A Pregnant Pause

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Lucas has been driving me up the wall this whole week, mainly because we’re stuck at home from the rainstorms.

Yup, got a typhoon headed our way! We’re all hoping that good old Taiwan will do its best to ward it off Xiamen again…

When he’s not making Mummy mad, he makes her laugh! Check out what this smart aleck says:

P/S He’s into this habit of stretching some words now for emphasis. Sometimes, he throws in a bit of a shiver for effect. It’s kinda cute and sure saves him from being dumped into the dump truck!

Before going to the supermarket, I gave him a pep talk because he was VERY naughty the last time i.e. wanting to buy yoghurt, mantou, chocolates, sweets (cough drops! chewing gum!) off EVERY shelf we passed; yelling and crying at the check-out and making Mummy look like a cruel wai guo ren (Mandarin=foreigner).

Me: Ai go Rainbow market, mai? (Wanna go to the Rainbow supermarket?)

Lucas: (nods) Mi-mi hold hand. Mai run! Walk, walk…slooooooow. (purses lips and puts fingers together for emphasis).

Me: Yesterday, Lucas naughty. Oo boh? (Yes or not?)

Lucas: (nods again) Mai cry. (thinks a while) Ai happy!

Me: LOL (There goes the fierce Mummy pep talk :P)

——–

At the swimming pool…

Lucas: Mi-mi, go there! Go over there! Oo many big kor-kor there! (excitedly pointing at the 1.7 m deep end where kids are wildly jumping into the water)

Me: No…cannot. That’s for big boys. Lucas small boy, stay here.

Lucas: Lucas big boy! Lucas big boy! Mai stay here! Go over there! (shouts loudly)

Me: Ok, naughty liau hor? Let’s go home.

Lucas: Stay here. SWIMMMMMMMing!!!! (gets all giggly and excited again)

——-

While watching Bob the Builder (again!!!!!!)…

Lucas: Mi-mi swish (switch) on! Bob the Builder dannnnncinggggg!!! (shivers excitedly)

Me: Mai-lah. Lucas switch on. Where’s the green control?

Lucas: Over there! Up there! (points to the top of the TV)

Me: Please bring the control here.

Lucas: Not! Not! Higgggggghhhhh! (shows big eyes at me and waves both hands in the air)

Me: Lucas big boy now. Wow, Lucas tall tall - put your hands up! There…you can reach the control…

Lucas: Lucas *small* boy (”small” is said in a tiny whisper). Boi ghia! (Hokkien=I can’t reach it!) Mimi ghia!

So convenient, right? He’s a big boy when he wants to expand his horizons but he’s a small boy when he wants to be as lazy as his Mummy!

——

Sex education 101

Me: Lucas si boy or girl?

Lucas: Lucas boy!!!! (yells loudly)

Me: Shh! Talk softly. Mummy leh?

Lucas: Mi-mi boy!!!!

Me: Cheh…nolah, Mummy si girl.

Lucas: Mi-mi boy!!!

Me: No…Mummy si girl.

Lucas: Mi-mi boy!!! Mi-mi boy!!! (stars chanting and jumping)

Me: (decides to change the subject) Papa leh? Papa boy or girl?

Lucas: (sneaks a peek at his father in the kitchen. Thinks a while) Papa sang (siang) boy (Hokkien=Papa seems like a boy).

That sure made me laugh!!! Of course, his father wasn’t that tickled…

——

Gender studies 101

Me: Lucas, Papa fat or thin?

Lucas: Papa fat!

Me: (chortling) Lucas leh?

Lucas: Lucas thin!

Me: Mummy leh?

Lucas: Mummy fat!

Me: (with raised eyebrows) Hah? Mummy fat??? Mummy mana oo fat? (Official translation: How can you say Mummy is fat? Look carefully)

Lucas: (in a small voice with a small smile) Mimi thin…

Me: (smiles broadly)

Lucas: (smiles happily)

Papa: (not smiling as he examines his fat tummy)

- THE END -

Hmm…I’ve got to shake off that doubletalk. I know my father would say:

“Stop talking to him like a baby!”

It’s raining again. I’m having a part-time maid come in to help with the housework and also for some company.

Sigh, sigh, sigh - Mummy needs massage therapy!

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Tags: speech, toddler

When we first arrived, God blessed me with a beautiful friendship with a *very nice* Malaysian lady. Not only did she and her family take us out for dinner, she happily entertained Lucas the way a doting aunt would.

Next, she introduced me to her network of Malaysian mums, a few of whom have come forward with tips, help and other means for us to settle down better in this new city.

When my father passed away, she was equally wonderful - just a simple message of condolence and then she let me be. When we came back, she didn’t call me, allowing me to make the first move when I was ready.

Now that we are back, we SMS and call each other frequently to catch up. Yesterday, she was sweet enough to call me to tell me about the impending typhoon. I was grateful for that warning because my TV is tuned in to Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Tigger, Sesame Street or some other 2D character the whole day…

Not many people remember the homemaker stuck at home, you know?

The best part is - this lady is 12 years older than I am!

Yet, I can chat and joke about anything under the sun with her

She’s been to our place 1-2 times but it’s always to pick us up for an outing (and helping me get Lucas into his diaper, pants or shoes) or to grab a quick lunch. She even helps to carry Lucas or my handbag to give me a break LOL

Wanting a bit of fun recently, I organized a potluck lunch. I also wanted to use it as an opportunity to introduce 2 other Malaysian mums to the group.

I was surprised to hear that she and the other Mums were *very* worried about my ambitious plan!

Knowing that I had no maid but an over-active toddler, they all fretted over HOW I was going to pull it off

Used to event management, I knew that I could do it with some careful planning. Also, Hubby chipped in as adviser and anchor for the necessary supplies.

What did my fantastic friend do? She:

a) called me up to set the date and time, helpfully indicating which days would not work with her buddies;
b) offered to bring almost her entire kitchen over - she virtually did as she brought many bowls and utensils to supplement our meagre 4 pcs of everything;
c) rounded up her buddies - 3 of them showed up 3 hours earlier to help prepare the main meal;
d) coordinated a potluck - we ended up with so much food everyone could da bao and I even had dinner guests! (Hubby and his colleague)
e) ensured that everything was cleaned up, cleared away and everyone cleared out by 3 pm. She wanted me to grab some shut-eye before Lucas woke up. He’d dozed off at around 1.30 pm.

Isn’t she amazing?

It was a superb lunch because 12 mothers or so showed up with food, fruit and frolic. We had a lot of fun preparing the main meal, eating the various food  (including some freshly baked bread, chocolate cake, rojak and char koay kak!)

With a compatriot from the Land of the Hornbills, I served laksa Sarawak, except that I accidentally boiled the eggs instead of making omelettes!

Lucas? He enjoyed himself immensely with 2 new kor-kors, a jie-jie and a di-di.

We talked about the rising petrol prices in Malaysia, Altantuya, the American incestuous father, stretch marks, organic and GM-food in China, China dolls, summer holidays (when most of them fly home, sob, sob!), cute air stewards and other womanly stuff, except acne treatment

I had so much fun I’ve got a mind to organize another one soon…just for the sake of getting these mother hens all flustered up again ;-)

What do you get when you put 12 homemakers in a room? Not many leftovers! Here’s what my dinner guests were entitled to:

(clockwise from top left): Char Koay Kak, laksa Sarawak condiments, rojak, cherries, sambal belacan and chicken curry.  

One thing’s for sure - 2 Malaysian men went to bed really happy that night (while another grumbled enviously since he was stuck in the office) after such a tantalizing treat!

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Tags: friendship, Malaysia

Because working from home is not yet a common sight in Malaysia or other developing countries, I frequently get asked,

“HOW do you work from home?”

After a bit of explaining that I work off my laptop via the Internet, some people grasp the idea but some still have many questions…

To make things easier, I describe to them my home office, which consists of:

1. A laptop - the basic equipment for a copywriter / media consultant like me

2. Word processing software - I was fortunate that I could buy the original Microsoft Office package at a discounted price. I’m on the look out for Adobe PDFWriter Professional…if anyone knows how I can buy this cheap, drop me a line ASAP!

3. Antivirus software - Needless to say, this is very, very important to safeguard my working drafts, files and other important information stored on my laptop.

Now, I’m using the AVG Free Edition but I was informed that free updates are no longer available beginning June 1. I’ll need to pay US$50++ for a yearly upgrade. I’m still thinking about it.

4. External hard disk - Since I no longer have an IT department to run to, I need to ensure that I do a regular back-up of all my documents.

Luckily, Windows Vista has a great ‘alert’ system that prompts me to do a back-up periodically. Since my files and information are ultra important, I decided to go for the best external hard disk, the Western Digital.

5. The Internet connection - After the laptop, this is the second most important investment a home-based worker will need as it’s your gateway to the world. With the internet, you can:

make/receive phone calls via Skype/MSN/Yahoo,
send/receive emails,
PDF documents,
fax documents,
research for information and
lastly, keep in touch with everything and everyone.

Since setting up a home office and sharing the internet with Hubby, I’ve learned about routers, splitters, network switches, Cat5e patch cables and other such geeky bits.

Still a long way to go though as my eyes glaze over when Hubby begins to explain them…

6. A printer/scanner/fax machine - This would be the perfect complement to the basic home office since it’d allow me to do more.

Currently, I work completely off the laptop but it’d be great if I could print out some documents to read offline, especially as Lucas prefers me to sit with him either on the carpet or sofa.

And there you have it - the basic home office. Due to our transient situation, I don’t have a work station equipped with hanging folders, filing cabinets and a proper document storage space, which would be ideal.

I use various clear and flat folders to organize my papers and a box to store my books and other references. They are kept out of sight (and out of toddler trouble) in the spare room’s empty wardrobe.

For me, necessity is the mother of invention. I’d love to hear what others’ work at home set-ups are like!

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Tags: wahm