My Quest for the Silent Mode

Have you ever tried to be quiet? I mean really really quiet?
Lately, I have been required to lead a really quiet life from a particular time of the day. There are so many reasons why someone might have to be quiet. Here are a few ranging from fairly common to quite dramatic:

• Your family members or housemates are asleep and you dont want to wake them;
• You are in the library;
• Your housemates are studying for a difficult exam;
• You are stealing without a weapon;
• You are trying to hide from a predator or an attacker.
  
• You are having a late night chocolate fix that hubby doesn't approve of.
• etc

My life is fairly simple at the moment so all the above reasons don't apply. The only reason I have to be quiet is that I'm usually awake till 2am and everyone else (or more precisely, the other two members of my nuclear family) are asleep.
Being quiet is really of great importance because those of you who are mothers understand the weight of this sentence - You dont want to be waking your baby up after you've spent like 2 hours to get her to sleep in the first place....not at 2am! Another things is that since Im on maternity leave, I can afford to go to bed by 2am. However, Kachi will strangle me (well not really, but he won't be impressed with me) if I wake him up around this time because he wakes up at 5.30am to go to work...and he finds it difficult to go back to sleep after being disturbed.
Dear friends, these are the conditions that hang over my poor little head when i'm frollicking on the internet or watching a movie till 2am.

Well I have been trying my best to be as quiet as I possibly can, but I have not been successful. Let me walk (or tiptoe) you through the process-----
I usually put Izabelle to sleep around 9pm but then she usually has a feed around 12pm. cool. The problem begins when I try to tiptoe out of her room (after the woooooooooo moment, remember?)...when I tiptoe, my toe knuckles make cracking noises(am I right to call them toe knuckles?). I have been thinking of a solution to this and asides from going for an ancient Chinese body detox and traditional medical treatment, the only other solution that I figured out was eating salmon. Yes, because I heard that Salmon had good oil in it and I assumed that it will lubricate my joints. (don't burst this bubble if you're a medical professional though because the lie that I dont know might continue to work for me).
My noise problem continues because as I head back for my computer, I decide that its time for a night snack, since the last time I ate was around 8pm. At this time of night my fave snack is a cup of Milo. So I tiptoe noisily to the kitchen and open the fridge door. Oops, my fridge door makes a popping sound when I open it, however, its noisy sin pales in comparison to the next one that is about to be committed by the Microwave!
I really wish I didn't' need Mrs Microwave's services at this time of night, but I love to warm up some milk and then stir in my Milo. That's the way I love it. So even though I cringe when the microwave door opens noisily, the major sin of the night happens when the microwave beeps. OMG, in the dead of the night, my microwave's beeps sound like SIRENS!!!
I even try to reduce the duration by stopping the thing at 0.01 seconds but I still end up with 2 beeps - Stop and Clear.
I recover from this pretty quickly though because I've still got the milo and that gives me enough reason to forgive the multitude of sins committed by my inanimate electronics. However, the night is still young and more noise is yet to be committed.
One is by my computer when I switch it off, however the one that I dread the most (that is, second to the Microwave beeps) is the ceiling fan switch. I reckon it sounds like the cracks of a horse whip and there are usually T-W-O that need to be switched off. (please remind me why I bother to sleep late?)
As you can see, my quest for the silent mode is well placed. The only reliable inanimate friend I've got in my house is my little nokia phone because its got the SILENT MODE!! This means that even though i'm lying right beside Kachi, I can text myself to sleep without waking him up. Just out of curiousity, have you tried to text in the dead of the night? Try it...you wont realise how loud your keypads are until you do.
Having the silent mode option in my phone made me wonder,"why does my microwave not have a silent mode button?" I mean, its great that It likes me to know when my food is ready and all, but at 2am, I'm standing right in front of it and really can't afford that luxury.
Also, if my fans had a remote control, I could switch them off without having to wake everybody! Iwouldn't mind a fridge that I could open discreetly either.

I would like to believe that these techonological suggestions already exist (I have a standing fan that has a remote control), so I have made the decision to do some research into these solutions.
I'm optimistic that I will find positive results, and I will make sure that I save these results and pictures of the electronics with such features in a folder in my computer because I've got a plan.
My plan is that on the day that Kachi will tell me, "baby, I've been thinking 'long' and 'hard' on this and I think that it is time for us to buy or BUILD a house", I"ll respond with, " WOW, OMG, THAT IS SOOOO GREAT. Hang on, I've already compiled a list of NEW stuff that need to go in the NEW house!" and then I'll fish this list out!

I'm not sure how many years it'll take for the above scenario to play out so at the moment I'll just keep eating my salmon and dreaming about my brand new 'silent mode button' enhanced electronics!

My silent, triumphant WOOOOOOOOOOOOOS

Being at home on maternity leave for 6 months has meant that I have developed some new habits. Recently I noticed one particular habit that I think is worthy of note because its ...a bit stupid.
I call it 'My silent, triumphant woooooooos'. If you're wondering what a wooooooo is, its that shout of delight when something you like happens...like-" we're going to Hawaii next week, WOOOOOOOOOOOOO", or "we're getting married tomorrow, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" (the length and frequency of the woooos also depends on how exciting the thing is, like going to Hawaii vs getting married tomorrow!)
Ok, so 'My silent, triumphant woooooooooos' are the same wooooooooooos, only that I have to jump, wave my hands in the air, and shout my wooos quietly.....thats right, the person in the next room wouldn't even be able to hear me!

I have noticed a couple of things that culminate in these silent woooooooooos.
The first one that comes to mind would be when I have gone through my obstacle course for the day. You see, when I wake up everyday, I have a list of things that I HAVE TO DO and things that I LOVE TO DO. Things that I HAVE TO DO are stuff like dishes, housecleaning, filling up water bottles for the fridge, going through the mummy-daughter ritual that gets Izabelle to sleep around 11.00 am (her morning bath, morning feed, some playtime, some time watching her favourite TV station which actually is my favourite TV station for her, some more feeding , then sleep), having my shower, making lunch/dinner or both, and making my bed.
Things that I LOVE TO DO in no order of priority include watching cartoons with a glass of juice, facebooking, blogging, just hanging out on the internet doing nothing necessarily innovative, reading a nice book ( i haven't done that in a while though), or going back to sleep.

Naturally, I have to do the things that I HAVE TO DO before I get to do the things that I LOVE TO DO. This is where the obstacle course theory stems from. The obstacles to doing the things that I LOVE TO Do are the things that I HAVE TO DO.
I dont necessarily hate the things that I have to do, but because my brain has classified them as chores because they are things that I cannot decide not to do, I find myself preferring the things on the I love to do list. That said, I can predict that when stuff like facebooking find their way into my list of things I HAVE TO DO... (i'm not sure how that can happen) it will become less preferred than things that remain on the other list.

My first woooooooooooooooo of the day comes when I have successfully put Izabelle to bed. WOOOOOOOOOOOO. that is usually a major feat because she is quite sociable and tries to stay awake for as long as possible. so after putting her down in her cot, I stand beside and watch her for about 20 seconds and if she's having a successful sleep, I ritualistically throw my hands in the air, and WHISPER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
i must say that the quietness of these triumphant shouts in no way dampen the victory I feel at those moments!
My second woooooooooooo of the day comes when I've successfully finished the dishes and sterilising the bottles...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...I have to be quiet though because we dont want to destroy the first woooooooo by waking baby! The burst of energy i get from this second wooooooooooooo is able to carry me through my morning shower and making the bed....and on to the final WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....because now, and only now can I do the things I like to do without any chores hanging over my head.
I usually dont mind if Izabelle wakes up now though, because she is rested and happy enough to be independent on her bouncer.
As i will be starting work in about 3 weeks (where did the months go?!), I wonder if these wooooooooooooos will find their way into my office....I'll let you know if they do and what the reaction of anyone who caught me was.
Till then, I am firmly committed to my daily silent, triumphant wooooooooooooos.

My flings with Routine

Everyone has to have at least 1 thriving relationship with a routine in their lives. I was pondering on my routines and I discovered that I have different types of relationships with my routines.

There are the short flings with some routines, longer flings with some luckier ones, off-and-on flings with some others, continuing relationships with some and lasting relationships with others.

I have on-and-off short flings with my exercise routine. Oh, I would love for our relationship to go through the ranks and progress to a lasting one, you know like the kind of relationship I have with food, but somehow it doesn't just get there. I think that I need to go into more details so that I can be helped by a relationship therapist.
You see, I notice the routine first, maybe on TV ( there is a Govt. funded advert on being active), or on the phone when my friends tell me about their boxersice class in Gym. This makes me start to think, hmmm, I think this routine ought to be in my lifestyle.
Then this progresses to research. You know how you find out stuff about someone you think you might want to date? Well, that's what I do about this particular routine. I hop online and check about what kinds of exercises would help me get rid of my post-pregnancy tummy, or help me get back to size 10.
Oooh, I start getting excited about now and I tell my husband as he innocently passes by the study, "Baby, I've decided that I'm going to start exercising...again..." and he normally responds with, "Yes, you need to."
By now, I'm all fired up and ready to ask my routine on our first date! I look around the house for weights, and if i don't find any and dont want to ask hubby to buy some (he thinks i'm impulsive), I fill up some water bottles and use them instead.
Next step would be to create a 'gym music' playlist on my ipod and the very next morning I'm off on my first date. I crank up my 'gym music' and try to remember the moves we used to do when last I was in a gym. (oh, you should see the expressions on my little daughter's face as she watches me!)
The next day, I discover some muscles I never knew I had because I'm ACHING all over. But NO!, nothing can deter me from my new found love, so by 10.00am, I'm fired up, although not as aggressive as the day before.
By the third day, my infatuation has waned, but I'm still a faithful lover, so I go for a walk with the pram instead. When I get back, I re-view the Ad on TV and note that it says to exercise for around 30mins at least 3 times a week, so i feel that I am now entitled for a rest.
Next week, I exercise for 2 non-consecutive days of the week. The next week, I skip exercise because ....................... maybe I'm sure I'll do it the following week.
Needless to say, by the end of the month, my fling with exercise is sadly over and I'm back to my 'unhealthy' ways of not exercising :(

I must say that I have seemed to be able to retain some relationships with some other routines. The ones that I have lasting relationships with are those that I can't imagine living without- like brushing my teeth...you know...I have never left my teeth un-brushed for a week, maybe a day, but not even up to two days. Brushing seems to be a kind of routine that you've never experienced what it feels like not to do it for a week, yet you're scared stiff of the repercussions so you don't want to try. Maybe its a control thing, or maybe its the way our parents drummed it into our young heads, or maybe its only a fear of the unknown.
Other similar relationships I have are with my daily showers, feeding, sleeping, and facebooking.

Some new routines that I have managed to hang on to are sterilising my daughter's feeding bottles...I figured out how to have a daily date with this routine by doing it immediately after doing the dishes. Did I mention that the only reason I do the dishes is because there's no one else to do them? I mean, who loved doing dishes when they were young? Not me-I remember forcing my brother to wash the spoon that was left over from his batch!

Still, I am expecting my mother-in-law to arrive soon, and I know she'll offer to do the dishes sometimes. I intend to take her up on the offer and I hope I'll find a way to maintain my sterilising relationship with Izabelle's bottles...I have to! Maybe, I can ask Mom-in-law to do them along with the dishes! Woohooo

Till then, I am left with the uphill task of figuring out a way to make my short and intense flings with exercise a long and lasting one.

Please drop me a line of suggestions and I promise to try every single one...unless its unreasonable (i.e. involves waking up before the godly hour of 6.00am).

Forced sleeping habits

After working till late last night, I collapsed on my bed around 2.00am only to hear my 5 month old daughter whimper. From past experiences I knew that this was a sign of what was to come for the rest of the morning (night?), anyway, I tiptoed into her room and put her dummy back into her mouth. My little Izabelle has been quickly advancing in the art of using her fingers, so the dummy was pushed out of her mouth before I could make it to the comfort of my bed.
I decided to follow our usual custom and take her into my bed which often results in a number of intermittent feeds till daybreak.
7.00am saw me wide awake, not for lack of the desire to continue sleeping, but because Izabelle was still keeping me awake. By this time, I was famished. After trying to decide whether to get up, make myself a little brekkie and hop straight back into bed, or just keep sleeping on my rumbling stomach, brekkie seemed the more favoured option so I got up. I warmed up some leftover indomie noodles and made some hot chocolate and was set to climb back into bed and indulge when I felt selfish for not preparing anything for Izabelle (even though all she'd done all morning was feed), so I quickly made 60mls of milk for her.
In the end, I was able to squeeze in about 2 hours of sleep, albeit interrupted, into her schedule and was happy to get up and face the day around 09.30am.

Having left Izabelle to her childish pursuits (aka past 11.00am morning nap), I have been able to go after more grown up pursuits such as doing dishes, tidying the house, having a shower, blogging and then getting back to some work.