The Chronicles of Jackets

In his earlier years, T had a few memorable jackets that I remember well. Even today, I remember vividly the sequence in which the jackets were bought or gifted. The strange things that mummies remember eh? It's a pity that I dont have pictures of T wearing all of them, only a few.

It actually all started when we started bringing him to his ex-nanny at ard 6 months of age, who nagged us to put him in long sleeved PJs. His then wardrobe consisted of only short sleeves (in Spore's hot weather, we thought he would be roasting under long sleeves). In fact, the nanny almost had a fit on the first day we brought him over in the morning cos he was wearing a thin short sleeve shirt!

I was still in audit then and it so happened that my client's office was in Orchard Road, right oppostite a huge Espirit outlet and Xmas sales were going on. Hehe...*evil smirk*

Blame the bad lighting and camera angle, but he is actually wearing his first ever jacket - red hoodie from Espirit (30% off!). The zipper subsequently broke off but I still have the jacket with me, waiting for the day that it will re emerge and get loved by K. Not very likely at this stage though, cos K is too girly *happy dance* and looks sweeter in cardigans (thanks Auntie Sel!). Besides, the jacket is for up to 12 months and K is barely fitting into most of her 12-mth clothing as it is...

Next up: a really cool denim jacket from ZARA (I think) which came after the Espirit zipper broke off and was on discount as well. Rock on baby!! This jacket is also waiting in the wings to come out one day to grace the body of K. Maybe when she can walk properly and will look really cute in tutu skirts paired with this jacket and topped off with Mary-Janes. So chic!

At around the same time where I bought the denim jacket, T was gifted a similar looking jacket during Xmas by Auntie ET. If I didnt remember wrongly, T was wearing the ZARA jacket when we arrive at the party venue and Auntie ET was going "oh oh..." cos the one she bought was almost exactly the same but with a really functional hoodie. This jacket too is in the magic box of jackets waiting to see the light of day again. Its a pity I don't have a picture of the hoodie denim jacket to show.

My second most favourite jacket after the red hoodie cos it is lightweight, easy to go gai gai and memorable cos it was the one I bought him when he first started childcare. 

I didn't really like this cardigan when I first saw it in Mothercare cos the grey material reminded me of the old hospital bed blankets for some reason but got it in the end cos it made him look really Harvard geek - a change from the usual "rugged" look that mama always puts him in,  as Auntie Sel described it. T is still wearing it to this day (its meant for 3-4 year olds)....amazing how a few bazillion rounds in the washing machine can do that to stretchy cotton materials ;P

There u have it - mummy's favourite T jackets!

Fishy Business

The little lady in my home has very strange tastebuds.

Not that she is a finicky eater or anything, but K likes fishy stuff. Literally. And not just the average steamed fish mind u; it's steamed fish with fishy stock e.g. dried oysters, scallops, ikan billis etc.

Take yesterday for example: I was looking for a quick fix for her dinner porridge cos I was tired out from a long weekend's chores. So the stock was made from dried oysters and protein was a piece of threadfin - just dump everything into the slow cooker for it to work its magic.

It could be me but the resulting porridge smelt fishier than ever but K couldn't get enough of it. Considering that she had an early dinner (her milk feed was abt 2 hours ago), the little lady was very cooperative in opening her mouth wide for each spoonful waved in front of her, which isn't always the case. If the day's menu is not to her tastebuds, she will turn away after a few mouthfuls (after the initial hunger is gone) or deliberately clamp her mouth shut. Worse, u get treated to a porridge 'mask' if she really really doesn't like it. I've learnt to dodge fast.

Besides all this fishy business, I no longer can eat anything in peace, especially breakfast. Guess who will be in her Exersaucer batting her oh so cute eyelids and hee-heeing at me for a few bites of roti? To keep whatever little peace there is left in the house, K goes down for a nap (or at least, back in the cot in her room) before I can eat lunch or dinner in peace. So far so good...she gets a toy to play with in the cot and I get fungi-free lunch/dinner.

Goodbye Mr Lee

Mr Lew Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March 2015, leaving behind a lasting legacy and a grateful Singapore forever in his debt.

 

I am not here to wax lyrical about how great he was, how great his contributions to our island state were. There are too many articles circulating around Facebook and newspapers for that which has probably been shared to death (no pun intended). He may very well be smiling all the way to wherever dead folks go at the thought of joining his beloved wife again. 

 

I wanted to write this blog as a memory of what has transpired since the announcement of his death. From the 8-hour queues by the public just to enter the Parliment House where Mr Lee's body lies in state, to the anecdotes on how loving he was towards his wife and the red box where he kept his official work, to my visit to Tanjong Pagar CC where he was MP once (the fact that it was within walking distance from my office didn't hurt either).

 

The latest drama brewing in my handphone now is an initiative by SMRT to extend their operating hours till midnight so that people can pay their last respects at the Parliment House. Some idiots on FB took this chance to ask for FOC rides or post comments on how they hope the trains do not break down from overuse. I rate these idiots down there with the idiots who asked when a public holiday will be declared to commemorate LKY's death. I took the chance to lambast the morons who posted stupid comments...

 

A colleague and I went down to Tg Pagar CC to pay our respects to him as well. It was a somber moment as the fact sank in that this much revered (or much feared, depending on which Singaporean you are talking to) powerhouse is gone. Dead just like many other humans before him and plenty others will be, after him. But one thing is for sure: a greater man we will never see in this lifetime. 

 

Bouquets galore (we contributed 6 champagne roses and accessorizing flowers and leaves)

In memory of Mr Lee

  

A picture dedicated to him on his 75th birthday

Thank you sir, for all that you have done for us. Rest in peace, and may your reunion with Mrs Lee be a happy one...

Just Cruisin'

Some updates on the teething monster here:

As suddenly as the symptoms came, K's teething woes have subsided (for the time being) and she is back to her usual sunshiny self. She is smiling at everyone who does funny stuff to make her laugh and is generally in a good mood most of the time (except for times where Bad Mummy actually dares to pour water down her gullet so that she doesn't shrivel up with dehydration). Thank goodness, I say! I can even put her straight to bed without having to pat/rock/all sorts of funny things to make her go beddy-bye while my lunch or dinner is quietly growing fungi in its bowl.

Another milestone achieved: she can pull herself up from a sleeping position to standing up now. Probably not long till she starts a-cruisin' and begin her collection of bua dukus (a bump never kill anyone, except if u got it from falling from the 10th floor. Then a bua duku will perhaps be the least of your worries...).

Ending off with some random pix of Princess K here.

Really look like a boy here, much to Mummy's consternation

Getting a clothed sun-tan while gor gor is water-playing

Hello? Hello?

Using 吃奶的力 to pull herself up

Trying to find the right combination for the Disney channel

MS DOS vs Windows

I once came across an analogy while scanning one of those books which try to explain how men and women are aliens from completely different planets:

" Men are MS DOS systems - they are programmed to only do one task at a time.

Women on the other hand, behave like the Windows OS - they can put on mascara while juggling 2 babies with the other arm AND talk to their friends on the phone."

Or something to that effect.

The point is: males can't multi-task for squat while women excel in it. Which rings quite true in the HG household, at least where the minors are concerned.

When T was a baby, he hits his milestones like a man (well, the typical man type anyway), aka singularly and systematically. There were signs that he will be reaching a milestone soon and he got there gradually.

With K, I am reminded of an octopus. One who wants to stick her tentacles in every single pie (a Jack of all trades if u will).

One day, she is trying to crawl, next minute she's trying to do cruising pull-ups, yet another she's learning to sit on her own. As of now, she's hitting many milestones at the same time but doing each one only satisfactorily. Mum's pride is one thing, but I am also objective when looking at her milestones. Wobbly crawls, half-completed pull ups and strange sitting positions does that to u.

But they sure make me smile, especially after a long day at work!

Girly Boy?

This is the desktop background on my work comp now - a picture of K and the Husband when we were out one day. Point of highlight: K was wearing a pink halter sundress.

Words of emphasis: Pink. Sundress.

So I was at work this morning with an extended desktop (simply put: a laptop with an external monitor) cos civil servants all have to work with lots and lots of info/data eh? Anyway, a colleague walked past my work station and asked: "Oooo! Is that your son?"

I shall not break into an angry tirade here (though I wanted to at that point in time).

PINK!
SUNDRESS!!

Which part of those 2 words sends (misguided) messages to your neurological faculties that she is a boy??? Gah...

Chua Sai

I love my boss. I really do.

I am one of those lucky workers who do not roll their eyes when talking about their superior nor at the risk of incurring $500 fines by wanting to spit at the mention of their boss's name.

It is her boss who scares me. Yep, my big boss.

Right from day 1 where I had my 1st (and only) interview at my current organisation, my hairs stood up when Ms B sat in during the interview. Even now, an innocuous comment from her has the ability to turn me into a gibbering mess. Not very impressive on the few ocassions I had to have one-on-one discussions with her.

Had another of those gibbering sessions with her today and my heart was heavy when I left her office room, wishing I could have done better. Now I know how my friends felt when they met my papa last time. Sobz ~