9 reasons your baby makes a holiday special!

Back to the topic of traveling with Babies or Toddlers. Many may wonder why should... since babies don't remember anything when they grow up. But we believe differently. Here are some reasons why we feel that are great reasons to bring your kids with you on a holiday! :) (inspired by an article I read from a magazine)

Please drop me some comments on your own experiences!

1  You truly bond as a family

It's amazing how you really spend time together when you are away from your work, your daily activities. We cant imagine leaving Tristan behind, it'll feel like a big part of us is missing.

2  You delight in your kid's excitement and happiness

Although you may think that they don't know what's going on, they actually do. Tristan gets really excited when he sees the plane, when we reach the hotel, meeting different people, visitng places, sight seeing and tasting new flavours.

3  You go places or notice things you otherwise wouldn't

I would lookout for interesting places or things that Tristan can paticipate in or he could relate in. It may be a circus,  an animal show or just cows along roads during a journey to the country side.

4  You expand their horizon

One of the best way to learn and grow is to travel. It's the experience that changes you, the knowledge that you gain you can never get it from any books. I am not sure how much Tristan will remember from these trips but I am sure it has somehow made an impact on him :)

5  You teach them to adapt

This is one thing that Chris and me would like to bring up our children by. To be flexible and to adapt to different environment and situation. Tristan is pretty felxible so far, he can sleep early or late, and is not a fussy eater. He eats whatever we eat.

6  You become hands on

When Chris and I work, Tristan is taken care of by my nanny. So when travelling, it gives us an opputunity to be full time parents. So we have to take care of him from A-Z, from changning nappies to bathing, feeding...etc. It gives us a great chance to bond.

7  You learn to slow down

Many little things amazed toddlers, it's a wonderful chance to slow down and appreciate these things with them. And to see the world through their eyes.

8  You create shared memories& build a treasure of keepsakes

That's part of the reason why we are so crazy about taking photos. We want to keep them so that when Tristan grows up, he can look at them and we can relive the moments again and again. Theses memories are priceless!

9  You get fresh perspective

We brought Tristan to Bali, where we first went 2 years ealier for our honeymoon. We went to pretty much the same places, but with Tristan, we get to experience it in a whole new different way. We more spend time in the pools, walk around the parks and enjoy the sea breezes together.

Here are our top 9 reasons why your toddler will make an holiday special. Tell me yours and I'll add to the list.

 

An interesting quotation that I found on the net about travelling.

Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on,
deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. ~ Miriam Beard

Just a last thought...

Without a baby sling, these travels are almost impossible!

(a small advertisement: heheh... www.mummyhugs.com)

At wit's end at 5 am!!!

Yes it's 5:30am already! and I have been awake the past hour trying to soothe my angry son. He refuse to go back to sleep on his own without 'nen nen'(nursing).I am... frustrated, tired AHHH!!!! I give up & gave in! He is sleeping now after an hour of struggle, but I feel horrible.. Letting cry and scream and vomit for an hour then "GIVE IN" to his request. I need help!

It all started when I received an email from a friend in JULY 07 of mine saying that her 3 month old is sleeping through the night and 11 hours straight!!! I mean ... how's that possible? My son is 18 months and he still awakes up twice at least every night for 'nen nen'. At first I was worried for my friend's baby if he was alright to sleep through the night? I mean really nothing wrong? I cant believe it.

So I replied asking if she's sure there's nothing wrong with baby? I mean can a baby at 3 months sleep through the night?!She told me that she has been training him to sleep. Curious, I asked her how she did it. She's reading an e-book on sleep techniques and teaching your baby/toddler/child to sleep longer and better. That a baby after 3 months is ready to store enough food in his growing tummy to sleep through the night. The website is call www. sleepsense.net

Since Tristan was born, he was nursed to sleep. I would nurse him and sing him little prayers and he would just fall asleep. It was such a wonderful feeling. But months after months of nursing and over a year of sleepless nights, I think it's time for a change. I read the book motivated to teach Tristan to fall back to sleep on his own, without nen nen and to let him develop good sleep habits by letting him sleep longer and better AND finally both me and baby can get some real unbroken SLEEP.... I decided to try it.

I wrote down the few tips from the book:-
1)Eliminate sleep props (no more nursing to sleep)
2)Bedtime routine (recommend to sleep about 7-8pm!)
3)Use a 'blankie' (my son has a little duck that he sleeps with everynight)
4)Repeat key words such as " It's time to sleep", "Night Night time"

First night(22nd JULY 2007-as I recorded in my book...) was...'hell'! Chris was at working night shift and me alone trying to soothe a crying child is no joke. I'm not sure if I did right, I nursed him and he fell asleep as usual at 8:20pm. He woke up at 9:05pm crying. Cried his hearts out and each time I put him back on the bed, he screamed and cried even more. I have never seen him cry so hard before. He was such a happy and sweet child. I was confused, am I doing the right thing? am I teaching him anger instead?

at 9:30pm still crying non stop. kept walking towards the door and wanting to go out of the room as if looking for something. I picked him up and put him gently back to bed telling him it's night night time. But he still wakes up each time more angrier and screaming and pointing towards the door. I gave in to his request and open the door. I carried him and as he pointed where to go, I brought him, telling him it's night night time and everyone is asleep. Even the cats... fish... everything.
He waved bye bye and finally seem to understand and we went back to the bed room. He started crying AGAIN.... (fast forward... an hour of struggle later...) I manage to feed him some water and let him lie down.. and he fell asleep! on his own! without 'nen nen'! Was is a success?

the next night... the crying continued! He was crying so much that his temper and anger got worst. He started throwing tantrum. My heart aches each time he cries and scream. Feel like the worst mother ever! Have I done something terribly wrong? what am I teaching him?

In a few days, we were traveling to another city for a wedding, staying a new place, unpredictable bed times..etc... Chris says we should do this only after the wedding, when we come back. Frustrated.. and tired. I agreed. And continue nursing him to bed.


I think I gave up too easily. It's even harder to teach him now. I still love and will continue breastfeeding but it's becoming a habit (not sure if it's a bad habit) for Tristan. As he is not hungry, he just want nen nen to help him go back to sleep. He cant sleep back on his own!

I tried it again.. just last week! It got worst this time... he screamed... choke on his saliva and vomit all over the bed. I had to control my frustration and anger... soothe the screaming baby... change the bed sheet and clean him and his puke in the middle of the night. He look so poor thing... and tired. And guess what! I gave in and nurse him to sleep! after all that drama!

I shouldn't have given in. He will start crying and screaming for longer period of time, knowing that he will get what he wants in the end... But how then? My heart breaks to see him so poor thing, vomited, tired, angry, swollen eyes from crying... What's a mother to do?

Is there an answer out there my sleep troubles??? This habit is really bugging me. Am I pushing him too hard? Will he learn on his own eventually? Are there other ways?...

Back from Vietnam!

Yes we are back from Vietnam! And finally I got the chance to sit down and write this blog of mine. The trip was great, tiring but an eye opener to another culture, way of life and food. :) Pictures speak louder than words so click on the album on the right column to see it. Enjoy.

OUT OF OFFICE!

Ha! finally I am going on vacation! Going to Vietnam with Chris and Tristan. Many would actually drop their jaws, surprise.. and think we are crazy. "Why you bringing baby with you?... How to enjoy? .. Baby will suffer... So Young, baby wont benefit... He wont remember a thing.."
But oh well, I guess Chris and I have agreed to bring baby wherever we go. We want Tristan to see the world, experience different culture and way of life. Let him adjust and be able to live in all type of conditions and environment. We hope to let him grow up a tough boy. 'rough it out'. But of course we take all the precautions and make sure he drinks and eat hygienic food... etc. And of course it will be more tiring, carrying him (10 KG now!) and walking miles shopping and sight seeing.
But it'll all be worth it!
Found a site that talks about travelling with baby.
I am looking for something which I read before... how your baby will benefit from traveling, how babies brain develops from newborn to 3 years of age... will up date later and tell you about my trip then!Seeya!

Travel with baby

Check out the other Mummy Bloggers!

I just came across a few amazing mummy bloggers online. I added them onto "Blogs I Read" column. (Just added this new column too :) hehe very happy of my small achievement.

Have a look at some of them listed here and I am sure you'll be as amazed as I am. Salute to these Mamas!

Let's get wokking!

This stay at home mum has amazing recipes and amazing photography of the food she cooks for her family. Check it out!

Mumspotting

This WAHM is one amazing artist.

Musing of a new mother

A full time working mom writes witty stories about her life as a new mom. There's so much that I can relate to :)

Problem waking up early!

I have been horrible at waking up early. I'll open my eyes at 8am when my alarm rings, tell myself to go back to bed, and snooze off for another hour or so. Then when I do wake up- late, I feel so awful! Ahhh... There goes the mood for the whole day. I feel so bad that I'll not sleep early at night cos I feel that I have wasted the whole day! Seems like a vicious cycle that I am trying to beat.

When I was working, I had to force myself to wake up no matter what time I sleep. At least there was something to push me. But now.. it feels like I have 'no reason' to wake up early. Feels like everyday is a Sunday to me... oh... how nice to snuggle with four pillows and blanket when the weather is cold and rainy.

I googled 'problem waking up early' and I got the following interesting links to share. Just in case there's anyone sharing the same problem.

How to become a early riser?

Waking Up Early - Why is it so hard?

Becoming a early person

----------------
Not sure whether I can pull all this 'working from home', 'running own business' off. I just find it harder and harder to motivate myself each day. It feels like what I read in the book 'The Milk Memos'.

Oh ya before I forget, I recommend this wonderful book that I just completed: "The milk memos" by Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette. It's a hilarious book by 2 mothers from America working for working for IBM. They started to write down their thoughts and feelings into a note book in the lactation room where they express their milk for the babies while they continue to work after giving birth. They also provide tips and advice for mothers who wants to continue to breastfeed, and how they mix being a mother and working. http://www.milkmemos.com/

There's a section that talks about working from home: "How it can be very hard to concentrate when the love of your life is right there next to you... that you may feel guilty when you cant give him the full attention... about missing social interaction with co-workers..."

Well that is ME! exactly! Still trying... and keeping myself going! Wish me luck!

Survival vs Sucess

Was speaking to a friend and this very interesting topic came up...

As a parent.. are we teaching our kids to survive or to succeed?

Many instill fear in their child to fend for themselves, to be afraid of the negative
consequences, to live a 'safe & secure' life. But are we hindering them from success?

We hear of so many successful and famous scientist, philanthropist and great leaders today. They did not live their life in fear, but a curiosity and a will to move forward and to be successful without thinking twice about failure. But when they fail, they get up and try again.. they fall, they get up and run again. Many of them did not live a typical life, some never did well in school, somedidnt have the opportunity to access education and other facilities that we have at our finger tips. But these people achieve so much in life and attained such a high level ofsuccess that many will never be able to reach in our life time.

Sometimes many are so afraid to being a 'bad' parent that they end up deciding everything for their child... telling them it's good for them. So when does a parent make decision for their child and when do we start letting them make their own. To experience the consequence of their own decision, to fall and get up again.

Just something for every parent to think about in this highly competitive, Kiasu (fear of failure), Kiasi (fear of death) society.

Just converted to Beta :)

Ha... finally I am upgrading my blog :) just converted to Beta and found the most informative site http://betabloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/. Wonderful site! teaches you everything you need to know about Blogger. Love it. Hopefully I will keep the enthusiasm going and continue to upgrade this blog of mine for fluequently.

Alright. So... here I am 2 months after I quit my full time job. I haven't gone far but for a start, I am doing up my biz plan and will hit the road full force from now. The transition is over, I am finally settling. I just went through a couple of links which helps to keep WAHM motivated. Here are the links.. ok.. I haven't learnt how to include the links... so here's the URL for it.

How to stay motivated while working at home http://www.digital-women.com/work-at-home-article001.html
Seven Tips For Work-At-Home Motivation http://www.topwahms.com/motivation

And I came to one conclusion: Working from home is real work too!

Charged!

Falling apart...

Tuesday 18th September 2007, Hot Sunny day

Ha… it’s 18th of September already. It’s been 1 month 1 week since I left my full time job. And guess what? I haven’t been working on my biz yet! So frustrated, so disappointed in myself. I get so distracted… the problem is I don’t know what is distracting me? I send my son to my nanny’s from 11am-6pm. So… not distracted by son… not distracted by noise or other people cos I work myself and no one is home most of the time. So… why why why? I cant figure out at the moment.

I just cant get to doing the things I am suppose to do. I get carried away with other things which are unimportant and by the time I knew it.. the day is over,… the week is over.. and the whole month is over! I seem to have less time and accomplished less when I left my full time job. Maybe I should have just continued working since it wont make any different and still get a full time pay. Hai… I may have to go back to work soon. Find a part time job or something.

I have been diligently trying to plan and recording my daily activities. Hope to management my time better.

Falling apart…
Shirin
6.45pm

Work at home versus Work out of home

Sunday 16th September 2007 Rainy in the morning, nice cool weather.

When I threw in my resignation letter in July 07, I was so relieved and so happy that I was going to be a WAHM (Work at home mom). I thought that was what I always wanted and that I will be happy and relax, work at my own pace, no stress, more time to do what I want...But but but...I guess it's a lot tougher than I thought.
Maybe I am not suitable to work from home. Too much of my comfort zone, too many distraction, no need to report to 'boss', cos I am the boss! And I find it really difficult to manage my time around baby, work, personal…etc. because all these happen in the same place, my home.
Or maybe it’s just a period of adjustment. Any type of change needs a period of adjustment and settling in. I will continue to work at it and if I am still terribly stuck… someone… get me out! Just joking, I love my son, I love being at home and love working from the comfort of my home. I just need to get organized and be really disciplined. If I am will not improving much by this month, I will get a part time job. At least I get out of the house to meet others and have a change of environment.
I realized that I am a people person; I need to interact with people. So full time at home, working just me and my computer 24 hr a day is a nightmare! So count me out on Internet distance learning or anything similar to that… I mean, how do these people do it? Please enlighten me!
That’s my experience as a WAHM for the past month. I feel that I have less time compared to when I was working at my last job. (that explain why I have not written in a month.) Why is that so? Hhmm… Ok, I do spend more time with Tristan and Chris, but I haven’t got down to doing the list of things that I list down 2 days after I left my last job.
I just came up with a ‘time table’ for myself, and record what I actually did when the day is over. Hope to analyze where my time goes to, hope to work out and get organize!
Love, Shirin 2:10am... yes.. it's late, I cant sleep. Ironically it's bcos I am too tired.

My Lactation Story

Friday 3rd August, Sunny

Ok... I have been trying to write this lactation story of mine for ages.
Now that I have decided to become a breastfeeding counselor, part of my first assignment to be considered to undergo the training is to write my lactation story.
Tristan is now 15 months and yes I am still breastfeeding :) yes! I am! For those who do not have a child or never breastfed this may be... weird, but for those who knows.. it's a acheivement. Well, it's a achievement for me at least. So here goes my story :

Title: Journey of a new mom in breastfeeding.


In the beginning
When I was pregnant, I was asked if I was going to breastfeed? I said yes. Partly because I was fortunate to have a sister in law who successfully breastfed her 2 girls till about 4 years of age. With a role model before me, I thought I will do my best at nursing my first born at least for the recommended 6 months.

The day came when I was in labour for 16 hours. I was extremely exhausted. I carried my little Tristan in my arms, so tiny, so fragile. After 9 months of anticipation and 16 hours of labour, it was indeed worth it. I thank God for my little angel from heaven.

My first experience of nursing
About two hours later, Tristan started crying. It was time for me to breastfeed for the first time. With a bit of guidance from the nurse, I fed him his first meal. Well, what the book said was true, babies are born with the reflex of suckling. I sang him little tunes and prayers while I nursed him. It was a magical moment.

2 hours later, I woke up.. without any alarm. Coincidentally, Tristan was crying in the next room and was brought to my arms again, hungry. Little did I realised that his tummy will be my alarm from now on. And.. it's every two hours, even through the night. My motherhood journey has only just begun. After we return home, Tristan was waking up in shorter and shorter intervals. Crying every other hour to be nursed. Tired, I carried on nursing on demand. On the third day, he surprisingly slept through from 6am to 11am. And he had whizzing sound coming from his breathing. As I was still recovering from the labour and not ready to move about freely, Chris, my husband and my nanny rushed him to the clinic. The first doctor said he had 'lung infections'! In disbelief, my husband went to another who referred him to the specialist. Arrived at the hospital, he was admitted and tests was conducted on him. Finally, to realise that he was just hungry and too tired to wake up and cry for milk. He was fed with formula at the hospital.

I had sore nipples from the every hourly feed and felt really depressed that it was my fault that he went through all that. I felt that I failed as a mother for not being able to provide milk for my son. He lost almost 500grams of weight. I was devastated; I totally blame myself for everything.

My sister in law came and together we went to the hospital to visit little Tristan. I cried the moment I saw him. He had developed jaundice and was put in the incubator with 'tubes' attached to monitor his heart beat and eye patch to cover his eyes. He looked so different from the day I met him, he lost so much weight. I tried to express my milk at the hospital, but after 10 mins, only one drop of Colostrum appeared.

We went to see the pediatrician to see if every thing was fine. In our conversation, my sister in law asked if I was able to continue to breastfeed. The doctor replied to say: 'dont be too sad, some mothers just have no milk'. I was speechless. The doctor confirmed my fears.

My sister in law told me not to worry and not to give up despite what the doctor said. She told me her milk supply only came in after 5-7 days. And from my own reading, I was told that almost 90 over percentage of woman can breastfeed. On top of that, I do not believe my breastfeeding experience will end this way, I was determined to continue nursing and pumping.

When Tristan was discharged after the fourth day, he then had developed 'nipple confusion'. When I tried to nurse him, he refused and kept turning his face away from me and cried as if asking for something else. Knowing that he had ended up in hospital from not having enough milk, we gave in and supplement with formula. He suckled happily from the bottle of formula. Although only a few drops, I still continued to express my milk and tried to nurse him every feed before giving him formula milk. This struggle lasted for a whole week.

On the 6th Day, we had a celebration for my 25th birthday. The best present I got was four ounce of breast milk! Yes I finally expressed four ounce of milk.

Without realising, I was nursing him more and giving less of the bottle. Before he reached his first month, I was really happy that I was finally able to breastfeed him exclusively.

Maternity leave over, back to work
We moved to Johor Bahru since Tristan was born as we had family members that could help care for him there. After three months of maternity, it was time to go back to work. Feeling unsure of what to do, and how to manage expressing and handling Expressed milk. I attended the Breastfeeding Mother Support Group (Singapore)Back to work workshop which gave me the confidence and knowledge to continue breastfeeding even after I went back to work.

As I wanted to spend more time with my little one and breastfeed directly as often as I can, I wrote to my boss to request for part time work. After much correspondence through phone calls and meetings, he finally managed to arrange part time work for 3 months. I was really thankful that he fought this request for me. [Actually in Singapore, the government provides a grant of WoW!(Work-Life Works) Fund, a scheme to help organizations implement flexible work arrangement, employers are more willing to arrange flexible work arrangement.]

When I went back to work, I had to carry a cold box, ice pack, pumps and containers to and fro through the customs from Johor Bahru to Bedok via public transport everyday. I was expressing diligently 3-4 times daily. Once before I leave for work, once when I reach work, once after my part time shift and once when I return home. This is so that Tristan will have enough supply for the next day. My colleague would ask if I was carrying a lunch box, well it is a lunchbox, my son's.

Traveling away from baby for work
After the part time arrangement was over, I felt the traveling was taking up too much time and I decided to sacrifice my job. I managed to find another job in Malaysia which is 10 mins away from my home. However another challenge came with this change. This new job requires occasional travel to other states of Malaysia. I panicked the day when I had to travel to KL for a weekend without baby.

I brought all my pumps, containers, ice pack along, but I was too tensed and stressed up to express much milk. I could not relax initially, but like all things, practice makes perfect. Taking deep breaths and visualizing my baby helped in let down of my milk. I would request the hotel to then freeze the expressed milk for me and plenty of ice for me to transport it from one place to another. After a couple of practice, it began easier for me to look out for places where I can pump and methods of storing and transporting my milk. I pumped everywhere, in the rest rooms of convention halls, in the car, borrowed a office room or store room, the list goes on.

Six months passed and I was still happily nursing my son, and thought I had no reason to give up. Since then, I found a way where I can spend more time with Tristan and still earn an income. I started a business manufacturing my own line of baby sling and selling them via an online store. With a baby sling, mothers can breastfeed in public more easily and in turn encouraging them to breastfeed longer. Going back to work did not stop me from giving the best to my son. I breastfeed him till today, my son will be turning 22 months in February 2008.

Last thoughts
Well, the initial 9 months of pregnancy and 16 hours was just a test of patience, strength and endurance to the mother. It was a preview of what a mother would do for her own child, a lifetime of love, sacrifices and perseverance. Although I am happy to have walked so far, my journey as a mom has only just began!

Countdown to WAHM!

Saturday 28th July 2007 Gloomy ... going to rain

Count down... thirteen days before I am officially free from the 9-5 job.
Excited yet there's a part of me that is feeling... scared! Scared of losing the 'secure' job. An old mindset and thinking but that is the general mindset of the public. I probably felt the same way I quit my job in Singapore a year ago, and that fear caused me to jump straight back on a job. I am not making the same mistake again. So as to not side track again... here's what I am going to do...

1) Be a SAHM/WAHM ... not familiar with these terms? :)
Stay At Home Mom/Work At Home Mom-I walked into a whole new world when I become a mom, and I met so many mothers who wants the same: Spend more time with their kids while still living actively. Some also want to continue to have an income but a flexibility of working from home. These moms have inspired me to do the same. It's really different if you are there for the milestones of your child's life, instead of hearing all the exciting things he has done or learn at the end of the day while you were at work.
Gone are the days where housewife are looked upon as 'backward', ' cut off from the world outside' and 'out dated'. These women are educated, smart, caring, willing to share and learn, always improving oneself, made a conscious decision to leave their job for their precious children, thinking of creative ways to educate their child, creative ways to provide financially for their child while spending quality time with them.
(For more information: search SAHM/WAHM http://www.wahm.com/ or for a malaysia site http://ehomemakers.net
A great bunch of moms of 'asiaparents' a online yahoo group who provides support, exchange ideas and opinions online. )
I will have more info up.. once I official step into the world o WAHM :)

2) Launch MummyHugs Baby Sling to all corners of Malaysia and to the world.
To venture out and start your own business is really.... scary! but.. the adventurous me is screamin... why not? So... stay tune for more stories as I embark on this journey of entrepreneurship!

3) Blog!
Update my MummyHugs blog every other day... and start out another blog/website for Bahai Parenting & Bahai Children Class/Junior Youth Class resource.

hhmm... sounds like I have a new list ..every post...well... ideas kept on flowing.. had to write down somewhere :)

I guess I have to dig out all my old ones and combine them with the new ones. And ... get a final list out, to get focus on the list of things I want to do.

=================================
A last note for today... We went for a beautiful wedding reception of Amy & Roshan on 22 July 2007. Simple & beautiful. And the video of their ceremony in Langkawi was.... a dream wedding come true!

Just realised that it tells a lot of the couple's love for each other from the amount of work and thought that goes into their wedding. Their acknowledgement of love in public really move me to tears: that's when Amy sang... "have I told you lately.. that I love you..." so touching... Well.. you can say I am sentimental, but how can you not feel the love and bliss?

Here's wishing Amy & Roshan lots of love... lots of happiness & lots of kids!!! May you both walk together on the path of service united & strong. Wishing you a blissful marriage until the end of time! :)

Warmest love,
Chris Shirin & Tristan...

11:13am

A six month break. I'm back!

Thurs 12th July 2007 Fine weather

Guess what? I quit! Yes I threw in my resignation letter yesterday, finally. Chris has been telling me to do that a month ago, but I thought I will wait and see... wait.. wait... not sure what I am waiting for. I guess I didnt want to be a 'quit-er' or I thought I should achieve something before I leave.

Well i finally have the courage to say.. that's enough, I have better things to do with my time and my life. The main reason I left my singapore job was so that I can move back to JB and spend more time with my son... now 15 months ( time flies) but I have not been spending as much time as I wish I had. So I told myself, Tristan is growing everyday and if I dont spend more time with him now, I will end up regretting. SO now I AM A FREE WOMAN! ( hhm sounds a bit weird, a free man sounds better.. but you get wat I mean :)

I have so many plans ahead.
First I am going to spend more time with my son, create a schedule and be more discipline in terms of rountines. Sleep early, wake up early, eat healthily, read and play together with him. Be organise with my time as well.
2nd I am going to launch my business full force and officially. http://www.mummyhugs.com, look for oppurtunities to expand and do some R&D.
3rd I am going to put more effort and be more organise with Bahai children class, Bahai admin work and set up a youth group.
4th Exercise! I am going to do Yoga at least 2 times a week, take up golf again.
5th Start a playgroup with friends and babies.

hhmmm..I just looked at my new year resolution for this year... sounds pretty similar to wat I wrote here... This time I am sure that I am going to actually fullfill some resolution for a change! Wish me luck & determination and perserverance!

To the new chapter of my life.. here I come! YEAH!!!!

Love,
Shirin

Do you sometimes feel not motivated???

Mon 5th February 2006 Fine

Haii.... feeling a little not motivated today... not too sure why. Am I missing out on something? Probably have not met up with friends to catch up and hang out lately OR no exercise? OR??? Well... been really busy with full time job and 2 part time businesses. AND 9mth old baby and a husband who work night shifts and hardly see each other.

I appreciate Chris trying to spend his time with me. But I dont know why we keep getting on each others' nerves. Dont know whether we are both tired physically or we are just becoming a married couple.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... IT'S FEBRUARY!

Fri 2nd Feb 2007 Fine weather

I can't imagine it, it's February 2nd 2007 already! please please hold on... I can't catch up. I was going to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2007! but January is already way over!

Oh well, better late than never. Here it goes... "Wishing everyone a Happy, Properous, Meaningful and Wealthy New Year!"

Wealthy doesnt mean just in $$$, it also means being wealthy Spiritually, having good relationship with family and friends, wealthy in love, wealthy in health, and Wealth in Time and Wealth in Happiness. :)

And here are my new year resolution:

1) Be Punctual

2) Be more organised and prepared for Bahai Children Classes. (A Spiritual classes that teaches kids on recognition of God. Oneness of God, Religion and Humanity. Prayer and Meditation. Respect for religions of the world. Recognising & cultivating virtues in each one. Creativity through Arts & Craft, song, drama & dance. These classes are open to all children from different race, religion or background And are held in almost every part of the world. Do contact me if you wish to send your children to these classs, I'll be more than happy to assist.)

3) Spend more quality time with my son Tristan. Read and say prayers with him everynight.

4) Kick start my new business-es ventures by March 2007

5) Go for Yoga lessons regularly, once a week

6) Spend time with my husband (just 2 of us) once a week.

7) Catch up with old friends.

8) Increase my Baha'i knowledge and General Knowledge

9) Be Happy, Be Brave, Be Strong

As for this blog, I will be updating more often. And do expect more individual experience on becoming a mother, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, WAHM-Work At Home Mom issues... as I become one :), Parenting, Spirituality and others...etc.

That's all for now. Seeya :)

Love,
Shirin 3:48pm

Can we have more than 24 hours a day?

Tues 12th Dec 2006 Fine weather
Why we only have 24 hours a day? If only we have a bit more time... just a bit more time. more time to spend with my little one and more time to earn some extra income that will sustain and grow. And hopefully by 2 years when Chris & I plan for a 2nd one, I can be a stay at home mom. Work from home. YEAH!!! SO wait for my grand opening of my little side business. I wont let the cat out of the bag first. probably by end Jan07, I can get it started. All this inspiration came from my little Tristan and becoming a mom, wanting to spend more time with him. So STAY TUNE! :)
By right, 8 Hours-work, 8 Hours-play, 8 Hours-Sleep should be enough, but I always wonder where my play and sleep hours go to. All those who knows me will be screaming..." because you do things so slow.....!!!!!!" okok.. I know, I am a bit slow. Cant help it, it's in my blood, maybe my blood flows slower so my brain response a bit slower, therefore my actions. I am trying... I dont know why I cant seem to get more efficient and organise, and do things faster. ( haha.. my husband will be laughing now... me.. fast? on time?)
Anyone has a good time management program that will help me? Let me know! :)
So... Tristan is almost almost 8MONTHS~!!!(just 6 more days! Wow... time flies! He is crawling and holding on to things and standing already. He is fascinated when he grabs something, drop it and see where it goes. When you pick it up, he drops it again and again... funny how babies are fascinated by all things... hhmm maybe he is discovering gravity, like Isaac Newton and his apple. Wow, so babies are pretty smart huh?
Opps... But due to the fault of the mommy (me) He discovered gravity the hard way. I left him on the bed to go grab a towel from the bathroom, but as soon as I grab the towel, I heard the loud sickening THUD! more like.. TONGgg... and I drop my towel and ran... somehow I saw it coming. I knew what happened. I saw my little one on the floor... HIs face red in shock and seconds later... scream his lungs out. Luckily nothing serious happened, he had a little bum on this forehead. Poor thing. I feel so guilty. And trust me... this little prince of mine have grandpas & grandmas on his side... so I got rprimanded for my carelessness. Not forgeting the father and my nanny too. Hai... I have to be more careful in the future. Forgive me my precious!
Love,
Shirin 5:00pm

14 NOV 2006 No money no time?

Tues 14th Nov 2006 Fine weather
No money no time? how true is that?
Before becoming a mom, I use to think that money is not the most important thing in life. We can live happily with or without money. Oh well... reality is totally different, we live in a real world. We need money to survive.
I didnt follow my parents' footstep in their line of business because I always wish they had more time for us. Now, I am scared that I will fall into the same trap of working to get more money, working harder and longer hours compromising time with my love ones... :( How many of us are doing this?? I now feel that I need more money to start my home, my children, better life, better lifestyle. And also sad to say many family issues sprung from financial problem.
Well I grew from, " I dont need more money to be happy" to " Money can make life more comfortable" to "better make more money for the future". And I pray and hope that I wont fall into the trap of being too attached to it without realising it! That's worst.
I want to work towards finding a way to work from home. Working while spending precious time with my little one. Nothing beats beign there for your love ones. Not Money Definately. So anyone has any ideas let me know. :o)
Love,
Shirin 11:25am

09 NOV 2006 Just another day in paradise ;o)

Thursday 9th Nov 2006 .not sunny, not rainy.just nice.
It's another wonderful day in good old JB city. Well maybe you'll ask what's so wonderful about today or JB? Well this is wisdom from my YOGA teacher. She'll ask us how are we today... some say fine, some say ok, some say not so good, etc... wonder why she asked? She says this is related to our subconsciousness or state of mind. If we say it's a wonderful day, it will be. Even if something unexpected happens, you'll take it positively and learn from it. If you say the day is ok.. then your day becomes ok.. if you wake up in the morning and while brushin ur teeth, your tooth brush broke... you tell yourself it's a bad omen, today will be bad luck. Then your day will be rotten. Your state of mind also attract similar feelings around you, if you feel positive, you wil attract positive people and positive things. So ... let me ask you... HOW ARE YOU TODAY???
My little Tristan is beginning to recognise people already. If you leave him on the bed and walk away from the toom, he starts crying... once you turn to him he stops. He's in such a cheeky and playful mood these days, little things tickles him and he will laugh like crazy... feel blessed to have such a happy baby.
Love,
Shirin 10:36am

07 NOV 2006 Tristan is almost crawling!

Tues 7th Nov 2006 Rainy Day
Ha ! My son is almost crawling!!! we are so excited. He lifts this head high up in the air and then tries to move his little chubby leg forward, when he manage to get up on all fours, he wobbles and bounce forward and backward (goyang goyang...) then collapse, tired.. and then get up again! heheh... so cute.
Dont know where he learnt to stick his tongue out, he started doing this on Thursday last week. Licking his lips like he is drooling for some yummy food. And now is the age where he is so confident about this hand that he grabs anything within his reach and sight. After succesfully grabbing it, he will put it straight into his mouth! wonder what everythign taste like.... anything for that matter!... so beware of your belongings especially spectacles, dont end up like his previous victims.. His father, Gong Gong & Ye Ye (both his grandfather!)
Shirin... :o)11:30am

19 SEP 2006 New Chapter of my life :o)

Tues 19th Sept 2006 Sunny
Another chapter of my life has just began, I am officially a student advisor at Studylink JB. So anyone who is interested to further your studies or have any friends or relatives goin on to college of uni, local or overseas, let me know :o) we do counselling to application to visa to accomodation to flight tickets, ANything from A-Z regarding further studies. you name it we do it :o)
( ehhehe.. ok, that's the end of the advertisement )
Life's pretty good, work is much more relax than my previous job, and I see lots of potential in this place and lots of things we can do that we can do to make this place more appealing to students. So we'll see.. ;o)
Tristan is 5 months and 2 days old already. time flies, he looks like a big boy now. I wish I can spent more time with him. Every mother's guilt?
Well, he is not interested to flip over yet. But he is getting cuter each day and learning things really fast. He tried to put his hand up when we raise our hands to high five! And he's started to take a bit of rice cereal yesterday too.
... He's growing real fast... I hope to be there for all his first moments. First word, first flip over, first crawl, first taste of different food, first step.. etc..etc...
alright then.. gotta get back to work. will update more..
Love,
Shirin

05 SEP 2006 Last few days at work...

Tuesday 5th September 2006 Bit Rainy.
Dear diary, It's my 4th last day at work, 3 more days to go. Feeling all scared of leaving my comfort zone, and I will be missing the people I work with. ( The only thing I will be missing, & besides the free drinks from the vending machine for milo and Chrysanthemum Tea:o) I know I am making the right choice but yet, I am feeling scared & guilty for leaving a good "SECURE" job.Work aside, my little baby has tasted his first solid food, baby rice fine cereal. He got a bit confuse with the spoon and didnt really know what he suppose to do with the food on his tongue. So most of the cereal ended up around his mouth and on his bib ;o) I read in the little booklet on baby development that at 4 mths, baby will discoer his hands and feet. :o) it's so true, I like the way it's described. so cute... Tristan realise that he has hands and feet, and he knows that if he concentrate enough he could move his hands to grab something. Today, he also started to grab his little feet and on top of tasting rice cereal, he tasted his toes for the first time too!!!eyes closing... heading for bed now.. nite nite.
Shirin 2:28am

30 AUG 2006 Here's a quick blog

Wed 30th August 2006 Rainy day

Here's a quick blog, gotta rush of to work.. at 3pm? yes... I work night shift-part time. I leave about 3:30pm for a 6-10pm shift in Singapore and return home about 12:30pm.. that is almost 5 hours of traveling for a 4 huors job!!! ahhh... crazy isnt it.. I take bus, get up & down the customs & train and bus again... both ways... its just so tiring.. and I have a little one to take care of when I come back.. so it's not much of a rest at night too.Anyway.. my last 6 days on this job! Bit scared of leaving... but at the same time happy & releived. during one of my 'travels' I was talking to a taxi driver... ( mind you taxi drivers are pretty inspirational too :o) hehhe... was complaining how tired I was travelling up & down. HE said this:" If you have a goal, then it's alright, you wont feel tired" in mandarin. "You mu biao jiu bu hui lei"IT striked me... that I dont really have a goal.. no wonder I was feeling so tired. Chris & I decided to write down some goals. :o) & just maybe we wont feel tired anymore..:o)Shirin3pm

26 AUG 2006 First POST transfer from Friendster :o)

SAT 26th August 2006 Sunny day

Finally got to sit down and write my first blog at friendster ;o)
after weeks of procrastinating... well not because I am such a lazzy bum... but I AM A MOM!!!

Today is Gavin, our friend Shoghi & Ernie's 2nd son's 1st birthday :o) Just realised that in a matter of a few short years, life have changed tremendously. My birthday used to be one of the most important event of the year, but now... my birthday seems pretty insignificant with so many little bundle of joy popping out of no where ;o)

From being a carefree student, worrying about exams and boyfriends and friends... to finishing college, university, getting my first job, getting engaged and married... AND.. pregnant and... now a mother of a four month old in a matter of 3 short years?!?!? wow.. .come to think of it I've accomplished quite a lot in these years.

After becoming a mother, my lifestyle have changed so much I cant remember how it used to be when I was single ;o) I am not complaining, just constantly feeling tired and wishing there were 48 hours in a day instead.(my genie.. where are you??)

My shopping now revolves around Toy 'R' us, Kiddy palace, mothercare and any baby section of the mall, our outings revolves around 'baby' friendly places and even the magazines I read changed from CLEO, Marie Claire to Youngparents, Mother & baby... and so on.

There's a children song from PEACE PACK CD, lyrics goes like this... " changes are a part of life... gotta change so we can survive .." very simple yet it's meaning.. deep... Some of us are so comfortable where we are that we dont want to change. Even if we are so unhappy. Change is a very scary and at the same time challenging & exciting thing.

I just resigned from my comfortable, well paying job. After working in this line for nearly 2 years ( serving credit card customers in the bank) I find it hard to motivate myself everyday and always complain my daily unhappiness to my dear husband, Chris. But something he said striked me... something pretty profound coming from Chris..heheh... ( he is always giving me pleasant surprises ;o)

Work is work... it's a repetition of a series of task and a responsibility. to be happy at your job means to constantly strive for excellence. This is how everyone contributes to the society. :o)

It's hard to always imagine that the job that I do everyday is actually contributin to the society and making the world a better place. hard but.. I will try and remind myself everyday. what about you?

Shirin... :o)
1:30am