Wednesday 30 April 2008

Update: Vicks on Feet

Well, I did as what was suggested by the e-mail from friend.

For Micah he slept quite well, as he has been sleeping better these days. Only when he woke up in the morning about 8am that he realised he had socks on.

Max...Max. He woke up at 3am, complained about the socks, demanded to go sleep in this swing and also certain song to be played for him. While we were downstairs, Micah called for Mommy and milk. So I went up while grandma saw to Max. This morning grandma said he only went back to bed at 5am.

Max was still coughing in his sleep, so I guess it did not really work for him.

It was nice for Mommy, though. After putting Vicks on their feet, what was left on my hand was "cleaned off" by rubbing on myself. It did have a nice warm feeling. :)

Maybe you can try this Vicks on Feet yourself next time and see if it works for you. Just that it did not for Max.

Trying This Out

Just before I knock off, (yes, I am drugged again) ...

Just want to let you know that I'm trying this (article below) out with the boys I got it in an e-mail and another mom actually vouched for it. So hope it works, especially for poor Max who has been sick for anout a month.

Will let you know the progress, and if it works for all or only certain people.

Night-night.

NEW USE FOR VICKS VAPORUB *

WOW! I was raised, and raised my kids with Vicks. How
come I never knew this? I can't wait for my next cough.
Amazing ! READ ITALL. It works 100 percent of the time,
although the scientists at the Canada Research Council
(who discovered it) aren't sure why.
To stop night-time coughing in a child (or an adult, as we
found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the
bottom of the feet at bedtime and then cover with socks
.

Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about five
minutes, and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. This
works 100 percent of the time and is more effective in children
than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition,
it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly.
I heard the head of The Canada Research Council describe these
findings by their scientists when they were investigating
the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in
children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure.
I just happened to tune in to a.m. Radio and picked up this guy
talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm
than good due to the chemical make-up of these strong drugs,
so I listened. It was found to be more effective than prescribed
medicines for children at bedtime and in addition to have a
soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on
to sleep soundly.
My wife tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and
persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100 percent! She said
it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her. The coughing stopped
in a few minutes, and believe me, this was a deep (incredibly
annoying - every few seconds!), uncontrollable cough, and she slept
cough-free for hours every night she used it.
If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed
at the effect.
Pass this on - especially to those with children or grandchildren.

* Please remember this is from an e-mail I received from a friend and no doctor has said anything about this remedy.
Good luck.

Tuesday 29 April 2008

Sick Because I'm DBKL

The bugs have finally caught hold of me... actually the rest of us.

Max has been having running nose off and on for the last month. Sometimes he wakes up with a drippy nose and sometimes he seems all well till like 6pm. Then he'll be like all well for two days and then it'll start all over again. We had actually finished two batches of medication from two different doctors and then I decided he needed a break from all the drugs. So I stopped all medication for a couple of weeks, but today, because Micah woke up with a cough and sore throat, we took both the boys to the doctors again.

Grandma had been coughing for the last week and over the last weekend she actually had fever for two days. I, too, have been coughing occasionally for the last week. This evening I started sneezing and a bit of a running nose too.

I think the reason we are sick is because of our close contact with the boys, namely sharing food. They eat our food, share our drinks, we feed them and taste the food sometimes. But MOSTLY I believe it's because we tend to finish their food for them when they don't. DBKL.

So where did this nasty habit come from?

So far I have always seen all parents finish their children's food. When we were kids, I knew my parents sometimes finish our food, and sometimes our maid did it too. As nasty as it sounds, we sometimes even pop their spat out food, from their mouth into our hand, right into our mouth, namely sweets and not so mushed-up food like fishball, etc. - all depends on where we are and how easily it is to get to the rubbish bin.

So is it a surprise that we should fall sick when they do? We are, of course, more careful if we are sick and they are not, that we try to keep them of our food stuff and avoid close contact as far as we can.

So why do we finish their food? Is it because of economic reasons, or a sense of conscience that food should not be wasted? Is it just by examples set by our forefathers?

I have personally known only one family where the kids and parents don't have this kind of "close" relationship. They occasionally share a drink, but the parents will have their own food and the children theirs. And if the kids don't want to eat any more, it is left to be taken away. And from this example I think the reason we are DBKL is because it's all out of economic reason. This family I knew were very wealthy (I mean they own a private jet, that type). They seem more concern of hygiene and looking their very best all the time.

Oh, my head is now throbbing and telling me it's time to shut down my computer (brain) and let the body try to recover. Yes, I have taken my pills.

Good night.

p/s- Sorry for the abrupt end.. my eyes too...zzzz....

Monday 28 April 2008

Honey Honey

This is what Micah and Max are watching on Youtube.

They love both so much they keep re-playing them.

Thanks to the Bee Movie, Micah started asking questions like how do the bees make the honey. So Mommy had to look this up. The second video explains this a little better.



Sunday 27 April 2008

Mood: Bad End of a Great Day

Ever in the mood where you know there are things to be done but you'd rather do other things?
That's why I am here and not doing what I have to do...

We had a rather bad end this evening for a pretty good day. I was already tired from all the excitement we had with the Cuddle Family (Thanks, Angelia). Grandma is not well, so I made dinner for the boys (noodles), Gadget-daddy and myself (egg sandwich).




Then we played and read books and played some more. Got the boys to clean up and brushed their teeth. Then Max slipped downstairs and raided our bag and came up with 3 containers of biscuits. I was too tired to think right and let them have bite-size biscuits in the room. Then he opened another box and started munching on the animal biscuits. Then the storm from Mommy started:

No more eating in the room.
Stop! There are crumbs every where! Do you want the ants to come sleep with you?!
Go eat downstairs or no eating. Choose!

Then I had to sweep and mop the floor, so more scolding in trying to stop them from walking/running around.

It's exhausting to be angry.

Finally, Gadget-daddy came to their rescue. Played with them while I mopped the other rooms.
Then I put a batch of laundry into the machine and came back to our room. The boys were still playing, so I asked, "Anyone ready to sleep?"
"No."
"Nope. We are still playing."
So I said good night and crawled into bed and hoped they follow suite. I fell asleep almost immediately. Then I woke up to see Gadget-daddy fast asleep, Micah, asleep, snuggled right beside me and Max asleep on the cold floor! Oh, and movie still running on the computer.

So tonight I did not get to kiss my boys good night, but they still get kissed anyway...

Now to get to the laundry.

p/s- Gadget-daddy finally bought the card-reader, so check out the last few posts for the shots, Tracing as far back as "Earth Day" :)

Saturday 26 April 2008

Dreamland and Fantasy

Just published the last post and Micah was saying this in his sleep:

"Go, go. Go, Max. Just go. Shine the torch light there..."

Then he stirred and Max did too, and they both kinds crossed their legs over each others'...

I wonder if ever two people could be having the same dream... or that's probably just in those fantasy stories.

Hmmm...

(Ok, off to bed now. Have a special date tomorrow and I'm making the alphabet pasta in ABC soup and potato salad again. :) Nite nite. Sweet dreams... )

Why Have Kids?


Life would really be a whole lot simpler and more fun if you have no such attachments as your kids.

You could travel the world with the one you love and do all sorts of exciting things like bungee jumping, skiing, or try sky diving. What about trying out different roller-coasters at fabulous theme-parks the whole day and enjoy some scrumptious bites with live music, topped with delicious wine.

You could also do other interesting "boring" things like spending a whole day at an art museum, or maybe two; sit and read in the park under perfect weather or do a movie marathon of your favorite movie genre or actor/actress.

If I have no kids, I can imagine how many parties and picnics I would hold for all different groups of friends. Play board games all night till the rooster crows, take midnight drives to have breakfast in a small town, and take up new hobbies. Of course, for me, I would also want to be involved in some kind of a group where I would want to champion their cause for a better tomorrow for a less fortunate group.

So why have kids?
How to have them and relate yourself to the rest of the world?
To the rest of your own world?

Some parents feel the need to have their kids look good, so they look good, so they compete in everything with the neighbours' kids, etc.
Some feel they need to have their back patted by others, including strangers, so they make sure kids behave in a certain way.
Some have super careers in mind for them and have planned out every step towards that career, so that they can be the man/woman behind this successful person.
Some just want to live their unfulfilled dreams through their kids.
And there are also those who have kids to carry on the family's name, to take care of them in their old age, or to do their burial rites.
(Of course there are those who had no plans of being a parent, but Oops! an accident happened..)

My sister who is single, at one time thought of adopting a girl of her own. Well, those were the days when we were actually still relatively young - college going kids ourselves. (My family actually grew up with lots of younger cousins and we have always loved kids. Plus this sister of mine worked in a school environment for a few years and had encounters with kids from 3+ to 16 year olds. Oh, and she had two stints involving kindy children.)

Now that both her sisters have kids, she has found the best alternative to being without a child: Play with your sisters' and then give them back.
A few hours of fun and maybe some drama. Occasionally play the role of a disciplinarian and sometimes a nurse. But the best part really, is to have lots of reason to indulge your own temptation to buy something cute or interesting for what is marked "3+" on the label.

I can say this because, honestly, if I were in her shoes, I'd do the same thing too.
But I am, obviously, in a different pair of shoes.

Gadget-daddy also grew up in an environment with lots of younger kids and babies. His mom was a babysitter, and a few of the children actually stayed in with them through the week except on weekends.

So for us, Why have kids?
Easy to answer. We love kids.

But if you want a more motivated reason as to why you should still have kids on an already over-populated planet, Then this is my answer:

Considering the rate of uncared-for children, abandoned physically or in other terms of needs;
Considering how the world is looking for the No.1 - I,
Considering all the crime rates and poverty,
Considering all the exploitation of nature and mankind,
Considering the frequency of natural disasters these days,
Considering how thew world seem to be heading to "Doomsday"...


We should have children and have them brought up with Godly values and love for people and this planet so that our dreams and vision of a better world will be carried on beyond our graves.
They are the future, as the future is theirs.

Friday 25 April 2008

What's on their mind


Micah woke up from his nap, came into the room and said,
"Mom can we do the 'Whee' now?"

Max woke up from his nap, came into the room holding a char-siew-pau (steam bun with a meaty filling).


p/s- Oh, Gadget-daddy, please come home quick with a new card reader.


Update: 26 April 2008

Gadget-daddy got the card reader today. :) Thank you.

New Every Morning*

I was reading through this old post of mine and I must say that with the kids, everyday is really a new day.

Last night both the boys slept unbelievably early. 8.30pm and both boys were in dreamland! But as it happens quite often they will not sleep soundly for they would be too exhausted and so will have all kinds of dreams. Micah for one, talking in his sleep, was still giving instructions to Max on some kind of play.

Anyway, back to what I wanted to say...

They slept early and so this morning, Micah was actually up about 6.45am and he managed to say goodbye to Gadget-daddy before he left for work. The we went back to the room and lay on my bed. He had his milk and waited to see the sunrise. We chatted a bit about the rotation of the earth, but Mommy was just too sleepy. I fell asleep before he did.

But the the thought that crossed my mind as I was drifting back to sleep was:

Wow, Micah, your first sunrise.

There are so many "First" for them still, and life is so magical.

The most wonderful thing with the kids is that for them Life is a new start every day with the sunrise. New every Morning.

What a Life!



*While typing the title for this post, the words of this hymn came immediately to mind:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases
His mercy never comes to an end
They are new every morning, new every morning,
Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord,
Great is Thy faithfulness.

Wednesday 23 April 2008

My Mom's And Dad's Version of B&B

My mom is very traditional and conservative.
Anything to do with sex is taboo.

Mom never knew how to explain anything regarding gender development, even when we, her daughters, reached puberty. She just supplied us with sanitary napkins, made us wash our own undies from age 12, and scolded us whenever we stained the bed sheets.

When I was about three I asked her where I came from. I asked a few times and her answers were always different and unconvincing:

Someone left you at out doorstep.
We picked you up from the rubbish bin.
Picked you up from the toilet bowl.

It all did not make sense to me, although at that time I did not know how to express my disbelief at her answers. Definitely nothing to build up a child's self-confidence. Good thing I did not believe her, or I would have really felt like a reject, or thought myself adopted. Hahaha...

When she showered us, she'll ask us to squat down and wash our "little chick".

The only two things she did positively for us was that she was never shy to change in front of us, and, if so happen that we needed something while she was in the shower, she would still talk to us from her bathroom (attached to her bedroom). The other was I recalled watching her breastfeed my younger siblings.

So my sisters (not sure about my brothers. oops!) and I learnt about the birds and bees from our friends, science class, each other and nurses* who came to do talks about the development of the female body.



My father said a few things to me that were actually pretty helpful.

1. I was about 8 then, maybe. I can't remember how this came about, and what was said prior to this, but he told me that no one should simply touch my private parts. Not even those relatives we see often, and definitely none of his friends nor strangers.

2. I was about 19 and was working with him as a massage therapist before furthering my studies. Somewhere in that 1.5 years, he revealed this: At the end of intercourse is a kind of peace, a calm. Again, I can't recall how we got to this topic, but he sure baffled and surprise me. Unexpected, but appreciated the info and enlightenment.

3. I was about 27 and we were driving in the heart of the city past midnight, out on one of his midnight cravings for Singapore prawn noodle. We were talking about life, and at that time I just need to ask him this: Did they ever thought of abortion** while my mom was carrying me? He said, "No. We had always had good sex and every baby was wanted." There was a lump in my throat and I jumped a little in my skin, but managed to carry on the conversation and drive without hitting the curb.


I can't imagine how my mom would respond if Micah is to spring any booby trap on her, on her taboo topic.
Actually, I think I can...

She'll just laugh, call him clever, and ask him to ask his Mommy.


My kids sure are having better info on the birds and bees.



* The nurses were actually employed by certain companies and they gave out sample products at the end of the talks. Pretty fun for us girls.
** They say if you have considered abortion, your fetus would know and have some kind of imprint on its memory and carry a kind of burden in it's soul/spirit. At that time I was going through a dark spell, often feeling depressed and wished for death, though not actually suicidal.

Science Lab: Ah Mah's House

Some things just happen, unplanned, but it's probably the best life lessons we have had this week:

My boys had their first encounter with the manual juicer.


I was eating an orange at my mum's and Micah asked for some juice to be squeezed into his cup. He actually just had some juice from a box. So since the orange were already quartered, I squeezed them with my hand. The he asked for more. So Ah Mah got out another fruit and her ever faithful glass juicer.


After one fruit squeezed and drunk, Micah asked for more. This time, Max wanted to see what all the fuss was too. So like an experiment in a lab, both the boys got a go at squeezing, pouring (yes, spilling some too) and drinking fresh-hand-squeezed orange juice.

As we were washing up, Micah noticed two funnels at the sink and insisted he wanted to try them out. I was hesitant, as we were suppose to head home (grandma already looking tired) but I let him have some time on his own with the funnel in the bath room while I packed up our stuff. A funnel, a bottle, a cup and a built in tank in the bathroom. The only thing that I was upset about was water wasted when he spilled, rather, over filled the cup before pouring it through the funnel.

Then as we were leaving, Micah headed for the Ixora bush just by the gate. We had done this some time back, but now it was like a refreshers' course for him. Tasting what a butterfly eats: nectar straight from the flower. The first few flowers were dry, so no nectar. The we tried another bunch of flowers. Mmmm...mmmm. Heaven made delight!



Pretty good science class today. Tasty one too.
:)

Recent Visit to the Science Centre

The objective of our last visit to the science center was to renew some library books and to return a few. Max fell asleep on our way there, so he and grandma stayed in the car while Micah and I went in.

We did not know it was a special day for the science center where they had programmes for school children, and especially for those with handicap. So to our horror the whole place was swarmed! People everywhere and the whole place was bustling like a beehive. There were canopies set out at the main entrance for packed lunches for the students and teachers.

When we entered into the aquarium area, we saw a special display had been set up for aquatic creatures. Micah quickly got distracted. We saw eels, turtles and lobsters in the three different tanks. He was most interested in the eels as the person in charge started taking them out of the jars for the crowd to handle them. Quite an experience indeed. We also got to touch a couple of real life turtle the size of a watermelon and weighing more than one.


It took me half an hour to finally get Micah away and up to the library. There he asked me to read him a few books and then to look for more books on trains. By the time we headed back to the car, more than an hour had passed. Then the cat and mice game began: Grandma and Max were gone! Obviously Max had woken up and we had to look for them. My natural instinct was to head for the ball-pool room (specially for ages 2-4) as that's the place we usually hang out, plus it keeps the crowd out. Micah had a good time stacking shaped blocks made of sponge (made a wall and then a train) while I kept looking out of the glass enclosure, hoping to catch a glimpse of Grandma and Max. Finally, after about an hour Gadget-daddy called and said grandma had called home (Gadget-daddy was working from home that day) as she could not find us (she asked him to call my handphone as she could not remember my number). Grandma and Max were waiting outside.


"Outside" could mean any where for those of you who had seen the place. It took me another 10 minutes to persuade Micah to leave his "train" to look for Grandma and Max. We headed back to the car - no Grandma and Max. We looked at the displays just outside the main building - no Grandma and Max. We walked arounf the aquarium area - no Grandma and Max. Finally I headed into the souvenir's shop and spotted the two. They were having a snack, an apple and a bun, at the table where they usually display those mind-boggling brain-cracking kind of games available there.

Then it was back to the special display of eels and turtles and lobsters. At last, with both boys shirt-damp and hand-chilly, we started heading to the car. But as we step out, Grandma just could not resist this: The Milo truck* was there. So we joined in the queue for a free cup of sweet cold chocolatey drink. While grandma and the boys sat under the canopy for their drink (by now most of the students had had their lunch and some of the tables were empty), I went to bring the car around. The clouds above looked like they were going to burst any moment.



Heading back, we talked about our special day at the science center: The eels, the "train" and the Milo truck. Quite fun sometimes to be in a band wagon, though not directly involved.



* The Milo truck reminds me of all the sports days we had in school since primary 1. We'll all go in a single file, by class or by teams, to get a cup of sweet cold chocolatey drink. Till today this is my favourite beverage. Guess tastebuds are "programmed" from young.

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Tricky B&B Qs

Micah asked some tricky birds and bees questions the last two days.


Q 1. Testicles

I was putting on his diapers for him 2 nights ago and he was checking out his own anatomy.

Micah: Mommy, what's this thing? (squeezing one of the two)
Mommy: Don't do that (trying not to sound too panicky).That's what you need when you're big to be a Daddy.
Micah: What? How to be a Daddy?
Mommy: Yes. That's how you'll have your baby. Then you'll be a Daddy.
Micah: But I'm not a girl. I cannot have a baby. XB (cousin sister) is a girl. Next time she can have a baby.
Mommy: Yes, but all babies must have a Daddy too, right?

Silence for a couple of seconds.

Micah: Where's Daddy?
Mommy: Downstairs, doing some work.
Micah: Can we read still?
Mommy: No, it's time to sleep.

Phew. Escape!
I'm sure he'll come back on this on another time least expected. Just hope it won't be in a too public a place.
EEeek!



2. Girls' Anatomy

Max was already asleep. I was going to get a quick shower, so I asked Micah to take his milk first and I'll come back to snuggle in a while. As I walked into the bath room, he came in after me..

Micah: Mommy, girls have no k-k-jiao (penis)? Then how do they shee-shee?
Mommy: Well, there is also a place, near the bum.
Micah: Let me see yours. I want to see it. Where?
Mommy: No you can't. Go drink your milk.

Mommy pushed him out of the bath room and made sure the door is locked.
I was lost between being baffled and bewildered.
Definitely nervous.

Where is Gadget-daddy?! Hey isn't this suppose to be your job?!
You settle the boys and I'll do the girls (if and when any).
Phfffff....

Monday 21 April 2008

Earth Day

Today at playgroup we did something special. We talked about earth day, what is our planet like (read a book on that), did an exercise on recycling and planted small plants into pots and we took them home. It was pretty good.

I had actually informed the coordinators about this because I saw it advertised on TV and thought it'd be a good thing to do. So we did, and since it was my 'bright' idea, I was asked to do the reading and talk about recycling.


The coordinator, in place of craft for the day, got the children to plant plants. Actually, because it was in an indoor set up, the kids mainly observed while the coordinator handed them a pot each, the scooped soil into the pots and finally stuck a little plant in for them. Well, at least we got a plant to think about Earth Day tomorrow. :)

Saturday 19 April 2008

Max: Among Other Things...

Max is really chatty these days. Except for cutting short long words, i.e. missing a syllable here and there, and usually dropping the articles, he does get the message across quite well.

Since two Sundays ago when they showed Sound of Music on Astro (cable TV), he's really been into the Do Re Me song. He can't really sing yet, but he sure makes the stress and drags the vowels at the correct places. Max's version:

Doe - dear, female dear;
Ray, - drop of gold - sun,
me, - name, - call myself;
Far, - long long way - run.
Sew, - needle pulling threat,
La, - - - follow So,
Tea, - drink - jam and bread;
.....

The other thing about his pronunciation is that he finds it hard to say the 's' sound at the start with the 'st' sound.
So we usually hear:

Red light, top.
I want ticker on my shirt too.
If you're happy and you know it tamp your feet.
I want ticky rice.

Sometimes when we are not paying full attention, we get kinda confused too. But Mommy always gets the message. :)

Siblings Squabbles

Time : 8.05am
Venue : Breakfast Table

1. Micah, holding a spoonful of noodle up:

Micah: I have noodles. You don't.
Max: I have noodles. You don't.
Micah: No, I have noodles. You don't.
Max: I have noodles too.



2. Micah stands on the Chair and declares:

Micah: I have Cars shirt. You don't.
Max: Cars shirt?
Micah: I have Cars shirt. You don't.
Max: MyQueen and Sally?
Micah: Yes. I have. You don't.
Max: Look, There's logo too...
Mum. MUM! Poo-poo. Got diapers?



3. After finishing their noodle:

Max: I want drink like koh-koh.
Micah: I have you. You don't.
Max: Where get, koh-koh?
Micah: Kitchen. Mommy.
Max: Mum. MUM! I want drink like koh-koh.


Good Morning, boys.

Friday 18 April 2008

Surprise: Good Eating.

Micah is a picky eater and so on days when he actually eats quite well, I am relieved and feel triumphant.

On a good day he will have three proper, solid food meals. Occasionally, he'll surprise me with four. On a bad day it'll be just one solid meal, usually breakfast, and milk and biscuits or cakes for the rest of the day. On those bad days, forcing him to eat will mean he'll throw up whatever he had had, including milk.

Today, for breakfast, he had 6oz of milk and some cookies in the car on the way to play group. Snack time at playgroup he had a cup of Milo and half a biscuit. He then said he wanted pasta at Marco's. So we headed there. I was amazed that he ate so well. Actually he really likes the pasta there and has never disappointed me.

Then surprise surprise, he had pizza! Micah is not adventurous when it comes to food. Anything that is too chewy, anything that is pasty or things that could tickle his throat, like pop corn, he'll spit out and refuse to eat any more. Sometimes it may even make him vomit. So pizza is really good progress! He had half a slice: thick crust, ham, and cheese. :)

Then dinner the boys had grandma's chicken rice, and both ate a bowl full each! that's reason for celebration for Mommy!

Feeding is always a concern for Mommies. From breastfeeding, to cereals and then solids. What they eat, what they don't eat. What must be eaten and must not. I try not to bee to fussy, let them try as many different things, but each child is so different.


Max loves our local sweet sticky cakes, kuihs, and he loves rice and occasionally fruits like banana, mango, apple and longan. He loves nasi lemak and all kinds of biscuits. He loves, most of all sweets! But he can't stand any kind of milk unless it's chocolate or strawberry flavoured.

The best to make for everyone is their alphabet pasta in ABC soup, or dry noodles... but we can't have those every meal, so... we just pray they'll eat well anyway.

Wednesday 16 April 2008

Be Kinder...

Got this in my e-mail* from my sister and I think it's worth a post.

For my sons, May you become good men with kind hearts.

For my blog buddies, Have a good life.


*******************************

'Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.'



A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.

One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.

My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.


The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!
It is never too late to become what I might have been.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right..
Forget about the one's who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.


Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back.
Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.
Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late.

*Of course it has this note attached:
Send this to all your friends including me and
see how many you get back. Even send it to your balloons that you
think have flown away forever. You may be surprised to see it return.

I did not send any e-mails out, but just blogged it. :)

Tuesday 15 April 2008

Romantic Men


Back on the romantic topic...

These are just a couple of the romantic things other men had said to me...

Not romantically directed to me, but this:

1. Tell your love story.

This man said this to me once when I asked how he met his wife. First he said,
"It's always good to tell your love story when other people ask, especially the men, so you don't for get how you met the one you love...."



2. Say "I love you" for her benefit.

This was in a sermon, talking about family relationships, spouse in particular.
"Sometimes the man don't say this because you assume your wife has heard it already and you don't need to say it again. After all you have not changed how you felt. Well, she needs to know how you feel., even if it's the same for the last 40 years. Go tell your wife you love her."
(Btw, this pastor is in his 70s.)


These were two things about romantic love that really struck me.

Monday 14 April 2008

Found it!

Ann, Florence,

Just to let you know I did manage to find the hand cream.
Just late in uploading the photos. Sorry.


Also the plant my sis-in-law gave for my birthday now sits by the gate's light.


The other thing is that I went for a badminton game on Sunday evening. I felt I needed some exercise badly. I was good work out, but as expected, now my right arm ache as well as my hip joints. In fact, after the first round of warm up, my lower arm was already complaining that I'm pushing it too hard.

I actually would like to go for badminton every Sunday from now, but Sunday is grandma's day off. Hmm...Where to find a baby sitter for a couple of hours?

Need a "Found It" for that. ;)

Look, Ma, My Hands!!

Micah and Mommy had some fun with his hands last Friday.

This was because I was trying to reduce some sparks flying between the two brothers, fighting over something... can't remember. So I pulled Micah away and said, come lets do something special. So out came the papers and a pen and we did this:


The funny thing is we did that animal thingi first (that spotty creature on the right with the tongue sticking out).
I was thinking of drawing a dog (like how you do with shadow play), then it turned out like a giraffe, but Micah said it's a chicken. (???)
So we decided to go the second round and he was delighted with the space rocket blasting some asteroids away. He loved the astronauts you can see at the windows.

Then Max wanted to join us and did a tiny scribble on the astronauts and got Micah jumping like nuts. So I consoled him and said we'll do it again.

We wanted to try drawing another spaceship, and maybe with more asteroids, but some how this time his hand curved a little differently and when he lifted it Mommy exclaimed:

It's Malaysia!! The places named are the places he has been to and remembers for special things we did. He wanted to have the flag drawn and some men carrying it like in a parade.

(Oh, that's Micah's writing - his name - on the paper. I just got him started on this about a week, telling him he could then sign for birthday cards, etc. on his own. He actually got the 'C' curved the other way and I wrote for him the correct 'C' and helped him see that his writing could be rescued even if the 'A" is curvy. Hehehe..)


Then we tried something different, two hands. And out came a spider. I drew the web and he asked, "Where is the insect he caught? (I drew one) Draw more." Then I think he had pity for the flies and said, "This is a friendly spider, ok? He will set all the other flies free."



Well, that's my boy. My sensitive boy. A boy with a big heart.



P/s- I think you know the kids are interested in writing and drawing when you see writings on the wall! This is Micah writing his name on the wall. Our graffiti gallery is birthed!

Sunday 13 April 2008

Mango Delight

Mango is in season!
Here are some shots I took of the boys having a good time with some sweet and sticky fruit.
(Micah usually won't take fruit. Occasionally a bite of banana, so I was glad when he took a few bites of mango and did not spit them out.)




Don't you just love this sweetly satisfied face?!

Thursday 10 April 2008

She is More Romantic than He

Munsgather suggested I do a list of this, so here goes...

Her Subject that particular blog was "Why She is more Romantic than He"? And this was my response...

1. Kiss him when you hand him his drink and say “you’re welcome.”

2. Make him give you a good back scrub in the shower, tell him you NEED his help.

3. Wear scented lotion after shower and ask him which arm smells nicer (can just use same lotion on both arms. ;))

4. Send him an e-card to tell him you love him, on any given day.

5. Hold his hand when falling asleep in bed.

Continue...

6. Stare at him, study his features and drink them in. When he looks back at you, wink at him.
Or send him a flying kiss.

7. Cut his toe nails. Squeeze the toes when you're all done. (This is actually quite sensational.)

8. Touch his face, then tell him if he needs to shave or not.

9. Send him an SMS everyday to tell him you love him.
Send him one just after he leaves and tell him you miss him already.

10. Remind him if he has not kissed you when he got back from work. Should he be like a block of wood, then say, "Nevermind. I kiss you first." And kiss him well and good for a few good seconds.

11. Cuddle on the sofa, or sit on his lap, even with the kids around. It's good for them to know you're so in love with each other.


( Ok. Not wanting to burn brain cells on this. Gadget-daddy on his way home.)

These were the things we did while dating.
I thought it "normal" but my best friend declared them "romantic." *shrugging-my-shoulders*

Buy a drink and sit and chat in the car as it is going though the car wash.

Pack his favourite sandwich and bottled drink and make a date for lunch. Take him to a park for a picnic.

Hold hands all the time whenever our hands are free.


Shall just end here with this:

My best Valentine's day? He cooked for me.... waaay back in our early courting days.


Update (10 April, 12.15pm):
To add to the list:

12. Play footsie in bed before you sleep or when you're trying to get out of bed at those terrible body-protesting hours.

13. Make eyes at each other across the room, even when it's filled with friends and relatives. If you want to be more obvious and make him spill his drink, blow him a kiss. And if you dare, do a wiggle dance. ;)

Wednesday 9 April 2008

Two Tornados and A Tsunami

Grandma's toughest day today, I think.

In the morning, as I was about to step out of the room after my shower, Gadget-daddy noticed my face. It's the face of a pipe about to burst. So he sat me down and we had a chat.

Then I heard some yelling downstairs, straighten my hair and came down to see what was Grandma so upset about.

The two tornadoes had wreaked havoc in the hall. Cushions were all over the floor, my bag, a few clothing items, and even Grandma's quilt. Micah was giggling uncontrollably and Max was saying repeatedly, "mess every where" with the cheekiest look on his face. Grandma was now swinging them in their bouncy-thingi and complaining to me.

Eventually Max feel asleep. I gave Micah his lunch then went out to get some milk and chicken.
When I arrived home, I decided to leave the car outside so that the boys will have space to cycle and play later. As I came to the front door, I hear Grandma calling out in a threatening tone, "Good! Your Mommy's home."

I walked in with half the groceries and found both the boys in their bouncy-thingi again but splotches of water all over the place.
"It's a tsunami," Micah informed me.

Grandma's report:
Micah woke Max up as I left and teased him and made him cry by saying I had gone out without him. then, as Max went to seek out Grandma for some consolation, Micah made his way out to the porch and played with water, doing the breaststroke on the porch. Max, delighted at the new endeavor, was with his brother in a flash.

Grandma took Max in to clean him up first, as he is just recovering from his running nose. when he was all good and clean, she took Micah in for a clean up. As she was finishing she heard an unusual sound outside. She came out and to her horror, Max was playing fire-fighter at the dining area. He had turned on the toilet hose and was spraying water out through the bathroom doorway. He then proceeded to swim in the hall too. Grandma got him changed and quarantined both the boys in their bouncy-thingi. She would have locked them in jail if she could I'm sure.

So while we both mopped up the floor, she scolded all the way.

Now I gotta get back to see what those two are doing.

These two know who they can bully.