Father, the second time

To begin with, he didnt like kids much. During his probation period (dating-lah), never once i heard him cooing about babies. He never played with my nephews. In fact he looked at them oddly like they were ...well, odd. His lips didnt even curve up a bit when the babies did silly cute antics.

And then gooly came along. First time dad he became. Some-what awkward, i reckon. He fed him, changed him, but didnt know how to play or talk to him.

I admit i was worried. That gooly wouldnt grow up being close to his papah. But being thick skinned and all, gooly persisted. He would sit on his papah's lap uninvited. He would talk to him in his baby language. He didnt care there was little response from the old man.

As he grew older (Gooly, I mean) began to speak more to be understood, that papah began to really...really enjoy fatherhood. He likes listening to what his son has to say (papah is not much of a talker, he listens (to me) more). He laughs and is amused by the little guy. It took him a while to get here.

One day...looking at my niece, he said aloud that "A little girl is cute also hor." My eyes widened, my mouth formed an "O". Yes, a little girl would complete the family.

And so we had Lolly. Life is beautiful, aint it? We get what we wish, hope, pray for sometimes.

This time, i dunno..could it be age or experience or because she is the little girl that we waited(without realising) for six years, that he became the perfect father?

There are things that he wouldnt do still..ok..maybe with a little reluctance that he does it i.e washing her butt. But i do see vast improvements in his fathering skills.

Once in Bangkok, on a particularly bad bad day, i (who has the patience of a painting artist, ahem!) blew the top, while papah remained cool and smiley. That, i salute and applaud. If it was last time...aiyayayaya..his face would be black like your underwear.

And he is so natural with Lolly. And she, in return is so drawn to him. No man can carry her, except papah.

And what was i thinking about Gooly not being close to him? He idolises him! Well, not really...more like, he likes to make fun of him. Yeah, when i rule the kingdom with an iron ('s fist), he brings the kiddo out for chocolates and ice creams.

There was this other time that he played some silly game with gooly and Ada, and hearsay, INTENTIONALLY fell on the ground and rolled over like JAmes Bond. Geeesh! A Klutz just like his son. But i never imagined him rolling on the the ground, playing with kids.

What would I do without having him around to neutralise an otherwise communist-like family?

The man I loved is growing up to be a father I love even more.

Happy father's day, papah. Your son is out in the park while the little one is taking a nap. They dont know its fathers day. Bet you didnt either. And thats what I love about you too - always nonchalant about commercialised celebrations....like our wedding anniversaries...eh wait. I dont love that nonchalance so much. But i will give you a break. Lets discuss diamonds and pearls tomorrow.


;-)

What happened to us?

Admittedly, when i got married to papah, "happily ever after" wasnt exactly a sure thing. How can people who claim that or something along the line of "found my soul mate" be so sure of forever love? I am not a sceptic, but not a dreamer either. I got married with a mind set of, "lets see where this brings us."

Over the years, we made adjustments, cranked up the tolerance level or just bear with whatever that bugged us.

It was not easy.

And..

Of late, i realised that we dont do that anymore.

We dont even try.

Or be bothered.

Simply because...

We have accepted each other of who we are. It's that or we have grown into more lovable beings. Not sure about me, but he is definately a greater husband, father - a person, in general as he aged.

"Will you hold my hand when we are old?" I asked him the other day because i know he hates questions like this.

"Yes, hon," he humoured me in a super irritating way because he knows I laugh like mad when he copies what others call their wives (read: COPIES, he never calls me dear, hon, darl, sweetie. He calls me OI... Or mama, like gooly)

But yeah.. I can see him holding my hand when we are old. Way much better than when i first met him, dated him, married him.

Recognition

For the life of me, i couldnt and cant understand the significance of giving awards or rewards to someone who has done a lot. I mean, if you are a kid, yes..stickers and stamps and stars probably give you some sort of achievement high. But when you are an adult, how does a plaque or a trophy make you feel remotely happy about what you have done?

I am a mother. Inevitably, sometimes I feel, "Why am i the only one doing stuff for the kids? Hey, what about me? Woi, i need to sleep or hang out with my friends too, you know." At the end of all these unresolved questionings, I, too would like people who matter to me, think and know that what I do is not easy and equally important as saving the poison arrow frogs.

So, do i want the person to give me an award of recognition or something? I dont think so. It wont be satisfactory to my soul.

How about a reward? A bag, perchance? I do love bags, but they are reserved for other celebrations like birthdays and christmases, rayas but not for being a "trying to be a good" mom.

I suppose i just need kind gestures and words on a daily basis. Nothing grand..some words like -

"Quiet down, mummy is resting."

"Let's bring mummy to her favourite place to eat."

"Go give mummy a hug."

When you say that, papah, I know you appreciate me. Thank you.

And for Gooly to say -

"You are the best mom in this family." (tho I am THE ONLY mom in the family)

"Mom's job is the hardest!"

"Papah, quickly finish your food and take care of meimei so mummy can eat."

"I will finish quickly so I can help you, ok, mom?"

Or for lolly to literally jump with joy when she sees me after MIA for 5 minutes or for her to smolder her face unto mine..

For all these, I must be loving them right (read: doing the best i can)

Disclaimer : I have never won the Oscar or Nobel prize before...so i may just change my mind about this recognition business when i do receive one ;-)

surprise season 2

Told you! It ws gonna be my turn!

A new bag! Yay! The first one he bought without being told, bribed, threatened or scolded. The first one he bought on his sole proviso!

Love it!

Kate, Louis, say hello to your new sibling, Raya.. (actually that would be Raya version 7.8. I have tons of them, different colours and sizes, collected over the years of staying in Krungthep.)

surprise!

For daddy's girl..

If you asked me, he has quite good taste. And if you know him, you'd be so shocked that he actually bought the stuff for his girl. He never...never...never....liked shopping. Not window shopping, not bargain hunting..and especially girlie shopping. These are all bored to death activities for him.

So...well...well...well....anything for his girl , eh?

I'm hopeful it will be my turn soon...no no..I don't need help with overcoming shopping-phobia. I want a surprise ward-robe too!

He is home

Everything is swell when he is home. The birds chirp. The sun is kind. The kids laugh.

Simple pleasures in life. A walk at the park. Roti canai at Kayu.

You can take away his toys.. take away his books. You can't take away that smile. The smile reserved for his papah.

Every month, he is what we look forward to.

Shameless

"Mmmm... Yes. I love to hear you say it. Say it one more time.. Yes..Yes..Yes.."

Sounds like a scene from a 'pawn' but really it isn't. You know how the sexperts say we ladies should not be ashamed to tell our partners what we like when we are sexercising? Why can't we do the same thing for other stuff besides shex? I mean like if we want them to say we are pretty/beautiful, we should just copy and paste the idea of the above clause . In other words, why can't we just be SHAMELESS!

Hence the conversation* with papah yesterday:

Me: Do you think I look different?

Him: Huh? Huuuuh?

Me: *roll eyes* My hair! Look!

Him: Huh? *blink blink*

Me: It's longer now! Say it - "You look nice."

Him: You look nice.

Me: Explain why.

Him: *grinning* Cos it's straight.

Me: *whack him with pillow* It was never curly! What other nice things you can say?

Him: That day you look nice. At the airport.

Me: You noticed my eye make up? (obviously knows that he didn't but helping him out here a lil)

Him: Err... yeah.

Me: Ok, you may go now.

And he gave me a peck on the forehead.

If this is not love, I don't know what is.

Disclaimer: This is a bribed post because I got my Delightful already!!!!! Ok, him buying that when he seriously thinks I don't need so many bags is ULTIMATE love! :-)

* Please do not carry such conversations on the phone when he is having an important client meeting or when he is watching football. The ending will not be as nice.

The baby within

Seated in the car, Papah struck a conversation with the usual, "How's school?"

"Oh very good! How's your business? Good?"

*chuckles*

Talking to our 5 year old is alot like talking to a 50 year old.

And he always ends our telephone-conversation with, "Have a good business! Have a good day working!"

If not for his age-related innocence, I would have thought he was being sarcastic - like what? have a good day working? Nobody works and have a good day, mister....

Anyhoo, despite his ability to mimick adult conversations, there are moments when he reverts to being a baby.

Like when he crawled out of his bed in the middle of last night, and positioned himself like a curled-up prawn, 2mm away from his papah - his comfort and solace.

Ah.. the baby in him does surface.

..when it's night time.

..and especially when Papah is around.

Trick Question

M: *in stupid cannot decide mode* Do you think I should cut my hair?

P: Is that a trick question?

M: No...... Do you like me in short hair or long hair?

P: Is that another trick question?

M: *roll eyes* No.... Quick. Long or short?

P: Now nice wat..

M: Remember last time? The short hair? Nice or not?

P: Nice......... *drags the answer making it sound too fake*

M: Now long already. Nice or not?

P: See, it's a trick question.

M: Haiya... should I cut or not lah?

P: No need. Now nice. (How contradicting!)

M: Oei..don't simply say to save money arrh.

P: See, trick question........................

*slap forehead* Why is it so hard for him to decide which is nicer? Short or long? Then again, if it's an easy decision to make, I wouldn't have to ask him, right? Kekekekke.

Haiya..actually it's really easy. All he has to do is to say something, anything between the two, and I will disregard it and do the exact opposite of what he says.

So tonight when he comes back, I will shout, "A OR B???" A - to cut, B - not to cut. See which one he chooses. Then again if he said something not to my satisfaction, I may just switch the answers.

Moliew! Tarak kerja buat ka???

Weird humour

So the other day.. a friend wondered how I could stand Papah being away so often?

I droned away the well rehearsed lines in a robotic mode - i-am-used-to-it. it's-due-to-unavoidable-circumstances-that-he-has-to-travel. i-have-long-accepted- and-understood-his nature-of-work.

I reckon it was a little bit like answering one of the judges questions in a beauty pageant (for my level, it has to be at least Ms. World...).

You know.. answering the right way like this -


What would you wish for for Christmas?
I would like WORLD PEACE! *flashes sparkly smile*

*judges nod and audience clap*

I wasn't lying when I answered my friend's question, you know. What I said was partially true. Not the entire truth cos there are times that I didn't want to be understanding. There are times that I sit on bed and go wawawawawa, why is papah going again? But most of the time I am subdued in manner. Why did I skip the wawaawawawa part when answering my friend's question?

I donch know!

Maybe I am carved out to be a Beauty Queen - diplomatic, predictable, unoriginal (like sinkar's Dvds) and boring to the core?

Either that or I am just a bloody liar.

And a hypocrite.

Anyways.. for conversation sake, I reiterated the topic to Papah - what my friend asked, and what I have answered.

He nodded a bit, with his fingers scratching his protruding chin and replied, "Good girl.."

WUT?? Gud girl?? You gotta be kidding me. That's not in your script. Check and read your next line again, papah.









Movie title: What A Good Wife
Scene 1/take 2

Mom : So I told her, that I am used to it. Not that you want to travel all the time. If you could, you would want to stay with us. I still love you..

Papah : Gee, wife. You are a gem. What would I do without you? Let's go get you another new bag.



Teehee..humour. What do I do without it?

The other love

Yesterday afternoon, Ada's mom needed to 'borrow' Gooly as Ada's playmate for a couple of hours. They went out for awhile.

Meanwhile Papah just got back after missing for a week. We got down to the lobby together when Uncle A called to say they have returned.

When Gooly saw us, he smiled widely and said, "Hi, Mom!"

I bent down, beaming, ready to give him a hug, and to say, "I missed you.."

Let's do this slow motion.

I bent down... arms reaching out... music from Westlife's Queen of my Heart started.

Then suddenly..krrreeerrrkkkk. The cd went berserk.

Why?

Because Gooly went straight passed me, and hugged his papah instead. "I miss you so much, papah!"

Papah was 'terkejut' but touched nonetheless.

"I missed you too, Son.."

Aww...that was really shweet.

With my arms outstretched still, I went to hug the guard.

Overheard that night:

"How many days you didn't kiss me?"
"Many days.. I missed you so much."
"You want to kiss me now?"
"Yes..muaaack!"

FYI, I was not involved in that conversation.



I like the lyrics of this song. It portrays a typical asian family - fathers are always a bit shy to profess love to their kids, you know.But singing makes it easier, I suppose. Hah!

Insomnianism

I am/was insomniac.

There are times that I sleep at 3am, and become a grouchy mom the next morning. And then, I'd be better, sleeping at normal hours. And then suddenly, the night owl in me would emerge again, unannounced.

It is a very tiring cycle. I hate it cos I do love to sleep.

Could it be the coffee? I tried not drinking after 4pm and only one cup per day, as suggested. But still Mr Chau Kung didn't want to date me.

I tried exercising. I feel healthier but not sleepier.

NEXT!

Lighting? *click on off*

Pillows? *fluff fluff*

There is a ghost? CHOY!CHOY!CHOY!

Anyhoo, recently.. I just realized.. it's not confirmed but yeah, I think there is a connection some where. You see, every time I am Nosferatu the Dracula, I look around and realize that Papah is away - traveling, visiting girlfriends exploring other parts of the world.

*GASP* Do you think he has such power to control over my sleep patterns? Dang! If yes, I have absolutely no control over this. Ish! and Yerrrrrrrrr!

I have not decided if I am irritated by this possibility.. or I am awe-struck? I mean, if love means losing sleep, it is quite awesome.. in an irritating way?

So Papah was away, and for those who chat with me, would know I was awake till the guard went to pee at 2.32am. He came back yesterday. (Papah, not the guard. ) Gooly kicked me out of the room at midnight, wanting to sleep with him.

This morning at 7.32am, both of them were snoring lightly still. Gooly wakes at 6.40am, latest, EVERY MORNING, ok?For his entire school life, which is uhm.. 26 days, he jumps out of bed, eager to go to school see his girlfriend at 6.30am, ok?

But today (after papah gone missing for one whole week).. could it be the comfort of his father's company that he slept so soundly?* He snuggled close to his pop, as snug as a bug. It was too cute to watch.

Even when he woke, he was still attached to papah. Like this:


He was so happy to have his father back. Yeah, me too. I can finally claim my zzzzzzs...

*Dengan jujurnya, I say "It was raining also." So that could be another factor. :P

Should I post this?

I hate being schmaltzy. The good thing is he hardly reads my crap anymore. (That's what I think! He hasn't said much about my Nobel prize 'stories' lately.) So I can macho-ly say what's in my heart:

Hey you!
- You ask "How was your day?" when I come back from an outing. My days are not stressful, unlike yours. And yet you ask. I am touched.

- You buy everything that I need that I am embarrassed to ask anything else. Thank you. I appreciate every single thing you bought.

- You bring home food. You give shelter. You work hard. I am so grateful.

- You smile at me when we are seated across the table. I like that a lot. I'm glad we need not to be glued, but yet still feel the connection.

- You are okay if I don't iron your clothes. You don't make me feel lousy for not doing it.

- You pack your clothes to the laundry when there are too many to wash. You probably like the way your clothes are fresh and smoothly ironed from the laundry, but you don't DEMAND that I do it that way.

These are the little things and big things that make my everyday life so worth living. I sleep soundly at night, and I wake with happy thoughts, thanks to you..

:)

I hate being schmaltzy.. so please don't embarrass me by saying that I am, ok?

This morning..

*staring at own reflection in the toilet*

YOU are so lucky, ni ji tau maa?

- I know..........

YOU! Take and take and take! When are you gonna give back?

- I will..............

He always say he is gold nuggets.. HE is, you know?

- I know.........

Have you told him you know he loves you and you love him?

- I tell him all the time, but wish I can do more?

What can you do? Cook, you dunno! Ha? What you know?

-*hangs head in shame* Wa ng chai....

Can you do what GG does best?

- Mopping?

NO! The other one!

- Oooooh........... *nod nod* I can! Better than mopping!

Ok, brush teeth now. Gooly wants to eat breakfast. Can you wake up earlier also?

- Wokeh. ..wokeh...After pangsai I brush, can or not?

*roll eyes* Up to you-lah!



Have you felt... like you have not done/say enough to your loved ones? Besides the usual words, usual service...what else can we do? - which doesn't involve money?

Haih... I can try composing songs, I suppose.

Phweeet! *whistle blowing*

It is!

IT is not!

IT IS!

IT IS NOT!

Ahh... Sunday bickering between father and son.

It usually ends with someone crying (guess who?) or teary or trying to get support from me.

"Mahmee, tell him he is wrong!"

Let's rewind...

Papah sauntered out front the closet room, and proudly claimed that his shirt is the same colour as Gooly's - blue.

"No, it is not the same. Look, mine is blue and white..here.. at the sleeve, it's white! See?"

"Look, I got white too, here at the side. See?"

"I got black words. Yours doesn't. See?"

"It's the same -lah!"

"No, it's not."

"It is!"

"It's not! Tell him he is wrong, Mahmee!"

Around this time, I feel like throwing my toilet slipper at both of them! It's only something GG would do, so I didn't. Instead, I gave them THE look - which, one eye can send the signal of "How old are you? Why are you bickering with a 4 year old?" , and at the same time, the other eye says, "Enough! Blue, white, black! I don't care! Now let's get moving! I'm hungry!"

And in the car, a tiny voice said, "It's not the same."

I turned around and said, "It's the same. The main colour is blue."

"Ohhhh....silly me," and he giggled.

I am gonna buy a whistle. I am the referee! The umpire...the conflict solver!

May I add, always for something very mundane like, the colour of the shirt... Oh, the other day was more interesting - which was the biggest dinosaur.

Blek! I don't even wanna get involved at the first place. AND DON'T FORCE ME TO USE THE RED FLAG, BOYS!

Yehhooo!

Yesterday Thailand celebrated Mother's Day. Unlike the rest of the world, they celebrate not in May.

So in May, we didn't celebrate Mother's Day because according to Papah, we are in Thailand, thus must abide the Thai calendar. However, during previous years, when the Thai Mother's Day arrived, he told me, we don't celebrate on that day, cos, duh! we are not Thais.

Cis bedebah right?

Not to be trapped in the same booby this year, I asked him online the day before:

Me: Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Bought pressie for me already?

Him: We also not Thai. Celebrate Mother's Day in May laa.. (same old trick, that devil!)

Me: Kns!

Him: Oklah, what you want?

Me: Bag la, what else?

Him: Ok let me discuss with committee (Gooly).

Me: No need. Your committee is on my side wan.

Him: We do lucky draw lah. Main prize is your bag.

Me: Ok lor.

So that night, I sauntered into the room, expecting some tooth picks actions. Lo and behold, Papah announced that his committee member (Gooly) was not co-operative because "If mahmee wants a bag, just get it for her.."

Bwahahaha... gotta love my son, eh? He is 100% on my side. And I swear I didn't brainwash him, ok? I was all game for some lucky draw fun.

So the next day, I was thinking where to get my Rm20 bag. And Papah suddenly announced we were going to LV store!

Fullamakkkkkk! I nearly died of happiness okay? (Well, he added the joke about going and then u-turning back. And it was funny because I knew he WAS not gonna make a u-turn. Hell no.)

Between hyperventilating and at cloud 9, I suddenly

...felt....

I ...

.. don't

.... need

....another...

bag....

Crazy? *self slap* Sure? *self cubit*

BUT!

I do need a camera! An ultra cool one! That goes cicak cicak cicak cicak!

*

*

*

And so that's what I got. : ) Presenting my new baby.....


No regrets! This babe kicks ass! Thank you, papah! And yes, I solemnly promise not to ask for another bag...

....until next year! ;-)

Who wants to camwhore for me?

250709

Whose birthday? You asking? Nobody's. Shhhhhhhh~ *wink wink papah*

Gooly saujanjan. But I like the rustic feel.

Looney Balooney Clan. Only I am normal.

Hamyu Steamboat. Yum!

Tsunami-that-never-came, I hate you! If not for you, we'd have been here, like last year.

Papah the player

I am the sort of mom who plays bored board games. I like scrabbles, Wheels of Fortunes, etc. I cannot tolerate jumping monkeys. I hate screaming hyenas. And I cannot possibly bring myself to dance in public, even when begged by my own flesh and blood.

Which is why.. I am so grateful for Papah.

Err.. nope.. He doesn't dance in public either. BUT he:

a. plays sword fighting with Gooly behind closed doors while I say, " I don't want to know what's happening in there."

b. lets Gooly be obnoxious and the most nerve-bashing remarks he can come up with is, "YOUR son.. that 'lansi' face is from YOUR genes." while I try hard not to laugh. (which entails that if Gooly were ever obnoxious to me or other people, he will GET IT from me.)

c. woke early that day to bring Gooly down to the park for a quick morning walk, while I just stared at the ceiling and wondered, "Who on earth wake so early and take a leisure walk before coffee?"

d. laughs when Gooly burps and farts while I pretend I didn't hear any.

e. offers ice-cream treats even after saying that he felt Gooly's thighs are getting corpulently delicious.

Ah.. you see. Our parenting methods and ideas are quite different..but the good thing is, they are never conflicting. We are not eyeing on the 'charfityan' position. Neither do we confuse Gooly with our different strokes as we don't argue in front of him.

We just play different roles. I teach, papah plays.

I may be a "Sergent"(Tabhik!).. I may be authoritative..I may be strict....a lil boring at times. But as declared many times, I am not a dictator. I like the balance Papah strikes. Seriously, growing up in an army cum nerd camp isn't gonna be fun for Gooly.

Gooly, thank your papah for the balancing force.

How can think until like that?

Gooly loves eating half-boiled eggs. Usually with a cup of Milo, sikit ais. It is a very quick and easy fix, especially when there is only spicy food available.

"When you are a girl, you eat half-girl egg, " he announced the other day while gulping down his high calorie laden breakie.

Oh shite... who has been telling him about aquas, pengkins or bapoks? Surprisingly, it was Papah who got what he meant this time. Usually I am the one deciphering the codes.

Half boiled egg.. half boy egg.. geddit? :D He reckons that he has been eating half-boy eggs all this while. A tad too silly, ain't it? But he made his ahma laughed so hard, at the kopitiam, in the car.. all the way back to the house.

***

Scene: Gooly pestering me to blow up his balloons. He must think I have a lot of breath.

Me: I am not blowing anymore. I am out of breath.

Him: I can do it. I am IN of breath.

He does that all the time!! Making up new phrases just by opposing the original meaning! Kek kwai hei..

How on earth I got married Part 4

..and so the day arrived. For the boring can die dinner at the chinese restaurant. There weren't many people we invited as we had had the hawaiian-themed party weeks before. We wondered if we could skip the 3 tier champagne pouring and ugly cake cutting ceremonies. And in the end, we decided to just get it over with. You know, with the dreaded faitit- faitit feeling.

I really like my hairdo for that night though. It was a classy 'bun'. I wore a turquoise corset which Sharkira and I sewn sequins on. It was a couple of hours job. Nothing too painstaking. Not to mention, CHEAP!And then I changed into a chinese cheong sam to show off my svelte body. *evil laugh*Just because I am not putting a picture here, I can bluff. No-lah, my body was never svelte. It was less hippo-looking though :P. I just thought I wanted something China-like cos afterall, we all chinese, ain't we? The hairdo really matched the cheong sam, which has bamboos embroided. Bamboos, I think signifies long lasting marriage.

Thus nothing was red, or remotely bright. One of my aunties, much expected, commented, "Aiyoo.. why brue brue? No red red?" Come on lah, auntie.. I am not that chinese. :P As for the cheong sam, I can use it for my waitressing career. Don't waste, eh?

A week later, we had the tea ceremony. Due to some miscommunication, (yet to be) papah James and his entourage had to wait at the Mamak restaurant, all garbed handsomely in shirts and pants. Teehee. Meanwhile, friends and families fussed over the bride, who didn't do her manicure, pedicure and facials. Eeek! They nearly 'pengsan' seeing the cincai bride. But alas, with power makeup, she turned out to be Princess Mariposa. *gag gag gag* Again, I am bluffing. Chui meh?

Just like many other chinese weddings, there were games to 'kenakan' the groom before he gets the fair and lovely bride la.. Woi.. give face a bit, okeh?. Don't vomit anymore la. Anyways, there wasn't anything unusual. There were 'tai paus' and gassy drinks as breakfast for them, though they had to finish them in a record time of 2 minutes. Hoi, not my idea, okeh? I was the shy bride waiting to be absconded.

Then after stage 1, they had to go through ROUND 2; Q & A session. There were 10 questions, in which he got only 1 correct. 1/10. CERTIFIED FAILED. For example:

Q: Where was your wife born?
A: In a taxi.

Bwahahah. The shy bride nearly fell off the chair laughing. Not demure already!! But... Yehoooo! He was really what I expected to be; the original recipe ;)

And then it was SHOW ME THE MONEY part. Hehehhehe. Chum char, and get angpows!! Kaching! You could see the dollah signs in our eyes. No-lah. I am bluffing. You believe I am bluffing, right? Say yes!

In the afternoon, we boarded the plane to Alor Star. And then 'kaching', the cash register rings again. :P I left the sourcing of makeup artist to my sister in law. So, I went there, telling the hairstylist, "Simple ehsai liao". For the dinner, it was the same mantra.

And there you have it! We were married ..eh.. but not legally. Haha. Did you realise we were not registered at the registrar yet?

We actually went for the honeymoon first.. not the next day. Not the next week.. but 6 months later. Cincai or not? And then, four months later, I was *real gags* pregnant. We cleverly chose June 28th to sign the 'contract'. So it was exactly one year after he failed the Q & A ultimate quiz, that we were pronounced as Mr and Mrs Lim.

Gooly likes to ask, "Where am I?" whenever he sees pictures of our younger days. Pointing at the pictures at the registrar office, I can now say truthfully, "You were in Mahmee's tummy."

:) Merry Christmas, everyone!