Post Holiday

Sarah got sick on Christmas Eve's Eve - had a stuffy & running nose and cough.  The silly girl didn't cry much - just a bit more whiney.  She still smiled whenever I sang her favorite songs.  (Lately, it's "Itsy Bitsy Spider.")  She didn't have much of an appetite to eat though.  With the stuffy nose, I can see how sucking on a bottle can be uncomfortable.  We didn't go to Sacramento this year, which turned out to be a good thing.  Sarah got a chance to rest up a little bit. We celerbated Christmas at my sister's house on Dec 25th and it was definitely a fun-filled night.  Great food, caroling, a visit from Santa, performances, games, our annual "must-have" slideshow, tons of pictures and presents!!  Sarah was super tired and sleepy but still managed to stay awake to join in on the festivities. She is such a trooper!!  :-)

Sunday was a "rest day" for Sarah.  You know how when adults get sick, they stay in bed all day?  Yep, that is what silly girl did all day on Sunday.  She stayed in bed. Woke up to feed, stayed up for a little bit, and then went back to sleep.  Today Sarah seems to be a lot better.  She is more lively and smiley. I hope she'll get better soon! Can't wait to see her and hear her laugh again!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays to all!!

2010 Christmas Card

We took this picture of Sarah on our bed on a random Saturday morning.  We had our shades down, and SQ played around with the aperture of the camera to capture this shot in this lighting.  Sarah had just learned how to sit so it was a fun photo shoot.

We ordered our holiday cards through Pear Tree Greetings.  I would highly recommend this company. Not only do they provide cute quality cards, they have excellent customer service.  They have live chat help and very responsive to emails.

Back to Work

First day back at work, after a 7 month maternity/disability leave... Spent the entire morning mostly catching up with my co-workers.  While I was busy doing that, I downloaded my emails, and there were 1,400+ of them. I guess for a 7-month time frame, that isn't too bad. Many people were actually smart enough to drop me off the list; others continued to email me simply because I was part of the distribution list and they were too lazy to delete me off.  Marked all the emails as "Read" and filed them away without actually reading them. haha.  10:00am - meeting with boss to catch up on work stuff. Unpacked boxes filled with reports and brochures, which I can easily toss since they are now obsolete. Lunch at desk.  2:00pm - business review update meeting with VP who came back from HKG to spend the holidays in the US.  4:00pm - met 1 of the my direct report, and then I left at 5:00pm.  Got down to the MUNI bus station - and lucky me, the L car came quickly.  Not sure if it was running at its normal speed, but I didn't get home until 5:50pm! Picked up Sarah at exactly 6:00pm.  So that was my 1st day back.

I missed Sarah. I missed her a lot today. Don't know why I miss her more so today than I did last week.  I was so so so happy to bring her home today - again, more so than I did last week. I wonder what was the difference, other than the fact that I worked all day today?  She was smiley as always - but she got sleepy at 8:00p after her bath, so she went down for the night.  Today, I barely got to spend any time with her at all.  :-(

I am so rusty at work today. I didn't remember where the files were saved and how to run the reports. And I'm sure that when it's time to use Excel, I would have forgotten most of the functions and shortcuts.  Out of sight, out of mind.  There is a lot to catch up on - but I guess I'm not so excited to catch up... some things at work just stay the same. I wish I could still be at home with Sarah. I hope I'm just going through a phase...and that soon, I will get back to the swing of work and plow ahead...

A Letter to Sarah at 6 months 10 days

My sweet little baby Sarah,
Recently,

1.  I miss you soooo very much when you're at daycare!!  Today is your 3rd day. I think about you very second of the day. When I look at my watch or the clock, I think about what you're doing that very moment.  Are you napping, playing, or are you eating? Are you missing mommy as much as I am missing you?! I'm sure you are doing far better than me because you're are strong, resilient, and adaptable. Plus, you're super adorable so who wouldn't love you lots?!?  :-)
2.  It's almost instinctual for you to roll over from your back to your tummy every time we put you down. You are probably getting ready to crawl.
3.  You seem to have forgotten how to roll back the other way (tummy to back). When you get too tired from being on your tummy after a while, you just cry and cry and get frustrated. Most of the time, you end up falling asleep on your belly.
4.  You can sit for a short period of time especially if we have a toy in front of you (for entertainment and as support). So far you love the Discovery Ball.  It's a toy that you roll around and it plays music.
5.  Your tasting menu has expanded! You have now tasted rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, and bananas. Your favorite so far is pears! Baby, you still have so many foods to try!
6.  You are becoming a thumb sucker and I'm not liking it a bit.  You already like to put your fingers into your mouth but lately, you tend to favor your thumb. It seems like you only suck on your thumb when you go to sleep. But I have seen you fall asleep without your thumb before, so you probably don't need it that much.  We can work on this!
7.  You've outgrown all your 6-month clothes, not in width, but in length. You're going to be a tall girl when you grow up.
8.  Still drooling like a faucet and still no tooth yet! It's not that I want to see you teeth - because I still love your gummy smile. I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind all that drool. :-)
9.  You always smile and giggle whenever we blow raspberries into your tummy.  You must really love that.
10. Your newest gig lately is sucking your lips into your mouth. When you do that, you look like a Cabbage Patch doll.  Sometimes you only suck in your upper lip.  When you do that, you look like an old Granny! LOL

 

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety - not Sarah but me.  Sarah will be going to daycare starting next week. A wave of emotions is hitting me and hitting me hard. I never knew that I would actually enjoy staying home and being with Sarah full time.  If you ask me a few months ago, I was so sure that I would rather go to to work. I could never be a stay-at-home mom...so I thought. But these couple of months drastically changed my mentality. Now I understand why mothers leave their jobs to stay home to take care of their kids. I would do it too if I could.  It's special. Spending time with Sarah is absolutely precious and I enjoy every second of it!!   

When I go back to work, I will surely miss our daily walks and outings. We had our routine down to the tee. I could read her like a book. I know when she's hungry, when she's full, when she's sleepy, and when she needs a diaper change... So sad just thinking about how Sarah and I will be separated during the day starting next week.  I spent this week preparing her bag for daycare - diapers, wipes, extra clothes, etc. And each time I add something to the bag, I pause to think about how she will do in daycare. Will the caregivers know all her little quirks and habits?  Will they know that Sarah speaks through her eyes when she needs to poo?  Will they know that she babbles for a good 5 minutes before she falls asleep?  Will they know that she loves looking out the window?  That she loves to hear mommy sing?  *sniff* *sniff* (Uncontrollable waterworks!!)

I bet it's those darn hormones taking the best out of me right now.  I know that I will still see her in the morning and at night, and during the weekends - so I will still get to spend lots of time with her - for the rest of my life! Don't grow up too fast my sweet baby. Wait for mommy!

Solid feeding

 

6-months is such a big milestone for babies.  Not only do they learn how to roll over, they learn how to sit and begin teething, they now need to learn how to eat too.  Apparently, babies only know naturally how to suck.  So what we all think as a simple task of transporting food from the tip of the tongue to the back of the throat and then swallowing the food is actually a learned skill.  Babies need to learn how to do this.  When babies are too young, they have this tongue reflux that pushes the food out.  But when they are older, this tongue reflux disappears, they are now "ready" to eat solids.  

This whole solid feeding thingy is extremely confusing to me.  I don't know why! I actually tried to give Sarah rice cereal when she was 5-1/2 months.  The instructions on the box were 1 TBSP dry rice cereal, and 4 TBSP formula (or breastmilk).  The consistency is really really liquidy. It was barely a solid at all.  But either way, I fed that to her but didn't have much luck actually getting into her mouth.  She spit most of it back out so I thought maybe she's not ready.  I tried again a few days later, and it was still a disaster.  She also had some loose BM so I gave it a rest again. A week later, I gave her oat cereal. This time, I made the consistency a little bit thicker, so it felt a little more like porridge.  She ate the whole 2 TB I gave her!  I was super happy that this is finally going somewhere.  But then my happiness was short-lived.  She refused it the next day I gave it to her.  Sarah is all over-the-place when it comes to solid feeding.  One day she knows how to swallow and loves the cereal.  One day she forgets how to eat and pushes everything back out with her tongue. 

So far I am able to only get 1 solid feeding with Sarah a day.  I want to increase this to 2x a day, but so far haven't had much luck.  She is so good at keeping her lips tightly sealed when she doesn't want any or any more. So besides rice and oat cereal, I fed her peas.  She loved them 2 days ago (ate 2.5 TB), but rejected them this morning.  Ai-ya!! What a tough eater to please!  Please tell me that this is only a phase and that my baby will learn how to love everything I put into her mouth....    

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6-month wellness check up

I brought Sarah to the pediatrician's yesterday for her 6-month wellness check up.  The appointment was at 9am in the morning (again, it's in the middle of her nap time).  Side note: I realize that I have only a short window of 1/2 hour to catch Sarah in a non-eating and non-sleeping mode.  So I gave up.  She fell asleep in the car on the way there, but quickly woke up when I moved her car seat into the stroller.  She's a very light sleeper and doesn't transition at all.  We did the usual measurements (see below) and then the doctor came into the room.  I didn't see the same pediatrician as I did last time due to scheduling conflicts.  But this pediatrician seems to be much more experienced and better at handling Sarah. She didn't cry at bit!! I had a lot of time to ask the doctor my questions.  I was so happy and thankful! I think I might even change the primary doctor to this pediatrician instead!

Sarah took her regular 3 shots & 1 oral vaccinations.  She also took an additional one for the seasonal flu. Poor thing. She cried out loud and had tears rolling down her cheeks.  But by the time I put her back in her stroller, she already stopped crying.  She's such a trooper!! 

Growth percentiles (6 months)

Weight : 16 lb 2 oz (54% tile)

Height : 26.75" (84% tile)

Head Circumference :17.3" (88% tile)

Compared to the experience last time, I must say that today's appointment was wonderful!!  Only if every check up is like this....

Today Sarah's not eating much and don't have much of an appetite for anything.  She normally takes 6 oz of milk every 3.5 hours.  But now she's barely taking in 4 oz.  She was also very whiney and irritated yesterday...today, not so much.  She's really back to her normal self - smiling, giggling, and laughing.  Her thighs must be sore though!!  Poor poor baby! 

Oh yeah, one more thing - no teeth yet. Doctor can't feel anything coming out.  So baby, may I ask you what your drooling is all about?!  LOL

Happy 6 Month Birthday!!

A Few of my Favorite (Beauty) Things

As part of my job, I am lucky that I get to sample a lot of beauty products for free.  The down side is that sometimes I absolutely fall in love with that product...and then I have to shell out my own $$ to buy them when I run out of the sample.  Here are a few of my favorite (Beauty) things!

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

 
Why I like this:  It really cleans my face - all the make up, dirt, and oil. I feel very refreshed and squeaky clean. Best part is that my face doesn't feel dry at all.  







Chanel Precision Toner

Why I like this:  I actually don't know if toners ever really "tone" my face, but I like this one because it's alcohol-free and it smells great.









Genifique Eye Serum

  
Why I like this: It's super light.  It doesn't make your eyes heavy like some of the other eye creams do.  







Estee Lauder Hydrationist Moisture Cream

Why I like this:  I am in love with this product.  It has the perfect balance - it's heavy enough for my dry winter skin, but yet it's not too oily that my face feels gross.  I apply it 2x a day during the winter months, and my face is silky smooth and moisturized.



Christian Dior Hydra Life Gel Serum

Why I like this:  On hotter months when my face is less dry, this is the perfect moisturizer for me.  This is also good for people with oily skin.  It's light and easy to apply.  The gel texture in a serum formula is a great combination.  





Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

 


 Why I like this: Because it really CURLS.  I have bought so many of the cheap ones from drug stores before, and it just isn't the same!  Asian lashes are short to begin with, but this curler really can make your lashes longer & curl up!!  I accept no other imitation!   





Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Black Mascara

 
Why I like this:  The mascara is black-black. Super black. The brush is perfect and can really extend your lashes.  I wrote an entry on this blog about this product before.  Go check it out here.  I absolutely love it!!  







Lancome Bi-Facil Eye make-up remover

Why I like this:  Because it works!!!  Again, I have used other eye make-up removers before, and still can't get all the mascara out. But this one works wonder and it is the best! 

Teaway

I am a HUGE fan of boba milk tea.  I love it more than coffee.  I am lucky that I live near Irving St (in the inner Sunset) because there are so many places to get a good cup of boba.

I think that Wonderful Foods should be considered the originator of this whole boba craze (at least in this area anyways). They were the first to be on Irving St. Their tea is good; they're great in my opinion.  It's full of tea flavor and they use crushed ice, which makes the drink nice and cold. They originally charged $2.50 each cup. There would be lines every time I go there. This is really the "IT" place.  After a while, I found out that if I don't get the boba (which I'm not crazy for anyways), they would only charge me $2.00.  I loved it!  It was the best thing ever!  However, this perk went away really fast.  The next time I went, regardless of boba or not, the charge was $2.50.  I didn't like that a bit.  Then soon after, they moved across the street and began to charge $2.75 per cup. The lady in there isn't all that nice either. Call it Feng shui, call it Fate, call it bad business sense, or call it fierce competition, but this store's popularity dwindled after they moved across the street.

Quickly came about and charged only 99 cents for a cup of milk tea. You can pay an additional 50 cents if you want to add boba.  Quickly's tea was never as good. It doesn't have the rich tea taste - in fact, it's more milky. I don't love it, but it's cheap.  For less than $1, I can satisfy my milk tea craves. So I went here instead. There's always a wait at Quickly too. And that's because there is usually only one person manning both the cash register and making the tea.  When a customer comes in and orders a smoothie or a few drinks, it'll take forever to have his/her order filled.  Oh yeah, there is usually also 1 guy in the back kitchen.  I think he's most likely the owner. Even though the lines are out the door, this man will never come out to help. He will be in the back of the store, chopping chicken.  Yes, I swear that is all he does - chop chicken.  He has no business acumen whatsoever. Customers, me included, have left that place because the lines were too long and have no patience to wait. 


So when Teaway first opened on Irving, I had my doubts. They would be the THIRD store on Irving selling boba milk tea.  The other two stores are just 1/2 block from each other.  There is NO room for Teaway to survive.  But I was totally wrong.  This place blossomed and has taken market share away from the other 2 stores.  At first, I didn't like their milk tea all that much.  Like Quickly's, their milk tea has more milk flavor than tea flavor. It's also very sweet. But what's different at this store is that they allow you to scoop in your own boba. Besides boba, they have different types of jelly. They charged only $1.99 per cup and implemented a customer loyalty program: Buy 8, get 1 free. $2 for a cup of milk tea is the "sweet spot" in terms of price point. Teaway is now the #1 store boba store on Irving.  There is always a line out the door, while the other 2 stores are quiet. I am a regular patron here now!

I guess the lesson to be learned here is that there is always room for improvement and creativity, despite how much competition there is!

Xmas tree is up!

 

It has been years since we put up a Christmas tree.  When we first bought our house in 2002, we set one up.  I remember buying a fresh cut one from Home Depot. But years have gone by, and we've survived many Christmases without a tree.  The reason is we are just too lazy to go get one, decorate it, and then take it down. Plus we normally don't host any parties at our house, so there wasn't really a "need" to get one.  This year's mentality started out similar to the past.  We weren't planning to get a tree even though it would be Sarah's first Christmas.  But it turned out that Target has this tree on sale on Black Friday, for $30.  Yep, a 6' pre-lit tree for $30!  It is a great deal!  But we don't do Black Fridays.  We hate the crowds, the lines, and the madness.  Fortunately, my BIL and his friends are still into the thrills of Black Friday sales. He went and helped us buy this tree.  It is absolutely perfect!! So easy to assemble and it is just the perfect size for a little small living room.  I added extra lights on it to make it more vibrant.  I dug up my old ornaments and hung them on the tree.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find some of the other ornaments & the tree top - so that's why the tree looks kinda bare.  Oh wells. 

I am also going to find a nice Baby's 1st Christmas ornament somewhere and start a new tradition for Sarah. 

  

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am especially thankful for:

• my husband, who loves me unconditionally, and lets me be me
• my sweet little baby Sarah, who continues to brighten my day, every day 
• my parents, who always take care of me and think of me 
• my family, especially my sisters, who is always there for me, no matter what
• my friends, who are always a great company for laughs and fun 
• my health ~ so glad to live like a normal person again!
• my job ~ I am very thankful that my company kept the same job/position for me even though I took 7 months off and continued to pay me all this time!

When I feel down, I shall think of all the wonderful things and people around me. I am truly very blessed!! Thank you! Thank you for giving me what I have...

Have a great Thanksgiving!!   

little visitor

I brought Sarah to SQ's workplace last Thursday for a surprise visit. His coworker shot this picture with her camera phone. I love this picture. It captured how excited SQ was when he saw his little visitor.

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A Letter to Sarah at 5 months 10 days

Dear my sweet little Sarah,

Recently,

1. You learned how to roll over! Oct 31st, Halloween - that's the first day you officially rolled over from tummy to back. Since then, your tummy time has been cut down to only a few seconds each time because you love practicing rolling over! 

2. You are also very close to rolling over the other way too!  You can already position your body correctly but don't quite know what to do with your arms yet... but you will get there, soon enough!
3. Your hand/fingers are now your best friends. You love putting them into your mouth, AT ALL TIMES. You don't like the pacifier - you never did. Mommy still thinks you're teething, but you have now been teething for 2 months...still no pearly whites to be seen yet. 

4. You drool, drool and droll.  You go through 3-4 bibs in a day and even with that, you can manage to get your shirt underneath wet too. The Post Office should hire you to lick stamps with all your excess drool. 

5.  Your baby laughs are contagious. You giggle at the simpliest things...like when I say "Peek-a-boo" in different tones. How was that funny? But I would do anything to make you laugh, even if I have to say Peek-a-boo a million times.  
6. You are beginning to eat solids. This week you are starting off with only 1 teaspoon of rice cereal mixed with formula.  You did great!! Not looking forward to your poop though... :-)

7.  You still love to bath. You take one almost every day before bedtime at 7:30pm.  You don't mind the water splashing on your face.  You don't mind when I spray your hair with the shower sprout. You don't mind how rough mommy gets with you, turning and tossing you around to clean all your little folds...you never utter a peep. You just smile & splatter the water with your legs and hands!  

 

8. You can sit by yourself for a few seconds now when you support and balance with your arms!

9. People are saying that you are looking more and more like your daddy...especially your eyes, forehead and the shape of your face. Mommy is in denial. You used to look so much like me when you were younger!  

10. Mommy is a worry-freak and constantly thinks about you ~ whether you're full, whether you have enough sleep, whether you're too hot or too cold.  My biggest wish right now is that I hope you will get better with eating and don't throw up anymore.

Sloppy mom

I'm walking through the aisle of The Children's Place. A tall beautiful woman in a sleeveless flowery blouse, skinny jeans, and 3 inch heels, holding a Louis Vuitton satchel, stands near a nesting table. She has straight long brown hair; her make-up nicely done. She was pushing an infant stroller with a baby boy sleeping inside while looking at the baby clothes. Dang, she looks fabulous.  And there I was with my crappy, thinning hair, no make up, loose jeans, cheapo crossbody bag, tennis shoes. Gross. We are both moms, yet we look night and day.  I wonder how some moms can get themselves so quickly back to their pre-pregnancy figure and their pre-pregnancy look?!  And how they find time to make themselves look so good before stepping out the door?

Before Sarah, I mentally told myself that I can not get sloppy when I become a mom.  Yes to matching jewelry, to heels, to fashionable clothes, to make-up. Well, that didn't last every long.  Comfort and convenience became the rule of the game. It has became the only rule in my book.  Yes I am a sloppy mom.  Forget all the fancy things - now I considered it a success whenever I can get Sarah and myself out the door without a sudden spit-up and the baby bag adequently stocked!       

Sarah gets a special kiss from her BFF Sophie the Giraffe today on her 5-month birthday, and she's ecstatic! Happy Day my sweet baby ~

SF Giants Win!

The San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series!! YAY!!  As a SF native, of course I am proud of the home team.  But don't get me wrong, I am not a baseball fan. And I don't intend to be one "all of the sudden." Majority of the time, I find baseball boring. So does my husband. We've only been to a baseball game once and went because we got free tickets and had nothing better to do that day.  We spent most of our time walking around AT&T Park checking out the stadium rather than watching the game. 

But like many others, I recently got infected by the Giants Fever. I found myself glued to the TV these past few weeks watching the Giants play in the Playoffs, the Championships, and the World Series. The Giants Fever is contagious and it spreads like wildfire. For the first time, I found the games exciting to watch. Heck, I even learned some baseball lingo here and there..."a closer" being one of them.  A closer is a pitcher who goes into the end of the game and pitches the last couple of innings (or last inning).  He is there to seal the deal, close the game. 

So in our family, I am the closer. When my husband feeds Sarah and she gets fussy and refuses to drink the last 1-2 ounces of milk, I go in and feed her. Then she almost always finishes her milk. I seal and close out the deal. 

Happy Halloween

Bag of Junk (Necessities!)

For some reason, my shoulders begin to hurt and I noticed that my bag getting heavier and heavier by the day. Today I took everything out of my Longchamp handbag and this is the amount of junk I found:

1.  My big fat wallet

2.  House key

3.  Purell disinfect handwash

4.  Pocket mirror

5.  Dentyne Ice gum

6.  Extra bib for Sarah

7.  a Pen

8.  Lip balm (blue & white tube next to pen)

9.  Floss

10. Various gift cards to Carters, Target, Old Navy, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Gymboree, etc

11. Sunglasses

12. Wash cloth for Sarah (just in case of any mishaps)

13. Hat for Sarah (in case it gets cold)

14. Aquaphor travel tube

15. Pacifier in case

16. Glasses (in Dior case)

17. Icebreakers sour candies

18. Various Coupons (in the Floppy Disc mailer) 

So you might ask, do I need all this crap??!  The answer is yes!  Believe me, the ONE day that I didn't bring one of these items is THE ONE day I needed it most.  yes, it is just that silly.  Well, maybe I can do without the sour candies, but that's about it!  This is for sure a mommy bag!! Notice I didn't even have any of my make-up stuff in here!! 

What's in your bag??

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