A Dream in Ukraine

16 months & 6 days old.....

I’ve been hesitating in posting this because it’s cruel. So cruel that it’s difficult to put in words. Difficult because it’s scary and it’s still clear in my mind. I think I better get this off my mind to somewhere else and the blog is the best place I can think of.

It’s a dream. A dream that woke me up 10,000km away from home, scared, lonely and home sick. On that stupid Thursday, I had a dream. I dreamt that I had reached home (even though the place was somewhere I’ve never been to and it felt like I was in the 1960s) and wanted to see Ethan desperately. I knew that day, Ethan was supposed to be with my mum because he’s there every Thursday and Friday. My mum told me he’s under the care of some distant- relative, of whom I know, because she's not well. So, I went there immediately, cycling. My mum and sis followed me, cycling as well. (What a $%^&*@# crazy dream!)

Then, once I reached there, I called out this distant-relative’s name and she appeared from the balcony on the first floor of a shop-house. I ran up the stairs carrying the bicycle on my shoulder. (It’s getting crazier now!) She opened the door and I saw Ethan crawling on the floor. I felt strange. Why is Ethan crawling since he likes to walk now? I grabbed him and hugged him and THEN, I SAW HIS EYES! Why were his eyes looked so weird, so small and half opened??? Suddenly, I realised…..(THIS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART FOR ME TO SAY AND MADE ME THINK MANY MANY TIMES BEFORE POSTING THIS STUPID & CRAZY DREAM)…….he’s BLIND. I cried and cried and cried….so badly that I woke up from my dream (Now you know why I had to swear at this $%^&*@# crazy dream). That kind of feeling was extremely terrible. It’s even worse when I realised that I had to stay a few more nights before I’m home and hugging my little one again. I thought of him every single day and that dream made it worse. Maybe it's telling me that Ethan was not ok.

After settling down for a few minutes, I sms my sis again. It’s 3am there and 8am in Malaysia. I told her that I dreamt of Ethan and cannot go back to sleep and asked her how was Ethan. She said Ethan had fever the day before but had recovered. I felt relief but sad. Relief that he’s ok but sad because I can’t be with him.

Actually the fever came back on Friday and Ethan vomitted and had diarrhoea too. His temperature shot up to 39.1C on Friday. I think it’s the highest ever recorded. My sis gave him a supp and hubby brought him to the paed. that night. After medication, Ethan had fully recovered by Saturday.

When I reached home on Monday evening (not Sunday as I thought, well, that’s another story), hubby and Ethan were in the room ready for bed. When I opened the door and switched on the light, Ethan immediately stood up and walked towards me and he gave me the SWEETEST SMILE and WARMEST HUG………

PPP: Aluminum Cabinets

This is a sponsored post.

When I think about aluminum cabinets, I always imagine a typical kitchen of a restaurant. All cabinets in the same steel-colour scheme. I never thought that aluminum cabinets come in different colours nowaday and are pretty stylish. I think black would look cool. I wouldn't hesitate to install aluminum cabinets in my kitchen. One thing for sure is it doesn't rot like wood. Plus it also doesn't rust.

Mixed Feelings

Finally, the good news has arrived! A miracle has happened! Something I've been waiting and waiting to hear. I've told the story of my friend, LY's baby earlier this year. Well, I'm happy and glad to know that he has fully recovered from cancer. He will undergo a minor surgery this Friday to remove the tube from his body. I'm really glad that this surgery is finally going to happen. This means that the hospital is very sure that the little boy is well and thus the tube is no longer needed. I'm really happy for my friend and I wish her all the happiness she deserves (though she will not be reading this coz she doesn't know I have a blog let alone talking about her in the blogosphere).

On the other hand, I'm feeling a little down and sad because I have to leave my little precious for a week. No, 8 days to be exact. Sigh.................................

Another official trip. This time is to Ukraine from 15-23 September. I'm not looking forward to it AT ALL! My heart felt so heavy, extremely heavy, to be separated from Ethan for so long. In fact, I told my mum and sis that if this trip is cancelled, I will 'belanja makan' (give them a treat).

But, if I were to tell this to other people especially the people at my office, they will think I'm SHOWING OFF! BLUFFING! NOT APPRECIATIVE! etc. etc. Why? Because majority of them think that it's a BONUS when you get to travel. So, when people say, 'Wah! So good ar, travel again", I will just try to be neutral, neither happy nor sad.

Work is work lar! If I'm asked to travel, I will go. But I never and will not play dirty tricks and politics just to get the opportunity to travel. You'll be surprised if I tell you how far some people will go so that they can travel.

Ok lar, enough ranting. If you want to know how is my mood now, see the photo below, Ethan expressed it so perfectly.

When it Comes to Meal Time

15 months, 2 weeks & 1 day old.....



From the day when Ethan started to take solid, we have been feeding him in the walker until 'NOW'. Sometimes, we will put him in the cot, which has been converted into a play pen. He will play inside the cot while I try my best to aim for his mouth. Another thing is, Ethan is a fussy eater. Food cannot be too cold or too hot, otherwise he will reject it. So, what I normally do is take a big bowl of porridge/rice and leave it on the dining table and scoop a small portion into his feeding bowl. This means I have to refill a few times before Ethan finishes his meal. When Daddy is around to help, his duty is to entertain him and clean him up. If not, mummy will do everything.

Since I'm the one who is always feeding Ethan, I have been thinking on ways to make things easier and better. He cannot be forever having his meal in the walker or cot or worse still, running around, while mummy chase after the little fella with a bowl on one hand and a feather duster on another (if you know what I mean). So, I suggested to daddy that we should get a high chair for Ethan and train him to have proper meals at the dining table. Daddy said it will be a 'WASTE OF MONEY' wor......because Ethan will refuse to sit quietly in the high chair until he finishes his meal. I believe he said this from our many experiences when we eat out.

When we go out, we will put him in the high chair and give him some rice in a bowl and he will help himself with the rice using his two hands. This is just to distract him while mummy quickly feed the little fella. If not, he will stand on the chair and try endlessly to climb out. No doubt, it will be messy but at least it's easier for me to feed him. I also want to teach him that he should finish his meal at the dining table before he is free to go.

Anyway, I will persuade hubby again. The last resort is to use my own money to buy one and prove to him that it's worth the money. Hmm!

P/S: The incident as seen in the photos above happened when hubby fed Ethan

Learning it the Smart Way

This is a sponsored post.

I read the paper this morning and there's an interview with parents on what they expect from the 2008 budget. So, this father is hoping the government to increase the tax deduction for parents with school-going children because he's spending like RM10,000/year on tuition fees for his 2 daughters. My eyes almost pop out looking at the figure. Gosh! That's not inclusive of school fees and pocket money. But, sending children to tuition classes is a very normal thing to do in our country because of our education system. So, I think it's important for us to look for a centre, like Score that can offer innovative tutoring to our children. Better study smart than study hard.

A Patriotic Son

If you see the video below, then you will know how much Ethan loves the Jalur Gemilang. Actually, the video was taken 2 weeks ago. Hubby bought it from the sundry shop and he walloped all the candies inside, leaving the empty flag for Ethan to play. He was so contended playing with the flag for a few days but it has gone missing since then. Now, whenever he sees a Jalur Gemilang, big or small, he will say 'ball'. He thinks it's the same as balloons :-/

Inspirational Blog

If you are bored or down or lost and need some inspirations, go and check out Karl’s blog. The author of this blog is Karl Moore, who is a (good looking) best-selling author and entrepreneur. You can find his daily inspirational messages on his blog. On every Monday and Friday, he will post "Random Act of Kindness" and "Friday Factoid" respectively. I find them informative, inspirational and funny. The blog talks about everything under the son, so it’s suitable for everyone to read.

Tag: One Word/Sentence

It's the second tag of the day. This one came from Judy.

Where is your cell phone? In my bag
Relationship? With whom?
Your hair? Short
Work? Yes, working
Your sister? Which one?
Your favorite thing? Diamond
Your dream last night? Cannot remember
Your favorite drink? Coffee
Your dream car? Never see one in my dream
The room you’re in? I've got no room in the office
Your shoes? What happened to my shoes?
Your fears? Worms & heights
What do you want to be in 10 years? A lady of leisure
Who did you hang out with this weekend? No plan yet
What are you not good at? PR
Muffin? No, thanks
One of your wish list items? Cruise holiday
Where you grew up? KL
Last thing you did? Typing
What are you wearing? Aiyor, so many things
What aren’t you wearing? Lipstick
Your pet? No pets allowed at home
Your computer? Dell
Your life? Good
Your mood? OK
Missing? Holiday
What are you thinking about right now? Quitting my job
Your car? At the parking lot
Your kitchen? Needs a renovation
Your summer? All year round lar.
Your favorite color? Blue
Last time you laughed? This morning
Last time you cried? Last night
School? Left school in 1996
Love? "The first sight of love is the last of wisdom." by Antoine Bret

Tag: Blogging Tips

It's the very first time, this hot mama tagged me. So, to give face it's a must-do tag. Some more, she thought I blocked her at msn wor. Die die also must do lor, to prove that I'm not angry with her :-)

But, if you look at the traffic at my blog also you know it's not a famous blog. So, I don't dare to give tips lar, just something I like very much when reading a blog. So, here goes my homework.

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It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.) Write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general. Tag as many people as you want.

1. Look, read, and learn. http://www.neonscent.com/*
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. http://www.bushmackel.com/*
3. Don’t let money change ya! http://www.therandomforest.info/*
4. Always reply to your comments. http://chattiekat.com/*
5. Blog about what you know & love. http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com/*
6. Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary. http://shinade.blogspot.com/*
7. Blog about something educational http://climateofourfuture.org/*
8. Be yourself; others will follow http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/ *
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain http://cubicledenizen.blogspot.com/*
10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organised! http://erishaling.blogspot.com/ *
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!! http://www.leslieho.com/ *
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy! http://groovy-olives.com/blog*
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic. http://www.jessieling.com/*
14. Don't clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT'S IRRITATING. http://oliviasy.blogspot.com/*
15. Don't comment for the sake of commenting. Some looked too fake and its a big turn off! http://sashablablabla.blogspot.com*
16. Put more photos. Picture paints a thousand words. http://theblueranger.blogspot.com

P/S: The instruction says a * star, so everyone got one * star lor :-)

Buying Furniture Online

This is a sponsored post.

We bought a set of micro fibre living room furniture when we moved into our current home about 3 years ago and I think it's still in a good condition. However, given the chance to choose again, I will go for the leather ones because it's easier to clean. I think shopping for furniture is very tiring and tedious because you just have to drag yourself to the shops to look at it, feel it, check out the prices, make sure the measurements are right, etc. etc. before deciding on which one to buy.

I like to check things out from the websites to get a rough idea on the designs and prices before going out to the shops so that I know what to look for when I'm out there. A good website like furniturefromhome.com is what I need. Apart from getting to look at the furniture from the photos on the website, it also gives all the important details on the furniture like prices, sizes and materials. They offer online sales too, which is very convenient for the lazy or busy people. It makes shopping so easy and hassle free. A wide range of furniture is offered including bedroom furniture, home office furniture, dining room furniture and other sectional items such as sofas. I think you can find all types of furniture you need for a home from the website.