Concentration

Lil Shauna can now concentrate on one thing for a substantiate period of time. She can be entertained by something as simple as the string on her shorts for a long time. Actually, she was trying to tie a ribbon but did not success.


So cute, right?

Mummy Lim

Complain Helps!

The cameras died on me again this morning. The cameras were up for barely 2 weeks and this is already the 2nd time that it died on me. The 1st time, my sis' friend has to come back and meddle around for a long while before he finally called D-Link technical helpdesk. The Technical staff made him waited for one over hour before they call back and the problem was eventually resolved.

This morning, the technical support took less an hour to call Daddy Lim back and he was at the computer trying to configure the cameras (all over again) with instructions from the technical support staff via the phone. After 2 hours, the call was was cut off (I wonder if the technical support hung up on us) and we ended up losing connectivity on all 3 cameras. Great, at 1st, we can still see 2, now none at all. -.o"

Daddy Lim was pissed. He's always pissed when he had to meddle with the cameras but the cameras are really irritatingly tough and I would be pissed too if I have to forgo my sleeping time and talk to some PHL or IND support staff for over an hour with no results at the end. So, Daddy Lim gave up and went to bed and I called D-Link again - to complain this time.

I made a lot of noise (I am good at that) and got to speak to the Supervisor eventually. I refused to wait and speak to some other technical support and the D-Link Supervisor actually provide an alternative. They are gg to call Daddy Lim back at 5pm to get some required information (dun ask me what. I am computer idiot) and they will get new cameras and do testing on the connectivity on the new cameras in their service centers. When the testing is done, we can collect them tomorrow, bring them home and fixed them up and D-Link will help us do the configuration online. The Sup said that customers who got back their cameras this way usually do not come back with negative feedback.

See! Complaining helps and no wonder Singaporeans love to complain! Bcos it get things done. I wonder what kind of culture we have. Haiz. And if I have not complained, Daddy Lim or my sis' friend will still be calling the hotline, waiting an hour or more for the technical support to call us back and go spend hours trying to trouble shoot with advices via phone call. I duno to laugh or to cry.

Mummy Lim

The Pros of a Maid

Jaclyn has been with us for over a week. Other than the 2 major wrongs, she's generally alright. But she still has a lot to improve when it comes to taking care of Lil Shauna. The fact that Lil Shauna is the most important thing still hasnt get into her head. She's still worrying about the stroller, the grocery, the dirty table, etc., over Lil Shauna. And her memory! Oh gosh, she's has done a fair share of cleaning and packing but on a few occasions cant remember where she has kept the stuff. I get pissed when that happens. I do hope that I can keep her and that will happen if she improve on the Lil Shauna's part.

Ok, enuff complaints. I am supposed to blog about the pros of having a maid, not the cons. Hehe.

1. Clean house
The house is really clean now. It is much cleaner than when we have a part-time cleaning auntie who comes once a month.

2. No housework for us
Well, ever since the part-time cleaning auntie came, the only housework that I do is laundry and dishes. Still that can be quite tiring after a hard day of work. Now, nothing at all. I dun have to wash a single thing. ;p

3. No chasing of Lil Shauna in the shopping mall
I like this one best. We bring Lil Shauna to ToysRus very often when we are at the shopping mall. Lil Shauna can go on and on and on without showing any signs of tiredness but her poor parents are dragging behind and complaining of tired legs. Now, while J runs after Lil Shauna, we can even afford to look at toys. Hohoho.

4. Extra pair of eyes and hands to look after Lil Shauna at home
Lil Shauna likes J bcos unlike us, J is more focused while she entertained Lil Shauna. We tend to steal glances at the TV. With J around and a willing Lil Shauna, we even get to lie of the sofa and watch TV while J plays with her. Hohoho.

5. Relaxing while outside
Just yday, I brought Lil Shauna to Fidgets, which is a huge indoor playground for kids.

Before J comes along, I was the one who climbed the structure and does stunt wif Lil Shauna. But yday, after getting them familiar with the structure, I actually got to sit at the cafe, drink coke and read magazines! Hohoho, good life leh.

6. Sit in the front passenger seat
Well, this only happens when Lil Shauna is willing. She is still sticky to me, which I dun mind. More than often, she will cry and scream pitifully when I sit in front and she's stranded behind with J. -.o"

Well, we still hasnt accomplished any of our to-do list. We had wanted to catch a move, to eat dinner without the baby, go Mambo.... Yes, we will slowly do those when Daddy Lim is back on day shift. :)

Mummy Lim

Aeroplane

I was opening the mails and gave the envelops + junk mails to Lil Shauna for her to have some fun. Surprisingly, the papers entertained her for a long while.

She started tearing the envelops. At certain point, she was focusing on folding a piece of junk mail.

She managed to fold it into a triangle shape and kept saying, "Mummy, triangle".

We had played paper aeroplane before and she started to tell me that she has an aeroplane.

The aeroplane kept her entertained for very, very long while. She even brought her aeroplane to bed and was playing with her aeroplane on the bed. Want to know how her aeroplane looks like?

It is either she's into some abstract art or she's super imaginative. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

Wrong No. 2

This got me pretty angry.

I had already spoken to Jaclyn last night and told her that she cannot let our neighbour bring Lil Shauna downstairs in the future. I also reminded her that she needs to get permission to bring Lil Shauna to the corridor and that she CANNOT bring Lil Shauna downstairs.

This morning, I saw on my camera that Jaclyn brought Lil Shauna out. I wasnt sure if Daddy Lim gave permission. After awhile, I called home to check. The phone rang for a long while before Jaclyn finally ran in (while Lil Shauna slowly walked in) and tried to pick up the phone. I asked if she got permission to go "out" and she said "no". I reminded her that she must get permission.

I wasnt too upset until my sis text me that Jaclyn brought Lil Shauna downstairs! My sis woke up and couldnt find them anywhere. I waited until my mum came and I called home to ask Jaclyn and she said that Lil Shauna was fussing to go out and she obliged. I told her sternly that she cannot do so and reminded that I have told her several times that she cannot do so. If anything happen to Lil Shauna, she will not to able to bear the responsibility. Just then I heard my sis asking if Lil Shauna fell downstairs and the answer is "yes". Jaclyn said that she was running and fell. -.o" See, it just emphasized that if anything happen to Lil Shauna, Jaclyn will not be able to answer to me.

From now on, she will be banned from going out without us. We will see how it goes and decide if she should bring Lil Shauna to school alone when school starts. Haiz. I also warned Jaclyn that this is the last chance that I am giving her. If she brings Lil Shauna out or downstairs again without permission, I will return her to the agency. I will tell her again when I see her tonight. When it comes to Lil Shauna, she has no chance - something which I already told her when I 1st employed her. I didnt scold her but I think I was stern enuff.

Then my mum called to nag and nag and nag. The more I think about it, the angrier I am. I duno if it is bcos Jaclyn didnt understand me (but I repeated so many times) or she purposely chose to disobey or she didnt see the importance of what I say. Regardless, I am upset. Haiz.. Yes, I know, getting a good maid is like Ti-Kam.

Mummy Lim

Wrong No. 1

We told Jaclyn that she cannot bring Lil Shauna downstairs for walk without us or Popo. This is to prevent her from knowing other maids or even worse befriending some male foreign workers or basically minimising unwanted risk. -.o”

On Monday evening, there was an occasion that we asked her to bring Lil Shauna to the corridor to ride on her choo choo train bcos the neighbours’ grandchildren were out for some fun. This is also to give us some peace while we tried to fix the 3 cameras. We have one in the living room, one in the kitchen and one in the baby room. Jaclyn was told about the cameras and that I will be watching her.

The camera in the living room was not working yday but for most part of the day, somebody (either Daddy Lim, Popo or my sis) was home with the maid and Lil Shauna. The cameras are all working today (thanks to sis’ IT savvy friend). But only one was on (baby room) when I left home and I can see all 3 only when Daddy Lim switched them on.

When the cameras were switched on, I was surprised to not see anybody in the living room or kitchen or baby room. I called Daddy Lim and got to know that Daddy Lim had given his permission for the maid to bring Lil Shauna to the corridor to play with the neighbour's grandchildren. Then Daddy Lim went to bed while leaving them to still play outside.

Then, I saw the maid enter the house a few times, but without the baby, each for only a short while. Then she came back (again without the baby) and started wiping the table. She left the baby alone outside??!! Daddy Lim is already asleep and I called home. Jaclyn picked up and said that the neighbor had brought the baby downstairs!! She was told to go and bring the baby back and they only returned after a while. While waiting, I even panicked and called Daddy Lim to help but I think his phone was on silence mode. -.o"

They came back eventually and Lil Shauna is in one good piece. Phew. Well, at least she now knows that I am watching her. Last night, I also did feedback to her about the incident and also state our expectations to her. She's trying to stay busy. Whenever somebody is there to look after Lil Shauna, she will be trying to wipe this or that, wash clothes, wash toilets... no end. At this rate, our home will be very, very clean (in fact, it is very clean already and we thank Jaclyn for the good work) and our utilities bill will be very high. Lol! I hope I dun faint when I receive the bill this month.

Mummy Lim

Lil Shauna likes the Maid?

I supposed so. She was pretty wary of her at 1st but let Jaclyn carried shortly. Of course she still prefers Mummy to Auntie, which made Mummy very happy. Hohoho. However, that also means that Mummy had to squeeze behind in the passenger seat with Auntie and Lil Shauna.

Lil Shauna is a clever girl. It took a short while for her to realise that Mummy will say "no" whereas Auntie (like Nainai) will not. She's a princess to Mummy but queen to Auntie. Auntie seems to be on remote controlled by Lil Shauna. And she's of course delighted to have a playmate. Unlike Mummy, who is often distracted by the TV or talking to other adults while "pretending" to play with Lil Shauna, Auntie is Lil Shauna's fulltime playmate.

Lil Shauna is spending the entire day at home now bcos the she's on 1 week school holiday and not going to Popo's house in the afternoon. I think she's glad to have Auntie as a playmate but still gets bored by late afternoon. Yday, Mummy went back to work and Lil Shauna gets to spend time alone with Auntie. I supposed all went fine. She was sticky when Pappy had to go to work and plead Pappy to stay but apparently got distracted by a banana shortly. -_____-" Mummy had to work late last night and came home to be greeted by a happy Lil Shauna. She even put on a "welcome" dance for Mummy. That moment was priceless. :)

Mummy Lim

How is the Maid?

Her name is Jaclyn (but I think spelled differently). We picked her up on Sat afternoon. Today is her 5th day with us and she seems to be adapting well. It was made known to her that our (and hers as well) priority is the baby, housework will come 2nd. However, she seems better in housework than handling the baby. She has more initiatives when it comes to housework.

We have to agree that the house has become much cleaner after Jaclyn comes along. On the 1st few days, whenever she has time, she will sweep and mop and wipe and wash. I think the utilities bill will soar this month. Lol! She just have to learn that some things are urgent and has to be done 1st. For example, she was instructed to clean up Lil Shauna's drawer when she's free. She was halfway thru' and we instructed her to mop the floor instead bcos we wanted to bring the baby out to give her some time to do so. Instead of switching to mopping immediately, she still attempt to finish cleaning the drawer. -.o"

She also take a while to do the housework but that is bcos she will ended up doing more than what we tell her to. We told her to wash the dishes and she ended up cleaning the sink as well. But we are quite fine since we would like to spend time with Lil Shauna as well while Jaclyn is at the housework. Jaclyn is NOT to take over us as parent to Lil Shauna but to give us all a breather and an extra pair of hand when the need arises. Still, I agree that it is such a blessing to not have to chase after Lil Shauna when she runs amok in ToysRus. Hohoho.

Other than that, she's quite fine. Maybe bcos she's a returned maid and she knows that if she gets returned again, it will be tough to get another employer. The agency has been reminding her that and I have reminded her so as well. Maybe she was just trying to impress us and thus doesnt stop even when she has the free time. :) I hope she stays that way and not give me pattern after awhile. And pray that she will love Lil Shauna like her own.

Mummy Lim

I am Shauna

Long, long time ago, we taught Lil Shauna to understand that she's Shauna. She will pat on her chest when we asked her who is Shauna. :)

However, it seems to be lost on her who is Shauna after a while. As we fondly call her "baobao", she started calling herself "baobao" or "ah bao" too. We still call her "Shauna baby" but most of the time "baobao".

I am not sure if it is the PG that she's attending, but in recent times when we asked her who is Shauna, she will reply "baobao", provided that she's in a good mood. :) Yday, I was even more amazed. I asked her who is Shauna and she pointed to herself and said "baobao". When I asked again, she said "baobao stri-na, baobao na-na". That moment - priceless. :)

My baby is growing up and starting to string words. I get so amazed at the things that she sometimes tell me. :) How not to not love her? :)

Mummy Lim

The Maid is Coming

We will "collect" the transferred maid this Sat after work. And this will start the 1st of the many changes. My sis will shift into the computer room and we will no longer have a computer room. Lil Shauna will eventually learn to sleep in her own room with the maid. Lil Shauna will no longer go to Popo's place. Instead, she will spend the morning with the maid and the maid will bring her to PG. Popo will only drop in in the afternoon to check on them.

It is good that Daddy Lim is on night shift now. Cos although he will be sleeping most of the time, he will be in the house and this will probably deter the maid from doing stupid things or to be able to seek help if need be.

Pls help to pray that the maid will be good enuff for us. We are not picky and Lil Shauna is our 1st priority. Pray that the maid will love Lil Shauna and take care of her as much as we do.

Mummy Lim