Hazel Ceej

Mommy Moments is where Moms muse about motherhood and show off their kids. Joys, worries, disappointments, hopes, challenges and successes are shared. Chris hosts this meme every Friday at The Mommy Journey . With the way things are going for me I know I will not be celebrating Christmas normally . This year though I got a wonderful surprise. People at home did something they rarely do and I was ecstatic! Cj did not face the camera long enough but it was okay. A boy's got to go play I know, I know :) "I am eating mani (peanut)," Cj stressed when I asked him what was he doing. He swayed his glossy hair muttering quietly 'Mommy, Mommy...' before he went out of the bedroom to play with cousins. My mother then took over the keyboard. Blimey! my 69-year old mother finally chatting with me online? Do I really get a rest now from expensive overseas calls? I hope Cj's computer gets a rest too from the dust or cobweb. Technology does a perfect job of bringing us c...

Mommy Moments is where Moms muse about motherhood and show off their kids. Joys, worries, disappointments, hopes, challenges and successes are shared. Chris hosts this meme every Friday at The Mommy Journey . Today's theme got me debating if these punching bags would do. Maybe HK skyscrapers would count. Three of the world's tallest buildings felt lofty across the horizon. So big too. They dwarf me much like the way challenges of mommyhood do. But then life is bigger than all these biggies. And good too.

Mommy Moments is a meme where Moms muse about motherhood and show off their kids. Joys, worries, disappointments, hopes, challenges and successes are shared. Chris hosts this meme every Friday at The Mommy Journey . Today's topic is so little . I dug through what's left of CJ's offline albums and found one I scanned last night. This is one of CJ's earliest photos. He's just hours old. The first time I looked at my trophy, I was slightly aghast: CJ looked like a lizard. So you guessed it - little, tiny everything. Too little perhaps for a silly first-timer's vanity. CJ with his tiny self is pictured here with his paternal uncle who cradled him away from camera flashes. I obviously didn't do research on photographing infants, but I'm glad I have this shot as I don't know when are they ever going to pose again together. CJ is not letting his recent, little obsession off his cheeky grasp. He takes it with him everywhere. I sing him, "CJ has an Ultra...

Noticed something awkward or funny in a vehicle? Ceejay's Dad's car has it. The ground floor parking of the Swiss trading company that employs Cj's Dad is reserved for executives. When he parks down there, his car becomes all the more funny-looking. I'm talking about a mickey mouse bumper sticker on it. And something worse than an executive's car with a grinning mouse sticking out the glass is that my computer got infected wiping out all my pictures. Disaster! I'm putting grief on hold. Below is a google idea of my rant. image Between ex-hubster's cars Cj seems drawn to the old one. I know why he prefers the old. It was his refuge when he was a yakking infant. Or ours. When CJ howls in the middle of the night the car is the ultimate solution. It's instant quiet once he's inside. Magic! Cj must have also felt some connection with it because it's what I drove until I was about six months preggy with him. Yesterday Cj wanted to spend another hour ...

Friday's Fave Five: Love will find a way Please scroll down for Mommy Moments Tension hovered over my week. It's related with preparations for a future endeavor, but then it's usually the way with such kind of stuff. I'm glad, like always, to reach Friday and engage in a healthy exercise of finding what is positive about the week. Once again, thank you, Susanne for Friday's Fave Five : i. Story of strength and courage I haven't been following the winter olympics, but the news story of figure skater Joannie Rochette made me reflect on life's beautiful attributes. ii. This week Final exams are going on - light work all week with lots of free time for us invigilating, not taking the finals. iii. Cashing a check and saving it When my gradschool transcript was released, I kept my ID card in my wallet and shifted my thoughts on stuff unrelated with studies. Maybe I was too happy to not think about research for awhile I also forgot that I still have some cash depo...

Friday's Fave Five: Valentine Edition Please scroll down for Mommy Moments Celebrating valentine's day without a romantic date is nothing new to me. What's relatively new is having Ceejay as my valentine date for two years now. It keeps getting better and this year it's even all that I wanted it to be and more. My faves this week are all about this year's love day. How to be a Gentleman 101 The idea is to begin lessons on giving gifts to ladies other than Mommy or Grandma Philippines and Grandma Thailand. We hadd it simple but sweet: roses for my friend Chett. I was thrilled that Cj followed instructions and Chett was happy to receive the roses. Red roses and a long, blue & white dress I thought the blooms were riotous and I enjoyed looking at them. I also finally wore the dress I almost forgot existed in my wardrobe. Bought a year ago, it was lucky to have served its purpose on hearts day. Little preferences for the day The original plan was lunch at Fuji and t...

Friday's Fave Five: Peace Talks Please scroll down for Mommy Moments Peace talks In a previous FFF post, I mentioned that students from another school fought with our students, and our billboards were damaged but I was oblivious. Well on Tuesday this week administrators and student representatives from that school came and did peace talks with us. This time I made sure I wasn't oblivious to such a good and happy event. A playful fish One of the fish in the pond at work somersaulted just when I passed by. It swished and backflipped. I thought I just imagined it but the gardener also stood watching the same fish in the same pond doing the same antic. Dental appointment After 3 weeks of searching I finally found a dentist who explained all I needed and wanted to know about CJ's teeth. There are problems. Ex is playing hard ball with me on the insurance. My mind whirled as the dentist went through words like x-ray, infection, operating room, sedation. But I'm thankful that ...

Friday's Fave Five: Regency Period Cake Please scroll down for Mommy Moments Ambience of Banana Leaf Restaurant dinners continue to be the trend for us this week. Rustic charm has always been a big hit to me and Banana Leaf's got it. Buckets of real wheat, garlic and pumpkin hang adorning the wall. Plus the sweet and sour fish and chicken with cashew nuts and mushroom are a real pleasure. J Lo Live This was a gift to me two years ago. Cj is too young to be choosy with scents. He smiles playfully when I spray it on him and I laugh inwardly thinking he is a boy wearing a girl's perfume. This week we both smell the same :) Cyberbanking I finally dragged documents and myself down K Bank to register for online financial transactions. Spending only what I earn suits me best as I avoid debts and the convenience of sorting expenses any time of day in familiar surrounding is always welcome. Music in the air Whatever happened to the PA system at work? An old song was coming off it t...

Friday's Fave Five: Getting Settled with Mothering Please scroll down for Mommy Moments This week flew by very fast! I mean this fast that I noticed it then I couldn't believe it. Yet it was a TGIF greeting for a co-teacher in the lift this morning. It's perhaps because from Monday to Thursday I was like laundry in a washing machine whirling, soaping, rinsing and finally spinning myself to a blessed Friday while snatching faves along the way: i. a write-up finally taking shape It still needs polishing but there it is - 800+ words already and covering almost all points necessary for submission. I strongly suppose Ceejay's full-time stay with me has much to do with its near completion status for I am ii. getting settled with mothering Although having to look after Ceejay without a caregiver now (the ex terminated her services) terrified me at first, I am thankful that my struggling efforts to try anyway are turning out okay. I'm sleeping with a baseball bat and there ...

Friday's Fave Five: Foggy Mornings (Please scroll down for Mommy Moments) Refund . The business office refunded my visa problem expenses. I had to pay the fine but they took care of everything else which was a pleasant surprise as I didn't expect them to and I already conditioned my mind to face a few deprivations. A colleague who is privy to the vice president told me, "They refunded you because they need you." I don't know whether I should believe it. Foreign employees are sometimes treated like necessary evil around here. But well, it's the refund that's the fave. Foggy mornings . I counted two early mornings of fog. I could not see buildings 2 minute-walk away. The illusion of cold made me smile. Bible Heroes , Ceejay's new DVD interest. He never wanted to watch it when he was 3. I'm glad he's back to christian stuff. For now it's goodbye, Buddhism. Phone conversation with Mama . Mozart's (on left side bar below Ceejay) christ...

Our Mommy Moments theme this week, New Year List, is just perfect for me. Last Sunday CJ refused to return to his Dad's house. Through a torrent of tears he burst, "I want to go home ... to Mommy!" Saying that while afflicted by speech development issues made me realize how anguished he must be. A crushing grip on my heart induced a vow - grant his wish even if it meant shaking up my entire life. Some factors (besides divorce) have affected CJ's bi-lingual skills. The nanny speaks Burmese in a predominantly Thai-speaking home environment. I speak 98% English and 2% Thai with him. He also hears me speak 3 other dialects with my friends. Time is ripe to sort out this little kid. Doing so falls at the beginning of 2010 - a new year, and a new decade. The coincidence is kinda inspiring-- 1. Another birthday . Ceejay turns six in May. It seems only last week that I was a nervous Mom getting an 11-month old infant through Thai immigration, clutching documents and answerin...