I was referred to GH to confirm my due date today. The ultrasound scan done at GH showed that I am only 28 weeks pregnant which is 2 weeks delayed. According to the O&G specialist, it is nothing to worry about because it is only 2 weeks delayed. Furthermore the ultrasound done at 13 weeks confirmed that my actual due date by calculation is accurate. We shall follow that due date. But I still have to go for follow up check up again in a month time to check on baby’s growth.

Well, I guess this last baby of mine will be smaller in size compared to his jie jies and kor kors. What to do, in this pregnancy, I am always on the move and didn’t get enough rest and sometime food! No worries, Mommy will fatten you up with Mommy’s milk once you come out of Mommy’s womb.

But then arh, I got the feeling that I will give birth earlier instead of later. Maybe in March. We’ll see. Only God knows.

I hate it when I feel helpless especially when my children is sick. I remembered when I was small, whenever I am sick, my mom is always there to comfort me and take away my discomfort. Why can’t I do the same with my children?

He stripe off his clothes, rolled on the bed and cried, “stomach pain, stomach pain”. He is having fever at the same time too. I applied YuYi oil on his tummy but it does not seems to reduce the pain. Text hubby on Google chat for other remedy. “Try rubbing onion on his tummy”, he told me. That worked like magic. After a minute or two, he doze of to sleep! But the sleep was short. He woke up crying in pain again. I cried along with him coz I cannot take away his pain. I felt so hopeless for being a helpless mommy.

When nothing less works, I prayed more fervently.

The next day, he woke up early to his cheerful self again. Thank God for His speedy healing touch.

SIL who lives in Sydney, Australia managed to persuade her mom to stay with them for 2 months instead of just 2 weeks. That’s good news for me. At least I have another month to really recover from child birth and adjust to my new life being a mother of 6 before I start my DIL duty; cooking for MIL. It is like I am getting 2 months maternity leave. If can get another month even better. It is because, it took me 100 days to really settle down with my newborn based on previous experience with my other children. Oh well, 2 months is better than 1 month.

Before Christmas, it rained almost everyday and I can’t get my clothing especially my babies’ inserts (for cloth diapers) dry. On Boxing Day, the dry New Year wind started blowing together with the heat. It gets hotter each day since that day. Windy, hot and humid. I have to switch on the air-cond everyday for at least 1-2 hours to be able to nap or sleep.

Looking at polaris pool products made me want to build a swimming pool at my home. Unfortunately, we do not that the moolah for it. Got land, no money. Some people, got money, no land.

My recent visit to the clinic made me worried a lil bit about my pregnancy. The ultrasound showed that my due date is 3 weeks later than the actual date. During my first ultrasound at 13 weeks, the due date is according to my last menses date; very accurate. I worried that the baby in my womb is not growing well. I hope that the Dr is wrong in her calculation. Or my baby is just smaller in size this time around coz I have been on my toes most of the time and less appetite too. We will know by this Feb 2nd coz I have to go to GH for follow up check up to confirm the due date.

I have been having backaches for more than a month and it went away completely 2 days ago! Unfortunately, pain still has not leave my body; the backache is being replaced with lower abdomen cramp. The feeling is like I’m almost going to due like that. Kinda weird coz, scanned due date is delayed but I’m having the signs that baby is coming out soon! I hope he won’t coz he has 3 more months to float around his life in my womb.

Please pray with me that everything will be alright.

For myself - Read the Word of God at least one chapter before I start my busy day.
- so far, i have read 3 chapters only. need to make it more regular!

For my husband - Help him save and earn as much as I could.
- have reduced buying breakfast. instead i cook breakfast for my family.

For my children - Speak gently to them. No screaming and no yelling.
- this one, i forgot!

For my family - Cook more yummilicious food.
- lup cheong is yummy right?

December 2011 passed by like a speed of the light. Our family gathering fell on hubby’s birthday. He did not get the quiet birth day like previous years. Thank God his siblings did not forget his birthday. He had a combined birthday cake blowing that night. Time was too short for me to buy one of those titanium bracelets for men. He did mention that we can still celebrate with each other after the family gathering is over but we just couldn’t find the time until today. Looks like there won’t be any belated birthday celebration for him. Well, he will hit the big FOUR ZERO this year. I must plan something special for him.

What was my 2011 resolution? I don’t think I make any!

Well, for this year I want to make one and I’ll try to make it more achievable.

For myself - Read the Word of God at least one chapter before I start my busy day.

For my husband - Help him save and earn as much as I could.

For my children - Speak gently to them. No screaming and no yelling.

For my family - Cook more yummilicious food.

That’s it.

What about yours?

I had what I wanted for my 37th birthday. I went for my long overdue facial spa in the morning.

Cake cutting with my love ones.

And BBQ + Steamboat with hubby for dinner.

A simple and yet fulfilling birthday.

The month of December is packed with wedding invitations. Our gas supplier told my MIL that he received more than 10 wedding invitation. My dad has to ask my sister for some cash because he does not have enough money to put in the wedding invitation red packet. Weddings = money.

I just read in FB that one of my friend’s friend had their wedding in Bali. That’s romantic. Wedding by the beach. Not any beach but Bali beach. I wonder whether any of them is rich enough to have their wedding in the Caribbean. The weddings in barbados looks pretty romantic too. And the weather is cooler unlike our tropical climate.

A picture began circulating in November. It should be “The Picture of the Year,” or perhaps, “Picture of the Decade.” It won’t be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the U.S. paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother’s womb. Little Samuel’s mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner’s remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon’s finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, “Hand of Hope.” The text explaining the picture begins, “The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother’s uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.”

Little Samuel’s mother said they “wept for days” when they saw the picture. She said, “The photo reminds us pregnancy isn’t about disability or an illness, it’s about a little person” Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful. Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome…incredible….and hey, pass it on! The world needs to see this one!
— with Brittany Ogilvie.

I have been sick for 2 days already. The moment I woke up early yesterday’s morning, I felt something no right with my body. It felt strange. Somehow, I know I am going to fall sick but I tried to shove off the feeling and continue with my daily routine. Just after I am done with the basic house chores, I threw up my breakfast. The headache started to join in and then the stomach upset. I felt so sleepy after that and all I wanted to do was sleep, sleep and sleep the whole day. I tried drinking lots of water as I cannot be hospitalised looking at nursing uniforms and handsome doctors again. I have 5 kids to mind you know.

Today, after a doze of paracetamol, the headache went away for a lil while but once the medicine worn off, the headache came back but not as severe as before. I hope and pray that I’ll be to normal by tomorrow. I have pending 3 days laundry.

Having Michelle as his wife is very challenging when it comes to buying gift her. To this date, he has yet to present the perfect gift for her. The gift must be very practical. Most of the time, he can’t afford the practical gift that she wanted. She used to be very high maintenance but having him as her husband, she has mellowed down a lot. She tried her best to live within his means. She still hopes that one day God will bless them financially; more than they could ever imagine. And maybe at that time, she could afford the perfect gift that she has always dreamed of.

Saturday is my busiest day in a week. I don’t even have time to relax and smoke my macanudo cigars. Hehehe, I don’t smoke but just to let you imagine how busy I am lar. When the kids are not at school, I have more work to be done. First of all, my “working” time is shorten because I woke up 2 hours later than on weekdays. I need to catch up on my lack of sleep during weekdays.

The moment I wake up, I need to do my laundry, some I did the night before, I just have to hang them under the sun. Their school uniforms and shoes to hand wash. I need to prepare breakfast, sweep the floor, mop the floor and wash the verandahs because I need to keep the house clean for the children to play. I need to cook, feed my babies and bathe them. Later in the afternoon, there’s clothes and cloth nappies to fold and uniforms to iron. At the same time, I have to attend to my children and try my very best to stop them from messing up the house.

Since I did not get my day off last Sunday, I’m claiming it today because hubby is around. He did the sweeping, mopping, and washing the verandahs. My eldest helped to wipe off the dust on the furniture, bookshelf, tv, dvd player and Astro decoder. As for lunch, I packed Chicken Rice for everyone.

I hope to have a relaxing weekend this week.

My hubby is on a stingy mode now. No more dining out after church with the children anymore. Can only dine out with the children on special occasion only. That will be probably less than 10 times a year. I have no say coz I do not bring home the bread anymore. In time like this, how I wish I am still earning my own income.

It has always been my dream to be a SAHM. After 9 years earning my own income and after having 3 children, circumstances made me decided to follow my dream. Come this June, it will be my 3rd year being a SAHM. If I tell you that I enjoy every moment being one, I’d be lying. There are times that I wish I am still working and away from my children for that few hours.

Another one is when I can’t spend as I wish. *sigh* In moment like this, how I wish I am still working so that I can spend without asking permission. I can buy nice beach dress for the Beach Party Invitations, I can buy more pretty clothes for my girls, I can indulge in the food that I enjoy eating without thinking twice about the price etc. Without my own income, even with 50% discount I can’t buy. 50% still money what.

This is an email which I wrote to someone recently…

Marriage is never a bed of roses but most important there must be trust and transparently in marriage be it friends or money matters. My husband knows most of my friends; mostly online friends. I tell him everything and sometimes things that i cannot tell directly to him, i blog about it coz he reads my blog.

And when it comes to money, he knows how much i earn n save and so do i with his. We didn’t have any separate savings account; my money is his money, his money is my money. I helped him a lot too with his business when i was still working. I literally support him and the family when he first started his business. Even when we quarrel, we dont bring it up coz i do it sincerely. He is my husband what; if he susah, we also susah mah. i know most my my friends hv a secret bank account that their hubby didnt know about. this is not healthy in marriage. it shows that we dont trust our husband. and when the husband sense that we dont trust them, they will be very defensive and do the same too.

the only way to solve your marriage problem is to talk, talk and talk. no quarreling, no shouting, no screaming and no accusing pls. try to control your temper even when he did not control his. you cant think straight and rationally when both of you are shouting to each other.

for him to envy you, i agree it is wrong. ask him what is his expectation of you. tell him what is your expectation of him. discuss about it. he may not be able to fulfill all your expectation and so do you. find the best way to meet each other expectation.

when it comes to sharing about our daily life; what we do, where we go, who is our friends, what we eat, what we talk about with our friends etc. for men, you must ask them. man are not made to be a chatter box like us ladies. they will only tell if we ask. and they dont tell in detail also. so we have to be specific with our questions.

don’t give up so fast in your marriage ok. marriage is like a marathon. u run, u fall, u get up, you run again, you feel tired but you must not quit. u must finish the race. “till death do us part.” the first 7 years of marriage is very challenging. after that, it will be easier but not without problem though.

in a way problem is good. it helps the couple to know each other better n when both of u come out of this problem it is like a big wall that is separating both of u is broken down. u’ll appreciate each other more n love each other more too.

This is us on our 10th wedding anniversary. This year we have a 4mo baby tagging along. We had lunch at Kenny Roger’s Roaster. I browsed through our previous anniversary post, we ate at Kenny Roger’s during last year’s wedding anniversary. Hubby picked the place!

Before lunch, we have a good massage session at Phoenix Health Care & Foot Reflexology Centre, Melaka Raya. Hubby went for the 2 hours Body Massage with Oil and I had 1.5 hours of Foot Reflexology while carrying and nursing my 4mo baby! She was quite an entertainment to the Myanmar masseur.

We actually planned to watch movie, Thor but decided otherwise because the show is in 3D. Not comfy wearing the 3D glasses with our specs on. So, after lunch we had McD Sundae and Pretzel Stick with Eclairs for dessert. Then we head home to fulfill our parental duty; making sure the school goers complete their homework, and eat their dinner before we go out again for dinner.

We had Satay Celup for dinner; 16 sticks each. I wanted to eat Satay Celup at Capitol but by the time we reached the shop, we saw lotsa people queuing outside the shop to wait for an empty table. No-uh, not my style to queue for food, with or without baby around. I will only queue for food at the canteen or if I have no other food to eat (kinda life n death situation). We ended up at Ban Lee Siang, Jln Ong Kim Wee for our Satay Celup dinner; plenty of empty tables.

We do watch movie. Not in the cinema but in the comfort of our room. We watched Waiting Forever.

That’s about it on our 10th Wedding Anniversary.

My firstborn daughter turned 8 years old yesterday. Instead of bringing everyone out for a dinner, we brought her alone; just mommy, daddy, baby and herself. It is her special day and we granted her wants. She wanted to eat wedding food. We treat her with these yummilicious dishes.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Fragrance Chicken Salad

Creamy Cheese Beehoon with Tiger Prawn

 Seafood Fried Rice

I bought for her a roller skate and a book, Big Nate (she has been requesting me to buy her this book for quite sometime already).

We still walk around on a polished, black cement flooring. Dunno when we can afford to change to pergo flooring.

The Malay book is an incentive when she did well in her Chinese spelling.

But she told me that she preferred the book more than the roller skate and wanted to spend her birthday Angpow money to buy more books. Since I have RM50 MPH voucher, we brought her to MPH to buy some books of her choice. She got all these and paid RM44.70 on top of the RM50 vouchers.

While at MP, she couldn’t resist the smell of freshly baked Famous Amos cookies, so we allowed her to buy 100g of it. If on other days, I would tell her that I will bake for her later. Not worth the money spent for just a 100g.

That’s about it. You know what, I still remember the labour pain that I had to go through to give birth to this beautiful daughter of mine. It was the toughest and most painful birth out of 5. Hubby still remembered the “dirty job” that he did.

We have a wedding invitation to attend this month. I was kind of looking forward to attend the wedding reception and also dinner. Wedding brings me goose bumps! Seeing the bride walking down the aisle, eyes fixed at her groom wearing his cute bow tie, the wedding vow and the I dos.

Unfortunately, I just got a news from hubby that his part-time staff can’t work on Saturday night. So, there goes my wedding dinner which I really look forward to.