Computer Learning

I was exposed to computers by my Dad when I was very young. As such I have lived nearly all my life with computers. Naturally, when it came to introducing my son to a computer, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Of course, in this day and age where everything is becoming too technology-driven, some might believe that we shouldn't expose the kids to computers until they are older.

Then again, computers are already in classrooms. Kids are carrying notebooks for school. It is fast becoming a way of life. So rather than resist it, why not embrace it and draw upon its potential as a teaching tool? My son is quickly learning about reading, words and spelling by playing Disney's Phonics Quest. Just watching him play is revealing a lot to me about just how much he has learned - something I would never have been able to derive if I had attempted to test his knowledge myself.

So if you ask me, I can't see the harm in using computers as long as it is used for what it is - a tool to facilitate learning.

Home Design Safety

Hubby and I have been talking about our plans for the new house - yet again. I'm starting to wonder what's the point when we never seem to be anywhere closer to getting it. Anyway, hubby had this crazy idea of having stand fans because he saw some cool designs while we were out shopping.

As cool as they looked, I'm afraid I would still have to stick to ceiling fans where the option exists. Stand fans are just not advisable when you have young kids running around. Stand fans make everything so much more accessible - the blades of the fan for little fingers to poke at, the power cables that require power points... well, you get my point.

Besides, these days there are some pretty cool looking ceiling fans available, too.

Keeping the Toddler Occupied with Audio Books

Ever since he was little, Gavin has always responded well to books. He enjoys reading and listening to stories. Although he has been difficult to manage in the car at times, I have discovered that playing him audio books have been a wonderful way to keep him occupied.

Given how successfully they work in the car, I've been thinking that it's time to look around at some ipods and maybe get one for Gavin so he has something to listen to when we take him shopping for the "boring adult" stuff that he hates doing. I remember how bored I used to be as a kid being dragged shopping to see all my Mum's stuff, the least I can do is be considerate to my son.

Post-Partum Sinus?

During my pregnancy, I had a really bad sinus problem. It got so bad on some nights that I was so congested I couldn't breathe - hence I couldn't sleep. Hubby put an air purifier in our room and it did sort of help - or perhaps it was just a placebo. Regardless, I knew that my sinus problems were due to the increased sensitivity of my nasal lining due to the hormones from the pregnancy. It was only a matter of time after the delivery that I would be able to breathe normally at night again.

Or so I thought...

Lately, I have been getting the same sinus problems again - on and off. We have the air purifier running at night and I still have the problem. Now I'm wondering what could possibly be causing it? Some times I have a sneezing chain reaction and I can't stop sneezing. I don't know what allergen is irritating my nose.

Unless it is the air conditioner? Perhaps we should get ourselves an air conditioner filter to test out the theory?

The Changing Pace of the Internet

It's amazing how fast the internet develops. I first started blogging in 2005. It was supposed to be a hobby thing because I liked to write. It was supposed to be a way of keeping friends in touch with the developments of my wedding planning and then later it became about rock climbing. It was amazing how easily that blog gained in popularity. But that was back then - 2005.

The blogs I started in 2006 didn't take off quite as well despite the fact that I felt they were better blogs. The blogosphere was changing, becoming more challenging. People were beginning to see potential in blogs and their ability to influence. Along with that came the potential to make money and then some. If you were good and lucky, you got in early, you made money easily.

But, as with all other things, easy come easy goes. Things became tougher, the scene became more competitive. Everything became much harder. Suddenly there was a right way and a wrong way to run a website. There was this thing called SEO - search engine optimisation. There was the Google sandbox. The blogosphere became a very competitive scene - that's if you wanted your blog to be far-reaching and well-read, that is.

Along with this, came more opportunities. People who knew how the ins and outs of the search engines capitalised and offered their expert services and created software to help those less literate. Those who knew how to work the system did it themselves. The others had to look for the best seo software to help them overcome their shortfalls.

Every month new things crop up. New barriers, new ideas, new avenues. If you want to stay on the internet, you have to keep up.

Post-Partum Weight Loss

One of the things most post-partum mothers are always eager to do is to lose the baby weight. While pregnant with the baby, it was okay to gain weight and eat whatever we wanted. Now that the baby is out, it's back to business and a quick weight loss program. Yet it is important to remember that it took nine months to gain that weight so it is only natural to expect that it can take up to nine months to lose it all again. To expect the weight to melt off immediately after delivery is not only unrealistic, it is also unhealthy.

Baby Smooth Skin

It is only after you become a parent that you discover the irony of that phrase "baby smooth skin". Babies have anything but smooth skin - at least newborns don't. Both of my sons developed severe infant acne after birth. With my first son, I was so concerned that it was something I was doing wrong. Was it milk rash? Was I not cleaning his face properly? But you couldn't possibly get milk rash on your scalp, could you?

Now that I've been through it all, I'm a little more relaxed with my second son. I know the infant acne will subside on its own and that it is nothing to do with my management of him. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop the grandparents from nagging. No matter what you say, they will always assume that it's something you're doing wrong. It was such a long time ago when their children were babies that they can no longer remember what it was like.

I've also realised since having my second son that babies no only suffer from infant acne but they can also suffer from dry skin. I have had to use face moisturizers on my second son to treat his dry skin problem which causes his skin to flake off. The good news is that my older son has such beautiful skin now that I know it is only a matter of time before my second son's skin clears up.

Multivitamins for Picky Eaters

Gavin is almost three years old and he's still a picky eater. Despite everything that we have tried, he is still reluctant to try new food. Even the foods that he generally likes can be a miss on some days, although at least they have the best bet of being eaten. Unfortunately, the foods he likes to eat are so few and far between that there isn't sufficient variety to provide him with all the nutrients he requires. For that reason, we started feeding him a daily multivitamin to make up for all the missing nutrients in his diet.

For a while there I was almost afraid that he would decide that he didn't like eating the multivitamin. If he had, I really don't know what I would have done. Thankfully, he never fights us when we offer him his "orange sweet".

Post-partum Body Issues

It's been a long time since I've particularly cared much about how I looked. I also thought I'd long gotten over the "fat" days. I know I'll never look like a supermodel, but I'm okay with that. Nevertheless, I can't seem to feel okay about the post-pregnant belly I'm having trouble getting rid of. The same bump that I was so proudly showing off with skin-tight tees during the early months of my pregnancy is now covered up with loose t-shirts. How ironic...

I'm not one for weight loss pills. I've always believed that the best way to lose weight is to have a good exercise plan and a healthy diet. Yet, here I am contemplating what are the best weight loss pills around. Now I realise why people can be so susceptible to all these weight loss promises. Though I'm married with two beautiful children and a husband who adores me flab and all, I still can't stand the sight of my belly.

New Cafe in Town...

My SIL has officially opened her cafe - The Haute Food Co. The place is in Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas. She's open for breakfast, lunch and tea and serves western cafe style food. She also has other stuff for sale like cookies, muesli, cakes and a few miscellaneous items like aprons, vanilla beans, etc. She'll be adding more stuff to the shelves (I personally think she should have some custom mugs) but for the time being, she's keeping it simple. She also offers catering and can hold small functions at the cafe.

She makes the most delectable sweets - my favourite being the chocolate cheese cake - but she also has a variety of other "healthier" food options. Go check it out...

Click here to find out how to get there.

Click here for contact details.

Writing Aspirations

I've always wanted to be a writer - a writer of fiction. I believed that in order to be a good writer, one has to have lots of experiences. The easiest things to write about are the things we know about, therefore the more experiences we have, the more things we can write about. So before I could write about that best selling novel I was always aspiring to write, I believed I had to travel around the world and stay at interesting and unique places like myrtle beach hotels.

Sometimes I wonder if this is just me procrastinating again - making excuses for being inept. Some of the greatest writers of all time were social recluses who still manage to write stories with such rich detail that you would never have guessed they had never been out there. And I wonder - how do they do it?

Let's Play Pretend

When I think of my childhood, I often remember many days of imaginative play. We didn't have a lot of toys back then so the only way to have fun was to make up games to play. Some of the games we used to play were pretend games. Because my parents were always so careful with money, my brother and I used to pretend we were rich kids whose parents owned properties all over the world.

If we wanted to take a holiday in North Carolina, for instance, we wouldn't have to worry about Outer Banks rentals because we'd have our own vacation home to stay at. We attended all the best schools, had all the best friends and life was good. That's the wonder of the imagination - it was so much better than real life. Sometimes it would be so real for me that it was always a shock to come back to reality.

Those were the days...

Busy Schedules

I have a friend who handles our insurance - home insurance, personal, life, car, etc. Although I have had other friends offer their services to us and I hate turning them down when they ask, the main reason I've stayed with the first friend is because he is unbelievably reliable. If I need anything, I just drop him an email or a text and he's on it. I don't have to call him and I don't have to do anything inconvenient. He takes care of everything. He only comes to see me when it is absolutely necessary and that's the way I like it.

I have had other agents feel that they have to see me in person before they can do anything and that used to drive me insane because I would have to work around my timetable to meet with them. It wasn't so bad when it was just me, but now that I have a baby glued to my hip and afternoon nap times to juggle, it makes it very difficult and inconvenient to schedule appointments. You would think that being a SAHM meant I'd have all the time in the world to do these things, but I don't - at least not at the expense of my convenience.

My two boys are impossibly difficult to schedule and half the time, one or the other will be glued to my side. That doesn't make it easy to get much done. So why do people keep asking me what I do with my time? Nobody asked me what I did with my time when I had a job. It was understood - I worked. Now I'm supposed to be so free that I can twiddle my thumbs all day long. Yeah, right.

Post-natal Bump

Six weeks post-delivery and I still look pregnant. How horrible. Maybe I should have taken up those urut massages like my MIL suggested? Would they have helped? I honestly don't know. Maybe I still look this way because I'm older, the baby was bigger and I was less fit. After all, if I had exercised more before the pregnancy and during the pregnancy, perhaps my recovery would have been faster?

With Chinese New Year around the corner and no clothes that I can wear that actually looks flattering on me, I have to admit that I was starting to get a little desperate there. I was even considering something like phentermine for weight loss, except for the fact that it would probably do very little to remove the stomach bulge which I've discovered is due to the separation of my rectus abdominis.

How then can that be corrected - safely and healthily, of course?

Looking for a New House

Since Gavin was born, hubby and I have been living with my in laws. The initial intention was to stay with them until we had our own house. Well, it's now a couple of years later and I'm about due with baby number two and the urgency to move out has increased. Though it has been great to have Gavin close to his grandparents, I'm afraid we've outgrown the space here. Once Gareth becomes mobile and we start pulling out all his toys, we're all going to be swamped in children's stuff. As it is, Gavin is already usurping so much space in the house.

Isn't it ironic that the smallest person in the house takes up the most space?

Since we're no closer to getting a place to stay, hubby thought an alternative interim plan would be to check out some apartments for rent. It isn't ideal but it might buy us more space in the meantime. To be honest, I've only really liked the idea of apartment living as a single person. I've always believed that families need to live in a house where there's a garden for the children to run around in an play.

Well, here's hoping that we find a house soon and get it ready for moving in...

Dreaming of a Holiday

What I wouldn't do for an orlando vacation right about now. I'm just three days away from delivery - assuming all goes according to plan - and it feels as though I really need a break. Hubby, too. This year there will be no holidays, no breaks. Of course it will be exciting to have baby Gareth coming into the family, it will be an interesting challenge to see how Gavin copes with it all and how we manage him.

The earliest we'll be able to get away won't be until Gareth's is about 6 months. Ideally before he starts solids because I'm sure it will be a real pain trying to introduce solids while on holiday. It'll also be much safer for him - food wise - if we're still breastfeeding throughout the holiday. Anyway, the introduction of solids at 6 months is more for taste rather than nutrition. Breastfed babies can continue to get most of their nutrition from Mummy's milk up until one year.

Anyway, the real holidays I'm really looking forward to are the ones we'll be able to take when the kids are older and better able to appreciate them. There are just too many places I want to see. Hubby and I originally wanted a holiday in Europe for our honeymoon but ended up going to Japan. Not to say that Japan wasn't lovely - I really enjoyed myself there, too. But Europe's on my top most wanted to visit places.

Ah... another reason to stop with two kids...

Planning for No. 2

Before Gavin was born, we bought him insurance. It was a special kind of insurance package that combined a savings plan into it. The benefit is that it offers health cover and it also provides a lump sum return so it's like insurance and a trust fund rolled into one. Now that I'm pregnant with Gareth, perhaps it's time to start looking at some whole life insurance plans for Gareth, too.

I don't know whether second time around we're just more laid back or if we're a little too relaxed but we don't seem to be as well prepared as we were when I was pregnant with Gavin. Were we just overly cautious because Gavin was our first?