UPDATE, UPDATE!

If you haven't heard by now, I've been busy "at work" on my new 365 blog.

I initially  thought it would be a great failure but I am pleasantly surprised that I am newly energised by all that daily blogging. I guess the 365-element allowed me the freedom to write up short updates & updating the blog with simple-oh-so-lame pictures of our daily lives.

It is actually refreshing & it does force me to be creative & look at things in a different perspective. I may not update everyday but I do try to re-tell the daily activities that we do all week. It really has been a renewed feeling!

That brings me to this blog .....

I don't know if I want to keep up this blog coz it really is so back-logged with stuff from the last quarter of 2009 till about August 2010 when I started the 365 blog. It is so over-due that it its duly embarrassing! But I know in my heart that the stories need to be told, the photos needed to be published. As I always say, I blog mainly for Ryan's (future) memories & of course my sanity! I don't know if Ryan will even bother to read the blog in the future or think about the effort (& tears) that I put in to keep the blog alive & well. It really is an open diary from me ... to my beloved son.

I don't know, we'll see ...

Anyhoo, do drop by for old news if you're vaguely interested. I will also try to update the long (draggy, mushy) stuff here, as the 365 blog is supposed to be short & sweet.

I will try, folks!

Meanwhile, take care & smile always, peeps!

A SHORT UPDATE

Hello world!

Ermm ... if you were wondering, yes! we are still alive. Haha! Busy with our mundane lives but still just plain busy. Lots have happened these past couple of months & before you know it .... its the month of August. I've been lag ... the blog's been kinda dead. I know ... I know, no excuses ... it just is. I have such a backlog of photos & stories that it gives me a headache just thinking about it. All I can do is do my best. No promises ... just a concerted effort on my part.

Hey! its just a couple of months before 2010 is over & I haven't even begun updating about the whole year. I don't really know why I've been so lazy with the blog, maybe its just "blog fatigue" or sheer laziness. Its not that I don't have things to share. We do plenty around here, Ryan's been growing (though very slowly) & we have enough activities to keep us busy ... I just don't know where the time went. I hope to change that real soon. I do kinda missed blogging though ... & I feel really dreadful "mummy-guilt" for not documenting my adorable son's milestones ... all the important stuff that needs to be etched in memories & remembered ... for years to come.

Well, here's to more updates ... ya?

P.S : A new start calls for a new outlook, don't you think? Hope you guys like the new look of the blog. Just a fresh outlook, that's all.

SHORT UPDATE

I know, I know .... I haven't been updating here for sooooo long that I wasn't even sure of my own password & stuff ... Duh! Ok, ok ... since I AM blogging now, (guess) I kinda figured it out somehow ... haha! The mind's getting ol-der & it doesn't (seem) to get younger!

We've been S-I-C-K!!! Yep, not sick of life (oh yes! that does happens some times) but very very sick, medically. The whole family has taken turns falling sick ... especially my poor baby, Ryan (he was hospitalised!). We are almost over the bend & it looks like life is slowly picking up! I really hope we can stay healthy .... at least for a long long while. Its been DAMN exhausting, tiring & most of all draining! I can't tell you what day it was ... coz everyday, its all a blur. Days come & go ... & truth be told, I don't really remember April whizzing by ... but I guess it did huh ... coz its now the merry month of May ... double haha!

I will try to get into the groove of things very soon, people. Give me time huh? Meanwhile, stay cool (in this bl**dy hot weather) & stay sane ya!!!

BUSY AS A BEE

Yep! That's been an understatement! We have been kept busy with the usual stuff & more. Since Ryan started playgroup this year & it was also his birthday, we've been kept busy since the first days of January. Is this how 2010 will be? Busy as can be?? One consolation is ... time does pass very fast when you are busy. Bad thing ...? You are always so damn tired & there's never enough time in the day .... to do the million other things on your Task List. Duh!

Ok, I've been a BAD blogger & I haven't been updating regularly. Not only haven't I finished updating last year's backlog, I have further created a new "monster" ... with the arrival of 2010, comes with it more photos & stories, yet untold. I promise I will get to them somehow ... some day. Haha ... when? I can't promise you ... but I will get them all done, really!

Meanwhile, I wanted to put up a adorable pic of my munchkin taken recently in downtown Orchard (on the first day of 2010). His hair was still long here ... errm .... does he look a little like a girl? Yes!! my boy has been mistaken for a girl ... many a times during his lifetime (especially when he grows out his hair). Does he look like a "pretty" girl to you? Oh well, whatever!

He looks kinda cute here (he was holding his newly bought orange Yo-yo) & was being rather co-operative ... so the photo turned out quite well (nice natural lighting too). My boy .... is 3 now! I can't believe it! I love him more each day ... & eventhough he's still a little mischievous rascal, I can't imagine my life without him!

This photo now adorns my PC, as the wallpaper. Everytime I switch on the computer, I see Ryan's smiling face. Awwww!!!!!

WE'VE BEEN BUSY, BUSY .....

Aha! We've been kept busy the past two weeks. Apart from our usual routine, we've been busy :

1) Running endless errands/buying stuff
2) Hubby's been painting the house - its yellow!
3) Preparing for Ryan's birthday party in early January - party deco, goody bags, cake, menu, presents, etc.
4) Cleaning up & clearing up the home (lots of junk to clear!)
5) Registering & gearing up Ryan, for his playgroup (nope, its not nursery)
6) Celebrating my brother's & my birthday in December
7) A short trip up North - yes! we left the country!
8) A personal family crisis - still unresolved!

So, as you can see ... we've been pretty busy lately. As usual, I have a big bunch of photos to go with our hectic schedule, especially of Ryan's first official holiday overseas! I will try to update as much as I can ... but I am acutely aware that I will probably not be able to finish all my updates before the year is up.

As I am celebrating my birthday this week, I foresee more photos & memories created ... yes! more for me to update.

I leave you with a funny-face photo of my two lovable boys. They never fail to amuse me & brighten my cloudy days. How can you not love them? I know I do ... more then they know!

Hope everyone's enjoying their year end activities & holidays! Looking forward to 2010!!!

RANDOM PICS & UPDATE

Here's Ryan with his Daddy, enjoying the first meal of the day. Most weekends Ryan will request for his favourite "tata" (prata). We indulge our child coz when a fussy eater requests for any meal, his parents are happy to follow suit. I know prata isn't the healthiest of food but any parent of a fussy-eating child will vouch for, is that we take whatever comes. When my child eats something I buy bulks of it or let him eat his lot (eventhough we do try to restrict his prata & milkshakes to weekends treats only). I am still trying my best to introduce more variety of food for Ryan but its been an uphill task.

Some success these couple of weeks have been - frozen hash browns & fish fingers (lightly pan-fried with extra virgin olive oil), boiled quail eggs, cheats home-made pizza (using frozen pita bread, smeared with spaghetti sauce & served with whatever toppings of desire + cheese), fried Maggie "mee goreng" using just a smidgen of seasoning, home-made boiled mash potatoes with carrots & broccoli.

I am still trying to be creative & will try to add more to his menu. I know that frozen stuff ain't the most healthy but I just do what I can. Bah to those mummies who think that only fresh stuff should be served to kids. We are a family on a very tight budget & with limited resources, you try to be creative or you just die trying. I am reading up a lot on kids meals & borrowing tonnes of cookbooks to pick-up to some recipes to try out for the family. I hope I will have some success to report in the future. Meanwhile, I am just trying out whatever I can. Next week, I will try instant waffles on Ryan. Fruits are still rejected - oranges, apples, grapes ... only local longan are eaten by Ryan. Also trying to think of new stuff, to introduce ...

Daddy, cooling down the tea, that juniour always insist on sipping.

Hurry up, Papa! Me thirsty!

A hand for Mummy!

Playing with his fork & spoon.

Peace ... for the day!

I feed you some air, Papa!

At the nearby kid's playground.

Looking cute!

I'm making a wish ... to play forever!

Hey! My wish came true ... I'm still here!

Arrghh!!! It's been an extremely hectic week. What with medical appointments n running around doing errands, not 2 mention looking for our new place n viewings from potential buyers, its been a very draining week. I wish I can say looking for a new place 2 stay has been fun but the reality is ... its damn tiring n cumbersome! The constant smiling n looking into strangers' homes is not exactly my idea of a good time.

Some of the units we've been to r not even fit for humans, whilst some think too much of their homes, asking for the sky. On our end, its always a "chore" when you have potential buyers coming. The key word being 'potential' - coz many are just wasting their n your time when they cannot really meet your budget or have soooo many weird conditions that you wonder if they are looking for a flat or a magic castle. Frustrating!!!

I can tell you selling n looking 4 a flat aint no picnic. I'll be glad when its over. Meantime we have 2 pray 4 a quick buyer at the right price and look 4 a good home 4 our family 2 live in. God help us ...

Meanwhile, hubby n me r trying our best 2 spring-clean our house in preparation 4 the new year n moving house (its a lost cause I tell u!). Looking at my home, I am throughly amazed 2 see the amount of junk that we've accumulated thru the years. Now wif another extra member in our family, I can already see it piling even more. Not that its Ryan's fault that him mum think that he needs countless outfits - sleeve-less T's, polo shirts, bermudas, etc. Not 2 mention the small mountain of toys, books .... I've lost count.

Special thank you goes out 2 all the fantastic hand-me-downs that baby has received since his birth till now. I can't tell u how much money we've saved from the generous "donations" n gifts from lovely Aunt Rina, Aunt Idah, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Lisa, Auntie Jess n even Kakak Ayra - Ryan loves u!!!

Ryan, Mummy n Daddy appreciate all your love n support - n dun 4get 2 pass us even more stuff u dun need anymore - "wink wink".