I'm a full-time mummy

Some people go for holidays, some people go for massages, some people go for shopping therapy...

I'm not the type that goes for massages, I only had facial massage ONCE in my 30 years of life, hated it and I think it's a waste of my RM100 (around USD32+) and I've never did any manicure or pedicure in my life.

As for shopping, I window shop instead and then I find more pleasure in mumbling to myself 'how expensive that clothing is?! such rip off!' and etcetc. And when I do shop, I go for the bargain stuff, like three T-shirts for RM50 (around USD16+) or a nice comfy bra for RM10 (around USD3+).

I don't do cosmetic make-ups or fragrance too. ^{(**Please read a footnote below on cosmetics)}

Shoes? I only wear comfy sandals nowadays. I mean, as a SAHM I don't have to go out and about much. So a pair of nice comfy sandals is good enough for me.

Holidays? With Ben now, we don't really plan for any overseas trip within these few years, I mean, Ben wouldn't remember it yet. Local trips? Maybe, we're thinking of some eat all the way trip or something... still in the pipeline...

Come to think of it, I'm a simple person really (hubby is so lucky to have this low maintenance wife heheheh)

Anyway, back to the topic of pampering myself...

#1 - Books

I love books! Prior to having Ben, I think I'll be happy curling up on bed with a good book in my hand (and falling into sleep halfway reading sometimes hehehe). By good books, I meant, one of Stephen King's or Dean Koontz's books. I am such a fan of horror books. I could finish up a Stephen King book in a few hours time. In fact, I have almost the entire collection of his books, until Ben came along and that's when I stopped getting his books.

With Ben in our lives now, I think it's still the same. I still like to curl up on the bed and sleep/rest as long as I can, or just read a good book. But now, by good books, I meant, parenting books (mostly) or cookbook. I am also happy reading e-books (eco friendly!). No more horror books for me cos' I don't want to influence Ben into horror books at this young age, reading habits yes, but not horror books or monstery/ghoulish images (not that the books I read have it but the some of the cover page were) My good ol' horror books are all safely tucked in hubby's office room now.

Now, another thing I like to pamper myself or give myself the nice treat (to boost up my morale and spirits every now and then hehehe) is:

#2 - Eating

Ever since we have Ben and probably because I'm still breastfeeding this 19 months old boy, I love to eat! And I eat A LOT.

Recently when hubby and I were out for our family outing, I'm surprised and genuinely touched when hubby told me he'll bring Ben out to play or see stuff and let me enjoy my meal. Yes, it does look very odd and weird to be seen with baby chair and sometimes stroller around me and that I'm eating alone. But I really appreciate the gesture from hubby as most of the times, when we were out eating, we'll end up taking turns eating - either I'll be feeding Ben or keeping him out of mischief while hubby have his meals and then he'll take Ben out for a stroll around.

So yeah, that's about the few ways I pamper myself... pretty simple I guess. Just rest, read and/or eat.

What about you? How do you pamper yourself?

^** And btw, if you have the time, do watch this short video about the story of cosmetics.

I stumbled upon this childhood picture of mine few weeks back...

Yeap, that's me alright... me with my fluffy yellow pom-poms hairband, standing in between my brother and my beloved mummy. This picture was taken at this gigantic football field in my mum's hometown. I can't remember much about this picture other than my mum brought us to the field and taught me how to walk.

Yeap... at that age (sorry can't recall how old I was in this picture), I am still not able to walk... hehehehe... traditional and pro-superstitions Chinese would rejoice at this slow milestone of mine cos they believe, the later a child learns to walk, the better their life would be in the future... Uh-huh...

I remember the bright sunny day and my cousins hanging around the football field with us, watching mum trying to get me to walk. Apparently, football field is a nice place for me to learn walking in case I fall down and the injury will be minimised (grass you see)

There's another picture which I can't find anymore, it shows mum's friend who was also present and trying to teach me to walk as well... hahah...

I can't remember much of the earlier childhood memories and I've tried asking my brother, no help there... This is one childhood memory that I will always treasure in my heart...

What about you? Any particular childhood memories that are very dear in your heart?

I have the privilege of reviewing a children's book by Alona Frankel (illustrated by her as well) called "Once Upon a Potty: Boy".

Author & Ilustrator: Alona Frankel
Publisher: Firefly Books
ISBN: 978-1554072835
Hardcover: 40 pages
Dimension: 7.2 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches

Product description from Little One Books website:

"In 1975, Alona Frankel wrote and illustrated her first book, especially for her son Michael, on how to use the potty. Thirty-two years later, Once Upon a Potty -- Boy and its companion Once Upon a Potty -- Girl are the classic books on potty training. These children's books help parents everywhere deal successfully with an often vexing challenge for the whole family. Thanks to its timeless words and beloved images, Once Upon a Potty -- Boy is being discovered and used by a new generation of parents. "

This book is provided by Little One Books for my review. Now, a brief introduction to them:

"We specialize in quality books, music, and video, for children birth through age five, and have personally reviewed and selected each and every item in our store. You'll find detailed information on why we prefer a particular product in our "Why We Chose" section of each product page.
At Little One Books, we match each product to what we believe is the youngest appropriate age group. However, our carefully selected items can and will be used for many years to come. As children develop they often find pleasure in revisiting illustrations from old favorites, and eventually learning to read them on their own."

Honestly, we've been getting hints and well-meaning advices from people around us that Ben should be potty trained already at this age (he's 19 months old btw)! I don't know how others did it but hubby and I felt that we should let nature takes its course, I mean, Ben will be ready when he's ready.

But that doesn't mean that I can't read any information pertaining to potty training right?

So, I requested this particular book the moment I saw the cute illustrations on the cover of this book. I've always been very much geared to separated gender books, meaning if there are books that are generalised for both boys and girls, and books that are for boys only, I'll definitely go for the boys books. I find it easier for my son to relate himself to the story when it's illustrated and told from their point of view.

Check out Ben's reactions as he flips through the book...

One thing I don't like about this book is how the potty is being potrayed. Honestly, it looks like a vase (with a handle) to me. I find myself subtly covering the handles when I go through the book with Ben, maybe it's just me, but I don't want him to go around seeing anything (such as a vase with handle) and think that's a potty! I also flipped through the pages where the little boy initially wonders what is the object (potty) given to him by his grandma. For example, he wears it on his head  wondering whether it's a hat (no, I don't want Ben doing that!).

As for illustrations wise, I totally love it! It's cute and doesn't seem gross at all! The paper quality of the book is good as well, thick enough for easy handling. I don't mind the terms used to represent peeing ('Wee-Wee' in the book, I used 'Pee-Pee') and pooping (both the book and I used 'Poo-Poo').

Now, I just want to highlight that the moment I received the book, I went through 1 round with Ben (just make up my own story as we go along) and I can immediately see some results, albeit a small one, but it is very exciting to see my boy approaching the potty and trying to sit on it (of course, he's still wearing his diapers and pants), but the point is he approached the potty without us coaxing him into doing that! It happened so fast that I don't have enough time to grab my camera to snap this memorable moment!

Pictures below taken 2 days after we received the book:

Picture on the left of Ben sitting on the potty (with his pants on) when I asked him to show me how the little boy sat on the potty. Please note that prior to this book, Ben never approach nor even touch the potty at all (it's in our bathroom to get him to familiar himself with) and now, he's sitting on it!

Picture on the right of Ben passing back the potty to me when I asked him how the boy gives the potty back to his mummy when he's done with his poo-poo and pee-pee.

Amazing milestones I would say! I'm still very happy and glad I chose this book! It'll definitely be used again and again until Ben is potty trained successfully. In the meantime, I'm already a very happy mummy seeing the mini milestones achieved by my boy within such a short span of time!

Overall, I give this book a 9 out of 10.

You can get this book from Little One Books and many more.

But wait!!!

I'm not going to leave you reading this long review of mine without something right? Now hear me out, ONE of my lucky awesome blog reader/visitor will be able to win a $25 gift certificate from Little One Books! Yup! You read that right!

Your awesome bloggy pal here has got the greenlight to hold a giveaway for a gift certificate worth $25! Woohoo!!

* Eligibility: OPEN WORLDWIDE!

* Giveaway expires on 15th November 2010 (Malaysia time)

* You must fulfil the mandatory entry 1st (which is to provide your valid email address & answering the question), else you will be disqualified.

* Winner will be randomly drawn using Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to  my email notification or a new winner will be drawn.

* Winner will receive their prize sent directly by Little One Books.

To enter the giveaway, kindly click at the link shown below and the entry form will appear in a new window:

* $25 Gift Certificate Giveaway Entry Form *

(Link has been disabled as entry closed at 12midnight past 15th Nov 2010)

It'd be great if you could leave me a comment once you have submitted your entry so that I can check and ensure it's safely tracked into my database.

So what are you waiting for?!! Hurry up! You have 1 month time from now to join in the fun and try your luck!

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Little One Books in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"