New 'Bedroom'

Just went in to check on the furkids to find them in deep sleep.

Baileys needed somE coaxing to lie in his crate today but would willingly go into Maen's. Maen on the contrary, went into Baileys when Mr Liow asked Baileys to get into his own 'room'. Maen will take any crate and Mr Liow wondered if we should let Baileys have Maen's since he seems to prefer hers and Maen has no real preference. Only thing that we are worried about is that Maen's crate is slightly smaller and Baileys will have lesser space to move around.

Knowing that our furkids have butts made from gold, I left a cushion inside Baileys' crate before asking to go 'sleep' about an hour ago, hoping that will help Baileys settle into his crate better. Baileys hates to step onto uneven surfaces and I think that's one reason why he prefers Maen's crate: the smaller crate has a flat bottom and the larger one has 2 'drains' and a plastic covering which i believe should be for the purpose of separating pee from the animal in the crate. That is the more costly crate among the 2 and supposedly of a better quality but that of course didn't matter to them both.

The cushion made a difference. I found both of them snuggled together on ther small cushion inside Baileys' crate. Both were sound asleep. So sweet. Hee. I'll look for another cushion for Maen so that she has her own cushion. Hopefully both will get used to sleep apart for now.

That reminds me, if we had no AN, I'm very certain Maen would have dragged that cushion I gave them into one of the crates on her own. Maen used to have a toy box where she would go to choose her 'toy of the day' to play with Baileys.

Since AN started crawling, the toy box was removed (so that AN wouldn't chew on their toys). It is unfair to them, very unfair. I am just grateful they learn without having us teach them, to get used to every change that came both gradually and suddenly.

I can't say enough how much I love them for their unconditional love.

Babies, mummy and papa love you both. Stay strong dung the trip back ok? And thank God for the shorter quarantine period!!

Baileys, Maen and the Crates

We have only started crate training the furkids today. Had been too preoccupied with packing and forgot about the crates totally till Mr Liow decided to bring the crates out once and for all. No more time for procrastination.

Maen took to the crate immediately and slept in hers the moment I put the top and bottom together. Didn't even have to tell her to do it. Baileys did as asked when I pointed to the crate and told him to 'sleep'. It seemed easier this time. They seem to remember their crates and didn't need time to smell or explore it any further. Both of them have to sleep together and that's THE problem. Baileys sees Maen walking into her crate and followed her in. And both of them laid down comfortably together. Asked Baileys to go into his own by pointing to it, he looked at me, and then walked right into Maen's. He seems to prefer Maen's crate coz he would sleep in it even when Maen was somewhere else.

Oh well, getting them to sleep in the crate is step 1 and their response proved half the work is done. We only have to get Baileys to like his own crate, fix up the gates to shut them inside while they sleep and we're almost set to go.

Praying that both of them will survive this trip back and the quarantine. Pray that the aircon in Sembawang Quaranine Centre is strong enough and that both of them will soon adjust to Singapore heat and humidity again.

We're going home, real soon.

Chou Maen

I was having one of those sleepless nights and had been awake from 3.48am till about 5am. Then I got woken up by one licking canine at 5.45am -_________-"

The furkids must have gotten out of the kitchen by themselves since who-knows-when. And Maen had to break into our room to say good morning. Baileys was wagging outside the room. It's 6.12am now and I'm sleepless again.

Chou Maen....

Baileys and Maen on TOYS!

I've started giving both of them this capsule-shaped toy that is 2 parts screwed onto each other, that I can put treats inside.

Baileys has been playing with it but not Maen. She's only interested in hoarding at least one, if not both of them, just so that Baileys cannot play with his. She growls at him (and very softly when AN is asleep. That's interesting to note.) when he walks near to the one that she has in her possession but dares not snatch from him if he's in the process of chewing on his. Maen always goes for Baileys' capsule the moment he leaves it alone and starts licking it for a while. Baileys then goes for the other (it didn't matter which capsule to him, it seems. He really likes this toy). It will not be long before Maen gets tired of even licking it and just puts a paw over it to indicate the toys as hers.

Baileys is smart! After just his first time playing with the toy, he almost managed to unscrew the 2 parts to get the treats inside! We were out and I didn't manage to see how he did that. I knew he was the one who did that because he had it in his mouth to greet us with when we came back home, and he continued to chew on it after that. Maen on the other hand, had lost hers (which I found under their bed).

It's interesting to see how both of them react to their own toys. Maen likes hard bones better. She still has this hard bone since she had it as a puppy. Baileys has already outgrown that one. The only thing that's preventing her from chewing on that bone, is Adrielle. AN snatches the toy from her when she doesn't think it's 'chewing' time, and sometimes, she wants to play fetch with them with it. Only Maen will run for that and when she gets it, she starts grinding her teeth with her and does not return.

No, both Baileys and Maen do not fetch. hehe. Adrielle wanted us to get a frisbee for them to play fetch with, which we did, knowing fully well what AN is in for. She will have to throw and fetch the frisbee herself.

That's about toys, Baileys and Maen.

My Darlings Baileys and Maen

Nonchalance
Old dogs can be good at ignoring.

Maen is so used to having the iRobot irritating her daily that she will stubbornly refuse to move away, even when the iRobot physically sweeps her sides. She will only walk away with contempt in her eyes at the robot when it persists in sucking her into its system.

Baileys is still bothered by its presence more or less. He gives way as it approaches but makes no fuss about it.


Grooming
Baileys got his bath last week while Maen seemed to be awaiting her turn. The moment Baileys got the go-ahead to jump out of the bathtub, Maen got all excited and half-stood against the tub wagging in anticipation and all ready to jump in.

We went downstairs to dry Baileys up, cleaned his ears and cut his nails. All the while, Maen watched excitedly. The moment I was done with Baileys, Maen moved over to his place right in front of me and sat there smiling at me. hehe. So cute.

I usually start grooming Maen first because she's always ready and seated right in front of me the moment I sit down with the grooming tools ready. She doesn't really enjoy being brushed at her butt but will offer everywhere else for me to brush.

And each time after I finish with Baileys, she will automatically return for another round of brushing.

So cute la. hehe.


Smartness and Obedience
Baileys on the other hand is less 'cute', so to speak BUT he uses his brains, something Maen hardly seems to be using. He knows exactly what is right and wrong, which of us (between Mr Liow and I) is more lenient and will step right up to the edge of the boundary each of us set.

He knows never to step into the rooms when Mr Liow is at home. Unless Mr Liow allows, he will not even appear upstairs at all. He does follow AN and I upstairs when Mr Liow is away but stays outside the rooms, until we disappear into the bathrooms.

When he senses that it's time for a bath, he will stay run away but returns when he hears me getting impatient and will grudgingly follow me into the bathroom. Each time Maen walks in front of him, he will allow her to take over, seemingly hoping my attention will shift to Maen instead.

Once upon a time, Maen would comfortably chew on her bones when we leave the house while Baileys pranced around. Now, Baileys will be the one comfortably chewing on his bone while Maen howls for us to return. The good thing about staying where we are now is, we can walk over to them from outside the house and give them the 'finger' and stare. Maen shuts up the moment she sees us.

Baileys is the only one who will greet us with something in his mouth whenever we return home. Sometimes he ends up with something in his mouth that does NOT belong to him. You'll hear Mr Liow breath heavily to calm down when he sees that but I think that is very sweet of Baileys. Adrielle will not be too pleased when what he has in his mouth belongs to her. hahah! That teaches her never to leave her things all over the house and it's way more effective than nagging at her everyday to pack her stuff neatly after using them.

Oh, and because Baileys is tall and smart enough, he's almost always the 'scavenger'. He's pulled my coach bag off the table many times, just to take the food out from inside. This boy recognises which bag holds snacks (those that I bring out for AN) and he's had his fair share of bak kua and biscuits. They almost had chocolates but we came home in time (THANK GOD!) and they had none. Remember when Baileys managed to break into their treat cabinet and had greenies buffet more than once?

Maen will not hesitate to try break out of the kitchen by pushing her body against the baby gate. She escapes when the baby gate is not locked but Baileys will never follow behind her, unless the gate does not spring back. Even when I hold the gate and allow them to come out, he will not step out until I either nod my head and give a smile, or tell him to 'come'.

They are now 5 years old and soon after number 2 human puppy pops, Baileys will be 6 years. I don't know how much more time we have with each other but I pray again that they will never need to suffer pain, ever.

Day 1 of home alone with AN and BM

Countdown: 13 days

Mr Liow will be away again for the next 14 days. For the first 9 days or so, he'll be on an island where there will be no Internet connections. So we can only communicate by phone.

AN has been seriously stubborn lately. I pray by the grace of God, we will survive with an intact relationship. It's an everyday prayer that I remain sane and patient whenever AN gets stubborn but she can be so terrible lately that nothing will make her change her mind once she's decided to do something. If she needs to get into a fit or scream her way through, she will do it all day. And my patience runs really thin, only recharging whenever Mr Liow comes back from work. He's also experienced for himself how frightening that behaviour can be :(

So, terrible 2 is really nothing compared to this.

On a side note, as much a she's hard to handle, we do see her trying to learn to get better. During the Florida trip, she's learnt to try to share things with younger kids. It takes a lot of talking to her and coaxing and she only showed signs of improving towards end of trip. Good enough for us.

Once, this kpo girl attempted to snatch a toy from KJ because KJ's dad asked him to leave it. KJ is only 18 mths old and takes a while to obey, if he does. AN wasn't an angel at 18 mths too. So, she thought she was doing uncle a favour by snatching without realizing that would inccur KJ's anger.

True enough, KJ smacked her (on the back or somewhere but I didn't think it hurt). KJ got disciplined for that but while he was getting an earful, she actually went to get him another (of his own toy..over her dead body will she offer her own) and pushed it at him. Of course, KJ was in no mood to reciprocate by then, but that action of hers melted Mr Liow and I.

She's not totally bad. I just have to find the right way to get my message across. But, how? Can I have a wish? I'll wish for wisdom like Solomon did.

I pray that there'll not be a struggle whether to stay upstairs or to downstairs when she wakes up later. Oh, and I don't wish to have to give time out just to get her to brush her teeth. Please pray for me that I will have superhuman patience for today. And that we will be able to communicate on the same frequency.

Prov 3:5-6 (thanks Michy, somehow I think I noe u better than just a passerby)

Updated @ 8pm:
Thank God AN had been a good girl today. She was willing to obey with a little negotiating (better than totally insisting to have her way yesterday) and had enough of little snacks here and there to make up calories (still very little but I'm not asking for too much). She had been polite, did not shout, was much much more cheerful than a few days back and all. I hope those tanthrums were results of her feeling unwell for a long time and will not return again once gone. Amen!

For all these while when AN made me cry, Maen was within inches of my reach watching me closely. She's my angel. It's like she'll never let me be through anything alone and had on every single occassion, observed me closely with her soft gaze. Oh my goodness... How much I love this gentle spirit inside the body of a supposed ferocious wolf descendant....

Took my weight this morning and I was 45.3kg. For the first time in my life, I am worried that I have not been putting on weight. In fact my weight had gone down. From the last time I put on weight before I got pregnant, till I was expected to gradually see an increase, I've lost at least 2kg.

Then again, my weight had been fluctuating on some days. Some days ago, I was 46.9kg. Was that water retention? So soon? Oops.

Maen Lost Her First Tooth (not due to teething)

Maen has turned 5 years and although she's not young anymore, she's not that old either.

BUT....Guess what?

She lost her first tooth already!

-___________-"

I wonder where the tooth went or even when it fell off! She smiles at me everyday, revealing her pearly whites and every single tooth was still intact just days before! I can't be sure about her molars that are hidden but we can see her front teeth!

And then 2 days ago, I see a gap. Oh no!

This old woman has aged!

I panicked and checked Baileys for missing teeth. His teeth still looked good (except for tar tar on the k9s and molars that has returned coz they have not been chewing much).

*phew*

It's been a long time since I brushed their teeth. I think it's time they got brushed again. hehe.

Going to LV again

Not to Show Low but to LV coz the other family preferred to visit Show Low in Jan next year where snow is deeper and better for skiing.

Not ready to waste the long weekend, Mr Liow booked us for LV again. Having been there so often, AN is kind of adjusted to the distance even though it takes us about 7 hours to get there and back.

This time, it's another free stay at Bellagio. Again, I wonder, how on earth do they make money by giving away all these free stays?? We've stopped paying for hotel stays in LV since April this year...if only Mr Liow knew he could use his points for stays earlier, we could have had more comfortable stays when our families came, and not have to dig into our pockets.

He is supposed to not have to work tomorrow but coz it was bad weather today, flying schedule was disrupted and they have to go back to work tomorrow to make up for it.

BM will have to stay at Camalot again from tomorrow till Sunday. Camalot is always filled to the 'brim' during holidays like these (thanksgiving, christmas and new year's day). BM almost had nowhere to go but as always, Camalot would try their best to take them in.

Only problem is, when they get busy, BM gets lesser attention. Baileys' tear staining problems since Thanksgiving has yet to resolve (he's never had that bad stains before. It's been almost a month with alternate days of cleaning the tear stains but they can stilll be seen). The last stay last week was better coz it was not one of their peak weeks. Both of them got brushed. I knew coz they informed me that Maen had a matt behind her ears which they combed out, and they told me Maen stained her butt fur which they cleaned up. And the tear stained area on Baileys' muzzle did not look worse.

Raw Diet: Primal

This is their first meal of a proper Raw diet with necessary nutrients included. We were out almost whole day and when we came home, there was only 1 short section of poop on the papers and it was firm. Does not stink either.

I forgot to mention that even though the 2 of them passed loose stools few days ago after having raw wings, the stools did not stink. Loose stools almost always stink, don't they? I asked Mr Liow who also agreed it didn't smell foul when he helped clear the many soiled papers those 2 days. He confessed that he stopped breathing whenever he had to clear their output, so he never found their poop foul smelling

-________-"

How observant my hubby is!

Anyway, back to Primal after digestion:

It's now 1.31am and we are all supposed to be sleeping. The last piece of poop was still that one and only small piece of firm and non-stinking poop. We do not know who that was from but I am excited to see the final poop result of from their first day on Primal tomorrow when we wake up.

It's sooo convenient and simple to feed them those raw patties. Costly though. Once I get the hang of giving raw and when we go back, maybe I can learn to prepare our own raw food to cut cost, if I am not overwhelmed by the growing AN and possibly number 2 human puppy.

Raw diet

Baileys and Maen's kibbles have run out since they return and with no kibbles in the house, it's a good time to try out raw, again.

The last time they had raw wings (3 sections), they were young. Their poops were firm but white. And the amount of poop was really little.

Now that they are 5yrs old, somehow it did not seem as beneficial. They had diarrhoea for the 2 days they had been on the raw trial (1 wing each for breakfast, and blended fish + purée raw brocolli and carrots for dinner). And it was bad -_________-" Both pooped loose stools, LOTS of loose stools. We had to keep clearing after them. But like the past, their stools were white, likely coz of the bones.

Were the wings not fresh? Were they detoxing? Was it because they are too old to take raw food all of a sudden now? Hmm...

So, in case this was a bad move, we went to get them their Orijen again. In addition, I also got them Primal. Hehe.

They got kibbles for yesterday and still had a little diarrhoea afterwards. It was better than previous days, lesser poop and firmer in the beginning, looser towards the end of their toilet session.

I gave them Primal this morning and they have not pooped till now. Just gave them their dinner, also raw. Hopefully they will not be having diarrhea again.

I dont really know what I'm doing. Did not want them to rely on raw when they go through quarantine when we go back, but if I want them to do even better, delaying the switch because of quarantine also makes no sense. Will probably do a rotation diet and see if they can adjust well to it.

Day 12: Big Sister AN

Countdown: 12 days

Sabina brought baby Angelyn over this afternoon to collect her makeup.

AN seems to be less shy at home and brought out all her toys to place with the baby. Angelyn is only near 7 months and wasn't able to play with most of AN's toys. Still, AN was happy to show her how they work.

Angelyn pooped and Sabina had to change her diapers. AN leaned over while watching Sabina change Angelyn. I watched AN and was reminded of how it used to be me changing AN when she was that little. That moment of AN beside Angelyn also reminded me that AN's growing up so fast, that I really have to treasure every day of AN's childhood.

How time flies...

AN just keep getting increasingly adorable lately.

She's easily tickled and very cheeky.

She would dig her nose and spread the dirt onto me, pretend to walk into me and bounced off, ask to play her favourite songs (put the disc in and get it to play by herself) and go: "Mummy let's dance together!" or wants piggyback rides every now and then (or simply help herself by jumping onto me whenever I bend down to clear BM's output in the toilet)

AN enjoys playing her musical instruments to music. Every instrument in her possession is useful for every song. I must say she is quite good with rhythm: she could tap the tambourine at the exact beat and even improvises her own beats to the rhythm.

Before Sabina and Angelyn came this afternoon, AN took a nap but not for long. Seeing that Sabina would be reaching soon and AN was awake at the right time, I started talking to AN who was suckling to go back to dreamland to keep her awake. The moment she heard baby Angelyn was coming, she pushed herself up and told me: "OK! Let's stop drinking mem mem!"

She's been using "Let's (do whatever)" a lot recently. "Let's dance!", "Let's eat!", "Let's bring the water out!" etc etc.

And there would be something endearing or super adorable that she says each day that make me love her more. She's also been obedient and politely asking for permission to do certain things (not all the time but being obedient and polite for most of the time does make it easier for me to bear with her crankiness when it has to come, and crankiness has been out of action lately. Thank God!)

The only thing that she still is trying to learn, is to be gentle with Baileys and Maen.

She's really rough to them. sigh....I can't stop being thankful that B & M has boundless patience with her. She runs the toy stroller into them while they sleep and all they do is hop away from her. Bailey resorts to sleeping in the kitchen and even then, AN does not leave him alone. Maen on the other hand, sleeps near us in the living room still, and bears with all the potential hazard that AN brings along with her.

AN wants to have B and M lick her like they lick me and forces herself on them. Maen freezes while Baileys attempts to leave the awkward 'confrontation'. So, I taught her to go low and near them, and wait for them to approach. Whenever they do that and give her the licks that she wants, she will get so excited and give me the cheeky look while proudly exclaiming: "Awww...Baileys (or Maen) loves Adrielle. So sweet!"

This week's been rather packed with visits and I will very likely bring AN to Isabelle's place this Fri (Isabelle's makeup has also just arrived with evening! We've been buying so much cosmetics lately. Mr Liow, I'm not the only one ah. ;p)

I'm hoping to bring AN to DM some time next week. Since I've gone on I10 to the zoo last week and again this Sunday. By next week, I should no longer be as jittery travelling by the highway. Will still pray for journey mercy every time though. I'm afterall a typical lady driver and I'm honest about it. hehe)

Mr Liow will be back next Sunday. It's good to be able to drive now else 3 weeks will really feel like eternity.

By the time Mr Liow comes back, it will be soon that Jaslin leaves (with Junxiang and CuteB).

She's a really sweet girl and reminds me of Lishi (LS if you are reading this, it means I've been missing you too!). I'm going to miss her dropping by with CuteB and seeing them on their daily walks outside while I prepare meals in the kitchen.

Oh yes! BM's quarantine might be reduced to 10 days instead of 30 days from 1 Jan 2010 onwards! I'm so excited about it! There are 3 sub categories to the one that BM belong to and they seem to fit into the category that states quarantine as 10 days.

Another thing to be thankful for!

AN and BM- The Unglams

This Adrielle, passes gas a lot and likes to announce it.

When she does, she'll be reminded to say "excuse me".

She somehow realised Baileys and Maen do not mind her german gas and not asking to be excused and has started running to pass gas at the napping furkids. -_______-"

Now, on top of announcing: "mummy I poot!", she also announces: "mummy, I poot at Baileys/ Maen!". Sometimes if she can help it, she will run to do it right in their faces! *faint*

And now that she hardly has diapers on (except for nights), she sometimes parade around with her bottom, bare. Maen the silly girl, enjoys investigating the smooth and spotless (not totally spotless. She has a black spot from a jab) butt and sometimes lick it. AN will be so tickled, starts running away and laughing: "MAE MAE NO! So itchy!" but she will do it again so that she gets Maen to tickle her bottom.

Baileys on the other hand, investigates AN's pee in the potty. I have caught him drinking her pee once and since then made sure the potty is covered if I am unable to clear it immediately.

Was telling Mr Liow, I should have gotten Baileys a potty instead of the elevated diner. The potty is elevated, looks cute and is even cheaper. The potty sides keep those spaniel ears out too.

Good idea huh?

An Afternoon Snuggle

AN's pillow which is not only made with real fur but is also heated. And it comes with life-like heartbeat that soothes a baby, not that AN is a baby anymore. The pillow sometimes stink of pee but after a wash, smells like lots of other nice stuff (like milkshake, like Oatmeal, like whatever a baby ask of it to be)

Of course, something this life-like happens to have a mind of its own.
*Pooft* and all of a sudden, she's gone! How magical!