My X'Mas Presents...

Today is Noel Day - or so I am told, Noel means Christmas in french.. that is why we named Bao Xuan so, in line with the festivities.

Christmas has always been an exiting time for me.. Well, I agreed to marry hubby on Christmas Day some 5 years? ago.. and this year, Baby Xuan came around the Christmas period.. quite a nice present for us all..

We just had family X'mas dinner yesterday, an odd mix of food - sausages and baked potatoes, fried chicken, veg and confinement food of kidney and pork, hahaha... then there's the fruit cocktail which i can't have much of.. still it was a peaceful dinner with feeding both En and Momo bits and pieces of what we eat..

Then another of my Christmas presents arrived - Ling Jie - the confinement lady. She finally managed to catch a bus out of her flooded hometown in Malaysia, its really "Ling - jie to the Rescue", as we realise that even with 2 parents, and experienced and recent parents at that, me and hubby were struggling to manage Xuan through his first night of frequent poos and feeds!

When Ling Jie took over Baby Xuan, immediately he looked less scuffy, and much tidier and cuter.. Somehow, when we dressed him and cleaned him ourselves, he did not look as "Smart" as when Ling Jie does it.. well, gotta hand it to the Pros, they are not professional confinement aunties for nothing i guess...

Then of course, we get our usual X'mas gifts to be unwrapped from beneath the X'mas tree.. Hubby did manage to surprise me this year with the big red bauble.. I am impressed... although it is a replica nonetheless of one of Faberge's eggs (as if anyone can afford the real one, the last we saw the real thing years back were in the Arts Musuem where some precious prices and works of arts of Faberge were on display), it is not simply an ornamental jewelery, it really has that secret compartment which opens into something else..

It is intriguing enough to enthrall me, and fire my imagination, and i spent quite some time trying to open the secret compartment.. Well for those that do not know much about Faberge, some tidbits on him - he is the infamous artist who was commissioned by the Russian royalty to create jewellery pieces/ ornanments for the royal family. The Faberge eggs are renowned for the secret compartments that open to reveal another hidden surprise... many of his eggs open up into another egg or another compartment where another, or the real gift is hidden. And the interesting, titillating part - for me - at least - it was said that only the Czar/ the one who commissioned the work and Faberge, and of course the recipient, knew about the secret compartment and what is hidden in the secret compartment, the rest of those who worked on the pieces were apparently killed to preserve the secret.. interesting?! haha!