MIA For A Week

The whole past week was spent with family, eating, meeting up with old friends, going to the immigration and being sick. Mostly being sick. I thought I caught the flu bug, but it turned out I got myself Mastitis. Yessiree. It was not a pretty experience. My body temperature was high, my breast was swollen and painful, I was shivering cold even when I was all wrapped up in thick clothing and hiding underneath the comforter with no AC nor fan switched on. One week on antibiotics and I'm all better now, Alhamdulillah.

Right, moving along.

On Wednesday (right after the Chinese New Year public holiday), husband and I thought,

"Oh, everyone's back to work, so the immigration must be less crowded."

Wrong! We went to the one in Shah Alam, and the crowd was insane. Just to take a number would've taken us about an hour. I heard people saying that they went to almost every immigration in the Klang Valley, and it was jam packed everywhere. But thanks to daddy-in-law, we managed to get everything done within 2 hours, huzahh! We paid RM150 for 5 years validity. So now my baby boy is a proud holder of his own international passport.

In case you're wondering what you need to bring if you want to apply for your baby's passport, here is the checklist:

• Two (2) copies of baby's passport photo
• Baby's MyKid
• One (1) photocopy of baby's MyKid
• Yours and your spouse's MyKad
• One (1) photocopy each of yours and your spouse's MyKad
• Original baby's birth certificate
• One (1) photocopy of your baby's birth certificate
• And of course, the baby himself!

Alternatively, you can check out the Immigration Department of Malaysia's website.

A point to remember if you're planning to collect the passport on a different day: Make sure to bring your baby along!! The immigration won't release the passport unless they see the baby in person, no matter what documents you bring to proof that you're the baby's parent.

And on to the eating part. I wanted to take more food shots, but I tend to remember to do so after I've gobbled down half of the food portion, some even until the last bite. That said, I present to you the photo of our half-eaten Yee Sang :P

Save Our Earth (And Our Pockets, Too)

My baby has finally jumped onto the Cloth Diaper bandwagon! My generous and super awesome mother-in-law bought him a couple of Lunatots Cloth Diaper (snap button with pocket), costing RM46 each at Amcorp Mall. We're planning to get him a few more, perhaps the ones with prints on it.



What exactly is Cloth Diaper, you might ask. Please read on, this was taken from Lunatots leaflet.

Concept of Modern Diapers (Cloth Diaper)

Modern diapers also known as Cloth Diaper (CD) is fairly new in Malaysia as a safe alternative in diapering your babies. No extreme chemical exposure to your child as the material is made from cloth. CD is a good choice in terms of financial for couples who have more than one child that are still using nappies. And it is also practical for working parents as it is easy to handle compared to the traditional cloth diaper. Use of CD is also proven to expedite the process of potty training as the normal disposable diaper contains chemical absorption gel which makes your child feels dry and comfortable. Hence the natural process of potty training was delayed.

Head on to Lunatots Cloth Diaper Articles page to read more on Cloth Diapers.

And of course, we need a fashion shot, yes?

By the way, do you know that disposable diapers take an estimated 500 years to decompose? It is the third biggest source of pollution even though only 5% of the world's population use it.

Unnecessary Pull Over

For the second time in a week, I got pulled over at a roadblock today. So I stopped my car by the road side, took out my MyKad and driver's license while the cop walked over. Opened the window, gave him a small irritated smile and handed him all of my identification cards. Why irritated? They've been holding this roadblock at the very same spot for a couple of months now. And I have to pass this spot to get out of my parents' housing area. And and and, do I really look that suspicious to get pulled over? Anyways.

Abang Polis: (took my IDs. checked my road tax. read my name out loud). Nak pegi mane ni?

Me: Nak pegi gym.

Abang Polis: Gym? Angkat besi ke?

Me: Hah? Takde lah angkat besi. Exercise je. Kang angkat besi badan jadi ketul-ketul, tak cantik lah pulak, ye tak?

Abang Polis: Heh heh.. (looking at my address on Mykad) Rumah kat mane ni?

Me: Belakang ni je. Roundabout belok kanan.

Abang Polis: Yeke? Kalau saya carik, boleh jumpa ke?

Me: Eh, boleehhhh.. Tapi tu rumah mak saya. Saya tinggal dengan suami kat rumah sendiri.

Abang Polis: Heh heh.. Dan dan je dah kahwin.

Me: Eh, betul lah dah kahwin! Tak caye? (took out my marriage ID card and passed it to him). Ni hah. Dah ada anak dah pun. Umur 8 bulan.

Abang Polis: (looking at the card). Heh heh.. Melepas saya.

Me: KAH KAH KAH (grabbed all of my IDs and shoved it into my handbag). Kthxbai! (Drove off).

Three minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Menu Of The Day: Pea Puree

Ever since my son started solid food, his menu has been consisting of rice cereal, banana puree, apple puree, pear puree and pumpkin puree. All of these were prepared by husband and I (except the rice cereal). So for his next new food, we decided to introduce peas.

The husband spent close to an hour blending the cooked peas to get a smooth texture. Looks yummy, eh?

Then, the pureed peas were poured into ice cube trays to be frozen and stored.

And the verdict? For the first attempt, I fed him the puree plus breast milk without adding any rice cereal, but he didn't quite like it. So for the second attempt, I mixed rice cereal and breast milk together with the puree, and he liked it a whole lot better, hurrah!

Extracted from Wholesomebabyfood.com:

The Goodness of Peas

The nutritional value of peas is amazing when you think of the small size of a cup of peas. One cup of peas contains more protein that a tablespoon of peanut butter and also provides calcium, Vitamin A and C and Iron too.

These wonderful vegetables are a great first "green" food for baby as they are nutritious, and mostly pleasant to eat.

And for those of you who doesn't want to buy baby food off the shelves but don't quite have the time to prepare the food yourself, you can check out Baby Ambrosia. They sell freshly made baby and toddler meals, and you can find their kiosk in The Curve. I'm considering buying it one day, just to give it a try!

Chocolate Crave Attack

Chocolate Zucchini Mini-Muffins


Chocolate Cream Pie


Chocolate Griddle Cakes with Chocolate Sauce

All from Epicurious.com. I want I want I want!

Rantings #002

I met someone I know today. Any normal person would ask,

"Hey, how are you? How's married life? How's parenthood? It's wonderful, isn't it?"

But what came out from this person's mouth was,

"Hey, how's married life? How's parenthood? It's boring, isn't it?"

What the eff? Just because you have a depressing marriage doesn't mean everyone else is going through the same thing. So I answered politely,

"Being married is great. Being a mother is awesome. I am happier than ever."

I was hoping that would shut him up. Then he came up with another bunch of questions.

"Do you and your husband fight? What do you fight about? Do you fight about your son? Do you scold him when the house is dirty? Do you? Do you??"

If his intention was to make me angry, he certainly achieved it. But, while trying not to show it, I asked him,

"Is there a married couple that doesn't fight? Please, if you do know any, introduce me to them."

Before he could open his mouth, another person walked into the room and unknowingly saved this ridiculous man from getting slapped silly.

I don't know if he realized that his questions were plain rude. And what made him think that I would confide in him about what goes on in my marriage? I'd rather confide in a goat.

/endrant