I am having one of those days….

- So much on at work, so many things to follow up, so many things to finish off … no time to pee, no time to make coffee, no time to eat, no time for anyone…pretty much head down bottom up. And the radio of the person next to me was driving me nuts….use a bloody headphone if you want to listen to music at work. Nothing worst than trying to work with somebody’s crappy music at the back.

- Am feeling edgy because I couldn’t make it to the gym. I really needed to exercise to relieve some stress.

Yes, am not in my usual good mood….very edgy! Grrrrrr!

I think I need chocolates, ice cream, chips, mud cake..bring it on!

But then, I had already started attacking the packet of Tim Tam, muahahahaha!

6 down, 5 more to go….

What was I doing to get up at 6am on a Sunday morning to get ready for a 12km walk!!!??? What was I thinking when I registered for the event a few weeks ago? It must have caught me at a weak moment! Crazy! Worst still it was pissing down big time this morning, so wet!

But hang on, reality check - it was to support ppl with intellectual disability in WA. So, no whinging!

There were people everywhere when we got there, some just look superfit, some dressed up as clowns or the tin man, some came in tow with kids n prams, some purely came to stir u up as they stand by the side clutching a takeaway coffee…some like us were just happy that we made it out of bed in time for the start.

This is my 1st time doing it and with a few people from work, we started the 12km walk at 8am! It was a slow start coz I was trying hard to dodge those fast runners, and then there were the prams, which if not looking, I could crash into them and injured the little kiddies, oops! It was fine after a while, and the non-stop “yakking” exercise along the way certainly did the trick in getting my mind off some of those killer hills.

And we covered 12km in just less then 2 hrs- something like 1hr 59min 32 sec! Close, hee hee.

Yes, I was all wet when I got to the finishing line, my legs were a bit tired n sore, but I got a medal for finishing the walk (of which JD has claimed to be his) and best of all, what could be better than a yummy sausage sizzle after all the exericse!

then the whiskers and nose
then the stripes

and now I am a tiger
Ummm, I thought tigers are carnivorous
Hey, I think you look too happy for a tiger
Ok, maybe you could guard my house

Lately I have been playing a new game with JD. It’s like the “Simon says….” game.

So, this morning we played, “mommy says” and JD came up with actions for all the words which was I plesantly surprised with.

- Running… JD running around in a circle laughing
- Stepping… JD stepping his feet like a soldier
- Spinning… JD spins round and round with hands in the air
- Crawling… JD on all fours
- Skipping… JD hops around like a kangaroo
- Rolling… JD rolling around on the floor
- Singing… JD sings part of “Twinkle twinkle little stars”
- Dancing… JD moves his hip
- Eating… JD pretending to eat
- Drinking… JD goes “slurp, yummy”
- Cooking… JD stirs the pot
- Chopping… JD motion with his hands and go “chop chop”
- Sneezing… JD says “Ah…choo”
- Coughing… JD pretends to cough
- Sleeping… JD puts his head down and snore
- Driving… JD goes “beep beep”
- Hiding… JD hides behind the couch
- Toes… Points to his toes
- Fingers… JD points with his pointer
- Nose… JD points to his nose
- Ears… JD touched his ears
- Eyes… JD covers his eyes
- Belly… JD lift up his shirt and show me his belly
- Shoulders… Errrr, JD not sure about this one, hee hee
- Teeth… JD proudly displays his front teeth
- Hair… JD runs to the bathroom to get a hairbrush
- Peek-a-boo… JD covers his eyes and go “boo”
- Quiet… JD puts his finger to the lips and go “Shhhh”
- Hot potato… JD does his favourite Wiggles action

Then we built blocks and JD likes to stack it all high before demolishing it.

This is what he likes to do.

Counting and stacking the blocks at the same time.

And this was JD’s little conversation to himself while building the blocks:

“One, two, four, six, seven, nine, nine….nine”
“Wow, look, high”
“Bang, down”
“Oh dear!”

For a while now…errr, actually a long while on and off…I have been having lower back pain, neck pain and headaches. For all these while, I just thought it was a common post-baby problem, carrying JD on the hip, work stress, running around too much, looking too much at computer and yada yada yada.

After putting up with it for a while, I thought this is not a healthy sign. I have always been a fit and healthy person. Working out in the gym few times a week, going for regular walks, yoga, aerobics and chasing after an active 2 yo toddler. So taking on a friend’s suggestion, I booked myself in to see a chiropractor. I have never seen a chiro before and never really knew what a chiro does.

So, here is what a chiro does.

“Chiropractic returns the body to balance through adjustments of the spine and joints, normalizing joint motion, reducing nerve interference, relieving stress and restoring normal body function. Whenever there is a system containing many movable parts, a complex balance is necessary between those parts. Chiropractors influence the body’s nervous system and natural defense mechanisms in order to alleviate pain and improve general health. Because of its effectiveness in treating back problems, headaches and other injuries and traumas, chiropractic has become the second largest primary health care field in the world.”

Source:www.tlccenter.com

Now, so what did the chiro find?

It was a long and detailed assessment, where my chiro checked my spine, running this very nigh tech looking machine over my spine, testing my nervous system, showing me where my problem was, checking my shoulders, checking my pelvis, testing my reflex and etc etc. Then I was sent for x-ray for a pic of my spine and pelvis.

And what happened after all the assessment.

Well, my chiro, Dr.R found:

- a curve in my spine (possibly since birth or early teenage years)
- an uneven pelvis (interesting!)
- a tilted lower back (blame on 1st pregnancy, hee hee hee)
- an uneven shoulder (probably been around since teenage years)
- a very nasty looking neck (maybe since I started working and spending endless hrs staring at the computer) and
- a slightly not so good looking tailbone (ha, this one I can blame on the birth of my 1st child)

That wasn’t good. Ok, so I know I have back problems. I know my yoga teacher keep correcting my posture coz my right shoulder tends to stick out! But seeing the x-ray of my spine and neck was quite an experience. Wow, I never knew I was that crooked! I got scared, and thought OMG! I thought I was going to pass out. My first question was “Can it be fixed?” I breathe a sigh of relief when he said yes. Thank goodness. Funnily enough, Dr. R was able to trace every bit of my crooked joint to my headache, my lower back pain, the pins and needles in my fingers, my sore tailbone. Afterall, I wasn’t imagining it, and I wasn’t going crazy!

And for my uneven pelvis…ehem, well now I know why JD had such a hard time in getting into the right position during birth.

Well, apart from all the wild things I did when I was a kid, like trying to be a BMX rider (bad idea!), or a “professional” backyard circus, to having a bad posture because I never listened to my parents advice for standing up tall….many other things in life such as stress, diet, tension, errr, and having a baby can cause our spine and pelvis to seriously misaligned.

So, I have 5 treatments so far since I saw Dr.R. The treatment is called “Spinal Adjustment”.

1st time - Din feel anything different
2nd time - Back sore as hell after treatment %&*T*&%()
3rd time - Went it with a headache, but gone after 5 mins of treatment, wow!
4th time - I thought my shoulder felt different when I walk, maybe I was dreaming
5th time - My shoulder is correcting itself

So far,
- Frequencies of headaches have reduced
- My tailbone doesn’t hurt when I sneeze
- My lower back not so achy all the time

This is promising, I think!

Scene #1

Coming home from daycare, JD spotted kids kicking footie on the street
JD: Mom, I play?
Mom: Ummm, okay, for a short while
15 mins later
Mom: Ok JD, time to go home, dinner time soon
JD: No mom
Mom: Yes JD
Ignoring mommy’s words
Mom: Ok JD, I am going…
JD: Ok, see ya, bye!

Scene #2

Nearing bedtime…
Mommy: Ok JD, time for books, come with mommy
JD: No!
Mommy: Why’s that?
JD: Daddy! My daddy!
Mommy: Ok, you want daddy to read story?
JD: “Yep, yay!”
Mommy: “Ok, JD u still want mommy to read you story”
JD: No, see ya!

What a funny moment..I walked away not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

Ha ha, whoopeedo…we had a great slept in this morning. I had a great slept in till 8.00am and JD woke up half an hour later. I wanted to chill out today and gave the gym a miss. So we went off for a quick and easy breakie at Mccas. It was nice, relaxing under the warm morning sun. JD loves his pancakes and insisted that he spread the butter on himself before chomping it all down.

While at Mccas, I normally let JD have a play in the playground. It’s been a while since we have been there, but he has certainly learn to climb up and down inside the maze and I got worried for a while when I couldn’t see him. Ha ha, but before I know, he was sliding down through one of the tunnels!

After Mccas, we popped next door to Bunnings to place an order for some skirting boards. Bunnings is a great place to get lost in if you are after things for fixing up the house, garden..there were skirting boards of all different types and colours, paints of all colours, big hose, small hose, concrete screws, wooden screws, big screws, medium screws, nails of all types, drills, nails guns, glue, sealants, plants of all kind, flowers enough to have a garden show in your own backyard…I have to secretly say I am a fan of Bunnings.

The rest of day were spent potting around the house, reading paper, surfing the net, play with JD, nap, eating, opening the fridge, shutting the fridge, squeezing orange juice, ironing…a pretty non-eventful day but good for chilling out.

At night, I made this black bean claypot spareribs and stir fried asparagus. JD must be going through a growth spurt again. I normally cook only a cup of rice and quite often still have some leftovers. But it was all gone tonight! That’s a good sign!

Today JD got invited to a good friend’s birthday party. It was Ethan’s birthday party and they are only 5 days apart of one another. I first met Ethan’s mommy, Sarah while attending the ante-natal class at the hospital. And we only bumped into one another again when the boys went for their first immunisation shots. That was how a new friendship started!

The two boys have always been fairly close in their growth and most of the time they will be doing the same thing within one week of one another. But Ethan moved back to Singapore mid last year and JD lost a good playmate for a while. While they seldom pay much attention to one another then, it was always good to have the 2 boys playing together.

And while looking through the old photos today, I realised how much they have changed… Hope to see you again soon Ethan! What a great party Sarah n Stan!

Both boys have always been good with their hands

Yippie Thursday! Ha ha, Thursday is my favourite day coz:

1. It is the last working day of the week for me
2. It’s my Body Pump day at the gym
3. It’s shopping night
4. I can sleep in on Friday morning
5. It means time with my little man on Friday
6. JD and I can get into lots of mischief together
7. It means catching up with friends on Friday
8. And having nice long chats

And this Thurday is esp. good coz hubby has passed his last CA unit…ha ha, this is all good! No more study, no more exams, ha ha, at least that’s what I believe!

Yay JD, it’s your 2nd birthday today! Well, you certainly know it’s your birthday today coz you slept in more than usual this morning. I woke you up by singing Happy Birthday to you and you had the biggest smile on your face. JD, you have been a wonderful part of our lives and not one day go by when you haven’t made us laugh with the little things you do. At the tender age of 2, you have achieved so much.

At age of 2,
- You are walking around confidently in your favourite gum boots
- You can run so fast with a ball in your hand and
- Kick a soccer ball as good as a Beckham
- You can jump so high almost reaching the sky
- And runnning backwards and forwards like a remote control car
- You can hold a pen as good as a writer
- And you are a fine artist of circles and water paint
- You love giving cuddles to your friends
- And your caregiver told me you are a little charmer with girls
- You love your swimming lessons and
- You love giving your teacher Sussan a hug after each Gymbaroo session
- You love playing with coins
- And you know how to say “shopping and money”
- You tell me if you fancy an ice-cream or yoghurt
- A pasta or noodle
- You still call a banana “nana”
- But you can say “apple” “orange” “melon” “pear”
- You never pass on a good tucker and
- You love a good party of juice and fairy breads
- You eat well, sleep well and play well till the end of day
- You have some naugthy moments
- But know what to do when that happens
- You are bright little boy
- And good with your little hands
- You love to build a good set of blocks
- Mixing sand and water is one of your favourite plays and
- Wiggles is your favourite dance music
- You like sorting blocks by colours and
- You try to count in your own order “One, two, four, nine, nine, ten, nine nine….”
- You are trying to learn Chinese and good at saying “Xia xia” (thank u), “wo yau” (I want)
- You never fail to put a smile on faces around you
- You are a sociable little kid
- And never afraid to join in the fun of big kids
- Or kicking a footie or two with kids on the street
- Your vocabulary is growing day by day
- And you have strung a few sentences together
- Just yesterday, you told me “I push”
- Today, you told me “I throw”
- And tonight, you told me “I want my cars”
- But your best is still “Me no naugthy”
- And you have a favourite puppy that you go to sleep with
- It’s been chucked on and gone through the wash a few times
- But you still remain attached to your puppy
- And your molars have finally cut through after a big battle for over a week

JD, 2 yrs old is a milestone for you…and I marvel at your growth each day. There are so many people around that love and care about you, your daddy and mommy, your wai gong and wai po, your mama, your aunties, your caregivers: Andrea and Suzanne, all your good friends and all the people around you!

Happy birthday to our special little boy!

May you stay strong and happy, seeking pleasures and discoveries in your wonderful years of toddlerhood!