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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The Mommy Life: Mama and Paddington Bear
Every night now when he needs me, Jack calls Mama. It brings me running to him if I am out of bed (I go running anyway when I hear him cry) and comfort him gently. He sleeps better now, and almost (just) slept again without nursing.
This morning, his Grandpop came to visit. After a huge hug from him, Jack struggled down, walked to the cupboard and showed his Grandpop his friend Paddington Bear who sleeps in there! He even brought Paddy out to show Dad. My Dad and I were so enthralled and Jack beamed from ear to ear, very proud of himself. Was I ever a prouder Mommy.
Jack is starting to walk a lot now without any assistance. He carries either his toy box or some toys and waddles around for about 4-6 steps before sitting down. A giant step from last week's faltering 2 step average! He also is an avid climber, climbing down from bed to floor, bed to crib, and most impressively, cupboard via bed rail to floor before our very eyes.
He is such a happy boy too. Since the day he was born. We brought him out for dinner and the lady who served us couldn't help comment how happy and well-behaved he is. In fact, everywhere we go, people comment that, and how easy he seems to adapt to wherever we bring him.
I never had a basis for comparison so I really can't say. But I do notice that celebrity mothers who are securely bonded with their children, like Jennifer Garner (with daughter Violet) and Gwen Stefani (with son Kingston), tend to have happier children. Both Jen and Gwen have said that their kids are with them all the time and it shows in their children's joyful and happy smiles.
I have never regretted giving up my career for Jack. Each day with him is an adventure waiting to unfold. In fact, in all of my life, I have never been more at peace with myself now than any other time. Family is such a wonderful thing.
It has been a delightful few days since Jack recovered.
Yesterday my Dad and I took Jack to United Square and Jack thrilled us driving a car, train, captaining a ship, and even heading out to space in a NASA space ship. With the spanking new shoes Uncle Kevin and Aunt Heidi bought him, he happily walked with his grandpop and I all over the mall.
This evening, his Uncle Andrew commented that he's been at his best ever. We spent dinner at Scarlet Hotel's fine dining restaurant where the food and service were excellent. It had a spectacular ambiance and perfect for celebrating dear Hon Chung's birthday.
Jack was the star of the occasion and sat happily in many an enthralled Uncle and Aunt's lap while grinning happily for photos. He charmed Uncle Abe especially, who kissed him repeatedly (actually Uncle Hon Chung did too).
Finally it was time to go home and Jack waved bye to all his parents' dear friends and headed home for the night. After his bath, he fell right to bed after an exciting day with Mom and Dad.
For the second time, Jack called for me by name "Mama" at night while his Dad lay beside him quizzically but also delighted. :D As I nursed him and held his shoulder gently, he clasped his hands around my arm, refusing to let me go. Finally he fell asleep and I snuck back here to blog...
Turns out Jack has some viral infection called Rosacea, apparently a common virus children catch, where he gets a fever for 3 days and then is spotty for another 3. No one knows what discomfort the poor chap is suffering but he has been rather irritable and grumpy. And spotty. Thankfully he isn't vain enough yet to complain about it despite his Mom muttering about how spotty he looks.
Thankfully since the fever subsided, he has been sleeping better. I hadn't slept very much at all the last 5 days and need coffee to stay vaguely human in the day (but then can't sleep at night). But now I have cut off my coffee supply and although rather dopey in the day, am able to sleep at night (and even rest with my eyes closed in the day)!
Recently I have been thinking about having another baby but I am unwilling to stop nursing Jack for obvious reasons: babies breastfed up to 2 years have more protection against illnesses. Plus I am lazy to wean him (how to get him to sleep and nap otherwise... will need to read up on that near the 2 year mark). :p More on getting pregnant while breastfeeding and tandem nursing here and here.
Not too long ago, I conducted a hectic one month experiment to see how much I could earn blogging on my 2 PR4 and 1 PR0 (then) blogs. My friend Shen had convinced me it was a cool way to make some extra money and after signing up with several blog marketing sites, I was in!
Primarily I used PayPerPost, the premier blog marketing company, which offers the most opportunities for a blogger. Between blogging paid and unpaid posts 3 times a day per blog on PPP (although I blogged mainly on this one since TechBot was too new and there isn't much 5 Cats can sell) and other blog marketing sites, I made just over US1,000.
PPP is a great word of mouth marketing program allows bloggers to choose their opps instead of waiting for advertisers to choose them, which allows them a bit more control over how much they can earn. Thanks to PPP's strong community forum, I have made a few friends who are also mothers or mothers of cats.
Still, I was exhausted after the month and now blog socially instead of feverishly. :) But am glad for the chance to make some money to buy some nice things for myself and baby, and pay some bills. Three cheers to blog marketing companies, in particular, PPP!
Pregnant women who eat beef seven or more times a week may be producing sons with low sperm counts.
The exact reason for the association isn't clear. But hormones, pesticides or other chemicals in beef might affect the development of the testes of the still developing fetus, speculated the authors of a study in the March 28 issue of Human Reproduction.
Preschoolers who spent a year or more in a daycare center were more likely to be disruptive in class when they started school, and this effect persisted through the sixth grade, according to a large U.S. study released Monday.
Now that I will be home a lot more, it is time for to consider a few home improvement thangs.
First of all, I want to do some bathroom remodeling. It's really too tiny and I want to expand it into the so-called Japanese garden which is really a murky pond and concrete floor. At the very least I want to tile the extended area.
Next, kitchen remodeling. For a long time now, I have been wanting to redo our kitchen. Not by very much. Just to install a sliding door to separate the dining from the kitchen so I can cook without the kids trying to trip me up to get a morsel of whatever I am cooking.
Time to start drawing up what I want to do and assign a budget.
This post on home improvement was kindly sponsored by Home Improvement Ideas.
"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness." -- Bertrand Russell
"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."
-- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1890)
A woman's romance with motherhood, green living, finance, and this heady thing called life.
