Why people do what they do.

I've seen another child going in little jj's play class accompanied by a maid.

I dunno... seriously, what's the main objective for a parent to register their little babies to an early development class? For them to be independent? For them to acquire new skills? To stimulate their minds? All of the above?

But if a parent cannot put aside one hour quality time on a weekend that they've committed for the benefit of their own child, then I don't quite see the necessity of it since the child would just sit with the maid the way she's always comfortable with at home (possibly)... and the maid doesn't say a single thing because she either doesn't understand what's the reason for doing certain activities or because she's required to just keep silent since her voice is not counted for anyways.

Anyone would want a child, I guess. And it sounds better when telling people that their child is sent to an early development learning center. But you can't have it all, want it all yet not willing to sacrifice that small window. In the end, the result is similar to when the child first started the class... sit, stare and stay comfortable because the child simply refuse to participate and the maid is not able to do anything.

I guess we all want everything in life but at what expense? One simply need to prioritise. After all, having a child is never easy. No one ever said it was easy. You've been away most part of the week... what's an hour or two during the weekend class where the child could absorb skills and stimulation the most when you're around. If that's so difficult and your needs and popularity come first, then the end result lies in your hands.

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Some of the Women In My Life

I was supposed to blog about something else but since I feel so strongly about this subject tonight, I shall blog about this instead.

My dear friend and ex-colleague, Elaine, is back for a short break and since little jj and I were down with chicken pox during her last trip back home, we made sure to make time for each other this time.

The meeting was made even more meaningful when our lovely friend and ex-colleague (too!), Nicole, managed to take off from work and converged at my apartment this afternoon. After I sent the little munchkin off to school, I joined them both for a quick lunch at KFC since Elaine was craving for it due to it not being available in Switzerland... and promised to join them a little later for dinner, to meet another friend whom I had not met and chatted in ages. So, I went back home to let little jj take her beauty nap while the two of them headed to 1Utama where Nicole had to meet someone for a discussion.

In between waiting for little jj to wake up from her afternoon nap and the eagerness for the one to return home quickly, Elaine called me up to tell me that she might have left her camera at one of the shops in Giant while shopping for stuff after I left. Of course, my instant response would be to say that she might not be getting that camera back if she had left it there. I mean, Digital Camera? And in Giant? There are tonnes of patrons going in and out and electronic stuff like that are usually stuff that you may not see again if you misplace them.

Well, as a friend, all I could do was to go back to the store and just ask, out of obligation. I mean, I wouldn't know what the outcome may be even with the assumption of it disappearing permanently. It is after all just nearby my place, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to drop by just before I go off to meet them for dinner.

The first stop was at the RM5 shop... the promoters there gave me a negative answer. So, my next hope would be KFC, where we had our lunch.

I queued up and then asked this one girl at the last counter if anybody had found a digital camera that a friend of mine might have left.

Whaddaya know... honesty, trustworthiness and sincerity still live on in the selected few urban population. She nodded and smiled, pulled out the drawer right next to her, took out all the documents and stuff, and then took out the black pouch with the camera, all still intact. And as if it was my own possession, I was thrilled and let out a few arabic words of gratefulness to Allah, thanked her for the kindness and left the place feeling ecstatic... that I was glad to have dropped by the place and was able to extend whatever kindness back to Elaine by doing this small favour.

So, to all of you, I would like to tell you here that the KFC outlet in Giant Mall, Kelana Jaya, has people who deserve to be given the acknowledgement in here. I shall drop by more often there.

Of course before that, I text her and said, tough luck. Haha. She thought the camera was totally gone. In reality, luck is tough. But I didn't mention that luck was actually on her side ;)

I made my way to 1Utama but the traffic was really really bad and parking was a challenge. But things were good and we all had our usual good time together, joined by Carmen, another ex-colleague turned good friend.

the waitress was laughing at our antics... yeah, we were all crazy together ;P

here, Elaine thanked god for letting her digital camera fall in the hands of honest & decent people... moi included haha...

The three of us have come a long way from where we were back then and the amount of things we all went through together while working under a crazy bitch has formed a relatively strong friendship between us. Carmen, was an outsider always looking in on us... she was taking care of bancassurance matters and totally understood what the three of us had endured, being in that 'aquarium' on the 30th floor of Menara HLA.

we were once branded, "Charlie's Angels" back in Hong Leong

Carmen made us all into the SATC group ;)

Seriously, apart from one other friend (and ex-colleague) who's now residing in Sydney, these two are an entirely different story. Up til now, after more than 7 years away from the evil clutches of a devil who wore Nine West, we could all still talk about her non-stop and how much she flows in our bloodstream. Still. Haha. We would imitate her scolding Elaine especially, since Elaine's hands would tremble at every WIP meeting every Monday morning at 9 am sharp. And she would always attack Elaine first since Elaine would exude that vulnerable aura which was magnetic enough to pull a negative energy towards her...

if you were to google my full name, you would come across this pdf article first. the caption to Elaine's name was labeled wrongly.. thus, even with Nicole not being in the photo, her name was with us...

We would always remember how she would bang all the doors to the pantry cupboards just because Elaine (who was in charge of events' catering) didn't understand what she meant by having the meals 'hidang' style haha... I was very new at that time and boy... did my eyes pop out when the entire 30th floor echoed with the loud shutting of cupboards, pulling out cups and saucers ;P

We would always talk about how she'd question Elaine on why her hands were shaking at every WIP meetings and how bad she made Elaine cry...

Tonight, we were even recalling some really awful stuff which may not be that nice to be mentioned here.

Then, there was that fake surprised expression in all of us during every birthday celebration! See, she doesn't have that many friends in life and because of that, she made us contribute RM50 for every staff's birthday (while she, who earned 4x our salary, also contributed the same amount!). What she NEVER knew was, all of us had planned the birthday gifts together, ie. we would buy the gifts together. Therefore, except for her gift, we would all already know what we were getting for our birthdays. And since she's a sucker for surprises, we let her be surprised with her gift, while all of us pretended to be surprised with normal and standard statements like, "Oooh, this is soooo thoughtful of you!" or "Omygawd... how did you know I wanted this??" or "Ohmygawd ohmygawd... I've always wanted to get this for myself"!! Haha... the only thing we didn't know coming would be the type of cakes that we're getting and the modus operandi of the surprise party.

I think that birthday thingy must be the best joke for us as we act surprised in front of her. Oh, and how much they hated that I was her 'pet' because I could anticipate her expectations ;P

Of course, to be fair to her, not everything is bad.

No no... let me rephrase that... in all the devils that you meet, there would be valuable lessons in life that you could extract and apply it to your advantage.

When Nicole and I became heads of department for different organisations after we left Hong Leong, we agreed that one of the best things about Ms Cruella deVille, was her weekly WIP. It was perfect. Everywhere else, people are always so busy... too busy to even discuss WIPs. But with her, it was compulsory. If you have not done it, you're supposed to complete it during weekends or come to the office by 7am on Monday. I tell you, our weekend was always spent worrying in case there are things we have committed to doing the week before and was not accomplished. WIP is a great way to plan your schedules and work is done more efficiently. The best part would be the fact that everyone in the department knows what you're doing and in case an outsider enquires about certain things when you're away, anybody else can answer on your behalf.... at least, no one can say they do not know...

Secondly, when it comes to sending out emails (especially when the whole world was copied), we would reread, go through the entire email hundreds of times and make amendments to specific words used to ensure that people do not misconstrue our true intentions and no one irrelevant would get into trouble. Therefore, one simple email may take 1/2 hour to 1 hour before it is actually sent. These days, people would simply hit the send button and get into trouble... spelling errors, wrong recipients, etc.

Thirdly, everything must be done in black and white. So many people love to screw corporate communications as they either think we are magicians or that we could create miracles. Once a black and white is out with proper confirmation and agreed content, we would ensure that the department is not taken for a ride and definitely not used as taichi. We found that all other organisations we worked in, are not friendly with this black and white concept so we concluded that it is all up to the leadership.

We also learnt from her how to multi-task, remember things at the tip of our fingers, negotiate for good rates more effectively and work efficiently even in a lean team. There were only 3 of us handling the group yet we all managed to pull through it all, sweat, tears and all. And the priceless part was learning the fact that everything has a hundred ways of getting done. There is no such thing as 'No'... everything is a 'Can' and you are required to think of ways to get it done... of course, within limits. I guess that must be the most valuable skill that I could even apply in my daily tasks.

Last but not least, no matter how bad she was, she was extremely fair when it comes to remuneration and evaluations. She would always always rate us all very high and openly refutes HR's concept of having quotas for over-achievers. To her, if everyone did a good job, then everyone should be evaluated professionally and given the necessary rewards. No one should be left behind to make way for an over-achiever. And no matter how much she liked to make Elaine fearful of her, she actually fought for Elaine's upgrade and pay rise as soon as I joined the department, since I had similar years of experience to her but I was getting a higher pay as I joined from another organisation. In this sense, she showed me clearly that no matter what HR says, the boss has the rights to change anything, when it deems fit. Hence, this was what we did too when we became bosses - to fight for what's right for the staff even if HR's policy and guidelines say otherwise... I mean, rules are just basic guidelines... a boss has a powerful voice since they would know best of how valuable the staff is to a company. Furthermore, I believe that the efficiency of the staff reflects heavily on the leadership... if a staff excels, surely the boss has given so much motivation. If one fails to perform, there must be something wrong with the leadership...

There are a lot more skills that we developed from working under her but those aren't really skills we learnt from her... more of skills we learnt to survive under her... which was pretty good, actually.

So, while I was browsing through my old files, I found several very memorable photos I have of all of us... something that I shall never ever forget for the rest of my life because these are really wonderful women who've kinda grown with me, accept each other as is, support each other through whatever decisions we make in life and remain friends through it all.

Love you guys!!

this was taken at the tsunami golf event where i volunteered to help even though i was no longer with the company. carmen is at most right...

this was at the awards presentation with the best CEO i've ever served. he's fondly known as Captain Chia.

as i was new to the company, i took the opportunity to get actively involved in the entire get-up... spot Carmen and Elaine in this photo...

this was at the Hong Leong Charity Run event where our department organised it with the help of all branch managers in every state... at most left is Nicole and Elaine is spotted at her back.

ooohh... Nicole had long straight hair then... this one was at another golf event.

i think this was taken before Nicole left the department...

this was at the Bachelor vs Married football match. Nicole was Captain's darling... and we all worked so well with him.

Ooohhh... that felt really good.

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A Fulfilling Start to the Long Weekend!

I am performing heavy multi-tasking in this beautiful long weekend.. am currently hooked on Ponzi on facebook while I continue checking in once in awhile on my cafeworld, farmville and yoville accounts haha... and, at the same time, I was able to cook Shepherd's Pie for dinner (I made plenty frozen ones and kept in the fridge, of course) while attempting to produce a new copy for my friend's new collection in Little Girls' Closet, the one-of-a-kind online dress store carrying quality handmade smocked dresses and hand-painted batik attires for little girls (and I am saying this out of sincere honesty). Just wait for their update on the new collection... they're absolutely gorgeous.

Anyways, the one came home from a 3-day motivation camp in Lenggeng on Thursday evening. I was wrong to say that he left at a perfect timing when I was free from urgent jobs... the fact that I was reducing my caffeine intake made me walk around the house like a zombie and feeling bloody lethargic all the time. I couldn't sleep but I was tired... and that felt bad. But... as much as I felt so spoilt and needy, I didn't immediately cry out to him on the phone as I didn't want to bother him with his once-in-awhile bujang moments. Heh. But yes, I felt so spoilt... and couldn't really believe that I once took care of a kid all on my own. I have been so emotionally dependent on the one and I love being dependent... I mean, why would we have a partner for if we have to rely on ourselves all the time, right? As much as I (think) can be a superwoman, I prefer not to be one?... Yes, I am independent but I also love being dependent. Go figure.

The one didn't need to go to work on Friday as the office was closed due to the public holiday today for Thaipusam today... so, we had a full Friday as I wanted to get plenty of things done on a weekday, with someone to look over little jj while I busied myself with stuff...

Let's see... first, very early in the morning, we headed out to Plaza Alam Sentral in Shah Alam to renew my business registration... it was already due by the time I wanted to renew it online and was unable to continue the process unless I do it directly at any SSM (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) offices. And to avoid from rushing before the Friday prayers, we made sure that we left the house pretty early... it helped a lot that little jj woke up really early that morning too.

unlike the pdf business license you'd receive by email when you register online, the SSM branch provides a nicely printed hard copy on a quality art card.

Oh, just for your info, the renewal process was done in a jiffy, surprisingly, I was fined RM20 for the delay in renewing my business and got 10% discount (under "Sokongan Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi") for every registered year.

little jj with her signature pout, waiting patiently for my number to be called...

We then had our breakfast nearby our place, along with little jj in tow and bought chicken rice for the not-so-little-anymore munchkin who was at home finishing his homework.

Then, we decided to pay a visit to the primary school where we planned to send little jj and whaddaya know... this kiasu mom was told that I would need to wait until she turns 5 before we could register her. Haha. Oh well, to be fair, during the little munchkin's time, registration was compulsory 2 years before his Year 1 commenced... a few years after, when it was my niece's time, she was required to be registered 3 years before her Year 1 commenced. Therefore, it is only natural that I suspected I would need to be more kiasu and register little jj 4-5 years earlier, right??... *sigh* well, apparently, not...

Whatever it is, the one and I agreed that we would still drop by the school next year, in case the indecisive education ministry who always seem to have a habit of changing their ruling and all, makes another set of rules without us parents realising them. So yeah... the administration at the office can be sure to see my face every year at their office....

After Friday prayers and tlm already in school, the 3 of us then headed off to 1Utama to gather some stuff...

The one was contemplating between getting an iPod touch or the new PSP for his [insatiable] gaming needs and while he did that, we managed to grab some books from MPH and applied for new membership cards. We have been visiting a lot of bookstores pretty often due to little jj's early interest in books and thought that we should take advantage of their memberships for the amount of books we've bought (and planned to buy).

this is little jj's newest favourite book... we've bought it about one year ago but she had only given it much more attention very recently...

she not only reads it in the car, but every where else she can...

Just imagine this... we used little jj's Kidz Club card to get 10% discount for the children's books, we obtained points for our standard MPH card and 1Utama One Card, and we got another discount from an MPH voucher we received in December'09. It was a really good deal :)

we got a book for tlm, a comprehensive BM dictionary for moi, guess who's hand was grabbing her new book while I took this photo, and a book for a friend's daughter (who also loves to read) for her 3rd birthday next weekend :)

Before we left 1Utama, we redeemed our 2nd free set of 6 Big Apple doughnuts from the accumulated points in our ONE Card. I guess in this uncertain economic situation we are in, these sort of memberships do offer attractive perks.

yummies...

Tomorrow will be another long day for me but at least the one will be off on Monday due to Federal Territory Day. For now, I gotta continue being an efficient multi-tasker (haha!) while I wait to organise a pizza party once the construction of my new building is completed... yes, I am talking about Ponzi, my latest addiction...

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Mom Bloggers Planet 1st Anniversary Get-2-Gather

*photo courtesy of MBP

Hmmm... I do think I may be the last few to update on Mom Bloggers Planet 1st Anniversary Get-2-gather. Bad Ambassador... bad *spank!* ;)

Do excuse madame toughcookie as she goes thru a rough caffeine withdrawal symptom which deem her not-so-tough. But please don't tell anyone that. Otherwise, that reputation might just be revoked by the blogging community *sigh*

Anyways, what else can I say except that it was a success. I wouldn't go that far as to say it was highly successful (although I do honestly think it was) since it was an MBP's first and we all know that there would be weaknesses here and there, being a first... with many more to improve in the future anniversary celebrations, if I am still needed there. But so far, I am not getting any negative feedback on the event... so I guess it was truly one successful do, don't you think?

Not wanting to describe too much about the event since many of the 40 blogger moms would probably have already told you on their blogs how much fun they had at the event, full with photos and everything. Hence, I would like to touch more on the people behind it.

Having done numerous events for god knows how many years, I must say that this must be the best team I've ever worked with. Seriously.

First of all, we all came together as volunteers - we were not paid neither do we expect to be paid. However, I was quite touched by their generosity... the gestures may not be in a big way but the fact that they came up with ideas of sorts and getting stuff for the preparation without being pushed is one priceless trait.

Secondly, all the other moms (in the committee) have a full time job. And I seriously cannot imagine how they could manage their time so well to give it their all into this event.

Thirdly, a point which I find so darn interesting is that none of them have ever done events before (unless maybe plan for their kids' birthdays) yet each one of them knew what their exact roles were without much fuss and without anyone breathing down their necks.

Last but not least, apart from not much experience in events, we all ONLY had 2 meetings - once 3 weeks before the event (with only the ambassadors and founder of MBP) and another, just 1 week before the event with additional 5 members who volunteered to assist each of us.

Seriously, with the 3rd and 4th point into consideration, I was so damn impressed with the team. There were just simple follow-ups through emails that was actually pretty slow until it got intense about 1 to 2 days before the event. Yet, everything was in place, budget was very limited and the event went very smoothly. Everyone did what they set out to do and no one questioned anything else that's missing from the list.

Again, I would say that, I am impressed. I love working with the team and I guess the fact that we all had a concise and compact 2-hour meeting during our first meet said a lot about how effective everyone was in the team.

I also appreciate that the 14-15 families who came very early were patient with us as the event started a little late, waiting for at least 50% attendance from the 49 mommies who had RSVP. We kinda anticipated some late comers probably due to the event being planned so early on Sunday morning and that the venue we reserved was probably a little 'off' from the main jogging course at the Shah Alam Lake. It was great that we were still able to follow through the programme as planned and according to the allocated time.

Everyone also looked pretty shy at first but as soon as we opened the registration for the kids' ping pong ball game, everything else went on so well.

this was one challenging game for the toddlers category - how do you teach a toddler to look for a tiny yakult bottle in the midst of very attractive colourful balls? ;)

sporting mommies all came dressed to the theme. these are mommies who were qualified to the final round of the 3-legged race.

*photos courtesy of MBP

It all boils down pretty much to such wonderful company in the form of 80 adults and 49 children from 40 families who attended the event. The food was really good too and kudos to that large variety of food everyone brought from home... who would have thought that we would have about 40 different dishes enough to fill all tummies of various sizes, eh *wink*

Everyone was comfortably seated at strategic spots ala a picnic - many brought their own mats to sit on while some were welcomed to share a spot on their huge mats. More importantly, the weather was on our side... it was warm and sunny early in the morning but was shady as soon as we started the activities.

*photo courtesy of MBP

a nice, warm and friendly event at a warm and friendly atmosphere, filled with warm and friendly people ;)

I was initially worried as I didn't get my emceeing points written down but I managed to scribble some up and all was well. And I was glad to have volunteered to man the registration counter as I managed to get to know many other blogger moms whom I may have only seen from the photos they post in their blogs. It was a pleasure to have met Byzura (whom I so wanted to get to know since I saw her at the FRISO event), Fatin (who was probably the hottest looking mom that day), Jiey (who may have taken my questions in a wrong way and am grateful that she didn't), Sumijelly (who brought over huge sumi jelly packets!), Luciana (who was the first to register), Mika & his mom (I was attracted by his gibberish talk as he sounded so much like little jj), Isabelle (who came so well dressed to the occasion) and so many more of whom I may only have had the chance to say hi and then left to continue what I was set to do.

little jj also made friends... here with anis manis ;)

All in all, it was a wonderful gathering on a fine Sunday and I simply must thank everyone who had made it successful - Kak Ros, the founder of MBP (definitely!); Hanz, Nia, Cik Lily Putih and Jiji (my co-Ambassadors) and Nini, Tifa, Fid & Lyna (volunteers who assisted us). I hope I have done a good job as well...

Separate HUGE thank you to my very helpful co-committee, AdD, who will be due in March but most importantly, a big thank you to my very supportive hubby, the one, who untiringly helped distract little jj from searching for mommy's boobies as her last feed was around 7am (poor baby...).

daddy, can i go inside this green tunnel?

ooh... i see a handsome boy!

can anyone tell me who's boy this is? the one apparently was mighty impressed with his patience and 'understanding' of 'women'. little jj obviously took the ping pong ball from his grasp but he just let her and looked at her quietly. when he took it back from her, she got mad and he let her take it from him again. haha...

As I was busy with the event and the one was busy distracting little jj, my camera only captured 4 shots that were other than those of little jj ;P so, this post may be different than those you see of MBP's other members who attended the event.

this is one of 2 shots that i could use... clockwise from right is Isabelle (who won Best Dressed Family), Jiji, AdD and moi...

with Byzura, who is such a friendly and sporting blogger mom. so nice to finally chat with you!

If you'd like to read from the rest of the mommies who attended the event, go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

*photo courtesy of MBP

thank you everyone for being so sporting...

these are the stuff that we brought home + 1 special package from MBP's founder for the Ambassadors. thank you, kak ros...

We all had so much fun and it was a wonderful Sunday.

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A WAHM's Work-in-progress: Tired but still smiling.

It is 4.35 am and I am still up, being used to this pattern that's been ongoing since about a month ago. And as much as I've said many times that most of the urgent stuff have pretty much dissipated, things are unfortunately (or fortunately) beyond my control. I am blessed to be so overwhelmed with work although I would prefer most to be within more manageable deadlines compared to those 24-48 hours rush jobs I had to do for some. Well, you can't have everything easy but then again, people should know that rush jobs may not get you quality results...

I tell you, it has been terribly crazy these past few weeks and I am so darn glad to have such an understanding husband... I can't emphasise that enough... it helped even more that the (not-so-little-anymore) munchkin can now iron his school uniform all on his own and I am lifted off that one part of the responsibilities in the morning.

In all these, I managed to slot in voluntary work for Mom Bloggers Planet first anniversary do (which I will update again later today, I hope!) and it was such an amazing event with amazing people I worked with, given the many factors that I will share in that post later. That Sunday, I was still up completing a final rush job til about 6.30am and had only about half hour of sleep while nursing little jj. It was so stressful getting everyone up and ready that morning until we actually forgot the baby bag. It helped so much that the one was so supportive of this particular project and he willingly went back home with little jj to get the baby bag while I busied myself with the necessary tasks I've committed with MBP at the Shah Alam Lake. Thus, my mind was totally clear and able to totally focus on the event.

Seriously, as I've shared with the one, as much as I welcome all these work for the extra bucks I am getting for myself, I don't think I am cut for all these adrenaline rush anymore. I am too old for all these (like, really). I have been putting on weight as I needed to eat to stay awake and my skin has really gone so bad due to the lack of sleep and SIX to EIGHT packets of pre-mix nescafe that I consumed everyday to keep me alert, since the past month. This is crazy and I know that I may have increased my chance of getting cancer due to the excessive intake of instant stuff within the short time frame, and probably even premature aging due to the adrenaline rush plus stress from the high amount of caffeine. I am not doing my body much justice and I do want to stop all these madness.

Today, I may be going through the first stages of withdrawal as I've reduced the caffeine intake but I am still unable to sleep and I hope I will go through this without much side effects. I hope.

I am extremely happy though that I have been appointed as Editor/Writer for some kiddy magazines. This would ensure a nice steady monthly income while I work from home. Hence, I can now probably say no to rush jobs and stick to my usual regular deadlines that are more manageable. This is a really positive development and I am grateful to those clients who had referred me to this particular publisher. Hope all goes well as I truly want to lead a 'normal' life.

With those rush jobs now out of the way, I foresee less stress even with the one going away for 3 days starting today. It's been awhile since he left the family for his work trips and I am glad that the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I would like to just sit in front of the TV (again) while feeding little jj her breakfast instead of me facing the computer while feeding her... or read to her properly during those quality breaks rather than just putting her books on my lap while pretending to read when my eyes are fixed on the screen while my fingers get busy typing... most importantly, I would like to start feeding her home-cooked meals again rather than rely on Mr Heinz and Mr Petite Gems.

I am so so tired. I am. But I am still smiling :)

Oh, and before I end this post, let me leave you with this video of little jj, 'singing' to Michael Jackson's Stranger In Moscow ;)

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A WAHM's Work-in-progress: Plans and Schedules

One other thing about being a WAHM aside from the discpline factor, one must be aware that everything would revolve around the baby and that all your plans for the day usually does not turn out the way you planned earlier.

When I say that everything revolves around the baby, I meant that your schedule and whatever you intend to do is planned around the baby's schedule... like you can't do your work around 8am-11am because that is when you need to bathe her or prepare breakfast, read to her, etc. Then, you know that around 1-3pm, is when she has her lunch, and you spend some time playing with her to stimulate her brain (and get her to feel tired) and then you need time to get her to take a nap... and so on and so forth. After all, most of us WAHmummies decide to take the plunge for an early retirement all because we want to take care of our kids and manage the household by ourselves, right? Thus, everything would revolve around everyone else in the family and only then can you get your work done.

Of course, this is where discipline comes in - of us prioritising and trying to fit in work in between because we have committed to the deadlines and all. For me, I know that I could depend on the one after he arrives home from work, to take care of the baby. This is when I am able to focus entirely on my work, but I don't discount the much welcomed (and unwelcomed) breaks from little jj from time to time, as she would constantly try to grab my attention in any way she can ;)

Unlike you guys working in the office, my usual working hours start at 9pm and can last til 3-5am. After that, I could go to sleep and still wake up early and not sleep during the day (with much help from Mr Nescafe!). Sometimes I do fall asleep when the baby's taking her afternoon nap but that would be rare since I would always feel that it's a waste of time sleeping when there are so many things to do at home. Thus, afternoon naps with the baby is only necessary when I am waaay too tired to even accomplish anything good at work.

Like today, I planned to go over Sunway Pyramid or 1U to get some stuff after picking up something from a client's office. However, the client was around when I came to see her staff and the meeting ran over later than I expected... seeing that it was coming to little jj's afternoon nap session, I decided to just head home instead so that she could sleep well and not be a cranky baby later today... so that mommy can watch American Idol in peace hehe...

Well, actually, I could just let her fall asleep in the stroller if we do go out but I just didn't want to have to wait for her to wake up before we could go home since it has been raining very heavily in the evenings these past few days and I seriously do not want to get caught in bad traffic. So... I guess I could just go out again tomorrow to search for those things which do not require any urgent attention anyways.

I had also earlier planned to take a nap with her while she's napping since I slept late last night trying to get some work done but thinking that I might get so engrossed with American Idol this evening (haha!) I'd better keep on working now that she's napping ;P

So, don't bother me this evening cos it'll be one of those rare occasions on one of those rare seasons where Madam ToughCookie will be glued to the TV.

Ahhh... with all the stress managing kids and household schedules, there are the perks to being a WAHM, no? :D

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Yes, definitely a good start for 2010.

Ok… ok… I know I said in my previous post that I was supposed to update this blog more regularly. But I still have jobs coming in and since they do not have crazy deadlines, I wanted to catch my breath and have proper breaks from the madness end of 2009.

Furthermore, now that my eldest son does not go to grandparents’ as he doesn’t have his religious classes at the mosque anymore (as he's entered secondary school), things have been additional hectic at home since I need to cook for him, get his clothes ready and ensure that he studies in the morning with those exercise books the one and I bought. What was usually just a plain morning - of bathing little jj and feeding her and then I continue working on my computer while she switches between watching tv and bothering me with her toys and stuff (hehe!)… have now turned to seemingly limited time since I need to prepare wholesome meals for the little munchkin (who's not so little anymore), get the baby ready to send abang to school and later in the evening get her ready again to pick up abang from school. So, work definitely cannot be accomplished in the morning.

Only today have I truly got the hang of the routine and woke up earlier than usual to ensure everything’s in order before little jj wakes up *phew!*

Ok… after all that, would like to update on the recent meeting I had with a Mom Blogger sifu and other ambassadors, in anticipation for Mom Bloggers Planet 1st anniversary do. It’s wonderful how the few of us of different backgrounds but with similar interests could come together to make something happen, when all of us were perfect strangers… and this is done out of passion. It’s amazing!

clockwise from very left: Kak Ros, Hanz, Cik Lily Putih, Jiji and Nia

the denim bag represents moi who was busy snapping ;)

Kak Ros (or more fondly known as Little Mama), the grand prize winner at the Nuffnang FRISO family gathering, headed the meeting and went through the list she has made one by one. All of us were allocated specific tasks and I am impressed how all of us busy women used up the entire 2 hours of the meeting very well… it was compact, we get to clarify matters and come to a unanimous agreement. I mean, if we had all established a company, I do believe it will be a successful organisation… no waste of time, straight to the point and can still insert some stuff on other matters pertaining to blogging and parenting.

There is another meeting this weekend together with some other volunteers and I am starting to feel a little nervous about the coming event. Well, to be fair, I had always had the jitters before every event that I am involved… and thru the past experience, jitters means something good. Not getting nervous at all means I am too confident of things and over-confidence does not usually result in something good. For me, that is…

Anyway, I have done certain things under my care and will look for a few more stuff after sending the little munchkin off to school this afternoon. I also need to meet a client to pick up some material for another event I am helping out come March.

All in all, I still have plenty of jobs to do but nothing I can’t manage, so I am taking it easy today.

Will update more soon ☺

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