Baby Birkenstocks

Check these out. Sophie’s lil' Birkenstocks! They are actually just print on her socks by “Jazzy Toes” from Friven & Co. It was a box set with "sneakers", "mary-janes".... Cute or what!

And we go camping.....!!!

Since Papa is away, I decided to have some fun with the kids and we decided to camp right here in our own home! Emma and Cate were so please and really it was just a matter of moving their mattresses to the floor, drape a few sheets from the light.... I had to sleep right in between them and with the gap between their 2 mattresses plus the fact that the length was too short for me to lie with my legs straight, I was pretty uncomfortable. Sophie couldn't join us cos I was too worried that one of them were going to squash her. :(

The girls also said their nightly prayers which I managed to record.

Transcript of Cate's part: "And thank you for the dinner, and thank you for the lovely sweet dreams, and thank you it is camp day, and thank you for sweet dreams and thank you for dinner,.... cheh cheh's turn...."

Kids are so easy to please,....who needs expensive Wii and Nintendo games!

My 1st Post-Pregnancy Race

On Sunday, I did my very first post-pregnancy race – The Standard Chartered Half Marathon. I signed up shortly after having Sophie and thought that 4 months would be more than enough time to at least be ready enough to complete it. Well, I was very shocked to find the state of my fitness when I started running again about a month after delivery. Check out Virgin Run.

Training
For my own records, below is the simple beginner 10wk training program I downloaded from some site. Beneath that is the actual runs that I put in during the 10 weeks leading up to the race. I only ended up runnng 187km out of the planned 315km in the 10 weeks leading up to the race. Pretty pathetic huh? :( To my defence, every run that I put in has to be carefully planned and scheduled into my breastfeeding schedule. I know, I know, sounds like excuses, but it's true! .... ;)

When I got lazy, I took Master Shem's advice and skipped all my runs except for the weekly long ones. (Hee hee,... that's true right Shem? Or did I conveniently distort everything you said.... :P)

Race Day - Rise & Shine
I rose at 4am on race day - I had to express* before the race (ARGH!). We got to Raffles City in good time and found nearby parking by about 5:30am (good considering 50,000 participants!).

* To pump breastmilk out using a machine so that lil’ Soph will have some food while I am away from her.

Paul decided to run with me. I was a bit apprehensive about that cos:
1. I normally run on my own
2. I was worried that he would pressurise me to run faster
3. I was worried that he won’t pressurise me to run faster

The few times I had run with Paul, he would kind of wait for me in that he will be ahead of me, but not very far ahead so I could still see him. That is probably the worse arrangement. If he were so far ahead that I couldn’t see him, then there would be no problem at all,…. But if he is perpetually 50m ahead where I can see him, I perpetually feel like I have to speed up to catch him. Paul on the other hand, would “keep keeping” that distance ahead of me (in his act of waiting), and I end up having to play catch up for the entire 2+ hr run. Not fun! Screws up my pacing too. I never realised that this was what was causing my runs with Paul to be so difficult until like a week before race day.

Anyway on race day, Paul overheard me telling Mel “I am not sure I want Paul to run with me actually…” which led to a mini breakout discussion 5 min to the start of the race. Resolution was that Paul will run with me but not AHEAD of me. Looking back, that worked out beautifully. :)

The Race
The route was nice but there wasn’t very much noise / cheering going on throughout the race unlike some other races. The distance markings were TERRIBLE. Nearly put me off altogether. For those who know me, I need as much information as possible during any run, let alone a race. That is how I pace myself. The distance markers were so completely off that it just made it very demoralising. I don’t think I was the only one who felt it.

In summary, the race was a lot less painful than I expected. The longest run I did prior to the race was 18km and I was really worried that the 21km would be more painful than that. As it turned out, it was AS PAINFUL AS and not more, so that was good. Based on some table that a friend shared with me, my goal time was 2h19m - worked out from my post-pregnancy 5km timing. A more realistic goal based on my long runs leading up to the race where my pace was generally about 7min/km, my estimated timing would have been around 2h27m.

My chip time was 2:22:49. Mixed feelings about it since it is somewhere between my goal time and my expected time. I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t have walked-jogged the last 2km. I just didn’t have the energy despite chowing down 3 gels (40m, 1h15m, 1h50m). I carried 4 with me but by the 3rd one, I was feeling pretty “bao bao” – *burp!*

Having said all that, I am glad that I did the half marathon. Yay! Even more glad that Paul was with me all the way. xoxo

aaa Team Mates

Post-race - physically I am feeling quite fine. Probably more tired from waking at 4am than anything else! Calves ached a little but nothing compared to when I do Core Training with Anne Date! Makes me feel like I definitely shouldn't have walked/jogged the last 2km. Weak!

Kids' Dash (with the family!)

After the race, we waited for Emma and her cousins to come down with Nana, and Paul did the 800m kids’ dash with her.

Emma & Mummy enjoying the pre-Kids' Dash carnival



Stretching with Papa before the DASH!!!

Emma with her cousins after the race
(showing off the most important thing of the race - their medals!!!)

Nana says that next year she is going to attempt the 10km! Woot woot!

Elaine - Next step, a full? :P

The Wall of Fame

Since Emma and Cate started Art Boot Camp, I have started a little wall of paintings. It is on the wall directly facing my study window that looks out into the corridor so it is effectively the view from my desk. Only paintings on canvas and of a certain standard make it up on "The Wall". They don't actually do canvases all the time so when they do, they are well excited as they may get featured on my Wall. To be honest, all of them have made it up to the wall so far regardless of how good they are. ;) All the below are Emma's except for the cute little one in the middle which is by Cate.

Below is Emma’s latest still life of some stuffed toys. Featuring this cos am somewhat fascinated by the white bunny on the left. Check out how frightened his/her eyes are!

I guess if I had an invisible body, I would be petrified too. Not sure why Emma decided to leave the bunny’s body “blank”. I asked the teacher to make her paint in a shirt but they say they don’t like to interfere with the child’s creativity. Fair enough. I do find the floating head and hands somewhat annoying though….

Once A Poner Time.....

Below is a "Scary Story" that Emma wrote in her own time. When I read it, I laughed till I cried, then I just wanted to cry.... Hope she is going to be able to cope in Primary 1!....

For those who just can't get it, here's a translation (or at least the gist of it):

"Once upon a time, a monster passed my house and saw a strange thing when I was sleeping and I heard a noisy sound coming out from my door. Then I walked up and peeked outside and saw 10 monsters waiting for me. The monster became bigger and fatter. Some of them were very scary and bigger than the others and stronger than all of the dads and mums and God. It was so scary that I called mummy and daddy and my biggest brother and my biggest sister, then all the sisters."

Garang Guni Bike

I’m not sure if anyone has ever seen this guy but I know I have definitely caught glimpse of him more than once. It is just a motorbike with all sorts of rubbish you can think of. Stuffed toys, bottles, old tyres, plastic things,…. You name it.

The trademark item is Elmo stuck to a pole.

My Little Companion - Part II

Cate is really my little companion while I shower. Here she is in my own bathroom this time.

She climbs into the bathtub that is next to my shower and plays with her selected toy.


My Little Companion - Part I

Sophie - Back to NUH :(

Yesterday morning, Sophie suddenly came down with a temperature of 39C. I rushed her to Dr Ong's where he told me that at her age, I should just take her to the hospital cos they needed to run a host of tests to eliminate all sorts of horrible diseases... Dr Ong mentioned things ranging from UTI to water in her brain (WTF!).

Since we previously had quite a positive experience at NUH with Emma's split head, I decided to go back there again.



Sophie was a real trooper. She was all smiles despite her fever. Charming the doctors, nurses, reception, other patients,..cleaners... you name it! The only time she cried bitterly was when they squeezed 2.5ml of blood from her teeny little thumb DROP BY DROP for a blood test. (Nurse said that it was less traumatising than simply drawing blood with a needle and syringe. I am not too sure about that but anyway...)

NUH was a winner again. There was hardly any wait, the waiting area was small and cosy with comfortable chairs. I got the same nice doctor who attended to Emma last time. Definitely a positive experience. Note that this positive experience was with “Children’s Emergency” which is not the same as the normal A&E for adults. When I walked past the A&E area (for adults), it looked a right mess and saw a sign that said that the waiting time was 4hrs! Everyone just looked miserable!

Anyway, all the tests on Sophie came up negative and they have put it down to something “viral” (the catch all if you can’t find anything else wrong). Sophie seems all brand new again today with no fever. Maybe a little farty but that’s just cute. :P

And we go Gingerbread-Housing...

Cate and I went to my old friend, Wanli's, to do some Gingerbread House decorating!

It was a little harder than we expected cos the Gingerbread House pieces (that came in a flat box) needed to be "glued" together with melted sugar. Obviously, hot melted sugar wasn't exactly suitable for the kids so the mummies ended up putting together the 5 gingerbread houses assembly line style in the kitchen!

Cate and I deocrating our very own Gingerbread House!

Truth of the matter was, the mummies were having far more fun than the kids! The kids just wanted to stuff as many chocolates, sweets, gummies, marshmellows into their little mouths as possible! I told Cate that she could only eat a few of the sweeties after we were done with the deccrating. She rapidly stuck all the M&Ms on and said, "Ok, done mummy,... can I eat now?"

Proud Home Owners

Thanks Wanli for having us over!

My Longest Run To Date - 15.1km *pant pant*

As some of you might already know, I have foolishly signed up to do the 1/2 Marathon in Dec. I downloaded a simple beginners 10 week training program. Unfortunately I have failed miserably in following it. I guess I am even worse than "a beginner". These are probably just excuses but with the baby and all, I am perpetually tired from working, running after Emma & Cate, and also feeding Sophie pretty much round the clock.

Anyway with many missed / failed runs, and what have you, I decided that I have to really get my long runs in quickly before I have to taper*! How can I taper when I haven't even increased my training!

I mapped out a 14km route on gmap and worked out a simple pacing table with estimated goal timings at certain landmarks. Armed with this teeny piece of paper (left - all mucky after the run), a choc gel and a small bottle of water, I was off. Morale was low,.... I wasn't looking forward to it.

I referred to the little piece of paper the whole way. It burned a hole in my hand as I ran... I went slow most of the way cos I was just too worried about not being able to finish. The pacing table did help me a lot. I was slower by some minutes in the end, but it helped me all the same. As I approached the end of the 14km route, I decided to make a minor detour to do a 15.1km route. I figured another 7 min of agony to make a 15km run is better than having to do another whole 15km run on another day from scratch. Managed to finish the 15.1km in about 1hr 47 min. Quite a terrible time at 7min pace but boy am I glad I finished!!!! YAY!

Long run done for this week.... I was in a great mood all evening with the long-run-burden lifted off my shoulder. :) Oh, why can't I love running....

Next week I am supposed to do 18km according to the stupid beginner training plan. Bah!...

* Taper is when you have to slowly decrease the amount of training you do as you approach race day so that your body isn't too tired for the race.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Emma & Cate, Martin & Charlotte, Taila & Layla

I personally don't know anything about Halloween, nor believe in any of this witchcraft business but how can one resist dressing the kids up in cute little costumes!

Here are the kids at The Changs for a quick Halloween walkabout the houses to "trick-or-treat".

Emma was a princess which was easy enough. Cate was a little mouse! She was just ADORABLE...

My Little Companion

Whenever I drop the kids off at Nana's for their special bonding time with Nana and their cousins, I often go for a run or some exercise nearby. After which I will go back to Nana's for a shower. Cate always wants to come with me then, so I would place her on a little floor towel with a small toy while I have a quick shower. It is lovely,... we get to chat and make faces at each other through the shower screen.

What would I do without my little companion!!!!

The SistAhood

Piccie specially for Papa. We miss you Papa!!! Come back soon!!!

xoxoxo

Emma's Show & Tell - SAFETY

The theme for Emma's "Show & Tell" in school this week was "Safety". Sometime last week, Emma asked me about the flashing yellow lights (indicators) at the back of cars and I explained to her that it is to let other people know that you want to turn. Since this was related to being safe on the roads, Emma asked to create her "Show & Tell" piece on my computer, so I let her have a go on my ASUS.

Below is what she came up with on her own (I helped her with spelling "whether"). It took her a good half hour to type the 3 sentences! I love the drawing, especially the leaves at the bottom. This is for keeps!

My 1st Unfinished Run.... :(

Today was supposed to be my longish run. Using gmap, I plotted out a route just over 12km from my mum's house since I drop the kids there early evening so that they can play with their cousins and bond with Nana.

I felt tired right from the start, and by the time I got to the 8km mark, I just felt like I couldn't go on anymore!!!! I had an ache in my ankle which I suspect is due to some compensation I am doing with my strides cos of a pain in my knee which is due to my scoliosis where one leg is shorter than the other. I had to do what I hate doing,... I had to start walking. I walked for a good 10-15 min feeling real disappointed in myself and also kicking myself cos does this mean I have to plan for another long run this week since I haven't finished this run? I don't have the time for this!!!! I was thinking of all the possible reasons for this cop out.... could it be that I am not fully recovered from the core training I did LAST Thursday? Could it be cos I hadn't done any exercise at all cos I was aching so much all weekend? Could it be that I just haven't done enough shorter runs in general.... Man, this 5km walk back to Nana's is going to be "Could it be this? Could it be that?"

Anyway, I looked at my watch and realised that if I am going to walk the remaining 5km, I would never make it to dinner at Nana's. Contemplated cabbing it even, but in the end, worked up some will power to jog real slow back towards the hills of Old Holland Road... *pant pant*

To top it all off, I didn't have Paul to go home to for a good moan. Paul would be able to diagnose what happened.... sometimes it makes me feel better, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes a bit of both....

I guess one consolation is that I finished the 12.2km although I walked a good 15min of it.... I think in the end I finished in about 1.5hrs.... I still consider it an unfinished run though. Sigh! Sad sad sad.....

Bye Bye Papa *sniff*

This evening, Paul left for Dublin for a week on a study mission. We all went to the airport to send Papa off. Paul gave all his girls kisses at the gate (including me),... Emma played her part of sad daughter sending Papa off, but before Paul even made it through the gate, Emma turned to me excitedly and said (not quite softly enough), "So can I sleep in your bed forever?" She means sleeping in my bed till morning. While she misses Paul when he is away, she also really looks forward to sleeping an entire night in our bed. I am not sure what the big deal is.

Here are the girls waving at Papa as he goes through immigration. We will miss you Papa!!!! xoxoxo

The View on my Lap

I am very lucky in that I can work from home a lot of the time. I have a pretty good setup where I have a dedicated study with all the office necessities. E.g. Printer, WI-FI, speaker phone, fax, office lighting..... err.... breast pump. Don't get me wrong, I do have to go into the office a lot of the time too when there are face to face meetings and such.

Anyway, one of the great plus-es of working from home is that I have a great view on my lap. That's little Soph lying on my lap as I tap away on my laptop. She even seems like she is trying to see what I am typing. When she feels like it, she can just turn towards me for a little snack. Haha.... ok too much information.

Of course I don't always have her on my lap, especially not during meetings. Although she doesn't necessarily cry, she still likes to make all her clicking, grunting, stretching, farting "noises" which are rather inappropriate for my conference calls!

I LOVE MY LITTLE SOPHIE!!!

Our 10th Anniversary - We made it!

Over the weekend, 11th October, we celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary! In the recent years, we hadn't really celebrated our anniversaries much since it is also Emma's birthday. Since we made it to "Tin", Paul took me to Au Jardin at Botanic Gardens. He also reminded me that this was where we had dinner at our 1st wedding anniversary!

By coincidence, we were seated at the exact same table as 9 yrs ago. I could remember cos of the view from our table. It was a lovely view of the garden - all woody and full of trees!

What can I say, we made it to the big 1-0 with 3 beautiful girls to show for it. Paul asked me if it has felt like 10 years. My response was that while it doesn't feel that long, I also can't really remember life without him.

I am no expert on marriage but here's a little of what I have learnt in the last decade....

• Work - It is hard work all the time. I don't think 2 human beings are really meant to live in perfect harmony all the time. If anyone says they do, they are blatantly lying!
• Support - You both need to support each other no matter what (hard as it might be)
• Kids - They are just a joy, highly recommended to have some (preferably with your partner) The perfect glue for your marriage.
• Respect - Fundamental.
• God - Not optimistic that divine intervention is needed, but He plays a big part in all this.

There are ups and downs and at the end of the day if you love each other, it should all pan out.

I look forward to more ups and downs with you baby. Preferably more ups than downs? Love you. xoxoxo

Cool Cucumber Dads

When I go to a kiddy party, I am busy. You fellow mummies will know what I am talking about. You are running after the kids, keeping a close eye on them,.... making sure they don't overdose on sweets & chocolates,.... it is just hard work...

I am thinking that I must be doing something wrong though. Shortly after birthing, we went to Ian's birthday party and while I was there, I told Paul to take on the role to watch over the kids for a change (since I had to tend to Sophie). Paul and his fellow Daddy pals were VERY RELAXED! Check out below. They were just standing there cool as cucumbers!

Dads - Pat, Mark & Paul

Ok, as you can see behind, there is Emma UNwatched. Emma and Cate were also chowing down crisps and sweets for lunch (not cos there wasn't proper food available, but that's what kids have for lunch if you let them help themselves) Maybe I should just do that next time! :O

My "Good" Babies - Truly Blessed....

Sophie has been a lovely baby and I pray will continue to be a lovely baby. ;)

I have to say, Paul and I have been very blessed with good baby girls.

Emma was very cheerful from the moment she was born. Beaming at us literally the moment she was out. Slept through the night by 8 weeks. Breastfeeding her was a breeze. She could latch on in any angle or position without fuss.

Cate was a little less cheerful but pretty much an easy baby too. Slept through the night by about 10 weeks and often slept through till midday!!! I had my issues with her when she got a little older when she suddenly decided to wake several times a night but that was easily fixed with a little sleep training. (http://motherofcutiepies.blogspot.com/2006/08/mission_29.html)

Sophie - She is truely lovely. She isn't sleeping through the night in the true sense but she is able to sleep about 6-8hrs at a stretch. I still have to wake at about 4-5am though cos she sleeps at around 10pm. It isnt really her fault that I haven't yet adjusted her sleeping time cos it's not like she can tell the time!

Anyway here is a little videoclip of how easy it is to feed Sophie with a bottle. She is on exclusive breastmilk just like her sisters were. I normally nurse her directly but this particular time I messed up the timing and pumped all my milk out after getting back from work only to find that Sophie was hungry. Ended up having to feed her expressed breastmilk from the bottle. I can do handsfree breastfeeding but handsfree bottle feeding was kind of new to me. Nursing direct I can do all sorts of things.... read a magazine, blogging, surfing, texting.... I am quite a serious multi-tasker. So I kind of got bored holding the bottle after about 2 min. I decided to prop her bottle up and voila.... handsfree bottle feeding! She even spits out the bottle when she is done. Perfect.

A Spot of Handsfree Feeding

Battered Legs

Last Saturday, I went on my 1st post-natal long ride with AAA. I was tired as hell and can only thank the poor guys who took turns to get stuck at the back with me.... (Thanks Mel, Jem & Derek)

Paul didn't join us this time cos he woke up with a gout attack, ....apparently. (Just kidding. Am sure he really had a gout attack and wasn't just trying to avoid riding at snail pace with me.)

Was pleased that I made it through the 55km but it didn't come without costs though... While cycling back through some busy roads, I toppled over resulting in all these bruises on my legs!!! It was really a gentle topple cos I was going really slow due to the traffic so I don't know how it got so bad... Yikes, at least bruises don't scar!

Have since set up the bike trainer in the living room. Haven't touched it though!!! :O

Bike - Swim Brick

I do feel bad about Paul riding with me cos I am so slow, but to make it half bearable, Paul suggested a bike-swim brick this morning. 30+km ride, 800m swim. Seeing as Paul has signed me up for the Corp Tri, I think I best put in some effort!

We met up with Team Nutri-Tea (:P) at LongHouse knowing that we wouldn't really be cycling with them. True enough, I was dropped almost right from the start. Mentally prepared for that, so no probs there. :)

After the ride, Paul actually said to me, "Wah, I never knew I could ride for 1.5hrs and not sweat at all!" I could only return that comment with a dirty look.

After the swim, Paul said, "Wah, when I was warming down, I was really warming down you know... And yet I was still faster than you." Irrits!!!

Paul, while you were training for 70.3 the past year I was busy bearing you your 3rd child!!!! Grrr.....

Seriously though, thanks for hanging out with me "training" eventhough it is so boring for you. xoxoxo

Sophie Chew's Passport Photo

It is close to impossible to get a passport photo of a baby. After several attempts, this is the closest that I've got.

Difficulties:
- Catching Sophie when she isn't sleeping or eating
- Catching Sophie without zits(!)
- Photographing her on a plain white background without shadow

I hope they won't reject the picture cos it is too orangey and shadowy. :(

Anyway check out the pictures below of my 3 girls all at about 1 - 2 months. You should be able to guess who's who. ;) And no mean comments please!

The Sistahood

Chloe Oon

Check out this picture of my god-daughter. LOVE the way she is smiling so hard that there are dents in her face!

You deserve a BIG smackaroo of a BITE Chloe!!!!

"Special Treat" Assessment Books

I was browsing in Popular Bookshop and decided to buy some Primary 1 assessment books to look through so that I know what to expect when Emma enters Primary 1 next year. I bought them for my reference and figured it would not be wasted since Emma would be able to do them next year.

Anyway Emma found them in my study and asked to see them. My response to her was "No, cos they are only for special treats". Truth was, I didn't want to have to supervise as she does these assessment books (isn't that the school's job?). Emma begged and begged and begged to do them, so in the end I relented. - "OK! But remember, these are only for a SPECIAL TREAT, and you only get to do them if you are a good girl!" Emma's face lit up as she got her pencils out to do the assessment books. Since then, she would beg to do them any pocket of free time we had. (After dinner, before school, before dinner, after nap....)

"Mummy, pleeeease can I do the special treat sesame books,.... I mean assessment books. Pleeeease...."

So now I have taken to pre-fixing everything with the word "special treat" since it seems to work a charm. Somehow "special treat vegetables" haven't gone down so well though....

Let's hope her enthusiasm for doing these special treat assessment books remain!

Virgin Ride....

I'm not going to write too much on this. Just refer to my entry on "Virgin Run", and I basically felt as shite as that but this time, riding. :(

I knew it was going to be hard, but I think the problem is that I forgot how painful "HARD" is!!!

Luckily we did not cycle with the rest of AAA yesterday (due to the rain) cos I totally wouldn't have been able to keep up - EZ ride or not.

Paul and I decided to ride this morning. It was just the 2 of us. Despite the perfect weather, I was struggling the whole way through the 35km ride going at less than 25kmh!!! At one point when we were going up a slight slope on the bridge leading up to Peirce Reservoir, Paul yelled "Peng, I can't go any slower or I will fall down!!!"..... panting, I looked down at my odo... I was cycling up the slope at 6kmh. I KID YOU NOT!!! I guess even going at that "speed" and not falling over does take some skill, so give me credit for that! ;)

Thanks baby for taking me out on my first ride and being patient with me. xoxoxo

Aviva 70.3 - Well done Papa!

I have blogged about my 5km run, how can I not blog about Paul taking part in the half ironman over the weekend right? :P

Last week, Paul requested for Sophie not to sleep in our room for the 2 nights leading up to 70.3 on 7 Sept. Reluctantly, I agreed. :( I missed her dearly but I had to agree that she does make a lot of noise ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT! I am not even refering to her waking for feeds which is expected. Even when she is not awake, she makes all these cute little noises. They sound like snorts, grunts, stretching, farts, clicks and whistles. You would have thought she was part baby, part gremlin, part dolphin! So instead of Sophie, Paul got to hear my medela electric pump instead. (Yes, for me, not having Sophie sleep with us doesn't mean that I don't have to wake up cos although I don't have to feed her, I still have to set the alarm to wake up to express my milk)

We woke at 4am. Paul to prepare and chow down his breakfast. Me to pump more milk...

Supporting may not be as tough as participating in the race but it is still pretty hard work! Especially with the hot sun and kids.... My plan was to stay till the flag off, take pics through the swim, up till the bike transition, then leg it home to feed Sophie, feed the girls lunch, before heading back (this time with the 2 elder girls) to catch Papa on the run. I would say this was a good plan! Godma Ruth was there too supporting Godpa, so Emma and Cate had Abi to play with. Yay! We settled at a little green strip of grass next to fellow AAA supporters.

Me seeking shelter under Abi's princess umbrella. Good call bringing the brolly Abi!

Cutie Cate mopping her beads of perspiration with wet wipes. She is nicely accessorised cos she was playing dress up at home with Ems before coming out. She can be such a little missy sometimes!

Abi and Ems standing by to cheer on their papas. Looks like they are having a good old gossip there!

Well done Papa in completing your first half ironman! His timing of 8hrs wasn't quite what he had hoped for but it was greatly due to the new carbon wheels that I got him. :( As it turned out, they were not fixed on his bike properly so he rode with his brakes rubbing against the wheels going at 19kmh for a good 12km. Unfortunately, instead of thinking that something was amiss, he was wondering why the new carbon wheels I got him were so crappy! By the time he got off his bike to check it out and fix it, he was completely knackered from the earlier frantic peddling.

The Culprits - Happy Birthday Paul

Team AAA before the race
The people who were there to offer encouragement, advice and laughs through the grueling training

Well done Papa with more races to come!!!!....

Virgin Run

Last night, I decided to get back into it.... I charged my iPod, got my dusty AdiStars out and decided to go for a run with sis who recently started to get into running in the last half a year or so.

I had mixed feelings. Excited cos I could vaguely remember really enjoying my solitude runs round the estate. Worried cos I hadn’t run properly since last year (and my tortoise-paced running during the 1st and 2nd trimesters of my pregnancy doesn’t count!)

We planned a 5km run around Old Holland Rd. It was pretty hilly and probably not a great place for my “Virgin Run”! The boys were joining us too… and so we all set off.

.............. Elaine sped on ahead.

.............. Matt (10yrs) was in consistent. He would be fast on the flats then fall back on the hills, so he was constantly oscillating in front and behind me – but in the end finished way ahead.

.............. Nic (11yrs) was partly walking, partly jogging, partly pretending to be messing about with his laces…. (comon’ Nic!)

Within the first 5 minutes, I was feeling AWFUL. I had to focus really hard to even get to the 2.5km turnaround point. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind - ….how am I going to be able to finish the StandChart half marathon that I foolishly signed up for?..... Was it ever this painful before?.... Maybe I don’t want to run anymore (long term)….. One would have thought I was running a marathon the way I was getting all mentally beaten down!

Anyway I finally shuffled through the entire 5km in about 37 – 38 min. Honestly,…. I felt far worse than I did running a 5.6min/km pace for 10km. I felt like throwing up, I had a dull ache on the left side of my back, I also had a weird achy feeling on the surface of my tummy (this one was a weird feeling which I can’t describe and have never felt before) Strangely, my leg muscles did not hurt or anything - even the next day.

Luckily I had Elaine who does yoga massages and is also a newly qualified Ironman Masseuse (Not that I am comparing my 5km run to the Ironman, but it REALLY felt like it!!! :P), so she gave my back a good rub.

Conclusion, I am WORSE than when I first started running about 1.5 yrs ago. Although I could only manage about 2km then, I did feel much worse at the 2km mark last night. Also, 1.5yrs ago, I would not have pushed on if I had felt the way I did last night. Honestly, the only reason I didn’t just stop was cos I didn’t want to cut short Elaine and the boys’ run!

Elaine: Seems like your running is coming along nicely! (not that I could really tell with you way ahead of me!) Knowing 1st hand that genetically our family are SO NOT RUNNERS, I know how hard it must’ve been for you to get where you are now. Keep it up!!! :D

Thanks Elaine, Nic and Matt for the run.

Task for the week – Think about whether I really want to get back into running. If I felt this pain running a marathon,… fine….. BUT 5km!!!! Boy oh boy have I got my work cut out for me.....

A Split Head

Last night while playing at her Nana's with all her cousins, Emma got herself a split in her head! She otook a blow from her little cousin Stephan with a toy wooden hockey stick. Why he was waving it around danergously is separate matter altogether.

Anyway when I heard Emma cry, I ran to her cos she almost never cries. And when she does, often the injury must be bad enough to draw blood. True enough, when Aunty Winny attempted to put her palm on her head to rub it, she was shocked to get a hand full of blood. Everyone was in schock! I was just cuddling her trying to sooth my poor little baby. Paul was in a rage and snapped the hockey stick in 2!!! We got some ice on her head, discarded the blood drenched tissues and rushed her to the hospital.

Someone had told me that there is a Children's Emergency at NUH so we decided to go there instead of KKH. It's nearer and also we haven't had great experiences at KKH. As it turned out, it was the right choice. The hosiptal staff and doctors were great. Not much waiting time at all. See picture below which I took while doc was prepping Emma up to get her gash on her head glued back together. She even managed to get Emma all happy and singing while tending to her gash! Emma was so brave and didn't even cry throughout the procedure.

Luckily the gash was not as huge as I feared. All that blood was cos the scalp is a "highly vascular area" as explained by the doc and nurses. The glue stitches were pretty cool. In the old days it would have had to be sticthed up. Now they just use her hair to pull the gash together and glue the hair and skin in place. Emma can't wash her hair for 5 - 7 days though. Icky!

Thank God she is fine and it wasn't anything worse.

Playdate @ The Ee's

We all went to the Ee's for an early morning playdate. They have their own little Gymboree in their attic so Emma was well excited. All in there were 10 kids there! Thanks for having us Ryan and Kaitlyn! Emma & Cate had so much fun! Sophie was there too but she pretty much just did the 3 S's that babies do (Sitting, Sleeping, Staring).

Meanwhile, the mummies had a good ol' natter over breakfast! [I need Mark's Uncle's Banana Cake recipe!]

Let's do this again soon mummies!

Cupcakes to Celebrate My Cupcake's 1 Month!

My confinement has come to an end and Sophie is 1 month!!! Doesn't time fly when you are in confinement. (NOT!)

Tonight, we had a simple dinner at Nana's house with the family. This was the very 1st time Sophie stepped into the "Nana's Clubhouse" where all the cousins meet weekly. There are now 8 cousins ranging from aged 0 - 11 and they all play together (Not Sophie yet)!

We got some lovely cupcakes to celebrate too!!!! Too pretty to eat!

BFF

Seems that the new generation is keeping up with the lingo. I saw Emma writing up a list titled 'BFFs'. I asked her what that meant and she told me it means "her very best friends"! I only knew what BFF meant not too long ago from reading gossip magazines on Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and crew!

Then Emma recieved the pretty little shell below from her classmate. Cute!

Claire: BTW - you were on Emma's BFF list too! ;)

Bummed.... SERIOUSLY BUMMED!!!!

I look forward to the National Day Rally in general cos that's when good ol' Singapore announces all the great handouts they will be giving us. Especially when it is close to the election year! To be honest, I think the government is coddling us, but who's complaining!

Anyway, this year, I was particularly looking forward to the new parenthood packages namely a possible extended maternity leave. Well, as it turned out, the maternity leave in Singapore was extended from 12 weeks to 16 weeks! When I heard, I was overjoyed. Sophie was born on 1 Aug, and when the maternity leave was last extended from 8 to 12 weeks back in 2004, it was enjoyed by all babies born on 1 Aug onwards. I thought the same would apply this time. I was wrong. :( As it turns out, this extension only applies to births from Jan 2009 onwards. I am devastated. 4 extra weeks would mean so much more time that I can spend with Sophie, not to mention Emma and Cate.

What I am confused about is this.... According to MoM (Ministry of Manpower):

"Why is the Government extending paid maternity leave?

This is part of the overall package of measures to support parenthood and make Singapore a more conducive place for families.

A longer period of maternity leave will allow working mothers more time to bond with their newborns and recuperate from childbirth. It also gives mothers additional time to ensure that childcare arrangements are satisfactory, before they return to work."

If the above is in fact true, why don't they effect this extension immediately? Wouldn't I need to bond with my baby and recuperate too? They were also able to effect the previous extension very quickly, so I don't understand the need to delay the effective date this time. I just get the feeling that the reason provided above is just a half truth and it is more to encourage more pregnancies. If you are delivering in 2008, there isn't a need to give you an incentive since you are already pregnant!

Ok, perhaps I am just bitter,.... I am forever wanting more time with my girls. It is challenging being a working mother. Well, in the larger scheme of things, I am so happy that Sophie is here with us now (rather than later - in 2009). With or without the 4 week maternity leave extension.

** 23 Aug update: The government has since announced that the parenthood package will now be applicable to births from 17th Aug onwards. So now I have missed it by 16 days rather than 4.5 months. Bottomline, it still excludes me...

What does Confinement mean to me?

What does confinement mean to me? Well first, let me introduce you to my Confinement Nanny whom we fondly refer to as Kam Fong. As with most good nannies, she is highly sought after and you have to book her as soon as the blue line shows up on your preggers kit. When I first introduced Emma to Aunty Kam Fong, she looked puzzled and asked, "Why do we need a Kung Fu Aunty?"....

Anyway, I have never had a confinement nanny for my previous 2 deliveries, so why did I decide to enagage one this time? Well, we plan for this to be our last pregnancy and I heard that if you wanted to correct all the "wrongs" that you did to your body from "not doing the right [confinement] things" after your previous pregnancies, you need to ensure that you do do the right things after your last delivery. If you don't, you will have missed your boat... Ok, whether it is true or not, I don't know, but I don't want to have missed no boat and be doomed with aches and pains when I get older. Most people get confinement nannies to care for the baby, but I got her to care for ME ME me!!! I am totally ok with caring for baby myself cos that is what I had always done previously and it is also what I've been looking forward to.

Ok, so back to "What does confinement mean to me?".....

1. Confinement Food - I eat whatever the nanny makes me eat (exceptions discussed upon her arrival barred and these included any intestines or inerts of anything!) Well, Kam Fong is a fabulous cook and I look forward to every single meal. They say that you mustn't diet in the 1st month after delivering, so.... I am not! :) Luckily I haven't put on weight after the delivery despite the 2nds and 3rds I am having! Must be true what they say about exclusive breastfeeding!

2. Confinement Drink - I drink red dates water all the time. I am not supposed to drink much water at all. Red Dates water is fine with me but I still drink water cos I am sure it can' be good for anyone not to drink plain water for a month. The water has to be warm though which is fine with me cos that's what I always have regardless.


3. Confinement Bath - Contrary to what ppl say, I do have a bath everyday (and am not disobeying the nanny either!) The only thing is that the water that I use to bathe has to be "cool boiled water" which means that Kam Fong has to prepare it the day before and let it cool. Prior to me bathing, she would add freshly boiled water to it so that it is nice and hot for bathing. She will also add some herbal confinement stuff in my bath water sometimes which is completely fine cos I still get to use my usual soap hence end up smelling and feeling great after! Oh, the only rule to this is that you can't bathe at night - not a huge deal.

4. Confinement Hair Wash- Ok, this is a bit of a bummer for me cos I am used to washing my hair daily, sometimes even several times a day. Now, I am only allowed to wash my hair about once a week. If I wanted to,I think I could request for more often hair washes, but so far I have been obedient. Luckily I don't really have greasy hair in general anyway. When I do wash my hair, Kam Fong would have to prepare a special concoction of water. (Of course with the infamous "cool boiled water") I also use shampoo and conditioner as usual. The water actually smells lovely and I feel like I have gone for some spa treatment at the end of it!

5. Confinement Feet! - I have to wear bedroom slippers everywhere I go (I mean in the house of course). Not a huge deal except that I do forget cos I am so used to not wearing them but now that I am getting used to wearing them, I think I might even continue after. It feels nice and cosy!!!



6. Confinement Climate - Kam Fong has never told me that I can't have the airconditioning on (probably cos she knows it is impossible in Singapore!), but I know that officially (according to whom?), you are not meant to have any air blowing at you, be it the aircon or the fan. Anyway I am in airconditioning almost all day long. That's what I need in order to be able to follow all the other "rules" that add to you feeling HOT~!

7. Home Confinement - I would say that I have been rather good. I am home almost all the time. There have been a few exceptions (e.g. My Birthday dinner with Paul, taking the girls to watch High School Musical On Ice & NDP fireworks) Each of those outings were also very short. To be honest, after delivery your body is pretty messed up and naturally, you wouldn't really want to go out anyway. I did feel I needed to spend some quality time with the girls though.

I would say that I follow the confinement rules about 90% and am about half-way through. :)

Look out for my blog update in about 20 years time to see if all this has paid off and I am free of the dreaded aches and pains!!!!