Old Macdonald had a burger

Last Thursday evening, we were watching the CSI Trilogy replay, so we decided to order McDonalds delivery. Salma was annoyed that we were watching CSI on tv instead of her Playhouse Disney, and kept pestering me to go upstairs.

"Mummy, I want naik atas." (Mummy, I want to go upstairs.)

"No, cannot, we have to wait for McDonalds to come."

"Huh..." she gave me a skeptical look, "Old Macdonald?"

"Yes, McDonalds is coming with mamam." (food)

"Old MacDonald ade mamam?"

"Not Old MacDonald, McDonalds. McDonalds nak datang!" (is coming)

"Old Macdonald had a farm datang?"

Just then the McDonalds delivery guy arrives at the gate, and I go out to pay him. Salma stands at the front door to get a better look, and I hear her say, "Oh! Old Macdonald!! Mamam!"

She finally got that it was McDonalds, but still insisted on calling it Old Macdonald...

Baby eczema

It just breaks my heart that my lil Poppet Cuk has eczema! All my life I have never suffered any skin problems. I didn't even get that many pimples. So when Salma got eczema, I was clueless on what to do. Recently, the eczema around her left elbow has gotten worse! It's all red and inflamed, and she scratches it even in her sleep. The capillaries under the skin have broken, and I can see the blood spots. Sometimes she scratches until it bleeds. This morning as I was applying the aloe vera gel on the affected area, she cried and said it hurts.

So I researched on the net and found this helpful website: http://www.getbest.info/natural-cure-for-eczema/

According to the website, the best natural cures for eczema are: 1) sea-salt bath 2) Aloe Vera juice 3) Calendula Cream 4) Olive Oil. So I was already doing the right thing by applying Aloe Vera gel to the eczema. But it's not enough. So I researched some more and found that California Baby makes an organic Calendula Cream! Surfed some of the online baby stores in Malaysia and found that they don't stock California Baby. So I googled, and found that drugstore.com delivers to Singapore! (Which is the next best thing).

So when you go to drugstore.com, a pop-up appears asking you if you want to view the site in a different country and currency. I selected SGD and SINGAPORE. Ok. The prices all looked pretty affordable, even after multiplying it by 2.37 (the current exchange rate to MYR). I asked my friend if I could have it delivered to her husband's office in Singapore, and she said OK. Alright! I'm all set. I can't wait to try this product. I really want to find a bath and skin regiment that works for Salma.

I've tried Cetaphil and Sebamed, but they have a sort of medicated fragrance, and it's not too nice. So now I'm trying to look for other products that are value for money. So hopefully California Baby will be the one. For those of you who are interested, drugstore.com also stocks Weleda, which also makes baby bath and skin care products using Calendula. However, they use this tube packaging, and in my experience with other lotions stocked in tubes, sometimes you unintentionally squeeze too much lotion out, and end up having to use a lot when you only want to use a little. With California Baby, their lotion comes in a tub (similar to Body Shop's Body Butter range.. see pics below). Which is what I like. I use Nivea face lotion for myself, which also comes in a tub, and I find that it's easy to dip your finger lightly into the lotion this way to pick up just the right amount you want to use. It lets you use how ever much you want when you want it. To me, that's value for money. And only for that reason alone, I chose to buy the California Baby Calendula Cream over the Weleda Calendula cream, even though the Weleda one was cheaper.

So hopefully, my lil girl's eczema will clear up once she uses these products. I just can't bear to hear her cry and complain, "Gagak…" (It's meant to be "Gatal", but she can't pronounce it right… 'gatal' is 'itchy' in Malay).

Plans plans plans

As with the last time I had to leave my job, I started making plans in my head as to what I'd do during the free time I will have. Other than cleaning the house, folding and ironing the piles and piles of clean laundry I have left in several laundry baskets, I thought I would start baking cakes and cookies and muffins and cupcakes. And also do some photography/artwork projects on the computer. And maybe, just maybe, send personalised, home made Hari Raya cards out to friends and family. That's a MAYBE. I am not such a big fan of those type of things, but the thought of making online cards is sort of fun.

I sure hope that there is no added pressure from third parties while I am on my so-called vacation in between jobs. I have put pressure on myself, but I don't want to receive pressure from others (to secure a new job). I think self-imposed pressure works twice as hard as pressure from other sources. Or not. But that's the way I feel right now.

I so want to start sewing though. I am itching for it. Maybe I should start saving for my special sewing machine. I would love to sew costumes for Salma. Although I don't think I'm imaginative enough to do that, but it sounds like fun. Salma likes to dress up. I suppose this is the best time to collect different costumes so that she can play dress-up. Yes... this sounds like a plan. :)

The red pineapple

Many people don't know the true meaning of Red Pineapple. "Red Pineapple" was the nickname given to Abarai Renji for his spiky red hair when he was freeloading at Urahara's shop. While I was in confinement, Salma and I spent most of our time watching dvds of the anime Bleach. We are great fans. Until now (or rather just me, as Salma sometimes zones out when we are watching).

I am kinda bummed out that dattebayo has stopped subbing for Bleach, because their subtitles are the best. Now it's all clean stuff, and no more swear words.

Shoes

I know that some of you will think I'm a complete idiot when I say this, but I find it pretty stressful when it comes to buying shoes for my 2 year old. Because I can't seem to decide whether or not I should buy shoes that fit her just right, or shoes that are a little bigger (so that her feet can grow into them). And I never seem to make the right decision, either way. I bought her shoes that were just right, and they managed to last only about a month. Then I bought her shoes that were one size bigger, but they keep falling off her feet when she runs...

And these shoes don't come cheap either! So I'm wondering... what should I do? What do you do, when it comes to kids shoes?

Mommy's plans

I don't think men realise that moms plan just as much as dads do, and probably even more than dads do. I know my husband will hate it when I mention it, but I do a lot of planning for the future. I was told by two people in particular (my husband and my former boss) that I behave somewhat like a man. For example, when I start feeling the financial constraints, I automatically (well almost automatically, let's say decisively) actively seek another job right away. And maybe I am more extreme than others in that I actually quit my job before securing another one. But I quit the job so that I can save money, and try to salvage as much cash as possible for my daughter, and food, and expenses. The biggest money drainer for me is petrol and lunch. Both are starting to get expensive.

The thing that I find funny is that, quite a number of people have questioned me on why did I quit my job before getting another one. Well, I tell them, I need more money. But you will have no security if you're not working. Well, I say, then that just means I'll have to work harder to find a job, don't you think? And yeah, I think this strategy works well for me. If I put myself into a dire situation on purpose, then I will, on purpose, try my hardest to get out of it. So my job search becomes more urgent, and I will actually get off my ass to spread my resumés around. Compare that to the time when I was retrenched, I really took my time to go about it. But this time, it's bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz (like the bee)...

I dunno about other moms (or wives), but I actually feel a certain pressure to provide more for my family. Is that normal? I hear other women talking about how they pressure their husbands to get better salaries, but then I feel like, why not do it yourself? And no, I'm not saying this to put anyone down (and not saying that anyone is wrong for asking their husbands to earn more), but sometimes I feel that people (mostly women) miss out on the logic of this. If you want more money, and you can't get it from your spouse (or your parents or whatever) then go out there and try to make extra yourself. Doesn't that make sense? You won't need to rely on another person, who will probably have their own commitments to think about before even being able to give you extra cash. Right? Or wrong?

I told the people at the office here that I quit because I needed to make more money. And the first question they asked was, "What about your husband?" And I asked back, "What about my husband?" Well, doesn't he.... ? Yeah, he does, but what he makes he already contributes. So now I need to make more for my own contribution.

Doesn't that make sense? If yes, then why do people give me weird looks when I tell them that? Not that I care what they think of me, but why do they think it's weird that I should want that for myself? Isn't it honorable?

I may just be rationalising or stereotyping, but I get the feeling that most men find it weird that a married woman wants to make more money. Almost as if they feel threatened by it. But they themselves want the same thing, so I don't see what the big deal is. Anyway, I'm just rambling about this, and you probably find me extremely annoying now. But of course I want to make more money and be able to spend more time with my family. I am looking for this dream job that will allow me to do this. And if I look hard enough, I think I can find it. :)

The funny things they say

Salma learned this song for Mother's Day, that goes something like, "Mummy, mummy, I love you, And I know you love me too..."  (that's about all I know because after that, the words Salma sings don't make much sense to me).

And when we are travelling in the car, we'll ask her to swap the words "Mummy" for "Daddy" and "Atuk" and "Wan", etc. Then we tease her by singing to her, "Salma, Salma, you're so cuk, And I know you are so cuk." ("Cuk" pronounced 'chook' is our loving way of saying she's smelly).

Then today while I was typing emails and she was playing her puzzles beside me, she sang the Mummy song - "Mummy, mummy, I love you....." Then when she finished, she sang for herself, but changed the words, "Salma, Salma, is so cuk, Salma is cuk cuk cuk."

Hehehehehehehehehe!! I couldn't stop laughing. She was laughing, too, because she understood the joke.