I, me, myself

I had a hectic day yesterday.

After 2 days of break (oh, glorious to be able to sleep in. That little bit helped much!), my day was tragically busy and I was running from point A to B to C and I was rather out of breath by the end of the day. Didn't help that I spent the last 2 hours of the day on my feet.

It was 7pm and I was really knackered and I had this urge to eat pasta. I decided to indulge myself by having a (pricey) $26-dinner of crabmeat pasta, all by myself. I sat there resting my aching back and feet, zoning out and it was an interesting, half-hour of alone time. I surfed the net on my iPhone, I eavesdropped on the conversation between 2 young ladies to my left (I couldn't help myself, they were sitting so close and terribly engaging sharing stories of their complicated, exciting 23-year-old lives!) and I savoured the pasta.

Yums.

It would have been better if I had some company, but it was too last-minute and at the end of it all, I was happy to have filled my tummy with what I craved for. I realise that it was totally indulgent but oh, such simple things in life that I'm able to enjoy because 1/ the husband was home to babysit Kate, 2/ I'm a working mother so I have the spending power to eat what I want (even if it is quite expensive!) and 3/ I'm pregnant and I need to have such mini pockets of happy times to lift my spirits!

Ok, so the 3rd reason is abit bull but not entirely. Heh.

I headed home with a full tummy and spent the next 2 hours playing with, talking to, reading and sleeping with Kate. I guess that's what life is all about!

And since this is a post about me, here's some pics of my bump and I.

Baby little and I, mid August 2011

Baby little and I, 12 October 2011

Another wedding

My cousin is married!

They did the traditional gatecrash ceremony and fanfare on Sat, 8 Oct & the dinner was last night, 10 Oct. Clarice is the same age as the brother and I grew up with her all these years. Her husband is a decent bloke and a terribly sweet one and I'm very happy that they have started this new chapter in their lives. It was also the first time Kate played flower girl! She did pretty well with the guidance of the slightly older kids accompanying her. While I wait for more pics from yesterday from the sister & the cousin, here are 2 I took with my phone.

Us

The parents

My love

"The mattress is so old meh?" I asked, amazed.

"Ya at least man" he said.

Didn't seem that long ago when the husband and I - as a boyfriend-girlfriend couple - purchased a brand new mattress for his room. I'd remembered it as a purchase just before we'd gotten married, but he remembers it as an item upgrade for his room, for us (the old one was rotting anyway). Either way, it led to the next question:

"How long have we been married?"

I say "3 & 1/2 years"

"How long have we been together?"

I think and say "6 years?"

"Wah. That's the longest I've been with anyone."

"Me too!" I say.

It's not the first time we'd had this boliao conversation but it still amuses me. And in this short/long period of time, the husband and I have accomplished pretty well. We had gone on travels aplenty while dating, we had fought and made up many times. We learnt to live with each other's weird habits through the years, and I still think my wedding proposal was one of the bestest in the world. Each time we go for a wedding, we still hold hands and feel each others' love, and I don't really know what he thinks about but I'm always brought back to our own special day and how happy I am that this man is mine.

The husband went for a wedding dinner without me yesterday, and typically, before he goes, he'll comment "so sian to go to weddings without you" and I echo his thoughts. I don't prefer to go to such loving occasions without him either. It's always a nice occasion to renew our love in a small way and always better to have each other around.

Once in a while, when we do things that are a blast from the past, it always feels strange yet familiar. For example, when the husband sent me up the lifts to my mom's when I decided to stay over some weeks back - was definitely before we got married that he last did so. Or when I spy a motorbike and remember his riding days where we were so much more swift on the roads (but also at the mercy of rain). And then there are the newer/recent activities - like visiting the PD with Kate, or purchasing a brand new mattress for our brand new home - which we do with such ease; and I like to think it is because we have both found a comfortable pattern of our new life together.

Talking through sensitive, awkward topics together; understanding each other when there is tension/unhappiness, just talking about random matters and agreeing with each other - always reminds me of how similar our values are which makes us love each other so; consulting each other on whatever matters that come our way, to get a valued opinion or simply to hear a different point of view.

It's the string of events lately that inspired me to post this entry about us, and I think no matter how much we love Kate and baby little; it wouldn't have been possible if there wasn't us.

Love.

Dear baby little

Dear baby little,

This has been a tough week for everyone. Nai nai is not feeling well so we are all a little stressed about the situation. Let's hope that everything gets better, and she feels even better - soon. On a random note, the world is abuzz with the passing of a great man Mr Steve Jobs. Not sure why exactly, but I feel so sad. Maybe it's the mish-mash of illness and fear of passing; of how transient one's life is; how precious relationships are and how we must treasure one another because that's what really matters at the end of the day.

I have been very tired these weeks, and I'm comforted and happy that I have a great family network of support. Maybe it is the "right" thing to do sometimes, but it's really the thought that counts and it means so much to the people who matter.

I'm glad that I have you for company. I remind myself that there is hope in this world, because there are beautiful things taking place each day even as the world is faced with bad news. That is what life is about. Today, I smile because Papa sent me to work when I asked him to. He loves me and knows how tired I am. Today, I smile because I feel you bumping around and growing so well within me. Today, I smile when I see your cheche.

Keep growing well, baby little. Mommy loves you very much.

Love, Mommy

Bonding

... with the family is always a good thing. But oh boy, do I need sleep!

The sister and I too bonded - wearing the same dress in a different colour on the same day, both for the first time!

Happy times

The weekend really tired me out, largely because I was recovering/fighting the flu bug that the daughter shared with me. And with Mom being unwell yesterday, it was really rather heavy. But Saturday night saw us attending a friend’s wedding, a happy occasion and so I’m going to talk about that because the aura lately has been rather grey.

The wedding itself was the usual fanfare and as the groom was the husband’s good buddy, he was involved with the wedding the entire day. In fact, the involvement began weeks ago with the boys discussing the details of the wedding and the preps leading up to the day. What was hilarious was the video that they self-filmed (yes, they did) – I’m sure a link of it will pop up on youtube soon. I’ve seen how this couple were friends, then how they became a couple and finally tied the knot last Saturday.

It was a day of plentiful celebrations, because not only did this couple get hitch, it was also anothers’ wedding anniversary (same day, 6 years ago!) and it’s really quite aawwww to see how the group of friends have matured and evolved to different stages of life cycles – just 3 years ago, I was the one who wedded to this group of pals and have to-date contributed 1.5children to it too!

A terribly cute picture of the girls

Family pic

Kate, the professional yum-seng-er

Get well soon, Mom

Nothing much more to say that that - I really want Mom to feel better soon already. Seeing her in pain (yet pulling a strong front) is so heartbreaking and I wish wish wish she will get better soon. I know she's genuinely happy when she sees Kate though so I'm happy that Im able to provide her that little bit of relief.

Get well soon, Mom. We love you.