Two, three or more : Isaac is 10 months old.

After the sixth month mark, time seems to move faster....

I need coffee...

The early months of endless crying and long marathon night feeds seem a distant past now even though it's been barely a year. He's still not sleeping through the night....suckling more for comfort than hunger.

Isaac is 10 months old and I'm looking forward to celebrating his first birthday!

He's cruising and cries in protest as soon as he's let down into the playpen. He wants to explore the house and there's no stopping him now that he's discovered the play area and the slide. He has already climbed up the slide and up the two steps to my platform bed....all by himself!

Feeding has improved. This past week especially has been good. I can feed Isabel and Isaac simultaneously and they both finish their meal in half an hour.

Mothering 4 kids almost full time with no domestic help is tiring but rewarding. My days are crazy busy and everyday feels like a marathon. 

When I go out to work on Saturdays, there is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment as I drive home. I'm nicely dressed (well, nicer than the other six days of the week) and I can quantify my achievement for the day. There's a figure to how many patients I treated and how much money I earned.

When I'm a SAHM, it's just cook, feed, clean, cook, feed, clean, cook, feed, clean...

At the end of the day everything is just poo, pee and the occasional puke. There's no tangible accomplishment.Unless you count the number of diapers in the bin. 

Some days I get really frustrated because at the end of the day...it feels like I didn't get anything done. Then I look at my four babies sleeping peacefully and I thank God for the beautiful blessings I have.

After 10 months, our combined weight is still 56 kg....the same as just before I delivered him.

I'm thankful ...

...to be present when they wake and when they go to bed.

...to be the one who feeds them, bathe them and wash their bottoms.

...to be the one who teaches them ABCs and 123

...to be the one they run to when they hurt themselves.
...to be the one who sings and dances with them and plays with them.
...to rock them to sleep and whisper "mummy loves you" in their ear.

It's a very tough job. Way harder than my paid job.

But a most blessed job!

Visiting Ah Mah in Kuantan

I have one surviving grandparent - my paternal grandmother. She will be 90 years old come January 2015. We've never been particularly close because we only usually visited Kuantan once a year during Chinese New Year. 

at my wedding in 2002

When she moved to Penang to stay with my parents, I had already moved to PJ for university and subsequently settled here.

I last saw her in January this year when we visited her at my aunt's house in Kuantan. She had already aged a lot since the previous time I saw her which was last year. In February this year, she moved into a nursing home. We took advantage of the Raya break to make a trip to Kuantan to visit her again and what I saw shocked me beyond words. 

I could not recognize her. For a moment, I wondered if we were in the correct room. She's all skin and bones!! 

Living in the nursing home (even though a very nice and good one) must have made her very depressed. She eats very little and speaks in a very soft frail voice. I had to put my ear almost right to her mouth to hear her. 

We took her out for dinner at Mexica Garden Seafood Restaurant. I chose this place based on a friend's recommendation and reading food blogs. It is located just across the street from where we stayed (MS Garden Hotel), pretty near the nursing home and easily accessible (huge parking lot right in front of the restaurant).

Much to our delight, the restaurant owner, Doris, recognized my grandma as her long time friend and promptly ushered us to a private dining room. With her recommendation of their house specialties, we had a very sumptuous meal indeed!

These steamed buns each came with a generous piece of sweet sour fish fillet which was crispy on the outside and very tender and juicy on the inside. RM4.00 a piece.

steamed buns with crispy sweet sour fish fillet 

marmite chicken

Another house specialty is the salted egg yolk friend pumpkin. It was very delicious and only RM25 for a huge plate.

salted egg yolk fried pumpkin

home made beancurd with mushrooms and mixed vege

Our entourage of 6 adults and 7 kids stayed a night at MS Garden Hotel in 2 Family Quad rooms (one King and one Queen bed or 4 single beds). The kids enjoyed jumping on the beds and splashing in the tubs.

The next day we visited Ah Mah in the nursing home again. We spent some time singing her favourite hymns and praying for her. She looked happier and could lift her hands to worship.

We took a family photo with her and I dug out one taken just 4 years ago.

While we have multiplied, she has aged so much.

I came home and looked back on some old photographs and I'm thankful for the times I had to take her shopping and buy her favourite foods. 

Life is short.

Time flies.

Children grow.

People age.

Nothing lasts forever but the Word of God and our souls.