Remember, You Are Mum Enough

May 10, 2018 Comments: 3

Mother’s day is right around the corner and a common question that pops up is, what do mums really want on their special day?

In the past, I used to dream about being able to sleep in and wake up on my terms with no one asking what’s for breakfast and expecting me to prepare it. And you know what, being served breakfast in bed sounds divine too. In fact, just skip the champagne and just give me my kopi and I’ll be a happy mum. Of course it doesn’t hurt to be whisked off for an indulgent spa and facial session. Bliss.

But this year, I only have one simple wish for Mother’s Day.

I want myself and fellow mums to remember that we are mum enough. That we are enough.

You are Enough

As a mum of one, I always struggle feeling mum enough.

I know it’s not true, but somehow I believe in the lie that mums of 2, 3 and more kids are more credible mum as they have more experience to boast of.

On days when I lose it and feel absolutely lousy as a mum, I feel crushed knowing that there will not be anymore second chances for me to right those wrongs. They say that we are our worst critics and I know this too well. Just let me list the ways…

I’m not patient enough.

I’m not loving enough.

I’m not doing enough to raise Sophie.

I’m not spending enough time with Sophie.

Even though I try to think rationally when making decisions for my family, I can’t help but second guess myself at times, wondering if I made the best choice.

But you know what?

I am enough.

Leaning on the one who will always be enough

Even though I may feel like I’ve fail as a mum every single day, I know Sophie never see me that way. And more importantly, God never views me any lesser of a mum.

You too may feel guilty for not having it altogether with the kids, juggling your career, the unending chores and messy homes, but that doesn’t define you as a mum.

Being a mum brought about the biggest transformation in my life as I’ve been taught so many lessons. Even hard and painful lessons but they are also the very ones that have shaped me to be who I am.

Your family sees you trying your best every single day. Yesterday, today and tomorrow too.

So, this Mother’s Day, extend some kindness to yourself. Be less harsh on yourself and stop the self-condemning thoughts and talks which are not from God.

Instead learn to lean on Him. Rest in Him and receive grace just as you have been given grace.

I hear this every so clearly from God, his gentle whisper that tells me, He’s sees everything and he sees my heart and he will honour the times I choose to serve my family.

Remember, you are mum enough.

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, you may like these posts where I share my heart about parenting.

 

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Be more financially savvy with Bank of China’s improved Family Card

April 10, 2018 No comments

Recently we attended a marriage workshop, where the facilitators joked about how men and women enter marriage with differing views on their future.

 

A woman enters marriage hoping she can change her husband.

A man enters marriage hoping that his wife wouldn’t change.

 

I would say that there is some truth to that and perhaps you can identify with that too. An area that Alexis is particularly proud that he’s been a positive influence is, getting me to be more financially savvy.

Between us, he’s the saver and investor, while I’m more of the … spend and live for today sort of person. However, over the years, we’ve become more prudent with our expenses and learn to cut back on expenses that we can live without. And on expenses that we need to incur, we’re doing it the smarter way with a credit card that offers great cash rebates.

For those of you who know Alexis, he’s one who does his research very methodically and rationally. So when he suggested that we switch to Bank of China’s Family Card and make it our default credit card for all our family’s everyday needs. I was blown away by their high cash rebates. In fact, it’s one credit card that many financial bloggers have been raving about too.

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Melaka for kids

April 6, 2018 Comments: 10


Melaka may be more of a town for foodies, but there are surprisingly plenty to do for kids too.

Here’s a list of 10 kid friendly attractions and places that we’ve covered over 2 trips as well as recommendations from fellow parents to ensure your little ones have a good time in Melaka.

1. MAMEE JONKER HOUSE

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Dear hubby, let’s make time for us.

April 3, 2018 Comments: 5

Last week, there was a video from Motherly circulating on my Facebook feed. It must have resonated with lots of mums as it went crazy viral with mums sharing it and tagging their husbands. Maybe you’re one of them too.

The main message was a reminder to dads that this messy and crazy life with little babies and kids wouldn’t be forever. That as parents, you’ll not always feel tired, worn out and sleep deprived… eventually. The video ended with

 

Before them, there was us.
After them, there’ll always be us.

 

Watching that video brought back a flood of memories when Sophie was a young babe. Days when hubby and I had to be a tag team and wake up to settle her when she stirred, is hungry or peed in her diaper and worse when she woke up and wanted to play. I remember wondering what we signed up for as parents and wished Sophie will quickly learn to sleep through the night so that we don’t look like pandas.

As much as I loved how hands-on my husband was, it was tough for us to find time or make time for romance. And getting in bed was all about sleeping, nothing else.

As a mum with a young kid then, I was guilty of neglecting my husband and his needs even.

I wanna hold your hand

While I expected Alexis to be understanding of how tired and drained I felt, it also dawned on me that I needed to put myself in his shoes and remember that I was first a wife before becoming a mum. Slowly, I learnt that I had to loosen my grip that was holding on tight to Sophie and started to hold Alexis’s hand more often.

It started off with putting Sophie at my parents or in laws place while we sneaked off for a meal, mostly dinner.

Then we started to go on longer dates on weekends. Maybe catching a movie, a meal or just spending time alone.

When Sophie was 2 years old, we even did what was unthinkable to many and traveled without her. At first, it was just nearby to Bangkok and then we went further to Korea and even to London for 10 days.

Now that Sophie is a lot older and can exert her opinion on our holidays, we’ve not taken a holiday without her for years and I think it’s about time we reclaimed that special time of ours where we have each other’s undivided attention.

Making time for each other

Meanwhile, let’s always make time for each other.

Lets’ go on dates, like how we used to and hold hands while we walk down the streets.

Let’s stay up late at night and open our hearts to one another where our conversation doesn’t just revolve around Sophie.

Let’s keep the romance alive and show tender loving care to each other’s needs.

Let’s appreciate each other through the daily acts of service that speaks volumes of love in action.

Let’s not wait till Sophie is older and don’t need us as much before we begin to pay attention to each other.

Let’s start to make time for what’s important to our relationship now.

READ ALSO: Dad and Mum in the picture

 

Other musings on relationship and marriage here

 

Enjoyed reading this post? Do like my Facebook page to get more relationship and marriage articles. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Susankoh) or Instagram (@ajugglingmom) for more family friendlytravel and parenting posts.

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Melaka with the family

March 27, 2018 Comments: 5

I ought to be more diligent with my family travel posts and finish up my half written posts on Melbourne and Japan from 2017 and 2016. There’s no better time to share about our first family trip to Melaka than now when the memories are all still fresh in my head.

For our 3D2N trip to Melaka, we took the coach from Sri Maju and spent 5 hours on the roads on a Friday. Thankfully the coach ride was very comfortable with lots of leg room and we even managed to catch some sleep on the way there.

Our first family trip to Melaka

Very comfortable seats with lots of leg room on Sri Maju coach

Doubletree by Hilton, Melaka

We stayed at the newly opened Doubletree by Hilton hotel and was pleasantly surprised to get upgraded to a junior suite. Perks of being a Hilton Honour member, but still what an unexpected blessing 🙂

The room was very big and Sophie was super delighted to have bubble bath in the bathtub every night. Location wise, the hotel next to the Elements shopping mall and roughly a 10 minute drive away from Jonker Street.

To get around, we rely on Grab which is pretty convenient and cheap. More details about our hotel stay in my upcoming post.

Jonker Street, Melaka

2 out of 3 days were spent in Jonker street and it’s really no surprise since our main agenda was to eat. On the first day, we went to the Jonker night market for dinner and on the second day we were there again for lunch.

These are some of my personal favourites which I discovered on this trip thanks to all my friends’ recommendations on Facebook.

Hello Melaka

Jonker 88

Famous for their chendol and amazing Laksa.

They have 3 varieties of Laksa, Baba Laksa, Nyoya Asam, and Baba Laksa Kahwin Nyoya Asam Laksa, which is a combination of both versions. I had the Nyoya Asam Laksa (RM10.50++) and was hit by the Tangy sourish and spicy broth of the laksa which was incredibly good. I liked that they were generous with their ingredients (eggs, prawns, taupok and fried beancurd) and the highlight was the fried beancurd that was deep fried to perfection.

The spiciness level was off the charts for me and I had to wipe my tears and nose while eating. I got Sophie to share her Nata De Coco ice in an attempt to put out the fire in my mouth but my honest opinion of the dessert is that it’s way too sweet and not worth the calories at all.

Perhaps you can try their chendol instead which I heard is very famous too.

Jonker 88

Address: 88, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Hours: 9:30am – 6pm (Sunday-Thursday) 9:30am – 9pm (Friday, Saturday)

Phone: +60 19-397 5665

 

The Daily Fix

This café has its’ share of fans and those who deem it overrated. But regardless of your opinion, you can’t go wrong with ice coffee in the middle of the day while taking a respite from the heat which is what we did.

Alexis very kindly waited in the queue and after a 20 minutes we got a table. Besides coffee, the café serves pandan pancakes (RM 13.80) which is highly raved about and an absolute must order from their menu.

We added a scoop of ice cream to the pancakes and when served with grated coconut with Gula Melaka on the side,  the combination was heavenly.

You know the pancakes must be exceptional when even Alexis who’s usually doesn’t not have a sweet tooth was recommending this to his friends. So this in my books is certainly worth the hype!

 

The Daily Fix

Address: 55, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Phone: +60 13-290 6855

Opening Hours: 9am – 11.30pm (Mon-Fri), 8.30am – 11.30pm (Sat-Sun)

https://www.facebook.com/thedailyfixcafe

 

East and West Rendezvous

We came to buy the nyoya dumpling as I recalled my friends buying them on my last trip and they were so good. The glutinous rice is soft with well marinated meat. Plus the blue pea dye makes it looks extra pretty too.

Since they also sell chendol, we thought we’ll have a bowl too since our first one on the 1st day at Christina Ee was such a let-down. I’m glad we did as their chendol was way better with richer coconut, gula meleka and finely shaved ice.

Sophie absolutely knackered out 😛

East and West Rendezvous

60, Lorong Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka

Restaurant Tong Sheng

Since Alexis and Sophie can’t take spicy food and don’t quite fancy Nyoya food, we opted for seafood dinner on our last night and went to Restaurant Tong Sheng for their out of this world cheese prawn bee hoon which many friends recommended. We reached the restaurant at 6:30pm on a Saturday evening and waited for a whole hour before we were seated.

6 ways to have your crabs at Restaurant Tong Sheng

6 ways to have your crabs! We went for their signature fresh milk crabs and enjoyed it a lot.

Besides cheese prawn bee hoon, we also ordered fresh milk crab and claypot beancurd. I personally thought that the crabs the best dish of all as it tasted better and was unique than the bee hoon.

The fresh milk crabs was milky, savoury and a little spicy with green chili and the size of crab was so huge! Instead of fried mantou, it was served with freshly toasted bread for dipping the sauce.

Fresh milk crab from Tong Sheng

Though the cheese bee hoon was not as cheesy as we expected, Sophie was huge fan of it and even had 3 bowls of it and even dipped the toast in it and slowly savoured it. But it’s undeniable that it is a very special dish which you don’t find in Singapore.

The bill came up to RM268 (S$89) and for such huge crabs, we thought it was pretty good value. I found out later that they take reservations, so it’s advisable to call in advance.

 

Restaurant Tong Sheng

Address: No. 377 & 378, Jalan Taman Melaka Raya 6, Taman Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka

Phone: 06 – 286 7811

Website: http://www.tongsheng.com.my/

Opening Hours: 5.30pm to 11pm. Closed on alternate Mondays.

 

 

Heading to Melaka soon? Here’s my review of the newly opened DoubleTree by Hilton, Melaka  as well as a list of activities that kids will enjoy in Melaka.

 

Don’t miss these popular posts on Johor Bahru too!

Fun things to do in JB

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