The Commandments of Post-Natal Encounters.

1. Do give your FULL support to the new mom. We are extremely exhausted, terribly emotional, extravagantly moody, FAT, and in immense pain. Please UNDERSTAND. Please HELP.

2. No matter how stressed up you are, never show your concern to us through anger. It does not solve a thing, makes us cry, and worsens our emotional stability. Face it: No matter how stressful you are, it's nothing compared to the stress of the new mother.

3. There is no need to burn extra calories and waste 5 seconds of your time just to comment on how huge the new mom looks like. We have mirrors. We know how fat we are. It's about time you knock your own head for a wake-up call: A spanking new human being has just popped out of her body!

4. Do not give any comments (positive/negative) on ANY of the new mom's body parts, especially when they are pretty private. It's awkward. After all, we have had more than enough strangers looking at our private parts during pregnancy, labour and post-labour. The only response I can give is "hrmmm..."

5. Staring at my chest when I'm breast-feeding isn't cool either. It has been a sacred, holy, and noble area of my body for the past 26 years. Giving birth does not change its status to a public display.

I'm also not comfortable having a chat while breast-feeding. It's a highly intimate experience between me and my child ONLY (Husband is an exception).

6. Please do not complain that you are damn bored just living in the house. In normal circumstances, new mothers can't go out of the house for freakin' 44 days!!! Wanna compare?

7. Don't dwell on how bad your skin texture looks like. Wanna see my stretch marks???

8. Also, talking non-stop about how concerned you are about your body shape with me isn't helping. Wanna see my flabs??

9. There is no need to ask me the same questions over and over again every time you see my face about why my mom was not around when I gave birth and why I live afar from my baby. Is it to difficult to fathom that there's no sane mother who would intentionally do that to her daughters/sons?? So, there must be a good reason why that happens/ed.

If you ask that for first time, that is simply a normal human reaction. If you ask too many times, it either means you are trying your best to annoy and sadden me, you are trying to make me feel like my mother doesn't love me and I'm also a bad mother, or you simply have an acutely dysfunctional memory system, worse than mine.

10. Whenever you feel like showering us with less-than-respectful words and "kerek" body and verbal languages, being angry with us, or simply ignoring us, please remember our sacrifices, both physical and emotional, in your life. We are mere humans. LOVE us...

~~'Coz you really don't know how much time you have left to show her your appreciation & love. And make her smile & laugh.

xoxo

Shop 'til You Bounce Back!

I love shopping.

I love the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella.

Enough said.

Yes, you may label me as a typical woman, I don't mind.

But never in my life have I shopped til I 'dropped'.

So I think my love for shopping is still within acceptable boundaries.

I notice that I have a pretty seasonal shopping behaviour.

I used to think that only animals have seasonal behaviours. erks.

By seasonal I mean that I tend to shop for different things at a particular period of time.

Clothes, of course.

This has no real season anyway coz in average I have at least one new piece of clothing each month.

It's just a matter of how many!!

Shoes are pretty seasonal for me. I love heels but to me, they are not as noticeable as outfits. I think people will surely look at your whole outfit first rather than the one tenth bottom part of your body. But I can't deny the fact that the right type of shoes would improve your posture, enhance your confidence, and accentuate your femininity.

The same goes to bags. No, they don't improve your posture, in fact they might pose reverse effects. Haha... They are quite seasonal to me too. I would buy one when the design catches my eyes, regardless of the price. Eh no no. If it's more than $300, I would mentally toss that lusty feeling away. Hehe.. By 'regardless of the price' I mean that I don't care about brands at all. As long as it is pretty to MY eyes, I'd grab it. But of course I have some preferences like those from Charles & Keith for example. I think the bags and shoes are not ridiculously priced., just nice for a newly appointed educator. Maybe in years to come, when I am more financially stable, I'd have wider options. heheh.. For now, average-priced items or even those sold in un-prestigious stalls are perfect for me.

Buying home appliances are definitely seasonal for me. And when this season comes, (moving to a new room/house), clothes, shoes, and bags magically would not look as tantalizing as they usually are. This is the time when I feel like I have turned into my mother, or any makcik figure. But seriously, going to IKEA, for example, will make me go crazyyyy!!! The homey and comfy feeling make me feel like renting 3 gigantic lorries to bring EVERYTHING back home!!!

Makeup is another seasonal shopping item. There was a time during my second semester of Masters studies that I went crazy buying makeup items, that I almost went broke! Hahah..Well who wouldn't be if you buy all the branded items!!! Well, blame it on the stress of Masters studies!!! Name it... mascaras, blushers, concealers, eyeshadows, primer, mineral makeup, lip glosses, brushes, eyebrow pencils, lipsticks, foundation, makeup kit, eyeliners, makeup bag, lipliners, pencil eyeshadows, complexion enhancer. I got all of them!!! But after a while, I lost interest. I realised makeup items are not a good investment since they usually last, at most, 6 - 12 months after the first use. We don't use them all the time, and we don't use them all that much! In the end, all go to waste since they are all expired! Hahah.. So I just stick to the basics: lipstick, lipbalm, powder, eyeliners, blusher, and mascara. ;)

The latest seasonal shopping items for me would definitely be related to babyhood. Since pregnancy, I would be more lustful towards buying stuff for my baby. Anything that is deemed beneficial and cute for my baby, I would be having wet dreams about it. So I guess, my shopping pattern is taken into a whole new dimension as I turn into a momma. You don't think about yourself that much anymore. Instead of solely thinking about 'what looks good on me', I am now focusing more on 'what would be best for lil Darwish'. Selfish-ness: Shooosh Shoosh GO AWAY!!! Yeah, a different perspective on shopping from the eyes of a new mom.

And I'm lovin' it.. ;)

Ciao.

The Mating Season is Back!

Oh yeah. School holidays = mating season.

But for me there's only one reception I could attend this Saturday, which is Intan's.

I really2 look forward to the wedding.

Not just to celebrate the love of a newly married couple, but also to meet my fellow IPBArians!!!

I haven't talked to some of them for years!

I hope many could make it.

Will be bringing Awish.

The first wedding ceremony attended by Darwish of course. hehe...

PD here I comeeee!!!!

Hectic

It will be one hectic week for me starting tomorrow.

There are heaps of things to be done:

(1) My Teaching Portfolio

-I didn't touch it at all for the past 9 months. Mentang2 lecturers do not have to prepare real lesson plans, I've been neglecting this file by shoving it under my car seats for months. I'm afraid the superiors will ask for it when I'm being observed. Oh yeah, I'm not sure when I will be observed. Yikes!

I really need to start compiling whatever that is needed in there starting, hhrmmm...tonight?? errr....

(2) 3 sets of BEL test papers to be prepared

- I'm not sure at all of how I'm supposed to do this. But I just have to. The deadline is 28th March 2011. I need to get at least the first draft done by this Thursday. You'll know why.

(3) Lesson ideas as usual

- I'm running out of interesting teaching ideas. Not that I'm trying to blame anyone. I'm losing the passion a bit too. It's just that the students this semester are seriously not that motivating. I miss teaching Asasi Law. :(

(4) Oh yerp, Darwish is going to be in Shah alam again!

-This is the reason why all of the above need to be done FAST! He's coming this Thursday!!! Yipeee!!! I want to cherish every single second I have next week with my little lollipop. ;D

(5) Installation of wooden flooring in my rooms

- Darwish has serious allergy to dust, just like me. And when I'm infected, he'll be too. It's heart-breaking to see my baby coughing non-stop and has trouble sleeping when this happens. That's why I requested my landlord to install wooden flooring in the rooms to replace the existing cheap double-layered carpets. They trap dust like crazy and worsen my sinusitis symptoms, i.e. sneezing, runny nose, etc.

The thing is I'm not sure if the new wooden flooring pieces can be installed before Darwish is here. I really hope so. I don't want him to suffer at all, again... He's suffered too much. Seriously. It just worries me because I'm working til 6pm mostly, and I don't know when in the world can the people come to install those things. Waaa!

Ok, I'd better be relaxed.

Nothing gets done by worrying right?

hrmmmphh....

Not working!