Give and Take

When I was China, I lost 8 precious days to be with my little boy. I miss him terribly. I miss his voice, his laughter, his hug and his cheeky face. It was a hard time trying not to think so much about him. It was even harder trying not to think what are the bad things that could happen to him. Will he fall sick? Will he climb out of the cot when hubby is in the shower? etc. etc. I called hubby a few times and the first thing I always asked was ‘How is Ethan?’ He assured me that everything was fine. Somehow, I did not ask him ‘How are you’? I just assume that he was ok because Ethan was ok. What a terrible wife I am.

A week after I returned home, I slowly realise that I actually gained something out of the trip. Something I think I will not get without this trip. I realise that hubby can actually take very good care of Ethan. Now, he can even tell me what to do and what not to do and what Ethan prefers. I felt very proud when he did that, seriously. Before this, I’m always the one who was telling him those things. Sometimes, I felt like I talked too much but at the same time I also thought that if I don’t tell him that, he will never know. I always think that he didn’t put much attention or thought on Ethan and that upsets me very often. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was the one who always wanted to take charge of everything. Now, for the very first time, I felt like some of my burden was lifted away. I felt more relaxed because I know that I can rely on hubby when it comes to Ethan. I’ve learnt to let go and be less rigid about things. Maybe he has his own ways of showing his care and love.

Love you guys!

What I Did in Dalian & Beijing

Apart from work, of course. What do you think? SHOPPING? To tell you the truth, I did not do much shopping there. First of all, they told me to bargain hard. You must first reduce the price by 70%! If it doesn’t work, then slowly increase the price. Wah! It’s crazy. I’m scared that I will be scolded if I ever reduce the price that much. Second reason was that I’m not into imitation stuff. No offence. It’s one of the few principles that I hold on to. It’s just like why some people choose to be a vegetarian. For me, I prefer to buy unbranded but good quality stuff rather than imitation. So what if I don’t have a LV bag.

I actually went to two cities in China - Dalian and Beijing. Dalian is famous for its seafood and I enjoyed it very much. They’re cheap and big! Look at the photos below. We had seafood almost everyday. In Beijing, we went for the famous roasted duck. It was really yummy-licious. Then, on the second night, we had lamb in a Mongolian restaurant. The lamb was so tender. Being a meat lover….ahemmmm…sorry to the vegetarian readers….I wallop the lamb like there’s no tomorrow. The next day (Saturday), I had sore throat and headache. On the flight home, I got flu and spread it to hubby and Ethan.

See the Giant Cockle? Don't know the taste, never order.

I ate the sea urchin, raw! with wasabi. Taste good.

Don't know what's the name. Tasted like intestine. Scroll down to see it when it's alive!

It's moving!

Another giant shellfish. Look at the size of the toothpick. It's yummy!

So, on Saturday I went to one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Great Wall! That place is really amazing and I’m really amused by it. I’m sure those who have been there are fascinated by it too. The tour guide said that it’s also known as the longest cemetery in the world because beneath every 100m (not sure if I got this right) of the Wall, there are 300 bodies buried there. Technically, we are walking on top of a cemetery! I don’t know how many people died building the wall. Anyway, we departed the hotel in the city at 8 a.m. and reached the Great Wall before 10 a.m. and it’s already SWARMED by human being. Me and my colleague chose the steeper side to climb because it was less crowded. But I only managed to climb up 1 station. My colleague went up 7-8 stations and got herself a certificate. They gave it to you, at RMB 15, when you climbed up to certain level. Some who went the other side of the Wall also got a certificate at RMB25. I’m afraid of height and looking at the steep slope that I have to climb down later, I just cannot go up anymore. Plus the headache I was having, it was a big NO NO!

I also went to the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City. Those places are HUGE and were also SWARMING with tourists from all over the world, but mostly locals. And to walk under the sun in such a huge place in the summer with a headache is no fun. Nevertheless, I took photographs lar. I was told that there are about 30,000 – 40,000 tourists visiting the Forbidden City EVERYDAY! An entrance ticket will cost you RMB60. Now, imagine how much income they make.

Look at the people! Yes, those tiny dots are human being

Oh yeah! Another thing I did there was foot massage. Nice and cheap. It costs me RMB40 per 1-hour session in Dalian and RMB69 in Beijing. They can even tell what's wrong with you by just pressing your feet. Amazing! I also went for manicure in Dalian. It costs only RMB35. (Exchange rate was around RMB1 = RM0.46)

They put herbs in the warm water to soak the legs before massage. Very relaxing.

Everything Is Fine

I'm back and everything is fine. Phew! Most importantly, Ethan is ok and he behaved very well. The plane landed around 11pm last night and when I went to the taxi counter to buy ticket, the girl told me that there was a long queue and we need to wait for about 20 minutes. True enough, the queue stretched from Gate 3 to Gate 2! What a sight. And someone actually took photograph of the queue. I've waited for almost 30 minutes and by the time I reached home, it's already past midnight. After putting down my luggage, I quickly went to the room and kissed both of them. I really missed them. Ethan was asleep but hubby was still awake. We chatted for a while and Ethan woke up. I talked to him but he was blur. Then, I held out my hand and he quickly leaned towards me. Oh boy, that was something I miss very very much.

Hubby passed the baton to me and asked me to coax Ethan back to sleep. So, I slept with Ethan but he had difficulties going back to sleep. Tossed and turned, tossed and turned. Gave him another round of milk but still he cannot sleep. Finally, he climbed up the bed and looked for his daddy! He wanted his daddy to sleep with him! So, we slept together for a while. I think Ethan fell asleep at around 1.30 a.m. After that, hubby went back to his bed and I continued to sleep with Ethan. He did not slept well and made noise through out the night. Hubby said he was not like this and slept very well the whole week when I was not around. Hmmmm....Was he confused that why suddenly his mummy appeared in the middle of the night? Or he wanted his daddy to sleep with him?

This morning, when he woke up (around 7.30 a.m.), he was a little grumpy. Maybe not enough sleep. And I sensed that he kept looking for his daddy and wanted his daddy to carry him. I was a little sad of course but I'm sure things will go back to normal soon. I hope I don't have to be away from Ethan for so long again. And yeah, I'm working today and feel very sleepy the whole day. I have not unpacked and all the things are still in the bags. I guess I need a few days to clear it.

Nen Nen

1 year & 2 weeks old.....

Ethan can say the word ‘NEN NEN’ (milk) now. That day when I asked him ‘You want NEN NEN?’ He said ‘NEN NEN! NEN NEN!’. Wah! I was very happy when he said that, thinking that he knows how to ask for milk already. So, I quickly prepared milk for him. Dang! He didn’t want milk lar. He was actually not happy with I can’t remember what and wanted to play instead. Now, when we strapped him in the car seat, he will also say ‘NEN NEN! NEN NEN!’. He’s not happy in the car seat and wanted to come out. Of all the words, why is he using the word ‘NEN NEN’ to express dissatisfaction lar. We always use the word for milk what. Really cannot understand.

NEN NEN! NEN NEN!

Dizzy

I'm dizzy with my works at the moment. Luckily Ethan has been good except for the fever on Friday, which lasted until Sunday. It was from the MMR jab he took the previous Friday. The paed already warned us that the fever will come a week after the jab. Really! It came 'ngam ngam' one week after that. He did not cry a bit during the jab nor when the fever attacked. He took porridge like normal but refused milk especially during day time. I think, of all the 3 times I made milk for him, he took only 5oz. altogether. I've made him 6oz. each time. Should have reduced that.

We went for 'dim sum' on Saturday morning with my family and then left Ethan under my mum's care while I went to MidValley with hubby. Crazy, I tell you. We left my mum's place around 10.30a.m. and reached there at 11a.m. and the parking was already full. We made a few rounds before getting one. I swear I don't want to go there after 12p.m. My mum fed Ethan's porridge. He took 2 bowls but vomited almost everything after that. He was coughing lately and with phlegm too. He slept from 12.45p.m. until 3.00p.m., when we just reached my mum's place. Ok lar, at least my mum will not be too exhausted.

I got a pair of shoes and 2 pairs of trousers. I will be travelling to China for work this Sunday until the next Sunday. My walking shoes (I need to walk a lot during the trip) and the trousers are pretty worn out and not presentable. So 'pai sieh' lar if I were to wear them on an official trip. The first reaction my youngest sis gave me when she saw the shoe was 'yiaaikkkkkk!'...meaning ugly lar. I kind of agree lar but still have to defend my decision mar. I have problems with my legs now that I cannot wear high heels. It just hurt too much. So, I opt for a comfy pair lar. As usual, comfort does not normally come with style and at cheap price. Even my hubby said the shoes look very 'aunty'. He's the one who's very 'chin chai' with style one. Normally I'm the one who always tease him for bad style. Sigh....

I've been worrying about leaving Ethan under hubby's care for 8 full days. I don't how he's going to manage it without anyone's help. PIL are tied down with other things. My mum is taking care of my sister's baby. I asked him few times 'can you cope?'. He said 'cannnnn'. Seriously, I don't know how. I just pray that Ethan will behave and healthy during this period.

Going back to work, preparations for the trip are pretty settled. So, it's not much of a problem. BUT! I have a seminar coming up on the first Thursday after I come back from China. I have to complete a report before I leave and my boss just asked me to draft a speech for the Dep. Minister, who will be officiating the seminar. Die lar....I have to complete the 2 things I hate the most in a week time. Hiakkkk!