On radio this morning

I think the topic this morning was on why 18 yr olds have to serve NS but are not allowed to vote. I was daydreaming again as usual so I'm not too sure.

But these 2 listeners' contributions caught my attention:

1) Being able to get pregnant doesn't necessarily make you competent parents.

2) At 18, you are enlisted to train but it's the operationally ready NS men, ie 21 yrs & above, who are put on the frontline during war. (Really ar? I never knew this :P )

Planning baby girl's party

This is so reminiscent of my wedding preps 3 years back. We had to think of the date, the venue, the menu, the guests, the list goes on.

Finally after much debate, if to hold it on Saturday or Sunday, at home or outside, whether to have a bbq or a buffet or both, whether to invite everyone or just limit to family and close friends, we have come to a decision. It will be a Sunday lunch at the Club and we'll only open it to family and the really really close friends, where everybody knows everybody!

Now comes the part which I dread most, the rsvps. It was good that most people had the initiative to let me know if they were attending my wedding but I distinctly remember the handful who just got on my nerves. They kept saying not sure, not sure. Well, screw them. Not sure then don't come. If only they were more emphatic that the hosts have alot on their hands and time could be better spent making the party more memorable for those who were sincere in taking part in the celebration instead of having to chase and beg them for their replies.

I can only hope 3 years on people are better educated on manners and since this is a closed door affair, family & best friends will be much kinder.

Thanks Aunty G for helping me design my invite :) xoxo JD

Ootoya

It was only after we settled the bill and stepped outside that I realised I've not taken a photo of baby girl on the tatami & the pretty dessert that was served to us.

I recommend this place for a simple, delicious japanese meal. It has a tatami mat area which Dw & I & of course the baby girl sat on. It's a good place for parents with babies as no highchair is needed and the babies can crawl round.

Servers there were Japanese who spoke heavily Japanese accented English. So there was slight miscommunication. I ended up with an additional main dish. Nevertheless, because they were so polite and looked so stressed having to speak English, I closed one eye and finished up the extra food.

Go try this restaurant on the 8th floor of Orchard Central. If you pay with an OCBC card, each of you will get a free matcha with ah bolling and azuki, very very pretty!

BB cream .. HUH?

That's how dated I am. Apparently this cream is the "must have" product amongst the girls now and I didn't even know its existence till I stepped into Sasa a few days ago, wanting to check how much discount the shop was giving for Clarins sunblock.

The salesgirl whom I approached then suggested that with my super oily & pimple-proned skin, I ought to give BB cream a try. Salesgirl must have thought that this customer was damn suaku when I went HUH, what's that?! kling kling kling, wait a minute, alarm bells ringing.. that term sounded familiar.. Oh, Ok, I recall, I just saw that TV ad with Felicia Chin advertising for BB cream by Silky Girl.

The BB cream which was recommended to me wasn't too expensive so I figured spending a little money to try it wouldn't kill. Moreover the salesgirl proudly pointed out an article pasted in the shop to me, Andy Lee recommends it.

Initially I was rather proud of purchase, till I got back to office to show off my new loot to my colleague, then I realised that I have been living in the mountains. This has been the lasted fad in Korea for at least 1 year already. True enough, googling revealed many year old reviews on this BB cream. Bleah.

So, I've been using this foundation, whitening cream & sunblock all in one for a few days and so far so good. No breakout, skin looks clearer & less oily. Hopefully this is the product that does the miracles which the rest have promised but disappointed.

Taser

I learnt a new word after reading this article this morning.

What's a TASER?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation"and device's mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology".Someone struck by a Taser experiences stimulation of his or her sensory nerves and motor nerves, resulting in strong involuntary muscle contractions. Tasers do not rely only on pain compliance, except when used in Drive Stun mode, and are thus preferred by some law enforcement over non-Taser stun guns and other electronic control weapons.

Tasers were introduced as less-lethal weapons to be used by police to subdue fleeing, belligerent, or potentially dangerous subjects, often when what they consider to be a more lethal weapon would have otherwise been used. The use of Tasers has become controversial following instances of Taser use that have resulted in serious injury and death.

Drawer Opener

It's not some lever, it's just Jilliane who's learnt how to open drawers and rummage through all our stuff, taking them out one by one. What a mess!

Apple of one's eye

This is no ordinary apple. An old lady was so amused by Jilliane's squeals of delight at the sight of apples at Cold Storage yesterday that she picked one up on the spot, went to the cashier, paid for it and gave it to Jilliane.

How Snooty!

Heard this from Dw's friend whose kid joined an elite school in mid primary as he was selected for a gifted programme. Dw's friend is just an average joe, middle class family.

At the kid's classmate's birthday party:

Kid gave classmate a book as a present.

Kid's classmate: Why you give me only a book? What does your father do? How much does he earn?

Kid: It's not how much you spend, but how much u save.

Bravos to the kid. Shame on his classmate. I do contemplate having Jilliane back at St Nicholas for pre primary & primary education but I have my doubts as well. When I was there, there were already snooty kids who say things like hdb estates are filled with criminals so she will never stay in one. I can just imagine how much worse it has evolved now.

And yes, I spent a great amount of my childhood years sleeping & growing up in a hdb flat. I don't recall having snitched anything nor am I close to being a jailbird.

Jilliane at 10 months+

On the bike

Being Vain - her favourite spot at home

Cry baby

After a self feeding attempt

Bonding with daddy


This should be the age when babies start to develop real fast. It's amazing at what these little tikes pick up in such a short period. Each day I come back from work, there's always a new development that never ceases to amuse me. Some of the things Jilliane's learnt so far are the parts of a face, such as nose, mouth, eyes. She has also learnt how to imitate the roar of a lion. I'm still wondering where she picked that up from, considering that she's not been to the zoo.

A good thing though, I'm glad that she's not scared of dogs despite not having many chances to interact with them. We were at Gab's house for his housewarming party and Jilliane kept trying to reach to pat Princess & PJ. If she was already walking, I bet she'll be perpetually running after them. She was even daring enough to put her face so near PJ to kiss him. I had to pull her away just in case. It's a real pity that the one at my il's place is a total bitch with all other humans minus the ones who bathe & feed her.

(BB, I'm coming over to your place soon to get some shots!)

And lo & behold! She has learnt to pull herself up! Or so I heard from Dw. I've not had a chance to witness this myself as when I'm around, she automatically raises her arms & whines, demanding to be picked up. Oh, and as of Saturday, she understands "Arms Up". So we've been having fun with her last weekend, playing police catch thief. We're the police, we say "You're under arrest, surrender and arms up!" and her arms go up. Then, we all laugh and she laughs along.

She enjoys waving at people. She could be saying bye bye to them, I'm not too sure. But when we were at the beach last Friday night, she was waving to each person that cycled or jogged past us, regardless whether they were looking at her or not.

As I always tell her during our "love love sessions": You're mummy's little angel. But when night falls, oh boy, all hell breaks loose...

Chocolate Chip Soft Cookies

The 1st reaction from my mom upon her 1st bite was: wa rau, so sweet! Next time knock off 10-20g each from the white & brown sugar.

Dw & colleagues say they're yummy!

Changes to be done for the next batch:
1) Less sugar
2) Less beating after eggs are added
3) Much much smaller dough scoops
4) MORE chocolate chips!!

Happy Birthday Dw!

We had lunch at THE LINE. Nope, we weren't in time to get a space for the Flash Your Age promo, but since Dw & my parents have been yearning for a meal there for the longest time, I thought why not?

Frankly, I wasn't too impressed. It could be that I had high expectations after all the hype from the media or maybe it has become too affordable for the masses. Every Tom, Dick and Harry were there, rushing for the food, snapping up each satay stick as it came out. It was just too noisy and too crowded. With that kind of madhouse atmosphere, I would rather go to a hawker centre and enjoy better tasting food. My preferred choice is still The Rose Veranda, it allows audible conversation and a relaxing afternoon tea opportunity.

Mission failed

The CIO method - experts say this will teach kids to sleep through the night in 3 days, maximum a week. Moms who have tried this swear by it.

Again, my baby girl has to be different. Within a span of 10 mins of non-stop crying, Dw freaked out saying it had to stop as she was breaking out in cold sweat. Ah Ma rushed in to carry & sayang her. She cried herself hoarse and came down with a sore throat and fever the next day.

And so, the following days I had to feed her medicine and monitor her temperature constantly throughout the night. I'm nowhere near my hope of having a full night's sleep soon.

Back to Square One

Our lives are on express reverse mode, back to how Jilliane was in her 1st 3 months. For the past week or so, she will fall asleep between 9.30 - 10pm but will suddenly wake up at about 10.45pm and whimper. These whimpers quickly turn into loud wails. Nothing can stop these screams, not even the pacifier, except being the arms of mommy. I will quickly carry her and rock her for a while before putting her back to bed. Throughout the night, this will happen every 2 hours or so.

This is much worse than what she was when she was a newborn. Then, she was already hardly interested in sleeping. She would be awake from 7am - 11pm. But at least when night fell, she only woke up at 2am for her milk. The rest of the times she slept

Last night was extreme. As usual she broke out at 10.45pm and refused to be put back into bed. Eventually, I just sat on the sofa with her on my chest (think Koala) whilst she slept soundly. Any attempt by DW to take over or to lie her down on her own will only serve to antagonize her more.

Tears just rolled down my face continuously. In between my sobs, I asked myself what have I gotten myself into. I just stared out of my living room window and looked at the street lamps and the roads and I wondered why other babies were such sweeties but mine a monster. So many friends' babies can nap well in the day, sleep from 9pm to 9am and the mommies seem to be as happy as the larks. Each time when I'm out, I look on with envy at babies / toddlers sleeping in their prams whilst my baby girl is wrestling in my arms, looking intently at all around her, eyes still wide open. At that point, I wanted my life back.

I feel that I'm on the brink of insanity. God, please help me. I pray for the strength to persever in loving and caring for Jilliane.