Since we got married, the Bo & I would always take year-end trips out of Singapore to usher in the New Year as a way to reward ourselves for working & playing hard (and fit in some baby-making activities of course – we had to be ‘relaxed’ right? lol).

Last year, we spent New Year’s Eve and ushering 2011 in Japan – shuttling between temples (writing our wishes of being parents in the new year) after dinner, listening to bells chime, participating in some local activities, pub-hopping (it was only about a 15min walk plus it was winter so it didn’t feel as bad as it would in Singapore), drinking ourselves silly and mingling/taking photos with the locals while waiting for our train back to the hotel. New Year’s Day was also made special taking a 2-hour ride on the Shinkansen to visit my aunt & cousin in Gifu for the first time (after last seeing them in Singapore over a decade ago); when my aunt prepared a wonderful Japanese spread with some Singapore dishes (curry). And as we broke our ‘lucky chopsticks’ apart (something like a fortune cookie sort of thing) as they usually do in the Japanese New year – she teased me about my reading: that the year of the rabbit would be a very fruitful year to have babies. I secretly wished in my heart that would come true (and of course it did eventually – with God’s help of course).

This year, with a no-flight mandate from the excited Bo, we’ll be spending NYE and ushering 2012 in Singapore. And it was only till a shower ago that I realized that I hadn’t made any plans. Obviously NYE is quite a biggie in Singapore, so I freaked out a little when I realized that I had just about a week to make the necessary arrangements & reservations.

Thank goodness my prayers were answered when I rang 2 places &  managed to book in dinner & desserts just before we go fireworks watching at the stroke of midnight. And not at cut-throat prices (like those going at $198+++, $298++, $388++ per person). Since next year’s arrangement is going to be quite different with an infant to care, if I was going to celebrate my last few festive occasions without much worries – it had to be now.

So there – activities all planned till the last day of 2011. I’m one happy mama all ready to boogie.

My legs nearly gave way after 7 hours of Christmas shopping today as I took on the last leg of the race. Happy to report that I’ve settled almost all presents for the family and friends except for a final 1 or 2 which will have to wait till Thursday because I really need to recuperate before hitting the shops again unless of course I have my husband / mom next to me to ‘fend off’ pushy, inconsiderate people whose eyes just seem glued to everywhere else except to the direction they are walking in.

Meanwhile, Christmas merry-marking parties kicked-off last Friday with an all-preggers gathering-cum-celebration. And in midst of all those feasting, drinking (mocktails, of course), laughing, chatter; it felt really good to have b.chungkin participating with all his wonderful kicks, rolls, punches and even the occasional annoying pelvic pain at the most inappropriate times.

I can only imagine next year’s Christmas celebrations – when we all become mommies with our little bubs – might have to be confined to home-based venues instead….we’ll see!

{group shot of dragon-babies-mamas}

{Cousin organizes a little celebration for her preggy friends & relative}

{Taking a much needed break after 4.5 hours of Isetan Cardmembers Sale shopping}

{A very happy mommy}

{I’m a card-person, so giving one to the Bo was a definite must}

{Christmas/Birthday present for the Bo – who needed a new pair of shoes.He was so happy with these paid :p}

And now…back to last bit of spring cleaning, wrapping of gifts and resting before the Bo takes the rest of the week off tomorrow for some quality couplehood time before +1 comes along really soon.

xo.

Today was a very happy day.

1. 2.3 more days before I get to see my husband on Saturday morning. I’m happy & thankful for the invention of Skype nonetheless. We had a good 40 minutes video chat where he gave me a little tour of his room, bathroom, view of the city/beach etc. But yet I don’t feel as ‘alone’ because of baby chungkin’s existence. The little one has been really active of late – kicking and moving a lot more now during the time daddy’s not at home. I think he knows! Or maybe I talk too much and too loudly about it :x

2. My very very good best friend – the BR -…came over and spent an afternoon from her precious leave to help me pack the very messy walk-in closet; after the wonderful job which she helped with in creating cot space within the bedroom previously. Baby chungkin officially has wardrobe space – hanging & folding. Whee.

3. My Ralph Lauren parcel for b.chungkin arrived (shame on you, Vpost for your horrid delays) thanks to someone special in US who helped me post this out. The packaging was lovely, in RL style on doubt, and came complete with a little note & hangers for all the pretty clothing.

4. Spent the evening / dinner with BR and did some good ole’ catching up. I miss hanging out with her and I’m glad that we’re able to spend more time together these days…more to come when b.chungkin comes out when she gets into her fairy godmother duties.

5. We finally confirmed on a deal with a contractor, with another to be confirmed on Saturday. Changes, albeit minor, are finally on the way for mister house and will commence in Jan. I absolutely love changes, especially when it’s for the better. Change is good.

Just a few more Christmasy stuff to do, few more presents to wrap; and I’m all set for merry-making!

I’ve never been much of a Takashimaya departmental store shopper due to the perception that things sold in there cost more than they should and would at other departmental stores. Perhaps it is the way the brand name has always been marketed, or the presence of many established luxury boutiques and labels available within the store; or that they do not have attractive sales/discounts as often as their competitors such as the likes Robinsons, Isetan and Metro.

Hence when I do spend at Takashimaya departmental store, it is usually food related (because they have an entire basement dedicated to sell a range of food inclusive of those with an exquisite packaging and price) and event related (they also tend to organize relatively good baby/christmas/lunar new year/mid-autumn festival fairs in a huge atrium where you can purchase everything ‘under one roof’).

So when my cousin and a friend told me to consider signing up for one of the Takashimaya members cards now that I was expecting, and how I could enjoy an additional 10% off discounted merchandise during baby fairs and members sale (their baby fairs though far & few between usually have lots of big ticket & heavy items available which you could purchase all under one roof inclusive of free delivery with purchases over $150) – I knew we had to sign up for it (considering this was coming from 2 people who were already mommies & whom I had similar purchasing patterns with). I figured that it would also be the start of many ‘baby’ cards (i.e.: Toys R Us, Mothercare membership cards etc.); now that baby chungkin was on the way = additional expenses – every little bit of savings helped.

This weekend was Takashimaya’s members sale from 1 – 4 Dec and boy was I in much of a delight. The model of breast pumps that I had been eyeing on was going at $699 before an additional 10% discount (that would bring it down to $629), as compared to what was usually being sold at retail stores ($899) and at the ongoing baby fair ($768) – inclusive of a 1 year local warranty – thanks to another friend/mom-to-be who had called me days earlier and shared with me her research on prices and reasons for getting one with a local warranty. I helped her purchase a set too :-)

Amongst other things purchased were also wet wipes, some infant clothes, bundles of stretch mark cream, other knick knacks and a lovely Christmas/early Birthday present from the Bo :) We were 2 very happy campers, and were pleased to know that we could redeem $180 worth of Takashimaya vouchers due to our recent spending. Nice!!!

Somehow shopping during this festive season made the entire exercise more joyous. I was practically on my feet for hours walking between malls – got myself some paraben-free cosmetics & new brushes from Sephora and some very affordable miscellaneous items from Daiso, gourmet & delicious smelling bread from Bread Society, shopped for even larger sized underwear (sad yet happy affair) et cetera.

I hear the next Takashimaya baby fair (the big scale one where other vendors will come in to sell their wares) will be held in Mar 2012;  just weeks before baby chungkin greets the world in person.  Till then, I’d just have to do my best to curb the shopping monster in me.

What can I say, shopping makes me a very happy person. They don’t call it ‘retail therapy’ for no reason! :)

Hope your weekend was just as fruitful.

Happy December! I’m thrilled that we’re officially in the last month of the year!

We finally got our X’mas tree up during the week and thanks to the beanie in the belly, I was excused from doing most of the set up apart from tree selection & decorations!

Absolutely loving the smell of pine lingering in the house

This year, we decided to get a smaller tree because the Bo decided that since he was going to handle most of the carrying and disposing of tree alone, it made sense to go with one that was manageable.

And me thinks that when baby chungkin joins us for his first Christmas next year (I know, thinking way too far ahead), this size-of-a-tree will be a good enough background for the teeny weeny boy anyway.

I’ve always loved Christmas and all the merry-making it brings; along with the writing of greeting cards to relatives far and near, deciding the theme of our celebration parties, dressing up, buying of Christmas gifts (maybe not the wrapping since I suck at it), and just spreading good cheer around. And knowing that this year’s Christmas will be made extra special with the little one in the tummy to enjoy all the fun is icing on the (log) cake.

***

For the shopaholics, Dec. also means end-of-season sales! And after our yoga session today, me and ms.A decided to check out what Takashimaya’s card members sale (additional 10% off) had to offer. We spent a good 30 minutes at the baby section sussing out prices and offers (and to take notes for comparison at this weekend’s baby fair) followed by a good 60 minutes or more shopping thereafter for comfy shoes to pamper ourselves! Haha, loved that it wasn’t too packed when we first arrived though we starting seeing a bigger crowd in-store shortly after & more preggers strolling in to try on some shoes too!

I’ve never been a fan of flats (since I’m rather height challenged), but I guess when your husband at nags you enough to abandon any form of heels regardless (now that baby matters more than vanity) and then rewards you with one that fits you comfortably without needing to put on any band-aid due to unsightly blisters…it grows on you.

Plus, I’ve been warned by mom & the Bo that all wedges/heels will have to take a backseat till baby chungkin can walk steadily on his own since I can get rather clumsy & trippy when it comes to any other form of shoes, flipflops inclusive. I’m some sort of a walking mishap especially in crowded places.

We left the shop extremely happy with our new purchases. Although I was almost undecided on an additional pair – in a very pretty dusty pink no less! But hoarding on to 5 pairs to try on till I made a decision made me feel like a bad person so when the salesperson asked if I could ‘release’ that pair to another customer because it was the last available size, I took it as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be :)

All in all a good day, I felt like the weekend had already started judging by the crowds and happy vibes that filled the air. There’s a baby fair happening this weekend which I’m looking forward to attend with some friends too, now that I don’t necessarily have to buy gender neutral colours and we’ve crossed the halfway mark.

Yay yay yay!

Remember I mentioned that once upon a time, through the very trying fertility journey, I got to know a community of like-minded (not to mention, awesome) ladies who made me feel less alone with their wit and humour? Well, today I would like to introduce you to one.

Meet Rach, who blogs at Eggs In a Row. And recently, she gave me a little ‘award’ by telling the world out that how much she enjoyed reading my blog (thanks again!!!), which meant big to me because apart from a select few, inclusive mom and J, I didn’t think that the stuff I blog about would actually appeal to anyone else.

She’s one of the few that I look forward to reading on a regular basis because she writes about the realities of life that is so easy to understand yet utterly relatable (unless you’re an absolutely moron who has no struggles on the baby front of course); that I feel a sense of closeness to her despite the miles and oceans between us.

She does her best to be optimistic, which is something I struggled with some months ago before that bfp (I actually wrote quite a bit of pessimistic stuff which are still in my draft folder because I didn’t want my mom to read and feel sad for me then), not to mention funny, adorably thoughtful and does her best to be supportive for those around her.

It’s the 2ww for her now, and I’m anxiously crossing my fingers, toes and rooting that her boobs will only grow bigger & sore for the better; and looking forward to reading her new milestones where I’m sure she’ll include more illustrations like this one.

Do send good vibes her way if you can too! xo.

“This day, I will marry my best friend. The one who shares my dreams, live and love.”

Our Wedding – randoms

{Click the link to view album}