Gareth Turns Three Months Old!

Gareth is three months old now! He's growing to be more like KengYong I think and yes, don't ask me why his skin is so dark because I have absolutely no idea why. I swear that I didn't drink any coffee at all during my pregnancy but er.. I did drink at least a cup of Milo everyday. Not too sure if that affects his skin colour. haha. Well, Gareth had an accidental success in his flipping over once and subsequently he has been crying out of frustration when one of his arms got stuck in the midst of him flipping. He seems so determined but quick-tempered. Gareth now weighs 7.07kg and his height is about 65cm. Greg loves his didi a lot (e.g., he would lower the tv volume when Gareth is sleeping, he would sing to Gareth etc) and Gareth now would be extremely happy when he sees Greg around. Hopefully the bond between these two brothers will grow even stronger with time.

Greg was quite funny the other night when Gareth was trying to flip over but couldn't. Yanti and I marvelled at his attempts but Greg wasn't too happy about the attention we showered on Gareth. Greg said, " Mummy, Didi so small and fat, he cannot turn yet. I am big and not fat, I can turn. I show you ok Mummy... ". Now that Gareth has flipped over, Greg said, "oh... Gareth is not fat now". I just thought Greg's so funny and candid in his words. Kekeke.

Life At Home

I kept Greg at home on Monday after his bad fall on Sunday. Unfortunately, he suddenly developed tummy flu symptoms on Monday evening. Poor fella, Greg had to suffer so much. Luckily, I have quit my job. Otherwise I really wouldn't know how to take emergency leave as I was supposed to start work on 25 Feb 2008 after my maternity leave ended.

Life as a Stay-At-Home Mum (SAHM) is indeed not easy. Sometimes I envy my friends that they still have their parents around to help out. Previously I could go down to Mum's house if I needed any help or when I wanted to find a place to really laze around. Now I can hardly rest and I have to stand on my own almost all the time. Mum and Dad knew the times I was upset... and could help me solve those problems I was stuck with. They were always the first two persons who would come to my mind when I needed to talk or ventilate my frustrations. I know they would always be there for me but well, that's in the past. I couldn't find any personal time for myself at present and yes, I do feel very tired. I love my boys, for sure, but I do feel exhausted at times. Kudos to those SAHMs who are doing well. It's a job that's harder than any other jobs. It requires one to work 24/7 and there's no salary... sigh. Well, so much for my ventilation. Yes, I promise I will try again.. and will try harder.. Hmmm.. maybe I should think of the positive aspects of being a SAHM because not many people get the chance to be one. Kekeke..

Oh No! Greg Has Another Nose Injury!

Greg was looking forward to meet Rina and family at Pasir Ris Park in late afternoon. I was busy talking to Rina when KengYong and Yanti were with Greg at the playground. Suddenly, I heard Greg crying away and it was only then I found out that he fell from a height and hit his nose. Both his nostrils were bleeding and because he kept saying it's painful inside his nose, KengYong and I decided to rush him to KKH A&E. He has hurt below his nosebridge all the way to his nose tip. Remember his two previous nosebridge injury which resulted in his nosebridge fracture?.. sigh. I seriously do not know why he kept hurting his nose. Now he looks like a rednose reindeer. Even Greg himself had a shock when he saw his very red nose in the mirror.

This accident brought back some memories for me. I still remember I was with Ma at SGH when she was quite ill. She suddenly opened her eyes and cried, "Nah! Quick save Gregory. He has climbed so high and he's going to fall..". I thought Mum just had a dream or that she's being delirious so I just tried calming her down. She then chided me for chatting with Rina and not wanting to save Gregory. I still joked with Mum then that Rina wasn't at SGH and I didn't have someone I could chat to. Now that I think back about what Mum said, perhaps Mum did witness the bad fall Greg had. Maybe she wasn't hallucinating or dreaming. She was just being ahead of time. *SAD* when I recall those times with Mum..

I Quit!

Gareth started his first day at infant care on 18 Feb 2007 (Mon) and I am supposed to return to work on next Monday as I have finished my 3 months of maternity leave. How time flies. Gareth was enrolled into Greg's previous infant care at TTSH. Unfortunately, most of Greg's infant teachers have left and I saw some things I wasn't too happy with at the current infant care centre. Worst is that the babies there were either down with chesty cough or have thick yellow mucus running down from their nose to their mouth. There's another baby who's three weeks older than Gareth, and oh my gosh, he's already on ventolin and some other medicine. I didn't want Gareth to land up so sick so soon, and because of the abovementioned reasons, I went to look for my boss to discuss about the possibility of taking no pay leave for the time being.

Well, my boss has not been very happy with me taking emergency leave over the past couple of years when Greg or my mum was sick, and she said she couldn't understand why I could not leave my kids with my maid when they are sick. She felt that I would always have "this problem of taking emergency leave" and she has to cover my work (which is to block my clinics). She didn't think granting me no pay leave will lead me to anywhere, and well, after a couple of discussions, I felt cornered to resign. So sad. I love my job so much but I guess I didn't have a choice. I even thought of working part-time and getting my maid look after Gareth under my father-in-law's supervision. However, on that Monday night, I brought Greg down to clinic for his 3 year old assessment when KengYong and maid looked after Gareth at home. Greg and I were not even down for an hour, we saw KengYong and maid come down with Gareth as they couldn't manage him. Apparently Gareth cried till his voice was hoarse and the two adults couldn't soothe him. Well, I guess if KengYong couldn't manage, I doubt my father-in-law would fare any better.

Anyway, I decided to throw in my letter of resignation. It was only after I have submitted my resignation letter, I saw many ugly sides of my boss. Quite upset about it. I should have quit earlier, when Mum was sick. Even on the day Mum died, I had to finish up all my cases before I left to be with Mum at SGH. Very distressed when I think back. I have slogged so hard for more than 8 years at TTSH, but I didn't seem to get anything much in return. Perhaps it's really time I should leave. I guess my next employer has to be pro-family and pro-kids. I tendered my resignation with immediate effect. Quite a big decision and it's something I have never thought I would do at TTSH. Well, time to move on for me..

Gong Xi Gong Xi!

It's Lunar New Year again. Last year couldn't celebrate because of Dad's passing, and no celebration this year because of Mum's demise. Quite sad when CNY arrived on Thursday because it had never been the same since last year. Anyway, Raymond, Rina and I decided to book into Fullerton Hotel on the first day of CNY for a night stay there. The kids had fun and we had really close view of the fireworks at night. Otherwise my CNY this year is the same as my any other day. Nothing special. No really nice foods too. Two of my major dinner appointments were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances... and sigh! If Mum and Dad were around, I do not have to think hard where to head for during CNY, and yes, there's always good food at Mum's place anytime I went. It's totally different now. I long for CNY no more.

Gregory's Third Birthday!

It's Gregory's 3rd birthday today! Since it falls on a Saturday, we decide to celebrate it outside home and school this year. After much consideration, I thought the Atlantis City at Delta Sports Complex was a more suitable one. I booked the whole indoor playground cum party area from 6-9pm. We have also catered dinner buffet for those who turned up. It was not easy organising Greg's birthday because he was so indecisive in his choices. For instance, he had wanted a 3D Mr. Bean birthday cake at first. After that, he decided to change it to Barney. When he changed his mind to Thomas the Train again, I told him that the bakery uncle has baked his Barney cake already and I managed to persuade him to get Thomas the Train jelly instead. I have been ordering jelly from Mrs. Chan for Greg's birthday since he turned one and I must say her jelly tastes very nice.

Greg had great fun at the playground with his cousins and friends. Raymond bought him a bubble machine for his birthday and Greg insisted that he must bring it along to share the fun with his friends. In addition, Teacher Roze was also nice to be the games master that evening. She has organized simple games for the kids and everyone had some fun and laughter. Last but not least, I must also thank LiPing for videotaping the party down - it'd definitely leave some fun memories for Greg! Below are some pictures of the kids enjoying themselves at the party!

I am glad Gregory and the kids have enjoyed themselves. They loved it so much that they refused to leave the place when the party ended at 9pm. One thing I regret I didn't do was to take more group and family pictures. I was just so busy entertaining the guests and making sure things go smoothly for the party. Come to think of it, we have spent quite a fair bit on this party - the place, the food, the cake, jelly, prizes for the games and the goodie bags for the kids. Well, I have always wanted a birthday party myself - envied those who had one. I have never got a chance to have had one so thought may as well create one fun one for Greg. I am happy that I did because he kept saying, "Mummy, remember my birthday party? I hope it's my birthday again!". =)