Yearly Archives

2014

pregnancy

The cure for body image issues

There comes a point in each pregnancy where my body image issues start to get out of control. I become very aware that I’m going to balloon and I start to freak out once I start seeing signs of it happening.

I can’t remember when the it all started. For better or worse, I didn’t use to care much about how I looked, as was evident from my childhood photos. Browsing the old photos albums, also evident was the fact that my folks didn’t care much about how I looked either. For the entire duration of my primary school life, I was basically known for my ridiculous specs and let’s just say that for an 8-year-old who is not Harry Potter, thick round plastic specs is the equivalent of sartorial suicide. But I wore it with pride because I was more concerned about being able to see clearly than how I was being seen.

Along the way though, those body image issues came creeping in and once they did, there was no turning back. That list has been steadily growing till this very day.

Let’s see, we’ve got:

The eyebrows. If left unattended to, they will stop existing in the plural form and grow into one singular eyebrow stretching across my face.

Crazy hair that does not listen to reason or hair products.

Cheeks that are prone to chubbiness. Chubby cheeks are cute to have at 3, but not so much at 30 and yet somehow, any additional weight I put on seems to find its way straight to my face.

Athletic calves. Some might call them stumpy. I prefer to call them muscular.

Giant feet. My feet are about the same size as the husbands’ so…that’s sexy.

Child bearing hips. It might have been considered hot once upon a time in ancient China but they’re not so good when you’re attempting to put on a pair of skinny jeans in 2014 Singapore.

A post-baby tummy that does not seem to go away no matter how many crunches I do. Which is mostly none.

Last weekend, I was trying to fit into my jeans while peering at my ass from 15 different angles to ascertain if it has gotten bigger. I’m fairly certain that it has. That colossally sucks. As I was wallowing, Kirsten burst into the room to show me her new hairband. I know because she said, “Mom, see my new hairband!” Then without skipping a beat, she said, “wah, you look so pretty” before turning around and walking right out.

I felt pretty good about myself for the rest of the day.

So the ass might gotten a little bigger but body image issues can kiss my um… you know, because my baby girl sees the good parts and those are the parts I should be looking at too.

Finn

Baby’s got mad skillz

It’s the prerogative of every parent to think that their kid is a rockstar, which is something I do quite a bit even though the husband has pointed out repeatedly that my mommy-coloured glasses is in fact, interfering with my vision.

But, whatever.

Seriously, look at this little champ show off some fancy footwork. He haven’t even mastered walking steadily without falling all over the place but little dude seems to know his way around a ball.

The husband is so chuffed that he’s working it with his teensy weensy feet instead of picking up the ball with his hands and running away with it like Truett & Kirsten used to.

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PS. Notice how I’ve refrained from talking about the state of soccer this season because watching the premier league as a Man Utd fan has been causing me actual physical pain.

PPS. Why I persist in watching week after week is beyond me.

pregnancy

Of things related to the baby

Since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been waiting and waiting for the second trimester to arrive. I’ve marked down the date, added tiny pink hearts, some smiley faces and I’m more excited about its arrival than I was on christmas morning. And you all know how excited I get on christmas morning.

That date has come and gone and…nothing. I feel exactly the same. It’s like waiting for santa to arrive (I even prepared milk! cookies!) and he finally does and he comes with a big fat bag of not a single thing.

Where’s my extra energy? My ability to eat without puking? My regular non-constipated self?

So that’s been a bummer. One of these days I’m going to wake up and remember what it’s like to properly enjoy a juicy piece of steak but clearly, that day is not today.

I think baby Finn suspects that I’m pregnant and that his days as the baby of the family are numbered. I did tell him as much on several occasions but I was never really sure that he was paying much attention. I need to have a word with him about taking me seriously. In any case, I think he’s getting it, thus the onset of a sticky baby phase. Or it could be that he’s just entering the sticky phase all on his own. Either way, he’s milking his babyness for all it’s worth.

Some days, his sticky phase means coming to me and resting his head on my chest for no reason at all (awesomest feeling in the world – sticky phase please don’t go away!) but other days, he grabs my ankles and gets all frenzied in his meltdown zone (sticky phase, I can be so done with you like now).

I just made a deal with him that he gets to be a baby for the next 6 months but then he’s got to step up by the time Hailey arrives. He doesn’t look too enthusiastic about the idea but I think he gets it.

another baby

a spot of singapore

A party in the sky

We brought the kids for a ride on board the Singapore Flyer for the first time over the weekend. It’s not the sort of thing we’d typically do because between you and me, it doesn’t seem terribly fun or exciting. I mean, can the thing go any slower? I’m guessing no.

Anyhow, the husband got comped passes so we thought we’d make a fun family thing out of it. I’m going to go ahead and eat my words here because it turned out to be pretty fun.

all 3

All 3 kids had such a great time on it, especially baby Finn who went around dancing and clapping and celebrating like it was a party. He was inspecting everything, peering at maps and looking out of the windows with absolute fascination.

I have no idea what the cause of celebration was but every so often, Tru and Kirsten would break into cheers of “WOOOHOOOO AWESOME!!” while baby Finn followed behind them with a little skip and a bounce.

finn

checking out the scene

yoga

baby finn

The capsule thing was way more spacious than it looked. There were 10 of us in it and the kids had tons of space to chase each other around and around in circles. Thankfully the other visitors on board didn’t seem to mind the ruckus they were causing.

It took us a while to get to the top but when we did, the view was quite spectacular.

singapore flyer

view

I managed to snap a few pictures in between their crazy games and aren’t these some of the happiest faces you’ve seen?

tru kirsten 2

tru finn

dancing baby

view from the top

map

explorer

tru kirsten hug

check it out

That’s one local attraction I didn’t think we’d ever do but I’m glad we did.

child label

Pretty awesome designer labels

You know how like you put in so much time and heart and soul into something and it’s finally done and you look at it and you’re like, “MY GOD, THAT’S BEAUTIFUL!” and you feel like your life is just a little bit more complete.

I feel like that right about now because this baby that we’ve been working on for so long is finally ready.

First, let me introduce you to Oliver, our new mascot. We call him Ollie for short and he’s our bearer of good news. oliver Alright, ladies and gentlemen, may I direct your attention to CHILD LABEL. (Quick, go take a look, I’ll wait.)

So there are probably tons of label companies out there with labels ranging from the cutesy cartoony knock offs to the kind of cute but overpriced variety. Back when I was sourcing for sticker labels for the kids, I thought, how hard could it be to find good-quality, beautifully-designed labels that were decently priced, right? Turned out to be harder than I thought and long story short, I figured the best way was to do it myself.

That’s how Child Label got started, with a handful of scribbles on a dining room table while kids were running around in the background.

Today is sort of a milestone because we’re fully operational. We’re so thrilled to announce the launch of our little label website. labels Every label is created with love and inspiration and heart because as it turns out, we discovered that we really do enjoy making these pretty, pretty labels.

We’re just starting out and we’re working hard to add new super gorgeous designs and fun products along the way. We’d love it if you joined us for the ride.

*As a launch special, we’re giving away 3 sets of our Give Me Everything combo pack. To join, go “Like” our Child Label Facebook page and leave a comment below on which is your favourite design. 3 winners will be picked randomly. Contest ends on 22 Jan, 2359h. 

precious moments

Big sisters = LOVE

We’re starting to see a very stark difference in the way Kirsten and Truett relate to baby Finn. They both adore him to bits but Truett’s interactions with him are all crazy fun and unrestrained mayhem – they have a testosterone-charged, male bonding kind of understanding.

Kirsten, on the other hand, has developed a nurturing touch with Finn, that maternal instinct, if you can call it that. She goes equally crazy playing with Tru but when it comes to baby Finn, it’s like she’s turns into this big protective momma bear.

She seems to have decided that Finn is her baby and she babies him like a real baby mommy.

Amazingly, he just lets her do whatever she does to him without protesting.

kirsten & finn

“I need to sleep near Finn Finn so I can share my duck with him.”

playing together

“Sigh, ok, I will teach you how to play, but you only get 5 minutes.”

up to no good together

“Finn FInn, put your hand here, so cool right?”

big sisters are the best

“Quick mom, you need to take a picture of me and my baby.”

stay still baby finn

“Stay…STILL!! Jie jie…must…carry…you…*grunt*…too…heavy…”

giveaways reviews ads

Reunion dinner at The Cathay Restaurant

Advertorial

With the lunar new year coming up in less than 3 weeks (?!! Who else is still on a post-christmas high or is it just me?), it’s time to start planning for the big reunion dinner, y’know, the one dinner that trumps all other dinners throughout the year.

If you’ve ever had to panic over a last-minute reservation, you probably already know that all the best restaurants will be booked solid for 除夕, so it’s not too early to have a few options in mind right about now.

We just had a sneak preview of the Chinese New Year set dinner at The Cathay Restaurant and behold, it was good. Very good indeed.

Reunion Dinner at the Cathay Restaurant

When I told my mom that we’d be doing a super early reunion dinner at The Cathay Restaurant, she remembered it to be the Cantonese restaurant that has been around for a really long time. I just didn’t know how long – it’s been around since 1940, way before my parents were even born. And it’s not just the heritage, these guys really know their Chinese cuisine, as is evident from the quality of the food.

The interior is both chic and modern, with little touches here and there to suggest a throwback to a different era.

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Guess who enjoyed their dinner? These 3 munchkins, that’s who. How did they get this adorable?

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The menu for the day was the Chinese New Year Affluent Set Menu, which came with 9 courses. I looked at each dish that was served and wept a little inside because they all looked so, so good. My normal, non-pregnant self would have been all over that but with my pregnancy hormones messing with my taste buds, I could only manage tiny sampling portions of each dish. Good enough, I guess.

At least, everyone else seemed to really enjoy the food.

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Every proper reunion dinner has to start with a large, juicy pile of colourful vegetables, called Yu Sheng.

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This particular plate of Abalone and Salmon “Lo Hei” Yu Sheng was topped with plates of beautifully fresh abalone and salmon, then sprinkled with golden crispy pieces and drizzled with sweet sauce that was just the right amount of sweet.

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Braised Fish Maw Soup in Golden Broth

We’re in the no shark’s fin camp so they swapped out the usual shark’s fin soup for something equally delicious – a fish maw soup with chunks of fish maw and dried scallops bathed in a rich, golden broth.

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Sauteed Fresh Scallop with Seasonal Vegetable

Who doesn’t love fresh, bouncy scallops? Not us, for sure. This dish of sauteed scallops with asparagus served in an edible basket was the perfect combination of fresh and light and crunchy.

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Steamed Fillet of Sea Perch with Black Fungus and Lily Bud

I wasn’t sure what a sea perch was but it tasted remarkably like cod (my favourite fish!), both in texture and taste. It was steamed just right, and it was hands down, the favourite dish of the night for the kids.

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Braised South African Abalone with Sea Cucumber, Dried Oyster and Black Moss in Truffle Oil

Ok, sea cucumber and dried oyster aren’t quite my thing but the abalone was enormous and extremely well-flavoured. My mom loved it though – I think this dish will probably be a hit with the parents or grandparents, basically anyone who’s of the um, slightly older generation.

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Cathay Crispy Roasted Chicken

Can I just say that this is one tasty crispy chicken? Crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside, exactly like how crispy chicken should be. And the little flakes on top? Divine.

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Fried Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausages

So you’re probably like “glutinous rice…meh” and this photo might not look like much but OMG this is a ridiculously delicious plate of glutinous rice. Every mouthful of this came with bits of tiny dried crispy shrimp, it basically stole the show for me. We were all pretty stuffed by the time we got to the glutinous rice but it’s the kind of dish that gives you reason to dig deep and find that spare stomach space.

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Chilled Harsma with Coconut Jelly & Nian Gao

Desserts came in the form of nian gao (coated with peanut, shredded yam and sweet potato) and chilled harsma with coconut jelly. It was a brilliant way to end off an excellent dinner – just enough to hit that sweet spot.

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Even in my nauseous, pregnant state, it was an amazing dinner with the folks. I can only imagine how good it could have been if my taste buds weren’t all wonky.

After all, reunion dinners are all about great food, great ambience, great company and lots of great conversation, all of which were present at our little advance reunion dinner gathering.

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*Receive a $100 return dining voucher to The Cathay Restaurant when you quote “Mother, Inc.” with any order of the festive set menus from $888++ for 10 persons. Limited to the first 3 readers on a first-come, first served basis.