Reading Comes Alive!

Matt has a new habit recently. He would make me "do things" in the book he reads, as if we were part of the story. For example, when a bear carries a luggage, he'd make me open to "see" what's inside. Or if a truck breaks down, he'd ask me to fix it. Where the sheep eats sweets, I have to "take it" and pretend to put it into his mouth.

In Mary Clare Likes to Share, Mary enjoys sharing food with her friends. It's her birthday, and she wants to share the special day and the birthday cake with her friends, so she invites them to a party. She receives many presents. Matt would ask me to open all the presents by pretending to pull the ribbons on each and every one of them, and tell him "it's a racing car / truck / a box of strawberry / anything-Matthew-likes inside!"



For the records, the book is really meant more for older kids learning fraction. But it also teaches the concept of sharing, which is a wonderful lesson for young chilldren.

Buggle-Gummy-Yummy!

When we were last in Phuket last month, I forgot to pack toothpaste for the family and toothbrush for Matt. Unlike the forgotten comb where we could get by without combing our hair for 4 days, we couldn't possibly not brush our teeth for equally long right? So we headed to the nearby supermarket, and the only toothbrush I could find Matt was a princessy one :-)




Now, the toothpaste. Have you ever tried using any of these children's toothpaste before? Man! The one above tasted like Fanta grape, all I could think of the whole time while brushing my teeth was to swallow it!! Immediately, my thoughts raced back to the times when I coaxed Matt to spit the strawberry-flavoured toothpaste by Pigeon! I felt so bad for all the ocassions I lost my cool when he swallowed that yummy goo and gave me the gimme-more-toothpaste face.

Amazing Grace

I have been in a reflective mood. Sometimes, God just has His way of reaching out to me. I was blind, but now I see, as the song, Amazing Grace, goes. Praise God that He is forever faithful.

For a long time now, I have been bogged down by a lot of negative emotions that completely consumed me. Negative emotions that came about because things have not been going the way I hoped they would, because of a husband who is traveling every other week, because of misunderstood intentions, because of the maid who doesn't go by a day without doing something wrong. My health hasn't been great, either - I had to go on 3 courses of antibiotics (which I absolutely detest) for different infections over 6 weeks.

Oh, did I also mention that caring for a toddler is mightily tiring? But then again, I derive a lot of joy when he laughs-oh-so-gleefully and when he gives me lotsa hugs. So this one, not counted.

Somewhere along the way, I sank deep down into a hole I could not pull myself out of. But because it alternated with some moments of happiness, it doesn't seem all that bad. And you know, all in a day's work leaves hardly any time or energy to deal with anything that requires too much thinking.

But it is there, nagging all the time - I was not exactly happy.

And it showed. My temper was gradually growing shorter, I am often moody, and little things get blown out of proportion. I wanted attention, I wanted appreciation, I wanted everything perfect, my way.

Then one day, I saw my many unread copies of Daily Bread, picked one up and started reading. And reading. One or two of the lessons hit home, hard. I teared. And I was also touched after reading someone's life story that made me realize I have so not been counting my blessings. I have been so blind. That I have been trying to control everything that is not within my control. What a fool I have been!

Now, I am not one of those super religious sort of person. We go to church, as hubs put it, CEO. Christmas Easter Only. But one thing we do, is to pray. More often that not, my prayers were of "God, wah lau eh, why like that?!! You know what I want, answer my prayers, please!!" nature. I think for the first time in my life, I went to Him, really disgraced, and completely humbled.

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you" came to my mind, and I did just that in that prayer.

It is definitely easier said than done, but I have been taking steps to do something about my negativity, and my attitude towards things. For one, I started to count my blessings. And I'm surprised how that instantly lifts me out of the pothole. Slowly, I am learning what it means to really submit to God. Again, not the easiest thing. But I try. I do what I am able to - handle things that are within my control well, and letting go of those that are not. Letting go, yes. That is a major issue I am working on.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus" (Phil 4:6-7)

No Facials At Home

I pore-pack my nose once in a while. I've done it like .. twice .. since Matt was born. First time, he was about 2 years old, I think. He was distressed and cried badly!

8 months down the road, he's just a wee bit disturbed by white-nosed mama, but definitely more composed. He repeatedly requested for "mama take out" and consoled me with a hug at the end when he was told "cannot take out"! Love the way he rubbed my nose in an attempt to help me remove it :-)

Out of Bounds!

Matt has a funny trait - he is fiercely protective of the strangest things.

While other kids are protective of, say, their toys, Matt is into defence of something we did not expect. Not that he really loves them. In fact, he doesn't use these most of the time. But no one, absolutely no one, can touch his blankie and his pillows. Well, not HIS pillows, but all pillows in the house including the sofa cushions. He puts up a fierce fight, in particular, against daddy dearest who loves usurping these items from him.

And guess who is the one and only trustee of the blankie and pillows? Naturally, yours truly :)

Rochester House II

I went to Rochester House again with a girlfriend on National Day, and felt compelled to re-visit my earlier review.


We arrived at 9:30 for breakfast. They served only buffet. The waiter came up to us and asked if we would like to have some coffee or juice to start with. We assumed it was part of the buffet, and when the coffee arrived, I took a sip and it re-affirmed my assumption - it was one of those flat generic coffees. We were very surprised when we got the bill - each coffee cost friggin $4!


The food. It was downright bad. The food spread was limited, and the quality, shite. The bacon was bad, the spinach so overcooked (but they did call it spinach mash), some onion/rosti thingie were so soaked in oil. The sausage, mushroom and egg were at best average. The rest, maybe another 3 -4 dishes, were forgettable. The cost? $19, and $14 if you opt to eat only bread and jam/butter. We were not even aware there was A choice.


Their only redeeming factor was the playhouse and the sand pit. Both the boys had great fun, and both us mommies were just happy to catch a breather and chat. Pity about the food (and the coffee!) I hope they do something about the it, cause I don't think I will return anytime soon, unfortunately.

My Heart Breaks

For the records, he did not cry until it was lunch time, which is about the time he goes home. When he saw me, he ran towards me and smiled in between quiet sobs. The moment I hugged him tight telling him what a good boy he was, he just broke down. Major. But he still managed to collect himself together to give lao shi a hug and bid her farewell.

Picture is of him when he realises I stopped the car not at home but at my in-laws. Poor poor boy!

I was supposed to leave him alone in the class only next week, but decided to do a trial run today. He surprised me, and the lao shi, too! I am so so so mightily proud of my little boy.

The Biggest Milestone Yet

He was eager. Even woke up earlier than usual on his own accord, perhaps in anticipation of the exciting day ahead.

As I was getting myself ready, I started to tear. I felt a tightening sensation in my throat, and fought to keep down the lump threatening to rise up.

You see, my little one started nursery school yesterday.



After his breakfast, I changed him into his uniform, trying to keep a cheerful disposition but my heart was like a melting jell-o!! He looked so preppy! :) And he looked so grown-up! I asked him, "Do you want to go to school?" to which he replied with a resounding "YESH!"

Definitely eager!

It started out well enough. Where he previously showed fear of other children, he was largely unafraid with so many surrounding him, much to our pleasant surprise. I tried my best to stay away from him as part of my strategy to assimilate him into the programs, but he would so very often run to me for a hug.

He lasted a record of 7 mins before this ...


Learning how to pour water into cups

The school is not quite a school per se, it is more of a childcare centre. It seems like a very well-run place. The centre is bright, has high ceilings, and the children all look happy to be there. The toilet has all these little cute basins and toilet bowls. Children are taught to wash their hands properly, wipe their hands dry with tissue and to throw that tissue into the dustbin. The food served during lunch was actually good, and all the children are able to eat themselves, which I hope will rub off on Matt positively. So far, it has not! Patience! Looking at all the other children, Matt is clearly lacking in many aspects of independence, which made me feel somewhat of a failure! :(

Matt's teacher is from China, which works well for us because we wanted Chinese exposure for our little boy. It does not work so well for Matt, because, well, he has zero comprehension of what is being said to him. She seems patient; I hope she is. I can tell she recognizes Matt requires some serious "work".

For now, his new class has a grand total of 2 children, Matt inclusive. I hope it stays this way for a while, because the low children-to-teacher ratio would mean that Matt can get more attention so as to ease him into the new environment. Up to this point in his life, he has been at home all the time. This will be a big, big change for him, and he is already showing signs of separation anxiety today when I got hubs to accompany him. 20 minutes into the day, I saw little Matt from my hiding place, looking frantically for me, with a pout on his face all ready to break into a heart-melting cry. Oh dear! Will he ever get used to not having me around?! Will he hate me for doing this to him? Oh, I don't even want to think of his heart-wrenching cries. The real test will come, for the both of us, when I forcefully leave him behind.

His partner in crime, Lindsay. The two of them have to hold hands everywhere they go. This is on the way to the playground, his favourite session of the day!


In a train formation back to the class after washing hands; In class with papa on Day 2 before realizing mama's not around!

I so do not look forward to next week when he realises that mama will not be around for him. I worry about a lot of things, but I gotta toughen meself up. While he needs some serious adjusting to, I think I will have a lot to learn, too. First and foremost is to learn to let go, let go, let go. It is sooner or later, I cannot accord him my brand of care forever. In the time being, I pray that it will not be too hard on my little boy.

What I Did Not

I think about some of the things that I and some of my friends want in life for our kids (besides of course, great health and happiness in life), and I realise that we all want to give our kids experiences that we did not, or could not, get in our own lives growing up as a kid. The good things that you've enjoyed, you'd naturally impart or afford your children the same experiences. But those that we did not manage to, the more we seemed to want to work on letting our kids experience it.

Experiences could be trivial. One friend said he would always let his kids order room service when on holiday because his parents never let him. Ha ha!

Others are on a more serious note. Another wanted to have more than one kid because she was lonely growing up alone and never knew the joys of having a sibling. Yet another wanted her child to grow up knowing God because her family was not religious.

Me? Out of the many many things I want for my kids, I want them to live free of worry. I am a worry-wart. I worry about everything. And at one point in my life, I had to worry a lot about money. I want my children to be able to let go and live life without being overly cautious about anything.

I want them to be passionate about something they love, and to pursue that passion. A pastime of sorts that would let them have meaning in life apart from their work. Could be anything. Cooking. Photography. Music. Jesus Christ. Skiing. Sports. Charity. I don't know. Anything. So I aim to expose my children to all sorts. To music I never knew, to all the arts I never quite appreciated. To Sunday School. To experience the great outdoors in awesome places like Yosemite and Nepal. It would be nice to have that one passion that gives them added meaning to their lives.

Phuket 2010

We were away on a vacation to Marriott Vacation Club, Phuket. A friend who took up the club membership referred us, and in exchange for a free stay, we had to attend a 90-min talk. Her experience was that the sales staff was not pushy - maybe cos she was attended by a Thai sales person. Ours was an American who could out-talk us anytime, and who turned somewhat nasty and sarcastic when we said we'd think about it. We were seriously going to give it some thoughts, but was put off by his attitude. Plus we figured we have better use for that amount of money at this stage in our lives, and definitely do not want to be tied down to a specific range of hotels albeit a good one.

On to the freebie. We stayed in a luxurious 2-bedroom suite with an attached dip pool. Free of charge. Damn nice. It was our first of such luxury. There was a king size bed in the master bedroom, and 2 twin beds in the other; flatscreen Sony TV in every room; dining area; a full-scale kitchen where I could wash conveniently and even do some light cooking; washing machine and dryer if I needed to do laundry. Nice.

The morning we left, I was worried to see Matt spotting a runny nose. By the time we landed, he was running a slight temperature. Sigh! I would normally let him fight it himself, but since we were on vacation, I Zyrtec-ed him right away. He was definitely not tip-top especially the first 2 days, but was a trooper through and through! The discomfort he felt never fazed him a single bit. Me? I was down by day 2. And I felt miserable but soldiered on, too.

We played in our private pool and at the playground which was usually empty since I felt we should be socially responsible with so many young children around. We hit the public pools when his runny nose stopped!

Sickish but still happy in dip pool




What I really love about vacations is the time that hubs get to spend with Matt without having to think about work too much. We don't have to do a lot. It's lovely just being together.

Hours in the office and work commitments take him away from Matt a lot. Like how he had to take off the next day after we landed to make an arduous business trip and will only be back Saturday night. I am miserable when he's away, but I imagine it must far worse and painful for him to be away from the family. So vacation time is the time he can somewhat switch off and just focus on some quality time with Matt.



One of the two highlights of the trip for Matt is the slide! We went again and again and again.



The other highlight is BUGGY! He really loved it, and we had several episodes of meltdown because each time we walked out of the room, he wanted to take the buggies parked there.



We were also surprised that Matt loves tomyum soup. Both times we had the soup, they were slightly watered down versions, but still the unmistakably spicy and sourish soup that tomyum is. I am happy that he likes one of my favourite soups.

We felt that Matt seemed to somewhat "mature" after each vacation. Maybe it is the exposure and how we take the time to explain everything to him. Whatever the case, it is always wonderful to get-away, although in all honesty, I am quite tired. But as with all trips, as long as my boys are happy, I am happy :-)

The Tanglin Tree

Since I am on the subject of children-friendly restaurants ... we checked out The Tanglin Tree some time back with a bunch of friends.



They have a playground for the kids in the form of a "treehouse". Like the sand pit at Rochester House, this is an outdoor playground complete with swings, a slide and a flying fox line. The nearby traffic at the junction of Tanglin Road and Grange Road makes the playground a little noisy, but that's manageable. There is also a very small, forgettable water play area filled with murky water, but then again, maybe we didn't do it much justice since Matt was more keen climbing up the treehouse. Another boy seemed content playing with the few toy boats floating around.

The food was good! Matt, however, did not like the mac-and-cheese we ordered for him, but that's just my boy being fussy. Thankfully, he ate the equally yummy bolognaise. Everyone enjoyed their meal there (and we whacked Matt's little mac-and-cheese!)

Unlike Rochester House, Tanglin Tree offers both alfreso and indoor air-conditioned dining options. Timing and weather matter if you are bringing kids since the playground is outdoor. At lunch time, the metal slide was hot!

Rochester House

Over the weekend, we decided to try a new restaurant where they provide supervised playtime for kids while parents enjoy some time of their own, and have their meal in peace.

The Playhouse
The Playhouse resides in a colonial bungalow where kids enjoy free-play with a good range of toys and activities. There are lego sets, tables and chairs for children sit and draw, a big Thomas the train wooden set, a slide, amongst others. I believe there is also a section for younger babies. Minders are present to supervise the children. You pay a fee for this.

Outside by the cafe, there is an outdoor, sheltered sand pit and water play area. The latter was closed when we were there - "the pool" was sandy and dry. Unlike the indoor Playhouse, the outdoor play area is not supervised.

The Cafe and the Food
We ordered the Sunday Roast - it was excellent!! Tender and juicy, yums! I enjoyed my salad, too, although I felt they were very stingy with the avocados. We ordered the Pirates fish and chips for Matt from the kids' menu, which turned out to be a disappointment. The fish batter was so thick, and hard, even by adult's standards. There was also very little fish inside. Perhaps we should have ordered the adult version.

We were there for lunch. The cafe is entirely outdoor. At 1230, we felt it was a tad bit too hot for alfresco dining. Perhaps brunch might have been a better timing.

The overall experience was pleasant. The prices were not exactly cheap, but okay. The concept of providing baby-sitting services at restaurants is not a new one, but Rochester House did it quite well, we felt, as they dedicated an entire bungalow AND a big outdoor sand pit to keep the children entertained. Here's more information.

Time with My Folks

I like it whenever we go back to Malaysia to visit my folks and bro's family. We always have a good time.

We hit the ground eating. My mom fed me 4 months worth of food in 4 days. Without fail, we ended up in a mother-daughter banter, as with all previous trips - she'd say I'm ungrateful, and I'd tell her she's mad. Ha ha hah!

Matt had a great time with my brothers kids. They love love love him to bits, and would do ANYTHING to make Matt respond to them, be it laughing, repeating what they say, repeating what they do. They play with him, read to him, watch him shower, feed him water, walk along the streets holding his hands, fight to sit next to him at the dinner table. They lost precious sleep and gave up playing their favourite computer games just so they could fool around with their little baby cousin. I love that they are close despite being physically apart most of the time.



My parent's place is as old as I am; I am comfortable as I grew up in it. But I guess it is not the most comfortable of places for Matt. He was away from his toys and familiarity of his own home. Where I grew up, a lot of back-to-basics which he had to get used to. But they say that kids adapt easily, and I'd agree with that!

We shower from the pail to conserve water, a practice that started because the water pressure is simply pathetic at my place, and showering with big splashes of water from the scoop is infinitely more shiok than having little trickles of water that can't even rinse the soap off properly. Matt loved it, too! And has taken to liking to soak his little body in the pail.



I miss my folks and everyone at home already!

My Goofy Boy

Hubs and I were en route for work when we spoke about our little boy.

We know some parents who want their kids to grow up quickly, so they can feed themselves, so they can be older and wiser. Nothing wrong with that. Some days, I do wish for the same things. But hubs and I realise that we are parents on the opposite end - we wish for Matt to stay the way he is for a little while longer. Looking back, we realise we were like that at every stage of his development. Crawling, we wanted him to crawl longer; toddling, we want him to waddle and not run too soon.

I remember we took a video of his early words. Each time something dropped because he was either clumsy or outrightly demonstrating his newly acquired throwing abilities, we would ask him, "drop or throw?" and he would imitate us. It was not the perfect video, but we thought we would come back from our 1.5 weeks vacation and take a better one.



We came back, and he never said those words the way he said it then, ever. And we were lamenting about it for days on end how quickly he moved on.

If there's one thing many people agree about Matt, it is that he is goofy. And I so love love love his goofiness, his silliness, his innocence, his blurness.

Goofing around at yeye's house

I want him to stay goofy like this, just for a while more ...

Creativity

When it comes being imaginative and creative, I fail miserably.

An example - Maybe that's why I have been lazy with introducing PlayDoh to Matt. This is what we built. A very 1D train track.

I am seriously that hopeless.

Recently, while enjoying a rare pedicure, I came across an article which featured Adrian Pang. He shared his family's secrets for raising creative and artistic kids. Very, very briefly -

1. EXPOSE THEM TO ALL FORMS OF ARTS
Take our little ones to museums, art exhibitions, concerts, plays and ballet. They may not understand everyhing they see or hear, but the experience is bound to pique their interest and arouse their curiousity.

2. ENCOURAGE THOUGHT, EXPRESSION AND EXPLORATION
Going to a concert or movie is not an opportunity to "switch off". They tell their kids to think about what they have seen instead of just sitting there passively. Even if the movie was unenjoyable, they are asked to explain why. This helps develop their creative thought process. The aim is to think, form judgements and express themselves, to be vocal, and to be able to articulate their views.

3. ALLOW KIDS THE FREEDOM TO DREAM AND EXPRESS THEMSELVES
Imagination inspires creativity. So encourage the kid to let his imagination run wild, and don't ridicule his dreams. No matter how crazy the child's dreams may seem, it is important not to suppress them, or risk killing their creativity streak.

4. CREATIVITY ISN'T SOMETHING YOU CAN TEACH
Sending kids to drama or music lessons is well and good, but they may not be the best way to help a child be creative. Instead, let his artistic passion develop naturally, and drop the idea that there has to be some kind of structure or formality attached to it. If we enrol our kids in a class, make sure it's fun, not stressful. The impetus should be on the child to learn what he wants. To illustrate, his kids have never sat for a music exam. They do it because they want to and because they love it.

5. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ARTISTIC (This part I likes. Because it meant there is hope for Matt yet! LOL!)
You may not see yourself as artistic or creative, but that doesn't mean you don't have what it takes to raise creative children. Expose them to different things, encourage and support them in whatever they want to do. It doesn't cost a lot, too. Play different genres of music at home. Rent DVDs for them to watch. Read to them. Check out free concerts at Botanical Gardens. Kids are never too young to be exposed to the arts. And as every child is different, it is important to take different approaches when it comes to helping them develop creatively. And don't force it. Find out what he likes and guide him to pursue it.

I hope Matt grows up to be more creative than his ma and pa. At least can build a better 2D train track lah!