Happy 15th Month Birthday, Jordy!

Classic Jordy shot at 15 months. Gleefully chasing bubbles with wild abandon.

Dear Jordy,

Happy 15th Month Birthday! Mum is going to keep this short because she's got a ton of things to do today, in preparation for... her trip to Bangkok this weekend with her girlfriends!

Now Jordy, this will be the biggest milestone for the both of us yet. Right up to this moment, the longest I've ever spent away from you is around half a day! So I'm not sure how I'm going to handle my first weekend away from you. The good thing is that I'll be with other mums, so if anything, I'm sure we'll all be going through a rainbow of emotions together.

I'm sure you're going to have a blast with your Dad though, doing all sorts of boy things together! As usual, your very anal-retentive mother has typed up an Excel spreadsheet with as many details as she can think of to help your Dad along. Not that he'll need it much I'm sure, but better just to be safe :)

Another classic Jordy shot: Running along drain grates at the park!

One thing I've noticed Jordy, is that the days seem to fly by now. Now that you take only one nap a day, it's given us more time in the mornings and afternoons to do fun stuff, like go to the park or playground - which we very often do twice a day!

Then next month we'll be off to New Zealand for Christmas and New Year's, and then January you start at Carpe Diem Kidz! I still can't quite believe how quickly you are growing.

You are one animated fellow now, especially at bed time, when you engage in long conversations with your Dad, both of usually ending up in big bellyfuls of laughter. You love your books, especially the Roadworks book from Mama Maree, and the Things That Go book that Dad bought. That pretty much sums you up actually, you love anything to do with the road (especially dashing towards it when you think we aren't looking), and anything vehicular that moves! Mum has had a few heart stopping moments so far, and I'm sure there are many more to come.

Well, to my little heart-stopper, Happy Birthday! Be good for your Dad this weekend ok?

Love lots,

Your mum

Helmet Heads Part Two

Portrait of the Blogger as a Helmet Head

We went cycling again on Sunday, this time with Jordy's pal, Olive. The three of us donned our helmets, mine with its sad history of being the helmet on the highest shelf. Jordy had a lovely time I think, judging from the fact that he a) stayed awake, b) smiled for a bit, and c) had afternoon tea half way. The skies looked vaguely threatening when we had our water break, but the gusty winds blew the grey clouds away and it was back to blue skies again.

The Island Hippies looking sharp.

Is it me though, or are there many more cyclists at ECP these days? Or maybe it is just a Sunday afternoon thing. But man, cycling back to the kiosk felt a bit like weaving through traffic in Hanoi!

After cycling, we headed to dinner at gong gong and mama's - where Jordy got quite cranky as he was just really tired. We still managed to stay long enough to help blow out the candles on his cousin Young's birthday cake! Went back home, and D and I both fell into deep sleeps in the middle of putting Jordy to bed. We got up around 930pm, groggily wondering where we were!

What can I say, our hectic two-parks-a-day weekend schedule may be taking their toll! Heh heh.

Jordy at West Coast park the same morning. Notice the carpet burn on his nose, from where he fell over while riding on his car.

Five Steps to Better Heart Health (Or, How I Lowered My Cholesterol Levels By More Than a 100 Points in Two Months!)

I've been meaning to post about my recent health scare for some time. But didn't want to commit pen to paper (or rather finger to keyboard) until some kind of milestone in my battle to lower my cholesterol levels had been reached.

It all started at the end of August this year. I went for a routine medical check-up, given free, as part of my women's health insurance package. I didn't expect anything unusual as medical tests have always been routine for me. At least, up until a couple of months ago. Did the usual battery of tests, or so I thought.

It wasn't until I received the medical report several days later that I discovered a) I'd never had my cholesterol levels tested before, and b) they were hideously high. Like fat-Texan-smoker-businessman-John Goodman-type levels of high. (I apologise from the outset if you are a corpulent person born in Southern USA. I mean you no insult. It's just the immediate image that comes to my mind.)

Before my check-up, I never even understood nor cared about cholesterol numbers. But when I saw that the Pathologist had written on my medical report in bright red ink "your LDL cholesterol is very high and needs management from your regular doctor. Please see you doctor for advice", I experienced a huge jolt.

My numbers read thus:

Total cholesterol = 319 (very high)
HDL Cholesterol = 61 (optimal)
LDL Cholesterol = 234 (very high)
Cholesterol ratio = 5.2 (very high)
Triglycerides = 122 (desirable)

An immediate Google search confirmed my fears that my numbers weren't just post-rich meal kind of high, but really way out into the stratosphere type high. More research (while Jordy thankfully napped) flooded my brain with a kaleidescope of information. Still reeling, I headed straight to my GP that evening, and was advised to change my diet to a low-fat one and exercise regularly. I was to return in three months for another blood test and if my numbers were still high, the GP suggested cholesterol-lowering medications.

Shaken, I resolved to develop a plan of action and stick to it, and return in three months as advised. I was also determined not to take any cholesterol-lowering meds if possible. That night, I wrote down my five step plan:

1. Limit intake of bad fats, i.e. saturated and trans-fats.

2. Increase intake of good fats, i.e. fat found in fish, olive oil, nuts, canola oil etc.

3. Increase intake of fibre, especially rolled oats, a "super food" for the heart.

4. Exercise five times a week.

5. Keep a meticulous food diary.

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I knew that 2, 3, and 5 would be no problem. Number 1 would be particularly difficult for me, as I really did love my deep fried chicken, chocolate cake, cream biscuits and "bah kwa" (for those unfamiliar, that's the yummiest roast pork delicacy we eat during Chinese New Year). And Number 4, try asking most stay-at-home-mums (with no helper or grandparents living at home) if they even have time to wash their face in the day, and most will give you a derisive snort! So I wasn't that confident I'd be able to make the five times a week target for exercise.

I decided to go easy on myself regarding the exercise, and try to fit in short bursts of any kind of activity with Jordy. I would count walks to the parks and supermarket, and even short sprints when I chase after him anywhere.

I also decided that in order to maintain the plan, a whole overhaul regarding what I bought in the store, and chose to put in my mouth would have to take place! So I started reading labels. And researching low-fat recipes that hopefully wouldn't compromise on taste (so very important!). And I came up with about five or six staple recipes for dinners and lunches, which would be easy to modify and adapt based on what ingredients I had.

A sample day's menu would look like this:

Breakfast
Rolled oats (cooked in water)
cranberries
honey

Snack
Fruit salad

Lunch
Thai fish cakes
Steamed broccoli

Dinner
Wholemeal cajun chicken pizza, with mushrooms and peppers (sardines or anchovies and peppers also go nicely on this pizza base)
Fruit

Snack
Olive oil chocolate chip cookies

I also took the GNC Cholesterol fish oil and plant sterol supplement, as well as garlic supplements daily.

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I pretty much cooked my own food for 90% of meals, eating out only during the weekends.

I'll post more about my recipes in a while, but just wanted to share with everyone that I just got my latest blood test back and in two and a half months, my cholesterol readings have now reduced to:

Total cholesterol = 214 (borderline high)
HDL Cholesterol = 44 (desirable)
LDL Cholesterol = 143 (borderline high)
Cholesterol ratio = 4.9 (high)
Triglycerides = 137 (desirable)

I am beyond happy and am very inspired by my own body! Am going to persevere with my new low-fat diet and try to maintain as active a lifestyle as I can. My next blood test will be in another three months. I hope to get my cholesterol levels to the desirable range of 100+. Woo hoo!

Back in Blogland! And This Time, With Helmets!

"The Helmet Heads"

Sorry for the long hiatus from the blog. The weeks have flown by in a blur of trips to the park, dealing with toddler tantrums, applauding Jordy's latest antics, hanging out with friends and me working on my CV. Yes thought it was time to update the old resume and my goodness, it was rather surreal trying to find the words again. Have sent it in to my work so they can hopefully see where I can fit in again when I return in February!

Anyway, will upload the bulk of photos to Facebook. But exclusive to the blog are details of Jordy's first ever bicycle ride! We bought him a helmet a week ago and have been hankering to finally put it in action. So yesterday morning, we all left bright and early for East Coast Park, rented our bikes and off we went.

D and I were expecting Jordy to at least kick up a fuss over the helmet and try to remove it, but no, we had none of that. In all honesty, it all went rather seamlessly. We strapped him in the bike seat, put the helmet on, and off we went. Jordy was his usual serious, unflappable self and appeared to enjoy the wind in his face, and seeing all sorts of amazing things that go - from other bicycles, to inline skaters, to scooters, airplanes, ships, and his favourite, the wakeboarders and waterskiiers at the lagoon.

Unflappable, as always.

We cycled for quite a while, then stopped by a bench for a spot of morning tea. Jordy had a wee run around, then back in the seat he went. We cycled back to the rental kiosk, and as I turned around to give father and son a wave, what a sight greeted me. Jordy, eyes closed, head bobbing, just about falling asleep! Haha. No wonder he had such a serious, spacey expression.

Mother and son at morning tea

Thank goodness, we got him out of the bike before he had well and truly started napping, got him in the car, drove home to loud nursery rhyme music, fed and bathed him before he had his long nap.

(Oh and an aside on nursery rhymes, so far D and I have exposed Jordy to all kinds of music. The ipod is usually on when he's awake at home, playing anything from Chet Baker to U2, Crowded House to the Police, Neil Young to Jack Johnson. In the car, it's either BBC, classical music or Flight of the Conchords. But one thing we haven't done is play music targeted at young children, sung by young children. It's the latter that usually gets to me, the precocious voices never fail to cause me goosebumps, not in a good way mind you, more in a fingernails on blackboard kinda way. However, we have made one concession. We bought the CD of nursery rhymes produced by the childcare he is enrolling in in January. All orignal tunes sung in English and Mandarin by the Carpe Diem kids themselves. Apart from some hideous diction, there are one or two tolerable tracks. The Mandarin songs are much better than the English ones. And Jordy seems to enjoy them. Ah well!)

So anyway back to our helmety day. After inaugural family cycling trip, D and Jordy hung out while I met up with J (although we didn't end up meeting till after the event) to go listen to Neil Gaiman talk about Graphic Novels and Fantasy and Lots of Other Amusing Anecdotes. Aside from the crazy queues, I am so happy this event was free (thank you Singapore Writers' Festival) and I have new found respect and admiration (is that possible?) for Mr Gaiman after seeing him interact with fans so graciously and good naturedly. He stayed for well over three hours after the event just to sign autographs! I know this because J and I met up with Jordy and father for afternoon tea at One Fullerton (where Jordy fell on his face while chasing a bird. Another story for another time, but the bruise is still there...) after Neil Gaiman talk, and when we went back to car park after hanging out for ages, he was STILL SITTING IN EXACTLY THE SAME POSITION! Poor, wonderful man.

Then we dropped J off, said our farewells (she's flying back to Kyoto this week. Sob.) and headed to gong gong and mamas house. Where Jordy played in the backyard in nothing but a diaper and his Hussain Bolt-esque Nike running shoes, and had a very retro bath!


All right, off to mum's group in a minute. More updates to come!

Happy 14th Month Birthday, Jordy!

Jordy at 14 months, in his ubiquitous aircon singlet

Dear Jordy

It's time once again for my monthly missive to your royal jordiness.

It's been a month of real highs (much walking and general adventuring, new signs, increased understanding, lots of laughter) and lows (falling sick with your first bad cold which turned into a cough and neccesitated a visit to the doctor, then I caught the cold from you, blagh), and boy am I feeling the slings and arrows of time flying by.

We started off the day with a morning trip to the park, and the cafe (ahem, a McCafe no less) ensconced within. Dad and I decided that, what the heck, you are now all of 14 months old and positive grown up and soon will be buying yourself aftershave and leather briefcases and other grown up things, so a McDonald's happy meal wouldn't kill you. Yes, you heard right. This mother, who had thus far, been rather responsible in her stewardship of what-goes-into-you, decided to let you, for one blissful morning tea, CROSS OVER TO THE DARK SIDE.

And you just loved it. Alas, how could you not?!

You had hotcakes (but we stopped short at giving you any syrup or suspicious looking "whipped margarine"), practically finishing up one on your own. And sipping about half of the fresh milk that came with it. You even played with the Happy Meal toy! God forbid! An odd-looking Green Lantern plastic toy containing trading cards. You liked the cards better than the plastic toy though. Phew.

Hotcake heaven

After said journey to the dark side, we emerged into the light of the park, and you walked up and down and all around, crossing over mini hills and vales, in search of your favourite swings at the Ang Mo Kio park only to find them UTTERLY GONE. What was once a regular sandpit with swings, was now just a lousy old sandpit! No signs explaining sudden dissapearance. I asked a lady who was there with her children if she knew what happened, and in typical Singaporean fashion, she wouldn't look me in the eye and mumbled some half-response like "No more" or something similar. Honestly, is the art of conversation dead to my countrymen? Why are people completely unaware of how to trade pleasantries in a social context? I'm digressing, but it's like my neighbours across the way from me, everytime I wish them good morning, they look down and DO NOT RESPOND! Their children too! I don't understand...

Anyway, missing swings aside, we had a nice time and you walked around in your onesie. Which brings me to this - I suspect today will be the last time you will go out in public in a onesie. I mean, just look at that thigh exposure! Your modesty is at stake here!

Stepping out in style

After our morning jaunt, we headed to mama and gong gong's, who were eager to babysit you while Dad and I went to IKEA to shop for a new couch. You ate some of the lunch that mama so lovingly prepared for you (she went so far as to make you a back-up dish in case you didn't like choice number one, you lucky thing! And sure enough, you made faces when we tried to give you the bee chai mak with fishball soup, so had to go for option two, which was brown rice with soup, which you thankfully ate, hmph!) then we settled you down for a nap before scooting off.

When Dad and I returned a few hours later, having had a successful couch-procuring mission, plus prata at Jalan Kayu, we found you still asleep, but in mama's arms!!! You lucky thing (again!)... Apparently you woke up after an hour or so, then mama gave you milk, then carried on holding you and you just slept and slept. When you woke up, you were extremely cheerful and got into many shenanigans, like so:

Jordy attempting the downward dog asana

You listened rapt, while gong gong played the ukelele, but wriggled like a caterpillar when I tried to take a photo of you and him. Still, we managed to get a few cute shots, like this one:

We are the linesmen for the counteeee

At 14 months, you are adjusting to a new routine, moving from two naps a day, to only one (Aside from me: HELP! How to occupy active child for the whole day?!). This is day five of your new one-nap-a-day routine and you're still prone to feeling tired and cranky some of the time. Like yesterday, when we met up with Mano and Carrie and cutey Baz at Bukit Batok Nature Reserve. Poor you just felt a little out of sorts, but you tried to make the best of thing in any case! Boy has Baz grown though! And I was reminded of you when you were his age, three months, and how you used to love the jumperoo too, and all the folds of flesh that suddenly appeared as if overnight.

Babes in the park

Well, it's almost 8.30pm now and you are still not settling to sleep. I can you hear you in your room with your poor Dad! I wonder whether it's the adjustment to this one nap a day business that is mucking up your body clock. Or it could just be the sweltering night. Oh well, I better go check in on your Dad and see if you're both ok. If you have a sleep now, you'll have a much better day tomorrow, trust me. Guess you can look forward to more sagely words of wisdom in the years to come. Apologies in advance, heh!

Love you lots,

Your Mum

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Let me preface this review by saying that I usually hate it when critics label a book as "important". Important? To whom? Can you let me be the judge of what is important in my world please? Things get compounded when when another VIP says the book is the "most important environmental book" you'll ever read.

So it was with a little scepticism that I turned to the first page of The Road.

And was proven wrong almost immediately.

The Road is important. It is essential. It is the most original, hit-you-in-vital-organs-you-never-knew-you-had powerful piece of anything I have read this year. Or any year for that matter.

Defying categorisation, The Road tells of a journey taken by a father and a son. They are nameless, and the landscape they travel through is cauterised, bleak and dead. There are no lengthy explanations of what happened to cause such complete and final destruction to Earth, just tantalising hints. The man and boy are travelling south, to what they hope is warmer weather, and life.

Cormac McCarthy paints the despair and hopelessness of their situation in language at once spare, and heartbreaking. Here is a storyteller with a true gift of poetry; he creates a lexicon for this post-apocalyptic world that, as one reviewer so rightly put it, is Biblical in scope. In an ironic juxtaposition, McCarthy unleashes his potent vocabulary in his descriptions of a world slowly bleeding away its nouns, adjectives, verbs, and interestingly, punctuation, as it becomes more grey and moribund by the season.

The reader is assailed by wave after wave of unavoidable imagery: the greyness "like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world"; where "(t)he ashes of the late world carried on the bleak and temporal winds to and fro in the void." The countless dead they pass along their journey are conjured up in their full horror: "The flesh cloven along the bones, the ligaments dried to tug and taut as wires. Shriveled and drawn like latterday bogfolk."

The whole situation may seem hopeless to the reader, but really, what can the father and son do? They are "each the other's world entire", and McCarthy reveals the man's thoughts: "He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke." So with those words, their journey becomes a quest, the Fisher King roaming the waste land to make it fecund again. (Aside: Sorry, this is the literature student who studied one too many T.S. Eliot poems talking. But I did feel a strong connection between this book and Eliot's The Waste Land.)

To me, reading The Road was like being in a dream, where I'm attending a wake (yes, bring on The Sandman allusions here too). But this is no ordinary wake, I'm sitting there listening to a disembodied voice read out the eulogy for the Earth.

Academic Richard Katula says "that a classic eulogy contains two parts: praise for the dead and advice for the living". In that case, The Road is a post-modern, post-recycling, post-sustainability eulogy then. The dead are not praised. They are forgotten; mummified in their moment of terror and regret. But it is in the living - and I shan't give away any spoilers here - that McCarthy eventually concentrates his message on. I finished the book in a half-daze. knowing that I would tell as many people as I could to read it.

For me, I came away so thankful for what I have, and ashamed at what could be: "Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it."

Godpa James Pays a Visit!

Taken just before Godpa tried to give Diet Coke to godson. Harumph.

Godpa James came to visit over the long weekend just passed. We had a lovely time (and hope James did too! heh heh) in spite of Jordy being crankier than usual due to the emergence of his eighth tooth!

Jordy's mama very kindly Jordysat on Saturday evening so the three of us went for a rather spectacular dinner at the new NUS Guildhouse at the Cluny Road campus. We each had a four-course meal, and I think I did rather well choosing a cholesterol-friendly option. From recollection I had

- Salmon carpaccio with mesculun salad
- Lobster and lemongrass broth
- Steamed sea bass on this yummy cabbage thingy with some kind of mashed sweet potato (the menu made it sound much nicer than my attempt here)
- Chocolate cake with morello cherries and vanilla gelato (my one major LDL splurge for the evening)

Healthy (but yummy) main course

The men both had ultra fatty-looking lamb shanks, yeeesh! I'm thankful I went with the sea bass! It was also an exceptionally cool night, so much so that we turned off the outdoor air-conditioner pointed right at us. Was also very nostalgic dining in a campus. I think we all wanted to go off somewhere to do another degree. The short walk back to the car made me realise how much I miss academic life! Though I could do without the rich kids (law students most likely) parading around in their strange clothes and sports cars. God, I sound so old just typing that! Ah well.

Like old times

We returned home to find mama finishing up the Keira Knightley-version of Pride and Prejudice, so sat down and watched the last 10 minutes (the best part in my opinion) with her. Despite the teething crankiness, Jordy slept through but woke up bright and early on Sunday.

Before heading out to town.

We braved town on a weekend and went to ION, had a pretty great lunch at Marmalade Pantry (except the coffee sucked according to the men). Then Jordy threw his first humungous mall tantrum (after I repeatedly refused to let him go near the escalator, which we wanted to touch and walk on) - he arched his back, then curled himself up when I tried to pick him up. In the end, I scooped him up somehow and walked as quickly as I could into nearest store with distractions, which serendipitously turned out to be a cuckoo clock shop of all things! Of course he loved it, and started smiling again. This episode made me freak out a little at this new phase of Jordiness, especially since he is NOT A SMALL CHILD and is a challenge to contain. Will take each day as it comes and say OM repeatedly.

(Aside: After talking to Sandy yesterday, we agree that our kids at least, are not mall kids. They'd much rather hang out in the park, walking around and looking at leaves, than sitting in a stroller looking at purchasable items and people milling around. I don't blame them, shopping doesn't become much fun until you have the means to buy whatever you want!)

The next morning we left bright and early for Sentosa, where D took Jordy for a swim in the sea, I got completely soaked trying to take a picture of them (idiotic splashy tourist next to me) and James had a kaya waffle. Haha! We then went for a l-o-n-g walk (Palawan to Tanjong Beach and back, about an hour) in the hopes of settling Jordy for his morning nap. He went to sleep only 55minutes in the walk, but that left us with some time to get drinks from Coffee Bean after.

Couple of Baywatch extras

We zoomed home after Sentosa to change and meet Dean for lunch at Samy's curry. Delicious, I threw cholesterol caution to the wind and tucked into briyani rice, chicken tikka, bagadil, fried fish, pappadoms, dhal, and veges. I figure the occasional anomaly in my new low-bad-fat/high-good-fat diet is only human, and humane.

Jordy had his lunch too, then wanted to walk repeatedly up and down the garden path. No metaphorical puns intended. That's literally all he wanted to do. Oh, and to squat down and scrutinise the occasional leaf or cigarette butt. One thing this new phase is teaching me is patience. Patience, and to put myself into Jordy's (small) shoes and realise that every day is a new discovery. Even the metal grates that cover drains are of interest to him, along with tiny caterpillars on leaves, and to my squeamishness today, a not-that-well-concealed grasshopper!

After such a lunch, it was a unanimous decision to head somewhere for a chilled dessert. Sped round the corner to Island Creamery, where I had a scoop of their excellent Blackforest and Jordy tried to take over Dean's nutella ice cream. This was only his second ice cream experience, the first being on the day of his birthday. He experienced a full-body shiver, and was the dictionary definition of happy. He even delighted in biting on the disposable ice cream spatula. Then it was back home to see Godpa James off!

Not great lighting, but hey, at least we're all facing the same way!

Well, hope Godpa James comes back to visit soon! In anycase, will be seeing him in November when I take off on my first Jordy-less weekend ever, with the three other yummy mummies, for a weekend of everything and anything in Bangkok. Thanks to our amazing husbands for affording us this opportunity, and of course to our wonderful bubs who teach us each day what is important in life (e.g. an all-mum weekend away to recharge, heh heh!).