What was, What is, What will be....

Yay! I'm Back!

Yes! I'm back! And I've so much to tell!!!!
But first, introducing the newest member of the Chan Family... Piglet Chan, my little dumpling:

::5 days old::

Name: Aiden
Weight: 3.255kgs

You'll not believe it that I lost a large portion of Aiden's photos in the camera! The stupid memory card had to suddenly show an error! Nothing can be done and in the end we decided to just reformat the memory card! *SOB*
Luckily I've printed out some of the photos and we've some in Aaron's Hp. Sigh.. but still a large portion is gone.. :(

Well, anyway, stay tune... I'm gonna post the gory details of my birthing experience next!

Piglet Chan's popping out soon?

Been experiencing Braxton Hicks the last couple of days.. Is Piglet Chan joining us soon?
But.. I wanna attend Baby Jr's first birthday party this coming Saturday, and dear darling Pearl, Daniel and daughter, Sarah is in town this weekend..
Piglet Chan.. think you can hold on a couple of days more? Haha..
Cousin Eldon's little baby boy joined us on June 14th, 3 weeks earlier than it's EDD! Congrats dear cousin!
Cousin Don is now officially married to the love of his life, Cathy on June 19th! A very lovely affair in Conrad! Congrats dear cousin!
Hubby's colleague's wife who's due date is later than mine have also given birth... yesterday.. Congrats!
Yeah, can't wait to see my darling Piglet Chan!!!!
Think my next post will most probably be with Piglet Chan's photos.. So stay tune ya! Boy.. nine months sure passed by real fast.. gonna miss my big round tummy.. :)

加油，四川人民!

Hello!

It's been EONS since I update! I've been fine if you're wondering... Piglet Chan and his daddy is doing well too..

Many things happened during my absence from this blog..

*Two of my uncles past away recently. It's like a gloom cast over our otherwise sunny world.. While 3 of us cousins are preparing the arrival of our little ones, another is preparing for his ROM next month, we are to face the passing of our closed ones as well..

*Mum and Dad went on a crazy shopping spree in Shanghai recently.. they came back with tons of gifts for everyone. I got some jade accessories and a set of the Beijing Olympic 2008 mascot plushes! How cool is that! Aaron received a few really nice T-shirts and even Piglet Chan received two pairs of leather made shoes! Will update with pics on these..

*I'm a waddling BLIMP right now.. Piglet Chan is approximately 2kgs from our last check up. The tummy is getting really heavy, and I get tire just walking from the kitchen to the bedroom.. Ok lah.. that's a bit exaggerated... but I do get tire easily.. To top it up, I've been bugged with flu, cough and sore throat this past week.. Lost my voice the past few days.. In the better days, I'm just a bloated, bulbous-nosed, waddling blimp.. suffice to say I'm not in a great shape now.. Haha! Other than that, I'm actually doing great! Can't wait for the arrival of Piglet Chan..

*Yup! We still can't decide on the name for Piglet Chan.. We've got so many feedbacks from family and friends, it's a little confusing right now.. And I'm telling you.. Piglet Chan doesn't react to any names other than.. Piglet Chan! Oh dear..

*Piglet Chan is constantly letting his presence known.. He kicked everytime his daddy talks and put his face near him.. He'd also acknowledged his XiaoYi, my sis.. It's funny looking at their reactions everytime he kicked!

*Cousin Don is getting ROM next month! Anna and Dave in August! Raymond, Aaron's work buddy is having his AD next month as well! Congratulations all! This waddling blimp have got nothing to wear!!

*Cousin Eldon and Adelyn's precious is scheduled to arrive late next month too! After that will be my turn.. Arghh.. 46 more days to go.. The thought of it.. *shudders*.. I can't wait to see Piglet Chan.. but I'm not sure I'm ready to go through the birthing process.. yet..

*We're supposed to have packed everything for the hospital stay by now.. but.. nope.. nothing's done yet.. haha! I don't know what we're waiting for..

*Aaron's been really really busy lately.. with work.. Poor thing's been working really hard so that Piglet Chan will have a better environment to live in when he's out! That is why he have not been blogging lately.. All this Mummy and son can do is to give moral support.. Sweetie.. Jia You!!

*We've bought loads of stuffs for Piglet Chan.. My mum say we're already spoiling him before he's even born! Haha.. I've yet to buy necessities like diapers, milk powder.. but he'd already have so many toys and clothing.. Ha..

*Ooohhh.. I nearly forgot.. I hit my big 3-0 this year! I'm no longer in my twenties.. Lol! Hubby took me to this really nice Thai restaurant at Railway Mall call Sweet Salty Spicy and we have Wagyu Beef! Yummy! Picture's in Hubby's phone.. I'll post them up.. one day..

*Sis came over to stay for a week while Mum and Dad were away in Shanghai. It was fun having this whirlwind of a girl around for company.. I didn't realised how alone I was these days.. That one week past by really fast and before we know it, Mum and Dad are back...

That's about it.. The flu's really pulling me down.. Feeling really drowsy now.. Haha.. Think I'll go take a nap (never in a million years thought I'd say that at 12pm!).. Will update soon.. Ciao!

Naming Piglet Chan!

With just slightly less than 16 weeks to go before we welcome our boy into this world, one thing we talked about most these days was what to name him. You'd think naming a baby is easy.. but this mummy just simply can't decide! I want a name he'll adore.. not be ashamed but be proud of.. Hubby said that is impossible, since any names can be turned into something to joke about nowadays.. we might as well choose something we like..
We're still calling him 'Piglet Chan'. Hubby said if we still can't decide by the time he's born, we shall just name him thus, since he should be used to it by then.. Lol! I don't think he'll like us very much.. Ha!
Anyway, here's a few names we've shortlisted:

Aiden/Aidan/Aidn - Little Fire (Irish)
Ashton - Ash Tree Town (English)
Kieran/Kieren/Keeran - Little Dark One (Irish)
Keagan/Keagen/Keegan - Descendant Of The Fiery One (Irish)

What do you guys think? Any input?

OMG!!

I was surfing around for a nice baby ticker to put in the blog.. and I just realized something!
I'm way past into the mid of my pregnancy!!!!!!

According to my due date:

I've been carrying our boy for 157 days, thats 22 weeks and 3 days, and
I've only 123 days, that's 17 weeks and 4 days before our boy pops out!!!!

OMG!!!!

p/s: This Mummy is super proud of herself! I redesigned the blog skin all by myself albeit taking the whole day...

Practice or Practise?

There is often confusion over the words "practice" and "practise". I've always used the sentences - 'Please practice more!' or 'You need more practice!' in my student's progress book.. Where else I've seen most other teachers uses "practise" instead.
I did some checking and came up with these:

In order to understand which to use, you must know the difference between a noun and a verb. This is because "practice" is a noun; whereas, "practise" is a verb. "Ice" is a slippery thing, whereas "ise" is not a thing - so remember that practice is a thing and practise is a doing word.

A LITTLE TRICK TO SPOT "PRACTICE"
Try using the word "preparation" (or "lessons") instead of "practice". If the sentence still makes sense, then "practice" is almost certainly correct.
(This trick works because "practice" is a noun, just like the words "preparation" and "lessons". )

A LITTLE TRICK TO SPOT "PRACTISE"
Try using the verb "to prepare" (in its various forms; e.g. "preparing, prepared, prepares") instead of "practise". If the sentence still makes sense, then "practise" is almost certainly correct. However, if you find yourself using "preparation" then you should be using "practice", because both are nouns.
(This trick works because "to practise" is a verb, just like "to prepare". )

Examples:

You need more practice. (Correct)
You should practise more. (Correct)
They practice in the office for 10 weeks and are then sent out. (Wrong)
Keep practicing that stroke until the whistle blast. (Wrong)

So for me:

Please practice more - Wrong
You need more practice - Correct

Right? Haha.. I need grammer lessons...

Sources: Grammer-monster.com

We're having a BOY!!! We've started some shopping and shortlisted a few names. Baby is constantly kicking everyday! And he have opinions too! We were at the Taka Baby Fair past Sunday, and he kicked non stop when we picked up some things for him.. Hubby said he's telling us which to choose and not to.. Ha! Sometimes, when I was laughing, it felt like he wanted to chew his way out of my tummy! Haha!
Cousin Chia Ling came over for a visit to Singapore.. We haven't met for dunno how many donkey years! And she still looks the same! Hubby said that talkative-ness really runs in the family.. we were talking like there's no tomorrow! Ha! It was really great to catching up with her after all these years..
Met up with the usual Makan Gang for dinner at Finalmente Gastromania. Hubby wrote about the place the first time we went with Chia Ling here. Had lots of fun catching up with the gang... Hope we'll be going out for another makan outing soon..
Hubby and me went to catch The Leap Years last Sunday! It was a good show! Typical romantic story, but I like it! I wanna read the book now..
Have been reading up on the elections in Malaysia, biggest upset ever for Barisan Nasional (BN)! Mum's hated MIC head honcho is OUT! Happy her! Man.. now I wished I went back and did my part for my country too! Who knows.. my vote could've made an even bigger impact! Haha!
Hubby will be away for the week due to work.. Haiz.. had a sleepless night last night! Unlike mum and sis, I don't suffer insomnia. I just don't believe in sleeping too much because, to me, sleeping more than 8 hours a day means we're wasting a lifetime away (how long do you think one can live?)... Before me and Hubby were together, I slept less than 6 hours everyday and Hubby must have at least a 9 hours of a good night sleep with naps in between in the day! Now, we meet halfway, I take normal hours night sleep and Hubby gave up on his naps.. except when he's away for work! I can't seem to get a proper night rest when Hubby's not around... I wouldn't worry normally, but now have to consider my little one....
Laptop's been acting crazy nowadays.. I think it's gonna conk out on us anytime now.. I'm already telling Hubby what kind of laptop I want next.. But must save money for the baby... We've more or less decided on the stroller, playpen, car seat and many many other stuffs we wanna get... so that will have to be the priority! So, we're keeping our fingers crossed the laptop won't decide to die anytime soon..
Been having some mood swings lately.. One minute I'll be happy and the next, worried.. sometimes sad.. This is especially bad when Hubby's not around.. Mum and Sis kept reminding me not to let my mood effect me.. So, I'm keeping myself occupy.. by watching TV.. I should do the housework instead.. but I'm too lazy! Ha! I'm coping.. so no worries.. just that maybe sometimes I need somebody to talk to.. and Hubby's not easy to reach when he's at work.. I guess it's times like this I wish my family just lives around the corner.. :)

That's all.. Ciao!

Chingay Parade at Woodlands.

We were just turning into our car park just now, when the parade came along the main road of our house! They buzzed by so quickly I didn't managed to get a good look, so Hubby turned the car and chased after the parade! We caught them along Drive 70 and had a good look at the floats! It brings back those fond memories when Mum and Dad brought me to watch the Chingay parade in Penang along Gurney Drive every Chinese New Year. I was still very young then, but I could still remember those beautifully lighted floats. They look very much bigger then though, maybe I was much smaller then, or have the floats shrunk? Hmm...
Managed to catch a couple of pictures using Hubby's phone when the parade stopped for a while at the junction. As you can see there were lots of people!

..:::People mountain people sea:::..

..:::An F1 Float:::..

All you need is... support!

Just came back from dinner with the cousins.. Hubby is busy with work projects right now, so here I am, blogging again.

From the day we found out that we were expecting, I realised that it's very important to surround yourself with supportive people! Not only your Hubby, and family but friends as well!
Hubby, bless him, was surprisingly ecstatic about our little one, though we've not plan to start a family so soon. Mum, Dad and Sis were very happy, excited and concerned as well. Mum, is worried, as a Mum always does, about my well being because I'm not staying anywhere near her. You can hear her concern, when talking over the phone. She'll keep reminding me not to lift anything heavy and eat healthy. It's so heartwarming to know that no matter what, you'll always have her to turn to! Sis, is adamant to have a little niece, so she could play dress up with. Dad on the other hand, wants a little boy with nice long hair!
Support from my cousins comes in another form! Cousin Eldon and wife, Edlyn, we've recently learned, is expecting a baby boy who'll join this world about 10 days earlier than our little one. Cousin Ming and wife, MeiLing is also expecting their precious a month after us! We share informations on pregnancy and motherhood as well as supporting each other when there's worries and misgivings. We are all, after all, first time parents!
It's also important to have support from friends around you! It's great when you hear from long time friends, sending regards when they hear of your pregnancy! I'm especially grateful to pretty mummy, Angel, who gave so many valuable advices.. Thanks babe! I can feel your enthusiasm through the sms's!
There are days when I've lots of doubts if I'll ever make a good mother. There are days when I'm unsure if I'll be able to cope when our little one comes along. But having supports from family and friends definitely make it easier and eased those doubts! I still don't know if I'll make a good mother, but I'll definitely try my very best! :)
Enough mushiness.. below are two scans of our little one:

..:::9 weeks old:::..

..:::12 weeks old:::..

You can see the hands covering his/hers eyes at the 2nd scan.. cute huh! The doctor says the baby's shy! Ha! If he/her is anything like the father, I seriously doubt so..
The 2 scans were taken on our 1st and 2nd visit. On the 3rd visit we didn't do any scan, but the doctor let us hear the heartbeat. It was super endearing to hear the heartbeats going thump thump thump.. and it was super fast! This coming week will be the baby's 20th week.. and we pray to see a healthy baby on the scan this Tuesday!

First Kick!

We felt our little darling kicking for the very first time on Friday! I've been feeling fluttery in the tummy the whole day, and at night, after I came back from work, had my dinner, bathe, and settle down to watch Survivor, I put my hands on my tummy.. I've to admit I've been doing that for many weeks, since reading in the forum that some mummies have actually felt their babies moving around.. Suddenly.. 'thud thud thud'! I quickly grabbed Hubby's hands and put them on my tummy! He was so excited when he felt it!! It was amazing! Our baby's moving around!
We'll be seeing baby when we go for the check up this Tuesday.. Hopefully we'll know if baby's a Mickey or a Minnie by then.. Can't wait for Tuesday!
Gotta go, was supposed to go to the Singapore Airshow with a bunch of my cousins today, but we didn't manage to get the tickets. So, instead will just go out for lunch, hang out at my aunt's place and then out again for dinner.. Ciao!

Farewell..

B-E-T-R-A-Y-E-D!

Really, where did I go wrong? If it was something I said and done then tell me so.. Why take such great effort to avoid seeing me, talking to me.. and when we do meet act as if nothing's wrong? Don't tell me nothing's wrong, because a friendship doesn't come to a standstill just like this. I tried.. making thing's right.. I don't know what to do anymore.. If we could never be as we were, then, I guess that's that..
Thank you for being there when I needed a friend most. If I can't be a part of your life anymore,
I wish you the very best.. You'll always be my friend..

Happy Birthday Hubby!

It's Hubby's birthday today.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!! Me and our little 'darling' celebrated with him at home today.. Here's a little something I did for Hubby for his birthday..

..:::Chocolate coated Strawberries:::..

It's my first try, and I obviously needs more practice. Hubby, being his usual chivalrous self said they looked wonderful and tasted great..

Orange Jello, Anyone?

I saw this in How About Orange and decided to give it a try. Here's a step by step guide:

You'll need:

3 big oranges
One box of orange flavored jelly powder (about 100gm)
400ml of boiling water

I'm supposed to slice the oranges lengthwise, but clever me sliced them horizontally. That's why I had trouble removing the pulps and caused a hole at the bottom of one of the oranges.. Use the kitchen wipe to blot the rinds so that they are kept dry.

Mix in the jelly powder with about 200ml of boiling water. Stir them together then add in the rest of the water. The directions on the box of the jelly powder actually calls for about 500ml of water, but I wanted the jelly to be firmer. I'm not too sure if it makes any difference, but the consistency turns out alright.

Place the rinds on any containers you have around to keep them upright.. I use cupcake cases. It works well.

Fill the jelly as much as possible, as they shrink a little when set. Leave it out to cool then place them in the refrigerator.

After the jello are set (about 3 hours or more), you can remove from the fridge and slice each half into another half.. and you can serve! Easy, and I'd bet it'll be a hit with children.. The big kid in this house certainly loved it! Ha!

Mummy and Daddy Loves You!

Our first purchase for the baby.. Very cute mittens and booties!!

We both can't wait for the arrival of our little darling!!

"Nien Nien You Yu"

Didn't do any CNY baking this year, but we made agar-agar in the shape of fishes to be placed at the alter during the new year..

..:::Step One - Pour in cooked agar agar into mold, add in coloring at desired spots:::..

..:::Step two - Wait of agar agar to set, coloring will spread beautifully:::..

..:::Step three - Once set, remove from mold and viola! Your fish is done!:::..

I just realised that I've yet to wish everybody a Happy Lunar New Year! Here's wishing everybody a wonderful and fruitful year ahead.. May this year be a year of great abundance to everybody! Huat ah!

..:::Fish anyone?:::..

Bling it on!

Sis is really into bling bling nowadays.. She bought packets of crystals to bling up her hp the last time she was here.. While back home for CNY, we thought it would be fun to bling up my mum's pair of Nike with the leftover crystals.. The result:

..:::Before:::..

..:::After:::..

Sis likes it so much, that she's wearing them now.. Lol..
Her pair of Nike is sitting at home waiting for me to buy more crystals to be bling! Ha!

My Valentine..

Didn't do much, I slept the afternoon away, teach at home in the evening, while Hubby prepared dinner... the result:

..:::The centerpiece:::..

..:::Dinner:::..

Hubby made mushroom soup, main course consists of Ratatouille, apple cheese sausage and bacon wrapped tenderloin with mushroom sauce. We substituted the wine with Ribena, because Hubby said I had too much wine during CNY back home.. :( Hubby even bought passion fruit and cream for dessert but I was too full to have them.. Ha!
The utensils were placed that way because I'm left handed.. in case some of you haven't noticed..

After dinner we settled down and watch The Amazing Race Asia and after that it's off to bed! That's how we spend our Valentine's, at home and inexpensively.. thanks to Hubby! Love you sweetie..

I'm Back!

Happy Valentine's Day! I've stepped into my 2nd trimester, and those puking and heartburns have left me in peace (thankfully!)... Hubby just cooked a sumptious and romantic candlelight dinner for two to celebrate our 4th Valentine's together.. I'll update more with the pictures tomorrow (hopefully..), getting ready to go to bed.. I'm becoming a pig.. sleeping early and waking up real late.. Ha!

Yay! We're Expecting!

Yay! But I'm in misery.. I've been plague with never-ending puking, heartburn, bloated-ness.. Am praying all this (the morning sickness) will end soon.. Sob!

I'll update when I'm more up to it..