Couplehood

Monday Faithful: One Brave Baby

Gross Milk That Saves His Skin

He's braver than us, I'll admit. Though he struggled majorly with the new milk feed, he's taking to it rather well now. Considering how it tastes, it's a wonder he even finished half of what we gave him. Alfare, the new milk formula, tastes like rancid peanut juice - it's that bad. Apparently, it's a semi-elemental, hydrolysed, pre-digested, iron-fortified feed. How they prepare it entirely eludes me, but I won't be surprised if they extracted it from decomposing sewer rats. 

Break's Good For You

The lady and I rest ourselves well over the Christmas break. We didn't party, we didn't dance (all that much), we didn't stay up late to catch any movie or anything. We spent needed time with each other. That matters. We thought - and talked - a lot about where we were headed as a family. We furrowed our brows over 2009. 

We'll stand our ground, we said, but it'll take a lot of faith, and a whole lot of hope, and maybe, just maybe, 2009 will be the best year yet.  

Deck The Hols

I'm thankful for good friends, awesome relatives, caring buddies, worried brethren, and concerned grandparents. It's good to know that we're loved and remembered over the holidays. We remember, dear loved ones, your love to us this year. We won't forget it. It's the best present we'll ever receive. 

Say Hey-ho to Nicholas!

Cousins, 6 weeks and 3 kgs apart. "Not yet," said David. "We don't get to get off the mattress until they're not looking."

My Goodness, This Dim Sum

Un-be-lieva-ble.

I've not had a dim sum makan experience like this since the Nanyang Hotel in KL. Good prices too.

Go here now:
#01-49 Sunshine Plaza
10.30am to 8pm
(closed on Mondays, because everyone needs a break sometime.)

Christmas at the Sng's (or, How I Love The Hols)

My sister took us over to her house to makan. We're just getting ready here for the feast to come.

This'll be the third feast of the season. I don't mind, because it keeps getting better.

Man, I love the holidays.

Milk Allergies

Yep. Like What It Says.

I love milk. 

It's hard to see the little boy be so reactive to it (find out more here - it's a PDF, by the way. Good read for you parents). Sometimes, it feels like we're feeding him poison. We've still not truly ascertained the cause of the allergies; the suspicious me thinks that it could be that blighted construction work that's going on outside.

I wonder if we'll be able to have ice cream when he's older. Hopefully MacDonald's wouldn't have increased their prices then, and we'll have, like, 20 each. The lady will just have 10, because she's on a diet. 

Monday Faithful: I'm Sure One Day He'll Ask Me About This

Yeah. 39 Inch (Almost) Snipe Shot

Our little champion shooter, as you can see here, has been spraying his mummy and daddy (that'll be us) with pee the whole week. He's got his stomach muscles trained for strength. Now, he's only waiting for his eyesight to clear up so he'll get his aiming down pat. I'll be wearing a mask from now on. 

Rather Sad News On Two Fronts, This Week

The first is David's skin condition. It could be the milk he's drinking, or the contruction site just outside the flat, but David has been having a really bad time with dry and peeling skin. Doctors told us initially that it was baby acne, then it was common rashes, but now, apparently, it's eczema. Bottom line, he's got to start taking icky meds to stem the spread, and switch to a new infant formula. I'm not going to lie, it's going to take a hit on the finances. The wife's a little less worried than I am (me being the worry wart of the two). It's going to be a really tough few months ahead.

Second

Well, if you've been here in the blog's earlier days, you might have heard of (1) my back condition and (2) my jogging. It seems that God had deemed the two incompatible, and I'm now quite unable to jog the distances I used to love. Looks like I won't be marathoning any time soon, if what my doctor says is accurate. Hmmm. Maybe I'll go perfect that front crawl in the pool. 

Hey, It's Not All Sad (You Should Know I Never End That Way)

My writing on Whakate and my other freelance gigs has given me some mileage in the writing world, and also some attention. I must say how much easier doors open when you have a reputation as well as a portfolio. I'm going to see what other writing gigs come up. I've been surprised before. With a keen eye, I might just be able to catch that gem popping out from the junk. You know what they say - the harder you work, the more blessed you are.

(Next post - Madam Chen Xinyun, ten years ago!)

Monday Faithful: The Week (And Year) Gone By

 

"Told You Not To Hold Your Breath"

It's been a hectic week over here as the year winds down, but it's getting a little easier to breathe - for now. I'm just done with a major company summit (only 2 more to go!) and will be expecting about 2 more big events before the year closes. Most of them will be over by this week. 

"Because It's Going To Get Stretchier"

2008 was a good stretch for me. I'm at a point of my life where both learning and growing are crucial to the next stages of my life. I've basically stepped out of every comfort zone in my life (except for the precious roof over my head) and I'm dead certain about the next few steps I've decided to take - to be more involved in training and coaching - but where that takes me, only the Lord knows. Looking from where it's taken me so far, I must say I'm glad for the journey. 

Chilli Crabs All 'Round

Pesky work kept us from work on Sunday, but at least there was something to look forward to at the end of Sunday: two medium sized crabs smothered in chilli crab sauce with steamed buns and veggies. The crabs were my doing, but the wife takes teh credit for the veggies. It was a very nice dinner, especially with David looking on curiously, wondering why we were stuffing our fingers into our faces like he does. "It's crab, David," the mother advises. "You'll love it someday."

A Wonderful Surprise

The editors over at Whakate sent me a gift after I mentioned that I really liked the silly old bear, and how it would be one of the most important books in my family's library. So, as a Christmas gift, they sent over the 80th Anniversary edition of A.A. Milne's masterpiece. You can see it here. I dropped them a call in Germany, where they live, and personally told them how lovely their present was. Can you believe they're having a sunny snowy day? 

That's something I'll like to see someday. 

Oopsie (And The Secret To Amazing Cooking)

A Very Special Stone

I Do Feel Guilty For Missing Monday
Seriously guilty. I was having a good time with the family on Monday (and some buddies) and was totally bushed by the day's end, that I konked off on the bed before 11. Yeah, so that's the short story of missing the Monday entry. Bleah.

About This Program I'm At
Apart from working on my company's summit, I was concentrating on a couple of projects that I'm working on, as part of a coaching program that I'm going through - it's actually more than just a coaching program, and I'd love to tell you more about it if you like. The primary project is writing a children's book, and the secondary (but far more important) is building my family. It's going along wonderfully, I must add. (Oh, the picture up there? That's a part of the artwork from the kid's book.)

The Wife Gets Busy Cooking
She's been really busy in the kitchen these days, and I must commend her for some of the loveliest cooking she's ever done. There was porridge, there were stir fried veggies (she's a genius at this) and most recently, steamed promfet. We had a conversation about cooking over dinner, and I told her a personal insight I had on cooking for the family. The most important ingredient, I asserted, is love.

Okay, I Don't Only Mean That In A Soppy Way
I'm really coming from a personal Aha moment. All the food on the table I had for dinner wouldn't have happened if she didn't love this family. She wouldn't have been willing to sacrifice hours of rest time to put together a meal that took less than half-an-hour to finish. She wouldn't have bothered to make it delicious, because it was.

There, so now you know the secret. Now go cook something for someone you care about. I dare you.

To Our Heart's Content

Here we are at Kuishinbo having the time of our lives. We're not eating as much as we used to, but we're eating and sharing an evening with just the two of us.

Thanks for all the well wishes today, it's really been nice :)

Monday Faithful: Just A Note Today

Just You And Me, And The Sea

This Day, I Thee Wed
One year ago, after nearly a decade of preparation, we jumped headlong into this wonderful togetherness. It's been the most wonderful year of my life (I thinks hers too).

We're going out, we're going to have some "us" time. Dropping the little boy at the grandparents to babysit (as they have so graciously volunteered).

It's high time we did.

It's been one year dear - and it went by in a flash. So many things have happened in the since, and we can barely catch up - I wish I had more time with you. But above all, I'm so happy we're together, in the Lord, and a family. That's what matters.