Poor Baby

Max is now in the hazards stage.

He wants to do a lot of things, especially after observing the fun his brother has, but he cannot always match up to the ability. It's really physiological. He's not as tall, and his skills and hand-eye coordination are not as advance.

So on Saturday morning, Grandma chopped down a papaya tree (it was already showing signs of a early death and she did not want it to come crashing down on its own in case it falls on anyone). While grandma was doing that, then pulling off the leaves to discard them properly, the boys started playing around her, pretending to help. Well, they wanted to help, but the thrill and novelty of having a free felled was too much fun. So they did not actually helping her in any way.

Later when they came in, Max complained of a sore eye. To my horror the skin around both his eyes had red. He looked like a panda, a pink version. He was crying, already tired as they now wake up pretty early in the morning, and soon fell asleep. Later in the evening I took him to see the doctor and got some cream.

Sunday evening. It was after their nap that Micah and Max started playing at the back. At one point Micah leapt off a counter (almost 3 feet high) and Max wanted to follow him.

I told Max to hold my hand. He refused.
"Hold my hand, Max"
"No. I can. I can do myself."
He pushed my hand away and jumped.

He landed on his feet first, and then his face hit the ground.

Needless to say the wails could be heard from 10 houses away.
Poor baby. There were two slit lines on his lips and he had blood inside his mouth.

He cried. I washed him over and over. Gave him some cold water to help ease the pain in his mouth. He wanted to nurse but said there was something in his mouth. He could not spit it out though he tried. Mommy just got puddles of blood and saliva in her palm. Later I noticed he had lost a tooth.
Poor baby.
Even later in the night, There were still spots of blood on the bedsheets.



Today, he fell of a stool and hit his head while trying to turn on a light by himself.
Sigh... Poor baby.

For all the headache and heartaches my boys put me through, I can only thank God they are safe and well, despite their many cuts, bumps and bruises.

A Piece of the Past

Grandma is a wonder when it comes to being in the kitchen:
Her culinary skills as well as her history related to cooking utensils etc.

The other day we brought a bunch of old coconuts from Ah Ma's house and over the weekend Grandma took out her good old hand coconut-grater.


Micah was completely amused and wanted to have a try. He obviously could not muscle his strength to scrape anything out. Still, I thought it was a good experience for him.



And what does she do with the coconut shells that have been scraped?



Burn them over a clay stove to smoke out mosquitoes.
Brilliant. Natural insect repellent!

Later, Grandma used the coconut milk and cooked nasi lemak (fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk) and curry chicken. We had that for dinner that night.

Ee-Ee's First Visit to PSN

So while Micah went to school Max, Grandma, Ee-Ee and I had a wonderful morning.

We had roti chanai for breakfast.




The we took Ee-Ee to the Science Centre.





She should be given the best aunty award:
She pointed out to Max the lilies that were in bloom;
the dragonflies around the pond;
the mimosa for him to touch these "shy-shy" leaves
and a whole string of other stuff that caught her eye. She can really show a child the wonder of our world. Well done, Ee-Ee!


We left in time to send her back to work and pick Micah up from school.

Both boys had a good day. Micah had some cotton-candy/candy-floss in school. Dessert after snack. It's his first time having that. :)

Backlog

Sorry for the backlog on the posts.

We've been having some problems with our internet connection: So so slow that the computer will actually go into screen saver while I'm trying to get connected to my e-mail account.

Sorry, then that I have not managed to keep up with what you've been up to too. But I hope to be able to catch up soon. Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep up with the happenings for the boys the last week.

Cheers!




Max in front of someone's car.
You know how much he loves race cars, especially red ones that makes him call out, "Lightning McQueen!"
This was taken at the Science Centre!

Business As Usual

After yesterday's big scare for Mommy, everything was running as usual for us today. Despite Mommy waking up late today, we managed quite well.

Micah went to school, late by 10 minutes, but so were 3 of his classmates. Max, Grandma and Mommy went to playgroup after having breakfast with Ee-Ee.

Then we got back, the boys had some pasta for lunch. Then Max took a nap, watched Cars till he fell asleep in his swing. Mommy did the laundry and Micah played with the kittens and also helped "water" some plants in the backyard (actually the back lane) while grandma worked in the kitchen.

Later in the evening, after Max woke up, we played again at the back lane: hunted ladybugs, patted the cat and kittens, talked to some other neighbours.

Micah showered 3 times today because he got messy with all the watering and carrying of the kitties. He let the ladybugs crawled up and down his hands and lower arm till Mommy declared they need to get their food or they'll be too tired and not be happy ladybugs. max folloed his brother in all the activities.

Micah fell asleep after dinner - oops, did not brush his teeth- and Max fell asleep a couple of hours later, half way watching Shrek (certain sections only actually).

Now both boys are beauutifully asleep and Mommy need to turn in. Already my eyes are tearing and nose running. Must be the effects from yesterday's panic: immediate loss of immunity and got attacked by a cold bug. The Chinese will say it's the effect of a scare.

sigh...
Good night.

Oh, Gadget-daddy will be home tomorrow. Yay!

Panic

This is Mommy saying it: Micah made me cry.

It was not one of those heart-warning moments that you're just so totally touched to the point of tears. Rather, it was a very serious stress he inflicted on me and I almost lost my mind.

We were on our way home from a neighbour's house, 5 doors away. We had played there for an hour or so, and were heading back going by the back lane. They had seen their "friendly cat" and wanted to pat it. I also thought grandma might be preparing dinner and the backdoor would be opened.

While I was still helping Max down some steps after he had patted the cat, Micah, already on the ground, raced off towards our home. I noticed our door was not opened, so I asked him to call for grandma to open the door. Instead he raced right to the end of the block. I called out to him, but he disappeared round the corner. Max started racing along, just a few steps ahead of me, and stopped at our door.

The next thing that hit me was I heard a scream/yell/squeal kind of sound from Micah. Two times consecutively. Panic. My heart stopped. Then I just freaked out. Somehow, in a flash, I turned back and saw our friends coming along behind us, though quite far back. (I thought they were coming over to visit in turn.)

In a panic I left Max standing alone at the locked backdoor and ran as fast as I could to the end of the block. No sign of Micah. As I ran along the side of the last house I looked around but still no sign of Micah. Panic. I ran round the second corner, now at the front road of our house, and spotted him a few doors away from our house and he was giggling to himself. Grandma was watering some plants outside.

Forget good manners in public and all the neighbours coming to the front gate. I called out and even before I reached him, I was already scolding him. I also yelled for grandma to help get the backdoor for Max. Max was crying for me to open the backdoor. Did not want grandma to do it. And when I did, he was alone. Our neighbours must have turned back when they saw me taking off after Micah.

With all the cases of missing children and the way inflation is soaring right now, I just went berserk imagining the worst at that one point in time. I did not even realised how shaken I was till I spoke to Gadget-daddy on the phone later (yes, he's away again) and burst into tears. It was like a taste of what those parents of missing children must be going through. So desperate!

I felt I had failed - just can't get it together.
I felt awful about Micah disappearing round the corners.
I felt awful about leaving Max at the door by himself.
I could have lost either or both boys in one panicky moment.
I wish I could "control" them a little better.
I wish they could understand our precautions better and OBEY.

Sigh.... >sob<>sob<...

More Adventures for School

One of the mom's, actually Micah's best pal's mom, suggested having tadpoles in class to let the children observe their development into frogs.

So what did Micah and Mommy do while Max took his nap?

We went out to the park and hunted a few (a bunch actually) of tadpoles and will be bringing them to school tomorrow.



We checked out two of the fish pond, but found no tadpoles. Then we went further to a fountain and found a whole bunch of them in shallow waters. Micah was so excited when we were catching the tadpoles that he called his friend on the spot and reported the happy news.

This is really working out pretty good for Micah too, because it gives him something to look forward to in sharing with his friends in school. It also reduces his separation anxieties in the morning when getting ready to leave the house.

(Sorry, in Mommy's excitement to go get the tadpoles she forgot to bring the camera. No shots of Micah in action, nor of our lovely park's fish ponds and fountain.)

Bugs Discoveries

The garden has become Mommy's biology lab and classroom. Now to be extended to Micah's classroom.

The ladybugs were out by the time I peeked into the jar before packing them into the car.

All the bugs were out of the chrysalis except one. We also had caught a grasshopper and a shiny bug (I think it's a cousin to the ladybugs because of their basic body structure).


After school, we took them back to let them out again onto the bittergourd creeper. There I discovered more ladybugs that had emerged from the other cocoons.

The interesting discover I made today was that one of newly emerged bug was actually yellow, like the colour of the grub and the chrysalis. Maybe it's kinda like their version of an albino. How about that?

Notice the yellow ladybug emerging from the chrysalis?

So far I have only seen three yellow ladybugs: One was last year, and now two bugs having emerged yellow. However, I don't find any of them later on to the creeper. I wonder if they eventually turn red or do they die off or get preyed on sooner than the red ones.

Micah and Max have had a fine time playing with the ladybugs, letting them run along their fingers and hand, then transferring them to the other hand. The boys really enjoys this, and I am so glad they are so in love with nature. :)



p/s- If you like good photography of bugs, check this out! Really fascinating!

Max the Terror!

These are the faces of Max the Terror.

He is a "terror" at causing mischief, making a mess, banging furniture around the house and on top of all that laugh and squeals at your face when you try to scold him...
....but he is really quite cute...
....except when he starts messing up stuff at other people's house or at a departmental store. Then Mommy feels terrorized!

Oreo mustache!

Oh, Clam me!



Armed and dangerous.


Happy meal.

Pool-side Party

We went for one of Micah's classmate's party last Sunday and had great fun.
Thank you, Jade and Joanne Kam, for having us over.

It was the boys' first successful pool-side party (there were 2 other such parties, but it rained on the day of the party so we ended having the party in the house.)

I must apologise that we did not get any shot of the party girl and her beautiful cake (gotta check with Gadget-daddy if he caught any with his camera - Yes, yes. He had to carry his own camera!).

Anyway, there are a couple of shots to tell of the fun they had!

(Oh, Max did not want to get into the pool because he did not like the swim suite clinging on to him, so he changed and just ran around with Mommy tailing him.)

Mommy the Bug Hunter

Ok. So I have to confess this:

Of late, I have been the one eagerly looking out for the bugs, and not so much the boys.

It's probably that they have moved on from that phase and it's only off and on that they'll want to go bug hunting at our back lane. But I spotted some chrysalis and decided to pick a few to wait to see newly formed ladybugs and set them free.

Today, Micah and I actually went and looked at the bittergourd creeper on the fence and started pointing out to each other the ones we spotted that are still on the leaf. In total I counted there were actually about 15 chrysalis. And we did not even get to look at the part of the creeper that had grown into our neighbour's garden! Delightful!

It's the season for the pretty spotty bugs again. :)


p/s- Would probably let Micah take this jar to school on Tuesday if they have not come out from their cocoon by then. That will be thrilling for the kids!

Show and Tell

Micah came back with a couple of crafts which was used to start enhancing his coloring skills and also to teach some good values to live by.




He came back with this first, and it's used to hold his toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom.

I like how they recycle stuff for crafts. :)





The second was more for fun.

He first wore it in school. I was tickled to see him with a head band while having his snack. He did not see me, but I saw him. I thought he looked like either a king or a chef. Hahaha...





By the way, the words on the head gear says "Good friends love each other."

School Time For All.

So this is what's happening in our home with just ONE boy going off for KINDY:

Mommy wakes up at 7am to get herself ready and to pack other necessary stuff, i.e. hot water flask, milk powder, etc. At this time, grandma is already busy preparing breakfast for the rest of the house, or she'd be back from the market with breakfast and other stuff she needed from the market.

Micah usually wakes himself up about 7.30-7.45am. gets changed, sometimes a shower if he feels it's not too cold, and his milk in front of the TV. (One show to entertain him, usually Bob the Builder, while he drinks his milk. Still on the bottle. Will do something about weaning him next year. 5 years old's milestone!)

Just as we hit 8am, I will get him into the car. So far I have not been successful in stealing out of the house without Max. He will wake up before we leave and so we will bundle him and grandma along. She'll feed the boys their breakfast in the car as we take the 30mins - 50mins journey (depending on the traffic). We would all be on the look out for trucks, tractors, trains, etc.

Micah gets to school on time, if not earlier than other friends, and the three of us have three hours to kill before we pick him up. It's really just too far to go back home.

Since it's been just the first week for us, we have not quite established a routine for ourselves yet. we have visited a park near by (and discovered that was the day thet were starting on some renovation), walked around a wet market and then sit at a coffee shop for breakfast, and walking about a shopping mall.

Heading to Ah Ma's house (my mom's) seems a pretty good idea. Of course we could go to the science center still, once a week, for the benefit of Max.

Other possible ideas:

1. go swimming once a week, but not sure how Max will take that with his sensitive nose;

2. get Gadget-daddy to send Micah in the morning and we go pick him up about 12pm, that is when he's around and up to waking up so early - usually after a weak of being overworked in Jakarta he takes the week back to rest as much as he can;

3. ....
(can't think of any more at the moment. And I am really trying no to have any shopping malls involved if I can. hahaha...)

By the time we get back, the boys take their lunch and are ready for a nap. Max needs one, Micah usually does, but occasionally skips it. Grandma needs one too. Mommy definitely needs one.

A New Addiction

Gadget-daddy downloaded this new game,... actually is more like a preview of a game called spores.

We have been creating new creatures and here is one loved by Micah, he wants to watch it all the time,

And another created by Gadget-daddy.

I Love School, Mom

Micah and I just had a chat about what he did in school today.

"I love school, mom."

"I love your school too. May I come with you tomorrow?"

"Mmm... Actually, no."

"But I like you school, and I like your teacher. It's so much fun."

"But you can't. It's only for big children. But you can go to the school for big people."


****


The day did not start like this. In fact, the last few (four to be exact) mornings began with a boy crying from the moment he woke up:



"Is it school today? But I don't want to go to school. I'm scared. I'll miss you.
I promise to do my homework, ok?"

He sounds like a broken record the whole morning, not wanting to go. Grandma and I will be persuading and trying all manners to calm him down.

The first few days actually was quite bad. He'd cling to me and cry hysterically and his teacher would have to peel his hands off me and then peel them off the doorway.

Needless to say I felt quite bad, like I was abandoning him.
But every time I come pick him up he's very happy, said he had a good time.
So I knew he's actually doing quite alright. Just the separation anxiety that needed to be resolved still.

This morning was like the end of the roller-coaster ride. He cried from the time he woke up, but half way in the journey we talked about how his crying also made his favourite pal cried. So he stopped. He decided he would not cry anymore (about school, that is).

By the the time we got to the school, he was ready to be there. He hugged his backpack and said, "I can do it by myself."

Still, I helped him put it on properly and held the school door open for him. At the steps he waved and said, "Bye, mom, see you later."

I was overjoyed. Did a 'hip-hip-hooray' with another mom who then drove up and we both shared my moment of joy and triumph!

Looks like we have come to the end of the tunnel.

Happy is this Mommy.

Fathers Day celebration.

This year I thought we'd get Gadget-daddy something more meaningful. It took Mommy three hours in the wee hours of the night, while the boys were asleep, to get out it all together. While I was working on this Gadget-daddy was spending his last night in Jakarta for this trip. Another one on it's way. (Sigh...)

Putting it together:



Getting into positions....



And, after a visit to the framing shop....
.... (drum roll, please)...

Ta-Dah!

Micah also brought this gift back from school:


Happy Fathers' Day, Gadget-daddy!

(oh, and we got Grandpa a tin of danish butter cookies.)

Meeting Under the Badge Again!

Mommy had a good time on Fathers day.
It was a girls' thing.
High Tea at Aseana Cafe, Dynasty Hotel.
Graduates of St. Mary's Girls' School gather.




It was getting together with some old school friends again and this time our theme color was red. (We had met up twice already, and each time we wore the different sports house's colours.)

It was a lot of fun catching up with old friends and this time it involved girls from other batches too, interestingly, one was of my older sisters (1987).



As usual, we also filled each other in on what other friends are now doing and where they are. Mostly good news. But a couple of sad news. Most of all we talked about how our kids are in school now and how tings are so different for them and how it was for us. We must have loved school.


The other thing that was special in this get together was that two of our teachers came along. One stayed for tea (more like lunch) with us, but the other just stayed a while to say "hi" as she had another function to attend.



One of our friends brought along her 8month old girl, while most of us came on our own so that we could just eat and chat with our old school mates.

Thank you Rima and Aida for getting it together!

After School: Of Bugs and Kitties

Happy to be back from school.

So the rest of the day, Micah entertained himself pretty well and skipped his nap again.
Seems to work pretty well in getting him to bed early and wake up early for school the next day.

Since he refused to nap, by the time it was 5pm, I made sure he was kept busy and not suddenly fall asleep.

We spent our evening in the back lane:

Micah fussed over some new kittens brought over by his black "friendly cat";



Grandma went digging for some ginger in her little garden and dug out a bunch of really fat earthworms. Micah raced off happily to feed the fishes;



We blew Dandylions into the air;



Went on an insect hunt and caught and released a small grasshopper and two lady bugs.



We later spotted another ladybug and a shiny bug.



Then Mommy managed to get a "shot" of an orange garden spider and another not-familiar insect while Micah fussed over the kittens again.


By the time the boys showered and had their dinner it was past 7pm.
Micah slept at 8pm, and Max about 9.30pm.

Now it's Mommy's turn to turn in. Gotta go to school tomorrow.