Archive for the 'About the kids' Category

15 minutes before 12.00am we drove out just to drive around. After pumping petrol, we saw many cars parked at the side of the road in anticipation and so we did that too. And then at midnight, the sky lit up in a wondrous display of fireworks for 15 whole minutes. Lovely, simply lovely.

The “crowd” who had gathered were mostly parents with little kids in pyjamas and we all oohed and ahhed. My girl sat on her daddy’s shoulders and shouted “Happy New Year” to everyone. Haha. Very nice. No need to pay and no traffic jam. We were reaaal lucky. What a way to welcome the New Year.

The next day, as according to our own family tradition we got the kids party packs then took photos of them blowing the noisy horns wearing party hats and masks. We do this on the 1st of January every year so we can compare how they have grown.

Its a nice start to the New Year but what will 2008 hold for us? I don’t know yet but I hope to work hard on making it a good year.

Thank you to everyone who dropped by with their New Year greetings. Cheers!

I wish to impart some knowledge about our Chinese culture to the kids but its hard when I don’t know it very well! Mum passed away when I was 10 and there was no one else to tell me the tales or pass on the Chinese culture to me via word of mouth.

So, the only way for me to tell my kids about their Chinese Culture is through books such as these: Story of the Year. It is a fun story about the origin of Chinese New Year. Books that have stories about Chinese Culture are a great way of teaching the kids about their culture.

For my blogger friends living in North America, you will be pleased to know that Better Chinese is now giving a 10% discount on your entire order when you include a Story of the Year book with your purchase. This Better Chinese promotion will last till January 15th 2008. Just nice for the holidays.

For the others, there is always the free online trial to encourage your kids to learn Chinese through stories.

Well lets see…

• My symptoms came on suddenly
• I feel feverish
• I don’t have a runny nose
• I have a slight sore throat
• I have a dry unproductive cough
• I feel very tired and fatigued
• I have bad body aches

According to this flu or cold symptoms chart, it looks like I’m having the flu. Baby had it first, then my girl, now me. Aarrgh! I hate this merry go round of sickness. Happens all the time. Next time someone gets sick in the house, I must quarantine them.

All the articles I read say that you don’t need antibiotics for a cold or flu and yet everytime I see the doc when I have a cold or a flu, the doc would prescribe antibiotics. Hmmm…. so how? To take or not to take?

This is an example of what usually happens when I am practising songs on my piano.

*tinkle tinkle tinkle*

The boy: Mummy, I want to umm mmm (poo)

*tinkle tinkle tinkle*

The girl: Mummy, can I sit here? (points to the piano chair)

*tinkle tinkle tinkle*

The boy: One more song only ok, mummy? (with a rather sad look on his face)

*tinkle tinkle tinkle*

The girl: Where are you playing now? (Points to the page on the piano songbook)

*tinkle tinkle tinkle* 

The boy: Mummy, why so long?

*tinkle tinkle tinkle*

The girl & The boy: *puff puff* (blowing air and saliva all over the piano keys)

MG: What are you all doing?!?

The girl & The boy: We’re helping you to clean the dust from the piano, mummy.

*no more tinkle* *pulls hair* instead!

Don’t know why everytime I try to practise songs on the piano, or trying to exercise etc, they suddenly want to go to the toilet, feel more thirsty then ever etc. AAAAARRRGGH! *Thumps chest*

Last night was a night for love. We went to the park with the kids with our colourful paper and plastic lanterns and our candles. The moon was full, the air was still, just right for playing with fire.

The park was filled with people and bursting with love. There were lovers walking hand in hand, teenagers having fun and parents chasing after little ones. What a wonderful scene. And everywhere you look, there were candles and lanterns burning. Playing with fire is not just for little ones.

How romantic it was. Much better than a candlelit dinner. Very good atmosphere for “pak tor” (dating). And how fun it was for the teenagers too who got together in groups. And of course it was enjoyable for the little ones.

My little ones decided that they wanted to blow the candles I had lighted up so I had to keep on lighting them up again and again. From their experience candles belonged on top of a cake and were supposed to be blown out not lighted up.

A very nice evening and a night of love for all.

I’m really happy to have found this site for my child to learn chinese through stories and songs. The best part of it all is it is designed for those who are learning chinese as a second language.

The learning chinese curriculum is really well structured. In fact the website was founded by educators from Columbia University and the U.N. in 1997. They have developed a well structured program using various complementary materials such as books, DVDs, CD-ROMS, audio CDs and online via the internet. This makes learning chinese fun and interesting for kids.

The programs and materials are designed to teach the Chinese Language and Culture to “non-native Chinese speakers” from 2 to 13 years old. However its useful for me too because although I’m Chinese I’m learning it as a second language together with my child. I guess that makes me a “non-native speaker”. Many International Schools and Schools in the U.S. are using this curriculum too.

My kid is having fun learning Chinese from this site because of its interactive stories and songs and I’m learning along with her too. Though designed for kids to have fun learning Chinese, the adult or parent can learn a thing or two from it too!

Its been ages since we’ve been to KLCC. On Sunday we decided to take the kids there for a change. My goodness. Its really packed there. Packed full of people. All the eateries are full house. Could hardly find a place to sit down for a drink and a rest. There were queues everywhere. Queues to find food. Queues to find a place to sit and even Queues to use the washroom.

Oh yes the washroom. We had to pay RM2.00 to queue to use the washroom. Speaking of money, we had to pay RM4.00 for use of the SMART tunnel to get there (to and fro toll charges) and another RM7.00 for car park.

And I don’t think the kids enjoyed themselves very much. They wanted more space to run about. The massive crowd made that impossible. The were bored and fretty. Jalan-jalan in a crowded mall doing window shopping isn’t their idea of fun. Next time we’ll stick to our neighbourhood mall. Lol!

The two kids were at the PC playing. I was full of concentration and trying to follow the video on the screen. I was listening to the instructions … “press back, exhale and push back into the downward facing dog.”

Still full of concentration, suddenly I heard a small voice say “Mummy, your backside not high enough.” Hahaha. It was my girl. She then proceeded to push me up higher like what she saw on the screen. Who needs a Yoga Instructor when I’ve got a personal Yoga trainer right at home. Lol! Oh make that two because she was soon joined by her little brother who proceeded to crawl under me. “Tunnel, tunnel” he said.

Life is never dull as a SAHM. Why, you even get constant interrruptions entertainment when you’re trying to do some Yoga at home with the kids.  I’m still doing my basic Yoga and wonder if I will ever do any Ashtanga Yoga exercises.

Image is from DonnaBellas.com 

I am a Daddy’s Girl. After my mum passed away when I was 10, I think that left me to dote upon. The others were 14, 15, 17 and 18, well pass the doting age. So yes, I’m Daddy’s Girl. I remember daddy used to buy my favourite foods for me for supper. He was a policeman you see and he worked late quite often. I would wait patiently for him to come home with some special treat for me. I find that Daddies often show their love to their kids with food. Hahaha.

Before I had kids, those I know who had kids told me that opposites attract. You’ll find that boys are closer to mums and girls are closer to dads. “You’ll see” they said knowingly.

Well now that I have a boy and a girl, I find it quite true. My girl is close to her dad and my boy is close to me. Somehow my girl has a special bond with her dad. We put it down to the fact that because she was the firstborn he spent a lot of time helping me out with her like walking and rocking her to sleep when she cried etc.

Having said this, I would however like to add that both my kids are close to me, girl as well as boy. Closer to me than they are to their dads. “Thats because you have the advantage of time.” hubby tells me jealously. Hahaha. He’s probably right. The more time you spend with them, the more they bond with you. I’ve often said that that is the reason why people should not let their kids spend so much time with their maids.

I’m really curious. Do opposites really attract? Are you a mummy’s boy or a daddy’s girl? And what about your kids? Is it the same way too?

I have not sent my 5 year old to kindergarden yet for several reasons. I’m teaching her at home so we feel its not very necessary. We’re moving soon and we didn’t want her to go through too many changes. We feel a bit stressed out by the changes and I’m sure the little ones would be too. Kindergarden is not cheap so cost is also a factor. We’d also have to make some adjustments and special arrangements for transportation to send her. Safety is also a concern.

However, I can’t help but worry. It seems to be the norm that parents send their kids to kindergarden for at least 2 years these days. I have not heard of anyone sending their kid to kindy at 6 years anymore.

Yes, I am worried. I am worried she won’t be able to catch up with the lessons. I am also worried about the social aspect. She was very shy when she was younger, although better now. (Previously she would run to hide under the table even when my own sister came to visit) I am worried she is not being given the chance to mix around with other kids very much. She does not have any cousins or relatives her age. They’re all much older. I am worried that by the time I send her at 6, she will be the only odd one out having difficulty fitting in because all the other children already know each other, the teachers and the school and won’t be having the first day blues of the 5 year olds.

Almost everyone I meet, including the older generation, ie the grandparents of other kids express surprise (or rather shock would be the more appropriate word to use) that my girl is not in “school” yet. So am I doing the right thing?

I personally did not attend any kindergarden but of course things were different then. Have things changed so much? Is 2 years of kindergarden absolutely necessary these days or the kids will be left out? What about the poorer people who cannot afford to send their kids? Will they be behind when they enter Standard 1?

Why are parents sending their kids for 2 years of kindy nowadays? Because it is a must or because we are caving in to pressure from other parents (I do feel the pressure to send her) or is it because nowadays both parents are working so then it is a better idea to send the kid to kindy to learn and mix with other kids. However I noticed that even children with one working parent and a mum whose home like me are being sent for 2 years of preschool education these days.

I feel pressured and I feel worried. Even more worried when I read about other parents blogging about their kids first day in kindy. And their kids are younger than mine. I hope other parents can give their input on what they feel about this. Do you know of anyone who sent their child to kindy at age 6 and if so, what was their experience? Thanks.