Merry christmas!

Hope everyone had a great holiday. My confinement nanny left so I've been swamped!

Botak doll

We shaved her bald yesterday. Unfortunately the electric shaver died halfway so she looks a little patchy in this picture. But no problem we charged the shaver and she's all good now. The shaving actually revealed some rashes which became little pimples today, scary. But I'm glad we did it else the rashes would have been hidden for longer.

She looks so much chubbier with her hair off!

Eh....lephant...

Being silly at home as usual.

Lilybuff

Dear Lilybuff,

1 month into this world and already you've brought so much joy into my life. Your coos, and aas and the girly noises you make when you suckle. You are eating well, in fact so much that you never say no to more milk You were born so tiny but it seems that you are thriving well outside.

My love for you grows each day. We are going to spend so much time together in the coming years and I just can't wait.

Happy First Month my beautiful Lilybuff.

Mother of 2

When did I become a mother of 2 its unbelievable! It really didn't hit me until I saw 2 of them together like this. I'm so blessed.

Equal isn't always fair

The confinement lady commented today that I've only observed Lilybuff taking her bath once. From her tone of voice I'm guessing its a rare occurrence in China, given that most parents fawn over their only child. I'd like to think that they are afforded the time and energy to do so because there's no older child to fight for their attention.

Honestly, I've no guilt over this. Neither child is favoured or neglected. Time in this household is divided according to individual needs, not according to meticulous calculation of 12 hrs each day per child. The priority is given in order of importance and urgency. I would love to observe Lilybuffs bathtime, be a bystander and do nothing but watch her being bathed by a perfectly capable nanny but I think Mountain Boy would benefit more from the evenings that we spend together. Similarly, I tell Mountain Boy that breastfeeding time is important to Lilybuff because she needs to eat and grow, and he respects it and backs off.

In a nutshell, the aim is to learn to respect each others needs (including parents') instead of always calculating how much time I spent w child A versus child B. In all fairness, the only way to give each child equal time is to neglect them both totally.

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First pets

Mountain Boy has been watching Finding Nemo over and over again. To our surprise(maybe not so surprising since I consider myself to be a beach/scuba diving enthusiast) he has no interest in Cars 1 and 2 so I've been spared from buying all the related merchandise and having to memorise all the names of vehicles.

On the flip side, we now have a fish tank! We promised him a fish yesterday and I didn't expect Mountain Man to come home with 9! I'm not looking forward to them dying on me because I don't want to explain death to a 2 year old, and I feel very eeky about dead fish. I may have to just keep buying and replacing before he realises.

Anyway, he was very excited about being a first time pet owner.

Ayi(addressing me): 今天去超市要买设么？
Mountain Boy: 买鱼！买鱼！

Bulk Purchase Begins!

log on to http://poptotsshop.blogspot.com to find out how you can order this pair of hand knitted shoes for only $9.90.

Snow in Beijing

T-shirt project: Hands

A month of confinement in winter means our activities are pretty much limited to indoor projects. Its hard to keep our interaction "educational". I feel quite guilty that sometimes all we do is sit together and watch his favourite tv program. I always think tt I should be showing him flashcards to increase his literacy,teach him how to sing and count to 100 or something. I try but most of the time he runs off and I lose patience. The incentive to keep trying decreases with each attempt.

But one of the things we do a lot is create art pieces because it keeps him interested. In our latest project I bought a couple of plain Ts and fabric paint. In our first attempt he wanted an outline of his hand and mine. He then helped to create these beautiful blotches all over the sleeves and back using his palms and fingers. I won't say its nice but I praised him for his attempt at creative conceptualisation. Looking forward to create the next T.

Lilybuff

10 days old!!

This household lasted 10 days with a newborn! All thanks to great helpers and cooperative kids.

Also, happy to announce that she will now be known as "Lilybuff" on the blog because that's what Mountain Boy calls her. A huge upgrade from Baby 2 in my opinion.

The one before I popped

Picture taken the day before birth against the background of yellow fall leaves. Today I look out my window and everything is bare.

Winter is coming (reference Game of Thrones fans out there)...

Rockstar!

Mountain boy lovessss putting on hairgel. He feels instantly perky when he wears his hair up. What a vain pot!

The Lactationator returns...

Yummy...

Siblings

Mountain boy has been great at being a big brother! He is a curious little munchkin and wants to see everything that's going on. He calls his sister "chute" (cute) and kisses her a few times each day. Apparently at school he was so proud to be called "哥哥" and was beaming from ear to ear all the time.

He likes carrying his "mei mei" but gets bored quickly n says "dowan dowan". He says her name is "E-li-ba-buff" emphasis on buff so its quite hilarious.

Of course he gets jealous too but the occurrences are minimal and reasonable. Let's hope this continues..

Elizabeth Ng

I can't remember if I've announced Elizabeth's arrival to the blog readers yet, but here she is. My beautiful daughter.

She was born in the morning of Nov 14, 2011. She weighs 2.6kg and is 50cm long. We've both returned home and recuperating as well as we possibly can.

I'll share the birth story soon.

Fireworks

The budding artist displays his masterpiece with immense pride.

He is down with this mega terrible throat infection so no school and art class this week. I very reluctantly took out an old paint set and let him do his own thing expecting a catastrophic clean up afterwards, surprisingly he didn't go smack an swish swosh on my paper walls. In fact the paint never went beyond my coffee table.

For this piece, he painted each of his finger a different colour and went "stamp stamp stamp", the colours came out beautifully like fireworks exploding. He had a little help from mommy but he did it mostly by himself.

Dadong duo

Nice picture of father n son at dadong roast duck restaurant.

Letter to Mountain Boy: We will always love you

Dear Mountain Boy,

the past 2 days have been particularly out of the ordinary for the both of us...I don't know if it's because I made you watch Finding Nemo that made you fear losing me, or that you are sensing the imminent arrival of your younger sister. Either way, you are not letting me out of your sight from the moment you see me. You're grabbing on to my thighs when i want to take a bath, you're hanging on tight to my hands when we go out. There are moments where you bury yourself in my chest and sob like i'm gonna leave you.

You know what baby boy, I will be here for you as long as i'm alive, and for as long as you want me in your life. It hurts me more than you know when i think about how you might assume that i won't love you as much when your sister comes. I wish, I really wish, that you can be my only child forever so you'll never have to "share" our love.

Let me tell you the truth. You will have to learn how to share your toys, share the time you have of us, share your food, your clothes, your belongings, but you'll never ever have to share our love for you. It doesn't work that way and you'll only understand the day you become a parent. When i gave birth to you, I also gave birth to a whole new depth of emotions that i never had before, i.e. you helped me experience a new type of love, i didn't have to take love away from someplace else, i just have more. In the same way the birth of your new sister will bring on additional love in all three of our lives- your dad, myself and especially you. You will be a big brother!

A lot of people who know you including the teachers at school and us believe that you will be a wonderful brother. You are already very good at sharing and helping. You are always cheerful, you are kind and gentle, you have no idea how much joy you give me everyday.

My baby boy. We love you. You'll always be special in our eyes.

Kiss kiss,

mama

Feeling a lot better

After laying in bed for 2 days, and taking several doses of medication including ventolin puffs, I am feeling a lot better today. Hope baby girl's immune system aint as screwed as mine has been this pregnancy. Mama lives to fight another day!

Sick mama

Dunno what hit me but I'm suddenly mega mega ill. I've had a cough for 3 months intermittently now, I've taken a dose of antibiotics just 2 weeks ago and I'd most likely be given a 2nd dose today. Haven't felt this terrible in a few years but worst of all I feel so guilty for not being able to spend time w mountain boy and for taking all the drugs that has some sort of risk to baby girl. I'm in hell right now.

Halloween Hooters

We had a blast at this year's Halloween Party. There's nothing like hanging out with people you really care about, make memories together and always have something to talk about years down the road.

Here are some pictures from today.

3 Hooters! It's very hard to get a decent family picture taken.

Papa and Mama owl... I don't know why we look so formal here. I tell Mountain Man that we used to be more "fun".

Mountain Man and Boy together. Mountain Boy decorated his very own dorky specs with minimal help from Daddy. He is really a budding artist according to his teachers!

Getting his face drawn by one of the older girls. It's such a smart alternative to a mask, he had been refusing to wear his!

Making "music" with a butter cookies tin. The kids banged and clanged in unison, supposedly emulating STOMP. It wasn't too bad.

Here's our halloween pictures from 2007 and 2010. By next year i'll have a make a 4th costume for baby girl!

Halloween Costume reveal!

It's been about 1-14 degrees in Beijing, sooo cold it's not funny. I could either let Mountain Boy brave the Halloween chill in an awesome costume and risk catching a cold, or let him stay warm but hidden under his wool coat. The choice seems pretty clear to me but hey it's not like i'm gunning for Mother of the Year.

Anyway doesn't he rock!?!

FYI the yellow thingie on his pants is supposed to be the owl's feet.

Back view.

In mid-air.

Wings spread.

He got quite a few praises from people and he felt so proud of his costume that he wore it the entire 3hrs at school so the effort was worth it. We can't wait for the Halloween Party this Sunday. Mountain Man and my costume coming soon....

Artist at work

I sent Mountain Boy for a trial art class last friday. I was told to leave the classroom 15 into the lesson and that sent all kinds of warning signals to my mind. I was worried that he may cry, or wet his pants etc...school has been tough enough on him. So I sat outside the claSsroon jittery for the next 45mins wondering if I'd get a phonecall from the art teacher.

45 minutes later I went into the room again and saw this little guy wearing an apron that ran all the way down to his shoes, busy doodling with his 10 fingers and 2 palms. He merely looked up at me to show me his maroon palms and then continued to work on his masterpiece. Considering how at school he is usually the first to rush out of the classroom to hug me, this came as a shock.

The teacher commented that he was very experimental in his brushwork and use of paint. At the end of the lesson I had a tough time bringing him out of the room, which I guess is a good thing right.
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Nail Marbling

I've attempted this nail marbling at home many times but it doesn't work. I don't know if it's the nail polish i used, or that i've applied the wrong technique... It's not popular in Beijing but i want to try it some day.

Hooters...

I'm so excited that I'm giving away more than I should. The suits for us 3 are now complete. I'm slightly worried that Mountain Boy won't wear his on the actual day. I hope he will put it on long enough for me to get a decent picture.
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somethins brewin for halloween...

It's way past bedtime and I'm still working on this yrs halloween costume. He has a party at school and I am so excited for him (now that he has a decent costume haha). Just the finishing touches left but I won't spoil the fun by showing u the final product. Here's a preview of the sketches... Project runway taught me something useful afterall.
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Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

This is a "push present" I'm giving myself. Sparkles and smiles at me all day.

Unlike handbags, diamonds have little/no resale value so this one is for life, to be passed down to generations after me. At least that's my justification.

Some info on setting options:
The 4-prong setting versus the 6-prong or basket setting has a a key benefit of allowing more light to enter the diamond. The height of the setting also determines how much light can pass through. A higher setting gives the illusion that the diamond "sticks out" and is therefore bigger. But IMO if setting is too high and the diamond is so small the ring looks a little too wannabe. My current setting is in fact a little too high for my liking, need to get it fixed when i get back to Singapore!

There are not my own diamonds unfortunately, but the picture below shows the difference between 4 and 6 prong setting. The 6 prong results in a rounder look and more security.

Picture from Dancing Fire, Pricescope.

All time favorite classic Tiffany design has a little window below to allow light to enter the diamond, making it quite a popular solitaire design. I think i may reset mine to this eventually. Or maybe Mountain Man will buy me his version of a push present down the road, and i would like to state for the record that this is the setting i would like to have my future rings in.

Example of basket setting. More blockage, but i also like the way it looks from the side.

Also if you are a bloke (or if you are Mountain Man) and you are thinking of getting a diamond ring for the other half, u can use the table below as a reference, it shows the ratio of your diamond to ring size. No need too big, 65% enough. *wink*

Other tips on buying a diamond ring that wows...

In order of priority, in my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

1. Carat. Because size is the first thing people notice.
2. Cut. When a diamond is badly cut, it doesn't sparkle, or it doesn't look round. Go for at least GOOD cut. If you have to choose between shallow or deep diamond depth, go for shallow because a "fish eye" effect is more tolerable than a deep dark centre look. Plus shallower diamonds also mean bigger table, ie bigger looking diamond.
3. Colour. D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K, L, M N.... I know there are people who feel that color matters, but i've seen with my own eyes how J compares to F, and frankly the difference is not worth fussing over, especially if the cut is good.
4. Clarity. If you haven't seen the diamond physically, go as low as SI2. Some (but not many) I1-I2 diamonds can still make the mark depending on where and what the inclusion is. Some inclusions are right smack in the centre or rather feathery so it results in a cloudy spit-like look so that's definitely a no-no. But if some inclusions can blend in with the diamond then don't worry, unless people start carrying a magnifying glass in their purse. Some experts say that I1-I3 diamonds are so flawed that the diamond may chip, so keep that in mind. The recommendation is not go lower than SI2.

Having said all these, I think if you have the budget and it's an engagement ring, go ahead and get that perfect flawless diamond because she deserves it. Think about this, she is going to wear it almost everyday for the rest of her life so it's gonna cost less $/day as compared to say... a pair of high heel shoes?

Mountain Boy is billingual!

One of the pros of being in China is that our children get to grow up being exposed to 2 languages simultaneously. Some months back i had been fretting (just slightly) about how Mountain Boy isn't talking as much as he should be. Of course i knew everything will happen in due course and people tell me i shouldn't panic yada yada... but it's normal for a parent to wonder if there was something that could have been done to help the talking, or worse still was there something I had already done that needed undoing.

In the last 2 months though, his speech development has taken quite a huge leap forward. He is basically parroting our last words and he speaks in 2 languages! But the more amazing thing is that he knows how to process who speaks what language and he responds accordingly.

For instance...

While he was on the potty after he poo-pooed, he tells me "finish". And when the nanny walks over he says "没有了".

This afternoon he wanted some polo sweets on the table but couldn't reach it so he said "I want i want", and when i said he couldn't have it he immediately turned to the ayi and said "要！要".

But the most interesting incident happened yesterday morning... He was busy digging his nose and when he dug out something succesfully he proudly showed me "peesai!" (which essentially means booger in hokkien, its a term we use quite commonly in the Singaporean context). And then he turned to the nanny and said "鼻涕!".

Go "green" with handbags...

Okay it's a nice and misleading subject headline that might make you think that I'm about to promote some enviromentally friendly handbag like that cloth bag many years ago. Actually, no.

Over the past 5 years i've accumulated a small treasure chest of handbags that would have been breeding mould if Beijing was humid enough. Honestly, i really only carry 2-3 bags at a given time. Since becoming a mother my repertoire has grown even smaller. I have basically gotten rid of the really heavy ones like the Balenciaga Giant Hardware series, the ones i haven't worn in a year except for a Jimmy Choo that my mom got for my wedding gift which i intend to keep, and the really delicate ones that only gets to see the light/night of day when i'm out without Mountain Boy- which is never.

In the past 1 month alone, I've sold 4 handbags- 2 Chanels and 2 Balenciagas. Making my handbag count at -3 this year because i've only acquired 1 bag this year, which was the Marco Tagliaferri . Totally an excuse to get more before year end. *snigger*

After buying/selling so many handbags i've learnt a few tips to make a good handbag recycler.

1. Keep all tags, dust bags, receipts.
2. Invest in brands and models that have good resale value. LV and Balenciaga retains their value pretty well, Chanel classic designs are very good investments because the actual retail price increases every year and there's a huge 2nd hand market. I've not sold any other premium brands but just by looking at ebay trends, the contemporary and sub-premium brands don't sell as well. I'm not sure about Bottega Veneta, but i'll find out some day. *snigger*
3. Care for your bag. This is something i need to work on but it's hard protecting your bag when your toddler thinks its a stepping stone to mommy, which has been the fate of the Miu Miu Bow Satchel that was gifted by Mountain Man for Christmas last year, now it looks rather like roadkill.

Open yourself up to the idea of 2nd hand bags if you cannot bear to fork out the full price. Sometimes a good buy does come along. I personally don't mind if the bag is no longer sold, or that i like a vintage look, or if i'm not sure i like this design so maybe paying less for it will cause less heartache if i i end up hating it. =)

Brother from another mother

Photo of the week

Let's Burger Plus

It's "try something new" day for us so we explored the new wing of sanlitun village and stepped into the brand new Let's Burger Plus chain. The decor is a lot more plush than the original Let's burger and the menu has a wider variety. We had a good meal, strongly recommended!