Insomnia

Never thought I will suffer from insomnia. Not even sure if it is really insomnia, but I had difficulties falling asleep for the last couple of nights. I can toss around in bed for 2 hours and still can't fall asleep. The hubby asked if I was stressed about anything, but no, no stress at all, just perhaps more thoughts running through my head. This weekend is Sarah's birthday celebration, though nothing elaborate, I still need to be suitably clear-headed to be heading out. Hopefully I can put in a decent nap this afternoon.

What Difference A Year Made

Sarah was required to bring a photo of her in a traditional costume to school for her Social Studies lesson. As I was browsing through my storage of photos for one such photo, I came across these. They were taken of her wearing the same cheongsum, but one year apart. What a great difference! She has lost her baby-ish looks and looks like a little lady now. I feel the need to capture as many photos as possible of the children while they are still little now. Very soon, they will grow up, but at least I will have these keepsakes to browse through and reminisce about the good days when they are so sweet and cute.

This was taken in Feb 2010

A year later in Feb 2011

Dollars and Cents of Parenthood

Yesterday's Sunday Times featured an article titled "The Dollars and Sense of Parenthood". It sets out the various costs of bringing a child up to tertiary education. In total, it will cost parents between $190k and $700k, with the average being $300k. What strikes me most was the cost of university education which ranges from a low estimate of $100k to a high of $500k. To finance this, it was recommended that parents get an endowment plan when the child is born. To obtain a $200k to $500k after 20 years, the monthly premium is about $600 to $1,400.

We did get a education plan for our first-born which allows us to cash out when she is 18 years old, but we did not get any for our 2nd-born. So when I read this article, I was very concerned if we will have enough savings for their university education. With me not working now, the current premiums we are paying are what we can cope with. It is not quite possible to take on more now. So what will happen in future? I have to admit that I was very worried for a moment, but the Holy Spirit reminded me that God is bigger than this, that His plans for my children are good, and He shall provide all that we need according to His riches in glory. Not that we can be slack in our savings or financial planning, but to trust that He will guide us in our financial decisions. We can only do our best, and commit everything into His good hands.

Well, this article also reminded us to review all our current insurance plans. Guess we have to do that soon!

Out of Sorts

Have not been online much as I have been feeling a bit out of sorts for the past week. Is there such a thing as pre-natal blues? I must be having that. Physically, I have been feeling stretched. This baby likes to stretch a lot. Sometimes he stretches so much that I feel like my tummy is gonna explode. Depending on the position of the baby, I have been getting backaches on and off too. Emotionally, I am in no mood for anything, don't feel like cooking, going out, meeting friends, yet feel bored and frustrated at home.

Just venting here. Hope to be back soon. Will update on what we did this week, which is pretty much as daddy is on leave.

What's Cooking Today?

That's a question I ask myself every morning when I wake up. I find that I am running out of meal ideas these days. It does not help that nowadays we wake up late, so I don't have much time to prepare a more 'elaborate' meal for lunch like soup and a dish, like what I used to do. After our morning homeschool, I am only left with about an hour to prepare lunch, so its usually a one-dish meal like fried rice or spaghetti, or simply porridge and I will add on a fried egg or baked beans.

Just the other day, I totally ran out of ideas and was also too lazy to cook, so I prepared some egg mayo sandwich for my girl. Though it is still a healthy meal, I still can't help feeling guilty for not cooking a "proper" meal. I guess its my mentality that only a cooked meal equates a healthy meal. Guess I should change my mindset.

I think I should sit down, write down a list of menus, and come up with a menu plan. It will not only solve my headache of what to cook, but also helps in my marketing and grocery shopping. Anyone with ideas of easy-to-prepare one-dish meals, please share okie?