Being in high school all over again

Sometimes I feel church is like one big high school all over again.

Some people say high school is never over which is also true. I guess there’s a variation of high school deja vu in different aspects and places in our lives. But church is a big one - a mixed bag of people thrown together in a common place having to all try and get along and do things together.

It’s all there… the populars, the loners, the jocks, the clowns, the geeks, the gleeks, the cliques. Aaaahh yes, the cliques. Cliques galore in all shapes and sizes… loose cliques, tight cliques, exclusive cliques, structured cliques, unofficial cliques and official cliques. If you’re not in one, you’re living on the sidelines baby.

Forgive me

I have a number of overdue drafts sitting in my folder waiting to be finished and some pieces of fabric pieces sitting on the sewing machine waiting to be sewn.

Until that happens, I shall have to direct your attention elsewhere to a variation of my previous What's in your diaper bag post... if you're itching for something new to read, here is my Bub Hub post on Going out with cloth.

The crime of being ordinary

Facebook has changed it’s layout once again. Are you loving it or hating it? I haven’t fully decided how I feel about it yet, but normally I tend to just go with the flow and accept whatever changes they throw in.

As I was exploring their new ‘live updates’ sidebar widget, I stumbled across an old acquaintance's profile. I was impressed as I glanced through the details of his shiny corporate job and important-looking photos of him in a nice elegant suit at some important-looking business function.

It made me pause and reflect at where “we” are now at this stage in our lives. By “we”, I mean peers and friends of my age who are now scattered all over the globe… all pursuing different endeavours…

The holiday is over

Today was one of those cold, wet, windy, blustery days. I woke up this morning to the sound of the howling wind and the rain pattering on our roof. At that moment I wished I could snuggle back under the covers and go right back to sleep. But indulgences like that are no more for me… especially when living with a early and punctual riser in the nursery.

True to form, right on the dot we heard Nathan stirring and babbling in his room. Today was also a work-in-office-day for me, so no dilly-dallying - lots to do to get ready and drop Nathan off at daycare before heading off to work.

I felt the weight of the day start to press down even though it’s barely begun. I suppose it was mainly due to the somewhat empty feeling in the house since my parents left back for KK last night. It really felt like I was on holiday while they were here even though technically I was still running on a normal work schedule. How nice it is for folks who have parents or in-laws that live close-by.

Some parting shots of highlights from the remaining week of my parents’ visit…

Nathan’s pai kia pose while we were out shopping

New skill learnt: clapping hands

“Chocolate chocolate everywhere but not a lick for you!”
(at San Churro chocolaterie in Fremantle)

New lavender bushes planted by my mum

Sweet cuddle moment with jia gong

Grandparenting services

WARNING: Somewhat picture heavy post primarily for the benefit of Nathan’s daddy who is currently in China for work.

Mums whose hubbies are frequently away for work must have it tough. When my hubs told me he had to be away in China for work for two weeks, I was quite daunted at the prospect.

Hubs has been away for work before for short stints - even so it gets difficult after the third day. Normally by late afternoon or early evening, I get a little frazzled from a day that’s just full of Nathan - feeding, nursing, changing nappies, cleaning, soothing, entertaining… it really helps to have a little break to prepare dinner, eat, and shower while the boys enjoy some father and some bonding time.

So to manage alone for two whole weeks in one stretch was certainly intimidating. Furthermore, there were some big things happening the Serenely Made space which would have been difficult to manage without someone around to help.

I was grateful when my parents decided to pop over from KK across the Indian Ocean to offer their grandparenting services…

And bring over some yummies (for me)…

Nathan is one pampered little grandkid!

The Crunchy Mum

FYI something else that has been keeping me occupied lately is my taking on another blog as the resident cloth nappy blogger on the Bub Hub forum as The Crunchy Mum.

It’s really been quite satisfying to be able to share and talk about cloth nappies to my hearts content in a dedicated space. I know that this blog has morphed into a mummy-baby-blog, so to top everything off with cloth nappy talk would just be overload for some of you non-mummy-readers, me thinks.

You can read or subscribe to The Crunchy Mum blog posts here. I also blog about other crunchy-related topics like babywearing and breastfeeding. One of the recent highlights of my Crunchy Mum stint was getting some free cloth nappy samples from Baby Beehinds to review.

Here’s a snapshot of little Nathan sporting one of the cute new fluffies.

You can check out my first review of the nappy here.

Fisher-Price Rock N Play review

This post is a Product Talk by Nuffnang. I received this product in exchange for a review but my opinions are completely genuine and honest.

Last Friday, there was an unexpected ring on the doorbell. I was rather annoyed at first as it sounded right in the middle of Nathan’s morning nap.

However I was pleasantly surprised with a delivery of big package for me.

The package turned out to be a Fisher-Price Rock N Play set sent by Nuffnang for me to review. I was so excited that my annoyance at Nathan’s interrupted naptime immediately disappeared.

I laid the different components on the floor and contemplated my next step. Should I wait for hubby to come home to assemble it for me (as I normally would)? In the end I decided I couldn’t wait that long and went ahead to try my hand at putting it together.

After just a few clicks and snaps, in 10 minutes I was able to have my “tadaa!” moment.

So tadaa!!!

The first thing that caught my attention about the design of the rocker was the depth and incline of the seat which looked quite different from most rockers I’ve seen in the market.

As Nathan was a little grumpy from being woken up early from his nap by the doorbell, it was an opportune moment to try out the rocker on him. So I popped him in…

… And after a few minutes he was all smiles again. *phew*

Nathan was too excited to go back to sleep, but he was quite content to sit in the rocker while I continued on with the chores around the house. He evidently found the rocker to be very comfortable.

I immediately liked how the deep incline of the seat provided a more secure position for my boy. Nathan actually has a tendency to slide down his rocker and would fuss when the straps started digging into his armpits and crotch. So the upward tilt of the Rock N Play was just genius for me.

Admittedly Nathan is past the sleepy unsettled newborn stage where a rocker was essential to soothe him to sleep. But this would have been so perfect for those times when I was working from home in the study and was not able to rock Nathan to sleep in his room. I also liked the fact that the height of the seat was higher compared to most rockers which was the ideal position for maintaining eye contact with him at desk level.

Things that would have been nice to have in the rocker would be a bar for hanging toys and the option to swap the rocker into a stationary position. But those things are made up by the great ergonomic incline of the seat, the super lightweight and compact design, plus the cute bunny toy that comes with the set was an added bonus.

The only other thing that daunted me a little was the rather steep RRP in Australia which is around the $115-130 mark (however it’s a lot cheaper in the US at around $50 - not sure why there’s such a massive price difference). But I would definitely say the ergonomic design is something that is very unique and especially ideal for babies with colic or reflux issues. In any case, it’s an item worth considering to include in your registry if you’re planning a baby shower.

Exit strategy

This morning while I was going through my feeds on my rss feeder whilst expressing milk on my breast pump (parenting is all about multi-tasking, folks), and I stumbled across an article which urged women to plan an exit strategy if ever their husband were to cheat on them or leave them for another woman.

Here’s an excerpt from the article…

…No matter how ‘good’ your husband is, never underestimate the perils of temptation. Men are weak. Period… Women, if you think you will be living forever happily ever after, well and good. But please, plan your exit strategy. It will and may never happen to you, but what have you got to lose in planning your exit strategy…

My man was in alarm snooze mode in bed next to me. I couldn’t resist…