Book Review: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

I bought this book probably about 6-8 months ago, when I was having problems getting Oliver to go to sleep on his own. I had previously nursed him to sleep and then when we stopped nursing, I would lie with him until he fell asleep. Once asleep, Oliver would stay asleep, so luckily we never had any problems that way.

But my laying with him was keeping him awake, but yet if I tried to go, he would want me to stay. So I bought this book, and skipped ahead to the 2 year old section. Basically, he advocates "cry it out" or as I sometimes call it the "Nanny 911" technique. For the first night, Oliver would get out of bed. I would put him back in with no commentary, no hugs, not even really looking at him. This went on for about 30 minutes, including him saying at one point "Oliver needs a mommy!" (can you tell it still scars to this day?). The next night, he didn't get out of bed as much, and in fact cried for Daddy. The night after, he went to sleep right away, on his own. Just like the book and Nanny 911 said, it took 3 nights.

His sleeping was really good for a long time, even during our trip to Canada it was good. But it fell apart a bit in Singapore, so I had to do the training again. But this time I knew it would only take 3 nights. And it did.

I read more of the book recently to prepare for the baby. I found the opening chapters of the book, to be frankly, a bit preachy. Every problem your child has is related to a lack of sleep (I'm sure if I was reading Healthy Eating Habits, every problem would be due to lack of nutrition). For the 1-4 month stage, he basically says, do whatever you have to do to get the baby to sleep. You can let them fall asleep nursing if that is what works.

It will be interesting to see how Baby ToBe will be compared to Oliver. I know, I know, you aren't supposed to compare. Oliver is a pretty good sleeper, once asleep. I hope this next child will be too.

Monday Craft update

Pretty good week. Did probably an hour every day.

For cross-stitch, I completed the crab, the green border around the crab, and approximately 50% of the crab background.

For knitting, I completed stitching the pink and gold ball but I need to stuff it and sew it together.

I did give the other ball I finished this weekend to the parents, and they seemed suitably impressed. To which I go all "oh shucks, it was nothing", but on the inside I'm loving it.

All about Silliness

Oliver is a pretty silly guy.

Here are some funny pictures of him.This one, he put the diaper on his head himself, I had nothing to do with it, except yelling for Joe to come and take a picture.Here he is trying out his new snorkeling equipment.Here he is in front of his train table (he actually is there right now too!).Thanks for looking!!

All About Baby ToBe

I had another doctor's appointment today. The baby is measuring 2.7 kg (almost 6 lbs!) and is doing well. I'm weighing in at 155 lbs, which I think is probably around a 20 lb weight gain, so I'm pretty pleased about that. I'm pretty much all belly.

Joe's been trying to convince me to leave work before going into labour. I spoke to the doctor about it, but she looked at me like I had two heads, and said "what would you do if you left work early?", to which I replied "knit". Which I think shocked her, as I don't think she's met a knitter yet. Oh well, wait until I show up knitting at the hospital!!

I've registered at the hospital, and we've bought some baby supplies (diapers, wipes, an adapter for my pump, freezer bags for milk, diaper cream) and we have set up the bassinet in our room. The crib still needs to be set up, and the room organized, but Basilia has washed all the clothes and toys.

Here is a picture, probably about 2 weeks old. I don't know why it is sideways. It looks fine in the saved file. Yes, that's Oliver's head right there.
And here is one with my favorite toddler (again - if you know how to turn the picture in blog, let me know!)


Here is some information about pregnancy at 36 weeks. Ignore all the references to "she", we don't know the gender.

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little under 19 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position.

All about the Jurong Bird Park

Several weeks ago we went to the Jurong Bird Park. We had heard a lot of good things about it. While it was good, it perhaps didn't live up to the hype, but it was terribly hot the day we went.

There is a large variety of birds, and the park is very nicely laid out.

The main attraction is the 2-hectare waterfall aviary, with the highest man made waterfall at 30 meters. The funny thing is that they even have fog machines to make it more like a tropical jungle (as if Singapore needs help - the place is a tropical jungle). Here is a picture of the fake fog, just so you can see it. I can't get Google to load up any other pictures. Sorry.

All about Oliver

Oliver's potty training is going well. He didn't want to do it at school on Monday, but I bought him some underwear, and he did it Tuesday and Wednesday. Today was really good, I don't think very many accidents and the teacher said he always asked to go. He had lots of clean clothes come home with him.

But he's a bit sick again. He's been coughing at night, and he came home early from school with a slight fever. I can hear him coughing right now. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at lunch time. I'm going to go, so that I can meet her.

Oh, and he's still sleeping with his duck. He keeps saying "Mommy made this for ME. Not for the baby." Poor Mingo is getting left a bit in the dust though.

All about The CIA World Factbook

I don't know if you have ever been to the CIA World Fact book site. It is a fascinating place to go.

They have geographical and economical statistics on all countries of the world, and non-countries, including "The World", the Pacific Ocean and the US Pacific Island Wildlife Refuge (I just learned about that one right now!).

Some interesting facts about The World.
Population is 6.6 bn

The median age is 28.

Life expectancy at birth is 66 years. Compare to Andorra, which is the highest at 83.5.

33% of the world is Christian. 20% is Muslim.

Mandarin is the most widely spoken language at just under 14%,
82% of the population is literate.

Over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate.

GDP per capita is $10,200. Compare to the highest, which is Luxembourg at $71,400 and Malawi and Somalia at $600.

There are 1.2bn line use telephones and 2.2bn cellular phones.

Anyway, I find it a fascinating site. I'm sure Dad does too.

Monday Craft Update

Very successful week. Probably did close to an hour every night.

Made lots of progress on the baby sample. See picture. I finished the sea horse, and am making good progress on the crab. The fourth square is the name, so it won't be as much stitching. I also kept up with the border, stitching it when on the phone.

I also completed one knit ball. Fully done, finished and everything. It's for a boy, and I made it in blue, orange and yellow. Just need to deliver it. I am 5/12th done knitting a second one. It's for a Chinese girl, so I'm making it in pink and yellow. I wanted to do pink and white, but Joe says that white in the Chinese culture is associated with death, so that's no good. It's not looking bad in the pink and yellow. Not my ideal colour choice, but that's okay.

All about the Night Safari

PT (potty training) Update - only once in the potty, but he told me he had to go. It was the one before bath time. Isn't convinced that poops should go in the potty - they should go in the diaper according to Oliver.

Oliver funny - "I don't like spiders, I like crocodiles. I don't like snakes, I like bunnies."

Onto tonight's blog. We went to the Night Safari last night. It was EXCELLENT. It was pretty expensive, but that was because we couldn't stay that long, due to Oliver. If we had a Singapore child that stayed up until 10:00 every night (the kids here stay up very late for North American standards), then it would be even better.

When you come in, they have fire dancers entertaining those who are eating dinner. We went immediately to the tram ride. It is a 45 minute tram ride around the park. The Night Safari is right beside the Singapore Zoo, so I thought they were the same park. Not so. The Night Safari is it's own park.

The tram ride was excellent, they have a guide talking throughout. You see mainly deer, but we did see lions (they were sleeping then too!), hyenas, elephants and tigers. It's really kind of spooky how dark the forest is at night, and that an elephant could basically be hidden from site until you walk right into it!

They also have walking trails, we did a short one to see the tiger. He was sitting there looking at us. They have very big heads, and frankly, if you saw one in the wild, you'd wet your pants!! Or at least I would.

There is a "Creatures of the Night" show which is supposed to be excellent, but that would be too late for Oliver.

I have no pictures as there is no flash photos, but I did take video. But you all know how long it takes me to get around to editing the video.

All about Today

Today was a very nice day.

Oliver woke up around 7:15 (which was a bit early for him) in a good mood, saying "It's morning Mommy". He was excited that Mommy put on "day clothes". He came into bed with Joe and I and kept saying "Mama mama mama" and he said "Mama I love you", which was so nice to hear.

Oliver also peed in the toilet twice today - and once he even told me he needed to go! Not bad for the first day.

And he slept with the knit duck last night, and brought it down to play today. Maybe there's hope for my handknit toys!
We then had crepes for breakfast and I played with Oliver. Oliver proclaimed himself "Mommy's boy". We went outside for a little bit, and then Oliver and I went "swimming", which consisted of going to the small pool and just playing in there.

Then we came in and went to Novena Square for lunch. I went and got my hair cut, and they did a pedicure at the same time. Hey, I have to look good for the baby! I had the best head massage of my life and both the cut and pedicure only cost S$105! Not bad in my books.

I then came home, and knit a little bit as Oliver was watching Bob the Builder. Oliver watched a bit, and then he asked to have the TV turned off! Hmm, can't have any genes from my family. Then I saw Sam, a 3 year old boy outside, I invited him over to play and Oliver and Sam "played" pretty well together. At this age, playing together just really means co-existing, or wanting what the other kid has. His mom came over afterwards (Sam came with his nanny), and we had a nice chat.

We then had BBQ steak for dinner. Yummy! Oliver ate corn on the cob - on the cob! And then we all went to the Night Safari (I'll do a separate post about it later). We had a really nice time, it's well done.

Oliver fell asleep in the car and we got him into bed without waking him.

I also got Joe to download more pictures. And now I'm going to go knit or cross-stitch. I can't decide which one. Maybe cross-stitch as it's sitting beside me already.

All about Potty Training

And so it begins. We found the potty last weekend. Every night before bathtime I've had Oliver sit on it. The first night he went right up and went pee in it. Since then it's been a bit hit and miss, but he's tried sitting on it.

Tonight, when we got home from dinner, Oliver said, "I need to pee", so we went running upstairs, and he peed on the potty! Yay for Oliver!! We are going to start in earnest tomorrow, having him go every two hours. But I'm not brave enough to go without a diaper.

In addition, we got a note from school saying they are going to start potty training this next week. They go without diapers, and take him to the toilet every time they change activities.

Now, the books say not to start when there is a big change - but frankly, this year - when is it not a big change? Plus, I think he's ready. He tells us everytime he goes in his diaper, asks to be changed right away, and certainly seems quite interested.

I'm quite prepared for some regression when the baby comes (remind me of this post when I complain).

Wish us luck!!

All about bit torrents

TV in Singapore leaves a little to be desired. Okay, a lot to be desired. There is no Young and the Restless (though they do have the Bold & the Beautiful - maybe I'll start watching it on mat leave), there's no Hell's Kitchen, no Daily Show with Jon Stewart, no Jay Leno, etc, etc.

So Joe found this thing called "bit torrent". People tape shows and post them on bit torrent websites. You then download them with their special software and you can watch the shows on your computer. As our computer and TV are one, we can watch it there. Plus I can watch it on my Palm.

So I get my Y&R fix. There are some flaws with the system though. I've only found one bit torrent website where Y&R is posted. It's someone who tapes from Global TV in Canada. However, it seems to be one person. So if they miss a show, or go on vacation, I don't get the download. So therefore I've missed Friday's episode. Luckily, CBS does do a synopsis so I can read up on it there.

We download Y&R, Hell's Kitchen (which surprizingly enough - Joe watches with me!), the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Joe might also download some MythBusters as while they do show it here, they are a couple of seasons behind.

To whoever posts up the Y&R on a daily basis. THANK YOU!!!!

All about Swimming

As you all know, we have had Oliver in swimming lessons since he was about 15 months old. It is the best thing that we have done for him. He absolutely loves the water and has no fear of it. Now mind you, we have made him into a hot climate boy, as he doesn't always want to go in the big pool, because it's "too shiverery" (i.e. too cold! It's probably 28C in the big pool).

We have started swimming lessons again. They are private lessons once a week for 30 minutes. In Nassau, he went daily for 10 minutes. The swim instructor here, Paul, is a lot of fun, and Oliver really likes him. He's trying to teach Oliver to use his arms while swimming, but Oliver might be a bit young for it. But practice makes perfect.

Here are some pictures from Nassau of Oliver enjoying the water.

We call this "The Flying Oliver"

and here he is leaping into the pool.

Monday Craft update

A semi-successful week. I probably took off 3 nights and did no crafts. Two of the nights was surfing so it wasn't like I was doing something better.

I did a couple hours of cross-stitch on the baby sampler, and am half was finished knitting a baby ball.

I did however knit when Oliver was watching TV. He was interested and wanted to do it. So we did about two stitches and he lost interest. I wonder when I can really get him started. Oh, and he wanted to help me cut the yarn. When I pulled out my scissors, he ran for his pliers to help cut.

All about Screensavers

Our TV downstairs is also our media center, aka computer. Joe has loaded up a lot of our videos.

I came across this screen saver which is pretty cool. It's various scenes of trains in different landscapes, with lots of little extras thrown in.

In the city scape they have King Kong climbing the building. In the Grand Canyon scape they have an eagle and rafters on the river. If you like trains, I recommend it for you. We sometimes just sit and watch it.

All about Toddlerisms

I remember when Kate was a toddler, she used to call us Aunt Joe and Uncle Jill, and she really liked ephelants (elephants).

Oliver is now at that stage of development. He actually has quite a good vocabulary and pronunciation, but like all toddlers, some words are harder than others. Thankfully he can say "t" as he says "trucks" a lot, and a common mispronunciation is with the letter "f"!

Here are some recent ones:

decker decker bus = double decker bus
fall pool = small pool (s is often pronounced as f)
ment mixer = cement mixer
Mingo = Bingo - well, it was supposed to be Bingo, but we've renamed the dog to be Mingo, so technically he's correct now

I'll add more as I think of them. I'm having a baby brain moment, and can't think of any more!

Book Review: The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

This book is obviously about potty training. I haven't read any of her other books.

The main messages are:
- keep calm
- don't turn it into a stressful event
- nighttime training can't happen until the body is ready for it (i.e. bladder is big enough)
- consistency is the key
- tell, don't ask, that it's time to go to potty

Honestly, save your money (especially if your children are already potty trained!).

Still have yet to find the potty.....

All about Mosquitos

Well, it's mosquito time in Winnipeg and Singapore. Singapore has a huge anti-mosquito campaign on right now, as the mosquitoes can carry dengue fever. There are ads on the subway saying not to allow standing water to be on your property, empty and turn over buckets, don't let water sit on planter plates (the little plate underneath a plotted plant), etc.

They must be doing a pretty good job as I yet to see a mosquito. However, dengue fever has reached epidemic levels here, and I believe there have been a couple of deaths.

They are pretty serious about mosquito prevention, as seen from this article:

"Government officials are conducting more regular spot checks of construction sites and homes, and contractors and residents can be fined between S$100 ($66) and up to S$20,000 ($13,170) if any mosquito larvae are found on the premises."

Now for Winnipeg, they are predicting up to 75 bites per minute. Yikes!!! Maybe they should take a page from Singapore.

All about Updates

Oliver
Oliver's rash looks pretty bad still. However, he slept a lot better last night, he woke up once around 11:00, it was really strange, I'm still not convinced he was awake. He was kind of grabbing at his shoulder and writhing around. He calmed down and went back to sleep when I sang to him. He slept rest of the night and woke up around 7:00 am in a really good mood. He was in a pretty good mood all day.

He still doesn't have any sores in his mouth (that I can see). Unfortunately, his friend Marie (Jose & Chantal's daughter) is now sick with the exact same thing, so I think Oliver gave it to her. In addition, the school says there is a case of hand-foot-mouth disease at school, so I'm pretty convinced that is what it is.

Mom
Mom got her staples out on Monday and is now getting around with a cane. She can navigate the stairs with limited difficulties and Dad is making her do all her exercises.

All about Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease

On Sunday Oliver developed a fever later in the day. Then on Monday he developed a rash all over. Joe took him to the pediatrician and she thinks he has Hand-Foot-Mouth disease. To which, there really isn't a cure but to let it run its course. He doesn't have any mouth sores, so it might just be a viral infection.

Oliver doesn't seem to affected by it. He played with Auntie Basil both days. On Monday night though he had a terrible sleep. He didn't fall asleep until about 9:30 (he had napped from about 3 to 5 - so you know he was sick!) and woke up about every three hours or so. He ended up wanting to sleep with the lights on, which is the first time he's ever asked for that. Not sure if its temporary or if he is going to ask again.

I looked up being pregnant and the disease, and Joe asked the doctor, and there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. I'll give my doctor a call tomorrow though to make sure.

Here is some information about it.

What is it?
Hand-foot-mouth disease is a common childhood illness featuring mouth sores, fever, and a rash. Similar-sounding “foot-and-mouth disease” is a disease of cattle and is not related to this condition.

Hand-foot-mouth disease is usually caused by a virus called coxsackievirus A16. However, many children with coxsackievirus A16 infections do not have all of the features of hand-foot-mouth disease. Some have no rash, some have no mouth sores, and some even have no fever. A variety of other viruses in the Enterovirus family can also cause hand-foot-mouth disease (the coxsackieviruses are enteroviruses).

Who gets it?
This disease is most common among young children but is seen with some frequency up until puberty. Adults can get it, but this is much less common. Once people have had coxsackievirus A16 they are generally immune, but they could get another case of hand-foot-mouth disease from one of the other, less common viruses. Most infections occur in the summer or early fall, with the peak between August and October in the northern hemisphere.

What are the symptoms?
Children with hand-foot-mouth disease usually start to feel crummy 3 to 7 days after they were exposed. Often, the first thing parents notice is their children’s decreased appetite for solids. Children may also have a fever and a sore throat. A day or two later, many children develop sores in the mouth. They begin as small red spots on the tongue, gums, or mucous membranes. They may blister or form ulcers.

A skin rash may also develop over a day or two, with flat or raised red spots. Unlike with many rashes, the spots are often found on the palms and soles. Also, it is common to have the rash on the buttocks. Often, the red spots will form tender blisters (although not on the buttocks). Unlike with chickenpox, the rash does not itch.

Usually the rash disappears and the child feels better within about 1 week.

Monday Craft update

I got probably 6-7 hours of stitching done this week. I'm in an "I enjoy cross-stitching" phase, so it hasn't been that difficult. I'm also in an "I hate unpacking once I find my craft stuff" phase, so that's helping it along.

I'm 95% done the seahorse square, about 5 more rows of background and the outlining. I worked on the crab, got a couple of legs done, plus some background, and I worked on the side border, to bring it around where I am on the crab.

And I found my knitting!! Basilia had unpacked it. In Joe's closet, there is a side cubbyhole. That's where she put it. I'm going to try and do a baby ball this week for a woman in the complex who had her third child. They lent us some toys while we were waiting for the shipment. She hosted a BBQ yesterday for some friends (not us). Imagine, giving birth the week before, your third child none-the-less, and then inviting company over. Hmm, maybe it's having a live-in, that gives you the energy?


Now if we could just find the potty....

All about the Singapore Zoo

We've been to the Singapore zoo twice now and bought a family pass there. It is really quite nice, not too big, and get this, it has air conditioned shelters along the way. The zoo is basically in the middle of a tropical rain forest (which is what Singapore was before they built the city here). They have all the basic animals, zebra, giraffes, elephants, etc.

Their big claim to fame is that they are the first tropical zoo to bred a polar bear!

The first time we went it poured rain on us, the second time was much more enjoyable. Here are some pictures from the zoo, from both times.

The orangutans are the main attraction.They also have animal shows - with elephants of course. They show how the work in the Asian forest. Elephants were used for logging. They still might be in some more remote parts. When we went to Thailand several years ago, we went on an elephant trek through the jungle.

They have free range monkeys, which is pretty cool.

And of course, here is a picture of my favorite monkey.
They also have a playground and a splash zone for the kids. Oliver loves it when we rent a wagon for him to sit in.

All about Friday Nights

On Friday nights, we like to go eat at the Food Republic (food court) at Wisma Atria, one of the malls on Orchard Road. We go early so that we can get a table by the window. Why, beside the window? Because there is a huge construction project going on next door. They are building a condo building next door.

Either we've been watching too many episodes of Mighty Machines or construction has become a lot more fascinating. It's fun to watch to figure out what they are trying to do.

I always have the chicken katsu, which I share with Oliver. Joe has a variety of different foods.

Afterwards, we either go to the bookstore, go to the book store, or go get some Italian gelati.

Some misc. updates:
- Mom has been home since the beginning of the week. She's doing really well, is able to do the stairs with a cane, and Dad has been both her personal trainer and personal cook.
- We found the feet to our bedroom furniture. They had fallen behind the drawers, which we didn't know until one of the drawers got stuck. Can't figure out why the other drawers could close. Joe thinks he found the parts for the dresser.
- Haven't found my knitting yet, but we have lots of boxes still to open from Nassau.

Book Review: Siblings without Rivalry

In anticipation of the baby coming, I bought the book "Siblings without Rivalry". I quite enjoyed it.
They draw an interesting analogy of adding a child to the family as adding a spouse to a family. Imagine saying to your spouse "Honey, I love you so much, I decided to get another wife. You'll be best friends and do everything together." Not going to go over so well, I would imagine (unless of course, you are Mormon!).

It also talks about the importance siblings have in forming the person that you are (i.e. you can't blame everything on the mother anymore!). Which is true, and while birth order is often discussed, your relationship with your sibling and how your parents interacted with that relationship is important also.

The book is an easy read, with lots of examples of how to talk to your children, even explained in cartoons, for those who don't want to read the book itself. I think it will be a valuable resource as the children get older.

I mentioned the book to Lana, she doesn't think we fought that much when we were younger. Wonder what Mom's opinion on that is. All I know is that I will buy two yellow cups, instead of just one.

All about Oliver

Thought I'd do an update on all the things Oliver is up to and the cute things he says.

• He likes to sing a lot, and will often sing to himself.
• He's going to sleep by himself again! Yay!
• He often likes to read a story to himself before I turn out the lights.
• After dinner he'll say "Thank you for cooking the yummy food Daddy"
• He'll tell Joe to "Be Careful Daddy! Really really hot. Really really dangerous" when he's cooking.
• His favorite colour is dark blue.
• When he gets frustrated, he lets out a cry.
• He really likes playing with Thomas the Train set, we bought a table for him, and riding on his plastic truck car carrier.
• His manners are getting better.
• He loves tunnels.
• He likes school.
• He started swimming lessons again. It was a slow start, but he had fun in the end.
• His friends at school at Freedman and Jayden. His teacher is Teacher Linda.
• They sing the "Gangoo" song at school, which is the same as his cousin Kate taught him. Who knew it was such an international hit?
• He will give his toys time time outs. He also given himself a timeout.
  

Monday Craft Update

Yes, I know it's Tuesday. Joe was busy setting up the server (no the website isn't back yet), so I had no internet last night.

Mom is now home. She's doing well, and I'll find out more when I call her in a couple of hours.

Actually not a bad week for stitching. I got about 4-5 hours done this week. I have about 20% of the background on the seahorse square left and I've started the crab square. I've done about 50% of the border, and worked on some of the background and the crab. It's about 5% done I'd say.

I haven't found my other projects yet, but once I find the knitting, I'll be making some baby balls as gifts.

All about Stuff

Quick update: Mom was able to walk up some stairs with a cane and is making good progress. Should be home on Sunday or Monday.

The movers came today. Let's just say we have a LOT of stuff. A LOT. Now, part of the problem is that we couldn't really sort through our stored stuff in Canada and purge, as it was so rushed, and the other part of the problem is that we are pack rats. With an apparent love of books. Which shouldn't be surprizing as I have already bought 4 books for myself, Joe has bought 3 books and Oliver has 2 new ones since we arrived about 8 weeks ago. That is more than a book a week. And we also buy e-books, so they don't even take up shelf space!

First the good news. It appears that everything is here. We can't find the legs for the dresser or two legs for the linen chest (though 2 legs were in the drawers - so why wouldn't the other 2 be in there and why aren't the dresser legs in the drawers as well). But not everything is unpacked yet (ha ha ha), so don't need to panic yet. We also did leave a few boxes in Milton, so they could be there for all we know.

All our dishes are appearing to be in tact.

Second, the bad news. The glass table top for the coffee table is broken in two. They (the movers in Canada), put it in a box, with some paper. Not even bubble wrapped. The bedboard is cracked on the back, but is useable. We are missing nuts & bolts for putting the entertainment unit together (which we can't really recall what it looked like - so that's proving to be a challenge).

Third, the medicore news. There is SO much unpacking to do. I hope we can find space for it all. In theory we should, as 800 square feet + 1400 square feet, should fit in 2500 square feet. Right? Basilia worked in the kitchen all day. Frankly, she's run out of places to put things. It is box central around here.

There is a lot of purging to do as well. Anyone want a Windows Server 4 book?

We are going shopping tomorrow for china cabinet in order to have a place to put all our lovely plates from the wedding. Oh, and a new coffee table.

In case you were wondering what happened with Oliver during the move, he went over to Alex & Marie's house and played cars all day.

All about Foreign Domestic Workers

Update on Mom: She sat up for several hours today, long enough to complain about the food and to lose at cards. I'm beginning to wonder if Dad had a "card luck" transplant, as he's unusually unlucky at cards.

We have hired a Foreign Domestic Worker ("FDW") as the Ministry of Manpower or "MOM" calls the live-in nannies / help. Her name is Basilia and is from the Philippines.

She lives in with us, but her room is actually quite separate from us, with her own entrance, so we both can have some privacy. We've hired her to help (okay - do) the cleaning and to help with the baby when I go back to work. She started last night, and today she cleaned up. Already the place is cleaner. Yay!

Joe and I get called "Sir" and "Ma'am" or "Madame" but that is the way things are. Oliver calls her "Auntie Basil" (pronounced Bazil). It is common in Asian culture for children to call their elders Auntie and Uncle. She is very interactive with Oliver, and he seems to already like her.

Joe commented that this morning he got to spend more time with Oliver before taking him to school, as he didn't have to clean up the kitchen, so I think that will be beneficial for our family.

But I will admit, it will take some getting used to having someone else in the house.

All about Baby "Tobe" II

First off, Mom is doing well and sat up today. However, she is still groggy from the pain medicine as she let Dad win at cards!

Had another doctor's appointment today. By my calculations I'm 32 weeks pregnant, the doctor says the baby is measuring at 33 weeks - so time is ticking away!!

The baby has also turned, which explains all the kicking in the ribs I'm getting. The placenta is also looking good, and there is plenty of water in there.

My hemoglobin is a touch low, so I'm to eat more beef. No problem! I had a steak for lunch. Yummy.

Now, Joe and I don't want to find out the gender, but I think the doctor let it slip. While doing the ultrasound, she said, "there's the legs and there's the thing". Confirming (I believe), my belief that baby tobe is a boy. I wish she hadn't slipped up though. Oh well.

Here is some information on baby development at week 33:

• Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during your pregnancy.
• Your baby's head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth.
• Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers -- forming connections in your baby's brain will give him the skills he needs to thrive as a newborn. This week, he may be able to coordinate sucking and swallowing with breathing.
• While most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier.
• You baby takes intermittent deep breaths -- of water! That's okay, though since she gets oxygen from the placenta. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages her lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development).
• If your baby is a boy, his testicles will be descending from his abdomen into his scrotum. Sometimes one or both testicles won't move into position until after birth.
• Your infant is now 17.2 inches (43.7cm) long and weighs 4.23 pounds (1918gm).

Now, doctor said that the baby was 2.1 - she must have meant 2100 gm (hence saying its 33 weeks) or 4.6 pounds! Yikes! No wonder she keeps saying the baby is big. Oliver was born at 7 pounds 15 ounces.

All about School

First off, an update. Dad called this morning (evening in Winnipeg) and the surgery went really well and he left Mom doing a crossword puzzle. So Mom, this blog's for you. All about your favorite grandson (and favorite 2 year old), so get better so you can come and read this blog at home.

Oliver has been in school now for a over a month. He just moved into the Nursery 1 class, from the Toddler room. When we first signed Oliver up for school, he was very very excited. He kept saying "I need a backpack. I need a backpack for school." So Oliver and I went shopping to United Square by ourselves. We took the MRT, Oliver walked the entire time, we stopped and had ice cream, and Oliver picked out his backpack. We had such a nice Mommy and son outing, which we rarely do. This is what he chose, over Dora and Thomas.He loves it. He has never seen the Cars movie. We have to take it when we go out, its now become our diaper bag.

Back to the topic at hand. He is loving school. He wears a uniform, there are are two kinds, a formal one and an informal one.

This picture you've seen on Joe's blog:


And here is the informal uniform:

He's been learning Mandarin, he can sing a little song in Mandarin, and today, he was pointing at my face and saying "funny" words. I think he was saying face or hair or forehead (???) in Mandarin to me. Apparently, he can also count to 10 according to the teachers, but I haven't heard it.

Here are some pictures of artwork from school. For his Father's Day gift, see Joe's blog.

All about hip surgery

Mom is going in for hip surgery today.

So I went onto Wikipedia to give you some interesting facts about hips and hip surgery.

The earliest hip surgeries used ivory as a replacement for the bone.

Dr. San Baw, from Burma did over 300 hip surgeries from the 1960s to the 1980s. He used ivory as it worked better and was cheaper than metal in Burma. But ivory is now of course, banned.

Dogs can also get hip replacement surgery.

Once an uncommon operation, hip replacement is now common, even among active athletes including racecar drivers Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett (who? and who?).

Having hip replacement surgery takes you one step closer to being the Bionic Woman (or man). Not sure if Mom will be able to run faster than a speeding car though. It's only the one hip, so if one leg starts running faster, will she run in a circle or will she hop? And what if that speeding car is driven by a racecar driver that has had hip surgery? Ah, those ancient questions that can never be answered.

Good luck today Mom!!!

Monday Craft Update

Okay, I really must get Joe to teach me how to download pictures.

Not much of an update, start working on the third square of the baby sampler, which is a crab. Still need to finish the background on the seahorse, but I figure I'll save that for phone calls, so I got some done last night talking to Mom. I have determined, that I stitch at the rate of about one thread per hour. At least at the length these threads are cut.

All about Blue Taxi Cars

When we were in Nassau, we started talking up the move to Singapore to Oliver. He kept saying "I go to Singapore. I ride in blue taxi car." We have no idea where this idea came from. Blue is definitely his favorite colour, so maybe that's it.

Well, imagine our surprize, when we arrive in Singapore, and we saw this:
Now, not all the taxi cars are blue, but a whole fleet of them are. We always tried to catch a blue taxi, as frankly, we would sometimes get a meltdown if we didn't.

Last night, we went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner (quite yummy) and then Toys 'R Us afterwards. Look what Oliver insisted on having bought for him:

Two for $10. We couldn't resist.

All about People

The amount of people in Asia is well documented. India is on it's way to surpass China as the most populated country in the world. When we were in China last year, I remember commenting to Joe that it wasn't as crowed as I thought it would be. Well, that's because I wasn't where the people are - I was in the tourist areas (which were busy too).

My subway ride in the morning, is extremely busy. It's not as crowded as I hear Tokyo gets (where they have "people pushers" who push people onto the train), but I often don't make it past the doorwell. This has advantages, in that you can feel the air conditioning better. But of course, I have to stand. Luckily it's only an 11 minute ride. I often don't get a seat, and if I do, nine times out of ten, it will be a woman who offers it up.

The morning train ride is the same in Toronto as it is in Singapore. A busy train, but eerily quiet, as people aren't quite awake enough to talk on the cell phone, and no one is traveling with a friend. It's amazing how quiet a large group of people can be.

I was once walking around at lunch and described the amount of people around as "Boxing Day sale". It's that crowded in the malls, all the time. Fortunately, there isn't the desperation factor that you have at Boxing Day sales (nor the big winter coats!) but it's that many people - all the time.

Some more about Cross-stitch

There are two main types of cross-stitchers. Those who do it right and those who do it wrong. No, wait, there is no wrong way.

There is stitching on a hoop or stretcher bars and then there is free hand.

Paulina and Aunt Gail stitch free hand. They hold the cloth in the their hand and stitch away. There are some advantages to this. You can bring the needle up and down with one motion, so it's probably faster. Your projects aren't limited to whether your stretcher bars are free. You don't have the cost of stretcher bars or hoops and if the project is small, it can be hard to find a small hoop. Plus you have no hoop marks (see my pictures from my last post).

Grandpa and I stitch on hoops or stretcher bars. I frankly can not stitch without the fabric held taunt. I find the holes are easier to see. When I stitch on stretcher bars, I actually stitch with two hands, one on the top and one on the bottom. I will admit starting a new thread or finishing one is a pain on stretcher bars, when they are on a stand, but it's worth the pain to me. I also think the fabric stays cleaner as you aren't touching it as much with your hands. And you don't get too many projects on the go, as you are limited by the quantity of hoops you have (you can decide if that's good or bad).

Freestyle or hoop. You decide who is right or wrong.

All about Cross-Stitch

For those who haven't seen it yet, go to Paulina's blog today. She finished the Deco Spirits!!

I was walking to work today and thinking about what to write on my blog. I decided I was going to to write about cross-stitch, and now I'm feeling very unworthy. But I have a picture, so I'm going to use it.

I'm currently working on a baby sampler.
Since the picture was taken, I have completed the seahorse.

I like and dislike this pattern. I like it because it is super simple, I can easily talk on the phone and stitch, as there are large sections which don't really require counting. The colours are nice. I dislike it because unless you are talking on the phone, or doing a counting part, it's a bit boring. It's huge blocks of the same colour.

I was thinking about Paulina's post about Process or Product. I do like the process of cross-stitch, but I find at times it bores me. And I do like the finished product, but there is only so much stitching you can put up in your house. Mom and Dad are already maxed out, and I like to give pictures to people who will appreciate the effort. And it's no use giving to Paulina, since she does her own.

But Paulina and I have started a cross-stitch ornament exchange. I hope its a tradition that we will carry on through the years.

All about the little things that annoy

Okay, I know in the big (and little) scheme of it all, I have nothing to complain about. We all have our health. I have a good marriage and an aweome son and a baby on the way. I'm employed in a challenging job. We have a home to live in, but that still doesn't mean I'm not Canadian, and therefore, I like to complain. Today's post is about the little things that are annoying me right now. Mostly move related.

• The weather (well I'm Canadian - I have to start with that one!). It rained / drizzled all weekend. At least it was cooler, relatively speaking. But I'm annoyed at walking to the MRT and have a glow unrelated to pregnancy.
• The live-in we thought we had hired called to cancel tonight. So now we are back to square two (not square one as I've done some paperwork). We wanted someone in before the 30th to help with the shipment.
• The move. We have been without our stuff since the beginning of April (well, actually April 2003 for some stuff). I want it. And I want it now! I'm tired of having nowhere to put stuff and using the ironing board as a nightstand. The move itself was a pain because it was so quick to take our stuff, they "lost" our sofa, and everything just has been slow. Frankly, it's a whole other post.
  
• Everything has to be filled out so precisely. I had to fill out a form stating I had done the Foreign Domestic Worker course. Well, I wrote down my name as Jill Lastname. But the certificate I have is Lastname Jill Middlename. I have to redo the form, and Joe has to take it down to the agency again.
• No flex time at work. Not that my boss really cares, but I can't go about abusing it either.
  
• The washing machine takes 2 hours and is really small. And its new, so that is surprizing.
• The dryer is probably too expensive to use, so we have to hang all our clothes.
• Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork.
• The "lack" of air conditioning in the malls and office - but this may be pregnancy related.
• All my maternity shirts for work are long sleeved, except two, which as three quarter length. For skirts, I only really have two tops that go with them, so I can't wear them enough.
• I can't fit into my work shoes, as they cut right across my feet, which swell now. At least I have one decent pair to wear and I do it barefoot, so it's okay.
• My toenail polish I bought, is bandaid pink, and looks like the colour of my skin, so it looks like I have no toenails. I'm too lazy to change it - no one will notice the chipping.
• I need to clean the bathroom.
• The bathtub is really awkward to turn the tap on, and I have to lean far over.
• Sleep training. Oliver did so well on our trip through Canada, now he wants Mommy to "sleep me". I had been for a while, but started sleep training again. He only cries for about 10 minutes, but it breaks my heart to hear him cry for "Mommy" and not go. But in the long run, I know it's the right thing. I just hate it in the short run.
• The dining room chairs are cracking. We had them repaired. They cracked again. They told Joe that this is part of the "wood settling" process, to call in 3 months and they will do a final fix, and they will be fine. I have no idea if this is bs or the truth.
• The online TV guide is slow. The one on-line sucks so much, it might as well not exist. We have these gorgeous new TV's and I can't watch in bed because it is on the floor, and I can't see it lying down (once our stuff comes not a problem - annoying now) and I don't know the TV schedules here yet.
• Two year old tantrums.
  
• Everything feels so rushed to get set up before the baby comes. I'm annoyed that we aren't really enjoying this pregnancy more. Although, Oliver's favorite book this week is "Arthur's baby" all about Arthur becoming a big brother.

I'm just annoyed. That's all. Carry on.

All about Fathers

Well, I've messed up Father's Day, I thought it was next week. Let's just say Mother's Day is advertised a LOT more here than Father's Day. And now it's raining, so I'm too lazy to go out and buy a card. Oh well.

At school, Oliver made a Father's day gift for Daddy, but I'll let Joe post about it.

They are standing beside a stuffed bufallo, for those wondering. Joe is an excellent father (despite all his complaining). He always makes sure that Oliver eats nutritious meals, gets him ready for school on time, and always does more than his fair share. If Oliver wakes in the middle of the night, Joe will often get up with me, to see if there is anything he can do. Oliver really loves his Daddy.
Here is the best picture of Grandpa and Oliver that I have right now. Grandpa is a bit camera shy. Oliver loves hanging out with Grandpa though. He gets down on the floor and they play together. Plus they have a lot in common - their love of trains! Grandpa also has been kind enough to record a bunch of Mighty Machine episodes for Oliver, which he loves.

One of my favorite memories of Dad, is him reading Lana and I, "Anne of Green Gables" when we still lived in Calgary. We had gone to PEI for vacation, and didn't know who this "Anne with an e" was (this was before the immensely popular TV movie - yes, I'm that old), so we bought the book. Dad read it outloud to us at home. I still remember when Matthew dies (sorry for the spoiler), we were all so upset we had to get Mom to read that part for us (I think she thought we were a bunch of saps - and maybe we are).

And one of my favorite memories of Grandpa H. is him giving us rides in the wheelbarrow at his farm in Saskatchewan. He always called us (me, Lana, Shanna and Melanie) his "four horse team". I don't get to see him that often, as the trips back to Canada are always so rushed. Grandpa started cross-stitching when Grandma was ill. He has made the impressive Peacock by Teresa Wentzler. This is design he stitched, but it is not the one he made (those pictures are on the server - on the ship), but for those in the know, this is a very difficult project.



And for Grandpa G., I remember that he loved maple syrup and would sometimes just eat bread and syrup. He also would have a bowl of cereal before going to bed - not a bad idea, in my opinion. He was excellent at the crossword puzzles, which Mom is also. Me, not so much. Maybe it skips every second generation, and Oliver will be good at them. He already loves maple syrup, and of course, only the "real" kind, so there is a bit of Grandpa G. in him.

Happy Father's Day to all!!!

All about baby "tobe"

Well, I can't post a picture right now (if we have one) as Joe's on the other computer, where the pictures are. As it turns out, we don't have any recent pictures of me with the belly. I'll try and do one this weekend (and then it will be another 3 weeks before it's downloaded).

Lana requested a post about the baby, and I was going to do one anyways. So here it is. Ta da?

I'm currently 30 weeks and 2 days, with only 68 days to go, according to my countdown ticker. Yikes!! Where has the time gone? Oh yeah, moving half way around the world.

The baby moves around a lot, I get movement usually in the morning at work, which sometimes makes it hard to concentrate, and then at night time when going to sleep. I'm usually woken up once in the night by the baby.

The doctor tells me, that since Oliver was "big" (7 pounds 15 ounces) this one would be "big" too. Also, I have a lot of fluid, which again is a sign of a big baby. I just don't think she's used to woman of big German stock like me, with the big birthing hips. She also said that this baby will most likely be early (that I believe) and the labour will probably be quicker (that I believe also). My biggest fear is not making it in time for the epidural (well besides all the normal fears, like c-section, etc).

The baby already weighs 1.2 kg which is 2.7 pounds, according to my last visit. We don't know the gender, but I'm putting my money on blue.

I already feel guilty about not being able to do for this baby as I did for Oliver. I probably won't pump as much, as taking the pump to work will be a pain, plus, I won't be able to do it in my office, as they are all fishbowls (i.e. glass walled). That certainly would give them something to talk about!! But the advantage that this baby will have over Oliver, is that we've already practiced once. And he or she will have a big brother - complete with lots of toys to steal away.

There was an interesting question raised, if birth order effected parenting. i.e. you identify more with the child in the same birth order as you. I know that Auntie Lana certainly is with her nephew and nephew/niece tobe! But I'm the oldest and Joe's the youngest, so we will probably balance each other out. Who would an only child identify with?

Now the big question, should I make the (#$@#(*@^( name blocks for the baby? Joe says "yes" and I could put numbers instead of shapes on the other side, but then that means I do at least 10, as of course I would want 0 - 9.

All about Oliver

When did he get so big?
And another


Here he enjoyed his spaghetti meal:



Tonight he was pretty sweet. We were playing together, and I said it was "time to tickle Oliver" and he said "I'm working" and then later when I asked for a kiss, he said he was "busy". He was listening to this little music thing that Mimose got him when he left Nassau. He calls it his "phone".

He also wanted to read the driver's manual tonight for his bedtime story. He mostly just looked at the pictures himself.

And to end the post - a family portrait from the zoo. That's me on the far left.

First post

Well, this is my first post. I thought I'd get a blog as Paulina and Joe both have one, and I'm weak to peer pressure. We'll see if I post anything beyond the first post. Joe did a good job updating everyone on our life, so I'll talk more about the family, and of course crafts!!

Oliver is doing really well. His sleeping is a bit off lately though. He's been having a hard time going to sleep by himself, so I've been doing the sleep training again. I hate doing it. He cries for me, but I know in the long run, it's better if he goes to sleep by himself. Luckily, he's gotten a bit better, and only cries for about 5 minutes.

I haven't been doing much stitching lately, as TV, well, sucks, here. I've been surfing. Actually, I've been working a lot on Project Nanny. We have made a job offer (which has been accepted) to get a live-in, which will be odd, but good, and I've been doing a lot of the paper work etc. Singapore govt is quite organized so I have to do an online course, which has been a trial just to get signed up. We had a nanny in Nassau, but she didn't live with us, so this will be quite a bit different, plus she was only around when I wasn't. But it will be nice not to do laundry again. I know we are spoiled.

But I have done some stitching while on the phone. I'm working on a birth sampler for the baby. It's not that exciting of a x-stitch, but the colours are nice and its cute. It's just pretty simplistic to stitch - especially compared to Teresa Welzaer(sp?)!

Well, I'm off to download and watch Y&R. Nick is alive!! Why is it that on TV shows these people in the woods who find injured people, don't take them to a hospital? No spoilers please!!