A Jolly Good Christmas

My Girl and My Boy had a jolly good time at my eldest sister's Christmas gathering last night. We got them santa hats with flashing lights. A bit tacky looking but all for some good fun, so who cares. My girl loved it and wore it all night long. She even wanted to wear it to sleep. "Mummy, if I wore it while lying down, will the hat still be ok?"

They were so excited and distracted they didn't eat a thing all evening and I forgot to give them a bite before leaving. Just changed and whisked them off after they woke up from their naps. Hmm... next time must remember to give them a bite first. Bad mommy!

They did however have a little bit too much stimulation with so many people and presents that by the time we got home, we had two tired little crying babies to deal with. My Girl had to be carried by her daddy to calm her down while she clutched her little santa hat in her hands till it dropped on the floor when she eventually slept. My Boy fell asleep promptly after his breastfeed but cried VERY loudly while waiting for me to get My Girl ready for bed.

Relatives commented that MG has lost weight and looked a little bit more like her previous self. Woohoo! So I that gives me even more motivation to carry on this weight loss thingy into year 2006.

This year we got a large square brownie, a floor mat, two decorative ducks, a tissue box holder (just nice to be used for Chinese New Year deco) and a potpourri. My Boy got a Winnie the bear cushion, some glow in the dark stickers, chocolates to share with his sister and a Winnie the poo Santa hat (another hat?) and My Girl got a Snow White sweater and a Mickey mouse Santarina hat (hat again?). Such a whole lot of presents.

And we gave away a comic book, a magician set, a joke book, a bracelet, a yoyo set, two stationaries set and a teddy bear to my 8 nephews and nieces. Oops! Didn't bother to get anything for the adults. Yup. MG got lazy and got most of the presents from the bookshop. ;)

In the Still of the Night....

I think I slept too much in the afternoon, now I'm bright eyed, fresh and wide awake. And here I sit enjoying my moment of solitude. Its so silent. The only sound I hear is my "chapalang" pc which sounds rather like an airplane engine! :O

Weekends come and gone. We're always busy during weekends. It comes and goes in a whirl of activity. There's hardly time to sit still. We always do the same things every weekend. Our routine is quite fixed. We even eat the same food for our meals!

Dad seems better sometimes, sometimes not. Only time will tell. I've lost some more weight. Down to 128 pounds now. Probably due to worry rather than exercise and diet. Hmm... not good.

The kids are growing up so fast, right before my very eyes. Just thinking about them makes me smile. Their adorable little faces, their hands and feet so tiny and small. Writing this makes me realise that I haven't blogged regularly for a while and that has stalled my positive thinking a little. For when I do sit to write is when I gather my happy little thoughts for jotting down and thats a really nice exercise to do...... writing happy thoughts.

Thinking about hubby gives me a warm feeling too. We are so very different, he and I and sometimes we have trouble communicating and we have our little fights but we're learning to get along... all the time. I think thats what a marriage is all about. Lots of give and take. Hubby has been saying that I am a poor listener, that I don't listen to him. Now, I should do something about that shouldn't I? Yes I should.

Christmas is round the corner. My girl simply loves learning to sing the Christmas songs. I found a nice site to download some for her listening pleasure. My boy enjoys dancing and babbling to the songs as well. He's really funny to watch when he does that. And he won't be pleased to see me sitting still when he does his dance and song. He would invite me to join in by pulling my hands and indicate to me to move my feet and when I do, I would be rewarded with a big smile.

Not really sure whats the point of this post. Just felt like writing whatever comes to mind. And if I don't post again before Christmas.......

Merry Christmas to all!

"Mummy, why daddy beat you?"

One night I was reading with my girl about a story of a girl making a wish upon a star....

My Girl: Mummy, what do you wish for?

MG: Well, I wish that you and baby will be good always.

My Girl: What else do you wish for?

MG: I wish that we will always be one happy family.

My Girl: What else do you wish for?

MG: I wish that daddy will always love mummy as much as mummy loves daddy.

My Girl: But why did daddy beat mummy?

MG: Huh?

My Girl: Why did daddy beat mummy in the kitchen? (Hahaha. She must be referring to the time when Mr MG came and playfully smacked MG's bottom in the kitchen.)

MG: No. Daddy was not beating mummy... Daddy pat pat only.

My Girl: Then why mummy say Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

MG: ----------------

Moral of the story: Be careful what you say and do around little ones whose minds are always working and learning. Hehehe.

Stroke

Dad had a minor stroke. He had a sudden behaviour change starting Saturday night and we got worried. He wasn't his own cheery self. He became forgetful, a bit confused and slightly obsessive in his behaviour ie. he couldn't seem to snap himself out of activities he got engaged in. Otherwise physically he looked fine. Finally yesterday, we managed to persuade him to go to the doctor for an evaluation.

Dad was hard to persuade. He can be very stubborn when it comes to seeing doctors but his resistance is due to fear. We had trouble deciding which doctor to go to at first. We didn't know any and we didn't know where to start because his symptoms seem so vague. Dementia, Alzeimers and a Stroke crossed our minds. Eventually we took him to a physician for a full body check. A CT Scan of the brain confirmed he had a stroke. The physician said he was lucky. It missed the nerve areas or he could have been half paralysed.

Dad is 73 and has been on blood pressure meds for about 8 years. However this stroke was probably caused by hardening of the arteries so the doc gave him some blood thining medication.

I first noticed his changed behaviour on Saturday night when I went to visit him. On Monday morning he rang me at 6.30am to say he could not find his house and car keys. He said he did not go out at all on Sunday and did not take breakfast, lunch or tea. He was watching TV. He probably forgot to take his meals. I feel terrible. I could have at least called him on Sunday to check on him and not left him alone. Sunday's I'm normally busy with my own family routines and forgot! Thats so terrible.

I hope dad is able to recover to his old usual self. It pains me to see him walk slower, to see him quieter and agree to most of our suggestions (accept seeing the doctor) as if he has lost a bit of will or is simply too tired to think.

Dad has always been independant. At 73 he still drives around and goes everywhere on his own. He would feel very unhappy to lose his independance. I really hope dad will be able to recover to his own usual self in time. I read that once brain cells are destroyed, the damage is irreversible. However our brains are smart enough to reorganise itself so hopefully his old personality will be restored.

I want my old cheerful dad back. At the same time I'm thankful he is not physically affected.

Weight Loss Diary

On Oct 3, two months ago, I blogged about my new resolution to lose weight and keep fit. Here's my update. Ahem! Ahem! So far I've lost ******drumroll******* 2kg! (or about 5 pounds) Chey!!!! Only 2 kg? Thats only 1 kg a month. Yup thats right! And its mighty hard work too! At this rate it'll take me another 10 months to lose that extra 20 pounds. Boo Hoo Hoo! No Cheongsum for Chinese New Year. Oh well, I am able to fit into smaller clothes now and family has begun to notice the small changes. Thats a start.

I've been a good girl. I exercise daily (or almost daily), am mindful of my food intake which leaves my poor tummy rumbling quite often (when it rumbles, I have to be mindful and take a small piece of something and a drink as I have to be sensible whilst breastfeeding).

I still indulge everynow and then in foods that I like but in smaller portions instead. Hey! Must still enjoy mah. Total denial is bad.

Phew! Such hard work. Nevermind, I have a smaller base to lose from now. I shall perservere and hopefully continue to write further weight loss updates.

Marry a Bimbo or an Intellectual?

Mr MG recently had a chat with some buddies about wives in general.

There are two school of thoughts here.

1. One side mentioned that they would rather be married to a bimbo (my words actually), defined as someone less smart who will presumedly give you more peace at home than an intellectual (who is smarter but presumedly more prone to arguing with you about everything under the sun.)
2. The other side mentioned that they would be unhappy if not married to an intellectual for lack of stimulating conversation at home.

Hmmm... men! Wants to have the best of everything don't they. Want to have stimulating conversation and at the same time wants some peaceful pampering by the less smart woman. Hmmm... food for thought. food for thought. I forgot to ask Mr MG which he thought I was. I would imagine I'm an intellectual disguised/pretending to be a bimbo. :PpP (Although some of the men defined an intellectual as a Phd Holder.) Well, I'm no Phd Holder but who says only a Phd Holder can be an intellectual right?

Parrot

We have a new parrot in the house. Actually, its just My Boy's latest development stage. As of Saturday, 26 Nov, 2005, he has started to repeat words after us. This is a really fun stage.

MG: "Baby, baby.... Say Mama. Say Mama."
My Boy: "Mama"
MG: "Aaaaaah!" (clap clap clap, big smile)

Mr MG: "Baby, baby...... Say Papa. Say Papa."
My Boy: "Papa"............ "Aaaaaaah!" (clap clap clap, big smile)

Its really hilarious the way he says "Aaaaaah!" after he repeats the words, as if to congratulate himself for being so clever.