Let sleeping babies sleep

It is unique that each baby has a different way of comforting themselves especially when it comes to sleeping. Babies sleep in numerous kinds of positions and some babies even need a blankie or a toy to help them sleep.

Some babies like to sleep with pets. Be it dogs, cats or whatever.



Some babies find comfort in cuddling with a blankie and also a pacifier during bedtime.



Some babies even sleep with their plush toys and teddy bears.


But a particular baby sometimes sleeps with a spoon....


...or even a spatula.


Go figure!

Walking non-stop

The toddler in the house found his legs and intends to use it! Last night he just wouldn't stop walking around. It was really hilarious to see...especially when he was about to fall backwards and he tries to stabilize himself. Of course there were many many falls and once or twice he would cry on top of his lungs! I was worried that he would just give up, but nope...not the little one :)

But we had to refrain from cheering him on. Otherwise he would get really excited and start walking really fast. I can't get too many pictures of him either coz he would get excited when he sees me with the camera.

Walk and walk and walk and walk

Tried walking with a shoe in one had, but that failed

Up he goes

Hrmm....where should I go now?

Sa'eed's zombie-like walking stance

U'uh....need...to...balance...myself...

Ummi! Look at me!!!

Notice the little red bump on his forehead?

TONIGHT...

Newsflash:

President cum CEO Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican will be featured live on “Bicarawara - Bersemuka Dengan Media” on RTM1 at 9:30pm tonight.

For all you menggelabah people who says that P*****S does not disclose their financials, try googling it.

Caution: Lame joke

Why did the chicken cross the road?
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To get to the cheaper petrol on the other side of the border....

:D

The Toddling Toddler

Alhamdulillah, Sa'eed can now walk on his own. Before this, he would make sure there's someone nearby, take 2 or 3 steps and lunge at the person. But as of yesterday (with Gib and his family as witnesses) Sa'eed can walk independently. I think it's because we kept walking with him while letting him hold a finger with one hand. In truth, we weren't really supporting his weight or anything...he just needed that little bit of assurance to give him confidence. Lo and behold, last night he was confident enough to try it on his own.

First he walked about 3 feet before plopping down. Then he walked for almost 2 meters! I am definitely happy :) Hehe, in lieu of my company's performance evaluation cycle, I've set Sa'eed's KPI to walk on his own by the time he turns 14 months. And he managed to do it 3 days shy of him turning 14 months.

Oh boy, can't wait for the adventures ahead! Gotta work on those cloth shoes quickly...and I realize that this blog needs more pictures!

Some thoughts

Fuel prices are up....yadda yadda yadda. Not gonna review this since you can probably read tons about it in the internet. I've also sprinkled some thoughts on other blogs.

Although fuel price is going up, it has somewhat stabilized, but still, at a much higher price compared even to the beginning of this year. Moving forward, thinkers, technologists and researchers are trying to come up with solutions that does not include fossil fuels. This would largely be in the 'renewable energy' field. The truth is, solutions are already out there, but the main barrier is the high cost needed to manufacture and apply them.

Currently, power producing systems e.g. coal power plants, hydroelectric plants are centralized. Meaning, plants are 100++ MW and powers up an entire city or state. In the future, it could be that we no longer depend on these huge megawatt plants. A more sustainable system would be an independent power generator for personal use. Some examples are utilizing solar and biomass to power up a home. Amazingly, rural areas in parts of Africa are already moving in this direction. Since to build a whole grid network is far too expensive to reach the rural areas, they utilize solar power instead. Not only is it used to power up the home, it is also used to pump underground water to a storage tank which is used by a whole village.

Maybe this is something that our government needs to look into to ease the burden of the lower income people. Yes, initially costs would be high to install the system. But think about it, they won't have to pay electricity bills ever again!

In Malaysia, Pusat Tenaga Malaysia is organizing a solar system installation initiative. They are offering up to 75% discount on installations. Go to their website to find out more on the SURIA 1000 initiative. A regular double storey house would probably need a 3kW system and this would cost probably about RM22,000 before discount. If your TNB bill is more than RM200 a month, this is definitely something you should consider. Plus, it is also grid connected and you can probably sell back to TNB whatever portion of electricity that you don't utilize. The price I quoted is if you still need energy from the grid when the sun doesn't shine. To be a truly stand-alone system, you would need to install batteries and this would probably incur about 1/3 more of the price without storage batteries.

Another idea to save on cost is for the government to consider a 4 day work week. Cool huh? Washington DC is already doing it (effective July 1). But instead of an 8-hour work day, it'll be 10 hours. Imagine how much money we'll be able to save on that one day we won't have to go to work ($$ from fuel, toll, electricity in offices, water etc). Heh...but if you decide to jalan-jalan and eat out on the extra weekend day, that will be up to you.

Lastly, P*****NAS' name can be seen almost everyday in the newspapers now regarding the hike in fuel and all things related. I hope our wonderful government does not interfere with the company's business. How much more do you expect out of the company. 60% of the company's profits already go to the government in terms of taxes and royalties. And I suspect this money is being put into fuel, food and health subsidies.

What's up, kid?

Some updates on Sa'eed

- Able to stand from a sitting position without holding on to anything...it is really amusing to see! Especially when he wants to do it too quickly, he will end up rolling on his butt from side to side.
- Took a few steps on his own...but only when someone is near enough. Otherwise, he will just stand and sit again. Or sometimes squat down before standing up again.
- Sometimes he demands to be bathed.
- Record: broke 3 bowls at one shot.
- Learned how to descend from beds and chairs feet first. He really surprised us because we didn't even take the time to teach him.
- Excited to see stairs.
- Doesn't like to use a sippy cup...would rather drink from a glass.
- Likes to raid the fridge if anyone opens the fridge door. Even if you block his way, he will try to squeeze his head through.

Project #2 - Baby Elf Shoes

I got this pattern from crafters.org. The person who wrote the tutorial called it "plogs". But I forget why. I'm gonna call it Elf Shoes instead coz I think it kinda looks like one. I made some minor adjustments. Namely in the elastics needed because I didn't know how to sew over the elastics. What I did was made a casing for it with bind tape. You can't see it in the picture because it's in the inner side.


Some beginner's mistakes:
- One one pair, I sewed on the wrong side, so you can kinda see the seam
- The bobbin ran out of thread midway and I inserted it wrongly, so the stitches were kinda loose in some parts
- One sole is bigger than the other...but doesn't really matter coz it's cloth
- Used thick material for the inner layer...need to use cotton or something thinner next time