I promised, I swore I will not get hooked!

I managed thus far.

But succumbed, anyway!

Sigh!

This is my first Korean movie.

Shown on Channel U everynight at 10pm.

I am getting impatient. So, every free minute I have today, I surfed to look for the complete set of clips with English subtitles!

Watch MNISSS on YouTube.

 Free and Commercial Free.

Hardly wait for the kids to be in bed.

Will plonk myself and snuggle in the warm quit to watch and watch and watch …

Happy Birthday to You!

When we got married, I felt that I never get enough of him.

But as I age mature, I begin to understand that my husband is also someone’s

precious son,

beloved grandchild,

and brother.

And now, Pa Pa too.

Thus, as much as I want to enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner with him, I reckon its more meaningful to celebrate his birthday with all his loved ones.

Since his aunt, uncle and cousins were at his parents place on Sunday, we fetched his grandma to join in with the celebration. And for dinner, my parents, sis and her fiancé came for a sumptuous dinner.  

 

My dad says :

Educating the kids is YOUR responsibility

Spoiling them is OUR privilege.

 

So here’s Por Por spoiling the boys.

(The curious boys soaking their little feet in my mom’s leg massager and enjoying the bubbles)

 And when I came home from work this evening, the first thing the bunz told me was, “Look! Kong Kong bought us a packet of sweets and biscuits!”

(And I’ve specifically instructed NO SWEETS for the kids! Aiyoh! These grandparents really ’spoil market’ )

 

When we got married, I felt that I never get enough of him.

But as I age mature, I begin to understand that my husband is also someone’s

precious son,

beloved grandchild,

and brother.

And now, Pa Pa too.

Thus, as much as I want to enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner with him, I reckon its more meaningful to celebrate his birthday with all his loved ones.

Since his aunt, uncle and cousins were at his parents place on Sunday, we fetched his grandma to join in with the celebration. And for dinner, my parents, sis and her fiancé came for a sumptuous dinner.  

yiHang attended his classmate’s birthday party yesterday. We’ve always enjoyed birthday parties. It’s reassuring to see how confidently yiHang mingles with his peers and how his friends enjoy his presence and company.

They did bowling. Our boy bowled like a “Pro”!

Eh! Got cheerleaders too.

“yiHANG! yiHANG! yiHANG!”

So Cute.

 

We bring the kids out every weekend.

Couple of weeks back, we were at the toy fair at Takashimaya and burnt a big hole in the pocket.

Last week, we went to Singapura Plaza. Bought some stuff from Spot Light; stuff that I hoped I have the time to put together but quite sure would sit in the storeroom for a long time. Yet I bought them anyway. Followed by tea at and packed home dinner. Again, we were a hundred dollars poorer.

Today, we were at United Square for breakfast, followed by shopping where I bought a T-shirt and some play mats for the kids. And packed home lunch. Again, about a hundred dollars poorer!

Somehow, I am very good at convincing myself that the ‘wants’ that I laid my eyes on are ‘needs’ and thus part with our precious hard earned money to quickly realise that I’ve succumbed to temptations and self delusion, yet again.

Thus, we’ve decided to avoid the shopping complexes. Frankly, it’s more rejuvenating spending time at the park, the beach, the library or the pool.

So, how do you and your family spend the weekend?

*****

After reading this, we went to see this (video clip of Alvin Lee, the inventer of the sandcastle building tools doing a demo).

 

And was inspired.

A good way for the family to play together and bond.

Anyway, the sand is free, the water is free.

yiXiang

I am from

O.U.T.E.R…S.P.A.C.E.

 

The bread skins;

the top and the bottom pieces of a loaf are often left untouched.

It’s a real waste.

So when we accumulated enough of these,

we make pizza bread.

*****

Cut the bread into four smaller pieces;

bite size.

Sprinkle some tomato, cucumber and ham bits.

Top with cheese.

Toast.

Yummy.

 

Our Kitchen Helper

 

Kids just love to help out in the kitchen.

yiXiang helping the ‘pluck’ the bean sprouts.

And yiHang with the pounder last year.

When someone says that I am not able to handle both my own children without help,

it literally means that

I am useless for I need help all the time with the care of my own flesh and blood.

I am an incapable mother and an incompetent woman.

I am worse off than the maid who handles two everyday.

And when this accusation was hurled by someone close but did not bother to know me

The hurt doubled. tripled, quadrupled.

infinite.

Updates : 20th August 2006

Enter yiHang’s composition into this competition. Read it here.

Updates : 13th September 2006

yiHang’s work won the 4th prize. Read it here.

 

***** 

I am encouraging yiHang to write.

We started with Narratives, Personal Recunt. Found this graphic organizer only after we have completed the story. Will use it for our next writing.

He constructed most of the sentences. I prompted him here and there, i.e “Before that what happened? How did you feel? Then, what happened? What did you see, …”

I focused on the following grammar conventions:

Capital Letters

• ‘I’ is always written as capital letter.
• Names begin with capital letters.
• A sentence begins with Capital Letters.
• Names of Special places begin with Capital Letters.

Punctuation

• Full Stop: Sentence ends with a full stop.

Tenses

• Simple Past: for talking about something that has already happened

So here’s his very first story.

And for that matter, yiHang’s very first blog entry.

 *****

- Written by yiHang -

After my nap, we went to the science centre to see the dinosaurs. Mummy bought tickets. I got my ticket from school. The ticket was free. I was excited. We saw Sue.

Sue was a T-rex. Sue Hendrickson found the fossil. Sue was huge but I was not scared. Dinosaurs were extinct. Birds were dinosaurs.

I also tried to look for fossil. I used a brush. It was fun.

I enjoyed my self.

  *****

We made another Dinasaur Diorama. The previous one was donated to his school. This is a smaller one. Only two T-Rexs and of course the exploding volcano.

Growing up

Anyone who has met yiXiang would agree that he’s really a little monster!

He’s extremely mischievous.

Screams, shouts and whines to get things his way.

Very stubborn.

Destroyer. Bully.

But simply adorable.

The Big Toddler who loves puzzles

He looks much bigger than his age. We often forget that he’s only 1 year and 10 months old!

When his Gor Gor bullies him, he never fails to complain accompanied by his most pathetic cries for help.

When his Gor Gor does something wrong, he’s first to tell. Last Sunday, our domestic help related to me that yiHang pushed his Po Po and got punished. When Pa Pa came home, the toddler, dashed to the door and said, “ Gor Gor – Push Push! ”.

 

His Favourite – “Chuep” (Soup)

He has also moved from monosyllabic to communicating in short phrases.

“pen, help,” When he wants us to help him open stuff, usually food.

“Mi, come. Show you” When he wants me to follow him

“cuit, please” Asking for biscuits

“…da che mi mi TO YOU ..du TO YOU .. jhu yiXiadng .. bohh”. The toddler is practising hard to sing the birthday song to HIMSELF! And of course not forgetting to blow the candles too.

 

Caught in the act – Massaging his fat legs! 

It’s amazing that he is able to remember past events and relate them with his limited vocabulary.

A couple of days after the balloon ride, when his Gor Gor was telling grandma how fun the ride was, the toddler but in and said, “Bernoon, up there. Down” indicating with his hands how the balloon moves up and down.

When he talked about fireworks he would go, “Bom! Bom! Bom! Scared” and with his hand pointing upwards, clenching and unclenching his fists.

The vain pot as pirate

The two brothers fight all the time. It’s exasperating. But as they grow, I am also begining to see a strong bond developing between them. 

yiXiang always keep a lookout for his big brother. When his gor gor spends the night over at his grandparents’ home, the little one will ask to call and talk to his brother.  

Favourite Pastime : EAT!

yiXiang loves to eat. Food is everything to him. However, when he’s offered food, he never fails to get a share for his big brother. Always for Gor Gor first before himself.

Stylo-Milo Hair

yiXiang’s new hairstyle is really cute. Last Sunday, for the fun of it, I styled his fringe with some hair gell. The toddler was really proud and kept admiring himself at the mirror. yiHang got jealous and messed up his hair which brought the vain pot to tears.

Play, Play and Play

While, I was giving yiHang a good lecture, YiXiang went to the bathroom and brought the tube of gell for his Gor Gor .

It was really touching.

My BOYs.

At home, I deal with 2.

At school, I handle 42.

And had no problems.

But last Friday, I saw how some kids can be real brats.

*****

Brought the kids to the Science Centre to see the Dinosaurs exhibition. The place was jammed packed as it was the National Day school holiday. There was a long queue at the ticketing booth. I was in front of this duo – fat, chubby primary school boy with plump mom. They were rushing for a screening at the Omnimax.

I had to tame an enthusiastic boy, calm a curious toddler while answering a phone call from my sis who was on her way to join us. And did not realise that the queue had moved slightly ahead. I proceed to secure my previous position but the fat boy insisted that I’ve cut queue. He went on and on complaining about how I should not have cut queue, they were already late, he did not see me in front of him before, …. balh blah blah blah ….

And the mom said nothing.

Oh! Shut up!

But, I was in the best of mood. I turned around and told them to go ahead since I am not rushing for time.

And that really SHUT HIM UP!

*****

When we were queuing up at the sand pit to dig for fossils, a group of boys and girls have to be reminded again and again by the attendants to behave themselves. They were teasing, giggling, steeping on our toes, bumping onto us and making a complete nuisance out of themselves.

Their parents were no where in sight!

*****

When we were at the water play area, a girl about the age of 5, saw that YiXiang was alone and started splashing water at him! She stopped, looked around to make sure that no one saw her mischief act before continued to splash more water on him. I walked up and shouted, “STOP!”

Her parents were no where in sight.

*****

yiHang complained to me again and again that he did not have any plastic balls to play with. True enough, a group of boys and girls were hogging the public properties, claiming them theirs. They brought MacDonalds plastic bags and paper cups to collect the balls depriving others from playing with them. After half an hour, yiHang still came back with the same complain.

I went with him to the pool, waited at one end and promptly ‘captured’ one ball when it was released from the host. A girl came up to me and attempted to snatch it from me screaming, “That’s MINE!”

I lost my patience and gave her a piece of my mind. “It has your name on it? You have a plastic bag full of balls which did not belong to you! Shall I call the security to verify?”

Her maid quickly walked up and reminded her to share.

Her parents were nowhere in sight.

*****

On the way home, a little girl pointed at yiHang and commented how ugly he look with no hair! Her mom, in equally loud ‘whisper’ hushed her and told her not to be rude. I wonder who is ruder!

*****

These brats really spoilt my day!

I wondered what these parents innocent children do to deserve such brats!parents!

And I vow never to raise brats!

Watched fireworks from the comfort of our home.

View from our master bedroom

Nothing like being there, hearing it, smelling it, admiring it and cheering with the crowds.

Last Friday was an off day for me. So Tian How took leave and we headed to the zoo.

The boys were bursting with excitement, especially yiHang who had invited his buddy Dwight, along. The Lims also joined us.

We reached the zoo before 9. And greeted by a mass of school children on   excursion. Trust me, its worse than a public holiday!

Had a family snap shot for our Friends of the Zoo membership card.  Took a leisure stroll along the treetops trail and visited the Siamang, Orang Utans, Camels, Sunbears, White Rhino before meeting up with Yvonne and her boys to watch the polar bear feeding.

After the Wonders of the Wild show, the kids were hungry so we took a tram ride and headed to KFC for lunch. The boys had fun at the water play area and burnt every ounce of their energy before we headed home.

And that was way past noon!

Photo Album : Zoo with Friends

*****

While the boys were taking their naps, we slipped out for some couple time. Had coffee at Yakun and unwinded at Tranquility Cove for a good hour of foot reflexology and back massage.

Saturday Night

Yes! Its here!

The Singapore Fireworks Festival 2006.

This year, the Man brought us to the beach.

No walk. No crowd.

We laid out the mats and waited for a good hour enduring boredom and cold strong wind.

And we saw this!

YES!

It’s the MOON!

MOON! not Fireworks!!!

 

OK.

So I did complain about the long march last year.

But this was …. Arrghhhh!

Tuesday Night

The traffic was horrendous! But we managed to make our way to town. Yvonne’s sister, Elyn booked a table at AquaMarine and promptly at nine, we made our way to the open area of the coffee house to watch the spectacular display of fireworks. Though our view was partially blocked that was the best we could bargain for – without walk, without crowd.

 

 

I attended a course on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). It was one of the key programmes prescribed by the school.

Theories.

Theories.

And Theories.

But it came at a time when I desperately needed directions in parenting yiHang. So, I loaned one of their recommended readings from our local library.

 

Thinking Parent, Thinking Child by Myrna B. Shure

NLB Call No 649.1 SHU – [FAM]

*****

I am at the chapter on Caring and Empathy.

Dr Myrna Shure observes that children say “I’m sorry’ because they were told to do so by their parents. I believe we are all guilty of this. I am.

She suggested a child who apologises may not feel genuine empathy. We need to help children think about others’ feelings.

“To help your child learns empathy, ask your child how her friends or siblings feel when she grabs, hits, or teases them. One four year old surprised me when he replied, “I feel sad when I hurt my brother.” Following that by asking, What can you do so you won’t feel sad?” Saying, “I am sorry” when told to comes from the outside. Kids who think of their own and others’ feelings won’t want to hurt themselves or others. That comes from the inside.”  (p64)

*****  

Yeah! Easier said than done.

This morning, the two boys were playing with my wardrobe sliding doors.  They knew they were not supposed to and within the first minute, yiXiang came running to me, crying and pointing to his toes.

“Not me! YiXiang push the doors one”, cried the older boy defiantly.

Instinctively, I would have said, “Now, you know you are not suppose to play with the doors. How many times must I tell you all. C’mon yiHang you are big enough to understand already. Now see what happened? What must you say ….. blah blah blah blah blah … … …  ?”

But I recalled what I have just read and decided to give it a shot.

“Oooo … yiHang see … blood. How do you think didi feels?”

“ … …. … sad. …. … … and pain.”

“And how do you feel?”

“Sad. … … It was an accident.”

“OK! What can you do to make yourself feel better?”

(I completely did not expect and believed that he would apologise)

“Say I am sorry”

[He gave his brother a hug and said sorry]

“And how do you think you can make didi feels better?”

[He sprang up, went out and came back with a plaster]

“OK! So the next time, how can we all avoid such accidents?”

“I will just go out of the room and play something else”

“I agree. Lets have breakfast together”

*****  

It works!

So, excuse me while I devour the book!

toys! Toys! TOYS!

And did we just say we are not going to the fair!?

Well, the intended trip was to Library@Orchard to get a book.

Look at the loot!

All these for just $130!

 We found the Mega Bloks really worth it. We got the a couple sets of Pirates Skull Caves at just $3 each! These are for Kakak to bring home to Indonesia for her siblings. yiHang bought a small set of Command Ops Laser Recon for $8 with his own pocket money. But his father topped that with a big set of Command Ops Secure the Dam and another mega set of Pyrates Hideout. yiXiang got a cleaner’s set complete with vacuum, broom and mop.

And the BIG boy bought a remote control plane for himself his sons.

So toady is play day.

yiHang spent the whole afternoon fixing his blocks. To our surprise he managed them on his own pretty well. YiXiang busied himself with spring cleaning. While we shuttle between fixing the vacuum host that came from the machine and figuring out which piece goes where on the commando plane!

Gosh! On the average, the boys are getting a toy each week!

We. Must. Stop. Buying. Toys!

 

Yiyi and Uncle Vernon went on a shopping spree.

And bought these for the boys.

Presents for no reasons!

The items were picked for almost half the price from the toy sale held at Takashimaya atrium. It’s children’s paradise. And parents’ nightmare.

The playroom is flooded with toys.

So Nope. We are giving this event a miss.

 

Thomas & Friends Ball pit $59.95 $29.95

yiXiang got tired of sitting inside his little tent the very minute he was put in and found more creative ways to play. He threw the balls and got us to fetch!

 

City Parking Garage. $49.95 $25.90

yiHang bugged me for days on end to build a mega city with him. After YiYi and I spent 2 solid hours laboriously setting up the Parking Garage, we transported the whole thing home and combining with this. Took another day to build the city.  

And he got bored soon after.

Kids!