Monday, May 31, 2004

It was a good weekend for both Balqis & Adam. Balqis wanted to go shopping for her Barbie stuff and she got one set of Barbie's shoes, handbags and accessories. Barbie also has a new outfit added to her wardrobe. Adam grabbed a bouncing green & black ball and wouldnt let go of it and hugged it all the way to the counter. We had to pry it away from him but luckily the girl at the counter acted very fast! With a swerve, she managed to run it by the bar code and it's back in Adam's arm. Not too much fuss!

Balqis wanted a brand new and bigger bicycle -- more like she needs it actually coz she has outgrown the one she has now. Plus, Adam is always at the bicycle and she has been a good sister (although not all the time depending on mood here) granting our requests for her to play with Adam together in peace. Share-Share is the operative word here.

We were also at 1-Utama later in the late afternoon. We managed to get a parking space although it was near impossible. I thought of taking the kids for their horse riding at Titiwangsa but darling husband does not feel like mingling with the four legged friends (the poor horses ... dont you think they kinda look pathetic and always looking at you with that forlorn lonely eyes). Balqis got 3 new coloring books and of course Daddy had to go and get another set of crayons because we have to start coloring right that instance and 'cant wait to get home to do this, Daddy... I want to do now!' Adam got a reptile collection of animals in a tube (so help me God!). There were frogs of all kinds, a snake (omigosh!I know it's plastic but it looked real), crocodiles, some lizards etc. Balqis kindly offered to help put the toys away after Adam tossed the whole group of reptiles on the sofa. 'It's not real Mommy ... see (poke!) .. see (poke!)... not moving also...(sigh) Mommy.. Mommy'

This morning, she wondered why I didnt bring her uniform to the car. And I dressed her in her normal outdoor clothes. Her eyebrow raised and asked me ... 'eh Mommy.. today go jalan and no go to school?' She is actually still being sent to school as it is also her day care. It's just that she's at the holiday camp program during the school holidays.

And this morning, Mommy was late. Had to wash the hair and of course, blow dry it. As usual, making up the face will be in the car, in the middle of the jam and at traffic lights. Darling husband was fuming mad but he didnt lose his temper... thank you darling! And if he does, and I will normally argue back.. and if Balqis is around .. she'll tell us ... 'Maaa Daddyyy .. ALL FRIEND!'

Monday again and welcome back to a hectic world!
Enjoy your day!





signing off..Hazelinesnow at 8:27 AM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Saturday, May 29, 2004

Balqis did a wonderful picture of Mommy, Daddy & Adam. The colors she used for my face were multi-colored. Must be because of the many faces Mommy has. She must be thinking -Mommy loves me but she also scold me and sometimes spank me when I misbehave. Thus I guess the multi-colored face for Mommy.


According to my darling husband, Balqis told him while doing the faces that Daddy's smile is the longest coz he likes to smile... huh!? And of course, the smallest picture is that of Adam. I enjoyed her colors and after showing it to some of my friends, they too felt that Balqis is a talented budding artist in the makings. It's in the fotopages. Enjoy it!

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 9:37 AM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Monday, May 24, 2004

Over the weekend, Adam had 3 major bumps on his forehead. Two of the bruised bumps are located strategically on each side of his forehead. One on his left side of the forehead and the other one right on top of his eyebrow on his right side. And he has one right in the middle. He got these bumps on two counts : first, running around the sitting room playing catch me if you can with Balqis which resulted in Adam missing a step and flying right into the chest of drawers of a cupboard. I almost had a heart attack. I thought my heart stopped for a few seconds. The 3rd one was acquired while trying his best to look into the soup bowl that Daddy was holding. Missed his placement of the hand on Daddy's lap and down he goes, head first! Another heart stopping, heart wrenching episode for Mom! This time, my blood went down straight to my toe. The poor darling.

Adam, the darling smart and alert boy, is always emulating what his sister is doing. Tonight, we caught him imitating Balqis who was sprawled on the Sarawakian bamboo mat in the living room, lying on her front, doing her colors. He did exactly just that after just a few seconds of observations. He then gave up bacause it was taking oh so darn long and cant wait to still be imitating his sister and decided to open up his picture book. The first page was that of a baby and some animals. He waved at the baby in the picture before he turned the page to the next one and screamed when he saw a picture of a cat in the next page. He did this while thumping his feet on the grounds. I think he was trying to chase the cat away!

Of course, Adam likes to grab whatever there is in Balqis's hand. Tonight it was the grey colored pencil. And that was being followed by a series of screams and wailings from Balqis and Adam added to the screams while hitting the sister's head with a toy camera.

Both of them have had their showers respectively before coming home. Balqis at school and had on a fresh shirt and pants while Adam already had on his pajamas. So both of them was not showered again at home but was changed into another attire to sleep in, including Adam. I decided that they needed some talcum powder on them just to freshen them up, thus started to distribute the powders in tiny bits on the palm of their hands. Both had on their head, patches of talcum powder. It was also all over their body and feet. Then there was a brawl. Both didnt want me to stop squeezing the powder onto their palms. We finally managed to put a stop to the wailings and kickings (not to each other) just by letting them wail and kick! By this time, I just didnt have the energy anymore. Feeling a little bit fresh, both of them decided to have some milk and dozed off to dreamland at around 9.30pm. That is a world record! At least in our own little world it is!

One not so silent a night. But now those eyes are definitely tight! I tried with all my might! To have a good rest, despite.

Oyasuminasai....



signing off..Hazelinesnow at 10:54 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Sunday, May 23, 2004

It was a beautiful morning. We all woke up pretty early to be able to be at Balqis's school before 8am because Mommy is one of the officials. But of course, we arrived slightly just after 8am, which I thought was reasonably OK as all of the other children & their parents werent there yet. But slowly after we arrived, the crowd began to build up. I took Balqis's hand and led her to the tent. I am RED color, Mommy ... So Mommy sends her to where the REDs were seated. Mommy left and moved towards where parents were seated which were right across from the REDs, BLUEs, YELLOWs & GREENs. Adam was smiling and moving his body to the loud music that they were playing ... See Saw Margery Draw (eerr spelling)and having a good time because he got to sit in a grown up chair too. But of course, that was not meant to be forever. He decided to explore and found the playground just a stone throw away... (Adam's stone throw!) So he busied himself trying the swings, the maze, the boat-like swing and slides. By this time, me and my darling husband are no longer seated together with the other parents but stayed very close to Adam to monitor him. Adam had on this perpetual small smile with him all those time he was exploring. The day grew slightly warmer as the sun brightens. Balqis decided to leave the RED team to join us at the play side. Mommy walked her back to the rest of the troupe and wanted to leave. Uh Oh ... Mommy cant leave coz Balqis wants Mommy to sit right next to her. Mommy tried to explain that you know the other parents are sitted right across there ... and explain that Mommy can see Balqis very well and Balqis also gets to see Mommy, Daddy & Adam too. Sat with her for awhile and left. Ok for the time being. At this juncture, it looked very clearly that I cannot be the mommy official anymore and denounced my title to be just a plain mommy.

I arrived back at the parents side not realising that our darling Balqis was in tow! My darling husband decided to be the one sending her back to the rest of the team. From far, I saw darling husband hesitating before he could walk back to where we were because there was this new rule. Balqis wants all of us to sit with her and the RED team in that other tent! Balqis's Daddy decided to walk back. Balqis did not follow but we saw from far that all the teachers were fussing around her. She cried!

The fact that her friends Sau Yin and Nicholas were not there added to her anxiety. Now, the principal Mrs. Law is with her. The situation has turn out to be quite complicated for the other teachers to solve. The school maid was called in to be part of the solution and Balqis sat down with her in the tent but still crying. Failed strategy. Now, Mrs. Law has taken over and Balqis was in her hands following Mrs. Law everywhere. Mrs. Law gave her a piece of paper and told Balqis that she has to hold it and follow wherever Mrs. Law went. Balqis was also told that whatever that she was doing is very very important. She went passed us several times but we decided not to show that we noticed her. She went by quite casually suppressing tears at times. But the situation was controlled. Adam oblivious to the situation, continued on to have fun with the other kids.

The plot thickens. Balqis basically made up her mind that Mommy, Daddy & Adam were to be seated with her with the rest of the RED team. Her crying continued and will not subside. Mommy decided to go over to the other tent and joined Balqis because we still wanted her to participate and not be cranky. So there I was amongst the play school & kindergarten kids. But Balqis seemed to be starting a new trend. Now, some of the other kids wanted their parent there with them too! OK... time to start. Up on our feet. I was not allowed to leave her side. Marching song begins... everybody marched including me & the parents of children that decided to follow the new trend. The team decided to form a line marching out walking towards the parents' tent and turning back to walk back towards the participants' tent. Several parents were seen here marching with their kids. Balqis had a different idea of course. She wanted to march in style. She marched with Mommy holding her on my waist! She thought that this was so much fun than walking on her own!

And so, throughout the entire Negaraku singing, the oath recitals, the games... it was Balqis & Mommy as a team. During the Negaraku singing and oath recital, Balqis was on my waist. Finally came the part where she had to run to the centre of the short field and 'fish'. She was given this hook and she's supposed to hook it on to one fish and ran to the finishing line, surrender the fish in a basket and surrender the hook in another. Of course Mommy had to run very close next to her. In fact, we actually ran hand in hand! As we approached the centre of the field where the school of fish were, Balqis decided to not continue because the fish were all blue in color. Mine is red mommy ..... not blue! Oh okay ... but never mind ... it's OK the blue is also very pretty came the reply from me. She decided that this was an acceptable explanation and ran towards the fish with Mommy in tow. She did not succeed the first time and was about to get cranky again. I was encouraging her as best as I could and she got it hooked! She finished, stood in a row and walked to accept her trophy with the other kids. I found my darling husband with Adam near her classroom. It's cooler there. He had Adam in the stroller and Adam was resting with his milk in hand.

I went to visit the classrooms because they displayed everybody's art & craft in every rooms and took pictures of all Balqis's work. I was also given a report card! And it says "Balqis is progressing slowly. She is quite moody at times, but she will follow instructions". I was handed over a yellow folder with all the work that Balqis had done during the first semester.

Apart from being one of the youngest person in school, she is also able to take care of herself very well. Although she can be moody at times but she can color very well when her mood is right. She is also very bright. Those were the comments that I received from her teachers.

One tiring day for me but worth it. And oh yeah, her friend Sau Yin finally arrived just before the game began. And just before the game began, everybody was given a bottle of water and chocolate teddy bear cookies. That seemed to brighten Balqis up a bit. Oh and later, we also get to sample some of the cookies that Balqis & her friends baked at school.

A day gone ... with new experiences. Next year for her sports day, I will explain to her in detail how the event will be from the start to the end. I realised that she was not this cranky last year and maybe because we did not explain to her that we were all going to be with her. We just went to her school and that was that. This morning's mistake was saying that all of us were going to be 'with her' at school and of course, she must take that literally.

Okay ... I'm going to be late. Promised them a walk in the park. Shower time ....






signing off..Hazelinesnow at 5:28 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Both Balqis & Adam did not have a good nap during the day, today. Crankiness sets in at about 9.30pm, for both of them. They had so much energy today I was just wondering when they are going for their naps which never comes. We went out for like 30 minutes to go get our dinner (Bukhara Kambing) and Adam slept in the car. I told Balqis to be quiet a little because Adam has just fallen asleep. Balqis at that point was singing some songs. Upon knowing that Adam has fallen asleep, she quickly peeped from the head rest to the back where Adam is seated in his baby chair. Not even 1/2 a second of me asking her to be quiet, she decided to call out his name... Although it was a whisper, an intentional whisper ... it was loud enough for everybody in the car to hear her. Adam ... Adam ... (in Balqis's biggest whisper!)

Will get the camera ready for tomorrow's event. Now going to sleep .... Cant open my eye lids! Oyasuminasai ...



signing off..Hazelinesnow at 10:25 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Friday, May 21, 2004

On my shopping list:
1. Adam's toy: Basketball hoop with music & sound (It comes out with music & sounds for every successful throw into the basket)
2. Balqis's toy: Barbie's new attire and shoe set
3. Daddy's new shoes (to survey at Metrojaya or Bruno Magli to see whether they are on sale)

Must do list:
1. Look through all the shoe boxes to see what kinds of shoes, colors that I have this weekend
2. Get Balqis well rested on Saturday for her big day on Sunday
3. Ensure that Balqis's sports attire are cleaned and ironed on Saturday

Oh by the way, while doing the list, I thought of the darling smart Adam. He has now taken an interest over climbing of the dining room chairs and sitting himself on the chairs. I can imagine his face... glowing with happiness after a successful attempt to sit himself in the chair, moving his tiny feet, looking left and right. Next I will try to introduce to him writing on his sketch book while sitting at the chair.

It was almost impossible to get the little boy to change his diaper this morning, screaming, squirming and wriggling to be let go.... especially when we heard little kitty cries from outside the door! Balqis now cant wait to go out of the house despite Mommy not being fully dressed yet. She decided to open the door on her own. There were actually 5 kittens!! So help us God!

I love cats but I just dont want Balqis & Adam to play with them when they are so young. You know, we do not want them to get the furs into their mouths and throats.

Balqis was also in a foul mood after that, because daddy decided to scold her for not listening to him not allowing her to go outside to look and play with the cats. She screamed and cried and with tears rolling down her cheeks sat herself in the car to go to school. I tried to cheer her up - put her on my lap and hugged her all the way to school. Daddy explained to her why she cant play with the cats and she nodded. Still no smiles. We normally would send her off in her pajamas and the school will shower and put on her school uniform for her. (Today is Friday so she'll be in her t-shirt & shorts uniform). So there she was in her nightgown down to her feet, Barbie bag on the back, standing just outside the car and not moving. She wanted to be carried into the school. Scooped her and carried her into school and she managed a smile. Upon reaching the class, there were already some kids seated at the table with Mrs. Law doing some coloring. Mrs. Law saw Balqis's tear stained face and immediately said to her... Balqis look at this picture. Would you like to color it? Big smile. Sat herself pajamas and all, to begin her colorings.

Maybe I'll call the school later to find out whether she's ok. OOpps.... getting back to work and packing up stuff to move downstairs to the renovated floor... cool... as long as I dont have to carry the boxes down myself!



signing off..Hazelinesnow at 9:56 AM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Thursday, May 20, 2004

I seriously think that Adam think of me as one of his toy. As I was sitting down with Balqis watching The Land Before Time, with one small leap, he landed on my back and start attacking my hair which I'd put up in a bun. He wrestled me to the grounds. I told him that Mommy is a girl and girls dont play that way. Of course, that remark was greeted with a cheeky half smile and it starts again. He pulled my hair so hard that I ended up in a lying position! He climbed my back trying to sit on my shoulders and laughing all the while when he was doing this. I feel like a rag doll. Today, when I went to get Balqis from school, Mrs. Law the principal told me to be at the school early coz she needs me to help out with some of the arrangements, this Sunday. I told her that I'd be glad to do it, having had the experience last year. She also told me that I can take back some of Balqis's artwork for me to scan and put it up on the blog. Cool ....

Adam is already asleep. Must be tired of playing with Mom as a toy. Balqis just finished with her computer stuff and Mom finally gets to use the computer. The darling is off to do her coloring now and Mom is persuading her to consider going to sleep. .... Cant sleep Ma ... I poo! Sigh ...

Am very very tired. Have been going through a back to back crazy schedule this whole week. Thank God It's Friday! Cant wait for the weekend to come. A friend invited us to their orchard home in Malacca. They have a few acres of land, a chalet and a fish pond. Balqis & Adam will love the outdoors and the space. Unfortunately we cant go this time. Perhaps next week . It's Balqis's sports day this Sunday.

Sleep is calling. Just me & Balqis together. The other 2 babies (1 big and 1 small) have long gone to dreamland. Adam smiled in his sleep... wonder who he is dreaming of... must be Mommy!



signing off..Hazelinesnow at 9:54 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Today was one heck of a day! Work was just crazy! But since I got in quite early today, I managed to finish off quite a bit of stuff. It was another ultra hot day in Kuala Lumpur. I wished it would snow!

Balqis just got into bed and while playing with her Barbie, fell asleep. She was earlier, waiting for Mommy to finish with work so that she can use the computer. But we thought perhaps tonight no computers and earlier to bed. She was mighty upset. The smart little brown sugar knows how to connect to streamyx and hit the explorer to choose either Disney Playhouse Rolie Polie Olie and all the Disney friends sites, Barney or Sesame Street. Her click, drag, drop skills are better than some adults I know! These web sites are fun -- coloring, games (spelling, alphabets etc), story books and lots more. Only thing is .... cant get her to go to bed earlier. The cunning girl will wait until my darling Adam dozed off and immediately, she'll be pestering me to get online. She knows that rule no. 1 is that she can only go online when Adam is asleep. Adam would also like to be online but he has not yet master the skills although I suspect he'll get there sooner than expected!

Balqis will be attending the Holiday Camp during the school holidays at her play school & day care centre. She'll have loads of fun coz there will be art & craft, music and movement (cultural & modern dance), exploring science & nature walks and a trip to Arkib Negara (Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra) & to Toys R Us. I thought perhaps it will be fun going to these trips with her but I havent put a serious thought to it. Her teachers encourage parents to participate. Shall I or shall I not. Balqis acts very differently when we're around as opposed to when she spends her day with others.

This Sunday (23 May) will be her sports day. I will be there real early so that I can help out with the arrangements at her school. It's so much fun to watch your pride & joy in their daily activities where you dont normally get to see. They are so different with their teachers and friends than they are with you. Balqis is very independent and according to her teachers can take care of herself very well. Balqis too, according to her Teacher Karen, is the most helpful in class. She will always puts up her hand whenever her Teacher Karen asks for volunteers to help out with chores in class. Only thing is Balqis's reaction to things she dislike is her screams. She will scream her head off whenever things does not go her way. She's improving coz the teachers now have a different approach to that problem.

Adam though today, was not in a very good mood when I went to pick him up from the babysitter. He squirmed and cried when I tried to put him in his car seat, which is very seldom. When I finally managed to secure him in the seat, fasten the seat belt and all.... I was a complete mess! He was clawing and pulling my hair as he squirms & screams. All of us went to the night market for awhile to get some dinner and back home. Immediately showered both Balqis & Adam coz they smell of the night market. Adam was making such a fuss when we wanted to put on his pajamas. My darling husband managed to put him to sleep in just a short while. The smart boy must be so darn tired!

All three babies (2 small & 1 big... really big) are now asleep. Finally some time for myself. Quickly doing up a mental shopping list:
1. Nazleen Noor blouse: must drop by her boutique either in Sogo or Melawati Square
2. White shoes (high heels): must drop by Nose, Lewre & Pretty Fit.
3. White skirt: must drop by Metrojaya

Oh! Let's not forget the most important thing for this entire shopping thingy -- I've got a RM100.00 voucher to use up at Metrojaya!!! It expires 31 May 04!

Sleepy now. Must take my jamu and go to sleep. It's another long day tomorrow for me, at work. I need my beauty sleep. I need my rest. Will be up again within 3 to 4 hours for night feeds. Sometimes, darling husband takes care of that department. But sometimes he just cant open his eyes and snores away .... not even steering amidst the deafening cries for night feeds.

A butterfly is in the house. Probably wanting a shelter for the night. It must be saying .... peace at last. But then again ... NOT!

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 10:48 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Monday, May 17, 2004

4.45pm. Looks like my ambition to be out of the office by 5.30pm will be fulfilled! The day looked gray outside. Have not been out since I arrived this morning. Lunch was McDonalds delivery with the whole department. Was wondering whether Adam was OK with his breakfast & lunch today. Since he was having flu, he kind of lost a bit of his appetite over the weekend. Hopefully he's better with food today. Balqis sometimes, gets bored with the food they serve her at school and will not eat at meal times. But she does eat considerably more with her friends than at home. Hope she has a good time at school today!

Wondering when I'll be able to visit Nazleen Noor's boutique to get my blouse. Have not been able to sleep soundly (yeah right!) ever since I laid eyes on the blouses (ala butterfly) at one of her boutiques last month. I know what my darling husband would say to this .... how many blouses ala butterfly are you thinking of having? I thought there are still some that you havent even worn yet! Men! What do they know ... whether or not it's worn is a secondary matter. Most importantly having them in the closet. Who knows, you might need to wear something like that like ... tomorrow!

Glancing at the clock ... getting back to work ...


signing off..Hazelinesnow at 4:42 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Yesterday was another milestone for darling Balqis. She spents the day without her diaper. We have been training her on and off according to her mood. I've also began my series of slow talks explaining to her the reasons why she has to be off her diapers. She listened attentively, nodding. This morning Balqis was in a fantastic mood. I know because the incy wincy spider went up the water spout song was in the air. She got off the car, smiling, song still on her lips. As for Adam, when we got to the babysitter's place, he seemed OK but suddenly there was a change of mind. He realised that he'll be left there and turn around to see where Mommy was and trying his best to reach out for me! Sigh ....

I am determined to get out of the office by 5.30pm at the latest today. Will see if I can do it!

Okay... back to bury my noses with work...

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 1:17 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Sunday, May 16, 2004

Just as I was beginning to see some light to some aspiration for my article, Adam woke up from his nap.......with a very very bad mood. Of course darling husband pretended that this isnt so and continued on with his nap. Balqis continued her nap without a steer. Adam simply will not stop crying. And mommy found out why. Perhaps he was having a tummy ache and that woke him up coz now mommy is left with cleaning Adam up. Chocolate brown poo! (hehehehehe)... After the cleaning, playing water and a quick shower, Adam seemed to perk up a bit!

I did some laundry today -- my therapy. I had some stuff to hand wash and did that while running some laundry in the washer. Just as I was finishing off with my wash about to rinse them off, I thought I saw a dead .. (oh but i wasnt sure when I first catched glimpse of it) ... baby lizard falling off from the bucket! With a smooth move ala Chow Yun Fat (not sure of spelling), followed by a few decibels of screams, I managed to avoid the now seriously confirmed dead baby lizard only a 0.5689mm (not too scale) away from my toe! Oh My God! Reptiles are not particularly a favorite of mine. Although it was just a baby reptile, I would have had a near fainting experience if it were to land on my feet! Once a lizard fell off from the ceiling (not enough gravity perhaps) and landed splat on my head and ran down through my hand, leaped on my leg and ran off via my toe! It was a cold experience! Balqis & Adam are both scared of cockroaches and 'cickriches'. For your information, cockroaches are the big ones ... the mamas and the daddies. The small baby ones are called 'cickrich'. How my darling Balqis coined the word 'cickrich' remains a mystery. But I believe that it's a child's mind at work!

I am certainly not looking forward to tomorrow! It will be one hectic day and my schedule will only leave me a bit of space for me to gobble down lunch before continuing on with the rest of the day. But I vowed to leave the office latest 5.30pm.

Darling husband is cooking tonight. Of course he is a better cook than me ... he's a qualified chef! Yes I know what everybody is thinking but no... Years ago when I broke news about the marriage, they all said the same thing 'Lucky Girl ...'. Let me tell you guys... he doesnt cook at home. But I guess tonight's my lucky night. It's gonna be grilled lamb! He's marinating the lamb with eerr... some spices. Oopps Balqis is up! And not in a very good mood either. National Cranky Evening After Waking Up From Nap! Oh wait ... darling hubby is asking something ... what was that darling? "Where's the Honey", he asked. And I answered.. "Oh you're talking to her". He ignored me. Cheh!

He never finds anything in the kitchen and simply does not know where things are. Look! Adam is making his way towards the kitchen. Hahaha ... My darling husband is getting a kitchen helper who will take out all the bowls and spoons and plates and stuff out of the cupboard. This particular kitchen helper is normally a very noisy one in the kitchen and he cant help it either ... there're too many things in there that makes real loud noise.

One thing good though, when and if I do cook, he can help me with the mis-en-place (hopefully it's the right spelling) -- the preparation part. And he does help with you know stuff like spaghetti. Only thing is he will make the sauce from scratch as opposed to his darling wife who will just get those from the stores.

One hot day in Kuala Lumpur. And I hope it will not continue to be one hot night. But whatever it is, if you survived Iowa's summer, you'll survive Kuala Lumpur's heat.

Back to the drawing board... literally -- helping Adam with his sketches, that is.








signing off..Hazelinesnow at 6:39 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Solemn morning, today. Gray. The Cumulus Nimbus Cloud hovering in the distance awaiting the wind to bring them closer to our vicinity. Will there be rain?

Whenever it rains, the first thing that came to mind will be whether Balqis & Adam are cold and properly covered to ensure that they stay warm. Do they have their socks on? If they are sleeping, do they have their blanky with them? Never mind! I made a mental note to call the babysitter & the school when and if it rains to check on them. :o) Mothers! Okay ... confession... I already checked on Adam to see whether his fever has subsided. The little tike is napping at this moment. Kak Ani, the babysitter, convinced me that Adam is moving towards a very fast recovery. I do hope so.

Am in a presentation mode today. Power presentation skills required for this afternoon. Presenting to a bunch of old and tired Board of Directors with Tan Sris & Datuks at the beginning of their names. I want this business. I must not only be good but excellent! I must impress them and leave a long and lasting impression. God help me.

Matters of inspirations -- Balqis & Adam. Pray for Mommy!

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 11:55 AM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Balqis and Adam are a lot better! Thank God for that. I have been worried sick and thinking about them a whole day at work. Calling the babysitter and the school like more than 3 times in a day. They must be thinking .... gosh a lunatic over protective mother! But I had to have some form of peace of mind. Well I thought if they are going to be stuck with my kids, they'd better get used to me ... lunatic or not! Adam is already asleep. Balqis is doing her colors, peering at me to see whether I will let her play with the computers before she sleeps tonight. Told her that Mommy's working and to continue coloring.

I wanted to go to the salon this evening because my 15 year old Hitachi hair dryer bought in the US when I was still in school, finally said goodbye to this cruel bad hair days world. It died on me last Friday. So I have been living with going to the salon to wash my hair this week. My darling husband finally put a stop to all this pampering by going directly to Carrefour after fetching the kids to buy a hair dryer. Much more economical buying the hair dryer for me so that I will be able to wash my own hair at home than going to the salon was the clear message of the day - brought to you from darling husband. Back to visiting the salon once a week. Sob ...

-Break to finish a proposal for a presentation tomorrow afternoon. I need this business. It'll be good on my portfolio-

11.38pm
We noticed that Adam is shivering while sleeping and his body is in a curled up position! Oh No... he is cold! Fever's back....thermometer beeped, put under armpit, waiting .... darling hubby ran to the kitchen. Wasnt sure whether to get the Nurofen syrup or the panadol syrup. He decided on the Nurofen syrup. Scrap that... temperature too high... 38.5 and still going. I didnt wait for it to climb higher. Have to administer Supp to the anus. Poor Adam... But it will be more effective than the syrups. The shivering means the heat is too high in his body. Both his tiny chubby hands and toes are cold. Poor darling Adam. But he is a strong boy. I tried picking him up so that I could hold him. Protest. Wants to be put down. He chose to sleep on his front. He looks more comfortable but was not too happy about feeling cold.

Now, Mom cant go back to finish off the proposal she was working on. Mind is solely on Adam, waiting for his fever to break. Darling hubby decided to lie down next to him placing an ice pack wrapped in a towel on his head. Adam protested. It disturbed him trying to sleep. He settled down. Ice pack on his head. Not bothered. Must be fast asleep. Fretful but fever seems to be breaking. I was frantically searching for the remote of the ceiling fan. Darling husband found it. Fan stopping. Now with the fan off, Balqis whimpers and frets. Mommy took a small pillow to fan Balqis. Balqis settles down. Adam sweats. Mommy & daddy are relieved but will not be able to have a peaceful sleep. We will be getting up every now & then to check on Adam until morning comes.

Mommy goes back to her proposal... what was it just now ... oh yeah.... the marketing strategy ... engulfed.








signing off..Hazelinesnow at 9:42 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Have been thinking about both Balqis and Adam the whole day. Am worried sick. Imperative for me to go home as soon as the clock strike 5pm! Will feel better once I have them right infront of my eyes.

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 4:19 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Monday, May 10, 2004

All 3 babies are asleep. Came back rather late. Went out of the office 6.30-ish. Traffic stalls my ambition to be back at home in 15 minutes! Worried about Balqis. And Adam. He was coughing slightly this morning. Gosh it's a hot night! I pity the babies. I had too much to do too little time today at work. But, I do work better under pressure. I completed 2 proposals and 1 presentation for tomorrow. Pretty cool presentation too I might add. Another important meeting on Wednesday -- havent even started on the proposal but ideas have started to brew in my mind. I hope that it'll just flow on Tuesday evening when I sit down to start writing it. Then again, not sure whether the creative stars will be shining brightly for me or blur blinking lights for the brain cells to imagine how this proposal will look like.

Balqis of course had a go with the computers before she announced 'OK Daddy... wanna sleep now. Me tired you know.' I peered from under my mountains of papers to look at her. She does look tired. Bet she didnt even nap at school today. Thinking about her today, I can not believe that she'll be 4 years old this October. She's so cute. I think it'll be a good idea to celebrate both Balqis's and Adam's birthday party together this year.

Today is practically National Cranky Day. Does everyone else know about this? Balqis was cranky since this morning. Trip to the Doc. She thought it was Mommy's day off and she could go 'jalan'. Adam was cranky the moment we laid eyes on him! He wouldnt even sit in his car seat. My darling husband had to hold him since I was driving. I showered together with Balqis and Adam to save time. As usual there'll be toys in the bathroom and getting them both out of the bathroom was close to impossible tonight. Dont blame them. It is a very very hot night! I'm melting ... The kids must be feeling the heat. The heat must be getting to them. Adam was wailing for no reasons throwing his colored pencils and Winnie the Pooh small sized sketch book. I dont know what went on in his mind. Definitely crankiness to the power of infinity! Adam is always the cool dude you know ... cant be bothered with anything. It's very difficult to see Adam bothered. But tonight he was throwing tantrums, colored pencils, sketch books and himself to the floor! Mommy was left helpless coz Daddy went out to get dinner. My darling husband came home and managed to put Adam to sleep as he always does every night. Never fails. I dont know how he does it. On certain nights where I had to put Adam to sleep, I would normally let him play as long as he want until he voluntarily went to his sleeping rocker. But my darling husband always manage to put Adam to sleep even when Adam does not want to go to sleep. Adam must be thinking - because I have developed this attitude where I believe that there's too much to do and too little time and sleep is such a waste coz then I cant play, I dont want to sleep.

I always wonder what is going on in their mind. What kind of perspective are they looking at things with coz most of the times they make more sense then some adults I know. Melting, sleepy and starting to be cranky too. The heat is getting to me now. Need another shower. Oh and I must remember to take those jamu. It states 'Diminum 9 pil setiap sore sebelum tidur, sampai badan merasa segar'. The english version says 'To be taken 9 pills every night before sleep'. So do I actually take the 9 pills and wait until I'm 'segar' or can I go to sleep right away actually? Okay okay crankiness just got to another level. Will just have my ice cold apple juice and off to dreamland. Over and out.

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 11:04 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

My darling Balqis had fever this morning, again. 37.8. Dropped by at her favorite Doctor -- Dr. Norliza. Dr. Norliza normally will only prescribe original medication thus her medication agrees very well with both Balqis & Adam. Mommy likes it there too besides the good service, Mommy gets ample cereal samples for Adam! As usual, Balqis will present herself to the doctor. Sat herself on the chair next to the Doctor allowing the Doctor to examine her without a fuss, cooperating. But of course, she expects the Doctor to reward her with the candy that's always on her table. Earlier in the morning, I'd noticed that she was restless and I'd put my hand on her forehead and around her neck. Warm. She heard the beep from the thermometer and raised her arm, eyes still closed shut. Sigh. Done. An orange candy today. She jumped off from the chair to explore in the other rooms while the Doctor chatted with Mom. Her left tonsil is a bit red in color. No antibiotics this time. She just completed a course the past few days. And something for her cough and phlegm.

She'd asked me earlier ... Mommy not go to work and we go jalan is it? No darling. Mommy has to work today and you're going to school. When we arrived, the kids were already at the field practising for 23rd May's sports event. Balqis was hanging on to my legs. She's asked me to stay and play and sing with her today. That was a very nice thought and I seriously think that I will take one day off to do just that with her, one of these days. Her school allows and encourage participation from parents. Her school is a day care, play school, kindergarten, ballet school and music school too. So, it's a fantastic opportunity for Balqis. Only thing lacking of course is the religious side of the education which I will have to consider soon.

So, there Balqis was, hanging on to dear life at Mommy's feet. Her teacher saw her and took her away from me and told her ... Balqis remember Happy Face? She didnt smile as she was being led away by her teacher. Neither did she look back. I waited to see whether she'll be okay but stood behind some plants to ensure that she couldnt see me watching. No smiles yet but she looked like she's gonna be OK. Will call the school around lunch time to check on her. And will be home early this evening too. I imagined that everytime the phone rings, the school must be thinking .... Oh My God! It must be Balqis's Mom again. But then again, Mothers are Mothers. I may not be the only Mother calling their kids' school to find out about their kid. I wonder if the other Mothers think of it the way I do too... you know... whether I am the only Mother doing that.



signing off..Hazelinesnow at 3:26 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Sunday, May 09, 2004

Today is one very tiring Sunday. The two little Einsteins were very busy. I need another weekend to get over this one! I suppose this was an eventful Mother's Day weekend. One of the activities this weekend was to go to a mall. Balqis's memory once again proves to be fantastic, superb and excellent. She can remember all the rules by heart. For example, everytime before we arrived at a mall, she'll say ... 'Okay Mommy, I know... No jumping, no running, no screaming, no crying. Most important, must listen to Mommy & Daddy.' And she never ever fail to say this rule out loud religiously everytime she's outside a mall waiting to get inside it. Only thing is she also practises selective memory because once she's inside of a mall those rules no longer apply! I wished I had those shoes these youngsters are wearing nowadays... the ones with wheels. And no wonder I am so skinny even after 2 kids --I have to chase after them all the time.

Balqis saw the fotoframe with her pictures in it and recognised them immediately. 'That is Balqis's one' was the comment. Yeah .... I saw her eyes looking closely at the screen and nodded to somewhat confirmed her thoughts and looked at me but she decided to let it be and couldnt be bothered.... walked away with Barbie tucked under the arm.

Adam today was helping me do or rather undo the laundry -- So help us God! Doing laundry is actually one of my hobbies. It's kinda like a therapy for me to be cleaning the laundry, folding them and placing them back at their designated space in the wardrobe. I normally have two kinds of washings. One is machine washable and the other hand washed. Today I had both. And it was such a hot day that all of the washings are dried up fine. And yes of course, it was a big challenge today with Adam trying to help Mommy with the laundry. He always have loads of fun 'helping' too.

I caught Balqis trying to make a phone call after one of her favorite cartoons -- Mr. Bean. She punched some numbers and enquired.... Can I speak to Mr. Bean, please. Her father almost had a fit! He had to manage that particular situation because I was still doing the laundry when that happened.

Now while I'm writing this, the two babies are already in dreamland. Strike that. Make that all three babies. The biggest baby was supposed to help me put them to sleep and as always fall asleep together with them. I would really like to say ... peace at last... but I know that will not be so. At least, I suppose for the time being the time will be all mine to do as I please until a night feed is needed which will be in about a few hours time tonight.

Need my beauty sleep. Power day tomorrow with proposals to be completed and presentation materials for my presentation on Tuesday. Heck of a week, this coming one. Do it! Live it!

Oyasuminasai .....





signing off..Hazelinesnow at 10:39 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Friday, May 07, 2004

Balqis was feverish this morning and according to the thermometer it was 37.3. Not too high but you can never take your chances with these little people. She was fed up of taking in medicine as it is and the knowledge of having to add another one to her menu is not too exciting. She's still coughing and so she's still on her cough medication and of course her antibiotics (a must to finish the course) for her tonsils. She curled up tighter at the sound of Mommy waking her up with .. Balqis wake up darling you have to take your medicine and it's time for school. She heard me. She squirmed and curled into a ball. Okay this is a job for daddy. Mommy's rushing like mad coz Adam just did his infamous Poo in the morning and needs cleaning up. One glance at the clock and quick Adam .. Mommy's gonna be late and lose that free parking space right infront of the office door! Adam of course sensing the urgency, ran around the sofa with me chasing him until I outsmarted the little rascal. Caught him, stripped him and in the bathroom he goes. The first thing he does upon entering the bathroom is to always check his toys in the bucket. Okay the tennis ball is floating, the duck is floating and he looked around and decided that now, he needs his tooth brush. My husband almost gave up when he saw me purchasing the tooth brush for Adam the other day. What would a 16 months old baby with less than 10 teeth in his mouth do with a tooth brush? Well... only a mother would know. I took a considerable time deliberating on whether he should have the bunny on the handle or the dinasour or ... I settled for a lion. Nevertheless, I gave him the tooth brush. He looked pleased and started brushing whatever teeth he has. While he was happy playing I showered him while thinking of his wardrobe. Quick!quick!quick! Out he goes wrapped in the fluffy blue towel while Mom choose the long sleeve blue tunic with a 3/4 dark blue pants. As always and it happens all the time -- when Mommy is late, lets be a little bit more difficult. Yeah!

Finally managed to dress Adam, with a lot of effort. One hand with Balqis's uniform, the other my darling husband's attire for the day and eyes darting searching for Adam. He's taken Balqis's Barbie doll and ran off under the table, covering his face with the table cloth, thinking that since he cant see anything, nobody sees him standing there, Barbie in one hand and table cloth in the other shielding the face. Balqis is screaming like a banshee on fire by now! Why oh why ....

Adam surrendered the barbie and all is fine, for the time being. Suddenly .... the biggest baby asked what tie am I wearing and oh I need my socks too. Sigh. I have three babies. 2 small and 1 big. They all have something in common. They are not sure where to find things in the house because they basically are not sure where things are. And now everybody's dressed and ready but I am not!

Grabbed a black camisole, black blouse and black skirt. Perfume! And oh earrings and where are my rings... grab grab grab! Mommyyyy I want to walk to the car with Mommyyyy. Why dont you go with daddy darling? I'll be right there. At the back room, checking the iron.. off. All lights off. Close the door, locked the lock. Opps... unlock the lock, open the door... grab Adam's milk, close the door, locked the lock and I wish I have one of those shoes the kids nowadays are wearing, the ones with wheels. Now ready to face the world -- Mommy in heels, Adam in one hand, Balqis in the other, going out into the real world. What a start to a brand new day!

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 3:10 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Thursday, May 06, 2004

Wondering what Balqis and Adam is doing at this moment, while Mommy is trying her best to concentrate on the proposal she's working on. My mind kind of drifted back to them imagining what they might be doing right at this instance.

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 4:09 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

I was just so dead tired just now but Adam still wanted to play so I wished I had little match sticks to keep both my eyes opened. But nevertheless, the little tike nodded off to dreamland with bottle in one hand and the other in mine. Balqis on the other hand, was impatiently sitting at the edge of the sofa waiting for Adam to sleep. This is important. The rule is that she can play with the computer when Adam is asleep. There will be a thug of war with the two if Adam is awake and Balqis is clicking away with the mouse. Adam will feel left out and the sounds from the computer are all so very interesting -- there's Elmo and Big Bird and Barney and Rolie Polie and many more familiar sounds coming from the computer that Adam will not be able to be steered away from it. And it will take about 10 Rambos to take a wrigling screaming 16 months old away from anything at all. And since Mommy is a petite size XS so dont even dream about it.

Balqis the darling sweetheart decided to call it quits at about 15 minutes after 11pm where Mom has not stopped sweet talking her into thinking about going to bed while folding laundry. She finally either was just too sleepy to go on or had just enough nerve to listen to Mom in the background while she created some new monsters at the Sesame Street web page. "Enough. Sleeping now" was the announcement. Mom offered milk in the bottle (sigh .... she's still a baby) and she took it and before I could say good night, she fell asleep on the sofa.

Looking at their sweet faces when they sleep, you just simply wonder what had happened to these angelic looking faces when they wake up! Hey wait .... somebody just giggled. Who was that? Sounds like Adam. Wondered what it was in his dreams that made him giggle in his sleep. Must be thinking of Mommy! ;o)

I went out of the office kinda late today. It was 15 minutes to 7pm. Hey ... that's late for Mommies okay. At least for this Mommy. And I wished I could cast a spell hocus pocus presto and I'm the only car left on the street! There were so many cars on the road this evening, I could not believe the pace I was moving. But then of course, it was raining and it would have been a great help if the traffic police were there to help smooth the journey but then why am I not surprised ... he is never around when needed the most .... in the rain!

Balqis had had her evening shower when i arrived at her day care. She made a fuss over her shoes... seems that somebody else took hers instead. Same color, same style. But all is forgotten and all attention now focused to where Mommy is taking her. Told her that we're stopping at the gas station, teller machine and then to pick up Adam from the babysitter and back to the house. She noted that Daddy was not included in Mommy's plan and started to complain. And she added... take daddy at choo choo train station.... Nope I told her that Daddy will be working late and that we're not expecting him at the time. Not too happy with me but never mind, we've reached the gas station now and wide eyed again, decided that she shall follow Mommy to the counter to pay for gas and of course, the damage included 2 lollipops and one Mamee quick snack. She noted herself at the security monitor and she always feel so excited by seeing herself with Mommy following close at her heels in the monitor.

Quiet is the night now. Just me, my keyboard and my Rippingtons. But alas, somebody is whining now... must be time for feeds. The joys of mother hood. Darn ... darling hubby not here else I could delegate the milk making task. Sigh....





signing off..Hazelinesnow at 11:49 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}

Sunday, May 02, 2004

I suppose I was the only mother today (perhaps... but probability is high that it is so) that was carrying a box of a newly purchased Barbie doll, trying to detach the doll away from the wires that held the Barbie onto the box, while walking as fast as she could, dodging crowd with a screaming, wailing 3 year old in tow. The 'I want my Barbie!' script started from the Barbie's aisle, as soon as my darling Balqis decided on the Bouquet Barbie Doll and the pyjama outfit. After a very careful consideration thinking that she might need the pyjama more coz Barbie definitely has to go to sleep tonight, we or perhaps the entire (well that's a bit too optimistic) Carrefour (a big grocery store) heard that we have to take this Barbie out of the box not a minute later. Mommy's creative reasonings are now out in the drain. Of course, we do not want the darling cute Adam to feel left out, thus started to walk onto the other aisles in search for a 'boy' toy coz afterall, 'this is girl's toy (the Barbie) not boy's one so Adam cannot play with it'. My darling husband was frantically trying to hold a wrigling Adam in one hand and doing his darnest best to maneuver the brand new baby buggy that he unfolded from its plastic wrappings and was testing it in the store. Balqis first saw that Adam will be the one taking the inaugural ride in the red and black buggy and decided that she should be the one going around in the buggy while Adam ride in the trolley. Upon seeing that it was definitely Adam sitting in the brand new buggy, she decided to do a daredevil stunt like jumping out of the trolley. I was pushing this trolley and trying my hardest to keep a 100% Balqis in the trolley. I almost succeeded. With one feet dangling outside the trolley, I'd pushed my way through the crowd that didnt go back to their hometown and decided to stay in KL and shop at Carrefour. That was how we arrived at the Barbie aisle, in style.

We'd decided on a pull along toy for Adam. The toy looked like a giant bug with 3 tiny balls on it that jingle and rattle as it was being pulled. But alas, Adam fell asleep as soon as we had latched him safely in his car seat so he didnt get to play with his new toy but never mind, I'd left it right next to him so that tomorrow morning when he wakes up, he shall see the toy first. The little handsome Adam must be oh so darn tired. He always wakes up before everybody else in the house like today was no exception. I'd suddenly felt something on my back and opened my eyes to see Adam resting, with those twinkles in his eyes and the dimple, smiled at me as he noticed that ... oh Mommy's up! And after the wrigling episodes at the store, I am pretty sure Adam will sleep pretty soundly tonight.

So, Balqis spent Barbie's first night at our house with Barbie sleeping next to her but not after Barbie donned her new pyjama, nightgown and slippers. After some thinking, the slippers are off coz Barbie might be hot sleeping in her slippers. I'd fashioned a closet for Barbie from a used tissue box where I'd cut the top part so that it'll be easier for Balqis to take out stuff and put in stuff.

I'd told her in the car on our way home to take very very good care of the Barbie because it is expensive and she agreed although I doubt she even understands the value of money except that its needed to pay stuff for her..... that she understood, because I will always give her the money, show her to the queue, present your buyings and pay for it. Wait for the change and wait for the stuff bought to be handed over to you.

Okay. Balqis is asleep but not before she got to play computer games (basically Disney Playhouse and Sesame Street stuff). Pretty good at it too. Her click, drag, drop skills are fantastic. Very well coordinated.

Balqis is asleep now. Adam is on his first feed for the night. And of course, Barbie is right next to Balqis, smiling. Perhaps wondering what tomorrow will bring. If only Barbie knows ...... sigh .... Mommy's been watching too much Toy Story.

signing off..Hazelinesnow at 10:07 PM [ | ]

{Takes all sorts to make the world .. the world..}