Kindergarden 101

One of the things which I find useful about my blog is the fact that it is like a personal forum :)

Today, I'm going to put the "forum" to use. I have a few questions for all parents who have sent their children to kindergarden. I was told that I had better register early (as early as one year before???), I have to choose the kindy carefully and a there is a host of other things to consider too, amongst them food, transport, safety aspects, teaching methods, teacher to student ratio etc etc (which gave me quite a scare.)

So, parents of children attending/who attended kindergarden, could you help me out here? Could you share with me......

1. When did you register? (ie how many months in advance?)
2. How old was your kid?
3. How did you choose the kindy?
4. What is your child's personality and how long did he/she take to settle down?
5. Are you happy with your choice?
6. Any horror/happy stories to share?
7. Questions regarding kindergarden school term. See below:

I just thought of some more questions after reading through some of the comments so I shall add it here.

• When does the kindergarden term start?
• Can one send one's child mid-term?
• Would the child which starts mid-term have more difficulty adjusting since the other kids and the teachers are already familiar with each other?

Please feel free (don't be shy) to leave a long comment as it will be very useful information to me and other parents who have yet to send their child to kindergarden. My list of questions is non-exhaustive. Do share anything else that comes to your mind that I haven't listed. Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

Or you can leave your link to your old blog post (like Elaine just did) on the subject. I will post it here for those of us which missed it. Thanks.

Related links:

Pre-School - Clumsy Wife, Careless Mum
Pre-School Experiences - Our Magic Tree
Pre-School Experiences - Happy Family
My Boy First Day In Nursery - MyBabybay.Com
Pre-School - II - Clumsy Wife, Careless Mum

My kids love to brush teeth!

"Mummy, I want to brush teeth" says my girl.
"Teeth. Teeth" says my boy pointing to the toothbrush.

When my girl was very young, she used to sit at the bathroom door and watch me brush my teeth. I would show her the toothpaste then tell her "toothpaste", "toothbrush", "mummy brush teeth" and she would laugh we she saw me brushing. Later on, I would use the same trick on my son, with the same results.. laughter.

As soon as she was able to, my girl wanted to brush teeth, especially since she saw that Elmo was doing it in the keyboard O-rama pc alphabet game under "T" for toothbrush and Barney had a nice song about brushing teeth. (Lyrics here) I let her stand on a stool so she could reach the sink and look into the mirror and we sang the song together or we would make funny faces and say "EEEEE" (to brush the outer teeth) or "AHHHHH" (to brush the inner teeth). She loved it. Now she has even mastered the art of throwing her head back (just like daddy) when she gargles. Hahaha.

She would also insist that I check her teeth after she brushes. "Mummy, check, check." she says as she passes her toothbrush to me to do the finishing touches. When I'm too lazy busy to check she would become very unhappy.

Now baby is following close in her footsteps. I think it makes him feel like a big boy to imitate us. I used to ask him to wait for his turn (as I was too lazy to handle two together in the bathroom) but then he would look so sad and forlorn at the bathroom door saying "teeth. teeth." so sadly. I have now incorporated their routine to allow them to do it together. So now he stands on his own stool beside his sister to eat/bite his toothbrush brush his teeth. And when he sees us gargle, he too would bend his head over the sink and pretend to spit. Lol!

Dunno why but my kids love to brush their teeth. I hope it stays that way and there never has to come a time when I have to shout at them to brush their teeth. Hehehe.

Cranial Detoxification Anyone?

Yesterday someone slipped a brochure for various spa treatments under my door. So naturally I took a peek before throwing it in the bin. I looked at the colourful pictures of the various massages being offered at ridiculously high prices.

Then I almost choked in my own laughter when I saw a picture of a person lying down with his ears being dugged by another. "Cranial Detoxification" it said beneath the picture. Ewww! Who on earth would want to pay to have their ears dugged? Siao!

Even the ENTs do not recommend that you dig your ears with Q-tips as it can push dirt further into your ear canal or even cause injury. In that picture, the person was holding a rather long looking thingy to dig out the ears of the person having the so called "Cranial Detoxification". Hmm.. what will people think of next?

He works hard for the money

"Good lah you. Your wife not working."

To me, this is an understatement. I wonder what people mean when they make such a statement? If I were Mr MG, I'd bash up the next chap who tells me that. (Just like the way I want to bash up the next person who tells me "Wah good lah you. No need to work.")

I read an interesting article the other day and can identify with it. The article is titled The Unsung Heroes : What about working dads?

Here are some excerpts from the article which I can identify with, especially the parts I put in bold.

"We are bombarded by stories about the struggles of working mothers (as opposed to non-working mothers, I suppose). ......... It seems that the only time fathers merit attention is when they are criticized for not helping enough with the housework (a claim that I find dubious anyway, because the definition of "housework" rarely includes cleaning the gutters, changing the oil in the car or other jobs typically done by men) or when they die.

......Our society acts as if family obligations are not as important to fathers as they are to mothers -- as if career satisfaction is what a man's life is all about.

Even more insulting is the recent media trend of regarding at-home wives as "status symbols" -- like an expensive car -- flaunted by the supposedly few men who can afford such a luxury. The implication is that men with at-home wives have it easier than those whose wives work outside the home because they have the "luxury" of a full-time housekeeper.

In reality, however, the men who are the sole wage earners for their families suffer many stresses. The loss of a job -- or even the threat of that happening -- is obviously much more difficult when that job is the sole source of income for a family. By the same token, sole wage earners have less flexibility when it comes to leaving unsatisfying careers because of the loss of income such a job change entails. In addition, many husbands work overtime or second jobs to make more needed money for their families. For these men, it is the family that the job supports that makes it all worthwhile.

.....Those fathers who strive to be good family men by being there every day to love and support their families -- those unsung heroes -- need our recognition and our thanks for all they do. Because they deserve it. "

I'm putting this article here on my blog to remind myself to be a supportive wife to my childrens' father. I do know that he faces a lot of stresses at work but nevertheless he has to plod on no matter what, for us, his family. So, the next time someone says this to Mr MG "Good lah you. Your wife not working." I will bash him up for Mr MG. Hehe.

Copycat

My Girl: Mummy, if you are angry, I will be angry too. If you are sad, I will be sad too. If you are happy, I will be happy too.

MG: Why? (Since she likes to ask me why, sometimes I throw the question back at her)

My Girl: Because I copy you. When baby say "kong kong". I say "kong kong". I copy him. Copy means I follow him.

MG: No need to copy me lah. (Aiyoyo! Finishlah. Now got somebody copy me when I am angry. Better watch it liao!)

My Girl: When you angry, I will be angry too. I copy you. That is the way. (It was so funny the way she said "That is the way" as if there was no other way and her face was so serious when she said it! )

MG: What is copy? (testing her further)

My Girl: Copy means when people do, other people will follow. (Hmm. Very good explanation. She really knows the meaning.)

Thats just another example of how we may inadvertently shape our children's emotional growth through our very own behaviour. Having children is really heavy responsibility indeed. Even when we're not aware of it (they're watching us), we are all the while shaping and guiding them, hopefully, to become responsible, well balanced adults. Oops! MG had better not throw anymore tantrums around the house. Hehehe.

Celebrations!

MG: Dahling, we have so many things to look forward to every week. End of this week got Labour Day long weekend, the following week is Wesak Day long weekend and mother's day too, the week after that is our girl's birthday and the week following that is our wedding anniversary.

Mr MG: We are not celebrating Mother's Day!

LOL! Hahahaha. Men! Hehehe. Okay, I exagerate a little bit lah. To be fair to hubby, he did join in the fun to discuss how we would celebrate all the rest of the events.

To me, its okay if we don't celebrate in a big way. Days like birthdays and anniveraries are just days to be happy about. Nevermind if we don't go out to celebrate or do anything special or get gifts for each other but I would mind if hubby totally forgets about it lah. Those days are worth remembering and reminiscing. Its nice to just look back and talk about those happy times together.

As for Mother's Day, it seems to be the trend nowadays for husbands to get something for their wives on behalf of the children if they are still young. Mmmmm... neccesary meh? Perhaps its a nice gesture on the husband's part but I think we'll leave Mother's Day to be celebrated by the kids when they are older and able to understand the significance.

As for Father's Day, when the kids are older, as a mother, I would probably want to turn it into an event to help the kids to celebrate for their father ie help them make cards, choose gifts etc. It will be such fun. Part of the fun of celebrations is thinking about the person and what you can do for them, choosing gifts for them and planning how to make them feel extra special.

To me, giving is as much fun if not more fun than receiving.

Fun ‘n Go Tag

The reason why I'm doing this tag?
Because.... someone "forced" me to do it tagged me with this line:

Mumsgather (loud and clear, don’t pretend you didn’t see this)

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
The abnormally high equity premium since 1926 is certainly not sustainable. (The hubby's book lah!)

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
PC Speaker (My desk is clean today. Whoopee!)

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Formula 1 results (No time to watch the whole thing mah!)

4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
1pm (lunchtime! I feel rumbly in my tummy!)

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
1.25pm (lunchtime! *rumble rumble rumble* Think I'll stop here to makan.)

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Clickety, clackety sound of baby playing with blocks plus sound of my girl singing and opening drawers containing her toys

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Last evening. Went out to "ta pau" dinner and let the kids enjoy some kiddy rides while waiting

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
My own blog. MSN conversation window screen (chatting with second sis while blogging)

9. What are you wearing?
Exercise gear. Cycling shorts and T-shirt. (Just finished exercising to make up for pigging out during the weekend)

10. Did you dream last night?
Yeah. Dreamt I was sitting for an exam, someone stole my chair in the exam hall and I couldn't complete the questions on time! (Any dream interpreters out there?)

11. When did you last laugh?
A while ago, listening to both the kids pretending to "read" each in their own style and just a moment ago listening to my girl trying to teach baby how to say "banana" (the kids always make me laugh one moment and shout the next like mad woman like dat)

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Framed up certificates (Kiasuism. No lah, Seriously they make a nice decoration/give a nice look to the study room)

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Nope! (Luckily)

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Easy reading.

15. What is the last film you saw?
Can't remember. Too long ago. However if home videos were to be counted, it would be Disney's "Dumbo" (My repertoir of films are mostly limited to kids videos these days)

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Security. (ie. child education policies, share investments etc before luxury items)

17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
I love to sleep ;) (Or perhaps you knew that already?)

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Reduce proverty and be rid everyone of illness (Whoops! Supposed to be only one thing but theres just too many things that need change)

19. Do you like to dance?
Of course!

20. George Bush.
Man-o-war

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
My first child is a girl! (So no need to imagine)

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
My first child is a girl so cannot answer this as well. (Hehe.)

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Not sure as haven't really thought about it but if I did, I'd miss the people, the weather and the food for sure.

24.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
"Welcome, my child"

25. Five (5) people who must also do this meme in their journal.

5xMom
Yvy
Magictree
Mama Bok
Lydia Teh

P.S. To the 5 people I tagged, if you have been tagged before this, it just goes to show more than one person thought of you :)

New Sleeping Positions

In order to combat new bedtime battles, we now have new sleeping positions. :)

My girl is happy as long as she gets to sleep with her head near me. She likes to sleep horizontally on the bed with her head next to me so I would place a pillow/bolster next to my waist for her to rest her head. This creates a small space at the top on her side of the bed (beside me as well) for baby.

Baby still insists on sleeping on his sister's side of the bed so we let him be. That way he plays happily on his own until he falls asleep contented.

I can identify 3 stages of sleepiness for baby:

1. Stage 1: Not very sleepy - He likes to come near us and play with our faces.
2. Stage 2: A bit sleepy - He likes to play with his little toy car, holding it in his little hands and rolling it over the pillows.
3. Stage 3: Sleepy - He likes to do his tumbles, twists and turns ie he rolls about practically 360 degrees until he falls asleep quite suddenly.

When he is at Stage 1, his sister would sometimes push him away if he disturbs her too much. At Stage 2 and 3, he is in a world of his own, playing and rolling till he sleeps while I tell bedtime stories and chat with his sister.

So far this new sleeping position is turning out well. Even my girl is amused at her little brother's antics. "Mummy, why he sleep here, there and there then fall asleep already?" she asks. "Shhhh. I tell her." as I gently put him back on his side of the bed. After that we sometimes chat a little or I fall asleep, or I tell her "Mummy wants to go and make some supper for daddy" to which she would say "Ok." and ask for a kiss and tell me to leave the door open. :)

I just love to watch the little ones sleep. They sometimes need to tumble about to release some pent out energy, I suppose. The fact that baby is now falling asleep on his own is also a good step towards my weaning which is going very, very slooooowly. At least now baby no longer needs the breast to fall asleep. ("Don't breastfeed baby to sleep or they won't learn to sleep on their own" says some parenting gurus. Nyek! Nyek! Who says so???!!!)

He is also starting to take some formula now (about 3 ounces) before bedtime though he still rejects it the rest of the day. I will do the weaning slowly as I have no heart to do what my sil did ie cold turkey. She says that when she weaned baby at 9 months, she did it abrubtly and he cried till he vomitted for a week and after that was completely weaned. Oops! Don't think I will be able to do go through that! So slow and steady it is for us.

Brand New Tooth

After 4 visits to the dentist and a big painful dent in the pocket, I've finally got a brand new molar!

The 4 visits:

1. To clean out the roots
2. To put in the filling and allow it to set
3. To put in two screws/posts into the filling and take a mold of the tooth
4. To put in the new crown

Tadaaa! And so.. that was how I got my new tooth. So now I've got 9 crowns altogether! My crowning glory is not on my head, its in my mouth. I've got a fairly expensive smile! Hehehe.

Many years ago, I had the other 8 crowns fixed for my upper teeth to replace my awful discoloured teeth. Yup! They were awful. Looks like some of those smoker's teeth, not just in one colour but in various shades of yellow, brown and black. You get the drift? (through no fault of my own , mind you? I brush! I was told it was due to some antibiotics mum took when expecting me).

And so I went to get them fixed. Like in extreme makeover like dat and although it was expensive, I'm glad I did. Otherwise I would have been a sullen, unsmiling bride in my bridal photographs or I would have to smile a strange twist of a smile that would not show much teeth like I did in the old days.

During my recent visit, my dentist asked whether I would like to have my lower teeth fixed. She says nowadays they have a new technology to get it done. They will merely do veneers over the teeth instead of crowns like in the old days. Its supposed to be cheaper too. Chey! And to think of all the pain I went through having my teeth drilled and shorn off and having my gums cut and sewn all for the sake of beauty. (*kicks self*)

Anyway, I digress. She told me she has done a few and showed me some before and after pics. Fuiyoh! Cool man. The change in their faces with a lighted up smile really makes a difference. The veneers not only fixes discoloured teeth but it straightens them out as well turning awkward shapes and gaps into flashing smiles.

But RM500 per tooth (thats how much it'll cost) is really way too much lah! (she figured I would need to get 8 done and the process would take 3 hours unlike the many visits I had to endure fixing the 8 crowns years ago). So unless I strike lottery and have 3 hours to spare on a lazy afternoon (which is never), I'll settle with my half smile (that don't show my lower teeth), thank you very much!

More tooth stories can be found here:

Toothache
I hate dentists - Part I
I hate dentists - Part II
Wherever we go

Fellow bloggers unite

A little girl needs her mother to wake up from a coma.

Fellow blogger Scb is in a coma since Sat, 8 April 2006. I do not know her personally nor have I met her. All I know is that through some of the "gila-gila" posts she publishes, if you look further beyond that, you will see a mother who loves her little girl dearly. It eats at my heartstrings to know that the little girl may be in a confusing place right now.

I won't post a third party account of what happened to her. Please read the following blogs for updates on her condition.

Rojaks
Nine3Nine3
Jomel

Perhaps some of you who happen to read my blog do not happen to read hers as well hence the reason for this post. I hope that you will join me and others to go to Scb's blog to give her a wake-up call or simply just pray for her whatever your faith may be. Maybe a miracle can happen through the joint power of prayers in numbers.

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Latest updates can be found here:

Please continue to pray
A moment of prayer/Joint prayer for Scb - Lunchtime/1pm (Asian time) April 19,2006
Spare your voice for Scb campaign - Record your voices/talk to scb. It will be compiled into a cd and played for her to listen. Click on the link or picture link for more info. Or step by step instructions can be found here.






A very good idea of what to say to scb from 5xmom taken from the comments she left at Lin Peh's blog. Another thing, I think its a good idea for someone to read the comments on her blog to her, either through recording if possible or printed and read out to her by someone who's going to visit. Can anyone do that?

5xmom ~chanlilian.net~ said...
The most frustrating thing happened. I sat through two hours, sieving through SCB's old blog post, compiled them and wanted to post. It disappeared! Actually, I wanted to suggest we read her old postings for her to listen. Rather than everyone making some similar recording. You know...if she can listen back to all her hope, her love for her baby and things like that, it will be very much encouraging. But arrgggh..my two hours work disappeared! So, I am going to record a sample of it later when my kids and lou kong have gone to sleep. Then, people will get an idea what I am talking about.
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For more updates on scb's condition go here:

Dianne's blog

Also got this latest update which I copy and paste from Rojaks blog.

Sms from Jomel : "I just left the Hospital, she looks better today.Breathing more comfortably, not struggling, twice eyes open slightly look at me.I asked her to blink if she can see me, her eyelids moved abit .... There is hope."

Jomel has just updated her blog with the most hopeful news. Do read:

Hope Hopper Hoppest

For future updates, please visit the blog specially created for Scb, link provided below:

For Siao Cha Bor

Almost Two!

For the record, baby who is turning two this Friday, has the following new developmental milestones. Baby can now...

• hold mini conversations/order me about - "Marmee...book" (Points to the book to ask me to read, because his father who was lazy to read to him asked him to "ask mummy" Hrrmmph) followed by "Marmeee... sit" (Points to the empty space beside him as he settles himself nicely beside his lazy dad who was busy reading his own comic. Hrrmmph).
• Oh! And I just discovered he's learned another new word. (He just came to me saying "spoil spoil" then showed me his toy car with the tyres coming off a little). He is learning more and more new words by the day and can easily repeat words after us now.
• hit his sister back. Previously their fights were always one-sided with his sister pushing him, hitting him etc. Well, he has now discovered how to hit back! Hmmm.... kesian me! (thinking of all the fights I have to be referee to)

We're not doing anything special for his birthday. Mr MG is unable to take the day off so we have to wait till he gets back first. Hmm... now, how shall I make his day special? Still have a few more days to think about it. We got him a new T-shirt to wear on the day. As for the present, we got a soft toy dog and a book for him. I also ordered a cake with elmo's face on it. Mr MG says thats very good already cos he never celebrated any birthdays before till he met me. Oh I do hope baby likes his new toy and cake.

New Bedtime Battles

Baby has a new habit at bedtime. Previously I slept in the middle in between the kids but the whole of last week baby insists on sleeping in the middle beside his sister. Sometimes he likes to lie there happily till he falls asleep. Sometimes he disturbs his sister by playing with her face.

When I try to put him back on his side of the bed, he bawls. When I put him in the middle, his sister pushes him and then she starts crying. Haiyah! So susah! Nighttime also want to fight, those two!

So lets see, I put him on my left, he cries. I put him on my right, she cries. I move over to the other side so they are both on my left, this makes him get up and walk about! Aiyoh!

At this point of writing, I still have not resolved this new bedtime battle. How ah?

Too Many Toys

I love to eat dumplings but Mr MG says we should eat them only once a year during the dumpling festival. "The special meaning of eating certain foods at certain times of the year during each festival is lost if you eat them daily." he says. And so we eat barbequed pork only during Chinese New Year, mooncake only during lantern festival etc.

Speaking of festivals, once my sister said to me "Buying clothes during Chinese New Year is no longer a thrill to the kids because they get new clothes all year round."

On that same principal, we went shopping for baby's birthday present and were at a loss as to what to buy. We have been indulging the kids with too many toys so much so that we found it difficult to get them something special for their birthdays! We find so much pleasure in buying toys for them, you see. We love to shop for the toys imagining the look of delight on their faces when they get it, thinking "Hmm. He/She will really like this!" We derive so much pleasure ourselves in seeing their happiness. Besides, they do learn from play. (So says a guilty mum!)

Ok. Time to chant a new mantra. "We shall not buy new toys. We shall not buy new toys."

More funnies heard around the house

Bye bye!

At the end of the wiggles video tape show......

My Girl: Bye bye!. (Waves to the TV set) See you next time when we on again.

(When I asked her later, she said see the wiggles next time when we switch on the video tape again)

The Princess and the Pea

My girl "reading" the Princess and the Pea...

"And the queen said, nevermind, I'll find you another bed with no peas in it."

(The story never went like that of course. In the actual story, the queen merely went to check to see if the princess slept well or badly on the bed with the pea underneath to find out if she was a real princess. She never offered the girl another bed. Lol!)

I'm busy!

MG: Why is the playpen so messy. Who pulled it out of shape like that.
My Girl: Mummy, I'm very busy. I got so many things to do. I wanted to take the alphabets but you never see. I'm very busy. I got many things to do. So I pull out the playpen to take the alphabets.

(Oops! Actually I was the one busy in the kitchen and didn't pause to help her take what she wanted, and so, she helped herself!)

New Game

My Girl: Mummy, give me the balloon stick. I want to base the ball.
My Girl: Come, baby.. Base the ball with the stick, then the ball will go away.
Baby: Base! Base! (Shouting excitedly)

The kids were busy having a jolly good time hitting a balloon with the stick meant to hold it up. My girl says they're playing baseball ie "base the ball" Lol!

Reading

My Girl loves to pretend to read. She would open a book, point to the words on the pages and "read" in reading tone of voice which sounds different from when she is talking.

I overheard this. This is halfway through the story she was "reading". I missed out the earlier part. Wish I got the rest or the whole thing recorded. Since I don't have a recorder, I had to type as she "read". This is how her story went...

This is mine. He asks. This is mine. Lent me your book first. See how you correct first. On the day he was a very sorry day. He will just listen and he will still not listen. Everyday there was a missing day. In the day, baby was so excited he ran away. Everyday theres this book and I like to play. And baby say "I like to play this book" and I say "this is my book" but baby says "no, no, I am busy looking at your book. Go and choose one book you like" so I say "ok!" but after that I didn't listen but I go and take the book but after that baby knock my head. (Baby was at that moment really knocking her head with something.) But I say "give back to me give back to me" but baby did not listen.

Hahaha. I just love to eavesdrop on them.

Obviously her arch enemy is her little brother although they're often the best of friends too!

Rant of a SAHM

When you're a SAHM, living on one income, with no money of your own..... (this does not apply to those who have money but rather to average income earners who need to save for their children's future)

• you look at that lovely pair of earrings costing around RM80 but can't/don't buy it and dream about it for months afterwards
• you want to eat out for a change because you're so tired of feeding the kids and yourself the same meal in the house day in and day out but eating out is sooooo expensive, you feel guilty no matter how much you want to and so you eat in and grumble. The only way you're going to taste new food is if you were hardworking enough to make it yourself but then you don't have the time to because you're always busy with the kids
• you carry the same old boring black handbag/shoe (to match with everything or anything that you wear) and pass on all the colourful, exciting handbags you can only ogle at (besides why would you need to change handbags so often when you hardly go out anyway?)
• you lose 15 pounds with sheer hardwork of dieting and exercise and want to reward yourself with a lovely outfit for your new smaller frame but..... "no money no talk"
• you buy cheap make-up because a branded lipstick costs the same or even more than your whole set of make-up with brushes included!

Oh and this is the ultimate. Hear this. Hear this. Nothing related to this post about expenses but you know you have truly evolved into a SAHM when you wear your best and put on make-up to go to the pasar malam because you're so tired of seeing your own tired, worn out face wearing old t-shirts and oversized shorts at home that even a trip to the pasar malam becomes an outing/event! Somebody help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. Time to get back to work as a SAHM. (*strutting off in my old t-shirt and oversized shorts*). Hope I haven't discouraged any working moms who has been thinking of quitting to look after the kids. Hahaha!

Poop!

I wonder why .... babies always choose to poop or poo or pansai or have a bowel movement or whatever else you want to call it....

• just before leaving the house especially when you're in a hurry
• just after leaving the house for an outing
• right after a bath and a change into nice clean clothes
• when you're out of the house and can't find a place to change them
• in the car
• just when you sit down for a drink or meal
• when you're busy doing something else

I suppose the reason must be because babies poo all the time. Haha. Especially newborns! I remember my girl would poo right before, during and after a breastfeed when she was a newborn. Aiyoh! So tiring. I soon learned to ignore it and changed her only after a feed.

We always tell them... "You all think your daddy print money ah? One diaper costs xxx cents."

What we did today

Today, we painted birthday cakes, one for baby and one for my girl. We drew one cake with two candles on it for baby and another cake with four candles on it for my girl. Then we painted and decorated the cake with paints.

Its to remind them that their birthday's are coming soon. My Boy's birthday is on 21st April and my girl's on 21st May. Same day ie 21st but one month after the other.

Its that time of the year again for celebrations.

April - Baby's birthday (who can hardly be called baby now since he's turning 2)
May - My Girl's birthday, Mother's Day & our wedding anniversary
June - MG's birthday and Father's Day

Mr MG says, "Why don't we celebrate them altogether on the same day?" Chey! Men!

The funny things they do

Example 1

MG: Go and close that drawer. Don't leave it open like that. Afterwards you knock your head then only you know.

I was speaking to my girl, when suddenly baby walked over to me and started knocking his head against mine. Hahaha!

Example 2

I was grumbling to myself when baby left his milk untouched again when....

My Girl: Mummy? What is "Tsk!"
MG: ------- Mummy said "Tsk!" because baby never drink his milk. (As usual I couldn't think of a logical explanation)

Then I went to the kitchen to wash the bottles and overheard this...

My Girl: Baby, Come. Don't care about mummy. Mummy naughty. (Then she put her arm around her little brother) - Adoi! Can pakat against mummy already.

Example 3

My Girl: Go away! You naughty! Don't look at me. Go away! (shouting loudly in the kitchen)
MG: Who are you shouting at?
My Girl: The light. (For some reason, the spotlights in the house scares her. Perhaps in her imagination they look like large, fiery, monster eyes staring at her.)

Excuses. Excuses..

My Girl has learned the art of giving an excuse!

MG: What happened here. Whats all this? (Upon discovering a page of a book torn into many small pieces).
My Girl: Maybe I tear......... (Haha. Quite honest here)

Later.........

My Girl: Mummy, I not naughty. It was an accident only. (Trying out the art of giving an excuse)
MG: No, it was not an accident. You tore the book on purpose.
My Girl: Mummy, whats "accident"? (Haha. So sweetly innocent!)
MG: Well, an accident means when something happens accidentally, not on purpose or when you don't mean it. For example, if you accidentally drop the book and the page is torn because of that, it is an accident. (I paused, wondering if that explanation was too deep for her. Haiyah! How to explain leh?)
My Girl: Mummy, my hands got no space and the book heavy so it drop. That is an accident. (Looking at her hands which was holding some toy)

Wowee! Sometimes she surprises me. She really understood my explanation after all. That teaches me never to underestimate the little ones and their logical thinking. Later at night, I made up a story about a giraffe (her current craze) with her name and incorporated the word "accident" into the story with many examples. She even joined in the story (She could identify with it since the giraffe's family had our names. Haha.) by saying "Then the giraffe's mummy say don't jump on the chair or you might fall down." (And have an accident. Something I tell her a lot, I suppose. Yes, I think she has learned another new word today.)

I decided there and then to tell her made-up stories each time she asks me a meaning of a new word. That ought to help her learn faster and have fun at the same time.

Afterall, opportunities to learn (and teach) are around us all the time and learning should be fun.

Your daddy loves you

My little ones, do you know how much your daddy loves you?

Your daddy is a strict man, a man with good morals and principals in life, a man with high standards for himself as well as for others. He belongs to the old class, your daddy. I suspect that is because its the way he was brought up.

But you know what? He absolutely dotes on you! Oh how he adores you! And he's been very involved with both of you, right from the beginning. As soon as you were conceived, he started reading everything there is to know about breastfeeding and birthing, printing articles out and highlighting it for mummy to read!

And this is all the more amazing because he was brought up in a very different manner. I don't think he ever received the kind of affection he is showering upon you. I believe he tries so hard in all his endevours because he never received the kind of encouragement from his own family.

And because of the way he is, I worry that one day, when you're older, you may have disagreements with him/rebel against him when he tries to steer you in the right path with his old school ways. Well, then mummy will take out this letter to show to you. This was written when you are almost 2 and almost 4 years old.

Daddy always has ready hugs and kisses for both of you though you both sometimes reject him in favour of mummy. Poor daddy!

Daddy misses you two so very much when he goes to work. He'd ask mummy how you are doing throughout the day when he gets the chance. And every morning, before he goes to work, he'd make a little recording of his own voice on your little message bear specially for both of you. And the message goes something like this....

"Today is Wednesday. Daddy has gone to work. Remember to be a good girl and good boy and take care of mummy. Daddy will be home soon in the evening. Sayang. Sayang."

And you both love it! Your eyes would light up and you would smile big smiles and ask me questions about why daddy has gone to work etc etc.

Baby Can Count!

Thanks to his sister's love for numbers, I discovered that baby can count! From 1 - 10! (Or more likely, he just memorised the numbers like in a nursery rhyme. Hehe.)

I was feeding my girl one day last week and we were counting the numbers of mouthfuls taken when baby chipped in! And so we went........

MG & Girl: One
Baby: Tooo
MG & Girl: Three
Baby: Fohh
MG & Girl: Five
Baby: Sixx

He can also do "Tee" (3), "Fighh" (5) and "Tenn" (10)!

His language development has grown by leaps and bounds overnight! And he sometimes calls "Marmeee" (mummy) now, which of course is the best music for my ears. Hehe.

Errmm.. did a post about his sister so to be fair to baby, must have a post about him too :P

VCR Rosak (Out of Order)

Our VCR is rosak. (Yes, we still have one of those.) Its used mainly to play hand-me-down cartoons and shows in VCR format for the kids. But one day, the tape could not be ejected.

And so, during the weekend, Mr MG took it apart to find out the problem.

My Girl: What is daddy doing?
MG: Daddy is repairing the player
My Girl: Why is it spoilt?
MG: Because it is spoilt (Terrible answer but my thick head just couldn't think of anything else at the time)
My Girl: The other day, I wanted Tweety Bird but Baby Bear would not come out.
MG: Yes, that is why daddy has to repair it.
My Girl: Why is it spoilt?
MG: Things get spoilt sometimes (Still feeling thick headed)
My Girl: Maybe its spoilt because we didn't take care of it.
MG: Yah. Yah. Thats why I always tell y'all not to simply press press everywhere (Wishing I had thought of that answer instead but jumping in nevertheless to use it to full advantage)

Finally, Mr MG took it apart and discovered a piece of jigsaw stuck in the mechanism.

MG: Thats why its spoilt! Who is the naughty one who pushed the jigsaw in there?
My Girl: Maybe its me or baby (Ok. At least she didn't blame baby this time)
MG: Thats why we must take care of our things. Otherwise it will be spoilt then baby bear cannot come out and you cannot see tweety bird! (MG jumping in again to use the situation to teach the kids to be more careful. Hehehe.)

She Took Away My Husband

Recently I received an email forward from a girlfriend. Its sent by a SAHM, happily married for 10 years with two girls aged 8 and 5 and now 5 months pregnant with a baby boy whose husband is having an affair with a girl half his age and she just found out. Aarrghh! Another man with his brains in his pants! Somewhere in the email she mentioned that she would stay because of the children. It got me thinking..... I wonder what I would do if unfortunate enough to be in that situation.

Being a SAHM and financially dependant on the man of the house, makes this a rather scary thought. I suppose that if the affair is out in the open and the man is genuinely remorseful and ends it, the marriage could be given another chance and saved. Otherwise, its bye bye, adios, sayonara! Even without money, a job, there is no way that I would stay in a situation like that.

No matter how hard it would be, it would be bad for anyone's self esteem to stay "for the children". In fact, staying would eventually be bad for the children. It would be hard to rebuild a new life but its got to be done. However in that woman's case, she'd probably have to wait till her child is born first before deciding on the next step. My heart goes out to her, whoever she is.

MG says: Trust your man but don't trust too blindly. It is too easy to cheat on your partner. (It is a lot harder to stay faithful). We are surrounded by temptation all the time. All it takes is a moment of weakness, a step towards the wrong direction and a family (if you have children) is ruined. Once you take a step into the wrong direction, it would be very difficult to extricate yourself indeed and you'd have to lie and lies are built on further lies until it becomes easier and easier to lie. And before you know it, you're in too deep and your marriage is at stake. In life, you will always come across people better and more attractive than your partner in looks or character. True commitment is not crossing that line to seek out whats missing from your relationship for a single relationship cannot meet all of your needs.

The Loud Booming Mommy's Voice

We had just arrived at the mall to do some shopping. The kids were running encouraged by Mr MG "Run, run. At the mall, no carry, carry, walk yourself." And so he ran on ahead, chased by the kids and they urged me to run after them. I tagged along behind, smiling and happy and then I heard this loud booming mommy's voice saying "DON'T RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE LAH!" as I passed by this harrassed looking mommy grabbing her son a little too roughly. With my blogger's mind, I told myself that I won't do the same thing. I shall let the kids enjoy themselves and I shall too!

And so, we walked/ran on to the pharmacy, the book shop, the department store. The kids got wilder happier. As they ran down the glassware section of the department store, I heard this loud booming mommy's voice saying "C'MON, STOP RUNNING ALL OVER THE PLACE!" Only, this time the voice was my own! And if any passer by happened to see my face at that moment, they would have seen the same pained expression worn by the other mommy I saw about an hour ago. Hahahaha!

Oh well, kids will be kids and moms will be moms. Thats the order of things. And looks like Mdm Hyde has come out to play again :P