gowd

she made me eat my words...

acted out last night... screamed her lungs out for being put in her crib... i gave in at 3 in the morning...

torture...

well tq nura for a memorable 4 month old "present", u really shouldn't have... now, please behave...

morning

i've been feeling extraordinarily tired and constantly hungry. i was sure i'd lost a few lbs from feeling so drained this past week but my weight miraculously stayed put. i do feel lighter or maybe what i felt was lightheaded-ness : )...


nura will be 4 months old tomorrow. chot's co-worker said, as babies reach these milestones, they'll act up a bit. so, i was hoping that is the case with nura. she refuses to take her naps in her crib, preferring ( eerrrmm demanding...) to be held instead. but alhamdulillah, she still wants to sleep in her crib at night.


she shocked us this morning by making a 90 degree turn in her sleep. i should have taken a picture... anyways...


this is still a bit surreal for me. having a baby and her growing so fast. felt like no time at all and she's already 4 months old. or maybe i'm slow... coz as i am just getting use to, easing into having a newborn, she's suddenly 4!!!...


but i love it, this motherhood thing, i think... (yeah, like a have a choice now...) no... i love it, i love her... my yummy baby.

i have pictures from trips we took to Omaha to visit ellie and peoria for a birthday party. go to myphotoalbum ya...

dreaming of blogging

it's been so long since i've written anything, not that i don't want to but caring for a little one is a fulltime job. chot is a good dad... is a pro at changing diapers.

nura??... well nura is bigger and healthy. what's funny about her is that she is very vocal now... she'd "sing" very loudly when she's pooping half of the time. other times, she'd grunt... but sometimes she's give us silent stinkers, out of nowhere we'd hear "proop... proop... proop" from her butt.

she's better at sucking her own fingers... she'd drench her hands with saliva and half her face would be wet. and she spits and make bubbles. she's also getting good at grasping things and attempting to put stuff in her mouth.

her back is stronger and she can lift her head without much trouble. when we put her in her boppy pillow, she'd instantly want to push herself up, using her elbows and crunching her tummy.

oh yeah... she LOVES to jump... legs are definately getting stronger.

alamak, she's awake...

anyways, i find myself hating my 3 month pregnant looking tummy... kept saying to myself that i need to start on pilates but saying and actually doing are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

ammm... want to blog more but i have to stop... i end with a pic of nura... bundling up to go out.

Nura is 3 months old

a sweet milestone. she smiles, coos and laughs (currently, only chot can make her laugh)...

she's aware of her surroundings... so much so, she won't stay put when i feed her in an unfamiliar place. also, would want to see who's talking... pulling and tugging...

she's about static weight gain wise. height... i'm not sure.

it's confirm... nura has a unibrow. hmmm... what can i do... but it's a cute unibrow!!!... hahaha

i have more to say, just can't remember what about... and i have recent photos... still in the camera.

but i have these to share... nura's range of expressions

HER ANGRY FACE

HER SMILEY FACE

HER SURPRISED FACE

HER WORRIED FACE

HER THINKING FACE... HMMM... POOPING FACE ALSO BOLEH...

Nura's First Eid

we in waterloo celebrated eid on friday oct. 12. didn't really feel like eid, until we went to peoria on saturday (peorians 1st syawal, oct. 13).

it was nice... seeing friends and enjoying the food. nura was a good baby... a bit off schedule feeding wise since she and i were out of our normal surrounding. i paid with pain of engorgement...

i love this photo of her, taken in the van on our way to peoria. all pictures are here.

Well, Selamat Hari Raya to all. forgive all of my wrongdoing.

First Immunization

She went out happy and smiling...

came home cranky, with bandages on both thighs...

so, she got her first round of shots. why do they have to use long ass needles?? they were close to an inch long... i was afraid they'll poke her bones. anyways, next immunization will be in 2 more months.

she weights 13 lbs 4 ozs... no wonder my arms are errmmm... more muscular. she's at the 95th percentile weight-wise but at 21 inches in height, she's only at 5 percent!!! my short and chubby little angel.

Nura is 2 months old

nura will be 2 months old tomorrow. she feeds every other hour and naps in between boobs, so as soon as i'm done feeding and burping and changing her diaper... it's feeding time again!! so exhausted at times, hard to breathe.

but she makes up for it with her smile, cooing and funny faces.

at 2 months, she sleeps longer at night. usually 5 hours before she asks for food or i wake her up.

her lashes are long and thick... but the eyebrows are a bit scary looking. hopefully they'll grow less of a unibrow... (I BLAME CHOT) : )...

and i think she has a dimple on her right cheek... i think...

she weights 10 lbs 8 oz or so about 2 weeks ago. and grown a bit taller.

ok... times up.

Quickly, quickly

She's taking her nap.

Wanted to wish all a good month of fasting. I'm not sure what fasting day today is since i'm not fasting. i'm also not thinking of eid... what i am constantly thinking is of nura's milk consumption, and after she drinks, thinking... no... hoping she doesn't barf it up. her poop, her gassy tummy, her rash. if she's cold... or hot. WHY WON'T SHE SLEEP (and when she sleeps a bit longer than usual) WHY ISN'T SHE WAKING UP.

Breastfeeding is not easy. recurring problem of latching her properly. i did graduate from college and i do understand the literature on putting baby to nipple correctly. but still... WELL, at my defense, nura squirms and resists, and when i don't get her food quickly, she wails. but alhamdulillah, i think i'm getting the hang of it.

Also alhamdulillah, our hospital has wonderful lactation consultants... we go see Susan for help and she is a lifesaver. we just saw her yesterday, was worried if nura and i have yeast. nura may have a little yeast in her tummy from the rounds of antibiotics killing off all bacteria in her, including the good digestive bacteria she had/ needs.

I don't have yeast, but Susan and i have successfully concluded that i have a condition called Reynauds... a blanching of the nipple due to blood vessels contracting, leaving them white... quite painful.

AND, i've bruised my boobs when i'm expressing milk by hand, doing it too forcefully coz one shouldn't express milk like one is MILKING A COW.

So, on top of the damage i've caused my nipples from my own shortcomings, i also have this reynauds condition... BREASFEEDING IS HARD.

Anyways, KAK MIKE, MY EMAIL IS kemboja76@yahoo.com

And we went to Peoria the last weekend before fasting month started, had a good time seeing friends i haven't seen for close to 2 months. Pictures are here. Took her to the Asian grocery store whose lady owner would ask me EVERYTIME me go there before of when we will have our own baby. Sampai malas nak pi kedai dia dah. So we took nura to see her, as proof of us having one already, so she won't ask us THAT million dollar question again. she said this year is a very good year... only happens once in 60 years... not just any year of the boar but the year of the GOLDEN BOAR... very golden indeed.

BUT the main reason for posting today is to post these pictures. chot and i were playing around, trying to see nura resembles him or me most. she just doesn't look like any of us, maybe not yet. or maybe she's a mix of us making her look like none of us. or maybe she looks like her grandmother... my MIL. whatever lah. but the funny thing is the face she made... we gave up after 3 attempts : )...

what's in a name??

when nura was still in my tummy, family and friends would ask on a name for our baby. chot and i were so gung-ho on giving her a malay name, as oppose to an arabic name. we feel that giving our child a malay name is appropriate when baby is malay. and not like there's no meaning to the word/ name... not an arabic meaning but a malay meaning is a meaning nonetheless.

so classical malay names for girls are usually of flowers and for boys... i dunno... types of wood?? jept suggested a nice boy name of a type of wood. a manly name to call ur boy "Jati" right??

some other suggested names were "antoi" (my father-in-law). "antoi" is a type of flower by the way. and other non flower names like "murni" meaning "pure".

i always like the name "seri" for a girl. like m. nasir's daughter's name in the movie fenomena. "seri" means ""glow" although i think there might be other alternative meanings to the word.

and "tuah" for a boy. "tuah" means "luck".

once when we just got married, i suggested to chot that when we get a baby girl, i like to name her "comel" which means "cute". but chot shot that suggestion down, saying "comel" is the kind of name people give to their cat!!!

but when the time was finally here and baby was about to come into the world, i guess i chickened out (I chickened out since chot left the baby naming job to me). so as i always like (bordering on love for) "nura", i went with that. and that's that...

why did i chickened out?? i dunno really but most2 probably feeling like i was playing with an important issue like our child's name. i might scarred her for life by doing so. maybe, when she goes to school in malaysia, everyone might be making fun of her because of her "different" name.

and then there's the spelling of the name "nura"... and the pronunciation that chot and i went through. ideally it should be spelled "nuura" since it should be pronunced with a long "u".

oh well... i can't be too fussy on it because despite our best efford to give her a purfect name (in our eyes), people will still pronunce it the way they want. like my MIL, she kept calling nura "nOra"...

and now, as nura is spending time with us, growing and showing us her personality, we've been calling her with nicknames... i've sometimes call her "comot" = messy... due to how messy she looks after each feeding.

and chot calling her "konyot" sometimes. i don't know the word but he explained it as "bantal konyot", like a child's favorite pillow or blanket. when she's crumpled up and smelly but ultimately, well loved.

jumble womble

am multitasking. typing with one hand n holding her in place for feeding with the other.

nura is turning into a little person. before, she was more of a blob asking/ wailing for her needs to be met. hmmmm... she still wails but now she smiles when i put my face close, making small talk to hers... understanding my jokes.

bringing her home, i was full of enxiety. but things are beginning to settle into place. i want to put this down... that even when she's just a month old, i always felt like i've known her forever.

anyways... have tons of pics to share.

of nura's hospital stay. oh, by the way, she had a VCUG done last friday. her urine valve is normal and the bacteria in her urine is a one time thing.

of ellie's visit... enjoyed her and jeffrey's company. we'll return the visit insyaallah... if not soon, later : )... i'll get nura to the zoo if it's the last thing i'll ever do.... hheeeaahhh hhaaa hhaa hhaa (chanelling gargamel from "the smurfs" cartoon")

of kansas city friends coming over. it was fun... thanks for coming. jangan serik ok...

what else???...oh no, my other hand needs this typing hand...

Nura is 1 month

our nura is one month. she's taking a nap right now and hope i can finish writing this before she wakes up.

what marks this milestone??... let see, she's chubbier and weights 8 lbs and 8 ozs. last friday. i tried putting on this cute dress ellie got her but it's still a bit big.

alamak, she's awake... she wants food... ok, quickly....

she eats a lot and then barf it out soon after. but mostly, it stays down.

she's a bit impatient.

she regular... bowel movement wise.

she makes cute faces... makes cute sounds (when she's not fussy)

she smiles more now when she's full and content. laughs even... so cute...

ok... she's crying her eyes out... happy 1 month old nura, ibu and ayah loves you.

update please

so, i have to keep it short and simple.

had 2 previous drafts, trying to tell the same story and still it didn't get publish.

nura went into hospital for 3 days, high fever, 100.6 F. went in last sunday, went home wedneday. they poke her for spinal fluid, many times drawing blood and stuck an i.v on her. VERY TRAUMATIC for me.

bacteria in urine. hope it's a one time thing... but doc. will follow up on a test on her urine valve.

she's fine now.

i'll have to take better pics of her.

she's gaining weight. being an inexperience mom, i freak out a bit when i realized she was developing a double chin. i thought her chin was swollen!!!... qua qua qua. but being in the hospital at that time didn't help..., i took every changes in her to be an illness.

i'll post pics from the hospital later.

Our Baby Nura

: )... so, this is our precious Nura, alhamdulillah, allah hu akhbar. Chot and i are so thankful everything went well and nura is a healthy baby and we love her very much.

she weights 6lbs 11.2 ozs at birth (what is that in kg??), i dunno how long she is but she has a head of black hair.

she was born 8 days overdue and i felt strong contractions around 3 am sunday morning August 5th. after subuh prayer and a shower, chot drove me to the hospital and i was admitted. was dialating at 3 to 4 cm and got an epidural in the first hour there. in the next hour, was dialating at 5 to 6 cm. at 12 noon, was fully dialated and nura's head was a finger's length away from crowning. the epidural was a bit strong for me because i was numb as numb can be, couldn't feel a thing... which i am not complaining.

so, they turn the epidural machine off and waited till 2:30 to have me push. i was still not feeling anything but went ahead and started pushing anyways. and at 4:43pm, nura came into the world.

chot was by my side all the way. helped me push and took photos. the doctor asked him if he wanted to cut the cord but he said no. it's scary enough being in the room for him i think, so no one insisted he do it. but he took a lot of "in the moment" pictures... admirable considering everything that's going on.

we stayed in the hospital for 2 days, going home early tuesday evening. thank you kak ellie for sharing some info with the others. the lightning got our modem, wireless router and some other computer component. we had to (reluctantly) buy new stuff... a computer too.

thank you everyone for the well wishes left in the comments section... nice to know u have people thinking of u, and wondering how ur going. i think this post satisfy all inquiries... ya???

Nura is starting to wiggle and i know soon she'll ask for milk. she's 5 days old today by the way. i've uploaded pictures of the birthing, click here. i'll try to share more stories and pictures soon insyaallah.

My niece Husna

i was waiting for new pictures of husna since forever. my sister took tons of pics BUT taking and actually sending some are two seperate, seemingly unrelated occurrences.

but i got them today!!! oh, how i missed this little bugger. Husna has more hair now, enough for cute hair clips. and she doesn't look like my mom anymore, i think. probably more like her dad.

she's learning to imitate facial expression, hence the curled up lips in the second picture.



as for me, i've dialated 1 cm on wednesday. and the doctor says if i don't go into labor by wednesday morning, i'll be induced. SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.

no action yet

so, i'm still here, no changes in my current pregnant condition. i'm not complaining since i think being "late" buys me more time to prepare. but that's the whole thing, prepare for what exactly??

chot's was fidgety a week or so before my due date. asking me tons of questions when i came back from the doctor's office. asking me if there's any changes, if i'm dialated and if i felt ok, so on and so on... and so on.

i pointed out to him of his restlessness, seemed like he's bothered that i'm not following the timetable. if my due date is so and so, something should happen by now or i won't meet my deadline kind of thinking.

and as soon as i ended my sentence. he said, "i know u, if it was up to u, u'll be late for as long as u can". so true!!!... but to my defense, it's not like i'm posponing the arrival of our baby through mind control. she's just wants to stay in for now. the troubles of the world must be scaring her, much2 more safer to stay inside.

so, what is it with meeting the due date?? it's a guess date anyways. tell me how many ladies out there gave birth come their due date?? highly unlikely right?? so, no worries. Plus, the doctor says since i'm ok and the baby is ok, she'll give me up to 10 days. we'll see how long this goes on.

anyways, there might be a downside to keeping the baby longer. i was paying for coffee at barnes and nobles yesterday and the lady asked "u'r pretty big, when are u due??", to which i answered "ammmm... yesterday". it was quite funny really, until it occured to me that the baby will not stop growing and i will continue to expand... qua qua qua...

anyways, a picture with the peaches in the backyard.

battle for the peaches

this year, we're blessed with peaches. last year we only got one stinkin' peach from 2 full grown trees!!! it depends on how the weather is really, if it suddenly gets cold or there's frost, the buds will be stunted. this year, there's no cherries and the plums are puny. but the peaches and apples looks good.

the abundance of peaches made the branches droop, i was worries they'll all break. i think we're suppose to discard some so the ones that's left will grow bigger but luckily we didn't since the squirrels were being such pests and constantly attack the peaches. if we did discard some and then factor in the squirrels, we'd end up with none.

then my in-laws came into the picture. as soon as they got here, they got possessive over our fruit trees, and since the peaches are the first to ripen, it's peaches this and that. everyday, they'll report to us on the squirrel activity. how many squirrels, their sizes, their manners. how the squirrels are ruining the fruits.

these observations turned into hatred, they began keeping watch. once i saw them lurking behind some bushes trying to surprise the squirrels i guess. and i saw a makeshift sling shot in the basement. chot told me of ayah relating to him seeing our neighbor's kid patrolling their vegetable patch with a BB gun. ayah came "this close" to asking for a BB gun of his own...

once, to everyone's surprise, ayah went and caught a squirrel with his bare hands. he was out of breath and got his thumb bitten in the process... but the look of joy on his face... priceless!!! i was soooooooo sure we were going to have squirrel curry for dinner that night but he let it go. if u look closely, u can even see ayah's bloodied thumb...

for now, the talk of squirrels and peaches are no more. ayah and mama went and harvested all the peaches... even the unripen ones. next will be the apples!!!

Tasmanian sweetheart

new picture of Adam... i think he looks pretty dashing, with his hair all slick like that... boleh chop tak utk this baby in my tummy??...

gosh i miss them... tasmania is so far away...

still pregnant

tomorrow i'll be at 38 weeks. i don't think i'll be delivering early since seeing the doctor on July 10th and she said i'll probably deliver close to my due date.

the baby's head is in place but she's still up there. i'm not even dialated yet just my cervics has started to thin out. so sorry to those that received news from me of being/ started to dialate, i must have heard the doctor wrong when i was there previously.

so, it's just a matter of waiting. some days i'd get the heebie jeebies... and some days i'm ok. chot said he's scared and unprepared. i guess we somewhat feel the same, us being first time parents, there's a lot of unknowns.

i wish i had my mom with me... i know, i know... my MIL is here and she's my "mom" but if i get to choose, i want my real mom... that would be great. but beggers can't be choosers. AND, i have a long list of phone numbers of friends to call for advise on issues regarding caring for baby.

i went to a few baby classes. not the whole she bang... just managed to get into the last of a series of pre-natal classes (i called too late) and it was on what to expect after delivery, post-partum etc. and went to a breastfeeding class on tuesday. The instructor did say to bring our partner along, but i went to the breastfeeding class without chot. There were 2 guys there and coming back from it, i told him and he promply replied "those guys just want to see pictures of boobies"... go figure.

but the good thing about our small town hospital, the support system is good and more personal. a lactationist is always around on the floor and they take turns minding the breastfeeding hotline. there's another hotline for other baby questions. also, there's a breastfeeding mothers' support group that meets every wednesday. insyaallah, i'll be ok... clueless at times but ok.

anyways... i was fiddling on the computer a couple of days ago and i wound up looking through some older photos of me in my first trimester. a bit alarmed at how poofy my face is now... ok, ok... i AM very pregnant these days but it didn't diminish the ickyness i felt... ahhhh... soooo superficial. and a gurdle my MIL brought from malaysia... a size M. i took one look at it and wondered how the hell am i going to fit into that!!!

so here's some pictures to compare.

4 more weeks to 40 weeks

actually 4 weeks and 3 days... but who's counting...

today, went to the doctor's office and she went and put her hands up there. and said the baby's head is in place.

(1) ouch...

(2) coolness. when this is the first physical contact with baby. i mean the baby is real, she's been wiggling and pushing her butt up my right side but what the doctor just did made it more real...

so, 4 more weeks... maybe more... maybe less... most probably less is u ask my mom. always saying 2 weeks early... always... always the case with ladies on my mom's side. so fingers crossed.

Thank You, Thank You

it's been hectic... or rather, i've been slow. slow in doing everything.

my body aches and i can't sleep at nights. so in the day, i nap a lot. i'm bigger and chubbier and retaining water. seemes like my whole body is swollen... normal stuff, right guys??...

anyways, enough about that. i'm writing for a purpose here, to say a big THANK YOU to dear friends. not in any particular order...

TQ to KAK ELLIE for driving all the way from Omaha and giving and lending tons of stuff. and going around looking for good deals at garage sales for me. i had fun having you and JEFFREY here.



and thank you EMMY for the boxful of baby clothes and other stuff. you're such a sweetheart and very thoughtful. if u can make it, come and visit us and chot's mum can make yummy stuff for u guys.



TQ also to MUS for organizing the baby shower and offering her home for the event. and to the Peoria clan AUDRA, KAK CHA, MIRA, BEE, YAN & ELISZ for the nice gifts, effort and yummy food.

TQ to SYUMAILA for the gift and coming. Finally, we got to meet.

The baby shower was so much fun. great time chatting and eating and laughing. enjoying the kids and playing silly baby shower games. Thank you so much you guys!!! LOVED IT. more pictures are here.


(i know i forgot someone... so i'm adding this now). a big TQ to ANIS & JEPT for the crib and tons of baby stuff. really appreciate it u guys. saves us a lot right there.

and TQ to JOE for the frame, i'll use it for sure & remember you always.

TQ to NEENIE and APEX for those lovely booty and adorable dress. you guys are such dears!!!

also, a big TQ to BAI for the cute baby stuff and helping me get to places i needed to go. dearest buddy... you're a life saver.

and TQ to chot's co-worker KERRY & wife LORNA for the baby clothes. i need to remind myself to send them a TQ note.

sorry for being so out of touch to some of you. want to write proper TQ notes, or email u guys personally but like i said, i'm pretty slow right now.

anyways, pray for me ok u guys, it's getting close and i'm scared... ammmm... that's it. THANK YOU MUCH.

Salam De Kalb

so, here i am again, early2 in the morning blogging.

we're in De kalb for Midwest games... they're doing it at Northern Illinois University this year. My very first time in De Kalb and NIU but chot's been here eons ago to see a friend. he showed me the town and the downtown, and once went to the town's corn festival. if anyone is wondering, he said he wasn't here visiting a girlfriend... he said... hahaha. maybe i'll inquire in more details.

anyways, when midwest games comes along, he'll always lose to the temptation of playing soccer. and each year he goes, and each year he'll come back to me with aches and pains and SWEARS he will not do this again... but then he does... vicious cycle... vicious...

this year i'm tagging along, might as well travel when it's still the two of us. and after he's done with soccer... we'll make our usual round of chicago. with a van, i can buy big stuff at Ikea : )... yeah right... dream on lady!!!

anyways actually, really excited to see Ika & the other kiddies. I want to hear Ika say "toksey"... courtesy of audra's in-laws. will share pics later...

++++

update on chot + my tummy. he's much better than before... there's still worry on his part when the skin is all (in his words) "shiny". well, that the situation. and on the flipside, he's started talking about the next baby. wallau!!!... i'm having enxiety thinking about giving birth, how to raise one child proper and he's already planning out the second one.

ehek ehek, but we'll see, if god is willing. coz (1) with me having endomitriosis, it is wise to not wait to long, not wanting the endo to come back when i'm left errrr... idle. and (2) i'm not actually spring chicken anymore...

: )... speaking about spring chicken, there was a fellow teacher in gerik. she'd tell us her life story on more than one occasion... on getting married late. so to make up for time wasted, every year she'd produce one baby. she has a whole batallion of kiddies tailing her. and we can spot her grafitti car anywhere. when anyone one of us in the teacher's room says "guess who's pregnant??"... i can bet top dollars ALL of us were thinking it's this particular lady... pregnant again??!!!...

anyways, that's it for now. the motel's breakfast starts in 15 minutes... i need food!!!...

the story, morning glory

well, well, well... looks who's up at 4 in the morning...

i woke up to go the bathroom & couldn't fall back to sleep. maybe because tummy is a bit hungry (am having a soya bean drink) or maybe because the enxiety on not starting packing for memorial day weekend trip. that's most probably it... i've procrastinated too long... (and still, instead of packing, i'm blogging!!!)...

alhamdulillah, pregnancy is going well. although body is aching more, i guess it's normal with the extra weight i'm carrying. my back, my legs hurts the most. i know i should have started an exercise routine earlier to prepare my body for the extra strain but sitting on the couch feels much better. and baby is moving much more and it's more intense. she's kicking my bladder often... that hurts too.

i took some pics of me with tummy weeks ago. only recently took and putting up an actual "photo with tummy" for all to see. a friend asked if i took pics each month to track, u know... to track development. ammmm... that would be a "no". felt like not wanting to jinx it i guess. or maybe, not wanting to be too confident... all cocky & happy, acting like it's a done deal when baby is not a comfirm. ur sssoooo pessimistic win!!!... lighten up!!!...

so, why did i took a "photo with tummy" and sharing it with all??... hehheh, i'm not that heartless. besides, it's only one picture taking session and i would like to have some kind of "photo with tummy" to remember this time in my life.

what the ell am i babling about??... so anyways, here's ME with the classic side pose!!!... is her butt bigger than her belly??... wah yes... it is!!!...

++++

also sharing some pics of our new mode of transportation. it's not "new" per say since we traded in our used mitsubishi for a used honda odyssey (oddysey??... haiya... can't even spell it right). we were just talking about getting a van but it was just talk since chot knows he married a worrier (and i worry about money all the time) he didn't want to give me enxiety by pushing the matter. BUT, it is the next logical thing to do, plus, with the prospect of chot's parents coming and staying for 6 months, it will just be impossible to cram everyone in a car.

still, i was not too hot on the idea. my main concern was how we'll manage coz the goal here is to get out of debt, not create more of it. plus, having more people in the household and providing for them... and still having 2 morgages to pay... gosh, i'm having trouble breathing!!!

then it happened...one day, we drove pass the honda dealership and saw a quite cheap van and one thing led to another. chot proposed a patch up plan (basically, work more hours to pay for the van. i pity him really, he comes home tired and then head straight to the computer to do more work. damn, i'm useless.)

so, no denying it... we're officially in the minivan group. anyways, here's last pics with the car and last day of driving the mitsubishi to work for chot. the car has been good to us. and last pic is of the van...