A New Beginning

So I went to Egypt and became a mummy.

This is a long overdue post simply because for the most part of my first trimester, I was practically horizontal (read: in bed) and feeling nauseous. Worst part is, the nausea comes with hardly any vomit. I sometimes wonder if it's actually better to vomit. And 'morning sickness' is a definite misnomer as it really doesn't just happen in the mornings.

Anyway, some updates on the Beanie (till we name him, it's Beanie)

8 Weeks
The first gynae check up was at 8 weeks.
With it came the usual scan and checks AND a THREE HOUR WAIT that nearly killed RT and me!!!! Anyhow, the scan revealed a sac (so for sure it's not twins!) and what was supposed to be the foetus, but honestly, we couldn't figure anything out except for the heartbeat.

12 weeks
Then at 12 weeks, this is what we saw. Much more defined than the 8-week scan.

So cute right?

The 12th week check up came with the Oscar's test - a test mainly to test for the probability of Down's and Edward's syndrome, among others. As I expected the routine urine test, I had actually tried holding my bladder till it was time to take the test. So when I went in and the sonographer said, "Oh, your baby's position not correct to take the neck measeurements. You go drink another glass of water and come back in 20 minutes ok?" "Oh and don't pee ah!" she added.

Don't pee? I really needed to pee you know.

Anyway, I complied and decided to go for the blood tests first. Here's the conversation between the phlebotomist and me:

P1: Oh, I need to draw a lot of blood from you, you know.

Me: Ya I know. And I think my veins are quite hard to find right?

P1: Hmmm, yea you're right.

So off she goes to get help from her colleague.

P2: Ok let's take a look at your veins. I need to collect 9 tubes of blood.

Me: 9??

P2: Ya cos you got a lot of tests to take.

Me: Ok, just try not to 'orh-chae' the arm ok? Cos I face the same problem every time i donate blood or draw blood- they can't find the vein.

P2: Oh don't worry la, won't orh-chae one. You donate blood before ah? Then should be ok.

Hmmmm. Means what ah?

So she managed to draw the 9 tubes of blood. From BOTH my arms. Cos midway, the blood stopped flowing in one arm. When she was done I was back at the sonographer's and thankfully, Beanie was in place for her to take the measurements.

And then I finally peed.

16 weeks
After that horrifying 3-hour wait, we decided to schedule ourselves for the last appointment slot. Unfortunately, we were still subjected to a 1 hr 45 minute wait. Can die I tell you. One of the things I really hate is waiting.

The check up took less than 10 minutes.

Dr Tan: Everything looks good. Placenta is positioned well and baby is growing well. Your baby is 157g.

Me: 157g?? But I've put on 3 kg!!

Dr Tan chuckles and says, "Now you know what to do. Walk more."

Ya I know there's the placenta and all but still!

I told her about the rash I'd developed on my tummy and was told to stop using the stretch mark cream as it sometimes causes more problems than help.

Stop using? Then kena all the stretch marks how?? Tsk.

Seriously, the physical changes pregnant women go through can be quite horrendous. Bulbous noses, protruding belly buttons, swollen feet/face, acne breakout. I've seen them all during my looong waits at the gynae. These women come in all shapes and sizes. Scary.

The Cage

The boys (cousins, cousins-in-law and their friends) organised a soccer game again last weekend. It wasn't really soccer soccer, really, more like mini soccer. Not the real thing. The field is smaller. Actually it's all played within a cage (It's actually called The Cage). And the grass is fake. I dunno what you call it. Kayestercan says it's futsal. Whatever it is they had fun la. RT sat this one out cos he sprained his ankle from the last session.

Here are some pics from the previous sessions...

The boys in the cage...

The spectators, mainly made out of the players' family members.

Their energy sources and thirst quenchers...

For the spectators, it was like a mini picnic.

The first session, we had RT with a sprained ankle, and my cousin-in-law, J with a black eye.

Last week, there were 2 casualties....a sprained ankle that's now in a cast, and a double arm fracture that was operated on.

The Cage sounds like a dangerous place. Can play meh, this kind of sport?

Valentine's Day

This day used to be a really big thing. What to buy? Where to go?

Not that it isn't a significant day now, but if it came and went by like any other day, it'd be absolutely fine by me. The "What to buy?" and "Where to go" have become "Don't waste money on flowers and expensive dinners.....anyday also can be Valentine's day". Like Kayestercan said, "Celebrate dinner on V day now, very heng meh?"

I guess we've outgrown the commercialisation of Valentine's Day.

Nonetheless, this was what greeted me on the morning of 14 February this year.

It was a lovely surprise. Thank you RT for the lovely bouquet! Roses in my favourite colour. :)

Dinner was spent with the extended family, to celebrate my niece, Little S' birthday as well as my cousins' housewarming.

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary!

In our generation (mine at least), it's hard to come across a marriage that has stood the trials and tribulations of 40 years.

So when my Aunt G and Uncle F hit their 40th wedding anniversary, it was a much celebrated event. They had the whole works ... from the walking-in with an entourage of flower girls to the exchange of vows and the cake cutting.

And because there are 40 years of marriage between them, they had extra performances put up by new additions to the family that came along the 40 years. Being a very female dominated family, we got the only 2 male cousins and our 5 foreign-imported male cousins-in-law to put up a song and dance.

Not to be outdone, the 7 female cousins, decided to sing a song for the couple. We had wanted to sing "Edelweiss" but someone beat us to it, so we picked "Top of the World". Then, just so we did a little bit more than the guys, we dedicated a song to Aunt G, an ex convent girl.....the IJ school song! Led by the current IJians, my 2 nieces, who also happen to be my aunt's granddaughters.

And just so the guys didn't get hold of the microphone and do another dedication, we concluded the song with, "And that was the last item". Simply because we didn't want to hear the RI song. Uncle F's a Rafflesian, and among the boys, the Rafflesians outnumber the ACSians or the Josephians, so........

Kiasu right, the IJ girls?

Actually, we needn't be afraid, cos the women in the clan would have won hands down.....check out the handmade wedding cake! Every piece of it is edible!

Happy New Year!

And just like that, another year went by.

The last day of the year is always something I look forward to. Countdown spent with family - the extended one with aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces. Nice.

On 31 Dec 2008, I was however a little under the weather and slept right through the countdown!

Nevertheless, I could still hear the counting down from my room, the popping of the champagne, the singing of the Auld Lang Syne and this year, there was something extra..... I heard "Yam Seng"! So funny!

Well, here's wishing everyone a great 2009! And like Vandice always says, "May the coming better the going."

Long Overdue Egypt Pics

We've been back more than 2 weeks. These are way overdue. But the thought of having to resize the pitcures before uploading them put me off. Ha.

Here are some of the pictures. No everyday-diary-like-detailed entries simply cos it's been too long and yes, I'm lazy. If it were a short trip like BKK, I might still do it. Anyway, here we go...

The Pyramids of Giza....extremely picturesque from this angle. Amazing how people in ancient times managed to complete these.

The Sphinx - Man head lion body - the Guardian of the Pyramids.

Sunrise from our room on the cruise by the River Nile....

The Temple of Philae - one of the many temples we visited. It's a little like the Cambodia trip. After a while, temple fatique sets in. You see one and you've seen them all.

Some coloured carvings still left after the thousands of years...

An oasis in the middle of the desert...

and part of the arduous journey through the desert...

Part of our Bedouin dinner under the stars being prepared by the Bedouins (people who live in the desert) - roasted baby lamb and their "pita" like bread. Served with Hibiscus tea.

And one of the most uncomfortable modes of transport ever! A short novelty ride in the city of Aswan was fine. But to take one of these for an hour up Mount Sinai was ass-breaking!


Sunrise and the mountainous view from the peak of Mount Sinai. WE woke up at 1230AM, took the camel for an hour or so, trekked up the remaining way of Mt Sinai, reached the peak at 530 am in the morning just for these!


And then we trekked down another 3 hours or so to the foot of Mt Sinai to visit the monastery of St Catherine where we saw the site of the trsnsfiguration.

Back from Mummyland!!!

Finally, we're done with zucchinis, tomatoes, beef / chicken / mutton prepared with the same sauces and herbs, salty soup and back to the land of char kway teow and mee pok.

We're also glad to be far away sand, mountains and stones galore!

And for me, I'm sure I'm rid of the "lau-sai" I've been having in Egypt.

Actually, it's wasn't too bad a trip - one of those places you must visit in your lifetime. I'll be posting pictures soon. For now, it's back to sleep. I'm still jetlagged.