Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Last weekend, we went a good friend's wedding. I'm not really one for weddings, would usually give it a miss rather than turn up, haha, but I would definitely not miss this friend's wedding. We have been friends since we were 13 years old and we are now 33 :) Can you imagine? While we may not see each other all the time, the bonds of friendship are strong. And it is especially meaningful to see and feel the happiness exude from her on her special day.

Nat was the flower girl at the church ceremony. Earlier in the week, during rehearsals, my baby had given me grief by throwing a tantrum, refusing to practice the march-in. However, on the day itself, it must have been the whole wedding atmosphere and excitement, she actually came through and played her part beautifully. I guess the beautiful bouquet of flowers that my friend had ordered for the flower girls played a part in enticing her. After the ceremony, she even turned to me and said "I want to get married!" Haha, ok, baby girl, all in good time. I am sure that when the time comes, and we actually read this blog again, we will both have a good laugh.

Friday, 27 August 2010

It's been a while since I have updated on nat's swimming. Over the past year, she has made quite good progress and can swim a short distance on her own. It always feels me with pride when I see her swimming during her lessons. Makes all the hours spent at the pool with her well worth it.

This week, she also started taking the school bus to school. It's been very tiring, braving the early morning traffic daily to fetch her to and from school, and going to work thereafter. I hung on for more than half a year, but finally decided to throw in the towel and let her have a go on the school bus. Seems to have worked out well, for now, she was whiney and I was guilty on the first day, but thereafter, she seems to be fine. As parents, sometimes it is so hard to let go, after all, I keep thinking that she is only 3 years old, isn't it too soon? Guilt, guilt! Not easy emotions to live with.




Parenting is never easy, but the frustrations are also accompanied by the joy we experience with our children.

Saturday, 21 August 2010

My baby boy has learnt the skill of melting my heart :)



All he needs to do is scrunch up his face, like such, and say "mummy", whatever he wants, I'm sold!

He has also learnt how to gain sympathy from willing volunteers like myself, he comes to you and pretends his eyes are painful, and wants you to blow! Do that, and he is one contented little boy! He may be at the height of his tantrums at this age, but he is also at the height of his cuteness :)


Tell me, who can resist the rosy cheeks and impish smile?

Wednesday, 18 August 2010

It's been almost a term since nat started her tennis lessons. Overall, she's found it quite enjoyable. The coach gets along very well with her and she has developed a "mean" backhand. Sometimes, when I look at nat, I see a lot of myself. My mum started me on tennis young too (although, not at age 3.5 haha) and I have really enjoyed the game since. Never really did like it much on a competitive level, but socially, it's quite fun. I have fond memories of when I "challenged" my Caucasian teacher to a tennis match in JC and lost miserably, even with the whole class coming to cheer me on. But hey, what the heck, it was all in good fun! I hope you continue to enjoy the game, baby nat!

Wednesday, 11 August 2010

It has been a while since I blogged. Blogging is all about inspiration, some days, you just can't conjure up the energy to be enthusiastic about daily happenings in life. On other days, it flows in a continuous stream.

The kids are developing fast. Didi is officially in his terrible twos, throwing numerous tantrums a day, screaming, hitting his sister, climbing onto the kitchen counter top by stepping on the kitchen shelves and saying hi from that high vantage point (yes, we nearly had a heart attack!), coming to you with a sorrowful look and tear-stained face. Yet, he is the same boy who will come to you daily, put his face on your lap and say "wuv", the same boy who plucked some bougainvillas from the neighbours next door and gives it to mummy, and the same boy who says "sweet miss" (instead of sweet dreams) every night at bed time.

Nat is no longer a little baby, sometimes I feel she is so grown up. She is totally obsessed with lipsticks and nail polish (the irony is that mummy does not wear make-up much), princesses and barbie dolls. She loves reading (although I still think she is memorising most books) and interestingly, she will pick up my thick small-print novels and pretend to read it for hours. One day, I fell asleep with her doing that and when I woke up half an hour later, she was still "poring" over the book. Recently, I had slackened in my enthusiasm to teach her Mandarin and she came up to me indignantly the other day and said "Mummy, you have not been teaching me Chinese." Haha, who's the mum here? Anyway, I was glad to note that she has picked up some Mandarin from my earlier lessons with her. When we were in Orchard Road the other day, she pointed to a signage on a building and said "That's zhong1 xin1 (I can't seem to write any chinese characters here) and the other one says da4." At that moment, I was really proud of nat, she is actually absorbing what I teach her, instead of just purely memorising it. She kind of likes drawing as well and the picture above, which she vandalised my swing with is her version of a traffic light.

Some days, I think I am reaching a mini "mid-life" crisis here. Some days, I really adore my kids and just love them to bits. On other days, particularly when they are screaming the house down, I look at them and resent the fact that I am so totally bogged down with the responsibilities of parenting. But as always, the negative feelings pass and I end up feeling guilty for having such thoughts. Oh well, who said parenting is easy?

Sunday, 1 August 2010

Haven't been sleeping great recently, so what is one to do when one is wide awake at 4:30am in the morning? Watch cable, haha! And there is much to learn from cable TV.

My 2 favourite shows running at those wee hours of the morning, are Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Take Home Nanny. Ok, ok, so they aren't the most inspiring or educational shows, but hey it keeps me entertained.

Diners. Drive-ins and Dives features a guy who goes around America searching for interesting and unique food, from pubs, to drive-ins to diners, just about anywhere. Luckily though, watching him devour chunks of tantalising steak, hamburgers and seafood doesn't make me fat, since I'm not big on this kind of food, anyway. Phew!

As for Take Home Nanny, it's about how a professional nanny advises troubled families on how to tame the naughty behaviour of their children. While I realise this is a reality show, some of the tips from the show is quite good, especially since I have been feeling increasingly frustrated with my baby boy as he enters the Terrible Twos.

Some tips to share:
1. Parents to keep calm and talk to the children in a calm and level voice. Sometimes when the kids behave badly, you are so ready to scream and yell at them, but control your emotions.

2. Consistency - When reinforcing a rule or behaviour, consistency is key. If the children realise they can get away with whining and crying, they will.

3. Choices - Sometimes, children want to feel in control. It's perfectly normal behaviour. One option is provide them with limited choices e.g what to wear. Instead of opening the whole wardrobe to them, give them a choice of this or that. They get to assert control within limits.

4. Never let children get away with bad manners. You need to reinforce the idea that as parents, they need to respect you and will and should not get away with rude remarks or hitting.

5. For older kids, it is good to set up a "work-station" for them, a small quiet area where they can have their own space to do homework or light reading.

I guess, that's all I can remember for now, so long, till the next episode, if I happen to wake up early again.