My Balloon Sculpture (Animal)

My 2nd attempt at sculpting a dog. Will be giving these to the children at Megan's little celebration on Saturday :) Shall attempt to make some butterflies if I can find some time between all the party prep...

Very Touching Moments (VTM)

My grandfather was discharged from the hospital after nearly 1month of stay. On Sunday, I told Megan before we go to bed that she would soon be seeing 'lao-gong' (great grandpa, in teochew) back home cos the doctors have "check-check" and said he is OK to go home. She listened intently and replied "Ah-long (Uncle Clarence) yi-yang, lao-ma jia you Ah-long" (she was trying to tell me that Clarence has also been discharged and she has seen him at my grandma's place!). Truly, I was amazed at the connections she could make.

When my grandpa was finally home on Tuesday, my aunty took Megan to the corridor to wait for them to come up to the flat. I was told that she shouted "LAO-GONG" repeatedly at the top of her lungs. And apparently, accordingly to my uncle's recount, my grandpa peeled open his eyes (which is often shut) and his eyes turned moist and red.

My uncle then wheeled him to the barber shop and Megan kept insisting on following. When grandpa was finally home, she went to him, looked at his feeding tube, and gave a very emphathetic look. She called him again, and went to his bedside and touched him.

Shopping For Books

Uncle Kelvin was reading some American trivia book when Megan walked to him with 2 copies of Winnie the Pooh books. She simply shoved one copy into his hands, and insisted he reads the same book as her. She made sure he "read" the book too ... bossy missy!

With A Very Proud Great Grandma

The 2 women I love and spend the most time with ...

Chalk Art

We went to 'Udders' for ice-cream on the "Free Ben & Jerry Scope Day". There was a huge chalkboard in the cafe for patrons to make suggestions for new flavours. I gave Megan a chalk and she was very happy scribbling on the chalkboard. I guess the texture of chalk is very different - I had a go at it myself and was very happy to be reminded of my childhood :)

We had lunch at Ikea today and bought some chalk there. I thought it will be nice for her to doodle on the concrete floor at my grandma's corridor. We did just that in the same afternoon and she loved the mark making experience with something as tactile as chalk (you really can't get the same feel out of chunky crayons or felt pens!)

I gave her pink chalk (cos there were very few purple and I wanna save purple for her -its her fave colour, and pink is my fave). Her mark making was stronger than I expected. It was a very concerted effort to make horizontal lines and she made marks along the entire corridor!

Megan Wears Her Shoes (with ease)

Megan can now wear her shoes confidently, all on her own. She can even put on her velcro-fastened sneakers should she choose to wear her "pao-pao-shoes" (running shoes). I placed a little stool next to a shoe rack which we both keep our shoes/slippers. I realised that its little things around the house like such that helps her develop habits and confidence in doing more things on her own. Before I placed the stool there, she would want me to wear her shoes for her or rely on the helper to keep her shoes when we get home. Now, she is the one reminding me not to misplace my slippers when I take them off !

ME time, US time

I just read a friend's blog about her 5th wedding anniversary. I can't remember how many years I've been married. Probably 4 or 5 too. I am terrible with numbers and this wedding thing seems too far behind me. But I think my gripe is about how there has been no ME time and US time with Megan around.

It seems to have gotten worse after I decided to play SAHM to Megan. The last time other-half and I tried to catch a movie (to my insistence ie), he was checking his mobile for time and asking me when is the movie ending so that he could "see my daughter". Really, the movie was good-and he agreed, he laughed in the movies, but he still couldn't help it but check the time.

Then there's the "where are you now" text messages whenever I am out and not with Megan in the evenings (and most of the time, I am teaching a class, not shopping or partying). It is usually followed by "Hurry up". He is good at making his points clear and succint.

And seriously, its sad to say I can't recall when was the last time I got a good hug. I told him that last evening on our way to fetch Megan (she had a fever- and I m praying hope it will subside by today as I am blogging). I said I cannot remember when was the last time I received a hug, for good reasons, or without. I told him I was more a "hired, live-in, full-time nanny for Megan" than a mother and wife. Ok, perhaps I never play the role of wifey well enough. But whatever it is, its bloody sad.

The romance died - and I am too knackered to bring it back all on my own.

*I MUST MAKE SURE HE READS THIS ENTRY!

Songs & Scent

I was driving when I heard snippets of "Grow Old With You" being played as part of some advertisment on the radio. I couldn't help but smile to myself - a lot. I cannot believe how easy it was to be this happy, how can a song bring back so much memories for me. But it was really nice to be experiencing that few moments of sheer happiness. Nothing fancy, just some music, just mushy lyrics, me and myself in the car (no megan, no others). I was truly happy for that few minutes, reliving each and every scene I could associate with that song - how a particular friend actually went to a lot of effort to play that song for me a long time back.

Then there was the Clairol shampoo I bought some time back to use at my gran's. It isn't fancy salon shampoo, it isn't costly nor really fragrant. But it reminded me of those bitter winter days while I was in London. Again, its really strange for me to feel happy cos winter isn't my favourite season, nor was bathing in winter with little heating. Nor was I terribly happy in those days. But I guess I must have been happy back then, cos the scent from the shampoo really lighten my load each time I choose to use it over the other "better shampoo".

Now I am trying to get some Organics shampoo and see if it could work the same magic (I was using that when I was 17 and was ALWAYS HAPPY back then, my old friends would probably know why).

Not-so-old OLD friends of mine

These are my very dear friends whom I have know since I was 17 (which was really more than ONE decade ago-gulp). Although we seldom meet, or rather, I seldom meet the girls, I really dunno who else I will turn to if I need a listening ear. After being mommy to Megan, I have been a terrible friend, not emailing Han as regularly (if at all) and not even meeting Ling and Hq despite the fact that we all live in the same country (my excuse is both of them live on the other end of the island).

My phone calls and text messages to the girls dwindled as my time with Megan is stretched longer as she grows older. Which is bad if you ask me, cos my social life ever since staying at home with Megan seem to have been reduced to people I email (which are mostly parents) or relatives whom I can count on for some babysitting help.

This is really bad - I must reorg my life and do something about it. But really, I don't smell success anywhere near with my current situation at home.

*DEPRESSING, to say the least*

Megan meets tonton Laurent !

Megan finally meets tonton Laurent, and Aunty Han after almost 2 years. Han visited us when Megan was 2 days old when we were still in the hospital. And the next time we saw her was 4 May 2009 (2 weeks to Megan's 2nd birthday). This time, we were glad we met Laurent after hearing so much about him.

Laurent was great with Megan. Megan's eyes were wide opened (so was her mouth) when he sang her "Allouette", in french no less! And did I mention he carried her and flung her high up in the air several times, and share his delicious lemon cake ?

Han, we know we can count on you guys to babysit - so expect us anytime soon!