mya's mommy

Green Beauty

2010-05-22T01:23:00.004+01:00

Sutton Bank Walk 27/03/2010
Photo courtesy of the other half

I may not be living in a place of my dream yet, but stray just few miles from this not-so idealic neighbourhood, there lies a beautiful and dramatic countryside with panoramic scenery and breathtaking beauty. The vast stretches of unspoiled countryside in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors have even made Yorkshire as widely considered to be among the greenest in England. But of course living in the estate also known as one of the most deprived area in England, almost made me quickly forget on how fortunate and blessed my life is.

I am feeling grateful for this given opportunity to live in this land of perfect combination of work life balance. Thank you Lord.

Take time to stand and stare

2010-03-30T13:11:00.002+01:00

Taken en route to Aysgarth, Yorkshire Dales

Picture courtesy of the other half

What is this life if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep, or cows

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this, if full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

William Henry Davies 1871 - 1940

The apple of my eye

2010-03-21T00:10:00.003Z

This portrait photo was taken 3 weeks ago. She is simply my most cherished.
Picture courtesy of the other half.

Children learn what they live

2010-02-20T21:15:00.003Z

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live

Mitzy

2010-02-08T23:07:00.003Z

Mitzy Tote by Mulberry
Another item added to my lust list.

I'm still here....

2010-01-22T22:07:00.006Z

in my robe.....

Rather than dwelling myself on a typical guilt for the obvious reason (of not updating this blog!) I might as well pretend that this has now becoming a norm and I'm going to learn to accept this tiny little flaw in my blogging character.

Where do I start? My sweet darling Mya...aaahh bless her. There is no day or even hour passing by where she is not in my thought and I really feel she is growing up way too fast! Only last few weeks, she was asking me, "Mommy, can I wear a make up?". And I sure know where she get the idea from. She can now recognise the numbers and most of the alphabets. Her current favourite question is "Why?" and sometime I am running out of possible (clever) answers. My parenting skills have often been put to test lately, specially in dealing with her public tantrums. But I always try to develop a thick skin and do what I need to do and ignore the attention of other people, who are rude enough to stare. And it is always easier said than done.

She still sleeps next to me during the night and I know I should be more firm and adamant in teaching her to sleep independently but it is almost impossible to bear listening to her crying and begging while saying "Mommy, I want you please....". At her age now, separation is already difficult and I think there is always a part of me that is still not ready to let go.

She can be a great companion but no I don't think she can be my shopping buddy, not yet anyway. I mean, she is after all only 2 and a half year old. Soon, I believe.

Ain't she sweet

2009-10-14T19:51:00.003+01:00

Mya age 2 plus 2 months. Recently taken with Roundhay Lake as the background.
I have made this as my wall paper in my desktop at work, and will no doubt put a constant smile in my face .
Picture courtesy of the other half.

Lollipop

2009-10-13T23:04:00.004+01:00

"Mommy, I want lollipop." This was what she said to me when I was about to leave for work this morning. And I promised her I would buy one when I get back.

For a 2 year old, I think she is quite a talker. She likes to echo everything I said. Like this morning when we were still in bed, I was asking her daddy what time was it and she quickly followed saying "What time is it daddy?" but in half asleep state.

Last weekend, we were browsing in the shops and I was just right behind her. And I heard her asking some strangers very enthusiastically, "Where's my mommy gone? Where's my daddy gone?". And of course the strangers politely obliged directing her to me. And she said in reply "Owh..." with a cheeky smile.

Her funny little sayings and expressions are endless source of delight to me. Among her favourite questions to entertain her curious mind are "Mommy, what's happening?" "Mommy, what have you got there?" "Mommy, what are you talking about?" Quite a busy body eh...

She seems to take the word 'NO' as a complete opposite meaning. Though sometime she can be really nice and understanding. But most of the time, it was also quite a challenge to tell her what not to do. Or what she should be doing. Sometime in my attempt to get her to do something say for example to finish up her meal, I would promise her that we can go to the park only after she has eaten her meal. Though I know, making promises or rewards like these are not really good practice.

I am doing my best to make her life full of love, laughter and wonderful times. And yes there are difficult moments when she wants to be independent and grown up one minute, and a baby the next. And I do really want to enjoy this phase of her life as I know these toddler years will be over all too quickly and I just don't want to feel real regret when school days begin.

Now I better remind myself to buy that lollipop I promised.

Her favourite place in town

2009-10-07T00:00:00.008+01:00

She has been begging us since the day before and she kept saying with all her cuteness "Mommy, I want to go to town, pleaseeeeee..."

We finally went on Sunday and after almost 2 hours walking around various shops, we stopped by at her most favourite place, the book shop. And she just loves this place, never got enough of it and after an hour it wasn't easy to persuade her to leave. But we somehow did, though not without her crying scene and she gave in only because she was hungry and wanted something to eat.

That's my little darling

What are you reading darling?..

She is just 2. And she can (pretend to) read!...

Belated 2nd Birthday

2009-10-02T22:34:00.004+01:00

A rather late entry but better than never. She turned two about six weeks ago and the celebration was modest. Being a happy kiddo as she is, she just brings me a whole different meaning of happiness.
My precious sweetness in life. I thank God everyday for blessing my life with such a pure, sweet innocent child. I pray everyday that God watches you day and night, keep you and protect you from any harm. My sweet beautiful child, mommy loves you soooooooo much!.....

Shabby Chic

2009-09-30T19:29:00.006+01:00

I always love this. Anything vintage, anything with roses on, anything old and distressed looking, I'm into it. I'm hoping one day when I finally own my dream home, this style of interior design will definitely be incorporated in at least one or two of the rooms.

So, what is Shabby Chic anyway. Think casual, pastel colours, lots of white, vintage items, rod iron, distressed worn out furniture and colourful prints. The style started in Great Britain and evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded old chintz sofas and curtains, old paintwork and unassuming 'good' taste. The end result of shabby chic is to achieve an elegant overall effect, as opposed to the sentimentally cute Pop-Victorian. Neither is it an expression of caring fo rthe environment through recycling, even though recycling olf furniture and fabrics is an important aspect of it.

Now, I think this is perhaps a good idea for me to blog about. I have found few vintage treasures myself, all by unbelievably frequent trips to various carboot sales around Yorkshire. And I now intend to start my own shabby chic interior decor collections. I must admit I am laughing inside as I probably have no idea what I'm talking about!

Supermom...i wish.

2009-09-28T23:33:00.007+01:00

Life has been super frenzied lately. We just moved place 5 months ago and I still have few unpacked boxes lying around, some are cleverly hidden in the cupboards which mostly are probably junks. This new place is always a mess, the living room is always scattered with toys partly because my 2 year old kiddo is not able to exercise tidiness yet, nor understand it. But it is also mainly because finding time to actually DO the work around the house and keeping the place tidy and organised is hard to do. I get up in the morning, I go to work and I get back. Eight to Six, Monday to Friday. I look after my child's needs, I cook, clean, I do laundry, I buy groceries and I pay bills. I eat, I sleep and I watch TV. I plan and I organise, and I feel that I am living an organised chaotic life. Yeahh I could do with possessing a bit of super power right now!

And I do get frustrated that I can’t do all the things I want to do. I get frustrated that I’m not even really sure what I really want to do. I feel constrained by mostly my own self-imposed limitations and societal expectations, and I like to naively believe that my situation is unique. But I know I’m not the first one on this planet to experience all of this, I guess I will have to forge a way to sort my life out. And in the mean time, my super sweet little kiddo is the only reason I can still hold my sanity intact.

Songbird

2009-09-22T00:09:00.000+01:00

Loving this.

Remind me....

2009-09-13T23:04:00.006+01:00

If you find yourself stuck in traffic; don't despair. There are people in this world for who driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new grey hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!

When you think you have it bad, there is someone out there who wishes he or she had it as good as you do.
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in His time, not yours.
And once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

Bingley

2009-07-07T20:06:00.019+01:00

Last Sunday turned out to be a great outing for us three in which we coincidently visited the 3 & 5 Rise Locks on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Bingley. Built in the 1700s, they were such an engineering marvel at the time.

Back in the days, river navigation couldn’t solve all the transport problems of industrial Yorkshire, so artificial waterways, or canals, were cut into the landscape. With the Pennines being so hilly, locks had to be introduced to raise or lower the level of the canal. Bingley Five Rise lock, which alters the height of the water by almost 60 ft, is the most impressive in Britain.

An 18th century engineering masterpiece, these five locks operate as a 'staircase' flight in which the lower gate of one lock forms the upper gate of the next. When completed in 1774, thousands gathered to watch the first boats make the 60 foot descent. Now, over 200 years later, the flight is still in daily use providing access to 16 miles of lock-free cruising on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in the glorious scenery of the Yorkshire Dales.

my little one was admiring the canal

Mya as usual, being her self-willed cheeky self, insisted on picking up little stones as we walked along the path and throwing them into the canal and I equally insisted on not letting her near the canal's edge in case she tripped and fell over. And at one point she was crying her trademark cry for more..more...because she had forgotten even though I kept reminding her that she should never go close to the edge. I physically had to stop her from enjoying her little games.

Just another example of how this tiny little cutesy of mine always seems to know which wrong button to push.

"Mya..not to close to the edge please.."

"ok..that's it now"

"Mya...you are not listening.."

"more mommy..more..."

"making up time"

"now daddy's turn to watch over me..."

say cheese...

say cheese...again...

"...you are so heavy now Mya.."

happy face.....Muahhhh darling!

Twenty Two Months

2009-06-17T22:13:00.002+01:00

I love her to bits. Sometime, she likes to push the boundary a bit far but I know there is nothing wrong with that. The only issue is me. Sometime I felt like I just didn’t have the wisdom nor the patience to tolerate her normal toddler antics and I snapped. And then my guilt would just take over soon after. She is very apologetic too so my hearts would just dissolve whenever she says “Sowiii…kiss?…kiss?”. Sometime even when I did not mutter a single word but looked cross and upset, she could sense it immediately and apologise, even when it was not her fault.

She is a keen helper too. I always send her on simple errands and she just enjoys being helpful and getting it right. She likes helping me finding the remotes and whenever dinner is ready she would help calling her daddy out loud to let him know that it is time to eat. What a delight.

At 22 months, her ability to communicate is progressing remarkably, and I am always impressed at how quick her brain could pick things up. She is learning to count, she has not quite grasped the concept yet but she can pronounce the numbers from 1 to 10 though not in the right order. She is now able to put 2 or 3 words together for example, “mommy, come back”, “mommy, look”, “mommy I want this, please”, etc. She sounds so endearingly cute when she speaks but I suspect the last example would probably do more harm to my hard-earned cash later on.

I always wonder if her amazing progress is as normal as any kids her age would have. But I know being a first time parent will always have something to do with that wonder. Though sometime I try not to get carried away into thinking that my child will be a super genius toddler who will graduate with first class degree in quantum physics from Oxford by the age of 8.

Her lovingness always touches my heart. Every morning before I set of to work, we would do our daily routine of kisses and cuddles. But this morning, she gave me extra as I was about to go out the door. She came running back to me and adoringly gave me another big hug. And it just made my day.

Precious Gift

2009-03-26T22:20:00.003Z

When times seem too hard to bear & I l feel like giving up
I vision your beautiful face, the twinkle of your eyes and things of such
The bond we created from my womb to the day you were born
Is a mother and daughter bind that can never be torn
With the strength and guidance of God and the blessings he pours down from above
I want to be the best mom I can be to you and embrace you with all my love
You are as precious as a flower and as gorgeous as a rose
You have been specially made to the very tip of your nose
You are as sweet as honey; such an innocent young child
You are brighter than any star in the sky every time you smile
I want you to be proud of who you are and strive to be the best
Put forth your efforts to achieve your goals and let God do the rest
I will always be your mother first, but I'm also your friend
Your are the most precious gift, that I've ever been given

With All My Love,

Mommy

© Sherri Lawrence

19 Months

2009-03-23T19:37:00.001Z

At this age, she is actually quite chatty and friendly. And being in a multilingual household, her range of vocabularies is quite a mixture. These are her current expanding list:-

1) Mommy
2) Daddy
3) Kakak (big sister)
4) Nenen (milk)
5) Mamem (eat)
6) Pepet (pacifier)
7) Hello….Hi ya…
8) Bye Bye
9) Come.…come…Walk..walk…
10) Up..up
11) Hot
12) Car
13) House
14) Sleep
15) Kiss
16) Nana (banana), apple, yape (grape)
17) Sky
18) Snow
19) Amau (anything scarry)
20) Hair, Eyes, Head, Mouth, Nose, Hand, Perut (Tummy) , Tummy, Teytek (Breast)
21) Akut..akut ( I’m afraid)
22) Aaakit…(it hurts)
23) Sowiiii (Sorry)
24) Aii…yu…( I love you)
25) Aaa…kiu (Thank you)

I always encourage her to speak and to tell me what she sees around her by asking ‘Whats’s that Mya?’ Sometime she gets it right and sometime she would just murmur anything. Last couple of days, whenever we watched the telly together, I noticed she kept saying the same words over and over again, which sounded so familiar but I couldn’t quite figure it out.

Only last night did I realized that she was actually asking me ‘What’s that?’

Well I guess she now understands the concept of questions & answers. Or perhaps she is just being her normal copy-cat self. But either way, she just makes me smile all day…

Silly Idea

2009-03-12T21:13:00.002Z

Just because some people eat more chocolates than others, it was proposed that chocolate tax should be introduced in order to put people off buying them. So, to combat obesity, cutting out chocolate is deemed to be one of the solutions? I get the point but this is just absurd. Ridiculous.

So utterly fabulous

2009-03-06T14:38:00.003Z

I really should not spend a penny on these but they are so irresistible. The moment I tried them on, I was surprised of how well fitted they are on my feet. And at an unrealistic tag of £12.00 I think that’s an absolute bargain. Sod off credit crunch….

But too bad I don’t have a pair of long gorgeous leg to show them off. Let alone the occasion.

Sad News from Home

2009-02-05T22:03:00.002Z

I received a very sad news from home today. A dear aunt has passed away due to cancer which was found too late.

And my thought goes out to my dear uncle Anyie and all my dear cousins Mildred, Julian, Brian, Adrian and Joel as well as the rest of the families. Please be strong and may God's strength guides and leads us always in this very painful and difficult time.

To my dear aunty Helen, you will be greatly missed. I will always remember your beautiful face and your great kindness. May you rest in peace.

Difficult time

2009-01-21T22:12:00.001Z

I knew juggling between fulltime work and being a mommy would be hard but I never imagine it would be THIS hard. Now that my little one is suffering from severe eczema, this is even harder than what I would anticipate. The thought of somehow, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel is very comforting....

What if...

2008-12-18T07:27:00.001Z

I must admit I have started to feel the pinch when credit crunch first started probably around 7 or 8 months ago. Higher energy bills, rising groceries bills and in general increased cost of living.

And this current economic recession is really taking its toll with higher unemployment statistics, mortgage repossession, big banks collapsed, business closing down and so on so forth. On Radio 1 today, it was also mentioned that there has been a sharp increase of people under 25 out of work. People are made redundant everyday and for the past few months I have been hearing the same headlines in the news where many companies are making job cuts in order to cope with the current economic turmoil.

Very recently, in fact only yesterday, I found out a good friend has just been made redundant.

And today, I could not help myself from thinking what if it happens to me. The first and obvious implication will be the devastating effect on the financial aspect and I could not even dare to write further on the rest.

Save save save....spend wisely, and cut down any unnecessary spending, this is what I am trying to practise. Or perhaps be an utter cheapskate if I have to. Because we never know what will happen.

But my mind is still dreaming of owning this gorgeous long Zara winter coat that I tried on last 2 weeks.

On the same main issue, I am still trying to finish off reading this long and extensive piece of article from The Independent.

Little Diva

2008-12-15T21:10:00.004Z

She loves to sing even when she was still a lot younger than now. Whenever she sees a sheep in the telly or from the book she would sing 'ba ba black sheep' though it much sound like 'baabaa baap beeeep'. Few months ago she could sing to Old Macdonald but only the E I E I O bit. But now somehow she doesn't remember how to sing that E I E I O anymore. But it still amazes me how quickly she can recognize any melody, I once hummed the song ‘In the Night Garden’ for the first time to her during bed time she quickly opened up the palm of her hand asking me to do my ‘round and round’ little finger on her palm. She still does it now.

In the morning, sometime I could hear her singing nananana and all sorts of sounds from the bed. Though I could not make out what song does she sing to.

When it comes to You Tube, she is the boss. Well, almost. Whenever she sees the laptop being switched on, she would say ‘appyyy…apppyyy’. Which refers to the nursery song ‘If you are happy’, as she really likes to watch this clip below and always demands to watch it before anything else. Thanks to her Usu who introduced this.

And she really loves to dance too. Always has. Every time there’s an upbeat music she would move her body sideway and sometime wave her hands. She could even shake her wee little booty to the beat. So cute….!

This little tiny diva always brings a song of joy to my heart.

Upsy Daisy

2008-12-14T17:21:00.005Z

She somehow managed to persuade her daddy to buy her first Upsy Daisy today.

If I were a boy

2008-12-10T20:23:00.002Z

Currently loving listening to this song.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-04T19:48:00.010Z

I love it when it snows. Everything is white and winterly and I feel like I'm living in a fairytale land.

The only downside is it makes driving very dangerous and on Wednesday my normal 30 minutes drive to work took more than 2 hours. The heavy snowfall overnight has led to hazardous driving condition and on my route some roads were absolutely gridlock.

The snow has all cleared up now anyway. I am hoping for a white Christmas this year. I can just hope.

Before setting off to work and droping her off to her childminder..Mya didn't look as excited (read: 'jakun') as her mommy..

Very very slow moving traffic...the bus in front of me stopped few times whenever there was another bus from the other direction to ask what was the traffic like ahead

Snow still falling...

First Conversation

2008-12-03T15:45:00.001Z

My very first proper and short conversation with Mya took place this very morning.

Whist changing her nappy, I asked "Mya, who are we going to see today"? Now I was not expecting any perfect answer from her as she always babbles and I thought she would not understand my question, not yet anyway.

And to my surprise, she quickly answered "kakak".

Her daddy was just around the corner and we both looked at each other with awe. We could not believe our ears….hehe.

I guess this is the joy of being first time parent…every little discovery is priceless.

Christmas Window Shopping

2008-12-03T00:53:00.006Z

Its the time of the year again.

We went out last Sunday and Leeds was full of Christmas shoppers. Mya was very well behaved, she sat quietly in her push chair, looking content as I pushed her along. She must be quite excited watching the christmas light sparkling around the city and observing everything arounds her. Sometime I always wonder whats on her young mind....maybe she was thinking about In the Night Garden....her current favourite.

Doesn't look excited though...

with Mommy

Ruth is out...undeservedly.

2008-11-29T22:58:00.006Z

She's out, she is one of the biggest vocal in X factor but apparently vocal, talent and personality have not managed to pull out much vote from the British public. I still love her though... X factor will not be the same without her.

X factor has now become a joke but I guess I still will be glued to the screen next week watching it simply because all other programmes are really crap....

Sweetest Sound

2008-11-28T11:58:00.000Z

She says the sweetest sound I've ever heard. She now can say it perfectly...'Bye-bye Daddy'.... She has been saying that this week every morning whenever she sees her daddy out at the door about to leave for work. And I am so impressed with her accent....very British...hehe...

She's got my vote!

2008-11-10T21:12:00.001Z

This is why I stuck in front of the telly every Saturday. Love her!

Mariah Carey live on X factor

2008-11-10T20:15:00.001Z

If only she can loosen up a bit. She was all rigid and stiff all the time during the show it looked like she's having a stick up her butt...nevertheless she was very very good. Her boobs were about to fall out but who cares. She still is beautiful. Initially I thought the song itself was a bit plain, boring and monotonous melodically but when it reached towards the end with the high notes and she pulled it off quite amazingly, I quickly changed my mind.

No wonder she's a diva. I think she really earns and deserves the title.

Why do we fall..

2008-11-07T23:47:00.000Z

so that we might learn to pick ourselves up.

MMR jab

2008-10-15T11:15:00.001+01:00

Poor Mya...
This morning she woke up all cranky with flushed cheeks and her body temperature was slightly higher. She had her MMR jab last Thursday and now, three days later it finally kicking in. Normally she was doing very well on all her previous immunisation jabs with no post-injection fever but not this time. When I picked her up early this morning her body was weak and floppy. Hopefully the Calprofen will ease the pain a bit. When I left for work she was back in bed, sleeping in her daddy’s arm. Bless my child…

She now has also started to call me mommieeee (but she pronounced it mieeee...mieee....) and to hear that every time makes my heart melts.

Be strong my darling…this will pass and soon we can dance again.

My baby..

2008-09-19T23:52:00.007+01:00

What are you doing honey?

Trying to call pui doh...?

hmm...i need to figure it out how to use this phone or shall i call for mommy for help??

hmm..i just picit2x lah

hmm what is this??

another nice toy...i better play with it before my mommy notice...

South Stack Lighthouse

2008-09-13T12:26:00.003+01:00

South Stack Lighthouse. Picture courtesy of the other half.

Bangor

2008-09-10T11:09:00.014+01:00

Bangor drop by.

Usu in action..

Pak ayeng & Mak ayeng

Mya & Usu

Bangor marina

Mya & daddy

Mya Ku...

the 'expanding' mommy..

Mya & Pak ayeng..

City of Bangor

Much needed holiday

2008-08-30T01:09:00.001+01:00

Anglesey..here we come!

Body Issue

2008-08-28T13:56:00.001+01:00

I lost count on how many times have I purchased a piece of clothing and then have it returned to store shortly after either for a size changed or refund. The common and obvious reasons are 'sorry...its not the right size', 'too small for my bumps' etc...

As much I am so in denial that I am now a lot heavier and much bigger than I used to be I realise I have to wake up to this reality. Hanging on to my old clothes is no good so I have now packed up most of my size 8/10 tops and blouses, petite work trousers and jeans and have made arrangement to hand them over to my two much slender sisters. Which means I now would have to completely overhaul my wardrobe but then again I do not want to stay in this size forever so I guess I will still keep that pair of a size 8 skinny jeans as an incentive to get back to my glorious days.

The total culprit behind all this is me, myself and me again. Having family around really does something to the appetite but this is not an excuse to over eat. The merrier the dining table is, the lesser is the care about how much food you gobble. Since May this year I have been eating like a pig at every opportunity, so go figure…

I have also stopped breastfeeding completely so I guess that has also contributed to my high and alarming rate of weight gaining and waist expanding.

The in-laws will be leaving soon, I will surely miss the home cooked food. But above all, it’s their company that will be missed most….

1st Birthday recall...17th August 2008

2008-08-23T00:16:00.003+01:00

It all went all right last Sunday. Tiring but was all worth it. Mya was so happy though she was a bit shy and scared at first not being used to larger crowds but soon after she was all running around and playing with the other kids.

Main menus were Sarawak laksa for adults and fried rice for the kids. Usu made roasted chicken wings as well as some fried hot dogs wrapped with kulit popiah....yummyyy. We also served a special Melanau delicacy ‘Umai’, thanks to my father in-law who was working very hard preparing it. We were a bit apprehensive at first due to its nature (raw fish – just like sushi) but apparently it was the most popular dish that day with almost zero leftover.

The birthday cake was a joint effort. It was a carrot cake which I baked the night before and Ween was in charged of decorating it. It was a success because the cake looked so pretty and it tasted good too. Well I kind of took the short cut by using the ready mixed cake mixture and all I did was whisking it with some eggs, oil and water and then straight into the oven. Then 1 ½ hour later…voila!

The only thing was...I was (and still) gutted because there were no descent photos of Mya….lots were taken but they were all blurry and fuzzy…damned the camera, apparently it was the wrong setting and because I was so busy preparing food and stuff etc I’ve forgotten to check it before hand.

Looking back the past 12 months, it has been an incredible journey for both Mya and me. I am still learning to be the best mommy to my baby and I know there is so much fun and discoveries on the road ahead and I look forward to unraveling them with my gorgeous one…Happy 1st Birthday again my little cup cake…you made mommy so proud...mommy loves you so so much …muaaahhsssss!

Happy 1st Birthday Mya Ku Sayang

2008-08-17T22:25:00.005+01:00

Wow....it has been a year. Mommy so so very proud of you Mya!

You are simply my world and my joy. Happy 1st Birthday my darling....muahhhhh!!!

Ps.I wanted to write more but am so bloddy knackered..

My darling...

2008-08-12T12:22:00.001+01:00

Shibden Park, Halifax

Copycat

2008-08-09T00:56:00.000+01:00

She likes to hold her daddy’s hand phone and put it around her ear pretending to speak to somebody on the other side.

Her usu once callout ‘Aaapak…..!’ and then she said exactly the same word with the right intonation.

Now that she can walk on her own she likes to follow me around the house and babbling gibberish.

She likes to read and when ever she sees her book lying around, she would pick it up, hand it to me and demand me to read it for her. Sometime she pretends to read them out loud.

She now sleeps in between me and her daddy and sometimes in the morning when she first wakes up before anyone else she would give us both a kiss in the hope that it would wake us up. So charming…

When we ask “sai good girl sai?” which means who is the good girl? She would put her hands up and shout ‘ yaa yaaaa…!”...

She is now officially a copycat. She can be so entertaining sometime and it is such a good fun watching her…

Wonderful..annoying

2008-08-08T18:01:00.000+01:00

Somebody 'wonderful' sneakily managed to get into my blogspot account and cheekily changed my layout and profile...it is slightly 'annoying' but I guess this is what I have to live with for the rest of my life...*sigh*.

I so love you!

2008-08-03T15:21:00.003+01:00

These photos were actually when she was 10 months plus. I just simply like them.

She now has her own dancing move, am hoping to be able to capture it in video soon..

Excited

2008-07-31T19:44:00.002+01:00

11 months +

with daddy

It is just amazing watching her growing up right in front of my eyes….from a little helpless crying bundle to an active joyful tot she is today.
Soon she will be one year old and I am now making plan to mark her 1st birthday. Nothing lavish of any sort but just a simple party would be fine. With now being summer a simple do at the park would be great but thinking about it outdoor venue might not be very practical unless we have proper tent and seatings for other kids. I guess our house would be the obvious choice the only hindrance is its small and limited space. Hmmm like I say, I am now making plan of this little project….what to cook, what cake to bake or rather to experiment as this mommy is not that good in kitchen department. Only two weeks to go and I couldn’t help feeling excited……

Update, not really.

2008-07-23T18:40:00.003+01:00

I have always been terribly terrible at sticking with things that I do, this blog for example. I have a million and one things to blog about but somehow I just could not find the time to materialize them. The truth is…I’m not good with words, I hate writing up and always I ended up hating what I wrote. But I do need to keep this blog alive because I would love to keep records, progresses and moments of my darling Mya as she grows up as well as recording this new phase of my life as a mommy. It would be good to be able to look back in many years to come and to see what kind of journey it has been.

My baby is now 11 months plus and she is such a lovely happy baby. She never fails to smile whenever she sees me back from work. She likes to sing her baby song ‘nananaa nana papaaaa taaa’ and sometimes she sings herself to sleep. She has not make a full use of her legs yet though she has now started to take few small steps aided by the sofas, furniture and anything in between cruising around our living room and sometime moving straight to our dining lounge assisted by the walls.

I found myself missing her so so so much during the day when I’m at works. And by 5pm sharp I would be dashing straight home and to see her beaming smile would just take all the tiredness away.

And I am now moving slowly to becoming a size 12/14 from an 8/small 10. My protruding tummy and my already huge shapeless butt are making me feeling disgusted with myself and I rarely enjoy what I see in the mirror these days. Disgusted because all my tops are tight and this is making me feeling so uncomfortable and body conscious all the time. And NO it was not the post baby bulge but thanks to my unscrupulous eating habit since I started work (and since I have my sister in-law around as she is such a great cook!). I must write more about this body issue next time…

Mommy's precious gem

2008-05-26T23:36:00.006+01:00

Gorgeous little gem! At 8 1/2 month..showing off her teeth.

If I can't have you

2008-05-25T15:52:00.003+01:00

..during the day, I must have you during the night.

That is what I think in her mind-set is.

She is no longer following her usual routine. In fact she now has her own new bed time routine for the past 1 month or so...she must have somebody next to her, sleeping together with her otherwise she would wake up and cry. She would not sleep in her own cot, as soon as she was put inside right after she doze off she would wake up again and start crying, standing right up and looking for her mommy. She would not want anybody else to comfort her....degil nih..

Its gonna be tough to break this habit....*sigh*...

On my feet...

2008-04-26T11:00:00.003+01:00

Major 8 month milestone..well done my love!

Mapun gan ka'au Mya...?

2008-04-24T23:54:00.003+01:00

Mya with her 'bayut' given by her puidoh...all the way from Miri...TQ puidoh.

Back to work

2008-04-09T23:31:00.008+01:00

Been back to work since the last four weeks and I am loving it. Loving the buzz....Though it breaks my heart leaving Mya behind but in reality this mommy needs to work and earn a living. At least I know she's in a safe group of hands with her mak ayang, her pak ayang and her usu.

It was hard for the first few days plus the fact that she was full of cold and fever but again I have no other feasible choice. She is all well now apart from slight cough but nothing to worry about according to the GP.

And she is just getting more adorable each day...aaahh....my sweet sweetie pie.

Mommy, look i can sit longer now..

2008-03-15T23:16:00.002Z

Yeahhh..i now know how to balance myself on my bump for more than 10 seconds...

Bad bad mommy

2008-03-09T22:05:00.001Z

She was right under my nose.

I was getting her ready for her bath, laid her down on the bed whilst trying to find her pjs. Then in a split second I heard like something dropped. And my heart stopped. In that split second I was wishing O God please don't let it be what I think it was.

And there she was, facing the floor and at that moment I felt my life was being swept away. Hysterically I picked her up, she was so floppy and helpless and started to cry slowly as she was catching her breath. She must be in a horrid shock herself. We were both crying but I think her mommy cried louder.

Then later I checked for any bumps, bruises etc...thank God there's none.

That night I was feeling so guilty as hell and I cuddled her to sleep.

And yes lesson learnt...next time always always put her in her cot.

You make me smile

2008-03-05T20:40:00.009Z

Everything she does brings a smile to my face.

She rolls over all over the place..she also babbles a lot and it just sound so cute it makes me smile. She also likes to blow bubbles now which proves to be quite tricky when it comes to feeeding time. Everything she touches will go directly to her mouth or vice versa and this includes her bouncer chair.

She always likes to hold the remote controls, I always wonder...Out of all her colourful interesting toys that are in front of her she will always reach out for that black dull rectangular thing we all call remote control. Mentang2x she has already taking charge of her mommy & daddy's life so that includes tv pon dia nak conquer..

Oo the pictures below were taken during her afternoon nap one day. This was after her rolling over session measuring the tiny size of our living room, she must have felt very tired after that she dozed off in the middle of it all by herself which has never happened before. Even this simple action made me smile all day that day..

..i just need my beauty sleep...

I've got my eyes on you

2008-03-04T17:31:00.004Z

Always been a fan of mary jane...with the neat shaped heel and padded leather insock, these should be practically comfy. Plus I am so into red these days.

My previous two with Jones have always been gratifying and I wore them until their last breath.

My excuse this time will be... a much needed gem as I will be returning to work soon...confidence boost maybe.

Will be contemplating though.

Still have not bought the other much needed item..my baby's high chair...hehe.

Ebay Song

2008-03-03T13:51:00.006Z

Being a mildly avid ebayer myself, I just found this is hilariously funny...

A week long!

2008-03-01T23:48:00.003Z

She stored it after a week! Mommy & daddy started to get really worried that she had not 'berak' and this morning she finally let it all out with vengeance..haha.

She has now started to eat purified baby rice for the past 2 weeks and her young tiny intestine is still trying to get used to the nutrients from solid foods so I guess that must be the reason.

Get a Life

2008-02-28T17:48:00.006Z

A friend forwarded this in email to me. I thought I put it here because I think it is simply a beautiful advice..

>> This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD. Worth reading !!

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't Ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul. People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good. Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre at my job if those other things were not true. You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today:

Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter.

Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough. It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived". <<

Earthquake rocks Leeds

2008-02-27T15:05:00.011Z

I was already fast asleep but was woken up by 'it' and remember feeling strange and bewildered for few seconds, then went back straight to sleep thinking it was just a strong wind. Only later that morning we found out it was actually an earthquake.

I lust after thee...

2008-02-24T23:27:00.005Z

Prada Antic from 2006 Collection.

Two years on and out of all the 'only fame can afford' IT bags out there, this one still remains as my lust-worthy bag.

One can only dream....*sigh*.

Alan's Retirement Do

2008-02-24T16:50:00.004Z

Alan was the company technical director and has been with the company 30 odd years. Last Friday was his retirement do. He interviewed me together with Graham few years ago and I just have the utmost respect for him.

Didn't get the chance to capture everybody including myself (menyesal pulakk..shoot..) but here are some photos.

Graham giving his speech.

Alan with his retirement gift.

Alan giving his speech.

James, Sam & his wife.

Not a very clear picture but nevermind.

Pete, Alan & John.

Catherine, Julie & her husband.

Graham & Gavin.

Danny & James.

6 months on...

2008-02-20T14:18:00.027Z

Wow..my baby is now 6 months old, time really really flies. Six months ago, there I was fighting days and nights with my contraction (almost 3 days) prior to giving birth. Now that I have gone through that amazing experience in my life (and most probably will go through it again..oopss I guess I drop a hint there..but not too soon I hope) I have to say that the actual moment of giving birth itself is not that bad compared to that 3 miserable days. It is strange now six months on, eventhough it was as painfull as hell as I was not given any epidural or anesthetic, I don't really remember what the exact pain like or relate to apart from the post birth moment when I was being stitched up by the doctor where it felt like somebody is piercing you through and sewing you with an old sewing machine and I could still hear its gritty sound. But that 3 days, I tell you was the worst pain I have ever gone through, and memorable perhaps because I can always relate it to a period pain only 1000% worse.

Anyway, that was 6 months ago and now look at my beautiful bundle of joy. Despite all the challenging moments being a first time mommy with all the sleep deprivation plus don't know what to expect as well as being far from my own mommy which of course would have been very handy in times of panic baby moment..speaking of panic moment I remember when Mya was only 1 day old and we were still at the hospital. I was breastfeeding her and suddenly she puked with a yellowish discharge came out from her tiny mouth. That scared the shit out of me...later the midwife explained that the discharge was actually a mucus that she swallowed when she was still inside my tummy and she must have swallowed it when making her way out during birth. The more she vomitted the better according to the midwife so that the mucus can be flushed out of her system. I was so relieved. I could go on and on and on about more panic moments but I think I better blog about them later as my intention today is to post some of Mya's photos to mark her 6 months old. Oh yeah despite all these challenging moments I would not want it any other way.

She is my world now and I know I will always love her. Having her makes my life more meaningful than just handbags and shoessss.....hehe...She makes me smile every day and she never fails to give her mommy and daddy a big fat cheeky sweet smile whenever she was greeted every morning. She is so super duper cute and she simply makes her mommy's & daddy's life more colourful. Now lets see her pics and see how much she has grown...

1 day old..17th August 2007.. a princess was born.

1 week old..she was so tiny.

2 weeks old..getting ready for her very first bath...look at her arms, she still has her vernix caseosa, a white coating which protects her skin from the constant exposure to amniotic fluid while in the womb.

Still on first bath..

3 weeks old...sleeping in her moses basket..

Another pose at 3 weeks..tried to pull a funny face eh..

1 month old..in her cosy car seat.

6 weeks old...next to arnie..

7 weeks old..she was a baldy...this was after her daddy shaved her head..

9 weeks old...botak girl eh...

9 weeks plus... mommy loves this smiley face..

10 weeks old..was that your dance move?

Another shot at 10 weeks..hehe mommy loves this face..mulut ngaga..wonder ikut sape?..

15 weeks old...just the cutest indeed..

17 weeks old..with daddy at the clinic on her third primary immunisation.

3 months old..oh happy face.

4 months plus..during last Christmas party..Mya fell asleep while waiting for guests to arrive....tidur pun frowning eh..

4 months pluss....seriusnye amoi ni..

5 months old...look at that chubby cheeks..

5 months plus....playing with her daddy.

And this is her today taken this morning, 6 months on..

6 months old....muahhhsss my little darling!!!!!.

Mommy & daddy love you so muchhhhh...

Happy Birthday My Love

2008-02-18T16:59:00.005Z

Love you dear. Thank you for taking the day off work to spend this special day with both Mya and me. I truly wish may all your dreams come true ;). Happy Birthday...muahssss.

Beautiful Within

2008-02-16T21:33:00.007Z

I don't normally buy a self-help book simply because I don't believe in one. I don't even know lots about Mica apart from she used to present a BBC show not so long ago but hey I'll give it a try.

Let's see if I get inspired...

Valentine's surprise

2008-02-14T20:02:00.006Z

Hehe..you are so annoyingly cheeky..Ween, thanks for the lovely surprise gift. I love it. Do it more often okay..;)

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T00:12:00.004Z

Happy Valentine's Day Ween

She's on a high chair...

2008-02-13T11:32:00.000Z

Almost there Mya..another thing to add on mommy's shopping list.

Yes..now I can join mommy and daddy for my meal.

Power napping

2008-02-13T01:04:00.000Z

Last saturday at Roundhay Park...

Like father, like daughter...hehe..

Love you two...muahhsss!...

Saturday at Roundhay park

2008-02-10T20:28:00.000Z

Woke up to a cold but glorious morning on Saturday. For a change, Ween and I decided to go for a walk at the park, together with our little darling Mya of course. The sun came out and it was sunny all day long, still a bit cold but it was much better compared to last week where it was all rainy and gloomy. We went out around 8am and back at home around 5pm that day. I almost didn't believe it was that long. We walked round the lake and that probaby took us 2 hours, not that the lake took that long to walk round but because we stopped here and there for photos taking. Mya and Ween even had the time for a short nap on the bench. Then we had an 'all day breakfast' for brunch at a local cafe and we stopped by at a golf shop. Aaa and at the cafe Mya had her first sit on a high chair , she still cannot fully support herself yet so I put my scarf around her and tied it to the high chair. Judging from the photos (hopefully to be added later), she seems to enjoy her first sit. And she is such a poser as well..look how well she posed when her daddy took her pics. Daddy we should do this more often okay?

Mya posed 'jual mahal' for daddy

Ahhh my little darling...

Cutie pie..

Another attempt.

2008-02-07T23:14:00.000Z

Okay..this is another attempt. Hopefully it will last longer than the last one. Hehe..