State Of Mind

Was writing this in an e-mail to a friend, and thought of you, my blog buddies and visitors, and thought you should be in this loop...


As you know, we will be moving to Singapore soon.
Seems like too soon... But I'm sorta not* thinking about it.

It's not that I'm that busy preparing for the move, not yet for now, but that I am trying to give more time to the three boys while I can.
I think when we are down in Singapore on our own, I'd really have a lot less time, and maybe less patience due to lack of sleep and a lot less 'me' time.

So in the day time I am either nursing Myron, or carrying him and playing with him.
Or I'd be playing with the two boys, or attending to their basic needs like getting snacks or getting them cleaned.
I also try to get them to do something 'productive' like some crafts or reading or some games that will enrich them one way or another. So all these need Mommy to be present.
Occasionally I take a snooze with Myron, when I can't keep my eyes peeled. He seems to sleep better smelling Mommy beside him. :D

In the night, when they are asleep, my Gadget-daddy is usually doing something on the computer, or we will try to catch a movie together (rent on-line from i-tunes).
Yeah, we are also trying to have a bit of "we" time before he heads down south first.

There are a few things that I am anxious about:
I am not sure if we can register the boys in time for school next year, even if it is just kindy, but it seems they are very serious about placement there.

I am also worried for Micah if he can catch up with the other kids there. Not meaning to sound "kiasu", but I know I don't want him to feel lost in class and being teased by other kids for being slow or "stupid", which of course he is not.
I know.. I know.. I am just imagining the worst.
Hahaha... but that's what I'm worried about.

Max will still be in kindy K1 so not too stressed, as it's the year they start learning to read and write etc.
Just that he might have adjustment problems about a new place and no koh-koh in the class with him.
Max is quite reserve when it comes to meeting other kids. Most of the time he is quite ok with adults.

Personally, I think I will move into D-gear.
Denial!
I already know in a time of stress my first reaction is to try to be practical and run like a robot, not daring to feel.
Because I know I will feel lost and scared of being lost (literally) and wonder if I can fix 3 meals for everyone while I still have to attend to the boys.
And to do all that and keep calm, not be in a frenzy and yelling all the time. Eeek!!

I know they will adjust faster than I, and will do fine.
Just that right now, with 2 more adults in the house, they really get a lot of things done for them, and things get done properly.
So if they were to do a bit more for themselves, as I know they would have to, I may have to cope with crazy shower time, tolerate not-so-well brushed-teeth and keep my cool while I'm uncertain if they will clean themselves properly in the toilet after a 'big' one.

The 'biggest' thing that we will have to change, I think, is that the boys will have to feed themselves.
Yes, I am talking about the 2 big boys. Right now, at home, grandpa feeds them at breakfast and Mommy feeds them at dinner.
Yes, we adults are to be blamed, because we want no mess to clean up, and we want them to eat faster and make sure the eat a substantial amount.
So when we are on our own, in a sense I know they will actually adjust, because there will be no extra hands to pamper them.

I feel like we are heading for an earthquake.
*getting goosebumps*
*nibbling my nails*



* On my mental list:
kitchen ware
dining ware
bedding
books
toys
DVDs
playpen,
clothes
bath stuff
Housekeeping - buckets, mats, washclothes,

Social-bug Baby

Myron cried today when I said good-bye to him as we headed out to send his two big brothers to school.

Yes, this almost 7 month baby now knows when he is being left behind.

Of course we also had the 10 days with him all the time during the Raya break.

Myron is such a social bug, just like his first bro.
At shopping malls, or at restaurants, we would always look at people around him and smile at anyone who calls out or coo at him.

He loves being around people.
He loves the presence of another human being. Even if he is happy to be playing by himself, he would still call out for another person just to be with him.
He is not demanding that you play with him, but that you be with him.
Very "strange" and so seemingly deep in a grown-up way.

Well, it's just a few more weeks before the school holiday starts. Then he will have us all with him everyday.

Happy little baby.

p/s- His 2 upper teeth are just cutting through his gum. So this almost 7 month old has 4 teeth already. And he is still in the process of getting himself sitting up without help. Doing quite well in his progress.

Playgroup Update

The party I mentioned we went for at the playgroup 2 weeks back, was this sweet little darling's.


Calista is 1!

Look at her cake, baked by Aunty Mary.



The coordinator also showed me the rest of the crafts they did for the theme of sea-creatures.


They were made with paper, foams and old newspaper.

It was also at this party that I realised hoe ready Myron is for a regular visit to the playgroup.


Of course he was fast asleep at the end of the exciting event.

Playing Catch-Up

Sorry I have been so slack on updating my blog lately.

Usually I am busy in the day with the boys, and then by the time Gadget-daddy gets back he will work on the computer until it's quite late. Sometimes I sleep before he finishes. Sometimes even if I'm still awake, I will just go to bed so that I have energy for the next day.
So that's my excuse.

... and here's some update to catch up on.


Sometimes there are some funny moments, or something "profound" expressed or exclaimed by the kids, and I think this should be blogged for a record, but I never get to the computer.
(Mx: "Mom, sometimes, I am going to be as tall as you.")

Sometimes, there's a drama of some sort, and I wonder if these should be recorded as well.
(Mc: "Mom, today, I am not going to be your son anymore... blah, blah, blah.")

This morning I noticed, Myron is distinctively right-handed.

Most kids aren't as distinctive, as in they can easily be ambidextrous, or the parents may let them slowly decide which hand they are more comfortable with for writing and feeding. Some parents decide for their kids anyway.

My two older ones were asked by the adults around them to hold the spoon/ pencil/ etc. with their right hand when it eventually came to "crunch" time.

Myron can already push himself up on all fours and be like a little rocking horse. The other thing he does is that if he is already propped-up on a sitting position, he would lunge forward to grab something he wants which may be beyond his real. Oh, he is so ready to race with the big boys.

We have news from across the border.
We are re-locating.
Gadget-daddy will be down in Lion City by mid October. He will look for a place to rent and check out schools for the boys. Mean time, he would probably be bunking in with my sis.
The boys and I will be here to finish their school for the year.
I will have to find my feet/street all over again.

So I might be bumping into some of you ladies who are there.
:)
... Or we could just meet up and do a picnic with our kids. :D

Painting Transformers

We got back from a party this afternoon and the boys wanted to do some painting.
You can already guess what they would want to paint with their current fad.
Transformers.




So here is Micah with his latest:
The Scorpion with all the extra weapons. There's Jazz rescuing Sam and Michaela.


He actually did this one a few days ago, Sideswipe.



Max wanted to paint Bumblebee, but insisted Mommy helped, as he wanted it to be right.
He painted the rest: Skids, Mudflap, Bulkhead (big green one) and another (?).


And what did mommy do this time with the extra paint?
She made a tray of doughnuts.
:)

Strawberry, Greentea (Max insisted) and Dark chocolate.

Eyebrow Raising

I was getting ready for a shower when Micah ran in and announced, "I need to poo-poo, Mom."

So I dawdled a bit in the room, as he is usually quite fast.
Sure enough, he chirped "I'm done," just as I got all my clean clothes out of the closet.

As I washed him, he asked,
"Mom, what do you call that again? The one that only girls have."

"Err...? You mean where they shee-shee (pee) from?
Oh, man. Are we gonna hit the B&B Qs again?

"No, the other one you said."

"Oh?"
Now I am puzzled and honestly scared. I don't know what he's asking about and I'm not sure if I have the time to prepare the answer appropriately. This is like a pop quiz of life!

"What 'baby' again?

"Oh, you mean ..."

"Baby fat!
Yeah, baby fat*. Now I remember. I like that."

He chuckles as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving me laughing, shaking my head and my jelly-belly.

Yeah, only girls (moms) have them: Baby-fat.


*It was my older sis who told me of the term "baby fat". It's the fat you gain with every baby you have. He over heard me telling that to Gadget-daddy and since that, more that 4 months ago, he will now and then bring up the topic.

Myron Is 6 Months Old

Time flies.
And as I look at my "cutiest ever" wriggling a little in his sleep, I can still remember how quite bit tinier he was when we brought him back from the hospital.

Myron in his first month.

Myron turned 6 months old on the 6th of September, 2009.

Myron now has 2 little teeth sticking out quite obviously on his lower gum. The teeth sprouted the week before he turned 5 months old.

He can sit quite steadily when you prop him up and he loves playing with his toys on the bed sitting up. Occasionally he does end up like humpty-dumpty on his side or the back, so Mommy usually surrounds him with pillows, so that he fall would not be too much (at 90*).


We have also started Myron on his cereals.
Grandma gave him some porridge the other day (rice porridge in ABC soup, but just gave him blended rice), but he seem to much prefer his rice cereal with Mommy's milk.

Myron is now super at calling out to be picked up when he has had enough of playing by himself. He is like a Tiramisu, calling out, "Pick me up! Pick me up!"



His favourite colour is yellow, as seen by his forever-gnawing on this piece on the astrosaucer.



(See, he has turned the toy around, because the back is yellow. Funny baby.)



His "favouritest" playmate is his big brother, Micah. He will actually coo very differently to him, something that even Mommy does not get, And Micah can make him burst into peals of laughter by just saying a single syllable word, like "stick" or "pop" or "hic".



Myron's drippy nose seemed to have stopped, and that was after another doc advised Mommy to stop taking dairy products. Seems pretty effective. But Myron is still as drooly as ever, and if we don't was up his bibs everyday, the 15+ pieces that we have is not enough to hold for the next day.



Mommy's favourite part of the day with Myron is when he wakes up in the morning. He will usually talk to himself until Mommy wakes up or greet her with a smile, or he will look around until he spots her and give a gurgle and smile.



You sure make every morning a good morning, my beautiful boy.
You are so so lovely.

Last Holiday ... Singapore

Sorry, that this is such a be-lated post.

At the end of the school hols, also the Merdeka Weekend (national day), we actually made a last minute decision to go down to Singapore. And as usual, we stayed with my sister.


This time round, we visited a nice public pool in Seng Kang,
It has quite an elaborate playpool with slides, tubes and fountains.
As usual, Micah had a splash if a time, while Max had to be persuaded to stay wet a little longer than he wanted to be.


Myron took a nap while his Daddy and brothers were having fun.



We also went on the Singapore Flyer. This we targeted to get on about sunset, so when we boarded the "capsule", it was still light, but when we came out it was dark.
Look at the city's night-lights. Nice.
(I took the shots below with my camera. Gadget daddy has some really nice ones with his more sophisticated camera.)



It is always good to spend time with family, especially those we don't see enough.

The kids sure had a good time together.

Recycle Freak

Occasionally one of my many panic buttons gets pushed.

This one was to go hug a tree... Well, kinda to that effect.

It was the day after we got back from Singapore.
It started with the simple thought of re-using a couple of plastic containers we had put put snacks in for the journey. When we got back, I washed the containers, packed them into a plastic bag to reuse them when I go buy snacks for the kids after school.

That's when I suddenly realised we had a ton of such containers stacked up under the kitchen counter and the giddiness began.

I matched a cover to each one of these and then packed them into two bags for the playgroup, where it would come in handy, as sometimes some moms are so generous with their snacks we get to pack their goodies home.



I also took out the boys' travelling-utensils and kept them in the car.


Now I also can refuse plastic forks and spoons from restaurants/coffeshops when I pack food for them after school.

I also carry three plastic bags in my handbag for in-case-I-decide-buy-something-at-the-supermarket. The three plastic bags are of different sizes. Easier to fold them into my handbag than to lug those reusable shopping bags that are thick and huge.

USE LESS PLASTIC.

Many Firsts on This Holiday Outing

The first Saturday of the holiday we went down to KLCC's park.

It was Myron's first time to the park.


It was also the first day of the Fasting month, so we practically had the whole park to ourselves. Apart from a handful of tourists, we were about the only locals outdoor.


Then we had a little snackie at the picnic area. We packed pancakes for Micah and fishballs for Max. This is the first time I had seen so much space and so little human traffic.


It was basically our picnic day. Nice to have no worries about crowd.

And So..

The school break was too fast and fun.

We were busy from day to night... at least Mommy was.

While the baby slept she attended to the boys. When the baby needed to nurse, go to the potty or be patted to nap again, the boys either amused themselves or kept the grandparents busy.

Will come back in a moment with pictures... as soon as I get the baby off my lap.

Yikes he's chewing the edge of the table...