Sweet Tooth

posted by Mommy

As my belly grows bigger with Baby Chhimi, so has my sweet tooth! I have never had that much sweet cravings in my life! I walked by a common area at my office and there lies a box of fresh untouched donuts and my mind was already drooling away. But I was able to hold off and not touch the donuts...instead, I got myself a rice krispy treat! (Ha! Like that's any better!)

Then...I crave ice cream...lots of ice cream. I swear, every night I had to eat something sweet after dinner. Pre-pregnancy, I never really had a sweet tooth, if it's there, great, I'll have some. If its not there, that's fine too. But with the pregnancy...Man! I am forever searching for sweets!

This is just crazy! I hope in post-pregnancy, I won't be craving like this! Yikes!

PINK PINK :D

Happy Birthday KhaFeng Cha-Cha!

posted by Mommy
Today is Baby Chhimi's Uncle's Birthday! We call him KhaFeng Cha-Cha because Cha Cha means uncle in Hindi and KhaFeng is his Chinese name but he also goes by Penjo and Jo. So Uncle Jo or Uncle Penjo will work too!

Either way, hope your birthday is a good one in the East Coast! Wish you were here so we can give you lots of hugs and kisses! Baby Chhimi can't wait to meet his uncle!

Grandpa Tom's Discovery

posted by Mommy

Since Chhimi and I both work, the only time we can take his parents out would be after dinner in the evenings. With Grandpa Tom's interest in building, we've enlisted him to build cabinet shelves inside our downstairs walk-in closet. So the Chhimi family packed into the van and down to Lowe's we went. We spent a good hour there in just one small section of the aisle...or at least Tom and Tabitha did while Katy and Chhimi walked all around the store.

Afterwards was the true discovery adventure that Grandpa Tom found. It was the the magnificent place called "Krispy Kreme". Yes! You read it right! It was Katy's favorite shop to visit the last time she was here (2003). She remember the warm morsels of sweet buttery donuts tasting 'oh so heavenly'. :-). Grandpa Tom thought it was the same as Dunkin Donuts and he wouldn't like it.

We pulled into the parking lot and he first noticed the "HOT" sign outside. Then his eyes opened wide in excitement as he stepped into the store and discovered a window looking into the automatic belts that makes the heavenly snacks. He was mesmerized by then. Taking in the donut aroma with a tinge of glaze sweetness in the air, Grandpa Tom began to crave for the donut sweets.

We quickly got in land and was immediately served with FREE samples of the warm donuts. Grandpa Tom had indeed discovered heaven on earth while Grandma Katy was also excited in seeing her old friend (aka the Donut!). They were smiling away. We chose our 1/2 dozen of goodies and were heading out the door.

However, Grandpa Tom refused to leave and sat in the booth while the 3 of us were half-way out already. He claimed that he must discover his other donut selection before leaving. So we all had to give in as it was quite embarrassing to see a grown man staging a "Donut Strike" inside the store! We watched him discover every morsel of the donut...and afterwards, he proclaimed that it was indeed "delicious!".

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Milestone birthday - and will NOT DISCLOSE AGE - doesn't that already give away my age - it only seems like yesterday that I was 18 and FOB(fresh of the boat) or as Lianne points out "FOBlicious." Well I am guessing that I will not forget this birthday anytime soon because of my DW.

And to my 30 birthday - I have a new title (from Pumkin Head to G.A.D) See Emily's Blog she will explain what a GAD is. More on GAD... Coming Soon!!

posted by Mommy
Yesterday was Chhimi's birthday! It was a milestone birthday but I definitely won't disclose the age. So with the help of a few willing accomplices at Chhimi's office and assistance from Chhimi's parents, Baby Chhimi and I were able to surprise Daddy-to-be with a little birthday get-together! It was fabulous! His face was red with embarrassment...and shock, I think! We enjoyed good food, good company, and good laughs!!

After work, we went out to our favorite Japanese restaurant with his parents and ate ourselves silly of sushi. Well, Baby Chhimi and I didn't eat any raw sushi...just the cook stuff with kanikama (aka fake crab meat). Then, it was time for the big spin in the birthday wheel and Chhimi won ...... a bag of rice! WhooHoo!! Go Chhimi! Afterwards, the waitstaff came out with a lovely black forest cake, which I got from our favorite local bakery, and sang 'Happy Birthday' to our birthday boy. Another embarrassing moment! Hahahah!

All I can say is...GREAT JOB to all involved! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED....until next year! Muahahahaha! Baby Chhimi and I are already scheming! Muahahahah!

Spending Time With Grandpa Tom & Grandma Katy

posted by Mommy

Yay! Baby Chhimi's grandparents (Chhimi's parents) have arrived safe and sound from Bhutan! It was a joyful reunion and everybody was excited! Lots of hugs and kisses were exchanged. We all stayed up into the wee hours to do some much needed catching up.

Early Sunday, we decided to go for for Daddy and Mommy-to-be's favorite past time...DIM SUM time! So we invited Grandma Wai (Tab's mom) and also Grand Auntie Jeanne (Tab's Aunt) to go out with us in the mid-morning brunch. We ate lots, talked lots, and laughed lots! Now that's what we call a great Sunday passtime!

But now...Grandpa Tom and Grandma Katy are fast asleep as they were beat from all the recent travel and plane rides. So it'll take them a few days to get used to our timezone.

By the way, we're not the only one who is going for baby classes, we've signed Tom and Katy up for 'Grandparents Class' also...hee hee...and it'll be this coming Friday. Let's see what they learn!

You Better Not Shout...You Better Not Cry....

posted by Mommy
...Cuz Grandpa and Grandma are coming to town!!

Yep, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Katy are flying in from Bhutan via Kolkata, India then to Singapore then to us! WhooHoo! I have not seen my parents-in-laws a long time, my father-in-law, I have not seen since 2000! My mum-in-law, I have not seen since Oct 2003! So it will be a wonderful and joyful reunion!

Chhimi and I have been slaving with all of our left-over energy during the workdays to get our downstairs room ready for them. I just cannot believe how much JUNK we have accumulated since we've moved into our house! Two words: A LOT!

Chhimi is definitely getting super duper excited about having his parents here. He hasn't seen them since April 2005 (almost 1 year already!) One main advantage as Chhimi likes to point out is that he will no longer need to EAT OUT as much and we will get to save some mucho $$ and be healthier! He will get actual home cooked food! Um...I actually cook at home (as long as I remember to plan them well) ..and Chhimi also cooks at home too (whenever he can)...but somehow it can never be compared to Mum's homemade food :-)...and that's okay too cuz I enjoy mum's cooking too! Somehow, food made from Mom's are always tastier.....sigh! I guess I better get cracking on my cooking skills too for Baby Chhim!

Of course, we are also excited to have Chhimi's dad here...we like to name him the official "Mr. Handyman" as in Chhimi's mind, there are many mini-projects for for Chhimi's dad to do around the house. Sigh!!

So this Saturday evening, we're going to be heading to airport and picking up our parents! WhooHoo! Our house will definitely be a full house!

Breastfeeding 101

posted by Mommy


We attended our first of two breastfeeding classes this evening. It was a lot of information from three popular way to hold or cradle the baby to what is a proper latch on!

DID YOU KNOW:

• Newborns need to feed every 1.5 to 3 hours increments


• You should wake up the baby for a feeding


• Babies goes through at least 8 - 12 diapers per day

We learned today our roles as parents and as food providers. I will be the provider of the milk (um...for obvious reasons!) and Chhimi will be the ultimate diaper changer and burper! Not sure who has the more difficult job! We shall see when Baby Chhimi arrives!

Super Excited

32 Weeks & 3 Days (plus or minus) – Man I am so excited – I can’t keep it down anymore. I can’t wait to hold my dearest son, only 6 more weeks to go. I have been so excited that I can barely concentrate on anything else. Even an online gaming (“World of Warcraft” which has kept me busy for a number of years) or surfing – my two greatest past time plus movies cannot take my mind off all the excitement.

We have started to clean up the master bedroom from the terrible “nesting boo-boo.” I hope we can sleep in our bed tonight. This weekend my parents will fly into SFO – from Calcutta (Kolkata) India. Grandparents get to meet Baby Chhimi. So I have been pretty excited (mainly because I have been dying to eat Mum’s cooking – yea – no more eating out). We still need to fix they rooms but really have no time to do it.

Tonight is Baby Class – and this time I am going to learn about the Joys of Breast Feeding. Woo Hoo!

I Love You

posted by Mommy
The three most beautiful words that parents can hear are "I Love You" from their child. Well, this evening one of our oldest friends came over to drop off some hand-me down furniture including a baby changing table. Yay! Less for us to buy. We've been there for all 3 of their kids ever since childbirth (ok ok, maybe a day or two after!) so Chhimi and I feel a special bond with them. Well, as we had our dinner (Chhimi made yummy sushi and teriyaki chicken while I was the Fry cook with tempura and croquettes) and dessert (mmm...Yum!)...it was time for them to be off after a short 1.5 hour visit because it was a school night and their oldest son still had some homework to do before bedtime (8:30pm!).

As they were getting their shoes on, the oldest one rushed to me and gave me a big bear hug and said "I Love You!". Awwww! Then their second oldest (5 years old!)rushed towards me and gave me a hug and a kiss and said "I Love You!". Of course, they did the same thing to my husband. The littlest one...well, not so much yet...but she's only two just giggled and yelled "help!" to her dad.

As the kids rushed out the door and thanked us for dinner and dessert and getting into their car, they keep yelling "I love you!" in their seats! They showed us the sign language sign for it as well. It's during those moments when you just think they are the sweetest :-)

We can't wait for Baby Chhimi to arrive and start saying "I Love You!" and giving us lots of hugs and kissess!!!

Last Night Out (Part 2)

posted by Mommy
In continuation of our "Last Night Out" partying...today, we woke up bright and early and headed downstairs to the hotel's breakfast buffet so I could indulge in all the pastries I want. I got to tell you people, my sweet tooth have double in size with Baby Chhimi! Yummy buttery pastries, ice cream, cookies, you name it...I want it! :-). Afterwards, we got ready to head out to our favorite place.... IKEA!

At Ikea, we walked through every model room to organize rooms. We have three main areas to improve upon before Baby Chhimi arrives and they are:

• Master Bedroom (definitely need some organization here!)


• Downstairs Bedroom (need to fix it up for mum & dad)


• Dining Table & Chairs (need one that can adjust between 6 - 10 people)

Last Night Out (Part I)

posted by Mommy
This weekend, Dad-to-be suggested that we do a short weekend get-away to the city so that we can have our "Last Night Out" since my father-in-law (FIL) and mother-in-law (MIL) will be arriving from Asia next Saturday. We've always enjoyed the city pre-pregnancy and made it a point to visit it at least every two months or so. However, our "Last Night Out" is definitely not by any means a partying weekend, we're not like that at all, so here is what we did:

• Returned books to local library


• Visited local photography shop


• Dropped donations off to Goodwill


• Visited Costco


• Being stuck in traffic jam


• Visited friends in the city


• Had dinner at the hotel restaurant


• Watched movie in room


• Fell asleep exhausted

This was our "Last Night Out"...man, doesn't it sound exciting?! But at least we had a good night's rest and just being in the city helped our mood.

Nesting Syndrom (Take 2)

posted by Mommy

Well, its been less than a week since we painted our bedroom to be "Winter Garden"....and for a fun Friday evening, we've decided to revert it back to our Kelly Moore Frost (aka WHITE). You may think we are a crazy couple but that color made both of us sick...so we definitely needed it to be outta there before Baby Chhimi arrives!

So, we started taping again but at least this time not as much since it matches with the ceiling! Yay! Then we jammed to Home Depot around 8:30 at night to get the supplies needed, including paint tape, rollers, pour spouts, etc. Reached home by 9:00pm and the Nesting Syndrom continues......

With this little experience, I must say that Chhimi has a lot of patience! He went into both projects up beat and happy even though you can tell he's literally exhausted! Way to go, Super Dad-to-be!! ....can't wait to have our original room back! :-P

How to be a Super Dad?

58 days more to go – says the ticker on this webpage – Tab has been pregnant for about 31 weeks and 5 days. Time just flies by – or so it seems. I used to run on my own calendar and time but all that is going to change. We have finished our first set of classes – I have seen plenty of video and learnt everything about childbirth I think. (Retention is another problem) Through it all I have “tried” to do the best that I can and supportive as much as I can. Only the DW can be a judge of that – to see whether I passed or failed. Along the way Daddy anxiety – is really stressing me out and one of those things is the thought of whether I can be a Good Father. There are the hands on dad, hands off dad – the in betweens – what kind of dad will I be? Am I ready? Only time and how my son turns out will tell if I was a good father or not. Till then…

I thought I would use the illustration below as a “How to Guide.” (Being a very graphic/visual person that I am)

Winners Again!

posted by Mommy

Alrighty, we visited our local Babies R' Us for our weekly baby seminar. This evening, it was about "Bringing Baby Home" and all the essential items that we would need.

There were A LOT of items that was demonstrated that were necessary items, Chhimi and I just looked at the pile of stuff and thought about our empty wallets! Sigh!

Here's the basic items that you'll need:

• Car Seat & Baby Stroller


• Breast Pumps (if you're deciding to breastfeed)


• Baby Outfit with hat and booties


• Diapers (MUST HAVE)


• Baby Care Products (i.e. Lotions, Shampoo, Body Wash)


• Baby Thermometer


• Remedy Kit (i.e. baby aspirin, etc)


• Diaper Rash cream (just in case!)


• Baby Monitor


• Crib

and the list goes on....

So we learned that there's a lot of things we will need to buy prior to April 9! A whole LOT!

However, one less item for Chhimi and me to worry about is the Baby Monitor! We won one of from our seminar class!! We won two weeks ago too with the car seat accessories but this evening, we were lucky enough to be pulled for a Fisher-Price Sounds 'n Lights monitor (49 Mhz). We quickly tested it at home and found that it was powerful enough to convey the Sacramento King's game in the receiver! Daddy can double-it up when he's working in the yard! Hahahahah!

Nesting Syndrom

posted by Mommy
The so-called "Nesting Syndrom" is when the expectant mother goes on a frenzy of cleaning up the house, the car, etc and making the place spic and span for the arrival of her bundle of joy. However, I must say, that the Nesting Syndrom goes far beyond the expectant mother....it also goes to the expectant father...at least in this Chhimi household it does!

Chhimi, the dad-to-be, had been bugging me for the past 2 weeks to pick the paint color and to do the master bedroom and bathroom. So, today, Sunday....yes, you heard it...Super Bowl Sunday too!....Chhimi decided to wake up bright and early to visit Home Depot! We picked a couple of paint colors, one for our master bedroom and one for our bathroom.

For this afternoon and early evening, we were busily taping things up and down. The preparation for painting a room is a big DRAG! But Chhimi was very enthused about it! We selected something called "Winter Garden" as our bedroom color...its more of a neutral beige/tan/green type....when Chhimi first placed the paint on the wall...our reaction to it was pretty much "Oh #@$!, that's what we picked...and 2 gallons of it?!!". It looked like a huge blob of yellow under our flourescent light bulbs! However, after it dried to a little darker color...it came out quite pleasant.....pleasant enough....and Chhimi declared it to be a "Grown-Up color" :).

Sigh! So now you see? The nesting syndrom doesn't only happen to women...it also happens to men!! Hee hee.

I Can Do This!

posted by Mommy
As I watched a video on epidural, c-section, and child birth in our weekly baby class, I honestly think I have child-birth phobia. It is frightening to see and look at a potential 6-9 lb baby passing through the birth canal. It definitely makes me stress and have anxiety thinking about this. However, the instructor in class continuously reminds the moms-to-be that it is only 24 hours and that our bodies were created for such and keep everything into perspective. She's right, I can try anything for 24 hours! I will keep it in perspective and that the reward is greater than anything else, because, I do believe in the saying of "No Pain No Gain!"....No kidding?!!

So with my husband's constant support and cheerleading technique from "You can do this!" "Everything will be fine!" "I'll be there all the way for you" ... we're basically psyching my mind out that "I CAN DO THIS!". My mom has done it before me. 3 times with 2 of my older brothers and myself with NO drugs! My mother-in-law has done this before with her boys. My grandmother-in-law has done this 7 times before! (sometimes I wonder WHY do women put themselves into such painful states...and repeatedly too!).

So I'm just going to chant continuously to myself "I CAN DO THIS!" "I CAN DO THIS!" "I CAN DO THIS!" for the next 10 weeks (give or take)!

For all those dearest friends and families of ours, please do NOT give details of scary child birth experience. I need constant reassurance that "I CAN DO THIS!" So if you feel like Schadenfraude (German for: taking pleasure in others' pain), I'd appreciate it if you get FAR AWAY from me as possible before I show you pain.