Nat and Jorgo

Nat has made friends with Jorgo the Monster, I told her his name and she started calling him "Go-go". I think she likes the bright colours and was kissing and hugging him yesterday.



She thinks Rosie the mouse is cute too, but Gigi murdered Josie yesterday - Rosie's sister. Whilst alone in the room with no one looking, she threw Josie out the window, Aunty Sarda just happened to see it in time, but couldn't stop her.


I was convinced I had lost Josie forever, I was like, "My mouse, my mouse, my $20 mouse!" (I exaggerate, it wasn't $20 since Josie was a freebie but at the time I thought it was Rosie!). Being light, it could have landed on any of the 19 ledges below us, but thankfully Swana spotted her when we went downstairs, swept away in a corner by the wind. That was a close call, the two babies are not going near my mice again! They're like my new pets!

Bottomless pit

Of late I feel like my stomach is a black hole, food gravitates towards it and a mass accumulates. I just finished a Lime Chicken quiche from Cedele barely 5 minutes ago and am still hungry.

Lunch was Din Tai Fung with Jane and Rena, we shared xiao long bao, szechuan soup, rice and noodles. Before lunch I had some biscuits to curb my hunger pangs, and for breakfast I had Nutella sandwiches. I eat about every 2 hours because I am constantly hungry till about 6pm, after that I have no appetite when it comes to dinner but still force myself to eat something. But by 9pm, I need to snack again. Usually on murukku and milo.

Why are pregnant women hungry all the time? Blame the hormones!

Apparently, the reason for the increased hunger is due to changes in hormonal levels and production which affect the hypothalamus, a complex region in the brain that is involved in many different functions.

The hypothalamus is responsible for certain metabolic processes and one of its functions is control of hunger. Hormones released as a response to pregnancy cause the hypothalamus to issue increased hunger behavior causing the pregnant woman to consume food in greater quantities to support growth of the foetus.

I was hungry with Nat too, but even more with Nike. I snack like there's no tomorrow, my office space is littered with biscuits, sembueh, nuts, sweets, crackers etc. Even my cleaning lady has noticed I snack a lot these days! I didn't tell her the reason yet, she's quite a gossip.

As I type I am thinking about the luscious fruit tarts me and Jane spotted at a new stall at Raffles City. Pretty pretty pies, all dressed with cream and fruit, but at $7.80 a slice, they're a tad ex, a whole pie is about S$80.

Would you spend $80 on a pie? I just might, if they turn out to be really good. Shall have to try, me and Jane are going back next week!

European goodies

Swana and Kevin arrived back on Monday and I couldn't wait to go over to Membina after work. Mummy asked, "You coming to see your sister or your stuff?", and I was like, "Of course my stuff lah!"

Nat benefited the most, Aunty Nana having bought her 6 tops and a Little Mermaid star-shaped bowl. She gave us a couple of magnets, Nick got a cap, and I got 2 tops in addition to a Fendi chef bag I requested her to buy.





Since they were going to be in Amsterdam, I ordered some stuff from my friend Shef's online shop called Swiedebie to be mailed locally, as Shef is based in Holland. She makes really cute sock monsters and other handmade gifts, and I bought a one-of-a-kind ski sock monster named Jorgo, that came with a drawing and description of his personality. And there was this tiny mouse-shaped pin cushion named Rosie that I couldn't resist because it was in a pink floral rose print, and Shef threw in a matching keychain named Josie...cool!



Nat decided she wanted to feed herself her dinner last night, Indian style with her hands. While she can feed herself biscuits and cereal and small-sized chunks of food, we've continued to spoon-feed her her proper meals because it was just to messy on her own but yesterday I allowed her to make a complete mess, because she was actually hungry and stuffing her face with gusto.



It was nice to see her relishing her food, instead of the constant struggle everyday trying to coax her to have one more spoonful. Mildred who had been staying with us the past couple of days seemed appalled with the mess, but maybe subconsciously I allowed it, to spite her since she let Nat watch Hi-Five on TV despite knowing we don't let her watch TV? Hmmm...

There was a really bad haze yesterday, the smell of burnt wood in the air was strong and visibility was poor. Hazy days are back!

A touch of nostalgia

Went to Mildred's for breakfast on Saturday, she had a lantern waiting for Nat. The cellophane paper kind, reminds me of my childhood when my Amah would buy me and Swana those kinds of lanterns...those were the days.


Speaking of nostalgia, the other day I watched the Snorkels cartoon on TV, I miss all the programmes we used to watch. I remember the Wuzzles and this raccoon cartoon, and My Little Pony. Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake were among my favourites and I get to relive everything through Nat and Gigi. They still sell Care Bears at Tangs and Gap has a range of t-shirts bearing old cartoons.



Saturday evening was spent visiting Puni's new home. She moved in a couple of months ago and invited us over for dinner, along with Kannaki and Chris. Nat took a while to warm up but pretty soon was tearing books off Nikesh's shelves and playing with all his toys!

The house itself was nicely done, pretty spacious and I think they got a good deal considering what condos and houses cost nowadays. However, I don't know why my friends like to live in Woodlands...so bloody far. Always joke with Jane that must bring passport!





Brought Nat shoe-shopping on Sunday afternoon at ViVo, managed to 'ketuk' her father for 2 pairs...ha ha. Whilst having tea at Cedele, we heard the infectious beat of drums and I brought Nat to see where the sound was coming from. Turned out to be a mini-band of drummer boys marching through the mall, so me and Nat followed. She loved it, was bopping in my arms.


I couldn't resist buying this romper last Friday from Raffles Place, it was like a sign to me! Even if Nike turns out to be a girl, she can still wear blue.


BTW, I think Bath and Body Works do too good a job in replicating floral smells. Everytime I wear a certain moisturiser, I get 'bugged' by these little yellow flies called hover flies, or flower flies. This morning, I had to keep swatting them away while sitting at the bus-stop, the guy next to me must have been thinking I didn't shower. LOL!

Switcheroo

I couldn't decide what to eat for lunch today but at the last minute was inspired to takeaway some mee rebus. Found a stall nearby and paid for my purchase, but just as I was walking away, I noticed people sitting around eating mee rebus from another stall, and the gravy looked better so I contemplated buying a second packet to conduct a taste test.

In the end, I decided to try their mee siam instead. And that's how I landed up doing a switcheroo during lunch, alternating between mee rebus and mee siam every few mouthfuls. Am I a glut or what?


I think this pregnancy brings out the klutz in me, lately I've been tripping a lot plus I just ripped half my left thumbnail while innocently pulling my chair towards my desk. Ow ow ow.

Gigi is officially 1 and Nat is 19 months

Gigi officially turned 1 last Friday and we had a mini-celebration at Membina with the immediate family and some of the cousins, like Kaelash and Kavitah who brought their respective kids.

Ananya's too little to play, but Nat and Gigi got to interact with Riley. I think Nat was in awe of her, it's so cute to see her reaching out to make friends, offering Riley a Care Bear keychain and later the 3 of them hung out in the ball-filled playpen.





Mummy kept changing Gigi's outfits, finally settling on a gorgeous M&S floral dress that made her look all princessy.


At 1 she can already walk, and sometimes run. And she's learnt how to say 'eye', 'ma-mum' and 'milk'...anything that makes getting food easier! She's still a whiney brat, inseperable from her pacifier and still not a single tooth as yet!

She couldn't wait to get her hands on her birthday cake, which was a yummy Pulut Hitam concoction from Pine Garden. She grabbed at it before we could add the candles, ruining the words 'Happy 1st birthday darling Gigi'. She only ruined the 'darling' so I did some minor plastic surgery and voila, the cake is saved!






It being the 4th also meant Nat is another month older. At 19 months, she's quite a little chatterbox, forming short sentences like, "No more sun", "Mama's shoes", "Mummy's knee". She still loves to dance and whenever she meets new people, we make her show off her dancing.



Nat's lost some weight after her recent run of stomach flu and she's a fussier eater than ever. Now she'll ask for 'black, black' during all her meals - meaning she wants dark soya sauce added. She's a colourist, cannot eat white food!

She likes to lick things on purpose, despite being warned. She'll give a defiant look and pretend to lick a toy or the wall while still maintaining eye contact. Have tried the naughty corner a couple of times, but she never stays still there.

She's super loving with Gigi, reaching out to hug her all the time, I think she's going to be a really good elder sister to Nike. She might even be handy around the house, like yesterday at Ben's place she voluntarily took the feather duster to wipe some areas!


Everytime I put makeup, she grabs my cosmetics from the table. So this morning I gave her a new brush so she can pretend along with me. I really ought to catch her on video, but she clams up whenever I whip out the camera.


Didn't do much the whole weekend, except look at cars with Swana and Kevin, who passed his driving test on the first attempt, on the morning of Gigi's birthday. They eventually agreed on one they liked and made a booking after test-driving it. Unfortunately it's sold out for the moment, so they have to wait a few months before they can get their hands on it. But here's a clue, it's French too. They must have been in a Frenchie kind of mood, since they left for Paris via Amsterdam last night. Sigh, Paris...

Constant craving

Erm, confession time.

Some of you might have noticed comments from me on Facebook talking about instant noodles and special fried bee hoon...well, the truth is these were all cravings. Why am I having cravings? Because I have a Greek bun in the oven, that's why!

I know some people are pantang about letting the world know so early, but I am just pre-empting premature fat comments because I'm eating like there's no tomorrow...every 2 hours in fact so I think I will start showing very soon, even though Baby Nike is no larger than a jellybean. Anyway, second time round, no need to be shy lah! Plus I have already informed my boss and close family so word is bound to start spreading soon.

I had drafted some blog entries earlier and just published them, so if you want to know the details, read these:

Aug 14 - Here we go again!
Aug 19 - A blip on the screen
Aug 28 - Sucks to be me

Had a scan on Monday at KK at 8 weeks, Nike is 1.5 cm and due date adjusted to Apr 12. So far so good, so fingers crossed. Dr Siow pointed out the buds of the limbs just starting to grow, but I could barely make them out on the grainy screen but was convinced I saw a tiny little alien face staring back at me.


After the appointment, I was in the mood for Thomson Plaza's special fried bee hoon and Nick drove all the way there only for it to be sold out. Fortunately for me, the kind hubby went back on Wednesday afternoon when he had some time off and brought home 3 packets!


My problem now is that when I have a craving, I need instant gratification. But somehow when I actually bite into whatever I craved, it's not as fulfilling as anticipated...maybe because of the lack of after-taste I am currently experiencing.

The best bit of all this is that I get to parade all my maternity clothes again, that's the part I am most looking forward to at the moment! Can't wait to get fat!