My little dahling…

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Mabel

…has come a long way since her birth, vocally, that is.

At birth, the doctors told me that she was a very quiet baby, choosing only to cry like twice or thrice before choosing to focus on her new surroundings. She was an alert baby, taking in all manner of sights and sounds, thrilling even the surgeons with her big (brown) stare.

Fast forward to a couple of days later and my girl is demanding for attention in one way – through crying. She cries when she’s hungry, cold, wet (diaper time), lonely, insecure or just scared. But she doesn’t scream-cry. She just…cries quietly.

Then a month later, she scream-cries and this is hurtful to hear and see. Her face puckers up, grimaces, turns red and she just cries & cries. But only when it’s in a place that she’s not familiar with. It’s like she’s trying to get through to us but the connection is kind of fuzzy so she ups the volume thinking that it’ll do the job.

These days, she does more than just cry – well, actually she has stopped crying. Her vocal skills have now expanded to

One huge cry to get mummy running to her to either feed or check on her
Small short bursts of cries which signal frustration – she hates hiccups!
Baby coos and giggles
Baby laughs and baby excitement – she does this whenever she sees her favourite toys

But my all time favourite is when she starts coo-ing and talking back…as seen above. It’s always the same few sounds with an addition here and there at times but, still…

Cute, no?

** Cross posted on the baby blog **

The unpaid maid.

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Mabel

The unpaid maid is someone who…

…takes care of your baby full-time by bathing her, changing her diaper, playing with her, feeding her, taking her out on walks, takes her to the doc when the need arises, and so forth.

…sweeps, vacuums and mops the floor.

…cooks your dinners and make sure that you at least have something to eat when you come home even though it may not be up to your liking.

…does the dishes that you conveniently leave in the sink (I wish it was a stone sink sometimes so that I can just bang my head on it in frustration) when you are supposed to wash them.

…cleans the place up so you don’t have to come home to a pig sty.

…goes grocery shopping and runs your errands for you while you’re at work WHILE babywearing your daugther.

She has no time to visit the hairdressers for a much needed haircut and often ends up napping while your daugther sleeps because she’s just too tired to do anything else (well, she could watch telly but there’s such a thing as too much of a “good” thing).

Her price tag?

Zero.

In fact, all the unpaid maid asks for is just some help around the house and that you remember to hold up your end of the bargain – laundry, trash and dishes.

Linking up…

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Mabel

I have a quick question:

For those of you bloggers out there, do web directories help you bring in more traffic or just more spam?

While my plugins have been great at catching spam, trolls and bots, of lately, I’ve begun to notice that a number of my posts being link to directories of articles and what-not. I used to categorize them as spam but am wondering if I should continue doing the same or approve them as legitimate comments.

What do you guys think?

Disability insurance

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Mabel

We take a break to bring you this announcement…

*giggles*

For those interested in insurance, particularly disability insurance, you might want to check out Allsup.

Allsup has a 98% success rate for those who complete the SSDI process with us. Allsup is a leading nationwide provider of financial and healthcare related services to people with disabilities. Since 1984, Allsup has helped more than 110,000 people receive their entitled Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare benefits.

Only applicable for those living in the US though.

Alrighty, end of commercial.

Nearly two months old

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Mabel

Block the exit signs coz my life ain’t about to change any time soon!

Our little Eva is growing up and achieving all her wonderful milestones, including her first social, non-reflexive smile (pictured above – well, that’s not her first per se but the first that I manage to record). She now laughs and smiles whenever we stare and lock eyes with her. Just doing that is enough to make my heart melt!

It’s hard to believe that it was just two months ago that I first held her tiny and light body in my arms. Now she’s packing on the grams and is slowly outgrowing “tiny”.

Oh, how time flies…

Recycling in Singapore.

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Mabel

After being away from this part of the world for nearly two years, I get a mild culture shock every time I go grocery shopping or just shopping for that matter. It’s crazy how Singaporeans just love handing out plastic bags. They do it by the boatload and for every little thing.

Yesterday, we did our grocery shopping at Carrefour Suntec and came back with not just groceries but at least ten to fifteen plastic bags for a variety of things. Instead of packing them all into a few bags, the girl at the cashiers pack one bag for a bottle of olive oil, one bag for Eva’s stroller fan, one bag for the few boxes of cheese we bought, one bag for the body wash and bottle of Listerine, one bag for the sushi, one bag for the meats, and well…you get the general idea.

Since settling in at our new place two weeks ago, we have accumulate piles and piles of plastic bags. I should snap a photo. What’s worse is that there are no recycling bins anywhere close by. We have about a dozen over aluminium cans, lots of cartons (from buying fans and Eva’s stuff) (I’d love a box cutter right now) and we don’t know what to do with them – short of being the typical annoying and inconsiderate litter bug and trashing it indiscriminately. We did get a yellow plastic bag placed on our doorstep for recycling (apparently, a company hands them out and collects them from our doorstep on a certain date and they take in things like glass bottles, cans, etc) but it’s hardly enough…

…compared to Neuchâtel, that is.

For starters, I’d love to see Singaporeans use less plastic bags. It saves people money, whether they believe it or not, especially shop owners. Plus, it’s better for the environment in the long run to spend $15.90 for a shopping trolley (that comes with a nice bag) then to carry around bags and bags of plastic. Yes, we bought one from Carrefour yesterday and started using it right away – even then, the cashier kept giving us bag after bag. We got stared at bewilderedly at the Comex 2009 IT Expo at Suntec yesterday for refusing to take a plastic bag from the people at Creative. I mean, why should we when Nil had an empty backpack and me a nearly empty diaper bag? It was the same at Borders last weekend when we said no thank you to a plastic bag. Of course, when I casually remarked that taking a bag was a waste, the girl smiled back at me but really, yesterday’s stare at Comex was enlightening. It was as if we were being told that not taking a bag was a sin.

Then of course, I’d like to see more than just ONE measly plastic bag being handed out to HDB residents for recycling. Maybe it’s different in other communities but the community at my place and in Hougang (where we were bunking in with a friend) is sorely lacking in recycling facilities. The nearest recycling bins are at least 15 to 20 minutes on foot and it’s just the size of a regular standard trashbin and not those huge containers like in Neuchâtel. Plus they only take the usuals – cans, bottles and newspapers. Cartons which ought to be separate are, well, “unavailable”.

Maybe some may say that I’m being too nitpicky – being new and all in this city/country – but seriously, investing in recycling is beneficial in the long run for any country and its people, especially one with limited space. Developing a more Earth-friendly attitude helps too…

Not doing much…

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Mabel

…except tending to a baby and finding time for myself.

Think long and hard before having child – it is a life-changing decision in many ways.

Usually, this blog would be peppered with discoveries of a new country, cooking journeys and crafty projects, but of lately, I don’t really have much to share on that level. If you hop on over to the baby blog, you’ll probably find more regular updates because that’s the one thing that I’ve been busy with…and all the time as well.

It’s hard to blog about hobbies and such when…

…your craft tools and supplies are somewhere in the middle of some ocean.

…you can’t even poop, pee or shower without her having to take a nap or be occupied with her toys, and even then, it has to be done quickly!

…going to the market (a few minutes away) to get groceries and coming back with kiloes of stuff can knock you out for the day.

…you nap only if she naps, and that’s if you can fall asleep and stay asleep easily.

…you can’t go anywhere without taking her and keep in mind that it means bringing along her diaper stuff and feeding her while you’re out and about.

…you hate the heat and humidity.

I really hate to say it but my life now revolves around her, the house and well, her. I hope this isn’t going to be like this forever…not that it’s bad but I don’t want to be one of those ladies. You know what I mean, don’t you?

Getting around.

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Mabel

We went to the Ministry of Manpower’s Employment Pass center today at Riverwalk. It was one of those must-do things on our list (kind of reminds me of all those official stuff we had to work on in Switzerland like health insurance, social security disability (if need be), and so forth).

While getting around in Singapore is great with the bus and MRT network, I must say that it was confusing to a degree. Bear in mind that Neuchatel was and still is small compared to Singapore, and everything was straightforward and simple. Here, the networks leave me befuddled to a degree. On top of that, I was to meet up with a forumer to get a preloved ring sling from her at Singapore General Hospital. So it was definitely time to get acquainted with the MRT network and try going around on my own.

Currently, getting around is bearable IF you’re staying along the same MRT line or near an interchange. Otherwise it can be a nightmare switching lines. For example, Riverwalk is just opposite Clarke Quay but because we’re coming from the East-West line, that meant getting off at City Hall and walking. By the time we made it to Riverwalk, I was nearly drenched and it was just 8:30am. Oh, did I mention that I was carrying Eva in our baby carrier as well? Geh.

After Riverwalk, Nil wanted to head off to the French Embassy near the Botanical Gardens to register himself and Eva. That required a cab and when we arrived, we were pleased to see that they were constructing the MRT stop for the new Circle Line. That means in future, should the need to go to the Embassy arises, it would definitely be easier for us as the Circle Line “joins” several networks in a, well, circle.

Later on, we split up – he headed on to City Hall whereas I got off at Dhoby Ghaut. I was, well, on my own then and didn’t go very far or to many places because of Eva & her feeding schedule plus I was quite tired already. Managed to survive the trip back in one piece since she started fussing a little somewhere near Paya Lebar MRT. She was hungry and had started sucking on the carrier. I like to think that while it’s great being able to take public transport, it can get a little tiring at the end of it all, especially when you’re hungry, thirsty and carrying around stuff (I don’t know how people who’re fasting do it!). Kind of reminds me of those times I took the minibus from Pasar Seni back to my house in PJ. We’d sleep on the bus throughout the ride…

At the end of the day, Nil and myself, well, you could say that we’re pro-public transport. If there is no need to get a car, we won’t. It’s an unnecessary expenditure and besides, cars do not appreciate in value. So pfft. It’s different in Lyon and KL where you definitely need a car to get around because the public transport sucks (KL) or everything is quite far (Lyon).

But for now, public transport is the word…even though it may sometimes be a little bit confusing.