Some of you will probably laugh at me when you read this, but um…I decided to come back to WordPress instead 😝. I still prefer the comprehensive features, though Dayre was really simple to use.
Well, what can I say. I’m a female, haha. Not surprising if I get a bit fickle right??
So please route your attention to this instead: snugglesandkisses.net
I miss you all! 🙂
Dropping a note to see if anyone is still reading this, hur hur. 😂
A lot has happened from the time I decided to give blogging a break. Many positives, but a huge heartache too.
We’re all made differently, and have different approaches to life. There’s bound to be “sandpaper people” sent your way for the refinement of your character. But honestly, it’s doubly tough when it’s a loved one who hurts you.
I hit rock bottom during this Mother’s Day weekend. I lost it when hurt after hurt was hurled at me, yet…sigh. I can’t even bring myself to describe the insanity.
If anything, the heartbreaking episode reminded me how important it is as a mum, for me to bring Ellie up in the fear and knowledge of God, to always guide her according to what is morally right, never leaving her to second-guess the gray areas. There are certain lines you never cross. There are certain things you just don’t do. It’s hurtful.
But God’s plans are higher than my own. His ways are beyond my comprehension. So I’ll forgive and draw strength from this, and continue relentlessly loving, but I’m drawing healthy boundaries for my family’s sake and my sanity too.
God is good, and as I processed the past few months, I felt I did accomplish what I intended to – which was to remain more in the present moment with Ellie and my loved ones. After this episode though, I realised how much I missed writing and recording my thoughts. It’s a healing process for me, and recording them allows my focus to shift away from the hurt and pain, and towards the daily blessings of God.
He reminds me that He is a just God, and I need to be still. To trust Him, and embrace others with unconditional love, even when it’s illogical and difficult. It’s when everything in me wants to pull away and escape the realities of life, that I need to pluck my soul even deeper into the reality of God’s loving presence.
So I’m blogging again 🙂 but in a new platform. I find it easier to record the day to day stuff over at Dayre, because it’s easier to blog on my mobile when I’m chasing after an active 6 month old 😅 so I’m exploring it and if I’m comfy, I think I’ll move for good. Would you join me too?? 🙂
My new site: https://dayre.me/snugglesandkisses
Even in the midst of heartaches, God says He is with me. I want to open my eyes to how He is loving me, and to know that man cannot do anything to me, because my God is for me. 💪🏻
The recent Mother’s Day thanksgiving moments…
Okie friends, I hope we get to catch up soon! 🙂
Have been giving this a lot of thought this Chinese New Year, as I soak in the festive cheer and enjoy a different kind of celebration now with Ellie joining us.
It’s a different season that we are in, and I’m seeking greater focus. So I’m intentionally dropping a few things in order to make space for what God has called me to in this precious season of parenthood. Have enjoyed blogging over so many years and making new friendships through it, but I’ve decided to take a break…at least for now. No idea if I’ll come back to it, but I’m taking one thing at a time. 🙂
Thank you for the encouraging words and the sweet love you’ve blessed me with over the years, friends!
I thought it’ll be apt to end with this picture…
Onwards to more snuggling and cuddling of my loved ones!
{am still going to update and connect through Facebook and Instagram though. that’s part of my way of connecting with the outside world now that I’m staying home most of the time! haha}
God bless you! 🙂
May you take time for self-care this weekend. May you kick off your shoes, put on your favorite comfy pajamas and indulge in something sweet for your soul. May you taste and see that the Lord, our God, is indeed good.
He is very, very good. 🙂 Let’s let him reign supreme in our lives.
+ a little prayer for you, dear friends:
Happy weekend everybody!
Thinking back on the past {almost 4} months, gratitude and amazement just swell up in my heart, for I know that only God’s grace could have seen me through the ups and downs of this breastfeeding journey.
It was one filled with several challenges and obstacles, none of which I could have predicted nor overcome, if not for the sheer strength provided by God. Supply was slow in coming in, I received unexpected pressure from people around me, soon after I experienced blocked ducts, engorgement, mastitis, and in January, I went for breast abscess surgery. It was also difficult to find time to express out, since I was home alone most of the time and Ellie cried a lot in the first 2 months.
But God is ever faithful, and He has truly turned things around. 🙂 Ellie is now more adjusted to a routine, so I have more time to express. And instead of a low supply, miraculously I now have a ton of excess.
One morning, the output was so much that I kept praying it will not spill. For it’ll be such a waste if any of it leaked out!
When I finished the pumping session, I carefully twisted open the bottle, and was so relieved to see this:
It was just perfect!
I was so happy, decided to take a picture as a testament of God’s faithfulness, even in the smallest aspects of our lives. It truly is a reminder for me to surrender this breastfeeding journey to Him.
Very thankful for Bren who has been quietly cleaning up my pump parts every night and sterilizing it after my last pump session too. It is teamwork, and I couldn’t ask for a better team-player. 🙂
Have no idea how long I’ll continue to breastfeed Ellie, but each time I encounter difficulties, all I need to do is to look at her sweet face, smile and surrender it to our faithful God. For He will provide, He will lead, He will show His miracles, in the most ordinary yet amazing ways.
Am quite late with this post, because well – life happened. 😆 Some hard stuff, some happy stuff, a lot of stuff in between.
I asked God this morning, what is it that you’d like me to share through this weekend’s whispers?
And it was clear when it came – “don’t give up. Tell them not to give up.”
So whatever your heart has set out to do, or whatever God has convicted you of, don’t give up.
Don’t give up.
Just don’t. Don’t give up, friend.
Let’s not give up.
Let’s not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation, nor be frightened by the uncertainty of outcomes.
We don’t have to. 🙂
We really don’t.
Just take one small step at a time, hold His hand like your life depends on it {because, it does}, and walk towards the dream that you’ve been working towards.
May you receive the strength and wisdom needed to persevere, to not let go of the hope that is found in Christ. May you know you are never alone in this journey, and our faithful Father in Heaven will fulfill every promise in His good time and will.
This weekend, may we develop grit and determination, knowing that it’ll pay off in the end. May all glory go to Him, our awesome Heavenly Father. 🙏🏻
//+ something to consider this Valentine’s Day? Chocolate-covered strawberries 🙂 see link HERE. 🍰
As you gather round the table with your loved ones for much-anticipated reunion dinners, may you always know that you have a Heavenly Father who deeply loves you too.
We are always invited to His table – not forgotten, not rejected, not excluded. For He loves us even more than we can ever comprehend. 💝
Sending you lots of love from Ellie & us! Take good care, friends. 🙂
This beautiful weekend that’s coming right up…may you stop and slow down enough to be at rest.
To be thankful for the chance to take a break, for the smell of homecooked food and yummy baked goods, for the hugs and kisses from loved ones, for sweet fellowship with your friends, near and far.
May you seize every opportunity to play, to let your heart get lost in the wonder of the simplest things. May you stop to stare at the clouds, and realize how sovereign our good God is. May you write, draw, doodle, create…whatever your heart desires. It’s never too frivolous if it makes you soul-happy. 💖
+ the recipe for the Blueberry Custard {pictured above}:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries (enough to layer the baking pan)
1. Place butter in 8×8 pan. Place pan in the oven while it pre-heats to 175C. Remove pan once butter has melted. Set it aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together honey, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, salt and melted butter. Place blueberries evenly onto pan. Pour batter on top.
3. Bake for 45-50 mins till custard is set. Remove and let it rest for few minutes. Enjoy warm or chilled.
Happy weekend friends!
I found Ellie with scratch marks on her right cheek. It must be her fingernails, so I chided myself for not clipping it sooner.. Anyway, I expressed out a little breastmilk and rubbed it on the marks. Very miraculously, the redness left within the hour!
I actually tried taking a photo of her, wanting to let Bren know about it. But this funny daughter of mine saw me whipping out my phone and started looking straight into it and she then kept smiling, haha.
This was the successful picture after she relaxed from her “pose for camera mode”. 😬
This was her smiling away in the beginning. 😅
Happy Thursday everyone! 😘
Now that Ellie is 3 months old, we’ve settled rather nicely into a regular routine. Some days are a bit different, especially when we bring her out, but for the most part, we try to stick to it as much as possible.
It has been one of the most helpful things to have as a stay-home mum. Juggling a few things, yet at your own pace, honestly requires a lot of discipline!
Here’s her routine at 3 months:
7am wake time, Bren feeds and plays with her while I prepare her bath items.
8am bath time, and nap right after
I usually take this time to get a bath myself, and if I can squeeze in a bit of exercise before that, I already consider the morning a win. ✌🏻️
10am next feed, a few minutes of tummy time, and nap at 11am
This is the time I prepare my lunch, and once a week, I order a bento set to be delivered, so I don’t have to think of what to cook, haha.
1pm next feed, change her diapers, play with her and nap at 2pm
I try to complete as much housework as I can during this nap time.
4pm next feed, and I bring her to the nearby park for a stroll if the weather permits. I notice that she’s usually quite knocked out after that and so she naps pretty easily at 5pm.
Between 5-630pm, I prepare dinner and freshen myself up before Bren comes home. I freshen Ellie up at 630pm, she takes her next feed at 7pm, and goes for bedtime right after.
If Bren happens to be home early, he gets to see her before she sleeps. 🙂 She then sleeps from 730pm to 12midmight, we wake her for a dream feed, then she wakes for another feed around 5+am, sleeps and wakes at 7am, where another day starts again.
Of course the timing is not specific to the dot, but it does give me a useful guideline to regulate her day and give her a secure sense of what to expect. Thankful that she sleeps long enough at night too, so Bren and I can have our time together and watch a bit of tv. 😛
It’ll be interesting to see how it develops in the months to come!
cookiesrainandlove 