Iherb.com

I discovered iherb.com when I was first looking for a protein supplement many years ago. I didn't know it then, but it was the start of a love relationship that would span many years, and is still continuing.

Browsing iherb.com made me realise that there were so many supplements which are grossly overpriced in Singapore. Glucosamine at the webstore cost a fraction of what GNC / Nature's Farm charged in the Singapore stores. My parents' $200 bottle of glucosamine / chondroitin was reduced to S$50, shipping included. 

I fell in love with the low prices and cheap delivery (US$4 in most cases) and introduced it to P. I think it was the one thing that helped him save $ the most, since he was dedicated to improving his health. He told me that if it weren't for iherb, he'd probably have gone ahead to spend thousands at GNC. 

After having Christian, I was happy to realise that I could get organic baby toiletries at iherb for much much lower than in Singapore, even as compared to those bulk purchases organised by mums in the forums. Some of the things I bought included - 

Hyland's teething tablets

Viburcol (It's a life-saver! Safe homeopathic medicine made in Germany which reduces high temperatures)

Nature's Baby Organic shampoo and baby wash

Earth's Best Edible toothpaste

I even branched into buying organic toiletries and cosmetics for myself when I was pregnant with Calista cos it was so affordable. And boy, was I glad to be able to find organic toiletries on iherb, after reading a book on toxic chemicals found in everyday household stuff.. I wanted to avoid exposing my unborn baby to all that nasty stuff.

Desert Essence Organic Red Raspberry Shampoo

Aubrey Organics' Silken Powder Blush 

Aubrey Organics' Silken Base Powder 

I am also thankful that I managed to get lots of yummy organic foodstuffs for the family via iherb - 

Now Foods' Whey Too Good Brownie Mix (We made it for Xmas once and it was such a hit at the office someone tried to commission me to do a batch just for his farewell)

Happy Baby Melts' Organic Yogurt Snacks (Calista's current fave!)

There are lots of other stuff we bought that I can't quite remember now.. but i'm glad to have introduced it to my mummy-colleagues.. thank goodness for international shipping! :)

(p/s Enter CAN504 to get US$5 off orders under US$40, and US$10 for orders above US$40!)

Contrition

We were about to fall asleep last night after having kept quiet for a long time, when he suddenly blurted out in the dark

Ch: mama..
Me: hmm.
Ch: today someone in N2B hit my teacher..she hit my Chinese teacher...Me: oh really?
Ch: yes. Giselle..Giselle hit Wang laoshi.
Me (recognizing he was reporting to me cos he was disturbed by what happened): why do u think she hit laoshi?
Ch: because she likes to hit...Giselle always likes to hit hit hit..
Me: Hmm..was it because she was upset over something?
Ch: Yes. Yes she was upset..because she was hungry.
Me (wondering whether he was projecting his own emotional response onto his friend): Oh..just like Christian right? Remember that time when u were so upset u wanted to bite mama?
Ch: ye-es...I was hungry and I wanted to eat mooncake.
Me: Uh-huh..u were upset with me when I didn't let u eat another slice..u wanted to bite me..
Ch: where's the bite now? *concerned* where's the bite on you now?
Me: Oh you didn't manage to bite in the end..because I held you and your mouth couldn't reach me..remember there was someone who went to talk to u?
Ch: who? who talked to me?
(I realise he only remembers snippets of it)
Me: Ms Esther..remember? she talked to you and you were shouting 'I don't want you!! I don't love you!!' and mama was sad and crying.
Ch (after a pause): Did Christian say sorry?
Me: Yes..he did..after a long long while..but he did.
Ch: And you felt better?
Me: Just a little bit.
Ch: Why only a little? Why not a lot?
Me: Well I felt a lot better after you said you love me, again. 

Ch silently comes over to snuggle and hug me, before saying 'I love you, mama...'
^_^

Keppel Bay Marina

It was Gonggong's birthday on 13th March. We decided to bring the grandparents to a place near our current house, and thought they might enjoy the different scenary at the Keppel Bay Marina. 
 

When the cake was brought out, he exclaimed "Birthday cake!!", and then innocently asked "Who is one years' old?? Gonggong?"

My Babe is 8!

Oh Calista, 


Happy 8th Month! 


Mama was so busy this month with our impending house move and work deadlines that 19th March totally slipped her mind! 


In this past month, you had a fever again (your 2nd time, other than when you were 6 days old) and was so clingy and miserable. My heart broke to see you like that, and yet I took comfort when i realised you wanted me to carry, above all else. You see, little one, your mama worries that you will not be as close to me as the other caregivers who look after you in the day when I'm at work. So it's nice to know that you prefer me above everyone else, even when i'm not able to spend as much time as I'd like with you. 


Your eyes speak volumes though. You frequently wake at 6am these days, and your poor mama would be bleary-eyed from the frequent night feeds and night pumping session. So she'd carry you out to Ida, who'd be awake by then. But OH! The whimper and pleading eyes as I pass you over to Ida! I shrivel in guilt, and am torn between more sleep (and guilt) AND staying awake to play with you (and a headache at work). Sigh. Those eyes seem to burn into my back as I slink away back to bed. 

I love hearing you call Mama though.. and i think we understand each other's cues perfectly by now. I know what each of your cries mean, whether you are bored, hungry, or tired. And you know all my baby talk "mama", "mum-mum", "1, 2, 3, up!"


We realise you have the same tongue as your father! By this, i mean that your tongue is able to flip 180degrees when you are pleased. I'd throw you up in the air and you'd be so pleased that your tongue just goes wild, flipping / curling this way and that. I can't do that, and neither can your brother. More proof that you are your father's daughter and your brother is his mother's son. 


You've started to clap your hands too.. we were so proud to hear you recognise the word "clap". I feel bad that you are somewhat like a circus monkey though, constantly clapping on cue, and for attention. (We need to train this monkey a bit more, for it seems to clap just for fun regardless of whether a request was made or not. =7) You look so proud of yourself too, when you are able to make little clapping sounds with those small hands of yours. It's a cognitive leap, I know, to realise that you have hands and you can do something with them. 

Now, if only you'd start crawling properly.. you are stuck at the stage of crawling backwards and going 360degrees on all fours.. you are also able to rock backwards and forwards on your knees and palms.. but still a little short of proper crawling. We'd let you practice until your little head is drenched in sweat and you start wailing.. =P

Did i mention that you sprouted 2 teeth? They are more evident with each passing day, and I'm just thankful that you have yet to seriously chomp down on me when you feed. :) 


Although usually gentle, we witness your fiery temper develop over the past month. Whenever your brother takes a toy away from you, you'd roar with rage and scare even your mama. Well, I suppose I don't have to worry about you getting bullied. Speaking of being bullied, I see that relations between you and your brother have improved though. He hugs and kisses you a lot more without prompting. This might have something to do with the fact that we say "meimei is sharing her cereal with you. See, she loves you so much she wants to be near you..." Your brother is also thrilled that his sister seems to be growing up and can do more (well, just clap for now) than just drink and sit and sleep.

You've eaten some new foods this month.. you seem to like pumpkin quite a bit.. and you even managed normal oatmeal. I hope to start you on porridge proper soon, but you remain so difficult to feed that a tiny amount of puree takes you forever to finish. Sigh. Hope your appetite will increase soon! As for our breastfeeding journey, i thought i would not make it past the 8th month. The reserves in the freezer are steadily being depleted and my output is  also on the decline. Oh well. Let's just aim for another month and see how things go :)


We are so happy to have you, darling.. I think about you constantly throughout the day and can't help kissing and sniffing your smelly sweaty head when I come home from work each day. 


Love ya lots!
Mama

Christian-isms

I haven't had the chance to blog as much as I want to recently, thanks to house-packing, and an increasingly conscious/alert Calista who is sleeping less and demanding more attention.

Just want to quickly record the funny things Christian did or said before they are lost forever, so pardon the choppy nature of this post..

1) Say sorry
P was driving one day and got lost. Ch overheard me asking P where we were going and he chimed in "UH-OH..HOW? ? How we go home?? Say SORRY daddy." We burst out laughing and an amused P said "SORRrry..."

2) Favourites
Ch blurted out of nowhere while in the car one day.. "Circle shape...my favourite is circle." When asked why, he said "Because circles can spin."

3) Efficiency
On the 28th of last month (this is how long i've been storing up these snippets for!) he finished his oatmeal in the morning and proudly showed the clean bowl to me. "Mama! See! Very clean! No need to wash already..." Once again, he  made me laugh and gave me a great start to the day.

4) Gratitude
I bought him the aqua doodle mat cos I think we need to provide him with more toys which allow him to practice his pencil grip and hand control. It was a hit with him and he blurted out "I love this mama, thank you for buying it for me" whilst focused on making little 'raindrops' on the mat.

5) Rollercoaster questions
Before sleep one night, he asked me "Mama. The race track has electricity? the one near the fireworks?" (I realised then that he was referring to the rollercoaster he saw at Universal Studios.) "What's the name of the person who built it? Mama? Mama? Hmm..Mama?"

I ignored him for a bit hoping he would give up and sleep, but couldn't bear to do it after the third "Mama..?"

Mama: What?
Ch: Why we cannot touch air?
Mama: Well.. air is not like mud. It's not solid, nor a liquid, so we can't touch it.
Ch: Why is air not mud?
Mama (losing patience): Air is air and mud is mud. It's like asking 'Why is Christian not a chair?' It simply is.
Ch (notices that I shifted to lie on my right side, and was no longer facing him): Mama turn around and look at me. I want to look at you too...I love you mama, nobody can take you away.

6) Questions for Grandpa
Grandpa put Christian to bed one night. He came out wanting to give us an account of his verbal exchange with Christian, but laughed so hard that he was sputtering as the words came out. This was what he managed to tell us after a long time of laughter.

"Grandpa tells him about his early life..his first job, how his boss was happy with him, raised his pay.. how he bought a car and then married popo..Christian butted in at that point to ask -

'Popo wear dress?'

Gonggong: Yes..

Ch: Nice dress?

Gonggong (trying hard not to laugh already and wondering where this was leading): Er yes..very nice.

Ch: Then gonggong you wear a nice shirt?

Gonggong (stifling the urge to chuckle and be as serious as Ch): Yes. A very nice shirt!

Ch: Your shirt have a car?

Gonggong (realises Ch was thinking about his Lightning Mcqueen shirt) jokes: No, I had a train on it.

Ch: Gonggong, you know what's my favourite? Thomas train!'

(p/s My father burst out laughing and wiped away his tears after telling us this. I have not seen my father laugh so hard in YearS. Am glad that his grandson provides him much amusement. But there was more.)

Gonggong proceeds to tell him he invited lots of people to the wedding dinner..his friends, his relatives..

Ch: Gonggong, why you never invite me?

The grandfather can take it no longer, tells grandson 'no more talking, it's time to sleep.'

The grandson attempts more questions and whispers "Gonggong..gonggong..gonggong..". He was ignored, realises his grandfather will not entertain him any longer, so promptly turns over to face the wall instead and falls asleep.

Sweet Child O Mine

Ok, this post has nothing to do with the Guns n Roses song, but well..the phrase just comes to mind when I think about Christian sometimes.

P and I agree that currently, the greatest virtue he exhibits is his great love for his mama ^_^ (His weaknesses..well..I will decline to list them out here in case he reads this post in future.)

Some background first: On Wednesday, some rashes appeared on Calista's face and body, front and back. We brought her to the doc cos I was worried it might be chicken pox (Ch's school is having an outbreak of chicken pox.) The doc said since she doesn't have a fever nor are there any blisters, it is not chicken pox. He also ruled out roseola and proclaimed it a mysterious viral rash. We were relieved and proceeded to spend the day quite happily since P was at home studying for his exam the next day.

At 4am on Thur night, Calista cried and fussed after I fed her. A groggy P asked "What's wrong" when he heard her cries and a second later, Calista puked all over our bed. A major clean-up with change of sheets ensued and I fed her again to put her back to sleep. Mistake, for she puked a second time. I found her clinging onto me miserably. It seems like they really know who their mummy is (I thought she might be closer to Ida my helper given that it is Ida who spends most of Ca's waking hours with her.) Thurs was a bad day - Ca was cranky, fussy and had to be constantly carried. I dragged myself to work cos of looming deadlines but rushed home 2 hours early because I was worried about her. Thank goodness her fever broke by Friday morning and she was back to her normal playful self again, albeit rather spotty-looking.

I discovered to my horror lots of rashes on my thighs on Friday night. I gasped and Christian asked what was the matter. When he saw the rashes, he too was a little taken aback, but decided to 'nurse' his mama back to health.

"Mama, you want your pomegranate juice? Come, drink! Pomegranate will kill the rashes and you will be well! It will 'gunkgunkgunk' in your stomach." (I don't know why he came up with this idea.)

When I pouted and told him to stay far away, he looked concerned..I asked him if he will still love his mama when she is ill and he immediately said

"MAMA, even when you are sick, I will STILL love you. I love you even when you have rashes."

^_^

The rashes got more numerous on Sunday..I was staring at them, gave an unconscious "MMMmmm" and Christian heard my deflated expression of self-pity.

"Mama, why you "mmmed"?
....
"*brightly* Nevermind, just take medicine.."

Mama..when I grow up, and you still have rashes, I will bring you to the doctor ok? Then I will give you a train to play. And a bus.
I will give you medicine too!

I was lying on his mattress before bedtime and he asked without prompting -

"Mama..are you hot? A little? Ok! I will fan you! *proceeds to fan me very seriously* Turn around mama! Let me fan the other side!"

OH.. I was so pleased my heart sang with joy and my eyes crinkled up.
P rolled his eyes incredulously at the inequity. =D

Encounter 2 (on another occasion when I was ill) -
"You not feeling well? No, mama no? Mama, if you hungry you tell me ok. I will take food for you. I am thirsty."

*looks at me, decides not to bother me*
"I go take water myself, later I come back."

*runs to kitchen and reports to Ida*

"Ida I sayang mama! Because mama not feeling well."

He sees me hugging cushion and asks - "Mama you want bolster? He runs to get his favourite bolster and presses it into me. "Gonggong, mama sick already..."

Ch turns to me and says - "I give you pillow so it's softer."

He stops bouncing around and sits next to me on the sofa to accompany me.

"Mama you have fever? Popo later can you bring mama to hospital? Mama I take water for you. there. take your medicine!"

Sharing with Africa

Christian was eating breakfast and it suddenly struck him to ask

"Mama, why the poor children of Africa don't have bread and milk?"

I told him they don't have money to buy bread and milk.. and he asked why again.. I explained that their parents do not have jobs so they can't earn money to buy food.. he thought for a while and then said -

"Mama, I will give them water! I will bring them to my house."

I was pleased to hear that and praised him. "That's great.. what about bread? Will you share bread?"

"Yes! I will give them bread.. that's for later! Then they won't be hungry anymore.. Then I will bring them to school.. and they will cry.. because they don't like school, then I'll bring them home. Erm. mama, I don't know how to go to Africa."

I smiled and told him maybe we'll go when he's bigger. He started asking where Africa was and whether it was next to Godma and Godpa's house (they live in Perth).

Christian and the green bear

The Daddy and Ch were playing.. I came out and Daddy pretended to animate a soft toy bear, asking "who woke the giant (bear) up? fee fi fo fum!"

Ch looks around and says "Mama!"



I went in to brush my teeth and Ch came running in, telling Daddy "Mama is here!"

What follows saddened me..

"Mama, the green bear is not angry at you anymore! Mama, the green bear will be happy if you play with him."

I realised he was projecting his own desires and emotions onto the soft toy.

"Mama..come, and play! You must play with the bear..see..! Because it's so small.. you must take.. er.. you must go to work and Ida will take care of it."

Mama smiles sadly.

God and Language

I have been reading the e-book version of Barbara Curtis' "Mommy, teach me to read" on my iphone (thank goodness for e-libraries and smartphones which make reading on the go so much easier for busy mums).

Like me, she sees the amazing love of God as she brought up 12 children of her own and taught many others as a preschool teacher.

Some excerpts from the book -

"God gave us the gift of language
Lord knows we need it. Animals have instincts that compel them toward the behavior appropriate to their species: how to hide from enemies, build nests, protect, feed, and care for their young, finally to teach them to run or to fly.

Compare human infants with animal babies. Humans take almost a year to walk independently; horses walk and run within minutes of birth. In the animal kingdom, the young are helpless for only the briefest period, and their own development is governed by instinct. All their instinctual behaviors would be released even if they were kept in a solitary condition.

Not so with humans. We don't have many instincts. We have potentials - given to us by God - that can only be released if certain requirements are met within our environment. Unlike animals, human infants are completely dependent on their parents for many years. Most of their training is accomplished through language. The few documented cases of children who grew up apart from other humans, as well as studies of children raised in isolated or solitary conditions, describe individuals with limited human characteristics.

God must have had something in mind when he created us this way.

Comfort, Communication, and the Creator
..Through his gift of language, God provided a basis for his best gift of all - relationship. He designed us to be deeply involved in each other's lives, and language is the medium of interdependence. The warm communication between parent and baby sets the stage for the development of language. In the absence of serious deficiences, the beginning of language takes place in the context of love.

This loving context is critical to the child's later ability to communicate and trust. The assurance of mother love is essential to the optimum development of language in the child.

It begins with the baby's first cry. Even in his first wail, a baby expresses his individuality. ... Through having his needs met - hunger filled or comfort restored - the baby experiences communication as something that brings closeness and contentment."

Elmo's Sing-along CD

The other day P brought our helper Ida to visit the TCM practitioner for her cough and I was left alone at home with two kids. I think they were worried I couldn't handle them both on my own, and truthfully I was a little worried they would both want to poo at the same time (that happened another day, thankfully).

Anyway, I found the Elmo Sing-along personalised CD which Angie and Ivan gave Calista last Christmas and put it to good use. We had so much fun, the three of us.. listening to the silly songs and bouncing/dancing around the bedroom (ok, Calista could only sit and watch but she seemed to enjoy our antics). Christian was initially a little upset that Elmo kept saying Calista's name and did not know Christian was there...but he cheered up after I sang along with Elmo and inserted Christian's name at the appropriate places. Haha.

The boy worked up such a sweat dancing like a possessed medium, he made me laugh till my stomach hurt. I really liked the mix of genres within the CD - country, blues, pop, military marches...and Christian liked that Elmo was talking about singing silly songs like "Sarasponda".. Thanks, Godma and Godpa!

A walk 'round the neighbourhood II - Alexandra Arch

P has been on study leave cos he has an exam next Thursday, on our wedding anniversary. It's nice having him at home and knowing that I'll see him at the bus-stop waiting with Calista, when I get back from work. He's also been picking Christian up from school on the days that he studies at home.

He told me that Christian passed the Alexandra Arch (it's the other bridge that forms part of the Southern Ridges trail, other than Henderson Waves which we visited the other day) the other day on the way home from school and requested that we visit it. We thought we might as well take a after-dinner stroll there, before we move away from the area.

We thought of not bringing Calista along in case she needed to nap / drink and started fussing whilst out. She somehow knew that we were heading out though, and started kicking her legs and flapping her arms excitedly. Seeing her grin with excitement, we just couldn't bear to leave her alone at home. She literally lurched towards me as I walked near to her. =7

It was a short and enjoyable walk and Calista was silently enraptured. Children find joy in the simplest things, and they remind us of how easy it is to be happy.

Growing up and saying bye

Many many nights ago, when we were talking about sleep and rest being necessary ingredients of good health and growth, he pointed out that "Mama I never find anybody when I sleep...when somebody goes out I just hug my bolster and I sleep I never look for anybody. Then when I wake up I open the door myself."

The background to this - he used to be such a baby, wailing whenever he discovered that someone was not right next to him. Putting him to bed required at least 45 minutes, and if we happened to leave before he truly fell into deep sleep, opening the door to leave would trigger a cry from him and the countdown would hv to restart. He usually naps in school too, but during his weekend naps at home, he used to stay inside the room until we thought it was impossible for him to be still asleep, and went in to check on him. For some strange reason, he simply refused to come out of the room on his own.

Well. I didn't know he has grown up and changed, until the revelation many nights ago. All this while, I thought he was asleep when my mum / I left the room at night, but turns out he was aware of our departure and did not protest! ^_^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another conversation we had this morning made me realise that he's grown up and capable of being reasoned with.

I gently reminded him that he was going to have to go to another school after we move house. As usual, he asked "why" and I explained that the other school is nearer. He said he didn't want to go to a new school, and I tried to coax him to change his mind by saying that the school has nice teachers, is nearer to popo's house and he will be there shorter, because it's a kindergarten.

He had a look of concentration, thought for a moment, then asked "the school with the basin?"
I was lost and wondered out loud "what basin? huh?" CH was patient and said "the school, u know, where you press the tap, wash your hands and there's a basin.." I was puzzled until I recalled that TwinkleStar Monte had a self-made 'basin' consisting of a huge water dispenser, a basin underneath, and a pail next to it to contain used water. He remembered the trial he went for a month or two back, and made the link that he must be going to that school!

I hesitated to tell him that we weren't actually going to attend that school, but he cheered up on thinking that he was, so i left it at that for now.

Sigh. Just the other day before his nap, he was spontaneously telling me his cot bed in school is right next to Jia En's and he speaks softly to his friend about crocodiles and islands before they sleep (softly so the teacher won't tell him off). He also confessed that he likes Kimberley and his best friends are Brayan and Joy. He seemed sad that Chloe went to another school.

I am not looking forward to his last day at childcare. =S

Random questions from a 3 year old

"Mama, why you go to work?? But I still have feeveeer..."

"Daddy, why is our car not Lightning McQueen?"

"Why Mama? Why is the caterpillar eating up the leaf?"

While reading "Flouder to the Rescue", he pointed at Ariel the mermaid and asked "Why she don't have clothes? Oh. Why is she wearing a shell? Why she don't have enough shells to cover her neck and here?"

"Why is meimei not here? Why can't you bring her to work? Why won't your boss like it?"

(We watched a little of Ponyo on the Cliff, and he was full of questions after a scene where the boy communicates vai morse code with the dad on the ship.)

"Mama, why that boy's daddy has to work?" (Becos the daddy has to earn money.) "Why his mama doesn't need to work?" (If she works, nobody will take care of the boy.) "Why the boy don't have an Ida?"

"Mama, why the wind don't have a body?"

(A question from Mama, "Why does my son reserve the most esoteric questions for me?" I told him that God designed it perfectly. If Wind had a Body, he would see lots of bodies colliding into each other in the air when it was windy. The helper burst out laughing.)