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Category Archives: Family moments
My growing journey
After Isabel was born and the two mothers came together to help, I felt “too helped” and I tried to fight for my own independence. I wanted to “grow up” and “manage” my own household and family. I guess in my quest to learn the hard way, I have pushed my family members away. It is not a bad thing because B and I grew closer to each other in wanting to make this family thing work. I believe this is what maturity is all about. We take responsibility for our lives and our family’s. Although I sometimes wish I have the luxury of family support when I need them the most, I realized I have been stretched to do this and I can do this. Oh God, continue to anoint my head, my heart and my hands to be a Godly mommy to my children.
I need to slow down and smell flowers
Since we got back from Penang last Monday, it was back to routine at full force! There was so much work to do every single day at work and during the weekend, it was church and we brought Izzie to a homeopathy doctor. She was coughing again and had a bit of breathing sounds so we decided to try this alternative, natural medicine instead of always bringing her to the usual PD and getting antibiotics prescribed every other month. Turns out that Izzie enjoys eating the medicine given by homeopathy doctor. Heh. We went to my parents’ for dinner last night.
I felt so tight for time, let alone have any me time. I worked for half a day today and then met B and Izzie at Suntect for lunch. We had to bring Izzie to KKH for follow up appt with the heart surgeons this afternoon. It went well and she was given an appt next year after CNY. B brought Izzie home after the appt and I went for facial. While waiting, I went to OCBC bank to close a savings account and apply for a new atm card for my 360 account. I felt good that I finally tidied up my bank accounts. Previously, I had 4 accounts. Now I only have 2. PTL.
After facial, and on the way home, I did grocery shopping. It was so hard to look for corn at FP. Two FPs didn’t have corn so I tried Sheng Siong Supermarket and I was extremely glad to see cornsss. You would have seen me beaming brightly if you were there at Sheng Siong just now. Hehehe.
After dinner, and after I bathed Izzie, I cooked a pot of soup. I needed to stock up Izzie’s stash of soup in the freezer. It was incredibly sweet. I am satisfied with all I did today. Thankful for supportive B who took great care of Izzie while I ran some errands, went for personal grooming and did chores. : )
Refuel Cafe
We had a great time in this cosy little cafe near home. The food is decent too. Looks like we’ll b back for more. 🙂
Tonight we opened #kitchen931. We went grocery shopping after lunch. On the menu was cabbage pork rib soup, steamed fish and stir fry spinach. As I was cooking the soup, I realized that there was already a lot of vege so I asked B not to cook the spinach. Instead he fried minced pork with kecap manis.
Tada our dinner tonight.
Unfortunately and for the first time, I saw Izzie reject vege. She didn’t like the cabbage. She rejected the rice as well. So her carbo came from the corn and she likes the pork and soup and fish very much. In fact, she drank almost double of her usual soup portion. Yippie to me because it is the first time I cook cabbage soup.
Tonight I felt like this is family. Home cooked dinner all on our own for us at home. I am looking forward to cooking more with B.
Staycation at Resorts World Sentosa – Festive Hotel
I made a booking at RWS – Festive Hotel via agoda on 12 Oct 14 at 50% discount. In total, I paid $235 for a Deluxe Room.
Motivations:
1. I consumed most of my leave this year for CNY trip back to Penang and childcare leave.
2. Soo Chee and I didn’t budget for any vacation this year.
We just wanted the idea of “getting away” on a budget and so we decided on a staycation.
The check-in was at 3pm on 12 Oct 14. We arrived at 430pm as we wanted Izzie to have her afternoon nap first so we could avoid fussiness and crankiness of the little one due to the lack of sleep. The entry fee to Sentosa was waived when we showed our hotel voucher. The check-in queue was rather long and we waited for about 30 mins to get to the counter. Praise God, we got a free upgrade to Deluxe Family King room. This room comes with a king-sized bed, sofa bed, and a loft bed for a child.
We had an enjoyable stay at Festive Hotel. The room is cosy for a family with young children. We had a relaxing time dining and walking around RWS.
I shall end my short post and let photos do the talking…
Izzie had fun climbing up and down and up and down the stairs! It’s her “playground”. 😛
The TV screen home page has my name printed there. It is a personal thing to do. 🙂
Oh look! Kid’s size indoor slippers for Izzie! Nice!
A little balcony for a little breather. Spot the cable car!
February reflections
I was down for close to 3 days last week. I had fever and ulcers in my throat, just one step away from being diagnosed as HFMD (coz there were no spots on my hand and feet). I had 38-39 degree fever for two days. I was so sick that I had to keep sleeping. Eating was excruciating because of the ulcers. I wasn’t used to it because I haven’t been sick for so long. Something I told myself since I had Izzie: I cannot be sick because I have to take care of her. I think it has kept me well for 18 months. 🙂 Powerful self-talk, me thinks. In fact, this is the first time I took Medical Leave with MC since I became a church staff.
Last week started with Izzie having fever on Monday . The baby doctor advised us to keep her home for a week. With my mom’s help in the mornings, I took half days (afternoon) off to take care of Izzie at home. By Wednesday, the virus hit me. My hubby took over…and by Sunday, he too was down with fever. Previously, he had throat infection when we came back from CNY celebrations in Penang. It was just a terrible week for the entire family. But I was glad I had my hubby’s & mom’s help. By the grace of God, we are all well now. Praise God!
Somehow it makes me happy that my girl gets excited about nature
It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
February was a stretching month for me and the family in terms of finances, health and relationships. Personally for me in my marriage, I hit the crossroads. I realised the love we used to share died. Reality hits. My ball game isn’t just two people staying married. It’s a household with commitment to do housework and raising a child. It is not like drama drama sob sob story… I just came to this questioning: What do I do when love dies in a marriage or in the family? What if I don’t have to strength to do this anymore? My weekday starts at 6.30am and it may not always end at 2am. Sometimes, later.
As I began to align my thoughts with God and His Word, I began to embrace “That being in love is not an adequate foundation for building a successful marriage…. That commitment is the foundation of a marriage and commitment means allowing myself to be unhappy for a while until we work things out. I began to pray and I told myself…I have to learn to love again and the strength to love again comes from God. I can’t say we are the model couple/family. But I’m glad that today I am able to sing:
“I’m so happy, so very happy, I have the love of Jesus in my heart.”
And this week, I begin to read this book: Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman. I’m so blessed to find out that what we are going through is normal: we are transitioning to the next stage of romantic love. From euphoria (effortless, delight) to this 2nd stage which requires work in order to keep the emotional love alive. This stage involves the intentional work of demonstrating love through the 5 love languages.
Take the love languages quiz @ 5lovelanguages.com
Goodbye 2013
As 2013 is coming to an end, I asked myself what do I wanna thank God for this year and what have I achieved this year?
I wanna thank God for His goodness and faithfulness in my life. Not in order of importance, I type as it comes to mind. Somehow pregnancy has its effect on my memory.
1. I got to know and work with finance department better. It was a hurdle for me last year and I had a major breakthrough this year. In terms of work management, I did much better this year compared to 2012. I felt I was emotionally stronger in that I didn’t allow my personal issues affect my work performance.
2. Baby’s health was a major concern and stressor earlier this year. I struggled with quitting my job and wanting to look after Izzie by myself so many times. I learnt to trust in God and became stronger. As a family, we grew closer. I wanna thank God for His protection, His healing and a successful open heart surgery.
3. I have never cooked anything other than instant noodles for myself. This year I learnt to cook for Izzie. From puree, I progressed to cooking soups for her. Feeding her solids was a trying task. I am glad she is finally able to accept Chinese cuisine. Hur hur.
4. I thank God that I got over post natal blues and learnt to cope as a mommy with a young baby. I am comfortable taking care of Izzie on my own especially during peak periods when my hubby has weird working hours. Although it was tough, I thank God for His grace which is more than sufficient every time.
5. I thank God for my family. I do not need to speak of my unmet needs. Somehow both my parents and parents-in-law are able to fill in the gap. What have I done to deserve this love?
6. I thank God for a group of close friends whom I feel safe to share my feelings with. Their words of encouragement have lifted me whenever I was down.
7. I thank God for many caring colleagues who prayed with us especially during the surgery period. I couldn’t thank them enough especially those whom I have little interaction with…I was touched when they came to visit or dropped me a message to say they are praying.
8. I thank God for AWESOME. I have killed her with my mushiness…but because she did not allow me to wallow in self-pity and helplessness, I became stronger, more positive and resourceful. She has helped me a great deal in making me a better me. Thank you AWESOME.
9. I switched over to Samsung phone after using the iphone for 3 years. I did not pass my phone to Soo Chee or Pei Pei to customize. I learnt to do it for myself. I learnt to solve issues on my own. For that I am very proud of myself. #menotageek
10. I thank God for my hubby. I hadn’t made things all easy for him. I am usually alright handling things on my own. But I am overwhelmed, I manifest it all out on him and he was gracious enough to embrace the totality of me. He tries his best to provide for this family and to play his part in making this family work. He cooks a lot more this year and I am super grateful to fantastic hubby-cooked meals.
I posted this exactly one year ago and it still speaks to me now.
Marriage is a commitment. It’s success doesn’t depend on feelings, circumstances, or moods – but on two people who are loyal to each other and the vows they took on their wedding day…
Marriage is hard work. It means chores, disagreements, misunderstandings, and times when you might not like each other very much. But when you work at it together, it can be the greatest blessing in the world.
It’s a relationship where two people must listen, compromise, and respect…and a union in which two people learn from mistakes, and willingly adjust behaviors that need to be changed….
Marriage means talking things out, making necessary changes, and forgiving each other. It’s unconditional love at its most understanding and vulnerable – determined to triumph over every challenge and adversity.
Marriage is a partnership of two unique people who bring out the very best in each other and who know that even though they are wonderful as individuals…they are even better together.
~ Barbara Cage
We are leaving for HK in 3 hours’ time and I am so looking forward to a great time. 2013 has been wonderful and I’m hoping for a more glorious 2014. Happy new year everyone!
Day 5: Homecoming
I got a call from the nurse at CSDU at 9am this morning. She said doctors have cleared for Izzie for go home! Hallelujah!!!
When we saw Izzie, she was in the arms of a nurse. Obviously she has been crying for someone to carry her. Awww. The nurse told us that they have removed her dressing, cleaned her and fed her. We could change her out of her hospital clothes to home clothes. Whoopee! We waited for the pharmacist to come with the medication (which is just paracetamol). Then the nurse gave us the discharge summary, health booklet, follow up appointment letters and feedback form. And off we go!!! Izzie’s ah ma & ah gong (my in laws) greeted her at the lounge and together, we made our way home. Praise the Lord for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Izzie is a champ and I am so proud of her.
My parents came over to see her as well. What a warm welcome home for Izzie. 😛
Izzie is a reminder of the goodness of God!
Day 4
Day 2 post op
When we arrived at KKH CSDU this morning, the nurse told us that they offed the morphine. Izzie was being fed more milk today. The nurse made 95ml of milk for Izzie this morning instead of the pathetic 20ml yesterday. Izzie finished 50ml of milk.
I fed Izzie cereal for lunch. She only took 3 spoonfuls. Urine catheter, central venous line and feeding tube were taken off by 130pm, leaving just a standard IV plug in her left wrist. Docs are happy with her progress and they are planning to discharge Izzie by tomorrow. Praise the Lord! I got to carry Izzie in my arms again!!! What a joy! We couldn’t cuddle her since Wednesday because there were too many lines on her.
Izzie finished 95ml of milk at 430pm, at 8pm and at 1030pm. Hooray, champ!
Izzie first turned to her side towards the later part of the afternoon, then she tried tummy time, progressed to sit up and finally decided to stand up. It was as if she was testing her limits. Such a wise baby I think. 🙂
Aunty Shirley and Aunty Lee Lee came by during lunch and prayed for Izzie. Joanna and Jeremiah came during dinner. I am just super thankful for the church family. We are indeed surrounded by prayers and love!
I have been meditating on God’s address: He lives in my heart. Looking forward to Izzie coming home tomorrow. Yeah!