A new friend and a generous vendor

On Friday afternoon, my neighbour and her 3 months + baby boy, Ryuta came for a visit. I met her at the common corridor when we were pregnant last year. She came for a visit when Shun was 2 months+ and we were really looking forward to meeting up again with our sons this time.


I baked a pumpkin chiffon cake for tea and we chatted about our sons` developments. Had a good time catching up and I like her as she seems easy to get along with unlike some Japanese ladies who are pretentiously polite. I think I will invite them over again.

Ryuta is already a chubby 6kg at 3 months+ while Shun is only 7kg+. Very slim for a 7 month old but doctor said that it is ok since he is gaining height. Anyway, Shun is very active and happy so I think I should not be overly concerned about making him fat.


On Saturday morning, we brought Shun to the pediatrician for his last round of immunisation. We left our house at 8am and dashed into the car as it was freezing cold with chilling wind outside. It was minus 11 at 8am! OMG! This must be one of the coldest winter in Matsumoto.

Luckily we travel by car most of the time and can stay comfortably warm inside. I really can`t imagine walking down the streets in this bizarre weather.


After the injection, we went to the farmers` market to buy our weekly groceries. This is a place where the local farmers sell their produce direct to the public.

Here, we can get fresh vegetables and fruits at almost half of the supermarkets` sales price. Bought lots of vegetables including some sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, carrots, apples and pears for Shun`s meals this week.


I must mention this vendor who `knows` us as we frequent the market. We bought some dried shrimps from her last year and from then onwards she always gives my husband lots of freebies when she sees us. This time, she gave us 5 packs of tofu, 6 packs of nato and 1 box of strawberries that look really expensive.


Last year, she gave us free pears, bunches of grapes, apples and a big box of yams. This must be one of the benefits of staying in a countryside where people (especially farmers) are warm and friendly.

I have asked Takashi to get this generous vendor a little gift as a token of our appreciation. I hope he remembers to do it before we go to the market next weekend.

Here is the greedy boy again trying to get his hands on one of the FREE juicy strawberries.

Mini Snowman

We had heavy snowfall yesterday. Since this is my third winter in Matsumoto, I wasn`t very excited about the hassle of shoveling the carpark after the snow storm.

I was more excited in making a snowman to let Shun feel and experience winter. I brought him to the window in the morning and we watched snowflakes falling. At night, Takashi collected some powdery snow from our balcony and we made a small snowman indoors.

This greedy baby wanted to have a taste of the snowman but crawled away after realizing that it is inedible.

Nothing

Nothing exciting happening here. Freaking cold. Its minus degree outside in the mornings and nights. Water from the tap is freezing cold. Shun`s hot milk turns cold in minutes. My chilli oil froze into one lump.
I hide in the blankets with Shun on cold mornings. He thinks that it is a new game. Go away, winter.

Shun and his cousins

Like last year, we celebrated New Year Day in Osaka. This time, Takashi picked us up from Nagoya airport and drove us to his parents` place where Shun met his Japanese cousins.

Sho and Yuto, visited us when Shun was one and a half month old. For Nami and Ryo, it was the first time for them to meet Shun. Due to the 10 years age gap between Shun and his cousins, they doted on him and kept him entertained while the adults were busy feasting.

When Shun grows slightly older, his cousins will be probably busy with their own lives and studies and won`t be able to gather at Osaka like they do every year. Relationship will grow distant but I hope fond memories will remain with them.

Back in Matsumoto

We arrived home finally on Thursday after celebrating New Year at Osaka. Relieved to be home again but tired with lots of unpacking to be done. We left Singapore with 4 check in luggages and 1 hand carry. Not sure when is the next time we can go back so tried to stuff everything that can fit in.

Mostly food and stuffs for Shun. He was showered with gifts of clothes, toys and books.

My family couldn`t bear to part with him especially my mother who has been taking care of him everyday for the past 3 weeks.


Anyway, I think she will come to visit us this May or June.

Thanks again to everyone who made this trip a memorable one for us.

Merry Christmas and Happy 6th Month

Shun spent his first Christmas and 6th month in Singapore today. I dressed him in a cute zebra outfit on Christmas morning to welcome my relatives for the gathering.

Great grandma, who is 80 this year gave him a big red packet for good health and luck.


She is sad that we are leaving for Japan this weekend and started tearing when she went home.



We would love to stay longer but daddy is freezing alone in winter Japan.

Shun and I had a great time in Singapore and we will definitely miss all those who love us. We love you too.

Civilised or not

Are Singaporeans civic-minded? Judge for yourself.

1) Inconsiderate neighbours who flaunt their karaoke skills till 2am+ on
Christmas eve.

2) Man who spit saliva and blew his nose mucus on the grass.

3) People who write in to a local supermarket to complain about not
distributing plastic bags on an environmental friendly campaign day.

4) Drivers who hog on to the bus lanes refusing to move their vehicles.

5) Drivers who refuse to signal when changing lanes.

6) People who don't bother to look back nor apologise when they knock into you.

7) People coughing violently without covering their mouths.

Crabs

I will miss these juicy succulent Sri Lanka crabs when I return to Japan.
Japanese crabs are delicious too but lack in the variety of cooking methods. The Japanese only steam their crabs which is probably the best way to enjoy its freshness but boring for crab lovers like me.

Shopping Spree

Its the season of Christmas shopping and sales. Everyone is shopping non-stop in the malls including me!

I went for a shopping spree with my sister today and grabbed many good deals for my husband, myself and Shun.

Burnt a small hole in my wallet but felt a great sense of satisfaction. My sister, the chic shopaholic went home delightful too with bags of sales items from MANGO.

Its been a long time since I shopped to my heart's content without worrying about baby's milk and diaper time. Shopped so much till I didn't notice anything about the Christmas decorations in Orchard road. Will be dropping by again next week to indulge in the festive mood.

In Singapore

We are doing great in Singapore. I have been stuffing myself with food and Shun has began to adapt to the humid weather. He has been sweating a lot even though its the monsoon season now. However babies adapt really fast. He is not as cranky now compared to the first few days and everyone simply dotes on him.

Met some close friends, many relatives and have been enjoying lots of free time thanks to my mum. She helps me look after Shun in the daytime so that we can go out and have fun.

Life in Singapore is definitely more exciting for Shun and me. Maybe we should consider moving back for good.

Going Home

Yes! I am finally going back home. Our flight to Singapore leaves tomorrow morning.

Really looking forward to seeing my relatives and friends. I am ready to gorge and gorge myself with Singapore food. Forget about my diet plan. Its officially over!

Steam radish cake

Tried out this recipe from Piggy`s Journal. She is a great cook with many delicious recipes.

I was delighted when my attempt turned out just like the real thing. Absolutely delicious with the dried shrimps, dried scallops, chinese sausages, and radish used in the recipe.

This is quite simple to make and I will pan fry the leftovers tomorrow. Simply irresistible and addictive!

Cheese crackers

I have been abandoning my oven and baking tools for a long time. Saw a simple cheese cracker recipe and tried baking since I had some free time today.

The ingredients are simple. Parmesan cheese, a stick of butter, an egg yolk, and some flour. It’s a sticky awful mess when you mix to form the dough but the end result is a light flaky, crisp cracker with a robust cheese flavour.

The cracker is delicious but I am not supposed to eat too much now as I am desperately trying to fit into one of my cheongsams for my sister`s wedding 2 weeks later. Lost most of my pregnancy weight but still stuck with some stubborn belly fats due to pure laziness and lack of exercise. Guess I have to take the short cut this time by going on a crash diet and sleep earlier to avoid snacking at night.

Autumn walk at Matsumoto Castle

Autumn is the ideal time to visit the forest or the parks and experience the changing of the seasons. We try to spend as much time outside as possible enjoying warm sunlight before the harsh winter sets in.

Took a short walk with Shun around Matsumoto Castle on a good weathered autumn day. The castle was surrounded by multi-coloured trees, colours of orange, yellow, green and red creating a stunning scenery for perfect photos.

Autumn Colours

Autumn is always beautiful. Let my photos speak for themselves.

No Bumbo for Shun

Bumbo baby seat was a best selling baby sitter before the recall. Most of my mummy friends own one and I was considering whether to get one for Shun. My husband was against it as he thought a high chair will be a more practical choice.


Coincidentally, Bumbo International recalled over 1 million seats due to reports of children falling out of their bumbo seats causing serious injuries. Apparently the Bumbo Seats are only dangerous if you use them on a table, countertop or chair. The recall does not involve a problem with the actual product, but it's the usage. It is absolutely amazing to me how ignorant some people can be leaving the child unattended on an elevated surface and sue the makers for not teaching them common sense.

We stopped by Toys R Us today and was informed that the store has stopped selling Bumbo seats until further notice. Anyway we let Shun sit in the display for the fun of it. He didn`t seem uncomfortable but gave us a very puzzled look instead.

100th day Celebration

We held a "OKUIZOME" celebration last weekend. Okuizome is a ceremony held either on the 100th or 120th day after the birth.

This is an old Shinto belief where you symbolically put food in front of the baby's mouth wishing that they will have enough food to eat throughout life.


I prepared the sekihan (festive red bean rice), tai (grilled sea bream), hamaguri soup (clam clear soup), nimono (stewed chicken with vegetables), tako & kuri ( octopus and cucumber) and umeboshi(pickled plums).

A small stone is also placed next to the food to wish for the baby to have strong, healthy teeth.

Shun can't eat any of the food yet so the whole thing seemed bizarre to him. Moreover he was sleepy and in a grumpy mood throughout.

We put him to sleep after pretending to feed him and ate up all the food by ourselves.

October - a new beginning of new challenges

First day of October. Start of another new month. Time passes so fast. July, August and Sept flew by. More than half of 2007 is gone!

Shun turned 3 months last week and started to develop a fixed sleeping pattern. Followed the baby whisperer`s recommended day routine and he is sleeping 4 hours in the day, 7-9 hours at night now. Hope I am not jinxing myself by saying this here.

Finally have time to sit down, enjoy dinner together with husband, catch up on daily happenings, less quarrels, feel less insecurities, sleep better at night and most importantly inhale fresh air. Summer is gone. I hardly have time to step out of the house and is oblivious of what happened during summer.


Motherhood starts at the birth and will never end till the day of a mother`s last breath. Motherhood is all about making sacrifices for your little one. Sacrificing your time, sleep, changes in the body, hair. Both physically and mentally challenged.

I started losing hair 2 weeks ago. According to the Internet resources, hair loss is due to hormone changes, is temporary and should stop about 6 months after birth. Nothing much can be done to prevent hair loss during this period.

Nevertheless I got myself a new haircut last week. Spent 3 hours at the salon giving a new color and shine to my dying strands. Felt rejuvenated and ready to face the world again with a new mother`s confidence.

When can I sleep through the night again ?

As the title mentions, long hours of uninterrupted sleep has become a luxury since Shun arrived on this earth. You can imagine how impressed and full of envy I was when my friend Jayne told me about her little boy who can sleep through almost 10 hours every night.

Her secret to success is a book called "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby", by Tracy Hogg.

`Read this book` Jayne said. `Its my all time baby bible`.

Immediately, I got my hands on this book from Amazon Japan. The book focuses on newborns and parenthood introducing all the tips in establishing a fixed routine, understanding and communicating with a new baby.


In order `train` a new baby to sleep well at night, I am supposed to devote myself to Hogg`s E.A.S.Y routine and create a structured daily routine for myself and baby. This routine is composed of repetitive cycles of each letter. The E, A and S are interrelated - changes in one usually affect the other two.

E - Eat
A - Activity
S - Sleeping
Y - Time for Yourself

It takes time and lots of patience for baby to fully follow mummy`s desired routine. I am still in the midst of adjusting Shun`s habits and biological clock. Hopefully I will be able to post my success story very soon.

Quiet Moments

I am enjoying some quiet moments now. No screaming to be fed, no fussing to be carried.

Typhoon No 9 is blowing with heavy rain but I don`t care even if it is flooding outside. My little brat is sleeping. Allow me to enjoy the rest of this evening in peace with a cup of hot milo.