A Sad-sad CNY

The first day of CNY was an exciting day for both my husband and i.
Despite that this year is the first year for us to give out ang pow to the 'little ones', we were pretty excited and looking forward to spend our CNY morning with Julian's grandma (or as we called her MaMa) in Damai Specialist Centre.

MaMa was admitted to DNC right after our wedding because her back gave her so much pain and it was unbearable.
Doctor said one of the bone in MaMa's spine had fractured, and that she was malnutrition.
Even so, with proper care, she 'will be ok'.

Who could have known that something bad would happen sooner than we expected.
At midnight, we received a call from my Dad-In-Law that MaMa went to a Comma.
We rushed to SMC and found her in a very weak stage.
She was then transferred to QE the morning after with her life supported by machines and medicines.

It was only a matter of time...

It saddens me because just few hours ago, MaMa was on the phone talking to relatives and greeted them with CNY wishes.
Yes, at 92 years old, her mind was still very sharp.
She even remembered to give us Ang Pow, mind you.
While chatting, we asked her to stay strong and to hold on a little longer; and who knows, if god permits, we'll try to get her a great grandchild for her to play with.
The statement made her happy.

Unfortunately, her body was not kind to her, and that god loves her more.

MaMa passed away right in front of my eyes, at 5.35pm.
I saw her heart rate depleating from 50 to 0.. And suddenly went as high as 90 and back to 0 again.
At that exact moment, I saw her tear went down on her right cheek.

As the young doctor mentioned "Puan Sudah tiada", my husband and I stood there, not knowing what to say, what to do and what to feel.

It happened so fast.

It broke my heart to see my Dad-in-Law talked to her dead body as if she was alive, still trying to put a smile on his face.
Imagine that he stood by her the whole time, and missed her only by 20 minutes when he quickly went home just to grab a bite.

And so, our CNY week passed by with funeral preparations.
All relatives came back from afar, helping and supporting each other emotionally.
MaMa was cremated on Saturday, 3.30pm.

It was my first time experiencing a Christian Chinese funeral.
As a muslim in-law, i couldn't do much, other than helping them to cook and prepare lunch and dinner while they were praying, or standing by at Fook Lu Siew.

Before being cremated, I saw the shawl that I presented to her 3 years ago was included together with her other favorite items to be cremated with her.
She carried it the whole time especially when she was in the hospital.
I couldn't control my emotion ;(

After the whole funeral is done, we had a family lunch.
MaMa's death somehow brought the whole family together, and it was the greatest Lee family lunch i've ever attended, especially with my Mom-in-Law around :)

Thank you MaMa for staying strong, blessed and witnessed our wedding.
Thank you for accepting my tea during the tea ceremony.

Thank you for everything.

We love you dearly.

It's 2012! My world is just beginning ;)

I cannot believe that i dragged and draaaagggggeeeedddd my blog post right until today! *consistency uber failed*
It's now Jan, 2012... and in less than 2 weeks, we shall welcome February!
Ain't time flies by so fast? *gulp*

I am now married =D
I moved to my new yet incomplete apartment <.<
Ash has grown big.. he is now 4 months old ^_^
and I'm excited of what the future holds ;)

I have SO MUCH TO SHARE.
I will need some time *yes, slight delay again* to compile all of my wedding photos and videos to share with you on my wedding updates.
I shall separate it into parts, from preparations to the big day itself.

As for our humble home, my darling hubby and I were planning to have a simple house warming during the CNY, but regret to inform that THAT will have to wait too till the apartment is fully completed.
Unfortunately for us, we got a lousy contractor who is so malas tahap gaban.
I think even Gaban is not that malas *grr*
The apartment is so small, and all they have to do is a tiny kitchen and 2 custom furniture.
Yet it took them 5 months and it's still not finished <.<
So imagine us sleeping in a still dusty apartment with a naked wardrobe staring at us, incomplete shoe/utility rack mirror and an open wide washing machine area with no sliding door.
My first dream 'home' wracked; but we're trying to be as optimistic as possible and try not to let it get to us.

Can't wait for deco shopping with Richard this Saturday <3 ^^v
At least THIS will keep me entertained.

xoxo!

My sister from another mother - Happy Birthday Marissa!!!

5 days gone since Trisha passed away
and it has also been 5 days since i became the kittens' new mother, or what my mom called me as - 'Florence Nightingale' :P

Kittens are doing well and they are slowly adjusting to the new diet.
Nadia and I are on shifts every 2-3 hours with Nadia in charge during morning (5-7 times feeding from 8am - 8pm) and myself during the night (5 times from 10pm - 6am) or more during weekends.

Dr Dennis recommended Milkodog brand for the Kitten Milk Replacement (KMR) formula and told me that the instruction was all written on the packaging.
Since I was in a rush when i bought it, i didn't realize that the instructions are mostly written in French (waffuk???)


So with the help of Google, I tried by combining 1 part formula to 2 part of warm water.
Hrmm... It looks a bit diluted to me...
and the kittens didn't seem to like it.

So i tried 1:1 ratio next and managed to get them to happily drink it

I pat their genital area to stimulate them to pee every after meal (so happy to see them feeling contented)...
and they also have poo-ed twice within the 5 days =D
UNTIL (!!!) i discovered later that kittens at this age CANNOT POO!!!
They must ONLY PEE.

Omg...

Poo-ing at this age = diarrhea = which caused by formula being thick..

and i thought thick = constipation (!) adoi....

I felt guilty coz the male kitten's butt-hole turned red now with 2 blood drop yesterday (just a few!! don't worry )
Ever since i changed from 1:1 ratio to 1:2 and 1/2 or 1:3 last night, kittens stopped poo-ing and felt much better.
The redness on the male kitten's butt-hole slowly going away too (sorry sayang.... )

I was also advised by the pet shop that 2 full syringe is enough except if the kittens asking for more by voluntarily sucking on it.
Too much milk = bloating.
Not a problem so far thank god...

PS: The last time i fed an orphaned kitten (i think i was 14 years old back then) was with condensed milk mixed with water (muehehehe)...

To warm them up, I used a mineral bottle filled with slightly hot water and put it inside the box :) (refilled after every meal)

It's cute to see them snuggle with each other near the bottle, around it or best view i've seen so far is when the two of them slept on it like a slug :P

Can't wait for them to open their eyes in few more days and start eating at week 3+.

BB warming the kitten =3

Hrmm... i might post photos of them in the future despite what people say about taking too much photos will shorten animals life.

I need to record them growing up as well as their well being ><"

What is most important is you REALLY take care of them right?

+++++

There was a Majlis Ramah Mesra Hari Raya held by my office last Friday (the night b4 Marissa's Bday)
I was asked to join the choir group and contribute 2 songs for the event.
Eee... I never like singing in public except for karaoke with friends/family :P
My heart will pump faster, and hands get cold.
Believe it or not, i'm actually quiet a shy person despite how i look =3

With new GM and CEO

The lady committees

Group Choir

Duet with Janneth

Oh! Surprisingly our GM was sporting enough to dance with us too! (despite being forced) :P


And we finished off the event with me leading the group to dance basic poco-poco XD

+++++

Right after the event, Mars and I rushed off to pick up Lo and headed to Haidah's house for her Raya open house.


Her house was huge and located right next to a mosque (with special passageway to it).
The food was amazing...i.e. nasi kerabu... mini roti john panas-panas.. yummmm2222.
It felt great to meet some of the Japanese Class peeps again too :)


Little that Mars realized, I last minute planned and hijacked the open house (with Haidah's permission of course) and publicly announced/sang her a birthday song right after Siti and I finished singing the karaoke (muehehehehe)
Haida helped us by bringing the cake out :P (Thanks Jacky for helping me to buy the cake)


The surprise didn't end there.

On the next day, BB helped me to group our ever sporting CSP-ian friends to join Marissa's karaoke session.
Each peep were given a Damon Salvatore mask (from Vampire Diaries TV Series) and were asked to say the word "HI MARISSA" as Marissa entered the room.
We're so glad that she was very surprised and felt very happy to be greeted by her 'husband' muehehehehe.


The cupcakes were from Boutique Cupcakes.
I opted for simple Black and White theme with 'vampire sparkles' :P

Just in case you're wondering why the greeting - "HI MARISSA"..
well .. it was from a scene in the Vampire diaries FB game version.
As Marissa reached one stage of the online game, she'll be greeted with the REAL ACTOR of Ian Somerhalder (played as Damon Salvatore in the tv series) , sitting near a tree and say "Hi Marissa" (or whatever name u registered for the game) with a super sexy smile and voice!
Until now, we cannot figure out how fb game does that.

What if I registered my 'in game name' as my full name?
Buahahaa... it'll definitely be a mouthful for him to pronounce XD

A bite from vampire Damon Salvatore
(Bday girl is a freak for vampires)

Aih.. ini pakcik must go and trim his hair soon!

Lo-San and Jacky-San (Nihon go Kurasu no tomodachi)

Oh! Being a person who loves black and wear MOSTLY black clothing and pants/jeans all her life, the CSPian decided to buy her a colourful DRESS.

Mars was forced to strip... i mean change.

Image courtesy of Amber

We hope you had a blast birthday Marissa!!!

I Love You so much my sistah from another mathah! MUAKS MUAKS MUAKS!!!!

Thank you for being there for me always *chuuuuupppp~~~*
.