'M' is for...

MILIA
This is Milia Savanna Noukies. Yes, it's the Prince's Gibra and I found its real name recently. Noukies is the brand of the toy, an established French manufacturer. Savanna is the range they launched, which included other African animals such as Rhino, Elephant, Tiger, Lion and this... a zebra. Don't ask me why they named the zebra 'Milia' though.

And the reason why I was searching for this on the web, is because we noticed a new pattern in our bedtime routine recently.

Bedtime routine: Make bottle of milk - go upstairs - change diapers and into pyjamas - turn on music - prop the Prince onto pillow - find him a toy to hold - feed milk while receives massage - finishes milk - Mummy carries to burp and prays very hard he will fall asleep soon (preferably without using the pacifier).

Recently discovered: Make bottle of milk - go upstairs - change diapers and into pyjamas - turn on music - prop the Prince onto pillow - find him a toy to hold - Prince looks around for Gibra before agreeing to lie down - feed milk while receives massage - finishes milk - Mummy carries to burp and prays very hard he will fall asleep soon (preferably without using the pacifier).

It was kinda cute when he walked to a corner of the bed one day, grabbed Gibra and dragged it with him to his pillow where he normally drinks his milk. That was also the moment when his Dad remarked: ' We definitely need to get him another one'.

Remember how you have a favourite soft toy, or that old blanket; and it grew so old and dirty that your Mum wanted to throw it away? I was lucky I managed to keep my grey squirrel but have always wondered what happened to my Hello Kitty. There's actually a solution to this problem, simply, to have a few of the same thing so as to preserve the 'longetivity' of the item.

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I first heard of this strategy from D, who told me his daughter has 5 of the same Barney soft toy. He and his wife got her the 1st Barney soft toy in Canada and it was during Christmas. So when the daughter seemed to be extremely fond of it, the parents went back to the store and bought 4 more before they flew back to Singapore. Reason - just in case the original one got lost, she's still got replacements. They were not sure whether Singapore carried the same Christmas Barney. (It was partly also because D said his wife is extremely particular about cleaniness, so she would want to wash the soft toy every other day, hence she'll need 1 more while the dirty Barney's drying out on the clothes line). For D, I guess it paid off pretty well because I've known his family for 3 years and his daughter's still carrying her Barney around. Of course, her Barney still looks as good as new!

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Ok, back to Milia the zebra. I was impressed when I went to the Noukies website and they suggested that when you noticed your baby starts talking to the soft toy and seems attached to it, you should get 2 or more of the same thing. They even have a 'SOS Noukies' hotline, whereby you can search for the model of your soft toy should you decide you need one of the exact toy your child is loving/ has lost.

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The only thing holding me back from ordering it right now is it costs 25 Euros for 1 and another 25 Euros for delivery. @$#&*%$^#??!!! I'll be paying almost S$120 just for Gibra to have another twin brother! Yes, I've gone to extreme measures in order to get a particular pair of shoes (with the right size and colour I wanted) for the Prince but I cannot accept the fact that a soft toy is gonna cost me almost a pair of Nine West! So, I'm giving it more thought at the moment... perhaps it may be more economical to matchmake the Prince with another new love?

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Medicine

There are bottles and packets of medicine lying around the house. There's not just 1 but 2 family members that are sick. I started it first on Monday, suffered a splitting headache on my left and blocked nose. Decided to see a Dr in order to get well faster and not spread the germs to the Prince. Alas, things didn't work out and the Prince started having running nose on Thursday.

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While I am done with my Augmentin and Clarinase (taken them so often until I can remember their names), the Prince's still having his flu medicine with Otrivin (for blocked nose). Haven't tasted children's medicine but aren't they supposed to taste sweet? I know from the spills we had, that they are sticky for sure. More syrup had landed on our bedsheets, arms, legs and clothes, than what went into his Highness's mouth.

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We are impressed by the fact he could recognise the syringe. Even as the Dad pretends he's licking the syringe like some Chupa-chup (complete with sound effects "Hmm...yum yum, slurp slurp"), the Prince starts whining the moment he spots it. He'll move towards me and insists I carry him away. Poor thing, he didn't realise he's sleeping with the enemy, because my duty each time is to hold him tight so that the Daddy can have a better aim for his wailing mouth.

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Aidan my dear, we know it is suffering when you fall sick and that you hate it when we force the medicine on you. But really, thank your lucky stars you are taking Western medicine. You haven't tried Grandma's chinese boiled herbs yet.

g

Memory Lane

So, my parents have decided to rent/ sell their semi-D at Phoenix. It's been 4 years since I moved out after my wedding. I was lucky there's no siblings waiting to kick me out, so that she/he can 'finally have a room to her/his own'. Thus, those belongings which I didn't bring with me, were all status-quo in that room. Till 2 weeks ago, when Mum told me I'd better clear up my room in case someone's keen to take over the house.

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Her remark sort of make me regret I didn't pack up my room before the Prince came along. I have definitely more than A TON worth of things inside my old room. Clearing it would take me at least 2 whole days (which is impossible when you have a child), if not 3-4 weekends to clear it slowly. It would also mean I'll get to spend less time with my Prince and not be able to take nap when he does. Shucks.

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So hubby and I started the cleaning out process last weekend. Took us 2 hours to pack 3 boxes of soft toys and trophies. In the middle, there were the:

Hubby: R u sure u want to keep these junk? Keep the trophies for what? What can u use them for next time?

Me: Wah lau eh, I won all these trophies 1 by 1, of course I want to keep them right?

Hubby: What about this? It's just a bottle of paper stars man. And this too, a bottle of red seeds? Come on...

Me: Can't you see there's a photo inside the bottle, beside the stars? Of course I want to keep it! (The red casuarina seeds were picked by me while my parents practised 'Tai Qi' at Botanical Gardens. I walked along the pavement choosing the prettiest seeds amongst those on the floor. So, of course the seeds meant something to me right. It helps me remind myself to bring a book/ magazine out whenever you go out with your parents to do things which are of no interest to you.)

Hubby: Can I throw this photo frame away? I swear to you you are not going to use it in the future.

Me: I want it! I will use it, it's just a little bit dirty at the back.

Hubby: Come on, dar. It's so dirty. Let's throw it, I don't think you will use it at all.

(after some negotation, I managed to keep the frame but not the backing card. I am sure in years to come when I unpack the box, I'll be searching high and low for the piece I threw away)

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Packing up my room brought back plenty of memories for us both. I found newspapers articles about the record number of couples who got registered on 02/02/2002. I found extra wedding invitation cards for our KL wedding, and an unsent one addressed to 'James'. (yup needless to say, James never got to attend our wedding in KL). N our letters and cards to each other especially when he went to USA/Ireland for 8 months when we were dating. I made him a notebook (right) for him to jot down his thoughts when he was overseas. Sewn the pair of bikini and denim pants myself, ok!

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I realised there is a difference between how the opposite sex clears old belongings. Seng found a box of his belongings after he moved into our place while we were preparing to move to our new place. He found his "good old" alarm clock but decided to throw it since it wasn't working and leaking batteries. He continued to clear his pile while I ran through my own stuff. By the end of it, I saw that almost the entire pile of his belongings have been placed under the 'Trash' section. "All the stuff were mine so I guess I have the right to decide what to throw, right? So, I'm throwing away all the vcds, ok. Who watches vcds nowadays anyway?", he exclaimed. I almost passed out at his remark but decided to keep quiet. Had to try very hard to keep away from that pile of 'rubbish' in case I catch sight of what it inside and start retreiving things.

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Needless to say, I kept most of my stuff ('junk' in my husband's words). There's the 2001 Peoples magazine, which featured the widows of the 9-11 victims and their new-borns. The cover was beautifully done, at least 50 mothers and their babies, spread over a double page. There's my diaries and my autograph books, from primary to secondary school days. Made my hair stand reading the contents of what I wrote. But 1 thing was constant, I complained and am still complaining every time I get my period, after almost 15 years since it all started. Well done.

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I found and kept: a 1996 calendar I bought from Nepal (left) when I went trekking after my A levels. I reluctantly set aside my letter pads to be passed to the maids, which I've painstakingly collected since Primary school. (bought heaps when I had my Pen-pals to write to). A certificate declaring I sky-dived 9000 feet off Taupo, New Zealand. (So, why isn't the cert kept together with my photos? Very 'organised' right?). 2 stamp albums (I totally forgotten I was an avid stamp collector in Primary school), magazines from Cosmo, Marie Claire, Her World, etc (I'm hoping when I'm old, I can show my kids how dated magazines were at my time), posters from Teen/ Teenage magazines... anyone still remember N.K.O.T.B?

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Well, the list goes on. And better still, I think we will need to return 2 more times at least in order to clean up the room. Meantime, I will probably need to find more empty cartons.Completed carton no. 6 but after finding my Forever Friends tissue paper (which I didn't bear to use when a friend gave it to me when I was 14), I think I'll have a lot of things I want to keep.