I Am An Xtraordinary Mom!

Enchie of Sweet Nothings once raised this question: Are you an Xtraordinarymom?

Well, my answer to that will be a proud and big YES! I believe I am one.

Celebrating her Christianity and 1st Birthday.

I can say that I have changed so much since I became a mother. I am not totally prepared for it but I am proud to say that I was and I am able to raise Samantha all by myself, with Hanhan by my side of course. And I am thankful for the experience and the new lifestyle that I am living right now... that of being a fulltime mom and wife. I didn't realize that I could endure all the challenges that came with raising a child. Being with Sam has taught me that love is indeed unconditional. And that I am could give up a lot of things for her own sake. And I thank my Mama for raising me the way she did, for without her guidance, I wouldn't have made it this far.

I always give Samantha hugs and kisses each time she achieves something, it doesn't matter if it's great or small. I try to encourage her each time she does something right and firm when I say NO. I play with her so that she knows she has a companion. I embrace her on nights when she cries and whispers in her ear, "Mommy is here Sam. I will always be here." and she would go back to sleep, feeling safe and secure. And before we go to bed, we say her evening prayers. I believe that prayers work wonders and involving her in this daily habit will help her to live the faith that we live by and live with.

And the reward for all that? Her beautiful smiles, her delighted and happy laughs, and the special way that she looks at me and kisses me on very unexpected moments. It really melts my heart!

How about you? What makes you extraordinary? Celebrate motherhood, grab the badge and share your story with us. For more details, click here.

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An Award Winning Day!

Thank you Mommy Chris of The Mommy Journey for this 2009 Blogger Friendship Award.

And to Mommy Beth of All About Elizabeth for this Smart Blogger Award.

Accordingly, The recipient of this award is not your everyday blogger, if you visit their blog, one thing's for sure, you will learn something (but most of the time, a lot) that really worth the time you spend reading their post. Their post is always well-written, with good grammar, very insightful, inspiring, thought provoking and you always wish that you've written it. They always have a great stories to tell,either about life, about themselves, or their family. Once you read their blog, there's one thing that will stuck to your head, that they are absolutely, no doubt, a Smart Blogger!

Now am passing both awards to online pals Niko, Enchie, Umma, Cookie, Kikit, Phoebe, Cecile, Bambie, Pchi, Mommy Jac.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the friendship dears!

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Why Go To Africa?

I had been reading the guide book "Stuttgart City Guide" and this line caught my eye and got me all curious: "Why go to Africa?!" Hmmm... Why not? I read on to discover that our city is home to Germany's unique zoological garden called Wilhelma (read as Vil-hel-ma) with its fabulous architecture, and a diverse collection of flora and fauna.

Have you seen anything this cute? A baby polar bear.
Photo source: Wilhelma.

And I just knew that we had to go there. And so we went last Sunday afternoon. It was a fine day to start with and a tour around the famous Wilhelma Zoo would truly be a treat. Entrance to the zoo cost 12,00 € each for adults and 6,00 € each for children (6-12 y/o) and students.

Me and the sea of tulips.

We entered through the main entrance and we were greeted by the penguins and water birds. Sam was still sleeping then so she wasn't able to see her counterparts, errrr feathery friends. Then we passed by a beautiful landscape filled with colorful tulips. Of course, I couldn't resist taking "a few" photos.

The Moorish Villa housing the cactuses, tropical plants and birds,
nocturnal animals, and a vast collection of ferns.

Beautiful botanical gardens with flora from the Amazon to the tropics can be found at around the zoo. There is also an insectarium, an aquarium, a butterfly house, an aviary, and of course the many enclosures for the different animals.

I'm not sure but I think this is a papyrus flower.

Sadly, I wasn't able to take photos from all the areas and houses. My digital camera died out on me again. It seems that the battery is already exhausted from many years of use.

So I guess we will just have to come back again for more photos, then. And next time, with a new battery pack if not a new camera. :)

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Mommy Moments: Doctor, I Am Sick!

It always pains me to see Samantha sick. From the moment I had her, I prayed that she would always be safe from harm, evil and sickness. But I guess no baby is exempt from the little colds, fever, cough and stomache ache.

My Sam is not a sickly baby. When she was a few months old, she never got sick. Whenever a tooth comes out, she never gets any fever as some babies would. She catches the occasional cough and colds though especially on major weather changes, but she is still her usual happy and energetic self. But there was one major sickness that really had me worried-sick, and that was when she caught the stomach flu during our trip to Kyoto.

My poor little Samantha hooked to the dextrose.

It was such a scary experience for me. She was vomitting everything that she would drink and eat, and had very loose bowel for many times a day. I was afraid that she would get dehydrated from the lack of fluid so we had to rush her to the hospital the night we arrived in Kyoto. The doctor just gave us a prescription but I insisted that she needs more than that. So we had a short test. We tried giving her milk little by little but when she still vomitted, the doctor decided to put her on dextrose just to replenish the fluids that she had lost. The nurses took her away so they could put the IV on her. And while she was in the other room, I was crying too because she kept screaming and crying out for me. It took them a while before they finally found her tiny vein... I almost gave them a deadly look when they brought Samantha back to us and thought to myself "You turned my poor baby into a pin cushion!" But I know they meant no harm and they were just doing their job.

My heart broke to see my child wet in her tears and sweat and all I could do at that moment was just embrace her in my arms and offer what comfort I could give her. I held her in my arms until she fell asleep... exhausted and weak from all the drama and the vomitting.

Has your little one ever been sick? The experience must be quite scary for you! Come and share it with us here.

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