in support of the arts (& crafts)

a multi-talented friend of mine made this. she charges SGD5.00 per letter.

it's attached to the playpen by a ribbon.

cool huh?

confessions of a (pregnant) shopaholic

hi my name is (pregnant) woman & im a shopaholic.

on top of that im also in denial... despite being 8 months preggers, i insist on buying non-maternity clothes.

i have been complaining to the husband that ive got nothing to wear. especially on the casual side. & ive been meaning to visit this shop called amour in dsara utama. the clothes are sold at a very reasonable price. so yesterday, after work, i drove over & shopped to my heart's content. on plastic. & i visited not just amour, but amos too (another cheap-ish boutique if you can call it that). sigh...

as most shopaholics are wont to do, i would like deal with my guilty conscience by saying this: but i got it for cheappppp. truly.

i spent rm370 for 14 items which makes it an average of rm26 per item. cheap right? however, the only maternity item i got was this ONE top. the others are just stretch-y stuff. yoga pants which, instead of folded down at the hips (cos though the pants is black, the folding area is colorful so folding it makes it rather vogue), i can pull up over my tummy. some stretchy tops which can be used even after i deliver. i have decided that i will also use the yoga pants to work --who cares if theyre not proper office attire. as long as i wear it with a work-top, nobody would know the difference. we pregnant women cant be too fussy. have you seen the prices of proper maternity clothes?? madness. besides, they look too pregnant to me. & thats a no-no for a person who's in denial like moi.

i did feel guilty about spending the money & apologized to the husband. his reaction was: why lah you apologizing to me? its ok lah, it was bound to come out --you really are a shopaholic. ciss...

oh well, it's my money right. actually, it's the bank's money. but it's still my debt. i wish i were a rich celebrity with a personal stylist. i also wish i had a personal trainer so i can get fit after my pregnancy. at the moment the thighs are all-a-jiggles. i think if i were to attach bells on them, boleh lah nyanyi lagu jingle bells. the husband, bless his soul, says im not fat. well im not. but im flabby since i got pregnant. i got friends who are bigger than i am but theyre so... non-jiggly. why ah? why cant i be like them? still, i should count myself lucky hor? there are also people who are big AND jiggly. at least im small & jiggly.

but you know, this obsession women have about being slim & all, it's really just a woman thing. of course, we can always blame it on the men who we feel want us to be slim right? but not all men are like that. my brother has a big-ish wife. shes not super fat lah but shes not slim either. my brother once told a girl friend of mine (who was obsessed with losing weight) that there are men who like big women. some even like them obese. the reality is that some men like something to grab. & i will have to concur with that. the husband is always complaining that im too small. ok lah maybe not now that im 8months pregnant. he'll look at pictures of my teenage self & say: ahhh see, you looked so fit then. now you look fragile.

ok how did i get on to this topic?

so back to shopping...

this weekend, im going shopping for pillows. for when my (big) family comes. i gotta slip-proof my bathroom too so that my mom will feel more secure when she bathes the baby for me so im buying something for that --i dont know what but something. i gotta oil my door hinges before my dad comes cos he will go mad listening to the creaking sounds. im sure i'll find more things to buy when i get to wherever im shopping. but this time, i think i'll use the husband's plastic instead.

:-)

muahaha...

i gots me my jeans... yippee...

THREE pairs...

ok well, 2 pairs of long jeans and 1 pair of denim shorts.

& they are priced rather reasonably --rm139 for the long ones i got at mother club, rm129 for the long ones i got at miki mom & rm119 for the short ones also purchased from miki mom. miki mom is a brand under the padini group & when you shop at padini with an hsbc credit card you get a 10% discount on your purchases. so i paid rm25 less.

i meant only to buy a pair of jeans but im a shopaholic who hasnt been shopping much, so, sue me for over-compensating.

the lovelier news is that i convinced the husband to foot the bill. muahahaha... of course i had to make him feel guilty about my expanding figure & having to buy new clothes every few months. didnt take too long to convince him. i dont think he was feeling guilty at all actually --i think he was just smart enough to know that the only way for me to not nag him to death about it is to just agree without giving me any grief.

so anyhoo, i'm gonna need some new tops now. but for the tops i dont mind going to our local pasar malam where they sell t-shirts for rm10 each. i only have another 2.5 months to go. so i question the need for me to buy new expensive tops. but who knows i might give in to the voices in my head & decide to shop anyways. oh well.

so, back to my jeans, i got them in S sizes. a bit snug but the M sizes were too loose on me. look so clumsy & foolish. so hopefully the pouch on my S-sized jeans will stretch enough to accomodate the growing bump which is prince blub. my motivation for buying S (although some people will call me a fool for not buying bigger) is that i ONLY have 2.5 months to go & once i deliver, i'll not have such a big bump anymore. if i were to have bought M size, then i wouldnt be able to wear it after the delivery. but with the S size, i still can. the pouch will accomodate whatever leftover bulges till such time when i can fit into my regular jeans again. see... arent i smart...

i wonder now why i left the maternity-wear shopping till now. i guess because i didnt know how big i was gonna be. so had i shopped for maternity-wear in the 2nd trimester, would i need to get a size S or M or L or XL? so now i know lah.

next up on the shopping list for mama-to-be (other than the tops), is a pair of satin ballet pumps or leather thongs (to go with the coming-home dress) & of course the coming-home dress.

we also have to start shopping for baby now. whoppee!! shopping spree!!

wardrobe wishes

for my coming home attire (i.e. from the hospital) i want a kaftan-like dress like this:

can or not? i mean it looks comfortable enough doesnt it? roomy enough to accomodate any stitches that i might have. doesnt look like it can accomodate breast feeding though. hmm...

so if anyone out there knows where i can get something like this in KL, please do let me know.

window shopping in my mind

i’ve started thinking about the things i should be buying in preparation for mr. prince’s arrival. i’ve so far gotten loads of hand-me-down clothes from my sil’s 4-year old son (he has a lot of branded shoes for a young kid). she has a month-old daughter right now too so it’s good timing for us as her daughter would’ve grown out of some important (read pricey) things by the time mr. prince is ready to take over. shes already promised to pass me the baby carrier, baby bouncer, bottle steamer & car seat. hehehe… sorted.

i’ve already asked my sister in australia to check-out the price of an electrical breast pump as well as a christening gown for the baby. well, the sil gave me her son’s un-used christening attire from 4 years ago –it’s kinda big. so i already have one just in case. however, as for the breast pump, does anyone know whether malaysia and australia is so different in terms of electrical appliances punya voltage requirements?

one thing that i’ve been hearing a lot lately (from the sil) is that it’s a shame that she can’t pass her daughter’s pink stuff to me cos we’re having a boy. well, i guess it’s ok for a boy to wear pink. after all, pakai sekejap je kan –he’ll grow out of it in a blink. as long as its not a dress right? but then again… that could be my project on a rainy day: dressing up the prince as a princess. hardy har har…

so anyways, heres my wishlist (& it’s rather long… horror!):

furnishings

• baby cot / play pen
• mattress
• bedding linens (bedsheets, light blankets)

traveling essentials

• car seat (with compliments)
• pram / stroller
• baby carrier (with compliments)
• baby sling (i found one at rm85)
• diaper bag (i want a vogue one, can ah??)

feeding essentials

• milk bottles (how many will depend on how much milk i can generate & freeze. if not, maybe only 3-4)
• thermos
• water tumbler
• tiered milk dispenser (good for traveling & night feeds)
• breast pump (preferably electrical – either from my sis in australia or i can pinjam from someone here)

bathing / changing essentials

• baby bath-tub
• sitting stool
• bath towel
• face towels (for feeding leaks)
• cotton balls / wet wipes
• disposable diapers
• changing mat
• baby nappy cream
• powder
• lotion
• body wash / soap
• shampoo

cleaning essentials

• bottle steamer (with compliments)
• milk bottle brush
• washing liquid for baby bottles (one sis used vegetable-based, another sis used sunlight je hihihi)
• baby detergent (for clothes)

miscellaneous

• pacifier (already have this one)
• clothes (caps, bibs, mittens & booties etc)
  ear thermometer (just in case)
• night light (so the husband doesn’t bump into things when he gets up to feed his heir)
• plastic storage drawers

quite a lot of things hor? i’m well into my 4th month now so i guess i can start shopping for these slowly. slowly. thank goodness for hand-me-downs. do i have a problem with second hand stuff? well not really. i mean of course some things i want lah brand new like the baby cot and the disposable diapers (duhh) but i suppose i can’t be choosy unless i’m a millionaire (or married to one) right. besides, the baby will probably have out-grown some things after a few months pun.

ok enough about baby. heres my wishlist for myself:

• spa package (to make up for the 9-mth abstinence)
• slimming package (so that i look hot at my brother’s wedding when the baby’s 6mths)
• rocking chair with comfy padding (so i can rock the baby to sleep)
• auto-transmission car (so i can curse at other drivers without distraction)
• free, reliable & close-by baby sitter / nanny (so i don’t fret when i send the baby there at 3mths old)
• nursing bras (ughh)
• breast pads
• grandma panties (cos i’ll be using those big sanitary pads izenit)

the reality of having a boy has only just recently hit me. it came as i was choosing a fuschia colored baby sling for myself. then i realized “oooii, fuschia is such a girl color wor.” oh well, the baby won’t mind so much right. i’ll buy it cos i’m a girl. after all, it has to complement my wardrobe. not the baby’s.

ya right.

unfortunately, i’m wired the same way as the next person. pink is for girls, blue for boys. so i might choose an in-between color. like maybe turquoise… or black. hehehe… i’m an eternal goth, what can i say. well, it won’t look so dirty ma. most of the slings i’ve seen are in light colors (blues, pinks, turquoise) –how impractical is that?? ada lah juga navy blue but if i’m gonna go for navy blue i might as well get black. i wouldn’t mind red either actually. hmmm… i think they also have some in prints. so many choices. tengok-tengok, tak pakai pun this sling due to back aches. haha.