Couplehood

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.

Monday Faithful: The Days Go By So Quickly

The Boy
Is growing fast. He's about 10cm longer than when he first pooped popped into the world on August 20th. It's an incredible journey so far watching him, even though sometimes we can get awfully frustrated at him. But he's growing more and more independent, which is good for us.

The Lady
Is losing weight fast. She's down by about 14kgs, I think. I did mention about her lovelier figure and all, but I think the weight off her sides and abs makes her feel better. "How about number 2, dear?" *SLAP*

The Lights Are Telling Me Something
I work at Orchard Road, which is the shopping mall centre of Singapore. Come November, some Orchard Road Agency puts up wonderful Christmas decorations and lights that have, over the years, become something of a special cultural moment for many Singaporeans. For me and mine, too.

But It's Not About Christmas, You See
The season of Giving, the (supposed) day of Christ's birth. School holidays. Birthdays (ahem, J-). Whatever December means to you, I'm quite sure it's not just a Christmas thing - you know, in the strictest sense of it being a Western Holiday. It's like that for me, see. December's the happiest month for me. It's almost misty and magical-like. I like December.

1st of December, On This Day, I Thee Wed
That's why. And I'm taking the day off, if I can. We'll drop the little boy with the in-laws, and we'll go have something nice. Real nice.

The Christmas Lights Are Out

Has it been a year already since Christmas?

Man.

The Monday (Almost) Faithful: Messed Up Timing

My Boy and Me (It's His F1 shirt)

It Really Felt Like Monday Today
Sorry about that. This is the second time I've missed the Monday edition unintentionally. Gah. Not that faithful after all.

Thanks For Visiting, Guys
A bunch of the lady's friends came by yesterday, to visit the boy and us. I think there a mix of marvel and disbelief, and a dash of all-round happiness seeing him. We're the first among our college friends to be preggers, and I think it makes everyone feel older. Actually, if it were up to us, we'll be waiting a year or two longer. Thank God it's not up to us, because if it were, we'll be missing out on Mr. David coming into our lives.

We're Finally Getting Our Lives Back
It came with a revelation that the key to getting more time inbetween feeds was not to drag the duration between, but rather to increase the feed. It sounds inhuman if we tell you he's drinking nearly 180mls for a single feed, but trust me, it's the best thing we've done so far. The result? He gives us 4 hours inbetween his meals, and he sleeps longer also. Oh, he also drinks less as a result.

I'm Undergoing Coaching
It's amazing. I've never believed in it, but if I'm going to take the next step in my life, this is where I'm going to be working towards - human development. I've talked about it in passing for a while, but haven't really gotten into talking about it yet. I'm working with a coach who's been having sessions with me about my life in general. There's more I will say about it, but that will be on another page - because that one's personal. You're welcome to come and hear what's happening, but you'll have to ask me for the link to it ;)

I'm On The (Inside Cover) of Tribes!
Seth Godin, a marketer and all round genius, invited a bunch of people into a social network as an experiment and proof of concept. If you check out the new book, look out for me. I'm hanging around the lower left side drinking a milkshake - it's a familiar picture, so I'm sure you'll recognise if you've been here long enough. It's humbling to be part of the project, and the revolution. Thanks Seth, for including me.

The Monday Faithful: The New Job, Swelling, And Others

If you don't get it, don't worry. But you'll have to ask me.

I Cleared 35 Tons of Pamphlets, Brochures, Cards, and Letters In 20 Minutes
And those 20 minutes are the first 20 minutes in this new company. There's going to be loads of heavy lifting of soft toys in a few days time, when we move over to the new place. Man, I'm really looking forward to this job. I'm hitting the ground running; so, it's exciting.

Swollen Feet Make Shoes Look Like Balloons
It's true. And her joints are aching. If that's any indication, she'll be going into labour in about 2 weeks time, or so her friend insists. The only thing now is that David's still in extended breech position. We can tell he's trying to squirm downwards, but there's not a lot of space in there to move. Poor thing. I can't imagine what it must be like to be upside for 2 weeks though. It must be the most uncomfortable experience.So, I guess he's comfortable.

I'm Out Of Time
Okay guy, that's all for updates.I'll get to more as I get home, but as I settle in this week, and round up a couple of other projects, I'll probably squeeze in a short post or two.

The Monday Faithful: The Peace Before The Storm

"We're hoping you'll be a good man"

A Relaxing Week
We had a great week spending time together, mostly staying home and cooking our dinners and lunches. I'm surprised at how fast the Missus has picked up  cooking from her grandma, a large deal of it over the phone. Grandma-in-law's a bit forgetful when it comes to the details, but in the end, the stir fried veggies, herbal teas, and sardines turned out marvellously. I think she'll make a lovely cook, with more practice.

This week, maybe we can do some pizzas. While we can.

"I Hope You Grow Up To Be A Good Boy; No, A Good Man."
We were in the car, and suddenly, the topic of little David's character came up. We were talking about the worst in each other's personalities, as if bracing ourselves for a worst case scenario; she being stubborn and I being a reviled public enemy of teachers (and some fellow students, which I apologise for). God help us not to raise a evil mule-headed rascal. Maybe he will have the best of us, which means he'll be a lot like his mum.

8 Months Later, And A Wedding Day Video
Tim Lee, my friend, brother-in-Christ, and videographer (pretty good one at that), just completed a special segment of footage which didn't make the cut for the final wedding video. There are segments to it that I wish I could have used for the actual day, but hey, I'm mighty glad that it's put together so nicely still. Maybe I'll let the wife see it on 1st December 2009 - she had a sneak peek, but I've not let her see the whole thing. Don't you think it'll make a nice first anniversary gift? I'll be sure to show it here after that. Wait a while, you'll see!

[Next posts: sneak peeks and more on fatherhood - mostly because I'm writing an article for it.]

The Monday Faithful - An Almost Late Edition (Forgive Me, I'm Catching Up)

It's the start of another work week, and before it slips my mind, I'm blogging in this one in. I'm still catching up on some work that I neglected over the weekend, you see. Zug zug.

Swollen Mellon Belly
The lady's growing very large. It's nigh-freakish, because you can actually see David move under 3 centimetres of flesh. He's been particularly active these days (can anyone say, "Bouncy Baby"?), much to Angela's discomfort. He's in a breech position now ( meaning he's suspending upright), and we're trying to find ways to turn him downward. Check this out:

Step 3: Use music and lights to encourage the baby to turn. Get on all fours with your head lower than your pelvis. Place a lit flashlight directly against your skin low on your stomach. Turn on your iPod or Walkman at a medium-high volume and put the headphones against your skin at the base of your stomach. The baby may be curious about the lights and music and turn to that direction.
(from ehow.com)

You can see that's it's a two-person job, that resembles deep-sea angling. Yes, these guys are serious. 

Sunken Flabby Belly
That'll be me. I'm just about fully recovered from the bad episode of stomach trouble. I'm sensing I'm deficient in some essential mineral or somesuch, but I can't seem to place it. I've lost so much water, my wedding ring's looking loose. No worries, though, with the way I drink water, I'll be water fat in no time.

Phew. Off my chest. :)

Blogging Forward
Just about 2 years into starting this couple blog, I'm looking to rework some portions of the design, as well as refine some of the focus areas. Any suggestions? I'm open. Email me or something. Oh, on another note, I'm also looking to launch another blog - it's handy now that I've finally decided to upgrade this account - but more on that another time.

They're On The Way!

Hoisting Babies for Grandma

We've Counted
And they're about 7 of our buddies expecting a bundle of joy this year (what, no twins?), excluding two who've already burst. That makes a total of 9 babies in my immediate circle. All of them this year. Cool, isn't it?

We Went For Antenatal Classes, And Got Weird Stares
And I'm rather amused by the strange stares people give me and the wife. Can't say I blame them, because we look awfully young (so say our friends, which means you). So there we were, playing along, giggling through the whole session like a couple underaged teens. Well, at least I was. I was even prepared to introduce the wife as "my girlfriend". Which would make the wife mightily embarrassed to be with me - okay, moreso than usual.

Antenatal Classes Are Enlightening
We had a most amusing teacher for the session, whom I figured to be a ex-maternity nurse/mid-wife. She was fully equipped with soft toy babies, soft toy pelvis-es, and an explicit vocabulary, which made for the most lucid demonstration of the birthing process outside of secondary school's sexual education (which was very graphic). Consider us enlightened; it was a very good session. 

SOEKs and Goodbyes (Not Really Goodbyes)
A few posts ago, we waved a mini-goodbye to the SOEKs (SomeOne Else's Kids) we've had the chance to spend loads of  time with and see grow up (after all, we would be getting SOOO [Some Of Our Own] soon, and won't be able to hang out as much). Our page boy, Daniel-san, ran up to me over the weekend, and gave me a long hug. Man, I love these kids. It's hard to say ta-ta when they're as adorable as they are. 

Buddies and Goodbyes (Well, More Like "See You Soons")
We met up with the wife's buddies from SMU on Thursday, who were all somewhat in awe of the lady's tummy. We had a great time over dessert and makan. Thanks for the memories guys! We hope to see you guys around soon. Maybe when David's out!

[Next post: Father's New Steps!]