Steps to Autonomy

Letitia has started to insist that she feeds herself. But that is not the real problem. She insist on feedig herself with shoes on! Can you imagine I have put shoes and socks on her before I can get her to eat.

Off course she also refuses to eat unless she is seated in front of the tele. I also have to entertain request for VCD changes during the meal.

"Change! Change!" pointing to the screen.

I really have no idea how to deal with this other than to go along with it..... at least she is eating. My parents think that I am crazy, allowing her to get away with it. But I say at least she knows what she wants. My baby and me, we have this thing going.... I give her what she wants, she'll give me what I want . So far it has been working really well. So why fix something if it ain't broken.

Sambal Prawn

We went to another one of those full month party thingies again yesterday. There was the usual buffet and babies galore. Kids running wild. bla bla bla.....

But the shocker of the day! The proud daddy of the new born baby came by our table and sat down. Trying to make small talk I politely said,"So now your family is complete! One boy and one girl! Wao! Now you can really stop."

His reply," We are trying for another one."

I almost choked on the sambal prawn.

He went on to say,"It's a blessing you know, to be able to have children."

Still trying to recover from the choking. I mumbled,"That's nice...." Trying not to make eye contact because I knew what was coming. "So when you having another one?" he asked. Me and my bloody big mouth. Should have just kept it shut! Stuffing the 4th prawn prawn into my mouth I replied, "Er.....Never....."

Thank goodness his phone rang and he had to answer it.

Nagging Cow

Motherhood has turned me into a nagging cow. Everything I say I have to repeat about 46 times before I get a response or before it gets done. Most of the time I just resort to shouting after about the 5th attempt. I remember I use to think that my mother was such a nag. She would go on and on and on all day. I also remember very vividly that I told myself about 20 years ago that I would never ever be like her.

Strange but true, I am starting to morph into my mother. A nagging cow. On and on and on all day. Letitia pick up your toys, Letitia time to sleep, Letitia finish your milk, Letitia where are you, Letitia come here, Letitia time to bathe, Letitia stop crying, Letitia take your shoe out of your mouth, Letitia lets go, Letitia stay away from the fan........... honestly I am starting to hate myself.

I think all children have this built in shut down mode the moment their mothers open their mouth. From about the age of 20 months it automatically gets activated, the selective hearing and ignoring your mother mode. Only time that they respond is when they get shouted at or is told repeatedly the same thing. I cannot imagine having to go through another 30 years of this.

Thanks to my little monster I have morphed into a my worst nightmare.The ultra unglam woman who runs and scream at her kids in public with a jelly belly, bad hair, and ugly shoes. Oh I just want to die!

NOT Disco fever

The little one is sick again! Fever that comes and goes. As usual we also cannot find the cause of the fever. Throat looks fine, ears look fine, lungs sound fine............ Sometimes other than peace of mind I have no idea why i pay good money to doctors who cannot tell me what is wrong with my child.

Anyway, it started last night. My 24 hr nightmare started when my parents took her out and returned 30 minutes later saying that Letitia has a fever.

I washed her up ( my mother said that fever cannot take bath) with a wet towel and send her off to bed. Hoping that fever would subside. By 12 midnight she was burning so I had to wake her up to medicate her. BIG mistake..... she didn't go back to sleep till 2.30am and that was after I screamed at her. She woke up at 8.30am this morning still running a temperature.

By 11.30am she was so sleepy she could hardly keep her eyes open but when I tried to get her to nap she cried and screamed till she vomited. Okay so she won, she didn't go down for a nap till 12.30pm.

3pm. Fever again. 6.30pm Fever out of control..... thermometer was reading 38.8 degrees. Off we went to doctor with sick child and grand parents in tow. 4 adults..... it took 4 adults to take a 20 month child to the clinic.

"No no no no no" BIG BIG frown on face and tears rolling down her face. This was her reaction when it was her turn. She was dragged into the doctor's office screaming and yelling. She was hysterical throughout the entire examination that yielded NO results!

The moral of the story. I should have gone to medical school.

Cardiac Arrest

Letitia gave me a heart attack yesterday. We went for dinner at Jurong point and throughout dinner she was going going, "Toys Toys Toys...." because she knows that there is a Toys R Us and a Kiddy Palace in Jurong Point. Anyway we survived the dinner and off we went to Toys R Us and Kiddy Palace. After about an hour of looking at toys I turned to her said," Let's go, we have to go to the supermarket." She started squealing and screaming and running in circles in Kiddy Palace. So hubby and I walked away shouting," We are leaving with or without you..." usually she will come running after us... BUT yesterday I turned around and she was not there! GONE! Vanished into thin air. I swear I felt my heart stop beating. I raced round the aisles shouting," Letitia where are you? Mummy can't see you!" Silence! I looked at hubby and asked," Where is she?" He gave me a blank look. "Oh shit!" I said.

Just then this Indian man pointed to this rack of clothes and said," She is inside." I ran over flipped over the clothes on the rack and there she was covering her eyes with her hands and smiling. Wah Lao..... I dragged her out, scooped her up and told her," Don't you ever ever do that again!" and her response," Ha ha ha ha ha..... Boo!"

Can die! I really thought that she got kidnapped and I was never ever going to see her again.

Donation Fatigue

With the Tsunami funds not being put to use and and the on going NKF saga, I must admit the I am starting to feel really jaded about this whole charity thingy. On top of the weekly bombardment by school kids on flag day, springing at you from every direction from markets to shopping malls to MRT stations to coffeeshops. And the occasional shady individual walking around with plastic laminated letters and pictures of people in old folk's home trying to get you to part with your money. I have seen them at work in all possible permutations. The fun fair tickets, the donations cum lucky draw......etc

Anyway, the finally straw that broke the my camel's back was a couple of days ago when I was in West Mall waiting for Dave. Standing there I was minding my own business when out of no where this 15 year old girl sprung at me a with this plastic tube canister and a clear folder file. She started going on about her "this poor girl has eye cancer and she lost her sight... now she is blind......can I donate some money?"

At that moment I had no idea got into me but I blurted out, " How do I know if this girl will get the money? How do I know if she really exist?" Stunned she replied, "Errrr.....because I am a student?" At that point I realised that its not her fault and she was probably asked to do it by her school to gain some CCA points. I backed off and said, "Sorry, no thanks."

What surprised me was her response to me, " Thank you, have a nice day." And the thing is she was genuine about it. My heart when out to her, I could not help but feel that she has been made a pawn by some organisation in an attempt to raise funds for the charity organisations that they support. Thinking back I did my fair share of funding raising during my school days and all that I got out of it was a certificate of appreciation and rude stares from strangers that treated me like a rat.

Having said all these I must add that I do believe that there are people out there in the world who really need financial assistance. However, the frequency and the methods are sometimes hard for me to swallow. There has to be a better way to collect money for those who genuinely need it. A method where there is transparency and accountabilty and one where the people collecting the funds are empowered with information and knowledge about what they are actually doing.

What a day!

Today Letitia the little monster above broke our digital video recorder. We usually leave it on the computer table and she is told not to touch it. Ya right! like she would listen. She apparently quietly sometime during the course of the day when we won't aware took the video camera played with it and broke the hinge the holds the LCD screen up. I looked at her and asked if she broke it and she burst into tears. Followed by a really guilty look on her face........ hai.....tsk tsk tsk..... what to do... who ask us to leave things around that is within her reach.

15 minutes later......

I was going to prepare her night feed for her and walked pass table where I was air drying her thermos flask. The last I remembered when dissembled the darn thing only had 3 parts. There was an additional black piece of plastic in the table.... Great she broke the thermos flask as well. The screw on top of the flask that allows you to dispense water by pressing on it..... Ya that part. She some how manage to snap some plastic bit off. Wah lao..... "Letitia............." I screamed. She came running and I held out the piece of plastic in front of her and asked, "Did you break this too?" She looked on the floor and glanced at me with her really large eyes swelling up in tears and nodding........ tsk tsk tsk...... hai ya......my fault again..... who ask me to leave it on a surface within her reach.......

I know its not her fault, but why do kids have to go round breaking things. Can't they touch see smell and put it back in one piece.

On a different note, today mummy went for a Javanese massage. It was in a little shop along River Valley Road. Let's just say it was value for money. If you are looking for cheap and clean this is the place to visit. But don't expect "Spa"tastic service. At $50 an hour its a good and quick get away. But there is one thing that I must recommend to those with a high threshold of pain. It's the Ginger Massage or a Javanese Lulur. They rub your entire body with fresh ginger, flip you over on your tummy cover your back with ginger slices and wrap you up in a towel. OH! the next 30 mins will be longest 30 minutes of your life. The heat generated by the ginger burns you.....BUT in a relaxing warm kind of way. The back feels really good..... you can feel your knots melting away...... but more sensitive areas like your calves may hurt. Think of cutting chili and your finger burning..... but its all over your body. Would I do it again...... maybe.

Conclusion: Try at your own risk not for wimps.
For wimps: Ask them to apply the ginger to your back only.

Hubby Gadget

I have been a stay home mum for the last 2 years. So my window to the multimedia electronic gadget world is through my hubby, Dave. I would have no idea how to backup our files on DVD and not to mention handle the cranky router we own (whatever that is for???). Not to mention the numerous electronic gadgets that we own that require USB cables and blue tooth. Not forgetting the SD cards and memory sticks. Honestly I really have no idea, I am a plug and play preson.

Without him I will have no wireless internet, probably still on LAN cables. And without him I will have no one to sort out the settings problems that I was encountering with my new 3G phone. Infact I am so doo doo I needed a whole week just to learn how to use the predictive text on my new phone. Talk about being a gadget idiot!

Anyway after about a week we finally have all the problems sorted out and I finally made my first video call today. Can't image life without him, he is like Gadget Hero.

$176 of pleasure or pain?

$176 Portable DVD Player

We bought Letitia a portable DVD player with an attached screen. One that she can carry with her everywhere she goes. She watches it at home, in the stroller, in the car and in bed.

But now she refuses to go anywhere without it. We have to bring along even when we go to the wet market. What started out as something to keep her occupied and give us some relief has now become a curse.

My baby and her new toy

Now I am worried about radiation and the screen being to too close to face and spoiling her eyes. But I can't seem to yank the damn thing out of her hands. Even when the battery is flat I have to charge it while she is watching it.

What have we done? She refuses to sit in a stroller or the car seat unless she has device playing a Hi-5 disc. The only way to get her out of the car is to bring the darn thing along.

Diva update

The situation with the big bed is not good. Letitia has been waking up in the middle of the night disorientated and crying. We have had sleepless nights since we transition her to the big bed.

She usually wakes up at about 4am screaming, "Mama........ah...... Papa.....ah.................." and insist that we sleep with her or take her over to our room. This is really tiring. Just when I thought I could finally sleep through the night. SUCKS! BIG time.

She has also started co-ordinating and picking out her own outfits. Every piece of clothing you put on her, needs her approval. If she doesn't like what she sees....... she will go," No, no, no, no, no, no........." followed by tears. Same goes for the shoes. And after you let her wear what she wants she will run up to her Dad and ask, " Nice?" But I must say she does have relatively good taste for a 20 month old. The outfit she is wearing in the picture was picked out by her.

Talk about Diva. I have never met a 20 month toddler co-ordinate their own outfits. Actually she is more than a diva. She is RHR Princess Letitia. She refuses to walk on grass and sand. If you put her down on a grass patch she will be immobilised. If you put her in a sand pitch she will scream if there is even one grain of sand in her shoes. She will require washing immediately if not she will refuse to walk and needs to be carried.

Not to mention she picks who she wants to feed and bathe her. She also indicates to you very clearly which bathroom she wants to use for her bath. She will remind you if you forget to brush her teeth...........

Now I am starting to comprehend the term "terrible two's"............. the first 2 years were a ride in the park compared to what I am going through right now.