Warehouse Madness

And I'm not just talking about the prices. Read on to know more about the "kiasu" parents I met there.

Kak N and myself arrived at the warehouse sale around 10.30am. It had only been open for 1/2 hour, but the place was already packed. Worst still, most of good fisherprice stuff had already been taken. Shucks!!

Anyhow, Kak N and myself each took an empty box and proceeded to move along the ailes. First up, tons of He-man stuff. I have two girls.....NEXT!!

I proceeded next to the Barbie section. Hmmm, not really my style. It's not that I have anything against Barbie or any kind of dolls in particular. It's just that growing up, I never had any dolls. I never really liked them; I was more of a teddy bear kind of child. So I guess I've passed on that on to my kids. They have tons of teddy bears and other stuff toys, no dolls what-so-ever. So I made a pass at the Barbie section too.

Next up, Fisherprice. Now I was all prepared to grab aything and everything in sight but apparently I wasn't the only enthusiatic parent there. I tell you, there was this one..I'll say "lady', only she didn't act like one. Whenever the Mattel workers would bring out new toys, she would climb..and I mean, li.te.ral.ly climb over people to grab the toys there!! Ayooooo!!!!!

At last I couldn't take it. People were being trampled by this woman. I turned around and said to her..in a very nice voice, "Elo, no need to be like that. Don't have to push people, okay?" Apparently this woman either had really thick skin or was just hard of hearing. After suffering through a few more pushes and "climbs" from this woman, I had had enough.

Ellooooo!! Other people also buying toys, ok. No need to climb people!!

She looked at me and then proceeded to say something in chinese.

Eh WTF!! Eventhough I don't know chinese, I can recognise a swear word when I hear it.

I spent one hour grabbing whatever toys I could get my hands on, and another hour lining up to pay for them. Please don't ask me how much I spent. These are toys for a year, I'm saving them for my daughters' birthdays and as birthday presents for my friends' kids.

I'll take pictures of what I bought. Be prepared to be jealous :D

Mattel Warehouse Sale. ARGHHHH!!! 

Would You Want Me as Your Idol?

Is American Idol on every night? It seems that every time I switch to Star World, its always on. Seriously, one cannot keep track. How many people are supposed to be on the show? 30? 50? How many are they suppose to eliminate? Why are the producers f---ing with the previous concept? Why am I getting so riled up about this?

One thing I can’t understand is how they "force" the eliminated contestants to sing “for the last time”. Man, if it were me I would be like “Seacrest, f--- you man! I’ve just been humiliated on national TV. I’m not gonna sing one more note for you, or for the freaking four people who voted for me.”

Then I’ll stomp off stage, all the while screaming on top of my voice “Just you wait! I’m gonna make me a CD some day. I’ll be famous!! I’ll be rich!! I’ll be ..... muffflifdbfs" (bodyguards come, place me in a straitjacket and toss me into the back of a van).

Now THAT would make great reality TV!!

*************************************************

It’s Friday. Ahhhh...that means tomorrow I can sleep in. Ah, but wait. Just remembered I promised Kak N to follow her to a warehouse sale. Have to be there by 9.45am since the gates open up at 10am. Must warm up for tomorrow’s mad rush with other “kiasu” parents. According to Kak N, it can get pretty wild at these warehouse sales...arms and elbows flying everywhere. Maybe I should wear a protective suit. Must remember to wear jogging shoes. No need to bring handbag, hubby’s credit card is enough....hehehehe.

For those of you who are interested, here’s what I’m talking about. If you see me there, carrying boxes and boxes of toys, just wink and move on.

It's Thursday...

Early in the morning, got meeting already. Thankfully the mat salleh I was meeting very handsome. Hehehehehehe...(hubby, if you’re reading this, you are still way more handsome..ok?)

**********************************************

Been very busy lately. Haven’t had the time to update my blog eventhough there are so many things I wanna write about. Just a rundown of what’s been happening with the kids.

1. Dina rolled over!!! She’s so smart. :D The first time she rolled over, she was kind of surprised. The look on her face was like “what the heck just happened here?”. After that, she just wouldn’t stop rolling around. She was like...”now I’m on my back...now I’m on my tummy!! On my back again...on my tummy again!!” It was hilarious.

2. Dania fell and bumped her head. HARD! I was upstairs praying when this happened. Apparently Dania was playing with the clothes basket, pretending it was a ship. She had climbed inside the basket and started to rock it to and fro, all the time going WHEEE..ANGIN KUAT...BOT NAK KARAM. And karam she did. The basket tipped over and Dania went down, backwards. She hit her head on the door panel then on the floor. My god, the screams that came out of her!! Only after much consoling from both hubby and myself (and 8oz of milk), did she quiet down. In fact, she fell asleep. Too much excitement for one day. I should have taken a photo of the bruise on her head, it was massive!! And red, coz the skin had been scrapped off. It was just too much for me to bear. I made sure Dania got extra hugs and kisses that night.

***********************************************

Plan to leave office early. Or rather 5.30pm on the dot. Have to go to Tesco to but groceries...my fridge is damn empty. I swear I heard an echo when I opened it this morning. Sigh...

My Dream Job

Thanks to MyMomsBest, I now have a great support group for mothers and mothers-to-be. Check out the link under Mummy Links on the right. Thanks to this site also, I’ve made some new friends, even if we only meet online.:D

Its funny how reading through all the comments of all the mothers at this site, how passionate some people are about their children and breastfeeding and being pregnant. Well, maybe not funny ha-ha, but funny in the way somehow I find myself becoming that kind of person more and more.

Remember when we were in school and we had to fill out those forms that asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up? I remember writing down the usual suspects; doctor, teacher, lawyer, architect, postman (huh??). When I was in form 3, my ambition was to be a politician, or rather the Prime Minister. I was that ambitious. I remember telling my friends I would never get married and have kids coz I would be too busy being a careerwoman, to be jetsetting around the world, going for meeting and making tons of money.

Fast forward 15 years later and look where I am. Sure, I’m a careerwoman but nowadays I find myself wishing I could afford not to be.

I wish I had the luxury of not having to wake up in the morning and get ready for work.

I wish I had the luxury of staying at home and taking care of my children.

But I know I can’t. It’s not only the money factor, it’s because I know I would never survive staying at home 24/7. As much as I love the kids, staying at home 24/7 would drive me nuts.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been programmed in some way, that when things slow down for me, I feel like my brain cells are dying one by one. Maybe I’m just being so freaking analytical of the situation.

Even on Saturdays, which are usually my springcleaning days, I find myself drawing up a schedule the night before in my head.

8.00am – wake up
8.10am – make bed
8.30am – hang out clothes to dry
8.40am – sweep upstairs
9.00am – mop upstairs
9.30am – clean bathrooms
10.00am – check up on kids, breastfeed dina, etc

From then onwards, it’s read the newspaper, surf online, watch pathetic reruns on tv, nap, eat, yada yada yada...

If for some reason, my schedule goes awry, my whole day is slightly ruined. Then I fret that I didn’t mop the floor this week or that the bathrooms didn’t get washed or the kids aren't . Something inside me just snaps; on Saturday I just have to become Supermom.

But then my hubby reminds me, just being there at home with the kids, playing with them, giving them the hugs and kisses that they need and thrive on, is super enough. The house doesn’t always have to be spick and span; lunch doesn’t always have to be homemade.

That’s when I take a deep breath and realize I may already have the dream job I want. It may not pay much and it sure does take a lot out of you and sometimes you don’t get any gratitude for all your hard work. It may not promise me a company car or a corner office with a view. Then when my daughter Dania comes up to me and gives me a big hug or when Dina gives me a huge gummy grin, it sure does make everything seem all worth while.

Being a mom is truly one of the best jobs in the world.

Ya Allah, sesungguhnya aku bersyukur atas rezekiMu. Berkatilah keluargaku, lindungilah kami dunia dan akhirat Amin.

More pictures of the girls

Once I've started posting up their pictures, I can't seem to stop. I should take more pictures of them in more "happening" surroundings.

The girls fooling around, with abah standing by (in case of foul play). 

Wait..my tummy is showing!! O, for the love of.... 

You are under my spell. You will breastfeed me..now!! 

Legs up!! A baby's version of taebo.  

Ibu, I'm feeling a bit squished here. Help!! 

Look at me. I'm feeding myself. Emm, mittens are yummy!! 

To Catch a Thief

Apparently you need an aerosol spray. Coz that’s what hubby used to throw at the thief when he broke into our room.

Not in real life though. He dreamt it last night. And woke me and the kids up in the process with a VERY LOUD SCREAM.

If I wasn’t spooked out by the experience, I would have rolled on the floor and laughed myself silly at him.

Around 4am last night:

Hubby: Woi! WOOOOOOOOIIIII!!!!

Myself: Jumped out of bed and ran to hubby.

Dania started crying, she was terrified. Kenapa Abah jerit?!!

Even Dina, in the next room, woke up. Thankfully she fell asleep after a minute of crying.

This morning I asked hubby, what the hell were you dreaming about last night? You nearly woke the entire neighborhood up.

Hubby: Orang mimpi pencuri masuk rumah. He came in though our bedroom window.

Myself: And then? What did you do?

Hubby: I tried to catch him. I threw the aerosol spray at his head but I missed. He got away. Damn!!

I’m trying very hard not to laugh.

Myself: And the scream was to...?

Hubby: Takutkan pencuri tu ler. He was going through our stuff

Well, at least I know I can depend on my hubby if a thief ever really breaks into our home. The least I can do is make sure an aerosol spray is ready at hand for such incident.

I am Lois from Malcolm in the Middle

Try this link. It's hilarious.

http://www.smalltime.com/dictator.html

What you have to do is to pretend to be a dictator or television sitcom character. The computer will try to guess who you are by asking simple yes/no questions. If you're not sure of the answer to a question, answer "No". After 15 or so questions, the computer will make an educated guess on who you are.

I pretended to be
1. Lois from Malcolm in the Middle
2. Rachel from Friends.
3. Moe from The Simpsons
4. Cheryl from According to Jim
5. Niles Crane from Frasier

The computer guessed right each and every time.

Spooky!!

I didn't pretend to be dictator coz Hitler is the only dictator that comes to mind. And I definitely don't want to be him.

Finally...recent pictures of the girls.

Due to many requests, (actually only 4, but that made me feel popular enough), I've posted up new pictures of the girls. And my hubby. Excuse the grubby look. Usually he's way sexier looking than this. :D

This was taken after 4 minutes of trying to get everyone to look at the camera. Sigh... 

A slightly better picture. But Dina insists on her "macho" look. 

Watch me as I show off my skills descending this slide. I said, WATCH ME!!! 

Whew, that was fun!! Can I go again? 

She ain't heavy, she's my sista!! 

After a day at the playground, it's time to chill on the sofa. 

Early Wednesday morning

In sharp contrast to yesterday, today I arrived at the office at 7.30am. When I parked my car, there were only 2 other cars in the parking lot. I felt grand. Now it’s nearly 9am, and I’m kicking myself for not being able to get more sleep.

Hubby had an 8.30am meeting in KL today, thus the reason for my early arrival at work. I had to send him off at the ERL first. Luckily he was able to catch the 7.30am train.

***********************************************

Today’s gonna be another busy day. I can just feel it. However must not forget to watch the new season of CSI tonight.

Nightly Visitor?

Both hubby and I woke up at 8.30am today. We simultaneously cursed at the clock and jumped in the shower. Different showers :D.

Why is it the more you’re in a hurry, the more obstacles you face? Time tu le nak terberak, time tu le Dina wanted her milk, time tu le Dania chose to wake up in a very bad mood.

We arrived at the office around 9.36am. Dielah, how to become best employee like this?

*****************************************

Last night I experienced a very disturbing experience. How does it feel like to be “tertindih”? You know, some people claim, when they’re asleep, they feel like something’s sitting on them and they can’t move. I swear that’s what I felt last night.

The thing is, I was lying on my side. Usually people experience this when lying on their backs. But there I was lying on my side, when suddenly I felt like an enormous gush of wind had placed itself on top of me. I don’t know how else to explain it, but I know for sure that I just couldn’t move, not even a muscle. Add to the confusion, I heard a load rumbling sound, like I was suddenly in a tornado or something.

I tried moving my big toe (coz some people say, if you can move your big toe, the “thing” releases you and you can then move your whole body).

I couldn’t.

I tried screaming to hubby for help. I couldn’t even open my mouth.

I tried groaning loudly. I know I made some noise but I could hardly make it out over the loud rumbling noise that was still ringing in my ears.

After what seemed forever, the sensation finally passed. I tried moving my arms then quickly turned to face hubby.

He was sound asleep.

I must have stayed awake for at least 30 minutes, waiting to see if the “thing” would come back. I can’t say it frighten me; bewildered would be a better word.

I told hubby about this in the car this morning. He swore he didn’t hear a peek out of me last night.

I’m hoping tonight I get some quality sleep. I can do without anymore nightly “visitors”.

General rambling...

For those of you who don’t know, engaged models Freddy and Kendra won the Amazing Race 6. Shucks!!!! I was so hoping it would be Kris and Jon. I’ve been cheering for that couple ever since the race started. So loving...so cute...so calm...and so positive. Sometimes I wish my relationship with hubby could be as good as theirs.

Anyhow, Amazing Race 7 starts in March. That’s right, mark your calendars everybody. I’ve been to the site and the teams look pretty interesting. Rob and Amber from Survivor: All Stars are competing so we can expect a lot of alliances and backstabbing happening. Hehehehe, all the things that makes reality TV such a guilty pleasure.

***********************************************

5 days of holiday and we did nothing. Our plan to go to Bukit Tinggi/Genting was cancelled because Dania got a bad cold. Wouldn’t have made sense to drag her to a cold place when she’s sneezing and coughing all the time.

Dania: Kesian Kak Long. Kak Long selsema. Uwek...hingus!!!

Anyhow, I finally made some progress with my jigsaw puzzle. The problem is, once I’ve started it’s hard to stop. The other day, I was so concentrated on doing the bloody thing, I forgot to eat breakfast AND lunch. Tengok tengok, dah 2pm. Sheeesh...Hubby says it’s becoming an unhealthy obsession. I told him, the sooner I finish the puzzle, the better. So far, I’ve figured out where 200 pieces go. Only 4800 to go.

***********************************************

Ani wants to go back home in April. For those of you who have not read my previous entries, Ani is my maid. She’s been with us for nearly two years and I love her to bits. The kids love her too, which to me is most important. She wasn’t planning on leaving but it seems her parents want her to come home. Hubby is pissed, so is mom. Mom says Ani’s folks are acting pretty selfish cause so far she’s the only major financial contributor to the family. If she goes back home in April, she ends up the same way as when she first arrived. All her money for the past two years has already been passed over to her family. I tried talking to her, told her to stay at least for another 2 more years, so she could save up some money for her own self. But it seems her mom “tak sanggup” to take care of her younger siblings all by herself, so Ani is going back home to help her mom with the housework.

I’m pissed too but what to do. I’m hoping to get another maid ASAP, hopefully one that is as reliable as Ani. Nowadays you just can’t tell with these maids. They come to your house, all innocent and all, next thing you know, they’ve made off with some jantan from who knows where. Worst still if you’ve got young ones at home. Nauzubillah if anything would happen to the kids, I’ll personally sembelih the maid!!

I’m still hoping Ani will change her mind. Maybe solat hajat bagi sejuk hati parents dia ok kot. Sigh...

Happy Chinese New Year...Happy long Weekend.

For the first time last night I was left alone with the kids. Hubby had a meeting in JB, which overflowed until today.

It wasn’t that bad. Dina woke up twice, which is pretty good. The first time, she woke up at 2.30am. I breastfed her for 10 minutes, until she fell asleep again. The ‘labu putih” advice Noresh gave me must have worked in some ways coz her feeding lasted her for 3 hours. At 5.30am, I woke up and gave her another feeding. She refused to go back to sleep, rupanya berak. Aiseh, no wonderlah so fussy!! Cleaned her up and now she’s screaming for more milk. Decided to give her formula. She must have been veeerryyy thirsty coz she finished 6 Oz in three goes. At first I gave her 2oz...not enough. Went back to the kitchen, made her another 2 oz.. Still not enough!!! Finally made her 4 oz, she only finished 2oz. After that she nodded back off to sleep with a big smile on her face. :D

Long holiday up ahead. Gong Xi Fa Cai to all those who celebrate. Still haven’t decided where to go. Must get away from the house. The weather has been so stuffy nowadays. Bukit Tinggi sounds interesting. Cool atmosphere and not that far from home. Must pujuk hubby to get away.

I'm sick!!!

I was on mc for the last two days. Caught a really bad case of the flu. At least, I hope it was just the flu. My nose was so stuffed up, I could hardly breath. The first night, I slept sitting up, coz it was just too painful to lie down. I vomited once. Man, I hope this isn’t denggi. Maybe I should just get a blood test to be sure.

Why is it no matter how many times I blow my nose, more snot comes out? How does it get produced so rapidly? It’s like there’s a Willy Wonka in my nasal canal and instead of chocolate, he’s urging the Oompa Wompas to produce snot.

More snot!! Put your backs into it men!! She’s blowing it out as fast as we’re producing it.

Stupid Willy Wonka. Stupid Oompa Wompas.

I stayed away from the girls as much as I can. Every time I had to hold them, I would frantically wash my hands with dettol beforehand. The worst thing to have is a sick child. Seeing them vomit after every meal is just so painful. Hearing them cough and sneeze breaks my heart every time.

I haven’t kissed my girls in 3 days. It feels very weird especially when I’m used to kissing and hugging them an average 50 times a day.

Sigh...cepat le sihat.

Drying Up!!

Arghhhh!! (Notice, this has not been a good day). I think I’m drying up. Why is it only 2 days ago, I could pump out 4 oz of milk but today I had to squeeze..literally squueeezeee...and only got 1oz of milk?!!

I’ve read that stress and not enough rest are major factors to lack of breast milk. Am I stressed? Maybe. Am I not getting enough sleep? Definitely. Anyone with a new baby is bound to be comatose for the first 6 months.

Maybe I need to increase the number of pumping sessions. Or maybe I need to get new batteries for my breast pump.

Help!! I love breastfeeding. It makes me feel like The Amazing Mother. I wanna keep on breastfeeding Dina for at least another 2 more months.

Now I’m really am stressed!! I think I need a facial and a back rub. Real. Bad.

Aku, Saya and Kak Long

Arghhh!!! For some unknown reason, Dania has picked up the habit of saying "Aku". I was quick to blame hubby. He pointed the finger at Ani (my maid). Ani explained that Dania probably got it from a song she heard on TV. I have my doubts; I still think hubby has some hand in this matter.

"Aku nak buat keje."
"Adik jangan nangis, aku ada ni."
"Ibu tunggu sini, aku nak pegi toilet."

OMG!!! She's two years old, for crying out loud.

Every single freaking time, I pointed out to her, "Dania, cakap SAYA. Or Kak long. Tak baik cakap aku. Berdosa."

When you're two years old, the more your parents say don't, the more you wanna do it.

"Aku nak tengok High 5."
"Abah, jom ikut aku pi rumah wan."
"Kakak, aku nak susu."

Finally I had enough. I had nearly blacked out from shock the first time she said "aku". Now, I'm ready to blow my top.

KAK LONG!! JANGAN CAKAP AKU!! CAKAP KAK LONG!! KALAU TAK, IBU CILI MULUT TU KANG!!!

Sometimes blowing up has it merits. I haven't heard "aku" from my dear daughter's mouth since.