A Mom's Diary

I have migrated…

wlliew — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:05:43 +0000

Thank you all for dropping by. My blog has migrated to http://a-moms-diary.blogspot.com/. Please feel free to swing by.

Journey to Cebu

wlliew — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:13:00 +0000

Friday, August 25
Yiu Yiu was extra clingy this morning, as if she knew I’d be away for several days. She refused to be carried by papa and kept whining softly as I smothered her with kisses. Hubby finally managed to persuade her to say goodbye to mummy as the KLIA taxi driver was waiting. After checking in at about 8.30am, I grabbed a quick breakfast at Café Marche, enjoying a cup of mocha with foccacia sandwich. I surfed a little as KLIA is now equipped with WiFi facilities. The flight to Manila departed at 10.50am, after a 30-minute delay. I spent the whole time on the flight reading the long overdue “What to Expect – the First Year”. Yiu Yiu is approaching her 10th month and I’m just at the chapter of baby’s 5th month!

After a pretty uneventful flight, my colleagues and I arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The airport is quite old, and such a far cry compared to our own KLIA. We were then transferred to the new Manila Centennial Airport for our connecting flight to Cebu. While waiting, I made my way to the washroom to express breast milk, which I planned to cart home for Yiu Yiu’s consumption.The flight to Cebu departed at 5.30pm and I could see the skyline changing from yellowish to pitch black, and it was just slightly over 6.00pm then. The plane touched down at Cebu Mactan International Airport at about 7.00pm. It was drizzling then and traffic was bad. The things that struck me on the way to the hotel were the old and rickety houses and lack of street lights. Many of the roadside stalls still used the rather primitive kerosene lamp as their source of lighting. It appears to me as if Cebu is trapped in a 50s time warp. Amidst the relative shabbiness of the surrounding, we found ourselves at the very posh Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa. We finally checked into our rooms slightly after 8.00pm, almost 12-hour since leaving home. Needless to say, I totally crashed out that night.

Saturday, August 26
Cebu was discovered by the Spanish explorer, Ferninand Magellan who, six days after having sailed into the harbour of Mactan, was slain by Lapu-Lapu, the chieftain of Mactan Island. Mactan Island is part of the Cebu province, which is made up of 167 islands, of which only seven are bigger islands. It is connected to the main Cebu Island by two bridges, the Mandaue-Mactan Bridges 1 and 2. The Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa is located on the east coast of this small island of 275,000 people.I had a full day meeting today and didn’t have a chance to explore the beautiful hotel grounds at all. In the evening, we went over to Cebu City for some shopping and dinner. We went to one of the major shopping malls in Cebu City, SM City and bought loads of dried mangoes, a popular delicacy from the Philippines. I was also impressed by the range and quality of children’s clothing at SM City. All the Disney, Barbie, Winnie the Pooh dresses were so pretty and reasonably cheaper compared to Malaysia. I was disappointed with the infant clothing range though, and I couldn’t find something nice to buy for Yiu Yiu.

Dinner was at Café Laguna, reputedly one of the best restaurants in Cebu that serves authentic Filipino cuisine. It started as a labour of love for the Urbina family. Coming from a long line of fine cooks, Lina Urbina started Café Laguna and served Filipino food with the distinctive taste which brought memories of homecooked meals shared with friends and family. Filipino cuisine has Malay, Chinese and Spanish influences. We had lumpiang sariwa (palm shoot spring roll), bulalo soup (beef shank with bamboo shoot and fresh corn), crispy tadyang (deep fried beef ribs), pandan chicken, crispy crablets, camaron rebo sado (fried shrimp coated with egg, flour and cornstarch), tangigue steak (grilled fish), kare-kare with bagong (oxtail in peanut sauce with fermented fish; very much like our own curry but not spicy) and seafood paella. The thick, ice-blended mango juice I had was so refreshing and satisfying.

Lumpiang sariwa

Kare-kare with bagong

Seafood paella

Sunday, August 27
I only had a half-day meeting today and decided to explore Cebu. The half-day city tour costs US$16 but the operator has a minimum requirement of two persons per trip. Since none of my colleagues are interested to explore the city, I went ahead with the tour on my own but had to pay for two. Michael, my guide for the afternoon, picked me up from the hotel at 1.45pm in a Toyota Vios. The tour took me to the Magellan Marker and Lapu-Lapu Monument in Mactan Island, followed landmarks in Cebu City such as the Heritage of Cebu Monument, Fort San Pedro, Basilica del Santo Nino, Magellan’s Cross and Taoist Temple. Michael was a great guide who patiently explained the history and story associated with each sight so I guess the US$32 was worth paying. The tour ended at about 4.30pm and I asked to be dropped off at Ayala Centre for some shopping. I couldn’t believe what I ended up buying! Maternity blouses…just couldn’t resist even though I don’t need any at the moment. They are a steal at between 150 – 200 pesos (RM 11 – 15) and the quality was really good.

My colleagues joined me for dinner and again we went to Café Laguna. Again, we ordered lumpiang sariwa and ice-blended mango juice. We also had sinigang hipon (shrimp soup with tamarind puree; tastes like tomyam minus the spiciness), crispy pata (deep fried pork knuckles), grilled spare ribs, crispy kangkong and pinakbet (mixed vegetables with salty fermented shrimp paste). We went back to the hotel tired, but very much satiated.

Crispy pata

Grilled spare ribs

Pinakbet

Monday, August 28
I was holed up in the meeting room from 8.00am – 6.00pm today but managed to take a quick walk at the beach during lunch. The azure, clear water was just so beautiful. It’s such a shame that I haven’t had a chance to enjoy the beautiful beach. Mental note to self, wake up at 6.00am tomorrow to soak up the sun before meeting begins at 8.00am. Dinner tonight was at Buko Bar, which served a buffet spread of traditional Filipino food. There was also a traditional dance performance during dinner. Some of the dances are similar to those we see back home, not surprising considering Filipinos are descendents of the Malays.

Group photo with the dancers

Tuesday, August 29
Immediately after the meeting ended at 5.30pm, we quickly organized a taxi for a final trip to town. We had initially planned to do some shopping at Ayala Centre and grab dinner but one of my colleagues stumbled upon an ad for Thai massage, which only costs 200 pesos for one hour. Since we could not afford the spa at the hotel, we unanimously agreed that this is a viable alternative. We instructed the taxi driver by way of pointing to the map. We reached the massage shop at about 7.00pm due to rush hour traffic. Our initial plan of massage followed by shopping and dinner would not be workable as the lady at the counter told us that Ayala Centre will close at 8.00pm. So we changed our plan and headed to Ayala Centre instead, which is just 5 minutes walk away from the shop. After the shops closed, we had dinner at Café Laguna (again!). We ordered pretty much the same dishes we had previously with the new ones being tinola lapu-lapu fillet (soup with fish fillet), pancit palabok with puto (rice noodles with seafood sauce), and buko pandan (pandan jelly in coconut cream) for dessert. We took a leisurely stroll back to the massage shop and decided to indulge ourselves with the 2-hour package which includes one hour each of Thai and Swedish massage. The Thai massage was quite good, but still cannot compare to the real McCoy. The Swedish massage was quite a disappointment, but can’t complain as we only paid 380 pesos for the whole session. It was raining heavily as we boarded the taxi back to the hotel and we could see many of the roads were flooded. We heaved a sigh of relief when we safely reached the hotel at 1.00am.

Pancit palabok with puto

Buko pandan

Wednesday, August 30
I woke up at 6.30am this morning as I’ve made a pact with my colleagues to take a dip in the hotel pool and enjoy the beach before we head home. The sun was already shining brightly and we headed to the beach first. It was heavenly wading into the crystal clear water at the beach. Even near the shore, there were many fishes, albeit plain looking ones, swimming around feeding on bread given by hotel guests. We could also see many corals (dead ones, I assume, as they were all brown in colour) in the shallow waters. We decided to rent a snorkeling gear and venture further out the sea. Though the corals were still uninteresting, we were rewarded with the sight of different colourful fishes. I’m not an expert in marine life but could still recognize the sea cucumber, star fish, and many more. We also took a refreshing dip in the pool. Soon after, it was time to bid Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa a fond farewell.

Picture perfect

The inviting clear, azure, calm sea

Pool with a view

For the return trip, again, we had to transit in Manila. Nevertheless, the shoppers among us killed time by doing some last-minute shopping and frantically trying to spend off all our remaining pesos. Cebuanos are famed guitar makers so I bought a miniature one to remind myself of Cebu at the Cebu Mactan International Airport. At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I saw a handiwork of a traditional Filipino village scene assembled inside a glass bottle and thought it would look really nice in the display cabinet. The vain pot in me also couldn’t resist the colourful woven clutch purse.

The entire journey was uneventful except that I practically slept the whole time. The plane landed in KLIA at about 8.15pm. As it was the Merdeka eve, I was told by the lady at the KLIA airport limo that the line for the taxi is very long as many drivers are stuck in the city due to numerous road closures in preparation for the Merdeka parade. As I braced myself for a 30-minute wait, I was pleasantly surprised that I got into a taxi after waiting for less than 15 minutes. As I stepped into my house, I was greeted by a very enthusiastic gummy grin. My little darling welcomed her mummy home with a big hug.

French kiss, not!

wlliew — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:54:00 +0000

Yiu Yiu has learnt the art of kissing! Whenever we ask her to kiss kiss, she’ll stick her tongue out and bring it to our lips and give us a big, sloppy, wet kiss.

Attracting attention

wlliew — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:48:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, we went to Midvalley as I wanted to do some last minute shopping before the mega sales end. I was carrying Yiu Yiu as we strolled around the mall. We walked past an event organized by Body Shop where they have professional make-up artist and hair-stylist on duty to get participants ready for their photo shoot. I wanted to point something out to hubby and so lightly patted his arm and said “Eh!” To our surprise, Yiu Yiu then extended her tiny hand and patted hubby on his arm as well, exactly the same way I did! We were so amused with her antic and laughed so hard. All through the evening, we experimented to see if she’d mimic us if we were to pat each other’s arm to attract the other person’s attention. She didn’t disappoint us, kept mimicking our actions. Hubby was so amused that he was still laughing over it the next day. Children, they really tickle us. And the other lesson I learnt that day is to avoid behaving or speaking badly in front of her in future as she might just absorb them like sponge.

My darling is 10 months old

wlliew — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 15:08:00 +0000

At 10 months now, my little darling has achieved numerous developmental milestones. She has been able to sit without support and creep since she was about six months old. She advanced to crawling by about 7½ months. Her recent achievements include being able to stand by holding on to something, pull up to a standing position from sitting, get into a sitting position from her stomach, clap hands and wave bye-bye when asked to, pass an object from one hand to the other, pick up tiny objects with her thumb and finger, cruise (walk holding on to furniture), work to get a toy out of reach and turn in the direction of a voice.She now understands simple instructions such as “No” (but not necessarily obeys it), “Come to mummy” and “Pick up the ball”. Her verbal repertoires are wider too. Besides nen nen and mum mum (that’s for food!), she’s also able to say papa and mama, though I’m not sure at this point it’s spoken discriminately. And she’s always talking in her own gibberish way while in her car seat on the way to babysitter or while playing on her own. She also seems to have developed a mind of her own and will object if we try to take something away from her.

Recently I noticed that after she wakes up from her sleep or nap, and if hubby or I are sleeping with her, she’ll crawl over and lie down on our chest. I feel really good whenever she does that, it’s as if she’s saying, “I’ve missed you over the last couple of hours and I want to make up for the lost time.”

How baby changed my life

wlliew — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 19:32:00 +0000

I normally tune in to Mix FM while driving and the topic of discussion this morning certainly captured my interest. Richard and Shaz were discussing on how a baby changes one’s lives. I thought this is a really interesting topic and decided to write about it here.I am certainly more patient person now. Dealing with such a tiny creature who constantly needs your attention and care, patience just suddenly becomes second nature. I’m also more forgiving of people who behave badly on the wheels. I’m not sure if that’s a direct consequence of being more patient, or I’ve simply mellowed down.

Spontaneity is out of the window too. Hubby and I arrange our schedules around Yiu Yiu’s schedule. Going out on a weekend is much more than just getting ready and get out the door. We will make sure she’s had her porridge, bathe and dress her, etc before getting ready ourselves. Just when we are all set to step out the door, Yiu Yiu decides to nap and we’ll just have to wait till she wakes up coz I’m one who do not like to disturb a baby’s sleep. Also, no more spontaneous trips back to hometown whenever we feel like it coz now everything needs to be planned with precision.

I’ve also become good at doing everything single handedly, literally speaking. I’ll eat my noodles with chopsticks, tap on the keyboard, get her bath ready, choose clothes from a pile that is on sales, etc while holding her in one hand. Talk about multitasking!

And above all, it is how Yiu Yiu changed my perspective and priority in life. Work is not longer at the very top of my priority list and I’m no longer concerned about achieving, or trying to achieve, perfection in everything I do. As Stephen Covey would approve, I know what my big rocks in life are and I don’t sweat the small pebbles anymore. And to me, that’s the most important change in my life.

Otitis media

wlliew — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:37:00 +0000

Last Sunday, I started feeling some pain in my left ear. It started as only mild pain and I didn’t pay much attention to as it didn’t bother me all that much. Later during the night, the pain became rather unbearable; it felt like my ear drum is being poked. I suspected that it’s otitis media (infection of the middle ear) and quickly looked up some facts on it. The literature states that acute otitis media results from infection by viruses or bacteria, often as a complication of the common cold or of allergies and that it’s more common in children than in adults. Hmmm, strange as I had no flu symptoms at all! Little Yiu Yiu has cough and runny nose so I suspected that I could have gotten the bug from her. That, or I hurt it during cleaning!Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night as the pain was keeping me awake.The next morning, I consulted my company’s panel doctor who confirmed the diagnosis of otitis media. She was quite perplexed too as I didn’t have the flu so she asked if anyone in the family is sick. I told her that Yiu Yiu is and she confirmed that one can get otitis media from someone else flu bug. I was given a 5-day course of Augmentin (which is safe for nursing mothers) and paracetamol for pain. The doctor said that the pain will gradually subside once the antibiotic takes effect to clear the infection. I was thinking to myself, “Gosh! How am I gonna live through another 5 days of such pain!” Quite frankly, the paracetamol didn’t do much to relieve the pain.

Today is the 3rd day I’m on Augmentin and the pain seemed to have abated slightly. At least I’m functioning compared to the last 2 days! I also read that otitis media is common in children between 3 months and 3 years of age. I just cannot imagine how a small child can live with such pain. An adult like me is already crying for mercy, what more a helpless little child. I just pray that Yiu Yiu will never have to go through this experience. And now that the pain is slightly less, I hope I can catch up on some zzzZZZZ tonight.

My first foray into the world of blogging

wlliew — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:21:00 +0000

I finally did it! My inaugural post in my inaugural blog. I’ve toyed with the idea of setting up a blog for some time now, inspired by other moms I know who kept great blogs about their children. I registered this some months back but never found the guts to publish a post. Wasn’t confident I can do it as I’m not good in writing nor expressing myself.Anyway, what prompted me to finally post something? Hmmm…Yiu Yiu is growing up so fast and she has learnt to do so many things over the last few months. So much so that if I don’t start keeping these memories in writing, I’ll soon forget most of them. And true enough, many things are now just a hazy memory to me…amidst the busy work schedule and juggling to be a good mum to Yiu Yiu.

This blog has a loooooonnnnggggg way to become something people would want to come back over and over but what the heck! I’ve got to start somewhere, don’t I? So ladies and gentlemen….let me present to you, my first ever blog posting. I shall endeavour to try to capture as much as I can remember now and put them in writing before more of my grey cells give up on me….