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Cairo is 2!

2007-11-18T17:34:00.000+08:00

We celebrated Cairo's birthday last sunday with a Winnie the Pooh themed party.

She loves them though she can't exactly say the characters' names yet cos I've never actually showed her a pooh DVD or book. She fell in love with them after seeing the wall stick-ons at my toilet (her toilet has Strawberry Shortcake ones but alas.... no attraction yet). She refers to them as "Bear Bear (Pooh), Piggie/Chu-chu (Piglet), Taiiiiger (Tigger), Hoarsssss (Eeyore the donkey)" No amount of coaxing will get her to call them by their names, duh!

I ordered some cupcakes from cupcakemomma (super hot cupcake purveyor who has been featured on TV & magazines lots of times, I can understand why cos she is super creative) a month earlier.

It was my first time trying em out actually and luckily the cupcakes were not sweet (my main worry), and when coupled with icing, just nice! Could be a little more moist though....

Now comes the tough part. I decided to DIY the stand myself after seeing the whopping price tags at several stores. I must say that I am sorta proud of the foliage hehehe. It is about the only original idea coming from me at that party.... everything else I sorta derived, innovated, frankensteined, mix n matched from various party websites.

The cupcake toppers (the ones sticking out of the cupcake, be it the characters' heads or a sign) were all hand made by moi a month earlier, while watching TV. I would not recommend any last minute attempts as they are crazy-time consuming!!! Material is cheap - stickers, wrapping paper cut-outs, construction papers, toothpicks, double sided tapes - but like my family pointed out, my time isn't :p

What? A baker mommy mentioned on her blog that "Happiness is Homemade" and that line has stuck in my head ever since. Well I can't bake 80 cupcakes by myself, so I felt that I should at least do SOMETHING.....

The best part about having cupcakes? All the kids were so much more excited at getting to choose what they get! Some even came back for 2nd and 3rd helpings! I ordered 2 sizes - regular 5.5cm diameter & mini 3cm diameter - and the mix were just right for guests who were a) on diet hence only taking a smaller portion or b) would like to have more than one / taste the other flavour (chocolate or vanilla) without feeling too guilty about the calories later :D Best of all... no cutting, easy distribution and every piece reached the guests' hands nicely.

I am lucky that the cupcake lady agreed to cater to my whims and fancies (I must've changed my orders 5 times in all! All via email, of course) and agreed to all sorts of different colours (to represent each character). She didn't even charge me more for that. Come to think of it.... looks sorta like harlequin xmas hor? :p

The kids came from different age groups (between 2 to 7) so it was tough to come up with games. In the end, they did some colouring and balloon fishing (they made the game up themselves... sorta like trying to stick escaped helium balloons from the ceiling using otehr balloons n sticky tapes :s)

I must remember to scan the coloured pieces... I added a short message to the colour pages like "Happy Birthday Cairo! Love, from ______" and it was like a personalised, handmade card from the kids to Cairo! So heart warming....

Friends would remember this from Cairo's earlier days. Her inflatable pool. I decided to fill it up with ice and packet drinks and have the guests "fish" for what they wanted! A real hit with the kids! Especially since it is so much like ice fishing.... good thing an adult is always standing by it... or else it would be like the old Heineken advertisement hehehe.

This is supposed to be the table laden with kid's food. But due to time constraint, I had to scrap some of my more wacky garnishing ideas :(

We love these fried bear stuff.

The star ones too!!!

Other than the finger food, we also had cold chicken pasta (Aunty Cheryl's recipe), fruit n vege salad, jellies, mixed fruit cups for the kids, fried spicy meehoon, curry chicken and braised seafood noodle. I was told that the latter 3 - cooked by my ex-chef of a mom, were the fav of the crowd, but too bad we didnt get a snap of the food. My bad.... I forgot to bring my camera! Whatever pics you're seeing here was taken by Aunty Cheryl (muaks, muaks!!)

Cairo had a wonderful time chasing balloons. I had about 30 of em on the floor for the kids to play with. Not many survived the party though, the older boys were kinda keen on "hunt & destroy". Oh well, so long as they're happy....

Hmm.... I have been teaching Cairo how to sing the Happy Birthday song and blowing the candle for days before the big day. My effort didn't go to waste :D

Now, let me express my heartfelt thanks to the following people:

Daddy - for playing driver throughout the day

Cairo's very pregnant Aunty Karen & Uncle Marcus - for helping to collect the cupcakes from an address nobody knew how to go to..... and for buying the ice :p

Cairo's Aunty Alex & Uncle Jordan - you 2 are the best helium/ normal balloon blower I have ever seen

Grandma Foon - for the help in the kitchen since 9am in the morning (party only started at 1.30pm)

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Cairo's Aunty Cheryl - for coming all the way from KL and helping in so many ways to make the party a success: the food prep, deco, photo taking etc etc etc
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My Mom, Ah Mi Por Por - for being such a good chef
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And last but not least, all my poor relatives who had to help tidy up the hall at the end, hahaha!

Oh, and Cairo loves her gifts too folks.... thanks a bunch! :D

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-10-31T07:30:00.000+08:00

Meanwhile, a little teaser (yeah, still struggling with my datelines, no time to scrap) ...

Happy Halloween, everybody :D

The best thing about having a Mommy who works in Orchard Road? Lunch time impulsive buys hahahaha! Its considered so cos we don't even celebrate the holiday, hahaha!

Anyway, I chanced upon this at Toys R Us a month ago... (it maybe super common in the west but good halloween costumes cost a hand n a foot in these parts..... well, apparently not anymore! Cute little pumpkin costume - $24.90. Photo opportunity for snappy happy mommy - priceless!

Cairo likes the hat so much she refused to let me take it out :p

Yeah, she sure has grown much in the last two months!

(costume's meant for 3 to 4 year olds :s)

End of Blog Break!

2007-10-30T12:45:00.000+08:00

Wow, we have been gone for more than 2 months... now that's what I call a break :p

During the time which we've stayed away from the blogosphere (yup, not even blog reading, sadly), this is what we've been up to:

Cairo

Acquired enough vocabulary to carry out decent canto conversations with us

Discovered her true calling in life: graffiti artist (lucky we've managed to confine her masterpieces on paper now... and even luckier that she picked our one and only blue wall - out of all the other surrounding whites - for her first artistic venture!) She has also developed a habit of scribbling nonsense on her papers and declaring them Bunny! Mew-mew! Fishhhh! Car car! (Delusional or what? :p)

Fell in love with Barney (well, better Barner than some never dying dude from Days of Our Lives) and is officially a TV addict now (I'm frowning, yes I am)

Gotten her first taste of peer pressure: started to recite jumbled-up alphabets and even counting 1 to 10 (but always without 6 and 7) - well, after all, everyone in Barney knows their ABCs & 123s

She's always liked prancing around as though she's doing a ballet recital but now she has graduated to making us - as in sit still and cannot move away - listen to her out of tune kiddy songs as well, and provide the words to fill in her blanks to prevent embarrassment!

Recognises images of herself in mirrors, computer monitors, photos etc - even her baby photos - and goes around exclaiming in a loud voice: Neh Cairo! Cute ah!!! (That's Cairo! So cute!) *rolling my eyes*

Loves talking on the phone - whether there is anyone on the other line or not is never a matter worthy of her concern - but only on cell phones and never the dummy ones!

Shadows Mommy EVERYWHERE whenever Mommy is home - Mommy 1 Grandma 0, hah! - and will display sudden affection towards Daddy only when he is opening the main door and holding his car keys - Mommy 1 Daddy out of the game!!! LOL

Mommy

Has started nite class for 2 months now and is busy preparing for assignment projects and exam in Dec :(

Rushing to complete a photobook, a present to someone special (see below for reason of said rush & dateline)

Preparing for a certain little one's 2nd Birthday Party :p

Ok folks, after I submit my photobook softcopy to the printers (hopefully tonight or tomorrow) I will upload more recent photos of Cairo... promise :p

And thanks for coming back to visit me, even after so long :D

Blog Break

2007-08-21T07:48:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the delayed announcement folks. Seems that my home computer will be spending somemore time in ICU :(

We Got Cairo A Doggie!!!

2007-08-05T20:34:00.000+08:00

Every kid must have a dog. I was lucky enough to have had four while growing up. A daschund, a silky terrier, a pug (which died young, from pneumonia) and a pengkingese cross chi-huahua. Three of them survived to a ripe old age and has gone on to doggie heaven years ago.

Unfortunately, I can't really get one for Cairo at the moment due to the following reasons:

We have a non-dog friendly living arrangement (read: small apartment, with no yard for the dog to run around in)

We're tired from having to wash Cairo up after she passes motion, let alone add a dog into the routine (I like my dogs clean, geddit?)!!!

The older folks insist in soft but persistent voices that we don't keep any furry pets as it is bad for kids' health (so if - touchwood - anything bad happens to Cairo, the pet buyer will be stoned to death by them)

We don't even have time to walk Cairo to the park, let alone the poor dog

Then there are the other questions that I need to consider... What if the dog gets too big? What if it bites Cairo? What if it barks non stop and our neighbours call the police and we can't keep it anymore (welcome to Singapore, folks, where everybody loves to complain)?

Now I am a firm believer that pets are for life.

Worst come to worst, it's still humanely ok to chuck it to your cousin twice removed if you no longer want the pet (and surprisingly he does).

It's NOT to just drive it to some remote forest and leave it, a la Hansel and Gretel! Shame on you if you have done it before!!!

So what to do? And Cairo is too young to have a Tamagotchi pet, darn!

My solution? Ta-dah! Everyone, please meet Cairo's first doggie, whom she christened Woow-Woow, 2 seconds upon laying her eyes on it:

She even insists on bringing it out for walks and to the nearby shopping mall!

Her SGD 12.90 pet sleeps in a corner of my room at night and is awaiting the next dose of helium injection (SGD 2.00 every 5 days) to keep it in it's healthy doggie state.

Actually, The dog is as much for Cairo as it is for the whole family, come to think of it. Everyone took turns to marvel at the dog (and what a brilliant mother I am for getting it, hehehe). And you know what? All good things come to those who wait; I have waited years before I lay my hands on the dog as it was darn expensive back then.

Ahh, bless the Japanese for their cute & quirky inventions *wink*

Additional note on 10th August 2007:

5 days later.

Dog is now flopping in the corner cos I am feeling stingy and wanna drag the days in between injection longer, but I can only tell Cairo that doggie is visiting Grandma's house so many times before she smells a rat. She actually called my bluff the other day when she came in to my room to hunt for her Woow-Woow, and saw its now lifeless body!

Lucky for me, she is still too young to shoot me the accusatory look. Or maybe she's just too happy to have found it to bother to make me feel guilty. Anyway, she proceeded to tell me that Woow-Woow is sick and needs to apply ointment (In her own words: Mommy, Woow-Woow yor yor, char yau ah)! *LOL*

So grudgingly, I have bundled the dog to work this morning and will be reinstating it to 80% of its formal glory after work (there is a shop providing helium refill service nearby my office).

Why 80% you ask. Cos in the past week, Cairo has managed to satisfy her curiosity by peeling out 2 of the dog's feet. Her clumsiness has also ensured that the remaining two were also ripped off when she stepped on them while pulling the dog at the same time.

I am pleased to announce that I have managed to recover all the parts and after nursing it back to health with scotch tape, the dog is on its feet again. There you go, a mother's atonement on behalf of her young. So all you PETA people, leave my daughter out of your hate list, please :p

Cairo's 1st Taste of Japanese Meal

2007-07-29T21:33:00.000+08:00

"Mumm-mumm eh?" (translation: where's food?)

Cairo's very own kiddy set meal :D

Must eat faster, or Mommy would finish everything for me :s

We brought Cairo to the new AMK Hub on Saturday. Had Japanese food for dinner. I think the restaurant's name was "Ichiban" or something. The food was decent but the temperature was quite bad. Actually it was just our row of tables near the edge of the restaurant that was freezing. We had no other choice as it was the only table big enough to accommodate 6 adults and a toddler.

After seeing most of our entourage turning to human Popsicle (luckily Cairo had her jacket with her), I called the manager on duty to tell her that if they can't do anything about the central aircon blowing mercilessly on their clients, they should at least offer them some shawls (one Chinese restaurant I went to 2 months ago did just that). Well obviously I wasn't expecting them to run out and buy us some, but at least my suggestion would benefit others in the future... She looked blur. Then said, "Oh, OK, sure. Thanks." Sigh....

As for Cairo's first Japanese meal, her personal censor board actually removed the fish roe sushi, the popcorn, the candy, half of the fried stuff and half of her bowl of udon, hahaha! She's a small eater what! And prior to that, Grandma already fed her some rice and omelette-something (I'd hoped it wasn't Unagi but....) :p

My First Blogging Award!!! Big Stupid Grin

2007-07-27T22:44:00.000+08:00

Somebody actually thinks I rock! Thank you so much to Lian for passing this badge to me, I love it, I love it!!!

I must record this moment down in black & white, before somebody protests and pesters her to take it back! *clutching virtual badge tighter*

There are so many bloggers out there which I would like to pass this award to, but I guess they have all been nominated by others for at least 2 dozen times each already :p

So, I would like to give the award to only her.

The reason? She writes mushy, public declaration of love to her hubby (who works in Doha while she stays back in Malaysia, sob sob... stay strong girl) and makes them more palatable to others by dressing them up in the form of gorgeous scraps, hahaha!

Says who the romance goes out of the window after one says "I do" eh? And if you wanna learn a thing or two on long distance relationship maintenance, check out her site!

By the way, when is she gonna do some guest scrapping for Cairo, I wonder? *ahem, ahem * :p

Chef In The Making?

2007-07-26T23:38:00.000+08:00

For the past one week, I've observed that Cairo has almost played her tea cup set (which I got from the Flea Market at 5 bucks) to death.

Yeah, she liked it so much she was operating a mini "Mamak Stall" from our living room. She would pretend to pour us tea and coffee (served to us in a tray that comes with the set, no less!) and then proceed to drink from the jug herself, hahaha! So cute....

It just so happened that I needed to go to the our neighbourhood kiddy shop after work just now to get Cairo her bottle teat replacements when I spied the cutest value-for-money kitchenette toy set sitting at the top of the self, beckoning to me. How could I resist, right?

I was barely 3 steps into the house when she swarmed all over me, asking me to "Hoi, hoi" (translation: open up) the box! See, I knew she'd like it :p So darn cute to see her pottering about pretending and mimicking grandma. Click, click, snap snap. I got what I needed in the camera.

That was 3 hours ago. Seeing that it's been long enough since I've finished assembling it for her and she was still busy cooking and cutting at the counter, I decided to call it a night at 11pm.

Her reaction when I said in Cantonese,"Cairo, come, enough of cooking already. Mommy read you a bedtime story ok..."? A curt and sharp,"Moi! Go 'way!!" (yeah, despite my policy of canto infusion, she'd still picked up some English, shish!)

So there I have it. Prove that toys could lure kids away from books, regardless of how much they liked it before (she refused to let me go to sleep if I don't read to her).

To put a stop to her playing I tried to carry her kitchenette into my room (yeah, I was that naive) and she ran screaming and crying after me!

When I took away her toy...

So now she's cooking in my room while I gave up and blog instead. I can hear her daddy placing random orders to the new chef and I know that he is reading Harry Potter at the same time.

Needless to say, daddy is too absorbed in the plot to realize that her daughter just said no to reading and the magnitude of my blunder for buying the toy in the first place *horrified look on my face* Oh well, whatever he doesn't know won't hurt him... It would just gnaw at me the whole night instead :(

I Battled to Breast Feed Cairo

2007-07-22T13:37:00.000+08:00

I have not done any breast feeding for slightly more than a year now. I stopped giving my milk to Cairo when she turned 7 months old. Now why do I feel the need to write this post?

That's because I've just watched a most touching and inspiring programme on the topic. Information I gleamed from my 20 minutes' exposure:

formula companies are legally bound not to advertise milk powder for newborns to 6 months old babies in the 100+ countries which signed some agreement in the 80s.

thereafter, some milk powder companies have resorted to misinforming and scaring parents that it is not healthy to breastfeed without supplementing with formula beyond the 6 months' term.

although breast feeding is getting popular, majority of the mothers are not getting tangible encouragement to breast feed their babies beyond the first 6 months and would even get rude remarks if they happen to be breast feeding their 2 year olds!

the rampant problem of health care officials consorting with milk powder companies (for personal gain, what else?) to brainwash new parents to accept milk powder instead of promoting the benefits of breast milk and the continuous feeding beyond 6 months.

breast feeding campaign pales in comparison to advertisement campaigns by milk powder companies as about half the cost of the formula actually went into advertising!

the Philippines' health care ministry, which proposed the 6 months no-ads law to be extended to 2 years, is being sued by the big boys from the west, for trying to limit freedom of trade.

some breast feeding mothers in the Philippines took to the streets and bared their breasts (painted over with slogans and graphics) to fight back!

Now, I have not the guts of these ladies, but I did my fair share when it comes to acts of defiance to fight for what I believe is the right of my baby. I know that a lot of breast feeding mothers have been discriminated at work to some extend and have been keeping mum about it. That is why I must tell you my story now. I hope to inspire fellow victims to fight back so that more babies would get mother's milk longer....

I was working in a small company then. When I came back from my maternity leave 5 weeks earlier than the 12 weeks (which was my entitlement according to the new law), I got the permission of my 2nd boss and started to use the smaller meeting room (which consisted of a desk and 3 chairs) to pump milk during my one hour long lunch time at noon and at 5 pm before I go home.

I knew that my big boss was a calculative person and didn't want to push my luck by doing it during my working hours, even though I had to endure slight engorgement sometimes.

All was well until several weeks later, in a not so subtle act to stop me from breast feeding beyond my maternity leave (which I happened to cut short on his demand!!!), the big boss decided to lock up the room whenever we had no meetings to conduct.

My brain immediately ran through all alternatives.

Pumping in the toilet was out of the question as we had only one unisex toilet which fits one at a time.

There was no door in our rat infested store room which I am sure housed drawings and smaller construction instruments older than me.

I could beg my next door neighbours for help since they have got 2 toilets but..... nah!

Knowing that I had no other choice, I went to plead my case with the person tasked to hold the key instead. A more power-obsessed, boot-licking, obnoxious HR cum Accounts Clerk cum Spy for the Boss, I have never seen. As expected, she turned me down (almost gleefully) and told me that if I wanted to give my kid the best start in life by providing mother's milk, I should have stayed at home as a full time mother instead. And oh, please don't mind her for saying that, as she was only repeating the big boss' words.

That was my big boss, dear readers. Father of 3 grown children, one of which actually gave birth to his grandchild a year before me and did breast feeding too! Did I mention that she worked full time?

I am not a goverment-bashing person and I believe that Singapore is already a very lovely country to live in. They even went as far as paying us to procreate for the country! But hey, where were they when I had to live in fear of losing my job while pregnant (cos who'd wanna employ a pregnant woman?) and where were they when my boss told me that mothers have got no right to work?

Never mind.... I've fought my own battles since young and I am well equipped.

BRING IT ON!!!

I immediately bought myself a breast feeding aid after work that day. Imagine a half poncho kind of contraption. It velcroed at one side of my neck like a bib and has a thin, perforated section on top which is big enough for me to peer in to see what I was doing. With this, I braved myself to start pumping away in my partition-less seat, the side of which happened to be facing the main glass door of our tiny open-planned-concept-office.

My big boss, not knowing what I was doing at first, walked over to discuss work, even though it was lunch time. Upon discovering that I was actually pumping right there in the open and as we talked, he hastily wrapped up the discussion and retreated back to his room. That very same day, the spare room was unlocked again.

I WON!!!!

Sigh, that was only one of the many unpleasant encounters I faced throughout my pregnancy and even after I gave birth (more to be detailed in another post, some other time).

I decided that I no longer wanted to play games with the management anymore. Even though I won most of the time, my methods left me tired, grudging, and distracted from work. I had to be on my toes and be equally, if not more scheming than the management, a trait which I felt had somewhat tainted the pure bliss and happiness which comes with every new baby.

I moved on to a much bigger and way more civilized company not long after that.

Harry Potter Finally...

2007-07-21T23:59:00.000+08:00

I woke up an hour earlier than usual. This is the day I have been waiting for since I pre-ordered my book sometime ago. I only hope that it would go according to plan. I cursed myself for choosing last Saturday as my off-day instead of today! Regret comes to late, I guess... sigh...

The Q in front of me, outside the bookstore at 6.55am in the morning

When I reached the bookstore, I was thrilled to discover that I was no 7 in line for the collection of my Harry Potter 7, what a coincidence, hahaha!

Great, no big mob which camped overnight for it, phew! "That means, it would just be a matter of minutes after the shop opens at 7am sharp before I could start reading!!!" was what I said to myself.

And read was what I did!

In the train, while I walk on the pavement (I lifted up my eyes briefly enough to check out the group of students outside borders - no doubt studying at international schools - wearing robes, hogwart ties, and witch pointy hats), while I ate my McDonald's big breakfast set, and even while I grudgingly take the lift up to my office and finally put the book back into it's orangy paper bag before I started work at 8.30am.

I felt like I was being "cruciated" as the book was so near yet it was a full 4 hours away before I could officially lift up the cover again.

My Harry Potter Book 7, finally!!!

Ah.... finally, my book and I will never be separated again til I reach the last page! Not!

Due to the fact that I had to work half day, bumped into an ex colleague on the train on the way home, mother in law dropped by unannounced again AND that I had to play host to a good friend from KL (again :D) which means we chatted on and on while playing with Cairo, I only managed to finish the book very late into the nite (2am plus actually).

I must admit that I am pleased with the ending as after all, it is a children's book! OK, no more spoilers :p

She Said That In The Bath

2007-07-19T20:06:00.000+08:00

I just got home from work when I spied the following through the semi opened bathroom door:

Grandma was preparing the bath water while Cairo tried to squeeze toothpaste onto her brush (albeit not very successfully). Grandma tried to help but Cairo screamed at her, "Chi kei, chi kei ahhhHHH!" (translation: do it by own self) so Grandma let her be. The "ahhhh" part could've rivaled that of any soprano opera singer's, I swear! After several attempts, Cairo finally got what she wanted out of the tube and proceeded to brush her teeth, unaided and "undisturbed".

~ My feisty little Chilli Padi likes to be independent eh? I must try to nib the screaming in the bud though.... can't stand kids doing that....

Grandma was undressing Cairo and the little one actually said, "Chui Sam/chui foo" (translation: remove the shirt / pants) while Grandma was removing said garments

~ Grandma has a very good habit of running a commentary of what she is doing or about to do to Cairo, so I guessed that's how Cairo picked up her words. *grinning*

Grandma asked Cairo to step into her mini bathtub after undressing her. Cairo climbed in gingerly then shouted dramatically, "Yit ah, yit ah!" (translation: too hot ah, too hot ah!) before hopping out!

~ My small fry can express that?! Wow! I found out later from a somewhat smug looking Grandma that HER Cairo has been trained to bathe in water much cooler than what her "lousy , sickly, youngster parents" are used to! O....kay.... good... for.... her....

After insisting that Grandma add more cold water to her bathtub, Cairo climbed in again. This time round she bossily asked for "Fan Gan....fan gan eh?" (translation: soap, soap?)

~ She actually noted that Grandma hadn't added the bath gel into the tub and reminded her of it!!! Aww.... so observant right?

Grandma sponged Cairo all over while Cairo played a sorta body part guessing game with her. She'd name them while Grandma was sponging her parts..."sai tau, sai min, sai sau, sai geok... sai pet pet, sai pok pok!" (translation: washing hair, washing face, washing hands, washing legs.... washing private parts!)

~ Dear God, why must Grandma teach her to call her private part that la? But so darn farneeee right? Hahaha! So that's what it's gonna be, eh? Pet pet for the back and pok pok for the front! *slap head*

Actually, Grandma saw me standing at the door quite early but decided not to let Cairo know and let me witness for myself what the small one has been up to lately :p

Well, seems that Cairo has picked up quite a lot of words lately though she does hesitate to string them together to form longer sentences. She also tends to say her words in pairs of repetitions....

Her favourite sentence at the moment?

"Mommy eh? Daddy eh?" (translation: where's mommy? where's daddy?) She'll then answer her own question if neither me nor her Daddy shows up in front of her within the next 2 seconds; "Mommy jou gung.... Daddy gui, Daddy oh oi!" (translation: mommy working, daddy tired, daddy sleeping!) all the while nodding her head like she's figured out what's E=MC2 hahaha!

That's cos she's always seeing her Daddy in bed (he can out sleep anyone of us in the family) and I'm always at the computer (Grandma would tell her I'm working, instead of blogging, so she wouldn't disturb me so much) *laugh out loud*

PPP: Fantasy Football League

2007-07-18T22:42:00.000+08:00

This is a sponsored post.

What exactly is competitive American fantasy football? I have no idea.

This is the info provided by the advertiser, which I gotta admit, did not answer my question, but managed to pique my interests enough to check out their website:

''If you're looking for a place to form a fantasy football team and compete for huge pay-out prizes, look no further than AFFL.com The American Fantasy Football League is an elite, high-class venue in which to showcase your skills for a chance to win huge prizes. Check out the prizes for the 2007 season at http://affl.com/prizes.asp''

And check out the prizes I did. Just wanna let you know that even though I am still struggling to understand how we can actually play fantasy football, I do have no problem comprehending that their Championship Playoff Grand Prize is worth a cool $100,000.00!!!

Now let me get back to the rules and regulations again.... or perhaps I should check out the FAQ....

Tag: If I Have A Million...

2007-07-18T20:35:00.000+08:00

I usually sit on my tags for a couple of days (or weeks if it's really tough :p) but this one I can do just like that.

The reason? I've been making this list whenever I get worked up and needed some daydreaming to cool down my temper, so I can now rattle it off in under a minute, no further thinking required! Only problem is, I always have $5M worth of stuff in my list.... now I gotta spend time whittling that down, and it sucks big time!

Ok, here's what I'll get or do if I have $1 Million :

65% to build up my portfolio / feed my insurance addiction (strange eh how people who get a windfall usually end up with some weird sickness / accidents in the family and all those money would be poured back into treating the problem, *choi choi* so must buy more insurance to safe guard my mini fortune from dwindling away just like that :p)

15% to buy a modest house in Johor (but must come with kickass security system), for those times when my moms need to feel Malaysian soil under their feet but doesn't wanna travel all the way back to KL, and for Cairo to actually know what a lawn is (no way are we gonna buy landed property in Singapore!!!)

5% for current home's renovation & knick knacks for the family

5% for further education (mine) and cool trips (for Daddy, Me, Cairo & 3 grandmas)

5% money in hand

5% for fixed deposit, all proceeds to be contributed to charity on interim basis, whole chunk to be transfered over when I'm dead.

Actually, I can't even stop working and retire with that amount of money.... not in Singapore anyway.... now it's getting depressing.....

Anyway, let's see what you're gonna do with your million:

1) Jazzmint
2) Cheryl

Can't tag too many people now cos I have several more tags to go hahaha!

*********************************************
Instructions :

**Start Copy**

Proposition: If you Have $1,000,000.00…………………………………

Requirements: continue above sentences

Tag Mode: 5 blogger
1st - You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog or etc.

What They Do With Their $1 Million
1. SYH will spend for Family.
2. Miche will give to the needy.
3. Montessorimum will keepsake
4. Chin Nee will Spend on Everything

5. Mom of Cairo will spend mostly on Retirement Nest Building

Cairo's Going to Two Schools Next Year!

2007-07-16T21:06:00.000+08:00

A most hectic 2 days for Cairo.

We attended a birthday luncheon, a baby full-month party and a birthday dinner, all on Sunday!

Today, which is the day I expected Cairo to recharge a little, turned out to be equally eventful, if not more so for her. Why?

It's a jungle out there, Mommy... I'm scared!

Because the principal from her "school" finally called me up (I was left biting my finger nails for a few days when her assistant wasn't sure if there're anymore vacancies left for NEXT July's intake!!!!)

Yay, there is a vacancy. No, we must come down for registration during working hours only, like today or tomorrow. Right, I'll just cancel my pedicure & facial, no problem. I must sound like a wealthy Tai-Tai to her on the phone. Duh! Like I can ask my new boss for an urgent leave 2 weeks after I start my new job!

Luckily, my mom and mother-in-law (I called her up after I finished panicking) came to my rescue. Together, and with me on the phone doing remote coordination, they helped to extract the proper documentations from my many cabinets at home, and successfully registered Cairo for not just one but 2 playgroups. One to commence in Jan 08 and the other, in July 08.

Why 2 u ask? Cos after finding out the first one is only starting a year away, the grands think Cairo is very pitiable (to only be able to go to school when she turns 30 months old, which is the minimum for the government-run centre). You see, "everyone else" they have heard of has started school at or before 18 months old.

To rid myself of the label "child-education-denier" (like there is even such a phrase), I gave in. Thanks to internet and mobile phones, I managed to direct them to another centre (which I must admit, I have also been eyeing for quite sometime now, and that I do know for a fact they will admit Cairo in a full 6 months earlier). It just so happens that they do have vacancy for D group which starts at the least popular 1 pm. Whatever, beggars can't be choosers! To think that I called in just 3 weeks ago and the registration hasn't even opened yet! Welcome to Kiasu Singapore, folks!

Now I know I'm not supposed to swap Cairo's schools so often. The reason I don't just let her stay there for good (the one which starts class earlier) is because we all think the government-run centre is better (more equipped, cleaner, newer, better staffed, 2 hour lesson instead of 90 minutes etc) and waaaay nearer for grandma to drop off and pick Cairo up after class. It's like 4 minutes' walk away from our lift lobby! Did I mention Cairo would also get to stay there for the next 4.5 years (which is all the way to kindergarten)?

I must go to school. Need to learn to fish for myself!

Anyway, don't worry about the captions. I'm just being my usual dramatic self. According to the grandmas, Cairo loved it at both schools!

Well, she'd better. Her parents and their $400 are already parted (deposits!!!) And we've not even purchased the uniforms, her school bag (very important for school going morale, according to the grands) and stuff (cardigans cos the aircon's super cold, according to the grands, again)!!!

Erm, increment please, boss?

Fully Recovered!

2007-07-11T20:17:00.000+08:00

Yeah, but only applicable to Cairo.

Anyway, I took this photo last week when Cairo went for her last immunization jab. That was her reaction when I told her that the "Ang-ker Dok-ter" would be giving her some medicine to eat for her mild cough (she calls her cough "cutt-cutt" in cantonese) :p

Know why that pose? Cos I'd pinched her nose a little whenever she refused to open her mouth to take her medicine (not often, but apparently enough to leave an impression on that little mind of hers... shucks!)

Cheaper By The Dozen @ Clinic?

2007-07-10T19:58:00.000+08:00

The whole family is sick.

Though technically we should exclude Cairo. She has recovered (95% anyway). I'm still coughing like I've contracted TB or something, though my sore throat and runny nose seems to have subsided.

Hubby is the latest victim (and he has got stomach flu on top of everything else I had, hahaha, so much for laughing at my low immunity back then :p). Grandma thinks her throat is itchy, meaning to say she'll be the next. Maybe we should ask for a discount from the clinic for Grandma... sorta like buy 3 free 1!

And the dang haze is not even here yet!!! I can't imagine what it'll do to my cough once the wind direction changes in a month's time.....

What Cairo, Hubby and I are taking at the moment

If you guys are worried that my new job is so taxing till I'm unable to do my beloved blogging and blog reading, you're wrong. It's the medicine's doing! I'm in Lala-land most of the time once I reach home and pop my pills and stronger (aka sleep inducing) cough syrup, hahaha!

Oh, some of you asked about my new job - and I thank you for your concern - it's basically just another company, another project but I'm still in my old line... so it's not too big a change, don't worry. The project's pretty iconic and my boss seems zealously inclined towards imparting his skills to us, so I am crossing my fingers :D

Job load is ok, though the location is most detrimental to the health of my wallet (now we're both sick, hyuk hyuk hyuk!)

I not gonna mention where, but let's just say that I walk pass Hermes, Ferragamo, Cartier, LV, Dior, Valentino, Gucci, Armani etc etc in the 5 minutes short walk from the train station to my office block..... butttt nooo! Not once have I succumbed to temptation (yet) - even with the "SALE" sign displayed so prominently on the shopfronts.

The main culprit? The Toys 'R' Us smacked right across the road! Now you know who benefited most from my change of job eh?

Well, that aside, food is definitely costlier also - another reason to start dieting I guess. Soon, soon :p

Last but not least, a GREAT NEWS! Cairo is now the big sister of a cute little baby girl whom my cousin M gave birth to in KL today. Can't wait to see both of them!!!

Cairo The New Beckham?

2007-07-06T22:56:00.000+08:00

I have just started my new job this week, hence the lack of new posts and also absence of comments on your blogs, hehe.

Anyway, I've got this cough which got quite bad these 2 days (dunno why but I keep smelling ciggie smoke at my place, which only aggravated the cough - so if you're my smoker colleagues who doesn't like to close the balcony door whenever you go out to kill yourself slowly, and you're reading this, yeah, I'm flaming you on cyberspace *sticking tongue out*).

As I can't afford to drink it at work then fall asleep, I make sure I chug some down when I reach home. The drowsiness enveloped me within minutes while an active looking Cairo gave me her typical "Mommy-come-play-with-me-now" look. Cannot take it already... so I passed her to Daddy for some ah... Daddy / Daughter bonding time.

A few minutes later, I heard Cairo giggling and squealing! I was shocked.

I gotta admit, based on past track record, I was prepared for her to go into crying mode after only a few minutes with her Daddy, but this is such a pleasant surprise I had to grab my camera pronto...

Erm... the son we never had?!

If this is what it takes for those two to truly enjoy each other's company, so be it. After all, I was never the girly-girl myself :p

(Aiks, what happened to my drowsiness?!)

Tag: 8 Random Facts About Cairo

2007-07-05T20:16:00.000+08:00

Malaika's Mommy wanna know 8 random facts about Cairo. I'm not gonna tag anybody a second time for this same title, so you guys can exhale now, duh!

Okie, here we go:

Fact 1:
At birth, Cairo was the biggest baby at the hospital's nursery (our floor anyway :p), weighing in at a hefty 3.89kg.

Fact 2:
Contrary to popular believe, Cairo isn't an only child. See how protective her two brothers are?
The darker one is "Froggy, aka Koko" and the lighter one is "Junior aka Naughty".

"How come she's our little sister but so much bigger in size? And not one bit of green on her!?"

"Quick, Mommy's coming... act like we like the baby!"

"Mommy, what's this? We like! Buy, ok?"
(yep, that's the bed for jaundiced babies at the hospital. Cairo used it for a while)

(They are NOT toys. The Boys "talk" to us every night and still sleeps in our bed, followed us on holidays, had their portraits framed up and even got Ang Pows from Mommy, Daddy and Grandmas during Chinese New Years :p)

Fact 3:
Cairo had quite a lot of hair at birth but didn't grow much back after her customary "Head Shaving Ceremony" when she turned 100 days old. We've never cut her hair since.

Fact 4:
Cairo had excema very soon after birth (no symptoms for a long time now, so I lie to myself and use past tense). We had to be darn careful of her food intake, introducing new stuff to her way later than others - even now she's not allowed seafood, except fish. No furry soft toys then (her brothers not considered... they had frequent baths anyway). Always well ventilated. Used only moisturiser and bathing shampoo prescribed by her doc cos even Sebamed was too harsh for her then!

Fact 5:
Loves to dance! Unfortunately, seems to like trashy rock stuff and will bop her head along like some drunken groupie, yucks!

Fact 6:
Cairo likes to give us massage or pretend to apply ointment for us if she thinks that we are injured. She will shake some water out of her "mag mag", rub her hands together and smother them on our "injuries" as though healing them. She must have seen the way Grandma applied medicated oil and picked it up, hahaha!

Fact 7:
Cairo is a nocturnal creature. She goes to bed several hours after her parents have long gone to bed. She suits her Grandma's normal sleeping hours to a T! We are pretty sure that Cairo is imitating her right now and we're thinking of drugging her (Grandma, not Cairo) back to normal sleeping hours when Cairo starts school next year!

Fact 8:
Cairo insists on going into Mommy & Daddy's room for reading and playing session at night. The only way Mommy / Daddy is able to drive her out of the room is to do the "Goodnight Ritual". Upon hearing them, Cairo will wave, say bye bye and walk out of the room without making a fuss.

Wonder why I only posted photos for Fact 2? Cos I promised the Boys I won't let Cairo steal their thunder this round :p

Tag: SAHM or FTWM?

2007-07-01T21:09:00.000+08:00

I have been thinking about this a lot even before I first saw the tag being passed around. So when I saw it I was like "Tag me, tag me! I wanna do it", while waving arms in air like some lunatic :p

I think I'll tackle it a little differently than the way my buddies who tagged me, Cheryl and Jazzmint, did their's (thank you both, by the way, hehehe). Let me reason out both before I make my decision, yeah?

I wanna be a Stay at Home Mom (SAHM) cos:

I get to be with Cairo 24/7!

Would consider having "another one" since I am already at home anyway :p

I would have more control over the way Cairo is brought up (less TV, more educational type of playing, perhaps introduce more languages to her eg Malay...)

More freedom to do the stuff I need to do, as and when I need them to be done. My industry's still pretty old fashion whereby working from home or even flexi hours is not an option at all... hence I'm always taking annual leave for running errants, babysitting etc instead of taking them en bloc for a long holiday or break!

Can have more time to do my housework consistently instead of the periodic cleaning frenzy (using toothbrush!) I get into whenever I have some "free time" nowadays.

I wanna be a Full Time Working Mom (FTWM) cos:

I get to be with Cairo 24/7, otherwise!

I have unquestionable buying power for whatever stuff hubby doesn't deem necessary (but I like em and I must have em)!

I get to talk shop with hubby (he loves it!) and friends / ex colleagues rather than just what's today's price for pork and broccoli, his only other favourite topic (just kidding :p).

Too much time on my hands for shopping and hunting of courses for Cairo but without a fortune to back it up... sounds like a big disaster in the making already

I am already a very low maintenance creature since after my wedding, can't imagine what will happen to me if I don't have to "see" people anymore.

To be honest, I wanna have my cake and eat it too, so I wanna be a Part Time Working Mom (PTWM, say 3 days a week, no more than 8 hours a day and hopefully no drastic pay cut hahaha).

Craving to do all the exciting stuff that SAHMs do, yet not quite willing to forsake my few hours a day where I get to talk with people who speaks more than 5 words in each sentences. And the money of course!!!

OK, done. Now the boring stuff... the rules :p

*****Instructions*****

If you are given a choice, SAHM or FTWM? Give at least 3 reasons.
Include your name in the thread below
Tag 3 person

List:

Immomsdaughter prefers to be a SAHM
Miche prefers to be a SAHM.
Msau prefers to be a PTWM.
Everydayhealy prefers to be a SAHM.
Jazzmint prefers FTWM.
Cheryl prefers to be a FTWM but will consider SAHM.
Mom of Cairo prefers to be a PTWM.

3 persons to tag:

Alternative Mom
The New Parent (just tweak the title a little :p)
Jean's Diary

When Nobody Wanna Entertain Cairo...

2007-06-30T23:13:00.000+08:00

Cairo's favourite two packs of flash cards

We enjoy spending time with Cairo. However, there are times when Grandma, Daddy and I tend to crave some personal time where we could just curl up with a book (me), catch up on newspaper reading (grandma) or play dead in front of the TV (daddy) WITHOUT CAIRO AROUND. Or even hear her voice.

It just so happens that all 3 of us felt that way today. Since everyone else had a more superior reason (Grandma looked really tired & Daddy just got his bonus, so he's playing King for the weekend), I got the 'Cairo Duty'. Bummer!

I was looking daggers at my own flesh and blood and about to put my book back onto the shelf until I came up with a superb idea.

I threw 2 packs of animal flash cards (her favourite) on the floor, about 1.5 metre away from my bed. Then I did this:

Me: Cairo, find a BEE for mommy.

Cairo: BEEEE!!!

She'd rush over to look for the needle in the haystack... errr, I meant card. I'd also usually say the name of an animal that is partially hidden from view, hehehe. About a minute or so later, she would waive the card in front of me (the correct one, most of the time) while saying the animal's name excitedly, though her pronunciation is still pretty atrocious. I must then praise her and then throw her another animal name to hunt for.

That way, I got to lie in bed and only needed to look up from my book every few minutes, hehehe. While Cairo got some exercise running between my bed and the pile. I was hoping she would get tired real quick and fall asleep sooner cos we're going for a picnic at the reservoir (again) early tomorrow morning, you see.

I feel guilty about playing this "Fetch" game with Cairo as though she is a little puppy but I can't help it. The spirit is not willing and the flesh is even weaker (from all the grocery shopping and preparation of the picnic food would be my guess)...

Do you ever feel that way towards your kid(s)?

Tag: 8 Random Facts About Moi

2007-06-27T11:27:00.001+08:00

Got tagged by the The New Parent, someone whose posts and comments I always look forward to reading (and you would too, once you've dropped by his blog)!

I am to list 8 Random Facts About Myself.

Now this would be quite contrary to my usual stand. As I was just telling one of my best friends yesterday, this blog is all about Cairo. I hesitate to post my own photos or even divulge so much about myself. This is due to the fact that my work calls for a certain image / authority, which would otherwise be blown if everyone is privy to the fact that I am very much like Bridget Jones to a certain degree, hahaha!

That said, I will let on a little so that you will understand me more when I make a certain odd or eccentric remark in my post or when I comment in your blog. We all think or act like we do due to what we have been through, yes? Anyway, so long as I don't post my photos, they (as in my subcons and suppliers, whom I wear my mask for) can't tell who I am eh?

Before that, however, I have to post about the rules. Too lazy to write la, will copy his instead :p

*start copying*

I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.

Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

*end of copying*

So here goes:

Tidbit 1: My family is "TWO" of a kind
My parents separated when I was very young but my father's two wives stayed together to raise me up. I was given so much love by both mothers I couldn't tell which was the biological one. I didn't bother to find out either till I had to fill out some forms at school. That revelation made no difference to the way I feel towards either of the moms. In fact, growing up in such a special family has forever changed my perception towards the idea of evil stepmothers and adoptive relationships being not as close (nonsense, both of it!)

Tidbit 2: Why I can't drive
I had a near death accident while I was 17, trying to ride a mountain bike. Lucky for me, all the other cars had good drivers who swerved or braked, but me and the bike ended up in a large drain instead. I still have the scars to remind me of my misadventure. On hindsight, I should've adjusted the too-high seat and I might've wanted to start out on a less steep slope. That, and never try something like that on the week leading up to SPM (Malay O' levels). That experience scared me away from taking my driving license at 17, like everyone else in Malaysia, and one thing led to another I found myself in Singapore, where it is ridiculously expensive (not to mention difficult) to get one now, sob sob!

Tidbit 3: I don't take criticism lightly
An uncle once remarked that I should have gone on to Form 6 (Malay A' levels) instead, since I had the choice and it was free education. I immediately took on 3 jobs (during the holidays) to pay for my own college fees, just to prove that I wasn't wasting my moms' money, while still being able to study what I wanted. So there you go, I am stubborn and I react drastically to criticism, though hopefully in a positive manner.

Tidbit 4: How I learned to respect the domestic helps
To further supplement my fast dwindling stash, I took a job at a relative's disco. I would run off to cashier there after my evening lectures and wake up early to clean the premises in the morning. Nothing instills more appreciation towards the domestic help's contribution than a personal experience of washing toilet bowls coated with overnight puke and whatnots. And to all you crazy teenagers and yuppies, food fight is NEVER cool! Think of the poor fella who has to brush them off the carpets after you all saunter home in your drunken stupor!

Tidbit 5: Where I learned to hold my liquor
Working in a disco also means that after all the free booze (which was whenever the bartender made a mistake and chug it my way), I became quite a good drinker. Yet the scrooge in me shudders at the thought of having to pay for clubbing or buying my own drinks. Hence, I can go months or even years without getting near any alcohol. Especially so after I got pregnant. I am mildly pleased that I can still down 5 glasses of wine and some champagne without feeling anything at the recent company dinner though :p

Tidbit 6: I'm a "just do it" kinda person
Right after I sat for my college exam and before I even got my results, I came to Singapore to look for a job. After 2 whole days of deliberation. 19 and a half then, I had nothing but my luggage and SGD200 on me. I found a job within days while bunking at a distant relative's living room. I moved out after cashing out my first paycheck, having first expressed my gratitude with many thanks and a token rent, of course.

Tidbit 7: How I ended up in Singapore
I was supposed to work in Singapore for 6 months, then go back home to continue my diploma course. I liked it so much here I decided to settle down and take night classes while working full time instead. That is what I tell people in leau of the fact that my illiterate moms failed to forward me the college registration letter till AFTER it expired. Sigh...

Tidbit 8: I am an insurance addict
It all started when I attended a work site safety induction course at my first job. I was shown a video of lift decapitating heads, nail guns misfiring, brick pallets falling.... u get the drift. I literally ran out to contact an insurance agent that very day! Up til now, whenever I get a pay increment, I would be itching to get more policies. (Yes, but this is also to inform all you insurance agents out there that I am probably more well covered than you are, so please don't pester me to get more. That and also because I already have 2 very good agents :p)

Wah, story telling time over so soon, hehehe. So tagging time begins!

A Mother's Monologue
My Baby Hayward Yeoh
Cheryl's Circle of Influence
Tang Sanctuary.com
Life With My Angels - Wokking Mom
Malaika Xiao Yu
Random Thought of a Blur Mommy
Wenzel's Little Notes

Chicken and Duck Talked, Then Bonded

2007-06-25T22:25:00.000+08:00

Photo by Aunty Jazzmint, not-so-pro scrap by me

While the mommies and their best friends were frantically checking out bargains during the last 2 days of The Great Singapore Sale (for them), the little ones bonded.

Faythe is older than Cairo by a mere 10 months. Yet, signs of maturity could not be clearer and more obvious. She spoke to Cairo in good sentences of English and Malay, fed Cairo her food and held Cairo's little hand whenever they're together. In other words, she became the big sister Cairo never had.

Cairo on the other hand, were calling out for her "Jeh jeh" (big sister) every so often. The fact that Faythe might not understand her smatterings of Cantonese were of no concern to her as she babbles on excitedly while playing and sharing her toy collection with Faythe. There were no signs of fighting or squabbling between them, surprisingly, much to the relief of the adults.

From time to time, the girls would erupt into baby talk which none of us comprehends and they would then giggle with shrieks of laughter as if sharing some secret jokes. Perhaps chicken and duck can actually talk to each other!

The girls had such a good time they even managed to tweak their sleeping time to suit each other. Faythe, who normally sleeps at 9pm, stayed up to play with Cairo until the wee hours of 2am! My little owl reciprocated that kindness by waking up at 7am to go on a picnic by the reservoir and stayed awake throughout! Quite a feat for her considering that she normally wakes up at 8am for her milk then goes right back to sleep until noon everyday.

I don't know about Faythe's bedtime now, but my owl has gone back to sleeping away her mornings shamelessly again. Sigh....

Anyway, luckily for us, when the time came for the girls to be separated, both were so tired they hardly got the energy to wave bye bye, let alone do the much feared wailing and crying. Cairo, being the good hostess, managed to stay awake until then but conked out immediately after the bus pulled away, hahaha.

Your Trip, My Trip

2007-06-24T21:29:00.000+08:00

Photo and gorgeous scrap by Cairo's Aunty Jazzmint, again

The reason I have not done any posting or visited any blogs for the past few days? 4 highly anticipated guests from KL, 3 of whom I have known for more than 1.5 decades. The other one, I've only seen 3 times in my life. Her name is Faythe and she "buddied up" with Cairo in a matter of minutes after reaching my home. See above scrap and you'll know what I mean.

I'll need some time to catch up on my sleep (running on empty and will definitely turn up to work tomorrow as zombie). Then I'll go through, organise, scrap and post the hundreds of photos my snappy-happy friends and I took over these 3 days.

Or, I might just link you guys over to their website when they put up their Singapore Trip post. Cos they have most of the photos anyway (Oi! You two! Downloading got problem la. I've only got 50% of the photos!) Another reason? They are FAST BLOGGERS so you guys need not have to wait till Cairo turned 18 to read about this trip (which is very likely, if you wait for me :p)

Meanwhile, just a quick one to let you all know that we had a wonderful holiday too even though it was our guests' trip. Planning for OUR OWN year end KL trip shall commence now, hahaha!

And even though I sent my 4 guests off to bed with nothing but broth and bread (really, not kidding... I am sure they will mention this later anyway), I insist that they feed me Black Hokkien Mee every day when I am in KL *slurp, slurp*

Tag : You're Infected!

2007-06-19T23:01:00.000+08:00

I have been tagged by Jazzmint and Health Freak Mommy for the same topic... BLOGIVITIS.
(I wonder why they think I have it... most puzzling :p)

I am supposed to list down 10 symptoms that define me as an "infected". Perhaps I should include those displayed by the family members too, as it seems to have a side effect on them :p

My home computer is doing overtime work and our unlimited broadband subscription is finally justifiable.

Cairo sees me at the computer so often, she now demands to be carried on my lap, while I type. Or she'll climb onto the chair and type nonsense if nobody's looking. So if you see a weird, incomprehensible post, its her doing!

I'm now able to wake up immediately when my alarm clock rings in the morning. Cos I'll then have the extra few minutes to check if PPP has any new opps before I head to work.

Friends complain that if they missed checking my blog a day or two, they'd have several looooong posts to read.

I come back from lunch 30 minutes earlier so that I could read blogs or grab PPP.

My window shopping days have been drastically reduced (ditto impulsive buys) since who has time to time loiter about when the computer is calling, eh? So if you see me in rags, outdated bags and shoes, you know why.

My friends and I talk about PPP, blogs, scraps and more PPP 80% of the time when we meet each other on MSN.

I can be too sick to work or look after Cairo but still bodily able to blog hahaha. To be fair, I can stop and rest anytime I need to when I am blogging (save as draft, hence the weird dates sometimes) but I can't get away from Cairo so easily once I've engaged her into playing or reading with me. Ditto office... we don't have a "Sick Bay" there like we used to in school, so no periodic lying downs for the sick. I suspect I'm not allowed to sleep on the empty meeting rooms' tables either though I can't see why not.

My TV now suffers from neglect as I hardly ever pay it any attention nowadays. My books suffer less, as I still read in the bus or train and even when I am waiting at traffic lights or for my lunch to be cooked. Yeah, I am also a certified bookworm :p

Hubby is finally able to quit his budding computer games addiction now that I am surgically attached to the computer :p

The 5 persons I'm passing the baton to are:

Malaika's Mommy
Ryan's Mommy of Etcetera Etcetera
Lian of Tips and Tricks to Happy Parenting
Giddy Tiger
Anggie

Tantrums At The Supermarket?

2007-06-18T20:55:00.000+08:00

Gorgeous scrap courtesy of Cairo's Aunty Jazzmint

After reading The New Parent's post on how our kids are actually imitating our actions and behaviours most of the time (he gave an example of what he saw in the market), I did a little reflection and decided to write about my own grocery shopping experience with Cairo too.

Now, we've all seen kids throwing tantrums and screaming their lungs out while trashing on the supermarket floor when denied something. A harassed looking parent would be trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to cajole / threaten / scold / beat / bribe the kid into submission. I pity those parents as most often, they would be pressured into going for quick fixes, just to stop the feeling of being judged by onlookers.

I consider myself lucky as Cairo's tantrums are much milder. Plus I'm able to wriggle out of these situations before I attract a crowd. Or maybe, Cairo has yet to grow into a formidable match yet. Either way, I better boast now while I still can :p

Now when Cairo picks up something from the aisle which is not needed, I'd try to take it away. Normally she would refuse. Then I try the following techniques:

I tell her why we're not getting it as though she could understand me (we don't know how to use it / not tasty / too expensive / useless...). Well, maybe she could, who knows! A simple "No!" when she is perilously close to breaking something should always be followed by an explanation. Or else I'll be no different from a bully and a brute.

I try to distract her by getting something already in the cart and let her hold on to it OR I let her take something I really needed anyway from nearby shelves.

Failing the above, I would then burst into a song (sung softly, of course) or play some clapping games with her, right in the middle of the supermarket (that's when I get a little desperate, I know) and she would forget about the object while we wheel her away.

If I see that she is really attached to the object and it has a cartoon or face etc on it, I would tell her to say bye bye to it. She seems to understand the finality of the word.

I've also picked up a very good trick one day when I saw a group of preschoolers and their teachers in a supermarket. It was a sort of field trip for them or something.

I was puzzled at first (come on, the Merlion I get, but supermarket...duh!). I was shaking my head until I saw the teachers turning the place into an impromptu classroom! "This is cold" "Ooooooh." "That is hard" "Oooooh." "Watermelon is actually so big" "Wahhhh!"

It went on and on. Great for the kids, who were so excited you'd think they were touring NASA or the Palace or something. Bad for the grapes, who got poked at repeatedly though :p

Anyway, from then on, I started to expose Cairo to "Supermarket Education" too. No more just wheeling her about in the cart while I grab my stuff and go. She now gets to participate actively and she seems to enjoy every minute of it!

Also, by choosing suitable stuff to talk about to her first, I cut down the frequency of her bored, wandering eye or hand landing on dangerous or breakable stuff. Let's face it, a bored toddler is bound to find her own excitement and we can't really blame them for it, can we?

While we're at it, I have also decided that when she is old enough to do math, I will turn her into my personal walking-calculator and total up the bill as we shop, hehehe.

Good idea or what?

Alternative To Nonsensical Kiddy Songs!

2007-06-16T23:30:00.000+08:00

Further to my last post on exposing Cairo to Kiddy Songs with questionable lyrics, I've since found a solution. I may say that it is my best coup yet, cos I am killing 2 birds with one stone! Hubby gets to sing songs whose lyrics he already knows by heart and Cairo will be one culture vulture when we're done :p

I found some CDs with recordings of the classic Chinese "Three Word Chant"!

Unfortunately my knowledge of the 3 word chant is very limited, all I do know is that it was compulsory for all Chinese students to learn them last time (still do in some parts of China) and these poems, written in 3 short words each line are actually preaching moral values so deep I have difficulty understanding them (the words, not the values :p).

So why am I getting them for my 19 month old daughter, you ask.

Cos the CD has normal reading version (very catchy, sorta like rapping, really!) and a song version with nice melodies!

Cairo actually started to bop along to the tune and that helped me to make up my mind to buy the CDs hahaha!

The best part is, for the super low price of RM 19.90:

Hubby gets to show off in front of the whole family (he knows many of the poems, my moms know a few, Cairo and I know none!)

Cairo gets to have fun with her Daddy without subconsciously picking up nonsense, and hopefully learn some of the good traditional values, as time goes by.

I get to learn as well, as there's a stack of cards with "Han Yu Pin Yin" (chinese phonics hahaha)!

I saw the CDs in Popular Bookshop during my previous trip to Johor Bahru one month ago but thought that they would be too difficult for Cairo. I have since changed my mind. After all, we never know what our kids are capable of till we give them a try, right?

Most importantly, it is not like we're pushing Cairo to learn every word within a certain time frame, so no stress on her at all.

I am not sure if there are better versions out there. If anyone of you have seen or own a copy, please let me know. There is only so much vetting I could do on a product I know so little about.

I am bilingual. Malay is my first language and English, my second (though I hardly ever use Malay Language now). People like me are commonly known as "bananas" as a Chinese who knows not her own language is like one; yellow outside, white inside. That I speak fluent Cantonese like a Hong Konger and Mandarin with a slight China slang (when I choose to) doesn't cover the fact that I can't read menus, newspapers and karaoke lyrics in Chinese. The last being the most pronounced and regretted handicap, I must say :p

I am not proud that I know so little of my race's language and I worry about the growing trend among kids, teenagers and even yuppies thinking of it as "uncool to use among peers". I've had to pass up some great career opportunities which called for Chinese literacy and hope that Cairo would not suffer the same fate next time.

So... "The 300 Tang Poems" CDs for Cairo next, hehehe!

And no, I'm not giving up on the Chinese substitute lyrics for the silly Kiddy Songs I mentioned previously either! Yeah, I am one greedy mom :p

What Are We Singing To Cairo Again?

2007-06-15T17:20:00.000+08:00

Whenever being prompted by me to sing to Cairo, Hubby would never fail to choose Mandarin kiddy songs. He knows a total of 2 kiddy songs and he repeats them over and over again until I surrender and take over.

Now don't misunderstand, I have no objection to Mandarin songs, as I feel that Cairo would only benefit from being exposed to more languages and dialects, as early as possible. However... (reason coming soon, be patient).

One day, I overheard Hubby's rendition of "Ke4 Ren2 Lai2" (which I've always liked all these while, though never bothered to really think about the lyrics). Unexplainable but of all days, my brain chose that day to start to breaking down the lyrics and translated them to English. Then it hit me just like that! Check it out.... the lyrics of a popular kiddy song, sung in almost every chinese household:

Guest is here

Looking for papa

Papa's not at home

Invite the guest to (come in and) sit down

And serve (him) tea.

So basically we're slowly brain-washing the kids to invite people who are not immediate family, who claims to be looking for Daddy, to come into our home and serve them tea... when Daddy is not even at home! Are you folks thinking what I am thinking now? Argh!!!

Anyway, I still like the catchy melody and think that it'll be such a waste if Cairo wouldn't get to hear it anymore. Could someone please help to change the lyrics of the last 2 lines for me? Perhaps to the meaning of "telling the guests nicely, to please go away and there's no chance even if Hell freezes over would a little girl open the door for them when she's home alone". In Mandarin, thank you.

Or else, I'll have to blacklist the song and Hubby would be left with no choice but his only other song; Two Tigers (Mandarin song also). Guess what the lyrics say?

2 tigers, 2 tigers

Run very fast, run very fast

One is missing an eye

One is missing an ear

Oh how weird!

Sigh... now we're teaching Cairo to be an insensitive jerk who makes merry about the misfortune of disabled animals / people. Great. It's either that, or one less activity for Daddy-Cairo bonding time, which is already very few to begin with. Which would mean even less me time for me!

Oh I sense a mighty big headache coming my way...

I need to pass on the headache torch (misery loves company, lots of em). Why don't you go look through the lyrics of these 2 popular English kiddy songs, see what you think of em:

Rock-a-bye Baby

3 Blind Mice

Happy Birthday To Me

2007-06-14T23:22:00.000+08:00

Negligent Daddy + Violent Mommy = Poor Cairo

2007-06-14T20:48:00.000+08:00

I am FURIOUS at the moment. Treat this as a bitching post. You have been warned.

I left specific instructions for hubby to look after Cairo while I do my stuff in the Study Room. He agreed.

In less than 5 minutes, we heard a loud thud sound, followed by Cairo wailing her heart out. This is what happened:

her daddy deposited her in the Living Room's playpen about 3 metres from where he was sitting (back facing her) while he kept his eyes glued on the TV screen in front
she tried her version of "Prison Break"
she succeeded climbing out
only to land her head on the tiled floor (thus the loud thud!)

I am not proud to say what happened next but I am not sure I would not do it all over again.

Yup, i rained blow after blow on my hubby's back and arms while screaming at him like a mad woman while checking on Cairo at the same time (yeah, quite the multi-tasker, me). She was being carried and soothed by Grandma (who rushed out from the bedroom upon hearing the thud) while a guilt ridden daddy tried to apply some ointment (the green stuff so good for bruises) all over Cairo's head.

Cairo stopped crying after a short while and stared at her mommy screaming at daddy instead.

Grandma quickly led her away from the accident scene and into her room. Mommy stopped screaming and stormed into the Study Room to flame Daddy all over the blogosphere as a sort of anger management. Daddy sat himself down on the Living Room's sofa and stared at a blank TV screen, chiding himself for putting some lousy reruns above his daughter's safety (or so I imagined, but I hope he loses some sleep over it tonight too! Bleh!)

Anyway, this brings me to something even more serious.

Having had a cup of tea and some minutes to cool myself down, I have finally realised that I had unleashed my whole fury on Cairo's Daddy just now! It was the kind which I usually reserve for my Fencing competitors (no I didn't box them, I whipped them hard), generated out of sheer hopelessness when I realised that time is almost out and if I do not fight hard, I would lose the duel. Yeah, the rash and unchecked kind which my coach always reprimanded me about after the game. Which I thought I had left behind on the strip a decade ago, together with the discarded mask and blade. I guess old sins die hard.

I should not have resorted to violence. It only added chaos into the confusion. But I guess the pain in the hand (when I punched hubby) sorta distracted me from the pain in my heart. So not entirely bad, right? Anyway, have not figured out enough to apologise to hubby yet!

Now, the million dollar questions; if anything really terrible had happened to Cairo (touch wood) due to her Daddy's gross negligence, would I be able to forgive him? Would he, vice versa?

And how do couples survive the the losing of a child due to above said circumstances?

Knowing Her Enemy = Loving Her Enemy?

2007-06-13T23:21:00.000+08:00

It has been many days since Cairo developed her obsession with the imagined spider in the corner of my room (actually a bunch of coiled up black cable, now uncoiled, but the damage is done).

She has a love hate relationship with our friendly master room "spider"; she hates it but loves to go near it! So I reckon it's about time to listen to the good advice left by you guys in the comment section previously. Educate her! Right!

Armed with a children's book about spider facts and snippets, I proceeded with a most enthusiastic and animated rendition of it (a talent which I honed during *ahem* 6 years of choral speaking competitions back in my schooling days, most of which we won, of course). However, I have quite forgotten that my audience this time round, which consisted of only my 19 months old daughter, is not quite interested in books with that many words yet, even though the beautiful illustrations are big and colourful. She did look like she wanna rip out the page with the spider on it and spend some "quality time" with it alone though. Sigh...

Anyway, not quite ready to give up, I decided to dumb my brain washing act down a little *roll eyes* and sing "Incy Wincy Spider" to her every so often instead, hoping that it would make the "enemy" seems cuter and therefore harmless. Succeeded, in a way.

She now says "Bye-bye, Pie-der, bye-bye" *flying kiss* before trottling over to the corner and try to squash it with her little bolster. *slap head*

Motherhood Exhibition 2007 & 4 molars

2007-06-09T22:23:00.000+08:00

Brought Cairo to the "Motherhood Exhibition 07" this afternoon

We were bored to tears. Crowded. Nothing new. No good deals.

Cairo only smiled when we hopped over to Raffles City :p

Cairo is sprouting all 4 baby molars at the same time now... so she hasn't been eating much and doesn't drink much of her milk either. The good news is, all that crying is finally starting to make some sense...

Imagine my relief when I see her running through the mall, back to her happy, spirited self again. I was so busy chasing after her I didn't even have time to check out the sales there. Not that I mind. A dozen horses couldn't have dragged me away from her smile then.

An OshKosh 90% store wide discount on the other hand....

Just Kidding. What kind of a mother do you think I am? To lure me, they'll have to throw in some freebies too :p

Additional note on 11th June 2007:
I repeat. OshKosh is NOT having a 90% store wide sale. Don't get so excited until you can't finish reading this post people, hahaha :p

Wrong to Teach About Fear?

2007-06-06T22:27:00.000+08:00

I was reading some bedtime stories to Cairo last night when this happened:

Cairo: "Pie-der, pie-der! Keng-keng.... daahhh pie-der (waving her little bolster in the spider's direction)! Jau ah, pie-der!"
(Translation: Spider, spider! Scared... beat spider! Go away, spider!)

I tried assuring her that there were no spiders (having taken a good look even though I was pretty sure).

I even went so far as to carry her over to the corner and had a "spider hunt" just to prove her wrong but she quickly lost all interest in her story books and became fixated and alternated between screaming out her fears about the crawly and showing me how to squash it with her little bolster, Mr Smelly.

My mind began to wonder. Did someone tell her to fear spiders when she has never seen one in real life and had certainly no reason to be scared of it? I was reading Miss Muffet to her last week... could it be that she really understood the rhyme???

Secondly, how did she come across the idea of "beating" the spider? All Miss Muffet did was ran away!

My mind throw up more questions on further reflection:

Question 1:
Say somebody did teach her about fear. Is it wrong to instill fear so early in kids or should we wait for them to discover it at their own pace? After all, one man's poison could be another's meat... are we killing whatever slim chances she might have to become the second Steve Corwin?

Question 2:
Are we subconsciously imparting violence on our kids and if so would a small dose be good for self protection against harm?

Question 3:
And if not now, when is the ripe time (if ever)? - Applicable to questions 1 and 2

I would very much like to hear what you folks think.

She Said What?! - 4th June 07

2007-06-04T22:05:00.000+08:00

When Cairo was 1 year, 6 months, 3 weeks & 2 days old...

Scene 1
Cairo force-pushed our small foldable table and it fell with a loud thud (though luckily not on her). When Grandma scooped the crying Cairo into her arms, she saw a shocked little toddler with 2 beads of blood where the skin got scrapped off at the ankle.

Full of drama and emotion, while pointing to her injury, Cairo cried out, somewhat in the tone of someone screaming, "Call ambulance, call ambulance!":

Cairo: Por Por! *Cry* Por Por! Char Yau... char yau ah! Char yau..... *sob sob* char yau ah....(it goes on and on like a broken record)
(Translation: Grandma! *cry* Apply ointment... apply ointment *sobbing*...)

Erm, instead of telling us it's painful, my daughter asked for medication?! And not just any either, oh no ... not plaster, not iodine, nope, she asked for traditional Chinese medicine in oil form, like some hypochondriac old lady, hahaha!

Must have picked it up from me when I sprained my ankle and half screamed, half begged my mom for my bi-hourly medicated oil massage :p

Scene 2
I was eating some cold mangoes and would not give any to Cairo (she ate her small, unchilled portion already). She looked like she was going to cry, so I said to her:

Mommy: You're not gonna look pretty if you cry and get swollen eyes you know...

Cairo stopped for a moment, as though quietly processing what I said to her, then

Cairo: Mommy, bei! Bei mumm mumm! Bei ah!!!!
(Translation: Mommy, give! Give food! Give ah!)

Seeing no reaction from Mommy, she said

Cairo: Hamm! Hamm ah! Ngeh ngeh!
(Translation: Cry! Cry! Ngeh ngeh!)

When I didn't give in to her demand after her "last warning", she actually pretended to cry by SAYING the "cry" word and do the mock crying sound Hubby and I often do to tease her! *slap head*

Bring Cairo to the Cinema, Not

2007-06-03T20:15:00.001+08:00

Brought Cairo to McDonald for breakfast today. Donated $2 and got her a cute little Shrek Ear Hairband. Have been feeling guilty for not bringing her to watch the cartoon (Hubby and I watched the sneak preview a few days ago :p) so we took her to take some photo at the Shrek cardboard stand outside McDonald instead (they're having a Shrek promotion).

Didn't help the guilt to go away though, as you can probably tell from the words on my scrap above.

Having spent many of my single years tut-tutting at inconsiderate parents for not dragging their wailing kids out of the cinema, I hesitate to join their club now. You see, unlike them, I have not mastered the art of skin thickening and ear deafeaning (against others' whispered curses) and it is way too embarrassing to eat my own "tuts"...

Plan B would therefore be getting Cairo's Daddy to bring her out if she starts being a nuisance. It would work except for one little set back; I know for a fact that the man who'd sworn eternal love to me til my dying day and beyond would never want to miss a second of the show even though it means that his wife could watch it in peace! So there goes plan B, out the window.

What is considered the right age to bring a kid to cinema without getting "The Eye" from fellow patrons anyway?

Milk, Chicken Pox & Personality Growth Spurts

2007-06-02T21:45:00.000+08:00

One clear sign that Cairo has officially crossed over to her Terrible Twos stage; tantrums!

Take for example, her milk bottles. Cairo used to call us to take it away when she's done with them (so as not to spill the remaining milk, if any, on her lovely bed sheets). Lately, she would just fling her milk bottles out of her crib when she doesn't want them anymore. Lucky her bottles are quite tough and able to withstand her daily assaults.

Suffering the same fate but without the same luck on their side are Cairo's melamine bowls and cups. She has resorted to throwing them from her high chair for no apparent reason at all (as in she likes the food in them)!!! I shall go broke before end of this year if I were to replace her broken bowls and cups every time she breaks one. Shall use the Ikea plastic bowls from now on!

Sigh... I guess I was in denial stage for the past couple of weeks (months perhaps?). After all, I am talking about my little angel, whose combined crying time was less than 15 minutes per week for the first 10 months of her life (really, not exaggerating)! Then Chicken Pox struck!

The fact that I passed it to her made it even more unbearable as the expensive medicines worked wonders on me (I only had a dozen or so token sprouted here and there and was comfortable enough to watch 2 whole seasons of CSI, back to back, during my medical leave :p) while she had to go without anything but paracetamol and lousy calamine lotion that didn't work.

The poor thing cried and cried non stop for that few weeks as her case was considered quite serious. One pox for practically every 1 cm2 or 2 on her body. Red, swollen and weeping, most of them. Not to mention that her whole neck and head was covered in it, making sleep a physical impossibility.

The pox left behind more than the scars on her body (though luckily not too conspicuous on her face). It has taught Cairo the power of crying. Due to her pitiful state then, we were at her beck and call that few weeks, denying her nothing and nothing at all. I guess she now knows that tears are powerful tools for bargaining and has been flexing her skills ever since. They came slowly and at long intervals at first...

The fact that she doesn't cry when hurt but shed huge droplets as negotiation tool is even scarier...

Perhaps it is all in my head, but I do notice that with every special mark on the calendar (turning 6, 12 18 months old....) Cairo goes through a super growth spurt in all aspects of her life. Over night, I can wake up to a whole new little personality, though staring back at me with the same big round eyes! How am I gonna catch up on all these developments and changes? I am afraid...

Cairo: Brand Loyalty Or Plain Blur?

2007-05-31T16:43:00.001+08:00

As I am not a SAHM, I have not much say on certain things about Cairo's upbringing. Her vocabulary for one. For example, when Grandma teaches Cairo to ask for water by calling for "Mag Mag", after the brand range of Cairo's first training cup, all Hubby and I could do was look on and try not to roll our eyes.

After all, one should never look a gift horse in the mouth and I have been told (on countless occasions and usually laced with a hint of envy :p) how lucky I am to have Cairo's Grandma staying with us and looking after Cairo while we're at work.

So "Mag Mag" it is, even though Cairo is already drinking from Nuk, Avent & Srawberry Shortcake training cups now, she'll survive the confusion. I think.

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary, Today

2007-05-29T00:01:00.000+08:00

5 YEARS OF WEDDED BLISS...

"Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary, dear!" (Yeah, today!)
Thanks for being my official comfort zone for the past 5 years... am looking forward to the next 5 already...
Cos I get those eye-blinding solitaire earrings at the 10th Anniversary, right? :P

The Great Singapore Sale!

2007-05-28T06:34:00.000+08:00

This must be the first time I bought something (OK, a lot of things) on the 1st and 2nd day of the GSS (which started on the 18th of May 2007, FYI).

For that 1 hour or so I plead temporary insanity :p ... but they sere such a STEAL!!! The good folks at Fox Baby even threw in a free teddy bear (not photographed) for Cairo!!! Only one more round at Fox's (70% hic), I promise. How many hours would that "round" last, nobody knows...

Making It Fun: Teeth Brushing

2007-05-27T18:29:00.001+08:00

The one trend I observed from the numerous parenting blogs and books alike is that gone are the days when you can just tell a child to do something. Nowadays, it is a mandatory parental duty to make it FUN!

Yup, you heard me right. We gotta turn every simple day-to-day activity or chore into a game before the kids will participate willingly. If they're not enjoying it and we make them do it nontheless, we're considered somewhere down there in the ranks of monsters and traitors.

I suspect that this is one of the major reasons why our grandparents "coped so well" with a dozen kids while we're huffing and puffing by the time we reach the 2nd.

Anyway, kiasu mommy that I am, I embraced this trend with nary a complaint (OK , lying. I grumble to hubby every night about the little brat getting brattier :p)

For example, bathing is called "water playing session" in our house, to help coax a willing participant into her bath tub. Any form of mild dragging is considered semi child abuse :p

To make life easier, I have therefore resorted to brain washing, as early as possible.

For teeth brushing, I got her a cloth Bedtime Elmo book. One of the pages came with a mini dangling cloth toothbrush and a star with a mouth full of teeth. While Cairo supplied the action, I would patiently provide the sound effects (shh shh shh, gargle garle garle, shh shhs hh...) and do the Jim Carrey and Mr Bean faces, all the while exclaiming "Clever Girl" & "Oh, what fun!". Duh!

But boy, am I glad when my efforts finally paid off. She took to the real McCoy like a fish to water! No protests whatsoever when we introduced the brush. Eventually the tooth paste came 2 months after she turned 1. Not long after that (ok la, also another 1 or 2 months la), she started to grab the brush from us, wanting to DIY instead, phew!

Although it seems so much more work to have to point out to her the missed spots and wait for her to S-L-O-W-L-Y brush her teeth only to do it all over again ourselves, this time with the old finger brush (nobody touches her toothbrush and remains alive), the books assured me that it is a fair price to pay. After all, teeth brushing is the first step towards getting Cairo to be self-dependent (translation: move out of my house before she turns 30) :p

By the way, did I mention that I have a Potty Training book also? Yup, this book has got rhymes and pretty pictures and requires Jim Carrey and Mr Bean facial expressions during recital. Too.

Beat First, Talk Later

2007-05-26T12:55:00.000+08:00

I came across 2 posts recently whose topic is something I feel deeply about.

First, there was Mama Tang's bus ride encouter where one mom (not her) lost it when her kids misbehaved and caused much more drama I suspect, than what was on the Mobile TV in the bus.

Then there's The New Parent's post on an "almost scolding" episode, resulted by his daughter's spilt milk and how he managed to pull his handbrake in time and turn the whole thing into a learning experience for both adult and kid (interesting piece, go read it).

As Cairo slowly inches towards her terrible twos, I can no longer postpone acquiring some serious skills in child "misbehavior management" (dunno what the pros call it, I haven't hit the library yet) . I call it that because:

1) "Misbehavior" is in inverted commas as every kid has got rights & they should all be treated as innocent until proven otherwise. How many times have we found ourselves shooting strings of reprimanding, hurtful words and (god forbid) curses at them before we realised that we've jumped to the wrong conclusion? Or how about seeing who the real victim is after all the dusts settled?

2) "Management" is a word I bring home from work. I believe that as parents, we should be gently steering our kids towards the right path and not pull them by the nose. As Managers, it is up to us to provide them with the training, advice and opportunities to realise their full potential. None of us wants to work for managers who screams their heads off at the slightest of mistakes without offering constructive opinions. Then why are we doing it to our closest and dearest, who are "just kids"?!

Come to think of it, I do have the foundations on "Misbehavior Management". After all, I saw plenty examples while growing up. My parents, being old school (figuratively only as they got very little formal education) Chinese, would do the following:

1) requests to meet my form teacher (only twice in my life) = must have done something wrong = beat first, then ask teacher why. (My parents have a deep respect and trust towards teachers' judgment. And back then, teachers don't practice seeing parents every other week just to get to know their charges better.)

2) came home with a bleeding knee / sprained ankle = asked for it by being careless or naughty = scold and smack while applying medicine. (They were trying to mask their fear that I could have been dead or handicapped for life and the only way to vent the build up worry cum frustration would be the aforesaid methods, I guess :p)

3) some elders or adults in the street accusing me of having done something "notty" = scold louder than the accuser and add beatings if necessary. (Many chinese parents do this to "save face". Their theory is that if they scold louder and beat the kids harder, the accusers would eventually feel appeased, stop making more complaints and walk away, hence saving the parents from having to apologise in public any longer.)

There you have it. My parents' generation are firm believers of the saying "spare the rod and spoil the child". In fact, my only childhood exercise consisted of running around the house and threw our half a dozen or so canes out of the windows whenever I sensed something was stirring, as my dad would beat first, talk later, or beat while talking.

And part of the reason I took up fencing in school was so that I could tell people my "tiger stripes" were the markings from my dueling partner's blade :p

Anyway, what do I do now that I am armed with these knowledge? I will mirror my parents of course. Oh relax... Cairo is not in any mortal danger of being in the clutches of a serial abuser (my neighbours would call the police, I just know). By mirroing, I mean to do the opposite (Van Gogh's self portrait with its' wrong injured ear would make a very good example if you're so dense as still not get what I mean by now).

I would use my negative experience in a positive manner.

Hah, easier said than done. After all, no parent would willingly set out to harm their kids. "Even the cruel tigress would not eat its' own cub," so a popular chinese saying goes.

Perhaps what we really need to do is to take a closer look at our other problems in life. Perhaps that would spare the kid (aka the innocent straw that just happened to break the camel's back that day) from any wronged and undeserved abuses, physically or mentally.

So, my first stop now.... a book by Jo Frost (The Super Nanny) perhaps? And a $400 an hour psychiatrist to tell me that I can finally let of of my "childhood demons" and no, I must not "pass-it-forward", hahaha!
.

Have a wonderfully nostalgic weekend everyone. May your memory bring you much new knowledge, as did mine :p

All In One Pot: Part 2

2007-05-23T21:47:00.001+08:00

Remember the mini rice cooker add-on which I mentioned yesterday? OK, verdict's out. And since so many of you asked for my opinion after using it, here goes...

But before that, a confession. Erm, I just got home from work, so no, I didn't manage to actually use the can or snap any photos of it being in the rice cooker or even taste the rice it cooked. I'll just have to rely on my better half's opinion....

Grandma gave it an A+!

Performance Report:

1) though not as fine as rice cooked using a slow cooker, rice cooked in can is soft and smooth, just right for toddlers learning to eat rice.

2) no sign of rice crust sticking to the sides or bottom of can at all.

3) can will be snugly nestled in the midst of cooked rice from main cooker, just like in the photo, and not wobble or topple over as feared initially.

4) 2 scoops of rice measured using the spoon provided yielded almost one bowl of cooked rice. capacity of can is 6 scoops (hurrah! no worries of starving for the bigger eater)!

I just love it when I win my moms over with my modern gadgets. Especially so when they first deemed them frivolous and unnecessary when I show off my proud purchases enthusiastically at the main door :p

Soft Grain, Hard Grain, All In One Pot!

2007-05-22T21:56:00.001+08:00

Bought this during lunch break today (yes, I loooove working in town again!!!). Do you know what does it do? Well, exactly what the title says!

Grandma has been complaining about my eating habits since Cairo turned one and started to ask for a few grains of rice, now and then. Grandma thinks that the rice we're having now is just too hard for Cairo's tender little stomach to digest. Well too bad cos I've always hated mushy rice except if they come in sushi or handrolls. No way am I giving in!

However, Grandma's words can break bones, and not wanting to be hurled at with the title of "Selfish Mother" day in day out, I've forked out a ridiculous sum (SGD 25.90) for this simple stainless steel can set.

Grandma thinks that her old collection of Zebra brand stainless steel mugs in our KL house' could have done the same for a fraction of the price! Didn't see her coming out with this brilliant idea earlier though :p

Anyway, I pointed out to her what this gadget could do that her Zebra brand could not:

1) there are engraved markings on the tin to indicate water level suitable for 3 toddler stages, each with its' own different water level marking.

2) there's a rubber cap for safe & effortless lifting of the steaming hot cup out of the rice cooker.

3) there's also a sieve (wrong angle in photo, so sieve can't be seen there) and plastic cup for refining of mushy rice to porridge if need be.

4) the spoon works as a rice measuring spoon, mashing grinder and ah... spoon!

5) not to mention, they could all stack together like Lego, into a cute little cup, perfect for "balik kampung" and stay-overs at the other Grandma's house!

All I need to do is to put the stainless steel cup containing Cairo's portion (a bit of grain, plenty of water) right in after the rice cooker has been filled with adults' portion of rice and water (never directly into an empty rice cooker).

If i wanna add in some chopped meat or vegetables for taste, that's fine too! When it's cooked, it looks like this:

See the porridge in the middle and the nice hard grains surrounding it? Best of both worlds, all in one pot :D

Cairo's Celebrity Look-alikes

2007-05-21T20:33:00.000+08:00

I saw this cute thingy on the Friendster websites of a colleague (Ms Too) and an ex-classmate (Marisa) and decided that I must get one for Cairo too. Most entertaining, no? The theory is to load a few photos and see how many matches you get of the same celebrities, then you truly look like them :p hehehe

Too bad I've not even heard of some of the Japanese Celebrities whom Cairo supposedly looked like! Or maybe it's just due to my ignorance. I don't watch Japanese serial dramas, you see :p

Anyway, try it for yourself or your little darlings here. I think it works better on adults though...

Cairo Turned 18! (Months :p)

2007-05-20T21:05:00.000+08:00

Another overdue post :p

We celebrated Cairo turning 18 months old last weekend.

I bought a party pack some time ago at Toy's R Us so it was no problem whipping up a last minute "party". The economical pack consisted of disposable table cloth (which of course the Grandma insisted on cleaning and keeping after use), 8 sets of paper plates, cups and napkins (these she needed no persuasion in throwing away after the party, luckily).

I also got 3 mini cakes from Polar after work and they came packed in the cutest Hello Kitty carrier box!

These midway-til-the-next-birthday party thingy was sort of a tradition I started last year. It was such a relieve to finally see her turned 6 months old then, I couldn't wait another 6 months and decided to celebrate there and then. It was also actually meant to sort of give us, her carers, a pat in the back for the back breaking job, hahaha.

It seems pretty cute to do it again this year. After all, Cairo would get to blow the candle, we'd get to eat some cakes and I get pretty photos for my scrapping, hehehe. However, I've got 2 policies for these parties though.

One: I never get her a big cake. After all, it is not a real birthday. I bought 6 pieces of mini cakes last year but halved the number this year cos I'm "supposed" to be on diet :p

Two: I don't invite anyone not already in the house as I am morbidly afraid of being laughed at by my friends and relatives as being "silly and ridiculous".

What I did to make the party less empty was to include all her favourite soft toys (Bunny-Bunny, Bun Bun, Wou-Wou, Koko & Junior)! Cairo loved it! She even tried to feed her little guests while I snapped away at the camera. Meanwhile, her Daddy and Grandma stayed on guard in case she tried to grab more cake or pull the table cloth away!

It was an overall success except for a minor hiccup. The cakes were just too darn sweet! Cairo asked for water to rinse them down every now and then!!! In the end, we only managed to eat less than 50% of them cake... lucky I didn't get the cuter, bigger ones :p

Kumon Worksheets For Cairo

2007-05-19T16:36:00.000+08:00

This is NOT a sponsored post, though it might seem so.

I have long ago heard of the benefits of sending a kid to Kumon Learning Centres. I gotta admit that while I was aware of the method's popularity, I have never bothered to Google it for further information before. After all, I don't need to send Cairo to the centre so soon, why bother? They're for Primary School kids stressing over PSLE (UPSR equivalent), no?

So imagine my surprise when I chanced upon some Kumon worksheet booklets near my office day before yesterday, during lunch. Books for as young as 2 year olds! Ah-ha, the kiasu mommy in me started to gyrate towards the display like a predator closing on its' prey. No harm exploring, eh?

So I started flipping through the booklets. For the age of 2 and up, there are 3 topics, 2 books per topic. "Let's Cut Paper", "Let's Colour", and "Let's Sticker & Paste". In beautifully illustrated and good quality prints, these worksheets are meant to help build a child's fine motor skills through exercises of increasing difficulty.

I really didn't wanna get them at first. Really.

I mean, come on, stickers and colouring books are a dime a dozen at pasar malams, right? Oh, noooooo...... Once I started flipping through, I went, "Ah-hah! Oooo. I see." Totally not the same as those books at all.

Take for example; colouring. Instead of getting the toddler to colour one whole object or page, the worksheets are 97% colour printed. The toddler is supposed to apply reasoning and look for the right colour to "fill in the blank" and complete the picture. Don't forget, we are talking about exercises for 2 year olds here so that's pretty tough already. From one empty spot, the exercise graduates to 3 and so on. I can actually imagine Cairo learning and improving as she goes through the exercise. Perhaps there is a reason behind the hype of Kumon after all.

Anyway, I went back the day after but I bought only 3 books. Not exactly cheap you know. One full set would've set me back 60 bucks though the salesperson would have also given me somemore discount. Anyway, one of each title is good enough for testing of the syllabus, the scrooge in me was thinking.

While I haven't started Cairo on the worksheets, she does enjoy flipping through the books (so do I), all the while "talking" and pointing out the beautiful objects and animals to me. Of course, I also took the opportunity to teach her the proper words to the pictures la :p Killing two birds with one stone, cost instantly lowered, hehehe.

Hmmm... maybe I will consider Kumon in a few years' time after all...

Meanwhile, I might need to start colouring all her pasar malam books and leave the size of a 50 cent coin in each picture for her to work on later. Imagine the money I can save from not having to purchase the remaining 3 books while maximizing Cairo's practice sessions , hahaha!!!!

Tag: Meet My Fans!

2007-05-19T15:52:00.000+08:00

Got tagged by Health Freak Mommy on who my "fan-see" (fans) are :p

Well, hard to judge by this new blog actually. I just migrated from my Multiply account not too long ago, and only started to get active recently, you see.

However, I am very glad to have "met" a few fellow mommy bloggers. I thank them for their visits and comments. Very encouraging for newbies like me, indeed. As for the visitors who prefers not to leave their footprints behind, well, I thank you guys for your silent support too. In fact, I have been a ghost reader for more than a year myself.

Though I would certainly appreciate a comment or two from time to time. Blogging without some form of feedback is kinda like running on empty, don't you think so?

Now to get back to the tag, my fans.

I can't say I've got any fans yet but I guess I must mention the people who went through the trouble of signing in (cos restricted) to check on Cairo's blog in Multiply back then...

They are non other than my closest chums left in KL now, Cheryl and Jazzmint! In fact, they are the ones who gave me most tips and guidance in setting up this blog too. A big thank you to you girls!!! Would not have bothered with the migration without your continuous support :D Now dunno who is whose fans oredi, hahaha!

Not forgetting to mention, Jaslym, my MSN pal and fellow mommy (& newbie blogger too). Thank you for keeping me on my toes by hounding me for constant updates on Cairo, hahaha. Had it not been for you, I would not have posted my monthly photo albums on Multiply so diligently :p

OK, now to pass on the baton, I tag (who else?)

Cheryl
Jazzmint
Alex (one hot chick!!!)

Cairo on Bank Notes :p

2007-05-18T13:01:00.000+08:00

Read Karen's post the other day and told her that I would be trying it out too. Just too darn cute not to :p

I don't have photoshop with me at the office so I can't add in the word "Sample", as required for all reproductions of currency. Then again, if any idiot does mistaken these notes for real, he or she should be fined and sent to jail, not me, isn't it?

.
Click here to try it out on your darlings too (come on, I know You want to :p)

Tag: Meaning of Cairo

2007-05-18T08:01:00.000+08:00

I looove this tag, thanks Jazzmint. After all, which mom doesn't like to tell people about the meaning of their kid's name? Especially crazy moms like me, who spent a few months choosing and picking (yeah, right after I know the gender), not to mention the numerous changes (name, not gender) hehehe.

Name in Birth certificate - DYLIS FOON CAIRO

1) Pronunciation:
- English = Dee-lease (not die-liss) Foon Kai Roe
- Mandarin = Pan1 Kai3 Rou2
- Cantonese = Poon1 Hoi2 Yau3

2) Meaning:

- Dylis is welsh for dependable & can be trusted.

- Foon is the surname / last name.

- Cairo is the shortened version of her chinese name, "Kai" means thriumphant victory and "Rou" mean gentle.

- As a whole, the name should mean "A person who is dependable and can be trusted, who will achieve thriumphant victory while maintaining a gentle disposition".

3) Note:

- As opposed to popular believe, Cairo is not her second ang moh name and she wasn't conceived in Cairo (I wish!)

- I hated the idea of giving away my naming rights much to the horrors of the old folks (who wanted a professional to do it instead). But look, I took a slash across my abdomen, the least I get is to name the child! So I got to choose both chinese and english name instead (all the while "consulting" hubby la).

- I can't read or write Chinese so I had to look for each shortlisted word's exact meaning online, see if there's a better way to write it and then, to calculate the number of strokes and overall "weight" of the name (very complicated process).

- I also checked for potential rude nicknames (very traumatising for kids, trust me) and gave up on a very nice chinese name cos it sounds ridiculous when written in english.

- For those who is interested on a more loh soh (long winded) take on the name choosing, you may wanna read Cairo's version of the "meaning of her name" also (erm, written by Cairo la, hehe) :D

I tag :
Hayward's Mommy
Mommy Yiau
Peimun

Oh, no more mommies to tag lor, all kena oredi :p

Additional (22nd May 2007):

- Got tagged by The New Parent too!

**Start Copy**

Proposition: What is the meaning of your kid’s name?

Requirements: write about what or how or why you giving the name to your kids.

Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE.

Tag Mode:1st - You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.

2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they been tagged by comment in their blog or etc.

Msaufong - Meaning Of SQ & Kiki’s name
Shoppingmum and Kids - The Meaning of My Kids’ Names - Justin and Isabelle
Chooi Peng - Kai Wen Judy - Meaning of the name TERRY
Dragonmummy - The Meaning Of My Kids Name
Jasmine - Faythe & Vyktore
Mom of Cairo - Meaning of Cairo
Karen Shireen
Domestic Goddess
Anggie

Cairo Loves Her Room

2007-05-16T21:06:00.000+08:00

I am gladdened by the fact that Cairo likes her room very much even though we didn't splash on designer nursery furnitures or decorations for her. Everything is very DIY.

Perhaps it's a sense of belonging (as in the room belongs to her, hahaha)... she is always dragging us back into her room for milk drinking, card games (the flashing type, not the poker type, OK!), book reading... you name it.

Maybe it's cos she can lay around anywhere, anytime what with the super single bed, her cot, the toddler bed AND a very portable mattress all within a feet or two of each other, hahaha! I thought of moving her Ikea table and chair set into the room too but she likes them at the Living Room too, where she could do her colouring activities and eat her snacks while watching VCDs. Seems a waste of money to buy another set though... dilemma.

Anybody actually installed a TV set in the kid's room? Advisable to? Cairo is hogging the TV all the time and poor grandma refuses to use the set in the Master Room, sigh, more dilemmas...

18th Month Milestone

2007-05-16T11:52:00.000+08:00

Overdue posting.

Since I am confined at home due to a lack of mobility (wouldn't exactly call myself a cripple :p), I took the opportunity to record down Cairo's 18th month developments. While her grandma insists that Cairo knows much more words than those listed below, I have decided to draw the line and eliminated unsure answers or words which she couldn't repeat to me on both days. Some words might sound like baby babble but they made it to the list because we taught her to say them, hahaha...

Vital statistics:
- weight = 10 kg (we now call her "the sack of rice")
- height = 75 cm (didn't even grow a bit for the past 3 months?!!)
- teeth = 9 (only one more - molar - since 3 months ago!!!)

Vocabulary:
(in addition to the list in her 15th month milestone)
- beat = dah!!!
- carry = bau
- give = bei!!!
- going out = kai-kai
- open = hoi
- sit = chor-chor
- sleep = oi-oi
- bear= bear-bear
- bee = bee
- bird = bur-bird
- butterfly = popeye
- cat = mel-mel
- caterpillar = chung-chung
- cow = kau / muuu
- dog = wouh-wouh
- duck = aahpp
- fox = fog
- frog = fock
- goat = gutch
- horse = horch
- iguana = eeeee
- kangaroo = roo
- monkey = man-key
- mouse - maus
- pig = pee-gee
- spider = pie-der
- banana = nana
- cheese = cheese
- hello = ha-low
- boy = boy
- girl = ger
- ears = yi jai
- eyes = ngan
- ball = boh-boh
- balloon = boh / bah-luun
- bolster = che-chow
- book = book
- bunny soft toy - ba-neh
- bus - bas
- car = car-car
- flash cards = kad!!!
- flower - fah-wer
- star - tarr
- pain - yor-yor
- spicy - la-lah
- handful of ABCs and 123s (as claimed by Grandma though I've not heard any)

Recent Developments:

- likes to sit on Mommy's lap while at the study's PC because she likes to see her own photos (will say her own name loudly while pointing to her photos excitedly)
- likes to play catch with adults, speeding off after committing a crime or taken forbidden stuff
- will play with house phones n mobile phones at every opportunity, talking a lot during her make believe chat sessions but zips up when someone does call her to talk on the phone.
- throw a lot of tantrums, strong expression of likes and dislikes
- will climb up the console and try to choose own vcd when grandma is about to play her programme (will object if the wrong one is chosen *slap head*)
- will remove person (be it whole body, hand or leg) from her mammut ikea chair by way of forced pushing, all the while saying "ng-moi ah!"
- will run to me showing injuries big or small, while saying "yor-yor", her way of asking to be hugged and fussed over
- carries her small, low ikea stool around trying to see if she can reach other forbidden stuff
- climbed over the rubbery handle and into her own stroller seat as way of telling us she wants to go out (we're still trying to figure out how she did it... the wheels were not locked :s)
- will forcefully drag Daddy or Mommy into her room to play flash cards or read books but only when she wants to (she never wants to do those activities with grandma)
- enjoys floating in the adults' pool, from time to time will show us the breaststroke's "kick-kick" to indicate she wants to go swimming again :s

- quite the dramatic tattle-tale; when grandma asked her "How did grandma beat beat you?", she will clap both her hands together forcefully and say "dahh!!! dahh!!!" (Lucky both hubby and I trust grandma completely, imagine what will happen if it's a poor new maid instead :s)

Note:

Hubby should also be complemented on his diligence in playing flash cards with Cairo. I must admit that it improved her vocab dramatically. Besides those mentioned above, there are a few more things, animals and vege / fruits which she could pick out from the stack as and when we name them, but still unable to pronounce the name yet.

It's OK Sweety, Mommy thinks you're a very fast learner already and Daddy, keep up the good work, Kampatei!

Johor Shopping Spree

2007-05-15T15:36:00.000+08:00

We went to Johor Bahru on Mother's Day. Besides having 3 meals at City Square, we also managed to buy some clothes for Cairo. Her present wardrobe is getting kinda form fitting so it's about time to hunt for the next batch anyway.

Notice that they're mostly tops? Don't worry, I don't intend to make Cairo go around in a diapered bottom This round is just a warming up exercise. I am hoping that I might get much more at Foxx's Great Singapore Sale. I spent a bomb there last year during their 50% & 70% sale :p

This year, I have been tasked to buy for others too :p

Soon, soon...

Injured at Work

2007-05-15T08:33:00.000+08:00

Very bad luck this few days. I tripped over the company printer's cable and sprained my ankle just before lunch yesterday. The cable was taped to the floor but the tape got loosen over time. Well, can't expect much from a site office. Though I do wonder if I am eligible for Workmen Compensation, hehehe.

Based on my vast experience of sprained ankles, this one is but a mere 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. Meaning to say, with proper care, it will recover on it's own in a week or so. Proper care here means I have to apply plenty of medical oil + spray + correct massage technique. Lucky for me, my mom is DARN good at massaging! She could've gone into business, she could!

A note to all parents; please take good care of your kids, cos once you pop it, the ankle would be super easy to sprain again and again, year in year out! Living example here. Unless you're good at treating them (the injured ankle, not the kids), like my mom is, then do as you deem fit :p

The photo above shows the kinda stuff I am using now. The bottle of oil with a Horse on it is from Thailand. My aunts won't go anywhere without a bottle tucked safely in the luggage.

The 2 more modern looking cans of sprays next to the oil are from China, courtesy of my moms' very good buddy cum ex-neighbour (thanks AGAIN, Fung Jeh) :D I spray them on my ankle (a very convenient method and suitable for application at office too) every 2 hours or so (I can't read the instructions on the box, so base on gut instinct la :p) and I could walk again this morning (it got worse yesterday night cos I didn't treat it IMMEDIATELY when I got home, not to mention that one hour of standing in the bus from office to home!)

Anyway, I hate going to the Sinseh's here cos I have yet to find one to rival my childhood favourite joint, "Yu Yat Lum" @ Pudu, KL. I think that guy has most probably retired by now...

Anyway, the huge downpour outside quickly helped me to make up my mind to stay at home today even though I'm all bathed and dressed. I do not fancy my medicated ankle to be in contact with jeans or socks soaked in rain water, yucks! And I absolutely hate the feeling of wet slippers, double yuck! MC it is!

Not that I wanna take MC so often but I only have a total of 7 days' leave per annum (yeah, and we're one of the big boys in construction industry! Go figure!) So all you HRs out there, you might wanna consider dishing out more leaves (21 seems more humane) cos honestly speaking, I wouldn't mind saving the company some money by not going to the doc when I can self medicate. But no way am I going to sacrifice the precious 7 or take unpaid leave when I got injured at work!

Now, the next predicament. Do I go to my GP and get an MC for this? They certainly don't recognise the MCs from Sinsehs.... :p

The Power of Deduction

2007-05-15T00:20:00.000+08:00

Cairo loves to drink from straws. One fine day, I finally found out why. She saw the cup with a straw jutting out and without touching it or seeing the contents at all, told me,"Kold, kold! Oi, Oi ah!" (Translation: Cold, cold. Want, want!)

So basically, she has associated straws to be used for cold and sweet drinks, which I'd playfully let her sip a mouthful or so every time we eat out, much to her Daddy's chagrin hehehe.

In the same way, bottles to her are for "nen, nen" (milk) and mag mag (brand of her sippy cup with straw) is for plain water or much diluted Vitagen.

My little Sherlock Holmes, not :p

Tag: 10 Things I Hate About My Hubby

2007-05-14T12:05:00.000+08:00

Got tagged by Karen!

This particular tag is not so easy to do cos I gotta be tactful without betraying the spirit of the topic :p

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT MY HUBBY:

Hate One
He is the direct opposite of a Shopaholic. He doesn't buy ANYTHING at all. No PS3 (non gamer), cigarettes (non smoker), wine (non drinker), own clothing (non fashionista), electronic gadgets (non techkie), nothing at all!!!
Impact on me: Makes me look very bad comparatively. Like I'm some shopping addict freak or what!

Hate Two
His one serious hobby is TV watching and he can get so engrossed he won't notice anything happening around him. He also likes to keep changing channels just when I start to get interested in the show (chosen by him in the first place).
Impact on me: Cairo could be dancing on top of our dining table and he wouldn't notice. I'll only leave Cairo alone with him if I can find a way to spoil the TV. And I don't get to finish watching any show if I don't wrestle the remote away from him.

Hate Three
His self denial is pretty serious. He can insist that if only I would put back all the stuff nicely after use, there would be no need for any house cleaning AT ALL!
Impact on me: In a way he is saying that since he puts them back, he should not be blamed for his lack of interest in household chores. Duh!

Hate Four
He is the most unkiasu Singaporean I know.
Impact on me: For the good of the family, I'll then have to be Kiasu on HIS behalf and that sucks!

Hate Five
He is also non confrontational 95% of the time.
Impact on me: Same as item four. Just substitute the word Kiasu to B*tchy

Hate Six
His goody 2 shoes image is known far and wide among our family and circle of friends.
Impact on me: Whenever we do go for "arbitration", they'll all pre-judge and pin the blame on me without even hearing the case first.

Hate Seven
He is a home body and abhors social activities. So his network of friends are also very very small. And they are all family men who stays at home too, hahaha
Impact on me: Whenever we need any form of help, big or small, I would have to bug MY friends, all the time then!

Hate Eight
He is a semi automatic hubby model. No initiative at all when it comes to non work issues. And don't even dream about surprises
Impact on me: He will participate on housework and do grocery shopping with me. However, I never waste time dreaming that he will be "Mr. Home Improvement" or buy that sack of rice if I don't tell him to.

Hate Nine
He has a 5-day-work-week job (I know you're all going "Huh?".... just read on, OK)
Impact on me: I work 5.5 or 6 days a week with plenty of late nights. Enuf said. Just hate it that he always reaches home earlier than me, not to mention getting an office so near to our home!

Hate Ten
He is very diciplined when it comes to his daily food consumption.
Impact on me: He recently went on a "sympathetic diet" and managed to lose 6.5 kgs in a few weeks' time. Sympathetic as in he diets with me so that I will be more motivated and less tempted to cheat (he doesn't need it actually, his BMI was only 22). Problem is, I only lost 2kgs (cos I cheated, still) *curses*

There you all have it. What could be more heinous than obvious sins? Well-intentioned but irritating "blessed" traits that drives one up the wall, that's what!

OK, I shall tag the following people to blab about their hubby's stuff now kekeke:

Jazzmint (don't remember seeing her write about this tag)
Cheryl
Jasmine
Peimun

Self-Feeding + Messy Eater

2007-05-13T22:32:00.000+08:00

We have been letting Cairo self-feed for quite some time now. And we hate every minute of it. Well, it's not that we are not encouraging independence and development of fine motor skills, it's just that there's so much more work involved in NOT haviong to feed her.

After all her meals, we'd have to scour every nook and corner of the high chair and the surrounding 3 miles (ok, exaggerated :p) for runaway pieces. Yeah, since I'm on diet, I'm starving the ants in our household too.

I mean, 20% of the food will inevitably end up anywhere but in her stomach! I can feed a starving nation with the food Cairo drops everyday! *frustration*

One day, I just couldn't bear it anymore and rushed out to buy this bib during my lunch break. I have heard of moms who could bring up a dozen and a half kids w/o spending on all these frivolities. I am not one of them.

Hence I must work harder & PPP more to compensate my maternal short-coming :p

Oh, what do we do with the food caught in the bib's scupper trench? Multiple choice question time:

A) Drop em right back into Cairo's bowl
B) We eat them up
C) We throw them away at the end of the meal, still
D) All of the above, depending on our mood that day :p

Happy guessing.

First Visit To The Library

2007-05-11T17:37:00.000+08:00

I lied. We brought Cairo to the library more than a month ago and got her her own library card then. All the friendly librarian asked for was her birth certificate number and my IC. No fees, no photocopy of this or that needed, no waiting 3 weeks for the card to be mailed to us. Fantastic service!

We let her borrow 2 flimsy kiddy books (what was I thinking?), one of which she torn soon after we reached home. Her Daddy, not wanting me to scold Cairo (he knows how upset I get when somebody spoils a book) quickly mended it in a hush hush manner and I only found out about it much later. Well, he shouldn't have. Book mending was not one of his stronger skills.

We have since returned the books and are now living in fear that we would be banned from the library soon.

This morning I had this head-splitting migraine (which robbed me off much sleep the whole night) and decided to play truant. After seeing the doctor and getting my dose of medicine for the headache and insomnia, I decided to bring Cairo to the library (well too sick to churn out reports at work but well enough for R&R in a quiet library, OK?). After all, it should be pretty empty on a working day. Wrong. Soooo many SAHMs were there with their kids (envy, envy!) Anyway, still way emptier than weekends.

This time round, Cairo actually had room to run around without being knocked over by older kids and to explore the toddler book bins at her own pace. As you can see, I managed to take some photos of her there and that alone should give you an idea exactly how not crowded the library was. Imagine trying to do that with hordes of kiddies and parents all over the place, hah, mission impossible! The last time we tried to get her on the yacht-shaped reading corner, we had to fight for a seat as though it was a saving boat when the Titanic sank!

Now why did I say it's Cairo's FIRST visit to the library instead of second? Simple explanation. I didn't bring my camera the first time round and it seems sooo uneventful to scrap about her SECOND visit to the library :p

Sins of The Mother

2007-05-11T12:48:00.000+08:00

Hot new topic among my circle of blogger friends; "copycatting". Jazzmint & Cheryl've both written about it on their blogs. Well, this is my take.

What started out as a blog about one's pride and joy turned into a nightmare when one incurs the wrath of the blogging community by committing the gravest sin of all; infringing the copyright of others. It is called a nightmare because everyone will be immortalising the heinous act in black and white on their blogs.

Yup, apparently, there's a Mommy out there who copies and paste other's posts onto her own blog and then just change the names!!! And word on the street has it that this woman is not one bit sorry of her actions. Apologies were veiled thick beneath accusations and pushing of responsibilities. She has since brushed it aside and continued blogging as though nothing had happened.

I've not gotten into the nitty gritty bits and I don't have time nor the intention to. The thing is, have we forgotten one crucial fact? That it is not our names and photos that are plastered all over our blogs but that of our kids! Does Copycat Mama ever go to bed guilty with the fact that she has tarnished the name of an innocent, who is most probably oblivious to what Mommy dearest has done?

I've read about a similar case not too long ago and the offender has since removed her blog.

Now, anyone who has ever owned a blog would know that said action is akin to cutting off one's hand or leg. All those precious words and memories, who took months and years to build, gone at the push of a button, just like that. A more than fair penalty, I should say. Even bordering on the extreme actually. That mother, however bad her actions in stealing others' work, has one redeeming quality. She cares and worries about the reputation of her child and hopes for an atonement in her extreme apology.

Don't mistaken, I am not calling for the new culprit to follow her predecessor's action. Merely a word of advice from one Mom to another. The good of the child ALWAYS comes before our own.

Shucks, now I've gotta comb through my blog and see if I have unwittingly infringed others' creative rights :p

And not forgetting, an early Happy Mother's Day greeting to all you mommies out there. You deserve that pat on the back for all the sacrifices you've made "for the kids" :D

Chasing Bubbles

2007-05-10T00:16:00.000+08:00

Out of the blue, I had this idea that Cairo should chase bubbles. Don't ask me why. It just so happened to be in my "Little Girls' Things-To-Chase" list. Also in said list are butterflies, rainbows and well-to-do men (ok, just kidding about the last part :p).

Back to the bubbles then. Obviously Cairo can't be allowed to handle the solution cos she might think they're drinkable, or worse, pour them all away in a minute flat (these aren't cheap solutions we're talking about, OK? hehehe) Though I think no harm should come out of bursting a bubble or two...

I was right. She enjoyed every minute of it and spent much time chasing the bubbles every other direction (cos the wind was quite fickle minded) that she fell asleep the minute we reached home.

Money well spent. So said Grandma, who could finally have a peaceful evening (hey, not my fault that Grandma's the flavour of the month now. How else did you think I could blog so much? :p)

Hello! Hello!

2007-05-09T12:45:00.000+08:00

Cairo seems to have abandoned her old favourites (our tv and hi-fi remote controls) for mobile phones. Or rather, my mobile phone alone.

What is it with kids and their obsession with expensive electronic gadgets anyway? I mean I've got a half dozen or so calculators at home and I tried to chuck one to her just so she'll stop trying to climb on top of the study table and type on the keyboard, like Mommy (the typing, not the climbing). But does it work after 3 minutes? Noooooooooo.... Why? Cos she got it without a fight, that's why!

Let Them Eat Cake

2007-05-08T22:08:00.000+08:00

It was our neighbour's little girl's 1st birthday last Sunday and our whole family was invited to the party next door.

Now I am not very sure if there is a set of blogging etiquette in existence and one of them happens to be "Thou shalt not post thy neighbour's photos online". Anyway, they are good neighbours so let's not push it :p

I snapped this photo of Cairo while we were feeding her cake. Seeing her oh-so-haughty look made me think of a phrase; "Let them eat cake." For those of you not familiar with the origins of that line, I have thoughtfully found you the explanation. As for those of you who think they know, it'll do you good to check it out too as there's a little twist in the end....

In line with my very educational and informative way of blogging, I shall teach you all how to kill, I mean cut up Barney next. It is a technique every parent should master as most kids will insist on a 3D figurine cake at least once in his or her life. Knowing how to serve it to your guests is a most important point for consideration BEFORE you order the cake.

I will also post the photos I snapped at the party since I don't think my neighbours would mind me showing you guys her hands (only). Besides, they paid big bucks ($180?) for the cake, it would be such a shame to deny it its' 10 minutes of fame online :p

Basically, the only way to cut the thing up is to lop off its head, remove, then carve the rest of the body up layer by layer. Notice how it's head and body is actually pinned together by several sticks ala backbone style? That is how it is put up and that is the only way it shall come down! One is advised to have a big platter nearby to receive the erm, parts . One may then arrange the pieces onto the platter in a pattern similar to the sprawl of roasted suckling pigs. Ready to serve.

Oh, if you don't wanna get stained by the colouring of the cream (like this Birthday Girl's Mommy did), you might wanna wear surgical gloves prior to going near the cake!

One last thing. I do not recommend letting young guests witness aforesaid procedures though. We might just have a Barney fan or two among them. Trust me, you don't want word to spread like wildfire among the whole school that so and so's Mommy / Daddy killed Barney! Guaranteed to make the kid famous overnight though the word may not be synonymous as popular.

For that reason alone, I recommend we limit the figurine cakes to 1st or 2nd birthdays where the adult to kid ratio is much higher. Not to mention consisting mostly of Daddy and Mommy's friends, relatives and er... neighbours only. Very immaterial to one's popularity poll :p

The Better Way To Use Tears, Cairo Shows You How

2007-05-08T03:55:00.000+08:00

On the 25th of April, 2007, we brought Cairo to get vaccinated. I had waited and waited until it was her doctor's turn to do night shift, even though it meant her jabs were delayed a few days. OK, weeks :p

It was raining cats and dogs that evening. I would have postponed it (again) had I known that the rain would come so suddenly. But Grandma has already left the house with a large formidable umbrella and Cairo in tow. Unfortunately, Grandma was not (and still isn't) a firm believer of mobile phones. Anyway, Hubby and I left our office on the dot, met them at the doc's and found a pretty much dry Cairo (kudos to Grandma). 2 seconds after I scooped her into my arms, Cairo confessed,"Keng-keng ah (scared)", while patting the area near her heart. Yeah, the lightning at our area is pretty notorious, I agree. Although, come to think of it, her tone was more suited to that of a soldier recounting his war stories, rather than an account of her fear though...

Cairo was a rock that day, with that toughness further manifesting itself in the doc's room. She took 2 injections, one after another with just one tiny little squeek. And that also she immediately recovered her composure and asked us to pass her the little teddy sitting on doc's table, as if nothing had happened.

I expected her not to cry actually.

You see, her tears are most precious and are specially reserved for forbidden stuff. Huge droplets would appear on demand whenever we so much as deny her food not suitable for todddlers (while the whole family was munching on it in front of her, of course) or when I refused to give up my TV for her to watch her vcds (yep, only me, cos her Daddy and Grandma have long surrendered to her tyranny).

Anyway, we rewarded her with a cool little bag (for being so tough, not the tyranny part!). Come to think of it, that was just my excuse. I would have bought it for her with nary a reason :p

After all, what's the point of being a FTWM if I'm not allowed to buy the occasional trinket for my little precious?

Don't Worry, Your Bottle Will Always Be Full...

2007-05-07T11:50:00.000+08:00

Backdated postings galore this weekend, hahaha!

Anyway, lately (ok, it started about a month ago already), Cairo has taken to feeding her own milk to the soft toys. Fearing that Cairo giving all her toys milk mustaches would be the straw that broke the camel's back for Grandma (let's just say Cairo has been most inventive with her playing sessions lately, enough said), I went to Toys R' Us and got her 2 bottles of fake juice and milk. You know, the kind that will "magically"disappear when tip over, only to reappear immediately when you put them back to the original standing position.

So, basically I paid four over bucks so that my little girl may learn a precious value in life; don't worry when the food's gone from your plate, they will reappear when you want them to, dont' sweat it. What, the, hxxx?!

Somebody asked why didn't I get her the whole baby doll set instead. Well, the reason is plain and simple. Since watching "Chucky", I have had this phobia of dolls. I mean Barbie, I like, but dolls with big round eyes and long eyelashes just gives me the creeps! Cairo may stick to feeding and "oh-oiing" her Bunny-Bunny & Wou-Wou to sleep, thank you very much. I am sure her future would not be compromised too greatly if she lacked dolls in her childhood. A fair price to pay to ensure Mommy a good night's sleep.

First Time At The Zoo

2007-05-07T03:37:00.000+08:00

Another long overdue post :p

We brought Cairo to the Singapore Zoo on the 6th of April, 2007 cos it was a public holiday. Big mistake.

Every parent under the sun must have had the same idea as us cos by the time we reached the zoo, it was packed! Didn't help that every one of them had a kid or 2 in a gigantic stroller. If somebody forgot to bring it (the stroller, not the kidS), they can always rent it from the good folks at the zoo.

Going out with her royal highness is anything but easy. We woke up at 7am but with all the packing and all (she has just started to brush her teeth on her own and likes to take her own sweet time doing it), we only reached the zoo at 10am.

A typical 15 minutes block of our day there would be like this,"Cairo, Cairo, look here, see the bear bear... oh shucks, it went into hiding already. Never mind, take a photo of the rock then....Daddy ah! Carry her and stand over here quick...."

So that is why we ended up taking photos of Cairo with posters or figurines of the animals instead. Less people jostling for the spot and I can take my own time snapping away until I get a non-blurry photo :p

Halfway through, we reached Kiddyland. That's where Cairo started to perked up actually. They have got all sorts of playground facilities there.... slide and all, only bigger and better. Then there is the water park. Well, a miniature one anyway. We found that too rigorous for Cairo (too rigorous as in the other kids, not the water features) so we packed up and moved her over to the farm animal section.

Some how or rather, little kids (or maybe it's just Cairo) tend to prefer those instead of the stars of the zoo like orang utan and polar bear. Perhaps it is due to the fact that less people come here and we have a chance to get up close to them :p Or maybe its because I ahve only started her on the flashcards for farm animals....

Aniway, we found a fake stream not far away from there and since it was 1pm and we're tired (no, can't stop for food again as we'd eaten at noon and I was supposed to be on diet, shucks!), we decided to let her play in the shaded stream. It was a big success! So much so that Cairo refused to leave the place even after 45 minutes there hahaha.

Anyway, we continued with the rest of the animals, skipping the creepy crawlies just cause I said so. We must have left at 2pm odd.... the zoo is surprisingly small after all (or maybe I just skipped too many places :p).

And I was afraid that we could not finish covering the grounds before it closes at 6pm, hah!

Many people told us to bring Cairo to the zoo often. Thing is, it costs $15 per adult and the food inside is not cheap (KFC is NOT an option, it is perpetually packed). Anyone got free tickets let me know, ya?

Cairo's First Swim

2007-05-06T11:25:00.000+08:00

We have never brought Cairo to a pool before.

Somehow or rather, something always crop up and we'd postpone the trip. For example, her contracting chicken pox and mumps, her being vaccinated (grandmas think her "chi" will be "weakened" by each jab, so must stay away from pool and other chilly places for a period of time to recuperate :s)

In order not to fully deny her the experience of playing in water, we bought 2 inflatable pools for her to "dip in" at home though. One in baby size, which she has since outgrown I think, and a new one measuring 1.5m in diameter, something bigger which we can use in our wide corridor or cram into the common bathroom :D

Anyway, we decided to finally brave the pool on 22nd April (yeah, 2 weeks ago, another belated post hehe), what with her excema dormant and all (crossing fingers now). And it turned out to be a good bet cos nothing beats FLOATING in so much water! Can you see from above picture how wonderfully delighted she is by the whole experience?

I guess the previous dippings at home sort of helped to prevent water phobia... The so called home practice was limitted to a total of 3 times only cos we're lazy to pump the thing. That and a more powerful reason of me being sick of using her recycled water, which most probably she has peed in, for my baths and toilet washing after each dipping session.

Will try to arrange another floating session for her soon, perhaps at my SIL's place this time :p. It has been a week since Cairo's pneumococcal and MMR jabs though.... but would still need to smuggle her out of the house, cos the Grandmas will draw blood (mine) if they so much as know of my intention :s

Anyway, not forgetting, a big thank you to Uncle WC and Aunt Pat (Cairo calls them that, not me) for the invitation to use the pool at their place :D We loved the emptiness of it, hahaha! And by emptiness, I mean other users, not water, duh!

Oh, and thanks to Aunt Audrey for the cool Baby Gap Bikini! She has much room to grow into it yet, so we'll get more mileage out of the suit, he he.

Cairo Says: Self Feed = Better Meal

2007-05-04T23:01:00.000+08:00

I have noticed that the food served to me are inevitably more nutritious & way healthier.

However, precious food begged and stolen from the adults' plates and bowls are ALWAYS tastier, I have no idea why.

I have also discovered that if I feed myself, I would have a better meal. My logic? I fling the yucky stuff on the floor and pretend that I dropped them by accident or sheer immaturity of my fine motor skills (yeah, right).

This way, not only do I get away from actually having to SWALLOW them, since I did not consume ALL of my meal (some on the floor already, remember?) Grandma would feel compelled to feed me what I ask for later on (eg. bread, cheese, snacks...).

Neat trick, or what? :D

By the way, anybody wanna guess why the adults in my entourage are always happier when we eat out nowadays but look at the waitresses so sheepishly when we leave?

The one who comes up with the best possible answer gets to have me over for a meal at their place.

Phantom of The Opera Vs Leapfrog

2007-05-04T08:55:00.000+08:00

The Phantom of The Opera, my favourite musical, is in town. Performing at The Esplanade for a limited time only (erm, though I did notice they keep extending the last performance's date :p).

After much deliberation (approximately 9.2 minutes) I decided to get the ALMOST best tickets for hubby and I. "Almost" meaning to say there were 2 more groups of tickets costlier than ours'; the box seats ( so good for watching the whole show from ONE angle) and the VIP seats (great for confirming if the leading lady shaves her legs).

If you've read my perfume post, you would suffer some deja vu here, I 'm afraid. But when one gets one's dream realised after 12 years one is entitled to get a little sentimental ("12 years again? What else did she crave for when she was 17, just list them all out for cryin' out loud! Is there really a need to break them up into 300 episodes?", you must be thinking... hehehe)

Now, I suffered the fate of the "neither-nors". That's right. I was neither rich nor ignorantly unaware of the finer things in life. A more cruel fate, I have not heard of.

On one hand, I was well grounded enough to realise that concerts and musicals were not meant for the likes of me. On the other, I have been fortunate (or unfortunate, in this case) to be educated in an environment most conducive for soaking up an appreciation for the better things life has to offer. Depends on how you want to translate it. It could mean we were sitting around reading poetry and enacting Shakespeare's plays. Or, perhaps we were gossiping about who's mother just bought her a new Gucci bag / coat etc, fill in the blank yourself.

So anyway, with so much anticipation built up over the years, it is only NATURAL that the raising of the chandelier (in the first act, right after the auction scene, u Neanderthal you) coupled with its' grand opening score by the dunno-what-philharmonic (I forgot to check the name of orchestra, ok? :p), brought tears to my eyes. I was overwhelmed both by the sheer grandeur of it all and the fact that I could finally afford it (the show, not the grandeur).

Conclusion: The wait was worth every single second. Too bad I was too much of a scrooge to splurge on programmes ($25) and souvenir t-shirts ($40 i think). Hah! I am no longer the wide-eyed teen of 17. Not so easy trying to part me from my money :p Anyway, I think my trusty old sountrack bought years ago (2 cds in the pack) is good enough a souvenir.

Oh, but guess what? I did buy a Leap Frog Grow-With-Me Learning System - game console I call it, ($89, excluding game cartridges) for Cairo that very day. Not a compulsive buy as I've looked at it for at least 3 dozen times oredi, though at different outlets everytime, in case the sale people think I'm some stalker slash nutcase or something.

Built specifically for small little hands learning to push and grip, it (the game console, not the stalker / nutcase, duh!) is a must have for kiasu parents!!! A great excuse for educational experience for the kid, hyuk hyuk hyuk! We saw it at a nearby mall, right after the show. My hubby, just few minutes ago so relieved that I walked away clear-headed from the money trap posing as art, just to land in a bigger one of toys, could only watch in silence as he knew that attempts to talk me out of it would be futile.

The noble part of me imagines that I am denying myself a childhood dream (erm, of owning musical souvenirs??), sacrificing for the better good of my child's future...ahhh, thus is a mother's duty and detiny.

Excuse me, the post has to end now though rather abruptly. I need to puke a little. I don't know why.

Note: Oh, in case you're wondering why I photographed the poster (see above) instead of the stage, that's cos Esplanade is way strict with people violating their rules. They did the bag search (open bag, then poke contents around with a stick, I kid you not!) and even have people who tells you off when you try to take a photo in the auditorium! Ok, just kidding. They approach you in 3 seconds flat and tell you in a very polite but take-no-nonsense-tone, to keep the camera. Please! Not that I'm complaining... after all, I am oh so cultured and refined.... :p

How Much For Yesteryears' Fancy?

2007-05-03T00:30:00.000+08:00

Everybody has a childhood dream or a fancy that "got away". As the sand falls in the hourglass of our lives, the memory of it would eventually be buried and forgotten. Or on the other extreme end, reinforced and immortalised. It was 12 years later when I bumped into mine.

Right there in front of my eyes, sitting most inconspicuously on its spot, as if ashamed of seeing me again. Not quite having achieved the evergreen status of classics like Chanel No 5 and no longer as red hot as it used to be....The years were not kind, I know.

But I remember.

It took the town by storm! Black, white and grey posters and billboards everywhere! Beautiful young models artistically draped all over each other oh-so-carelessly. Each one of the print seems to shout "Attitude" & "Androgynous beauty"! Did I mention that the queen bee herself, Kate Moss, fronted the ad?

Teens, yuppies, uncles-in-denial, everybody who was anybody (or wanted to be one) was getting themselves a bottle or 3. Why wouldn't they? After all, it's light, citrus scent was like a breath of fresh air next to the choking what-nots in the next counter. The fact that it smells wonderful on a he as much as a she, is a big plus point. It is the daddy of all new generation scents if you ask me. The revolution started right there and then.

I could not afford it, needless to say. I was earning $2.60 an hour making sandwiches and washing plates. And saving for college. Looking back, I'm proud that I did not give in to instant gratification and pestered my parents for it. They would not have denied me, I know... but we were poor and guilt would've eventually eroded whatever sense of happiness I could've derived from my ill-gotten gain.

Oh the years of anticipation! The glorious, built-up feeling.... I could finally go to bed accompanied by its' haunting scent and put the ghosts of my mind to rest at long last!

Some people define themselves as having "arrived" based on their careers and the size of their paychecks. Me? Clutching my new bottle of "old" perfume, I have the world under my feet :D

Can you guess the name of the devil that drove me half mad these 12 years?

And the price of my long ago fancy? Very affordable though priceless still, to me.

What The Heck Is PPP?

2007-05-02T12:30:00.000+08:00

I am so looped in my fellow bloggers' world that sometimes I tend to forget that my site has non-blogger visitors too. Pardon me. A little explanation is due I guess. Before that, I gotta thank my friend Cheryl for her reminder (ok, so I read her post on the same topic and filched the idea, satisfied? :p)

You guys may notice that I have got some posts whose title goes like this "PPP: ...". It's actually the abbreviation for "PAY PER POST". In simple words, I get a little fee for what I wrote on that piece.

Not the kind of big money which enables me to give up my day job and be a SAHM (Uncle KK, that means Stay At Home Mom) who takes ballroom dance AND Mediterranean cooking lessons but good enough to satisfy my ego :p Friends from school would probably remember that I used to enjoy writing a little piece here and there... and finally I am getting paid for it! Woo hoo!

So, if you wanna help me earn big(ger) money (trust me, it's way convenient to have a rich friend whom you helped to make rich :p), go tell your friends about my blog, hahaha. You see, the fee of the ads depends on the popularity of the blog too!!!

But seriously, if you are interested in PPP, click on the icon below and check it out for yourself! I get a fee for referral too :p

Tag: Food Around The World

2007-05-02T10:53:00.000+08:00

Got tagged by Jazzmint to write about food. Great. Just when I am on a diet. Not that I'm complaining cos I do have something I wanna blog about. My latest tea time must-have... Beancurd Tart (yeah, I cheat on my diet, so kick me :p).

Everybody in Malaysia and Singapore has eaten egg tarts before. No big deal. But have you tried Beancurd Tarts? Ah-hah, got your attention didn't I? Its' filling is softer and smells of beancurd and wobbles a little, slurp! Its' sweetness would please the health-conscious set without betraying it's purpose (a dessert, duh!) Best eaten chilled, it never survived more than a few hours in my home every time I feel generous enough to share my box of 6 with my family, hehehe.

The lady boss of the shop tells me their website will be up soon. Meanwhile, you'll just have to gleam whatever info you can from the photo below, hehehe. Oh, did I mention that the shop is just down the road from where I work now? hahahaha...

Migrated Postings

2007-04-25T13:08:00.000+08:00

Erm you folks might wanna scroll down to check out the postings migrated from my previous blog...

I only have time to move one or two over each day so do come back often to check em out :D

My First Tag

2007-04-22T03:45:00.000+08:00

I think its a little nonsensical that I am responding to a TAG on my second "fresh" post (as opposed to all my other second hand, migrated posts), but nonetheless, the fella who tagged me (yeah, you, Cheryl!) meant well.... so here goes, an introduction about myself:

Layer 1: On the outside
Name:
- you all may call me Cairo's Mom, thank you very much
Date of Birth:
- 14th of June, year of the Horsie
Eye colour:
- Brown (regrettably, no angmoh ancestors in the family tree, hence gotta waste money on coloured lenses when i feel like being "hiau")
Hair colour:
- Naturally black / brownish but am a bottle-aubergine now
Righty or Leftie:
- Righty, my babysitter would beat the life out of me if I so much as dared to poke a pencil with my left hand, get it?!

Layer 2: On the inside
Your Heritage:
- Chinese Cantonese, and not your average banana cos my canto rocks, baby!
Fears:
- got mushed by a falling brick pallet / bag of cement / excavator (paranoid I know but I bet they're from all those scary safety orientation courses they made me attend)
Your Weakness:
- Not quite tough enough on them baddies when I am not in my MADDDD mode
Your Perfect Pizza:
- cheeeeese.... everything else just makes it complicated.

Layer 3: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your thoughts first thing when you wake up:
- Why can't I get a 9 to 5 job (I gotta reach office by 8 now) and why must I work so darn far from home every project (1 hour of travelling time)?
Your bedtime:
- erm.... no later than midnite. If I can leave my office by 10pm. And if my nocturnal creature of a baby is not demanding to play. And if my hubby doesn't decide on a little tete-a-tete on Friday nites (cos HE doesn't have to work on saturdays but I do!) oh.... almost forgot, and if I'm not blogging, hehehe
Your most missed moment:
- mamak sessions with the girls back when everyone was in THE SAME country

Layer 4: Your pick
Pepsi or Coke:
- Pepsi Max
McD or BK:
- BK, duh!
Single or Group dates:
- Single. Hello, if it's a group, it's not dating, its an outing oredi!
Adidas or Nike:
- Nike. Always.
Tea or nestea:
- Milo can ah?
Chocolate or Vanilla:
- Chocolate. More chocholate. Most chocolate!!!
Cappucino or coffee:
- Did I also mention that my babysitter smacks me whenever a coffee cup is within 3 metres of my reach? Now that I'm all grown up, I force myself a cup of mocha or so, but only if they're ice blended n preferably paid by others hahaha

Layer 5: Do you
Smoke:
- never
Curse:
- only when my subcons act real stoopid but always in classy Shakespearean english, thank you very much
Take a shower:
- Erm, I work in a construction environment... can you imagine me not bathing at least 2 times a day?
Have a crush:
- Yes... I like to think of my hubby as my crush still...
Think that you’ve been in love:
- Yes and still very much in love ..... with my family
Go to school:
- Toying with the idea of starting in Dec...
Want to get married:
- Redundant question. Already married
Believe in yourself:
- Depends.... when it comes to work, always. Other matters... can be persuaded to try alternative ideas offered
Think you’re a health freak:
- Hahahaha, if only!

Layer Six: In the past month
Drank alcohol:
- Yes, but preferably foc ones please
Gone to the mall:
- Another stooopid question. Hello, even mountain side settlements have got malls now, how can I not have been in one for a month?!
Been on stage:
- Yeah, building one
Eaten sushi:
- Just this afternoon hehe
Dyed your hair:
- Not required yet

Layer Seven: Have you ever
Played a stripping game:
- Whatever for?
Changed who you were to fit in:
- Yeah and not ashamed of it one bit. We live in a society where everyone has a set mentality of "rights" and "wrongs"... even the most hardened of non-conformists would have to bend a little at times...

Layer Eight: Age
You are hoping to be married:
- isn't every girl secretly hoping to marry just before they turn 30? Anything below is unchic (that would be me, I guess, hahaha) and anything above would invite too many brainless, repetitive questions from well meaning but gossipy relatives & friends

Layer Nine: In a Guy
Best Eye Colour:
- duh, wasn't thinking of marrying "ang moh" so have to be brown la!
Hair Colour:
- so long as not more eye-cathing or more colours than my hair, I am fine with it
Short Hair or Long Hair:
- hahaha, got hair ok lor :p

Layer Ten: What were you doing
1 Min ago:
- ridiculing some questions above
1 Hour ago:
- building my website + chatting online
1 Month ago:
- erm its either working or sleeping
1 Year ago: :
- siau ah....so long ago still remember, must be the "eat oredi nothing better to do" kind :p

Layer Eleven: Finish the sentence
I Love:
- be paid (other than by my hubby, duh!) to be a SAHM
I Hate:
- it when I have to work when my hubby is not (eg Saturdays)
I Feel:
- tired cos its 2.30am in the morning oredi (I must be crazy to be blogging still)
I Hide:
- my feelings at work cos I have to be professional even though I deal with thugs sometimes
I Need:
- a revamp

Layer Twelve: Tag 5 people
- no one I know has not been tagged for this oredi LOL

Cairo Says: 15th Month Milestones

2007-04-20T14:18:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 13th Feb, 2007 on Multiply)

Unlike other blogger mommies, mine is pretty slack in updating my blog. However, seeing that I have finally turned 15 months old, she's left with not much choice but to grudgingly give up her lunch time to document the following:

Vital statistics:
- weight = 9.2kg (last measured at Doc's on 8th Feb during my 1st Pneumococcal Jab)
- height = 75cm (i am sure i am taller than that but never argue with the guy with a needle in his hands)
- teeth = 4 on top, 4 below (massive drooling started again so another one might be just on the way)

Language:
- mumm mumm = food
- nen nen = milk
- bau bau (as in min bau) = bread
- ai ( and nod head vigorously) = want, yes
- nmoi-nmoi-nmoi (accompanied but shaking of head) = dont want
- mow (turn palms up and down) = no more
- neng-neng (accompanied by finger pointing repeatedly to self) = pretty :s
- yai yai, yai yai = naughty
- dahh! = beat
- hiee = hello
- byeee / buy buy (wave hand too) = goodbye
- taann-dih! = thank you (dunno why cant pronouce still)
- beh beh = bear
- oh-anch = orange
- yue = fish (depends on mood, might not say sometimes)
- a'peh = apple (but still very releuctant to say unless got real thing in front of her)
- dad-dy = daddy
- mama / mahmi = mommy
- mar-mar = daddy's mother
- poh-poh = mommy's mothers
- koo koo / khu-jehh (sounds like got phlegm inthroat) = daddy's sisters
- bak bak = daddy's big bro (must have bribe then call)
- yeh-yeh = daddy's father's tablet at altar
- jeh-jeh = little girl next door (or whomever we tell her to call that)
- mei-mei = pretty or another little girl next door (ditto)
- baybee = anyone smaller than her
- kor-kor = Froggy & Junior (officially her 2 brothers in frog toy incarnation)
.

Can comprehend:
- chow chow = her smelly bolsters
- naughty! = see yai yai above
- pou = carry
- oi oi = go to sleep
- kai kai = going out
- poo poo = poo poo
- bom bom = bath time
- bei = give
- yor yor = pain pain
- bunny bunny = her fav toy bunny
- chong jai = her bed
- loong jai = her playpen (dunno why become mini jail oredi)
- chor chor = sit
- tiu mou = dance
- will point to her body parts when asked (ngan, yee jai, bei koh, hou, nga jai, tau fatt)
- XXX jo kung = XXX at work, not at home
- lei! or come = will stretch out her hands if wants to be carried, or will run away
- Bring book to XXX = will bring the specified book now (toilet book, duck book, etc)
- Bring xxx to XXX = will usually courier the item over unless its food (then kena tax lor)
.

Dexterity / Emotions:
- can climb up and down from beds and sofas, and from sofa one to another if adjoining
- climbs up to own chair and dining chairs with ease and will proceed immediately to dining table top. latest update: climbs into the baby high chair, using the normal dining chair as a stepping stone
- able to step over large kerbs (while holding onto side walls herself)
- can climb stairs but need people to stand beside her for confidence
- still shaky on sloping surfaces like steep ramps at baby obstacle course but will eventually reach top
- will run into rooms and carefully close doors if adults cant catch up on time
- loves to dance at every opportunity, even when eating
- loves to clap hands after accomplishing even the smallest of tasks
- waves bye bye and gives flying kisses
- drink from bottle and strawed-covered cups w/o helpand with no spillage unless intentionally creating "rain"
- will hug her toys tightly and sway from side to side to express her love for them
- cries if parents are in pain (once daddy stepped on mommy's toes and she rushed in between the two and started crying for no reason after hearing mommy's exaggerated howling)
- will not share with outsiders stuff which she likes but will provide alternative
- moody when parents are not around after normal working hours (according to grandmas)
- out of the blue sits very near to mommy to have unintelligible conversations
- will bring books to adults to be read to (generally preferring mommy)
- drag adults to stroller or door if have not been out of house for a long period of time
- started to drag out the potty when feels like doing IT
- likes to eat all sorts of vegetables, pizza, mash potato, nuggets, diluted vitagen n not so cold iced milo
- not shy when brought to new environment, but will generally act demure

Some of you will note that my vocabulary tends to slant towards the Cantonese dialect or even baby talk. Well, after many months of discussion (started while I was still in the womb), they've all sort of agreed that its better I pick up the correct version fo Cantonese rather then "Air, B, C" and distorted Mandarin from the grands (whom we're all eternally grateful to for looking after me 24/7, much to the envy other parents hahaha).
.

As to the baby talk part, well, Mommy insists that I talk like one... she got freaked out watching Child's Play where the doll with an innocent baby face talks and plots like some murdering gangster!

Cairo Says: Potty Training? Give This Donkey Her Carrot

2007-04-18T14:15:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 12th Feb, 2006 on Multiply)

At my tender age of just 15 months old, I observed 3 kinds of people.

There are those who cares not and does nought. There are those who are just doin it for themselves, heck care what the whole world thinks of it. Then there is the 3rd type, the ones who thrives on acknowledgement and encouragement. Much to Mommy's dismay, I belong to this last category and therefore, according to her, very much lacking in personality and character :(

Take for example the new things that I learn. Close family members will not hesitate to point out that a clap of hands n a round of praise will get me going to the ends of the world for you, let alone a mini dance recital or learning of simple tricks. What can I say, this prima donna must have her fans!

Maybe I can consider a career in performing arts or something... I mean its courtesy to clap at the end of every performance, right? Maybe not so enthusiasticcally if the show sucks but you're bound to clap nontheless. However, I have yet to see people giving a standing ovation to the accountant who just saved them millions of tax money or even the gynae who literally brought their firstborn into this world! Ok, maybe at the poor guy's promotion or retirement party lah....

Anyway, lets talk about one very good example of how I can be motivated through the sheer force of my grandmas' encouragement. I can now add this to my list of accomplishments for boasting purposes:
I am partially potty trained. Ta-dah!!! After I found out that my Grandmas get all excited and generous with their praises, that is hehehe :D

Well actually, it goes like this. Whenever I feel the urge to "do-it" and we happen to be at home, I will rush to the common bathroon as fast as my stubby little legs can carry me, where my red potty is kept (the bathroom, not my stubby little legs). I will then drag it out to the living room and gesture to whoever that's around of my intention to be divested of pants and diaper (no particular actions fixed for this but then again I dont live with idiots either, lucky me, so normally I get reactions from them pretty fast).

Unfortunately, our toilet is not exactly very near to the living room so a little "it" will always end up on my diaper. Mommy is not happy that I'm still too slow in dragging the potty so everytime, 19 cents (the cost of each piece of diaper, which we got during sales) are hence wasted. Born-impressor and proactive baby that I am, I've tried telling them to just put a darn potty in every room to cut down on my travelling time, but is anybody listening to me? Nooo....

Then there is the other problem of what I am going to do when the applause and the hoo ha dies down. Shall I go back to shitting in my pants then?

Cairo Says: Skool Hunting

2007-04-16T12:05:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 26th Jan, 2006 on Multiply)

Lately my "cari pasal" (translation: looking for trouble) of a mommy has been devoting all her energy towards finding me a skool. No spelling mistake.

A school, according to Mommy, is where I learn to make the millions she didn't make (I dare not ask if she attended the wrong kind, hence no million earned yet). A skool is where i pass time by making merry while waiting for school to start. Its main purpose is of course to prevent my parents from blaming themselves if i dont turn out well (at least they did all they could wor :s)

Anyway, Aunt Karen, who is a pre-school (spelt with a "c" here cos she thinks her students move on to make millions and its all thanks to good fundamentals aka preschool) teacher, told my Mommy that starting skool at 30 months old would be a tad too late. Chinese saying has it that "One's character is fixed at 3 all the way til 80 (they are either assuming that all people die at 80 or those beyond are characterless, hehe)". Would I be beyond salvation?? Oh the horrors! No wonder the education sector is earning big money, just look at the scary stories they churn out! Even customers as little as 18mths old aren't able to escape their clutches!!!

So Mommy and Daddy went skool hunting on 28th Jan 2007 (yup, another belated post). After 45 minutes of trial lesson at My Gym, (basically a childproofed place where kids can play with sets of stuff no normal-incomed, small-housed parents would buy. Kids are also taught to perform some nifty acrobatic tricks guaranteed to impress even the most jaded, jet-setting Mommies or Billion-dollar-deal-closing Daddies, all under the hawked eye supervision of trained instructors, of course) we sorta decided that it would be a more interesting start for me.

After all, I have many many years of ABCs, 123s and doctored history regurgitation ahead, surely some swinging good fun would do me good now. That and the fact that I have amassed an impressive library of educational DVDs and VCDs good enough to give most medium sized preschools a run for their money. U name it, we have it :pMommy (being her usual eccentric self) concluded that my future would not be impaired if I missed another 6 months of Chinese and English lessons.

So after Chinese New Year, off i go to My Gym! Formal schooling will just have to wait til next Jan though Mommy has her eyes set on Apple Tree (they have a branch just opposite our MRT hehehe) already....

Note from Mommy:

Cairo is nearly 18 mths old soon and we've STILL not enrolled her at the Gym yet. We like to tell people its cos we are giving her Grandma more time to adjust and to lessen any withdrawal symptom that she might develop (Grandma, not Cairo) but truth is... THE FEES ARE NOT CHEAP!!! We shall wait for the government's handout to pay for it hehehe :p

Cairo Says: 1 Country, 2 Policies?

2007-04-09T09:02:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 21st Dec, 2006 on Multiply)

"Cairo, share, share. You must share, share. Come, good girl, share, share with (whomever that happens to be present at the conversation)!" I shall go crazy if Mommy/Daddy/Grandmas don't stop saying those words to me soon!

What is it with you adults that you make it your life's work to instill goodness in us babies? Impractical and unrealistic ones, while we're at that! Are you not supposed to teach us values that would see us through life? Or are we adopting the China-HK 1 country 2 policy stance, eh? One set of rules for you... one set of rules for me til I am old enough to learn to be bad like you, hahaha!

Donating food to the starving and sheltering the homeless, I can understand.

But would you really give away your PS3 (NOT PS2 hor!) to the kid down the block cos he asked for it? Just when you've faught 300 people in the black market and laid down hard earn money (think OTs way past midnite, think smiling while saying yes to that unreasonable customer who just called your whole clan unreapetable names) for the idiot box (Mommy thinks its even more idiotic than the TV but in this case the PS3 makes a very good example)? I don't think so! That kiddo won't die if he doesnt lay his paws on the game would he?

Or how about letting your youngest cousin twice removed on your great grand uncle side drive your new Porche to his prom nite (he just got his driving license 3 days ago) just so he can look cool? I don't think so!

Or letting your colleague copy that proposal which you've worked day and nite on for the past 3 months and which you know will be used as a yardstick for that promotion which you've both been eyeing? I doubt it!

Then why am I forced to share my beloved bolster / my F&P piggy / my banana puffs with you guys? They may mean naught to you people but right now, they are my only worldly possession, to me they are no less than a Porche, a promotion, a PS3!

I love the smell of my saliva which lingers on my bolster (aka Mr Smelly). Why would I risk it being polluted with another kid's smell? Besides... its really unhygienic.... you go share your pillows and bolster but leave mine out of it!

You guys may touch my F&P piggy but why must I give it up IMMEDIATELY when you ask for it? Is that how it works in the adult world? Dont you guys have to queue or something? Why bother asking if I'm not even given the option to say no? Why say its mine when I have no control over it? Besides, at least I bothered to offer a substitute, though obviously not my favourite or what you asked for, but its the though that counts, no?

And don't get me started on my banana puffs... do you have any idea what I have to do just to get that few small pieces of snack? I think a monkey in the zoo has more access to it than I do! I have to smile and act cute, I have to say "Mumm Mumm", I have to call "Mommy".... and repeat the whole process for every little puff! Would you give away something that is so hard earned and so precious easily? Why am I termed selfish when I hesitate to hand them over when I know perfectly well that you adults dont really like them anyway and the visiting kids will get them w/o having to do all that is required from me?

You guys must be deranged or something... any sane person would not derive so much pleasure from denying someone something so dear to them, just for fun! OR is it just so that you guys can tell society that you've done your part in raising the next generation in the APPROPRIATE and EXPECTED manner? Pah!

Show me a starving baby, and I welcome him to partake in my meals anytime.

Until then, dont bombard me with all your high and mighty moral values anymore and go ponder what I've said!
And leave my goodies alone!

Cairo Says: Meaning of My Name

2007-04-08T12:51:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 7th Dec, 2006 on Multiply)

Let's talk about my name today! I am known by different names to different people. This is usually the symptom of greedy parents who cannot make up their minds. Among my many monikers are: Yau Yau, Smelly, Cairo, Princess, Piggy, Darling, Wa-wa etc... but today, we shall concentrate on the MAIN one only, else, it'll take forever.

My birth certificate dictates that I am known as DYLIS FOON CAIRO in the eyes of law.

DYLIS is Welsh for "dependable, can be relied on". I am guessing that the parents are afraid I would dump them at some posh hi tech retirement village next time. So my name would always be my reminder cum conscience? So not subtle!!! Or maybe, my Mommy is just hoping that she can rely on me to do all the housework while she movie marathons with Daddy after I turn 4?! Surely she did not intend for my future boss to be fully dependant on me? Oh the horrors! :s Lets just move on to my Chinese name... before that, please gimme a Panadol.

Additional note: It's pronouced as DEE-LEASE, not DIE-LEASE ok?!

My parents, who are pure Cantonese, picked my name because it has a kinda pseudo exotic-Japanese lilt to it. So, if I were born in KL, my Chinese name would be spelt as POON HOI YAU instead.

For 5 months, my parents did nothing but flip through Chinese baby name book & counting characters' strokes. I am proud to announce that my banana of a mother came up with that combo :D That's right... she pestered colleague (singular, only one), office neighbours and friends and relatives regarding Chinese characters and strokes, day and nite!!!

CAIRO means "to achieve triumphant victory while maintaining a gentle disposition". In layman term, that would roughly translate to "winning every battle without having to bang tables" hahaha! So all I need to do is act like a demure gentle lady and victory would be mine to claim hahaha. Duh! My future classmates would tease me for 2 decades, I just know!

In Mandarin, CAIRO should read as PAN KAI ROU. However, the ang moh version of my Chinese name does not look like that. Let me explain why. Additional note: Our surname became FOON instead of POON during my grandpa's generation cos his daddy had bad handwriting hahaha. That or they kena a big one from some lousy clerk at the birth registry dept! Mommy says its a blessing in disguise cos F comes before P, will sit in front few rows at school wor hahaha!

In my Mommy's opinion, DYLIS FOON KAI ROU is too long. And not quite balanced. DYLIS FOON CAIRO on the other hand is just right (meaning to say she can't shorten it further :p). Notice how the first and third name each has 5 letters? Besides, Mommy has always been rather weird and eccentric. She wants me to have a name which is one of a kind yet not so difficult that I'll end up spending 1/4 of my waking moments educating others on its spelling or pronunciation :p

Some people asked why bother to have a Chinese name then make it look totally unchinese like. Well, in the first place, ABCs are already totally non Chinese :p Besides, what classifies as normal Chinese name or not is merely the current population's perception. And that is ever changing as the sea! Mommy assured me that while CAIRO may raise an eyebrow or 2 here, the folks from other countries would know how to pronounce it at first glance.

To summarise it all, I think my parents are hoping that I could be "a person who can be trusted to achieve greatness in a man's world while enjoying all the fun of being a woman, to fly to great heights but never forsaking those below."

What more could a baby ask for :D

With such lofty ambitions, why didn't they just name me "The Great Dragon-Riding, Flame-Throwing Phoenix" instead? Could’ve saved them a lot of work! Oh, forgot.... we're not Red Indians, otherwise, they really would :s

Cairo Says: Poetry vs Nursery Rhymes

2007-04-06T23:39:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 13th Jul, 2006 on Multiply)

Dear all,

Having spent one month's absence from this blog to comtemplate on the important matters in life, I am back with a Bang! What have I been busy on, some of you may ask. Well let's see...mainly i reflected on the meaning of existence and the importance of "...shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, and whether pigs have wings".

Why? You ask. Everybody knows that babies are like the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants. No, not the goofy and idiotic part. The high absorbency part! Yep, so what the good folks at home exposed me with, I take and store in my brain for future regurgitation.

Just so happens that of late, Mommy has been reciting poetry to me. Not your ol' Jack n Jill or Humpty Dumpty....oh no, not HER. Her old school's poetry culture would better suit my palate, said dear Mommy, what with me being the 3rd generation BBGS girl and all. Actually, I would've been one save for the mere fact that BBGS is not around anymore (but that's a whole other topic altogether)! So most nites, this annointed torch carrier (me!) gets a dose of Mommy's 'Walrus and the Carpenter' recital, Choral Speaking style! Mommy said she would go easy on me for now....whatever that means!

Naturally, I complied since all I had to do was sit around and pretend to look interested. It is only challenging to do so when Daddy whip out the big book of nursery ryhme with all the cute and colourful pictures in it. That's when Mommy gives him the Evil Eye for luring her customer away, hehehe.

My Daddy knows me well. He knows that I love the picture book most. What he doesn't know however, is that I like it for its high bite-ability quotient! And it is oh so new and cushiony! So glossy the vibrant hue of its coloured contents, pages after thick pages, perfect for my pudgy little fingers to turn. Trust me, no one in his right (or left :p) mind would wanna bite Mommy's dinasaur 'Junior Anthropology Book of Poems', yuck!

Moral of the story? The parents, they think they know us, and with luck, they do stumble on the answers from time to time but for all the wrong reasons *shake head*......

NOTE FROM MOMMY (In hereafter, 'I' would refer to Mommy, not me, ok!):

Honestly speaking, why would I wanna sing the traditional rhymes to my Baby? Pay attention to the words and you'll discover that you are foolishly exposing and brainwashing the leaders of our future to negative elements:

"Rock a bye Baby" = when the bough breaks, what happens next? the baby crashes from the tree to the ground and........

"Hush Little Baby don't you cry....Mommy will buy you a diamond ring..." = cry and we will shower you with gifts! Each one more exciting and expensive than the other!

"Old woman who lives in a shoe" = she whacks her kids and send them to bed w/o food.... hello people, are you telling the kids that child abuse is all right?

"Three blind mice" = not only are we laughing at others' misfortune (the blindness), we are encouraging animal cruelty (the farmer's wife cuts off the mice' tails!)?
I guess you guys see what i mean....

On the other hand, Walrus and The Carpenter, by Lewis Carroll (for the not so avid readers, HE wrote Alice In Wonderland, duh!) happens to be a highly suitable piece for babies, toddlers and naive adults. It teaches us the following:

Go anywhere without a trusted, loved one and you'd get eaten. Those that appears to care will eat us up all the more faster, while shedding huge crocodile tears! :p

Next I will teach Cairo the poem 'Matilda'. It is about a naughty girl who keeps crying wolf to the fire brigade and end up as charcoal one day. Now that's what I call educational. With a touch of class :p

Cairo Says: Recap

2007-04-06T22:46:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 24th Nov, 2006 on Multiply)

Four months and not one single blog. Why, you ask. It all started with Mommy getting lazy (for the first 2 months), then her getting chicken pox, then she passed it to me, then of course I had to recuperate, then my birthday party planning... oh you know a girl's diary can get pretty packed!

Now, just a little update to hush my fellow blog followers (I'm surprised you guys still remember how to get here after my long break, hahaha).

In point form, cos I'm lazy and my typist aka Mommy's lunch time at the office is almost up:

- took my first 3 steps @ 9.5 months old n walked 13 steps @ 10 months old

- didnt cry for more than one minute a day (accumulative!) before I turned 10 months old, then....

- got fake mumps for a week (lots of tiny red spots all over the body), followed by approximately 150 chicken pox polka-dotting my body (with compliments and love from Mommy) and then followed by a string of haze-induced fashionable illnesses (fashinable cos everyone else was having it too). Have since discovered the power of wailing n tears... will make noise when I dont get what I want especially the yummy MSG laden food at the adults' dinner table! Size of tear drop will commensurate with how badly I really want the stuff.

- lost 0.5kg thanks to the above and Aunt Karen even said I look oh so chic now that my chin is pointy and slim :p but the grandmas are (as usual) telling everybody who will listen that Mommy tried to starve me again and it is really not their fault that I am not obese though God knows they tried their best

- got my lower 2 teeth @ 11 months old (more reasons not to gain weight cos it hurts to eat!)

- ran away 2 weeks before my birthday but got caught by Daddy before I reached the lift (he had to cos he lost me in the first place)

- got the top 4 teeth a week after my 1st Birthday

- did I mention that I have milk formula a couple of times a day (never more than 100ml each time cos a lady must graze at her food in order to maintain her small trim waist!), cereal with banana for lunch and porridge with pumpkin, pork & greens for dinner. Of course I snack on rice wafers and cheese too... I am weight conscious, not aneroxic! Lately mommy has taken to diluting 30ml of vitagen (less sugar!) with 60ml of water (just so I wont get addicted and say no to plain water next time) for my daily dosage of acidofilus :D

- known to gulp down curry soaked roti prata (chanai la!) and sambal chicken rice w/o blinking an eyelid (Mommy tried ignoring my cries for "mumm mumm" until I let her have a taste of my pincer grip every 3 seconds until she give in). Has potential to be a "spicy girl".

- my hobbies are dancing (different steps to different tunes), flipping through books to review their authors' lack of flair, biting my bolster, Mr Smelly to death (all 3 of them are called Mr Smelly cos Mommy is lazy to remember different names) and giving my parents and grandmas panic attacks by performing dangerous stunts all the time, eg pulled at our expensive hi-fi system's wires until I gotta watch my "Baby Einsten" series with no music on now (clue: the hi-fi is not feeling so well, so is Daddy's wallet... dunno if there is any connection between the two though)

- I can wave bye-bye when daddy and mommy kick me out of their room at bedtime. I will point at myself when ask who is pretty. But most importantly I know that when ask who is mommy, I will point to the pretty lady in the wedding portrait. The chubbier version who works 8 - 5 to foot my bills.... that's just "mah" when I'm in the mood (I shake my head if she says she is Mommy)! I will also say dadd-dadd if my daddy is holding food that i fancy. But best of all, I know kai kai is when I doll up and go out to get more stuff for my already bulging toy and clothes cabinets while my folks trot about in rags... shameless (them, not me)

- Oh, and I weight 9.5kg as of today... must be the salt in the cheese... causes bloating and water retention, darn!

Cairo Says: Little Red Riding "Rude"

2007-04-05T07:42:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 29th May, 2006 on Multiply)

One minute I am happily climbing over the obstacle course (made of pillows and bolsters and comforter) my Daddy built for me and the next I find myself tumbling down the "slope", but luckily I did not break my crown (unlike poor Jack :p). That's when I finally got a good look of my legs (they were sort of bended over my head, making me look like some chinese acrobat).

Now I understand why Mommy keep flashing me that cheeky grin when she mutters some phrase from Little Red Riding Hood. I was sure she got her lines wrong (me being such an avid reader and all) but on hindsight....

Mommy: My! What great big thighs you have, dear Cairo!

Mommy (still her talking, but pretending to be me, duh!): All the better to kick you with, hahahaha!

There you have it. My first taste of name calling. Did not even have to wait til pre-school! To make it all the more bitter; I had to realise it weeks after it happended.

Moral of the story? Shall wear skirts that reaches my toes to school next time! Hah!

Meanwhile....."What great big tummy you have, dear Mommy...."

Revenge, thy name is Cairo. *mad laughter*

Cairo Says: Of Birthdays and Toilets

2007-03-12T13:00:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 15th June, 2006 on Multiply)

Dear all, it was my Mommy's birthday yesterday. She took leave BUT sprained her ankle at work the day before that.

That's the good news. For Cairo.

You see, Mommy and Daddy would have sneaked out to watch Pixar's Cars followed by Silent Hill had she not gotten herself 'grounded'. So you see, Mommy broke a leg, Cairo got lucky, hehehe! Mommy and Daddy spent the whole day at home with me instead!

I got to show off my newly acquired 'walking' skills to many people too. OK, so I was in my playpen, clutching on to the top for dear life while everyone tried to lure me to the other side by clapping their hands, whistling and doing god knows what other antics... but you know me, I'm always sooooo accommodating.

Oh, our house was super happening yesterday too. You see, on top of the family, we had some guys over to prettify our toilet. Let's see, the tiler, the plumbers, the inspectors.... not to mention the waterproofer, and the guys who did the screeding and demolition 2 days earlier. Yep, Mommy got a 'new' toilet for her 28th birthday! For that, we had to wash all the curtains and sofa covers and bed sheets, you name it, they've wiped/ cleaned/ sterilised it! Even the 'Limping One' managed to help out after 'Queening' around for more than half a day. That's cos Ah Ma Por Por finally snapped at her; 'Birthday no need to move a muscle ah?!' hehehe....

Me, I was mostly in my Playpen (cot too near to the toilet under renovation.... hazardous!) or being carried around and adored by my troop of Grandmas aka fans. I hated the dust and noise, but absolutely loooove my new toilet!

(After thought: Oh, Mommy's ankle recovered nicely with no permanent damage to it... So, to all you injured folks out there, get up and start moving furnitures around! Grandma does know best!!!)

Cairo Says: Attack of the Zombie Baby

2007-03-11T12:53:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 30th May, 2006 on Multiply)

By now, you must think that most babies (97.85%) are dim witted or something. I mean, look at em, sucking their own fingers or chewing a piece of overpriced, tasteless rubbery contraption for hours. You wouldn’t do it. Grandma wouldn't do that. Neither would Mommy. Daddy's ..... well, Daddy's a different case. Let’s detour and talk a little bit about Daddy.

He would want me to clarify anyway, so I might as well do it now. I can imagine what he’ll say if I don’t. (Daddy: Cairo must.....responsible blogger.... talk nonsense... slander....go to jail ...no future…end up in Construction Industry!) Oh, you get what I mean….. (Wait a minute; both Mommy and Daddy are in the Construction industry. Gee, what have THEY written in THEIR BLOGS???)

Anyway, Daddy is JUST not comfortable slicing / cutting / peeling any part of him (with the exception of his hair), with anything remotely metallic. Hence the DIY teeth-job manicures! And he’d want me to add that no, he does not bite his toe nails. He peels them. What were you guys thinking; I’m the only flexible one in this household. I doubt Daddy’s mouth can touch his toes :p And when Mommy feels that it’s becoming unbearably close to being deformed (the toe nails, not Daddy), she will give Daddy a pedicure while he is sleeping. Or pretending to be sleeping.

Now back to us babies. Do you know what it's like to have a whole mouthful of teeth bursting out of your gums, one by one, with excruciatingly slow speed (like a few months / years)? Of course you don't remember, World Cup's starting soon, you need to save that space in your brain to memorize the timeslots and team trivia! *roll eyes*

For your info, it helps to numb the pain when we are biting on something. Better still if the thing we’re biting on can absorb our saliva, which is flowing incessantly, 24/7! Bear with us.... it should go away before we say 'I do' at the altar. We hope so, anyway.

Meanwhile, if our thumb sucking or pacifier-stuffed mouths are disturbing you, fine. The other alternative would be to gnaw on you smart alecky adults like a scene from ‘Nite of the Dead’ or 'Dawn of the Dead' or whatever other zombie sequels that director came up with! You prefer? *maniacal laughter*

Cairo Says: Naked!

2007-03-04T01:33:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 29th May, 2006 on Multiply)

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea why my Mommy is so obsessed with taking photos of me in the nude! What is wrong with her anyway?!

She will sneak up on me when I am sleeping, strip me bare and the camera's bulb will start flashing. She will tip toe into the bathroom while I am bonding with my bath buddies (fishy, starfishy, crabby, and octopussy) and start clicking away! I have recurring nightmares of her making me eat my porridge puree in the buff, so that she can add that 'scene' to her collection!

Then again, I do look so adorable in my little birthday suit, don't you think so? Maybe there is justification to her madness after all! :p

Cairo Says: Skip the Greens and Gimme Aircon Instead!

2007-02-27T15:51:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 15th May, 2006 on Multiply)

Dear people, today Cairo shall write about my very first encounter with the great outdoor. Strangely, any grass or trees or flower which I have seen so far (on the way to shopping centres or Grandma Foon’s house) have been discounted from that category! Mommy said its cos they are ‘man-made’, that they grew from seeds / turfs / saplings transplanted from the nursery.

Personally, I think we should not look down on them just because their Mommy is not Mother Nature but some landscape contractor with the lowest bid. I mean, even the so called legitimate offsprings, the big wild trees, are so often transplanted or trimmed in the park planning and construction phase. These well manicured parks are practically rampant with surgically enhanced specimens (a nip here, a tuck there), with an alien (to the original habitat) smuggled in and sandwiched between two or three locals, duh!

I say we cherish and appreciate what we have! People, whip out your camera today and say cheese standing right next to that nondescript bush downstairs! Have picnics next to your neighbour’s potted aloe vera plant. Inhale deeply the fragrance from that pot of pandan leaves planted by the Malay family, whose house you always walk pass but never took the time to stop by and say hello.

Anyway, back to my encounter with the great nature. My first trip to Sembawang Park last Friday.

The trip itself was rather uneventful. We had breakfast at Mc Donald’s, stuck on a Mozzie Patch each, put on the sunglasses, then adjourned to the park. Due to the fact that we are a family of late wakers, we only managed to reach the park at noon, way past the recommended hour of 10am for babies to be exposed to rays of the sun! Their solution? Let’s just say that many park goers that day saw a weird couple pushing a baby’s pram slowly while they were in the shades, followed by a sudden burst of speed to run to the next shady spot hahaha! No sunscreen lotion for moi, thank you. My delicate skin could not take it!

The short and crowded strip of sand was such a lame excuse for a beach that I was spared the ordeal of having to walk on the dirty sand, under blazing hot sun. Phew!

I had my lunch milk in a hut by the beach, watching skimpily cladded couples play pool while my parents sip cold drinks. Sounds good yah? In truth, the hut was so far in, instead of a beach view it has a sea view of an old liner ferrying containers, the skimpily clad folks were skinny children completely killing the old pool table, and my folks were drinking $1.20 a glass Sprite. There, go imagine what the hut looked like with drinks priced at that range, hehehe.

After that, we dutifully walked round the park, took some more shots of some big old trees to prove that I have indeed been to a park (no, I went to Mars, duh!), and then hopped into a cab to a mall nearby, hahaha. Let’s face it, with my sensitive skin, I thrive in man-made, air-conditioned environment. Gimme a potted orchid plant anytime but schedule the nature outings far and apart, thank you very much!

Ah, something else need mentioning too. I am proud to announce that my Mommy managed to delete all the photos we spent 2 hours taking under said hot and merciless sun. She was on the verge of tears and getting a bit hysterical. Don’t interrupt me, that’s not the proud part I was talking about :p (getting there)

Mommy: Why, why, why must I have such trigger happy fingers?…. Why must you all distract me while I am editing my photos *eyes shooting daggers aimed at all but herself*.

Grandma and Daddy both rolled their eyes and sighed with relieve neither one was vaguely responsible for this catastrophe cos they were miles away from the Study Room computer then hehehe.

Mommy: By the time another holiday comes Cairo would be HUGE already… even if I bring her back and snap at all the same spots, it’s just not the same anymore….sob sob… its all your fault Daddy, you SHOULD have reminded me to save em on the hard disk first BEFORE editing…. You SHOULD have known that I am not in a fit condition to handle such precious data after such a tiring day…. (the tirade when on and on and on…..)

Blame others for that also can ah?

Anyway, voila, (here comes the proud part); she managed to recover some of them with the help of a few ‘undelete’ software she found on the internet! That is, AFTER an hour or so of scolding herself (she ran out of excuses to pin the blame on anyone) and kicking Daddy’s legs and butt (exercise helps to release endorphins which in turn makes one happy). Daddy, on top of being a human punch bag, also managed a few nice but totally unconstructive nor consoling phrases. I guess he was hoping Mommy could vent her frustration through the mini physical abuse session ….which Cairo do not endorse and shall never pick up. Bad Mommy! Bad Mommy! Now Cairo loves Daddy more!

Cairo Says: Cairo is 6 Months Old!

2007-02-27T14:35:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 13th of May, 2006 on Multiply)

Dear folks, I am officially 6 months old on 11^th of May 2006. While it is a tad too early for me to publish a memoir (tomorrow however, is no longer too early, hehe. Are you guys from those big publishing houses reading this? :p), I would like to summarize the highlights of my journey so far.

Before that, allow me to brag a little about my coming of age party. Any more bragging than what I'm about to do would be considered distasteful and 6 months old IS an age :p. Mommy bought me six beautiful little baby cakes and sang ‘Happy Halfway-Til-Your-1^st Birthday’ to me. Daddy rushed home to take photos with me and Grandmas didn’t have to cook anything special for that day cos Aunt Caster bought duck. Yep, we had duck, one big aloe vera n lime cake (to celebrate Mother’s Day) and 6 small cakes for dinner hehehe! The party was so impromptu that I didn’t even have time to pick an outfit or do my hair. Surely not dolling up the star is a sin, hm-ph! Anyway, me being my usual forgiving self, shall pardon them one more time.

Back to my milestones. I've learnt to roll over so fast now I gave Mommy a fright a week ago when I nearly rolled off her King size bed (which she tried to build into a fortress by using many bolsters, reinforced with pillows) while she left me for 4 seconds to wash her hands (supposedly soaked with the combo of my milk spit and saliva.... pah! Excuses!). Hello people, what did you think my meaty thighs were for if not to kick away bolsters? Art deco? Duh!

And a week before that I was sitting with my back against her tummy. I tipped over, did a semi somersault and landed at the edge of that very same bed again. *Shake head* Grandma nagged at her for more than an hour on both occasions, serves her right

Sad to say, I sort of lost my freedom after that little episode. I am watched like a convict now! Especially more so cos lately I have taken a liking to playing in my little Cairo Island and sitting unsupported, biting all the island's inhabitants (3 butterflies and 3 ladybugs) to death. The tire-like ring around it is the island’s boundary demarcation, not a support for my spine, ok? Sour grapes! They are super vigilant and hawk-eyed (the Grandmas, not the insects)! God forbids should I lose my balance and hit my head on the alphabet mat BELOW the ex-cushioned floor of my island (Daddy punctured the ‘Island’s’ base while pumping in more air so now it’s thin and not cushy anymore, sad sad).

I am also sort of crawling now. I have this trick which I absolutely must perform for everybody! I would lie on my tummy and raise both my hands and hold for as long as possible, ta-dah! At first Mommy and Daddy and the Grandmas would clap hands and proclaim me Clever Girl, every time. A few weeks into that, they have lost some of that zeal. I even heard Mommy whispering to Daddy not to encourage me anymore in-case I 'waste' all my time trying to impress and don't learn to crawl properly instead! Come on, I do know how to crawl. Just because I go backwards does not mean I am not moving from point A to B! Luckily I still have the support of my TRUE fans, my 3 Grandmas

Diet wise, my calories consists of 60% milk (some formula, some Mommy's), 20% cereal and 20% porridge with carrot and meat soup now. I do snack on bread sticks when they THINK I drool excessively & canned baby food (when Grandma’s not free to cook porridge or when Mommy came home after a frenzy baby food shopping spree and she can’t fit everything into the fridge, the latter being the more frequent and usual cause). Canned food, I love pumpkin and sweet corn, but hate fruits juices and carrots! I don’t understand why won’t they try feeding me those same stuff but handmade. The canned ones are absolutely sour and tasteless, yuck!

I don't have any teeth yet so my food has to be cooked with a crock pot and mashed and sieved. Grandmas don’t believe in blender, much to Mommy’s dismay. She is so looking forward to the day when she can just pour everything (including green vegetables) into the blender and make green, gooey and as one blogger Mommy puts it, Goblin Food for her photo collection! Awesome, you rock Mommy! I love you. Now let’s eat those stuff together! Everyday, every meal!

Did I mention that I can exterminate a whole colony of ants with my drool alone? Hehehe… My favourite pastime now is to salivate all over Daddy and Mommy’s bed. That activity however, is only fun when carried out AFTER they have done their weekly bed sheets changing. I love the smell of freshly pressed, clean bed sheets, hehehe. Dunno why they get so upset when I tried adding my own scents by drooling into it…..

To wrap it up, I think my progress to date is not too disappointing. It’s sad that my parents gotta work long hours and sleep like bears in hibernation when they get the chance. But I am grateful that I have many people who dote on me and spend so much time taking care of me, helping me to learn or to just have fun. Thank you. From the bottom of my little heart.

Cairo hopes it was as good for you as it was for me

Cairo Says: Dont Forget To Wear Protection

2007-02-27T11:49:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 7th May, 2006 on Multiply)

Dear folks, today I would like to share with you all the the importance of EYE protection. It all started with Mommy, of course, as always.

She got me a cool pair of sunglasses last Saturday while we were out celebrating Daddy's Mommy's Day (Happy Grandma's Day, Mar Mar! ) with the Foons. Its fastened by a band round my head which makes it possible for babies likes me to wear them without the danger of the usual spectacles legs poking into our eyes.

You know how singers like to throw their sunglasses into the crowd during concerts? Or how Tom Cruise threw his away at the top of the mountain at the beginning of Mission Impossible 2? (Hei, so I was still an egg then, big deal. I watched it with Mommy, OK?! Now get off my case already!) Well I tried to re-enact that but alas, the band gave my sunnies such a snug fit that I turned my attention to pinching Daddy instead. Trust me, it's way less challenging.

But I do so love it when they put it on for me cos everybody in the streets, on the train and in the malls are just so thrilled to see a baby in sunnies! Cuteness being a prerequisite for the wearer is of course, needless to say.

My admirers come in many categories: They rude ones would just point and exclaim ('Look, baby wearing sunglasses! Ah Kong / Ah Ma / dear dear come n see, quick!) Hello, I'm an exhibitionist, not an exhibit!

Then we have the very 'Ang Moh Pai' ones (that means like the westerners) who would come over for proper, up close admiration . To the handsome fella in the suit and tie (on a Sunday afternoon?!) who kept smiling at me in the train, I'll marry you in 21 years' time. You just wait, ok? Meanwhile, go strike yourself a lottery or two!

And last but not least the typical Kiasu parents who just wanna grab my gorgeous sunnies for their brats :p Forget it! (By the way Mommy, I like that mini skirt on that ang moh baby in Robinsons, go ask her mommy where they got it from!)

We also have sales people asking if its real. Erm, Mommy interpreted that question as 'Is it for show only?' and proceeded to list the importance of proper eye protection while frolicking in the sun. I hate to make my Mommy lose face so I kept quiet and did not point out that I'm the only one in our entourage wearing sunnies hehehe....
Daddy wanted to get me the pink rimmed ones but Mommy vetoed against it. Pink ones are not as easy to match, classy or transferable wor (transfer to whom???).

Actually, I do have a sneaking suspicion that they bought me the sunnies more as a deliberate act to boost my cool factor (it needs boosting meh? ) than for its ray-banning qualities. Now that I have a snow cap and sunglasses, its ok to not have hair hahaha. Next Mommy might just enrol me for a rap or hip hop music class, aiks! Yo, yo, yo dude! Cairo's in da house!

But honestly speaking, the brochure did mention these:

Baby Banz ~ Baby SunglassesBaby Banz sunglasses have a fully adjustable neoprene band that allows the product to grow as your child grows. Fully tested by an independent optometry laboratory to AS1067-2003, Baby Banz can gives you confidence that your child eyes are being fully protected from harsh UV rays.
The baby sunglasses come in 2 sizes:~Baby Banz ~ 0-2 years~Kidz Banz ~ 2-5 yrs
Baby Banz & Kidz Banz ~ 100% protection for your childs eyes.

Moral of the story? End of the day, what's good for me must look good on me too, hahaha!

Or is it the other way round......?

Cairo Says: Babies Have "Wants" Too, You Know?!

2007-02-17T15:40:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 2nd May, 2006 on Multiply)

Last weekend delivered another small yet eye opening lesson to all the adults in our household.

It started like this. As usual, I woke up very early on Saturday. Slightly before 11am. Should I be ashamed to admit I sleep til way past noon on weekdays? I don't think so. You'd all be doing the same, given half the chance. Anyway, this early baby rooster is ready to catch some fat worms! Oh, what wonderful games or adventure would this long weekend bring, I wondered.

Well, as usual, Grandma Foon (which I always call Mar Mar in Cantonese but alas, in writing its just plain confusing for my dear readers), dropped by (that's why I woke up early hehehe!) and played with me to my little heart's content! One observation: my 3 grandmas are way more energetic compared to Daddy and Mommy. My brilliant conclusion: We are all born useless and only come into our power / energy / force when we are OLD!

Sunday came and went rather uneventfully but I can understand, Daddy having to work and Mommy busy with a new hobby and all (editing my photos, why else do you think I'm so forgiving?), so I persevered. At least I had my 2 Grandmas to practise twirling around my little fingers with.

Then Monday (Labour Day) Or should I say the 'straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back' day came. It was way past noon and everybody was still in rags! Come on! These people obviously needed a nudge. So during my lunch time, I spat out my Heinz's 'carrot-parsnip-dragonmeat-dunnowatelse for all i care' puree and refused my beloved cereal and milk. And still they had no clue! Then I started to wail at the top of my lungs. Added some screams for good measure too. And I refused to nap! Strike! Strike! Strike!

Ah-ha! The grandmas sensed something a miss. Surely these tantrums, so far removed from my usual charming, obedient self, served as a big enough hint?

And then, like music to my ears, I heard Mommy saying '..no more HL milk, meat, detergent, oil, (not yet, wait, wait...the list went on for 15 minutes, at least)....quickly dress Cairo up...'

Dress Cairo up. Three magical words. You see, I only get to wear my cute little outfits when we go out!!! Usually, my grandmas would dress me in boy shorts and perforated tees. I hate those, they make me look like a boy. One with absolutely no sense of fashion while we're at it, but we shall save that topic for another day. That's cos they deem my pretty dresses frivolous, not practical and too hot for our weather that is, the spaghetti strapped ones are not practical and the jackets too hot lor :p

Anyway, after the usual whirlwind of packing activities (Grandma: Cairo's jacket and 2 thousand bibs packed already? or Mommy: Cairo's diapers need so many meh? Daddy (20 minutes INTO all that flurry of caos): We're bringing Cairo along ah? and so on...) we reached the main door. I literally DIVED into my stroller / pram. Everybody stopped and stared at me. And they started to hoot with laughter while shaking their heads. Finally it dawned on them that I had been asking to go out! They're a slow bunch but not entirely beyond salvation.

As for me, finally, a breathe of fresh air! Scent of flowers (the lallang's) blooming. Smells of freshly cut grass (somebody must have complained to the town council again). The main rubbish bulkbin being emptied into the rubbish truck. Hehehe....Oh well, I've never been brought up to look through rose-tinted lenses. I know about the smellies and the uglies. And the truck's main purpose is to bring them to rubbish heaven so that we have room to create more rubbish! Makes perfect sense!

Anyway, back to me. Before you pin the label of spoilt brat on me, walk a mile in my shoes (don't worry, they're new, I can't walk yet hehe). I stay in my cot and playpen 6 days a week. All I ask for is a few hours out of the house, where I can see the big fluffy clouds overhead, hear the birdies singing and grab a toy or two hundred. Is that too much to ask for? The neighbour's dog has got more freedom than I do! At least it gets to go out for daily walks and poo on the streets. I have to poo in my own bed. You try that!

And, by the way, if you are the tiniest bit curious as to our destination (not the FINAL one, the Monday outing one, you doink!).... GIANT SUPERMARKET! In SEMBAWANG! A stone's throw away from where we live! Definately worth waiting a whole week for if you ask me! For the uninitiated, this is where I put on my sarcastic smile and roll my eyes. Duh!

Oh well, us babies sure got it tough, man!

Cairo Says: I'm Addicted

2007-02-12T14:56:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 28th April, 2006 on Multiply)

Dear all, I am proud to announce that I am Daddy’s little girl in every single way .

The proof? Me being labeled as 2nd Generation TV Addict by Mommy, who voiced with much conviction her doubts that this disease is ever curable. Miraculously, all lamentation stopped the minute my Ah Mi Por Por pointed out that Mommy is a partially reformed TV addict herself!

Anyway, let's go back to me. 5 1/2 months old and I have picked up a neat trick even my Daddy, the Original Addict himself could not do (well, I have never seen him do it, so one must make certain assumptions, yes?) I ….am ….able…..to detect the tiniest little sound coming from the TV within an 8 metre range and instantaniously lock my eyes to the screen. Ta-da!!!

Not so special you may argue. True. But try maintaining eye contact while a Mommy is trying her best to block the view with cushions, magazines and what nots. Doesn’t help that my Grandmas would also try turning me around with all their might, squirm as I may, so that my back’ll face the TV instead. I said try cos they rarely succeed hehehe. I would do the Bollywood (head goes left, and right, and left ....) or tilt my head way back (forming a mini arch) so that once again, me and my wonderful friend the screen would be reunited again!

I love my Daddy best cos when I’m with him, we’d both be stretched out on the long sofa (me on top of his stomach) and remote control in hand, Daddy and I rule all over TV Land, yeah!

At one point, Mommy got so upset with my inclination towards this ‘terrible, future wrecking habit’ (her opinion, not mind), that she up and bought a whole handful (her hand, mine are too small) of EDUCATIONAL VCDs! Slowly but steadily they came, one after another, until they conquered one whole section of our TV shelf!

Mommy quoted from some book (once again to no one in particular, everyone busy watching TV, remember?) that watching TV shows would cause babies to grow up to be hyperactive kids! Video programmes however, are controlled medium and with a proper selection, would even be beneficial in the long run!

From then on, I have her permission and blessing to sit in my little chair, watching TV for 20 to 45 minutes, twice everyday. Not that I am complaining really. I love the one where they feature cool educational toys (which Mommy deem too expensive to buy otherwise). Colourful objects coupled with upbeat classical music, I like.

Mommy came back from a Seminar organized by the good folks at Pediaoptix 2 Saturdays ago and gleefully announced that so long as I remain 2 metres away and don't watch TV continuously, my eyes would be fine. I marvel at my Mommy’s ability to go through brainwashing selectively ie hearing lots but only retaining what she wants to hear, hahaha! Apparently, the docs said “no TV would be best but if you absolutely must……”

I guess it’s a happy ending for this little episode after all; Mommy’s conscience is no longer pricking her now that Cairo is putting the ‘ex idiot box’ to good use, Grandmas get to pick up an extra English word or two everyday and Cairo has a license to view!

The casualty of this revolution is obviously Daddy, the true blue TV Addict. Daddy, you’re still my hero, don’t give up! We can still creep up in the middle of the night and watch B-grade, low budget flicks where the actors’ monster costumes look so fake it makes us laugh! Yay!

Cairo Says: Being Threatened

2007-02-05T10:17:00.000+08:00

(Previously posted by "Cairo" on 24th April, 2006 on Multiply)

Five and a half months into this strange new world (compared to Mommy's womb, where everything made sense) and I have gotten my first REAL THREAT! From none other than Mommy too!!! It started like this, during one of my feeds....

Mommy: Ouch! Pain! Cairo you latched on wrongly....Pain!! Pain!!!... open your mouth big, big! Big, big! Arck!!!!!

Me (thinking): Huh? Mouth too big not pretty, Mommy! Dun want! Anyway, Cairo is not very hungry yet, can play with Mommy. Treat Mommy as Pacifier. Cairo likes.

Mommy: Open mouth big big Cairo. Pain! Pain! (Unlatched, pried open the tiny little mouth, then repeat whole process about 5 times)

Me: (Show Mommy a toothless grin, then continue to suckle.... wrongly)

Mommy: Cairo! You've forgotten how to latch on again ah!? Continue doing this and tonite you get strawberry coloured milk! And I thought I've said good-bye to all that skin peeling and bleeding, arck! Naughty girl!!!!

Me (thinking): Mommy dont disturb me. Its not fun anymore.... I am going to cry....

Mommy Aiks! Injured Mommy and dare to sulk! That's it, 3 more weeks and you can say bye bye to Mommy's milk!! Go drink your soy milk and cow's milk! Daddy make formula for her! (Proceeded to dump Cairo rather unceremoniously on Daddy's lap). And tell your precious little 'Sakai' what a mean thing she is!

Daddy: Oh...right....ya, erm Cairo good girl (stroking Cairo's head). Mommy changed your diaper already huh? Good Mommy....(All this while Daddy's eyes NEVER left the TV's screen. He carried me with one hand and his free hand went on auto pilot mode to prevent me from snatching his spectacles).

Me (thinking): Daddy's very clever, can multi task!!! And he never scolds Cairo even when I bite bite his fingers....(Proceeded to grin adoringly up at Daddy and laughed gleefully, then gummed his fingers somemore)

At the other end of the sofa, Mommy rolled her eyes and glared at Daddy with her Evil Eye. He had no idea what just happened, hahaha! Daddy, who elevated compromised TV watching into an art form, was of course thoroughly blocking all that mumbo jumbo and negative vibe out, hahaha.

What is compromised TV watching, you ask me? It is the ability to be 200% interested in WHATEVER that is being shown on TV, regardless of its storyline or even language. Daddy said the TV programmes could not suit his timing so he must tailor his interest to suit them . Mommy left specific instructions to EVERYBODY who would listen to please physically drag Daddy out of the house should there be fire, war or any other of those stuff which calls for speedy evacuation and Daddy happens to be right in front of the TV at that time!

Anyway, Mommy proceeded to grumble somemore but to no one in particular (Daddy wasn't listening remember?). Meanwhile, my little stomach started to make grumbling noises too.... time for milk milk again!

Waaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

.