Sweeping away the cyberwebs

Once again, I was hibernating in my little real world and despite reminders for updates, I turned a deaf ear. And after many many numerous numerous reminders, I decided to get off my lazy butt and start updating.

You know, there are many times when the statement, 'I gotta blog about this' , plays through my mind. However, my will is just not strong enough to really blog about it. So I end up telling myself, 'Ok, I must blog about this, about that, about those, about these when I actually blog'.

But, once again, it all depends on my flow of thoughts when I sit in front of the computer. I forget sometimes. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Oh well, what else can I say. I've a baby to take care of ok! The most convenient REASON of all. ;p

So, in my teeny weeny little world, Raine is now one year old. She's sleeping really soundly now and so that's also why I can have the luxury of sitting here typing. Time is no longer in my control. My world revolves around her and so does my time. So sometimes, I beg for my precious' mercy and plead her to go have her nap so that I can have a little bit more time for myself. If she grows up, I'm gonna ask her to invent a drug that is suitable for making babies sleep. Kinda like a sleeping pill but harmless. I think I'm gonna be a millionaire should this pill ever be invented. All parents will thank me and babies will grow really quickly cos all of them have their beauty sleep. Remember, you first read about this idea here! This idea is MINE! So don't ever try to be funny and invent this pill before my baby Raine grows up. The pill shall be called 'Raine's beauty sleep'. But first, I must make sure that you people reading this have babies. Otherwise, no one will need 'Raine's beauty sleep'. When I mean have babies, have them when you're married. Remember, no sex before marriage! Don't go round telling your parents that I'm encouraging you to have babies. Of course, this applies to my young underaged readers. For older folks, or rather, matured readers, go get married and have babies. Oh whatever.

So I digress.

Yes, so Raine is one and we held 2 birthday parties for her. One at my mum's and the other at my own place. This is to prevent Raine from being overwhelmed with love. She can spread those love over 2 days. Isn't it nice? So she had two birthday cakes, sang the birthday song twice and blew candles twice.

Her first birthday cake

Her second birthday cake

The second birthday cake was significantly bigger than the first and we took about a week to finish it off. After throwing some away. I think she enjoyed herself but I doubt she understood what it meant when we wanted her to wear her princess party hat. She knew that she was the centre of attention when all of us sang birthday song and looked at her. She clapped and was smiling away. I reckoned the adults had more fun than the birthday girl herself. Especially when I was happily snapping away while Cousin Seth wanted to show his love for Raine.

Seth: Happy birthday cousin Raine

Raine: Hey, what do you think you are doing?

Seth: Happy Birthday my dear cousin!
Raine: Erm, I think you're getting a little too close...

Seth: Ok, I tell you what, let's face the back. Your mummy's a little annoying!

Seth just wanted to pose for picture with Raine. But Raine wasn't too cooperative. In the end, we gave up and decided to ask them to stand for a picture together instead.

What's up with the party hats?!

Her birthday party was simple but nice. I wanted to celebrate her birthday in style. You know, with lots of balloons, presents and lots of people. Then I decided not to cos she probably won't remember and I'll end up being really tired. And poor. So simple is good. But I'll definitely hold a MacDonald birthday party for her when she's older. I think every child deserves it.

Well, despite our efforts in giving her the best of everything, Raine is still very much the menace. She's becoming a little independent being who insists on wanting things her way. She'll want to walk on her own in shopping malls. Without us. She'll want to take things out of the stores. Without paying. She'll just do everything that we don't want her to do.

Can't imagine what it'll be like when she's older. Like in her teens. Oh gosh! Can't imagine. I'll just tell her not to let others know my occupation. How ironic if her teachers gotta ring me up every now and then to complain about her.

Back to my updates. After her birthday came the school holidays. My favourite time of the year. Went on a trip to Tokyo with just hubby. Decided to leave the little imp behind. Otherwise, I don't think we can actually enjoy our trip. Plus it'll be too cold for her. So the main reason why we didn't bring her is cos it's too cold for her. That's right.

It was a really good trip. We always love trips to places with cold weather. We just wanted to see smoke coming out from our mouths when we talk. Not from cigarettes. Loads of time alone together and that is something really precious nowadays.

We visited Disneyland, Mount Fuji and most of the other places listed in our trusty travel guidebook. Seeing how the Japanese behave kinda puts me to shame. They are soooooo polite and orderly. They queue for everything. They queue for the train, they queue for food, they queue for toilets, they queue for donuts, they queue even when they want to look at christmas decorations. Talking about christmas decorations, Tokyo is beautiful at night. They've lovely christmas decorations everywhere and with the cold weather, it really feels like christmas.

Us with Mount Fuji in the background

One of the beautifully decorated street

A view of Hakone while on a cruise along Lake Ashi

Now I know why so many people around me love Japan. The view is awesome and the place doesn't really have lots to complain about. Apart from the fact that it's getting a little bit more expensive with the exchange rate and and the amount of walking one has to do while you're there. The subway station itself can kill you! If you're complaining that Dhoby Ghaut is big, you wouldn't complain once you've been to Tokyo and back.

So I was saying that the weather over in Tokyo was cold and though I loved the cold, I just can't tolerate the dry wind that blows in Tokyo. It makes me feel that my face is all tensed up and it feels that my face is cracking each time I talk or smile. It is especially so when we were up on Mount Fuji. It was terribly cold and my hands were freezing. That's when my hubby said something that I thought was really funny. We were standing on Mount Fuji looking across at some other mountains. It was a really beautiful scenery. The wind was blowing against our faces and we were just taking in the moment.

That's when he said, 'So this is how it feels.......'

Inside my heart, I was thinking of, 'to be living in a cold country' or something to that effect.

Then he continued to say, 'to be a meat or vegetable in the freezer'.

Imagine my reaction in that instant. I didn't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes. I just burst out laughing and realised that my hubby does has his funny moments.

I had a great time this holiday. Though the trip was short but I had fun. While I was in Tokyo, no matter how impish my little baby Raine may be, I missed her tremendously. I'm seldom away from her for such a long time. Each day, I wonder whether she's sleeping well or eating well. And to some extent, I feel a little guilty leaving her behind in Singapore while we're having fun. We decided to bring her along for our next trip. I guess trips away from home will never be the same again after having a baby. A little part of you just seems to be left behind when she's not around.

Christmas is coming and we've gotten ready our gifts for the kids. No matter how bad a recession is, kids ought to receive presents on Christmas. I always receive Christmas with mixed feelings. I love Christmas but when Christmas is over, it means my holidays will be over too. Then it'll be back to the mad rush of school bells. I had better cherish my remaining holidays before it's over before I know it.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my flight to Tokyo was delayed. For 4 hours! Goodness gracious! And I thought this wouldn't happen to the our local flight. It's supposed to be the best isn't it? Sigh, nothing's perfect in this world. And I can't agree more when I was trying my best to remain jolly at the airport.