On the last day of 2010

I hope 2010 has been a fantastic year for you as it had been for me. On the last day of this year, would you be doing what I am doing; looking back and counting the blessings?

I started the year 20 kg heavier than the year before. After Leonitus was born, I shed half of that weight on the first month and for that I had to thank the horrible root canal job that left me wringing in pain for one whole goddamn month.

Then conjunctivitis swept across my family, sparing no one. What an experience for us to go through together as a family; feeling the same soreness in our eyes and tasting the same shitty bitterness of the medicines in our mouth when eye-drop was administrated had certainly strengthen the value of compassion in all of us.

It is a year that had prospered my children’s doctors. Laetitia experienced a grossly swollen ear at the beginning of the year and a brutally swollen leg at the end of the year, both brought about by the allergic reaction from the unthinkable, but very common thing like a mosquito’s bite. While Leonitus gave us a HFMD scare plus 3 episodes of bronchiolitis in a span of 6 months, which left his pediatrician to conclude that he had an 80% chance of becoming asthmatic in his growing years. No to mention the cough and cold which happened almost every other month, infecting one after another – very much like baton passing but in a bad way.

Myself? After KKH, Mount E, NUH, TTSH and Raffles, I added a new hotel hospital to my list of admission. I spent a teary night at SGH but discharged fit as a fiddle afterward. My cousin hadn’t been so fortunate; sadly I lost her to cancer some time back this year.

The year hasn’t been all smooth like Leonitus’ butt; at times it can be treacherous and it had got to me on some occasions. On the hindsight, I am grateful for adversity, because it teaches me to cherish every day, to have dreams and goals, to live in the moment, to make plans, to love my life – so I could die one day, without regrets.

So my wish for all of you in the coming year is to have a fulfilling and enriching year for your mind as well as your soul, even if it means going through adversities at some point of your life.


Oh… before I forget. Resolution of 2011:
To trim off that last 3 to 4 kgs of fat off my body (pun intended!).

Have a blast welcoming the New Year!

Just one of those funny moments

The Twins from Matrix Reloaded VS Leonitus from The Ng Household.

   

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

 

 

 

It's going to be Christmas!

I am ready for Christmas! The presents are spilling over from the bottom of our tree. We are going to need a bigger tree next year... or maybe lesser presents for the kids.

Our Virgin Road Trip - done without a helper!

Last weekend, we drove to Malaysia for our first road trip and we did it without our helper. Yes! Just Mr Hubby and I, with our two monsters very active kids, no helper. On hindsight, it had been a rather suicidal attempt.

The traffic was extremely BAD. We left our home around 8am and was stuck for 3 goddamn hours in the massive jam. We weren't even going by Woodlands, we took the second link at Tuas. The traffic in KL was just as horrendous, by time, we checked into Westin Hotel, it was already 8pm. That was 12 freaking hours of travelling!

We just dropped our things and went over to Pavilion to have dinner at The Manhattan Fish Market. One of the managers was helpful to entertain the kids with toys and balloons; it certainly made our dinner less chaotic.

After dinner, we took a little stroll in and out of the mall, taking pictures of the mall's extensive Christmas decoration.

Coming back to the hotel, we took some picture of my favorite Christmas tree ever. The Westin Hotel had a really beautiful tree, it had the loveliest pink decoration, with lots of ribbons, feathers and shiny balls. I just love it so much! I bet my kids love it too!

The next morning, we went to a local eatery for breakfast. I shared my porridge with Laetitia and Leonitus, but as you can see, Laetitia wasn't a big fan of porridge for breakie.

Then we did a little bit of shopping around KL, but I bought nothing. I just find it very hard to shop for my things with the kids in toll. If you are a parent with kids like mine, you would understand why.

This was Leonitus in the crib, back at the hotel. He looked like a happy zoo animal in cage.

So we bid KL goodbye and headed to Port Dickson, where we stayed at The Legend Water Chalets.

We had a room with a very fantastic view, it was totally unblocked and we get the full view of the sea.

That evening, we went to a seafood restaurant for dinner, after learning that the Mexican restaurant I really liked, Le Cactus, had closed down. Such a pity.

As the kids weren't feeling too well, in fact, Leonitus was having his third episode of Bronchiolitis in 6 months, we skipped the swimming all together. So the huge bathtub in our room became the next best thing for the kids.

It was breakfast time, but the food really wasn't quite tasty. My kids weren't all too interested in eating too; my darling Laetitia, being innovative, started using the menu as a telescope and Leonitus was climbing all over the place like an ape!

After breakfast, we rested in the room for a couple of hours and then it was a long drive home, but not before we made a stop at JB to catch some dinner.

Finally we reached home, I was aching badly from head to toes, I popped 2 paracetamol and slept for 12 hours straight! This 3 days/2night trip was definitely more tiring than my everyday work in the office. But anyhow, we are very proud of ourselves for making the trip possible without a helper.

iPhone 4G - Should I or Should I Not?

For someone like me who owns 2 blogs, checks emails almost everyday, has a twitter account and is active in Facebook, an iPhone 4G might seems like a really good Christmas present. Mr Hubby has been meaning to buy me a iPhone, but I kept saying no. He must be feeling quite puzzled.

But why not?

Don't be mistaken, I am not boycotting Apple, in fact, I would love to be an iPhone owner but I am putting up the greatest resistant against having another I.T related device at home. We already have a PC with 2 flat-screen monitors, 1 notebook, a O2 and a HTC smartphone which had 'retired' ever since Mr Hubby upgraded to the latest iPhone 4G. He has a company laptop and I, too, have a company laptop. That is AN AWFUL LOT of gadgets for the only two computer literate person at home.

So what?

For some parents, it might be alright to plant their children in front of the television all day long, they might let their children play computer or video games whenever they are not in school. They might think it's so cool to buy an iPad to keep their children entertained or even start a Facebook account for their preschooler. But I certainly would not want to join the league of these parents.

I believe a very small amount of exposure to mobile phones, computers or Internet in a controlled situation can be good for young children. However, most parents made the grave mistake of using I.T devices as their digital nannies, after seeing how their children are so drawn to one.

No doubt, I would love to have all of that peace and quiet moment but somehow I think it is wrong to leave parenting to a piece of artificial intelligence that teaches no emotions nor manners.

I have read report that shows that these info-technologies can be very addictive, while it affects almost anybody, it is particularly detrimental for children. The risk, they say, is that developing brains can become more easily habituated than that of those matured brain cells; so with Internet surfing and early exposure to digital media, the young minds are conditioned to constantly switch tasks, thus it is less able to sustain attention.

Just look at the rising numbers of young children with ADHD after the reign of the digital era. These brains are wired to distraction which makes them harder to concentrate and find it impossible to enjoy the harvest of deferred gratification.

Of course, I also read about how some toddlers and preschoolers' online games, which are very interactive and have strong educational content, can have positive effects building a child’s self-esteem and helps the child learns better.

Exposing young minds to computers or mobile phones is so controversial.  But in my opinion, digital media will always remain as a double-edge sword.

I don't know about you, but I think I would like to raise my kids to be nature-loving, out-going and learning through play and books, the more traditional way. I feel that way, they can be healthier physically as well as psychologically.

I hate to imagine that I would come home from work one day, in the future, to see Laetitia viewing Facebook and not storybook or Leonitus surrounded by Apple gadgets but is apathy about how an apple tree looks like. Or worst, to see both my children addicted to living their lives out only in the virtual world, like the tragedy of the Korean couple who were so obsessed with online gaming that they starve their baby to death.

Meanwhile, I can still put up with my 'old-school' SonyEricsson mobile phone, while I decide what Christmas present do I really want from Mr Hubby.

Hmmm... an iPhone 4 would really be wonderful, wouldn't it. That's my love-hate relationship with the modern technology.

 

The Pacifier Fairy

When it comes to weaning the pacifier off a baby or a toddler, every parents have something up their sleeves. Some bribes, some begs, some threatens, some ridicules, some nags, some uses creativity, some uses force, some just gives up and let the child brings the pacifier to primary school, and then prays that humiliation would kill the child!

I have restricted usage of pacifiers to bed and nap time for my kids. From the moment they wake up, the pacifiers would be taken away from them. In a way, it has/had been good, because my kids would associate pacifier with sleep and once the pacifiers are popped into their mouth, they are conditioned to fall asleep on their own.

However with Laetitia turning 3, I really want her to lose her pacifiers. She had 3, a yellow, a transparent and a transparent with some red - all old and smelly!

6 months to Laetitia's 3rd birthday, I started telling her about the story of "The Pacifier Fairy", it was inspired by one of Laetitia's storybook on the tooth fairy. I took the story and tweaked it to make it mine.

I told her that when she turns 3, the Pacifier Fairy would come and visit her because she would be old enough to 'donate' her pacifiers. The Pacifier Fairy is a fairy who gathers pacifiers from older children and give to little babies who need them more.

There is even a ritual to send her pacifiers off to the fairy. Laetitia would have to string her pacifiers up and choose a sacred tree which she would hang the pacifiers on the tree. Then when no one is looking, the Pacifier Fairy would come and retrieve them, but she would not leave Laetitia empty-handed. In the place of her old pacifiers, the fairy would hang a surprise present for her good work done.

I repeated the story for time to time for the next 6 months and finally it was Laetitia's birthday. Instead of hating to part with her pacifiers, she was motivated to 'donate' them away.

We followed through the ritual according to the story and had the pacifiers stringed up and hung over a tree chosen specially by Laetitia, herself.

That night, Laetitia collapsed into her bed after a evening of partying, I took the opportunity to 'play' fairy. I drew her a card and wrote her a "Thank you" message and then placed the card and a charm beside her bed.

  



The next morning, Laetitia woke up and saw the card, as she has not learn to read, I read the card out aloud to her. I told her the fairy had came to visit her last night after collecting her pacifiers, and the fairy had left this "bling bling" present and a card to thank her for the pacifiers. Laetitia totally bought the story and seemed very pleased with herself.

Even though the next few nights were pretty rough, Laetitia was tossing and struggling to sleep without sucking something in her mouth, she didn't ask to have Leonitus's pacifier, and not even once did she mentioned she wanted her pacifier back.

 Perhaps, we would meet the Pacifier Fairy again in another two years, that's if Leonitus still has his pacifiers before his 3rd birthday.

So how did you lose your child's favorite little sucky?

What type of babies do you have?

If you had read the book The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg, you would be familiar with the term:
'Angel', 'Textbook', 'Touchy', 'Spirited' and 'Grumpy'; 5 types of babies personalities that can be observed from the first few weeks of their birth.

Laetitia is quite clearly a 'Spirited Baby'; she is loud and dramatic and is not afraid to let you know her thoughts and feelings. Her persistence is rock solid, when she made up her mind, it will take a troop of a thousand soldiers to shift her. She is easily distracted and notice everything that goes on around her. Regularity and routine with her meals and sleeping habits are necessary to provide her with some certainty that calms and soothe her. Her high energy can be easily mistaken for some hyperactivity disorder.

When she is happy, she laughs and she laughs LOUDLY. When she is sad, she cries and she howls,; it can be such a pitiful sight. When she is angry, she screams, she shouts and she might rolls on the ground - in public too!

She has a personality that draws people to notice her and in case no one notice her, you can trust her to come up with something that will certain attracts your attention.

Sometimes she makes us laugh, sometimes she makes us cry, sometimes she makes me so mad, I wanted to strangle her. She never fail to push our buttons or drive us up the wall.

In short, Laetitia IS a handful! But that, and everything that makes her who she is, are what we love about her!




On the other hand, Leonitus is a hybrid; he is 40% 'Angel' and a 60% 'Textbook' Baby. When compared to Laetitia, Leonitus comes across as a gift from above. He sleeps through the night at 4th month, rarely cries the type of cries that leave us baffled. He is predictable and takes to routine very well. He feeds well, eats well, sleep well, like clockwork.

He likes to be carried but is fine if he has to play by himself, however he would be chewing off the corners of a furniture or pages off a magazine if left unattended for more than a minute.

He is cheery and smiles at almost anybody who plays with him. When I "loan" him to my friends or colleague, he is usually calm and seems at ease even when the faces around him are unfamilar.

Everyone tells me he is the epitome of a perfect baby for a first-timer new mom. But I beg to differ. I am grateful for the fact that I had the little spit-fire, Laetitia, before Leonitus because if I had it the other way round, I probably hates everything about my 'Spirited Baby', and not learnt to appreciate both my children for who they are, regardless of their temperaments or predispositions.




If you are wishing for a baby to be like Leonitus, who seems like such a doll and doesn't cry much. You are going to be so disapoointed. Even being the easier baby among the two, Leonitus does has his moods too. He shows his displeasure and give us his fair share of terrorizing too!




Parting words:

Never say to your children "Can't you be more like your sibling." because THEY NOT THE SAME & CAN NEVER BE! Loving and accepting them for who they truly are, is the fastest way to help your children build high self-esteem and to grow up as resilient teens that could make you proud somedays.

Find out your baby's type with this webpage.

Worst Customer Service Encounter Ever!

I am so fucking pissed off with the Customer Service Department of Novena Square, Velocity! This had to be my worst customer service encounter ever! Utterly disgusting!

Since everyone loves a story on customer service from hell and I needed to get this thing off my chest before I suffer a stroke, here is my story:

On 23rd Nov, I spent over $120 at Novena Square and was told I can redeem for a free ice-skating session for my child. Wow! I imagined Laetitia happily wobbling on her skates and I just couldn't wait to make this a reality for her. I went to the Customer Service Counter for the redemption of the free pass. There was a queue, so I waited patiently and then it was finally my turn, the person behind the counter handed me a card and said to me coldly, "Book it online." when I tried to ask more information.

I had thought that the poor girl might be having a lousy day to be so unfriendly and being I.T. savvy, it shouldn't kill me to book it online on my own. So I went back home, log on to the mall's website and tried.. Didn't work.. I tried again.. No, still not working and I tried so many times over the next few days, it just refused to work!

Knowing that the pass had only a 7-day validity, I had intended to book for the session on the 28th Nov, Sunday. However there was problem with their system which seemed incompatible with my browser and as a result I had to miss my chance of booking for that Sunday I wanted, despite my countless attempts.

Even when I had I emailed the customer service over that weekend, I waited the next 3 days for a reply in vain. Nobody seemed to be bothered to reply my email, let alone solve my booking woes!

On 30th Nov, understanding that my pass would be expiring, I had to make an effort to go to Novena Square's Customer Service Counter again, despite my busy schedule hoping to get some help. Not surprisingly, there was a queue and I was made to wait while the CSO even skipped my turn to issue a SISTIC ticket. I was feeling fine because I thought I would be taking some time so it was alright to let her issue that ticket before attending to me.

However the CSO was a total incompetence; she couldn't offer any solution at all. She kept stressing that my pass was valid only until that very day. I tried to repeat to her about how I was unable to book online for the past one week and MY BLOODY GOD, her skull was just so fucking thick that she couldn't get anything to pass through that! All she did was to ask me for my name and contact numbers to escalate my request after making me stood there like a fool repeating myself to insanity.

As a shopper, I felt it was only fair that the management look into my request to extend the expiry of my pass to meet my next alternative date (which incidentally had to be 12th Dec, since we will be celebrating Laetitia's birthday this Sunday and would never have make it in time, plus Mon to Sat were just no good either). Considering that I already had to miss the original date I wanted due to some technical issue with their online booking which was beyond my control, they should be accommodating with my request. Or so I thought.

But guess what?!

They replied that they can only extend the pass until this Sun even though they admitted their system, which fucking screwed up my privilege to have it on the date I wanted, had some issues. If you are a working mom of two, you would understand that I do not have the luxury to go and do something at the spur of the moment. I need to make arrangement in advance, so by telling me they are already being "so kind" to make that exception, but set such unreasonable criteria was totally unhelpful! And if they can manually extend it, why not do it at my request, instead of trying to inconvenient me in some ways or another.

I wrote back, rejected their apology because they just didn't seem sincere and had they genuinely wanting to help me, they wouldn't be putting me in a tight spot. I reasoned for the chance to be given the date I wanted but was turned downed flatly.

I had tried requesting, then pleading and finally threatening to air my grievances publicly or via any digital media I can get my hands on; they were just adamant to make me a very unsatisfied customer!

It is obvious that the management of Novena Square, Velocity DOES NOT value or respect its shoppers, for it to go to such an extent as to disappoint me times and again over such a simple act of customer service recovery.

It is imperative to any businesses that customer service is ALWAYS a top priority. As the old saying "If you don’t take care of your customer, somebody else will."

The management of Novena Square, Velocity took great length to provide me with the worst kind of customer service I had experienced till date; I believe the public should be informed of the kind of miseries they are capable of inflicting on their shoppers.

They knew that I had no qualms telling others about my horrible experience, but that didn't stop them from making THE choice to infuriate the shoppers who had spent their money in their premises, when they should be delighting.

It makes me wonder if I am doing them back a favour, giving them the extra publicity by blogging about it. Well, you might never know, to some despicable rats, bad publicity is still somehow a publicity.

I will be making one of my X'mas wish for someone to wake the management of Novena Square, Velocity up of their fucking idea so that they will start taking care of their shoppers instead of pissing the shoppers off the mall.

By the way, I kept a record of the email correspondence I had with the hellish Customer Service Department of the century here.