Just before 2010 sets in...

The newest play(stomping)ground for Our Little One happens to be OUR BED... sigh the joy.. but it is rather cute and fun to have a toddler romp around (by himself) the bed and playing catch with his parents, who are trying desparately to make sure he remains still to have his diaper changed... oh yes the JOY...

But it has been a JOYFUL year round for all of us in the Stepford Household.. BUSY and CRAZY at times but together with Our Little One, it has indeed been joyful.. and as 2009 comes to a close let me wish all out there Happy 2010!

A Very Merry Christmas indeed!!!!

Need I say more???? Happy Hols Everyone!

Play Day!

I write, there I publish (Again!)

http://dubaimadame.com/article.php?id=2254

here it is, the next instalment of Expat and Pregnant, courtesy of yours truly!

We live for moments like these

A Day in the Life of...

Our Little One has a very busy social life since he started school... today, he had to attend a school party for National Day celebration. After coming home for a short break, the Mummy brought Our Little One for a playdate at the pool... so who says growing up is easy?

Isn't this a wonderful pic?

I am 16mths old!

So happy... Our Little One is again one month older... (I assure you this will cease when he crosses the 2yr old mark)...

Housekeeping.... of sorts

Ha... did I ever tell you why I am a happy girl... ok I have a loving husband and a wonderful toddler son.. and loads of great family in some other parts of the world.. but here it is.. the 44 reasons why I am a HAPPY girl.... :D


PS: after the photoshoot, I went ahead and trimmed down the collection by a few pairs... I am still a happy girl.. with slightly less reasons AT THE MOMENT .. but I am sure I will have many many more reasons to be happy really soon!!!! Love the sale season!

I write; therefore I .... PUBLISH!!!

Never thought I would actually have something in print to my name (minus the blog) but I did it (and this is one of those FEW times that I post about myself)
http://dubaimadame.com/article.php?id=2101
http://dubaimadame.com/article.php?id=2053

Yes, the Mummy is now a WRITER!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! but its true! what a sense of accomplishment (plus of course the fact that I DO get shopping money hahaha)

Trick or Treat! (Sort of...)

Halloween is here Again!!! yeah.. the Mummy actually made the effort to get SOME decoration this year and made the house slightly more presentable... Our Little One was supposed to be Mickey Mouse.. but oh well.. supposed to be is the correct operative here... the ears did not stay on very long... probably about 10 secs at the most before they ot ripped off the head... but still it was a good effort on the part of the Parents... Our Little One did not take to trick or treating very well.. the constant coming and going into houses did not seem to strike a chord with Our Little One... nor did the candy that every other kid was seemingly so happy with.. still it probably means Our Little One probably will have an easier time with the dentist during his growing years (fingers crossed)....

(not so) Hot Wheels!

Our Little One has acquired a new set of wheels!!!! YYIIPPEEEE!!! ok.. so not so new since it a hand-me-down that has done the toddler circuit in the neighbourhood but it was still a NEW experience for Our Little One!... so technically Our Little One's first set of wheels was his pram but you know.. that does not quite count since for most of his young life, he probably had NO IDEA of bring strapped into the pram anyway.. but the TRICYCLE... now THAT'S different... ok so not that Our Little One goes very far with his new HOT Wheels.. in fact not far at all if the Mummy and the Nanny don't help in the horsepower action (pushing the tricycle)... well you see Our Little One has yet to grasp the concept of peddling.. but he WILL get there!!...

Yet Another First in life

Hahaha.. nothing so good this time.. Ear Infection... and in both ears mind you... we were actually quite shocked to learn that Our Little One had infection in not one but both his tiny cute ears... after all the tylenol and going back and forth with the Toddler Bible about when to send the child to the ER (especially since the fever decided to get higher during the weekend) we never had the suspicion that Our Little One actually had an ear infection... why? his hands never touched his ears! and he could be soothed just by carrying and cuddling... ok so the fever never went away for a few days... but hey! it was kept under control with off the counter fever medication... went to the doctor finally when the week started and immediately got the "what did you think you were doing" look from both the doctor and the nurses.. sigh... oh well.. I guess the Daddy and the Mummy did deserve it.. but hell.. only the Mummy got the look since it was the Mummy who brought Our Little One to seek medical attention... sigh.. the stress and pressures of a mother.. still Our Little One right now is on the road to recovery... the advances in modern medicine is to be praised!... One dose of anti-biotics, the fever was GONE... on the down side however, the anti-biotics have to be administered for 7 days, every 8 hours (in a 24 hour cycle).... not doing much to help the sleep patterns of the Daddy, the Mummy and Our Little One... but then again... that does come with the territory of being part of the world's largest fraternity (parents) doesn't it?

One of the many Firsts in life

Our Little One went to school!.... ok not school.. it's a nursery program (play-school) for kids from the age of 15months... since when did you have to start going to school when you can't even go to the bathroom by yourself? Anyway that aside, there was such a buzz in our household a week before the fateful day...the Mummy went to get new clothes, new lunch bag, new shoes.. new whatever.. you name it, the Mummy probably bought extras of it anyway... But of course all did not run that smooth.. the tears, the fears and the screams were all part of the 1st day... and that was to be expected.. but overall I would say it went pretty well....

On the cusp of 15mths

ha.. when will the Mummy get bored with posting monthly updates on the mundane life of Our Little One.... NEVER!!!! what has been so exciting about Our Little One's life recently... not much... weather is cooling down so he has been brought to the neighbourhood playground for some outdoor activities.. with tons of sunblock of course... the Mummy has come to realise that Our Little One has incredibly delicate skin (like which baby does not) but Our Little One gets flushed red in his cheeks even when he is in shade while the temperature is slightly warmer than normal...and he sweats.. my god does Our Little One sweat... must be from the Daddy's side... the Mummy never breaks a sweat (over anything.. Ha I wish!)

Busy, busy, busy....

Never thought Our Little One can have so many social events in just 1 week... Fancy that! Our Little One seems to be quite the social animal... well not... he is in the "strangers stay away from my sight or else I cry" mode... so other than the Hubby, the Nanny and the Mummy, all other people are toxic right now.. but no matter, we still managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach as well as a playdate at home.... are we efficient or what!

Salon visit...

Once you are born, you bump up against the human problem called running maintenance... yes Our Little One had to get his haircut again.. you know maintaining an image is impt yes!!!

This is he after the Mummy got done with the scissors..

Malls... The Joy!!!!

Need I say more...

Life at 13+mths

Times DOES fly ... God how many times must I repeat that to myself (and the world)... Our Little One is 13+ mths old! hahahhhah.... from learning to walk/crawl around the house.. his newfound gym is the stairs in the house... up goes the protective mats and the gate and tons of other baby proofing stuff around the house... but it has been fun chasing Our Little One around the house (erm.. right.. sometimes it HAS been fun... try 1 out of 9)

Summer 09 - Part 2

Ok.. we have FINALLY finished our summer travels and are FINALLY home in the sands, back in Stepford-ville... luckily Our Little One managed to get some sleep on most of the flight.. meaning we got some zzz-s as well (Thank you!!!!)

It was an outstanding trip to the US to see family.. we ate and shopped and ate and shopped and ate and shopped... but we STILL managed to fit into our pants! (Yippeee!!!) Love the sales and outlet malls and NC BBQ! We sincerely thank all the great NC pioneers/inventors of vinegar BBQ (pulled pork)... the taste is out of this world!!! Fanta-Bulous!!!! nothing quite like it ever!!!! It was so good I ordered and ATE a WHOLE POUND of pulled pork on our very first trip to the BBQ restaurant... (just pork, nothing else) and managed to squeeze in room for a juicy steak (medium rare) off the grill in the evening.... yes it was a culinary delight on every level....(if you can't tell by now how MUCH we LURVEeeee that stuff)...

here are some of the FOOD pictures that we took to showcase the trip.. and more on my other website ...



Have a great summer everyone!

Summer 09 Part 1

Fun filled summer 2009 begins! and we have just only finished Part 1..

(Drumroll) Singapore - Australia (Sydney & Brisbane) - Singapore in 3 weeks!

We all just got off the plane from Singapore and TOTALLY smashed right now.. but as soon as we got home, I was on the phone with the airline confirming out seats again for our second leg of the summer... Fun yeah (NOT!) anyway such is the life of a typical Stepford household... we packed a lot in the 3 weeks: meeting up with family and friends, a birthday party for Our Little One, a graduation photoshoot, work as well as play (+shopping!)... here are SOME of the photos that we took (we came in at 400+ pictures from the whole 3 weeks.... thankfully we have the smarts to par it down to <200 ... here's the link http://samanthakeck.spaces.live.com/ to view a small sample of the photos we too.... I have more on my FB page...

Have a great summer everyone! @_@

It's been a wonderful 11 months!

Well.... as we all know time DOES indeed fly and it hit me real hard today when I looked up at the calendar and Our Little One is 11 months old today....here are some photos that I took today to commemorate this day (wonder what I will do when Our Little One turns 1!!!???)