A Mum to Two

This is the first time I celebrated Mother's Day as a mum to two kids.
I've got a big surprise from hubby this year.

At midnight when I was about to sleep, I saw a present on my bed. I was so, so surprised! I didn't expect to get anything from hubby (as we don't give pressies to each other all the time!).
In the card, hubby wrote "Thank you for our 2 cuties..." Lol.

So what is inside?
A beautiful Swarovski bracelet.
I love it, it is simple and delicate. Just my style. It is now on my wrist.
Thank you so much hubby.

The next morning, on Mother's Day, I've got a pressie from my kiddos as well (bought by hubby of course). 
Look at Shern's face. He is more excited than me because he knows what is inside the box! It's Famous Amos double chocolate cookies, my favourite, and Shern's too!
Hubby says he didn't want to pass to Shern last night because he was afraid that Shern might want to eat the cookies there and then at night. Haha.

In the morning, we went back to MIL house, and we celebrated there with MIL/Ah-Ma. Ah-Ma cooked crabs for lunch. Delicious. Bought Ah-Ma's favourite sugee cake, and also a brownie cake for the rest of us.

Shern had fun blowing the candles of course. He sang "Happy Mother's Day to Ah-Ma & Mummy...." :)

Then at dinner time, celebrated with mum/Pho-pho. My mum cooked a western-style feast!
There were mushroom soup, garlic bread, calamari rings, fish fillets, chicken, mashed potatoes, hash browns, salad, vege, etc...
We ate 'til we could eat no more. Burp.

Mum with her grandsons...:)

A photo of the 2 mummies in the house. Me & my mum. With the cake and the pressies.
We bought mum a La Gourmet Cast-Iron Grilled Pan. She loves it!

The hubbies joined in.

Min & Ah-Yee joined in.

Happy Mother's Day to all, oops...a few days late.
To the greatest mother on earth, My Mum! I love you. Thank you for everything. :)

Family Photoshoot - Part 3: Family of Four

This is Part 3: Family of Four in the Family Photoshoot series. (Click for Part 1: Khye, and Part 2: Shern)

It was indeed a challenge to take family photos with all of us looking straight and the camera, and smiling at the same time. Especially when you have a pre-schooler, AND a baby who wouldn't keep still.
But Karen was very well prepared and obviously seasoned to take babies photos. She had in hand a big object (in our case, a large stalk of fake flower) or a squeaky toy which she waved and sounded it, to attract their attention, especially Khye's. But still, it was still indeed challenging. So most of the credit goes to her that our family photos turn out so great!

So we had many photos of either one or more of us, either not looking at the camera, or not smiling, etc. These are the few great shots that everyone looks QUITE alright.
Love these photos.

Thank you Karen / The K Studio for these wonderful, wonderful photos which we will cherish forever!


P/s - Please click for Family Photoshoot:  Part 1: Khye, and Part 2: Shern

Family Photoshoot - Part 2: Shern

14 March 2013 @ 3 years 9 mths

This is Family Photoshoot - Part 2: Shern. (Pls click for Part 1: Khye)

As I said, Shern joined us for the photoshoot this time. He was 3 yrs 9 mths then.
I allowed Shern to bring his favourite train along to the studio to keep him occupied while waiting. But then Karen decided to just let him enjoy what he likes most, and just photograph him like that, which is great.

So this is a photo of Shern playing with his trains on the floor. He went spinning his body round and round with it, just like what he always does at home.

I was glad he was in a good mood that day. Or should I say that Aunty Karen knows how to entertain kids. Yes, Shern was pretty excited and happy about Aunty Karen's toys room. So we got plenty of smiles from my big boy.

Love this spontaneous shot of Shern.

And Shern was being funny with this big cowboy hat. It covers his whole face, and he found that hilarious.

These 2 shots of Shern with Daddy which I love.

p/s - Tune in for Family Photoshoot - Part 3: Family of Four coming up very soon in the next blog post. ;)
Click here for Family Photoshoot - Part 1: Khye

Family Photoshoot - Part 1: Khye

14 March 2013 @ 6 months old

This is actually the second photoshoot session with Karen Sim from The K Studio. (The first session was of Khye's Newborn Photoshoot when he was 12 days old)
This time, Khye was at 6 months old on the dot.
We decided to take it as a family this time, with Shern and us around, to make a complete photoshoot of us as a Family of Four!

But let me first feature the STAR of the photoshoot, Yiu-Khye.

Khye is like a big boss here. Look at his pose, with that face.

Khye's signature 'meeku' feet.

Khye's beautiful smile, always giving it out generously.

Khye's many expressions posing on the colourful polka dot bean pillow.

He was into the phase of putting his fingers into his mouth all of the time! Arghh....

Khye with mummy.

Very cute chubby expression of him here.

His giggles always makes me feel like giggling too.

Khye's feet. My hands. :)

Khye with daddy.

p/s - Tune in for Family Photoshoot - Part 2: Shern coming up very soon in the next blog post. ;)

Shern Having His Eyes Checked @ Eyecon Optometry

Since Shern was small, he would always play his toy cars, trains, etc with him lying on the floor, facing sideways with one cheek on the floor, and wheel his toy vehicles, just like this.
Even now at almost 4 years old, he is still doing this. Look at the photo below taken beginning of this year, where Shern was playing with his Hot Wheels in that position. 

24 Jan 2013

Since for quite some time, when Shern is in this position, he would closes his right eye and uses only his left eye to see while wheeling his toy vehicles. He has been doing that for as long as I could remember. Well, at least for the past 2 years.
Although I didn't like him doing that, but as it was not giving him any problems (he can see well, not squinting), so I let him be. And he does just that only when playing with his toy vehicles, and not when he is sitting or standing up.

But about 2 weeks ago, in the car, Pho-pho pointed to some words outside the window. And Shern squinted to see the words. And when I asked him why did he do that, he answered "So that I can see more clearly". His reply shocked the hell out of me!
I was so afraid of him having eye problem, because for the first time, I see him squinting!

I quickly made an appointment with Eyecon to get his eyes checked.
I chose Eyecon Optometry because they specializes in Child Optometry, which is very important to me because I want the optometrist to connect with Shern, so that Shern feels comfortable and that will give a more accurate diagnosis I think.

The moment we reached there, there is a sign which says "No Shoes Allowed", as the place caters for even toddlers whom may crawl about everywhere. So baby friendly, which I like a lot. And while I register Shern, Shern wandered off with Pho-pho because he saw the small play area.

Before going there, I already kinda prepped Shern that there will be a Miss Ho who is like a doctor, and she will be checking his eyes for him. Shern likes all his doctors so far, so he was really looking forward to this optometrist visit. Hehe.

After I registered, Miss Ho herself came out and asked me some questions, to better understand my concern. After I told her about my concerns on Shern's long-term one-eye-shut while playing his toys on the floor, and his one-time squinting episode, Miss Ho went to prep the examination room.

Miss Ho then came out to invite Shern into the room, holding Shern's hand while telling him that "we are going to play some games". That got Shern interested. 'Play' and 'Games' are definitely his few favourite words.

At the examination room, Miss Ho took out a few shapes puzzles and asked Shern to do, while asking him to identify the shapes. Shern did pretty well on that, and Miss Ho had him do it a few times. Then later she took out the eye test chart, but instead of  the normal eye test chart with alphabets, she took out an eye test chart with the shapes she asked Shern to identify just now.
Oohh....so that was why Miss Ho got Shern to play with the shapes puzzles, so that she is sure he can identify them correctly. Really good.

Then she got around doing more tests, while telling Shern they were playing games. She had him sitting on the 'Big Boy Chair', and wearing 'Pirate Glasses' and 'Magic Glasses', and even had animal puppers on her fingers while checking for eye balance and etc. And when she uses a device to estimate the power of his eyes, she suddenly whips out a tv with some nursery rhymes cartoons to distract Shern when she shone it in his eyes. And while doing that, Miss Ho was still asking Shern questions like 'what colour is the elephant on that tv?' and was even singing to the music together with Shern. Talk about clicking with kids! I was so impressed with her.

And once Shern said they were "blur blur", and I was beside him thinking 'Oh no!', but then Miss Ho quickly assured me, it is because she was using fogging lens. I was relieved.

This is Miss Ho, trying to tell Shern to wear his 'Pirate Glasses' for short while, closing the vision one eye at a time.

11 May 2013

And this is Shern wearing his 'Magic Glasses' while playing some 'games' with Miss Ho in identifying the numbers in the book.

After a thorough check, which lasted about an hour or so, she is done. She sent Shern out to play with Pho-pho keeping an eye on him. Then hubby & I stayed in the room while Miss Ho explained to us in detail the whole process of what she did, and the results.

Overall results is good. Shern had a slight long-sightedness, but within the normal kids range. No lazy eye, 3D vision is fine, Long distance vision is good. It is nothing serious so she didn't prescribe any spectacles for him. Phew.

Miss Ho also commented that Shern is very expressive for his age. The fact that he could tell me he squinted initially so that he could see more clearly, was very unexpected from such an age. And he also mentioned pictures were "blur-blur" And also during the eye check, when Miss Ho pointed to the shapes that were getting smaller and smaller and asked if he could still see it, Shern replied "I can see if I go nearer!". Very impressive of his expressions indeed! Lol.

On our way home, Shern was tired and fell asleep in Pho-pho's arms.

Miss Ho said the next eye check-up would be when Shern is between 5-6 years old.
She said most parents ignore bringing their kids for eye checkup, but the fact is it is very important because kids learn through vision, which I thoroughly agree. Bringing kids for eye checkup is a preventive measure of developing serious eye condition. 

And guess how much is the bill? RM50.
Only RM50 for her professionalism and hour-long consultation. Very worth the money.

I think I am going to bring Khye for an eye check too next week!

Eyecon
Tan & Ho Child Optometry Clinic Sdn Bhd
No 269D, Jalan Burmah,
Pulau Tikus,
10350 Pulau Pinang,
Malaysia.

Tel: +604 226 1410
Fax: +604 226 1410

Email: tanhochildoptometry.com.my
Website: http://www.eyecon.com.my/

Specialization:Infant / Toddler Vision Assessment, Binocular Vision Assessment, Vision Therapy for Lazy Eye, Squints etc., Visual Motor/Perceptual Skills Assessment, Myopia Control.

Practitioner: Ho Oi Ching, B. Optometry (Hons), UKM

Review: Olive Baby Range

Khye tends to have bad nappy rash once in a while. I was using Bepanthen^® Nappy Care Ointment since Shern's time, but I noticed that it is not working as good on Khye, like it did on Shern.

When it hits, although it is bad, it is nothing very serious. No raw skin or anything, but it gets quite red and rather often. I should say once or twice in a month, which is rather troublesome for me. It gets better after about a week, and then it comes again after a week or two. So I was looking for an alternative to Bepanthen.

I read about Olive Baby Range with rather good reviews, and since I was looking for natural products for my kids, I was happy when the good people from Olive &Tebe provided me with Olive Baby Nappy Cream for review. Just at the right time too.

As for the Olive Baby Massage Oil, initially I emailed them that I do not need it because I don't do baby massage. But she told me that I can use it on myself (what a nice person she is!), so I decided to try it on my ever-dehydrating legs, thus I accepted the product for review.

These are the 2 products I received.
Packaging it simple and I like the cute teddy logo.

So what is Olive & Tebe?

Olive & Tebe is originated from New Zealand, and the skin and bodycare ranges contain extra virgin olive oil, an antioxidant rich in vitamins and minerals which has been used as a beauty secret in the Mediterranean for centuries.

Olive & Tebe products are created by the largest olive estate in New Zealand, Simunovich Olive Estate, with over 40,000 trees producing 150,000 bottles of high quality, award winning extra virgin olive oil every year, much of which goes into the creation of their skin care products.

The founder of the estate, Branka Simunovich said that “olive oil is like mother’s milk. It is the one product in the world that no one is allergic to and that makes it perfect for beauty treatments.”

This statement is like music to my ears, and I was very keen to try it on Khye, especially the Baby Nappy Cream.


1) Olive Baby Nappy Cream

The first thing I noticed is that it is a nice different texture when applying cream instead of ointment. The cream is non-sticky and very easy to apply.

The olive oil does it magic, and I feel it takes a shorter time for the nappy rash to heal. On the 3rd day of applying, the rash is almost gone, so I must say it is good. I've been using it for almost 3 weeks now, and Khye only had one bad rash stint. So I am hoping that this olive oil with natural plants formula is indeed helping to provide a better barrier for the prevention of nappy rash.

Another thing I love is that it comes in a tube with an attached lid. A great improved packaging when compared to Bepanthen. No more looking for that tiny plastic screw cap during diaper change!

2) Olive Baby Massage Oil

 

I open the screwed cover and put my nose near it to take a whiff. I must say that the first impression based on smell alone was not a good one. It smelled of..erm...oil. Nothing too bad, but it has an oily smell which I didn't quite like it.
But then when I tried applying some on my dehydrating legs, I couldn't smell the oily smell. Somehow, once applied on my skin, the oily smell totally disappeared and what's left is just a very mild nutty smell which smells quite pleasant. I guess it must be the smell of the blend of almond oil, jojoba oil and extra virgin olive oil.

Application of the oil on my legs was very easy. It spread easily on my legs and absorbed right into my skin, leaving my legs not oily at all. The oil is there but somehow there is no greasy feel, which I am both amazed and surprised. Where did all the oil gone? My legs must be super damn dehydrated to absorbed all the oil!

I also added a few drops of it in Khye's bath for some gentle skin nourishment.

I must say I simply love this Baby Massage Oil, despite my initial skepticism towards this product. I may even start to give Khye a baby massage, seeing how much I love this.


Overall, I am pleased with the results of these 2 products. I must say that after using them, I am now more amazed by the magic of olive oil.


TO PURCHASE

Olive and Tebe products are available at the following outlets and counters in departmental stores. Pls click here to see the list.

For more info on Olive and Tebe, please visit their websites http://www.olivetebe.com.my/ and http://www.theskintopic.com.my/ and also their Facebook page.


* Disclosure: I received an Olive Baby Nappy Cream (75ml) and an Olive Baby Massage Oil(100ml) for review purpose, but no monetary incentive was received. All text and opinions are of my own and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).

Today I Cried

I cried for our country, Malaysia.
No, I did not cry hysterically, or shed bucketful of tears. It was more like a silent cry inside of me.

So this is how Lim Kit Siang and all other leaders have to go through again and again, and yet they don't give up. I really salute them. This is my first 'wake up call', and I am already feeling like shit.

Many people said no matter what, we should move on and fight again in the next election. But seeing how we always have to fight on unfair grounds makes it seem to pointless.

I love my country, but I am just a normal Malaysian. I am a normal mum trying to think for the benefits of my family. First thing in my mind: Do my kids have a future in Malaysia? I seriously don't know. Will Chinese always be treated as second-class citizens and asked to 'balik China'?

Listening to this song again, a tear or two just trickled down my cheeks.

Listen to this song people, and tell me, if you've shed a tear or two too...