Hubby's book is out!!!

Armour Publishing New Release
WHY PROCRASTINATE?
A Teenagers’ Guide to Overcoming Procrastination
By Teo Aik-Cher


Dear Readers, Parents and Teachers,

ARMOUR Publishing is pleased to bring to you an important yet fun book to help teens overcome a key struggle they face everyday - procrastination.

WHY PROCRASTINATE? is a practical and entertaining book that helps teenagers overcome as well as eradicate the ills of procrastination. Written in a light-hearted manner and filled with cartoons, author Teo Cher Aik, who is a lecturer at a top junior college in Singapore, explores:

Some of the reasons why teenagers procrastinate;
Why they behave the way they do; and
How this problem of procrastination can be dealt with effectively through proven strategies.

“In this illustrated book, Aik Cher shares with you 13 reasons why most people procrastinate and equips you with 13 strategies on how to move beyond inertia and put yourself on the road to results and success. I am sure you will find it an enjoyable and enriching read.”
Adam Khoo
Executive Chairman
Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group Pte Ltd
In his Foreword

Let’s begin a journey to success as you read this inspiring guide!

WHO SHOULD READ
Teens, parents of teens, principal and teachers, educators, counsellors and all readers who aspire to kick the habit of procrastination.

*******
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Teo Aik Cher is an educator whose words and illustrations have been featured in numerous publications. He was the illustrator for Adam Khoo’s latest best-selling book, Secrets of Millionaire Investors and the Speak Good English booklet, Speak Well, Be Understood. He also illustrated and wrote for the first and second Singapore Kindness Movement books. His cartoons are featured regularly in the Chinese Newspaper, Lian He Zao Bao, where he has a weekend column.

*******
Book Specifications
Cover Price: S$14.00 (Singapore/Malaysia)
ISBN 13: 978-981-4222-25-9
Size: 198mm by 129mm
No. of Pages: 136 Pages

ORDER + BULK PURCHASE + ENQUIRIES
WHY PROCRASTINATE? will be available in November 2007. Retail price is S$14.00 excluding gst. Please email jenny@armourpublishing.com or call 62769976 for any enquiries.

Available at major book shops eg. Kinokuniya (Ngee Ann City Tel: 6737 5021), Popular bookstores (head office: 6462 9500), Times Bookshops, MPH and various other bookstores from mid Nov onwards. Call first to avoid disappointment.

Mamy Poko Diapers

My cousin passed me an unopened pack of Mamy Poko New born diapers (52pcs). She bought 7 packs in JB (cheaper there) but her baby boy who was born on 4 Sept, outgrew them last week. Mamy Poko is recommended by some mummies. :) So far, I have 3 packs (1 small pack of Pampers NB, 1 big pack of Drypers 'S' size and now 1 pack of Mamy Poko NB). Looks like 3 packs won't be enough for RaeAnne but since different brands suit different babies, I better don't stock up until I'm sure which one fits RaeAnne best. :P

More BB gifts

Received my Maclaren Techno XT stroller and Capella S207 today. Not opening them up yet so that the strollers won't get dusty and won't take up too much space in BB's room. The Mini cosleeper cot I bought is also still in box. Hee.

BB received her first piece of jewellery today. :) It was a Piglet (from Disney's Winnie the Pooh) anklet from Poh Heng bought by my mum. It came in a gift box with a free Winnie the Pooh soft toy. Gold is very expensive though, 1g of pure gold is $44. Luckily, my mum had some old gold pieces for trade-in so she just needed to top up a bit. Looks like gold is a good investment cos the value preserved through the years. :)

Antenatal Class

Went for antenatal class tonight. Today's class is on labour & delivery and Pain relief. The session is very informative, the speaker is SSN Yeoh Soo Kiam, a midwife trained in UK with 12 years of experience in delivery wards. She explained about pain relief. The mildest form is enthonox or laughing gas, next level is pethidine, an injection through the thigh cannot be administered within 3 hours of labour and of course epidural which blocks 80% of pain. She said it's best to decide early if you want epidural cos no point enduring the pain going from enthonox to pethidine then finally to epidural. But she did say that it is really up to us, a few mummies want a natural delivery without any pain relief and they did it just by breathing, relaxing and massages. Thought this url on pain relief is quite useful, http://www.tinytums.co.uk/content/pregnant/you_and_your_body/pain_relief.aspx

She also answered my questions on cutting the cord (Daddy can cut the cord even if doing cord blood banking because the gyane will clean it), bowel movement (no more practice to put enema for mummies to pass motion before delivery), good to ambulate during delivery (but once at hospital, they will ask you to lie on the bed because of the monitoring machine so walk around at home if you want), when to go to the hospital (go when you need pain relief, if wait until contractions is every 5 mins, the pain may be unbearable for most mummies). Hee. She even passed around the needle and tubing used for epidural, a bit scary but better to know early than to be shocked in hospital I think. Too bad, I can't choose her as my midwife for delivery. I asked if I can do that. She said cannot but she will pop by if she's on duty when I'm delivering. ;)

On a lighter note, my cousin from NZ bought some clothes and a pair of BB shoes for RaeAnne even thought she's only coming back in Nov. RaeAnne has her first pair of shoes, can strike it off my wishlist. :) But oops, RaeAnne also has quite a lot of clothes now. Hope she gets a chance to wear everything before she outgrows them. :P

BB Bamboo chair

My colleague offered to get me a traditional BB bamboo chair as a baby gift. It can be used by BB or flip over to be a normal stool so 2-in-1 purpose. Thanks, Caroline! :) Borrowed a photo from yahoo auction to show how the bb chair looks like. Hope the seller won't kill me. :P

Tummy itching this past week, don't know why. Maybe tummy is expanding, hope I won't get stretch marks. Have been diligently applying the Elancyl stretch mark cream since 3month plus. Hubby said my tummy kenna scratch marks, not stretch marks. ;P

Bought the cosleeper bassinet

Visited a colleague at AMK who gave birth recently. Her baby gal was quite big and looks very active. We had very good teochew porridge at the AMK Ave 1 hawker centre. We had braised duck, deep fried black pomfret, fish cake, fried vegetables and duck gizzards. The stall was rated 3 chopsticks by makansutra. Die die must try! :)

Went to Mums & Babes, United Square to buy the cosleeper bassinet after that. Unfortunately, hubby didn't know the way to United Square from AMK, made a few wrong turns and we were both frustrated and tired by the time we got there. Luckily, we arrived about 20 mins before the shop closed, managed to get the mini cosleeper in natural. The pink colour one was really sweet but for practical reasons decided to get the natural in case we have a boy next time. The bigger cosleeper was also on sale, only $199 but the width is 71cm even bigger than the cot we were eyeing at BB Kingdom so no point cos it won't fit into our bedroom.

The shoplady said should not use the mini cosleeper once BB reaches 6 months and can flip & crawl which is what I suspected anyway. Averaging the cost $139 over 180 days, cost is about 77cents per day. Saw some of the moses basket and bb cribs selling for a similar price or even more. So this cosleeper should be still worth it. Only time will tell I guess.

Arm's Reach Co sleeper

My cousin recommended me the Arm's Reach Cosleeper bassinet. It's on promotion now. Only $139, usual price is $299. It's small enough to put on my side of the bed and facilitates breast feeding cos I won't need to get out of the bed. But it's also portable as it folds into a small pack about the size of a golf bag. Can bring around easily for travel or when visiting and if I cannot use it anymore, can keep in the storeroom. But the problem is because it's so small, I'm not sure if I can even use until BB is 1 year old especially once she can flip or crawl. If I buy a normal cot, I can use it longer but it'll be too big, will have to put it at hubby's side of the bed and it'll also block the toilet door partially. Will probably buy it and hold off buying a normal cot for the time being. BF in the night is already very tiring, makes more sense to buy something that that makes it easier I guess.

Bought Bumper Playmat

Haha, couldn't resist and ordered my bumper playmat yesterday. There's a MTB organising the BP and she's going to deliver soon, her price is $152, $7 cheaper than the other supplier. This mat is only 11mm, the thickest they have is 18mm. The thicker the better but we decided to try the thin mat first since the thicker mat's about $100 more exp. Guess me and hubby can nua on the mat first lar if BB can't use it yet. :)

Gynae check

Went for gynae check up today. Sugar in urine seem a bit high but told gynae I just ate at the foodcourt before going to clinic. She said still have to do the blood sugar test at 7th month anyway so booked the test on Sat morning. Gynae commented that BB is quite active. She turned to look at us when gynae was scanning but turned away when I was 'complaining' to the gynae about her kicking. The picture on the left was her in boxer position while the right one is her turning away from the scanning probe. :)

Asked gynae if I can rebond my hair, she said better not cos a study (though not very conclusive) said that babies of mummies who rebond, straighten or dye their hair may have higher incidence of eczema and asthma. It is thought to be the chemicals being absorbed by the scalp. In fact, she said should not do until 6 months after delivery cos we may suffer from hair loss after delivery. Looks like I got to put up with my messy wavy hair for a long, long time. :/

Asked gynae if she can give me BB's weight but she said cannot. Can only give me average weight from 7th month onwards. Think the machine can't measure weight. :P

Visited KKH's A1 wards, saw the deluxe room, very big with a separate living area (2 seater sofa, 3-4 armchairs). Heard it costs $600+ per night. Very good, wish I can book the room but don't think my medical benefits can cover though. :P Went to the Pureen shop, bought 2 packs of Pureen maternity pads for $11. Quite cheap. The salesgirl who has 3 kids said most new mummies use up 3 packs in just 1 month. Scary.

Ruyi oil

Just received the Metro Infant fair postcard today. Got a lot of bundled deals. Quite tempted by the Lucky baby Besto changing table + Deluxe high chair - $129. But don't know if I will need a high chair since we don't eat at the dining table at all. A colleague passed me a bottle of extra Ruyi oil, no need to buy liao. :)

Finally bought BB strollers

John Little was having a storewide 20% discount plus additional 30% in vouchers but I only found out last night. A MTB bought the Maclaren XT stroller at a good price, only $244 (include voucher value). Called up JL Orchard this morning but no stock. Called up the other JL stores. Causeway point only has 1 grey display piece left. Marina also no stock but thankfully the customer service person I spoke to said I can order and I'll still be entitled to the same promotion as long as I pay today.



So, rushed down to JL Marina with hubby at 12. In the end, we bought 2 strollers since it was cheaper than Baby hyperstore because of the vouchers. Bought Maclaren XT stroller (1st choice: red, 2nd choice: orange, 3rd choice: light blue) and a smaller red Capella S217 to put at my in-laws place. Only $244.19 for Maclaren and $95.23 for Capella (vouchers' value included).

Bought a lot of other baby stuff eg. Drypers S size diapers, training toothbrush, 1 more pack of Anakku diapers, 2 boxes of disposable breast pads, baby shower wash, baby powder, powder puff, etc too since got discount. Burnt a big hole, charged $600+ to Robinsons card but got back about $200 worth of vouchers which are valid for 1 year so still worth it lar. :)

Dinner at Nanjya Monjya

Went to Nanjya Monjya at Grand Copthorne Waterfront for Okonomiyaki (japanese pancake) with hubby, cousin and brother. It was supposed to be my birthday treat but we never had time to meet up. Been wanting to eat authentic okonomiyaki since the Hiroshima okonomiyaki stall at Taka, B2 closed down 1-2 years ago. Searched the internet and the review of this okonomiyaki place was good so wanted to try it. It's the DIY type where you can fry your own pancake run by 3 Japanese sisters, very authentic place, lots of Japanese customers.



Waited nearly 1 hour despite having a reservation at 7pm because we preferred an indoor table with aircon. Also, the indoor table had the hot plate in front so we can cook our own food. We are a bit helpless in the beginning so kept asking the waiter to demonstrate and help us fry the pancakes. We ordered 4 different types of pancakes (pork belly, pork belly with noodle, mixed seafood, tokyo style), shishamo, pork & cabbage salad and agedashi mochi, drinks and 1 bottle of Asahi beer (I didn't drink the beer).

The bill came up to $149.50 for 4 people, about $37 per person. Not exactly cheap but still reasonable. Food was worth it though we all smelt of oil when we came out. :)

Taka Sale

Went to Takashimaya 3-day Sale today after course. :) Wanted to check out the special buy Graco Playpen at $100, usual price is $199. The very friendly sales promoter said playpen's good up to 1 year old only (up to 14 kg) so not very suitable for our needs cos intend to put at MIL place for at least 2 years.


Bought the pink & purple Thermos foogo food jar, bought it for only $33.12 cos got 20% discount plus 10% Taka cardmember discount. 1 mummy bought it at $36.80 recently at Taka and the BP price was $38 so think I got a good price. :) One mummy said she bought this model for her daughter's porridge. She has no regrets cos it can store up to 2 small bowls of porridge even though the food jar looks small. She also said no point to store too much porridge cos it will turn watery and won't be nice to eat.

Also bought 1 pack of Anakku diapers at $17.91, pigeon cotton balls at $2.10, mustela nappy barrier cream at $12.87, a pack of baby safe cotton buds at $3.70, a travel pack of pigeon BB oil, BB powder, BB shampoo, BB liquid soap, BB lotion, BB bar soap for $5.184, 1 pair of BB Minnie/Mickey plastic spoon + fork $2.61.

Cousin said CL needed 2 dozen diapers so should have bought 1 more pack. 1 MTB from the motherhood forum said Robinsons selling Anakku baby diapers at $19.90 before 20% discount, cheaper so can buy 1 more pack from there next time. Was very tempted to buy the Allerhand diaper sling bag, costs $125.90 before discount, only $90+ after 20% + 10% discount. But decided to control myself since it's not cheap. Maybe will get it as a gift. If not, may try using normal backpack first but must at least buy a changing mat.

Metro Expo Sale

Was on course today at Orchid Country Club. Very far away from my home at Tampines cos at Yishun and cannot claim taxi. Thankfully, got a colleague driving there so I hitched a ride from Expo bus stop. The course was very fun, not boring. Ate a lot today, got 2 tea breaks and a very nice lunch at their Indonesian restaurant. Had fried rice, gado gado, roast chicken, sayur lodeh, fried chilli prawns, soto ayam, chin chow/sea coconut dessert. Yummy! The pool looks very inviting but too bad, I'm not there to enjoy the facilities.

Went to Metro Expo Sale after course since colleague dropped me there. The bras are very cheap. I bought 2 normal non-wired bras, seamless one at $7.90, lacy one at $8.90, 2 nursing bras at only $5.90 each, 3 pairs of low cut panties at $4.90, 3 pairs of high waist panties at $9.90. The brand is Jean Greuze at the left hand corner when you enter. The sales promoter very nice, exceed $40, she gives 1 box of maternity boy leg disposable panties that she recommends post delivery cos can hold the maternity pads well. This type of disposable panties can wash up to 7 times one. She said they supply such panties to hospitals and each one costs $7.90 but I don't know how true is that. Too shy to post photos here. But there's a pix of a word game toy we bough for BB at $7.10. But she can't play with it until she is 2 or 3. :)

Will BB have a sweet tooth like Daddy? :)

New cartoons

Back to work today. Busy day at work as usual, no time to check forum. Some MTBs from the forum said they read our blog. Made hubby feel guilty and drew some new cartoons for BB. Hee hee.

Found out I have piles yesterday. It's pea sized and does not bleed thankfully but still uncomfortable. Borrowed the tyre from my cousin just last week. She bought it because she had piles too. Never had piles before, sigh. Hope it will go away soon. :P

Received my navy blue Sack'n Seat today. Folds into a compact little drawstring bag and material is not bad. Hope to try it out soon. :)

MC

On MC today cos stomach still no good and gastric pain liao. Dr said it's probably something I ate or because some of my meals were late. Anyway, he gave me 4 types of medicine. Feeling better now but no more MC left for the rest of the year liao. Must stay healthy, if not got to use my own leave. :P

Stomach woes

I've been having lots of gas and loose stools these few days, went toilet more than 3 times today. Don't know why. Went to my cousin's kid's birthday party, don't dare to eat a lot but come back, stomach still no good. Just drank some ginger tea but don't like the after taste. Used to have constipation problem at beginning of 2nd trimester. The phase ended and now this. :/

I'm always feeling thirsty too, it's like no matter how much I drink it's not enough. But when I drink too much, I will keep going to toilet, if not stomach will feel very bloated. Don't like drinking plain water too so been taking more cold drinks but I usually try and have it with less ice or no ice at all. My favourite thirst quencher is lemon sugar cane juice. So nice and refreshing. Too bad can only get that from hawker centre. Wish I can have a glass of it now. Sigh.

Bumper Playmat

Saw this thread from experienced mummies commenting on bumper playmats. http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/578191/730186.html?1190174158


After reading the comments, we are quite convinced it'll be a good buy. The standard size (1900mm x 1300mm) is slightly smaller than a queen size bed but it'll be big enough for the baby room. Will probably order it after BB is born unless we get it as a gift. ;) Hubby thinks the Sweet Bear design is better though because can use it to teach BB ABC. :)

Nesting instinct

Did not go out today cos hubby was busy at work. He tapow food for me when he came back, ate the Hill street char kuay teow from Bedok North, bbq chicken wings and delicious sugar cane juice for tea. :)

Hee hee, Shopped online again. Bought this sack'n seat $38 which allows baby to sit down when there are no baby chairs available eg. coffee shops. Buying the navy blue colour so that dirty also not obvious. Buying one for my cousin too, her boy just turned 1 month old 2 days ago. :)

Tempted to buy the LG bumper mat for baby to sit, sleep or play on. Hubby and I don't sweep or mop the floor often, so thought it's a good idea to set up a clean corner for BB. The bumper mat is softer than those ABC mats and BB can't take them out to bite. Can also put on the floor as cushioning beside the bed in case BB falls. But even with bulk purchase price, it's $150+-$250+ depending on size. http://www.smallsmallworld.com/bumper_playmat.html

Today is also my cousin's birthday. She's in NZ now so can't celebrate for her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GE RINE!!! See You in DEC!!! :)