When we first got the cats, we had to cat proof the house: no toxic plants, liquid cleaners they could drink, stove safety, etc. With a bun in the oven, one has to begin reading up about child safety and start acquiring baby proofing items.

One of the most comprehensive product sites is KidSafe. They have all kinds of cool gadgets (and neat articles) to keep your kid (and hey, maybe even cat) out of mischief.

The nice wooden safety gate can be used for kiddies and overexcitable puppies and the KidCo Toilet Lock just looks cute. Not that our cats drink from the loo. But keeping it down is a good habit so that the contents don't spew 6 ft into the perimeter (fact!).

Remember what's important before you buy any of this stuff, is to check if the materials they use are safe and non-toxic (paint, plastic, etc). Stick with untreated solid wood if possible. It is much safer for all at home. Try Googling the product for reviews and emailing the manufacturer to ask what materials are used in the product.

Safe home, everyone!

Cool strange fish from "monster" lake and how to tell if your baby loves you. :D

I have to admit. I am a gear freak. Point me to nifty gadgets and you'll see an idiot look on my face and a pool of drool at my feet. So it is with phones, computers, solar lighting, pet gear, and even baby gear.

And where to browse and buy them, you ask? With the amount of advertising online, you need to find an objective collator of information. Wikipedia is one, penned by anonymous writers (no fame there, just contributors to the bigger picture). When it comes to shopping, there is ShopWiki which nicely crawls the web for shops.

Now, half the time when I shop, I have to ask myself (and now with more experience) if I really want that item or if Jack wants it. Like those electric cars and huge car parks. Then I ask him. :D And that's only if it is a buying trip. He's been really good about that.

Speaking of cool baby gear (and I know dear hubby will kill me if I buy another baby carrier), check out this cool backpack baby carrier (always wanted one) and this bike trailer. I think I could even stick a couple of cats in there. Maybe Tux and Sam. Yeah I think they'd dig that.

Not literally of course.

But solar lighting. I'd bought some from the Animal Rescue Site but they didn't last very long. So I was thrilled to find one in Ikea for $19. It has three LEDs and serves as a booklight too! I wish I saw it before buying that crummy one from Borders last year.

Since I am up half the night, this can save me tons of money and the environment too by using it as a computer light and a book light. Will try sewing under it too. It is really very bright!

If you have an Ikea where you are, see if they carry it. It should be under the lighting department.

It is nice to see Ikea walk the talk, now if only they'd shut off those lamps in the lighting department! They really don't need to advertise their lamps. People go there to buy their stuff already.

Since I became a mother, I put away my lovely engagement ring, as well as other jewellery my hubby and my mom gave me.

Aside from the obvious, primarily, diverting funds previously spent on frivolous adornments on myself to frivolous adornments for baby, as well as for his college fund, I want to teach my son that material things are not important, but social ties are. Still, I enjoy wearing things that mean something to me and these usually find me unexpectedly.

Hence I love scouring the web for great finds. I found some lovely cloth dolls from Etsy and some lovely Silver Jewellery from Keysilver, a cool online jewellery store from the UK.

The latter is a pretty - the green is very soothing - simply laid out shop, which places its offering clearly on its landing page. It is reminiscent of those sweet push carts you see at the market run by adventurous and enthused 20-somethings with a love for silver jewellery. Very honest with its offerings and personal service.

Shipping information, something I look for first when I visit an online store, is placed very visibly on its left navigation bar. They do ship internationally although it isn't mentioned on their website. A design note: the text looks great everywhere else on the site except this page, where there should be paragraph breaks.

My goddaughter Joyce and I have had a love affair with silver jewellery since our school days. Silver is pretty, inexpensive, and signifies a simplicity from the harder and harsher gold, which older people tend to wear. (Even my gold jewellery is white gold.) She loves Silver Bracelets and I love Silver Pendants.

Even today (I won't say how many years!), she wears the same, and after motherhood, I bought a silver cat pendant and bunny pendant from the Animal Rescue Store to wear on occasion, so Jack grows up seeing Mom wear meaningful things, not expensive things.

Being a fan of silver jewellery, I must say Keysilver's designs are very unique, especially this lovely Amber bracelet my sister will adore. Joyce would love this sweet bangle. Definitely a site to bookmark. Pop by for a visit. I am sure you'll find something you will like. :)

I am very fortunate Jack was never a colicky baby. I always held him and nursed him whenever he was fussy. That always calmed him down.

Technically, colic is a term for an unexplained bout of crying.

In the past, when a mother had a Fussy Baby, she would give him Natural Gripe Water to ease his Colic Distress.

I remember, because I remember taking lots of it as a kid. There was a vague honey taste to it that appealed even after I had passed the baby stage. :)

More recently, after Jack was born, I went and bought one bottle but they have changed their formula. It tastes different now. I guess over the years they refine the formula and make it better.

That bottle is still in my larder somewhere. I am lucky we have never had to use it but it is reassuring to know it is there.

My friend Carol is planning to bring her whole family to Osaka this June holidays. Although we haven't planned anything (since hubby has taken no leave and Jack is still little) it is nice to ponder where we might go.

We might however go to Melbourne some time this year to see Art and Janet with their new sweet Isabella and Minh and Keith with their little Sebastian. Everyone is having babies and since being a mother, I have been immensely enthused about seeing my friends' new babies.

Our family and friends have offered us a room to stay should we wish to visit but it is always lovely to enjoy a nice hotel room once in a long while. The last time I was in a hotel it was the Linna Hotel in Helsinki for a business trip. It was very cosy and nice. For a 5-month pregnant woman.

Looking through the hotel list - heck, maybe we'll stay one night - Sheraton Hotels, Best Western Hotels, Hilton Hotels, and Hyatt Hotels, I sure would like to stay in the Hyatt. It is in town and it sure looks pretty.

I am appreciative that in my former life as a single carefree being, I travelled a lot. I've been to Yugoslavia, when it was still called that, London, Paris (although I didn't appreciate it then and spoke bad French to the boulangerie girl who got irritated with me), Italy, and Switzerland.

Rome Hotels are usually fairly decently priced and in good condition. I vaguely recall the hotel we stayed in for US$60 a night and it was livable. But then again, this was 20 years ago so revise the rate for inflation.

Hotels Paris? Forget it. For the same amount, we stayed in a dump with no heating (this was the heart of winter, mind you) and the plumbing choked. Fortunately we only stayed one night. We could only afford Macdonalds then. So really, don't go to Paris as a starving student.

If you thought Paris was expensive, London Hotels take first prize. For a grand 100 pounds (that is S$300!), my cousin and I stayed in a nice but shoebox-like Harry Potter closet just 5 years ago!

I have to write to Heidi and Kevin to ask if Dublin Hotels are affordable. They're going home end of the year so if we want to visit them, we'll have to hurry! We can catch Greg en route in London and bunk at his place. :D Maybe in September.

While I haven't watched Gray's Anatomy, I am an admirer of the two hot doctors on the show. They remind me of someone I know and love. :D Scrubs took a new meaning, if you know what I mean.

Hence I was even more surprised that you can buy your own scrubs commercially though Scrubs and Beyond. You can buy dickies scrubs, cherokee medical scrubs, and even Katherine Heigl's new line of scrubs, which are only available at this online store. You can even see the lady modelling them herself (or at least some blonde model who looks like her).

They look really smart. I think our hospital administrators here should really take a look at them. They're definitely cheerier than the ones we have here. Trust me, I've been there, I know. But luckily the sweet nurses at the ward where I gave birth to Jack more than made up for it by their warm smiles and kind concern.