Bed Wetting Troubles

Patience. Patience. Cool It. Do not lose it. Do not go beserk. This is what I have to tell myself each time my girl wets the bed. And yet........ I go beserk most of the time. I can't help it! There's just too much cleaning up to do. Lets see. Theres....

• my girl who needs to be washed up
• her clothing
• the duvet
• the duvet cover
• the bedsheet
• the mattress protector
• another thicker mattress something (dunno what its called) from ikea
• and the actual mattress itself

All soaked through! How not to go beserk??!!

I try to put some protector underneath the bedsheet but somehow she always misses it.

I'm yet to take her off the diaper at night hoping that she will clear the naptime hurdle before I do. Hubby says thats being inconsistent and I should do it all at once but I just cannot imagine getting up in the middle of the night to clean all of the above. Earlier on, I tried taking her off the daytime nap diaper before but she wet the bed consistently everyday and so I put her back on the diaper. I did that twice I think. Off diaper then on again.

Later on when she stayed dry for a while then I started again. Still there are accidents, even when I take her to pee just before napping and if I'm beside her I would remind her to stop herself as soon as she awakens. The only trouble is sometimes she pees while she is still asleep, its what wakes her up and by that time its too late. Everything is soaked.

I read that bedwetting is common for children till around age 5. Thats a consolation to read. I was beggining to feel like such a failure, like maybe I've been handling it all wrong and I really don't want to make her feel bad because I know its not her fault when she can't control it. I guess theres no other way accept to bear with it for a while longer and try, try, try not to get so upset over it.

Simple Pleasures of Life

I got tagged by King's wife and Yvy to do this meme. Yvy said "wah!!!! how sweet n nice. then this tag must be VERY appropriate. " Haha. She probably expected a mushy mushy post from me. Sorry Yvy. No mushyness and since this will only take me about 5 minutes to do, here it is.

Name 10 of Life’s Simple Pleasures, and tag 10 other poor sods to recall theirs. The catch: Try to be original and not use things that others have already mentioned.

My 10 simple pleasures in life are.......

1. To sleep uninterrupted
2. To eat uninterrupted
3. To bathe uninterrupted
4. To read uninterrupted
5. To watch tv/vcd/dvd uninterrupted
6. To go to the toilet uninterrupted
7. To talk to the hubby uninterrupted
8. To talk on the phone uninterrupted
9. To have a good romp uninterrupted, nope, that should be, to have a good romp knowing there is no chance you will be interrupted
10. To write this uninterrupted.

There you go. Very easy! When you have to care for two little ones full time at home, the simple things in life, nope, that should be the very basic things in life becomes the simple pleasures of life! Anything else, is a luxury! It would be a pleasure indeed to do things in a leisurely manner without rush nor worries about health, money or time or being interrupted!

Err...... I'm about to be interrupted now so I won't be tagging anyone but by all means, feel free to tag yourself if you want to talk about your simple pleasures in life.

Bedtime Story: The Castle

MG: Shall we talk about what we did today?

My Girl: Ok

MG: Well, this morning when we woke up, daddy and mummy said we will go to the castle. And so, we drove out in our car but then we got lost. So we followed the "map". "Map" said we had to drive pass some tall trees, go pass a toll booth and climb the tall mountain to find the castle. At last we found the castle and we had to walk over the castle's drawbridge to reach the castle. Do you remember what we saw on the river below the bridge?

My Girl: We saw swans.

MG: Yes, thats right. How many?

My Girl: We saw 4 swans.

MG: Yes. We saw 2 black swans and 2 white swans. They were beautiful weren't they? Thats how the ugly duckling looked when he grew up you know. After that we walked around the castle, then we took the open air bus to the top of the mountain. Up and up we climbed.... At the top of the mountain, we saw the jungle and lots of flowers. Do you remember the sweet pink roses, as sweet as you? We saw pink flowers, yellow flowers, white flowers, big purple flowers and tiny little purple flowers too. We heard the animal sounds in the jungle including the monkeys didn't we? Then we ate at the restaurant in the middle of the jungle before we took the bus back to the castle. It was so windy. The wind blew the hair from our faces. It made you and baby laugh so hard. Did you enjoy the bus ride?

My Girl: Yes

MG: After that we hopped into our car and drove down to the rabbit farm. You and baby fed the rabbits. Which rabbits did you like?

My Girl: I like the white rabbits. The black ones ran away. Why mummy?

MG: Maybe they were a bit shy and scared of people. The white ones were more brave. After that we went to see Rudolf the rednosed reindeer and the donkey from the Good Old Animals story, yes? Then it was time to go home but you and baby didn't want to go home yet so daddy said it was ok and took us back to the castle. At the castle you and baby played in the slides with the big pool of balls. Then we threw coins into the wishing well and ate ice-cream and coconut water. You know, thats how coconuts from the coconut tree looks like. After that we came home. Now its time to go to sleep as we have to rest so we can go to the mall tomorrow.

My Girl: Mummy, how come today we went to the castle and we didn't go to the mall?

MG: Because today is a very special day. Its the day mummy and daddy is married for 5 years. (points to the wedding photo at the top of the bed) just like your birthday when you turned 4 years old. Ok. Goodnight now.




"One of the best things we can do for our kids is to love one another and to show them that its nice to celebrate that love."

(Picture of the castle from the bedtime story inset)

I remember...

• I remember our registration.......
• I remember five years ago today we got registered
• I remember we chose to have our wedding ceremony the next day so we can celebrate at the stroke of midnight instead of wondering which date to consider our wedding day
• I remember we had the ceremony date engraved on our rings to help us remember
• I remember we were one of the oldest couples waiting for our turn (the rest were SYTs and there was even a pregnant SYT!)
• I remember the lady who made us take our sumpah (oath) looked so stern and spoke down to us like she was a school headmistress scolding little children and we tried so hard to stiffle our laughter
• I remember sewing little glass beads and flowers on the little white dress I bought for the occassion and waking up early to curl my hair
• I remember we chose to get registered at the Thean Hou temple so at least we could have a nice backdrop for photos, a little bit of ambience instead of feeling like being at just any other government office, so unromantic without the feel and mood of a wedding
• I remember our wedding ceremony and dinner.........
• I remember hanging up my wedding gown at my room window, admiring it and thinking "Wow! This is the day!"
• I remember you bought me a pair of white silk pyjamas to wear on the eve of our wedding
• I remember laughing so hard and enjoying ourselves so much during our wedding tea ceremony
• I remember in terms of wedding attire we had a white wedding at my place (bridal side) and a traditional red one at yours (grooms side). Both were equally nice.
• I remember running around the garden with the two flower girls in tow posing for pictures
• I remember feeling grand (all dressed up) and a little bit excited during our wedding dinner
• I remember wanting to walk down the aisle in white gown, tiara and veil (even though we didn't get married at a church) and so thats what we did during our dinner with flower girls and all
• I remember to jot all this down before I get grey and forget some of this

Once there was you and there was me. And then we became us. And now just 5 years after becoming us, we have two little extensions of us. And to celebrate the 5th year of us becoming us, we shall include in our celebrations the two little extensions of us because its what makes us even more complete. (Because theres no one to watch them! Hehe.) I am sooooo looking forward to it!

More Emotional Blackmail

MG: *Grumble grumble* *Scold scold* *Nag nag*

My Girl: I love you!

MG: Hmmph! I love you too!

My Girl: Why talking I love you also so angry?

MG: Ok. I love you. (*Smiles*)

Aiyoh! MG kena blackmailed again.

Eavesdropping again

Overheard the kiddoes conversation while they were playing with the pop-up tunnel and tent. Nowadays they can hold quite complicated and long conversations compared to previously.

My Girl: Baby lie down like this. Put your legs straight. Nice or not? Happy or not?

My Boy: Not nice. Not nice.

My Girl: Baby you knock your head ah?

My Boy: Outside. Outside.

My Girl: Why you want to go outside?

My Boy: *Singing* Baby mine dun u cryyy"

My Girl: Happy happy happy. (Her favourite phrase)

My Boy: Happy (Baby is fast catching on the phrase too)

My Girl: Baby do the Dumbo wheeeee here at the tent

My Boy: Wheeeee dom!

My Girl: Baby do wheeeee dom! again. Baby come we go this side. Come. Come. Move. I want to sit, I want to sit here. You cannot sit here ah? If you don't want, then go outside, you sweating. Baby nevermind lah, I open this thing then got air, fresh air.

My Boy: Bye bye. Bye bye.

My Girl: Ok. Go and find daddy.

My Boy: Daddy, daddy.

My Girl: Call daddy louder.

My Boy: Daddy, daddeeeeee!

My Girl: Call daddy. Can you call daddy from work? Call daddy.

My Boy: Daddy?

I just love to listen to them play. (when they're not fighting that is!)

Time flies

Four years ago, we became parents for the first time ever. What an exciting experience and joyful journey though sometimes frought with stress and worry.

Yesterday my girl turned 4. As usual we kept it simple. My kids have never known a big celebration, not even for the full moon (ie. the first month after birth). Its always just us and at the most with grandpa or one or two aunts as an additional guest. No big party at McDonalds, no caterers, no special home parties with clowns and lots of presents. Still, I think they enjoy themselves.

Three weeks ago, we started the countdown. Everyday, my girl would put a cross on the desk calander to count how many days to go to her birthday. We did birthday crafts. She did her own Happy Birthday banner with crayons, decorated with flowers and stars glitter stickers.

Yesterday, we did our normal Sunday routine, went to the park and packed some breakfast home. We stopped by the bakery for her to choose her own cake and party hats. She chose two Hello Kitty toys to be put on top of her cake instead. Mummy saw them decorating the freshly baked American Chocolate cake and said "I want that" so we got a cake fresh out of the oven. Yippee!

Back home, Mummy bathed and washed the kids hair. My girl asked daddy to dry her hair for her and she chose to wear her Chinese New Year cheongsam. We blew up balloons after that, hung them up and stuck her banners on the wall. Then it was time to sing the birthday song, blow the candles and cut the cake. The stupid videocam kaput so we had to rely on the digicam instead. We had cake and ribena for lunch!

We teased her by giving her a small book for her present but she did not complain even though she had hoped to have a tunnel to play with. Later on, we brought out the real present, a pop out canvas tunnel and camp. She loved it. So did baby. Mummy tried to crawl into the tunnel too but got stuck halfway and had to crawl out backwards!

At naptime, mummy read her new book for her "Storytime for 4 year olds". In the evening we continued with our Sunday ritual. Took the kids out to pack dinner at a nearby shopping complex. The kids enjoyed a kiddy ride on a small train which ran around and around a small track. The kiddy ride is more worthwhile when you have two kids as they can share the ride!

At night she played with her tunnel some more before mummy packed it up and call it a day. All in all a very small but lovely birthday celebration. Coming next week, my 5th wedding anniversary. I have no ideas how to celebrate it. Any ideas?

I am a Blogger

I tagged myself.

I AM a blogger
I JUST NOW went blog hopping
I WANT my own domain but can't afford it
I HATE comment spam
I MISS not blogging when my PC/server is down/unavailable
I FEAR losing my entire blog
I HEAR that in the world of blogging "TMI" can be dangerous
I REGRET not starting a blog earlier
I AM NOT as talkative as I am on my blog
I SING when I blog sometimes
I CRY when I read sentimental blogs
I AM NOT ALWAYS ranting on my blog, preferring to focus on the positive
I MADE my own template through trial and error, copy and paste
I WRITE a post a day accept weekends
I CONFUSE myself when I leave too many comments
I NEED more comments
I SHOULD blog less
I START to blog my first post on Friday, Sept 17, 2004
I FINISH this meme and
I TAG anyone else out there who is a blogger!

I find this meme fun, so go ahead and do it if you find it fun too.

How to create a backup for your blog?

Does anyone know how to create a backup for an entire blog?

If you have a blog, I am sure that its contents are very precious to you. Afterall its a collection of your thoughts and observations at certain points in your life. So how do you create a proper backup of your entire blog?

If you're using blogger, there is a page which shows you how to do it here. But it sounds pretty complicated to me. I'm too lazy to try.

Previously I did not do any backup for my blog because I didn't know how. Then kind twinsmom taught me to key-in (File - Save As - "Filename") to backup my archives into my PC and so I hurriedly did it afraid that my blog would get hacked or something would go wrong and all my thoughts and blog entries would go Poof! up into smoke. The only problem is I have to do it every month. (You can also do a monthly archive backup by converting your url into pdf format using this HTMLDOC PDF-o-matic )

I found this tool BlogCollector which is supposed to turn your blog into a book. However the free version has its limitations. My blog has now been turned into a book in pdf format. It has 329 pages altogether with a cover, 15 pages of content and 308 blog posts but here's the catch:

1. It takes a while to download
2. Only 83 pages were fully captured (ie 63 of my latest posts, the rest contained titles and dates only)
3. It converts into text only. No images or hyperlinks included.

Sorry, can't share my pdf "book" here as I don't know how to put in a link for that. I understand that one can also convert an entire blog into pdf using Adobe 7 but don't know how to do that as well or you can copy your entire weblog into your harddrive by using this website copier but I hate to download more stuff into my pc.

Aarrrgh... so I still have yet to find a solution to backup my blog. Have to stick to the (File-Save As-"filename") for now. Can anyone share with me how they do backups for their blogs? (especially those using hosting services like Blogger, maybe those with their own domain has a backup system in place)

1,2,3..........!

In my disciplinary efforts with my girl, I rely on my early warning system ie 1,2,3.........!

"Stop tearing the book/beating baby/throwing your toys/jumping on the bed etc or you will get the stick(rotan) on the count of 3. 1,2,3..........!"

"Don't play in the bathroom too long. I'm switching the lights off on the count of 3. 1,2,3........!"

Works everytime! Any naughty activity is usually stopped on the count of 3 without tears or further shouting or scolding. Sometimes she even asks me to count!

Apart from stopping naughty acts in the tracks, I also use it for other purposes:

To tell her its almost time to stop playing

"Ok. You can play with this/that 3 more times. 1,2,3.....!

Works like a charm. She will stop whatever it is she was playing happily without a whine/complaint. Anyway, I do find that ending an activity/switching to another activity is met with much less resistance when you tell them beforehand instead of abrubtly. Baby is beggining to pick up this system too, counting along with me/us 1,2,3.....!

To hurry things along

"Come on and get dressed/wear your shoes. We''ll be late. Hurry! Come here now. I'm counting to 3. 1,2,3....!"

And she would appear like magic!

Towards Self Feeding

Much has been said and written about toilet training but what about "Self-feeding training"?

Now, I'm very, very bad at this. I don't have the patience and I can't stand the mess. Many a time when I try to get my girl to feed herself, I would end up doing it myself as more food gets into her mouth in less mess and less time that way. How will she ever learn then? And it doesn't help when the Mister (ie Mr MG) acts as a back seat driver with his "Let her practise/You have to train her/let her finish her food herself or else don't give her desserts" etc etc and a host of other back seat driver suggestions. Oh they're really very good ideas and suggestions and he means well but.....

And so on and on we go with the endless cycle. I worry that I'd still have to feed her when she is a lot older than she is now at the rate I/we are going. When I see how well other kids of her age eat on their own, I get even more worried! (BTW, "I worry..." is one of the main vocabulary of a mum). She even hates to eat finger foods as she is afraid of the mess too (must have got that vibe from me) and her baby brother feeds her instead!

Baby is very different from her when it comes to foods and eating habits. I often have to cook two dishes, one for her and one for him as their tastes are so different. Baby likes to try new foods and loves to feed himself. I really should encourage that love so that he can be an independant eater earlier . Usually I encourage the finger eating but when it comes to spoon feeding, I freak out at the mess and take over. Haiyah! When will I ever learn?

Basking in her love

On Saturday night, thick skinned mommy told her daughter "Tomorrow is Mother's Day you know. Its a special day for all mothers to celebrate. Remember to wish mummy Happy Mother's Day ok?" (Hehehe. Cheapskate or not ths mommy? My daughter's lessons in life include lessons on how to appreciate people including her own mommy. Hehe. Excuses...excuses. Lame reason for telling her.)

And so, the next day.... "Happy Mother's Day mummy. I love you. I want to give you flowers mummy" (Hands me a bunch of coloured finger puppets held together to look like a bunch of flowers.)

And throughout the day, it was "Happy Mother's Day. Its mother's day, you cannot do that/daddy cannot do that/you must hold your flowers/are you holding your flowers mummy/why are you looking sad" Hahaha. She wished me a dozen and more times and hugged me and told me she loved me throughout the day while giving me her adorable bashful and pleased look. Lol!

And at the end of the day, when I told her that Mother's Day will be over the next day as it is for one day only, she asked innocently "Mummy, tomorrow Mother's Day is over, can I still hug you?"

We also spoke about Father's Day and we planned to make a card together for her daddy. "What present shall I give daddy?" she asks. I told her that she'll have to wait till she was older and have some money before she can buy presents. "But you have a brush" she says. All because that Mr MG told her that the carpet brush he bought when we went to the hardware store together was my Mother's Day present. (*rolls eyes*). In "retaliation", I told Mr MG that I shall brush the carpet for him on Father's Day since he likes to lie on the carpet on throw cushions to watch TV. Hehehe.

We didn't do anything special on Mother's Day but it was still a special day nevertheless.

Moving on to two worded mini sentences

Recently baby went for a jab at the paeditrician who asked "Has he started combining his words?" A bit worried we started to talk to him more and as if on cue, he started speaking in two worded mini sentences soon after. Here are some of his favourites...

• "bue car" (blue car) - Referring to his favourite car which he must have each night before he sleeps. No other car will do.
• "Not nice" - Give him any other car other than his "bue car" will be met with this phrase "Not nice"
• "Bye dy" (bye daddy) - He can say "bye bye" and "daddy" quite clearly now but combined together it comes out as "bye dy"
• "No more" - this has been a long time favourite of his when he finishes a drink/his milk or when the credits roll at the end of a show. (Hey! As a matter of fact, he has said this before the paed visit but I forgot)

They sound, look, walk, talk and babble still, fall asleep etc in such an adorable manner at this age......ie the "lovely twos." (Why do people call it the "terrible twos")

For the record, baby had his afternoon nap for the first time yesterday without his breastfeed. Good! I hope he is on the way to self-weaning. I left him and my girl to play on their own for a while and when I went to check on them, he was fast asleep and my girl was piling pillows and trying to climb up the wall to look at whats on the top cupboard shelf (*rolls eyes*).

Slacked!

1. I'm slacking in my diet and exercise (After losing 15 pounds, I've regained 3 pounds simply because I stopped resisting those plates of char koay teow and roti canai. My tummy is back and that makes me feel fat, sloppy and lazy to exercise. Its a vicious downward spiral I tell you)
2. I'm slacking in my housework and cooking (Theres tonnes that I want to do but I'm not doing any of it)
3. I'm slacking in my communications (ie. keeping in touch with people who are important to me)
4. I'm slacking in my reading (all those books that I want to read are collecting dust and I'm behind in catching up with the news)
5. I'm slacking in looking after hubby ("Hon, no glass of water for me ah? No massage for me today? How come we haven't eaten fruits for so many days? Have you done this/that yet?" Poor hubby is beggining to sound neglected)
6. I'm slacking in making sure the kids are more productively occupied. (I just let them entertain themselves mostly though theres so much more I should be doing with them.)

AARRRGHHG! I JUST FEEL SO PLAIN LAZEEEEE!

MG: I've got to get out of this rut. How ah?

Lazy MG: Dunno

MG: No other way accept to get your butt outta this chair and start doing all those things you say you are slacking in!

Lazy MG: Aiyah, so lazy lah. I just don't feel like doing ANYTHING!

MG: Go! Woman! Go!

Lazy MG: Must I?

MG: Shoo! Shoo! GO NOW!!!!!

What I remember of mum

In my previous post, magictree left a comment that my poem sounded like a tribute to children instead of to mums. Hahaha. Well, I don't have a mum or mom in law to write a tribute to and it would be very strange to write a tribute to myself, thats why. Anyway, without our children, we would not be mums.

My own mum left me due to cancer when I was 10. I'm afraid I don't remember very much of her. Most of what I can remember, revolves around the kitchen and other household chores. So my greatest fear is for my children not to remember me if I should have to leave them early as my mum did.

In fact, I've told hubby, "If I die when the kids are still young, you can remarry again but you better make sure my children don't forget about me or else I'll come back and haunt you and your new wife." Hahaha. Ok. Ok. I'm exagerating. I said something to that effect but not so harshly.

In addition to my earlier post "Memories of mum", I want to record down some other memories which I missed out then:

• helping mum beat/whip butter, castor sugar, floor and eggs in a big bowl (she loved to bake and we had a round electrical oven for that purpose)
• watching mum admire herself in the mirror and putting cream on her face
• helping mum wash the dishes. We did that sitting on stools on the floor (too) in a big and flat round pail with a hose running down from the tap
• being rotan by mum
• watching mum becoming sick

Well, it looks like I better go and do more things together with my children if I want them to remember me!

Other posts about my mom:

Mommy, please don't worry
Memories of Mum

Mother's Day Poem

Whats it like to be a mother? I never knew until I became one! This Sunday, May 14th 2006 is Mother's Day. I'm not usually online during the weekends so I'm posting this early. Just wanted to share this poem I wrote for myself (hehe) and for all the mother's who read my blog.

Happy Mother's Day to you all! On mother's day let us celebrate being a mom. On that day let us all go and take a look at our children, spend time with them, listen to them, hug them, kiss them and just love them. And that to me is the best way to celebrate Mother's Day. Much, much better than having a day off (though we long for it!), being treated at a restaurant or getting a gift. Our children are our best gift of all. What better way to celebrate mother's day than just being with them.

Being A Mother
Author: mumsgather

I feel a love so fierce and strong

For my little ones whom I adore

Sometimes I worry about doing wrong

In areas I've been carefree before

I scold, I pamper and I teach

Sometimes I even nag and I preach

All for the hope of guiding my child

So they won't turn wild

I am never too tired nor weary

When my child is sick and teary

Somehow I always find the strength

To carry on and on in length

My babies mummy loves you so much

You are my sunshine and my rainbow

How I love to feel your little touch

Just looking at you makes me glow

You've made me who I am and more

I've learned so much from having you

You've changed me to the very core

Just having you I became strong and grew

Thank you my children my precious gem

On this and every mother's day

As you remind me of how blessed I am

That heaven brought you my way

Does your spouse rule what you wear?

Does your husband/wife, bf/gf rule/influence what you wear?

Mine does, I think, to a certain extent. We usually shop together anyway and if he shakes his head vigorously to some outfit I try, I would ditch it. He does the same for me when I shake my head vigorously. Now I'm curious about other people. If your spouse dislikes something you like, would you go ahead and buy it anyway? Or does he/she give an opinion to begin with?

I think its different strokes for different folks. I have two sisters. The elder is like me, shops with hubby and takes into account what he likes. The second is very different, shops usually on her own and buys what she likes. Eldest sis once joked that the downside of not buying whatever she feels like is the upside of having the hubby notice.

My taste and hubby's are somewhat alike so we don't have many problems. Even then, I remember I had a favourite blue dress which hubby hated. I would wear it nevertheless and it never failed to raise an argument! Hahaha. All over one blue dress. Its so silly!

I basically go for what I like but I would take hubby's tastes and likes/dislikes into consideration. Its not hard since I know him well and we have the same taste. I don't find it necessary to exert my individualism to the extent of wearing something that hubby dislikes (except for that blue dress, it was so comfy). Afterall, he does the same for me too! And besides I'm happy if he's pleased.

Whats in my handbag = Who Am I?

This is a woman's handbag content meme from Lilian. She said "Duh, I know it is very silly but it says a lot about us, ya?" How true. I read some of the memes and from the content of their handbags, I found King's wife to be a hoarder, 5xmom a colourful personality and Scb a party animal. (Please continue to pray for Scb who has been readmitted to the ICU).

I seldom respond to tags but since my handbag requires some cleanup anyway......here goes.

1. What’s the regular handbag you carry?
   Plain, boring, ole classic, timeless, elegant, evergreen black. I have just one bag. (not one lipstick ok Lilian? Haha.) Gift from hubby. Choice was his too. I don't really like the design but I remember we went to shop for it together and I was so fussy and could not find any after several hours and places, in the end, I agreed to what he picked! Hmm.... this makes me feel like posting another topic "Does Your Spouse Rule What You Wear?"
   
   
2. What’s inside?

• handphone
• keys
• baby comb
• 2 pens
• 1 notebook
• tissues
• wallet (black as well)
• double lipstick holder and mirror
• Popular book shop voucher
• San Francisco Steakhouse Value Set Lunch menu
• 3 lipsticks and a lipgloss (Colours? Toasted nut, sandal wood, mango sorbet) I'm an earthy person. I love nudes, neutrals and other natural colours like these.

Now, if I didn't know me, I'd say that this MG woman is very conservative and boring just looking at her bag and its contents. So now you know me through my handbag. Time for me to know you better......

1. Maria
2. Blurblur
3. Jomel
4. Elaine
5. Bkworm

To the 5 above, ignore this tag if you feel like ignoring it. And to anyone else who has to cleanup handbag like me or who don't mind sharing your personality through your handbags, consider yourself tagged!

Hair washing woes

Though my girl loves to brush teeth, she hates to have her hair washed. In fact she hated it so much it became a phobia.

We used to wash her hair after coming back from the park on Sundays. She hated the hair washing part so much that it spoilt the trip to the park for her. She was even willing to forgo the trip to the park if that meant she need not have to wash her hair. Sometimes at the park she would start asking us not to wash her hair. Back home, when the time came for her to wash her hair she would cry so hard sometimes till she vomitted.

That caused us, the parents, a lot of stress as we were at a loss of what to do and it was painful to watch her fear. She would be so fearful to have her hair washed she would actually shiver in fear. Poor thing!

Being naturally human, when stressed out, we the parents, blamed each other and had many a fight over this. Mr MG said I was too gentle with her and I said he was too rough. Hehehe.

A little history. When she was a baby, we would do her hair washing together in the baby tub. One of us would cradle her while the other poured water gently over her head so that was ok. When she outgrew the tub, we (the one bathing her) would squat down, then put her over our legs so that her head was tilted back over our knee and held the shower over her head that way and that was ok too.

The trouble really started when she was old enough to stand and understand instructions. At first, I instructed her to look up while I held the shower over her head and that was ok too. But then Mr MG (hehe. still blaming) would pour the shower all over her head quickly and water and soap would run all over her face and eyes and thats when the phobia began. His argument was that, it was better to do it quickly and get it done and over with instead of prolonging the hair washing part and prolonging her fear. (Sometimes a bath that included a hair wash may take up to an hour!) She even began to be afraid to look up for me after that and I had no choice but to pour water over her head thereby deepening her fear.

It was with much patience (and sometimes not so much patience ie scolding), games (Mr MG would draw pictures on the ceiling and ask her to look up) and counting games (which she loves). "Shall we count together? Lets count to 10 together and soon it will be over. Hold mummy and put your chin on mummy's tummy then look up at the ceiling. Ok. 1,2,3....." or I would have her count my age. That took longer than 10 so I could wash out more shampoo that way. Haha. She was still reluctant and afraid to look up and it took a lot of patience and coaxing. Finally, she overcame her fear and even asked to have her hair washed after the Sunday outing at the park. Now she is completely free from her fear but she still enjoys the counting game. :)

Luckily baby (maybe being a boy and more tough) has not shown this fear so far. He would cry a little when water is poured over his head but he gets over it very quickly when distracted with some pouring toys or if I allow him to play with the soapbox or soap.

These days, bathing the kids are my full responsibility. I can't remember the last time Mr MG bathed them. His bathing, feeding, diaper duty/help usually ends when they turn one or earlier. Besides, my girl refusal to allow him to wash her hair after her phobia gave him the perfect excuse. (He says thats my fault too and I say its his. :P) Hehehe. But I don't mind. Afterall, he works hard for the money and whenever I do things for them, its always a chance to bond, play and chat with them. :)

All About Baby

I've written many posts about my girl probably because she's older and learning more things but baby must have a post of his own too. So this post is all about baby :)

Colours, Numbers and Alphabets Recognition

Its worthwhile recording that my boy has started recognising colours, numbers and alphabets.

When he sees colours, he would point and say "Bue" (Blue), "Geen" (Green). Its endearing to listen to his "Bues" and "Geens". Sounds absolutely adorable, to mummy, that is. For the moment every colour he sees is "Bue" and "Geen". Lol!

When he sees alphabets, he would go "A, B, C..." Not bad. Not bad. So says proud mummy. (*clap clap clap*)

And when he sees numbers, he would go, "One, Two, Tee..." (He can count to 10 minus the "7")

Growing from "M" to "L"

Another thing for me to note. We just changed him into "L" sized diapers recently. Compared to his little cousin sister who is a good one year younger than him and in "L" before him, to think of all the diaper money he saved us for a year. Hahaha.

That's my boy!

These days he not only flips about when trying to fall asleep, he would talk to himself and sing to himself as well. The other day he sang "Baby Mine" his favourite lullaby as he flipped to and fro. (I know this post is supposed too be all about baby but must mention here that my girl gets very emotional when she hears that lullaby. The tears would run quietly down her eyes and she would sob when I try to ask her why. So cute. I think its because in the show Dumbo the baby elephant was separated from his mummy so it makes her sad. I would then explain to her that its ok to cry and its ok to be sad, that sometimes people cry when they are happy or sad.)

Back to baby. He flipped and banged into my head twice with his little head to which I said "Ouch. Pain. Pain." but he merely rubbed his head with his little hand. (His head must be tougher than mine!) The third time I saw his head approaching mine, I told him "Now be careful. Don't bang into mummy's head again" and he replied "kay" (Ok) (He has this funny way of replying "kay" to everything we try to tell him though we're not sure if he really understood or not). He then lay his head beside mine on the pillow and put his hand on my face playfully touching my chin. After a while I turned towards him to find that he had fallen asleep... quite suddenly! Thats my boy!

Duck Walk

He has a funny walk/run putting one foot quickly in front of the other when he's happy or excited. Its funny to watch but I'm so afraid he would fall as he looks so wobbly!

Loving Boy

He is a very loving boy and loves to give me hugs and kisses. And I'm loving it too! More! More! Hehehe.

A Show of Love

"Ouch! Ouch!" Clumsy me. I had just kicked my foot against the bathroom wall.

My Girl: Mummy is it painful? Its ok. I'm here to take care of you. I sayang your leg for you.

MG: Never mind. No need to sayang my leg. Leg Dirty.

She comes over to hug me.

MG: *smiles*

My Girl: Mummy. Why just now you sad? Now you happy already? Why I hug hug you? Your leg ok already?

MG: Yes. You hug hug me. I feel better already. No more pain.

My Girl: Mummy, where pain?

MG: There, there on the last two little toes.

She massages the two little toes.

My Girl: I massage for you. You like massage?

MG: Yes. Mummy likes massage. Thank you.

She comes over to kiss me. Mummy melted like butter! (*Glub glub glub*) Lol!

Shopping with my girl

Its nice to have a girl to go shopping with. We have started going shopping together.

At the accessory shop

We go to the accessory shop together and she enjoys carrying those little baskets they give you to put the accessories that you want to buy in. She would carry the basket around, walk around with me and help me to pick.... the most colourful and bright accessories. "Mummy check this out" she would say or "Mummy! Come. Look at this purple one. Its nice!" Hahaha. (Mr MG told me she must have learned the term "check this out" from us when we tell each other to "check something out" while shopping.

At the clothing department

I bring her to the changing room to try outfits with me and she is happy to see me primping in front of the mirrors asking her opinion. "Is this nice?" "Do you like this colour?" and she always gives her opinion. "Mummy I like the blue one. Blue is my favourite colour." etc.

Although after a while of this, she would say "Mummy, I tired already. Why we walk around and around? Lets walk somewhere else" (like the toy department perhaps eh? After a while the ladies department becomes boring to a 4 year old.) Hahaha. (What to do? Mummy is very fickle minded and picky!)

At the supermarket

This one is reserved for Mr MG though. Usually I push baby in the trolley while he pushes my girl in another trolley. I buy the fresh food and vegetables while Mr MG buys the big items and staples like toilet paper, diapers, milk powder etc. Every week before we go grocery shopping Mr MG would take her around the house to see what needs to be bought. "Look. There are only 4 eggs left in the fridge. We will have to buy another 10 eggs. How many eggs will we have then?" (He's giving her a good maths lesson). "Look, theres no more spare bottle of ribena in the cupboard. We have to buy Ribena today." Then at the supermarket, she will remind him to buy the ribena. Its fun and they both enjoy it.

So I guess, I'm not the only one enjoying shopping with my girl ;) I wonder what it'll be like to shop with my boy when he grows a little older. At the moment he enjoys tearing up the grean leafy vegetables or digging his fingers into the watermelon in my shopping basket! (*rolls eyes*)

I Give You Chance

My Girl is testing out another new word she learned ie "give chance"

MG: Mummy is very sleepy. Eyes cannot open already. Why don't you read by yourself a little bit longer and then rest when you're tired? (I usually ask her to "rest" instead of "sleep" or she would protest)

My Girl: Ok mummy. I give you chance to sleep.

Later at night, I overheard this.

Mr MG: (Oops! Cannot remember what exactly Mr MG was saying to her but her reply below)

My Girl: Ok daddy. I give you chance to play with your computer.

Come to think of it, I think she learned the word from me in the following past scenario.

MG: You better keep give baby back his toy now! I give you chance. I won't take out the stick (cane) yet.

Lol! I wonder what else she will give me a chance to do today. Hehehe.

Update

After I blogged about this, I heard her using the new word again with her kong kong (grandpa)

Kong Kong: You can snatch the toy from baby but you cannot snatch it from me!

My Girl: Kong Kong, I give you chance. I give you chance to play with the toy, I play with other toys. (Lol! Smart. Retreat when she knows she can't win that fight.)