Monthly Archive for February, 2007

FREE Extended Protection Warranty!

I read this article today & think it can really help everybody save a good chunk of money when buying expensive electronics.

When you make your big purchase with a credit card, you are automatically getting up to an additional year of warranty coverage. Depending on the card, it could mean free repairs or even replacement or full refund!

Therefore, depending on the situation & the card you use, buying an extended warranty at BestBuy or Circuit City may not be a smart thing to do.

“Extended Warranty is a special benefit offered to Citi™ Platinum and Gold MasterCard® Cardmembers. This service enables you to make a claim for repairs if the original manufacturer’s warranty has expired on an item you purchased on your MasterCard card. Your claim must be made within the Citibank® Extended Warranty period (double the time of the manufacturer’s warranty, up to one additional year). No registration is necessary.”

And if you have an American Express card, that extra coverage will even give you a replacement or full refund (including tax).

So I guess it’s worth the effort in reading the fine prints of your credit card policies after all.

original article 

I’m Free!!!!

The Brooklyn NY Stake has finally decided to release me from my calling as Stake Young Women’s Counselor after 5 1/2 years. No more Youth Conferences, Stake Auxiliary Trainings, Super Saturdays, or monthly meetings. I hate to admit that I’m breathing a sigh of relief. I’ve worked with 3 different presidencies and everyone was released but me. I wondered what it was that I was doing that God wanted me to stay. I don’t think I did that great of a job. I hardly ever visited the wards I was in charge of. But that was because I knew that they were doing a spectacular job (and I was TOO lazy to travel there). Well I think it’s time for a break. I’ve got a newborn baby that I’m still getting used to and I think I may be needed elsewhere. Who knows what God has in store for me.

Anyway, Kaitlyn has been sleeping wonderfully the last few nights, although she kept us up until 1 AM. She hasn’t been sleeping too well during the day, like she’d wake up after about 15-30 minutes after we put her down. But yesterday, she had tons of visitors and she pretty much slept the whole time they were here. Ether kept trying to wake her up but she wouldn’t budge. It was like she was under a spell. She finally decided to wake up and drive us nuts when they all left. =/

Around 11 PM last night, Ether put her in her crib to go to sleep but she was so fussy. It sounded like fake crying & we knew that she just wanted to be held cuz she already ate and was changed. He stayed next to her and talked to her, but didn’t pick her up. She kept crying and he would put the paci in her mouth but she would spit it out and cry louder. After this struggle for about 30 minutes, she finally gave up and fell asleep with the paci in her mouth. She didn’t wake up until like 1 and after that feeding, she didn’t wake up for another 3 hours. So we got some sleep last night! We didn’t even have to put on the white noise. She was relatively easy to take care of last night. We hope that she will continue to do this every night. (wishful thinking)

Random Thoughts & Pix

So much to do, so little time… Time flies by so quickly.. Just yesterday my little baby was inside me, kicking me and hiccuping every night. Now she’s almost 3 weeks old. I’ve been feeling a whole lot better lately. Of course I’m still sleep-deprived, but I’m surviving. I don’t feel as scared around her, especially when she cries. She cries mostly when she is hungry or tired. It’s hard to get any sleep during the day. And the neighbors upstairs are so inconsiderate. They walk like elephants at all times during the day and night. They’re constantly moving things around on the floor and stomping back and forth. It’s so annoying. One time they were doing that until 5 AM. I think I’ll have to go upstairs and complain if they do that again. I’m going to bring Kaitlyn with me to make them feel more guilty. =D

Over the last week, Kaitlyn has sorta had a stuffy nose. One night she was so uncomfortable she would wake up every few minutes cause she couldn’t breathe and she’d snort. So I took a Q-tip and tried to remove the snot. And a BIG LONG booger came out of one nostril. She was so happy after that. She didn’t even cry when I tried to get the other booger out of the other nostril (I was unsuccessful with that one). Last night was a different story. She was crying the whole time but at least I got both boogers out of both nostrils. Here is a picture (hahahaha):

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pretty long, huh? =D

Also, the Yau family came to visit us on Monday. Here is a pic of our babies & their daddies together:

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Darion may be Kaitlyn’s potential boyfriend. He’s 1 1/2 months older than her.

This is a pic of my dad, Snow (our dog) and Kaitlyn all sleeping:

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They were all so tired.

How does Ether feed Kaitlyn? (video) / Happy Chinese New Year!

How does Ether wake up Kaitlyn? (video)

Kaitlyn’s 1st Doctor’s Appointment

About Kaitlyn:

Kaitlyn is 2 weeks old today. Time has flown by pretty fast. I still can’t believe that she came out of me – it happened so fast and so easily. I guess we’re starting to get used to each other now. I still have the occasional stresses here and there but it’s all good. So we took her to her first doctor’s appointment today. She is now 7 lb 2 oz. She’s gained almost 1 lb. I guess it’s all because of the formula we’ve been feeding her. I’m just glad she’s healthy. She was pretty good today. We forgot to bring formula with us to the doctor and we waited quite a while to be seen. So towards the end of the appointment, she was starting to fuss and cry a bit. But I guess the car ride was so comforting that she was able to wait until we got home to really cry. *whew* =D Her next appointment is in 2 weeks, where she will get her 2nd shot for Hep B. I’m a little nervous about how she’s going to respond.

About Mel (and Kaitlyn):

Different opinions from different doctors: Dr. Chou took a look at my skin and said that they weren’t hives & most likely not caused by food allergy. He said that it is caused by a contact germ – it could be the clothes/detergent, lotion or soap I use. The weird thing is that I haven’t used anything different/new. He told me to see a dermatologist and find out what I may be allergic to. I’m predicting that my skin is just more sensitive now than it was before I had her. He prescribed me an ointment (luckily I already have some at home from a previous doctor) and said that I could stop taking Benadryl, so tomorrow I could start breastfeeding her again. But I think I’m just going to pump and give her that. I don’t want to confuse her. She’s been doing so well with the bottle lately. I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’ll try to feed her first, but if she doesn’t seem to want it, then I’ll give it to her from a bottle.

My body is really taking on lots of changes. I think that’s what has caused the rash in the first place. Hormones and stress. Occasional mood swings. Having a big belly to a flat belly now. I miss rubbing it and feeling her move & kick. I weigh like 5 lb less than I weighed before pregnancy.

My parents have been so great. I really appreciate their help. I’m going to have lots to do the next few weeks. And Ether has been such a great help as well. He’s really good with her. He’s a great dad. =) I don’t know what I would do if he were home a lot less. Thank goodness his schedule allows him to be home more often than last semester.

Here are some pix of her taken in the last 2 days. She just loves to put her hands by her face when she sleeps. =)

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New Pix

These are pix we’ve taken in the last couple of days:

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She’s got humongous bug eyes, doesn’t she? hehe.. just like Ether when he was a baby.