Thought I’d do a round up of Watermelon’s current favourite books! And mine too, because if I don’t enjoy reading any particular book, I’d probably secretly stash them away šš¬ #truestory
I love shopping for books for Watermelon, and it makes me reaaally happy when she likes them a lot š So here are some of my most successful purchases, coupled with some preloved and complimentary books that she loves. Continue reading
Iād heard about Airfrov a few years back but only got the inclination to properly explore it during my recent trip when I realised that I donāt have many things that I want to buy (chey, still harbouring some Konmari in me). I enjoy shopping, so I thought Airfrov could help me scratch that itch š
Airfrov is a platform where you can kirim things from travellers, for a small tip. Seems like the going rate is roughly $10/item. Continue reading
An eczema flare up got me bad.
I never knew just how much Watermelon adores birds until we travelled. Last year, her first word was ābirdā. This year, her first sentence was āThe bird fly away!ā
She chased some birds in Istanbul, and then a lot more in London, and then fed them in Edinburgh.
Our UK leg was mostly spending time with NGās colleagues. The first 4 nights was the company portion — NGās stay was sponsored, and we topped up for me to room in with him, plus a bit more for me to join his compulsory day tour.
Continue reading
After last yearās trip to London, Paris and Amsterdam with my parents and a 1yo bub (15mo, to be exact), I felt so traumatised by my experience I thought āno more travelling for us!ā
And then this year we went on a month-long trip š It started off with a two-week holiday with the in laws, which had been in the pipelines for years. Then NGās incentive trip to London happened to be in the following week, so we thought why not join them up. For months I limbo-ed between joining him for his incentive trip and not. Finally, I managed to work out an arrangement to take all the leave I needed and GO!
I expected lots of madness travelling with a 2yo (26mo, to be exact) but to my surprise, the trip turned out to be much better. Alhamdulillah. I thought Watermelon would give us a hard time but she was quite the sweetie for most of the trip. Our flight back with her was probably the toughest one for me.
What a learning experience itās been š And a great load of family time spent together ā¤ļø
I spent most of my March travelling. We left Singapore in early March and headed to Turkey for 2 weeks with in laws, then to London with NGās company for 5 days, then to Edinburgh with NGās colleagues for 3 days and my friend for 2 days. Itās been a looooong trip, you guys. Continue reading
February was filled with fresh fruits, but overall not a great month for my mental health.
Been wanting to journal more, so here’s trying out end month musings.
Watermelon is TWO! Super cliche, but time really flies.
I hope Iām not jinxing myself when I say that Iāve been enjoying motherhood lately. Which is not to say that everything is easy, only that weāve fallen into a rhythm and that I feel less like a frantic first time mum with a small baby. It feels like weāre emerging from the thick, dark forest of new parenthood and heading into the woods, at least for now. Maybe the parenting books Iāve been reading have helped me feel a tad more confident about honouring and responding to Watermelonās needs, I dunno.
In any case, life with a toddler has been more free compared to her first year. Sheās still clingy but she doesnāt depend on me as much. I can come home later on some days, and we can leave her with family without worrying about how sheād cope.
It took me 10 months from last yearās birthday post where I said I wanted to focus on my fitness to finally establish an exercise routine, and I have to say Iām loving it! I love being able to do something for myself, and feeling my body gain back some strength that I felt I lost since pregnancy.
My biggest parenting challenge ā at least the first to come to my mind ā is probably co-parenting. NG and I have wildly different styles, and sometimes itās just so painful to work through. Lately this hasnāt caused any huge problems, but I know our differences will continue to haunt us as Watermelon progresses through her childhood.
My next (other?) huge challenge will probably be figuring out what I want to do about my career, and what kind of job would best support my needs and my familyās needs. To chiong or not to chiong? To stay in the same line or try something new? To accept a more rigid schedule and/or a paycut? I think the problem is that I havenāt worked out what I truly want. Maybe this year will give me the opportunity to, now that I feel a teeny braver to take risks and make big changes…
Until the next baby arrives, that is. Which is not anytime soon because we (cough, cough) donāt feel ready yet. Recently I was organising Watermelonās wardrobe when I realised Iād have to think really hard about where to squeeze in no 2ās clothes if we have one. Suddenly it seems like a really daunting task, almost enough to scare me into stopping at one.
But I shanāt yield, at least not yet.
Enough about me, letās celebrate the cutie patootie 2 year old Watermelon. I think one of the things I adore most about her is her sweet and gentle voice. Paired with her pelat (mispronunciations), aiyoyo. Suuuper cute lah. But I also love it when she gets a little shouty and says “WAHHHH!”, “HI!!!” or “BYE!!” with so much enthusiasm š
Watermelon loves books, perhaps a little more than toys. She likes us to read her the same books over and over again. It can be kinda hard to introduce new titles to her. For example:
Me trying to read her a book for the first time
me: (reads pg 1, pg 2, pg 3)
Watermelon: the end.
me: (reads pg 4)
Watermelon: the end.
me: (reads pg 5, and glances at Watermelon fidgeting) ok fine, the end.
me: *eyes the rest of the book that maybe someday we will finish*
She didnāt enjoy our swimming classes, but likes to splash and play in water. She particularly didnāt like to follow instructions and do the drills, and was hardly picked as the demo baby. A swimming instructor friend was so nice to tell me that itās āgoodā that she doesnāt like to follow instructions tho. Iām like, āyou sure or not? the other babies were amazingly compliant in the pool.ā
Watermelon approaches playground slides with reservation. She climbs up enthusiastically then sits at the top for what feels like a really long time, at least when Iām around. Apparently she goes down fine whenever sheās with NG š She loves swings and wheel-y things.
90% of the time she cooperates and looks forward to our bike rides together. Sheās fallen asleep several times mid-cycle, her head swaying uncontrollably and banging unexpectedly into my lower back.
The way to Watermelon’s heart is through a Magiclean. She loves to push it around the house and gets upset whenever it gets taken away.
She’s many times a paradox: will not flinch when (lightly) injured, but cries with fear at small foreign objects on the ground, like a stray bit of styrofoam or a tiny ball of thread.
Mama Kraken said if you scold Watermelon, she fights back with an icy expression in her eyes. She doesn’t cry, and stares right back at you without blinking.
Yet she gets overjoyed when we decipher what she’s saying and can repeat her request correctly.
Watermelon: *pointing towards kitchen* Cat, cat, cat
Me: Biscuit? Watermelon wants a biscuit?
*Watermelon smiles, nods enthusiastically, and lets out a cheeky giggle*
She currently likes plain carbs and eats meat selectively. Avoids all vegetables, is obsessed with fruits, and loves teh tarik. Strangely does not seem to like ice cream.
Weāve witnessed a lot of cute moments lately, which have lit up our home. Iām looking forward to connecting more deeply with Watermelon and watching her develop into the person she is supposed to be.
Happy second birthday, my sweet love!
Watermelon: Nana?? Okay!!!
– Watermelon asking me to nurse her, but making it seem like it’s the other way around
woohoo the last quarterly report for 2018! without further ado:
ā¢ BWT semi custom (sold off!)
early into the quarter, a mama was giving up her spot in a semi-custom with colours that were totally up my alley, so i impulsively jumped into it. i was planning to use the $200 that the govt was gonna give to fund it š when the project kicked off, i started having cold feet espesh since our babywearing had been less frequent. luckily i found a mama who was willing to take over my spot, so i got out.
ā¢ oscha briarwood mirabelle 5
this was a pre-order wrap which i didnāt want to get at first, but caved in š cotton, hemp, wet spun linen in purple and gold + copper. i hope itāll turn out gorgeous!
and that is all..! i sold 2 wraps, and have a few more to sell. and one or maybe two more to buy, hee.
i suppose this quarter, i developed new interests which reduced my focus on babywearing in general. for instance, i sold off my previous ISO, Prim, to upgrade my bicycle, which iāve been very happy with. Watermelon seems to really enjoy bike rides, so part of me has started to concede and plan activities around cycling rather than me babywearing her to somewhere. gitewww
seeing wraps sit unsold also (finally) scares me off buying more. the 1-2 wraps i have in mind are machine wovens which are easier to sell at a loss than pricey handwovens.
for a while, i also explored the idea of attending a weaving class in 2019, thinking it would be so meaningful to weave my own wrap. unfortch the costs are higher than i expected, so iām shelving the idea.
i planned to shop for new clothes during our trip to KL, especially after hearing at least 3 people rave about zaraās sale. i went and left … empty handed! only got a pair of lounge pants from mango. i also felt veeeery drained from my āme timeā shopping sesh – it was only 2h but felt like 8. i am seriously turning old.
iām want to do a wardrobe update soon though coz vain me prefers not to repeat work outfits for another year. plus all the marie kondo show watching has been inspiring š
i bought a nude/beige shawl from TudungPeople and i think thatās it! i almost carted 2 more from their pretty printed collection but abandoned at checkout š
iām starting to get really annoyed by my shawls that canāt shape properly though. would love to go through my shawl collection and keep only the ones that āspark joyā hee.
insyaAllah weāll be travelling in March, so i bought some going out clothes for Watermelon to wear. i confidently bought size 2T only to realise that 1. there is such a thing as ā24mā size (i assumed it was 18m then 2T, heppp) and that 2. the clothes might still be too big for her to wear. sianz, i donāt want her to look like sheās drowning in her clothes in our holiday pics.
iām not liking Watermelonās wardrobe these days because many clothes are stained with food (and hard to restore! and also not nice to give away) it also feels like sheās in between sizes, so itās all very confusing on which to keep.
i donāt think i bought a new bags š¤
ooh, this is where it hurts. i went through a huge toy buying spree after being poisoned by another mum š the horrible part is that i canāt stop. iām constantly discovering new toys to buy, and usually feel like i need to buy them NOW. iām still in this phase. i hope after my next 2 purchases, iāll be done??? running out of space also!
okay so for the entire year, my wrap buying ban failed miserably, but it should be naturally ending soon as our babywearing days are numbered and i find new interests and activities to fill up my time.
iām quite happy with how my wardrobe size was kept manageable in 2018. i think the next challenge is to find some new pieces that fit my current tastes, and to finally part with pieces that i love but donāt wear. and also to train my eye on choosing clothes that fit me well – i think some clothes tend to fit me poorly but i wear them anyway because i don’t know better.
i still have a lot of heart work to go in learning to be mindful about my impulses to buy, and in wanting to buy them NOW. i feel like itās really unhealthy to feel these urges, and i hope to try build a muscle for waiting and thinking purchases through.
in 2019 my goal is to Simplify. i wonāt be doing a āno shoppingā goal (read: with huuuuge inverted commas pls) but i believe decluttering my house will be part of simplifying, and hopefully help me with internalising that life is better without so many things.
