Sketches of Life|Life Lived in Simplicity

Since the Singh family came back here, I have been eating more than 3 times a day! And double my normal portion each time. My tummy is so bloated and you might think that I am pregnant again! How I wish I have phentermine with me now to suppress my appetite.

Till today, I had the famous Chicken Rice Ball, RM1 Nasi Lemak, Fried Banana, Fried Breadfruit, Kuih Chang Abu with Gula Melaka, Lempeng, RM1 Nasi Lemak again, Nyonya Chang, Pong Teh, Sek Ark, Itik Tim and abundance of junk food and fruits which I hardly take on normal days. I am so gonna stay away from the weighing scale!

This year the 13th Sukma game is held in my hometown, Melaka. It has commenced yesterday and it will be on until the 19th of June, 2010. One of my cousins is participating in Archery, I am so proud of him. His dad is an Archerer too. I was telling hubby the other day that we, the Soo family has very strong arms. My dad represented the state for Gasing Pangkah, my sister was the Melaka state squash player, I am very good at Softball but did not manage to reach the state level coz I chickened out at the state selection tryouts. The national badminton player, Soo Beng Kiang is related to us too.

Anyway back to the Sukma game. I wish I am young again and I am sure I would be one of the volunteers. Become the crowd control officer also can; making sure no one go over the stanchions, velvet rope or the barricades when the game is on. It will be fun watching the game live.

Unfortunately this year the Sukma XIII game will be overshadowed by The World Cup 2010.

Nothing beats a bottle (or two) of Cool & Clean C2 Green Tea on a hot and humid afternoon. No idea what I am talking about? Take a peep.

This is one of the best gift that I have received thus far coz not only ALL of us in the household loves the drink, others who have received it as a gift from me loves them too; especially the Lemon Flavoured C2 Green Tea.

Besides Lemon, it comes in Apple Flavor…

And Forest Fruit. My children calls it Blackcurrant Flavor. Ya, it does taste more like Blackcurrant.

I guess most of us know the benefit of drinking green tea; to detox our body and also to slim down. I used to drink green tea almost daily when I was overweight.

It is the Catechins which can be found more in Green tea than any other type of tea which is a type of antioxidant which helps to detoxify and help weight loss. It helps in reducing the risk of various diseases, including Alzheimer’s, certain cancers, cardiovascular and oral health.

This C2 – Cool & Clean Green Tea is made from 100% Natural Green Tea (not from powder and concentrates of green tea). The Green Tea are “Brewed and Packaged” fresh on the same day, therefore retaining most of the green tea goodness and benefits which is normally lost in other extraction processes.

C2- Cool & Clean Green Tea is best served when it is chilled or with a few ice cubes.

Oh ya! If you have diabetes, you can drink C2 but please add water to it. It is quite sweet.

Wanna try some? You should try it! I kid you not. Either you can come to my house (while stock last) or visit your nearest 7-11, Giant, Mydin and Jusco.

I really felt bad that I missed my own cousin tea ceremony. Moreover, they are staying just next to my parent’s house. I blame it on my busy Saturday and the absence of my mom. If my mom is around, I am sure she will call me up to remind me to buy some wedding accessories as gift and make sure I attend the tea ceremony. I go on my Saturday as usual and when I am about done with the housework, then only I realised, “Alamak! Today is Aileen’s tea ceremony.” Took a look at the clock and it is way past 11am. Called my brother; they are on their way to the bridegroom’s house. There goes my chance of being served tea by the married couple.

I saw above status in one of my gmail’s friends status. It is German for “I am not myself”.

That is what I am feeling right now.

I guess, I am too bored coz I have been kicked out from my daily routine since the maid came back last Saturday. Furthermore, the exam is over and it is school holiday now. I felt that I am not needed anymore.

I felt idle and I felt Ich bin nich ich.

My Primary One girl finally finished her mid term exam. This mommy felt so relieved! I don’t think my mom goes through what I am going through now with my children’s education. She never tells me to do my homework, she never search my bag to see whether I have homework to do, she never check them to see whether I do them correctly and she never know when is my exam unless I tell her. And yet, I still get the top girl in my class almost every year.

I am not boasting here. It is just that why are we so independent then but not our children? Ok lar, my mom was not schooled. So, she can’t help me at all. The only school she went was tailoring class. So, she left it to me to do my best to stay out from being in the kitchen the whole day. Yup! That was what she told me, “If you do not want to end up in the kitchen, study hard.” But then hor, I graduated with a Bachelor Degree and I still ended up in the kitchen! mwahahahahaha.

The other day my Primary One girl came back home with 49% in her Chinese spelling. I was surprised coz she told me that her teacher told her there won’t be any spelling for a long time. So I guess, there won’t be any spelling until the exam is over. But that is not the point. The point is, if I did not tell her to learn her Chinese words, she will fail in her spelling test. When I make sure she learns them, she will get 90-100%. She is smart but too depending on me.

I am thinking to let go just like what my aunt is doing (her son is my daughter’s classmate). She NEVER help her children do revision, they will always get ZERO and will be caned by their teachers but by the time they reached Primary Two, they have learned their lesson and obediently do their own revision before any test or exam. Will you do the same?

I don’t have the heart to do the same. My mom and I are not the same. I am educated and she is not. I have the knowledge and resources to help my children to excel in their studies. Maybe I will let go a little bit by getting her to look for her own homework instead of me going through her bag looking for them. I will still be there to guide and check her work. Knowing that she has her daddy’s genes – they hate to study, I will still be there to make sure she does her revision.

Dulu lain, sekarang lain.

I guess this would be my last post on Challenges in Breastfeeding series.

I have finally decided to wean my now 13mo baby. As much as I want to breastfeeding him until he is 24mo, my health does not permit it.

Most mothers would try to take away their baby source of comfort abruptly by putting spicy stuff or bitter food on their nipples to stop their baby from latching. My mom did the same to me. She applied Minyak Cap Kapak and I stopped wanting her nipples after tasting that hot and minty ointment. I was cranky and refused to drink from the bottle after that. So, I told myself that I do not want to trouble myself having a cranky baby and “torture” my baby.

So, how am I do it?

Firstly, I slowly introduce formula milk to my baby. He loves it partly because all his sisters and brother are still drinking from the bottles. He wants to join the fun too. For every 4oz of his milk, I add 1oz of his older siblings’ chocolate milk. So, formula milk is chocolaty and tasty.

I will only give him formula milk before he sleeps. So, with a full tummy, he drinks very little from me and then doze off. In this way, my milk supply will definitely reduce. Soon, my boobs will be his source of comfort or “pacifier” to put him to sleep. I am ok with it coz as long as he does not extract much milk from me, I will be up and running.

Weaning is going to be a slow process for us but we have all the time that we want.