful lady at the reception counter. She was very helpful with our enquiries and helped us to make calls to various tour groups to Milford Sound. Since it was last minute, a lot of the tours had been fully booked but luckily we managed to get an available tour the morning after next, which we would take from Queenstown.<br />
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There was also a movie room inside the YHA. The room was kept dark with some movie playing on the projector screen, and Hayley enjoyed playing ball with some other kids inside the movie room and lazing on the bean bags. It kept her occupied until we finished making our Milford Sound reservations.</div>
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Related links:<br />
https://xweing.blogspot.com/2017/08/nz-trip.html<br />
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Reference:<br />
https://www.lakewanaka.co.nz/revealing-wanaka/wanaka-stories/5-great-day-walks-in-mt-aspiring-national-park/Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-81712653184627706142018-05-25T14:13:00.005+08:002018-05-31T14:52:12.852+08:00Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, New Zealand North Island<b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The name "Waitomo" comes from the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_language" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Māori language">Māori</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> words </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">wai</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, water and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">tomo</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, hole or shaft. </span></i></b><br />
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I woke up that morning with excitement in my heart. We were going to see the glow worms! Funnily enough, most people would think of the glow worm caves as a side attraction. But this was the highlight of my NZ trip, the attraction that I wanted to visit the most! Little to know that this would definitely turn out to be the most momentous moment of our trip...</div>
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We drove for about 3 hours from Auckland to Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Reached at 11am. Gulped down a quick breakfast at a nearby cafe and assembled at the cave entrance, ready for our guided tour. </div>
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The guide briefed us about the history of the cave, the geological formation of the cave, and also the biological creatures that were its inhabitants. After wandering through what seemed to me a very boring replica of the limestone caves in Ipoh, finally we got to see some glow worms! The guide shone her torchlight on them, I could not really make out the worms but they were hanging on glistening threads from the ceiling of the cave... the dripping wet glistening threads looked like saliva. </div>
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Soon, the highlight of the caves - the boat ride through the underground cavern river in the Glowworm Grotto. The guide was a little apprehensive towards little children and warned the parents not to let the children make too much noise on the boat. But she needn't have worried. Hayley was such a very good girl!! She sat behind with my parents and was as quiet as a mouse, looking up at the glow worms on top of our heads and taking in all the interesting facts that the guide had to say! As for the experience, I would say that it is not as amazing as what we see in the promotional pictures. It wasn't like the entire ceiling of the cavern were covered with gazillions of glow worms, rather, it was more like patches here and there - but with one or two patches that were really quite big. It was just a very short boat ride, maybe 5-10 mins. There was a rope tied from one end to the other, and the guide stood on one end of the boat and heaved the boat while pulling on the rope.</div>
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Well that was all. A really short exploration and an expensive one too - considering the ticket for single cave cost like NZ50 per adult. Well at least I can tick one item off my bucket list for now!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "lora" , serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> - Waitomo Glowworm Caves, 8 July 2017</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rolling hills all the way to Waitomo</td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NbOsLGLsLUw/Wweo5yVP0RI/AAAAAAAAGVU/ibhICEF7JIQ-uHbjlR1NaeNA6PKqE4KKACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NbOsLGLsLUw/Wweo5yVP0RI/AAAAAAAAGVU/ibhICEF7JIQ-uHbjlR1NaeNA6PKqE4KKACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_1969.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YXUP9LJwZUc/Wweo55qCWwI/AAAAAAAAGVQ/sdplISgzj-ICn5cmNsKcRTDh159bY_FIgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YXUP9LJwZUc/Wweo55qCWwI/AAAAAAAAGVQ/sdplISgzj-ICn5cmNsKcRTDh159bY_FIgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_1959.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Before and after entering the Waitomo Glow worm Cave </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Visitors' Centre</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little glow worm</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">Related links:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">https://xweing.blogspot.com/2017/08/nz-trip.html</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14744486.post-81711249436998495612018-05-17T15:54:00.004+08:002018-05-17T16:00:26.240+08:00Second Pregnancy<div style="text-align: justify;">
Finally... God has answered our prayers and blessed us with a second pregnancy! All thanks to God and all glory be upon His name.</div>
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This is truly a gift from God as we had been trying hard for 2-3 years to conceive a second baby. I remember due to the C-section from my first pregnancy we didn't dare try to get pregnant for about a year. Then when we started trying again, no matter how diligent, no matter how many tears and sweats we spent, we just couldn't get pregnant. Countless ovulation hormone test tips, countless up-and-down cycles of feeling positive that it would happen this month, countless tears of disappointment as each home pregnancy test came back negative... that roller-coaster ride of emotions is just too difficult to put into words.</div>
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However all of that doesn't matter now as the little one lives and grows inside my tummy! It was truly a miracle as it happened at the time we least expected it to. Little No. 2 was conceived at a time when both hubby and I were at our most stressed-out time at work. He was working days and nights on a high-profile project, and I was on over-stress drive to deliver my first project milestone in a new company. </div>
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This time, I had missed my period for about 6 weeks. I took the pregnancy test before hubby was due to fly to the USA on a business trip the next day - 25th Feb 2018. And voila! The double-line appeared before my eyes and I just couldn't believe it. I was ecstatic! He was ecstatic! I expected tears of joy to come gushing down our faces but we were unbelievably too happy to cry, and instead hugged each other and jumped up and down with joy. </div>
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Presently, our baby is at 16 weeks. We've visited the obgyn three times already for pre-natal checkup. I started taking low-dose aspirin daily on advice from my doctor in order to reduce risk of high blood pressure and reduced growth of baby. Hopefully, we'll be able to confirm the gender during the next visit. Doctor already got our hopes up! </div>
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And Hayley is already gearing up to be a Big Sister. We think that she'll be a bossy little Big Sister. Just this morning, she announced, "Baby will sleep in my old baby cot! Baby cannot sleep in this bed. If not when baby cries "waawaa" (mimicking baby cry)... how???"</div>
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This is my favourite picture of No. 2. Both hubby and I love this picture very much cos baby looks like it's very naughty, nestling comfortably in my womb with its arms and legs spread out like a boss! Hahah!</div>
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<br />Xweinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741656310584045254noreply@blogger.com2