Hayley's 1st Christmas present

This year was the first year we bought Hayley a Christmas present. Now that she is almost 2, her character, likes and dislikes are slowly showing. The babysitter told us that she is very good at playing remote control cars using both her thumbs and we decided to get her one for this Christmas. We also thought it was a good gift to stimulate her eye and hand coordination.

We decided on the above Ferrari bought at Toys R Us. The remote comes with 2 controllers, the left is to drive the car forward and backward by pushing it up and down and the left is to steer the car left or right by pushing it left and right. She was playing with it a lot on Christmas and Boxing Day (so was the papa) and was slowly getting the hang of playing with it. Today, 2 days later she broke the antenna and the right controller on the remote control that steers the car to the left and right. She wasn't rough with the toy but when the car didn't react they way she wanted it to, she hit the remote or the car to the floor several times. Now the car can only go straight or reverse :-(

I guess we have to start getting used to the idea that toys won't last.

My first blood and urine test

Apart from a simple blood test when I was pregnant to determine my blood type, I have never had a blood or urine test done for as long as I can remember. You see, I am terrified of needles, I can faint when I see a needle or when I see blood. I have a phobia towards this combination - blood and needles.

After Hayley was born my weight plummeted and my regular GP recommended a blood and urine test just to make sure I am ok. I got his letter back in Sept, went to his clinic a week later but he failed to draw blood out of me. He said my veins were too fine and my blood was thick. He poked both my hands and couldn't draw a single drop. My face was turning white and I almost fainted. I told him to stop. He asked me to come back next week to try again. I didn't go back.

Last week (yes it took me so long to build up my courage) I went to Pathlab. This time papa and Hayley came with me, I need their support. The lady at Pathlab escorted me to the back of the room and took out 3 bottles (to store the blood) and big needle. I kept telling her that I might faint, I have phobia and she must be quick and gentle.

She poked into my hand, I wasn't looking but I could feel it. I felt my head getting light and then it was over. She took out a big bottle of blood and transferred them to 3 smaller bottles. I didn't dare to see but was glad it was over so quickly and with so little pain. I also provided urine.

Yesterday I went back to collect my report and thankfully there was nothing major. Apart from being low in iron I had slighlt high cholesterol. I was advised to take multi vitamins to boost up my iron and to avoid fried and oily food.

I am relieved that I don't have to worry about this anymore until end of next year. Yes, I want to do this on a yearly basis to keep my health in check. From now on, I am going to try and eat more healthily cause I want to be alive to see my baby get married and I want to be alive to see my grandkids. In order to do that, I must be healthy :-).

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all family and friends a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Please do not drive faster than your guardian angels can fly!

Tuesday is my REST day

Tuesday is the only day in the week where I can sit in front of the TV from 8pm all the way till 11pm without having to do anything, except during commercials... haha. Cause on Tuesday I have to watch my favourite 'So You Think You Can Dance' and nothing in the world can stop me. Dancing has always been my passion and since I have stopped dancing after Hayley was born, watching it on TV would be the only way I can feel alive and connected to dance. I really miss dancing and going crazy with all my dancer friends.... those were the days....

Come to think of it, Hayley is almost 2 which means I have officially stopped dancing for almost 3 years!! How time flies.

I am so thankful that papa has been very supportive and understanding and he will take over Hayley for the night from bathing to entertaining her various requests to bringing her to bed. I truly appreciate the 'break' although it was only once a week. I wonder what will happen when the episode ends... hopefully by then American Idol would have commenced and I can change my rest day :-)

My birthday present

Although my birthday was in Sept, I told papa I would redeem my gift in Singapore and so I did. Initially I wanted a netbook but since we won a laptop, there was no urgent need for a netbook [big grin]. Therefore I decided to get the 2nd item on my wish list, a crossbody bag.

I always complained to papa that I have trouble keeping my shoulder bag hanging on my shoulder while I struggle to hold Hayley or push the stroller. The shoulder bag was good for weekday or office use but definitely not good for weekend when I need to handle a toddler. I do not have many handbags like most women do. I do not need them as I dislike changing handbags and risk forgetting stuff when I did (it happened to me before). And I certainly do not have many expensive handbags. I only have 1 so far which is the one I am currently using and it was more than a year old so there are already signs of wear and tear.

This time I chose a Coach crossbody bag as I didn't want to spend too much on a bag. An LV is definitely tempting but I cannot come to terms with paying so much just for a bag. This one cost me S$335 and I saw it in KL for RM900. On top of that, I got GST refund for the bag so I actually paid lesser than S$335. It was a simple and casual looking bag which suits my personality and style and I chose black as I could easily match it with anything I wear, see I am very practical :-)

And coincidentally, I found out that a friend of mine was in Tokyo (after I got back from Singapore and bought the Coach) and could not resist the temptation of getting a Burberry Blue Label which was only available in Japan. My sis got one as well and has been telling me so much about it that I decided to get one too. So this became my 2nd present, it was not meant to be, it just coincidentally happened :-). If my friend didn't get in touch with me (we lost touch for a long time and she only recently contacted me) and told me she was in Tokyo (she went there for 2 weeks for holiday and we hooked up 3 days before she was due to return), I wouldn't have known and if my sis didn't tell me about Burberry Blue Label, I didn't even know they exist. So I think it was destined for everything to happen at the same time and I went with the flow and got her to buy the bag. I have not seen it yet and will not be seeing it until after Christmas. I hope I will like it :-), it's the one on the left in the picture below. It was really hard to tell from looking at the photo from their website.

After spending so much on bags this year I hope I am not going to buy anymore for the next few years. Thank you papa for the lovely bags.

I can't wait to start preparing my birthday wish list for next year... hahaha.

Singapore - Day 3

Day 3 was shopping day, my favourite day. Hayley got up very early this morning (before 7am) and I was forced to join her. Aunty Cheryl got up to get ready for work cause it was a Monday and Uncle John was up as well. Aunty Cheryl even gave Hayley an angpow before she left for work. It was so nice of her.

Since it was early and papa was still asleep, Uncle John brought Hayley to the pool. There was even a mini playground next to the pool.

Chilling with Uncle John

When we got back from the pool papa was up (forced to get up) and we went for breakfast. Uncle John took us to the famous Killiney's kopitiam. After breakfast Uncle John dropped us off at ION Mall along Orchard Road. It was around 11am.

From ION Mall, we walked down Orchard Road checking out each and every mall and by 4.30pm, we only managed to cover up to Takashimaya. That was not even half way. By then our financial damage was already quite severe :-). The entire place was on sale and since we were flying back, we even got GST refund when we spent above S$100 in the stores. It was definitely a great deal!

Christmas tree in one of the mall, forgot which one. All the malls have HUGE Christmas tree display at the Concourse

A reindeer along Orchard road, there were many more with different poses but Hayley was too afraid to take photos with them. These reindeers would lit up at night and they look really nice.

We left Orchard Road at 4.30pm as our flight was at 7.30pm and we needed to get home to freshen up and to collect our luggage. When we got to the airport around 6pm, we were too tired to explore the shops. We headed straight to Burger Kings for dinner and waited until it was time to board. As Hayley didn't manage to catch any sleep in the day she was really grouchy on the plane. She refused to stay in the seat and refused to stay buckled. It definitely wasn't as smooth as the first time. Thankfully it was a short flight.

When we got back to KLIA, we had to wait for another 30 mins for the airport taxi, the queue was so long... sigh.... at times like that, I really missed Singapore.

Hayley knocked off in the taxi and slept till the morning. My poor baby was exhausted!

Overall it was a great trip and I even got my birthday present :-), not 1 but 2! Thanks papa hehehe.

Singapore - Day 2

On the 2nd day we decided to visit the famous Singapore Zoo. We left the hotel around 10.30am and reached the zoo in less than 30 mins. We took a taxi cause it was Sunday and there were no ERP or surcharges. The taxi fare came to approx S$15 which we're more than happy to pay since we're travelling with a toddler, a stroller and 2 bags.

My colleague bought me the Zoo Pass for S$12.60 per adult using her NTUC card. Entrance fee for Hayley is FOC. It was her Christmas gift to me :-). You can also purchase it online at S$18 per adult. Visit the Singapore Zoo website for more information.

I have to say I am extremely impressed with the zoo. It was such a nice place to visit with kids or even toddlers. The zoo was very baby friendly with lots of clean and equipped toilets (every cubicle has toilet papers!) and clean rest areas. The entire zoo has big shady trees and paths suitable for strollers. Thankfully the weather that day was great too.

Apart from the many types of animals, they even have a kids water park in the zoo. My little girl enjoyed herself so much playing with water. As it was a Sunday, the place was packed with people. But still we had fun and enjoyed it very much. Hayley took an hour nap (thank God for strollers) and we left the zoo around 5pm. Here are some photos to share:

My daughter calls this 'panda'

Posing with the tortoise, her favourite

Orang utans roaming free

Polar bear, first in Asia

The water park

These are supposed to be called 'white' rhinos

Zebras

Penguins

Elephant show

Papa is half dead, baby is still energetic

Kangaroos

Fishes

admiring.......

these, the white tigers

huge crocodiles

On the 2nd night, we stayed with aunt Cheryl and uncle John (papa's elder sister and bro in law). After dinner, uncle John drove us along Orchard Road to see the Christmas lights and decor. It was indeed beautiful. It was our first time celebrating or sort of celebrating Christmas in Singapore.

Singapore - Day 1

Our day started on a bad note. Our flight got delayed. The 8.50am Jetstar flight from KL to Singapore only took off around 12 noon due to some 'minor' technical problems. We got into the plane, took our seats and the plane reversed and then stopped. The pilot then announced that they had some minor problems and could not depart until they figured out what happened. We were initially informed that it will take an hour but it ended up with 3! Thankfully we were allowed to wait at the airport instead of inside the plane. We finally reached Singapore around 1pm and checked in to our hotel at 2pm.

Looking at the bright side, we are thankful that they found the 'minor' problem while we're still on land and not when we're in mid air.

Thankfully my little girl enjoyed her first flying experience. It was stress free for us. She remained seated with the seat belt buckled throughout the flight. We bought her a seat cause it was much cheaper than paying for a toddler fee - silly Jetstar. A pen and some papers kept her occupied and glued to the seat. Some vitamin C chewables kept the ear pressure away. She even said 'ready, go!' loudly a couple of times.

Feeling a bit restless at the airport

Posing happily while in her seat

During the first night in Singapore we stayed at the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel booked by my company. The hotel was nice and it was near City Hall and walking distance to Funan. Unfortunately we were so exhausted from waking up so early plus the unexpected flight delay that all we did was get lunch nearby and then napped the whole afternoon.

We got up when it was time to get ready for my company's year end dinner at Dozo Restaurant (Japanese High Fusion) at River Valley Road. My colleague was responsible for snapping photos so I didnt use my camera (so no photos here).

We love the food and the ambience but we didn't really enjoy thoroughly with a naughty little girl in tow. She liked the washroom so much that she wanted to make several trips there. So for the entire night, we, papa and I, took turns to bring her to the washroom and watch her like a hawk as she roams the restaurant, climb up the chairs and sofas and plucks tinsels from the christmas tree.

The night ended early for us. We initially wanted to go see the Christmas lights along Orchard Road but we were too tired. We went back to the hotel and slept around midnight. While in the hotel lift back to our room something funny took place. Papa and I together with my colleague and his girlfriend were in the lift when suddenly an English couple came in. The English man was rather big size and tall and out of a sudden my little said this 'whooaaaaa.... giant!'. Not sure where she picked up the word from and not to mention that expression. The English man didn't react, I think (I hope) he didn't hear her. When the English couple got out from the lift, we all burst into laughter.

Our new laptop

This is it!

This is the laptop from Jusco's 25th Anniversary Count and Win Contest. So happy that we've finally got it in our hands.

Although it is slightly heavier than netbooks, we have no complaints. It's free so there is nothing to complaint about. This is a HP Pavillion dv3 currently retailing at about RM3000.

Thank you again Jusco!

Our early Christmas present from Jusco

Have you ever won any contests or lucky draws or heard of or known of anyone who has?

Not me and don't know anyone who did but I always read in the newspaper of people winning cars, houses, holidays etc. I find them very lucky and will never put a lot of hope in winning anything whenever I participate. Even before I drop the contest form into the box, I will always have this thought in my mind that I am just wasting my time.

To my biggest surprise, we finally WON something! Yes we did! We won a HP Pavillion laptop from the Jusco's 25th Anniversary Count and Win contest. Basically all we have to do it spend a min of RM50 in a single receipt (for Jusco member, non member RM80), guess the number of bears hanging in the display unit, write a slogan and submit the contest form with the original receipt. We submitted ONE entry in Jusco Sunway Pyramid. Papa sort of counted the bears and gave me a round up number and I wrote the slogan. Since I always declare myself being the unlucky one in this department, this time I decided to write papa's details on the form (hoping that his name would have better luck than mine) and so glad I did.

The Jusco personnel called papa on Tuesday morning and told him the good news. He asked us to wait for the official letter from Jusco and thereafter to collect our laptop from their head office. I really hope this is a genuine call and the letter would come soon.

Although we are happy with the laptop, we were initially eyeing at the RM15,000 Jusco cash vouchers or the 50" plasma TV. Read here for more.

This year I was telling papa that I wanted a netbook for my birthday present (was eyeing at Asus eeePc or Sony Vaio) and we were planning to buy it during the PC fair this weekend. Now, there will be no need to buy my laptop in a hurry (maybe postpone to next year so I can claim rebate from my income tax, can only get 1 every 3 years and we got a desktop 2 years ago) and think of something else nice to get for myself :-)

I am just so happy that Christmas came early and thank you Jusco/Aeon for the fantastic gift! I am so happy to be a loyal shopper of Jusco... hehehe

Compliment from my little girl

Just wanted to pen it down that I received a nice (whatever she do and say is always nice to me :-)) compliment from my little girl on Tues morning.

As usual she would wait for me in her cot while I get changed and get ready to pick her up from her cot. She would normally say 'shame shame' when I get changed but on Tues morning she didn't say 'shame shame' but instead she said 'whoaaaa.... mei mei' when I put on my dress :-)

You see, I normally wears pants or jeans to go to work and hardly wears a dress. That day I wanted to look different and put on a newly bought white dress. It was nothing fancy, just a simple short sleeve knee length white dress. I am happy she finds it 'mei mei' and I too find myself very 'mei mei' that day although the papa said I look like an aunty.

Junk food

Just a quick post on the 'junk food' (ie food that I won't give her myself) my daughter knows at her current age:

- kopi (whenever she see her papa drinking from a cup, she will say kopi)
- bena (she meant ribena)
- Donald (that's McDonald)
- i klim (ice cream)
- kokolat (chocolate and she normally refer them to chocolate biscuits or chocolate wafer)

Some of the other things she she doesn't know how to say yet but have tasted are: Mamee, muruku (she had it at 8 months) and I am sure there are more which I do not know yet. I discovered she had them at the babysitter's because I could smell them from her mouth when I pick her up in the evening.

When I confront my babysitter, she said this 'you have to let them taste all sorts of things and in different textures so they won't reject it later, but I only give her a little bit la'.

What else can I do or say to stop all this?

Is it safe to de-worm a 21 month old?

Lately, my little girl is not eating as much as she used to and is not showing keen interest in food except for some selective food ie her all time favourites like cheese, yogurt, peanut soup etc. She is also putting her fingers into her mouth quite often and scratching her buttocks more frequently too.

The babysitter suggested that I de-worm her. She said its a common thing to do for toddlers her age due to the food they eat (and the other junk food she gave her quietly without my knowledge) and the frequent 'hand in mouth' habit.

I checked with our paediatrician and she recommended Zentel which can be given every 6 months. The prescription would be 5ml for toddlers below 2 and 10ml for 2 and above. I bought Zentel (syrup type) from pharmacist a few days ago but have not (until now) decided if I want to give it to her. Maybe I'll give her later today and I certainly do hope not to see the squiggly friend tomorrow when she poo.

As an adult, I don't even practice de-worming every year. I only take it when I remember or when I feel some discomfort 'there'. What about for kids? Do you know if it's safe or if it's recommended to de-worm every 6 months?

A happy and sad day

Today, I was happy because apart from getting our passports done, papa and I managed to catch a movie (just the 2 of us). After dropping Hayley off at the babysitter's around 1pm, we went to catch 2012. Since when did they raise the price of the tickets to RM12, we thought it used to be RM10. Well, this proves how long we've not been to a cinema. It was nice to be able to spend some private moments together once in a while.

Today, I was also sad because my little sweetheart fell down in the bathroom as I was bathing her in the evening. The tiled floor must have been very slippery and I didnt manage to catch her in time. She ended up with her back on the floor and I wasn't even sure if she knocked her head on the floor. I was too stunned to notice anything. At her age she often fall or hurt herself but today I was extremely worried cause I have not heard her cry this loud before (except when we visit the doctor). I was so worried I kept rubbing her head and checking her arms, legs and body and kept asking her if they hurt. She seems fine after crying for about 10 mins (yes it took her 10 mins to calm down) and I boiled an egg to rub it on her head (I didn't know where to rub so I just rubbed everywhere). I am going to monitor her tonight to see if she would get any fever or if there would be any vomitting. I hope my little baby would be ok.

This weekend I am going to buy the anti slip mat for the bathroom!

Hayley finally got her own passport

After delaying this for so long we finally got her passport done. In fact we got all our passports done on the same day, this very day. Papa and I renewed ours and Hayley got her brand new passport. As we'll be travelling to Singapore in mid December, we had to get it done this week else we'll be joining the school holiday crowd next week when school holiday starts.

I was quite astonished with how baby friendly the immigration department became. I've never had good impressions of govt departments/offices but today I felt likewise.

We arrived at 9.35am at the Immigration Department in Subang. As kiasu as I can be, I got everything prepared beforehand - forms filled, photos taken, photocopies of I/C and ours birth certs all ready so we won't need to join the queue at the photo booth or photocopying counters. When we got there, the place was packed and there were long queues at the photo booth and I was glad I didn't listen to papa who said we can take photos on the spot and make copies of documents on the spot - MEN!

We proceeded to counter 1 to submit our documents and to collect a queue number:

Papa and I : our old passport, application forms, 2 photos each and copies of our I/C (original copies must be presented)

Hayley: application form, 2 photos and copies of her My Kid and birth cert. As Hayley is below 18, a parent will need to sign the application form on her behalf and a copy of the parent's I/C will need to be supplied, this we didn't know :-(

So papa quickly rushed over to join the queue to get a copy of his I/C made. This took almost 5 mins but felt like forever and it cost him 40 cents. When papa came back with the copy we were given a queue number. Our number was 2019 and they were serving number 2018 :-). We waited for what felt like 5 mins and then our number was called and we proceeded to 'special counters' which was counter 6 and 7. We had to show the original documents here and have our thumbprint captured and verified. Hayley got exempted from the thumbprint part. This was done in less than 5 mins and then we waited for another 10 mins to make payment. RM300 each for papa and me and RM150 for Hayley (50% discount for kids below the age of 2) for a 32 pages passport valid for 5 years. When we step out of the Immigration, it was only 10am. We were told to return in 2 hours to counter 13 to collect a number for collection of our new passports.

As it was still early we didn't want to wait there and decided to go for breakfast. We hung out at Old Town Kopitiam in Kampung Subang and returned to Immigration at 11.50am. We heard over the PA system that the system was down and everyone was asked to go to other Immigration offices to get their passports done but no one moved. Everyone just continued with whatever they were doing as if they didn't hear the announcement.

Luckily the hiccup would not interrupt passport collections. I went to counter 13 and was given number 2040 and saw that they were currently serving 2017. Oh boy, I thought it would be a long wait. Then the number appeared on the screen and they were calling numbers not in random order. I wondered why they were still calling numbers (different numbers from mine) if the system were down, now I know why everyone stayed on. When our turn came, all 3 of us have to be present at the counter and again we have to show original copies of our I/C and Hayley's birth cert.

We left the Immigration at 12.15pm. We were in the Immigration for less than an hour in total and got all our passports done!

The whole experience of making the passport has been great, no long waits and it was definitely very baby friendly (except the paying part where you still need to wait for your number to be called). Papa and I also benefited from it as we didn't have to wait like everybody else as we were given 'priorities' because of Hayley :-).

Now we can look forward to bringing her to the airport in December and showing her what an 'a-ro-plan' looks like from near.

Blocked eye duct

I've come in contact with a lot of babies or kids before becoming a mom myself. I have to say that I have not heard about blocked eye duct before until it happened to my little girl.

When she was younger, there were a couple of days where her eyes would produce some sticky discharge and it would be more teary than usual. Sometimes her eyes would be glued shut by those sticky substance when she woke up in the morning. The paed advised me to clean her eyes as frequently as possible with clean cotton soaked in warm boiled water. After a few days she was ok.

A couple of weeks ago she started having the same problem on her left eye. Sometimes mild, sometimes pretty bad. Her eye white looks normal and it doesn't seem to itch as I don't see her rubbing the eye often. I cleaned her eye and told the babysitter to do the same but the problem refused to go away. I finally took her to the paed today (just in case) to get it checked. The paed said it was a blocked duct and told me to massage the tip of her eye, in circular motion and then rub it down towards the nose. This was supposed to help unblock the duct and move whatever mucus that was blocking it down to the nose. I was also told to put a drop of normal saline into her eye every 4 hrs. If the problem persists after a few days, I was advised to use the antibiotic eye drop. I hope I dont have to use it. The consultation and med costs us RM75.

When we arrived at the clinic this afternoon Hayley refused to step into the clinic. She remembered the place. After some coaxing, she entered and started playing with the toys. When our turn came, we entered the paed's office and she cried like she was tortured. All the paed did was to look at her eye with a little torchlight and I had to hold her body and hands while the nurse held her head straight. She fought and struggled and continued to scream at the top of her lungs. Boy.. she was so uncooperative. I am not sure how it would be as she gets older. I was planning to give her Hep A jabs when she turn 2 in February and now I am really concerned.

As we've not been to the clinic for a while, we weighed and measured her height. She now weighs 10.27kg, she was 9.65kg at 18 months. Her height was slightly inaccurate as she wasn't co-operative. She was 82.5cm at 18 months but 82cm at 21 months.

Will kids get nightmares?

I think the answer would be YES.

Yesterday night around 3am Hayley suddenly screamed (she was so loud she made me jump out of bed) and then started crying profusedly. Papa who was downstairs watching TV (yes he was still up at 3am) dashed up to the room. We're not sure what frightened her but our only guess would be nightmare cause we can't think of anything else that could frighten a little kid at 3am.

I quickly picked her up from her cot and cuddled her for a few mins. When she stopped crying I asked if she would like to go back to her bed (aka her cot) and she nodded. I put her down and she was fast asleep again.

Hopefully she won't get anymore of those nasty nightmares.

No more diapers in the day!

We're happy to announce that Hayley at 20 months is officially off diapers in the day (yes even at the babysitter's) since 2 weeks ago. Imagine how much we've saved since then on diapers.

We started training her on and off a couple of months back and took it seriously in September when she was around 18 - 19 months. Read here for the first post.

Now we still put diapers on her when we go out for longer than an hour (in case we can't find a toilet in time when she needs to do her business or we're too lazy to take her to one) as well as at night. The babysitter continued to put diapers on her when she napping in the day just in case. Since we stopped putting diapers on her, we've had no more problems with rashes too.

The only downside now is that she refused to do her business elsewhere other than in a potty or a toilet.

This happened to us yesterday after having our dinner outside. While walking back to the car she wanted to pee. Papa and I took her to the bushes nearby and asked her to pee. We are worried that she will not be able to hold her pee and wet the cushion as she was not wearing a diaper. She simply refused! In the end she did wet her pants slightly but continued to hold her pee until we got home around 10 mins later. This taught me a lesson that I need to remind myself to bring a spare diaper wherever I go just in case we can't find a toilet nearby :-)

Hayley the Copycat

This is what babycentre have to say about a 20 month and week 2 toddler:

"He may not have the vocabulary to carry on a conversation just yet, but don't be surprised if your toddler starts to mimic your telephone style with his own toy phone. You may also catch him imitating the way you act behind the wheel of the car, preparing meals, or cleaning the house. This copycat behavior can be charming or potentially embarrassing. Pay extra attention to your own language and behavior, so you don't inadvertently teach him something you'd rather not see him do."

Hayley started the above much earlier, if not mistaken at around 18 months so I think it is true that girls do mature faster than boys.

I didn't realise it until one day when she threw her hanky onto the floor. I asked her to pick it up and she used her toes to try and pick up the hanky. She was definitely copying me as I often use my toes to pick up stuff on the floor when I am carrying her in my hand and lazy to bend down.

It is scary how quickly they can copy our actions and words at this stage. I guess as parents we have to be more cautious with our actions and words. We surely do not want to see her doing or saying anything embarassing at home and especially in public.

Aquaria KLCC

We visited Aquaria KLCC on Sunday since we have nothing to do and its been a while since we last took Hayley to somewhere interesting. It was the first visit for all of us.

We reached around 3pm and it was rather crowded, expected since it was a weekend. The queue to the ticket counter was rather long and the lady at the entrance asked if we have a Touch N Go card. We managed to gain entry in less than 2 mins using the TnG lane, hurray :-)

Papa and I have been to the waterworld in Sydney some years back and I would say this one was less interesting if compared to the one in Sydney. We covered the whole place in less than an hour. For RM28 per adult, I would say it is not worth it but for those who have not been to a waterworld before, I would say go for it.

As usual, you will find varieties of fishes, insects, coral reefs and reptiles being displayed. You can even touch some of the little sand tiger sharks and fishes supervised by the Aquaria employees.

You can touch these

Reptiles and butterflies

Piranhas and various fishes. Unfortunately we missed the piranha feeding time which was scheduled for 11.15am and 4pm.

Electric eel, Nemo fish and giant tanks

Some giant fishes and interesting displays. They look small in the photos but they are actually very big. Some of them are bigger than my Hayley :-). And since we can't use flash in there, all the photos appeared very dark. I don't know if it was my camera or my skills.

The main attraction would be the underwater world tunnel. You can opt to use the travelator or walk on the carpet. There were a couple of sharks and stingrays. Still not as good as the Sydney one. Hayley wasn't engrossed with the fishes or the displays, she was more interested in the travellator - wondering why it moved :-)

For those who have not been and are keen to go, go to Aquaria KLCC website for more details.

General Information

Operating hours : Daily from 11am to 8pm

Location: Ground floor, KL Convention Centre

Admission fee: Adult (with Mykad) RM28 and kids below 3 is FOC

Hayley's popo's 58th birthday

Hayley's popo turned 58 on 20th October. We celebrated popo's birthday on 16th October at Tony Romas. This was my 3rd visit to Tony Romas in 2 months, don't ask me why ~ lol ~

Well, we (my sisters and I) chose Tony Romas for various reasons. Firstly, we wanted popo to have a different dining experience. Popo is very old fashioned (she doesnt look old fashioned but thinks old fashionedly) and likes only chinese food in those typical chinese 'tai chau' restaurants. To her, those are good food. Western restaurants only means steaks and beef!

Secondly, my sister, one of them, have not been to Tony Romas before and she too would like to try it. She fancies Chili's.

Anyway, we dragged popo to Tony Romas in Mid Valley and assured her that she can still find fish and chips in Tony Romas :-). She will only order fish and chips each time we go to a western place. Popo brought her elder sister along. Yi Ma as we fondly calls her, was more than welcomed. She was like part of the family. She cooked and took care of popo when we were all busy.

1. Popo cutting her Chocolate Indulgence from Secret Recipe
2. Hayley and Cadence helping her with the 'many' candles
3. Everyone was busy eating while I was busy snapping away
4. My lil missy who was ill on that day, flu and fever
5. Popo and Yi Ma (Hayley calls her Yi Poh)
6. Popo's cake with the candles lit up

As for popo's birthday present, we didn't know what to get her and finally decided on a nice pair of walking shoes and we decided on Crocs. Penny influenced this more or less. Read her post here and I am sure you will get a pair of Crocs too after reading it :-).

This model was all sold out but in the end we managed to find 2 last pairs left (only size 4 and in khakis left) in Sunway Pyramid. It cost us RM169. Khakis wasn't our preferred colour but we didn't have a choice this time so we bought it.

Popo have never owned a pair of shoes that cost above RM100 (yes she was the stingy type) and will normally complain or grumble that we spend money like pouring out water. This time, she didn't say a word. We hope she will like it and we hope the shoes will keep her feet comfortable all day long. If she like it, we don't mind getting her a spare pair!

Happy Birthday again to Hayley's PoPo!!!

In case you wondered what she ordered, you guessed it right 'FISH AND CHIPS' it is! hahahaha

Sometimes she made my day..

Me: What sound does the dog make?
Hayley: woof woof
Me: What sound does the cat make?
Hayley: meow meow
Me: What sound does the cow make?
Hayley: moooooo
Me: What sound does the tiger make?
Hayley: roarrrrr
Me: What sound does the bee make?
Hayley: bbbzzzzzzz
Me: What sound does the duck make?
Hayley: quack quack
Me: What sound does the bird make?
Hayley: tweet tweet
Me: What sound does the mouse make?
Hayley: chit chit chit
Me: What sound does the frog make?
Hayley: [pondered for a while and I think she has forgotten cause I taught her the sound only yesterday] frroooggg... frooooggg...

She brightened my day :-)

Mosquito Repellent - Moz Away

Due to Hayley's flu, I had to sleep with her in our spare room, with windows opened for good circulation and no air conditioning. My first worries: THE MOSQUITOES. Since we stayed in a terrace house, it is unavoidable.

Hayley does not have the best skin and mozzie bites will end up being very big, red and swollen. She will not stop scratching. Some of the old bites looks like they are becoming permanent scars due to her constant scratching :-(. When I was little, we call it 10 cents or 20 cents marks on our feet.

We dropped by at Watson and saw Moz Away. It was at RM20.80 (not sure of the price at Guardian). What caught our attention was the words 'Safe for Children and babies' and it was instantly sold.

We used it for her that very same night and the following night and true enough she didn't get a single mozzie bite. Being the kiasumom I actually woke up twice in the middle of the first night to re-apply just in case. Then I found out that I didn't really have to do that so I didn't get up the 2nd night.

Apart from using Moz Away, we also turned on the mosquito repellent the whole night, for double protection.

If you are keen to find out more about this product, how to use, when to use etc, read this blog for more. The blog provides comprehensive coverage of the product which is great to know.

Terrible 'not even' Two

When Life as a mummy wrote about the Terrible-Twos stage about a month ago, I commented telling her how lucky she was to only start experiencing this stage when her son Ryan turned two.

Hayley started the terrible twos even before she turned two. In fact it started when she was 19 months old! She is now 20 months old and its getting really unbearable. Our babysitter often comments that baby girls are always ahead in everything during the early stages, I guess this is why the nightmare came early.

Here are some of the things that she does which makes us go bananas:

1. pouring water out from her bottle onto everywhere, tables, chairs, sofas, cushions etc
2. spitting water out from her mouth
3. playing with her saliva
4. disobeying instructions on purpose - ie testing the limits, touching things she knows she cannot touch and repeating the same action even after we said no
5. shouting loudly be it in public or at home, especially when she's looking for either one of us
6. the more you call for her, the further she will run from you
7. no longer afraid of getting flicked or caned

Papa was just commenting today that no wonder there are abuse cases. When kids are at their worst, they can be so terrible that parents or caretakers will sometimes loose their senses. A simple advise for parent wannabes, please make sure you are ready for the challenges and responsibilities before starting a family. This is not an easy game and there are no reset or end button. It's a game that you will have to play for at least 25 years!

We wonder how some parents can manage 2, 3 or 4 kids at the same time. We salute them! We are both so tired running after 1.

Apart from the stubborness and terrible behaviours, Hayley was also cutting her molars. My poor girl. She was having flu (since Thurs till today) and fever (on Thurs night) and was really cranky and attached. Her papa can't bathe her, can't take her to the toilet, can't feed her and can't even sleep next to her. Everything has to be MUMMY! Mummy can't even go to the toilet in peace :-(

We hope this stage will pass very very soon. Can Dibo please grant me a wish? :-)

Playing with her genitals

This is what Babycentre have to say about a 20 month old toddler:

"Toddlers have a natural curiosity about everything, including their own bodies. Have you noticed your child playing with her genitals yet? If you have, you can rest easy. It's nothing to worry about — unless it's happening nonstop. To cut down on embarrassing fact-finding missions in public, explain to your child that some things are done only at home in private. If that doesn't dissuade her from her explorations, offer her a toy or something else to keep her hands occupied."

2 weeks ago, Hayley started playing with her 'nen nen' everytime I undress her for a bath. During bath she likes to wash her own 'pet pet' too. I got kind of worried for a while and started checking on her private parts more thoroughly. You know la, we send our kids to babysitters and we don't even know what happened there. I mean we want to trust our babysitters but they are not family so we cannot let our guards down no matter what. Plus, there were so many scary stories out there of kids getting abused by babysitters, maids, relatives of babysitters etc etc. Scary man.

Anyway, after reading the updates above, I am more relaxed ~LOL~. It is nice to get weekly updates like that from Babycentre to warn me what I will be expecting each week :-)

Inspired by a stranger

During lunch yesterday at the foodcourt in Mid Valley, I saw a lady breastfeeding her child. I know there are many mothers out there breastfeeding their child in public places etc. So why is this one so special that I have to mention it in my blog?

She inspired me. I just don't know how to explain the feeling but after seeing her, I suddenly felt that breastfeeding is not that difficult after all.

When I saw her yesterday, she was multitasking and made it look so easy, almost effortless! She was holding her son using her right arm, the boy (probably about 18 - 19 months old) was latching and she was eating with her left arm. While latching and eating, she happily chatted away with her hubby. She used a napkin to cover the breast and her son's face. My buddy who was having lunch with me (she has no experience in breastfeeding) said the same. She too could not help but look over into the lady's direction every few mins to admire her.

Firstly, I didn't know breastfeeding could be this easy. Maybe it was not but she surely made it look very easy. When I was breastfeeding Hayley, I encountered so many problems. I pulled through for 8 months only because I was determined to. If I was weaker, I would have given up after 1 month.

So what are we lack of? I would say INFORMATION, GUIDANCE and SUPPORT. Where can we find lactation consultants here in KL? Do we even have one? The hospital where I delivered Hayley just gave me a piece of paper with instructions on breastfeeding and I was sent to go. I didn't know who to ask or who to get help from. Even my mom told me to stop when I was crying cause my breasts were so engorged and I was in so much pain.

A friend who gave birth in Abu Dhabi told me they have lactation consultants in the government hospitals in Abu Dhabi whom they can walk in or call to get advise when they have breastfeeding issues. Who do we call here in KL?

A couple of months down the road after I started blogging, I bumped into Busybee's blog. Busybee is my idol when it comes to breastfeeding. I truly admire her. She breastfed her son for more than 2 years. Read her blog if you don't believe me :-). She shares tips occasionally on breastfeeding and through her blog I found out about breastfeeding talks etc. Although we have to pay to attend the talks, I wouldn't mind as I know it would be useful.

Anyway, back to this lady. After watching her for a couple of mins, I was all inspired to breastfeed my 2nd child successfully and I can't wait to have a 2nd child actually hahaha. I hope I too can do it as leisurely and stress free like she can.

Sleepless night

Yesterday night was horrible.

At 3.30am, Hayley woke up screaming Papa Papa (calling for her daddy) and then started crying. My guess was she had a nightmare. She wanted to be cuddled and I had to wake up and carry her out of her cot into my arms. She cried for a little while on my chest and then asked to be put back in her bed (her cot).

Then it started to rain and there were thunders. She was terrified of thunders, soft or loud. She kept calling me and saying 'pa pa', scared in Mandarin. I kept reassuring her that it was ok and mummy will be right here. This went on for like 10 mins. I went back to sleep, not sure what time she did.

Then around 5am she suddenly said 'MOOO.... cow' and her eyes were still shut. She must be talking in her sleep.

Then at 5.30am the papa started coughing very loudly.

At 6.30am, my alarm clock goes off. Sigh.... I didn't even get to sleep!

A little brat

Scene 1:
Me: [singing] Row row row your boat, gently down the...
Hayley: STOP! [with her palm in my face]

Me: [singing] ABCDEFG HIJK
Hayley: STOP! [again with her palm in my face]

Me: What do you want me to sing?
Hayley: No

Me: OK then you sing
Hayley: row row row...... merry merry merry....

I almost died.

Scene 2:

Me: whistling to a funky tune we heard over the radio, can't remember the name of the song
Hayley: [while whistling with me] Papa, shuu shuu shuuu... [asking her father to whistle along]
Papa: Papa dunno how to whistle this song la..
Hayley: PAPA [louder this time] shuu shuu shuuuu.....
Papa: OK OK [starts to whistle]
All 3 of us: whistled along to the tune and Hayley nicely swaying her body and her head from left to right

LOL

Photos

Here are the photos as mentioned in my previous post:

My simple birthday at Canton Bay

At cousin's wedding in Ampang. The other 2 are my nieces. The one in green is Caitlin (3 weeks younger than Hayley) and the older one is Cadence (5).

Papa and me at his friend's wedding. Our first night outing alone since having Hayley.

Papa's birthday at Tony Romas, with the complimentary yummilicious dessert.

Us

Papa's birthday at Korean BBQ restaurant courtesy of my sis

At ah tai's birthday in Ampang. I didn't take that many photos cause we have a professional photographer doing the job. So let's wait for those photos instead :-)

On the way to ah tai's birthday party

THE END

We've been busy

Didn't realise that I have not blogged since Sept 20th. Well, we've been really busy with a couple of things in the last couple of weeks ... we've been sick, then there were 2 weddings and 3 birthdays that we had to attend to.

Here comes the full story...

Stomach Flu
The entire family had our share of stomach flu during the mid of Sept. Hayley started it on 16th Sep, me on 18th Sep and papa on 19th Sep. She vomitted after almost every feed (milk or solids) and had watery stools. Thankfully apart from the vomitting and diarrhea she is still an active little one and is very attentive. We monitored her for 2 days and although her condition improved we still brought her to the doctor before the long Raya weekend (just in case). Doctor prescribed some medication and told us there were no need to change her formula to lactose free or soy based as she seems to be improving. However, we were told to give her milk in small quantity every 1.5 hours to give her tummy sometime to digest and to make sure she wasn't dehydrated.

Her condition got worst the following day and I immediately changed her usual formula to lactose free formula. Everytime we give her the usual formula, her stools would become very watery. I gave the doctor a call and she told us to put her on lactose free milk for 2 weeks at least. We gave her Isomil and Nursoy and she didn't like any of those and refused to take her milk. In the end we had no choice but to give her Similar LF (she took this before at 11 months old as she had mild diarrhea back then) and luckily she was ok with it. This formula was meant for babies below 12 months so we were concerned but the doctor assured us that it was ok. The milk is very expensive too, about RM20 for a small tin which will last for 3-4 days. We were also told to give her plain and simple solids for a few days.

As of today Hayley is still on the lactose free formula. We plan to slowly introduce her back to her usual formula starting from today. Hopefully she will be ok [fingers and toes crossed].

As for papa and me, we vomitted as well and had watery stools too during the first couple of days. Mine lasted 4 days but papa's lasted 8 days. Imagine having 3 sick people in the house and we had to look after each other despite being sick. Thankfully my mom came to the rescue over the weekend. She helped cook lunch and dinner for us. It really made a difference to have healthy home cook meal.

As for the stomach flu, doctor said it was infectious. So I am not sure how Hayley caught it but I am sure she must have passed it on to me and then to the papa. She even passed it on to the little boy at the babysitter's. We felt so sorry for him.

My birthday
My birthday was on 22nd Sep and it was nothing to shout about this year. We didn't go for the usual fancy dinner as Hayley and papa were still having stomach flu and I was just recovering. Instead we went for a quick lunch at Canton Bay, plain simple Chinese food which wouldn't upset our tummy. But still it was a happy occassion as I got to enjoy it with the people I loved the most.

As we've been together for 12 years now, we have stopped surprising each other with birthday presents (and possibly end up buying something that our better half doesn't like). Now we just pay for whatever our better half want. Although we won't get the fun of opening a surprise gift, we both agreed that this would be a more practical solution.

So, what did I pick this year? Well, nothing yet.. hahaha. As we're planning a year end trip to Singapore (in conjunction with my company's year end dinner) which will be Hayley's first trip overseas and also her first time on a plane (tickets booked), I plan to redeem my birthday gift there :-)

Weddings
We attended 2 weddings. A cousin's wedding on 19th Sept (all 3 of us were still down with stomach flu then) and papa's friend's wedding on 26th Sep (papa was still having the flu). Hayley tagged along to my cousin's wedding (which was compulsory as it was a family affair) but we left her at home with my mom for the other.

She was such a handsful at my cousin's wedding that we didn't stay long. She was making a lot of noise with the bowl and spoon, running around and banging into the waitresses, demanding for food etc. Papa's frequent need to use the loo didn't help either. We left the wedding early and it was indeed a tiring day for all of us.

As for papa's friend's wedding, we decided not to bring her so we could enjoy the evening to ourselves. Luckily my mom was free to come over to babysit for the night. And luckily Hayley didn't create a havoc when we both left the house.

Mom said she was a darling and very easy to care for. After feeding her dinner (porridge), she gave Hayley some fruits and played with her or watched TV with her. She didn't fuss a bit and entertained herself with her toys and her favourite TV channels. She even asked for milk close to bedtime. After her last feed, she went to bed in less than 30 mins. When we got home around 11pm, she was already in dreamlad :-).

Papa's birthday
Papa's birthday was 1o days after mine, 2nd Oct. I took leave to celebrate it with him, like I do every year. Since it was a Friday, we decided to leave Hayley at the babysitter's to have some private time for ourselves. We both felt very guilty for doing this but since we have 2 other dinner celebrations on Sat and Sun, we decided not to bring her along on Friday. We went to Tony Romas and papa enjoyed his favourite rib eye steak. Tony Romas was kind enough to give the birthday boy a free dessert, delicious vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate cake. It was nice to enjoy our lunch in such a carefree manner. We walked a bit at the mall after lunch and enjoyed some small chats. It was nice.

Saturday night we celebrated papa's birthday again at a Korean BBQ restuarant in Solaris. This time it was my sister's treat. We even bought a cake for papa. Hayley enjoyed singing the birthday song, blowing out the candles and eating the cream on the cake.

Papa too planned to redeem his birthday gift in Singapore :-)

Grandma's Birthday
We celebrated grandma's birthday on 4th Oct in a Chinese restuarant in Ampang. I could still remember the time when the entire family could easily fill 3 tables and yesterday we had 6 tables! How the family has grown. The oldest there of course would be my grandma who is almost 90 and the youngest is a little baby girl who is not even 2 months old. She was the 4th generation.

My grandma enjoyed herself surrounded by family members and loved ones. The kids (too many to count) enjoyed running around the restuarant and making lots of noise.

We kept Hayley occupied in her seat with food but after about an hour, she demanded to get some floor exercise :-). That was it for us. Lots of running around chasing after a 19 month old from there on. We got home around 11pm (thanks to traffic, even on a Sunday night!).

Glad that all the events were behind us now. Although tiring, they were fun and memorable (except for the stomach flu part) and left me poorer :-).

Photos will follow in the next post. As for today, I took leave to enjoy some me time at home and maybe dropping by at Ikea later :-).

Toilet trained, we're almost there...

For the last 3 nights, Hayley woke up with dry diapers.
For several days she didn't wet her cloth diapers or disposable diapers (in the day) unless when we're out and we didn't visit the toilet.

Does this means that she's now toilet trained? Unfortunately she still won't tell us when she wants to pee or poo, we have to ask her constantly or bring her to the toilet every 1.5 - 2 hrs and especially after her milk and before bedtime.

This is how we trained her:

1. Put her on cloth diapers on weekends or whenever she is home with us. She's still on disposable diapers at the babysitter's on weekdays. This is so that we will know when she wet herself.
2. At the beginning we'll need to bring her to the toilet every half hour or every hour. Tell her to pee or poo.
3. Praise her when she's done. We love to say 'clever girl'.
4. Sometimes even after visiting the toilet, she will still wet herself especially at the beginning. When this happens, we beat her and sternly tell her that she must tell us when she wants to pee or poo and she must not wet her diapers.
5. After a couple of weekends, she will be able to hold her pee longer and we don't need to bring her to the toilet every half hour or every hour. We can bring her to the toilet every 1.5 - 2 hrs and she will still remain dry.

We did all the above for 4 - 5 weekends. We have to say it wasn't easy and it does take a lot of effort. I had to wash her cloth diapers and clean her mess very often. There was once when she pooed and she poked her finger through the poo and came to show me in the kitchen. Luckily she didnt put it in her mouth ~lol~ and on many occassions she would wet the sofa or the mattress.

Now, whenever we bring her to the toilet, we don't need to watch or listen if she did her business. She will tell us. She will say 'clever girl' when she is done :-)

The funny part is she still won't do her big business in the toilet. We only had 1 success so far.

Hopefully we'll be able to fully trained her in the next few weeks.

Muscle strain and Tui Na

I had a bad muscle strain over the last week and I thought I was having a heart attack! We have history of heart problems in the family (my dad) and we do pay special attention to whatever aches that is near the heart or feels like it's coming from the heart.

It started with some minor chest pressure/discomfort on the right side which travelled to the left side after 3 days. I went to see a GP near the office who said I could be having some gastric problems (I don't have gastric problems in the past) and pescribed me with some anti inflammation for the chest and gastric pills. I was told to monitor for a few days and to return if the pain didn't get better or got worst. 3 days later instead of chest pressure/discomfort I was having pretty bad upper backache (in between the shoulder blades). I couldn't sit, sleep or walk comfortably and I couldn't even carry Hayley without being in pain.

I went to see my regular GP and he confirmed that it was merely a muscle strain. And my heart was fine. He checked my blood pressure and heart beat a couple of times and said they were perfectly normal. I was hugely relieved.

The muscle strain, he said, was a result of being in stress, overworked, lack of quality sleep and rest. The body reached its maximum and decided its time to send out some warnings. He prescribed me with some painkillers, muscle relaxant and gave me a day of sick leave to rest at home.

Instead of resting at home and being in pain, I decided to seek out some traditional treatment. Friends and colleagues recommended tui na and a couple of them recommended Reborn. I went to Reborn and since it was happy hour (office hours), I paid RM78 for an hour of foot reflexology and an hour of Tui Na back massage. I find that a pretty good deal.

The foot reflexology was ok (I can't really compare as I don't do foot reflexology that frequent to be able to tell the difference). It was a combination of pleasure and pain. The masseurs commented that I don't sleep well and my shoulders are not good when I reacted in pain when she applied pressures on certain spots. I would say she was spot on.

After about an hour, we went upstairs for my back massage. I was given a pair of shorts and was told to take off my shirt and bra. I lay on the bed face down and the torture began. The back massage was painful. Almost every part that she presses hurts. I am not sure if it hurts because I was already in pain originally or it was meant to be. Some parts hurts more than the others.

The masseurs kept asking me if she should reduce her strength. I guess she could tell from my body gestures and the sounds I made when I was in pain.. haha.

She ended the body massage with some hand and head massage. I didn't like it when she massaged my face using the same hands that touched my back and hands. Anyway, I think if I were to go back next time, I'll ask her not to touch my face!

After the massage, I left with a sore back. When I got home, I found this:

Not sure if this is again normal but it does scare my little girl. She kept saying 'pain pain, pain pain' and blew at my back to relieve the pain while rubbing it... sweet eh... hehe

Its been 4 days after the treatment and my back is less painful now and the marks have more or less disappeared too. I was told that I need to do this more than once to see the results over a period of time. I don't mind doing this once or max twice a month but definitely won't do more than that.

A nice compliment from a stranger

An aunty in her late 30s (I think) came up to us while we were having lunch yesterday at our usual McDonalds and asked us the strangest question.

Aunty: Excuse me, sorry to disturb but I noticed that your daughter's skin is really nice and very fair and I just want to know what you ate during pregnancy?

Me: *responded with a dumb look* (caught by surprise ma)

Aunty: Err.. did you drink a lot of soya milk or something?

Me: *came to my senses and responded* Err... I didn't take anything special wor. But I did take some bird's nest, avoided black soya sauce or any sauce that is black and some soya milk.

Aunty: Oh.. is that all?

Me: yes wor.

Aunty: Oh ok, thank you very much ah

Me: you're welcome.

I continued with my nuggets, papa smiled, Hayley continued with her fries dipped in tomato sauce and the aunty went back to her table.

It was indeed a nice compliment. The first in 19 months :-)

Pedicure and manicure, not my game

This story is actually quite old, about 2 weeks old but I've not had the chance to write about it until today. So here it is.....

Friends who knew me will know that I am someone who is quite stingy when it comes to spending on me. I wouldn't mind to spend on my hubby, my baby, my family or even my friends but when it comes to spending on me, I would think twice and sometimes thrice. And most often I would end up not getting the thing that I initially wanted to get (not bad strategy eh, money saved yet again hahaha).

One Sat, I got crazy (influenced by my hubby who told me about the nail salon near the house) and decided to go for a manicure and pedicure. I have been thinking about this for quite sometime but didn't really go for it cause I find spending RM100 on such small nails and toes wasteful. I could spend the RM100 on something more useful for Hayley - be it a new toy, a fancy book or maybe top up her bank account.

Would you believe that in my entire life, I have only had the combination of manicure and pedicure done ONCE and that was for my wedding? Believe it. I have also had a pedicure done once when in Phuket (it was really cheap there and I couldn't resist) and that was it. Pathetic right?....

Before I had Hayley I used to paint my toes on my own. When I was pregnant with her, I couldn't reach my toes anymore and after having her I didn't have the time to bother. As for my nails, I never paint them with colours (only strengtheners) cause they won't last due to all the housework and washing that I have to do plus my nails are short and ugly. I think they look odd with colours.

After putting Hayley to nap that Sat, I sneaked out to the nail salon. They were having promo and I spent RM66 for both pedicure and manicure. The normal price would be RM83 for both. The treatment lasted almost 2 hours and although it was lovely to be pampered, lovely to have my toes and nails taken care of and lovely to see pretty colours on them, I don't think I will do it on a regular basis. I still can't get rid of the guilt that I could actually put this RM66 to better use than this!

I have friends who have their manicure and pedicure done on a weekly basis and I often ohhs and ahhss over how pretty they look. I don't think I can do the same. Maybe we just have different priorities and mine is just not me :-)

My ugly toes in colours

My nails painted with stregtheners

By the way, the shine on my nails only lasted for a few hours. When I got home and got to the housework, they were not so shiny anymore and the sides actually came off bit by bit!

See..... that's why I didn't bother [lol]