EAT RICE ? SHI FAN ?

Lately Ryan's appetite has been slightly better. Errm ... am I gonna jinx it ... by saying his appetite is good? I dearly hope not!

Oh well! He is definitely eating more, compared to a couple of months earlier. At least he's eating more than his usual egg prata & McDonald's Chocolate Milkshake. He's now expanding his menu - local chicken rice, rice - with chicken, carrots, radish, potatoes, tomatoes, wolfberries, salmon, fish fillets, eggs (all these, mostly making up the ingredient list of simple home-cooked stuff, I usually cook at home). Most of these foodstuff are cut up into much smaller pieces & mixed together with his white & brown rice, so he doesn't really know what's inside his bowl! Sometimes I even try to sneak in tofu, broccoli & other (yucky) healthy stuff ... but I do what I can ... when I can.

I managed to snap some pics of my boy enjoying his simple fried rice with egg, at home. I set him up on his kiddy chair & let him have a go at his own lunch. Ok I'm one of those mums who loathe to clean up the big mess that kids make under their chair, whilst they eat.

Unlike most mums in the West, I am your typical Eastern/Malay mum .... errm, one that (rather) feeds her child & do with lesser mess-cleaning. I know I know ... it doesn't teach a child to eat on his own but I do what works for me & my child. It might not work for everyone ... neither is it the best thing to teach your growing kid. We do try to let him eat on his own sometimes (especially in public) but a lot of times ... my patience gets in the way & I choose to continue to feed him instead (or Hubby takes over). If we let him eat on his own, he would probably take more than an hour to finish his small bowl of rice. Sigh! I don't think I have that kind of patience ... tick tock tick tock!

All set up ... for lunch!

Oops! Dropped a grain. I hope Mummy didn't see that!

Mummy, I'm being a very good boy ... & eating my rice.

Another scoop!

Some cartoons ... to while the time away!

Yes ... I'm eating my rice Mummy.

Double oops! More rice on the floor!

Yeah! Lunch's over! Now I can play with my toys!

Trying to be cheeky.

Hi Mummy! Look at my fire-engine!

FRENCH THE FRIES ... PLEASE !

One fine day, Ryan simply announced - "I want french fries". Errm! Since when did Ryan know how to say - french fries! Hubby & me simply chuckled & (of course) I did not fail to ask him again, just in case I'm hard of hearing. Coincidentally, we were in McDonald's then ... so I guess that's what inspired Ryan's french fries guise. Oh well, if its french fries my kid wants, french fries he'll get.

That was a few months back, since then ... Ryan's "graduated" to asking for "big-gher" (burger) whenever he sees the big red arches. On a wimp, we decided to let him try a double cheese-burger (cost only 2 bucks, which is much cheaper) instead of a Fillet-O-Fish, which was my first choice. Yes, fish is so much better (& healthier) than (fatty) beef ... but then again, Ryan does not eat beef or other sorts of beef products, except for the DC Burger. Ryan do eat plenty of salmon (fillet or head) or fish fillets - cooked by muah at home ... so I figured - why not let him have a taste of beef, lest he boycots this meat, when he's older.

Oh well, variety is the spice of life, ain't it?

Ryan busying himself, scribbling on the serviette ... with Daddy's pen.

Don't know why Ryan enjoys playing with the digicam cover? Interesting, meh?

I guess here ... he's pretending to take photos of me?

Smile, Mummy! I take a photo of you instead.

More random scribbling.

Let me empty A-L-L the lovely & oily french fries, all over the tray!

It's really empty now!

Oh my God! Is that salt I see?

Oh well! A bit of garam, ain't gonna kill anyone? Who cares!

ON THE PLAYGROUND, WE WENT

I guess this is the indoor playground that Ryan plays on ... most often. I think its coz its pretty close to our place & indoors, so whether its warm outside, its still rather shady here. The playground is also relatively new so the equipment is still in good condition & still relatively clean. The only grouse I have is that the other day, when we dropped by (on a weekend afternoon, which is not often), the place was packed with kids (& their parents) - it was noisy & crowded!

Because there's a wet playing area, a lot of the kids that were wet (rather irresponsibly, if I may say so) choose to play on the dry playground equipment too! This made the dry area extremely wet! So, for the kids who did not want to get wet (like Ryan), they inevitably get drenched & dirtied by the wet stains, all around them. As the drenched kids wait in line or hang around, puddles collect below them, creating "dirty" water that never fail to get splashed on the kids (whose parents choose to keep them dry).

Arrgh! As you can safely guess, we did not stay long ... just a couple of minutes, was all it took to turn us off this typicaly-ugly Singaporean behaviour. We see it everywhere ... but it still never fails to amaze me, what some Singaporeans do in the name of "free" liberty & their-own sense of freedom & righteousness. I would never allow Ryan to wet himself & go dirty the dry playground equipment - its really very inconsiderate & inappropriate! As much as I love my kid, there are certain things that I won't allow him to do.

He has to learn to share certain things - especially, playthings for public use. He has to learn to be considerate - coz he's not the only child that wants to enjoy the slides. He has to queue up, to take turns - coz he's not the only one that wants to play on the swings. He has to learn to be courteous & considerate ... something that's extremely lacking in a lot of the young kids in "wealthy" Singapore. My kid is definitely not the best behaved nor gracious child around, but I'll be damn if he turns out to be those typical inconsiderate kids. I'll make sure of that ... even if I have to be the (only) screaming mum on the playground, in order to teach my child some decent manners. So there !

Fortunately, when these pics were taken (in early October), the playground was relatively empty ... so Ryan had a wonderful time! Thank God for that!

Enjoying himself on the see-saw.

I caught him ... in mid-movement - about to get off the green seat.

He wasn't too sure about this ... hehe! Was afraid that he would fall off.

Daddy giving Ryan a helping hand.

Getting ready ...

Looking very cheeky here!

Awww! Father & son!

Aaah! My little-twin boys .... see ... even their smiles are so alike!

Climbing up the steps.

Down the slide.

Holding on to his Daddy!

Look Daddy! I'm sliding down .... weeee!

What's this weird looking thing??

Let me try it out!

Don't I look like a victorious little hero??

2001 TH POST !!!

Oops! I had wanted to write up something short, for my 200th post (when I saw the 196th post yesterday) but I kinda just plain forgotten ... hehe! I guess it doesn't help that I am now trying (valiantly) to get almost all of my back-dated posts up to date ... that at times, I do up to 4 or five posts at a time. Talk about being rather PRO-ductive ... haha!

Well, well ... I never thought I'll get this far, to tell you the truth. I must say that I do rather enjoy "yakking" away on my blog ... about our latest adventures and expeditions. Not to mention our never-ending quest to find cheap & delicious food, affordable buys or just the many random things that we do, as a family. We enjoy searching & introducing new experiences to my little boy & putting it up here, for Ryan to ponder on. He just loves to sit on my lap & look through my blog (especially when I'm busy updating). Yep! my son loves to look at the millions of photos that I snap & put up here, in blogland. That always puts a smile on my face coz at least I know ... all my effort, in taking those pictures, putting them up & with the mighty-lengthy narration (no less) ... is being appreciated & cherished. * smiles *

Never was it my intention to start this blog ... to get worldwide readers, advertisement "traffic" or free stuff. Though I sometimes wish that my life is a little more exciting, I am basically a very simple person. I am contented with the simplest things & just happy & thankful that my family is safe, healthy & well loved. That's all. Haha ... I guess the only 5 people that read my blog are - Me, Ryan (ok, he doesn't know how to read yet but he looks at the pics, so that counts, rite?), my Hubby, my younger sis & my buddy, Jess. See ... I told you my life was boring & won't interest that many people. But really ... that's ok with me ... even if no one else reads my blog, I would be A-OK ... coz I am really writing it for me ... myself ... and I !!!

I am equally amazed ... that some mummy bloggers manage to find the time to update their blogs, every day! Granted most of them are stay at home mums (like me) but still? .... Really, I just can't find the time nor energy to write an entry ... every single day of the week. I would find that such a chore, an obligation even! I update whenever I can, if I have something to say (or rant about) ... or some photos to upload. I guess that's why I've got so many back-dated stuff to write on. Yes, I don't have a full time job ... but anyone that's been a full time housewife knows that its not all free & easy, being at home. There's always a ton of chores to be done, 3 meals to prepare & cook (almost daily), dishes to wash & put away, laundry to do, clothes to fold, toys to keep & re-arrange, (baby) bottoms to clean, showers for the hyper-active kid, etc. Its a never-ending chore list ... that never gets done & once you finish doing something ... some other thing, awaits you.

You don't have time-offs, annual leave, MC-sick leave, maternity leave, child-sick leave, year end bonus, 13th month pay, yearly increments, salary upgrades ... the list goes on. Heck! You don't even get bl**dy paid! All your hard work is F.O.C - free of charge! You don't get appreciated nor appraised, you don't get flowers or a fantastic lunch treat on Secretaries' Day (like I used to), shucks! you don't get anything! Zip !!!

But would I give all this up to go back to work? .... NAH! Nope! I am contented being a stay at home mum, taking care of my only son. I take care of his & my Hubby's daily needs. I am hands-on in nearly every aspect of Ryan's life, since the day he was born ... & eventhough its back-breaking & extremely tiring at times, the countless hugs & kisses he gives me everytime ... makes up for it! All of the sleepless nights, vomit, piss, poop that Ryan has kindly "deposited" on me .... its all part & parcel of my journey, into becoming a better parent ... one day!

I'm really just glad that I took up writing, blogging. It has allowed me to rant, grumble ... & bitch, all I want ... whilst allowing me to stay sane & happy. Pouring my thoughts & feelings here has allowed me to be a better person (I hope) & given me a creative outlet to (sometimes) vent my anger & frustrations. Heck! It even helped me get through a very tough & sad episode this year. It allowed me to cry, write depressing anecdotes, pen sobbingly mushy poems, it let me grief ... on my own terms. In time I learnt to accept my situation & move forward. It helped me make the right decision & to give myself the time & space to grieve my past .... & yet to look forward, into the future. Amen!

Whatever 2010 & beyond has in store for me, I will bravely stand tall & fight ... for a better tomorrow, for my family. Be damned to those who look down on us, be damned to those who doubt us, be damned to those disbelievers, be damned to those who belittle us ... we don't need your sympathy nor your callous words. Keep your biting thoughts to yourself & leave us alone to fight our own battles. We will survive, we will make it, we will still be here .... when all is said & done!

OH! ITS ANOTHER FAMILY BIRTHDAY

P.S : This is a back-dated post, early October 2009.

Its time once again ... for another good makan session with the family. This time its my brother's youngest son, Sahmi, who turns 4 this year. As usual, we had cake, delicious home cooked food, drinks & other goodies. My never-tiring & dedicated mum, always finds the time to cook her extremely yummy dishes, at most of our family home-gatherings. The kids were out in full force, playing & joking around ... as usual.

A good round-up of the kids in the family. The eldest grandchild, Syakir wasn't in attendance, so there were only 6 of them here.

Can you see the birthday boy, beside the presents (hands cupped). I bet he couldn't wait to open them all up ... haha!

Yeah! It's presents time!

Ryan, posing with his Kaka Ayra & Abang Fuddin.

Leaning on Daddy, for some extra support.

Hey, where did Papa go to??

Well, I'll jump around then ...

My two nephews riding around.

Its cake time! I see some wishes being hoped on ...

Hey! that's not the birthday boy cutting the cake!

Birthday boy, Sahmi (in red & white stripes), smiling gleefully as he's about to blow on his Tom & Jerry cake.

See the kaypoh little boy named Ryan (held by his Daddy) ... who seem to think that its his birthday cake to blow ... haha!

Making a silent wish ... maybe?

Finally, its time to cut the cake! Errm ... why was there a hand sticking out?

Little Ms Ayra, joins the birthday boy for a photo op.

This is how you cut a cake ... ok?

After a long & tiring day ... of endless playing, Ryan sees it fit to put his weary little head ... on the lap of his elder cousin, Syafiq ... whilst holding a football, no less ... is that cute or what?