How to Edit Your Blogger Comments

Recently someone left a comment on my Blogger Comments system which I wanted to edit. So I searched the web and found this cool tool from A consuming Experience blog to share with all those out there who are as stingy smart as me and do not wish to pay for their comments system and yet still want to have features like editing etc. The author of the blog has even put up a simple form to edit comments on a once off basis. I tried it. Its very easy to use. I've bookmarked it and just have to share it cos' its really useful! And the best thing...... I don't have to pay!

While I'm in the mood for sharing, here are two other links I find interesting:

• Things I've learned from blogging - An interesting read. The blogger lists 42 things he's learned from blogging on his blog's (Asterisk) 3rd anniversary. All bloggers will be able to relate to this.
• Mandarin Design - "Blog Tips and Tricks - served copy and paste style" is their tagline. I love copy and paste! I love copy and paste! It gives my blog the professional (*ahem*) look without my putting too much effort into it. I especially like the box tips and text tricks. See my most reason posts? Can you tell that I've been playing with text?

I realise that apart from satisfying my love for writing, blogging also satisfies my love for design and graphics. Messing with my template gives me almost as much pleasure as writing a blog post. I don't have to be very good at art and graphics (like twinsmom) to be artistic online because there are so many tools to use. That reminds me. I would love to put up my small collection of poems from my occassional inspirational writings/poetic blog (*ahem ahem*) on my website complete with beautiful graphics and music. Oh.... if only I had the time.

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WISE

After all this time MG is still not toddler wise. This morning bad mommy scolded toddler for whining about something that she wanted. "Talk properly. If you go on like this, I'm going to give you a big slap. You want a big slap?". "I want a small slap" she replied.

POP! POP!

MY ANGER DISSIPATED LIKE BUBBLES INTO THE AIR

Rock-A-Bye-Baby....

From my previous post you know by now that I breastfeed and carry my babies to sleep.

Toddler has graduated from being breastfed, to being carried to sleep and now at 3 years old she is an independant sleeper. Everynight after I breastfeed baby to sleep, I would chit-chat in whispering tones with toddler about books she has read, people whom we've met, places we've been, cartoons she has watched etc and she simply loves it.

On one of the nights last week, the moon was very full and round and lovely. We drew the curtains from our bedroom back so we could look at the moon while we slept. We chit chatted about the moon and sang moon songs. It was really fun for me too.

After our chit-chat, I would usually give her a kiss and a hug then tell her "Wait for mummy, mummy has to go to the toilet/have a drink" and leave the room (to watch Mr MG's favourite kungfu movie with him). By the time I get back she would be sound asleep. Once she even chased me out of the room. After I finished feeding baby, she told me "Mummy go out to the toilet." I very sleepily told her that I had gone to the toilet to which she thought awhile before retorting "Go out and switch off the computer!"

She still likes to be cuddled to sleep. She would pull my arm so that it was around her waist while we chit-chat and say "Mummy hug hug." However, sometimes when she is very sleepy, she would push my hand away and say "Its ok mummy. Goodnite kiss already." because my heavy arm makes it difficult for her to fall asleep!

Baby is still being breastfed to sleep but now at 1 year old, he is beggining to show signs of falling asleep independantly. Sometimes after a breastfeed, he would roll all over the bed, sit up and flip back several times, stare at the ceiling, raise his little hands to study them etc. I let him do his thing while I chit-chat softly with toddler (while making sure he doesn't hit his head against the wall when he flips back suddenly) and after a while when I peep at him, he would have fallen asleep, quite suddenly. Moments ago, he looked so awake and all of a sudden he's asleep. Its very amusing to watch.

I think we all need to remember that bedtime is really a rather nice time of the day to unwind and relax with the babies instead of getting worked up about why they are having such a difficult time falling asleep, being so needy etc.

Sleep, baby sleep.

Dear MG,

My baby always cries whenever he wants to sleep. I want to go to him but I keep getting conflicting comments.

My child psychologists says: "Let him cry it out! This will teach him the important skill of falling asleep on his own. "

My Ah Por says: "Don't pick him up or you'll spoil him!"

My best friend says: "I'm not sure what to advise you. My baby is the same. I read somewhere that says not to breastfeed your baby to sleep or he will become dependant on breastfeeding to fall asleep. It says we must put our babies down when they are drowsy so they learn to fall asleep on their own and we will then have more time with our partners. I tried it but then I ended up having to pick him up at least 10 times because he woke up from his drowsy state and tried to climb out of the cot!"

I'm really confused. Please advise. Thank you.

Desperate.

What MG really thinks!

And if I hear of one more mother allowing her baby to cry until he vomits so that he gets trained to fall asleep on his own, I'm going to throw up too!

Please also don't come to me and proudly proclaim that your baby has learned to fall asleep on his own after you have left him to cry it out for an hour. Of course he would fall asleep after crying ...... from EXHAUSTION!

Dear Desperate,

All babies cry. For goodness sakes, just do what you feel like doing instinctively. Pick your baby up to cuddle and love him. Then feel the love, joy and peace flow through you as you watch his beautiful eyelashes fluttering sleepily down his cute little cheeks when you hold him close.

If you are breastfeeding, don't be afraid to breastfeed your baby to sleep. Its very good for baby and you. Your baby will fall into a deep and contented sleep after his breastfeed and you will have more time with your partner. I assure you he would not still be dependant on you to breastfeed him at bedtime by the time he goes to college!

I wish you Happy Cuddling your baby.

MG

That was MG pretending to be an Aunty Agony columnist giving advise to people who write in on matters close to my heart. (But of course if I were a real columnist, I would be much more polite!) If my views don't match yours on baby's sleep, don't fret. Afterall, like I said before, when it comes to parenting, its To Each His Own.

Coming Next: Baby and Toddler's Sleep.

Blogging Vs Blog Hopping

Jason has this to say "MG must haven't been visiting my blog for some time. *LOL* "

Yup Jason, sorry, I haven't. Thats because theres only that many hours in a day and though I love blogging it takes up too much time. I wonder how do people manage to blog and read so many blogs in a day thats full of other activities, work, eating, sleeping, play. And besides, theres so many other stuff to read as well, the papers, books, magazines, the www.

So whenever I blog, I have little time to read blogs which I love too. Hmm.... what to do? I think I'll take a short break from blogging (like one week if can tahan, hehehe) to catch up with reading blogs instead.

So I'm off soon (after I get some work done) to do some blog hopping. See you guys on your blog, not on mine. ;-)

I'll always be here

When you've tried your best
And you need a little rest
Its okay my dear
Cos' I'll always be here

When you feel a little weary
From this tiring journey
Don't look far look near
Cos' I'll always be here

When others let you down
And makes you want to frown
I hope to bring you cheer
Cos' I'll always be here

When you're tired from your burden
And there seems no solution
You know you can persevere
Cos' I'll always be here

I'll always be here dear
You know I am sincere
Together we'll feel no fear
As we go from year to year

Copyright by mumsgather (Cheywah! Like real)

If anyone wants to steal this (as if they would) I'd be flattered, but please provide a link back to me. Thats all I ask since I have no money to sue for plagiarism.

I like to write a little verse from time to time and am so happy to find this RhymeZone rhyming dictionary and thesaurus to help me with my words. Those of you who like to rhyme may find it useful too. Gosh! I just love the internet. It has everything.

Who say men cannot cry?

I remember when I was younger and they use to air those soppy chinese love stories on tv in the afternoons. Second sister was often teased by my dad and bros when she cried during the sad scenes. She would then be so embarrassed, cover her face and make a fuss about being teased. I used to cry too but since 2nd sister was the target of teasing (since she hated so much to be teased) I escaped being teased and could cry silently "undisturbed". Hahaha.

I hate it when a movie I'm watching at the cinema ends on an emotional note. Aiyoh! Its always a nasty shock to have the bright lights switched on as the credits roll and I hardly have time to wipe away the tears that streamed freely down my face earlier in the shadowed darkness. (Very the paiseh!)

I wonder how the guys fare on this. Someone in my earlier post has this to say:

"........who say man CANNOT cry? man also got feeling mah :) "

Its much more comfortable watching a sad movie at home. At least I can move closer to Mr MG to be "comforted." Hehehe. I can even cry when watching his kungfu movies! (*rolls eyes*). Mr MG does sometimes get smoke in his eyes too (pssst. cannot mention the word cry) but his reaction is different. He won't come to me for "comfort". He would give me a serious look and say "this part very sad". (If I happen to look at him, otherwise he just keeps very quiet.) Hahaha. Men! Kesian them. Always have to play the strong, silent part. Cannot show emotions as freely as women do.

Girls are made of .........

Girls are natural born nurturers. You don't have to teach them. They just know how.

Recently when todder saw mummy crying .....

Toddler: "Mummy why you got tears? Wait ah... I kiss your tears. Wait ah.... I take tissue paper to wipe your tears."

Then she proceeded to kiss my face and gently wipe the tears off my face with a tissue.

Now that made me want to cry harder... but for a different, much happier reason. So, If you'll excuse me now....Waaaaaahhhh! *Sob sob sob*, Boo Hoo Hoo...... I love little girls, especially my own. Hehehe.

I don't want to sleep!

"Mummy, I don't want to sleep, I want to play toys."

"Mummy, I don't want to sleep, I want to read books."

"Mummy, we're not closing our eyes, open your eyes mummy!"

"Don't close your eyes, mummy."

"Mummy, we're not sleeping, we're resting only. "

"Mummy, we're not sleeping, we're pretending to sleep only."

"Mummy, wake up! wake up! The sun is out!"

Yaaaaawwwwn! This is why parents of toddlers don't get very much sleep ie because there are just too many lovely things for toddlers to learn, see, do and play, they just refuse to sleep. Top that up with another baby in the house and ...... "sleep? what is that???!!!!" Yaaaaawwwwn!

Well, I never get to sleep until both of my children sleep. Sometimes it is really tiring to hold back sleep/wait until they both fall asleep. It is even more tiring when I cannot fall sleep after they both fall asleep (knowing I've just wasted the only time/opportunity for me to sleep). I'm rambling because I'm sleepy. Yaaaaaawwwwn! Zzzzzzzzzz.............

"Butter Fingers!"

"Butter Fingers!" shouted the Physical Education (PE) teacher as I tried to reach for the ball and it slipped through my hands yet again during a netball game in primary school. I felt so embarrassed. Ok, so I was not good at the game but she didn't have to shout at me like that did she! (*grumble grumble*).

Another time, this time in Secondary school, another fierce PE teacher forced us to run non stop until I almost fainted. Bah! I hate PE teachers. Not sure why but I've had two during my school days which were so fierce, I can still remember their hateful faces till today. Hahaha. Other teachers fade into obvilion or I cannot remember most of them now accept the fierce ones.

I hate sports. I hate school sports day. I hate atheletics. I hate high jump, long jump, hurdles, running etc etc. I'm always among 1-3 places in running (from the bottom of course!) I'm a "tai siew jie" you see. Wonder if toddler will become like me. Hmm.... Already she's showing some signs of being a "tai siew jie" like mummy. Must expose her to more games and stuff. I'm good at a lot of things but not sports. Ok, not all sports. I'm reasonably good at swimming but only in one style ie breaststroke. (Can't quite seem to get the front crawl right till today.) In fact I have a bronze medal somewhere from an inter-primary school competition. But thats it.

In school, I hated sports but I enjoyed being in the choir. I enjoyed art classes, sewing classes and cooking classes. And I enjoyed writing essays cos I always got 1st or 2nd in my essay writing. Hehehe. What did you hate or enjoy in school? Do you remember?

Lets do the Wobble

C'mon everybody, c'mon everybody, lets do the Twist Wobble! Recently, I took up line dancing cos' I need the exercise since I'm not burning my calories fast enuf' compared to what I'm consuming.

Expert says: If you want to reduce weight, not merely maintain it, then you must burn more calories than you take in. You must eat less, and at the same time you must exercise more. Remember, you must do both. Dieting without exercise only sets you up for the perilous yo-yo syndrome of quick loss and quick gain. To lose weight permanently, you must lose it slowly.

So no crash diets for me. Besides, I'm not going on any fad diets since a breastfeeding mum must always eat sensibly; so exercise, I must. Wanna learn some line dancing with MG? Here's the steps:

Step ... step .... wobble .... wobble ......

Sway from side to side .....

Now get down on your knees .....

Move forward three steps .....

Lift up your arms ......

Grin from ear to ear ......

Now let a happy smile ... light up your face

Hehe. Gotcha! Actually, thats not a line dancing move. Its just how baby looks as he takes his first few steps. He looks absolutely adorable (If I may say so myself). With a little help, he can walk quite far and go places which makes him sooooo very happy. So, I will hold one hand while his sister (toddler) holds the other and together we walk him around the house and towards his target daddy. And when he reaches his target daddy, his whole face will light up with happiness and he would fling his arms (when we let them go) in excitement, his whole body bouncing up and down. Sometimes this causes him to plonk a little clumsily onto the floor on his bum where he would continue his excited bounce on his bum while raising his little arms into the air. His excitement is so plain to see. He must be thinking "Look everyone! I can walk! I can walk!"

Quick! Where's my viewcam? At the moment he can take one or two steps unaided. Yesterday, he took 3-4 steps. We're getting the batteries all charged up and ready to shoot the moment. This is sooooo exciting. Don't you agree? Did I actually take up line dancing? Nyah! Where got time to go for line dancing classes? Feel like dancing? Just pick up any of the two kiddoes and dance around the house with some music and they will be happy like mad. In fact, they love it so much. I'm never short of dance partners yunno.

Things that don't get said on a first date

Here are some of the things I think don't get said on first dates. Care to share some others? For those who are married/been together for a long time, do you still remember your first dates?

• "Eeeeyeea! You ate all my meehoon!" (While sharing a plate of meehoon mee)
• "Lets ta pau/eat faster. Tonite got F1/M-I."
• "I think I forgot to brush my teeth this morning."
• "Your shirt got hole already lah."
• "What time is it? Five minutes later...... "What time is it?"
• "That waiter/waitress is not bad looking man!"
• "Can you pay first? I forgot my wallet."
• "I insist we go Dutch. I believe in equal rights."
• "How come your hands feels so sweaty?"
• *Yaaaawwwwn!*

Anyone going on a first date soon? Here's some tips for the guys and gals. I think they're too cliche and common sense knowledge though. So here's MG's tip : Just be yourself. No need to go all out to impress. Simple isn't it?

The Confidence Factor

Self Confidence is the best make-up a gal could ever wear and its the most attractive trait in a man or anyone else for that matter. I must give my children lots of love and security so that they have high self-esteem which translates to self confidence. (Not overconfidence mind you cos thats boorish and not at all attractive).

I once had a friend in college who apologised to everyone for everything. Almost all of his sentences began with "I'm sorry..." or "I'm sorry but...". He was quite a rich kid. He drove a nice car to college when everyone was still learning how to drive. I remember during that time, at that age when one is just learning how to drive, how exciting it was to go out with friends who drove ie in a friends car (instead of your parents car). Some of my girl friends took advantage of his kindness and lack of confidence by treating him like a driver. Poor Chap! He drove them around hoping to be popular cos those girls were pretty and popular. You can't help but feel sorry for him. I wonder what made him that way. Rich kid with a nice car and such low self esteem. Poor little rich boy.

I must admit that when I was in my late teens ie around Form 4 and 5, I too had very low self esteem. At that time dad had just moved to PJ from Kuantan. We didn't have a house to stay then and my family was scattered everywhere. Eldest sis was still working in Kuantan, elder brother rented a room, second sis was in varsity in Penang and me and second brother bunked in with my aunt. Dad was also renting a room. Aunt was (naturally) unhappy (even though we paid her rental) to have her husband's brother's children living with her in her small single storey 3-room terraced house. It was incredible how so many of us managed to live in the house. Uncle, Aunty and their 2 sons shared a room. I shared a room with my 3 girl cousins and second brother shared a room with two house tenants whom aunt have rented out a 3rd room to. Simply incredible though watching a football match was extremely fun and noisy.

Not surprisingly, I only stayed there for a year in Form 4. And in Form 5 I told dad I wanted to move to Penang to be closer to second sis. (Although I hardly saw her when I was there since she was staying at the hostel in varsity). So off I went to stay with two aunts and an uncle who were still single. Looking back now, its no wonder how I had such low self-esteem and confidence and I cried a lot and felt very lonely and depressed then. No security of home. No immediate family to talk to.

Happy to say that I've found my esteem and confidence over the years. No more self image problems suffered as a teen and young adult. Perhaps outwardly, I may still not portray the image of a self-assured personality nor exude an air of self confidence that gives a person added charisma but at least now I feel good about myself inside and thats whats important. As 5xMom says, Live Begins at 40. So watch out world here I come. Hahaha. Anyway, the point of this post is to remind myself to give my children lots of love and security so that they grow up confident, self assured, secure and comfortable with themselves and their own achievements. Thats the best gift to a child a parent could ever give.

Tit for Tat

When she was younger, Toddler loves to have her back scratched before she sleeps. Now she just loves to be scratched. (Not just the back alone). She would point to various parts of her body (arms, legs, back, neck, ears, eyes etc) and say "Here itchy." and since it helps her to sleep, I usually oblige if I'm not too tired. Otherwise, I tell her "Itchy? Scratch yourself." Hehehe.

Last night, I was scratching my arm when....

Toddler: "Mummy, here itchy? Mosquito bite you?" (pointing to my arm)

She then proceeded to scratch my arm for me and when she was done, she gave my shoulder a pat and smiled at me.

"Tit for tat. You scratch my back, I scratch you back."