Eating Out.

Eating out has never been the same ever since the baby is around, because he is one easily-bored little fella. At first husband and I would take turn to eat. We call this 'Shift Makan'. But we would have one of us with this OMG-I'm-So-Hungry-Please-Chew-Faster look while staring into the other person's plate, so eating under pressure is definitely not fun.

Then I started stocking up a bag full of goodies to keep him occupied. We call this the 'Doraemon Bag'. From toys to books to crayons to straws, the works. But it seems like he's much more interested in throwing everything from the bag onto the floor.

Then we thought, okay, let's bait him with some gadgets and food. Sure enough, he became very much interested in the husband's iPod Touch. Food pulak in the beginning we gave him Heinz/ Milna Rusks. And like I mentioned, he's easily bored so before we know it, instead of eating the Rusks, he enjoys throwing them to the floor. Then we moved on to Heinz Rice Cakes (RM9 per packet and he can finish all of it at one go *pengsan*). After he got bored with this, we gave him Heinz Biscotti. And currently, he's enjoying Baby Bites. We call all of these biscuits the 'Biskut Pancing/ Weekend Biscuits'. Because we only give him these when we go out during the weekend (hence the name).

There you have it. Our methods in trying to have a (quite) peaceful meal outside. If we're really lucky, he would nap and we would run into any nearby restaurant and try to gobble up everything before he wakes up. But too bad, that only happen about 20 percent of the time.

Ohai. I iz eating Baby Bites. Iz yummeh. Om nom nom.

So what about you? Any tips/ methods that you would like to share?

Sabrina Affandi Is One!

Hot Mama.

Mommies,

Any of you feel like running out of the door, straight into a Marie France Bodyline branch and sign up on the spot after looking at this?

I know I do.

Kena Dera.

By his 6 years old cousin!

I left him with my Mother's maid, who was looking after my nephew for about 10 minutes, and see what happened? All because he was jealous the maid was hugging the baby. Call me dramatic, but my heart sank when I saw the wounds. Rasa macam nak menangis and mengamuk. And come to think of it, it's only some scratch wounds by a naughty kid. Belum lagi like those abuse cases by crazy maids/ parents/ relatives you always see on the news.

My poor bulat :( This is not the first time it happened. My nephew is teramat lah nakal.

Brand VS Quality.

At first I was thrilled, then I was angry. And now, I am pissed. I'm talking about my purchase at Dorothy Perkins. Believe it or not, it was my first time ever buying an apparel there. Not really a fan of buying overpriced items (RM50 for a basic plain tee? No thanks). Or in other words, I don't go for brands. You might say branded items have better quality. True enough, but I don't completely agree.

Let's take my DP purchase for example. I told my sister I'm in need of new jeans, and she suggested DP, since they were having a sale, and she has the DNP Clothing member card, which means another 10% off. So after all the discounts, the jeans costs only RM86. Reasonable, yes? A bit more from what I always spend for a pair of jeans. Normally I would get a pair for about RM50 at Sungei Wang. But I thought, well, it is DP, so it has to be in good quality. Well, not really. I was in a hurry when I tried on the jeans. The cutting seemed okay to me, so instead of spending about 15 minutes in the fitting room to evaluate the whole apparel in front the mirror (I know you do that, too), I was in and out in just about 5 minutes. So yeah, I was thrilled.

Then I went home. Put the jeans aside. Two days later, sent it for alteration (I'm short :P), got it back and tried it on. Then I noticed something. One leg side fits perfectly, but the other side is loose. Takkan my leg is bigger than the other?! So I took it off, folded it and see what I discovered.

One side is indeed bigger than the other! Gahh! Okay, I guess it was my fault for not noticing it when I was trying it on at the shop. Thank God my super talented MIL managed to alter it and made both sides equal.

And then. After wearing it only ONCE, I notice all this bulu (y'know, the bulu that normally appear after a piece of clothing is worn out?) started to come out. All of my Sungei Wang jeans are still in good condition, no bulu whatsoever. And I've been wearing it for years!

[cue sesi membebel macam makcik]

Once, I bought a pair of bra at La Senza. After wearing it a couple of times, the strap came off. A bra that costs over a hundred Ringgit. Strap tercabut. HOW?!

So, ladies and gents. I apologize for the excessive usage of exclamation mark in this entry. But what I'm trying to say here is, brand does not guarantee quality.

I'm gonna go sulk in a corner now.

Next Formula.

When the Mamil Gold formula samples started to run out, I began looking for another formula brand for the baby. Mamil Gold costs about RM30+ for a 600g pack, which I think is slightly on the pricey side. Truth be told, I have no clue on what to look for when choosing a formula. There are just too many on the market! So I opted for Dumex Dugro. Simply because I remember my younger sisters drank it when they were little, and now my nephew is. Also, the price is very reasonable, only RM15 for a 650g pack.

And today Dumex Dugro was introduced to the baby. The verdict? He downed the whole bottle like nobody's business. I'm hoping there will be no allergy reactions.

From now on, milk for the baby is no longer free! Okay maybe not entirely, since I am still breastfeeding. Oh well, it was good while it lasted :)

Another One, Gone.

Yesterday, a friend of mine told me that her colleague had lost her 4 months old baby. Choked on milk at the babysitter's house. The babysitter had left the baby alone with the milk bottle. Then she thought the baby had fallen asleep, until the mother came to fetch the baby, only to find him all blue and lifeless.

I was so angry when I heard about it. Why do this incident keep happening? Don't they ever read the news and install in their brains that YOU SHOULDN'T LEAVE A SMALL BABY ALONE WITH THE MILK BOTTLE? They must be utterly STUPID to take such short-cuts in taking care of someone's baby.

Brainless idiots.

Green Is The New Black.

I like how the condominium management is making an effort to cut down on the energy consumption and doing their part in being green. I'm doing my part also, by:

1. Switching off and unplugging unused appliances.
2. Reusing water.
3. Using energy saving light bulbs.
4. Bringing my own shopping bags.
5. Using cloth diaper for the baby.
6. Recycling plastic bottles, papers and cans.

It might not seem much, but I believe it is a lot better than doing nothing. What about you? Don't be ignorant, people. Our planet is getting sicker each day. Let's do our part. It's not that hard, really.

Found some good tips on how to go green at home at Simplemom.net.

Random Snap 08: XOXO

Doesn't look like Blake Lively to me. Spotted in Pandaindera, 26th December 2010.

Gossip Girl 411:


Image from The Bosh: Celebrity Gossip
Do your homework and proof-reading, please!

On Vocabulary & Directions.

The baby still can't (or maybe refusing) to call me Ibu and the husband Ayah, and he's turning 19 months in a couple of weeks. So far his vocabulary consist of:

Car
Book
Mamam = Makan
Pod = iPod (yes, the iPod is his new bestfriend)
Puu = Lampu
Tuk = Atuk
Jan = Hujan
Ish = Fish
Dap = Sedap
O-ong = Burung
Jijingten = Chuggington/ Thomas (he calls Thomas as Chuggington, too)

And the rest are gibberish.

A few simple directions that he understands:

Let's go.
Let's eat.
Let's take a bath.
Sit down.
Close the door.
Switch off the TV.
Go salam.
Go get your chair.
Go get your biscuits.
Go get Tom Tom (his bantal busuk's name).
Go get your shoes.
Open your shoes.

If I'm lucky, I would say "Take picture!" and then he would strike a pose, like this.

I'm sure there are more, but these are on top of my head right now. I'm trying not to worry too much about it, as I've read in Babycenter that boys tend to develop language skills more slowly than girls. I also referred to the Warning signs of a language/communication developmental delay article, and so far everything seems A-Okay to me.

Oh, oh, and he can complete this puzzle all by himself :`)