Don't read. Just toooooo cheeeessssy!

Can’t help smiling.

A mail just came into my office Inbox.

Hubby sent me a message, a sweet one in fact, saying (verbatim):

“Happy Monthsary bebs.mwah.iloveU”

Ehem! I am so touched. Pinch me please please! Haha!

Since we got married 32 months ago, we actually have stopped giving each other the “monthsary greetings” which is on the 15^th of the month. And now, all of a sudden, hubby has sent me this message of love. Just out of the blue. I didn’t even realize it was “our day”.

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Anyways, on a side note, we celebrated KA’s 11^th month last night over a takeaway Il Forno pizza and some Texas Fried chicken. He was happy indeed but lacks manners because he’s adamant in trying to grab my pizza! What a strong kid. He would wrestle his way to anything he wants. Love him though.

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P.S. Just so you want to know, I replied back to hubby with an “iloveyoutoo” note.

The 3D's

No. This is not about 3D as in three-dimensional thingies.

I have decided to write about my own 3 D's, which I am experiencing while on vacation.

Dilemma

I suppose, being a mom and a wife requires so much: time, energy, wits and luck (anything you can add?). Anyway, here are the things that keep on nagging me about my first D:

1. My cooking skills is being challenged. Staying at home also means being responsible for the meals of the day. I really don't care about my breakfast (which I usually skip) or lunch. I am not too picky when I'm at home because I am naturally-born lazzzzzzzzy (I just felt the need to emphasize it with too much Z's). I usually eat what was left behind from the other night or just pop out some instant noodles. So the thing is, dinner is always a dilemma to me. I know I can cook but I'm losing the creativity in cooking. What I mean is, I can't think of any fresh idea to cook for dinner. It's always giving me a headache. I have searched the internet and the more it gives me options that are not viable due to limited variety of veggies and meat available here. I'm not sure if this is just me, making this whole thing as a pain to my own neck.
2. Having a nanny is good even while I'm on vacation because it gives me time to be all by myself. Some times I do what a good mom does when she's at home: taking care of her child. But this makes me think that the nanny is paid on full salary while I AM DOING HER JOB.  So I give her the full task on her hands: changing nappies, feeding, sleeping, playing, bathing etc. I, on the other hand, have the time of my life watching Glee marathons and Survivor Philippines re-runs. And that makes me feel GUILTY. I know that the presence of the nanny is of no-excuse because being a mom needs no day-off. I just realized that I need some time-outs just to reflect, refresh and re-energize. And that's the time my nanny comes in to help me out with KA.
3. I am super glad that hubby got a job and right now, he's really busy with work, work, work. But so much things have changed since he got the job. He works in Dubai, which is the neighboring emirate of our residence, Sharjah. Ideally, going to the other emirates takes only 15-20 minutes of your time. But since traffic jams have become a normal day-to-day thing on weekdays, travel time is up to 45 minutes, at the least. And that's just in the morning. Come evening time, traffic is heavier even until 11pm. I myself travel for one hour and 15 minutes, at the least, during the evening when going home from work. And here's the dilemma, hubby stays at the office until 9pm and gets home by around 10pm or past that. For hubby, this means less time for me and KA. Plus, he takes home some work too! By the time we are down at 12, we even haven't talked that much about our plans of moving out in a new flat. And this takes me to my fourth dilemma.
4. We can't move out until January. I just knew it! I know that one of the reasons why this is not pushing through is because of the lack of planning and communication in our small family. I plan all the time. As in, with most of my spare time, I keep a file of our budgets, expenses and income. I am an accountant and I just can't help being one even in our domestic premises. Hubby is also an accountant but he's a guy and I do understand that he's not into this kind of things, budgeting and all those things. I have to admit it. I do get disappointed in him sometimes because of his lack of interest. Whenever I bring out the subject of moving out, he'll always tell me that we are not yet ready financially. When I give him the option that we can take a bank loan, he'll tell me that with the loan money, instead of getting our own place, why not use it to partially pay out our property (which was purchased through the financing of a bank back home in the Philippines). And now, he's telling me that if I am really keen in moving out to a new place, why not search a cheap one in Dubai, and that is just impossible. Did I say that a 1-bedroom flat in Dubai will cost us at least forty grand in one year? Fact: A one-bedroom flat here in Sharjah will only cost us around twenty-five grand.

Disaster

I hope that my litany doesn't turn you off in reading my blog. This is just my second D but I'll keep it short and simple. Haha.

1. In the duration of my vacation, there were already two instances where dinner was a big DISASTER. The first one, if I remember it right, was about something I cooked which was matabang (means bland). Hubby and I have different taste buds and it freaks me out sometimes because when I cook the meal of the day, it tastes so salty for me already. But when hubby comes to taste it, it's still bland. What to do? The second one was when I bought some frozen tilapia. I was so excited in preparing it grilled-stuffed-style. I have minced onions, bell peppers and tomatoes and mixed them all up with soy sauce, some oyster sauce, pepper and salt. I stuffed them laboriously inside the tilapia bellies and fried them. The smell was just really nice and I thought that dinner will be a perfect one. Dinner time came and hubby got the taste of my masterpiece. I just can't forget the fact that he just tasted it once or twice, then never again. Hubby's Reason: frozen tilapia doesn't taste as good as the fresh ones. I gave the rest of the disaster-pieces (there were 3 tilapias) to our flatmates. I did not eat one because it just hurt me big time. (By the way, while I'm writing this, hubby gets a glimpse of this and he's just laughing it out. It's okay. That was already behind us. Although now, I really get anxious with what I am cooking for the next dinner meals since that last event gave me a phobia in cooking. Thanks for losing my confidence.)

 Delight

Oh, how I long to be on this subject since my headstart gave me a flashback of the not-so-good things in my life. But this third D is just as simple and short because that's just how I relish the delight I have in them.

1. I did say that having a nanny while I am on vacation is a good thing. That delights me, a lot! Else, I won't be able to handle KA all on my own. Who will do the laundry, the dishes, the cooking? The nanny just takes care of KA and that's it. I'm afraid that if I ask her to do all the above, she'll ask for an increment. And I just can't.
2. Glee marathons. I just love Glee. I enjoy the singing and all the drama behind it. I'm a frustrated singer but I love music. I need Glee to update me with my interests in life which is music. Ever since I have come in this country, got a job, got pregnant and gave birth, I have had no extra time to update our songlist in our laptop. Did you know that I don't even have an MP3? I know that Glee may not update me with all the music trends going on around the globe but it's enough for me now.
3. Survivor Philippines Celebrity Showdown. I'm rooting for Aubrey Miles because I think that she plays it well. When I can't watch the live telecast through this site or this site, I look for the uploaded ones and watch them on my time-outs with KA.
4. And lastly, but certainly not the least, what most delights me is spending time with KA. He has grown taller and heavier but I still carry him when I lull him to sleep. It's hardwork but I just take it as a regular exercise: dancing him in my arms till he falls asleep. It's bliss when I look on his face, innocently beautiful in his slumber.

Ooopppssss! It's past 1am already. I'm still wide awake. So is KA. Hubby is already sleepy and we still need to wake up early for KA's Friday morning walk in the park. Wish us goodluck there.

Happy weekend everyone!

The Good and The Bad

The Good: Officially, it's my first day of my 2-week vacation. Actually, it already started last Friday, which is the first day of the weekend.

The Bad: I did not have enough sleep, which is explained below. I forgot to wash my face this morning and apply that Rejuvinating Day Cream. Horrible, right? Another horrible thing is having more prominent dark circles around my eyes. I'm officially a zombie.

The Good: It's actually really really nice spending time with KA, even if he was a bit more cranky than usual, a bit more cry-baby than usual, a bit more clingy than usual. He's sick and he needs constant assurance that someone is always out there to comfort him, love him and give him kisses. If I am not on vacation, I am not so sure if I can take an absence of work. That would certainly break my heart. So this is a good thing. Am I being redundant? Haha.

The Bad: Our KA is not feeling well. He's having colds. For the duration of the night, KA and I were like zombies, we both feel very sleepy, and yet, we can't. I spent the night carrying him in my arms, lulling him to sleep, sitting him and myself in a lounge chair (to prevent me from knocking myself out while standing). So all is okay for the next five minutes when suddenly, KA would burst into tears plus some loud howling because he realizes that we are sitting and NOT standing. HE JUST KNOWS even without opening an eyelid. We ended up sleeping for just two hours, tops!

The Good: The babysitter arrived to help me out with KA. I decided that even if I am on my vacation, the babysitter stays regularly during the day. For one, KA has grown so much that my frail little body won't be able to sustain carrying his weight all the time or controlling him when I wash him when he's pooped. Well, a lot of mommies might frown upon this. You see, I've tried doing these things alone when hubby is at work on Saturdays (which is also the sitter's off). And if I remember it too well, it was a total chaos when KA pooped. I was wiping away the slimy smelly creamy thing on his behind and KA doesn't mind what I'm doing because even if I give him all his toys or anything that can entertain him, he would still turn on his side, right or left, then tries to crawl out away from me. Good thing that we do it on the floor, else, if he's on a changing table, he must have fell. Anyways, so he crawls away from me and there, the poop stains his shirt, the floor, the changing mat, his toys. And the worst thing has to come when we are on the tub to clean and wash because we ended up all wet. So really, the babysitter and I will be helping hand in hand in taking care of KA.

The Bad: Tonight might be a repeat of last night. Not having enough sleep and KA being cranky because his nose are clogged. Goodluck for tonight!

The Good: Of course, I'd like to end this with something that made me smile. Here's a picture of KA last Saturday when he woke up from his afternoon nap (just before the onset of his colds). He's just adorably cute.

The Bed, The Playground and The Pillow

 The Bed and The Playground (errr, maybe The Playground only)



Warning: This is not a bed. This is a playground.



Here is KA ruling us out on our bed. He seems to enjoy it by himself. Before, we usually buy him a toy or two every weekend. We are not spoiling him but he just gets bored with his toys that are more than a week old.

Well, due to practical reasons, we stopped buying him new ones. So what we do, we keep some of his toys for two weeks so he will miss them. I'm not really sure if that works because he knows his toys and cushions by the smell (and taste?) of them.


The Pillow

See that green and grey square pillow? That's his favorite one. He can always take fancy on his new toys or new pillows but he will eventually ignore them and take delight with this green and grey "elephant" pillow. He won't be able to sleep unless he snuggles it or at least touches it.






Clockwise from top left: 1. KA sleeping 2. KA posing for the picture 3. That's me when I was 8 months pregger at Dubai Airport waiting for my flight 4. KA standing up (goes to his cream cabinet) with his pillow

 
This pillow was my constant companion when I was pregnant. I would bring it everywhere when I travel and I also put in on my belly when I sleep. It has given me comfort when my big bulging belly feels heavy on my side. Maybe that is the reason behind KA's fascination and connection to this pillow.

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Love you so much KA. You can pretty much make our whole room as your playground as long as you are happy. But please, stop putting to your mouth anything you grab. Even our floor gets sticky now with your drool.

LOL

My Weekly BabyCenter Mail

Today, I received this in my mailbox:

BabyCenter had been very useful to me even while I was pregnant. I receive weekly updates and tips from them not only for my baby but also for me as a mommy. They give you updates and guides on how your baby develops on a weekly basis: physically, emotionally and psychologically. Most of them makes me understand KA's current behavior and actions.


For example, last night when I came home, KA is playing in the next room with our flatmates. When he saw me, he immediately recognized me as his mommy and opened his arms towards me as if asking me to carry him. I can feel from the tightness of his grip that he had missed me so much so I cuddled him more and brought him to our room. I had to change my clothes for the homey ones so I laid him on the bed with his toys. But then I was surprised that he just ignored the colorful toy train, balls and blocks. Instead, he was trying to cling to me more. What a sweet baby, I told him. So I cuddled him more and showered him kisses this time, reassuring him that I'm not leaving him if he doesn't want me to.


So with my mail today from BabyCenter, it explains to me that KA begins to undergo a new phase in his development.


Separation Anxiety.


Sleeping at night is no longer a problem because he sleeps with us in our bed. KA used to go with anyone (even with complete strangers) who smiles at him. The past few days, it has become very obvious that even with the familiar ones (like those who live with us in the flat), KA gets very hesitant to come with them. He'll just look into you but then he won't come easily to you.


Has your baby experienced Separation Anxiety? How did you cope up?

Baby Food: Broccoli and Banana Cheesy Shake

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a batchmate in Singapore. Just like me, she’s also a mom. I asked her if it’s difficult feeding her baby and if she can give me tips on what to give my KA. Something nutritious and healthy. She advised me to try porridge with chicken, pork or fish. But I’m a busy mom. I need something quick and easy.

I surfed the net for some useful easy-to-make or easy-to-cook meals for my baby. I wanted to incorporate dairy, veggies and meat on his meals and I was hoping I could come up with recipes that my babysitter can also prepare when I’m at work. I found so  many recipes which are just easy, so I compiled them all in just one file. I’m thinking of printing them out but it would be impossible to do it at the office without being caught. Maybe I’ll print one or two pages in a day. That would do for now.

Most of the recipes need pureeing.

I need a blender!

So last night, before going straight home, I dropped by Carrefour at City Center to find something cheap but with nice quality. I only have 110 UAE dirhams for cash as I don’t keep much in my wallet. I got a Kenwood Blender BL335 which costs 99 UAE dirhams, and it got a mill too. It’s already cheap compared to other brands that cost at least 140 UAE dirhams.

It’s already 8.00pm when I reached home. I’m already running late of preparing dinner for me and hubby, and also feeding KA. So here’s what I made for the baby:

Ingredients:

¼ kilo broccoli, boiled and cooked

2 bananas

Thin slices of cheese

2 scoops of KA’s formula milk

How To:

Just put everything in the blender and puree it to the consistency that your baby prefers. You can add water as you like.

I tasted it and it was yummy.

KA super liked it. I had made around 1 and half cups of it and he almost finished it. I got myself a small glass of the yummy shake as a left over.

Sorry for not having taken a picture of it as KA got very impatient whenever the spoon is not on his mouth. He had 4 servings of it!

How about you? What kind of meals do you prepare for babies under 12 months?