Scary Mommy Manifesto

Learning to walk soon!

My sister-in-law recently came back from Melbourne with her 2 kids - a three years old toddler and a six months old baby. We were having great times (Yea, great) together, practicing my mother skills with this energy-never-dry-up toddler. Well, I would say that I'm so looking forward to my Darling's toddlerhood (....NOT!).

I solute how my sister-in-law handle her two kids, can't imagine how am I gonna do it myself. I better be well prepared in case I turn into one of those moms who's completely drained and just wanna get out of it! If you ever get caught in the situation, you'll find yourself more related to the article I found recently:

Please solemnly recite the following before proceeding:

• I shall maintain a sense of humor about all things motherhood, for without it, I recognize that I may end up institutionalized. Or, at the very least, completely miserable.

• I shall not judge the mother in the grocery store who, upon entering, hits the candy aisle and doles out M&Ms to her screaming toddler. It is simply a survival mechanism.

• I shall not compete with the mother who effortlessly bakes from scratch, purees her own baby food, or fashions breathtaking costumes from tissue paper. Motherhood is not a competition. The only ones who lose are the ones who race the fastest.

• I shall shoot the parents of the screaming newborn on the airplane looks of compassion rather than resentment. I am fortunate to be able to ditch the kid upon landing. They, however, are not.

• I shall never ask any woman whether she is, in fact, expecting. Ever.
I shall not question the mother who is wearing the same yoga pants, flip-flops and t-shirt she wore to school pickup the day before. She has good reason.

Self -feeding in progress :)

• I shall never claim to know everything about any child but my own. (Who still remains a mystery to me.)

• I shall hold the new babies belonging to friends and family, so they may shower and nap, which is all any new mother really wants.

• I shall attempt to not pass down my own messed up body issues to my daughter. She deserves a mother who loves and respects herself; stretch marks, cellulite and all.

• I shall not preach the benefits of breastfeeding or home schooling or organic food or co-sleeping or baby wearing to a fellow mother who has not asked my opinion. It's none of my damn business.

• I shall try my hardest to never say never, for I just may end up with a loud-mouthed, bikini clad, water gun shooting toddler of my very own.

• I shall remember that no mother is perfect and my children will thrive because, and sometimes even in spite, of me.

Excerpted from "Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood: The Good, The Bad, and the Scary" by Jill Smokler. Published by Gallery Books.

How about you? Are you looking forward to your baby's toddlerhood?

My Darling is 1 today!!!

Looking forward to toddlerhood!

My Darling is 1 today!
She's growing too fast isn't she??? I couldn't keep up at all!

Which day that you won't surprise Mommy with your little tricks?

- This morning you stirred from sleep, rolled over on me, rested your head on my chest, gently patted me :)

- You have been doin 'Touch the Bug, The Bug Flies!' by touching your finger tip on your palm, but Mommy still trying to show you to raise your hand when the bug flies away

- When someone farted, you'll go "Oh!" then follow by "Poo Poo". You did that when you farted too :D

- When Mommy sing, "How much is that doggie in the window?" You'll go, "Wow wow!" that's your favourite song of the month :)

- You learned to 'share' your food. Picks up a piece of bread, give to Mommy but wouldn't let go and put it back into your mouth! But sometimes I suck it out from your tiny pincher grasp and say thank you to you ;)

- "Where's your phone? Hello Hello?"
you'll put your toy mobile phone near your ear and smile :)

- "Where's your ear?"
you'll hold your ear and when we're impressed you smile delightfully

- Express your sympathy when you heard someone "Ouch!" or cry from pain, you'll ask with a "What's wrong? Are you alright?" face, then gently touching with your hand

- Rest your head on our chest when we said,"Oi Oi". Or you'll rest on the cushion when we throw you one on the floor.

- Mommy's got the first-time moment with you! After happily seeing Mommy making monkey sounds, you started making your own! That was oh-so-cute! :) then you kept making that sounds to get Daddy's attention :D

- Whenever someone's phone rang, you'll be the most excited one who's looking for the phone and reminding others to answer the call!

- We're still going strong in breastfeeding (Yes, I know!) I'm so proud of my little nursing champion (Proud of myself too!).

- And did I mention that you have a total of 8 teeth now? That's such a great milestone for my little gal! :)

I'm prouder each day!

Love,
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Overreacted?

I'm hurt. Really hurt that I can't think.

My heart aches when Darling crying out painfully, with her finger numbed from excruciating pain.

Hubs was trying to put on her suction bowl by pressing down with full force & made a few twist (that's for securing the suction), without noticing that Darling's little finger tip was caught under the bowl.

She screamed terrifyingly that my heart hurts too :'(

I can't help but telling Hubs that how much it hurts, please don't do this to her again, etc... Maybe I sounded a bit more angry (which I was) or naggy, but instead of admitting his fault, he shut me up & trying to divert the mistake that I was the one who didn't put on the bowl correctly that it came off. At that point I lost it and I told him off that he's trying to blame something else instead of admitting his fault.

He's saying that I didn't help the situation but to make it worse by losing my temper and shouting to everyone.

Oh. So I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut after seeing my Darling being hurt. Didn't know that.

I told him in the face that if he expects that from me, he better does it himself and keep his word. Because so often, and always, he's the one who nag, scold, then scold again after shit happens. Don't tell me that doesn't make thing worse and helps the situation.

Confused. Am I overreacted over the incident or should I really stay calm and keep my mouth shut?

Cystoscopy for Kidney Stone

This culprit is causing unbearable pain!

It's 5.30pm. I'm like the ants on the hot pot, just couldn't sit still. Anxious, worried, really worried.

Hubs being sent in to the operation theatre since 1pm for his cystoscopy procedure to extract his kidney stone. Checked with the nurses, checked at Doctor Kamil's clinic, all I got is to wait. Finally caught the nurse who sent Hubs in just now, she said he just came out from OT, now in the recovery area under observation, should be sending him back to the room in a while. Read about cystocopy here.

Phew, at least he's out of OT? While waiting for him I looked up for the cystoscopy. Apparently it really hurts, during and after the procedure, along with burning sensation while urinating. Ouch.

My Hubs who doesn't drink water as if it's his enemy, diagnosed with 1cm + 2mm kidney stones two days ago after admitting to the emergency department at 6am with severe pain. The 1cm stone is out of his kidney and lodged in his urethra which causing the unbearable pain.

His Doctor called these people 'Stone Former' who prone to recurrence stones, must go for annual checkup to make sure stones are detected earlier if there's any. And this is the 2nd time Hubs suffering from kidney stones. Only first time was much smaller, 4mm, which he had ultrasound blasting to break the stone and flush out with urine.

Stone Formers have one thing in common, bad habit:
1. Doesn't drink plain water, at all.
2. High sodium diet

At 6pm Hubs was sent back to the room, finally, after waited for 5hrs. He got to keep his beloved stone for memory. That little culprit looks like a mini coral with uneven surface. Hubs joked that next he aims for a gem stone, mad mad mad! >:-C

Flower!

Checking out her new toy, Ikea's MULA Shape Sorter

I got so surprised this morning when I heard my Darling saying 'flower'! I know she really meant it when she looking at the floral patterns on the curtain.

She pronounced it almost 100% accurate! The other day mom just told me that out of the sudden she heard Darling saying 'powder' while pointing at the baby powder.

Looks like we'll have a little chatterbox real soon! :)

Happy 11 Months Old My Baby Gal

Hmm what are you looking at, dude?  :D

My Darling turns 11 months old today! Can you believe it!?
I gotta start planning for her first birthday real soon :)

You turned into a smart little gal you know that? You've learned so much that Mommy can't keep up!

Solid foods are goin well lately, we've started lumpier food instead of the mushy purée.

Porridge with fish, pumpkin, carrot, spinach, potato, tomato and I've changed her white rice to organic mixed grain of brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, oats and barley.

Enjoying Pumpkin Porridge!

Last week you joined Mommy and Daddy for Japanese udon for the first time and you loved it! :)

We've been practicing to have you on the high chair with us during meal times. You really enjoy the bread pieces and sometimes plain rice and happily feeding yourself with fingers :) Mommy's getting you your utensils and we'll practice self-feeding with spoon k! One thing is, you hate it when Mommy pointing your leg on the food tray and say 'put down', you'll be whining but putting your foot down unwillingly :)

You've learned so much and I hope I didn't miss anything here. Among your first words are:
Mama (Mommy)
Dada (Daddy)
Papa (Popo)
Wrow wrow (Dog)
Mao Mao (Cat)
Rerrrrr Rerrrr (Lion)
Duck (yes, Duck!)
Baba (Bao Bao, Bye bye, Apple, Pineapple)
Be ber (Bird bird)
Mum mum (Eating time)
... (I'm sure there's more but my mind's stuck!)

Favourite games of the month:
Peekaboo - You discovered the curtain and you'll pull it over your face then pull it away to peekaboo with me :)
Be 'caught' - When you're doin certain things that you're not supposed to do and someone approached to say 'no-no', you'll fall right onto the mattress excitedly and plant your face to it.

In the morning I'll be waked up by this cutest voice calling Mama :) And you said Mommy yesterday for the first time!

Mommy love you so much my baby!
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Happy Mother's Day (in advance!)

Mother's Day is long to go but I can't wait to share these lovely pix already!

Mommy giraffe welcoming her baby with the first kiss...

Isn’t this mother wallaby so adorable, proudly kissing her little joey as he stretches his leg (it must get cramped in there)? Also, did you notice that his claws are so much tinier than his mom’s? How do you like their matching pink noses?

Here's to you all mommies!

Nothing sounds as sweet as “mommy”
Spoken from a child’s lips;
And nothing is as timeless as “mother”
No matter how old that child gets.

Nothing will ever truly compare
To a mother’s wondrous love;
Not even when speaking
Of angels from above.

She is a rock when we are weak
A shelter when life may storm
She is a true companion
In each and every form.

The bearer of our hurt
The expresser of our joy
Even through all life’s ups and downs
No job would she rather employ.

She is a friend, a leader,
A teacher, and confidante.
A healer, a listener, and
A rock to lean on

So we celebrate our mothers
On this very special day
And hope that she remembers
We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ain't roses are just lovely?

To my surprise, I found this sweet little thing laying on my dashboard this morning when I'm leaving the house to work :)

I wrapped a gift for Hubs last night for him on the table so he can see it when he comes back. But I spoiled the surprise by texting him that I left something for him, silly me!

Without expecting anything from him, and understand that he's packed with sleepless nights lately, this is really sweet from him :)

Hubs never fail to surprise me :)

Love you more each day!
Your Sweetest Wife
xoxoxo

Happy 10 Month Old My Darling!

Gong Xi Gong Xi~~~ Check out my Cheong Sam!

Tell me that time doesn't fly. Time does teleport! I'm holding a 10-month-old in my arms!

In these passed 2 weeks my little Darling learned so much, what a smart little gal you turned to! You only need to see it once and you're doing it already!

- You've collected loads of angpows with your impressive "Gong Xi Gong Xi" hand gesture, learned that just in time! :)

- Made all the leaving guests go awww with your cutest waving bye-bye -- Miss Malaysia style

- Put up your hand when we show your ours & say Hi-5 :)

- Daddy,"What sound does a dog make?"
"Woof!"
"What sound does a cat make?"
"Woof woof!"

- Mimic Mommy kissing & 'sayang' your hugging kitty plush toy.

- Starting to enjoy bath time when you learned to splash water in your bathtub :)

- Learning to climb to higher level now, the first time you climbed onto the couch you went so excited crawling (F1 speed) away as if Po Po is gonna catch you

- You go "wrow wrow!" very excitedly when Boney (Grandpa's cat) passing by. Or whenever you heard the neighbour's dog barking. You did once though, that you went "meow meow" to Boney :)

- Favourite toy of the month: flash card especially the one with dog & cat on each side.

- Started on fish today after being a vegetarian since birth. From your expression it doesn't taste good but you don't reject it either. It's a good start! :)

- Started on finger food too! That keeps you occupied on the high chair when we dining out

- Stranger anxiety doesn't seem to bother you anymore as you're almost alright with anyone approaching or carrying you

- You did your CSI inspection wherever you are with your master skill - pincher grasp. Scratching & digging every single dots you found, paying attention to the tiniest details. Occasionally offer us your empty pinch or put into your mouth = ='

- And guess what, Mommy's the first one who found your 2 top incisors crowning! I suspect these cute little fangs are the culprit of the nursing strike happened a couple of weeks ago. Anyway they're too cute to even look at it! :)

Now, next you'll be calling Mommy soon okay?

Love ya,
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo

Happy 9 Months Old My Baby :)

Enjoying your books already :)

I can't believe 9 months just flown by, in the blink of an eye!

9 Months Milestones

- You can stand almost instantly by minimum support, it's good that you know how to drop your little butt down and not get 'stuck' in the standing position and cry for help :)

- Showing your affection with lots of 'wet kisses'. Usually follow by biting attempts :D

- Separation anxiety getting really obvious now that whenever I put you down to playpen or pass you to Po Po, you'll be whining while I turned around. My heart aches when I walked away :'(

- You know where to find Daddy every morning and give him the cutest morning call :)

- Really enjoy riding the baby walker (Yes, Mommy's not suppose to use it!). I only put you restricted in the dining area for a really short while so you can see us nearby when we're busy in the kitchen!

- Understands commands like bye-bye, high-five and gong-xi gong-xi (hand gesture for wishing Happy Chinese New Year) but most of the time you're too lazy to do it!

- Good in socialising with your great 'smile talk'. Spice up the interaction with plenty of babbles and bubbles too!

- Love to stand up in the playpen to look out for us. Tipping your toes to catch us when we playing peekaboo :)

- My heart dropped once you knocked on the wall so hard and screamed on top of your lung. The bump with greenish in the middle immediately grew on your forehead, and lasted a few days :'(

- Our bonding is so obvious now that no doubt Mommy is your favourite person. It's not just you, I'm struggling with separation anxiety too! :'(

- Every morning I'll wake up with the happiest baby with the sweetest smile that makes my day :)

What more in life that I need?

Million kisses,
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo