I was watching tv with Jovan and Angel last night and a commercial for sanitary pad came up. It showed women hanging upside down while sleeping like bats and a voice asked,"Are you too afraid of leakage while you sleep?"
Jovan asked:"I don't get this commercial."
Angel replied:"They're sleeping upside down because they don't want the sun to get into their eyes."
I was like,"What?!" in my head and was curious to see how Angel is viewing this commercial.
Jovan then asked again:"Then what about those things they're selling?"
Angel, while looking at me, answered:"They're eye pads, so they can cover their eyes when they sleep!"
I was laughing so hard, I thought my sides were gonna split! After I managed to finally calm myself down a little, I explained to both of them what those are and why they are needed for women.
I was still laughing after I explained to them.
And then Angel said,"Oh now I know. I always wonder why did you buy those eye pads but I have never seen you using them."
I cracked up again!!!!!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Chris - The Opera Singer?
Chris hasn't been feeling good these few days and it started with fever on Sunday. It has been really difficult for him to sleep properly and he is waking up several times during the night, wanting to be carried and rock back to sleep. As a result, I am feeling really tired from the lack of sleep.
This morning, while sitting at the table having breakfast with hubby, we talked about our 3 feverish kids, Jovan, Ivan and Chris. I told him I'm really really tired and in pain (I've been having serious pain in my left knee for several days now.).
Me: "If only Chris is not so loud.... then it'll be ok to let him complain a bit at night." (Chris is capable of waking up the neighbourhood when he's really crying and screaming.)
Hubby:"Maybe he'll be a singer one day."
Me:"Yeah, maybe an opera singer."
Hubby:"Hopefully he'll find more notes by then."
Then we both stared at each other and laughed!
Coz now, Chris is making a "mm! mm! mm....." sound in a low, monotone, and he doesn this very often. Hubby and I think that he likes to hear himself! And hubby says that he sounds like a car horn! :D
This morning, while sitting at the table having breakfast with hubby, we talked about our 3 feverish kids, Jovan, Ivan and Chris. I told him I'm really really tired and in pain (I've been having serious pain in my left knee for several days now.).
Me: "If only Chris is not so loud.... then it'll be ok to let him complain a bit at night." (Chris is capable of waking up the neighbourhood when he's really crying and screaming.)
Hubby:"Maybe he'll be a singer one day."
Me:"Yeah, maybe an opera singer."
Hubby:"Hopefully he'll find more notes by then."
Then we both stared at each other and laughed!
Coz now, Chris is making a "mm! mm! mm....." sound in a low, monotone, and he doesn this very often. Hubby and I think that he likes to hear himself! And hubby says that he sounds like a car horn! :D
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Great Milestone For My Little Man!
Ivan starts pre-school today! With effect from 1 August 2010, The Swedish government is lowering the age for public pre-school to 3 years old. This means that all kids from 3 years old to 5 years old are entitled to attend public pre-school for 3 hours (0800hrs to 1100hrs) everyday, Monday to Friday and it's free.
I was a little overwhelmed by the fact that he's attending SCHOOL, that I had problem sleeping last night! ^.^ The first 2 weeks are "orientation" period, the number of hours that the kids will attend is flexible during this time, it could be 1 hour per day and slowly increasing it over the 2 weeks to 3 hours, or 1 hour first 2 days and 2 hours next 2 days.... you get what I mean. So for today, we'll be there with Ivan in school from 10am to 11am.
So we woke up early this morning, I brushed his teeth, put on some decent clothes (ie. those with no visible stains of ketchup or strawberry jams!), and sat him by the table to have his breakfast. But as always, he couldn't sit still for 2 minutes....
I was a little overwhelmed by the fact that he's attending SCHOOL, that I had problem sleeping last night! ^.^ The first 2 weeks are "orientation" period, the number of hours that the kids will attend is flexible during this time, it could be 1 hour per day and slowly increasing it over the 2 weeks to 3 hours, or 1 hour first 2 days and 2 hours next 2 days.... you get what I mean. So for today, we'll be there with Ivan in school from 10am to 11am.
So we woke up early this morning, I brushed his teeth, put on some decent clothes (ie. those with no visible stains of ketchup or strawberry jams!), and sat him by the table to have his breakfast. But as always, he couldn't sit still for 2 minutes....
Daddy had to sit him down very sternly and managed to get him to finish half of his bread and a glass of milk. Mommy is totally useless, it doesn't matter which tone I use... *shake head*
Then we were off to school! Walking hand in hand...
which only lasted 1 minute and then, he wanted to be carried...
We reached school 15 minutes earlier and was welcome warmly by the teachers in school. The teacher in charge was Maria and Ivan had no problem following her around while she showed him all the different areas to play, wash, play, hang up his jacket, play, toilet, paint, draw and oh, did I mention play? ^.^
While Ivan was occupied with exploring and trying all the toys, hubby and I spent some time talking to Maria to find out more about the group, the teachers in charge and filled up some administrative documents.
After awhile, it was time to go home, Ivan said goodbye to Maria and promised her that he'll be back tomorrow to continue playing with the trucks and bicycles outside in the school yard. ^.^
When we reached home I turn on the computer immediately to watch the Singapore's National Day Parade live on webcast. Yes, today is the 45th birthday of Singapore! We are a young country and a highly-capable one! *proud* It is amazing how much Singapore has grown within 45 years, from a small fishing island to the cosmopolitan country today. I'm proud to be a Singaporean! *thumbs up*
I celebrated my homeland's birthday by asking hubby to help me put up the Singapore flag on our balcony.
See my small flag hanging proud!
I also baked a cake and asked Jovan and Angel to turn it into a Singapore flag. It wasn't easy...
Jovan tried for awhile but gave up and left Angel to finish the work.
And she did a great job!
She also decorated the sides of the cake with hearts, the Swedish Dalarna horse (that's what you get from a Singapore-born but growing up in Sweden decorator!) and a double-heart.
I was talking to Ivan about his first day in school and when I asked him if he would like to go to school tomorrow, he smiled and nodded his head. ^.^
I know he's gonna like going to school - stuff to do and toys to play. Hopefully he'll make new friends very soon!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Easy Bean Sprouts
Bean sprouts are dirt cheap back home in Singapore. You can get a big bunch for 20 cents. However here in Sweden, not only is it expensive (comparing to Singapore), it's not so fresh and makes only irregular appearance on the shelves in the supermarket. There is also a canned version of bean sprouts in the supermarket but those.... we'll not talk about it. *shaking head in disgust*
I've been here for 4 years now and haven't been having bean sprouts for a long time. Through a friend on FB, I saw that she was sprouting her own bean sprouts from a tea pot and they looked delicious! I was inspired to try sprouting some myself. My friend was very kind in sharing some tips with me to help me get it right. And it is so easy! I'm still amazed at how much I can get from the little effort I put in!
For those who are interested, here's how it's done.
I got a gingerbread biscuit box and poked some holes on the lid. (it's important to poke them big enough for water to flow out properly.)
It is important to get a box which is opaque and to allow minimum amount of light to go into the box when you put in the water, beans which are exposed to too much light tends to taste slightly bitter.
Next, I put in about 50ml of mung beans, washed them, picked out the bad ones and soaked them with water overnight, making sure that the water level is high enough to cover all the beans.
This is how they looked like after just 1 night. You can see small roots appearing already!
The next morning, I pour away the water and turn the box upside down to make sure that there is no water remaining inside, otherwise the beans will just start to rot.
During the evening, I soak the beans in water again and about 10 mins or more and pour out the water after that, turning the box upside down again.
I do the same every morning and evening, soaking the beans with water for about 10mins and pouring the water away, leaving the box upside down. Once in the morning, another time in the evening.
And after 5 days, this is what I get!
They are sweet and free of any chemicals! Thank you Meiling!
I've been here for 4 years now and haven't been having bean sprouts for a long time. Through a friend on FB, I saw that she was sprouting her own bean sprouts from a tea pot and they looked delicious! I was inspired to try sprouting some myself. My friend was very kind in sharing some tips with me to help me get it right. And it is so easy! I'm still amazed at how much I can get from the little effort I put in!
For those who are interested, here's how it's done.
I got a gingerbread biscuit box and poked some holes on the lid. (it's important to poke them big enough for water to flow out properly.)
It is important to get a box which is opaque and to allow minimum amount of light to go into the box when you put in the water, beans which are exposed to too much light tends to taste slightly bitter.
Next, I put in about 50ml of mung beans, washed them, picked out the bad ones and soaked them with water overnight, making sure that the water level is high enough to cover all the beans.
This is how they looked like after just 1 night. You can see small roots appearing already!
The next morning, I pour away the water and turn the box upside down to make sure that there is no water remaining inside, otherwise the beans will just start to rot.
During the evening, I soak the beans in water again and about 10 mins or more and pour out the water after that, turning the box upside down again.
I do the same every morning and evening, soaking the beans with water for about 10mins and pouring the water away, leaving the box upside down. Once in the morning, another time in the evening.
And after 5 days, this is what I get!
They are sweet and free of any chemicals! Thank you Meiling!
"Can we get a dog?"
Yup, the question finally came up. Hubby and I have discussed on numerous occasions if we should get Jovan and Angel a pet. We both agree that it's nice to grow up with a pet and it'll help to teach them more about compassion and responsibilities. However, since we're living in an apartment, there are limited choices when it comes to the kind of pet to have. We all want a dog and we think that it'll be possible to have a small dog in our apartment. But after detailed discussions, hubby and I agree that we think Jovan and Angel are not ready yet for this big responsibility, so we put this thought on hold - until now.
Jovan and Angel asked me if they can have a dog the other day. I told them that I'll have to talk to daddy first, before we discuss this again as a family. So hubby and I brought up this topic again when he got home. We both think that the kids are quite good now and are already taking on some responsibilities with the household chores. They're doing the dishes, bringing out the garbage, cleaning their room and helping me with the babies and they have been doing a good job so far, except that sometimes they need reminders to get on with their chores and... they fight a lot, not literally but the constant bickering drives both hubby and I crazy!
So hubby and I decided that this is a good chance to get them to be more tolerant with each other and work as a team more often. We had a family meeting and we all agree on these:
"To get a dog, we must show that we can take big responsibility by:
- taking care of our daily chores done without reminder
- being proactive, that is to do stuff without being ask
- talking and working with each other to resolve problems
and....
NOT FIGHT"
We have talked to them very seriously that getting a dog is a life long commitment, it's not a toy which they can put aside when they get bored. It's like a baby and will be a new family member, not just a pet. And most importantly, they will both be the main people who are responsible for the dog. And the agreement is that we'll sell the Volvo (our previous car before our family got bigger) and use the money to buy a dog. But before we decide on anything, Jovan and Angel has to prove to us that they can be trusted with this big responsibility. So after we have sold the Volvo, we'll have another family meeting to assess how ready they both are for a dog.
So, we'll see!
Jovan and Angel asked me if they can have a dog the other day. I told them that I'll have to talk to daddy first, before we discuss this again as a family. So hubby and I brought up this topic again when he got home. We both think that the kids are quite good now and are already taking on some responsibilities with the household chores. They're doing the dishes, bringing out the garbage, cleaning their room and helping me with the babies and they have been doing a good job so far, except that sometimes they need reminders to get on with their chores and... they fight a lot, not literally but the constant bickering drives both hubby and I crazy!
So hubby and I decided that this is a good chance to get them to be more tolerant with each other and work as a team more often. We had a family meeting and we all agree on these:
"To get a dog, we must show that we can take big responsibility by:
- taking care of our daily chores done without reminder
- being proactive, that is to do stuff without being ask
- talking and working with each other to resolve problems
and....
NOT FIGHT"
We have talked to them very seriously that getting a dog is a life long commitment, it's not a toy which they can put aside when they get bored. It's like a baby and will be a new family member, not just a pet. And most importantly, they will both be the main people who are responsible for the dog. And the agreement is that we'll sell the Volvo (our previous car before our family got bigger) and use the money to buy a dog. But before we decide on anything, Jovan and Angel has to prove to us that they can be trusted with this big responsibility. So after we have sold the Volvo, we'll have another family meeting to assess how ready they both are for a dog.
So, we'll see!
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Dark Place
I had severe headache yesterday and ended up spending the whole day in bed, drifting in and out of sleep. During my fitful sleep, I had a lot of weird and some really scary dreams… getting trapped in my old “teenage” bedroom and ending up having to jump out of the window, getting chased by someone through thick bushes with a metal grinder, (wondering in my dream, how on earth did he/she connect the plug in these thick bushes??) which sounded exactly the same as Chris’s scream….
In one of my dreams, I dreamt that I was sitting by a desk, writing a note of some sort. And I told myself, in my dream (this happens to me a lot, I know I’m dreaming), that I need to remember whatever I wrote because it described very much how I felt when I was at my lowest period of my life. This is the note, most of it are from my dreams and I filled in a few blanks after I woke up, coz I just couldn’t remember the exact words…
“Here I am in the dark place.
Where the darkness stretches on endlessly. Where my screams for help are suffocated by the weight in my heart. Where my negative and depressing thoughts are amplified and flickering like bright neon signs with faulty lightings.
The world is moving forward on the other side and I am trapped on this end.
Anger
Frustration
Sadness
Helplessness
Loneliness
It's another downward spiral.
I don't want to be in the dark place.
I don't like MY dark place.”
This is the exact description of how I felt most of the time when I was suffering from depression.
I don’t think a lot of people knew that I was suffering from depression for almost a year when my life hit its lowest point. Not my family or my friends, the only person who knew then, was my then-boyfriend-now-hubby, who was living on the other side of the planet.
I was, at that time, still getting quite a lot of crap from my relatives for being the rebel/black sheep of the family by sending my own father off to jail after a dramatic family issue, and on top of that, I was trying to finalise my divorce coz my then-husband simply refused to sign the papers and was calling me to threaten me, calling me names, getting his family members/relatives to call me and scold me, etc. Also the credit card companies are calling me every week to chase me for payment and sending me lawyers’ letters asking me to pay, all for the debts which were incurred by my then-husband, who max’ed out all the supplementary cards attached to my credit cards. Above all these, I had a job which I desperately needed in order to pay the debts and take care of my family and 2 small babies and also, working with my lawyer in preparation for the custody fight for my children.
I started having problem sleeping. I had a lot on my mind, a lot of worries, anxieties and uncertainties of the future. I was lying in bed watching the sun rises everyday, waiting for my alarm to go off, got up and went to work. This continued for several weeks, I got really tired and easily agitated. I decided to consult a GP to see if I can get some sleeping pills. After some questions and probing, he told me that he’d give me 2 sleeping pills and a letter to consult a psychiatrist.
My first consultation with the psychiatrist cost me S$85 for less than an hour. It was a “establishing of background” kind of consultation, family medical history, any relatives who suffer from depression (my father)… I thought it was a waste of money which I didn’t have. My second (and last) consultation lasted probably 30/40 minutes, asking about my sleeping pattern (non-existence! hello! that was why I went to the GP!), my mood swings, my health… I didn’t trust her, I knew she didn’t care. I decided then that I couldn’t afford this crap.
It was clear to me at that time that I needed to maintain my grip on reality and stay as far away as I can from the sad and grey world in my head. I actually had a top-5-effective list of how to “go to a better place”, but after considering that I needed to go looking pretty as well, it was cut down to about 1. I had the list for a long time, considering options everyday, if it wasn’t for my 2 small angels, I might have executed one of them then.
I was determined to take control of my own “head”, my 2 small angels helped me to stay focus on what was important and my then-boyfriend-now-hubby doubled as my emotional “trash bin”, most of the time incoherent and sometimes, nonsensical. It was a painful, lonely and most of the time scary journey, but I did it.
For a long time, I couldn’t bring myself to think about that time, not to mention tell anybody about it. Today I’m writing this in my blog, knowing that someone I know will read this.
Today I am getting rid of one of my demons.
In one of my dreams, I dreamt that I was sitting by a desk, writing a note of some sort. And I told myself, in my dream (this happens to me a lot, I know I’m dreaming), that I need to remember whatever I wrote because it described very much how I felt when I was at my lowest period of my life. This is the note, most of it are from my dreams and I filled in a few blanks after I woke up, coz I just couldn’t remember the exact words…
“Here I am in the dark place.
Where the darkness stretches on endlessly. Where my screams for help are suffocated by the weight in my heart. Where my negative and depressing thoughts are amplified and flickering like bright neon signs with faulty lightings.
The world is moving forward on the other side and I am trapped on this end.
Anger
Frustration
Sadness
Helplessness
Loneliness
It's another downward spiral.
I don't want to be in the dark place.
I don't like MY dark place.”
This is the exact description of how I felt most of the time when I was suffering from depression.
I don’t think a lot of people knew that I was suffering from depression for almost a year when my life hit its lowest point. Not my family or my friends, the only person who knew then, was my then-boyfriend-now-hubby, who was living on the other side of the planet.
I was, at that time, still getting quite a lot of crap from my relatives for being the rebel/black sheep of the family by sending my own father off to jail after a dramatic family issue, and on top of that, I was trying to finalise my divorce coz my then-husband simply refused to sign the papers and was calling me to threaten me, calling me names, getting his family members/relatives to call me and scold me, etc. Also the credit card companies are calling me every week to chase me for payment and sending me lawyers’ letters asking me to pay, all for the debts which were incurred by my then-husband, who max’ed out all the supplementary cards attached to my credit cards. Above all these, I had a job which I desperately needed in order to pay the debts and take care of my family and 2 small babies and also, working with my lawyer in preparation for the custody fight for my children.
I started having problem sleeping. I had a lot on my mind, a lot of worries, anxieties and uncertainties of the future. I was lying in bed watching the sun rises everyday, waiting for my alarm to go off, got up and went to work. This continued for several weeks, I got really tired and easily agitated. I decided to consult a GP to see if I can get some sleeping pills. After some questions and probing, he told me that he’d give me 2 sleeping pills and a letter to consult a psychiatrist.
My first consultation with the psychiatrist cost me S$85 for less than an hour. It was a “establishing of background” kind of consultation, family medical history, any relatives who suffer from depression (my father)… I thought it was a waste of money which I didn’t have. My second (and last) consultation lasted probably 30/40 minutes, asking about my sleeping pattern (non-existence! hello! that was why I went to the GP!), my mood swings, my health… I didn’t trust her, I knew she didn’t care. I decided then that I couldn’t afford this crap.
It was clear to me at that time that I needed to maintain my grip on reality and stay as far away as I can from the sad and grey world in my head. I actually had a top-5-effective list of how to “go to a better place”, but after considering that I needed to go looking pretty as well, it was cut down to about 1. I had the list for a long time, considering options everyday, if it wasn’t for my 2 small angels, I might have executed one of them then.
I was determined to take control of my own “head”, my 2 small angels helped me to stay focus on what was important and my then-boyfriend-now-hubby doubled as my emotional “trash bin”, most of the time incoherent and sometimes, nonsensical. It was a painful, lonely and most of the time scary journey, but I did it.
For a long time, I couldn’t bring myself to think about that time, not to mention tell anybody about it. Today I’m writing this in my blog, knowing that someone I know will read this.
Today I am getting rid of one of my demons.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Has it been 6 months already?! No, it's 7!
Chris started crawling on his tummy last month, when he was 6 months old. We named it the "commando crawl" and he was just slithering around really fast, collecting toys and dirt on his tummy as he went along.
Shortly after that he started trying to sit up but since he wasn't strong enough to sit upright, he was leaning to one side and I named it the "mermaid pose".
His 2 tiny but extremely sharp teeth on his lower gum had also appeared.
Shortly after that he started trying to sit up but since he wasn't strong enough to sit upright, he was leaning to one side and I named it the "mermaid pose".
His 2 tiny but extremely sharp teeth on his lower gum had also appeared.
And he will not hesitate to show his cute but deadly teeth and doing his "monster" face at the same time.
His favorite past time now are chewing on cables and watching Timmy Time, which daddy has downloaded. It is the most watched programme in our household and it's on so often now, Ivan is starting to act together with the puppets in the show... =.="
Occasionally when he is in a good mood, he'll agree to go into the "hopping suit" and hop for max. 5 minutes before he realises that he's not going anywhere and there is nothing else to do except to hop, then his lips will be pulled down on the sides and starts quivering before bursting out a loud wail...
Now at 7 months old, he is crawling on all four and sitting upright. He has learnt to grab hold onto some sort of support and go from crawling/sitting position to kneeling position. Looks like standing is not so long now!
He has also found out that but biting hard or chewing on mummy's hand/finger/neck/shoulder will get a big reaction from mummy, which he thoroughly enjoys... >.<"
He has also achieved his "learning marks" as he crawls along...
but I have never heard him once complain or show that he is in pain, he's just the happy camper as usual, what a trooper!
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