I am an Internet addict.
For you who live abroad with unlimited access to the web, it's not such a big deal. But here in Indonesia, where 60% of the population considered Internet either as a myth, not even familiar with a computer, and less likely to ever own one my addiction is still considered an anomaly.
Everytime the net went down I felt so frustated for having to pick up the phone to do everything that should have been a few clicks away. What I hate most about telephone is you just don't know when and from who will you get the information that you needed after waiting 21 minutes listening to mozart, top40 songs, or whatever the holding-line is programmed to.
While with the Internet, I could do a number of tasks simultaneously, all without a hitch (there are some of course, but minor ones).
I pay my bills, transfer money, top-up my charge card, order a plane ticket, order lunch/dinner, book a room, look for a place, see the latest trends, listening to musics, chat, convert currencies, translate, download cool & helpful programs, hire a nanny/driver/maid, shop,  watch a movie, ... I mean just about everything via the Internet.
You can only imagine how tragic my life must have been when the major crash happened to the under-sea fiberoptic thingy in Taiwan. After 1 week without Internet I swear I could bite someone's head off.
Here's the list of my favorites:
1. Baby Center
2. Yahoo
3. Friendster
4. Weblog
5. Gutenberg
6. Wikipedia
7. Little Dreamers
8. ViewTrip
9. 4Shared
10. Lippo Karawaci
and many others ...

My husband peep at my blog when I was posting in it last night. He is shocked!
Why in the world you want to put the kids' pics for people to see? People we don't know? He thinks blog is too cheesy ... he did ... a person who can't even create his own email acct. I just smiled, and didn't answer.

I love reading other people blogs, that's what initially brought me to creating my own blog. I didn't expect many people to see mine actually, I just think it will be fun if 2 months from now I could read what was going on in my mind by logging in to my blog and read all the previous postings. I think it's a way to maintain my sanity.

When I say other people blogs, it's JS' and Betsy's that are the top 2 of my list. I have read Joyce's posting since Tending Violet. It's so sweet and I can totally connect. And Betsy's postings are just hilarious. There are numerous other blogs that I love. Mostly from BabyCenter, I got addicted to the site since me and my husband decided it's time to go preggers, hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

Reading their posting really encourage me to create my own blog, and if possible keep it regularly posted also. So, fingers crossed you will be seeing my postings quite often :)

We have quite a long weekend this week due to Easter and Moslem's Maulid day.
Part of me promise that it will be a quiet weekend, no hassle, no tiring mall-round. Just chilling at home.

But as you may already know the answer, it's just impossible just staying home with children under four for 24 hours flat. Not to say 4 days.
It's either I couldn't say no to my 2 y.o. Delilah (yes she's that bad ... I could shave my head bald if she says I must), or my husband suggestion to make my son's debut to the 'outside world, or it's just plain old me not wanting to waste my long awaited long weekend.

First day, we went to Pondok Indah Mall in .. where else, Pondok Indah.
With the 4 of us, 2 nannies and my little sister, whew ... we look like a circus, but surprisingly the outing went quite smooth. My 4mos loved it!
I was afraid he will be uncomfortable and start to get fussy, thankfully that didn't happen. Did quite a lot of shopping that day :(

  



The fun part came the next day, we went shopping for my nephew's 1st birthday, and believe me it could take such a long day finding the right present.
We end up buying him a push toy, a pair of shoes and a t-shirt just in case.
Well, then baby started to squirm and look funny ... so we just drop out of the mall there and then.
In the car he started to cry ... wholesome and relentless cry (trust me it made me cried also) and throws up 4 times. Can u imagine sitting in a car with a 2.5 yo constantly spitting concerned questions 'What's wrong with Jules?', 'Mommy is he sick?, 'Mommy make him quiet', 'Why is our car not moving?' (yes we actually got stuck in a traffic jam), 'Mommy Jules need to see a doctor', the smell of puke wafting and knowing that the traffic jam is no joke.
At that time I felt really powerless not being able to soothe my baby, desperate because he seems to be in so much pain, and angry ... well with just about everything. The traffic, the shopkeeper for being slow, the location of our house which is too far away from the city, me for not insisting to buy the present yesterday and causing my baby to be like this. It just choked me up.
I jumped to the middle seat with him and tried to help his nanny undress him and rub some traditional oil on his tummy and back, but that didn't seem to make him feel better also. When I was ready to scream my husband already make the turn to go to the hospital. Thank God we are close by, I jumped down and ran to the emergency room.
But you know what, a nanosecond before I pushed the ER door open he stops. Just stops and look like his cherubic self, and the minute he saw the nurse in green he started to giggle. Part of me is shouting with joy, but another part is just saying ...'What the h**l? The nurses just smiles and direct me to the regular practice room to see a doctor.

Then I was faced with a fact that my son just had a colic. Yes, colic ... that thing that I always take lightly, I even always scoffed at it as a non-existent thing since my daughter never had colic when she was a baby.

Well needless to say, that long weekend stops there. We stayed at home for the rest of the weekend, and I am relieved that my son hasn't got any worse. He is back to his own happy self.

When I say Down the Memory Lane ... I do refer to my own memory that has been on the 'Down' lately.

OK it's like this, very recently one of my acquintance (she has dropped from friend to acquintance due to the following conversation) told me that she has run out another of her '123' book.
She: You know what, I need to make a trip downtown to get another '123' book.

Me: You need another of the same book?

She: No, '123' book is a record keeping book actually. You know xxx (name kept secret due to obvious reason) turned 2 last January, and I don't have enough pages on her last book to tell the stories of her birthday and how she could count in three languages (yep 3!), I don't want to forget THAT. (Smiling too curiously)

Me: Well, that's neat hehe (Rolling my eyes discreetly, knowing what her next sentence would be...)

She: Must be quite a job for you keeping two books right now.

Me: Uhm ...
(OK that's not what I think she would say ... I thought she would ask whether I have the book or do I still remember my dd's 2nd Birthday ... Negative to both questions)
Still Me: Actually, don't have any.

She: Oh ... wow you are great, I just can't remember every detail without the book.
(You see???????I Knew she just want to show-off and emphasize on the fact that she's a better mom)

Me: Tell me bout it' ....
The conversation ends with both of us smiling awkwardly, she because she seems ready for the next question, me because I can't immediately found any fake reason to say adios.

OK, so I freak out. I racked my brain to rekindle my poor over-worked memory trying to remember each important details of my children lives. And, well ... like I said my memory is over-worked ...

Everything down to the delivery of my 4 mos darling son is kind of dim ...
And I can't believe myself, I mean how did this happen? Am I a bad mother ... ? Does me not remembering her first step, her first illness, her first words (scratch that, I did remember ... it was mimami, mamima), his first giggle, what's the last vaccine shot he had ... means that I didn't love them?
GOD is my witness that I LOVE LOVE LOVE them both to craziness, but I just can't pop-up every details anytime someone asked, and I just don't have the energy and determination to keep a book.
But then I remember, aha! I did kept hundreds of pictures of my daughter and some 30 of my son (don't worry baby, mommy will make it up for u). I logged in my pc and search for the folders, and when I found the pictures and opened them it gets easier. Oh, yes that's when she cried when she knew she will see the doc, and that's how my baby son looked like fresh-from-the-womb. Lots and lots of them to show me how my babies grew.

 

Point is, the pictures saves my self confidence as a person and as a mom.
It shows that I didn't forget, I just need some visual assistance to remember more clearly. Hurrah for digicams, that's one thing that I'm not too lazy to pick up and tot along, and hurrah for camera phones. So the next time that aforementioned person prodded me with uncomfortable questions, I'll just let her know that I didn't take notes, I took pics and fairly speaking that's the same with her books, only better!