Mommy got chased home!

Been in and out the past few days and I've been feeling alittle unwell myself, so not much posts put up, :).

PTM(Parent & Teacher Meeting) today and although we did not touch on very much stuffs, we were pleased with what we heard.

School-front, the VP's leaving the school but Mrs Ong will be staying put for the time being...

We packed lunch home and upon Renee's requests, I brought her over to Eileen's after getting some stuffs from Compass Point. Not sure if she's afraid that my existence there with her meant that she would have to go home early or that she wanted the attention of aunty pc(Eileen's talking to me) but she chased me home! She told me to go back for her later in the evening : "mommy, you go back rest, come fetch me later". We even teased her about staying there for the night which to our surprise, she asked me to bring over her pillow, bolster and 'bed'! Hmmm... maybe I could do that on one of the days next week(since it's the school holidays) when I have to help daddy again. Eileen told her "but you cannot cry ar", hahaha, we shall see about that...

Just as I've got home, I got a call from the CATS personnel regarding the advertisement and I get to view it on time but too bad, daddy's unable to confirm the alternative design layout as he's out(and receiving emails from his mobile is slower). The dinner Eileen's preparing for her family seems to be 'ok' for Renee too, so that save me the trouble of having to prepare her dinner and also, allowed me a little 'rest' before going back for her.

Lollipop

Renee earned her first lollipop today! I've promised her that she'll get one when she's given a star for her first song - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and a bigger sized colourful heart-shaped one when she's got the stars for its other 3 variations.

She's coughing with phlegm and so I showed her the lollipop and she even said "ok" when I told her to leave it in the refrigerator till she's well enough to eat it, heee.

Heart shaped dinner, :)

Taking the cue from my friend, Karen's bento(s), I had thought that one day, I should perhaps try and get some of the japanese moulds to shape Renee's 'rice' to 'entertain/entice' her when she gets bored with her food.

I've not really given it much thought til 2 wks ago, I started to notice her getting bored with her usual meals but without much chance of heading down to Daiso for some grabs(and the ones I saw at other supermarkets are priced double or more than Daiso's), I decided to make do with some little changes to the dishes of her meals.

Good thing I remembered about Daiso when we got to Vivo yesterday and I managed to get a couple of the moulds and used one of the moulds for her dinner just now. It worked! From being super lazy to self-feed, she even finished up her dinner quite fast. She even requested that I do that for her in the future so she would eat her meals up faster, lolz.

New haircut

Hurray, it's done! No turning back liao, lolz.

I've told myself earlier that I must try to tolerate and tolerate during the 'hottest' months(which will be soon) so that when it comes to year end, I'd have really long hair then. However, just as the weather has only started to turn hot, I already can't take it, hahaha.

At the salon, Renee was left to her drawing whilst my hair's being washed and 'slaughtered', :D. My hairstylist tried to dissuade me from chopping its length off as she felt that this is by far the 1st time since I've gone to her that I've managed to keep it so long(since the birth of Renee, I've never been able to keep my hair this long and not to say, for months). Keeping long hair(much longer than my latest few inches over the shoulder length then, ;D) had never been as tedious as now but I guess, it's pretty inevitable when you have kid(s) to care for, especially in such hot/humid weather/environment. What's worse is when you have sensitive skin(I get rashes over my neck, back of neck when I perspired if the weather gets too hot).

So.....chop chop chop and here I am, home and breezing away again with my short crop, :).

Even Renee was smiling contentedly when she saw me with my blown dried haircut at the salon, :D.

To cut or Not to cut?

With the weather turning hot lately, I can't help but felt like having my hair cut short again. The chore of maintaining longer hair has eaten into my need of convenience and also, the question of whether to tie it up or let it down is a constant struggle - what would be the purpose of having long hair when u want to tie/clip it up and if I don't, I'll feel warm(even though it's alot better now that I drive). Also, I also tend to doll myself up lesser when I'm spotting longer hair and that kinda makes me abit un-groomed, lolz.

Unable to decide, I left the task to Renee and immediately she said : "Oh yes, short hair is better, mommy. Long hair is very troublesome, you have to do this(emphasising with the action of flipping her hair) and it's warm. Then you can also be like me", hahaha.

I guess it's quite hard when you have a young kid to tend to at home alone and especially if you wish to be active. I've thought to go for the cut once and for all(before it gets too long and I'll feel another pinch then - now already 'wasting' the recent rebonding I've had) but my director hairstylist will not be in til after 2pm today...

Renee's unwell and I'm letting her stay home(despite her protests - she wanted to go to school) and I've to see if she's well enough to go with me for the haircut later(cos daddy will be out soon).

Another busy Weekend

Saturday

We've woken up early today but due to traffic jam and a little delay in leaving home, we were late to pick our guest up. As all of us have already had our breakfast and daddy's choice of office being nearby, so we decided to drop by for a look first.

We headed home for a chat after lunch and reading that I'm a little into the stress mode now, our guest advised me to try and de-stress myself(from everything), etc etc(before it worsens) and I'm now hoping/trying to do my best. Perhaps, I should really try and change my lifestyle/routine, hmmmm, that might mean even lesser blog posts(I don't really have the mood these days anyway)?, :).

After sending our guest over to Eileen's for some discussion, we headed home for a little rest but the repairer told daddy that the workshop is very dusty and it's better for us to collect my car today, so we went. Thereafter, we met up with Eileen and the rest for dinner and a last minute detour to Li's place for a mini mahjong session.

Sunday

Woke up early again today as Renee's got a free trial lesson to attend at the Thinking Loft. The premise's very small/cramp and so I didn't stay to watch the activity(ies) that's engaged during the lesson. Although the brief assessment on Renee was pretty good but during the last few minutes, daddy, whom had been watching outside, wasn't impressed and told me not to waste time/$ on it. Personally, I don't have any comment I've not much clue as to what's being conducted during the lesson as we've left her there and gone to get our stuffs done but I do agree that the fees are being set on the 'too high' side - given that the premise's location, space constraint and the experience of the 'course' providers. We should have gone for the playdate at Go Go Bambini with Wae Shuen and friends, :).

After our lunch at Compass Point, we headed home to rest before heading out again. We had decided last minute to go to Vivo City for Mothercare's supervisor to check on the 'princess carseat'. I've got the info mixed up and we had to walk over to HabourFront's branch and the supervisor was very nice to accompany us back to the carpark to check on the carseat. He suggested an exchange upon a check on the seat but when we went back to the store for the exchange(told him to go back first so we can walk slowly with Renee), he told us that he's double-checked the set in the store and that the cushioning part was omitted from ours. The option was then to proceed with an exchange or to just stick to our current one with the cushion portion of cos, which is better than nothing. We looked around and unable to find any suitable(only 3 highback booster seats are with the 5 point harness and 2, including the one we have, are convertible to booster seats) or nice, we decided on the latter.

After the incident, daddy is now more careful in his selection of the car seat. He had earlier wanted just a booster seat for its convenience but now, even a high back booster seat(without the harness) is no longer in his list, :D.

Earlier, I've not related an accident that we've witnessed on Thursday when the workshop driver was sending us home. The collision was between a motorcycle and a Taxi and the rider was thrown off his bike. It was another shock to see such an accident so soon and that had depleted my brief idea that to give up driving and take taxis instead - which might not be a good choice since there're no car seat in the taxis and taxis are usually of asian made vehicles. Oh man, I think this is also a reason I'm stressing out, hahaha.

Anyway, conclusion : since my vehicle is smaller, in comparision to daddy's and I ferry Renee in and out everyday, plus she tends to sleep in the car, we've shifted the 'old' one from daddy's car to mine and the 'princess car seat' to daddy's... It's a choice of either me getting backache from the constant process of carrying Renee up and down from the carseat which is raised higher by its base or Renee's safety. Of cos the 2nd choice is of priority. To help ease me from straining my back(which will be almost immediate), we've told Renee to go up and down(with me holding on to her of cos) on her own and she's agreed after a trial run, :D. However, I must be prepared for the non-co operation I'll get from her from time to time, especially when I've to wake her up from her nap upon reaching our destination(s).....

Oh ya, at Vivo, I remembered about the cleaning agent Eileen's recommended and I bought 2 boxes. However, both Eileen and Li had forgotten on its actual usage direction, so I'll have to try and email the instruction to my Japanese SIL for translation, :D.

Workshop & Seminar

Daddy drove the car to the reporting centre after we've sent Renee to the school('cos I'm alittle phobic to drive the car now, hopefully it's only for the time being). It's near the workshop, so we just drove over and left it there for what necessary action that's required later(the other party's insurer's surveyor to take photos, etc) whilst the driver of the workshop took us home. We should be able to have my car back by Saturday judging from the minor damages on the surface(not sure if the impact would have caused any damage to the interior as the damage on the other party's car's quite bad).

The preparation of Renee's meal and the seminar kept my mind off the incident('cos the image kept flashing in my mind).

Daddy hadn't the mood for the talk tonight and perhaps, the audience we've got(from advertising in the wrong section of ST) wasn't as suitable, so we finished pretty early and daddy went to meet his overseas client whilst his bro drove me to pick Renee up from Eileen's.

Whilst relating to my sisters online about the accident and when we came to the part where I heard Renee's cry, images flashed again and I felt a rush of emotion... has the effect finally sunk in, is this the real aftermath?

The Accident, The Number

Daddy had always trusted and preferred european made cars to those of asian made for its stability and hard(er) metal. Years ago, he met with an accident that re-enforced his belief on this and today, unfortunately, the incident I've encountered further enhanced that thought(the other vehicle, a Japanese make, has a bad dent and thank goodness, mine was not that bad, given the impact).

We were on our way home from school and at inches(probably a couple metres, i'm no good with this) from the 1st stop line, with the traffic light turning red, I stopped. It wasn't a very slow stop, neither was it an emergency brake(no screeching sound anyway) but this lady behind had to bang head-on to my vehicle's rear. I wasn't even going very fast(as nearing traffic light) and naturally at that distance and speed, I had to stop. I came out to check on the damage and straight away, the lady driver of the other vehicle raised her voice and hand at me :

Driver : "how can u stop like that"

Me : (surprised)"it was amber turning red, I have to stop"
Driver : "Ya, but you cannot stop when it's amber, you have to go"

Me : (shocked this time) "hey, if you asked the traffic police, they'd surely tell you otherwise when you see the lights turning amber."(not to mention we have to slow down when nearing traffic lights/junctions, did she pass her theories? this is sooo basic)

She then continued to argue on her 'dash on when amber' point but I told her she should have kept the appropriate distance in the first place and besides, I have a child in my car, does she really expect me(or even anyone, for that matter) to dash over at that speed? Then, she began to apologise and explained that she was actually turning into my lane to which I told her that she should have been even more careful in that case.

*What's with some drivers these days, still yell at the 'victim' when they're at fault? For those who remembered the case of my car being scratched(at the carpark of Compass Pt, a few months ago) by another lady driver whom insistently went on to park her car, knowing that mine was super near hers? - Same accusationing happened then(for the record, paintwork resurrection was paid by them).

I was still ok and came out to check on the damage but when I went back for my mobile phone, Renee cried out for me and was crying badly. I turned from 'stable' to a state of panic when I heard her complaining of pain at the back of her head and big tears were rolling down her cheeks. I quickly went to check on her and not finding anything serious with my layman knowledge, I went back to tend to the accident situation. I told her that we'd have to move our vehicles off the main road but I would need to take some photos with my mobile phone first and she followed suit. Daddy was on his way to his appointment but he contacted his workshop agent and he arrived shortly after the agent did. Good thing for their existence, 'cos I still have not fully recovered from the shock I've got when I heard Renee's cry and couldn't think straight on what to do next(my past working experiences in related fields didn't help, again...). Even the other lady driver benefitted from their pressence as she was actually at a loss too.

The first thing daddy did upon his arrival was to check on Renee and he then asked me to take her to the Paediatrician for a check-up. However, they were closing when I phoned and they couldn't make an exception as the PD's needed to rush to the hospital, so I headed home.

Once home, normal routine resumed but I maintained a watch-out on Renee for signs of giddiness/sleepiness/vomitting. Blessed, protected, Renee's ok(as per PD after her check-up) and that's all that matters... The PD asked questions on how the accident occurred and about the car seat we're using. She commented that we've made the right choice by using the 5-point harness high back booster, instead of taking on just the booster seat, for stability/security, as she's not of appropriate age/size/height/weight for just the seat alone(luckily I've insisted on this man, though the adjusting knob at the head-rest is an issue for me now).

What's next would be to follow up with the reporting to our insurance companies and so forth and well, you might all think that's about all for now?... but haiz, when daddy was on his way to pick us up from the PD's clinic, he phoned to tell me that our vehicle nos(same no. actually, so only 1 set of number but am not gonna reveal the prize placing to maintain privacy) came out in the 4D results and what's worse was - daddy didn't place his bet!!! Oh man! Although he wouldn't be betting alot but the winnings would still be a pretty good amount and will certainly be handy now especially when he's looking for office locations. Arrrggghhhh...

Daddy was pretty upset about this miss(particularly this) that he got sooo muddle-headed that he forgotten about his handbrake when he came to pick us up from the PD's clinic and the vehicle was moving when he was getting outta car/I was holding on to the door, geez! All I can do now is to urge him to forget about the 'small' missed fortune(small as compared to our safey) and what's ours will be ours in one way or another. Besides, our daughter's fine and that's the best we could ever ask for...

The aftermath - Upon reaching home, I was slowly recomposing myself from the incident but unable to shake off the image which I still remembered very clearly - I still saw her car in my rear view mirror after I've stopped and thinking to myself "*phew, the car's sooo close, luckily it din hit mine" and just in the second when I turned my gaze back to the front, we were 'banged' forward...

Lesser Posts?

This is yet another busy week for me, with the next seminar(more preparation work for me - calling hotels, town council, answering queries amidst my duties attending to Renee) and our guest from HK arriving on Friday but luckily we had agreed to kinda stop the answering of phone queries, so the pressure/rush was lessen.(I'll try to put up posts regularly but as you can see, I've began to 'skip' on some days' already...not that we're not doing anything interesting but sometimes, I just don't feel like it, hehehe).

It was the 1st time Jerome's mommy, Janice was earlier than us and she came to my car when we arrived. Citing being kinda bored, we went for a little walk at Hougang Point(we went in Janice's vehicle) and I got some stuffs, hahaha(there're some new interesting shops there now). Then at NTUC,, I saw this bag again and remembering the free mc's bag Renee's lost, I decided to get it for her this time. Isn't it cute? I hope she won't lose it...

With nothing much in mind to go for, I requested Janice to take me home so that I could cook Renee's afternoon meal. This is the 1st time Janice has been to our place and unfortunately, at a time when my place's at its untidy state, hahaha. With this trip back, I even managed to boil the soup for dinner, :D.

*ok, back to 'work' again now... :{