(2007/02) February

[garfield07]

cherry,

hb not goin tomolo... he always bz say cannot take leave cos covering for 2 collegues...

anyway, can bring one other helper onli so guess i bring my maid which is more useful... hahahhaa

it true tat most mummies plan the bd... my hb also... then last nite he bought some pooh theme tissues and still quite ya ya say he also care abt the bd party n also can be detailed. ;p

 

[garfield07]

cherry,

aiyo some ple really kaisu... they win liao.
anyway, dinner is ok too. I had dinner reception for full mth too and for zz 1 yr old party, it also dinner bbq...

 

[cherryale]

garfield, yah, agree, think bring maid more useful

Think our hbs quite similar, can be friends. My hb is like a big kid. He said A's birthday cake must be a cartoon theme not the normal cakes that we buy for adults BUT ask him where to get the cake, then he dun know and dun bother to find. If I wait for him, think A will have to make do with a marble cake or pandan cake from bengawan solo

At least, your hb knows the theme is pooh bear ok, and bother to go and buy pooh theme tissue. Think my hb dun even know what design i picked for the bday decor. AND he will say just use the caterer tissue.

no choice lah, I know i will have problem getting the place for lunch cos the lady already told me must be the first one to reach the office to book. Dinner also same cost since I am catering food. Now, its the number of guests. I am trying to limit to max 50, then I can 'hear' my mil words in my mind..."MUST definitely order more as CNY food expensive, caterer will cut corners...etc etc..."
oh, for the cake, i think i will follow the theme that i bought for the decor. Its a toy car

stella, trips to market and playground also counted cos its all on your own

I think I enjoy doing all these things just that i hope hb can be more participative. Thot u wanted to let Cherish do the traditional choose items thing??

the next thing that I need to think about is the gift for children attending the party. Must see the size of the bags that i ordered to determine what goes inside. Jazzcy, thanks for collecting on my behalf

yesterday i went to ikea, wanted to buy furniture for A's room but the item that I like is out of stock and it has been OOS for a long time already. Hopefully can get before CNY.

 

[cherryale]

i just read mother and baby, our dear milkie was interviewed in one column

 

[smurf_ling]

cherryale/garfield
since we all r planning the birthday alone.. why not share ideas ? cherryale, i got a contact for cute bb cakes.. i email u the pics? and the person? i dunno how good issit though,,some kind mummies frm a punggol thread passed it to us when she had that for her kid;s birthday.

 

[sophie]

jelly,
Thanks for info on photobook. Think I will put 30% to play safe.
I got my Birthday Direct items! Thanks so much!
Have also transferred the postage to you:
Amount S$1.00
Transaction Reference 1518066723

smurfy,
Haha, for once I will look forward to my period coming then!

starfruit,
I tried other milk on baby, but she doesn't like. Now just waiting for her to turn 1 yr old to try fresh cow's milk.

cherry,
Yeah, the 2 boys missing... it's at Owen Road right? Very near to where I used to stay.... so sad.
Then later got lots of rumours of pple seeing them handicapped in Bali or Lake Toba begging for money... dunno how true.

Sigh, I'm also having the same problem of Soph waking up in the night ever since she fell sick.

GF Mommies,
Have your babies cut out the morning nap yet? i.e. your babies only taking 1 noon nap of 2 hrs per day?

 

[catz]

jelllyyyyy, can you email me your mailing address?

milkie so famous ah? She's now in Melbourne.. think only returning end of Jan.

sorry, hv to be brief.. I'm ultra shack. Timo caught a nasty bug and has high fever... Beth is ultra cranky and sticky to me

Catch up with you all soon when things aren't so manic! I still have to book Princess Beth's party... looking at a bill of $1k if we wanna do it at same place we did Timo's 1st bash. And it's in less than 2 weeks!!!!

 

[bbchic]

<font size="+2"><font color="ff0000">CONGRATS TO RACHEL!! JASPER IS HERE AT APPROX 5PM TODAE!!</font></font>

 

[bbchic]

catz,

hope everything is ok...my lil cousin who is 18 months old..caught a nasty bug went into shock for a few days...juz discharged from hospital yesterdae...i haf no idea wat bug is dat coz mum juz mention some virus...

hope timo get well soon!

 

[bbchic]

mummies,

btw...i think i opened up one mail dats sent by my fren...end up it tagged onto my contacts and send out itself...if you guys recieve that email...re: please take alook at our website..

please kindly delete it....i didn't know till yesterdae..when i got many "failed delivery notices"

if not it will ride on your contacts n send out to your frens oso..

sorry!!..

 

[tinklebell28]

re: garlic pread
keke..me hvn't try it yet but like HUSKIE i had been adding it into his porridge too

he's ok with it..


HUSKIE
wah!
trying for #2?
already started ur factory production? hehe..

yup! the yogurt maker's sure a good investment!
now u can hv homemade yogurt just the way u like it

cost saving too!



PRIVILEDGE
me still using the cloth method so my boy's ok..
i tried using a toothbrush, he wld try to snatch from me &amp; wld bite tightly on the toothbrush so made the teeth brushing very difficult
only with the cloth then I'm able to clean his teeth properly..
but i did remember when he was teething (the top ones), he wld closed his mouth very very tightly..
maybe ur kiddo's teething?

 

[lala]

good morning mummies!

cherryale,

my initial plan is to invite immediate family members and let cherish choose the traditional items. but hb came out with the bbq thing, and since the bbq area is quite big..then the first birthday becomes a big celebration. hb wants to invite his friends and colleagues as well. i will be inviting my close friends , but not colleagues cos i dun think i have the time to entertain too much guest as i need to tend to cherish. if i go too much entertaining, my mum will be very busy..i want her to sit back and relax.

come to think of it, i gotta bring/have the courage to bring cherish out alone cos i have no helper..so everything gotta diy.

Rachel:

congrats on arrival of Jasper!

 

[jelly]

CONGRATS TO RACHEL AND PRINCE JASPER!!! Do come in and share ur birth story wif us later ya...

Catz catz... Thank u thank u! I have emailed u my mailing address. Hope won't trouble u too much!

Re: bday bash. We have not booked the caterer and bday cake yet. Wanna find out more which are good caterer in JB. Hubby said dun mind to spend more for a good bday party for YX, and want to buy some fireworks to play on that day. Hope the weather will turn out nicely.

stella, me too like u always need to do things or bring YX out myself cos i have no helper, except my sis when she is at home. So far so good, YX didn't fuss when i bring her out myself cos she busy see here and there esp in shopping centre and this gal super scare of sun. So if i bring her out daytime to market or outdoor, she will hide her head to my shoulder and kept quiet throughout the journey.

Huskie, thanks for informing me on receiving of ur bday stuff. Hope u receive them in good condition.

Btw, i have just permed my hair last saturday at my home town. Hubby said i look more mature now.

 

[smurf_ling]

rachel
congrats on the arrival of jasper

have a good confinement

garfield
good luck for ur little jasper tis afternoon. same thing: hope that he's either in or not at all. think they r rather mean if they just wanna shoot parts of his body or make him a stuntman

catz
ai yoh, poor u.. everytime u log onz these days.. u would be announcing that ur kiddos r not doing well..

jas!
i oso had my hair permed last week on new year eve. time to do something for myself this year. how much is the postage? me forget oredi hahaha. I love the birthday hat a lot, but QY keep taking it off his head. must train him to wear for his birthday.

 

[lala]

smurfy/ jelly

i also have permed hair.. i look horrible with flat hair. i do spa perm..those big curls one

jelly,
wow firecrackers.. so fun. YX is very well behaved gal, i believe bringing her out alone is not a problem at all. Every time i bring cherish out, will invite stares. Do u carry her or bring stroller ?

 

[smurf_ling]

stella/jas
kekkeek new year, new start for these mummies who basically have no life hahahhahaa.. mine is oso those big curls... and my hair stylist did bold red for my hair.. gotta a big shock when i saw it.. but okay lar, can accept it lor .. hahaha she is more daring to experiment coz i have been with her for years.

birthday balloons
hey hey hey, i got those balloons now... what do i do next? hahaha how to blow up? where? can they last 2 days? is 2 birthdays enough? or shld i get more?

 

[lala]

smurfy

my also highlighted red but fades already, now become brown. been 2mths since i colored.

If i dont do something..i become more and more auntie liao..even my hb says that i "look different" from last time. So sad

 

[jelly]

stella/smurfy, kekeke... me also those big curls. Told the uncle doing my hair i dun want those small small curls ones. A bit of curl will do. First time try perm so wanna see how it looks like on me. Very cheap also to do it at my hometown, only RM250 including partial colour/perm/cut.

stella, i use my sling, find easier to use sling when i want to bring her out myself, unless if i want to go shopping centre wif her then i will use stroller.

smurfy, QY must be looking so cute wif the birthday hat! i also dunno where to get the balloon blown wif helium. Maybe those florist shop?

 

[pekochan]

hi mummies!!!

Happy new yr! Guess all of us are cracking our brains in how to celebrate our bb 1st birthday. too bad i missed the birthdaydirect spree, tink i'll get it from those party shop. Are all of you having the party at home or somewhere else? any place to recommend?

 

[catz]

smurfy, yah lor.. dunno why so suay. Timo as a baby never fell ill leh.. now dunno why. I blame it on my PIL. Everytime see them sure get sick one

peko, welcome back!! I'm having Beth's party at my country club's function rooms. Po kai!

jelly, will mail out your stuff once I get it wrapped and weighed.

Most importantly, congrats to mummy of 2 - Rachel!!!!

Welcome to baby Jasper!

 

[priviledged]

Congrats to Rachel!! Wah, I'm so envious. Part of me wishes i could have another bb so quickly like that. The other part of me wonders how I would cope with 3!!! hahahaha.

gak,
Yah, he clenches his mouth tightly too. He has 4 teeth all completely out on top, and 2 at the bottom. Maybe the bottom ones are sprouting more teeth. I use the First Teeth finger toothbrush.

re: party
You ladies might want to go and check out the party shops at Concourse for balloons and other party stuff. I think Rochor Centre also has such shops, and along Beach Road, there's more.

Beth,
Wah, your party budget is so high! 1K is A LOT. We all are really cheapskate. No parties for our children. No time and no energy.

Okiedoke. Gotta go mop floor. Bye gals.

 

[sophie]

Congratulations, Rachel!

Catz,
Haha, you're so mean, blame your PILs?
Could it be that Timo caught the bug at school since school has just started?

gak,
No lah, not trying for #2 yet... but thinking of trying in April.
First gotta think how to settle Soph in case the pregnancy turns out to be a difficult one.

smurfy,
I'm assigning my hubby to thick-skinnedly go to the nearby florist shop to ask them to help him pump the foil balloon

jelly,
The items arrived in good condition, thanks to all the bubble wraps!

Wow, seems like all of you are having big bashes for your babies' 1st birthday. Think I'll be like PVL - just a simple cake-cutting + homecooked food with family.

PVL,
I also cannot bear to wean Soph off leh... I love it when I nurse her, such private times that no one can intrude upon.
But I'm just afraid it'll be difficult to get this breast-addict off the breast cos I can see she is quite a headstrong cavebaby!

 

[priviledged]

huskie,
You might be surprised.... it might turn out easier to wean Sophie off the breast than you think. I didn't have much problems with Sarah, even though she is a pig-headed mule.
She has such a stubborn personality that even her swimming teacher commented that her motto is "I want to do it myself".


CATZ, sorry, I meant you, not your girl, Beth. See lah, so rushed that I'm blur already.

 

[cherryale]

Catz, yah, think i will prob spend 1k and above too for A's party. And that is with severe budgeting. Told hb he can only invite 3 friends with their family and got stares from him. He is the type who will invite everybody he knows

smurfy, yes, pls send me the contacts for bday cakes

Thanks!

huskie/smurfy, i intend to go florist shop to ask them to pump helium too so that it can 'float'. As for the normal balloons, i will use the pump that i have at home.

Rachel, congrats!!!

I miss having a little baby...

 

[chara]

Congrats to Rachel on arrival of Baby Jasper!

Catz..Wow..so big a birthday bash!
Its easier to hav it at country club or condo function room, or a kids' gym cos u dont hav to worry about cleaning up.
I think same as Huskie n PVL, jus a cake, food n some frens n relatives..but may hav to be a bit more elaborate..cos its house-warming cum his bday party.

PVL..I dont mind bf Yael longer for its benefits..but now he knows how to pull at my blouse, n even peek from the top, indicating "I want milk!" Haha.

 

[garfield07]

hello gals I back!!!

it was really a tiring and tough day yesterday...

smurfy, in the end they did a shot of zz hand... cos the first bb was very tired n cranky liao.
but the first bb rather cham cos after zz shot, zz get to go back liao but he still need to finish up his shots. so I guess tvc is really tough.

rachel, congrats on yr arrival of jasper! hehe same name as my kid... haha

 

[garfield07]

smurfy, can share the cake info? thxs. so where u holding the party? u can ask me anything la...

btw, any1 try babiesinc before? I have a trial lesson either on gym or kindermusic so not sure which 1 is good so still thinkin.

 

[lala]

garfield

wow u become "xing ma" already

i intend to let cherish join my gym at woodlands civic centre after cny. there is another program "positive babies" at purple train centre(looks like not very popular , cos no one mentioned in the forum). I am considering that also.

I tot of kindermusik, but too far for me. The learning vision childcare near my place offered music classes from Seimpi music sch, but the entry age is ard 18 mths.

i dont have much choices cos i dont want to travel too far with a cranky gal.

 

[garfield07]

stella, no lar... still not xing ma cos zz was not the main bb so in the tvc you wun see his face... u will only see his hand... so sad...

anyway, i just glad that he was not a very bad mood overall, only the hand shot cos they keep ng many times and zz is v mang zhang already cos he dunno wat the adults wan... poor thing.

he also got carried by zoe but too bad forgot to take photo w her.

 

[pekochan]

Congrats to Rachel!!!

my girl can walk on her own last evening already...tink i gonna hv backaches.

 

[pekochan]

garfield, tink i miss out alot here. what is this xing ma all abt? tell me more

 

[garfield07]

pekochan,

nothing much la. zz got shortlisted and was a standby bb for the similac advert.

so got to go for 1 commercial and 1 photo shoot.
yesterday was the commercial. zz didn't do much and in the end, he got to shot his hand... the main bb was bigger than him and he got the ah mo look very cute. guess zz not cute enough

but his character abit like my zz.

nxt wk is the photo shoot but i guess shld be the main bb bah cos it shld be easier to edit.

 

[pekochan]

garfield, oic then we better keep a lookout for the new similac advert.

 

[bbchic]

wah..

cherry, catz,

its really huge budget for a 1yo bdae le...

hehe..they will appreciate in the future..got such grand 1yo party...hee

garfield,

why got "main bb"??..you mean in the ad will haf a few babies altogether?? our kid is the cutest to us!!...eh ZZ made it dat far...muz applause loud loud liao..still say he not cute enuff...keke

 

[garfield07]

fat babe, the main bb is wat they called hero bb. so he got to act first and if if really cannot perform, then they will get the standby bb which is zz lor.

so it either the hero or zz get to show his face in the tvc. he will be acting as zoe first bb.

zz is def cutest to me ah... but cannot say he cutest of all bbs mah ;p

 

[smurf_ling]

garfield
agree with fat babe.. u must be proud that zz made it soo far oredi.. how many babies will have the chance to be carried by zoe tay? wasted, u shld take a pic..

garfield/cherry
had emailed u all on the contact and designs for the cakes oredi ? since yesterday?

busy busy at work..

.. situation at home very tensed now

(feel like crying now.. looking for a place to rant as neither my family nor the hb knows)...just told off my maid i dun like QY crawling to her when i'm ard.. now she's throwing the ball back to me.. say she will "disappear" whenever i am ard and let me spend time with my son..since the conversation me scared what she might do to us? hell knows no fury like a woman scorned ... i wanna work towards independence day.. days without the maid.. but how to? how to survive on a single income of 5k?

 

[catz]

garfield, waaaaah..

cherry, I actually don't want to spend so much too but aiyoh, we did the same for Timothy so must do one grand one for the princess too. My club catering is $25 per pax leh!!! Ah well.... once in a lifetime right? Now need to go to order cake from Pine Gardens.


smurfy, how come suddenly got 'face off' with the maid???? is she very protective? aiyoh, poor you. Actually I look at those other families who can have 3 kids and support on less than $2k a month and wonder also. My hubby's income isn't high either.. it's tight lah.. but it's more of the change of lifestyle that's a real shocker if you wanna switch from FTWM to SAHM.

PVL, hey, no problem, I understood your message. Hee.... What to do? Have to be fair to Beth lor. Her papa also wants to give her a nice party.

Timo came back from school crying today... alamak... need to ask the teacher what happened 'cos he doesn't wanna tell me. I'm guessing he's hungry lah.. 'cos he devoured Beth's baby bites in the car then walloped the whole plate of kiddy spaghetti at Ikea.

 

[garfield07]

smurfy, got yr email... thxs...

wat happen to u n yr maid? but a single income of 5k is quite gd enough? some ple earn 5k or below for 2 people but they still can make it. just that cannot anyhow buy things lor.

catz, poor timo... he so hungry?? maybe pack him some sandwiches nxt time?

 

[jelly]

smurfy, maybe u want to ask ur mum to watch over the maid while u working? Me too have been dreaming of become a SAHM one day. Last nite hubby said his boss ask how much increment he wants, then i told him to tell his boss to increase by a few k then i no need to work liao. Haha... dreaming only lah. My current work is getting demanding as under major restructuring plus new boss. Next week need to go china for this project and expect more trips to china soon. I used to be so on when comes to work, but now only wish i have more time for my princess...

catz... hope timo is just becos of hungry then cry...

 

[dadah]

Hi mummies, long time no come in. Hope everyone and their babies are doing splendidly.

Smurfy ah, you must take my advice on this one cause I'm a Guo Lai Ren. Remember I use to lament how Ethan seems to prefer the maid? Since I became a SAHM, he's been soooooo sticky to me, I've been having to hide myself in the room! Point is babies are very easy to win over one lor. So don't feel sad/angry ok? Once you can spend 2 or 3 days with him, he'll literally come crawling back again

Then hor, I feel sorry for my maid also. Took care of him for so many months, feed him, change his diapers, rock him to sleep etc. When she went back, he wasn't even particularly upset. Think he realised that she wasn't around the first 2 days but by the third day, clean forgotten leow. So really no need to be jeolous of the maid ok?

In fact, I miss the maid more than him. Can tell that this new maid is not as geniuinely concerned about him. After all, they've been taking care of our babies since our little ones been home from the hospital. More "bond" mah. This new maid only does what she is required to do and doesn't know how to play with him. So very contradictory one hor... too good at playing with them, they like the maid too much, I'm not happy. Not good at playing with them, not happy also cause baby doesn't seem intellectually stimulated

 

[smurf_ling]

catz
does pine gardens have interesting cakes for kid's birthday? i like them.. i used to stay ard there last time n ate their stuffs when i was young.. never know the shop becomes so famous during the years... what caterer r u using? the club's itself? wow $25 per head is alot. the faceoff is coz i can't stand her trying to catch QY's attention when i am ard the house n playing with him..the silly boy goes "ma-ma-ma-ma" to her and whine to her instead of me#$%^&amp;^%$#%^%^&amp;...hahah tim having growth sprout ar? ..

garfield
me used to having my own money leh? :/

jas
yah, gotta ask my mum to be more watchful.. haiz.. at times i feel so bad towards her.. so many requirements/expectations frm me

.. my work getting demanding as well.. just told my boss i am not able to go china 2 wks later as hb is oso involved in some projects... hohoho.. scarli i see u one fine day in airport or china itself.

winnie
problem is i can spend the whole weekend with him.. but come weekdays, he forgets everything again.. now i try some "sleep-talking".. whenever i pat him to bed and lie close to him.. i keep on whispering to him that i love him...

 

[jelly]

smurfy, i agree with Winnie. I think it is more justified if my baby closer to my aunty than me. No matter how my aunt spend more time with her and care and love her as much as i do. In many ways, i find my aunt takes care of YX better than me. So i always feel bad that many time after weekend i brought YX back to my aunt, she has mosquito bites or some bruises due to falling down or wat.

 

[garfield07]

smurfy, i also feel sad when i hug zz and then when the maid comes along, he wants her to carry.

but he sociable boi lar, in fact he always stetch out his hand if someone play with him. When my maid comes she will def play w him n he wans lor.

so I also do the same. if my maid carry, I also go n "disturb" and simlarly zz stetch out his hand wan me to carry. keke.

 

[garfield07]

jelly, winnie, i somewhat agree w u all. though i feel sad, but if my bb is still not attached to her, i would also feel strange as most of the times he is with her lor. but i must say she really take care of him more than me.

Sometimes I do my own things and she take care of him. I also feel at least got time to do other things lor.

 

[lala]

smurfy

our combined income is way less than 4k.. so i believe less than 5k is still ok. If hb earns 5k, i will gladly quit my job to take care of my cherish.

to be frank, our take home pay is ard 3k. My personal expense cannot exceed 500 per mth. i only buy the neccessary things for cherish(fm and diapers) and once in a blue moon toys or new clothes. But the hindsight is i cant save much with my peanuts income.
been weighing the pros and cons of changing job cos my current job is quite relax. I am actually abit relunctant to trade in my precious bonding time for a higher pay.

i feel sad when cherish chose my mum over me..but i tell myself that my mum is her grandma and put in so much effort to take care, it is natural that their bonding is strong. In your case, it is maid..so maybe different.

 

[smurf_ling]

winnie
hey, have u adjusted to the life of a SAHM? but things much easier for u right? since u have a maid to help out? it's easier said than done not to be jealous (n u had went thr this stage urself) and especially, since me is emotional high maintenance type

garfield
kekeke QY oso socialable lar.. just that i dun like him to whine and goes "ma-ma-ma-ma" to her..

okie, enough of rantings... let's move onz.. - birthday party...
kekeke which caterer ar???? i had neo gardens 2x recently... good safe n cheap choice.. wonder shld i go for kriston?

 

[garfield07]

smurfy, keke. for me now i know the trick. cos since my maid like to intercept us, i also intercept. so nowadays she carry happily i also take away bb from her arms hahahhaha

then if she ask whether zz sit in the pram, i just carry on carrying... hahhahaha

like blur the best. cos dun wan to provoke her too.

think bd party not goin for caterer... think at the most order those satays from the bbq wholesale. then the rest ownself marinate and cook.

i also spend a bomb on his party, first the venue bookin, then buy him his toys, then buy party decors, then cake and food preparation and cost, and i bought many gifts for small children as well. but it once in a lifetime so just do it lor.for the memory.

 

[dadah]

re: family income...
Like I said before, it's a matter of choice bah. If our income is $5k we'll make do with the $5k and if out income is $2k, we'll still find a way to make do with the $2k. Make more spend more, make less spend less lor. Humans are very adaptable one mah.

Smurfy,
ya, been home for more than 2 months now. Not too bad. A little bored sometimes though. See how things go... If I still cannot tahan by feb, might think of finding something to do. Right now busy with CNY and Ethan's birthday bash.

I'm using YLS for catering. $10 per person for 10 dishes. Think it is quite value for money lor. Might order some of those ambrosa (spelling?) mini pizzas/ profiteroles/ eclairs to add on.

 

[lala]

smurfy

the way u describe urself..emotional high maintenance ..so funny..i used to be like you also, but i learned frm my hb and still trying to strike a balance.

haha..i also "slept talk/sing" to cherish. i hum "you are my sunshine" when she is sleeping

 

[smurf_ling]

Amosco!!!!
i love that.. kekkekee it's a sure hit when you have young kids attending the party. my recent neogardens minibuffets.. i ordered $100+ worth of another brand of eclairs (amosco fully booked then) for free delivery and distribute some off to the inlaws n my family, keeping 1/2 for my mini-buffets...