I learn 5 random lessons

1. Avoiding predictable accident

Never leave baby's leg hanging outside the baby swing.

In matter of seconds, the whole legs are visible if the baby is agitated. And he'll turn left and right repeatedly; roll over and boom! He'll fall off and knock his head onto the floor. After many months, only I realized the reason Wife put a small mattress beneath the swing.

2. Pahang King durian is a no-no

Earlier of the month, we passed by a large truck with big "Musang King" words on the vehicle's head. We're delighted but our grins were short lived. No Musang King durians but Pahang King durians instead. RM20/kg if I remember it correctly.  We bought one though  the sellers were persistent on getting us to buy more. As we reached home and had the durian opened eagerly, we took a hopeful bite. What a letdown. Never had we tried a smell-less durian. We could only taste sugarly sweet. Very sweet like refined white sugar. The yellow, so-inviting flesh was so disappointing.

So, yeah. Maybe we happened to get a bad durian. Maybe we were unlucky one. One thing for sure, we're not going to buy a Pahang King durian anymore. Just pass us the Musang King anytime.

3. Overdrink herbal drink can be bad for health

to me at least. I brewed some liang cha and drank probably 10 to 15 glasses (300ml each) in a day. And another 5 glasses the next day. The cooling tea ingredients were slightly different than the one that I normally brewed. There was some slight sourish taste in it. Probably some citrus skin.

Or maybe the ovalish brown stuff. Or rectangular thin paper like herb. Or those parsley like dried leaves.

I was down with sore throat for days. And at a time, I had fever while I recovered after taking one gram of paracetamol. I'm still nursing my sore throat. Yellowish phlegm had developed. I am coughing every now and then. Fatigue overcomes me. The whole body is aching. 

4. 8-month baby does show his sense of jealousy.

Darrien went outside to ride on his old tricycle and it arouses curiosity from his younger brother. As I closed the door, he held on to the railings. Held himself up. In standing position. And shouted hard to his brother. And made trembling movements with his jaws.

He was jealous for Darrien's freedom and he's locked inside the house.

Sad for not being able to go out and play with his brother

 5. Good stuff never come cheap

Manuka honey is the best remedy for my sore throat. Not any fancy sweet or syrup for that matter. But at Rm23 per 340g, it's worth every drop.

For RM20.20 per 400g, NAN AL110 non lactose milk is currently the only remedy to cure Jacob's diarrhea. 

 For RM45 per kg, Korean strawberries are supposedly sweet and flavourful. Probably the way these berries are transferred to Kelantan, the Billion bought Korean strawberries are sourish with a little sweet taste.

Star Garden

I had stayed in at least ten rented houses in my life and I stayed the longest period in Star Garden, Kuching. A duration of 18 months.

It brings many nostalgic moments to my life. It's the place where I started work as a stay at home Dad. The place where I shed tears, blood and laughter.

Once, I went outside of the house to bring in the laundry as the strong wind was blowing. And alas, the door slammed hard. Locking me outside and my sleeping boy Darrien inside the house. Panic came to me as I searched for whatever tools to open the door through the windows. The door knob is British made in such a way that it can only be opened from inside. Darrien woke up soon after and I tried to coax him to open the door. He was too young then. He was puzzled and started to cry. He peed on the floor. I tried to pacify him. Saying it's alright and I'll clean up the mess. He flipped  his books. He tried to turn the door knob but to no avail. Thank God, Wife came back not long after to save the day.

Messy corridor as we're prepared to move away

It's a single storey semi detached brick house with wooden floor. A perfect place for a young family. God has been kind to us all the time to give us the house to stay in for our stay in Kuching.

There were three rooms of which we stayed in master room, one guest room and another as a store room.

The corridor which separated the rooms was a place where I used to hold Darrien tightly and gallop like a horse all the way into the kitchen. The boy will be laughing happily and asked for more rides. And the faster I ran, the louder his laughs.




The kitchen room probably used to be a guest room. The previous tenant converted the place to a cooking area.

 

Of course the living room. Not a very large area but enough to put a sofa bed, large book rack, comfortable place for Darrien to play and had his nap in.

A young Darrien when we just moved to Kuching

Nappy rash

When we went back to Kelantan last week, Jacob had developed nasty nappy rash and diarrhea. It's a long journey. We departed from Wife's house at 1.45 pm and we reached our place in Kubang Kerian at 10.25pm. More than eight hours on the road and in the air.

Nappy rash

It has been 11 days since we first saw the rash at the groin area which is worst hit. Wife's pediatrician friend recommended Bepanthene nappy cream which we find it to be a better choice over Drapolene. At one time, I applied Drapolene after days of using Bepanthene and the skin rash got worse after just a few hours. Blisters developed at several places and few bled. Yet, earlier on, the rash seemed to be getting lesser.

The nappy rash is caused by diapers, of course. We use a relatively cheaper Huggies diapers which is Rm 0.44 a piece. Which might not be a good choice. The diaper is not as absorbent as Mamy Poko's.

The RM 0.44 a piece (right) versus slightly better, dearer Huggies diaper (left)

The more economical yet easier to use Mamy Poko Easy Fit Pants is priced at RM0.60 a piece. It's suitable when we go shopping or travelling.

There is a RM1.20 a piece Mamy Poko pants Extra Soft which is of premium quality. 

The RM 0.60 a piece Mamy Poko pant versus the better quality Extra Soft's

According to Prisca's book entitled "What's that rash?", the best way to get rid of nappy rash is to leave the baby nappy free or wear oversize nappy.

And to think that how a stay at home Dad could have let the nappy rash develop in the first place..

Short updates on the boys

Eight month old Jacob

Recently, I went to Kuching for some family matters and the rest of the family went to Miri for a short vacation. 

Jacob had his hair trimmed and showed higher tendency to cling on Wife when we met after a week of my absence. The elder Darrien surprised me by talking to me through the phone. He normally would say a few words and ran away. But he kept chatting. He told me to buy presents for him and the amount of food he consumed.

All the evidences that showed a father can never take over the role of a mother. Motherly instinct is just too great.

A man can never possibly teach children with much patience as a woman.

At the end of the day, a man has to do what he is supposed to do. To bring the bacon home.  

Darrien had started writing limited capital alphabets and numbers. He wrote A to E and numbers 1 to 4.

He didn't sing as much as he did in Kuching. When we walked to around Billion store, he showed me a Bambi CD, telling me that he watched the movie in his classroom.

I think Darrien is adjusting well. He had been in Tadika Fatima for the past four months and he is telling me about his friends Shirash, Brandon, Joseph..

At home, we're having our regular home-cooked dishes. A simple meat dish, vegetable and soup. All the everyday needed nutrients.

Lim Siong Kee's Beef Noodle

Kota Bharu's most famous Lim Siong Kee's Mee Kicap Sup Lembu (RM6.00)

On Easter day 2013, we went to Jalan Hamzah, Kota Bharu for Kelantan's best beef noodle. I do like the dish and the sauce is really good. Spicy and leaves a feel-good sensation.

Uncle, you're blocking the price list!

The shop offers wet and dry version of beef noodle.

Every time we go to the place, it's crowded. Parking is easy though and the shop is easy to find. Right across Kota Bharu's Tune hotel.

Darrien was having his not-so-often carbonated drink

Parenting tip No.1

Husband and wife must share house chores and take care of children's needs.

I asked my male colleagues what were they doing after work. Some said they went to exercise. Some said they slept. Others simply relaxed and watched television. Unfortunately, I didn't get to ask female colleagues for their responses. That surprised me. The older generation's mentality is still very much alive these days. It's fair for the guys to relax if their partners didn't work. Having a dozen mouths to feed and the guy being the sole breadwinner, it's rightful for him to enjoy his free time. But I think, definitely not many girls out there who are not working these day, are they?

The Star's report on Going separate ways... after 50 caught my attention. It quoted Dr. Loy as saying

“For the husbands, think about what it is like for your wives, for them to have gone through all that they have ... try to see it from their point of view. If you’ve never managed the home before, try doing it for two weeks without any help. Think about all the years that you’ve lived together, and how much you value that in your life today."

Well said. Being a stay at home dad, I dragged the days when Wife went outstation for her work. Once, Darrien and I were left on our own (of course Wife asked for my permission first) and there's power shutdown, of all times. At around 6pm when not a single electrician was willing to have a look at the problem. The boy was shouting that he's about to defecate. While holding him and dashing towards bathroom, he left a trail of feces that I couldn't see as it's too dark. And I needed to call for friend for us to stay overnight at their place. And to prepare his milk powder and bottles. And his favourite blanket. And to ride the bike at night to friend's place... Phew..

Sorry, I'm off tangent. I mean, as we reached home after work, surely there are 1001 things left to be done at home. No, you say? Dinner to be prepared. Kids to be taken care while the other partner make the meal. Giving bath to young children is no laughing matter. Believe you me! Feeding a 2 or 3 year old child is no easy task, ok? Cleaning the mess after-feeding is just wife's or husband's job?

I do prepare simple meal. I'm not trying to brag myself. Simply, it's fair to do house chores together.

But Wife can easily whip a feast.

I can't possibly prepare Wife's Korean meal

I often hear Foochow people says "Nue li kian ah." or " Your child". Can't they say our child?

I hear husband or wife says " My parent never teach me how to do wor". Then, take some initiative. For example, preparing chrysanthemum tea. It's just a matter of 15 minutes to boil. As a first step being a good parent?

Chrysanthemum tea