presidential election

tomorrow is the day. i was getting sick of all the coverage since the race started sooooooo long ago, can't believe it's actually here.

n now suddenly my hands are cold n i'm nervous thinking of the outcome. they made a mistake of electing bush for a second term, i hope they don't make another mistake by electing mccain.

i wish i can vote coz our lives are affected too.

12 weeks check up n more

just came back from first ever check up. heard the baby's heartbeat, comfirming comfirming there is indeed a little one inside. had a pap smear, n a culture for testing since i still have my abnormal cells in my servics but apart from that everything looks normal.

the due date is May 12.

today while chot kept nura company as i was being prodded he reported that nura was saying "walk... walk... walk" as she made her rounds in the building. probably she picked it up from me telling her to walk (instead of hugging my legs n asking to be picked up).

i have videos of nura limited but expanding vocabulary.

first two is of her making the biting into an apple crunch "kkrrrruuunncchh"...

no. 3 is self explanatory...

n the last is of her saying n demonstration "it's stuck"...

the case of the pain in the *toot* floors

we started EARLY MAY 2008. ripping the flooring in the computer room. put in underlayment. felt good... on to the living room...

here's where we made our mistake. u should have ripped out everything, inspect the condition of the sub floors BEFORE buying our laminate. on the day this particular pic was taken, our new flooring came (ohhh... i dunno... all the way from canada but made in malaysia). we noticed a hump n as we proceed with tearing the old flooring... the significant slooping of about 2 inches from where i stood taking the pic to the fireplace wall.

chot's attempt to repair the hump.


this is in August, in an attempt to fix the slope, we (well by this point, i have given up, so...) chot piled layers of wood. but it seemed like the floor is moving each time. he put on inches on one side, came back the next day n found out it was higher. so off he went, rising up another section to match up the previous mistake... for months n months he kept at it. layers n layers of wood.

we (yes, we... i had to help when he pored the self leveling cement)... problem is it doesn't really self level itself despite us making it runnier than recommended. plus, for such a large problem to fix... this stuff pored in batches just doesn't cut it... what would cut it is a cement truck.

a couple of weeks after this pic was taken, chot came to the end of his "by hook or by crook, i'll lay the laminate down" insistent/ persistent. came to my "let's cut our loses n put in carpet" (dark) side.

also at this point, we were asking each other, how much weight can the sub floor hold. don't want to continue pouring cement n then having the whole floor fall into the basement!!!...


this was taken Oct. 26 2008, the night before the carpet guys were to come. chot took the day off to finish undoing all the layers of wood, all the layers of cement, grind each n every stapler head n put in new underlayment. he did it all himself...

the next morning, he was still cutting bits n pieces of underlayment in his handsome work clothes.


we all suffered i tell u!!!... he suffered from being tired with work, trying to finish his old pile before moving to the new position. suffered from fulfilling what is required of a jump to a new company. then came the orientation he was made to go to on top of the old pile of work he still had to finish... on top of the new pile of work he was given... (he is working in the same office, before he was a contract worker, now he's ammm... not. so his old boss can still find him n ask about that old pile of work).

came home n had to face the floors!!!... nuff said.

i suffered coz he wasn't around to take over nura duty. all the time i was experiencing 1st trimester symptoms... n an exhausted mother of a 1 year old.

nura suffered... from being cooped up in either her room, or my room or the kicthen. then it got cold outside... more trapped. she got sick (ok... all suffer when she's sick) with a runny nose. then she got a flu shot, fever from teething. not sleeping through the night, cranky n fussy. still teething at this point...

but alas, here we are 5 months later. we have our living room back. pic is of nura trying out the new carpet. she's unsure of all the space but happy regardless.

bits n pieces

- this first trimester is harder than nura's time. i was at the point of nauseousness that made me picked up the phone to my OB-GYN asking for medication. it's getting better now (just passed the 11 week mark) n when i get queezy, it's mostly from gas (from not getting food in when i need to) n i take gas pills for that.

- am suffering from a bad cold. this is day 4. i thought there's nothing i can take for it so i was in agony. chot said to call the clinic just to make sure i was sure. n waddayaknow... i was wrong, I CAN TAKE SUDAFED n ROBUTUSIN DM. n throat lozenges is ok. writing this down so next time (i hope there's no more next time) i'll have the info handy.

- weight. i was at 135lbs when we conceived, i know coz i went on the scale a few times a day coz was trying to get back to original weight. now at 11 weeks, i'm 133lbs. not bad... they say with 2nd pregnancy, woman don't gain as much coz running n managing a kid will keep weight off... i sure hope it's true for me... i gained 42 lbs with nura, i was huge!!!...

- chot started as a JD employee monday. before we was a contract worker, working at JD. is it a step up??... well, not really just that this is more secure i guess. he'll be going somewhere career wise not like before, stuck in one place, no developement, no striving... he always describe his position before as "pencacai tua angkat najis"... i'll ask soon what he's describing his new position : )...

- he's been awfully busy with work n the transition n repairing this house. the flooring project went kaput. it's just impossible trying to level n uneven floor. i have given up a long time ago but he kept at it, wanting to put in the laminate flooring down by hook or by crook.

so now, the plan is for him to undo all the work he's been doing... so we can have carpet people install CARPET. the unused flooring will go to the basement for when we go get around to our angan2 to have it finished : )...

- nura. she's been clingy n whiny. refusing to nap n wanting to sleep later at night. i think the clingy n whiny is from not getting enough sleep (or teething)... but then i put her for her nap n i'll hear her yapping for 2 hours...

this not sleeping when one should is a classic trait of moi. so i guess serves me right. : ) reminds me of when we kids misbehaved, my mom would say to just wait, when we'll have our own kids, they'll be as bad as us.

she does say "bu" for me. n today, i was asking her to say "nenek"... n just like that, she said it. so i scrambled for a video footage. she's sure gonna make her "nenek" melt. i need to remember to put up pics of her grandparents n keep grilling her so she'll know to put a face to a word.

- says "moo" for cow. n show me her teeth when i say "gigi"...

- has choosen to stop breatfeeding on her won. the lactation consultant did say that pregnancy is a natural way to ween baby off the breast. when the milk gets harder to extract n the taste changed, baby will be uninterested. nura acts like she doesn't understands when i ask her if she wants "nenen". n when i do get her attention, she shakes her head. stops breasfeeding at 14 1/2 months when i'm 11 weeks pregnant.

gosh, i'm getting drowsy. so uploading pics n video.

showing me her "gigi"

she wants to do this at least once a day. push my shirt up n lay on my tummy.

saying "nenek"

(the spacing of a post will just go crazy when i upload pics after composing... which just drives me crazy!!!)

i shouldn't...

what i should be is sleeping... but logged in to leave comments for a friend n might as well update my own.

concentrating on the current.

nura (of course, mesti mula dgn nura) is 14 months old. has 2 teeth n getting skinnier. calls me "buuuuuuu" but she also says the same for books. sometimes she calls me ayah too. things she's saying right now, what i can remember...

-wass dat (what's that)

-dis (this)

-ish stuck (its stuck)

-duc (duck)

some are associated with movements or sounds

-penguin (she'll move from side to side, for waddling)

-apple (makes "kruppp" sound, for the sound biting on an apple)

-tiger (she'll "roar")

-tummy (she'll pat her tummy, sometimes she'll pat too high... at her chest) so far, for other parts of her body, she'll show me her hair.

-hat (pats her head)

she's down to 1 to 2 breatfeeding sessions. once in a blue moon, doesn't take any.

ALSO, i wanted to wait 2 more weeks but i might as well make the official announcement. chot n i are PREGNANT. am at 10 weeks.

was an accident n gave us quite a shock. ready or not... readykan jek lah. the fact has sunken in quite well, n infact, with running around n attending after nura, am too tired to remember that i'm pregnant.

also want to write, nura lately is very lovey dovey, lay on my chest n my tummy. when i pull my shirt up to give her milk, most often than not, she just wants my tummy to be exposed. refuse milk but gets angry when i cover tummy up. n today, is putting her feet on my tummy... hmmm... so do kids nura's age know when they have a little sibling swimming around in mummy's belly??... i do wonder coz nura is acting out of the ordinary.

my mom mailed this for nura's birthday. it's just hilarious!!!... she looks so alim... hehehe, AMEEN. she's screaming n protest, n if u squint real hard, u can see her two front teeth.

videos 2... Nura anak ayah

she just refuses to learn to say "ibu"... when i'm needed she just calls by grunting "ermhh... eerrmmhh!!!"...

also, kutnya, the fact that i'm always around makes it unnessesary to learn to say "ibu". like in her head she's saying "this lady is always here, why should i bother with a name for her" kindda thing.

now, when it comes to saying "ayah"... it's totally the opposite. she'll peep through doorways calling "ayah... ayah..." thinking chot is in the other room. n when chot gets home, i'll say "ayah, nura... ayah dah balik..." n she'll look around for her dad.

Nura is her father's daughter... here's the proof...

videos

EEEIIIIKKKK...

what a shocker!!!... this girl NEVER... i repeat... NEVER... took off her diaper before. i walked into her room after she woke up from her first nap, turned on the lights and my mouth just about dropped on the floor. she sat up n i saw her "pepet"... n before my mind could process this scene, i saw her diaper in her crib n POOP next to it.

POOP!!!!!!... oh my god!!!... there was poop on her fingers... n poop in her hair. she was also sucking her two favorite fingers. which made me pretty sure she had a taste of her no. 2. if all her fingers had poop crumbs, what are the chances those two fingers in her mouth didn't have some on them too... plus, she put everything in her mouth anyways.

i was blabbing to her how she can't take off her diaper again, bla... bla... bla... especially... especially when she just pooped, no!!!... no!!!... no!!!... dirty!!!... dirty!!! i told her. she only looked at me with her uninterested face. and after much wiggling n trying to escape from her bathtub (the kitchen sink), all wrapped up in her towel, was i able to let out the biggest laugh : D... HAHAHA... i went. followed by her hehehehe...

my my, what a day.

August 9th n 10th, Birthday Celebration in Peoria

i blame Facebook for the lack of updates on this blog : )... i only recently uploaded pics of nura's birthday celebration in Peoria, forgetting that not all friends n family n blog visitors are connected in FB... yup, that's u audra : )...

anyways, here's the story (what i can still recall). we were suppose to go to the zoo saturday morning but it rained, so was pushed back to sunday morning. only did the picnic as planned. i think all had fun.

peoria zoo is not the greatest, still... we managed to spend a couple of hours there. a few highlights like the sea lions n the friendly goat. i guess the main attraction at the zoo are the tigers since the location was way at the back, wanting visitors to check out other (lame, n semi-lame) animals before seeing the great beasts. but when we got to them, they were napping, just like nura who went to the zoo right on her nap time, n maybe, was still tired from the picnic the day before, fell asleep without any fuss.

next year, nura n summer will have a friend to join in their birthday celebration. Mus n Teng welcomed their second child, Aleena on August 5th 2008. YUP, Aleena n Nura have the same birthdate... how cool is that : )... just like Nura's ibu n mak ngah (my sister).

pics are here http://kemboja76.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album48

Nura is 1 Year Old

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NURA!!!

i'm gonna say, i can't believe she's one. actually, sometimes, i still can't believe she's mine. got a little chocked up thinking about it these past few days. all babies are miracles, she maybe a bit more with the roller coaster we went through. n now she's one??... nevertheless, it's amazingly sweet to get to this day.

while chot was still at work, i got inspired to dress her up in her b'day gift from auntie ellie. then, she opened a present from auntie emmy (i saved the biggest box for today... the other two dah selamat di enjoyed)... also got a doll from auntie bai, she kisses the thing everytime she see's it... thanks u guys!!!

after waking up from her nap, we got her ready for a 3 person birthday party : )... got her cup cakes with red icing. a poor choice of color with maximum effect. it was a mess but worth all the cleaning up afterwards.

gave her her bath, and all went out for dinner n later, a haircut for ibu.

what has she been up to?

little girl has been active, waking n falling well, always on the go.

n not being well, vomitted buckets n scared the shit out of her parents. diarrhea n teething (we think but still no teeth, being a cranky n clingy butt).

we went to Omaha 2 weekends ago. had a good time. unfortunately, forgot to bring our camera. But saved by ellie's ailing olympus : )... pics are here http://elliesookram.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album50. thanks auntie ellie, uncle mahesh n jeffrey!!!...

some pics of nura behaving n misbehaving at home...

writing on her mouth

first HUGEST bump aka benjol on her forehead... took a good 3 weeks to completely dissapear.

waking up from her many naps. that's ballerina, her sleeping buddy. ballerina has been hanging around for the longest time, but nura only took a liking to her since 2 months ago. i think it's cute... chot is accepting the attachment to pink.

sharing a popsicle with chot n demanding more.

this was taken a few days back. she was terrorizing the sage bush.

wearing a dress her tok mama (chot's mom) made.

walking in shoes is not easy.

has been refusing to take her 2nd nap 2 days in a row. prefering instead to run around the house 3/4 naked : )...

everything is a toy...

Pictures

News Flash

- Downtown Waterloo is flooded. I watched in disbelief : (... many towns in Iowa are also facing the same situation.

- Nura took her first baby steps today. I watched in disbelief : )... i called chot right away to share the good news (good news ka??... ok la good : D )...

- she learned a new trick. when i say "kiss kiss, muah muah" she came close n lean over for me to give her a kiss. this evening, we both gave her the cue n she gave us her forehead to kiss. we melted : )... chot asked her "ok nura, what new toy u want?"

also, news that's not so new...

- On Saturday, water came into our basement for the 3rd n 4th time. once in the morning n once more that evening.

we have so much water... we should send some to California.

- nura is climbing.

10 months

and tomorrow, nura is turning 10 months old. so that leaves me 2 months to shape up. it's pilates EVERYDAY or so help me god i'd just die showing up at nura's birthday party looking like a whale.

nura is bigger n taller (although only 25 inches, she's grown so much in my eyes). she is losing her chubby cheeks, face is squarer n we can see more of her neck. is standing unassisted in about 5 seconds intervals, macam teror ajek lepas2 tangan mula2 tu. but now doing it like it's nothing... still falling on her butt of course. trying to climb... she'll stand in front of an obstruction n lifts one knee... "no nura, u can't climb onto that box. it's as tall as u, silly girl"... n then she'll turn n gives me one of her toothless grin.

oh ya, still no teeth...

she is eating more too... recently, i had to include a light snack of fruits n/or dry cereal coz when she wakes up from her 2nd nap, she'd be bulldozing my chest even after i gave her milk. i can't keep up with her growling tummy...

also, i've started giving her meat for dinner. this week it's beef which i cook with rice n malay spices n garlic n ginger. she's soooo done with chicken. she's been eating yogurt for breakfast for the past 2 months n getting tired of it. i need to make breakfast interesting... the doctor did suggest cottage cheese, i need to remember to buy some.

so, that's 3 meals + 1 snack + water that i make her drink + water she accidentally swallow while playing with her cup + 5 milk sessions.

++++++

onto other news...

chot n i are in the middle of changing flooring in this old stinkin house. i can't remember when we started ripping out the vinyl n underlayment in the office. anyways, while working on ripping out the carpet n deteriorating padding (no wonder we always get sinus allergy. it's all this padding dust!!!... and gasp!!!... is that mold??... i hate this house) n underlayment, we found a sloping sub floor (that's the main/base floor... the one that keep u from falling into the basement).

the sloping sub floor is adding a good month (maybe more) onto these weekend warriors' schedule. we talked about some possible solutions, searched on the internet, tried at shimming the planks to make the sloping gradual but that is too much work. we're gonna try doubling up the underlayment (that's the plywood) n go from there.

what are we putting in?? laminate wood flooring. ordered it online, quite cheap for the 10mm thickness. came all the way in a big truck from Canada. BUT it's made in MALAYSIA... i wonder if i have wood parts from the illegal logging trade. they steal trees n gov people n news people only realized it after everything is completely gone. for goodness sake, they're stealing trees, takkan tak nampak kut!!!

some fat gov officials should get their asses whip... bad bad people for letting this happen. chot says they may be bribed to look the other way. that's very possible... ok, digressing...

so, wish us luck on the flooring project. we might get close to killing each other but we'll get it done eventually : )...

and previous entry. when my cousin post an old pic of us on FB, i really2 felt i was looking at nura. and then i put that pic n nura's pic n a grown up pic of chot on that look-alike meter, it says nura look like more like chot by 4%. waahhhh???... darn it!!!

also, that one huge clump of sentences up there. it should be 3 paragraphs. blogspot won't let me pull them apart. i bet this two last paragraph are merged also... if there's none... eerrr... nevermind.